#honestly the political intrigue of this time is something I really want more of

[hirayaea]

what is your opinion about queen mc?

hello anonie ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

ohhh thank you for such a nice question! I am sure that I have mentioned several times that I love the Astria Knyght era, and it goes without saying that queen mc’s story is definitely one of the most interesting plot lines for me as a seiya main

all seiya-mc-incarnations are products of their time— their personalities, mannerisms and the way they make decisions shift a bit based on their circumstance + which era they were born in. they’re also all heavily influenced by how xavier treats them

let me expound by comparing shooting stars mc and queen mc:

1) shooting stars mc was born in a recently-made-post-earth Philos. she mentions her teachers still lived on earth and the way they do school is still quite similar to how education was done in earth. immortality is known to the human race but not everyone is blessed with it—there are still illnesses modern medicine cannot cure, and she has been told that she will not live as long as everyone else. at the point that we meet her, she’s already accepted her fate; this makes her very headstrong—a go-getter so to speak—choosing to live out her dreams the way she wants because she knows she’s on borrowed time. when she develops a crush on xavier, she doesn’t hesitate—she confidently takes a leap of faith and asks him out, barging into his life like a whirlwind, literally taking his hand and whisking him away. she’s smitten and she knows it! her happiness is her hands and she doesn’t want any regrets in her short life. she’s young and free and unashamed, and this works on her xavier because he’s the exact opposite—caged and restrained, bound by duty and family he didn’t even choose. she’s a breath of fresh air for him, and you can see he looks to her with awe and adoration, which only makes her braver. until the end, she wasn’t afraid to show xavier her feelings, and even after they were separated, all she wanted was to tell him that she wanted to be with him again, because despite their time together only being fleeting, he made her happy.

2) queen mc, on the other hand, was taken in as a child* by her swordsmaster and mentor, and was told from a young age that she would train to become xavier’s grandis knight. i’m assuming they met in this circumstance—with their roles already being known to each other—xavier as future king and mc as his protector. duty was always a prominent factor in their relationship. it explains why queen mc takes her role so seriously; she wants to perform well in school, be good at swordsmanship, and she scolds xavier for abandoning his duties when he avoids his family and plays hooky. yet she still covers for him when push comes to shove. it is quite obvious she is in love with him; they are childhood friends, sparring partners, and are probably are always together—likely it’s a love that grew over time, something that bloomed without her even realizing it. but the thing is, this love of hers conflicts with her duty, and since she grew up wanting to excel at her role, it makes her confused and insecure. not to mention, xavier is never direct enough with her when it comes to his own feelings. she senses he is in love with someone but she doesn’t know who, and it adds to her doubts—in the end the two of them never have a straight conversation about how they feel. queen mc always feels like xavier is talking about someone else because her insecurities don’t lead her to believe he could mean her, while xavier is too focused on the bigger picture + saving her life (without her knowing) to elaborate. because xavier also knows how focused she is on achieving her goals, he’s chosen to take a more supportive role with regards to romance—he gives her hints that he wants to whisk her away, but only if she wants to run. in the end the choice is up to her, but because she’s also uncertain of xavier’s feelings, she doesn’t quite grasp the depth of what he means and instead chooses to respond with what she knows—that she’s focused on being a grandis knight. xavier takes this in stride and continues to wait for her while trying to achieve his own agenda. in the end, though, they both choose to fulfill their duties; xavier ends up choosing to do operation backtrack to save philos (and her), while mc chooses to become queen of philos to protect the kingdom she swore to serve.

what is interesting for me regarding the decisions they made is that it is xavier that initiates it; sometime in the 200 year gap they were separated, he figures out that there is no way to save mc in the current timeline and he must go back to the beginning to save her life. he actually tells mc this but mc assumes he’s talking about a different girl, and you can see that she tries to give up on him right then and there. her insecurities eat her up and her defense mechanism is to put up a wall and tell him “okay, you do your duty and i’ll do mine”. essentially instead of confessing her love (which she has awkwardly tried to convey) she assumes xavier doesn’t choose her, so she also doesn’t choose him, and they both choose the greater powers they serve. at the end of the anecdote we know she is extremely heartbroken about this, as she makes that extremely sad monologue about her star leaving her.

i point this out because given that mc felt like xavier had a different beloved, i wonder how things might have been if xavier was more direct with her? honestly he was giving enough hints but our girl was so deep in her belief that he loved someone else that she just kept on falling down that rabbit hole and never got out of it. but i still blame xavier because i strongly sense he knew he wasn’t being clear enough and the vagueness was intentional for his own goals (to protect her and philos from the truth)

the lightseeker era could honestly have its own drama show and I’d be there for it 100%

sorry I rambled a lot, feel free ask more questions for clarification :)

thank you ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

[l-in-the-light]

Luffy's and Law's similarities

Because people always talk only about their differences, time to do the uno reverse! You might be surprised how many there are, actually.

Snapping at exactly same thing.

Snapping at same stuff again, because sometimes they share exactly the same brain cell. Even their face expressions are exactly the same in both examples lol.

Whenever Law actually loosens his guard, he reacts in exact same ways as Luffy does.

They both have a very similar experience with their mentors sacrificing themselves for them and same selfblaming reaction. This serves mostly as a prologue because we will compare how child Law and child Luffy behaved.

Both were reckless brats with very wrong self-harming ideas to get what they want.

They hate "dirty tricks" and being lied to. And easily lash out.

Their initial reaction to making fun of someone tripping/being pushed on the floor or making fun of anyone. Also standing there in exact same pose with their fists clenched.

"I will go find a real role model", same vibes here honestly.

"You will pay for this" mentality. They were also both literally thrown which endagered their lives and they both can't believe it's actually happening, that anyone would do something like that. Also bonus points for swearing child Luffy haha.

Both consider some people to be just total scums that deserve punching. Bad guys should be taught a lesson. Law at least managed to land a stab, so 1:0 for him.

This is intriguing. This is the last time Law asks someone for help. And last time Luffy asks someone to help him. Both seem to be convinced "asking for help" caused their loved ones to get hurt, so you will never hear them do it again. The only difference here is Law is asking to help Corazon, while Luffy is the one who needs the help.

Later on Luffy is taught to ask for help by Vivi in Drum Kingdom, but he isn't asking for himself, but to help Nami. Meanwhile Law never again uses the polite words. The most he is capable of is to ask Cavendish "tanomu" which is more like "I'm counting on you".

Both sit in same pose whenever Law isn't trying to impersonate Corazon's style (yes, Law mimicks Cora a lot, also in the way he walks). At least once he slipped and sat in the way he found naturally comfortable instead and it was exactly same way as Luffy's preferred sitting position. What a curious coincidence.

Another funny thing about them is that they both like to wear exactly same type of shoes they used to wear as a child, Luffy the sandals, and Law his dark boots. It's not really that common thing in the manga, for example, Nami and Zoro didn't stick to same type of shoes they used to wear when they were kids.

They also sleep in exactly same position, the infamous T-pose. For comparison, the rest of the Strawhats all have their own different sleeping positions (first from the right is Usopp ofc lol).

They also match each other's pace pretty well. "Let's go, Torao!" and "Ike!" as Law's answer which literally means just "Go!", because Traffy is ready too, no need to stall back.

And finally my favourite:

If Law wasn't under Corazon's "calm" spell, would his laugh sound familiar? Perhaps would it be "shishishi" we know so well? Of course that's the last time Law laughs like that, so we can't compare him laughing when he's an adult. Families in One Piece often share similar laughs, it seems. Unless you're a devil fruit user, that also changes your laughter apparently hm.

There's probably even more similarities between their behaviour, thinking patterns and expressions than I managed to find. I find it suspicious considering those two did not grow up together, so why are they so similar when they're both children?

I dunno if whole D. clan is an actual family, but I think Law and Luffy definitely had a shared ancestor and probably not that far in the past. Very curious since they're from East Blue and North Blue, the two seas mentioned to be the hardest to travel from one another.

Many people speculated Dragon isn't related to Garp or Luffy because they don't really look that much alike, but if you compare Monkey, Trafalgar and Gol family members together you can start to see some pattern emerging: they all have naturally black ruffled hair Potter-family style (you're welcome for that comparison you never wanted to notice and now you can't unsee haha). I wonder if Joyboy will also be revealed of sporting similar style of hair.

[munchy-k]

danmei list that no one asked for (long post incoming)

ok so I've accumulated a pretty decent list of danmei that aren't as well known and I want to talk about them!! so here we go! these aren't in any particular order btw

Nan Chan

an aloof, listless immortal and a very hungry caterpillar fish demon go on an adventure to retrieve a runaway bell 🔔. and also they both have amnesia. CUE ANGSTY BACKSTORY REVEAL!!!! 🔪🔪🔪

I'm sure it's to no ones surprise that this is first because I'm a SLUT for nan chan. if nan chan has one fan it is ME and if there r no fans I am DEAD!! I love this novel so much it has the perfect combination of painful angst and sweet sweet lovin' !! the main couple's relationship makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside 🥺👉👈 (probably because I am a touch love language girly and these bitches be touching!!!) and I LOVE the characters sm. especially my little meow meow Jing Lin and his adorable little stone figure. I live for the interactions between Cang Ji and the stone figure! it may be a little difficult to read the first time around since the plot gets a little convoluted but it all makes sense in the end! 10/10 really recommend!!

How to Survive as a Villain

transmigration plot! rich ceo gets transported to a novel as the villain emperor and gets buddy buddy with the novel's MC so he doesn't get killed. ends up buddying too close to the sun and accidentally becomes the leading lady. drama ensues!

this is another favorite of mine!! this one is another good mix of angst and romance and the MC is so funny and likeable. there are also two cute side couples which is always fun! (one of them is f/f so it gets extra brownie points with me🤭) its also not too complicated which makes it great for casual reading ^^ p.s. this one has an official eng tl now! its being published thru rosmei (like nanchan) so it has to be ordered thru a 3rd party distributor but I think its worth reading 👀

Living to Suffer/ Till Death Do Us Part

living to suffer: ancient wuxia style prequel where the characters meet as a humble doctor and member of a demonic sect and their fate intertwines. this one has a BE

till death do us part: early to mid 1900s setting sequel. the reincarnated characters meet again as a elementary school teacher and rich playboy and face the struggles of having a relationship. this one has a bittersweet ending

THIS...... OK THESE NOVELS... let me tell you something. this made me SOB. oh my god especially the ending of TDDUP. I saw a review saying "I honestly could believe there lived a Shen Liangsheng and a Ch'in Ching, and that they fell in love..." and hard agree because something about this story felt so real?? which made it all the more intriguing and heartbreaking!! its set around the time of the japanese invasion of china and the cultural revolution so it does talk a lot about politics but it wasn't a difficult read imo. BUT BE WARNED! there is a LOT of smut. (not rly vanilla either..) and the relationship does get pretty toxic at times 😬 but it gets better by the end of the book and the toxicity actually does add to the story and character development. if u give it a try please read the prequel (living to suffer) first!

After Being Forced to Marry the Evil Star General

a deputy prime minister MC who's powerful, high-maintenance, and hated by the public is arranged to marry a laid-back general who is much loved and praised (but also rumored to be cursed!). this is an arranged marriage + enemies to lovers novel

I'm actually in the middle of rereading this one rn 👀. I think this one is also good for casual reading since it isn't very complicated. in the beginning the interactions between the main couple r rly funny because they just clash all day long lol. its also got a little angst sprinkled in 😎👍 I did see some reviews saying that the MC is not likeable since he does some kinda bad things and he's stuck up but I still liked him idk 😭 I feel like his flaws made him more interesting

Married Thrice to Salted Fish

a doctor MC who only wishes to study medicine (and poison oop) gets arranged to marry a guy whos dying. turns out that guy has been taken over by a transmigrator! transmigrator ML then proceeds to die and come back as someone else.. more than once 😭

if you love a couple that schemes together then this is the novel for you! the MC in this book kinda reminds me of the MC from the book I mentioned right above. (these titles too long man 😅) I found the repeated "reincarnation" plot to be pretty interesting. the interactions between the couple were pretty amusing as well and since the ML is from modern times he randomly uses modern slang. MC even picks some lingo up from him loll

Xiao Jiu

about a 9th prince MC whos trying to win the heart of the emperor's cold and aloof bodyguard! call him the prince of rizz because it works eventually 😎 this is an age gap romance with a smidge of angst and political drama

this a short and sweet story! the ML is described as cold a lot but he actually becomes rly sweet and warm later on so he isn't one of those stone faced characters. I don't have much else to say about this besides "its cute, I like it" 😅

Guanshan Muyu

wife-chasing crematorium story! it's about a outlaw MC who's kidnapped by the very guy who betrayed him. ML wants to win MC's heart back but issues from the past cause a bunch of misunderstandings :( but it is a happy ending!!

man.... I haven't read a wife-chasing crematorium story before this and I was not prepared for the amount of ANGST. basically everyone is miserable for the entire damn time! 😭😭😭 but that's not to say it wasn't a good story!! all the suffering made the ending feel even sweeter 🥰 if you cry easily maybe keep a pack of tissues on hand when you read this 😂

I wrote this in my notes app while reading and I feel like it summarizes the ML pretty well bahaha 👇

"qi yan: my girl is mad at me. I hope I die"

It’s Not Easy Being a Master

transmigrator becomes the villainous shizun in a novel he read and attempts to avoid a bad ending but *gasp* the novels MC (ML) has been reborn with all the past memories!! MC tries to get close to ML while ML is like wtf is going on ! seems like a typical "transmigrated as a villain" type plot until suddenly it's not... 👀👀

this one was rly fun! there's a big plot twist that I found rly interesting and unique! very fresh!! fresh produce!! 🥒🫑🥕🍅 I also like the MC a lot he had a rly silly personality hehe. I think this novel is good for people who like solving mysteries alongside the characters since a lot of hints are dropped throughout

Golden Stage/ Terrace

arranged marriage between a court dog and a general who's become phsyically disabled. everyone knows that the two HATE each other... but do they really? 👀 no, it's not an enemies to lovers, but the other characters seem to think so! 🤭

great novel!! very good!! I love the dynamic between the main couple! they love to banter so their interactions are entertaining. there's a bit of political plot but it's nothing too complicated and the angst is minimal. I also like that one of the main characters is a ambulatory wheelchair user. this one also has a official eng tl now but I'm not sure from which publishing house

Sharing Rain and Dew

MC whos staying in the palace dies a painful death but then gets reborn several months in the past. he spends his time stressing about his impending death but for some reason the Emperor has suddenly become super clingy and doting

this one is very very short, only 5 chapters + 3 extras, but it's quite funny and cute. despite being so short the story is actually pretty interesting? good for a quick, casual read

list over!! I have a few more but this is already too long of a post 😭 I hope someone can find this helpful for some reading recs!

[hazbinhotelxreader]

Rosie,carmila dating the reader with an alastor personality but more smilly and dark?

A/n: yea! Of course! Sorry this took so long and hopefully this isn’t OOC, cause I’m not sure if this is good..

Anyways!

Pairing: Rosie and Carmilla with a reader that has Alastors personality.

Gender: gender neutral (since it wasn’t declared)

Rosie!

-She’s definitely more use to it. I mean, come on she’s friends with Alastor, so meeting someone that’s similar to him was a joy.

-Though, you are much more dark and “happier” than Alastor, which can put her at unease sometimes, but not often.

-Like I said, she’s used to it. The first time you two met she was sweet and polite as always.

-You’re probably close to Alastor, coming across him once and you two just clicked, not in a romantic way of course.

-so you definitely met through Alastor. And Rosie was more than demoted to meet one of Alastors friends, and one that was similar to him too.

-She enjoys how you keep a smile on your face even through the hard times, though it does worry her.

-Even if you’re happy and always have a smile on your face, she can see if something is bothering you. So expect small therapy sessions every now and then.

-She’ll be very patient for you and not get stressed or angry if you say “I’m fine” or that you’re never sad.

-Now about you being more dark, it doesn’t bother her too much. Alastor is already pretty dark, so she’s use to dark humor or actions.

-But she won’t tolerate any of those acts if it’s placed in her town. It’s her people and she doesn’t want them hurt. She’s fine with you act out on other areas that aren’t her town, she always tells you to just tone it down and not hurt to many people.

-When dating, she’s definitely going to worry more. She’s gonna be by your side at all times to make sure you’re having actual fun rather than hiding under a smile.

-She’s the type of girl to give you a stern talking to if you ever commit an act that’s extremely bad. She’ll force you to sit down and she’ll just lecture you for a good hour, before going back to her usual polite and cheerful self.

-She does offer other things to distract you from doing anything that might hurt too many people. For example, she helps you be a cannibal.

-She believes, since cannibalism is a cruel act, that it would put you at ease and distract you from doing bad things.

-It does work. It makes you feel good too knowing you did something so unholy and disgusting, you often find yourself eating some of the parts Rosie has stored, which she always offers.

-Overall she’s a really good girlfriend, and still treats you nicely even if you’re a little…insane

Carmilla~

-Honestly, she didn’t like you at first. She felt uncomfortable and felt a little threatened? A little

-You seemed dangerous and could potentially (already has) cause harm. And knowing her she hates fighting or anything overly violent. So it came natural for her to dislike you.

-Seeing that your close friends with Alastor, an overlord that literally murdered other overlords in gruesome ways, and you share the same personality, didn’t come to easy for her.

-She already didn’t have a liking for Alastor and his acts, and now there’s two of you??

-When there are meetings she does not allow her daughters in the same room if you and Alastor are together

-She feels like her children are at risk of being harmed near you two, especially you since you seem…worse than Alastor.

-She does have to admit, your dark acts and optimistic behavior are quite useful during anything that involves fighting or work.

-During meetings due to you always being optimistic, talking out and speaking your mind is much easier. Which Carmilla is 50% thankful for some honest feedback, but also slightly frustrated with it too since she gets enough shit talk from velvette.

-Now you do intrigue her, you’re just so…interesting. It’s like you have no worries or fears on your mind

-When dating, she started to get use to your personality, but she didn’t let you near her daughters for a while.

-once she did let her daughters meet you personally, she was slightly surprised that you were, kind? To them.

-she started to trust you more, even making you go with her daughters to protect them when they drop off materials for the demons who buy Carmillas weapons.

-She does keep an eye on you, not wanting you to be overly crazy or insane, she doesn’t like violence or anything to do with it so she’s basically keeping you on a leash at all times.

A/n: I’m not sure if this was good or not but I tried my best to fit it in! I can remake it better if needed

[thefiery-phoenix]

Yandare gun park who got obsessed with a foreigner reader working for him as his secretary of something head canons ?

Sure :)

YANDERE GUN PARK WITH FOREIGNER SECRETARY READER

Love was something Gun never had a positive opinion of, he always viewed it as something trivial when he had better things to do in life like extort money from gangs and traumatize people. The only things he desired was power and money, he honestly couldn't care less about anything else till he met you. He needed someone to take of some mundane paperwork Charles Choi decided to throw towards him and thought of making Goo do it till he realized he'd have to deal with his incessant whining which was something he wasn't overly fond of till he got the idea of hiring a secretary for himself. He could tell from the get go you weren't from around here since you spoke in a different accent and looked out of place. Gun's eyes were focused on you and he didn't understand why he felt intrigued by you. You worked as a barista and the way your apron hugged your frame and you spoke to people with a smile, you looked...innocent and somewhat gullible in his opinion as his eyes never left your figure

He spotted your manager yelling at you a while later and you had tears streaming down your face while your lousy scumbag of a manager berated and insulted you. Something inside him told him to intervene, he couldn't believe he was actually doing this for someone who he didn't even talk to yet but something in him compelled him to do so. "Hey...shut up. It's annoying to hear you scream like a whining man child. Get lost'' said Gun as he waved his hand dismissively and lit a cigarette and let out a puff as he glared at your manager. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT TO-'' screamed your manager on top of his lungs however he was cut off when Gun grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and his hands gripped his face in a vice like grip as he leaned closer towards him and whispered something in his ear. You didn't know what he whispered into your manager's ear since it wasn't audible to you but whatever it was that the stranger said to your manager, he went pale and shivered slightly as he let out a pathetic whimper and scampered off. You've never seen your manager reduced to such a state as you looked at the stranger in apprehension and slight fear as you fidgeted nervously

"Don't worry, I won't bite...unless you want me to'' said the stranger as he smirked at you and you could feel his intense gaze behind his glasses you had an awkward smile on your face. "Um...thank you I guess...I don't know how to repay you though'' you said as his smirk widened. What an eager polite little thing you were, you looked like a typical goody two shoes and he felt a strange desire growing inside him to corrupt you, to have you for himself and devour you whole, to OWN you. "There is something you can do for me...'' he started as he took another puff of his cigarette and watched your confused and nervous look as you reminded him of a helpless little prey which gave him a power surge and a sense of satisfaction to see you squirm. He made a mental note to make you squirm for him even more later on in the future, your expressions were so amusing for him

"Work for me...as my secretary. You can start tomorrow'' he said in a tone which indicated you didn't really have a choice in the matter as you took the card and looked at it. You looked at the man in front of you and you couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling that he was dangerous. "You shouldn't refuse if you know what's good for you. It would be...unwise'' said the man in front of you as your heart almost stopped beating at his words. You slowly nodded as you sighed and went back to your house. You were too tired to comprehend what to do anymore as you headed for bed after you had a quiet dinner. Meanwhile Gun headed back to his residence and pulled out his phone. "Oi brat, I need a favor from you'' said Gun. "You call me that one more time, I swear I'll kill you'' grumbled Kouji from the other end as Gun chuckled slightly. "I'd like to see you try pipsqueak. I need some information on Y/N, think you're up for the job?" he asked Kouji as he was met with a few moments of silence. "You really think I have nothing better to do in life huh? Fine...but I'm charging you double. You interrupted my game MF'' he grumbled as he cut the call. 15 minutes later Kouji sent a file to Gun as he spent the rest of the night reading everything about you from your likes, dislikes, hobbies and such. The fact that you weren't from Korea made things better, he could make you rely on him more, make you dependent on him and have you for himself easily as he smirked to himself, waiting for the next day when he'd see you again

The next day, sure enough, you showed up to his residence and you had a smart attire and Gun was somewhat surprised you actually held up your end of the promise. You were so easy to take advantage of and he couldn't wait to have you in his clutches. "You actually showed up...congratulations, you got the job'' said Gun as you quirked your brow in slight confusion. "Aren't you going to conduct an interview or something?" you asked him curiously as his mouth curved into an amused grin. He wondered whether or not he should tell you how he already knew everything there was about you including how you lived alone and your current address and such but he didn't want to scare you off just yet so he decided to withhold that information. For now at least as he mentioned some vague answer of not wanting to bother with tedious and nonsensical procedures and preferred a more direct approach towards things

He's amused how skittish and nervous you're around him. Your actions never cease to delight and amuse him and he loves to call you out on your flustered and shy behavior at times and gets a kick of your cheeks going red whenever he makes slightly suggestive comments towards you. Which just proved his theory that even the devil had his day. He always insists that you have lunch with him and don't even think of skipping out on lunch with him, he'll drag you to eat with him anyway telling you that you can always work later. He'll take you out to fancy restaurants at times to a private booth where the two of you would be undisturbed and he'll ask you questions about your life and such. Even if you hide something from him he'll find out eventually through his sources so there's no room for you to keep a secret from him anymore

It kind of goes without saying you know, when you're working for Gun, you'll meet Goo as well and Goo knows Gun inside and out and he immediately understands his fighting obsessed psychotic friend has taken an obsessive unhealthy liking towards you when he caught him stalking you in the shadows when you went back home. Of course Gun immediately warned Goo to keep his mouth shut as Goo grinned at him in amusement but honored his wish. Goo being the infuriating little brat he is at times loves to tease Gun and getting a rise out of him by hanging out with you, it's amusing to see his eyes get all fired up with possessiveness and jealousy, an emotion he'd never expected him to have before but at the same time, he acts like a wingman for him and encourages his twisted obsessive love for you, snitching on you to Gun anytime you have plans with your pesky little friends in which case Gun would have to personally take care of them for being a distraction for you. Don't feel too upset when they don't lift your calls anymore, you still have him. You wouldn't know about what he actually does, you're in the dark regarding all the money extortion and the crew related things he does, he wants to keep you in that sheltered little bubble and make you rely SOLELY on him alone

Personal space be damned, he's always doing things to make you flustered like kissing the back of your hand or being too close to you. He'll find a way to monopolize your time and attention to be focused on him and only him, nothing else should matter to you. He likes to trace his thumb over your bottom lip and whenever he speaks to you in that husky deep voice of his, his lips would teasingly graze over to your ear and the nape of your neck which would send shivers and tingles down your spine as he has a firm grasp around your waist. It just feeds into his god complex of an ego how much of an effect he has on you. He's looking forward to having you on his lap one of these days, while he runs his hands over your beautiful body meant for him

When you spring the news that you're going back to your country permanently and want to live there, he stops whatever he's doing and simply glares at you. Even though he's wearing his glasses you could feel the heat and intensity of his heated stare which was practically burning a hole through your soul. However, he has a fake smile on his face and invites you to one last dinner before you leave. Little did you know, there was quite an unexpected surprise in store for you. You headed to his residence for dinner that night and he loved how shy and bashful you were being. No way in HELL would he allow you to leave him, you were his since the moment he laid his eyes on you. You couldn't exactly put a finger on it but you felt like the food tasted somewhat strange and by the time you finished your last bite, you started feeling drowsy and sleepy. "I'm...I'm feeling tired. I think...I think I better go home'' you mumbled sleepily and yawned. A few seconds later your vision started becoming blurry and you blacked out on his couch as he gently ran his fingers through your hair and caressed your cheek. How dare you try to leave him? He'll have to discipline and punish you later for trying to leave him. It doesn't matter if you'd hate him after you wake up, you'll love him eventually, he'll MAKE you love him even if he needs to use force...

[ramblinscramblin]

Hey there! I read your headcanons and they are pretty cool! I wanted to ask for small headcanons myself

Sniper, Scout and Pauling discovers that reader is a vampire! How will they react?

Reader can be any pronounce you want. You can do romantic or platonic, whatever is comfortable with you!

-💀🌌

→With a vampire!Reader!

Genre: fluff, a lil silly

Characters: Sniper, Scout, and Pauling Warning: canon typical gore.

I love love love this request, thank you so much! This was kind of a hard prompt to get ideas for for some reason. Also I’ve actually never written for Pauling before, let’s hope I get her right!

Sniper

Sniper took note of your gloomy and loner disposition right away.

It’s part of the reason he bothered getting close to you in the first place.

He’s observant so he probably noticed everything separately even if he hadn’t fully put it together yet. Definitely took note of your fangs.

The dislike of garlic, avoiding the sun, never seen eating anything, never seeming flushed or red, your sunken in look, everyone sort of already joked about it.

So he wasn’t all too shocked when you told him.

I honestly imagine he feels pretty threatened by you.

He is generally distrusting of people normally, so you being a night stalking blood drinking beasty doesn’t do much to quell his anxieties.

Couldn’t help but feel intrigued though, can't help but feel compelled by you, even despite his reservations he can't really keep away for long.

The idea of a vampire I feel like would be something he would be very attracted too, the thrill of it all kind of excites him. Of course he doesn't say that, or act on it very often, but you know it anyways.

Idk if this is an out of character headcanon but I highkey think Sniper is a monster fucker.

Supplies you with blood if he sees your low, enjoys how much you brighten after a drink.

Overall finds you very fasicnating, likes learning how to manage life as a vampire

Scout

Scout thinks you're messing with him until the moment he watches you drain the blood from a civilian.

Cautious with the kinds of jokes he makes after that.

He guesses it does kind of make sense in retrospect, you did have a sort of dark air about you.

Honestly finds it so sick, thinks of you as sort of his personal gaurd dog at night, wouldn't say that outloud but internally yes.

He generally would treat you about the same, vampire or not.

If we're talking old timey vampires here finds it hilarious that you can't enter a space without explict permission, will torture you by not inviting you into a room as he walks right through.

Thinks you turning into a bat is one of the coolest things, honestly big jealous vibes from Scout, he wishes he was a big cool vampire too.

It’s a fantasy of his for you to drink some of his blood, is too proud/paranoid to ever say it out loud. But you don’t miss his little sighs as he looks at your fangs.

Secretly dreams of you turning him too, so very secretly.

Pauling

Was honestly so overworked she hardly even noticed.

"Huh? What did you say? Oh yeah, yeah that's nice," she said with a polite nod one day, burying a group of hippies as she did so.

Just enjoys having someone with her during the night, like Scout wouldn't realize you were serious until she sees you feed, once she does it's like a start up noise.

Genuinely uses you as an asset in her work, you turning into a bat and flying is amazing for locating survivors, youre such a big help!

Like I said enjoys the nightly company more than words can describe, she loves quality time.

Really enjoys your darker aesthetic and sometimes thinks you're way too cool to be spending all your time with her.

Will make sure you're always fed, you never have to worry about going hungry while Pauling is around.

If you've been around a few generations wants to hear what life was like before she was around, how it felt to live in a vastly diffrent time period. Finds it so intresting to hear about!

Ohhh boy I hope this is okay anon! Like I said it was kind of hard to think of things to write about for some reason,,, I hope this was good! I had a lot of fun writing it even despite the trouble I had.

[thegreatwizardelwin]

I Won’t Say I’m In Love - Part Three

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Joanne Harcourt x Male Reader

F/N L/N is a student in the Sapphire Owl house at Weston College. For some reason, he keeps running into a Scarlet Fox student in his day to day activities. Intrigued, he tries to learn more about him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was incredible to be a part of the Sapphire Miracle. 

You had been selected to participate for your house in the Weston cricket tournament. By calculations, strategy, sacrifice, and a touch of sheer dumb luck, the Sapphire Owl team rose to victory for the second time in Weston’s history. 

Things had quieted down since then…

Though you were currently being coddled by your family whilst also climbing- soaking wet- out of the water post-capsize. 

After a change of clothes, you and the team attended the closing ceremony.

You were congratulated by many of your family and friends, sipping lemonade and speaking with other visitors. Moore was ecstatic to introduce you to his own family, especially (wink) his sister; much to your dismay. But, as you talked, you found her company pleasant enough to consider her as friend material. 

At your age, it seemed that many boys were enjoying the presence of other respectable ladies. You noticed Harcourt dancing with one of them joyfully. He laughed at something she said, his face lighting up as you’d seen it do countless times.

A pang of jealousy hit you as you watched, feeling a certain hostility toward the girl. It only reminded you of how silly your affection really was. You were both boys, and you could never dance with him like that. 

Honestly, it was unfair for you to be upset about something so unchangeable. 

You convinced yourself to be happy for him. 

Perhaps they’d keep it up and one day you’d attend their…

You sighed, disrupting your own train of thoughts because of how disgruntled it made you. You would just learn to accept this, even if it took some time.

Moore’s sister found you again and noticed your expression was troubled.

“Is something the matter?” she asked.

“No, just a little tired.” you perked up, raising your cup to your lips.

“Oh, tired, I see.” 

You stood in silence, awkwardly watching others dance. You wondered if she wanted you to ask her to dance too, what with the way she idled beside you. 

It would clear my mind if I did… 

So, being the gentleman you were, you offered her the opportunity and she accepted.

You danced with Moore’s sister, her name being Theresa. By sheer accident, you nearly bumped into Harcourt and his partner. You looked at each other with surprise and laughed blissfully at the fact.

The night grew to a close, your mood having sincerely improved by the fun you had had.

You bid your farewells to your family and Theresa and then made your way back to the dormitory like the rest of the boys.

You walked down the halls of the school, chattering away with Moore and Blair.

As you got closer to the dorm, one of the boys poked your arm and gestured towards a figure waiting near the gates of the boarding house grounds.

It was Joanne Harcourt. He was still dressed in his clothes from earlier, fiddling with the boater hat in his hands.

Blair snickered.

“Finally gave in to your secret admirer, huh?” he elbowed you.

You gave him a threatening smile.

“Stop it!” you whispered, smacking his head. 

However you couldn’t just ignore the guy. You diverged from the group. They lowered their voices, muttering on about how close you and Harcourt had become for students in different houses.

Harcourt gave you a shy smile as you approached. You took your own hat off to be polite, tucking it under your arm. You kind of just stared at each other until the other boys were out of earshot.

“I’m really glad you won, L/N.” Harcourt said softly.

You laughed.

“I’m sorry about your teams… unfortunate circumstances. From what I did see, your spin balls were fantastic. I was super impressed!” you enthused. 

Harcourt blushed slightly with embarrassment at the memories of the “unfortunate circumstances” that befell his entire house on the field.

“Please don’t bring it up- ever again.” he hid his face in his palms. “A part of me died in that moment.”

You had to cover your mouth to stifle another laugh. You didn’t want to offend him by suggesting his miserable situation was humorous.

“I understand.” you replied, and then decided to change the subject. “I noticed you had a nice lass hanging on your arm tonight! I would’ve never thought you’d be such a charmer.” you teased.

Harcourt was amused.

“Well I noticed,” he paused, “that you didn’t seem very taken by the girl you danced with.”

You thought for a moment on how to respond. The reason why you had shown such indifference was too secret for Harcourt to know just yet. And it was certainly not something you were going to say outside, even if it was after dark. 

“I see women more as friends, right now. I prefer to focus on my other passions.” you said with a shrug. “What about you? Do you like them or are you just being a gentleman?”

That question caught Harcourt off guard. He froze up a bit, as if he were truly analyzing his own feelings.

“I- forgive me, L/N. I don’t mean to be rude. It’s getting late, I should go back to Scarlet Fox house.” he spilled, putting his hat back on.

Your face fell.

“Right, I suppose you should.” you muttered.

You both stood awkwardly, staring at each other as if you had forgotten the words “good night” existed. He glanced over at the walkway that would take him to his boarding house, then met your eyes once more. He bit his lip with uncertainty.

You straightened up.

“I feel bad that I couldn’t help you earlier.” you admitted. “I felt terrible just standing there on the field like I had grass for brains.”

Harcourt flushed again, crossing his arms.

“I told you not to bring it up again! Besides, if you were there with me I would have disintegrated completely. It was so embarrassing.” 

Taking a step forward, you clasped your hands behind your back.

“I know, but I… I want to help you!” you stressed. “ I just want you to be happy, Harcourt. You deserve it, in my book.”

Harcourt’s eyes shot to the ground. He seemed to relax a bit, taking a deep breath.

“Thank you, L/N. You’re kind.”

You reached over and playfully pulled his hat down over his eyes. He giggled, lifting the brim and peering at you. His smile could melt a glacier with how warm it made you feel.

Your eyes softened, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. Your fingers lingered there against his warm skin. He was clearly flustered by it. He reached up and held onto your wrist with both hands.

“If someone were to see us right now…” he trailed off nervously.

You slowly lowered your arm, your index finger curling around his in a promise.

“Until next time.” you murmured, bending and kissing his knuckle.

His jaw dropped, staring at you like he was a deer and you had stepped on a twig. There was a beat of silence as you let his hand go.

“You really just- you really- ? I’ll see you around!” he said quickly, shrinking away from you and hastening away with not another word.

You turned, heading into your dorm. As you entered the building, it was like the air around you was thin. What possessed you to do that? Didn’t you literally just say to yourself you were going to let it go? And what did his reaction mean?

Your smile faltered.

I might have just ruined our relationship with that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I feel like every part of this fic ends with Harcourt running off like a little gerbil or something.

Planning on maybe 2 more parts of Joanne? I wanna write a maurice cole fic where the reader is just as ✨devious✨ 🌺

[tired-teacher-blog]

Characters : Tattoo artist Aizawa/ Florist fem reader

Featuring : Eri/ Hizashi Yamada/ Nemuri Kayama/ Oboro Shirakumo/ Emi Fukukado

Warnings and Genre : Fluff/ Romance/ Smut and Angst in future chapters/ Multi Chaptered Story

Summary : In a desperate attempt to get closer to the tattoo artist dominating every speck of your brain, you decide to pay him a visit one evening as a client seeking his service. This encounter will prove to be the beginning of something much bigger between you two, but will this new found passion be enough to stand against the difficulties your future holds?

Notes : Loosely inspired by this/ Art below is by the wonderful @/ael-draw who gifted me this gorgeous piece.

Masterlist|Second Masterlist|Third Masterlist

Chapter Count : Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8 • Part 9 • Part 10 • Part 11

_ "Good evening Miss."

_ "Uh.. yes, yeah good evening!" did your voice just waver as you returned the man's greeting?

It did, didn't it? Why else would he let out a chuckle while his eyes are lingering on your clumsy hands struggling to lock your shop's front door?

_ "Need any help with that?" his smile slowly disappears as he notices your battle against the entrance lock.

_ "Oh no it's fine I got it! Thanks anyway, good night." and with that, you flee the scene after yet another awkward encounter with the tattoo artist whose parlor just happens to be facing your own shop.

Aizawa Shouta, the man in question, is an intriguing guy.

His ink covered arms— coming to light each time he decides to roll his sleeves or wear a t-shirt, probably hint at more hidden art behind the garment.. his long raven locks that usually sit beautifully on his broad shoulders, are flowing gracefully around his face.. the dark circles under his eyes have never been a surprise to you since his working hours start really late every evening.

However, that harsh exterior does not reflect his personality at all, you're certain of it, and even though your short exchanges have never gone beyond the polite greetings and stolen gazes, something about this man simply mesmerized you..

Who is he anyway? What is his story? Why does he only come to work late when everyone else is heading home?

These questions have been plaguing your brain ever since you met the mysterious guy a few months ago, you've always wanted to know more about him, to befriend him, to have a meaningful conversation, to stand closer to him, to touch..

_ "No! This is not it!" you slap your face with a wince of pain as you snap back to reality, you are daydreaming about the handsome man once again instead of focusing on work.

You flip through the countless search results as you struggle to make a decision, "which one should I get?" it is honestly a big deal.. a commitment.

Getting a tattoo is a matter of great importance, even more so when the person branding your skin is the same one taking over your every waking moment.

_ "I don't like any of these." you mumble irritatedly as you couldn't feel any connection to the art suggested.

Maybe it isn't a good idea after all, do you actually want to get a tattoo? Or is it just a ruse to get closer to.. to him?

You place your phone away and welcome your new costumer with a smile, "good morning Sir!"

Work comes first anyway, everything else should wait till later, it has to..

_ "Here you go! Red roses are the perfect gift, they represent love, passion, beauty, courage and respect, so I'm sure your wife will love them."

The man's eyes light up and his cheerful smile grows wider as he hears you reciting the devine meaning behind his choice, he pays for his purchase and thanks you again before walking out of your shop.

_ "A red rose?" you utter thoughtfully as your eyes study the beautiful flowers before you.

Love, passion, beauty, courage and respect.

Fitting.. although it might seem tacky to some, but if you are to have something inked into your skin, then it has to be meaningful and so, your mind is finally set, "I'll have a red rose."

You take a deep breath and look through your giant glass window at the closed tattoo parlor across the street, "I'll see you tonight, Mr Aizawa."

It is as regular as clockwork— your daily encounter with the dashing man, you are locking your shop's front door when you hear him unlocking his own, and as regular as clockwork your eyes meet and you exchange your daily greeting, except this isn't all that happened tonight, because unlike your usual habit of turning around and walking home, you are advancing towards the man who doesn't seem surprised to see you approaching.

_ "Tattoo, I mean, can I get one?" your cheeks heat up instantly while hearing yourself speak, you're being as awkward as always around him, and wish to disappear right this instant.

_ "Oh.. yeah sure, this is what I do after all," his chuckle is intoxicating, and his silky hair glides elegantly as he cocks his head to the side, "why don't you come in first?"

You have never realized it before, but now that you are standing near each other, he is towering over you, it's almost intimidating to be frank, if not for the gentle smile that seems even more dazzling from up close.

You are right, he truly is beautiful.

_ "My assistant should be here in a minute, but in the meantime I'll take care of you," he offers you a seat at the reception desk before removing his jacket and joining you, "this is a first for you am I right?"

_ "What makes you say that?" is it obvious how ordinary you are?

_ "Well, usually people call to schedule an appointment beforehand, some of them even visit my studio and bombard us with questions to make sure they can trust us with their bodies, but you.." he stops for a moment to clear his throat and shift his gaze from you, "you're something else."

Is that a little blush he's so desperately trying to conceal? No it can't be, you're delirious like usual, and being in a close proximity to him is playing with your mind.

_ "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have barged in unannounced, I'll make sure to do it properly and call for an appointment," you're on the verge of tears as you stand up and bow your head apologetically, "good night Sir."

_ "What? Hey hold on! Don't go," he's fast at intercepting you, grabbing your arm and pulling you back gently, "please don't go."

His grip remains on you, a perfect pressure applied, as if he's afraid you would disappear if he lets go, and you would have.

He's standing close, so close, closer than he did earlier, and you can feel his warm breath fanning over your skin, his beautiful smile is replaced with a little pout, his dark hair falls around his face and you almost.. almost reach out to tuck the loose strands behind his ear.

How long have you been standing there, looking into each other's eyes and saying nothing? Apparently long enough for his assistant to burst out laughing after walking in and finding you in that state.

_ "Good evening boss! Sorry for being late but you know how traffic is at this hour." her eyes move between you two, and her amused smirk hints at something that you cannot -for the life of you- understand.

You return the lively woman's greeting and take a step back, you are still going to leave anyway, despite the inexplicable desire to stay.

_ "Ms Kayama, would you mind passing my seven o'clock client to Hizashi? Also Oboro is running late as usual so would you please give him a call? Aizawa speaks to his assistant while keeping his attention on you.

_ "Sure boss, you can count on me." you cannot understand the reason of her mischievous smile, nor why she looked at you while saying that.

_ "Thank you."

Your blush is reaching your ears and a storm of emotions is fighting within you as you prepare to interject and perhaps save yourself from further embarrassment, but he is quicker to speak, "please have a seat." his voice as soft as ever while waiting for you to do so.

_ "Yes, thank you." and so you do.

He pulls out a chair for himself across from you before picking up a notbook that was already placed on the desk in front of him, "shall we begin?"

You shoot up all of a sudden as it finally hits you, "I.. I'm.." you stutter almost inaudibly, squeezing your fists so hard to stop from shaking, you aren't sure about this anymore, maybe you've made a mistake barging in like that with the pretence of getting a tattoo when all you actually want is to see him.

_ "Is everything okay?" he must've felt your uncertainty towards it since he instantly stood in front of you, his warm hands on each of your shoulders, rubbing soothing patterns while anticipating your response.

_ "I'm sorry I'm just, a little nervous." saying those words is more painful than any needles he could use on you, you feel pathetic, squeezing your eyes shut and wishing you're home alone instead of this.

Maybe you should forget about the whole thing and just leave, you've already made a fool of yourself enough for one evening, what else is there for you to do?

_ "That's fine, having second thoughts is totally normal considering that it would be your first time going through the experience, besides, there are some preparations to go through before getting to the actual thing," his eyes are gazing gently at you as he speaks, "let's take it step by step, and if you ultimately decide against it then we'll stop."

You cannot understand his behavior, he isn't laughing at you, isn't mocking you like you've expected, he isn't even showing an ounce of impatience. Who is he? Trully? And why is everything about him just.. flawless?

You nod slowly and take your seat again, a wave of goosebumps is running up your spine at the loss of his touch.

_ "Alright, so tell me, do you have a design in mind? If not I can help you choose, and it should help if you have a theme in mind." he starts right as he sits facing you.

_ "Oh no that's fine, I already know what I want," you answer quickly before pulling out your phone and showing him the single rose you settled on, "I want this.. this red rose."

He takes the device from your extended hand, studying the picture displayed before letting out a chuckle that travels right through your veins, "I like it, it's soft and pretty, just like you," he comments casually before adding, "what size are you thinking?"

_ "Huh? Umm.. I'm not sure but, I would prefer it to be small, I guess..." you're not even sure of the words leaving your mouth anymore as his previous remark sways you, soft.. pretty.

What is he doing to you? Is it perhaps a part of his job to sweet talk his clients? Yeah, that must be it, why else would he do it?

_ "It's okay we'll circle back to that later, now for the placement, where would you want it to be? This can actually help you determine the size better if you're still unsure about that." his smile never leaves him as he speaks, and for a brief moment your delusions lead you to believe that it could mean more than a friendly smile, but it doesn't, and you know it.

_ "I'm not sure about that either," you feel stupid, it is your first time walking into a tattoo studio sure, but you should've been more prepared.

He remains quiet for a bit and you're struggling to understand what he's thinking, your heart is hammering painfully in your chest as you wait silently for him to reply.

He isn't smiling anymore, infact, the look on his face has turned into one of pensiveness, his lips are sealed in a thin line and his head is tilted to the side, and it is becoming unbearable for you to sit there and wait any longer, it's humiliating.

You open your mouth to speak, to -perhaps- apologize for making his work harder than it should, for being so stupid as to make him dump his work on his colleagues so he could take care of you for the evening, you're trying to speak but don't know how to start exactly, settling for hanging your head in shame instead.

_ "Hey look up," his voice is as soft as ever, "I told you not to worry about it didn't I? Tattoos are not an easy commitment to make."

His chair squeaks as he clearly stands up, circuling the desk until he's mere centimeters from you, the subtle sweetness of his sandalwood scented cologne is tickling your nose as he leans closer.

_ "I'll tell you what, how about I make a sketch of the design tonight, and you can drop by tomorrow to have a look at it, I have what I need for now, so take the night to think more about the placement," his eyes are studying your tense frame as he adds, "and remember, you don't have to go through with it, I'll book your session for tomorrow, same time as today, but you can cancel it whenever you want."

You're overcame with a sudden urge to jump in his arms, and for the nth time that evening you are grateful for the secrecy of your own thoughts as you nod in agreement, "thank you that would be great, but, we haven't talked about the payment yet."

_ "You'll find everything you need stated on our website." he replies while handing you his business card.

You thank him again and bid him goodbye before walking out of the studio that is -unbeknown to you- getting busier and louder.

To be continued..

[lesbiansforboromir]

Why you don't like Galadriel?

WELL. I mean this would need a complex answer, for one thing because you could say I don't actually dislike Galadriel as a character really. She's interesting, she has layers, her position in the story creates intriguing mysteries and insights into elven realities and her actions are always percieved in multiple different ways by different characters. She is both an object of world building and a lense to view it through, she had only contempt for Feanor but is the character MOST like him in the end, there's lots going on!

So as usual what I'd say I dislike is more fandom's perception of Galadriel than Galadriel herself, although don't get me wrong in terms of sympathy for her I have none to spare. But to the fandom she's like... well she's whatever anyone wants her to be, so long as that's pretty much perfect and always more right than anyone else around her. Idk if this question came because of my RoP Galadriel tirade post of a week ago, but the fact that people seem to believe Galadriel's right to the 'good guy' role is so irrefutible that it makes any negative portrayal of her 'bad' and 'tolkien's rolling in his grave' etc etc- it's just flabbergasting to me and is a symptom of this problem.

Like Galadriel's entire motive for coming to middle earth, declared and narrated, is to rule over people. She wants to be a Queen of a land that she controls with people inside it whom she has power over. That's it. Now, far be it from me to be on the Valar's side, lord knows I don't support their right to unquestioned rule either and the Eldar's urge to rule themselves is completely valid and Galadriel's no worse than any of her male counterparts who were also looking for the same thing. (In fact, given this is something she is apparently required to 'overcome' when none of those male elves must do the same, I'm inclined to believe this is another of those 'eowyn must reject violence for peace because war is bad except when men do it and for sure the men do continue to do it that's fine' misogynist tolkien moments.)

BUT STILL.. that's not like... a GOOD motive is it? It's neutral at best, right? And Galadriel never actually does anything that could be called more than polite for the rest of the time we know her. She never risks anything for the good of middle earth, she never solves any problems, she goes from place to place to avoid any conflict that threatens her until she and her husband finally decide to usurp a Silvan kingdom and magically isolate it from the rest of the world. They change Lindórinand's name to Lothlorien, thereby overwriting the language of it's native population and Galadriel then uses the power of her ring (that was given to her she didn't make it heself) to EMBALM (tolkien's words) the forest in time just so that she could make it appear as much like Valinor (her home, not the silvan's) as possible. Like!! This is not some paragon of virtue character!

Honestly RoP's portrayal of Galadriel is actually vastly more sympathetic than her actual character. PTSD, survivor's guilt and the maladaptive cope of needing to hunt down evil fanatically for all eternity is, to my mind, 100% more understandable than just... staying in Middle-Earth because she still wanted to rule over people and never believed she did anything wrong in the first place. Which is the canonical reason she's still in middle-earth post the first age, technically a sin by the Valar's standards! Galadriel is rebelling against the will of the west in doing this, but apparently SHE gets all the grace and chances to 'reform' in the world, unlike some other characters I could name >:|

... Maybe she aggravates me a little, but she does so IN COMPARISON to the criticisms other characters must bear as 'the reason they had to die to redeem themselves'. Like if Boromir wanted to take the ring once in order to save his people, is death really the only way to atone for that when Galadriel has been power hungry for 7000 goddamn years nonstop, acquired and used her own ring of power to satisfy that power hunger and then managed to 'overcome it' at the very last minute JUST before middle-earth became 'less elven' (and therefore her position there would be less prestigeous) to demurely sail off home to a gilded cage paradise where literally all her family are alive and waiting for her. Like is 'power hunger' really the sin Boromir comitted here that he needs to die for. Is Tolkien really criticising the desire for power. Is the narrative of lotr really so cohesive and consistent as to allow you to put all the characters into good and bad little boxes and declare those categorisations infallible?

Am I making sense, is this coherent. Does it make more sense if I say like... I do not dislike Galadriel as a character, I dislike what her fandom-reputation reveals about the way the story is engaged with by and large? When I am getting heated about this or that misconception or aspect of her character, it is not because I hate she has that aspect, I like a lot of morally questionable characters, what I am railing against is the double standard that her having that trait reveals. (And I'm not even really angry about it I'm more just very activated by what it reveals about the story, like it makes me feral) The narrative loves Galadriel, Tolkien loves Galadriel, characters regularly threaten violence in order to defend Galadriel from even mild verbal criticism and no one appears to see this as a kind of ominous aspect of her when she's done very little to deserve it. Other than, of course, be ontologically 'pure' and 'divine' due entirely to the circumstances of her birth. I'm a bit manic right now so I hope literally any of that made sense.

Actually addendum example just to further affirm my point. So catholic tolkien scholars will tell you that Denethor's use of the Palantir was a sin, apparently even using a tool you have 'the right' to use to observe reality as it actually exists and then extrapolating that observation into a prediction of the future (ie seeing frodo is captured and the ring gone and extrapolating that the enemy has it and you're all doomed) is a sin. Because only god is allowed to see into the future. And this is somewhat backed up by the way characters treat Denethor's use of the Palantir, it was apparently foolhardy and bad and reckless and nebulously wrong etc. Remember, the Palantir is not a mystical artifact, it is like a satallite imaging tool + a one way video only skype.

.

Galadriel's mirror literally sees the future 😂LIKE? WHY DOES SHE HAVE IT? WHY IS SHE ALLOWED TO USE IT? WHY CAN SHE JUST SHOW IT TO OTHER PEOPLE? It's because she's holy!! But that doesn't mean anything about her actual character, it's just an attribute she inherited from her family and her place of birth that actively changes what her existence means entirely by it's own virtue. Imagine living in this world for a second, imagine if it was ontologically true that you (an unblessed child of eru) would never be as right or as good as Galadriel, no matter what the reality of both your actions were. LIKE. !! WOULD YOU LIKE GALADRIEL?

[namtanlovesfilm]

a ranking & summary of my thoughts on gmmtv 2025

overall this was by far the best lineup from gmmtv! I would honestly watch pretty much all the shows presented, although there are some clear favorites :)

burnout syndrome: y'all ALREADY KNOW!!! of course we all wanted a darker series for offgun's new show, but... I NEVER EXPECTED IT TO BE DIRECTED BY P'NUCHIE!!! this is so so so iconic considering I just finished my master thesis on the political art of not me, and here is p'nuchie creating a new offgun show with gun as an artist & off as his nude muse???? HELL YES. I'm obsessed with this & so intrigued bc the trailer divulged very little so I AM SAT!!! can't wait for my new roman empire <3

ticket to heaven: I almost cried watching this trailer, it really brought all of my religious trauma to the surface lmao. no but more seriously, if written & directed correctly, this has the opportunity to enter my top 10 favorite thai dramas (no pressure or anything.) the trailer gave me a very indie feel à la ITSAY (who everyone knows I adore) crossed with the difficult queer longing of your name engraved herein. in summary, it has the potential to be everything I love & extremely heartwrenching. I'M SAT.

girl rules: the sapphic friend zone/only friends???? all I can say is YES!!! having both my crushes namtan & milk in this really does something to me, this looks messy & absolutely PERFECT!!! us sapphics deserve this kind of messy representation too lol, I love it!

whale store xoxo: a cute sapphic adult romcom is EXACTLY what I love! I also like the more lower class background of the show, and the side ship looks very cute (although my viewjune heart hurts lol) also piploy liking milk's character only convinces me further I need a kapookpiploy main gl for 2026!!!

only friends 2: y'all know I'm an only friends HATER... but of course I'll watch this just for jossgawin, they are my everything apart from offgun & namtanfilm and I'm excited to see them in this kind of role, especially gawin!

my romance scammer: this looks so fun!!! very lakorn-y plot, I'm so excited for fluke jeeratch in this as I've loved him since his first role in my ride :)

a dog & a plane: this looks SO fun & cute! I also love marcpoon so this is an automatic yes! also tay with tattoos let's gooooo!!!

that summer: that looks very cute, and mond in a bl ship playing an uncle??? of course I'm fully signed up lol

head 2 head: enemies to lovers??? sign me up, always!!! also I do really enjoy seakeen, they're very cute :)

cat for cash: this looks very cute, the first firstkhao show to entice me since the eclipse! of course you can't go wrong with cats lol, but this looks like a nice healing family drama which I always enjoy! will give it a try!

me and thee: this looks quite fun, although it seems to be the same old pondphuwin dynamic of pond always concealing his real intentions lol. but I love the over-the-top nature of it all & I'll definitely give this a try!

boys in love: I have a soft spot for high school romances, and this looked quite cute! I also really enjoyed chokun's acting in my love mix-up TH, and OF COURSE I WILL BE WATCHING FOR PODDPAPANG MY NEW FAVE SHIP!!!

dare you to death: this is the first joongdunk show that actually seems enticing to me. I like the cluedo vibes & will watch for the ensemble cast bc I love them sm!

my magic prophecy: this is the first jimmysea show that actually entices me, which, if you haven't noticed, is a pattern with this lineup! might watch it!

mu-te-luv: this was quite a chaotic trailer, but lego, neo, yacht & fluke playing a queen gang was everything I didn't know I needed LMAO. will probably give it a try!

melody of secrets: this left me incredibly confused, but at the same time this seems interesting & quite different from other gmmtv shows. I'll give it a try!

love you teacher: I think it's an interesting plot, but I'm quite scared they're gonna make it weird with santa's character being mentally 7 years old while perth sees him as his adult lover. I feel like there's a high chance there's gonna be something weird in this, especially since the trailer even aknowledges that this feels more like a bl fantasy kinda plot, so yeah... I will reserve judgement until further notice.

wu: y'all know I'm the first to defend non-bl thai dramas and say to give them a chance, but... if this was gay I would watch this. however it seems like a bromance cash grab kinda queerbaiting skynani fans & it makes me feel a bit icky. but frankly the plot seems interesting, I just feel like gmmtv is exploiting people shipping these two without actually committing to it so I don't love it...

I love a lot of you: nanon looks incredible in this & this looks fun but a little basic. I might watch, though!

memoir of rati: I always feel like I can't say this without getting unfair criticism, but seeing inn speak literal nonsensical french that even google translate would do better PHYSICALLY HURT ME. idk gmmtv's obsession with french, I get that this is historically accurate, but... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can they start actually hiring actors that speak french for these roles??? this is really bad, also no shade but certain plastic surgery faces just don't look like they could belong in 1915... that feels mean to say but it's true. frankly I would've eaten this up if it was any other ship & actually someone who can speak french, but... I might give it a shot for my babies aouboom who seem really good in this... I'm so divided & frustrated by this, UGH.

[20kmemesunderthesea]

AMC's Nautilus

Action, political intrigue, plot twists and a healthy amount of sea monster skirmishes:

These are just some of the many reason why even those unfamiliar with the works of Jules Verne will find "Nautilus" to be an engaging SciFi adventure series.

Here are my (spoiler-free) thoughts on the show.

Note: as I write this, "Nautilus" is airing only on SVT: This is How I Watched it Living Outside of Sweden

When I heard that there was going to be a TV series about Captain Nemo's backstory, I was mightily aprehensive. The main reason for this apprehension was the mere fact that Captain Nemo's past is so dark and tragic. Thankfully, the series begins after the horrific events of the 1857 rebellion and just as the Nautilus is launched. What happened to Nemo's family is shown in flashbacks which explain the events without being graphic.

When I began the show, I honestly had very low expectations. I didn't really expect to like it. To my delighted asonishment, it turned out to be one of the best film tributes to Jules Verne I've ever seen - no hyperbole.

Throughout the series, there are fight scenes, periodic depictions of people bleeding and a couple "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" innuendo jokes, so I wouldn't watch it with a small child, but I think it would be appropriate to watch with most young teenagers (13+).

I believe both well-read Jules Verne fans and those who've hardly heard the name "Captain Nemo" will enjoy the intriguing storyline, likable characters and aesthetic scenery. There are many other factors which made me fall in love with "Nautilus" as well:

The Man of the Seas

The character of Captain Nemo has always facinated me. I was blown away by how perfectly and accurately Captain Nemo was portrayed in this series. Shazad Latif, in my opinion, is an immaculate Captain Nemo and he really brought the character to life with all his complexities. Out of all the film portrayals of Captain Nemo I've seen, I'd have to say his has been by far my favorite.

Tributes to Indian History and Culture

I'm American an my husband is Indian. He and I were both very impressed with the way in which Indian culture and history were presented. I want to see more shows like this to teach our son about his heritage. 

Many of the action scenes reminded me of South Indian cinema. In one episode there is a scene where the Nautilus crew is playing cricket against some Englishmen, which may seem a little disconnected from the rest of the story, but Bollywood fans may recognize it as a delightful tribute to "Lagaan."

The Writers Were Well-Verse in Vernian Lore

Although the story wasn't 100% accurate to the book, the writers obviously had read Verne's books and knew the nuances of Nemo's story and background quite throughly.

There were certain details which made me excited, such as when Nemo has an enigmatic exchange with an Englishman in which they greet each other warmly and seem to be thanking each other for...something. Nemo ends the conversation by saying, "Give my regards to Phileas!"

In Verne's other classic, "Around the World in 80 Days," Princess Aouda is the widow of the Raj of Bundelkhand. Since Jules Verne often dropped little hints that his books existed in the same universe, I always wondered if Aouda and Nemo were distantly related, since Bundelkhand is Nemo's kingdom of origin.

A question is posed: in this conversation, was Nemo thanking the Foggs for saving someone he cared about? This is the first time I've ever seen anyone address the detail that Aouda and Nemo might be relatives.

Tributes to the artwork of Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou

I noticed several shots which were obvious tributes to the first-edition illustrations of Jules Verne's classics, such as Captain Nemo standing on the submarine deck with his spyglass, and the map of Lincoln Island on a cave wall. Those details absolutely thrilled me! 

Everything I've Ever Wanted in a Verne-Inspired TV Series - Except for That Cliffhanger!

Everything about this show absolutely floored me. It was everything I could have hoped for in a Captain Nemo TV series...and then it ended.

Such a well-done series ending with fairly significant loose ends felt like a punch in the gut more forceful than the maelstrom itself. I've been trying not to let it overshadow the rest of the show. I wish with all my heart that there could be a season two!

If anyone's curiosity gets the better of them, I compiled a list HERE of questions I desperately want to know the answers to. I hope someone may be able to answer my questions one day!

I want NEED more!

While I'm still coping with my post-series let down, I find myself pining away for more shows like this; shows based off of classic adventure novels which honor the spirit of the origional author.

I want shows which are imaginative, exciting and engaging, but have snippets of real-life science, culture and history woven in. Incidentally, I daresay these are the same elements which make the stories of Jules Verne himself so timeless.

[gyattoru]

the apparition (prologue) - hogwarts legacy fic (s.s)

title inspired on the apparition, by sleep token

summary: An old family friend arrives on the Villin household with strange but intriguing news, and an undoubtly helpful preposition for the 15 year old set of twins whom hold something ancient and unknown within them.

cw: 1.2K words, hogwarts legacy fanfiction, female MC, sebastian sallow x female!MC, poppy sweeting x male!MC, muggle raised MCs, eventual pining & romance, eventual fluff & angst, minimal lore alterations, dialogue alterations, added events, sebastian sallow x seer!MC, will definitely add more as the chapters go on.

a/n: ahhh I honestly can't believe I'm posting this (after revising it three solid times, having second thoughts and realizing it’s super long), this has been in my drafts since I finished the game, writing the prologue (and half of the first chapter 🤫) has been so fun up until now and I really, REALLY hope you enjoy this, and my silly OCs.

-xxx, lola <3.

A dream, the same one as always.

A roar of an animal, falling, nausea, abandoned ruins, white flashes of light.

A snake, a brunette, a mysterious task, four portraits, a cure for an illness, bright red, pain.

Brown eyes, they feel like home, now they’re melancholic, a sadness which is hidden behind books and wittiness, something dark, corruption.

An owl, a tomb, a green explosion, regret.

An important fight, the fate of the world, death.

Light summer rain tapped on the window as I awoke with a start, rubbing my temples and gazing over to the bed on the other side of the room. My brother, Aiden, was still asleep whilst the low light that got through the curtains reflected softly off his freckled features and silvery hair, he snored lightly.

As I pushed my heavy cotton quilt over to the side, muffled conversations could be heard coming from the other side of the door - intriguing - people rarely visited us, a widowed woman with twins to raise alone, townsfolk saw it as bad omen, or just sheer misfortune.

Haste fully, I changed my clothes and brushed my disheveled silver tresses, pining half of them up in an acceptable updo. I creaked the door open, careful not to disrupt the chattery voices nor wake brother from his slumber and walked over to the top of the stairs.

“Jasmine tea! One of my favorite blends, thank you for your hospitality, Abigail." An unknown voice echoed through the halls of the Villin home, mother chuckled softly.

"Don't mention it, Fig. You were Rick’s friend, that makes you a friend of mine." Rick. Richard Villin, this mysterious man was father’s friend?

I never knew much about our father, he died when I and brother were really young, mother refrained from talking about him, it never seemed as if she didn’t want to, it felt like she couldn’t.

“Eavesdropping again, Leesie?” I snap my head back at the bedroom door, squealing softly “You know mom doesn’t like it when you do that.”

“Bloody hell, Aiden! And you need to stop creeping up on people.” I hiss at him.

“That’s not polite for a lady, Leesie.”

“I’m glad you’re both dressed and awake!” We freeze, both our mouths clamping shut “We have a visitor, and he’s here to see you two.”

The tread down the flight of stairs was rather awkward for us, our mother right behind our tracks ushering us forward to meet the mysterious man. He was sat on the kitchen table, nestling a tea cup between his hands. His gaze quickly flicked towards us and he swiftly got up from his chair.

“Ah! I’m glad you’re both here at last, pleasure to meet you.” He gave us a soft smile while shaking both our hands “I’m Eleazar Fig, I was an old friend of your father’s.”

“Pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Fig.” Aiden answers on our behalf and I nod in acknowledgement.

“Fig is here to talk to you both about important matters, I’ll be taking care of the chores in the kitchen to give you some privacy.” Mother walks over to the archway opposite to the table “Make sure to show him hospitality, and tell him about last week’s event.” She reprimanded softly as Aiden gulped, I chuckle.

Both of us sit down at the table, Fig sitting opposite to us, he clears his throat. “Last week’s event?” He arches an eyebrow, Aiden looked away from him, a rather embarrassed expression plastered on his face.

“Well Aiden was quarreling with the Jones’ boy, they live just down the street from here.” I confess and signal with a hand “And when me and mom got there he was staring him down while the poor kid floated, we still have no idea how that happened.”

“Well, you’re both wizards! That’s why.” Fig said, baffled at the confusion instantly plastered in our faces “Although, rather late bloomers if you were to ask me.”

My eyes shot out as big as dinner plates, Aiden just laughed at the man’s face, much to their mother’s distaste “For God’s sake! Wizards? You can’t be earnest sir.”

“Your mother didn’t tell you anything?” Eleazar asks “After all, I came to deliver your acceptance letters from Hogwarts.”

“I don’t mean to be rude sir.” I state “But what even is a ‘Hogwarts’?”

“Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it’s where you’re both supposed to study next term.” Fig explained calmly “Usually wizarding children show magic at one and ten, but you’ve only showed signs of witchcraft this year, so you’re both quite late bloomers.”

Is this why both of them didn’t fit in with the other kids in their borough? I could only wonder. I’ve always known something was different about us, but could never figure out what exactly it was. Sure, an unknown man telling me and Aiden that we possessed “magical abilities” was nothing far from odd.

“You said children show magic at one and ten?” I ask, the man nods “Wouldn’t that mean we’re rather far behind in- Well this sounds weird, magical studies?”

“Leesie, you’re actually taking this seriously!?” Aiden questions, rather harshly for my liking.

“Well Aiden, it’s not my fault as if it seemed you made the Jones’ kid float around and about!” I snap at him.

“Stop arguing!” Mom’s head pops out of the archway as she reprimands the both of us.

Aiden frowns and looks away from me as I look at my lap and fidget with my hands. Fig takes the opportunity to slide two letters over the table and towards us.

“Those are your acceptance letters from Hogwarts, you better skim them over.” He comments “And yes Ellise, you’re quite behind other kids your age, but that’s why I’m here too. Magic outside school is strictly forbidden for underage wizards, but the Ministry asked me to come teach you the basics and escort you both to school for the beginning of term.”

“So we have a month to catch up on what?” Aiden scoffs “Four years worth of knowledge?”

“Precisely.” Fig grins “Although, you’ll have to use the second hand wands that were lended to me, let’s hope that won’t be an issue.”

“When do we start?” I exclaim. In other circumstances I would’ve found my impulsive question quite rude, but in this moment I don’t bother with hiding my bubbling excitement. Aiden can’t help but still look apprehensive as he skimmed over his now opened letter.

“We can start today if you’d like.” Fig can’t manage to hide his matching excitement, I can easily tell he looks forward to teaching “Well, if your mother wouldn’t mind it, that is.”

“Oh, I’m quite sure she wouldn’t mind a day of freedom from our bickering.” Aiden states, lightly shouldering me. I give him a soft smile in return.

We surely had a busy summer ahead of us, I couldn’t help the excitement bubbling up in my chest.

I was looking forward to this new reality.

a/n: ah yes, the famous “post and run”🏃‍♀️

-> chapter one

wattpad link / ao3 link

[mandobatemans]

intrigue (Tom Wambsgans x f!reader)

warnings: infidelity, fingering, unprotected piv sex, soft!dom tom, size kink kinda, biting, greg, do NOT have sex with the head of conservative news organizations irl!!!, i am a shivcel fr anything negative abt shiv in here i didn't mean it ily siobhan 🫶, NSFW UNDER THE CUT

word count: 4,740 (i got carried away)

A/N: this is loosely based on s4 e7 but there's no real timeline so it probably takes place like somewhere around season 3 or 4? this is my first succ fic so...enjoy 🤗 & also this took me SO long to write i'm so deeply sorry to anyone who was waiting

also posted to ao3

Tom had never been a fan of the whole “open marriage” arrangement. When he thought back to that fateful night (fateful night…who else would say that about their wedding night?) what he remembered most was the look on Shiv’s face when she told him that she wanted an open marriage. On their wedding night.

It was more for Shiv anyway. Tom rarely thought about actually acting on the arrangement, whether it be out of love for Shiv or loyalty to her father, he wasn’t sure. Sure, he had kissed someone here or done oral there when high on coke, but he had never actually fucked anyone else.

Something was different, though, tonight. Firstly, they were hosting a Waystar/ATN event at their apartment, and despite being chairman of ATN, he wasn't even sure what the evening was for. Shiv had told him about it last minute, casually mentioning it as they were being driven to work, like it was dinner at Logan’s rather than hundreds of media moguls and politicians to host. Actually, dinner at Logan’s felt equally, if not more, important than tonight. A better equivalent for how nonchalantly Shiv had mentioned it would be Connor inviting them somewhere.

Secondly, Shiv had suggested, outright, that they both find someone to hook up with at the party tonight. Earlier in their bedroom, after getting dressed in silence, Shiv had turned to Tom while putting her earrings in to share the idea. He knew she would be acting on it whether or not he did, and why shouldn’t he? It had been a while since he had gotten laid and was verbally (and physically) assaulting Greg a lot more as a result.

Did he just pick someone? How did you approach someone and say, “Hey, I’m in an open marriage but I’ve never actually done anything more than get my dick sucked with anyone else…anyway, let’s fuck!”

Tom fidgeted with his glass as he surveyed the room.

Despite your personal beliefs and the endless human rights violations that Waystar was affiliated with, their (and by extension ATN) events were some of the most lavish you'd ever attended. As a political journalist, it was standard for your company to send a journalist or two to whatever soirée the Roys were throwing. Everyone took turns, and this time you had drawn the short straw. It hadn’t been too bad so far, you thought, although perhaps you were jinxing yourself. You had kept to yourself mostly, chatting with other journalists you frequently saw around the city on assignments, snacking on the hors d'oeuvres, and listening to the ridiculous conversations political and media bigwigs were having.

You had been to an event hosted by the Roys before, but they were usually at ATN, Waystar, or some expensive venue. Being invited as a member of the press to Shiv Roy’s apartment felt strangely intimate. You were certain this was some calculated business move on the part of one Roy or the other, but you honestly didn’t really care. Whatever drama was happening within Waystar Royco was contained within the Roy family. You were simply here to supplement a piece your coworker was writing on the atmosphere of this political season.

It was only an hour into the party when you had collected all the quotes and interviews you needed, and sampled almost all of the hors d'oeuvres. Your boss expected journalists to stay for most, if not all, of the night for these things, in case some political bombshell were to happen. You were pretty sure nothing too monumental was going to happen in this room full of suits, especially with all of the Roys notably absent from the festivities. Even Shiv, whose house it was, looked like she wasn't paying any attention to what was going on in her home. In fact, she had been in the corner all night, talking to some prominent New York and D.C. women, important enough that you knew their faces but not important enough for you to attach any names to them.

You checked your phone for the time. You could probably get away with leaving in another hour if you made up some family emergency as an excuse for your editor. Even another hour seemed like ages. Maybe you could re-interview some people? Speak to some guests whose quotes would never make it in the article just to kill time? Sighing, you opened your messages, thumbs hovering over the chat with your editor, putting your journalism degree to use by brainstorming an excuse to get you back home in your bed before ten o’clock. When you turned around to pace while you typed (a nervous habit), you found yourself face-to-face with one of your hosts.

It felt like a fucking cliché. Literally bumping into someone at a party? If one of your writer friends wrote something like this, you'd tell them it was bullshit and things like that didn't happen in real life. Yet here you were, inches away from–

“Tom Wambsgans, Chairman of Global Broadcast News at ATN.” He introduced himself, reaching out a hand for you to shake.

You returned the handshake, grateful that he wasn’t offended by you bumping into him. “I know who you are.”

“And I know who you are.” He paused. “That sounded stalkerish, didn’t it? I meant, I know who you are because I’ve read your articles.”

“You have?” You were surprised. Your company and your articles in particular were considered left-leaning, the very opposite of the stories ATN ran.

He nodded. “Gotta keep up with the competition. I’ve seen some of your features on the network, as well.”

“Really? I would have thought you would just watch ATN all day,” you teased.

Tom made a face and then shook his head. “No, no, no. Plus, I wouldn’t really call any of our journalists ‘journalists’ so much as pretty faces. You do your own research and look good on the camera. That’s impressive.”

You raised an eyebrow and Tom’s eyes widened, processing what he had just said.

“God, I do sound like a fucking stalker.”

You laughed, “Just a little bit.” You let him cringe for a second, then smiled to reassure him. “No, but I’ve seen some of your interviews since you took over ATN. You look good on the camera, too.” You paused, before adding, “Maybe that makes us both a little stalkerish.”

His eyes lit up at your response, earning a genuine laugh (the first one that night not faked for some suit, he noted).

“Uh, sorry for bumping into you. I wasn't looking where I was going,” you explained, waving your phone in your hand for context.

“Ah, cell phone. The curse of the twenty-first century.”

You furrowed your brow involuntarily for a moment. He wasn't how you expected the spouse of a Roy to be like. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, you weren't yet sure.

“I’m making a huge ass of myself, aren't I?” He sighed. “I’ll leave you to the party–”

“No! It’s okay. Stay,” you heard yourself say. It was Tom’s turn to raise an eyebrow. Okay. You found him attractive. And even despite his eccentric comments, you also found yourself wanting to talk to him more. You were, however, purposely avoiding looking at the wedding ring on his finger.

To Tom, it all seemed too perfect. You, for example. He was being honest when he said he had seen and read some of your work and that he enjoyed it, and he did sometimes watch other networks to get an idea of the competition, but he had left out the fact that there was something about you in particular that made him watch the entire segment when you happened to be on air. And the fact that sometimes he'd scroll through your articles online and imagine you reading them aloud to him. But he wasn’t a stalker. And now you were here, in his house, on the night that his wife had all but shoved him into the bed of anyone that he wanted.

But still; one pleasant, slightly flirtatious conversation didn't mean you wanted to ride off into the sunset with him. Or, more accurately, go upstairs with him.

He scanned the room for Siobhan. Although it had been her suggestion, and he knew she had acted on the arrangement before, he still felt like it was somehow a trap. Like she’d hire someone to hide behind the bedroom door that night and catch him with his pants down (literally) to use as blackmail.

But sure enough, she was across the room, laughing at something some lobbyist had said, and resting her hand on the other woman’s arm slightly longer than a casual touch would last.

The longer he thought about it, the more confident he felt. If you were interested, he wanted to spend the night with you. And maybe more. But he was getting ahead of himself.

“It's kind of loud over here. Come on,” he gestured with his head toward the opposite corner of the apartment, one not occupied by any guests save for an elderly politician snoring on the couch.

You followed him, nodding when he asked if you wanted another drink before picking a champagne flute off of a passing server’s tray. He handed it to you once you reached the corner, your hands touching during the exchange. It seemed like even more of a cliché to feel sparks fly at this tiny touch, so you ignored that, as well.

“You host these kinds of things often?” You asked, leaning against the wall and taking a sip of your champagne. The room was full of very important people, though none of them seemed to be talking about very important things. You couldn't quite wrap your head around why a high-level executive who had married into one of the largest media conglomerates was wasting his time talking to you (flirting with you?), but you had seen stranger things in this city.

He grimaced and shook his head. “No, no. I’m usually just a guest.” Tom laughed and took a sip of his drink. “And not a very important one, at that.”

“I’m sure that's not true. I mean, how many people watch ATN? And you’re in charge of what airs or doesn't air.”

“1.89 million,” he replied, taking a sip of his drink, “Outside of the office, nobody’s really worried about what I think.”

“Not even your wife?” You stopped after you said the words, giving your brain a second to catch up with your mouth. “I’m sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect, I–”

“No, no, no, no, it’s okay,” he assured you, reaching out to rest a hand on yours consolingly. Tom leaned in closer so only you would hear him, unnecessary considering the secluded corner you two were in.

“But no, not even my wife.”

Your eyes darted to his hand atop yours, suddenly aware of how large his hands were. They almost completely covered yours, and they felt so comfortable and right there, like–

“We have an open marriage,” he suddenly said.

“Oh.”

Tom seemed disappointed with this reaction, quickly removing his hand from yours and adding, “That’s just to say that, our marriage is, uh, unconventional, so her not caring what I have to say isn’t that unusual.”

You were still processing the feel of his hand on yours, much less the revelation that he actually might be flirting with you and that it actually might go somewhere. By the time your thoughts caught up with you, it seemed like he was about ready to excuse himself and go scream at his reflection in the bathroom.

“Well, I’m sorry about that,” you responded, mirroring his gesture from before and resting your hand on top of his to comfort him. “You don’t deserve that, really.”

He scoffed. “You don't know what I deserve.”

You looked up at him, taking the time to absorb the look in his eyes that revealed just how much he was going through.

“Uh, Tom?”

Tom rolled his eyes and turned away from you to snap at the source of the interruption. “What, Greg? Can’t you see I’m having a conversation?”

“It’s just–well, Shiv is leaving with someone.” The taller man gestured at the door, where sure enough, Shiv was weaving her way through the crowd toward the elevators with the lobbyist from earlier, her hand guiding her by the small of her back.

Tom bit the inside of his cheek. “Well, Greg, we do have an open marriage. So, everything’s fine. Now, scram.”

Greg looked between the two of you and hesitated for a second before nodding and disappearing back into the bustle of the party.

Tom turned back to you. “That’s Shiv’s cousin, Greg. I’ve sort of taken him under my corporate wing, so to speak. Showing him the ropes and all that.”

You nodded, finishing your champagne.

“Well,” he said.

“Well,” you echoed.

He paused for a minute, though it seemed to last much longer than that. “You’re writing an article about this party, right?”

“Yeah,” you responded, unsure of where he was going with this.

Tom leaned in, lowering his voice. “What would your editor say if you got a behind-the-scenes look at the party?”

You raised your eyebrow.

“Of course, you'd have to come upstairs…” Something shifted in his tone. You were well aware of what the change implied, and you’d be lying if you said you didn't want to jump at the offer. This wasn’t you, though. Sleeping with a married man? On top of that, not just any married man, but the host of the party that you were covering for work. It sounded like a problem you’d encounter on an Intro to Ethics exam. But any moral qualms you had about the issue were pushed out of your head when you registered the way Tom was looking at you.

“Of course,” you repeated, nonchalantly, setting your empty champagne glass on a nearby table.

Something flickered in Tom’s eyes. “Shall we?”

“Lead the way, Wambsgans,” you replied, gesturing dramatically.

Neither of you spoke for the entire walk away from the excitement of the party to the quiet of Tom’s bedroom. It looked much like you had expected it to look: modern, chic, and impersonal. You were sure Tom (or Shiv) had some personal items somewhere in the house, but the bedroom was so clean and styled that the only indication anyone slept or dressed in there was some of Shiv’s makeup and jewelry strewn haphazardly on the vanity.

When he had closed the door behind you, Tom stepped closer to you experimentally, as if he was afraid you'd flee like a wild deer if he moved too fast. You stepped closer as well, which seemed to give Tom the permission he was looking for. Within seconds, his mouth was on yours, his hands cupping your face, all tongue and teeth. There was hunger and desperation in the kiss, but it was hypnotizing, beckoning you deeper and deeper. He was almost doubled over to reach you (god, he was tall), so you shifted your weight to stand on your tiptoes.

Tom broke the kiss, leaving you with a confused look on your face.

He shed his suit jacket, throwing it carelessly on the floor. Next, he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. Tugging on the length of his tie, he loosened it enough to undo a few buttons at his collar, revealing an inviting expanse of chest hair.

“Turn around,” he told you, snapping you out of your male-stripper-fantasy gaze.

You did as he said, something in his tone going straight to your core. You felt him run his hands from your shoulders down your arms, then down your hips and up to your waist, the action bunching up the fabric of your dress. He moved your hair to the side, pressing hot kisses to your neck that made your eyes roll back.

“Can I take this off?” He whispered, his lips trailing up to your ear.

You nodded in response, trembling momentarily under his touch. Tom unzipped your dress, helping you push it down your body and step out of it. He unhooked the back of your bra without moving further. It occurred to you then how wrong this was, to be sleeping with someone else’s husband in their own bedroom, but to your surprise, you didn’t care. The only thing you cared about was the heat of Tom’s gaze on your bare back. You took your bra off the rest of the way and discarded it on the ground next to your dress. Once in only your underwear, you turned back around to face him, watching his eyes follow every curve of your body to drink in the newly exposed skin.

“Wow,” he said, simply, reaching out to grab you by the hips and pull you closer to him. “You’re gorgeous.”

Grinning, you stood on your tiptoes to kiss him again, cradling his face in your hands. You felt him smile back into your kiss. Before you knew it, he had you pressed against the wall, totally enclosed by his larger form. He went from kissing you on your lips to your neck to behind your ear to your chest, as if he couldn't decide which spot deserved the most attention or for how long.

One of his hands slid down to the waistband of your underwear, the cold metal of his wedding ring a shock against your hot skin. You made eye contact with him as his hand slipped between the fabric and your skin cup your cunt, whining when you felt his touch. He seemed to get off on that, capturing you in a kiss again at the same time he slipped a digit into your wet heat. You were too hot; you pressed your hand to his chest to stabilize yourself and pushed your underwear down your legs and kicked them off. Tom smiled at this, getting right back to pumping his finger in and out at a pace that almost made you melt down the wall.

It was probably a power trip thing, you thought, you totally naked and him almost fully clothed. You didn't mind because it was kinda hot, but it wasn't what you had expected from Tom based on the unassuming, Midwestern image of him that was circulated in columns and by the Roys themselves. But, then again, you hadn't expected to find yourself in this position at all when you left your apartment earlier that night.

The pace of his fingers felt so good, so intoxicating, that now that you had him, you needed more of him.

“A-another one,” you whined between kisses.

When you opened your eyes to look at him, Tom had a smug look on his face. Sure, it was arrogant, but it turned you on, so who really cared? “Yeah?” he asked, “You want another one?”

“Tom,” you hissed, gripping onto his shoulder as his finger curled in just the right way that it made your legs go numb.

The look remained on his face, but he added another finger nonetheless. Tom appeared to inhabit both extremes when it came to sex: he really wanted to pleasure you but he also really wanted to do what he wanted. Luckily, those two wants aligned.

He was making you feel so good that you needed to have more of him. Your kisses got sloppier, each so desperate to be further molded with one another that your tongues tried to push impossibly further into the other’s. Tom shifted his hand so he could angle his thumb to rub slow, tantalizing circles on your clit as he continued to pump his fingers. Your grip on his shoulder tightened–you feared your fingernails would leave dents in his skin–but like so many other things tonight, you couldn’t bring yourself to care. You could feel the pressure rising in your middle, your cunt clenching around his fingers in anticipation of your impending orgasm, but then it stopped.

You opened your eyes that you hadn't realized were squeezed shut to look at Tom, who had his hand in front of your face, fingers glistening with your slick. “Open,” he encouraged. You obeyed, accepting his fingers into your mouth and licking them clean with a ‘pop.’ He stared at you like you had hung the stars in the sky. He jerked his head toward the bed. “Sit.”

There was authority in his commands, but you didn’t fear him; from the short amount of time you had spent with him, you knew he was at his core a sweet man. You would admit to yourself that you had been curious how his awkward, nervous energy would translate into the bedroom, but once alone, he seemed to be a different man.

You watched him strip off the rest of his clothes eagerly, smiling up at him once he rejoined you on the bed totally naked. He must’ve noticed you staring, because he asked: “Do you want me to put on a condom?”

You shrugged, shifting your eyes back up to his own. “No, it’s okay. I'm on birth control.”

He sighed in relief. “Good. I don't even know if I have one in here.”

“Then why’d you ask?” You laughed, encouraged by the smile that crossed his face when you did so.

“Seemed like the gentlemanly thing to do. If you said yes, I would’ve sent someone to go get one or borrowed one from–”

“Tom?”

“Yeah?”

“Just fuck me already.”

“Alright. If you say so,” he teased, leaning down over you to kiss you. Both your lips were red and puffy from all the kissing and some biting, but it didn’t matter. You could feel his cock pushing against your stomach from the angle, so you reached down to take him in your hand and pump his length.

“Fuck,” he murmured against your skin, face buried in your neck as he pressed kisses to the every inch of available flesh, “Fuck…Can I?”

“Please,” you responded, noticing a little desperate hitch in your voice that you ignored. Tom licked his hand and cupped your sex with it, running the pads of his middle fingers through your folds a few times to collect the wetness between your legs. Gently, he guided his length into your opening

inch by inch, watching your face for any sign of discomfort before bottoming out.

You should’ve expected his dick to be big from his height, the size of his hands, his nose, whatever, but you hadn’t considered just how big. It was quite a stretch to take him fully, but he gave you all the time you needed to adjust and get comfortable. When you were ready, you bucked your hips up into his to give him the okay.

Tom took your permission to move and ran with it, grabbing your left leg and placing it over his shoulder before pressing you down further into the mattress with his body weight so he could thrust into you at a deeper angle.

You lifted your head to meet him to return to making out, the sensation of his tongue down your throat even more erotic now that he was inside of you, as well.

His thrusts were deep but not as aggressive as he had been with his fingers. He wouldn’t vocalize this, or even admit to himself that he was thinking this, but he wanted this to last. As much as it was supposed to be a hookup–emotionless sex–he found himself wanting it to happen again, despite his attempts to push those thoughts deep into the recesses of his mind.

One arm was thrown around Tom’s neck, hand gripping a fistful of his hair. Your other hand went down to your clit, beginning to rub circles to match the pace of his thrusts.

“You wanna cum again?” He teased, “Again, when I haven't cum once?”

You narrowed your eyes at him, playfully, slipping your finger down from your clit to lightly stroke the length of his cock that wasn't fully inside of you.

He let out a moan, eyes twinkling as he snapped his hips a little harder, snickering when you gasped in response.

Tom caught you in another kiss, resting his weight on his forearm that was positioned next to your head. You arched your back up into him, urging him deeper, which he obliged. “Touch yourself,” he said, disconnecting his mouth from yours just long enough to give the command.

You smiled into his lips, rubbing your clit again as his thrusts became sloppier and jerkier. He was holding on until you came again, despite his earlier cockiness. The moment he felt your walls tighten around him, he let go, spilling inside of you with a grunt.

He pulled out, rolling off of you to lay beside you.

Tom was still catching his breath, and you watched his chest heave for a few moments. “Hey, you okay?” He asked. “Everything alright?”

You smiled, nodding and reaching over to kiss him again. “I'm good, yeah. You?”

“Perfect, actually.” Tom smiled back at you. He found himself lost in the moment, lost in your eyes, lost in the connection you two had just had, and it was too much for him. Quickly, he sat up, ready to change the subject. “You need to clean up?”

You furrowed your brow at the sudden shift in his demeanor, but going along with it nonetheless. Despite him just having been inside you, you didn't feel like it was your place to mention the change. “Yeah. Can I?” You asked, gesturing vaguely toward the bathroom.

“Yeah. Oh, yeah. Go ahead. Towels are above the sink.”

You flung your legs over the side of the bed and stood, heading toward the bathroom. “I’ll just clean off real quick, then I’ll be out of your hair.”

“No, no, no. I mean, you can stay the night. If you’d like, that is. I could call you a car, though, if I’ve made some awful faux pas and you don’t want to look at me for another–”

“Tom.” He focused on you again after his brief spiral. “I would like to stay.”

He grinned. “Great, that's great.”

“Just let me–” You waved your hands around your lower body, “–clean all this up.”

“Yeah, of course, sure. I’ll be here.” He added the last part in a quasi-sing-song voice.

At the sound of the shower turning on, Tom rose to locate his clothes and try to clean up. He pulled his boxers back on, taking his dress shirt, pants, & jacket to be thrown into the hamper. They really should be dry-cleaned, he considered, but found that he couldn’t be bothered. As for your clothes, he wasn’t sure what exactly to do with them, so he laid your dress across a chair in the bedroom and left your bra and underwear on the floor. He was still considering whether he should pick them up or not when you came out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around your torso.

Once you had dressed in your undergarments again and Tom had given you an undershirt to sleep in, you started to wonder what all this meant. If it had just been a hookup, why were you staying the night? You had thought you’d feel dirty and disgusted with yourself, spending the night in someone else’s bed with someone else’s husband, but you didn’t. You didn’t know what that said about you, what it meant that you were perfectly comfortable talking into the night with Tom, both laughing and sharing stories long after you had agreed to turn the lights off and get some sleep. That almost made it worse, you thought, that it wasn’t just sex. That made it dangerous.

After you had drifted off, Tom spent a few minutes watching you sleep. He tucked a stray hair behind your ear, watching the worries of the day wash off your face while you slept. He knew it was wrong to be more comfortable in this bed with you than he was with his own wife. But that was something to deal with (or repress) in the morning. Here, now, with you wrapped in his and Shiv’s bedsheets, your form against his chest rising and falling with his breaths, he could pretend it was meant to be like this.

@swiftcession @greenwrldsz @zirrocom @lukas-matsson @ledtassoo @bluecruz97 @rita-lean @grainyimag3

[espithewarlock]

For anyone who might be hesitant on fantasy AUs within fanfiction, I encourage you to give it a try! It's just our favorite boys falling in love again, but there might be magic or dragons (or both!) involved.

Really, fantasy is a story that's in a setting that allows your imagination to run wild. It breaks norms of reality and adds possibilities. Underneath it all is a familiar story of love and finding each other.

If you need some places to start, under the cut is a bunch of my favorite Piarles fantasy fics:

every broken piece of me (belongs to you) by @your-littlesecret (Explicit | 45k) - Jully's Fae!Pierre. An absolute marvel of worldbuilding. I adore this interpretation of the world of the Fae and the courts and everything in between. The details are gorgeous and the slow build of the relationship is so delicious. And there's a dragon. (It's Jully...of course there's a dragon!)

you are perfection, my only direction (it's fire on fire) by @singsweetmelodies (Explicit | 40k) - Katie's dragon riders AU! This fic is the epitome of we're-both-in-love-with-each-other-but-too-scared-to-admit-it. Arranged marriage and politics and they're both pining for each other the whole time while flying on their dragons. It's beautiful and hot and features meddlesome Sewis which I adore.

and it's coming closer by @wolfiemcwolferson (Explicit | 84k) - Logan's Werewolfierre fic! (what the fuck, it's 84k???) It's Logan, so nobody gets to be surprised when there's themes of loss and grief and found family here. It's one of those fics where the audience knows exactly what's happening and seeing Charles come to a slow understanding is beautifully done.

dragonheart by @duquesademiel (General | 2.1k) - sol's little bite-sized glimpse into an Eragon!AU. This fic captures so much worldbuilding and setup and establishing relationships in 2k words and I am eagerly camped out for the day when sol wants to add more to this universe.

hold your hand in mine (starlights in your eyes) by @your-littlesecret (Mature | 20k) - Jully's How To Train Your Dragon AU! It's so sweet and there's action and shenanigans and I am just a sucker for anything HTTYD. Honestly? Dragons. Need I say more??

miles away from places you have been by @wolfiemcwolferson (Explicit | 36k) - Logan's Vampierre! The air of mystery in this fic is incredible. Logan manages to capture that feeling of something being off and when it hits, it hits HARD. There's angst, there's tragedy, there's hope, and there's love. (And magic and vampires.)

e forse il mare è dentro di lui by @duquesademiel (Teen | 24k) - If the ocean was a character. There's magic and mystery and it's stunning how everything comes together. I love all the characters and how relentless Charles is in attempting to figure out what the fuck is happening on this island.

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

And, this is my blog, so I'm allowed to self-rec my own fantasy:

By the Grace of Magic and Flames (Teen | 54k) - The collab Jully and I wrote in 3 weeks. Dragon Rider!Charles and Witch!Pierre. Featuring sassy familiars and learning magic and so much pining. We honestly went insane over this and it's incredible.

A Nymph's Heart (Series | Teen | 46k) - My Nymph!Pierre & Violinist!Charles series. A small glade in the woods provides an excellent spot for Charles to practice his music, and there's an intriguing magical creature that lives there. They go to the Feywild in Part 2 and the way that magic works there is some of my best & favorite worldbuilding.

Bittersweet, That Glitter (Teen | 23k) - Dragon!Pierre & Potions Apprentice!Charles. Pierre is a shape-shifting dragon who finds his soulmate in a tiny village. Charles convinces him to stay and teach him magic and potions brewing, all while Pierre is trying to conceal his true identity as a dragon. I spent way too much time on potions brewing theory and I want to live in this world.

Our Love Is Not Illusion Based (Teen | 3k) - Another little bite-sized piece of magic where Pierre is a witch and Charles refuses to leave his side despite the stigma against witches. It's sweet with just a touch of angst and I'm so happy with how much I managed to pack into a short fic here.

The Boy With the Storm-Colored Eyes (Teen | 31k) - Mermaid!Charles!!! This is the first fic I ever posted to AO3/F1 RPF and it holds such a special place in my heart. I love naϊve Charles as a mermaid and surfer/scientist Pierre who is immediately besotted. The action and the drama is so good and the resolution is somehow angstier? I love this world and I love how they're drawn to each other despite everything in the way.

[dawnrider]

Okay, I'll bite.

Song 73 or 44 (whichever fits better)

Escaflowne + V/H + romantic

Thanks!

Well hello @coverteyes! I honestly haven't written any Escaflowne in a long while, so apologies if it's a bit rusty. Dusting it off for the first 2024 Wrapped Prompt Game entry!

The two options were polar opposites, which I found very funny. 73 :

Which I adore, but didn't quite inspire without becoming a whole AU with like... spies and political intrigue or something.

Hilariously, 44 was "The Biebs" as my husband likes to joke.

So I hope you enjoy this Van/Hitomi Vignette!

What Do You Mean? || Canon-ish || 1000 words

The night sounds she could normally ignore were louder tonight, more frightening. It was the first time she’d been alone in a long time. Hitomi shifted on her sleep mat, rolling to her side and sighing. Scrunching her eyes closed made no difference and eventually she gave up, sitting up with a sigh of frustration.

With no real way to tell time, she had no idea if it was very late or very early. More importantly, she had no idea how long ago Van had left her here. She looked out through the tiny window in the farmer’s hut they’d found to hide out in, the barest edge of the moon in the frame. Hitomi knew that if she went outside right now she’d be able to see Earth as well. Tempting as that was, the combination of homesickness and potential danger outweighed the temptation.

How long had she been here on Gaea? Several months at least. They were hardly closer to finding a way to get Van his kingdom back. They had made a few allies, but they were doing their part with the power they had available to them while she and Van had to remain, essentially, on the run.

The soft click of the door would have escaped her attention if she wasn’t so focused on listening to the sounds of the night. She hunkered herself down, instinctively gripping the stone at her neck. Smothering her breathing, she waited.

“Hitomi.” She sighed at the sound of his voice. “You’re awake.”

“Couldn’t sleep.” Van melted out of the shadows and into the thin beam of light from the window. “Where were you?” she asked softly, slowly letting go of her pendant. His dark eyes slid away from hers. Swallowing the sting that he still fought opening up to her, she looked back to the moon. “At least it’s not too cold,” she murmured.

“There’s an old fort a few days’ walk from here. Once we’re there, we can risk a fire.”

Hitomi jumped when she felt him plop down next to her on the floor. He hesitated a long moment before loosening and removing the ever-present spaulder from his left arm, rolling his shoulders and sighing. “What will we do then?” she asked.

“Allen knows that’s where we’re headed.  Hopefully he’ll meet us there soon.” Despite his words, there was something in his tone that said he didn’t actually want Allen to join them. Hitomi knew the two of them didn’t get along all that well. Some of it was ego, but she knew that Allen’s overtures toward her, however empty, seemed to upset Van. Yet he didn’t seem inclined to make such overtures himself.

“You’re worried,” she breathed.

“We’re vulnerable out here. I have to stay alert. We both do.” He pinned her with his mahogany eyes, the faint red tone she knew to be there not visible in the darkened hut. “You can’t be caught off guard. Not by me, not anyone.”

Why did that sound like he meant something other than her physical safety. “Van?”

She sucked in a soft breath at the touch of his thumb against her cheek, fingertips lightly brushing her neck. “You… You’re not of this world, Hitomi. You don’t know all the dangers.” Blinking at him, she waited for him to elaborate. Or do… anything.

“I’ve been here a while. I think I’m getting the hang of it, don’t you?” Van gave her a sad sort of smile. “What’s wrong? Really?”

“I just know that at some point we’ll figure out how to get you home.” Hitomi bit her lip. As homesick as she was, there was a large part of her that wanted nothing more than to stay here. She was someone here. Dangerously so. But she was part of something bigger and meaningful. As opposed to back home where she went through the motions with no clear plan for the future other than to get through the next day and whatever mundane challenges it brought. “I promised you I’d find a way to get you there.”

Hitomi dropped her gaze. Another large part of her desperately wished that he had never made that promise and that he would ask her to stay. She knew he wouldn’t. Or at least thought she knew he wouldn’t. What reason had he to keep a scrawny young woman around who brought him trouble at every turn, only useful through her visions?

“I know you’ll keep your promise.” Which wasn’t what she wanted to say. She wanted Van to say he needed her. Not for her power like he had that strange night she and Allen had kissed. He lashed out in fear that Allen would possess her, not out of jealousy. Then Allen had become increasingly possessive, forcing them to part ways. The last several weeks, Van had been keeping a firm wall between them.

Until tonight.

His warmth against her side chased away the chill. “Hitomi. Do the words mean more than the actions?” Confused, Hitomi frowned at him. “Allen is good with pretty words. He has that silver tongue. Charms people.” He almost snarled. his fingers tightened against her cheek, then relaxed, drawing her in until she laid her head on his shoulder. “Do words carry more weight?”

“There’s a saying on Earth… the Mystic Moon that ‘actions speak louder than words.’ It means that how people act is usually more truthful than the words they say.” She felt him nod. “So I guess it depends on what you’re trying to say with the actions.” Right now, his actions were screaming a need for comfort, for reassurance, she just wasn’t sure what he needed reassuring about. He was confusing, to say the least. Wanting to keep her near him while also keeping that distance between them.

The arm around her waist was hesitant, careful, the strength undeniable. Held close, she finally felt she understood what Van felt he couldn’t say. 

His tight hold said, Please stay.

For now at least.

[wild-magic-oops]

I finally finished DATV!

It takes a lot for a game to make me cry but DATV did that a few times. The writing at times is definitely lacking or cringe but ultimately I don't mind a more fluffy YA type of story, so it doesn't matter to me much. But the main story questline is filled with absolute bangers, especially Act 3. I think the majority of the main story questline was the first thing that got done, so it's the most polished. Then some side quests that pack a punch and some of the companions quests (or at least parts of them). Then the rest, so it shows.

But back to Act 3 - fantastic, especially playing as a Shadow Dragon. DA2 tried really hard to make Hawke care about Kirkwall but ultimately it failed to make me care about it or give me a reason for my Hawke to do so. DATV actually made me care about saving Minrathous. My Rook did it once and then it got blighted anyway at the end, which adds to his frustration and helplessness that's been building during the story.

There were so many moments that I wasn't sure whether everyone possible would make it and I absolutely loved the suspense. At the end everyone except Harding survived so I'm pleased with my results. What I really liked is that the exploration, building relationships with factions and companions, actually plays a role in the end. And it's not boiled down to some extra spells I can use in the final encounter (I'm looking directly at you BG3). Companions and factions are actually woven into the final battle and I love that.

Now about Solas - he was one of the reasons I bought the game. I was really curious how his story would go and I have to say I'm very satisfied in that regard. His interactions with Rook were always intriguing to me, and they're delicious in Act 3.

I expected the ending slides to be a disappointment bc that's something that would be probably done at the very end anyway, so no surprises there. I definitely wish there was more. But tbh, the fact that the game came out at all, with no microtransactions, no day 1 paid dlcs that hide important lore, no major bugs (and barely any for me at least), fun gameplay, amazing qol stuff - it's a surprise. And I feel like people who are very disappointed are so bc they went into it with high expectations, which they should've tempered given what was known about the development hell the game went through and about EA. Despite its flaws, the game offers much to fans to enjoy if they actually want to do that and are not obsessed over what it could've or should've been. And that's only taking into consideration the valid criticism. This is the place to say I actually don't care that the game was a soft reboot and ignored previous choices. Ofc it would've been great if it wasn't like that, but I honestly didn't expect much bc bioware always pushed their own canon and mostly ignored other choices or retconned how your previous character felt about certain things. And not to mention how the Divine choice would've been an absolute hell to implement to begin with, unless they once again made certain choices not matter, which would've been worse imo.

I love Mass Effect much more than Dragon Age. And DATV felt like a fantasy ME game, so I liked it for what it is. I honestly don't miss the "but what if oppression is actually excusable and a valid choice ehehe" type of bs from the previous games, I don't miss the South, and I don't miss slurs and xenophobic remarks thrown in my or companions' faces every second conversation bc the game doesn't trust me to really get that smth is wrong without overdoing it and feeding me like a baby. Yes, Veilguard doesn't stress those topics enough, but that's mostly bc it focuses on bigger problems. But they're still there, often in the main questline. And I want to point out that I do in fact love intriguing political knots set in fantasy lands. But in my book DA has not been great at this, so I don't care that they did away with that and focused on an epic save-the-world story instead for this particular game (which fans should've known was the path bc Tresspasser basically tells you that).

Time for a replay now ofc