#now all he has to do is take on another serious role with THIS SPECIFIC LOOK

[electricreadingphase]

i havent been in the chris evans train in a while BUT HOLY SHIT HE REALLY BROUGHT BACK THE ARI HAIR AND BEARD COMBO HE REALLY DID IT FOR THE ARI LEVINSON GIRLIES WE KEEP WINNING MUTHAfakaS

[etherealmelodys]

Kang Dae-Ho

NSFW ALPHABET

A - Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Have yall seen how this man acted in the show? He’d definitely be a master at aftercare. Thanking you for allowing yourself to be at your most vulnerable with him, making sure you’re not in any pain, hot bath, whatever you wanted this man would do it for you asap. And trust when he’s done making sure you’re okay? Immediate cuddles and praise.

B - Body Part (Their favorite body part on you and themselves)

I feel like for Dae-Ho, his arms or hands would be his favorite body part. The arms he uses to cradle you in your most intimate and vulnerable moments, keeping you safe at all times. His hands are so much bigger than yours as well, always making you feel so so good. For his partner, I don’t think he’d have a specific body part he likes about you more than the others. Everything about you is perfect, so why should he have to choose one thing?

C - Cum (Anything to do with cum)

He’s definitely a big fan of cumming inside you. He sees it as a way to be more intimate and closer to you. If you’re not a fan of that, he’s always down to cum on your stomach and thighs. The way the milky substance coats your abdomen and thighs really gets him going.

D - Dirty Secret ( Self-explanatory)

He’s really into you taking the more dominant role in the bed room. It’s not that he himself doesn’t like to, but the thought of you bossing him around and using him for your pleasure really gets him hard.

E - Experience (How experienced are they?)

I think he’s relatively experienced, not as experienced as someone like Thanos, but he knows what he has to do to get you to cum as much as he’d like.

F - Favorite Position (What positions do they like the most?)

He’s definitely the type to love any position that gives him a good view of all of you, and welcomes as much eye contact as he can get. The best for these would be missionary, rocking horse, or the happy scissor.

G - Goofy (How serious are they in the moment? Do they tease you?)

Dae-Ho would try to be as serious as possible during the act. He sees it as one of the most intimate acts you can have with another person, and he wouldn’t want you to think he doesn’t take it seriously, or you serious. Now if his partner is more playful during the act? He’s all for it.

H - Hair (What’s the hair situation down there)

This might be me being bias, but I think he has quite a bit of hair down there. Now it’s not a jungle mind you, but he just doesn’t feel the need to go bald when nobody’s complained about it before. For his partner he does not care at all. You could be as bald as a Siamese or as hairy as a rainforest, he still gon eat!

I - intimacy (How romantic are they in the moment?)

I feel like regardless of his mood, he’s always going to bring that romantic energy. Whispering praises in your ear while he slowly thrusts up into you, holding you so close to him to the point you can feel each other’s heart beats.

J - Jack Off (How often do they touch themselves?)

If he’s with somebody, he definitely jacks off more than he would if he was single. Just the thought of you gets him so hard and whiny, he never feels the need to jerk off to porn or anything like that when he has you.

K - Kinks (What are their kinks?)

He definitely doesn’t have any crazy kinks, he’s pretty vanilla. Praise, overstimulation, and hair pulling, while be it lightly, are his major ones, he’s not a fan of anything that could harm you in any aspect.

L - Location (Where do they prefer to have sex?)

He’s not into anywhere public, he’s too nervous about potentially getting caught, most importantly anyone seeing you that vulnerable. The bedroom is where he’s the most comfortable at, but anywhere ranging the shower or couch is fair game too.

M - Motivation (What turns them on?)

Just seeing you in general gets him going. Whether you just got off of work, sweaty and exhausted from the days events, or if you just woke up in the morning, bed head and all groggy. He thinks you look sexy no matter what state you’re in.

N - No (What are some things they’ll never do?)

He would never do anything to intentionally hurt or degrade you. Being raised with sisters really instilled his respect for women. Degrading, choking, anything similar to that is out of the question.

O - Oral (How do they feel about oral? Do they prefer giving or receiving?)

He definitely prefers giving to receiving. While he loves the sight of you on your knees gagging on his dick, what he loves even more is the sight of your arched back and fucked out face as he licks and sucks at your clit for hours. He’s definitely a service top, putting your pleasure above his own.

P - Pace (How fast/slow are they?)

He definitely prefers a slow and sensual pace compared to a faster one. He just loves the face you make, one of pure bliss feeling him slowly fill you up and pull himself back out again, the way you look at him as if he hung the stars in the sky, and the way you thank him for making you feel so good.

Q - Quickie (How do they feel about quickies?)

He’s not the biggest fan of quickies, he prefers to take his time with you and wants to make sure you feel good to the fullest potential. But if you’re desperate and beg him for it? Who is he to deny you.

R - Risk (How willing are they to experiment? Do they take any risks?)

Like I said before, he’s not a big fan of taking risks, or anything that might get you caught. He is however game to experiment in the bed room, but he’ll never initiate it himself, you’ll have to do that.

S - Stamina (How many rounds can they do? How long can they go for?)

Due to him being an ex-marine, I think his stamina would be extremely good, at least above average. Expect him to do at most 2-3 rounds before he starts to get tired. But before he does, it’s always his top priority to make you cum as many times as you can handle.

T - Toys (Do they have any toys? Are they willing to use any?)

I don’t think he has any of his own toys, but he’d always be down to experiment with the ones you have. He wouldn’t go out of his way to purchase any, especially for himself seeing that he has you already, so what’s the point?

U - Unfair (Do they tease you? How unfair are they in the bedroom?)

Just a tad bit, he loves you too much to do it excessively, but that doesn’t mean he won’t do it at all. Just when you guys are in a more playful mood does he really get into the role of teasing.

V - Volume (How loud are they?)

He’s fairly loud, he doesn’t do a lot of grunting, mainly whining and moaning. He’s always encouraging you to be as loud as you want as well, telling you the sounds you make are so pretty, telling you how it makes him wanna fuck you for even longer just to hear more of you.

W - Weird Fact (Self-explanatory)

He’d definitely want to try pegging, just once to see if he really is into it. But only with a partner he’s been with for quite a while.

X - X Ray (What’s it looking like in those pants.)

Dae-Ho is around 5’11-6’0 tall, and he’s quite beefy. He’s definitely above average, but he’s not huge. I’d say he’s around 6.5 inches, considering the average size in Korea is 5.3 inches. His tip is definitely a reddish pink color, about #EE9B9D, with a slight curve to the left. He had a few veins running along his shaft, noticeably a thicker one on the underside of it.

Y - Yearning (How high is their sex drive? How often do they have sex?)

He doesn’t have a super high drive, it’s about average, about every other day. He’d prefer doing other intimate acts with you, such as cuddling, watching a movie together, or just being around you in general in a non-sexual context

Z - Zzz (How fast do they fall asleep after sex?)

He usually falls asleep after a little bit of pillow talk, and of course making sure you’re comfortable and content with his performance in bed. He’d only be able to rest after making sure you’re fulfilled

(Thank you guys sm for waiting on this, I lwk fell asleep due to being sick half way through but I pulled through! This will be my first fic on this app so enjoy😼)

[ifwebefriends]

My thoughts during “The Sign” [SPOILERS!!!!!]

ID in ALT

More thoughts under the cut

So I think most of us can agree that this is the best episode of Bluey so far. It was so emotional and satisfying in ways that are kinda new for Bluey. It answered so many questions while giving us a few new ones. I’ve been waiting for this episode for months and it did not disappoint in any way.

This is just a Chekov’s firing squad of an episode. As in a lot of stuff that was set up in earlier episodes all pay off in this episode. I kinda understand why people love soap operas now lol. I will say that this episode was a tad overwhelming for me in the best way possible. As in I had to pause and rewind every 30 seconds or so so I could emotionally process what was happening before moving forward (but that’s a me thing). There was just so much going on and I’m happy about that.

Now onto individual thoughts about specific things:

The callback to Baby Race (“you took your first steps in that house!”) really got to me because Baby Race was the first episode of Bluey that I watched and it immediately made me fall in love with it so it just got to me.

When Chilli said “Frisky and I came up here as teenagers to…um…think,” my mind started racing immediately with “what the FUCK happened at the Lookout?” “Who hurt Frisky and/or Chilli?” And I’m just so curious about what made Chilli say that line like that but we’ll probably never know what happened.

So yeah that scene at the end when the music was playing and Bandit ripped the sign out of the ground and Chilli tackled him to the ground ABSOLUTELY CHANGED my brain chemistry y’all. I can’t articulate my feelings any more than that.

I know some people were upset that Brandy ended up getting pregnant but I thought it was great for her! I’m happy for her! And I think that even though she got what she wanted in the end doesn’t negate the feelings she had about her infertility earlier. But I think we’re all wondering who the father is and I don’t know if the show really needs to answer that.

The whole message of “we’ll see” in terms of if something is good or bad is such a mature message that I never really thought of like that so I will be taking that philosophy forward in life. Congratulations Bluey, you managed to teach a 22-year-old childless person something new and insightful about life that I don’t think I’ve learned from another show.

I want to know more about what Bob was going through and feeling and why he went to India, but again, we’ll probably never know.

I just love how the wedding photos were beautiful but imperfect. Like of course we’re not perfect and nothing will ever be perfect but it’s beautiful and worth remembering anyway.

So many little jokes and moments were so funny in a mature way (I.e. “are we allowed to do that?” And Nana thinking there was about to be a baby announcement) were just so funny and memorable.

I think some people would say it’s a cop-out to end up not selling the house after building it up for 2 episodes but I don’t know, I think it works. I think Bluey and Bingo learned a valuable lesson and Bandit (and Chilli kinda) learned it’s not always about making their kids lives “perfect” in their eyes. Also I’m just personally glad they didn’t end up selling the house and I also kinda like that it wasn’t entirely their choice to keep it.

On a more serious note I think this episode has some interesting commentary on like gender roles and gender relations in straight relationships. In this episode Chilli and Frisky (both women) have to deal with their male significant others pressuring them to move with them far away from what they know and love. In the end they don’t end up moving and the men didn’t seem to have like malicious or selfish intent with it, they were just kinda basing their choices off their jobs instead of what’s best emotionally for their loved ones. But I think it’s interesting to have this conflict where gender is kinda brought up in a way (“because your husband is making you”). It kinda plays into the traditional idea of like men are the breadwinners and the family has to move with them regardless of what they actually want. And this episode kinda like deconstructs that and says “no, it’s not always about the job or money, it’s also sometimes about connections and emotional attachment.” And I’m not saying that you should never move or whatever, but really weigh your options. I just thought that it was interesting that this episode kinda touched on that.

So yeah that’s kinda the main thoughts I had on this episode if you made it this far thank you for reading my rambles and have a good one!

[sunnysidesevenup]

Some Neige headcanons because I’ve written him a lot at this point and I have THOUGHTS

- I’ve talked about this specifically before but when he was first starting out in his career it was basically his livelihood for him and his entire family so!! He was VERY conscious of his image and trying to not cause any trouble.

- this led to not speaking up about problems he was having, bad working conditions, always feeling like he needed to keep up a cheerful image. His career is very secure now but he still struggles with anxiety over it.

- still struggles with expressing negative emotions and advocating for himself. Fans can get especially pushy with him and he’s not sure how to set boundaries.

- that being said if someone ELSE is having a problem, he will 100% take care of it, fight for them, etc.

- he gets spoken over a lot by interviewers and management, and tends to get treated younger than he is.

- wants to play more serious roles!!! He thinks it would be SUPER fun to play a villain!! (his agent very much disagrees)

- tends to do all the chores around the house even when he’s had a long day.

- struggles to keep up with school work sometimes since he has to miss class for work. luckily RSA is pretty accommodating.

- I feel like he’d secretly be a horror fan but wouldn’t be able to handle any of the jump scares. The type that clutches at someone’s arm the whole time but then is like “wow! that movie was great! let’s watch another!”

- handles the cold really well (he lives somewhere near Harveston after all!!!)

- speaking of that, he probably ALSO has an accent!! I headcanon that he sounds similar to Epel but his hometown has less slang. (I think this would be an interesting motivation for Vil to dislike Epel’s accent too 😭)

I have more (with ship specific stuff) but this is all for now hehe

[deus-sema]

Having read these thought provoking posts in a row by @neyafromfrance95 and @anetherealpoetess , I racked my brain to remember when and how exactly did this drama over villain/heroine pairings start and how did it aggravate to such an extent?

But, before I begin, I want to get this out of the way: The intent of this post is not to generalize. Haters who hate everything fun without discrimination, those who aren't hypocrites, this post is not for you. You are the real deal. Hate and vent away and unless this hatred affects creators and fans adversely, which is when we would need to have serious conversations, we are good to go.

Where were we again? Yes. The heroine and the villain. The good girl and the bad guy. The M/F ship where the male character is not 100% morally upstanding and/or age appropriate. This dynamic goes by many names. Call it whatever you wish to.

Why this dynamic is enjoyed by many has been discussed often. Why it is disliked is also known. To each their own. Anyway, let's get straight to the point. This particular dynamic can result in the female character getting hurt at some point. Be it physically, mentally, or emotionally. It isn't mandatory but the possibility is always there. The villain/adversary with whom she shares a complicated entanglement that may or may not be 'officially' romantic is a challenge she must overcome. Be it by beating him, killing him, fixing him, smooching him or screwing him.

Preferences are one thing. But this vehement pushback specifically against stories that explore such a dynamic as well as against those who enjoy them is rather strange.

Now, why is it easier for some to separate fiction from reality when it comes to toxic m/m pairs as compared to similar m/f pairs? Aren't all these characters fake anyway? Maybe the belief that women are inherently fragile and, thus need to be protected and sheltered from any and all harm, genuine or perceived, still prevails. They aren't allowed to face so much as the slightest adversity or discomfort. They must be kept safe within the boundaries of propriety. If they are to have a partner then he must be a properly vetted 'green flag' who is safe for them in every aspect. Chemistry be damned. While it often stems from genuine, albeit misplaced, concern, it leaves the arcs of these female characters with limited scope.

Strangely enough, the characters in question can belong to any background: Human, demon, alien, witch, elf, warrior, zombie. Their natures might differ. They can all have different backstories, undergo varying experiences, follow rules and belief systems distinct from one another. But, when placed in an equation with a man who has been dubbed 'unsafe', they are all clubbed under one umbrella of victimhood. As long as the link between them and the unsafe male character exists, victims they must remain. Until that connection is severed and they are taken back to safety, all other identities cease to exist. Any conversation with respect to that equation must abritrarily categorize them as victim and the men as their victimizers and there should be nothing more to it. Not even if the narrative wills it. Fans who have different readings of the relationship are to be silenced with slutshaming, accusations of romanticizing abuse, not getting the plot, yada, yada. And, in certain cases, when the female character happens to be a WoC, her entire existence gets overlooked.

As a side effect of this approach, the  commercial creatives who are in the business for the paycheck and want to avoid unnecessary hassle, do not bother to put in effort or  undertake risks while creating female characters, let alone put them in a relationship with the bad guy. They know all it will take to calm the online pearl clutchers with pitchforks is to keep the female characters secure on the sidelines to play a supportive role leaving them free to focus and work hard on male characters who move the plot. The female characters are remembered only when the men have to be depicted in a better or worse light. Afterall, someone needs to be the scapegoat to help move the male character's arc forward.

The general audience, most of whom are in for the entertainment, must definitely notice the difference in importance that female characters hold as compared to their male counterparts but do not give it much thought. Meanwhile, in the online realm, puritantis and incels pat each other on the back after belittling real people who disagree with them for female characters in 'safe' and, possibly, passive roles is what both parties ultimately seek, albeit with different intentions. If a fictional woman doesn't toe the line, then the narrative is expected to set her right by 'humbling' her. As for the real ones deemed 'improper', the Internet is always ready with their pitchforks like we see here in this case highlighted by @problematic-faves-appreciation) concerning the Brontës.

Patriarchy truly is no different from the Hydra. Cut one head off and two more appear in its place wearing faux progressive hoodies.

[parentsday]

Hiii! Since you asked about headcanons/analysis stuff:

There's a common interpretation on the fandom about Max's treatment of David in the early episodes coming, at least partially, from trust issues regarding adults/authority figures. And I've seen push back against it, too. People who say it's just because David is annoyingly positive. Nothing else.

And sure, I can see that. But Nikki also acts in a cheerful manner and mostly enjoys camp, and Max doesn't treat her with the level of rudeness he treated David in season one. This could be due to her being his little partner in crime, but idk. I always interpreted it as him thinking that David is some fake nice adult who will just let him down if he allows it.

And, while I was thinking about this, I realized how this interpretation of Max's behaviour towards David adds another heartbreaking layer to Parents day.

Max's perception of David started changing after Order of the sparrow, specifically after the "Somebody fucking has to" moment. For just a moment, the annoying, overly positive persona drops, and Max is able to see a nuanced human being. And it's clear that he starts understanding David a little more, because in Cult camp (literally the next episode), he allows himself to be brainwashed and trusts that David will save the camp (btw, we as a fandom don’t talk about this aspect of this episode enough).

So yeah, his perception of David changes for the better.

But then, parents day happens.

And David spends most of the episode being an absolute jerk, even if he doesn't realize it.

He pushes SO HARD to try and make the day perfect, basically ignores Max when he states that his parents aren't coming, gets way too serious about playing the role of Max's dad for the day, forces Max into the activities and then, at the end of a day that was already shitty for Max, he yells at him.

I think the context of Max's opinion on David finnaly becoming more positive makes this episode so much sadder.

Because it ceases to be just about Max's neglectful parents.

Now it's also about the closest thing he has to a trustworthy adult making him uncomfortable, ignoring his feelings and then yelling at him and telling him that he "has a bad attitude" and "brings everyone else down instead of trying just a little bit to have fun".

(Which are things he must have heard from adults before, if he behaves the way he does at camp in school and other places)

Remember in Friends like these when he said "Life's just one dissapointment after another. I can't belive I let myself forget it"? I think he might have had the same train of thought here: "I can't believe I let myself forget David is an asshole that only cares about impressing Campbell and making this stupid camp look good". Or: "I can't believe I let myself forget that every single adult thinks I'm a bad kid and a lost cause."

And I know it gets fixed quickly, with David apologizing shortly after, but still. I think the idea of Max being dissapointed at David in Parents day, even if it was just for some moments, is so good.

I also think this is the episode that comfirms to Max that David is genuinely a good person trying his best. He spent the entire day having to think about the fact that his parents suck, and then there's David, who is kind, apologizes for upsetting him and takes him to eat pizza and have a little heartfelt talk.

When was the last time his parents apologized to him, or cared about what he wanted/needed, or talked to him so gently?

The contrast between his parents and David is so big, and I think that's what makes Max finnaly go "Yeah, this guy isn't actually that bad."

(Sorry for rambling, omg.)

hi first of all thank u for an ask and such insightful one at it too !! this was an incredibly pleasant read and a lot of the stuff you say i personally find very good analysis of the show and agree with, however i do have some stuff to say abt it soo here we go ^-^ (this will be a long one so sorry about this in advance)

as i said in some previous reply, max is an incredibly peculiar guy when it comes to the way this show treats his trauma and the way he himself behaves as a result of it, and that’s by design! a lot of the thing he says and does in the first two seasons when it comes to david are there for reasons of narrative set up, and are later masterfully recontextualized by parents day later, leaving very little room for interpretation when it comes to how and why he operates. im gonna go out on a limb and say that i don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that most of his actions towards david in the early show stem from the childish born-from-trauma need for attention and also from his need for societal reinforcement of his own ego’s right to exist. when it comes to the first one i see most people agree (bc it’s a basic child psychology fact), but turn their noses in reference to the second one.

contrary to popular belief, max being in need of constant affirmation that he, as a person with little self value, deserves to exist next to other people is something that we see examples of constantly and is not a terrible part of his character that needs to be ignored. max is a neglect victim who from our knowledge is given very little attention by his parents, as a result of it he is a pessimistic asshole kid whose ego suffers from the very thing that made it this way. its in his strained relationship with nikki and neil, its in him arguing with david to put himself in the position of an adult, its him putting himself above others when it’s not needed and its in him putting his own egos safety first when time comes to accept that things are moving forward (two final episodes from both s3 and s4 are good examples of this). its not an inherently positive trait, but it is one okay for him to have by the virtue of being a young abused child with no support system, and denying it will leave him devoid of this characterization. in freudian (ugh) terms, we cannot separate his character’s superego from his id in a way that won’t harm the way he was intentionally written. Id, ego and superego are all influenced by our relationship with our parents, the amount of nurturing of a child's emotional and psychological needs parents does will result in the child’s psychological state forming a certain way, max as a character who is heavily reliant of his lackluster relationship with his parents is not devoid of this and it affects his relationship with david too. and the reason i’m saying all of this is exactly due to this.

david, when put in most simple terms, is a character who’s an adult figure present and mature enough in max’s current social position that it allows him to treat max as a child, something max is not used to. not used to to such an extent that it puts a strain on his ego in the process. david feeds his need for any form of attention, positive or not, just as much as he clips away at max’s need to be seen as socially important and in a position of an adult. it’s arguable if both of these are good or not but the main thing they are in relation to is obvious: max feels that being an adult who meets both of his psychological needs in ways that are unfamiliar to him makes david an untrustworthy person, thats exactly where you interpretation comes in clutch.

max and his behavior towards david cannot be separated from david being an adult, that is made clear with the way he treats nikki as an equal just because she is a person his age, despite her sharing a lot of david’s traits. going through the episodes you mentioned, order of the sparrow episode lets max see david perspective for the very first time. max is allowed to peek into the reason why david acts the way he does, however it alone doesn’t make him see david in a good light, if anything it makes him appear genuine in his actions. it also lets max have something for david that he didn’t have before: trust. it ends up being used in cult camp as a confirmation of it being something david can live up to (you are absolutely right, we really don’t talk abt this episode and it’s narrative weight enough). all of this has been adding onto the way max himself perceives david, parents day, however, lets both of them internalize the sentiment of mutual understanding towards each other together. parents day does this by lampshading max and david parallelism, making this whole episode consist of max seeing his parents in david just as much as david sees himself in max through the whole show and putting them in each others shoes by the end of it. the episode ends with david choosing max as a priority, he is still acting selfishly (once again david is an asshole) but choosing to do so towards max because the situation allows him to understand max the way s1 finale let max understand him. and with the final turning point in their dynamic, max understands that both his ego and need for attention can exist without them being reinforced by an adult treating him like he is an adult too. max was chosen as a priority for the very first time and that alone made him feel of more value than the treatment he initially yearned for would have. above all else parents day makes max see david as someone he can look up to as a person in emotional way, not only in a life or death situations, the shot of david from his perspective in the end making sure that we don’t miss it.

most of this is not me disagreeing with you, on the opposite i think a lot of the arguments you make are nice and are mindful interaction with the media. gold star for enjoying meta analysis to both of us i guess ⭐️. my main problem is, however, the fact that using all of this to basically say ‘maxs parents suck so he has a distain for david because of it’ is a heavy oversimplification that you somehow go against in your initial statement too and that i, personally, just don’t enjoy. this alone does not make your interpretation wrong though, if anything just reinforces your general idea into a more concrete argument rather than a collection of bits and pieces of evidence pointing to it. hope all of this made sense

tldr; man idk no summing up this one as to not take away from the overall statement im making with this. read the post 🫶

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

Just struck me that I still don’t know whether the Veil should be taken down or not.

For ten years, I’ve read Solavellan stories of Lavellan fighting tooth and nail to prevent the Veil from coming down. These stories were from the very reasonable perspective that “What’s done is done. Modern Thedas has problems just as the Pre-Veil world did. You need to let go of your regrets and live with the consequences. You can make change here and now in the present.” In pretty much every Solavellan story that tackles this topic of Past v. Present, Lavellan is using her political influence to secure serious change for elves and greater protections for the Dalish especially. These stories are not in favor of preserving the abusive status quo. Rather, Lavellan convinces Solas that his place is at her side teaching the elves the truth of the gods and the past and using his Wisdom to change hearts and minds as he always wished.

There’s also the obvious “Why are you risking the mass deaths of all these people? Is there really no way to take down the Veil safely? Safely-er???”

But for people who want the Veil to be taken down, the arguments can be summarized as the Veil being the status quo, and its continued existence is perpetuating it. The world was meant to be magical; the Veil must be undone to bring the world back to what it normally was. The elves deserve their power and magic back, etc. etc. One could argue that Solas keeping the veil up is him still bound to his past decisions, and worse, folding to the pressure of the status quo and betraying his role of rebeller.

The biggest point of contention for me is that it is not made clear in the slightest what exactly will happen if the Veil is taken down, and while I’m all for the destruction of oppressive systems, when it comes to something like literal MAGIC, I feel like I’m well within my right to be skeptical and apprehensive since Solas is pointedly vague about the specifics. In Trespasser, he says, to paraphrase “..even if this world must die”. The word die is not expounded upon. Die, how? Are we talking the abstract, metaphorical meaning of the word “die” (i.e. the French monarchy ‘died’ and a republic government was born from it), or do we mean a more visceral “die” (i.e. it’s gonna be like a nuclear reactor meltdown and people are going to keel over like they stepped into the Elephant Foot room in Chernobyl because of the sudden tsunami of magic re-entering the world), or do we mean both?

Solavellan fics have taken this to mean what is essentially a global genocide that will destroy most people, and thus the arguments with Solas over the years have been, to sum up a few examples, “You killed a world. You would kill a second world to bring back the first?” and ‘We *are* just as real as the ancient elves were. You need to accept that we are, and accept that the Elvhen empire is gone.” and “We are (elves) are not lesser than our ancestors, we are different. This world is no more broken than the one before. You had all the magic in the world and the elves used it to enslave and kill one another and tranquil the Titans. In this world we have far less access to magic and similar issues with slavery and the Chantry and Tevinter mageocracy. The suffering is just as widespread, but the magnitude is lesser by several degrees (the difference between the devastation and suffering incurred from medieval warfare v. modern warfare).”

The contention of not wanting Solas to tear down the Veil hinges on this ambiguity, and of Solas not seeing the modern elves as real or his people.

Now we can argue: “Solas is lost in the sauce of regret and more than a little blinded from culture shock and nostalgia in his motivation to tear down the veil since half of it stems from his wish to bring back the eminence and power of the ancient elves.’ —-From this we can only surmise what his intentions are here, even. Does he mean elevation and equality (elves will be more powerful but not necessarily treated as superior to the other races—separate but equal), or does he mean ‘the elves were far more powerful and superior to other races in their own way, and we are restoring that’, with the implication that, like elves in other fantasies, they’ll have powers and eminence that could overshadow the other races, and that is simply how nature intended it to be (read: sneaking in some soft social darwinist essentialism))—-‘but yes, the Veil does need to come down because the byproduct will be that elves and mages get more power’.

And beyond that resides a semi magical ecological reason: his wish to see magic and spirits meld with the world once again since that’s how it originally was. The Veil, he states, is unnatural.

What is also confusing is between Trespasser and Veilguard, Solas remains inconsistent on who “the people” are. In a memory he says “the people need me”. Veilguard makes it out like he’s somewhat quietly accepted the modern elves as his people. Probably lesser or somewhat rendered inferior by their supreme distance from the elvhen empire and their lack of magic, but still his responsibility, the living legacy of his mistakes.

I suppose the thorn in my brain is that

The ironic thing is that I’m all for the destruction of the status quo and oppressive systems so long as there’s a clear, cohesive game plan. Fucking go nuts. But when it comes to change in fictional worlds, I get really nervous, probably because most people don’t know how to write or plot out massive societal change in a way that’s believable or well-thought out since fiction can’t ever competently account for the infinite fractals of perspective and experience under such tumultuous events. There is always going to be some glaring oversight since fiction authors are forced to cram a thousand different affected elements into a single narrative, and you will always end up with a story that either leans pro-revolution or anti-revolution, even if it’s a 51%/49% split. Someone is going to be unhappy with the argument made by the text in question. Someone is going to argue that it doesn’t account for X, Y, Z…

Where am I going with this.. Yeah I’m conflicted about the “to tear down the veil or not” because it is so wrapped up in one man’s personal emotional journey. Liberals like to inexplicably twist and weave individual stories into revolution narratives in order to 1) humanize a large abstract political movement but also 2) Use the character as a personification of the movement, with their personality and morality a direct reflection of the morality, and thus validity, of the movement.

It’s an ouroboros of logos and pathos ethos. We can sympathize with Solas because of the cause he champions. By way of literary device, our view of the cause is (deliberately or unconsciously) meant to be influenced by Solas’s personality: the face of the Rebellion and of elf emancipation, a thoughtful, somber, conflicted man with many huge blunders and misjudgments under his belt. He means well, but will his plan work? Perhaps it’s best that everything be left alone. He’s the one with the power to pull it off, but how many of his plans have backfired? This along with the aforementioned ambiguity of what will happen to the world when it’s torn down leaves us with a discordant uncertainty. We want elves to have rights, we want mages to be more free, we want spirits to not be so easily corrupted.

The writers clearly want the Veil to be kept up. It’s “the right thing to do” because tearing down the Veil will mean the “death” of modern Thedas. The fact there isn’t an outright statement of “yeah this is what will happen during this ‘death’” is used as a discouragement, but I feel like that sticking point was written in a day and age when people had fucks left to give about the system, when there was still a healthy fear of unknown risk and a preference for a theoretical scenario where change is slow, regimented, monitor-able, with casualties all but 0.

The game peddling this same fear of change in 2024 is being given to a world that is now more and more commonly scoffing at reluctance to implement systemic change for fear of the unknown. “Who cares, elves deserve rights.”

But is the world Solas is promising actually possible? He has done so many things that have resulted in disastrous, world-changing, life-ruining, unintended consequences. We simply don’t know how modern bodies will react to a sudden global influx of magic to the atmosphere, how many benign spirits will become corrupted when they’re suddenly in direct contact with mortals who are just stewing in their negative emotions that will be undoubtedly heightened by the apocalypse. There are bubbles of the Veil that act all funky and get Veil jumpers killed all the time. Those are simply bubbles.

Varric: People are dying

Solas: That’s what people do

All art is political. It all has a message. Unintended, intended, subliminal, explicit, personal, popular interpretation, weird tinfoil hattery.

The cognitive dissonance, or discomfort I feel is that Solas’s story exemplifies two simultaneous arguments: One, that you need to move on past your regret. You need to live here, now. Life is making mistakes. You may make the largest mistakes, you may work every day to atone for them, but at a certain point you need to accept that this is what life is. You can mourn, you can grieve, you can even still feel pangs of guilt and shame, but you have to be more than that, more than a martyr. Some people are not meant to be the hero. You should focus on putting good into the world now, changing it for the future, not to seek out the past.

That is a beautiful tragic sentiment, especially when the sorrow and guilt are magnified a thousand-fold by the knowledge that your actions have led to the death and suffering of so many in your sincere pursuit of protecting people. When does the sense of responsibility and duty become a spiral of self-destruction? When is the time to stop when all of your efforts make things worse and worse? Solas was a man who took action when action is clearly not in his wheelhouse because the grass is always greener for him. He cannot live with making huge pyrrhic choices because he empathizes so keenly with all sapient life and the tragedy of “what could’ve been”…

But then the second underlying argument posed by the upkeep of the Veil, if you’re Epler: Revolution is bad. Change even for a good cause is bad. Live with the shit rules you have.

idk I’m just getting my thoughts down. I guess I’m still pro- preserve the Veil solely because my personality forbids me from committing to such a choice without knowing the full list of side effects, which Solas (or maybe the writers themselves) haven’t thought out. And again it’s really weird because I don’t have these same reservations about real world social justice and progress. 😶

[adamnablelittledevil]

Reacting to The Vampire Lestat - Part IV (with a bit of spoilers)

Lestat's narration has gotten so much better actually. I mean, I still don't care when he talks about stuff that doesn't have an effect on him, but when he describes things/people that actually do? It's great. It's just so vivid, rich, colorful, sometimes even abstract that simply makes me giggle and kick my feet. When he gets really thoughtful about life, vampirism, existence, religion, morality, feelings, theater, music etc, it feels like borderline insanity, but in a brilliant way? Feels like I'm tasting some crazy drug and tripping, but it's so good? It activates a very specific part of my neurodivergent brain and I love it because I'll also be having those crazy thoughts all by myself with nobody to talk to and Lestat just gets it.

I also love the excess of exclamations on this POV haha.

Sometimes it just feels like a naive child telling things and is kind of endearing.

ARMAND!

Armand in Lestat's words: he was beautiful, ethereal, sublime, exquisite, delicate, soft, perfect, a Caravaggio painting, a Da Vinci painting, an angel, I found myself in him, the possibility of him, I didn't pay attention to [whatever] because I was looking at him etc etc.

Basically calling him the most beautiful thing he's ever seen, really.

Like, I legit MEMORIZED some of them. Lestat was THAT repetitive lmao.

I don't know if it's because the words were so superlative or because Lestat had it that bad or because I have it that bad just thinking about it, but yeah.

I'm not even kidding when I say I need to take pauses because this is kind of unsettling.

I'm so serious, but I feel like reading Lestat's description of Armand has a bigger effect on me than the prettiest person I have ever seen in freaking R E A L L I F E? What the hell, WHAT IS THIS SORCERY?

Lestat, tone it down, I'm begging you.

Been told Armand is really that gorgeous and every character talks about him that way, so apparently he isn't exaggerating... I'm gonna lie down, bye.

It's even worse because I just picture show!Armand because he's even more handsome there so it makes me dizzy.

Also because Lestat won't miss an opportunity to talk about his beauty? He LITERALLY says it EVERY SINGLE TIME he sees Armand. I'm not joking, I swear on my own life. I'm like, OKAY, WE GET IT? ENOUGH!

Armand (Lestat's version) on season 3 will be insufferable and I'm so ready for it. But also not ready yk.

At this point I'm basically just drooling over him and I don't care.

PERFECT casting with Assad. He incorporates Armand like no other. Everyone on the show is talented and I can see them as their characters, but there's one thing or another that I imagine differently sometimes? But not Armand, like, my Armand looks, walks, moves, talks, stares etc the exact same way Assad does it on the show. Every single time. The others are like, 90% or something for me, but Assad is 100% my imagination? It's like he traveled in time, stole my 2024 thoughts, went back to the past, auditioned, got the part and then played it exactly the way I see it today. It's crazy.

Wouldn't be surprised if that's the case, they already have all these possessions going on, what's more to our little satanic show lmao.

Also, great casting with Assad because no man with red-ish hair has looked this good ever. It just doesn't make sense, I'm sorry.

Armand is a beauty God, but also a really good character and I love his lines. Even when I don't agree with him, I just find him fascinating, the role he has on the story, what he represents, the way he moves the plot, whatever the effect he has on Lestat etc...

Armand's moments are never boring. He'll probably piss me off later, but right now I'm having a great time and the book has never been better.

Lesmand's/Armandstat's moments are always heated. The tension is always there. I'm not telling you what kind. Actually, I don't even know it myself. Do THEY even know?

Sam said something about how you're never sure what they are and I think he's right? At least for now. Let's see it after all the books.

They also act like they've known each other forever, have this crazy history that goes through centuries and they already can push each other's buttons... But they actually, like, only know each other for 5 minutes? CHILL?!

They're sort of soul ties/mirrors/foils/two sides of the same coin-coded in an appealing way.

I guess I can say Armand is my favorite character right now. I always read it faster when he's there, I'm always looking forward to seeing him again, I'm fine when I don't see Gabrielle or Nicki, but I'm always like, BRING HIM BACK. I don't know if I should be worried I'll grow into hating him when stuff happens or if I'll just be an Armand apologist lol. I'm scared. But let's wait to see it.

Samssad on season 3 will be delicious. Specially on the 1700s flashbacks. I'm expecting almost, if not EVERY scene of them there to be INTENSE. Great acting potential there.

I really want to see a moment with Armand and Lestat in a church like on the book? Let's take their angelic faces and curls to the next level. Put them in a church, surrounded by religious figures, stained glasses, candles etc. I don't even care what the context will be. They can be talking, silent, killing each other, doing something else, doing all of it, but give me the heavenly visuals. Actually, if they want to film the entire show in a church they can, it would be so aesthetically pleasing. Bonus points if they use Gothic churches because I'm extremely obsessed with them. Bonus points if they use Sainte-Chapelle because I'm kind of even more hyperfixated on that. I mean, it would never happen, but it should *shrugs*.

Btw, the mess Armand made in the house and the way he was reading the books is very neurodivergent of him.

The way he prefers to talk telepathically instead of speaking out loud is very neurodivergent of him as well.

Nicki is soooooooooo doomed by the narrative, omg. Anne didn't even try to hide it.

I'm not really sure how I feel about Nicki except that he needs therapy...

This is probably the silliest comment so far, I'm no longer thinking clearly after Armand's introduction. Sorry, guys. It will happen again.

The next chapter has his name so I'm scared, but also excited.

P.S. Nothing is permanent, opinions might change and this is based on Lestat’s narration, which can be unreliable. I’m reading the books so I can find out more about the characters, what potential events might happen in the show, what I can expect etc. This is my favorite show in the universe, so I want to be as informed as possible. I have no idea if I’ll become a legit fan of the books or not, but so far I’m enjoying it. I’m posting these comments only for fun.

[sapphic-agent]

Let's Talk About the Sports Festival

*Note: this is a long one so strap in*

Oh boy, here we go.

I did touch briefly on this in my first ever post on here and I mentioned it a few other times. But I've got a few thoughts and I think this arc deserves a little exploration as it plays a crucial part in setting up our characters for the rest of the series.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Sports Festival overall. I think it does well for some characters, not so well for others. I'd like to take some time to break down how some characters benefit and how others don't and really evaluate the arc as a whole.

Uraraka

I think Uraraka's a great place to start. Now, in my Bakugou analysis I did say that I was unhappy with the match, mostly because it panders to Bakugou to make him seem better than he was. And I stand by that, the narrative was trying to shove a "positive trait" of his down our throats since all we had seen from him up to this point was all negative. It was Horikoshi's first attempt at subverting expectations, I think.

However, I actually do think this fight was good for Uraraka as a character.

Uraraka isn't the fastest or strongest or smartest in 1A and previous to this that was fine because being those things wasn't her goal. She wanted to be a rescue hero and provide for her parents, she didn't set out to be particularly ambitious like Izuku or Todoroki or her other classmates. However, this proved to be somewhat of a hinderance to her succeeding as we see in the Cavalry battle. She pairs up with Izuku because she needs to rely on him if she wants to stand a chance of winning. And because of that, she feels like she can't fend for herself.

I think pairing her up against Bakugou was a good thing. Not because he treated her with "respect" or as a serious opponent (because he didn't), but because it pushed her to her limits and forced her to think outside of the box. She refuses Izuku's help because she knows she can't use him as a crutch going forward so she devises her own plan. And even though she loses, she still gets to shine and prove herself (we'll get back to this point with a certain character later). It also acts as a hallmark for her character, that she has to really push herself if she wants to be able to stand with (or even against) her stronger classmates.

Now, whether or not this setup pays off later is for another post, but I think Uraraka is one of the only characters this arc really does justice.

Izuku

If I'm being honest, the Sports Festival is far from the worst arc in the series for our beloved main character.

The race was great, of course. Because he can't depend on his quirk like everyone else, Izuku has to put all his critical thinking skills and strategic prowess to the test. The race is actually one of my favorite parts of the show because a kid from the bottom of his class (at the time) rises above everyone else and absolutely no one (including us) saw it coming. He has a major disadvantage and still comes out on top. It really ties in well with All Might's advice to stand in front of everyone and say, "I am here."

Now, the Cavalry Battle is a different story. To be fair, I don't think it really hurts or helps Izuku's character all that much. He has to think on his feet and strategize carefully, but he already did that in the race. His leaderships skills aren't really displayed all that much either (it's present, but Bakugou, Todoroki, and Monoma take much more of the limelight here). They could have taken more time to develop this role for him, but it's nothing really major to complain about.

The tournament is a little different. Obviously, Izuku couldn't win because if he had it wouldn't have been realistic. But his fight with Shinsou shouldn't have happened. The only reason they're matched up is for Izuku to break out of his hold with One For All. It doesn't do anything for his character (I might even say it hinders it because Ojirou specifically told him what to do and he ignored it) and really only serves as Shinsou's introduction, which could have been done with any character.

(Bakugou should have gone up against Shinsou. It would have humbled him; he would have lost to an "extra," one of the very people he talked down to. It would have also taught him that having a strong quirk or a weak quirk isn't what makes a hero and that power isn't everything)

However, the Todoroki fight does do Izuku's character justice. Because Izuku has always put helping others over winning or being the best. It's what makes him a true hero. He still makes Todoroki work for it and gives his all in the fight, but he does it with the genuine intention of helping. And that's what it means to be a hero. If the race was showing off his skill, then the tournament was showing off his heart. Those are the two sides to being a hero after all.

(If only the pro heroes had any semblance of sense to realize that)

So overall I am split on if this arc is good for Izuku or not. It does well with some things, poor with others. However, I do think that if Horikoshi had kept a similar approach with him throughout the story, it would have done him a lot more justice.

(At least more than whatever Dark Deku was supposed to be)

Iida

I don't have much to say on him other than that I think it would have been beneficial to showcase his skills a little more. He's supposed to be the second most intelligent in 1A and he got fourth on the quirk apprehension test. It would have been nice to show him off a little more like they did with Todoroki and Bakugou.

However, I do understand that his performance in the Sports Festival is meant to take a backseat to what's going on in his personal life. And for the most part that is done pretty well. The tension build up his actually really good and it sets him up to shine in the Stain arc.

I also appreciate his approach towards Izuku. He respects him and sees him as a friend, but also knows that Izuku is still an adversary. It's a unique approach to rivalry in anime and also sets up his role in the Stain arc well.

So it's not a terrible arc for Iida, but it could have been better for him too.

Bakugou

I know, I know I don't want to either but let's just get through this okay?

Obviously above I said what I said about how he should have fought Shinsou. And I stand by that. The Sports Festival was the best way he could have been humbled and taught humility. Having Bakugou fight Shinsou and lose could have aided his redemption in the long run.

Now, one thing that bothers me about the Sports Festival is that it seems like the narrative constantly goes out of its way to make him look better. Oh, Bakugou meets his match from a student with a copying quirk who rightfully calls him out and catches him off guard? Let's have him overcome the (truthful) assumptions and beat him and still qualify even though he was completely focused on the wrong things. Oh, the crowd thinks Bakugou is being overly harsh on someone who clearly isn't on his level? Let's have Aizawa vehemently defend him and tell everyone he's showing her respect when he obviously isn't (and even doubles down after the fact). Oh, Todoroki has just embraced a part of his quirk that's more than enough to beat Bakugou? Nah, let's have Todoroki throw even though he just had an epiphany about how his power was his and not his father's.

You see where I'm going with this? No matter what, this arc absolutely bends over backwards to portray Bakugou in a positive light. Where our other characters lose, struggle, and get put through the wringer, Bakugou is handed a win (literally and figuratively) multiple times. It's part of what pushed me from genuinely enjoying the Sports Festival to somewhat disliking it.

Bakugou is never allowed to struggle unless everyone around him is struggling too, most of the time worse than he is. This is a pattern that persists throughout the series. And it started in this arc.

Todoroki

You know how I said that Uraraka was one of the characters that this arc did justice? Well, Todoroki was the other one.

His set up in the Sports Festival is fantastic. Before this arc, we knew he was important. He was strong, aloof, and the only one who could intimidate Bakugou. The way they ease us into his character is very well done from his little mannerisms to revealing his backstory.

I know most of us agree that he should have beat Bakugou. However, him winning or losing the final match never really mattered. What mattered is that he made peace with his quirk and his trauma. And through Izuku he opens himself up which not only leads to him being a loyal friend, but also makes him a better hero in the long run. He is undoubtedly the character that develops the most.

(It's also through Todoroki that we get a bit of world building. Endeavor is the first example of a corrupt hero we see and we're introduced to the concept of quirk marriages)

Unfortunately, like Uraraka, this setup doesn't pay off that well later, but again that's a story for another day.

Yaoyorozu

An unfortunate flipside of Todoroki is that Yaoyorozu's character goes through the opposite.

A pattern with Yaoyorozu is that Horikoshi seems to fluctuate between wanting to treat her as a serious character and going out of his way to screw her over. In the race, she's a victim of Mineta's perversions (there's also the cheerleading bit, but that happened to all the 1A girls so it doesn't pertain to just her; it's still shitty though). She's barely present in the Cavalry Battle, only serving as a support prop for Todoroki's team.

And then the tournament is the final nail in the coffin. Yaoyorozu before this was shown to be calm, collected, and intelligent. She also- by the Quirk Apprehension Test results- has the most control and prowess over her quirk in 1A. So it's odd that she lost to Tokoyami so easily.

Not to say that she necessarily should have won, but for her to not realize what Tokoyami was doing was out of character to say the least when she was shown to be very observant. And if Horikoshi was going to add this insecurity aspect to her character in the Sports Festival, she should have gotten more attention beforehand. At least then it would have made a bit of sense. But to give her this vaguely hinted emotional moment out of nowhere was... weird. She has barely any screen time and no growth or development to lead us into this point. And she barely gets any after this moment. There's almost no payoff or point to this.

(*cough* maybe focus less on Bakugou and give other characters a chance to shine *cough*)

Yaoyorozu might have been the character screwed over the most in this arc.

Shinsou

Wasted potential. Like I said before, having him take down Bakugou would have really hammered in how dangerous his quirk can be. It shows him as an actual threat. Having him get ringed out by Izuku in the first round doesn't do anything for anyone's character. It makes his entire introduction lackluster.

Final Thoughts

So yeah, those are my thoughts on the Sports Festival. Good for some characters, not so much for others. I always like to read fics where it gets rewritten because so much could have changed for the better. What do you guys think? Did I miss anything?

[fizzigigsimmer]

Ahem.

Imagine Billy’s first spring show at the academy being Frankenstein. He and Steve are still in their rival stage and Steve is gloating because he got the part of Victor, who is technically the lead. Billy’s pissed because they were both good but he thinks he did better at his audition. No he doesn’t think it, he knows it.

This is total bullshit and obvious favoritism. He wants to just pack his bags and walk out, only he hasn’t hated the last couple of months the way he thought he would. His classes are challenging and it’s been nice not having to hide his books or pretend like he doesn’t give a shit about his grades without his dad looming over him. And fuck, yeah, he’ll admit it, he’s not sure if he’s ready to give up dancing again.

Being able to practice every day with Argyle & Eddie who almost feel like friends now, learning from teachers who really know their stuff and who can push him to be better - he’s not ready to walk away from it. Which burns. Because he doesn’t want to need this place more than he wants it; and that’s what drives him into Mrs. Harrington’s office, calling her out for her Nepo Casting. He all but dares her to admit that he was better and therefore should have gotten the part as Victor.

He’s speechless when she agrees with him - about the audition. Not about the part.

“I don’t need to tell you you’re good Billy. You already know it. You’ve scored the highest on every exam this term.”

“So then why -”

“Because this is a school, Billy, and while some competition between students is to be expected you shouldn’t mistake this for one. This place is meant to prepare you for the world first, but more specifically to teach you to be an artist within it. Our job as your teachers is not to hand out parts based on how you score on a sheet, but on how you might grow. I gave you that role because you bring something to it that few of your fellow students can, and I believe there is much you can learn from it. Likewise, the part of Victor will challenge Steve technically as well as mentally. When I approved the curriculum for this term I’ll admit I wasn’t confident that reading the novel in English would sufficiently teach him anything about the pitfalls of pride and hubris -”

Billy snorts. Because if Harrington manages to write a thoughtful essay on Frankenstein’s themes without Wheeler spoon feeding it to him he’ll eat his hat. Mrs. Harrington’s eyes dance like she read his mind and shrugs.

“I was never much of a reader either. Dance has always spoken to me in a language that is easier to understand.” She smiles at him, tenderly, with that same look in her eye that Billy’s mom always had when she talked about dance. It’s a look he sees every day now reflected in the eyes of so many almost friends. Still. It’s not fair. Steve gets the lead because he’s an arrogant prick and mommy hopes playing out the demise of another stuck up asshole will teach him to play nice with the other kids, and Billy just has to take it?

“It’s not fair.” he challenges, and Mrs. H. sighs a little, her smile fading as her expression settles into something more serious. Final.

“You did very well Billy. But no. Victor is not the role you should have.” She says, closing the door on any further argument with one of her direct unblinking stares. “I’m confident you’ll do very well as the creature, and that the rest of this term will be an education for you.”

She doesn’t say as much but Billy doesn’t need anyone to tell him the conversation is over. For better or for worse he’s Frankinstien’s creature and he’s going to have to put up with Steve, Tommy and Jason giving him shit until the show is over. As he leaves the madame’s office he vows to himself then and there that he’s going to outshine Steve on that stage and make him eat every word. Victor isn’t even the true protagonist of that story anyway, and Billy’s going to show them all why.

[myobsessionsspace]

Hello!!!

It's great that you're open to Jikook questions 😊

There's something that's been hunting me since I first saw it.

What's your interpretation of Jimin's reaction during the Vminkook live in Dec 2021- I'm referring specifically to Jimin's reaction after V said he was going to release a song with Jungkook? His reaction was super interesting, and so was Jungkook's.

We now know that V was playing around, and his statement wasn't true. Nevertheless, I think it caught Jimin by surprise, and my take is that he was a tiny bit jealous 😅 bless Jungkook, I think he was in a little bit of trouble there 🫣

Youtube link here:

https://youtu.be/5ufxVvjNbL4?si=UCbXNJxUfkz0c7i6

The moment I'm talking about starts around minute 45:00.

Thanks 💜

Hi Lovely!

This is a great ask, it’s something I’ve had convos with my friends about before! I’ve always found it highly entertaining when any variation of vminkook are together and get into skit mode or when Tae & Jungkook tease Jimin just to get him to go into super cute mode!

It’s what they do and have been doing for years.

This live was so chaotic VMinKook style from the jump. If anyone hasn’t watched it please do **everyone please watch original content**

It was chaotic because it was initially Tae’s solo live but he said how nervous he felt doing it alone and asked for staff to get Jungkook to join him.

NB: all image are gifs unless stated otherwise, please watch as they are there to support statements made. Original links to lives are at the end 💜

Jimin then came as he heard Tae needed company and Jimin had been with Jungkook. Jungkook eventually joined later.

Due to nerves on Tae’s part and it being an unplanned live that Jimin & Jungkook didn’t intend to be having there were many times where they didn’t know what to do or the purpose of the live and would defer to Tae for direction. Tae had a running skit with Jimin about being the host of a show (the vlive) and Jimin and later Jungkook being his guests.

Not a gif. Still picture

They also had funny moments where Tae would name drop different brands (this was funny as the group had contractual obligations with brands and they know in their profession they can’t name drop brands without consequence).

TMIs, games and more skits.

credit: onlyluvkpop. Some of the fun and teasing they were having

As I said the live was fun, chaotic but also at times stilted due to its unplanned nature of it becoming a trio live and nerves.

There was a point where Tae whilst trying to engage Jungkook tried (in my opinion) to run a joke with JK on army? I’m thinking he was hoping Jungkook and Jimin would catch onto it with him?

But cutie Minie Jagi was losssstttt 😭

Jimin’s face in the live side by side with confused Jimin face from post Hobipalooza live

VMinkook love their role playing and teasing and even if Jimin hadn’t caught on, I do think nothing was done to intentionally exclude any of the three. All three tease each other in different combinations

So no, not jealousy in my opinion, Jimin has absolutely nothing to be jealous about. But confused and slightly lost, as to if it was another skit or really work related that he didn’t know about.

Maybe a tad annoyed with it being live and no hints that he was catching on to, to work with, giving a look to Jungkook like ‘are you guys serious? Why aren’t you giving me a hint on the joke’ or ‘why am I hearing about a song for the first time in a live? You guys aren’t making sense’ and Jungkook’s kinda like ‘I’m as lost as you are’ or ‘what did I do? I’m just going along too!’

Maybe he was probably also thinking to himself when did Jungkook have a chance in between eating chicken together, working out together, Jungkook coming to his room all the time?? 😂

Not a gif. Still picture

Also Tae literally talked about a Christmas song earlier on in the live when it was just Jimin and Tae

Normally though, when V & JK are teasing Jimin, he knows it, and loves it 😂

But Minie was lost that time and he told us so

Tae & JK sometimes find a lost Jiminie, to be a cute Jiminie

Original Source: Weverse

Ultimately (in my opinion) Tae was mixing some facts together, which had JK quicker to the draw in playing along, but JK too was also confused at the beginning of their skit. When Jungkook caught on, he too teased Tae a bit and tried to get an expensive gift promise from Tae

Reached my media limit so ss the transcript instead, but like always, please watch the original lives for yourself

I’m assuming that the two had been vibing together and having fun making little play songs and singing, which is why JK said “what is it?” And “How can we release that?”

Tae did have a Christmas song in the works, just not with JK.

But for anyone that wanted a Christmas song from Jungkook, that’s ok, don't worry, him and Jimin have already done one together!

Not a gif. Still picture from Dynamite Christmas remix MV

Original source: BANGTANTV

I really appreciate your ask @irmi3454, I had fun!

💜

Original Weverse Links for Live

Live Part 1

Live Part 2

Live Part 3

[nofomogirl]

Metatron's manipulation step by step

Part 3: The Entrance

Part 1 - where I discuss the significance of the coffee.

Part 2 - where I take a look back at season 1

Ok, time to actually get to the promised "step by step" part and look very closely at what Metatron is doing, from the moment he appears on Earth to the very (heartbreaking) end of the episode (and the season, and the story so far). Well, in this part I'll stop when he sends the Angels away but we'll get to the very end eventually.

We first see Metatron on Earth when Crowley is escorting Nina and Maggie out of the bookshop. He's standing in line in front of Give me coffee or give me death, waiting for the shop to open and I think we should really stress the significance of that. Not his purchase of coffee and conversation with Nina - though they are important too - but the sole fact that he's there, in the street, in the queue, and NOT IN THE BOOKSHOP.

Gabriel has just gotten his memory back. His affair with Beelzebub has just been brought to light. Michael, Uriel, Saraqael, Dagon, Shax, and Furfur are shouting over each other about what should be done with them, while Beelzebub and Gabriel hold hands. They're still there! Nothing is decided yet.

But apparently, Metatron was more interested in buying coffee than confronting the Archangel who escaped his judgment.

I mean, I don't think anybody ever doubted that Meteron traveled to Earth specifically to talk to Aziraphale, and that was his top priority. It's not exactly a revelation. But it still baffled me just how little he cared about Gabriel's fate. Even at the point when he still might have influenced it. After the second rewatch I started drawing my conclusions from that about Metatron's personality and taking notes, but after the third time, I realized I was missing the point. Metatron's decision to stay out of Gabriel's business wasn't informed by how much he did or didn't care about it. It was all about how it would make him look if he was seen involved.

Aziraphale already had a rather unfavorable impression of him from their previous encounter (season 1) and now our beloved dorky Principality got himself involved in Gabriel's case, risking his safety to protect the Archangel from Heaven. And it was Metatron who was presiding over Gabriel's trial and decided Gabriel's punishment would be to have his memories erased.

Entering the bookshop while Gabriel was still there, while his fate was still being discussed, posed a serious risk of exposing Metatron's role in the whole mess. Entering after it all blew over meant that Aziraphale didn't have a chance to make a connection.

Now let's look at the exact circumstances under which Metatron did enter the bookshop.

He came in at the exact moment Michael was threatening Aziraphale to erase his existence just so he could put a stop to it and chastise the Archangels. He immediately steps into a role of a savior and a voice of reason.

Let's dissect it a little.

Michael's exact words are "I am authorized to remove the name of anyone who helped Gabriel from the Book of Life".

But Metatron insists she "doesn't have the authority to do anything like that".

That begs the question: if Michael really was wrong and never could use the Book, where did she get the idea that she could? True, Michael is portrayed as particularly dim and vain this season. She does attribute herself to more power than she actually has. But her phrasing strongly implies that it was a one-time thing. Michael doesn't think she can use the Book at will, at any time, against whomever she pleases. She believes she has the authorization to use it in this specific instance. That's a strange thing to be confused about, don't you think?

Another glaringly strange thing is how Archangels don't seem to know who Metatron is.

The only person to recognize him immediately is Crowley, which makes sense, considering he had just watched Gabriel's trial. He says the last time he saw the guy, he was a giant floating head, and that triggers Aziraphale's memory, which again, makes sense. In season 1 it was clear Aziraphale had never seen Metatron before - he asked if he was talking to God, and Metatron needed to introduce himself - and it's been a couple of years since then. He hasn't forgotten him but he needed a little tip to recognize him in a different getup.

It's the Archangels' reaction that doesn't make sense. They had all been present at the trial. Saraqael had seen it again at the same time Crowley did. There's no logical reason why they should be so oblivious.

There are quite a few theories about this, the most common being that Crowley recognizes Metatron because he used to be such a high-ranking angel before the Fall, and from all the supernatural entities in the room he knew Metatron the best. And while I am inclined to believe Crowley indeed used to be a big shot in Heaven, I don't think it's a satisfactory explanation for this situation. If that was all there was, there would be no reason for all three of the Archangels to not connect the dots at the same time Aziraphale did. But they didn't. It's only when the Metatron is explicitly called the Metatron that they finally see it.

Personally, I think Metatron is responsible for both things - Michael's misguided belief she had the power to use the Book of Life & and all Archangels suddenly not recognizing Metatron's face, voice, and presence.

Why?

Because it made the Archangels look really bad.

How would it benefit him?

Well, answer honestly, when Metatron first appeared and started scolding the Archangels like they were misbehaving kids, wasn't that satisfying? Didn't you like him just for that short moment?

I sure did, and I believe that was the point. Except that the performance wasn't for our, the audience's sake, but for Aziraphale's. He makes a whole performance of exposing how incompetent the Archangels are and how outraged he is with that.

And what's even more interesting, right from the moment he enters Metatron speaks like Aziraphale! I didn't notice it at first because he is played by Sir Derek Jacobi and old-fashioned language certainly becomes him. But he doesn't speak this way in Heaven! He doesn't say things like "balderdash" or "piffle" or "spit spot". That's Aziraphale's gimmick.

In other words, Metatron says things Aziraphale very likely always wanted to say, and to boot, he says them in the exact manner Aziraphale would actually say them if he had the power. He plays out a fantasy for our poor Principality, who most likely was never backed by anybody in Heaven, and his issues with Archangels were never validated by anybody.

Metatron draws a very clear line between himself and the Archangels. He shows that they are the problem, they are incompetent, they are unreasonable. Not him.

Which is the first step in convincing Aziraphale that maybe he's worth listening to at least.

Continued in Part 4: Putting on a human face

[z-nightshade]

For Kim Dokja centered stuff

He and Vivi wouldn't get along very well I don't think. Kim Dokja thinks she's too naive and she thinks he's too uncaring. Their personalities clash uncomfortably is what I'm trying to say. It especially annoys Dokja when the running gag of the Strawhats coming across something dangerous and Vivi saying "oh, I should've told you earlier but..." Especially with that sacred catfish thingy...

This isn't to say that they don't like anything about each other. Vivi finds him too very reliable. And Kim Dokja, despite his dislike of her naivete admires how much hope she has. He also thinks that she'd be a great ya heroine.

Ace is a breath of fresh air. He isn't a child, he's very polite and respectful. A good role-model for Luffy (and Cass).

And then Dokja leads that Ace is on a one-man manhunt against his former brother who killed another one of his brothers. And his target is coincidentally the guy who absolutely trashed Drum Island. And with the way Cass is acting... Kim Dokja is oblivious, not stupid.

So when he does go on a deep dive of informing himself on who tf Marshall Teach even is, he falls down the rabbit hole of being the most informed about the world they're in.

He can understand having only one continent, but how the fuck do the Calm Belts even work? Why do the winds just stop? How does the planet regulate temperature between the Blues? Why the hell is the Red Line so tall?

And that's only the geographical stuff.

Like what the fuck do mean that the World Nobles own slaves?? What do you mean there is racism against fish people. And don't get him started on the whole "learning a(n ancient) language is illegal".

On the bright side, he now knows what an Emperor is and why specifically a betrayal against Whitebeard is straight up moronic.

Kim Dokja has some serious questions for this Blackbeard guy.

(Cass definitely reads through his notes and even helps with them to find a solution for Ace's death)

Kim Dokja thinks of Crocodile as a Scooby-Doo-esque villain. His plan would've worked if it wasn't for the trio and their meddling kids. He also voices that opinion, which definitely doesn't earn sympathy points from Vivi. Kim Dokja doesn't care all that much though. Kim Dokja was also one of those bullied for not being sentimental at Vivi remaining at Arabasta.

He likes Paulie... Until he calls Nami an immoral woman for wearing a skirt. And as for CP9... He's acutely aware. And they're not lying about the boat But hey, not his circus not his monkeys.

As for Franky, he doesn't hate or dislike him at first, even with the Usopp situation. Kim Dokja is acutely aware that it isn't personal and Franky really doesn't know about their situation. Later on when he actually meets Franky, he can't help but respect the guy who found a job and home for everyone who needed one, a guy who when faced with rock bottom, started climbing back up instead of digging deeper like Dokja did himself.

Sorry this took so long to answer. I was out and mobile wouldn't let me

Vivi and Dokja are on, like, the opposite sides of the empathy spectrum. And while I do believe the two would clash, I think Vivi would probably remind Dokja of Yoo Sangah on some level

The "I probably should have mentioned this..." things would be hella annoying

Ace is nice, though I'd be much more interested in Yoo Joonghyuk's reaction to meeting Ace given his opinion on what Cass is doing

This is also around the time he'd meet Sabo too!

Also, I cannot stress this enough. Cass is being so fucking obvious that something is going down with Ace. Frankly, if they could outright say Ace was going to die, they would. Just not in front of Luffy

One Piece is wack and Kim Dokja finally gets a taste of that. He and Cass can bond over plans and how batshit everything is

I would like to say, Cass takes advantage of their own emotional distress when Luffy gets dragged back into the desert to hug Dokja. He tries to pawn them off to Yoo Joonghyuk but they are insistent on hugging him in particular

Waters 7, Usopp crashout over the Merry and Ennis Lobby are going to be wild, especially with Cass and the disaster trio thrown in the mix

Also love Dokja's complete lack of care for anything that doesn't affect him

Mild spoilers for Waters 7 in An Oracle's Odyssey below the cut

So, Cass definitely tries to defuse the situation only to get lashed out at in turn

I won't say what Usopp says to them but it does cause them to shut down pretty much completely. And I mean that

(I will say what Usopp says has something to do with their knowledge and ability to do anything)

I can only imagine how Joonghyuk will take his children fighting or how the other two will deal with the emotional fallout

[pickastitch]

Hai i want to listen to you talk about gem again. Any thoughts on empires s1 gem ? (If u already told me then tell me again plz n thank u <3 )

confession time, the s1 e!gem that is always brainrotting is pretty different from canon s1 e!gem (from what i can remember) so i'm going to talk about my pantheon au version of gem

i like to think gem would say, "it's free to be a hater" after sausage or fwhip does some stupid shit. on a more serious note, i feel there has to be some genuine resentment towards them two for dragging her into their bs, even if it's not a lot it is there. gem killing sausage in that one important lore bit was so cathartic to her

gem really admires katherine mainly because of how non involved she is with everything. she always feels the need to help everyone (see my gem character analysis post), and the fact that katherine just steps back is enviable to her

in my head, gem also uses a lot more fire magic than she does in the series; this contracts nicely with katherine's nature magic. gandalf, her cat, will decide if they like a person or not, and that will be gem's first impression of a person. it's quite hard to break from it too

now i'm going to dip in to some hc s8 territory, but it will come back to esmp s1. at the start of the series, gem has no clue she is bi and false is actually her gay awakening. gem looks up to her a lot, and she watches her run away and leave her friends behind. this leads to her reaction during the rapture (season ending), where she only takes fwhip because he directly asked, instead of helping out everybody. like come on, they both fly away on their base defining organic

fwhip and gem were royalty, but because gender roles, their parents were forcing gem to be king (trans roseblings tust), gem felt like her only option was to run away. when she finds out about the crown made by fwhip, she is a little uncomfortable with the concept but doesn't say anything. though when others try to convince her she should get it gem is beyond pissed

before she ran away, pearl showed her all about rifts (it has something to do with amethyst shards, but that's a whole different post) and offers to take her to hermitcraft, which she refuses. until she wants to run away and then goes to the place she wants to set up her village and then goes to another world while everyone is searching for her

gem's relationship with shrub is very unique because she so wants to just yell at them for bringing xornoth to the overworld and then spreading it across her place. on the other hand, she sees herself in them as someone who also ran away from home. but then that gets ruined when she is infected with xornoth via shrub

when she still lived with her family, pearl and sausage lived in neighboring empires, and they all grew up together. gem and sausage dated a bit when they were really young, so they are exs on technicality. most of her romantic feelings have gone away, but whenever sausage firts with her, a crush appears for a day and then goes away. she hates this more than anything else. then they grow up, and gem realizes she likes women and then realize she likes pearl specifically. and then pearl and sausage get together (actually qpr, but gem doesn't know that), and she swears off of romance

and the connection to the void and the end and all that stuff is a pretty important part of this au but ehhhh y'know

[emotionalcraney]

Too Careless

Pavitr Prabhakar x gn!reader

Word Count - 1.3K

Genre - Stablished platonic relationship, pure angst

Warnings - Fighting (Oh no the horrors), feeling under appreciated, surprise ending cliffhanger???

Summary - You instantly knew who was behind the mask of the new hero appearing in Mumbattan; and of course it was your best friend Pav. This didn’t cause any problems in your friendship, at least at first. This ‘discussion’ was a long time coming, you just didn’t wan to admit it.

A/N - *Slaps roof of car.* This bad boy has so much angst, you probably can’t even imagine, Hey guys, so I found out the hard way that I really really like writing angst. Who would have thought? Anyways enjoy! 💖

It was just another sleepover with Pav.

Also known as your best friend.

And also as Spider-Man.

That’s what you both always did. You were hanging out with Pav in his room after school, doing your nails, and telling him all the gossip you heard in school that day.

“Yeah, to be honest, she’s got no way of getting out of this one. I mean who even sleeps with their best friend’s boyfriend?” You said as you filed your nails, preparing them for nail polish.

“Yeah, no idea why people even do that,” He responded as he scrolled his phone, looking for something very specifically.

“So, Pav, you hear about people trying to ‘unmask’ you at school?” Trying to make air quotes at the word unmask, you playfully brought up.

“Uh-huh,” Pav quickly and dismissively replied.

Noticing his ignorant behavior, you decided to test him, to see if he was purposefully not looking in your direction.

“They got some pretty good suspects, like the jocks, gym rats, even acrobats in our school.”

“Yeah.”

“No one suspects you.”

“Of course.”

“Except me, who already told the newspaper president to unleash the news to the world.”

“You’d never do that.”

“So you are listening! What gives?” You shouted frustrated as you got up and took his chin to make it face you, away from his stupid phone.

“Sorry! You know I love listening to you! I just heard that the city wants to award Spider-Man with a ceremony soon and I wanted to be the first to know! Mostly ‘cause I would be the guest of honor, you get me right?”

“Pav really? That’s amazing! Let me see! Let me see!” You quickly decided to sit next to him in his bed, waiting to see the exciting news.

He was absolutely correct. Mumbattan wanted to thank Spiderman for all his work in saving civilians, being a role model, and an overall bright person by giving him an award. The ceremony was to take place in about a week from now.

“See Pav? All your hard work is paying off! I’m so proud of you!” Giving him a sudden reassuring hug, you told him.

“Well, it’s nothing really.”

“Pav, no, I’m not letting you under-appreciate your efforts. You earned this!”

“I’m being serious! I just show up and things just kinda work out on their own.”

“Ok, Mr.Humble, you can stop now! Take it in! Enjoy it!”

“No! I’m being very serious right now! Ever since I became Spider-Man, people have been telling me about how hard and how much sacrifice I must be putting in, but that’s not true.”

Then he just stared at you, a serious and almost disappointed look in his eyes. His life had currently felt so carefree, so relaxing, so easy.

He didn’t really feel like a true hero.

Sure, there were times when he thought he might not be able to save everyone. But things always turned out okay.

Always.

Now, he was scared that one day, that might not be the case. And then, he wouldn’t know how to save someone.

“I’m sorry, Pav. I didn’t mean to be pushy,” You finally responded after a long pause.

“No, I’m sorry for snapping at you. That’s not cool, especially when the person I’m snapping at is you,” He said as he went up to you and held you by your shoulders.

“Okay. But, Pav, why didn’t you tell me before? You know you can talk to me about anything.”

“Sorry, I just… I didn’t really know how to talk about this one… you wouldn’t get it.”

Those words stung deeply.

Here you were, his number one fan, his support since day one, but…

You wouldn’t get it.

“I wouldn’t get it huh? What happened to, ‘we’ll face everything together?’” It truly made you unbelievably frustrated.

“It’s you and me?

Against everything that could possibly get in our way?

What about me?”

He didn’t know how to respond to that. You guys had been childhood friends forever. So close. Never apart. Always together.

How was he supposed to respond?

You had felt it too.

This year was the year that things started to crumble. Even if you didn’t want to admit it.

You guys did everything the same. Always going through the same motions. But that spark, the one that always made you wanna give your best into the friendship, it was gone.

It only made sense. After all, a lot of things had changed that year.

You wanted to put the blame on a lot of things, because, you didn’t want to admit the probability that you and Pavitr were changing.

No. Not yet. Please.

You sniffled.

Talk about pathetic…

He had no idea on how to comfort you. You’d never acted like this. With just the start of a common conversation, he now had you upset to the point of having you almost crying.

“Pav… I’m sorry…”

“No, it’s okay, I didn’t know that’s how you felt.”

“I didn’t even know how I felt… don’t blame yourself..”

Silence was all you could both muster for a second.

“Hey, I know things have been weird lately but-“

It had to happen. Just as you were both ready to share your emotions with each other, his phone rang with an alarm.

A robbery in progress.

All the way across town.

How did it come to this?

You looked at him disappointed for a moment. But then, you remembered what you promised him. To be there for him and to always encourage him to do good.

Those people were in danger.

You could wait.

You always had, so what was the difference?

“Pav… you better go. Or should I say Spider-man?” As you composed yourself, you tried to lighten the situation.

He looked at you in shock, not expecting this reaction from you. You were right, and he knew that. But he couldn’t help but feel guilty for having to put aside this very important conversation with you.

He was frozen in place.

So, you did what you knew best.

You gave him a little push.

“Hey, hurry up! Mumbattan needs you!”

That snapped him back to reality. Soon he got up and ready to embark into his next mission. He couldn’t place the reason, but he felt that something was off. You were acting as you’d always had, but something about your smile bothered him. It looked genuine, but it was hiding something, and he couldn’t figure out what it was.

He decided to let it go for the moment and he later found himself about to jump out of his window.

But, he turned back to give you one last glance.

“Go!” You simply whisper-shouted as to not alert aunt Maya.

But, behind his shiny and bright mask, he had a sad glint in his eyes. And very softly and gingerly he said:

“Thank you.”

And just like that, he jumped out into the busy streets of Mumbattan.

Those words meant more to you than he could ever know,

You knew the reason as to why you didn’t want your relationship with Pavitr to become distant. It was all his fault really.

He was the brightest, most lovable, most kind guy you’d ever met.

You’d fallen for him.

And he had no idea.

Instead, he was moving on. Moving on to loving someone else.

How long would you be okay with this?

How long would it take for you to accept change?

How much longer could you endure having him not know how you felt about him?

You had absolutely no idea as to how he couldn’t have figured it out before. It was as if he didn’t even care.

But that was okay.

Because for now, you were okay with that.

Okay with just waiting.

[nagirambles]

How do you think Erza's relationship with Natsu and Gray changed post-Tower of Heaven arc? I know we see it in small ways (i.e. Gray being more open with her in one-on-one heart-to-hearts, Natsu trusting her to win her fights and live in the Battle of Fairy Tail arc, etc) but I was wondering if you had any specific headcanons I guess. Thanks :]

I wonder how long this ask has been in my inbox... sorry for taking so long! I think you might not even remember this ask either, but I'll answer it anyways, thanks!

Now-

I guess the most notable one would be that Erza goes from being the strict mediator of Natsu-Gray fights-- into someone that actively jumps into fights, too. She drifts from her role as the stern, serious knight into a playful enabler. I think this also happen because Lucy is in the fray now. I like to think that as a child, she was always put into the role of the mature, selfless, protective big sister of the group, and so continued it in Fairy Tail all the way to Phantom. After that (after she learned that she doesn't need to lead the battle, doesn't need to sacrifice, doesn't need to be strong, because she can be protected too by her friends--) she learns to let loose and be as cheeky and playful and whimsical as she likes. Like the young girl that used to want to do silly things like fly in the sky on a witch's broom, after TOH, she lets herself play and have fun. Her barrel-surfing at the bar during GMG is a good example.

Another point is her attitude towards love. (I have mixed feelings about Erza becoming local wingwoman in canon, but let's not talk about that today.) Before TOH, she didn't seem all that interested in romance anymore because of what happened to Jellal-- maybe a passing fancy, a sort of 'hey, that's cute' or 'oh, you're a couple, good for you' kind of detached attitude towards it. But after it, I'd love to think she starts jumping into being supportive of romances around her. She's much more perceptive to love between others because she's been holding back her own for so long thinking it was impossible, and she doesn't want anyone else to go through the same pain she did when the world kept getting in the way of her and Jellal's relationship. She naive and innocent, but when it comes to love, she's aware. She knows Alzack and Bisca like each other--- everyone does! She talks to Gray about returning Juvia's feelings. This insightful nature in Erza, borne of being heartbroken many times before--- is why Jerza's the only big four that actually have a long, genuine talk about how they want to advance their relationship each step of the way. This makes Jerza the most well-handled of the big four in my opinion. Not perfect, but it's a rocky, painful relationship that actually feels in some way like a realistic progression between two people trying to take a step towards a future together, considering if they're ready for a relationship before progressing.

Alright, enough Jerza, next.

Following on that Gray point. I really love the way Gray and Erza have a relationship where they truly let their hearts open to each other. Before TOH, it seems as if Gray is always chasing after Erza. From childhood, to TOH, Gray is always going after her, trying to break through her facade of strength to get one over her. It evolves into care after he sees her cry. Erza doesn't start returning this until Galuna, when she point her sword at him and threatens his loyalty Fairy Tail if he doesn't stop. She didn't try to see his perspective, and he threw it all back at her with the threat of 'kill me, then'. That was likely the first instance Erza truly felt Gray actually angry at her. He's been cranky, childishly competitive, and fearful of her--- but never so disappointed and broken. She sees Gray's anger with the same shock as Gray did, when he saw Erza's tears when they were young. Natsu's absent during their backstories, so Erza and Gray are the ones to hear each other out, (including Lucy, our insert character) and they are the ones to truly stand by each other and understand each other in their most vulnerable moments. They fight to get to that point in each other, and to me, they feel closer than they do to Natsu, even though Natsu is undeniably a third piece in their puzzle. It's just a sense that they always go together in a sentence, even though they're not a parallel like Natsu-Gray or Lucy-Levy. Even in Edolas, they come as a set piece naturally, as the two reliable saviours that show up in the nick of time. TOH is where Gray's chase for Erza finally reaches her heart. That's where the pinnacle of the Gray-Erza dynamic is reached, and they become a pair of perfect deuteragonists to Natsu and Lucy.

I'm sorry, as usual, I ramble too much and fail to answer the question.

I do think the easiest way to see changes in Erza after TOH is by how she really becomes a little more 'lax' in things. She joins them in messing around--- first seen in Fantasia, when she pulled out the gothloli. What she chose to show the world wasn't armour, which she's most proud of, she easily sheds the shell around her heart and puts on something silly, something she knows the general public will go crazy for, something brazen. And for some money she doesn't really need. It's just mischief, and she continues this trend into her fight with Evergreen, where she doesn't actually punish her for what she did. Even though she had all intentions to go through with consequences back on Galuna with Team Natsu, enough to abandon a crisis so they could learn their lesson about betraying the guild master. Evergreen truly betrayed the guild master, but she gets off with a slap on the wrist, because Erza learned the value of life, of unconditional care for friends, and being betrayed by Jellal didn't dull her ability to have grace for her enemies and forgive them.

Back to the point about Erza being the big sister, protector. She was the Jeanne d'arc of the tower-- the leader of the charge, the one that had to fight so everyone could continue, the one that motivated the battle to the end. Even though she didn't want to fight, she selflessly fought, for everyone's freedom. This continues all the way to TOH, but we most prominently see it in the first few arcs. She hears of a rumour in a bar and leads a team out to fight Eisenwald. She didn't have to, but she did, because she knew someone had to. She threw herself in front of Jupiter knowing it was reckless, and came back to fight Aria, too. She was ready to die when Jose had her. TOH even more so. She always charges ahead, thinking she was the strongest and thus she had to. But in Fantasia, that changes. Here, she willingly back down against Laxus despite knowing she was a much better fight--- she entrusts the role to Natsu instead, because she's learned that she doesn't need to fight the biggest enemies anymore. She knows she can fall back and watch someone else do the job instead. If that isn't growth from the pacifist that was forced to be Jeanne d'arc, I don't know what.

Alright, that was long. Glad to be back!