#so good i wasn't judging the characters for participating

[aquila1nz]

The really good australian f/f one i read recently was part of a series with two m/f ones. I think one had a contestant fall for someone on the crew and the other had the bachelor fall for a contestant he'd already rejected, who was still on set because covid lockdown.

are there straight romance books about the-bachelor-like dating shows. all the ones i’ve read are ones where they fall for a co-star or whatever instead of who they’re competing for, like that’s the (gay) point. do straight ones just….have them win? or fall for someone else unrelated?

[sephirthoughts]

Vincent’s lingering obsession with Lucrecia is excellent drama, but their story is not a doomed romance.

This is an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think Lucrecia deserves nearly as much pity and excusing of her actions as she gets. This is not character-hate post, it's an analysis of a character I think gets short shrift as a Mother-Mary in a bell jar, and deserves better.

Lucrecia is morally grey. Charcoal grey. I love complex, morally grey characters, particularly when they're women, since usually women are relegated to roles that infantilize and objectify them, particularly in video games, which have historically been a very backward, androcentric medium. I strongly dislike brainless victims, subject to the whims of the male characters, without much agency, and Lucrecia was not such a character.

Lucrecia was an adult with agency and brains. She was a grown ass adult. She was a brilliant scientist. She made decisions with her eyes open, and even sacrificed her unborn child to her work. She is a very interesting character. The fact that she didn't idolize motherhood as the end-all of female existence, and that her obsession with her work was stronger than her desire to be a 'good mother' makes her far more interesting than otherwise. The fact that she regretted it later and wanted him back doesn’t magically make her a good person, or change the choices she made. It demonstrates guilt and remorse, which are part of character development. The bottom line is that she committed atrocities in the name of science, then felt guilty about it later, once she realized how devastating the consequences were to her personally. To say she didn’t know what she was doing or Hojo manipulated or controlled her is to infantilize and disrespect her character. She’s not some sacrificial angel who was a victim of circumstances; she was a willing participant in her own downfall.

Lucrecia is a tragic character, but she's not a romantic lead. Except in Vincent's head. After all was said and done, she had one of those too-late changes of heart that make tragedy so emotionally impactful. She had a human reaction to Vincent's death and felt terribly guilty for her role in all of it, as she should. That doesn't mean she loved him, it means she wasn't a monster. She lost her son, and gradually, Hojo's callous inhumanity and her inability to escape the net she wove with her own hands closed in on her. Did she deserve to never hold her baby son and never see him even once? No. But she caused it, with her own actions. That's tragedy. She was miserable, bereft, and riddled with guilt, so she made a last-ditch effort to make something right...by doing more insane science shit that turned Vincent into a monster. Seeing that she'd only made everything worse, she tried to kill herself, but was unable to, and thus ran off to become a crystal statue in a cave (this is a trope that I dislike, but that's the story, so that's what we've got).

Vincent is a bad judge of the circumstances. Vincent persists in seeing her as a lost love, and someone from whom he was unjustly separated by circumstances. The fact that he is so blinded by his feelings for her that he places her on this pedestal and can't blame her for what she did is excellent characterization, and I love it, but it's because he’s wrong. He loved her. She didn’t love him (I think she was in love with his father, but that's just icing on the tragedy cake, at this point). His lingering attachment, not to the real Lucrecia, but to the idealized version of her he has in his mind, is a very sad reality that adds so much delicious pain to his character. In the end, he is unable to blame her, because he loved his image of her (and Hojo is a way easier target for anger, because he's literally the worst), which speaks far more to his personal bias in the situation than to her actual role in it. She’s not moustache-twirlingly evil like Hojo but she’s not Vincent's star cross'd soul mate tragically torn away by cruel fate. Lucrecia was her own person.

In summation. Their story is not a doomed romance, it's a complicated, messy, ugly tangle of thorns, and one of the best written tragedies in a game that literally bleeds tragedy from every orifice. It's got one-sided love, obsession, mad science, betrayal, jealousy, fetal experimentation, murder, corpse reanimation, and a guy who can't die, and is left to deal with the consequences of everyone else's actions by himself forever. No one is innocent and no one comes out unscathed…strike that. Vincent is innocent and Hojo comes out unscathed. But still. Lucrecia is not a holy mother, she's not a brainless victim, and she's not Vincent's lost love. She's a person he loved, and who didn't reciprocate. Most importantly, she's a person. A whole-ass, complex, morally grey, fully developed person, who made terrible choices, then made even worse choices, and in the end, couldn't escape the fate she wove for herself.

And then wound up encased in crystal so she could be a pretty statue forever cause the game devs just couldn't help themselves I guess.

[kiyo-cant-write]

I kind of forgot I did ask you about your favorite character and dorm. Sadly is not align, but is okay. I do want to request for Jack 👉👈🥺

About his chef card, imagine his crush is the judges and trying to impress them. While they would like to see Jack perform.

jack trying to impress his crush in culinary crucible ✧･ﾟ

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Thank you for requesting! I actually love Jack!! I love the whole cast a lot and while he isn't my bias, I think he's cute. So this was fun to write. I like the concept of beastmen but I am a dog owner so xD

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Summary: Jack is participating in the Culinary Crucible with his childhood friend, Vil Schoenheit. To his surprise, one of their judges is... [Name]??? Things just got interesting.

TW/CW: None

Notes: gender-neutral reader, the reader is Yuu/Ramshackle Prefect, they/them pronouns for the reader, the reader is implied to be a first-year

Guest Stars: Vil Schoenheit, Rook Hunt, Idia Shroud

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✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

Jack Howl

Jack was already going to try hard, now he's trying harder.

Vil actually has to stop Jack and tell him to breathe.

Jack is appreciative to have an upperclassman paired with him for the Culinary Crucible because he is sweating bullets at the idea of [Name] eating his food as a judge. What are the odds?

Will they like it? What will they say to him?

He wanted to do a good job for them.

Vil comments that his tail is wagging up a storm.

Jack denies it but Vil just laughs softly like the radiant upperclassman he is, knowing Jack's feelings for [Name].

Jack is trying so hard that he's almost messing up the recipe.

He is making macarons and Vil says they are hard to do.

He really wants [Name] to like them.

Jack always strives to be his best and this is no different.

He will impress [Name] with his awesome cooking skills!

Vil thinks that it's going to be quite some time before those two realize they like each other. All the same, though, he's sure they will be happy when they do.

Jack had been starring off into space for far too long and Vil wasn't having any of it. He had joined the Crucible to learn more about cooking, to see if it was something he could do while maintaining his beauty. It was hard to focus on such a task when he was watching this lovesick little puppy staring toward the judges' table where Idia Shroud, [Full Name], and Rook Hunt were sitting.

"Jack, I have had just about enough of this nonsense," Vil told him.

"Huh? What?"

That snapped Jack out of his daze. This caused him to almost mess up the task he had been mindlessly doing. It was a miracle that nothing had exploded in their face thus far with Jack's spacey mood as of late.

Vil sighed. Why were all of the first years like this?

"Jack, I need you to focus. Your behavior reflects on me as well, you know. As an upperclassman," Vil told him, pausing his own task of mixing for a moment to shoot Jack a pointed look.

"Ah, sorry," Jack offered before his eyes drifted back to [Name] again.

They were so pretty. And they were going to be judging his work? Then he had to do a good... No! A perfect job! He would impress them with his work and then they would say what a good job he had done. It was all worked out and planned for. Perfectly, if he said so himself and—

"Jack."

"Huh? What? Sorry, Vil. Did you say something?"

"I said, you'd best focus on the task at hand... My word."

Jack could sense Vil's annoyance with the situation and he was frustrated with himself too. If he was distracted, he wouldn't be able to impress the judges. He had to focus. Shifting his stance, he got back to work making the macaron batter.

Vil continued his own preparation across from Jack, watching the younger boy every once in a while to ensure he was working and not daydreaming about [Name]. It was a good thing they were allowed to use magic in this event or they would surely fall behind on time.

[Vil & Jack - Cooking Montage]

As it would happen, they completed the macarons without any kind of disaster. Vil was thankful that it was all nearly over. Wasn't that a good thing? He would have this experience for his career and not get splattered in cake or lit on fire because of Jack's lovesickness-induced negligence. The things upperclassmen do for their underclassmen...

"Ready?" Vil asked Jack.

Jack nodded, ears perking up as they were about to present their creations to the judges. Vil smiled at that. He just couldn't stay upset with him. He knew Jack meant well by all of this.

"Let's do this!" Jack said, grinning.

Together, the actor and the first-year presented their culinary masterpieces to the judges. The array of judges had varying reactions. Rook stood up immediately and praised the simple staging of the food, ready to give 100 pts on sight for the beauty of it all. Vil shot him a look as he did this.

"I'd like to know how it tastes as well as how it looks, Rook," he chided.

The Pomefiore Vice Housewarden nodded as he tried both Vil's cake and Jack's macarons, eyes sparkling the entire time. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy the food with his animated reactions to it.

Next came Idia Shroud who attempted to eat macarons with a fork (one of the ghosts mumbled about this being a "crime"). He prodded the food with the utensil and ultimately only took a few bites, pushing the plate away after that as he attempted to avoid the eyes of both Vil and Jack alike.

Finally, there was [Name]. They tried a bite of the cake Vil had made and smiled at the taste of it, giving Vil a thumbs up. [Name] might have been the only person on the judging panel who knew what they were doing. They moved to the macarons, picking up one that was a bright shade of orange and taking a bite.

"Mm, this is good!" they said, smiling.

Their reaction was enough to make Jack's heart soar. He had done it, or he thought he had. Still, the scores could tell.

In the end...

A 10 from Rook (obviously, he was about to faint from the mere thought of eating the food almost as soon as he had seen it).

A 2 from Idia (now Vil was ready to throw down but he hid it).

And a 10 from [Name], melting Jack's heart in a single motion of holding up their score marker.

Vil sighed as he went to speak to the ghosts, followed by Rook Hunt for some reason but Jack didn't ask questions about it. Vice Housewarden stuff? Maybe? Probably. Jack had other things on his mind. Tail wagging behind him, much to his chagrin, he made his way over to [Name], calling out their name to get their attention.

"[Name]! Hey. I'm glad you liked... what I made," he told them, a bit sheepish about it all.

"I did! They were good!"

[Name]'s smile was the sunshine that came through the clouds after rain, that was what Jack was feeling when they praised his work.

"Uh, I have some extras if you want more?" Jack offered.

"Eh? Really? Sure!" they said, "Grim wanted to try some, or I think he would like to. That cat sure loves his food."

"Ha, sure!" Jack agreed, "Let me go get that for you."

"Thank you, Jack! I really appreciate it!" [Name] told him.

Jack's face reddened at the words. It was so simple but it got him.

He made his way back into the kitchen, tail wagging up a storm and face growing redder with every passing minute. It was painfully obvious what this was but Jack couldn't figure out why his heart was racing and he felt so... floaty?

Vil watched from a few feet away with the ghosts (and Rook). He sighed, he might have to step in if Jack remained unawares.

A minute later, Jack walked back to [Name] with some packaged macarons for them.

"Ah. Here you go, [Name]."

He handed them the package.

"Thanks again!" they said as they put the package of food in their bag, "I'll tell you what Grim's thoughts are too if you want."

They giggled as they spoke.

Jack only nodded, trying his best to calm down the heat on his face.

"Sure," he told them.

"Alright, it's a date!" [Name] said before heading off to their next period.

The wolf watched as they left the dining hall. What was he going to do? What would he say? Was it a date? Had he been on a date before? He tensed up at the thought that there was some protocol for this.

Who would he ask? Ace would laugh at him. Deuce wouldn't be able to help. Grim wouldn't be able to either. He didn't want to tell Ruggie and Leona... That left...

Sighing, he walked up to the table where the two Pomefiore students sat, taking an empty spot next to the dorm's housewarden.

"Hey. Vil... I'd like to, uh, ask you something," he said, trying not to seem as nervous as he was about asking an upperclassman something like this, "If it's not a bother."

Was he supposed to ask his upperclassmen about these feelings? They did say they would be there for their underclassmen... Right?

"Oh? And what might that be, Jack?" Vil hummed.

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…Imagine the rest yourself~ <3

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✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

Thank you for reading! Likes and reblogs are appreciated! Do NOT repost my writing/headcanons as your own >:c Check the top of my blog for the inbox status and read the rules before requesting. This is not a twst-only blog! ^^

[night-night-stories-before-bed]

Two birds on a wire…

Warning ⚠️; blood, angst, description of wounds, character’s death, spoiler for the Harry Potter saga

Pairing; Severus Snape x Male Reader, unconfessed feelings.

Summary; You thought you had time, but sadly Severus didn't.

Note; So I am not satisfied with this work but can't seem to make it sadder. I love the tragedy of Severus’ life and yet maybe I wasn't in the mood for a sad story? I might rewrite this in the future.

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Severus and you never were friends. Not during Hogwarts nor after and especially not during the first war against Voldemort, but you were on good terms. You never had a real reason to be in any disagreement or fight. Except for how he treated kids. You knew what James Potter and his friends did to Severus, but it didn't excuse him for doing the same to innocents children.

No matter how many times you fought over it, he never changed.

And then, Voldemort came back.

You'll never forget the fear and horror that filled you when you saw Cedrik Diggory’s corpse and heard Harry Potter. You knew the boy was telling the truth. You always knew it wasn't over. And with his return, Voldemort brought chaos into the wizarding world.

Severus took back his role as a spy just like you took back your own role in the Order. You two began to spend more time together; at first, he assisted you when you had to brew potions, and then he did it for you without being asked. In exchange, you gave him rare ingredients and books you knew he would like. Slowly, a friendship grew between you.

You were the one he came to after his meetings with Voldemort as if you were his safe place. You let him vent, speak about what horror had been said or done and never once judged him when he was forced to participate.

He came to you after making an unbreakable vow with Narcissa Malfoy, which horrified you. The thought of Severus having to murder Dumbledore chilled you to the bone, but it was true that the young Malfoy didn't deserve to become a killer. Since Dumbledore was already dying it would almost be mercy. Almost. Mercy for the headmaster and cruelty to Severus. You wished to take that responsibility, but it was impossible. You could only keep the secret and be there for your friend.

You promised him to run away with him once Voldemort was dead. Promised to live free far from the wizarding world. And Severus had accepted. You'll always remember how he actually smiled at the thought of being free and not serving anyone ever again.

He even called you his dearest friend.

Friend. What an euphemism for what your feeling grew to be. You loved the man more than that, more than you had ever loved anyone. Yet you couldn't admit it by fear of rejection and that it would ruin your friendship. You didn't want to lose Severus.

But you could see in his eyes that he didn't truly believe it, that he actually could be free. He was just a liar. There was so much sadness and acceptance in those onyx eyes which only made you more determined. You wouldn't leave Severus behind, you wouldn't accept to watch him let himself rot. That what you promised yourself.

Even when Dumbledore did die by Severus’ hand and Voldemort got his grip on Hogwarts, you still stood behind Severus. Not physically, unable to be in the school, but you spoke with a two-way mirror. For the whole year, you kept in contact, trying to help.

Then came the Battle of Hogwarts.

It was Severus who thankfully warned you and you immediately came. You felt desperate learning that Severus was nowhere to be found, that he had ‘fled’ knowing it was a lie. Severus was anything but a coward.

He wouldn't abandon you behind. You two made a promise.

You still had to confess your feelings.

You made your way to the only place you could think of where Severus could hide; the Shrieking Shack. The old place always crept you out, the air so heavy and dusty. It looked like the hideout of a murderer or someone with bad intentions, but its reputation made it the perfect place for Severus to find shelter.

As always, the place was dirty and quiet. You looked around, calling for Severus with low whispers. The man had good ears, you knew he would hear you. But you have no answer. You frowned, a rusty smell hitting you. You were used to that smell, but not here.

The smell of blood, fresh.

- “Severus?” You called louder. “Severus are you hurt?”

Again only the silence of the Shack answered you. You didn't like it. Severus would never leave you in the dark like that. Sneak and scare you? Yes. Ignore you? Never. A bad feeling in your gut made you feel almost sick, but you decided to have a look from where the smell of blood came from.

You wished you didn't.

Wished this was all a nightmare.

You froze, a silent scream on your lips as tears filled your eyes. Eyes that couldn't look away from Severus’ bloody body resting against the wall. Even with all the blood he had lost, your friend looked so peaceful, almost like he was asleep or trying to play a terrible prank on you.

- “Severus?”

Your voice broke as you stumbled toward him. Again, no reaction. You fell on your knees next to him, hands grabbing the front of his robes. A whine left your mouth when you shook his body, trying to wake him up.

- “Come on, Severus, wake up. Please wake up.” You pleaded, refusing to believe what you were seeing. “You can't be dead. You can't! You promised me…”

You sobbed cradling Severus’ cold body in your arms. The coldness of his skin was all you needed to know Severus was truly gone. He was gone, leaving you alone behind.

Your fingers brushed the wound on his neck, feeling the littles marks left by a bite. Lips trembling, you realized what had happened. Voldemort had gotten him using Nagini that damned snake. A pained whine left your lips as you rocked his body in your arms.

You two had been through hell back and forth, fighting for this war and sacrificing everything with no one to call your friend. Except each other during the last few years. So much done and for what?

- “You can't... You can't do that to me! You promised me! And… and I still have to admit my feelings. You can't be gone.” You sobbed, nose buried in his black hair.

Behind you the floor cracked but you didn't react. You didn't care anymore having lost your will to live. Without Severus what was there left to fight? You had no one, not with the job you had to do.

- “Sir?”

That voice. You would recognize Harry Potter’s voice from anywhere. You kept quiet as the boy walked up to you and dropped on his knees by your side. You said nothing when Potter put his cloak on Severus, covering his body.

- “It was Voldemort, with Nagini.” He said, confirming what you thought. “He left me some of his memories for me to see, you know?” Of course you didn't. “He loved you too. You… you became his only light in the darkness, his reason to keep going.”

Potter’s words cut you deep, like a thousand crucios. You whined, holding Severus tighter as Harry laid his head on your shoulder, wrapping his arms around you and Severus. And you cried. Cried for all you had lost and all what could have been.

[pinkworldone]

When you like girls/boys that are short

Yandere(?) Genshin Impact x reader

characters from:

part 1:

Mondstadt: Rosaria, Amber, Kaeya, Albedo

Liyue:, Shenhe, Xiangling, Zhongli, Xiao

part 2 will contain:

Inazuma: Ayato, Thoma, Gorou, Kazuha, Raiden Ei, Kuki Shinobu, Yae Miko

part 3

Sumeru: Tighnari, Cyno, Alhaitham, Dehya, Candace, Wanderer, Nilou, Kaveh

NOTES!!.: I still exploring Fontaine and the characters, so for now, I’m not writing for any Fontaine characters! Have a good day/afternoon or night, hope you like it! This is my first time writing in English.

Thank you, @nervousdelusionballoon, for letting me use the idea!!

ROSARIA~

Rosaria was liking you for a very long time, she always watch you, saying that it’s for your protection, but she knows very well that isn’t for just protection.

Rosaria is a really quiet woman and many may consider her difficult to deal with, so your approach to her took a while, but it happened. You would go to Church almost every day to thank Barbatos and she would stay by your side or just watch you from afar, Rosaria don't believe in the Archons, however, if it meant staying close to you, having the slightest touches of your skin, she could accept that a bit,  always spelling the Archon' name wrong, which you complained about at first, but now you just accepted it and is happy with the company of your dear friend.

As a nun, Rosaria cannot get involved in certain personal relationships, even so, she seeks at least something more than friendship, just let her protect you, but don't have a relationship with anyone, okay? Rosaria has this kind of thinking, she doesn't stay with anyone and neither do you, they would just be friends... So, when you say you like someone, she just listens in silence, thinking about how to end that person. And if you said you like shorter men and women, she'll be freaking out inside, you said you found Albedo attractive! 

Rosaria felt strange, because she didn't trust him and also didn't want to see you with anyone. You also started to praise Amber quite often, which made her angry and hurt, was it because Amber believed in Barbatoes?! Was because of this? Did you want a devout person to the Archon?!

No, no, no! She will look for the deepest secrets and if she doesn't find anything compromising enough, she will stay by your side and invite you to the Church, after all, she needs to participate in certain activities and when she can't escape them, she always calls you to keep an eye on her. in you. Albedo and Amber have already realized how much Rosaria is by their side, especially, silently judging them and they feel that any wrong step or word would lead them to a not very good end.

KAEYA

Kaeya is quite attentive when it comes to his sweetheart (but you still don't know that you are destined for him), always winning over and trying to flirt with you, giving you hints that he liked you and only you! Those nights at the bar weren't enough for you to realize?! Kaeya knew you were weak to drink and so he could take advantage of that. 

What shocked him was hearing that you thought Aether (or Lumine) and Albedo were cute just because they were shorter, he stopped drinking for a few seconds, listening to you ramble about how cute they were. This makes him angry, so all those days, months of flirting were useless because you liked shorter people!? 

Kaeya tried to smile for you, support you through it all, but it was difficult, he didn't want to share it and  he won't. Slowly moving you away from the "cute" or short guys, flirting in public so they know they don't have a chance, the smile getting bigger when they mention you two as a couple. 

“a cute couple” they say, making his smile bigger and you flustered, even Albedo and Amber noticed that…

everything is going according to plan.

SHENHE

Shenhe wasn't a person fond of "humans", after all, she barely knew the concept of humanity and people didn't consider her as one either. So, being treated like a human and with so much affection, care and patience was a good experience. So good that she didn't want it to end. Hearing you say that you liked Xiangling for being shorter left her genuinely confused, she was conflicted as she didn't know how to react. Did she let you go or did she fight for that good feeling of kindness? Ant the bad thoughts began to fill her mind, did you like Xiangling because she was more human?

humanity is weird for her, so, the way she acts towards you is weird too.

Shenhe is strange towards any loving or more human sensation, so when the source of her jealousy appears, she wants to get rid of this evil so that she can become calmer and return to her normal, stoic state. But the moment you said you liked short people, she just didn't know what to do. Even if she got rid of them, there would always be someone else who caught her attention, and Shenhe can't change her own height. leaving her conflicted. In any case, Shenhe will remain by your side, she knows that she can be scary and that many may be afraid of her, so why not take advantage? So maybe you can see that height is not that important....

ZHONGLI

His passion for you was so gentle and obvious by the unintentional touches, the way he always called you and stayed by your side, but you were oblivious to all of that. Maybe he was just a good friend and since you received some advice from Zhongli, you thought about saying your preference for a love interest.

He was interested, maybe he was your type? Maybe you liked him and that was an excuse to say you loved him? so cute! So, he heard that you liked Xiao, he just looked at you in silence, which might scare you at first. Zhongli was in shock, as long as you are happy, he repeated to himself several times. Zhongli started to ask what made you interested in Xiao, and when he heard that it was time, he realized that there was no way to get your heart that easily. Those hours, days, months of courting you weren't useful?!

No, no, no! He wanted to stay in that idea “as long as you’re happy”, but you can’t be happy without him! You can’t see it? He will make you see that he is perfect for you, Zhongli first told you that Xiao probably wasn't interested in anything romantic and when that doesn't work, he'll talk to Xiao about you, asking him not to accept you. Zhongli had made you more and more dependent on him. Acting more and more like a "charming prince", even if he is eliminating the rivals.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Personally, I'm going to need more than just one single scene between aegon and his son to be convinced that he's a good father, especially after what we learned about him and his bastards in s1. And no I don't care what Tom said about aegon not knowing he had bastards, one because I've only ever seen people say that he said it and when asked for actual links to the article or video in which he said it there's nothing but crickets. Secondly because even if he did say that, it makes no sense. You expect me to believe that erryk, or arryk whichever one it was, was aware that the child was aegon's child, but aegon himself didn't. When he took his brother to the pits he points out the child like he had seen the child before, he only attended the pits with aegon, so I don't believe for one second that aegon looked at that very targaryen looking child and didn't realise it was his, again especially when erryk did. The whole point of that scene was to show aegon's depravity. Erryk is telling his brother look not only does aegon enjoy watching brutal fights between children, but it's worse than that, look over there that's his own child that he let's participate in these fights. This loses any significance and weight if aegon doesn't know that's his child. Erryk wouldn't have pointed out that child as an example of how depraved aegon truly was if aegon didn't know it was his child. Sorry but the argument that aegon just didn't know sounds like nonsense to me.

OK so he doesn't care about his bastards so let's talk about his true born children. I keep seeing all this praise for aegon, talking about how he is such a good dad, how he is so much better than viserys and daemon etc. But like I said we only got one scene between aegon and his son and during this scene we see him smiling and laughing at jaehaerys, which yes had cute vibes about it.

But honestly, watching the scene, I think it was less he was laughing in happiness and pride at his heir and more because he thought it was funny that tyland was being annoyed. I saw posts talking about aww aegon loves his son so much that he knows he likes pony rides and wants tyland to give him one, and I'm just like ???

First off every child likes pony rides, aegon doesn't have to know his son really well to know that he might like a pony ride, secondly this scene wasn't about aegon's love for his son it was about aegon trying to humiliate tyland. It was supposed to show how unsuited he was to rule. He brought his too young son to a council meeting where the child proceeded to cause a distraction and then he tried to use that child as a way to humiliate a member of his small council causing the queen mother to step in. This was not some display of fatherly love, he was entertained by his son annoying tyland because he himself is very childish.

What we are shown in this episode when it comes to aegon's fatherhood was that he came to the children's quarters looking for his heir, approached his daughter then proceeded to ignore her when he realised she wasn't his son, didn't know where his son usually spends his time, doesn't know where he attends his lessons, takes him out of his lessons to attend a small council meeting, let's his son disrupt that meeting and laughs at his bad behaviour and also tried to use his son in an attempt to humiliate tyland, before he sends his son away again when he told this is no time for entertainment.

Don't get me wrong, as I said before, the scene between them was cute, but it doesn't tell me that aegon is a good father. I mean, if the standard for determining how good a parent a character is can be judged by having one cute scene with their child, then viserys is a top-notch father, he had several scenes with baby aegon where he was smiling and laughing at him after all, and daemon too has excellent parenting skills after all there was that adorable scene between him and baela where he was teaching her high valyrian and she kissed his cheek.

Point is people are judging whether a character is a good parent or a bad one based off of single scenes. Aegon is a good dad because in one scene he smiled at his son, daemon is a bad dad because in one scene rhaena said that he ignores her, etc. But I'm getting tired with seeing tg posts saying that tb don't want to accept that aegon is a good dad and we just want to villainise aegon, or maybe we just don't think one scene where he's nice to one of his children is enough proof that he is in fact a good dad. They'll say tb need to accept that daemon is a shitty dad and point out that one scene where rhaena, one of his children, said he ignores her and then get mad when tb say that one scene isn't enough to prove he's a bad dad and then give examples of other scenes that show him being a good father. For me it's the hypocrisy, they can take a single scene and base all their arguments for aegon being a good dad on it, but if tb point out that daemon has shown moments of being a good parent they get angry and return back to that one rhaena scene.

At the end of the day, personally I think they are all, aegon, daemon, viserys, corlys and even laenor, both good and bad fathers at times. Because they are all humans who are imperfect, they are going to have moments when they do things right, but they also all have flaws and moments when they fail as parents.

I am sure that aegon has love for his son, I'm sure he's going to be devastated by his death and feel anger and grief, just like daemon feels grief and anger at luke's death, like corlys felt grief and anger over his children's deaths. But the writers need to give me more than a 2 or so minute long scene of aegon in the role of a father if they want me to come to the conclusion that aegon is a good father myself. And that's my opinion on it.

[somewhereincairparavel]

OMG ELORA CONGRATS ON 300!! YOU DESERVE IT!!!

like you literally are one of the blogs who brought about a change of jason's perspective as a character in pjo/hoo tumblr, which now I see more of it every day, you're literally a revolutionary now

I'd like to send in a request of

pjo character x character - a day of percy and jason at percy's house (where jason finds a home with the jackson-blofises)

if that's not already requested ofc!

Omg hii!! Pooks you calling me a jason grace revolutionary is literally so flattering I'm giggling and kicking my feet ily tysm. I'm glad I brought a change in jason love in the Tumblr fandom?? Because that's the whole point of why i started my blog! My blog's duty had officially been fulfilled. thanks for participating in my event! It means a lot love!

･ﾟ࿐ ࿔*:･“Blue Cookies and found family”･ﾟ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

thank you @gentlehue for teaching me how to do the Tumblr gradient texts, you are literally a life saver!! Credits to @saradika for the dividers!

"You ready, man?" Percy asks as they reached the doorstep of the Jackson-blofis household.

Jason was fidgeting, indicating his nervousness, but he replied "a little".

"Don't be, my mom and Paul are great, they won't judge, I promise" Percy gave Jason a reassuring smile. He had brought Jason to meet his family because Jason didn't have anyone to go back home with from camp, and Percy thought it was a great idea to introduce him to Sally and Paul, he was sure they'd love him.

The front door creaked open revealing a weary but sweet looking Sally. "Ah Percy! You're here, I missed you, sweetie!" Sally rushed over to hug Percy, before she darted her gaze towards jason, who was timidly looking around. Percy had never seen Jason look so self conscious before. Thankfully Sally cut in by giving jason a big hug, Jason smiled, this new feeling of being hugged by a motherly figure seemed so.. rare and unusual. But it felt nice. Almost nice enough for Jason to make Ambrosia to taste like home again. Yeah, it was that kind of nice.

Paul peeked his head through from the doorway, looking elated to see Percy. "Percy! it's good to see you! And who are you?" Paul asked to Jason. "Oh um hello sir. I'm Jason Grace, a friend of Percy's, Percy has told me a lot about you, I hope it isn't a bother that I came along..." Jason replied politely, giving Paul a small smile. Paul laughed. "No no, of course not, any friend of Percy's is always welcome in this household. As long as they aren't one of those monsters in disguise claiming that they're Percy's friend and try to kill him or something" he awkwardly joked, to which Jason laughed, but Percy rolled his eyes.

"Okay, let's all go inside, and I'll get you some blue cookies that I freshly baked this morning!" Sally said, clasping her own hands excitedly. Jason has heard of Percy's famous blue food, he's even seen Percy's blue pancakes. But he's never tried them before. So he'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited to try them out. Sally's reputation as a cook only made him more eager to wanting to try her food.

They were all surrounding the dining table, as Sally served some blue punch and and her most anticipated blue cookies. Jason took a bite of the cookie and boy. It melted in his mouth. Is this what people meant when they say that food that's made with love always tastes the best? Jason had never believed in that idiom. Until now.

"So Jason, how old were you when you came to camp?" Paul asked, munching on his cookies."Well, technically 4 years old, if you don't count in the fact that I was trained by Lupa the wolf since I was two-"Jason was cut off with a small gasp from Sally. Paul had almost dropped his utensils.

"Two??? Jason, honey, you were two years old?" Sally asked wide eyed, concern in her voice."Uhm, well yeah..." Jason tried to brush it off as no big deal. He hadn't realised how shocking this must be for mortals. "But, what about your mother?.. Percy said something about...." Sally began hesitantly

"My mother was an alcoholic, according to my sister, she barely got by, since she was unstable and wasn't well enough to take care of me. And I found out she died in a crash years ago. The Goddess Hera was upset that my father sired another child with another woman, so she demanded that my mother should give me away as a prize. That's also why I'm named Jason, I was forced to be named after heras favourite Hero"

Jason had started to ramble without even realizing it, but he couldn't help himself, Sally and Paul were so welcoming, he felt comfortable to share this with them.Sally, Percy and Paul had stared at Jason, with a mix of gaping, sad, pitiful and potentially horrified looks.

Percy dropped his blue cookies back on to the plate. "I'm so sorry bro.." he said patting Jason's arm and giving him a one armed hug.Paul and sally hadn't said a word and Jason was afraid he had said too much, but what he didn't expect was to be tackled into a huge by both of the adults. Jason heard Sally's whimpers as she held on to jason tight.

Jason had suddenly felt awkward, I mean, he never found his situation this upsetting, he thought it was normal for demigods to experience tragedy. "Jason, I want you to know that if you ever need someone to confide in, me and sally are always there" Paul said, pulling away from the hug, as Sally wiped her eyes. Percy smiled at Jason in a "I-told-you-they-wont-judge-you-bro" way, and Jason had to smile back, but his eyes started to water in gratitude.

Two people he barely even met, had volunteered to be his confidant and had offered him him comfort, it was something jason never knew he needed.

The day ended with Jason sleeping over at Percy's, where they both stayed up all night playing Mario party six on Nintendo, and Sally had packed him some blue cookies for him to take back home. Paul kept complimenting jason for his architectural knowledge, and had encouraged his temple project, even throwing in a few ideas of his own.

For once, Jason Grace wasn't alone.

[smellingofpoetry]

Last Time?

Characters: Reader, Dean Winchester, Benny Lafitte

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: They promised each other it would be the last time.

Square/s Filled: “Age Difference” (@spnchristmasbingo), "Lingerie" (TMAS Bingo - @supernatural-jackles), "Dirty Talk" (@spnkinkevents), “Suck on my fingers and get them nice and wet for me.” (@anyfandomkinkbingo)

Warnings: age difference, smut, 18+, finger fucking, sex, p in v, unprotected sex, creampie, dirty talk

Rating: +18

Words count: 2460

A/N: Hi there! Not long ago I wrote a fic called “A few moments of madness” for the beautiful @all-alone-he-turns-to-stone. It was fun writing that one, especially the part where I left with that huge plot twist. I genuinely thought it was the end of the road for this story, though, until the inspiration hit me. And what was I supposed to do if not write it down? So, here we are today. I think I’m starting to figure out my way with smut, but I’ll let you judge that. Let me know what you think about it. Enjoy!

He was in big trouble.

Since his little accident with his best friend's daughter - if that's what you wanna call it - he tried to avoid Benny at all costs. He did a pretty good job if you asked him, until the Christmas holidays. He wasn't in the mood to celebrate since what happened with Lisa, and he definitely didn't want to spend Christmas under the pity glances his family would throw at him. Sunday's lunch was already too much for his own taste. So, he decided to spend Christmas alone for once. Maybe eating take-out on the couch just like a grown-up person would do. He had everything planned already until Benny asked him to join him for Christmas dinner.

Dean knew he should have ignored the bell ring - he knew it.

Either way, he agreed because it was Benny and because, of course, he felt guilty for what he did. So, now, he was stuck celebrating Christmas with his best friend and his daughter. Yes, the same girl he had fucked months ago, and he still jerked off at the thought of it, even though he would deny this last piece of information with all his strengths if anyone asked him.

Dean had a plan, though.

He had spent the prior night wide awake, planning his way through the whole Christmas dinner. It was a solid plan, and he was kinda proud of it. He just needed to stay away from Y/N and follow every step just like he had planned them.

What could possibly go wrong?

They were halfway through dinner and Dean was pretty sure he was going to hell. His plan, which was supposed to be solid, blow up in his face the moment he stepped inside his friend's house. He didn't even know how that happened, but here he was facing Y/N at the dinner table. He did his best to avoid her gaze and participate in the conversation, but if he had to be honest the only thing he could see was her bent down on his kitchen counter. Because of that he almost choked on his food on multiple occasions. Thank God his friend was too busy making sure everything was perfect for his daughter.

Yeah, his daughter…

Dean's thoughts trailed off again until he realized he was staring at her sweater a bit too much.

"Oh, crap, I forgot the beans."

Benny's voice caught his attention just in time to see his friend get up. Dean followed suit without thinking about it, too afraid to be left alone with Y/N.

"I'll go get them." he tried, earning a weird look from Benny.

"No, man, sit down. You're our guest. I'll be right back."

And with that Benny was already out of the room, leaving Dean with his napkin still in his hands, staring at the door. He cleared his throat, glancing at Y/N, who was watching him amused, before sitting down again.

"You're being weird," she told him while sipping her wine.

"No, I'm not." he scoffed, even though he knew she was absolutely right about it. Y/N raised one of her brows, watching him from the rim of her glass which earned an eye roll from Dean.

"Okay, fine, but in my defense, I just want you to know that when I came here, I had a solid plan to walk me through this..." he said, gesturing at them and the room they were in it.

"Oh, and how's going?" she asked amused, trying her very best to hide her smirk. Y/N figured she had done a poor job from the way Dean was looking at her - unimpressed.

"Clearly, it ain't working."

"Clearly," Y/N smirked, putting down the glass she was still holding.

Dean scowled at her, wanting to kiss that smirk out of her face. Wait, what? No. Absolutely, no. - he had to scold himself for thinking stuff like that about his friend's daughter, even if that same person was looking too damn cute for her own good.

"Okay, stop doing that."

"Stop what?" she asked with her brow raised in confusion.

"You know what! Never mind," he said, stubbing some of the vegetables on his plate with the fork. He didn't even like vegetables, for fuck’s sake. Y/N looked at him for a few seconds, glancing in the direction of the kitchen before leaning more toward Dean.

"Look, I know that we started on the wrong foot..."

"You can say that again." Dean scoffed, gulping down a generous amount of red wine.

"And I would like for Benny not to know about, you know..." she said, pointing at the two of them. "...us."

Dean sit up straight at that, putting down his glass and leaning more in her direction before speaking in a lower voice.

"He can never know about us," he said, panicked.

"So, could you, I don't know, act a bit more normal?"

Dean furrowed his brow, opening and closing his mouth a few times his mouth trying to find the right words.

"Yeah, right, right. I can do that," he assured her, even though he wasn't sure who he was really trying to convince, her or himself. She nodded her head with a small smile, satisfied by his answer.

"Great. And, oh, Dean, what happened between us..."

"...it can never happen again." he agreed, finishing her sentence.

Y/N was pressed against the wall, her Christmas sweater pulled up and her breast spilling out from her red bra. Her skirt was around her waist by now, while her panties were discarded somewhere on the floor. She could still picture Dean's face when he discovered the lingerie she was wearing under her Rudolph sweater.

Her breath hitched in her throat at the feeling of Dean's cold fingers against her hot skin. Y/N felt them travel along the inside of her leg until he reached her aching pussy. He ran his fingertips along her slit way too gently, making her ache even more.

"Please..." she moaned, letting her hips sway back and forth in search of some friction.

"You want more, hm?"

Y/N nodded her head enthusiastically, trying to stifle a moan and failing miserably. Dean smirked, biting down on his lips. Yeah, hell was definitely waiting for him, and he couldn't care much.

"Suck on my fingers and get them nice and wet for me, sweetheart," he whispered, taking away his hand from between her legs. Dean saw her open her mouth, sticking her tongue out for him and he had to restrain himself to not groan out loud. Damn, this woman - he thought while pushing three of his fingers inside her mouth. Y/N welcomed him without saying a word, sucking his fingers as if her life depended on it. Dean's free hand traveled down his pants, unbuttoning them to free his aching cock. He pushed them down just under his ass, taking down with them his boxer. His cock sprung free, tip red and precum already leaking. Y/N sucked at his fingers one more time before letting them free, licking her lips right after. Dean didn't even give her time to think about what was coming next and his three fingers found their way between her legs again. He circled her clit a few times before pushing inside her wet folds. He fingered her hard and fast, watching her take it thrust after thrust while taking hold of himself and giving a few strokes at his hard cock.

"Oh! God... Dean..." she whimpered, moving her hips against his hand while trying to hold herself somewhere, anywhere. She could already feel herself getting closer and closer, already tasting the pleasure when his fingers stopped, making her whine. Dean put his hands on her hips helping her move on her unsteady legs, positioning her in front of the bathroom mirror. He stayed behind her, watching her intently while his hands traveled along her body. He reached for her breasts, squeezing both of her tits in his hands and making her moan.

"You have to be quiet, now, Y/N. Can you do that for me, hm?" He asked her, licking the skin on her neck before latching his lips around her earlobe. She bit down on her lip, nodding her head at his question. Dean smiled with her earlobe still trapped between his teeth. He sucked at her skin one more time just for good measure before helping her lean forward.

"Bend down on the sink and spread your legs for me."

He didn't need to tell her twice. Y/N bent down, spreading her legs in the process. She felt exposed under Dean's gaze which made her even wetter than she already was. Dean bit on his lip, unable to take away his eyes from her glistening pussy. He took hold of himself, letting his cook brush against her folds a few times before lining himself at her entrance. He started to slowly push inside her, his eyes never leaving the mirror to watch her every single expression. Y/N closed her eyes, biting down on her lips to stifle the moans wanting to escape her. Dean let his fingers disappear between her hair, gripping a few of her strands and pulling them towards him. Y/N followed his movement arching her back and exposing her breasts even more.

"Open your eyes, babe. I want you to watch me fuck you," he whispered in her ear, feeling her shiver against him. She breathed heavily, taking a few seconds to regain control over her heart before opening her eyes just like he had asked her. The moment her eyes opened and looked at him through the mirror, Dean filled her with a deep thrust. Her whole body was pushed forward, and Y/N barely had the time to put one of her hands on the mirror to keep herself from crushing against it. She tried to follow every push of Dean's hips, matching his rhythm.

"Look at you, being fucked in your dad's bathroom by his friend." Dean panted in her ear, while still fucking her with a brutal pace. Y/N bit down on her lip harder, but she couldn't help the sound that came out of her at Dean's words. So, she put a hand around her mouth not trusting herself enough to be quiet, not when he was playing dirty. Dean smirked at her reaction, thrusting hard inside her while one of his hands went to her breast squeezing hard.

"Do you think he noticed your absence or he's too busy with the new year eve's party?" he asked her, knowing full well she wasn't going to answer him too busy pushing her hips against his hard cock. He let slip his free hand in between her legs, founding her clit.

"What would Benny think if he saw you right now, hm?" Dean felt her walls fluttering around his cock at that, making him falter for a moment.

Y/N let go of her mouth free even though she knew that wasn't a smart move, but the need to hold on to something was too much. So, she held onto the sink not being able to do anything if not stay there and take every push of Dean's cock ready to burst.

"Dean..." she whined, hoping that the music downstairs would cover her moans.

"You'd like that, don't you?"

"Oh God..."

"Say it," he told her, rubbing faster and faster at her hardened clit.

"Fuck... yes! Yes... yes..." she sobbed while the hardest orgasm of her life washed over her; her juices coating his cock. Dean groaned at the sight of her coming undone and after a few more thrusts he was spilling inside her, filling her up.

"Fuck, babe, yes." he panted in her ear, while his hips spasmed a bit more.

Dean collapsed on her, being careful to not crush her against with his weight. He breathed heavily, resting his forehead against her shoulders. Y/N rested against the cool sink, trying to catch her breath while letting her fingers travel between Dean's locks.

"That was..." he whispered, licking at his cracked lips.

"...the last time?" she asked him, scratching at his scalp making him moan.

"Yeah."

"You already said that yesterday after you fucked me on your couch..." she whispered, glancing at the mirror to look at him. Dean hid his face in the crock of her neck, grabbing at her breasts and squeezing them.

"...and the week before when we fucked in your car..." she whimpered, knowing exactly what she was doing while he bit down her skin.

"...and at Christmas dinner..."

Dean pulled hard at her nipples, making her gasp, and her core clenched around him but that seemed not to be enough to stop her.

"...half an hour later I was sucking you off, remember?" she asked, pushing him away gently just enough to turn around to have a better look at him. Dean let her move, still keeping her trapped between him and the sink, already missing the warmth of her pussy around him.

"Yeah, I remember that like I remember being balls deep inside you while your dad was sleeping three doors down," he whispered kissing her hard, letting his tongue swirl around hers.

God, she was able to make him a needing mess - he thought making a huge effort to push away from her. Dean licked at his lips, tasting her while slowly starting to recompose himself the best he could.

"We should get dressed and go downstairs before midnight," he said to her, bending down to grab her red lacy thong. She nodded her head, starting to adjust her bra before pushing down in his place her sweater. Dean kneeled at her feet helping her with her panties, pulling them up at her leg, and stopping halfway through to give one last lick at her wet pussy. Y/N shivered at that, opening her legs a bit more to give him better access at which she earned a gentle suck at her lips before he pulled her panties all the way up. Dean got up, kissing her one last time letting her taste herself on his tongue.

"You go first, and I'll follow in a few," he said to her, watching her adjust her skirt before walking to the door. She put her hand around the knob ready to turn it when she glanced at him.

"So, last time?" Y/N asked him just to be sure.

"Last time."

"Great, I'll see you back at your house then."

She winked at him before opening the door and slipping out of the bathroom. Dean closed the door behind her, resting his head against the cool wooden.

He was a dead man, but damn if it wasn't worth it. 

[very-straight-blog]

This might sound funny and cringey, but I feel like I lost something I cared about and now it's just sadness and depression. Like it's a TV show, I get it, but we waited 2 years and for what? To get the two worst episodes imaginable. I'm really starting to believe that Sapochnik was responsible for everything good in s1, bcz Condal and Hess ruined this show. S1 wasn't perfect and I didn't like a lot of things in it, but it still managed to keep me invested so I hoped that in s2 everything would be improved. And yet, I'm so terribly disappointed. Alicent's characterization makes no sense anymore, like they want so badly to show her as a bad mother and a hypocrite and really - after ruining bnc with Alicole sex now it had to follow with her not being able to console her son but hoping on Criston is a must do?? What sort of degenerates write this??

Aemond is also ruined for me and I would love to erase that crappy brothel scene from my memory. What was it for? To show his mommy issues, vulnerability... Idc. The dialogue was bad and they did him dirty with the angles and the pose. And now he's apparently going to be there *again* in e3 and we'll get full frontal nudity. Idk why the actor agreed to this since they are obviously making a joke and meme material of his character. Not to mention that he straight up lied in the promos about being loyal (if the RR leaks are true and I'm almost 100% sure they are). I get that they are told what to say, but a more general answer would have been much better than a lie. In brief, one of my favourite s1 characters is also destroyed.

Then Cole. My god, I only waithig for him to look at the camera and say "do you hate me enough already hahah?" He's the writers punching bag atp.

Helaena barely exists.

Otto is Viserys' fanboy and ofc, appalled by his grandson. It's not as he just has lost a son and was forced to take the crown in the first place by him and his mother, no less.

Aegon got more screentime and I love Tom's performance, but I'm not fooled. He is still depicted as weak, politically inept and rash. And he'll still be a bully, apparently. Just to justify his brother's treason. F*ck you Condal, Hess and whoever else is responsible for this mess.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I just don't get how anyone can seriously praise this shitshow anymore. It could have been great, but the creators are obviously not up to the task which is now painfully obvious. I wouldn't mind the greens as villains, but don't write them as a walking joke. I'm quitting the show and would like just to forget about it. This adaptation of the Dance was a huge mistake.

I feel you! By the way, I haven't participated in any fandom life, I think, for 10 years or more, but thanks to HOTD, I started this blog, I write some critical (well, kinda) reviews, and English isn't even my native language. I've been waiting for the second season for two years and now I just feel tired and empty. So far, the only thing I've liked about these two episodes is Aegon's storyline, that's all. Everything else is bad, very bad, and judging by the leaks, it'll be even worse.

Firstly, the series has a very strange pace of the narrative. We didn't get a bunch of important plot scenes, and even those that remained were shown in a hurry, but at the same time we have many scenes like "Rhaenyra stares at the dust for three minutes", unnecessary dialogues and PAUSES between lines.

Secondly, again, an insane amount of important plot details are left behind the scenes and this is absolutely wrong. Aemond's return home, the family's reaction to what he did. Aegon's reaction when he learned of his son's death. Aemond's reaction when he finds out what his actions have led to. And so on and so forth. Many of the characters' actions are shown without context. Alicent fucks with Criston - cool, but can I have some additional information? How long has this been going on, what feelings do they have for each other, how have they developed, like, anything? The same can be said about the scene in the brothel - no context.

Thirdly, it's unclear what's going on with the characters, as if the screenwriters decided to make the greens the most unpleasant people in the world. So far, I only like Aegon and Helaena. I can't even say anything about Aemond, because his only dialogue scene is built around Daemon and Luke, damn them. I just can't.

Everything annoys me except Aegon lol. So yes, I understand you.

[ca-suffit]

sorry how long this is, but this fandom is pissing me off so much and I need to rant a little before I explode lol.

-- madeleine (nonchalantly) says of sleeping with a literal nazi, "I was inviting a frightened boy to cradle my tits," and then when louis turns her we see this as a pleasant memory, and I'm supposed to believe someone who could take pity on a nazi (even if he "wasn't dedicated to the cause") and remember him fondly isn't going to be racist? so I'm the weird one for finding claudeine to be a gross ship and being exasperated by seeing edits of them flood my dash? and every time I talk about this on ANY platform, I mostly get ignored and the few people who do interact w my posts are denying it and saying she had to do it to survive, as if she didn't also literally say she grew up rich like 30 seconds prior.

-- a decent chunk of the anti lestat crowd insists he participated in the trial as an act of revenge and can't say his name w/o talking about how they hate him (bc his racism + abuse), and these are the same people going apeshit over ben daniels saying that santiago was gay and in love with armand, as if he isn't one of the most antiblack characters we've met on the show bc he was quite literally eager to put on the trial solely bc he hated louis for falling asleep during one of his performances. and don't get me started on his monologue about claudia's ashes. and yet ppl are excitedly eating ben's interview up. 🙄

-- the narrative literally showing us that lestat has changed since the attempted murder (going off script on the trial in defense of louis & claudia, taking accountability for his abuse, staying silent about the fact that he was the one to save louis & letting him leave w armand when we know how terrifying being alone is for lestat, spending decades living in that shack and eating rats to punish himself vs the hedonistic & decadent lifestyle we saw him living in s1) and the anti lestat crowd claiming this is just him being manipulative and are furious that the writers had louis forgive him. like normally I agree that it's in very poor taste to paint an abuser as sympathetic, but the thing about this show is that these characters are immortal and have all the time in the world to change. like this isn't the writers sweeping it under the rug, they're explicitly acknowledging how horrific lestat's behavior was and there are literally canon glimpses showing us that lestat has become a better person (and I'm sure this will be fleshed out more next season as we'll get his pov) and, like, isn't it a good thing to see an abusive character realize the error of their ways and alter their behavior and become better????? like it's fair to not want to see that, but this is the wrong show to be watching if you can't handle seeing abusers change their ways & being forgiven by the people they've hurt (especially since it's pretty much confirmed armand/daniel is going to happen at some point and given I'm sure they'll be circling around each other, I feel confident that louis will eventually forgive armand too)

ur fine, u can rant! I have a lot in my inbox but I try to get to it all eventually in whatever way.

idk how much u wanted me to comment on anything or not, but I'm gonna add comments and u do whatever u want with it.

a) ur never going to have an easy time criticizing a white woman in fandom. it reflects too much of what fandom is usually made up of and ppl will usually tell u it's misogyny to judge these characters if u ever try (most of the time it's not, but that's a convenient excuse to shut down convos).

the show intentionally makes everyone do p questionable shit, especially the white characters. it doesn't tell u how to feel about it, that's up to u. that makes ppl uncomfortable. it goes further too when it is someone like madeleine, who is otherwise seen in positive ways. it's reflective of real life and that's what scares ppl the most. nobody ever fits in a box of only "good" or "bad." a lot of what the book for IWTV asks too is what defines that anyways? and S1 also said "are we the sum of our worst moments?" so it is constantly asking u that and it is for u to decide and reflect on.

b) white, gay stuff is also gonna be popular in fandoms. ben daniels is also gay irl and his husband just died so there's crossover from that to praising his character bcuz ppl feel sympathy for him. I also think ppl detach more from his actions bcuz he's not romantically linked to the characters he's torturing. ppl also just honestly dgaf about antiblackness anyways so for most ppl it's easy to overlook. which is how we get posts like this.

I mean, u can also like whatever characters u like for any reason. some ppl like characters not bcuz they support what they do, but bcuz they're just enjoyable to watch in performance or connection to the plot or whatever. I think examining santiago after what ben said about his performance is something ppl should be able to do, and again it circles back to the stuff I wrote for madeleine. where does ur (general u) discomfort lie and why? as u said, if it's ppl who dislike lestat then it's worth looking at that too, why are the characters different then?

c) there's sort of 2 things happening for this part. the first is that 2x8 did have pacing issues, for whatever reasons. a lot of ppl felt like it flattened the plot and characters for the sake of making lestat look the best (over armand) and rly shoving it in out of nowhere. the second part is what u said about the themes. I've always figured they were going to explore forgiveness and personal growth, but I also know it isn't going to be easy for ppl to follow. hopefully the full seasons coming do a better job of this but for 2x8 there were a lot of reasons ppl felt crazy about the way it was shown to us. I also agree that other characters will have these journeys with each other too. it was just such a sharp turn for S2 to end on highlighting the white character we've otherwise seen as being p horrible and suddenly saying "it's the brown character who rly did the worst!" I don't think they intended to come across like that but it's how it landed for a lot of ppl. it doesn't mean ppl have an issue with the concept of forgiveness and stuff otherwise. we'll have to see how it goes. but ya there's 2 things going on there for this rn.

[waffleweirdo]

I ramble about Nana and her relationship to the auditions, and what I think that says about her character and how it ties into revstar's themes for 680 words (this is just my interpretation):

First and foremost I think one of the most interesting things to look at is the motivation Nana has for participating in the auditions...

Nana's first reason for pursuing the auditions wasn't to become a top star. She wanted to be able to perform on the stage of destiny so that she could begin her reruns. A very different motivation than every other original character. However she still followed the system of the auditions and became the top star. Afterwards she continued winning the auditions, for her same desire to continue the reruns, but also out of a belief that she was protecting everyone else from getting their brilliance stolen (albeit definitely in her own warped way). She becomes trapped in the necessity to win. We don't see the time loops extensively, but I think it's pretty safe to say that she definitely wasn't having the BEST time. Judging by her breakdown after losing, and well, just her general mental state, and, y'know, repeating a single year over 70 times due to your crippling fear of the future and loneliness probably isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

Nana originally didn't even want to be the top star. She loves theatre, but wanted to pursue a stage where she wasn't alone, and she found precious in Seisho leading to a performance that felt so perfect to her it was blinding. She hates Starlight, and is happiest, not when she is performing, but when she is everyone's Banana. She didn't want to be the isolated top star, but through her participation in the auditions she becomes trapped in the top star system.

(It's a bit of a tangent, but the fact that Nana who hates Starlight and doesn't even want to be the top star is ultimately the person who wins the auditions, combined with factors like her natural height and brilliance as shown by her two weapons just further adds to the show's critiques of the ideal of a top star)

It's almost like a monkey paw kind of wish. I think this is a lot of the reason Nana hates being a stage girl so much. She loves theatre. She loved the 99th Starlight and finding friends at Seisho. But when she became subject to the system of the auditions, being a stage girl meant fighting constantly to desperately claw at her happiness, where a single loss meant her happiness and all of her friend's brilliance would be stolen. That life or death, miserable struggle is what I believe Nana thinks of as being a stage girl. Not only does she believe she is protecting everyone's brilliance, but stopping any of them from being the top star, and is protecting them in doing so. (Hi Arcana Arcadia Nana)

I think we can also see a lot of this ideology in the Revue of Hunting. Nana cares deeply about Junna and sees how she has been struggling. And through her perception of what being a stage girl means thinks the most reasonable solution is 100% to kill the stage girl that is Hoshimi Junna. I think it's also interesting that when Nana is talking about Junna being dazzling she specifically references the time that Junna was overworking herself so much that she literally collapsed and she was miserable with the fear of being a failure... yeah Nana really does not think being a stage girl is a good thing.

I'm so normal about revue starlight and especially about Nana :)) hopefully this wasn't just word vomit and was at least a bit legible.

The moral of the story is Revue Starlight is incredible at conveying its themes, and every time I think about it I realize something and I'm like oh heck! The writing is so good

I also think this is only Nana's perspective before the end of the show, she's still struggling a bit in the movie, but is definitely growing! Plus in Climax she is happy living in London! I think she definitely ends up happy

I have so many more thoughts, and I barely even talked about Junnana and Nanahisa! Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed my rant

[purplesoulcollection]

Unnatural Love

Part 9 (2) Synopsis : Name has being transmigrated into the world of I'm Not That Kind Of Talent without ever reading the novel. She's not being reincarnated as a human but as a devil as well. Hi There! I want to let you know that this fanfiction story isn't solely my creation. I borrowed the concept from @quqiwo2. I haven't actually read the novel either, just some spoiler to the end.

I hope you'll excuse my spelling and grammar mistake, because English not my first language.

"Adele, just a heads up that I need to participate in the hunting competition next week." He surprised me with the news when I least expected it.

“Hunting? Sounds like fun! What's that for?”

Deon's reaction to my question wasn't a happy one; he seemed really stressed and overwhelmed by the news.

"The emperor hold a hunting competition to inform the world that the empire is not afraid to hold a contest in the middle of war." He spoke in the monotone way, looks like someone drop him to the grave and sucks his positivity.

"Oh, that sounds complicated. Are you okay with that?" I genuinely worried about him, ever since he brought this topic, he don't look too good for me.

He pressed his finger against his temple, looking quite pitiful with stress written all over his face. All I can do is offer him some comfort with a gentle stroke.

"It was tiring. The Emperor sent me a gift of clothes that I couldn't refuse to wearing!" He finally yelled, that’s likely the root of his stress.

"Is that too revealing for you?"

He shook his head and covered his face with his hand. "No, just the color..."

"Bad? "

"Too striking..."

Is that bold color on Deon really working for him? If it’s not a great match, maybe he should reconsider wearing it.

"Let me see, you give it a try later. If it's suitable for you, it might be the best for you!"

"Adele, don't you too... Remember already nagging at me too..."

"Who’s Remember?"

"My butler. The old man I talked to this morning, that's his name."

Remember is the head butler's name earlier?

Fix, I'm in a story made by earthlings. The English word doesn't really seem to fit as a character's name.

This definitely confirms that Deon is the main character of this world. No female character appeared at him makes this original story the mc is the male, not the female one.

"Adele, you tend to drift off into daydreams quite a bit, don’t you??"

"Oh, not quite! By the way, I’m feeling so famished, a nap makes me miss the food."

"As I thought, so I asked for lunch to be prepared."

And I was faced with luxurious food typical of nobles. A bowl of corn soup, some chicken in gravy, a dessert, and a piece of bread. It's just the right amount for one person.

"It's already cold, should i ask servant to reheat it?"

"You don't have to worry about that. I can still enjoy it even if it's not warm anymore." I quickly reject his idea, this is looks fine for me.

When I see the cutlery on the table, it really makes me wonder. I have no idea about the proper table etiquette, and it all seems so complicated. I glanced at Deon, giving him a look that said I was completely lost.

He who understood about my trouble after seeing me glanced at the cutlery said, "Just eat your way. I won't judge you."

So I used a spoon that was the right size for my needs and ate with gusto. Deon just looked at me eating hungrily.

"Have you eaten?" I asked Deon, with a mouth stuffed with food.

'If he hasn't eaten yet, perhaps I could share a little with him.'

"I’ve already had my meal, you were the one who overslept!."

'Has he now started to mock me, even though he always appears so weary himself in the devil world?'

"It can't be helped, I'm tired. Having no sleep at all really do the wonders."

"But you sleep too much, can you sleep tonight?"

I pressed my finger to my lips, contemplating whether I would get any sleep tonight or not, "No... I guess."

I can already imagine what I should do at night, maybe take a walk in the garden. because I won't have a fever like humans. The little perks in many disadvantage to became a devil.

"Want to go for a walk?" asked Deon, interrupting my thoughts.

“You want to go for a walk? I think you're tired already.” My voice soared with happiness. if Deon wants to join me, why not?

"If you can't sleep, it will affect my sleep cause I'm light sleeper."

"Okay. Let's go for a walk." I'm really excited to have my tour guide in this new world! I'm eager to learn about the human world during the kingdom era—what were the people like back then?

This could very well be my final moment of tranquility. I need to savor it to the fullest. Nothing can hold me back from my adventures.

"Done, madam. Please see the results, madam." The servants mentioned that they had finished making me look absolutely perfect.

I felt a mix of excitement and reluctance as I approached the mirror.

Ever since I became a servant of the devil, I hadn’t really looked at my reflection. My gray skin made me shy away from seeing myself, no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise..

But I'm human now. Let's look at our human version.

I couldn't help but admire myself the moment I caught a glimpse in the mirror. I turned out to be a very beautiful human being...

My hair was still a purplish silver color but I finally saw the face of a human whose beauty I could appreciate as a human being.

I was eager to snap a quick photo before switching back to my devil mode. However, there’s no camera available here, so I buried my futile hopes

Finally, the waiter's choice of dress was a pastel purplish pink dress. But I also realized that this dress suits me. Makes me look pretty and slay.

"Thanks for dressing me."

"No need to thank Madam, this is our duty."

I then turned to look back, noticing the way the skirt of the dress danced around me. The swaying of my skirt only added charm to my natural beauty and make me more confident than before.

"Madam, Master has been waiting outside."

“He's outside? I'll be right out.”

I quickly put on the small earrings that the maid had provided. I chose round pearl earrings. Feeling that my appearance was perfect, I hurried to go out. Want to quickly show off my new appearance.

"Deon!"

I shouted as I walked quickly towards Deon. He, who was initially arranging his gloves, turned to me.

Wow, he looks amazing, even though he's all covered up and the only thing you can see are his striking red eyes. But the his mysteriousness and coolness really being topped up.

He fell silent while opening his eyes wide. Not even saying a word for me.

Was he surprised because I was strange, even though I was already become human?

“How's my look? Is it strange for you?”

He simply averted his gaze, avoiding a proper look at me.

I moved towards him with such intensity that he couldn't bring himself to meet my eyes fully. I did my utmost to present myself as beautifully as possible.

"You are... good." He says that with shy and tried to hide his face even if he already use the a cloth mask.

But I still don't understand the implied compliment that he can't expressed.

"What type of compliment is that, Deon? Tell me whether am I beautiful or ugly in your eyes...?"

I'm so eager to see him compliment me, you know? Women looks the best when her lover praise her!

But he didn't meet my expectation, "Let's go! "

He ran away from me before he could give me a compliment, and I have no idea where we're headed.

"Wait for me, Deon!" I try to catch his super fast walking, but it's not so easy with this dress.

"DEON!"

To Be Continued

[starry-eyed-steve]

I'm annoyed with people who completely vilify s1 Steve or King!Steve in general and put him onto the same level as Billy or Jason, when in canon, it's simply not true. Steve did one bad thing at the end of season one, which he realised, immediately checked himself, and apologized for.

People act like he was a big bully, constantly shoving people into lockers and committing hate crimes, so to speak, when in reality he wasn't like that.

The reason he was an asshole to Jonathan was because Jonathan put himself into the role of being the school weirdo. Plus, him being a creep and taking those pictures and developing them in school isn't exactly helping his case. Steve smashing the camera was totally valid as Jonathan violated Nancy's privacy and Steve's as well. He didn't have to buy him a new camera because he was in the right for that.

Throughout s1 and s2, Jonathan gives off "I'm not like other girls" vibes, he constantly judges people who are popular, and he even judges Nancy. Will called him out for having no friends because Jonathan doesn't want to open up. Granted, he suffered a lot of trauma and had to grow up quite early to take care of Will. I won't hold this against him because he had it not easy, but it still doesn't change the fact that he can be a judgemental asshole, like Steve essentially.

In s1 ep 2 it was shown how King!Steve wasn't this big asshole when he throws the party. He invited Nancy because, duh, he liked her, but when Barb showed up, he never made a big fuss about it even though he probably anticipated Nancy coming there alone. Later, when Barb cuts herself, after being pressured by Nancy to participate in drinking, he never made fun of her for that. He was concerned and honestly less of an ass than Nancy was in that scene. To me, this shows his true character because he could have easily made Barb feel terrible in that situation, as he obviously doesn't like her that much, but he didn't because he isn't evil. Even after she was gone to take care of her hand, he never made a joke about it with Tommy or Carol.

In s3, when Robin gave her speech to Steve as to why he was the worst (after him being brutally tortured which was played off for laughs) she couldn't even come up with good reasons why he was so horrible. She literally says Steve was a real asshole because he:

Was late to school

Asked dumb questions

Was funny and cool

Got bagel crumbs all over the floor (the worst crime committed by a person)

And the girl she liked was only looking at him and his "stupid" hair.

Another reason why the show itself villainizes Steve so much, and has to remind him and the audience how bad he was every season, is because it's written by people who were nerds and had a bad experience in high school. Like the basic concept of the show is nerds=good and jocks=the devil. They are literally judging popular kids because of their own prejudices. And with how they set up s5, Steve will have to prove again he's a changed man, this time to Jonathan (again) despite him saving his ass twice, and him apologizing to Jonathan in s1. It's like Steve is never allowed to truly move on, simply because he was popular in high school. He still has to make up for the mistakes of his past while other characters in the show just get a pass for theirs.

We are never shown this big evil Steve, we are only told by people who themselves have prejudices towards the popular crowd. Eddie literally gave this whole speech about how he doesn't like people who fit in, he was harassing them and couldn't find it in himself to postpone the final campaign because he hated how Lucas wanted to venture into other hobbies. (The show basically vilified Lucas for playing basketball.) Eddie isn't really better than the popular kids. However, because he's a nerd, he isn't portrayed as the villain but as a person who just gets it.

In conclusion, yes, Steve was an asshole in certain situations. Yes, he was (still is) vain and cared about his reputation. But in no way was he this big bad bully like people and show make him out to be. He was popular because he was charming and had the ability to converse easily. I mean, he was still able to become prom king in 1985, despite falling from grace in '84. He wasn't awkward and knew how to make people like him. He was still King!Steve up until Billy, even with dumping his friends, because he probably got along well with others in general and was only judgmental towards people who actively seeked out keeping to themselves rather than participating in "normal" high school society and were judging the popular crowd for participating in return.

Also worth noting is Steve being mean or an ass was really amplified by the friendship with Tommy and Carol. It's like he thought he needed to be extra mean in order to be perceived as cool by them and vice versa. They all brought out the worst in each other, when Steve realized that he cut them off. Like he said, he cared a lot about superficial things, but in the end, when it comes to serious things, he will always come around.

[therepublicofletters]

Hi! I've just discovered your lovely blog and needed to ask: I recently watched "Medici" season 2 (yes, I went straight to that one cause Pinterest kept throwing at me beautiful pictures of Francesco de' Pazzi 😂) and was wondering: was Lorenzo truly that magnanimous? Up until his brother's murder he seems too good to be true. And the Pazzis seem to be too bad to be true, almost like a Marvel/Disney villain (except perhaps Francesco, they give him more character background); did they have "better" motives other than just pure hatred towards the Medici to conspire against them? Sorry, this is probably too long for a question 😂

Ohhh I love this question and am very happy to answer (and talk about the Medici/Pazzi whenever).

The short answer is: yes, Lorenzo was quite magnanimous—he is historically remembered (and referred to in modern scholarship) as "The Magnificent"—but he was also quite an ass. No, the Pazzi were not simply evil, and a lot of what we "know" about them now is drawn straight from Medici-sponsored propaganda that swelled in the immediate aftermath of the Conspiracy and has overwhelmed the narrative ever since.

The longer answers are: Lorenzo was raised to be a prince, and he filled the role perfectly. On one hand, he acted very graciously and generously. He was a patron both socially and artistically—ie. he did favours and created an expansive network that came to encompass all of Florence and even extended outside (continuing what his father and grandfather had begun in the decades before). However, he was not willing to face competition. Some scholars suggest that this is the inevitable end to decades and centuries of the Florentine patronage system: instead of multiple smaller networks with large families that did favours, it became one ginormous network at which Lorenzo was at the very top.

People found him attractive in many ways. He was a compelling figure, he was gripping, he had flare. Whenever I read about Lorenzo I'm reminded of the quote from The Talented Mr. Ripley where Marge describes that when Dickie Greenleaf pays attention to you, "it's like the sun shines on you, and it's glorious. And then he forgets you and it's very, very cold." Lorenzo could very quickly turn a cold shoulder, and if you got on his bad side, that was it. One time he gave the silent treatment to a Milanese (I think?) ambassador for over a week. He also absolutely prevented his brother from participating in public life. Make of that what you will. F.W. Kent's work on Lorenzo touches on a lot of this very well.

As for the Pazzi, I think that a lot of the "evil" stuff that gets cast against them came not from them themselves, but from the other conspirators, who were largely based in Rome. I do think the Pazzi became somewhat jealous of the Medici, but it wasn't so much that they were anti-Medici so much as that they had a different conception of what Florence should be, and the Medici did not fit with that. However, the two families had been very closely tied for some fifty years by 1478, which makes it quite sticky. Many of the Pazzi were not "good" people, just like many of the Medici weren't; but they did positive things, too too. Jacopo, for example, was very diligent in giving alms and doing public works. Guglielmo was a public servant through the 1510s, and his son Cosimo became Archbishop of Florence in 1508 and was famous for being incredibly pious and good spirited.

I don't think that we can say that Lorenzo or any of the Pazzi were "better" as people than one another. I tend to judge Lorenzo quite harshly and give the Pazzi the benefit of the doubt, in part because of what happened after the Conspiracy. They were all compelling characters, though, perhaps because of their grey moral compasses. I think that's part of what makes this moment in history so gripping.

[booktomoviebrawl]

We are not judging how bad the movie is, we are judging which adapted the book the worst. There are good movies that are bad adaptions.

Propaganda below the cut (spoilers may apply)

The Hunger Games:

This goes for all of them but mainly the last two. The movies are good, great even. But they lose a lot of plot points and details. They don't do the books justice and leave out the most important details and mesaages. Theyre movies so they can't run forever. But the books have all the time in the world to describe every excruciating detail.

The movie is the exact thing the book cautions against, and it's not aware of that

fuck everyone who decided to get white actors & actresses to play people on the Seam. bestie they’re indigenous. also the amount of cut scenes & important plot threads, from Haymitch’s backstory to Peeta’s disability in favour of amping up the ~love triangle/romance~ instead of treating it like the sidecar survival strategy/overarching metaphor it really was are so disrespectful to the intentions of the book. they did thg so fucking dirty and i’m forever going to be disappointed that’s all we got

Animorphs:

Didn't have the budget to do literally anything the books were doing, and it shows. Also the central theme of the books wasn't even touched on.

A low-budget kids' show was absolutely the worst and most embarrassing way to adapt a semi-serialized, somewhat serious (but, y'know, in a YA way) drama about war and how it changes those who participate in it. It never goes into the ethical questions or moral issues that the original book series brings up, and the violence is toned down a lot. They just didn't have the money for the special effects you'd need for a story with so many different alien races (Taxxons, one of the main types of alien employed by the enemy yeerks, are never even mentioned!), nor for the animal training/handling for so many different species that the characters are constantly morphing into. I get that they were doing the best they could for the time and medium, but it ended up being a giant embarrassment. :(

Only one season, poorly written

[xceanlynx]

An ace perspective on Only Friends, sexuality, and purity culture.

Look, I'm not very good with meta, but I have to give my two cents here.

I love Only Friends. They've brought a perspective on queer culture that usually falls flat in most Thai BL series. The hookups, the cruising, the expectations of love and care... There are so many nuances they've explored, it really is a breath of fresh air.

But I have to say, as an ace person, I'm quite disappointed with the not-so-implicit moral standard they've set on characters based on their sexual experiences. Argue all you want, there's no way they didn't make it to be as "virgins are good, hoes are evil".

Look at episode one. One of the first quotes that really got to my mind was when Mew told Top that "he is not like Boston" (as in he can't do casual sex). I really got curious about that line. It could mean that 1. maybe he views sexuality differently — maybe he is on the ace spectrum (I was sooo for it); or 2. maybe he just isn't as sexual as his friend, not necessarily ace (also cool); or 3. maybe he views his virginity as a badge of honor, and thus is afraid to lose it to an almost stranger, hookup enthusiast like Top.

With a premise like OF, of exploring queer sexualities, I really thought option 1 or 2 were going to be it, and even if it was option 3, it was going to be a setup for, by the end, Mew understanding that, virgin or hoe, anyone can be good or bad. But then, episodes were being released, and now we only have 1 episode left and nothing really changed. Characters like Mew and Cheum still view sexual experience as a way to measure someone's worth.

There are two examples that I need to show here.

Cheum is supportive of her virgin friend hooking up with Top (when he already said he wasn't comfortable yet), while also shaming Boston for hooking up — of course, he isn't the virginal angel type.

(seriously, what's with this fixation on Mew's virginity?)

Like, boy I know you are still hurt, but what do you mean by saying that?

And there's the Nick situation. They really wanted us to see Nick, the hopeless romantic/stalker as the good guy, while seeing Boston, the one who does not want a serious relationship, as the bad guy. And as we approach the last episode, they might even pull one of the "hoe cures" and make Boston actually want a monogamous relationship with Nick now. (I say MAYBE, I'm writing this before ep 12 airs).

Yeah, Boston is a shitty friend. No one is questioning it. But none of his cruising behavior is the reason why I say that. His biggest mistake was sleeping with Top while he was actively pursuing Mew (if they were dating or not, that's up to you). His hooking up with multiple people, taking pictures of them, and even sleeping with Atom... none of these are mistakes on his part. Maybe not the wisest ideas, but not mistakes. None of these make him bad.

And you may ask, why does being ace have anything to do with it?

Because purity culture is harmful to everyone, sluts and virgins alike. Of course, there's nuance in everything: some may suffer more, and intersectionality also factors here. The ace spectrum is HUGE, with people having polar opposite opinions on sex and hookups. Some hate the idea of participating in all sexual activities, some tolerate it and some actually enjoy them very much. All of them are still ace.

So, when I see a series like OF (which many, many people wanted to see because of its raw, realistic perspective on sex) propagate a viewpoint that the virginal character is superior to the hoes, it really frustrates me.

Sexual experience does not make one mature, wise, or better than anyone else. Just like that, being inexperienced does not make one pure, enlightened, mature, or inherently better than anyone else. WHY DO WE JUDGE PEOPLE BASED ON SEXUAL EXPERIENCE? Sex is just an activity. Some do for leisure, some do for their partners, some do for having children and some don't do it at all. Are all of these people better or worse than the others? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

I'm going to be honest, I wasn't expecting much (or any) representation for aces in Only Friends. It still is a stigmatized orientation, and sometimes it's better to have nothing than to be represented badly. While I was expecting nothing, I really wasn't expecting this morality based on purity. I thought it was going to shine a light on hookup culture, not necessarily romanticizing it but not making it to be a bad thing either.

I don't really have a closing paragraph. I just saw the discourse and agree with basically everyone, but I hadn't seen an ace perspective (at least not one explicitly ace) on all of this. Sometimes allo (non-ace) people think we on the ace spectrum actually want this discourse of "virgin = good" to be popular, and while there may exist people like that, most of us just want to have our humanity not dictated by how many people we fuck.