#then they dont fucking show hardly any aftermath

[nighting-gale17]

Listen this is Eddie Diaz fanpage alright

911 YOU DONE DID MY BOY WRONG

First off you kill off his wife

Then no scene of Buck, his best bro, comforting him

Scene of him FUCKING ALONE SOBBING ON THE BEACH with no one comforting him

Cut scene to someone comforting him later? NOOOOOOO bc that would make too much sense

[santana-maribel]

📝 when the party’s over. (sebtana)

who: @santana-maribel​ and @smythenyu​. where: santana & quinn’s apartment. when: sunday 3nd may, 2:30am. what: the aftermath of santana’s kiss with finn and seb’s kiss with aubrey, force the two of them to make a sad decision about their “relationship”. aka the worst friends with benefits ever break up and it’s v sad. warnings: drug mention/use. and a fuck ton of feelings~

The apartment was silent now, the party had died off a little after two, some people choosing to continue the party elsewhere, the rest, drunkenly staggering home. Santana however, was still seated on her bed, a bottle of bourbon between her thighs. How could this be happening? How could this be real? Finn goddamn Hudson, was her soulmate. The evidence was irrefutable. Yet, her heart ached. As her door opened, she lifted her head and gave Sebastian a soft smile. "Hey," she mumbled.

Sebastian could hardly believe the night he had had. He'd thought the only cause of drama would be the awkward mess that was St. Faberry, but oh had he been wrong. He'd stuck around, figuring once everyone was gone he could hopefully just stay with Santana. More than anything he just craved that sense of easy comfort they had together, where he didn't have to overthink anything. As people started leaving, he sat on the sofa, sipping a fresh beer and staring at the coffee table as his foot tapped to the beat of the music unconsciously. When he realised he was alone in the living room, he stood up, still feeling wide awake because of the mandy, moving to Santana's room and pushing the door open gently. He leaned his head inside, raising his eyebrows and smiling as he saw her sat on her bed, "Hey, birthday girl," he murmured, moving inside and closing the door behind him. He kicked off his shoes before crawling onto the bed beside her, automatically moving to wrap his arms around her, dropping his head onto her shoulder.

Santana couldn't help the smile on her face when he came into her bedroom. Sweet Seb. Her sweet, best friend. It had been the two of them for so long; Santana and Sebastian against the world. And now...what was she going to do? She sighed as his arms wrapped around her and brushed his cheek with her free hand. Pressing a kiss to his forehead, she let her head rest on top of his. "Hi baby," she returned, lifting the bottle to her lips with her free hand. She had to tell him.

"I love you," he murmured, lifting his head but keeping his arms wrapped around her, watching as she took a sip. "Are you okay?" he asked then, his voice quiet, knowing from the moment she'd returned after her disappearance during spin the bottle that something was up, and the worry in his stomach feeling heavy.

"I love you too," she sighed, her chest aching as she took another drink from the bottle that rested on her lap. "I love you so much, Seb," she whispered, her eyes downcast. "Finn kissed me," she started to explain, another deep breath sucked in, as she avoided his eyes, focusing on a small dirty mark on her wall.

Sebastian blinked at that, sitting up a little as she spoke. He paused as he took it in. Finn had kissed her. He supposed he shouldn't be too surprised but that couldn't be all. It didn't take him too long to realise though, his thoughts clouded by his own discovery about Aubrey, leading him to connect the dots. "He's your soulmate," he said quietly, sadly, reaching for the bottle and taking a sip himself.

"He's my soulmate," she repeated, her voice completely devoid of any emotion. It shouldn't be like this, if she got to choose, she would have chosen Sebastian every single time. But fate had intervened and taken away her choice for her.

Sebastian bit his lip, placing the bottle on the side so that he could curl closer around her, hugging her tight, "Aubrey's my soulmate," he murmured, although he figured she might have already figured that one out from witnessing the kiss.

"I know baby," she replied, wrapping her arms around him tightly. They were both still rolling, their highs still in peak from the amount of drugs and booze they'd consumed. She wanted to giggle and she couldn't help, as small titters of laughter started pouring from her mouth, shaking her entire body and by proxy, his.

Sebastian blinked as he realised Santana was laughing, and his lips twitched up into a smile before he was giggling along with her too, burying his head in her neck as they laughed together at the absurdity of the realisation they both now had to come to.

She flopped back on the bed, pulling him down with her. This was how it was supposed to be, the two of them, curled around one another, high as all hell, giggling about nothing. But now there was an added weight to the situation. "This fuckin' blows," she said through tears of laughter, that were rolling down her cheek.

Sebastian lay down and chuckled, blinking as he noticed the tears and reaching to gently brush them away with his thumb. "This really blows," he whined, sniffing as he laughed again. "Fucking hell. It doesn't make any sense, Tana."

"I don't understand it at all," she muttered. Her laughter had died down now and the tears slipping down her cheeks were real ones. Santana wasn't a crier, hell the only emotions that she showed regularly were rage and arousal, yet with him, it was her safe space. Her person. Or now, he wasn't. "I love you, though, Seb."

Seb bit at his lip, wiping at her cheeks still and leaning in to kiss her gently without even thinking. He paused and pulled back though, "Can I still kiss you?" he mumbled, worried she'd answer no and he'd have to face this reality already.

Santana wanted to let out a laugh at his question. Of course he could kiss her, he always could and he had never had to ask before. Maybe if she was sober and morning light was pouring in on them, she would have thought about it for a moment longer. But for tonight, she was still his and he was still hers. "Always," she whispered, her fingertips tracing his cheek.

Sebastian swallowed the lump in his throat, managing a small smile and leaning in to kiss her just gently, his hand cupping her cheek before resting their foreheads together and keeping his eyes closed. "How do you feel about Finn?" he asked softly after a moment, "You like him, don't you?"

She leant into his touch, her own hand holding him close as he pressed their lips together. Short and sweet. When he pressed their faces together, she forced her eyes open to look at him, swallowing her own lump in her throat. "I do--I did...I don't know, Seb," she sighed softly. "He fucked Quinn last week," she explained, the words bitter on her tongue.

Sebastian frowned at that, lifting his hand to stroke through her hair, "Dickhead," he mumbled. He blinked open his eyes to meet hers, "He doesn't know what he's missing out on, clearly. Who would ever let the opportunity of being with Santana Lopez pass them by? Although, I suppose it's not passed? Are you pissed him and Quinn fucked?"

She smiled at his compliment and gave him another small kiss before half heartedly shrugging her shoulder. "I dont know. I was initially, I ended up telling Q that I fucked Jesse's brains out freshman year. I was pissed, now it just feels weird," she sighed. "He came over about a month ago and we almost kissed but he freaked out and left and I guess its cause he's liked her this whole time and not me," she swallowed thickly.

"Except you're his soulmate, not Quinn," Sebastian mumbled, "Although I don't really know if that means anything. Do you think it means anything?"

"I'm not an afterthought, Seb," she shot back quickly, before slipping her hands underneath his shirt. Safe and secure. "I don't know. I guess I'm worried that every time I look at him, I'll be reminded of the fact that for a brief moment, he chose her."

Sebastian relaxed as he felt her hands on his skin, "No, you're not," he agreed, "Finn's an asshole. I never liked him," he said, despite the lie. He and Finn had got on pretty well before all the stuff with him leaving the frat. "Maybe we just say fuck it to all this soulmate shit. I mean- I'm mean to spend the rest of my life with Aubrey?"

Santana laughed at his statement. He was full of shit and they both knew it. Him and Finn had been friends once, close friends, before they let fraternity politics get in the way. "Fuck it," she agreed with a laugh before she paused for a second. She hadn't even been considering the other person in this equation. Her other sweet boy. "You know, you could do a ton worse than Aubrey Weston."

Sebastian flashed her a soft grin, before his expression turned more wistful and conflicted. He ducked his head, sighing, "Yeah, I could. He could do a lot better though. We just- we don't make sense."

She patted his cheek gently, shaking her head. "He would be lucky to have you, baby,"she mumbled honestly. "You are the best. What have you got to lose? Maybe you could give it a chance."

"Did you see the way he pushed me back tonight, Tana? He doesn't want anything to do with me like that. Pretty sure he yelled "stay away from me" at my face in front of everyone and then ran away." He sighed again, curling around her again, laying on his side, tangling their legs.

For the two of them, the harsh sting of rejection was rare but unbelievably biting. She chewed on her bottom lip as she considered what he said. Aubrey did completely freak out after the kiss, but she knew him, she knew that he would come around. "Look, his whole identity, like ours, was just sent up shit creek without a paddle. Give him some time," she soothed, her legs tangling around his. "Do you...want to be with him?" she asked.

Sebastian closed his eyes again, despite not yet feeling tired. He rested his head on her pillow and ran his hands up and down her back, pausing as he thought about her question. "I don't know. I would have thought my instinct would be no, but that kiss..." he trailed off, figuring Santana would understand that considering they'd had the same experience this evening.

"The kiss," she nodded, in full understanding. In short, completely life changing. There was no way to ignore it, no way to pretend that it hadn't happened. "Seb?" she asked, in a small voice, "why did you say finally before you kissed him?" The question had been on her mind from the moment that she'd heard the word fall from his lips.

Sebastian nodded, breathing out slowly before he looked across at her at that. He paused again, sighing softly, "You heard that, huh?" he murmured, lifting his hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "We kind of- well, we kind of hooked up once. Me and Aubrey. He asked me to never mention it to anyone, and I didn't wanna be a dick so I stayed quiet. We fucked and didn't kiss. And it was great. But he got pissy with me after it and refused to do it again."

"Seb, I was like 3 inches away of course I heard it," she laughed, as he touched her hair. It should have been more obvious really, but she stared at Sebastian as he explained about him and Aubrey. Of course they hooked up. Fuck it was all so obvious now. "I think...Seb, were you his first?" she asked, a moment of lucidity hitting her. "He sent me a text a few days after you guys hooked up asking me about first times. Fuck, your operation big dick energy," she sputtered out, a wave of laughter consuming her as she thought about their codenames.

Sebastian paused at that, his eyes widening, "What? No. He never said anything about it being his- he's a virgin?" He pulled back just slightly, looking a little panicked. "I took his virginity?!"

She shrugged, "I honestly have no idea, but he text me out of the blue one day asking about my first time. I told him all about it, grass stains, bleachers, shit sex. Then he told me about this mystery man he had fucked -- you. I mean, maybe i'm reaching or the mandy has given me a new level of understanding, but it sounds connected," she shrugged again.

“Fuck,” Sebastian mumbled under his breath, running a hand through his hair. “He- he never said anything,” he mumbled, “Shit, what if I ruined his first time?”

"I've fucked you like two thousand times," she laughed, "it's not possible. He said you were amazing. God I talked about the good your stroke game was with him and we could have compared notes. Did you top?" she asked.

“He really said that? He said I was amazing?” Sebastian perked up at that, his eyebrows raising slightly. “And of course I topped. I went down on him too.”

Santana nodded at his question, smiling as he perked up almost instantly. It made her undeniably overjoyed for her best friend, but then in a moment, it made her sad again. In an instant, he wasn't hers anymore and she wouldn't stand in the way of whatever he wanted. "Atta boy," she joked, nestling her head into his chest.

Sebastian's grin softened, and her curled back around her closer, his hand in her hair, moving his fingers across her scalp gently. "I love you, Santana. I fucking love you so much, you don't even know it. I don't think I'd have even functioned in college if I hadn't met you."

"I love you too, cariño," she soothed, as he ran his fingers through her hair. It was her favourite thing in the entire world, a softness that he showed for her and only her. "I couldn't do any of this without you." They could be a pair of complete dicks to everyone else in the world, but they were sacred. "We have to stop this, don't we?" she asked with a sigh, although deep down, she already knew the answer.

Sebastian smiled softly, still running his fingers through her hair, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek. He sighed though, as she continued, not really wanting to think about the idea of giving up this intimacy they shared. "If we both want to go after our soulmates," he murmured, resting their foreheads together again. "You can be honest with me, you want- you want Finn, don't you?"

"I don’t know," she replied honestly, musing over the thought. She wanted Finn, sure, but...the thought of him balls deep in Quinn made her stomach ache. "I had this dumb fucking crush and it just felt so...real. But he didn't want me and you always did and I don't know, maybe I should wait until i'm not able to smell colours before I make any life changing decisions," she laughed, as their faces were once again pressed together tightly. "You wanna get with Aubs, don't you? It's okay babe, I just want you to be happy." And she meant it, truly meant it. She would give everything to see him happy.

Sebastian watched her carefully, brushing her hair behind her ear again, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek. "I guess that makes sense," he murmured softly, "He needs to step up." He blinked at her question though, hesitating a moment. "I don't know," he said, repeating her words. "Yes? Well, honestly? Yeah, I do, but I'm so fucking scared that I want him only because the universe or whatever higher being has decided that me and him are some kind of match."

She huffed out a breath of air and gave him a half smile. "Maybe," she replied simply, unsure of what her future held. "He'll come around," she promised him, rubbing her hands up down his arms soothingly. Maybe there was something of an optimist buried deep inside of her or maybe, the drugs were really doing their job. "It'll work out, I know it will. The universe only did so much, you guys gotta be the ones who make the effort."

Sebastian smiled, leaning in to kiss her again softly, his hand moving to cup her cheek. "I guess. What if he doesn't want to try though? What if he really does hate me, Tana?"

"It won't happen," she instantly shot down. They had their differences sure, but Aubrey couldn't truly hate him could he? Unclear. "But if it does, it won't, but if it did, you always have me. It's not the same but I'll always be here, loving you, Seb."

"Fuck," Sebastian murmured under his breath, stroking his thumb over her cheek. "I don't like the idea of giving you up, Tana." He sighed, his other hand smoothing over the small of her back. "We're so good together."

She nodded, choking back a sob that was threatening to escape her throat. "I know we are. So good," she agreed, "but you don’t have to give me up. You and I are forever. We promised when we started this, that we'd never lose each other. Just because we can't fuck or make out anymore, doesn't mean you're not my number one."

Sebastian smiled, hating that he was tearing up because he never cried. He wasn't a crier. He felt overwhelmed but being with Santana was and always would be his safe space. "You'll always be my number one too," he whispered, "We're the fucking best and everyone is just ugly and jealous."

"Total fuckin' squares," she agreed with a gentle laugh. It hurt her heart, knowing that afternoon, she'd laid naked under his sheets, lazily and freshly fucked for the final time. It had been an unbelievably long day, and with her high at its peak, she was exhausted and willing sleep to come. "I'm not tired but I really, want to forget for a while," she sighed.

Sebastian laughed softly and nodded, "Exactly. And we could smoke a joint? Wind down?" he suggested, dropping his hand to her hip and smiling. "Then try and get some sleep?"

"That sounds good," she nodded and rolled over in her bed.  She opened the top drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a small wooden rolling box and grabbed a pre-rolled joint. Thankfully her sober self had a modicum of common sense, her hands were way too shaky to roll just now. She tossed it on to his chest and dug around the same box for a lighter, it landing on his chest moments later. She found an ashtray under her bed and lifted it out to rest on the bed between them.

Sebastian grinned at how prepared she was, sitting up and taking the joint, placing it between his lips and grabbing the lighter from where it had fallen into his lap when he'd moved. He lit up quickly, "You're the best," he murmured, taking a long drag and holding it in as he passed the joint across to her.

She leaned against the headboard next to him, her head resting on his shoulder, as she watched the cloud of smoke billowing around them. She took the joint and ashed it softly before taking a deep drag. She held it for several moments, before pursing her lips and blowing several small smoke rings above their heads, coughing out the rest as she handed it back to him.

Sebastian watched the smoke rising as he took back the joint, taking a couple of drags and glancing back at Santana, sliding his other arm around her shoulders and leaning in to kiss her cheek softly again. “I always thought this day would never come, y’know?”

The ache blossoming through her chest burned a little harder at the finality of the situation. "I kind of just figured we'd end up getting married," she answered honestly. "We could have just had an open marriage and fucked cute boys and girls on the side," she laughed, thinking about how idealistic, how stupid it seemed now.

“Me too,” Sebastian replied with a laugh, passing back the joint. “We made sense,” he said in a softer voice, hating that he was using the past tense.

"I don't want this to be done," she mumbled, as she took the joint back from him and took several long drags from it. The way that the weed was relaxing her body, yet her mind was still pulsing were in sharp contrast. "But I know that it needs to be," she sighed, ashing the joint against the glass ashtray.

“Me either, baby,” he murmured, shifting back close to her, trying not to knock the ashtray, leaning in to kiss gently under her jaw. “You will always be my first love, Tana,” he whispered softly.

He whispered the words that she knew that she needed to hear, something she had known for a little while now herself. Her love for him obliterated the line between friends with benefits and whatever they'd become. Because they were never just friends, it was always more. Maybe she would have told him eventually, maybe it would have been different if they had. But at the end, it would have crashed down in the same way; their hearts belonging to someone else, their souls intertwined in someone else's story. "And you'll be mine," she sobbed, the tears falling thickly and harshly down her cheeks, her mascara trickling in black streams.

"Tana," Sebastian murmured, taking the joint to put out in the ash tray and setting both aside, moving to curl his arms around her, holding her against him. "Baby, don't cry," he murmured, brushing her hair out her face. "Sh, I'm sorry."

She shook her head, as she nestled into his chest, the back of her hand wiping at her stray tears. "You don't have to be sorry, it's not like we could have controlled this," she mumbled into his shirt, trying to soothe herself as much as she was him.

Sebastian pressed a kiss to her forehead, stroking a hand through her hair. "No, we couldn't, and that's fucked in itself but... guess we can't do much now," he said, sighing softly. "I know that if things had been different, we'd have stayed together, gotten married, taken the world by storm.... we'd have been so happy together. But maybe... maybe we can still be happy."

Santana listened as he spoke, hating every single word of truth that he was saying. "Maybe," she nodded, sniffling, her fingers curled around his shirt tightly. The realisation hit her, that this would be the last time they did this. The last time that it was just the two of them curled up in bed, them against the world. Things were about to become so much more complicated and terrifying. "I'm so scared, I don't want to do this without you."

Sebastian blinked as a couple tears formed in his eyes. He cradled her against him, kissing her neck gently. "You won't be. I'll always be here for you, Tana, you know that," he murmured soothingly, hating the way that this had to end, and the fact that they both knew it.

"I know, I know," she sighed, her fingers threading through the back of his hair. She hated finality, hated that through no choice of their own, their fates had been decided for them. Her two contrasting highs were in full swing, but she was grateful that she could feel her limbs start to tire, even if her mind was buzzing. She sat up, untangling herself for a moment, lifting her hips to pull her dress up over her head and off. "We can just...sleep together tonight, can't we? Pretend that everything is just normal and one of us has had a really bad trip, I don't wanna' face it yet, not until morning," she asked, as she curled back into him.

Sebastian sat up too, nodding at that, "Yeah, of course. Me either, babe." He smiled softly despite the sadness still in his eyes, shifting to tug his shirt off and tug off his jeans so he could climb back into bed more comfortable. He reached for her then, tugging her close and pulling the covers over them. "I love you," he murmured again, despite the fact that he'd said it multiple times already that night. He needed this closeness with her.

She settled under the sheets with her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat under her ear. It was beating quickly, but it was a sound that she'd grown used to over the years. And now, she was losing it. He was right though, they'd always have one another in some kind of capacity. The hurt would dull and she'd get to watch him be happy. With his soulmate. Despite knowing that it wasn't her, from day one, it didn't sting any less. "I love you so much," she whispered back, reaching over to shut the small desk lamp off.

Sebastian shifted as she turned the light off, wrapping his arms around her and cuddling up close. “We’ll still always have each other. Hey, if things work out with Aubrey one day you’ll be the maid of honour for both grooms at the same wedding,”

The thought made her feel strangely lighter, picturing the two of them happy, together. "I also call godmother to your kids, if you have any," she teased, "babies need their Auntie Tana." It hurt, like all hell, but there was a strange calm that waved over her, as she considered Seb and Aubrey being soulmates. "You know, if he's my soulmate, you need to be nice to him."

Sebastian laughed softly though his eyes were still wet with tears, “No chances of having kids anytime soon but you will definitely be their Auntie Tana if we ever did.” He paused then, sighing and smiling slightly, “But he’s such a dumbass, Santana.”

It was the strangest feeling in the entire world, the way that her emotions were violently volleyed back and forth between total consuming sadness and a bizarre wave of optimism and joy. Her lips were tugged into a smile, but there were still some stray tears rolling down her cheeks. "Yeah well....the universe hath decreed that he's my dumbass," she shrugged her arm underneath him. "Seb, please. I don't know what's going to happen now, with him, with any of it. But when I kissed him...everything felt...perfect. For a minute, everything just felt right."

“God we’re so lucky that we kissed our soulmates on the same night. I’d have been such a brat about this if I didn’t understand exactly what you mean,” he murmured, snuggling his face into her neck, “But yes, okay. I’ll try my best to play nice I guess.”

She laughed softly at his words. "God, I know, it would have been brutal on either one of us," she agreed, her hand running through his hair, as she took in the scent that was uniquely him, one last time. "No try, Seb, do," she demanded, a pout on her lips as she spoke.

“Sebastian leaned in to kiss her pout, stroking her cheek still, “Mhm fine,” he murmured, honestly willing to do anything he could if it meant Santana was happy. If Finn was her happiness, then he’d do his best to put their past behind him.

"Thank you," she welcomed sincerely. Like she'd told him, she wasn't sure what would happen with Finn, but she couldn't imagine...dating him whilst his relationship with Seb was so fraught. "I'm tired, babe," she mumbled into his lips.

“I just want you to be happy, gorgeous,” he whispered. “And that’s okay, let’s get some sleep.” He leaned forward to kiss her softly again before settling into the pillows.

"Night Seb," she whispered back, before kissing him a final time and closing her eyes, willing sleep to come. Her body was tired but her mind still buzzed with thoughts of the future. Everything was up in the air and so uncertain now. Happy fucking birthday, Santana.

[fireintheforest]

Behind the Blue: chapter 4, part 2

There were scorchmarks from magic in the hallways and in one door, and when Saufinril came back he was limping, visibly moody and with a bump and ugly bruise on his shin. He walked past the people that were gossiping in panicked whispers, past the echo of Mama Fro’s commands for calm and the subsequent protocol of the case, past the scorches on the walls left behind from his magic misses, until he got to his room and closed the door behind himself. The shin protested from the strain of going upstairs by sending pulses of pain down Saufinril’s leg, earning a groan from him. The wall where he’d fired first had an ugly smear (hope it wasn’t permanent. If it was, he’d have to hang something or fix it before Rialas saw it). A wave of dread and panic went over him. The intruder had tried to take his grandmother’s earring and Casil’s hunting knife, what did they manage to take? He immediately started to go through his things, counting and looking at each one for damage.

Meanwhile, down in the kitchen, Rialas was half sitting, half laying at table laid out with a typical Bosmeri breakfast of eggs, broth, slices of meats and bowls of insects. He was not the only one around looking displeased for being awoken so early, but unlike most people who would have never have dared to take out their bad mood on him, he had no similar restrains towards other people. Stabbing an egg with his knife and ignoring how bad manners such action showed he pulled the steaming bowl of broth closer and pointed to the closest poor soul with his egg-stained knife.

"You. Go. Get that dumb kynd of mine here. Now."

The lucky winner to deliver the message, a young orc with wild black hair and plenty of piercings on his face, went upstairs to the fourth floor until he got to Saufinril’s room and poked his head on the doorway. The young Altmer was sitting on the ground, breathing deep, a deep scowl on his face and his jaw clentched, his left knee up, his left elbow on the knee to support his head, which rested on his left hand that was clutching his hair tightly. His gaze was lost and had a light mist on his eyes. The right leg was straightened, letting the torn pant leg show the bump and the now eggplant-colored bruise.

Muraz poked his head on the doorway and simply said, "Soo...Rialas wants you. Not sure where Lillandril is so watch your back."

Saufinril softened the scowl, put his hands in his head and exhaled, closing his eyes. His hand wandered to his earring, which luckily he still had.

"Thanks" his tone was flat, but he tied his hair back while getting up (careful with the hurt leg!), took a glance around the room and then walked down to the first floor to the table where Rialas was eating. Rialas stared at Saufinril as he saw him first starting to approach, holding the delicate broth cup in one hand, taking a delicate sip.

"Morning, Rialas." Saufinril put his hands behind his back, waiting for his elder to talk first. Muraz was right, he hadn't seen Lillandril anywhere. He was probably holding himself above in the ceiling, waiting to ambush him or something. He didn´t dare look up in case it was true. Rialas didn't take his eyes off Saufinril, nor did he say anything. He only stared, mismatched eyes, narrowed like arrowheads, showing above the grey rim of the bowl. Saufinril, though he didn't say anything, didn't look at Rialas directly either. He just waited. Rialas set the bowl on the table with great care, then hit the knife deep in the table, so it stood there.

"Explain."

"Someone broke into the Den, to steal one's belongings, and one woke up when it happened. One chased the thief and followed them outside but lost them around the bar near the stream."

"Not. That." Rialas snarked. "I am not fool. I could hear your shouting."

"One was chasing him"

"Yes. Astonishing. You told me that." Rialas rolled his eyes and Saufinril stopped himself from doing the same. "And I said it is not what I wish you to explain."

"Well, that's what happened, one yelled at them to stop multiple times while one was chasing them. One will pay back to fix the damage in the Den, one promises"

Rialas closed his eyes slowly in an eerie gesture that his husband was often observed to do. "Not. That."

Well then I don’t know what the FUCK to tell you, now, do I?, Saufinril thought, his face revealing none of the irritability that was scratching the back of his neck and head.With expression and tone of voice that spoke of effort of restraint as great as balancing eggs on knife edge, Rialas spoke.

"I wish you to explain how you could make such a ruckus, and not bring back the head of this thief."

Oh. Right. This is Rialas we're talking about. Technically, Sau explained why, but the volume was so low, it might as well have been a mutter. Please don’t ask me to repeat it, please dont ask me to repeat it, please d-

A cough came from the doorway. Lillandril stood, arms folded, leaning against the frame. “And when you have explained that, you can explain quite how a penniless and destitute urchin such as yourself plans to find suitable recompense to fix the aftermath of your antics.”

Saufinril closed his eyes. Ah, there it is. The ambush. Saufinril took a step back and to the side to not give Lillandril his back.

"One will find a way, one has found jobs here before and..." he paused, seemingly remembering something, "There's a job that was proposed to one yesterday by a frequent client. It's in Evermor and one will be gone for a bit but it's very well rewarded and one can pay you both back"

Rialas snorted, "I do not need paying back. In money."

Lillandril’s eyebrow twitched. “Frequent client?”

"Well then how does one need to pay you back?" Great. Both parents are displeased. "From the Guild, he's come to the Den for a while."

“That hardly inspires confidence. Especially when considered alongside your track record where men and Mer are concerned.”

Rialas, too, clicked his tongue. "Clearly you need to work more shifts if you don't realize just how many people there are here from the Guild"

"One knows, one knows. It's this Dunmer, his name is Toivon. He's come around some times and last night he told one of this job and the cut is 4000 septims so...."

The eyebrow twitched again. “Dunmer?” Rialas raised both of his eyebrows, looking bit more awake and less grumpy. "The one with the little monkey?"

“Monkey? Oh do tell one that this one’s bad taste has not extended into the realms of pets as well? The last thing one wants or needs is an Imga as a son in law.”

Oh. Right. He has history with Dunmer.

"It's not like that- wait, monkey? No, one is not- an Imga, really? That's offensive" Saufinril said

Rialas looked affronted "I would never call Imga a monkey" he huffed

“One quite agrees. The Imga may well be pitiable and at times disagreeable, but they at least try to better themselves. To equate them to Dunmer besmirches their efforts most assuredly.”

"Point is, one- it's not that kind of agreement." Immediately after saying that, Saufinril seemed unsure, "It's, it's a distraction. In the sense of help for a heist."

"Oh? Tell me more." Rialas said, eyebrow arched, leaning forward to his elbow and pulling his knife off the table with practiced ease. “One agrees.” Lillandril narrowed his eyes slightly. “Tell one more.”

Rialas shuffled over on the fur covered bench to allow his husband space to sit down next to him. Lillandril moved to the bench, keeping his eyes trained on Saufinril as he sat down next to his husband, one hand reaching up in an almost absentminded way to wind fingers through Rialas’ hair. Saufinril seemed to just look more uneasy, but then he exhaled, "It's in Evermor, it's stealing a jewel during a party and they needed someone to provide a distraction while a key to the vault or box (one doesn't remember which) is taken. It's just one night, then one gets paid and one is back here. It's a high society party and with the payment one will pay for the damages."

“High society?” A faint smile played at Lillandril’s lips. “You?”

"One knows. He suggested one pass as an Artist but...that's, well near, it's not...after this break in one doesn't have much choice"

Rialas leaned over to practically flop on Lillandrils lap as he said, "Don't be so judgemental. Any Altmer can fool their way through in man society. I am more worried about the proving distraction"

"Aren't we all." Saufinril muttered

“One would be more concerned he takes you as an example in that regard.”

Rialas grinned, showing rows of sharp teeth. "Have you considered that this is awfully convenient?" Saufinril stayed silent for a second, then gave a shy nod. Lillandril made an agreeing noise. “What precisely do you even know about this Dunmer?” he asked

"Not much." Saufinril sat opposite them and passed a hand through his hair. He’d just dismissed his gut instinct as paranoia, but now… "By the Nine, you think he..."

“One thinks one asked you a question. You recall from your studies, one presumes, that one expects full answers.”

Rialas snickered and reached up to caress Lillandril’s jawline, looking at Sau like a child watching his favourite shadow theatre play.

"One knows- he's from the Guild, he comes here often with either a Nord or a Redguard or another younger Dunmer, his name is Toivon, that's it. He's very private and we've only talked a handful of times. The first time one ever saw him here was the night of the fight one had in the Den some years ago, with an Imperial."

“Quite the endorsement.”

Rialas chuckled and spoke at Lillandril in Bosmeris in a singsong voice "Somebody’s going to get kidnapped…"

Lillandril turned his head slightly to his husband, switching to Bosmeris himself. “If he thinks one is traipsing north to rescue him because he can’t say no to a sunken grey face, he is sadly mistaken.”

A bite of irritation nibbled at the back of Saufinril’s head. He’d lived with them in Valenwood for years and they still spoke Bosmeris in front of him, as if he couldn’t understand it. Even though he managed to not roll his eyes at them again, he slipped out a snappy "One is not getting kidnapped. And one didn't sleep with him. Nor one plans to."

“You very rarely plan it. If people planned it, it would be rather dull.”

"Kynd. Use the brain poor atta has tried to hammer in you yes?" Rialas laughed, still petting Lillandril’s jawline, "This person you know nothing about offers you easy convenient work. Away. Oh only you can do it. And then this little thing happens. So you feel like you have no choice" Rialas laughed. "It’s so convenient it's hilarious."

"Fine but to be fair, you are a better candidate for it, anyone is and one told him" Saufinril replied.

Rialas preened and chuckled. "So why exactly did he need you hmm?"

"He said the Breton eat up anything Altmer. One suggested you, serah, but..." he eyed Lillandril cautiously, "he said the Bretons look for something younger."

The eyebrow twitched again. “Ten generations of supreme lineage, to be insulted by a Dunmer. One should curse his name immediately.”

Rialas laughed. "And why was I rejected? Because I am not Altmer? Like men could tell the difference."

Oh by the Nine, why.

"Something about...you know-yeah, it was that. That it was perfect, you were perfect, but not Altmer"

“Oh? Whereas one is Altmer but not perfect? Too ... old?”

"He acknowledged you have experience and are an Altmer but...yeah"

“Hm. So it’s his charm and grace that is tempting you north?”

"Assuming this is a ploy to get one kidnapped, one has gotten out of situations like this. One escaped the Isles and crossed Tamriel with just 20 years of age. One has broken out of jails in Cyrodiil. One's got this. And if it's a true, actual job, one has the money to fix this at once versus all the jobs and time one would need to get it paid. It's not his charm, it's money"

"You're not going anywhere before we meet this Toivon.” Rialas said as Lillandril added a “You escaped the Isles and crossed Tamriel to be attacked by Dunmer, break into one’s home, and require one’s assistance and tutelage.”

"...but one escaped."

“So he lacks any redeeming features? Has no true personality to speak of? The extent of his virtues goes no further than his coin purse?”

"So far?"

"I cannot believe you are leaving us for coins.” Rialas interjected

"One is going to come back! One is not leaving anybody." The temptation to roll his eyes was too big.

Then it was Lillandril who spoke, “Which would make you ... well, it’s not for one to disparage those who chose the path of the courtesan. You, however, lack those requisite skills to claim that title.”

"Y'ffre knows it is not my fault he has not learned." Rialas mentioned

"One is not going as- you know, courtesan would be a good role for the job"

By now, the older Altmer was now talking to his husband in Bosmeris, “Auri-el knows, you have tried, one has tried. The boy’s skull is stubbornly thick. He is considering running off with a Dunmer of all things.” Before switching back to Common to tell his apprentice, “If you are going at all remains an open topic of discussion.”

"It hardly counts as running off." Rialas replied, then switched to Common as well, "Courtesan? You want to be courtesan now"

"No! Well, listen if the job is real, yes. One night." Saufinril reassured. Or at least, tried to. The Den owners’ displeasure rose almost at once by Rialas and Lillandril, respectively.

"You cannot be courtesan for one night!"

“One night. Pah. No true courtesan would ever say such a thing. And you are the Altmer this boy chooses? Clearly, his judgement matches his race.”

"One wouldn't be a true courtesan, one knows! It's just pretend." Saufinril’s head was developing a shy headache and the leg was screaming with pain now.

“So you want to pretend to be a conversation - that is, a common whore - and travel the length of Tamriel with a Dunmer boy you scarcely know, to undertake a high risk theft, with little to no pre planning or understanding of the situation, context, or surroundings, all in an attempt to gather money to repay the damages done to this establishment. And you expect us to bless this - one cannot bring oneself to call it a plan – half-baked thimble full of vague notions?”

"...well, when put that way..." Saufinril sighed, "To be fair one was...well, going anyway. It's more like...one was letting you know...where...one was going?"

“Oh, was that what this was? By Phynaster, how did one not understand that?” There it was, the Lillandril sass.

"It sounds sketchy, one knows. But at least one will try, and at the first sign of a trap, one leaves. One considered this possibility, but if it's not a trap, this covers the damages and an extra. At the very least, one can try." Just like Saufinril was trying to convince Lillandril and Rialas that this endeavour was going to be ok.

Lillandril was the next one to talk, “If you have made your mind up, what precisely can we say? Plead you to reconsider? Admonish you till shame turns your mind? One thinks not. If you seek our blessing, one finds it difficult to give. Coming on the heels of a morning where one was awoken by a commotion of your making, and forced to intervene with only a bedsheet to preserve one’s modesty, one rather thinks one might be forgiven for finding this is all somewhat I’ll conceived, rushed, and dubious. If well intentioned.”

"I will never bless that idea either." Rialas spoke, "Should you wish to pass as courtesan, you need help."

“To say nothing of your overall skill set for taking to the road. You have become quite the urban creature of comforts.” He loved Lillandril but this kind of thing was annoying, his job was LITERALLY to travel around finding people and killing them. He literally just came back from the road from Kvatch anddon'tthinkofEramondon'tthinkaboutEramon-

"You need to be bigger than life. Currently you act like you’re hardly bigger than mudcrab." He loved Rialas but that was not true. At least not like it used to be, and it used to be worse. He used to be straight-up scared of Rialas.

“Whilst it is buried in the mud.” Lillandril added

"Alright, so act like Rialas." He said more to cut the list of things he wasn’t than to summarize, but Lillandril interrupted.

“No. You cannot act like Rialas. Anyone other than Rialas trying to act like Rialas is liable to be killed or imprisoned.”

Rialas smiled, smugly, “It’s true.”

"....yes, fair", Saufinril conceded

“And one’s husband is quite right. If you think you are leaving before we at least meet the fiend who is enticing you away, you are very much mistaken. If naught else, one needs to assess his skills so as to decide as to what kind of bound creature to send to watch over you.”

Fuck, he’d hoped that ignoring that part would’ve slipped out of their minds, especially Lillandril’s, "This is not a bridal kidnapping, but fair. Agreed."

“And before you think of sneaking out the city, it will be considerably mite pleasant all round if you volunteer to bring this Dunmer to us, than if one has to either send a Xivali to bring you back, or engage the Guild to speed your return.” Lillandril added.

"He's not one's boyfriend, one will not run off with him like that, one just broke up with Eramon, one is not that much of a hot mess! But alright." Saufinril added the last part before he went off in a frustrated rant.

A raised eyebrow, “You broke up with who now? Was that the Redguard with the tattoo of an anchor on his cheek?”

"You really know nothing" Rialas rolled his eyes at his husband.

"No, that was-that doesn't matter, it was one's-the Altmer one met in Lympar March a while ago. We'd broken up before and then he came and we got back together? The one you didn't like? Black hair?" Saufinril offered, trying to make that spark of recognition go off on Lillandril. Then again the mer was around his 8000s, this might take a while. Come on, how many times do you see an Altmer with black hair? He had to remember that one.

“Saying ‘twas the one one did not like hardly narrows it down. You do show a worrying fondness for trawling through the sluice of life when it comes to your romantic entanglements.” Lillandril observed. Which was uncalled for. True, of course, but uncalled for.

Saufinril passed a hand through his face, "The cocky one. Said he could do Marcie's job better than her. He uh, kind of agreed to a threesome with one without, um, one's consent." A pause, "The one that you said talks too much."

"We need to figure who you are." Rialas said, clearly following his own trail of thought. "You know everyone is different when they are working. We just need to figure out who is inside this shy little Altmer peasant."

“Oh! The screamer? Yes, him one recalls. All of the workers recall him. All of the city recalls him.” Lillandril recalled, his usual sass on his words.

"Good riddance." Rialas said. Then, "Nothing wrong with being screamer. You just need to learn to do better magic to prevent other suffering from it."

“Oh, but was so much more amusing to offer him a gag. One has scarce seen such a shade of red.” Lillandril mused

"Please. He was Altmer. You don’t go red, just... Vaguely orange-y gold."

“The point stands.”

Saufinril rubbed the back of his neck while Lillandril and Rialas talked, proving the point that Altmer turn an orange-y pink tone when blushing. So much for not thinking about him, but to be fair he’d brought him up first. Rialas chuckled and rolled comfortably on Lillandril’s lap like a supple, seductive snake

Lillandril continued, “Regardless. Anything must be an improvement over his wailing. Even a Dunmer. Perish the thought.”

And then Rialas tried it: "Well if I recall didn't you say you once-"

“No one did not.”

"That's not what I remember hearing..."

“You are a notorious fantasist.”

Rialas purred, "I know. And you enjoy it."

Lillandril then turned to Saufinril: “So when shall we expect to meet your co-conspirator? Dinner tomorrow evening, perhaps? One believes that the ribbon dancers are booked for tomorrow evening. The patrons will hardly notice our absence. And one does believe that one spied chef bringing in a rather fetching looking box of sea urchins earlier. We can serve them.”

"Does that mean we will be eating Altmer food?" Rialas asked

“If this one is to play the part of a courtesan, he needs start his remedial studies as soon as possible. Including his table manners and dining choices.”

Rialas huffed. "As long as it is Pact compliant."

"One can ask him, sure" Saufinril just had to wait for the blush to lower before going out to the north exit to tell Toivon today about this.

[feathersandblue]

I don't think you're being fair to Madi. You're only looking for ways to make Silver look better than he is. He betrayed Flint and Madi because he couldn't stand the thought of losing her, it's not as if he really cared about anyone else. Silver did a fucked-up thing, he betrayed the woman he claimed to love and he sent her away so she couldn't stop him. And then he treated her as if she was the one who needed to "understand" what he did, like, that's some form of gaslighting right there. ---1

No. HE betrayed her, and he needs to understand what that betrayal cost her. Not only her but every enslaved person in the Americas. Silver had no right to do what he did. I hate that the showrunners didn’t address that. She should have kicked him out. He has no right to be on her island. Silver betrayed her, and I really hope she leaves him and he spends the rest of his life being miserable. —2

Nonnie, I think you’re a little too used in seeing things only in black and white. You’re accusing me of wanting to make Silver look better than he is, but the only thing I get from your aks is that you mean, I have to see him like you do. 

I’ve written plenty about Silver, his motives, his reasons, yet you’re addressing none of my arguments and basically just repeating “what he did was wrong, he had no right” like a Hail Mary of Black Sails interpretation.

Look, you dont have to agree with me, but if you send me an ask, I’d appreciate it if you took the time to come up with something that goes beyond a reiteration of “Silver is a horrible human being.”

A couple of other things. 

1. When you say, “Silver had no right to do what he did” - then I wonder what that means, exactly, because we’re clearly not talking about any kinds of “rights” granted by law here. We’re talking about your idea of what Silver should or shouldn’t be allowed to do, what kind of power he should or shouldn’t wield, and it means that you feel that his agency should come with stipulations that you, personally, impose on it, based on your own sense of morality but also on what you, personally, find especially offensive. 

This is an interesting approach, and it’s pretty easy to see how, when applied to other examples, it’s becoming a mostly arbitrary judgment of certain characters and their actions. 

Did Anne have the right to kill her crew for Max’ sake? 

Did Flint have the right to kill Gates? 

Did Flint have the right to sink that merchant vessel in 3.02? 

Did Miranda have the right to ask for a pardon without telling Flint?

Did Vane have the right to take the fort from Hornigold? 

Did Madi have the right to ask Silver to dispose of Billy?

Basically, when people say, “this person didn’t have the right to do that thing”, they are usually very particular and subjective in their judgement. 

2. “Gaslighting” is not what Silver is doing with Madi in the scene. He’s telling her what he did, and he voices the hope that she will be able to understand and forgive him. He declares his own determination to wait, for as long as it takes. That’s not gaslighting. He’s not making her doubt her own perception. He’s not lying to her (or at least not in a way that he isn’t also lying to himself). Justifying yourself to someone, and describing your actions in a way that is meant to make other people understand them and relate to you is not the same thing as trying to deceive them. “Gaslighting” has become one of these terms people tend to throw around without knowing what they mean. But in this case, it’s really not appropriate.

3. Concerning the fact that “he betrayed Flint and Madi because he couldn’t stand the thought of losing her, it’s not as if he really cared about anyone else”, that’s an oversimplification.

Yes, it was the prospect of losing Madi that was the catalyst for Silver’s decision to side with Jack and Max. And, yes, his motivation was that he couldn’t bear to lose her, and that he wanted her safe more than he wanted her to have that war she desired. But, and here’s where the text is on my side, that is not all there is to it.

 I’ve written extensively about how Flint is motivated by rage and desperation to wage this war. But it doesn’t change the fact that he has good arguments on his side for why this war is necessary, and that he sees a fundamental, systemic form of injustice and wants to fix it. Flint’s actions are both selfish and altruistic, in that he wants a better world for everyone involved, but the reasons why he pursues this goal in such an extreme and uncompromising fashion have nothing to do with altruism and everything to do with his rage and grief. 

Silver, on the other hand, is a survivor, someone who lacks that inherent ambition to change the world for the better. He gets drawn into this war for a variety of reasons, and he follows Flint’s example for the better part of season four without ever believing in his goals. For that reason, it’s much more difficult for him to determine whether it is really the right path. He’s deeply conflicted, and that innner struggle becomes more pronounced as he sees the price that other people have to pay for Flint’s war. Silver is not sure that it’s a good thing. But it’s only the experience of almost losing Madi that propels him into action,the thing that finally tips the scales. However, the underlying understanding of the war as a wasteful and horrible thing is not rooted in that - rather, it’s a a part of the way in which Silver understands the world. It’s fundamentally different from the way Flint and Madi see it. The show has made it very clear that while Flint and Madi are shaped by their history - their personal experiences - the same is true for Silver, even though his past is not revealed in detail. This fundamental difference in personality - in the way these characters view the world and their own place in it - is not something that can be the subject of moral judgment.

The conflict between Silver and Flint is not one between selfishness on Silver’s part and altruism on Flint’s, because both of them have selfish and altruistic motives. The conflict between them is as old as humanity itself - what is the price of a war, and is that price worth paying? 

For as long as humanity exists, this question has not been answered, and I expect it never will be. People who have gone through a war, who have experienced its horrors first hand, are often among those who try their hardest to prevent another one. For example, the current era of peace in Europe, brokered after WWII, was the result of an agreement that the two world wars had been so horrible that war was no longer an option. 

And yet, inevitably, there are always people who, faced with the reality of a corrupt and crumbling system of government that presumably withstands all their attempts to reform it from within, think that a revolution is necessary. Of course, these people start out with the best of intentions, but the result is often an ecalation of violence that turns countries into warzones and wastelands.

Black Sails is a show about pirates and outcasts, and we are meant to sympathize with their struggles. It would hardly make sense otherwise. And so, understandably, it spends less time showing the aftermath of a battles than the battle itself and its victories. For example, we see the battle on maroon island, and we see Flint, Silver, and Madi victorious - we don’t the women and children mourning their husbands and fathers, parents mourning their chilren, we don’t see the wounded dying in agony, we don’t see the corpses being thrown into a mass burial site. 

In season four alone, Nassau is raided twice - once when the pirates retake it from the governor, the second time when the Spanish raid the island. The Spanish invasion is shown in greater detail - the rapes, the plundering, the killing - and because it was Rogers who ordered it, who is clearly painted as a villain, we are quick to blame him for it. But in truth, the Spanish raid was only another turn of the downward spiral which several parties contributed to. 

For a US American TV show, Black Sails is actually rather good at describing the historical dialectics of revolution, counter-revolution, war, peace, action and reaction, that we can see everywhere in history - and it’s very good at showing two conflicting view points which are irreconcilable, and which are also universal to the human condition - everywhere, at any time where people disagree on how to best fight systemic injustice. In the Black Sails finale, one of these view points is vocalized by Silver, who has just gone through a personal awakening of sorts - almost losing Madi, realizing, through an encounter with the cook on board of the Lion how far he, himself, has come in turning into Flint. The importance of that scene can not be overstated - really, for Silver, it’s like coming full circle, realizing that from a person who was trying to protect himself from acts of violence, he has turned into a person who routinely engages in them; from someone who wants to escape a war to someone who brings it about. It’s the moment where Silver realizes that he has become the very thing that turns other people’s life into a fucking nightmare. The other viewpoint is vocalized by Flint, who believes that changing the world for the better requires to bring civilization down, that the only way to make progess is through a violent revolution.

There is no middle ground between those positions, in that moment, there is no way to overcome that fundamental divide. 

No matter where you, personally, stand on this issue, I think that denying the significance of this conflict between Flint and Silver, and the fact that there are valid arguments made on both side -  treating the whole thing as it if was nothing more than Silver being a selfish asshole - means doing a massive disservice to a show that has given us these wonderful, layered characters, and an excellently written storyline that includes many universal and highly difficult, complex topics, and doesn’t shy away from leaving this conflict unresolved, which is something very rare.

[scadaz]

Harry Potter for the changes post

ONLY 5??? okay nah i got this

okay i dont actually got this this is too long so im putting it under a cut

1) first and foremost make the inexplicit explicit. make dumbledore explicitly gay. make hermione explicitly black. at the very least the things that she has confirmed or alluded to in the aftermath of releasing the books and at the most like…everything. maybe explore the way that race plays into the worldbuilding of the wizarding world rather than just make an allegory for it. explore how harry being biracial places him in the world and how the different sides of his life (dursleys vs the wizards) view him and his heritage. put more young queer romances in there. maybe the reason ron is so jealous isn’t just because he likes hermione but ALSO because he ALSO likes krum and is really confused about his feelings?? replace the whole lavender romance with a dude and let lavender and parvati run off together like they were always meant to. let trans kids exist in hogwarts!!! you know what would have made ginny’s whole “arc” a lot more bearable?? if she’d been a trans girl learning to overcome her shyness and gain confidence in herself as she puts herself out there into the hogwarts-sphere. just generally opening up the worldbuilding and characters to more accurately reflect the world in comparison to well...what it was......also maybe like don’t rely on real world stereotypes l i k e..........

2) make the characters who are supposed to be likable actually likable. like....i know the marauders have a huge fanbase and everyone loves them but there isn’t really much to love in the canon??? imho. they’re super huge dicks when they were younger and we hardly get to see any transition from them learning how to be better people or having regret in the way that they acted before. we’re only supposed to believe it because they’re good to each other (ie learning how to be animagi to support their bud lupin) and we’re just told they’re good when they’re older and that’s the end of that. so how i would change it is including more scenes of james, sirius, and lupin growing older and acting like better people. since its from harry’s perspective this can be done through sirius and lupin sharing stories or again having some more regretful reflection on their younger years. also give wormtail more nuance?? is he at all regretful for turning on his friends, does he have second thoughts, maybe he tries to make things right in the end?? i know the “he was only in gryffindor because he valued bravery and everything gryffindor was despite not being it himself” but like it would be cool if there was something more....idk wormtail couldve been a more nuanced character......

3) speaking of possible redemption arcs tho how about some actual redemption arcs?? first we have draco, who despite having multiple hints of having a sweeping redemption arc the whole thing just sort of....falls flat. idk i dont really pay much attention to dracos character and there are people who could speak to this way better than i could go look at their meta.but then snape. SNAPE!!!! undoubtedly the worst character in the series and the bane of my existence. the worst part is he really COULD have been the ‘villain-but-not-really-he-was-good-all-along’ character jkr wanted to be if we just changed some pretty fucking major things his character in his character. first like....don’t....make him a child abuser??? its really that simple!!! don’t abuse children!!!!! like he could have just been a stern and surly teacher who yeah is maybe too strict and is maybe an asshole but also doesn’t like. fucking abuse children because of his own vendettas. IT’S NOT HARD like children/teens always think teachers are out to get them when their teachers are just kind of dicks it could have easily been just that without snape doing a ton of the awful shit he did. like remember when they saw snape muttering when harry’s broom was going nuts so they just assumed he was evil and doing it himself when really he was just trying to be a good guy??? more of that. like the whole thing.second like make his love for lily a legit and motivating thing rather than the creepy stalkerish thing it became. maybe instead of snape being the one to tell voldemort the prophecy so that he can kill james and harry (wtf????????!!!!!!!!!) he overhears someone else tell voldemort the prophecy and begs voldemort to spare them (yeah ALL of them!!!! because even tho hes a salty salamander he still wouldn’t wish death upon those who makes lily happy because that’s!!!! what love is!!!!!) . and when he doesn’t that’s when he realized he fucked up and joined the wrong side. and then actually looks out for harry growing up. like maybe he can’t bring himself to be a full fatherly figure because he’s still an asshole but he doesn’t actively go out of his way to be a huge dick to harry just because he’s bitter that lily had a child with someone else. and in the end when he gives his memories it shows all the moments where harry thought snape was being a dick but actually behind the scenes he was doing all he could to protect and push harry along on his journey because he loved lily and hates himself for the way he treated her and he also loves harry and you know stuff that could play into the whole love thing without being a creepy vindictive abusive stalker!!!!i hate canon snape not just because he’s the worst but because he could’ve been written to be the actually good character he’s framed to be.

4) a better approach to houses!!!! like i get its told from harrys perspective so of course Gryffindor Is The Best but like. it is soooo easy to make the houses more nuanced and balanced look at every piece of fanfic and rp ever (okay thats obviously hyperbole but still. point is it aint hard). maybe add more characters to each house!! i get its easier to just have the golden trio all be gryffindor but how interesting would it have been to have them scattered across the houses but still manage to become friends. and yeah maybe some slytherins can be jerks but also maybe thats just how harry sees it because the first slytherin he met was a piece of shit!!! but there are tons of good slytherins and maybe some join dumbledore’s army or hell at least come back for the battle of hogwarts!!!! and then there can be plenty of death eaters who come from all across the house spectrum. hufflepuffs who are undyingly loyal to voldemort. ravenclaws who love learning about the dark arts. gryffindors who would absolutely sacrifice themselves for their dark cause. like. its so easy. its soooooo easy. and then there would be equal merch of all the houses across the spectrum and people would be able to be proud of their houses without having to justify “yeah well not all slytherins are evil!!! hufflepuffs can be cool look at cedric!!!!! ravenclaws care about more than just getting good grades!!!!!”it’s so easy. im so mad.

5) STOP!!!!!! just. stop the fucking series. of course rewrite the epilogue to show not everyone being Straight Married With Children but how the war affected them. maybe it be a couple months or a couple years after everything and yeah maybe you can make some couples canon if you really want but thats not what i would do personally. show that they’re struggling but they’re surviving. they’re there for each other. use it to drive home a few of the main themes.and then just STOP!!!!!!!! NO MORE!!!!!!! like yeah maybe pottermore could be used to post some cute little quips that expand background characters and fill in plot holes that couldn’t be explained in the books. we learn more about professor’s histories, maybe some cool worldbuilding about stuff that was sort of mentioned but just!!!! no cursed child!!!!! no fantastic beasts!!!!! no making up shit for countries and cultures that you barely know about and don’t feel like researching or being actually respectful towards!!!!!!!!! let the fans do all of that for you stop putting your foot in your mouth and milking the cash cow!!!!!! just!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyway that was a horrible ramble that isn’t actually all that well thought out nor did i reread it but take it anyway my lovely followers