#i’m not the most eloquent but i hope this makes sense

[televised-eyes]

i’ve referred to this idea in a previous post but i want to explore it more here. it’s more of a theoretical question:

what if crowley is so devastated and lonely following the events of season 2, he decides to go back to hell and takes over beelzebub’s position out of spite?

to be clear i’m certainly not saying this is what i want to see happen! but what if…

and i’m not saying crowley would be The Villain of the story in this alternative universe. i think the metatron has been established as such in the final fifteen

but given the stress and trauma crowley experienced in his past, on top of “losing” aziraphale, he has been placed in an incredibly vulnerable position and he might not be thinking straight. he is “disaster-coded” after all…

here’s some points and counterpoints i’ve come up with for some possible arguments:

“cons”

crowley stated he doesn’t want to go back to hell

he would be positioning himself against aziraphale and i do believe crowley’s natural instinct is to protect his angel

good omens is a comedy at heart. did the end of season 2 hurt? yes but it was also a cliffhanger to keep the viewer guessing and wanting more. comedies have happy endings and a tragic ending to this story would feel like a betrayal to the source material

it would shatter my heart into a million pieces

“pros”

aziraphale also didn’t want to go back to heaven but he was compelled by overwhelming outside sources. the same could apply to crowley

crowley was clearly hurt by aziraphale once again “rejecting” him. he might feel hopeless and cornered, even spiteful. snakes lash out when in survival mode. crowley is a demon after all and thwarting heaven must be as natural to him as protecting aziraphale. it might all come to a head

good omens is a comedy at heart but it’s also a dark comedy with dramatic elements. conflict drives a story. aziraphale and crowley are at conflict right now and how has that manifested itself in the past?

seeing aziraphale and crowley battling it out would make for great tv

at the end of the day, i wholeheartedly believe aziraphale and crowley will reunite stronger than ever but there’s no doubt there’ll be major road bumps along the way

again i’m not saying this is what i think will happen or that i want it to happen. crowley could also run off and spend most of season 3 in alpha centuri! as neil says we’ll have to wait and see

[sanakimohara]

OMG,, what????? pls do consider making it a series (tear you apart) i.n,, omoo

“TEAR YOU APART” Y.J. Pt. 2

Uhm….i haven’t decided a good plot for this one but here’s a Drabble for it ig 🖤 I’m not giving up on this idea though. 🖤

[ MDNI ]

+++++++

Why wouldn’t he just leave you be?…

You’d asked him nicely, time after time, yet Jeongin would only hurt you more.

It was a constant cycle of confusion, underlying excitement, and misery…

All because he hated you.

Jeongin made his feelings clear to you every time your paths crossed. He despised your existence, got off to crushing it under his foot, and refused to give a straight answer as to why.

You had no idea what you’d done to him, fishing for reason in his despicable actions but constantly coming up with nothing. 

You’d done absolutely nothing to him…

Yet, he hated you like no other and would take every chance he got to remind you.

No one could blame you for hating him back, and at the very beginning of your spiteful encounters, you did, in fact, despise him, but over time, a twisted sense of pleasure crept in over your disgust for Jeongin. Some inexplicable adrenaline rushed your blood more often than straight fear of him.

You were sick in the head -that much was clear- but it was hard not to welcome his attention in any form you could get it.

Fighting him brought out the worst in you, uncovering all your masochistic tendencies and drawing his underlying sadism into the open for you to see.

Only you. 

No one else seemed to see past his tender exterior, eloquent words, and energetic personality. He wrapped everyone around his finger, masking his deep-seated depravity in the public eye with innocent smiles and kind words.

It was such a contrast to the man he became the moment you two were alone.

You wished for the day he’d realize that hurting you wasn’t the only way to show his most accurate colors -that loving to cause another pain in hopes of releasing his own had other solutions.

Today wouldn’t be that day, unfortunately for you…

Jeongin had isolated you from everyone again, saying he needed your help and could only count on you to fix his problem.

As much as you wanted to rip your hand out of his grasp, stand your ground, and tell him off for interrupting your peace, you decided against it since his grip on your smaller hand was iron-tight.

He was angry….at what or who you didn’t know, but he clearly had something on his mind.

A lump formed in your throat at the realization, and your mind raced to devise a way to escape the situation without causing a scene. You were having such a good day, and five minutes alone with Jeongin would inevitably ruin or complicate it.

For once, you wanted a typical, non-confrontational day.

“Let go of me!” You grit through your teeth, attempting to drag your hand out of his larger one while planting your feet on the ground. Jeongin chuckled at your futile gestures, spinning on his heel to face you with an oddly sweet smile, and you froze as the space between your bodies waned.

He was way too close, and though there wasn’t a single person in the hall, you felt as if the world had a front-seat view of you breaking underneath his stare.

Jeongin lowered his head, eyes narrowed at your fearful expression as he backed you into the nearest wall. “Let you go?…” he repeats your demand as if it were a question, tilting his head as the words roll off his tongue and his smile gives way to a subtle smirk. You nod timidity, throat too dry to speak, and your chest tightening with anxiety as he places his free hand on the back of your neck.

You wince when he presses on the nerves there, knowing how badly it hurts you and using the pain as leverage to keep your eyes fixed on his.

“J-Jeongin, you’re hurting me-“ you whimper helplessly as he grips your neck harder, nearly smacking your head into the wall, but thankfully, he’s kind enough to avoid that injury.

He has other ways of harming you…less noticeable and consequential…

“I don’t care.” He seethes, repositioning his hands so one fist a handful of your hair while the other runs right up your skirt to take its place inside your dampening lace panties. “And would you look at that….my little bitch likes it anyway?” Jeongin grins as your slick coats his fingers, a clear sign that your body is betraying your words and encouraging him to carry on.

A whine leaps from your throat, feeding his ego., and tearing yours to shreds. “Don’t touch me there…stop…hah…mmm!” You try again to wriggle out of his hold, unconsciously molding your body to his and rolling your hips to cause more friction between his palm and your budding clit. 

Fight him back for once...

Your brain screams, warming after warning, trying to get your body to cooperate with logic, and for a split moment, it works.

Your knee lifts to push his hand away, the last move you have left to defend yourself, but Jeongin doesn’t budge. “Fuck! Jeongin l-let me go!” You raise your voice, halting a moan in your chest as he disregards your protests and vindictively pushes his index and middle finger past your fluttering walls.

“You’re still so tight…even after what I did to you last time?” He coos at the snug warmth your cunt envelopes his digits in, sucking them further into you as he pumps his hand at a leisurely pace. You can’t hide the blush on your face any longer, maintaining a disgusted glare despite feeling the pleasure prickling your spine. He shouldn’t be allowed to do this -you really shouldn’t be letting it happen either- but it was a mind-numbing form of torture for you both.

“Please…stop…” you mewl, desperate for release and agitated with yourself at the same time. Jeongin curls his fingers forward, swirling around an exceptionally spongy area in your cunt, and you jolt in his hold as he abuses it. Jeongin presses his forehead to yours, smiling wide as words allude to you and reluctant moans replace them.

He was getting into your head already, churning it into a needy mush with the stretch of his cold fingers in your cunt, spreading it wide while circling his palm on your clit in a rough pattern.

“My dumb bunny is gonna cum soon…” Jeongin whispers against your lips, picking up the pace of his hand fucking into you and giggling when you bit back a whorish cry. He knew you too well,l and like clockwork,k your cunt clenched on his fingers, cum gushing down his wrist and your inner thighs seconds later. You opened your mouth to shout, sob, or simply make a sound akin to a cry for help.

Help from what you weren’t sure anymore…

Indeed, no one would think you were in any danger with Jeongin. Not even as he slapped your dripping pussy so hard you groaned and teared up, laughing so sweetly in your face as if he’d merely told you a joke and wasn’t humiliating you for his entertainment.

Jeongin rubbed and cupped your cunt for a moment, playing with your wet folds to overstimulate you and edge another climax from your shaking form. His cock was rock hard, gently pressed to your thigh as he leered over you. Every labored breath you took made him twitch, eliciting groans from deep within his chest and slowly rebuilding your desire to come again.

“Get off,” you hiss, dazed but clinging to a sense of control as the hand he had in between your thigh moved to your hip, his thumb drawing unrecognizable shapes on your skin as he stared down at you through his lashes. “Make me…” he snaps back, smirking as you scoff and try to push him off with both hands on his chest. He doesn’t budge once, pressing into you harder and effortlessly catching your wrists with his free hand.

For fucks sake!

Why couldn’t he just leave you alone?!

Maybe if you head-butted him, he’d step back enough for you to sprint away, but you highly doubted you’d hit him that harshly without hurting yourself in the process.

So you settled for spitting profanities at him as he tried to hold you still against the wall. “Fuck you, Jeongin! I’ll fucking scream again if you don’t-“

“Slap”

Your head flew to one side as he slapped you, a crisp hit across your cheek to quiet you down, and your lips immediately pursed as tears built in your eyes. Jeongin held your face up with a grip on your jaw, fingers digging into your cheeks as he glared into your watery gaze.

“Do it. Go on, scream, darling. I wanna hear you…”

Ice-cold tension flooded your veins as the words left his mouth, mind going blank as he continued to bait you, “What? Are you suddenly too stupid to speak now? Open that pretty mouth of yours and fucking scream…”

He held your face tighter, his own so close to yours he could kiss you, but Jeongin ensured that never happened. You failed to formulate a response, turned on simply by him calling your bluff, and the fuzzy look in your eyes was a dead giveaway to him.

You liked it when he threatened you….

“You sick little bitch….is this getting you all excited again?” He laughs rather loudly, making you blush harder and avert your gaze to the floor.

Jeongin beams a smile at you, ducking his head just enough to look into your eyes as he continues to talk down to you.

“You can tell me the truth, or better yet…” he released your wrists and jaw, gripping your forearm before checking the surroundings and beginning to walk.

You gulped as he dragged you with him, knowing his objective was to find an abandoned room. He shot you a sly look over his shoulder, fox eyes swirling with mischief as yours filled with apprehension, “…I can find out myself since dumb bunnies don’t know how to speak up when told to.”

“M’ not a dumb bunny…” you mumble as he tugs you into an empty conference room, locking it behind before shoving you towards the nearest table.

“Oh, is that so?”

You nod with a determined look on your face, almost succeeding in holding firm in front of him but quickly losing confidence as he picks you up and sets you on the cool tabletop.

He steps between your sticky thighs, hands busy with undoing your blouse and groping your curves from top to bottom. His eyes travel over you, tongue poking his cheek as he kneads your breasts until you moan softly and squirm for more.

“Guess I need to fix you again, hm? Fuck you dumb and stuff that worthless pussy of yours full of cum too….”

“Mhm,” you whimper in agreement, eyes rolling as Jeongin tugs your shirt off, tossing it to the floor before diving in to mark up your exposed cleavage.

You feel his smile on your warm skin, his breath fanning your neck as trails far as love bites to your shoulder. “You’re too easy…way too easy…” he muses, guiding your hands to undo his jeans and pump his cock with the precum leaking from the tip.

“S-Shut up and fucking me already….” You snap at Jeongin, and he simply laughs breathlessly in response.

++++++

Fun fact: One of my nicknames growing up/currently is Foxi and so I’m always partial to Jeongin and his fox like personality. 🖤 He’s just so cute but sly and I relate to him so much! I love himmmm! 🦊🖤

[ BONUS CONTENT + ]

Like you can’t tell me this doesn’t scream “I’m a trickster but I’m cute so you can’t dislike me ;)” ?!?! 🦊🖤 Credits to creator! 🖤

[ambrosiagoldfish]

First time requesting anything sooo let me know if I get anything wrong but,,, could I request some dragon!reader x Venti (Genshin Impact) fluff ? Dragon in like... The way that Zhongli is with a dragon and a humanoid form. let me know if I should send another ask with anything additional,,

Draconic Inquiries

Venti x Dragon! Reader

Safe for all Audiences!

Warnings: None! Just pure fluff and Gn! Reader!

Request Box: Open

Word count: 1634

A/N: Hi, thank you for the request! I’m sorry it took so long! There was a lot of hiccups that came up this past week, but I’m happy to finally have had gotten to finishing this!

I wasn’t sure if you wanted a Fluff Fic or head-canons so I did both! I would have asked you but I was already upset that it took this long to write, so I decided not to! I also wrote it to be romantic! I hope this is ok! If not, just shoot me another request and I’ll make you a new one!!

Proofread but of course I could have missed something.

He was first introduced to you via The Traveler, and right away he could tell something about you reminded him a lot of that "old block-head" as Venti so eloquently puts it. Of course, you weren’t anything like Zhongli, but there were some very similar aspects between the two of you at a more biological level.

It didn't take him long to figure it out though, despite his carefree and lovable nature, he is quite perceptive. He could tell from the power imitating from you, that you weren't some regular run of the mill Allogene. The power that you gave off wasn't exactly like his or even most of the other archons it was more… Pure? Something more undisturbed than most elemental beings.

Whatever you were, he wasn't sure if you were open about it, Him, being an Archon, would make him relate to you regarding hiding the truth about yourself, if that is the case. So he decided to ask you about it alone. You were a bit hesitant at first to outright admit it, especially to a person who seemed so interested. Being an Elemental beast, were able to sense an alarming amount of Anemo Energy coming from this short drunkard bard, way too much to just be some regular mortal.

When you finally reveal yourself to be a dragon, he's honestly pretty excited. He's only ever met 4 dragons in his 2600+ year life span, Zhongli, who was just annoyed by any questions he would ask, Dvalin, who, despite being one of his closest friends, is also annoyed by many of his drunken inquiries. Durin and Ursa the Drake tried destroying Mondstadt so they were definitely not an option... So he's been dying to ask a vishap some questions.

And Immediately they started

"Dragon's have hoards, right? Surely there has to be a teensy bit of fine wine there? No? Darn it..."

"Can you breathe fire?!"

"Is it true that dragon's are scared of mice? Eh... Wait! no! That's Elephants. Nevermind!"

It was quite a lot to process and answer them all in time before he went on to the next question. Eventually he seemed to run out of them, that or he saw how distressed you were trying to keep up.

"That's enough questions for today, Ehe! Next time we should have our conversation over a nice cold glass of cider!"

"Next time?"

Venti then, from that day forward, had the two of you meeting up more and more, He would bring the drinks, both Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic, depending on if you drink or not. and every time, Venti would somehow come up with more and more questions about your heritage, nonstop rambling of questions that would go from dusk till dawn. He seemed to never run out of them. But eventually he would start asking questions that weren't about your Draconic lifestyle. Things like,

"So Y/n, have you ever dated anyone before?"

"Hey Yn! Have you heard that the Windblume Festival is coming soon? Ehe, What do you think the original windblume was? Cecilia? Great choice!"

"Have you ever been to Windrise? It's the place with the huge tree! Huh? eh, You haven't? I'll make sure to show you sometime"

The Windblume festival finally comes around, the whole of Mondstadt was in a fury of unending joy, there were games, foods and deserts, the entire of the city’s buildings were all decorated in many different flowers and ribbons. Dandelions soared through the air, each one carrying the wish of a soul in Mondstadt.

The Day was fantastic, but it seems Venti had more energy to spend after the day's festivities, Venti drags you by the hand through the decorated city streets, past the vendor's shops, and over the bridge, all while you were blindfolded. Of course, you were a little scared being led through all these places without even knowing where exactly you were, but your elemental sense was top notch, not to mention your regular senses at that. So you knew you weren't in any real danger.

"Venti, this is a bit dramatic, even for you"

"Eh he… very funny Y/n, but we're almost there! Just a few more steps and... There!"

The pulling of your hand suddenly stops and Venti’s hand lets go of yours, with one quick motion the blindfold obscuring your eyes was snatched clean off. It took a second for your eyes to adjust, the sun beginning to set but even then being blindfolded caused even the slightest of light to sting your eyes.

Looking up, a big tree hung over you both, lying under the tree, just by the roots, was a checkered red and white blanket layed across the viridescent grass, a seemingly warnout picnic basket layed atop it. From where you stood you could make out a plethora of food and drinks, Pie, Dandelion wine, Apples. You certainly knew there was more, you could tell just from your sense of smell.

But the most notable feature about the fairytale esq scene in front of you was Venti, holding something, a bouquet of Ceclia’s

"These are what you believe to be the original Windblume right? I picked them myself so, rest assured! They’re guaranteed to be the best of quality, ehe!"

"Y/n, the time we’ve spent together these past few months have meant the world to me... Since the moment you arrived in Mondstadt, you’ve been tangled up in every thought of my mind, you've become all I can think about, my one and only worry, my muse, my... everything... What I'm trying to say is, Y/n, I love you and if you feel the same, could you continue being my muse?" His arms stretch slightly to you, offering you the bouquet in his hand.

Everything about this, the scenery, the way he asked, down to the golden hour from the sun, it was all so unforgettable. Your hands slowly move to grasp the Cecilia’s, bringing them up to your face and smelling them.

“Nothing would make me happier, Venti”

Venti’s eyes lit up, blush washed his face as a soft breeze quickly caried him over to you as he practically tackled you into his embrace, the sudden forces causes you both to spin in each others arms, all while Venti’s heartfelt laugh drowns out all other sounds.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” His voice grew louder with the repetition as a gleeful smile plastered on his face. He reaches back from his embrace, quickly grabbing his lyre and giving it a few test strums.

“The day isn’t over yet! Allow me to serenade you with a song I’ve made especially for you, my muse.”

And with that, you both continued to laugh and sing throughout the night. The sounds of the feverish festivities of you both echoed through Windrise, your love that would last for eons to come, dancing across the wind.

You both truly, couldn’t be happier.

HEADCANONS

Venti always makes sure that he’s always there for you when you aren’t your best mentally or physically. He cudddles you when your sad, listens to you when you’re upset. Overall he may be a loud bard but he’s also a great listener!

And speaking of cuddles he LOVES them. Since youre a dragon, your body temperature is a lot higher than humans, so he loves the warmth close to him. And if you ever decide to cuddle while IN dragon form then he wouldn’t let you leave for a while. (I also headcanon that since he’s a wind spirit, his body temperature isn’t that high so he’s often a little cold, so an S/o with a high body temperature would be perfect for him)

Regardless of if you can fly or not in dragon form, he loves to go on walks with you, and by “walks” I mean YOU do the walking and he just sits on your back. If you CAN fly than he’d be less of a koala and actually fly with you.

(You may have scared a few of the locals but love is love)

If there’s ever a time that you have to fight, either to protect him, yourself or something else, he will always have your back. Of course, him being a Wind Spirit and an Archon he has at least some power but after losing his Gnosis and him being demoted to the least powerful archon, he’s not incredibly strong. But you being a dragon seems to make up for his lack of power. The times you’ve saved him from some lowly fatuus trying to ambush him, he really couldn’t be more thankful.

He’s really into PDA (no surprise there) so kisses, handholding, etc are all commonplace. He's also always bringing you gifts like food. He’s not much of a baker, but he’d try to make anything for you that you’d want. (Just uh… don’t expect it to be anything spectacular)

Gifts he likes are Cider (obvi) and of course, Apples! You’d get him the finest of wines, (that’s totally not from your dragon hoard, because you are TOTALLY not that kind of dragon •-•^) and he would love them more each time.

He would eventually introduce you to Dvailn (it’s his best bud so it’s a given you’d meet him eventually) and Zhongli who he thought you two might have something in common with.

Overall, having a dragon S/o is one of the best things to happen to him (Tied only with that time Diluc accidentally left his wine cellar unlocked) He’s always wanting to learn more about you and loves spending time with you!

[drdemonprince]

Hi Devon,

this might not be a question you can answer, or maybe it is! idk. this is about covid & alike

for context on myself, i’m a white gendrfucky trans guy who’s also autistic & an immigrant (so some cultural context is probably lacking)

as we know, we’re in a 2nd highest surge & the pandemic never stopped and it increasingly dangerous and disabling to so many

i wear my kn95 everywhere i go now, and while i tried last semester, it was a lot easier to abandon masking because of

1. others’ around me negligence

2. some classrooms being IMPOSSIBLY hot and close to unbearable with a respirator on

3. attending crowded events where people needed to hear me

i’ve reevaluated and am rebuilding my practices now, but what i’m finding really difficult is to get people i have in my life to wear a mask again

i feel so lost. i share the informational posts, i talk to my people, i offer masks- what else is there to do?? i know the exhaustion i feel is absolutely incomparable to what disabled and immunocompromised people feel, especially when they’ve done the work for years!

i just don’t understand how i’m supposed to keep moving through life. i mean ofc i’ll keep doing what i’m already doing but it’s so incredibly isolating to be the only person masked in a meeting of 20,30,50 people.

i don’t know how to make people care. i don’t know how to have conversations with my friends in a way that will let our relationship evolve with this new understanding of care. i don’t know how to not polarize people into defensiveness when i talk about the powers wreaking atrocities in falasteen being the same ones shortening an isolation period to 1 day.

i don’t know how to be eloquent enough to be listened to and firm enough where people take what i say seriously. i don’t know how to not start screaming WEAR A MASK anytime it’s a crowded (or even not crowded) meeting indoors with no air filtration.

idk how people don’t realize the “cold” they’ve had for 3 weeks is either covid or direct aftermath of it. idk how they stand for seemingly the right things and then come to work sick & unmasked.

i don’t know how to engage with most people in a meaningful way & find connections because the delusion, the “it won’t happen to me”, the “i don’t care if i catch it and die”, the “this is just the way it is” seems to be a wall made of unbreakable cement and i don’t know what will melt it.

i feel insane for having compassion towards the world and seeing how it can be better. i feel insane for being angry people don’t mask & downplay this issue. i feel insane for even trying to talk sense into people.

i’ve recently been called a lying phony by an account that talks about masking bc a lot of my recent pictures show my face without a mask. i archived the posts since, apologized and reflected. but a lot of pictures i take are in my own room so i am unmasked. idk

i feel like the gap between me and most people i know is growing wider by the minute and with every reading i do about interdependent revolutionary practices, etc.

i know that when one understands something, it is their responsibility to make an impact on their bubble of the world and transform it with their knowledge. but i doubt i’m the only one doing the reading and knowing what’s going on, i just seem to be the only one masking.

i don’t know. i’m sorry it’s such a long ask & i’m sure you have your own stuff you’re dealing with. i just don’t know who else to ask that might understand. i’m sure there are people around me who might but so many are in survival mode and i currently don’t know anyone with the capacity to hold space for this.

i guess it’s bold to assume you do.

anyway, i hope your day goes alright today<3

You are placing wayyy too much responsibility upon yourself as one compassionate and informed individual here, and expecting far too much perfection of yourself in ways that do not help you and do not help the cause. You've done a lot to unpack the terrible individualism that has led to anti-mask sentiment being so rampant, but you are in a way still applying that logic to yourself and your situation by imagining that if you, one humble person with limited power were able to be adequately persuasive, you'd somehow change the actions of thousands. That is not how behavior change works.

Persuasion almost never happens logically or instantly, almost never through one person's remarks. Behavior is shaped by a vast array of economic, sociological, emotional, and ideological factors.

It's also not helpful in my opinion to worry about the opinion of someone who would shame you for not wearing a mask at home alone in your bedroom, either. Obsessing over the optics of our actions and wanting all people to morally approve of us at all times is yet another consequence of individualism and Puritanism. as you well know as someone who masks in a crowd of maskless people, sometimes we gotta do what we know is right and disregard others' opinions.

What you can do, in my opinion, is this: keep masking. Your behavior reminds people of the need for masks and models socially responsible behavior. Bring spare masks with you. Offer them to your family and friends and the people standing near you in public. If they refuse, and you have a good relationship with the person where they have shown they respect you and listen to you, then you can tell them why masking around you is important to you. You cannot change the opinion of someone who has never shown you any respect so don't expect that to ever work.

Even if you do have a good relationship with someone, persuasion is a long, hard process. Do not expect yourself to change their mind. If you can get some people to mask at least around you, that is a victory. Perfection is an unrealistic goal here to expect of yourself, and for public health in general. Any improvement you can inspire is a victory. Even if it's just making one or two friends mask more often when they are with you. That still lessens risk. That still sends a visible signal to everyone around you. You have no idea of the impact you truly have on other people in the long term. It is both more modest and far larger and longer-reaching than you as an individual will ever know.

Please be easy on yourself. You are just a person. An average person with very limited power. So is everyone else for the most part. When you stop burdening yourself with the unrealistic responsibility of changing thousands of people's behavior, you will feel less resentful toward others as well. When we resent other people it always means we are doing too much.

And when you feel less overwhelmed and overburdened, you will be more effective in the conversations you do have with people about COVID too. People do not respond well to (what they perceive to be) guilt or intensity or someone presuming to know better than them. What people do respond to well is to be asked genuine questions, listened to, validated in their feelings, given help where they are facing barriers to action, and being treated with compassionate gentleness.

But to do that you have to work on believing that people who are flawed in their response to COVID have reasons for doing so that make sense to them, and that they aren't all foolish and lacking in compassion. As my friend @kim-from-kansas says, people do not do things that do not make sense. If a person's actions do not make sense to you, it is because you are missing a piece of their context. The sad fact is people have many reasons to think that masking doesn't work or is hopeless. People have been very heavily propagandized and trauma also makes many people value life less.

Convincing people to take COVID more seriously is a tall, tall order, but if you wish to do so, you will need to be more than correct. You will have to put real work into not making people feel judged, and you will have to make peace with not always (or even usually) succeeding. It sucks but that's how it is. Best of luck!!

[saphirered]

Hiii I love ur writing!

I would love to see a Percy x reader where they both kinda hate each other in the beginning but eventually fall in love, if that makes sense? Maybe a rivals to lovers thing

Hope that makes sense! Love ur work :D

Thank you deary! I love a little rivals to lovers moment so I hope you enjoy this one! 😘

You are completely and utterly infuriating. Percy has a multitude of enemies in his life, upon whom he wishes horrible things but you are not a common enemy. You are not a friend either. He does not wish an ill fate to befall you. What he does wish for, is your projects falling apart at the seams, your wine to taste sour and food to be bland, your ink to forever run out, your notes to be messed up, that one tool you need to be missing or just barely out of reach. Percy wishes no harm upon you but he does wish for the most petty things to befall you. Were he anyone else he might feel some kind of way but he just happens to be a petty individual from time to time and when it comes to you, you are no exception. 

Percy doesn’t quite know where it began or when it might end. He cannot remember a time before, where you might have been on less rivalling terms. You’ve just always been so damn you and you can get under his skin like no other with your stupid perfection and incredible mind. Your clever and eloquent words always hit him just the wrong way and you make his blood boil. Where he turned a tinkerer, you turned to magic. You’re a damn prodigy and you have no issue with rubbing it in his face. You just had to get involved in Whitestone politics, didn’t you? You just had to be fundamental in the city’s protection. You just had to rub it in his face you were here when he wasn’t. 

Your skills to disturb his peace just when he needed it are impeccable. Percy was enjoying a late lunch in the dining hall alone after a busy morning and afternoon of tinkering and meetings. You had been entirely absent all day, nowhere to be found. Despite what he might have thought the lack of your presence irked him. He brushed it off as some expectation you might jump out to ruin his day at some point but you never did. Percy would deny it if ever faced with it but he grew worried at your lack of presence. Perhaps you overslept. Completely unreasonable for you as you rise at the crack of dawn and are never a minute late to anything. You’d missed two meetings you were set to attend. No page had come to notify him of your undoubtedly expertly worded excuse. No word of you came at all. And when those meetings came to an end nobody had batted an eye at your lack of attendance. Did everyone know but him? Was this some sort of trick? Another petty thing to get back at him for something he might have said or done? 

Think of the devil and they shall appear. You enter the dining hall and beeline for the decanter and glasses. You fill one and drink, then fill it again with a deep sigh. You lean against the table a little too much as you shuffle over to grab a plate and pile some of the food leftovers still set out; some bread and some fruits, Percy notes. Not your usual choices. If anything you seem entirely careless about the contents. He notes your appearance. You look disheveled. Your clothes are crinkled and you’re sweaty. Your eyes are sunken and your expression is grim. Your shoulders are slumped and there’s a shake to your hands that are usually so steady. You look exhausted. 

“What hell hole did you crawl out of?” Percy says with his usual snark and casually sips his wine. He expects a quick-witted retort. You bite your tongue and shake your head as you drop some grapes on your plate. 

“I’m not in the mood for your quips, Percival. If you’re looking for a fight I suggest you go find your friends and ask them to kick your ass into the next realm.” You grumble picking up your plate now filled and taking another large swig of your drink before you pour a refill. 

“Day drinking already? I recall you saying those are the actions of idiots and alcoholics.” You give him a look, in particular his own glass very much filled with the burgundy liquid yours holds as well. 

“So which one are you? Idiot or alcoholic?” You retort and Percy swears he notes the faint twitch at the corner of your lips. 

“Any one who does not question his sanity is the furthest from it.” 

“The same could be said about anyone who holds a cup and proclaims themselves not a problem drinker.” He snorts and rolls his eyes. You look between him and the exit. Your exhaustion shows and with a shake of the head more to yourself than him you take to the seat opposite of him. You sit down gracelessly, push aside the cutlery, put your elbows on the table as you cross your arms and lean on them. The moment you sit down there seems to be some kind of relief rushing through you, similar to that of muscle ache. What had you been up to? Percy wants to find out. 

“You neglected your duties to the council today.” It’s a statement not a question. You just pick up a grape and pop it into your mouth musing a shrug. “Did you oversleep?” The jab is almost belittling and you shoot him a look to remind him of your first statement; you really aren’t in the mood for this. 

“I was otherwise occupied. Now may I please eat in silence?” The expression, the tiredness in his eyes makes him almost regret his pervious words. What has caused you to be like this? He’s never seen you so-so beyond yourself. You’ve always been the image of composure and expertise and now, you’re almost seem vulnerable, weak, almost human and not just the picture perfect creature you’d set your appearances as. You’re a person, not just some devil sent straight from the hells to make his life a living nightmare. You’re real. 

“If you wish…” He pushes around his food with his fork while you tear bits and pieces off the bread and eat them slowly. You’re too tired to eat. You look like you’re about to fall asleep right here on this very table, or at least deliberating whether you could justify it. You both eat in silence for the next few minutes. Percy has cleaned his plate and reaches for the decanter to pour some more wine. You’re confused when he refills your cup too. 

“Are you alright?” Percy asks out of the blue and you might as well have been shot by one of Vex’s arrows given your surprise. You choke on your bread and cough. 

“Excuse me?” You wheeze and recompose yourself. You look for any kind of deceit or malicious intent, anything that might explain the undertone of his question because you are pretty damn sure that sounded an awful lot like worry.

“Are you alright?” The second time he repeats it does not ease quell your confusion. Still sounds like worry. Why the hell would he have any reason to be worried about you? You two have been nothing but a menace upon each other’s lives. You never had anything nice to say about each other. You constantly question each other’s skill, motives and credibility. You constantly undermine and try to outperform each other. That’s not to say you have not enjoyed any of it, and you remember the looks of satisfaction and pride well when either of you stand victor over the other. You’d never expect worry to be an expression associated with Percy in the context of you. Worry means concern and concern is rooted in care. And that train of thought sends you down a spiral. Does he care? Do you care? Maybe you do. Anyone’s life grows a little duller without their competition nearby, right? That’s just a poor excuse. How do you even answer his question? Honesty. 

“No.” You speak before you can think but you know it’s true. You’ve been pushing yourself too far the past few weeks.

“Will you be alright?” When you answered Percy swears something within him reminisces of glass breaking. 

“I don’t know.” You chuckle to yourself and think for a second. “Do you know you’re the first person to ask me that and and got the real answer? What does that say about me?” The latter you ask yourself. 

“You’re exhausted. Rest.” You’ve heard those words before but not from him. “I can’t very well argue with you when you’re about to pass out onto your lunch.” There’s a light quip in there but it’s far more playful than the ones you’re used to. It’s far more lighthearted than you have ever exchanged. 

“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you? What’s your record? Sixty-five hours without a minute of sleep before you decided a nice risotto would make a comfortable pillow?” 

“You keep reminding me. As you keep reminding me that your record is set at sixty-seven hours and twenty-four minutes and thus you have bested me even in sleep deprivation.” He manages a chuckle as do you. 

“Are these the petty victories we have come to? Have we no better achievements left?” 

“Well, I’ve killed a dragon. You?” He deadpans though there’s no real seriousness about the brag. 

“You and your friends killed a dragon, together. You still got four more to go. Don’t get ahead of yourself, dear.” You wink and swirl your wine leaning back in your seat. Though exhausted the tension begins ebbing away. Who knew it was Percy that would be a comfort and bring peace to the chaos of your life. 

“It’s still one more than you. Besides, we’ll have killed the other four in time.” You shrug and flick a grape at him. It bounces off his arm and rolls on the table. Before you can claim it back Percy puts his hand over it and prevents you from getting it. He cups it as you try to pry his fingers apart and gets it out of your reach lest you disgrace yourself even further and lean over the table to attempt to take it from him. He grins victoriously and pops the fruit into his mouth. You mutter some kind of curse under your breath and he just looks at you innocently. 

“Of course, you take your sweet time skinning some dragons while I keep this city safe hidden from their senses. Tell me, how many lives saved every day counts against the slaying of a dragon? What’s the conversion rate? You’re schooled in mathematics and economics are you not?” You point a finger at him and Percy is sure he has the perfect retort for your statement but then the gravity of it hits him. You’ve been the one keeping up this city-wide illusion. You’ve been the one keeping Whitestone safe in his absence. That’s why you weren’t at the meeting today and that’s why he wasn’t informed. Gilmore and Allura were there, you weren’t. He doesn’t know why it took him two days to figure out no three of you were seen in the same place since he returned from the Feywild. He had known the illusion was there, he passed through it for goodness’ sake. He just never considered that’s what you’d be doing. It’d gone over his head you’d use your skills not to fight but to protect instead. You’d not reach for glory or selfish gain but you’d do what is best for the people. You’d still risk yourself for every soul in Whitestone. You’d been doing so for weeks and you had not flaunted it in his face once during your interactions. How did you end up the one protecting him? Why did you not gloat? Why do you not mention this fact even now? 

“You’ve been pushing yourself beyond your limits, for Whitestone? For us?” He asks breathlessly. The meaning behind those words becomes very real now they are spoken, and the statement is undeniable. The playfulness disappears and a a gloomy sorrow overcasts instead. Still you manage a cocky grin with a raised eyebrow. 

“Well who else is going to keep your precious workshop safe so you can continue constructing the means of a dragon’s demise or while you’re off gathering those pesky vestiges?” Your jest does not make lighter the gravity of your deeds. 

“Thank you.” Percy blurts before he recovers. “I mean it. Thank you, for everything. Whitestone owes you a debt.” ‘I owe you a debt’, he leaves those last words unspoken. Percy cannot quite describe what runs through you but he feels safe to assume you have not heard those words before, not on this matter. It’s one thing to know people are grateful for the work you do. It’s another to actually hear them say it. A thoughtful moment of silence passes before you push back your chair and rise.

“I’m going to sleep for the barest amount possible and then I’m going to go back for my next shift and repeat this all over again.” You twirl your wrists and they crack sending shivers up Percy’s spine. You flex your shoulders and same thing happens. He sees the discomfort pass across your features when you push the chair back in its place and lean on the back of it before you walk around the table and make way for the exit. 

“Get some proper sleep. I’ll talk to Allura or Gilmore-“ Percy argues but you stop and face him shaking your head. 

“They need their rest too if we want this illusion to last.” You counter. You dread every day as this thing eats away at your magic. You don’t know how much longer you can keep doing this but you have to. Every life in this city depends on it. 

“There has to be something…” Percy thinks of the ways to help but there’s nothing. He knows next to nothing about the arcane. He’s no mage. He’s a damn tinkerer and he can’t very well fix this with some mirrors or magical charges. He can’t help bear the burden, not as you carry the burden for him. Whitestone should be his responsibility, but he’s out of his depths. He’s helpless, or would be without you to keep pushing yourself far past your limits. He can only imagine what price you’d pay for this over time, or how long you’d be able to keep this going. He’ll have to admit defeat in this particular query. 

“You could kill some dragons.” You smile. “But until then, I’d appreciate some company while I drain every resource I have until I can barely stand. If you have the time-“ You imply but an answer is given immediately. 

“I’ll make time.” He answers far too quickly. “I’ve come to the conclusion I might like your company far more than I dislike it.” So he has. He cares about you. He looks back upon his life now and he knows it to be true. His pettiness was never born from hatred or dislike. You were perfect, are perfect in his eyes, any imperfection does not chip away at that belief, it is simply part of you. He’s envious of your skill and achievement because he desires to be your equal but felt like he could never be. His pettiness was born from a an unfair coping mechanism and he hopes this is something you two can work on now that veil has been dropped. Perhaps you can discuss as adults rather than bicker like children? He’d like that very much. He likes you. That feel like a disgusting thought he’s still coming to terms with but he knows he can get over himself. He likes you. 

“Is this where we kiss and profess our undying love for each other?” And you like him. Gods he doesn’t need a demon’s bargain to figure that one out. He knows your games and your words, he knows how to read those underlying tones and it’s exactly how he sees now; you like him. Never did he think he’d draw that conclusion nor would he think himself anything but a fool for believing it. Maybe he is a fool. A lucky fool he’ll be. 

“Perhaps in time.” He retorts. Okay maybe old habits do die hard but given you purse your lips and blow him a kiss, it’s not a habit you want to let die either. It’s perfectly you. It’s perfectly him too. 

“I reckon I’ll have you swooning in no time.” 

“That sounds an awful lot like a challenge. A petty one at that.” 

“If you say so…” 

[dasiesanddarkness]

Who wants a snippet from the explicit Wesper fic I'm currently writing?

Wylan leans down and places open mouthed kisses in a line from Jesper’s belly button to the space between his collar bones. Jesper twitches with each press of Wylan’s mouth on his skin, but he does his best to stay still. It’s hard, but he tries, because he knows it makes Wylan happy- knows it makes him proud, and Jesper wants so badly for Wylan to be proud of him.

"Tell me what’s wrong.”

The words are surprising, not at all where Jesper thought this would go, but he supposes it makes sense. Wylan has never let him ignore his feelings like he wants to.

“I don’t know,” Jesper breathes. Wylan presses a kiss to his shoulder.

“Yes you do,” he says softly. “And I want you to tell me so I know exactly what I need to do for you.”

Jesper sighs, arches his back. He does know, or he would if he thought about it like Wylan wants him to, but he’s never been good at thinking. His mind moves too fast for him to fully process most of what goes through it, and on days like this it moves even faster. It’s easier to just pretend the thoughts aren’t real and distract himself, but Wylan won’t let him. So he thinks, back to ten minutes ago when he had zoned out and his mind had wandered into dangerous territory.

“I don’t-” he cuts himself off when Wylan licks over his nipple. It makes it both harder and easier to talk through this, but he doesn’t want Wylan to stop.

“I don’t feel right,” he continues. “I feel disconnected from everything, like it’s happening and I’m just watching it.”

“But that’s not it, is it?” Wylan presses, and part of Jesper wishes he would just leave it alone.

“No,” he says. Wylan makes a noise, encouraging him to keep talking, and Jesper sighs. Squeezes his eyes shut. Sighs again, because he doesn’t want to talk about this, but he will. For Wylan.

“I feel like you deserve better than me.” The admission comes out in a whisper, and he almost hopes Wylan doesn’t hear it.

He does. Of course he does. Wylan pays attention to Jesper in a way very few have before, so of course he hears when Jesper admits that he doesn’t feel like he’s good enough.

Wylan’s hands leave his wrists and his mouth leaves his neck, and then he’s cupping Jesper’s face in his hands and kissing him insistently. Jesper threads his fingers through Wylan’s hair, lets the soft feeling of it ground him.

“Jesper,” Wylan whispers against his lips, and then he kisses him again.

Wylan isn’t good with words. He’s told Jesper that, made sure early on in their relationship that he knew that sometimes it was impossible for him to express himself properly, but that it didn’t mean he didn’t love him. But in moments like these, when Jesper is hurting and Wylan needs to reassure him and tell him that everything is okay, Wylan wishes he was good with words. Wishes he knew exactly what to say to make the anxiety sharp in Jesper’s head melt like icicles in the presence of the sun, how to make it go from jagged and dangerous to harmless and manageable.

“Jesper,” he says again. He tries to convey everything he thinks, everything he knows in that one word, but he knows it won’t work, so he kisses him instead. He kisses him, and then he tries again. “Jesper, I don’t deserve better that you.”

Jesper tries to open his mouth, tries to disagree or protest but Wylan isn’t having it, so he kisses him for what must be the hundredth time. “I don’t deserve better than you because there is no one better than you.”

There. It’s not poetry, and it’s not particularly eloquent or clever, but it’s true. It’s what Wylan knows. It’s a fact, and Wylan has always dealt in facts.

[erosiism]

Hello Eros! Could you possibly give some advice to those who are trying to start writing a story and to those who are worried about their stories not getting looked at or read?

Thank you ♥♥

don’t worry haha we’ve all been there!

for me, I’ll say I definitely got really lucky—my first fic was objectively pretty bad but I hopped on quotev when bl wasn’t the most popular and got lucky i guess

buttt in terms of wattpad I definitely has to work my way up haha. my first fic there got like 100 reads in two months. I hope this answer is going to make sense because I’m not paying too much attention to the structure or whatever, but I’m gonna start with the popularity part first. btw I’m assuming you’re talking about people finding your works on wattpad, not quotev

intriguing plot matters… a lot. something that can catch the eyes of someone or maybe a pairing (yandere __ x __ ) that’s rare or creative. so overall the description of your story has to be good! I would say stick to concise and eloquent ones. just focus in including the pairing and the book description inside. I won’t lie and I’ll admit that aesthetics help a great deal, but don’t go too overboard with fonts or anything haha (if you need a website to copy and paste fonts, there’s lingojam or QWERTY.dev) don’t forget title matters a lot too!!

tag well! there’s no such thing as too little tags haha. after all, tags help readers to discover the story!

make sure you pre write a bunch of chapters b4 you update. updating at a consistent pace can really help you climb the rankings. don’t be discouraged when your fic doesn’t get too many views at the start—it all starts building up and the minute you climb the ranks, you should see a massive surge of popularity. so don’t give up.

now on to tips for writing! take note that I’m still considered a amateur so none of this is professional writing advice. it’s all very surface level

writing matters a lot, which is the obvious. personally as a reader I tap out the minute I see lowercase or no paragraph breaks. obviously good grammar and punctuation is needed. it gets really hard to read when everything is choppy and broken.

don’t try to be too fancy! of course, prose matters. it’s pretty and it shows a mastery of the English language. But I’ve seen fics where everything seems way too overdone— kind of like if they kept searching “synonyms for __”— a good vocab is always welcome, but too much can seem too pretentious. there are times where it’s obvious the word isn’t even used correctly lol

remember to plan your everything out first! I know some authors plan chapter by chapter but personally I don’t do that, I feel like it greatly limits me. I usually do character profiles, major plot points, scenes I want to include, character dynamics

lastly just don’t stress yourself out. writing should be fun and not stressful

[nereidprinc3ss]

hiiii i love ur writing sm!!! 🫶💗 i was just wondering, do you have any tips for getting spencer’s character down? bc u capture him so well in ur fics i’m always in awe 😭 thanks in advance!!

oooh this is a fun question!! i have no idea if this will be helpful but these are what i think about when im writing him!

he’s obviously really smart but he doesn’t speak pretentiously, he uses simple and to the point language and means exactly what he says. he’s not very ornate or flowery with his language so if you feel like you’re struggling to write dialogue for him usually simple and eloquent is your best bet, his sentences are well-structured and feel very fleshed out but he often uses very simplistic language. I think people overthink it because he’s a genius so they think he has to talk fancy but actually highly intelligent people tend to use language extremely efficiently and in a way that makes what they’re saying clear to the people around them, they are able to explain complicated phenomena in simple accessible terms and don’t seek to intentionally confuse the people around them

he talks a lot when he’s nervous and is incredibly reticent when he’s bummed out

he’s a really kind person like more than anything he cares about other people a lot, it’s in his nature, he cares when he shouldn’t and sometimes to his detriment

he’s always going to lean towards being insecure rather than cocky. this one is probably the one i twist the most but if you ARE going to twist it for fun i’d say make sure his confidence is very focused on himself and his trust in his own ability to navigate whatever situation arises, multiple times throughout the show he claims he is definitely not an alpha male so he’s never going to assert his dominance, rather he’ll wait for other people to submit naturally (but he doesn’t care that much if they do, he’s more focused on what he can control, ie himself) although he does have the occasional moment of cockiness like when he’s playing cards or chess or in some area where he excels. i imagine if he was comfortable enough with a person this could extend to interpersonal relationships though we don’t really see it in the show that often except with like a few unsubs

i think overall the most important parts of his character are his kindness and thoughtfulness and his verbal simplicity (although he does speak a bit formally/rigidly sometimes). sometimes he does get convoluted with his language but only when he’s really excited so if you’re not sure in your ability to capture that part of his character yet, just think about his ability to get his point across succinctly

i hope this helps i kinda doubt it made any sense but if you have any other questions i’d be happy to try and answer them!!

[selfdestructivecat]

I’ve seen quite a few posts in response to Thomas’ recent video, specifically his year in review. In this video, he discusses the setbacks he’s faced the past few years — such as the quarantine, Joan’s departure, and his own personal doubts and insecurities — and how they impacted the production of Sanders Sides.

And I truly sympathize with him. No, seriously! It’s already difficult to create something this big almost entirely on your own, but I’m sure this year only made things even more difficult. I know I’ve definitely felt insecure to the point of feeling sick when it came to things I created, so I can empathize with the enormous amount pressure he must be feeling.

However, many posts I’ve seen following this video are saying things along the lines of “If people still criticize Thomas after this video, then I’m going to lose it” or “Not that people who criticize Thomas even care, but Thomas really struggled this year. I’m with him all the way!”, or even “I bet SaSi critics will still demand the finale even after this. I doubt they’ll even watch the video!”

I want to clarify that this is obviously not everyone who doesn’t like ts criticism. People who block criticism blogs and/or the tag, who ignore criticism in general, or who feel upset when they see criticism of something they love: this is not about you. You are absolutely valid and entitled to feeling the way you do, and I hope you have a lovely day. Feel free to block me if that would be good for your mental health. Please take care of yourself. /gen

But to those vocally condemning ts critics, I want to make several things clear.

First of all, you are lumping everyone who criticizes the show in with people who demand the finale with no regard for Thomas’ well-being, for the well-being of his crew, and for basic common sense. While many people are upset that the finale isn’t out yet, we aren’t specifically mad that we don’t have a completed video to watch; rather, we are frustrated with what this says about the SaSi crew, their work ethic, and how they treat fans of the show.

We aren’t upset that we can’t watch the finale right now. We are upset that we’ve gotten very few updates about the show during this period between canon episodes. This video provided wonderful insight into why the finale has been delayed, and we would have loved something like this years ago. Obviously it didn’t have to be a 20 minute video, but maybe a Twitter thread? Something small that made us feel heard?

Hell, even announcing an official hiatus would have satisfied the vast majority of critics (myself included), instead of throwing SaSi into this limbo of “Oh it’s going to be finished this year, we promise- oh whoops, never mind! Next year for sure!” It’s been a constant chain of broken promises, and we were more than happy to give the crew some grace the first few times, but after a while, a repeated mistake becomes a pattern. And this pattern is not pretty.

We are upset that the crew seems incredibly disorganized (going back to the lack of updates, and of course taking into account how we haven’t gotten even a single part of the finale in five years), which could affect the quality of this series we all love so dearly. beauty-and-passion has spoken about this a lot (and is a lot more eloquent than me lmao, please go check out their stuff!) The most recent Christmas video seems to demonstrate that the series may be on the right track, and I will admit I was wrong in regards to this video, but the Inside Out video is a mess in so many ways. Even if this doesn’t prove a decline in quality, it certainly indicates a lack of consistency, which can be just as damning for a series.

We are upset that, while SaSi is in this limbo, Thomas seems to have been focusing on his other projects without telling us about this change in priority. He is welcome to pursue other projects, obviously. I’m thrilled that he is having fun with Roleslaying with Roman and My Roommate is Hades. But these new projects have come at the cost of Sanders Sides content, which also points towards a lack of organization. Some clarity towards which projects Thomas chooses to focus on would have been wonderful and greatly appreciated, so that we know not to expect something we won’t receive. And hey, maybe if we knew not to expect SaSi content until much later, maybe we wouldn’t have been constantly asking why we weren’t receiving SaSi content?

(And this is not an excuse for aggressively demanding content, obviously. But I feel like people who are confused and frustrated at not receiving something promised to them are justified in these feelings.)

And maybe we’re jumping to conclusions in many regards. I won’t pretend that we are prophets who can peer into Thomas’ mind and know what he’s thinking and feeling at all times. But it’s pretty damn difficult to say that NONE of the above could suggest that Sanders Sides isn’t held in the same regard as it once was. Hell, Thomas even admits in the video that he doesn’t feel as connected with these characters as he once did.

Second, many people attacking critics are also quick to drag their character. We are impatient, greedy, selfish, and cruel. We don’t care about Thomas; we only care about the end product! More Sanders Sides at any cost! We don’t like critical thinking, since we obviously didn’t watch the video; we only want to find mean things to say about Thomas and the show! We don’t like engaging in civil debate with our fellow Fanders who may disagree with our opinions; we only want to make other people feel bad, and to make others hate the show, too!

Well, guess what? You’re doing to us exactly what you think we’re doing to Thomas: you’re assuming the absolute worst of us and looking for any reason to drag us down.

We are critics. We analyze media (media that we love, mind you) and we acknowledge that it isn’t perfect, that the creators aren’t perfect, and we point it out. But we still love it anyway, because to truly love something is to love it with its flaws, to know that it could be better, to brainstorm how it could reach its true potential, and to keep doing so because you believe in this potential.

We aren’t trying to take away the joy you feel from Sanders Sides. So please don’t try to take away ours.

[waffleweirdo]

I know there’s been endless talk about Homura in Rebellion. But I think one of the things that’s most interesting is that every action she takes is perfectly in line with her wish.

Magical girls are defined by their wishes. Arbitrarily it is running out of magic that transforms them into witches, but really thematically it is them losing faith in their wishes.

It is their wishes that bring hope to the world, and when those wishes are corrupted is when they bring despair.

Madoka’s wish is to eternally protect those wishes by preventing them from ever turning to despair. Madoka’s actions are very clearly righteous and even holy to magical girls. Not only is she protecting their wishes, but she is devoted so much to her own wish that she rewrites reality and becomes a god.

Even when she faces the despair of a wish as lofty as her own she is able to stand by her wish and is thus able to truly accomplish her goal of breaking the cycle of suffering.

If Magical Girls are defined by their wishes, and Madoka is a paragon of this ideal, Homura does the exact same thing in rebellion.

She is willing to destroy herself to save Madoka and uphold her wish.

I’m not sure if I’m eloquent enough to make this make sense (it could just be a bunch of rambling) but when you compare the debate of is Homura ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ to the morality of magical girls believing in their wishes she is right up there with the magical girl representation of an omnipotent savior soooo

I’m writing this just after rewatching rebellion again, so yeah this could be total nonsense, but I think it could be interesting

[isuckatwritingsobenice]

Hi!! Could I request a Milo Thatch x fem!reader going on a date or Milo asking reader out on a date? (I cant decide between the two Ideas 😭) It would be nice if it can be located in the year where Milo lives. Thank you so much 🫶🏻🫶🏻

Navigation!! // Masterlist!!

A/N: TYSM FOR YOUR REQUEST I HOPE YOU ENJOYYY!!

Milo Thatch had never felt his heart race quite like this before. He stood outside your door, shifting nervously from foot to foot, clutching a small bouquet of wildflowers he’d picked up earlier in the day. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts—every possible way this night could go wrong flashing before his eyes. He kept running over what he wanted to say, his usual eloquence failing him in the face of the one thing he desired most: a chance to tell you how he really felt.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm the jittery butterflies in his stomach. His hand hovered just inches from the door, knuckles poised to knock, but he hesitated. What if she thinks I’m ridiculous? What if I mess this up? He closed his eyes for a moment, reminding himself of the countless adventures he’d faced with far less hesitation. Asking you on a date shouldn’t be this terrifying, but with you, everything felt more intense, more important.

Finally, mustering all the courage he had, Milo knocked softly on the door. The sound seemed deafening in the quiet evening, and he quickly wiped his suddenly clammy hands on his trousers, his pulse racing.

When you opened the door, Milo’s breath caught in his throat. You looked stunning, a soft, welcoming smile lighting up your face as you greeted him. For a moment, all the words he’d rehearsed disappeared from his mind. All he could do was stare, feeling his heart swell with affection, mixed with a deep sense of awe that you were standing there in front of him.

“Hi, Milo,” you said, your voice warm and kind, breaking him out of his daze.

“H-Hi, [Y/N],” Milo stammered, his voice trembling slightly. He felt his face heat up as he remembered the flowers in his hand, and he quickly held them out to you, his movements a little too fast, nearly toppling the bouquet. “These are for you! I, um, I thought you might like them. I mean, I wasn’t sure what kind of flowers you preferred, but these looked nice, and… well, I just hope you like them.”

You took the bouquet from him, your fingers brushing his briefly, sending a shiver down his spine. “They’re beautiful, Milo. Thank you.”

Milo’s heart skipped a beat at your words, his face flushing an even deeper shade of red. “I’m really glad you like them,” he mumbled, suddenly very aware of how close you were. He found himself nervously adjusting his glasses, trying to avoid your gaze for fear that you might see just how deeply he liked you—how much this moment meant to him.

“So, where are we going?” you asked, tilting your head slightly, the gesture both curious and inviting.

“Oh, right!” Milo exclaimed, suddenly remembering the plan. “I was thinking we could go to that little café down the street? The one with the really good coffee and pastries? But, uh, if you don’t want to, we could go somewhere else! I mean, I’m fine with whatever you’d prefer. I just thought—”

“The café sounds perfect,” you interrupted with a gentle smile, saving him from his own nervous rambling.

Relief washed over Milo, and he managed a shy smile in return. “Great! I mean, that’s great. Let’s, uh, let’s go then.”

As you walked side by side through the bustling city streets, Milo found himself acutely aware of every little detail—the way your arm occasionally brushed against his, the soft sound of your footsteps on the cobblestones, the way your presence seemed to make the world around him feel more vibrant, more alive. He kept sneaking glances at you, his heart swelling with affection every time you smiled or laughed at something he said, even if it was just a nervous joke to fill the silence.

Milo was so wrapped up in his thoughts—how lucky he was to be here with you, how beautiful you looked in the evening light—that he almost didn’t notice when you reached the café. He held the door open for you, trying not to let his hands shake too much, and followed you inside, feeling the warm, cozy atmosphere of the place wrap around him like a comforting embrace.

You chose a quiet corner table, away from the hustle and bustle of the main dining area, and Milo gratefully took a seat across from you. His nerves were still buzzing, but being here with you, in this moment, made it all feel worth it. He could see the golden glow of the gas lamps reflected in your eyes, and it made his heart ache with how much he cared for you—how much he wanted this to be more than just a simple date.

As the waitress came to take your orders, Milo realized his hands were fidgeting again, his fingers twisting the edge of the napkin in front of him. He tried to focus, but all he could think about was you—how much he admired your kindness, your intelligence, the way you always made him feel like he was worth listening to, even when he was rambling about ancient civilizations or obscure historical facts.

“So, uh, how was your day?” Milo asked, trying to keep the conversation going. His voice was still tinged with nervousness, but he forced himself to meet your gaze, not wanting to miss a single moment of this evening with you.

“It was good,” you replied, your voice as soothing as ever. You noticed the way his hands trembled slightly as he picked up his coffee cup, and it made you smile—he was always so earnest, so genuine, and you found it utterly endearing. “How about yours? Anything exciting happening at the museum?”

Milo’s eyes lit up at your question, his usual passion bubbling to the surface as he launched into an excited explanation about a new artifact the museum had just acquired. As he spoke, his nervousness seemed to melt away, replaced by the familiar comfort of discussing something he loved. But even as he described the ancient manuscript he’d been working on, his thoughts kept drifting back to you—to the way you were looking at him, with such interest, such genuine care.

“You know, I’ve always admired your dedication, Milo,” you said softly when he paused for breath. Your words were sincere, your voice filled with warmth. “It’s one of the things I like most about you.”

Milo blinked, caught completely off guard by your compliment. His heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, he felt like he might melt into the floor from the sheer intensity of his emotions. “R-Really? You mean that?” he stammered, his eyes wide behind his glasses. “I… I’ve always hoped you thought well of me, but I never imagined…”

He trailed off, his mind spinning. How could he possibly put into words just how much you meant to him? How much he’d dreamed of moments like this, sitting across from you, sharing something as simple as coffee but feeling like it was the most important moment of his life?

“I think you’re amazing, Milo,” you continued, your smile soft and genuine. “You have such a big heart, and you’re so passionate about everything you do. It’s… it’s really inspiring.”

Milo felt his face heat up again, his heart pounding so loudly he was sure you could hear it. He opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a soft, almost breathless, “Thank you, [Y/N]. That… that really means a lot to me.”

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of conversation and shared smiles, with Milo growing more comfortable as the night went on. But even as the café began to quiet down, and the other patrons left, his mind kept returning to the fact that this was real—this wasn’t just another daydream. You were here, with him, and you seemed to care about him just as much as he cared about you.

When it was finally time to leave, Milo offered to walk you home, and you agreed, the two of you stepping out into the cool night air. The city streets were mostly empty now, the glow of the streetlamps casting long shadows on the cobblestones, making the world feel almost like a dream. Milo’s heart raced as you walked beside him, every step bringing him closer to the moment he knew he needed to say something—anything—to let you know how deeply he felt for you.

As you reached your door, Milo hesitated, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts. His hands were shaking again, and he nervously adjusted his glasses, his breath catching in his throat. He didn’t want the night to end without telling you how much he liked you—how much he wanted this to be the start of something more.

“I… I had a really great time tonight,” Milo finally managed to say, his voice trembling with both nerves and the intensity of his emotions.

“So did I,” you replied, your eyes meeting his with a warmth that made his heart ache with affection.

Milo swallowed hard, feeling like he was standing on the edge of something huge, something life-changing. He took a small step closer, his heart pounding in his chest. “I, um… I really like you, [Y/N],” he confessed, his voice soft and filled with vulnerability. “I’ve liked you for a long time, actually, and… and I’m really glad we did this. I was so nervous, but… being with you tonight has been better than I ever imagined.”

You could see the sincerity in his eyes, the way his hands trembled slightly at his sides, and it made your heart swell with affection. Without thinking, you took a step closer to him, closing the distance between you. “Milo,” you whispered, your voice filled with warmth, “I like you too.”

Before he could respond, you closed the remaining gap between you, leaning in and pressing a soft, lingering kiss to his lips. Milo’s eyes widened in surprise, his breath catching as he felt the warmth of your lips against his. For a moment, everything else faded away—there was only you, the softness of your touch, the way you made him feel like the entire world had shifted.

Milo’s heart was racing faster than it ever had before, but after the initial shock, he melted into the kiss, his hands finding their way to gently rest on your waist. He couldn’t believe this was happening—that the person he’d admired from afar, the person who had occupied his thoughts day and night, was here, kissing him like he was something precious.

When you finally pulled back, Milo was breathless, his mind spinning with a thousand emotions. He stared at you, his cheeks flushed, his glasses slightly askew from the intensity of the moment. His hands were still resting on your waist, as if he was afraid to let go, as if this moment might disappear if he did.

“I… I didn’t expect that,” Milo admitted, his voice barely more than a whisper, filled with awe and disbelief. “But… I’m really, really glad it happened.”

You smiled, your gaze soft and affectionate as you looked up at him. “I couldn’t wait any longer, Milo,” you replied, your voice tender. “I’ve liked you for so long, and seeing how much you care, how much you were trying tonight… I couldn’t help it.”

Milo’s heart swelled with so much affection that he thought it might burst. He gently pulled you closer, his forehead resting against yours as he took a deep, steadying breath. “I’m so glad you feel the same way,” he murmured, his voice still shaky with emotion. “I’ve liked you for so long, [Y/N]. I just… I never thought someone as amazing as you would feel the same.”

You reached up, gently adjusting his glasses back into place, your touch light and affectionate. “You’re amazing too, Milo. Don’t ever doubt that.”

Milo’s lips curved into a shy, but genuine smile, his eyes shining with happiness. “I won’t, as long as you’re here to remind me,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss you again, this time with more confidence, more certainty in the way he felt for you.

The kiss was sweet, tender, and full of the emotions both of you had been holding back for so long. When you finally parted, Milo couldn’t help but laugh softly, his heart feeling lighter than it had in years.

“Does this mean we’re…?” he began, his voice trailing off as he tried to find the right words.

You nodded, your smile widening as you looked up at him. “I think it does,” you replied, your voice filled with warmth.

Milo’s smile grew, a mixture of relief, joy, and overwhelming affection filling his chest. “Good,” he said softly, his voice full of sincerity. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

The two of you stood there for a moment longer, just enjoying the closeness, the newness of being together in this way. Eventually, Milo pulled back slightly, his hands still resting on your waist as he looked at you with a mixture of adoration and awe.

“Can I walk you to the door?” he asked, his voice still tinged with that endearing nervousness, even though you had just shared something so intimate.

You nodded, your heart fluttering at how sweet he was, how much he clearly cared. “I’d like that.”

Milo escorted you to your door, his hand warm and steady in yours. When you finally reached it, he turned to you one last time, his eyes full of a newfound confidence and affection. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked, his voice hopeful.

“Definitely,” you replied, leaning in to give him one last kiss, this one soft and lingering, full of the promise of more to come.

When you finally said goodnight and closed the door behind you, Milo stood there for a moment, his heart still racing, a dazed smile on his face. He touched his lips, still feeling the warmth of your kiss, and let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

As he walked back home, the night air cool against his flushed cheeks, Milo felt like he was floating. All the fears, the doubts, the nervousness—they were all worth it. Because now, he had you, and he couldn’t wait to see where this new chapter of your lives would take you both.

[sunfyredarchive]

i really wasn't gonna do this but i just started typing and couldn't stop myself. pretty sure so many things left unsaid but needed it to get it off my chest somehow.

let me start with saying that as a sunfyre && aegon enjoyer, the actual reason of my discomfort is NOT the way they ended up. i am sad about it ofc, but i knew that was one of the few canon outcomes they wouldn’t alter much ( && must have reaaaallly enjoyed depicting for reasons 🤡 ) so what left me so shaken was not the sight of sunfyre— a creature i’ve been stanning and really wanting to see for literally a decade— and aegon’s canon fate but the way it was delivered, obviously. as i’ve been discussing with some of my close mutuals and friends on here, personally i’m no longer enjoying the endless and, at this point, quite out of control woobification of aegon in particular. please don’t get me wrong, i wasn’t expecting him to be depicted in a controversially positive / heroic light all of a sudden especially with their unquestionably pro-rhaenyra ( not pro-black in general ) and anti-aegon ( not anti-green in general ) agenda, which did not bother me this much until this season. at first it seemed creative and tragically engrossing, to depict aegon so unwilling and pitiful and so not ready to rule. it added him way more nuance and promised a compelling character development. something that honestly made me find him way more interesting because i seldom care for stereotypical && morally flawless / less flawed leaders in fiction. but i was expecting / hoping for jaehaerys to be a bit of a turning point for aegon’s character, and i know i’m not alone in that so i also can’t be the only one who’s so sick and tired of aegon still being a clumsy comic relief with how cartoonishly pathetic they’re so adamant on depicting him until the very end ?? stuff like his own council leaving him on read and now his terrible high valyrian ( i don’t wanna start yapping about this either but lemme say i like the idea of aegon being not as fluent and eloquent as aemond, it fits his overall personality. can be interpreted as him being lazy / easily bored / having adhd / rebelling his targaryen upbringing like cutting his hair short also indicated etc etc I LIKE THAT !! makes sense. but they didn’t need to go so overboard with it like they did with every other logically negative aspect of him. the high valyrian scene would be so much better with aegon simply getting irritated and backing down from the conversation due to his current lack of military prowess rather than him downright being unable to form a single coherent sentence lol ), like .. please. so are we really going to take only the most outrageous, downgrading theories from an already unreliable narration because anything that is mildly admirable about him must be green propaganda ?? he just has to be so laughably bad at everything and anything because he’s “evil” ?? i didn’t know this was supposed to be a morality play.

now back to rook’s rest. i understand there aren’t enough details about the dragon conflict here so of course the anti-aegonism pioneers felt justified to run with the idea that’d paint him in the worst light by ridiculing him as blatantly as possible ( aka taking away one of his few redeemable qualities, which is trying to be an active player by commanding his own armies instead of remaining out of harm’s way by choice ) and make his most prominent attempt at leading look like a scorned child’s petty, impulsive, barely-conscious decision which only proved everyone who believed him to be a failure; right. whereas all the other prominent characters on team black are made to look utterly brave && heroic for merely suggesting to do the same... cute. now they can because they ain’t aegon uwu. you know, someone who actually did fight until he was left almost unrecognizable. now look me in the eye and tell me that isn’t a too under the nose way to manipulate “canon” info to serve a biased agenda.

what’s more disappointing for me personally is how sunfyre could not escape the anti-aegonism’s wrath either, who’s always been more special to me than aegon himself. here we see aegon and aemond as joined forces, against the common foe, appearing at the very same time so nothing justifies aegon showing up unannounced and almost ruining a whole ass plan nobody bothered to fill him in on— another illogically biased addition to further ridicule aegon. mind you, since there isn’t enough to decipher aemond’s true intentions during this battle, i really wouldn’t mind him ending up causing more damage to aegon/sunfyre than even rhaenys/meleys, but the choice to make him so blatantly attack his brother/king and one of the very few fighting dragons they had when they chose to make this very same guy be a lot more distraught over killing lucerys is just .. cartoonish. imagine society if we were allowed to watch two brothers managing to set aside their personal grudges despite all the clumsy attempts at paving the way for a bigger enmity ( the brothel scene can’t sit with us ). i also wouldn’t mind seeing aemond visibly being tempted to hurt aegon for a split second during the intense eye contact only to attack in a more ambiguous way rather than downright aiming at aegon, it’d be closer to his actions in book too but the disney villanism won because, again, they simply cannot be allowed to appear like a semi-caring family. something i will also omit in my own portrayal because i’ve always believed the eye incident being a turning point for aemond/aegon’s relationship.

gonna end my angry rambling by going back to woobified sunfyre. notice how it is worded as “against vhagar alone she might have had some chance, but against vhagar and sunfyre…” not the other way around. not pointing out the more obvious fact that meleys would be able to take down sunfyre if it wasn’t for vhagar. which means we can safely accept the fact sunfyre was an important and necessary player for this whole “trap”. him and aegon didn’t just randomly show up on a whim to rain on aemond’s parade out of jealousy. they were always meant to be a part of this because apparently not even vhagar could defeat meleys alone and remain unscathed, she needed a distraction. and before anyone claims the attached part might also be pro-green propaganda ( just like the whole sunfyre’s beauty && loyalty were exaggerated allegations because apparently anything that’s mildly praise-worthy is immediately shot down as a propaganda but !! only if it’s about a green 😉 ) — i strongly disagree, mostly because of that iconic line about princess rhaenys’ courage. because guess what ?? you actually can praise AND accuse both parties in a well-balanced manner instead of butchering a perfectly tragic && intentionally ambiguous story by bending the “facts” to your will. shocking to some i presume.

[insanitysilver]

(Hi, sorry to be awkward and barge into your inbox, but if you’re still giving writing advice, I’m hoping to get an opinion on how to let of my anxiety about writing. But if not, please feel free to ignore.)

A while back, I tried to write my own take on a character backstory for my fandom. The fandom already had a well-known and beloved backstory fic that was recced all the time for the character and that also established much of the standard fanon. So I was very insecure about my version that didn’t use the known canon and instead uses my own ideas. Still, I managed to push through my self-doubt, complete my fic, and post it. But my fic utterly bombed, no one remembers or cares about it, and even though I like the fic, I frequently think about deleting it because of how everyone ignored it and preferred the astronomically more popular fanon-fueled version. (I don’t believe kudos are a measure of quality, but I do believe they’re a measure of how much fandom wants your writing.)

The problem is that whenever I get a fic idea for any fandom at all, if my plotting/brainstorming produces ideas I know go against popular fanon, I feel like I can’t use them, or else my fic will suffer via stats. I constantly worry about if I’m writing the most popular and accepted version of the character, but it’s so frustrating that I can’t include any of my own ideas. This conflict of writing for the audience vs. writing my own ideas constantly paralyzes me, and I generally feel that if I write, the characters will just be cardboard boxes of the standard fanon. Because if I diverge from what’s popular, I might end up with another humiliating flop of a fic that most readers didn’t want or notice, and I’m not sure if I can stand the 2nd realization that I’ve been screaming into void the entire time.

What do I do here? How do I let go of past failures and start concentrating on what I can do, instead of constantly angsting about if I’m wasting my time by writing an idea that doesn’t align with what the fandom itself values?

Firstly, congratulations on publishing your backstory fic! Sounds like you had to fight your anxiety to do so, and that’s always a worthwhile victory!

Let me challenge this: “I do believe [kudos are] a measure of how much fandom wants your writing”. For this to be Good and Proper Science™, we’d need everyone in the fandom do a blind taste test with both usernames redacted and then keep a record of which everyone preferred.

But, that’s not how fics are experienced in the “wild”. Lots of Ao3 users sort by popularity metrics to find fics. Kudos accumulate so older fics have an advantage, and popularity compounds on itself. Readers aren’t making value judgements about you and your work. They just have five minutes to wait at the bus stop, so they whip out their phones and grab from the top of the metrics bag.  It’s really nothing personal.

The median number of kudos on AO3 is 12 (and that’s counting works that have been around forever). I’ve been posting various forms of art on the internet for 10+ years.  Most never found an audience. 1 note, 5 notes, 0 notes, a 200k word fic that I worked on for four years that approximately 3 people have read per year since (if that). And yeah, that can sting. I get it.

So, what’s the solution? My advice is two-pronged:

1.) On Wanting Fandom Recognition

A desire for internet metrics is actually a specific need in disguise. These excellent posts go into this far more eloquently:

@ao3commentoftheday's 'People Don't Actually Want Comments, They Want Community '

@sinigangsta-ao3's 'On Fandom and a Sense of Belonging Part 1' & 'Part 2'

What do you want from that fandom interaction? Prestige & respect? Encouragement? A creative peer group to bounce around ideas? The more specific you can get, the easier it will be for you to work on a solution that fills that need that isn’t reliant on the capricious whims of the greater internet.

Prestige? – These authors write a lot. Relentlessly. Also typically involved in the fandom somewhere offsite and tend to build things. Events, rec lists, secret santas.

Encouragement? – Voice this need in your relationships. Don’t have writer friends? Drag irl friends in or look out for positive fandom subgroups. If there’s a discord server, maybe ask about making a channel just to celebrate wins? If not, invite fandom ppl you’ve interacted with in and make a server of your own.

Idea Sharing? – Nearly the same as above. Groups, in my experience, thrive with something to do. I wanted to practice fundamentals more, so I dragged a group of friends in and made a writing circle where we followed a prompt to write a short story every month. At the end, we shared and critiqued each other’s work. Massively nourishing. (I can post the “curriculum” if there’s an interest.)

2.) On Writing for You

Two practices have helped me on this front. First, I put the watcher away. I make work I never intend to share. I see that blank page and say “whatever happens here is for me only, and I’m going to stick to that”. I also advise hiding your ao3 stats. [This site skin will replace your personal stats page with an image of choice]. [This site skin will hide every stat on every work except word and chapter count]. (I use both together when my brain gets naughty on me). [How to Use AO3 Site Skins]

Second, digging into what excites me. I made huge list of my favorite characters, tropes, themes, narrative tricks, everything. Found patterns. After that, you just cram as many as you can into one story until you’re obsessed with it. Until it haunts you and you simply can’t stop yourself from writing it regardless if anyone reads it.

All-in-all though, noticing your brain is pulling a fast one on you and wanting to make a change is much further then a lot of people get, so I am very serious when I say you should congratulate yourself and celebrate that. You’ve already done the hardest part. What comes next won’t be effortless, but it will be worthwhile. 🌱☀️

But, I’ve rambled enough, and I’ll open the floor up. Anyone else want to weigh in? If you have a writing buddy, how did you meet with them and how do you stay in touch?

[indiaalphawhiskey]

Hi India!

I wanted to pop by and say hi! You're very cool and I find myself hardly ever disagreeing with you, but when I do, I walk away with having read a differing but interesting perspective on several topics. It also helps that you're super duper eloquent and articulate, and there have been several instances where I have a thought and no way to put it into words and find that you have done that very effectively. You're also SO KIND??? I can't.

You're a gem, a badass and most importantly (to me, at least) one of my favourite authors of all time. I love you! I hope you have the best day/night ahead!

I genuinely don’t know what sort of magic you have in your heart that you knew I needed something like this today, but thank you. 🩵

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m rarely (if ever) called cool. I guess in a traditional sense, I’m not (I’m super basic, and I’ve learned to embrace it) but I’ve always wanted to be. It’s a trait that’s always felt elusive to me; I just have never “had” it (although many people in my life do, in spades) and I’ve always wondered what it would take to get there.

It’s funny, because when Harry’s House first came out, a lot of people dissed the lyrics of Cinema, saying it was juvenile; meanwhile I was sitting here thinking it perfectly captured Louis Tomlinson because I totally know what it feels like to get all sparkled out by someone, and to look at them and think “Fuck, they’re so cool.”

So thank you for what I will now refer to as my Cinema moment. 🥰 and, I’m really glad hearing my opinions feel beneficial in some way, whether it’s because they voice some thoughts you have or because they give you a different perspective. What I like most about tumblr is that the format encourages that level of exchange if you pick and choose what conversations to have and how to have them. Sure, it doesn’t spare you from people determined to misunderstand you, but messages like these make me feel like I’m at least not screaming into the void.

As for every other compliment you peppered in there, dude. My heart is glowing. Seriously, thank you. I’m not always kind, but I try to be, and I feel like I’ve been made infinitely kinder by Larry and by being a larrie.

Forgive the 100k word count thank you, I just really really really needed this today. 😘✨

[sallowsdiary]

Dearest Sebastian (one of the most courageous Slytherins I've ever met),

I honestly do not know how to even start this letter. You seem to have forgotten your diary once again. I thought this was just a random personal book left behind but to my surprise, your name was etched in the most beautiful cursive at the front page, along with a simple Slytherin sigil and instructions to return to your dorm room.

Now, I must admit that I nary a trust in others should I give this to another one of your housemates. They might read these precious private thoughts and snicker to themselves in shameless disregard of your privacy. I suppose I should consider myself a hypocrite as I've read your entries. But I swear to you, I did not snicker or do any mocking of sorts. As a matter of fact, I am writing you this letter on a piece of parchment that you'll find inserted into one of your diary's pages because I admire your verbiage and how poignant you describe your thoughts and feelings.

If I may admit one more thing...

I have been noticing you for quite some time now. At first, it was out of pure admiration. Not only are you the top student in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but one of the reigning champions of Crossed Wands. You've made quite a reputation for yourself without having to depending upon a family name. I have to give you your flowers on that one. It doesn't help that you're very easy on the eyes — but don't let that get into your head, please.

I'm sure you've been recently made aware of just how many admirers you have, and I have half the mind to refrain from riding along the bandwagon of your secret followers. And truth be told, I feel like you have enough girls to choose from should you want to take your pick amongst them. So, I'll just spare my feelings on that one.

All this to say that I honestly feel a sense of bittersweet relief. As a Ravenclaw, our dormitories couldn't be more farther from one another. And I take that as a symbolic reminder that no amount of pining would help my case. Reading your previous replies to the anonymous sources of letters you regularly receive, it drives my point even further.

Maybe one day. Maybe our paths will cross, and fate would come to have mercy on me.

And since we're already here, might as well use this as a confessional, too. My heart has been in a state of disarray, for I have feelings for both you... and Ominis. I just don't have the courage to speak upon it to either of you. Rest assured that I'm not using Ominis as a means to rid my feelings toward you. I'm torn and confused and simply hopeless in the realm of romance.

Both of you are loyal to one another, and I admire that earnestly. Perhaps, I am quite jealous of it as well. You two are like brothers. Always having each other's backs. No questions asked.

This letter is becoming more and more pointless and aimless. I'd best stop here before I start spouting any more nonsense.

If you ever feel like it, I suppose I just want to hear your thoughts about all of this. You're free to disregard this as well. Throw it away. Incinerate it with Confringo, if you must.

But I hope that your diary makes its way back to you safely, as I've tucked it here inside the cauldron at your workstation for Potions class.

Wishing you the best of luck in your next Crossed Wands tournament,

— Mina

P.S. I do miss seeing your sister wipe the floor with you during Defense class. She's honestly one of our best in the batch.

Dear Mina,

First off, let me just say a huge thanks for not letting my diary become Slytherin gossip fodder. The idea of some of my housemates getting their hands on it is the stuff of nightmares—almost worse than a botched potion in Professor Sharp’s class. So, you’ve definitely earned some serious points in my book for your discretion.

Now, about this letter you’ve tucked away so carefully… you’ve got me at a bit of a loss here. I’m not used to getting such heartfelt confessions wrapped in such eloquent words. Usually, it’s just Garreth trying to rope me into his next potion disaster or Ominis making sure I haven’t done anything too reckless. So, you’ll have to forgive me if I’m a bit thrown off—though in the best possible way.

It’s flattering to hear that you’ve been paying attention to what I’ve been up to, especially in Defense and Crossed Wands. I’ve worked hard to carve out my own reputation, and it’s nice to know someone’s noticed—especially someone from Ravenclaw, where high standards are practically a way of life. And while I’ll do my best not to let your compliments inflate my already sizable Slytherin ego, I can’t make any promises. I mean, “easy on the eyes”? You’ve definitely made my day with that one, but don’t worry—I’ll try to keep my head from getting too big. Yet.

Now, let’s talk about this “bandwagon of secret followers.” I’m honestly a bit curious about that. I wasn’t expecting I had quite this many admirers, but it’s good to know there’s a whole club of them out there now. But you, Mina, you’ve managed to stand out from the crowd. Your honesty and the way you’ve laid out your feelings—well, that’s something special. I don’t take it lightly, and I definitely don’t see you as just another face in the crowd.

As for your, let’s say, ‘romantic dilemma’ with Ominis and me… well, that’s certainly a twist. Ominis is like a brother to me, and I can see why you’d be drawn to him. He’s got that whole mysterious, brooding thing down, doesn’t he? And while I can’t exactly help you choose—because, let’s be honest, who am I to give romance advice?—I can tell you this: you’ve got time. Don’t rush into anything. Just let things play out naturally, and who knows? Maybe the answer will come to you when you least expect it. In the meantime, just know that I’m flattered by your feelings, and I’m not about to let that go unnoticed.

As for fate and our paths crossing—well, Hogwarts has a funny way of making the castle feel smaller than it is. I wouldn’t be so sure that this is the end of our story. Maybe there’s more in store for us—only time will tell. And hey, if our paths do cross, I might just have to buy you a butterbeer and see if you’re as good at charming in person as you are on parchment.

And yes, I’ll admit—Anne has wiped the floor with me more times than I’d care to admit, especially in Defense. She’s got a knack for making me look bad, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ll make sure to pass along your compliment to her, but don’t be surprised if she uses it to rub it in my face during our next sparring session.

Thanks again for the letter, Mina. It’s not every day that I get something like this, and I’ll definitely keep it safe—right next to my diary, which I’m very relieved to have back in one piece.

Who knows—maybe we’ll see each other at the next Crossed Wands match. And if we do, I’ll be sure to bring that butterbeer and a bit of charm to match your own.

—Sebastian

P.S. Trust me, this letter is far too valuable to incinerate. I’ll keep it around for when I need a reminder that there are people out there who see more in me than just a Slytherin with a penchant for trouble.

[dotster001]

Teacher Dot, I learned about LGBTQ labels in middle school and eventually started identifying as aroace. But for a while now I’ve been living a very solitary life, to the point where I’m questioning whether it makes sense to use that label when it doesn’t really affect me either way. Have you ever had periods where you questioned whether the label was right for you, and if so, how did you get past them?

Lmao, I think that's a common Aro ace experience. That's why I say I'm aromantic, and biromantic. Labels aren't a strict set of rules. They are supposed to just be what feels right for you. So, if you decided you wanted to drop a label for a while, or pick up a new one, that's fine. If later you're like, nah, I'm aro Ace again, you can always start using the label again.

For me, personally, the ace label is solid. That's not one I question, because there's so many factors that go into it. With aromantic, especially since I started playing romance games, I question that sometimes. And in those times, I try to be open. I try to see if I feel any attraction to anyone. I try to listen to what my heart is trying to to say, if it's trying to say anything.

There's also just a level of being nice to myself when I'm in those phases. I know what I'm like. If I ever do end up romantically attracted to someone, it's going to have to be someone who is okay with the fact that some days they are just my super cool roommate. But even on my most aro days, I wouldn't hate the idea of a partner.

(side note...fictional characters help a lot 😂 they're the only reason I'm suspicious that I'm, like, a fluid aro)

I will say...I learned about the beautiful world of queer platonic relationships last year, and I realized that a lot of what I want when I think I want a romantic relationship...is actually that.

Tldr: I deal with these periods by keeping an open mind, and being nice to myself. I also try to keep in mind that I'm not trapped by a label, because labels are meant to be freeing. Gender and sexuality are a construct, bruh ✌🏼 😎

Idk, I'm sleepy, and I'm not the most eloquent, so I hope this made sense, or was good to hear or something.