#‘i had the time of my life fighting dragons with you’

[bondwithme-murderstyle]

Who's The Boss pt.1 aaron hotchner x fem!reader

wc: 3k

Summary: Aaron Hotchner has some time before heading to Quantico and embarking on his new position within the BAU. He decides that now would be a good time to gather some of his buddies and head off on a vacation to Miami before his life is turned on its head.

warnings: +18, mdni!! vacation setting with explicit descriptions but no physical acts (save that for pt.3), smoking because it's the '90s and this man with a cigarette is my holy grail, a tiny paragraph releasing haley from this story-line, essentially just verbal-foreplay, reader is described as having hair (???) that gets wet in the pool, definitely dom!aaron and his dirty mouth, no use of y/n, not as romantic as my dream had originally perceived him but we'll take what we can get in the moment

an: another day, another one-shot. i can feel myself warming up to doing this regularly tbqh. let me know what you think!

Aaron Hotchner was the budding agent for the FBI. His stats were always excellent and Aaron was renowned for his high-scores and over-achieving nature, shaming the agents who had been working with the FBI since the dawn of time. Departments wanted him. His academy-mates wanted to be him. A fresh-faced twenty-six year old ready to fight off the competition had already secured his placement within the Behavioural Analysis Unit that fall. The Academy had granted him five-weeks of rec-time and he thought of nothing better than taking a vacation with his academy pals and some old college buddies. Miami, Florida was the place to be. 

It was always hot and always sunny, rarely a day of rain that kept the group of five guys locked up. Today, particularly this day- there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the sun cast a golden glow over their hotel pool-deck. Aaron was awake first. Habitually, he would never allow himself to feel the shame that his classmates would when they tumbled out of bed just before lunch. Aaron ate his breakfast out by the pool, he brought a book to keep him occupied as the geriatric crowd of their hotel took their laps in the pool before taking their day-trip down to the beach. Slowly, other hotel-goers trickled outside, fanning to find their spots for the day. Towels were thrown over scattered loungers and his college-mates were the first to meet him outside as he finished a cup of black coffee and ear-marked the page in his Thomas Harris novel. They quickly approached, hitting him on the shoulder, the arm and mocking him for his reserved approach to the vacation. They jibed that he looked ancient for sitting with coffee and a book when he should have really been expanding his palate given the select few young women who had set up camp around him, skimpy bright bikinis that were far too alluring to ignore. Yet, somehow, he managed to do just that. Ignore them. His friends managed to convince him to at least move to a lounger of his own if he were to sit and read all day. Aaron was defiant, “I can have fun with the best of them. I’m just at the crux of the story-” “And the crux will wait. It’s not goin’ anywhere, Hotchner!” His friend took the book he had placed on his lounger and tossed it down onto the paving stones. 

When his academy-mates joined the crowd, they were more raucous. Dumping their towels on their friends loungers before throwing themselves into the pool with a large splash and yells to boot. Aaron would grimace from behind his sunglasses, their noise interrupting the peace he had long set out for. The vacation that would define the rest of his life. By lunchtime, there were swirls of rumours around the pool and even neighbouring hotels. There was to be a boys-vs-girls polo game that night two hotels down from where Aaron and his friends were staying. The owner was apparently "super-chill" with the young crowds and was renowned for his summer parties. His friends spoke across him as his nose was pushed into the third-act of Red Dragon, talking about having to find a date to take in the hopes to get her out of her swimsuit. Their callous words and deep agreeing chuckles interloped with the words he tried so hard to concentrate on processing. “Hotchner! That means you too!” A cold splash hit the bottom of his feet and caused the ashtray between the two loungers to tip and topple. Aaron looked up from the book and lifted his sunglasses slightly to find his friend in the pool looking right at him, “What means me?” “You’re going to find a date and get over this Haley bullshit once and for all. You're coming with us tonight!”

The Haley slump was real. Upon hearing of him wanting to join the FBI Academy, she feared it would be far too dangerous for him. She wanted him to remain a prosecutor and work his way up that particular ladder. It caused endless arguments in their studio apartment, disagreements over supposedly peaceful weekends and countless silent-treatments until they came to the agreement that this was his life and she wouldn’t be the one to hold him back. It had been twenty long weeks at the Academy and an even longer two weeks out of the Academy with his friends hounding him about being single again. 

“What if I go without a date? Meet someone there?” “Then you’re a chump!” His friend next to him piped up and extended his pack of cigarettes to him. Aaron took one out and lit it up, sighing the smoke across the pages of his novel before his legs sat on each side of the lounger and his book was placed facedown to keep his page. “Am I still a chump if I meet someone over there and they’re already drunk enough to forget who they came with?” Aaron reasoned and looked at his friend on his right, his friend in the pool and the other at the bar. Their suggestive gazes to each other was just enough confirmation for him that his idea was a good one. He raised his eyebrow and took a drag of his cigarette. He was always the smartest man in the room. His friend swam to the pool edge and his other buddy brought his lounger slightly closer as though to bask in his genius and they fawned over how they might just do exactly what Aaron would. He was quick to hold his hand up, cigarette in his mouth and laugh, “Don’t let me stop you from working this deck, alright? I'll stay out of your turf and take it easy on you, huh!?” 

Across the pool, you watched him. Your fair-skin hidden in the shadows for fear of burning, your sights were set. His smile was so stupefying and his floppy and glossy dark hair was exactly that in the Florida sun. He had been reading since the morning, you remained inside and ate breakfast with your girlfriend who had since disappeared back to her room with the world’s worst hangover. Since then, you nursed fruity cocktails and occasionally dipped your toe in the cool shadow-edge of the pool until the splashing and yelling and laughing had become too much and you retreated. Through it all, the stranger remained stone-faced. With each cigarette he smoked, each page that turned, you were pulled in. And then you saw his eyes. Sunglasses completely removed and cast aside much like his book as he made his way to sit on the edge of the pool where the sun beat down over him and his friends, eventually sliding in the water. His friends were fine. Your girlfriend would be all over them if she could keep her head out of the toilet bowl but him. You had to know his name. 

Waiting until he was completely in the water and within an approachable distance, you decided to stand and drop the towel that had been wrapped around yourself in order to take a dip. The ends of your hair were quick to glom together and stick to your skin as you tread through the water with miniscule steps until finding a safe place, an edge where you could perch and watch had presented itself.

The water was warmer and you enjoyed kicking your legs back and forth softly and feeling the temperature climb as the sun moved. You weren't paying much attention, eyes far too focused on the bartender refilling ice and liquor bottles clinking, when a voice approached from the water. “You look lonely, doll.” You looked away from the bartender and down to the man who had swam over to you. His loud friend. Your brows furrowed as the sun glinted on the surface of the water and you shook your head. “No, I’m fine.” A smile hoping to deter him. But he remained. “Say, we’re all going down to the Standard Surf tonight. Polo game. Could be pretty fun. You wanna join?” The man pushed his hands back through his hair and the water dropped down onto his nose and his cheeks. Somehow, the dissonant chaos had quietened. You looked away from him and towards his friends who were standing waist deep in the water and he, the reader, had his large arms crossed as they all watched closely to their friend’s weak attempt at bagging a date. “And you’re here trying to get a date from me?” You asked. The man’s hopeful smile fell and there were small, scattered mumbles and chuckles. “You guys aren’t the quietest keys on the piano, y'know? No, thank you.” “Oh, um… okay-” “But, hey,” You felt a surge of adrenaline grow from the way his arms crossed over his chest and the raised eyebrow he gave whilst monitoring the situation ignited something, “your reading-friend. Who is he?” You slipped down from the perch to stand toe-to-toe with his friend that had the courage to approach. He looked over his shoulder and turned to follow your line of sight, scoffing and shaking his head, “Mr. Serious? That’s just Aaron.” “Hm.” You hummed and kept looking at him, lifting your sunglasses to get a better look and let him know you were watching him and only him. “Him?” He asked and you ignored his words. “Aaron…” You liked it, “I’ll go with him. Not you.” You smiled and lowered your sunglasses again before making your way back towards the shadows and climbing out of the pool, knowing they were watching. All watching. You had left his friend alone and confused but that much you didn’t care about. 

For the rest of the early-afternoon, you reclined in your chair with your towel over your legs and deciding to remain in the sun as it crept slowly up from your feet, you continued to watch the group of five men at the opposite end of the deck. You didn’t care that it was obvious. You didn’t care that they would sometimes look back at you. Their views never mattered. But when Aaron looked (which wasn’t very often), your heart would stop and your breathing would deepen. You wanted to talk to him and yet somehow, you didn’t quite have the courage to approach. When he climbed out of the pool and returned to his lounger, that was when you noticed his gazes lingered. What was he thinking about as he dried off in the sun? Was he thinking about you? Could he read your mind? Was he also just too tense to approach?

His book remained on the paving stones, ashtray sitting atop and preventing the breeze from fluttering the pages open. Though his sunglasses returned to his face, every look in your direction was burning into your skin. You had captured his attention and now had no idea what to do with it. You let the heat build in your gut, your insides swirling and you even found yourself jonesing for a cigarette although you had given up to support your girlfriend and her cold-turkey attack. His friends disbanded slowly, one at a time to make their mission of grabbing some lunch. They all wanted subs, it was loud enough to hear for the whole community. But Aaron remained and when they were gone, his book returned to his hand and with one arm behind his head, he started to leaf through the pages. When his friends passed you by, they gave small looks- knowing looks that made your heart race. A part of you said that it was now-or-never. To go before his friends returned and gave him hell. But as you prepared to stand and rid yourself of the towel, you glanced over and he was no longer reading. He was back in the pool and looking at you. His brow raised slightly above his frames and he lifted one hand from the water to beckon you over with two fingers.

pt. 2

----

this will be in 3 parts because part 1 was too big to post so hang on buddies.

[the-painted-siren]

Finally managed to redo all of my ninja body headcanon refs yippee! I’m especially happy because I redid their proportions and anatomy to be more accurate to how I envision them. I certainly think they all look better for it.

A metric ton of notes + Several extra characters beneath the cut! Also spoilers for Dragons Rising S2 and leaks for S3.

Jay — has the face of a movie star with a narrow jawline and thick, curly hair to go with it. Short, boxy-looking, muscular shoulders. He’s strong enough to lift heavy materials and work with stubborn mechanical pieces, but is otherwise pretty lean. Lots of freckles and lightning-like scars all over his body. The smaller ones fade with time and return when he uses his powers. (Later in DR, I headcanon that Jay figures out she’s transfem. However for this ref I’m using pre-realization Jay.)

Nya — Square face and strong features, death glare that could kill a man. Very muscular, especially around her biceps and thighs. Lots of scars and moles. Leftover markings from her time spent as the ocean (she also has sharpened teeth from the incident, like dragon fangs.) Dragon tattoo on her left arm. (Not pictured: small phoenix tattoo on her back.) Wavy hair that resembles ocean waves.

Kai — Resembles his father quite a bit, has similar sharp features. Very handsome. Hairy, jacked, very strong arms, biceps, and shoulders. Scarred hands from wielding his own fire recklessly when he was younger. Same dragon tattoo as Nya on his left arm (he got it to commemorate her sacrifice in Seabound.) Scar over right eye that he got while fighting a Serpentine. Hair that resembles flames. Top surgery scars bc he is transmasc to me.

Lloyd — Classic hero look. Soft-featured and seems very approachable, often makes his enemies think he’s incapable of great anger bc of it. Tall, stocky, jock-like build, broad shoulders and waist. Outgrew half of his team by S8 (they are still upset about this lol). Several scars and stretch marks from how quickly he’s grown over the years but the most prominent are the claw marks on his shoulder from fighting his dad. Mole on his chin bc I like projecting my physical features onto my fave characters. Originally his ears were round like the rest of his teammates but became pointed after the Oni trilogy, he used to be severely self conscious about them but later grew to appreciate them. Top surgery scars bc he is also transmasc to me.

Cole — Had an emo phase in classic-era S1/2, was also pretty slender but later put on a lot of weight. Probably the most relaxed and emotionally in touch than all the rest of his teammates and it shows in his expression and posture. Large build with lots of functional muscle- big arms, big chest, big hands and feet, you get the picture. Very hairy. Scars on his hands and arms and side of his head from his powers and time spent as a ghost. Also has some moles. Has grown his hair out very steadily over the course of his life. Top surgery scars bc he is also, also transmasc to me.

Zane — Originally, Dr. Julien built him pretty short but after S3 Pixal rebuilt him to be taller. Slender build with a strong, flexible core. Broad, sturdy shoulders. Dr. Julien designed him to be light and fast to contrast the Juggernaut, which is slow and tanky. Has similar patterns on his shoulders that Pixal has all over her body, except the dots have been replaced with snowflakes. Very human-looking. Dark eyes. Heart/core is comprised of chronosteel as given to him by the previous Master of Ice.

Pixal — The shortest. Petite. Has a very sweet and gently-looking countenance since her original purpose was to assist. Has an alternative Battle Mode body that is bigger than even Zane. She re-made the Samurai X persona to seem big, quiet, and terrifying to fight. Visible circuitry since she is overflowing with every mechanism thought possible to make her as fully functional as a human being.

Sora — average height with a rectangular build, strong arms because she’s an inventor and mechanic. Using scrapped Imperium tech, she customized the markings on her body to look like whiskers and cat stripes. She used to dye her hair pink but once she grew into her powers it became naturally pink. Two different prosthetic arms, one for practical purposes and another that looks like a cat paw for fun.

Arin — starts out pretty short but grows a lot over the course of his time training to be a ninja. It’s not pictured, but he has a growth spurt post S2 that puts him at a similar height to Lloyd (5’8”). Puts on some functional muscle as he trains. Has a few scars but the two most prominent ones are on his shoulder (from helping Sora with a project, and the other on his clavicle from getting thrown around by Ras in DR S2).

Wyldfyre — short, short gremlin. Sunken facial features. Stocky and top heavy, muscular arms and legs. Despite her height, she could suplex half the cast effortlessly. Very tanned from being out in the sun and heat her entire life. I gave her lots of freckles because I am correct. Hair is still somewhat untamable even after S2P1.

Frak — seems tall, is actually pretty small for a Serpentine. Wiry and flexible, lots of sharp edges that he’s generally very aware and particular about. Tough skin/scales, wears armor to protect his torso. Mixed Venomari and Constrictai. Receives one of Lloyd’s old gi after joining the ninja.

Euphrasia — yes, I know she’s not apart of the cast of new ninja but I wanted to make a reference for her anyway. Tiny and wispy, like a wind sprite. Unassuming and innocent-looking. Used to have shrimp-posture from how anxious and insecure she was about herself but has started to straighten out as she’s grown into her powers. Some freckles :)

Misako — very short but still fit as a fiddle. More the capable of defending herself and doing heavy manual labor, even though she doesn’t really look like it. Had a very stressful life and as a result started getting gray hair early in her years. She doesn’t mind as much now that she’s gotten so old. Has stretch marks and a slight tummy after giving birth to Lloyd.

Wu — can shapeshift to any height, chooses to look short and wide, ultimate sleeper build (this man is muscled as hell). Like Lloyd, he has a classic hero look and also seems approachable and gentle. Post Oni trilogy he keeps his ears pointed to comfort and support Lloyd with his own low self-esteem. In the early seasons, he used to be very slim and almost frail-seeming, but in S9 he grew to add on a lot of weight from subconsciously modeling himself after Cole. Has arthritis and chronic pain.

Garmadon — can also shapeshift to any height but got into a particularly petty and pointless fight with Lloyd about it one day. He chooses to be around the same height as Lloyd bc of it. Both he and Wu have dragon-like tails but prefer to keep them hidden, tho post-Crystallized Garmadon starts to wear his out more frequently. In S1/2 he was remarkably muscled and well-built, S3/4 he became incredibly focused on slimming down to fit the ninja master image, in the Oni trilogy he was reborn as being remarkably powerful and muscled again (to fit Harumi’s subconscious projection of what she thought he would look like.) By Crystallized, he’d let go of many of his responsibilities and reservations and gained a lot of weight. Still muscled, tho not as big as Wu. Has chronic pain due to so many physical transformations and a 1000+ years of service to Ninjago.

Morro — *transfems your ghost* Yeah… anyway, short and bony, strong enough to handle herself tho. Leftover scars after she dissolved into the ocean, occasionally they become translucent and show off her skeleton when she experiences powerful emotions. No longer a wind master but does now have ghost-like abilities.

Echo/Mr.E — essentially looks like a smaller, shorter, and more youthful version of Zane. Used to be very rusted and was always falling apart before Harumi helped rebuild him. Red and black color scheme to contrast Zane’s blue and white one. Has a crack over his left eyebrow after he got crushed by a billboard in Crystallized.

Harumi — Remarkably beautiful by most social beauty standards, deceptively petite. Is actually muscled beneath whatever layers she wears. In DR, she lets go a lot of her old feelings and resentments and begins healing. Cuts her hair and starts wearing warmer colors, tho she still prefers her heavy makeup and jewelry from her biker phase. Both she and Echo have a sort of crystal-like surface to their body after taking on the power of the Crystal King. Always carries a tool belt to help with repairs and odd jobs around the Crossroads.

Akita — tall by Ninjago standards, short by Formling standards. Spent a lot of her formative years struggling after her people were froze in ice, but has been healing post S-11 after being reunited with her brother and people. Her wolf form is much bigger than a regular wolf, making it easier for her to scare off packs of wild animals and tote objects or people around the Never Realm.

Pixal’s battle form in comparison to her usual form and Zane.

[ruushes]

he's proud of them probably

[in-spain-without-an-s]

“And I want you to know that your old friend is always cheering for you, and will be cheering just as loud for everything you do next.”

- and with that the fedal era comes to an end.

[evermoredeluxe]

long live that look on your face 🫶

[alongtidesoflight]

so here's my honest thoughts on dragon age: the veilguard, after ~40 hours of playing. i finished the main quest after having finished all companion quests and major faction quests. just to clear up what content i saw, i played as an elven transmasc rook who is a member of the lords of fortune. he romanced lucanis (although after finishing the game i'm now leaning towards taash). i don't know what's happening in playthroughs that have a different race, gender identity, romance or faction going on.

full spoilers ahead, i mean it. don't read further if you want to avoid them. i don't want complaining about it in my asks.

oh and also, if you're worried because of a few negative reviews online i can comfort you by saying don't give a fuck about a certain big name youtuber who is very much tied to bethesda franchises giving this a negative review. i'll explain why.

i'm starting off with the things i liked

the game looks really pretty. i was worried it wouldn't feel like thedas anymore (with them trying to "focus on northern thedas only" i thought they'd make a clear cut in environmental design. they do and they don't. it's complicated. i'll elaborate on it when talking about the negative stuff). anyway it does. minrathous feels like kirkwall. treviso enchanted me like the winter palace did. the hossberg wetlands reminded me of the hinterlands and a couple other inquisition maps. arlathan looked like... arlathan. the crossroads were different, but familiar. overall i like the way it looks and feels. it's thedas, with a twist. it's a good one, and gives everything a solid but unique feel.

combat is top tier. if you're a hardcore dragon age player you WILL miss the tactical aspect of it for a bit, but i promise you, once you're used to the way the combat works, you will be lapping that shit up. and once you get to ability combos you'll mourn the control you used to have over your companions in battle a bit less

the MAIN quest and its story. i expected worse, way worse. and for a while the game even had me tricked (harr harr you'll get it in a second) it is Really That Much Worse. but holy shit was it good. i walked away satisfied ngl.

your choices have SOLID weight. there's consequences, good AND bad. i got minrathous blighted, ruled over by venatori, and the leader of the shadow dragons ultimately died because of my decisions. i made those at the beginning and throughout the game. he died at the end. DAVRIN died because i didn't expect what i was saying to have that much weight. i thought i was in the clear. he had hero status. well turns out, your choices can still get your companions killed even if you do everything right. i fucking love him. he shouldn't have made that sacrifice just because i told him to do everything it takes once.

the inquisitor, morrigan and dorian being there, surprisingly. there's also negatives to this though, see below.

speaking of companions dying and the inquisitor playing a bigger role: the final quest feels like me2's suicide mission. i was blown away by it and the fact that i got to see the results of all my efforts playing out in front of me.

bioware are NOT trying to redeem solas. they love him as a character yes, but i wasn't forced to see any good in him. he betrays you. he fucked my rook over twice. he fucked him over right back, for good this time (the veil wasn't torn down, i anchored it by binding him to it, he's doomed to uphold it). but solas really lives up to his name as the trickster elven god. rip to all the people who grew really attached to him over the years.

varric died. if you like him that's probably as hard reading it as it was watching it. varric died and the game lies about it until the very end. when the realisation hits, it hurts. but in the very best way.

the amount of care they put into gender expression and trans identities this time around. (i'll add onto this with negative points as well too).

rook feels very much ingrained in the world of thedas. he doesn't ask questions that expose the player to lore through dialogue as if he's stepped foot into thedas for the first time. those conversations feel very solid and good. i hope other faction players got as much joy out of this as i did.

and the things i didn't like and boy there's a lot unfortunately

the music. let's just get that out of the way holy shit. it doesn't feel like it belongs in this universe. it gets so incredibly sci-fi-y at times you'd think it's taken straight from mass effect andromeda. there's not a single song unique to veilguard that i really enjoyed. it broke my immersion, real bad. hearing a busker play the tavern songs from inquisition on a lute right after i killed some venatori with wobbly bass songs playing in the background is just odd. weird tonal shift. don't like it. it's made for people who like flashy light-weight cinema.

tevinter nights is required reading. the podcasts are required listening exercises. the game is so fast paced, especially at the start, that there's no time to introduce you to characters and how much weight their names carry in-game. i would not have known who half these people are if i hadn't skimmed over tevinter nights. i'd care even less about them than i already did. there is no time to get properly attached to them. people will act as if you're talking to a legend personified and you'll be thinking man goddamn which chapter of tevinter night were they in again and what did they do???

there's a weird mismatch with the animations. you'll have beautifully fluid ones, like emmrich casting spells. and then you'll have rook's face animating in the most unnatural manner that's sorta reminiscent of mass effect andromeda's "my face is tired" addison, when their emotions SHOULD be landing with the player rn instead.

i'm not vibing with the art style. sometimes it works. most of the time it doesn't. at points i felt like i was watching tangled.

that also brings me to some of the dialogue. same issue. i am watching frozen. i am watching tangled. someone on the writer's team really likes the adorkable trope. bellara is its victim.

for all the talk about identity, bioware sure doesn't like theirs. the grey warden armor got a redesign again and it just makes them look like a generic army. i hate it lol

in general, i don't like the armor design. the wardrobe/appearances system is fine, but it's just not helping if all the armors are just... kinda bland or downight bad looking? and don't get me started on the lords of fortune armor. that is orientalism personified.

the world states should have been carried over, full stop. i know they said they didn't because they want to separate what happens in the north from what happens in the south, which... i could have lived with that. but the inquisitor sends you letters that keep you up to date on... the south of thedas. you learn that there's a blight again, that people are standing strong but it's difficult, denerim's fallen, the rulers are taking care of it, orlais is fighting and they're successful for a while, etc etc. what's good bioware. i thought we don't care about the south this time around. why are you feeding me so much boring generic information. if you're not gonna show any of it and just write letters, then carrying the world state over should not have been an issue. i have a game dev background. those few lines of code would not have broken your budget or pushed your engine's limits. fuck right off.

this gripe of mine carries over to all the cameos. as a lord of fortune you have to deal with isabela a lot. it's fun. i missed her. you get to go drinking with her and taash and bellara! also my hawke romanced her. she's not mentioned once. they had the opportunity to put a sentence or two about her in there with not a lot of effort, trust me.

when varric dies, all she has is a single line about it. for gold, for fortune, for varric. she only says it if you interact with her on your way to the final push. that's not mandatory.

morrigan is there. kieran isn't. the old god soul that mythal and then solas absorbed? who cares at this point, the gods are dead now and solas is locked away for eternity. i suppose? why is morrigan there. she feels unneeded. i wish they'd just left her down south, at least that way i wouldn't have had to witness her god awful redesign.

dorian at least feels as if he belongs in this story. the shadow dragons are a crucial part to protecting minrathous. he's also weirdly underutilised. isabela and morrigan had more lines than him in my playthrough.

on the topic of romance: bro that was underwhelming. no, genuinely. you know when romance picked up a bit? after the point of no return. i heard maybe two lines of companion banter about it before that. maybe i missed something which i honestly doubt, but romance did not play much of a role in lucanis's storyline. i saved his grandmother as he wished me to (and if you read tevinter nights you know she was rather abusive and their relationship not the healthiest) and told him to focus on his family. a reunified family my rook wasn't even introduced to as a partner at the end of all that.

really, do not buy this game if you're only in it for the romances. others might be better, lucanis's basically gave me nothing. except for an outing (the second coffee date i had with him, it was getting repetitive) all of it played out once i committed to the final quest. the sex scene was a fade to black. annoyingly right after davrin died. if you're looking for well paced and good spice, pick up something else. the sweet talk and the final goodbye were nice though.

for all the good the ever-presence of gender identity does, it is brought up in such a disruptive manner too. it doesn't even play out naturally if you CHOOSE the lines that are meant to be said. hearing the words trans and non-binary in this setting doesn't feel right, and i'm saying this as a trans guy. i think it could have been handled more gracefully. the amount of times my rook went "i'm a MAN" as if he's about to start drumming on his chest and roaring any second now got super nerve-grating. "i'm so glad you're into me... the me who is trans. remember?" just. tell me one trans person who'd talk like that to a person they've grown close with and are trying to romance. this game doesn't handle sexuality well, so all this hey my body might not look like the way you're expecting it to look talk amounts to nothing anyway. i feel about this the way i feel about krem: this is partial exposition to trans experiences... packaged up for cis consumption. the ONLY exception to that is interacting with taash. holy shit was all of that heartwarming and bro did it feel good and natural to talk to them about theirs and rook's gender.

rivain and nevarra are new locations added by veilguard. they're also incredibly underwhelming, small and constricted maps. rivain is a coastline with a few ruins. the hall of valor is a partial ruin nestled into a cave on a beach, with a fighting pit. isabela is there in her skimpy outfit commentating your pit fights. that's it. i'm sorry if you were looking for a bustling pirate cove or whatever. you're not gonna get it. the nevarran crypts btw are a long ass dungeon crawl. that's it.

speaking of maps. i thought people were being dramatic when they said you're gonna be fighting the same enemies on them again and again. i thought they were figure of speeching it. they're not. you WILL fight the same amount of enemies. in the same spot. every time you reload the map. best to stay on a map and clear out the enemies and do as much questing on that map as you can before leaving, because you WILL have to do it all over again once you return.

the three choices i made for my inquisitor didn't matter lol she didn't have to face solas and therefore couldn't stop him at any cost as she had sworn (maybe because my rook tricked solas into binding himself to the veil, there was also an option to fight him. would she have stepped in? who knows). blackwall wasn't mentioned. and either her using a small amount of her forces in the final fight was the reason the civilians of minrathous fared so well..... or it just didn't matter. ultimately i think she had very little impact on anything

[beargyufairy]

I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you

[separatist-apologist]

For Day 7 (AU), I wanted to commission something for the friends I've made since joining the ACOTAR fandom. Who would have known liking one little ship would result in meeting some of my best friends? What we've created in Unhinged Bookclub is so special to me, and I am so endlessly grateful for all of you.

This piece is in collaboration with @areyoudreaminof and her fic, I'll Take You To The Boba Shop

It was also drawn by at zolyna_ who is possibly one of the nicest people I've ever met

@elucienweekofficial

[hollowflight-propaganda]

I think it's time I change my bio to say it's been 11 years since I started to watch Ninjago.....

Gosh. Where's my senior discount on the lego sets, huh?

[wearenotasfarwest]

Kiss, marry, kill (albums edition): Speak Now live album (regular speak now if you don’t listen to that one), holiday collection, and 1989.

Kiss: 1989 (and then think of it in hindsight tangled up with it all night burning it down)

Marry: Speak Now live album (fun fact! I actually went in the Speak Now era, specifically the tour, for my concert outfit

So me and her vibe like that)

Kill: Holiday collection (my opinion on this might change if it gets a re-record/she releases a new Christmas album with her more mature voice but right now it’s just. lol not good.)

[briannabrackens]

who: @mintharaestermont when and where: semi-flashback, following the end of the courts gathering within the westerlands, minty ends up accompanying brianna back to stone hedge. the girls spend some time together, with brianna providing minty a break from the identity politics of kings landing and minty means brianna is spending time with people in stone hedge.

the rustic hallway was still as brianna bracken walked back to her rooms, holding her checkered woolen robe tightly over the frame of her body to avoid the biting cold, her feet bare against the stone floor beneath her feet as she walked. the slap on her cheek continued to burn red, but she barely noticed it as her mind continued to rack with thoughts. her steps were light, and her heart felt heavier still; stone hedge was quiet at this hour, save for the distant sounds of restless wind rattling the shutters, but it felt like it were haunted by a million different ghosts all at once.

she paused briefly at her door, inhaled deeply with shaking both of her hands, and then pushed it open quietly for fear of waking up minty should she be fast asleep.

to her surprise, the faint glow of a candle still lit the room, and lady minthara estermont—minty—sat curled in one of the chairs by the hearth, draped in the blanket that was always assigned to minty's everytime she would come and spend some time in stone hedge. a blanket which had been knitted by the ruling lady many a year ago, having spent time and effort trying to source a dye of sea green specifically for daughter's estermont guest. “oh, yer still awake,” brianna said, blinking as she closed the door behind her. her voice was light, almost airy, though it was clear she was trying. she untied the cloak at her throat, draping it over the edge of a chair before continuing, moving to poke the fireplace.

“didn’t think ye’d be up. ye should sleep, minty. these walls’ll keep ye safe enough, i promise.” she pulled a slight face at her friend in the illumination of the flickering candles, feeling entirely as though she were unraveling; but she were thankful to find someone sitting across the room when she looked there, for usually it was an empty chair. it was then brianna caught notice of the hand print that was clean across her face, and she let out a quiet scoff, waving her hand dismissively. brianna waved a hand vaguely, brushing off the scrutiny. “don’t be frettin’ about this,” she said, motioning towards her cheek.

“mamai's had worse nights, ye know. tonight just… wasn’t a good one. the septas tried, and the maester—well, he’s got a soft touch, but sometimes that only makes things worse. she was havin’ none of it, lashed out like she was fendin’ off the bloody ironborn. caught me before they got her settled.”

her tone remained bright, almost cheerful, though her hands trembled slightly as she untied the laces of her bodice. “this could happen a dozen times in a week, or maybe not at all for months. ye never know, not really. but she’s safe now, and that’s what matters. she’s sleepin’, at least for a while.” her voice hitched on that last bit, but she pressed on quickly, smoothing her skirts as if that could smooth the ache in her chest. they would not wake brianna again, not after this incident; she knew the septas would not do such a thing and would want for her to sleep. “though she knew you. called ye minnie, like when we were girls. it was good, wasn’t it? for a moment, i mean. good for her t’have somethin’ to hold onto. even if it’s not me.”

[rachel-bloom]

it's so funny that i didn't really care for tolerate it up until the eras movie 'cause i could really see and feel the emotions from up close and now miss girl cut it from the set list 2 months before my concert i cant-

[merziggy-printworks]

Not the "official" scans but got the color added to my gorl.

- "Long Live, Ver. 1" ~ 6x9" hand colored linocut

- "Long Live, Ver. 2" ~ 6x9" hand colored linocut

- "You're On Your Own, Kid" ~ 6x9" hand colored linocut

[loud-unknown]

I think the major lesson of my 30s is going to be that things change and relationships evolve, but you can never, ever take loved away. 

[mosaicbrokenhearts013]

Thank you so much @taylorswift for giving me the best experience of my life, I had the time of my life with you 🫶 @taylornation

[obi1archive]

me still trying to use my laptop despite it being broken as hell