#-- and with how the mechanics are designed around it'
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1. Not really
2. Either A Link to the Past or the Oracle duology collectively.
3. Skyward Sword. I just love how she and Link are such good friends. Though Spirit Tracks is a very close second, since that's the game where Zelda has the most actual screentime.
4. That I've played? Probably Breath of the Wild. Unpopular opinion, I know. It's pretty and all, but there's only like eight unique items in the game (counting the Runes), and only like 12 unique enemies. It's a huge world that can be fun to explore, but everything just gets really samey after a while. Plus the story sucks.
5. Three-way tie between Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and Wind Waker, with Ocarina of Time as a close second.
6. Adventure of Link. I've heard the horror stories.
7. Jabu-Jabu's Belly from OoT because it's just such a unique setting (the OoA version is technically the same, but it's both way more annoying and also doesn't feel as much like the actual insides of a creature); Stone Tower from MM because its main puzzle mechanic is just so creative; Goron Mines, Arbiter's Grounds, and Snowpeak Ruins from TP because they feel like actual locations with a specific in-universe purpose rather than just "random place full of monsters and treasure;" the Temple of the Ocean King and Tower of Spirits because I really like the "central superdungeon" idea (honestly don't know why TotOK is so hated; reach new item unlocks shortcuts, so it's not like you have to do the same thing every time); both of the timeshifted dungeons in SS (Lanayru Mining Facility and the Sandship) because I love that mechanic (and also for the same reason as the TP ones; Ancient Cistern from SS because I really like the sharp contrast between the bright and airy "upper world" and the dark, zombie-filled "underworld;" Sky Keep from SS because it ties together everything from all the other dungeons with a very challenging and fun puzzle mechanic. Basically I just think SS had top-tier dungeon design.
8. The Oracle duology, hands-down.
9. The postman from Twilight Princess. I don't know why everyone hates on Navi when this guy exists. WHY IN THE NAME OF DIN CAN'T I SKIP HIM?!!?!
10. Beetle from SS, Magnet Gloves from OoS, Bombchu and Hammer from PH, Ball and Chain from TP, and Double Clawshots from TP/SS.
11. Wind Waker. It's where he's got the most actual character.
12. Probably Twilight Princess. It's the first one I played through entirely on my own.
13. Overall? Much as I dislike the rest of BotW, I can't argue that its character design is top-notch. After that, it's a tie between Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess.
14. As in, which one do I prefer? That depends entirely on context. Design-wise, the Gilded Sword takes the cake, but Biggoron's Sword is probably the most satisfying given that it's the reward for such a difficult side quest, and the Master Sword of course has so much lore tied to it that it's practically another character…then Skyward Sword made that literally true.
15. If Skyloft counts, then that. Otherwise… hmm… the Temple of Time is cool, since it's one of the few constant locations that ties multiple games together.
16. Lorule because it answers the interesting worldbuilding question of "what happens if the Triforce is destroyed?"; the Great Sea because it's somehow exactly the right balance between full and empty to not be boring but still feel like a vast ocean; and New Hyrule because it's just so satisfying to ride the train around (plus that song slaps).
17. Probably Twilight Princess or Majora's Mask
18. Also Twilight Princess or Majora's Mask
19. Twilight Princess or Majora's Mask (three in a row!)
20. Too hard to pick. Not the Switch ones though… for the others, it just depends on which one I'm feeling nostalgic for at the moment.
21. Breath of the Wild
22. So hard to choose… OoT/MM is classic and has a spectacular three-game-spanning arc, but TP, SS, TWW/PH, and ST have so much more personality within their own games.
23. Spiritual Stones. They look the coolest.
24. Either A Link to the Past or A Link Between Worlds. Those had the biggest inventories. Though the Oracle games also both have a pretty unique lineup. TP's are cool but too many of them are sadly underused.
25. Tie between Midna and Spirit Zelda (ST) because they participate the most in the story and actively help Link out instead of just being lore dumps, with Ezlo in second and Tatl in third.
26. Oracle duology collectively, with TMC as a very close second.
27. Probably A Link Between Worlds.
28. The Wind Waker. We need more games where Link actually has a family.
29. Depends entirely on the game
30. That's a hard one… Ballad of the Goddess from SS and themes from both TWW and TP are all very good, but I'd probably go with TWW or SS since those themes are actually incorporated into the game itself instead of just being background music.
31. Jabu-Jabu's Belly from OoA, Sword and Shield Maze from OoS, Ganon's Tower from ALttP, or Eagle's Tower from LA. Those ones are brutal. Though I would say that Mermaid's Cave from OoA is the most annoying with constantly having to go in and out and no easy means of doing so.
32. Probably BotW/TotK. Much as I dislike their gameplay, the map design is top-notch and looks the most like an actual fleshed-out world.
33. Depends. I like when the two are mixed, like in SS.
34. Moldorm in ALttP. He appears in ALBW and LA as well, but is more reasonable in both. Other contenders are Ghirahim III and Demise from SS, Evil Eagle and Dodongo Snakes II from LA, Mothula and Ganon from ALttP, and Knucklemaster and Yuganon from ALBW.
35. Demise from SS, Ganon from ALttP, Yuganon from ALBW, Majora from MM (without the Fierce Deity Mask)
36. Skyward Sword. It filled in a lot of worldbuilding holes. Though LA was also pretty good with the whole dream world thing.
37. Assuming we're talking about normal enemies and not bosses/minibosses… Technoblins from SS are pretty annoying. So are the flying tiles from ALttP, especially in that one room where you can't just cheese them by staying in the doorway, but even with that, it's still really irritating to have to just stand there until they're finished.
38. Dead Hand from OoT
39. ALBW or SS. Maybe TWW.
40. The stupid motorcycle in BotW. And also the Sheikah Slate. Really just everything from there (and TotK) that looks like modern technology. It breaks the fantasy too hard.
41. Song of Healing because it's so moving, and Song of Storms and Saria's Song because I can play them.
42. Bunny Hood. It's the most useful one.
43. In original MM, Zora, because the swimming mechanics are so satisfying. In MM3D, I don't know… the Zora isn't as satisfying, but the other four (counting the Giant's Mask) are pretty much the same.
44. Biggoron's Sword trading sequence from OoT and Gratitude Crystals from SS. The latter is the only one I've never finished, thanks to that stupid harp minigame.
45. Also Biggoron's Sword from OoT, or Maiamais from ALBW. They have the most satisfying rewards and also aren't super annoying.
46. OoT 3D. The dungeon redesigns were AMAZING. It was like a whole entire new game.
47. Skyward Sword
48. I like all of them.
49. Depends on the game, they all have different stuff. Plus they all have different numbers of bottles, which makes the storage capacity more or less valuable of a commodity.
50. OoT Mirror Shield or SS Hylian Shield
🌟 TLOZ asks 🌟
1. Is there a Zelda game(s) that you associate with each season or time of year?
2. Favourite 2D title?
3. Favourite incarnation of Zelda?
4. Least favourite entry in the series?
5. Favourite LOZ soundtrack?
6. Is there a Zelda game that intimidates you/looks too hard?
7. Favourite dungeons?
8. Most underrated Zelda game?
9. Least favourite character in the series?
10. Favourite item?
11. Favourite Ganon characterization?
12. Which Zelda game has the most sentimental value to you?
13. What Zelda game, in your opinion, has the best character design?
14. Master Sword, the Four Sword, Great Fairy's Sword, the Koholint Sword, or the Biggoron Sword?
15. Favourite location within Hyrule?
16. Favourite location outside of/parallel to Hyrule (Termina, Lorule, Holodrum, Subrosia, the Dark World, Labrynna, the Great Sea, etc)?
17. Most atmospheric game?
18. Which Zelda game feels most mature to you?
19. Which Zelda game has the darkest story to you?
20. Favourite 3D title?
21. Prettiest Zelda game?
22. Favourite incarnation of Link?
23. The Pendants of Virtue, the Spiritual Stones, or the Goddess Pearls?
24. Game with most impressive/useful lineup of items?
25. Favourite companion (Midna, Ezlo, Navi, etc)?
26. Favourite handheld title?
27. Game with the best title (Breath of the Wild, Twilight Princess, Link's Awakening, etc)?
28. Most wholesome Zelda game?
29. Favourite item to use (aside from the sword & shield)?
30. Favourite title theme from a Zelda game?
31. Hardest dungeon played?
32. Game with the best map design?
33. Do you prefer puzzles or combat?
34. Game with the hardest boss?
35. Game with the hardest final boss?
36. Which game had the most engaging story, in your opinion?
37. Least favourite enemy?
38. Creepiest enemy?
39. Which Zelda game, in your opinion, had the most satisfying ending?
40. Most out-of-place thing in the series?
41. Favourite ocarina song?
42. Favourite non-transformation mask from Majora's Mask?
43. Favourite transformation mask from Majora's Mask?
44. Hardest sidequest in the series?
45. Best sidequest in the series?
46. Favourite remake/remaster (Ocarina of Time 3D, The Wind Waker HD, Link's Awakening for the Switch)?
47. Most fulfilling Zelda game?
48. Favourite graphical style within the games (cel-shading, realistic, 16-bit, etc)?
49. Favourite thing to keep in a bottle?
50. Favourite shield?
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my palms ran red turning over jagged rocks, thought i'd find some kind of sign; you pressed your mouth to my wound, weren't your bloody lips sign enough?
qh43 x reader: you really have to stop meeting like this.
(warnings: mostly plot, but also blasphemous filth (yes, we're back on the smut train), unprotected penetrative sex (m on f), fingering, hair pulling (i haven't changed), choking (i really haven't changed), descriptions of self-doubt and shame and all my typical stuff. mostly tension building (10k words worth), general debauchery. please be warned, don’t read if you’re not 100% sure.)
(a/n: oh my god, favorites. i hadn't read this one in so long, so thank you for allowing me an avenue to rediscover it. i'm so happy you're getting to rediscover it now, too. if you want a song to listen to that i think goes with this story really well, give BONES! by girly teeth club a try :) i do genuinely believe that this story was a real turning point for me, and it holds a very special place in my heart because of that (i had the line then who was i praying to? well, who answered? taped to my computer for a long, long time. personal favorite of mine). i hope you enjoy this one again, and also hello to the followers and readers who have no idea what i'm talking about when i bitch and moan about my old account. i see you, and i love you, and i'm so eager to hear what you think. enjoy mechanic qh43 and all of the mythical divine powers that he inspires within me. to the seven people who care, more ol and rus coming momentarily. sunday is now my designated tumblr day, so if you want to chat, sunday is your best bet. i love you and your snakes! be kind to yourself).
like most all-consuming things, it started with something insignificant.
if your tail light had never gone out during the summer before your third year at university, perhaps none of it would have ever happened. part of you wanted to believe that some determined power would have guided the two of you together no matter what, but most of you thought the powers of the world to be nonchalant at best, hostile at worst.
regardless, your right tail light went out a few weeks before school started, and despite your intense unwillingness to spend money on your car, your mom insisted that you get it fixed.
"that family auto shop will do it quickly," she suggested, "the one a few streets down from school."
so here you were, standing uncomfortably in the lobby of the mechanic's, less than soothed by the harsh noises that echoed through the small garage.
you cleared your throat, attempting to get the attention of the teenage receptionist, probably the daughter or cousin of the owner, currently on her phone.
she looked up immediately, smiled wide, full of braces and friendliness. "sorry," she said, only a little guilty to be caught on her phone. "how can i help you?"
you smiled right back at her, immediately put at ease by her presence. "my mom called earlier," you said. you went to continue, but were enthusiastically cut off.
"miss tail light!" she exclaimed, to which you laughed and nodded. "have a seat," she urged, "quinn should be out in a minute, and that's a quick fix."
you nodded and sat down, then crossed your legs as you waited, bouncing one foot against your other calf. you looked at your hands, twisted one ring around your finger.
"you're the tail light?" a low voice called from the lobby entrance, forcing your gaze up from your hands to meet a pair of eyes that somehow swam with both steel and uncertainty.
this newcomer, quinn, supposedly, confirmed by the embroidered patch on his breast pocket, seemed to be immediately off-put by your matching gaze, as he shoved his wide hands in the pockets of his coveralls and blinked several times, a bit too fast.
his confusing mannerisms, combined with his curious combination of handsomeness and beauty, forced a small smile to your face as you stood up.
he really was pretty like you had never quite seen before, tall but not menacingly so, broad across the chest in a way that just looked warm, his coveralls hanging off of him, drawing attention to his frame, his thighs, his arms.
his hair was messy, curling only slightly at the tops of his ears, his cheekbones and jawline so, so sharp, but his nose and mouth softly curved.
you cleared your throat again when you realized you were probably staring.
"i suppose i am," you said, answering his question, approaching him and the door, by extension.
he gave a forced nod before turning to leave, urging a fluid reaction from the muscles in his neck and shoulders, which you pretended not to notice as you walked behind him.
in a choppy, sudden motion, he made to hold the door open for you, arm extended but gaze averted.
"thank you, quinn," you said, trying out his name, surprised to find how natural it felt on your tongue, something like a hymn a past-life you must have sang with unmatched conviction.
he seemed just as surprised as you, practically tripped over his own feet before quickly recovering. you bit your lip to stifle a laugh.
"should only take a second," he said as he crouched down next to your car, his voice a bit rougher than before, pulling a couple of tools and bulbs from his many pockets.
"take your time," you said, sitting down nearby as he got to work, and you meant it, feeling a somewhat shameful urge to just watch him. just look at him.
you fumbled to distract yourself, settling on looking interested in your phone. in reality, it took real effort to keep your eyes down, away from him, when you felt as if he emitted some kind of magnetic force suited only to you.
it felt like an eternity, but it took all of ten minutes, a couple swift motions, and he was done, rising again to his full height and turning to face you.
you allowed yourself to meet his eyes and it felt like a heaving exhale. "all done?" you asked, rising as well, willing brightness into your voice.
he nodded in affirmation, and you could have pouted. a man of few words, it seemed, and how you wished he would give you a few more.
he wiped his hands with a rag, and you refused to let your eyes follow the motion. "so i should pay..." you started.
he nodded towards the lobby. "you can pay with bean," he said, gruff.
you grinned right at him, and anyone else would have seen his gaze soften from stone to molten rock. "bean?" you asked.
the slightest smile took over his mouth. "my cousin," he said, slowly, "at reception."
you hummed, comforted by his sudden ease. "well then," you said, "i'll go check out with your cousin bean."
"i'll walk you," he blurted out, a blush coming to tint the tops of his ears in a positively dreamy sort of way.
so you walked the several steps back to the lobby together, the silence so comfortable you could have sighed, fallen asleep wrapped up in it.
already you felt some sense of loss creeping in, knowing you were probably never going to see him again, knowing this was all you were going to get. just a couple of glances and words and blushes, that's as far as this would go. and it made a lot of sense, but logical reason grew over your hazy, momentary crush like ivy on a brick building.
he held the door open for you again, and as you walked past him this time you looked up into his eyes. stone and steel and ivy.
you thanked him again.
"quinn?" came that delightfully girlish voice from behind the desk, this time intensely confused. "what are you doing?"
he stood in the door frame, his swallow almost cartoonish. "just making sure she checks out okay," he mumbled, not quite looking anyone in the face.
the girl smiled so wide, you could see she had chosen to make her braces purple last time she visited the orthodontist. "you've never done that before, is all," she observed with all the subtlety of a volcanic eruption.
was that pink tint creeping past his ears to his neck, now?
"do it plenty," he muttered, less than convincing and more to himself than anyone else.
the girl shot you a knowing look before turning to her cousin again. "if you say so," she relented. "miss tail light is in good hands with me, now, so you're all set, mr. random acts of kindness."
quinn muttered something under his breath before making to leave, embarrassment still flushing just under his collar.
the knowledge that this was it, this was all this would ever be, that's what made you reach a hand out to lightly grasp his forearm, stopping him where he stood.
you swore some kind of divine warmth rose to meet your hand.
he looked down at where your fingers met his arm before meeting your gaze. molten, yet again. he didn't move, didn't dare to scare off your touch.
"thank you again, quinn," you said, just to him.
a pause charged by meaning sparked between you both.
maybe some minuscule fraction of your heart feared he would push you away and roll his eyes, mumble something about personal space. or maybe that disgust would flood his lovely gaze, and he would say something much meaner.
you should never have touched him, you scolded yourself, stupid, desperate, foolish girl. you began to lift your hand away when his rough voice became a whisper, just for you.
"anything, doll," he said. and then he walked away, leaving his words to rattle around in your head like the whirring noises around the garage.
you paid, laughed playfully with the young receptionist as she insisted she had never seen her cousin so embarrassed, and especially not so bashful.
"i'm sure that's not true," you said, trying in vain to force your sky-rocketing hopes back to earth.
"oh, it is," she said as you made to leave, giving you a big smile and a wave as you bid her goodbye.
as you drove back home, those tendrils of reason crept back again, began to suffocate the dreamy romance that had settled like a glittery mist in your head.
you gave a single exhale, breathing out any unrealistic expectations. you'd probably never see him again, you admitted to yourself, and you tried to convince yourself that you were fine with it.
and so you let the image of steel and stone and ivy become a phantom in the back of your mind, along with the scorching solidity of his forearm underneath your delicate palm.
you'd never see him again, you believed.
in theory, you knew you could have had one of your friends find him on social media, it probably wouldn't have been too hard. a first name, an occupation, they'd tracked down fleeting flings and past crushes with much less information to go off of before.
but you didn't like the idea of interference, much preferred the way he looked in your memory to the fear that he would be someone very different online, that he would be someone different than the person that now existed exclusively in your head.
you were never supposed to see him again, and yet you did, and just as you had almost forgotten the way his shoulders moved when he walked, too.
three weeks later, just before you went back to school, you were eating dinner outside with your family at the country club they belonged to. you had been there maybe twice in the last couple of years, as your mom worked long hours and your dad only really used his membership for golf.
now, though, sitting outside, overlooking the course, in the pleasant air of the late summer, you were glad you were here, enjoying these last few moments with your family before you began your third year.
you were laughing at a joke your mom had made when you heard someone close by call out, "that's my marker, quinn!"
something distant fluttered in your stomach as you registered the name, tried so hard to not care if it was him or not. trying so, so hard to not care, but you cared so much it felt as if you might have willed him into existence yourself, wanted him enough that even the uninterested powers were forced to relent with a bored sigh.
so, in truth, you knew it was him even before you turned and focused on the hole just below the patio.
you knew it was him, and yet you were wholly unprepared for the way your head spun when you registered his familiar figure.
as if compelled by your gaze, or by something else worth worshipping, he turned, too, and there you were, staring at each other. did he recognize you the way you did him? the way you recognize your first lover's cologne? the way you recognize what's waiting behind a door with a scalding doorknob?
but then he took a hand off of his club and gave a timid wave, and you felt your body relax as you waved back. he paused for a moment as if in thought, then motioned towards him, silently asking you to come down.
"who is that?" your mother asked, not critical, only curious.
"my mechanic," you answered, "be right back, promise."
so, even though it was probably (definitely) against the rules, you made your way down to the impeccably cut grass, holding your shoes in one shaky hand.
you waved again as you approached him at the edge of the green, his friends gathered closer to the hole, talking animatedly amongst themselves.
he tilted his head and gave you a small smile, which gave you wings. a smile, and you hadn't even done anything!
"hi, quinn," you said, getting your first good look at him up close, and this time not in coveralls. this time in a polo that brought out his eyes and shorts that had you straining not to stare at his thighs.
"doll," he greeted, that ghost of a smile still on his full lips. "thought that was you."
heavy uncertainty suddenly settled between the both of you. what were you supposed to say? what was he supposed to say? what do you do with time that feels stolen?
"didn't think i'd see you again," you landed on, then physically cringed at yourself. "not that i was thinking about you, or anything," you added, then pursed your lips in a line.
awesome save.
he let out a laugh, though, and it shook his shoulders and lit up his face in a way that made it impossible to regret your rambling.
his laugh made him look human in a way he hadn't really, before, at the garage. it stripped back all the flowery expectations your imagination had buried him in and set him down here, in front of you, a real person.
a real person, who, in this summery light, was much more unabashed and generous with his smiles. his eyes had a softness to them that you hadn't noticed before.
"i wish you had, then," he said, in that deep, low, voice with a confidence that didn't quite suit him, like he was just trying it on.
it almost made you drop your shoes, regardless.
"yeah?" you asked, tilting your head and letting your satisfaction drench your face like sunset light.
he gave a little nod.
"c'mon, huggy!" one of his friends called. what do you do with time that feels stolen?
he looked back at them and his jaw clenched, for a second.
you knew you had to be the one to walk away, or it would haunt you like some ancestral debt.
"maybe i'll see you again, then, quinn," you said, your tone not conveying the desperate hope you felt.
he looked you up and down, amusement alight in his eyes. it seemed his nervous demeanor existed only in his coveralls. "you willing to take your chances on a 'maybe,' doll?"
were you?
you silently begged those distant forces to prove your hopes were not futile, but you didn't really believe that. you were headed to school in just two days, and who knows where he was headed, this mysterious mechanic who liked to golf and had eyes like a deity.
you knew you were on stolen time, and that this, again, was as far as this would ever go.
"we're going!" his friends called.
"i hope i see you again, quinn," you amended, already feeling a sense of loss again. but you had to be the one to walk away, so you began to.
his face was unreadable, some mixture of disappointment and interest and knowing.
"think about me some more this time, yeah? until you see me again?"
your smile glowed. "if 'm honest, quinn, that'll be hard," you said, thinking about how he had been a constant in your mind for the last couple of weeks. you leaned into your flirtatious side since you were both moving apart. it was always easiest when you were on the way out.
he ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek. "try extra hard for me, would you, doll?"
and for a moment, time seemed to ooze like amber. a blink felt like eternity, like you were both suspended in an hourglass.
"promise," you said. it came out like a whisper, but it felt like you screamed it across an open expanse.
and so you parted ways a second time, practically daring the universe to stop you from meeting again.
do whatever you want, universe, you seemed to say, i don't care! i'm fine with the story ending here!
oh, sweetheart, the universe seemed to say, yawning, barely looking at you, then why do you clutch at the book until your fingers bleed?
you could have scowled.
and, just as he wanted, and just as you were afraid of, he was there, in the back of your mind, for several weeks into the school year.
everything started smoothly. you were happy to see your friends again, to be living with them. classes started well. you went out when you wanted to. you began your regular job, tutoring other students in classes you had already taken. it was nice to see the students you had helped out last year, to continue helping them.
teachers referred you to help students who were struggling in their classes all the time, so it wasn't anything significant when one set up a time for you to meet at the library with someone who wasn't quite getting intro to calculus.
it was significant, however, when you opened up the reserved study room door to see quinn sitting at the table, textbooks out in front of him.
so significant, actually, that it genuinely scared you. "jesus," you muttered, exhaling and placing a calming hand over your heart.
he looked up when he heard the door open, and you were frozen in place.
this is what you wanted, right? the universe probably asked, bored. now will you leave me alone?
"i was not expecting you," you admitted, willing your heart back to beating normally.
you couldn't read him, yet again. and yet again, you felt as if you had wanted him hard enough that even the fibers of the universe were annoyed enough to comply.
ugh, they probably said to each other, just give that desperate fool what she wants! i'm tired of hearing her pleas!
but you could have sighed at how beautiful he looked, this time different again - sweatpants and a t-shirt and messy hair. soft looking and sleepy after a day of class and whatever else.
"yeah?" he asked, although he hadn't expected you either. he wasn't shocked the way you were, though. only pleasantness played across his full features. "who were you expecting?"
not you, you wanted to say. things just don't work out like this for me. "i didn't know you went here," you said, simply.
"i didn't know you were a tutor," he replied, leaning back in his chair.
i didn't know your smile gets lopsided when you're tired, you thought to yourself. you could never forget that, now.
"safe to say we know very little about each other, doll," he added, as if he could hear your thoughts.
and he was right - you hadn't asked him anything about himself the last two times you saw him, and he didn't know anything about you. how easy would it have been at the course to say you were going to the local university in a couple of days. why had you not?
why had you relinquished control so easily?
it practically pained you to think about that, just as it was practically painful to look at his face head on, eyes weary with sleep yet bright with amusement, so you decided to solve both of those problems.
"well," you said, sliding into the seat next to him at the table, excruciatingly aware of your closeness, "what do you know about derivatives?"
he gave a huff of a laugh. "probably even less," he said.
you gave him a smile and started to go over your notes with him. the more you spoke, and the deeper you got into the topic, the easier it was to be close to him.
you were still hyperaware of his warmth, his presence, his beauty, his being, but you could do this. getting lost in your purpose here instead of getting lost in him.
after about an hour of you explaining derivatives, you looking at your notes, and him looking at you, you shut your textbook.
"i think that's good for a first session, hm?" you asked, turning to face him and hugging one knee to your chest.
he held your gaze as if studying your face. it felt like being center stage, under a white hot spotlight.
he spread his legs out and reached his arms up, stretching after sitting in the same position for a while. you had to look down at your hands.
"five more minutes?" he asked like a kid begging for an extended bedtime. only now he was asking for more time with you.
you scrunched up your nose, which made him smile, a bit. "can i ask you a question, quinn?" you asked. "since we don't know anything about each other."
"only if i get one, too," he answered.
you thought carefully, flexed your hand on your knee as your gaze met his sleepy one. "it's not that late," you started, "why are you so tired?"
he laughed again, making your chest sing. "busy day," he answered, "had two classes, practice, and a lift."
and as he elaborated you added to the carefully protected vault in your mind of information you knew about him. he played hockey for the team here, he was a defensemen, he was always busy.
"my turn," he said after he was done, low like a secret.
you nodded, forced away the flush his tone alone was able to pull from you.
"did you keep your promise?" he asked.
of everything he could have said, you were least expecting that. of course you knew what promise he was referring to immediately. of course it felt like something abominable to tell him the truth.
suddenly the space between the two of you felt much too little, much too dangerous. so small that you could see each of his eyelashes, he could see the way your eyes dropped to his mouth for a second.
there was something in his eyes that surprised you, though. there was a trace of those nerves you had seen in him that first day - that instability and uncertainty. he wanted you to say yes, you realized. he wanted it so, so much.
"of course i did, quinn," you soothed, leaning forward onto your knee just a bit. it was always easiest on the way out. "did you have any doubts?"
did he let out a breath? his silence spoke for him. still, you had to be the one to walk away. you couldn't afford any more ghosts.
"same time next week?" you asked, gathering your things.
"not gonna leave it to chance this time, doll?" he asked, getting his things together too, but in a lazy sort of way. his hands moved slowly, reluctantly.
you tried not to stare at them.
you gave him a last look before you left.
"do you want to leave it to chance?" you asked, genuinely.
ugh, chance seemed to say, can't you just do it yourself?
his molten gaze dripped over you like honey. "no," he decided, "no, i wouldn't say that's at the top of my wishlist."
you didn't ask what was.
so, each tuesday night, you tutored him in calculus. and each tuesday night, you learned more about him, and he learned more about you.
you learned about how he got into auto mechanics (he never grew out of his childhood truck phase), why he liked golf (really just an excuse to talk with his friends for a couple of hours), what was so special about hockey (it felt like he could see things that others just couldn't). his favorite candy (sour skittles), his favorite color gatorade (red), his favorite t-shirt (a worn in concert shirt from high school).
but you also learned that he got shy when you complimented him, that he ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek when he was about to say something that made you blush, that he got more confident as he got to know you.
his nerves only came out when he grew unsure, and you did your best to make him so, so sure.
and he did get to know you. how you got into your major (data analysis was the family business), why you applied yourself so vigorously in your classes (you didn't know any other way), all about your close friends and family. your favorite soda (cherry coke zero), your favorite frat (pike, only because a couple of your friends were dating brothers there, and they had the goofiest themes), your favorite snack (pretzel goldfish).
he was nothing if not observant, too, so he noticed that you had a special smile for when he got a question right, and that you only wore your hair up when you were extra tired, and that, towards the end of the session, when you were caught off guard, you would lean a little closer to him without realizing.
that was his favorite. when you would lean into his space, just a little more, as if you were pulled towards him by a magnetic force.
and each session, you made him a little more confident, and he made you blush a little bit more. until you both felt utterly comfortable with each other, like you had known each other for ages.
well, as comfortable as you could feel with a person who made you feel like every inch of your skin was on fire. as comfortable as you could feel with someone whose voice made your throat go dry, whose hands made you stutter, whose mannerisms made your stomach flutter.
one tuesday night, late into a session where he had told you he had passed his quiz with flying colors, he twisted his pen in his hand.
"you know, doll," he started, "you should come to a game sometime."
you looked up. "one of your games?" you asked, searching his steely eyes for meaning.
his lip quirked. "yes, one of my games."
here, he might as well have said, have a little more of me.
"unless you don't want to," he added to your silence. "which would also be fine. i don't want to force-"
you stopped him with a hand on his forearm, transporting you both back to that first day. did you imagine him relaxing into your touch, this time?
"i'd love to come," you said, looking him square in the face.
"good," he replied, content.
but nothing could have prepared you for what awaited you that friday night, standing with your friends in the student section of the rink you had never been to.
"how have we never been to a hockey game?" one of them asked, looking around at the crowd.
"basketball's just better," another said, although, to be fair, she was on the club basketball team. "what the hell is icing, anyways?"
"we never had a reason to, i guess," your best friend said in a teasing tone. you shot her a look, to which she raised her hands in surrender. "hey, no judgement," she said, and you laughed.
as soon as quinn was on the ice, though, he had your complete and undivided attention. he skated with a mesmerizing fluidity, hit with a concrete, undeniable kind of force. and he was right - he did see things no one else could see, made connections that you, nor anyone on the ice, could predict until they were already completed.
he was all over the ice, all over this space, he was everywhere. and you were transfixed.
walking back to the house with your friends, they noticed. of course they did.
"oh god, i know that look," one said.
"this is gonna be trouble," another added. was this trouble? was trouble when everything someone did felt like some great treasure you had discovered? was trouble this kind of fire, of comfort, of excitement, of rest?
you shook your head. "calm down, guys," you said. "it's not that serious."
"right," someone said. you didn't believe yourself, either.
"what did you think of the game?" he asked the following tuesday after you had covered enough material to be satisfied.
you were so close to him now, it probably would have been easier to just share a chair. so close you could feel the warmth radiating off of him, could all but feel his chest against your back.
"what did i think of the game?" you repeated lazily.
you could hear his smile in his voice. "yes, doll."
you hummed. how honest could you be, here? what could you get away with?
and maybe it was your closeness to him that made you bold. maybe it was the heat you saw in his eyes that had you leaning your head on his shoulder and looking up at him. you felt his breath rumble through him and into you.
the air sparked.
"thought you were incredible, quinn," you said honestly. "like nothing i've ever seen."
his exhale was shaky as he peered down at you. "yeah?" he asked.
"mhm," you hummed, your body buzzing with his contact, the most you had ever had. something unspoken settled between you like dust.
"you would come again, then?" he asked, hopeful but drowsy.
you couldn't help but smile, a bit, gaze up at him through your lashes. "think i'd have a hard time saying no to you, if 'm honest."
something like wonder misted across his heated gaze. "i like knowing you're there," he said. "like knowing you're thinking about me."
dangerous desire swirled around the two of you, melting your gaze and blurring the lines.
things don't work out like this for you, a voice said, bitter and mocking, drawing the lines up again, sturdy and menacing.
you cleared your throat, lifted your head from his shoulder. if you could look at him, you would have seen that uncertainty swimming in his eyes again, along with something like hurt.
but you couldn't look at him. at the drowsy slouch of his shoulders, the rugged line of his jaw, the glossy want that practically dripped down his face like starry tears.
i'm always thinking about you, you wanted to tell him. i'm sorry.
but you gathered your things, stood up. "i should go."
he was silent for a moment, looked you up and down, gave a small sigh. "okay, doll," he conceded. "on one condition."
you scrunched up your nose in confusion.
"you agree to come golfing with me tomorrow," he said in a completely satisfied tone. "then, you can go."
a million excuses flooded onto your tongue.
"i'm busy tomorrow," you tried, your voice coming out tight.
he waved that off lazily. "me too," he said, something like a smirk growing on his pink lips. "but we're both free at four, so let's plan on that. next?"
you sputtered.
"but i don't know how to golf," you tried.
he ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek. trouble.
"don't worry, doll," he offered. "i'll go real slow for you."
you flushed, almost walked into the doorframe, quickly decided you needed to leave immediately, if you wanted to maintain any level of mystery or dignity.
"fine," you said, already on your way out. it felt like flames were nipping at your heels, biting at your nose. "i'll come."
his smirk deepened, a different look on him. "don't put up much of a fight, do you, doll?"
"i'm leaving," you choked as you walked out, turning to face him one final time. "what if i just didn't want to come?"
he seemed to ponder this for a moment. "i think," he started, "if you really didn't want to come, it wouldn't make you blush like this to say so."
he didn't ask you to think about him, but by the look on his face, you knew he could tell he didn't have to.
so, the following day, you found yourself on the course with quinn.
a terrible, terrible idea, really.
especially considering the want that filled his gaze when he first saw you, catching on your legs before returning up to your eyes.
"showed up for me, did you, doll?" he asked, a hope you recognized tinting his voice a shimmery pink.
you rolled your eyes, but smiled. "you knew i would."
"thank you anyways," he replied, and his genuineness, his honesty, his straightforwardness, it all made you melt. made you want to know what his smile felt like against your neck, what his hands felt like in your hair.
so, as you both made to tee off, you turned to him. "can you help me with my swing, please?"
his gaze softened. liquid steel. "sure, doll," he said, then lined up next to you and explained his way through it.
you bit your lip. "i'm a hands on learner," you said, which was a lie. "i think i need you closer." that part wasn't.
he didn't adopt a cocky smirk, like so many would have. he didn't lean into your act, didn't pounce on the opportunity to show his superiority. he only approached you from behind and reached his arms around you to grip your driver with you, his hands on top of yours, warm and rough.
you could feel each breath he took in your back, felt the solid plane of his chest on your shoulder blades.
"close enough?" he all but whispered into the space between your neck and your shoulder.
something sinful must have possessed you then. "for now," you breathed out.
he went through a swing with you, slow and fluid. you weren't paying attention, not really, but how could you, when he was just so, so close? was this dazed sensation, was that what he felt when you touched him, that first day? or later, in your study room?
but, of course, the swing was soon over, and he reluctantly retreated off to the side.
"your turn, doll," he said.
you took a breath to shake the phantom of his embrace away, then teed off - beautifully straight and hard, arcing through the air like a physics textbook problem.
you looked at him to find a knowing, teasing look on his face. he ran a hand through his hair, displacing the curling ends as he gave a quick laugh.
you smiled. "call me a natural," you offered, shrugging.
"oh yeah?" he said, tilting his head. "how about i call you a liar?"
you leaned forward onto the end of your driver, grin widening. "how about i call you gullible?"
he shook his head, let out a playful scoff. "like you'd ever have to trick me into touching you."
the rest of the round went by quickly, both of your guards down, lost in conversation and high on each other. too soon, it was over.
it was this realization that urged you to act uncharacteristically - in that, you acted according to what you truly felt.
"can i see you tomorrow?" you asked him as he loaded your clubs into the trunk of your car. you didn't cringe as much as you would have a few weeks ago.
he wiped his hands on his shorts, looked at you with something that looked like relief. "think i'd have a hard time saying no to you," he parroted. his ability to remember things about you warmed you from the inside out.
"meet me at the sig nu party tomorrow?" you asked hopefully. "maybe you can meet some of my friends?"
he looked truly touched. "some of the guys are going already since we don't have a morning lift on friday," he said, "so you could meet some of them, too, if you want."
you nodded, flushed with expectation. "see you then," you said, making to get in your car. "and yes, i'll think about you."
his smile as you shut your door was something of dreams.
sigma nu was not one of your favorite frats. their basement was especially dirty looking, their brothers were on the sketchier side, and the never seemed to have enough alcohol to make it through the night.
but one of your friends was talking to one of the brothers, who also played club basketball. so you and the rest of your group were going for moral support. and also because no one else was throwing. it was only a thursday.
you were nervous. you had only just begun to accept that you were really, really into quinn, and you had only just begun to accept that he might, possibly, probably, be just as into you.
it still didn't make much logical sense to you. when had it ever been so simple?
don't talk about logical sense around me, chance would say, that bitch knows what she did.
when you first saw quinn across the crowded room, chance and logical sense and all those divine powers, they all melted away.
it was just him. his hair was messy and his gaze was relaxed and the lights made it look like his face was glowing as he laughed with his friends.
but the crowd got the better of you, for a little while. you danced with your friends, politely escaped several "so, what's your major?" conversations, and actually spent a while talking to your friend's new talking stage.
as you laughed at something, you were internally surprised. this guy seemed perfect for your friend - they shared so many interests, and he was able to laugh at himself easily, which was something that was at the top of her priority list.
after a while of learning enough about him to approve of him graduating from the talking stage, you looked up. of course your gaze was immediately drawn to quinn, closer than you had seen him last.
closer, and yet farther than he had ever been, because he was leaning against the wall, talking to another girl.
you couldn't really see the girl, but it wouldn't have really mattered. it wasn't about her. she was just a girl talking to a guy at a party. a guy who was, in all technical senses, single and available.
it was more so about him, and how close he was to her, how he leaned down to hear her, meaning she could probably smell his all-but-worn-off cologne.
your grip tightened on your red cup as you swallowed.
before, quinn had only ever been yours, because even when you doubted that he could ever return your feelings, he had never given you concrete evidence that he was interested in anyone else. so even though he hadn't been yours, he had been almost yours, probably going to be yours, or something like that.
but here he was, giving you concrete proof that he existed to others, too, that other people could be interested in him and he could be interested back.
and of course that had always been the case. how could you have been so narcissistic? of course people would foster crushes on him, like you did, and of course he was bound to reciprocate eventually, to someone.
you had let yourself believe that you were the center of the world for a moment, of his world, and you hated that.
so, honestly, it was barely even about quinn. this struggle, this was about you.
but if you stripped back everything external, oh, how downright jealous you felt right then.
so jealous that you had to leave, that you couldn't watch anymore. when you got home, you shut the door and exhaled.
what did i tell you? that bitter voice said, things just don't work out that way for you.
you could have growled, now, at how lazy, how self-centered that sounded.
don't look at me, chance would have said, hands raised in surrender, this was all you.
he was just talking to another girl, logical reason would say, that doesn't mean he's not interested in you. you have what, a couple months of history?
and of course reason would be right. of course, you knew, deep down, you didn't have to let this consume you.
but now a tendril of doubt had woven its way into your heart. if you had been so misled by your own ego before, how could you tell if any of it was real? how could you trust yourself to know if this wasn't much more to you than it was to him?
time. you needed some time.
thankfully, that was doable. you went home for break on friday after class, and planned to stay there for the week.
so you stayed home, caught up with your parents, ignored his numerous texts.
it hurt to do so, but you told yourself you needed some distance.
which wasn't that hard, considering he was playing a series of games across the country. you still put on his games though, which your parents noticed.
"didn't even know we got this channel," you dad observed one night as you watched quinn stickhandle around a sloppy winger.
"when did you get into hockey?" you mom asked, never critical. "we could go see a game sometime, if you want."
you started to settle down a bit, really enjoyed the time at home. before you knew it, though, break was almost over.
"sweetheart," you mom called to you on your second to last day, "would you mind taking the car in?"
you were skeptical. "why?"
"they just called," she explained, "said we're due for an urgent oil change."
you thought it was weird that they would call for that, but quinn was supposedly still away, so you figured it wouldn't be that much of an issue.
"sure," you responded. "i'll bring it in now."
you knew it was a trap as soon as you opened your car door at the garage.
the young receptionist approached you quickly with a guilty smile.
"hi, miss bean," you said, trying to gauge what she was about to say.
"look," she rushed, "i didn't want to, and i'm thought the plan was stupid, and i'm sure you're ignoring him for good reason-"
you sighed, knowing what was coming. having walked right into it. "i'm not, really," you stopped her, then felt the need to clarify. "it's not really a good reason."
"what is it, then?" that low voice asked from your side, and everyone else disappeared.
just him, standing there, looking the same as you had last seen him, but so, so different.
the same, because he was just as lovely as you last recalled. was it insensitive to say that he wore his weariness beautifully?
so different, because he just looked so tired. his coveralls did little to hide the slight slouch in his shoulders. a subtle stubble now shadowed his face, making his jaw sharper. and his eyes. that steely stone that had occupied your mind all this time - it was cracking, desperate for something to hang on to.
"just needed some distance," you mustered. you were jarred by his appearance, by being close to him again, just the two of you.
"yeah?" he looked you up and down, that desperate disappointment now running down your figure. there was no malice in his tone. "why, doll? so you can say you were right?" you could have hissed. "so you can go on knowing everything went exactly as you told yourself it would?"
things like this don't work out for you. who had been telling you that, again?
you sucked on your teeth, had no idea what to say. what do you say to someone that sees right through you? the pause settled like sludge. "i thought you were away," you eventually whispered, ignoring his question.
he ran a hand through his hair, let all his grief flood into his eyes. "and i thought it would be a lot harder for you to forget me," he said, "so i guess we're both at a loss."
you took a step forward, then stopped yourself, almost dizzy. "you actually think i would forget you?" you breathed, practically choking on your words.
he scoffed. "what was i supposed to think?" he rubbed his palm against the back of his neck. "i think everything is going well when you ask me to come to this party, then you spend the whole time talking to some other guy-"
your brow furrowed before you understood. "my friend's new boyfriend," you interrupted. to his confusion, you clarified. "i was talking to my friend's boyfriend."
he blinked, registered this information, appeared a bit lighter. "regardless," he sighed, "you were supposed to be talking to me, doll."
"hold on," you said, the memory of jealousy seeping into your bloodstream, "you were talking to someone else, too, quinn." you crossed your arms, images flashing in your mind of him leaning down, his ear much too close to her lips. "and i don't think that was your friend's girlfriend, unless they're trying out an open relationship."
"i just-" he gave a frustrated gesture, looked down at his feet for a moment.
"you what?" you pressed.
he sighed, now flushed. "i just wanted you to look at me."
you both were silent for a beat as you processed his words. you exhaled, took a few steps until you were right in front of him. his eyes flickered down to your mouth, took the long way back up.
you took his face in your hands, his stubble rough under your palms. you knew you didn't imagine the way he softened into you touch.
"surely by now you know you're all i think about," you said, an offering. like some sacrifice at a long-abandoned altar, so terribly desperate, shamefully honest.
so terrible, the way he grabbed at your hip, pulled you forward, against him. so desperate, the way his other hand twisted into your hair.
so shameful, how he captured your lips with his, all brute emotion, sleepy resignation, a million pleas of "look at me" answered with "i never looked away."
so honest, how he just barely whimpered into your mouth when you tightened your grasp on his jaw, kissed him harder. he pulled so slightly on your hair, you slid a hand down to his chest, gathered the collar of his coveralls in your first, trying to get him impossibly closer.
here, you both were practically screaming, here, have some more of me.
someone whistled across the garage. you pulled away from each other with a jump, having gotten a little carried away. quinn flushed on the tips of his ears and shot the culprit a look, which made you let out a light laugh into his chest.
the little rumble made him look down at you, wrap his arms around your waist and clasp them on the small of your back.
you stayed like that for a moment, just looking at each other. stone, molten.
"i have this thing next week," he said eventually, barely anything more than a rasp. "a formal for the team."
you nodded, reached up, twisted a strand of his hair around your finger.
"come with me," he asked, soft. "please."
you didn't have to think about it. "yes."
and so, about a week later, you found yourself at the hockey formal, an event you hadn't known existed a couple of months ago.
the past week had been blissful, but frustrating - you both were so busy, you with schoolwork and tutoring, him with the team. so much so that you could barely see each other outside of your scheduled tutoring session.
needless to say, you were very much looking forward to a weekend away with him. a whole night, just for the two of you.
and the whole night was wonderful. you were introduced to his teammates, saw a new side of him, heard his laugh so many times it made your head spin.
it was all just so easy. even the mess ups, the uncertainty, the silences, those were easy too, because they were with him.
when he stuttered over telling you how beautiful you looked - easy.
when you didn't know how to introduce yourself to his friends, so you just said you were "quinn's..." and then faded out, unsure - that was easy, because you weren't even really lying. your laugh was instinctual, and everyone else's was, too.
when he asked you to dance, reaching his hand out to you, there had never been an easier yes.
you danced with all the beautiful awkwardness of two people who weren't quite sure what they were yet - weren't quite sure how far they could go. there was not a question of how you both felt, but how slow were you taking this?
how slow could you bear?
every touch felt electric, like a gentle flame ignited whereever his hands had been. you felt a shiver erupt when his hand grasped your waist as you both moved together to a simple rhythm.
so up close and personal, you could smell his worn cologne, feel the warmth from his chest.
he gave you a sly smile, something close to a smirk. "okay, doll?"
you bit your lip, peered up at him through your lashes. "you just look so lovely, quinn," you told him, squeezed his hand, gave him a flushed smile. "it's distracting."
he pulled you a little closer, so that your chests were almost touching as you moved across the floor. "yeah?" he asked, his smile lazy, almost shy. "love a suit, do you?"
you tilted your head, met his gaze entirely and absolutely. oh, how much, how deeply you wanted. hadn't your want seemed to fray the fibers of the universe before?
babe, they seemed to remind you, we never cared.
then who was i praying to? you could have asked.
and they would have only shared a look, laughed like two girls at a sleepover.
well, who answered? they would have responded.
what you did do is give a slight shake of your head. "not the suit," you said. "you're distracting."
you watched his eyes become hooded, felt the underlying heat ignite between you. his grip on your waist tightened. "careful, doll," he breathed out, a warning, a plea.
"don't wanna be," you replied. there was a moment of understanding, a pause of anticipation.
"how slow do you want to take this?" almost drowsy with desire, his voice was slow, rough, only for you. "you know i'd go so slow for you, right, doll?"
you nodded. "i know," you assured him, "but i don't want you to."
you thought you heard him mutter a fuck before he was pulling you from the floor, out of the elaborate event room, upstairs to your room at the hotel. everything was a blur as his hand clasped around yours. a desperate escape, fleeing from everything, everyone except him.
and then the door was shutting and he was pushing you up against it, a hand on your hip and the other on your jaw as his lips met yours in a heated kiss that was every bit as desperate, as longing, and terrible and horrible and shameful as the first one.
you were both too far gone to hold back any longer.
you tangled your hands in the hair at the nape of his neck, felt the curls between your fingers.
he tasted like mint and salt and something earthy.
kissing him felt like barbed wire made of gold, flowery rust, somehow the most violent act you had ever committed, yet also the most gentle.
like removing your heart with a cookie cutter, offering it to him on a painted porcelain plate.
you moaned into his mouth, he hissed just a bit as you pulled at his hair.
he pushed his hips up against yours, hiked your leg up around his thigh, making you gasp at the hardness you found across his front.
"more," you murmured against his lips, felt his sly smirk grow against yours.
he moved his hand from your hip to slide up your dress, glide his fingertips along your inner thigh, just barely skirt across your folds. "like this, doll? so wet for me already," he asked, his voice gravelly. "this must be enough then, yeah?"
you shook your head, moved your hips to try to get some friction.
"no?" he said, obviously teasing, "greedy girl, hm? wants even more?" he brought his other hand to your mouth, pressed his thumb against your bottom lip, smirked when you closed your lips around him without a second thought. "what do you say?"
"please," you whined around his hand, in a voice you barely recognized. "please, quinn."
he answered you by dragging his fingers through your folds once before pushing two into you, slow and deep, making you arch your back up off of the door.
"fuck, so tight," he rasped.
you whimpered against his thumb, closed your eyes as you felt his hand move from your mouth to your throat.
"open up, doll," he demanded. "look at me."
you obliged with effort, wrapped an arm around his neck for support, another one bracing the door as he increased his pace, pushing his fingers in and out of you, grazing your clit each time.
your nails dug into his neck as you lost yourself in the sensation, barely registering the way he groaned at the delicious shot of pain.
"this enough, doll?" he cooed, annoyingly smug at how audibly wet you were.
you vigorously shook your head, so desperate to get him to keep going. "no," you pleaded, "fuck, please, quinn, don't stop."
he tightened his hand around your throat just a little, only barely squeezing as he flattened his other palm against your clit, making you moan loudly. "must be ready for me then, yeah?"
you fisted his dress shirt in your hand, pushed yourself off of the door and pulled him onto the bed. "please, need more of you," you begged, nothing more than a prayer, "fuck, want you so bad."
something lovely flooded his gaze as he moved his clothes aside, pulled himself out as you further hiked up your dress.
he spat into his hand, pumped himself up and down in a way that made your mouth water.
you were practically pouting. "please, fuck me, quinn," you said, pathetic and just so fine with it, "'s all i've been thinking about."
and you knew you had said something magical when he groaned and tugged you towards him by the undersides of your thighs, his grip hot and rough, a working man's grip.
"shit," he hissed as he ran his cock up and down your folds once, twice, collecting your wetness there, "'d never say no to you."
you whined when he first pushed into you, so, so deep that you swore you could feel him in the palms of your hands, feel him rattling around in your teeth, behind your eyes.
he moaned like a sinner, clutched at the flesh of your hips so tightly you knew his fingerprints would be left behind later.
as he began to thrust in and out of you, his rhythm hard and even, both of you could barely form words, so lost in the feeling of each other, finally as physically close as you could be.
"fuck," he bit out eventually, his rhythm picking up speed, "so tight, doll. so wet for me, hm?"
you nodded, clenched around him, reached one of your hands forward to rub at your clit, increasing the pressure quickly building inside of you.
he choked out a grunt at the sight of you touching yourself, only making you squeeze him harder. "feels so good, quinn," you whined, "so deep inside me."
he moved one hand up to your calf, hoisted one of your legs up to change his angle, thrusted down into you in a way that hit a dizzying spot inside of you. he kept going, bringing you both closer every minute.
"shit, feel so perfect," he bit out at some point. "made for me, hm?" he asked as you rubbed your clit faster. "squeezing me so perfect, yeah?"
you hummed something like affirmation, your breathing becoming ragged as he hit that spot over and over, his chest rising and falling, his thrusts becoming broken and messy.
"fuck, quinn," you moaned, "fuck, 'm so close."
he groaned. "gonna cum for me, doll?" he asked, letting your calf rest on his shoulder as his hand travelled down to apply only the slightest pressure to your lower stomach.
the sensation, that unique pressure making you feel him impossibly deeper, sent you soaring right to the edge.
"feel you squeezing me," he breathed out, his own voice tight and rough, his chest and stomach flexing as he fought off his own orgasm. "cum for me, doll, yeah? wanna feel you cum on my cock." he squinted with effort. "be good for me, hm?"
and his words sent you spiraling, a wave of pleasure finally crashing, clenching and spasming around him in a way that triggered his own high.
he moaned as he came, his breathing labored as you both collapsed back onto the hotel bed.
effort and satisfaction glowed on your faces, realized desire settling along his cheekbones and on the cupid's bow of your mouth.
there were several moments of easy silence in the warm air, his hand throw lazily around your middle, one of yours resting on his chest.
"can i ask you for something?" you said eventually, looking up at him with tired eyes full of possibility.
"anything, doll," he said, and you remembered back to that first day, in the garage. how easy it was, now, to remember it fondly.
"can i have a kiss, please?" you asked, almost shy, more so gentle.
a smile already played across his mouth. "especially that," he said, eager to comply with your request.
he leaned down to press a fluttering, beautiful kiss to your lips.
well i definitely didn't see this coming, chance stage-whispered to logical reason behind her hand.
i don't really deal with this lovey-dovey kind of stuff, logical reason said, not my thing.
all the divine powers and the fibers of the universe and such, they were silent. perhaps they always had been. perhaps this was much too far out of their jurisdiction.
perhaps it was just none of their business.
fin.
#hockey#nhl#nhl fic#hockey fic#hockey smut#nhl smut#jack hughes#quinn hughes#quinn hughes x reader#quinn hughes x y/n#quinn hughes imagine#quinn hughes smut#vancouver canucks
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For the character ask meme:
Marvel vs Capom Megaman!
Technically that would just be Classic Mega Man, so we'll go with him!
Send Me a Character
And I will tell you my:
First impression I know who Mega Man was and that there were different ones (I just wasn't sure how or if they were necessarily connected at first, so I drew him and Hub interchangeably but confusedly). I think Rock is cute, but his design was too simple for my tastes.
Something about Smash's additional details clicked so well to me. (MM11 is still not quite there for some reason, so I don't use it.)
Impression now I've always had an interest in robot characters, and after learning more about him, I was somehow able to explore so much with that concept and just Mega Man's character in general. Unsurprisingly, working with him reminded me a lot of Astro Boy and the situations he faces with the innocent mindset of a child and the body of a robot, just not as heavy (I won't talk about the Archie Comics, I stopped following after a while for reasons).
The thing about working with child characters is that they aren't always going to act like older characters, in their words and their emotional responses. On top of that, drawing them is particular too-- their faces, the things they do with their hands, etc.
It leaves a lot to think about, but the thoughts are very welcomed. Kinda like a "put yourself in their shoes" sorta exercise.
So besides the fact that I grew to really love the Mega Man series, with its fun characters and robot designs, I really appreciate the "pureness" of Rock's character. I know he's also a hero with a strong sense of justice, but in the end he's also just a child. A robot child.
Even when compared to the other Mega Mans, Rock is the simplest, purest form of the non-human. His "humanness", while present, differs from X and his complexities despite them both being totally mechanical. Hence why I chose that word "pure".
Though Rock may appear simple, it turns out it's with much meaning. At least to me it does. I have no idea if these words make sense.
Favorite moment This is a Smash thing, but watching the lights of Mega Man's eyes during his fighter reveal is always gonna be so cool.
Idea for a story I made two (ancient) comics that touch on the uncomfortable dynamic between Rock and Dark Pit. I never really clarified it, because I'm still not sure, but Dark Pit's harsh attitude toward Rock were meant to cover for something else.
It's been so long, I don't know if I'll ever return to it. But there's definitely a lot of loose ends I've still left flying around. (Y'know... Like the one with Beck.)
Unpopular opinion I don't really like Rock's MM7/MM8-type proportions. He looks way too tall and way too lanky.
Favorite relationship *Coughs loudly in Captain N*
Favorite headcanon The little depictions that remind you Rock is originally (and still is) a helper robot are very sweet to see.
#wow looking back at my comics from that time makes me feel nostalgic#but also darn I used to write so much (I feel so bad that I haven't done things that nice of a size since)#like I want to but ahhh my energy is stolen by my work...#for real though I really did put all my energy into those megaman comics#well at least I have a lot of them on paper than none at all :)#Asks#Ask Mew#rubyrosevalentine#megaman#rockman#I don't really think there's any way for me to interestingly talk about rock solely in the topic of mvc#so yeah we'll talk about him in general (it's for the character after all)
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The Veilguard review
Big spoilers ahead for the people that haven't finished the game yet.
So after plugging 70+ hours I've finally completed Veilguard.
This will just be a general overview of how I felt about the game, I'll likely do a separate one for Solas/Mythal and Lavellan and one for a Lucanis romance.
First off I want to say that any negative criticism I had for the game I am reminded of how difficult this game was to get off the ground running in the first place; it experienced multiple layoffs, it pulled the team to focus on Anthem when it failed, the team was reduced, OG writers left and multiple people lost their jobs once their work was complete and lets not forget those that worked on this during a pandemic so I think it's important to keep coming back to this so that we can just appreciate what we had as an end product.
Now the end product itself, did I enjoy it? absolutely.
I've laughed, I've been giddy, I've been angry at times and in those final moments was reduced to tears that reconciliations were reached and it was the end of a very long 10 year wait.
I want to start from the beginning where we welcomed our Rooks because holy moly is the character creator detailed. I mean seriously every single Rook I've seen is a catwalk model 😂
Every faction felt different and the brief history to your character was really well done; I went with a female mage elf I the Crows and I loved being a Crow from the get go; the decision that she made that essentially forced her to leave the Crows because she'd basically f*cked up a mission was really interesting because there's still that tension once she returned with Viago (who I adored BTW, his disappointing fatherly persona against Teia's comfort and protectiveness was just perfect) and it set the course for every Rook wanting to prove themselves.
Briefly touching on the Inquisitors creation I was so happy that this was an early decision and hearing her say "it's good to see you again" was like a stab to the heart and felt like I was being welcomed back home after such a long journey.
Once into the gameplay it's hard to ignore how beautiful the graphics look, Minrathous' design was so unexpected and how the locals were treated makes me wonder how Dorian ever survived 😂
There were certain scenes that just blew me away and made me realise just how far games have come to allow us them; the moment you open the doors at Weisshaupt and see Ghilan'nains massive looming face in the clouds was just breath taking, in fact the two gods in general were very well done and there wasn't enough of them in my opinion.
The animation as a whole was very good and again compared to Origins this game is on a different level of good (hate to compare it to other games but Balders gate is probably the closest contender).
There's a particular scene with Lucanis as a romance where he walks over to you after you basically say you like what you see and that Spite doesn't define him, the way his face moves, the little smile, the way his eyes drop to your lips when you touch him floored me and I think having motion capture for this game definitely paid off.
The mechanics of the game were fantastic and as I've yet to play anything other than my mage I am excited to play other classes and possibly Warrior for the first time across 4 games, although Spellblade ruined a mage for me as I love being able to be upfront in a battle and found it perfect for my Crow mage.
I went with purple Rook for this playthrough as I wanted a charming Crow who had far too much energy and was awkward in the best way possible and loved every minute of it; Bioware has always been very clever at establishing the different personalities and how they affect the world around them. Going into a scene and having your Rook react by themselves depending on their personality makes the character feel real and that we aren't just following the same thread of dialogue.
When you first meet Solas they didn't lie that it would feel like an end game mission, the dialogue was fantastic, his voice actor is just incredible and he has a talent to be confident, insecure, determined and doubtful of his own words all in one and it was very easy to fall In love with Solas during inquisition.
I really enjoyed how the first decision you make as Rook ends with the gods escaping, either Harding or Neve being injured which puts doubts in your friendship and leadership from the beginning, that Solas who we'd believed to be the big bad was essentially trapped and looked like a kitten compared to these evil beings who want world domination, it really makes the player question how are we going to fix this massive mistake that we've created, because it takes the gods no time to get to work whilst we scramble to find a team and cleanse multiple parts of Thedas at the same time aswell as setting up base in the fade where we dig deep into the history of Solas and the ancient gods past.
The companions of this game I felt were individuals in their own ways with their own back stories and present problems but I felt as a whole weren't as good as say the previous game; there was no double crossing mages or people with their own greed and agendas, no hidden pasts like Blackwall which personally fell abit flat for me.
In fact I'd say the only one who had an interesting story was Lucanis after his imprisonment and demonic possession and the struggles that came with it.
I don't think I'll romance anyone else other than Emmrich as the others just don't interest me.
It just felt like you were constantly flitting to the Lighthouse and back to grind out companion tasks in order to gain approval and faction points, there was no option to just have a conversation like previous games instead it was very much on their terms and where you were in the game which was something i really missed.
Still, their personalities were very different and characters like Lucanis, Taash and especially Emmrich stole my heart very quickly.
The banter was top notch quality as per 👌 some of my favourites were from Taash and Lucanis, just being a Crow in the middle of their conversations about capes was hilarious at times.
The voice acting as a whole was very good, I felt with some characters particularly Neve it felt abit flat in moments but Bioware have a knack for finding talented voices; having someone as bubbly and excited as Bellara to the deadpan and slightly blunt at times Taash made for a very diverse team.
Returning characters was always a welcome and there were some surprising cameos such as Isabella in the Lords of Fortune faction.
I know alot of people were disappointed that this game felt limited in bringing over past choices but it needed to make sense; Sera isn't going to return and be found in the deep roads etc, it needed to serve a purpose to The Veilguards story and I'm happy with the ones we did get.
When it came to the three decisions from inquisition yes I was disappointed at first; why are we ignoring who drank from the well, why aren't we talking about Hawke, who's ruling Fereldon, who's Divine?.
I think we need to remember that after 4 games the decisions from little to big are so vast that there's simply no way to fit it all in and satisfy everyone and baring in mind this game is for new players too.
Having this game set outside of Ferelden means those decisions won't carry weight in Veilguard, who is divine won't affect us, where Hawke is doesn't affect us because we know they'll either be in the fade or fighting against the evil.
And yes a codex could of helped address any of this but again, it's a smaller team now at bioware and the focus is on Rook this time around, it's their turn and tbh reading codex' is time consuming when you've got gods to fight 😂
The only decision I really wanted brought over was who drank from the Well because as a Solasmancer he was so pissed at me but I think I know why it was glossed over.
I think having Solas being able to control your Inquisitor would have the issue of consent and violation and as a romance that doesn't feel right, especially given how Mythal basically manipulated Solas and used him as a slave it just goes into uncomfortable territory.
We could also argue that Solas absorbed Mythals essence so all that's left is her memories and the tiny fragment you find in the crossroads so essentially Mythal ceases to exist thus there's no pledge anymore for the inquisitor and that she only needed her help to fight Corypheus, who knows but I'm glad Solas wasn't able to do that to the Inquisitor.
The endgame was amazing, finally killing Ghilan'nain was so satisfying and Lucanis was an absolute bad ass doing it, seeing Solas become the dreadwolf and hearing his pained cries was heartbreaking even if he couldn't stop betraying my Rook 😂.
Forcing you as a player to lose a character despite high factions and hero status was brutal, and I unfortunately lost both Davrin and Assan. As much as I loved them both, it made sense to his character to die in that way, and Harding has so much more to do for the dwarves and titans.
I'll talk about Solas/Mythal and Lavellan on another post but I was very happy with how it ended, seeing the art concept of him making himself tranquil just shows how differently it could of gone, and I honestly expected them to die in each other's arms.
If I think of anything else I'll add it onto this post but yeah, 10 years man and it's over, well not over completely as I'm creating an Emmrich romance as we speak but I can't believe years of speculation and doubt is now in our hands forever.
Yes this game could of been better in parts and blew my expectations away in others but I loved it and I think the negative criticism over characters like Taash, the three previous decisions, crazy solasmancers which bring the team down is so unjust and people need to reflect on themselves as humans.
All I would say to those that critic this game as heavy as they have is to take their time and play it again, you'll find things you missed the first time around, really read the codex', just sit back and understand what the characters are saying, read between the lines and just take it back to beginning of this post, this game very nearly didn't happen and alot of talented people that have given you this game have lost their jobs so please just be grateful for what we do have and pray that this isn't the end of dragon age.
Edit:
The whole Varric thing was probably my least favourite thing about the game, not because he died but it just didn't make sense that Rook didn't know until the very end.
I had my suspicions because he was always tired and going back to bed and something about it didn't feel right.
For other companions to say "oh we thought you knew" was just silly, I could understand Solas using his powers to create an illusion but why not on all the companions because surely Rook at some point was like "Oh i'll take some food to Varric" or "have you been to visit him", without that Rook just sounds crazy 😂
#dragon age 4#dragon age the veilguard#dragon age#da4#solas dragon age#solas#dragon age spoilers#dragon age the veilgaurd spoilers#veilguard spoilers#solas x female lavellan#solavellan hell#lucanis dellamorte
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Upgrade pt.3
Pro Hero Midoriya Izuku x fem!reader
Part 1 > Part 2 > Part 3 > Epilogue
Summary: Izuku gets severely injured during a rescue mission. As a result, most of his left arm is amputated. You, being a mechanical and biomedical engineer (and his loyal girlfriend), decide to build him a cybernetic arm to replace the arm he's lost.
Word count: 4k
Other character appearances: Todoroki Shouto + Bakugou Katsuki
🚨Disclaimer & Warnings: Izuku has most of his left arm amputated and it is emotional + swearing
A/n: Sorry if this is a little jumpy. I was struggling with the flow of the chapter.
------------₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊------------
It’s 3am and you jolt awake, realising that you had dozed off mid-construction.
It’s been three days since the fight where Izuku lost his arm, and you’ve barely slept since. You’ve been busy, juggling sourcing materials and building Izuku’s robotic arm with visiting him daily and remembering to eat and shower. You look like a little rat to be honest, hair in a low messy bun, welding mask tilted up so you can see. The huge gloves make it hard to meld all of the parts together, but you know that they’re for your own good.
It’s coming together well. You’re supposed to be putting on the last attachments right now instead of dozing off, so it will be ready for testing tomorrow. Luckily, Izuku’s wound hasn’t developed an infection yet and yesterday, you were able to meet with the orthopaedic surgeon who will be attaching Izuku’s replacement arm. You two discussed the design and attachment in detail. He was open-minded and asked you various questions about how the arm would work once attached. You felt grateful that Dr Kita had chosen such an enthusiastic surgeon for Izuku’s second surgery. You were confident that he’d be in good hands.
Looking over to your empty Shoto mug that Izuku scored you for your birthday earlier that year, you decided to take a little break to freshen up before continuing on with welding. You grabbed your mug and made your way to the kitchen, basking in the quietness of the night permeated by the sound of the kettle boiling. You made yourself another coffee and took it out to the balcony attached to your living room.
You loved sitting on the balcony. It always left you in awe, seeing the world below. Usually, Izuku would come out and sit with you in the morning.
You normally sat down in the plush chair to the right and journalled, coffee on the small table next to you, but tonight, you took your coffee leaning over the metal fence. You sighed in a mix of relief and exhaustion. You closed your eyes, feeling the crispy night breeze cascading across your warm skin. You stayed like that for a while until you felt those familiar jitters and headed back inside to continue your work.
…⊹₊⟡⋆…
It was around 7am when you finished adding those last touches. You stared down at your work, proud and relieved. The first part was finished now. You had been working over a low table, cross-legged on the floor with a lamp overhead. Your feet had pins and needles and it was such a good yet painful experience to finally stand up. You went to shower and get ready, washing your hair and moisturising with your favourite lotion. You wrapped the arm in a thick cloth before stuffing it with care into the largest tote bag you own. The clothed hand was still visible, peaking out from the top of the bag, but it was good enough.
The trip to Central Hospital was uneventful. Or maybe, you were just too tired to notice anything that had happened. Your brain was working on autopilot, taking you up to level 5 and walking you to Izuku’s room, hand knocking on the door. You didn’t hear any response, so you gently opened the door and slipped into the room.
Ah, he was still asleep. Your sweet angel. Which was strange because Izuku was an early riser. Nevertheless, you came over to his side, placing your bag down on the table by his bedside and sitting on his bed. Your right hand stroked the side of his face, gently cupping his cheek. You leaned over and placed a kiss on his forehead. He groaned groggily in response, rocking his head slightly.
You giggled, “Good morning, sleepyhead.” He groaned again, eyelids slowly fluttering open to reveal those beautiful green eyes that always take your breath away. A lazy smile spread across his face upon seeing you, and he turns his head to place a brief kiss on your palm, rasping into it, “Morning, honey.”
You chuckle lightly. Gosh your man is so handsome! What a heartthrob. You just love it when he just wakes up.
You move your palm away, now resting it on his thigh. “Did you sleep okay?” He rubs his face with the back of his remaining hand. He yawns and stretches a little, wincing in pain from his still open wound. “I was up most of the night,” he breathes out. “Just thinking.” You stay quiet, looking at him tenderly, hoping he’ll continue. He knows that look well. Sighing, he brushes it off, “Really, it’s nothing to worry about.”
You shake your head, scowling lightly, “Izu-chan. Don’t get like that with me. Tell me, what’s been on your mind?” He looks away from you momentarily, focusing on sitting up. You lean back over to help him up. Once he’s upright, you’re running your fingers through his unruly curls. You laugh at how messy they’ve gotten. His hair is always a struggle to tame in the morning. He moans softly at the feeling. You stop once satisfied with how they look. They’re still messy, but he looks a little more presentable now.
“Come onnnnnnn. Or fine, don’t tell me. That’s cool too.” You whine. He chuckles, “Honey, I just don’t want to make you worry.” His self-sacrificial behaviour begins to get on your nerves. Your brows furrow as you say, “It’s my job to worry. I’m your girlfriend after all. Whose going to take care of you if I don’t?”
He doesn’t like it when you look him that way, upset. He hates making you feel upset. “I’m sorry. It’s just…um,” he starts. Your practically begging him with your eyes to just keep talking. It’s something you’ve been working on together for years, Izuku being more open about talking about how he feels with you. It’s not that he can’t, it’s just that he just doesn’t want to burden you, which is why he tries to keep the worst of his thoughts and emotions to himself. But, he knows how much it irritates you, so he usually ends up divulging it anyways.
“Is it about your arm?” You ask as your tilt your head to the side, nodding toward it. Apart from the cry you two had together that first night, Izuku’s been avoiding the topic of losing his arm like the plague. You’re pretty sure that’s what has been on his mind. I mean, what else could be keeping him up at night right now? And this assumption is confirmed when his eyes widen and mouth drops open slightly. He regains his composure quickly, laughing airily as he looks away from you and starts rubbing the nape of his neck. “Maybe.”
You raise an eyebrow, “Maybe?” Your stare is quite intense and he’s not too sure how long he can withstand it. Apparently, not very long as he gives up trying to hide this from you any longer. “It’s just… hard.” You nod, squeeing his thigh gently above the blankets. “It’s like…” You can see that his eyes are already becoming glassy. “A part of me is gone now. It doesn’t f-feel real. I-it—” He’s struggling to hold back the tears. You move so that you’re curled up into his right side. His right arm is around you, your knees on his lap, arms around his shoulders. He lays his head into the crook of your neck, sniffling. You can feel his tears drip onto you.
You two stay like that for a while as he cries and hiccups. You stroke the top and back of his head as he let’s it out. You hate knowing that he’s been crying all alone, thinking it was better to be by himself than with you. You’re about to start crying too, so you opt to rest your head on top of his, looking upwards every so often to blink those tears back. Once, he’s calmed down and taken some deep breaths, he continues, “I-I don’t know if I’ll e-ever be me again. sniffle I k-know that I’ll sniffle have another arm b-but sniffle it’s not the sniffle t-the same.”
You hum. “I-it’s like I’ve hiccup l-like I’ve been r-robbed of sniffle a part of me. sniffle I’m n-not whole anymore.” You squeeze his shoulder. You know that right now isn’t the time to tell him how wonderful you think he is. He just needs the space to express his emotions and fears first. He continues to cry into your neck until the neckline to the shoulder of Izuku’s All Might shirt you threw on is drenched. You start, “You know, maybe this isn’t such a bad thing—”
“Honey,” he interrupts you immediately, his voice stiff and cloudy. “sniffle What do you mean this isn’t ‘such sniffle a bad thing’.” His tone tells you everything you need to know. You silently promise him you’re not being a dick and continue, you press on, “What if this is a neutral thing? Something that’s just happened. And you get to decide if it’s a bad thing or if it’s something challenging that you’ll overcome.” You continue running your fingers through his hairs, those green curls bouncing back every time.
“S-something I’ll over- sniffle overcome?” You nod, giving the back of his neck a rub, “Yea, like how you’ve overcome the challenge of One For All and learnt how to master it.” He’s quiet for a few moments. “But I haven���t. Y-you heard what Kacchan said. sniffle I shouldn’t of used One For All at 100%. hiccup I know I-I shouldn’t have but—”
“Forget about what Kacchan said. You did what you did because you wanted to save her, right?” Izuku nods slowly, head still resting on your shoulder. “That’s because your a hero.” You plant a kiss on top of his head. “The best hero ever, okay? And you got hurt. It happens to all heroes. I mean, look at what’s happened to All Might after his years of being a hero. But he’s still strong, right? So you can be too.”
You two let things settle for a few more minutes. By now, Izuku’s stopped sobbing and sniffling altogether. His breathing is much calmer now. You let out a deep breath, “I’m gonna need to borrow your quirk to test your arm.” You point at your bag on the bedside table, Izuku following your fingers. He nods, lifting his head back up. His arm comes down to your waist, hand giving it a squeeze.
You see, the way this quirk stealing thing works depends on the intensity and emotions of the kiss (because you borrow quirks via kissing, remember?). You say that you can ‘steal’ someone’s quirk for up to 24 hours but in reality, you don’t actually know how long you could have someone’s quirk for. It would be temporary of course, but 24 hours is the longest period yet that you’ve ‘stolen’ someone’s quirk. Actually, you’ve never taken Izuku’s quirk before, so you were curious about if you could and how it would work with the wielders. Would you make contact with them? Could you even ‘steal’ Izuku’s quirk? You were going out on a bit of limb when you told Dr Kita that you could. I mean, you’ve never had any issues with other people’s quirks before. Would One For All be any different?
The time you’re able to borrow a quirk for depends on two factors: 1) how strong the quirk and/or quirk user is and 2) how intense and emotional the kiss is.
You rest your forehead on Izuku, activating your quirk, before he brings his lips up to yours. The kiss is soft at first. Either party uncertain of how deep things were going to go. But, you throw caution to the wind and tilt your head more, pressing hard into Izuku’s lips. He meets your enthusiasm, teeth catching lightly on your bottom lip. You moan into it, fingers now tugging at his roots. Soon, tongues are entwining and tasting each other. Boy hasn’t brushed his teeth yet so it’s not exactly pleasant, but you push through. This has gotta give you at least 12 hours with his quirk, right?
A simple peck on the lips or kiss on the cheek could already grant you 3-5 hours depending on how strong the quirk and it’s user were, so this has gotta give you at least 10 hours due to how strong Izuku was and how deeply connected he was to his quirk.
At last, you two pull away, gasping for air. His hand now rests between your shoulder blades, his thumb gently caressing the space there. You feel that familiar, bubbling sensation all over your body, meaning that the transfer of his quirk was successful. You smirk and give him a brief kiss on his forehead, “Thanks, broccoli boy.”
You get up, already missing the warmth of his body, and walk around to the other side of the bed. You’re about to grab your bag when suddenly, you realise, “Izu-chan, you wanna see the arm I built you?” You’re already fishing it out of your tote, placing it on top and unwrapping it from the thick brown cloth protecting it. He hums in agreement.
The morning sunlight glints on the dark green metal. You pick it up with both hands and show it to him. It’s actually not that heavy, maybe 3 kilos, but you don’t want to drop it. “Do you like it?” You look up and he’s wide eyed, staring at your creation in awe. He stutters, “I, Honey, yea, I… Wow, you’re so incredible. It looks great!” He’s grinning and you feel so happy that he likes it.
You begin turning it over and explaining all the different parts and how the arm works, what it can do including normal arm stuff and other stuff. You’ve included a gun barrel, which has already been loaded with bullets, and a small canon that (hopefully) fires electrical bursts of energy generated by his quirk (which one idk man you pick, there’s too many), in the arm. “You make a fist and tilt your arm right for the gun or left for the canon.” He nods.
Once you’ve explained everything that you can think of about the arm, you give him another small kiss before saying goodbye.
You took the elevator down to ground floor and after exiting the hospital, you began walking to the station. Now, you had to test the arm. You planned to go to one of the wooded areas on the very outskirts of Tokyo. You’ve never used One For All before so you had to figure it out before you began testing the arm. Damn! You should of asked him for some tips before you left.
…⊹₊⟡⋆…
Izuku’s eyes widen and he jumps in his bed as the door bursts open, clipboard on the back rattling. A scowling Bakugou walks in, Shoto in tow stoic as usual. Broccoli boy immediately relaxes and a small smile comes to his face. Most days, Bakugou and Shoto stayed with Izuku during the day, after you had left. They usually sat down on or beside his bed, talking about anything and everything; the future, their All Might trading card collections, reminiscing about UA.
Today, Bakugou plopped down on Izuku’s bed, where you had been moments earlier while Shoto dragged a chair over and sat on broccoli boy’s other side. The conversation centred around starting an agency. Bakugou was sick of working under Best Jeanist. Meanwhile, Izuku was happy being part of an agency, but had been thinking about starting his own after his rise to the top. And Shoto had joined Endeavor’s agency after leaving UA and worked as a pro hero under him.
“When Endeavor retires, I’ll take over his agency.” Shoto’s voice was calm, but the boys knew how tense it was beneath that smooth surface. “Tch. Thought you didn’t like your old man.” Bakugou folded his arms, furrow between his brows deepening as he stared icyhot down from across the bed. Shoto shrugged, “I don’t have to like him to inherit his agency.”
Izuku pouted, “But Todoroki-kun, I thought you were working on it.” At this, Shoto shrugged again. “OI!” The two boys looked back to the blond. “I DON’T CARE IF YOU INHERIT AN AGENCY, MINE’LL BE THE BEST ‘ERE!” Bakugou had that sharp, lopsided grin on his face as he glared at Shoto, challenging him.
Izuku chuckled, “I’m sure it will be.” He looked down, shaking his head while laughing lightly. Bakugou scoffed and rolled his eyes. “WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU DEKU, EH? DON’T TELL ME YOU’RE GIVIN�� UP ALREADY!” The fiery blond had locked onto a new target to express his aggressions. He was pointing at Izuku who just rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Sorry, Kacch—” Izuku’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper.
“AH? I CAN’T HEAR YOU.”
Izuku continued looking down until he eventually chuckled. He met those fierce eyes with his own much puffier and gentler ones. “You’re right, there is something wrong with me. But, I’m not giving up yet.”
“Tch. Whatever.” Bakugou looked away, rolling his eyes again.
It was quiet for a bit before Shoto broke the silence, “Should we get some lunch?” At this, Bakugou grinned, “Oi, let’s get it from that café we took pipsqueak to.” He was already standing when Izuku tilted his head to side, questioning, “Who’s pipsqueak?” Bakugou barked out his laughter, “YOUR GIRLFRIEND DUMMY.” Izuku’s mouth hung open slightly for a moment, confusion leaving his mind blank, “Oh.”
Shoto got up from his chair and walked around to stand beside Bakugou. He kept his distance thankfully as Bakugou turned around, glaring at him. “You, stay ‘ere. I’ll get us some coffee and sandwiches. You want iced coffee?” Shoto nodded. Bakugou left the two of them alone, walking out with his shoulders hunched as per usual. There weren’t any stupid pockets on the gown to stuff his sweaty palms into.
Shoto came to sit where Bakugou had been, on Izuku’s bedside. Izuku shifted slightly. “So,” he started nervous-curiously, “is that where they went after leaving my room? To the café?” Shoto remained impassive, “I don’t know. I was already at the café when Bakugou and [y/n]-san walked in and joined me.” Izuku gave Shoto that look. That ‘tell me everything’ look. Shoto shrugged, “She seemed stressed. She told me that I was her second favourite hero and Bakugou got annoyed. He bought her a coffee and a sandwich.”
Izuku nodded at this new information. You hadn’t mentioned to him that you went for coffee with Bakugou and Shoto. He assumed that this was because you were focused on constructing his cybernetic arm (which in part was true, but also because he’s already going through so much, you didn’t want to burden him or make him feel insecure about your relationship. He was the only one for you, after all.).
“She’s cute. Quite talkative. You two seem like a good match.” At this, Izuku perked up, “You think?” Shoto nodded. Izuku brought his right hand back to his neck and began rubbing it again. It went quiet again. “I think… I-I think I might propose at the end of the year. What do you think?”
Those heterochromatic eyes hid their surprise well. Izuku? Get married? Soon? He was the only one in a long-term relationship out of the dekusquad. It made sense for him to be thinking about marriage. Shoto could see what a catch you were. If you were his girlfriend, he’d be thinking about it too.
“I think you should do what’s right for you. She clearly loves you very much, and if you love her,” Shoto paused, trying to find the right words. “If it’s the right time, then you should propose.” The boys looked at each other for a few moments, a faint blush spreading across Izuku’s cheeks. “Y-yea,” he stuttered, “I really do love her.” He was smiling foolishly. Shoto nodded.
The peace of this moment didn’t last long though, for Bakugou slammed the door open soon, arms full with a coffee cup tray and paper bags of deserts and sandwiches. The boys ate up, remarking that this café food was something else. The rest of the afternoon went by a smoothly as possible and soon, Izuku was left alone again, inevitably thinking of how much he loves and admires you.
…⊹₊⟡⋆…
It was a bright, clear morning. Perfect for a somewhat experimental surgery.
You had delivered the tested and refined cybernetic arm to the orthopaedic surgeon’s office on the cusp of 8pm last night. You had spent the first half of the day communicating with the wielders of One For All and learning how to use it. Because of your quirk, your body was able to transform (if a heteromorph quirk has been ‘stolen’) and withstand intense quirks of all types, so you didn’t have any major issues using One For All at full capacity. Sure, it was very tiring (which you made up for with a good sleep last night. The first in four days.) but, Izuku was your partner and technically, your client. It was your duty to rigorously test the arm to ensure functionality, durability, and safety.
Izuku had been informed early that morning that the surgery was to be performed at 8am. And so had you over a phone call that had woke you up and had you tumbling out of bed to pick up.
“Hello,” you grumbled. A clear, deep voice spoke from the other end, “Miss [L/n]?”
“Dr Kita?” You’re stumbling to your feet now, using the bed to help you up. You plonk down, listening to him continue, “I’ve just spoken to Mr Midoriya. His second surgery will be taking place at 8am. It’s expected to take around 60 minutes. Should I let reception know that you’ll be coming to wait in the recovery room?” You’re rubbing eyes with your free hand, trying to wipe and blink all those morning eye crusts away. “Yea. Yea! I’ll be there soon. Thanks Doc!” He tells you it’s fine and hangs the line.
You fumbled around, showering absent-mindedly and throwing on whatever looked decent (which was another of Izuku’s All Might shirts and a pair of low-rise baggy jeans).
And now, you were waiting anxiously in front of the recovery room. You wondered where Bakugou and Shoto were. Maybe, they didn’t know. Probably. Or maybe, they had been released yesterday as they didn’t have any major injuries. You checked your phone every few minutes for the time as you paced up and down the corridor, like last time. It was just hitting 9am now.
Were they finished yet? Did the arm attach okay? Was something wrong with it? Did Izuku’s wound get infected? Were there any complications? You kept asking yourself these questions and more. Time seemed to slow and stutter as you waited to be called in. 9am turned into 9:15 turned into 9:30. You were getting worried now. Even more worried than before.
But you couldn’t bask in it for long as— “Miss [L/n]?” A nurse was poking her head out from the recovery room doors. Different from the one that did the first time. You stopped in your tracks, running down the remaining length of the hallway to meet her. “Mr Midoriya will see you now.” You nodded frantically. She opens the door, holding it for you as you push past her. See me now? What do you mean ‘see me know’? Had he been awake this whole time? If so then why— It didn’t matter. You shook your head, seeing those untamed green locks peaking out from behind Dr Kita’s slim frame. You let out a sigh of relief.
There was your hero. Safe, sound, and smiling. There was nothing more you could ever ask for.
#mha x reader#bnha x reader#established relationship#shoto todoroki#x female reader#bnha midoriya#fem!reader#izuku midoriya#izuku midoriya x reader#izuku midoriya x you#bakugou katsuki#mha bakugou#amputee izuku#izuku angst
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What are some scrapped concepts from any of your AUs?
Oh boy I wish I had seen this ask sooner because I have SO MUCH to say. Can of worms has officially opened! The peak 2023 brainrot I had last year spawned countless (around 20) MC:SM AUs. Most of which were one-off ideas where I just wanted to design something without thinking too much about a story. Since then, I’ve whittled it down to a handful I still doodle and write for behind the scenes. (Listed below)
Scrapped design/plot concepts:
Starting off with my favorite AU, Possession!Vos had a plethora of designs before I decided I didn’t want his looks to change much and that just surviving the plot was deviation enough. He almost looked like this whenever Romeo was in control: (essentially Romeo’s side profile would manifest and obscure half of Vos’ face, mirroring whatever expression the other half had)
If I had to think of which AU had the most scrapped scenes, that award goes to the Drowned!Vos AU. The poor aftermath of that story was reworked so many times (mostly because I was indecisive just how antagonistic Romeo would be to the man he cursed to be a soggy zombie forever.) In the first draft, Romeo was so mad that Drowned failed to kill Jack that he completely abandoned him, but that since changed to the Admin being an ongoing antagonist who teleports over when Drowned is alone to belittle him. (Slight gore warning for this next bit.) In one of the more devious scrapped scenes, Romeo enchants his boots with Frost Walker and partially freezes Drowned solid before stomping his leg and breaking it off.
Oarfishposting, while also going through three name changes throughout its time (cod help me), also did a complete 180 in plot. It was almost a basic mad scientist plot where Romeo captured and experimented on any “losers” that couldn’t win his challenges. The adventure trio of course lost the temple, but since Sammy was too far gone and Jack got the hell out of there, Vos was all that was left. Oarfish!Vos was very close to resembling a Frankenstein amalgamation. Of course I am much happier with the final story because a world where everyone is half animal and there is a god trying to trap the rarer hybrids in temples is much more unique and fun to play with.
For the last scrapped plot point I’ll mention, there was a fun idea I was playing around with in the Fantasy Trio AU where instead of Mage!Vos getting turned to solid obsidian, he is instead trapped in a mirror dimension. The mechanics of the challenge were as follows: adventurers enter a large, circular room in the castle and are presented with a myriad of doors along the walls. The floor is a giant mirror which reflects everything above it… albeit slightly different. Anyone one who enters the room has a moving statue reflecting their actions; So long as the statues are not shattered, they can swap places with their statues to enter the mirror dimension. (Their statues would then exist in the real world until they swap back.) Doors in the main room have no knobs so Mage opts to swap places with his statue to start opening the doors in the mirror dimension which do have knobs. Most doors lead to nothing, but some spawn enemies. TLDR: They eventually find the boss of the room, a large drake with a key around its neck, but it headbutts Mage and shatters his statue, rendering him unable to swap places back to the real world after the drake is defeated.
Scrapped AUs:
One AU I scrapped entirely (because Jack doesn’t die from the mess cliff fall) was a Death Trio AU where once Jack re-enters the Sea Temple, he’s haunted by ghastly apparitions of his old friends and how they died until he too eventually meets his demise in the Underneath. Vos’ skin is entirely obsidian and he can cry lava. Sammy bears resemblance to the elder guardians, now sprouting fins, scales, and their one giant eye. Though he doesn’t actually die in game, Jack’s downfall would have been the mesa cliff he falls off if Jesse refuses to give Porkchop their swords. His dead form gets a desert face covering and he leaves a trail of sand he coughs up.
Mercraft: Fish Mode started out as an AU where all characters were merfolk, but I decided it would work better as just a drawing challenge instead of Mermay.
Some crossovers I really didn’t do much with were MC:SM x Flight Rising, Night at the Museum, Wings of Fire, Pokémon, and The Odyssey. Most of these were me wanting to design stuff so I’ll try to sum them up quick. The FR and WoF AUs were excuses for me to draw the cast as dragons. The NatM crossover spawned from a dream where I found a modded version of MC:SM where you play as Jesse, Petra, or Lukas (all night guards) and tended to the museum. Other characters were museum exhibits such as Gabriel being Teddy, Reuben being Rexy, and the Admins as the Egyptians; In all honesty I remember very little from the dream save for Romeo (Kahmunrah) shaking Vos (Jedediah) around in a brita filter. Pokémon AU spawned from me rewatching “Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea” and realizing there’s a character named Jack whose partner is a chatot. The main premise is the basic “everyone has a partner Pokémon” AU where the adventure trio visit the Sea Temple (guardians are huntails, elder guardians are gyarados, colossus are regice… and there’s also a type: null there for uhh plot reasons.) Lastly, I just love The Odyssey so making Jack, Vos, and Sammy > Eurylochus, Odysseus, and Polities was too good to pass up. Plus Polyphemus works perfectly as an elder guardian + Romeo as a very pissed Poseidon.
Main AUs: Vos Possession AU, Drowned!Vos AU, Oarfishposting, ‘Neath!Vos AU, Champion Vos AU, and most recently Admin Accomplice
Secondary/Hiatus AUs: TempleSwap, Fantasy Trio, Abyssal Symptoms, Chipped!Vos, Angel, and Sentry
Honorable mention to the one-off crack AUs that I scrapped immediately because they were just for giggles. Holepunched AU: the obsidian cage does not open when it falls and uh just lands on Vos. 💥 Rip. It was nicknamed Holepunched because Sammy’s ghost has a gaping hole in her chest from the guardian beam and Vos’ is just sliced in half. Feather Falling AU: Vos survives all those years on one heart, but ultimately takes fall damage when Jesse releases him. Funnily enough, that one was made on a whim where I was just trying to cause a friend psychic damage, but she did me one better by saying it would be worse if he didn’t poof upon hitting the floor, but only dissipated when Jack tried to hug him. :[
#mcsm#minecraft story mode#mcsm vos#mcsm jack#mcsm sammy#mcsm romeo#mcsm au#vos possession au#drowned!vos au#oarfishposting#fantasy trio au#bermuda brainrot hours#bermuda replies#bermuda ramblings#scriptscratches#sea temple saturday
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sketches for sleight's van, the Magicmobile ^_^
#I had a lot of fun designing this!!!!!#i used the volkswagen kombi van as the base model and drew inspiration from modded cars with high rides#to kinda mimic those old horsedrawn caravan wagons.. i tried to keep functionality in mind so the tire covers on the chassis have#grips for where you would put your feet if you were to get in the drivers seat kinda like those huge freight trucks.. and since the ride#height is a little high theres a pool ladder attached to the back to mimic a caravan and to help ppl get in from the back#also exciting coming up with the stage side door.. i dont know exactly how it would work but i imagine the handle at the top#has to be turned and pulled in order to set up the stage.. and then theres a locking mechanism to keep it in place..??#theres also a stage curtain right behind the door where sleight would come out to do his performance so thats fun!!!#i dont have much to say abt the interior except i forgot to include the ladder which would help reach the skylight#the skylight is a little domed and i riffed that off the kombi camper too but its to contain his butterflies before and after shows ^_^#the hatch is inspired by the net stormdoor at my aunts house.. kinda like chicken wire?? and then there are flowers and pupae#idk if im ever gonna get around to coloring this but im happy finally getting my ideas down and turning it in my head lol#my art#myart#my oc#oc#sleight#concept art#interior#laikas comet oc#fan character#doodles
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I shouldve been asleep HOURS ago, instead I did the exo tierlist....
#dont kill me dys lovers#hes good for plot and I feel like theres just no way around sol n dys being at least good friends.... n they have such beautiful potential-#to be SO messy together no matter what their relationship. I have many brainworms about this.#but jesus christ the kid pissed me off. hes so immature. hitting him with hammers.#tammy just talks about babies too much.... it squicks me out. I wouldve loved 2 romance her shes got a cute design but alas#me n seeq have a lovehate relationship too... cus.. on one hand... older nonbinary chara... but also. so insufferable. and ugly outfit.#on second thought congruence could be in good egg category also#auntie tirah up there purely for her cool hair and winning at polyamory#why is sols mom so stupid hot#vace makes me wish this was DA2 and we could start racking up points in the opposite direction <3 but I also enjoy certain parallels betwee#him n sol.... I want to be Rivals#rex is best boy marz just has a really good character arc(Even though were not really essential to it at all lmao besides mechanically)#funfact I romanced her on my first play after dys became too insufferable <3#I didnt even know sym existed.... only found him thru browsing the wiki like mid second run. just too good at the game ig didnt need saving#cus like.... my first run was literally all exploration all the time.... how the fuck did I not even SEE HIM#texted post
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dude I'll like start talking about things that i findf horribly interesting but all of in depth and awesome analysis will come out "ohhhh hehehe grrr love them the sillies!!! :3 :3" like come on dude!
I could go on forever about how certain scenes in media make me feel and pick apart a ton of little details in character designs, speech, how a character reacts to things, etc etc but it my power is limited to flailing around like a fool and giggling to myself
lmao
#drink printer ink#rant ?#dude I would love to infodump on people but I can't keep a coherent thought so sorry#I know other people have this same issue cuz I've seen memes about it#also I hate wuthering waves' designs so much I'm sorry#they're ok but the limited colors they have makes everything just look lame#and they don't mess around with interesting design elements that make the characters stand out#the game mechanics and how much I hate how bad the gunners are is a whole different story#if genshin has too complicated of designs wuthering waves has too simple#oh shit I'm doing a whole new rant in tags#someone get this guy outta here!
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A hero is only as good as his weapons, so make ‘em count (Patreon)
#Doodles#Original#Another idea smol and I are working on together :D Been a bit!#She came up with the concept on this one and I fell in love with it <3 She's very cool hehe#If you're familiar with the game Minit it has Something of a similar premise - not the same strict time pressure but yes on the time loop#Y'ever notice how in some games it seems like the wandering trader or traveling shop seems to come upon you rather than the other way around#:3c Hm ♪ Wonder how they'd know where you were gonna be :3c#The crux is that you play as the weapons shop owner and you're responsible for supplying the hero and his team with weapons!#Except the BBEG has gotten wise to how the hero keeps defeating him and it sick of it - so the shop owner is cursed to be in a time loop!#I love the concept <3 It sounds so fun to play in and there's still plenty of room to think about the mechanics and how it would be played#As well as the art design! :D#We threw around some character concepts - she's really into Baldur's Gate 3 at the moment so of course they had some influence in hers hehe#Only got the starting party for the moment but there are plans for a full team of 4 plus the shopkeep >:3c And various other NPCs lol#A lot of the gameplay would basically boil down to being a bartering simulator hehe ♪#Very RPG trade-this-for-that style quests - under a time limit! Hehe#Since it's the type of game that pretty much requires replaying sections time-loop-style it's all about how quickly you can trial and error#And then hightail it to where you need to be lol#I think we were also tossing around a nap mechanic to skip right to the time loop reset in case you mess up a run haha#I gotta get back to Majora's Mask at some point I swear#We still have a good bit of concept work to do on the art side of things - she's also been really into pixel art lately and I love pixel art#I also managed to pick up a full release of one of the RPGMakers :D So that's an exciting possibility!#I haven't learned most of its ins and outs yet but I do know About importing custom assets at the very least >:3c#Same with Novelty and I haven't done that yet either lol - all in due time! I hope!!
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Boothill's presentation being entirely on the twitter post makes me think he will be irrelevant in the story in the long(ish) run, and that the game itself won't dwell on him almost at all
#Kinda like Argenti but Argenti seemed to be part of a larger lore and worldbuilding#Boothill doesn't even give me that vibe#Cool design though. I do love revenge stories and western films so...#*sighs* I guess I may consider him if he's fun to play with and the story is interesting. I hope he takes Aventurine out of the grave#(Or do I? Emotionally I do. Rationally I think I may lean more towards 'keep Aventurine dead' tbh)#Imagine if his revenge is against the IPC in general and Aventurine in particular but when he gets there Aventurine is already dead#The enormous fail that would be hahaha#Automaton cowboy is such a good design though I would have liked it more had they taken the automaton way enhancing the clockwork thing#instead of the cyborg one with the futuristic air. What can I say I do love automatons and clockwork#and to me they're far superior aesthetically than cyborgs. Not into cyborgs and robots at all. Sorry Screwllum. Herta most beloved design#I wonder if his gameplay will revolve around some killing himself mechanic#I don't know what to say I do love those things gameplaywise. I love the risk they add and how they make one strategise a little more#Even beyond the story and the lore‚ Blade is still my fave character to use. So fun so flexible and ironically so reliable despite the risk#Abfksndk rambling#I am thinking of Aventurine and I'm thinking of Fu Xuan. I think I'll skip Robin unless they go dark-dark with her#but I'm still considering Sunday if they make him shady. I was looking forwards to Firefly but I've disliked her writing a lot#so for now she's a big skip. I wouldn't mind getting Topaz given I love the FUA mechanics and the SU#but I like other characters more and I don't like her design at all so I'll skip her too#Couldn't care less about IL (I have him in an alt account and I don't like him at all) so that's a big skip too#I like Screwllum but not enough for now. Hmmm I guess I could get one shielder since I do love them as characters#and then save until one character really convinces me. Boothill‚ Robin‚ Sunday hmmm I hope Sunday is shady and grey#I wonder if they'll bring Huaiyan. I would give a leg for Huaiyan. Yeah I've not moved on from the Xianzhou I love that place#and I adore Huaiyan and the Zhuming. I so hope we'll get to see that ship#I talk too much
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It's funny how Minecraft now has these ancient ruins that you can excavate and you can find remains of a bygone civilization and their art and looms and such.
And right next to them you can find the stereotypical racist "jungle temple" with traps and nothing else of cultural value.
#minecraft#it really exaplifies how mojang never change old game mechanics to be in line with the newer stuff. in any significant way at least#like how pigs cows chickens and sheep just walk around making noises#while foxes and dolphins and camels have so many unique animations and behaviours.#but it also extends to their “political correctness” where they dont change the racist “temple” designs and keep the antisemetic villagers#- and all designs that originated from the villagers#but hey at least they changed the animation of axless vindicator so that it doesnt look like theyre doing the n*zi salute#cat talks
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so in juniper's campaign we've just found ourselves in a high-stakes situation that I as a player do frankly find stressful and am anxious about, but hey hi also the DM was like 'okay here are the exact mechanics of how this is going to work because I don't want to surprise you with serious repercussions, also here are all the options you will have to try to do something about the situation-- [affected player] what do you think? honest feedback, I don't want it to feel unfair, I want to be clear that I am not just trying to kill your character, and if it ends up being badly balanced we can revisit it down the road' and oh my god I could COLLAPSE and WEEP with gratitude
#[tears in my fucking eyes] WHAT IF DND WAS GOOD!! WHAT IF A DM THAT'S GOOD!!!#LIKE I've said actually MOST of my DMs are good but because of the way this situation was presented specifically#where-- as NOT the affected player-- it does feel like the way it came up was a little unfair and I AM worried about the stakes--#I REALLY SPENT SO MUCH OF THAT ABOVE-TABLE TALK GOING OH WOW I FEEL LIKE OUR FRIEND ACTUALLY LOVES US AND WANTS THIS TO BE FUN!!#I DON'T KNOW THAT I AGREE WITH WHAT HE'S DOING HERE BUT I TRUST MY FRIEND AND IT'S SAFE FOR US TO TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE THIS PLAYER TO DM!!#WOWIE THAT FEELS RELEVANT TO MY DND EXPERIENCE RIGHT NOW LMAO!!!#'I've looked at your stats and inventories to try to make this serious but balanced but if it doesn't work we can retool it'#'I want to be extremely clear that this situation could kill destal so I want to be extremely sure that you're comfortable with that--#-- and with how the mechanics are designed around it'#I am fucking. on my KNEES WEEPING. at the contrast with how punishing and DEEPLY unfun felix campaign has relentlessly been the whole time#and how little of a fuck it feels like THAT DM gives when he's like 'this random rolltable encounter was deadly :)'#'you guys didn't get hit last time and got all your spells back right?' uhhh wrong and wrong and we TALKED about that last time#are you gonna revisit the balance on your fifth in a row 'if you fail you'll TPK' scenario? no? yeah I figured lol#christ knows HE'S never invited feedback on his DMing. you KNOW I don't feel safe to say 'hey this doesn't feel fair or fun' with him#AND LIKE!! WITH A DM I TRUST I FEEL SAFE ENOUGH TO REALLY PLAY WITH SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENING!! YAY YIPPEE STAKES AND PATHOS!!!#I don't just want nothing bad to happen ever! but I don't want it to feel careless or heartless or just... Not Fun#anyway. grasping william's hands so tightly. my beloved friend. my wonderful friend. what a relief to have a DM that's good#after the shit we've been through in our now most-frequently-run campaign#the thing I'm mad about is that destal has been making a mystery saving throw every night-- but this was imperceptible to the characters#so we weren't acting on it#and now that he's failed it three times the situation is 'okay NOW you will be maming a con save every night and accumulating exhaustion'#'which can't be removed by sleeping' [six levels of exhaustion Kill You]#so like!! well okay I wish we had had ANY way of knowing how urgent this was before we got to 'now there's a deadly countdown' BUT OKAY#but like I said. he clearly put a lot of thought into the math for the mechanics#he made sure that we DO actually have ANYTHING we can do to mitigate the condition and outlined several options specifically and clearly#he checked in with justin about whether that seemed fair and opened it for future retooling if necessary#so I'm just at 'that was kind of a rugpull dude :/' instead of DESPAIRING lmao#this is a level of Oh Shit that's juicy! this is a level of Oh Shit that might force dramatic character choices out of desperation!#THIS IS AN OH SHIT WHERE WE STILL GET TO PLAY DND ABOUT IT AND HAVE ANY AGENCY WHATSOEVER. WHAT A CONCEPT.#ANYWAY!!! GOOD DND SAVE ME!!!!!!!!!
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#ugh. i dont kno what to do. im about to reap what ive sown bc Tomorrow is the start of the 1st real week of class#and i have cell mechanics and biochem tomorrow and i can already tell the class is gonna b a lot#like it would b one thing if we were just reading and discussing papers but there r summary assignments and exams#and like u dont understand what it takes for me a read a paper. it takes so much pain. and this class is centered around eukaryotes#and i study prokaryotes so like its not really that relavent to me but like i didnt kno what else to take#everyone does eukaryotic stuff. general genetics was full. the microbial evolution class conflics with another class#and everyone tells me ill know everything anyway but im not sure thats true. and if it is i think it would still b fun#so idk. i could drop the class and pick up extra hours for research instead. like use the time to read relevant papers#its sorta hard bc i already have a masters so its like where do u put me? not in stats. i kno how to do a lot of things so idk#i think i saw a plant evolution class. if i wasnt intimidated by the teacher and ever took botany maybe i would go for it#but so it goes. idk. im meeting my advisor on Tuesday morning so maybe ill bounch ideas off of him#and like i kno it sounds like im being a bitch over having to take 2 3hr classes but ive got to ta and do research and somehow find time#to work on my existing data. so like i could justify only taking the one 3hr class i think#ugh. i just wish i could read. and i wish i could sleep#maybe the class tomorrow wont b so bad. or maybe it will. idk i just really wanna take the microbio course#my eyes r all swollen from crying. bleh. i was not designed for this. for reading#unrelated
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I finally played Firewatch the other day and it wasn't what I expected but I still enjoyed it, and I felt a little conflicted at the end but ultimately decided I liked what it was doing even if I think it didn't do it perfectly
and then when I was looking up an answer to a plot question I had I kept finding people whining and groaning about it being a bad game, and two things
why is it that when I don't like a short indie game for specific reasons I cannot find anyone who seems to share that opinion with me, but when I do enjoy a short indie game all the gamerbro reviewers are climbing out of the weeds to explain their specific reason for not enjoying it??
one of the negative comments I saw said something to the effect that it 'did not give [them] any reason to explore around' and i just-. i dont-. i need gamer bros to understand that if they're not naturally curious, if they're not naturally driven to explore the spaces around them, maybe stop playing games that use exploration and natural curiosity as one of the main driving mechanics
#like they werent even saying that firewatch doesn't reward you enough for exploring which COULD be a statement i agree with!#i think it needed more narrative/substantial payoff for some of the exploration it invited!#but it DOES openly invite you to explore and rewards you with interesting details if you do so!#one of the best payoffs for that game was getting to the ending and going 'aHA i KNEW i heard metal chimes earlier!!'#anyway the exploration thing is also a huge driving mechanic of Outer Wilds#and Ive seen negative comments on that being like 'idk what to do theres no clear goal blahblahblah im a boring gamer'#like. look around!! explore!! thats literally how the game works!!#i know gamers love being given tasks to do but one of the great things about OW is that it DOESNT give you tasks to do#it just presents a space and a reality and you get to decide what you want to do within that space#and due to the genius of its design almost every player is going to end up with the same end goal!#which the game NEVER assigns but which you naturally gravitate to due to the results of your exploration!#anyway. exploration games. love them. cant understand the subset of gamers who hate them but i know they exist
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Bungie dev voice: You know what we should do? Make an arena players can fall off of and die, have the players cooldowns not refresh when they die, and then fill the arena with enemies that launch barrages of missiles that knock the player around while the boss has a dive bomb that can also knock them off the arena
#girlbob.txt#destiny 2#tormentors are really cool but it's a shame that lightfall is designed this way#i legit feel like i HAVE to take the grapple grenade and then never use it in case i need to recover#not to mention the gravity/physics engine in this game is like#spiteful layers of bad#i'll get back to the mission later i just hate how rapidly i can become overwhelmed#it's clear that story missions are designed around you having friends to play it tbh#even if the actual damage isn't all that high. the mechanics just feel like they require having at least one other person so you can rez#each other
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