#Dorian was like nope I’m handling this you just put it out of your mind and he was the one handling school

[pergaminaa]

Modern au

Manon and Dorian are kinda sorta pretentious af and they made sure their daughter has a name that has its own weight but also they made sure it’s beautiful.

Their daughter’s name and middle name translates to: beautiful gracious queen (her first name is welsh like her mama and Dorian was the one to pick her middle name and he made sure both names worked together both in sound and meaning)

The daughter accidentally learned of her name’s meaning and with her ego it wasn’t a good kind of knowledge.

Because when anyone referred to her as ‘princess’ she’d just roll her eyes (like her mom) and mutter “why call me a princess when I’m a queen”

Anyway baby ate her pride when she started school and was forced to learn how to write her name. Because her name (first) is long. With eight letters there were a lot of tears involved.

Manon negotiated (she actually lost the negotiations because her daughter is small and too pitiful she had to help) again pushover mama so anyway baby would write it only three times and Manon would write the rest.

Dorian was like ‘witchling, you can’t do that’ and he’d sit with his daughter instead because ‘you need to learn how to write your name’ but his daughter argues that his and Manon’s names are short and they don’t understand her plight

Dorian is like, it’s only two letters more than his name, and three letters more than Manon’s so it’s really not that bad.

He lays down on the floor next to the tantruming child. He helps by writing her name twice but she has to do the rest.

Honestly Manon is weak and gives in easily this is why Dorian took over homework because he can handle their child and her dramatics (which she takes after him that’s why he GETS her while Manon just gives in)

[yabai-korra]

Why I think Gwyn is NOT Tamlin's daughter

+ TOG/ACOTAR GENTICS AT THE END

I've seen so many interesting theories in the ACOTAR fandom in regards to the new book, and a great chunk of these was about Gwyn being Tamlin/Lucien's daughter, and so I thought here's my take on it.

When I first read Gwyn saying "My sister and I were convinced at the Great Rite 28 years ago." I immediately thought "OH DAMN SHE MUST BE TAMLIN'S OR LUCIEN'S DAUGHTER!" but as I continued reading the book I put my Maas hat on and was like... "Hmm... yeah I don't think that's happening."

I have read, or rather, savored, all of Throne of Glass and ACOTAR books, so I'm an experienced SJM reader. Lemme tell you something about her writing, it's full, and I mean full, of foreshadowing. She creates ridiculously complicated plots and connections, even mixing in between the serials, and most of these you pick up on when you reread.

Did you know that Feyre was in fact mentioned going to TOG world in Heir of Fire? Did you know that Aelin was in A Court Of Silver Flames? Did you know that Dorian's first appearance in Throne of Glass has a Manorian reference? Did you know Vassien as a ship was a subject of a fae story in Heir of Fire? Did you know Rowaelin was foreshadowed in Throne of Glass? Did you know that Kaltain gave us a Manorian hint in Throne of Glass?

And these are just the ones I randomly thought of, there are so so much more!

Now, as a SJM reader, when I started thinking about "My sister and I were conceived on the Great Rite 28 years ago." I thought... that is too easy, too convenient, too obvious.

To me, that sentence is the equivalent of "Stay with the High Lord."

When I, and 99% of other readers first read it, the thought process was like this: It's obviously Tamlin! The Suriel just didn't refer to him by his name.

Same thing with the Great Rite, even a casual reader would immediately connect it to Tamlin.

Which High Lord did we see do Great Rite? Tamlin.

When the Great Rite was mentioned again, who was it mentioned with? Tamlin.

Who was the only High Lord not UTM 28 years ago? Tamlin.

This is something most of the fandom picked on, because it's so easy and so obvious, and I think SJM did it on purpose to bait us, but left clues (will get there soon) that it is actually not Tamlin, like she did in the first book.

Of course everyone will associate Tamlin with the Great Rite, especially one that happened while all the other High Lords were UTM, but how many readers will remember that:

It's not only the High Lord that participates, but his whole court

High Lord can refuse to participate like Tamlin did the last time

Gwyn said her mother did it with a stranger, and yeah they were under the masks at the time, but who doesn't know how the High Lord looks like? (granted her mom might have lied about it but I don't think it's the case considering it was specifically said it was a stranger when it wasn't necessary)

This is exactly like "Stay with the High Lord" because everyone immediately went with Tamlin because it was the logical thing to do, didn't even cross their minds that High Lord could be some other High Lord, I think Sarah is pulling the same trick twice.

I do think however that she left us a major clue on why it is not Tamlin, and that is Catrin, Gwyn's twin sister. She was mentioned a few times throughout the book as Gwyn's motivation and drive to move on and work hard, which is totally understandable, but mentioning her appearance... unnecessary. And SJM never writes anything unnecessary.

Gwyn has coppery-brown hair and teal eyes, and if she was the only child it could easily be assumed that she got it from her mother and that her father might look completely different. However, Catrin had black hair and black eyes, obviously like their mother who was a half nymph, which makes it a pretty reasonable assumption that Gwyn at least partly looks like her father.

Technically, it is possible that out of twins neither gets anything from the father and took it from grandparents instead, but it is extremely rare and not something an author would do. Imagine, you are a writer and you want to hint that this guy is the father of these twins, and you give neither twin any of his appearance traits. In fact, you go out of your way to point out that neither resembles him in the slightest.

Neither of them even has a similar trait, it wouldn't be stretching at all if Gwyn had reddish-blond or strawberry blond hair instead, or having a greenish glow in her eyes or amber specks in the center like Tamlin does. Or leaving Catrin's appearance a mystery. There was no reason to mention the way she looks whatsoever, yet SJM purposely pointed out that she looks completely different from Tamlin and Gwyn, making it obvious Gwyn gets the looks from the father while Catrin did from the mother.

See what I'm getting at here? She's baiting us while subtly planting hints that it's not the obvious option.

We have already seen the way she handles genetics (lil bonus):

Lucien has Helion's dark skin, and Loa's hair and eyes.

Nyx has Rhysand's skin and hair, and Feyre's eyes.

In TOG, when Rowan has a dream about his future children, three kids are a combination of his and Aelin's traits, while the youngest has his hair but her grandfather's eyes, eyes only, because kid inheriting complete looks from a grandparent is very very unlikely, and makes no sense from author's perspective.

Also, while everyone is focused on LUCIEN being Helion's son, nobody noticed that ERIS probably is as well! Not only were Loa and Helion involved when Eris was conceived, but Eris and Helion are also the ONLY TWO characters in the whole ACOTAR universe to have amber eyes, there is no way that's a coincidence. She literally described Beron's brown eyes, Loa's russet eyes, Helion's amber eyes and Eris's amber eyes all the in the chapter and nobody noticed because we didn't know of Loa and Helion yet, then all the focuses went to Lucien.

She wrote children looking exactly like one parent, a mix of parents, looking mostly like one parent, and having ONE trait from a grandparent which was literally only done not to have two kids that look the same way, but both twins having 0 resemblances to one parent? No way.

So, Lucien's daughter? Possibly. (I personally don't think so bc Lucien has way too much drama already lol but possible)

Tamlin's daughter? Nope.

My guess though? It's neither, I personally think Gwyn has a way more interesting story to explore (like being a Lighsinger) than who her father is.

[salexectrian-heir]

Loki: Chapter 13

Pairing: Solavellan Rating: E*

Summary: Lavellan rescued a mischievious sphynx kitten outside her work who loves her dearly. But his destructive habits start to get out of hand when he steals her attractive neighbor’s underwear… repeatedly.

Chapter 13

It had been the single most perfect Valentine’s Day she had ever had. The dinner, the candles, the bath…

Ar lath ma.

The admission had been a whisper against her skin. She thought she might have even made it up, hearing things she wanted to hear, so desperately. Her heart beat took off in a rapid staccato, spurring her to wrap her arms around his neck and slate her mouth over his. His confession had tasted even sweeter on her lips. Had felt more steady than the way he carried her out of the bath. Had been more intoxicating than the pleasure he gave her over and over in his bed that night. 

And yet it got caught in her throat when she tried to return it.

But that was why she was here now, outside his apartment. If she couldn’t say it yet, then she would show it. And then try to figure out why. 

A small voice hissed at the back of her head that she knew the reason, that she was just a coward. 

Nothing good lasts forever. Look what happened the last time a man told you that. Screaming matches, a family feud, heartbreak, a broken engagement, and running away.

She let out a sharp exhale, and quickly rolled her shoulders to chase away the fear. This time it would be different. She would be different. She had grown from that, and would shake off hold it had on her heart.

The key to his apartment was warm in her hand. Correction, now her key. She had been holding it tightly for the last five minutes standing outside his door, not quite ready to let herself in, mind revelling in the memories. If being honest, she was still not entirely over the fact that he gave her it in the first place. She had made him swear not to get her any gifts for Valentine's day on their date a week ago. She didn’t need chocolates or flowers (though she really did love getting flowers), and didn’t want him to feel like he had to buy her things just because some holiday dictated it. She would much rather receive a gift spontaneously, because he thought of her in the moment. And he listened. He did not give her his key on Valentine’s day. Instead, he waited until they had gone to bed. 

“It is 1:03 AM,” he had said, reaching over her body to open the drawer of his bedside table and to take something out. 

“Yeah, so?” She twisted beneath him, trying to get a better look at what he was doing.

 “It’s no longer Valentine’s Day. I can now give you a gift.”

“Oi,” she had begun to protest, “I said we’d split this date evenly, and you already broke that rule.” Her attempt to pin his arm back down had been easily thwarted, “and now you’re about to break--” he interrupted with a kiss to her lips. Then to her nose. Then to her cheek, trailing down her jaw to her neck. Needless to say that distraction worked. While preoccupied with his mouth, he had pressed something into her the palm of her hand in the darkness. The shape was unmistakable.

“It is not much, but I figured it would be wise if you had a key to my place. That is, if you ever wanted to come over, even if it is three am after your shift when I am not away, or--”

Anise had not been so chaste in her interruption. Not at all.

“I said no presents,” she had said between kisses, “you lied to me.”

“Only by omission.”

She turned the key over in her hand. She was here to show her love, to fill his fridge with groceries so he would have something to eat when he got in tonight because she knew he would be too tired to go to the store himself before coming home.

The lock came open with ease, and the light from the hall trickled in as she opened the door. 

In the dark, his apartment screamed ‘I’m lonely’. Flicking on the hall light didn’t do much to help, now it screamed ‘I’m lonely’ but with a fluorescent twist. She made a mental note to get him some better mood lighting. Candles seemed to be his go to, which are fantastic and romantic, but not always practical. And the amount of time he spent staring at his computer screen and doing paperwork… his eyes would thank him for it. 

She loaded his fridge with the essentials for breakfast she knew he liked. Almond milk, berry yogurt, eggs, granola for his pantry, a few boxes of protein bars. And a few things he could make for a later meal, fresh vegetables and fish. On a notepad she found on the counter she left him a note about what he would find, a little heart. 

On her way out, she paused by his bedroom door. His bed was immaculately made with not a wrinkle in sight. Like they had never spent nights together in it together. Like it had never been slept in at all. Heat rose rapidly in her cheeks at the idea her mind conjured staring at his bed. She shifted her weight as she stood in the doorway, debating whether or not to follow through on it. 

“Why the hell not,” she thought and walked towards the bed, pulling her hair out of the bun that had kept it piled on top of her head. 

She tossed back the comforter and broke the seal on the neatly tucked sheets. Phone in hand, she pulled her t-shirt over her head, left her bra and yoga pants on the floor, and climbed into his bed. She arranged his gray sheets over her body, pulled out her phone and laid down, her red hair spilling onto his pillows. With the front facing camera, she took a picture and sent it to Solas. quickly following up with a text of “i miss you”. He was most definitely on his flight by now, and most likely wouldn’t get it until he landed, and she would be well into her shift.

She didn’t fix his sheets before she left.

***

The first on-call room she tried to open she was met with a chorus of shocked outbursts. She slammed the door shut before she could see anything she would later regret. 

“Locks exist for a reason,” she snapped at the couple through the door, pounding her fist on it for good measure. 

The next one over was, graciously, empty and she quickly flopped down onto one of the beds. She needed just ten minutes to herself. The moment she had arrived at the hospital it had been chaos. A tractor trailer crashed into the bus that ran between downtown Haven and the suburbs on the highway, causing the ER to flood with bodies. She immediately started her shift scrubbing into an emergency surgery to assist Vivienne. Normally, the opportunity to scrub in with the Chief was well fought over by the residents, but no one protested when Vivienne called on Anise. There hadn’t been time for petty in-fighting this afternoon. 

Their patient, the bus driver, suffered several ruptured organs in their abdomen causing massive hemorrhaging, and a few broken ribs. In the end, their spleen had to be removed but their liver was salvaged and the perforations along their intestinal track repaired.

The vibration of her phone trapped between her thigh and the firm mattress ultimately stirred her from the depths of her mindlessness. A smile formed her lips when she saw she had a text from Solas. The perfect distraction.

 [Vhenan]

Thank you for the groceries. You are too kind. 

[10:03pm]

 A few seconds later, he sent another.

 [Vhenan]

 [Image]

Why are you not still in it?

[10:04pm]

It was a picture of his empty, ruined bed. Her smile broke into a full grin. 

[Anise]

 duty called, and it has been non-stop.  but i just so happen to have some free time on my hands right now

[10:05pm]

[Vhenan]

 Wasted, granted you are not here. I could think of many things to do to you with your hands in that free time

[10:05pm]

 Heat pooled in her belly, trickling down to ignite that oh so sweet sensation between her thighs.

 [Vhenan]

 Though, I should not distract you from your duty. That would be unkind.

[10:05pm]

[Anise]

 You. Tease.

[10:06pm]

[Vhenan]

 Come over after your shift ends. Whatever time that is. I will make it up to you.

[10:06pm]

 The sudden opening of the on-call room door startled Anise, and she dropped her phone right onto her face. 

“I didn’t...interrupt something… did I?” Hawke said, hesitating in the doorway.

Anise’s already flaming face burned even hotter. 

“No,” she said defensively, scrambling to sit up and stash her phone in her lab coat pocket.

“You aren’t really selling it.” Hawke kicked the door shut behind her and face planted on the bed on the opposite side of the room. Her voice came out muffled. “I’m laying down here anyway. Now spill it, Spice.” 

Anise rubbed her face with both hands. Hawke wasn’t going anywhere, and she had been dodging her for weeks about her personal life, after she overhead Dorian’s well-intentioned teasing of her extracurricular affairs. So she decided to be honest. 

“Well, I… started talking to someone.”

Hawke’s head immediately shot up. “Ooh, can I guess?”

Anise crossed her arms. “They don’t work here, so no.”

“Damn,” Hawke said, rolling over to face Anise, “you were able to meet someone outside of work? Where are you getting your free time, I would like some of that.” 

With a dismissive wave of her hand Anise said, “It was more of an accident. Chance encounter type thing.”

There was no way in hell Anise was going to tell Hawke she only met Solas because her kitten stole his underwear. Nope, not ever. Hawke would never let her live it down.

“Lucky you, I take it that’s why you were grinning all doe-eyed at your phone?”

“I was no--”

“Oh, come on,” Hawke teased, and made a cheesy, hopeless romantic facial expression, “total lovestruck doofus.”

Anise grabbed her pillow and lobbed it at Hawke’s face for a direct hit. “Ass.” 

“You got it bad, Spice,” Hawke cackled as she put the second pillow under her head, watching Anise stand and head to the door. “By the way, the new rotation schedule is up.”

Anise paused, her hand on the handle and looked over her shoulder. Hawke’s face broke into a shit-eating grin. 

“Judging by your smugness, you got what you wanted. Ortho?”

“Hell yeah I did.” Hawke’s eyes gleamed mischievously. “You on the other hand…”

“Oh no, I don’t like that look…Hawke, just tell me. What’s my verdict?”

“You’re on Cardio.”

Anise gulped.

“Good luck dealing with Fenris.”

Hawke’s snickering followed her out the door.

***

Anise gasped and shot up in bed, fingers digging into the center of her chest, scratching at the skin and bone barrier that separated her lungs from the oxygen she so desperately lacked. It was only a small relief to find as she raked her fingernails down her sternum that her chest cavity was not in fact split open, but wholly sealed and unbroken.

Firm hands yanked her own away from her body, and pulled her forward into a tight embrace as she continued to get down as much air as she could. He cradled her head under his chin and held her close to his body.

“I’m right here.” His voice cut through the static buzzing in her head and she latched onto it. “Okay?”  The familiar and comforting scent of him washed over her in seconds, and she began to relax in his arms. The steady rise and fall of his chest against her shoulder grounded her, and she tried to sync her own in time with his. 

“Nightmare,” he said more so than asked, after a few minutes had passed and her breaths came at less labored pace.

She nodded.and shifted so she could face him. “I was in the OR for open heart surgery.”

A hand rubbed at her back in slow circles down her spine. “Aren’t you always?”

“Yes,” she laughed, but it was mirthless. More of a slight gasp. “But I was on the operating table. Awake,” she said, knuckles digging into her breast bone again, feeling its solid resistance against her touch. The beat of her heart was still a little too fast to be normal. “It felt so real, I could feel everything. I–I couldn’t tell it was a dream. How do I know this isn’t? And it’s not the anesthesia kicking in and–”  

“Anise.” He entwined the fingers of his free hand with hers and guided it away from her body again. “Do you have a history of heart problems?”

Since I met you, perhaps.

“No,” she said instead, and felt more of the tension bleed out from her body. 

“You’ve been working too much.”

As he said it, it clicked. 

“I just found out I’m on cardio rotation next week, that has to be why.” 

The cardiothoracic attending was a bit of a nightmare himself, to say he was impossibly judgemental and incredibly intimidating would have been an understatement. And on top of that, there was some kind of unspoken feud between him and Anders, which made it difficult to get to know him. Seeing as she was friends with Anders, he didn’t really give her the time of day.

She sighed. “I just can’t shake how… how real it was.”

“Well, I am reasonably certain we are awake now, half-dressed, in my bedroom.”

That made her truly laugh, and chased away the remaining fear that had been lingering in her body. “Only reasonably certain?” She traced a path long his bare thigh with her fingertips, enjoying the way he tensed at her touch.

His exasperation was evident in the sharp exhale he let out against the top of her head. 

“Forgive me for my poor choice of words.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “But if I am being honest, you continue to surprise me every time you wish to stay.”

She turned her face so that it was only inches away from his own. 

“I sometimes believe you are a figment of a dream I created and expect to wake in an empty bed.”

“So dramatic,” she said, and tilted her face so that she could capture his lips before he could pull away.  “Am I everything you dreamed I would be?” 

“That and more,” he said without missing a beat, laying her back down with a kiss and pulling the covers back over their bodies. 

His hands continued to hold her as one kiss turned into another, and another...

Eventually, he drifted off into sleep. Her head tucked neatly under his chin, arms wrapped loosely around her body, and a thigh resting between her own. She was on the verge of joining him, but wanted to stay awake just a little longer in the comfort of his embrace.

Ar lath ma was her last conscious thought.

[eldritchsurveys]

808.

this is a survey I made in fucking 2013 lmao. god

i. it seems that the average survey-taker is a white american female, aged 15-19, who has a car, a cell phone, and an extensive social circle. is this true for you? >> This is hilarious because I was complaining about this recently. Some things never change, I guess... Anyway, obviously it is not true for me except for the American part (not that it does me any favours). I do have a phone, though. (I didn’t back when I made this survey; couldn’t afford one.)

ii. xanga, unlike a lot of sites, rarely changes its layout. do you like this, or do you think there should be more updates? what do you think they should add (or remove)? >> Well, this question didn’t age well.

iii. have you seen any silent films? >> I haven’t. I’m not sure I’d be able to enjoy a silent film, to be honest. I’ve seen bits of silent films in modern cinema (there was a bit of one in the Watchmen show’s pilot, for example, which is what I’m thinking of right now) and the whole concept just looks obnoxious to follow along with.

iv. would you rather be an actor, director, or soundtrack producer? >> I wouldn’t want to be in show business at all, but I guess if I really had to choose a place to be, I think being involved with the music would be cool.

v. what is your favourite hue of your favourite colour? >> Gold is my favourite colour, which is already a hue, as far as I can gather.

vi. have you seen nbc's 'hannibal'? thoughts? (if you haven't, do you want to?) >> Heh. I’m still pretty obsessed with Hannibal, but it was a lot more fun when it was current and this website was inundated with good content. And memes, can’t forget the hannilols.

vii. on websites where you're permitted to change your username, do you do so often, or do you keep the same one for long periods of time? >> I used to have chronic shapeshifter syndrome on the internet, but I’ve mostly settled down into a few “canon” usernames/handles. It just becomes a lot of work after a while, and I guess it just... stopped feeling so important, to switch things up all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a pretty malleable and mercurial identity, that’s just my nature -- but expressing every facet of that mercuriality on the internet has become less important. (Let’s see if that changes again in the next few years ;) as it goes)

viii. does your computer have a name? what is it? if not, what is your desktop wallpaper? >> Heh, this is definitely a “me” question. The computer I’m on right now is named Dorian Gray, and my gaming rig is named Azathoth.

ix. do you consider yourself an activist, or a supporter of any social-justice causes? why or why not? >> Nope. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just not compassionate enough. Maybe I’ve got some dead brain matter. I don’t know why I don’t have the same passion for activism that a lot of my peers seem to have. I mean, it’s certainly not because I’m particularly privileged (I’m really not) and it’s not because I don’t think my peers have the right of things. I just... don’t have enough emotional investment, I guess. I don’t know, man. But I also don’t have that kind of energy. Protests (most of which end up turning into bad-cop shitshows, apparently) and shit like that aren’t really the best place for my post-traumatic ass, you dig? Anyway, I think about this a lot (especially lately) but I have no clear-cut answers as to why I am not activism-oriented, when I clearly should be.

x. if you are non-religious, do you feel pressured to be religious or do you find that people often try to 'convert' you? if you are religious, how does it make you feel when others speak contemptuously of religious people? >> I don’t feel pressured to be religious, no. Who would even pressure me? Most of the people I know are full-on atheists, or pagans who just do their own weird thing and mind their business. Mostly.

xi. if you are religious, what is your religion and how do you observe it? if you are non-religious, do you find religion an interesting thing to study, anyway? >> I am intensely interested in religion. I find it one of the most interesting things to study, from so many different angles. I just don’t have one of my own.

xii. would you want a personal robot (think 'bicentennial man' or 'a.i.')? what would you name it? what purpose would it serve? >> Heh. Well, I don’t know. I mean, I feel like it would be cool to have an android companion, but it wouldn’t be happening in a vacuum. If, say, America figured out AI and started making AI companions for people, you can pretty much imagine how that would go. Capitalist hellscape plus a terrible culture of human superiority (well, white man superiority, to be specific, but) and a productivity-based mentality? Can we just not create and subject a new kind of lifeform to that, please.

xiii. are you eager to see how far science + technology will advance, or do you prefer an older way of doing things? do you think we are better off with these advancements, or not? >> I used to be really into technological advancement and The Singularity and all of that, which is why this question exists. And I still personally think all that shit is cool as hell. But like I said, none of it happens in a vacuum, and as long as we continue not to improve as organic, social, sapient lifeforms... it really doesn’t matter if cars can drive themselves or whatever. It’s all just part of the hellscape. I love my computers, I love the internet, I love the weird new gadgets I see on Gizmodo and I love space programs. God knows I do. I just... can’t unsee the other stuff.

xiv. what is your favourite comic book or graphic novel? does your favourite novel come in comic-book form? (if not, would you like it to?) >> My favourite comic book (well, comic book series) is probably... Promethea. Or Sandman. Preacher is definitely up there too. I don’t have a favourite novel, but I think Lovecraftian comics are great (Alan Moore did a few that I loved), and the Dark Tower comics were works of art. I wish someone would make Ayn Rand books into comics, I think that’d be funky.

xv. have you ever thought of a question that you'd like to see on a survey, but you couldn't think of enough other questions to put it in a survey yourself? do you remember what the question was? (if you can, feel free to answer it here.) >> I have a post in my drafts that’s just for throwing in questions that I think up, in the hopes that one day I’ll have thrown enough random questions in there to make a whole survey out of. We’ll see, lmao.

[quentinxdelancret]

Discord Thread || Quentin & Dorian

Discord thread featuring: Quentin and Dorian

When: September 21st

Mentions: Jaycee Lynd, Khai Ozera, and Landon Davies.

Description:Dorian meets Quentin at the studio to record a cover of Chandelier by Sia with him.

Trigger Warning: Hardcore flirting and NSFW-ISH content.

Quentin. Quentin didn’t really know too much about Dorian. All he really knew was that Jaycee signed him, and that his music was fucking amazing! Aside from the obvious that he was also extremely good looking of course. It was only natural for Quentin to want to hang out and jam with someone as beautiful and talented as Dorian Taylor. Especially now that he was single and had free range to flirt as much as he pleased. He sat in the studio tuning his guitar as he waited for the other male to show up. Doing a few vocal exercises with the chords he strummed to warm up his voice,  just in case they decided to record. He didn’t even hear the other male enter the space as he belted out a few of the notes from Sia’s hit song Chandelier. “Oh shit” he practically sing songed when he noticed the figure beside him. “How long were you standing there? Vous devez avertir un homme que vous êtes ici. J'ai failli avoir une crise cardiaque” he laughed.

DORIAN The last thing Dorian expected was for someone to get his number from his boss, ask him to jam out with him, and heavily flirt with him in the process. In the back of his mind, Dorian felt a little guilty for flirting back with Quentin; but, he knew that in reality he shouldn’t be guilty about it. He was single and there was no way to know for sure if he and Khai would get back together. And while they were on a break, not long after it began in fact, Khai slept with Landon. So whatever may happen with Quentin was fair game. Plus, it wasn’t like he intended for something to happen between the two of them, but if it did, he probably wouldn’t stop it. He walked into the studio and smiled as he heard Quentin warming up, not wanting to interrupt. He had a great voice. When he turned around suddenly, he couldn’t help but laugh at how startled he’d gotten. And hearing him speak French in person was quite the treat. “Sorry! I haven’t been here long. I was listening to you warm up and didn’t want to interrupt.”

Quentin. Seeing Dorian in person was not what he expect at all. He knew this man looked good in pictures, but wow. He kinda just stared for a moment as he listened to him speak and then chuckled again. “Please, by all mean. Interrupt” he grinned. He stretched out his leg to hook his foot around the other chair and pulled it out to offer Dorian a seat. “You got here fast. Did you fly or were you just that excited to see me?” Of course he was flirting already, it just came naturally to him after all. Besides, have you seen this guy he was looking at? Again, wow. “So... do you know the song already? Or do you need a lesson?” he asked, quirking his brow slightly. He was pretty sure Dorian didn’t come here just to flirt, so he tried his best to stay professional. Although the looks Q was giving him could practically undress anyone.

DORIAN Dorian could feel Quentin’s eyes on him and his cheeks reddened slightly. Any time someone openly gawked at him, it made him a little sheepish. Especially after all that had happened in the last couple weeks, it was nice to feel desired. He took a seat when Quentin pulled a chair out for him and then laughed softly at the other’s teasing remark, rolling his eyes playfully. “Don’t flatter yourself. I don���t live far from the studio, that’s all.” This guy was such a flirt and he didn’t know whether to take his flirting seriously or not. “I know the song pretty well already, but I’m sure you have a new arrangement in mind for it.” He licked his lips subtly as he caught Quentin admiring him yet again.

Quentin. It wasn’t a secret that Quentin could lay on the flirting pretty strong when he wanted to. He liked making people feel good, and when they were as good looking as Dorian, it was an added bonus for himself as well. It had been so long since he had been with another male though, so the flirting was definitely thick. He craved the feeling of being dominated and it was quite clear in his eyes that he was interested in a lot more than just the music. “I do have a few arrangements. I tend to grunge up everything just a little bit. Kinda make it my own ya know?” He had been doing covers for some time now, and even with his own music in the works. He had a deep passion for putting his twist on songs people already seemed to love. “It’s kinda got the feel you just heard while spying on me” he teased. Strumming the chords a few more times to refresh the others memory. “I’m kinda down for you to just do your own thing. I really wanna feel you out” he grinned.

DORIAN Dorian nodded, figuring that Quentin intended to put a grungy spin on the song and he was all for it. “Yeah, totally. I think it’s a great route to go, especially if the whole grungy/pop-punk sound is the lane you want to be in as an artist.” He laughed softly. “I was not spying on you, but I bet you wish I would.” He listened to the chords he’d started playing and bobbed his head along with the melody. He couldn’t help but laugh again at Quentin’s choice of words. “You really wanna me feel me out, huh?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow and smirking playfully at him.

Quentin. “Oh yeah, definitely” he nodded. His crooked smile making his deep blue eyes almost sparkle as he gazed over at Dorian. “It’s always been my choice genre. But I can soften it up a bit too” he suggested, shrugging slightly to one side. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of Dorian as he watched his reaction to his playing and he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth before letting out a small laugh. “Mhm, I don’t believe that for a second. But you are more than welcome to spy on me any time” he winked. He almost blushed at Dorians next comment, and usually this would be where he made his move.  But he just giggled instead. Lifting his leg to place his foot onto Dorians chair beside his thigh as he scooted his own chair a bit closer to his. “That’s what I said” he grinned. Leaning back into his chair a bit to let the guitar vibrate against him with each strum. “Is that okay with you?”

DORIAN Dorian smiled, endeared by how passionate Quentin clearly was about his music. He could obviously relate to that. He rolled his eyes playfully again as he kept teasing him about him ‘spying’. “Mhm, I bet I can.” His crooked smile widened when Quentin started giggling. Well, damn, that was cute and unexpected. He watched him scoot closer to him and eyed him curiously. “It might be. We’ll see.”

Quentin. “You totally can” he assured.  Dorians wide smile causing his own to widen even more. He stopped strumming the guitar and pulled the strap from over his shoulder. Placing it down onto the floor beside him against the desk. “That just sounds like maybe we should get to know one another a little better” he said softly. Licking his lips as his other foot came up beside Dorians other leg. He leaned forward slightly, his back lifting from the back of his chair as he hooked his arms around his knees. “So.. how many tattoos do you have? Do they go all the way down?” he asked. Placing his finger on Dorians chest and trailing it all the way down to his belly bottom. His bottom lip tucking impishly between his teeth.

DORIAN Honestly, this flirting was pretty exciting. Again, it felt amazing to be desired and what Quentin told him earlier had been true. He clearly wasn’t shy about what he wanted. It was written all over his face and in his body language. It was sexy, he couldn’t lie. He watched Quentin drop the guitar and basically knew that moves were about to be made. “I have 38 tattoos,” Dorian told him. He licked his lips as Quentins finger trailed down his chest and stomach. Good move. Really good move. “There aren’t any below the belt, but there are some on my legs.”

Quentin. There wasn’t anything more sexy to Quentin than someone who could match his energy. He knew he could be a lot to handle, but Dorian seemed to be taking to him quite well. He rested his chin against his arm as he licked his lips again and nodded to Dorians words. “Can I see them?” he asked, the tone in his voice dropping a bit innocently. “I’ve always wanted more tattoos, but I only have three. le corps est un temple après tout, yeah?” he grinned. He pulled his hand away from Dorians stomach and leaned back into his chair. “If you show me yours I’ll show you mine” he practically purred. His hand pushing up beneath his own shirt as he rubbed his lower abdomen. Showing his skin in a bit of a peek-a-boo fashion.

DORIAN Dorian loved the way Quentin looked at him. He could really get used to being stared at like this by him. He quirked an eyebrow when Quentin asked to see his tattoos. In order for him to see them all, he’d half to be half naked. “I don’t speak French, hon,” He said when Quentin said some more words in French. When Quentin said that he’d show him his if he showed him his, Dorian was beginning to wonder what exactly he wanted to see. “Are you sure it’s just my tattoos that you wanna see? Anyway, in order to show you them all, I’d have to take my shirt and my pants off.”

Quentin. The corner of his lips twisted up into a devilish grin when Dorian said he didn’t speak French. Most people didn’t, but he enjoyed watching the reaction he got when he did. “I just said the body is a temple” he clarified. Bringing his hand to his mouth as he slowly traced his lips with his finger. “Hmm, nope. I’m not sure that’s all I wanna see” he answered boldly.  His thumb pushing against his bottom lip as he raised his brow curiously. “Alright, well, don’t let me stop you” he giggled again.

DORIAN “Maybe you can teach me some French.” He looked at Quentin’s lips, unable to stop himself from wondering what they would feel like against his own. Quentin had a very sexual energy and it was enticing. He chuckled softly at Quentin’s confession. He contemplated it for a second before he just thought fuck it and stood up and took his shirt off, tossing it aside and then started to work at getting his pants off. If Quentin wanted to see his tattoos, there was no harm in that, right?

Quentin. “I could definitely teach you whatever you like” he nodded. Moving his feet to allow Dorian space to stand up. His eyes scanning over the others body hungrily as he let his tongue glide across his top teeth. Dorian had a very nice body, it was almost hard to keep his focus on what he tattoos actually were. “Damn” he breathed out a bit heavily. The hint of desire lacing his tone as he stood up himself. His hand reaching out to trail his fingers across the tattoo on Dorians chest. He walked around the taller male. His fingers lazily trailing around to his back as he stood behind him. “Very, very sexy” he purred again. His fingers coming back around to Dorians chest as he sat back down in his chair. His fingers once again trailing down the others stomach as he grabbed the hem of his boxers to pull him closer. “I have an idea” he grinned. Motioning with the finger on his free hand for Dorian to lean in closer. “How about I let you try to find mine?” he almost whispered as his cheek pressed against Dorians.

DORIAN Did this man just fucking walk out of a wet dream Dorian was having and appear before him? Quentin was like something out of a movie. A hot French guy who treats you like you’re the sexiest person they’ve ever seen? One doesn’t run across that kind of person in real life. That only happened in porn or romcoms. But yet, here Quentin was. Dorian bit his lip gently as the other man gazed at him and cursed under his breath. Quentin’s fingers were soft, yet calloused as they ran over his skin, like those of a guitar player. He knew that feeling all too well as his fingers were the same way and he’d hooked up with many other musicians in his day. He blushed lightly at Quentin’s praise. He remained standing as the other sat down and leaned in close when he was beckoned to do so. He quirked an eyebrow at the suggestion. “Sounds like a difficult game to win.”

Quentin. There were definitely many sides to Quentin, but not all of them were always visible. He liked to give just small glimpses into his darkness, but there was also a real softness about him too. He was easy to connect with if you really let yourself, and the way things were going with Dorian, he couldn’t really hide his vulnerability. It was almost as if he had fallen weak to the defined body of Dorian Taylor and the way it moved when he prompted it to. “I wouldn’t let you lose” he assured with a low sultry tone. The tattoo on his forearm already visible as he kept a firm grip on Dorians boxers.”and when you win. I’ll let you do whatever you like with me” he grinned. “Or, maybe you just win already” he chuckled softly. His blue eyes breaking connection with Dorians as he shifted them to the bulge in his boxers. His chest rising and falling a bit heavier as he licked his lips and slowly gazed back up at Dorian.

DORIAN In reality, Dorian knew that the likelihood of this just being a normal studio session now that he was half naked and Quentin’s eyes and hands had been exploring his body was slim to none. At this point, he was just left wondering what was going to happen next and the anticipation was pretty exhilarating. He searched Quentin’s person and found the tattoo on his forearm. “Well, I found one,” He pointed out, running his finger over the ink on the other’s forearm. He watched Quentin’s eyes drop to the bulge in his underwear and couldn’t help but smirk a bit. Still, he wanted to keep the game going and keep looking for the other’s tattoos. “Let’s see.. is there one on your shoulder? Your stomach?”

Quentin. Quentin started to wonder if he really ever had any intention of having a jam session. Maybe his subconscious had reached out to Dorian for something a little more fun. It wouldn’t surprise him, Dorian was gorgeous, and he was newly single. Where was the harm in having some fun right? He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth again as the other mans finger trailed across the tattoo in his arm and he shook his head. “No, but you’re really warm” he informed. Wondering when Dorian was going to actually get the urge to remove his shirt. Maybe he was shy? Quentin definitely found it adorable too, but he kept trying to poke at the dominant side the other spoke of earlier. “Should I start undressing myself? Or are you really trying to see through my clothes right now?” he asked with a soft flirty giggle.

DORIAN Dorian could feel Quentin pushing him to make a move, to do more. To push the situation further. He was feeling some slight hesitation but at the same time, his curiosity was peaking. When Quentin told him his guesses were warm, he tilted his head inquisitively and decided to taunt the other male slightly by reaching under his shirt and running his hands slowly over his stomach before pulling away suddenly. He shook his head. “No, don’t undress yourself. That’s for me to do. Stand up.” Once the other obeyed and was on his feet again, he pulled Quentin’s shirt over his head and gazed at him admirably.

Quentin. Quentin sucked his stomach in, tightening the muscles in his abdomen as Dorians hand explored his body. His bottom lip popping from the grip of his teeth as his lips parted. He felt a sudden tingle run through his body when Dorian asked him to stand up, and he obeyed without even giving it a second thought. His arms falling in line and lifting above his head as the male finally removed his shirt. His tattoo becoming clearly visible on his left peck as Dorians eyes gazed at his physique. “I guess that’s two” he grinned. His thumb hooking in the waistband of his pants as he let the weight of his hand pull them lower at his groin.

DORIAN Dorian smirked as he felt Quentin’s muscles tighten beneath his touch. The way Quentin immediately complied with his command for him to stand was also quite pleasing to the singer. Once Quentin’s shirt was off, he saw the tattoo on his chest. That was going to be his next guess, so he definitely considered that a win. He watched Quentin hook his thumb in his waistband and the bottoms sliding downward. He stepped closer to the other and pushed his hand away. “Didn’t I tell you I would be the one to undress you?” He reiterated, slowly sliding the pants down inch by inch, watching them reveal more and more of Quentin’s lower half. He smirked seeing how hard Quentin was already. Once the pants had fallen down to Quentin’s ankles, Dorian placed  his hands on Quentin’s hips, his thumbs rubbing circles into the other’s sides. “So how many more are left?” He murmured, leaning in close.

Quentin. Dorian really could be insanely sexy when he wanted to be. The shyness seemingly washing away from him as he scolded Quentin for being impatient. Being a tease was definitely not something Q ever tried to hide. But the fire it brought to Dorians eyes had him throbbing with anticipation. He placed his hands onto the other males shoulders as he let him pull down his pants, but he didn’t say a word. His eyes watching Dorians every move as his eyes scanned over his body. “Just one” he breathed out. But he knew Dorian wouldn’t find it with his pants around his ankles. “Think you can find it?” he asked with a crooked smirk. His voice dropping a bit lower with desire as Dorians thumbs rubbed into his skin. His own eyes clouding over with immense desire as he moved his left hand from the singers shoulders to rub against his jawline.

DORIAN Dorian smirked, realizing that he’d rendered Quentin speechless for a moment which was really impressive since Quentin seemed to be the kind of person who always had a comeback. Hearing that he only had one more tattoo to find, he slowly let his eye roam over Quentin’s body. There were two tattoos on his upper body, so he figured the last one was probably somewhere on his lower half. For some reason, he felt compelled to search his legs. He helped Quentin step safely out of the pants that pooled around his ankles and that’s when he found the final tattoo. He grinned smugly. “Alright, I win. What’s my prize?” He leaned in close again as Quentin’s hand rubbed against his jawline.

Quentin. He let out a soft playful chuckle as Dorian helped him out of his pants. Unable to keep the smile off of his face as he felt the other naked eyes on him. “Ah, look at you. Such a fine detective you are” he mused when Dorian finally found his last bit of ink. “That depends. What would you like?” His brow quirked up as he let his fingers trail along the definition of Dorians jawline. His lips parting only slightly as his tongue slid partially across his bottom lip. “Do you wanna kiss me?” he finally asked. His eyes gazing into the others as he tried not to appear too nervous.

DORIAN Dorian laughed softly and shrugged his shoulders. “I know, it was kind of just a process of elimination.” He quirked an eyebrow as Quentin asked him what he would like. “This is your game. You should decide what the rules and the prizes are,” He reasoned. He leaned into Quentin’s touch subconsciously as his fingers ran across his skin. He looked at Quentin’s lips before looking back into his eyes. “Do you wanna kiss me?”

Quentin. “That’s fair. I almost wish I would have hidden it better” he grinned. Of course the idea of Dorian having to search beneath his boxers was something he would definitely be into. “Ah, that it is” he nodded. Another chuckle falling from his lips, but at this point he was chuckling so much he was probably giving away his  nerves. He let his palm press against the singers face as he leaned into his touch and he nodded his head slowly. “I do, very much” he almost whispered. His eyes falling to Dorian’s lips as his other hand slid from his shoulder to the side of his neck. “Would that be okay?” Did Quentin usually ask for permission? Nope, never. But he could feel his heart pounding and beating hard against his rib cage. It only made sense to ask permission before completely melting into someone.

DORIAN Dorian chuckled and rolled his eyes playfully at that. “It’s pretty well hidden in the grand scheme of things. It’s right above your ankle written in small script. It’s not the most conspicuous tattoo in the world. I definitely wouldn’t have found it if I hadn’t taken your clothes off.” He looked at Quentin expectantly after he agreed that the prize was his decision to make. He grinned at Quentin asking for permission to kiss him. He found that very cute and endearing. He wanted to kiss him too, he just wanted Quentin to be forthright. “Yes,” He confirmed.

Quentin. “Yeah, I guess so. I used to do a lot of modeling. So, I had to hide it. But, I didn’t really try That hard to hide it” he grinned. His eyes focusing in on Dorians lips as he spoke, because all he could really think about was kissing him. “Yeah?” he repeated. His piercing blue eyes shifting up to meet Dorians for just a moment as both his hands softly clenching on to the singer as he leaned in to gently brush his lips against the others. He could feel Dorians hot breath against his mouth and it made him smile avidly as their lips ghosted over one another’s. “You’re so beautiful” he breathed out with a light whisper as his eyes fell shut. His left hand tightening around Dorians jawline as he leaned in even further and pressed their mouths together. Kissing him soundly and languidly as he used his tongue to coax  Dorian’s to push past his succulent lips.

DORIAN “Modeling, huh? I can definitely see that.” He smirked, seeing Quentin’s vision still focused on his lips. He nodded, his heart rate climbing as he waited for their lips to meet. He got lost in Quentin’s beautiful blue eyes for a moment before the other was finally leaning in and their lips brushed against each other’s. His breath caught in his throat for a second out of excitement and he reached up to place his hand on Quentin’s cheek, brushing his thumb against it. He blushed lightly at the compliment. “Thank you, but you’re one to talk,” He replied. He closed his eyes as he finally felt Quentin’s lips move against his own. He moaned softly when Quentin pressed his tongue against his lower lip, opening his mouth slightly to let him in.

Quentin. “Mhm” he hummed. He didn’t really want to get into all the details about that right now. But, he figured of things went well here, they would have plenty of time later to get deeper with one another. Dorian repaid the compliment and Quentin could feel his heart melting inside of him. This man was sweet, and Q knew he was going to be in trouble. But he welcomed it. “So sweet” he whispered softly before their lips pressed together. His lips brushing softly again against Dorians as he felt him open his mouth for him. “Mmm” he hummed softly. His grip on the singers face clenching on to sweet desperation as he let his tongue softly sneak between his lips. God, he was such a good kisser. So good in fact that Quentin was subconsciously pressing his body into Dorians as he moved his hands to caress his back.

DORIAN By the way Quentin reacted, Dorian had an inkling that there was more to the modeling story. But he wouldn’t pry. If ever Quentin wanted to tell him more about it, he could do so on his own time. For now, he would focus on kissing him and how great it felt to do so. He could hardly believe that he’d been invited here to work o a song and ended up half naked in the studio making out with Quentin. Not that he minded at all and he was sure that the song was still on the agenda whenever they were finished. But the turn of events that had taken place was still a pretty laughable thought. He felt Quentin press his body against his and his arms instinctively wrapped around the younger male’s waist, pulling him closer as they continued to kiss passionately. September 27, 2020

Quentin. It had been quite some time since Quentin had kissed another man like this. Dorian’s body felt firm and comforting against his own. It made him feel safe to be in his arms, and even after everything he had been through in his life, that was a pretty big deal. He let his chest press against Dorians soft warm flesh as he let his fingers trail lazily up and down his spine. The warmth building between their two bodies causing him to hum softly into their languid kiss as it slowly became more heated. “Mmm, shit” he breathed out against Dorians mouth. His head slightly lulling back as he let his lips brush intimately against the singers nose. He could feel his heart pounding inside of him as his chest softly pulsated against the older males. “You are such an amazing kisser” he smiled. His fingers lightly trailing up Dorians back as he wrapped his arms into a loving embrace around his head. Quentin held onto the other male as if he were trying to keep him as close as possible. Pressing  their foreheads together as his lips parted and his warm breath caressed the space between their lips. “Fuck you’re addictive” he chuckled softly as if he were drunk from the passion pouring from Dorians lips. He let their lips press together once again in another soft kiss as he gripped tightly onto Dorians hair. His lips brushing subtlety against the singers as he savored the feeling.

DORIAN The feeling of their bare chests pressed together as they kissed was invigorating. He hummed contently into the kiss as he felt Quentin’s fingers run up and down his spine. He nipped lightly at Quentin’s lower lip as the kiss heated up gradually. He smirked smugly at the curse word Quentin murmured against his lips. He took a moment to catch his breath when Quentin’s head lulled back. He smiled back at him following the compliment he received. “Thanks, babe, so are you.” He thought the little pause they were taking to drink each other in was sweet and romantic. He appreciated it a lot and it made his stomach do happy little somersaults. However, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t still eager for their lips to meet again. He chuckled softly at Quentin calling him addictive. Well, that wasn’t the first time he’d heard that. Hopefully this time around the effects wouldn’t wear off so soon. He kissed Quentin back slowly and softly when their lips met once again, moaning into the kiss when Quentin gripped his hair. He kissed him languidly, enjoying the subtlety.

Quentin. There was no denying the connection that was fusing together between these two. As they stood half naked, wrapped up in each other. But ultimately they were taking their time to really savor each movement, and that was a sure fire way too set Quentin ablaze. He was kissing Dorian with so much passion it almost brought tears to his eyes, but he forced himself to pull away again. “We should... uh, we should do the song. Yeah?” he asked in a soft almost whispered tone. It was so clear that Q was starting to fall in deep and if he didn’t stop now, he wouldn’t be able to at all. “But you have to play like this.  Half naked and completely captivating” he grinned.

DORIAN Dorian was completely lost in the kiss, so much so that he had to stop himself from pouting when Quentin pulled away. He opened his brown eyes and looked deeply into Quentin’s gorgeous blue ones. He listened to Quentin talk about how they should probably start working on the song but he was very much distracted and still mourning the loss of the feeling of Quentin’s lips on his. He shrugged casually, eyeing Quentin erotically, still thinking about how badly he wanted to ravish the other man. “I suppose we should do what I came here for. And I have no problem doing it half naked.” He chuckled softly.

Quentin. Quentin was gazing back into Dorian’s eyes, as if he were looking straight into his soul. His tongue slowly gliding over his own bottom lip as he noticed the look in Dorians eyes. “God, if you keep looking at me like that...” he chuckled softly before shaking his head. “I don’t know how we’re gonna get any work done.” Quentin pulled it arms from their embrace around Dorian’s head and took a step back from him. His eyes shifting over the singers body before shaking his head again. “Jesus Christ” he almost moaned from how desperate he was to continue touching him. “Maybe if you do a good job, I’ll reward you after” he grinned playfully. This was mostly just a ruse to be able to touch him again. But his fingers were still reaching as be trailed them over Dorian’s chest. “The drums are over there” he signaled with a nod of his head. Taking a few steps backwards away from the singer as he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. Fuck, this was gonna be a struggle.

DORIAN Dorian smirked, knowing exactly what he was doing by looking at Quentin the way he was. He couldn’t help it though. Quentin had lit a fire inside of him and he wanted more, but the other had cut them off seemingly right at the start of their shenanigans. He winked playfully at him in lieu of responding aloud. He quirked an eyebrow when Quentin talked about rewarding him. “Are you expecting me not to do a good job?” He asked teasingly. He nodded and walked towards the drum set and took a seat, stretching his arms.

Quentin. “I don’t know what I’m expecting. But if you play anything like you kiss.. you might actually blow my fuckin’ mind” he mused. His hands playfully gesturing an explosion around his head as he smiled like an idiot. There was a fire in Quentin’s eyes as well, and he definitely wanted more. But he didn’t want to leave the impression that was all he was after either. He liked Dorian, and the more they spoke the deeper the connection became. He watched as the singer moved to the drum set and he sat back down on his chair. Picking up his electric guitar and positioning it in his lap before pulling the mic stand between his long legs. “You ready?” he asked with a devilish grin. His eyes never once shifting from Dorian as his hands reached for the headphones. He placed them only half way onto his head to cover one of his ears and he gave the strings on the guitar a once over with his fingers. Clearing his throat softly before letting his lips part  as he started to play the song.

DORIAN Dorian grinned at Quentin’s response, chuckling at the cute way that the other pantomimed an explosion. He was really interested to see where this went with him and Quentin. There was an obvious attraction there between the both of them. It was almost magnetic and Dorian was ready to follow it wherever it went as long as Quentin had the right intentions. He really didn’t need any more bullshit in his life quite frankly. Not only that, but he didn’t want neither of their time to be wasted. He could only hope that this would be a positive thing for the both of them. He watched Quentin prepare to start the song and readied himself as well, putting on his headphones and then grabbing the drumsticks. He nodded when Quentin checked with him. “Ready,” he confirmed. He waited for his cue  to come in and then started playing masterfully, bopping his head along with the music they were making.

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Yiga | Chapter 35

Rusl looked desperately back at the shrine, shouting angrily. “No!” His voice bounced off the trees in the eerily silent forest. He fell silent, his eyes searching for some sign of his son, but there was none.

“Relax,” Revali said. He forced an arrogant grin in an attempt to calm Rusl and the rest of his friends. “He kinda has a knack for somehow escaping inevitable death.”

Rusl sneered at Revali over his shoulder, but said nothing. He felt oddly comforted by Revali’s words. There seemed to be some truth to them, anyway. Still. It didn’t change the fact that, once again, his son threw himself right into the face of certain death. If he found him alive, he would kill him himself.

As if in answer to their growing doubts, the ground began to tremble once more. The Champions hurried through the darkness as best as they could to the source of the trembling. They ran for nearly a quarter of a mile before they reached a small, sharp valley in between the hills of the forest, in a clearing just behind the destroyed shrine. The only indication that they were, in fact, behind the shrine, was the collapse of the raised ground and rubble. It seemed likely that the collapse had also caused the sudden valley, as trees lay uprooted and scattered around them. In the valley, several bodies of Yiga soldiers lay motionless. Link stood on the ledge on the other side, wiping a bloodied dagger across his jeans. He looked up at his friends as they neared, bathed in the light of the full moon. Their gazes moved from the lifeless Yiga soldiers, over to Link, stunned expressions on their faces.

“I got lost,” he said as he met their shocked gazes. Link pocketed his dagger and made his way around the valley, back towards the group.

“You turned,” Daruk said simply. He met Link’s gaze, noticing then the darkness that sill clouded his eyes. “You let yourself turn.”

“I don’t let it happen,” Link sneered.

“You didn’t stop it.”

“I can’t stop it!”

“You’re not back,” Revali hissed.

Link hesitated. He pulled his gaze away.

“What’s wrong with you?” Revali’s gaze narrowed on him.

Link pushed passed them. “Nothing.”

“That’s not nothing,” Revali barked, following after him. “You’re not back to normal yet.”

“Maybe this is as normal as I’ll get,” Link muttered. He looked around quickly, noticing then that his father was not with them. “Where is he?”

The others looked around, too. They hurriedly made their way back into the dense forest until they reached what had been the entrance to the shrine. There, two figures stood face to face, but Link immediately recognized them both; Rusl and Dorian.

Link quickly raised his weapon, his lips pulling into a sneer. “What is this?” he hissed. “What’s going on?”

“You survived,” Dorian said in a disinterested tone. He turned back to Rusl, but Rusl held his gaze on Link.

“I know you’re not an idiot,” Dorian said calmly. He turned to face them. “You know that won’t do you any good here.”

Link’s gaze hardened as he looked between the two men. His heart raced as his mind went through every possible scenario in that moment. The one he kept coming back to, however, stung the most. Was it possible that his father, too, was a traitor? That he and Dorian were in cahoots the whole time? That his whole life was a damn lie, and he was just their tool in this war? The color visibly drained from his face as this realization came to him, and his father’s brows furrowed in concern as he watched these emotions fly across his son’s face.

“What is this?” Link growled, forcing himself to remain steady. He turned to glance over his shoulder when he heard Paya’s voice speaking his name in warning. He turned his gaze to his father. Rusl’s expression was hard, but he made no attempt to clear up any of Link’s confusion.

“I’ll make it simple for you,” Dorian said simply. “The lies will do you no good, now. I’m working with the Yiga Clan.”

Except from a small gasp from Paya, they were quiet.

Dorian's voice dropped and he averted his gaze. “I have been for a very long time. Before the lot of you were even thought of.”

“Why?” Paya asked softly. “How... how could you?”

Dorian shook his head. “It wasn't by choice,” he said. “Knowing the legends, they needed someone on the inside to give them an edge in the war. My connection with the Royal Family was just what they needed, and to get me to cooperate, they killed my wife and threatened to take my daughters.” Link turned his gaze to his father once more. His expression had softened at this point, as if reliving the painful memory Dorian shared with them. He met his son’s gaze, and Link allowed himself to lower his weapon.

“I was to be a spy for the Yiga Clan. But it was because of Impa and your father that my girls were safe. So, I fed them intel on you and Zelda. Most of it false.”

“Most of it?” Urbosa sneered.

“I needed to gain Kohga’s trust,” Dorian said. “And in doing so, I needed to seem like they were getting the edge they needed. But nothing I gave him put any of you in any grave danger. Certainly nothing that you couldn’t handle. I owed that to your father, at least. I had no doubt he would kill me himself if I broke the promise I made to him twenty-six years ago.”

“You didn’t exactly do a good job,” Rusl muttered.

Dorian snarled over his shoulder and gestured to Link with his hand. “He’s still alive, isn’t he?”

Rusl grinned at his friend.

Revali made a disapproving sound. “Uh-uh.  Nope. Don’t buy it. The two of you had murder in your eyes ten years ago.”

“Being a double agent,” Dorian started, “I had to keep a lot of things from a lot of people. Your father included.” Dorian shrugged. “Can’t say I blame him for not trusting me.”

“There’s a lot of distrust between us,” Rusl confirmed with a nod.

“Sounds like a solid friendship,” Daruk muttered.

“I’ve kept true to my word,” Dorian said.

“So far,” Rusl added.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Dorian hissed again over his shoulder.

Rusl raised his hands in the air defensively.

“The shrine is warded,” Dorian said. “And I cannot lift it without raising suspicions. Kohga doesn’t know I am here. You’re on your own. But know that you cannot simply walk into the Yiga Clan’s hideout.” His gaze hardened. “You and Zelda are to stand down.”

“No way,” Link started, but Dorian interrupted him.

“That is not a request,” he snarled. “That is an order.”

Link narrowed his gaze on the Sheikah. “I don’t take orders from you,” he said. “You can’t make me do shit.”

Dorian made the simple motion of raising his arm, and Link immediately felt paralyzed, unable to move. All he could do was sneer at Dorian.

“Let me go,” he barked.

“You and your father have a bad habit of disobeying orders,” he snarled. “As if my job wasn’t difficult enough. I don’t need you useless sacks of flesh running into your deaths. What you did in there was stupid. You’re as stupid as your damn father.”

Link grinned. “Thank you.”

“That is not a compliment,” he sneered. He turned his gaze to Rusl. “I’m gettin’ real tired of you damn Hylians,” he muttered.

Rusl smiled.

“Oh, you’re real proud, aren’t you?” Dorian snapped. “I should have killed you all when I had the chance. You’ve given me more problems then I needed. And I’m not busting you out of Kohga’s hold again. You and Link will be useless against the Yiga. If I allow anyone to help in this war, it will be restricted to the Champions. They’ll at least have a damn fighting chance.”

“It’s about time someone recognizes our competence,” Revali said.

“And what are you going to do to stop me?” Link hissed.

Dorian grinned. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.” He turned to Rusl. “Please don’t make this difficult for me. We never saw each other.” With a snap of his fingers, he was gone.

They fell silent. Rusl turned to Link, his gaze hard. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I told you he’d be fine,” Revali said, rolling his eyes.

“How did you get yourself out of that?” Rusl said, his voice hard.

Link hesitated. “I’m stronger than I look.”

“He turned,” Revali hissed. “He turned and used his stupid dark voodoo magic get him out and kill everything in his path.”

Rusl’s face softened as he studied his son, and Link pulled his gaze away. Once more, they fell silent, until Daruk finally spoke.

“Okay, I’ll say it,” Daruk said. “Can we really trust Dorian?”

Link hesitated. He turned his gaze to his father. His brows furrowed, but Rusl said nothing. He cursed under his breath and pulled his gaze away. “I’ll kill you both if I have to,” he muttered.

Rusl grinned. “I’d like to see you try.”

Link glanced at him, still feeling uneasy, but his gaze narrowed. “Don’t test me,” he hissed.

Rusl took the weapon out of his holster and held it out toward Link. His brows knit together. “Make your choice.”

Link’s gaze moved between his father and the weapon. He desperately wanted to trust his father. “I already have,” he said simply. He turned his gaze to the sky at the distant sound of an engine. It moved quickly overhead where two helicopters moved low over the trees.

“Those are Roham’s,” Rusl said.

At that moment, Revali’s phone rang, and he answered it quickly. “What?” he snapped. His eyes narrowed on Link as he listened. “Now you tell us? It’s a little too late for your warning… What do you mean you didn’t know?... Zelda doesn’t know? Oh, for fuck’s sake.” He ended the call angrily and pointed a finger at Link.

“Dorian tipped Roham off. Told him we’d be here. He’s sending his fucking guys over here to arrest your stupid ass.”

Link’s lips pulled at the corners into a sneer. “Bastard,” he hissed.

“Now what?” Urbosa asked. “Run from the law?”

“You don’t have a choice,” Rusl said. “Move.”

The Champions ran through the forest once more. The helicopters continued to circle overhead, their engines fading in and out as they moved closer and further away, searching for Link. When the Champions neared the edge of the forest, however, they were greeted by Roham’s soldiers, armed and ready. They shouted to the Champions, their weapons raised threateningly as they closed in, stopping them in their tracks.

But the darkness was still pulsing through him, and their ambush only triggered Link to turn once more. No longer self-aware, his body moved automatically, swiftly taking out several of the powerless soldiers with a single pass of his arm. Those that remained standing lunged at him. They fired their weapons, but Link was quicker. He pulled his daggers out and thrust them into the soldiers as they neared, quickly ending their lives.

It was then that Revali sprang into action, darting to Link and shoving his own blade into Link’s side at the same moment. Link staggered and thrust his arm to the side, but Revali was quick to dodge the attack. He appeared at Link’s other side in an instant and threw a punch toward Link. But Link caught Revali’s wrist and twisted, throwing him forcefully into the ground.

He looked up and around at the people he did not recognize. They stood around him, keeping their distance, regarding him warily.

But instead of attacking, the darkness seemed to extinguish suddenly, and Link dropped to his knees as he started to come to. When the darkness passed completely, he was staring down at the ground. He felt something cool against his temple, and he closed his eyes, his heart racing. When he dared to open them again, he looked up to the sight that awaited him. Revali was getting back to his feet, his angry eyes bearing into Link. He wiped blood off his face with the back of one hand, while the other dangled broken at his side. Hyrulean soldiers lay scattered around him, most of whom were motionless, dead or unconscious, all at his own hands. His stomach twisted sickeningly and he had to pull his gaze away from the sight. He bit his lower lip as his eyes squeezed shut. He heard his name whispered softly, and he followed the voice to the man that held a gun to his temple.

“Fucking do it!” he shouted to his father, his voice shaking. When his father did not respond, he moved his gaze to meet his teary eyes and he had to pull his gaze away again. His chest ached painfully for the destruction he had caused. Innocent lives lost because of him.

Rusl removed the weapon from his son’s head and pocketed it without a word. He dropped to his knees and pulled his son to him, wrapping his arms around him, but Link pulled away. The darkness still clouded his eyes, but for a moment, he was very much aware of the world around him.

He looked up as the helicopters approached and landed not more than twenty yards away from them. Heavily armored soldiers and Sheikah alike jumped out before it even landed on the ground. They shouted at the Champions, their weapons drawn as they hurried toward Link.

“Go,” Rusl hissed at him. He grabbed his son’s arm, pulling him back. “Get out of here. We’ll take care of this.”

But Link pulled away from his father. He stepped forward, raising his arms slightly to show he would not fight. But as he moved and the rest of the darkness faded away, the pain from his stab wound seared through him, and he nearly doubled over, gasping. He watched, sneering as they circled in around him, then closed in. One of the soldiers pulled his arms behind his back while the others took his weapons from him. He felt the cold metal of the cuffs clasp around his wrist and they pushed him forward to the awaiting helicopter. He glanced at his friends over his shoulder one last time before he was pushed inside, and the helicopter took flight once more.

The Champions watched in silence as the helicopter disappeared over the horizon. Revali was the first to speak.

“Can we just let him rot in jail?” he muttered as Mipha moved to his side to heal him. “I’m sick of saving his ass. All I get in return is a damn broken wrist.”

“You did stab him first,” Mipha muttered.

“He deserved it,” Revali muttered. He turned his wrist over when Mipha finished. “Don’t worry, the Sheikah won’t let him bleed out. Not yet, anyway.”

But Mipha was not amused.

“The fuck do we do now?” Daruk grunted.

“We should have gone to the spring first,” Urbosa said regretfully.

“He’ll turn again,” Paya warned. “And if he doesn’t turn back… they’ll kill him.”

“Dorian won’t let them,” Mipha said slowly. She checked Rusl’s expression, but could not read him. He was staring toward the horizon where the helicopter disappeared. “Right?”

“So, we’re trusting the double agent?” Revali sneered.

“I think he’s a triple agent,” Daruk pointed out.

“Come on, Rusl,” Revali barked, growing irritated. “What’s the damn plan?”

“I thought you wanted to let him rot,” he said dryly. He turned his attention back to the group. “Breaking laws isn’t exactly your forte, anyway.”

Urbosa snorted and put a hand on her hip. “You don’t know what he does for a living.”

Revali rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored her. “And it’s yours?”

“Let’s just say Roham won’t waste his resources on trying to throw my ass in jail.”

“We need to get him out of there before he turns again,” Urbosa said.

“Breaking him out won’t be so easy,” Daruk said. “We don’t even know where they’re taking him.”

Revali promptly pulled his phone out and dialed. He brought it to his ear and waited. “Teba. Small problem. Roham’s got Link.”

They fell silent as Revali nodded, then after a few more short words, he ended the call.

“They’re taking him to maximum security,” he said. “In the middle of nowhere in Tabantha.”

Urbosa turned to Paya. “Can you get us there?”

“I’m out,” Rusl said. “That place will be crawling with Sheikah. I’ll just get in the way.”

“Good,” Revali said smugly. “Leave the rescuing to the competent heroes.”

[fsouth-park-is-imaginative]

THE ANGELS ARE WATCHING CHAPTER 4: ROTTEN ON THE INSIDE

We are all candy covered on the outside Peel away the shell and we're rotten on the inside

We are all angry, angry on the inside Peel away the shell and we're frightened on the inside -lollirot

Her skin was purple in the light. A halo of light surrounded her like she was the Virgin Mary. The Bullet Hole, a bar famous for a shootout back in the seventies, was not very busy. I could hear the small chatter of the drinkers at tables. I chose, perhaps, the most depressing spot I could think of. The bartenders have a sense of humor, they joke about sex and death. The regulars go there because nobody they know will walk in on them drowning themselves in alcohol. Everyone comes in drunk, they leave close to alcohol poisoning. The alcoholics and sex fiends flock to the Bullet Hole to milk out the blood from each other, and the sorrow from themselves.

“So uh, what’s up with this place?” She asks.

“Its a fun place to get a drink at,” I say, “it’s called the Bullet Hole.”

“Why?”

“About ten ish years ago it was the site of a triple murder-suicide.”

“Gnarly. Why are we going into it?”

“Because it’s a fun place to get a drink at.” I repeat

“You sure? Because it looks like a place you’d go to because there are no kids within a ten mile radius.”

“Don’t worry you’re safe. I’ve been here tons of times. It’s just sad divorcees and old war veterans. They won’t bother you.”

“I’m not worried about that, I can handle myself.” She retorts.

“Of course you can, you’re what? Five feet in socks? Terrifying.” I joke. She rolls her eyes playfully.

“More like five foot one and a half inch, mister.”

“Oh, even scarier!”

“I am, yeah!”

“I could crush you by resting an arm on your head. You’re fragile like paper.”

“Am not.” She argues. I raise an arm and place in on her head like she’s a countertop.

“Huh, how’s the weather down there echidna?” I say in an aloof voice.

“Hey!” She laughs. I’m careful not to apply too much pressure.

“Hmmm I think I hear a voice, but it’s…. so low down…. I can barely hear from so far away…” I take my arm off her when she makes an annoyed noise.

“Shut up.” She says. And after a moment she continues. “Echidna?”

“Yeah, it’s uh,” I struggle to justify my reasoning. “A small animal.”

“Oh. Is it cute like I am?” She asks, teasingly.

“You’re cuter. Your junk isn’t on your chin.” She laughs

“Echidnas sound gross.”

“They are. They look like genitals with necrosis.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah,” I hold open the door “shall we?” She nods and walks into the bar.

Each chapter part two

———————————

Tonight he noticed how the women's eyes Passed from him to the strong men that were whole. How cold and late it is! Why don't they come And put him into bed? Why don't they come? -disabled, Wilfred Owen

“So you’re saying you’ve never heard of Oscar Wilde.” She states incredulously.

“Nope. Not a word. Why, is he an actor or something?” I ask. She shakes her head, fully astonished.

“No! He is only THE best writer in the entire WORLD” She says.

“Oh yeah? What did he write?”

“Many things! He wrote the picture of Dorian Grey, The decay of lying, the importance of being Earnest, a story about a nightingale and a rose…” she trails off. “You’ve seriously never heard of him?” I revel in her shock and subsequent attention.

“Nope. He any good?”

“Yes! He’s super good- he’s the most influential and important person ever. He is the most beautiful man-“

“Wait. Cuter than me?” I tease

“Well, no, I guess not. He kind of looked like a Columbine shooter, but that doesn’t matter. He’s beautiful purely by virtue of existence.” She says, as if she had memorized her lines ahead of time.

“By virtue of existence.” I echo. I had, in fact, heard of Oscar Wilde. I had read a  poem his a while ago, after I read the last few lines in bright yellow graffiti under a bridge.

“Yeah. Anyway, not to make you jealous or anything,” She laughs. I smile.

“Never.” I lied.

I take another sip of alcohol. I have a higher tolerance, I’ve been drinking since fourteen. The little miss love of my life hadn’t drank a drop before her birthday last month. I’m in the clear, she’s slurring her words. She laughs.

“Anyway, isn’t he beautiful?” She says. The alcohol is making her brain fuzzy, and I slip something into her drink while she isn’t looking.

“The one that looks like a columbine shooter?” I ask, teasing.

“Yeah. Him. I don’t like school shootings, I don’t like murder. It’s morally wrong and makes me feel all icky. But I’d love to watch something die at some point. I want to be there to see the light leave their eyes. Death intrigues me.” She says.

I chuckle darkly, looking away at the dirt-caked floors and cockroaches.

“You might just get your wish.” I say dryly.

“What? Oh, look! Fire!” She points over at the corner, where indeed, there was a fire. It was very small, but in the minds of several drunks, it rivaled the twin towers. Several patrons ran out screaming, while others seemed to have caught the suicide train and stayed in their seats, sobbing for the flames to take them. I flinched, imagining my blackened skin curling like paper under the deceptively beautiful golden flames.

“Fuck.” I say. I grab her hands and lead her out the door. There are three exits, I use the one with less frantic drunk people going through it. She laughs

“Fire! Fire! Fire!” She claps, laughing like she’d just heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Yeah, fire. Fire.” I echo.

I hope she’s not a necrophiliac.

The fire was instantly squashed out, apparently it happens a lot there. The owner of the Bullet Hole came out in the cool night air and addressed the crowd of disgruntled drunks and divorcees.

“Listen,” he said, old hoarse voice full of annoyance. “Apparently one of you drunk idiots decided it would be a good idea to start a fire in a cup of alcohol, despite the fact that there is a strict no lighter policy in the bar.” He pointed at a sign outside the door. Sure enough, there was a picture of a lighter with a cross over it. “If nobody listens to the signs, what’s the point of them? I’ve got THIRTY FUCKING TWO SIGNS OVER THE ENTIRE JOINT” he starts yelling. “SO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. STOP LIGHTING THINGS ON FIRE.”and with that, he took a deep breath, let it out, and went inside the bar. The door locked and the fluorescent open sign turned off. I turn to Alice.

“You okay?” I say. She nods.

“Fire is scary. But it’s also… hot. Fire is the whore of agony! I love it! I love it! I love it!” She starts laughing again. I shake my head.

“It’ll start to kick in soon.” I say.

“What?”

“Yeah. And you’ll run, right? Because you’re afraid? It’ll happen. It’s the chemicals in your brain. Thirty minutes in.”

“You’re funny.” She said.

I took out my phone. 8:17. The day was blue with the setting sun. The night sky gets dark early now. I look at her. Her face looks loopy. Her hair is tangled. She’s got dark circles under her eyes. She looks like someone that got tuberculosis in the Victorian era. She looks like someone thought her dying form was so beautiful they put her picture in every newspaper to commemorate the tragic beauty. She looks like if Simonetta Vespucci was born in the 20th century, and people treated her the same. She looks like people treat her like she isn’t a person, she’s just that beautiful.  I don’t, I know that she’s alive. I know that she has thoughts and feelings. I know that she’s so intelligent she could look like absolute shit and it wouldn’t matter. I know her. I know her. I know her. And if I wrote a book about our love I would write her name over and over again for the prologue.

Alice. Alice. Alice.

She looks alarmed.

“Have you decided I want to kill you? I don’t. That’s just the drugs” I say, “and you can be afraid all you want. But I’ll keep you safe. I’ll keep you safe forever.”

“I-uh-“ she stammers, award of the sudden danger I possess to her. That’ll be a side effect of the drug, I assume. Intense fear. She takes off running and I stay back to watch her suddenly retreating from. I’ll give her a head start.

[musikat18]

Glass Watches and Galas (John Kennex x Reader)

For @thefanficfaerie‘s Fairytale Challenge!

Pairing: John Kennex/Reader

Summary: All John wants is to crash one little possible InSyndicate party. With a little help from Dorian and Rudy, he’s able to make it to the gala, but a more-than-charming woman and a case of mistaken identity might make midnight a little less than pleasant.

Warnings: Language, canon-typical violence, mentions of trauma, implication of PTSD attack

A/N: Enjoy!

Once upon a time, a police detective by the name of John Kennex would’ve really rather been anywhere else.

“The reports are part of the calls, too, Kennex,” Paul frowned at the large pile of unfilled data chips on the detective’s desk.

“We all have reports,” Kennex shot back. “I’ll do mine if you do yours. Deal?” The other detective recoiled with a huff at his colleague’s sharpness. Fine then. If Kennex wanted to be sharp, then Paul could be sharp, too.

“Still looking into Moore’s disappearance?”

A huff of distaste puffed out of the detective’s mouth, “Does it really matter that much to you?”

“It just looks real shady looking into the ambush that you were the only one who escaped alive from. That’s all.”

Darkness clouded over the sitting man’s hazel eyes, “Thanks for the reminder.”

Paul frowned to one side and plopped a stack of new files on Kennex’s desk, “Well, these actual important things need to be filled out, and they’re yours. Try to get them done before Maldonado gets on both of our asses?”

Kennex tried not to burn a hole in the other man’s back as he walked away, but the words were stinging too hard on him.

What was he supposed to do? Walk away from what had happened like nothing?

Act like it wasn’t now his responsibility to fix things?

Act like Martin had meant nothing to him?

Act like he wasn’t hurt by….

He hesitated, trying not to let the thought cross his mind. No, it was best not to think about her in relation to what happened.

“John? A word, please?” Maldonado’s voice shook him from his thoughts, and he held back a grimace as he stood and crossed the threshold to Maldonado’s office. This was not going to be pretty.

“If you want to tell me to apologize, I’m not going to, it’s his fault,” Kennex crossed his arms, watching Maldonado as she shut the door behind him.

“That’s not what this is about, though I suppose it would be nice if you stopped picking fights with the other detectives.”

Kennex’s brow furrowed, and he followed her with his eyes as she made her way back to the other side of her desk.

“I know you’ve been looking into the whereabouts of the InSyndicate.”

John’s shoulders tensed. His jaw fell open as he began to explain himself, but Maldonado held up her hand.

“I didn’t really expect anything else, given what happened. I’m not mad, and I’m not putting it on your record. What I do want is to keep you informed.”

Maldonado pulled up a series of holofiles that stole Kennex’s interest away. The logo, a hotel, a man he didn’t recognize...what did she know that he didn’t?

“Tobias Tate is a business mogul with ties to lots of the biggest tech companies in the city. He also happens to have been spotted with more than a few Syndicate POIs in the last few months, and now he’s hosting a gala for all the most reputable tech distributors in the city tomorrow night. We don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

“Great,” Kennex squared his shoulders. “What do you want me to do?”

A look of consternation crossed Maldonado’s face.

“What?”

“John...you know I’m just as upset about the ambush and InSyndicate’s actions as you are.”

Kennex felt a pit in his stomach, suddenly not really liking where this was going.

“But…” he trailed off.

“It’s too close for you, John,” Maldonado said seriously. “I’m sorry. Even if you didn’t have so much other work to do, it’s too personal. I can’t send you in. It would be too easy for you to be compromised.”

Kennex’s jaw ticked, “I can handle it. If you let me and Dorian go in, we could take care of it.”

“I can’t be sure about that,” Maldonado sighed. “John, you’re one of my best detectives, but you’re not exactly known for subtlety. Or control when it comes to the Syndicate. I can’t afford losing my best detective and the upper hand to them.”

With a sharp inhale and flared nostrils, Kennex balled his fists, trying to contain his anger and disappointment. If anyone should’ve been at that gala, it was him. He needed closure. Desperately.

“...I understand, Captain,” he said, voice even and short, and he turned hard on his heel and left the office, unaware of Dorian’s eyes on him as he plopped back down at his desk and buried his nose in his reports, steam practically pouring out of his ears.

-

“I got maintenance last week, Dorian,” Kennex grumbled as the DRN model walked him to the tech lab. “I don’t need Rudy looking at my damn leg again. It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

“You don’t sound fine, though,” Dorian noted. “I saw your stress levels spiked after talking to the captain yesterday, so I listened to the audio from her office security to find out what the problem was.”

Kennex whipped his head towards Dorian, “You-- wait, you what? That’s eavesdropping! And you don’t need to scan my stress levels! My stress levels are perfectly normal!”

Dorian shot Kennex an unfortunately familiar look of judgement and disapproval. Kennex merely sighed gruffly and continued following.

“Alright, alright, what are you doing?”

Kennex had to school his disbelief and confusion into just his eyebrows at the sight of a well-tailored black suit on a mannequin, paired with a dusty blue tie and an elaborate silver mask with subtle blue details.

“...I’m not putting on that suit.”

“It’s a masquerade gala,” Rudy insisted. “If you want to go and blend in and get the intel on the Syndicate that you want, you gotta look the part.”

Kennex huffed; he wasn’t really a fan of fancy suits and stuffed shirts, but if it would give him his chance to investigate, he supposed playing along couldn’t be terrible. He disappeared into one of the nearby locker rooms to change, and once he decided he looked spiffy and well-coiffed enough, he went back into the lab, watching Rudy calibrate an interesting-looking watch, one that looked nearly made of glass.

“Let me guess, to help me blend in with the idle rich?” Kennex asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Aesthetically, yes,” Rudy explained. “This watch has a log, a recording device, and a direct line to Dorian if you get in any trouble. I’ve synched it to your fingerprint; you’re the only one who can unlock all the higher features, since no one will be expecting you there, no one will be thinking to replicate it ahead of time.”

Kennex nodded in approval as he clicked the watch onto his wrist.

“Great. Do I get a pumpkin coach, too?”

Dorian looked a little too smug, “Nope. But I do finally get to drive the car.”

-

“This feels wrong.”

“Of course it’s wrong,” Dorian said from the driver’s seat, “that’s why we’re here.”

Kennex wanted to remind Dorian that he was going to be back in the driver’s seat by tomorrow, but he held his tongue.

“Rudy’s caught some kind of weapons signatures moving in...you have to try and figure out what the deal is by midnight. Once midnight hits, alert me with the watch, and I’ll call in backup or help extract you from there.”

“Alright,” Kennex nodded. A pause… “Hey...you guys could totally get fired for helping me do this, so...thanks.”

Dorian smiled just a little.

“You’re welcome. Now...good luck.”

John nodded to his partner and slid the mask over his face, getting out of the car and measuring his movements to blend in. Casual...relaxed...even a little confident. He strode up to the door, quickly realizing he seemed to be the last one to arrive.

“Invitation?” the doorman asked.

“It’s...excuse me, one moment,” Kennex felt a swell of panic in his chest. Was he supposed to have an invitation? He patted around his jacket, and he disguised his sigh of relief at the invitation in his inner pocket as an exhale. “Here.”

The doorman examined the document, and with a nod of approval, let Kennex in.

Great, he thought. Where to start?

As Kennex scanned the ballroom with his eyes, he couldn’t help noticing a man who looked remarkably like the Tobias Tate shown to him by Maldonado...with a companion.

-

You were getting rather bored of entertaining Mr. Tate. He was a charming host, that much was certain, but you had some bigger fish to fry and other things to worry about.

Silver mask, blue tie, you reminded yourself. Silver mask, blue tie...that’s the saboteur.

Your eyes swept the ballroom one more time, pretending to laugh at something Mr. Tate had said, when your glance finally fell on a latecomer, striding into the ballroom in-- what else?-- a dusty blue tie and a silver mask.

“Will you excuse me for a moment?” you smiled sweetly at Mr. Tate.

“Eager to leave before the grand announcement?” he feigned disappointment, but you kept up your playful facade.

“Oh, don’t think me such a lightweight, Mr. Tate,” you giggled. “I just need some fresh air.”

You unwound yourself from his arm and headed to the stairs, careful not to get too ahead of yourself or your wide skirt. Your eyes flitted back to your target-- he was still watching you. As he came closer, you feigned a stumble.

“Are you alright?” he asked, steadying you as you moved to the ground floor.

“Oh, yes, I’m just fine,” you said, laughing off your feigned faux pas. “Even the best pair of heels can be so uncooperative.” You fluffed your gilded white skirt in lieu of exposing your footwear.

“I can’t relate, but you have my sympathy.”

When the song, changed, you offered him your hand.

“Think I could thank you with a dance?”

You felt a little flustered by the intent, hazel gaze under the mask, but steeled yourself under a charming smile.

He took your arm with a disarming smile of his own, “I think that should suffice.”

-

Kennex had to admit, you were making a very good distraction. Though, were you in on the scheme? He supposed it was better to be safe than sorry, holding your waist in one hand and your hand in the other. If he thought about it long enough, you fit against him rather well.

“So Mr. Tate seems like he likes you quite a bit,” he began, trying to open a conversation to see what you might know.

“Yes,” you smiled, “I’ve been told I’m quite charming. Though I think you could give me a run for my money, that was quite the smooth save back there. Most people here might’ve just let me fall.”

“You? How rude.”

You shrugged a little, “Well, I’m not exactly important. Believe it or not, this is my first rodeo. I’m not very into the party circuit. I like to be behind the scenes.”

Kennex cursed your ruby-crusted mask for concealing your face. You would be much easier to read if he could see your cheekbones.

Undeterred, he continued on, “What kind of behind the scenes?”

“Well, I’m not exactly a billionaire. But I’d certainly say my services are invaluable, anyway.”

Kennex was caught a little off-guard when you moved your hand away from his shoulder to curve around his tie, “But I want to know about you. What brings you by? Just another stuffed shirt? You don’t act like it.”

He chuckled and took your hand, “Guilty as charged. I’m like you, I guess. Behind the scenes.”

Kennex was suddenly very unnerved by the way your eyes iced over behind your mask.

“It’s nice to find a kindred spirit,” your eyes flickered to his watch, and his stomach dropped at the time. 11:59...had it really been fifteen minutes? It was too close to the endgame.

Your voice jolted him from his thoughts, eyes tracing over the handiwork of the glassy, intricate piece, “That’s a lovely watch. Very interesting. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

A beat.

“...Thank you. It was a gift. I...I think I should move along...wouldn’t want to ignore the host, I should look for Mr. Tate…”

Too close. He was coming too close to being made. How had you made him? Had you made him?

“Getting shy on me?” you grabbed his wrist, fingers clasping around the edges of the watch, and you looked him dead in the eyes as you hissed under your breath, “What the fuck are you planning to do to these people?”

Several explosions suddenly shook the room, jolting the two of you apart.

-

Kennex felt his heart rate spike, and he took a moment to shake himself away from an ambush a year and a half ago.

Midnight, Kennex realized with worry. He felt down around his wrist, suddenly feeling a well of panic when he realized Rudy’s watch was missing. He stood and began whirling around, trying to find where it could have fallen off in the excitement.

He almost felt lucky to catch a glimpse of you dashing off up the stairs again-- were you wearing combat boots? Kennex saw you turn and look over the chaos, messing frantically with the watch and looking around with frantic confusion when nothing happened.

“Dammit,” he grumbled under his breath. So help wasn’t going to be coming, not as long as you had his watch. Kennex turned his attention to the masked attackers, dressed in finery and shooting down at the fleeing partygoers. He practically jumped up the opposite set of stairs, slamming the face of one into the balcony railing and running towards another, only to be nailed down by a man in a silver mask and dusty blue tie. His assailant shoved the mask up off of Kennex’s face, and an evil grin developed.

“Detective John Kennex,” he smirked, stomping Kennex’s lights out.

He was beginning to understand why you were suddenly so hostile.

-

Access denied. Access denied. Access denied.

“Dammit,” you grumbled under your breath, scrambling up the stairs with the watch. Why were none of the attacks stopping? “Open up!”

Access only authorized to Detective John R. Kennex.

“Detective?” you muttered under your breath.

Wheels began turning in your head as you watched the man you’d nicked the watch from run up the stairs and attack one of the assailants before being tackled by another man in silver and blue.

“Oh...shit….”

You tore away the overlay of your skirt and pressed the button hidden in the embroidery of your bodice, protective sleeves sliding out from the caps. You pocketed the watch in one of your pants pockets and broke off into a run.

You didn’t know who this Detective Kennex was or what he was doing here, but it seemed better to have one kind-of competent ally around in this firefight than none at all.

Running up to the rooftop from the stairs, though, you encountered a bit of a problem.

-

“Are you serious?” Kennex grumbled, not really a fan of this whole damsel-in-distressing. He tugged his wrists hard against the pole, deciding he hadn’t held his wrists tight enough when he got tied down to slip out now.

“I’m always serious about not getting my ass blown to hell by the FBI,” his assailant said. “Now, I’m gonna leave you here for our fair-weather friend to find, and I’m gonna-”

“Freeze, FBI!”

Both Kennex and his attacker snapped their heads to look at you, gun pointed, mask still on, and clearly trying to make sense of the situation. If Kennex knew how to alert you to the danger, he would, but he felt vastly unlucky that your apparent actual target also seemed to be a dark-haired male.

“Thank god,” the impostor said with a sigh of relief. “Glad you made it out okay.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Kennex barked, “Don’t listen to him!”

A hint of hesitation in your eyes. Your gaze flickered between the two men, not sure what to do or who to trust.

“...Unlock the watch, then.”

This seemed to take both men by surprise.

“Pardon me?” The standing man chuckled. “What watch?”

“The watch,” you kept your gun up with one hand and used the other to dig into your pants pocket and pull out the glassy watch, clasp broken but otherwise intact. “The one that broke in the explosion. I found it on the ground. I’m very sure I remember you wearing it.”

If Kennex had his mask off and was standing, you might have noticed him grin. The other man, meanwhile, froze at your challenge.

“I...of course.”

He took cautious steps forward, and you kept as tight a grip you could on the watch as he pressed his thumb to the face.

Access denied.

The man went to strike you, but you blocked his arm, stomped the inside of his knee, and struck him hard across the face, knocking him to the ground and turning him flat on his back.

“You’re under arrest for association with the criminal organization InSyndicate and organizing and partaking in a violent attack on a private event on private premises.”

Kennex fidgeted as you read the man his rights and picked up the watch from where it had been knocked to the ground. You approached Kennex and cut one of his wrists free.

“I’m guessing this is yours, but it’s really better to be safe than sorry,” you said, smiling a little. He chuckled under his breath and pressed his thumb to the face of the watch, smiling as it lit up with commands and buttons.

Hello, John Reginald Kennex, the screen read, and Kennex huffed at the name as you suppressed a laugh. Calling Dorian.

“John!” The DRN’s face appeared on the screen, “Are you alright? You didn’t call at midnight. Did something happen?”

“Got a little caught up, Dorian,” Kennex said. “We...might have a little to talk about to the FBI, but that’s fine. I’m alright. Is everyone okay from the gala?”

“Minimal casualties, Maldonado sent in Paul. He alerted the proper authorities, they’re getting treatment.”

Kennex scoffed, “Ugh, I can’t believe she sent him of all...fine, great. Okay. Get somewhere they won’t recognize you, I’ll find your coordinates.”

When Kennex closed the call, he took his mask off. You decided he was pleasant-looking.

“Sorry if I kind of derailed your entire operation,” he said. “I...InSyndicate is kind of personal for me. My captain didn’t want me coming, but I...I couldn’t leave it alone.”

“Me too,” your lips pulled into a soft smile, “not the unsanctioned investigation thing, the personal part. I’m sorry I thought you were with them. Y/N Y/L/N, FBI Cyber Crimes unit.”

“John Kennex,” he grinned back. “I work in Investigations in the Delta section, near my place in District 07.”

“Funny,” you pushed your mask up onto your forehead and chewed at your lip, “I...also live in District 07.”

Kennex had to fight a boyish grin off his face. Smart and badass and beautiful…. He understood where you got that ‘charming’ line from.

“Well, that’s a real funny coincidence. Might have more in common with you than I expected.”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “So...I guess you did kind of get in the way of an official FBI investigation. But it wasn’t actually your fault that you dressed like the perp, so I’ll just let you off with a strong warning.”

“Thanks, Agent,” Kennex smirked. “I’m...assuming Agent. It is Agent, isn’t it?”

“Sure,” you laughed. “Agent.” You scribbled something down on a notepad from your pocket and tore the paper for him. “If you need anything...or want anything...give me a call.”

Kennex had to smile down at the phone number written under the name Agent.

This debacle of a stakeout was turning into what seemed to be able to lead to a happily ever after….

Tagging: @shimmershoo @feelmyroarrrr @annathewitch @yallneedtrek @goingknowherewastaken @bkwrm523 @queenmismatched @bookcaseninja @fearofdeathkeepsusalive @kjs-s @lauuerodz @atomicdna

[nerdierholler]

Dragon Age Questions

I was tagged by @slothssassin Thank you so much! <3

I’m not sure who’s done this already sooooo tagging @ellstersmash, @heraldofwho, @enchantment1385, and @barbex if you haven’t done this already. Also anyone who sees this and thinks it would be fun!

1. Favorite game of the series? I love them all, why do you make me pick? I’ve put the most hours into DAI though, it part because it’s so long and one run takes forever.

2. How did you discover Dragon Age? I wasn’t as into video games as I am now but I knew I liked generic hack and slash games having played things like The Witcher and Neverwinter Nights. I heard DAO was coming out and since it seemed like my kind of game, I tried it, and immediately fell head over heels for Alistair and discovered fandom.

3. How many times have you’ve played the games? Almost too many to count. Thinking back to complete or near complete runs... DAO: at least 6, DA2: also at least 6, DAI: (laughs nervously) at least 9. And none of these include all the characters I created, played for a bit then abandoned 1/3 of the way through.

4. Favorite race to play as? I guess I tend towards elves because of the lore. I actually really like dwarves as well but I have a really hard time making dwarves I’m happy with so I almost never play them. The qunari were a nice edition in DAI.

5. Favorite class? Dual wield rogue all the way. I do have a few characters of other classes but that’s my fave. I just can’t stand to no be able to open a locked chest.

6. Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time. I try to make different decisions but honestly, it ends up being variations on a theme. For big choices I’m pretty consistent.

7. Go-to adventuring group? DAO: Alistair, Sten, Zev or Morrigan DA2: Fenris, Varric, Isabela DAI, depends on Inquisitor but my faves are : Solas, Dorian, Iron Bull, and Varric

8. Which of your characters did you put the most thought into? No doubt, my Warden Inquisitor Ithen

9. Favorite romance? Again, why do you make me pick? Alistair’s romance is what put me down this path so I have to give recognition there. After that, Fenris annnd (spins wheel) Iron Bull.

10. Have you read any of the comics/books? Nope. I tried one of the books but couldn’t really get into it.

11. If you read them, which was your favorite book? -

12. Favorite DLCs? The Citadel I never really kept up with DA DLCs until DAI. Awakenings introduced some great characters but the plot hasn’t stuck with me and so much of that has kinda been retconned. I liked Trespasser because it was a great bow on the game with a lead into the next. Also fuel for my Solasmancing.

13. Things that annoy you? Locked chests, but that’s not just a DA thing. Seriously though, I hate leaving things behind which means I end up limiting my party combos (at least on first runs) because I don’t want to miss what’s in the box, or behind the wall, or whatever so I need to have one of each class with me at all times.

14. Orlais or Ferelden? Ferelden! Team wet dog smell all the way.

15. Templars or Mages? Mages.

16. If you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one? Hmmm, they all exists in different universes except I have a non-canon universe where Ithlen becomes Inquisitor and canon compliant universe where she is just the Warden. I think Enarin edges out Harold for the Inquisitor there.

17. What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc.) Ithlen: Threrah, Hawke: Thufir, and I didn’t name any mounts.

18. Have you installed any mods? *more nervous laughter* a few... Yeah, my games are pretty heavily modded, some are shortcuts for gameplay after it’s my millionth time through and I’m just there for plot and a lot are for CC or changing companion looks/outfits.

19. Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden? Gods no. She was pretty resistant. But Marethari said the magic word to Ithen, “duty,” so she went with Duncan.

20. Hawke’s personality? Main Hawke: Very purple with a hint of blue. Secondary Hawke: Very red with a hint of purple.

21. Did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition? I think I have a time or two but usually everyone is unique.

22. If your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change? Ithlen would do something to save Alistair. In her mind she would recruit Loghain to have another body between them and archdemon but doesn’t realize it would have meant Alistair leaving. 

Hawke, oh Hawke. She looses all of her family but I think if she had to pick one to go back and save, it would be Bethany since she’s the one Hawke had to kill and feels most responsible for.

Enarin doesn’t have many regrets and he feels they’ve all led him to where he is now, which is a pretty good place. Harold has regrets but it’s a million small things. I think there was a long time growing up where he wished he didn’t have magic so he could still be with his family but as he’s gotten older he’s accepted their rejection and practical disowning and learned to find family elsewhere.

23. Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon? Oh boy, do I! The big one of course is Ithlen also being the Inquisitor. Everyone else mostly follows canon except for some details about how Harold and Dorian’s relationship develops. The in game route for that isn’t really Harold’s personality. And I also I like to imagine that Fenris goes to Skyhold with Hawke because leaving him makes NO SENSE AT ALL. Also Varric is not nearly as broken up about my secondary Hawke’s death as the game makes him because she managed to rival him in DA2 but DAI doesn’t take that into account. In general DAI didn’t handle that Hawke well because as a power hungry blood mage, everything out her mouth in DAI makes no sense. Again, DAI just didn’t take any of that into account even though it was in the tapestry.

24. Are any of your character(s) based on someone? Not really.

25. Who did you leave in the Fade? I lucked out here in a weird way so it wasn’t a hard choice. In my primary canon Alistair is dead (RIP) so choosing Hawke over Stroud wasn’t bad. In my secondary canon Alistair is alive and a warden but (despite what DAI says, see above) my Hawke is a terrible person so goodbye Hawke.

26. Favorite mount? I never used mounts much so I don’t have a fave.

[fluidityandgiggles]

An idea about Deceit.

I feel like the fandom has forgotten that Deceit is not a villain. I mean, I did for a very long time too. My major fanfics for the fandom include him as some sort of abusive villain.

But... lying comes in many shapes and forms. And people have presented them already, so I present a new one. One that I haven’t seen yet.

Deceit as Patton’s baby brother.

Now, this comes from the fact that not all lying is bad, and in fact it is a crucial step in a child’s development. Kids learn to lie at around three or four years old and all have their reasons to lie.

And so, I present to you. Just a tiny fic on the matter. (For the sake of it, Deceit’s name is Dorian in this. I keep changing his name but do I care? NOPE.)

—————

“Hey Patton.” There were light touches on Patton’s shoulder. “Hey Patton.” A tiny squeak. “Hey Patton. Hey Patton. Hey Patton. Hey Patton. Hey Pat-“

“Hey kiddo.”

Dorian, Patton’s five-years old brother, was clutching his rubber duck (aptly named Daveed) and looking straight at him with big, scared eyes.

...oh.

“Did you have another nightmare?”

“Mm-hmm...”

“Okay, come on. Jump in.” Patton rolled on his back and Dorian immediately crawled under Patton’s blanket, a huge smile on his face. “What’s that smile about, kiddo?”

“I’m not telling you.”

Patton’s phone lit up.

‘Lolo💙💙 @ DIGGITY DANG A DANG: Princey’s ideas are completely chimerical and I refuse to work with him on this project any longer without Patton and Virgil’s intervention.’

‘🌟PRINCEY🌟 @ DIGGITY DANG A DANG: well then i refuse to work with mr pocket protector on this as well!’

His friends were crazy.

‘My Dark Strange Son 😈💜 @ DIGGITY DANG A DANG: SHUT THE FUCK UP ITS TWO IN THE MORNING GO TO SLEEP’

“Okay, Dorian. Come on. Tell me about your nightmare.”

“No!” Dorian’s duck gave a sad squeak.

“Dory, kiddo, you kinda have to if you want me to help.”

‘JD, Chandler, go to sleep. We can do the project in the morning. I promise I’ll bring brownies! xx’

‘Lolo💙💙: Good night, Patton. I’m sorry we woke you up.’

‘Oh, you didn’t, honey! My brother did. See you at school! And don’t kill each other!’

“Come on. You came here because of your nightmares? So I wanna hear them.”

‘🌟PRINCEY🌟: tell him i said gnight and give him a big kiss aight pat? night!’

“There was a giant,” Dorian started. “In the nightmare. And it was rainbow, and it was scary, and it was running to me, and...”

“You mean chasing you?”

“Huh? yeah, yeah... that’s what I meaned. So the giant was...”

Dorian started rambling about his nightmare and Patton could honestly feel himself falling asleep all over again, but he couldn’t allow himself that. At least not while Dorian was talking.

‘Lolo💙💙: I can see you’re still online, Patton. Is anything wrong?’

‘Yeah... my brother just talks a lot, that’s all. I’m going to sleep, I promise! Love you ❤️❤️’

“...and then, and then... I forgot.” Dorian was starting to doze off. Good. Patton had his hand in his brother’s hair, trying to keep from falling asleep himself before his brother...

His mom was going to be so mad when she finds out when they fell asleep.

——

“What do you mean, your brother lied about having a nightmare?”

“I mean my mom came to wake me up today and started the morning with a ‘you have to stop sneaking out of your room just to have a midnight chat, Dorian, it’s not good for you’. I’m serious!” Roman was fiddling with the red scrunchie on his wrist as Patton paced around the stage. ”He’s only five, Roman! What’s going to happen to him if he keeps losing sleep like that? That’s not healthy!”

“Wow, Patton... your brother lies to you - your kid brother lies to you - and you’re worried about his sleep schedule?!”

“Calm down, Chandler, this isn’t the thunderdome just yet,” the familiar monotone voice called, accompanied by footsteps. My savior is here! “A steady sleep schedule is very important for the circadian rhythm.”

“Dorian woke me up at two in the morning to have a talk and told me that he had a nightmare. Good to see you too, Lolo.”

“I take it you’re tired.” Patton grunted. “Why don’t you set boundaries?”

“Have you met my brother?”

“Yes, in fact. I have been over to your house quite some-”

“That’s not what I meant, Lolo.”

“I think what puffball here is trying to say is, his brother is the cutest kid in the world. Would you deny him anything? I know I wouldn’t!”

“It’s not even that, Roman. It’s just...” Patton started pacing again. “He’s the cutest kid, yes, but he’s also so set on breaking the rules all the time!”

“And I think we all know who he got that from, puffball-Veronica.”

“I just know that he wouldn’t care about any boundaries I might set.”

“Do you think Ms. Caulfield would mind you three hanging on stage like that?”

“Goddamnit, Virgil...”

“Great to see that Veronica Sawyer, Heather Chandler and Jason Dean are all breaking the rules as should be,” Virgil noted with an awkward smirk. One of the rare ones. “You know we’re not rehearsing here today, yeah?”

“We all came here for break before rehearsals, Mr. Stage Manager, please.” Roman threw his scrunchie on Virgil. “My dear darling boyfriend, please make sense of the situation at hand.”

“Yes, Roman?”

“Patton’s adorable little kid brother Dorian lied about having a nightmare last night just so he could have a midnight talk and all Patton is worried about is his sleep schedule.”

“Wait, he really did that?” Patton nodded, biting a nail. “Wow. I’m oddly proud.”

“Not you too!” Roman let out a loud groan. “This kid lied about-“

“You literally stayed up until three thirty last night to text me about Dan and Phil playing the sims, Romano. You’re not one to talk.”

“Do you have no shame accusing me of such a thing, Virgil? I thought you loved me!”

“Princey, I do love you. But you’re just so insufferable sometimes.”

“Yeah, yeah. Love you too.”

When rehearsals started a bit later, it seemed as if Roman forgot all about what happened.

——

“Hey kiddo,” Patton said with a giant smile as he got home. His brother was in the living room, watching cartoons. Patton assumed their mother was in her office painting mandalas, which would’ve been the only explanation as to why Dorian was watching cartoons.

...while sporting a huge black eye.

“Patton! I’m watching something and I don’t know what it is but-“

“What’s that shiner you got over there, Dorian?”

“It’s nothin’. I runned to a door handle thingy.” He pulled his shoulder, squeezing his rubber duck.

“Do you need some ice to put on it, buddy?” Dorian shook his head. “Okay. How about donuts? Would they make you feel better?”

“Yes! But not from where mommy gets the donuts because that’s where Jake Baker’s mommy works and Jake Baker doesn’t like me and he hit me today and pushed me and I felled on a swing and I don’t wanna go around him.”

...ran into a doorknob, huh.

“Didn’t you go to Dahlia’s today, honey?”

“No. I didn’t want to.”

“Patton, sweetheart?” Their mother called from her office.

“Hey, Mom!”

“How was rehearsal today, sweetheart?”

“It was good! I’ll tell you at dinner!”

Things mostly fell into silence after that, Patton joining Dorian in watching the cartoon (Voltron, Patton noted, one of the cartoons he did not want Dorian to watch without him around). And then...

“Can I have cereal, Patton?”

“Of course.” Patton got up to the kitchen. “What did you have for lunch, Dorian?”

“Uhh... a sandwich. And an apple! From Dahlia!”

“That sounds like a nice lunch, kiddo.” No it didn’t. “Which cereal?”

“I don’t care.” So fruit loops. Alright.

By the time Patton got back to the living room, Dorian’s stomach was growling. Of course. That kid was adorable, but he needed to stop lying.

“Why’d you tell me you had lunch today?” Dorian looked up from his cereal bowl. “You didn’t. I could hear it.”

“But I did!”

“You don’t like apples, Dory. I know you don’t.” The kid’s face started turning red. “Come on. Why’d you lie to me?”

“...I forgot lunch at home. But I did eat the apple!” Patton shot him a look. “I swear I did!”

“Look, kiddo... lying isn’t always a bad thing, but you gotta learn when to.” Dorian looked confused. “You shouldn’t lie about lunch, because not eating isn’t good for you. You shouldn’t lie about nightmares, because sleep is very important for everyone, including you. You especially, Dorian. And most of all, you shouldn’t lie about being hurt. If someone hurt you, you tell me. I’ll make everything okay. Okay?”

“...I did eat an apple.”

“...okay. Let’s go with that.”

——

“Hey Patton.” A light touch on his shoulder. “Hey Patton.” A soft squeak. “Hey Patton. Hey Patton. Hey Patton. Hey Patton. Hey Pat-“

“Hey kiddo. Another nightmare?”

Patton rubbed his eyes and grabbed his glasses, looking at his brother as he climbed into his bed. His phone was buzzing with texts.

‘Lolo💙💙 @ DIGGITY DANG A DANG: I’ve been listening to Burn from Hamilton for the last hour and a half. Some help would be welcome.’

‘🌟PRINCEY🌟 @ DIGGITY DANG A DANG: no can do, compadre! youre on your own in this!’

‘My Dark Strange Son 😈💜 @ DIGGITY DANG A DANG: @ Lolo💙💙 hey you, out there in the cold, getting lonely, getting old, can you feel me?’

‘Lolo💙💙 @ DIGGITY DANG A DANG: @  My Dark Strange Son 😈💜 wow... Thanks on somehow making it worse, Virgil.’

‘My Dark Strange Son 😈💜 @ DIGGITY DANG A DANG: anytime, sherlock’

‘Go to sleep, will ya? It’s one thirty in the morning!’

“So... nightmare?” Dorian hummed. “Wanna tell me?”

This was going to be a very long night.

—————

Tag list:

@broadwaytheanimatedseries @illmamnim @royal-raccoon @face-the-ravenclaw @winnie-the-patton

[animatedpileofbones]

DA q's!! 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 14, 17, 25, 33, 34, 37, 40, 42, 47, 51, 52, 60, 63, 66, 77, 78, 79, 98, and 99~! (◠‿◠✿)

eli i love you man here we go, this is long sorry but i have a Lot To Say! i literally wrote like 1500 words for these so it’s under a readmore.

1 how did you get into dragon age

i was on tumblr when inquisition came out and a lot of my friends and mutuals at the time suddenly became dragon age blogs for a while (some still are, howdy!) yEARS later i found origins on discount at gamestop and decided to check it out and whoops now i’m a fucking mess forever :)

4 about my warden(s)

My first, and most recently rehashed* warden was Gwinek, she was a casteless dwarf rogue, dual wielder. I didn’t know there were specific temperaments in this game like in 2 but I play her as gruff but fiercely loyal. She would do almost anything for her friends and sister, but is very naive in matters of magic. She romanced Leliana.

*rehashed because I came to the series completely blind, and as such made some not so great choices the first time around.

I also have an elven mage, named Lemmen, she was also a big helpy helperton but slow to trust. She romanced Alistair and I don’t like to think about that sacrifice. :’)

5 about my hawke(s)

My first Hawke was Marcel, a dual wielding rogue and I played him purple. He is big into his friends, obviously, but mostly just wants to be liked despite the fact that he is accidentally an asshole sometimes. He romanced Fenris. All my Hawkes romance Fenris. I love Fenris just so much and I keep telling myself one of these times I’m going to romance Isabela but then Fenris walks in all drama and vengeance and I’m just too gay to handle it. My latest Hawke was Lucien, a… purple dual-wielding rogue. He erred on the side of blue, though, whereas Marcel was vaguely red, so. Not Entirely the same but view my problem, especially going into...

6 about my inquisitor(s)

My first inquisitor was Vodahl Cadash, a… dwarven dual-wielding rogue. :) He was pretty anti-chantry but was also more invested in taking care of his crew than making enemies, preferring to let Josephine handle PR and just say what she told him to say while he supported his team as he saw fit. He lived for life on the road, mostly, an adventurer type, but whatever his inner circle needed, they got. He romanced The Iron Bull, because I’m a thirsty thirsty bitch. I rehashed the dwarven rogue in Heraht, this time romancing Dorian; Heraht was much more enamored with surface life, not necessarily Ferelden-style though. He was well manicured and a bit on the sarcastic side of charming. Right now i’m playing a human sword-and-shield warrior, Errol Travellyan, and he is accidentally just Dorian But From The Free Marches in personality. He can be easily frustrated, I play him fairly no nonsense at times but he’s trying to maintain his Approachable Facade. He’s…. also romancing Dorian OH NO

7 favorite origins backstory

Oooh this is tough because I love Leliana so much, and Alistair just makes me cry all the time I Love That Man, ooh this is tough but I think I have to say Morrigan. She is a story gift that keeps on giving, and I think this is because of what we learned in Inquisition. Without that info, I think… OH NO WAIT IT’S SHALE, HANDS DOWN IT’S SHALE

11 best hawke quote

it’s not specifically a quote but when you bring the viscount’s son back in act 1 and you can either keep your mouth shut about their disagreement or Well Actually yourself into that conversation, that’s my favorite.

14 favorite origins party combo

Before you get Shale, it’s Alistair, Leliana, and the dog. After Shale, it’s Shale, Leliana, and either Zevran or Alistair.

17 mabari name

In Origins, I named the mabari after a person from the backstory. For Gwinek it was Leske to keep her friend with her even now. For Lemmen it was Jowan, because at least the mabari would never let her down. In DA2, it was a family pet, so for Marcel it was named Champion, and for Lucien it was Handsome Cal, and you can envision all sorts of titles in there but I didn’t have enough characters. Lord Handsome Cal Esquire III (he was the first)

25 favorite inquisition place

It’s the Hissing Wastes for sure. It’s always dusk, it’s so vast and beautiful. I love just hanging out there.

33 favorite dragon age character overall

Hey Eli? I hate this question! I am doing my current playthrough solely for the benefit of Leliana this is true. But I have a horrible weakness for two (2) men, Fenris and The Iron Bull, I can’t choose between them, and also Varric, and, asdlfjasdf how could you do this to me? I also identify very heavily with Dorian, and, I’m going to just cry instead of answer this, how about that?

34 least favorite character

Oh it’s Anders no doubt, no question, I hate him. I hate him so much. Like don’t get me wrong, I am in full support of mages taking back their space in Thedas, I just. Have known guys like Anders and the way he hits on f!Hawke like immediately after his intro quest, y’know where we had to kill his boyfriend? felt so bad and just turned my mild irritation into full-on hate.

37 blood magic yes/no

Nope.

40 moment/action i regret in game

Just like everything with the ending of Origins. I don’t prefer to do the ritual with Morrigan because I tend to play women which means I need to coerce Alistair into doing it and I did that for exactly two savestates (one being my Cousland because I wanted to see how that went and then the first time around with Gwinek) thinking “this is the best long term post-game choice! Neither of us have to die! And I’m not even making him be king!” despite it sitting bitterly in the back of my mind the rest of the series. then comes Inquisition and the full consequences of my actions hit me like a brick in the face and I eventually scrapped that playthrough and went back and didn’t be a shithead shitbag, replaying Gwinek entirely so that choice wouldn’t have even begun to make sense to her. I regret that so much.

42 who do i wish i could romance

VARRIC “PARAGON OF MANLINESS” TETHRAS

47 best antagonist

Arl Rendon Howe from Origins, cos he was voiced by Tim Curry and that was just so sexy of a choice. In all seriousness though, Meredith from da2.

51 favorite warden/hawke/inq headcanon any/all

Lucien Hawke routinely had sleepovers at his estate in Hightown. He tried to a couple times while living with Gamlen, but everyone was too sad to indulge him.

Heraht nearly breaks up with Dorian on a near weekly basis whenever Dorian accidentally lumps him in with the Fereldens re: hygiene. Also, not a headcanon but just the way I played but the two of them absolutely had coordinating outfits at all times.

Gwinek shared tents with Wynne most nights, finding in Wynne the mother she wished she and Rica would have had.

Also with Gwinek, she may have helped her sister’s paramour become king but she doesn’t trust him half as far as she can throw him and comes down to Orzammar on the regs to make sure he’s treating Rica right, and he knows damn well that Gwinek put him into that throne and she Will take him back out of it, and he can’t do shit without risking absolute chaos. 

This is also a good time to mention my ot3s: Hawke/Fenris/Isabela, Heraht/Dorian/Bull

52 favorite npc headcanons

Fenris took to reading rather easier than Hawke would have guessed, only Hawke didn’t know just how well Fenris had taken to it until years into their relationship because Fenris thought the “lessons” were cute.

The Iron Bull introduced hot cocoa to Skyhold and literally changed so many lives in that moment; quartermaster Morris pulled so many strings to get marshmallows in, and when they arrived the first time the celebration was almost a riot.

60 who do i wish had been given more story

Weird to say for the woman who had her own Origins DLC and also was pivotal in Inquisition, but Morrigan. She’s just really interesting to me. Also, Warden Stroud. I think he was just there to be the Easy Low Stakes Choice to leave in the Fade honestly but I hated not having a reason to care about him. I didn't play any da2 dlc tho.

63 best story moment

This is tough? I enjoyed the landsmeet in origins. I think most of da2 was great story. Except Orsino obviously. I think I’m just going to point to all of da2. Yeah.

66 something i hate about any of the games

it can’t seem to decide how it feels about the qunari. also that there are characters that absolutely are not straight that the writers decided Actually, Despite Everything, They Are Straight Actually :’)

77 what moment/memory still gives me chills/feels

Definitely definitely Dorian’s confrontation with his dad. That was so well acted, I felt that pain and betrayal so viscerally. It hurts every time. As for a different brand of chills, y’know when if you seduce The Iron Bull and stuff finally starts happening there, and he lifts the inquisitory by the wrists in One Hand and remember I was playing a dwarf, oo golly that shit is All I Need In Life

78 what am i hoping for in da4

More magic and Old Gods and stuff! More Morrigan? Familiar faces!

79 what am i worried about for da4

Familiar faces! :’) Also just so heavyhanded “morally gray” issues that is actually just bad edgy writing. Worried we will be racelocked like in 2 :(

98 if i could be any non human da species which/why

Dwarf, because halflings don’t exist in thedas and dwarves are fairly industrious as a culture

99 where would i live

Despite what I just said, I would probably live somewhere in the Free Marches! Kirkwall ended up pretty fucked and I am absolutely biased because da2 was my favorite.

[pirateisabela]

Talk of Skyhold

Jaras Lavellan/Dorian Pavus

Fluff

Summary:  Jaras and Dorian at three different times in their early romance where they not only have a healthy sexual relationship where saying no is okay but also feelings eventually smack a certain someone in the face.

3141 words

Read on AO3 

It was a long week for Jaras and his companions. He, Dorian, Sera, and Iron Bull had spent the last week in Emprise du Lion helping the villagers and taking Suledin Keep on top of a mountain. They rarely slept—as per usual when they were out in the field—and by the last day of their mission, the effects on Jaras were obvious. He couldn’t wait to return to Skyhold and sleep for sixteen hours straight.

The ride back to Skyhold, even on horseback—or, rather, a Dracolisk in Jaras’s case—took the better part of a day and through miles and miles of snow and rugged terrain, no less. The most agonizing part of it all, however, had to be crossing the long bridge into Skyhold, the bridge the embodiment of “so close yet so far away.” Jaras didn’t care why whoever inhabited Skyhold originally put it there: he loathed that bridge with every fiber of his being, even more than those stupid masks the Orlesian nobles insisted on wearing to show how much better than everybody else they thought they were.

Jaras wasted no time to crawl into bed once he returned to Skyhold. Thankfully, they made their not-so-grand entrance in the middle of the night, so the only people there to greet them were the advisors and Cassandra. He greeted the four of them, excused himself, and then walked with quite a bit of purpose back to his quarters. Creators, he was never as happy to flop down onto his bed as he was when he first returned from missions.

Jaras only cared enough to rip his shoes off before he snuggled up underneath the covers. It was so warm, a nice change from the raging winds in the Emprise and in the mountains on the way to and from Skyhold. A reprieve from the wind was rare but not as rare as it was to get away from the snow and the sharp bite in the air. The tip of Jaras’s nose was still numb from the ghost of the cold. Emprise du Lion was a miserable place that was quite ecstatic to share its own pitifulness with anyone who was unlucky enough to stay there for a week or two.

Already, the tendrils of sleep were wrapping around Jaras, and he welcomed it. The past week was long and hard, and he couldn’t wait to finally get a good night’s rest. When he woke up in the morning, he was sure Cassandra and Josephine would hound him about his mission report, Cullen would want to hold a war room meeting about the troops and villagers in Emprise du Lion, and Leliana would surely have something to talk with him and Harding about. All of that could wait until the morning, though. For now, Jaras would sleep…

A knock came from the door, and Jaras cursed silently. Maybe he could just pretend he was already asleep, and whoever it was would just come back in the morning…

The knock sounded again, and Jaras groaned as he ripped the covers off himself and walked down the stairs towards his door. Unless something was on fire or someone was dying, Jaras would just dismiss the visitor and go back to sleep. The Inquisition did just fine without him while they were gone: they could handle eight more hours. Or maybe a solid twenty-four.

Jaras unlocked the door and turned the knob, ready to send the visitor on their way, but he found himself smiling instead when the door revealed Dorian standing at the threshold.

“Well, I figured you would be asleep by now,” Jaras joked, opening the door further to allow Dorian to come in. He smiled back at Jaras, and the twinkle in his eyes threatened to make Jaras swoon.

“Where is the fun in that?” Dorian asked as the two men took their chat up the stairs and into the center of Jaras’s room, right in front of his bed. “Why be well rested when you can sate something else?”

Jaras chuckled. “If you came here for a booty call, I’m afraid that’s not happening tonight. I’m falling asleep standing up.”

Dorian took a step closer to Jaras, leaving practically no room between them and definitely no doubt to Dorian’s intentions. “Oh come on, we just spent a week with nothing but sexual tension and the cold. I’m sure we’ll both be done and off to bed in twenty minutes, tops.” Well, that wasn’t a lie: there was quite a bit of sexual tension. Even though they shared a tent, neither of them dared to take their clothes off for more than five minutes at a time because of the cold. There was also the fact that Dorian was still hesitant to even think naughty thoughts about Jaras in the presence of anyone but their other two companions. The whole trip, Dorian and Jaras were reduced to furtive glances and quick make-out sessions in dark corners like they were in freaking Skyhold still. It drove Jaras mad, but still, sleep took priority over his sexual desires. Besides, he didn’t want to fall asleep during sex and make a fool of himself. He did that once with Aththorn, and the stupid man refused to let him live it down.

“I’m afraid it will just have to wait until tomorrow, ma elgara. I’m too tired.” Jaras leaned in for a kiss, and Dorian did not hesitate to do the same. The kiss, however, became more than a kiss, and the two men were disrobing themselves in seconds. The thought of helping Dorian undo his buckles, however, sent a rush of sense through Jaras, and he thanked the Creators for Dorian’s unconventional fashion choices. Tonight was not a good night for sex for Jaras, but his dick wasn’t too worried about that.

Jaras gently pushed Dorian away from where they sat on the bed. “Nope. Not happening tonight,” Jaras said, still breathing hard. “You can spend the night, though, and maybe something will happen in the morning—well, probably the afternoon.”

Dorian sighed, but he continued to undo his buckles. “I might as well. Your bed is softer than mine, anyway, and after a week of sleeping on the ground, I think I deserve it,” Dorian joked in his usual flippant manner.

So, the two of them continued to disrobe, though a bit less enthusiastically this time. Jaras was finished in about a minute and a half—rogue armor was light and uncomplicated—but Dorian did not crawl under the covers until over ten minutes later. By that point, Jaras could barely tear his eyes open and glance at his lover, but he managed.

“Goodnight, ma elgara,” Jaras whispered, his voice heavy with sleep.

“Sweet dreams, amatus,” Dorian smiled as he whispered back.

//\//\

Jaras spent the whole day in War Room meetings. With the attack on Adamant approaching, Jaras and his advisors wanted to leave no room for mistakes. They were unsure of what exactly they would find in the building—they knew the basic layout of it thanks to Cole and old documents in the possession of one of Josephine’s contacts, but that was all before Corypheus. How many Wardens would be at Adamant? Could Jaras sway or reason with any of them? Would Corypheus himself be there? What about the Venatori? Jaras and his advisors were unsure of too much for their comfort.

It was well after nightfall when the five of them—Cassandra had slipped in at some point, though the other four were not hesitant to accept additional help—decided there was simply nothing else they could plan at this point. Everything they could sort through was sorted through. They exhausted the last of their knowledge, and it was time to call it a day. Jaras left the War Room reluctantly and unsatisfied—he didn’t like leaving room for error, but it was all they could do right now unless something else came to light.

Their incomplete plan was still on his mind as he walked into his room to find his lover, Dorian, sitting at Jaras’s desk, reading a book. Jaras could say that he was surprised to find Dorian there, but that was a lie: when Jaras left for the War Room meeting early that morning, Dorian was in that very same chair with that very same book. Dorian had recently refreshed his tea, but otherwise, everything was exactly the same.

It took Dorian a moment to tear his eyes away from his book as Jaras walked in and sat roughly on the couch and began the strenuous process of untying his shoes. 

“Ah, you’re back, amatus,” Dorian said, setting his book down while smirking at Jaras. “I figured you and your advisors were halfway to the Anderfels by now: no one’s heard from you all day.”

If Jaras were in a more favorable mood rather than stressed and tired from the day-long meeting, Jaras would have quipped back. Instead, he merely huffed out, “I wish.”

Dorian stood up and walked over to Jaras, sitting beside him on the couch. “Rough day, then?” he asked.

“Quite,” was all Jaras said.

Dorian reached over and began unbuttoning Jaras’s shirt for him. “Well, I know something that can take your mind off of that.”

Jaras sighed. “I’m sorry, Dorian, I’m just not in the mood right now. It’s been a long, stressful day: I just want to sleep. You can stay the night here, anyway, though.”

Dorian continued unbuttoning Jaras's shirt, but withdrew his hands after the last notch and placing one hand on Jaras’s knee. “Not even something short? I can do that thing you like.”

“If you really want, I can do something for you, but I just don’t think I could enjoy myself while thinking about Corypheus.”

Dorian laughed. “Ah, he’s such a cockblock. If we don’t both enjoy it, then there’s no point. I guess I’ll just have to be your bedwarmer tonight, then.”

“What do you mean ‘bedwarmer’?” Jaras asked incredulously. “Your feet make Emprise du Lion seem warm.”

Dorian shook his head, astounded by Jaras’s audacity. “Well, at least I’m not a furnace. Honestly, I thought I was going to have a heat stroke last night.”

“Well, a heat stroke is better than your lower body freezing off. I swear, I might have to start wearing pants to bed. If I don’t, then Corypheus won’t kill me: you will the next time your leg brushes against mine in the middle of the night.”

“And I’m the dramatic one,” Dorian chuckled. They continued their conversation as they removed their clothes, Jaras considerably faster than Dorian, as always. As soon as Jaras was in nothing but his smalls, he crawled into bed and wrapped himself up like an Antivan burrito with the blanket. Dorian said that he was going to have a heat stroke, so he didn't really need the blanket, now did he?

Yet again, it took another ten minutes for Dorian to climb into bed with Jaras. The elf still didn’t understand Dorian's extravagant fashion choices, nor could he even begin to fathom all the complicated steps to removing it. He always tried every time he and Dorian had sex—and even occasionally when they were just sucking face—but to no avail. Dorian eventually has to just take his clothes off himself. 

Dorian laughed at Jaras snatching all of the blanket, but he didn’t say anything: he just wrapped Jaras in his arms in a spoon. They laid there in comfortable silence for a moment until Dorian spoke up. 

“So, do you have another War Room meeting tomorrow?” Dorian asked.

“Fortunately, no,” Jaras sighed. “Well, at least not until Hawke and Stroud get here, but Varric doesn’t think that’ll happen until the day after tomorrow. That's what I’m hoping for, anyway.”

“I was under the impression that the War Room meetings were your favorite part of being Inquisitor,” Dorian joked. “I’m shocked. Truly.”

Jaras chuckled and wiggled one of his hands free to whack Dorian on the side of his leg. “Ah, yes, I will never get over the rush I feel as I listen to Leliana and Cullen arguing over why we don’t need troops or spies literally everywhere we could go while Josephine tries, and fails, to get them to shut up. Endless bickering for hours and hours on end: what could be better?”

“I think the only thing that could compare would be spending another week in Emprise du Lion.”

Jaras groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

They were both quiet for a moment, letting the conversation drift off into silence again. Sleep slowly crept up on them, and they embraced it with open arms. Jaras was on the edge of sleep when he whispered, “Goodnight, ma elgara." 

When Dorian finally replied with "Goodnight, amatus,” Jaras was already asleep. 

//\//\

Dorian knocked at the door, each thump sending his heart into his throat. He wasn’t quite sure what he was doing here—he’s never just… shared a room with one of his lovers for more than a night or two, and sex was always a factor. He doesn’t do this, nor did he ever expect he would, especially when he was still in Tevinter.

But he’s different, he reminded himself. He stayed. He wants more, just like you do. He won’t turn you away—maybe he even wants this, himself.

Dorian…wasn't very good at this. He had never been with another man who wanted more than just sex, not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. He liked sex. Very much. But he liked more, too, though—just as much, if not more than it. In Tevinter, two men could never have more than a sexual relationship. It just didn’t happen. No noble wanted to be outcasted, become a pariah. Love wasn’t considered something valuable enough to risk everything. But now, with the Inquisition, everything he couldn’t have with a man back in Tevinter, he could have now and with a man he cared very much for who wouldn’t have even been considered high enough of a class for it to be a scandal in his homeland.

He has never shared a bed with another man without it being “strictly no strings attached” or something. He’s never been more than a port in a storm. So how was he supposed to go about this? What does he say? “Hello, I like you quite a lot and I was wondering if you’d care to sleep together, but, you know, without sleeping together. Sounds delightful, doesn’t it?”

Before he could worry about it any longer, however, the door to the Inquisitor’s room creaked open, and there Jaras was, barely wearing anything more than his smalls. Dorian refrained from chuckling at that, but his nearly naked lover did ease his mind a bit. Maybe it does help imagining everyone else in their underwear?

“Oh, Dorian, I wasn’t sure if you were going to come by tonight,” Jaras said, and judging by the look on the elf’s face and the embrace he pulled Dorian into, Dorian guessed Jaras was rather hoping the mage would stop by.

“You know me, unpredictable as always,” Dorian joked. He thanked the Maker for his childhood in Tevinter because he knew he absolutely didn’t look as nervous as he truly was.

Jaras kissed him chastely on the lips, then took Dorian by the hand and led him into the Inquisitor’s quarters. Dorian spoke up once they finished climbing the stairs, knowing if he didn’t say something now, then tonight would be enjoyable but completely unproductive.

“So, amatus,” Dorian began, still not entirely sure what he was going to say, “your room is awfully big. It must get lonely when we don’t spend the night together.”

Jaras shrugged, using one of the belts on Dorian’s chest to bring him closer. “Sure,” he chuckled, “I’m not used to having so much space to myself. Or sleeping inside a building, for that matter. I am Dalish, remember? Tents and aravels are more my speed. Not that I don’t prefer buildings. It’s a lot warmer, especially on top of a mountain like we are.”

As soon as he finished talking, he kissed Dorian again, and Dorian had to make a conscious effort to pull away. “You know, the room would be even warmer if there were two people living here instead of one.” Dorian hoped he was being obvious enough without actually having to say it.

It took Jaras a minute to process what the mage had just said. “What, like you moving in with me?”

“Sure, if you want,” Dorian said nonchalantly. “We would have to do something about those awful bedsheets, though.”

Jaras grinned cheekily. “Really, you want to sleep in my room? Every night? Wow, Dorian Pavus, I didn’t think I’d ever see the day.”

Dorian rolled his eyes. “Oh, don’t you get smug. I’m probably in your room more than mine, anyway, and this way I won’t have to do a walk of shame across the Skyhold courtyard every morning.”

“But I thought you were worried about people finding out about us?” Jaras whispered scandalously. “Gossiping about the Tevinter magister probably using blood magic and sexual favors to pervert the mind of the oh-so-mighty Herald of Andraste?” Jaras couldn’t help but grin at the hilarity of it, even though Dorian was sure there were some Chantry women squawking about it right now.

“Let them talk,” Dorian whispered into Jaras’s ear. The elf’s smile widened at that, and he closed the distance between the two of them yet again and plopped a kiss on Dorian’s mouth.

In the morning, Dorian would go back to his old room and collect his belongings. He’d empty out his drawers, maybe have Jaras help him carry over all his beauty products. There were several stacks of books he’d stolen from the library still sitting in the corner of his room, and he would have to sort through the piles and decide what he was ready to return and what he was still reading. He had a few trinkets from Tevinter and stupid little things Jaras would hand him or sneak into Dorian’s pack while they were on missions—a flower or two, a rock shaped like a dick, an arrow that killed three Venatori at once, weird things like that that Dorian thought were too funny or too sweet to get rid of—but all of it was small and light and easy to move from his old room to the Inquisitor’s quarters. They would be done moving everything by lunch, and half of Skyhold would surely be talking about it an hour after that. Dorian was finding it hard to mind, however, because he was now living in the same room as his amatus, and that was worth all the talk.

[the-wintry-mizzenmast]

My thoughts on Mass Effect: Andromeda

My overall impression is that I enjoyed playing the game because the combat system is really smooth, and easily the best out of the Mass Effect games so far. So, yeah. A+ combat experience, lots of fun, cross-class capability and flexibility. The maps are generally very similar to Dragon Age: Inquisition with the forward stations (camps), obvious quest markers, and ability to set waypoints, only a way more massive scale as like the sprawl of Los Angeles, it is impossible to get around on foot, so you have to use your car, the Nomad. The Nomad is a vast improvement over the previous Mako, both in its capability and it’s near-indestructible handling ability. Apparently they got in some devs from the Need for Speed series to consult, and it shows. In a good way.

Despite all the griping of other reviewers, I do not feel that it’s a waste of time. It was fun, I enjoyed it. I could have enjoyed it a lot more, as there were a LOT of things that bugged me that detracted slightly from the experience. It is not the best Mass Effect game, and it is not the best BioWare game, but also probably not the worst. I don’t regret paying for it, and I think it has a lot of promise that might be fulfilled in either the DLCs or a sequel, though I feel slightly cheated because BioWare said it was supposed to be a standalone game and it’s very clearly not. 

Now more detail into the Andromeda world, spoilers ahoy for ME:A and Dragon Age: Inquisition which I’m comparing it to.

ANNOYING THINGS

I’m going to start off with the things that annoyed me, the things that I felt could be done better. They are mostly narrative related. There are a lot of other pieces out there on the internet on why they failed so hard at animation (this tumblr post is a great place to start), so I won’t get into the details.

There’s nothing new about the Andromeda galaxy. Some of that is fine, because I never really felt that Mass Effect was all that groundbreaking in terms of science fiction world building, but the original trilogy was a really good execution of already existing science fiction tropes, like battling an ancient cosmic evil, biological life vs. artificial intelligence, etc. But it is kind of disappointing when you go to a new galaxy and you still find that the aliens are humanoid bipeds with an emotional range that’s the same as humans. Like, the Angara are supposed to exceptionally emotional…but you hardly ever see anything that is NOT a human-like acceptable emotional expression. Sure, when Jaal is pissed he gets really pissed, but there is never a moment that’s, “Wow, we have different ways of emoting, and what you just did would have been totally inappropriate in our culture” or something like that. Languages are easily decoded, and the Angara even have binary gender that correlate directly with our gender binaries. Worst of all, Jaal is straight, and that blows my mind. Like, he has a preference? Really? Despite humans being literally so alien they’re from another galaxy, Jaal prefers Sara over Scott Ryder? By the time you’re going xeno it’s so far away from what is probably your standard sexuality that I have no idea what rational basis his preference would be based on, but it enrages me that Jaal is apparently straight. I’ll get back to the subject of romances a little later, but… I’ve seen more originality in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and that aired in the late 80’s to mid-90’s. The Kett are essentially biological Borg, and they’re given such a laughable “bad guy” design that I just…*throws up hands* Some of the reasons the Angara are so similar are because you want to emotionally identify with them, and there is some base level of humanness that you need in order to romance Jaal for it not to feel weird. Like, I get that it’s less skeevy-feeling to fuck something that looks like Jaal instead of an octopus or sentient slime. Okeydokes, but I feel like that more could’ve gone into making Andromeda truly creative and they really just didn’t.

Your crewmates are boring. They are just so dull. It’s not that they’re bad people, in fact you get the impression that most of them have their shit together. But they’re all…good people, and that makes them tearfully boring. They have stupid little quirks that it feels like somebody filled out a character generation sheet in a tabletop, but they’re not even as fleshed out as somebody playing a one-shot would make their characters out to be. Everyone is fundamentally a good person, and lacking the darkness or the ongoing tribulations and trials that made your crew in DA:I so interesting. I’ll go through them one by one:

CORA is a snoozefest. I find her insufferable. At first she’s kind of stand-offish because she was supposed to be the Pathfinder, which I would imagine romancing her as BroRyder really weird because of her close relationship with your father. Then she reveals herself to be some sort of Asari-aboo, in the worst sort of weeaboo fashion. She refers to herself as an Asari Commando, and worships one of the Asari Commandos on the Asari Ark, and she just comes off as one of the creepiest weeaboos ever. Couple that with her “I need people to tell me what to do” character arc, and I just…tried to avoid her as much as possible. Do the loyalty missions even do anything? I might just skip hers and see if that kills her in my new playthrough. SO BORING.

VETRA is kind of sweet, and I like her relationship with her sister Sid. She has a rough background that makes her not a Turian citizen, but it’s kind of hard to feel especially bad for her because hey, she’s got her new start in a new galaxy and all that is behind her. Great! …there’s no darkness, no moral greyness about her. Sure, I’m sure she’s involved in all sorts of shady requisitions dealings, but she doesn’t even have the interesting quirks or usefulness that is Josephine in DA:I. I relegate her to the sweet, and I like her, but not romance material.

PEEBEE is annoying as hell. She’s like the manic pixie scientist girl who just won’t shut up, and her absolute commitment phobia is just…BLEGH. She’s like that flaky friend that depends on you for everything, and once you need help she’s all “NEW PHONE WHO DIS.” I feel like she’s supposed to be the fun Asari character who’s the opposite of Liara, and that managed to include her being a million times more insufferable and annoying. She also has that “I’m not like other Asari” that bugs in the same way that people go, “I’m not like other Asians” or “I’m not like other girls” that smacks of internalized misogyny or racism and…yeah. I had a one night stand with her with my first playthrough as an Asian Sara Ryder, and that was enough, thanks. :/

LIAM is a sweet nerd. His loyalty mission was fun. I have no idea why he doesn’t like Vetra. He’s fun to have around, but he mostly seems to have his shit together. He’s a good dude, he’s got my back. …and he does nothing interesting or fun or has anything interesting in his backstory whatsoever. So he’s really into nerd stuff and takes on the duty of first contact and culture sharing with Jaal and the Angara and he fucks that one up a little…okay, anything else? Nope. Snoozefest.

JAAL is supposedly all about emotional stuff, but so often he clearly just suppresses his emotions? He’s got like…a normal sensitive guy range of human emotions and the game is trying to tell me he’s amazingly emotional and I’m all like, “No, that’s just a healthy level of human emotions, yo.” He’s probably your second most interesting romance option, but he’s still in the running for the “pretty bland” title which is not saying much. He’s got a little more to chew through in terms of the Kett/Angara revelation, and the fact that he’s seen war and a lot of death, but yeah. …good friend, great skills as squadmate. Not interesting. Also not sure why straight. SOMEBODY AT BIOWARE JUST MAKE HIM BI ALREADY.

DRACK is the most fun of all your squadmates, because he’s this ancient Krogan but he has so much left to give. He is full of humor and fun and Krogan loyalty, and HELL YES DRACK is great. I wanted more Drack in this game. I am still disappointed that they don’t let you romance Krogan or Salarian. :/ Bummer.

SUVI is also a snoozefest. So she’s a religious lesbian scientist who keeps wanting to eat things in Andromeda. There is literally nothing else about her to write home about.

GIL bothers the hell out of me. He is the only gay male romance option on your ship, and that is not cool. He’s not a squadmate, and frankly, his story arc which is his best friend, Jill, pressuring him to have a baby with her smacks of the heteronormative narrative of homosexuals being problematic because they are stealing away reproductive opportunities. That is so regressive, that it bothers me. I’m not sure if they were trying to go the “gay parenting, yay!” route, but with Sara Ryder, it just smacks of gay conversion therapy because he does end up going to his female best friend to have a baby with her. EW. WHAT THE FUCK. I am told this narrative doesn’t go away if you are romancing him as Scott Ryder, so…DOUBLE EW. WHAT THE FUCK.

Again, these are all fundmentally good people. That means there’s nothing interesting about them as characters in a Mass Effect world. It’s not like in the DA world where you have this great representation of troubled and morally grey characters (e.g. Zevran, Anders, Fenris, Cassandra, Dorian, Iron Bull, Solas), so everybody is just boring. The only exception to this is…

REYES VIDAL and thank fucking god because he single-handedly (single-voicedly, perhaps, as he’s voiced by Nicholas Boulton, who is known to us DA fans as Garrett Hawke) saved the Andromeda experience for me. He is actually interesting because he is this morally grey character trying to make the best out of a shitty starting experience in the Andromeda galaxy, and he is put into situation where he makes hard and oftentimes not squeaky-clean decisions. AND I LOVE HIM. He’s very clearly from Antiva, and the Zevran Arainai school of charm, flirtation, and bisexuality, but DAMN am I not pissed at BioWare that because he’s a supporting character and therefore never joins your crew or becomes your squadmate, your interactions with him boil down to about 20 minutes of some 90-hours of gameplay. And he cuts off your other romance pathways as well (as I discovered the hard way), so I felt kind of ripped off that I am apparently exclusive with some mafia kingpin that I’m in a long-distance relationship with. No sex scene, just a couple of make-outs and a kabe-don.

…WHAT.

If I don’t get more Reyes Vidal in a DLC I’m going to flip a table.

More dangling threads than a Project Runway disaster. There was real potential with a lot of the background plot that was going on, but NOTHING is resolved by the end of the game except for the most urgent “where we gonna live?” plotline.

Things that are dangling and aren’t even sewn up before hitting the runway are: - Ellen Ryder is still in cryo? - Who is the Benefactor and who murdered Jien Garson? What is up with the shady shit behind the Initiative anyway? - Who created the Scouge? - Are the Remnant still around? Why did they just abandon Meridian? - The Kett are still at large in the galaxy… - What caused the course deviations in intergalactic space about 300 years ago? - What’s happened to the other arks?

NOTHING IS RESOLVED. I thought I was getting a standalone game, and it’s actually a bait and switch. There are more questions raised than answered, which bodes well for a sequel, but I’m not sure if I want Bioware Montreal to be the people making this game.

Hardly any of your choices matter. I feel more rail-roaded in this game than I have in a modern BioWare game, DA2 included. At least in DA2, while Hawke had absolutely no agency in the events surrounding them, at least your choices decided who you fought against in the final battle, and there was also the very real and very common possibility of losing one of your friends. If you didn’t play your cards right, Isabela could’ve left, you could’ve given Fenris back to Danarius, you could have killed Anders, your surviving sibling could’ve died in the Deep Roads, you could have killed Merrill, you could’ve lost the allegiance of Aveline…literally the only person who can’t leave you is Varric, so it feels like a real accomplishment when you do go through the game with everyone intact. The same is somewhat true for ME2 as well, as the final mission you can potentially lose squadmates if you don’t assign them the correct tasks and have their loyalty missions. Even in DA:I you can make choices about certain characters in their arcs that change them and their interactions with other characters, as with the Cole human/spirit decision, and the choice of whether or not to work with the Qunari and whether to keep Cullen on the lyrium which both have the potential to come bite you in the ass in the Trespasser DLC. DA:I overall had more meaningful choices that affected your experience, as in the choice of mages vs. Templars, but also the end world state of your game, as in who you picked to be Divine, and the fate of the Inquisition and so on.

You are almost never asked to make a hard choice in Andromeda. There’s no equivalent of whether or not to kill Anders, of picking between Kaidan and Ashley. The closest to the former is whether to pick to side with the krogan or save the krogan over the Salarian Pathfinder, and that doesn’t seem to change the ME:A experience much. You are never asked to pick between a squadmate, and the only meaningful close choice there is the choice between Reyes Vidal and Sloane Kelly (which, let’s be honest, is a real no-brainer because Reyes in the only interesting romancable character in the entire game and Sloane Kelly is a thug through and through. It’s like, pick between this gang leader and this smooth mafia boss; yeah, this is pretty clear). Everything else is…minimal. And that’s really, really sad. I’m expecting, throughout the game, to have to make that hard call between say, whether to leave the Warden or Hawke behind in the Fade (in my first playthrough, it was a real rough one because that was a choice between Warden Alistair [who was coupled with my DA:O warden, Lyna] and Marian Hawke [who was coupled with Anders]), and while that was awful and painful, it was also GREAT. There is no equivalent in Andromeda and that makes me really sad. The stakes are just lower overall, which narratively makes for a way more boring game.

The gay options suck. This is less sucky if you are a lesbian, but if you are a gay bloke, you’re kind of out of luck. As I stated above, Gil undergoes conversion therapy to have a biological child with a woman, and your only other option is the amazing and charming space ZevranReyes Vidal whose single downside is treatment as a SECOND-CLASS ROMANCE. If you want to get the Matchmaker achievement where you romance 3 characters across 3 different playthroughs, it is currently NOT POSSIBLE to do that with male characters without having to do something hetero. That’s so not appropriate.

Aside from awkward facial expressions, the fact that there’s one face for all the Asari, and relatively shallow interactions with other NPCs, those are my major ME:A complaints.

GREAT AND AWESOME THINGS

The Nomad drives so well. I hated the Mako from the first game, and I love, love, love the Nomad now. Driving across Voeld makes me feel like Dominic Toretto in that custom Dodge Charger running from a nuclear submarine in Fast & Furious 8 good.

Reyes Vidal. I don’t need to say more here than Garrett Hawke and Zevran Arainai had a lovechild and his name is Reyes Vidal.

Combat experience is smooth as silk. Which makes the new game + more awesome because diversifying skills and quick profile switching is FUCK AWESOME. It’s kind of a pain to set up, but once you’ve got going, you’re going good.

That trope where everybody you’ve encountered in the game comes and helps you at the end of the game. That brief moment during endgame in front of the vault on Meridian where the krogan you’ve saved and Reyes Vidal and the whole damn cavalry come to assist. YESSSSSSS I love that trope so much and it hit all my happy buttons.

Jump jets. I am never going to be able to go back to a game where I can’t jump.

Movie night was cute. It was adorable.

Low grav asteroid/planet was amazing and fun. I’m really surprised it look this long to execute that. I wish it were bigger? It was smashing fun to drive around on.

Asians in space. I’m finally glad to see some goddamn Asians in space, knowing how many damn Asians exist in this world, I am so glad to finally see myself represented? One of the Asian default Sara Ryders is also super cute and we played as her and it was SO FUCKING NICE TO FINALLY SEE SOME ASIANS IN SPACE THANK YOU.