#HE SET THE STANDARD FOR LIL ME | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

darlingghoulette · 2 months ago

Text

walked in and dream-came-trued it for ya'

Summary: You come across a fun surprise on a supply run and decisions are made to “spice things up” in the bedroom for you and Joel. You fuck about it. That’s the fic. Rated E.

Content tags: crack treated seriously for porny reasons, established relationship, Jackson!Joel, afab!reader, reader has a vagina, no other physical descriptions of reader, no use of y/n, brief discussion of body insecurity, pussy play, pussy pronouns, finger sucking, oral, unprotected p in v, Joel talks you through it because of course he does, excessive use of contractions because Joel is Southern and so am I, ambiguous reader age–she was alive before Outbreak Day so you can do the math however you’d like. I’d still say she’s younger than Joel because the demons in my soul command me to write Older Man Smut.

Author’s note: this started as a conversation about having a majestic bush in the apocalypse and spiraled into an excuse to write smut. While this is hot, I 100% believe that Joel would want his girl all natural as the good lord intended, but hey, pussy is pussy. Just wanna say: your body is your own, fuck patriarchal standards for body hair. This is just for a lil fun.

Read on AO3

It starts as a joke.

You’re clearing an old beauty store on patrol, some old chain business that used to peddle expensive makeup and a million different types of skin care that all essentially do the same thing. It’s not the normal kind of place to look for supplies, but if there was anything you’d learned living through the apocalypse, it was to be resourceful.

You and Maria had already found a decent haul. Shampoo, acetone, disposable applicators that could be used at the clinic. And no infected growing into the walls to be seen. So far, at least.

All in all, the mood was pretty high. Maria doesn’t patrol much, especially after having the baby, and a calm, successful trip outside of the walls was a welcome one. She’s not technically your sister-in-law, seeing as you and Joel aren’t married, but she’s the closest thing you’ve had to a best friend and sister since the end of the world.

You’re trading lighthearted conversation as you browse the aisles, nearly ready to call it a day when you see it.

A medium sized box, dented and dusty. One of those wax melting kits, a little pot with tiny beads of brightly colored wax pellets. You’re already kneeling down to see if all the pieces are still intact when Maria ducks around the corner.

“All set?” she asks, shooting you an amused look while you dig excitedly into the box.

“How long has it been since you’ve seen one of these?”

The packaging has certainly seen better days, and the wax beads aren’t nearly as vibrant as they probably once were, but surely wax doesn’t go bad, right? For her part, Maria is regarding the contents warily.

“Can’t say I’ve had the time to get a wax in the past, hm, twenty years or so. So, probably about that long.”

It’s almost strange to think about how little things like body hair used to be a huge deal Before. You can remember the first time in middle school you felt embarrassed about how all your friends shaved their legs and you weren’t allowed to. Before you even realized it was just a commonly accepted societal norm and not worth the huge drag out with your mom who had bigger things on her plate than her kid’s race to puberty.

Stupid shit like that stopped being important…well, ever, if you think about it, society’s expectations were bullshit and patriarchal by design–but especially after the world ended.

“We should try it.” you joke, even though something about the idea is actually tempting.

“I’m alright, thanks.”

“Come on,” You’re already imagining wrangling it into your saddlebags. “It could be fun! The guys are out helping with the dam maintenance until tomorrow, we could have a girls night! Movies, wine, torture for the sake of beauty. The full ritual, you know?”

“I’m with you for the rest of it, but I’ve made peace with my legs how they are.” You hadn’t necessarily had your legs in mind.

Maria, genius that she is, correctly interprets the wicked grin curling your lips up slowly without you even having to say anything.

She snorts, amused, but in a way that’s absolutely laughing at you instead of with you. She’s good at that. “No.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!” you defend, but she’s already shaking her head.

“I’m not taking you to the clinic after you rip off something important giving yourself a Brazilian with a 20 year old kit.”

It’s your turn to roll your eyes at her. “Now who’s being dramatic? It’s not a rusty razor blade. It’s wax, Maria. I’ve just…you know. Never done that, even Before. And I’m sure it would be even safer with more hands helping…”

“Ask someone else then.”

“Like who? You’re the only person I’d trust. And really the only person I have besides the 15 year old whose dad I’m currently seeing, and we just got her to the point of somewhat tolerating our relationship, I’d really rather not jeopardize that.”

The image of what a disaster that would be makes you both laugh, but there’s enough truth in the statement that you feel a twist of embarrassment at even the thought. Absolutely not.

“Besides,” you say, faux-innocence dripping from your tone. “Might be a fun surprise for Tommy. Spice things up after the baby?”

The look Maria directs at you is flat and unimpressed, but you can tell she’s not actually annoyed. In fact, there’s a glimmer of something sharp in her eye that tells you she might actually be entertaining the idea. “We don’t need things spiced up, we’re doing just fine, thank you.”

Your nose wrinkles a little at that, you may have brought it up first, but that’s your not-brother-in-law she’s talking about fucking–

“But,” she continues on before your face interrupts her anymore. For a few beats, anticipation hangs heavy between you in the dilapidated store.

“But?”

The pursed seal of her lips eases into a grin, mischievous and matching your own.

“But it might be fun to see the stuck dumb look on his face if I sprung this on him.”

You let out a sharp bark of laughter, imagining your own Miller with a similar reaction. Yeah, this thing is definitely coming home with you. Just in case, you know?

*****

For the millionth time in the last hour, you shift awkwardly on the couch.

It’s the next day after your patrol shift with Maria. The ensuing girls night you’d had turned into more of a get tipsy on the Bison’s good whiskey and goof the hell off night. It was good to see your friend so relaxed, you thought, she stayed so busy and stressed keeping the town safe and secure. A rare cutting loose was called for..

It just so happened that the liquor in your system also made the mysterious box you smuggled from the supply run a whole lot more appealing.

It was a whole ordeal, including cursing, awkward stops and starts, and more drinks than was probably smart for people your age. Thankfully, Maria was more familiar with the whole process and did most of the legwork. Not the most comfortable or glamorous passtime, and you got to know each other in ways that you certainly hadn’t expected, but the results at the end…

You cross your legs again, the sensation of your clothes on bare skin is novel when you change positions. It was stupid, and way more painful than you’d expected. Something fueled by drunk decisions and committing to the bit for laughs, but you can’t deny…it feels kind of nice? Different. But nice.

Still, in the light of day, a new anxiety is popping out after your rash choice to go all beauty-school dropout.

The sun has sunk deep into the mountains, throwing those picturesque oranges and pinks across the Wyoming sky.

Joel’s due home from his overnight trip to the dam any time now.

Leftovers you’d snagged from the dining hall are keeping warm for him in the oven. There were no dishes to wash since you’d chosen to spare him the fate of choking down something you’d thrown together. (And he would have, the kind hearted fool. You’re not the best cook, but he insists on eating whatever you make while you attempt to learn.)

The book you’re reading hasn’t progressed a single page, you keep picking it up and putting it down without retaining anything, your mind too caught up in its spiral.

What if he hates it?

Of course, it’s a stupid thought. You know he’s not the kind of person who would judge you for something small like this. Sure, it’s not how he’s seen you since you both got together. But some guys go crazy for this, right? It used to be the preferred style for some people, back in the day. Even if it’s not his, it’s just fucking hair. It’ll grow back. He’s told you over and over that he’d love you no matter how you looked, and more than that his actions speak for himself. He’s literally seen you crouched over a toilet and ralphing your guts out. He’s seen you at every worst you’ve had in the last five years and is still there. In comparison, this is such a laughable insecurity.

What if he thinks exactly that, though? It’s not a dealbreaker, but what if he laughs at you, what if he thinks it’s stupid and childish and you’re trying too hard, what if he hates it, or what if–

The sound of the front door opening interrupts your–admittedly silly–crashout.

“Baby?” he calls out from where you can hear him shucking off his work boots, starting the familiar routine of sloughing off the outside world for the comforts of home.

“Living room!”

Before you can quite go back to riling yourself up, he’s behind you, curling down over the back of the couch to kiss you hello on the slope of your neck. Your head leans backwards, craning up at him above you.

His presence is like a balm, you can feel the smile growing on your lips while you take in the soft look he’s gifting you in return.

He’s ruffled, hair a mess from the blowing wind outside; the scent of horse and woodsmoke and sweat rolling off of him. It never fails that fresh-off-work Joel just drives you absolutely up a wall. There’s something so masculine and protective and natural about him when he comes home like this that makes you want to just jump his bones as soon as he walks in the door some days.

Today’s no different.

“Have a good weekend, darlin’?” He’s leaned down further now, grunting just a little at the probable murder its doing on his back, to kiss you on the forehead. It makes you huff a soft breath of a laugh out of your nose.

“Better now, but yeah, it was pretty good. Dinner’s in the oven.” you hum, watching him straighten back up and start shedding his coat. “If you wanna take a shower first, I’ll get you a plate.”

He kisses you again in thanks, a soft peck to your temple, a large palm coming to cradle your jaw briefly to press you into the contact. It’s intimate despite being so tame, a gesture that makes something deep in your bones melt better than any on-TV passionate romcom kiss ever could. This is real and warm, and makes you feel incredibly silly recalling your anxiety from just a couple minutes ago.

*****

It’s only after you’re both set up at the kitchen table that the anxiety and anticipation begins to creep back in, Joel fresh from his shower in sweatpants, you with your feet propped in his lap with a cup of tea while he eats his late dinner.

He’s telling you about the maintenance at the dam, how the group of workers had a disagreement on how to set up the factory to better prepare for the Spring storms that’ll move through soon. And you’re listening, really, you are. Nodding along when it’s needed, adding commentary when the conversation lulls. It’s just…

You can’t help shifting in your seat occasionally, or shooting him quick glances, wondering about his reaction. It’s getting you all twisted up again, and you’re trying to decide when will be the best time to bring it up. You’re nearly bursting with it, ready to pop and just get it over with already and–

“Alright,” Joel sets down his fork. “What’d she do?”

You blink, brought short by the sudden change in conversation. “Huh?”

“What’d she do?”

“I’m not following.”

Joel looks at you, a deadpan expression on his face, one brow raised and–Oh, no, that’s his dad detective face.

“You’re over there squirmin’ like a sinner in church and you can barely meet my eye. If it was something you did, you’d have broken by now because you can’t keep a secret for shit. Which brings me to thinkin’ Ellie pulled some kinda fool stunt and you’re trying like hell to cover for her.” he says, the corner of his mouth pulling up into an amused and exasperated expression. “I went by the garage first thing when I got back into town and didn’t notice anything, but she’s gettin’ better at being a normal sneaky teenager. So, what’d I miss?”

You can’t help it, that breaks you. You laugh, spine uncurling from its ramrod position. He always finds a way to break you out of your spiral. Even if he’s a little off the money, there’s something about the fact that he’s so attentive to your moods that releases the balloon of tension that’d been growing in your chest for most of the day.

During your giggle fit, Joel just smiles at you, pleased to have unfurled the little wrinkle you get between your brows when you’re really stewing on something. The meal mostly done and forgotten, his hands move to massage your socked feet in his lap, tugging playfully.

“Nothing happened, but it’s cute how you think you could get me to snitch on her,” You snicker, kicking one foot out to gently bump into his stomach. “She knows where I sleep and I’m more scared of her than I am of you.”

He laughs, mumbling a that’s probably smart under his breath before trying to weasel more answers out of you.

“Alright, if it ain’t that, then what is it?”

“I have no idea what you mean,” you sniff.

“Baby.”

His tone is low and coaxing, only meant to prompt the issue out of you, but it has the effect of kindling embers in your stomach. He sits there with his broad shoulders and tousled curls fresh from the shower, hands doing magic on the muscles of your feet, oblivious for all the world that he’s just about the most attractive image of a man you’ve ever seen in your life.

You sink a little further into your chair, using the foot that’s not currently in his grasp to rub along his thigh. Something in his eyes immediately darkens.

“It’s a surprise.”

Taking the opportunity where it’s given, his hand slips further up your calf, fingers just barely brushing the tender skin at the crook of your knee, fully exposed for him in the pajama shorts you’re sporting.

“Don’t gotta surprise me, don’t need nothin’. Got everything I want right here.”

You grin. “What if I’m part of the surprise?”

He was already looking at you before, but the way his eyes rake over you now? It’s heavy, taking you in like the only water in a desert. As much as his gaze feels like a physical thing, you’d much prefer his hands. It’s that want that has you lining up the final shot.

“I mean, unless you’re too tired from your trip. That would be fine, honest, it can wait until–”

You’re cut off with a delighted shriek when he stands and snatches you up from your chair, leftovers forgotten on the table as a problem for tomorrow.

Head still spinning from the rapid change in scenery, it takes you a second to recognize that he’s headed straight upstairs. He’s on a singular mission, as made clear by the clever hand on your ass that’s not just to keep you supported in his arms.

Joel may be older than you, but goddamn, you always forget how fucking strong he is.

The buttons of his flannel are irritatingly done up and your fingers are trying to get the stubborn bastard things open when he makes it to your bedroom and drops you to the mattress with a squeak. You barely have time to get your bearings back from the impact before he’s pressing down on top of you.

“Missed you so much last night,” he offers, already pressing hot kisses to your neck, your collarbone, pulling at the stretched neckline of a shirt that’s his anyway.

You nod rapidly in agreement, nerves fizzling with electricity before he even touches you. It’s always been like this. The easy, syrupy intimacy of everyday life that can snap on a dime, dropping you both into urgency and need like you’ve never felt before. And, indeed, you need him to fuck you already before you go out of your mind.

In a dance that’s as instinctual as breathing, your legs wrap around him. Your hips undulate up into his so you can feel where he’s hard and just as desperate.

Joel pulls back to hover above you. One hand palmed around the back of your neck, tilting you to look up at him. Guiding you where he wants you. “What do you need, baby?”

You lick your bottom lip, brain catching up to his words. His eyes dart down to your mouth.

“I-I want–” you start, breathlessly, but he cuts you off with a click of his tongue.

“Don’t think I asked what you wanted, sweet girl,” he hums, thumb resting on your chin and pulling it down. Gentle pressure, you could absolutely break away if you wanted to, but you follow his lead, sucking the appendage into your mouth. “Asked what you needed.”

You try to get the word “you” out around your mouthful, and you must do a good enough job that it earns you a kiss to the forehead, a move that might feel out of place to anyone else, but it’s so protective and possessive and him it makes you want to fucking writhe to release the pressure between your legs.

The slick sound of his thumb when he pulls it from you draws a sharp whine from your chest and he shushes you, hands dragging down and down and down your sides, coming to rest on your hips. Something about that wriggles in the back of your head, like there was something you were supposed to be doing here, but you’re way too caught up to remember.

“It’s alright. I gotcha, baby,” Joel says, heated and soft in his low drawl, and then he’s sliding your shorts down your hips. Hands sure and practiced, expert at playing you like a goddamn fiddle. Lips laying scalding, sucking kisses from the crook of your knee to the inside of your thigh as he eases your legs open and–

Stops.

It takes a couple of seconds for you to realize that he’s not just pausing for anticipation. He’s full on halted down there, one of your legs still hiked up in his palm, staring down at you like…Well.

You think the term Maria used was struck dumb.

You bite your lip to keep the laughter contained. It’s not very successful, because his eyes snap back up to your face after a snort sneaks out against your will.

There are lots of sexier ways you could play this, probably, but you settle on grinning up at him.

“Surprise?”

The sound he lets out is more of a sharp exhalation of breath than anything, like it was kicked out of him. You think you hear a goddamn tacked on the end there, but it’s quiet.

“What prompted this?” he asks when his words find him again, eyes dropped back down to take in the sight.

“Felt like a change,” you mumble, losing some of your previous steam. You can give him the whole story later, but despite being used to him seeing you all kinds of ways, something about direct eye contact with your pussy makes you wriggle uncomfortably.

“You, uh. You like it?” You’re starting to feel that anxiety creep back in, especially since he hasn’t confirmed or denied, or said much of fucking anything to give you a clue yet.

Something in your tone must give that away, because you can almost see him mentally shake himself–systems coming back online, you think to yourself. The next time his eyes catch yours, it makes your stomach go molten.

“Like it?” he echoes. His fingers have started exploring, petting down your soft skin. Even just the gentlest touch is like a livewire, makes your entire body clench, and he huffs out a soft laugh. “More’n like it, you are…Christ.”

He’s lowered your knee over his shoulder now, using both hands to make you lightheaded without actually touching where you want him.

“She’s so pretty, baby,” he coos at you, making you moan even louder when he caresses the tender skin on either side of your cunt. “You make her all pretty just for me?”

You nod, words a knot in your throat.

“She’s always pretty, though.” You can feel the hot breath closer now, mouth hovering just above where your nerves are on fire. The sensation has your hand snapping down and threading into his hair with a keening whine. “Prettiest pussy I’ve ever seen, an’ all mine.”

And then he’s eating at you like a man starved.

He’s always been enthusiastic when it comes to your pleasure, but like this everything feels heightened, sensitive beyond measure. His nose bumps your clit and your vision whites out..

His tongue is not just bullying inside you every few strokes, it’s licking at the soft, smooth skin wherever he can touch. He sets his teeth to gently drag across one of your folds and it sends you nearly howling with it, the pressure in your core ratcheting up so high that you feel yourself hurtling to the edge impossibly fast. Joel knows it, too. He knows your body better than anything else on earth.

“That’s it,” When he pulls back, it’s only with scant inches between you still, dipping back in to lay kiss after kiss on your heated flesh between words, like he can’t stand to pull himself away. Two of his fingers take the place of his tongue, crooking up inside you exactly where he knows drives you crazy and thrusting. Fucking you through it with every trick he knows drives you right to the peak.

“Good girl, take what you need, alright? Give it to me, baby, I got ya’,”

You can’t do anything but comply. Chest heaving, crying out with your orgasm as he eases you down as effectively as he built you up, kissing around your clit because he knows the stimulation can be too much directly after.

You don’t even wait to get your breath back before you’re using the grasp you still have on his hair to yank him up to your mouth.

He tastes like you.

It’s your favorite thing to taste on him.

Down below, past where his fingers are still petting at you, he’s grinding into the bed, trying to relieve the pressure where he’s straining against the seams of his sweatpants. The sight of it knocks enough sense back into you to start tugging at his clothes with urgency once more. It must amuse him greatly judging by the look he gives you.

“Need something?” he asks, but smart man that he is, he’s already joining in to help you shove his clothes away, your hands too shaky from the mind-shattering orgasm still. “Got another one in you?”

“You gonna keep asking stupid questions?” you pant, and it makes him bark out a delighted laugh, genuine and deep, and it has you grinning in response, always secretly pleased when you make him laugh.

It’s a practiced dance between you both; getting him undressed to match you, taking playful nips at the newly uncovered skin within reach, getting distracted by long periods of kissing until you’re so keyed up again that all you can do is pant against his mouth while he teases you.

He’s slowly rubbing the head of his cock against your soft folds, a slick slide that echoes wetly in the room and it’s so fucking obscene you could vibrate out of your own skin.

Up and down.

Coating himself in you and…just feeling. Playing with you. Enjoying his surprise. You let out a whine, impatient and beyond your limits.

“S’it feel good?” he’s toying with you, stroking along your skin everywhere except where you need him. He nudges against your clit and the shocky, overwhelming zip of it rocks a gasp from your chest that he must like the sound of because he does it again, hungry for it.

“You didn’t answer me earlier, you think she’s got another one for me?”

You’ve dissolved down to only nerve endings, too wound up to do much in response but grind up against him.

“Feels so good, so soft and sweet f’me,” he groans, the head pressing in just that little bit, barely there, only needing just that little bit more pressure to pop past the resistance and into your body. “Why don’t you feel, baby? Reach down here and guide me in, feel how nice we feel together,”

He grabs your hand, pulling it down between your bodies, grunting when you grip around him. It’s so slick and hot, a combination of the two of you that makes your stomach clench in anticipation. You try to guide him right in, desperate to feel him inside of you, but he resists.

“Slow, baby, slow, there we go,” It’s agonizingly drawn out, but he sinks into you finally, the position you’re in–one of his hands under the small of your back to tilt you up to him, your knees locked around him–combined with the glacial pace makes it feel so intense and fucking deep that you’re sucking in great lungfulls of air to keep from floating away. “Theeere we go, atta girl. Always take it so well,” he murmurs, breathless himself, shoulders tense.

He’s petting along your side with his free hand, gentling you like a goddamn horse, and fuck does it make your eyes roll back. With anyone else it would probably feel condescending. With Joel it just makes you want to slam your hips down into him even more, get him to move already.

He finally does draw back, right before slamming forward again and stealing all of the hard-won breath from your chest.

Time is lost after that. A haze of slapping skin and moans.

He adjusts his grip on you, both hands coming to rest on your hips to physically pull you into the force of his thrusts, propping you up and up until–

“Fuck!”

He hits that spot inside of you that makes your entire body jolt with electricity, and he grins, boyish and cocky.

“There she is,” he’s relentless, angled perfectly to make you lose your mind, thumb coming up to rub perfect, tight circles over your clit in time with his strokes. “I’ve got you, baby, gonna let go for me?”

Already keyed up and sensitive from your peak earlier, the overstimulation is tortuous and so, so good, already hurtling you towards another that you know he can feel impending by the way you’re tightening around him.

You’re trying to hold on, drawing out the pleasure curling at the base of your spine, but he drops down, hips never stopping, thumb still a maddening pressure on your clit, and he bites at your chest.

His breath is scorching hot and wet on your skin as he groans “such a good fuckin’ girl, fuckin’ come on my cock baby, s’all yours,” and he bites down on a peaked, puffy nipple.

Your second orgasm of the night rocks through you, the force of it startling, your fingernails making deep grooves in Joel’s back as you ride through it.

He’s cursing and holding you to him, hips stuttering with your cunt gripping him so tightly. Your end tumbles him into his own, emptying into you and fucking his come deeper on instinct.

The room is silent except for your combined breaths as you both come down.

There’s a pleasant buzzing in your limbs, a humming in the back of your mind as it comes back to the awareness that you still have a rather large man resting on top of you and that your lungs would quite like it if they could inflate all the way.

You tap Joel’s shoulder and he adjusts, sweat-sticky skin peeling from you to move to the side. It’s not as gross to you as it maybe could be. You think that’s what love might be.

He’s no sooner on his back beside you before you’ve rolled to lay against him, one leg tucked up over his, your chest flattened to his. Like space between you might actually kill you right now in the wake of your high. To his credit, he must feel the same, his palms skimming over your back, your ass, down to your knee and up again in a soothing circuit.

Soon you’ll need to get up and run a bath. Currently, you cannot think of anything you’d like to do less than move from this spot.

Joel kisses your hair, then your forehead, across your cheeks, anywhere he can reach, and you hum, absolutely in love with how touchy he gets after a good orgasm. The man may look big and bad outside these walls, but you have his number when it comes to post-coital cuddles.

It’s because you know him so well that you sense something brewing, his thoughts a little too loud for your liking. “Everything okay?”

He just hums, working a spot under your jaw with his teeth.

“Joel.”

“What?”

“You’re thinking too hard.”

“M’not.”

“You are, I can smell the smoke.”

He huffs, head dropping back to the pillow. “Cute.”

“I know,” you pretend to preen, but drop the humor quickly in favor of propping up on an elbow to look at him. He doesn’t seem distressed, but he’s definitely chewing on something. “What is it?”

His forehead is furrowed a bit, mouth curved to one side in thought. “You just…”

Your brow raises, prompting.

“You didn’t do all that,” he gestures at your lower half propped against him. “Just for me, did you?”

You snort. “Didn’t hear you complaining about it a minute ago.”

He rolls his eyes. “I ain’t complaining, I’m just saying.”

It’s on the tip of your tongue to tease again, maybe even get a little defensive as the nerves from before try to sink back in, but you refrain. You can see in his expression that he’s serious, trying to say something here that’s important, so you let him gather his thoughts. He sighs, appearing frustrated at himself that the words aren’t coming out right.

“You can do whatever you want with your body, not like you need permission from me. I just wanted t’say that you don’t need to do anything to change yourself for me. I know some people did that controlling shit Before, pushed their preferences on their partner, but I thought it was stupid then, too. I love the way you are no matter what, because it’s you, alright?”

You blink at him, not expecting the heartfelt turn in conversation.

There’s a hint of a flush under his tanned skin that has nothing to do with the previous vigorous activity. Talking about emotions usually does that to him, but he always makes a point of letting you know how he feels about you.

You wax your pussy on a drunken whim because you think it’ll be hot, and this large, wonderful idiot of a man is worried you did it out of some obligation to beauty standards and wants you to know he loves you regardless.

As silly as the situation is, you’re utterly, ridiculously charmed.

You smile down at him, still propped on his chest. The perfect vantage point to see how his eyes get drawn to your kiss-swollen mouth.

“And what if I said that I was just trying something out? Comparing differences, you know, to see what I like. Scientific, almost.”

His eyes darken.

“In that case,” With a startled shriek, he has you flipped, back pinned to the bed once more. “Thinkin’ we should keep on testin’.”

He’s creeping back down your body, focus resting on his come that has been dripping out of you, fingers scooping through the slick and pushing it right back inside where it belongs. It wrenches a shocked moan from you.

“Joel, I can barely move already.” you whine.

“Good thing I’m doing all the work, then.”

His eyes are locked on the apex of your legs, greedily taking you in.

“I ain’t done with you yet, pretty thing,” and you don’t think he’s talking to your face at all.

#joel miller x reader #Jackson!joel #x reader #joel miller fanfiction #Rated E #joel miller smut #my writing #smut #that man is the KING of pussy pronouns and i will stand on that fact until my dying day #pedro pascal universe #I guess I should use that tag too even though Game Joel is also valid and has my entire heart #pedro pascal fic

223 notes · View notes

kurishiri · 3 months ago

Text

9 lil things abt the way some ikevil chars speak in japanese you probably didnt know

in the jp version, even after getting into a relationship, kate actually still consistently calls elbert with his title, “lord elbert” [エルバート様] (erubāto-sama). in jp, the only ones who do not use the honorific would be victor, william, and on occasion, alfons, who seems to switch between [エル] (eru), [エルバート] (erubāto), [エル様] (eru-sama), and [エルバート様] (erubāto-sama) on a whim.

in case en doesnt localize this well or fully when it does come…there is a time when victor switches his personal pronoun from [僕] (boku) to [俺] (ore). these words mean the exact same thing (i, me, my, etc), but the latter is meant to have a more “masculine” feel. [僕] (boku) is used quite a bit by boys as well (in fact, ellis’ personal pronoun is [僕]), but it can also treated as a sorta “gender-neutral” character in songs, for example, and girls can use [僕] as well. on the other hand, you wouldnt ever see a girl using [俺].

nica has an interesting…speaking quirk, where certain words that should be written in hiragana r written in katakana. for example, he might say [イイ] (ī) as opposed to [いい] (ī), or [ホント] (honto) rather than [ほんとう] (hontō), [ワケ] (wake) over [わけ], [てアゲル] (—te ageru) over [てあげる], etc. this is likely a “personal style” thing to make him seem more flippant, cuteish, or youthful. this kind of thing is also more common in fictional characters who were raised abroad.

darius uses [ほっぺ] (hoppe) to say “cheeks”. the traditional way to say cheeks is [頬] (hoho). they mean the exact same thing, but saying [ほっぺ] (hoppe) to refer to cheeks has a childish or “innocent” air to it, partially due to the way its written entirely in hiragana. he does tend to have a childish air abt him, and this is probably one of the most direct examples of his childishness when it comes to the way he speaks.

alfons changed his way of speaking at some point after entering the greetia manor. before then, he often used more casual speech, known as [くだけた表現] (kudaketa hyōgen), but eventually he changed his way of speaking to whats known as [です・ます] (desu•masu) form, even using [敬語] (keigo), which is like very polite or humble japanese with their own set of vocabulary and conjugations. this is likely due to becoming elbert’s “attendant.” so he likely had to speak that way and it may have just become a habit or a sort of integral part of his identity, as he uses this language even after getting into a relationship with kate.

another tidbit of victor: he often — for example — ends questions with [かい] (kai). the other way to end questions in japanese would be to just use [か] (ka). but by adding [い] (i) to it, it can add emphasis or “soften” the tone. its mostly used by men, and using such a form is often associated with older men and women (40+), but younger men can use this too.

it might be more noticeable with jude bc he originally speaks in a whole different dialect [関西弁] (kansai-ben), and will switch to queens english, i.e. standard tokyo japanese, for business related reasons or if he feels its necessary to for a reason. but roger also can switch his way of speaking as well. he would mainly do this with ppl hes not well acquainted to or with well respected personages. he normally speaks pretty casually in japanese, shortening words or phrases, though not speaking in a different dialect. for example, he might say [そりゃ] (sorya) instead of [それは] (sore ha). but in certain situations, he might opt to use [それは].

william and elbert speak in the same form [だ・である] (da•dearu) due to the fact they r nobles — such a form comes off as more direct, imposing, or just strong in general — but they also do have their own “speaking quirks” as well. for example, when saying the word “but” or “however”, will often uses the word [が] (ga), while elbie opts for [けれど] (keredo). will also tends to end his sentences or remarks with [だな] (da na), something that elbie does not really do. that said, the way they both say “yes” is the same: [ああ] (ā).

kate uses honorifics with ring, specifically [くん] (—kun), when requested by ring to not be so formal with him (btw kate also uses [くん] with ellis), but when ring refers to kate by her name rather than “robin”, he doesnt use any honorific on her. on the other hand, nica continues to call her “robin” / spatzi / rotkehlchen what have you, but asks her to not use [さん] (—san) with him at all. so kate just calls him [ニカ] (nika). not using any honorifics is what’s known as [呼び捨て] (yobi-sute), and its smth that should really be done with ppl you feel v close to or with family (or otherwise its incredibly rude), but kate probably only did so with nica at that pt so she could respect his request, rather than an actual feeling of closeness.

#ikemen villains #ikevil #イケメンヴィラン #kuri.txt

316 notes · View notes

gilgamushroom · 9 months ago

Text

Listing my favorite things about Watson's first letter to Holmes in Baskervilles cause I love this format SO SO MUCH:

"My dear Holmes" ily standard letter greeting <3

How extensive he is in setting the scene. "Hey ik you told me to be brief and you don't really care about this but the views are SO lovely and I care about them so you WILL experience them as if you were here. Deal with it"

The delightful confirmation that watson STILL won't let sherlock live down that he used to be a geocentrist. King behavior. I like to think he pulls that card every time holmes gets a lil too cocky

ALL THE GOSSIP SHARING

The genuine care watson has for literally everyone around him and how he expresses it. Ily watson <3

"You would find him an interesting study" GODD this little domesticity of how well they know each other is everything to me

RIP WATSON YOU WOULD HAVE LOVED THE CONCEPT OF SHIPPING

This man is such a romantic. Very important to the case that Sir Henry and Miss Stapleton shared some most intimate looks

I bet he reads Jane Austen

"See, Holmes, I know you told me to never leave Sir Henry but!! Have you considered!!! I CANNOT be a third wheel they're SO cute together!!! Unrelated but I already appointed myself as the wedding planner. This is helping us in the case."

"You are aware that I am not a very sound sleeper" fuck!! FUCK!!!

#you're aware that im not a very sound sleeper killed me dead actually #the ptsd the unpacked trauma this man has #watson waking up in the middle of the night cause he heard the tinniest clink of holmes's lab vials #'ah dear fellow so sorry to wake you'#'nonsense. my dream was.... not pleasant'#sitting up together in silence until dawn #godddd so much insight from that tiny little sentence watson just brushes off #sherlock holmes #letters from watson #the hound of the baskervilles

536 notes · View notes

mintyys-blog · 2 days ago

Note

Hiiii! Can I make a req about reader x variants where the marks are told that their kid got into their first fight and won (e.g. school fight, training fight, fight against some invading enemies, ect)

HEADCANON | invincible variants children get in a fight at school

INVINCIBLE MASTERLIST 2 | WARNINGS: fighting

Do not repost, translate, or rewrite my work, whether AI-generated or otherwise, without my permission.

MAIN MARK

You found Mark pacing the living room, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck. “Hey, babe,” you called out casually, “guess what? Our kid got into a fight today at school.”

Mark spun around so fast he almost knocked over a lamp. “WHAT? Are they okay?!” You smiled calmly. “They’re more than okay. They won.”

Mark’s jaw dropped. Then — a giant grin spread across his face. He looked like he could fly through the roof. “That’s my kid! Hell yeah!” He scooped you into a hug, laughing into your shoulder.

“Okay, okay,” he pulled back, grinning. “We have to celebrate. Ice cream? Pizza? Both??” Parenting lesson later. Right now, your kid was a champion.

SINISTER MARK

You leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. “Our kid beat someone’s ass today,” you said casually. Mark looked up from his book, eyes gleaming with interest. “Details?” he asked, voice low and dangerous.

“Schoolyard fight. Some jerk pushed them first.”

Sinister’s lips curled into a dark grin. “Defended themselves and won? Hah. They’re finally learning something useful.”

He shut the book with a thud. “I’m proud,” he said simply. “But next time, we teach them to hide the body.”

MOHAWK MARK

You found Mark lounging back in a chair, boots kicked up on the table, lazily scrolling through his phone. “Got somethin’ you gonna love,” you said, crossing your arms. He lifted an eyebrow, grinning lazily. “Yeah? Hit me.”

“Our kid? Got in their first fight today.”

He set the phone down, interest piqued. “They win?” You smirked. “Absolutely. Sent them to the hospital, nothing critical— but still”

Mark let out a sharp bark of laughter, slapping his hand on the table. “Ay, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” he said, standing up and bouncing a little on the balls of his feet like he was ready to square up himself.

“Lil’ monster got it from me, huh? You see ‘em? Bet they walked off like a boss, too.”He swaggered across the room, pretending to shadowbox, hyping himself — and your kid — up with every punch.

Later, he called the kid over just to dap them up and say: “Remember — first hit wins the fight. Keep it dirty if you gotta.”

VILTRUMITE MARK

You found Mark sharpening his blade when you delivered the news.“Our kid fought today,” you said simply. Mark didn’t even look up. “And?”

“They won,” you added with a shrug. Only then did Mark glance at you, a small, smug smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.“Of course they did.”

He set the blade down and crossed his arms. “Were they merciful?” he asked seriously. “It was a school fight, Mark.” He grunted, standing up tall and proud.

“Next time, they should leave no room for retaliation.” You sighed. Viltrumite standards were something else.

PRISONER MARK

Mark was sitting on the porch, smoking quietly when you walked up. “You’re gonna like this,” you teased, nudging his shoulder. He exhaled a cloud of smoke. “What?”

“Our kid got into their first fight. Won, too.”

Mark froze, staring out at the street. “Good,” he muttered, a gravelly pride lacing his voice. He leaned back, the corner of his mouth twitching into a rare, tiny smile.

“Means they’re learning.” Later that night, he cooked their favorite dinner — the closest thing he ever did to throwing a party.

OMNI MARK

Mark stood quietly by the window, arms crossed behind his back, observing the sky in silence when you approached.

“Mark,” you said carefully. “There’s been…an incident at training.”

He turned his head slightly toward you, patient and expectant. “Our child fought for the first time,” you continued. “And won.”

Mark’s gaze returned to the horizon, a slow, approving nod following. “They are Viltrumite. Survival is not optional — it is mandatory.” He stayed quiet for a long moment before adding, “Monitor their technique. Strength without control is a flaw.”

You almost smiled — because despite his severe exterior, you could see it: The faintest lift at the corner of his mouth. Silent, restrained pride.

Later that night, he personally oversaw their next training session with greater focus, expecting nothing less than perfection — but inside, he was… pleased.

#x reader #reader insert #x female reader #mark grayson x reader #invincible variants x reader #mark variants

200 notes · View notes

naomiarai · 10 months ago

Text

シ ───── 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 !

┌─── ∘°❉°∘ ───┐

in which you get high with your boyfriend.

└─── °∘❉∘° ───┘

⪩⪨ PAIRING : boyfriend!sunghoon × fem!reader

⪩⪨ GENRE : smut, pwop, established relationship.

⪩⪨ WC : 1.8k (1793)

⪩⪨ WARNINGS : unprotected sex, dom!hoon, sub! reader, marking, teasing, riding, spitting, super messy, pet names (baby, doll, pretty), creampie, use of weed/marijuana, getting high, high sex. lmk if i missed anything !!

⪩⪨ AUTHOR’S NOTE : not proofread !! a lil request from my beloved josie, @pprodsuga don’t kill me if it didn’t reach your standard... not too proud of it myself but i tried my best 4 u. reblogs and feedback appreciated!

The clock strikes two am as you swing open the door for your boyfriend. You had asked him to come over, unable to sleep and preferring his company to a string of text messages.

“Hi, baby” Sunghoon mutters as he steps inside, his hands naturally finding their way to your waist. He’s wearing grey sweatpants and a plain black t-shirt, carrying a bag that promises relaxation for the both of you. Despite the late hour and the knowledge that you really shouldn’t be doing this, you shamelessly let your eyes wander over him.

Sunghoon smirks as he follows your gaze, clearly noticing your appraisal. “Didn't know you were this confident, pretty” he teases, his voice a low murmur as you close the door and bolt it shut.

You throw him a playful glare, retorting, “Learned from the best” You can’t help but think of all the times Sunghoon has blatantly checked you out, often accompanied by the click of his tongue in approval.

As you walk into the living room, his hand rests comfortably on the small of your back, sending shivers down your spine. The room is dimly lit, the soft glow of a table lamp casting a warm, intimate light. You both sink into the plush sofa, the familiar scent of his cologne mingling with the faint aroma of your home.

Sunghoon sets his bag on the coffee table, revealing a small stash of marijuana and a couple of pre-rolled joints. He raises an eyebrow at you, silently asking for your permission. With a sigh, you nod, knowing that despite the hour, this is exactly what you both need to unwind.

He lights a joint, taking a slow drag before passing it to you. The smoke curls lazily in the air, and you take a tentative puff, the familiar sensation instantly soothing your nerves. Sunghoon watches you with a lazy grin, his eyes half-lidded with contentment as you hand it back to him.

“C’mere, doll” he says, the palm of his hand patting his thigh in an inviting gesture. His eyes twinkle with a mix of mischief and warmth. You give him a suspicious look, eyebrows raised, but the hint of a smile plays on your lips. After a moment’s hesitation, you comply, moving over to seat yourself straddling him. The motion is slow, almost teasing, as you settle onto his lap.

He laughs at the face you made, a deep, rumbling sound that resonates through his chest. His hand comes up, tapping your ass lightly as you get comfortable. There’s a glint of amusement in his eyes, matched by the playful curve of his lips.

“Not going to stick a knife down your throat” he tells you, his voice laced with playful accusation. The way he looks at you, though, is anything but threatening; it’s tender and teasing all at once.

You roll your eyes at him, reaching over to take the joint from his fingers. Before he can say anything more, you push it back between his lips, urging him to take a drag. He complies, taking a deep puff and then exhaling a thick cloud of smoke. His eyes never leave yours, locked in a steady, almost hypnotic gaze.

“Fuck the knife, Hoon” you murmur, your voice slightly fuzzy from the effects of the smoke. “You’re rock hard” The words slip out, bold and unfiltered, as you feel the evidence of his arousal pressing against you.

He puffs out another cloud of smoke, his eyes darkening with desire. “Can’t help it when you’re around” he replies, his voice dropping to a low, husky tone. His hands slide up your sides, fingers trailing over your skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.

You lean in closer, your breath mingling with his, the scent of the joint and something distinctly him filling your senses. “What are you going to do about it?” you challenge, your lips brushing against his as you speak.

A slow, wicked grin spreads across his face. “Oh, you have no idea” he murmurs before capturing your lips in a heated kiss. His hands roam your body, pulling you closer, deepening the kiss until you’re both lost in the intensity of the moment. You feel the taste of the joint through the kiss as he pushes his tongue into your mouth; getting messy really quick.

As you both pull away from the kiss, Sunghoon picks up the joint again, taking a slow drag. His eyes lock onto yours, filled with a mix of desire and amusement. He tilts his head back, letting out a plume of smoke that swirls lazily in the dim light. You lean in, pressing your lips to his neck, starting to suck gently at first, then more insistently. Your hips begin to move, grinding against his clothed erection, the friction sending sparks of pleasure through your body. You can feel the slickness of your arousal soaking through your panties, the sensation making you bolder.

Sunghoon groans at the feeling, a deep, guttural sound that sends a shiver down your spine. Encouraged, you grind faster, your movements becoming more urgent. One of his hands rests on your hip, guiding your movements, while the other trails up your back, fingers splayed wide as if he wants to feel every inch of you. He pulls you away from his now marked neck, his eyes dark and intense as they meet yours. You look slightly fucked out, eyes droopy and hazy, lips parted as you pant softly.

He brings the joint to your lips, and you take a drag, the smoke filling your lungs and adding to the heady mix of sensations. As you release the smoke, your hands come up to wrap around his neck, pulling him closer. “Eager, aren’t you, baby?” he asks, his voice saccharine sweet, dripping with condescension and desire.

You release the smoke from your mouth, your lips curling into a mischievous smile. “All your fault!” you retort, your voice a sultry purr as you grind harder against him. The pleasurable pressure building inside you is almost unbearable, each movement sending waves of pleasure through you.

Sunghoon’s grip on your hip tightens, and he lets out a low growl. “Is that so?” he murmurs, his free hand sliding down to cup your ass, squeezing firmly. He pulls you against him, his own hips beginning to move in rhythm with yours. The friction between your bodies is electric, each grind bringing you closer to the edge.

You lean in, capturing his lips in a heated kiss, your tongues tangling as your hips continue their dance. His hands are everywhere, roaming over your body, stoking the fire inside you. You break the kiss, gasping for air, and he takes the opportunity to trail his lips down your jawline, his breath hot against your skin.

Your fingers tangle in his hair, tugging lightly as he nips at your collarbone, the sharp sensation sending jolts of pleasure through you. “Please” you whisper, your voice barely audible over the sound of your heavy breathing.

He looks up at you, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “Please what?” he teases, his hand slipping under your shirt to trace patterns on your skin.

“Please, I need more, can’t just fucking cum in my shorts” you breathe out, your desperation evident in your voice.

Sunghoon’s eyes darken, and he lets out a low chuckle. “Yeah? Then why don’t we remove them? Wan’ my dick don’t you? Dirty girl” he rasps, hands roaming around your body, exploring and teasing until he finds the hem of your t-shirt, swiftly taking it off you. You shiver as the cold air hits your skin, top half only left in a baby blue bra.

Sunghoon lets you get up for a second, as you immediately pull down your shorts and drenched panties, the wetness trickling down your thighs. Sunghoon watches you while pulling down his sweatpants, boxers leaving him completely bare.

You stare at his hard dick without a second thought, mind high and mouth watering at the sight.

“God you’re so wet” he whispers, eyes closed shut as he pulls you down onto to his cock, red tip entering your wet folds. You let out a loud, choked moan as he enters you inch by inch, until he’s fully sheathed inside of you. The feeling of the weed you just smoked mixing in with the sudden burst of pleasure only drove you insane.

“Open,” Sunghoon commands, his tone leaving no room for disobedience. He grips your chin firmly, his fingers digging into your cheeks as he forces your mouth open. You comply immediately, eyes widening as he spits inside, the warm liquid landing on your tongue. At the same moment, he thrusts upward, his cock driving deep into you, hitting spots that make your body shudder.

“Swallow” he orders, his eyes locked onto yours, a predatory gleam in his gaze. You obey, the taste mingling with the overwhelming sensations coursing through you. Your hands clutch at his shoulders, seeking stability as he pounds into you from below, each thrust a powerful jolt that seems to rearrange your insides.

Sunghoon's grip tightens as his hands slide down to your ass, fingers digging into your flesh. He spreads you open, giving himself better access as he pulls you down onto his cock, meeting each upward thrust with a force that has you seeing stars. The combination of his rough handling and the relentless pace he sets leaves you breathless, lost in the intoxicating blend of pleasure and submission.

His rhythm is relentless, the sound of skin slapping against skin filling the room. Your moans and gasps mix with his grunts, creating arousing noises. Sunghoon’s control over you is absolute, his dominance only breaking you apart further.

As he continues to thrust into you, his movements grow more urgent, each stroke sending waves of pleasure through you. He lets go to your hips as he lets you set the pace now, bouncing on his cock endlessly.

“Don’t stop” he growls, his voice a low rumble that sends a shiver down your spine. You nod, too consumed by the pleasure to form coherent words.

“So good!—fuck! hoon, gonna c-cum” you moan out with a loud shriek as you squirt all over over, covering his dick thighs in complete white. You halt your hips but Sunghoon still fucks up into you, his hands spreading your cum all over your ass cheeks.

You’re completely out of it, dazed until he shoots his orgasm up your cunt again, which only resulted in it leaking out. “Shit��!, god pretty, you okay?” he checks up on you, even though he’s panting and breathing heavily, your bodies pressed close together.

Lifting your head from his shoulder, you nod with a smile, kissing his neck. He smiles back at you, holding you even tighter as you both lay still. Until you have to clean up that is.

1K notes · View notes

felassan · 9 months ago

Text

Edge – The Future of Interactive Entertainment magazine, issue #401 (October 2024 issue) – Dragon Age: The Veilguard story

The rest of this post is under a cut for length.

Update: this issue of this magazine is now available to buy from UK retailers today. it can be purchased online at [this link]. [Tweet from Edge Online] also, Kala found that a digital version of the magazine can be read at [this link].

This post is a word-for-word transcription of the full article on DA:TV in this issue of this magazine. DA:TV is the cover story of this issue. When transcribing, I tried to preserve as much of the formatting from the magazine as possible. Edge talked to BioWare devs for the creation of this article, so the article contains new quotes from the devs. the article is written by Jeremy Peel. There were no new screenshots or images from the game in the article. I also think that it contains a few lil bits of information that are new, like the bits on companions' availability and stumbling across the companions out and about on their own in the world e.g. finding Neve investigating an abduction case in Docktown.

tysm to @simpforsolas and their friend for kindly telling me about the article!!

-----

[image source]

Article introduction segment:

"[anecdote about Edge] We were reminded of this minuscule episode in Edge's history during the creation of this issue's cover story, in which we discuss the inspiration behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard with its creators at BioWare. Notably, director John Epler remembers the studio experimenting with a number of approaches during the early phase of development before eventually locking in to what the game was supposed to be all along, above all else: 'a single-player, story-focused RPG'. As you'd expect from BioWare, though, that was really just a starting point, as we discovered on p54." BioWare draws back the Veil and ushers us into a new Dragon Age

"BEHIND THE CURTAIN BioWare's first true RPG in age age is as streamlined and pacey as a dragon in flight. By Jeremy Peel Game Dragon Age: The Veilguard Developer BioWare Publisher EA Format PC, PS5, Xbox Series Origin Canada Release Autumn

The Dragon Age universe wasn't born from a big bang or the palm of an ancient god. Instead, it was created to solve a problem. BioWare was tired of battling Hasbro during the making of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, and wanted a Dungeons & Dragons-like setting of its own. A small team was instructed to invent a new fantasy world in which the studio could continue its groundbreaking work in the field of western RPGs, free of constraints.

Well, almost free. BioWare's leaders mandated that the makers of this new world stick to Eurocentric fantasy, and include a fireball spell - since studio co-founder Ray Muzyka had a weakness for offensive magic.

Beyond that, BioWare’s storytellers were empowered to infuse Dragon Age with their own voices and influences, leaning away from D&D’s alignment chart and towards a moral grayness that left fans of A Song Of Ice And Fire feeling warm and cozy.

In the two decades since, the world of Thedas – rather infamously and amusingly, a shortening of ‘the Dragon Age setting’ that stuck – has taken on a distinct flavor. It’s something director John Epler believes is rooted in characters.

“There’s definitely some standard fantasy stuff in Dragon Age, but everything in the world, every force, is because of someone,” he says. “The idea is that every group and faction needs to be represented by a person – someone you can relate to. Big political forces are fine as background, but they don’t provide you with those interesting story moments.”

Dragon Age: The Veilguard bears out that philosophy. The long-awaited sequel was first announced with the subtitle Dreadwolf, in reference to its antagonist, Solas – an ancient elf who once stripped his people of immortality as punishment for betraying one of their own. In doing so, Solas created the Veil, the thin barrier through which wizards pull spirits and demons invade the waking world. In other words, many of Dragon Age’s defining features, from its downtrodden elves to the uneasy relationship between mages and a fearful church, can be traced right back to one character’s decision.

“The world exists as it does because of Solas,” Epler says. “He shaped the world because of the kind of character he was. That’s, to me, what makes Dragon Age so interesting. Everything can tie back to a person who to some degree thought they were doing the right thing.”

Perhaps BioWare’s greatest achievement in slowburn character development, Solas is a former companion, an unexploded bomb who sat in the starting party of Dragon Age: Inquisition, introverted and useful enough to get by without suspicion. Yet by the time credits rolled around on the Trespasser DLC, players were left in no doubt as to the threat he presented.

Determined to reverse the damage he once caused, the Dreadwolf intends to pull down the Veil, destroying Thedas as we know it in the process. The next Dragon Age game was always intended to be his story.

“We set that up at the end of Trespasser,” Epler says. “There was no world where we were ever going to say, ‘And now let’s go to something completely different.’ We wanted to pay off that promise.”

Yet almost everything else about the fourth Dragon Age appears to have been in flux at one time. In 2019, reporter Jason Schreier revealed that an early version, starring a group of spies pulling off heists in the Tevinter Imperium, had been cancelled two years prior. Most of its staff were apparently moved onto BioWare’s struggling Anthem, while a tiny team rebooted Dragon Age from scratch. That new game was said to experiment with live-service components.

“We tried a bunch of different ideas early on,” Epler says. “But the form The Veilguard has taken is, in a lot of ways, the form that we were always pushing towards. We were just trying different ways to get there. There was that moment where we really settled on, ‘This is a singleplayer, story-focused RPG – and that’s all it needs to be’”.

Epler imagines a block of marble, from which BioWare was attempting to carve an elephant – a character- and story-driven game. “We were chipping away, and sometimes it looked more like an elephant and sometimes it didn’t”, he says. “And then we eventually realized: ‘Just make an elephant’. When we got to that, it almost just took shape by itself.”

2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition was an open-world game commonly criticized for a slow-paced starting area which distracted players from the thrust of the plot. The Veilguard, in contrast, is mission-based, constructed with tighter, bespoke environments designed around its main story and cast. “We wanted to build a crafted, curated experience for the player,” Epler says. “Pacing is important to us, and making sure that the story stays front and center.”

Epler is very proud of Inquisition, the game on which he graduated from cinematic designer to a lead role (for its DLC). “But one of the things that we ran into on that project was an absentee antagonist,” he says. “Corypheus showed up and then disappeared. You spent ten hours in the Hinterland doing sidequests, and there wasn’t that sense of urgency.”

This time, The Veilguard team wants you to constantly feel the sword of Damocles dangling above your head as you play – a sense that the end of the world is coming if you don’t act. “There’s still exploration – there’s still the ability to go into some of these larger spaces and go off the beaten path to do sidequests,” Epler says. “But there’s always something in the story propelling you and the action forward, and allowing you to make decisions with these characters where the stakes feel a lot more immediate and present. And also, honestly, more real.”

No sooner have you finished character creation than Dragon Age: The Veilguard thrusts you into a choice. As your protagonist, Rook, steps into focus on the doorstep of the seediest bar in town, you decide whether to threaten the owner for information or make a deal. Brawl or no, you’ll walk out minutes later with a lead: the location of a private investigator named Neve Gallus, who can help you track down Solas.

You proceed into Minrathous, the largest city in Thedas and capital of the Tevinter Imperium – a region only alluded to in other Dragon Age games. It’s a place built on the backs of slaves and great mages, resulting in tiered palaces and floating spires – a kind of architecture unimaginable to those in the southern nations.

“When your Dragon Age: Inquisition companion Dorian joins you in Orlais, in one of the biggest cities in Thedas, he mentions that it’s quaint and cute compared to Minrathous,” Corinne Busche, game director on The Veilguard, says. “That one bit of dialogue was our guiding principle on how to realize this city. It is sprawling. It is lived-in. Sometimes it’s grimy, sometimes it’s bougie. But it is expansive.”

Immediately, you can see the impact of BioWare’s decision to tighten its focus. Around every other corner in Minrathous is an exquisitely framed view, a level of spectacle you would never see in Inquisition, where resources were spread much more thinly. “When you know that you’re gonna be heading down a canyon or into this plaza where the buildings open up, you have those perfect spots to put a nice big temple of Andraste or a mage tower,” art director Matthew Rhodes says. “You get those opportunities to really hit that hard.”

BioWare’s intention is to make strong visual statements that deliver on decades of worldbuilding. “People who have a history with Dragon Age have thought about what Minrathous might be like,” Rhodes says. “We can never compete with their imagination, but we can aim for it like we’re shooting for the Moon.”

The people of Tevinter use magic as it if were electricity, as evidenced by the glowing sigils that adorn the dark buildings – street signs evoking Osaka’s riverfront or the LA of Blade Runner. They’re just one of the tricks BioWare’s art team uses to invite you to stop and take in the scene. “A lot of what you start to notice when you’re the artist who’s been working on these big, beautiful vistas and neat murals on the walls is how few players look up,” Rhodes says. “We design props and architecture that help lead the eyes.”

For the really dedicated shoegazers, BioWare has invested in ray-traced reflections, so that the neon signage can be appreciated in the puddles. There are also metal grates through which you can see the storm drains below. “The idea behind that is purely just to remind the player often of how stacked the city is,” Rhodes says. “Wherever you’re standing, there’s guaranteed to be more below you and above you.”

One of BioWare’s core creative principles for The Veilguard is to create a world that’s actually worth saving – somewhere you can imagine wanting to stick around in, once the crises of the main quest are over. To that end, the team has looked to ground its outlandish environments with elements of mundanity.

“A guy’s normal everyday life walking down the streets of this city is more spectacular than what the queen of Orlais is seeing, at least in terms of sheer scale," Rhodes says. “One of the things we’ve tried to strike a balance with is that this is actually still a place where people have to go to the market and buy bread, raise their kids, and try to make it. It’s a grand and magical city, but how do you get your horses from one place to the next? Where do you load the barrels for the tavern? It’s really fun to think of those things simultaneously.”

Normal life in Minrathous is not yours to behold for long, however. Within a couple of minutes of your arrival, the very air is ripped open like cheap drapes, and flaming demons clatter through the merchant carts that line the city streets. A terrible magical ritual, through which Solas intends to stitch together a new reality, has begun.

“We wanted the prologue to feel like the finale of any other game we’ve done,” Busche explains. “Where it puts you right into this media-res attack on a city and gets you really invested in the action and the story right away. When I think back to Inquisition, how the sky was literally tearing open – the impact of this ritual really makes that look like a minor inconvenience.”

Our hero is confronted by a Pride demon, imposing and armored as in previous games, yet accented by exposed, bright lines that seem to burst from its ribcage. “They are a creature of raw negative emotion,” Busche says. “So we wanted to actually incorporate that into their visual design with this glowing nervous system.”

When a pack of smaller demons blocks Rook’s route to the plaza where Neve was last seen, battle breaks out, and The Veilguard’s greatest divergence from previous Dragon Age games becomes apparent. Our rogue protagonist flits between targets up close and evades individual sword swings with precision. In the chaos, he swaps back and forth between blades and a bow. He blends light and heavy attacks, and takes advantage of any gap in the melee to charge up even bigger blows.

“Responsiveness was our first-and-foremost goal with this baseline layer of the combat system,” Busche says. Unless you’re activating a high-risk, high-reward ability such as a charged attack, any action can be animation-cancelled, allowing you to abort a sword swing and dive away if an enemy lunges too close. “We very much wanted you to feel like you exist in this space, as you’re going through these really crafted, hand-touched worlds,” Busche says. “That you’re on the ground in control of every action, every block, every dodge.” Anyone who’s ever bounced off a Soulslike needn’t worry: The Veilguard’s highly customizable difficulty settings enable you to loosen up parry windows if they prove too demanding.

Gone is the overhead tactical camera which, for some players, was a crucial point of connection between Dragon Age and the Baldur’s Gate games that came before, tapping into a lineage of thoughtful, tabletop-inspired combat. Epler points out that the camera’s prior inclusion had an enormous impact on where the game’s battles took place. “We actually had a mandate on Inquisition, which was, ‘Don’t fight inside,’” he says. “The amount of extra work on getting that tactical camera to work in a lot of those internal environments, it was very challenging.”

Gone, too, is the ability to steer your comrades directly. “On the experiential side, we wanted you to feel like you are Rook – you’re in this world, you’re really focused on your actions,” Busche says. “We very much wanted the companions to feel like they, as fully realized characters, are in control of their own actions. They make their own decisions. You, as the leader of this crew, can influence and direct and command them, but they are their own people.”

It's an idea with merit, albeit one that could be read as spin. “It’s not lost on me,” Busche says. “I will admit that, on paper, if you just read that you have no ability to control your companions, it might feel like something was taken away. But in our testing and validating with players, what we find is they’re more engaged than ever.”

There may be a couple of reasons for that. One is that Dragon Age’s newly dynamic action leaves little room for seconds spent swapping between perspectives. “This is a much higher actions-per-minute game,” Busche says. “It is more technically demanding on the player. So when we tried allowing you full control of your companions as well, what we’ve found is it wasn’t actually adding to the experience. In fact, in some ways it was detrimental, given the demanding nature of just controlling your own character.”

Then there’s The Veilguard’s own tactical layer, as described by BioWare. Though the fighting might be faster and lower, like a mana-fuelled sports scar, the studio is keen to stress that the pause button remains as important to the action as ever. This is, according to Busche, where the RPG depth shines through, as you evaluate the targets you’re facing and take their buffs into account: “Matching elemental types against weaknesses and resistances is a big key to success in this game.”

You pick between rogue, warrior and mage – each role later splitting again into deeper specialisms – and draw from a class-specific resource during fights. A rogue relies on Momentum, which is built up by avoiding damage and being highly aggressive, whereas a warrior is rewarded for blocking, parrying, and mitigating damage.

Those resources are then used on the ability wheel, which pauses the game and allows you to consider your options. The bottom quadrant of the wheel belongs to your character, and is where three primary abilities will be housed. “Rook will also have access to runes, which function as an ability, and a special ultimate ability,” Busche says. “So you’re bringing five distinct abilities with you into combat.”

The sections to the left and right of the wheel, meanwhile, are dedicated to your companions. Busche points to Lace Harding, the returning rogue from Inquisition, who is currently frozen mid-jump. “She is her own realized individual in this game. She’s got her own behaviors: how she prioritizes targets, whether she gets up close and draws aggro or stays farther back at range. But you’ll be able to direct her in combat by activating her abilities from the wheel.”

These abilities are complemented by positional options at the top of the wheel, where you can instruct your companions to focus their efforts on specific targets, either together or individually. Doing so will activate the various buffs, debuffs and damage enhancements inherent in their weapons and gear. “So,” Busche explains, “as you progress through the first two hours of the game, this full ability wheel is completely populated with a variety of options and different tactics that you can then string together.”

BioWare has leaned into combos. You might tell one companion to unleash a gravity-well effect that gathers enemies together, then have another slow time. Finally, you could drop an AOE attack on your clustered and slowed opponents, dealing maximum damage. The interface will let you know when an opportunity to blend two companion abilities emerges – moments BioWare has dubbed ‘combo detonations’.

“I like to think about this strategic layer to combat as a huddle,” Busche says, “where you’re figuring out how you want to handle the situation, based on the information you have on the encounter, and how you and your companions synergize together.”

Deeper into the game, as encounters get more challenging, Epler says we’ll be spending a lot of time making “very specific and very focused tactical decisions”. The proof will be in eating the Fereldan fluffy mackerel pudding, of course, but Busche insists this shift to fast action isn’t a simplification. “What really makes the combat system and indeed the extension into the progression system work is that pause-and-play tactical element that we know our players expect.”

The autonomy of The Veilguard’s companions doesn’t end with combat. BioWare’s data shows that in previous games players tended to stick with the same two or three beloved comrades during a playthrough. This time, however, you’ll be forced to mix your squad up at regular intervals.

“We do expect that players will have favorites they typically want to adventure with,” Busche says, “but sometimes certain companions will be mandatory.” Others may not always be available – part of the studio’s effort to convince with three-dimensional characters. “They do have a life outside of Rook, the main character,” Busche says.

"They'll fall in love with people in this world. They’ve had past experiences they’ll share with you if you allow them in and get close to them.”

Being separated from your companions, rather than collecting them all in a kind of stasis at camp, allows you to stumble across them unexpectedly. Busche describes an instance in which, while exploring the Docktown section of Minrathous, you might bump into Neve as she investigates an abduction case. “If I go and interact with her, I can actually stop what I’m doing, pick up her arc and adventure with her throughout her part of the story,” Busche says. “What’s interesting is that all of the companion arcs do ultimately tie back to the themes of the main critical path, but they also have their own unique challenges and villains, and take place over the course of many different intimate moments.”

Some parts of a companion’s quest arc involve combat, while others don’t. Some are made up of large and meaningful missions – as lavish and involved as those along the critical path. “While they are optional, I would be hesitant to call them side content in this game,” Busche says. If you choose not to engage with some of these companion-centered events, they’ll resolve on their own. “And it might have interesting implications.”

The Veilguard promises plenty of change, then, even as it picks up the threads of fan-favorite characters and deepens them, honoring the decades of worldbuilding that came before it. This is perhaps the enduring and alluring paradox of Dragon Age: a beloved series which has never had a direct and immediate sequel, nor a recurring protagonist. Instead, it’s been reinvented with each new entry.

“It’s a mixed blessing to some degree,” Epler says. “The upside is always that it gives us more room to experiment and to try new things. There are parts of the series that are common to every game: it’s always an RPG, it’s always about characters, and we always want to have that strategic tactical combat where you’re forced to make challenging decisions. But at the end of the day, I think what makes Dragon Age Dragon Age is that each one feels a little bit different.”"

Q&A Matthew Rhodes Art director

Q. Early BioWare RPGs were literary, with the emotions and detail mostly happening in dialogue boxes. How have you seen the studio's approach to visual storytelling evolve? A. This has been my entire career. When I first showed up at BioWare, it was at the tail end of Jade Empire, and then I was working on Dragon Age: Origins and early Mass Effect. The games had taken that next step out of sprites and 2D models, and it was like: 'How do we say more? How do we communicate more clearly?' During those early days, a lot of games depended on words to fix everything for you. As long as your character was talking bombastically, you could lend them everything that they needed. But as time went on it also became a visual medium, and it's been this long journey of trying to establish art's seat at the table. I've worked with some great writers over the years, and art is also an essential part of the storytelling. From Dragon Age: Inquisition on, I've been trying to stress with my teams that we are a story department.

Q. Is part of that also letting writers know that your storytelling assistance is available, to help them show rather than tell? A. On The Veilguard, that principle has been operating the best I've seen it. Where you would need a paragraph of dialogue in one of those exposition moments where a character just talks to you, we could sell that with a broken statue or a skeleton overgrown with vines. We've had more opportunities to do that on The Veilguard than most of the projects I've ever worked on combined.

To a hammer, every problem looks like a nail, and so in every department, writing will try to solve it with more words, and art will try to solve it with more art. I've bumped up against moments where it's like, 'As much as we could keep hammering on this design, I think this is actually an audio solution.' And then you take it to audio, and you don't get that overcooked feeling where each team is just trying to solve it in their silo. It's a really creatively charged kind of environment.

[main body of article ends here]

Additional from throughout the article --

Image caption: “Spotlights shine down from the city guards’ base as they pursue you through the streets of Minrathous.”

Image caption: “While most of your companions can be sorted into comfortingly familiar RPG classes, The Veilguard introduces two new varieties: a Veil Jumper and a private investigator.”"

Image caption [on this Solas ritual concept art specifically]: “The name previously given to the game – Dreadwolf – was a direct reference to Solas. Your former companion, now on his own destructive mission, still features, despite the name change.”

Text in a side box:

"RATIONAL ANTHEM The hard lesson BioWare drew from Anthem was to play to its strengths. “We’re a studio that has always been built around digging deep on storytelling and roleplaying,” Epler says. “I’m proud of a lot of things on Anthem – I was on that project for a year and a half. But at the end of the day we were building a game focused on something we were not necessarily as proficient at. For me and for the team, the biggest lesson was to know what you’re good at and then double down on it. Don’t spread yourselves too thin. Don’t try to do a bunch of different things you don’t have the expertise to do. A lot of the people on this team came here to build a story-focused, singleplayer RPG."

Image caption: “In combat you no longer control your companions directly – this is a faster-paced form of fighting – but you are able to direct them in combat, and can even blend their abilities in ‘combo detonations’.”

Image caption: “You’ll be exploring new regions across Tevinter and beyond – Rivain is a certainty, and that’s only accessible via Antiva travelling overland.”

Image caption: “There are three specializations per character class; on the way to unlocking them you’ll acquire a range of abilities.”

Text in a side box:

"MEET YOUR MAKER “Full disclosure: Dragon Age has traditionally not done skin tones well, especially for people of color,” Busche says. “We wanted to do a make-good here.” In The Veilguard’s character creator, you can adjust the amount of melanin that comes through in the skin, as well as test various lighting scenarios to ensure your protagonist looks exactly as you intend in cutscenes. “Speaking of our first creative principle – be who you want to be – we really feel these are the kinds of features that unlock that for our players,” Busche says. “We want everyone to be able to see themselves in this game.” For the first time in the series, your body type is fully customizable too, with animations, armor and even romantic scenes reflecting your choices."

Image caption: “Your companions are a mix of old and new – Lace Harding is a familiar face. Veil Jumper Bellara is new, with a new occupation, while Davrin is a new face with a familiar profession – he’s a Warden.”

Image caption: "Arlathan Forest is home to the ruined city of the elves, now a place of wild magic, Veil Jumpers and (allegedly) spirits".

Image caption: "Bellara is driven by a desire to learn more about the elves, rediscovering the shattered history and magic of her people."

[source: Edge – The Future of Interactive Entertainment magazine, issue #401 (October 2024 issue) - it can be purchased online at [this link].]

#dragon age: the veilguard #dragon age the veilguard spoilers #dragon age: dreadwolf #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #dragon age #bioware #solas #video games #longpost #long post #simpforsolas #anthem #jade empire #mass effect #obsessed with the idea of helping neve solve cases...

416 notes · View notes

puppycheesecake · 2 months ago

Text

Let's make a Sim!

Heyyo~ I want to make something but I don't know what, so I'm just gonna start and see where I end up, and I'll document the process so you can follow along with me if you want.

Warning: long post under the cut!

Follow meee~! ☆ﾐ(o*･ω･)ﾉ

Let's start with a blank Sim. A clean slate. I keep some blank Sims saved in my library for just such an occasion.

Hi buddy. 👋

Since I'm not starting off with any particular idea in mind, let's just randomize and see what pops up:

Yeah, okay. That's a decent enough base to start with.

I don't know what I want to do with him yet, but I think he should be cute. Just a cute lil' guy, you know?

But first he needs a chin.

Jesus Christ.

Now that he has a lower jaw, let's set the eye color back to default black. We'll figure out what to do with them later; for now I want to work on his facial structure.

Okay, getting somewhere.

Now he needs big, beautiful eyes. I'm deciding that now. Our nameless Sim is going to be a cute lil' guy and he's going to have big beautiful doe eyes.

We'll use this eye preset and scale it down a little.

Baby boy. Baby.

While we're here, let's give him a new lip preset and new eyebrows. We'll keep his nose for now, but let's make it a little bigger.

Okay, now we're getting somewhere.

Now onto skin details. ✧w✧

Let's start with a skinblend. We'll use @adelarsims's Romeo Face Overlay, and maybe we'll layer @sims3melancholic's Frederick Skin over it at about ~15% opacity, just for that liiittle touch of texture and color. (Thank you Color Slider mod.)

Oh he's CUTE cute.

You know what? Make him purple. We'll use one of @noodlescc's Sorbet Remix skin tones.

So he's cute, and purple. But who are you, nameless Sim?

Oh hey. Let's add @gloomiegalaxie's Chitin Antenna. I've been wanting to use those.

We'll call him Chitin Boy.

Greetings Chitin Boy.

So he's cute, purple, and bug-y. Party. Let's finish adding skin details, and give him some shiny new bug eyes. Big, beautiful bug eyes.

We'll also give him some pointy ears. Bitches love pointy ears.

It's me; I'm bitches.

Additional skin details:

Undereye Shadow

Eyelids N13

Eyebags Plus

Mouth Corners

Definition Overlay

Chin Overlay

Misc. Face Details

Now let's hit the gym, Chitin Boy. ( ◡̀_◡́)ᕤ

Chitin makes up insect exoskeletons and is pretty tough stuff--maybe Chitin Boy's species is also tough, and that's why they need chitin armor. So our boy is cute, but tough...let's make him slim but muscular. We'll use this body preset, because I like the muscle definition.

We're also going to give him an itty bitty slut waist, just because.

Now onto tattoos and body skin details... ( ◡‿◡ *)

Let's mix in a couple different blushes to give him a bit more color/depth, maybe a little highlight here and there to give him some shine, plus some bug-ish looking overlays.

Tattoos:

Torrada Body Blush

Lovefreak Body Blush

Blush N74 (Love You Like Crazy)

Eye Highlight N01 (Spark)

Demon Days Pallor (to make his skin just a little more purple)

Intergalactic Overlays (yes we're going to use that one overused nose ridge overlay, hush; it makes sense in the context of a chitinous bug-man.)

Skin Details:

Basic Body Blush

Asteroid Overlay

Tiefling Skin Detail

There we go. Lookin' extra insect-y.

Bitches don't know 'bout my bug armor.

Y'know what? Let's embrace the bug angle. Give that boy some mandibles. We'll give him new eyebrows too while we're at it. Let's use @plantainboat's Spikey Leaf Eyebrows.

Oof I love that bit of blue. Let's incorporate it into the rest of him.

Now it's makeup time. 👁👄👁

How about... Eyelashes / Eyeliner / Eyeshadow / Lipstick / Highlight / Glitter. We want him colorful and shiny, like a beetle.

Oh work.

Since we're embracing the bug/alien angle, let's give him a more fitting nose. We'll use this orc nose preset.

Lookin' cute, Chitin Boy. (Note: he has no idea that he's considered adorable by Earth standards. On his planet he's considered quite menacing. :'c )

Now let's give him some hair. ("Chitin and keratin?" you say. To which I say, "Yes. He has both. He is rich in both polysaccharides and proteins, and this makes him unstoppable.")

Now, what kind of hair... I think he should have long hair. It just feels right. Chitin Boy's species is tough but beautiful, and they grow their hair long. It flows behind them in battle.

Ooh, let's use @yin-shimo's Qing Jiu hair.

Perfect, but it's not quite the color I want, so we'll use @tricoufamily's Willoughby Hair Overlays to tweak the color, plus these ombre & root overlays. Bugs are colorful, so Chitin Boy's species should be, too.

Also we'll give him new eyeshadow. Oh, and cooler ears.

Chitin Boy you are positively radiant.

Okay, we've got a good color palette going here. Let's go back into tattoos & skin details and change that pop of color from purple to blue, so we can pull some of that color down onto the rest of his body.

We're also giving him a braid. It feels important. Chitin Boy has a braid and he's very proud of it. Maybe it has some kind of significance in Chitin Boy culture.

Okay, love that.

Now let's dress him up. ( ͡o ω ͡o )

I'm thinking we want some bright, bold colors, but I also want to utilize a lot of black. He's pretty but he's also fierce and serious, I've decided. We want colors that will complement his color palette but won't distract from it--Chitin Boy is bold and beautiful, but he isn't gaudy.

His clothes should be functional and comfortable, and shouldn't restrict movement--he needs to be able to move quickly if he's from a tough warrior-bug-alien species, and if he already has chitinous skin he won't need much actual armor. But they should have a unique silhouette, too; not just "shirt and pants," you know?

I also want to show off his body details/coloring, because look at him--it'd be criminal to cover all that up.

Let's go with: Bottoms / Top / Shoes.

These recolored Journey to Batuu bottoms give him a great silhouette, and pairing the asymmetrical skirt with an asymmetrical top balances it out. And of course a fierce bug-boy warrior needs a sturdy pair of boots--that's just a given.

Maybe Chitin Boy is a warrior on his planet, but on Earth he's just a guy. I bet he'd be into the punk/metal scene. His culture doesn't have music but they do have screaming, so naturally he's drawn to Earth's Loud Scream-Singing.

Let's add on some punk-y accessories to complete the look: Gloves / Belts / Bracelets / Nails

We'll tweak the body a little bit, aaand...

Chitin Boy, you beautiful bastard, you've done it again.

There he is. Our Chitin Boy. From inception to finish. :') Now we'll give him some traits--how about Self-Assured, Chased by Death, Music Lover, and Loner. Confident and self-sufficient, keenly aware of his own mortality, and just a big fan of a good song.

He likes arguments & singing and dislikes silly behavior & video games. He likes argumentative Sims, but does not like ambitionless Sims. His favorite color is blue.

And we'll give him the Soulmate Aspiration. Because Chitin Boy needs love. 💖

How it started vs. How it ended:

Glow-up. 💅

And that's a wrap! Thanks for accompanying me on this journey. I don't know if this is actually going to help anyone, but it's been a hell of a ride. :^) May you go forth and make some weird random Sims of your own.

#ts4 #sims 4 #sims #tutorial #of sorts #all that and I still never gave him a name 🤡#whoops

155 notes · View notes

jscrawls · 3 months ago

Text

Widows rest

My take on a Black widow! Reader x Batman and Batfam but with a slight twist, reader doesn't know the Bats but they seem to know them...

Warning: contains avengers infinity war spoilers, black widow spoilers, brief mentions of violence, poor writing, possible ooc,

Part 10: rough patch

🔹🔹🔹

Breakfast is peaceful enough, you changed rooms last night and got a decent by your standards sleep. Damian's half asleep in his cereal and dukes speedily trying to finish a test between bites of his egg sandwich. It's weirdly domestic to you as Bruce gives you a cup of coffee and your medication and then takes a seat by you. Once again you feel out of place, like you've stolen something from someone else. but you don't show it. Weakness is not tolerable.

Unfortunately, peace never lasts.

“heyyy look who's alive and kicking around the place again!” To your absolute horror, you're dragged out of your chair and hugged tightly from behind by some loud mouthed-

“Dick we've talked about this…let em go chum.” Bruce quickly stands and tries to separate you from the hug, thank God, you could almost kiss the man when you're released. Suppressing a shiver at the unprompted affection, disgusting.

Duke Snickers into his food while Damian tries to cover up a snort by clearing his throat and shoving a bite of cereal in his mouth, traitorous children. You suppress a scowl as you turn to face your attacker - your hugger.

“come on I'm just happy they're still kicking and recovering, how're you doing operater?” Dick sets his hands on your shoulders as he speaks, he's far too touchy for your taste, but his words catch your attention more than his body language.

“operater?”

The room goes quiet for a moment, dicks hands tensing just a touch before he smiles and pulls you in once again. “It's a nickname you had, cuz y'know, you helped operate Wayne charity foundations like you were running the Navy. It's a lil inside joke.”

This time you're the one wriggling out of the hug, what part of ‘you're a stranger to the amnesiac’ does he not get? “You're telling me i was running those events? Why would i do that and not just hire a planner.” You sit back down in the chair, hopefully it'll discourage anymore cuddle attacks.

“I've actually said the same exact thing to you, guess you liked being the boss?” Bruce snorts beside you as dick speaks, Dick tosses himself into a nearby chair and starts making grabby hands at Damian's cereal.

“I'm going to pretend that didn't just come out of your mouth, right in front of my coffee. thanks.”

You grab the hot coffee and down a few sips before popping your medicine, that sounded a little too much like an innuendo to not royally piss you off. This entire…. Thing is gonna test your patience like never before, you swear.

🔹🔹🔹

Bruce went to his office and Mr pennyworth left to drop the two boys off so you're alone in the manor, having shaken Dick off enough times until he himself had to leave back to whatever it is he does, you bet he's a cop or a gym teacher or something.

With free reign, you start snooping. First thing you note is how clean the place is as you wander from the kitchenette towards the event hall, props to the old man where it's due, The place is relatively spotless from floor to ceiling.The second thing you notice is all the damn hidden cameras.

your hand drags across piano keys in the otherwise silent hall, it's dust free and even tuned, for some reason the perfection of the place angers you just as much as the lack of privacy. Makes you think the Wayne's are too…superficial, the avengers tower wasn't even this perfect. There's a tiny blinking red dot in the eye of the gargoyle sculpture nestled in the corner of the room, letting you know that the mask can't slip even when you're alone. someone's watching. you close the fall board and wander to the next area.

The bedrooms aren't that interesting, the unoccupied ones all look the same, smell the same, beige walls and dark bedding. The occupied ones look like stereotypical teen boy rooms, messy bedspreads and posters on the walls. video game consoles, paint supplies, old films, at least these rooms look lived in, imperfect. The next bedroom makes you freeze in your tracks, the familiar vanity and ballet flats makes unease churn in your gut, how'd you see the exact setup in your…. You close the door quickly. The dreams are meaningless and you won't ponder on them for longer than necessary. You take mental note of the large computer set up in one of the other rooms and move on to a different area.

You're back in the library now, your legs are starting to ache from all the walking you've done, you'll have to work on your agility and stamina in this body for sure. Plopping down on a leather sofa you grab at one of the books on the table in front of you and flip it over to read the title, realizing this is the book Jason was flipping through yesterday when the bookmark slips out of it, guess he's a fan of Mary Shelley. The grandfather clock against the wall chimes loudly and you scowl at it before hauling yourself up and slowly leaving the dusty room, you could use a nap right about now.

🔹🔹🔹

It's late when you're woken up, the butler knocks loudly on your door until you answer him.

“Master Wayne? You missed dinner. Would you like me to bring it up to you?”

You grunt as you rub at your face, before remembering that that doesn't count as an answer.

“No, I'll come down myself…. Will anyone else be there?” the silent ‘is my husband waiting?’ goes unsaid, but not unheard.

The butler doesn't answer for a moment, the creaking of floorboards telling you he's shifting his weight from foot to foot.

“…no, the children are at friends houses tonight, Cass is at her dance practice and master Bruce is dealing with an emergency at work. It is just us two tonight.”

“Oh, alright. I hope it's not a serious emergency…is everything good at work?” you act concerned, curiosity bleeding into your voice as you untangle yourself from the sheets and go to open the door.

“Nothing of the sort, there is just an issue with an incorrect filing mishap and mismatched records. Nothing worth worrying about.” Alfred steps out of the way when you open the door and turns to lead you to the kitchenette.

You know for a damn fact that Bruce's position in the company doesn't have him dealing with paperwork issues, your best guess is an affair partner that pennyworth is covering up. Of course the rich guy is cheating on his spouse, at least you don't have to entertain conversations with him over dinner…. Though it would have been nice to have a buffer between you and the butler. He definitely doesn't trust you as much as your husband seems to.

🔹🔹🔹

“anything new you can tell me about the phone.” barbara turned towards bruce when she heard him speak,the glow of her monitors casting her in a greenish glow as she turned her wheelchair.

“well, i don’t have access to their files or their systems anymore. just their location when it pings off cell towers.” barb leaned back and picked up her bag of chips while speaking, eyeing bruce up while he paces her floor, his cape swishing quietly behind him. “the decoding technique you saw before the shut out?” bruce doesn’t look at her as he speaks, his gaze focused on the stained glass above their heads.

barb loudly crunches on a chip as she turns her chair back towards the monitors, wiping her hands clean before she pushes her glasses up her nose. “strange, for them i mean. they didn’t go through the standard coding channels or even the normal hardware wiping techniques, i’ve been doing some research on the dark and back channels and i still haven’t seen anything quite like it.” she offers him a chip.

bruce walks closer to her and wordlessly takes the offered snack, glancing down at barb as he digests that information.

“so…they’re not associated with any known hackers?” barb gives him a sharp look. “B, are you thinking your spouse is a plant?” he shakes his head slowly, glancing away from barb before he continues. “no, no not at all. i just….can’t ignore something strange in my home, even if it’s *them.”*

barb looks down at her lap with a pensive look on her face for a moment, glancing back up at him with thinned lips as she bites her inner lip.

“i’m still scrubbing through the dark, you’ll be the first to know if i find anything that sets off alarms.”

bruce nods once, turning with a dramatic flair of his cape as he turns to leave.

“B.” barbara called out to him before he disappears, turning her wheelchair around to face him again as he pauses midstep. “just don’t get too caught up in your theories yet, they’re still the same person that walked into that gala with you.” bruce resumes walking after barb speaks, disapearing into the darkest part of the clocktowers room.

🔹🔹🔹

M.list | prev | next

A/n: ruh roh readers jumping to conclusions about Bruce's late night disappearances. Wonder how that'll go 👀👀👀

Taglist: @cxcilla @mercuryathens @dind1n @redsakura101 @ninihrtss @let-me-dance @ladykamos @one-piecelover @cuntiesweet

#dc x y/n #dc x reader #batman x reader #batfamily x reader #batman fanfiction #bruce wayne x reader #black widow reader

170 notes · View notes

maladaptivedaydreamsx · 3 months ago

Text

Feeling hella glad I unintentionally saved these, cause I just saved myself so many pulls 😅🙏

#my post 📫#aerin.jpg #l'hôtel.lads #lads.caleb #oh shit tag debut. been awhile lol #anyw mentioned before im not a caleb girlie but who knows he might grow me a lil (zayne did but also he's vv cute/sweet so idk)#anyw not slander just wanna point out i didn't go all out balls to the wall for him hahaha #just had a lot saved up bc i alr had most pairs/standard cards so was waiting to get smth for set rank ups #caleb lunar ended up being what i got with my free gifted pulls from infold funny enough. business trip zayne is all i was missing^^;#i do be yappin too much today sorry;; lol

1 note · View note

harlowsbby · 3 months ago

Text

Another trend

(this fic is based off one of those lil viral tik tok trends)

“So what are we doing again? Is this shit going to stress me out again.” Jack sighed as you sat him down in front of your phone.

“I promise it’s something easy just a little trend I saw going around.” Jack rolled his eyes but nonetheless sat down.

Jack wasn’t exactly a fan when it came to all of these new trends you decided to do and try out.

“What’s it about?” He asked and patted the spot next to him for you to sit down which you did.

“Okay so you have to rate different hugs you’d be okay with another guy giving me.” You explained the rules to him.

The minute those words came out of your mouth Jack looked at you like you had two heads growing out of your neck. “Excuse you?” He scoffed.

“You heard me babe.” You stiffed a laugh as he huffed. “Why do you do this to me? I would never be okay with another man hugging you unless it’s me.”

“Oh come on grumpy it’ll be fun I promise. We’re gonna rate the hugs from one to ten with ten being the worse and one being okay.” You explained the general rules to him.

Jack sighed dramatically as you set up the camera. Before you pressed record you made sure the two of you were in the frame.

“Hi guys!” You smiled into the camera as you started your introduction. “Today I’m with Jack and he’ll be rating different hugs he’d be okay with another guy giving me.” You told the fans.

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Just for the record I would never be okay with this. Just for any guys out there watching this don’t even think about hugging my girl.” He glared into the camera making you giggle.

“Okay, okay let’s start so you tap the screen and the first hug will appear.” He moved his finger to the screen before taping it.

He watched intently as the different positions shuffled across the screen before landing on the first hug. He smiled seeing it was the ‘polite hug’

“Okay we’re starting off right I would actually approve of this hug ima rate this a one.” You rolled your eyes as he placed it to number one and shuffled the hugs again.

“The self hug? Oh so this hug you just hug yourself? shit put that at two.” You put it at two and shuffled the screen again. “The hug at the waist? What the hell he’ll literally be touching you with his dick with this one.”

“Jack!” You laughed as he looked at you in utter shock. “Put that shit at fucking ten that’s the worse one.” He cried out.

“Like look at it he’s literally pressing all up on you. Let me find out you fantasize about shit like this, you trynna cheat on me?” He raised his grows but you paid him no mind and shuffled the hugs again.

“A group hug hmm put that at number three yeah.” Jack clicked his tongue still irritated from the last hug. “A slow dance hug? be fucking serious Y/N.” You giggled.

“What?! You act like I’m out here doing this with a bunch of guys.” He side eyed you before placing that hug at number nine.

“Not the side eye that’s insane.” He huffed. “I don’t know what you do when you’re out running these supposedly errands.”

“The next one is the cuddle hu- Y/N turn this shit off because you got my blood pressure on ten.” You doubled over in laughter as Jack shook his head at you. “Put that shit at eight I guess.”

“The classic hug finally a good one put that at four.” He sighed. “You know we need to do this with you once we’re done. I want to see what hugs you’d be okay with me giving other girls.”

You scoffed. “You ain’t hugging no other girl unless it’s Maggie.” His jaw flew open. “Not the double standards that’s crazy.”

“The next one is the back hug I think the fuck not that’s our thing we do that.” He looked at you the hurt evident in his eyes.

“What?” You raised your hands in defense. “Jack it’s a prank I’m not actually doing this.” You laughed. “Put it at a seven the next one is the resting heads on each other hug? Put that at a six.”

“How many of these do we have left Y/N? I don’t like this game.” You snickered. “Just two left I promise.”

You clicked shuffle again and landed on the eye to eye hug. Jack turned to the side and looked at you and it looks could kill you’d definitely be dead. “Dead ass? The eye to eye hug so you’re looking guys in the eyes now when you hug them you’re just out here cheating on me.”

You chuckled. “Jack it’s a prank! I don’t do this shit.” He clicked his tongue. “You know what let’s do one more and wrap this up because I think we’re gonna need couples therapy after this.”

You giggled and coo’d at him but nonetheless shuffled the hugs one last time you bit your bottom lip to stop yourself from laughing at the final hug.

“The pick pocket hug?! So you just got this man’s whole ass hand in your pocket touching all up on your ass??” Jack was in utter disbelief. “Add another box dammit.” You were a laughing mess at his little crash out moment.

“Y/N I’m being serious add another box because that’s number eleven ain’t no way in hell is another man touching your ass. You know what I’m done with this and I’m done with you.”

Jack stood up and you grabbed his hand trying to pull him back but with him being much stronger he ended up pulling you along with him, you were sitting on the floor as he dragged you along with him as he walked away.

“Jack it’s a joke baby I would never do any of this.” You giggled as the tears started falling from your eyes due to the amount of laughter.

“No I don’t wanna hear it baby at all.” The rest of the night was spent reassuring your big baby of a man that you would never in a million years allow a man to hug on you.

- a few nights later -

“Jack.” You called out for him and smiled when he appeared not even a second later in your shared bedroom.

“Yeah babe?” You watched as he made his way to the bed and took a seat next to you. “You wanna do a little challenge?” He rolled his eyes. “Remember how the last challenge went?”

“This time I promise it won’t be bad.” He sighed. “You always say this Y/N and nine times out of ten it’s always bad, but let me hear it.”

“So this is similar to the rate the hugs but instead of hugs it’s rating what type of different kisses my boyfriend would be okay with me giving to other men.”

Jack’s entire mind went blank he didn’t understand or wasn’t sure on how to process what you just said. “You know what I think ima go.” He said and you giggled as he left out of room, not without slamming the door of course.

(I’m just posting this to clear out my drafts I was planning on deleting this piece but Ima just let this be the last fic I’ll ever post 😭. Anyways I don’t plan on this doing well since it’s dead as fuck on here now but oh well. Whoever reads this I hope you find it funny? 😭 shit idkkk)

#jack harlow #jack harlow concepts #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow x y/n #jack harlow x you

384 notes · View notes

heavilycaffeinatedsblog · 4 months ago

Text

I was so happy to be part of @klance-daydreams's Klance Secret Santa! I was given @linipik and wrote a lil ficlet about Christmas Eve with klance and the gang :)

Merry Christmas!

Under the swell of Christmas music, Lance heard the clear sound of a puppy going somewhere they shouldn’t. He snickered at the sound of Keith’s frustrated groan from the living room. “Again?” He called. “Again,” Keith grunted along with the sound of jingling ornaments. “Kosmo, down.” Lance smiled as he listened to Kosmo’s soft whine and the scratch of his paws as he was tugged back from shoving his face into the Christmas tree. “God, he’s obsessed,” Keith sighed. “He learned it from me,” Lance said proudly. When he told Keith, and by proxy Kosmo, to arrange the presents around the Christmas tree, he figured something like this would happen. Eager paws slapped against the linoleum and Lance’s smile widened as he felt a small, wet nose brush against his ankle. Lance looked down and smiled. “Hello, angel.” The Husky panted happily, tongue sticking out as he blinked at Lance. “Don’t encourage him,” Keith grumbled, voice coming closer. Lance smiled when he felt arms wrap around his waist. “Smells good,” Keith murmured. “I would hope so, considering that’s all it’s supposed to do,” Lance gave the cranberries, oranges, and cinnamon another stir. “It’s a simmer pot.” Keith’s chin dug into Lance’s shoulder as he peered over. “Hm.” “Now, what is that?” Lance said, turning in Keith’s arms to arch an eyebrow. “What?” Keith laughed, tugging lightly at the belt loops in Lance’s jeans. “That felt like a judgy hm.” “I would never judge you and your simmer pot,” Keith said teasingly. “Good, because your best boy is obsessed with it,” Lance said, waving the ladle to where Kosmo was sniffing eagerly next to the stove. Keith shook his head in disbelief, clicking his tongue and guiding Kosmo back into the living room. It was Christmas Eve. They were hosting a Christmas party for their friends and Lance was pretty determined to make it perfect. Keith was being his standard, endearing self and had Lance take the helm. Lance smiled a little to himself, already envisioning how Keith would happily hover in the corners of the party, taking people’s plates and refreshing drinks while Lance entertained front and center. That was why they worked so well. The Christmas tree rattled again. “Kosmo, we are going to fight.” *** Christmas music rolled into the living room. There was a steady hum of people laughing and chatting, the clink of wine glasses and beer bottles. The simmer pot was doing its God given duty and making the place smell like a winter wonderland. Lance noticed Keith paused to study the pot with interest on several occasions and made a mental note to tease him about his intrigue later. Pidge and Hunk were leading a competitive game of Christmas charades, Hunk miming what looked like a sleigh ride. Shiro, Adam, Allura, and Romelle were shouting out random guesses, ranging from chopping down a Christmas tree to driving in the snow. Keith was leaning against the wall behind them, watching with a small, content smile. But Lance could see the beginning of a competitive flicker in his eye. Lance paused, let his heart clench as he watched his boyfriend, and then put Hunk out of his misery. “Sleigh ride.” Hunk dropped, exhausted. Keith shot his boyfriend a challenging look, a smile growing. Hunk mimed lifting something light and hanging it. “Decorating a Christmas tree!” Keith fired out. “Oh Jesus,” Shiro groaned. “You’ve set them off now.” Keith was leaning forward, watching Hunk like a hawk as he read the next piece of paper. After a moment of thinking it over, Hunk acted as if he ate something and grimaced. Lance stared at him cluelessly. “Fruitcake!” Keith shouted suddenly. Hunk looked impressed, nodding as he grabbed another piece of paper. He dramatically shivered. “Cold!” Lance shouted. “Snowing!” Keith followed. Hunk tapped his nose and mimed smoking a pipe. “Scrooge!” “Snowman?” Allura asked. Hunk tapped his nose. “Frosty the Snowman!” Keith and Lance bellowed.

*** “I will sever your head and put it on a post if you don’t move.” As their friends gasped and laughed, Keith threw on a cheeky grin from where he sat on the last chair. They were both crammed on the seat, their hips shoved against each other’s as they attempted to push the other off the chair. Keith had the advantage, smart enough to grab the other side of the chair so he was actively pulling himself to the other side. Lance was hanging off the edge, losing ground quickly. Lance tried stopping on Keith’s feet, but the idiot was clever enough to keep his boots on, so Lance’s glittery Christmas socks did little damage. Keith’s cheeks were flushed from eggnog and his smile was wide and loose and he looked a little too gorgeous. Lance eyed him, wondering how dirty he could play this without scandalizing their friends. They were all laughing, crammed together on the couch and methodically placing bets on who woud lose. They were playing a type of musical chairs. The last person on a chair would get the $50 VISA gift card hanging on the Christmas tree. Shiro and Hunk were the first ones out, not nearly as savage as the others. Allura nearly tripped Romelle trying to get her out of a chair, Pidge looked close to biting Lance at one point, and now Lance was debating using his body to get what he wanted. “Don’t,” Keith was grinning darkly now, as if reading Lance’s mind. “It’s Christmas.” Lance weighed his options. “I’ll do the dishes.” Keith huffed dismissively at that, pushing himself further. “And I’ll take Kosmo out to poop tonight!” Lance said, desperation sneaking through. It was supposed to be hideously cold that night and Keith had already been bemoaning having to scoop up Kosmo’s poop out of the snow. “Not worth it,” Keith was smirking now. Lance could have surrendered. But his competitive streak was called a streak for a reason. “Fine, how about this?” Lance leaned forward and whispered something in Keith’s ear. Keith’s smug smile dropped as his neck flushed pink. He instantly stood, letting Lance triumphantly slide onto the chair fully. Their audience on the couch erupted. *** With only a few curses and confused barks, Keith successfully got the Christmas sweater over Kosmo’s head. He grinned triumphantly as Kosmo’s tail thumped against the ground. “I think he likes it.” “I would hope so,” Lance leaned against the doorframe. “You were bloodthirsty in that game.” “The only way to play White Elephant is seriously,” Keith said with a wry smile, getting to his feet and reaching for Kosmo’s leash. “Don’t clean up without me,” he reminded Lance, giving him a short peck on the lips before leaving Kosmo towards the door. With an excited bark, they were out the door. Lance stretched, yawning as he surveyed their kitchen. There was a sizable stack of dishes and glasses, a trash bag full of wrapping paper from the White Elephant game, but other than that, there wasn’t much to clean. Still, Keith had a weird thing about sharing the chores, so Lance instead moved to tidy up the living room. He found himself smiling widely, heart full from an evening with friends. With a sigh, he sank onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling. He imagined the rest of his night. Keith would return and maybe could be convinced to push back cleaning the kitchen a little longer. They could lay on the couch and watch the fire and talk in low, hushed voices, and watch until it was Christmas. Lance felt like dishes would be easier in the early hours of Christmas rather than the end of Christmas Eve. Then they would go to bed, not rushed, a little lazy, and would spend the morning quiet and calm, curled together with coffee and Kosmo, and then they would load up the car with too many presents because Lance got carried away as he always does, and then go to his family’s house. It all felt perfect, like he had finally caught something he had been reaching for. It was like a dream. Lance smiled as the door opened.

#klance #voltron #heavily_caffeinated #klance christmas

266 notes · View notes

smoft-demons · 1 year ago

Note

hey hey! I really like your writing :) I have a request for the brothers:

gn!mc who has trouble sleeping alone bc of nightmares. they can very rarely sleep but are great at hiding it, because they don’t want to bother anybody. they never notice because mc always sleeps fine during sleepovers??? until eventually the lack of sleep gets to them too much and it becomes too noticeable. how do they respond when mc (reluctantly) reveals the truth?

thank you and have a lovely day ❤️

Good prompt! I like this one :)

(This one took a good few hours! Hope you like it!)

MC has nightmares when they sleep alone

_______

Lucifer:

‘…something’s amiss with our human.’ Lucifer thinks.

He’s been observing them lately. Since he cracked down on his brothers sneaking into their room at night—in order to give the poor human a break, so they may rest well and have time to study for the upcoming wave of tests—they’ve been… sluggish. More forgetful. Their assignments are coming back notably worse. He was irritated at first, but when he brought them into his office to confront them about it, he couldn’t ignore how… off they seemed.

Lucifer sets his irritation with their slipping standards aside, in favour of concern. He is above petty reactions, he decides. No, he is reasonable enough to see that there must be a cause for this.

“MC. I did not call you here to berate you. I am not angry with you. Something is obviously wrong. Please, I cannot help you until you tell me what it is.”

You’re not sure if it’s the jarringly unmasked concern in his eyes, or the rising feeling of guilt for stressing him out more than usual that finally cracks your resolve.

Whatever it is, you confide in him. You tell him that you’ve not been sleeping well. He pries the reason out of you, by pointing out his observations about the timing.

Begrudgingly, you admit to having nightmares when you try to sleep alone.

Outwardly, he remains businesslike and practical as always. In his mind, he’s facepalming. In retrospect, the signs are all there! How did he not notice??

He feels just a bit sorry, too. In his attempt to help you, he directly made everything worse. What a great job he’s done…

Then he snaps out of it and steels himself. There’s no use dwelling on that! He can fix this. Very, very easily!

“I see. Then, sleep in my room tonight. I will ensure no nightmares bother you. Once you’ve recovered enough to learn again, I will help you bring your grades back up to your usual standard. Is this satisfactory?”

He refuses to hear any guilt from you about imposing, or taking up his time, or being a burden.

“I am choosing to carry you, MC. There’s no burden.”

From that point on, you’re always welcome in his bed. On the rare occasion that he isn’t home and none of his brothers can sleep over with you, he lends you his coat to sleep under. The familiar scent of him that clings to it is better than nothing.

_______

Mammon:

…Okay, at this point, he HAS to pry. Mammon is one of the first to notice that you’ve not exactly been well lately. You’re being unusually scatterbrained, clumsy, and spacey. You don’t have any energy. It’s obvious to him that there’s a sleep issue! He’s more observant than he looks, ya know!

Now that he thinks of it, these traits are not THAT out of character for you. They’re not usually this bad though!

…shit, does that mean you’re usually sleep deprived? That’s not good. Well! You’re HIS human, and he loves you lots and takes your well being very seriously, as much as he hates to say it out loud. So, he commits himself to figuring this out!

Evening comes. Mammon follows you into the hall leading towards your room. You bash your hip against a wall corner and almost fall to the floor as you dizzily stumble, trying to catch yourself. Mammon grabs you to steady you. Yeah, at this point he has to pry.

“Be careful, human! Seriously, you’d break all your lil toothpick bones without the great Mammon around to protect ya! What’s up with that, huh?”

You trust him of course, but… you’re embarrassed. You don’t want to tell him.

He clicks his tongue impatiently. You don’t say anything. He grabs you by the shoulders and steers you into his room. He pushes you down to sit on his bed.

“C’mon, MC. Talk to me. Your first man is here to help!”

“…”

“…please?”

Now, that… almost does it. You feel bad for being stubborn. You know he’s worried, and chaotic as he can be, he’s proven himself as a very good guardian demon time and time again. You take a deep breath, gathering your resolve.

You take just a bit too long. Mammon groans.

“I’m very annoying, yknow. I’ll get it outta ya somehow!”

Mammon pokes your cheeks, gently shakes you, tugs lightly at your hair, as he demands that you talk to him.

“Tell me, tell me tell me tell me tell me, c’mooooon humaaan, tell me!”

‘Oh, fucking fine!’ You think. You confide in him.

He’s mildly tempted to be like, ‘was that really so hard,’ but he won’t. He’s far more concerned than annoyed with you. He feels bad about all the super late nights out he’s been having lately. He wants to always be there for you! Him having missed something like this has him mentally kicking his own ass.

Mammon puts all that aside for now, though. He roots around in a drawer to get two pairs of his old, worn and comfy sweatpants, plus an old tshirt, faded and worn soft from use. He throws the shirt and one of the sweatpants at you

“Go brush your teeth and change, then come right back. We’re having an early night.”

When you return, he locks his door, then puts you back in his bed. He’s changed into the other pair of sweatpants. Mammon wraps himself around you as much as he can, as if to bodily shield you from the nightmares, then pulls his blanket over both of you.

“Sleep, human. No nightmares’ll DARE mess with you now. Not while I’m here. I’ll protect ya.”

Having him so close to you feels like home. Nothing else has ever felt so safe. You sleep deeply, for hours longer than you have in a while.

(Mammon is never letting you sleep alone again)

_______

Levi:

As much as Levi doesn’t want to bother you, he’s getting worried. You’re performing WAY worse at your video games than usual! You’re missing so many inputs! He knows your usual skill level, this game should be a relaxing walk in the park for you! He’s too worried to even make fun of you!

“Ok, that’s it! I can’t take it anymore! What happened to you, normie?? Are you sick?? Do you… not want to play with me? What’s happening??”

He’s worked himself into a panic. You know he’s sensitive enough right now to take it personally if you don’t confide in him. So fine! You’ll talk!

You’ll talk… auuugh, you can’t get the words out! You’re too self conscious about it. Fuck it. You take your DDD out of your pocket and send him a text.

>not been sleeping well. Nightmares. So tired, can’t pretend anymore! >:( Nothing personal, promise!

Levi reads the text. He chews the inside of his cheek for a long moment, thinking. Then he snaps to attention, looking at you with intense determination.

“We can’t have that! I need my player two in optimal condition! There’s no other way for us to win at any games!”

Levi resorts to his old faithful: relaxing slice of life anime! He makes a big pile of pillows and blankets on the floor, arranging them into an MC-and-Levi sized nest. It’s late enough into the evening that it’s reasonable enough to try to put you to sleep.

If just the anime and the blankets and the being in his room isn’t enough to knock you out, he’ll shyly inch over to you to hold your hand. Blushing and looking away from you because he’s shy, but he’ll do it.

If you ask him—or just look sad and cute enough—he’ll even curl up behind you in the blanket-nest and hold you. Levi won’t have ANYTHING hurting his Henry, not if he can do anything about it!

He doesn’t mind holding you all night like this. The fact that you’re asleep helps, he’s not shy when you’re not perceiving him. The anime he’s still watching is helping too. It’s a good distraction.

_______

Satan:

As soon as he started to get the feeling something was wrong with you, he began watching you intently. He’s sharp, so he would have caught this very early on.

He can’t help but have a little fun with this investigation at first, thinking of it as detective work.

Soon though, he gets concerned. You’re irritable, you’re not retaining information or remembering small things as well, you’re clumsier and less generally aware… all dangerous things to be in this realm.

He doesn’t need you to tell him what’s wrong. He puts it together himself. He knows you sleep just fine with him, he knows you seem well rested after sleepovers with any of his brothers too. Clearly it’s not general insomnia. He also knows that the usual frequent sleepovers haven’t been happening for a while now.

When he confronts you, he doesn’t start with asking questions. He lays out all the evidence he’s collected and states his guesses as to the cause.

He tells you he has concluded it’s most likely to be any of these causes: loneliness, separation anxiety, touch deprivation, nightmares, stress-induced insomnia. He asks you to tell him which it is, if it’s more than one, if it’s something else?

He’s so clinical about it, you pretty much forget to be self conscious. All you have to do is confirm that it’s nightmares and they only happen when you sleep alone.

“Thank you for trusting me,” he says, regardless of how little you’ve actually told him. “You’re more than welcome to sleep over with me any time. You don’t even have to ask. Just tell me that you’re sleeping over.”

That evening, he leads you into his room. He lies on his back, book in hand, and beckons you to lie on top of him.

He guides your head to rest in the crook of his neck. He balances his book against your shoulders, holding it with one hand. The other wraps around your waist, his thumb rubbing your side soothingly, and he begins to read aloud to you.

His voice and his warmth soothe you to sleep. Not a single nightmare dares touch you.

Asmo:

The first thing Asmo notices is the darkened circles under your eyes.

“Oh, my darling! Your skin!” He gasps, genuinely horrified. “Come, we can do better than that. Let your Asmo take care of you~”

As he often does, Asmo brings you to his room for a spa day. Evening. Night. It’s late.

He smooths moisturizer into your skin, using all the appropriate human-safe products for revitalizing you when you’re tired. He gets a helpful mask on you, then one for him too. As you wait for it to dry, he asks you what’s up.

“Can’t sleep, lovely? You know, if you’re restless I can always tire you out~”

You roll your eyes and elbow him lightly. You expected nothing less from Asmo. Knowing him as well as you do, it’s more endearing than bothersome. You know he’s showing you that he cares.

“Offer’s always open, darling!” He giggles. “But, is there anything else I could do for you? Need to get something off your chest? Or just some good company, hmm?”

Asmo’s really sweet. It’s easy to open up to him—or, as easy as opening up gets. He massages your hand in silence as you gather your resolve to confide in him.

He listens sympathetically. Nodding and humming encouragingly at all the right points as you speak. Squeezing your hand when you need support. Just… being the emotionally intelligent sweetheart that Asmo always is with you.

“You’re welcome to sleep here, love. Nothing you don’t want will happen, of course. Now, let me wash that mask off you, then we can snuggle if you like.”

He washes off the mask, touching you very tenderly as he does. He takes his time gently washing the product off your face, stroking your cheek with his thumb affectionately. He gives you a little forehead kiss when your face is clean as his thanks for trusting him.

He lets you lead on how much contact you want. He really just wants to help. He’s happiest if you choose to cuddle with him, but he’s totally chill with just holding your hand, or even just lying next to you. He’s awesome like that.

No matter what you choose, the familiar perfume of Asmo’s room and the reassuring rhythm of his breathing lulls you to sleep. It feels safe.

You sleep really well. Asmo really is the best.

Beel:

Beel understands nightmares. He gets them too. He spots the signs easily, familiar as they are to him.

All he has to do is spot the haunted look in your eyes when he sees you before breakfast. Very distracted he usually is at that time, yes, but he loves you. He pays attention to you. He notices it pretty quick.

He can’t help but wonder why you haven’t approached him about it. Hasn’t he demonstrated to you that nightmares in particular are a thing he’s safe for you to confide in about? He’s not going to take it personally, but he IS going to worry.

He keeps an ear trained on your room whenever he goes into the kitchen at night. Carefully listening for any signs of distress.

After a few nights of this, he gives into his impulse and goes to check on you after his midnight snack. He brings you something he knows you like.

He’s not surprised to find you awake.

“Hey.” He says through a mouthful of his own food. “Want a snack?” He comes in to put it in your hands as soon as you acknowledge him.

The two of you eat together, sitting quietly on your bed side by side. Beel’s careful not to drop any crumbs.

You remain quiet even after all traces of snacks are eliminated.

“Nightmares?” Beel asks gently, looking at you with those irresistible soft worried puppy eyes he does. You can’t lie to him. You’re not a monster!

You nod. He hums sympathetically, looking genuinely saddened on your behalf. He gets it.

“Want a hug?” He offers

You press yourself into his side. He wraps one very big arm around you, and you melt into him like warm mozzarella. His solid presence is reassuring. You feel so safe with him. You’re already starting to drift as he rubs your shoulder with one large thumb.

“Would it help if I stay?” Beel murmurs to you.

You nod again.

So Beel picks you up, settling himself in your bed with you and arranging you comfortably in his arms.

He starts softly stroking your hair. Trying to help you relax more.

“Thanks for letting me help you.” Beel says earnestly. It’s obvious that he really means it. He’s grateful you’re trusting him with this. He’s very happy that you’re accepting his comfort, because he wants nothing more than to help you and protect you.

He’s good at that. Being comforting. Helpful and protective—that’s Beel.

You drift off peacefully, with nothing on your mind except the sleep-blurred sentiment of feeling grateful for him, too.

Belphie:

Without question, Belphie is the first one to notice that you’re having nightmares. Sleep is his main thing!

You only get to have one bad night before he steps in. He drags you up to the attic to nap with you right after school. No nightmares happen, of course, because you’re not sleeping alone. Belphie congratulates himself on a job well done!

…wait. Again?? He finds himself aware that you’re having another nightmare that night, hours later when you’re trying to sleep by yourself. Fuck sake.

He goes to your room. You snap awake at the disturbance. Without a word, he pours himself into your bed, draping across you like a clingy cat and going right back to sleep.

Bit rude. But this is helpful. You go back to sleep too, and have no nightmares. Good job, Belphie.

Then the next night, it happens again!! Mildly vexed at the persistent issue, he does the same thing as last night.

The next evening, he doesn’t let you go to bed alone to begin with. He goes with you, staying just aware enough that he can snipe your nightmares before they get a chance to terrorize you—but… none happen? Huh. Wild. Okay.

The next night, he finally asks you what the deal is. You hesitate to tell him. Belphie has no qualms about annoying the information out of you, if his initial blunt concern isn’t enough to get you to talk. If you don’t crack, he’ll try tickling you until you talk to him. If you STILL don’t crack, he’ll sic Beel and his concerned puppy eyes on you. No one can resist Beel’s concerned puppy eyes. Especially not when it’s BOTH twins looking at you like that!

Resistance is futile. You reluctantly tell him that you have nightmares only when you sleep alone.

He mentally slaps himself. Obviously!

He was prepared to use any of his avatar of sloth abilities necessary to cure you of your nightmares—and he still is—but he’s happy (and secretly endeared) to learn that the cure is nothing more than his presence. Less work for him! Less work, AND a good excuse to steal you away for naps all the time! Two of his favourite things!

Belphie is never letting you sleep alone again. No, you’ll either be together in your room, together in his and Beel’s room, or together in the attic.

He’ll make an exception for sleepovers with his other brothers too if you miss them. You’re so lucky he loves you.

717 notes · View notes