#I think it would be interesting to talk more about the consequences of the game events??

[manekijinx]

Sleep Paralysis.

Vaguely inspired by this unfinished fic.

[lemmesayimyourbiggestfan]

frontman x reader whos a player but not because of debt but because she was investigating with gi-hun and ju-hon and got in the limousine and then in-ho falls in love with her and gets her out of the game with him like at the end of the season

can u also like not write it like a hate love relationship? like readers conflicted but still likes in-ho

Keeping you safe

Hwang In-ho x reader

hiii, pleasure writing your request! hope it’s the way you imagined :)

Word count: 3,3k

Warnings: violence, murder,…

Requests are open! i would also like to write something about Jun-ho or the salesman, so hmu

When you jumped into the limousine after Gi-hun you didn’t consider its consequences. Jun-ho trusted you to keep your eyes on Gi-hun at all costs and you were going to keep your word, even when it meant making yourself vulnerable.

The gas was sweet on your tongue and Gi-hun already slumped down on the plush leather of the limo seats. But you were wide awake, somehow defying sleep’s influence, shaking, still processing what the deep voice implied and Gi-hun demanded. “Put me in the game. But leave her out of it.”

Those words were followed by a dry laugh. You knew that meant there was no way out of it now. You started whispering into the intercom to Jun-ho, saying how sorry you were. His panicked voice was cut off by you turning off the device while you prepared yourself for the Frontman’s reaction, closing your eyes and taking shallow breaths.

“No. Those are my games and my rules. Might make them more interesting, don’t you agree, player 456?”

Then the gas started rising up from the floor. Gi-hun grabbed your hand, rumbling about how sorry he was. You smiled wearily, pressing his hand. “It’s okay, Gi-hun.” You both knew it wasn’t. It was as far from ‘okay’ as possible.

His fingers went limp and you resigned, waiting for the inevitable. With muted senses you watched the tinted protection shield go down. Behind it was the man in the mask himself, looking at you over his shoulder. Just when his gloved hand hovered over his mask, shrugging it off, you were engulfed in darkness.

***

After the first game, you thought that nothing could surprise you anymore. As much as Gi-hun tried to keep you from all the bloodshed, even he couldn’t cover your eyes and ears every time there was a gunshot. Still pale and shaken, digging dirt and blood from beneath your nails, you sat on your bed with the provided food in your lap, watching your surroundings. At least Gi-hun could be happy he found here his long lost friend, with whom he was now talking. You still didn’t speak to anyone else. You were scared that if you did, they would be dead by tomorrow.

You barely noticed there was any commotion until the sudden silence peaked your interest. There was a skirmish between three guys, two of them working together, which made the outcome of the fight quite obvious. There was another player stalking towards the group, trying to break up the fight.

“I said save the lecture for your own damn kids.” one of the guys shouted at him. That’s when you noticed the player’s still frame, like a cat before launching at its prey. And you were right; within a blink of an eye, he put both of the guys on their backs, not even breaking a sweat. You looked closer at him, reading the number 001 on his back. Even from afar you could see how deadly calm he was while choking one of them. After a moment the rage left his body and he released his grip. You didn’t expect the applause that followed his actions. You exchanged a look with Gi-hun. Were you the only one who sensed something foreboding?

You turned your attention back to the food in your lap and decided that even though you weren’t hungry, you desperately needed the energy. But in your mind, all you could think about was the player 001. Was he a police detective like Jun-ho or a former marine like Jung-bae or Dae-ho? Or something else entirely?

It took you a while to get out of your head and notice that his bed was right next to yours. With a sigh, player 001 sat down, grabbing his unfinished food. Just then he noticed your searching look and gave you a tentative smile.

“Hello, sir,” you began, looking down at your hands. A sudden wave of nervousness came over you. “I’m Y/N. Do you mind telling me your name?”

“No bother, Y/N,” he replied and you stared at his lips, at how perfectly they formed your name. “I’m Young-il. Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” you grinned at him in response, holding out your hand that he tentatively shook.

“Nice moves there,” you pointed your chin to the middle of the dormitory where the fight took place. “You could teach me if you had time, I’m terrible in combat.” A lie. Jun-ho himself taught you how to hold yourself and how to hold a gun. You were just trying to find out who Young-il was.

“If we have time, yes.” he nodded absentmindedly, scooping up a mouthful of rice.

“Do you mind me asking? I was just wondering if you have any children.” you said carefully.

“No, I don't.” Young-il replied, suddenly his gaze sharp.

“Well, I just thought that, based on your reaction to what that other player told you-“ you searched for the answer in his closely guarded expression. “You lost your child, didn’t you?”

Young-il didn’t say anything to that, his cutlery going limp in his hand.

“I just- I’d know that look anywhere. I know it’s not something to bond over,” you gave a startled laugh, fidgeting under his everlasting gaze, “but if you’d like to talk about it-“

“Thank you.” He reached out and squeezed your hand. His touch was calloused and warm. “I mean it.”

You smiled softly, squeezing his fingers in response. “I know.”

Preparing yourself for lights out, you couldn’t ignore his lingering gaze following your movements. Thankfully Gi-hun approached you and sat next to you on the bed, guilt visible in his expression.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I never wanted to drag you into this. And I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe-“

“Don’t worry about that, sir. I can take care of myself. Anyways, I was only following Jun-ho’s orders. It had nothing to do with you.”

Unconvinced, Gi-hun sighed and moved to his own bed, not having the energy at the moment to argue with you. You finally lay down, moving the thin blanket over your body, curling up on your side.

“I overheard you talking about Jun-ho, and I couldn’t help but notice how familiar that name sounds to me,” Young-il broke the silence, looking at you with curiosity in his eyes.

“Well, he used to work as a police detective so that’s why you might know him.”

“Oh, yes, that might be possible,” Young-il gave you a restrained smile. “And he is to you-?”

“A friend. I used to work as a secretary in his department, that’s all.” you smiled back.

“Oh, sorry to pry.” he looked at his hands.

“Not at all.” He looked into your eyes and your eyes crinkled with another smile. Only when he looked away did you turn around in your bed. A few minutes later you heard Gi-hun and Young-il talking and even though you didn’t want to, it was impossible to not overhear. Young-il was explaining the story of why he’s in the games and why he chose to continue playing - how his pregnant wife was gravely ill and he needed the money due to her medical bills. Somehow, this answer shocked you, even though you shouldn't have been thrown off by it. Of course he was married.

Only after the whole dormitory fell silent did you finally fall into a fitful sleep.

***

“Thank you, Young-il.” you whispered to him, gratefully touching his shoulder. Young-il turned his gaze your way and the corners of his eyes crinkled under the influence of a smile. Only his supportive words during the six legged pentathlon could calm you down, which resulted in you successfully completing your mini game. The memory flashed through your mind - tears welling in your eyes, hands shaking as you reached again and again for the gong-gi pebbles. You could sense your teammates’ growing unease but that even worsened your situation. After the third attempt, Young-il grabbed you by the elbow, leaning closer as he said: “Ignore everything else okay? Just listen to me and focus.”

You nodded, bewildered eyes setting again on the pebbles. You were kneeling in a puddle of blood, which didn’t exactly help calm your nerves.

“Just concentrate. I know you can do it. Look at you, all flushed red and focused. This look suits you.” The pebbles balanced on the knuckles of your hand, just one more throw. You looked up at Young-il, lips slightly parted. Were you hearing correctly? Maintaining eye contact, you threw the pebbles op with a sudden surge of confidence and caught them flawlessly. Everyone cheered and you were hoisted up by your team, but all you could hear were Young-il’s last words whispered in your ear: “Good girl.”

Now he was looking at you, this new tension between you two palpable.

“Anytime.”

***

While you tried to act nonchalant, it was just impossible. The way Young-il now watched you at all times drove you crazy, feeling his gaze like a branding on your body. You were grateful for keeping a watch during the lights off, thinking that it could distract you from your own dirty thoughts. But it was quite the contrary.

Overlooking the silent dark room, those words echoed in you even more soundly. Good girl. With a sigh you stretched out your legs, trying to ignore the tightness in your underbelly. You were annoyed with yourself. Why did the words of a stranger make you feel this way? Words of a married stranger, more like it.

“You seem distracted.”

You jumped at that impassive raspy voice. Thankfully, once Young-ho sat down next to you, he couldn’t notice your flushed cheeks due to the impassable darkness. Your shoulders touched and to your surprise he didn’t immediately move away.

“Oh, it’s nothing, really.” you smiled with your head bowed, nearly chuckling at how clueless he must be.

There was an awkward silence following your reply, so, without thinking about it, you said: “Thank you again for today, truly. You helped me a lot.”

Young-il looked at you, searching for something in your expression. Apparently he found it. “You think about that a lot, don’t you?”

“Sorry?” you stumbled over your words, not knowing how to react, what to say.

“My words alone made you quiver. Now imagine what my tongue could do.” he whispered, teasing you, a spark in his eyes.

“Young-il-“ you breathed out, suddenly aware of how close his face was to yours. You felt your underwear getting wetter by the minute. But you put that all in the back of your mind as you said: “I know you are married. Expecting a child, even. You shouldn’t say things like that.”

He blinked, taken aback. “Does that bother you? Or are you bothered by the effect I have on you?”

You sighed, looking away from his handsome face. Was he sent here just to test your boundaries?

“I still have enough self control to know right from wrong.” But your body wasn’t in line with your thoughts.

Young-il stared at you for a moment, then sighed, irritated. “My wife and my child are gone. I just don’t enjoy talking about them in past tense. I joined the games out of misery, nothing more. Are you happy now?”

You froze, looking at the way his arms formed into fists at his sides. It was like having ice cold water poured all over you.

“Young-il, I’m so-“

“Don’t be. It’s been a long time.” Eyes meeting, he smiled at you tentatively. You squeezed his warm hand and he relaxed, loosening his fist.

“Right now, I don’t care about anything but you.” He caressed your cheek with the back of his hand, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. Moving closer, he kissed the bruise already blossoming on your jaw. And you let him.

“I don’t want to scare you away with my… infatuation. But right now, I’m so desperately weak for you.” Your breathing hitched as he moved his lips to your ear.

Just when you thought he would kiss you, he suddenly pulled away.

“I’ll take over the watch. You should sleep, muster some energy for tomorrow.” You nodded as if in a trance. He helped you stand up and led you to your bed. Young-il left you standing there, leaving only the whisper of his lips branding your cheek.

***

The third game was a whirlwind of movement. Only thanks to Young-il were you still alive and breathing. Every time a number was announced, he firmly grasped your wrist and dragged you with him wherever he went. Not that you were complaining - you were so overstimulated by all the commotion that you were glad you could keep up with him.

When one player tried to separate you from him, Young-il bared his teeth and kicked him square in the chest. “She’s mine,” There it was, the cold expression and clenched jaw. Even though you were on the brink of dying, a shiver ran down your spine.

You made it safe with your group into one of the rooms and soon were walking out to play the last round. You knew exactly what the woman’s voice was going to announce and you were right: “Two.”

Young-il was already moving, pushing people out of your way. Everything seemed to go smoothly, until you reached the room; a player was already inside.

“Get out.” Young-il growled and reached the man, trying to get him on his legs and out of the room.

“We were here first,” the player whimpered. You noticed other players running to the door you were standing next to and panicking, you closed it, pushing your whole body against it.

You looked over your shoulder at Young-il, wanting to see if he was any closer to pushing the player out through the doors. But you froze when you saw he was holding the man in a headlock, choking him. All you could do was stare.

Young-il was looking straight back at you. And with one smooth motion of his arms he broke the man’s spine, leaving him staring at the ceiling, going limp in Young-il’s grip.

“I’d do anything for you, Y/N.” Young-il said, slowly getting up. You couldn’t tear your gaze from the lifeless body on the ground.

Only when he knelt in front of you did your eyes meet his. He grabbed your cold, shaking hands, kissing the knuckles while staring into your eyes.

“You’re scaring me,” you whispered, a tear rolling down your cheek.

“You poor thing,” Young-il said absentmindedly, wiping your tears away. “I can keep you safe, Y/N. I promise. All I’ve done was to prove that to you.”

“It’s scaring me how far you’re willing to go for me,” you sobbed, fighting the urge to flinch when he caressed your cheek. Still, you couldn’t find a reason to hate him. All the things he was saying were true, he did all of this for you, he killed a man for you, for your own safety.

The lock on the doors clicked and you closed your eyes, letting yourself be guided by Young-il out of the room. You knew that if you looked once more at the corpse, you would never let Young-il touch you again.

So you kept your eyes closed, choosing the easier path.

***

When the lights went out, all you could do was hold Young-il as hard as possible and count the minutes until the slaughter was over. Head against his chest, you concentrated on the sound of his heartbeat, every other sound pushed into the background. His hand was on your lower back, holding you as close as possible.

“I want to go home.” you whispered, clutching the front of his T-shirt like a small child. It was all a mistake. You shouldn’t be here.

“Okay, you will, okay? When we disarm the guards, you stay hidden, but once we take control of the rest, you have to come to my side, you understand?”

You nodded into his chest. Young-il kissed the crown of your head before leaving you under the bed as the guards tried to take control of the situation.

After many gunshots fired, you were crawling to the group of players formed in front of the main doors. Without hesitation you claimed one of the smaller guns for yourself. Somehow, the familiar weight of it calmed you down a bit. Young-il looked at you with tenseness.

“Keeping secrets, I see.” In reply you just loaded the gun, staring back.

Gi-hun looked your way over his shoulder, sending you a quick nod. The group exited the room, moving quickly down the corridor. Young-il stayed back, moving slower than the rest. Once the first guards got in your way, he pushed you to the side, saying: “This way!” Looking over your shoulder, everyone was shooting at the enemy, moving the other way. You looked back at him, unsure.

“You wanted to go home, didn’t you? Well, this is it.” seeing how indecisive you were, he sighed, “You trust me, don’t you?”

Hesitant, you followed his lead. You took the side stairs up and you got a bad feeling in your stomach. Young-il didn’t bother to check the corners, nor the other stories as you climbed the stairs. He walked like someone who knew this place, someone who wasn’t scared that he might be shot.

You stopped in your tracks, aiming your gun with a trembling hand. Young-il, upon noticing you were not following him, turned around. There was something like betrayal shining through his demeanour.

“You’re going to explain.” you said, trying to keep your voice and hand steady.

“Oh, Y/N, I think you already know.” Young-il pointed out, a corner of his lips curling up. He took one step towards you.

“What. Is. Your. Real. Name.” you said through gritted teeth, cocking your gun.

“Hwang In-ho.”

All this time, he was the long lost brother Jun-ho was trying to find. You felt the sting of betrayal in your bones.

“Was any of this real?” Tears stung in your eyes and you hated yourself for being so vulnerable.

“Oh, baby,” In-ho sighed, walking to you, kneeling in front of you again. The muzzle of the gun touched his forehead, which he seemed unbothered by.

“Everything.” he said, looking up at you.

“I keep trying to hate you,” you whispered, trying to muster at least some hatred that would make you pull the trigger. “It would be so much easier if I did.”

In-ho reached out and gently took the gun from your trembling hand. He threw in on the ground, making it slide on the floor.

“I know,” he whispered, grabbing your hips with his hands. He stared at you yearningly. There was a burning ache in your chest clawing its way into your throat.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“I can’t. And I don’t think you want me to either.”

The worst part was that he was right.

“I know I should stay away from you, but I can’t. It’s not that simple.” A sob tore out of your throat, making it hard for you to breathe. There were so many emotions in you that your head was spinning. All you knew was the fact that you couldn’t hate the one person who deserved it the most.

“Stay with me, love. I beg you,” In-ho said hoarsely, gripping you harder, trying to make you understand. “You will be safe with me. I will not break that promise.” His eyes were filled with hope. “You felt it too, I know.”

You closed your eyes, composing yourself and your thoughts. You knew it was wrong. But you always had a weakness for the forbidden.

In-ho stood up, taking your face in his hands. He kissed your forehead, your temples, your jaw. And when he kissed you on the lips, you let yourself melt into the touch, forgetting everything else.

“You’ll be the death of me.” you whispered against his lips and he smiled into the kiss, knowing you were his.

[feathersandblue]

So, full disclosure, I haven't been a Solas fan before.

I am now.

And that's because of Veilguard and the many, many ways in which I felt let down by this game.

The aspect that bothers me most is the reduction of nuance and complexity.

Rook's hero's cakewalk (because “journey” really isn't the right word) is a ready-made path that offers no deviation at all and never challenges the player in any meaningful way.

Sure, you can spend some time pondering the pros and cons of saving Treviso or Minrathous. Ultimately, it makes no difference. Rook does their best, they just can’t be in two places at once.

Same with the companion character arcs. What does it mean if you decide to you turn Emmrich into a lich? For the most part, it's idle musing. Indulgence. He’ll be happy either way, there are no real stakes. Yeah, your actions do have consequences, just not the sort of consequences that make a substantial difference. It’s the illusion of choice – reduced to cosmetics.

The problems with decisions that cost nothing is that they don’t feel like an accomplishment. They also don’t allow for character growth. Rook doesn’t change, they remain static. Even the section in the Fade where Rooks faces their regrets is easy and comparatively lightweight. Varric was killed by Solas, Harding resp. Davrin died in combat and either Bellara or Neve was abducted by Elgar’nan. It’s not like Rook’s decisions actually caused these events, it’s not like Rook actually failed through a choice they had to make that turned out to be the wrong one. Everyone was there willingly and volunteered to fight the good fight. Rook’s regrets are not about real guilt, they are about feeling sad and guilty. And that – it needs to be said – is not the same thing. At all.

At the same time, the story carefully avoids any kind of true ethical dilemma.

It's not even about the lack of mean or edgy dialogue options; that’s just a symptom. The cause is the writers’ unwillingness to let realism intrude in Rook’s fairytale – the lack of anything that would require Rook to compromise on morals, or fight temptation. Rook is never faced with any sort of moral conundrum, or allowed to act out any kind of vice that realistic characters have. In its straight-path simplicity, Rook's story is apparently written for children and people who remain child-like in their yearning for simple, uncontested truths.

Of all the sorts of conflicts that a story can offer, Veilguard carefully avoids the most realistic and (in my opinion) interesting ones: Character vs. self and character vs. society, aka, politics. The game firmly refuses to go there. To the point where it creates a completely unrealistic consensus on all sides that eliminates yet another sort of conflict: character vs. character.

If Rook and their companions would talk politics, they’d all be on the exact same side. In a two party state, they’d all cast the same vote.

I am sure that there are many players who feel comforted and reassured by that fact, who sincerely believe that this is how stories should be written. That stories should reflect the world not as it is but as they think it should be. But for everyone who likes their stories a little more realistic, that lack of meaningful interpersonal conflict, that lack of real diversity which comes not from appearance but from different cultures and opposing viewpoints amounts to a frankly cringe-worthy, artificial and juvenile surface-level interaction between characters. Or, to phrase it differently: the diversity remains skin-deep and doesn’t extend to the philosophical, and even in the few instances where it does, it shies away from the political.

Which means that the only conflicts that remain are the most boring and stereotypical ones: character vs. monsters resp. the supernatural, where all foes are evil in the blandest way (Supremacist Venatori! Fascist renegade qunari! Power-hungry necromancers!). These conflicts are resolved through exploring maps and endless, repetitive combat.

The only thing that brings a bit of nuance to the game is Solas’s story. And there is an element of character vs. character in Rook’s and Solas’s relationship, but the sad truth is that what could have been a fascinating mirrored character journey falls flat for all the reasons already explained – because where Solas is a character as layered and controversial as it gets, Rook is anything but.

Solas’s story shows how even people with the best intentions and the greatest integrity are ultimately broken by what life throws at them, both by the decisions that are forced upon them and the choices they make on their own. It shows how a prolonged war is always a sunk cost fallacy: I’ve gone this far, if I stop now, it was all for nothing.

Rook’s victories, on the other hand, come without a cost – both in terms of moral corruption and in accountability. The guilt Solas bears is real. The fight against the titans, followed by his war against the Evanuris, requires compromising his own morals, one day at a time, one century after another, he’s trying to save the world yet doomed to fail. Sacrificing the spirits to win a battle after the war has gone this far? Every single war leader around the globe would make the same decision. In fact, all of them do: They do sacrifice the lives of others if it will help them win, they do send soldies into the trenches to die, whether these soldiers want to or not, and they are rarely, if ever, truthful about the reasons why.

In a certain way, the story of the spirit of wisdom turned flesh is reminiscent of the biblical Fall of Man: the original sin. Solas has fallen, and he’s broken. In trying to heal the world, he’s trying to heal himself. The burden is too heavy, the responsibility to great, the knowledge that he is responsible for all of it too devastating. Solas’s greatest conflict is character vs. self. It has the potential to be great. In a way, it is. It’s the single redeeming quality that, depending on your interpretation of what went on behind the scenes, the writers managed to salvage from the original concept of Dreadwolf or the lone pillar that withstood all their attempts to bring it down.

Only sadly, infuriatingly, in the end, that fallen hero’s ending is put into the hands of a protagonist who judges him from the perspective of someone who has never even stumbled – not because they are wiser, braver, or kinder. No, just because the writers were gracious – or cowardly? – enough to never let them fail.

The game gives Rook a moral high ground which isn’t earned in the slightest because Rook never had to walk even a quarter of a mile in Solas’s shoes. They don’t know what they would have done in his stead, they have no idea what it actually means to see the sorry shape the world is in and know that it was your hands that shaped it. And even where Rook might actually be culpable – the interruption of Solas’s ritual that freed the remaining Evanuris – anyone is quick to assure Rook that it wasn’t their fault.

Whatever regrets Rook carries, they’re born from self-doubt and trauma response. Survivor’s guilt, mostly. When compared to Solas’s immense guilt, Rook’s regrets are, for lack of a better term, insignificant. That Rook manages to face them doesn’t mean that they are more truthful or emotionally mature, it just means that Rook’s story is a tale for children and Solas’s is not.

It’s not that I’m necessarily opposed to the idea that the player decides Solas’s fate through their actions. It’s the injustice of it all that bothers me: The player is led through a game that provides a safe space for their character, one that is devoid of any interpersonal conflict and any ethical quandary. Rooks succeeds through kindness and heroism and taking their companions on team bonding exercises.

As if Solas could have won the war against the Evanuris if he’d taken the time to take his companions on coffee dates.

The juxtaposition – Rook vs. Solas – fails, simply because of this deep divide. Rook’s story is detached from reality and yet Rook gets to be Solas’s judge, jury, and executioner. On what grounds?

As I said, right in the beginning, I haven’t been a Solas fan before. But by the end of Veilguard, I was firmly, irrevocably, Team Solas, just because I was so annoyed that the narrative put Rook in a position of moral superiority. I detested my own character. Jesus, what a goody two-shoes! I was rooting for Solas simply because his story was so much more: a genuine tragedy, a study in complexity. Rook, on the other hand, remains bland, snotty, unchanged. Untried.

The thing is, I don’t believe that my reaction was one the writers had intended. I strongly feel that they didn’t mean for me to pick up on their double standard, that they expected me to walk away fully satisfied, convinced that Rook and The Team were the Good Guys because they went on picnics and petted the griffon, their final victory well-earned and just. If only Solas had had a Team and taken care of their emotional needs – he could have taken down the Evanuris with nary a scratch!

It’s all so very disingenuous.

Rook and, by extension, the player exist in a bubble of sanitized content. That is clearly deliberate. The player is meant to like it there. (In that sense, it’s only logical that they changed the title from Dreadwolf to Veilguard.) And clearly, it does resonate with a certain kind of their player base: mostly with people, I think, who would like their real life to be a bubble too and whose only experience with moral corruption is when they find it in others.

[thexsilentxwordsmith]

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Fem!reader

Author's Note: I had a comment left on my post HERE. The person who commented brought up this scenario of Simon being dared to kiss you and you think that he won't, but he actually does and sparks end up flying. So, of course, I had to write it because... I mean... Come on... (lol). And here it is.

Fandom: Call of Duty

Character(s): Simon Riley, Reader, Soap

Summary: During a game of Truth or Dare, your lieutenant is dared into giving you a kiss, but something about the way he has been acting lately may mean this is going to be more than a quick ordeal. And the way you have been feeling towards him won't be helping.

Word Count: 4k

Part 2: READ HERE

The night has started innocently enough: you and your fellow officers sit around together in the rec, blowing off a little steam after another successful mission. Some nice, simple fun of playing cards and shooting the shit like you usually do when leaving the base to go down to the bar isn’t an option. Everyone happens to be here tonight, including that brooding, mask-faced lieutenant that you can’t seem to keep your mind from drifting to as he stands against the wall behind you. 

Maybe it’s just your imagination, but you’ve noticed that the lieutenant’s presence has become more and more common lately, especially when you’re around. He keeps mostly to himself, staying on the edge of the fun by just watching, yet you swear that if you are stealthy enough from out of the corner of your eye you can catch his gaze lingering in your direction. 

Whether it’s just a trick of your mind or the truth, either way it makes your pulse race. And tonight is no exception.

All has been pretty calm so far, nothing too rowdy or out of hand. At least, it was until now as the night has waned on and inhibitions have fallen. What was once an innocent bit of fun has turned a bit more risque as Soap decides that cards aren’t enough to keep everyone entertained. What game is it he always seems to pick when everyone is more loose? One where the consequences always end up interesting: Truth or Dare.  

Several rounds have passed already where the truths have consistently gotten more honest and the dares even more spicy. No one is ready to call it quits just yet, but there is one person that hasn’t had a turn after all this time and that just won’t do, not if the Scottish sergeant has anything to say about it. Taking matters into his own hands, Soap turns his attention to the big man standing with his arms crossed, watching quietly. 

“Oy, Lt. Come on, you’re already ‘ere. Ya gotta join us,” Johnny says through the raucous laughter to drag the silent lieutenant into the merriment. “Or are ya chicken, hmm?”

As much as you want Lt. Riley to join in, you would rather him stick around and something like this could get him to walk out; you don’t want that to happen. “Fucking can it, Johnny,” you say as you strike him in the bicep with your fist. “You’re talking out of your ass, alright? Knock it off.”

To everyone’s surprise and yours, after a momentary pause, Lt. Riley steps up closer to the table with his arms still crossed. “ ‘s fine,” he dismisses your concern. “But, one round is all you’re gonna fuckin’ get from me, sergeant, so better make it count.”

Johnny nods his head in agreement, actually caught off guard that he is even able to get this far with the ever stoic and cold-shouldered officer. It all seems a bit too easy, but Soap isn’t going to pass up an opportunity like this to get the lieutenant involved. He’s gotta make this good whatever it is that gets chosen and so he pauses a minute to think of an idea for either scenario before speaking up. “Alright Lt, ye know how it goes. Truth or dare?”

Truth is never going to be an option for Lt. Riley, not with the level of secrecy he keeps to at all times when it concerns his life; he knows if he gives Johnny an inch he will take a goddamn mile. So, there is only one other option and though he tries to hide the fidgeting in his hands, he picks it.  

Maybe it’ll be something that’ll help him strike up a conversation with you later. “Dare,” he says. 

The grin that lights up Soap’s face instantly lets the entire table know that he is up to no good and the words that follow are a testament to that fact. You thought you knew Johnny well enough by now, but not even you could have been prepared for what came out of his mouth then. “Alright, I dare ye ta kiss our sassy little sergeant right here,” he says as he looks at you with an unwavering gaze. 

You meet his blue eyes and hold them in stunned silence. Is he fucking serious? As if Lt. Riley would ever go for something so fucking dumb as this. Johnny has to be out of his goddamn mind to put you in this position; it’s like he knows something he shouldn’t. Again your immediate reaction is to sock him in the arm, this time a bit harder to drive home the point that you are done with his bullshit. 

And yet… shockingly… you hear the lieutenant speak up.

“Fine,” Lt. Riley agrees to everyone’s amazement. 

You turn your attention to face him. “Are you sure? Johnny’s just being a dick, you don’t have to listen to him, sir,” you reassure as you shoot a glare that has the Soap nervously shifting in his seat, worrying about what is going to happen to him later for pulling such a ridiculous stunt.

“Said it’s fine,” he repeats, his gruff tone metered. “But I ain’t doin’ it ‘ere though; you’re not gettin’ a free fuckin’ show if that’s what you’re after Mactavish.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll give ya that,” Johnny concedes. Those blue eyes scan the room for a solution. “How about ‘round tha corner there.”

He points to the bend in the wall a few feet away; far enough from the group that they won’t be able to tell what’s happening behind it. Since there are now stipulations that the lieutenant has set, Johnny is going to add his own as well for good measure. “However,” he pipes up, “since it ain’t in front a us here, ya gotta stay in place for 10 minutes. I doubt ye’ll actually do anything, but might as well make ye both have ta awkwardly stand there for a bit. And don’t think yer gonna pull a fast one; I’m gonna be countin’.”

You look back at the lieutenant and he gives a nod. “Fine,” you agree as well. How you are able to keep your voice so steady when you feel that jolt deep in the pit of your stomach is a mystery, but you pull it off just fine.

With the rules set Lt. Riley stares at you as if waiting for you to get up from your seat first before he moves. You do and he immediately follows close behind as you make your way over to the wall just past the corner amidst the sounds of whistles and whoops. With a quick flip of the bird back over your shoulder to the group, you both vanish around the side and come to a stop a few feet from the edge. 

You lean your back up against the wall as he comes to stand in front of you, watching you intensely through the opening in his thin balaclava. As you wait to see who will speak first, you notice a tension in his broad shoulders that hadn’t been there before. This is the first time you both have ever been this close to one another and you can’t overlook the fact that he seems even bigger now that you are standing so near; you can’t help but admire how small you feel next to him.  

The longer he stares at you with those golden eyes, studying your face as if he is deciding something, the more rapid your heartbeat thumps heavy in your chest. He takes a step closer and then another before coming to a stop again. Now there is less than a foot’s distance between your bodies and suddenly there is a shift in the atmosphere around you both, a thick tension that is growing harder to ignore. 

The sounds of laughter filters over to the both of you, breaking you out of the haze of your thoughts. “You know, we don’t have to do anything. If you want me to lie, it’s fine, sir,” you speak before he has a chance to. “Fuck Johnny for putting us in this situation. We can just stand here in silence until we get called back.”

He clears his throat. “Who said anythin’ ‘bout lyin’?” he asks with a raise of his eyebrow that you can make out through the mask. “Just don’t wanna, is that it?” 

Something in the way he says the statement catches you off guard. Why does he sound slightly disappointed? Did he want to actually do this? You couldn’t really believe that; no, you must be reading this all wrong. “No, that’s not…” you stumble over your words; why is it getting harder to speak? “I just… didn’t think you’d want to… but… if you do then…”

“Yes or no?” he cuts off your string of stammering.

“Yes,” you confirm. 

Nothing else needs to be said other than that. His hand moves to his face, his fingers finding the bottom edge of his mask, and now you can’t breathe as you wait to see what’s under there. This is the first time you’ll be able to see more than just his eyes and that leaves your mind reeling.

Okay, you prepare yourself, it’s just a kiss, right? Nothing to it; you’ve been kissed before. This will be no different. Just breathe and we’ll get through it.

The mask is wrenched up above his nose so that his mouth is revealed and spread across waiting for you is a subtle, cocky smirk. Your cheeks flush as your eyes are drawn to the facial hair covering his jaw and outlining his lips; short, light brown outgrowth from not having shaved today. It accentuates his strong jaw perfectly and though you try, you can’t look away.

Still focused on his face you miss the warning as a strong hand suddenly finds its way onto your waist as he moves against you. His broad chest is pressed up to yours, you can feel it through the thinner fabric of his shirt, and you can’t tell whether it’s your own pounding heartbeat or his that you feel. That tension is suffocating now that he is this close, the air so thick it feels like you can cut it with a knife. You wait impatiently for the moment to finally break.  

It feels like you are holding your breath when after a few more seconds he finally speaks. “Good,” he says with a bit of breathiness to his voice, “cause I’m no liar.”

Leaning his head down slowly to reach you his lips inch ever closer until you can feel their warm, ghostly presence brush over your mouth causing your eyes to flutter shut as the ecstasy from the anticipation of them making contact overwhelms you. They are there, right there, and you plead with the universe to finally let them touch. You feel him inhale sharply and with that they are crashing against yours. It is with such an automatic, visceral intensity that it knocks the wind from your lungs.

Simon had been certain until the second your lips made contact that he could keep himself under control, that this was nothing more than sinless fun, but as he breathes in the hot, moist air from your mouth while he captures it again, he already knows that this is not going to end how he has intended. There is an immediate magnetism that you both cannot pull from and what is supposed to be something quick, turns mind-numbing in an instant.

Time stands still as your lips twine together in that familiar back and forth and what can only be a few short seconds extend out into an eternity. It’s like flicking on a switch how easily you melt into his embrace, like acquainted lovers, like your lips have always meant to be pressed tightly together. 

How can this be the first time you have ever kissed?

The stubble covering the exposed half of his face pricks along your cheeks the more he advances; the skin around your lips and your jaw growing more raw each time he moves, but the way it makes your face burn is far from painful. His breathing has become more strained, muscles tensing as he risks nipping carefully at the skin on your lower lip.

You inhale a sharp breath through your teeth and then it happens: an unconscious reaction to the pleasure surging through your veins like liquid fire. You can’t stop yourself as a sneaky moan creeps up your throat and before you can swallow it back down you hum it into his mouth. 

That low, alluring sound leaves that hulking military officer hungry to hear more. Those large hands of his desperately want to paw at your body, to caress all those silky curves against the coarse skin of his palms, to let his fingertips linger at all that delicately soft flesh for as long as he can. A deep, gnawing ache settles itself in his chest as he takes your lips with more feral aggression; Simon has never craved something more in that moment than to keep you like this entangled with him. 

The longer he goes, the more there is nothing tentative about his movements; he kisses you like he owns you. Lt. Riley steals from you as if your lips are air and he will suffocate without them, his desperation is the kind that feels like this is life or death and he needs you to survive. You are unprepared for the fucking bliss of it all, the raw, unbridled passion that his lips create as the friction abrades the tender skin of your mouth. 

And your thoughts scream for him to keep going.

You match his intensity with your own, kissing him back with everything that you have in you. He opens his mouth slightly and without thinking your tongue moves in and presses against his, trying to shove its way into his mouth. Fuck, he is not prepared for you to be so keen and it throws him off for only a moment before he leans into that passion and comes back with his response.

The lieutenant braces one of his large hands near your hip, pinning you to the wall while his mouth engulfs your own as he slides his tongue in between your teeth to fill the cavity full. It slithers over the surface of your tongue towards the back of your mouth, the taste of you intoxicating so that he cannot get enough. The pleasure is so intense that it severs his connection with reality and everything outside of your joined mouths fades away into background noise. His other hand moves from your waist and is suddenly wrapped around the back of your neck, his thumb holding steadily against your jaw to keep your head securely in his grip so that he can pull you as tight against his face as he can stand. 

Your head is reeling from the potency of those hot, feverish lips that are suck yours into their desperate embrace. Then his knee forcefully pries its way between your thighs and you are sure that you will not come back from this. It’s too much to handle and you’ve lost all control… no, that’s not right. You’ve yielded everything completely to him without even having to think about it and he has taken every single ounce of what he has been given as if it has always been his. 

Leaning up into him, you stand up on the balls of your feet as he guides the movement of your head by tilting it from one side to the other in that natural dance that happens when lips play. You are both insatiable as that carnal need to devour the other makes it impossible to not relinquish yourselves to the ecstasy that overwhelms in that moment. 

Never in your life have you wanted a man to possess you more than you want your superior to right now. Images of him picking you up and slamming your back into the wall, making you encircle his waist with your legs, his cock straining and throbbing between your clothed sex as you plead with him to take you, fill your mind until they make you light-headed. 

Lt. Riley is not faring any better and he has to focus his entire will into keeping his hands engaged so that he can resist the tingling in his fingertips to find the button on your pants and undo them. If you were alone without the threat of interruption, you might already be half undressed by now, but just as that urge reaches its peak and his fingers are moving in, you both hear the words that make your hearts sink.

“Eh, you two,” you hear Soap calling out from a distance, “times up.”

It is torture to pull away from you; Simon is on the verge of combusting from being forced to stop before he is ready.  But he has to or else he might be found out and there is still hesitation to admit that he might actually want more of this. Even after the ecstasy you both had just shared he isn’t sure how far he should let this go and so with a sigh of defeat he releases your lips from his own. 

By the time he lets you go and moves out from between your legs, your stance is unsteady and your mind fuzzy. The sudden lack of pressure against your mouth leaves you feeling empty and you have to stop yourself from whining aloud. As your eyes slowly flutter open you look up into his face and are met with that chocolate brown gaze lingering on you. There is something swimming in the depths of his eyes: a question, a statement, you’re not sure, but he doesn’t say it aloud. The need to say something yourself eats at you, but you close your mouth tight and bite your tongue to keep silent. 

You can’t bring yourself to risk admitting that you don’t want him to stop; what if he doesn’t feel the same? The pressures of putting it all out there at this moment is too much to handle. Instead, you let the moment die away quietly as you breathe deeply through your nose.

“Times up,” Lt. Riley repeats the phrase softly as he situates his balaclava back down under his chin to hide himself from you once again. The others are cheering for your return, giving you no time to collect yourself, so you simply sigh and stride back to the group together.

Heads turn your direction as you reappear back into the main room. “Well?” the heavily accented voice of the bastard that has orchestrated this whole thing questions you both. 

Trying not to stumble back to your seat, you play it off as if you hadn’t just had your soul sucked out through your lips. “Well what?” you return as the lieutenant passes you up and takes his place back behind the group.

Soap’s brow furrows. “Don’t play dumb with us, lass,” he chides. “Was he any good?”  

You cautiously take your seat back where you had been as everyone waits for your answer, trying to give yourself more time to calm your pulse that is still racing like wildfire through your tingling limbs. “It was fine,” you say, hoping you are collected enough to pull off such a bold-faced lie. 

“Oh really?” Johnny asks skeptically as he eyes you up and down to read your body language. Your heart leaps in your chest as you think you’ve been found out, that the bloom in your cheeks is still too noticeable, but he continues like nothing. “I think yer full a shit. Probably didn’t even get a peck, knowin’ LT. I bet ye did nothin’ back there, but stand in silence.”

You snicker at him, carefully adjusting yourself in your seat so you can squeeze your legs together to relieve the throbbing in such a way that it doesn’t draw attention. “Aww... Guess that’s only for us to know and for you to spend all your time worrying about, bitch. It’s gonna eat at you, isn’t it? Gonna lose sleep thinking about me and the lieutenant, hmm?” you pick back, which seems to get him off your case. 

“Ye wanna add anythin’ here?” Soap asks as he turns to the mask officer.

You risk a glance over your shoulder back at your superior, knowing that this could undo all your progress at regaining your composure, and you catch him completely lost in thought, not having heard a word that Soap just said. Quickly he recovers, clearing his throat. “What’re ya on about, Mactavish?” he questions back. 

“I asked if ye had anythin’ to add to her account of events,” Johnny chuckles. “Or are ye too stunned ta speak?”

The lieutenant shoots him a glare before pulling his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. “Don’t push yer fuckin’ luck, yeah?” he answers it like a threat as he flips open the pack and places a cig in between his fingers.

Soap holds up his hands innocently with palms facing out in agreement not to start any trouble. “Ye must a been terrible, lass,” Soap picks as he turns his attention back to you to keep the jovial atmosphere up. 

You slug him hard enough to make his chair squeak from the force before joining in the others laughter to disguise the heat still burning through your cheeks. Simon takes the opportunity to slip out unnoticed, though you let your eyes follow him one last time. It is a monumental task that he has to perform to actively put one foot in front of the other, to calculatedly focus his breathing to stay calm, and make it out of the door without anyone noticing that his composure is clearly broken. 

Once out of sight he hurriedly steps out into the cool night air and immediately rips up his mask as he lights his cigarette, taking a long, heavy drag off it as he leans up against the brick of the building. The nicotine tingles his throat and he hopes it’ll be enough of a distraction to stop the intense pounding in his chest. Breathing the smoke out in a weighty sigh he adjusts the crotch of his pants as they have suddenly become too tight for his comfort. 

“Fuckin’ hell,” he mutters under his breath as he leans his head back against the wall and closes his eyes, desperately trying to focus on anything in a vain attempt to calm himself, but he already knows its no use.

The second his eyes are shut all he can think about is that kiss: he can still feel his arm around you, detect the ghost of your lips against his, sense the warmth of your breath in his mouth. He tries to push the delectable sensations from his mind, but they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and he knows it. 

Opening his eyes he stands back up off the wall with a need that compels him, making him move strategically so that he can peek through the door without being seen. Sneakily he stares back into the building, those brown eyes catching the sight of you smiling and laughing, those full lips making his blood pressure rise as he watches them move about as you speak, still red and swollen from being claimed. 

This is a problem, a big fucking problem. Now the only thing that that hardened military man can think about, instead of keeping his distance, is how he can recreate that exact scene with you again.

And maybe, just maybe, take it even further.

[il-miele-che-scrive]

Go for his brother part 2

Part 1 here

Part 3 here

username1 DOUBLE BETRAYAL 😭

↳username2 wdym bro wtf Arthur is just getting his karma, he CHEATED on Y/n with her best friend

↳username2 and Y/n only got with his brother after the breakup

username3 It's so crazy to me how not long ago Y/n was with Arthur at Charles' race and we could see them all lovey dovey and now she's with Charles 💀

username4 I hope they actually like each other and it's not just something Y/n schemed to get back at Arthur

↳username5 And even if it is, so what? Both Leclercs deserve this if she's doing it for the sake of revenge

username4 What did Charles ever do to you 😭 he's a literal pookie

username6 I am BEGGING to find out Arthur's reaction

username7 I wanna see this on Drive To Survive lmao

↳username8 The most interesting thing in the whole season lol

username9 Exactly! Men driving in circles? Nah, fuck that, give me family drama

yourusername The Art & The Artist

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charles_leclerc I took way more than these 2 pictures, should post them all

↳yourusername some would get me banned🤭

username1 MY OH MY

username2 What did she say 😐

username3 I'm jealous but haven't decided if I want him or her

username4 Arthur better not read this comment section (I hope he will)

francisca.cgomes Thanks for blessing my eyes 🫶

↳yourusername You're welcome bestie🫶

username4 it's so nice to see Y/n found a friend who won't steal her bf

username5 You can't be sure, it's Charles Leclerc we're talking about. You think he wouldn't go for his best friends' girlfriend who is now his own girlfriends' best friend after pulling what he's just pulled?

username4 ngl girl I got lost in whatever you're saying

yoursister In your iconic girl era ❤️

↳yourusername I slayed didn't I 💅

username6 Honestly guys I believe it's not just a revenge scheme

↳username5 What makes you think that?

username6 Given these pictures and the pictures from the gossip page they look pretty much happy to me, too happy for it to be fake

username5 Whatever you say, we'll see. They have to get tired of pretending one day

exbestfriend Glowing ✨🩷

↳yourusername 😐

↳francisca.cgomes 😐

↳yoursister 😐

↳charles_leclerc 😐

↳pierregasly 😐

↳georgerussell63 😐

↳carmenmmundt 😐

↳alex_albon 😐

↳lilymhe 😐

username7 Y/N AND HER COMMENT SECTION ARE ICONIC 😭

↳username8 I can't stop imagining them having a gc and she sent a screenshot of her ex best friend's comment like "you know what to do, guys" 🤣

username9 I just know Arthur is screaming crying throwing up because LOOK AT WHAT HE LOST

username10 Lol who's next? Toto Wolff?

arthur_leclerc My favorite love story is ours ❤️

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exbestfriend So happy we found each other ❤️❤️

username1 💀

username2 Alright they both have the audacity

username3 your love story is cheating on Y/n lmao

username4 Imagine they have a kid one day who'll ask mom dad how did you meet lol

↳username3 I'd be EMBARRASSED

username5 They deserve each other tbh

username6 Hey but... What if this pic and Y/n's pics were taken on the same day...

↳username7 wdym

username6 Arthur wanted to keep and eye on his ex and his brother from afar 😭

username7 it's terrible but possibly true lmao

exbestfriend I'm so sick of people judging us

↳username2 That's what you deserve, the both of you

↳username4 when actions have consequences:😮

yourusername Back at the paddock ❤️

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username1 At least she didn't downgrade right?

yoursister You guys look so good together

↳yourusername Thank you 🫶 ily

↳charles_leclerc Yes we do 😊

↳username2 Y/s/n never commented anything like this when Y/n used to post with Arthur😭

lilymhe It was nice catching up with you when the boys were playing

↳yourusername maybe next time you and Alex could come over so the boys can play some video games together

username3 Pls they're just two single mothers bonding over their toddlers being besties😭

username4 I NEED TO KNOW IF ARTHUR WAS THERE

↳username5 You crazy? Ofc he wouldn't have come, he's too scared of confrontation

username4 Okay but then what if one day Y/n and Charles get married? Will Arthur just skip his brother's wedding?

username5 I think some time will pass before Charles decides to settle down. And not with Y/n, that's for sure

username6 Why not? Y/n makes a much better couple with Charles than she did with Arthur

username5 Charles would never take her seriously lol she dated his brother, Charles is just having fun with her while letting her have her moment

arthur_leclerc Are you wearing the dress you wore on our first date?

↳username2 SHE'S WHAT?????

↳username3 wtf are u doing here

↳yourusername Maybe...

username4 Mother keeps slaying 😭👏

username7 I aspire to be like Y/n fr

alex_albon Lily said we should have a double date

↳yourusername Let's do it then @/lilymhe @/charles_leclerc when and where

arthur_leclerc I just wonder when will you get bored of this

↳yourusername Bored of what exactly? Going to races? You know I've always enjoyed looking at cars go vroooom

arthur_leclerc You know what I mean

arthur_leclerc Of pretending to like Charles just to prove me some delusional point

yourusername You really think I'd waste my energy on that? It's a funny coincidence indeed, but I do like him actually

arthur_leclerc Mhm sure I give you maybe 6 months more, can't keep pretending forever

charles_leclerc A family gathering & the morning after

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username1 OH GREAT HEAVENS

pierregasly Now that's something none of us expected

↳username2 bro speaking facts

username3 They said fuck you Arthur you'll get a proof we're not pretending😭

username4 Well at least the family already knew her

↳username5 Pascale liked Y/n so much she said girl you have my blessing no matter which one u marry

username3 Guys do you think Arthur was there? You know, it's a family gathering, so he had to be there, right?

alex_albon Charles settling down wasn't on my bingo card this year

↳lilymhe Neither was it on mine but I love it

francisca.cgomes Girl you realize there's no going back now? 😂

↳yourusername I hope so😜🫶

arthur_leclerc I still can't believe how disrespectful you both are

↳charles_leclerc Look who's speaking of being disrespectful

↳yourusername stfu arthur maman literally had to kick you out of the party

username3 The way it used to be "Thurthur" and now it's "stfu arthur" 😶

username2 at least the "maman" is the same right

username5 I feel like Pascale likes Y/n more than she likes Arthur

username7 wtf guys PASCALE HAD TO KICK ARTHUR OUT OF THE PARTY 😭😭

↳username8 That's crazy, imagine how's the wedding gonna look like

carlossainz55 Getting engaged after a few weeks? Is she pregnant?😂

↳username9 Not funny

username10 Chill that's just millennial humour from back when pregnancy outside marriage was a disgrace

↳charles_leclerc We've known each other long enough to make this decision 🫢

carlossainz55 Valid point

arthur_leclerc But for majority of this time she was my girlfriend

charles_leclerc On which you cheated

arthur_leclerc @/yourusername did you use me just to get to Charles? Was it your plan from the beginning?

↳yourusername Sure because I have nothing else to do lmao

↳yourusername We've talked about it yesterday arthur, don't start again

arthur_leclerc I just still can't believe Charles would do something like that to me

yourusername And half a year ago I believed you wouldn't have ever cheated on me

charles_leclerc I said it yesterday and I'll say it again, Arthur I will always love you as a brother, but you messed up big time, you can't be mad at us

[theeroins]

If I say that I'm not used to people misinterpreting my favorite characters, I'd be lying. But the way they get so many things wrong about Inho's character is kinda pissing me off because you KNOW that most of them do it to cancel out the possibility of InHun being *something* more than what's shown so far. You don't ship them, that's fair, frankly I don't care. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion UNTIL your opinion is wrong.

Let's talk about a couple of things I've seen being talked about on tiktok (🙄)

“Inho joined the games because ilnam said that it'd basically be more fun to play than to watch so he followed his example." loud incorrect buzzer ! Inho has joined the games before, and not only that, he's also a previous winner, so therefore he's very much aware of what it's like to be a part of it, he's experienced them first hand, just like he's experienced the atrocities of it. they've changed him for the worst and possibly caused him a huge trauma —they're the reason he's lost faith in humanity after all— so, why would he crave to relive it just for the thrill of it? i, personally doubt he even enjoys watching the game.

“Inho didn't look at Gihun with love, he likes to watch him suffer” Short answer is no. He doesn't like to watch him suffer, neither he looked at him with love, not the pure kind of love at least. Two things can be true at once. Inho spent half the season staring at Gihun because everything about the man intrigued him; His determination, his stubbornness, his kindness, his hope, his heart that's full of love despite the pain he suffered, even the pain in his eyes every time someone got eliminated in front of him as if it was the first time it had happened, as if the cruelty of it all surprised him every damn time. How can someone, who's been through the same things Inho has been through, be the polar opposite of him?

now, the reason(s) that I think Inho actually joined the games for..

(yes I am an Inhun shipper, does that make my opinion a little biased? maybe. do i still believe I'm right? absofuckinglutely.)

Let me clarify this: Inho is NOT a good man, no matter the redemption arc he might get in s3, he'll continue to be a terrible person because nothing will ever erase the blood he's spilled and the evil men he's worked for. BUT at the same time, he's not ALL bad, not like the VIPS and ilnam. See, Inhun are the average "yin-yang" trope in fictional romance, (which I eat up every time and I find it very interesting when it's done the right way, don't get me wrong) Inho is bad but there's some goodness somewhere deep inside him. And the only person who's brought it to the surface is Gihun. Sure, he does think Gihun is naive, but he's also the only person who's actually challenged him, who's "forced" him to get his stupid head out of the dirt and look around him, even for a short while and Inho definitely liked what he saw. Honestly, it wasn't even that hard for Gihun to do so because the goodness in Inho wanted and waited for someone to pull him out of the dirt, he wished for someone, something to give him hope for humanity or.. anything. Anything that'll help him escape from his misery.

You can definitely argue that he joined the games to befriend Gihun, to gain his trust and stop his plans when the time comes, which is half true. But keep in mind that he needed to justify his choice to join the games. He's not a VIP nor the mastermind to simply get to do that without consequences. He's the frontman, the one who controls and manages everything. He's needed for the games to work and go by smoothly and successfully without unnecessary losses and problems. Gihun would only cause problems, Inho knew that very well and yet he chose to put him in it once again. He recklessly made that choice, risking pretty much everything because of his inner conflict. A part of him wanted Gihun to prove himself to him, that there's indeed good that'll save the world and the rest of him wanted to prove to Gihun that everything he so strongly believes in is merely a fantasy.

Joining the games and befriending Gihun was the only way for Inho to see the real him, without the heroic mask he puts on every time he faces the frontman. I think he believed that someone as extraordinary as Gihun will either break in front of him and he will end up disappointed by the human kind once again, or Gihun will change everything about the way he thinks for the better. But the problem is that Inho hopes for both of those things at the same time.

And that was Inho's arc in season 2. His inner conflict and how it will affect him, the game and Gihun later on.

[skufdaddyswansea]

Mouthwashing, Dual Protagonists, and Captain Curly

While the vast majority of Mouthwashing is shown from Jimmy's perspective, the events leading up to the Tulpar's crash usually follow Curly. There are several interesting reasons for this, but there's one reason in particular that I'd like to focus on.

By setting Jimmy and Curly up as dual protagonists, we're invited to draw comparisons between them. Not only are they the lenses through which we view the story, they pass the role of Captain back and forth between their chapters.

It's easy to feel sympathy for Curly, given the state he spends the larger part of the game in. It can also be easy to gloss over his more subtle shortcomings when measuring him up against Jimmy.

In this post, I want to take a closer look at Curly's character. And more specifically, how he relates to one of the game's most obvious themes.

Is Curly able to deal with the consequences of his actions? Does he realize his own failures and how they harm the people around him? What does he do with the power he's granted over others?

Does Curly take responsibility?

Jimmy's fixation here gives us a good jumping-off point. It's certainly possible that he's only really been told this once or twice, but because he's Jimmy he's blown it out of proportion out of spite. It's also possible he's entirely making it up because he's projecting, but I think the former is more likely if anything.

And, if I had to take a guess where he heard it from, I'd put my money on The Pony Express itself.

In the eyes of The Pony Express, a "great leader" isn't someone diligent or able to meet the needs of his crew. The real reason Curly was able to rise to the top of the ladder and become captain is because he gets the job done without rocking the boat.

I'm establishing all this because I think it's worth examining by what metric he's being judged. Because, while it may be Jimmy who most often digs this point up, Curly doesn't disagree with him. Even in the depths of his ennui, it's important to him that not only is he the Captain, but a good one at that.

When comparing the two, that can again seem difficult to argue against. Jimmy is quick to lash out and shift blame. His resentment and insecurities often drive him to pick fights. Curly prefers to avoid conflict, but knows his position doesn't always allow him to do so. He tries to pick his battles, but when he has to get involved he focuses on de-escalating the situation.

But although their similarities are few, they do exist. And they greatly influence the narrative. Because it is from their shared selfishness, callousness, and cowardice that the entire story is born.

It's time to address the elephant in the room. We can't draw any conclusions about Curly's nature, his character, his role in the story, and his relationship to its themes without digging into his handling of Anya's assault, and the chain of events that follow.

I find it interesting that we never see the initial conversation Anya has with Curly about the assault. We simply know that she confided in him. He is the Captain, after all. The crew is his responsibility.

The thing is, we don't really need to know the exact conversation they shared, because we can imagine it went quite similarly to their conversation about her pregnancy.

She tells him how scared she is. She fears for her life. It never even occurred to him that she was upset about anything other than losing her job. He swears to her that everything will be fine. They'll fix this. All he has to do is talk to Jimmy.

He does not talk to Jimmy.

Maybe the first time he really did intend to. He just needed time. Jimmy has always had... struggles. If we want to, we can be generous to Curly, we can assume his old problems were much less vile. Otherwise, he would have never pulled the strings to get him this job, never put him in a position of power over vulnerable people. Right? But now, this was whole new beast altogether. Because he and Jimmy go way back, he had to process this, figure out what he was even supposed to say.

But at the same time, The Pony Express had just gone gone under. He'd been struggling with dissatisfaction and indecision for so long, and now his hand has been forced. He has his own problems. And Anya seems fine, doesn't she? If she hadn't said anything, he'd never have even known there was anything wrong. It just doesn't seem that important.

Anya talks to Jimmy herself.

She's scared, she fears for her life. But now she knows now that Curly won't defend her, nor give her the means to defend herself. Still, he promises her, they'll fix this. He just has to talk to Jimmy.

Things are different now. He can't sit by and wait for things to work out anymore. After all, it's not only her problem anymore.

Now it's Curly's problem too. How is he supposed to find another job with this on his record? There's only one other person on this ship who understands what he's going through.

He talks to Jimmy.

And he understands. Not that what he did was wrong, of course. Not that he'd done something horrific, irreversible, cruel. But that it now had consequences, and that he wouldn't suffer them alone.

Curly made his decision. He chose his paper-thin illusion of peace and his eroding friendship with Jimmy over the safety and well-being of his crew. And when it all came tumbling down, he decided it was better to bury them all under the rubble than to face the struggle to rebuild.

If Jimmy hadn't been there, hadn't been his co-pilot, Curly almost certainly would not have been able to bring himself to actually follow through with something so selfish and reckless.

But Jimmy was there, and Curly made sure of that.

So, it's time to ask again. Does Curly take responsibility?

Well, yes.

But it's too little, too late.

As much as Mouthwashing is about Jimmy fighting furiously against the consequences of his actions, it is also about Curly being forced to watch them unfold anyway. His silence and inaction, once a choice, are inflicted upon him by his mangled body.

Jimmy may have crashed the ship, but Curly gave him the keys. And so it's fitting in the end that Curly is made to take the full weight of responsibility by the man who he helped avoid it so many times.

[hexhomos]

Kiss on the check accepted! :3c

And your response reminded me of a detail I always pick up on rewatches but hadn't fully untangled yet—in the flashback of her childhood, Mel steps into that broken throne room with blood still drying on it. At Ambessa's prompting, Mel goes right into talking about how to renovate the place. "Paint the walls gold"...like gilding over the horrors of conquest that got that power in the first place.

And when she describes the regent they should have, she finishes with, "she should be pliant, so we can mold her." That IS what she was doing with Jayce, slowly, over a decade, and then quickly through Acts 2 and 3.

And then in the scene, after Mel finishes describing a "pliant" regent who can be molded, her mother suggests MEL could be that regent. Young Mel is excited at the idea, entirely missing the implication that she too would be an asset of her mother's reign.

That's why she takes off her Medarda ring right before casting her vote for Zaun's independence. She's finally realized she's just as subject to her mother's games as anyone else and Chooses to stop working in the interests of her family's power.

And augh, I wish her s2 plotline hadn't taken her out of Piltover so we could have seen more of the spycraft against Ambessa she was up to in Arc 1. I can't help but think of how much stronger her confrontation with Ambessa would have been if we had a full season of "daughter works against mother" instead of just a few scenes and a lot of getting kidnapped. More ambiguity with Leblanc would've been great too instead of her killing Elora to say hello.

[continued from here]

EXACTLY the way they shafted the politics in s2 (specifically so they wouldn't need to have hard conversations) genuinely had a negative impact in the ENTIRE story. The systematic horrors were downplayed and plotlines were dropped with very short acknowledgements - this is why we get people complaining about the jayce/mel breakup scene "coming out of nowhere" despite the fact that it made perfect sense for these characters!!!!!! It was just too short and they changed the subject too quickly, so we don't have TIME to think about the economic issues again.

It's so clear to me that jayce, viktor, ekko, mel (each representing a diff political facet. curious!) etc were carefully removed from the actual real world so we never have to analyze or push back against the notion that cait/ambessa are doing a hostile military coup and HAVE gotten people killed, imprisoned, and tortured en masse. So they can neatly resolve all of the plot with an avengers-style montage and never talk about the stuff with real world implications. There is no war in piltover and zaun. Just a cartoony last second villain. We just need to unite to protect... piltover...? And now viktor is randomly forgetting his proud zaunite commie stance and teaming up with the imperial invaders that were plaguing the earth moments ago........? We never talk about the class inequality ever again? Forget everything. Nothing ever matters.

The end result was that we spent far less time with these characters and they ended up being pretty underdeveloped. I know this happened for marketing reasons, its so incredibly clear aspects of the story were dumbed down so they could sell more ingame skins or pitch new champions, and that was seen as more valuable and desirable for the company than politicking - because at heart riot don't care about the political stuff anyway. But it still makes me throw my hands up in the air. such an asspull

In a reality where we had enough time and investment to touch on this, Mel could have actually gotten to push back against ambessa/cait and directly deal with the consequences of her actions. SEVIKA could have gotten a proper payoff for her underground character arc, instead of vanishing halfway through and then randomly accepting a diversity hire seat on the council (insanity. that was insanity) Ekko and the firelights would have obviously played a key role in rallying people against ambessa and helping Jinx recover from her displacement crisis (sorry isha, but even you could have been better used as part of the firelights dilemma) Jayce's mounting disillusionment with piltover and his loyalty to Viktor would be much better explored if they were still in conversation about the cities, the world they wanted to help, and the chaotic blurry lines of personhood/citizenship that decide who is an 'acceptable' target under the fist of the state. Vi could have built a self-reliant identity for herself, something better to fight for that isnt 'being a cop'. This show could've been awesome. I wish it existed

[camilledlc]

I think Wade Wilson is way more intelligent than people give him credit for. Or, another character essay no one asked for :

This will be based both on comics and movies. Also, spoilers for Deadpool and Wolverine.

I think it's often said that Wade doesn't know how to read situations, as he often acts inappropriately during them. He doesn't seem to sense the mood of the person he's talking to, angering them more often than not, and he doesn't really care about watching his mouth around children, etc. There are tons of examples of Wade being 'stupid', and 'immature', blah blah blah. But I don't think that's quite true.

Wade has also numerous moments where he perfectly reads a situation. He is extremely aware of how others may perceive his scars, he figured Negasonic Teenage Warhead pretty easily during the first movie (when talking about sarcastic comments or whatever, if I remember correctly). He knows how people act and think, and he definitely knows how to assess a situation. When he got Johnny Storm killed, he knew what he was doing. He was into a dangerous situations, just having been kidnapped and he couldn't fight, not even knowing how strong and what powers Cassandra Nova had. But by turning her against Johnny, not only was he able to assess her, but also prove that he wasn't here to cause her trouble. It was a cruel and ruthless action, but it was smart nonetheless.

Besides, people often forgets very important facts about his skills. Wade is an extremely good fighter, and that's partially due to the fact that he's a master at almost every martial arts. He knows a bunch of them, and he is capable of practicing them with impeccable form. He's also a master at espionage, infiltrations, cover missions, etc. He knows how to handle a lot of different weapons, and he is canonically one of the best fighters in the entire Marvel Universe. All of those skills require a certain level of intelligence. Fighting demands to remember the different styles and techniques, as well as enough practice to switch between them easily. Espionage, infiltration, and cover missions demand someone who is capable of discretion and and ability to judge a situation, notice details that no one else would and invent on the spot creative ways to do things. All in all, he has to be extremely smart to be able to do all of that. That's also without counting the fact that he knows how to speak fluently five different languages.

With all of these proofs, it's impossible to say that Wade is dumb. But why does he acts like it?

There is no official answer as to why Wade is this way. The most you can get is that he is extremely mentally unstable. This is the result of both a bad childhood and very traumatizing experiences as a superhero. It is said he was already mentally unstable during his childhood, so I'm inclined to believe that it also has something to do with his brain in general.

What I personally believe is that Wade is someone who gets bored extremely easily. He has ADHD (not really official in the movies, but canon in the comics), and he always seems to jump from one topic to the other. His mind is often considered a mess, and he himself sometimes has trouble keeping up with it. I think that someone like him has to be stimulated at all times, because boredom is definitely the worst thing that could happen to him. Even in the last movie, he seemed to hate his job because of how boring it was, not hesitating to go back into action and becoming more and more himself again as he just do exciting things. He has always been like this, even before he got his regenerating factor. When he did his job, he wasn't always careful and often loud-mouthed. It didn't interest him to just kill people, he wanted a fight. He wanted a back and forth, a sort of game. He needs to feel in danger, needs the thrill of it.

But then he gets his mutation. Suddenly, he can't die, he can't be seriously hurt, nothing has any real consequences. And so the games became boring. What is the point of putting himself in dangerous situations if he's never really in danger? How boring it is to do a job where you're perfectly safe? The only kind of thrill he can find anymore is by having the back and forth verbally. That's when it has consequences, and people actually able to surprise him, to beat him even. Attacking by talking his is one way to not feel bored. He surprises, he shocks, he annoys, but it's always different. Even during the last movie, when he was with Logan, he clearly said they didn't need to fight, yet he couldn't stop edging him verbally, always finding ways to push his buttons.

Wade is a very bored person, with a great understanding of where the limits are. And because he's so good at finding the limits, he's even better at crossing them willingly, sometimes at the expanse of the people he loves, because he can't be bored.

(I also like the interpretation of him just needing to be at the centre of attention, but I think it's a bit more classical and has already been done and re-done. So, this one is a bit trickier and way funnier for me.)

[bittersweetcatharsis]

Mr. Curly Mouthwashing is such an interesting and tragic character to me. Not tragic in the way that Anya is- good God, not in the way that Anya is. But tragic in the way that he is a victim of himself, of his own naivety, of his own limited perspective and blind trust. A victim of his own actions and arrogance, and a victim of the direct consequences that stemmed from his poor decisions.

I see a lot of people reading Curly’s character in a way that I just personally didn’t. I could very well be wrong, and I’m certainly open to the possibility, but I actually prefer to think that I’m right, because it’s these layers and dimensions to his character that make him so interesting and complex.

He wasn’t a “bad” guy. Not in the way that Jimmy is, who had every opportunity to do the right thing just ONCE, and yet failed to, because that selfishness and cowardice is ingrained in his very core. Unlike Jimmy, Curly was just an ignorant guy. Not malicious by intent, but ignorant nonetheless. That doesn’t justify anything he did, or anything he failed to do, but it explains more about him than a simple write-off of his character does.

Curly was operating under an illusion of grandeur. His belief of his power transcended his position and extended into every facet of his life. His approach to confronting Jimmy wasn’t because he didn’t believe Anya, but because he viewed Jimmy as misunderstood just as much as Jimmy himself did. He inappropriately sought nuance in a situation that didn’t need it. On top of Curly and Jimmy’s history and camaraderie- as well as Jimmy’s raging victim-complex that so obviously influenced Curly’s perception of him- the fact that he was disillusioned by the extent of his control ultimately led him in failing to protect his crew. Anya especially.

In the very beginning of the game, we see him talk about how he knows he should have raised more of a concern about adding a fifth member of his crew without enough cryo-pods to accommodate Daisuke. It is this blatant dismissal of safety protocol that reveals just how shortsighted and ignorant Curly can be. And when Anya revealed her abuse to Curly, it’s this same ignorance that led him to confronting Jimmy.

Curly wasn’t trying to dismiss Anya, and he certainly wasn’t trying to betray her. He simply lacked her perspective. As a man, he couldn’t begin to fathom the feminine experience with the intrinsic evils of masculinity and the patriarchy. He has this almost childlike sense of optimism, thinking Jimmy would reveal himself to be a deeply flawed and misguided- but ultimately good- person, only to be confronted with the reality of Jimmy’s narcissism, insecurity, and apathy. By then, it was too late. He was an enabler. He had protected Jimmy. He had given him all the resources to hurt the very people he was entrusted to protect. It was a wake up call that came too late, a raising of red flags after Jimmy’s evil had already been revealed.

Curly should be held accountable for his failures and shortcomings- “take responsibility”- but I also believe he should be viewed sympathetically. It’s too easy to brush past the little details that make him so damn human in pursuit of a simple explanation. There are some people, like Jimmy, who have a full understanding of their privilege, and weaponize it as a means to control, coerce and abuse the people around them. Then there are others, like Curly, whose privilege has been so second-nature to them that it becomes entirely invisible. Had Curly realized this earlier, he very well could have prevented the fate of himself, of Anya, of Daisuke, and of Swansea. Even as a victim of Jimmy’s derangement himself, Curly ultimately was a perpetrator in his own right.

I don’t think Curly is a “bad” guy. I think he’s just a wrong guy. A guy who was arrogant, but not malicious. Ignorant, but not evil. He’s just as easy to blame as he is to mourn. He’s a walking paradox. He’s an absolutely brilliant character.

[letaliabane]

@darkangel4121 Oh definitely there is a little bit of jealousy! I think a little too soon to talk about marriage but in terms of courting? He's been out of the game for a long time and Maid!reader has caught his interest.

After you had disappeared into the house, Johnny turned to Simon, clapping him on the arm once again laughing. 'Been a long time 'ey Lieutenant! Where have ye been hidin' all these years?'

'You know the usual Johnny, doing whatever was necessary to survuve day by day,' Simon muttered while removing his mask without hesitation, lighting up yet another cigarette and holding it between his teeth. He lit a second and handed it over to Johnny, who thanked him quietly.

All the while, his eyes stayed glued to the door, taking a long drag and letting the smoke drift from between his lips. His thoughts had been all but consumed for the past few weeks of you alone.

It had been a long time since someone had caught his eye the way you had. Perhaps it was because he had been so wrapped up in war and the world of secrets for so much of his life that he never had the time. When Price had written to him asking if he would come to the house to work as a valet it was the first thought of a 'normal life' in many years.

Honestly he thought he'd die eventually on a battlefield looking up at the skies.

Though he was intrigued to arrive at the Abbey, he was nervous. He was fine with people's reactions to him, but some deep corner of his heart had a wound that never seemed to heal. A part he knew was a consequence of being the ghost.

When he saw you for the first time and how you greeted him without hesitation, it healed that very wound just a little. Besides the men from the war, no woman had treated him with such kindness for so many years.

But seeing how you greeted Johnny, how he had wrapped his arms around you and lifted you off your feet, lit a fire in his belly. Was it jealousy? Was it anxiety? Fear? He couldn't really put a finger on it.

Johnny realised Simon had been silent for some time, glancing to see him still staring intently at the door to the servant's hall. He smiled, 'Lass caught ya' attention, has she?'

Simon's head snapped to him so quickly, he felt the twinge of pain in his neck. 'Perhaps.'

'I don't blame ye. She's a sweet lil' thing.' Johnny said with his cigarette between his lips, leaning against the brick wall comfortably.

Clearing his throat, Simon asked, 'You two close? Has she been around here long?'

'Ye she joined few years aftef meh. She's like a lil' sista to me, she taught me that lesson very quick,' He said, sheepishly running his hand over the back of his head where she had whacked him, 'But she's a sweet, sweet lass. Very kind and helpful to all. And from the looks of it, ye've warmed up to her too!'

A weight seemed to lift from his chest, a relief. And for what? Perhaps the chance for something more.

Seeing him lost in thought, Johnny smiled, leaning over to Simon, clapping a hand on his arm. 'Take ye time Simon, I ken ye already care for her. Don't rush into anythin'. Not so m much for her sake but for yers.'

Simon couldn't help but smile, gripping Johnny's arm with a squeeze. Taking one last drag from the cigarette, he let it fall and crush beneath his boot heel.

'Come on, or we'll miss dinner.'

Part 1 - Call of Duty Masterlist a/n: This was fun to expand on! If anyone has any more thoughts on the couple or other characters feel free to send them through!

@lostintransist @teapartydreams

[invinciblerodent]

See, the Treviso vs Minrathous choice would be cool! It's a good choice on paper, but it's executed... not so great (the game's framing as "if you don't save this city it will have Political Consequences vs if you don't save that city All The Civilians Who Can't Flee Will Die because the whole water supply will get blighted" when you have to make your choice is kind of ass, as a baseline) and then it gets further undermined when the final battle is in Minrathous so the city gets fucked up and the venatori mostly take it over in the chaos anyway because Rook gets stuck in Fade jail for several weeks. It turns the decision into "do I want to blight one city or both?" on a second playthrough which does, indeed, have a 'morally right' answer.

And that's the problem with this 'complex and interesting moral question'. This is why people are unhappy with it. Because it completely fails to stick the landing.

See, this is nothing against you, but I knew I was going to get messages like this, even before I would have hit "post".

I'm not saying that either decision is "right". That's the point of it all, that there is no "right" answer, and arguments can be (and are, within the game) raised in favor of both. That's what it's supposed to be about, that from Rook's point of view (as a character, not your point of view, as the player), there are good, significant reasons to save both, but they can only aid one, because they are only one person. It's meant to make your character feel small, and to highlight the enormity of the foe that they are facing. Its purpose is to make Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain feel like they have all the tools to win the war, even when they lose a battle.

Now, ngl, I'm just going to straight up ignore the "oh Minrathous gets blighted in the endgame anyway so there's no point" line of reasoning altogether, because Rook has no way of knowing that. That's metagaming, and if that's the way you want to play your game, you're obviously welcome to do so, it's no skin off my back, do whatever you want forever... but characters in linear stories should, theoretically, only be capable of acting within the confines of their narrative. If we want to actually talk about the ramifications of certain decisions, it doesn't make sense to me to act as if a character should have the ability to make a decision based on information that they have no way of having. I don't think that's productive to the conversation.

(plus, I would argue that adding that as a potential regret, the knowledge that them dooming Treviso ultimately didn't accomplish nearly as much as they thought it would, is far more compelling from a character- and a storytelling point of view, than going into it all with the intention of making All The Right Choices, with Rook secure in the knowledge that at least they are going to be proven "right" by posterity. That does far less for me, personally. I think your Rook is allowed, even encouraged, to have complex, contradictory feelings about the decisions they make.)

Second of all, for three games now, we have been told that Tevinter and the constant, decades-long war they have been engaged in with the Qunari is the only thing that stands in the way of the Qunari expansion towards Orlais, Nevarra, the Marches- there is a reason the occupation starts in Rivain and Antiva, the coastal regions of the mainland furthest from the Imperium.

For two games, we have known that the Venatori (due to many of them being old money, old blood, powerful magisters) have infiltrated the highest ranks within the Magisterium, that they are cunning and dangerous and lying in wait, and that they pull the strings from many directions, with not much besides a handful of Magisters (Dorian and Maevaris included), the Shadow Dragons, and the Archon (who, if the Inquisitor kept Radonis in power, is not only an ally to the Inquisition, but also vocally opposed Corypheus, and, by proxy, the Venatori) to stand in their way.

Yes, there are always many civilian lives at stake. Yes, Treviso is devastated in the attack and its aftermath (physically to a much more extensive degree than Minrathous), and yes, the immediate threat of the dragon causes more obvious destruction there- blighting the canals, causing a staggering loss of life, all of these effects will stretch far into the future.

But in Minrathous, the dragon is not the focal point. It's a distraction.

In Minrathous, the dragon is there to create chaos, to rampage and destroy all it can in order to sow discord and divert protection away from the Archon's palace (notably the place with the cannons that it very well can't turn onto itself), so that the Venatori can break through the Archon's guard, and successfully pull off a bloody coup that then puts them unequivocally in control of the capital city of one of the most powerful and influential countries of Thedas: military, magic, power all together.

And while saving Minrathous at that moment doesn't result in the city being perfectly peaceful, all fine, great and dandy, the Archon still dies as a result of the attack, it does at least ensure that their defenses are not stretched too thin, fighting on two different fronts at the same time. As a consequence of that, it ensures that the Black Divine, one of the pivotal people standing in the way of the Venatori expansion, doesn't contract the Blight. It stops members of the abolitionist group that's known- and respected for standing up for the needs of the disenfranchised and oppressed from being openly decimated, and strung up in the streets like Christmas lights.

It stops the Venatori, who then have next to no one to oppose them, from doing damn near irreparable damage, and tossing all the political progress of the last decade into the nearest shitter to catapult Tevinter back to times when nobody bat an eye to the rich and powerful using people as furniture.

(And, though this is pure speculation, this can be disregarded, however fractured the Antaam is, however many of their forces they have diverted towards Rivain and Antiva, I don't think it's such a stretch of the imagination to say that it'll likely only take them time to realize that with their allies now in control of Minrathous, they have an open avenue through Tevinter to enter Orlais, seize Val Royeaux, seize the Marches city by city, and force the Blight-ravaged south to fight on two fronts at the same time.)

I don't think any of these are things that I'm pulling out of my ass, or something that Rook isn't made aware of. Neve doesn't hammer it home quite so clearly, she also doesn't have the gift of foresight, but in the blind panic that she is communicating in that moment, she does say that her primary concern is the Venatori coup, and the player has been introduced to the Shadow Dragons and told of their significance before that, even without the context that Inquisition, Trespasser, and the comics provide. We've met the Viper, we've met Maevaris, we've met Dorian- we've talked to all of them, and we know what they're up against.

It's not an easy decision, and it's not meant to be one, or one you're meant to think about as "well you're either siding with X and are right, or with Y and you're wrong". This is not the mage uprising, where the choice falls flat because one side's point of view is "no genocide good", and the other's is "church-sanctioned genocide good".

I think that this choice is a relatively early game decision that is meant to make you think about whether your Rook, right then and there within their arc in the story, is the kind of person who would do anything to save even one civilian life even if politically it's devastating, the kind of person to think about the big picture and consider all the political ramifications even if it means a sacrifice of lives- or, alternatively, the kind of person who would do anything for a place that they call home, even if it means dooming another and letting down their friend.

You say that it fails to stick the landing. But that's very easy to say if you are the one yanking the mat from under its feet.

[what-eats-owls]

It matters how you do it

I finished Dragon Age: The Veilguard and had some big feelings about it. Spoilers for basically everything under the cut, and frankly, it won't make sense unless you've finished the game anyway.

First of all: I had a blast with this game. I didn't find Act 1 slow, I did find Act 2 a bit of a whack-a-mole, and then Act 3 kicks you in the kidney (complementary) while insisting it's for your own good.

I've seen some recurring complaints: that it lacks depth/edge/darkness, that it abandons previous lore, that the previous choices don't matter. I don't entirely disagree. To me, it felt like a massive Dragon Age 4 game that pivoted to a different, tighter game after complaints about bloat in Inquisition. The key is that when editing down, there's such a thing as trying to trim the fat and taking a chunk of the roast with it.

I enjoy the concept of Lucanis's character, and the voice actor sold the hell out of him, but the storyline felt like being taken to a museum and allowed to see one (1) beautiful unfinished sculpture. Why did Spite, specifically, work? We know the spirit of Justice became Vengeance by abomination, we knew Solas was Wisdom before he became Pride, so what was Spite before, and why wasn't that tied to Lucanis's own personal arc? (Doubly so if you romance him!)

Similarly, Harding was a delight, and her greenhouse was such a lovely little haven. I would have loved to see more explanation of the connection between plants and the titans, and how Harding's own personal struggles with rage connected to that of the titans. She has every reason to be angry and scared, and the game tells us she pushed that away—but we don't actually see her toxic positivity manifest to that degree, until she abruptly has an angry clone.

On the flip side, I loved the other five character quests, and I felt they had solid, poignant arcs that delivered. I also adored their interactions with the codex—if anything, I wanted to see more of that type of interaction on the screen. You have to fill in a lot of the character work for Rook yourself; Rook has all these interesting potential backgrounds, but I think starting the game playing through those, a la Origins, would have gone miles towards establishing more personal stakes up front and made for a stronger start.

So that's all my nitpicking. But let's talk about the bigger theme: It matters how you do it.

In the first Fade conversation with Solas, he gets so mad when Rook refuses to let him DARVO them about the consequences of his botched ritual. This makes way more sense when you understand he's literally imprisoned by his own regrets, and he needs Rook to have that same kind of regret in order to take his place. His entire arc is about rationalizing binary choices and shitty actions that hurt others in the name of a hypothetical greater good that he wants.

Solas can't engineer every binary choice Rook's forced into, but he uses Varric to maximize Rook's regret. He is trying to quite literally mold Rook into him, and the game is great at presenting this both as a coldblooded manipulation and a broken plea for validation—if you let it. You don't have to give Solas a moment of consideration; you don't have to take time to view his memories, or kill his demons, or listen to those scraps of Mythal still holding onto the good in him. You don't have to do any of it.

But you can. And in the end, it matters.

It matters because for every companion, you can encourage them to either be more nurturing/compassionate or destructive/closed off versions of themselves, and that is frequently tied to continuing or breaking from a cycle. (The exception is either Neve or, presumably, Lucanis, who are forced into the Hardened version depending on which city you save.) These aren't presented as morally opposing choices, just who you want them to be. You can see how the Grey Wardens fucked up bad with griffons and decide they have a better place. You can help Emmrich face his fear by finding deeper meaning in life instead of indefinitely postponing death. You can help them do things differently.

So when you get to the final choice in the game, you may have two options: physically force Solas into saving the Veil, or trick him into it. The kind of binary choice Solas has molded you into making by pelting you with cruelty and manipulation.

Or, if you've taken the time, you can get him to understand he's wrong. You bring out the people who saw the best in him and speak to what he's had to endure, even as you're showing him there's another way. You reach him not as Pride, but as Wisdom. And he goes willingly.

Ultimately, I think DA2 and Inquisition grappled with big questions of oppression and violence, faith and authority. It makes sense for those games to delve into harder, uglier subject matter, and ask you to make binary calls.

But my read of Veilguard is that, at its core, it's about how those decisions are meant to trap you in regret at best, and numb you to rationalizing cruelty at worst. It's why the companion who loses their home city becomes colder, more isolated, in response—more like Solas.

That's why it offers you a third way at the very end, but only if you've worked for it. A better way is possible, yet it has to be more than words. You have to understand where the pain comes from, what maintains and is being maintained by the current cycle. Then, and only then, can you break it.

I can't wait to play it again.

P.S. Utterly obsessed with the Trevisan fish merchant.

[eyrina-avatar]

Flashing Neteyam

Neteyam x avatar!reader

aged up Neteyam and fem reader

warnings: 18+ minors DNI, nsfw, smut , boobs, kissing, swearing, making out, tongue play? p in v, creampie, impreganation, mating

no use of y/n (at least I think. sorry I tried to post this in a rush as this was already super delayed. )

word count: 5,016 words

summary: You and Neteyam both have crushes on each other and so Lo'ak and your friend come up with a plan to get you and Neteyam to finally act on your feelings. You end up flashing him, but what'll happen next?

┆彡

You were sitting around the campfire at Hell’s Gate. The sky dark from eclipse, the stars already out and the air full of laughter as you and some of your avatar friends from earth continued on with the game.

You had invited Neteyam and Lo’ak to get a gist of how the humans hang out, which was a lot more fun than just watching norm and max do some experiments, although you often partook in that as well.

In addition to that, you decided to bring them along since they’d often invite you to hangout with them and the other Omaticaya clan members. Just a return of the favor, that’s what good friends do, no?

You didn't mind being friends with Lo'ak but with Neteyam... You wanted to be more than just friends with Neteyam. Your ever growing crush on him was becoming unbearable.

All your you thought about was Neteyam, all day long, when you woke up, when you ate, when you went out and about your day, and when you slept. He was all you thought about, and your friend Britt knew that. She knew about your huge crush on Neteyam and had told Lo’ak.

Lo’ak wasn’t surprised at all, he saw the looks you often gave his older brother and the way Neteyam made you blush and how the two of you could spend hours hanging out and talking about nothing and everything. But lucky for you, Lo’ak also knew of Neteyam’s crush on you and also saw all the looks Neteyam gave you whenever you weren’t paying attention and how he would sometimes get distracted during hunts. And whenever you weren’t around, Neteyam would often just talk about you and “blabber” on and on, as Lo’ak called it.

Your friend Britt had planned with Lo’ak to get you and Neteyam together. Just get him to somehow confess to you or make you do something to clearly grab his attention and force you or him to do something, anything.

Make you lose a bet and flash someone.

That was the stupid plan Lo’ak and your friend had planned. Britt knew that you were only interested in Neteyam, so it wasn’t like you were gonna flash any of the other boys in the group. Lo’ak though, doubted if you were gonna go through and actually do it. But you weren’t a pussy to back out of a dare. You always faced the consequences of a lost bet, and your friend knew that and reassured Lo’ak.

Lo’ak still had second doubts but wanted to see how much of a mighty warrior his older brother was gonna be when the girl he likes stands in front of him with her tits in his face. He wanted to see his highly respected brother become a wuss and not so “mighty” anymore.

So that’s how you ended up in the stupid game you were in now. “Shit” you huffed out as you realized you lost the bet.

“Alright, what the hell do I have to do?” you rolled your eyes, knowing your friends were planning something sneaky with all of their whispers and giggles.

“Flash one of the boys” responded Britt

“I’m sorry what?” You asked and your face scrunched, not knowing if you actually heard what just came out of her mouth.

“You heard me. You lost the bet and you have to flash one of the boys” she snickered.

Neteyam looked around and saw the other boys eyeing you up and down. They were all hoping to be the lucky one who would get an eyeful of tits in their face. It was quite noticeable, it's not like you had small boobs. Your human genes combined with your avatar made you very pretty and your boobs round and perky. Neteyam had noticed it, and so did the other guys. Hell, even the omaticaya men noticed it whenever you went to the clan.

But your tits in one of their faces. No, he didn’t even want to think about it, just the mere thought of it made him jealous.

He started mentally cursing himself for being so slow to ask you out and was was dreading the thought of one of the other guys being a lucky winner.

Neteyam was ripped out of his thoughts with the sounds of shouting and yelling coming from the group.

“C’mon y/n, pick someone and flash your tits. It’s not that hard. It’s not like we’re gonna take pictures and hang them on all the trees of pandora." sighed Britt

"Jesus, just do it woman” someone shouted

“Oh c’mon, pick me, I swear I won’t ask you for anything else” said one guy

“Nahh, just pick me. He’s a perv, he’ll just start asking you for other favors if you flash him.” said another

Neteyam sat quietly and watched intently looking to see who you were gonna choose, secretly hoping you would pick him. Just the thought of you flashing him made him shift uncomfortably in his spot.

“What the hell?!??” you shrieked

Someone had tried to undo your top and it almost fell but you caught it and held your hands up to your breasts just in time to cover before any potential slip could occur.

"Guys, what in the actual fuck. I don't know who did that but I swear to god you're not gonna see any tits tonight" you fumed as you quickly tied your top up in whatever knots you could make

The guys were starting to harass you and you weren’t sure about what the hell you were gonna do.

Lo'ak gave your friend a worried look, he thought you were gonna storm away any minute and the plans would be thrown out the window. Just like that.

"Bruh, don't be a pussy. You joined the game and you lost the bet. You knew what you were getting yourself into. If you quit now, then that'll just be wack as hell!" exclaimed one of the guys.

"I didn't say I was gonna quit! You guys are acting like a bunch of wild dogs who can't control themselves. You can't act shocked if I think you're all just a bunch of pervs" you stormed off from your spot but stopped mid track realizing that there was only one person who wasn't trying to rip your top off that night. Neteyam.

Yea, that sounded good, you smirked to yourself. You had a crush on Neteyam, and found him hot. What a perfect idea you thought to yourself and turned around quickly making your way over to him.

"Get up" you stared at Neteyam and he got up.

"We're leaving?" He gave you a questioning look and was ready to reach to Lo'ak and tell him to get up and go as well.

"No" you stopped his hand.

"Just you. Move back a bit" you pressed your hand onto Neteyam to push him back, making sure your chest was out of view from the rest of the group, your back now facing them.

"Oh shit" whispered Lo'ak as he gave your friend a knowing look and she gave him one back.

"You owe me" she mouthed

Now or never , you thought to yourself as you fiddled with the back part of your top that was tied together with some leaves and branches. You looked at him nervously as the knot was almost completely loose.

Wait, what thought Neteyam. You were gonna undo your top in front of him?

"Wait, wait wait. Are you gonna-"

"Shh" you put your hands to his lips and cut him off as you undid the last knot.

Drop

Your breasts were in clear view of Neteyam's eyes.

His eyes widened as he saw your form uncovered in front of him. He quickly looked away, averting his gaze from your chest and looking everywhere else but there and it made you a bit worried.

"Do you not like it. Do you not like me..." you trailed off, getting nervous and worried about wether he liked you or not. You bent down, getting ready to pick up your top and put it back on.

"wait no, I like it" shit that sounded bad he thought.

You squinted your eyes at him, one hand covering your breasts and the other holding your top. You put your arm down and your boobs were in clear view again.

"I mean not that I like it" crap, that was even worse, he sighed. You quickly covered your chest and put your top on as fast as you could.

"Oh... I um gotta get going then, this is kinda embarrassing" you whispered in a low voice, feeling humiliated as you turned around and got ready to leave but Neteyam's hand grabbed your arm before you could walk away.

"Shit I'm sorry. I meant I didn't mind the you know, the view. I just didn't know what to say without sounding like a creep. Of course I like it." Neteyam turned you around and you were now facing him.

"I'm just sorta speechless" he continued on "I...I like you and this isn't the way I expected to uhh... confess to you. Especially in the state you were just in. I thought we could take things slow before even thinking about going down that sorta hill" his voice now a whisper

"Neteyam" you caressed his cheek with your hand as the other held your top in place.

"I like you too, and I'm grateful as hell that you're here and I didn't have to show anything drastic to anyone else." you let out a chuckle as he smiled into your hand, still averting his gaze from your chest.

"Well, punishment completed" you turned around and let out a relieved sigh.

"See, not so hard" said Britt as she rolled her eyes and nudged Lo'ak in the process.

"Oh shut it" you spit out.

"Anyways, I think it's getting late guys, I'm heading to bed" you yawned

"time to go?" asked Lo'ak

"yup, let's go" you smiled at Neteyam as he made his way to you.

You waved to the rest of the group and headed back to home tree with the Sully brothers.

-----

"Wow, mighty warrior was nervous as hell, wasn't he?" questioned Lo'ak as he gave Neteyam a playful punch

"Shut the fuck up" Neteyam rolled his eyes and you gave out a small giggle, still holding on to your top.

"Come, let me tie this up for you" offered Neteyam as he turned you around and held the top’s strings in his hands.

"Oh boy... what next? Oops, I dropped my top again, teehee. Did you see that Nete?" mocked Lo'ak in a high pitch voice as he batted his eyelashes at you and Neteyam.

"I sound nothing like that" you sent a glare towards Lo'ak

"Is that all you do, talk crap?" Neteyam hissed at his younger brother

"Damn, chill guys. Take a joke" Lo'ak continued on walking until you guys made it to the clan.

——-

You were just about to say your goodbyes and head to your hammock when Lo'ak interrupted "Hey, you two, don't be so loud. Maybe go to the river or something"

"WHAT" your jaw dropped in shock

"Alright, that's it" Neteyam ran after Lo'ak, hoping to knock his lights out for the night and give him some good rest. Maybe then Lo'ak would keep his mouth shut.

Lo'ak ran inside his family's tent and Neteyam stopped at the entrance, knowing that his parents would ask him what was going on and he didn't want to share the details on everything that just happened.

Neteyam walked back to you with his head hung low in defeat and you let out a giggle at the sore sight.

"I'm sorry about everything Lo'ak said. That must have been embarrassing. We, I mean us...you and I, don't have to go all the way. I just thought maybe I could take you out on a date first. If you're in any way interested in me" he asked

"Of course I'd love a date" you smiled and held his hand.

"Where at?" you asked

"Anywhere really, I haven't actually planned anything out yet. This was sorta a surprise" he let out with a small chuckle

"Well, I guess I better go off to my hammock" you let go of his hands.

"I could walk you there, if you don't mind. Where exactly is it, again?" Neteyam asked

"Oh, it's passed the other side of Home Tree" you pointed

"Let's go then"

-----

You walked through the forest, admiring the bioluminescence of all the flora around you. Bright glowing hues of green, blue, and purple surrounding you. Some atokirinas floating around as you held Neteyam's hand and led him to the direction of your hammock.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Neteyam questioned.

"Yea, it's right by the narrow river. You know, the one with all the small yellow fish. The river being so close makes it easy to get water in the morning" you replied

"You're lost"

“No”

“You so are”

"No I'm not" you huffed and let go of his hand.

"That small river is on the other side of the forest, we're at the wrong river, look." Neteyam pointed.

The river was close but there were no hammocks in sight "Shit, you're right" you admitted "It'll take me all night to find the way back to my hammock." you groaned

"Well, what do you want to do?" he asked.

"Honestly, I'm kinda tired and I feel like we've been walking for almost an hour already. I just want to lay down and get some rest." you scanned the forest floor around you, looking for some soft moss to lay on.

"So I guess we'll just sleep here for the night?" Neteyam asked

"Well, you know the way to your tent. You don't have to stay here with me. It's not your fault I got lost following the wrong river" you chuckled. You secretly hoped that Neteyam would stay with you. You didn't want to stay alone in a forest you weren't a hundred percent familiar with yet.

"Nonsense" he replied. "And leave you hopeless to some hungry palulukan? That wouldn't be very nice of me." he squatted down and patted your head and looked around for some moss.

"Hey, i'm not a baby. I did my rite of passage already and Neytiri is impressed with my hunting skills" you spoke, trying to sound confident but you internally sighed in relief at his words and hurried to fix your makeshift bed.

“Ha, alright mighty huntress” he put his fingers up to quote huntress.

“It’s true!” You insisted as you walked passed him.

“Where are you going?” Neteyam asked.

“To bathe.” You made your way to the river.

“At this hour?” he raised his brow.

“What’s wrong with that?” You asked.

“Err nothing, it’s just kinda late”

“It’s never too late for a bath. Bathing is bathing.” You shrugged. “Are you just gonna stay there and do nothing?” You questioned.

“Alright, wait up” Neteyam huffed out as he ran to catch up with you.

_____

You laid stomach down on the soft ground in front of the river while passed your hand through the surface of the water and gave it a whirl. The water felt nice, not too hot and not too cold. Just right. You looked around and saw all the pretty plants and began admiring the bioluminescence of the forest. It was all around you and in the water. The Lilly pads were floating with the stems glowing green and the flowers on top having a faint hue of pink.

“Isn’t it so pretty?” you asked, smiling to yourself

“What is” asked Neteyam. He was too busy staring at you the whole time and admiring your beauty. Your hair was loose with only a few small braids on each side of your head and the rest flowing freely.

“The water, the forest, everything” you smiled.

“And you” he let out

“Oh, err thanks” you looked up at him nervously as you tucked your hair behind your ears and looked away. “Hmm, don’t be so shy” He caressed your face and turned it to face him. “Don’t tell me a little compliment like that made you nervous after what you did today.” he flipped you over, your back now on the forest floor and him now hovering above you with his hands by your head on the ground.

“And who says I’m nervous?” you trailed your hand up and down his chest and bit your lip as you tried to contain you emotions, although your flustered state was given away by the faint pigment of purple now staining your cheeks.

“Oh, you’re not?” He whispered close to your ear, his mouth only centimeters away from it and his hot breath making you feel warm in the pit of your stomach.

“No, not one bit.” you pushed him back and got up. You walked a few inches closer to the river and dipped your foot in the water as you continued in. “Come on!” you motioned with your hand for him to join you.

Neteyam followed your lead and walked in little by little. “Won’t our clothes get wet and become uncomfortable to wear? The suns not out right now and it’ll take forever to dry” he stopped before the water could reach his knees and he contemplated going back.

“Hmm you’re right” you turned around and walked back before your clothes got the chance to get wet. You stopped right in front of Neteyam and began untying your top.

“I guess I won’t be needing this right now” you tossed it to the ground and approached him closer. Neteyam was now eyeing your bare breasts. His chest heaved up and down as he tried to control his breathing.

“I, I didn’t mean that...” he stuttered out, once again averting his gaze from the sight of your breasts.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and pressed your chest against his. “Hmm? Well I don’t mind, do you?” you tilted your head as you looked up at him.

“N-no, not at all.” He gulped as his heart starting racing. It was beating so hard he thought you would notice.

“Don’t be shy, mighty warrior” you smirked as you inched your face closer to his. “I know you want this.” You held his face and made eye contact with him. Neteyam looked you up and down “Are you sure?” he asked, eyeing your lips as he spoke. He moved his hands to your waist and held on with a firm grip as he waited for a response.

“Yes.”

That’s all he needed to hear as he crashed his lips onto yours. You let out a small shriek at the unexpected kiss but welcomed it as you moved your mouth in sync with his.

“Mmm,” you moaned

“You taste so sweet, syulang” he groaned as you tugged on his hair a bit. You rubbed your hands all over his chest and shoulders as he touched all over your back, waist and arms while trying to savor your cute little mouth. The kiss grew desperate as the both of you were getting more and more rough with each other. Neteyam continued on with the kiss, not stopping for a breath of air.

You tried to pull away but he held you by the back of your neck and pushed his tongue passed your lips. You let him in and your tongues danced with each other’s while your hands searched for his. He whirled his tongue against yours, causing you to moan aloud. The kiss was growing intense but you were running out of air.

You moved back and parted your lips with a ‘pop’ sound.

“Neteyam” you breathed out while bringing his hands up to your chest as your skin craved more of his touch.

"What is it, love?" he hummed out as you now had his hands on your breasts.

"Babe, do something"

"But we are?" he gave you a confused look

"You know what I mean…” you gave his hands a small tug “Go ahead.”

Neteyam lowered his head onto your neck and slowly kissed it, leaving a small trail of purple spots until his lips reached your chest. He looked up for permission before you gave him a reassuring nod. He pressed a firm kiss on your breast before giving your nipple a quick lick. He held your other breast with his hand and gave it a firm squeeze and massaged it as he continued on with your other one.

“Oh Nete…” you sighed as your loincloth grew wet and your rubbed your legs together for more friction. You held onto Neteyam as the your insides started to tingle and the heat between your legs started to grow.

“Mmm” he moved on to your other breast and put your nipple in his mouth. He began to suck as if he were a starved man who waited eagerly for his meal.

“I always wanted to have one of these in my mouth” he let out in between the love he was making to your breasts.

“And now I get to have them right here.” He stopped his actions. “Just for me to see, and always only for me” He gave them a small pinch and went back to trailing his tongue all over them.

“Of course only for you baby” you hummed and played with his hair as he looked you in the eye while he toyed your breasts and did whatever service he could do to them.

He licked and sucked until your nipples grew sensitive to touch and you slightly pushed him away.

“Babe, you’re not gonna get milk out of them” You let out a small giggle.

“I will after I pump you full of my seed.” He stood up to his full height and lifted you up.

You let out a yelp as he swung you on his shoulders and walked out to the dry ground. He carried you along the edge until you both trailed the sides of a deeper end of the river.

He sat you down on the moss and began trailing his hand up and down your thigh as he kissed his way up your legs. The higher up your leg he got, the slower and wetter the kisses were.

He continued on until he reached the spot between your legs. He tugged on your loincloth and looked up at you. “May I?” He asked

You simply nodded.

“Use your words, sevin.” he held your chin up.

“Yesss” you managed out.

"That's better" Neteyam slightly lifted up your hips, just enough to get your loincloth past down past your waist.

You were quick to help him untie the knot holding it together but he pushed your hands away. "Let me take care of you" he gave you a quick peck on your lips before moving back down to work on you.

He undid the knot and continued sliding your loincloth down. Neteyam pushed it to the side and crawled in between your legs and faced your lips again. He gave you a strong kiss as his hand slid down your stomach and down to your womanhood. He rubbed a finger on your nub and you let out a moan.

"Oh god!" you squirmed under him and attempted to close your legs.

"No you don't" he pushed your legs open. "You wanted this, now deal with it." He quickened the pace of his fingers on your clit as his lips attacked your neck.

You held onto him as the friction was making the knot inside of you grow. Neteyam continued rubbing your clit as hard and as fast as he could, making sure to press on your nub to give you more stimulation.

"ah, ha, ha..." you lifted your leg up and arched your back as your orgasm was approaching.

"Neteyam please!" you let out breathlessly.

"what, love? Feels good" he let out in between kisses as his fingers continued their attack on you.

"Mhm!" you moaned into his mouth. "But, more! I wan't more!"

"What is it that you want?" Neteyam teased as his fingers continued on. He knew you were getting close to your high and was enjoying having you melt under his touch, literally.

"Nghh, I *gasp* want *gasp* YOU!" You bucked your hips up and your legs shook as your orgasm washed over you. You fell back to the ground , chest heaving up and down trying to catch your breath.

"How was that, good?" Neteyam gave you a smirk.

You simply nodded.

"Good. I hope you're not tired out already. I'm gonna fuck you so good, I'll have you coming like there's no tomorrow." Neteyam started untying his loincloth and threw it to the side.

"Ready babe?" he aligned himself with your entrance and rubbed against you up and down.

"Yess" you moaned out as your tail swished back and forth and he let out a chuckle.

"Oh, excited aren't we" he gave your sensitive clit a quick slap before sliding inside of you.

"Oh FUCK" you let out.

"My god, you're so tight" he let out a groan as his ears flicked at the sensation. He stood still for a few seconds before deciding to move again.

"You ready?" he tilted his head, waiting for approval.

"Mhm" You quickly replied, starting to get impatient.

He started thrusting in and out, stretching your tight pussy as your hands traced his chest.

"Mmm. This tight pussy of yours feels so good ma syulang" He moaned out as he quickened his pace. You grabbed his face and kissed him hard. He slid his tongue into your mouth and french kissed you.

He took his tongue and stuck it out. "Suck" he commanded. You obeyed and sucked his tongue and moaned around him. You tilted your head as you sucked him as much as you could.

Neteyam quickened up his pace and your jaw dropped in pleasure. "Oh, fuck baby! You feel so good!" you moaned out.

"Shit!" he moaned out. "How much are you enjoying this?" he smirked.

You only moaned in response. "Fucking answer me!" he grabbed your face and you looked at him. Your face scrunched in pleasure with each thrust inside of you. "I feel...You, you make make me feel so goood. I want moreeee" you whined out. You closed your eyes and he kissed you again as his dick hit the inside of your walls even harder.

He lifted your legs up and bent them all the way to your chest. Neteyam hit all of your right spots in this new angle and you couldn't help but clench around him at the feeling.

"Fuck, you're gonna me cum, love." He breathed out as beads of sweat fell from his forehead and his eyebrows scrunched tightly.

He continued thrusting inside of you as fast as he could, his balls now slapping against your pussy. He inched his face closer to yours and stuck his tongue out again.

You stuck yours out and swiped it against his. You played with his tongue and continue passing yours against his as you both gave each other's quick licks.

"You love this cock, don't you?" Neteyam continued his thrusting.

"yes" you breathed out.

"How much?"

"A lot!" you managed out between thrusts.

"How much? Sorry, couldn't hear the first time" he teased. Neteyam stopped thrusting. "How much?" he tilted his head

"So much! I love your cock so fucking much! PLEASE, you fuck me so well!" you whined out

THRUST

"So *THRUST* fucking *THRUST* well?" He groaned out

"YES! I'm gonna cum." You cried out

"Then cum" Neteyam pounded into you as he chased his high. The both of your thrusted your hips against each other's as your orgasms approached you.

"FUCK" He groaned.

"I'm close!" You yelled out as Neteyam's cock repeatedly hit your cervix in a pace that was making the knot inside of you about to explode.

"ah, ha, ha. on the count of three okay? one, two, three UNGHHH" Neteyam groaned out as you both released at the same time.

"Oh shi- shit!" You moaned out as your head fell back, your jaw dropped open, and your legs shook violently. Your juices surrounded his cock as he filled your insides with his seed. Neteyam stood still as his cock continued to flood you with his cum until it eventually leaked out of your sorry little hole.

"Ha, what a view" He looked down at you and slid himself out, causing you to whimper. He held his fingers to your pussy and trapped his cum in. "All of it inside of you, and not a drop to be wasted."

He kissed your cheek and held his cum stained fingers to your lips. You opened up and gave his fingers a quick lick. You grabbed his hand and stuck his fingers in your mouth and sucked on them. "Mmm" you moaned out and took his fingers out with a 'pop' sound.

Neteyam chuckled and gave you a peck on your cheek. "Such a good girl." he laid down besides you and placed his arm under your neck as you laid on it. "All mine" He caressed your arms in a gently manner, as opposed to the rough actions you two just did.

"All yours" you reassured as you kissed him softly and caressed his face.

"Especially with this in you now" he pointed to your stomach and gave it a rub.

"Mini us?" you whispered as you looked him in the eye.

"Yup" He patted your head and sat up. He stood still for a bit thinking before he reached behind him and held his kuru bringing it up to your view.

"Do you...?" He gave you a questioning look.

You brought yours up next to his and caressed his face. "Yes, a thousand times yes. I thought you'd never ask."

Neteyam inched his hand closer to yours and you both made tsaheylu with each other, tendrils intertwined with each other and a wave of emotions and feelings washed over the both of you.

"We are now mated..." Neteyam let out

"For life" you followed

_____

You woke to the warm sun kissing your skin and the sound of the river running next to you. You got up from Neteyam's grip on your waist and massaged your sore legs.

"Babe, get up" you shook Neteyam awake.

"Huh, I'm up, I'm awake." he groggily answered.

"It's time to go back to the village!" you huffed out

"Alright, alright!" He got up and made his way with you back to the clan.

You were quiet and tried not to make a scene as your legs were wobbly from all the exercise of the night before. You and Neteyam got closer to his tent and he motioned for you to quickly go in.

You were about to enter in until you were interrupted by a familiar voice.

“So, you guys DID decide to head to the river and have your little fun there” Lo’ak snickered.

"Shit" you and Neteyam let out at the same time.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

this was my first fic, sorry if it came out bad. bare with me guys

pls reblog and interact if you enjoyed my work, it would mean a lot!

Reblogs are especially helpful since I’m a new writer🫣

feedback is meaningful

do not steal my work and pls don't post it on ao3 or wattpad

© eyrina-avatar

[avelera]

https://www.tumblr.com/stanlunter/769778186821222400/i-dont-get-the-mel-manipulated-jayce-and-jayce?source=share

I found this meta, which I thought was interesting to say the least and I wanna know you're opinion on it

Well, I skimmed it and didn't really feel like doing a close read to absorb all their points because I think they're fundamentally wrong. Maybe if I read more closely I'd see I agree but, eh... Their dictionary definitions about what counts as manipulation are using therapist-speak for a personal relationship, but the definition doesn't apply to politics or the political games depicting in Arcane.

Mel manipulated Jayce politically. Yes, that involved persuasion, and eventually a relationship, but giving someone absolute freedom to choose the only option left to them is not giving them a choice.

Mel in the opera house presented Jayce with a literal life or death scenario. She said he had painted a target on his back by going after the corruption on the Council. He had only her word for it and regardless of whether or not she told the full truth, whether or not she did it for his benefit, she said, "You have to play the corruption game too or these people will kill you." That's not giving someone a choice, ffs.

Mel is meant to be shown as a savvy political player too. Giving Hoskel a present on his birthday in 1.02 and then using that leverage to get him to vote her way during Jayce's trial is how the narrative sets up that she's good at making people owe her favors. She plays the game well. She's not mean or vicious about it, but she wields power like the virtuoso on the violin during the opera.

It's an absurd argument to say she didn't manipulate Jayce that boils down to silly semantics. Did she persuade or manipulate? Did she do it for his benefit as well as her own? Did she think she was doing the right thing too? Yes, but it was also all self serving towards her own ends and she was very good at it and he didn't know it was happening.

Him choosing to get power from her assistance when she offered power with her assistance is still doing what she wanted. Jayce didn't want to be a politician in the first place and once there, she led him by the nose to do what she wanted, until he became an independent agent in his own right, which often upset her plans her good intentions too, like raiding the Shimmer factory (which was due to Ambessa and Vi too) or locking down the bridge (which was due to Marcus also offering him one choice that Jayce was too overworked to notice was a bad move).

The tragedy of Mel's manipulations is that she eventually does grow to like Jayce, and maybe even love him, but it's too late, because once he realizes in 2.07 that she was manipulating him at the beginning and how easily she did it without him realizing, he dumps her (in 2.08).

That isn't conjecture, that is literally just the text of the show.

And for the record, I think all of that? Made Mel a super cool and interesting character. I'm not interested in seeing nice bland people who never hurt or mislead each other and who talk in therapist speak all the time being scrupulously perfect to one another, that's boring, the one unforgivable sin in fiction.

I would much rather see the story of a beautiful, fascinating, powerful woman running circles around this pretty boy inventor she dragged into politics and only realizing too late that by playing the game with him, she locked herself out of what could have one day been an actual beautiful relationship because actions have consequences in the world of Arcane.

[violetarks]

catch the rain, even on a sunny day!

game: danganronpa 1: trigger happy havoc/dangganronpa 2: goodbye despair

characters: togami byakuya, hinata hajime, komaeda nagito

summary: you two share these moments that feel oh so close to being in a relationship, so close yet so far.

warnings: g/n! reader, second person pov

↣ togami byakuya

what you don't expect at 11:30pm, obviously after the set nighttime where walking about the school was prohibited, is a knock at your door. you were awake, reading through a novel that you found in the library that you found interesting. when you hear the knocking, you're suspicious that it's someone attempting to take your life to escape this hell, so you take the bat set beside your door (taken from the sports equipment) and hold it at your side.

you open the door slightly, only enough to peek out and see the one and only byakuya standing at your door, in what looks like his pyjamas. you raise your brows, not seeing any murder weapon and opening the door fully.

"byakuya. it's really late, y'know..." you sigh, putting the bat away.

he notices, raised brow. "i know that. i've been unable to sleep due to our... argument earlier."

you squint your eyes at him. "what? have some insults to spray at me that you didn't think of in the cafeteria?" you scoff, crossing your arms, "i don't want to continue this shit when we should be sleeping."

"please." he grunts, rolling his eyes. you want to slam the door in his face. why is he the one giving you attitude? "i'm unable to rest due to our problem. let me in and we can speak about this properly."

you're a bit suspicious of him, but if he did try to attack you, you would be able to hold him off long enough to get help. he may be tall, but... he doesn't look like much of a fighter.

however, the look in his eyes makes you rethink. he looks... seriously irritated, or upset. you let him in, closing the door behind him. when you turn around, he's awkwardly standing there, hands in his pockets. he doesn't know where to sit.

"on the bed." you huff, walking over and taking your spot at the head. he slowly follows, sitting at the foot end of the bed and facing you. "what do you wanna' say?"

he finds it hard to talk to you now, since you're sitting right in front of him. and in your pyjamas, no less. something he hasn't seen on you before. byakuya fixes his glasses, hands on the bed as he leaned back.

"i... apologise for the things i said."

the statement makes you widen your eyes. did... you hear him right? he apologises? there's no way!

"they were uncalled for and i did not think of the consequences." he admits to you, unable to meet your eye. you are too busy staring at his red, embarrassed face to ask him about it. "i shouldn't have belittled you to the point of tears."

"shut up... i wasn't crying." you mutter out, looking at the bed sheets. "my hayfever..."

"sure." he huffs, looking back at you. he notices your troubled expression again and wipes off his smug look. "either way, i apologise. i will think about what i say before i speak, especially... to you."

you look back at him, feeling his hand rest against yours. he hums out, "i will do better."

you almost can't believe he is even saying these things. if it weren't for how hard your heart was beating, you would've guessed you were dreaming. but here he was, nearly holding your hand as he says he's sorry.

"thank you, byakuya. i appreciate your apology." you retort, brushing a thumb over his knuckles. he begins to glow pink, you notice. "it... it really means a lot that you're here right now."

your smile makes his stomach jump. he doesn't know what it is, but it's scaring him a little.

"yes, thats, um... that's good." he says, clearing his throat, "i won't speak like that to you ever again."

you chuckle, tilting your head at him. "but you talk to everyone else that way." you state.

he huffs, looking away, shoulder slightly touching yours, "i... i frankly don't care about the others. you're much more... tolerable."

you can't help but grin at his disguised compliment. you laugh a little, patting his arm, "thank you, good to know you've taken a liking to me, byakuya."

he chokes on his words, unable to find a response. after you've finished your laughter, he fixes his glasses and looks to your pillows. "shall i let you rest?"

"oh, right." you say, standing up and walking to the door. he follows behind, hand still brushing against yours. you open the door, watching him now stand in the hallway, looking at you. "goodnight, byakuya."

he goes silent, staring at you. his eyes dart from eye to eye, and you go to ask what he's thinking before he leans forward, brushing a soft kiss against your forehead.

when he pulls away, he sees your wide-eyed expression. you look shocked, as anyone would be in this situation. byakuya only smiles at the reaction, as if he wasn't blushing the brightest red in the world.

"goodnight. sleep well." he tells you, walking off to his room. you could never tell what he was thinking, that guy.

↣ hinata hajime

it was cold when you began walking around the island, heading towards the restaurant to eat lunch with everyone else. however, on the way there, you notice a certain somebody sitting on a nearby bench, scribbling in his notebook.

it wasn't really like him to be out on this side of the island alone, with no reason to be. that's what concerns you, making you stop your mission to get some food before akane does, and to instead see what's going on with him.

"hajime!" you call out, making your way towards him. when he looks up to see you, he almost panics, closing his notebook and hiding it under his leg. you decide not to press about it. not yet, at least. "what're you doing here? it's lunch time, and akane won't wait for us."

"i—i'm just collecting my thoughts..." he claims, watching you sit beside him. the wind blows, making his face cold as he is made highly aware of his notebook. "i didn't think anyone would be here at this time."

"well luckily i caught you." you say, smiling at him, "it's so cold out. aren't you freezing?"

"ah, well... you know, it's usually so warm, i don't bother bringing jackets out." he admits, a reasonable response. you nod your head, suddenly tugging off your thick jacket and standing up. "what're you doing, y/n?"

"hold on." you say, in front of him and tossing the jacket around his shoulders. his face is mere inches away from your chest as you heave your jacket comfortably around him. once you're finished, you clutch the front together, grinning. "are you warm now?"

his pink face says it all. you were so kind to him, but why? what did it earn you?

"what? no, no, i don't... i don't want it." he says, furrowing his brows and placing his hand over yours to push it away. you blink at his actions, keeping the jacket around him. he always seemed to be like this when you would offer something, anything to him. did he not like that? "y/n... is this really okay?"

"yes, hajime." you chuckle, feeling him gently hold your hand now. he still looked unconvinced, his frown and pointed look showing that off already. you only rolls your eyes and make sure the jacket is on properly and wouldn't slide off his shoulders.

"are you not cold?" he questions, watching you sit back down, "this jacket is a big. doesn't fit either of us."

"i'll be okay, hajime." you respond, crossing your arms, "and nekomaru gave me his spare jacket after i lost mine at the beach. so it's gigantic, but it's warm."

when you feel a heavy weight on your shoulder, you look to your side to see hajime's arm around you. he's trying to put the jacket over you as well, since there's more than enough room. his cheeks darken in colour when you stare at him.

"why're you looking at me like that? i—i don't want you to freeze." he tells you, shuffling closer to your spot. the heat he radiates is like a fireplace. with him this close, you can easily tell that he's blushing like crazy. the guy just couldn't keep a straight face. you smile. "is this okay?"

you glance at his expression once more, embarrassed. once you nod your head, hajime rests his arm around your shoulder and rubs gently, trying to warm you up. he seems a little nervous, as if you were feeling uncomfortable from his actions, but when he feels you lean in, he relaxes.

"you're nice, hajime." you say, looking at the view of the gardens in front of you, "i'm glad i met a guy like you."

"thank you..." he says, faulting when he feels your thigh touch his. you simply grin at him, making him relax further against you. you were so enticing, it made his head spin sometimes. "i'm grateful to have met you too."

"when we get outta' here, you and i should go out for dinner." you offer, seeing how he widens his eyes at the request. he definitely did not expect that, but nevertheless he nods his head. "great. i look forward to it."

hajime was the kinda' guy who didn't want to make the first move, but once you start, he gets it rolling. when you lean against him, he feels as if it's his signal to go forward. if it wasn't that, then maybe you just outright asking him out was the sign. either way, he squeezes your shoulder, pulling you taut against him.

"what were you writing about?" you question, breaking him out of his daydreaming state.

"nothing." he says, avoiding the question. you look to him, seeing the way he glances to the side to avert your eyes. "it's nothing, really."

you weren't stupid; it probably had something to do with you, right? if not you exclusively, then at least relating to you. and you would be correct, he was indeed writing about you. how you made him feel, the things you would do for him that made his heart flutter. he would never admit to it though, in fear of someone stealing the book to find out his secrets.

and he couldn't tell you, not yet. so for now, he sits beside you, holding you close and letting you talk about whatever you wanted to. as long as he was with you.

↣ komaeda nagito

"i knew you'd be here." his voice cuts through the soft waves on the shore. you turn your head, seeing the one and only weirdo himself. "you do know that dinner is coming up, right?"

you huff back, legs spread onto the sand, "i know, nagito. surely you're hungry, right?" you look over your shoulder, seeing him walk closer and set himself beside you. he copies your position, making you tilt your head at him. "how'd you know i was here?"

he gives a shrug. "i am the ultimate lucky student." he jokes, watching the waves with you, "just kidding. chiaki said she saw you walking this way."

he let it quiet down between the both of you as you don't do anything to speak up either. but the few seconds are ruined when he clears his throat.

"is there something you wanted to say to me?" you question him. although you shouldn't, you feel comfortable around nagito as much as you are with the rest of the group. while the others found the guy scary or peculiar, he was always somewhat kind to you. even though his actions were very questionable, you gave him the benefit of the doubt. luckily he hadn't attacked you yet. "why are you here, nagito?"

he gives you his usual smile. somewhat softer, if you could comment. his usual one had malice behind it, but this one? genuine, maybe. you could never tell what he was actually thinking.

"here." he says, holding out a familiar box to you. you widen your eyes, lips parting in shock. "the, uh... i found those snacks you like in the store. i thought i should bring them to you, knowing how much you miss these things."

it's true, the snack you had once mentioned in passing. how had he remembered it? did... he didn't go out looking for them, right? just for you?

"i—i..." you stutter, taking the box from his hands. he smiles a bit wider, noticing the way you perked up and stared at the box. "how did you find this? i went looking in the store when we first got here and i couldn't see these!"

a smile dawns on your own lips, looking at the cute mascot on the front of the box. nagito exhales slowly, looking to the waves now. "just snooped around, y'know? i've got pretty keen eyes." he tells you, tapping the side of his head, "and i saw that you left the group activity pretty dejected earlier. what's up with that?"

your smile falters before you sigh out, "nothing... i just can't stop thinking about this island." nagito glances to you, tilting his head. you lean your head on your arms, propped up on your knees. "i feel like we're all gonna' go crazy trying to escape. and if what monokuma said is true... what's waiting for us? in the cities and countryside?"

"don't be silly." he says, waving his hand with a smile. you look to him. "you won't go crazy. in fact, you'll all grow closer together. the ultimates have too, don't they?"

you exhale through your nose, shrugging your shoulders. "i mean, i guess so. i'm thankful for ibuki and kazuichi. their personalities always light up the room." you hum out, leaning back now. nagito copied. "but when peko started talking about her surveillance results, how there's no plausible escape, i just... it just made it set in more."

he watches as you close your eyes and bury your head into your arms. you felt so hopeless here. what were you able to do now? even with your ultimate talent, how could that help? what good did that do?

"you can't think that way, y/n." nagito claims, resting a hand on your shoulder. you lift your head up enough to see him offer a generous grin. "you are all so talented. coming together and working to solve each murder is what will help you to escape this place, right? so there's only one thing to do."

his somewhat positive attitude make you lift yourself up. he's right and you know it. you just need to work hard and make sure you keep yourself and all your friends safe. even if that can't happen... as long as some people escape, it is worth it for you.

"i guess we just need to persevere." you huff.

"that's right." he says, leaning closer to your side. your shoulders bump gently. when you don't move away, he takes that as his invitation to stay. "i'll be here to make sure you don't go crazy, 'kay? you can rely on me."

"thanks, nagito." you say, smiling at him. he feels his chest tighten. you look to the ground for a second before back at him, smiling a bit more. "i'm glad you're by my side."

your words sound sweet to him, he can't believe you've said that to him. something like him... worthy of your words? he didn't know. but he can't deny that the way you stare at him makes his heart beat faster.

"you're... you're welcome." he says, voice shaky. he places a hand on his chest, trying to calm himself. "i, um, we should probably get going, huh? to—to eat?"

you chuckle, standing up and brushing the sand off of yourself, "you're right. we should get going."

nagito stands up after you, doing the same thing. once done, you lock eyes once again. you hold the box close to yourself, excited to taste them. out of pure impulse, you lean forward, brushing a kiss against his cheek. he stiffens up, hands frozen at his sides as he feels it. you were so warm, he could feel it radiating off your face as you closed in.

when pulling away, nagito notes the smile on your face.

"let's go." you hum, nodding towards the restaurant.

once you walk off, nagito hastily follows closely behind.