#With Isabela they were friends with benefits

[hpowellsmith]

How do you feel when romanceable NPCs get together with each other? I'd love to hear what you do and don't like about it!

I have very strong feelings about this topic so I feel the need to voice my opinion. 😄 Personally, I hate ROs romancing each other, and here’s why. Romance in IF is the most important element for me and the deciding factor whether I even want to play a game or not. When I romance someone, I want it to feel special, like we are soulmates who were destined to be with each other, so seeing unromanced ROs being equally happy with someone else ruins this fantasy. I don’t really feel guilty for getting in the way of other romances like other people have said, more like I feel hurt that our romance isn’t that special after all. Also the fact that the other person my chosen RO can fall in love with is right there, be it the other RO or NPC, make it seems like my MC was just lucky to start their relationship first, and perhaps if the MC was just a bit more shy they could have missed their chance altogether. Of course, it won’t happen because of game mechanics, but realistically it could have happened in-universe.

Another thing is, I tend to replay games a few times to romance different ROs, so if I see that RO who I romanced in another playthrough is now happy with someone else, it makes me jealous and breaks my heart on behalf of my MC. It’s like they’re "cheating" on my MC in alternative universe, while my MCs don’t cheat because I make a brand new MC for each RO. Maybe this is all a bit silly and overly dramatic, but that’s how I feel. 😆

There’s also an issue of quality of romance, so to speak. I’m going to use good old Dragon Age as an example. Fenris and Isabela’s relationship doesn’t bother me that much because their relationship is basically friends with benefits, while their relationships with Hawke are much more romantic and full. It’s not a real competition because the quality of romance with each of them is better when they’re with Hawke. Dorian and Iron Bull’s relationship, on the other hand, is much more annoying, because their romance is presented as this perfect love that seems to overshadow their possible relationships with Inquisitor. I never bring them together in the same party if I romance someone else! 🤣 So yeah, if relationship between ROs has to happen, I prefer it to be at least easily preventable. By the way, I also love matchmaking non-romanceable NPCs like Aveline, so I'm all for it!

Now I wonder how much negative feelings the lack of romance between ROs causes in people who love it when ROs date other people. Is this as upsetting for them as the presence of such romances is upsetting for people like me? Or is it just a nice bonus if it’s there? 🤔

this is in response to the question:

How do you feel when romanceable NPCs get together with each other? I'd love to hear what you do and don't like about it!

Now I wonder how much negative feelings the lack of romance between ROs causes in people who love it when ROs date other people. Is this as upsetting for them as the presence of such romances is upsetting for people like me? Or is it just a nice bonus if it’s there? 🤔

This sort of thought - I may even have seen you mention it elsewhere back in the day! or it may have been from other people - was why I made the decisions that I did in Royal Affairs (where you can matchmake or discourage but it's in the player's hands) and Honor Bound (where the MC is the catalyst for polyamorous romance and the NPCs either don't consider it at all, or discard it quickly if that's not on the cards because of where they're at emotionally). Basically, I saw people expressing strongly negative responses about the romances occurring, but where positive responses happened it was less strong, and more "this is cool to encounter and I enjoy it". So with both games I figured that I'd focus on things where players felt more broadly positive (ie the PC-NPC romance).

I don't relate to the soulmate feeling exactly, but I totally understand wanting the PC-NPC romance to feel special and that the PC is a priority for the NPC, especially if it's a monogamous romance. On a personal level, I like the Fenris/Isabela interaction a ton, whereas I'm not into Garrus/Tali (it felt like a "pair up the spare characters" thing to me), and I have mixed feelings about Iron Bull/Dorian (I never finished either of their romances though, so can't say for sure how their romance compares to the Inquisitor ones).

I haven't decided whether NPC-NPC romance will happen in the new project, or how serious it'll be; at the moment I'm leaning towards no, or perhaps that it'll be more like a very casual Fenris/Isabela-style setup. A lot to think about!

[veilkeeper]

1, 2, 6 and 16 of the round two Rook questions for Corentin!

(questions from here)

1. How did Rook and Varric meet? What’s their relationship like?

one of the few benefits of him being a lord of fortune: there's a built in connection point. i think varric was sniffing around after solas in rivain, and during a visit to isabela they got to talking about what varric was looking for and corentin fit the bill. oh, you need someone who won't give up against impossible odds and can't be predicted? let me introduce you to corentin. their relationship was good. corentin didn't see varric as a mentor (he's basically allergic to putting anyone on a pedestal like that) but he did see him as a friend. the kind that came to mean more to him than the time they had together would imply, but where he still doesn't feel like he ever got to know him.

2. A scene from Rook’s year with Varric and Lace:

they told a lot of stories. varric is a storyteller by trade, and he has decades of wildly embellished lived experience to regale them with. harding herself has seen some crazy shit over the years, but i think she also reminisces about her childhood in ferelden, too. corentin is a lord of fortune and has learned how to tell stories—a couple good ones can get you free drinks at the Hilt all night. but the best nights were the ones where they didn't talk about past adventures or death-defying fights. the best ones were when they talked about the future. corentin was never good at this part, but harding and varric could go on for hours about all the people they'd like to visit, all the things they wanted to try, to learn, to see, when the end of the world wasn't looming. i think when varric is gone and everything is ramping up, corentin remembers those quiet nights where they traded stories over a campfire and thinks about the fact that no matter how dire things are, varric taught him that there will be an after.

6. Describe Rook through the eyes of their LI(s):

young. vibrant. charming. confounding. enchanting. impossibly, effortlessly alive. fearless. the highest compliment is his attention, and he seems to have boundless quantities to offer emmrich, of all people, and he'll treasure every ounce of it.

16. Which companions does Rook like most?

i mean, corentin loves all of them to bits, but he's platonically closest to davrin and bellara. he and bellara are different in ways that make them meet in the middle in a nice way—her mind is always racing circles around itself, and corentin's is so quiet that when they're together they can find equilibrium. they spend a lot of downtime together i think. davrin and him are amazing because they're so similar on this fundamental base level, but corentin also annoys the hell out of him sometimes (in a way that he becomes fond of eventually, but you know). more than anyone, he trusts davrin at his back, and sees him as a bit of a rock.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Isabela Dias at Mother Jones:

Is the dream dead? And, if so, who killed it? On June 15, 2012, President Barack Obama stood in the Rose Garden of the White House to announce a massive change in immigration policy. For years, Congress had been unable to pass legislation to protect from deportation the so-called Dreamers, undocumented youth brought to the United States as children. In 2001, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) first introduced a bill that would have granted them a path to citizenship. But, a decade later, the Dream Act had failed—again.

Obama declared that day he had taken matters into his own hands. His administration put forward an executive action to create a now-famous program: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). “These are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they’re friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag,” Obama, facing pressure over his administration’s harsh immigration enforcement practices, said. (He had begun to be called a moniker that would stick: “deporter in chief.”) “They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper.” As such, they shouldn’t be expelled from the country or have to live under the “shadow of deportation.”

DACA went on to become a landmark achievement of the Obama presidency—lauded for its seamless logistical implementation led by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, then head of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the economic benefits of authorizing eligible beneficiaries to work. Crucially, it gave a lifeline to more than 800,000 young immigrants raised and educated in the United States. DACA was “a temporary stopgap measure,” Obama had said. But its success, for a time, allowed the program’s original sin to be played down. The expectation, Mayorkas told the New York Times recently, “was that DACA would be a bridge to legislation.” Politicians could assume that change, albeit delayed, would likely someday materialize. Over the past quarter of a century, the issue of Dreamers has enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Congress. It has been included in virtually every immigration negotiation. And the stories of promising undocumented young people have been common on front pages and magazine covers—inspiring a rare kind of solidarity that transcended political divisions. (There was even a Broadway musical.) This year, all of that seemingly changed. 

The common-sense vision for a permanent solution for Dreamers has gone from a no-brainer to an afterthought. It used to be the case that legislative pushes for stricter border enforcement measures would not even merit consideration unless they were tied to relief for Dreamers (to say nothing of the millions of other long-time undocumented people often also included in proposals). Legislation could fail to pass, as it repeatedly did. But that signaling of support—even if in sentiment alone—made clear where Dreamers stood. Now, that tacit pact has been broken, and with little ceremony. In an effort to appease cries of “open borders,” Democrats and President Biden endorsed a controversial bipartisan Senate border deal that would have brought about one of the harshest overhauls of the immigration system in decades. Biden lauded the bill as the “toughest” in history. He also lamented that it didn’t include a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. Still, he urged Congress to advance it. The border deal never saw the light of day. But it begged the question: When did standing up for DACA stop being “the right thing to do“? (Or a political necessity for Democrats.)

Adding to the disregard for Dreamers is the potential end of their life raft. DACA is more at-risk than ever, relegated to die a slow death in the courts where its legality and very existence is being litigated. As Congress and the public relentlessly debate immigration policy with a laser focus on the border, the fate of Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants living in the country has become a footnote.  “Congress used to care about the ‘Dreamers,'” the Washington Post editorial board wrote in January. “What happened?”

[...] The threat of DACA’s imminent demise is real. While in office, in 2017, former President Donald Trump rescinded the program, which then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions dismissed as “unilateral executive amnesty.” The US Supreme Court blocked the termination in a 5-4 decision ruling it was “capricious and arbitrary,” but left the underlying question of the program’s legality open. If given the opportunity, Trump would likely try to end DACA again. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 playbook for the next conservative administration refers to it as an unlawful program. Stephen Miller, former White House senior adviser to Trump, previously called DACA “an erasure of immigration law” and his dark money-backed “lawfare” group opposed efforts to shield the initiative. “We already know what a Trump administration would do because we have had this experience,” Cecilia Muñoz, who served as director of the Domestic Policy Council under Obama and helped establish DACA, says. “You can expect DACA to shrink or disappear entirely.”

But these threats also elide the way the program is already quietly dying by a thousand cuts. A backlog of cases and months-long delays in processing applications means recipients risk losing their jobs. And short of an expansion, DACA as it currently exists will become obsolete. In order to qualify, applicants must have come to the United States before the age of 16 and have lived in the country since 2007. These requirements put the program out of reach for an entire new generation of Dreamers. “I have seen fewer and fewer DACA recipients in my classes,” Patler says. “My undergraduate students are now almost exclusively too young to have benefited from DACA, so they are facing the same barriers to pursuing higher education that undocumented students faced in the early 2000s.”  Even those who are eligible can still be excluded because of a court order blocking first-time applications. Judith Ortiz, 21, and her twin sister first applied for DACA in December 2020. A federal court ruling had just mandated that the Trump administration restore the program. Because the sisters, who came to the United States from Mexico at the age of two, share the same last name and birthday, their lawyer advised them to apply on different dates to avoid any confusion with the processing of their paperwork. Judith’s application was filed on December 23, 2020, one day after her twin sister. That one day would mean the difference between having legal status, however fraught, and remaining undocumented. 

In 2021, Judge Andrew Hanen of the District Court for the Southern District of Texas determined in a case brought by Republican attorney generals that DACA was unlawful because the Obama administration had failed to follow the formal rulemaking process. Hanen blocked new DACA applications from being considered. (He continued to allow renewals while the Biden administration revisited the program’s regulation.) The conservative Fifth Circuit upheld Hanen’s decision following an appeal by the Biden administration and sent it back to the district court judge, who ruled against the government’s attempt to strengthen and protect DACA. “While sympathetic to the predicament of DACA recipients and their families,” Hanen wrote in 2023, “this Court has expressed its concerns about the legality of the program for some time.” The case is now pending before the Fifth Circuit once more and could ultimately make its way to the Supreme Court.  When it comes to the courts, Muñoz sees a “worrisome corollary” in another Obama-era program, the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). Built on the same legal premise as DACA, that initiative would have offered temporary relief from deportation to undocumented parents of US citizens and permanent residents. In 2016, an equally divided Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s ruling in the United States v. Texas case, which challenged DAPA and an expansion of DACA, and prevented the program from being implemented. 

Mother Jones has an informative article on the slow-motion death of both DACA and DAPA.

[shivunin]

Ooooh you're doing it again? NOICE! **

"Send me an npc (or your own oc! For funsies) and I'll tell you what my oc thinks of them."

So let's see...

Wade and Herren for Arianwen.

The Arishok and Keeper Merethari for Maria

Sir Woolsey for any/whatever of your Lavellans you feel would have the strongest opinion about the real Arl of Redcliffe.

And take Aisling and tell me all any of your characters will think of her, go. (again, pick any of these you want, no obligations! ✨)

Thank you, Arja! 💗

(NPC Opinions thing)

Oh man, Wen and those two. I won't say she likes them, but she's sort of accustomed to them? She's definitely grateful when they turn up at Vigil's Keep, but they talk so much. It's sort of in one ear and out the other for her. Most importantly, they made the really nice armor that she gave Zev and it kept him alive. They'd be on good terms just for that. She's definitely not about to start baking them cookies anytime soon, but then I can only think of one or two people she would bake cookies for.

Maria starts out with a lot of respect for Keeper Marethari, but that respect vanishes during Act 2. She gives the arulin'holm to Merrill, of course, and it really, really bothers her that Marethari not only left that choice up to her (a human) but also that she has apparently poisoned the whole clan against Merrill. The idea of having a home to go back to is so, so important to Hawke. Knowing that Marethari has essentially stolen Merrill's from her forever (how could she ever go back to the clan if they all think she's a maleficar?) is deeply upsetting. She is cordial, perhaps even cold with the Keeper after that. She comforts Merrill when the Keeper dies, but she isn't really sorry about it.

As for the Arishok, Hawke also starts out with a deep respect for him that isn't at all affected by his decisions leading up to the end of Act 2. She doesn't even really mind him killing the nobility, tbh, though she wouldn't say it in so many words. Frankly, the conditions in Kirkwall are as bad as they are because it benefits the ruling class and she despises it. As far as she's concerned, let them all burn. The only caveat to all this is that she takes exception to the rampant damage to the city and, obviously, the Arishok taking and/or killing Isabela. Even after all that, she regrets having to kill him and continues to have very mixed feelings about it long after he's dead.

Emma is the most comfortable with spirits in general and she kind of adored Sir Woolsley. She tells Adhlea stories about him all the time and even started a research project to locate and document other spirit-possessed animals, should they exist. She anonymized his location in all her documents, of course, lest someone track him down in Redcliffe and turn him from spirit to demon.

Regarding Aisling:

Arianwen would have the most complicated feelings about Aisling, I think, if she were present to watch the events of Inquisition go down. On one hand, she really doesn't like humans much and she'd be glad to see an elf in charge of such a powerful organization. On the other hand, she would not like the idea of the Chantry using an elf to spread their dominion even further. She would also have very conflicting feelings about the role of the Wardens and their level of cooperation with the Inquisition (though! I don't remember which way Aisling rolled with that, tbh). Wen's walls are pretty high, so I don't see them becoming friends exclusively because I don't see her being willing to open up like that for anyone new. Also, she would be extremely suspicious of someone referred to as the "Herald of Andraste"

Maria would get along with Aisling really well, I think! She'd be a bit taken aback by Cullen dating a mage after everything, I think, so she'd approach with caution. But they have a lot in common and Maria really likes thinking things through logically and weighing the pros and cons, so I think they'd do some good sciencey magic together c: (Also, anyone who's a friend to her friends gets a little extra leeway where she's concerned and Varric's opinion carries a lot of weight for her. Aisling would be worth befriending based on that alone, but I think she would come to like Aisling for herself pretty quickly).

Elowen would grow around Aisling like a vine on the walls of Skyhold. Aisling is exactly the kind of friend she needed so desperately in those early days and I think their strengths would bolster each other's weaknesses. So in short, I think she'd adore Aisling c:

Salshira is really uncomfortable with any personal questions. So as long as they could talk about Aisling/neutral topics, she'd be happy to spend time together. The second Aisling expressed direct worry about her/how she was doing, Salshira would run (but, you know, that's how she is; she's scared of deep connections, at least at first).

I was thinking about Aisling and Emma earlier haha! Because of that trap post. I feel like there is some universe where Aisling is the Inquisitor and Emma is some kind of researcher/magic specialist. I think these roles would suit them and Emma would appreciate Aisling's input (as long as she stops touching things, Creators, she just finished putting all those mosaics back where they were!). They would definitely start talking through theories about some magical apparatus or another, forget that time exists, and scare everyone into thinking something awful happened to them. And then keep doing it, because it's so nice to have a friend to talk about your favorite things with!

[fereldanwench]

so i finished act 2 and started act 3 this afternoon

i'm pretty sure this is the only playthrough of da2 in which i did not have a high enough relationship with my bb isabela to get her to return with the tome which feels a little wrong, ngl. but i have been playing rhiannon a lot more on the lawful good side (vs the more chaotic good during her initial conception when she and isabela were friends with benefits) and I've mostly been using varric and sebastian as my rogues so i guess that's how the cookie crumbles

i even had rhiannon offer to find isabela and turn her over to the arishok which AHHHHHHH that obviously isn't a path if isabela doesn't return, but just the thought of it hurts me

i have been having a lot of fun playing rhiannon as a sort of a "I'm not like other apostates" apostate, which was somewhat there with her first iteration, too, but not to this extent. tries extra hard to be a model citizen, overly eager to help templars to curry their favor, is kind of a fucking asshole and did send a few mages back to the circle (she eventually let feynriel go to tevinter, but he had to go to the circle the first time around, sorry bud).

it's been an interesting blend of cognitive dissonance and a certain degree of delusion that she'll never wind up in the gallows because she's such A Good Mage (although that does start to crack come act 3)

anyway, i think her friendship with merrill is gonna tank in this act as well--initially she empathized with merrill having to leave her home to go live in the shithole that is lowtown (i mean obvs their situations aren't identical but there's a connection there), but rhiannon was never cool with blood magic and is extra uncool with it after what happened to leandra so... 😬😬😬

but the fenris romance! omg it has been such a treat. it is a friend-mance, and fenris showing his tender side just makes me djfhgjdkgdfgfd the little cheek stroke he gives hawke if you choose the "I'm always here for you" option after danarius is so fuckgn cute and his soft "i am yours" when you click on him in your party IT'S TOO MUCH

it's been fun having a canon ship, too, because it's been a while since I've been this fond of a character i can properly woo, lmao. i love the freedom of a non-canon ship, but sometimes it is nice to just have the romance already done for you

i think i'm gonna start the legacy DLC tomorrow (i did MOTA during act 2) and I guess I'll have this wrapped up probably by next weekend. it's also been really nice to play a smaller-scale RPG and get through the whole thing in just 20-30 hours versus close to 100 lmao

and it's been so nice enjoying a dragon age game this deeply, because it's been a while. I've tried replaying DAO and DAI in the past few years, but could never finish either, and I've just felt so cynical about the series' future (and I still am tbh) but goddamn DA2 just hits so many chords for me.

[a-drama-addict]

Ooo how bout 💪, 🧠, 💌, and if you wanna 💞, for Tavish, Dari, and Chloe? :3

[ask game] thanks for the ask laya!! HELL YEAH RAMBLE TIME

💪 : What is your OC’s most physically attractive attribute? 

Tavish: I would say his hair! That's the one physical attribute he puts the most time in, he really makes a point to take care of it.

Da'revas: His eyes definitely. His eyes are a really soft hazel green, with a sort of friendliness that shines through them. He's a person that really smiles with his eyes, yknow? They got a sparkle that attracts people.

Chloe: Tough one, tough one, but I'd say her arms. I know most people are suckers for strong, toned arms. Or I'd say her nose, she has a pretty big, strong nose but it compliments the rest of her face super well!

🧠 : What is your OC’s most mentally attractive attribute?

Tavish: His inquisitive side, for sure. His lack of knowledge about the surface world really made his curious/inquisitive side show. His desire to learn about things he doesn't know is really strong and a lot of people are drawn to that curiosity

Da'revas: Oh his compassion DEFINITELY. He is always really understanding and respectful, always trying to be there for a person if he can tell they're not doing well.

Chloe: I think her wittiness definitely draws a lot of people to her. Some people may not appreciate the blunt jokes, or the snide remarks or any of her sass, but her wit overall garners a lot of fans.

💌 : How would they plan a romantic evening for a significant other?

Tavish: He's rather.. blunt to say the least. Literally walking up to them going; "I've planned something for you. Come." Not the most romantic way to do it, but the things he has planned are always the part that make it worthwhile. They're pretty cheesy cliche things like fancy restaurants, going for a walk during sunset, things like that. He'll also always get flowers or another kind of gift. Gentleman, truly.

Da'revas: Oh he hides it, up until the very last moment. Casually going "Oh hey, the restaurant we're going to is a 15 minute walk, wanna go already?" With the most smug expression ever. He has a pretty good poker face and is pretty good at hiding that kinda stuff, so it is usually a surprise! He is also big fan of going to restaurants or taverns, but if it's something special he usually organizes something at home. Feels more personal, and he likes that feeling.

Chloe: She takes weeks to plan a date. No like, literal weeks. She won't plan it out in exact detail but most things? Planned out. She always does things over the top, but not over the top enough that it's overwhelming. She likes making food herself, going on picnics, spoiling her partner. One of the benefits of rising to nobility, becoming a champion and murdering gangs with 2 silver each has to perk of money! (So YOU can spoil your partner and friends!)

💞 : Do they treat sex casually or do they view it as something with a lot of emotional weight?

Tavish: He's pretty okay with treating sex casually, he comes from a culture were sex for a big part really is in the hopes to reproduce so he feels that the need for a lot of emotional weight isn't always necessary. (Though he does like the feeling of said emotional weight to it)

Da'revas: Mixed feelings. He had a pretty long term relationship pre-Blight (shoutout to Tamlen and Merrill) so he had a lot of emotional weight with it in mind. But with Morrigan at first it was just casual. He was PRETTY conflicted on how he feels about it. He still is to be honest, but he's pretty fine with both, her prefers the emotional weight sometimes though.

Chloe: Casual sex is a-okay in her book. She didn't mind casual sex at all, hadn't really had it with an emotional weight. Up until Isabela and her got serious she didn't have emotionally weighted intimacy. She just really went with what her mind tells her is right for the scenario/person.

[nicomig0731]

Life Update: December 2024

As the Christmas season is already at our midst, allow me to share a final life update for this year of 2024. To be honest, there are no significant events that have happened in my life these past three months, as I somehow feel a little envious on the life and achievements of my friends on social media these past few months. I, on the other hand, have little to show on my life except that I was employed in a new company last October 2024. I also observed my usual routines on a daily basis, such as writing a journal, reading the Bible, and studying the Japanese language.

In October 2024, I was once again employed as a employee on a project basis in BGC, a rather throwback on my former employment in the same city but the nature of my work this time is completely different. I work as a Health and Benefits Analyst and this time around I work on insurance policies of our clients daily. It was quite a tough job at first, but eventually I am starting to get the hang of it together with my colleagues. However, though, I can't help but compare my job now to the job that I have back then as a Data Analyst, as the office somehow looks familiar and the colleagues that I see is quite the same as to how I see the colleagues in my previous office as well. At this point in time, I do miss my old employment because of these circumstances, but we must have a courage to move on and pay it forward. We also went to the cemetery to visit out deceased relatives. In addition, towards the end of October, me, my family, and my relatives celebrated the 18th birthday of my cousin at a certain hotel near SM City San Lazaro in Sampaloc, Manila. It was a formal-themed event, and we were actually dressed really nicely to the occasion. We also stayed overnight at the hotel but did not check-in since we slept in one of our relatives' room.

November has arrived, and there is nothing much to say except that I am starting to get used to going to the office everyday of a designated week. It was a rather ordinary month mostly, as I do my everyday tasks without any problems or other sort of anomalies. Meanwhile, in the middle of November, me and my family went to Pangasinan to celebrate the 7th birthday of my niece at a certain luxurious hotel in Pangasinan, and the motif is undeniably grand. The theme of this particular party is forest and Disney combined altogether. It was an amazing event as me, my family, and my relatives came altogether not only to celebrate the birthday but also a chance to catch-up after quite some time. After the celebration we definitely enjoyed our stay at the hotel since there is a TV with YouTube and Netflix subscription for us to use and we were able to utilize the amenities of the hotel as well. I was also able to watch "The Boy and The Heron" by Hayao Miyazaki on Netflix. After our stay in the hotel we went in the house of our relatives in Pangasinan to have lunch and then we went to the compound owned by my cousin, a storage compound that is huge. After we had dinner at a certain eatery in Pangasinan we went back to Manila by bus. Then ordinary days have passed after this major event.

Finally, December has arrived. Perhaps I can easily consider this as a busy month since a lot of Christmas party have happened during this period, including my company's Christmas party and my client company's Christmas party, which I was not able to attend. There is also my team's Christmas party, which actually happened in late November and it was also an amazing time spent with them. My company Christmas party was definitely amazing, as I won a lot prizes as well as some giveaways from them. We also had an exchange gift wherein I received a rather peculiar prize, which is a hot compress. There is also a buffet in the party and we definitely had our fill towards the end of the party. We went home in the evening after the party. After a few days, it's the Christmas season, and we went to our home province of Isabela to celebrate Christmas with the relatives, the details of which I have already stated in my daily journal. Anyhow, it was an amazing celebration, and me and my family definitely enjoyed our recent Christmas vacation at our home province of Isabela.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year 2025 to all!

[monenblogi]

sunday part 2 but the shes:

the mom you wish you had (laswell):

Mildly overworked, definitely vanilla though.

You will be surprised at how muscular she is. How else do you think she bagged her wife?

Can crush your head 5 different ways.

The real bonus of being CIA is date night in places you dreamed of going to. Unfortunately you're probably only going there for work but at least the benefits are free.

Will unfortunately meet the cold nose of Goose, her German shepherd.

but pirates (isabela):

Knives are fun in the bedroom, just don't ask her where she was keeping the other four.

No bringing emotions, feelings, sappy sap, or those fluffy thoughts into the bedroom. Or ever. Just keep them to yourself if you plan on having another go.

Isn't quite as easy as she'll let on. The chase is half as fun as the prize.

Is very much a top.

Knows her back looks amazing, thank you very much.

Is guilty of wearing the corset and nothing but the corset.

Multiples are quite the fun fantasy.

we named the dog indiana (layla):

Would prefer it if you didn't want to do it anywhere near any of the ancient artifact's that were definitely legally acquired for her collection.

The scarab stays on, mostly because she really likes how it settles above her breasts.

Very playful, much teasing. Would like to see just how riled she can make you.

You'll be impressed by her sleeper build.

Will not dress up in the suit. Please don't ask.

Adrenaline's always a fun turn on. So is killing a merc band or two. The both kind of go hand in hand sometimes...

pretty bird (bobbi):

Will make you call her mommy.

Can really get into roleplay just because. Does she have a kink? Maybe just a bit. Will she lie about it being practice for work? Just a little bit, sure.

She has a favorite flog and boots for the moment.

Thoroughly enjoys being on top.

Is guilty of the unintended hookup after alcohol, but she will let you brag about bagging an avenger if it'll seem impressive to your friends. Would prefer it if you didn't expect a round 2, and definitely if you didn't cuddle.

Is pretty damn good at being able to seduce people to bed. She's definitely had practice on the job.

[whereareroo]

DARWIN AND THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

WF THOUGHTS (1/22/24).

So far, our geography lessons have taught us that:

1. South America is east of Miami.

2. Ecuador is located in the northwest corner of South America.

3. Ecuador is divided into four geographical regions.

The Galápagos Islands are the most famous Ecuadorian region. They were made famous by Charles Darwin. You probably learned about him in grade school. If you’ve heard about the Galápagos, you can thank Charles Darwin. Our discussion today will focus on the Galápagos Islands.

The Galápagos Islands sit, in the Pacific Ocean, about 600 miles off the western edge of Ecuador. The chain consists of 21 islands and 107 large rocks. The chain is 137 miles long. The chain spans the equator. The islands are small. The combined land mass of the islands is only 3,000 square miles. (That’s about twice the size of Long Island in New York.) The largest island, Isabela, accounts for 2,000 square miles (larger than Long Island) of the combined land mass. The other two sizable islands, Santa Cruz and San Cristobal, are 381 square miles and 215 square miles. Many of the other islands are under one square mile. The chain was created by volcanic eruptions, and eruptions still occur every few years. Small settlements began on the islands in 1832, right after Ecuador took control of the area. The current population of the chain is about 35,000.

The Galápagos Islands were discovered by accident in 1535. An expedition, led by a Bishop from Spain, got lost on the way to Peru. The islands were thought to be uninhabitable. In the 1600s and 1700s, they were used by pirates who persistently attacked shipping traffic associated with the nearby Spanish and Portuguese colonies.

Nothing of note happened on the Galápagos Islands until Darwin arrived for a five week visit in 1835. He was part of a British expedition that was mapping the coast of South America. Darwin wasn’t a surveyor or cartographer. He was a geologist and biologist. He spent his time studying rocks, fossils, animals and plants. He noticed that the animals, especially the birds, had particular features that were unique to their particular island. That started Darwin down the path towards his famous “Theory of Evolution” and the concept of the “Survival of the Fittest.” You probably learned about that stuff in high school. Darwin kept working on those issues until 1859, when he published the historic book entitled “On The Origin Of Species.”

To this day, the Galápagos Islands are famous for species of animals that don’t exist anywhere else. There are unique birds, lizards, and iguanas. The most famous native animals are the giant tortoises. “Galapagos” is the Spanish word for turtle.

Charles Darwin will always be linked to the Galápagos Islands. Scientists are still studying his journals and work papers. He was a strange character. His papers include some amusing passages. In 1838, he became ill and he went to the English countryside to recuperate. He stayed with relatives. He fell in love with a cousin named Emma. His work papers include a chart evaluating the costs and benefits of marriage. There is a chart that compares “Marry” and “Not Marry.” An entry under “Marry” states “constant companion and a friend in old age. . . .better than a dog anyhow.” The “Not Marry” entries included “less money for books” and “terrible loss of time.” Darwin made a mistake by leaving those notes where the researchers would find them. Even geniuses make mistakes!

Darwin ultimately married his cousin Emma. They were married for 43 years. They had 10 children. The kids were not a healthy bunch. Two of them died as infants. A third died at the age of 10. The 10th child, born when Emma was 48, had Down’s Syndrome. Darwin was an expert in natural selection. He always feared that the sickliness of his children was related to inbreeding with his cousin. Darwin died in 1882 at the age of 73. He is buried in Westminster Abbey next to Issac Newton.

You now know about Charles Darwin and the Galápagos Islands. What will we learn next? Stay tuned. Isn’t this fun?

[waitingona-mirabel]

The worst part was that Isabela was probably right. It wasn't that Mirabel wanted to see her sister in pain, it was that she couldn't imagine she wasn't. But maybe she was doing just fine, and dealing with this in some incredibly healthy way that Mirabel didn't understand because Mirabel was a hot mess. She could give her the benefit of the doubt, and apologize, and ask her for advice. Maybe. If she were a different person, and if they had a different relationship.

But she wasn't, and Isabela's words hurt, and Mirabel wanted to hurt her too. Because that was always her instinct with Isabela. Shut her out before she shuts you out. Hurt her before she can hurt you. Still, somehow, Isabela always won.

"Yeah, or maybe they don't deal with them at all. You probably didn't give a shit about him to begin with, right? Because you don't give a shit about anyone but yourself!"

Mirabel didn't really believe that. She at least believed that Isabela cared about Clayton, and that she cared about the family (most of them, at least, anyway) and she cared about, like, some of her friends, maybe. But she just wanted to hurt Isabela back, and that was the only thing she could think to say.

@rowsandrows-of-roses

Summer's Over | Mirabela

[andtheyweresiblings]

Okay, so I’ve seen a lot of MiraBruno fanfics where Mirabel just tells Bruno how she feels about Bruno and the latter being guilty af over how he feels. Both are aware of how they feel about each other, but consider:

What if both Bruno and Mirabel were completely oblivious about their own feelings for each other and just did romantic stuff like watch the sunrise and snuggle into each other without thinking about it? The family get suspicious, but neither Bruno nor Mira see what they’re getting at and just pass it off as them just hanging out together like family/best friends do.

Anon, this is absolutely hilarious and you now have me convinced that this is something that could happen. On one hand we have life-long social pariah Bruno who just got out of his self-imposed 10-year isolation. On the other hand, we have Mirabel who has been so focused on everyone else in her family that she barely knows what she wants herself. Together, we get socially tone-deaf and innocently oblivious. The chaos they would accidentally ensue within the family is immeasurable.

Here is a list of things I think they would do, in combination with yours, in order of how increasingly uncomfortable the other Madrigals get (this got a little out of control):

They literally spend all their time together. I'm talking running errands, doing chores, and spending time on their hobbies together. Sometimes other Madrigals join—Antonio, Camilo, and Luisa most frequently—but the common denominator is always Mirabel and Bruno.

They always sit next to each other. Be it a meal time, family game night, or going to Mass. They are always sitting together. It's gotten to a point where if someone does manage to sit in between them, Bruno (although mostly unaware) is visibly anxious and can be seen engaging in one of his body-focused repetitive behaviors or some other self-soothing action. Dolores notices this, but doesn't connect the dots right away.

They go on long walks together, often leaving before dawn or not coming back until it is dark. When a cousin or sibling ask where they have been, they both just shrug and say, "watching the sun." Camilo and Isabela raise eyes at each other when Mirabel and Bruno start taking blankets on said walks "so we can have something nice to sit on when we watch the sun set/rise" but otherwise say nothing. Luisa and Dolores just want to give them the benefit of the doubt and stay out of it.

They seem to have a lot of inside jokes with each other. Probably from all that time they are spending together. Augustín and Félix want to join in the fun sometimes, but often it's Mirabel who shakes her head and explains that it requires months of backstory to understand why "red ink" is so funny to the two of them.

Speaking of inside jokes, they also just laugh way too long at each other's jokes. Bruno is clever and Mirabel is playful, but "come on," Camilo remarks, "neither of them are that funny."

They start holding hands in public, especially when they're walking around the town or in the hills. But it happens sometimes when they're sitting next to each other. To dissuade Isabela from confronting them about this new display of affection, Luisa awkwardly asks them one day, "so, uh, what's with the hand holding?" Mirabel and Bruno are, of course, a little surprised by this question, but they explain that once, during a festival, they got separated, so they started holding hands to stay together and it just stuck from that point on.

Then they start getting more physically affectionate in front of the family. Mirabel likes to lean on Bruno shoulder or lay her head in his lap. Bruno strokes her arm or her hair. Camilo walks into the house one day to see them cuddling openly in the family room as they laugh and murmur quietly to each other. Camilo wants to pull them apart right then and there, but Dolores pulls him aside and tells him quietly that they've been doing this for months in private. Confronting them now would not change anything because when Dolores asked Mirabel about this back when she first noticed, Mirabel shrugged and said something to the effect of, "I'm just helping Tío Bruno make up for ten years of no human contact."

During the few times they are separated from each other, across the room, across the table, across the street, they make up the lack of physical proximity by staring at each other. Like a lot. And intensely. It doesn't even seem like either of them notice it. And then when they look at each other? It's so much worse than any look Mariano and Dolores share because at least they have the shame to not stare too long and to get a room.

They kiss each other on the forehead and cheeks way too often to be culturally appropriate. Julieta and Pepa are both certain that they have seen Mirabel give Bruno a peck on the lips when she is especially excited about something. And after going back and forth with each other trying to confirm that they both had in fact seen this on at least two different occasions, Julieta tries to start the conversation gently, "You and Tío Bruno seem very close, mi amor." Mirabel beams at her mother and begins chatting away about how nice it is to finally have a dear friend. Julieta isn't sure how to broach the topic after that, so she decides to save it for another day.

Of course, whenever any of Bruno's sisters or brothers-in-law bring up the topic to him, he is always scandalized and is quick to point out how physically close Pepa and Julieta were to their friends in their younger years. When that's not enough, Bruno reminds them that he isn't like any of them and the ten years of isolation changed him more than they can imagine. "What looks romantic to you is not romantic to everyone." Bruno insists upon this and sometimes alludes to how his visions of the distant future have also altered his views on physical affection.

The last straw for every Madrigal though, is during a town-wide talent show that Bruno, Camilo, and Mirabel have organized. During the show, Bruno publicly dedicates a poem recitation to Mirabel, and Mirabel publicly dedicates a ballad she wrote to Bruno. Both are incredibly longing in nature. And they're staring blatantly at each other again with such reverence and devotion while they are reciting or singing. And of course they kiss each other and hug after each of their performances.

It's even worse during the after-show party because apparently they dance together too. And they dance all the couples songs together, even the more flirtatious and sensual ones. And every Madrigal is in shock but tries to ignore it for the sake of saving face.

The next day, Alma calls for an intervention and demands to know what is going on between the two of them. Bruno and Mirabel are completely blindsided by this question (despite all past confrontations and interrogations), and very innocently and sincerely ask, "What do you mean?" Please note that they are, of course, sitting next to each other during this, gently stroking each other's hands.

The family each take turns listing off the physical acts of affection between Bruno and Mirabel that they all have been subject to over the last few years. Mirabel and Bruno both double down on the these-are-perfectly-normal-ways-for-a-close-uncle-and-niece-to-show-affection argument.

Alma, frustrated by the whole thing, but realizing these two are more stubborn than she is, finally sighs and says, "fine." Alma agrees to believe that these gestures mean nothing more that platonic and familial love if Bruno and Mirabel can promise to tone it down in public because they do not look like that from outsiders. Mirabel and Bruno reluctantly agree, and the family awkwardly parts for the day.

Later, when Mirabel and Bruno have time to be truly alone from the town and the family, they joke about what happened in the morning. Bruno says something jokingly like, "Hah, yes, Mirabel, I am secretly in love with you. That's why so many of my telenovelas are about forbidden love." Mirabel says something like, "Ay, could you imagine? And if we were secretly a couple, we wouldn't be stupid enough to be so obvious." But as their laughing slows, they look at each other, and

Uh oh.

Maybe the family was right.

Then there would be a lot of fun shenanigans as they try to dial down the PDA per the family's request but not so much that it looks like they're hiding something. Because now? Oh, they are definitely hiding something.

[tu-linda-hermana]

Got Anything Else Good to Say?

Pairing with Camilo Madrigal x reader and very much platonic with Dolores!

Read more of my Camilo Madrigal fictions in this masterlist.

Being Camilo's novia gives you the benefit of being close to his family, especially to his hermana and hermanito. You would play with Antonio and his animal friends at some times while you have tea and gossips with Dolores, you would even share your interests and hobbies with Dolores like knitting, baking and sewing, while Dolores had fun also sharing her hobbies with you treating you like her younger sister, one of her hobbies are candle making, walking away from the town and playing some instruments, speaking of instruments, you had learn how to play piano from all the time you've spent in the la casa Madrigal.

You would make up some lyrics and songs with Dolores and would share it to others, playing it after dinner, or in just casually, or maybe when everyone is gathered up together on no chores day and so on.

Also being with Dolores, you became a lot more aware of everything and everyone, including your amor, Camilo, your light and sunshine, tu sol. You would know when he's happy as a lark or the opposite of that, and you would always be there for him to support and love him every time, at first times Dolores would tell you about Camilo's situations but as time pass by she didn't need to tell or warn you about Camilo's conditions anymore, you would be there whenever you sensed that something wasn't right and if something is or was very nice.

Dolores had thanked you a plenty of times already for taking care of his hermano, she really did appreciate you, she was like an older sister you could never have, besides she would already call you her cuñada at times so where's the difference in that?

At this moment, you were with Dolores in her room making candles and carving on them with different styles that'll suit each member of the familia, her door was open so it wouldn't get too hot inside. You got used in the hot wax accidentally touching your skin, but at times it still suprises you whenever it did. Mostly Dolores would make the candles and you would carve them by copying their daily designs that's with them all the time. You would say that Isabela's and Antonio's designs were the hardest for you, you were carving Camilo's candle right now with his iconic chameleon patterns while Dolores designs yours.

"And there was this time where it was Día de las Velitas (Day of the little candles) when mami got really sad and emotional as it was also the time when abuela met abuelo Pedro, and with mama's clouds she blew out all the candles around the place" Dolores laughed sharing a memory when she was eight. You laughed along with her, imagining how the scene unfolds.

"Oh! I heared about something about Señora Felicia a while ago" you whispered leaning closer to her.

"Oh! Is that about the delivery man?" Dolores whispered back, it was normal for the both of you to whisper when you two were talking about the tea's and gossips in town. You eagerly nodded and asked, "Yes! Do you know anything about them?"

"Yeah! Señor Alf-" Dolores paused and tilted her ears out and slowly looked back at you with worried eyes, your eyes and body dropped down, "Where is he?" you asked the older lady infront of you.

Just then, Camilo walked passed Dolores' room with his head down and his hands on his pockets, his curls were covering his features but you swore you noticed that he was sobbing just now. You locked eyes with Dolores as if you two were having a telepathic conversation. Camilo slammed his door shut making you and Dolores flinched a little.

"I'll give him time. Let's just finish this for now and I'll go to him" you told Dolores as both of you got back to work.

Minutes passed as you both finished the candles, packing and giving them to the respective owners. Dolores had went out to deliver yours in your house while you went to Camilo. You were hearing sobbing noises from the outside before knocking on his door, "Cariño?"

You slowly opened the door and heared a recorded audio of the piano playing in his recorder, he was in his bed, curled up to himself, hugging his knees close to him, Camilo was silent when you went in. You lit up one of the candles that you made and designed for him, you sensed that he stopped crying when you went in the room, even though how long you and Camilo have been together, he still feels bad when you see him feeling sad or when he's on his low, which you don't quite understand since you love him either way and would be always by his side.

I just don't want to be a burden to you, Soy tu sol, I can't be feeling like this, especially with you seeing me like this.

You stopped the recorded piano and sat down infront of the piano near his bed, placing the lit candle up in the piano, Camilo had always have a piano in his room ever since you learned how to, it was your bonding together when you two were alone.

You started pressing the keys, finding the tune you like, took you a little while since it has been a long time since you played, getting caught up with other things, activities and chores. When you finally got your tune, you started playing.

"Sit in your room

Staying in the dark

The music is up and so is your guard

You don't know what to say

You're faking a smile say that you're fine

And maybe it'll all work out in time

You've always been good that way

Feel like you've done this before

You're fighting your tears as I open the door-"

Your voice broke up with the lyrics you sang, you glanced back at Camilo, you accidentally revealed your notice on him with your made up on spot lyrics, he was sat up on his back against his headboard as he was listening to you sing, you singing to him was one of his favorite things to do and to listen when he's not at his best, but your lyrics caught him up.

"What an entrance mi vida-" Camilo agitated and a hint of cackle was heard, "-Got anything else good to say?" he asked, looking at you emotionless.

"You know you didn't have to do that, You're making things worse--- I know I'm dramatic but, heh" Camilo joked, you tensed up from his first lines but calmed a bit when you noticed that he was joking about it.

"I'm kidding, nice lyrics by the way" Camilo complimented you as he gestured you to join him in the bed.

"Are you okay?" You asked while being wrapped in his warm and sad arms.

"I- um" Camilo thought about your lyrics from just a while, he sighed down and brushed his fingers through your hair, "No, not really"

"What happened? Is there anything I could do? To help you?" You asked sincerely, looking up to meeting his beaming eyes.

"I really don't know how to explain it mi vida, I-I I can't put it into words, let's just not talk about it" he kissed your forehead before snuggling his face on your head, "I just want you here, stay with me for a while mi vida, that's all enough for me from you" he told you as you both cuddled up and admired the lit up burning candle before closing their eyes, letting your need to rest take over you two.

"Te quiero cariño" you whispered, melting in his touch as you faced him.

"Te quiero mucho mi vida" Camilo planted a kiss on your head and finally resting with you in his arms.

Just a little note, Camilo didn't really have a good day and was just really tired and wanted to rest with his mi vida. (You know when you're drained and tired, you just wanna lay down and cry rest, the only difference is that Camilo has someone and I don't😢 lmao)

Hehe, half of this is just the readers bonding with Dolores, I mean who doesn't like spending time with your novio's hermana? I was maybe gonna make this angsty but decided to be against it today, I needed comfort today. I actually don't know what this is. And thanks for reading! Do correct me for any mistakes and do tell me what you think of this! Once again thank you and have a beautiful week! /j

Hehe the title sounds/looks angsty😅😁

[domxmarvel]

Objection

Masterlist

Isabela x Female!Reader

Slot: Caught Feelings for Friend With Benefits

You had no idea how this started,but you knew that pretending to be perfect all the time was exhausting and she needed some form of escape. She happened to find that with you,but because of her reputation you had to keep it a secret. She wasn’t just the most beautiful girl in town but also the first bond madrigal grandchild,Alma would want no one but the best man for her,nothing less than perfection. At first you only did it to help her escape her,but you quickly realized you also did it feel what it would be like to have her love you. You had a small crush on her when you were younger,it wasn’t as intense but it never disappeared. Those feelings were resurfacing with every night you spent with her. 

***

During the last week she had been stopping by almost every single night,you soon found out it was because Mariano was planning on proposing to her.

“Why don’t you try and talk to your parents?” 

“They might not be able to do anything,I have to do what’s best for my family”

“What about what you want? What about what makes you happy and what’s best for you? Isabela it’s clear you don’t want to marry him,you can’t live the rest of your life like that” Suddenly she burst into tears,wrapping her arms around you. She ended up crying the whole night,talking about how she didn’t want to marry him and how she was tired of being perfect. She came back for the rest of the week,even coming to you hours before the proposal dinner. You had your arms around her as she laid on top of you,and realized that this was your only chance to tell her your feelings. 

“Isabela,can I talk to you about something important?”

“I’m sorry Y/N,but I should get back before Mariano arrives” She grabbed her shoes and ran out before you could tell her.

“I love you…”

A few minutes after she left,you were just staring blankly at the wall. You had a chance to tell her,but you just let her go. Why didn’t you yell it? Why didn’t you stop her? A knock at the door snapped you out of your thoughts,opening the door you saw Dolores standing there,panting like she just sprinted there.

“Dolores,how can I help you?”

“You can’t but I can help you” You were confused until you realized that she probably heard you,she saw your face when you realized what she meant. “Y/N,she loves you too and I know how much you love her. She doesn’t want to marry Mariano,but I do and I’m here to make sure the rest of her life isn’t miserable” She grabbed your hand and sprinted again. “Y/N you have to tell her and stop this” It looked like the dinner party had already started,Dolores pretty much kicked the door open. You broke away from her and ran until you saw them,Isabela stood up while everyone looked at you.

“Y/N,what are you doing here?”

“I told you I had something important to say,Isabela,I love you” Everyone froze at your words. “I have for years and I don’t want to see you sad for the rest of your life. I know you don’t want this”

“Y/N” She sighed before turning back to her family “You’re right I don’t want this,I’m sorry Mariano but I love Y/N” She turned back to you. She hugged you “I should’ve listened to you”

“But then I wouldn’t have had a chance to burst in like this”

“That was actually pretty cool”

[gem-morey]

Oh, Gem had ideas in his head.

They were mostly of the hook up variety. Gem thought it was very funny that Dolores Madrigal was hooking up with his brother. Considering how much Isabela hated him. He wondered if this would cause a rift between the sisters? cousins? Shit. He literally had no idea how they were related. Oh well. That was irrelevant.

"Friends with benefits, how modern of you," Gem said, shaking Seb by the shoulder he slapped, but he just squeezed the joint of his neck and shoulder for a second before letting go completely and flopping back onto the couch.

"Just be careful. I hear that gets messy." He tilted his head back, letting popcorn fall into his open mouth. A few pieces bounced off his cheeks, landing on his shirt and the couch.

I Spy... 🔥[Spicy Meatball]

[paulette-moi]

Paulette wasn't all-knowing, but she wasn't stupid either. She saw Tom talking with another woman at length at the ball and suspected she'd missed her window to snag him right away--- but that wasn't her only purpose for doing this experiment. With Clayton and Isabela getting quite serious (and Clayton still carrying on his affair with her, just increasingly discreet) Paulette was going to need to endear herself to more men around town.

Both of seemingly modest means for the benefits they can provide (a sense of safety when out and about, help fixing this or that, and maybe even genuine friendship), and the wealthy for obvious reasons. It wasn't as if Clayton was the only rich man paying her bills. Occasionally she'd travel to another part of England to spend a weekend "with a friend" as far as her sisters were concerned and come home with more money in the bank and a new outfit. But he was her main source of income and she needed to charm other men in case that well dried up.

Ah, such a shame TruffleThief pussied out of meeting her.

So here Paulette was, unwilling to fight a battle with another woman over a man, but eager to make herself a presence in the life of this very handsome man.

"What your go-to shake flavor?" Paulette asked. "Mine's quite basic, peppermint."

Shake, Shake || Tomlette

[darethshirl]

so now that Smutquisition is over and authors have been revealed, it’s time to do an Official Post about it! 👀🙌

First, my gifts:

in the name of friendship by @bogunicorn

Pairing: Anders/Fenris/Female Hawke

Summary:  Fenris and Anders are both (separately) fucking Hawke and can’t stop asking about each other. Hawke takes matters into her own hands and helps them with a dick measuring contest. Almost literally.

Tags: Red Hawke (Dragon Age), Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Face-Fucking, Come Swallowing 

Wordcount:  2560

Notes: An absolutely DELIGHTFUL piece of smut containing: fenders bickering, a Hawke that knows exactly how to handle them, and absolutely smoking hot threeway sex (intersperesed with more bickering, of course, cause that’s Fenris and Anders for ya lmao) The narration was hilarious and the smut was scorching. Ten out of ten! 👌💯

*

No Place I’d Rather Be by @wildercrow

Pairing: Zevran Airanai/Isabela

Summary: Isabela stops by Zevran's place during a work trip to Antiva. The two old friends catch up with some feelsy but decidedly platonic sex.

Tags: Friends With Benefits, Platonic Sex, Fluff and Smut, Light Bondage, Restraints, Blindfolds, Orgasm Delay, Light Dom/sub, Praise Kink, Begging, Cunnilingus, Face-Sitting, Biting, Porn with Feelings, Trans Zevran Arainai, Post-Canon 

Wordcount: 3283

Notes: Soft and beautiful platonic sex between two old friends. You can feel the affection and intimacy between these two and it went straight to my little heart.  🥺🥺🥰🥰 Also the teasing in this fic is long and GLORIOUS. 👀👌 Wonderful all around!

.

Now, my offerings:

The one where Merrill has a gangbang for @hollyand-writes

Pairing: Arishok/Merrill/Original Qunari Character(s)

Summary: “Oh,” Merrill breathed at the sight that greeted her. “That’s very impressive.”

The Arishok outright chuckled this time, the sound rich and rolling. “Go on,” he said, magnanimously indulgent. “You know how this goes.”

She did.

Tags: Forced Orgasm, Multiple Orgasms, Blow Jobs, Finger Sucking, Creampie, Bukkake, Spitroasting, Size Difference, Large Cock, Rough Sex, Threesome - F/M/M, Gangbang, Slight Horror Elements, merrill is having fun tho, exactly what it says on the tin my dudes 

Wordcount: 2410

Notes: please ignore the title lmao I really have no excuse or justification for this. 😂 It’s literally just. Merrill having a gangbang. :’) Enjoying herself. :’) As one does, when you’re the filling in an Arishok/random beefy qunari sandwich. That is all!

*

come on hold me in this space for @kaiju--burgers

Pairing: Male Hawke/Merrill

Summary: "You know,” Merrill said, straddling his waist with easy familiarity, “if our situations were reversed you wouldn’t be following your own advice, I don’t think. You’d just press steadily on, unheeding of your poor friends’ advice, until you accomplished whatever it was you wanted to accomplish.”

“I never said to stop.” Hawke rose up and gripped her hips, casually possessive. “Just to take a break.”

“Hmm,” Merrill hummed, amusement hiding in the corner of her mouth. “And you volunteer to be my distraction?” She cupped his face, his beard thick and prickly under he palms. “How very kind of you.”

“That’s me,” Hawke said, both his voice and his expression perfectly deadpan. “The very picture of kindness.”

Tags: Red Hawke (Dragon Age), Established Relationship, Light Bondage, Magic in Bed, Magic vines, Woman on Top, Femdom, Size Difference, Rough Sex, Biting, Fingerfucking **         **

Wordcount: 1767

Notes: Merrill/Hawke is already an underappreciated ship in fandom, but you what’s even more underappreciated? A Red!Hawke who’s soft for Merrill and lets her dom him. 👌 Also featuring Magic Vine Bondage. You’re welcome. 😌

*

here I want to be found for Key_FF, WickedWitchoftheWilds

Pairing: Abelas/Well of Sorrows

Summary: Existence feels heavy, these days. Time has a weight to it.

Tags: Angst, Loneliness, Pining, Touch-Starved, Character Study, I guess?? lmao, Crack Treated Seriously, Sexual Content 

Wordcount: 1447

Notes: Look I know the pairing sounds like complete crack, and it is, but... I went way too serious with this? I’m almost embarassed to toss this in with all the dirty smut. 😂😅 Anyway here’s an angsty introspective piece where Abelas deals with the loneliness of duty......... and also fucks the Vir'Abelasan . :’)

Alright that’s all folks! Hope you enjoy all the smut! 😇🥰