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ihavethedreamies · 5 months

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Oasis | S.Coups

Choi Seungcheol (S.Coups - Seventeen)

Rating: M (18+) MDNI

Word Count: ~4.6k

Pairing: S.Coups x AFAB!Reader

Genre: Sci-Fi AU!, Reader-Insert, Smut, Some Plot, Hookup/One-Night-Stand/Strangers to Fucking

!!This is smut…if that much isn't clear you should probably leave now!! MDNI!

Warnings: She/Her Pronouns used, Violence (mentions of weapons, but nothing else), Pet Names (Doll, Sweetheart, Princess, Pumpkin, etc.), Daddy Kink (as required by law), Swearing, Kissing, Thigh-Riding, Cockwarming, Couch Sex, Slight Breathplay, Soft Dom! S.Coups, Unprotected Sex (Use a condom!), He's got some ~fancy~ tattoos ;)

Author's Note: Okay this one was…normally I can stay calm writing, but not for a Scoops. He's just so fucking hot…

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I am cross-posting this on Archive. Please reblog! If you know anyone that would like this or future fics but they aren't on here my name and icon are exactly the same on the other site. Happy reading!

The only problem with being in a small village in the middle of the desert is there were very few places to hide. You turned a corner around a sandstone building into an alleyway. Luckily, there was a pile of crates with a small enough hole for you to hide. Crawling into the space, you tried to stay as quiet as possible while also catching your breath. You worried your panting would be too loud. You clutched your bag close to you, not wanting to lose the contents again. Having found what seems to be an extremely valuable artifact, you had tried desperately to get it back after it had been stolen. You had reported the chunk of crystal to the Assembly and they said it was possibly valuable enough to bring to headquarters. Though, while you were camping out, about a third of the way through a four-day journey, your camp was ransacked, and your crystal stolen. You followed the thieves that turned out to essentially be a gang, and you took it back. They had found you though and had been chasing you for a good hour. They obviously understood the crystal's value if they were pursuing you so intently. Peaking around the crates, you saw a few of the goons run down the street past the alley, but you weren't brave enough to get away yet.

"Fuck!" You shrieked, a hand having grabbed your braid at the base, hauling you out of your hiding hole. Your hands grappled at his, trying to get him to let you go, legs scrambling on the ground.

"You stupid bitch-" He grumbled, yanking your hair harder till you fell back against his legs.

"Where's the rock?" He snapped and you just glared up at him, not wanting him to realize if you looked at your bag. You grunted at the tug on your hair, but immediately stopped wiggling when you felt something metal press against your neck.

"If I get this back from you, the boss might just promote me-"

"Kind of hard to get a promotion with an extra hole in your head." A new voice spoke and you could feel the gangster freeze behind you, the knife pressed to your neck retreating slightly. You assumed this new man had pressed his own weapon, a blaster most likely, against the guy's head.

"Drop the knife." This new man's voice was steady, strong, and you felt safe already. You heard the blade clatter on the ground, and the hold on your braid released, so you scrambled away from the gangster. Instead of going forward, you basically crawled around and behind the aggressor, and stopped once you were safely behind your rescuer. Just from behind, you could tell he was strong, his bare arms showed his biceps were nearly as big as your thigh, maybe bigger. Smooth geometric tattoos painted his arms, looking similar to a circuit board. His hair was bright red, slicked back just enough to keep the longer strands out of his face, the ends resting just above his shoulders. He had a belt strapped around his torso over his vest, various things attached to it along with several ammo cartridges. Another strap around one of his thick thighs had the holster for his blaster and his pants were tucked into a pair of knee-high combat boots.

"Now screw off before you can't." The man pulled his blaster away, but literally kicked the guy's ass, sending him onto his face a few feet forward. The gangster scrambled to his feet and fled. Once he was gone, the man before you turned around finally and your breath left you right after you had caught it back. He was fucking gorgeous. You wondered if the slit in his eyebrow was from a scar, or just for looks, it was hard to tell in the dark light.

"Are you okay, doll?" He kneeled in front of you, even like that you felt tiny…Tinier than usual. You wondered if he could see your reddened face in the low light.

"Y-yes." You nodded, letting him wrap his hands around your arms to help you stand up. Your own hands went to his biceps, trying hard not to squeeze to test the muscle there, and your shaking legs finally got you up. You wished he didn't have the leather gloves on so you could feel more of his bare skin on yours. After you were both up, the top of your head only reached his chin, and he smelled good-

"Why were they after you?" he asked and you had to step back to look at him even with your head tipped up.

"Uh…" You weren’t sure if he was trustworthy, even if he saved you. Maybe he just wanted the crystal for himself…

"It's okay, doll. I'm a Ranger." He pulled the chain around his neck up and out of his shirt, an upside-down triangle-like designed pendant on the end. You recognized it, and the title, so you relaxed. They were basically freelance, vigilante, bounty-hunter guys. They would help people in need and take out or get criminals without having to worry about legal red tape. It was an elite group, and their identities were not widely known. Sighing in relief at the news, you opened your satchel and pulled the crystal out. It wasn't refined and it was pretty heavy. You handed the rock to him and he looked it over, holding it easily with one hand while he holstered his blaster. The thin but tight black shirt he had on under his utility vest struggled over his chest as he did so, when he spoke you finally brought your attention away.

"This is a diamond, doll." He smiled and your jaw dropped. No wonder it was so valuable. That would make sense why the Assembly Headquarters wanted it, they had the largest bank on the planet.

"Seriously?"

"Yep." He once again held the gem in one hand, pulling a device out of a pocket of his utility belt. The Ranger clicked the end against the gem and looked at the panel on the side as the device beeped.

"About 13 hundred carats." He smirked, arching one of his thick eyebrows.

"Where'd you find this?"

"I'm a Scavenger, so I look for scrap and crashed ships or satellites. This was in some wreckage out near Dekkos." you told him, a bit surprised he handed the gem back to you.

"Are you bringing it to the capital?"

"Yes."

"You will probably have more of those gangsters plus anyone else who finds out after you, why don't I escort you?"

"You would do that?"

"Of course, doll. I'm Seungcheol, but my team calls me S.Coups."

"S.Coups?" you questioned and he chuckled, a bit embarrassed.

"Uh, the S is for Seungcheol, and then coups like coup-d'état."

"You overthrow someone?"

"Well, kind of. Our first mission was to get a corrupt mayor out of power, so…" He smiled, somehow his extremely handsome face looked cute.

"Are you sure you don't mind escorting me?"

"I told you," he leaned forward so he was more eye level, "of course I don't mind."

"Can I call you Cheol?" you asked him, his name was kind of long and you weren't sure about his nick name…

"Of course, doll. What do I call you?" You told him your name in response and when he said it with a smile, your ovaries exploded.

"I know its late, but I was planning on getting to the next town over, it's about an hour, is that okay?" he asked you as you followed him to the main street and toward the edge of the village. You had wrapped the diamond up in a head scarf you had and tucked it back in your satchel. Cheol suggested you grab your stuff from your rover and leave it for the time being, since more goons might know it's yours. He wouldn't even let you carry your own bag.

"That diamond is enough for you to carry, (Y/N)." When you got to his own rover, you halted in shock. Not only was it new, but it was a really nice model too. Yours was nearly thirty years old and was not exactly top of the line, even new.

"Oh, this belongs to the whole group. I just have it most of the time since I'm the leader."

"You're the leader?" You hadn't known that.

"Well, kind of. I'm co-commander along with Woozi." He opened the passenger door for you and you climbed up onto the wheel and into the rover. The seats were nice, and actually seats versus what looked like a restaurant booth. The inside panels were just a flat holo-screen, and it even had heating. Your rover only had air-conditioning, so at night it could be kind of cold. You asked him a series of questions as you drove to the next town, and he answered each one humbly. Your eyes kept flitting to his hands on the steering wheel, then up his arms and traced every line of his tattoos, to his side profile-

"Your eyes might burn me, doll." He tried not to smirk, casting you a knowing side glance. You floundered for an excuse.

"Its fine, sweetheart." Seungcheol rested back in the seat and you shuffled in your own seat, your face not the only part of you heating up. By the time you reached the next town, all you wanted to do was get in bed, and maybe get him inside you…

"Do you mind sharing a hotel room, I can keep you safer that way." His suggestion was genuine, truly just wanting to protect you. And you were more than willing.

"That's fine!" Seungcheol smirked, walking past you into the hotel, one much nicer than the inns or motels you usually stayed at. You cringed at your own eagerness, following after him with your head bowed in embarrassment.

"Can we get a suite with two bedrooms?" He pulled his credit chit out, the hotelier tapped on her console telling you there was one available on the fifth floor. You watched her as she worked, and she kept looking up at Seungcheol and all over him. She wasn't blind, you didn’t blame her. He took the room and you balked at the price.

"Don't worry, doll." He cast you a gentle smile, so you didn't. Judging by his rover, even if he claimed it was the whole group's, he had money to spare. You followed after him, casting a glance back at the hotelier who was glaring at you. Wanting to stick your tongue out at her like a child, you restrained yourself and waited for the elevator with him. Right as the lift was reaching the ground floor, a group of about seven entered and headed toward the elevators as well. Because of this, the lift was full, and you pressed your small self into the corner, Seungcheol working as a barrier between you and the group of men that had entered as well. You doubted they even knew you were there. They had left the button pressed for the fifth floor, and you both waited for them to get out, then headed in the opposite direction. He tapped the clear card against the lock and it dinged, opening with a click. He carried both of your bags in and you looked around the suite in awe, never having stayed somewhere so nice.

"I'm going to shower quick." Seungcheol deposited your bag in one of the bedrooms and headed toward the other. There was a bathroom attached to each room and so you followed suit. Only taking a rinse off since you had showered the night before, you found yourself watching some show on the couch. You had changed into shorts and a tank instead of your leather leggings and vest. Your knees were pulled to your chest, feet resting on the cushion, and you were really trying to focus on the show. It was so hard though to not think of him in the shower. He was too freaking hot and there was only a door in between you and him. Naked.

"Fucking fuck…" You huffed at yourself, trying to snap out of your pervy thoughts, but it was futile. Especially since he had just come out in nothing but his pants. At least he wasn't just in a towel, but his muscular and toned body was perfectly on display. He had more of the circuit-like tattoos curling up over his shoulders and down his chest and sides of his stomach. You had noticed earlier not only were his arms and thighs thick, but he had a butt too. Fuck. He saw you gaping at him, it was kind of hard not to. It was like you had zoned out…or in rather, on him and he huffed a laugh, a bit embarrassed. However, he felt more smug than anything and his own eyes flicked over your mostly bare legs and the low cut of your tank. He would be lying if he said he wasn't just as attracted to you as you seemed to be to him. It was up to you make a move though… When you snapped out of it and your eyes met his, he was smirking and hummed with an inquisitive tone.

"Yes?" He teased and you choked on your saliva some, eyes flitting back over his bare chest.

"You curious?" You nodded dumbly.

"Come here, then." Seungcheol smiled and he nearly guffawed at how fast you leaped off the couch, but you approached much slower. You stopped right before him, hand coming up and hovering over his skin. You flitted your gaze up to his face and he nodded, taking a sip out of the bottle he was holding. As soon as your fingertips met his warm skin, the other hand flew up and you brought them down to rest on his abs.

"Fucking hell." You whispered and he really tried not to laugh, but you could feel his chest rumble a bit. Tracing each curve and angle of the tattoos snaking over him, you noticed they seemed to let out a slight reddish glow, lagging behind your tracing fingers over the black lines. Your mouth was hung open as you touched him like he was the best thing you had ever had the pleasure of touching, and he smirked harder. Getting annoyed with his smugness, even though it was warranted and caused by you, you dug your dull nails in a bit and scratched down. Seungcheol sighed, a low groan rumbling out after and your cunt clenched around nothing.

"What-?!" You squeaked as he crouched a bit, wrapping one around your upper thighs under your butt, and easily lifted you up against his shoulder. He carried you over to the couch, his bottle still in his hand and you wondered if he could hear your heart pounding. He could probably also feel your wet leaking through your panties and shorts. You glanced down and saw that the tattoos were on his back too. The man sat on the couch, adjusting you on his lap so you were straddling one of his thighs. You nearly whined, having to spread your legs pretty wide to accommodate, and you could feel the hard muscle through his pants. While they weren't super tight, with how he was sitting, the stretched over his thigh just right. He smirked again as he took another drink, your shorts so thin he could feel your pussy clench as you settled.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, doll?" Your fingers were lazily and lightly rubbing over his skin, it tickled a bit. Those tattoos definitely shimmered when you touched them…

"Can I ride your thigh?" Your voice was so soft that despite how close you were, he almost didn't hear you.

"You want that, sweetheart?"

"Yes, -dy." He barely heard the last part, your face blossoming red when you let the word slip, eyes widening in panic. Seungcheol groaned when he heard it, adjusting his footing and bounced his leg under you a bit, forcing it up and against your needy cunt.

"You wanna ride daddy's thigh, pumpkin?"

"Fuck, yes please~" You gasped, but held back from moving, nodding.

"Go ahead, then." He took a casual sip from the bottle, glancing over your shoulder at the TV like he was actually focusing on it. He licked his lips, swallowing a chuckle when you began to grind down onto his leg, so hard he felt your pulse from your core. Your little mewls grew louder when you leaned forward, losing strength in the rest of your body, resting your forehead on his collarbone. Your fingers dug into the waist of his pants on either side of you, getting closer and closer. While Cheol had his number of sexcapades, he had never had a girl be this eager to fuck herself on his leg. Most of the time he was worried if they would find out he didn't, by any means, mind getting called daddy. You were the first one though to jump on it immediately, and with no hint or prompting from him. He was thanking fate that he was the one that rescued you.

"I'm-" You gasped, your hips stuttering.

"Close, pumpkin?" He finally put the bottle down, his arm curling around your waist, helping you keep your rhythm. His face got close to yours, so much so your lips were barely touching and he swallowed your moan, invading your mouth with his tongue. You fell apart then, whining as he helped you ride out your high, catching every little noise you made with his lips. Your head was swimming, you nearly gasped for air when he left the kiss. Your panties were sticking to your even wetter folds, and he could feel that your slick had soaked through his pants too.

"Did a good job, sweetheart."

"Thanks, daddy." It seemed you were a bit shy with the daddy-kink play, but you had started it.

"What now, doll?" Your eyes met his, unsure with what answer he wanted.

"What do you want me to do to you now?" He arched a brow and your mind ran rampant with all the possibilities.

"W-what do you want to do?" You threw the question back and he tilted his head in thought, humming. You could feel that his cock had gotten hard against your knee, your mouth watered when you glanced down at the tent pitched, wondering just how big he really was.

"What if…" As he spoke, his hand drifted from your hip, over your ass, and into the back of your shorts. You moaned when his fingers hit your soaking cunt, lightly circling the pad over your entrance.

"…you sit on my cock and we watch a movie?" His suggestion took you a second to piece together. Cockwarming? Fuck, yes PLEASE.

"O-okay." You nodded and his hand withdrew. He easily moved you to turn around and assisted with getting your shorts and panties off. Cheol adjusted his position and you rested against his chest, reaching down to release his cock from his pants. Your eyes widened, breath hitching when your hand met the flesh, finally getting him out to see what you had to work with. You were going to get split in half, and you couldn't be more excited.

"Daddy~" You whined, head falling back onto his shoulder, your nose brushing over the side of his throat.

"Can you take it, pumpkin?" He stroked the soft skin under your belly button, the sensation made you shiver, already sensitive.

"Yes."

"Yes…?"

"Yes, daddy."

"Good girl." You sat up a bit more, propping your hips up as he guided the tip of his fat cock to your glistening folds. A bit concerned when you let out a small choking noise, it soon faded into a moan, which rose into a whine as he sank deeper and deeper. You thought he would be in your throat by the time he was all the way in. Your tight core fluttered around his cock, the delicious burn of the stretch bringing you dangerously close to another orgasm already. When he had about another inch to go, you lost your strength. You slumped back into him, gravity pulling you the rest of the way done so his cock buried in completely. Your cunt twitched along with the rest of you, trying to adjust to the stretch and the intense pleasure it caused. If you were already so sensitive, he wondered how bad you would get after sitting on his cock for a good hour.

"Hm, so good, sweetheart. Taking daddy's cock like a pro." His groan rumbled through him and over you, his strong arms wrapping over you to hold you up and to him. After about five minutes, your brain started to function a bit more, and you tried to get more comfortable on his lap as he started something you really cared not for. It wasn't what the movie was, but you could only think of him splitting you open and his bare chest pressed to your back. You had your legs spread wide over his lap, knees over his so he could easily hold them open for you. Every few minutes, your whole body twitched from the pleasure, your breath shuddering, trying not to move. You really were a princess, more like a queen, taking his huge cock so good and sitting still so obediently. He had to push away the thought of immediately taking you as his wife, but man did he want to. Have you whenever he wanted…

"D-daddy…!" You gasped, cunt clenching hard suddenly and he huffed as you came, not having moved for the last half hour. He wondered how that was possible, and so did you. Seungcheol had to be a drug itself, because you were already addicted. You needed him so bad-

"Fuck, hold on…" He grunted, shutting the TV off and wrapping his arms around you tighter, hand on your opposite hip and the other across your chest so his hand could rest under your jaw. He splayed his legs better, sliding down the couch a bit to get better leverage, and your nails quickly dug into the back of the couch to prepare. He gave a shallow but hard thrust and you squealed, releasing babbles as he fucked up into you. Each thrust shattered pleasure through your body, his skin getting hotter against yours. Moreso than was natural, and you realized you could feel the pattern of the marks covering his torso with the heat. They must have been some kind of cybernetics…

"Want more, princess?" He rumbled and you whined an affirmation, his thrusts still hard but too shallow. You didn’t want to be able to walk the next three days… The hand he had on your hip shifted so he splayed his fingers over your lower stomach, index and middle fingers resting in a V right around where he had his cock inside of you. His other hand your jaw moved down to your collarbone, lying over the top of your chest, his pinky slightly under the hem of your tank. The heat of his tattoos increased, and suddenly it was like every one of your nerves was set on fire. He froze his pace, grunting as your cunt clenched harder as you came again already, soaking down his balls and over his pants. He chuckled as your core pulsed over and over, seeming to never end. You nearly blacked out, gasping for breath and wondering what the hell that was.

"W-what?"

"I can use these to affect the nerves of people. I use it to knock out targets, or to ease the pain of someone I’m helping. Can make you real sensitive…" He hummed by your ear, his teeth nibbling on the ridge.

"Where do you want daddy to fuck you next, doll?" You nearly didn't register his question, still trying to find your place in reality.

"Bed…" You knew it was cliché, but…

"Of course, sweetheart." He sat all the way up, the position change shifting him inside you and you gasped, whining in disappointment as he pulled you off his cock. Just as easily as he lifted you before, you carried you to his room, grabbing the end of the duvet and easily pulling the whole thing off, letting it float to the floor. Resting you down like you were as delicate as a flower, you sighed at the cool fabric hitting your back. Seungcheol kissed the corner of your mouth, and you tried to follow his lips, but they left yours, moving down your jaw and to your neck. Letting him move you, he brought on of your thighs to his hip, slinging your other knee over his elbow. Your cunt eagerly sucked his cock back inside and you whimpered as he slowly bottomed out. Giving you just a second to adjust, he leaned down and kissed you again. You mewled, your knee resting over his shoulder more than his elbow, the other leg wrapping over his hip as tight as you could manage. A trail of saliva connected your lips when he finally pulled his tongue out of your mouth.

"Ready, pumpkin?"

"Yes, daddy!" You squeaked in delight as he started to move, immediately barreling his fat cock into you, the head battering your cervix. His pace was so intense, your wet dripped over his groin and down your butt to land on the sheets. It must have been an extremely secure bed frame, because it only shifted a bit despite his powerful thrusts. You couldn't even make little noises, your mouth hung open in a silent moan, drool spilling out of the corner of your mouth. You were so fucked out and he wanted to keep you like that from then on. Always drunk on him…

"So fucking good…" He chuckled, hand gripping your leg at his hip, easily slinging your other leg over his shoulder, folding you in half. You saw stars, the first thrust at the new angle fucked another climax out of you, your cunt squirting and creaming his cock even more and he grunted at the tightness. His tattoos started to heat up again, you could feel the change on the back of your thighs where he pressed down into you. Not sure what sensation he was going to surge you into, you couldn't get ready. The same intense arousal sensitivity started to rise again, but something else hit you. A slight tightening at your neck, but his hands were nowhere near. It was very slight and it didn't restrict your oxygen at all, just giving you a dull squeeze in the best way. Your gasps were from the intensity of your pleasure rather than the press of your throat. Then, your senses shifted, your vision blurred and it seemed like you could only hear the woosh of your pulse and his grunts. You felt his skin on yours hotter than before, his cock seemed hotter too, and the scent of sex intensified. When his mouth went back to yours, it was like you could taste his tongue, taste him even more and his groan vibrated your tongue wrapped around his. Without warning, the heat spiked, and your eyes rolled back in your head. His hot cum pumped into you, your own final orgasm hitting you, rolling over and over, dulling before reigniting into another full climax. The heat of his cum spilling out from where he was inside you seemed to sear over your skin and when he had stopped, your senses returned to normal and it was like someone threw cold water on you. Your hearing returned to normal, and you could hear the noise of the street again. You finally registered that he had pulled away from the kiss, hovering over you with a smile. Not a smirk. You could barely get anything out but a whine.

"Did daddy fuck you good, doll?" You nodded lazily and he laughed, kissing you again.

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thekingofwinterblog · 1 year

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The Importance of Banter: Varric Tethras

So one of the more interesting takes I've gotten on my breakdowns of Dragon Age characters is the argument that Varric in terms of character development is one of the lesser characters in the game.

He stays the same, doesn't change much from beginning to end, and while enjoyable, his inclusion doesn't add nearly as much as some of the other characters in the game, and relies way too much on the goodwill from da2 to do most of the legwork for his inclusion in the game.

Now this isn't an argument without merit, I might agree a lot with this take... If it wasn't for the inclusion of one Dragon Age's staples, and one of the aspects that Inquisition arguably does better than ether ADO or DA2.

Character Banter.

Character Banter is extremely important because it gives us an insight into how characters think, how they interact, and showcases the more subtle elements that aren't always on display in the game itself.

Compared to the rest of the Characters, Varric is a bit different in that because he was a companion in the previous game, we can see how he's changed since the previous game.

Cassandra Pentaghast

So it's not an exaggeration to say that Cassandra and Varric has what is easily the most dynamic relationahip between any of the companions, having far and away the most interactions together out of party(And thats not even including the fact that all of DA2 is technically them talking to each other.

And this is reflected in their banter as well, where the two of them go back and forth like a married couple.

The thing that most be understood about Cassandra and Varric's banter though, is the fact that Varric is way, way smarter than Cassandra, who isn't dumb, but is not a genius by any stretch, which is reflected in the Dwarf's tendency to run rings around her all the time.

Cassandra: Have you heard from any of your Kirkwall associates Varric?

Varric: You're asking me? So you don't read my letters?

Cassandra: You're no longer my prisoner, much as you like to act like it.

Varric: Yet I still get all the suspicion.

Cassandra: I am not without sympathy, especially given recent events.

Varric: Why, Seeker, I would never accuse you of having sympathy! By the way I tend to refer to my "associates" as "friends". Maybe you're not familiar with the concept.

Cassandra: (sigh)

---

Varric: You know, Seeker, for someone with your tact and charisma you assembled a... pretty good little Inquisition. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming you didn't drag them all here by force.

Cassandra: How kind of you.

Varric: I mean, you never know, you could have kidnapped Ruffles and she'd be too polite to say anything.

Cassandra: Leliana recruited Josephine. They're... friends.

Varric: So there's a rational explanation after all. Just when I thought you had layers.

---

Varric: It makes sense that Leliana did the recruiting when the Inquisition started. Not everyone can be intimidated into signing up after all.

Cassandra: I recruited Commander Cullen.

Varric: Lucky him.

Cassandra: He has made no complaints about my manners.

Varric: His last boss was a raving lunatic who turned into a statue. That's not a high bar.

All of these three bits of banter is from early in their shared chain, and illustrates their dynamic very, very well. Varric reads Cassandra like an open book, and is able to completely take control over a situation just by playing the role of the ass who is just sniping at her because he feels like it, when what he's actually doing is maneuvering the conversation so it can end on him having the last words by playing on the things Cassandra knows she cannot refute without lying.

That takes a lot of sponanous wit and an ability to think on the spot, something cassandra does not possess, but Varric has in plenty.

Of course this dynamic is only at the start as they have plenty more as the story develops. One innparticular is their relationship regarding Varric's liturature, which is one of the more entertaining side quests in the game, but it does tell us more about them in the followup banter.

Varric: Seriously? Swords and Shields? How did you find that serial? Scrape it off the bottom of a barrel in Dust Town?

Cassandra: It was research! I thought I might learn more about the Champion.

Varric: I did write a book about the Champion. You might remember it. Had your knife stuck through it last I saw.

Cassandra: I already read that one. Twice.

Here we learn how much Cassandra actually loves to read Varric's work, but more importantly we get something we rarely see in Varric. Him talking about his own failures.

Varric likes to pretend he's this amazing writer who always produce masterpieces, as he himself says to Bianca, as if he'd write about his own failures and mistakes...

And yet there is swords and shields, a book that Varric has deemed an abyssmal failure. A joke, a mediocre piece of trash not worth the paper it was printed on... And yet it has it's fans. This work that varric despises still managed to find an audience, and despite how much satisfaction he had smugly giving it to Cassandra, that still grinds his gears.

People shouldn't like his bad work. It should be forgotten in favor of his masterpieces. A very dwarven way of thinking.

Varric: I can't believe you picked the absolute worst of my books to read. Why not Hard in Hightown?

Cassandra: I have enough mysteries and investigations of my own.

Varric: What? You don't want to solve more in your spare time?

Cassandra: Then you killed my favorite character in Chapter 3, so I threw the book across the room.

Varric: Ah, a critic. Say no more.

In this one, we get Varric both genuinely questioning Cassandra, as he seems to have assumed she actually does like investigating mysteries(she does not), but also tries to nudge her over to read High in Hightown instead.

Cassandra: Varric, how could you let the Knight-Captain be framed for murder?

Varric: Well, I did spent three entire chapters setting it up.

Cassandra: But she didn't deserve it! You'd already put her through more than enough!

Varric: Look, Seeker, if you love a character, you give them pain, ruin their lives, make them suffer. Maybe even throw in a heroic death.

Cassandra: That makes no sense!

Varric: You care enough to argue. If she had a nice afternoon and took a nap, you'd stop reading.

I could deconstruct this, but basically it's just a bit of meta commentary on what makes a good story. Not only will it not be the last, but it's not even the most blatant. After all, this one could apply to other people besides Hawke.

Cassandra: What made you write about Hawke? All your other books are complete fiction.

Varric: Someone had to set the record straight about the Champion.

Cassandra: Yet your book is still full of lies.

Varric: But true ones. That's important.

Varric loves stories... But he understands what stories are at their heart. The difference between a Recounting, and a Tale. That's what history is after all, the Tales everyone passed down.

And what good tale doesn't have a bit of exaggerated bullshit?

Cassandra: Why is the second Hard in Hightown so completely different from the first?

Varric: (sigh) Because I didn't write it. Shit, did you pay actual coin for that book? One of these days, I'm going to find the duster who wrote that garbage and introduce him to my editor.

Cassandra: By "editor," do you mean your crossbow?

Varric: No, my actual editor. Best in the business. She runs half the Coterie in Kirkwall. Stickler for grammar. She once killed a man over a semicolon. I'd never print anything without her.

This one is more meta commentary, but it does have a bit more meat to it. Varric's whole spiel about his editor being super powerful in the Coterie could be the truth, it could be complete bullshit. Or it could be something in between.

That's not the important part. The important part is that he wants Cassandra to guess, to assume, to speculate, because that is far more powerful than just laying it all out could ever be.

Cole: She has to reach the other side of the hill.

Cassandra: Who does?

Cole: The Knight-Captain. But she's injured.

Varric: (sigh) Good job, Kid.

Cassandra: Is she alright? Is that how the book ends?

Varric: Not anymore.

Cassandra: Cole, what happens to her?

Cole: I don't know. The hill went away.

So here we see that Varric is one of THOSE authors. You know the kind, the ones who will rewrite an entire storyline because the big twists was leaked ahead of time.

It's not that important in the grand scheme of things, but it's interesting how through the game we see a very consistent picture of how Varric likes to write. He's a gardner variety writer, but unlike GRRM he's not the kind thst sticks to what he had in mind and sets up if the big twist is learned before it's finished.

As for His banter with Cassandra related to Hawke, it's entertaining, but not exactly that enlightening. Except for one.

If you chose in DA2 to save carver or Bethany by making them grey wardens, you get this bit when Cassandra Questions him about them.

Varric: Aveline took him off somewhere when the Calling started going nuts, but he'll tag along. He always does.

Varric: Aveline took her off somewhere when the Calling started going nuts, but she'll try to keep Hawke out of trouble.

Cassandra misses the obvious, but you probably didn't.

Varric knew about the calling from the start. Oh he didn't know the details, and he didn't know why... But he knew there was something up with the calling from the very start, and probably figured out this was the key reason from day one.

And he didn't share it. At all.

That speaks volumes of where his true loyalties lies, and it's something a lot of people miss.

Cassandra is right. Varric's heart will never truly belong to the Inquisition so long as Hawke and his Kirkwall friends exists outside of it.

There is also a turning point in their conversations, starting around the point where Varric's personal quest with Bianca happened.

Cassandra: Am I to understand your Bianca is married?

Varric: Oh, have we reached the stage where we gossip about each other's love lives?

Varric: Did you hear that, boss? Don't worry, I'll tell you whatever she says.

Cassandra: Forget I mentioned anything. It was a simple question, Varric.

Varric: There was nothing simple about it.

Varric actually blatantly questions wheter they've reached the point where they are now talking about each others love with each other. The truth is though, they actually have.

Varric: You brought up Bianca, Seeker. Does that mean I can ask about your conquests?

Cassandra: I would rather you didn't.

Varric: No tantalizing secrets to divulge?

Cassandra: None.

(If the Inquisitor is in a relationship with Cassandra)

Varric: So no one within, say, a five foot radius has caught your eye?

Inquisitor: Really? No one at all?

Cassandra: This... is not a discussion I want to have here.

Varric: (laughs) Are you blushing, Seeker? Maker, the world really is coming to an end.

Inquisitor: Perhaps Cassandra—and her conquest—would rather not discuss this in public.

Varric: Spoilsport.

Varric: Nothing? You do know he's standing right there...

Cassandra: I... have no conquests.

Varric: How about dalliances? Liaisons? Illicit affairs?

Cassandra: No.

Sera: Enough poking, Varric.

Varric: Is it, Buttercup? Is it?

It a rather humorous affair, but it does show that Varric at this point is comfortable prodding Cassandra's love life, figuring out how far he can push.

Which speaks for itself at how close these two have gotten at this point.

Cassandra: Very well, Varric. If you wish to know about men I have known, I will tell you.

Varric: Look, Seeker. I was only...

Cassandra: You are right. I pried first, and fair is fair. Years ago, I knew a young mage named Regalyan. He was dashing, unlike any man I'd met. He died at the Conclave.

Varric: Oh.

Cassandra: What we had was fleeting. And years had passed. Still, it saddens me to think he's gone.

Varric: I'm sorry.

Nothing to add here, just that Varric sorta gets sad when he realizes that was friendly prodding touched a very bitter and sad point from Cassandra's pain.

For which he apologizes.

Varric: Look, Seeker, I didn't mean to make you talk about your mage friend.

Cassandra: I know. I was not trying to make you speak of Bianca. If I was, you would know. I would yell, books would be stabbed.

Varric: (Chuckles.) I'll keep that in mind.

Also as the game reaches the end section, Varric and Cassandra begin to really banter in a much more friendly way.

Cassandra: I still don't understand how drakes take that hand.

Varric: ...Hmm. Maybe we should start you on Shepherd's Six.

Cassandra: Isn't that a children's game?

Varric: Yeah.

When trying to teach Cassandra card games at this point in the story, Varric has the perfect set up for a punchline like he did in the early game, but he doesn't use it, because he isn't mocking cassandra here, he's genuinely trying to teach her how to play cards.

And so he suggest starting her off with something simple, like a card game for children, cause he understands thats where she has to start at her level.

There are plenty more, but most of it is just well written, engaging or funny back and forths. But before moving on, i wanna highlight two of them.

Varric: Did you really think the Conclave had a chance of making peace, Seeker?

Cassandra: You do not?

Varric: What was the Divine's plan? Bring everyone together and hope really hard that they would all get along?

Cassandra: Most Holy did not confide her plan to me. Perhaps she thought they were tired of death and conflict.

Varric: Oh, when is that ever been true? For Templars or mages.

Cassandra: I will not mock a dead woman, Varric. She did what she could, and that is more than most.

This conversation is very important for one simple reason. It showcases how much Varric has changed since DA2. Varric used to be one of the big believers in compromise in that game. He didn't come out and say it out right, because in that game the Templar far and away were the more evil faction, and so there was way more chances for Varric to stick up for mages, but Varric really, REALLY didn't want the mages and Templars to go to war.

He had so many friends in both factions, friends he knew would die if it ever did come to true blows.

I would say that varric was probably the best example of what neutrality in such a situation should have been. Someone who is neutral because he understood thst fundamentally, both sides even at their worst, were people. Not demons, not monsters, but human beings or elves. But unlike many others who clamor for neutrality, Varric wasn't stuck up his own ass about it.

If he saw one side go over the ljne, regardless of which it was, he would not just stand by wheter it was power hungry necromantic blood mages, or Templars like Ser Alrik.

But here, he mocks the very idea of neutrality. He has completely given up on it, and he's accepted that the only solution here, is for one side or the other will have to decisively crush the opposition.

Of course he doesnt come out and say it like that, but that's the message to take away here. So long as there is a templar or mage on the field, this war will continue. He doesn't like that fact, but he has accepted it.

Cassandra: I hear reconstruction is progressing well in Kirkwall.

Varric: I know things are bad there.

Cassandra: I wasn't trying to...

Varric: You weren't trying to remind me how bad is it in Kirkwall? So you decided to talk about it?

Cassandra: About its recovery!

Varric: What you're talking about are the buildings, and even that will take years. People don't recover so easily.

Kirkwall, that is to say, the Kirkwall Varric was born in, grew up in, and spent the happiest years of his life(When he was running there with Hawke), is dead and gone, and never coming back.

He is never getting it back.

Which will be very important for the next companion's banter.

Blackwall

Blackwall is different than the rest of the crew in that he's utterly reliant on the Banter to have any sort of presence. He has no charisma in the actual game, but he does showcase a much more entertaining character in banter.

In regards to Varric though, his mian purpose is to showcase aspects of Varric we don't often see.

One of the most important comes very, very early into their relationship.

Blackwall: I once met a dwarf who made the best home-brewed ale.

Varric: I once met a Grey Warden who got possessed by a spirit and then blew up a Chantry and killed a hundred people. What makes people think you want to hear what others of "your kind" have done, anyway?

This is a moment that is:

1. Very uncharacteristic of Varric, who usually loves talking about other people if he gets any excuse to do so, and will be demonstrated in a very similar moment in his banter with the Iron Bull, only with a different reaction.

2. It's here to showcase Varric's hatred for Anders. Other than Sebastian, Varric misses pretty much the entire DA2 cast, his true best friends... Except for Anders.

Varric LOATHES Anders for his actions, for kickstarting the Mage Templar War and getting lots of his friends killed, but also for destroying his home and making his own worst fear come true.

Varric's biggest fear as shown in the fade is becoming his parents... And that's exactly what he has become in DAI. The depressed exile from a home city that he can never return to, and if he does, it won't be the same life they miss so dearly. Varric misses Kirkwall. He misses it's people, the Hanged man, and always thinking back on the glory days of his life.

And he misses Hawke.

All lost to him and never coming back, all thanks to Anders. Varric can never return back to that time, that place, that era, that friend group that was the highpoint of Varric's life, because the city of Champion Hawke and Varric the sidekick is as dead and gone as his parents.

The hanged man will never be the same, Hawke will never be the revered Hero they were after act 2, and every single one of the countless friends that Varric misses will not come back.

And so he hates Anders with a level of hatred he reserves for very, very few people.

The rest of Varric's starting relationship with Blackwall is about him trying to figure out what makes him tick, innitially pegging him as another Sebastian. Boring, safe, droll.

He also has more banter where he shows how depressed he actually is about Kirkwall.

Blackwall: I've been to Kirkwall. The Hanged Man, actually, probably been twenty years now. It was a dive if I remember correctly.

Varric: It's the dive. Filled with the best and worst people in the world.

Blackwall: Yes, I heard it was a haunt of yours.

Varric: Haunt? It was home.

He finally clicks with Blackwall, as they get into a shared passion nobody else in the party has. Jousting. The sport consistent of knocking people of horses with pointy sticks.

As a Free Marcher Varric has grown up with the Grand Tourney as a focal point of his identity, and loves the sport, so he and Blackwall bonds and argues over the sport, with the most notable part being their disagreements over who is the better jousting knight, where he also gives his own cents in the form of a meta commentary between who is the better protagonist, the Hero of Ferelden or Hawke.

Blackwall: You can't really think Reeve Asa is a better knight than Honorine Chastain. Her record's flawless. Four hundred jousts, never unseated. No one's ever come close to it.

Varric: Oh, she's easily the most skilled. That's a fact. It's just "scrappy" is better than "flawless." I like heroes who try their damnedest, even if they fail a lot. It's easy to be valiant when you always win and everything goes your way. There's nothing great in that.

The rather unsubtle meta message here, is comparing the protagonists of the first games.

The warden is the stronger, more skilled and more competent protagonist who ultimately always triumphed, changed the world, and became heralded far and wide as the greatest hero of her age.

Meanwhile Hawke is the scrappy underdog hero who always gets back on their feet regardless of how hard they fall, and never actually suceeds in anything. Hawke is a failure Hero who couldn't save their mother, their city, at least one of their siblings, maybe two, Ketojan, couldn't prevent the Qunari attack, and constantly failed to save the day through DA2.

Now i don't really agree with this rather simplistic reading of the Warden, but it's a good scene, because it shows that Varric is more than capable of overlooking all the work, effort and time it takes to produce a "perfect" result, as well as show that Varric has a very hard preference for underdogs, and the stories they produce.

Which leads into his reaction when Blackwall confesses his sins.

Varric: Maybe I've been too hard on you.

Blackwall: Oh, so you don't think I'm dreadful now.

Varric: Actually, I thought you were boring before. Completely different. We're all dreadful. Every one of us, fundamentally flawed in a hundred different ways. That's why we're here, isn't it? Take all the risks, so the good people stay home where it's safe. With the whole "Blackwall" thing, you told a story so compelling even you started to believe it.

Blackwall: That's much nicer than saying "You're a dirty liar.", I'll take it.

Varric: A story-teller's got to believe his own story, or no one will.

Here we can gleam a sad fact. Varric very pointedly notes "we're all dreadfull", as Us, as in, him included.

Varric doesn't really consider himself a good person anymore, if he ever did.

It's not like the Varric of Yesteryear considered hinself a saint or some knight in shining armor, but there was a sense that he was happy with himself during that game, in a way he is not in DAI.

Something has changed, and that something is guilt over unleashing the red lyrium on the world, and probably guilt over killing his own friends.

It's not really focused on as much as it should be, but Varric had plenty of friends amongst both the mages and Templars... Which meant that when Anders blew up the chantry, regardless of which side you picked, Varric was forced to kill people who genuinely mattered to him.

Hence why he's so quick to forgive Blackwall for his lies.

For the most part this generally manifests itself in regards to Red Lyrium, which he blames himself for bringing into the world. I would argue that the more subtle parts you get to see in Banter though, is far, far more interesting and better told than the stuff in the main quest.

Because despite his flaws he "takes all the risks, so the good people won't have to.", just like Varric and Hawke.

This is in large amount what Varric in Inquisition is for the most part all about. Guilt, self loathing, and wanting to be a better person.

He just masks it with his usual wit, charm and charisma.

Kinda like Blackwall, only he doesn't really have much charisma or wit to hide behind. Hence why he is so accepting of, and willing to give him another chance without question.

On a final note before we move on from Blackwall, we also get to see varric try to play matchmaker between Blackwall and Josephine which is cute, but not exactly surprising, or give us further insight into Varric's character.

Cole

Now, I'm not going to cover Cole here, not because the banter isn't interesting, or we don't learn anything, but that's all from the way we learn about the world, or Cole himself.

Varric's side of these banters can be summed up in one sentence, for pretty much every single banter.

Varric is Cole's dad.

Rinse, repeat.

Dorian

Similarily, I will not be covering the banter with dorian, not because it's bad, far from it, it's some of the most entertaining in the game, but it doesn't exactly add much beyond the fact that both Varric and Dorian love to gamble, and share witty banter.

Also nugs has some creepy ass feet. The stuff of nightmares.

The Iron Bull

Far more to be dissected, can be found in Varric's banter with the Iron Bull.

There is so much to learn from this banter, from Spy work to how the Antaam is viewed by the other Qunari and so on, but we'll focus on the stuff relating to varric, as he and bull talk about a lot of things.

Varric: You're not the first Ben-Hassrath I've run across. Hawke and I went on a caper with one named Tallis.

Iron Bull: You don't say.

Varric: She caused us no end of trouble. You wouldn't know her by any chance?

Iron Bull: Hey, one time I ran into this dwarf on the road. Short, grouchy. You think you might know him?

Varric: I'm in the Merchant Guild. Ten royals says I not only know him—he owes me money.

Iron Bull: Oh. Well... no. I don't know Tallis. Sorry.

In stark contrast to his talk with Iron bull, when not involving Anders or other people he hates, Varric loves to talk about people. To the point that in his comeback to Iron Bull, there is an invitation here for Bull to specify who this random dwarf was, because chances are, he actually might know him, and could elaborate on the guy.

Varric: How could you possibly be a spy?

Iron Bull: Well, it's a pretty easy job. I do some fighting, and drinking, and then once in a while I tell Par Vollen about it.

Varric: Heh. Where's the sneaking, the plotting, the subtle machinations?

Iron Bull: If you do that, everyone knows you're a spy. Drinking, fighting, writing notes, that's all it really takes.

Varric: Shit. You're either the worst qunari ever, or the best. I can't decide.

He also showcases great frustration with the way Iron Bull pokes holes in his Bond like spy writing, in favor of the mundane realities of Cloak and Dagger stuff.

Because for all that he prides himself on tall tales, varric does like his writing to somewhat be plausible. Its why he gets pissy at the inquisitor when he tells him how stupid so many parts of DA2 were writing wise, cause Varric wrote it how it happened, and while embelishing it, it was mostly true.

And if his spy writing isn't realistic enough that it might plausibly happen... Then it's not as good as it could be.

Iron Bull: By the way, Varric, you write some nice fight scenes.

Varric: Well, thank you. I'm surprised you think so. They're not exactly realistic.

Iron Bull: I figured that out when the good guy did a backflip while wearing a chain mail shirt.

Varric: And that didn't bother you?

Iron Bull: Back in Seheron, I fell on a guy who tried to stab me in the gut. I felt the blade chip as it went through my gut and hit my back ribs. But I was alive, and on top. I sawed through the armor on the rebel's neck, back and forth, until it went red. I don't need a book to remind me that the world is full of horrible crap.

Varric: Impossible swashbuckling it is.

Meanwhile, this bit is surprisingly layered.

First off, there is Bull's retelling and describing the way he dealt with the Vint while bing impaled as "realistic". If this was not a world with magical healing such as potions or poultices he'd had died from this incident, due to infection if nothing else. That's meant as a bit of meta irony.

But the actual meat of this, is that Varric is just letting Bull rant.

The whole "Backflip while wearing chainmail armor" is something Hawke can literarily do in DA2, Provided you are a rogue Hawke and has high enough stats. If so, when hit by a trap, Hawke will simply backflip out of the way, even if wearing chainmail armor.

It is the kind of shit that for a long was normal for Varric, and he writes it into his fight scenes(Which he has a self dig at calling them not realistic, despite having seen shit like that for himself all the time).

But he doesnt say any of that.

Instead he just lets Bull rant, get it out there how shitty he really feels, because varric knows when to talk, and when to listen, and here is a time to listen.

Varric: So, Bull. You and Dorian?

Iron Bull: Mm-hmm.

Varric: "Two worlds tearing them apart, Tevinter and Qunari, with only love to keep them together."

Dorian: I don't see how this is even remotely your business, Varric.

Iron Bull: Could you make it sound angrier? "Love" is a bit soft.

Dorian: Please stop helping the dwarf.

Varric: How about passion?

Iron Bull: Yes, that's better. Love is all starlight and gentle blushes. Passion leaves your fingers sore from clawing the sheets.

Dorian: You could at least have had the courtesy to use the bedposts.

Iron Bull: Hey, don't top from the bottom.

Varric: Passion it is, then.

Also, i wanna highlight his banter with bull, if he and dorian hook up, and if both are with him in the party. It's really the only bit of Dorian varric banter with real character meat to it, as it puts Dorian's rarely seen tsundere side on full display, and why he makes such a good match with the easy going, yet equally passionate iron bull.

Iron Bull: Hey, Varric, I was reading your stuff... Where do your bad guys come from?

Varric: Well, some of them come from Tevinter and some are Ben-Hassrath spies... but I like the stories where the villain was the man beside you the whole time. The best villains don't see themselves as evil. They're fighting for a good cause, willing to get their hands dirty.

Iron Bull: All right, that's really deep and all, but I meant where do the bad guys come from literally? The way you write it, it's like they just fall from the sky and land on top on the hero.

Varric: I like to leave some things to the reader's imagination.

Also, final bit i'll cover of these two here. It's both a meta hit of writing in that it's supposed to be about solas, but can also apply to Iron bull, and is a self depreciating dig on the single worst gameplay mechanic from DA2.

Sera

So, as with Cole and Dorian, im not covering this sequence of banter as it doesn't really reveal much about Varric as a character. Its generally just Sera trying her usual bullshit, and Varric taking the piss out of her, much to her frustration.

Im not exactly a big fan of Sera, and even here, where most of their dialogue is about Varric basicaly running rings around her, don't really makes me smile.

There is one bit of banter though, that i do want to highlight.

Sera: (sing-song) La la la la la, Sentinals are shits.

Varric: Like it or not, Buttercup, that’s where you come from.

Sera: Says the undwarfiest dwarf ever!

Varric: Fair enough. Paragons can be shits too.

So, this one i feel is extremely important, for the reason that it goes to showcase that 1. Sera doesn't understand Varric in the slightest, and 2. Really goes to showcase Sera's complete and total lack of self awareness, and just how out of touch she is, raiding other people's homes, and calling them shits for defending themselves.

But that second one i'll save for Sera's banter review.

For this one, I want to highlight how Varric, just like Dorian understands and more importantly loves the Culture he originates from. He knows how shitty dwarven culture can be, and will never avoid taking the piss out of it for all it's flaws, but he also admires it. He admires their ability to create marvels, their grit and determination that has seen them take on the Darkspawn for a hundred years and still stand, and the individuals that stood up and above the rest to serve as legends, just like Hawke and the Inquisitor.

There is a reason his hangouts in both games are decorated full of very traditional dwarven furniture. Because he wants to live in a home that looks dwarven.

Because the past is important.

It's a bit of wisdom he tries, and fails to impart to Sera, that you simply trying to pretend your roots don't exists never works. And he's right. Even though Sera never admits wrong on her own part, she fully admits she burnt out on this spiteful hatred in Tresspasser.

Solas

Solas and Varric's banter though, is far, far more interesting.

Both of them are tricksters, both value the past greatly in their own way, both understands the power of a story, both of them lie to the Inquisitor, and both would rather remain the side character than step up to take the spotlight.

And yet they are different. Opposites almost.

One of Varric's defining feature as a person is that he cares about all his friends and how those friendships transcends the chains of status, having become friends with dwarves, Qunari, kossiths, humans, elves, templars, mages, seekers, antivans, fereldens, kirkwallers, orlesians, tevinters, anders, revains, avvar, and so on.

Solas single defining feature is how he sees everyone he does not knows except for his own, very small list of what he considers countrymen, as not things, and is willing to destroy the world for them to prosper.

Varric stays out of the spotlight cause he likes being the power behind the throne. Solas does it because as the Herald's Judas, he doesn't want anyone to question the many, many questions about him further than they have to.

Varric lives in the present, but respects the past. Solas in the past, and is terrified of the present.

Which leads to some of the most interesting banter in the game.

Solas: By the end of Hard in Hightown, almost every character is revealed as a spy or a traitor.

Varric: Wait, you read my book?

Solas: It was in the Inquisition library. Everyone but Donnen turned out to be in disguise. Is that common?

Varric: Are we still talking about books or are you asking if everyone I know is a secret agent?

Solas: Are there many tricksters in dwarven literature?

Varric: A handful, but they're the exception. Mostly they're just honoring the ancestors. It's very dull stuff. Human literature? Now there's where you'll find the tricky, clever, really deceptive types.

Solas: Curious.

Varric: Not really. Dwarves write how they want things to be. Humans write to figure out how things are.

Solas questions Varric about the to him, alien Dwarven liturature, trying to figure out what the new, "lesser" dwarves might write about when no longer part of a hivemind.

Varric gives it to him straight, but there is a deeper bit of character here.

Varric is able to explain this to Solas, because as a man who understands Dwarven culture, strengths, flaws, and weaknesses, and how it ticks, as well as undoubtedly having read a lot of dwarven literature, Varric is able to point out all it's shortcomings, or more accurately the way Human and Dwarven literature trends differentiate due to different cultural values.

Varric: You really spend most of your time in the Fade?

Solas: As much as is possible. The Fade contains a wealth of knowledge for those who know where to look.

Varric: Sure, but I don't know how you dream, let alone wander around in there.

Varric: Especially when the shit that comes out of the Fade generally seems pretty cranky.

Solas: So are humans, but we continue to interact with them... when we must.

Here Varric pries a bit into a topic he(If you took him with you in night terrors) only has experienced once before for himself, from someone who knows more about the fade and the veil than anyone.

Solas ends it on a much darker note than Varric assumes though, as what he means is, we have to tolerate them "for now."

Solas: Is it true that the entire dwarven economy relies upon lyrium?

Varric: Mostly. We've got the nug market cornered as well.

Solas: And the dwarves of Orzammar have never studied lyrium?

Varric: If they have, they certainly haven't shared anything up here. Why?

Solas: It is the source of all magic, save that which mages bring themselves.

Solas: Dwarves alone have the ability to mine it safely. I wondered if they had sought to learn more.

Varric: The folks back in Orzammar don't care much about anything but tradition.

So here we have Varric flat out bullshit Solas in several ways. He knows way more about lyrium than most, having studied red lyrium himself, and yet he does not give that information to Soals, the way he does with the Herald, showing that deep down, Varric trusts you far more than Solas, if not as much as Hawke.

He also knows that both surface and underground Dwarves have deeper knowledge of lyrium than any human, being it's the source of all the enchantments and magic, and that while they might not know it's origins, they understand how it works, and how to use it, transport it, store it, and so on.

If there is one thing Orzammar is good at, and not stuck in tradition, it's exploiting Lyrium to the hilt.

And yet he bullshits Solas about it completely. Because this is an early banter, the likely reason is simply that he does not trust him.

Which given his other important lies is not surprising.

And solas later recognizes this.

Solas: I find the fall of the dwarven lands confusing.

Varric: What's so confusing about endless darkspawn?

Solas: A great deal, although that is a different matter. Dwarves control the flow of lyrium. They could tighten their grip on it.

Varric: It's hard to get the attention of the humans when the darkspawn aren't up here messing with their stuff.

Solas: You're active in the Carta. You know your people could tug the purse strings. You could claim sovereign land on the surface, or demand help restoring the dwarven kingdom, but you don't.

Varric: You're not saying anything I haven't said myself, Chuckles. Orzammar is what it is

Solas Attacks Varric's arguments from adifferent angle here, without directly calling him a liar from the banter before, as he points out just how much power Orzammar has through it's economic might, how even if they know how to use Lyrium so effectively, they haven't been wielding that might to effecrively hammer out an anti Darkspawn coalition to crush the darkspawn in their own dens and wipe them out from the source.

Realistically, the dwarves are rhe only ones who could see it done, and yet they havent. Because before Bhelen, there was never a king willing to upend the entire system to get results.

Varric doesn't actually give his direct thoughts in this bit of banter, but it goes into future ones. Before that though, im gonna quickly cover another bit of banter.

Solas: Do you ever miss life beneath the earth? The call of the Stone?

Varric: Nah. Whatever the Stone - capital S - is, it was gone by the time my parents had me.

Solas: But... do you miss it?

Varric: How could I miss what I never had?

Varric: But say I did have that sense, that connection to the Stone. What would it cost me?

Varric: Would I lose my friends up here? Would I stop telling stories?

Varric: I like who I am. If I want to hear songs, I'll go to the tavern.

Solas: You are wiser than most.

Solas worships the past, to such a degree that he thinks being part of a hivemind under the titans, must have been better for the Dwarves, because of what it allowed them to accomplish by magic, and more importantly that it's what they used to be.

And what they used to be, must be better than what they are now, because the past is better.

Meanwhile Varric is content with the present. He never had stone sense, so why worry about it? Why dream of it, why become his parents? That would be absolutely awful, so why not embrace what you have now.

Though Solas doesn't know it, his backhanded praise here is actually even moreso than he knows.

Its backhanded by intention, because he acknowledges that varric is wiser than those who would wail about their lost glory... But as we'll see in the following banter, he regards all Dwarves, regardless of wheter they are like Varric, as lessers and fools. So varric is better... But he is still a fool.

Meanwhile, on Varric's part, it's even more backhanded than Solas intends because Varric is doing exactly what he's saying he isn't here.

Dreaming of glory days when all was simplier and he was a happier man. He's not dreaming of stone sense itself, but the sentiment is the same.

And he knows it. That's one of the saddest things about Varric in DAI. He became his parents, his worst fear, but he's very much aware of that fact.

Solas: Is there at least a movement to reunite Orzammar and Kal-Sharok?

Varric: What is it with you, Chuckles? Why do you care so much about the dwarves?

Solas: Once, in the Fade, I saw the memory of a man who lived alone on an island. Most of his tribe had fallen to beasts or disease. His wife had died in childbirth. He was the only one left. He could have struck out on his own to find a new land, new people. But he stayed. He spent every day catching fish in a little boat, every night drinking fermented fruit juice and watching the stars.

Varric: I can think of worse lives.

Solas: How can you be happy surrendering, knowing it will all end with you? How can you not fight?

Varric: I suppose it depends on the quality of the fermented fruit juice.

Solas: So it seems.

---

Solas:: I am sorry to have bothered you with my questions about your people Varric. I see so much of this world in dreams. Humans, my own people, even qunari. Dwarves alone were lost to me, save scattered fragments of memory where some spirit cared to watch. Now I know why I see so little.

Varric: And why is that?

Solas:: Dwarves are the severed arm of a once mighty hero, lying in a pool of blood. Undirected. Whatever skill of arms it had, gone forever. Although it might twitch to give the appearance of life, it will never dream.

Varric: I'd avoid mentioning that to any Carta, Chuckles. They might not take it the right way.

---

Varric: What's with you and the doom stuff? Are you always this cheery or is the hole in the sky getting to you?

Solas: I've no idea what you mean.

Varric: All the "fallen empire" crap you go on about. What's so great about empires anyway?

Varric: So we lost the Deep Roads, and Orzammar is too proud to ask for help. So what? We're not Orzammar and we're not our empire.

Varric: There are tens of thousands of us living up here in the sunlight now, and it's not that bad.

Varric: Life goes on. It's just different than it used to be.

Solas: And you have no concept of what that difference cost you.

Varric: I know what it didn't cost me. I'm still here, even after all those thaigs fell.

---

Solas: You truly are content to sit in the sun, never wondering what you could've been, never fighting back.

Varric: Ha, you've got it all wrong, Chuckles. This is fighting back.

Solas: How does passively accepting your fate constitute a fight?

Varric: In that story of yours—-the fisherman watching the stars, dying alone. You thought he gave up, right?

Solas: Yes.

Varric: But he went on living. He lost everyone, but he still got up every morning. He made a life, even if it was alone.

Varric: That's the world. Everything you build, it tears down. Everything you've got, it takes. And it's gone forever.

Varric: The only choices you get are to lie down and die or keep going. He kept going. That's as close to beating the world as anyone gets.

Solas: Well said. Perhaps I was mistaken

This entire banter line is about Varric and Solas.

On solas part it's about his very well spoken and articulated racist opinions on the modern dwarves compared to those who came before and trying to rack his brian around them not going to the lengths he himself would have gone to save their race.

Also the fact they are no longer part of the Titan hivemind. He's really stuck on that for reasons we don't really fully understand.

However, far, far more importantly this is about Varric's entire storyline in DAI.

Varric talks about Orzammar, about the loss of the deep roads, and yet they are all still there, still fighting, still marching on, rather than laying down and dying.

That is the true strength of the Dwarven race.

The ability to keep going even after losing everything. The original dwarves lost the titans and their magic. They marched on.

The dwarven empire lost the deep roads, and all but two thaigs. They marched on.

The surface dwarves lost their caste the last remains of their magic, and their status in dwarven society. They marched on.

Varric lost kirkwall. He lost his entire friend group that was the people who he loved more than any other group of people he has ever know. He lost his home that he grew up in and loved. He lost his parents and he lost Barthrand, the only remaining family he had, and who despite it all deeply, deeply loved. He lost Bianca, a teenage infatuation he never was able to get over.

And he lost Hawke. Either to Anders kickstsrting the war, or to the fade.

He lost everything he loved.

And yet He. Marched. On.

Varric's story in DAI is an understated one, one that isn't really given story focus, but unlike all the rest of the attempts at telling a more subtle story with the companions, this one actually worked.

Varric's story, is about his march onwards.

He lost everything due to Anders actions, and yet here he is. Marching forward through life. He hasn't laid down and died. He's still here. He's still fighting.

He still has hope.

And so he marches on through the twilight of his life, and keeps going, even if he loses Hawke forever... He keeps going, and he makes it through his depression, and grief to make a new life for himself in Kirkwall.

A new Kirkwall, but Kirkwall nonetheless.

Solas: That crossbow is remarkable, Varric. I am surprised the dwarves have not made more of them.

Varric: The woman who made Bianca would rather that not happen. Wars are bloody enough as it is.

Varric: A crossbow that fires this far and this quickly with so little training? Every battle would be a massacre.

Solas: Indeed. I am surprised, not disappointed.

Here we get a lot of insight into Varric... But also a moment of great moral ambiguity.

Everything Varric says here is true... But it would also mean his people finally, finally being able to destroy the darkspawn for good and all. Such a tech advantage would allow them to wipe the blighted Creatures from existence with ease.

Varric is more than brilliant enough to understand this... But he chooses not to think about it, or wheter it's a good course of actions, because he is shackled to Bianca even now, even still.

Bianca wants this crossbow not to be on the market, so he doesn't put it on the market, regardless of good or bad.

Varric: Hey Chuckles, do you ever play Wicked Grace?

Solas: I'm not much of a gambler anymore.

Varric: You don't have to play for real coin, that's just for keeping score.

Solas: What do you play for?

Varric: Conversation mostly. That way I win no matter how the cards fall.

This is a followup to Varric's original introductionary short story from way back in the day.

From that one we learn that Varric doesn't actually drink anything served at the Hanged man, he just orders a wine glass or beer mug, because he knows people get nervous if you don't drink in a bar, so he crafts an illusion to aid him in his rogue life.

Vivienne

So like a number of these I'm not gonna cover them in full, as while good, and well written, and paints a very clear picture of Vivienne, they're not exactly deep character pieces for Varrix... But I do wanna cover a few.

Vivienne: Am I to understand, Varric, that you knew the apostate who destroyed Kirkwall's chantry?

Varric: Unfortunately, yes.

Vivienne: What could he possibly have hoped to accomplish with such madness?

Varric: Exactly what he got: a whole lot of innocent people killing each other.

Vivienne: I take it he's no longer on your Wintersend gift list.

Varric: Depends. Does a flaming sack of bronto dung count as a gift?

Vivienne: Only if you tie it with a silk ribbon, my dear.

More Varric hating Anders, and laying all the blame of the Mage Templar Wars and ruining his life on him.

Vivienne: Tell me, Varric, who is the protagonist of this serial?

Varric: You know, we're so far into spoiler territory right now, I think I better stop talking.

Vivienne: Come now, darling. You can tell me.

Varric: Not on your life, Iron Lady. The best way to ensure a book's nevered finish is to tell someone your entire plot.

More Varric showcasing he cannot stand spoilers coming out, and it destroys his entire ability to write.

Vivienne: You know, Varric darling, I read your Hard in Hightown.

Varric: You did? Seriously?

Vivienne: Most of the Imperial Court did. It was in fashion a few winters ago.

Varric: Just how much gold is my publisher stealing from me?

One detail i really like about Varric, is that he tries to create this image of himself as always bring in control and all that... And then he has moments like this where his regular ass publisher swindles him for a shit ton of money.

Vivienne: How many chapters will this book be, Varric dear?

Varric: Well, the first one will come out in twelve chapters.

Vivienne: The first one?

Varric: I've read enough Orlesian fictions to know you never tell a story there in fewer than three complete books. They think you're just warming up after one.

Vivienne: And what happens to the scheming duchess in the first book?

Varric: Are you asking for spoilers, Madame De Fer?

Vivienne: Hints, darling. Not spoilers.

More Varric showcasing he understands other cultures and how they write stories.

#dragon age inquisition #dragon age #dragon age 2 #varric tethras #hawke #solas #cole #the iron bull #cassandra pentaghast #dorian #vivienne de fer #blackwall #thom rainier #sera #the inquisitor #the herald of andraste #meta #banter

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cheeseyberg · 1 year

Text

Part 1 Part 2

Steve is annoyed. He's trying his hardest not to be but there it is, burning low in his throat as he bites back another bitchy comment that he would really love to let fly. He keeps reminding himself that they are kids, teenagers who have been stunted by trauma and may be a little immature in areas that don't involve fighting interdimensional beings. They deserve time spent ragging on each other and if they want to include him in the teasing then that really is proof that they accept him.

But he's not an idiot, just because he's a little bit slower than the nerds who he has adopted doesn't mean he's stupid. He takes the average amount of time to make connections, it's not his fault his friend's brains all run at the speed of a supercomputer.

"Henderson, I'm not going to tell you again, watch your tone dude!" Steve allows the half bitchy comment to land in a lull of conversation so all the brats hear it, "Besides, I haven't agreed to anything yet so I don't know why you're all arguing who gets stuck with me."

The whole thing had started with the opening of a new café in town. It was across from the arcade so naturally the kids clocked it immediately and had been anxiously awaiting the grand opening. Plans were made, funds were acquired, rides were begged for and the end result was that Steve, Eddie and Nancy shared babysitting duty on the opening day. It had been a pleasant day really, Steve was happy to have adults to talk to while the kids terrorized the new shop owners. This may have been where it started to go off the rails, he realizes now. Once the lovely couple had realized they had been invaded by baby geniuses they became enamored and in a clear bid to appease and possibly distract, the next time they had visited there were signs up announcing a weekly trivia night.

The problem was the team size limits. No more than six people to a team, and Erica had made it very clear that she would not be the odd man out because of her age. In fairness, the party hadn't even suggested it, they knew Erica was a force to be reckoned with and so the splitting into two teams had commenced and now she was a hot commodity that both teams wanted. Steve was having the opposite problem.

"Nobody is questioning your numerous good qualities Steve, I'm just saying that picking you first on my team isn't like a brilliant strategic move," Dustin stumbled over the words trying to make it clear that he wasn't wanted without putting his free rides in jeopardy.

"Enough! Nobody agreed that you got to be a team captain anyway and you're being a butthead. Here's how this is going to work, adults are the team captains," Eddie's edict was met with a flurry of protests from The Party yet he continued. "Complain all you want but the more whining I hear about it, the worse it is for your characters during the next campaign!"

That shut them up, Steve wondered what he had ever done before Eddie joined their family and had real leverage to hold over them to get them to behave. Gave in, was the answer but he preferred to ignore that part.

"I'm a captain and Steve's a captain-"

"Wooooow, why aren't Robin and Nancy the captains, you misogynist?!" Max was spending too much time with Robin in Steve's opinion.

"You're spending too much time with Robin, first of all. Secondly, Robin and Nancy aren't here so they forfeit the rights to team captain. As I was saying, Steve and I are captains and we will divide you as evenly as we can. Even with Robin and Nancy we still have an odd number so we'll have to split 6 and 5 to a team. Tomorrow at movie night we'll roll to see who gets more players and then we'll divide our teams with everyone present. What say you Stevie?" Eddie ended his proclamation by turning to look at Steve, who realized he was blushing a bit at having Eddie defend him to the assembly of assholes.

"Sounds good Eds," of course he was going to agree when it was Eddie asking. He turned back to the table in time to catch a raised eyebrow between Max and El but chose to ignore it. "And, as captain and procurer of the movies, I'm vetoing any horror movies so don't even try it!"

"Freddy's Revenge is finally out though! I thought we agreed to watch it!?" Eddie's protest was the loudest.

"A creepy burned dude who kills you in your mind dreams? No thanks, we absolutely did not agree to that and I'm vetoing it forever. Watch that shit with Robin, besides, it doesn't even have Johnny Depp in it so what's the point?" Steve catches another look between the girls but this time Erica joins in, he's not sure what caused it that time. Maybe the reference to Vecna was too much. "Come on guys, seriously, pick something happy for once."

"'Mind dreams' says the team captain," he catches Mike muttering under his breath and stares him down until he gets a half shrug which is as good as he can expect as an apology from the teen.

Part 2 Part 3

#steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #stranger things #ficlet #Mike is being a little shit #Dustin needs to watch his tone

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thevoidscreams · 6 months

Note

Omg your writing is exactly what I want and need <3 Maybe some breeding? Guilliman or the Lion (it seems it would fit them the best). Wanting to claim and curious about if their seed could knock up a regular human. Keep up the good work ^^

Day 17

I love blueberry man

Pairing: Roboute Guilliman x reader

Warnings: a bit of fulgrim existing, breeding, you get yoinked, your dad sells you to the imperium wattpad style, arranged marriage

The mirror reflected my image back to me as the serf did up my corset.

“You're a very lucky woman. Marrying the Lord Guilliman.” she cooed.

I hadn't felt all that lucky. I'd barely known him a month before I stood at the altar with him.

I could see my father's face in my mind's eye telling me that my husband had been chosen. As his daughter and the princess of our world it was my duty to keep our world from ruin.

“If you don't do this, they will force our world into submission.”

“But he'll take me away. I'll never see you again.” I'd been crying as he sat me down and hugged me.

“He will be a good husband and this marriage will give us some favorable terms under the rule of the emperor of Terra. He promised us this and he is a good sort of man.”

“I haven't even met him yet.”

“You will tonight. He's our guest of honor at the banquet.”

I fought back tears. This was my duty, my people needed me.

“Oh don't cry my lady. You'll streak the blush.”

The serf gave me a reassuring pat.

“I'm just so worried that I'll never see my family again.” I admitted in a wobbly voice.

“Oh dear, you'll have plenty of family once you marry Lord Guilliman. He has thousands of sons. And I'm sure there will be a few more along the way now that you're here.”

She said conspiratorially.

“I'm sure you're right.” I admitted.

He was quite fetching I had to admit. Lord Guilliman was a very handsome man and any woman would feel lucky to marry someone like him.

Besides, this marriage would be good for your world. The protection it would afford you from those awful xeno raids was just another thing you couldn't afford to give up.

“What's he like?” I asked absently, my mind wandering. I'd only met him twice now and both times had been with chaperones from both sides.

“Lord Guilliman is very noble, my lady, and he's honorable. Smart as they come too. He's quite gentle with us all as well. Doesn't put us littler baseline people down either.”

She nodded and began fixing my hair.

“Do you suppose he'll be a good husband? A fair one?”

“Oh he'll be the best no doubt. When he's not busy mind you.” I nodded.

“Of course. He has much to do.”

“Aye, he does. Now give us a turn. Let us see you.”

I gave a slow turn and all the assembled hand maids and serfs ooo'd and gushed.

“Well isn't she just the loveliest thing you ever saw?” One of them cooed. They were all so kind and it helped ease my nerves to know that I would have them to help me.

The ceremony had been grand, by all standards, even for someone from my station.

The Ultramarines, my new ‘family’ were giant men in giant suits of armor, my new husband introduced me to so many my head spun.

But my husband and his sons were not the only giants to attend. My new brother- in-law had come to see this, apparently, an odd occurrence.

They varied in personality vastly. But they came bearing gifts and well wishes. Their sons, who I was beginning to understand, were called legions, joined us as well.

Sanguinius and Vulkan had been the sweetest.

I adored them. They did a good job reassuring me as well that I was in good hands. That their brother would be a dutiful husband and that he would not mistreat me.

They did more to put aside any fears I had than everyone before. I couldn't help but trust them.

I looked to my husband who was speaking to another man in purple.

He was lovely, with violet eyes and long silky white hair. He seemed to be teasing his brother and I smiled thinking of my own family.

Hopefully, I'd be able to have a few children soon, it would soothe the ache I knew I would feel.

“So brother, your wife is a darling little thing isn't she?” Fulgrim chirped, I knew it was the set up to something more and I downed my wine.

“If you have something to say Fulgrim then just say it.”

He pouted and lounged in his chair more dramatically.

“I'm surprised you didn't marry her off to one of your captains, or one of your other sons. But I can't say that I blame you.”

“Her father would not accept anyone from a lower station, he was..adamant.”

Fulgrim laughed, it was a silvery sound. “Oh brother, you are so lucky you got to this world instead of me. I would have grabbed her up in a heartbeat. Perhaps I should marry again. To have a sweet little thing to warm my bed.”

“I didn't marry her just to deflower her.” I felt the scowl darken my face.

“Naturally not. But you will, will you not? As her husband you will have to perform and be dutiful. A wedding is only half concluded until it is consummated.”

My cheeks grew hot. “I am not going to discuss my bedroom activities with you Fulgrim. I will do as is expected of me as her husband. But I will mto be a lecherous pervert and run around giving away everything. If you're going to be disgusting, do it elsewhere.”

Fulgrim shook his head at me and sighed.

“Well how about this? Do you think you'll be able to? Will you be able to even make her a mother?”

I was about to reply with some very heated words but stopped. The question shocked me.

“I will do as my duty demands.” I told him simply.

I looked at my wife, she was much smaller than me. Half my height and so…delicate. Sex would be a minefield to navigate. I may not have known her well. But she had been kind, and I felt certain of her good character.

“Pardon me.” I pulled myself away from the conversation and went to my wife.

“They're about to make the speeches. We should return to the table.”

I turned to look up at my husband and nodded.

He offered me his massive hand and I went with him at his side.

“Have you enjoyed your evening my Lord?” I asked softly, he looked at me quizzically.

“I am your husband, there is no need for formalities. Call me Roboute.”

“Ah. Right.” I blushed. “Have you enjoyed the evening so far, Roboute?”

He smiled. It was a gentle gesture and my heart fluttered like a bird trapped in a cage.

“I have.”

People went up to a podium, one by one, giving their admiration and care in the form of stories and well wishes. I learned much from the stories told about his time on the battlefield.

His older brother, Horus, gave a very moving speech before he addressed me personally and wished me luck dealing with his stubborn blood.

People laughed and it was all in good fun. Even Roboute laughed and stood to embrace his brother.

My own family spoke, proud as anything and I felt teary eyed again as my mother wished me luck in my journey as a woman. Telling me how much she loved me.

A few tears did fall and my husband touched my back softly.

After the festivities, people either left or broke into smaller groups to talk.

“Where will we be staying tonight?” I asked Roboute.

He looked down at me and answered in a polite and quiet voice.

“My flagship. The Macragge's Honour. Your belongings will be moved there so we may leave in the next few days.”

I nodded.

My hearts hammered as I realized I would have to sleep with her in my bed, and we would have to at least try for a child.

Oddly enough, it wasn't embarrassment or discomfort that I was feeling. It was a rush like the thrill of the battle before it began.

I was anticipating this new turn in my life.

I swept her up. Careful of her dress and carried her in my arms. “Roboute?” She squeaked.

“Is it not a tradition to carry your wife over the threshold of her new home?”

“It is, but your ship is still in orbit. It'll take some time to get there.”

“Then I will carry you all the while.”

I could feel her heart racing, the same as mine. Was it excitement that made it beat so fast and so loud, or fear?”

I could only hope it was the former. I did not want my own wife to be fearful of me.

That anxiety was laid to rest as she placed her head on my chest relaxing into me. Some of my brothers whooped and cheered as I carried my bride away.

“Have fun brother.” I heard Fulgrim laugh. Oh I would..I hoped.

Roboute carried me the whole way just as he said.

His ship was the biggest thing I’d ever seen.

And his room was bigger than the main banquet hall of my father's castle.

He set me down and touched my cheek softly.

“I want you to be comfortable. Please if this is not something you want, I need to know. But otherwise I am intent to do my duty as your husband. And consummate our marriage.”

I shivered, he was being so kind. I'd heard so many horrible stories of new husbands just forcing that contact on their wives, but here he was offering me a choice.

“I would like..” I thought for a moment, trying not to imagine anything too lewd.

“I would like to try.” I breathed and he nodded.

“Shall I have a serf help you prepare? I am not so experienced in undoing clothes and hair.”

I shook my head. “Let me undress, then perhaps we could bathe and.. get used to one another.”

“A sound idea.” He agreed and began to undress.

His body was amazing. Perfect even. I couldn't help but stare as he revealed his body to me. Laying his clothes over a chair neatly.

“Are you going to undress with me?”

I stared at him dumbfounded and nodded.

He chuckled. “Is the view really all that good.”

My mouth moved before my brain and I blurted, “Oh yeah.”

Roboute blushed, and not lightly either. His cheeks were like the blood angels battle plate.

“I- um, thank you.”

I nodded.

I fumbled a bit gracelessly for the strings keeping my corset together.

I managed but I felt foolish.

I dropped the dress and stepped out of it, moving on the pins holding my hair. Quite aware of his gaze on me.

She was lovely, I hadn't imagined such a thing of beauty would be under all of those clothes. She rivaled even the most masterfully sculpted statues of my home.

I wanted to reach out and touch her skin, it looked so soft.

I resisted, not wanting to be too forward.

“You are very lovely.” I breathed and snapped my mouth shut, having not meant to speak the words aloud.

Her eyes sparkled, just as magnificent as the rest of her.

“I will take you to the bath.” I told her, lifting her until my arms. She gasped and I nearly put her down again.

But get arms snaked around my neck. I find that anticipation returning along with the question Fulgrim posed to me.

Could I give her children? I would have to try.

The bathroom was spacious and the tub would have more than enough room for us both, it could fit several of my brothers and I for a communal bath. But for tonight it was just us.

I ran the water, setting my little wife down on a bench.

“Shall I bring some oils? They feel wonderful after a bath.”

“I've never used them before.”

“I will help you.” I assured her.

Once the water was to an acceptable depth I stepped in, offering her a hand into the hot water.

The water was deeper than I had anticipated, it was like a hot pool.

Roboute took me into his lap and I felt like I was going to faint. He was my husband, but I'd never been alone with a man, other than my father, much less naked with one.

And here I was, sitting in his lap, naked as a bird and feeling all sorts of ways about it.

His hands ran over my skin, massaging soaps into my back and arms.

He was bathing me, like I was a kid.

“I-I can wash myself.” I stammered, he chuckled and it sent rippling little waves through the water.

“I know, but I want you to relax.”

“Oh.”

My hand reached for the bottle and I poured some into my hand, rubbing down his chest, my fingers brushing through the very fine blond hairs there.

He hummed and his hands scrubbed lower.

We spent our time like that, rubbing and bathing one another, I moved closer to reach his shoulders and found myself against something hard under the water.

“Hmm?”

He coughed and apologized.

“Why are you apologizing?” I giggled still confused.

I reached down to try and move the thing out of the way with my hand, grabbing it. Roboute groaned and it dawned on me just what I'd just done.

“oh….” I mumbled and slumped against him. “sorry…” his hand rested on my back.

“Don't be. It's yours to do with as you please.” He mused.

It was, wasn’t it? I ran my hand up and down the length of it. Exploring the velvety softness.

“It’s big.”

“What did you expect?” He breathed, seeming to enjoy the touch.

“Well, I'm not really sure. This is all new to me.”

Roboute sank into the water washing the soap from our bodies before standing.

“Let’s get dry, I’ll rub you down with that oil.”

His towels, like everything else, were massive. I got lost in the plush fabric and my poor husband had to help orient me towards the bed.

I sat on the edge and pulled the towel down to look up at him. He was actively drying his body and I followed his example.

While I was drying Roboute vanished back into the bathroom. He returned with a clay vase of body oil.

“Lay back.”

My body moved, I found myself unable to disobey the command.

He knelt on the bed next to me, his body causing the bed to dip. I had to put out an arm to keep from rolling.

Roboute kneeled between my legs, pouring oil into his open palm.

“Just relax and let me work.”

I nodded.

His hands ran over me bare chest and down my stomach, the oil felt warm applied by his hands.

The big pads of his finger tips massaged my thighs and I moaned as he worked the tension out of my muscles.

He was skilled with his hands.

I was so lost in the feeling I didn’t notice him bending low until his lips were on my throat, kissing and nibbling. My fingers combed through his hair, holding him closer.

“Roboute~” I gasped.

“Yes, my wife?” He purred back. His fingers sliding between my thighs, pressing to my womanhood.

His lips touched mine, one oil slicked finger pushing in. The oil acts as a sufficient lubricant to ease his way in, making me squeak.

“Shall we begin the consummation of our marriage my husband?” I asked, my voice tremulous.

“That was the idea, yes.”

I looked down at her, her body soft under my own. I had certainly made up my mind on the matter. I would bed her as frequently as I was able. We had to make our way back to Terra now, so that I could present her to my father. That would provide ample time to see if our biology was compatible. I was surprised to find that I was beyond hopeful that it was. She was a good woman and I was sure she would care for a family well. I’d also taken her from her home and her family. If I could not provide her with children.. The thought killed me inside. I slipped my finger in as far as I could, watching her writhe under me. Her breaths quickening as I pet her inner walls. The oils mixed with her natural slick. I was fascinated by the way her body pulled my finger back in after I pulled it back. Taking the oil I poured more over her. Tending to her gently. I felt pride with each sound I drew from her soft lips.

“The oil..” She sat up and I felt a rush of worry, was it hurting her? Was I hurting her?

“Yes? What about it?”

“May I see it?” She held out her palm to me and I understood, lifting the jug to pour some into her hand.

“What are you-?” I choked on my own breath as she grabbed hold of my cock, stroking me and kissing my lips.

“Is this good?”

“Very.” It felt good, being touched in that way. The strokes were a bit uncertain at first but steadily grew with confidence as my own voice joined hers.

“I need to prepare you to take me. May I push one more in?”

She nodded and kissed me softly. “Yes, please.”

My ring finger joined the middle and I felt her body stretching to accommodate the width of both. I watched as her face scrunched with pain.

“Breath, deep breaths, it'll help ease the pain.”

She obeyed readily, and my manhood twitched. Would she always obey so well? If so, we were probably going to be doing this even more than previously assumed.

“Good girl. Taking me so well. ” I praised, my fingers pulling out and pushing back in. I added a bit more oil and kept the pace slow and steady, letting her body acclimate to the affection.

I had her there for all of two minutes before her body tensed and her walls clamped around me, my fingers suddenly became a lot wetter and stickier.

“Good girl,” I crooned again, “cum for me, just like that.”

Her hand was still lazily holding my cock and I watched as a thick pearl of precum dripped onto her lower lips. I pushed it in with a thumb.

“I need you, my darling wife.”

Her eyes focused on mine and she reached up for me. Grabbing at me and smiling dreamily. “Then have me.”

I did, lining up my cock and pulling her onto it inch by inch.

If I had thought his fingers stretched me then I hadn't felt anything yet. His cock was thick and filled me completely.

I felt my head fall back and I cried out, but the preparations from before made it not only bearable, but after a point, completely mind blowing.

His cock pressed all the places he'd been petting before.

Making my already tingling nerves shout at the new source of stimulation.

Sunk to the hilt he stopped and I whined reaching up to take his cheeks into my hands.

“I will give you time to adjust, don't worry.” He promised.

I felt myself grumble, grumpily.

“I don't need time to adjust.”

He looked down at me, confusion morphing into understanding, then amusement.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.” I whined again.

“Is my princess in need. Does she want me to make the burning ache go away?”

I did. I very much did.

“Yes, I need my primarch to make me feel good.”

His mouth descended on mine and he kissed me hard, his cock pulling out of me before thrusting back in.

“Like that?” He teased.

“Exactly like that.” I panted under him.

He wrapped his arms around the oil from my skin brushing off onto his.

He kissed me, his hips working a steady rhythm.

His body was hot, like the bath water and it kept me warm in the big room. His cock was also hot inside me. I wanted more of this, more love, more touches, more everything.

He seemed to be feeling the same, his eyes were closed tight and I kissed the tip of his nose. He faltered in his pace and I laughed, as he smiled and returned the gesture.

Neither of us lasted very long that first round. I came hard on his cock and he gave me the first of many loads.

The room was quiet, except for our breathing.

I laid in Robute's arms, kissing him over and over.

“I think they were right.” I spoke, breaking the silence.

“Who was right about what?” He asked, puzzled.

“Your brothers. I think you will be a wonderful husband.”

He hugged me tighter and pressed her forehead to mine.

“I will try.”

A month passed on our journey back to Terra. I had awoken the past two days feeling ill. Roboute took me to the Apothecaries on the third day. Fearful I had contracted some ailment while aboard the ship.

We'd been active almost everyday for that month. Except the past three and I was feeling needy again.

The apothecary came rushing in from the lab looking at his father and I with a look of awe in his expression.

“What is it?” Roboute demanded. His son stared at the database and he grinned.

“Congratulations, father.” He motioned to me and I thought I began to comprehend.

“Our mother is with child.” He announced.

Before I could speak Roboute had me up in his arms. Kissing my cheeks and face, laughing and cheering.

“Please, my son. May I have the results. Send them to me.”

Later that night Roboute called his brother.

“Brother! How is married life?” Fulgrim asked delightedly and sipped his wine.

Roboute sent the results to his brother. And watched as the fuzzy green image spat out the mouthful of wine and coughed.

“I guess we have our answer now. Don't we? Good night brother.”

Roboute terminated the connection and went back, intent on celebrating with his wife.

#warhammer 40k #warhammer #primarch x reader #40k #my writing #primarchs #warhammer 40k x reader #fanfiction #primarch #roboute guilliman x reader #roboute guilliman #mating press march

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ambrosiagourmet · 8 months

Note

I notice no one has asked yet so for the character thing: laios! Or if you want to go for a less common one: the winged lion

Laios!!!!!!

First impression

Honestly its hard to even limit this within the confines of starting the actual manga. I genuinely think I'd have to say my real first impression of Laios was the "autism be damned, my boy can work a grill" joke that gets passed around a lot 😭

Impression now

Older brother.

Loves his friends and family so much. Let him infodump!!!!! A guy that can character arc so hard he becomes a king because its the only way to deal with the things he can no longer let himself look away from. A guy who wants to eat a good meal. A guy who wants everyone to eat a good meal.

A guy who can be all that and still kind of pettily complain that he doesn't get to hang out with monsters anymore & can mope about it soooo annoyingly. A guy who decided to eat the concept of all-consuming hunger because it was the only way to deal with the problem so he might as well try. A guy who can completely change his life by deciding to share his special interest. A guy who can imitate a dog really well.

Favorite moment

Don't make me choooose... okay I'm gonna do three:

1. Assembling Falin's bones with Marcille

The humor. The patience. The slow realization that, despite how absurd of a task it is, it is actually all possible. The moments of admiration for the way skeletons work, the love of the details, the care of assembling all three skeletons just to make sure they get Falin right. Iconic scene.

2. Killing Falin

"Unable to make myself accept. Unable to make myself resist" lives in my soul now idk what else to say. Life is so vibrant and horrifying and raw and beautiful and to let yourself fully be a part of it you must take up space. You must consume. You must fight. You must take and be taken from. Ourgh

3. Talking Marcille down

I love that he looks so goofy on his way up to her. I love the context of how much he refuses to give up on her leading up to this, and how he refuses to give up on her now. I love how everyone is part of this scene, but he's the first one to cross the threshold. I love how she almost blows him up but can't do it (fun fact: this exact situation/post was how she killed Mithrun a couple of chapters ago. It was close).

I love the way he appeals to her mostly just with messy honesty, and I love the silly three rules callback. It's such a sweet chapter.

Also honorary mention for the final page of the story, which gets me every time.

Idea for a story

I'm actually currently fiddling with a longer story concept dealing with the question of Laios needing an heir. Dungeon Meshi is grounded enough in politics that it genuinely feels like a question that the characters will have to grapple with at some point. At the same time, there's no way that like arranged marriage and even having kids in general are not messy topics for Laios and I don't think anyone involved would want to force him to be miserable.

(I also don't personally like the idea of Falin as his heir ftr, bc I think forcing Falin into that role sucks and I don't think anyone would go for it)

So how DO they deal with the issue? Idk! I might write a long meandering story about it! Maybe! I want to, at least.

Unpopular opinion

Ughhhh I don't realllly want to poke this with a stick but yeah I definitely think my most generic (apparently????) Unpopular Opinion with Laios is just that his relationship with Marcille is meaningful and loving. I personally don't view it as romantic and they mean a lot to me as a platonic-life-partners kind of thing, but I also think that dividing relationships in general into Ships TM and Definitely Not Ships isn't really appealing to me personally. I just care them.

(at the same time I really do worry about trying to write about them and it being taken as romantic despite me very intentionally not framing it as such. idk, navigating this stuff is complicated.)

Favorite relationship

UGHHHH LIKE. It is probably him and Marcille. But it's so hard to rank that against him and Falin. Both relationships mean a lot to me and I love them and I love to think about them.

Because him and Marcille have more on the page interactions to dig into and because I don't see them discussed as much, I do tend to gravitate to Marcille & Laios stuff above all else. But like.... don't make me actually commit to picking.

Favorite headcanon

I can't think of a strong answer for this so I'm going to make one up on the spot: I think he giggled to himself soooo much when he included the winged lion in his king outfit but made it so that it looks like the wolf head is eating it. I think he continues to giggle about it years later. I think he gets dressed in the morning and puts on his cloak and goes "get ate, idiot" as he fastens it around his shoulders.

Oh actually for a more genuine headcanon related to the story thing I mentioned above: I think Laios is really good with kids but would be scared of having any of his own. I think he'd have trouble with the classic "I don't want to mess them up the way my dad messed me up" abused kid struggle.

#ask #ask meme #even though I thought of a more notable headcanon im leaving the winged lion one in there bc I like it

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writtenonreceipts · 10 months

Note

Hi friend! How are you? I hope this sparks some ideas for your secret santa: N.12 for Elorcan, please?

Hi! I've been alright, I survived my holiday weekend and am back to the usual grind! I hope you're doing well! Thanks so much for sending me this, I really did enjoy this one!

from this prompt list

Prompt: "H-how long have you been standing there?” - “Long enough.”->I tweaked it just a little.

AO3 Link Here

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Tear In My Heart

The gritty scent of cigarette smoke was the first thing Lorcan noticed when he entered the bar. Being this far out in the middle of nowhere Colorado led to no one caring about enforcing the law about indoor smoking, especially not the owner. Mort never seemed to care about that sort of thing and it showed. Lorcan doubted any sort of deep cleaning would ever rid the place of the stench so there was no use banning smoking. Especially not when it was accompanied by the sharp tang of alcohol and vomit.

Unfortunately, there was nowhere else to get a decent drink around here unless you sat out on your porch with your own. And even Lorcan didn't drink alone.

But there was another reason to come to the bar.

Eighties rock played through the speakers adding to the grungy atmosphere. Dim lights over the counter set everything in an orange haze. Even the neon lights of the different beer logos and other paraphernalia didn't add anything. Two pool tables sat in one of the back corners along with a dart board. No matter how few people were seated at the bar or various tables, it always felt overcrowded and tonight was no different.

All Lorcan focused on, however, was the woman behind the bar.

Her black hair fell around her shoulders in loose waves, framing her face. He'd always found her beautiful, striking really, with her onyx eyes and pale skin, that sarcastic twist of her lips when she made a quip.

She hadn't noticed him yet, which was good, he didn't need to be caught starting. Instead, she was focused on pouring out a drink for the man across the counter from her. She laughed at something he said, though he didn't know what.

Lorcan felt his own blood heat at that and he strode across the hardwood floor in just a few quick steps. When he approached the bar, Elide finally noticed him and a smile lit up her entire face.

"Well, well," she said, sliding the drink to the other customer. "If it isn't Salvaterre."

"Lochan," he said. He took a seat a few stools down from the other man.

"Let me know if you need anything else, Dan," Elide said to the other man. She moved down the bar until she reached Lorcan. With her arms crossed she leaned against the polished wood so she could properly examine him. "You look like hell."

Lorcan rolled his eyes. It was true enough. This past week had been miserable. The small shop he ran had been struggling a bit and things at the ranch were not better. It shouldn't have surprised him, things always slowed down this time of year, but summer had been slower as well. And then there was the fact that he had feelings for the girl he could never have.

"I always look like this," he said. And because he was a bastard, he leaned forward, drawing closer to her.

"Yeah, you should do something about that," she said. Her endless black eyes stared directly into him as though she could see to his very soul. Then with a laugh she pulled back. "You want your usual?"

"Yeah, sure," he said. He watched her go as she turned for a new glass, a bottle of whiskey.

Elide had always been the sort of woman he knew he could never have. She was good, first off. She came from a good family with a good background. She'd graduated high school with honors even though she had pretty bad dyslexia. Then when her dad got sick she'd dropped out of college and left everything to move back home and help her mom out with bills by working at a crappy bar that probably doled out even crappier tips.

As she assembled the drink she glanced over her shoulder at him. "Just you tonight?"

"Nah, the twins'll show up eventually," he said. "And Rowan if he can drag himself away from another fight with Galathynius."

Elide snorted a laugh and she turned back to him with the drink. "Aw, upset your best friend actually has a life?"

"You know how annoying that woman is," Lorcan groused. He accepted the drink.

For the last year and a half, Aelin had been working at the Whitethorn ranch as a trauma specialist in youth and children for kids needing help in various forms of therapy. Rowan had inherited the business from his parents and for some reason thought it was a good idea to keep it running. Even if he and his lead psychologist did not get along.

"Yeah, that's why she's my best friend," Elide said drily. "She's a good person."

Lorcan doubted that but he'd shut up. There would be plenty of other chances to put his foot in his mouth tonight.

"I'll take your word for it," he said instead. He took a long drink, ice clinking gently in the cup.

"Well I am a very reliable source," she said.

And then she was gone to fix another round for a couple at one of the far tables. Lorcan watched her go, unable to look away from the sway of her hips or the sliver of skin that peeked out between the edge of her shirt and her jeans.

He only managed to tear his gaze away when the door of the bar opened and Fenrys Moonbeam entered. Lorcan knew it was him without even looking because Fen, annoying as hell, always made sure his presence was known.

"Lochan! How's it going?" Fenrys called, looping over to Lorcan. Behind him was the more subdued Connall, eyes glued to his phone. Lorcan had the sneaking suspicion that Connall was about to start dating someone. But being who he was, wouldn't talk about it until it was an actuality. Even quiet and distracted, Connall still managed to balance out his twin.

"Hi Fenrys," Elide called back. She kept with her current task of drink refills and checking the kitchen on a food order.

When Fenrys dropped into the stool beside Lorcan he smacked a hand on his shoulder.

"You know you're getting obvious, right?" Fenrys asked. "What's this? Three nights in a row?"

"He's not that much of a psychopath," Connall spoke, he dropped into the seat on the far side of Fenrys. "He puts a day between the visits."

"Shut up," Lorcan growled. He took another sip of whiskey, relishing in the bite as it slid down his throat.

Somehow, in some pathetic and sad twist of fate, his friends had learned of his crush on Elide. He blamed it on a night a few months ago involving too much tequila and spur of the moment round of truth or dare. It was pathetic enough that he was a thirty-year-old man playing truth or dare but to follow that up with the admission of having a crush? Pathetic.

He really had to get a life.

"You should make a move 's all I'm saying," Fenrys said. He snagged a half-filled bowl of pretzels from down the bar and dragged it closer so he could snack.

"He's right," Connall added, finally looking up from his phone. "She's not going to stay single forever. I heard Archer Finn wanted to ask her out."

Lorcan couldn't help his scowl. Finn was best described as being a player. One night stands, ghosting, playing games. He wasn't a good person. It was the one thing he could agree with Aelin Galathynius about. He certainly didn't deserve to even talk to Elide.

"Yeah, the scowl's real convincing about your feelings," Connall said.

"Archer's an ass," Lorcan said.

Fenrys laughed. "So are you and she still talks to you."

Lorcan kicked his chair. "Shut up."

"Man." Fenrys shook his head, brushing his blond curls from his eyes. "You've been obsessed with her for years. At this point it's your own fault if she gets picked up by someone else."

"I'm not--" Lorcan began.

"You have her shifts memorized," Connall said, "know her birthday, her mom's birthday, dude you got her flowers on her dads anniversary."

Lorcan was never telling Rowan anything ever again.

"Didn't you fix her car for free too?" Fenrys added, mouth full of pretzels.

In the last five years of knowing Elide, having moved to this town on a whim after school, Lorcan had indeed done all of those things. There had just been something about Elide and the first time he'd met her. It had been at this very bar, just a few months after her dad's passing. He hadn't been in the best of moods, admittedly that was usual for him, and she'd called him out on it.

Their friendship slowly developed from there where he'd learned all those things and more about Elide. He'd been in love with her as long as he could remember.

He couldn't say anything of course because he was Lorcan. He was the town miscreant who usually stayed on his property unless it was to come in for a drink. He managed the stables for the Whitethorn ranch and ran a side mechanic shop. Really, the jobs weren't stable and would likely only get worse from here. His father was an alcoholic, his mother gone since he was eighteen--he wasn't good enough for someone like Elide.

"She's going to figure out you're in love with her eventually," Connall said, "and what are you going to--"

Connall abruptly cut off with a rather colorful curse and Lorcan felt his blood freeze. He abandoned his drink and spun in his stool to find Elide standing behind them, half empty tray of drinks and plates in her hands.

Her eyes were too wide and her lips parted in shock.

"I-" Her gaze bounced between the three of them before settling on the floor. "I'll be out with drinks in a minute."

She dropped the tray on the nearest table and immediately left through the front door of the bar--not through the kitchens.

"Hell,” Lorcan muttered. He stood and punched Fenrys' shoulder for good measure. "Thanks for that."

"Connall's the one that actually said it!" Fenrys shouted.

Lorcan ignored him and launched himself out and across the bar to the door.

The cool air of the night immediately washed over him, clearing his senses of the heady scent of the bar. Overhead, a waning crescent hung in the sky with patches of stars filling the inky darkness.

He spun, looking for where Elide had gone. He knew she was still on shift and wouldn't take off without a replacement.

It didn't take long to spot her. She'd walked down the length of the sidewalk outside the bar a few yards away. Overhead, a streetlamp burned with pale light, illuminating her as she paced with quick, uneven steps. She tugged one hand through her hair, holding it out of her face as she muttered under her breath.

When Lorcan's boot scraped on the ground, she looked up. Her eyes were still wide and shock remained cleanly written on her face. Lorcan kept enough distance between them so that if she really wanted she could skirt around him and head back to the bar, but close enough that he could reach out to her too.

"How much did you hear?" he asked, because really that's all he really cared about, how much damage control he needed to do.

"Enough."

If there was one thing that Lorcan knew about Elide it was that she didn't shirk away from a problem. Even if she didn't like the situation or what may come with it. Just like now.

Her dark eyes met his and, for once, he couldn't read her. He'd gotten so used to knowing her little quirks that the radio silence unnerved him. Or maybe that was how it was supposed to be. Maybe he didn't actually know her and everything he thought he did know was more or less a facade, an illusion.

"Is it true?" she asked, voice soft and far more vulnerable than Lorcan was used to hearing from her. "Or were they just talking shit, I know how they are."

"I--" Lorcan scrubbed at his face, looking away. He didn't know if he could tell her the truth. If he did there was no guarantee of how she would respond. And he didn't know if he could take the rejection. Because something like this? It would ruin any semblance of friendship between them.

"Lorcan."

She wouldn't let him get away with the silence or the pretending to ignore what she had heard.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" he asked.

"Yes." The hard line of her voice drew him back to her. With hands on her hips and the way her hair swept over one shoulder, Lorcan knew he wouldn't get away with delaying any longer.

The thing about it was that he didn’t like not being able to control the outcome of a given situation. And he knew more than anything that there was no controlling Elide. She was exactly who she was and would yield to no one.

Lorcan often put his foot in his mouth over so many things--especially when he had been younger. It simply became easier to act. Which was what he did then.

In two sweeping steps, he reached her. Lorcan cupped her face in his hands, feeling how soft her skin was against his own calluses. Her dark eyes gleamed in the streetlamp overhead, her full mouth opening in surprise.

Lorcan acted without thinking when he kissed her. All he was really focused on was wiping that look of mixed hurt and confusion from her face--to show her exactly how he felt.

A part of Lorcan thought she would shove him away, but instead her hands gripped the front of his shirt, fingers digging into the fabric to pull him closer. Her lips were soft against his, soft and warm and everything he’d imagined in all these years. And when she exhaled a soft moan, Lorcan nearly broke at that sound alone.

One of his hands slipped into her hair, the thick locks like silk in his fingers. His other hand went to her waist as he tugged her closer. He could feel her warmth and her soft curves and all he could think that he wanted more. More of her and more of what they could have.

“Lorcan,” Elide whispered against his lips. She broke away only to catch her breath, her chest rising and falling heavily as she met his gaze.

He leaned in close enough to press his forehead against hers even though all he could think about was kissing her again and memorizing the way she felt against him.

“I’m in love with you,” he told her, voice soft. He’d never said these words to anyone before and they felt strange on his tongue. But he knew they were true and he knew that he had to say them at least once. And it would only be for her.

He felt her tremble in his arms and listened to the sharp inhale of breath she made. When she didn’t try and pull away from him, Lorcan felt a bit of hope rise in his chest. Instead, Elide tilted her chin until her lips brushed against his. The touch was barely there and hardly even a kiss but Lorcan swore he came alive with that simple act.

“It took you long enough,” she replied. Her dark eyes stared into him with a spark of that same fire that had first caught his attention five years ago.

When she kissed him she held nothing back. Her mouth was firm and insistent, her hands moving with determination until her fingers curled over his shoulders keeping right where she wanted.

And for the first time since he’d moved to this town, he felt like he’d finally come home.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

tagging still is not functioning properly, so if you'd reblog/comment I'd really appreciate it! Y'all are so great <3

#elorcan #elide lochan #lorcan salvaterre #elide x lorcan #throne of glass #tog #fanfiction #throne of glass fanfic

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izloveshorses · 1 year

Text

we're almost to the halfway mark, so i thought i'd share another progress update on this little (big) project!! (previous update)

i've almost finished drawing half of all the assets (according to my spreadsheet) and then we can start assembling them into a "book." the bulk of the assets are characters/costumes, but i've also completed several props and started working on some backgrounds as well. I need to decide how the book will be laid out before i make much more progress on those, though. i've been trying to hold off on finishing the principal cast because i think saving them for ~dessert~ will keep me motivated to power through the rest, but i'm so anxious to get to them because i want to play with them in photoshop and put them on their associated backgrounds like little paper dolls 🙈 so that's why ballet tuxedo!dmitry doesn't exist yet, and why i've yet to color the rest of anya's act ii wardrobe.

anyway. progress in my workflow is hardly ever linear, but you can kind of see how i approach the rendering process from these images, i hope. the drawing carries the weight of the image so that step always takes the longest, since getting the likeness, the proportions, the folds, and the expressions right is the most important. if any of that looks off no skillful painting or rendering can save it.

and then i always color skin first because everything else (clothes, hair) goes on top of skin. you can see the color palette i'm using is the same for almost all of them, though act ii requires a few more saturated hues than act i (bright blue, some reds, and green every once in a while). coloring the rest in doesn't usually take very long. once the flats are down i go in for a final pass, laying down those patterns and textures that always give me a hard time lol. and then i clean up and recolor the line work and mark it as done! since i'm working digital i use alpha lock and clipping masks for that.

director's cut commentary of each image included (under the cut bc this post is already so long):

anya's act ii lineup. her phtk outfit is the only one i've marked complete (the linework on the others is still black and need just a few more touchups). I've yet to lay in the flats for the maroon travel coat because i think the drawing needs more work. i might change a few things on big red, maybe her expression, but i haven't decided yet.

dmitry's act ii lineup (sans tuxedo). he just needs a final pass on the first two on the left, and then his finale look is finished, because it's the same from act i :)

vlad's act ii lineup. he's almost done, just needs a final pass on the finale and phtk outfits.

lily's act ii lineup. i'm going to redo the pattern on her neva club dress (linda cho i love u but god) but otherwise she's all finished.

the dowager's act ii lineup. she's done! :) maybe i'll find something to pick at later but rn i'm marking her done lol.

petersburg citizens from rumor! i think these guys are all done. there are more people i could include, but there isn't enough variation on the costumes to make it worth it imo.

neva club patrons. the only two marked complete are the two on the left, sergei the doorman/the male server and count leopold. i still need to find a good reference for the female server lol.

the press! just the men for now lol. i used the obc program as a reference for this one, so i'll get the two ladies in soon :)

the hussies! i've marked it complete, but. we'll see if there's more adjustments i can make.

there's still more i've completed that's not pictured, but i'll definitely share more soon. act i is nearly finished entirely, which is cool, and the only big ensemble sheet i've yet to make much progress on is everyone in phtk. i may end up just drawing one or two people from that and then copying them with different patterns because, honestly, the shape of the dresses and suits are all very similar. hopefully that won't be boring to look at lol.

if there's anything in particular you'd like to see/have any questions, or even suggestions, lmk!! and follow my 'anastasia illustrated guide' tag for more updates :)

#anastasia broadway #anastasia #fan art #my art #iz draws #anastasia illustrated guide #long post #wip

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howlingday · 6 months

Note

That’s cool. Now, what will the how Beacon story goes if Jaune is born a Xiao-Long? Is Yang going to be either an overprotective sister or a fun and party-loving sister to him? How would the interaction with Jaune and Weiss go?

Okay, so let's cover up to and including the initiation, starting with going to Beacon. Jaune says good-bye to Summer with Ruby and Yang, then the three go off to Beacon. Jaune and Yang were supposed to go together, but having learned Ruby managed to bust up Roman Torchwick and his goons, they're not that surprised that Ruby gets in with them... Well, Yang isn't surprised. Jaune and Tai were worried sick (literally for Jaune) when they learned Ruby got into a fight with an actual gang. Jaune spends the trip to Beacon with his sisters, flipping between being airsick to worrying about Ruby. Yang tells him to stop babying her, which Ruby agrees.

Once they arrive at Beacon, Jaune and Yang get dragged off by Yang's friends, leaving Ruby alone. Ruby explodes, Jaune helps her, this time dusting her off and making sure she's okay. She bats him away, insisting that she's fine. The two walk and talk with Jaune explaining that he's just worried about her since she was always the smallest of the three. Ruby then unfurls Crescent Rose, noting that it is at least three times heavier than Jaune's weapon. They then head to the assembly and Jaune gets dragged off by some friends. Ruby and Yang meet up, "tall, blond, and scraggly" and Jaune catching up to Ruby and Yang expressing how excited he is to be noticed by such a cute girl already, which Ruby scowls and pouts at because Weiss is nowhere close to cute.

"Oh, come on, Ruby, where else am I gonna find a girl willing to talk about me that isn't you two?" Pyrrha pops her head up.

The night before initiation and initiation itself go about the same, and Jaune now regrets not working on his "landing strategy". He was never good at it, and even now, he's still flying through the air like a dog toy. Y'know, the long arm and leg ones? Anyway, Jaune meets Pyrrha and he explains that he's still not used to this whole "being a huntsman" thing.

"Then why apply at all?"

"Well... I kinda have to." He explains. "When I was younger, my sisters and I were walking in woods, alone, and we ran into some Grimm. One of my sisters got hit and none of us had aura yet. I covered my little sister to protect her, but..." He shakes his head. "Yang's always been so headstrong, so she needs somebody to pull her back. And I didn't expect Ruby to get accepted, so now I have to protect her, too!" He sighs. "Sorry for dumping this on you. You probably think I'm worrying too much."

"No, no, I... I never had siblings myself, but I think I understand why you're here." She smiles. "I guess I'm lucky to have someone so kind as my partner." The two share a chuckle.

Jaune still manages to make the Deathstalker mad, gets flung, flies into Ruby, and manages to catch Weiss as she's falling, too. Jaune stresses about the Nevermore but decides to let Ruby and Yang take care of themselves while he and his partner deal with the Deathstalker.

The teams defeat their respective Grimm in about the same way as they did in canon.

"That's your sister?" Pyrrha asked. "She's very skilled, isn't she? Did you teach her to do all of that?"

"No." Jaune looks up to Ruby. "She did that all by herself."

As for your other two questions, I will say that Yang will still be her usual self, trying to do her balancing act between rough and tumble party girl and caring older sister. When she sees Jaune with his team, she admires how much her dorky twin grew into his own. And as for Weiss, well... I think that'll have to wait until next time.

#rwby #jaune xiao long au #rwby au #my thoughts #jaune arc #ruby rose #yang xiao long #pyrrha nikos #weiss schnee #jaune xiao long

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magnetarmadda · 5 months

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Happy @jonsimsandcats day! I'd wanted to write a new fic for today, but alas, the chronic illnesses are Illnessing, and so instead, I have for you a small collection of ideas @artificialdaydreamer and I have dreamt up and some snippets to accompany them. They are: 1. Sasha the comforter, 2. Sasha gets a new cat tower, and 3. Sasha can talk (under the cut)

You can find the published Sasha cat au fics on ao3, and I hope more will join them soon!

1. Sasha the comforter

Jon's had a bad week, really. The whole thing could go in the bin, but it was today in particular that made things seem so grim. How does someone get over an apocalypse? Jon still doesn't know, and whenever his students make mention of their scant memories of the experience, his guilt climbs high into his throat and makes a home there. Sasha makes a small chirping noise as they near the front door, and he offers her a small pat as he reaches for his key. The door closes behind him, he sets his bag down, he feeds Sasha and puts her on the floor, and then he's suddenly in his bed, crying. It's been happening more and more lately, which is supposedly a good thing, according to his therapist. But that doesn't stop the guilt--the guilt for freeing the Fears, for saving himself and Martin, for starting to be happy. And talking to Martin about this is very hard, because Martin doesn't believe the damning of an untold number of souls is really Jon's fault. It is Jon's fault, of course, but he appreciates that Martin's love convinces him otherwise. He really does, but it's usually better to have this self-pitying cry before Martin gets home. Sasha barrels into the room, full speed ahead, and climbs into his lap, and isn't that a prime example of the love, kindness, and happiness he doesn't deserve? "Sasha, no," he says softly, rubbing his nose on his sleeve as he gently pushes her away with the other hand. "Sasha, you're too little, I'll hurt you." She gives a tiny but ferocious meow and leaps into his lap again, this time climbing his shirt and making her home in his pocket again, purring so hard, he can feel the reverberation in his chest. He pauses, his sobs temporarily stopped in confusion and heartbreak, then says, "I know you want to help, but I don't want to squish you, darling." "MEOW!!" "Okay okay!" And he's laughing now, tears streaming down his cheeks, but somehow, the guilt feels a little lighter.

2. Sasha gets a new cat tower, and she's adorable

"Jon, that's not really going to fit in our flat," Martin says, but he's laughing. He's just gotten home from the shops, and Jon is almost entirely through building Sasha's new cat tower. "Martin, my love, it's already fitting in the flat," he says without emotion, gesturing to the obvious piece of furniture in their living room. "Not very well," his husband says, still laughing. "I'm not sure where you and I are supposed to sit or stand." Jon refuses to acknowledge that, instead placing the final flower bed on the top of the last tower and beginning the process of screwing it into place. He says, "You ordered this one, not me." Sasha, as always, has impeccable timing, and chooses this moment to venture out from the bedroom to survey her new throne, interrupting Martin before he tries to protest his online shopping choices. She pauses to let Martin bend down to pet her and offer her some sweet words before she makes her way to the new cat condo. She sniffs around the bottom very deliberately, taking each piece in turn, before she rapidly climbs the middle column, right up to where Jon has finished assembling it. "Does it meet your standards, my darling?" She bumps his hand for attention, and then flops onto her tiny side, emitting a little squeak and rubbing her face on a flower petal. "I think it does," Jon says to Martin, sweaty from the effort of building the tower but extremely pleased.

3. Sasha can talk...sort of. This last one doesn't have any real writing attached to it yet, but I love the idea so much, so here you go

Sasha's a little older now, and Jon learns that actually yes he can talk to her. It starts off small, where it seems more like she and Jon are having conversations where he's speaking aloud and she's meowing back. Then one day, he actually hears her answer a question as "No" and goes "MARTIN DID YOU HEAR THAT SHE SAID NO!" Martin: "Uh, she meowed?" Then it builds up to where, as she grows over a few months, she's much like a toddler in that her speech capabilities also grow. "The fucking Eye is useful for something here at least," Jon grumbles. "I love you, Dad," Sasha meows back, and Jon's eyes tear up

#jonsimsandcats #jonsimsandcats 2024 #the magnus archives #jonmartin #my writing #my fic #sasha cat au #sasha cat darling i know you have another tag but i can't for the life of me remember it and tumblr refuses to tell me what it is

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spyglassrealms · 8 months

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Spy's OCs: Zak Kaiyo

art by my good friend, the wonderful @wildegeist!

Realm: Arcverse Species: Tokaya Homeworld: Terotewaukia (Teroteaumia system) Age: 26 annua (29 Earth years) Gender (human analogue): cismasculine (he/him, xe/xen*) Height: 1.8 m Weight: 72.5 kg Occupation: Captain and pilot of the starship Free Spirit; freelance cargo-hauler; occasional mercenary; jack-of-all-trades [Suggested Listening: Burn Out Brighter by Anberlin]

Zakane "Zak" Kaiyo is the co-owner, captain, and pilot of the heavily-modified light hauler Aum Hara (otherwise known as the "Free Spirit") and the leader of a small band of freelance spacers that make their home aboard the ship. He's just one more spark in the great spiral; one more restless soul trying to make a living doing what he can in a galaxy that's always moving and yet always standing still. From the Tyrian Shallows to the Drift and everywhere in between, Zak and his small but loyal crew of misfits can be found anywhere something interesting is happening.

Zak's talented -albeit reckless- piloting skills earned himself and his copilot Arkto a spot in the Galactic Spacecraft Pilots Association Hall of Fame, having broken the record for the smallest crewed ship by mass to exceed 10 million times the speed of light with a hyperdrive. His performative stuntwork is also renowned, and he frequently attends the annual Galactic Pilot Convention.

Most of the "swashbuckling freelance ace pilot" tropes apply to this space hobo, whose personal creed is "do good recklessly." His confidence, determination, and cheerful sarcasm make for an extremely charismatic, if reckless, leader. He's very mischievous and likes to get into trouble, but can be relied on to get out of it as quickly as he gets into it… most of the time. Zak acts fearless but, go figure, this man has Attachment Issues. He hates the idea of getting tied down to one place or thing, yet at the same time he is fiercely protective of his crew. (Shhh. Nobody tell him.)

Zak's homeworld is a backwater: connected to the galaxy and participant in its affairs, but hardly anyone there actually got out beyond the system. He was constantly told that he ought to be happy on Terotewaukia, fixing up interplanetary haulers and maybe going to the outer moons of the system once in a while. He and his two best friends always wanted more. The three of them had plans to quietly fix up one of the written-off hauler derelicts on company time and get the hell out, making their way around the wild starry yonder to see what could be seen.

And then one of them decided they wanted to stay and settle down.

That was the last straw for Zak. As soon as the opportunity arose, he and Arkto (his other bff) took off in their souped-up light hauler and never looked back. But once they were out there... Zak came to realize that the galaxy isn't a really adventurous place.

See, Arcverse is a universe that everyone thinks has been more or less figured out. Galactic civilization has been around for something like a million years or so, and the Arcadian Order have been sort of running the Galactic Assembly for about that long (mostly because they got off their planet first and they do a pretty decent job of wrangling the rowdier civilizations with diplomacy). The entire galaxy is, broadly speaking, at peace. The clash of titans already happened; the fate-of-the-galaxy-level stakes were sorted out thousands of generations ago. All the major starfaring powers, while independent in principle, are constrained by the bureaucracy of the Galactic Assembly. There's mild internal turmoil —and there's always an underbelly— but it's still quite tame. There's a whole galaxy out there with lots to see but nothing to really strive for in it.

Zak Kaiyo is someone who desperately, fundamentally, needs to strive. He wants to live fast and die young in a galaxy where everyone lives at a reasonable pace and dies basically never. He exists to challenge the stagnancy of a world that's as close to utopia as it can reasonably be. Zak wants so badly to save the galaxy, but he lives in a galaxy that doesn't need saving. And that's tearing him to pieces.

#my first actual public oc bio! how bout that!#i spent so fuckin long writing all this up and then almost deleted the whole draft by accident lmao #thanks again to wilde for the art!!#my friend wildegeist is so fucking cool go check out their blog #spyglass’ realms #arcverse #spy's ocs #zak kaiyo #character bio #please pardon the genre tags #original character #oc #alien oc #science fiction #science fiction writing #scifi #scifi writing

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kanonavi · 9 months

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2023 XVX Fic Recs!

Hi, all, I hope you're having a lovely holiday season! Around the beginning of this year, just for fun, I decided that I would record all of the fanfics that I read this year, and during the summer I had the idea to take some of the best fics I read in 2023 and compile them at the end of the year into a rec list. Since xiaoven was the ship I read the most fics for, I've decided to just do a rec list for them this year, but maybe in the future I'll branch out more!

As with any rec list, please take note of the ratings and the tags for any given fic! Just because something suited my taste doesn't necessarily mean it will suit yours, please take care of yourselves. Now, here are 10* fics that I read this year and think that other xiaoven fans should read too! (Also uh. Sorry for how much I'm about to talk in the reviews lol)

*Keep an eye out for a few bonuses that I've peppered in ;)

We Creatures of Fate, by Wackachu

[Ongoing, Teen, 57.9k, 7/?]

Xiao is a weapon forged from red, carved from the hearts of weeping souls and etched into the memories of grieving mothers. While free under the care of a new God, he finds salvation, yet feels as trapped as the day the chains first clamped down onto his wrists. Venti is a God, one born from the wishes of others as opposed to his own. After losing his loved ones, he can't help but feel lost, high on a throne all alone, built upon all things he despised. The two find each other by chance, yet the rest can only be described as fate. ---------- A telling of Xiao and Venti's story with a hefty load of lore

If there is any fic on this list that should be read, it’s this one. I am an absolute sucker for speculative lore when it comes to Genshin, and the picture that the author has assembled of Archon War-era Liyue is absolutely masterful. Within the threads of that beautiful tapestry, they’ve also been interweaving Xiao and Venti’s developing relationship all the way from when they were a newly-freed Adeptus and young Archon respectively. They have a long journey ahead of them (the burn is slow, folks), and I think that said journey is an absolute must-read.

Extra Recs: Wackachu has also written two other xiaoven one-shots, which I highly recommend for more bite-size pieces of their excellent taste!

the holy light of your single lantern, by boxofcrows (@miralia)

[Complete, Teen, 34k, 6/6]

“Long divided by river and sea, For years we two have failed to meet – And suddenly to find you seems like a dream.” Thousands of years of silence, broken by a single visit.

This fic wrapped up recently, so it’s a great time to go and show it some love! One of my biggest sorrows is that xiaoven is rather lacking in really good canon universe fics compared to other Genshin ships, but this fic managed to fill that hole in my heart. The author does a fantastic job of capturing the way that Xiao and Venti’s conflicting natures and ideals can cause friction between them, all while maintaining the undeniable magnetism that they feel towards each other.

Relax In My Arms, by alphaparrot (@aparrotandaqrow)

[Queerplatonic XiaoVen, General Audiences, 5.9k, One-Shot]

As Lantern Rite arrives, Xiao is found exhausted and spent by Qiqi of Bubu Pharmacy, who brings him back to Liyue. Upon awaking, Xiao quickly makes his exit and returns to Wangshu Inn, where Venti is waiting for him on the balcony. Xiao isn't in the mood to party, but maybe a chill hang-out would help him relax. Venti knows just the thing to help Xiao relax and recuperate, and as they both get comfortable, they begin to reflect....

Author's Original Promo Post!

Queerplatonic xiaoven was a flavor of their relationship that I hadn’t tried before this fic, but it really sold me on it. What I’ve always loved about xiaoven so much is the inherent intimacy that can be achieved between them once all of the emotional barriers between them have been stripped away, and I think that those ideas are explored very beautifully here. Xiao and Venti trust and love each other so deeply here, and it shows in every word and touch that they exchange, and I think that it’s a must-read for anyone whose brain chemistry was altered by the ‘Endless Suffering’ trailer (so basically, every xiaoven fan ever lol)

i can not save us (but you can), by anemowisp (@sillygirl19)

[Teen, 19.4k, One-Shot]

two boys figure out what the hell they're doing

In the midst of one of the most turbulent times in my life, one particular line in this fic really hit me where it hurt, and it’s one of the few times that I’ve actually cried reading a fic. In my xiaoven-enjoying friend groups, we sometimes call Xiao and Venti old men with teenager problems, which means they don't always work when turned into actual teenagers/young adults with those problems, but I think this fic pulls it off really well.

what queer sins stain thy soul, by Anonymous (@sincerelyandyourstruly)

[Mature, 3.2k, One-Shot]

In which Xiao, long-established asexual, learns that identity is not as stable as he’d like to believe.

As an ace person myself, I feel it’s so rare to find a really good asexual character study where the asexuality is actually one of the central focuses of the intimacy taking place (if anyone has any recs of that variety please hit me up!), but I think that this fic pulled that off really well. It also delves into that particular vibe of when one’s identity might be shifting, which can be a really scary thing, but Xiao in this fic is lucky enough to have someone he loves and trusts to support him as he explores his new desires, which was really comforting to read about.

Where Words Fail, by kavvueh (@kavvueh)

[Complete, Teen, 34k, 12/12]

Author's Original Promo Post!

"You're Barbatos," Xiao repeats breathlessly. The young man in front of him nods. "Yep." "But..." Xiao cuts himself off and tries again. "You're the God of songs and poetry." The Anemo Archon nods his head sagely. "More or less." Xiao fixes Lord Barbatos with the most incredulous look he can manage. "... You're failing Music Theory."

As someone who was also suffering through music theory alongside Venti as this fic was publishing, all of the attention to detail in the musical aspects of this fic absolutely tickled me. But all of that was merely a foundation for a lovely story about a pair of souls finding their partner in a new life. The musical connection that xiaoven have is one of the essential tenets of the ship, and this fic did a beautiful job of using that idea to its fullest potential.

Extra Rec: kavvueh has recently started publishing a new xiaoven fic with a similar setting, so if you enjoy these kinds of fluffy modern aus, give that one some love as well!

The Stars in Teyvat are a Lie, and So Is the Sky, by yueyunn

[Complete, Teen, 148.2k, 13/13]

There were several issues that Xiao immediately took with Ningguang’s proposition for him to produce for Barbatos: his other artists had upcoming comebacks and year-end stages that required his attention, he was overworked enough as it were already, and Ningguang was not exactly someone he was looking to do any favors for. While her persistence to overlook all this was one matter, nothing aggravated him more than Ningguang completely ignoring the obstinate fact that he. doesn’t. work. with. idols.

Perhaps I was a bit like Xiao in this fic at the beginning of this year, because I approached the two idol/celebrity aus on my to-read list with open skepticism, and then ended up absolutely adoring them both. What I loved about this fic the most was how much care was put into actually translating the character’s canon backstories into the modern idol au setting. The author clearly has so much love for the characters, and it really shows through in the way that everyone has their chance to shine, even the side characters. This fic also updated recently with 15k words of extras, so it’s a great time to visit or revisit it!

Extra Rec: gold rush, by underthethousandstars was the other idol/celebrity au I read this year and really enjoyed, so if those aus are up your alley, I highly recommend it!

low-key (no pressure!), by windrise (Twitter - @/wyndrise)

[Ongoing, Teen, 75.7k, 11/?]

Following his friend’s questionable suggestion, Venti partners with Xiao—the resident grouch of his early morning stats class—for his music project.

If you want to sit down with a fic that will give you the warm fuzzies, this is definitely the one to pick. As alluded to previously, I don’t really go for modern aus as much, but this fic absolutely blew my expectations out of the water. I was getting the ‘squee’s as I read about Xiao and Venti growing closer over the course of working on Venti’s project, as the author has an excellent grasp of the deep inner kindness that the two of them hold, and how that kindness would naturally draw them together.

bouquet of lies, by underthethousandstars (Twitter - @/zhongliorder)

[Complete, Mature, 85.9k, 12/12]

In a world where humans can use elemental magic, Xiao uses his to move through the shadows becoming Liyue’s phantom killer. Known to the public as Alatus, he is their most notorious assassin. One day Xiao secures his biggest job yet: kill the Crown Prince of Mondstadt, Venti. Harbouring no love towards any royal family Xiao pulls off his mission with success. Or so he thought.

This fic falls solidly on the darker end of xiaoven stories (the ‘Dark Fantasy’ tag is there for a reason!), so if you happen to like your ships with an enemies to lovers flare, this is definitely one to check out. This is one of those stories that really managed to pull me into the world of assassins and political intrigue that the author has crafted, and on top of that it puts a fun spin on exploring Xiao and Venti’s individual guilt and the way that it affects them as people. The first fic in the series is finished, but the second installment is currently in progress, so I highly recommend checking that one out as well!

every morning in the dark, by magicites (Twitter - @/bribird_wings)

[Complete, Mature, 77.1k, 34/34]

Stuck in a time loop where he succumbs to his karmic debt, Xiao struggles to see the point in moving forward. Venti struggles to save him.

While by far the heaviest of any of the fics I’ve recommended so far (mind the warnings and the tags!!), if you can stomach the subject matter, this is one of those fics that I would refer to as XiaoVen Essential Reading. The author has a pitch-perfect grasp of what makes xiaoven, qualities which are pushed to their limits as the two of them struggle to break free of the loop that they’re trapped in. I took severe emotional damage while reading it, but my only regret was that I hadn’t read it sooner. It’s definitely A Lot, but it’s so, so worth it for anyone who really enjoys this pairing.

And with that, we reach the end of the list! If you've made it this far, thank you so much, and I hope I've given you some fics to add to your to-read list for the coming year! I tried to incorporate some newer fics with some classics, so hopefully there's something here you haven't heard from before.

With that said, I'll hopefully be back next year with some more xiaoven or other Genshin fic recs! <3

#genshin impact #xiaoven #venti #xiao #venti genshin impact #xiao genshin impact #fic recs #fic rec list #the ficshelf #Maybe I should make my own rec tag so I stop losing fics I reblog but uhhhh tired :)#I technically cheated with bouquet of lies because I only read the sequel this year #But I feel like it made more sense to rec the first fic in the series instead of the second #Also if anyone I tagged in this doesn't want to be please just let me know and I'll remove you #I don't want to offend anyone's privacy

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4evasummer · 1 year

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"when we found love in summer" (jing yuan)

plot: march 7th helps prepare you for a beach date with jing yuan. with a nervous heart, you finally muster the courage to confess to him. notes: this fanfic is quite self indulgent, especially because i'm a literal sucker for anything summer related. also i wrote some of this at 2am whilst having ponytail to shushu by akb48 on loop and the rest like 8 hours later. content warning: fem! reader, reader is shy, reader is black coded, jing yuan is a tease.

"march, is this really necessary?" i sighed as my friend scurried across the bedroom, deep in thought. "i can tell very easily that your feelings for jing yuan are so intense! the way you behave, especially when you're staring at him, is so obvious!" i looked away from march 7th, already feeling embarrassed about showing my emotions too much. "my main issue is confessing to him. if i keep chickening out, i won't be able to confess to him before the end of summer..." i mumbled. "i don't know what kind of taste he has when it comes to women, i barely know anything about him and worse yet...he's intimidating..." march tiptoes in my direction with a smug look on her face. "i know just the solution to your romantic woes~" she whispers. "h-hey! is it really necessary to dress up so much like this?" i ask, watching march 7th rummage through a suitcase full of accessories. "come on! the most important thing when it comes to confessing your crush is to look as amazing as possible! it's summer, so that means you'll have to wear something cute to impress jing yuan!" she says as she picks up a pink bikini with a yellow and orange hibiscus pattern. "this one's so cute! it suits your skin tone!" march squeals as she held it against my body. "isn't it a bit too...revealing? it looks a bit..small." i ask, examining the bikini carefully. "don't worry! you'll find out once you put it on~!" she chirps. "but first i should get your hair ready, then pick out your jewelry, and after that i need to get you a body shimmer and perhaps a glitter tattoo..." march 7th continues rambling on as i pondered about. although i admired how determined and confident she was about getting jing yuan and i together, i couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about the whole thing. it would be a total bust if she put a lot of hard work into assembling an outfit for me only to get rejected by him.

"and...done!" march 7th huffed as she finally adjusted the flower in my hair. i stared at myself in the mirror, taking in my current look and feeling slightly flustered. "isn't the makeup a bit too much?" i asked, watching her grab a bottle of perfume and spray it on my arms. "it'll be fine!" she assures me. "you already know how you're going to confess, right?" she asks. i nodded. "good luck (name)! and don't forget to fill me in on the details once you come back!" march 7th screams as i shyly wave back at her before leaving the beach house.

it didn't take me too long to see jing yuan at the beach, staring at the glittering ocean and beyond. i couldn't help but take in the view of him. he looked so majestic, his hair flowing in the wind, that pretty mole under his left eye, his amazing, sexy body...i eventually snapped out of my thoughts but it was too late because he already noticed me staring at him a little too hard. "hello there, (name). it's been a while." jing yuan smiled at me. "hi! i was wondering if...if you're free today because i was thinking of spending the day with you." i say. jing yuan takes my hand his, "sure, you can watch me surf." he says as he places a gentle kiss on my hand. i could feel my face warm up due to his actions and my body stiffen due to my emotions eventually getting the better of me. i eventually calm myself as i watch him grab his surfboard and jog towards the waves.

after watching jing yuan surf for an hour, he finally returned to the shore. i couldn't help but notice the way the droplets cascaded down his muscles. "like what you see?" his voice snapped me back to reality. a smirk grew on his lips as he leaned closer towards me. "l-let's...grab lunch together!" i suggest, trying to change the subject as i got up and dusted myself. jing yuan chuckles as he follows me behind, a small tint of pink dusted across his cheeks. a few hours later, we were walking across the shoreline, watching the sun set across the horizon and bathing the beach in various shades of orange and pink. as jing yuan looked off into the distance, i hastily mustered my courage to confess my feelings to him. "j-jing yuan...?" i whispered. he turns around and focuses himself onto me, making my heart pound intensely. i automatically look down at the sand as my brain quickly pieced together my confession for him. "ever since i met you, i felt like i can't take you off my mind. everything about you is absolutely perfect that not even this sunset could match it...or even the sky. my love for you is more vast than the skies, deeper than the ocean and more passionate than the sun...i-i really love you." i blurted out, preparing myself to be rejected. i felt his arms embracing my body, bringing me closer to him. "i love you too, (name)." jing yuan responded. "you're the prettiest woman i've ever met, it's as if you were crafted by god himself...i've never seen a woman so kind and courageous like you...ever." we eventually pull away from each other to stare at each other in the eyes. the space between us eventually disappeared as jing yuan trapped my lips in his. his arms snaked around my waist as he brought me closer to deepen the kiss. after a few seconds, he pulled away. a soft smile appeared on his face as he adjusted the flower in my hair. "i almost forgot to tell you...you looked gorgeous today." he whispered shyly. i laughed as i leaned into his face and kissed the mole under his left eye, as the sun disappeared under the horizon.

this is a much longer fanfic i decided to put out today xD. it's so self indulgent hahaha. likes and reblogs are appreciated!

#honkai star rail #hsr #honkai star rail x reader #hsr x reader #jing yuan x reader #hsr x you #honkai star rail x you #jing yuan #jing yuan x you

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pompomqt · 9 months

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Journey to the West Chapter 23

Tripitaka being offered 4 beautiful wives, fifteen thousand acres of land, and a mountain of silver:

Just let my man live his monk life.

In this chapter of Journey to the West with @journeythroughjourneytothewest we have assembled are entire crew, so now it's time for them to face their very first challenge together. So let's get into it shall we?

So the group has been traveling for a while and one day when it's getting late Tripitaka mentions that they should find a place to spend the night. Monkey is all for just sleeping outside and braving the elements, but Pigsy is tired from hauling the luggage about and is all for finding a proper place to rest. So Monkey tells him off for complaining while Pigsy tells him he should try hauling the luggage if it's so easy. But Monkey's like, I couldn't *possibly* my only job is protecting our master- it's yours and Sandy's job to haul the luggage and take care of the horse.

Monkey also takes this opportunity to tell Pigsy and Sandy that their horse is actually a dragon, which you would think something like that would have come up in conversation sooner, but then again, since the dragon doesn't do anything but 'be a horse' why would it? Anyways, Pigsy complains that if the horse is really a dragon, can't he go any faster? So Monkey takes this opportunity to use his staff to startle the horse and cause it to take off running- with Tripitaka.

The horse finally stops running when they come across a beautiful estate, and allows Tripitaka to catch his breath and for his disciples to catch up. When they do finally catch up, Monkey (and I) am very impressed with the fact that Tripitaka did not fall off his horse. Good job Tripitaka. Anyways Tripitaka yells at Monkey for his stunt, and Monkey blames Pigsy, who is yet again complaining about how heavy the luggage is and having to chase after the horse.

Anyways, Tripitaka decides they should ask someone to stay here, and Monkey notices that this place was created by the heavens, but decides not to mention that to anyone else. And because it would be rude to enter somebody's house without permission, they all wait outside for somebody to come out, but after a while when nobody does, Monkey gets impatient and enters anyways. Monkey immediately gets caught by the owner of the house and explains that he is a monk traveling to the west and seeking shelter for the night. So the middle aged women invites them all inside only to have to deal with Pigsy salivating over her. No good deed goes unpunished.

But it turns out that this is just fine for the lady, since she sits them all down for tea time and explains that she is a widow with three daughters and no sons in inherit their vast estates and wealth. And she thinks it would be a grand idea if the four of them married her and her three daughters.

Tripitaka is Horrified by this offer, so much so that he becomes completely mute during the discussion and he only gets worse as she continues to try and sweeten the deal. Like it's so bad I'm almost tempted to add a point to his 'Paralyzed by Fear' stat. Pigsy however is very tempted by this offer and urges Tripitaka to say something. Tripitaka finally snaps out of it to yell at Pigsy that Monk's like them can't be swayed by wealth or beauty. He even gets into a bit of an argument with the lady and ends up insulting her a little.

This makes the lady angry and she tries to compromise that at least one of them should stay here and marry them. Tripitaka immediately volunteers Sun Wukong for this. Sun Wukong is like 'Nah, I don't care about things like that, let Pigsy stay.' Pigsy wants to discuss that idea further, but Tripitaka has already moved on to throwing Sandy under the bus instead. However Sandy just joined the group two months ago and isn't willing to give up on the journey so easily. Seeing that they aren't going to be swayed- the lady slams the door shut on them, leaving them outside.

Pigsy isn't to happy about being shut out in the cold, and says that Tripitaka should have just strung the lady along with a vague answer so they could at least get some dinner and a place to rest for the night. And even Sandy is getting tired of his nonsense and suggests that Pigsy just stay here. Pigsy however would feel slightly bad for abandoning his wife for this quest, just to abandon the quest for a different wife. Eventually though Pigsy gets tired of arguing back and forth with them, so he takes his leave under the excuse of finding the horse a place to graze. So Monkey leaves Sandy in charge of babysitting Tripitaka so he can follow Pigsy.

Rather then grazing the horse properly, Pigsy instead chases the horse into the house as an excuse to talk with the Lady again. So Pigsy offers his pitch, that just because the other three are to afraid of disobeying the Tang emperor to stay here, he would be an excellent choice of husband since he's hard working despite being rather ugly. So Monkey takes this opportunity to return to Tripitaka and tell him the latest gossip ahead of Pigsy. Pigsy comes back right after, and Monkey makes sure to drop a hint that they know exactly what he was up to.

Just then however the Lady comes out of the house with her three daughters and asks them if they've decided which one of them will wed her three daughters. Sandy chimes in that they've decided Pigsy will be the one to stay here. While Pigsy says that they shouldn't play tricks on him like this, and that they should discuss it further. Monkey points out that there isn't anything to discuss since Pigsy was the one who went behind their backs to make an arrangement to marry them. So they might as well go forward with the wedding since it's an auspicious and lucky day and the whole family is here for the wedding to give Pigsy away. Also at least this way Pigsy can help on their journey by giving them a wedding feast to see them off.

So Pigsy's future mother in law now gladly lets them inside and gives them a meal before allowing them to retire in a guest bedroom. She leads Pigsy away from the others however and says that she has a dilemma. She doesn't know which of her daughters to give Pigsy to. Pigsy tries to advocate that he would gladly marry all three of them, but the mother has a different idea on how to decide. So she blindfolds Pigsy and says her daughters will walk past him, and whichever one he catches will be his bride. However despite prancing around the room like a complete idiot, Pigsy isn't able to catch any of them.

Pigsy eventually complains that they are to slippery, so the mother should just marry him instead. The mother however comes up with another idea on how to choose. The daughters have each woven a silk undershirt, so the shirt that fits him, will decide which daughter he will marry. Immediately after Pigsy tries on the first shirt however, the shirt immediately turns into rope and tightly binds him, and the women also vanishes into thin air.

We cut back to the rest of the group, who had a pleasant night, despite waking up to find the beautiful villa gone and that they had apparently slept in a forest the whole night. Sandy is rather freaked out by this disappearing house nonsense, but Monkey is well used to heaven's shenanigans and habit of making random houses appear and disappear at will. Monkey is much more interested in laughing about Pigsy's misfortune and gleefully explains to Tripitaka and Sandy that this whole thing was a test from the heavens.

They also hear Pigsy yelling for them to rescue him and untie him. Monkey is all for leaving Pigsy there to suffer his fate, but Tripitaka thinks he's learned his lesson and decides to rescue him since he's still useful despite being a moron.

Current Sun Wukong Stats: Names/Titles: Monkey, The Stone Monkey, The Handsome Monkey King, Sun Wukong (Monkey awakened to the void), Bimawen (Banhorseplague), The Great Sage Equal To Heaven and Pilgrim Sun. Immortality: 5 Weapon: The Compliant Golden Hooped Rod Abilities: 72 Transformations, Cloud-Somersault, Ability to transform his individual hairs, super strength, Ability to Summon Wind, Water restriction charm, and the ability to change into a huge war form, ability to duplicate his staff, ability to immobilize others, the ability to put others to sleep, and the Fiery eyes and Diamond Pupils, intimidating horses, churning large bodies of water, sleeplessness, seizing the wind, enhanced smell and discerning good and evil within a thousand miles. Demon Kill Count: 4+ Unknown Number of Minions Human Kill Count: 6 God's Defeated: 19 + Unknown number Defeats: 3 Crime List: Robbery, Murder, Mass Murder, Arson, Theft, Coercion, Threatening a Government Official, Resisting Arrest, Assault, Forgery, Employee Theft, False Imprisonment, Impersonating a Government Official, Treason, attempted murder, failure to control or report a dangerous fire, desecrating a corpse, breaking and entering and trespassing. Cry Count: 3 Mountains Trapped Under: 1

Current Tang Sanzang stats: Names/Titles: River Float, Xuanzang, Tang Sanzang, Tripitaka Abilities: Curing Blindness, making branches point a certain direction (allegedly), reciting sutras, pretty privilege, memorization and Heart Sutra. Cry Count: 14 Tight Fillet Spell Uses: 5 Paralyzed by fear: 4 Bandit Problems: 2 Kidnapped by demons: 2 Falling Off Horses: 5

Current Bai Long Ma Stats: Names/Titles: Bai Long Ma (White Dragon Horse), Prince of the Western Ocean, and third prince jade dragon of the dragon king Aorun Abilities: Transforming into a human, a water snake, and a horse, eating a horse in one bite, and flight. Crime List: Arson, and Grave Disobedience. Contributions to the plot: 1

Current Zhu Wuneng Stats: Names/Titles: The Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds, Zhu Wuneng (Pig who is aware of ability), Zhu Ganglie, Pigsy, Idiot and Eight Rules. Weapon: Rake Abilities: 36 Transformations, parting water, fighting underwater and cloud soaring. Demon Kill Count/Kill steals: 1 Failed Flirtation/romances Attempts: 3 Cry Count: 1 Crime List: Sexual Harassment, Murder, Kidnapping and arson.

Current Sha Wujing Stats: Names/Titles: The Curtain-Raising General, Sha Wujing (Sand Aware of Purity), Sandy and Sha Monk Weapon: 'Monster Taming Staff' Abilities: Fighting underwater Crime List: Breaking a Crystal Cup, murder, and desecration of a human corpse.

#jttw #journey to the west #jttw read through #journeythroughjourneytothewest #sun wukong #tang sanzang #zhu wuneng #sha wujing #Tripitaka being an aroace icon this chapter #Also we get to see Monkey using his intimidating horses power this chapter #Also Pigsy was such a failure this chapter I feel like he deserves more then 1 point in his failed romances stat but oh well #I will just point and laugh at him with Monkey instead

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