#i did almost every side quest before starting this mission

[quaddmgd]

[thefangirltreehouse]

sebastian sallow | general thoughts / headcanons with gryffindor!mc

this is just overall thoughts on the sebastian arc and his general characterisation (yes, i am continuing to update this on my second playthrough)

spoilers below

the amount of times i’ve caught sebastian looking at mc through the start of my now second play-through is hilariously adorable, like don’t get me wrong the herbology one is absolutely the best, but i noticed that throughout charms sebastian is just staring at mc (like he’s straight up starts ignoring ominis speaking to him when they walk in the room) also the slight glances in defence against the dark arts before the duel is so cute.

he does it again whilst sirona and rookwood are arguing, like he just turns to them and similes

you can’t convince me otherwise that mc didn’t grab at least his arm to pull him away from ranrok, like it genuinely looks like that and if you squint hard enough it looks like he does the same thing when heading into the three broomsticks

listen i’m specifically playing as fem! & gryffindor! and the missions with ominis feel so reminiscent of the golden trio (i’m calling it now, they’re the electrum trio - a metal mixed with gold and sliver) especially the crucio side-mission

saw someone in a comment sum their dynamic up perfectly from my perspective

“i used to have beef with ominis before this (crucio) quest happened and now it’s me, a gryffindor dragging two slytherins by their shirt collars”

slight tangent but ominis is so sweet if you start as a slytherin! i saw my friend start his game and meet him in the common room and i was like “i’m sorry, is this the same tory bastard that yelled at me for nicking his pal?”

if anything sebastian comes off worse in that section.

almost every streamer i’ve came across assumes he’s flirting, like this was absolutely intentional

when either of the boys, particularly sebastian is speaking to imelda and the conversation of mc comes up she absolutely refers to mc as “that gryffindor of yours”

i mean, it’s the age old rivalry that just gives everything that extra oomph! despite the fact nobody seems to be questioning that a gryffindor has closely befriended not one, but two slytherins because that certainly isn't suspicious (i'm surprised one of the gryffindors didn't bring it up - particularly leander)

speaking of leander, why are the more prominent gryffindors (and ravenclaws) so antagonistic or hellbent on getting us in trouble?

sebastian’s jealously towards both his friends is dripping in the crucio quest like, in the line below i know he means because mc and ominis have special abilities but...

"between the two of you, i'm starting to feel left out"

the constant proud "that's my girl" look on his face

"never know who's watching - although that hasn't stopped us before." "strictly speaking, it has. we were caught."

also at the start of the library mission, anyone notice the way he's casually waiting on mc against the banister smiling up at her? or whilst he's waiting on her and ominis to figure out the location of the scriptorium? like, this boy knows he's the shit.

listen, there are certain things that sebastian said and did during his storyline that even at that age, i would’ve noped out of but i went in with a “yes, corrupt the little goody-two-shoes gryffindor madly infatuated with you” attitude and honestly it was so much fun. cause objectively yeah, sebastian should be expelled at the very least but my mc was not gonna let them do that (they're very much giving jd and veronica)

that said, mc isn't about to let him walk all over her, she's a gryffindor for a reason, she's just had some misguided judgement

don’t love how there isn’t much of a reaction from either boy after crucio is cast on mc, especially from sebastian (again, massive red flag) but also, think the devs missed the mark on that one like sebastian is still mc’s friend, yeah he really wants to see anne healed but a little sympathy shown would’ve been nice and a proper acknowledgement of what'd he'd done.

even if sebastian shrugged it off quickly he should've helped them walk or at least offered a hand to stand up

i love the wee house jibes, i wish we got more of them!

"you're not a bad chap, for a slytherin" "you gryffindors don't have a monopoly on bravery y'know"

an awful lot of english folk in the scottish highlands

sebastian and poppy are talking whilst leaving a class and my brain was like “omg her bf + gf are talking!”

i want triwizard and yule so badly!

the red and the green / gold and silver looks, look so good!

mc makes a comment about how amazed sebastian will be when she tells him that she took down the ashwinders by herself

"it'd be wise to keep an eye on you"

_____

general headcanons (oc-ish)

he'd absolutely mutter continuous little digs and comments throughout their classes simply to get under her skin and make her smile whilst she's trying to listen to their professors (he used to do this to ominis but he's able to ignore sebastian now after years of the torment)

whilst having dinner in the great hall they won't be sitting together but they'll lightly tap or nudge one another on the back if they're passing behind each-other's designated tables

sebastian refers to the fat lady painting as the "golden gate keeper of mediocrity" after walking mc back to gryffindor tower, which earns him a mildly deserved elbow jab

he gives mc piggy-backs during their trips to hogsmead and the quidditch pitch

whilst she's walking to and from classes with cressida or natsai, sebastian is regularly seen inserting himself between them, putting an arm over mc and / or pinching her away over to ominis and nerida

"who would've thought, all it took was a snake to tame the lion" cressida noted to a disinterested leander, peering over at the scarlet robes peaking beneath the sea of green

mc likes to softly poke at his blushing cheeks, joking that if sebastian "gets any redder, he won't be allowed back into slytherin" or that "he might have to come back to gryffindor with her"

mc has on occasion accidently fallen asleep, resting her head on his shoulder during history of magic

most of the gryffindors (nellie, leander and garreth in particular) will tease sebastian as he waits for her outside the common room, claiming "she was ours first" and attempt to distract her for as long as possible beyond the painting just to 'knock 'im down a few pegs'

they're well aware she's highly capable of holding her own, but not only is he a slytherin, he's also sebastian sallow so they're protective

he much prefers bumping into natty, who'll make a light "lost puppy" joke, share laugh and proceed to actually go get mc or he would actively seek out lucan because he knows the kid sucks-up to him but eventually the older gryffindors caught-on and would bribe lucan with chocolate frogs to stop him in his tracks

mc enjoys exposing sebastian to muggle trinkets and snacks, she grew up in a travelling circus with her parents, a ringmaster and fortune teller who never attended hogwarts in their youth (i'm gonna do a separate oc bio)

the trio all share a love of pumpkin pasties and lavender tea so whoever has a free period (or when sebastian has detention) will pop down to the kitchen to collect some

forehead kisses, hugs and interlocked arms whilst exploring the castle are everything to these two (their subtle little height difference is adorable, especially when you remember fem!mc is wearing wee wedged shoes at the start of the game)

highwing isn't his biggest fan (prefers ominis) and mc relishes in that

[missathlete31]

Took Too Much- Prologue

Remember when I said no more AU's? Well I lied.

Synopsis: A different take on my Birds of A Feather Universe featuring Emily Bradshaw (Bradley's little sister) dating Jake Seresin during and after the mission. Bradley and Mav, now working on their own issues and trying to reconnect with Emily as well, have a LOT of opinions on the young woman's choice of partner.

And like the foolish men they are, they think they have the right to sabotage it.

It started out funny, watching the collective horror on Bradley and Mav's faces when Emily arrived at the post mission party at the Hard Deck and Jake welcomed her with the desperate kiss of a man who wasn't sure he was coming home. The bar quieted, everyone staring, but the shock was pointless, they had always been inevitable. Emily had known Jake for a decade, been in love with him for almost as long, and if it weren't for deployments and her own quest to rise in the medical world there would be a ring on her finger already and maybe a child or two at her side.

They met when Jake went to Top Gun the first time, all young and cocky and flying like he didn't have anything to lose; because he didn't. No name on his emergency contact list besides whatever CO he was currently serving under, no home to go back to for holidays or leave. Jake ran into Emily a few times around North Island, a pretty girl with a smile that never met her eyes, a pain and loneliness that Jake never thought he would see in anyone else but himself. They flirted, they hooked up, but the blonde pilot expected it to run its course by the time he graduated.

And then family week came.

Emily never got a chance to meet her father but she grew up hearing stories. She heard about his time at Top Gun, how that was the moment her father and Uncle Mav ended up meeting so many of the men who would become staples to her growing up. It was where her father met her Uncle Ice, the only person she had left of them all, though he was off trying to make Admiral and wasn't around as often. But before that, before Emily was lost to the collateral damage of a fight between her brother and the man who tried to raise them, Emily got to learn about one of the best times in her dad's life. Top Gun seemed like the greatest place in the world; the hi-jinxes that they shared, the competitiveness, the singing at the bar and wooing women for Mav; it all sounded so fun! Imagine her surprise when Bradley of all people told her how their father's time at Top Gun ended. How it was during Family week of all moments, with his son and wife in town and waiting for him, when Nick Bradshaw hit the canopy and broke his neck before he landed face down in the Pacific.

So Emily hated Family Week.

As all the pilots on base took their parents, lovers, and children to the nicer restaurants off the water, Emily found the crappiest dive bar she could and drank her sorrows away. She grieved, like she did every Top Gun cycle, for the children like her who wouldn't grow up with a complete home thanks to the Navy, for women and men like her mother who would lose the love of their lives tragically young, and for herself, for staying here in this town, in the shroud of cruel non-memories, thinking that it made her closer to a ghost that never knew her.

But then Jake arrived.

Jake, who grieved his own loneliness just like her. Who had no one but himself for so long he didn't even know how to let anyone else in. Jake, who took one look at the woman at the bar that he had already been falling for, the woman who never seemed willing to let him all the way in, and he decided to take a chance. Jake joined Emily that evening and together they learned that isolation was not their punishment, they were allowed to find someone. Two souls so broken and yet so similar, and suddenly everything felt easy.

They've never talked about the future during the rest of Jake's time in North Island; Emily's own hesitancy of following in her mother's footsteps and losing a love so young and Jake's inability to allow himself to have love and companionship on that type of level making them the poster children for lack of communication, but somehow they didn't need to. When Jake graduated, top of his class of course, Emily knew their time was up. It was bittersweet but expected and yet very quickly letters began to arrive for her, Jake's penmanship  printing out her address neatly, a letter of his newest posting inside. She would write back and suddenly it seemed their connection didn't need to end. They didn't define what they were to each other: Jake never asked if she was seeing anyone, nor would he seem mad if she were. Emily never hinted to see if he found someone else at a new port or assumed that he didn't let loose on the women in whatever town he was stationed . Instead they became what each other needed: Emily insisted on being Jake's emergency contact. Jake began to come back to North Island on his holidays and leave to make sure Emily wasn't alone all the time. It was love but by their own definition, and it was the most stable relationship either of them ever had.

Now, reunited once again and after the threat of losing what could have been, Emily and Jake were ready to make this real, Bradley and Maverick be damned. Emily knew she had no obligation to explain herself to either of them, not after they left her 15 years ago, and she took a bit of pleasure when they both seemed to huff in indignation at the implications that Hangman of all people was who she was seeing. She expected some pushback, especially with Maverick being Jake's CO, but she never assumed the look shared between her brother and pseudo father would mean so much, would take so much.

How two people who claimed to love her could destroy so much.

Here's the original moodboard from the Birds of A Feather story but please note Jake and Emily are not married in this version!

[south-of-heaven]

Dakota kai or Zelina Vega or the BRE (I can’t pick) x reader

Reader always loses her glasses and whoever you pick always helps her find them and like playfully tells her off for losing them

Lost || The BRE x Reader

Summary: You constantly lose your glasses around the house. Thankfully you've got four partners who'll help you look.

A/N: I can't resist the chance of writing BRE stuff because BRE4L.

Losing your glasses had become somewhat of a recurring theme in your life. It was almost comical how often you would misplace them, only to send everyone into a frenzy trying to help you find them. But one thing you were grateful for was having four amazing partners who were always there to assist you in your quest to locate your elusive eyewear.

The day had started like any other. You woke up, ready to tackle the day ahead, only to realize that your glasses were nowhere to be found. You sighed in frustration, mentally berating yourself for not putting them in their usual spot the night before. But you didn't need to wallow for long, because as soon as the others noticed your distressed expression, they sprang into action.

Mia, ever the playful one, raised an eyebrow and let out a mock exasperated sigh. "Again, babe? How do you manage to lose your glasses every single day?" Her tone was light, filled with affection, as she ruffled your hair.

Charlie joined the search party with a grin, her mischievous spirit evident in her eyes. "You know, we might need to invest in a tracker for those glasses of yours." She teased, earning a chuckle from the rest of you.

Shayna, always the pragmatic one, began scanning the room with a practiced eye. "Did you check the bathroom? That's usually where they end up, right?" Her words were accompanied by a smirk, a mixture of concern and playfulness in her expression.

Jessamyn, the gentle giant of the group, knelt down and started peering under the furniture. "Don't worry, we'll find them. Just remember to keep a spare pair next time," she reassured you, her soothing voice putting you at ease.

As you scoured the room, the atmosphere was a blend of amusement and camaraderie. It was incredible how these four strong, capable women could effortlessly transition from their fierce personas in the ring to caring partners on a mission to locate your glasses.

After a few minutes of searching, Mia triumphantly held up your glasses, a satisfied grin on her face. "Found 'em!" she exclaimed, and the room erupted into cheers and laughter.

You reached out to take the glasses from her, grateful for their unwavering support. "Thanks, guys," you said with a sheepish smile. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Charlie chuckled and wrapped her arm around your shoulders. "Probably squint your way through life," she teased, earning a playful swat from you.

Shayna leaned against the wall, a fond smile on her lips. "Just one of the many ways we've got your back," she remarked, her gaze warm.

Jessamyn nodded in agreement, her eyes sparkling. "Yeah, we're a team, even when it comes to finding lost glasses."

As you slipped your glasses back on, your vision instantly clearing, you couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude. These four amazing women were more than just partners – they were your pillars of strength, your support system, and your heart. And even if you continued to lose your glasses from time to time, you knew that with them by your side, you'd never truly be lost.

[ashplayz]

Holga x reader

'She gets down on her knees for you..'

Angsty/fluff

Warnings:

Mentions of death and injury. Argument,

Angst. language

You never minded Holgate going on adventures/missions with the others. You knew very well that she could handle herself. You yourself were never really the adventurer type but nevertheless you still cheered her and the others on from the sidelines always there to run into her arms the moment she returned fretting over every little scrape. But this time was different..

The team was debating on whether or not to go on an extra dangerous mission, finding a way to eliminate all red wizards forever, but this would be an incredibly risky mission they all knew that. And the group decided against doing it.. But Holga was still determined to do it with or without help.. So she left on her own without telling anyone. Upon finding out the others all went after her except for you of course you were the more quiet village life type and obviously you watched over Kira not that you minded though you always had a connection with her.

But now you and Kira were stuck worrying out of your mind's.. Neither of you knew if someone you both cared about was going to wind up dead.. You tried your hardest to stay strong for her but it was crushing you.. You were relieved to find out she was still alive when they got back but you felt so much pain upon seeing the shape she was in.. She nearly died and the resurrection tablet was gone you almost thought you had lost her..

She didn't wake up for quite some time, and in that time you hardly ever left her side.. But all the pain you felt quickly turned to anger upon the next thing that happened.. When she woke up she saw you sitting in a chair across from her looking exhausted and as if you cried yourself to sleep.. She couldn't handle the guilt of knowing she's the one that put you in that situation.. She's never really been one to handle strong emotions well so she did the only thing she knew how to do in that situation.. Leave. or at least try to..

"Woah. Where are you going!?" Simon said, still in shock after seeing her up. "Out." Holga responded, sounding irritated.. "Hey.. No you need to rest you almost died-" Doric said attempting to reason with her.. "And who's gonna stop me?" Holga asked, giving the two a threatening glare. "Me." You said coming out of the bedroom and crossing your arms, your voice tight with emotion.. "Holga, are you seriously upset with them after they saved your life?" You asked her, your voice going unexpectedly loud. "I never asked them to do that." Holga fired back

"Jesus Christ Kilgore, stop acting as if they screwed up a big break for you, there was no way you could have done it on your own no matter how strong you think you are!!" You snapped at her all of your sorrow transitioning into anger.. While you knew she was so much stronger than anyone you'd ever met you knew no one could have done that on their own you knew she would have probably been dead if it wasn't for them you didn't consider that her anger was towards herself and not them.. "And you're the one to talk about being strong- it's not like you'd understand what these quests mean you wouldn't know what it's like to face off against a red wizard." She said, She didn't know why she said it.. She prayed you never would know what that was like..

You took this harder than she had intended.. Did she think you were weak..? "...You're right. I wouldn't know. I'm obviously far too weak to partake in these quests. And you know-" you were about to say more but hesitated at first.. "Maybe I'm far too weak to be with someone like you. Maybe this was a mistake-" you started saying. You were too upset to notice the color drain from her face as she looked at you hurt. Before you could continue you were cut off by Simon "Woah hey she- she doesn't mean that.." He tried to referee this situation.. "Okay.. She meant it.." He said upon seeing the look on your face.. "You know.. There's always been things trying to keep us apart.. Maybe there was a reason for that.." You said.. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out..

"But.. You guys love each other-" Kira said as she came out of her room just waking up to this, panicked at the thought of the two of you splitting.. "Maybe that was a mistake." You said.. Not knowing the panic and heartache your lover was feeling.. "If you want to go, be my guest.." You finally said before walking away.. Holga stood there. Her body started to shake as she felt an intense feeling of panic.. She was scared shitless to think she would be the one to push you away.. She lost someone she loved in the past because she couldn't get over herself and now she was going to lose you too.. The others gave her a look of pity which wasn't helpful. She quickly left not knowing what else to do..

Once a good distance from everyone she sat down, her breathing unsteady as she fought back the tears that threatened to fall..

Upon receiving a pep talk from Kira she knew she couldn't lose you.. Especially not because of herself.. She headed back to the house and got there just in time to catch you before you left.. You felt bad about what you said.. You never really meant it.. You didn't want to lose her.. You were surprised to see how defeated she looked. You noticed her eyes were glossy..

"Holga.." You stated before she gently took your hand in hers, going into her knees as she held onto your hand.. You were in shock.. You never took her as the type to get down on her knees for anyone.. "Y/n I'm sorry.. I'm sorry I put you through hell I'm sorry I lashed out at you..I'm sorry for not being good enough for you.." You were in shock upon hearing this and your eyes grew misty as you were overcome with emotion "Holga.. You.. You've always been good enough for me.." You said but she cut you off "not when I make you feel the way you did.. And for that I am truly sorry.. And I swear on my life I will never make that mistake again." She said.. You smiled at her "I know.." You said gently..

She stood up and almost held you but hesitated almost apologizing again.. You shut her up by wrapping your arms around her neck pulling her into a loving kiss. she let out a sigh of relief as she wrapped her arms around you like she was gonna lose you.. The others let out breaths of relief that that was over with Edgin who was just getting up was very confused..

Fin..

<3

[wookofwallst]

Starfield: The game that didn't learn gaming's past failures.

It was 2016 when I first sat on the couch in my first apartment with my then girlfriend to sit down and enjoy a Bethesda title Fallout 4. Now, I had played Skyrim on its original release on Playstation 3. Unfortunately, I was more of an outside kid skateboarding, playing other sports, and generally getting into a whole bunch of shenanigans around town. So Skyrim wasn't really on my list of top things to go out and do.

Playing Fallout 4 seemed so fresh and exciting. Seamlessly going from one outpost to another killing and stealing my way through, I was addicted. Every day, I'd come home and want to play it even though there wasn't really much else to do in the harsh winters of Buffalo, NY. I didn't want to leave the one bedroom cubby I lived in in order to play more and more. I did almost every side quest, every main mission, and talked to each individual I could. Beat it with several play through until later that year when a new game came out.

No Mans Sky was released with more anticipation than any other game in history at the time. I had people who didn't play any video games come over to just watch me play it because they heard how epic it was supposed to be. I went to my local Walmart at 11:55pm and got the physical copy and was playing it by 12:30am as it was installing I started to pace around thr room I couldn't stay still I started cleaning up the house just so time didn't feel so slow.

Finally, it launched. The main loading screen buzzed by me with stars that had yet to be discovered and named the music hummed in, and I could feel the goosebumps on my arm start to burst. I loaded in the game, and I loved my first few hours, fixing the ship and getting basic resources together so I could fly from planet to planet without a single loading screen. Even going from Star System to Star System didn't even feel like it was loading because they made it look like you were just jumping lightspeed to another system.

However, the more I played, the more it became apparent that this game had nothing of pure substance. The lies, the false promises that the developers Hello Games made before its launch were staring me in the face. There were no factions, there was no base building, there was no grand space war the "mysteries" were nothing but going to obelisks and deciphering words on a tablet that were pass fail that also ended up pointless and there was no actual progression.

There was nothing keeping me playing the game, no hook, no intrigue. It was an ocean as deep as a puddle. Once you had been to one of every type of planet, you had seen what the game was offering. Procedurally generated worlds are cool, and 16 quintillion plantes are cool. But since there wasn't a single thing that was hand crafted, since there wasn't a story or naritive pushing me through the game, there was really no reason to keep playing after 20 or so hours.

Now, this being the year of our Lord 2023 No Mans Sky is extremely improved upon the game is "fixed." I wouldn't say it lives up to its pre-released hype, but none the less it is much much improved.

Some time after that, Cyberpunk 2077 would be released with even more hype than NMS. They had BIG actors playing BIG roles in the game. It was supposed to be a perfect rendition of a dystpion future where you play as V a antihero that has Reanu Keves riding shotgun on your bloodthirsty rampage through night city.

Aaaaaaand then it released. Broken, unfinished, glitchy as all hell. I ran my way through the game with a level 1 revolver that did fifteen thousand damage. I three shot the final boss of the game only because he has nessicary animations he has to get through. The dialog and writing of the game were sub-par, and it was a total drag listening to it was exhausting. The combat was atrocious, although it's funny that if you do a certain mission, you can get a vibrating dildo to beat people with.

Once again, just another over hyped game that upon release was just a splash in the pan. It's a game I just wanted to get through and not play, though, if that makes sense. (Except I couldn't actually complete the game because of a glitch that locks out the final mission in Arasaka Tower.)

Bring us to the present day 2023. So fuckin many great games have been released. Baldurs Gate 3, Armored Core 6, Zelda TOTK, Diablo IV , Jedi Survivor and Remanant 2. All of these games are great at something and here comes Starfield.

Another insanely hyped up game now an Xbox exclusive. Promising endless exploration, a main story so original you won't know what hits you side quests and character interactions that were both fun and not chalk full of those pesky fetch quests. I was extremely skeptical. I knew that it wasn't going to be as good as they said, but I still wanted to give it a chance.

It was a day or so after Starfield came out for early access when I finally saw some game play. I'll be honest, i I was enamored with the gamer itch "I NEED TO PLAY THIS." So I stomached up the 100 or so dollars and got to downloading. It took 5ish hours for it to download because Microsoft servers are awful. I finally get in, and I'm floored with boredom.

The first few main quests aren't great. The hook is weak and not very interesting. Sure it's cool that magic sheet metal is giving me some kind of futuristic visions and that I'm not the "chosen one" just some guy in the right place at the right time to obtain these powers.

Then the guy you're digging this sheet metal out for comes by gives you a ship, and you're on your way. He just tells you to go see his buddies in the big city. Don't worry, they're not they aren't dangerous. The game opens up for you fully without any limitations. Except for how far you can travel on one tank of gas. No, you don't have to refill it. You just can only go so far to a star system and then go back to the map and click on where you want to go again. Redundant.

Oh, you wanted to go to that system? Loading screen. You wanted to go on to the planet? Loading screen. Wanted to get up from your cockpit and onto the planets surface? Loading screen. Do you want to just walk into a shop? Loading screen. Oops, you walked into the wrong shop? Loading screen. Loading screens Loading screens. I counted in one single 4 hour session. I hit 137 loading screens. That's 34 loading screens per hour. That's far from seamless and far from "free exploration." You can't even fly your ship on the planets. Only in space.

Speaking of exploration, it's bad. Exploration isn't endless as eventually you'll hit an invisible wall after you hit off the same exact buildings that you saw on the previous 12 planets filled with nondescript "Spacers" or nondescript Ecliptic mercenaries. Anything cool is found in side quests not exploring. Exploration isn't rewarded by finding some secret thing. It's rewarded with more procedurally generated garbage that does nothing for you.

Oh boy, the dialog is so terrible. It's bad. It's unbelievably bad that conversations also feel like a drag to get through. The dialog options are so unbelievable that it's hard to pick an option in some places.

The combat is good. The guns feel snappy, and the impact is hard. But the grenades are completely pointless. Level 22 enemies getting hit with an explosion tickles them, and they keep shooting.

The stat system is good it could use some more user support and a better explanation. Lockpicking is good and the best system so far that I've seen for that "mini game/skill".

The bugs in this game aren't terrible. They are manageable sometimes it's funny, but I haven't seen any game breaking bugs that lock you out of missions, although some people have reported that.

So you might be wondering. Why did I bring up Cyberpunk, Fallout 4, and No Mans Sky? Because I feel that Starfield falls somewhere in the middle of all these. It's Fallout 4 but bigger. Nothing really changed here. There hasn't really been an expansion on the made on the mechanics other than through gun recoil and skill progression. Mainly because they share the exact same game engine.

The freedom and ease of traversal in No Mans Sky is light-years beyond what Starfield has currently. The constant need to load every little thing is a big problem. Although SSD's make it load up in seconds, it's still a loading screen and that kills player immersion.

Where Starfield is better is that there is actually content. There's so much content people who love this game will be playing it for months if not years trying to do everything the game has to offer. I just don't think I'll be one of those people.

They took the worst of No Man's Skys boring, lifeless, procedurally generated planets and made them worse because of loading screens. And once again, there is no benefit for you exploring. You'll run into the same enemies with slight variations to the weapons they carry.

Cyberpunk 2077 being it's closest aligned game in terms of scope and futuristic drama. The dialog/writing and voice acting is much better than that of Starfield. Starfields main story has copied and pasted missions towards the middle and end. The relationship dialog you have with certain characters of Starfield is fucking atrocious. It's so bad you wouldn't see this on mid day soap operas.

Starfield was released in a better state than Cyberpunk. It's actually playable. Sure, bugs and glitches are something that plagues Bethesda titles. But this one in my own personal experiences wasn't so bad.

Overall, this game lands in the middle of the pack. It does somethings well, and other things not so much. It's an interesting game. It doesn't reinvent the Bethesda wheel. It's much too conservative and doesn't go outside its comfort zone. The side missions are stellar and unique, while the main story is a copy pasted mess that I just wanted to get through.

It's playable and less interesting than Cyberpunk. It has the same exact gameplay as Fallout 4 they improved on its foundation and slapped on a completely new coat of paint, and put an expansion on. But it's the same old house. Exploring is an unrewarded chore just as in No Mans Sky, but a multimillion dollar studio made it worse with loading screens and extreme limitations on where you can fly.

I put out my score of 7.2 for Starfield halfway through the game. But then I finished and was extremely disappointed. I wanted to score it better. But I just couldn't do it. It's just an okay game. If I were you and you wanted to buy the game, wait till it's on sale or get a game pass. It's worth it, honestly.

Now on to Lies of P!

[casspurrjoybell-19]

CLAIMED - Chapter 41

*Warning: Adult Content*     

                                            || 4 years later ||

"Theon, Echo! Assume attack position!" Beta Jaxson Cahill whisper-shouted, pressing his back against the wall closest to the front door as he clutched his gun close to his chest.

A bumbling chorus of little grunts responded and an impish smile pulled at my lips as he witnessed a flurry of black and bright red hair toddle into place from the corner of his eye.

"Okay, Daddy." 

Once concealed behind one of the other walls in the foyer or more accurately, as concealed as two toddlers could be when their crazy hair and giant, oversized clothing constantly stuck out in every direction but up, Theon's high-pitched voice confirmed their completion of the task.

"Good job my mayhem minions. Daddy is so proud of you that once we successfully complete this mission, we'll loot the fridge and eat all of Papa's cheese straight from the bag," he praised, his chest puffing with fulfillment at how well his babies always took to their daily side quests.

Ever since he had been practically made into a curly-headed Rapunzel, trapped in a tower that he called his family home for the last few months of his second pregnancy, he'd been forced to find... unique ways to entertain himself.

At first, it just meant making pillow forts all around the house and watching a million and one movies while his rambunctious, adorable little three and four-year-old sons made his bulging stomach their own, personal jungle gym. 

But unfortunately, there are only so many movies one can watch before you start going just a little bit stir-crazy.

He tried to wrangle in the inherently inescapable urge to wreak havoc, he really, really did. 

And for a while it even worked, the bountiful, new vegetable garden that his youngest son, Echo Cahill, took to like bread to butter a testament to Jaxson’s herculean efforts to be a model father. 

But unfortunately for his husband Alpha Corey Cahill's blood pressure, a pregnant man on medically mandated bed rest can only be expected to remain sane for so long before old habits begin rearing their gnarly heads.

So now, here the three of us all were, much smaller bodies swamped in any and all of Corey's clothing and training gear that they could pilfer from his side of the closet, nerf guns locked and loaded as they awaited the moment that said Alpha would finally walk through that door.

Just the thought of catching him off guard like this had Jaxson’s mischievous smirk kicking right back into high gear.

It was then that his enhanced hearing picked up on heavy footsteps, the telltale sign that Corey's combat boots were busy trudging their way up otheir roundabout driveway.

It was time.

"Get ready, my munchkin miscreants," he whisper-shouted once more, shifting his gaze to give a tiny, wide-eyed Echo and a slightly taller Theon an encouraging wink. "Nerf guns at the ready, our target is almost acquired."

"Daddy, what does ack-quaired mean?"

"Echo, we have to stay quiet," Theon whispered to his younger sibling and Jaxson couldn't help but grin in his direction. 

What a wonderful accomplice he was turning out to be.

"Really? Why?" Echo pouted, bright green eyes blinking up at his big brother with confusion.

"Well, because we have to scare papa," Theon explained patiently, patting the crown of Echo's bright red shock of hair with the hand that wasn't holding onto his nerf gun.

"But I love papa," Ecko cried, at which point, lucky Jaxson, the front door knob simultaneously twisted, opening up wide to reveal the hulking form of his Alpha husband.

Naturally, Echo was the first one to defect.

"Papa, I miss you," Jaxson’s Omega son's soft voice cried and before he knew it, the little traitor was toddling right out of his assigned spot and making a beeline for his Papa, sparkling tears slipping from bright green eyes and tumbling down chubby, freckled cheeks.

The shirt Jaxson had dressed him in for the mission, one of Corey's, was practically a blanket as it trailed behind him, getting tangled up in his feet while he moved as fast as his tiny legs would carry him. 

He held his hands up, a silent plea to be picked up by his larger father and of course, father-of-the-year he was, Corey immediately sabotaged Jaxson’s plans by indulging his wishes.

"Hello my precious pumpkin," he cooed, instantly crouching down to pull Echo's small form into his arms before swinging him back and forth. "I missed you too sweetie, more than words could ever possibly express."

Ever since they'd officially established their own pack on Alpha Raymon and Luna Daniel Cahill's old lands, Corey had somehow put on even more muscle as he assumed the daily tasks of a true Alpha. 

And honestly, just the sight of him all sweaty and covered in black tactical gear while also depicting the ultimate embodiment of a doting Dad... 

Jaxson had to admit that he may or may not have started breathing a lil' bit heavier.

Fuck, pregnancy brain could really be a bitch. 

He needed to stay focused.

A very lick-able Corey picked Echo up to set him on his hip before raising a suspicious brow at his notably strange choice of attire. 

"Now, what top secret mission did your Dad put you up to his time?"

Jaxson sucked his teeth, wincing at how quick his husband always was to catch onto his genius plans. 

‘Was I really that easy to read? Speaking of, I seriously needed to get said genius plan in motion before Echo spilled even more beans and fucked up my entire operation.’

Echo sniffled, burying his face into his Alpha father's chest. 

"Oh, Daddy is gonna..."

"ATTACK."

Theon, freakin' ride-or-die he turned out to be, immediately heeded the call, jumping out of his hiding spot and spraying Styrofoam bullets all over Corey's legs.

And Jaxson? 

He was right behind him of course, sliding across the hallway on socked feet and aiming the muzzle of his nerf gun for the open spots along Corey's body that Echo wasn't currently occupying.

Jaxson barked out a maniacal laugh as Theon and he apprehended their target with flawless synchronicity, watching with glee as Corey's supremely handsome face, which had become slightly more expressive throughout the years, twitched up and into a faint smirk, also known as the sexiest thing Jaxson had ever fucking seen.

And then, before he could blink enough to register it, Corey was right there, sweeping both Theon and he up into his arms without so much as a single beat of strain to his bulging muscles.

No wonder I was barefoot and pregnant again despite declaring that Echo would be their first and last kid. 

Like, seriously, who in the fuck would ever be able to resist this man and his supernatural sex appeal?

At this rate, Jaxson seriously needed to get his tubes tied if he had even a shred of hope of not fielding an entire football team by the time Corey and he reached middle age.

But anyway, back to the issue at hand.

"Unhand me, villain," Jaxson screeched, dropping his empty nerf gun with a clatter as he resorted to thrashing in Corey's stone-like grip instead. "This has gotta be against the Geneva Convention."

Theon giggled at the outlandish antics unfolding all around him, although he still mimicked his father’s squirming movements despite it, screeching a little.

"Let daddy go, papa," of his own.

Needless to say, Jaxson smiled over at him, immeasurably proud of his little budding troublemaker. 

He wondered how he would take to a nice little bit of recreational arson when he got a little older?

Despite their incessant demands for release, Corey just chuckled darkly as he effortlessly hauled all three of them over to the living room couch and down into his lap. 

Then, he turned his sizzling yet still undeniably soft gaze over to his husband.

Caught in the act, Jaxson could only chuckle nervously, flashing his Alpha husband his very best 'I'm the embodiment of innocence' face.

"Truce?" Jaxson squeaked as he batted his eyelashes, hoping that he could wriggle his way out of this one by utilizing his Omega charm. 

Even after all of these years together, Corey still struggled to resist it. 

So of course, Jaxson used it to his advantage whenever possible.

"Hmm..." the Alpha's eyes narrowed, holding Jaxson for a long moment as the gears turned endlessly in his head. 

Then, he turned to Theon and Echo, who he was currently bouncing on his  opposite thigh. 

"Let's see. Theon, Echo, tell me. Do you think that I should forgive daddy?"

Both of Jaxson’s sweet babies immediately nodded at that, heads moving like little bobbles.

"Yeah," Theon shouted, to which Echo, in signature, little brother fashion,  mimicked the exact same words thereafter, face still buried in the space between Corey's hard pecs. "Daddy just welcoming papa home, he do nothing bad."

Jaxson’s eyes watered as he listened to his two little tyrants defend his honor and he couldn't help but lean over and give each of them a big, wet, kiss on the forehead. 

"Oh, my perfect babies," he cried, "Daddy loves you so, so, so, so, so much."

"It seems that Theon and Echo saved you this time, my Gift." 

Corey's arms tightened around his family, holding all of them together in their own little bubble of happiness as he chuckled once more, pressing a kiss of his own to his husband’s forehead. 

"But regardless of how adorable all of you look after playing dress-up in my closet, I cannot help but notice that these antics do not exactly count as bedrest, Jax," he scolded gently as he reached over to grab Theon's toddler-sized neck pillow, settling the ever-present item around his little brother's constantly achy neck.

"Okay, you're maybe, possibly, just a little bit right," Jaxson admitted with a wince. "But I'm seriously going crazy just sitting here all day, Corey! I can't really be expected to just lay around until this little demon pops out!" he gestured to his overdue stomach, onto which Corey immediately settled a warm palm, sighing with understanding.

Their little one gave a harsh kick in response to his father's touch and Jaxson sharply harked out a breath when the firm movement drove the air out of his lungs.

"Oh, fuck."

Corey's brow furrowed as Jaxson gritted his teeth against the pain, trying his best to suck in deep breaths just like he learned in the birthing class they attended together.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck.’

Jax?" the Alpha worriedly interjected, lowering Theon and Echo onto the couch cushions beside them so that he could use both hands to slide Jaxson fully into his lap and cup his face instead. 

"Jax, what hurts? Are you alright?" 

It took a few more moments for Jaxson to gather enough strength to speak through the pain while Theon and Echo watched on with little, worried expressions of their own.

"Is daddy sick?" Echo's petite voice muttered and Jaxson tried his best to smile at him around Corey's hold.

"No, sweetie, I'm not sick," he breathed, pausing once again to wince once a particularly sharp pain over came him. "I'm fine, I'm okay."

"Gift, are you sure?" Jaxson’s nervous noggin of an Alpha continued to press, calloused thumbs brushing against his flushed cheeks. "I can link Benji right now if..."

"I'm okay, really," Jaxson reassured, breathing a sigh of relief once the pain finally trickled away into a dull ache. 

Eager to change the subject from 'dad is a damsel in distress' he plastered on a smile and turned to Echo, leaning over to grab the chubby toddler and settling him gently into his lap. 

Or, as much into his lap as his gigantic stomach would allow. 

"Hey, how about you tell papa about some of the other fun things that we did today."

With one last worried glance, Corey's lips ghosted upward into the faintest smile as he leaned over, resting his cheek atop his husband’s head and ushering Theon back onto his free thigh. 

Echo squealed, leaning his own cheek onto Jaxson’s baby bump so that he could also look right up at his Papa as he spoke.

"Daddy maded a fort and then we saw movies," he started and Jaxson smiled down at him, bending over to blow a raspberry onto his cheek. "And then we planteded carrots in the garden and... and Papa. I even picked a million tomatoes," he declared with glee, to which Corey chuckled.

"You are such an amazing gardener, pumpkin. I mean wow, a million tomatoes?" he indulged, to which Echo nodded, his red hair flying around everywhere on my belly.

"Maybe even a bajillion."

"No, a trillimillion," Theon interjected, snuggling comfortably into both Corey's chest and his neck pillow.

"We are going to be eating nothing but tomato sauce for the rest of our lives, in that case," Jaxson joked, following Theon's lead and leaning back into his husband's firm hold. 

Tilting his head up, Jaxson pressed a kiss to Corey’s jaw. 

"And how was your day? Any new news on Cave Sands?" he asked, trying to sound more nonchalant than he truly felt about the situation.

Even though Jaxson was relieved from Beta duties during this stupid mandated bed rest, he couldn't help his desire to know if there were any updates about the feral pack who had made a point to test their Pack Territory Boundaries more than a few times over the past few months.

Dipping his head, Corey took the opportunity to briefly capture Jaxson’s lips, to which Theon breathed a quiet ‘eww..’

"My day is much better now that I am here with my boys," he began, squeezing all of them once more. 

Then, his voice lowered by a fraction. 

"Alpha Sephtis' men are still trying our borders. No one has made an effort to step a single foot past them though, which makes us think that it is likely some kind of territorial threat display."

Jaxson sighed, holding my tongue since our little ones were still well within earshot. 

We would have to finish the details of this conversation later. 

"I don't understand what he wants. Their Pack is a two-day's run away, why come so far just to target us for some stupid fuckin' shock-and-awe campaign?"

Corey shook his head, bouncing a sleepy Theon on his thigh when his eyes began to droop. 

"Feral Packs are nearly impossible to understand from our point of view, sweetheart. In many cases, they have been so far removed from modern Pack life that their DNA has evolved into what some consider an entirely different species. Therefore, the best that we can do right now is stay vigilant with patrols and remain alert at all times."

Jaxson sneered, a flicker of anger igniting in his chest as he gazed down at the two tiny toddlers who owned every single corner of his heart. 

"If he dares attack us, I will kill him," Jaxson whispered, fingertips dusting over the dense smattering of freckles that decorated Echo's adorable, pudgy face.

A muted, "Mmm," and a swift trickling of thick fingertips along my spine were the only indication that Corey gave to show that he'd heard me. 

But through it, as Our Bond flared to life, Jaxson instantly knew that Corey felt exactly the same way.

"Daddy?" Echo piped up then, expression twisted up in confusion as he stared down at Corey's left thigh, on which they both sat.

"What's up, sweet pea?" Jaxson asked, rubbing his back in a similar manner to which Corey still did with Jaxson. 

Echo looked up at his father then, tilting his head.

"Why Papa's leg wet?"

Jaxson’s eyes widened, hands flying down to pat at the thick fabric of Corey's tactical pants.

And, lo and behold, just as Echo noticed, the spot was sopping, dripping with what could only be...

‘How the fuck did we not notice this before?’ 

Better yet, how did Jaxson not feel it?

Wild eyes snapping up to capture those of his husband, Jaxson sputtered, seeking comfort.

"Corey. I... I think..." Jaxson closed his eyes, wrangling in his rapidly beating heart with a few, deep breaths. "I think my water just broke."

The Alpha, who was currently in charge of a pack of hundreds of wolves, the husband who had already been through a similarly stressful birth process before with Echo's premature delivery, could only blink blankly as his brain flopped around uselessly in his skull.

"Right now?"

"Right now."

"Our baby?" Corey breathed.

"Yes, Alpha. Our baby." Jaxson repeated once more, waiting patiently for it all to click.

And then, it did.

Everything was a flurry of motion as Corey stood up with Jaxson in his arms at once, eyes glazing over as he used the Pack Link to alert everyone that it was time. 

Then, the world flickered as suddenly, a contraction hit Jaxson like lightning, tearing through his gut like a molten knife.

"Oh, fuck," he hollered, hands coming down to press against his protruding stomach as if pressure could halt the pain. "I forgot how totally not good this shit feels."

"I know sweetheart, I am going to get you to the infirmary as soon as I can, I promise," Corey bumbled, bending over to grab the baby go-bag that had been stashed near the front door for weeks now in preparation for this moment.

"What about Theon and Ecko?" Jaxson screamed out through another contraction, gritting his teeth hard enough to turn them to dust. 

‘Breathe, breathe, breathe.’

"I'm here," a new voice interjected and out of the corner of Jaxson’s vision, he witnessed one of their wonderful Pack Omegas, Leonie, burst through the front door. 

"Alpha, leave Echo and Theon to me. Please take Beta Jaxson to the infirmary immediately, Dr Benji is already waiting there for you."

"Thank you, Leonie," Corey praised and then they were out the door and flying.

Their home was separate from the Crescent Falls Pack House itself, a nice, medium-sized cottage closer to the forest that allowed us a bit of an escape from the constant chaos of leadership. 

But despite the fact that there was typically a nice, two to three-minute walk between the two, judging by the way the wind whipped around them like severed ribbons, Corey was planning to cut that time into quarters.

"Corey, get this thing out of me," Jaxson hollered, biting into Corey’s pec since it was the only thing that he could think to do. 

Corey grunted but otherwise didn't complain. 

Smart man.

"I know it hurts, baby. I'm so sorry. We are almost there, I promise."

"Oh Goddess, I can't." 

Jaxson was pretty sure that his next scream, closely followed by a raw sob, was loud enough to scare an entire flock of birds from the trees. 

"You are never nutting in me ever again, Corey Cahill. I swear, I will never forgive you if you do this to me again."

Corey's lip twitched and Jaxson could almost see the memory that shot across his mind when remnants of it trickled through their Bond, Jaxson, face-down, ass-up and spread across their bed as he begged him to breed him within an inch of his life.

It was a particularly weak moment in the Beta’s existence, he'll admit. 

But regardless, the fact that Corey possessed the innate ability to regularly turn Jaxson into a essence-hungry monster was still one-hundred percent his fault nonetheless.

Sooner than later, after braving more than a few more debilitating contractions that rendered Jaxson a floppy, rattled shell of a human being, he was finally deposited into an infirmary bed.

 And Pack Doctor Benji, having used one of the multiple portals that his tiny Fae brother, Daffodil had created for them to quickly move between their and Alpha Oasis' Amador’s Pack, immediately jumped into action. 

Meanwhile, Corey hovered by Jaxson’s side, pressing kisses all over his face and smoothing his hair back as he whispered all types of bullshit about how amazing, beautiful and wonderful he is.

Jaxson bets Corey would change his tune later though, when he told him that these juicy ass cheeks were officially closed for business, never to be opened up for his viewing pleasure again until the end of fucking time.

"Corey, I seriously can't do this shit. It hurts," Jaxson begged, vocal cords shredding with the force of his misery as Benji pushed the medication that would allow him to stay in human form for the birth, given the fact that he was nearly two weeks overdue. 

"You have the baby, I don't want to do it anymore."

Large hands encapsulated both of his and Corey's brow creased, tears accumulating into globs of moisture along his lower lash line. 

"Goddess, sweetheart... I am so sorry. You're almost there thoug, and before you know it, we will get to meet the latest addition to our family." he soothed, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. "You are the strongest man I have ever met. You can do this, my Gift," his voice was wobbly, as if he couldn't stand to watch Jaxson in such a state. "And next time, I will have our pup if that is what you need."

Somewhere deep down Jaxson knew that his words were impossible, that he was an Alpha and therefore, he would never possess the necessary physiology to carry a child. 

But to Jaxson’s pain-riddled brain, nothing sounded better right now.

"You'll really have our next baby for me?" Jaxson slurred with a happy tilt in his voice, breathing heavily as his body succumbed to the delirious aftershocks that such intense pain carried in its wake. "That sounds good. Yeah, that sounds so good."

Corey kissed Jaxson’s knuckles again and he sobbed a little as his womb spasmed once more. 

"Of course, my love. I will do anything for you," Corey whispered, the words unspeakably sincere.

"Okay," Jaxson whispered through a wince. "Okay, then. I can do this one last time."

And for the second time since Jaxson had met him, Corey's lips tilted upward into a true, blinding smile.

"Yes, my Gift. Yes, you can."

The rest could be described as nothing other than a blur. 

There were definitely a few more times along the way that Corey had to reassure Jaxson all over again and he nearly ripped his Husband’s fingers from their Goddess-damned sockets when Dr Benji finally ordered him to push.... 

But through it all, nothing compared to the moment that Jaxson heard that very first cry, the moment that he was handed a bundle of scrunched-up baby or the moment that Corey held his husband tight and they gazed down at their perfect little creation, born only of their love.

"He looks like a naked mole rat," Jaxson sounded as he sobbed with euphoria, bending his neck to press a trill-million kisses to every inch of his newborn son's skin he could possibly reach.

"Only the cutest naked mole rat to ever live," Corey whispered back, voice hitching when their little one wrapped his tiny palm around one of his Papa's giant fingers.

"I want another one already," Jaxson sniffled, glancing up at his Alpha. "A girl next time?"

Corey only chuckled, shaking his head at all of Jaxson’s rampant indecisiveness today. 

"Whatever it is that you desire, my love, you shall have. Your will is my want. Always and forever."

"What a fuckin' simp," Jaxson teased. 

Then, eyes watering, Jaxson leaned up and kissed his Alpha husband silly

It took a few hours and a nice, long nap before they gave Leonie the green light to bring Echo and Theon to meet their new baby brother. 

They both toddled across the infirmary threshold with a sweet cry of excitement, and before Jaxson knew it he was sobbing all over again, waving them over. 

Corey lifted both of their boys up and onto the foot of Jaxson’s infirmary bed so they could easily crawl over and take their first peek and jaxson immediately pulled them in close so that they could get a really good look at the newest member of their family.

"Daddy peed out a baby," Echo exclaimed, shaking with excitement as he reached out a chubby finger to gently poke his little brother's rosy cheek.

"No, Daddy pooped out the baby," Theon countered and Jaxson couldn't help the laughter that bubbled from his chest at their adorable argument.

"Shh, my mini menaces. We don't want to wake him up," Jaxson whispered, to which they both nodded exuberantly.

Corey leaned over in his chair which was situated at Jaxson’s bedside, ruffling both Theon's black hair and Echo's red tendrils with either hand. 

"Alright. You two are both big brothers now, so we have to make sure to take really good care of Daddy while he heals, as well as our new baby as he grows, right?"

"Yes, papa," Echo grinned, revealing his baby teeth. "I grow Daddy lots of carrots in my garden and if he eat them he will feel all better."

"Yeah and I have such big muscles so I can protect them all the time," Theon nodded resolutely, flashing both of us his mini biceps. 

Immense pride shone behind Corey's eyes at his son's selfless display of devotion to their little family.

"Would you all like to know what he's called?" Jaxson asked, to which both of our boys perked up, nodding once more. 

Shifting their sleeping newborn down further in his arms, Jaxson ensured that they had a good view while he told them the name he and Corey had finally settled on soon after his birth. 

"His name is Nuri. Nuri Cahill."

"Wow. So pretty, daddy," Echo clapped, mouth stretched into a little 'Oh' as he stared down at his little brother with newfound adoration.

"I like my little brother," Theon whispered, leaning over to press a supremely delicate kiss Nuri's cheek. "When can we play with him? Does he like to build blocks?"

"Oh... I love all of you..." Corey suddenly interjected in a whisper, almond eyes momentarily flickering between all of them. "So much."

"We love you too, Papa," Echo and Theon giggled and Jaxson met his husband's watery gaze with a soft smile of his own.

"Always and forever," Jaxson promised, sending a shimmering shard of adoration directly through our bond.

Then, as they lay there in that infirmary bed, together and happy, Jaxson held all three of their lovely children tighter and tighter until his heart throbbed in time with their own.

And that was their life now. 

Living in a wonderful place, dreaming wonderful dreams and loving one another through every wonderful moment of it.

It may have taken years for Jaxson to get here. 

And yes, he still cries sometimes when life turns grey. 

And sure, he still splits his gut with laughter so loud that it vibrates the heavens whenever curveballs are thrown in their path.

But through it all, whenever he walks outside and breathe in the fresh air of early morning, he has fallen into the habit of sending up a tiny prayer, an exclamation of thanks for the gift of never having to face this turbulent life on his own ever again.

Because always and forever, he has them. 

Always and forever, Jaxson has a true family that he can call his own.

And, as two black butterflies fluttered, dipping and swaying behind the window pane of the infirmary room, there were no more apologies to be made.

Now, there was only gratitude.

Only sunshine.

Only living.

[sam-dugesian]

The Turkey Tom Controversy

The main flow of the internet is yet to catch on to this one but I am by far not the first to talk about it

Turkey Tom was your typical Youtube content creator until fairly recently

They used to make vlogs about things that were trending discuss trends on the internet and it all seemed fairly harmless

Unfortunately Turkey was a raindrop in an endless ocean of Youtube content creators

They dreamed of making enough money from their channel alone that they would no longer need to work but they simply weren't getting enough attention to make the dream come true

Then an Youtuber they frequently watched known as Jacksfilms started causing controversy when they claimed to be in an online battle with another famous content creator known as SniperWolf

Jacksfilms had been in many such arguments before but this was the first time when Jack had actually been the victim and wasn't just pretending to be one

It slipped under the radar at first in a very "boy who cried wolf" fashion and it would be a while before the general audience of the internet actually took Jack seriously all that is except for Turkey

Turkey went out on a limb to prove Jack's innocence by spreading the word about the event as far as they could around the internet and finally it got picked up by more popular content creators

These creators looked at the events impartially and for once agreed with Jack despite the very fact that most of them had previous encounters with Jack where Jack had caused arguments with them and attempted to manipulate the truth to make Jack seem like the victim just to leech off the popularity of these more popular streamers

but in case you haven't noticed here this was very situational and this was by far not a case of chosing either side but a quest to discover the truth hence why Jack had failed before and why this time he was winning

to hear Jack however according to him he had been right every time and these content creators had only taken his side this time because in this scenario Snipes was the underdog that these creators above the glass ceiling wanted to keep off their turf

Turkey of course fell for this nonsense and decided to make it their mission to get back at these elitist content creators by exposing things that they'd done on his own channel so he could get his own sweet views

at first this went well since certain content creators had a whole load of dirt on them and Turkey was really raking in the views for the quite legitimate research they had done to rightfully kick these guys off their high tower that was entirely built by standing on the shoulders of giants which for these individuals was all about the fame and glory and the perks that came with it which is why they did many wrong things

Turkey had a few trending vids now pulling in views by the million but they soon came to a grinding halt because of the creators they hadn't attacked yet the bigger names were kinda squeaky clean and the lower ranks nobody cared for not unless they had done something noteworthy and either most of their wrongdoings were fairly vanilla or it was well trodden ground so nobody would care

but Turkey after having such attention and almost seeing their dream come true couldn't stop now so they started fabricating the truth to take down some of the bigger players but no-one was going to listen to them if they went after Jack's old enemies as the big players had mentioned how Turkey was an avid supporter of Jack and had backed up his previous lies before so instead they went for new blood

This new target was a fellow exposer who'd taken down content creators before and in the Jack/Snipes debarkle had actually been the main player when it came to researching and exposing Snipes but to Turkey that only meant that they knew all their secrets as they had worked closely together or at any rate that's what they hoped the public would think

it didn't go well obviously as their fellow exposer was quick and observant and before Turkey had even gotten anywhere was already starting to expose Turkey for the lies they were spreading across the web not a good outcome at all but then quite by coincidence Turkey's fellow exposer found some illegal activity that Youtube itself was doing and threatened to expose their crimes to authorities needless to say said exposer vanished from Youtube and so did any exvidence they were ever there giving Turkey a golden opportunity to spread misinformation unheaded with no evidence of the events in question other than Turkey's carefully doctored footage to put him on hte right side

and now all of a sudden Turkey's videos started popping up in the algorithm almost like a secret handshake by Youtube to spread a false narrative of events so when Youtube gets exposed for the crimes they commited the public will alrady be on their side

and that leads us up to about the last day or two

what is your opinions on this? did the fellow exposer really have evience against Youtube themselves? or did they just say that because they were banned for rule-breaking? is there another reason why Turkey suddenly started trending? did Turkey really go rogue? or is the evidence they have legit? was this all an elaborate plot by Jack to get back at someone who exposed them before? or one of his fans with the same idea?

it's all a big mystery

[tsugihagichimera]

finished DA:I DLC today and I'm still thinking so hard about it

Overall a really really good game that was enjoyable to play and made me very excited for DA:DW

Characters 9.5/10 awesome I kiss almost everyone

Story 7.5/10 DLC made it good

Gameplay 8/10 challenging but not too much. loved the customizable weapons and armor and focus abilities in particular

Area design 7/10 beautiful and interesting open world areas. some places were hard to navigate bc the inquistor's jump/walk physics are a little jiggly. THANK YOU FOR TELEPORTS FROM ANYWHERE

QA 3/10 enormous bugs that made me nervous a lot

Replayability YES playing as a male mage Dalish elf was an extreme flavor in terms of both lore and political standing and I want to replay so bad someday. gonna be hard not to romance Dorian though my wifey

More disorganized thoughts below

I'm glad I never played DA until this year because I would've died waiting for the sequel ... I had so much fun and I want more so bad.

Despite all the glaring bugs (AND THERE ARE A TON OF THEM) the game itself was super duper fun. I think the strongest improvement from the previous DA installments was the characters--maybe it's because I came off of DA2 liking nobody in particular besides Varric (maybe Aveline too tho she hated my rebellion choices all the time), but to me DA:I had the most fleshed out and likable characters. I think the extra scenes you can view for each person added a whole lot to the experience, and they always had interesting things to say, and the interactions felt so organic and charming! I couldn't help but cry near the end when Cassandra started getting all soft on me 😭 and Dorian was the sweetest lover ever like. the way he was so tsun with his words but whenever my inquisitor did something amazing he'd look at him like "that's my man 🥺" so sweet. THE WAY I WAS LIKE "DORIAN I LOVE YOU" BEFORE THE LAST FIGHT AND HE WAS LIKE "YOU BASTARD I KNEW YOUD BREAK MY HEART" I WAS SO DISTRAUGHT!!! IF I DIED AND LEFT DORIAN ALONE I WOULD RIOT ON BIO.WARE PERSONALLY

ugh anyway amazing and lovable characters and drastically improved romances aside, the battle system felt much better to me!! I chose knight enchanter mage for my inquisitor and managed to find a really comfy setup that was challenging but not overly so, not like in the earlier games in the series, where I had to constantly switch the difficulty back to easy. DLC was sufficiently difficult too but not impossible even if I didn't do every single quest beforehand

what else. the area maps were stunning I could tell they really took the repetitive map note from DA2 and went all out with it. I had a fun time with every single map too and they had different challenges and cool puzzles, and I loved that it was open world but contained so I didn't feel like I was always getting lost and overwhelmed. In particular, I remember just looking out at emprise du leon like oooohh... colors .... the stark red lyrium against the white snow was so lovely and unsettling

a few things I didn't like were the amount of OVERTLY BAD BUGS like I know it's a huge and complex game and like classic Bio.Ware blah blah blah but I managed to get a side quest prompt stuck on my screen from the Orlais court mission all the way until the ending lmaooo. a couple times I had to reload bc my character was stuck in some weird half-tactical camera view and couldn't move anywhere. among other big bugs

I liked the story too ngl, main story was quite simplistic but the trespasser DLC made up for it greatly. I sincerely hope they at least kept the writers for Dread Wolf because I would love for the dialogue and character quality to be similar...

also for the love of god please do more bug fixes for DA4 I know it's. it's hard but. please </3

[fennel-snowfall]

Wolf Quest Novelization Day 3:

Snowfall has gotten worse again.

I saw a hare and sent the pups inside the den before I went to catch it. Bone didn't try to sneak away, so that's something to be proud of. The hare didn't really help my hunger, but it's better than nothing, and the pups can play with some of the fur. A golden eagle was circling overhead when I got back to the den, so I made sure the pups wouldn't come back out until it was safe.

I think that was the boldest eagle I've ever seen. It swooped down only a few body lengths above me, and I could see it turning its head to try and see into the den behind me. If I'd known it was going to do that ahead of time, I would have tried jumping for it. I've never eaten eagle before.

It flew away afterward, and good riddance.

Clover regurgitated more food for the pups, and even though they can barely stand to walk, Snowfall came over to eat some with Rabbit.

Bone started to wander away again, this time charging off towards the trees like they were on a mission from the moon itself. Clover almost tripped over Rabbit running to catch them before they got too far.

Thank the moon for Clover, they ate enough food for the pups to eat again. They put it right in front of Snowfall, who ate a little, but doesnt' seem interested. Rabbit ended up eating most of it, while Bone started digging in the sand like they wanted to make their own den. That's preferable to running off and getting lost.

Rabbit and Bone fell asleep, and Snowfall went to curl up with them. They could barely move themselves the single bodylength they needed to to lie down again, and didn't so much as lie down as collapse. I don't think they're going to make it. This isn't fair.

I'm going to keep watch while they sleep.

I think Snowfall is dying. I can barely see their sides moving as they breathe, and it's only by putting my nose in front of theirs that I can feel their breath. I hope if they're dreaming, they're dreaming of nice things.

Rabbit and Bone are still asleep. I don't know if they're old enough to remember Snowfall if they don't make it. Will they remember that they had a third siblings, or will they always just think it was the two of them from the start?

What if something happens to either of them? What if all of my pups die? How did my parents cope with the loss of so many of my siblings? I'm so lucky I survived, I don't want to lose any of mine.

Bone woke up first again, and immediately began to wander off. I brought them back, and almost growled at them in my anxiety. I was terrified that Snowfall would be dead when I went to check on them, but they were still breathing.

They're all awake now, even Snowfall. Bone and Rabbit were playing, and Rabbit tackled Bone and knocked them over on top of Snowfall. I thought my heart was going to stop, but they didn't seem hurt by it. And then of course Bone picked a direction and started running for all thier little legs were worth, and I had to run to catch them before they went down into the valley. This time I did growl at them. I'm so frustrated. They're too young to know why running off on their own is dangerous, and they won't understand why I'm upset with them either. I carried them back and sat them right in front of the den. They have to learn to stay nearby. I can't watch over Snowfall and be running off after them every two seconds.

When I turned around again to go back to Snowfall and Rabbit, I was shocked to see that Snowfall was actually playing with Rabbit. They were still lying down, but Rabbit had brought over a peice of bone, and both of them were chewing on it and tugging at it. I was almost worried Rabbit would be too rough, but they're the smallest of the three, and...I guess they do know they need to be gentle with Snowfall.

Bone seems dejected, and I feel guilty for growling at them. They came over to cuddle against my side, and I did my best to reassure them that I wasn't angry anymore.

Snowfall's gone back into the den, walking so slowly I almost wanted to pick them up and carry them just so they wouldn't have to expend the energy. But if they're looking for somewhere safe and alone to die, I can't take that away from them, as much as I might want to keep them by my side as long as I can. Everyone has to die someday. I just wish my pup would have gotten a few more days to explore the world before they had to leave it.

- - -

Rabbit and Bone both ran off together, and I picked up Bone, assuming Rabbit would follow us back. They like to stay with their siblings or with me. They were following for a little while, but the next time I looked back they were gone. I had to drop Bone off at the den and frantically run back, hoping that this time Bone would just stay still long enough for me to find Rabbit.

I did find them, and ran back to the den as fast as I could. Bone was just sitting there waiting for me as though nothing was wrong at all. I don't know what I'm going to do with them.

I've howled to call Clover back. I need to eat before I won't have the energy to walk, let alone chase anything. The stress is getting to me, and I need a break.

Bone and rabbit seem to have finally tired themselves out, thank the moon, so while I wait for Clover to return, they're taking a nap on a softer patch of grass above the den.

I'm going to join them, at least until Clover gets back. Maybe the sleep will do me good.

- - -

Snowfall is alive! The sound of the pups begging Clover for food woke me up, and I was shocked to see Snowfall begging for food along with the other two, wagging their tail and whining with less strength than their siblings, but more than they had before they went into the den. They're alive.

I almost can't believe it. I'm so glad.

Clover couldn't find anything to eat on their own, but they're going to stay and watch the pups while I take my turn. They said the territory strength is good, but they caught the scent of strangers on the western side. I'll head there first.

- - -

I startled a rabbit out of hiding not that far from the den, and snapped my teeth around it before I'd even fully comprehended what was happening. There was hardly any meat to be worth it, and I almost felt bad to have killed it without even trying.

Then Clover emerged out of the same brush in front of me and almost scared me half to death. They wanted to come with me to help hunt, but I insisted they return to the den to watch over the pups. We can't risk leaving them alone when Snowfall is still so sick, and who knows how far Bone would get with no one to keep them near the den.

They went, back, and I continued west.

- - -

I saw two mule deer, a doe and her fawn, now almost an adult, as I was coming down the hills. They're in flower now, with tall pink flowers whose name I never can remember. The mule deer were tempting in my hunger, but I've never had much luck catching them.

I'll wait to find an elk herd, where they'll be more chance of finding a weak one that I can take down by myself. I'll eat my fill, then bring some back for the pups and Clover.

I wonder if the elk mourn their dead the way we do.

- - -

I saw a boar grizzly, but they weren't looking for a fight, and ran off as soon as they saw me.

- - -

It almost seems like the bears are the only ones out tonight. The only scent I can pick up on the wind is grizzley, the flowers, and our own pack markings. All I want to catch is the scent of elk. I'm so hungry I could probably eat a whole calf all by myself.

- - -

I finally caught the scent of an elk herd, coming from up north. That's in another pack's territory, and the smell of strangers is stronger than the scent of the elk. But I think I'm going to have to risk it.

- - -

The elk herd is in the same direction as this pack's territory markings. Maybe I can sneak in and claim it for us.

- - -

Had a close call with a stranger, and they chased me almost right into a herd of dispersal elk. The herd began to stamepede, and I ran with them, not wanting to pick a fight with a stranger when I was so far from the den.

Normally I wouldn't risk trying to take down a bull elk, but their antlers are still covered in velvet, and there's a lot of them. Maybe one is weak enough that I can take it down.

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[reliquiaen]

You get me. There were so many little nods to characters from the eastern tribes going to the west and being like... assimilated almost. With Fashav, and that girl who's name I forget who was part of Talanah's questline. Like clearly there is more to the Tanakth than just killing and murder and it would've been so interesting to explore more of how those separate cultures interact, how relations are between people over the long term when they're living in such close proximity. Fashav's death, also, was such a waste, I would've loved to see more of that bridge building with him as a mediator. There was so much potential for a follow-up side-quest later where he and Aloy exchange notes or something.

I did not watch almost anything in trailers and promos because I knew I was going to play it regardless and I wanted to go in as clean as possible (I think I deserve a medal, tbh, because the ONLY spoilers I got were from the dlc with Seyka). But yeah, I was expecting more to be made of Regalla (and Asera to a lesser extent) but it just wasn't there. And I can understand the devs not wanting to do another civil war main plot, but also, in comparison to what we got, I would've preferred that haha.

These games sure do be having a Romeo and Juliet timeline between first meeting and love. Like with Varl and Zo, then also Talanah and Amadis (timeline questionable here, I guess, does Talanah say they met ages ago or recently, I don't remember), and Aloy with Seyka right at the end. I understand wanting to show time passing or whatever they were trying to do, but yeah, I prefer when there's a little more time dedicated to building up a relationship. It would've been nice for Varl and Zo to be idk, flustered on first meeting and then every time we pop back to base we get some ambient dialogue showing their relationship progressing. Equally so with Seyka. I quite like her (might be developing a bit of a bias for the Quen characters, actually, oops), but I would've liked the time and space to spend with her before relationship. Which isn't to say I think there was NO build up, they were flirting basically right from the start, but the dlc was what? A week long, tops? My preference for slow-burns shining through there, I guess. Again, maybe it's a me thing, but I do like her for Aloy, I think there are some interesting parallels between their characters, they play off each other in a nice way, I just wanted more time to develop that relationship than the five mission long dlc. (I have more thoughts about their relationship, for what it's worth, but if it's a touchy subject like you say, I might just... keep them to myself lol.) And I am definitely with you on the pregnancy story arcs, another fear I have is some kind of shoe-horned thing where the child is Important For Reasons™ due to their parentage. It would've been cool to have a child raised with both Utaru and Nora traditions, but this kid will only have Utaru now. So...?

Yeah, the Zeniths did feel like a series of increasingly desperate rug pulls a lot of the time. Like yeah, they're the bad guys, but no they're not, but yes they are, but they're invincible, except if you're Sylens, so now they're all dead, except this one, but now he is too.

Maybe it's an indictment against myself, but I found the conflict between Drakka and Yarra pretty straightforward. He wanted the force a conflict so he could have power and he was leveraging whatever he could to do so, also his leadership qualities are questionable when his followers are doing whatever and he has no idea (if we believe him about the water pump). Whereas Yarra kept the water supply a secret so as not to start a panic but she was looking into an alternative. Was the secret a good idea? Maybe not, but her motives were totally understandable. I get that they didn't want this problem to be clear cut and Yarra isn't without her own flaws, but show me a Tanakth who isn't going to get a little violent to defend her power. Maybe that's the whole point, haha, that we're all going to have disagreements about this.

I read your comment about Talanah and Amadis and laughed. Absolute truths, right there, I was so annoyed about her questline that I'm choosing to believe it didn't happen. It amounted to nothing in terms of character development for her anyway, so no loss. Except maybe I lost a little bit of time by playing it.

Well I finished Horizon Forbidden West (dlc included) today. The quality of life improvements were very good, I have absolutely abused the bottomless storage space. Not sure how I feel about the story though. I have... issues with it.

[cellias]

Hello! Can I request Jason Grace x reader angst to fluff headcanons for what if his s/o went missing during a mission/quest? How would he react when he realizes they’re missing? What would he be like while searching and when he finally finds them? Thank you!

hi of course and thank you for requesting! Sorry this is a bit longer than I anticipated, hope you like it <3

warnings: monsters, kidnapping, brief mention of an injury

Jason Grace x gn!reader — angst to fluff hcs

he had left you to fight alone while he fought the monsters brother

he was confident he’d be quick enough, and that he’d be able to help you in time

but when he comes back, you and the monster are gone from the field he last saw you in

of course, the first thing he does is panic

the field was a few miles wide, and you were nowhere in sight

he runs through and looks for hours but it’s futile

after returning to the area you had camped out in together, he gathers your stuff so that when he finds you, you don’t have to worry about leaving your belongings

Because he will find you.

and he needs something to do

he needs to distract himself from the anger, the uncertainty

anger at himself because how could he have let that happen?

he was too slow, too careless, and how could he have let this happen when he’s trained his whole life for these missions? What kind of leader was he? What kind of boyfriend was he?

uncertain because he doesn’t know where you are, who you’re with, how hurt you are, if you’re alive

but he’s not gonna waste one second that could be spent looking for you

he finishes packing and leaves quickly

he follows the directions hinted by Octavian’s prophecy when he received the quest. It was his only hope at this point

but he doesn’t care about the stupid quest anymore. you had become his first priority and first destination

the gods could wait

it takes days.

the anger had settled, and the desperation had kicked in

who knows what could’ve happened to you in these past few days? he tries not to think about that but he can’t help it

every monster, god, mini side quest, etc that he faces are done in a haste because he just doesn’t have time for that.

he thinks about you every night before he reluctantly sleeps

your face, your eyes, your laugh, your smile, everything down to little quirks he had noticed over time and this just fuels his determination more. he won’t be completing this quest if you’re not safe by his side

on the fifth day, he starts to accept that he wasn’t going to find you if he didn’t do this right

the wave of emotions had calmed and he focused. he wasn’t going to get through this without a level head.

he trained his actions back to what he had been taught at the wolf house and back at camp. he was a warrior, and he’d be damned if he didn’t successfully fight his way to you

and then he finds the monster and that level headedness stuff nearly flies out the window

there you are, trapped and staring at him with relief in those eyes he had missed so much, and his chest feels like it’s gonna burst

it hadn’t felt like a week, if had felt like months without you

the first thing he did was come up with a plan to free you without the monster noticing — it was probably not the best order of events, but he couldn’t leave you there any longer. besides, you’d kill him after if he died because he didn’t have help

first thing: reunion kiss!! yay

he holds you like it’s the end of the world and you’re the last thing keeping him from falling into the abyss

he doesn’t stop saying sweet things, how much he missed you, how he loved you, how sorry he was

“I should’ve gotten to you sooner, you shouldn’t have had to wait five days, gods, I’m so sorry, are you hurt???”

you have to tell him to stop with a quick kiss and a reminder that there’s a literal monster in the room

you’re energized with the ambrosia and nectar he had packed, the exhaustion and pain almost gone from your eyes

Jason takes time to watch you in admiration — you were here with him again, and you were safe, and had you always looked this amazing?

he almost didn’t notice the fire blazing in your eyes as you stared down the monster.

you look at him with that glint in your eyes that he recognizes so well. you were together again

“Okay, lightning mcqueen, you’re ready to take him down?”

He’s scared for a second, last time you looked at him like that you were taken away

he brushed the thought away. nothing would happen, because he wouldn’t let it. Not when he could finally feel you again.

“I’ve been ready.”

You don’t stop him from holding you before the monster could fully dissolve. you held him too, the nights without him had been dark and dreadful.

the entire way back to camp he had been touching you in some way: holding your hand, a hand around your shoulder

he didn’t want to be a bother, especially after what you had gone through but you told him you didn’t mind. You had missed him just as much

you two spend the next week around each other most of the time

he’s been beating himself up with guilt over not having found you sooner, but he tries not to show it, he knows you’d worry and reassure him and he wouldn’t have that

not when you were still recovering. you had gotten a cold from the icy temperature in the room you’d been kept in

you still hadn’t told him everything that happened, and he was fine with that, you weren’t ready

“jason,” you said, stopping him from digging into the medicine cabinet. “first of all, I don’t think they have cough drops, you’ve been looking for an hour.” he slowly closes the drawer. “secondly…you know you don’t need to make up for anything, right?”

he puts his weight on his left foot and his eyes flicker to your injured arm. it hadn’t quite healed yet, but it was progressing. “what do you mean?”

“I mean you don’t have to give me the last bite of your meal during dinner, or ditch your duties to check up on me, or sit with me while everyone plays war games, or walk around thinking any of this was your fault. Because it wasn’t.”

he listens to you and nods. “I’m sorry. I just can’t…”

and he doesn’t finish but you know what he means. You always do.

the next day he’s about to give you a portion of his meal, one of your favorites to try, and stops when you shoot him a look that said: remember what I told you?

he stops and eats with a grumpy look on his face that looks more cute than scary

he still stays with you during war games. he says he can’t go back to playing knowing you weren’t there to join. it just wouldn’t feel right. It’s no fun without you

Reyna accepts it, but tells you two the minute you get better you’re on that field (you don’t mention the card she sent you telling you to take your time to heal, it didn’t seem like the right time)

so you both stay in your bed and talk, play games, or just enjoy the other’s presence

he liked those moments of silence, where he could just take you in and be able to say you were there and you were okay. where he’d reach other and hug you, a tender embrace that erased everything around you and enhanced every aspect of the person you could feel, smell, see, and touch

“thank you for finding me, you know,” you whispered.

he kissed your head. “there was no way I was coming back home without you.”

he smiled, and your heart leaped because it felt like lightning when he held your face toward him. “besides, I’m pretty sure you could’ve taken that guy on by yourself.”

you grin and peck his lips. “yeah, I just wanted to give you a chance to play hero this time.”

he laughs a free laugh, one that you felt vibrating in his chest, a sound so carefree it melted every doubt or fear in the atmosphere around you

it makes you laugh, too

soon you’re both giggling into the night, one contagious laugh setting off another and another, the sounds of fighting and water launchers so far away it sounded like a wandering dream

his eyes meet yours as he calms down, a big smile still etched on both your faces

he takes your hand. “I love you.”

“and I love you, thunder boy.”

he goes to sleep peacefully for the first time that month. for once, theres no dreams, no nightmares, no fear, nothing

there’s just you. and that’s enough for him.

[sekceesimps]

Genshin Impact Men Jealousy HCs

head cannons for when someone flirts with their darling. very slight nsfw and umm spoilers about Zhongli’s identity?

Characters:  Kaeya, Zhongli, Xiao, Childe, and Scaramouche  

a/n    Hey everyone, thank you so much for all the support you have shown towards our blog! We were planning to publish A Rose Made of Chains Ch 6, but I have really been struggling with stress and depression recently. To make up for that, I have written some Genshin Impact HCs and want to share (I’ve never written for Genshin before so don’t bully me lmao). Let us know if you enjoy and would like a part 2 for the women (tell us if I forgot any characters, I just wrote who I simp for the most), anyways send in requests please (it’s taking some time for me to do them, but I promise I started quite a few)!  Again, I’m really sorry for the inconsistent upload schedule. I’ll try not to let it happen again, I’ve just been having a really bad two weeks and Valentine’s day did not help LMAO. 

Sincerely Coffee  

Kaeya 🧎‍♀️��       

- No one flirts with you as much as Kaeya does. Seriously, this man does not even try to hide how attracted he is to you. Which is why you don’t think he likes you in that way. 

- He’s a flirty guy so you just brush it off, even though everyone tells you how in love he is with you. This man doesn’t flirt with anyone as much as he flirts with you, but you hardly notice.  

- All of his buttered words and light touches work to his favor though because people seldom flirt with you, just assuming that you’re already taken. 

- You guys aren’t even dating, but everyone assumes as much. It doesn’t help when he tells practically everyone that you’re his darling. Plus you two spend almost every moment together due to work and how close you are.  

- Makes a big show of his affection. You two could just be walking around on a patrol or something and he’ll sling his arm around your shoulder or wrap a hand around your waist and pull you close to his side.        

- Eye fucks you all the time. How do you not notice?? He’s always looking at you and taking in your appearance. He finds you very attractive, ok.    

- Calls you a lot of pet names. Some to make you laugh, some to make you blush, and some that he genuinely really likes (darling and love are his favorites and he casually calls you that in front of the knights which makes your heart just spasm)

- He really likes taking you out to drink wine (or something non-alcoholic if you’re not into that). Especially if it’s just you two having a nice private dinner under the stars. Genuinely, he views these as dates, but your dense ass thinks he’s just being nice.  

- Has definitely jokingly asked if you wanted to kiss him during these dates. You don’t really understand what he’s trying to do so you always politely decline. Makes him a little upset, but he’ll disguise it with a laugh and continue to enjoy his night with you. 

- Sometimes he gets you cute gifts such as sweets or roses (unless you don’t like flowers like my co-author Tea ~smh she’s so picky~) which starts to clue you in a little on his seriousness about dating you. This man melts if you gift him a fine bottle of wine or a set of artifacts. 

- He’s fallen in love so hard with you and is not really sure how to process it. Just pushes through with the only way he knows how, being playful and highlighting his commitment issues (which he is trying to fix as he realizes this might be something you’re not into) 

- You work together (whether that be as an adventurer or fellow knight) which makes the cavalry captain really happy. He enjoys spending a lot of time with you. He also insists on going with you for any solo missions. Also takes you with him for basically any quest.   

- He’s so clingy and wants you to spend as much time as possible with him. Kind of annoys you when he follows you around like a puppy, but he’s really cute so you just suck it up. Also, he absolutely loves training with you, it’s never serious but sometimes he gets the chance to shoot off some more witty one liners at you (~cOoL iT~)          

- If he notices that you’re not too receptive to his advances, then he withdraws for a bit. That is until he starts anew with a fresh wave of flirtatious greetings and new date ideas. Doesn’t really want to overwhelm you and is fairly respectful with his advances after more and more failed attempts of asking you to be his S/O. 

- While most people get the message that you’re taken, although not yet officially, and really like the two of you together, there are still others who don’t see the appeal of you and Kaeya

- *cough* Diluc *cough* 

- Now Diluc still cares a lot about Kaeya, despite the tension, but he just doesn’t think you two are a good match. He’s aware of Kaeya’s commitment issues and doesn’t want that to hurt you. 

- He also likes you, so if you’re into him then might as well shoot his shot, right. 

- Now Kaeya is usually a pretty laid back and cool guy. That is until it comes to Diluc, especially if he’s getting too close to someone who he’s been putting a lot of effort and time into courting. 

- He does not react well to his adoptive brother flirting with you. You would expect someone as level headed as him to keep that jealousy in right? Well, Kaeya does little to curb or hide it. 

- When he sees the fiery haired man by your side, Kaeya is quick to break it up. Comes to your side to drag you with him or has someone pull Diluc away for “business”

- If yours and Diluc’s interactions continue then Kaeya will continue to get more and more annoyed. If he sees Diluc actively trying to flirt with you then that’s going to be the last straw for him. 

- Watching your eyes twinkle up at his brother and not at him, as Diluc asks if you’d like to talk more over dinner at his tavern, fuels Kaeya on. He quickly approaches the two of you and pulls you into him as he grips your face and locks his lips with yours. You’ll be pretty shocked and won’t really kiss back at first but you’ll eventually return the gesture and make an uncomfortable scene in the middle of Mondstadt. He hopes that this has shown you how seriously he’s into you, because Kaeya does not get jealous over anyone. 

- This experience has honestly been a good push for him to prove how much he loves you. At this point, Diluc has left (he was sort of planning on this to happen?) and Kaeya feels comfortable enough to tell you how he feels about you. Decides that he really likes the way your lips feel and makes a mental note to assault you with kisses more often. 

- Jealous Kaeya is uncommon, but he doesn’t try to hide it if he is seriously jealous. While he’s working to make that more healthy by telling you, it usually just manifests itself in him acting more inappropriate with you around the person. Not that you’re really complaining, his more possessive actions where he is showing you off in front of others asserts the fact that you are together even more. 

Zhongli (with a Harbinger reader cause I’m trash for those fics) 

-  So you and Zhongli have an interesting dynamic. You’re probably going to be a harbinger and that’s mostly why you’re not too shocked when he tells you later on in your relationship that he’s Rex Lapis. Like, he’s just too sexy to not be a God. Also, he is not as slick as he thinks he is. I’m sorry babe, no one else is that obsessed with ancient Liyue culture. 

- No one really gets your relationship. People think you’re trying to exploit him and others think he’s playing you. They’re all wrong though. The two of you love and care for the other deeply. 

- You’re also the only one genuinely interested in how much he talks about Liyue and the past. Let him dork out, please, it's so cute. 

- He’s a fairly serious person and very proper around you in public. That being said, he really loves interlocking his fingers with yours and holding your hand at work or on dates outside. 

- When you’re behind closed doors he’s much more affectionate. Really likes holding you or leaving kisses across your face and neck. Also loosens up quite a bit with you, he’s much more relaxed and cracks a few jokes with you.

- Also you have so much mora. That’s what happens when you’re one of the most terrifying leaders of the Fatui I guess. He never has to worry about forgetting the currency with you around. Still spoils you though as he’s quite the gentleman (he really likes seeing you beam at him when he gives you gifts)  

- Doesn’t mind your job. He encourages how independent you are and how passionate you are about your work. He’s willing to overlook the things you do, due to how much love he holds for you.  

- Seriously, Zhongli has never felt this way for anyone, at least not for a long long time. Which is why he strongly dislikes it when others think that they can get between you two. 

- He knows he’s an attractive person (come on he’s literally a God) and he’s very secure about the strength of your relationship. Although sometimes he gets a little worried you’ll leave him if you reflect on your mortality. Manz is terrified you’ll want someone who won’t outlive you. You’re always reassuring him that this isn’t going to happen. I swear you’re so amazing to him, he SWOONS when you’re being comforting.

- Of course there are always idiots thinking that they have a chance with you. He doesn’t get jealous, but he gets incredibly annoyed. Also more of his dragon like traits will show up if he decides to confront the mortal. He usually doesn’t get that upset though. USUALLY.

- One of the best scenarios of a more aggressive Zhongli is when he sees you and your colleagues together. He knows that you would never want to pursue a romantic relationship with any of your fellow harbingers. He doesn’t mind the presence of some of the more quiet harbingers like Scaramouche. 

- He really dislikes when you gush over your days working with Tartaglia though. He wouldn’t mind if it was just you talking about your work, but when he has to see the two of you, just pure annoyance and this gross nagging feeling in his head. 

- Low key will diss Childe to you and tell you about his more embarrassing moments.  

- This annoyance will be more obvious when you take him out to work with you. Whenever you bring him to work lunches or dinners with your friend, it always seems like your man is on guard. To be fair, he really is and is incredibly annoyed with the way Childe acts around you. 

- Tries sending the message to Childe that you’re already taken (literally everyone knows you’re together, but Childe wants to see how much he can push the archon, also he finds you really attractive and wants to see if you’d go for him). This might start with some more touching and clinginess, but he’s relatively passive about showing his dominance at first. 

- If Childe is still stuck to your side, then Zhongli will start being more possessive and rude to the auburn haired man. Definitely does not make it obvious to you though. 

- “Say, sweetheart, you look absolutely stunning today,” Childe remarks as he brings your hand to his lips with his shit eating grin pointed towards your boyfriend. Little comments about how amazing you are start to add up throughout the dinner and Zhongli can’t help but notice the way Childe eyes you up all night. He’ll put his arm around your shoulders protectively as a response. 

- “If you don’t mind, Zhongli, could you step out for a bit. I have some business I’d like to discuss with Y/N” he continues and revels in the way Zhongli’s cool composure slowly breaks apart. 

- Of course he has to comply, he doesn’t want to notify you that something is off. When he comes back and you excuse yourself to go to the bathroom is when Zhongli can finally address it head on. 

- Doesn’t even take that much effort if he’s being honest. Your boyfriend just leans towards Childe and whispers a few select threats to the harbinger. He has this dark look in his amber eyes all the while. Childe definitely gets the message after that. 

- When you come back from the bathroom you’ll notice the more sinister atmosphere and try to lighten it up. Your boyfriend has a much more calm aura now though. 

- Jealous Zhongli is so rare, but when it does happen, he will be too embarrassed to notify you of it. The person who was flirting with you though? Oh they’re going to be pissing themselves after incurring the wrath of the geo archon. While he doesn’t physically harm them, the threats are more than enough to keep them from flirting with you again. 

- He also thinks he’s being sly about hiding his jealousy when in all honestly the truth comes out with his more possessive and domineering attitude that seeps into your sex life. You aren’t complaining though, clingy rock man sexy.    

Xiao (please come home  👁👄👁) 

- Listen, Xiao has been alive for a really long time. Time is honestly irrelevant to him at this point. Then you come along and change all of that. 

- If you’re nice to him in a way in which you don’t smother him then he will appreciate that so much. Manz won’t say anything though because he needs to pretend to hate everyone. 

- That being said, He will be absolutely head over heels in love with you and far too anxious to ever say something about it. You’re finally a reason for him to enjoy the moment and he doesn’t want to ruin that if you don’t reciprocate his feelings. Always punches himself for being cold to you when he really just wants the two of you to talk longer. 

- Low key follows you around Liyue. You’re going to the harbor to talk to some friends? Well he has business there anyways. He just really likes being around you ok. His excuses are kinda weak though. 

- Fawns over everything you do. Seriously, you can just breathe in his direction and he would be smitten. Would NEVER show it though. 

- If you make him some almond tofu, he is so beyond thankful. He tries to make it, but in his eyes, your cooking is even better than that of master chefs in Liyue. 

-Taking the time out of your day to talk to him is something this adeptus swoons over. If you innocently brush your hands over his when you two are talking on the balcony at the inn, oh boy, he gets so flustered. He is touch starved and that little affection you give genuinely makes his entire day. 

- He gets really upset and possessive whenever you leave Liyue and head to Mondstadt for whatever reason. He doesn’t want to say anything though because he finds you precious and doesn’t want to restrict your freedoms. 

- Xiao is so worried and paces around the balcony of the Wagshu Inn whenever you’re gone. If you leave Liyue he won’t follow, he has his duties here, but he wishes he could go with you. You always tend to make it back pretty fast though. You don’t want to worry him, and truth be told, you’ve fallen hard for the adeptus. 

- This one time, he sensed your presence back in Liyue after a month-long quest he decided to come and greet you as a surprise. When he came down to the ground floor of the inn though, he saw you with a blue haired man. He seemed very close to you and was making you smile and laugh with a hand inching towards your hips

- Normally, when he sees your beaming grin his heart would melt, but seeing this cheeky bastard try to lay a hand on the person that held his heart. Yes, you were his, he decided in that moment, as he went towards you to break your conversation apart.

- He’s also terrified that this new man could be your new boyfriend, but he doesn’t want to entertain the thought, as it sends pangs of such sorrow through him.

- Finally makes up his mind to march over to you when he sees the man tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear and hears compliments flowing out of his mouth about how beautiful and amazing you are. Definitely won’t let this insignificant knight steal what belongs to him.

- When you see him come over, you’re pleasantly surprised. He doesn’t often come around mortals, preferring his isolation at the top of the inn. What really surprises you though is the way he comes right between you and Kaeya with a strange glint in his eyes

- He normally won’t even touch you, but he’s quick to assert his possessive aura and cautiously wrap his arm around your waist, not quite connecting you two though, wanting your permission. Which you give as you lean towards him. 

- You won’t see but he’s going to be giving the most deathly glares at Kaeya. Kaeya will actually die a little inside, your man is a terrifying slayer of demons ok cut him some slack. 

- “Hey Kaeya, this is Xiao. Xiao, this is my friend, Kaeya. He’s heading back to Mondstadt after helping me with this quest!” you announce as you and Kaeya share knowing looks. You definitely didn’t talk about your love for the adeptus for hours on end during your quest. 

- After your goodbyes with your friend, Xiao looks at you and asks what Kaeya is to you. Which you respond to before he leans closer into you and nuzzles his face into your neck as he tells you how he felt about the two of you speaking and how he felt like he lost you. 

- Feels a little stupid for getting scared someone could take you away from him. 

- His confession paired with his warm actions just truly melt your heart as you also confess your own love to him. Moments where he’s affectionate are rare, but after ordeals like this they’ll be more common.  

- Overall jealous Xiao is only semi-rare, very touchy, and absolutely terrifying. Only to the other person though, he’s always soft to you. He’s secure in knowing that you love him as much as he adores you. Definitely shows you that after he takes care of the person imposing on what is his. (wink wonk) 

Childe  (Tar-tar-taglia) 

- Childe is just not a serious person. Your whole “relationship” is built around that carefree nature of his. 

- When I say “relationship”, Childe is too immature to actually put a label on what you two are. You two meet up, have some good times, then go your separate ways, before he reaches out to you and the cycle starts again.

- I mean, you guys have a lot of fun together. His nonchalance and ease in lightening the mood allow for incredible days (and nights). Which is why it doesn’t really surprise you when you find yourself falling for him. 

- He has this certain charm even when he’s doing even the most mundane things. In the mornings, when he wakes up first, he’ll be up preparing breakfast or getting dressed, you can’t help but stare at him. He’s so attractive, and he knows it too with his cheeky grins and teasing attitude. 

- He’s really touchy with you. Likes pulling you onto his lap during work or coming up behind you and pushing his hips towards you when you’re doing something. 

- He always has a hand on you whenever you’re together. He’s either holding your hand, tugging you close to him, or just straight out teasing you. 

- He really likes kissing you. Not even in a sexual context, he just likes being next to you and showering your face in kisses. Teasing kisses around your neck and jaw though, he lives for your expressions when he does that. 

- He often jokes that you’d be a fool to fall in love with him, which you hesitantly laugh at. Don’t worry, he says this as a distraction from the fact that he’s also fallen for your patient mannerisms and the way you’re able to put up with him. 

- He calls you babe or doll a lot. In his heart, he knows it’s for real couples, but he doesn’t want to make it weird between you two by asking you out. He really likes your late night rendezvous and your aura that somehow matches his perfectly. 

- He doesn’t get upset when people flirt with you. Yes, he really likes you, but he also knows that he didn’t put a label on the two of you. Plus, you’re hot, of course people are going to flirt with you. He might even join in and help make you flustered.

- If you’re actually uncomfortable by the person flirting with you, then Childe is quick to chase (kill) them off. Hey, he may be an evil harbinger, but he’s noble enough to sense your discomfort.

- He doesn’t really care about people flirting with or getting too touchy with you, again, he knows he has no right to be upset with that. Is kind of upset when he sees people eyeing you up, but he doesn’t say anything to you.

- He does take quick notice when you get more distance from him. He knows the two of you are, unconventional, to say the least, but he wants to keep you close to him, emotionally at least. 

- You’ll probably be aware of your love for the Snezhnayan which is why you’re pulling away. You know that being with him in the way you want probably won’t happen, with how much responsibility he has and just the nature of your relationship. 

- This prompts you to hang around the docks of Liyue more and talk with people from far away. It’s where you meet Beidou (happy late birthday, queen) and her crew. 

- What used to be lunches where Childe would pop in to, turned into afternoons spent learning about Beidou and her time across the seas. 

- He’s actually pretty angry with the less and less frequent meetings between you two. You’d never know though, because he doesn’t say anything about it and always brushes off any concerns on your part. 

- You will get an idea of this anger when he becomes a little more ~aggressive~ during your more scandalous times together. He’s also still playful, but in a slightly more condescending way. 

- What really sets him off is the way you no longer come to all of your dates together, and when he asks, you’ll simply shrug it off and say you were with a friend 

- He doesn’t really get why he feels this way. He understands that he’s attracted to you and wants to pursue a more stable romantic relationship, but he’s never really felt jealous or possessive before. He’s willing to do what he can to make that horrid nagging feeling go away. 

- Makes it his mission to find out who this “friend” was. When he sees you at the harbor with a red and black claymore user, he’s even more annoyed. She’s absolutely gorgeous and captures all of your attention. He can hear her telling you all about the people she’s met and that you’re one of her favorites as she leans closer and closer. 

- Alright, that’s enough for him, he decides and walks towards the two of you. You smile at him and wave when you notice his presence

- Beidou isn’t too pleased though, not happy with the way he interrupted you two. That is, until she sees the murderous glint and seriousness in Tartaglia’s eyes. She decided to dip and you’re a little shocked by his serious disposition.

- Childe is never serious unless the situation gravely calls for that attitude, which you would have never thought you’d be a part of. Honestly with the way he looks, you’re surprised that he didn’t kill her right then and there. 

- Grabs you by the arm and tugs you towards a quiet area, before pinning you against the wall. He’ll whisper in your ear about how he’s unhappy with your current situation and if you have a solution. 

- Yeah, the marks all over you are definitely a label for you two now. He’s pretty carefree until he gets pushed into showing you that he can be serious too.

-  It’s safe to say that Childe is less loose when it comes to you and threats to your relationship. He’ll be fairly playful when irrelevant people come around trying to flirt with you, but when there’s someone he deems an actual threat, well, man gets into harbinger mode. The lack of being able to walk straight the next day will also be a good reminder to you about his love. 

Scaramouche  (I love this less emo version of Feitan so much omggg)  

- He’s so pissed off and annoyed at everyone. Seriously, how did he even pull you with that attitude (it’s cause he’s fucking adorable that’s why). 

- Anyways, you two have been together for a while, but he doesn’t really want other people to know.

- It’s not that he’s embarrassed of you. He genuinely loves you so much. It’s for that reason, that he wants to protect you. He has a lot of enemies and thinks this is the best way to protect you.  

- He’s not at all standoffish and angry when you aren’t in public though. He basically WORSHIPS the ground you walk on. So soft for you and also very overprotective.  

- If you play with his hair and let him know how much you adore him then he’s just going to fall more and more in love with you. 

- PLEASE IF YOU PUT HIS HAT ON HE’S CONFLICTED ABOUT EITHER TO SNATCH IT OFF YOUR HEAD OR JUST ADMIRE HOW JOYFUL YOU LOOK. 

- He sucks at affection. I’m sorry, it’s just not something he really does, but the occasional head pat and neck kiss brings a smile onto your face so he tries to do it more often. He’s really stiff with hugs and is pretty worried about embarrassing himself when showing you that he loves you.

- He also doesn’t really say that he loves you. He is terrible at expressing himself and sort of just expects you to know that he loves you. Not really a problem though because you’re well aware that you’d be dead if he didn’t love you as much as he does. Also he shows his love through small gifts and softer actions that he would never show anyone else. 

- He will sometimes regret not making it publicly known that you are his though. 

- You either work for or are in association with Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Which means that you spend a lot of time with Zhongli. 

- Now,  Scaramouche is actually pretty insecure. He knows he’s a blunt and cruel person. He’s used to getting things by force and just doesn’t view himself as a person with many redeeming qualities. Terrified that he’ll lose you (sometimes entertains the idea of keeping you in a cage but this isn’t a yandere HC oop). 

- So when he sees you with others, he gets pretty upset and doubts himself a lot. He also pretends he isn’t jealous but you can see right through him and try to reassure him with soft affection. He loves you so much omg, doesn’t really curb his possessive nature though. 

- Fairly manipulative with people who get close to you. If he sees some random person in Liyue flirting with you, well he’s not that upset and getting rid of them is pretty easy. Knows he’s better than commoners like that. Plus the influence of the Fatui runs far and he can make anyone that pisses him off feel his wrath. Low key might actually get rid of them if he’s in the mood. 

- Can’t pull those tricks with a literal God though. When you first told him that you were working with Zhongli, pure rage, which faded into a burning jealous feeling whenever he heard your colleague's name. Definitely tries to break that bond apart. 

- Starts with mentioning how it’s just unnecessary for you to work with how wealthy he is as a harbinger. Next, it’s accompanying you to work with more and more walks in the public eye, in order to get some whispers around. Before he finally begins leaving darker marks on your skin (consensually of course). 

- Zhongli is kinda dense though. He just does not notice the little signs by the harbinger to assert that you belong to him already. He gets tunnel vision with how charismatic and charming you are. 

- Scaramouche low key tails you at work?? Like he watches you when Zhongli is out taking you places for business reasons. He trusts your love, but is a little shaken with how insistent Zhongli is. 

- Really dislikes when Zhongli takes you out for meals though. He loathes that he can’t do that with you, and it’s his fault because he wanted to keep your relationship private. 

- Brings him so much happiness if he sees you pull away from Zhongli’s grasp and keep the atmosphere professional. Zhongli is a respectful man so he’ll keep physical touches to a minimum but he still uses his words and never fails to compliment you or even ask you out on a real date (which you always decline, since you’re a loyal S/O). This puts Scaramouche off, as he knows he doesn’t really tell you how attractive you are as much as you deserve. 

- Ramps up his efforts to show the archon who you belong to by actually dropping in to your work. I swear you actually have a heart attack when he just appears and actually acknowledges you, an action that he established at the beginning of your relationship as something he wouldn’t do. 

- He makes sure to come in when he knows Zhongli is also there. What honestly really takes you by surprise is when he pulls you to him and begins a passionate makeout session in the middle of your workspace. There’s no one really there, just you and the tall amber eyed man, who’s currently in the backroom preparing various things. 

- Scaramouche is fairly clingy and is more inclined to show people that the two of you are together. Zhongli definitely gets the message when he sees your boyfriend locking his lips with yours. Scaramouche will probably pull away and if looks could kill, then the archon would definitely drop dead in the most painful manner. 

- Honestly, without even dropping a beat, your boyfriend will pull you even closer and begin to leave dark hickies along your neck, jaw, and pull your top to the side slightly to leave passionate marks on your shoulders as well. Yeah, Zhongli is pretty uncomfortable with the energy created in the studio today and leaves. 

- Jealous Scaramouche is pretty manipulative, but it also opens up the gate that allows him to express himself more. It’s not too healthy? but it’s really hot when he pins you against surfaces to mark you to show the world that you are his as much as he belongs to you. 

a/n Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave feedback. Anyways, if anyone wants to add us as friends on Genshin, just DM us and we’d be happy to share our UIDs. 

Jesus how does this have 6000 likes lmfao. Request a part 2 and I’d be down to do it

[crumbledcastle28]

Leo Valdez: Need

Summary: With a quest starting to go wrong and the cold becoming unbearable, some drastic measures need to be taken...

Pairing: Leo Valdez x fem!reader

A/N: another one with my fav Leo! Thanks for the support on the last one! Please enjoy!

Warning: cold, shivering, yearning, major fluff

This whole quest has turned into a disaster. Leo had known from the start that it wasn’t going to go smoothly.

From it being the middle of January, the faulty information given at camp, the concern and caution Chiron had given him, all the way to his rapidly growing feelings for you.

All in all, it was a whole bunch of horrible.

At the moment, Leo, Festus, and you are all trying to keep warm around a fire in the middle of a random snowy forest. Festus had started freezing up while flying due to the chill in the air, and you and Leo had decided it was a good idea to stop and rest for the night.

It would have been, if the tent had actually worked.

The good news is there was no actual snow on the ground, just a frost coating everything in sight. That doesn’t me the freezing ground is a much better bed though.

The fire is helping Festus “defrost” if you will, but it’s gonna take a while.

So, you and Leo cooked up as much dinner as you could find, and you immediately passed out afterwards.

Leo could see in your body movements how tired you were. This quest had a lot to it, and it was talking a lot out of the both of you. Especially you.

You had been given this quest, the first one you had ever had, and had the option to take someone with you.

Leo would be lying if his heart didn’t flutter when you chose him without hesitation. He also went back to Cabin 9 and shouted for joy while happy dancing with Festus, but he would never admit that part.

Currently, however, you were wrapped up in his extra beanie, a winter coat, winter pants, gloves, extra thick socks, in the warmest sleeping bag Leo could find, and yet you were still shivering.

You insisted that Leo take the warm sleeping bag, but he assured you he was fine with the lighter one. He was just naturally warmer than most people, so it didn’t bother him at all.

The fact that you cared so much warmed him up enough anyway.

He is in his own sleeping bag now, staring at your sleeping form turned towards him. He is trying to sleep, but he can’t.

This is a normal occurrence for him, lack of sleep. Nightmares of his past, his mom, his failures. They tend to keep one up at night. But it’s not even that.

It’s you.

The fact that you are shivering next to him and he is doing nothing. The fact that you care about him, listen to him, and seem to understand him better than anyone has in a long time. You make each other laugh, hard enough to be clutching your stomachs afterward. He loves it.

He loves you.

He finally put all the pieces together about his feelings while watching you attempt to get some rest. Your face was still the most beautiful one he had ever seen, even with the tight and cold expression you held. Your laugh still continued, even in this horrible situation, to make him feel better. At home even.

If you weren’t on this mission, there was a good chance he would have given up already. But you give him motivation to keep going.

He almost wants to cry at his revelation. He hadn’t felt this happy with someone in so long. And this one feels genuine.

He doesn’t get nervous around you. He definitely gets excited butterflies every now and then, but he feels a sense of comfort around you. Like he can be his true, wacky, goofy self and not be judged.

Why did he not realize this before? He needs you.

Why does that fact make him happier than he has ever been…. but also hold some of the most terror he has ever felt?

An intense body chill raked down your body, interrupting his thoughts, and he had finally had enough.

He needs you. That is just the truth. But right now, you need him.

He slides out of his sleeping bag as quietly as possible, drags it over to your side, and slides back into it.

Okay, he thinks, how am I gonna do this?

Obviously, if this was under any other circumstance, he would ask your permission. And if he accidentally woke you or something and you asked him to get off he would of course oblige.

But you just look so cold. This girl, who he just realized he is in LOVE with, is shivering next to him. He has to try.

You are curled into a ball on your side facing toward him, obviously trying to use as much of your own body heat as you can to stay warm.

He doesn’t want to press too hard against your face, so he scoots up a bit so your face is level with his chest.

He takes a few seconds to just admire you, how you still somehow smell so good and radiate such beauty, before he slowly wraps his right arm over your waist and presses his palm against your back.

His other arm glides gently around the back of your head, slowly guiding your face to his chest. He places his chin very lightly on top of your head, feeling the yarn from your hat tickle him slightly.

He is trying to calm his heavy breathing and beating heart, but you are so close it feels as if he’s holding a precious jewel. He has waited for this feeling for so long, and yet he didn’t even know it.

He can’t screw this up now.

So far, you haven’t moved at all. Your body seems to be warming up a little bit since feeling Leo’s body heat, but your face is still freezing and your chills are still there.

All of a sudden, your stir, and Leo is surprised he didn’t actually jump out of his skin. He feels you nuzzle your face against his coat covered chest, trying to get as close to his heat as possible. You then scoot your body close enough so you can completely mold into him, pressing yourself as close to him as you can.

Your left arm wraps around his back, your left leg wraps around his legs, and you hum slightly. Finally feeling relief.

The whole time this was happening, Leo was unmoving and his eyes were wide open. He had his arms hovering above you to let you break away if you wanted to, but after a few seconds of silence, he realizes you never even woke up. Your body just naturally molded to his, as if he completed your puzzle.

He wants to cry again. He wants to wrap his arms around you and never let go. He wants to kiss your frost tipped nose and your slightly blue lips and confess all his feelings for you.

He knows, however, that the both of you need sleep. You still have a long journey ahead of you.

So, he wraps his arms around you once more, breathing in your scent. He lets himself bake in this moment, closing his eyes so your touch against him can be as magnified as possible.

He lightly kisses the top of your head and then presses his cheek against it.

For now, at least, this is all he needs.

If you want to be added to the permanent tag list, please lmk! I would be happy to tag you!

Tag list:

@leahkenobi

[jekde04]

Of Sudden Rains and Lasting Promises

Pairing: Gruvia (Gray Fullbuster & Juvia Lockser) Fandom: Fairy Tail Genre: Romance Word Count: 2,254 words Summary: She had been fairly good at controlling the rain and not letting her emotions influence it too much. But there were a couple of instances in the past that it went out of hand–and it always involved one person. Just like how it did now. Prompt: Tears (Day 4 of Gruvia Week 2021, but I'm so late I don't want to tag it as such anymore lol) Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 You may also read it on FanFiction.net and AO3! Check out my master list for other Gruvia fics. Tag list (I'm so sorry I totally forgot to tag you in my last few fics!): @shampooneko @fbflame94 @juviaafullbuster @unvalley @gruviaftw11​ (Wanna be tagged, lemme know)

She didn't mean to make it rain. But thank heavens it was just a drizzle.

It had been a while since it last happened. She had been fairly good at controlling the rain and not letting her emotions influence it too much. But there were a couple of instances in the past that it went out of hand–and it always involved one person.

Just like how it did now.

Juvia wiped the thin streaks of rain pelting her face. She decided to sit on the park bench right under a big oak tree, but the rain must be getting stronger now because the thick canopy of leaves had become inadequate to protect her. She heard a man curse and remark how annoying the sudden rain was as he hastened to pack up the magazines and newspapers he was selling.

She was the gloomy rain woman once again.

"You shouldn't be out under the rain like that."

A hand holding a familiar pink umbrella appeared beside her, shielding her from the worsening downpour. She didn't need to look to know who it was.

"How did Gray-sama get Juvia's umbrella?"

"You left it in the guild, so I borrowed it for myself," Gray said as he moved to sit beside her, all the while not letting the shade of the umbrella leave her head. He moved his damp bangs away from his eyes and ruffled his hair to shake the droplets off.

"Gray-sama can use Juvia's umbrella. No need to ask Juvia," she muttered. She could feel Gray inching closer to her to make sure they're both under the umbrella, their arms and legs touching.

"I know. I just happened to see you here, and it's kinda unfair to keep the umbrella for myself while the owner is getting drenched."

Juvia looked at him, his chiseled profile matching the perpetual frown on his face. She already knew how handsome he was, yet her heart still beat fast every time she looked at him.

But she also couldn't help that sinking feeling in her chest when she remembered what she overheard earlier. She sighed.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Hmm-mmm," Juvia answered. She wondered if she should ask him or just let him broach the subject. Finally, she decided to just stay in comfortable silence as the rain poured in a steady rhythm.

"Juvia?"

"Yes?"

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

There it is, she thought, but she didn't dare hope. It could be something else.

"Juvia is listening."

A long pause, with nothing but the incessant downpour and the few people out and about being all that they could hear.

"I'm going on a quest with my team." When Juvia didn't say anything, he continued, "It's gonna take a while."

Really, it shouldn't hurt like this. Mages like them go on quests all the time.

But this one was different, she knew.

"Juvia knows. Everyone was talking about it at the guild." She looked at him while he continued to stare straight ahead as if counting each drop of rain. "You're doing Gildarts-san's failed quest, right? The one that hasn't been solved for 100 years."

"Yes."

What was a previously light shower started to transform into heavier rain, bigger drops falling from the sky and making plop-plop noises on the umbrella shielding them. She could feel drops hitting the right side of her body, and she knew that it would only be a matter of time before the wetness would start to seep through her thick clothes.

She felt Gray squeeze closer to her and reposition the umbrella to cover her entire body. Glancing at him, she noticed that half of his body was getting drenched by the sudden heavy downpour.

"Gray-sama, you're getting wet," she said as she moved even closer to him, grabbing the umbrella and trying to cover him better.

"Don't worry about me," he told her, moving his arm around her shoulders so that they could fit under the umbrella better. The sudden warm sensation as Gray practically embraced her lit Juvia's pale cheeks with a pink tinge, but she couldn't bring herself to say more to him.

After a few beats, he said, "I'm sorry you had to hear it from other people. I was planning to tell you, you know."

Despite the dark clouds in the sky and her heart, Juvia couldn't help but smile. At least Gray wasn't planning to just leave her in the dark this time, like what he did when he disappeared without a trace for six months. The thought of it made tears well in her eyes, and she hastily wiped them with the back of her hand, lest the rain worsened.

Gray looked at her, concern written all over his face. "Hey, you can say no if you don't want me to leave."

At this, Juvia looked at him, her eyes wide. "What?"

"If you're not fine with it, I won't go."

"Is Gray-sama asking Juvia's permission to go on a mission?" she asked, not believing what she was hearing.

Gray blushed and looked away from her. He shrugged. "Maybe."

"But why?"

"Well, you are..." Gray swallowed, as if a thick lump had formed in his throat. "You are... my… my friend. And what you think is important to me."

She should have been sad to be called just a "friend," but for some reason, Juvia felt warmth spread in her chest. Gray wasn't particularly good with his words, but he always made up for it in his actions.

And now, he was actually considering her feelings. Ready to throw away the chance to go on a once-in-a-lifetime quest if she said so.

"Does Gray-sama want to go?"

His brows creased in thought, and it took him a moment before he answered. "Yeah, I think so. There's a part of me that wants to stay, but a bigger part of me wants to get stronger."

Juvia furrowed her brows as she looked up at him. "But Gray-sama is already very strong. Juvia knows she says this a lot, but you really are one of the strongest mages she knows."

"I'm not planning to be the strongest out there," he said. "I just want to be strong enough to protect the people that matter to me."

Juvia rolled her eyes. "Everyone at Fairy Tail can protect themselves. You have nothing to worry about."

"I'm not talking about Fairy Tail," Gray answered, his gaze darting once again to the empty rain-drenched street. She may just have imagined it, but she thought she saw his cheeks darken as he tightened his grip on her shoulder.

"There is... someone... I cherish. Someone I almost lost before. I don't want that to happen again. I want to be strong, so I can keep her safe."

It was so unusual for Gray to talk about his feelings that it left Juvia dumbfounded. Of course, she didn't want to assume or make Gray uncomfortable, but…

What the hell. He was leaving soon, and she had to let him know how much he mattered to her. One more time.

"Juvia is sure that whoever that someone is, she already thinks Gray-sama is wonderful and more than enough," she said. And in a lower voice, she added, "And she believes that her love for him won't change whether he's the strongest mage on Earthland or just an ordinary man without powers. Because she loves him just the way he is right now."

She sneaked a peek at Gray, whose eyes she couldn't see behind his bangs, but his cheeks had definitely turned a dark shade of red. And maybe it was just her imagination again, but was that a shadow of a smile appearing on his face?

The rain was finally letting up, the dark clouds gradually going away. Yet the two of them remained huddled under Juvia's umbrella. Gray started to subconsciously play with the tips of her hair, curling and uncurling them on his fingers. Not that she minded, though.

"I know that. After all, she's the kindest person I know," Gray said. "That is why I want to be the best version of myself. For her. I don't want to be anything less because she deserves only the best."

Juvia could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, but she fought it and willed herself not to boil or turn into a puddle. The dark clouds were all gone now, replaced by the sun's rays taking a peek from the clouds and giving an ethereal sheen to their surroundings.

"Gray-sama is so sweet. Whoever she is, she's one lucky girl."

"Trust me, I'm luckier," Gray said, grinning at her. Then, realizing that the rain had stopped and the sun was out, he closed the umbrella and stood up, stretching his hand for Juvia to grab.

"I guess someone's feeling less sad now?" he asked, and Juvia blushed.

She took Gray's hand, and he intertwined their fingers as they started walking towards Fairy Hills. "How did Gray-sama know?"

"Let's just say I also have a Juvia-radar that tells me when you need a bit of cheering up," Gray told her, and Juvia couldn't help the swarm of butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

Maybe it was due to their interlocked hands and the way his thumb mindlessly caressed her knuckles. Or perhaps the fact that he was walking her home, though he had been doing that for quite some time now. Or maybe it was because of how well he knew her–and actually cared about her.

It was all of the things he had said and done… and even all the unsaid ones that brought unparalleled joy in her heart. Because she felt… no, she knew that she was loved. Deeply and completely.

But she had to ask him one more thing.

"Gray-sama?'

"Hmm?"

"Can you promise... that certain someone... one thing?"

"What is it?"

"Promise her you'll come back."

Gray chuckled. "Of course. I promise I'll come back home to her, no matter what. I will come back as a man worthy of her love. "

She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back, and they continued walking hand-in-hand, no words needed.

They were at the gate of Fairy Hills when Gray spoke again.

"Juvia?"

"Yes, Gray-sama?"

He had stopped walking and faced her. "Wait for me, will you?"

A bright blush bloomed on her cheeks. Gray had always been indirect with her, yet here he was, asking her (and not a certain someone) to wait for him.

As if there would be any other answer.

"Always, Gray-sama."

And, in a moment of boldness, she tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek, her lips lingering for a second before letting him go. She caught sight of his reddened cheeks before he turned his face away and awkwardly patted her head with his free hand.

"We won't be leaving until the end of the week, so, um... would you like to... spend some time with me?"

Juvia's eyes sparkled. "Is Gray-sama asking Juvia out on a–"

"Not a date!" Gray quickly interrupted. "Just, um, hanging out with each other since I'm going away and we're not going to see each other for a long time."

Juvia smiled knowingly. Nothing would change her mind that Gray was asking her out on a date, but of course, she would let him believe that they were just "hanging out" if that was what he wanted.

"Let Juvia think." She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped a finger on her chin. "Hmm, Juvia wants to eat caramade franks, go fishing–"

"You wanna go fishing? We can do that."

"Really? Juvia's so happy! She was told it's always raining around her, so she can't be taken fishing or camping or–"

"Who said that? That's a load of crap," Gray said, irritated. "Tell me and I'll punch his brains out."

Juvia placed a hand on his arm. "Not important, Gray-sama." She smiled and added, "Tomorrow, then?"

Gray nodded. And before she knew what was happening, she felt Gray pulling her body close to him, her hat yanked away from her head, and Gray's lips suddenly on her forehead. Her hands landed on his bare chest, and she could feel his heartbeat thumping loudly, probably as strong as the beating of her heart at the moment.

It ended as fast as it happened, and she found herself being pushed away by a flustered Gray, mumbling, "See you tomorrow!" As he hurriedly walked away from her, Juvia finally broke from her trance and had enough sense to shout, "Gray-sama, your clothes!"

"Crap!"

Juvia giggled as Gray picked up his discarded clothes and started wearing them, still a bit of pink coloring his cheeks. When he was done, he hastily waved goodbye to her and shouted, "Tomorrow!"

She watched his retreating form until he was no longer within her line of sight. Her heart ached a bit, knowing that he was going away soon, but it swelled with the promise that he would eventually come home to her–a better, stronger, and more confident man.

How that was even possible, she didn't know, as he was already perfect in her eyes. But she also hadn't imagined that she could even love him more, yet here she was, finding herself loving him a little bit more each day as he ever-so-slowly let her into his melting heart.

Clutching her hat to her heart, she entered Fairy Hills.

A/N: I'm still writing Gruvia Week fics? You bet I am! It would be a waste if I don't flesh out those drafts I did before, right? Thank you for still reading my fics. I appreciate them a lot and you inspire me to keep writing. Btw, the fishing thing is a reference to the FT 100 YQ chapter 11 cover. And also to what Bora said to Juvia once. :)

[asavt]

Another cookie squad Headcanons

Featuring Sparkling, Vampire, cellphones and the Espresso and Madeleine Story of how they came together. Consider it an AU now baby!

-As a note, when I say the squad I'm mostly referring to the adults, so no worries about Walnut or Creampuff useless I mention them too

-Each one of the squad has been in Sparkling's bar at last once. There's no need to say who has been there the most. Sparkling has a time every time someone besides Roguefort comes, because to him it's mostly like "Oh I'll finally know the continuation to the burnt toast accident or maybe the cat catastrophe? Maybe a new POV of the--"

He practically knows a lot of what happens in between the squad.

-As another note, Sparkling's bar is called Milabo (You know, like the song from Zutomayo of the same name, which, btw, I relate a lot to Latte)

-*A great part of this “AU” is kind of inspired by the song. Part of its lyrics and vibe.

-Vampire is there most of the time when the squad visits the bar (it's almost as if he never leaves the bar and this is definitely not me low-key putting sparkvamp in this oh no--) Sometimes the fakes his sleep to listen to the things others say (Which is how he knows most of Rogue's pan-ic).

-Walnut has been in Sparkling's bar too, but at day and for case-solving purposes only. Sparkling will give her some alcohol-free drink for free sometimes (mostly because he gets along pretty well with the nut family and because Almond usually pays him whatever he serves her).

-If the squad had cellphones (and probably an app like discord because.), their group chat would initially be called "Coffee mage appreciation group" and then be changed to "Coffee bean appreciation group"

Coffee Bean: Can we please change the group name and mine?

Guided by the Devine: No <3

Coffee Bean: Fuck you.

-*And they all would dedicate half their time to make fun of Almond but with love.

-Espresso has been mistaken for a dark mage before by Almond. It was how they meet actually. Almond had pulled him to interrogate him and got a long lecture on the differences between black magic and coffee magic.

-Madeleine gets along rather well with Roguefort. Rogue seems impressed by Maddie’s acting skills.

-Madeleine is currently living with Espresso. Out of his armor most of the time. He usually takes care of keeping the house clean and preparing meals (He never really had to cook before but the first dish he made wasn’t bad at all). Sometimes he will tag along Almond in the detective’s work, or Almond will ask for his help.

-I’m still unsure if I want the Almond/Roguefort/Latte to be romantic or platonic. But honestly? Both are good. Latte is pretty close to Almond and Roguefort but not in the way she is with Espresso (that makes them look like siblings jkashduawhu). Perhaps I’ll keep it platonic.

-The Espresseleine/Madespresso story of how they came together, because I seem to not be able to write it down JSHALDHUIWADWA-

--It happens after the Puppet Show mini quest. Madeleine starts to ask for Espresso's "assistance" in different mission that are given to him. Angel is there too, of course.

--During these missions is that Essy clarifies that no, they are not friends, no, he does not like Madeleine. Bringing up the knight begin too prideful and self-centered if not all then most of the time.

--Is not until one of their missions goes wrong, were Angel is knocked out and Espresso (seeing and knowing that if Madeleine is knocked down too they might not be able to go back to the kingdom ever) pretty much receives a rather big attack for Madeleine is that he kind realizes the facts given by espresso true. All while he is carrying Essy and Angel back to the kingdom, running and exhausted too.

--Clover begin kind of a mediator between the two (I want to see more of my son--)

--"Devine, protect us" Should happen too after this. An scenario like, Madeleine coming to think something like "I'm the shield, the one who goes on the front line and receives the blows for those who can't, always looking straight ahead... but if I am doing that then who watches my back? Who do I rely on and trust to take care of most enemies so the damage received is not overwhelming...?"

Power of team work baby!!!

--As a note to this, Maddie getting his cape damaged as well as his hair. So, you get short hair Maddie~

(I've been drawing him with short hair in secret now I have an excuse to show)

-- "You...cut your hair..." *Madeleine touches the points of it with one of his hands, pensive* "...pft it'll grow back!"

--There's also this "Search for your own light" thing between Angel and Maddie. Angel encouraging Madeleine to do so. Maybe Madeleine giving his best wishes to them for their wish to fly before they decide to part ways.

--Madeleine trying other ways to befriend Essy. Which at first Espresso mistaken as the knight usual attempts to befriend anyone he sees out of habit and attention seeking, but once they realize the feeling is completely genuine, Espresso is rather perplexed.

--"You can't just befriend people by buying them gifts (although I do appreciate them)" "Then what?" "hmm..."

--Said gifts used to be rather expensive things, simple though. Eventually Madeleine settles to just pass by Espresso's place, give him any food he had bought that day (which usually is glazed donuts), ask if he needs any help with something (getting a vase, materials, moving things), and if not then he just says his good byes, best wishes and silently leaves. (A note on the "silently leaves": Madeleine is pretty much used to speak loudly and enter loudly anywhere, he still does this at this point, but when it's about Espresso he is a bit more quiet, a bit showy over his entrances still, but less loud, and he actually knocks the door)

--Madeleine eventually manages to go out with Espresso to other places that aren't some place in the forest full of enemies. Probably after some more visits to his place and more calm talks between the two, Madeleine brings up that Espresso tends to act a bit cold or distant towards a lot of people, and that, although he understands his discomfort at begin in public spaces or too long out of his work, he should try and open up a bit. This reminds Essy of a certain friend he hasn't seen in some time, and from whom he keeps getting letters.

--Shenanigans.

--There's still some bickering between the two, always with a playful undertone though.

--Espresso explains Madeleine, one time the knight has gotten Espresso wrapped in a blanket burrito again and got him to bed, that sometimes, no matter how tired he might feel, he is simply unable to sleep. Part of a headcanon of mine that coffee magic has this side effect on it's users, prolonged usage of this kind of magic will induce a high caffeine kind of state, which on the long run can fuck up the user's sleep schedule. Madeleine understands this, but remains stubborn about keeping Espresso in the bed so at last he can get some rest from his work and clear his mind a little, the idiot falls asleep in the process and Espresso doesn't try to wake him up.

--This happens several times after, neither of them thinking of the implications of not begin bothered by the sudden closeness they share until it's too late.

--Espresso realizes first that he has slowly, yet nicely, fallen for Madeleine. I think I talked about this before but I'll do it again: Is in one of the times Madeleine has gotten Espresso to bed to get some rest, Espresso not begin able to fall asleep and Madeleine doing again. Is while he thinks of how he has gotten to know Madeleine for real, not the Knight Commander from a noble family or the Chosen by the Devine, but as he is, that he comes to think that "Ah.... I love him" and he remains calm about it.

--Espresso doesn't overthink it, just thinks that, if Madeleine ever got an interest in him, he would surely show it. So he waits. Even if in the end his feelings aren't mutual he knows he'll do just fine remaining friends.

--Madeleine realizes not many days after. And the realization hits him like a truck. Alone in his place and probably in bed looking at the ceiling thinking about Espresso. Once he realizes and thinks about it a bit more his face gets all red and chooses to scream in the pillow.

--He would think about telling Espresso as soon as he can, after all, he doesn't want his feelings to make their friendship weird. He values it, a lot. Maybe because his friendship with Espresso it's the first one where he genuinely wanted to become friends with someone.

--Espresso takes the confession calmly, gets all flustered after they kiss for the first time.

--As a few extras of this: Madeleine goes back to the Republic, asked to be seen by his family and Espresso goes to Parfedia, where a few students have applied to his class to his surprise. When they see each other again is at Parfedia (Madeleine sending a message to Espresso beforehand about his arrival) -there was this one drawing I did once of Maddie running to hug Espresso, something like that happens-. Madeleine gets very clingy for some reason, which they speak later and comes out as “Home doesn’t quite feel like home…” “Why is that?” “I don’t know… maybe I’ve become used to be around you”

--Espresso lets ends up letting Madeleine stay with him until he either feels like returning to the Republic or is called back, whatever happens first (though none will happen for maybe a year or a little more).

--Ends with Madeleine meeting Latte and Almond.