#i need to see 70s dm like i need air | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sleepingwiththegods · 11 months ago

Note

I have very curly hair, and this is all advice I use from my stylist. However, like Piggy says, curly hair comes in different textures and curl patterns, with different care. If you can swing it - I’d recommend finding a salon or stylist in your hair that specializes in “curly cuts.”

How to do this? Look up salons in your area and go to their Instagram page. A salon’s Instagram page is their portfolio, so check out if people with curly hair cuts appear on the page as a client AND (this is critical) those cuts look good and you like them.

(These things are not mutual inclusive and if you need more help looking feel free to dm me.)

See if the stylist who did cut is tagged in the photo. Make an appointment with them, and bring questions about how you want your hair to look, care for it, or style it.

You can figure out your curl pattern using this chart. It’s not standardized but it can be a good place to start.

You can use this to search for products people with your curl pattern have liked and used on Reddit or elsewhere. I.e., “I think I have a 4B curl pattern what do I do?”

I have a 3B curl pattern and a fine texture, which might not match yours, so take what you need from the following and leave what you don’t.

These suggestion are generally good for people with 2x & 3x hair. Here we go:

Brushing out curls will brush out the ringlets and prevent hair strands from latching together. So each individual hair wants to do its thing (curl), but isn’t as good at it, because it can’t do it alone (kinda like people!). That’s why people say not to brush out curls. I generally don’t brush my hair out unless I’m about to get into the shower.

Any sort of hydrating conditioner that’s free of parabins will be good! I have used Biolage’s ultra hydrating conditioner for years and really like it. Like Piggy, I shampoo only a couple of times a week. Don’t condition your roots, this will increase your hair’s oilyiness and weigh your curls down. When you’re in the shower, try to ring your hair out like you would a towel (albeit more gently) before putting conditioner in. When the hair is more dry, it will actually soak up more of the product. Hair is a lot like a sponge. When the sponge is soaking wet, it’s less likely to hold more soap.

A lot of people on social media will have you soaking curly hair several times and putting product in while it’s soaking wet. It’s just a waste of product tbh.

Try to towel dry with a t-shirt (aka jersey fabric) material. This is much softer and won’t break your hair. Using a curl cream on damp hair is generally a good idea. I use this curl cream and this oil together. Put a little on your hands, flip your head upside down and run the cream through your curls, and then scrunch your hair by cupping your hair in your hands, pushing your hair back towards your scalp and then gently squeezing you hair with your hands. Wearing a silk cap or bonnet at night will preserve your curls and reduce breakage. (And also prevent product from getting on your pillows and therefore reduce any face acne.) (Silk caps or bonnets are generally a good idea for all curly hair types.)

As for specific styling, I have great news. Curly hair is back in girl. The 70s are back and so are long curls. Styling? Idk her. However your hair air dries is gonna be in style, and also stunning and you’ll get lots of compliments on it for simply rolling out of bed. Pinterest is honestly a good place to look for “curl cuts” or “curl hair styles” inspo to take to your stylist. In the future, you might want to consider getting some layers to provide more shape, movement, and bounce to your curls.

Good luck bby.

Bitches! You have a wide audience so I come seeking advice. My family are all of the thin, straight hair variety. I am not. I have long (waist length), thick, curly hair.

Can I get some advice on how to style it and take care of it? I’ve been told my whole life to “just brush it” but I’ve seen on insta and elsewhere that that’s like, the worst thing you can do to curly hair. Please help a confused little bitchling!

Love your content! 💚💙

First off: you sound absolutely gorgeous. Good on you for wanting to take care of your natural hair and let it show its true glory.

HOW BOUT IT, BITCH NATION? ANYONE WITH THICK, CURLY, LONG HAIR WANT TO CHIME IN WITH SPECIFIC ADVICE FOR ANONYPOO?

I (Piggy) love hair, and mine is long, wavy, and thick. If you watch our YouTube you'll see I almost always straighten or curl it. Sounds like we have different textures, but a few things that have absolutely changed my (hair) life are as follows:

I oil my hair once or twice a month using a keratin oil. I used to think that with greasy hair like mine, it would make the situation worse, but an oil treatment actually makes it LESS greasy. It's magic.

I coil my hair into a bun on top of my head when I sleep. This keeps it from getting tangled and sweaty over the night. Plus, if I've curled or straightened it the day before, the style will last longer this way. Lots of people with long hair wear silk caps to bed or braid their hair before sleep for similar reasons.

I wash my hair twice per week instead of every day. Overwashing can be really bad for your hair, but everyone's washing schedule is different. I'd consult a hair stylist about how often you should wash (if you can afford to see one, they'll give you LOTS of expert tips).

I often use a wide-toothed comb to comb it out instead of brushing.

Hair can be a VERY sensitive subject, tied to culture, ethnicity, and oppressive beauty standards. Seek out communities, either online or irl, of people of your ethnicity with the same hair type and texture. They'll have great tips and stories for you!

Also, we wrote a bit about hair here:

Can Looking Weird at Work Be Good for Your Career?

Why Is Short Hair Controversial? An Examination of Expensive, Annoying Beauty Standards

If you found this helpful, tip us.

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ddejavvu · 2 years ago

Note

I'm probably going to spam you with requests so buckle up.

Okay so what if on a very hot and humid summer night, Reader is feeling grumpy because of the weather and Hotch casually tries to cuddle with her (because he always does that in order to fall asleep) but she tells him to stay away and hotch gets all pouty and sad until reader gives in (but reader does not give in easily, im sorry but hotch is a furnace! Can you imagine cuddling with him during the summer?)

@sunflowermotel and i were just talking about this in the dms the other day because i don't care if it's 20000 degrees i'm clinging onto that man and suffocating him but now the tables have turned

You were on fire. The sheets were sticking to your skin, your shorts were sweat-slicked to your legs, and your tank top was growing damp spots.

The humidity was running rampant within your little apartment, the air conditioning unit having broken two days ago. You had been entirely confident that your fans would get you through, that all you needed was the little rotating desk fan that you'd stolen from Aaron's home office, but you were wrong.

The fan was weak, and left you sweating through your sheets. You'd even suffered through a cold shower, but nothing helped.

Aaron was laying beside you, his black-framed reading glasses perched on his nose as he scrolled through the news app on his phone. He was the only person under 70 you knew that looked at the news on their phone, but he looked adorably concentrated while scrolling, so you didn't tease him.

Eventually he got tired of reading through the various daily occurrences, and locked his phone, slipping his glasses off of his face and setting his phone on his nightstand. He turned to face you, wrapping his arms around you before you could stop him.

"Aaron, no!" You tried fruitlessly to wriggle out of his grip, sweat already moistening your skin, "You're a furnace."

"Hey," He frowned as you finally slipped from between his arms, "What's wrong with you?"

"It's sweltering in here," You panted, a grimace staining your expression as you tried ridding yourself of the residual heat that Aaron's embrace had inflicted upon you, "You are not allowed to touch me for the rest of the night."

Maybe you'd snapped at him too hard. Maybe you were being unfair, extra grumpy from the sticky air around you. But you weren't going to take it back, not even as his confused frown fell into a petty one and he huffed softly through his nose.

"Fine," He grumbled, turning away from you so that all you saw was his bare back, "Set am alarm before you go to sleep."

Though you felt slightly bad for upsetting him, your physical discomfort was more important. You shifted your legs where they were laying on top of the blankets, wishing that they didn't come off with a sticky sheen of sweat on them, and trying to wipe some of the sweat off of your hairline too.

It was hopeless, nothing was working.

You fell asleep only an hour later than Aaron did, but the prolonged silence without any skin-on-skin contact was new to you. If you hadn't been so damn hot you'd have crawled under the covers and latched yourself onto him like a leech, but you felt like your skin was cooking your insides alive, so you didn't.

Instead you fell into a restless sleep, the sheets clinging to your moistened skin.

You had set an alarm as requested, but you didn't wake up to it. What you woke up to was Aaron shuffling around at the foot of the bed, struggling to get his tie adjusted right in the dim bedroom light. You weren't sure why he wasn't shutting himself in the bathroom and turning on the lights there to see, but it gave you more time to admire him before he had to leave, and you watched him with a hazy, fond smile.

He tugged too hard on the tail, jerking the knot to one side. He let out a frustrated huff, a grumbled, "Son of a-" reaching your ears before he was giving up, his tie lopsided while he fumbled around for his briefcase.

You'd had enough.

You sat up, shimmying to the edge of the bed and flicking on the lamp on your bedside table. It illuminated the room in a soft yellow glow, and he froze for a second, turning back to face you.

"I'm sorry for waking you up." He spoke, his voice strained and withdrawn, "Go back to sleep."

"No," You groaned, standing and stepping in front of him, "I can't, in good conscience, let you go outside with your tie looking like that."

Your fingers quickly found purchase in the silky material around his neck, loosening the knot gently so that you could slide it over to the middle of his chest rather than hidden under one of the folds of his collar. You felt him tense under your touch, but the longer you worked with his tie, the more relaxed he got.

"Oh, so it's not too hot to adjust my tie?" He muttered, resentment clear in his voice.

"Come on," You scoffed, "It was like four hundred degrees last night, Aaron!"

"We always cuddle." He frowned, evading eye contact and instead glancing disdainfully at the disheveled bed you'd just gotten out of.

"We always have air conditioning too," You reminded him, keeping him stationary by gripping his tie and holding him in place.

"It just didn't feel right."

"I'm sorry," You hummed, your head slumping forwards to rest on his chest, "The repairman is supposed to be coming today. Hopefully it's fixed by tonight."

"And if it's not?"

"Then I'm sleeping in the freezer."

He let out an exasperated groan, slipping out of your grip and grabbing his briefcase. You watched him slip his shoes on, the leather shining softly under the low lights of the bedroom, and you stood between him and the door.

"I need to get to work." He stood in front of you, his expression stoic.

"You need to stop being so grumpy."

You watched something shift in his eyes, but he stayed still. You took the lead once more, and pressed on.

"Wouldn't you rather me live through this heat wave? If you cuddle me, I'll suffocate and roast alive."

The muscles in his jaw shifted, and you knew you were getting through to him.

"I'll make sure the AC guy fixes it today." You promised, "And tonight, we can snuggle."

"Don't call it that," He sighed, his shoulders finally relaxing, "That sounds stupid."

Your mouth fell open indignantly, "Then I won't do it with you!"

You turned with a huff, intent on storming out to the kitchen to make yourself coffee for the morning. But you weren't able to take a single step before you felt Aaron's hand close around your wrist, yanking you back into his broad chest.

"No!" He urged, panic slipping into his usually-controlled voice, "No, it's not stupid."

"You're on thin ice," You warned, though you leaned back into his chest, "You're lucky I'm miserable, or I'd make you wait to fix the air conditioner."

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loveinterestcastiel · 4 years ago

Text

erosion

I wrote some endverse fic based on a @lateral-org post asking a FANTASTIC question:

When/why/how did endverse! cas get rid of the trenchcoat and what was dean's reaction?

Rated M. Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence. Word Count: 4.1k

tagged some mutuals and people I thought might be interested in this under the cut, if you want tagged in this/future fic or want me to remove your tag dm me!

erosion

Of course, Sam said yes in Detroit. So why dream about that? He lived it every day. The redundancy was irritating at best.

Where the fuck did I leave my boots last night? Cas cursed under his breath and embarked on a thorough search of their cabin, the coarse words warm and familiar on his tongue as he yanked on his socks. I really am starting to sound like Dean.

Dean’s boots were already gone, his gun and thigh holster absent too. He’d left his green jacket behind, tossed carelessly aside last night and hidden under the trenchcoat on the floor at the foot of their bed. He slipped his coat on over his clothes and shoved Dean’s jacket into their pack- he knew he’d want it later, even if it was just for the drive back. He slipped on the worn coat, habit- he’d stopped wasting Grace on its upkeep a while ago, but it was still important. It felt like comfort, in some strange way, so he kept on wearing it despite the worn-through elbows or the stubborn little bloodstained spot on the hem.

He’d dreamed of Detroit, last night, again. He didn’t know if he’d ever get used to dreaming, as unsettling and involuntary as it was. It felt like the unfair hijacking of an otherwise enjoyable human bodily function, and he resented it altogether. He snagged a bit of weed from his stash and tucked it in next to his flask, sweeping out the cabin door and into the frigid morning sunshine, giving Chuck a lazy wave as he ambled past his cabin to the truck lot, kicking little pebbles across the packed dirt at imaginary targets with a super-human precision that grated strangely on him today.

“Big run today,” Chuck said with a tentative smile, his hands clasping a chipped mug filled to the brim with his ridiculously indulgent tea, wafting a cascade of steam out over the railing of his cabin porch before dissipating into the air. “Don’t forget the perishables if you can get at them, ok? We’re seriously low on-”

“Toilet paper, milk, cheese, butter,” he interrupted, “plus sugar, flour, canned fruit, hygiene products, toothpaste, toilet paper, coffee, meat if we can get it, .35 and 9mm ammunition, mechanical oil, gasoline, propane, rubbing alcohol, gauze, surgical tape, toilet paper, paracetamol, and oh, toilet paper again!” Cas recited dryly, rolling his eyes. “You gave us a written list yesterday. Twice. Couldn’t fuck up blackout drunk.”

Chuck snorted, shaking his head in self-deprecation. “Just doing my job, Cas.”

“We’ll do ours,” he called over his shoulder, continuing down the central path briskly. “We’ve all got our part to play.”

What was it Lucifer had said to Dean, that night Zachariah stole him out from under Cas’s nose and threw him into the future? No matter what choices you make, whatever details you alter… we will always end up here.

It certainly seemed like he was right. Most days, it seemed like they were all hurtling towards the exact same place Dean had caught a wretched glimpse of, once, with the brakes slashed and emergency failsafes offline, and no indicator that the impossible choices they were making every day were anything but inevitable. He knew that Dean still had nightmares about his ending, but he didn’t know much else about Dean’s nightmares anymore but what little snippets he could garner from what Dean mumbled and cried out in his sleep. He’d lost the ability to dreamwalk a while back. Three nights after the Croatoan virus wiped out Fort Worth and they were forced to fall back, he tried to enter Dean’s sleep to watch his dreams in the dubious refuge of a closed down Motel 6 off of interstate 70 as they ran west, to see if there was some piece of information they’d missed, some new choice they could make one day that could change the path they were on.

It simply hadn’t worked. He mourned the loss of one more skill in the darkness of their room that night as Dean slept uneasily in the bed beside him, one more thing which, in its absence, made him ever more useless to Dean, much like the loss of his ability to time travel, or to smite their enemies with ease. Flight was becoming difficult by the day, and he knew in some part of his mind that his wings would be the next to go, and he would be grounded, permanently, on Earth and not in Heaven.

And so it goes.

Anyway, it wasn’t like they had much of a choice about anything these days. Once Michael had taken Adam, they lost their only trump card. Heaven didn’t need Dean anymore, but Hell desperately needed Sam. It was a shame, it really was, that Sam’s gamble hadn’t paid off.

It was a miracle Lucifer let Dean go. He had brushed him off as a non-threat. Unimportant on a cosmic scale, however important Dean was to the vessel. To Sam. So Dean walked out of that run down building alive, and he was the most beautiful, terrible thing Cas had ever seen. His soul shone brighter than even an archangel’s grace in his rage and trembled with the fierce sharpness of grief, and it was glorious, righteous.

Godly.

Even as Cas’s memories softened and blurred, becoming tinged with a mortal haze, that memory of Dean remained in a sparkling clarity. He could imagine no life, no moldable version of the past, in which he did not choose Dean. From the very first moment his soul had reached back to cling to Cas’s Grace in Hell, Cas had fallen, was falling, would fall, for Dean. It was inevitable, his love. They were inevitable. They fell together in the time after Detroit, into battle, into bed, and into cosmic obscurity. Soon, too soon, their losses began to outnumber their wins, and they had to make more and more certain regrettable sacrifices just to stay alive. Cas was used to collateral damage, far more than Dean was, but whatever the other humans in their ragged camp believed of him, he wasn’t unaffected. Just the opposite, in fact. He had never felt anything before, not for billions of years, an incomprehensible existence of light and intent and obedience and war, and now he felt everything. That- not Dean’s disappointment, or the slow loss of his Grace, or his Father’s unyielding silence- was undoubtedly the worst part of becoming something like human.

Some days were better than others, of course. Some days he took precious little blue or white or green pills, all different shapes and sizes and he felt good. Numb, pleased, far away. Quiet. Others, fewer than the days he had his pills, he took shrooms, LSD. Molly, twice. Often he took nothing at all, craving the wicked pain and emptiness it created in him as his sobriety enhanced the ache his dwindling Grace left behind, needing the punishment to feel real before forcing himself into a tumultuous sleep after days spent horribly awake with half a bottle of rotgut sloshing in his stomach. He still liked joints, rolled meticulously, their verdant smoke curling up deliciously in his lungs and setting him up on a lovely little metaphorical cloud the best, and then, they were even more so lovely when he shared them with Dean. There was nothing, nothing like passing it between them, before transitioning into trading hit after hit between their mouths, brushing against his soft lips, breathing his air, watching Dean’s cheeks flush a stunning pink and holding tight to his deep golden hair, dragging him down into slow, languid kisses that desire deepened and turned into a precious sort of holy consumption as the high hit its stride in them both.

He was sober today, mostly, just riding out the last of some gorgeous pink pill from a nearly full bottle he’d just scavenged out a few days before. It made him feel floaty, focused, fearless. He felt almost like he did two years ago, before his reeducation stint in Heaven. Angelic. It was nice. He’d take another, later. Maybe Dean would want to take one, too, and they could fuck high out under the stars on their quilt again like they did last October and feel like the real Gods of this stupid little planet, on top of the world, on top of Dean, cradled in the soft embrace of his thighs, and worship each other.

Take that, brothers. Castiel smiled viciously at the sky. You’ll never fuck God like I have.

Standing impatiently among their motley caravan of vehicles in the sickly yellow light of a midwestern April morning sun, his back to Cas, Dean’s silhouette and the flashing imprint of his soul- the only one Cas could still see clearly- caramelized into a sweet union of tangible and not that pulled at his stomach and swept him into the siren song of Dean’s being and woke up the hungry creature that lived in his heart and craved DeanDeanDeanDean.

No one else was there yet, probably all still dicking around at the camp mess and drinking shitty chicory. His feet fell silently on the earth, leaving behind the sound of the universe and the vibrant humming of Dean’s soul- and oh, he hoped he could always hear that symphony, even when all the rest of his powers had run dry.

Just as he reached out to take Dean by the shoulder and turn him around, Dean moved with a sudden burst of energy, like a coiled snake striking out. He whirled around and met Cas’s eyes, took him by the neck and the waist, and kissed him. His lips moved with a gentleness that contradicted the intensity of the grip of his cold-fingered hands as they worked their way into his hair, wormed their way under his trenchcoat, and touched the bare skin they found where the hem of his t-shirt met his jeans. He met the kiss eagerly, licking teasingly at the seam of his lips, biting down gently and coaxing Dean into opening his mouth. He pushed Dean back until his back hit the nearest rusted army-green truck with a small thudding noise, pressing himself up against Dean and tugging on his hips so they were pressed flush against each other, the contact sending and electric thrill racing up his spine.

“Cas,” Dean gasped out at the sensation of their bodies meeting, the air punched out of his lungs.

“Mmm, morning,” Cas murmured between kisses. “You’re out here early.” Dean’s neck was uncharacteristically bare above the neck of his rough brown sweater, creamy and invitingly unmarked. Cas indulged in the impulse to change that, working his way over the tender skin, sucking and biting until a bruise began to bloom below the junction of Dean’s jaw and neck, worrying it with his teeth until it was a deep reddish-purple.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Dean whispered, letting his head fall back against the truck window, baring his throat further, and closed his eyes. He seemed almost happy, today. He seemed to light up in the lead-up to their more dangerous missions, and Cas didn’t want to think about that right now. Didn’t want to ruin the moment. “Didn’t want to wake you up,” Dean elaborated.

“I appreciate that.” Satisfied with the rather outrageous hickey he’d created on Dean’s neck, Cas pressed it with one last kiss. “How’d you know I was behind you?” he asked, pressing their foreheads together and slowly grinding their hips together lazily, just breathing Dean in.

“Felt you,” Dean said, bringing their lips together again briefly. “Always can.” One more little kiss.

“Dean, last night, when you couldn’t sleep, I dreamed again about Detroit-” Cas started to confess feverishly, almost against his will, Dean stiffening up at his words in his arms, and was interrupted by the sound of people approaching, footsteps, voices, and an earsplitting wolf-whistle directed at their compromising position.

Dean’s face shuttered immediately, and Cas felt every scrap of easy bliss flee his body.

He pulled back with more than a little reluctance, his stomach twisting as a fakely jovial grin tugged at the corners of his lips, and clapped Dean on the shoulder. “Let’s go, fearless leader. We’ve got a mission to run, don’t you know?”

“Don’t start with that fearless leader shit,” Dean said tightly, rolling his eyes away from Castiel’s face and fixing on a point somewhere over Cas’s shoulder. “Who’s driving?”

“Looks like Cas is driving,” Joe called out mischievously.

Risa smacked him in the chest. “Get in the truck, idiot.” She turned her gaze to Dean, an odd glint in her eye. It felt sticky and wrong in his core but Cas stamped the feeling down. “Group brief over the radio on the way?” she asked.

“Yeah, at 8,” Dean said, sliding into his unshakeable militaristic persona with a firm nod. “Should be fairly straightforward in and out supply grab. Intel says the Croats cleared out of Roanoke a couple days ago, left major infrastructure and commerce sites relatively untouched. It’s a good thing too,” he added, “we were getting spread a little thin with most goods.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

———————————————————————

It was not, in fact, easy.

Their intel was wrong, so wrong, and Cas didn’t know how the fuck it happened, but they were fine, they were almost finished, closing up the trucks in the alley behind the supermarket and waiting for Dean and Trish to return from sweeping the perimeter, when out of what seemed like thin air and with no more than a broken shout for warning there were more Croats swarming them than he’d ever seen in one place before, and Joe and Maya and Kris were dead, and Dean was nowhere to be found.

The Croats had the remaining seven pinned down against the main truck, snarling and screeching and reeking of blood and gore, strips of flesh and clothing that once adorned their companions now dangling from their teeth. Their single-minded need for the endless consumption of human flesh and that it was currently being denied drove them to a terrifying frenzy, but the hunters were starting to push back, and the Croat numbers were thinning slowly but surely. Cas thought he saw Allen get bitten, but next he glanced at him he looked fine. He’d need to check on that if they made it out alive. He resigned himself quickly to the idea of killing the man before they got back to Chitaqua- Allen was a nice enough man, quick-witted and skilled with a blade and a loom, but nothing was worth bringing a Croat back to camp. He owed it to the man as a human being to grant him a swift death if he’d been infected before Allen himself could realize it. A shot to the back of the head, unawares, had to be better than a clumsy battle and inevitable stab to the chest (Cas knew he would always have the upper hand against a human, even when he had fallen in full) with fear in his heart.

He buried his angel blade to hilt in yet another Croat’s throat, yanking it out and ducking out of the way of the spray of blood that followed in a well-practiced motion uncanny in its speed. They would win this one.

But still no Dean.

Cas felt a bubbly panic rise up in his chest through the haze of battle as it became clear to him that Dean wasn’t coming back. Even from the other side of the building or from inside, there was no way that Dean had not heard the commotion of such a large fight.

Something was stopping Dean from coming back to him.

“Risa,” he shouted over the din to the woman on his left. “Dean and Trish-”

“I know,” she interjected tersely, hacking the head off of a skeletally thin Croat in a tattered suit. “Retrieval? We’ve got this handled here as long as this all the fucking bastards around.”

“I’m going in,” Cas said quickly, slicing at a particularly bold (stupid) Croat trying to charge him. It crumpled to the ground and twitched once, and was still. Some of its companions fell on the body ravenously, and were subsequently cut down in turn as they began to tear at the corpse. “Leave as soon as you’re able; I’ve got the keys to the main truck. Cover your right,” he warned Risa, and, sensing an opportunity in the parting sea of Croats before him, ran.

He was through the service doors of the building before the Croat hoard could even begin to respond to his escape, and their noises were quickly muffled by the service door as it locked automatically behind him, leaving him in relative quiet.

There were a surprising number of crates and boxes remaining in the storage and unloading zones, either empty or nearly so, and he quickly ascertained the area was, apart from himself, devoid of life or anything of interest to the camp.

Cas.

Dean's sudden prayer hit him like a sledgehammer to the gut.

Aisle... his mental voice trailed off for a second into indistinct sounds, colors, and waves of pain. Aisle seven. It's bad.

Cas shoved through the access door into the freezers, and out into the store with a recklessness he would have been ashamed of had he been so terrified.

He turned down aisle seven and skidded to a halt, frozen at the sight that greeted him, and tried to make sense of the hideously macabre tableau.

Trish's decapitated body lay the furthest from him, her ribcage torn open, her organs spilling over her arms and scattered in pieces over the floor. Three dead Croats, all headshots, around her remains. Then a bloody lake on the cheap linoleum tile, thick and viscous and so, so red, two more dead Croats, clearly more hard-won victories, their arms hacked at, heads partially removed, and nearly blocking the last body from view, wedged up against the shelves and bloody as it was.

"Cas," Dean wheezed, lifting his head laboriously to meet his eyes, blood bubbling up between his lips and staining them. "Cas, I'm so sorry-"

"No, no, don't talk like that," Cas said desperately, kneeling beside Dean. He took their pack of his back with shaking hands and shoved his angel blade somewhere inside. "We can fix this. You'll be okay."

"Cas-"

"You will!" he said, too loudly and startling himself.

"My ribs," Dean panted out in pained little gasps. "Broken. There's something in my back." He twitched minutely as if to show Cas the problem and immediately convulsed involuntarily at the pain the movement caused him, a horrible rattling moan in his throat. "My leg. Right one. Broken too." His jaw was clenched so tightly it was a miracle he could speak at all through the teeth-grinding pain he was in.

"Okay," Cas said faintly.

Cas...

Oh, he hated feeling. Sometimes he thought it made him useless. He missed being cold. Brutal, uncaring about pain or death. But this was Dean, and he'd never actually been particularly good at being a machine, anyway. "Okay. Dean, I need to see your back," he warned him, before moving him as gently as he could and angling his body so that he could get an unobstructed view of his back.

There was a crude metal stake wedged just an inch to the left of his second and third thoracic vertebrae, rusted, twisted and cruel-looking.

"Dean, I- I have to try to heal you," he said slowly, knowing that Dean wouldn't want him to be wasteful with his Grace. But this was beyond what human field medicine could help.

Dean didn't respond. He'd fallen unconscious.

"Oh no, no, no, baby," he babbled under his breath, trying to figure out the best way to extract the bar of metal. "Hold on," he muttered, grasping the stake firmly and bracing Dean's body against his own, trying to avoid fucking his broken ribs up more.

"Father, please, if you're still here, if you're listening, if you care at all," he begged, "help me."

Of course, his Father didn't answer. Gritting his teeth, Cas yanked out the stake and tossed it aside, immediately covering the wound with his hand. He summoned his Grace together and it responded sluggishly, but his hand was glowing and Dean's back was knitting back together.

As the skin merged into a puckered, raw-looking pink scar, Cas dropped his hand away from the wound and found himself utterly breathless, gasping for air and drained.

Dean was still unconscious.

He leaned Dean back up against the shelving and took a moment to figure out what to do next. Dean was still dying. He was still in danger. He couldn't be moved, nor could they stay put. He quickly opened up their pack and realized in horror that all the medical supplies were with Risa and AJ on the trucks and so, so far away by now.

He yanked his coat off with a twinge of regret. It was bloodied and worn and what he was about to do with it felt like a milestone he was loathe to reach.

He shredded it into long, wide strips, not letting himself think of how it was the last piece of Jimmy Novak, or how he had repaid the man's sacrifice by being party to the end of the world they both wanted to protect, or how Claire Novak had stopped praying to him weeks ago, now. He got on with the job, this is just a job, I can fix this-

He managed to wrap Dean's leg up decently tight, straight and stiff, but he had quickly discovered it was broken in several places. He didn't know what he could do for Dean's ribs, and he felt, as if from a distance, how Dean's breath was coming shallower and shallower, and he made his choice.

He laid his left hand on Dean's broken leg, as gently as he could. Leaning forward, he smoothed the wispy little baby hairs he loved to tease Dean about back, off his sweaty, pained, precious face, and, placing his right hand on Dean's crushed ribs, near his heart, touched their foreheads together. He looked at Dean's soul, his shining, beautiful (fading) soul and knew.

"I love you," Cas whispered, his voice wrecked. With that finally said, he grabbed his exhausted, weary Grace, and though it fought him and slipped through his grasp, he got hold of it and he pushed everything he could, everything he was into his hands, into Dean.

When he had done it, when he had drained himself down to mists and vapors, and had saved Dean, he gathered him in his arms, and carried him back to the truck on numb feet, leaving the scraps of Jimmy's coat behind in aisle seven.

When the truck broke down thirty miles from Chitaqua, and their radio too, he turned to Dean, pulling on a blue-ish jacket they'd picked up earlier during the run. It fit well.

"It's a good look for you," Dean said gruffly, staring at Cas with an expression he could not recognize. There was blood still smeared on his cheekbone, he noted absently.

"Oh. Yes. Well, thank you," Cas answered, adjusting the sleeves.

Dean tugged at the tan fabric strips on his leg, wincing at the pressure.

"You did a good job, Cas. With this fabric splint from your coat-"

"I know you won't be able to walk it," Cas said quietly, unable to meet his eyes even as he interrupted him. "I did what I could, but you'll be weak for days. You need time."

"You can leave me, Cas," Dean said, a strange, pinched guilt-pain-tenderness on his face. "You can come back for me."

"No," Cas said, smiling, and choking, and took Dean's cheek in the palm of his hand with a terrible ache rising in his throat. "I can't."

April 19th, 2012, under the peak of the Lyrids meteor showers, Cas flew for the last time, right up to the gates of the camp.

When they landed, a millisecond and millennia later, his wings burned away into nothingness in a wave of electric, minty-white pain that forced him to the ground. In the aftermath, panting and sweating and shaking in Dean's arms and clutching at his handprint on Dean's shoulder, he realized his Grace, or what was left of it, anyway, had consolidated into a bright little ball in his chest. Like a soul.

The realization was followed by another. Despite his earlier conviction that it would one day be lost to him, he could still see Dean's soul- behind his teeth, in his chest, radiant like a halo around his head, and worth, a million times over, and a million again, falling for.

Tagged:

@heller-jensen @sunforgrace @rambleoncas @adhdeancas @evermorecastiel @holmesemrys @plantdadcas @good-things-do-happen-dean @jeanne-de-valois @autisticandroids @sonder-stars @yana125 @faithcastiel @cascreamtiel @seffersonjtarship @i-sing-for-me @purgatorybi @bibelphegor @cowboyslikedean @gracefuldean @dimples-of-discontent @judaskissdean @wafflehousegothic @icaruscastiel @67chevyimpala67 @lesbianjenderenvy

#destiel #destiel fic #endverse!destiel #endverse!cas #not immune to endverse cas i repeat not immune vaccine needed now #my fic #my writing #dean winchester #castiel

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jungkookiebus · 5 years ago

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Dungeons and Dick | jjk

Genre: nonidol!au, boyfriend!jjk, smut, fluff, crack? Pairing: jungkook x reader Word Count: 3.9k Warnings: dirty talk, face fucking, semi-exhibitionism, pussy slapping, ass slapping, rough sex, unprotected sex Summary: Your DnD group meets weekly and this time your DM, who also happens to be your boyfriend, plans on killing one of your party members until you thwart his plan leaving him pissed off and embarrassed. But Jungkook is not so secret about how much it turns him on when all the others have left. Author’s Note: look, I like DnD and I wanted to write about Jungkook’s nerdy ass so sue me. ;) also this might be a hot mess.

You had never seen anything more awful in your entire life, not even in your nightmares. The creature that loomed before you was larger than anything you had encountered before. Your party stood next to you, weapons ready, as you all prepared to face the creature head on. Standing in the underwater cave you had just swam to, almost losing Mando in the process, you were all hoping for a short rest when the creature appeared out of the shadows. Its brown outer shell was covered in algae, seaweed, and barnacles. Its eyes glowed red in the semi darkness and it roared as the tentacles on its chin lashed out at you. You quickly dodged out of the way of one of its swiping pincers and landed right on your feet. Next to you, Tan, pulled out his crossbow and docked it. You watched as he stepped back on his left foot, squinted to line up his shot, and fired. The arrow went neatly into one of the creature’s eyes and its roars echoed in the cave. Just as fast, Tan dropped the crossbow and shifted all his weight to his right foot as he yelled out, energy almost like lightning crackled from his fingers as three beams shot towards the creature. Its screams bounced off the walls and the noise was almost too much as you flinched, covering your ears. Your weapon clattered to the stone floor as you dropped to your knees.

“Lyran!” you heard yelled from across the cavern. Your cleric, Tezu, was maybe fifty feet away from you, halberd in hand as he watched you helplessly.

The creature lunged towards you, pincer open and headed straight where you were kneeling. A clash of metal against the floor, and the sharp light of sparks came into your vision as Tezu dashed across the cavern, halberd hitting the hard stone. Moments before the pincer closed around you, he slid in front of you, on his knees, halberd horizontal to the ground as he thrust it outwards, piercing into the hard shell of the creature. It roared in anger and pain as he jerked the halberd back towards him, pulling it from its grip.

Looking to the side you saw Mando calmly walk closer to the creature, arms outstretched, and you yelled at him to come back, but he didn’t seem to be listening. Saliva dripped from its mouth as it stalked closer to him, knowing it had its prey where it wanted it. But then, as if in moment of revelation, the creature stopped short. It lowered its pincers, tentacles falling limp as it stared dumbly at Mando. Mando’s eyes sparkled as he smiled. Lowering his arms, he looked at the creature for a bit longer before he said, “Go home.”

The creature didn’t even seem to ponder the demand as it slipped into the waters you swam out of and back into the depths. Next to you, Tezu sat back on the ground, winded and tired.

“Good one, Mando,” Tan said while picking his crossbow back up off the ground.

Mando was all smiles as he turned around, jutting his arm up into the air.

“Are you kidding me?!” Jungkook yelled.

“Hey, Dominate Monster is a good spell, man. I knew it’d come in handy when I leveled up.”

Jimin was grinning from ear to ear across the table as Jungkook glared at him from over the DM screen. Jimin had railroaded his efforts into making your party struggle to get to the ancient item.

You sat with your eyes closed listening to the sounds around you. Next to you, Taehyung sat clicking a pen, across the table Hoseok was sifting through some papers, and to your right at the head of the table, Jungkook sat tapping his foot as he shuffled his notes, figuring out what to do next. You heard the telltale sound of plastic against hardwood as someone dropped the contents of their dice bag.

“Shit,” you heard Hoseok mutter under his breath.

The smell of jalapenos from the nachos you just devoured reached your nose as you scratched your face. Beside you, Taehyung started to click the pen faster as he got more antsy. Blindly, you reached out and placed your hand over his. You felt him relax and drop the pen before sitting back in his chair.

“Well,” Jungkook huffed, “what do you guys do next?”

“What else is in this cavern?” Taehyung asked from beside you.

“There’s two doors. One has the carving of a fist on it with two swords behind it and a dragon encircling it.”

You heard Hoseok furiously taking notes and grinned to yourself. You never tried to really remember anything from this campaign. You were chaotic alignment after all.

“The other door has a raven carved onto it and it’s perched on a skull that seems to be balanced on a stack of books.”

“Can I do an arcana check to see if there’s any spells on the door?” Hoseok asked as he grabbed his character sheet.

“Sure,” Jungkook agreed.

Hoseok picked through his dice before grabbing the one he needed, rolling it in his hand, and let it fall to the table.

“That’s a 15 with a plus 2, so 17 arcana check, do I sense anything?”

“Soooo, the door with the fist seems like it has no magic on it, but the raven door is just oozing with magic. Like, it feels like maybe the spell on this door was just recently…I don’t know…renewed or something.”

“Hey guys!” Hoseok perked up as if you hadn’t heard anything Jungkook just said, “This raven door is just riddled with magic.”

“Alright, let’s open it. I walk up and attempt to open the door,” you said as you readied a dice in your hand.

“Wait!” Jimin yelled. “I attempt to stop her before she reaches it.”

“Too late,” Jungkook said, “give me a Constitution saving throw.”

You dropped the dice from your hand and looked at the number, already having memorized your character sheet.

“23.”

“Your arm kinda feels funny for a second, but nothing happens but the door doesn’t open.”

“Okay, warlock man, can you help us out?” you said, turning towards Taehyung.

Taehyung thought for a moment as he tapped his pursed lips, brows furrowed in concentration as he blankly stared at the table.

“What if…,” he started, “neither one of these doors are real?”

“Didn’t the tome say something about three paths?” Hoseok asked, perking up.

“Do you still have True Seeing?” you asked, leaning over and peering down at his sheet. “You do! Use it on me!”

“Okay, I wanna cast True Seeing on _____ and see if she sees anything.”

“What do I see?” you asked turning to Jungkook.

“You do see a third door to the right of the raven door. That door has something that looks like a crown made of flames in front of a castle.”

“A castle we know?”

“No.”

“Can I try to open it?” you asked.

“You can do whatever you want, babe.”

“No babe at the table, Jungkook, you’re the DM and I’m Lyran, your chaotic dwarf bard.”

He rolled his eyes and looked down at his notes.

“I’m gonna open it.”

“As soon as you open the door, there’s a ripple of dark magic and an Efreeti comes out of the door annnddddd I’m going to need all of you to roll for initiative.”

There was a collective groan as everyone gathered themselves for yet another encounter.

As the fight wore on you could tell that Jungkook was trying to kill a party member. The Efreeti was getting every save throw and everyone had taken fire damage at one point. You waited nervously, trying to keep your hit points up enough to pull out the spell Jungkook didn’t know you had. Last time, the party had leveled up and you spent that night restructuring your character.

When it got to your turn, Jungkook turned to look at you with such a cheeky grin that you were almost sad to be the one that would wipe it off. The pure satisfaction you would feel when you killed his elemental would be sweet. You had been adding up the damage everyone was dealing and if your calculations and guess were correct, the creature was probably under 100 hit points.

“Okay,” you breathed as if you weren’t sure what to do. You wanted Jungkook to believe he had won this round. “How far away is he from me?”

“About 70 feet.”

“Perfect. I’m going to move 10 feet and cast Power Word Kill and the word of power I use is…boji*.”

Hoseok’s peals of laughter made Taehyung jump in his seat as he too devolved into a fit of giggles. Jimin slid off his chair as he pointed at Jungkook who blanched.

“If I’m guessing correctly, your Efreeti is under 100 hit points, yes?”

All Jungkook could do was stare, open mouthed, and totally betrayed.

“Your creature’s dead.”

Hoseok screamed with laughter again as he clung to Jungkook’s arm. His attempt to placate a shocked Jungkook wasn’t working through his tears so he gave up and collapsed to the floor. Taehyung pulled you into a side hug so hard you had to push him away.

“We’re done for the night,” Jungkook said while standing and shuffling his papers into a stack before laying the screen down over them.

“Oh, come on!” Hoseok said from the floor.

“You were trying to kill us!” Jimin cried.

“I don’t think he was expecting us all to make it out alive,” Taehyung muttered as you watched Hoseok pull Jimin up from the floor.

“Don’t be mad!” Taehyung half pleaded from his seat. He could not care less how Jungkook felt about you killing his creature. He was already stuffing his keys into his pocket as he dropped his Player’s Handbook and dice bag into his backpack. “I’ve got class in the morning, so I’ll see you guys next week. Jungkook just shoot me a text with the XP I got, or I’ll kill you.” He bent over, placing a kiss to your cheek before waving to everyone else and heading out.

Hoseok and Jimin followed behind soon after. They both lived together a couple of blocks down from your building.

Jungkook was still moping around your apartment as you cleaned the crumbs and extra paper off the table.

“Are you really that mad?” you asked after he hadn’t said a word for quite a few minutes.

“You’re always just railroading me.”

“That’s the point.”

“But every time?!”

“You’re being very childish over a game, JK.”

He turned to you, turning his heated gaze on you as he stalked across the room. He came towards you swiftly with no signs of stopping and you subconsciously backed up until you heard the strange, hollow thunk of your back hitting the picture window. He stood, towering over you as you looked up at him. He looked heated and almost ready to argue until you saw his pupils blow. Reaching behind you, he pulled you by the ass towards him before lifting you up easily, your legs wrapping around his waist, as he practically slammed you into the glass again; the window shaking just a little and causing your muscles to tense even though you knew it’d take greater pressure to break. His lips were on yours swiftly as he used his body weight to keep you trapped against the window as his hands wandered up your waist underneath your shirt. He pressed himself into you as your legs tightened around his waist, fingers tangled in the hair at his nape as he kissed you harder. He reached behind him, grabbed your wrists, and pinned them to the window above you as he continued to kiss you and drag your bottom lip between his teeth.

“You’re so hot when you know what you’re doing,” he whispered as he began to pepper kisses down your throat.

“What? At DnD?” you moaned as your head bumped against the window.

“Yea, even if you do fuck with me.”

You grinned as his teeth grazed the skin of your collarbone, both hands still firmly held above your head.

“Baby, I created that character to fuck with you.”

He practically growled as he ground himself against you. His cock was already rock hard under the rough denim fabric of his jeans. Whimpers escaped your lips as he harshly pushed against the thin fabric of your leggings. His teeth bit into soft skin of your shoulder and his grip on your wrists was bruising as he circled his hips, creating friction against your clit. His breathing was thick and heavy as he tortured himself further. Still keeping you aloft with sheer core strength alone, his other hand was up under your sweater. You gasped as his cold fingertips danced along the underside of your breast; nipples immediately hardening before he even touched them. He cupped and squeezed your breast desperately under the softness of your sweater, causing varying heightened sensations inside of you.

“Just wait until I put you in your place, baby.”

He ground himself even harder against you, knowing you were soaking every bit of fabric between you, desperate for more and willing to do whatever it took. Your hot skin squeaked along the window as your sweater rose with Jungkook’s hand. Without warning, he shifted his weight backwards and your legs slipped down to the floor, thankfully catching yourself before you landed on your ass. His grip on your hands never loosened, however.

He dipped down, face so close that your noses were almost touching as he looked you in the eyes. His flitted back and forth between yours as he seemed to be searching for something. He ran his pointer finger over your lips and your body involuntarily flushed with goosebumps. Bending the tip of his finger, he pulled your lip downward before letting it pop back.

“Can I fuck this pretty mouth of yours?”

Your mouth salivated instantly. “Yes.”

“Good girl.”

He let go of your hands and stood back from you while he started to undo the button on his pants.

You rubbed your sore wrists as you watched him.

“Right here?” you asked quizzically. You turned to look out of the window, very much on display for the rest of the world to see.

“Right here, baby,” he said while stepping out of his jeans. His cock was hard and outlined in his black boxer briefs, but it was when he turned to the side that you saw how hard he was, and you didn’t think twice as you dropped to your knees.

He raised an eyebrow as he turned back to you, a little surprised at your sudden submission. Reaching upwards, you hooked your hands in the band and pulled them down past his thighs. His cock bounced in front of you, red and leaking already. You licked your lips expectantly as you positioned yourself better on your knees, back still to the window. Jungkook’s gaze never wavered from you, nonplussed as he was to be bare in front of the window. Knowing he’d want control you placed both hands on his thighs as you let your mouth drop open, tongue waiting for its prize. He smiled that lopsided smile you always found endearing, but now it took on another personality as he grabbed both sides of your head, guiding your mouth to his cock. Slowly, it laid heavy on your tongue as he slid it in. He moaned as soon as you wrapped your lips around him and relaxed your throat. He hissed as he hit the back of it, causing you to tighten slightly, and waiting a beat before pulling out slowly. His fingers tightened in your hair as he gently thrust into your mouth again, building you up to where he wanted you. You looked upwards as his eyes met yours; his were black as night as his pupils blew even wider while his cock slid easily in and out of your mouth. Minutely, you dug your fingertips into his thighs a little more, signaling that he was okay to do whatever he wanted. Taking a deep breath through your nose you prepared for what was going to come next. He pulled out until the head was about to pop from your lips, eyes never leaving yours before he slammed back into your throat harshly causing you to choke around him.

“Fuck,” he moaned as he held himself there, head thrown back, and his hands tight in your hair.

His thigh muscles tensed under your hands as he thrust with more purpose. His thumbs slipped down your cheeks to the corners of your mouth. Jungkook loved using you this way and the evidence of it across his thumbs as drool slipped from the corners of your mouth, turned him on even more as he swiped the sticky wetness across the apples of your cheeks. Tears slipped from your eyes the more he restricted your breathing and soon your cheeks were soaked. His fingers slid back into your hair, wetting some of it as it stuck to your skin. He pulled your head onto him as he thrust forward. You were soon unable to hold back the choking noises as he fucked your mouth harder and harder, drool slipping down past your chin, sliding down your neck, and wetting the neck of your sweater.

With a gasp from him and an inhale of breath from you, he pulled completely from your mouth and stumbled backwards a few steps, chest heaving with the effort. He grabbed you by the wrist, pulled you up from the floor, and had your body flush with his as he reached around, fingers digging into the seam of your leggings, and pulled. The sound of fabric ripping filled the room as he ripped the ass of your leggings, exposing you to the cold air and window behind you, revealing your lack of panties. You barely had time to catch your breath before he had you bent over the arm of the couch, face buried into the cushions and throw pillows. His hand came down hard on one of your ass cheeks and the sting caused you to cry out as he rubbed a soothing hand over the spot. Not a second later, he landed a slap on the other, letting it sting for a few before he was soothing you once more. Your skin flushed with each connection, the sting sending chills of pleasures to the rest of your body. You shuddered helplessly on the couch as Jungkook landed slap after slap on your ass until you were sure they were just as red as his cock.

“You’re gonna ruin the couch,” he said as he dipped his hand between your legs. You had been absolutely dripping from the beginning and now you could feel it as fresh waves of arousal washed over you.

“Please,” you murmured; cheek pressed against the cushion. You wiggled your ass in an attempt to entice him, but it just landed you another slap that burned deliciously as your skin swelled.

He grabbed handful of your ass cheeks, spreading them to look at your dripping pussy.

“So pretty, baby.”

He rubbed his cock in between them, slowly and tortuously now.

“Fuck, I can’t wait to be inside of you.”

You whined as your fingers bit into the soft fabric, feeling the lines of thread as your fingernails caught in them.

He pushed in just as slowly as he did with your mouth and you couldn’t help the guttural moan that left your throat as he filled you up completely. You felt his hips stutter ever so slightly as your warmth enveloped him. His fingers bit into your waist as his other hand balled your sweater into his fist, creating leverage as he began to fuck you harder and harder. Your hips dug into the arm of the couch painfully as his snapped into you. Your sweater pulled tighter and tighter against your upper body the more he pulled, using every inch of you to fuck himself.

It seemed a moment too soon, when minutes later he pulled out and landed a slap directly against your pussy.

“Shit,” you gasped as you lifted your head, hands grappling with the fabric beneath you as you tried to find purchase and ground yourself to the here and now.

Jungkook had your head spinning anew as he slapped you even harder this time.

“Switch,” he said simply as he pulled you up from the couch.

Your entire body protested as you stiffly stood from the position you had been bent into for so long, but he didn’t care as he sat on the couch, legs spread, and waiting. He braced his hands on your waist as you slung your leg over his and positioned yourself over his cock. He pulled you down, hard, onto him and you cried out as you braced yourself on his shoulders.

“Ride me,” he said through gritted teeth. He was practically shaking as he held onto your waist still.

You rolled your hips the way you knew he liked it and you watched as his eyes rolled back and his head hit the back of the couch, hair fluffing out to the sides as it softly framed his head. Holding onto him tighter, you used him as you lifted yourself now and again, sitting back down hard, before grinding your hips in a way that had you rubbing your clit against his pelvis. Soon, head lifted and through hooded eyes he watched as your body undulated above him, torso still wrapped in soft pink cashmere, hair spilling past your shoulders, and eyes shut in bliss. He pushed your sweater up and over your breasts as he wrapped one arm around your back, bringing you closer, and pulled your nipple into his mouth. He hummed against your skin and you felt yourself gush around his cock as he bit and sucked softly. You felt more than saw him plant his feet firmly on the floor as he took over thrusting into you faster than you were riding him. The force of his thrusts had you bouncing down hard on his cock and you felt the familiar pressure build as your vision clouded with pure pleasure. Heat built inside of you until it felt like a consuming fire.

“That’s it, baby. Come all over me with that pretty pussy. You’re so beautiful, baby,” he muttered breathlessly as your whines became more pitched.

Your body tensed as your breath caught in your throat, coming hard, hands gripping his shoulders, as your mouth fell open, but no sound escaped. Exhaling and then breathing in just as fast, a small scream escaped your lips as he continued fucking you through the orgasm and sending you into yet another intense one before you had time to breathe.

He pulled you up off his cock just enough to reach around and grip himself firmly in his fist, jacking himself off fast and hard as the head of his cock still nudged closely to your entrance. You wrapped your arms around his neck, knees planted firmly into the couch as you brought your lips to his and captured them in a kiss. His thighs began to shake beneath you as you rotated your hips over the head of his cock, his hand working over himself furiously until you felt him come. Hot strings of cum landed against your pussy and dripped down back over himself as he slowed his hand, body jerking every once in a while, with the aftershocks of his orgasm.

Collapsing against him, you were both breathing hard as you came down from your highs.

“Remind me,” you said breathing heavily, “to kill your characters more often.”

*boji or 보지 is the Korean word for cunt, muff, or pussy.

#smutcentralnet #ksmutclub #bangtanarmynet #ficswithluv #btswriterscollective #bts smut #bts au #jungkook smut #jungkook x reader #reader insert #DnD #bts x DnD #jungkook #nonidol!au #boyfriend!jjk

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theworldbrewery · 4 years ago

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manual monday!

here at The World Brewery, we finally got our hands on that most basic of tools, the Player’s Handbook.

as a consequence, today I’m unpacking an oft-overlooked section of the PHB: “The Environment,” spanning pages 183-185 for those following along at home.

this section is professed as rules covering “the most important ways in which adventurers interact with the environment” in dungeons and dangerous places. so, naturally, it begins with the rules on Falling.

Falling

Unless your PCs can fly, falling can be a deeply dangerous thing. the rulebook mainly states that a creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage per 10 feet fallen, to a max of 20d6 (read: after 200ft, you’re probably screwed no matter the change in distance). For context, falling 200ft will deal an average of 70 damage. For a low-level PC, that’s instant death; for a mid-level PC, it’s instant unconsciousness, but not necessarily insta-kill. Crucially, you also land prone, which means in battle, a hostile creature can attack (in melee) with advantage.

But most falls are not, in fact, 200ft. More often, a fall is 10, maybe 20--the depth of a pit trap, or a few stories if the party is in a cave system and goes down a vertical tunnel unexpectedly.

It does not, however, discuss how to handle rolling for these things. In the case of pit traps, the DMG does have handy guides on perceiving traps, but notably does not require a saving throw to evade falling. As far as the DMG is concerned, if you miss the signs of an imminent fall, you can’t avoid it.

However, many DMs house-rule in a Dex save, either to avoid falling altogether, or to reduce the overall damage. In that case, I recommend Dex checks when a character is trying to maneuver around a trap or chasm, and Dex saves to potentially halve the damage of a fall by bracing for impact.

Suffocating

Every PC can hold its breath for 30 seconds, regardless of how bad their Con modifier is. The PHB does not specify whether or not a creature has to make some kind of check if they start suffocating suddenly, so as a general rule, I would go with no. That is, if a character is surprised in combat and the enemy holds a bag over their head, they still get their usual held-breath amount before they start suffocating. Use suffocation judiciously--it’s less a combat mechanic and more a feature of underwater passages, areas filled with natural gas, or other terrain effects.

When you run out of air, you do get at least 1 round before you drop to 0 HP and are dying. This has everything that comes with it, including Death Saves, falling prone, and all the rules of the unconscious condition.

Vision and Light

Vision is hotly contested, frequently brought up, and oft-misused. According to the PHB, we can divide light into 3 categories: Bright light, Dim light, and Darkness. In bright light, most creatures have normal vision; overcast skies, torches, and lanterns generally provide bright light. Dim light refers to twilight or dawn hours or the area around an area of bright light. Darkness is present at night, even when the moon is out, in unlit areas, or in magical darkness.

The rules of light intersect with the rules of obscured areas. Lightly obscured areas can be caused by dim light as well as weather effects like fog, or terrain effects like some foliage. In a lightly obscured area, creatures have disadvantage on perception checks--but a reminder that creatures with Darkvision are able to see normally when the obscured area is caused by dim light. Similarly, heavily obscured areas include darkness and more opaque versions of other obstructions (fog, foliage)--so again, creatures with Darkvision are not affected by the rules of heavily obscured areas when it comes to darkness. And that’s a good thing, too--because creatures are effectively blinded when trying to see a heavily obscured area.

Blindsight similarly is not affected by these rules of light and obscurity, nor are creatures with Truesight.

Food and Water

I’ll be honest, I don’t know any DMs who care about tracking food and water--largely because PCs can afford to stock up well on rations. However, there are moments when it can be useful: say the water supply was poisoned by an enemy, and the party is trying to survive without it. In the wilderness, they may need to find a water source before starting to accrue exhaustion-- which makes them weaker and weaker. Worse, when it comes to food and water, if you already have a level of exhaustion, going without food or water causes two levels of exhaustion to be added, rather than just one, so the effects are increasingly dire with time. Now, characters can usually ration just fine, but again--if food is eaten by a hungry pack of rats, or spoiled by a regional effect like intense heat, the rations may dwindle and characters could have to spend time dealing with that.

If that sounds intensely boring, no big deal! Either ignore the consequences of food and water entirely, or use them to lead characters to other storylines. For instance, running low on rations might make characters explore an area in search of wild game, and from there they stumble upon a den of Giant Elk...which have made their home near the entrance of a mysterious ruin. Seeking water might be dull until the local water source is being contaminated by evil magic, and the party has to find a solution or die of dehydration. Not to be overused, but these are certainly options to incorporate these rules.

Interacting with Objects

Most objects are up to the DM’s discretion--requiring a Strength check to move a rusted lever, for instance--but there are more guidelines when it comes to breaking objects: objects are immune to poison and psychic damage, but they can be attacked. The DM sets an object’s AC and hit points, and adds in any other caveats for damaging an object. When it comes to saving throws, they are immune to all saves except Strength and Dexterity, which they automatically fail. Objects break when they reach 0HP. Strength checks can also be used to break an object outright, using the DM’s DC.

In house-rule terms, a DM might also decide to add a check of Intelligence or Wisdom for a character to determine how to use an unfamiliar object. I would use something like that sparingly, though, since most objects are fairly intuitive and you don’t want to accidentally give a PC the power to use an item when it would normally require proficiency to use. In my own game, such rolls apply for properly using tools that a character lacks proficiency in, as well as situations where characters are faced with totally unfamiliar or even alien technology.

#d&d #dnd #phb #dungeons and dragons #manual monday

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tigerkirby215 · 4 years ago

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5e Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty build (My Little Pony: FIM)

(Artwork by 14-bis on DeviantArt. It’s remarkably hard to find “regular” artwork of Rainbow Dash, but it probably helps that I’m looking on DeviantArt.)

From DOTA to garbage brony shit! Anyone who’s been around either my YouTube or DeviantArt (no I’m not linking them) would know I’m a brony. It’s been awhile since I’ve watched the show but I do still genuinely love the community. Say what you will but the brony community is dedicated, artistic, and genuinely friendly.

I came up with this concept awhile ago on r/whatwouldyoubuild and once again in an attempt to branch out from League of Legends I figured I’d take a crack at probably the most iconic pony of the show. Yeah suck it Twilight you may be the main character but do you have spectrum hair?

GOALS

10 seconds flat - Rainbow needs to fly fast; fast enough to make a sonic boom of color.

Time to take out the adorable trash - SUPER ACTION HORSE; SHE REALLY KICKS!

Egghead - Rainbow’s got a colorful personality, with plenty of quips in the heat of the moment.

RACE

Pegasi fly. You know what D&D race is known for flight? Aarakocra! Flight is basically all you get as an Aarakocra, but you get to fly a whopping 50 feet as early as level 1! Other than that you get some Ability Score increases: a +2 to Dexterity but I’d suggest moving that Wisdom increase to your Charisma instead thanks to Tasha’s. The only other important thing of note is that you get Talons that do a d4 slashing damage; perhaps more of a gryphon thing but if you DM lets you deal bludgeoning damage instead you could consider these to be hooves.

If Aarakocra isn’t allowed: Flight is kinda a requirement to play Rainbow Dash, but it’s not a requirement for the build. Feel free to use whatever race you want and adapt this build to it.

Chances are if your DM isn’t allowing Aarakocra then they won’t allow other flying races like Winged Tieflings. Though I would perhaps suggest asking your DM if you can nerf the Aarakocra’s fly speed down to 30. Because yeah: 50 foot flying speed at level 1 is kinda crazy.

ABILITY SCORES

15; STRENGTH - Applejack may be the workerpony but it takes a lot of body strength to kick the clouds into shape!

14; CONSTIUTION - Dexterity would be more in-character but Constitution is far more useful. Feel free to swap CON and DEX for better roleplay but worse health.

13; CHARISMA - I’m pretty sure RD has a solid 70% of the fan content made about her specifically.

12; DEXTERITY - Who would’ve ever guessed that flying fast takes dexterity?

10; WISDOM - Rainbow Dash can be a bit of a hot head at times, acting without thinking when her ambition gets the better of her.

8; INTELLIGENCE - Finish studying for that exam yet?

BACKGROUND

For someone who uses the Athlete feat in far too many builds it’s rather surprising that I don’t use the Athlete background from Theros more! As an Athlete you get proficiency in Athletics and Acrobatics for all sorts of aerial sports, along with a language of your choice (pick your fancy) and while you’d normally get Land Vehicles see if your DM will perhaps allow Air Vehicles?

Your main feature Echoes of Victory makes it more likely that ponies all around Equestria have heard of the great Rainbow Dash! It also allows you to participate in some sporting events to earn a living when you’re not at work clearing the clouds.

(Artwork by nightcreepmax on DeviantArt.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - ROGUE 1

Starting off with Rogue levels because skill proficiencies are always nice! Take Perception, Persuasion, Insight, and of course Performance with a backing track by Daniel Ingram! You also get Expertise in two skills: Athletics and Acrobatics will help with Wonderbolts-tier stunts!

You learn Thieves’ Cant as a Rogue, which is like a language... but awesome, and only shared by other awesome Rogues. But of course the main appeal of a Rogue is their Sneak Attack, allowing you do an extra d6 of damage through the power of friendship! (Or having advantage on your attacks.)

You can only sneak attack with a finesse weapon but I’d suggest wielding something like a rapier and flavoring it as a really sharp horseshoe. See if your DM will allow you a bludgeoning finesse weapon.

LEVEL 2 - ROGUE 2

You’ve heard of Rainbow Dash, now get ready for Rainbow Disengage! Cunning Action lets you Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a Bonus Action.

LEVEL 3 - BARBARIAN 1

I hope you didn’t expect Rainbow Dash to be the sneaky type! Barbarians get Unarmored Defense at level 1, so you can ditch the leather jacket and instead get AC equal to your Constitution plus your Dexterity!

But of course the main appeal of playing a Barbarian is the ability to Rage with the power of friendship! You can enter a Rage as a Bonus Action for advantage on strength checks and saves, extra damage on melee attacks using strength, and resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. Your Rage lasts 1 minute but ends early if you are knocked down or go a full round without attacking or being attacked.

You may note that you can only use strength for Rage’s damage bonus damage, which of course conflicts with the Rogue’s requirement for Finesse weapons... Guess what! You can use strength with Finesse weapons, meaning you can Sneak Attack with your strength!

LEVEL 4 - BARBARIAN 2

Second level Rogues get to play with danger! Reckless Attack lets you give yourself Advantage on your attack rolls at risk of enemies having Advantage against you. Now here’s where you cheat the system: if you have advantage on an attack... you can sneak attack! “Oh yeah; that is awesome.”

Additionally: do you know what helps with death-defying stunts? Looking forward. Danger Sense gives you advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects you can see coming. So if someone throws a ball of fire at you just dodge out of the way!

LEVEL 5 - BARBARIAN 3

Third level Barbarians get to choose their Primal Path, and to smite your foes with the power of awesomeness the Path of the Zealot will let you channel a Rainboom into every hit! While raging, you can channel Divine Fury into the first target you hit to do additional damage equal to a d6 plus half your Barbarian level. The damage can be either Radiant or Necrotic; Radiant makes more sense but if you think Necrotic damage would be more useful it’s nice to have that option.

You also have the power of plot armor thanks to Warrior of the Gods. If you die you can be revived without the use of expensive diamonds, because My Little Pony is a kids’ show. Man can you imagine if they killed off one of the main characters in a kids’ show? That would be wild.

Additionally Tasha’s provided Barbarians with Primal Knowledge for some more skill proficiencies. I’m sure you picked up on some Survival skills at Wonderbolts camp; it’s good to be able to survive if you break your wings and get stranded in the wilderness.

(Artwork by radiostarkiller on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 6 - BARBARIAN 4

4th level Barbarians get our first Ability Score Improvement: as much of a meme as taking Athlete is Resilient (Strength) is far more useful for keeping alive and avoiding danger.

LEVEL 7 - BARBARIAN 5

5th level Rogues get an Extra Attack, so you can attack twice in a round! So awesome! Additionally your movement speed increases by 10 feet thanks to Fast Movement, so you’re a little closer to reaching Sonic Rainboom speeds!

LEVEL 8 - ROGUE 3

Third level Rogues get to choose their Roguish Archetype. Man I wish there was a Rogue that was based on moving fast and taunting their foes... oh hello Swashbuckler! Swashbuckler gets two features at third level but it’s basically 3 features in total: Fancy Footwork lets you dash move normally away from a target you attempted to stab, making them unable to attack you with a reaction.

Rakish Audacity meanwhile lets you add your Charisma to your initiative rolls, and it lets you Sneak Attack an enemy in melee if they don’t have friends nearby, even if you don’t meet the requirements to Sneak Attack! Of course you could just use Reckless Attack for Advantage to Sneak Attack, but at least your Sneak Attack increases to 2d6!

LEVEL 9 - ROGUE 4

4th level Rogues get another Ability Score Improvement: more Strength will let you “kick” (read: stab) harder.

(Artwork by Skitsroom on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 10 - ROGUE 5

5th level Rogues get Uncanny Dodge to be as potent as a pony. If you get hit on your turn by an attack you can see you can use your reaction to take half damage instead! Additionally your Sneak Attack damage increases to 3d6.

LEVEL 11 - ROGUE 6

6th level Rogues get Expertise in two more skills: Persuasion will be useful in the future, and Perception will help you mind your head.

LEVEL 12 - ROGUE 7

7th level Rogues get Evasion for some truly death-defying stunts! If you succeed on a Dexterity saving throw you’ll take no damage instead of half damage, and even if you fail your save you’ll only take half damage instead of full damage! “Danger is my middle name!” Additionally your Sneak Attack damage is now 4d6.

LEVEL 13 - ROGUE 8

8th level means another Ability Score Improvement: cap off that Strength so that you can succeed at any athletics contest. “Look ma; no wings!”

LEVEL 14 - ROGUE 9

9th level Rogues can make quips that bronies will buy tee-shirts of. Panache lets you taunt, or lets you charm! As an action, you can make a Persuasion check contested by a creature’s Insight. The creature must be able to hear you, and the two of you must share a language.

If it’s an enemy it’ll have disadvantage to hit anyone who isn’t you, which is good because you’re a bulky Barbarian girl. The effect lasts for 1 minute but ends early if one of your friends hits them.

Alternatively if that person was just some average everypony, you can charm them! Everyone’s friends with Rainbow Dash, after all! Unless you’re not, obviously. Then you can have a 5d6 Sneak Attack!

(Artwork by Dawnf1re on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 15 - BARBARIAN 6

6th level Zealot Barbarians gain a Fanatical Focus. Once per Rage if you fail a saving throw you can reroll it, because you’re a main character and you’re just that awesome.

LEVEL 16 - BARBARIAN 7

7th level Barbarians get Feral Instinct: so you know how you’re adding your Charisma to your initiative? Well now you have advantage on initiative checks too! Additionally, being around Pinkie Pie means that you know how to react to surprises: and that reaction is to RAGE!

Additionally Tasha’s gives you Instinctive Pounce, letting you move half your movement speed when you Rage. So it’s like half a dash!

LEVEL 17 - BARBARIAN 8

8th level Barbarians get another Ability Score Improvement and I’ll leave this up to you: more Charisma will give you better initiative and an easier time taunting your foes, but more Constitution means more health and armor.

Just decide if you want to be an awesome fighter or have awesome one-liners. Either way you’ll be awesome!

(Artwork by Underpable on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 18 - BARBARIAN 9

You know how you’re probably rolling most things with Advantage? Well Brutal Critical allows you to add an extra weapon damage die to any crit you might make. So instead of 2d8 + 12d6 + 4, it’ll be 3d8 + 12d6 + 4. “Another great feat of heroism!”

LEVEL 19 - BARBARIAN 10

10th level Zealot Barbarians are so awesome everyone else can benefit from their awesomeness. Zealous Presence will let you use your Bonus Action to give all allies within 60 feet advantage on attack rolls and saving throws until the start of your next turn. You can only use this ability once per Long Rest, so save that Rainboom to truly turn the tide!

Additionally Tasha’s Primal Knowledge gives you another skill proficiency, so take Animal Handling to take the Tank as the tank.

LEVEL 20 - BARBARIAN 11

11th level Barbarians get plot armor, because they’re in a kids’ show. If you’re knocked down to 0 HP Relentless Rage allows you to make a DC 10 CON save while raging to instead drop to 1. You can make this save multiple times but the DC increases by 5 every time and well... your Constitution isn’t exactly earth-shattering, so you’ll probably get two uses out of this at best. Still: defying death twice is more than enough to beat the bad guys! I mean probably.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

I liked it... A LOT - So. Your weapon does a d8 + 5 of damage, your Sneak Attack does 5d6, your Rage does a d6 + 8, and if you crit all your dice get multiplied and you get to add an extra d8 on top of that. In short: you can do a total of 1d8 + 6d6 + 13 damage with one hit (average of 42 damage), or 3d8 + 12d6 + 13 damage on a crit! (Average of 76 damage!)

Seriously; I’d do it for anypony - You work fine alone but the Elements of Harmony work best with friends. Panache helps you keep your friends safe and Zealous Presence lets you make them awesome!

I hate losing - You’re certainly tanky with nearly 200 health, but you know what’s exceptionally fun? Cheating death near constantly. You’ve got two chances to go down to 1 HP instead of 0 while raging, and if they do happen to knock you down Rarity won’t have to sacrifice any diamonds to bring you back! No need for a robotic Rainbow Dash today!

CONS

If I go down, I’m going down flying! - Your AC isn’t great, as you had to invest everything into Strength to be able to smash people big time. Well at least you can wear Medium Armor right? Oh wait you can’t because armor will stop you from using your wings.

Want to know the opposite of agility? That! - So I like level 1 in Rogue for skill proficiencies (by the way you have a surprising amount of them thanks to Tasha’s), but while DEX saves are really nice with both Evasion and Danger Sense you’re lacking Constitution saves. And I mean, let’s not address the elephant in the room of your pitiful Wisdom and Charisma saves.

This competition isn’t for the weak - This build is rather MAD, requiring high Strength, Constitution, Charisma, and at least 13 in DEX. I’m just saying that this might be a build you want to point buy for: put 12 into DEX (+2 from race makes it 14) and 14 in Strength, Constitution, and Charisma. Heck, you can even get one of them up to a 15 with Point Buy!

But ponies aren’t just born awesome. (I mean, they are. Have you seen that mane?) You’ve gotta work to be awesome! Fight the good fight for your friends and save Equestria from both basic friendship troubles and world-ending villains! Participate in a few races while you’re at it and maybe try to find a pet too. Heck, maybe read a book too while you’re at it. You egghead.

(Artwork by JaDeDJynX on DeviantArt.)

#dnd #dnd build #dnd guide #dnd Rogue #dnd Barbarian #My Little Pony #Friendship is Magic #rainbow dash #brony #my little brony

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katemarley · 4 years ago

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Open My Eyes (Let Me See You)

Fandom: Mó Dào Zǔ Shī /Chén Qíng Lìng/The Untamed Pairing: XiYao Characters: Jīn Guāngyáo, Lán Xīchén Rating: T

Summary: Problems keep piling up for Jin Guangyao during the night hunt at Phoenix Mountain. Lan Xichen gladly provides some stress relief. (“Missing Scene” set during ch. 69-70 of the novel.)

Written for Jin Guangyao Month on Twitter. Also available on AO3 (see the link in my profile).

A note on the canon this fic follows: It’s essentially novel canon (aka no members of the Wen Sect as living targets in the beginning – I’d have needed LXC to comment on that otherwise). However, while LXC refers to JGY politely as “Lianfang-zun” in Ch. 70 of the novel, he switches from “Meng-xiong” to “A-Yao” for good in between their first meeting in Ep. 4 of CQL and the battle at Nightless City in Ep. 23. That means the change in address must have happened while Meng Yao has saved LXC after his flight from Cloud Recesses, and I’m here for that.

Open my eyes, let me see you And blow this blinding darkness away —The Rasmus: Open My Eyes

The night hunt at Phoenix Mountain had been planned in minute detail. Jin Guangyao had studied the outlines of previous night hunts, the number of participants as well as that of the prey. He had enriched these older calculations with his own estimates and knowledge of the participants. There was nothing that could have gone wrong.

Or so he had thought.

It was less than an hour after the start of the hunt. He stood on one of the watchtowers, looking on helplessly as his whole planning was coming apart at the seams.

He had miscalculated, Jin Guangyao realised. As he had relied on the estimates of previous years, he had failed to account for the unprecedented effects of Wei Wuxian’s dizi playing. What was more, he had utterly underestimated Chifeng-zun’s hunting abilities – and that was something he should have seen coming. Few people knew Nie Mingjue better than him and yet, he had not expected anyone to eliminate half of the fey and the monsters on the hunting grounds within the first hour.

Beads of cold sweat started to appear on Jin Guangyao’s brow. All he could do now was expand the hunting grounds and increase the number of prey. But how? The original planning had taken weeks, and now he had to troubleshoot not one but two gross miscalculations within mere hours.

Jin Guangyao winced. Realistically speaking, he didn’t even have “hours” but one hour at maximum before people would start to notice.

Hastily, he mounted Hensheng to alert the helpers of the Jin Sect and to have them expand the hunting ground. Even with their concerted effort, he couldn’t be sure to succeed. Specifically, he could never be sure that just because the hunting grounds were expanded, the number of prey would expand in equal measure… But it was his best bet, and he had to do all that was within his power.

After he had alerted the last group of helpers, Jin Guangyao trudged to a fallen tree and slumped down on it. He knew this wasn’t the time to rest. Yet, there was so little energy left within him – spiritual or otherwise – that he couldn’t find the strength within himself to set out looking for more prey.

He sighed and closed his eyes to meditate; to channel the leftover scraps of energy that might save him from disappointing his father…

But there was no time.

Jin Guangyao started to tremble. There had to be a way to pull himself up by his own bootstraps, if only he could bring himself to think harder…

Suddenly, he felt fabric brush against his face. He opened his eyes.

Someone was blocking his vision with a sleeve. Someone who also put a long, slender hand on his shoulder.

Jin Guangyao relaxed. He would have recognised that hand anywhere.

“And there I thought I wouldn’t get my A-Yao alone today.” The chuckle in Lan Xichen’s voice was enough to melt Jin Guangyao’s tension. It made him lean into the hand on his shoulder – gently, gently, because Er-ge was so gentle himself.

“I thought I could surprise you,” Lan Xichen continued, lowering his sleeve as he pulled some of Jin Guangyao’s hair back from his face. A calloused fingertip brushed his jawline, making his whole body hum.

It had always been like this. One gentle touch and he was done for.

“Turns out you were just allowing me to get close to you,” Lan Xichen whispered, brushing his lips against skin he had only just revealed.

Jin Guangyao arched into the touch, debating with himself if he should tell his er-ge the truth. There was a good chance that Lan Xichen would help him expand the hunting grounds, but it would also mean admitting to an embarrassing lack of alertness…

Well, he could have one without having the other, couldn’t he?

He rose, Lan Xichen shifting with him unprompted. In a split-second decision, he stepped on the fallen tree.

Lan Xichen held him. Of course he did. Turning in his arms, Jin Guangyao found himself face to face with this gentle man whose smile always brought out the best of him. Jin Guangyao smiled back – not his polite, public smile but a private, genuine one that he kept for special occasions.

Lan Xichen was, in a way, the most special occasion of Jin Guangyao’s life.

The trunk gave him about the same advantage in height Lan Xichen usually had over him, so for once, it was Jin Guangyao who could stoop down and tilt up his lover’s face as he stole a kiss. Lan Xichen grinned, patiently craning his neck for more.

This time, Jin Guangyao kissed him in earnest. Lan Xichen’s arms slipped from his waist to his shoulders, effectively holding him against his body as he deepened the kiss. Then he made one small step back. There was a little hitch at the back of Jin Guangyao’s throat as his feet lost contact with the fallen tree. Lan Xichen was now holding him in the air as if it was nothing, as if he didn’t weigh more than a feather – or a xiao, for that matter.

Sometimes Jin Guangyao had the wild thought that being Liebing had to be perfect – gentle touches for the rest of his life and Lan Xichen’s lips forever near him in an almost-kiss… Then he remembered all the things he also wanted – recognition from his father and respect from other cultivators, most of all – and pushed the thought aside. Living for love sounded like a good idea in theory, but there were other things to strive for, and he had already come so far…

He broke the kiss.

“Put my feet to the ground, er-ge”, he hummed against Lan Xichen’s lips. Lan Xichen complied – he always did – but stole another kiss in doing so.

“Walk with me?” Lan Xichen asked. “I hardly got to see you these past weeks since you spent so much time preparing for this night hunt.”

“I wish I could, but…” Jin Guangyao sighed. It was a measured sigh – a tool to gain Lan Xichen’s attention. “As it turns out I did not spend enough time preparing.”

“I can hardly believe that!” Lan Xichen said with such conviction that Jin Guangyao almost laughed. “Everything you do is so meticulous, elegant and flawless—”

“I’m afraid it’s true. I’ve already set out to expand the hunting grounds because—”

They both froze.

Not too far from them, people were yelling.

“Is that Jin Zixun?” Jin Guangyao winced. “I will have to find out what is going on,” he said with an apologetic smile and an internal sigh. He was exhausted and had a sea of problems, but trust his cousin to make even more trouble…

“I’m coming with you,” Lan Xichen said in a tone that brooked no dissent, unsheathing Shuoyue already. Jin Guangyao didn’t argue.

As he stepped on Hensheng, an unobtrusive arm wrapped around his waist. He turned to Lan Xichen and was met with the most tender smile.

“Thank you.”

Notes:

With some nudging from a friend, I started MDZS a while ago. While reading the novel, I came to enjoy the suspenseful and dramatic elements of the story. While watching the donghua, Jiang Cheng snuck into my heart as my favourite character. While watching CQL, I ended up shipping XiYao – bless Liu Haikuan and Zhu Zanjin for looking at each other like that throughout the whole series! Also, heart-wrenching emotional pain with a fallible character who’d make an excellent protagonist in an English Renaissance tragedy? Sign me the hell up!

Oh, if you know of a XiYao Discord server – please, please, please DM me an invite! I need people and a place to nerd about these two (and my ever-growing Gothic rock/metal playlist for this pairing).

#xiyao #lan xichen #jin guangyao #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #cql #mdzs fanfiction #cql fanfiction #fanfiction #my fanfiction #katemarley

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smuttymess · 4 years ago

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bts astro soulmate reading | for ellen

sign: leo sun | aries moon | scorpio rising

lover: Park Jimin | soulmate: Kim Seokjin

This reading is for the beautiful, smart, lovely Ellen! I really had fun writing this one as I think this is truly a match made in heaven. Hope you enjoy too :)

Action-oriented, strong-willed and enthusiastic, Leo Suns are truly a force to behold. Add in a fiery Aries Moon and you've got yourself a powerhouse who will work tirelessly to achieve any goal they set their mind to - be it a seemingly impossible project at work or playing matchmaker to a notoriously picky bestie. A big-picture thinker, you live in the here and now, focusing less on fantasy and more on the expansive potential of your reality. Supported by your innate self-confidence that radiates from your soul, you are a naturally charming and strong leader, bringing people together and making beautiful things happen (see: events!) Scorpio is a curious sign as it has the intensity of fire, but all within the magnificent depths of water as its core element. While your Aries Moon and Leo Sun is a roaring fire that burns passionately and bright, your Scorpio rising - which dictates how you present yourself - often results in a cooler exterior, with an incredible emotional current flowing just beneath the surface. To those who first meet you, you are seemingly reserved and aloof - avoiding frivolity and small talk like the plague - preferring instead to simply listen, observe and absorb before revealing your true self. This is to your benefit, as your Leo/Aries combination often lends to bluntness, sharp words, and sometimes hurt feelings - the Scorpio rising dials that back a bit, making you more cautious with your language but also perhaps standoffish at times. Despite this occasionally ice exterior, you are very keen to connect with people on a deep, emotional level, and nobody knows this better than the people closest to you. While you have many friends and admirers, there are only a select few that get full access to your heart - and to them you are unfailingly loyal, warm, compassionate, reliable, and generous. Once your trust is earned, you are likely to give your all in your work, familial, and romantic relationships - your love is big, bold, and boundless. Unlike more passive, agreeable signs, you definitely expect equal love in return - Leo/Aries needs praise, recognition, and appreciation for all of your fabulousness, and like a true fire sign, you're not afraid to ask for it. A goal-setter, there is nothing you do in life that isn't deliberate or without meaning. Your desire is to leave an impact, making your mark on the world with your own fiery personal brand, and its likely that your influence already spans further than you realize.

A true connector and creator, you naturally seek ways of construction experiences that meet your expectations and exceptional taste levels - who better than you? Being a lover of fantasy and spectacle, nobody is surprised when you create a Studio 54-inspired pop-up party, wherein you show off your curves in your best 70s get up. Blissed out in a sea of glitter, sequins, and champagne, you are simply shining beneath the dazzling lights as disco floats through the air. The tone of the evening is simply fabulous, and surrounded by friends new and old you are truly in your element. You are unstoppable, the star of tonight's show, and the only thing that could make it better is a dance with the beautiful stranger sauntering around the club in his perfectly tailored bellbottoms and silky button down shirt like he owns the place. Wanting nothing but the best in your life, you are attuned to the fact that you want him, strategically positioning yourself in the middle of the dance floor as the music plays and meeting his eyes with an inviting stare. With ample confidence and mysterious aura in your arsenal, Park Jimin does not stand a chance once your sights are set, and it is not long before you two find yourselves immersed in each other's company under the flashing lights and the sheer electricity of the evening you've created. You tend to leave people wanting more, so you are not surprised to find the flirty Libra boy in your DMs the next morning. So, when is the next party?

Developing from a flirtatious friendship into something a bit more fun, Leo and Libra are an instant hit. This is a combination of fire and air, with Jimin acting as the wind beneath your sails as the easy, go-with-the-flow, partner in crime for all of your big schemes. Possessing an innate love of beauty, of fantasy, and romance, Jimin provides a level of optimism that your fantastical mind requires - he genuinely believes that there is nothing you cannot accomplish, helping your dreams along to become a reality. A Libra's extremely affable, adoring nature is like kryptonite to the romantic Leo who does not know the meaning of too much praise. It is no surprise when these two meet it is nothing short of a whirlwind relationship, with Jimin doting on your every wish without hesitation. The combination of Jimin's Libra Sun and Gemini Mercury makes him expertly aware of how to charm you, giving you exactly what you need at the right time. A true people-pleaser, you are delighted to find Jimin highly amenable to your emotions and desires, wanting nothing more than to ensure you are content. When you feel the genuine nature of this person that simply wants you to be happy - and unwavering loyalty of his Gemini moon - you are able to fully let down the walls posed by your more mysterious, reserved Scorpio rising that initially avoids vulnerability so soon. As Leo and Libra falls in love, there is an infinite level of romance and adoration. Suddenly, you find that you are in fact a hopeless romantic, loving being that sickening couple that sits next to each other in the corner of wine bars. He helps you slow down to access a more sensual side of your sign, your fingers intertwined underneath the table in a playful exchange while his hands graze your thigh despite. Jimin's Gemini Mercury allows for a bit of mystery and impulsivity, and there is something exciting to you about not knowing what you're going to get from him on any given day - while he can easily seduce you, is more than happy to let your more assertive Aries Moon take control when the mood strikes.

While Leo and Libra are typically quite compatible, there are some underlying issues presented by your charts. While you enjoy Jimin's free-flowing nature and desire to please, you become unsettled when this behavior is not just limited to you. His eagerness to please makes him quite susceptible to peer pressure, something that you simply cannot relate to with your heightened sense of independence. When he shows up late for date night, flushed and tipsy after a couple of extra rounds with the boys, you grow less amused by this side of his persona which you begin to see as inherently weak. Additionally, his moody, sensitive Moon in Gemini combined with a Venus in Scorpio makes him an especially possessive partner, not fully allowing you to be the social butterfly you are at your core and also requiring a level of affection and attention that you cannot always provide. When you feel that your needs are not being met to the level you expect, your Leo bluntness alongside the sting of your Scorpio rising are likely to hurt the softer Libra who is effectively allergic to criticism or discomfort in their personal and romantic lives, causing him to retreat. This only serves to exacerbate the problem, leading you to end the relationship on a swift and final note.

Always on the move and averse to any type of wallowing, Leo Sun/Aries Moons are constantly ideating, creating new ways to have fun and enjoy life to the fullest. You are truly the architect of your life, moving on your own terms which often leads you in the pursuit of food, travel, music or any other experience wherein you can connect on a sensory level with the world around you. Travel to another city for a concert? Consider tickets booked. Try a foreign cuisine completely unknown to you? Why not! Your friends are more than happy to go along for the ride, knowing that wherever you're going is where they want to be. You enjoy activities which showcase your profoundly adventurous, spirited nature. Independent and proud, you adore a challenge but not known for asking for help even when you need it say, during your first foray into rock climbing experience at a facility in the mountains. Despite your assuredness that you've got this (you don't!) it is when you're stuck midway through the advanced wall you insisted on climbing that a pair of big, strong hands are firmly grabbing the harness around your waist and steadily guiding you back down to earth. Before you can even process all that just occurred, your eyes widen at the sight of the gorgeous man in front of you shaking his head in disapproval. "You weren't listening to my instructions at all, were you?" His words are stern, but his eyes bright and lips pursed into a smile as he senses your competitiveness. In true Leo form you're soon able to charm your way out of what potentially could have been a lawsuit, enjoying taking to the smoke show who reintroduces himself as Kim Seokjin before explaining the basics you so diligently ignored. Impressed, you remain composed despite the incredible visual of Jin swiftly scaling the wall with ease. Like this, see? Our Sagittarius Jin is not always extroverted, but certainly has the confidence to ask for what he wants, and it's not long before he's proposing a 1:1 lesson in the very near future. Your Scorpio rising knows to play it cool but also when to seize an opportunity, and undoubtedly this one is too good to pass up.

This is a duo that may play a few games in the early phases of dating, but one ignited there is no extinguishing this spark. Jin's Sagittarius Sun is an ideal match for your Leo Sun as you share a warm, good-natured aura that you exude in every area of your life - its one of your signature qualities that you find most attractive in yourself and others. While there is a lot of ego in this pairing - both of you aware of your individual greatness but also in each others - you find a true partner matching your profound level of adventure, curiosity, and genuine experiences. This manifests itself in somewhat of a condensed dating phase, equipped with elaborate dates wherein the sky truly is the limit. Such a fiery countless hours together bonding over both new and shared interests - think skiing in Aspen, racing on a closed-course, a food tour of Rome - allowing them to show off their own skills while igniting their competitive fire while learning something new. Initially there is likely to be more of an investment in fun than an emotional commitment - a Sagittarius's specialty - and were it not for your other placements this could easily dissolve into a longstanding friends-with-benefits or fun summer fling. Luckily, your compatibility is deepened exponentially by several specific pairings that overlap and compliment each other. Two Moons in Aries are equally ambitious, fair, independent and honest, and you both take pride in this character trait that you are so appreciated for and allows you to be extremely successful in work and your social circles. Once you begin to explore the "why" behind your ambition - your desire for connection, improving humanity, making an impact - you are both able to open up into a deeper level of emotional understanding that few others get to access.

It is here that you find true romance, with his Venus in Capricorn appealing to your sensitive, dreamy, and romantic Pisces rising/Leo Sun. True to your Leo brand, you also need to be praised, worshipped and adored. You rule with your emotions, so acting up out of sheer passion is not unlike you. Not everyone can handle this wide range of emotions, but adaptable Jin is up for the task. He is perfectly able to navigate your moods, with the patience of a saint combined with a Mercury is in Scorpio which makes him extremely observant and strategic in terms of his communication. There is no staying mad with a Sagittarius (no matter how annoying he may be) as his need to move forward at a rapid clip makes it nearly impossible for problems to fester too long. With Venus in Capricorn there displays of grandiose affection you adore: two dozen roses at your door just because, renting out your favorite restaurant for a private meal on a random weeknight, a fully packed suitcase at the edge of your bed with an accompanying note. Madrid tomorrow morning? This is a couple that fucks like rabbits, often beginning the foreplay long before they reach the bedroom. He certainly enjoys watching you slink around the room at any party or event, entertaining the crowd with your charm and basking in the limelight, looking absolutely stunning in a dress he's gifted you. There is an air of excitement as the night goes on, knowing full well that he will be the one that has his hands all over you as soon as you get home. Its likely that the two of you get off on being the power couple that nobody can get enough of, and even more satisfying is that is just comes so naturally to you - there is no faking this level of chemistry! A mutually impulsive nature exists at the core of this dynamic, meaning you may not wait until you get home (why would you, when there's a car?)

Fiercely independent and fast-paced, more than anything you need someone who can both keep up with you and challenge you as well. Jin the Archer is notoriously hard to lock down, seeking someone who will let him be his fully adventurous, fun-loving self, and he successfully finds that in the equally on-the-go Leo. Your sensitive Leo thinks funny guy Jin may initially be a bit over-the-top in his playful teasing of you, enjoying pressing your buttons a little bit, but over time you learn that this is simply how a Sag shows love. It is this highly humorous element of his personality that opens you up to access a more playful and lighthearted side of yourself that embraces your humanity and flaws without taking them too personally. Together, Leo and Sag guide and drive each other in your respective careers, acting as partners and confidantes, while innately understanding the others need for space like few others can. At the core, this pairing has a strong foundation of friendship upon which everything else is built, creating a very open and respectful relationship which allows the other to stay true to their deeper selves without fear of judgement for being "too much". The life created between this pairing is one of fun, great wealth through your many successful enterprises, and the strongly rooted presence of family. Fiery, bold, passionate selves, this pair grows even stronger as they move through life together, inevitably making their mark on the world through charitable and culture contributions with their infectiously energetic personals and uniquely creative minds.

#bts #bts astrology #bts horoscope #leo #aries #scorpio #park jimin #kim seokjin #astrology #horoscope #creative writing #bangtan #bangtan astrology #bangtan fic #libra

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mcousland · 5 years ago

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6, 11, 12, sfw / 2, 9 nsfw for elide/tyrus and areli/maeve :)

6) Going out to eat: Who pays? Who orders the most food? And who has dessert?

Elide & Tyrus — More often than not it’s Tyrus paying, at his own insistence. They honestly both order so much damn food, they could easily eat enough for a table of 6 on their own (and aren’t afraid to do so). Elide is definitely the one who has the sweet tooth out of the pair, and Tyrus prefers her homemade desserts anyhow.

Maeve & Areli — I think Maeve would insist on paying quite often. A witcher’s pockets can get a little light, she knows this and doesn’t want to make it harder. And, besides, she likes to treat Areli when she can. I’m not entirely certain who would order the most? I know Maeve’s order size depends on how she’s feeling, so that’s always up in the air. She always gets dessert though and wouldn’t mind sharing.

11) Baths or showers? Together or separate? Any bubbles or bubble fights?

Elide & Tyrus — Showers when they’re separate, baths when together. Elide has a,,, very obvious preference for the shared baths. They tried bubbles once! Elide used them to make herself a beard to match his and did her best Tyrus impression.

Maeve & Areli — Baths for Maeve, though she doesn’t mind ;) sharing ;);) either or though. She isn’t one for bubbles usually, would rather the ridiculously expensive bath oils and the occasional handful of rose petals tossed on top for the Aesthetic.

12) Can they stand silence? Who talks the most? Who talks the least?

Elide & Tyrus — They’re both comfortable with and enjoy silence, not out of place to find them sitting together in the quiet, perfectly content. Elide talks the most by far. I’m sure if there was a word count between these two she would easily have twice his numbers.

Maeve & Areli — I’m sure Areli can handle silence, but Maeve feels the need to start filling it rather quickly. Without a doubt the talker here, she’s always taming on about this or that.

2) Who brings ideas? Who initiates?

Elide & Tyrus — Given that she has more Experience, Elide is usually the one to bring up ideas. (Isn’t hesitant about them either. She’s a fan of trying new things and sees no harm in bringing them up. Take your shots when you can!) I’d say it's… 70% Elide in terms of initiating things. Not out of lack of interest on Tyrus’s part, simply that Naughty activities are some of the ways Elide likes to express her love and appreciation. … And she’s a horny mess, but just accept the sweet explanation and let her live.

Maeve & Areli — Maeve has,,, a Lot of ideas and is not worried about bringing them up. She has read a lot of “romance” stories, and written quite a few herself, and has quite the catalogue to present. Initial instinct says that Maeve would also be the one to initiate things with these two, at least a good portion of the time. She’s an endless flirt machine, it comes as no surprise.

9) Quickest turn ons? Immediate turn offs?

Elide & Tyrus — Elide gets all sorts of worked up seeing displays of his strength or fighting prowess, as well as him feeling up on her thighs and/or hips. Absolutely despises degradation of any sort and is grateful he has not tried for any. And from the mouth of the DM who controls him and sits with me in my room right this moment: Tyrus enjoys when Elide shows off her intelligence, and when she uses the Westenra Energy of hers to take charge of things. Immediate turnoff would be being spanked.

Maeve & Areli — Not sure for Areli, but on Maeve’s end: quite the fan of seeing Areli at work with her “witchering”, and honestly seeing her blush or get flustered by Maeve’s flirting is Top Tier and excites her. Mmm.. with Maeve, there are few things she isn’t willing to try, but she needs to be told about them first. An immediate turnoff for her is anything new being sprung upon her without at least a few moments warning, especially given that there are some moves that remind her of time with Carden.

#stormslesbian #hey thanks :3c #elide & tyrus #maeve & areli #heathen #like always feel free to shout anythin' there liza

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dndplus · 6 years ago

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Getting Started: Settings

The Setting

Few things can be as fun, or as agonizing, as forming the setting for a new campaign. If you’re the creative type, you’re probably very excited for this step. If you’re not, you probably nodded along very enthusiastically when I described it as potentially agonizing. Regardless of whichever you are, I’m here to give you a quick (relatively...) rundown on how to ‘frame’ the world your players’ epic campaign will be taking place in.

Before going further, I want to be clear on one thing: this is D&D, and you are the Dungeon Master. Everything is negotiable, and can be changed to create the world you’re looking to offer.

Step 1: Take a deep breath.

There’s a lot of text below this point, and it might make you feel like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew. Here’s a helpful tip to make this all more palatable: You don’t have to do it all at once.

If you want to get into D&D right away, read through the article, get a map set up, and follow the steps to flesh out a single kingdom or area of the world. You and your players can get up to all sorts of trouble with that alone, and some campaigns can run their full course in such a “small” area no problem if need be.

Step 2: A map.

You might have expected to start with choosing a name for your world, but honestly, that step isn’t very important. What is important, however, is having an image to look at and imagine the world upon.

The more creative-minded will break out the art supplies here do it from scratch, and for that, I salute you. The rest of us need some help, and there are plenty of resources out there to help you “generate” a map from scratch. Personally, I prefer the fantasy world generator at D20srd (Link here). It’s a fine enough tool, although it may take several tries before you land on an outcome you’d like. The settings the map tool defaults at create a world that feels a little land-heavy in my opinion, so I recommend turning the %Water setting up to 65 or 70 if you want larger, proper oceans in your setting.

Step 3: The Inhabitants.

Humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, dragonborn, even tieflings! That’s a lot of peoples that need a home, and I’ve only touched on what the 5e Player’s Handbook offers as default player races. What about orcs and goblins? Giants, dragons, and the like? It’s a lot to take in, but it’s important we get them settled first, with one exception...

Gods. Unless you’re the very small percentage of DMs looking to run a game without any deities, it’s time to start thinking on them and what you’d like. If you have any aspirations of creating gods of your own, *now* is the time to do it. Look at the map you’ve created, imagine the worshippers of the god you’ve got in mind, and then pick the place they exist. That much is easy, and some of you might feel I told you something you already knew, so here’s something a bit more to think about: how powerful is this god? How many followers do they have, and are they terrestrial (that is to say, are they present in the world?).

Most importantly, once you have your gods selected, how do they interact with one another? If you’ve taken peoples with contradictory gods and made them neighbors, how do they view one another? As a nuisance, or is war on the verge of breaking out at any moment?

With peoples settled, gods imagined, and their followers labeled, it’s time to take a step back and look at how to make it all distinct. Who was left out, and if no one was, should they be? Not everyone needs a homeland. Some races, like tieflings, lend themselves to being scattered about the world due to their chaotic nature, and are oftentimes mistrusted in many areas for their appearance or less-lawful leanings.

With these considerations made, look at the locales you’ve created and ask yourself: what ails these people? What monsters lurk in the hillside and are common to their region? Perhaps the dwarves in your mountains are in a constant battle with orcs. Maybe the pious humans of one of your more lawfully imagined kingdoms find themselves beset by an unusual amount of undead. Threats can be less visible too, ranging from expansive and unseen criminal undergrounds, to an ancient aboleth working to enslave a kingdom with a plan that spans thousands of years.

Finally, look at your kingdoms, your countries, and your smaller, backwater locales of intrigue, and imagine an alignment that best describes the region. In a typical fantasy world, “Good”, “Lawful”, and “Neutral” alignments should be most dominant, as they’re easier to imagine as more stable. You should still strive to have places, maybe not even particularly large ones (a chain of islands home to pirates, for example), that don’t quite fit the ‘good’ mold. These can be as large as an entire kingdom in and of itself, or you can add them in later as small, seedy towns lurking in the shadow of a ‘good’ empire for its criminal underbelly to use as a headquarters.

Step 4: Beyond The Material Plane

Dungeons and Dragons wouldn’t be D&D without more than just the obvious world in your setting, unless of course you’re designing it that way. Most of us, though, will want a variety of external planes to have players fight foes from and, potentially, even go to.

The default planes, I feel, do this incredibly well. Roll20 has an article that explains them fairly well (found here). At some level, you should be using what is already offered in the D&D mythos. I recommend keeping the concepts of he Transitive Planes (Ethereal and Astral), and the Elemental Planes (Air, Fire, Water, and Earth) most of all. The Ethereal Plane isn’t really a plane the way the others are, and some spells rely on it, so if you want something unique there, I suggest you just edit The Ethereal Plane to suit your needs.

Let’s get to the meat of the issue - Outer Planes. Again, I’m a big believer in the established mythos, but how much of it you use is up to you. In addition to this, you can edit them in any way you please! That new god you made, be it or good or evil, will have very little difficulty finding a proper plane among the established to call home. Good old wikipedia (Link Here) has a very useful chart that explains the various upper, lower, and neutral outer planes. Which of these you use is entirely up to you, and the framework offered lets you remove some entirely and supplement your own if you’re dead set on it.

In Conclusion...

Give it a name. Any name. At this point, you probably realize that the substance of the world you made is so much more important than the name. The best part of all of this is, you made it, and until the players see it, none of it is set in stone. You may hear ideas your players have for their characters and want to shape some of the world around it, to create a place where that character of theirs really belongs. You may want to change enemies to fit their backstory vendettas as well, and that likewise can help make the world feel more varied and alive.

More than anything, I hope everyone who’s made a setting here hasn’t forgotten they’re here to have fun, or that nothing should ever come before that.

Continuation of the Getting Started series:

Getting Started: Combat

Getting Started: Making an Adventure, Part 1

Getting Started: Making an Adventure, Part 2

#d&d #d&d 5e #D&D&EE #dungeons and dragons #dungeon master #setting #creating a setting #worldbuilding #world building #planes #dm #gm #dm tutorial #dungeon master tutorial #dungeon master guide

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oreramar · 6 years ago

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Crafting Magic Items in D&D 5e

Okay there’s really not much point to this ramble/rant, but I need to lay all of this out, because I’m mildly annoyed - not enough to be actually frustrated, but enough I need to air my grievances with the rulebook even to an uncaring void.

I was looking through the Dungeon Master’s Guide for D&D 5e and saw some of the potential downtime activities for party members - things to do if you give your party a few days, a week, a month off of campaign matters and battles to do their own things. One activity was Crafting Magic Items, and so of course I thought that looked nifty and took a closer look.

At the base, it’s pretty reasonable. Each rarity tier has a minimum level requirement plus a cost in gold, and the cost jumps exponentially as it goes up the tiers. Makes some sense, you can’t expect a very rare item to be as easy to make as one that’s merely uncommon, even if the cost gets kind of ridiculous by the end (500,000 gold cost to make a legendary item - granted, by the time you’re level 17-20, you’ve probably raided more than one dragon’s hoard, but that’s still a lot).

But then there are rules for how long it takes to craft as well.

See, you can only work on the item in 25 gold increments, one increment per 8 hour workday. So to make a Common level item, you need to be of third level or higher and to set aside four workdays - just a little less than a full 40 hour workweek - and 100 gold. Uncommon items require 500 gold and about 20 workdays, also for a third level character - so if your character takes weekends off to rest and recharge, that’s about a month of downtime.

Not bad, right? You could absolutely have your player character pick up magic item crafting as their downtime hobby!

Only if you plan to stop there, really.

The next tier is Rare: 5k gold, 6th level requirement, and 200 workdays. That’s seven thirty-day months practically without any breaks. Weekends off? I don’t have an exact calculation but my gut says that might push it closer to eight months, maybe nine if the character occasionally takes a little more than just two days a week to recharge a bit. It’s doable if your campaign does a one-year timeskip sometime after you hit level 6, but you still have to have the gold for it and you’re dedicating most of that character’s time to doing this.

Then there’s Very Rare and Legendary, and at that point...well, frankly, why even bother with the pretense that a character could conceivably do this as “downtime?” Once you get to those levels you’ve got a full-time, long-term job, because Very rare costs 50k gold, requires level 11 or higher, and takes 2k workdays, or 5.5 years practically without any breaks - probably something like seven years if the character takes weekends off and nothing else. As for Legendary...500k gold, level 17 or higher, 20k workdays - 55 years without breaks, more like 70 or more with weekends.

That’s...that’s not downtime. That’s not campaign activities. That’s when the final evil has been defeated and sealed away, everybody’s already level 20, each character has insanely vast riches, and in post-campaign wrap-up you say that, yeah, your mage is going to settle down and devote bloody decades and most of their wealth to making the most powerful such-and-such in the entire world, so that maybe if your group returns to this world for a campaign two set a century later they might run across it someday. Hell, if you’ve got a human character (or another race of similar aging), a legendary magic item is their entire life, assuming they were in their twenties when the campaign ended.

Seriously, why did the creators of the game not just stop their chart at Rare and put a note in saying that Very Rare and Legendary items can only be made by powerful master craftsmen over long periods of time and are not downtime activities? Sure, lay out the numbers, but don’t give the base impression that a player could *totally* make their own version of the Holy Avenger to bring to the final battle against the Undead Lich Emperor of Darkness. It’s not happening, and they’re better off either hoping one is dropped in the loot or changing their dream entirely.

Just.

It’s disappointing, is what it is, to see something that looks like a cool mechanic for between adventures (and for personalizing the hell out of a party’s gear) only to discover that, in the most practical terms, that mechanic has a hard cut-off before it gets halfway through.

Maybe the intent is for players to band together for the difficult stuff, but even then it’s unfeasible, because every person working on the item has to have the level required, and must participate every day. So if you use the simplified math of dividing time by party (even if it’s technically incorrect for real-world physics, let’s go with it), a party of, say, four would still take 1-2 years for Very Rare. 10-20 for Legendary.

Still not downtime.

I understand that those last two tiers of items aren’t supposed to be easy to run across, so it does make sense to limit their production in some way or other. The thing is, you’ve already got some pretty hard limits in the level requirement and in the sheer gold cost, neither of which would be easily achieved for most NPCs in most worlds.

And, again, I might not have minded this so much if it weren’t for the fact that it was laid out in the book, in a chart, as if it was possible for in-game purposes when it so clearly is not, and is not meant to be.

Edit

AND ANOTHER THING (I just found out)

The downtime activity section tells you that an adventurer who crafts their own magic item(s) can sell them at regular buy price (usually adventurers find, on average, buyers for half the price for things they find or loot, probably because it’s pre-owned). Anyhow, the implication here is that you can make cool stuff for yourself, or you can make cool stuff and make a profit for yourself.

Sounds good, right?

Wrong.

Standard/suggested purchase price ranges for magic items by tier (found in a different section of the rulebook):

Common: 50-100 gold. Uncommon: 101-500. Rare: 501-5k. Very Rare: 5k-50k. Legendary: 50k and up.

The top - top, not base - suggested price in each category is exactly what it costs an adventurer to make the damn thing. So, if the DM adheres to all the rules and charts as written, if you’re lucky in finding a buyer, you might recoup the gold you spent in making the item, but you won’t get anything more for the time you spent doing so.

How does this economy even work? Is the assumption that adventurers are hobbyists and inefficient with the gold in materials and time spent compared to whoever made the already extant magic items in this world? Does the value of a magic item depreciate that much even during the process of making it? Did someone just throw numbers around without actually thinking them through since it’s not really a necessary game mechanic? Maybe, I suspect.

Yeah, I’d just ignore the crafting rules in the book, or else make my own. By all means, make things difficult to create as they scale in power, but there’s bound to be better ways to do so than just making huge numbers as thresholds. (What’s that? To make a Holy Avenger-esque weapon you need the cooperation of a very powerful celestial being, like a Solar or an out and out God - one which might set you a quest or a test of some sort for instance - but once you have that it doesn’t take years and years and hundreds of thousands of gold to craft? Sounds like an adventure!)

#dungeons and dragons #d&d #magic items #5e #rant #ramble #downtime activity #like hell it is #make your own magic item crafting rules #your players will have more fun

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