#i worked really hard on his design and i'm glad on how it turned out!

[gargoy-ross]

The Vees with a s/o that likes to crochet + how they'd react if you gift them a plush of you two holding hands

First time posting on Tumblr, I know these are probably ooc. Gn reader, a bit suggestive on Val's. That's all, enjoy :)

Vox

Vox doesn't really understand your hobby, but hey, whatever makes you happy. Besides, he loves it when you run to him all giddy and exited to show off your latest creation. He'll let you sit on his lap while you crochet and he works. Just make sure your yarn doesn't get tangled up in the wires...

Giving him the plush

Keeping the gift as a surprise was hard, this man has cameras everywhere, but somehow you managed. And you're quite proud of yourself for that too. Now you're sitting in his office, waiting for him to get back from the meeting. You glance at the clock - it should end right about now.

As if on cue, Vox opens the door and as it slams shut you hear the most tired and annoyed sigh from him.

"Bad time?" You ask.

He shakes his head at the question. "Just a shitty meeting," He practically falls into his chair, "and an even shittier day."

He raises his brows and the annoyance is gone in an instant. "What's that for, doll?"

"I made this. For you." You smile awkwardly as you pass the box to him.

Vox carefully lifts the lid and takes the plush out. He examines it as if he wasn't quite sure what it was. The expression on his screen is unreadable, and his voice quieter than usual.

"You made this? You made... us?"

You nod and Vox's expression softens. He has already forgotten the stress from earlier.

"It's adorable. Thanks doll."

He smiles. Not the business man smile or the TV host smile, a genuine smile.

Valentino

Val thinks it's a waste of time. Why would you sit there, making stupid knots instead of, I don't know, spending time with him?! But, like Vox, if it makes you happy, he'll tolerate it.

Giving him the plush

You decide to present him with the plush one night after he's done with filming. So there you sit, on the couch in one of the backrooms in his studio, nervously fiddling with the gift. When Valentino steps in to the room he's surprised to see you. You don't usually spend time at the studio.

He's voice is ever so sultry when he addresses you. "Well hello sweetheart. Didn't know you were waiting for me." He then notices what your holding and snatches the plush from your hands, a teasing smile on he's face as he toys with it. "Oh my, what's this darling?"

You stand up. He cocks his head, making sure to hold the plush out of your reach.

"It's a gift. I though I'd be nice to give you something."

He's grin widens and he lifts your chin up with one of his hands. "Not exactly my style of a toy, but thank you sweetheart."

Velvet

Velvet would most be the most tolerant towards your yarn hording habits. She doesn't mind, as long as you keep your stuff separate from hers. If you have the talent, she might design accessories which she'll ask you to crochet for her. And, if you agree to it, she will make you a Sinstagram to show off all your creations.

Giving her the plush

Velvet is on her break when you decide visit her studio to give her the gift. You've put the plush in a gift bag hoping it wouldn't raise questions from her employees. While you don't think they'd make fun of you, you know how important the public appearances of you two were for Velvet.

It doesn't take long for you to find her, scrolling on her phone as she picks at her lunch. "I didn't know you were stopping by babe."

"I figured you'd be on your break about now." You say, handing her the bag. "This is for you."

She wastes no time taking the plush out. "Aww, you made us hold hands. It's adorable." She turns it around in her hands examining all the little details you've made. "You even got my outfit on point." She then leans in to give you a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'm glad you liked it."

She has to soon get back to work, her collections need to be perfect for the next show, so you bid your goodbyes. Later that day you get a notification from your Sinstagram that you've been tagged on a post. You can't help but smile when you see the photo Velvet had posted to show off the plush.

[antoncore]

thinking about tattoo artist riize ..

— 🎀

like a tattoo | p.wb

a/n: went so overboard that this is a fic…oops

word count: 2k

smut 18+ mdni

everything about wonbin, your tattoo artist, was so so pretty, black tank top with jeans with tattoos covering his arms, his big eyes and his pink lips that were simply kissable. you wanted a cleavage tattoo and was kind of nervous to take off your shirt but you felt comfortable with wonbin as you’d gotten your other tattoos done with him. his voice and overall demeanour helped you feel relaxed as you prepared for the tattoo. you slowly took off your shirt, wonbin looking over as he tried to hide how turned on he was by your big tits, noticing that your nipples were pierced too.

wonbin maintained his composure with a warm smile, his voice soothing as he said, “alright, let���s start. just relax for me, alright angel?” you nodded, feeling reassured by his presence. wonbin prepared his tools, his focus shifting entirely to the task at hand. he began outlining the design with gentle precision, his hands steady and skilled. the initial prick of the needle made you tense up slightly making wonbin say softly, “it’s okay, angel, just relax. that’s it, you’re all good.” you couldn’t help but blush at the way he spoke to you, starting to get wet in your panties, not that you could do anything about it right now.

as he continued, wonbin couldn’t hold himself back from getting hard at the sight of your pretty tits. close to losing focus at the thought of having them in his mouth, playing with your nipples as you moaned his name. but he kept going, paying attention to every detail of your tattoo. after finishing the tattoo and filling in all the details, he leaned back, admiring his work. “all done, angel. looks pretty on you, hm?” you looked down at the fresh ink, smiling with satisfaction. the tattoo was exactly what you had envisioned, intricate and beautifully placed. you smiled up at wonbin, who was still admiring his work, his eyes lingering on your cleavage.

“thank you, wonbin. it looks perfect," you said, your voice genuinely appreciative. wonbin smiled back, his eyes finally meeting yours. "i'm glad you like it, angel, really suits you." his voice was soft, almost intimate, and you could feel the heat rising in your cheeks again. he found himself looking at your chest again for a moment too long before he snapped back to reality. "i, uh, should get you cleaned up," he said, his voice slightly huskier than before. wonbin reached for a cloth and some antiseptic, gently dabbing around the fresh tattoo. his touch was soft and careful, but you could feel the tension in the air. you bit your lip, trying to suppress the flutter of excitement in your stomach.

"hold still for me, angel," he murmured, his breath warm against your skin as he leaned closer, the closeness making your heart race. as he finished cleaning the tattoo, his fingers brushed against the underside of your breast, you couldn't help but let out a small gasp, your eyes meeting his. you saw the way wonbin's eyes darkened, his pupils dilating as he looked at you, quickly taking his hand away. “touch me wonbin, please,” you said breathily, feeling yourself getting even wetter. “you sound so cute like that, how can i say no?” he replied, before getting on top of you, his hand cupping your tit now which made you whine. he played around with your piercing gently, his thumb brushing over the sensitive metal and sending shivers down your spine. wonbin's eyes were locked on yours, the tension between you almost tangible.

wonbin leaned in closer, his breath warm against your ear as he whispered, "i was thinking about touching you like this the whole time, angel." you moaned softly in response, your body arching into his touch. "bin, please... don't stop," you pleaded, your voice trembling with need. “bin? aww, what a cute nickname, angel. must be so needy, hm?” he teased, his voice low and clearly running out of patience before he kissed you deeply, his tongue exploring your mouth with an eagerness that left you breathless. his other hand found its way to your waist, pulling you even closer. you could feel his hardness pressing against you, and it only fueled your desperation for him further.

wonbin broke the kiss, his lips trailing down your neck to your chest. he took your nipple into his mouth, his tongue flicking against the piercing and making you gasp. he took the other nipple between his fingers, gently tugging and rolling it. the sensation was almost too much to bear, your hands tangling in his hair as you held him close. “so beautiful, my angel," he murmured against your skin. "can't get enough of you." you could hardly think straight, your mind clouded with pleasure. "bin, i need you," you managed to say, your voice barely above a whisper. “patience, y/n, just wanna focus on these pretty tits for a bit,” he said, his voice teasing.

wonbin continued paying attention to your tits, alternating between sucking on your pierced nipples and gently kneading them. with every touch, you squirmed, making it harder to stay still. his hands eventually began to wonder, sliding down your sides and grazing the hem of your skirt. he glanced up at you, watching the way your face flushed, his eyes darkening with lust. “can i?” he asked, his voice anticipating. you nodded eagerly, unable to form words as your breath hitched in your throat. his fingers slid under your skirt, caressing the sensitive skin of your thighs. he teased you, his fingers brushing against your panties but not quite touching where you needed him so desperately. you squirmed on the tattoo chair, a desperate whine escaping your lips. “please, bin," you begged.

he smirked, clearly enjoying the effect he had on you. "such a good girl, asking so nicely," he murmured, finally slipping his fingers past the waistband of your panties. his touch felt so good that you couldn't help but arch into him as he found your wetness. “so wet for me, angel," he whispered, his fingers sliding easily inside your slick folds. he found your clit, circling it with gentle pressure that made you gasp. "feels good, doesn't it, angel?" “yes, so good," you moaned, your hips bucking pathetically against his hand. the pleasure was overwhelming, and you could feel yourself getting closer to the edge with every stroke of his fingers.

“n-need you inside me,” you stuttered, longing for wonbin’s cock. he gave a low appreciative hum, eyes darkening at your words. “what did i say, angel? patience, i know what i’m doing,” wonbin whispered as his fingers continued working you open. the anticipation was almost too much to bear, and you could feel yourself trembling with need. his thumb pressed firmly against your clit while his fingers curled to hit that perfect spot that made you see stars. “oh god, bin," you moaned, your head falling back. "’m so close." “cum for me, angel," he commanded softly, his lips brushing against your ear. “wanna feel you fall apart for me." the combination of his voice and the skill of his fingers sent you over the edge. you cried out his name, your body arching off the chair as you came all over his fingers. he didn't stop though, coaxing every last bit of your orgasm out of you until you were left panting and spent.

wonbin finally withdrew his hand, his eyes full of admiration and lust as he looked at you. "you're so beautiful, angel," he said, his voice filled with affection. you reached for him, pulling him close and capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. "fuck me," you whispered against his mouth. "please." he didn't need any more encouragement, standing up and quickly unbuttoning his jeans and kicking them off, leaving him in just his boxers. you couldn't help but admire his body, the way his tattoos covered him so flawlessly. he pulled you to the edge of the tattoo chair, lifting your skirt and sliding your panties down your legs. his eyes roamed over you, taking in every inch of your exposed skin.

"you're so fucking perfect," wonbin whispered, smirking as he positioned himself between your legs, his hardness pressing against your entrance. you wrapped your legs around his waist, urging him closer. "please, bin. fuck me," you begged, needing to feel him inside you. with one swift motion, he buried his cock inside you, filling you perfectly. both of you moaned at the sensation, loving the way the other felt. his movements were slow and deliberate at first, letting you adjust to the feeling of him deep inside you. he leaned down, capturing your lips in a passionate kiss, his hands returning to your breasts, playing with your nipples which he knew would make you feel even more pleasure.

"god, you feel so good, angel," wonbin groaned, his voice thick with desire as he began to move, his thrusts becoming more insistent. he thrusted so deeply that it had you whimpering and clinging to him. “yes, binnie, yes," you cried out, your nails digging into his shoulders as you matched his pace. the sensation of him filling you, combined with the way he was teasing your nipples had your head going insane. "please, more." "such a good girl for me," he muttered against your skin, his breath hot on your neck. he shifted slightly, angling his hips to hit the perfect spot inside you with every thrust. "tell me how much you want it." “i want it so bad," you moaned, your voice trembling with need. "need you, need you to fuck me harder."

wonbin obliged, unable to deny you of what you wanted, increasing the intensity of his thrusts. each movement sent shockwaves of pleasure through you, making you cry out his name over and over. wonbin's hands roamed your body, one hand gripping your hip while the other continued to play with your breasts, his thumb brushing over your pierced nipple in a way that made you shiver. “so beautiful, fuck,” he groaned, his pace relentless. “wish i could stay like this all day and all night.” you gradually felt yourself getting closer and closer to cumming, his thrusts so fast and deep, hitting every spot inside you just like you wanted.

“bin, i’m gonna cum,” you whined, voice barely above a whisper. “that’s it, angel. cum for me,” wonbin commanded. “wanna feel you cum on my cock, ok?” his words had you spiralling again, crying out as you came. he didn’t stop, thrusting deep inside of you to prolong your orgasm. he felt himself getting close, trying to pull out but you tightened your legs around his waist despite feeling overstimulated. “no, please,” you pleaded, your voice breathless. “want you to cum inside me.” he couldn’t resist, his thrusts growing erratic, each one more desperate than the last. “didn’t wanna pull out anyway, wanna fill you up angel,” he confessed in a broken moan, the words making you gasp. with a final, deep thrust, he buried himself as deeply inside you as he could, his body tensing as he came inside you. the feeling of his cum inside you and the way you clenched around his cock had the two of you breathless and trembling.

you stayed as you were for a moment, wrapped around each other and heavily breathing. wonbin slowly pulled back, looking down at you with a mixture of satisfaction and affection. "i could stay like this forever,” he whispered, brushing a strand of hair away from your face. you smiled up at him as you replied with, “me too,” reaching to kiss him softly. he helped you clean up, his touch gentle and attentive. once you were both dressed again, he pulled you into his arms, holding you close. “thank you, wonbin," you said softly. “no, thank you, my pretty y/n,” he replied, kissing your forehead.

“want me to take you home, angel? i wanna take care of you,” wonbin continued, smiling softly, slighting giggling. you nodded, grateful for his offer. you looked down at the fresh ink on your chest once again, now carrying a dual meaning, a tattoo that would make you remember what just happened.

[zoropookie]

HOW HATERS ARE BORN (HHAB)

♡ chapter thirty-three — give it time (💋)

“I’ll admit, you made it look like a home.”

You looked around, enamored by the mutable blend of the other’s home. There was oddly a cozy charm that bled in the space, a mixture of contrasts that you wouldn’t have thought he would involve himself with.

There were soft shadows playing against the walls, promenaded by the warm and golden glow of the lamps. It was really elegant in here, yet, meticulously chosen to make you feel comfortable enough to sit down on the obviously expensive furniture.

“Didn’t know you had a…knack for interior design either.” You said hesitantly, looking at a very abstract tiny statue of a triangle on one of the shelves. Even thought you were interested, it still just felt like a painted on canvas for you. Kind of like...the idea that there can be paint on a canvas, but it doesn't make it a painting. "Learning a lot more about you everyday."

"It wasn't my idea," He sighed. "I told the interior designer 'not too many colors', and I guess she thought I was talking about completely mute."

"Feels like a sanctuary," you murmured.

Despite the dismissive words he gave you, the effort that was put into everything was clearly crafted and corroborated. You walked over to the books sitting on the coffee table, the only things out of place from the rest of the textures, reading the hard cover and smiling.

"You're really considering it?" You asked, to which Kuni turned towards you, "Taking care of the orchard outside."

He shrugged, his eyes moving back to making tea in the kitchen. "I don't have a choice. It's either me who does it, or it dies."

"That's not true, you can always pay someone to do it for you. I know there's a lot of people who may want it for themselves, it's completely healthy." You rambled, trying to see it through the long windows. "I take it that was a housewarming gift too?"

"From Furina. Came with the house, thought it'd be funny to see me struggle with something mundane."

"I heard," You grinned, not being able to keep your laugh in. "Love that for you, it's like a package deal! Did it work?"

He sighed again, running a hand through his hair at the thought. "I guess, I don't know," He started pour the tea once the pot began to steam. "I know her goal was to drive me insane. A constant reminder that no matter how far I try to distance myself from complications, they find a way to root themselves in my life."

"Hey, I wouldn't see it as that." You chuckled, the sound mixing with the soft clinking of the ceramic cups he was setting on the table. "It's probably just a way to keep you grounded after everything."

"I don't see the appeal in tending to trees."

"Maybe it's not even about that," You mused. "Maybe it's just about finding a healthy medium in your life, don't suppose you had that before, right?" You said, teasingly.

He rolled his eyes at you, a humored smile tugging at his lips. "You're one to preach about silver linings."

Your jaw dropped, a small scoff coming from your mouth. "I actually came here to truce, thank you very much. Even though you're the one who tried to run away from me — news flash, didn't work, genius. Still pissed off about that. I'm glad that Furina is looking to help you as much as she's looking to out you."

"Running away is my thing." He squinted playfully, "Like she's big help anyway. The only reason she's in on it is because she wants us to have this romance trope going on for real this time. It's stupid as fuck."

You paused at his words, feeling yourself swallow a big lump some of the tea nestled in your mouth. You shivered at the heat that washed on you, pursing your lips in thought as you let the conversation simmer. The two of you standing in a companionable silence. The trees outside rustled gently in the breeze, their leaves a vibrant contrast to the muted tones inside.

"I mean, I don't know," You paused, cringing as your fingers tightened on your cup. "I don't think it's stupid."

Kuni stiffened too, gaze flickering away for a moment before returning to meet yours. There was a certain look that you've never seen before from him. You couldn't decipher his actual feelings. "I figured."

Your cheeks flushed. "Holy shit, never mind if you were expecting it already." You hissed to yourself, trying to ebb how much embarrassment was on your skin. "Look, I need to check into my hotel soon—"

"Sit down." He cut you off, assertiveness in his tone enough to get you to immediately listen, plopping back down. There was an unexpected gravity that was with him, another departure from his nonchalant attitude.

Your heart hammered rapid fire in your chest, a mix of fear and total apprehension were doing a waltz on your general disposition. The more time you were here, the more you worried about the next time you'll make an absolute fucking fool of yourself. You fidgeted with your fingers.

"What really brought you here." He asked, expectantly. "First thing you give me is a hug, and some words of affirmation. You're not here just to catch up, especially after I blew you off."

"I wanted to see you again." You admitted, the weight of your own words pressing down on you. "You owned up to it, left your part of the Internet in a spiral, and then didn't bother to talk to me after that."

He was looking at you, you sensed it. And it wasn't like you could look at him back, otherwise you were going to melt. It was different seeing him from up close, it was an original experience to you if you could name it anything.

His eyes were searching you, despite all you said, as if trying to decipher if you were being genuine. His eyes bored into you like a tiny laser burning your skin. He nodded, a sliver of understanding crossing his face. "You gave me the impression that you were done. I left it at that."

"Yeah, well, I felt like the only one who could leave it at anything was me."

Despite how sticky and tense it was again, you felt relieved that he wasn't as malicious as he was behind the screen. You were relieved that at least the worst of it was over. But it didn't didn't help the burning in your chest, the aching of the bubble in your throat. "Ei really made you do all that stuff? It's not because you really do hate me, right?"

There was no more pretending anymore, no more hiding behind false bravado or dissing each other behind screens like pussies. It was only raw honesty, vulnerable and exposed.

"(Y/N)." His expression softened, a silent dilemma clear on his face. He gathered his own courage, squaring his shoulders a bit and looking at you again. "I'm sorry."

You felt dazed, electricity in the air around you, the world officially tilted on its axis to you. "What?" You accentuated snippier than you intended.

"You were collateral. Nothing that you did deserved what happened to you. Makes sense that you did what you did, you weren't the problem." He explained, shoulders slumped again. "I was behind what I did, at the end of the day; Ei just told me to do it. I'm sorry for being part of the reason you couldn't bounce back. I know if the situation were different, I'd leave you alone."

People kept saying that to you these days, that nothing that happened was because you deserved it. Maybe you never quite got the picture until Kuni said something along the lines of it. You never thought that him apologizing to you would garner the oddest reaction out of you.

Because why was it sexy..? Stop.

"And," He sighed, grabbing your attention lightspeed again. "I would consider liking you more if this all didn't happen. You're alright."

His admission of everything was catching you off guard left and right. You had no idea what to feel with the prominent knot in your stomach. "Do you like me?" "(Y/N), I don't want to—"

"I'm alright, in your words, but do you like me?" Your tone solidified with each word slowly jutting out, assertiveness hardening your composure. "Tell me. Look at me and tell me."

The uncertainly stretched on for what was practically indefinitely. He held his breath, as did you, waiting for his response. Your heart was ruthless against you, beating against your body. He sized you up, seeking an answer for himself.

"...Yeah?" He admitted, voice barely audible as he tried to find his own words. But everything he did think of was so unlike him, out of his personal way of handling things like this. "Yeah. I do."

You blinked, both of your eye contact filling a certain, more romantic space that neither of you even thought was there before today. But the more you realized it, the more you realized that maybe the sexual tension was always there.

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YOU ARE on your way to being one of the hottest streamer in your nation at the moment, racking a monthly average of 10 million viewers, but something specific bothers you about it. you know that a lot of people hate you, but there's this one account. one account that's been following you since the early days of your career. they leave a flood of rude comments in your stream, your moderators banned each account they made, but they keep making more. you are at the end of your tether. but you are yet to find out that this persistent cockroach is none other than your friend's friend (and the only other streamer that's bigger than you), scaramouche.

taglist ♡ @thystarsshine @veekoko @gumickajolli @simonisferal @kamiboo

@justpeachyteastea @feiherp @pinkismyfavcolor @aether-darling @kunisnaomi

@keiiqq @mine-lu @featuredtofu @danhenglovebot @k4zushi

@kyon-cherri @b4tm4nn @iiinaurate @quacking-simp @auroratumbles

@kookiibun @ulquiorraswife @amvpk01 @simplysm1le @h3xi2g0n3

@alatusorrow @scaranthropy @mellowberrie @magica-ren @vernith

@kabukipookie @bananasquash @suqarlaced @dellalyra @lightyagamifan

@yourfavoritefreakyhan @heartsforseo @yomishen @pwushizz @swivy123

@strxwberryfetish @ibyobi @ashfrommars4 @chemiru @ainnofinway

@agaygothicmushroom @levianamor @dragontammerz @wth121 @lylovw

@morgyyyyyyy @lovemari @suniika @littlesliceofcheese @yumejo89

@liuaneee @franaby @tiddieshakeshownu @mimi3lover @kavineyah

@kittywagun (bold users means i'm having trouble tagging you)

[al1fers-haven]

Adam x Innocent Sinner Reader?

Like, a reader who is a sinner but only because they went to hell on accident or the sin they did was so minor/they were forced into it?

Adam finds them during an extermination and they're just trying to calm down some kids and he's just like "aw, I can't hurt you 🥺"

They totally don't remind him of Eve, totally not

Sorry if that's a bit much >-<

AHH (as much as i hate Adam, they designed him way too good) ; 0 ;

I am so sorry about how long this took and how short it is, Adam is harder to write for since I don't see much of him in the show. but I hope this did well!

Adam x Sinner! reader You hadn't really done much in your life, let alone your death. You tried and tried to stay away from trouble when you were alive. And the only thing you could think of was stealing a couple things as a teenager. But everyone made those little mistakes, right?

The sound of the sinners running around in the streets and screaming was as evident as the smell of blood. The angels flew around the streets and killed many of the inhabitants in the area. You looked back at the group of children behind you, panic flowing through your body as you pushed them back towards the classroom corner, staying as far away from the windows and the door. "M-Ms.L/n. What's going on?" The little girl tugged on your jacket, letting out a sniffle as she hugged onto your leg. Your eyes widened a little as you sighed. Turning around and leaning down in front of her. "Sweetie....you remember how mommy said at the meeting that she was worried about that extermination thing? Yeah! Well- that's happening right now.." The little girl nodded, a couple of the children letting out yelps and screams as the door to the classroom slammed open. A couple of holy-looking beings wearing helmets and masks run into the room. "There! Look at those-" You stood up, shielding the students behind you with your body. The larger demon with a golden face looked towards you, laughing a bit. "You see this shit? Am I seeing this shit, Lute?" One of the exterminators shaking her head no. "You stay away from them! They have done nothing!" Adam looked towards you giggling, letting out a loud groan as he stared at you and the group for a bit. "Fuck! You're making it really hard to kill ya' hottie. Doing this selfless shit in front of me...." He looked you up and down, his heartbeat speeding up as he saw you now. Your bright blue glowing eyes and the more human-like features reminded him a lot of his second wife. Your black hair went down to your waist and you shielding the children reminded him a lot of how Eve had shielded their song, Cain. "Fuck!!" Lute blinked a couple times, looking over Adam's shoulder with a quirked brow. "You...you aren't going to hurt us...?" Your stance weakened a little bit, looking confused as you kept one of the children from looking out. Tears flowed from many of the students. "Awh! No, I could never babe! Damn, I have a soft spot huh? Gotta work on that shit. Hey! Lute! Danger tits, write that down in my log. 'Work on marital problems'." The woman nodded, walking over to the door with a notepad. "What are you doing here? Peter mess up?" Adam walked around you, huffing a little bit as he sent his little angels away. A couple of children walk out from behind you. "Im...I stole a bit. That's all. I'm glad to be here- so I could help these children--" Adam hummed, nodding. seeming not to care that much anymore as he sat in your desk chair. "Yeah- uh-huh. Sure. Okay miss virtue, You got boring. Tell anyone I spared you and I'll be back quicker than you want." He pointed at you, patting one of the children, and walked out of the door yelling for that woman.

"...what the fuck?" You quickly covered your mouth, looking down at the gawking 5-year-olds.

[spdrvyn]

I loved your post about Miguel x autistic reader and I really want more pleease

overwhelmingly peaceful

summary: you found your place in spider society, but that didn't take away from the fact that it can get intensely noisy. you don't hesitate to turn to where you know for sure you'll be safe.

tags: fluff. suggestive joke/s. autistic reader. reader is gender neutral. hobie's here too i guess. author doesn't know how to write british slang.

notes: i'm really glad that you guys enjoyed the autistic reader drabbles i posted so i'm more than happy to write this request! projecting even more in this one, thank you for letting me self-indulge <3

The mere existence of The Spider Society was always enough to astound you. You thought that people didn't Miguel enough credit for basically building the place from the ground up, not to mention how many times he's had to travel to different universes to recruit all different kinds of Spider-People.

Of course, you were more than honored to be one of those people. There was a very good chance that you just got lucky to be on his team, Miguel caught you in that one moment where your abilities were at their peak and your light was really shining through. Luck or skill, you didn't care. This was the result of it, you were content with that.

Unfortunately, the society has its downsides. Considering the sheer amount of spiders that pass through, the hustle and bustle is too hard to ignore. You can't exactly carry around headphones every time you're there because where would you leave them just in case you'd be tasked to another mission? So you just tried to avoid the noisiest places, even then, it's hard to get any semblance of quiet.

"Oh my god," you mumbled to yourself, as you silently glared at the cafeteria table next to you. Charisma was just a natural trait to any spider, with that came very boisterous laughter from other people too. Surely, they were nice people, but in front of your salad? Really?

"You good, mate?" Hobie intervened, he leaned his head to the side to get a better look at your face, a small grin came onto his features. "Lads beside you 've always been that noisy. Can get them to shut their traps if you want."

An inaudible sigh left your lips as you shook your head, combing the hair out of your face. You gazed down at your untouched food for a moment, you liked hanging out with Hobie. He understood you and he was funny, but you weren't quite sure if you could handle being in an environment like this right now.

"No, no- it's fine." He raised a brow at your lie. "Okay, it's not. But you don't have to do that for me," you picked up your small take-out box of salad and juice, "The canteen is just too much right now for me, sorry."

Hobie shrugged, picking up a fry and expertly throwing into his mouth. "No problem, always got my drummer to bother. You going to hang with your boyfriend now, eh?" His smile turned more cheeky and you stared at him meanly to take away from the fact that your cheeks warmed at his comment.

You huffed and stomped away, "Oi, you didn't deny that!"

Miguel's office (a.k.a man cave) was dark and decrepit. For some odd reason, also liked a smell of any kind. You designated each area of the headquarters with a scent, but his area lacked any of the sort which you enjoyed. Not to mention, silent.

It wasn't like he really allowed any loud noise anyway, he had a strange list of items that were prohibited from entering his corner. Bells, blenders, on occasion, phones but that was from one time Gwen forgot to shut her alarm off and she got a small lecture on being considerate because the acoustics caused every sound that passed through to reverberate and increase in volume.

That means it would only make sense for Miguel to also hear your footsteps from a mile away, his platform already lowered for you to hop on and he's hunched over his desk. Sparks fly (not just from the sight of him, I swear) from the spot that he worked on and if you're not mistaken, there's a band wrapped around his head which meant he was wearing goggles.

You set your lunch tray down on the one empty spot on his desk before approaching slowly, you bend down to rest your hand on his shoulder and to lean your head against his. "What are you working on now, beautiful?"

Miguel put down the small soldering tool and took off his goggles, putting the freshly made panel closer to his eyes. "People submitted suggestions to make the wrist devices less bulkier," he blindly wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you onto his thigh as he pressed a kiss to your cheek. "Why are you here?"

"I'm an assassin, I've come to take your life." You spoke lowly, ominously. When Miguel doesn't turn to face you, you pout. "The noise in the cafeteria is overwhelming," you shift and properly situate yourself on his lap.

"I was just about to head out for lunch," Miguel sighed, before placing the panel in a small container.

"So... back to the cafeteria? People are sure to go speechless from catching a look at you," you joke, but there's a somber fry in your voice that he doesn't ignore. His warm breath tickled your neck as he pressed brief pecks down the column of your throat, the low hum he let out vibrating against your skin. "Are you that hungry, hermoso?"

"What I meant was," he paused, brushing more hair out of your face, properly tucking it behind your ear. "I was going to head up to my place for lunch. Where there's no people?"

You breathe a small 'ohhh' and Miguel chuckled, "That checks out, actually." You nodded. "Obviously there's no people, would've been weird to have anyone there two nights ago when we–"

"Okay, that's enough." Miguel cut you off, nearly smiling from ear to ear. "Get your lunch, mi sol."

"My hero."

[lunamochii]

'No more running away.' || atsumu x f!reader

synopsis;

Atsumu doesn't know how to express his feelings and keeps on hurting you.

cw // slight angst, tsundere atsumu, fluff at the end, timeskip tsumu.

¤¤¤

"I love you, Liselotte."

"I love you too, Sieg."

You finish the cake and the soda you bought on your way home from your work, you also finish the romance anime you are watching and damn did that made you feel more depress than ever. Switching off your computer, you look outside from your window and taking a look at the red hue sky.

"I also want to love someone or be love by someone..."

Then you turn to look at your reflection at the mirror beside you and can't help but laugh to yourself knowing full well why anyone wouldn't want to date you. You got up and decided to wash all the dishes and utensils you used.

When done you decided to sleep and while passing by your fridge you saw the tomorrow's date and just shrugs. It will be the same as last year, you will be alone.

You woke up but you remain laying down on your bed not wanting to get up, then your alarm go off and instead of turning off you let it be.

"Ah... I'm sick of this."

Despite all that unwillingness you were on hours ago, you found yourself standing outside the gym. Getting here wasn't that hard as you did your best to ignore all the decorations and the vendors who were selling those heart shape designs. Couples laughing and hugging on the park, side of the street.

"Oh! Your here early, manager!"

You turn around and saw Shoyo and you greeted him with a smile, right. Today is no different from every other days you've live up to.

"Morning, Shoyo."

The two of you walk together inside the gym and you let him take over of the conversation as he talk about how in the past he never gets a single thing during valentines but on his way here, girls were giving him gifts and everything. That's when you notice on how bulky his bag is.

"Oh.. I didn't prepare anything for the team.."

Shoyo immediately catch on and stop on his tracks as he search something frantically on his bag and when he got it he immediately handed it to you

"I actually prepared this for the team! This is yours!"

You carefully took it from his hands and saw it was a cupcake shape in a heart and your name is written on it.

"Shoyo... pfft- hahaha this is so cute! Thank you!"

You hug him and Shoyo breath out seeing how your mood went up, the moment he saw you standing outside the gym he knew something was off and his glad he did prepare those cupcakes with the help of his sister.

Both of you got where to the others are and Shoyo handed his cupcakes and the others saw how he got you a valentines gift, others followed suit making you smile warmly and thank them wholeheartedly.

"Hm? Aren't you going to give our cute manager here a valentine gift Miya-kun?"

Meian the captain of MSBY team tug on the setter and Atsumu answered him with a scowl on his face, ever since you took the job on being the manager of this team. Not even once did Atsumu Miya smiled to your way.

"Ehh should I really? I don't see a reason to give her anything though."

Right. His not wrong too, why would he give you something right? It's not like you two are that close. You only became their manager just a year ago. You also know how much he hates you, despite your spiraling thoughts you manage to smile.

"You didn't have to say it that way Miya!"

"Captain, it's okay. I'm okay. You guys can proceed on practicing, I'll just put your gifts on the locker room."

The voleyball players watch your disappearing figure and they couldn't even say anything. Then their heads turn to Atsumu who was also taken back by what he said and see how sad you look, made him mentally punch himself.

"Miya! You could have worded that nicely!"

Meian angrily said and Atsumu grit his teeth, everyone here knows how much he likes you. He likes you so much that he goes crazy whenever you show your support on the team. He likes you so much that everytime he look over to where you usually sit during one of his matches, he always feels like he can smash the opponent with just his serve.

"Why do you care? It's her own fault if she gets hurt by just that!"

"Miya!"

The others quickly held back their captain from attacking their setter

"What has gotten into you TsumTsum? You like he-"

"I don't!! Like?! More like, I hate her!!"

The sound of water bottle dropping on the wooden floor grab everyone's attention and they spotted you standing there completely dumbfounded. Atsumu's breath hitches seeing you.

"Haha I never knew you hated me that much. Don't worry, I will do my best to stay out of your sight."

No. You should always be at the line of his sight. He doesn't hate you. Don't make that kind of face.

"Let go of me!"

Atsumu storm out of the court. Why is he so mad? Is it because Shoyo manage to beat him on giving you a present? Because the others got you a lot more beautiful gifts? He kick the vending machine. He didn't mean those words. He didn't mean to hurt you.

¤¤

Weeks have pass ever since that incident and you live up to your word, doing your best to stay out of his sight. Making the setter get more agitated, his not doing that great during practice match. His serves doesn't feel that great and their coach have been reprimanding him. He knows he needs to be on his best since they have a upcoming match.

"Thanks!"

"No problem."

He glances at the side and saw you interacting with the others and the sight of you smiling, smiling to the others and not him, it sure made him more agitated. When it was time for their practice, he keeps on missing on the timing.

"Atsumu, set your personal matters aside. I don't need a player who gets distracted easily."

"Sorry coach.."

Grabbing a towel and a water bottle he sat down on a corner, he watch the others play but his eyes search for you and when he found you, a smile appeared to his lips but it disappeared quickly seeing how you laugh and smile fondly towards Kotaro.

"Isn't your birthday the same day our match is?! We should all go drinking after!"

Kotaro suggested but you feel the need to decline, for you it's just another normal day. You got used spending it alone that you even decline the company of your closest friends.

"Ah, Sorry! I made plans with my friends that day so I can't!"

Lies drip from your lips effortlessly

"Ehh really? Too bad, let's go drinking the other day then!"

"Hahaha okay okay! Now, go back to practice."

You push him back on the court and you let out a sigh, you start to pick up the used towels and water bottles and when you were about to refill the bottles, you saw Atsumu staring at you. You bowed curtly and ran away. Ran away from him and that hurt Atsumu.

¤¤

"Can't be help. They were prepared this time, the defeat you experience today only means that you guys still need to keeps on improving. You all can go home after stretching."

You couldn't bring yourself to speak seeing how devastated they look, despite doing their best they couldn't win against the opponent. Meian, being the captain steps up and clap his hands getting the attention of his members.

"Okay, we just need to train harder! Le-"

"My toss was perfect. So why couldn't you hit it perfectly?"

The cold voice of Atsumu followed by his words stop the captain, they all look at him and notice how his glaring hard at Kotaro.

"Huh?"

"Or are you too busy flirting with our manager that you couldn't focus on our game?"

"That's going too far."

Kiyoomi who is usually silent steps up

"Yeah, Bokuto-san was playing just as usual. It's just our oppone-"

"Really? Because every time out he always manages to flirt with her. Maybe his too engrossed with her that *SLAP*"

Atsumu felt his world stop as soon he felt the stinging pain on his cheeks, his eyes slowly drops on the person who just did that to him and his world crumble upon seeing your tears racing down from your eyes to your cheeks

"I know you hate me but you don't have any right to blame other people for the loss you guys got today!"

His hand mindlessly reach out to you but you slap it away and glared at him

"You're the worst."

¤¤

"She's not coming today too..."

Shoyo feels defeated seeing how their training is coming to an end but they didn't see you again. It's been four days and no one got the guts to voice out the reason for the thick air around the team. Atsumu resorted to practicing alone, Kotaro refuses to speak to the setter too despite the convincing of their captain.

"We can't blame her. Atsumu's words were really harsh."

Shion, the libero of their team speaks up and Shoyo silently agree. He might have known Atsumu during his highschool days but he knows he didn't mean any of those words. Atsumu may deny it but Shoyo sees how the setter looks at their manager.

Wake up, eat, sleep and repeat. That has been your routine for four days.

Atsumu's words really did a unthinkable impact to you, despite him showing not any ounce of an interest ever since you join the team, you still like him. Yes, you like him. During your highschool years, you watch one of his match during nationals and you were drawn to him seeing how he passionately loves to play voleyball. You couldn't be more than happier when you were accepted as a manager of the MSBY, knowing you applied for this job to be close to him but who knew he would be like this? Who would have thought that ha hates you.

"Let's just go to sle- *ring ring*"

You let out a grunt and reach out to your phone, not bothering who's the caller only to be met with your friend's loud voice

"Oi! How dare you ignore our messages and call?! Don't tell me you didn't do anything during your birthday?!"

You groan and check to see who and saw it was one of your very close friend, well, after that day you decided to block anyone who tries to call or text you since you wanted to be alone, it was only today that you lifted that block.

"A hello would have been good." You muttered and got up from your bed

"Dress warm and come down. We are all waiting for you."

"Huh?"

You immediately ran out from your apartment and there they are, you saw your friends holding a bottle of beers and snacks. When they spotted you, they all grin at you.

"Hurry! You have made us waited for days already!"

You stare at them blankly before laughing and going back inside to change into warm clothes, you pick your keys and immediately went out. When you got to them, they all jump at you and greeted you belayed happy birthday.

"Okay! Let's get drunk!"

>>

"I DON'T WANNA BE SINGLE ANYMORE! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE ON WHAT TYPE OF MAN YOU GIVE ME GOD!"

Your friends bursted out to laughter after hearing what you scream, you guys are currently sitting by the riverbank enjoying the drinks and foods they brought with them. You all catch up to each other's lives and it didn't matter if you guys barely texted to each other because at the end of day, all of you will find it's way to each other and will always end up sitting together and talk about how's everyones life.

You guys drink and talk for 2 hours before deciding it is time go home, they all walk you back to your apartment since you were the one who is very wasted. They wanted to walk you towards your apartment door but you ushered them to just go home already. Since you didn't wanna bother them any longer plus you didn't want to let them see how mess your home currently is.

On the other hand, Osamu manage to knock some sense on his twin and Atsumu found himself standing by your home's door. When he was about to knock, he heard steps at his right side and when he saw you, he took a step back

"Atsumu? Hmm can't be him. Who are you?"

You walk up closer to him but you're too drunk to see clearly, Atsumu caught on the smell of alcohol and he curses when you stumbled on your feet and landed on his chest.

"Why did you drink so much? You can't hold your liquor that well."

"Hahahaha right! You can't be Atsumu, that man hates me. He don't care a thing about me."

You said with your eyelids half close and slowly inhaling his scent and somehow it brings you comfort. Atsumu couldn't say a word as he search for your pockets, when he got your keys he inserted to your door and open it.

He tried waking you up so he could help you walk inside but you didn't budge. Atsumu ended up carrying you into his arms and when he step inside your home, he notice how you toss the MSBY jacket on the side. Several cans of beer lying on the floor, trash that weren't taken out. A total mess.

"Atsumu why.... why do you hate me?"

He look down at you and couldn't help but lean down and kiss you on the forehead

"I don't hate you. I like you."

¤¤

You woke up with a major headache and it got worse when you scan your home and see that it's very clean. You don't even remember how you got home, maybe one of your friends clean your home for you. You gotta thank them some time.

Today, you decided to go back to work since you can't keep on being like this. You hurriedly took a bath and just slip on anything comfortable. That's right, this heavy feeling will eventually pass. Right now, you gotta focus on getting yourself live! Before you can leave, you decided to just sneak and watch them in secret. Your heart and mind is still not ready to face them, or him.

"Nice kill!"

"High five!"

Smiling Atsumu. What a rare sight and sore for your eyes, he is smiling but not towards your way. You aren't the reason why his smiling..

"Hng!"

You slap both of your cheeks stopping yourself to think anything further, this is a small step you are taking in order for you to let go of your feelings to him. You resume watching them play in two vs two although you don't know the other people on the court. They all look like they are close, maybe highschool friends.

You grab your phone to look at the message that just pop and it's Shoyo texting that the team misses you and it'd be nice if you come so you will meet his seniors and other friends. During these days Shoyo and the others keeps on texting you, even Kiyoomi who you took as someone who really don't care of his surroundings.

'I will try.'

You hit send and as soon your message was delivered you heard someone scream from the court, you're glad they can't see you from this seat since you decided to take a seat on the second floor row seats.

"She's coming! Finally! She's comingg!"

"Eh? Who's coming?"

"Our manager!"

They gathered around Shoyo and saw your reply, all of them keeps on texting you but you only replied to Shoyo. Atsumu grip the ball that is on his hand, remembering he stayed in your hour for an hour after he was done cleaning. Since it was only the time he could admire your face from a closer look.

Your debating whether you should go down or not but seeing the expression of the team being excited of you coming back, you just have to thicken your face and hope your gaze won't meet Atsumu's. On your way down, you notice people coming so you took a turn to the right but you ended up bumping to someone.

"Ow... I'm sorry!"

"It's my fault, I was on my phone."

You look up and the both of you have same expression

"Sachiro?!"

"Ms. Birdie!"

You quickly smack him on the shoulders and he laugh loudly, you can't believe he still remembers that nickname he gave you.

"Can you please forget about that?! It's the most embarassing moment of my life!"

"Ehhh? But remembering your devastated face is quite fun."

Well, who wouldn't be devastated when the pet bird you just bought from a pet store flew away from the cage just because it wasn't lock securely and he just happen to be passing by and witness it all.

"Sachiro!"

"Okay okay! Pfft-"

You rolled your eyes but you soon join him to laughing and when you both calm down, you decided to ask why his here

"Oh my friend invited me. He plays for Adlers but today they all got the gym for themselves and all the team we all fought during highschool are here."

So that's why there's so many people! You also notice the twin of Atsumu standing on the side while talking to some people.

"What about you?" He ask

"Oh... I'm actually the manager of MSBY and I was just sneaking around since something happened and uh..."

You look away and Sachiro is quick to sense that something is going on but he decided not to pry further.

"That's nice! Are you leaving or going in there?"

"Oh uhm... I'm going."

Sachiro smiled and you both walk towards the entrance of the court and your heart began to pound very loud that you unconsciously grab on to his jacket, when the both of you immerge from the entrance. Instantly eyes are on you or maybe on your hands grabbing tightly on his jacket.

"Sachiro! Why are you with the manager of the jackals?"

"We're friends and we bump to each other."

Korai ask then his eyes darted on the hands of the woman trembling while grabbing a good hold of his friend's coat. Shoyo manage to let him in on what happened to the jackals lately and he turn his attention to the jackals setter and oh boy the ball is near to exploding.

"Are you that nervous?"

Sachiro turn slightly to lean down and whisper to your ears

"Huh?! I-I'm not! Hey everyone!"

Your hands let go of his coat and ran towards where your team is and Shoyo is the first one to jump at you and hug your frame tight until it led to a group hug. Then, Shoyo began to introduce you to the other people and you met his seniors and the other players. Some of them have drop playing voleyball upon graduating from highschool and some didn't.

"Heya~ you're the only who haven't tasted my new recipe."

"Osamu!"

The black haired man grin and handed you his newly made onigiri, you can say that you're close to him since the team sometimes eats on his restaurant here in Tokyo.

"Oh my! This is yummy!"

"Heh- then I'll add this to my menu. Oh, you got something in your face..."

You were about to get it but he beat you to it as he took it with a swipe using his thumb and your cheeks turn red seeing how he lick his thumb.

"Osa- What the fuck is your deal?"

Atsumu came infront of you and push his twin away from you and several people immediately hold Atsumu back and Osamu ignored his twin as he look at you

"You should just forget this stupid asshole and get it with me."

Before you can even say something Atsumu was already screaming his twin's name and was about to punch but Osamu is quick to dodge it as he ran away laughing.

"You. Come here."

Atsumu said as soon he return from chasing his brother, he tug on your hand and led you at the locker room. What even happened? You ask yourself. Why are you alone with him in this room? Should you say sorry for slapping him? But why would you? Wh-

"Everytime I land my gaze at you, you're with a man. What's with you pulling men from left to right?"

Your eyebrow raises and you immediately meet his eyes

"Are you telling me that I'm a slut?"

"What?! How did you- fuck!"

"Don't curse at me! I get it. You're mad because I slap you. Well, I'm sorry! But you're still an asshole!"

Atsumu groan as he pace back and forth trying to come up with the best words he can. Osamu, that idiot just had to add fuel to his jealousy. Why is he so jealous?! Why?!

"Why do I like you so much?!"

"What..."

Your breath hitches when he suddenly look at you and immediately his right in front of you. Your back press agaisnt the door with his right arm place right above your head

"What did you do to me? How come I like you so much that it irritated me so much not being the first one to give you something during valentines."

His minty breath fans your face as he reach for your hair and starts to play with it, being this close to you is making him go crazy, he can't even think straight.

"I like you so much that I hate how you smiled brightly towards Bokuto and how his the one who gets to bask on your warmth."

He place his right hand on your cheeks and you are looking straight on to his eyes, he leans down and you swear to God that your heart is about to burst out from your ribcage

"I like you so much that seeing other men touching you is making me go crazy.."

His lips hovers over yours and you were the one to close the gap. Maybe you are crazy. Maybe you like him so much too that you lost all the right to think straight.

"Shit"

Atsumu's arms immediately wrap around your waist and press your body more towards his. He lick your lower lip and you immediately let his tongue in, you moan out through the kiss and Atsumu almost punch the door.

"I need to breath.."

"More.."

He claim your lips again and you hold on to him for a support, his fingers running through your hair as he kisses you deep and full of love. He didn't even notice his tears streaming down to his cheeks. You immediately pulled away and cup his cheeks

"Why are you crying?!"

"I like- no, I love you. Please, I love you so much. I'm sorry... I'm sorry for being a dickhead to you. I'm sorry for being an asshole."

"Atsumu..."

He place one hand over yours as he kiss your palms then it trails down towards your wrist and he looks at you, with teary eyes

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me? Hm? I will do my best to change. Just... just let me love you."

Now, it's your turn to cry and you punch him on the chest as you sob uncontrollably. He let you punch him and when you stop he hug you tight, burying his face on the crook of your neck

"Idiot. You're an idiot! Why weren't you honest from the start?! Do you know how hard it is for me to endure with the thought of the person I like, hates me? You're an idiot!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry.. it's just... I didn't know any better. You... you were just so amazing. You were always there for us, supporting us. That I started to doubt that if I would be like that too. Be there for you, support you through your decisions. I... I got scared that if I let you know how I feel, you would distance yourself to me.."

So that's why you sometimes catches him glancing from you but you really didn't pay any attention to it.

"I'm just a manager. It is my duty to keep the teams spirit."

"You're more than that! During our darkest moment in court, you always manage to cheer us up. Your inspiring words are one of the reasons that keeps us winning our fights."

He grab a hold of your hand and kiss your knuckles as he looks at you

"You're my world... you are my light. I love you. Can I be your lover?"

You look at him with mix emotions and you ended up laughing with tears, guess you can call this a tears of joy now.

"Very cheesy isn't like you Tsumu."

His smile widen and engulf you to a tight hug. He pulled away and cup your cheeks as he capture your lips to kiss you tenderly. He press his forehead to yours and the both of you are smiling, he kiss your nose and you both giggled

"Let's go? The others must be worried."

You nodded and the both of you walk out of the room hand in hand and you notice how silent the court is

"Did they left?" You ask and squeeze his hand, seeing the lights on the court were turn off

"I think? Let me check my pho- Congratsulations!"

All the lights turn on at the same time and when your eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, you saw a banner stating

'Congrats on not being a coward anymore Atsumu!'

Your gaze drops on his arm that is wrap around your shoulders making you stand close to him

"Ah to be young..."

Meian wipe the single tear on his eyes, he saw you on the second floor and knew right away that this love chase has to end. So he ask Shoyo to text you convincing you to come, he knows you will. He also ask Korai to have his friend approach you. Lucky, he says since you and Sachiro had some connection. Then when he notice Atsumu glaring daggers towards your direction, he got Atsumu's twin on his plan and that's how it went.

"What the hell! You guys were evesdropping!!"

"Please forgive me hm?"

Osamu said mockingly and Atsumu started to chase him again and you just stand there laughing. Hearing you laugh is enough to make Atsumu feel things, he went back to you and kiss you infront of all the people and it did shut you up. He embrace you with one arm and look at the people, grinning from ear to ear.

"Atsumu Miya is officially taken."

¤¤¤

You were woken up when you felt something wrap around your waist, slowly your eyes flutter open and was greeted by a snoring Atsumu. A soft smile grace your lips, fingers lightly stroking his face. It has been five months now ever since you guys started dating. He also successfully persuaded you on moving to his house here in Tokyo. A lot has happened ever since you guys started dating, you are still their manager but Atsumu is thinking taking a break from voleyball. He reasons that he wants to start planning for your guys future.

"G'morning babe..."

"Mornin' Tsumu."

You kiss him on the lips and he smiled and pulls you even closer, today he got a day off and it means he doesn't have to participate to the practice. You were also given a day off so he suggested you guys go on a date today.

"Where do you want to go?" You ask, your fingers now playing on his hair

"Anywhere as long as I'm with you."

He replied and it made you feel butterflies in your stomach. You pinch him and he laugh at your reaction, he will never get tired of seeing your flustered face.

"Be seirous!"

"I am serious, as long as I'm with you anywhere is fine."

He moved and now his on top of you and you felt his fingers rubbing circles on your thighs, he leans down and lick the mark he made last night. You let out a whimper, his hand moving slowly to where he kept on touching you last night also.

"Again? We were on it till 3am..."

"Promise, We'll get up after."

He said but you know better than to trust his words but you just let him. You love it anyways.

The end.

[reagi-df]

Febuwhump Day 13: You weren’t supposed to get hurt

Old sketch design for my forgive me au but I’m gonna use it anyway

Donnie stares down at the screen as he types away, he's surrounded by the quietness of the lab. He's exhausted but he needs to finish what he started. It's been a rare few quiet days from having to go against any major Kraang players and he's taking this time to really get things sorted for when the time comes and he wakes up properly.

His fingers slow down on his keypad, eyes automatically looking up to his monitor showing the vital signs. Everything is stable for the moment and Donnie is grateful for that.

“Knock knock”  jolting, Donnie shoots his head around and sees Raph standing there. Even though his body doesn't have any eyes, he knows from how his head is tilted he assesses Donnie.��

And he doesn't like it.

“Raphael, what can I do for you at this hour”  he's glad his mask hides the bags under his eyes.

“Raph could ask you the same thing” the sounds of Raphs metal feet hitting his floor as he walks closer, Donnie lets his ninpō ripple under his skin as he subtly swipes away the taps connected to the chamber.

Raph cant see.

“Why are you still up?”

“Have a lot of things to do. Projects to finish. I need to make sure our defences are up and running frantically, even if the Kraang are being strangely quiet it won't last forever and I need to make sure we're ready” Donnies hands are flying about his keypad as he speaks.

A heavy hand rests on top of his own, stilling him. Donnie looks down at the metal digits, observes the grooves and scratches that litter his brother's metal casing. A sharp prain runs through him at the thought of not seeing his oldest brother's flesh hand again but he knows it's too late now. Even if he tried it wouldn't work.

And he doesn't want to go through that again. 

“You need to let me buffer out your hand again” he says absently.

Dragging his tiered eye up to these dimmed lit eyes of his brothers he hears Raph sigh. “Don, please go to sleep. I know its been hard  on you but I don't want you to burn yourself out again. I can't go through watching you die right in front of my eyes. Not again.”

Looking away Donnie swallows. “That wasn't my intention.”

“I know” Raph’s hand leaves Donnie’s and he secretly mourns the loss. “But you mean a lot to us Don, we don't want you to keep hurting.”

He stubbornly refuses to look up, “I’m fine, Raph.”

“Please donnie, Le-” 

“Dont!” Donnie grits out, cutting off whatever Raph was going to say.

Silence hangs in the air, tension heavy.

Closing his eyes and breathes deeply through his nose, “I'm sorry” he exhales.

Raphs gently places his hand back on Donnies broad shoulder and he leans into the touch. “I know I nag a lot, but I just don't want you to hurt”

Patting Raphs hand “I know big brother” looking up he turns to face Raph, metal hand falling from his shoulder. “Look I promise i'll go to sleep, I just need another 10 minutes”

They both stand there staring at each other, it feels like an eternity before Raph sighs again and steps back. “Okay, I know a losing  battle when I see one. Im making the rounds and when I come back and you're not asleep i'm dragging your ass to bed”

Snorting, Donnie bobs his head. “Sure” a small smile forms on his face.

Head shaking fondly, Raph walks to the door but pauses before he leaves. “I meant what I said Don” turning his head around he continues “you mean a lot to us, your family and we do anything for the family.

“Yeah” his voice catches in his throat.

They’ll do anything for their family.

Nodding Raph bids him farewell, “g’night don”

“Night” he whispers.

He stands there for a few seconds before he shuts all of his projects down, he pauses with his hand hovering in the air, he feels his ninpo running through his body, he brings up the tabs containing the chamber again and walks away as he transfers them to his gauntlet.

With a quick few strides to one side of the room, Donnie presses his palm to a hidden compartment, there's a hiss as the doors open. He's glad he never told anyone about this hidden room. It's become very useful for stuff he doesn't want others to see.

The doors close firmly behind him with the lights flickering on, with a flick of his fingers the tabs are transferred to the machine connected to the chamber. “I'll be quick, then you can go back to sleep. Donnie passes his time by making sure everything is working correctly, it usually takes about 10 minutes or so, but he's dragging his feet. He talks about anything that comes to mind, about the time Mikey ended up sleepwalking into a wall, or that time he ended up floating to the ceiling and unable to get down,. 

“He’s exhausted, Mikes been doing too much lately”. Donnie muses.

Donnie goes on, speaking about the time when April and he had found a stash of booze, that was strangely still in date, and got drunk. “April was cursing me out, she should've known that my metabolism is superior than hers.” he absently rubs his head from where she smacked him when he did tell her. 

His feet bring him closer to the chamber, “Jr is becoming a terror, coming more and more like his mother everyday” Donnie checks the systems and the vitals. “He's learning so fast, it was enjoyable watching him talk cheekily back to April” he pauses and looks down.

“You'd like him,” he whispers. 

A dull scratches his attention, turning his head Donnie sees a green hand with an IV cannula strapped to the back, tubing floating around his body. The hand drags down and his claws leave sharp grooves into the glass.

Walking up, Donnie places his own pawl onto the thick glass. Leo stares back at him with dull unseeing eyes, a mask firmly placed onto his mouth while his body is submerged in water.

“I'm sorry,” Donnie whispers as he watches those unseeing eyes flutter and shut.

“Please forgive me” he murmurs to the dead.

---------

Dropping this here for @febuwhump I was hoping id find something

Im hoping to get close to the juicy bits in Forgive Me, id love it if you'd vote for these boys in the @tmntaucompetition it'll be fun show what ive got planned 😈, as well as going up against other peoples

Again excuse my dyslexic unbetaed

[daughterofheartshaven]

This is a rant about the 2023 Doctor Who specials. I was typing up another post about why I do like a bunch of other Who stories then got distracted so decided to make this.

I normally really try to be positive about Doctor Who. Everyone's tastes are valid, and if you like the 2023 specials I am genuinely glad that you do! I don't think these specials are objectively bad or the Death of The Show or anything like that, I just personally Do Not Like Them and have decided I want to rant about why. If you want some insight into how I think about these stories (or also don't like them and want to see someone else talk about why they didn't work for her) I hope you enjoy! But if you don't wanna read something like that, skip this and I promise I'll be nicer next post.

So I should probably start by saying that I am a Known Thirteen Defender and consider The Power of the Doctor to be my favorite episode the show has done, so it's fair to say that these three specials were probably never gonna be my favorites following that.

I also wasn't a huge fan of the Tenth Doctor on tv. He's been redeemed in my eyes by Big Finish and Titan Comics, but his tv run didn't do it for me. This means, much as I think David Tennant is a cool person (from what I know about him anyway), his return wasn't something I was exited about. I was exited to see Ncuti Gatwa as the new Doctor, so my reaction to the reveal that nope! David Tennant again! was basically anger that Gatwa was getting benched (and, yes, I know that the whole reason they did this was that Gatwa was busy and couldn't have done these specials. Still doesn't change my emotional reaction to that twist).

And finally, I cannot express in words how much I was not interested in Donna Noble returning. Don't get me wrong, I think Donna is a fantastically written character. But the reason she is so fascinating is because she is deeply relatable. She is a character who the audience is expertly designed to relate to and someone they would like. Meanwhile I, and I cannot stress this enough, am nothing like Donna Noble. I think I would like the character a lot more if I felt like she contrasted with the other Tenth Doctor companions, but she's the third modern-day earth human in a row, and I'm not interested in that archetype. So the result is I just kind of think of Donna as "that time they did Tegan again" and that's that.

All of this is to say that I doubt I would have totally loved the specials even if they'd been great. I wasn't interested in the core concepts. But even beyond that, they dropped the ball in my eyes.

So, the Star Beast.

I actually really like this episode for most of its runtime. Its an adaptation of a comic story from the 70s, and it does a great job balancing being faithful to its source material and actually being a good 2020s tv episode. I'm maybe not the hugest fan of the trial scene - the comic has a much more action-oriented way it handles the reveal - but overall, I really think this episode does a good job. I also love Shirley, and she was basically replacing Osgood. I love Osgood. Selling me on a character who was Osgood's replacement was gonna be hard, and they actually did it. Shirley is great. Rose is also great, too - like, she's not that deep or interesting, but like. I cannot emphasize enough how seeing a trans woman of color matters. And she's written well enough for the most part.

Of course then it falls apart at the end. The Doctor has to return Donna's memories and then it turns out she isn't going to die after all! Because she gave some of this energy to her daughter! And she can just give up the rest!

Okay, I am against any sort of "Donna's memories return" plotline, because Donna losing her memories is the emotional core that underruns all of her time with the Tenth Doctor and his time after her. Like, in my opinion, that one fact - that Donna loses everything she grew into while traveling with the Doctor - is the emotional underpinning of the back half of the Tenth Doctor era, so removing that makes that whole arc seem a lot cheaper and shallower in retrospect. I was expecting the midwipe thing to be undone, but I was expecting it to be an arc over all three episodes.

And all of that would apply if they had pulled this off well, but as you can probably tell, I do not think they did that. The "Rose got some of the Metacrisis" twist is decently pulled off, but the "we can let the regeneration energy go" thing... after how much grief the Tenth Doctor went through over this stuff, the concept that this would just not occur to him because he was a man (??) makes no sense to me. If there was a viable solution, he would have found it. And saying that women just intuitively get this better is super confusing and off-putting. And, for the record, I am in fact a woman.

I don't really have much to say about Wild Blue Yonder. It's basically a great example of a Meh episode for me. I don't care for it, but that's mostly because a lot of it feels like "the Doctor and Donna, back as normal for a new adventure!" and like I said above this isn't gonna be all that interesting if I don't like Donna. The actual barebones plot - the episode's structures and twists - is pretty good, but I haven't gotten a chance to like the new Doctor yet and I'm not into the companion.

And then the Giggle comes around and it has the Doctor commit mitosis out of nowhere and robs Ncuti Gatwa of having a proper post-regeneration story and doesn't even utilize the guest characters and makes Donna and Mel seem Special To The Doctor instead of the companions who I actually like who were just on the show and like I'm sorry but why did we have to leave Yaz and Ace and Tegan in the dust like that and (takes a deep breath).

Okay, let's go through all of that, but more slowly.

Much like The Star Beast, my problems with The Giggle are mostly about how it finishes. I have less good things to say about the build-up, but there's nothing all that bad. My only gripe is that for having Kate and Shirley and Mel, none of those characters feel like they had to be there - none of them do much except explain the plot to the Doctor. They don't really help resolve it. Compare The Power of the Doctor, which utilized all of its guest stars incredibly well - each of them was crucial to the narrative and the story as presented would not work without any of those characters doing the things they had done. (I guess you could argue Graham as an exception, but I feel like his setting up of the support group at the very end was more than enough to justify his presence in the narrative). This leaves Kate, Shirley, and Mel feeling underused.

And then we get to the bigeneration scene. Okay, first of all, the concept came out of nowhere. I've seen people defend it by pointing out all of the other things in the show that came out of nowhere, but, like. They had the basic lore of how regeneration worked locked down back in the 70s. Messing with that now doesn't feel like adding something new to the mythos, it feels like messing with a preexisting thing for... reasons?

And like that's the thing about the bigeneration. I just don't understand why, narratively, this makes a better story. Like I don't like the Timeless Child stuff either, but I can see how Chris Chibnall was going for new narrative opportunities. I don't see how we can return to Fourteen after this story and make an interesting narrative out of it without trampling on the point this story is trying to make: that the Doctor deserves to retire for a bit.

(Which is deeply funny if you stop to remember the amount of times the Doctor has been stuck in one time and place for some reason, but I don't need to get into that one).

I'm bothered by bigeneration mostly because of the fact that they robbed Ncuti Gatwa of a post-regeneration story. Having the Doctor recover from a regeneration and work out who they are is something I really really value and skipping over that with Gatwa is a disservice to him and his Doctor, in my mind.

The catch game also feels weird because Doctor Who is all about winning by being smart and brave and kind. Being good at catch isn't really smart or good or kind, so it being the solution feels like a cop out.

And finally, the show having the Doctor go and live with Donna stung for me, because, how many times can I say it, I don't care about Donna. However, we just left Yaz (my favorite NuWho companion), Ace (my one of my favorite classic series companions), and Tegan (who I don't love quite as much as Ace but also love very much), so the show going out of the way to claim the Doctor changed his face because he needed to find Donna to "come home" specifically feels like a slap in the face for all three of them.

I think that last bit is the reason I stay salty about the Giggle even over a year later. I acknowledge that Donna is a great companion, and I don't think I have to like her for her to be great. But to put her above three of my favorite companions like that stings.

And what really kills it for me is that I can see such a great story in this trillogy.

Like, imagine the Star Beast going as seen, except Donna actually dies when we expect her to. She saved London. She saved her daughter. But she died to do it. The Doctor, dealing badly with his grief, tries to flee in his Tardis, but Rose manages to follow him on board, demanding answers as to why her mom is now dead.

This leads straight into Wild Blue Yonder. The Doctor wants to get Rose home but they're both grieving Donna and she doesn't trust him one jot and blames him for her mother's death. The Not-Things try to play into this - driving a wedge between Rose and the Doctor, but the two manage to work together to work out what's going on and escape with their lives. In the process, they both heal a little. The Doctor accepts that Donna made her choice, and Rose accepts that the Doctor didn't kill her mother.

And then when they return to Earth in the Giggle, they are able to work together to stop the Toymaker. At the end, the Doctor is shot and actually regenerates as normal, but he's able to use his regeneration as a distraction, giving Rose the room to defeat the Toymaker. She is then able to help him get through his post-regenerative process and they leave on good terms. Rose is still grieving her mother, but she can understand why Donna chose to travel with the Doctor and she makes sure he knows he is still welcome in their house.

Like, come on. It's the same plots, basically, but it actually has an emotional arc that lasts longer than one episode, is in line with prior emotional arcs, and uses the heavily advertised trans woman of color that we all got exited for instead of benching her after the first story and gives her a good deal of depth.

(Yes I know if RTD had killed Donna off and replaced her with a trans woman of color there would have been so much bigoted backlash but I still think it would have been a better story).

Okay, I'm done now. If you have any counterarguments to this or want to add on to any of this, I do want to hear it! One thing I love about Doctor Who is that different people love it for different reasons and love different things. If you're a fan of The Giggle and read this anyway, then massive respect for making your way through all of this and I'd love to see you talk about why you loved it so much!

[luzial]

My Thoughts on Veilguard (Spoilers for all)

OK. Now that I've actually had a night to sleep on it, here's my more detailed thoughts on Veilguard beneath the cut. Spoilers for everything, of course. Also this is long as hell so have fun, I guess.

I am genuinely feeling so overwhelmed with emotion at getting what was honestly a happier ending for Solavellan than I thought was possible within the established canon. So let me just start off by acknowledging that the last 10 minutes of Veilguard left me feeling a lot more charitable about it than the previous 80 hours I played did. If you want a glowing review, this ain't it.

Gonna try to organize this into a few categories.

Character Customization

This is embarrassing but I actually rage quit the game after spending about an hour in character creation and finding I could not get a Rook that looked anything like I wanted her to look. The problem for me really was the 3 head types that morphed together - I found that to be too limiting to get something that looked like a real human face to me. Eventually I settled on something and, fortunately, got used to it quickly.

Being able to make a vallaslin-removed, 10-years-older version of my Inquisitor was an absolute dream. I had a lot of reference pictures of my DA:I Lavellan, so this was simpler for me than starting fresh with Rook.

Backgrounds

I played as a human Crow mage. The Crow background story was hilarious to me because you're kind of a fuck-up. Viago addresses you as "Idiot" in his opening letter to you at the start of the game. (Viago can call me an idiot any time, for the record.) I was impressed by how much reactivity there was dependent on my background, though I understand that some others (especially Grey Warden) have even more options because they're so closely tied to the parts of the lore this story primarily focuses on. I'm excited to try some others if I can muster up the energy to play this game a second time (more on that to come).

Combat

Drastically more fun than another other DA game. Your mileage may vary if you like the turn-based stuff from the earlier games, but I do not. I played as a Spellblade, got some perfect unique and legendary gear to work with that, and had a blast. Melee mage with electric powers is my absolute preferred thing to be. I felt entirely overpowered by about 35 points into the talents and ended up turning up the difficulty a little because I was killing things pretty easily. But then, because the spec didn't really change much after I hit that sweet spot, I turned the difficulty back down because I was pretty bored with just hitting the same combos and blocks over and over again. So, fun, but still got old after 80 hours of it.

Companions

BioWare companions have a tendency to hit very hard or miss completely for me with not a lot in between. Unfortunately, I found Veilguard to have more misses than hits.

Harding. While I know a lot of people really love Harding, she wasn't ever someone I paid a ton of attention to in Inquisition so I didn't have strong feelings about her return. I was glad that her personal quests gave us some more insight into the Titans and the Kal-Sharok dwarves, both of which are mysteries I was very invested in. (More on my thoughts about how those things played out in the Lore/Story section below.)

Neve. I absolutely loved the idea of Neve. I thought her design was beautiful and unique - loved, loved, loved her hats. I loved the idea of this lady Sherlock Holmes but I was disappointed that her story didn't really feel much like a detective mystery to me. Neve also really got the worst of it in my save - she had the injury at the start, I saved Treviso, and Elgar'nan kidnapped her at the end. So, needless to say, our friendship was a little strained (or as strained as friendships are allowed to be in Veilguard, which is not very). However, Neve getting to say "THIS IS MY CITY" as she uses the Blight against Elgar'nan? Fucking chef's kiss 10/10 loved that shit. Good for her.

Lucanis. As a huge fan of the Crow stories we got in Tevinter Nights, of course I was looking forward to Lucanis. I adored Spite - what a fun idea for a demon archetype to explore. I found the idea of the experimentation with forcing the creation of specific demons and getting them to possess non-mages pretty interesting. I was so enraged that the story wouldn't allow Rook or Lucanis to point out how obvious Illario's betrayal was - I mean, come the fuck on, Zara is literally calling Illario "amatus" as she dies. You're killing me, BioWare. I romanced Lucanis, so more on him as a character and the romance in the Romance section below.

Bellara. I was really uncertain about Bellara at first. It was clear she was going to be "a lot." But she actually really grew on me over the course of the game, and is probably the companion whose friendship I appreciated the most. I loved her banters with Lucanis about cooking and her discussions with Davrin about the implications of the Evanuris being total dickheads. She was one of the few characters in the game who I ever saw attempt to grapple with this (what should have been) ENORMOUS reveal that the Elvhen gods were real and very different than history remembered them (more on that to come, too). And I'd be lying if I said that her utter revulsion at the idea that Solas and Mythal could have been lovers (something I did NOT want) didn't earn her a shitload of loyalty points from me.

Davrin. Davrin felt the most like what I would expect a Dragon Age companion to feel like. He slotted perfectly into the lore but also advanced important parts of it. He was a fantastic example of a heroic Grey Warden but also had ties to his Dalish roots. He and Assan were adorable and I loved their journey together. I really felt like he had the best head on his shoulders of anybody in Rook's team, while also having a personal mission that very directly influenced and pushed forward the overarching narrative of the story. This is what a good companion looks like.

Taash. Boy, did I have a difficult time with Taash. Listen. As a cis lady (though admittedly a bisexual one who has many complicated thoughts about gender), I don't feel that it is especially my place to critique Taash's personal story. So I'll just say that I was frustrated by how often they felt like an absolute child to me - in a way that truly left me wondering why the hell Rook recruited an immature teenager for her team. I found Taash's relationship with their mother to be equal parts frustrating and touching, and I think that's fine and probably good. I wish Taash had given their mother a chance to tell us more about people in the Qun who are non-binary. I was excited to hear that lore and sad that Taash cut her off. I am always glad to see stories like Taash's in very popular media because I think stories instill empathy in us and empathy goes a long way toward acceptance. I do wish, however, that Taash's story was spoken about in a more "Dragon Age-y" tone, versus using the exact words and concepts that we do in the real world. It took me out of Thedas at times to hear how they framed their experience.

Emmrich. A little torn. My god, I loved Manfred. I loved Emmrich most of the time too. I thought his personal quest was fun, hilarious, and creepy. Someone had way too much fun with all those horror zoom-ins during the cinematics, and I am here for it. I loved what we learned of the Mourn Watch and Nevarra - both things I was really excited to see in a game. I think my reluctance to fully embrace Emmrich is simply that much of the information he provides is so similar to the sort of information Solas gave us in Inquisition. And so many players hated Solas for that, whereas I expect Emmrich will be much better liked overall because he delivers his advice a lot more politely than Solas managed to. So I guess I do like Emmrich, but my Solavellan heart is telling me that's a little disloyal.

Overall, my biggest complaint isn't even with the individual companions or their stories but with the absolutely awful pacing that dictates how those stories play out. If I don't play this game a second time, it's because of Act 2. All the running back and forth to have what I have been derisively referring to as "picnics" with your companions really soured me on them in ways that I don't think is very fair to the actual characters. I wish I didn't have to go the map and teleport to get 2-3 minutes of dialogue with someone. I wish I could talk to them more at the Lighthouse. I do miss the conversation wheels where I could just ask for more info. Combined with the fact that, at times, it felt like this was all I was doing for the entirety of Act 2, they had just worn out their welcome for me and i was desperate to advance the main plot.

I also just did not need 2 separate pep talks from Varric effectively saying "get your team's shit together and it'll be better for your bigger goals." I know, Varric. I am playing a BioWare game. You are explaining a BioWare game to me in a BioWare game. I don't need that. I'm here to fix my companions' shit. I signed up for that. Again, that dialogue just took me out of Thedas, and especially when he said it a second time.

Romance

Absolute, fucking nothing-burger with nothing-sauce and no cheese. And I know that this is not just about who I picked - I have looked at plenty of the other romances and talked to my friends who romanced other people. This game just doesn't have it. Spice level is like a dash of stale black pepper. A few cute party banters when you decide to pair up with somebody, but that was really about it. This is gonna be all about the fics for those of you who really wanted more from these characters.

I think you would get this scene regardless of whether you'd begun to flirt with him, but I did really like the first private scene you have with Lucanis where you walk around the Treviso markets and he picks out food items for everybody in the party. It was a lot kinder and more thoughtful than I expected from an assassin character, so I guess that's probably why I went with him. I didn't feel strongly about romancing any of the companions and I ended up going with Lucanis because I knew I was going to save Treviso since I was a Crow and I figured it'd be a lot simpler to romance him in this save versus a second where I save Minrathous. How romantic, right?

To the extent the devs said this was the "most romantic" Dragon Age game so far ... surely they were only talking about Solavellan, right? 😭

Lore/Story

Whew. Strap in. Cause I am conflicted and I'm ready to throw all my problems at the wall / people on Tumblr who haven't stopped reading yet.

Let me start by saying a few things about what I think makes a satisfying resolution to a story. I do not think it is at all a bad thing if your audience is able to guess - mostly or partially - the direction a story is taking. I actually think that can be a very strong compliment to your writing and to the intelligence of the breadcrumbs that you've left along the way. I read everything. I read every word of every codex. I read every novel. I read every comic even though I hate reading comics. I like being rewarded by seeing the knowledge I've gained from that work reflected back at me in the game. That is Good Shit.

I was thrilled to watch headcanon after headcanon (mine and others) confirmed as lore in this game. It was deeply satisfying to go back and look at notes I had made while writing Ruins in 2016 and 2020 about which Elvhen gods corresponded to which Tevinter Old Gods and find that I had all but 2 of them correct. (I swapped Elgar'nan and Falon'Din and I'm not even going to count that against myself because how the hell was I supposed to guess that the Evanuris associated with the SUN was aligned with the Tevinter god of NIGHT, fuck off lol). Good breadcrumbs are so deeply satisfying in a story like this and I cannot be thankful enough that we got all these little hints along the way that were waiting for us to discover them and fit the puzzle pieces together.

The thing of it is, that there are places where I think those breadcrumbs were followed to their least interesting possible conclusions. And that makes me a bit sad because I think it's pretty clear that this game is meant to neatly tie a bow on this geographical part of the Dragon Age world, and it's therefore pretty unlikely that we are going to get much more information to fill in the important gaps in knowledge we still have about the Blight and the Titans in particular.

The more I played this game, the more confused I became about the origins of the Blight, and that was especially frustrating for me because I honestly thought I had it very clear in my head after playing The Descent DLC. The Blight was like an infection or an immune response within the Titans' bodies to the invasion of the Evanuris. It was a consequence of their actions but not something created intentionally. To the extent I knew that Ghilan'nain was messing around with the Blight, I thought it was a fascination she developed with what seemed to be a naturally-occurring phenomenon, and not something she had intentionally, actively created herself. I came out of Veilguard being completely unclear with which of those two things is true and I do not think it is possible or interesting for both to be true. It is entirely possible I have missed something (somehow, in my very slow playthrough where I read every codex as soon as it become available to me), but my lingering suspicion is that the writers of this game never entirely made up their mind about the Blight's origins either. And that's a sad note to leave on, like I said, because I don't know that we'll see much of it again.

As for the Titans, I did enjoy seeing more of that story - and especially from THEIR perspective, not just Solas' memories - through Harding. Their anger was so just and important and I'm glad we saw some of that. However. A couple of big misses for me on the Titans. First, given how alien and huge and intimidating the "inside" of the Titan was in The Descent I just do not like the idea of them having these physical, humanoid-shaped bodies like the one we see in the mountains. I wanted something more abstract than that because I wanted them to be something mythical and fundamentally unknowable. Also, the absolute nonsense of introducing this idea that "angry" lyrium is red lyrium - but don't worry, it's not blighted! It's a totally different thing! That missed me so hard. What an unnecessary complication of straightforward lore. If you want the lyrium to look different to reflect the Titan's anger make it a different color, make it spark, do literally anything except use an existing mutation that already means one very specific thing to your audience.

So the Blight and the Titans were the two places where the lore fell down a bit for me. But I also was simultaneously excited to see Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain and also so underwhelmed by how mundane and "modern" (modern by Thedas standards) they seemed to me at times. I adored Ghilan'nain's model in particular. She was just as creepy, uncanny, body-horror as I have always wanted her to be. Both were fantastically acted. Absolutely no complaints there.

But in the same way that I wanted the Titans to feel suitably alien and distant from us, the players - the Warden, Hawke, the Inquisitor, Rook; people who did not live 10,000 years ago and cannot conceive of this world once being drastically different from how it now is - I wanted the Evanuris to feel SO far above us, so removed. They are not truly gods but they are so godlike in the scope of their power that I wanted them to look at modern Thedas almost like we were ants. The scope of their concerns should be so enormous that we are practically nothing to them. I found it wild when they called me Rook - that they cared enough to know my name? I didn't hate the idea of them grasping power wherever they could - with the Venatori, with the Antaam. But it just made them feel so much smaller than I had imagined. The fact that they called their dragons "archdemons" was a weird nitpicky sticking point for me. Surely they had their own word? Why would they stoop to adopting a word and a concept that never had a reason to exist in their culture?

Speaking of words, and names. I hated, hated everybody using Solas' real name. In my mind, the only people who should have gotten to do that were people who knew him as Solas in the Inquisition. That everyone else adopted it, versus calling him the Dread Wolf or Fen'Harel, whatever, really confused me. It felt so weirdly intimate to have people - even people who weren't party members, just fucking randos that are helping you - calling him Solas. I recognize that this probably a "me" problem and it would be more confusing for new players to have the same character referred to by different names. But still, the part of my Inquisitor who still lives in my heart wanted to just slap anybody out here going around using his name like it was theirs to use.

The exponential increase of the use of magic in the North of Thedas was both something I anticipated and also still way beyond anything I expected. We knew attitudes about magic were drastically different in the North. Dorian's character in Inquisition was a great way to prime us for that shift. Fundamentally, though, I believe Dragon Age as a series has always been concerned about the risks and the consequences of magic use. Those risks are not less in the North. It's simply that they find the risks more acceptable and have different customs and safeguards in place to facilitate the kind of magic use they want.

But I saw NO risks for magic use in Veilguard. No sense that the huge quantities of energy being pulled from a VERY TATTERED AND DELICATE VEIL were worrying to anyone. If magic has become easier to use because of the events of Inquisition and the Veil's weakened state, maybe I could believe that. But somebody in the game needed to say it out loud. Otherwise, I'm just looking at a world where magic is a net positive so how stupid and cruel do you have to be to prevent its use? It makes the already dubious morals of the Chantry and Templars entirely reprehensible in retrospect because apparently if you just let people do any magic they want at any time, everything's peachy!

It was difficult to anchor myself to any particular idea of whether this amount of magic use was normal for my Rook, because Rook - regardless of background - is from the North. They're not an outsider. Thus, I'm counting on someone who is an outsider - maybe Harding? - to comment on it, to contextualize it, to make it make sense to me from the perspective of the South, which has always been the player's perspective until this game. I never got that and I wish I had because it would have been so much more interesting and nuanced.

Similarly, it was so challenging to be thrust in media res into a Thedas where everyone (save one obstinate First Warden) was entirely willing to accept that the Elvhen gods were real and were the cause of all the bad shit happening in the world. Listen, I get it. 10 years is a lot of time. Maybe huge, fundamental paradigm shifts have happened in Thedas. Maybe people are willing to believe unbelievable things. But to see very, very little recognition of that from the characters we encounter was jarring. As I said above, I was glad that Bellara and Davrin were able to contextualize some of this in their conversations and I assume an elf Rook maybe has more to say on it as well, but it just wasn't enough for me. This was a place where I feel like we were asked to fill in too many gaps in time and in knowledge and I ended up with the sense that the writing just "had" to begin at this point because it had so much other ground to cover.

And that was the biggest problem for me - not exactly with lore but with pacing. Veilguard decided to wrap up so many of the fundamental mysteries we have been dealing with for 4 games. That is a huge order and it takes a lot of time. As I said, I took 80 hours to play this game. I think that is plenty of time to tell a story as complex as this one needed to be without me coming out of it feeling like I still have questions that should have been answered. Because the game "wastes" so much time, especially in Act 2, especially with some aspects of the companion stories, there just isn't enough room left to do what it needs to do with the main narrative. I also honestly think it could have been split across 2 games - not that any of us want to wait another decade to have these stories resolved, but maybe I would have if I'd known they would have been resolved a little more completely. And, again, I wouldn't be so sad about this if it didn't seem so obvious that we are done with Thedas after this.

Finally, I was so devastated by the lack of Thedas politics in this game. There were so many wonderful opportunities for factions and countries to be pissed at each other, to be working against each other for drastically different goals. I think of this as another core aspect of what Dragon Age games are about. Inquisition obviously was the most political of the games in that sense, because you really were a political leader more than you were a hero. But all 3 of the previous games were worried about this stuff - worried about who's in power, who is subjugated, how can the world be changed not only by people with magical ability but also by those who have deep beliefs about what Thedas should be. Magical power and political power are both very real and both crucial in the prior 3 games. In Veilguard, magic is power, simple as that.

I think this is linked, at least partially, to the decision not to include too many prior decisions and possible world states into Veilguard. And, hey, I do get that. As a player who started with Inquisition I found the Tapestry very intimidating. Three games' worth of choices is a lot to ask of even returning players, let alone new ones. I can't fault them too heavily for this because god knows how many more years in development it would've taken to make all that work. But that doesn't make me mourn the losses any less.

And now, really finally, here's a list of questions that I really don't need anybody to try to answer for me but which I cannot get out of my head and are kinda breaking the plot for me:

Hey so like, how was Solas (weakened state Solas at the end of Inquisition) capable of "murdering" Mythal? Like what power did he have that could have overcome hers? Even if he did have that power how COULD he kill her if he was still bound to her at that point? (I have always read that cutscene as Flemeth at least partially consenting to give Solas her power - not because I'm trying to give him a charitable read but because I honest to god don't understand how it's possible if she's unwilling.)

I think I'm even more confused about the orb/focus from Inquisition now. Obviously if he'd gotten it Solas wouldn't have had to take Mythal's power. But like, why did he have it in the first place? Was it something only he had? What was its original purpose? Cause the dagger seems to have taken its place in terms of importance/power level and containing the Titans.

How the fuck did Solas cleanse the red lyrium idol/dagger?

What happened to those Sentinel elves like Abelas? Where the fuck did they go? Whose side are they on?

What about the elves disappearing into the forest?

Still the stuff about the Blight.

I'm sure there's a lot more but I'll leave it at that because we've got to get to ...

Solavellan

Guys. I was so afraid of this game for so long. I'm not sure what I really expected or what had me so worried. I've always told my friends that the best ending I can imagine for Solavellan is the Inquisitor and Solas "dying on the same sword." What I meant by that was that I fully accepted their ending would be tragic (I truly saw no alternative) but I would be content if at least they died together - at least he didn't die alone.

What we got was honestly so much better than I wanted? LOL. Especially with Trick Weekes' recent clarifications. (Specifically, regarding where they are going: "She's speaking both romantically and literally. It won't be terrible if they're in there together." I AM DYING I AM LOSING MY MIND I'M SOBBING AND I'M SO HAPPY.)

I was screaming at my monitor - as I'm sure many of you were as well - "GO WITH HIM" when Solas finally gave in and bound himself to the Veil. I sobbed immediately, I woke up this morning and watched the cutscene again and sobbed again. I feel really grateful that this one ship in this one piece of media got such a tailored and thoughtful ending for it - especially knowing how many other choices from previous games had to be stripped away to make room for other things.

So, yeah. Given however many thousands of words I just put into this about all the shit I don't like? Still feeling pretty charitable right now because my girl Lavellan got the happy ending she so richly deserved.

(Side, and final, note: Jesus who made his wolf form look like that? Why would you do our boy so dirty?)

[buckbuckbarnesstuff]

Two-Parts

Get yourself a snack, enjoy these wonderful two-parts and leave some love for the creative writers :)

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1. Conflict of Interest [2.9k] @elixirfromthestars

Detective!Bucky x Lawyer!Reader

Summary: After the many failed dates Natasha set you up on, you decide to give up on the dating scene all together. That is until Bucky makes it his mission to change your mind, but will he be enough to change it?

{personal comment: Bucky is so nice and my heart broke for him, but it’s really beautiful and the way you end it definitely tempts people to read the second part}

2. Conflict of Interest - part ll [8.5k]

Detective!Bucky x Lawyer!Reader

Summary: After deserting Bucky at the fair, you are left dealing with the consequences. This becomes difficult as you are all assigned to a new case. 

{personal comment: I like the writing style and the way it’s portrayed how hard it is for them to interact normally thereafter. And Bucky is so sweet for wanting to fix things even if it meant he could end up hurting}

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1. Graveyard [10k] @wkemeup

Bucky x healer!Reader

Summary: As the unofficial healer for the Avengers, you pride yourself on the ability to mend heroes with the touch of your hand. Only, your gift comes at a heavy price — one you keep secret from your friends —and when Bucky asks you to do the impossible, they’ll discover why your gift is called a sacrifice, too. 

{personal comment: I can hardly imagine there's people who haven't read this, but it’s one of my favourite fics so I have to put it here. I love the way Bucky acts and it’s so sweet how reluctant he is to let reader heal him, not wanting to take advantage of her powers}

2. Sacrifice [13.6k]

Bucky x healer!Reader

Summary: In the midst of an attack, you’re dosed with an unknown chemical and your healing ability becomes compromised.

What if instead of relieving pain – you became the cause of it?

{personal comment: The little insights in the reader's backstory and how she dealt with her powers before the Avengers was really interesting to me. Also, I'm loving Bucky here so much. Him being so fiercly protective has me on the edge of my seat}

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1. The shot heard round the tower [3.7k] @pellucid-constellations

Avenger!Bucky x reader

Summary: You just want to know if Bucky has feelings for you. Bucky just wants you to be okay.

{personal comment: Bucky being such a softy for the reader gives me butterflies. I love this}

2. Unwarranted Weaknesses [3.3k]

Avenger!Bucky x reader

Summary: Ever since you’d been attacked, things hadn’t felt right. Work was harder, you weren’t sleeping, and the smallest things set you off. No one could convince you to get help. That didn’t mean Bucky was going to stop trying.

{personal comment: Bucky is so sweet, patient and understanding and I really love him. I liked how this is written}

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1. Public affair [8.2k] @kaznejis

Avenger!Bucky x Avenger!Reader

Summary: The Avengers PR department designs the perfect fake relationship for you- the key to instant fame and high ratings. Except, you’re already in a relationship with Bucky. 

{personal comment: This had me feeling so many different things, I was so invested. I'm glad they got to talk about everything in the end}

2. Public display [6k]

Avenger!Bucky x Avenger!Reader

{personal comment: So angsty, didn’t expect that but it was a pleasant surprise. Greatly written}

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1. Like I want you [4.4k] @tmpestuous

College!Bucky x College!Reader

Summary: you and bucky have been best friends your entire life and it’s never been anything but platonic. so why do things get so bad when he gets a new girlfriend?

{personal comment: I felt with the reader, it was really poignant, but I enjoyed the writing style and the tension}

2. Like I want you - part ll [5k]

College!Bucky x College!Reader

{personal comment: The tension grew even higher and I loved how it turned out, made me feel all giddy and excited}

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1. Not my babe [3.4k] @avecra

Biker!Bucky x reader

Summary: After a nasty break up to a nearly two year relationship, you find yourself dragged to a bar by your best friend, though a familiar blue-eyed biker makes the best of your crappy situation.

{personal comment: Really enjoyed this, I love how the guys were there for her. And Bucky is a sweetheart}

2. You'll never be alone [2.9k]

Biker!Bucky x reader

Summary: Bucky finally takes you out on the date you deserve.

{personal comment: That date is so sweet. Love how perceptive Bucky is}

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[raindropren]

Some Hermit(+rats) sketches(+Plus the rambles I'm required to write about them)!

going from the ones I like the most to the ones that look more like doodles then sketches lolsie

A Joel! I wanted to try my hand at a S!10 Joel! I've been watching him for quite abit now and He's become one of my favorite hermits(an unsurprisingly long list ngl) :3 Also I found the Animator PerryRata a bit ago and I love how skrunkly they draw everyone, especially Joel, lol. I also have a ton of Joel headcanons from back during empires! He's made of clay and he can form his own body like you would a clay sculpture :D It's my headcanon for why his physical body changes without the use of outside "mods" He's also just a funky silly guy, and I really like how I drew this. Also the tanuki headcanons really fun, to me it's more, raccoon, but it can be either at this point :P

A Jevin! I'll admit I haven't watched him much, but I really wanted to try my hand at drawing a slime character who actually,,, like,,, looks like slime,,, instead of,,, really human with slime bits, lol. I also had a certain body type in mind so ya! I have few headcanons for him but I've thought alittle about how his slime body would work in my AU, so that's fun!

A Non-Hermit! A Garbage Rat Oli! Specifically season 2 Rats tho, lol! I very clearly just wanted to try my hand at drawing a rat on two legs, Garbage's very all over the place in the sketch. The lines are messy and that was kinda on purpose(Garbage whole look and personality is messy and I wanted to kinda,,, feel that in the art and design,, lol) also I was completely going from memory at some points :p

A non-hermit! A Rat Shubble! I don't remember what her like, thing was(like the titles most rats seem to have) but I do know she's lovely and I missed her. I was at my sister house, taking a break from craving pumpkins, and thought about the fact that Oli thought she,,, turned into,, a pumpkin, so I decided to draw her lol! I was trying to keep her cuter then Oli, alittle more put together, and I think I conveyed that at least alittle bit, :3 (also her outfits are so easy, Shubble please never change your outfits from the sweater + overall combo, Complicated outfits are my downfall LOL /lh)

A Etho! This was probably one of the better Etho sketches I did while trying to figure out what the hell his design's deal was ;w; I was having a very hard time but I think the eyes saved it on this one, it looks cute compared to some others! lol! also I gave him a little braid for no reason other then "cute!" lolsie

A second Joel! Secret life specially! I just wanted to draw him in a hoodie, I like drawing hoodies :] I'll make a slightly more complicated design later, but I like how he's just, in a hoodie, that season lol

A second Jevin! Frogger time!!! :O It's Jevin in that frog costume(drawn from memory instead of actually looking so it probably looks really wrong lol) I just really wanted to draw him again :]

A Gem! I was drawing newer peeps so I drew gem as like, a easier thing to doodle :'3 Also I had forgotten her hair buns in past sketches,,, oops

A Pearl! This ones much older than the others(as in, It's on the same page as the meme's with Pearl and Tim Drake lol), I just didn't find it good enough to post sadly ;w; It's a first try at Postmaster Pearl, from memory of course xP She's very cute but I don't think I tried even slightly on this one. you can tell cause I forgot a surprising amount.

and, Lastly, two more Etho's! I think these are cute, I'm just not proud of them at all, might not even look like Etho! but I still like them more then some of the others on that page,,,, They're silly, but not very good ;w;

Welp! That's it! I've been basically collecting my mcyt doodles to post, cause I don't deem a sketch or two alone, good enough to post :'] A hand full amount of doodles is enough for me tho, lol.

I'm real glad I've been expanding the number of hermits i've drawn tho! Yippeee!!

[allwormdiet]

Sentinel 9.3

Y'know, the irony here is that as I'm writing this post I've just started an online course with video lectures.

Solid bit of establishing characterization, an easy display of people's emotional ties and states.

Parahuman science must be so fucking hard to work with, honestly. Your subject matter is made up of a bunch of people with trauma-activated abilities that actively defy physics or other laws of reality, combination of psychology and whatever the hell you call studying outliers in how the fucking universe works.

Also glad people aren't just content to let the matter of parahuman origins end at "they just started happening." I know they haven't cracked the how or why of it in thirty years but I also know they crack it some time in the next two-ish years of canon, which should be interesting.

Also also, the inclination towards combat and conflict is... I know it's not going to be a long time until we talk about the "why" of that one either, but when we do I have notes for the designer(s) on these things

Oh, okay, so trigger events are talked about in a 100-level course, and Taylor straight up didn't know about them. Interesting? She really didn't give that much of a shit about cape stuff before stumbling into the life of a supervillain, huh.

Correlation between physical trauma -> physical powers and psychological trauma -> mental powers is interesting as well, although that leaves plenty of room for the edge cases. Glory Girl is actually the prime example there, too, brute and mover seem like the obvious tags but that doesn't cover the aura, which is I guess master? I'm less and less convinced that it was really just a foul in basketball that made her trigger tbh.

Also: I cannot even fucking imagine what the studies must be like about the New Wave families. Imagine writing your fucking thesis on the Dallon-Pelham Torment Nexus. Imagine being Victoria, Amy, Crystal, or Eric, and your family is being taught about in classes because of how "good" it is at inflicting superpowers on you. No I will not entertain the idea that either family is normal, parahuman psychology has so far shown zero signs of being healthy for anybody and it's not going to start holding back when it comes to child-rearing.

I'm not unsympathetic to what Clockblocker is stewing over, but the PRT can't let these kids dedicate every waking hour to crisis management; there will be a day where they're not dealing with a drowned city, and they might as well get ready for it now, and take time off from trudging through muck and mayhem as they do it.

Narrowing my eyes at the witch burning thing but I'm not going to harp on whatever the hell's going on there.

I think the gender divide makes sense but I don't know if it holds totally consistent in-story; the pre-Leviathan Wards and Protectorate ENE definitely leaned more male than female in its numbers, Merchants and ABB are two men to one woman, Empire is... eight men to seven women I think? I think as of right now the only teams we have that even have more women than men are Undersiders, Travelers, Faultline, and New Wave.

This is probably more math than I should be doing but whatever, don't use math in your story if you don't want someone checking it.

That's the same thing as Circus, right? Interesting that it's a known phenomenon.

He's doing his best, be nice.

Bunch of people are gonna be really annoyed when it turns out where powers come from because there's no way they could predict it from where they're standing.

Hwoof.

Oh, so that's Clockblocker's trigger event and power explained all at once, isn't it? I don't know if it's stated explicitly but "buying time in every way except for the one that matters the most to you" sounds like the kind of monkey's paw shit that powers love to do.

Now see, there's an interesting dilemma, isn't it. Family teams are all well and good (allegedly, given how parahumans work) but the moment one or more members die all of a sudden it's that much more fucked up for everybody. Even if the team persists past losing Manpower and Shielder there's no way they're gonna hold together after Amy & Vicky's Nightmare Extravaganza. One of the most notable independent teams in the setting with over a decade of experience, and in the span of a few months they're going from apex to nonexistence. I don't really have it in me to weep for the adults, see above suspicions about Torment Nexus, but I feel awful for the kids. Crystal is gonna be the last one standing until, what, Ward? That's gotta fuck you up good. Poor fucking girl.

And then the portraits. Hoo boy.

The portraits thing feels. I dunno. Do you have to put them right next to the other members? That feels like a really good way to get your underage parahumans even more fucked up about mortality if I'm being honest.

This is touching. Also fuck cancer.

Exactly what the Wards need, less open communication.

This is a hard conversation to have in a lot of ways. Weld is fumbling but he's trying, and the rest of the team needs to meet him in the middle for things to work out.

And. Ugh. I see an unfortunate side of myself in Clockblocker here. I've got an awful habit of going for low blows in an argument if I'm feeling low enough. I get mean, I say things just to make it hurt. I haven't done it in a long time, but it's still a thing I have done and can do if I don't watch it. With this at least it's an accident, or at least the extent of harm Clockblocker is doing is way beyond what he intended.

Clockblocker has the sense to fear Glory Girl in this moment, and she has the grace to forgive him.

And that's proof of who Clockblocker is when he's not at his worst. When he's not lashing out because of the active fucking wringer he's being shoved through, he's obviously thoughtful and kind; the lashing out is, uhh, understandable, but still a problem.

She's just a kid...

I talked about this with some folks on Discord, it's kind of remarkable to me that a guy with literal empathy powers couldn't hold a steady relationship with a single girl. I'm sure parahuman romance is its own special kind of fraught, but that's a little silly.

That said, it sounds like Gallant was good people.

This is very funny though

Oh hey, we have anger and futility coming back together again, haven't seen that for a minute.

Honestly I feel like the ones who try to be funny are usually the ones who've got so much shit going on in the background, anger is the least surprising thing to come from the team's designated funny one.

Good on Dennis for realizing how easy it is to use anger and how hard it can be to let go of it. Shit sucks.

Wuh oh.

This is gruesome, and a harbinger of things to come. Oh boy.

Fuck were the Travelers even doing here, anyhow?

Also crazy bold of the Wards to try and pick this fight. The Travelers have such outrageous firepower, I don't think there'd be much sense in picking this fight.

Skimming back through the fight, not a whole lot for me to say? I'm not super invested in it, I guess, it feels like there's exceptionally little actually riding on this fight. The Travelers want to fuck off and the Wards want to stop them from fucking off, the gallery fight had more meat than this.

"Oh thank god, a conflict I can throw myself into to feel useful and offset all the negative feelings that not fighting has left me stricken with."

That's not a criticism of Clockblocker by the way, if anything I'm just staring at the thing brought up earlier this chapter where most parahumans are driven into fighting each other and suspecting something of a connection.

Current Thoughts

I see some of my younger self in Clockblocker, which is ironic bc I actually had a superhero OC back in high school named Clockblock (his powers were a lot broader and his thing was more about struggling with overwhelming ennui in the face of his own significance in the grand scale of Time Itself). I hope he manages to get over that anger and hurt, but he's a parahuman, so I kinda doubt it.

Kid Win next, plus further plot developments.

[sylenth-l]

Hello, I've been a big fan of your work for a while now and I absolutely love your designs for the destiny characters who don't get as much attention as they should.

But I also wanted to ask what made you choose the designs that you did?

Like Timur, Tevis, and Jaren

You don't have to answer if you don't want to. But I'm just curious.

Hey, thank you so much! I'm very glad you like my character designs, since I tend to worry a lot about them ; w ; 💙 I also get so attached to them in the process that I struggle to accept other versions, even when they appear in canon one way or another cough comicAndal COUGH cough Radegast The answer got a bit too lengthy...

Hard to say, usually I just have A Feeling how a certain character should look when I read about them. I rarely immediately imagine them in full detail (unless there's a clear description ofc), but I always have this vague image with maybe 1-2 key features inside of my head. These features may not be even directly connected to appearance - it's really just some impressions from the characters which I later think how to reflect in their looks. I then try to put it on paper and see if the result matches my impression of them or not. Sometimes it works out fast and sometimes it just feels wrong no matter what I do - in this case I usually put the character aside for some time until I come up with something more interesting for them. I also try to vary facial features and color schemes so that different characters don't look the same or way too similar to each other (unless intended). And I think about how they will look together as well - like, if these characters are from one group and will be often seen together, I want them to look good/interesting side by side and be easily distinctive from each other. There are also a lot of other nuances, but in general that's it.

With these three in particular that you've mentioned: Tevis and Jaren stayed pretty much unchanged from how I imagined them. I only tried to give them some more unique facial features, since for Tevis I was worried people will confuse him with Shin, and Jaren really looked like Andal's recolor with a different haircut at first 🤣 I like Andal and Jaren having some similarities, but not THAT much, lmao. I've also seen Jaren drawn by other great artists I'm sure you all know if you're into Palamon story; maybe these influenced me as well, though I honestly imagined him that way even before seeing any Destiny fanart at all. I've read Shin's whole story slowly opening lore books in the game itself before I've engaged with the fandom in any way; this being partly the reason why it blew my mind so much - I had literally 0 spoilers and was absolutely Not Prepared asdifaskdjhf

With Timur it's a very different story, full of pain and suffering 💀 If you've been with me since ancient times, you probably remember how I kept repeating that I have no idea how him and Felwinter are supposed to look and that however I draw them now will probably change later. And the scary revelation is... I'M STILL NOT FULLY SATISFIED ASLKHJDAKJHSA I've been much more happy with Felwinter since I've learned how to paint dark metal and it instantly made him look way better and closer to what I think he should look like (imo). Timur I guess ended up looking like a mix of all Timurs I've ever seen, read and heard about, and while at first I didn't like how he turned out at all, I think now... I've got used to him already. I don't think I can change his appearance drastically anymore. Funnily enough, but I think the turning point for me was his pipe. Somehow it put his whole image together in my eyes, and it became a lot easier for me to get him after doing that first portrait with the pipe.

[kazuo-n-crinan]

Here are my favorite moments in The Wayhaven Chronicles Book 3! I really enjoyed the friend route and I think everyone should see these 🥺 babies.

I tried to imitate the glowy text Seraphinite Games uses in the previews. It didn't fly as much as I thought, but I'm glad about how it turned out.

I blurred the iconic moon phases thingie because I couldn't find a high resolution resource to use 🥲 I think it made it dramatic!

I really wanted to lean on @javsarts, @mooreaux, and @waspgraveart designs for Unit Bravo. I cannot tell how much time I spent staring at them! They capture the characters so well!! I did take some creative liberties because it was hard getting the colors right.

Again! Crediting @kazukitnacho for all his hard work! Please check out his personal blog, as this illustration wouldn't be the same without him. Thank you, partner!

I couldn't do much for the backgrounds, but I hope to improve on it. I also really loved the opportunity to align the colors with the chapters and the poses, it really adds to the parallelism!

Here is the illustration without the text:

[donnerpartyofone]

This has been a really hard one to talk about. I'm always very ambivalent about mourning celebrities. I try to remember that I don't know these people, that what is really mourned by most of us is the person's ongoing work, which in the best cases has helped us understand ourselves and the world in which we live. Unavoidably, though, you can start to develop the sense that you know these people personally, which isn't true or even appropriate necessarily, I mean you have no idea whether you would even like someone you've only seen on a screen or received an autograph from; but at the same time, I don't know if you can really force yourself not to feel like the deceased celebrity is a dear friend you will never get to talk to again (the last time I tried and failed was the passing of Lux Interior). Maybe this is more forgivable, and also more inevitable, if you feel like you grew up with the person.

Of course this is all about ME now, but my mother (who also died from cancer) was an extremely hip, brilliant, funny individual who for whatever reason refused to form a relationship with me. This was pretty strange, because we liked a lot of the same things--B movies, old comics, all types of camp and kitsch--but when I liked those things, it was in poor taste and punishable by exile, whereas when she liked those things, it was evidence of her cultural genius. Before I make anybody too mad I should say that I'm being a little bit unfairly reductive just so I can get to the point, which is that one of the few things we could share was Pee-Wee's Playhouse. I didn't know anything about the show's more adult origins or the fact that Paul Reubens was sort of a performance artist, but I didn't have to. Pee-Wee's Playhouse was a feast for any child's senses: stylish, hilarious, and on some subliminal level, really sophisticated. I was clued into some of what was going on just because I watched it with my mom, who always laughed at Pee-Wee's winks and nudges to the hep parents in the audience. The show might have been my first encounter with the kind of anthropological humor favored by people like David Byrne and Laurie Anderson, artists who engage subversively with cliches, stereotypes, and other memetic parts of popular culture. In Pee-Wee's Playhouse, with its sharp, edgy cast and crew, kids like me were getting into fine art without even knowing it--which is possibly the best way to learn about art anyway.

In fact, on the other side of our house, I became obsessed with Gary Panter's incredible punk opus Jimbo In Paradise, a Dantesque comic book about an innocent young guy living in a dystopian future, where he is occasionally joined by guest stars such as Nancy and Hedorah. I was about 7 when I started reading Jimbo over and over again even though I could barely understand it, and I had no idea that Gary had pretty much designed Pee-Wee's Playhouse. I'm speaking about him so familiarly because I got to know him a little bit as a grownup. I remember Gary talking about how private Paul Reubens could be. He used to do this thing where he would accept a dinner invitation from anybody who asked, as sort of a stunt, but he had to stop doing it because people became so intrusive and entitled with him. Gary said that they'd be walking around in New York and when they saw an obvious Pee-Wee fan gearing up for an offensive, Paul Reubens would sort of transform into this totally different person, putting out an aura that let you know not to fuck with him. It's crazy-making to think that someone who was so protective of the boundary between his private and public selves had to suffer that ridiculous arrest, but it's heartening that most of society eventually grew the fuck up and forgot about it. It's also helpful to remember when he turned up later on the MTV Music Video Awards and started off by asking the audience, "HEARD ANY GOOD JOKES LATELY??"

I'm glad we got one more Pee-Wee special in the past several years, but I always wished that we would see Paul Reubens in more movies. He was such a cool actor, funny, convincing, and naturally charismatic. While people are cycling through their favorite roles of his, I want to point out that he had a great role on a recent HBO miniseries called Mosaic, an intense, engrossing crime drama that I definitely recommend if you have access. Maybe I'll rewatch it, too. In closing, here's a great story that I grabbed from Facebook that should warm everybody's heart, along with the heartbreaking statement (inappropriately cropped by Instagram of course) released upon the death of the very private Pee-Wee Herman. It makes you wish you could thank him in person, for everything. The best we can do is just remember him.

[temporalhiccup]

Play Diary

Nahual: So a Priest and an Angel walk into the bar...

In an effort to display how awesome indie ttrpgs are, I thought I'd start sharing some cool sessions I experienced first hand and how I think the design of the game and the play culture was part of that!

This year, Thomas and I are sharing a weekend time slot. Nowadays I'm running Bite Marks and he's running Nahual! We take turns running a game to avoid GM burnout.

Nahual is a fascinating game. Player characters are always three things: they are Mexican, they are poor, and they are angeleros. They hunt angels, terrible parasitic and violent creatures from the invading conquerors long ago. But the Angeleros don't do it out of duty, killing angels and harvesting them is a means to survive. Our group creates tequila from angel blood.

Today was our first real session after making our characters a few weeks ago. Some truly fun stuff happened this session, and the more I think about it, the more I feel it was a really good mix of game design, GM facilitation, and player ingenuity.

The Expendido Move happens at the start of the first session or when time passes. It's a way to see how your business is faring. We didn't roll well: the option we landed on was that one of our regulars brings their troubles to your cantina at the worst possible time.

From the Cantina sheet we choose who our regulars are, and one of them is Zofiel, a double-agent angel, working for both Heaven and Hell, who can be in the right place at the right time.

So you can imagine that the kind of trouble a double-agent angel brings is legitimately awful. At the start of the game we're hit hard with how tough life is for an Angelero, and I loved it! It really sets the stakes for the premise.

A powerful angel, one not to be trifled with and way above our abilities, walked into the bar with a suspicious priest alongside him. They were looking for Zofiel, to take back something important.

Each player had a cool moment thanks to their playbook moves, but my favorite had to be what Josh did as Marco, the Tlacuache. As an Angelero with access to the scoundrel Opposum Nahual powers, we were in for quite a few surprises!

Marco transformed into his Nahual form and used one of his totem moves, Guise. He placed a mirage of Zofiel on himself, and rolled high enough that it was impossible to tell the difference between the two.

One thing lead to another, and a brief fight broke out. We collectively managed to force the angel to leave the bar, but not before he reached out to grab Zofiel - and thankfully he had grabbed Marco in Guise instead! Normally, being dragged into the sky by a deadly angel is a bad time. But Marco had one more trick up his sleeve! Thomas, our GM, couldn't believe it. "You want the angel to drop you? From high above? What?" That's when I said, "Josh, I think you should read the Play Possum move out loud so Thomas gets how cool it is."

"They can BURN your body? And you're UNHARMED? WHAT?"

I marveled at how many things had to go right for this move to be pulled off so perfectly. The guise's mirage needed to be perfect. The fight had to be violent but controlled enough that we would 1) survive it and 2) force the angel out but take fake Zofiel with him.

Play Possum by itself is already an incredible move. But getting to line it up perfectly so that a terrifying angel thinks one of your regulars is dead, so you get to protect them a little longer? Sheer perfection.

It was a great way to start our game. I've played Nahual as a one shot a few times during its crowd funding period, and I'm so glad I get to play the final version of the game as a campaign. I'm really looking forward to playing more soon!