#if you wonder about the character’s ages

[onelastkiss4you]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Just Went From A Good RPG To One Of BioWare’s Most Important Games

In light of BioWare scattering some of its most foundational veteran talent to the winds, Dragon Age: The Veilguard sure reads like something made by people who saw the writing on the wall. The RPG leaves off on a small cliffhanger that could launch players into a fifth game, but I’m skeptical that we’ll ever get it. The quickness with which publisher Electronic Arts gutted BioWare and masked it with talk of being more “agile” and “focused” shortly after it was revealed The Veilguard underperformed in the eyes of the power that be makes me wonder if BioWare was also unsure it would get to return to Thedas a fifth time. Looking back, I’m pretty convinced the team was working as if Rook’s adventure through the northern regions of this beloved fantasy world might be the last time anyone, BioWare or fan, stepped foot in it. But that may have only made me appreciate the game even more.

Yeah, I might be doomsaying, but there’s a lot of reasons to do so right now. The loss of talented people like lead writer Trick Weekes, who has been a staple in modern BioWare since the beginning of Mass Effect, or Mary Kirby who wrote characters like Varric, the biggest throughline through the Dragon Age series, doesn’t inspire confidence that EA understands the lifeblood of the studio it acquired in 2007. The Veilguard has been a divisive game for entirely legitimate reasons and the most bad-faith ones you can imagine on the internet in 2025, but my hope is that history will be kinder to it as time goes on. 

A Kotaku reader reached out to me after the news broke to ask if they should still play The Veilguard after everything that happened. My answer was that now we are probably in a better position to appreciate it for what it was: a (potentially) final word.

The Veilguard is just as much a send-off for a long-running story as it does a stepping stone for what (might) come. Its secret ending implies a new threat is lurking somewhere off in the distance but by and large, The Veilguard is about the end of an era. BioWare created an entire questline essentially writing Thedas’ history in stone, removing any ambiguity that gave life to over a decade of theory-crafting. As a long-time player, I’m glad The Veilguard solidifies the connective tissue between what sometimes felt like world of isolated cultures that lacked throughlines that made the world feel whole. But sitting your cast of weirdos down for a series of group therapy sessions unpacking the ramifications of some of the biggest lore dumps the studio has ever put to a Bluray disc isn’t the kind of narrative choice you make if you’re confident there’s still a future for the franchise. 

Unanswered questions are the foundation of sequels, and The Veilguard has an almost anxious need to stamp those out. Perhaps BioWare learned a hard lesson by leaving Dragon Age: Inquisition on a cliffhanger and didn’t want to repeat the same restriction. But The Veilguard doesn’t just wrap up its own story, it concludes several major threads dating back to Origins and feels calculated and deliberate. If BioWare’s goal with The Veilguard was to bring almost everything to a definitive end, the thematic note it leaves this world on acts as a closing graf summing up a thesis the series hopes to convey.

Pushing away the bigotry that has followed The Veilguard like a starving rat digging through trash, one of the most common criticisms I heard directed against the game was that it lacked a certain thorny disposition that was prevalent in the first three games. Everyone in the titular party generally seems to like each other, there aren’t real ethical and philosophical conflicts between the group, and the spats that do arise are more akin to the arguments you probably get into with your best friends. It’s a new dynamic for the series. The Veilguard doesn’t feel like coworkers as The Inquisition did or the disparate group who barely tolerated each other we followed in Dragon Age II. They are a friend group who, despite coming from different backgrounds, factions, and places, are pretty much on the same page about what the world should be. They’re united by a common goal, sure, but at the core of each of their lived experiences is a desire for the world to be better.

This rose-colored view of leftism doesn’t work for everyone. At its worst, The Veilguard can be saccharine to the point of giving you a cavity, which is far from what people have come to expect from a series in which Fenris and Anders didn’t care if the other lived or died. It also bleeds into a perceived softening of the universe. Factions like the Antivan Crows have essentially become the Bat Family with no mention of the whole child slavery thing that was our first introduction to them back in Origins. The Lords of Fortune, a new pirate faction, goes to great lengths to make sure you know that they’re not like the other pirates who steal from other cultures, among other things. I joked to a friend once that The Veilguard is a game terrified of getting canceled, and as such a lot of the grit and grime has been washed off for something shiny and polished. 

That is the more critical lens to view the way The Veilguard’s sanitation of Thedas. To an extent, I agree. We learned so much about how the enigmatic country of the Tevinter Imperium was a place built upon slavery and blood sacrifice, only for us to conveniently hang out in the common poverty-stricken areas that are affected by the corrupt politics we only hear about in sidequests and codex entries. But decisions like setting The Veilguard’s Tevinter stories in the slums of Dogtown gives the game and its writers a place to make a more definitive statement, rather than existing in the often frustrating centrism Dragon Age loved to tout for three games.

I have a lot of pain points I can shout out in the Dragon Age series, but I don’t think one has stuck in my craw the way the end of Anders rivalry relationship goes down in Dragon Age II. This is a tortured radical mage who is willing to give his life to fight for the freedom of those who have been born into a corrupt system led by the policing Templars. And yet, if you’ve followed his rivalry path, Anders will turn against the mages he, not five minutes ago, did some light terrorism trying to free. In Inquisition, this conflict of ideals and traditions comes to a head, but you’re able to essentially wipe it all under the rug as you absorb one faction or the other into your forces. So often Dragon Age treats its conflicts and worldviews as toys for the player to slam against one another, shaping the world as they see fit, and bending even the most fiercely devoted radical to your whims. And yes, there are some notable exceptions to this rule, but when it came to world-shifting moments of change, Dragon Age always seemed scared to assert that the player might be wrong. Mages and Templars, oppressed and oppressors, were the same in the eyes of the game, each worthy of the same level of scrutiny.

Before The Veilguard, I often felt Dragon Age didn’t actually believe in anything. Its characters did, but as a text, Dragon Age often felt so preoccupied with empowering the player’s decisions that it felt like Thedas would never actually get better, no matter how much you fought for it. While it may lack the same prickly dynamics and the grey morality that became synonymous with the series, The Veilguard’s doesn’t just believe that the world is full of greys and let you pick which shade you’re more comfortable with. It’s the most wholeheartedly the Dragon Age universe has declared that the world of Thedas can be better than it was before.

Essentially retconning the Antivan Crows to a family of superheroes is taking a hammer to the problem, whereas characters like Neve Gallus, a mage private eye with a duty-bound love for her city and its people, are the scalpel with which BioWare shifts its vision of how the world of Thedas can change. Taash explores their identity through the lens of Dragon Age’s longstanding Qunari culture, known for its rigidness in the face of an ever-changing world, and comes out the other end a new person, defined entirely by their own views and defying others. Harding finds out the truth behind how the dwarves were severed from magic and still remembers that she believes in the good in people. The heroes of The Veilguard have seen the corruption win out, and yet never stop believing that something greater is possible. It's not even an option in The Veilguard's eyes. The downtrodden will be protected, the oppressed will live proudly, and those who have been wronged will find new life.

That belief is what makes The Veilguard a frustrating RPG, to some. It’s so unyielding in its belief that Thedas and everyone who inhabits it can be better that it doesn’t really entertain you complicating the narrative. Rook can come from plenty of different backgrounds, make decisions that will affect thousands of people, but they can never really be an evil bastard. If they did, it would fundamentally undermine one of the game’s most pivotal moments. In the eleventh hour, Dragon Age mainstay Varric Tethras is revealed to have died in the opening hour, and essentially leaves all his hopes and dreams on the shoulders of Rook. After our hero is banished to the Fade and forced to confront their regrets in a mission gone south, Varric’s spirit sends Rook on their way to save the day one last time. He does so with a hearty chuckle, saying he doesn’t need to wish you good luck because “you already have everything you need.” He is, of course, referring to the friends you have calling to you from beyond the Fade. 

Varric, the narrator of Dragon Age, uses his final word to declare a belief that things will be okay. This isn’t because Rook is the chosen one destined to save the world, but because they have found people who are unified by one thing: a need to fight for a better world. But that’s what makes it compelling as a possibly final Dragon Age game. Reaching the end of a universe’s arc and being wholly uninterested in leaving it desecrated by hubris or prejudice is a bold claim on BioWare’s part. It takes some authorship away from the player, but in return, it leaves the world of Thedas in a better place than we found it.

The Veilguard is an idealistic game, but it’s one that BioWare has earned the right to make. Dragon Age’s legacy has been one of constantly shifting identity, at least two counts of development hell, and a desire to gives players a sandbox to roleplay in. Perhaps, as Dragon Age likely comes to a close, it’s better to leave Dragon Age with a game as optimistic as the people who made it. I can’t think of a more appropriate finale than one that represents the world its creators hope to see, even as the world we live in now gives us every reason to fall to despair.

In my review for The Veilguard I signed off expressing hope for BioWare’s future that feels a bit naive in retrospect. Would a divisive but undeniably polished RPG that felt true to the studio’s history be enough when, after 10 years of development, rich suits were probably looking for a decisive cultural moment? That optimism was just about a video game. Having lived through the past 32 years, most of the optimism I’ve ever held feels naive to look back on. I think I’m losing hope that the world will get any better. But even if we haven’t reached The Veilguard’s idealized vision, I’ll take some comfort in knowing someone previously at BioWare still believes it’s possible. - ken shepard, shepardcdr.bsky.social

[magerightsmagefights]

This reminds me of the sentiment I had when I first played the game, when I got to know both Davrin and Lucanis that I thought, "Hmm. These seem like two petri dishes of Fandom Romance, labelled "Blackwall Concept" and "Blackwall Appearance" respectively.

Let me explain.

I am not saying that either Davrin or Lucanis are based on Blackwall, nor that they are Blackwall cut in half. But in terms of story, and particularly the way the first few scenes treat Davrin/Rook vs. Blackwall/Inquisitor, there are a few striking similarities.

Their first scene introduces us to an (assumed) Grey Warden, who is gruff, action-oriented, and will take control of a dangerous situation without hesitation. Through external storytelling (Assan/Blackwall's recruits) we are also told that this man has a gentler, nurturing side to him, and a goal to protect those weaker than him. This man is not awestruck by the protagonist; indeed, he's comfortable issuing orders to them if the situation calls for it. He isn't recruited by any initial attraction to the protagonist; he agrees to join the team because he has a deep-rooted urge to help, to save, and to protect.

As we get more acquainted with this Grey Warden, we learn more about him: he's comfortable and competent in a command structure, no matter whether he is subordinate, superior, or comrade. He likes animals, is generally laid-back, and carves wood in his spare time. He protects the innocent, and admires those who do the same. He's self-sacrificing to a fault, perhaps to a worrying degree, but that's par for the course with Grey Wardens.

Here, of course, the two paths diverge. Davrin is a woodsman in the Dalish sense, with a love for nature and a soft, mischievious side he thought he'd left behind in childhood. Blackwall is, well, Blackwall, and who he appears to be is different than who he is. But that's what I'm talking about. Appearances. Because the first few scenes are how most people get their first impression of Blackwall, they don't know the truth about him.

All to say, everything Blackwall appears to be at the start, Davrin actually is. Everything you thought you were getting from Blackwall, Davrin actually delivers. Gruff, masculine with a soft side, Grey Warden warrior who self-sacrifices. Love for animals, love for those weaker than himself, and willing to cut his own throat to feed the flower of hope.

And then we have Lucanis. He is nothing at all like Blackwall, except that they are middle-aged men with long(ish) black hair and excellent black beards. There's not much else to say.

It's so clean-cut, it feels like a science experiment. If not for DAV's hellish development cycle, I'd wonder if it was deliberate. Here sit our two petri dishes, and between them sits a question: Is it the character concept, or the appearance?

Given the preceding posts, and the general nature of the DA fandom, I think the answer is self-evident. But this is about more than popularity. Blackwall wasn't the most popular Inquisition romance. This is about who the fandom is markedly aggressive to. On its own, the sentiment "Davrin is irrelevant" is, frankly, bizarre. Others have already mention how crucial he is to the main plot, so no need to retread old ground. This isn't even about relevance, because plenty of DA companions are irrelevant to their main games. That's why you can kill, send away, or simply refuse to recruit so many of them in the first place. Davrin is certainly more 'relevant' than Blackwall, and yet there is far more discourse around him. Davrin is far more crucial to the main plot, and yet there is still that constant string of questions about whether he's "really necessary? Do we really have to pay attention to him? So what? He's the least interesting companion, not because he's Black, it's just because he's badly written."

Is he, though?

Is he?

i'm sorry but the "da fandom is a little racist BUT veilguard holds most of the blame for making davrin so irrelevent in the game" excuse is the weakest shit i've ever heard. no actually i genuinely think this is almost exclusively a fandom issue. like i won't argue that the "davrin vs harding choice is reliant on assan" shit john epler pushed was unbelievably racist and i won't argue that there's merit to the fact that it was tone deaf at Best to have the black man's character arc so reliant on his animal companion but i'm sorry you cannot fucking convince me that the "knight in shining armor with a gentle heart and a cute animal companion that takes you out on picnic dates and carves you little wooden trinkets" character is not almost Perfectly Engineered to be the most popular romance option in any game ever and yes i fully believe the only reason he isn't is entirely hinged on the fact that he's black and no amount of whataboutism towards the devs can convince me otherwise

[dragonagecinema]

What Veilguard Could Have Been

Very saddened to hear the news about Bioware. As much as I was disappointed with Dragon Age The Veilguard, it was a fun game and I did not wish for the series to end. That being said, for those of you who haven't seen the artbook, I want to share the initial ideas and concepts of the team behind the game. Here's what Veilguard could have and should have been.

Characters from Previous Games

Morrigan, Dorian and Isabela were supposed to be our advisors. They also had better outfits.

Sten, Cole and Shale were some other characters featured in the artbook. An early idea for Cole was to act as a compassionate voice to Solas.

The Divine was supposed to make an appearance, sending out ships to hunt Solas in the hopes that his capture will restore peace to Thedas.

We were supposed to receive assignments from the Inquisitor.

Another idea was for us to return to the Fade and rescue whoever was left behind in Inquisition.

Solas as a True Leader

Elves from all over Thedas were supposed to answer Solas' call, as presented in the ending screens of Inquisition.

Solas' appearance was supposed to be more of a surprise.

Solas was supposed to return like a regal figure out of the distant past.

Game Mechanics

The game was focused more on espionage and sneaking around. We were supposed to go on cool missions, like infiltrating the Archon's throne room.

Another idea was for us to ride adult griffons, hunting dragons.

Or to go on secret missions in Tevinter, accurately depicted here with slaves and slavers.

Story and Setting

The dwarves were supposed to be fleeing the underground by the thousands. Cause is left unknown.

We were supposed to go to Par Vollen, the home of the Qunari.

Companions had the option to betray us.

We were supposed to go in disguise to a ball in the Necropolis.

Another idea was for Solas to interrupt our mission, wiping half of our team off the board and forcing us to make an unlikely alliance.

Solas was supposed to summon a Titan in the final battle.

We were supposed to get a happy ending with our love interests.

Headquarters

And last but not least, our base was first supposed to be a ship, sailing to all the places we would visit.

We would have a war table room, similar to Inquisition.

The ship could get stolen and we would have to get it back.

However, thematically, boats don't line up with the spy theme. They're too easy to spot and attack. So the ship was transformed into a submarine.

The submarine was already named The Dumat, after an Archdemon.

These are just the parts I found most interesting from the artbook, which has more than 200 pages. I wonder who saw all these ideas and went nah, let's scrap them. I guess we'll never know.

[sphireath-wisp]

#Backstage Pass!

Synopsis -> What an electrifying performance, it was worth all that money and time waiting. It was so good that you wanted an encore - in private, with less talking and more action.

Warnings -> Not proofread, all aged up, suggestive, language, Rin is objectively sweeter than Sae and Kaiser, mean Sae and Kaiser

Featuring -> Michael Kaiser, Sae Itoshi, Rin Itoshi x F! Reader

"Oh, of course, you like MICHAEL KAISER, of all people," You force a sarcastic smirk, eyebrows creasing as if you eye her up and down as if you were judging her for some sort of malefaction. Honestly speaking, you should have foreseen this. You're the one who wants to go to the concert; you dragged your friend along so it wouldn't be a solo trip, but she's developed a liking for the blonde boy. He's the playboy type who goes on stage shirtless, flaunting the ink adorning his skin. Even when he makes the gracious decision to wear a solid-coloured tank top, it doesn't take away any attention from the prominent cerulean rose blooming on his throat. Her blase favouritism of Kaiser was nothing new.

Beneath the charisma - so lamentable, it was laudable, Kaiser had an ego that reached for the stars. But it was his solipsism that made him such a star, an unbreakable confidence that shined even brighter as he played. It's unusual for a bassist to get so much attention in a band, but everything was absurd about Kaiser in the first place. And the worst part is: he had the skill to back it up, every single shit-eating grin.

"An encore?" You watch Kaiser mouth out to the audience, and the crowd goes wild - especially the fans with the tips of their hair dyed a gaudy blue. Your friend shakes you back and forth, spilling a mix of 'thank yous' and 'ohmygosh' past her lips. His grin only grows wider as he hears the crowd cheer, almost expectantly, like the crowd was supposed to meet his expectations.

"You have a backstage pass, right? Do you think I could snatch his number?" Your friend nudges you, readily waiting for a supportive response. You hum - pretending to think so you wouldn't have to turn her down so flatly. "He's kissed fans before, so you'll need to try your luck, yeah?" You give your friend a comforting pat on the back, but you're the one who needs to reassure yourself, "Anyway, he's just eye candy, right?" She nods insouciantly: after all, it's not like they know each other.

When you see her soothing smile, for a split second, you wonder if you're being too critical of Kaiser. Your friend seems to enjoy the concert, maybe this has created common ground for you and her to bond. This smug bastard and his god-given charm may actually be a blessing in disguise.

"Don't you know how to swallow? You're drooling," You soon learn that you're a good judge of character when Kaiser forces his thumb into your mouth. You realize that your gut has always been right, and you can't decipher whether the uncomfortable churning in your stomach is due to butterflies or the sickening taste of nail polish on your tongue. Gosh, you feel like an idiot for doubting yourself and, most of all, doubting how much of a bastard he can be. Kaiser pulls you closer on his lap as if he couldn't get enough of your Carolina Herrera, and palms the swell of your ass when you scrape your teeth over his knuckle.

Your nails, freshly coated in a shade of rose that disgustingly reminds him more of that keyboardist than himself, scratch his forearm on their way up to his clavicle, leaving a trail of hot fire in their wake. Your raspberry-flushed skin matches his, especially when your fingers - more suited for loving than burning - wrap around the expanse of his neck and threaten to crush his airways. His fingers are out of your mouth, and his breath is already lost before anything has begun; you're starting to see the appeal in womanizers when his half-lidded eyes - glossy and lovestruck - stare with a shimmer that rivals stars.

"Didn't expect to find a beauty like you in the crowd, but you were giving me such a dirty look," His words are coated in honey, like flattering women is second nature for him. Your grip unconsciously loosens at his praise, and he uses his newfound leeway to capture your lips in his. He smells like Maison Margiela's Jazz Club, rum rubs off your sweat-slicked skin, and you swear you feel his teeth on your tongue when you press your chest against his.

His hands undo the clasp of your bra, and his tongue plays with the rest of your sanity. You swear to whoever's listening that you need another bottle of beer to wash this feeling of longing away because you're sure you're drunk on him. Kaiser's always been known to kiss his fans, but he kisses his haters even harder.

"SAE ITOSHI, apologize this instant!" Kaiser mimics their manager, arms crossed and voice in an ear-gratingly, squeaky high pitch. Almost condescendingly, he grabs the keyboardist by the hair and forces his gaze down - to the point where he's at a 90-degree bow. "How could you treat a young lady like that?!" He scoffs as Sae swats Kaiser's hand off of his hair, clicking his tongue, irritation crystalline clear.

"R-Really, it's okay...!" You try to get a word in, raising your hands awkwardly to try and ease the situation. Kaiser is dead set on humiliating Sae, though; he's planning to get a good laugh like the carefree narcissist he is. You have to visibly hold back your laughter, heaps of air gathering in your lungs, and it bubbles in your chest. Sae straightens himself out, clearing his throat as he looks down at you from on the stage. Hopping off the platform to get on your level, the only thing separating the both of you is the railing set up for crowd control (and the bodyguards), he lets out a deep sigh.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get your shirt wet and... I hope I didn't ruin the performance for you," He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly and cranes his neck to look away, not out of shame, though. Rather, Sae isn't sure where he's supposed to look. Your see-through white shirt is drenched, and the lacy black bra you have under is clear as day (though it is partially your fault for wearing black under white - Sae's gone through enough girlfriends to know that women are aware of these things, but he'll admit his faults and apologize anyway.) To be frank, he finds the event a blessing in disguise; you're gorgeous in lace, but he wouldn't say that aloud lest he be considered a pervert.

It was already past midnight, and the concert had ended, fans still stuck around to snag a photo with their favourite member, though. Seeing you at the front of the crowd (and the obvious 'accident' with your shirt), Kaiser caught him staring and decided to be a bigmouth. Swooping in like the playboy he is, he acted all righteous when he heard what happened and well... Sae Itoshi has his head bowed like a little boy apologizing to their mother.

"I'll make it up for you, yeah?" he states firmly, and the air shifts when you agree oh-so-sweetly. Ladies first, he would say, to avoid staring at your chest, but you could feel eyes glued to the mound of your ass from under your miniskirt.

He's making it up to you, alright, with his knee between your thighs. Long, slender fingers slip up your skirt, and the lacy black panties you have under make his star-etched pupils morph into hearts right before your lovestruck eyes. He's patient, he's graceful, and he's deft with every kiss to the point it makes you feel hungry. Diet Pepsi by Addison Rae plays on the radio, and he cages you onto the cushioned seats.

Your legs wrap around his waist like poison ivy, and there's sweet venom every time your collar is stained royal purple. His tongue dances on your skin, and it's even more mind-numbing when his tongue traces yours. With a gasp, or a squeal, or maybe a mix of both, you wonder how long it's been and why he's torturing you like this, and your eagerness tastes like honey to Sae.

Sae swears he's never met a girl so noisy before, but hell if he cares. He wouldn't mind if he met you after every performance, or if he snuck you into the studio to have you right there and then whenever that bastard Kaiser opens his mouth. Bleary-eyed and half-lidded, he thinks you look cute like this and, damn, his eyes weren't lying when you looked good in lace. He almost feels bad. You swear your skin feels like it's on fire, and he's your fuel. You breathe him like oxygen and he's as starved as you, he never knew what air felt like before you.

Sae's fingers, the ones that used to be so rough from playing the guitar with his little brother, the ones that have grown long from years of playing the keyboard, slip under the waistband of your lacy panties. He whispers apologies that he doesn't mean, and he swears to buy you another set as soon as possible. You don't care about his apology, you knew he was a half-hearted bastard the moment he blatantly ogled at you earlier. What's more important is the new set and this perverted idiot better give you another stress-relieving night for the trouble he's put you through! You know Sae Itoshi always keeps his promises.

RIN ITOSHI, the exceptional newbie in the band. Introduced as the 2nd electric guitarist, he hid his prior connections with Sae Itoshi to avoid accusations of being a mere product of nepotism. People had already acknowledged his skills by the time the truth spread. He didn't really catch your eye in terms of personality. He was as reclusive as his older brother but more vocal with his thoughts. If his brother had an "enigmatic" appeal to him, he would be "unapproachable".

"He's cute, isn't he?" Your friend playfully hums by the shell of your ear, and you shrug indifferently in response. Your gaze trawls through his black leather jacket, which looks like it was inherited from someone older, with its sleeves folded to the middle of his forearms. His stringed necklace dangles down to his electric guitar when he slouches, calloused fingers hovering over the strings. "Pretty good for someone new..." Your friend continues, her own eyes the furthest thing from chaste. Yet, instead of chiding her, you'll be the one apologizing sooner or later - you couldn't catch anything she said when Rin happened to glance up in your direction, no less. Coincidence or not, his tongue peeks out of his mouth, the pink muscle running over his lips.

Slim teal eyes narrow at you sharply when you don't look away immediately. You stare back as if you haven't sensed his annoyance and sheer arrogance, and you're utterly shameless about it too. As if mocking the guitarist, you stick your tongue out before openly running it over the canvas of your teeth.

You pass it off as flirting with no goal in mind, especially when his face scrunches up in belying disgust. It was nothing more than passive teasing, the kind of thing you'll dream about when the boys you know act stupid and the tension you'll crave when life gets dull. It's something you'll romanticize for the rest of your life until Rin Itoshi is muddled in a scandal, and you can't see anything attractive in those piercing eyes.

Well, you were half-right.

"Isn't your friend looking for you?" he half-mocks with a tone that makes you want to slap him stupid until the apple of his cheeks is as swollen as your cherry red lips. His mouth is as dirty as it tastes, and he doesn't know how to treat a woman at all. There's nothing remotely sweet about Rin, but the naivety blinding him - convincing him silently that he doesn't want this as bad as you do - is caramel on your tongue.

He's too young and dumb, your voice of reason echoes in the expanse of your skull, and you're sure he hasn't locked the door, but he's already kissed you silly. The black dressing room table feels a little shaky whenever his tongue slips into your mouth, or perhaps your whole world is shaking because of him. Your back crams against the mirror, and the warmth of the LED strips make your brain fuzzy. Eagerness and embarrassment conflict when he holds your waist, rough fingertips shyly slipping under the hem of your shirt and tapping against your skin as if asking for permission. His hesitation is evident when you pull away and the thought of upsetting you strangely eats him whole.

Your chest heaves up and down, off-beat from the temperamental percussion of your heart. "You're asking that now?" you manage out whilst guiding his curious hands further under your shirt, "Sweetheart, don't act like you're worried someone will catch us." Catching your breath, you yearn to lose it again as you lean forward for another round, the white quartz of his stringed necklace cold against your skin once he flips your shirt up.

You can't tell if the lights are flickering or if the flash of a camera has caught you so vulnerable, like putty and moulded into Rin's embrace. But, you don't care, and Rin seems to care even less with the way he whispers sticky sugar promises to buy you another Dior lip gloss and a new bag to boot. It'll be his first scandal if the paparazzi have caught the both of you, but you'll celebrate it with a bottle of champagne in the walls of his apartment, for sure.

Taglist: @dewwberry, @mikmwehehe

[erinwantstowrite]

Hi! Purely out of curiosity because I am always interested in people’s thoughts on the subject, how do you feel about “batcest” in au’s where the children were never adopted/didn’t meet until adulthood/etc? Any pairing with Bruce makes me genuinely nauseous, but I feel like I’m more lenient with situational stuff with the kids since they’re closer in age/didn’t grow up together in my very loose understanding of canon/not actually related/etc. (ie: I think Steph and Cass are cute together even though they’re both “batfam” members, etc etc)

please feel free to ignore this if it makes you uncomfortable! I just really love your writing and this seems to be a subject you’re passionate about, so I just wanted to know more of your thoughts. Hope you’re having a wonderful day!

anon in the nicest way possible, it's disgusting even then.

because it doesn't matter if they didn't know each other as little little kids, they are family in every sense of the word. it would be the same as two characters who are siblings having being raised in two different households as children getting into a relationship even though they knew each other later. it spits in the face of adopted families by claiming that they aren't actually family, and the people who defend batcest are hurting people who are victims of the exact dynamic that they're shipping. it's gross, like genuinely vile. knowing their canon relationship and "changing" it to fit what they want is nasty because they *had* to change it. they know it's wrong if they had to "fix" it in order to ship it. it implies that this person thinks they should be in a romantic pairing in canon, too, but they're trying to justify it to themselves.

and with Steph and Cass, Steph is a friend of theirs. she dated Tim previously and they are not related. she didn't want Bruce to adopt her, she doesn't consider them siblings. yes there is a found family dynamic but it's not the same as the others, who are not only legally family in most cases, but have considered each other family for years and years and years. they call each other their siblings. yes, even jason and tim. tim and jason are only a couple years apart, but jason is still family even if he died? tim considered himself dick's brother and his relationship with bruce was rocky sometimes but he also considered bruce like a father figure, and later on he was adopted so that was always there. they are siblings.

and in some of their dynamics, it's pedophilic dick and damian, dick and tim, jason and damian, tim and damian, even dick and jason because dick was an adult when he met jason. automatically that puts you in a spot where you deserve the deepest pit of hell. truly. i'm not religious but i hope they get their karma. i don't care if it's fictional, this reflects who they are as people in the real world and that's why i know these people are gross monsters. not to mention these people don't understand boundaries (shocker) and have and probably will again, ask me to include a batcest ship in LoF or to draw batcest for them. they have asked for peter and damian. one person claimed that peter and jason would be "cute" because of peter thinks he's cool and has "an innocence" about jason's life and what he's done. another asked for peter and dick. the blood related father and son. so it truly doesn't matter to them, i can guarantee it to you. the way i look at it, no matter which way they are shipped, you are automatically associated with the rest of them. nothing justifies it and it's wrong

and because i know someone is going to try to start an argument with me: i can't stop them from writing it. i know that. and you can scream at me until you're blue about your opinion on the matter, but i do not care and you will be wasting your breath. i am not pro cecsorship because it is a slippery slope and people will dig their claws into that. however. i can let them know that they aren't welcome on my page, i can talk about my opinion on the matter, i have every right to block them and say whatever i want. if you don't like this post, i'm telling you to block me so i don't have to take the time to do it myself 🫶

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

This has been in my brain seeing many tiktok videos of guys reacting to the books some of the girlies (and any other peoples who are into them) are into.

So I have come to ask what you think Rise! Donnie (or all of them) would do if he happened upon his s/o probably listening ro their audiobook....thwir very adult audiobook. Lol

Donnie Finds Your Adult Audio Book (Crack?) (18+)

Rise!Donatello x reader

A/N: I myself don't listen to a whole lot of audio books. I’m more the type of person that likes to read an actual book with something going on in the background, but I still like this idea. I decided to stick to just Donnie, in order to now overwhelm myself. It’s a somewhat short one, but I still hope you’ll enjoy💜

All characters are aged up.

Warnings: Short audio book description of sexual acts, implied smut.

“I’ll be back in a moment”, you said, taking off your headphones and getting off the bed.

“Where are you going?”, Donnie asked, his back still turned to you, as he continued to work with his small mechanic on his work table.

“Just going to the toilet”,  you answered, wrapping your arms around Donnie’s shoulders from behind, pressing a kiss to his cheek, before walking towards the door. “See you in a moment”.

Donnie smiled at you as you left, turning back towards his project, before momentarily looking towards the spot on his bed, where you had been laying just a moment ago. It was here that he noticed that you had left not just your headphones, but your phone as well, both of them just laying on his bed.

Donnie couldn’t help but let curiosity take a hold of him. Whenever you and he were together, with him being busy working on his project, you would hang out on his bed and wait for him to finish. Here you would usually pull out your phone and headphones, and listen to some audio books. But after all this time, Donnie still had no idea what audio books you were listening to. Fantasy, sci fi, drama, Donnie had no idea. He had long been wondering, often asking you about it. But each time you would just blush with a small smile, telling him that it wasn’t anything he would find interesting. But now, as Donnie finally saw his moment to figure out what you had been listening to, Donnie couldn’t think of anything in the world he would find more interesting than this.

Donnie stood up from his seat and quickly made his way over to the bed, picking up your phone and headphones. Putting on your headphones, Donnie unlocked your phone. Of course he had the password to your phone. He got it the same day he gave you his password. You know, usual couple things. But then, as he opened up your phone, he was met with the sight of the cover of your audio book. “Strong Embrace” it said, in big cursive font, over the picture of a couple, holding each other in a very sensual embrace. That kind of took Donnie aback. Was this a romantic audio book? Well, he guessed it was.

Donnie took a look at how far you had gotten, and was surprised to find that you were a little over halfway through. Made him wonder just how long you had been waiting for him to get done with his project that day. And with that thought Donnie pressed play, expecting to hear something sweet and calm, but instead-.

“She cried out in pure ecstasy, as the head of his member hit that spot deep within her, shooting sparks of pleasure through her body. She clung onto his shoulders for dear life, knowing that the only thing that kept her from falling over the balcony edge, was her fingernails digging into his shoulder, his hands keeping her legs open, and his thick cock plunging in and out of her with lewd, wet noises, eching against the castle walls in the dark”.

Donnie froze, phone in hand with wide eyes, as the voice actors started to reenact what the voice over had just explained. And before Donnie could string two thoughts together, about what you may be thinking or doing to these audio books, the door to his bedroom suddenly opened, with you walking in. You only made it a few steps into the room, before you froze at the sight of Donnie with your phone and headphones, staring wide eyed at you. For a moment, Donnie feared that you would get mad at him. That he might have crossed a line he didn’t know was there, pushing too far into your personal space. But instead you started smiling, putting your hands on your hips with a wicked smile.

“Well, now you finally know”, you smiled. “So what do you think?”

“I think -”, Donnie started, pausing the audio book with a smirk. “- that you and I have a lot of things to try out together”.

“You have no idea how long I have been thinking about asking you that”, you smiled, before making your way to Donnie and the bed.

[dailynnt]

FRIENDS WITHIN TUCHING DISTANCE

⊹ Summary: Jungkook and you, his childhood friend, live together in an apartment, sharing space as roommates. Your relationship, built on years of friendship, is gradually becoming strained by growing sexual tension. You decide to become friends with benefits, trying not to complicate your feelings. But Jungkook's world is not so simple. When you begin to realize that he is hiding something, you open the veil of his double life - a world of mafia, criminal activity, and risk that could ruin not only your deal, but everything you valued in each other.

⊹ Couple: Jeon Jungkook/ Fem!Reader

⊹ Characters: The Reader, Jeon Jungkook, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, Min Yoongi, Kim Seokjin, Kim Namjoon, Jeon Hoseok.

⊹ 🔞 Age restrictions: 18+

⊹ 👩🏼‍❤️‍👨🏻 Relationships: ⚤

⊹ 📘 Number of part: 25/?

⊹ 🖇️ Tags: best friends, friends with benefits, slow longing, sexual tension, protected sex, unprotected sex, alcohol, drunken sex, inexperienced main character, mafia au, illegal trade, deaths of minor characters, weapons, swear words.

⊹ 👩🏼‍💻 From the author: My darlings, I finally wrote it 🫠🤭 I really hope you like the scene in Jungkook's room, and the continuation of the storyline. Let me know what you think, I'm always so happy to read your comments ❤️‍🔥💞

⊹ 🫂 Dedication: For you, my love @myjungkookthighs. You are my favorite person 😘🥰 You know that I appreciate you so much and LOVE you🥰💜

⊹ ⚠️ Warning: English is not my native language, so there may be mistakes in the text. Please don't get mad at me too much! Those under 18, please don't read this story!

⊹ 📋Tag list: @myjungkookthighs, @notsevenwithyou, @nikkinikj, @lovelyyylunaa222, @jiminiemanura, @jalexad, @kelsyx33, @bhonbhon, @unholyforjk, @ambiee3, @mianhae-baozi, @someoneelse0109, @medstudentlifestyle, @mskookie, @kooccult , @smokinghotstargirl, @curse-of-art (If anyone wants to be in my tag list let me know)

≣ Chapter Index ↓

Part 25. Black Dust.

Jungkook has parked the car in front of his parents' house. Together you dropped your parents home twenty minutes ago, after spending the evening together, where you and Jungkook confessed that you were dating. To say that your parents were happy is an understatement.

They were stunned, but that quickly turned to joy. Your mothers were especially happy because they had wanted you to be together for a long time and thought you were the perfect couple. Your and Jungkook's fathers were also happy about the news, but because they are men, they were more reserved.

The joy of the news was as if you were announcing that you were getting married or having a baby. It's just a relationship, but who knows what it can grow into. It's exciting for you to think that you might marry Jungkook someday. It’s fact, that you really can't imagine anyone else but him as your match.

Jungkook offered to let you sleep at his place, because as his girlfriend, you can now sleep in the same room with him without hiding.

Yonok sat next to you, holding your hand. She was smiling sweetly at you when Jungkook and his father got out of the car.

"Y/N, my favorite girl. If you only knew how happy I am that you two are dating. I couldn't ask for a better girl for my boy." - Jungkook's mom says sincerely. Her words touch you. You lean against her.

"I'm glad we told you." - You say. "It actually came so naturally." - You say, referring to your relationship with Jungkook. Jungkook's mom smiles as she fixes your hair.

"I've secretly dreamed of you two being together. Your mom and I often talked about it. It seems our prayers have been answered." - You smile at her. You've been guessing about this. Your mom often praised Jungkook to you, and treated him like her own son. Jungkook's mom loved you just as much, so it was no wonder they wanted their children to be a couple.

Jungkook opened the back door of the car, looking at you with a smile. His father stood behind him, waiting for you.

"Are you going to sleep in the car?" - Jungkook asks you two. You and his mom hurried out.

Jungkook and his father went to his home office, and you stayed with Jungkook's mom. She gave you clothes to sleep in, because you left all your clothes at home, not planning to spend the night at Jungkook's place. She sent you to the bathroom and went to prepare your bed for sleep.

You went into the bathroom and locked the door. For some reason, you felt terribly tired. It seems you are not quite well yet. The emotions you experienced today have dulled your bad feeling. But now that you were alone, you thought you would literally collapse.

You took off your clothes. Your breasts hurt and were sensitive. You looked at them and saw that they were enlarged. No wonder. During your critical days, your breasts would grow by half a size. You had pads in your bag. You wanted to change one for the night, but you noticed that there was almost no blood. You are surprised because not only did your period start earlier, but it was also strangely.

You went into the shower, turned on the water and just stood under the stream of water. Warm water gently poured over your body, and you closed your eyes, trying to relax.

The feeling of fatigue and pain in your body gradually became less acute, although you were still concerned about the change in your state of health. You stood in the shower for a few minutes, just listening to the rustle of the water and letting your thoughts fade into the background.

Moments of the evening came back to you: your parents, their joy, Jungkook's mother's words... You felt your heart warm as your relationship with Jungkook became more and more real. And yet, in the midst of this joy, you felt a sense of anxiety - what would this mean for you and him in the future? Was it as simple as it seemed?

You remembered the way Jungkook looked at you today: with tenderness, care... And when your mother said so sincerely that she had always dreamed of you being together, your soul blossomed. You didn't know what would happen tomorrow, but it seemed that everything had its place, and this part of your life was just beginning.

You closed your eyes again, sliding your fingers over your skin, feeling its tenderness after the water. The tiredness began to recede, but you still felt how hard it was to keep your eyes open. It was time to get out of the bath.

You gently toweled yourself off, not wanting to rush, and then picked up the things Jungkook's mom had given you for sleeping. It was Jungkook's t-shirt. She offered you her nightgowns, but you said that his shirt was just like a normal nightgown and you would be comfortable sleeping in it. Jungkook's mom agreed to give you his things without any problems. When you came out of the bathroom, you saw her, and she had already made the bed. She was smiling when she saw you.

"Are you okay, my girl?" - She asked in a soft, caring voice. "You look tired."

You smiled in a tortured way. Your tiredness is still on your face. But no matter how much you didn't want to show it, it was obvious how much it was draining you, and it was good visible to Jungkook's mother's eyes.

"I'm fine, but I haven't been feeling well for about a week. I think it's because of busywork. I've started preparing for my thesis and I'm also working." - You answered quietly. Jungkook's mom looked at you carefully.

"Honey, are you working? Why do you need to work? Jungkook makes good money. You should quit and spend more time on yourself and your studies." - She advises you. You press your lips together.

"Oh, I know Jungkook makes good money..." - You say. You even know what he does for a living, but you skip over those details. "But I would like to have my own money. But studies will start soon, and I think it will."

Jungkook's mom nods her head in the affirmative, smiling. She comes over to you and touches your cheek with her palm. Her gaze is caring and gentle. You see so many of Jungkook's traits in her. He is very similar to his mother and this caring look at you now is similar to the one you receive from him.

"That's right, dear. It seems like there's no need to ask you to move into his apartment because it's obvious that you live together." - She says. You want to say something back, but she speaks first. "Tomorrow I suggest we have dinner together again. Because you're leaving on Monday morning, and then we don't know when you'll be back. I think another dinner with your parents would be nice." - She suggested.

"Yes, that would be great. I enjoyed tonight so much, I'm ready to do it again." - You support Jungkook's mom's proposal.

"Then it's a deal. Tomorrow I will need to go to the supermarket and market to buy the best food for my dear girl." - Yonok says and puts her hand on your shoulder.

"I can go with you. I can help you make dinner." - You offer to help.

"That would be great." - Jungkook’s mother says. You smile.

"Okay, I'm talking too much as usual. Get some rest, my good girl. Jungkook should be back soon..." - Jungkook's mom says, just as the owner of this room enters. Jungkook notices the two of you, and a slight smile graces his face.

"Mom, dad is looking for you. He can't find the charger for his phone. He says you should know because you cleaned the living room today." - Jungkook says, stepping deeper into the room. He gives you a quick glance. In just a second, he has time to run his eyes over your figure, but without being seen by you or his mother.

"Oh, that Yonho. He took her to his office last night. She should be there." - Jungkook's mother gets annoyed. She walks to the door of the room and stops at the door.

"Good night, my children. Sleep well." - She says. You bow and smile sincerely.

"Good night, omony. Thank you very much for your kindness and care." - You thank her. Jungkook's mother gives you a smile for the last time today, tells you she loves you, and leaves.

As the door closes behind her, you meet a pair of mischievous eyes that always come with a playful smile.

"This looks like my thing." - Said Jungkook to you. He walks over to you and clutches the edge of his T-shirt in his hands. You look at him, wondering what he's up to. Is he trying to seduce you? You had sex today. It was reconciliatory and hot, the way you both like it. But now you feel too tired. You don't have the energy for one more time tonight.

"That's my thing for today." - You say casually. But Jungkook just frowned a little, and grabbed your wrist and pulled you close. He looked at you with the same familiar look he always gives you when he's close.

Jungkook's hand, which had just been clutching the edge of your T-shirt, slides underneath. You feel his hand move up your thigh, leaving tangible marks. The hand ends up on your buttocks and squeezes the flesh. In one swift movement, he puts you closer, leaving not even the slightest distance between you. You hold back a scream that almost escapes your throat. Jungkook smiles slyly.

"You should have remembered that I'm greedy for my things. So you probably won't be wearing it tonight." - He says, leaning down to your lips. You rest your hands on his chest, feeling hardness and warmth of it.

"Do you really feel sorry for the T-shirt for me?" - You ask. Jungkook laughs softly.

"No. But every time I see you wearing my clothes, I have an urgent need to take them off." - Jungkook confesses. You smile.

"That explains a lot." - You say. In a moment, his other hand goes under your shirt. He squeezes your other buttock, pulling you closer to his already semi-hard length. You want to protest, but he kisses you. His lips capture yours, and a second later you feel his sweet tongue on yours.

Jungkook's lips move against yours, and your kiss becomes deeper and hotter. His hands hold you down, massaging your buttocks, and your heart starts to beat even faster, but you knew this wasn't the time for that. Even though your underwear was already damp.

"Love..." - You try to tear yourself away from his demanding lips. You need to stop it as soon as possible. Because if you don't stop in a moment, it will be too late. Jungkook leaves your lips and slides his hands down your neck. He stops kissing your lips and seems to just prolong kissing your neck. But he's touching your erogenous zones, and it's making you more excited. "Kook... we're at your parents' house..." - You say. Your breathing becomes labored. Jungkook steps on you, forcing you to move toward the bed, and your mind screams to stop it.

"Yes..." - He says when you're already leaning your feet to the bed. "This house is mine too, and this room is also mine." - He states playfully. You look at him skeptically. You didn't mean that.

"We're not alone. And your parents might come in..." - You explain. Jungkook thinks for a moment and then answers.

"I don't think my parents will come in. Everyone here is an adult, so they understand what we can do here." - He says. You lightly hit him on the chest, where your hand was. He only laughs softly in response.

"Why are you saying that?" - You are outraged. "Even if they understand, we're not supposed to do that here."

"What do you mean we shouldn't?" - Jungkook was surprised. "You didn't want us to have sex while we were visiting our parents?" - Jungkook assumed.

"Yes. I thought it wasn't a problem." - You said calmly. "Besides, I'm on my period." - You reminded him. Jungkook raised his eyebrows. He didn't hide the disappointment on his face.

"When did we not have sex during your period? And why do you think we can't make love here?" - Jungkook says indignantly. You don't want to upset him, but you're not feeling well, and you're really worried that Jungkook's parents might hear you. You kiss Jungkook's lips gently, without using your tongue, to calm him down. He squeezes your buttocks lightly.

"Your parents can hear us." - You say when you stop kissing him. Your faces are close together. You want to add that you're tired, but Jungkook speaks first, breaking into a cheerful smile.

"So that's the problem. You're afraid that my mom and dad will hear you screaming my name..." - Jungkook leans down to your ear, presses his hot lips to your skin, and you instantly shiver. "…when I’m will fucking your tight, little pussy?" - He whispers. Fuck, that dirty tongue. You're literally leaking from his words. Jungkook is horny too, and he's clearly not going to relieve himself on his own in the bathroom when he has you.

"Jungkook..." - His name sounds like an exhaled breath on your lips as Jungkook reaches into your underwear with his hand while kissing your neck. He touches your aroused clit and builds up your orgasm with circular, slow movements.

"Are you drip with moisture on my fingers but want to stop?" - He asks you, admiring your blissful face. You grabbed onto his shoulders to keep from falling, because your legs were softening in direct proportion to his movements on your clit. When his finger entered your passage, you moaned softly. "So? Maybe I should really stop?" - He says demandingly. He sounds like he's mocking you. Instead of putting you on the bed and fucking you, he asks if he should stop. "Because we might be overheard." - He says sarcastically, and you think you're going to hit him if he doesn't shut his mouth.

Suddenly, he sticks his finger out of your passage. You open your eyes and feel your pussy and passage throbbing with excitement. You want him to put his finger back in.

Jungkook defiantly licks the finger that was in your vagina a second ago with his tongue and grins slyly. You bite your lip, looking at this picture in front of you. And fuck, you get even more excited.

Jungkook easily frees himself from your arms, letting you go. He goes to the door and locks it.

He comes back to you and immediately pulls off your shirt. You're left in just your panties and Jungkook's eyes fill with lust when he sees your naked body.

His attention is most attracted to your erect nipples. He looks at you as if he were seeing you for the first time. He raises his hand and touches your nipple, playing with his fingers. You bite your lip. He takes your breast in his hand and squeezes it. He leans down to take your bud into his mouth, but you scream softly in pain. He looks up at your eyes.

"Are they still sensitive?" - Jungkook asks, looking from you to the nipple.

"Yes." - You answer. Jungkook touches your nipple lightly with his tongue and you feel a little pressure. He sucks on your flesh and circles the nipple with his tongue several times. It feels good. You put your hands on his back. Jungkook doesn't ignore your other nipple.

It's getting uncomfortable to stand. So a minute later you're lying on the bed, and Jungkook is on top of you. He is comfortably positioned between your legs. His hard cock is still in his underwear and even his pants. He is pressing on your needy pussy. For some reason, Jungkook is in no hurry to undress and you are not at all satisfied.

"Take off your clothes." - You whisper between kisses. Jungkook smiles when he hears your request.

"If I take off my clothes, I'll fuck you." - He says, pulling his lips away from your skin. You look at him in surprise.

"What do you mean? Isn't that what you were planning to do?" - You wonder. He tilts his head to look at your face from a different angle.

"Well, you said that my parents might hear us. So I decided to listen you." - Jungkook says. Your eyebrows fly up and you smile almost hysterically.

He's lying between your legs right now, with his hard cock pressed in your pussy, and you're sure it hurts, and he's saying he won't have sex with you? That's nonsense. What kind of man is he? He didn't stop when you asked him to, he got you hot and now he says he doesn't plan to fuck you?

"Are you serious?" - You ask hysterically. "Then what are you doing now?"

Jungkook sees your irritation, and it only seems to amuse him more. He raises one eyebrow as if to ask: "What am I doing?" and then leans in closer again, leaving a slow, almost mocking kiss on your jaw.

"I'm just enjoying you, my love." - His voice is husky, dangerous. His warm breath tickles your skin as he trails his lips along your neck, leaving short, damp-hot kisses. His arms are around your waist, his body a constant test of your willpower.

"Enjoying that?" - You can't help but sound sarcastic, even though your lips give you away, trembling with his every touch. "It's more like torture." - Jungkook laughs-quietly, lowly, with that familiar tinge of smugness.

"Torture?" - He lifts up a little higher, meeting your gaze. His eyes sparkle in the semi-darkness of the room. "Is that what you call it?" - His fingers slide down your thighs, causing another flare of trembling.

"What do you call it then?" - You whisper, trying to keep your tone steady, but it doesn't sound convincing at all. Jungkook looks at you longer than necessary, studying you as if he were evaluating something important. And then he smiles-slowly, playfully, dangerously.

"Waiting." - His lips find yours again, and his touch is so sweet that you almost forget how to breathe. Your kiss becomes passionate, and with each new movement, almost insatiable.

"Don't tease me..." - Your voice is barely audible, and it sounds more like a quiet reproach than an accusation. Jungkook smiles.

"You started it first." - He accuses you. You are outraged. You didn't start anything first. You just said that it would be better if you didn't have sex when his parents are in the other room. Sex with Jungkook is always about incredible pleasure and you're used to not holding back. You are afraid that you will forget about caution at some moment.

His hands move higher, his palms run along your ribs, as if exploring every curve of your body. And it's a real torture to be so close to him, to feel his heat, to know that he's right here, but not to get what you want most.

"Tell me, you want it." - His voice is a velvety whisper that sends hundreds of electrical impulses through your body.

"Kook..." - His name sounds like a sin on your lips. You beg him, even though you forbade him not so long ago. He does not move on, does not hurry. He just waits. His eyes darken, he wants it as much as you do, but he stubbornly holds himself in check. His patience — is the last straw of your.

You crush your lips to his, tearing away all doubts, squeeze his shirt in your fingers, and pull him even closer. Jungkook doesn't pull back-he only sinks deeper into you, into your kiss, into everything you're feeling right now.

He doesn't hold back anymore. And neither are you. You move your hips, creating friction, so that he gets excited enough to tease you no more. He moves his hips to meet you and his length is painfully squeezed in his boxers. Jungkook pushes you sharply several times. You feel your orgasm building. You moan into his lips and he can't help but smile.

When you both run out of air, Jungkook breaks the kiss. He rubs against you to help you reach the pleasure you want. Your eyes remain closed and your face expresses absolute pleasure. At such moments, you look like the most beautiful woman in the whole world. Jungkook is happy that he is the only one who has seen that your face.

The friction you created brings you to bliss. You moan as you have an orgasm and Jungkook immediately covers your lips. Now your pleasure is vibrating on his lips. You stop, and Jungkook pulls away from your swollen lips.

"You have to be quiet, baby." - He reminds you. You breathe heavily, stare at his lips a little confused and try to understand what he's saying. The impression of the orgasm makes you detached from reality.

"This is what I told you about." - You complain without any anger. "I don't know how to be quiet with you." - You confess. This confession boosts his ego.

"I love it when you scream from my cock inside you. Damn, I want to fuck you so bad right now. But you have to promise me to be quiet." - Jungkook asks you. His desperate voice makes you throb between your legs. You want him as much as he wants you.

"Only if you shut me up." - You say jokingly. You leave it up to him to decide what he can use to gag you. Jungkook smiles slyly. He leans closer, and that smile makes you tremble in anticipation. His fingers gently touch your chin, forcing you to look him straight in the eye.

"Oh, baby..." - He laughs hoarsely, running his thumb over your lips. "You have no idea what that sounds like to me."

You gulp for air as his gaze darkens, full of promise and desire. His palm moves to your neck, his thumb still lingering near your lips, and you instinctively open them, letting his touch in.

"Do you want, I shut up you like this?" - His voice vibrates, it's dangerous, and it sends pleasant shivers through your body. You nod, sucking on his finger as if testing his reaction.

Jungkook's cock twitches as he imagines those beautiful lips wrapped around his length.

"So we play by my rules?" - He leans down to your neck, leaving a hot, shaking kiss that makes you barely hold back a soft moan. His hand slides steadily lower, leaving hot marks on your skin.

"Yes." - You agreed.

"Okay, my obedient girl..." - He whispers in your ear, and you know that whatever he has in mind will be both torment and bliss.

Jungkook gets up and undresses without breaking contact with your eyes. You raised yourself up on your elbows to better see the picture in front of you. There was something fascinating about watching Jungkook undress.

Jungkook took off his clothes slowly, as if he was deliberately stretching out this moment, enjoying the way you were looking at him. His gaze never leaves yours, watching your every reaction, every movement of your lips, every movement of your body.

Usually, a passion between you makes you move quickly and do everything in a hurry, but today it's something new. Jungkook does everything slowly and leisurely. You find it both annoying and exciting.

You bite your lip, feeling a hot wave spreading inside you. In the semi-darkness, his figure looks even more attractive - clear lines of muscle, smooth skin, tattoos spreading ink across his arm and shoulder.

Jungkook notices how you don't take your eyes off him, and his lips stretch into a satisfied, sly smile.

"Do you like what you see?" - His voice sounds deeper than usual, and it chills you to the bone. Jungkook, in turn, looks at your body and is already planning to fuck you properly right after he takes off your clothes.

You decide to take part in his game. When he takes off his shirt, you smile seductively. You gracefully get up from the bed, leveling with him. Jungkook watches you carefully.

You still didn’t answer his questions. You run your fingertips along his forearm and then slowly slide them down his chest, as if you're checking to see if he's real. Jungkook sighs heavily, his muscles tensing under your touch. Then you lower your hands to his waistband, place your hands on top of his palms, which wanted to undo the button on his pants but didn't because you were distracted him. You gently push his hands away, showing that you will do it yourself.

You look down between your bodies. You undo the button, grab the fabric in your hands and pull it down. You bend down to pull down his pants and see his cock. He is aroused and most likely wants to get rid of the underwear. You straighten up and now want to take off his boxers. But instead, you just slide your hand into his boxers and find the tip that immediately twitches when it feels your fingers.

"Don't play around, love..." - Chunguk whispers, catching your hand and squeezing it lightly, not letting you continue with your plan. "Because I can forget all caution." - You look at him, holding your breath, and then smile slightly.

"Maybe that's what I want?" - You say. "It's fun to tease, now I understand you." - You hum, looking directly into his eyes. Jungkook freezes for a second and then leans over to you.

"Then don't blame me for what's about to happen." - He warns you. He gently places you on the bed and takes off your underwear. The air touches your folds and you feel cool. Between your legs is a mess because you're aroused from yours over-the-top games. Jungkook also takes off his boxers in a matter of seconds.

The mattress bends under his knees as he settles between your legs. You see his thick hard cock bouncing as he moves. Jungkook spreads your legs at his convenience and smears your wetness over the folds. Then he plunges two fingers inside you. He stretches you so that you can take him as painlessly as possible.

Jungkook creates pressure on your walls and this already gives you some pleasure. He doesn't wasted many time for a long time because he wants to enter you already. Jungkook takes his fingers out of you. You don't even have time to realize what he did, because he's already got his cock against your entrance.

He presses and sinks in slowly to make you comfortable. You feel euphoric as his length fills you. Jungkook goes all the way in and moans gutturally. He doesn't move for a while, and then he leans down to you, placing his elbows on either side of your face. He gives one slow, deep thrust and you hold your breath. Which threatens to escape in a loud moan.

Jungkook admires your beautiful face and makes another, similar movement, and surprisingly, it gives rise to a feeling of butterflies in your stomach. His lips cover yours, and you realize that from that moment on, you lost control. But did you really have it?

Jungkook fucks you, covering your mouth with his lips. You moan into his mouth. Your hands are on his back. His cock is so good clings you, and to ease your sensations, you dig your nails into his flesh at first. But the faster and deeper Jungkook moves, the more stimulated you feel. You can't stand it any longer and scratch his back.

Jungkook smiles against your lips, feeling the pain of your scratches. He detached from your lips.

"Is that good?" - He asks. He knows how good you feel. Doesn't his scratched back speak for you? "You take me so well, baby. I love fucking that pussy. I'm happy that she's mine. She's mine and she'll always be." - He whispers as he continues to fuck you. You're going crazy at his words, because you're happy to have a lover like Jungkook.

He gives you so much pleasure that your feelings for him grow more and more every day. Your love is getting stronger. You are perfect for each other in and out of bed. You could only dream of such a guy.

"I love you." - You whisper. These words make Jungkook stop. You open your eyes and see his face so close. His eyes dart between yours, searching for something. You stretch your lips into a smile. "I belong to you completely. I don't need anyone else but you. I love you and I will always love you." - You say a little louder. These words fall from your lips easily and sincerely, because they are the real truth.

"I love you too." - He finally says. He tries to calm his breathing. "You're the girl I've always wanted to have. I'm lucky that my feelings are mutual." - He says. You feel a lump in your throat. You shouldn't cry in the middle of sex. Jungkook suddenly thrusts, continuing what he's started. You gasp in surprise at his actions. "I love you. And I'm ready to prove it to you every day." - He says as he fucks you. You think you're in some kind of paradise, but if isn’t paradise, then what? His declaration of love, his movements inside you, it all makes you so happy.

Jungkook kisses you again. Your lips merge in a gentle kiss full of love. You wrap your arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"Baby, I want you on all fours." - He whispers against your lips. You hoped he would finish with you in a lying position.

"Can we finish the way we started?" - You ask hopefully, not wanting to get up. Jungkook gets up and out of you, and which means that no, it will be as he wants.

"Come on, love, give me your ass here." - He says, helping you to stand up. Jungkook reaches for the pillows to put under your stomach. He puts them in front of you and helps you down. You lie down on top of the two pillows, resting most of your body on your elbows and exposing your ass to him.

It's a gorgeous sight for Jungkook's eyes. He can't help but be tempted to slap you at of your smooth skin. When you feel the blow on your buttocks, it's like you wake up. You want to look up at Jungkook, but you don't have time because he's pressing down on top of you. His hand is on one side of your head, and his lips are on the other, pressed against your shocked face.

"What an ass." - He praises. "By the way, have you heard of anal sex?" - He asks. You freeze. His question has confused you so much that you've forgotten how to speak. You feel your cheeks flush. You've heard of it, of course, but you don't understand what it means. You've also heard that it can cause a number of problems.

"You don't want to do that." - You say in response. "You're just curious, right?" - You ask naively. You feel him touching your buttocks with one hand, the one he's not leaning on.

Jungkook straightens up behind you. He raises your hips, forcing you to lean more on your knees and lift your ass up. Jungkook finds your clit and caresses it with his finger. You moan, but into the bed, so you can hardly be heard.

"I'm not just curious." - He says, firmly. You jerk your head up. Jungkook takes his length in his hands. He puts cock against your buttocks and presses just a little. You raise your head in embarrassment and he stops you, taking you into his arms. His hands are on your stomach.

"Jungkook, I'm not ready to do this." - You say in confusion. You can't turn your head to him because he's holding you close to his body. You hear him laughing softly.

"Honey, calm down. I'm not going to fuck you in the ass. Not tonight." - He says. And his phrase "not tonight" doesn't calm you down at all. His hand goes down to your cunt and caresses you, and you forget what you were just talking about. Jungkook kisses your cheek, showering your face and then your neck with short kisses. He tortures your clit and you moan. "You said you were on your period. Why isn’t there any blood?" - Jungkook asks, noticing that you’re not bleeding like you should during your period. You don’t answer right away. When you’re dealing with the sensations from his finger, you say.

"I was bleeding, but for some reason I’m not. Maybe I should go to the doctor." - You answer. Jungkook hums behind you.

"Yeah, sure. I’ll take you." - He says. But enough talking, Jungkook plans to finish and bring you and himself to orgasm. "Come on, get on your elbows, I'm finally going to fuck you properly."

You listen to him without question. You get down on your elbows, pushing your ass up. Jungkook puts the tip of his cock against your entrance and enters you again with no pain. He starts moving inside you, holding your hips with his hands. You moan and hold back the screams that want to escape your lips. You literally has to bite you until you bleed to keep your moans quiet.

Jungkook behind you is also moaning. Your tight cunt swallowed him so well. Your tight walls give him absolute pleasure. He looks between your bodies and sees your asshole so close to his pubes. He puts his finger between your buttocks with a little pressure. You notice to it, but you can't say or do anything. He fucks you and you seem close.

"I would love to have that sweet ass one day." - He says in your ear then, leaning against your back.

"Kook..." - You say on an exhale. You want to argue that you wouldn't want to, but you can't. Jungkook is hitting your G-spot and you're about to come.

"Will you let me?" - He asks. You won't let him. Because you don't understand why you have to do it. Jungkook cuts into you sharply and deeply. You want to scream. Your moans are getting louder and louder and you might be heard. "Shh, keep quiet, baby. Otherwise, how will you look my parents in the eye in the morning?" - Says Jungkook. You can't do it anymore. Then you should stop. Jungkook seems to read your mind. He straightens up behind you.

His hands grip your hips as they did before and he starts pounding you fast and hard with his cock. If you were alone, you would be screaming from the sensations his cock is giving you, but now you can't do anything but moan into the pillow.

A series of quick strokes and you cum all around his length. Jungkook feels you choking on his cock and in just a few thrusts he comes right after you. He fills you with cum and you can't care about it because you just don't have the strength.

Jungkook stops jerking inside you and pulls out. You fall exhausted on the bed and breathe heavily. Jungkook lies down next to you. You are hot, both of you are sweating. Jungkook looks at you, and you lie there catching your breath with your eyes closed.

"Are you alive, love?" - He asks with a smile. You smile weakly. You have no more strength left for anything.

"Half." - You joke. Jungkook leans over to you.

"Have I completely exhausted you?" - He asks, caring, though you can feel him smiling. You open your eyes and see your beloved man above you. He touches your lips with his own and lets go after a moment.

"It was worth it." - You praise the sex with Jungkook. You couldn't have refused him after the first kiss. Even though you were tired and only had the energy to get to bed and fall asleep. But now you're definitely without the slightest bit of energy.

"Do you want me to carrying you to the bathroom?" - He offers. His offer sounds so tempting. But what if Jungkook's parents are still awake and notice him carrying you to the bathroom? What will they think? You shake your head in denial.

"No. I'll go by myself, but after you. I need to catch my breath." - You say. Jungkook agrees and goes to the bathroom first, while you put on Jungkook's T-shirt and straighten the bed. Fortunately, you were almost careful. Only a little bit of Jungkook's cum, which probably spilled out of you when you sat up straight. You wiped it off with a damp napkin that was in the room and let the place dry.

Jungkook took a quick shower. You also took a bath for the second time that evening. It took you less than 10 minutes and luckily you didn't run into either Jungkook's mom or his dad.

You walked into the room and noticed that Jungkook was already lying on the bed. He was running his fingers over the sensor, obviously typing a message to someone. You crawled under the covers. The place where you cleaned was still damp. You moved over to Jungkook, hugging him. As soon as he felt you move in, he blocked his phone and pulled you closer to him. You leaned your cheek against his chest and sighed, enjoying his warmth.

"Are you okay, baby?" - Jungkook asks.

"Fine, thanks to you." - You answered. Jungkook kissed your temple. There was a silence between you and him. You listened to his steady breathing and heartbeat. You noticed that his heartbeat sounded like asmr to you. Jungkook ran his fingertips over your back, as if unconsciously drawing some patterns. The warmth of his palms soothed you.

You closed your eyes, trying not to think about anything, just to enjoy this moment, his closeness. But through your half-asleep state, you suddenly felt Jungkook tense up slightly.

Someone had sent him a text message, because the phone on the nightstand vibrated. He reached for the phone and you looked at the screen unnoticed by him. Who could be texting him at this hour?

Jungkook unlocked the phone and you saw who it was.

00.13 AM. Sunday | Jimin: You'll be contacted by Ingwon tomorrow. I don't know when exactly, but it's definitely tomorrow. You have to make an appointment. He wants to discuss the details of the black dust delivery.

Jungkook writes a short reply, "I'm waiting" and locks the phone. He puts it on the nightstand with the screen facing down. You pretend to be asleep, but you remember that he promised to tell you why he was upset when he got home from work early today. That's what you had a little argument about.

"Jungkook?" - You call out to him quietly. He didn't answer right away, just held you even tighter.

"I'm here, my love." - He says in a soft mumble. His voice sounds deeper and hoarser, as if it were not his own. You pulled away a little to look at him. His eyes were closed, but you could tell by the clenched jawline that he was awake.

"What are you thinking about?" - You ask from a distance. He opens his eyes and moves his head back a little in a groan and looks at you. He holds his gaze on you for a moment and then sighs, as if he's weighing what to say.

"About a lot to do." - His fingers lightly touched your hair. "A new task has come up. It's a bit of a tense for me." - He finally admits. You feel both relieved that he's opening up to you more and anxious because you know what kind of work Jungkook is into.

If he says that the case is "tense him", then it's something serious and definitely dangerous. You inhale softly, remembering the message from Jimin. Was it something to do with the "black dust"? What is it, exactly? Some kind of weapon? Or drugs?

"Is it... something dangerous?" - You asked, although you already knew the answer in your heart. Jungkook again delayed his answer, and then only lightly touched your forehead with his lips.

"It's just business. You don't have to worry." - He says, and you feel his lips moving on your forehead.

"Every time you tell me not to worry, something bad happens." - You complain without anger in your voice.

"Really?" - He asks with a bit of irony.

"Yes. I still know it's something dangerous." - You whisper, looking into his face. He held his gaze on you, and then ran his fingers lightly over your chin.

"And what are you going to do about it?" - He ask you with the same irony. You press your lips together indignantly. He think this is supposed to made it a joke? Sighing, you decide not to argue with him. You cling to him tighter, inhaling his familiar scent.

"If I can do anything about it?" - You answer the question with a question. There's silence between you again, but this time it's heavy. "I just want you to be safe." - You say desperately. Jungkook smiled, just a small smile, at the corner of his lips, but there was no real peace in his eyes.

"I just want you not to worry about things you can't control, baby." - His voice was warm, but he sounded tired.

"Jungkook." - You called to him softly but insistently. "Does this have anything to do with what upset you today?" - You finally ask him directly. You raise your eyes to look at him. He doesn't answer right away. His gaze lingered on you, dark, attentive. Then he unclenched his fingers, which were holding a few strands of your hair, and nodded slowly, as if hesitating.

"Yes." - He confessed to you. Your heart sped up.

"So what happened?" - You ask, and you're really afraid to hear what might have upset him. But you don't think he will tell you the whole truth. Jungkook took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair, looking away.

"Namjoon wants me to take on a serious case. But something about it is... not right..." - He paused, as if searching for words. "I mean, the target and the people who will be working on this case are too murky. I suspect why Namjoon wants me to be the one to do it. Jimin says he wanted me to do it right away." - Jungkook thinks out loud. You swallow the lump in your throat.

"And why does he want you to do it?" - You ask cautiously.

"He wants to give me even more responsibility." - He replies. "But he promised me that if I do everything perfectly, he'll cut my debt in half."

"He's offering to cut your debt in half? Why not the whole debt?" - You ask, slightly protesting. Jungkook thinks about it. Yes, this case is worthy of his full debt relief. Why did he only agree to write off half of it?

"Maybe I was really screwed." - Jungkook hummed. He rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling. His hand was still on your back, warm, strong, but you could feel the tension in his every muscle. You gently touched his cheek, making him look at you again.

"I think you should try to bargain with him for your all freedom. If you want to leave the world of the mafia, that is. Especially if, as you say, he wants to give you more responsibility, that means he's not going to let you go at all." - You pause, staring at his face. "But whatever it is..." - Your voice was quiet, but confident. "Be careful."

Jungkook stared at you and then, without a word, gently pulled you closer for the hundredth kiss of the night. Your lips are his panacea. He pressed you against him, and this kiss was different-slow, tender, and full of emotions that could not be expressed in words. You felt his arms hugging you tighter, but with some special care.

"Let's go to sleep." - He suggests. You smile and make yourself comfortable next to your lover. You turn your back and Jungkook hugs you from behind. You try to fall asleep.

After a while, Jungkook hears your steady breathing and realizes that you have fallen asleep. His thoughts are full. He's trying to figure out what the new task Namjoon has given him will mean for him. His mind is replaying the events that happened before you left for your parents' house.

Jungkook stood in the semi-darkness of the garage, listening to every word through his phone, ignoring the extra fuss around him. He had a package of documents in his hands, and he had just finished negotiating with one of the arms suppliers, the deal were smoothly. The phone suddenly vibrated, and Jungkook picked it up without hesitation to see a call from Jimin.

"Jungkook-ah, Namjoon wants to see us all. You need to come to Indigo right now. Put aside everything you're doing." - He says. Jungkook can hear the tension in his voice. It's been a long time since Namjoon has called everyone together. It must be something very important.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. I've just finished my business." - Jungkook replies.

"Great. We'll all be there. At the first VIP as usual." - Jimin informs him.

"Is something wrong?" - Jungkook tries to find out something.

"This isn't a phone call." - Jimin says. Jungkook exhales sharply.

"I'm on my way to the club." - He says, and when he hears Jimin's "waiting," he hangs up. He tells his assistant that there's no work for today, so he letting him go. Jungkook did not like such meetings, he felt that this time something serious was going to happen.

He went back to the car, starting the engine loudly, not paying attention to the city lights outside the window. He was supposed to be on his way to pick you up and go to parents' house. He texts you that he will be delayed indefinitely because he has some urgent business and will come to pick you up as soon as he is free.

Club “Indigo” was located on the outskirts of Seoul, where the rustling noise of the city met the silence that enveloped the place. The entrance was decorated in a modern style, mixing techno and classics, and inside it was hard to distinguish where baroque ended and modern began.

The ceiling was decorated with abstract paintings that resembled Cubist works - colored fragments were folded into strange shapes that began to tell their own story when the angle of view changed. It was a special club where art and business were intertwined. Everything here was reminiscent of Namjoon himself, his taste and preferences.

Jungkook entered and walked straight to the VIP room, feeling like every glance that fell on him was filled with a certain attention. Everyone was sitting in the room: Jimin, Taehyung, Hoseok, Jin, and Yoongi. Everyone in this circle knew their role and business, and each of them had a part of what the “Run Noir” clan lives for. But Namjoon, as always, was in the center stage.

Namjoon sitting down a wide leather chair, a glass of whiskey in his hand. A painting with an abstract expressionist pattern hung on the wall behind him. He looked up as Jungkook entered.

"Great, now we're all here. Come in, Jungkook-ah, have a seat." - He invited Jungkook with a smile on his lips.

"Good evening." - He greeted everyone present. Jungkook bowed his head and bowed in respect. He sat down in an empty seat next to Jimin, who smiled cautiously and pushed glass with alcohol to him closer. Jungkook just nodded, but he wasn't going to drink. He still had to drive.

Namjoon didn't delay and got right down to business. It was obvious that while they were waiting for Jungkook, they had already discussed some of their business.

"So, why did I bring you all here?" - Namjoon began. All eyes were on the clan leader and he was pleased with the attention. "I have always strived to be the best at whatever I do. And I was doing it well. Of course, I would not be where I am without you. But you all know me well, I never rest on my laurels and always strive to push the boundaries. The status of my clan today allows me to enter a new level of the international market. I want to sell Uranium." - Finally, he finish announcement. Namjoon meet silence and attentive stares. Everyone is silent, not wanting to speak their minds.

Jungkook cautiously glances around to see what everyone is thinking. Jimin and Hoseok are the ones who can't hide their surprise, and their faces show it very eloquently. Yoongi, the shadowy leader of the clan, looks bored as usual, he probably already knew his partner's plans. Jin and Taehyung are calm but tense.

"Uranium? But why do we need it? You do realize how much attention it can attract, right?" - Jin was the first to break the silence. Namjoon nodded, obviously expecting this question.

"I know. But this is exactly what can help us strengthen our position. I want to go far beyond Korea. Uranium is a good source of power and money. I want to use this moment to get rid of any competition with the “Black Pearl”" - Namjoon replies. He takes a sip of alcohol and feels it burning in his throat.

"How exactly do you want to work with Uranium?" - Jungkook asks. Everyone turns their attention to him. But Jungkook only looks at his leader.

"There are three classifications of uranium, but we will only work with two. We will sell depleted uranium through the military, which is used in armor-piercing shells,for example, for tanks, and may be of interest to arms smugglers, and we will sell energy-grade uranium for nuclear power plants." - Namjoon explains. Jungkook raises his eyebrows slightly as he considers Namjoon's words. Where did he get this opportunity? After all, working with the military and nuclear power plants is a very high level. Someone has to cover this case well? Or does he want to pull off this plan himself?

"And how will it all happen? How do we get around the government, or will they cooperate with us directly?" - Jimin asked. Namjoon looked carefully at Jimin, who had asked an important question, and clutched his glass in his hands, thinking about his answer for a while.

"No, the government will not cooperate with us." - He answered, and everyone realized that the plan could not be that simple. "I want Jungkook and Hobby to do the first work." - He looked at them in turn. "You will have to organize the transportation itself. But I already have a plan for how it should go. We need to make sure that the police and the Ministry of Defense don't even know about the deliveries. And believe me, it will not be easy. Once the authorities find out, they won't be able to leave us alone."

Jungkook pondered Namjoon's words, his gaze becoming even more intense. He and Hosok were going to take on this project, and that meant taking a huge risk. The task was not an easy one: no mistakes could be made.

"You mean we'll have to use front companies?" - Taehyung asked, looking at Namjoon.

"Yes." - Namjoon nodded. "We will set up several front companies through which we will work with the military and nuclear power plants. This will give us cover for our operations. It's also important that we involve people with the right connections, people who can solve any issues with customs or other agencies."

Yoongi, who had been sitting quietly, leaned back and spoke with an expression of extreme indifference, but his words sounded sharp.

"We'll need to have someone in place to coordinate everything. Someone we can trust to make sure there are no unexpected situations." - He said.

"I've already thought of that." - Namjoon chimed in. "I've already found the right people. But the thing is, it's going to be very confusing, and everyone has to work according to their own plan without knowing the details of what the other is doing."

Hoseok, who had been sitting quietly until now, looked up and spoke, a little nervously.

"We'll have to hide a lot, including the uranium shipments themselves. How are we going to transport it? I mean, are there any safe ways?" - He asked. But before Namjoon could answer, Jungkook gently raised his hand to indicate that he wanted to add his own opinion.

"It will be possible to use underground routes, logistics corridors that are not controlled by the authorities. But this also requires careful organization. And we need to take into account that the transport can be checked. Perhaps we should think about some more unique delivery methods?" - He suggested. Namjoon smiled when he heard Jungkook's ideas. He knew it would be difficult, but he trusted each of them.

"Yeah, it's all very complicated..." - He replied. "But you have experience. I trust all of you, and I know you can handle it. Now we have to act quickly. We cannot afford to be late. Uranium will give us great power, but if we make a mistake, it could lead to disaster."

Everyone understood that the clan's activities were reaching a new level, and if everything worked, they would have unprecedented influence. When all the details were discussed and everyone moved on to more casual conversations, Jungkook was about to leave. He stood up from the couch, drawing attention to himself.

"Can I go now? I still have things to do." - Jungkook asks Namjoon for permission. The latter nods his head kindly. But then he gets up from his chair and walks towards Jungkook.

"Let me walk you out." - He offers. Namjoon slips his arm around Jungkook's shoulder as walks over. The members realizes that Namjoon is having a personal conversation with the youngest.

They leave the VIP room and head to the parking lot. Namjoon walks in a relaxed manner, unlike Jungkook.

"You handled the medical device so well the recently, and proved to me your loyalty and that you know how to do your job well. That's why I want you to keep an eye on things when we start working with Uranium." - Namjoon says seriously, and stop. Jungkook stops next to him. "I promise I'll forgive half of the debt if you set up all the uranium delivery work. And then you will only have to work for me for two years. You know how much I want you to stay, but I also want it to be your initiative. I see great potential in you and you are the best at what you do. I need people like you. I really trust you, kid."

Jungkook was surprised to hear about the debt. Only two years and he would be free? It sounded almost unreal, like a chance he hadn't expected. He fell silent and was lost in thought for a few seconds.

"Two years..." - He repeated. "And you're really going to let me go?"

"Yes." - Namjoon answered decisively. In fact, he was hoping that this case would help to keep him in business for a long time. Namjoon watched Jungkook carefully, waiting for a reaction. He collected his thoughts and continued quietly without looking up.

"I appreciate your trust, Namjoon. And I'm very grateful that you see the potential in me. But I'm not looking for any big changes or a special place in the clan. I just want to be a performer. I don't want anything more than that." - Jungkook says. Namjoon raised his eyebrows a little, feeling that Jungkook wasn't quite expressing everything he really wanted to say. But Jungkook continued regardless. "So I agree to monitor the uranium supply process, but you must also keep your word. Two years and I am no longer your subordinate." - Jungkook added with some determination in his voice.

Namjoon nods his head, smiling. Time will tell where all of you will be in two years, and he really hoped it would be the pinnacle of success.

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[ryoskuna]

Be the Light: Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Davrin - A Character Study/Analysis & Appreciation Post

Hi, my name is Leia, and I’m a Master’s degree candidate in Children’s Literature and Library & Information Science. I’m also a Black woman who loves consuming media, which is not limited to playing video games, reading books, and watching TV shows/movies. 

To my friends who have put up with me rambling about this game for the last three(?)-ish weeks, thank you for entertaining me, putting up with all my thoughts, and pushing me to make this post.

I completed my first playthrough of Dragon Age: The Veilguard on January 6th (and cried twice), and while there is so much that can be said for the storytelling (it’s not perfect; there’s no such thing as perfection since that’s an objective notion), but in my opinion, I believe DATV makes for an excellent and conclusive end to the Dragon Age franchise in regards to lore and the world of Thedas on the best attempts of the developers and writing team. Especially considering it was a game that lingered in development purgatory for 8+ years, and there was such an intense fight to make sure it got released, I will contently take what I received (with some admitted bias as a Solavellen, and someone who does like Solas as a character though there is much to say about him as well but not here!).  When I completed the game, my immediate response was very similar to the way I reacted when I finished my first playthrough of Final Fantasy 15 (another game that I found emotionally compelling- I sobbed for approximately 30-45 minutes straight while on a voice call with a friend during the final cutscene sequences, as well as the credits playing Stand by Me by Florence + the Machine) — I wanted to make a video essay talking about the storytelling and my experience with all of the characters, content, and everything that made me absolutely enamored with the game. (Side note: DATV has the best combat gameplay in any of the DA games, and I will stand by that. Like if they remastered Inquisition and the other two games with the Character Creation from Veilguard and upgraded the combat mechanics/gameplay/UI, I would be first in line to buy the remastered versions.)

(It’s also ironic this is getting posted when it’s been announced that the entire Bioware team for DA has been let go, left, or released to industry, which is a loss of some wonderful storytellers and creatives.)

But I lack the video equipment to make video essays/vlogs talking about my interests like this, and I also don’t know if anyone would watch it. I also generally do not see a lot of Black women engaging in content that would fall into this category or dialogues with media and games, although I wish I did see more of it!

However, this is not intended to be a critique of the game; this is solely meant to be a character study and appreciation post for one of the companions, Davrin, who was the standout companion for me during my initial playthrough and continues to be in my consecutive playthroughs. Davrin is arguably a fantastic character, not only because of his companion quests (which have some of the strongest and most emotional storytelling, in my opinion, whether you romance him or not), but also because of his personality and how he is a love letter to the history and future of Thedas. 

(Additional side note: all of the companions are fantastic, especially the seven that are newly introduced within DATV. Harding is a great connection to DAI, the references to the Inquisition at large, and some additional history of the world of Thedas.)

This is also why I mention my race in my introductory statement, as my analysis of him is based on my experience and understanding as a Black woman. While I am not a Black man, I do have a brother, and my father is a Black man who comes from a military background, and this absolutely does affect my perspective and understanding of Davrin as a character.

This way of analysis in literature is called reader-response, in which the reader has a transaction with the text, i.e., the reader reads the material, and out comes their interpretation of the text (see: here, and Mingshui Cai’s “Transactional Theory and the Study of Multicultural Literature.” Language Arts, vol. 85, no. 3, 2008, pp. 212–20, if you’re looking for more intellectual writings on reader-response.). Reader-response allows for a unique interpretation based on the reader or in this case, the player’s individual experience. 

Lastly, I’d like to preface that this post will reference the game, the podcast - Vows & Vengeance, that was released prior to Veilguard’s release - and some of the books, primarily Last Flight, for additional narrative context. I’ll flag spoilers the best I can but will state that this post is not spoiler-free. 

First, for this to make sense, I feel like we have to discuss why representation in media matters.  So, why? Why does representation matter? 

Well, there is power in seeing someone who resembles yourself or your story on a screen or largely consumed content. It challenges stereotypes (or what one can be), introduces people to cultural exchange, and engages in cultivating a sense of belonging (here’s a wonderful TED talk if you’re interested, but also see this article from PBS, APA (American Psychology Association), here, and here).

Another one of my favorite TED talks about storytelling also touches on why representation matters. It matters when we engage in dialogue when we try to understand our friends and when we seek to build community with welcoming, inclusive people. It is why people seek to build accommodating spaces, and it is one of our greatest acts of resistance to systemic oppression that allows discriminatory stereotypes to flourish. Being in community is an act of resistance. This is also why it matters when people are so excited to see a character be undoubtedly and explicitly a part of a specific affinity group or identity.  There can be a whole essay or book written on why representation matters (and there are, plenty), so I do not want to get to into the weeds with why representation is a valuable contribution in a time where DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice) is being challenged so heavily. 

Now that we’ve covered that, let’s get to the real reason you’re probably here. This is split into two parts, the character study/analysis, and the appreciation. Not that these two things aren’t similar in nature, but I wanted to make it separate in a way in case anyone wanted to specifically comment on anything, came for a specific portion, or please feel free to use in your fanfiction writing if you’d like.  Just know if you’re going to engage with this post, please be respectful. If I am wrong on something, please feel free to DM me and let me know!

Character Study/Analysis

We meet Davrin initially in the announcement trailer for DATV, but we don’t really see a finalized formation of his character outside of visuals until Vows and Vengence, where they’ve switched from using a British accent of his voice to an American accent. I think this is a neat transition from the whole “all elves are british-accented/welsh-accented” we saw in the 2010s, but for me, this truly emphasizes a correlation to a Black American experience — however, I’ll touch upon this later. When Davrin is introduced to us in V&V, he comes off as a character with a strong sense of responsibility and duty — and he’s already involved with the Griffons as he wants to investigate the rumors of their reemergence instead of investigating the earthquakes occurring in the Anderfels. He chooses to fall into a sinkhole to rescue the protagonist of V&V, Nadia, and two additional characters. When Nadia mentions that the only reason she’s in the predicament she’s in is due to someone called “The Dread Wolf”, Davrin immediately wants to investigate as the involvement of Fen’Harel is a bad omen, and the Grey Wardens should be investigating. There is also the mention of darkspawn, which is more compulsion for Grey Wardens to investigate. 

Additionally, he has a partner at the time named Goff(?) who he later nearly has to to amputate a limb from and argues to carry the man out as he won’t leave him against Goff’s orders; when he does leave him it is reluctantly. He cannot accompany Drayden and Nadia and continues to investigate the Blight, and by extension, what the elven ruins have to do with the Blight, committed to his duty as a Grey Warden.

Which leads us somewhat into how we find him again in Veilguard, where we are referred to a monster hunter named Davrin by Evka and Antoine (they will be another important reference and guide into how the role of the Grey Wardens is changing towards the betterment or future of Thedas). 

I have to appreciate Davrin’s complexity as a character. While the game, in my opinion, is more ambiguous on his standing or practice of the elven religion, he never leaves room to deny his roots and where he comes from. In V&V, he’s familiar with reading ancient elven, and wishes Nadia and Drayden that Andruil guides them on their adventure. Davrin’s vallasin is also dual-sided, which in a reference to the sun and moon quote in V&V (“Guide me on the path that splits the land between sun and moon”) on the mirror mosaic, you can argue that his vallasin is a reference to Ghilan’nain or you can argue that it is for Andruil.  However, I raise that his vallasin is for both goddesses, as Andruil is the reason that Ghilan’nain ascended to “godhood”, and with Davrin’s title as a monster hunter, it would be fitting considering Andruil is the goddess of the hunt.  

He also names Assan after the elven word for ‘arrow’, which is referenced in two of Andruil’s three ways - Vir Assan - or the Way of the Arrow - and Vir Bor’assan - or the Way of the Bow - which the former refers to ‘fly straight and never waver’, the latter being ‘bend but never break’. It makes sense that he names Assan this, as it is almost him speaking blessings over the young Griffon, to fly straight, never waver, to bend (or endure turmoil) but never break (or fail).  To me, it is a blessing from a father to a child, but it is also a reminder to himself everytime he calls the Griffon’s name to himself. 

[Note: all the other griffons presumably have names, he mentions a few of them if you walk to their cages during the first part of his companion quest/adding him to the Veilguard, but they’re a little silly in my opinion. Assan is the only one who is known to have an elven name, and noted to be the only one Davrin himself named.]

Having a vallasin that represents Ghilan’nain is also fitting (and ironic considering Ghilan’nain’s position through Veilguard), because not only was Ghilan’nain one of the people, but as a “goddess” she was dedicated to guidance and navigation. For someone like Davrin, who struggled fitting in with his clan and wanting to go on a different path than solely staying with his clan, he could’ve been asking for all the guidance he would be fortunate enough to get. Additionally, she is called the mother of the Halla, creatures that Davrin was gentle enough to care for, hence where we get the line where we find out that he used to sing to the Halla, and he’s attentive enough to identify when they’re ill, and the best methodologies to feed them successfully.  (Halla are extremely sacred creatures, considered noble, and the Dalish ask for the Halla to accompany them instead of forcing them.  Ghilan’nain is stated to be the first Halla. )

As we go throughout the playthrough of the game, Davrin’s role transitions from being a monster hunter, to a Grey Warden, to a bodyguard for the newly hatched baby Griffons, and then, upon joining Rook, and encountering the Gloom Howler, he becomes something else. Like Ghilan’nain, Davrin has ascended to a more important position than solely being a Grey Warden or a monster hunter. He is now the keeper of the future of the last of the Griffons, hence his urgency in rescuing them, and why the decision of their path (to stay with the Wardens or to live in Arlathan Forest) weighs so heavily upon him. 

This is why I propose that his vallasin is left to be ambiguous or a combination of the two goddesses because of the duality of his nature as a character, but the two sides (or the sun & moon) of the path he’s chosen to live by.  I also think there is an irony that the blight is what corrupted the Evanuris, and he fights it now - especially noting that Ghilan'nain also has the capacity for pulling out some wicked horrors when Solas calls her the "most sensitive of us" (referring to the Ancient Elves).

I would have loved to see something where Davrin and maybe even Bellara discuss their vallasin, and their viewpoint on it, now that they are in a predicament where their myths about their gods have now changed drastically, and is reflected in their lived experience.

However, I also acknowledge that Davrin does not particularly hold any signficant reverence towards the Gods, at least not in the same way Bellara does. He states he thought of them as “myths” and now that they’re real, he has to process that. He also states that he knows the gods being blighted and trying to take over isn’t going to do the elven people any favors in terms of “popularity” with the rest of Thedas, which leads me into my next point. 

He is always mindful of his people. Whether this is the Grey Wardens, who we see him mourn and wish to honor; or the elven people, even if they’re not apart of his clan, he cares deeply for them. (By extension, he cares about the Veilguard and the Griffons, of course.)  During the fight against Elger’nan and the Venatori to rescue the Veil Jumpers, you can hear him state, “These are my people” in a protective manner (much like Bellara can say, as well as an elven Rook). He thinks about how Thedas is going to see the elven people if they find out that the elven gods are behind the Blight, the archdemons, and the issue of the Golden/Black City & the “Tevinter Gods”. 

This mindset also tends to cultivate his self-sacrificing viewpoint (he is willing to be the Warden responsible for killing Ghilan’nain’s archdemon); it’s not only what he’s trained to do, but it is about protecting his proclaimed and declared people (not to mention the innocents he morally is willing to protect). 

I propose that he was not filled with the “spirit” of the archdemon for two reasons: 1) because what they considered to be the “spirit” was the ancient elven magic seeking an out (it’s known and stated in-lore that the ancient elves were immortal because their magic was constantly engaging and adapting to the world) and 2) because Ghilan’nain was right there instead, thus performing a ‘return to sender’ (“Maybe the Gods changed things and the old rules don’t apply”).  He states he wasn’t expecting to live because he had embraced the fact that Grey Wardens have an expiration date, and that pushed him. Now that he survived (and processing survivor’s guilt, as well as the stages of grief), he now has to find a purpose outside of being a Grey Warden and a monster hunter. 

His seeking a purpose is a reminder, to me as a Black person, how we are taught that just being ourselves and contributing to what others contribute is not good enough. Giving 100 percent is not good enough - you must be outstanding. (There’s a quote from Scandal that’s applicable here - watch here; “You have to be twice as good as them to get half of what they have”). In that, being just a Grey Warden isn’t enough, nor is being just a monster hunter. 

What makes him relevant? Outstanding? 

I propose that’s his transition from bodyguard to parent and keeper of the Griffons. It’s this reasoning that also answers his question on why he gets to live. He’s got to be the one to tell the story of the Griffons, of Isseya, of the past of the Wardens he knew, and the future of the Wardens as they move forward and away from slaying darkspawn and hunting the Blights. The fall of Weisshaupt is the metaphorical fall of the old order of the Wardens, with all their secrets, lies, and damage. Davrin’s emphasized bond with the Griffons speaks to how the new order of the Grey Wardens is healing. 

Now, we absolutely should discuss Assan as he relates to Davrin, and I propose that Assan is an extension of Davrin — meaning the way Davrin cares for Assan is how Davrin learns to care for himself. It’s how he learns to hope, to recognize he is capable of being more than just the blade the Grey Wardens made him; that while he’s questioning his future and his path, that he has the freedom to choose.  Davrin states he feels like “a blade sharpened all these years to confront the worst darkness in the world” and when his blade “[strikes] true”, he asks “what now?”

Davrin’s commentary on calling himself a blade is a parellel in how he describes how Assan, as a Griffon, by nature are inclined to fight Darkspawn like a wolf hunting a deer. Davrin’s nature has been to fight, to hunt; just as Assan’s nature is to hunt Darkspawn. But like Assan, during another companion quest, their nature is also to care. To be gentle — Assan, who brings food to the sick Halla — and Davrin, whose nature of care is extended to Rook and the team, and the thoughtfulness that he uses to care for the future of the Griffons, the future of Thedas, and all the areas encountered by the Gods, the Blight, and the Archdemons. 

Davrin adapts.  He’s very rough and tumble (the guy fought a hurlock, broke four ribs and cracked his jaw, got up and then drove a blade through the thing’s skull), but he also comes from places of care, hence why he makes his whittled figures of monsters and is working on an accurate bestiary as a warrior and hunter, not a mage. 

It is also important to note another title Davrin not only earns but self-proclaims, is that of a parent. He states that “parent” is a scary word. (“I’m supposed to be his bodyguard”), but I’m inclined to go with Varric’s advice - if the decision isn’t easy, it means you’re taking it seriously.  He then later proclaims himself, with confidence, that “I’m his (Assan)’s father.”  Davrin’s proclamation as a parent, and a good one at that, strays away from the absent Black father stereotype that is prominent in media, which is rooted in system practices during enslavement where the father was removed to divide up and destroy the Black family.  

Davrin is confident in hunting the darker things in the world, but he doubts how well he can care for a Griffon. It’s the questions asked by a first-time parent, with no manual, and the only thing that a child, or in this case, a Griffon, asks for is to be loved and embraced. 

This is something that we learn that Davrin experienced through Eldrin, who taught him to appreciate nature, embraced Davrin’s desire to leave the clan to find his place in the world, and who reminded him to embrace the light as much as Davrin fights the darkness (to find balance).  In turn, Davrin is reminded by Rook and states himself that he’ll “raise Assan to create a world where the light outshines the dark”. Eldrin told this to a younger Davrin (Eldrin being his uncle figure), and now Davrin tells this to his son, Assan. 

Additionally, Davrin reminds me of my father, a Black man who has a military background, especially when Davrin states, “I can’t be soft on Assan, because the world won’t.” I cannot express how many times I have heard this from my father to my brother, even though my father, like Davrin learned over time that it is alright for them to be soft. 

(Be protective of your child, but also be a safe haven for your child — firm when required, gentle when needed.)

Davrin breaks a form of behavior (the tough father - generational curse seen in Black and POC communities) by allowing Assan to grow and learn in an environment of love and care. Davrin would die for Assan, and he makes that very clear, both in action and dialogue.  In turn, it’s clear Assan loves and is loyal to Davrin (he lays at his feet, always cuddles up to Davrin, and even attacks the Gloom Howler/Isseya to protect Davrin). Davrin even tells Rook to hug Assan for him. This, to me, is the embodiment of the notion of “turlum” - a form of unity. There is respect and love shared by Davrin and Assan, which forms their loyalty to one another and their ability to work as one. 

Davrin fights and becomes more than just the objectification/weaponzation (of the metaphorical blade - of trying to martyr himself to be useful or worth something) and evolves to embrace his personhood, to embracing the unknown, and that his path and development is solely, 100 percent, his own. He goes away from that philosophy mentioned in that one tumblr post from wonderland-mp3: “if U cannot be wanted, I will be needed and if I cannot be needed, let me be used until there’s nothing left of me”.

Appreciation

There’s a lot of reasons to enjoy Davrin, whether it is his handsomeness, his chest, or his nose (his nose is so unapologetically Black; it’s a standout and prominent feature of his, and it is absolutely beautiful) - he was certainly given plenty. However, one of my reasons that I enjoy him is because of the duality of his nature. He is both fierce warrior and gentle spirit. He whittles. That’s a skill that requires an exceptional amount of dedication, patience, and caution, as if you cut too deep, you can splinter the wood, especially for the figures that he makes of the fallen Grey Wardens and of the attention to detail he puts in the ones of the monsters he has fought because he cares about capturing their accuracy for others.  He chops wood when he’s stressed or to clear his head. But every piece of wood he uses, he creates something with. He isn’t wasteful, he makes the wood useful. He puts out his frustration and feelings into the things he creates.

He also is open and unabashed about his feelings. His ability to communicate his feelings is powerful, and deters from the emotionally constipated black man stereotype.  Even when you flirt with him once or twice, he immediately gets the heart and Thrill of the Chase. In my opinion, you earn this status with him faster than the other companions. He makes it very clear that he can be romantically invested in Rook. Even if you don’t choose to pursue him romantically, he is still a devoted and caring friend towards Rook. The walks he takes Rook on are moments in which he pulls them away from the Lighthouse or from some intense moment to reconnect to nature. He may use Assan as an “excuse” but he and Rook need those walks just as much.  

He trusts and befriends his team. He comforts Bellara and her grief (on top of the fact that Davrin and Bellara (and an elven Rook) are trying to process this whole revamped narrative of their “gods”, their myths, and place in the world when the entire society has historically mistreated elves) - and their relationship to me, becomes akin to siblings, or close friends.  He bonds with Taash and takes their advice on making sure Assan is getting the nutrients he needs.  Emmrich and Davrin exchange parenting advice. Lucanis and Davrin become drinking buddies. 

Davrin makes people feel seen. 

Now, when you romance him, he is even more transparent about his feelings. He affirms that there’s more than passing glances between him and Rook, that they spend time together at an increasing rate, and he admits that he’s been thinking of a future with them.  He expresses fear and worry - even a bit of anger of all the difficult decisions that Rook has had to do (his anger is not with them, I believe, but with the fact they have the burden) - over Rook. 

He’s good with children - he offers Mila payment in the form of Griffon Kisses post-Weisshaupt.  He’s also funny and silly (this man tells that the Gingerwort Truffle tea made Rook pee for the rest of the day).

He’s also mindful, tactical and intentional. While hunting the Gloom Howler, during the second part of the quest, aka The Cauldron, Rook may suggest they go after the Gloom Howler/or that she got away. However, you see Davrin state that it is okay, they’re not in a position to hunt her as they don’t truly know what she is, and it is dangerous to hunt something whose nature is not known.  He then solicits help in finding out what or who the Gloom Howler is after allowing Emmrich to discern the nature of the cloth that Assan managed to tear from the Gloom Howler. 

[Spoilers will continue in the next paragraph.] 

(Spoilers: they find out that it is an elf, a former Grey Warden.) 

In his pursuit of knowledge,  Davrin discovers that the Gloom Howler is actually a former elven Grey Warden named Isseya who, during the 4th Blight, was ordered to blight the griffons so that they could not be useful to anyone else after going rabid on the Wardens who were using them to fight in the 4th Blight. (If you want to know more about Isseya, please read Dragon Age: Last Flight).  

Even when he’s mad at the Gloom Howler for kidnapping the Griffons, he takes time to find out who or what she is— and then reminds her of her own humanity as an appeal to try and get her to stop before he puts her out of her misery because she’s basically been blighted and immortal for 500 years and living with that horror of her orders which has driven her mad. 

[SPOILERS OVER.]

He is socially and emotionally intelligent. If you take him on Harding’s companion quest to Kal-Sharok, he is able to greet Stalgard in dwarven, after Stalgard greets him as well. I also consider his ability to place his personal feelings aside in how he reviews Solas’s memories during the quest Regrets of the Dread Wolf, and to empathize where Solas was coming from in some of his decision making as a sign of emotional intelligence.  He states that if he had an opportunity to forever end the blight like Solas did, or even though he did - he would take it, just as Solas had. (This is a paraphrasing, please don’t eat me alive.) Then, reviewing Solas’s regrets, 

Davrin also can acknowledge when he’s wrong. He grows. He has strong opinions on Lucanis, granted, these are emphasized by the incident at Weisshaupt when he is in mourning, processing, and going through the stages of grief of arguably one of the only places he’s considered home since he’s left his clan. However, if you check on him after the argument - he states that Rook should check on Lucanis, and that the shot Lucanis took at Ghilan’nain was “incredible”. He then later tells Lucanis that no one can do what Lucanis can do in regards to taking down Ghilan’nain. 

He’s a man of action. If you romance him, during the romance scene, he reassures Rook through physical touch - they’ve been stuck in a place alone for 2-3 weeks - and then follows up his physical reassurances with verbal affirmations.   He says “I love you” first to Rook, and while this is probably intentional by the programming - for him to continue being transparent enough to admit I love you in a high tension situation speaks volumes. 

Davrin, in the way that he is written is such a dynamic character and his character growth and arc is arguably one of the more long-lasting ones that I think about from DATV. While I’m not sure the ethnicity of his writer(s), they did a fantastic job embodying this man as an unapologetically and explicitly Black man, with all the nuance and roundness that avoided stereotypical behavior and tropes associated with Black men. 

Final Notes

Davrin was my first romance in DATV, and arguably, if I could romance him every time, I absolutely would (however, I’m curious about the other romances, but I am planning another playthrough with my original Rook, Zen, and she will be romancing that man again).  The way he loves is so big. He is the embodiment of to be loved is to be seen (and romancing him and then choosing him for that ending (which in my opinion, shouldn’t have been an option) is absolutely emotionally devastating. But, it confirms what I say: “You saw me, and I saw you”). His devotion (because that man is locked in) is phrased in “wherever you are, there I am”. 

The AMA erasing him and saying that it is Assan that makes the ending so devastating on a level that equates to Harding is a very bad take. Not because it erases his personhood (which is the purpose of his entire companion quest), but also because Assan is a part of him, but he is what you are offered first, Assan is the added bonus.  Additionally, reducing his character to “just the jock” is also in poor taste because a) the jock character is obviously Taash (they literally have weight-lifting equipment in their room) and b) he is so much more than just that, and he is a very gentle character. 

[ MORE SPOILERS BTW ]

(Also, arguably, his scene as a result of leading the second team is so much more worse than Harding’s, in my opinion, because he didn’t even get a fighting chance, and Harding’s status is different than his (MIA vs. Fallen Hero with the disclosure they couldn’t find his remains)

[ SPOILERS OVER ] 

I loved my experience romancing him and playing as a Veil Jumper Rook because he gives banter like “Not bad for a Veil Jumper” even without romancing him. It’s funny, it’s comradery, it is warmth. He jokes with Neve about her assessment on Rook.  

He doesn’t forget his roots and where he comes from, and this is why I propose that Davrin, the Grey Warden, but also the man that he is, is the proclimaiton of the future and change of Thedas at large. He knows he’s an elf (but he states, I’m not a spirit (like the ancient elves), he grows to represent the change of the Grey Wardens. We see this in the flowers found by Rook, Evka, and Antoine under all the Blight that begin to grow in the Wetlands. We see this in how Flynn, the healer from Lavendel, uses the Blight to sense it in their patients; we see it in the changes of the Calling and how for some Wardens in the midst of their hearing the call - it stopped. We see it in the narrative end of the Blight (“the Blight to End all Blights” because no more archdemons = no more gods = no more elven god related blight); we hear it from Antoine who says the song of the Blight is changing and healing. 

This man is built up to be a narrative parallel of the light and hope that comes with the changes in the Grey Wardens, the Elves, and the world of Thedas at large (without the Blight), and I stand by that. Not only do the Griffons represent change, and the Grey Wardens changing their purpose, but Davrin is the light that leads the way for a greater and more positive future for Thedas, in all of his parts that make him whole, connecting Thedas’s past and flaws, to the prospects of a better future.  And for that, DATV told an incredibly powerful story through him (and his beautiful brown eyes).

If you managed to read all of this, I appreciate you. <3 If you liked this, I yap a lot on twitter, bluesky, and elsewhere, and draw doodles and things of my ocs (including my rook zen, davrin, and my solavellen) plus gladio from FFXV (and my oc, persephone). Please feel free to drop into my DMs or inbox!!

[felassan]

Some more DA:TV and related snippets from Sylvia Feketekuty, Part 5. rest of post under a cut due to length and spoilers. [Post One, Post Two, Post Three, Post Four]

Sylvia Feketekuty: "I agree, the Necropolis IS gorgeous, I was blessed with wonderful level artists, lighting artists, and a fantastic LD who poured their hearts into making it it." [source]

Sylvia: ""But what does Manfred think about Spite?" Good question. Manfred is curious, as always, and can probably sense Spite's on his own plane of existence (in other words, another spirit.) But Manfred also doesn't have a greatly evolved sense of danger, he might not understand Spite's "moodier" moments. I also think Manfred isn't as sophisticated a spirit as Spite at the start of the game. (Though don't let Emmrich catch you saying that!)" [source, two]

Sylvia on Emmrich: "He was a team effort, and I have to especially thank the writers and editors for their early feedback that helped shape him. Emmrich wouldn't have worked as well otherwise." [source]

Sylvia: "it's a huge honour to work on a character who's someone's favorite anything, let alone romance. (Huge props to Allegra, her actor, who just got Josie right away.)" [source]

Sylvia: ""With Cassandra being our only POV into Nevarra" Poor Cassandra. (Emmrich has such respect for her uncle's books!) "There's a lot of deep respect and empathy for all the ways people relate with death and I appreciate it"" Thanks, that was something I'd so hoped would come through." [source]

Sylvia: "It really was a team that brought Emmrich, the Necropolis, and the rest of its guardians to life, I know everyone would be thrilled to know you enjoyed it so much." [source]

User: "Emmrich's fear of mortality really hit hard. Some of those lines are etched into my heart now. Thanks to everyone who helped put that deeply relatable and human experience into the game" // Sylvia: "It was kind of the core of Emmrich, writing the part where he opens up about his fears, so thank you for sharing that, it means a lot." [source]

Sylvia: "I loved writing the MW branches and letting people be a nerdier flavour of Rook with Emmrich." [source]

User: "Nevarra, Mourn Watch and in particular Emmrich's personal missions were amazing! The whimsical and the grotesque in perfect balance. When I replay next year I'll be looking forward to those missions the most!" // Sylvia: "Especial praise goes to the level designers for tackling a bunch of complex stuff in those missions as we planned them out." [source]

Sylvia: "I think we can all agree Emmrich might be a touch eccentric, but I really wanted his interests and compassionate outlook to be heartfelt, so this is lovely to hear." [source]

User: "I was so nervous about the whole Necropolis gang as I have PTSD and a major fear of death. So when Emmrich confided in Rook about his own fear, I was struck with such an unexpected comfort. I've never heard someone describe my own fears and how they make me feel so perfectly." // Sylvia: "Thank you, Bibi. It's a very familiar fear for me as well, and I find sometimes talking about it can ease things. So I'm very glad to hear Emmrich's thoughts on it were helpful for you." [source]

Sylvia: "I like a good sinister necromancer, but really wanted to try something different with the Mourn Watch, something more akin to a sacred duty." [source]

Sylvia on the Necropolis: "The concept, lighting, and level artists, and the level designer, did so much cool stuff there IMO. Seeing it with the final art and lighting in for the first time was a thrill for me too." [source]

User: "special thanks for the Terry Pratchett references in the form and speech of Vorgoth. I don't know exactly whose idea it was, but it was great!" // Sylvia: "Aw thank you so much! Re: Terry Pratchett: oh man, I read nearly every Discworld book multiple times, absolute favorites growing up." [source]

User: "I kinda of assumed that Emmrich just calculates age in academia terms, so no matter how many physical years old your Rook is, you're just a tiny baby who hasn't completed a necromancy phd. "When I was your age" = "When I was a TA."" // Sylvia: "Yes, yes that math checks out." [source]

User on Emmrich: "how refreshing it was to have an argument with a LI that’s specific to their relationship. It gives the characters such texture and dimension!" // Sylvia: "Aw thank you! I liked the tone range we ended up having between everyone, it was more rewarding to do." [source]

User: "Would you guys ever expand more on Nevarra and its culture? I loved seeing the Necropolis, and hope we revisit it. But I'll be honest when I say it made me curious what life in Nevarra is like, and how infused Nevarra's Mortalitasi are with average Nevarran life." // Sylvia: "Since I've left the company, that's not really in my hands, so there's not much I can say. But I get what you mean, because the Mourn Watch are a subbranch of the Mortalitasi with a very special field of study and service. We don't really get much about everyday Nevarra. So whoever tackles that in the future, if they ever do: I think that could be neat. Lots of room to explore different dynamics and customs!" [source, two]

User: "I adore Emmrich, he's so sweet & so thoughtful! I especially adore his love for flowers, and I personally interpreted that as a hint from the writers (you!) that choosing to embrace his fleeting mortality, like the fleeting beauty of flowers, was his "good" path - is that correct? What's your take?" // Sylvia: "I tried really hard to make either choice feel like it could be the right one for him, because I wanted it to be more about a player's own interpretation-and their relationship with him-than author fiat hinting at which one is correct. Also thank you for the kind words! I really liked writing Emmrich enthusing about flowers." [source, two] // User: "He's such a charming character, the vibes of him and Josephine are among some of my favorites in the series, thank you for helping to shape them and for being kind enough to answer my question! Do you, personally, have a preference for which choice Emmrich makes? It's a tough call to make in game!" // Sylvia: "I'm afraid, like a coward, I've not stated a preference because I don't want to accidentally influence people into thinking one was right or not. I'm also in a weird place where as the person writing him, my thoughts are far less subjective in weird recursive ways. If that makes sense." [source]

User: "do you have a favorite flower? It was such a lovely detail in Emmrich's character and it warms my heart to know writing that was enjoyable for you" // Sylvia: "It kind of changes depending on what's growing during the season, but while it's very common, you can't beat the scent of a rose. (Fond of lilacs too)" [source]

User: "Did you have any role in Manfred's wisp being lilac when/if you bring him back? That detail made me bawl 😭 Manfred was so shaped by "living" with Emmrich that his essence became Em's favorite color?! The only wisp we see to do so?" // Sylvia: "I wish! I actually don't know who did that. I'd assume that colour was chosen by one of our animators, or maybe the LD, so perhaps they added in that detail, which is adorable. (Carly, Derek Wilks, was this either of you?)" [source] // Derek Wilks: "I think that was someone in VFX actually!" [source]

Sylvia: "Glad you enjoyed the graveyard date, our animators and music director did wonders there." [source]

User: "Can you give us any hints on when Dorian spent some time at the necropolis? I need to know their circumstances for science (how old was Dorian back then? I could imagine he had a crush on the professor lol)" // Sylvia: "I'm going to chicken out and not pin that down (sorry.) Since I've left BW, my answer would be even more non-canonical than usual, because that would've been something I'd have wanted to talk over with the other writers. But by that same token, nothing I've said invalidates what you want to imagine." [source]

Sylvia on Emmrich: "I am flattered to hear he has become a favorite romance, the team went all out on him." [source] // Sylvia: "So many people worked on those scenes: animation, art, audio, the editors, and huge kudos to his actor Nick Borraine." [source]

Sylvia: "I THINK Emmrich is 6'2 or 6'3, but you'd need a character artist to confirm." [source]

User: "Do the necromancers of the Grand Necropolis have their own sort of culture? Like perhaps their own rituals for marriage, courting, etc.?" // Sylvia: "Hrm. Good question. I'm sure they have some individual quirks and traditions, like any long-running institution. But they probably don't deviate unrecognizably from the mortalitasi norm." [source]

Sylvia: ""i also played a trans rook, and some of emmrich's content for a romanced trans rook made for probably some of the best romance content of all time for me." That's so nice to hear, and I must give credit to some trans people who kindly took the time to give me feedback that made those lines better." [source]

User: "1) are Tevinter exchange students like Dorian common? 2) what are some of the other fraternities of the Mortalitasi? 3) do members of the Mourn Watch often attend social events with the Nevarran elite like other Mortalitasi?" // Sylvia: "1) Yeah, I think they're not uncommon. I took my inspiration from The Grand Tour, and thought it would make sense if Tevinter sent out some of the wealthier scions to see the world a little, pick up a few new spells. [link] 2) I'm afraid I've deliberately left this one blank, for future people to fill in if/when the need arises. Emmrich complains about the palace necromancers, so we do know there's a special cadre of mortalitasi running the show over there. 3. Absolutely. The MW are pretty prestigious in Nevarra with their running the Grand Necropolis. Much as Emmrich dislikes politics himself, there's probably a lot going on at the top." [source, two, three]

User: "Do you think Lich Emmrich would eventually be told by the Lich Lords to sever his mortal ties and return with them to the depths of the Necropolis? It seems like he’s willing to break all their rules to keep Rook with him" // Sylvia: "I'm afraid defining Emmrich's duties/responsibilities/required conduct as a lich would very much be something I'd leave up to the future (even if I were still at BW.) Kind of too big a topic for me to want to speculate here." [source]

User: "did you have a hand in designing how emmrich looks?" // Sylvia: "Yep, I gave feedback as his design progressed. Our concept artists really got him very early on, though, so it was smaller stuff." [source] // User: "was he at all inspired by Peter Cushing & his hammer film characters? He really gives off van Helsing vibes to me" // Sylvia: "Time permitting I want to do a post on influences, but you got it in one exactly. It was specifically the Hammer films I was thinking about!" [source] // User: "would Rudolph van Richten from Curse of Strahd be on his list of influences?" // Sylvia: "I'm afraid, to my shame, I never read much of the core Ravenloft books, so that one's a no." [source]

User: "I needed you to know that Emmerich's conversation in the Memorial Gardens about his thanaphobia really got me. I could never put the words together of what thanaphobia feels like, and his description is perfect." // Sylvia: "It's a familiar feeling to me as well, and I'm glad it rang true." [source]

User: "I've got a really severe death phobia that's been flaring recently, and emmrich's conversation about it captured the feeling perfectly and helped lessen the weight for me" // Sylvia: "I find at least discussing it can ease it, sometimes, so I'm very glad to hear getting to know Emmrich helped in that way." [source]

Sylvia: "Hezenkoss was a blast to write so I'm glad she clicked for you. "preposterous is what you wore to a bog, Orlesian" Oh wow, Skywatcher! It's been an age, so glad that line stuck with you. That takes me back!" [source]

Sylvia: ""And yet I ask the question - what attracts Emmerich to the Hand? Yes, the answer is “perseverance”, but I think this is not fully explored." Do you mean the Hand of Glory specifically? He's intrigued and disturbed by the magic around it, which is why he hones on it, even before he knows its origin" [source]

Sylvia: ""I was wondering if you could tell us about his & Manfred's first meeting or notable moments in their friendship?" This feels like something I'd probably want to leave more to the imagination. And because I'm not a BW anymore, answers would be even more non-canonical than normal. All that said, for some reason, I always pictured Emmrich being alone in the Necropolis the first time Manfred's wisp floated up to him to peer at what he was doing. It just seems a little more poignant that way." [source, two]

Sylvia: "All credit to the team, especially the writers and editors who gave feedback that made [Emmrich] so much better during those early days and beyond." [source]

User: "me + a handful of people were wondering about non-mage mourn watchers! id love to hear your notes/thoughts about them! b/c i didnt remember hearing how they become MW or if reaper uses death magic!" // Sylvia: "Sure! Not much to say, though, I think the MW is likely a mage majority fraternity that accepts a few non-mages who have exceptional skills and temperaments sympathetic to the Necropolis. A warrior of great renown, a rogue of exceptional stealth and quiet, a baby found down there in a grave, and so forth. They'd certainly undergo the same kind of oaths and bindings every Watcher goes through. I always pictured them being provided with the best enchanted gear the MW has to offer too." [source, two]

User: "Hi! About Emmerich being a professor—does he teach at a Circle, or is he specifically a professor to other MWers and Mortalitasi? It seems like the MW has some sort of official schooling for its members since he regularly takes on students each year, could you comment on that at all?" // Sylvia: ""It seems like the MW has some sort of official schooling for its members since he regularly takes on students each year, could you comment on that at all? " Sure, but I think you have it, the MW seems to want to raise well-rounded students with a classical education on top of magecraft. In my mind, it was because they saw every MW as representing the Grand Necropolis, so of course they wanted its members to have training in etiquette and history and generally be able to move in polite society." [source, two]

User: "If I remember correctly, we only really see Emmrich use necromantic magic in-game. Are there other types of magic (elemental, healing/spirit, etc) that you think he would gravitate toward?" // Sylvia: "Hrm. He does have a bit of healing magic, mechanically in combat. It coudl work, but somehow I don't think Emmrich would ever be a high-level healer. He could maybe get the basics but it's not his great gift. Something about the gravic magic of the force mage specialty feels appropriate though." [source]

Sylvia: ""would it be possible for a (romanced) MW Rook join Emmrich in linchdom, eventually?" Yes: Rook can try, bc it's not forbidden to seek the knowledge out. (Emmrich makes it clear Hezenkoss pieced some of it together herself, so we've also seen another mage get it almost-right) It is very hard and probably takes decades to accomplish (and of course, there's no guarantee Rook would survive.) But everything written in game points to there being a chance." [source, two]

User: "I’ve been thinking a little about it and I know it’s mentioned in the game he would be interested in visiting - but how would Emmrich feel about visiting the Avvar in the south? They are one of the few groups that show respect for spirits in a similar way and I imagine he’d have a lot of questions." // Sylvia: "He'd probably love it. He'd be fascinated by their relationship with spirits, in the ways it mirrors and deviates from the Mourn Watchers' own practices. (I imagine there is also like a 15% chance he gets into a heated argument with one of them over a fine point of how spirits work exactly.)" [source]

User: "congratulations on another achievement, Emmrich took the silver trophy" // Sylvia: "I was so excited to see we'd gotten the silver trophy! I hope everyone who worked on him sees that." [source]

User: "Is there anywhere we can follow your future work after this account gets shut down ?" // Sylvia: "TBH I'll probably just reopen it it there's any cool news to share since I don't have a website or anything. (I THINK I can just reactivate it?)" [source]

User: "Thank you for Lady Josephine Cherette Montilyet, emmrich, Liara and Leigon!!!!" // Sylvia: "Thank you! (I should mention I was only a part of Legion in ME3 - specifically the N7 mission into the Geth Consensus. Great fun to work on that level though.)" [source]

Sylvia: "I'm lucky to have had the chance to bring Emmrich and Josephine to you all with the rest of the team." [source]

Sylvia: ""I still remember when you introduced yourself on old BSN when Lair of the Shadow Broker came out." Wow, you're right I did! That is a blast from the past. Thank you for the kind words!" [source]

User: "Just wanted to say thank you for all the amazing characters you helped bring to life in DA and ME. I really enjoyed Emmrich and Hezenkoss in DAV. The dynamic between them really made me laugh" // Sylvia: "Thanks! That was one of my favorite pairs to write, the history between them meant everything was always a little more personal, which is always fun." [source]

Sylvia: "Thanks Janette, loved writing Hollix." [source]

User: "Elements of Emmerich's costume resemble the Cerberus logo from ME. Is this just a reference or is there something more to it?" // Sylvia: "Gee, I can't say for sure because I didn't make it, but I'd assume that one's just a coincidence (since the Mourn Watch and Necropolis use hexagonal shapes as their primary shape language)" [source]

User: "I can just tell how well Emmrich is written along his fear. I lost my fear of death and dying as I began to honor the dead." // Sylvia: "I do think talking and thinking about these things more than we normally do helps eases the fear." [source]

Sylvia: "Thank you for these lovely thoughts. I did read some books about different customs around death, and I know a little about pagan/occult/magic practices (in a very basic and generalist sense.) So it doesn't surprise me per se, but I am very glad to hear getting to know Emmrich was a positive thing. And I'm also very glad to hear he's someone you feel you can take into the future with you as a helpful friend." [source, two]

Sylvia: ""Does Emmrich have any guilty pleasures?" Huh. Excellent question. I should really be more decisive about my own character, but while I think that could be fun, I'm not sure what it would be. "Oh one other question , is there a part of thedas you wish you could of explored but wasn't able to be in game?" I've always been interested in the sinister sounding Sea of Ash. What goes on over there???" [source, two]

User: "i have a silly little question bc i also love emmrich. was his scene revealing lichdom to everyone meant to parallel a trans coming out or was that accidental? because i felt on an existential level the thrill of revealing who you are, but also fearing people would be afraid or treat you differently. (and then there's strife discussions, and putting up a glamour some places but not others, and the blooming but gentle self-confidence... he is very transgender to me)" // Sylvia: "Not a silly question at all! After writing the scene I wondered if people would see similarities because of those overlapping themes you pointed out: the dignity of bodily self-determination, revealing your true self to those you love, fear of rejection, hope for acceptance. But during the writing, I mostly approached becoming undead as its own thing, because I wanted to ground it in the MW's particular philosophy. I think there's parallels because of the way the human personal is universal, if that makes sense. That said, if this does feel very transgender to you or anyone else (or not), I'm not against varied interpretations. That's one of the cool things about seeing people actually get their hands on your work." [source, two, three]

User: "I'm not sure what Emmrich's hairstyle is, slickback?" // Sylvia: "Good question. Afraid I don't know what it'd be called either. Googling it, slickback LOOKS correct?" [source]

User: "Emmrich has definitely developed a special bond with Bellara and Lucanis, and yet, both of them don't comment on his relationship with Rook! What would you say their reaction was? Their banter was so good I'm sure we'd all love to know what Emmrich had to say!" // Sylvia: "Ah, that one I'm afraid I can't answer since I'm not their writer, and that would've been something I would've discussed with the narrative team together. Sorry!" [source]

Sylvia: "Nick was indeed brilliant!" [source]

User: "Ive got quite bad thanatophobia and Emmerich's writing is one of the only times I've seen that dealt with actually respectfully." // Sylvia: "Thanks very much! I've experienced that fear, and I suspect it's way more common than we think, and I'm glad to hear it felt that way to you." [source]

User: "My HOF was a spirit healer, very kind & very curious, & for years I've considered how that special connection to spirits might lend itself to an interest in Thedan necromancy & puzzling out where spirits & souls begin & end. Emmrich, Manfred/Curiosity and the wisps gave me so much to think about!" // Sylvia: "that's interesting about your HOF. They may've found some kindred spirits if they ever ventured further north." [source]

User: [was] "Dorian was taken over by a nominated writer for veilguard or if his legacy was more of a team effort ?" // Sylvia: "Dorian was in the capable hands of Writer Chee" [source]

User: "I’m also dying to know what Emmrich did during Rook's stint in the prison-my thought is he not only did the majority of the work on finding Rook, but in leading the team, prob finishing touches on the dagger clone, keeping the team together in Rook’s absence while barely holding himself together at times" // Sylvia: "I think he was indeed having some very sleepless, guilt-wracked nights, working himself too hard, and trying his best on that dagger." [source]

User: "I just wanted to tell you that I love Emmrich's part of the lighthouse the books the fact that it's right next to rook's room and that johanna is in it later and that you can talk to her" // Sylvia: "Thank you! I love what the level artist there did, it's such a cozy den of a place. And I'm glad you liked meeting Hezenkoss afterwards, all praise to the level and tech designers who got her in there." [source]

User: "Are the Watchers overall vegetarian, or was it a personal preference Emmrich developed?" // Sylvia: "I think it's a thing among some Watchers, but not all. Because they think a lot about life and death and the cycle of life, and their place in it, and what constitutes a death they feel comfortable with or not. My actual, original inspiration for it was from an old Call of Cthulhu TRPG book about Miskatonic University, set in the 1920s. There was a great little detail about the campus having a cafeteria that serves vegetarians. And when I read it, I got a little jolt because I was so used to vegetarianism in North America being portrayed as a relatively modern movement. But of COURSE there's always exceptions and cultural enclaves and so on. Just one of those moments you feel your understanding of what we were up to in the past shift a little, even if it felt obvious in retrospect." [source, two, three, four]

Sylvia re: writing Manfred: "Yep, Manfred was my guy too." [source]

Sylvia: "I'm glad you enjoyed meeting our gentleman necromancer. (Full credit to the great feedback I got from the other writers and editors early on, he wouldn't be as good without them.)" [source]

User: "I was curious I know none of emmrich's serious relationships ended up panning out But like did any of them get to the point that him and his partner at the time shared a living space I'm wondering if emmrich has ever lived with anyone besides manfred" // Sylvia: "That's an interesting question. Like a coward I will hedge my bets, but I could MAYBE see a few. Not many though." [source]

[afantasyoffiction]

buddie fic recs, pt 2

yall i hit 250 posts a few days ago so here's the Updated Version of my first post! aka ive read and posted a fuckton of buddie content since then :)

also i still don't tend to read long novel length fics very often so all are under 100k (most aus being 50-100k), and most oneshots are 5-10k words

best aus

racing with the brakes cut by letmetellyluaboutmyfeels. holy shit holy SHIT this one was good. altered my brain chemistry good. fast and furious au that sounds like it should be unexpected but honestly is more in character than canon

friends don't mean nothing to me (its us) by Kwills91. buddie becomes friends before eddie becomes a firefighter, and its just done ugh so well it was so brilliant. like seriously spamming my friend's texts brilliant keep chortling to myself abt it brilliant just ugh so good

but i can see all along, love (it was you all the way down) by diazchristopher. time loop buck pov where he thinks he doesn't love eddie back and its goddamn delightful ok

your fingerprints smeared on my heart (lead my back to you) by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels. oh god oh GODS this one WRECKED ME. 1800s buddie soulmate au with modern buddie as well jfc i WENT INSANE. yep ive posted abt this one already and i probably will again jfcccccc

when the universe screams by bucksbelly. omfg girl dad buck au? njwnasjdbvjhlsdfbfjh good lord this one was AMAZING go read it go read it right now

our secret moments in a crowded room (they've got no idea about me and you) by allstarsneptune. jfc im only human ok u give me sports players taylor swift themed au and i EAT THAT SHIT UP this was brilliant and even made me tolerate a few baseball references

canon compliant (ish) feelings realisations/first kiss

to build a nest (to build a home) by Kwills91. (yes ive been slowly working thru this writer's entire ao3 archive and yes theyre all brilliant, so im only putting a few on here. go read them all). this one made me fucking cry (for totally unimportant reasons don't think abt why shush) its so sweet go forth and enjoy

the ebb of your tide by twobirdsonestone. firefighter convention in indeannopolis (how tf do i spell that) = only one bed! super fun super cutesy

call me hot and pretty by anon. honestly conceptually i thought this would be kinda cringe and it fully wasn't i was so along for the ride

short n sweet (can you tell its my favourite kind)

inappropriate use of federal funding by spotsandsocks. this one is so...teehee teehee very fun

last and forever by kwills91, post s8 ep 6 which is super cute

what would you prefer i call you by kwills91 (seriously go look them up already). buddie first fight but its adorable

sounding like the rest of my life by coupe_de_foudre. another fic where everyone knows buddie is married but buddie

friends don't by disasterbuck. so silly so fun so real honestly

an inch away from more than just friends by ummrys. if you too want sapphic buddie smut go forth and enjoy and yes it will make you gayer

anything to make you stay by intellectual_applesauce. teehee bc eddie notices something about green shirts...

angsty and happy ending

stay with me (you're all i need) by accio magic. yep i reread this one and yep im recommending it again they COOKED ok they COOKED

leave the light on (ill be coming home) by HMSlusitania. i could not for the life of me remember if id read this one or not before so i just read it again and it was just as good it was soooo sooo good.

that is by no means all of the wonderful fics ive read but it is the extent im willing to go through my ao3 history. pls also check out the original post which has plenty more! ur all welcome (its a mess of an ao3 history guys this post has taken me ages)

also i should maybe self plug? ive got two random eddie pov oneshots up under the same username but ill do a new post when i start posting my big hiatus fix it fic!

[sufferu]

Finally read the most recently translated Arc 9 chapters (up to chapter 18).

Aldebaran is fucking crazy but we all knew that. Wasn’t prepared for him to start paralleling all of the IF Routes and also Natchuki Subawu like that though oh my GOD. —Well I WAS, but not to THAT EXTENT—

Including a parallel to the pinky promise scene was vile lmao. Love it

Heinkel is amazing. Truly the universe’s punching bag. I’m really wondering about his “sturdiness” now lol — but also, him and Reinhard…!

PETRA KNOWWWS— But she only read that one Book, hmm…? So she only knows a little bit… BUT ITS ENOUGH—

I wonder if the Witch of Envy would have come out if Petra had read Any Other Book, or if it was specifically because Subaru had confessed about Return By Death that she surfaced like that…

I love that none of these people were trying to kill Aldebaran lmao. Ezzo, Garfiel, Reinhard, and I’m pretty sure Felt, too — all of them were just trying to fucking pacify him. And then he kept killing himself over and over again. What were they thinking in all those loops? What the fuck was that?

What do you MEAN Reinhard doesn’t actually have the [Divine Protection of Wind Reading]?! I mean it makes sense in context but WOW. OKAY.

(…BTZ just got ever so slightly easier to write, not gonna lie— like I had plans for how to deal with that, but I guess I don’t need them after all)

…You know, I knew that Al would be paralleling Subaru and Subawu and all the IF Barus. I did NOT expect to see Arc 3 Rem being paralleled by an “all-purpose maid” character who is explicitly, openly, and gleefully facilitating Aldebaran’s sprint towards his own self-destruction and eventual suicide. That’s — wow. Even when Amnesiac!Rem isn’t around, Arc 3 Rem isn’t getting even a single break in the subtext of the story, is she?

Interpreting Priscilla as a symbol of fate within the story of Re:Zero really adds a whole other layer to Aldebaran’s internal contemplation about her character and how she interacted with those around her.

These characters sure do love commenting on death, suicide, immortality, and all that junk, don’t they? It really takes on a different tone when you realize that everything they’re saying is supposed to be applicable to Subaru in some way (and also Aldebaran).

Aldebaran needs to get rid of Natsuki Subaru “So that I can be myself.” …I really have the feeling that he read Subaru’s Book of the Dead and it blended their identities together somewhat, and that’s why he’s like this. Could also match with him losing his Authority when he got de-aged while Subaru didn’t — as well as why baby!Al was like. DRASTICALLY different from baby!Subaru, with him being a huge crybaby and all while Natchuki Subawu himself was off chasing shinobis and being a little hell-raiser. If that experience got temporarily reversed due to the whole de-aging thing, then that could very well explain all that. …Wonder who he would have been before that.

The idea of Aldebaran wanting to kill himself immediately after gaining his own identity WOULD parallel how Sphinx only finally got her own identity in the instant before she croaked.

The Witch of Envy IGNORES him, he says? …Huh.

Okay so Aldebaran SPECIFICALLY learned Al Shario from Echidna because she expected him to take over Volcanica and use it to fight Reinhard. Which means that she planned for this to happen. Which means that she planned for everything up to this point to happen. …There are a LOT of implications that come with that reveal. A LOT OF THEM.

Felt showed up with FIVE HUNDRED FRIENDS. REINHARD HAS FRIENDS.

Man tho I’m really looking forward to all the Felt Camp focus. They’ve had some really great moments already…!

[coralhoneyrose]

I was wondering: what do you imagine Robin's childhood was like? Did feh change that in any way?

Oooh what an interesting question! Admittedly, I haven't thought about this in extensive detail, but I do definitely have Some Thoughts™️.

So, we obviously don't get much to go off in canon. Validar says that Robin's mother was "seized by weakness and fear" and that "she betrayed us—stole you from your crib, and fled with you in the night!" and then adds that he knows "naught of [Robin's] life thereafter". Presumably the 'us' there is referring to the Grimleal…and if she betrayed them as a collective group she must have been a part of said group previously. The fact that Validar says she stole Robin from their crib also implies that she ran away with them sometime between birth and age 3-ish.

If she was trying to get away from the Grimleal, I assume she would have wanted to leave Plegia if at all possible. We know that the last war between Ylisse and Plegia ended about 15 years before the start of the game, though. So if we assume Robin is about the same age as Chrom (19) then that would have put Robin around four years of age when the war ended. So either Robin's mom was trying to make do in Plegia for a while, or they potentially hid out in Ferox for a time. When it comes to my personal writing, I admittedly like to play with those timelines a bit, but that's my best guess for how things went down in game.

Either way, I assume they probably lived an extremely nomadic life style. They couldn't risk being found, which means they also couldn't really risk putting down roots or settling in one place long term. I imagine Robin was probably very lonely growing up, as all that moving around and having to lay low would mean they didn't have much of a chance to make friendships with other children. Presumably the trend continued into their adult life too given that no one in the story (aside from Validar) ever recognizes Robin or remembers them from prior to when they met Chrom. If that's something that was so lacking in their life previously, I think it makes the game's messages about the importance of the connections we choose all the more meaningful. Also I am just really partial to the idea of Robin being touch starved prior to meeting the Shepherds and Chrom's subsequent touchiness and familiarity with them taking them completely by surprise as a result haha

Honestly I suspect a lot of that is why they came to love books so much too. The books were an escape to other worlds but they would have been a small slice of stability as well, since a story is the same every time you read it. They may not have had friends in real life, but the characters in their books would have always been there for them between the pages. I imagine Robin got very good at amusing themself too and probably had a very rich imagination growing up. The fact that they traveled to so many different places may also have played into them developing their strong sense of curiosity.

I'm sort of undecided on what point in Robin's life I imagine that they lost their mother / how exactly they lost her. That's one of the things that's always really interesting to see other fan's interpretations of, as there are a variety of interesting possibilities there. Either way, given that Robin's inability to have made many connections outside of their mother, I imagine they took it incredibly hard.

As far as if FEH impacted my interpretations in any way, I would say it didn't really change them, but that it did fill in some details for me! Robin's coat being visibly too big for them strongly implies it was a hand-me-down from their mother for one thing (which I'd sort of assumed before but never had direct confirmation of). I'd also been very curious just how much Robin understood about who they were on the run from / why they were hiding, so hearing that their mother cautioned them to keep their hand hidden and that they do seem to have some sense of that being the source of their power as well as 'an evil omen of an unlucky fate' was very interesting as well.

That's everything that comes to mind at the moment! ASfhsdf I like that I started by saying I haven't thought about it in extensive detail and then proceeded to type all of this up...But honestly, writing all my thoughts out wound up being super helpful for organizing them. It also has my chrobin brain-cell vibrating at high speed going into the weekend, so you have my gratitude, anon! Thank you for giving me such a prime opportunity to talk about one of my favs <3

[stanliestduo]

I think it's the asexual in me that is allergic to "aesthetic" ships. Some people will ship stuff because the characters look good next to each other or they're both hot and that grosses me out, which is weird because, yah know... I ship Stancest, lol. Compared to 1nc3st, being attracted to a ship because the characters are hot seems kind of strange. I think the difference is that Stancest to me isn't shipped at all BECAUSE they're hot. I find them hot because it's THEM. They're two grouchy old men that have been through so, SO much, apart and together, and have decided to allow themselves to love one another in their old age. They're hot because they're the two most emotionally compelling characters in the show, with depths that keep going the more you analyze and learn about them. They're hot because they're heartbreaking and their story is beautiful. If I want to take these incredibly compelling wonderful characters and draw them wearing tight ass shorts or making out sloppy style then idk man it just hits different.

[actuallyjustabiscuit]

Kinger is Cursed With the Consequences of His Actions, and That's What's Making Him Crazy

Oh yes! The character we've all officially designated as Pomni’s new papa has got me reminiscing about another silly crackpot monarch who is actually an intelligent man in his late forties, an identity that has been buried so deep within the recesses of his altered mind that it can only emerge through special circumstances of which he has no control. But I know I'm not the only one who's made connections between him and Simon Petrikov from Adventure Time.

Btw did you know that they're also nearly the same age?

Yeah, this comparison has already been made by plenty of people. But if I may, I'd like to point out one other similarity that I've noticed; the fact that both of these men tragically lost the love of their lives, yet even in their broken minds the love they felt for them is still remembered fondly.

But, what if Kinger was also indirectly responsible for losing Queenie?

So........what exactly causes someone to abstract?

Of course, this would be an important question considering it's baked into the premise of the show itself, but I find it to be particularly relevant when dissecting Kinger's character because if we only assume that abstraction occurs when a human loses their mind, then how is someone like him still hanging around the Circus?

He’s been trapped there the longest, how long exactly is yet to be confirmed, but it’s safe to say that all those years haven't been kind to him. In the pilot he’s characterized as extremely erratic and forgetful, getting easily startled because his spatial awareness and object permanence are practically nonexistent nor can he retain previously established information for very long. On top of that, he regularly spouts nonsense that seemingly has nothing to do with the current situation. Because of this, his general demeanor tends to range between ridiculous to downright frustrating to the other characters.

So it’s no wonder that his fellow humans have more or less dismissed him as just being insane.

But I think this is a completely reductive view of this poor man because Kinger’s got that “he’s a little confused, but he’s got the spirit” energy that I love about him.

I think this is one of the more adorable aspects of Kinger's character; he's always trying to help. He tries his absolute darndest.

And what makes me sad is that, with the way that he is, he has such little control over how much he can actually help the people he clearly cares a lot about.

In Mystery of Mildenhall Manor, it's revealed that Kinger's lucidity is apparently affected by his exposure to darkness. How this works exactly is a bit inconsistent as we've had scenes of him in complete darkness and still acting pretty goofy.

However, based on my observations, I believe the change is not instantaneous. Like, he doesn't immediately become the Kinger we see in the adventure with Pomni if he is suddenly enveloped in darkness. I think what primarily plays a part is the amount of time he spends in darker settings. The segments we get with Kinger and Pomni are significantly dimmer compared to the rest of the episode, and we even get hints of Kinger progressively becoming more logical before we get to the cellar.

I’ve also noticed a small pattern in which he prefaces these brief moments of clarity with “I think…”.

This could be completely unrelated, but I find it interesting that Kinger's big advice to Pomni on how to overcome something difficult is to try "not thinking about it". I may be reading too much into this specific bit of phrasing but I feel that it's worth noting if this really is the mentality he lives by, because this is the advice he gives her when he's in two totally different states of mind.

Anyway, it turns out that when this silly man finally gets a good grasp on himself again, he’s actually extremely competent. Kinger shooting down the angel is a pretty obvious example of him being a BAMF, but I want to give these two moments a bit of focus.

I like the idea that Kinger has been in the Circus long enough to become so familiar with his weird digital body that he uses his detachable parts and disembodied hands to his advantage. It’s just a neat little detail because we get a taste of just how capable Kinger can be in this world if it wasn’t for his handicap.

And what really sucks is that the amount of time it takes for him to regain his sanity in the dark is really disproportionate to the amount of time it takes for him to lose it when back in bright environments.

Take the scene where Kinger is having a conversation with Ragatha in Candy Carrier Chaos with the bucket on his head for example, which definitely foreshadows this detail since it's the first time we hear him speaking more sensibly.

and then this happens

Notice how he taps the handle of the bucket? Like he's realizing that he does, in fact, have a bucket on his head that's obscuring his vision, before lifting it off of his face and going right back to responding in the way we've come to expect from Kinger.

It makes me wonder if Kinger has ever tried to tell the other's about this, but just couldn't. Ragatha clearly isn't aware of it despite having known him the longest out of any of the current residents of the Circus. And Kinger himself can't seem to pinpoint when exactly he shifts between sane and insane. Like a man who blacks out and feeling ashamed of his drunken actions when he sobers up again, despite having no control or awareness in the moment.

Describing Kinger's usual behavior when not in darkness as a "blackout" is pretty ironic, but I think it fits beautifully because it perfectly explains his short-term memory loss. Or I guess it would be more accurate to call it a "brownout". Either way, the point is that his memory becomes more obscured when he's in the light.

As for what initially caused this impairment, we still don't know.

I also don't want to get too clinical with Kinger's "symptoms" because I am in no way schooled enough to diagnose a fictional character who has only had a single episode focused on him.

But even just one episode proved to be very enlightening (...heh...see...see what I did there? Enlight-eh forget it) because after comforting a freshly traumatized Pomni, our girl interacts with Kinger at his most coherent long enough to learn some very crucial information.

It seems that the abstracted humans are not inherently dangerous, at least not when secluded in darkness, which Kinger was fortunate enough to witness with his own wife before they were separated (not legally, divorce doesn't exist in the Circus).

I've made this connection in another post I made, but yeah I really do think that it's the Circus' garish lights that make the abstracted so aggressive. I mean when you have that many eyes, that shit would aggravate the hell out of you.

But now comes the real question, and I'm tying it back to the one I made at the start, what made Queenie abstract in the first place?

How very convenient, Kinger. How did Jax put it, "gotta keep the mystery alive"?

Well, I'm playing detective here and I say you're the key suspect!

That's right! I'm accusing you! But unlike Baron Moldydick's crime, it twasn't homicide.

Yeah, everyone has picked up on how Mildenhall killing his wife acts as a parallel to what Kinger may or may not have done to Queenie. But I don't think it's as cut and dry as Kinger losing his mind and then somehow putting Queenie in direct danger as a result.

No, I like to think that it's definitely a bit more complicated than that.

It's not clear when exactly Kinger began losing his mind, but I certainly believe it had everything to do with losing Queenie. And it would actually be a pretty fun bit of character design if it does because in chess the King becomes most vulnerable when the Queen is taken off the board.

I know we all want to imagine that Queenie had existed alongside the other characters sometime before Pomni's arrival, but based on what we're given in canon, I'm starting to think that was highly unlikely. Because if everyone knew who Queenie was, then they would also deduce that Kinger wasn't always the way that he is now. I just don't get the impression from everyone else that they know about Kinger's dual state of mind. Otherwise, it'd be kind of awful that they wouldn't do more to help him if they were aware of this fact.

Kinger has always been crazy to them because all they know is that he's been in the Circus longer than anyone else. Which really goes to show how little they truly understand one another despite having only each other for company.

And it's not like they don't care enough (well, except maybe Jax) to want to understand and be there for each other, but it's almost like they are never given enough opportunities to really...bond.

And yeah, unfortunately, a lot of it has to do with each of these characters having their own hang-ups that keep them from doing just that. It's not just Caine constantly shoving them into his adventures to distract them.

Ragatha is dishonest with her feelings

Gangle is insecure when her mask breaks

Jax hates being vulnerable

and Zooble is never comfortable in their own skin (or at least their body's equivalent of skin)

I don't want to downplay it either, these are real issues that need consistent work. These people need help and the only one really capable of supplying that is a little broken himself.

This is why it's so fortunate that Pomni was with Kinger when he started speaking more sensibly. She has already displayed a remarkable level of emotional maturity with Gummigoo, but that's because Gummigoo was the one in need of reassurance at that moment. When exposed to problems far worse than your own, your problems in some way appear much more manageable in comparison. Pomni may be trapped, but Gummigoo doesn't even get the luxury of existing outside of what he was made for. That alone gave Pomni the confidence to live in spite of her circumstances and inspire someone else to do the same.

But it's hard to maintain that confidence when your new support system gets literally deleted right in front of you.

It's ok tho! Thanks to participating in Kaufmo's funeral, Pomni begins to open herself up to the others more, which allows her to have...some faith in her new friends. This is especially good when she gets to finally break down for a minute with Kinger because honestly, it's amazing she's held herself marginally together this whole time without crying at least once.

Pomni experiences her (so far) all-time low, and this segues to Kinger sharing his.

It's pretty terrible, losing someone. The previous episode pretty much forced that onto Pomni. How exactly do you completely move on from something like that? Well see that's the neat part, you don’t. In fact, Kinger even alludes to how you shouldn't. Even though the memory of losing Queenie is painful, it's what anchors him. He lost Queenie, but he still has everyone else, and he refuses to give up on them. So despite his mind constantly working against him, he does what he can to help his friends. In his own clumsy and confused way, he's there for them.

To me, abstracting isn't going insane. It's giving up. Giving up on yourself and giving up on others. It's easy to get to that point without the occasional necessary affirmation that you shouldn't give up.

This was the hardest lesson Kinger had to learn in the Circus. And he's doing his best to get the others to understand as well. But Kaufmo's recent abstraction proves how unsuccessful he's been.

Thankfully, Pomni takes it immediately to heart.

This is crucial, not just for Pomni's development, but for everyone else. Kinger even assures that it's more important for Pomni to remember than for him to not forget. That's why her name is more than just an ironic punchline, it's meant to represent her purpose in the story. As long as she remembers, hold on to the good, she'll get through it. Kinger is putting just as much faith in her practicing what he just preached as she is in letting him lead her through hell.

Oh no I've made more biblical allegories! The Pomni is Jesus theories are winning!!!

Ok but in all seriousness, we see just how much Kinger's words influenced Pomni's actions in Fast Food Masquerade. It's all but said that Gangle was close to abstracting towards the end of the adventure.

Yeah she’s about to turn into an eldritch horror, but c’mon we’ve all been there after a long shift.

Trying to talk things out didn't work, so Pomni then took a more practical approach to helping her.

Something as simple as allowing Gangle to get some rest and verbally reminding her that she doesn't have to handle things on her own. It's almost poetic how although Pomni can't leave the Circus, she's constantly telling others that they can leave and she's going to help them.

And Pomni doesn't save Gangle all on her own either. It was Kinger's insistence to have Zooble take his spot in the adventure that allowed them to witness Gangle's manic-depressive decline. They also had a practical way of showing support by offering to stay past their designated shift and relieve Gangle of the burden of transporting a drunk Ragatha.

Episode 3 really was all about acts of service, wasn't it.

If Zooble wasn't present for that adventure, they wouldn't have had the full context of why Gangle feels like she's not wanted.

Zooble saying "I still like talking to you" carries far more weight than if they had said, "I like talking to you". Especially when Gangle already feels insecure about how honest Ragatha is with her. Zooble got to see Gangle spiral and still accepts her. On top of that they are adamant about calling her their friend despite her doubts. That means something. Everything really.

This is what cherishing someone looks like.

I think Queenie abstracted because, at some point, Kinger began to neglect her. Perhaps he became so obsessed with finding a way out that he forgot what was most important. It's too early to really say if that's how it went down, but it'd be a poignant bullet point to the tragedy that is Kinger.

So I guess the real question is: How does one lose their wife?

Well in the wise words of Cody Martin

[andarans]

a love letter to dragon age.

i’ve been trying to cope with the news that all the dragon age devs have been laid off or reassigned these past two days, and i just…. it’s hard. it might sound silly to say but i’ve barely been able to do anything because i feel as if i’ve lost a family member. took today to have a good cry. dragon age was such a formative series for me. i joke all the time i got into it for the romances and stayed for the lore but really everything about it i love, dearly. i love that each companion and side character had stories that moved me and made me cry, stories i could relate to even in a world with magic and dragons. i love how the lore is presented, including the brilliance that is the codex—that you’re never quite sure who to believe, that discovering the truth requires you to be an archaeologist. i love how my choices always mattered, that decision i made in origins affected my playthrough in inquisition. i loved the message dragon age as a series sent, about corruption, about power, about propaganda. dragon age influenced so much of my fantasy tastes and own writing and art. it left such a huge mark on my artistic inspirations and work. hell, my first ever dnd character was a tiefling that pretty much looks like a qunari with having a backstory that affected the world she was in, reminiscent of the depiction of elves in dragon age (still one of my favorite and nuanced takes on elves in fantasy, btw). even with the dnd campaign and world i’m writing now, i see dragon age in nooks and crannies. i wrote so much fanfic and drew so much fanart and made so many theories and anxiously followed every bit of news for the development cycle of veilguard. i’d watch the game awards every year with my friend hoping for dragon age news. speaking of friends, god i made so many friends because of dragon age. that common interest sparked so many fun conversations and ideas. i even was a writer for an anders focused dragon age charity zine.

above all i loved the community around dragon age. sure, fandoms all have its moments and toxicity, but by and large my experience with the DA community was wonderful. i love getting to see people’s OCs and world states because i also obsess over my DA OCs and world states. i love getting to see people write theses about dragon age’s themes and masters worthy character studies. the communal love for this world and its characters is so, so profoundly inspiring.

i’ve spent so much time moping but i do want to highlight what i loved about each game and my favorite characters.

DAO: my first intro to the series. by god the gameplay was so slow but the story and characters and lore and writing made it SO worth it. made me appreciate CRPGs too. alistair ended up becoming my favorite character, i remember actually gasping and blushing at the rose moment in his romance. the landsmeet is still one of my favorite quests, i love fantasy political intrigue. morrigan also was my best friend, when she called my warden a sister i cried.

DA2: one of the most underrated games by far. i loved the smaller scale, i loved how personal hawke’s story felt, i loved every single companion and this found family. fenris was my first romance and one of my favorites, he is so complex and misunderstood and secretly has the best sense of humor. i think anders ended up becoming my favorite though—god, anders. i could speak about him for hours but i appreciate the DA devs for what they did for him and letting us romance him. anders made me appreciate his character archetype so much; he is such a tragic man transformed by bitterness and vengeance and rage. “ten years from now, a hundred years from now, someone like me will love someone like you, and there will be no templars to tear them apart.” i love you anders.

DAI: i love the inquisitor. i love how tragic of a character the inquisitor is, ripped from their life and forced to become an idol for a movement they might not even believe in. a lot of people criticize DAI for being “the chosen one” cliché, but it’s not. it’s a critique of that very trope and how it destroys a person. the inquisitor is forced to become an idea, and it does not matter who they actually are; they have all autonomy taken from them, and that is horrifying. cullen ended up ruining my life for a good amount of time, his romance is my favorite in all the series and god he got such a good redemption and ending. (i even bought cullen themed soap from a local convention, lol. i’m telling you i was obsessed). and in my replay solas’ romance absolutely destroyed me, turning him from my dearly detested to my dearly beloved. god trick weekes i will miss you so much, thank you for writing solas.

DAV: i know how contentious veilguard is. believe me i have many of my own criticisms. but i still love it anyway. i love the companions, all of them, i love how act 3 absolutely fucking gutted me and made me cry twice. i loved the amazing visuals and character creator and ost and environments. i love the QOL improvements. i loved seeing the cameos and my inquisitor again. there’s so much to love in veilguard and i’d rather talk about how much i love it than what i didn’t. lucanis was my first romance and while there wasn’t as much content as i was hoping for, i sincerely appreciate what we did get. i love how ride or die he is, how his love language is acts of service, how he’s afraid to hurt rook. i love his facial animations in his romance, i love zach mendez’s performance. i’m hoping to play emmrich and davrin’s next, and i’m sure i’ll love them too.

it’s hard to accept the fact that dragon age is probably over. it makes me sad knowing we’ll never find out about certain lore questions or know what DA5 could’ve looked like. and i’m still so angry for the developers and how they’re so callously treated and thrown away by EA/bioware. sometimes i wonder if the same thing would’ve happened if veilguard sold more. but it’s not helpful to dwell on these what-ifs, because we’ve seen how the industry treats both successful games and what they deem as failures: layoffs and no remorse. i hope the team finds work soon. i hope they realize how loved their work is. i hope someday the game industry is completely, wholly unionized. i’m glad at least we got veilguard to answer the biggest questions we’ve had.

thank you, DA devs, for everything. thank you for answering our silly questions about your characters favorite coffee flavors and perfect date nights. thank you for bringing them to life. i won’t stop playing the games or making art or fic. i won’t stop being inspired. dragon age lives on in my creations, in my dnd characters, in everything. i hope to be back in thedas soon, one day. dareth shiral.

[ginnyw-potter]

Do you consider yourself a Harry Potter fan? Ginny Weasley was a fan of him as a child, just because he's a character from books. Ginny wants this character for herself and continues to "never give up on dreaming about him." It's a pitiful sight, as she hasn't overcome her childish behavior. There is not a single example where it would be shown that Ginny loves Harry just like that. And you know what?! After everything Harry's been through, he needs a normal family of his own, which Ginny definitely can't give. Ginny is absolutely not kind. She calmly insults, ridicules, and physically beats people. Ginny is "understanding" only when it suits her. So you're Harry's biggest hater if you want Ginny Weasley for his wife. Ginny wouldn't even have looked at Harry if Harry wasn't Harry Potter, a hero.

Ginny Weasley sucks

hahah anon I turned my anon asks back on less than a day ago. I must occupy so much space in that brain of yours

I hope you heal from whatever ails you, anon.

Ginny's first meeting him she has heard tales of him for years and she's a curious kid! She just wants to meet him on the train. We don't know if there were literaly books about Harry, but she grows up with hearing of him. Not only through tales, but perhaps also through hushed voices by her parents, talking about a couple younger than them who had a kids the age of Ron who tragically died and leaving the boy to go to muggles.

Harry is a mystery to her and one she never hears the full story about because she's too young and her brothers would never tell her the details they find out. She is curious.

Harry watches her run after the train when it leaves. He is paying attention to her. He is the one running after the train to wave off his own kids in the epilogue. it's a full-circle moment.

Then she heard Ron talk about Harry all through summer and finds out he is every bit the boy he is said to be and brave. but he is still a mystery, who is suddenly in her kitchen?? Yeah she gets a little spooked. and then that nervousness builds up to the point that talking to him becomes hard and he gets put on an even bigger pedestal.

And you can hardly take him off that pedestal when he saves you from Voldemort and kills a basilisk.

After that point they start to gradually get to know each other because Harry stays at the Burrow etc. This is the point where she gets to actually know him more until they start dating She stops liking him for being famous and starts seeing all the wonderful sides of him.

They share the same values, humour and interests. They're both snarky. When Percy walks with his chest out to show off his badge while talking to (I believe it was) Penelope, they look at each other because they both think he's being ridiculous and need to hide their laughs. They don't even have to speak and they're not even close friends then but they laugh together.

I'm not sure where you got that Ginny isn't kind? While she appears to have many friends, she is often seen with people like Luna and Neville who are kind of seen as underdogs. Yes, she calls Luna Loony once, but everyone was doing it. They become friends and they're close. Ginny lost her brother at the Battle of Hogwarts and she doesn't stop helping, she goes out on the grounds (while Harry has been asked to sacrifice himself, which she also has to cope with) to get wounded people inside and is seen comforting a girl who doesn't want to fight anymore.

Ginny continues the DA together with Neville and Luna to protect the younger students and continues to speak up.

We never see her physically beating people? You know who is always ready to fight? Ron, who will absolutely throw down his wand to pummel someone. You know who actually punches Draco? Hermione.

We see Ginny use a bat-bogey hex twice. Once in the Department of Mysteries, against literal death eaters. The other time she uses it on Zacharias Smith, who is canonically just a little annoying. He was being nosy and trying to find out all the gossip about the battle in the Department of Mysteries and Ginny puts a stop to it.

She has the same amount of snark as Harry does, that's why it works out. Harry is never going to be normal and he knows that. what he needs is someone who isn't scared by him and his story. Ginny is the only other person he knows that has been possessed by Voldemort and the only person who dares to speak up to him when he gets in a mood.

He is not weak, he doesn't need someone who babies him. Ginny is gentle and kind, but also strong and firm when she needs to be. Someone who balances him out.

Most of all, that man needs to have someone where he feels safe and who is a comfort to him.

Remind me again, I'm suddenly a bit fuzzy on the details... who is said to be Harry's greatest source of comfort? I'm sure it'll come to me in a minute...