#is it possible for any of these wrapped ask games to not include at least one oneus song? apparently not

[explorevenus]

dessert before dinner ♡ gale dekarios x f!reader

nsfw (18+) - minors DNI or i will call the cops and also ur mom

word count - 4.3k

description - domestic life with you has turned gale into a big softie, in more ways than one-- he's already got the dad bod, why wait for the baby to match?

aka dad bod malewife gale wants to knock u up :3

tags/warnings - dad bod gale w mild self esteem issues at the beginning but he gets over it, technically bg3 spoilers ig (takes place post-game), food mentions, praise, p in v, creampie, breeding kink but fluffy cus gale is sappy, inappropriate use of the Weave, inappropriate use of mage hand

a/n - this piece was commissioned by my LOVELY LOVELY SWEET BABY ANGEL @d10nyx WHO DESERVES EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD AND MORE AND IS SUCH A FUCKIN SAINT FOR BEING SO PATIENT FOR THIS ;n; pls go check out her work i adore her so bad

also just as a note b4 i get One Billion Asks about it for posting this-- i am not abandoning 'something permanent' nor am i abandoning writing for resident evil just bc i am posting one singular bg3 fic !!!!!!!!!! might seem obvious but i just wanted to get ahead of it bc i'm paranoid and have seen it happen to other ppl ;~;

my masterlist ♡

fic under the cut, thanks so much for reading and i hope u enjoy ;w;

-venus ♡

Life post-Netherbrain softened Gale Dekarios in many ways. 

Some of the most obvious ways included the relief of tension that came with no longer bearing the weight of the world on his back, ridding himself of the curse that plagued so many of his living years, and finally being able to settle down back home in Waterdeep. 

But if you asked Gale, the one thing that softened him the most was you. You, you, you. Ever since the moment you tugged him out of that collapsing portal, everything Gale did was for you, and by the looks of it, that wouldn’t be changing anytime soon. 

Stability was something Gale hadn’t had in a long time, and while he wouldn’t exactly call running around Faerun fighting deities and monsters and people alike ‘stability,’ he could at the very least find that stability in you. Every battle, every brutal journey through the swamp or the Astral Plane or the wreckage of Baldur’s Gate, you were right there with him. 

And now you were home. 

Home had long since become anywhere with you, of course, but now you were really home, back in Waterdeep with Gale and his family and his beloved Tara, and what’s more, you had his last name. You were truly his and he was truly yours, in every possible sense. With his days spent teaching the art of illusion magic to the next generation of hopeful mages and his evenings spent returning home to his precious wife, Gale wasn’t sure it would be scientifically possible for him to be any happier, let alone any more fortunate. 

Gale was in the kitchen preparing dinner when you returned home, having spent the afternoon handling a few errands and wandering about the city. It always came as a delight for him to see you exploring his hometown in the same ways he did growing up, discovering all the neat little oddities and secrets that lay beneath the unassuming surface. 

He turned over his shoulder to face you at the sound of the door creaking open and then clicking shut, a smitten grin tugging at his face already. The sight of his beloved would never cease to fluster him, after all. 

“There she is,” Your handsome wizard greeted warmly, “The lovely and– might I say, stunningly beautiful– Princess of Waterdeep.” 

Just like that, you were blushing too, approaching to wrap your arms around him at the waist from behind, pressing a sweet kiss to his shoulder, affectionately roaming every inch of him you could get your hands on with a gentle touch. 

Yes, life post-Netherbrain softened Gale Dekarios in many ways, and his figure was no exception.

It was no secret Gale had an appreciation for the little indulgences in life, like rich wine and too many sweets, alarm clocks shut off when they really shouldn’t be, cozy bedding and plush furniture and hearty ‘marry me’ dinners. But, luxuries like that were rather few and far between when the two of you were on the road, and long days of traveling by foot and fighting to survive made for great exercise at the time. 

Suffice it to say, having a stable home and living without being under the constant threat of death meant you weren’t quite as active as you used to be. With time, his cheeks filled out a little more, and his clothes became a bit snug as lean muscle gave way to plush flesh. His skin glowed. He looked relaxed and nourished, he looked healthy, and you couldn’t get enough of him if you tried. 

Your wandering hands did make him a little timid in the moment, however– he hadn’t put on a concerning amount of extra padding by any means, but still, this new look was taking some getting used to. 

“Quite alright, my love?” Gale asked with a soft laugh as your hands came to rest at his hips, your kisses trailing up the side of his neck. His skin was glowing warm beneath your attention. 

“Mhm,” You hummed innocently, nodding, your hands sliding forward to feel along the delicate roundness of his belly through his shirt. “I just missed you today, dearest, and you look so delightful. I have half a mind to talk you into dessert before dinner, hm?” 

Your beloved husband was well and truly burning up now, stuttering over whatever he had going on the stove and very much considering abandoning it in favor of bending you over the countertop, but something made him hesitate. 

With a bashful laugh, as though he were trying to play it off, Gale replied, “Right, well, I suppose I could use the exercise.” 

Your brows furrowed with confusion and you glanced up at him over his shoulder, trying to read his expression. He said that so casually, like he didn’t think anything of it, and it broke your heart a little bit. 

“For all it may be worth, I think you look divine,” You said, face straight and meaning every word of it. Even if Gale was trying to laugh it off, it wasn’t a joke to you. Quietly, you added, “I would argue a bit of fluff suits you well, my darling.” 

Thankfully Gale tended to be rather easily convinced by you. 

His posture relaxed a little bit, and now the laugh that puffed out from between his lips was noticeably more genuine. “Perhaps it’s about time we put ‘a bit of fluff’ on you. I fear my mother will lose her head soon if I don’t.” 

You tilted your head and narrowed your eyes with playful curiosity. “Your mother? And what concern is that of hers, hm?”

“Only the same concern of every mother, dearest,” He grinned as though it were obvious, “Grandbabies.” 

This response of his gave you pause. Gale’s mother hadn’t exactly been quiet about her desire for grandchildren since the day you met her, but she’d never gone too far, never pestered you to the point of being uncomfortable, and never made it out to be particularly urgent– you wondered if perhaps she’d been less patient on the topic with Gale. 

Your pause had a lot less to do with the pressure to please his mother and a lot more to do with the undeniable fact that the thought of Gale fucking a baby into you made your knees go weak. You weren’t even sure you were breathing for a moment, until it occurred to you that you’d been quiet for too long and any further hesitation to respond could be taken the wrong way. 

Clearing your throat softly, you continued the playful banter, “I think my earlier suggestion stands to remedy that concern as well, no? Dessert before dinner?” 

What you didn’t know was that Gale had been thinking about this a lot more often than he was letting on. Sure, the pestering of his baby-crazy relatives was one factor, but more than anything, the safety and security he’d felt in the year since you’d married had him throwing himself into the romantics of domesticity with abandon. When you first met, he never imagined such a future would be possible for him. The chaos and uncertainty that came along with defeating the Absolute brought death far closer than most people would see the other side of, and yet you made it. 

Against all odds, hand-in-hand, you still made it. And every night since your wedding, as you tucked into bed alongside one another, he dreamt of you glowing with the radiance of motherhood. He didn’t want to pressure you– after everything that had happened, it felt like a lot to ask of you to also bear his child, like that might be pushing his luck… though you had all but just confirmed your interest with that last remark, and that didn’t make it past him. 

Gale turned off the stove so as not to burn the masterpiece he’d been cooking before turning around to face you, his broad hands coming up to cradle your face. The look he gave you was intensely romantic and almost vulnerable, his eyes gazing deep down into your own as he asked, “My darling, do you know how long I’ve yearned to make you a mother?” 

Your heart was hammering now, warmth creeping up your cheeks as you found yourself unable to break eye contact, not that you wanted to anyway. Bashfully, your hands came to rest upon his soft shoulders, feeling his own heart pulsing away in his chest, his cheeks going rosy with the same warmth. There was always a certain synchronicity between you and Gale. 

Voice lowering to a near whisper, the emotion behind your words just as strong, you replied, “How long?” 

The look he gave you was tender and reverent. Your husband clicked his tongue and smiled at the floor before cupping your jaw in his two strong hands, meeting your eyes once again. Tone rich with sincerity, he began, “Back in the Grove, seeing you with all the little Tieflings… a lot of people would have disregarded them as scoundrels, but not you, my darling. 

“You embraced their mischief– not only embraced it, but nurtured it. Refined it. You treated them with patience and respect, and you didn’t look down upon them, you kneeled to their level. At every turn, you protected them, but you never patronized them. You learned just as much from them as they learned from you.” 

He paused for a moment, thumbs stroking over your flushed cheeks, his own skin burning just as hot. Pressing a soft kiss to the tip of your nose, Gale continued, “I’m sure you can imagine how that sent off the train of thought. For the longest time, I bit it back. It felt like a pipe dream, and I didn’t want to kid myself– I’ve done enough of that for two lifetimes. But then the Netherbrain fell, the Absolute released her iron grip on the commonwealth of Faerun, and what’s more, you accepted my hand in marriage. 

“The first morning I woke up next to you in the safety of our marital bed, it didn’t feel like such a distant reality anymore. There you were right before me, and in my mind’s eye, you were bathed in the golden glow of dawn and fertility, your nightgown clinging to your divine, ripening figure. Ever since that moment, the image of you with child has dominated my every waking thought. I crave it like the sweetest wine, my heart, to see you become plump and radiant with motherhood.” 

Leave it to Gale to so easily render you weak in the knees with his poetics. The way he described it, you could see it too. You could see the silk of your nightgown becoming snug around your middle as your belly would come to rise like pastry, you could see the vein in Gale’s brow tense while he would struggle to put a crib together. You could see your grocery lists growing to include nappies and baby food, you could see a space at the dining table occupied by a high chair. 

He was right, it didn’t feel distant at all. It felt so close you could taste it, the veil between this reality and that one now paper thin, like a cobweb you could just blow away. 

Before you could think up a response, he was speaking again, his tone delicate and low, “Just imagine it, dearest. A child born of you and I would have the purest connection to the Weave imaginable, and you would make a gorgeous mother… You know I adore you always, but I must confess, I’m not sure I would be able to leave you be, seeing you like that. It might just require the strength of a thousand men to pry me away.” 

You puffed out a laugh, your face and the tips of your ears burning with bashfulness. Leaning forward to hide your face away in his soft chest, you teased, “So it wasn’t your mother who put you up to this?” 

“Ah, I’m afraid not, my darling,” He cracked a grin, planting a smooch to the crown of your head. “At least not entirely. This was a hole I dug the both of us into largely on my own, I’ll admit.” 

His hands slid down to rest upon your hips, and for a moment, you just held each other like that. It felt cozy, it felt comfortable, like time itself had paused around you. In all your days, no one but Gale could make you feel like that so consistently. You almost wondered if there might be some subtle illusion magic at play in moments like these, but you knew all too well that Gale’s charm had very little to do with the Weave– he was just like that, and you were all the more fortunate for it. 

Gale’s hold on your hips tightened in an affectionate squeeze before his arms were snaking around you, one at your lower back and one where your thighs met your bottom. He lifted you from your feet and spun you around to face the other way, propping you up on the countertop in one smooth movement, the tightening front of his pants nestled right up against the crotch of your underwear through your dress. 

Your breath hitched in your throat at the feeling, and he didn’t make it any easier for you to remember how to breathe when his next move was to stoop his head down and smother your throat with languid kisses. 

“Gale,” You gasped, hips rutting forward to knock into his own, your head spinning as the distinct outline of his arousal grinded right up against your clit. “Gods above, you’re going to be the death of me…” 

A low chuckle rumbled from his chest at your accusation, his teeth nipping playfully at your pulse point before he spoke against your skin, “Always a flair for dramatics with you, my beloved bride… though if that should turn out to be true, then you’d die how you lived; ravished, revered and adored by your most loyal wizard.” 

Just as soon as he’d put you there, Gale was plucking you up from the countertop again, and while it was your immediate assumption that he was going to carry you off to the bedroom, it would seem he didn't even have the patience for that. Your back hit the dining table with a gentle thud, though the ever mindful wizard braced the back of your head gracefully with an oven mitt just in time. 

You dissolved into a fit of squirms, giggles, and quiet yelps as his lips and teeth met your neck in a display of needy attention, his fingertips crackling with magic as they found their way up beneath the skirt of your dress. Grip printing into your hips, he dragged you back until your clothed cunt was flush with his bulge again, and the electric shock of pleasure that rang through you in response threatened to knock the wind out of you. 

Gale wouldn't, you thought to yourself, surely he wouldn't enchant his-- 

He tilted your chin up with his knuckle, a brutally smug grin plastered on his rosy face as your eyes met again. "Are you with me, dearest?" His thumb came forward to stroke over the plush of your bottom lip, almost pulling it into a pout himself. 

"Yeah," You shivered, nodding without even really thinking about it. You couldn't even bring yourself to poke fun at him for that like you might have otherwise. "Did you--" 

"Shh," Gale cooed, untying the laces of his trousers to relieve some of the pressure before he folded over you and rolled his hips forward again, caging you between the table and his warm, plush frame. The barrier between you was lesser now, and you felt it immediately.

He was radiating the Weave, delicate strands seeping through the thin fabric of your undergarments to kiss, lick, and tingle over your flesh. The sensation wasn't completely foreign-- taking a master wizard as a partner and lover for life naturally lent itself to inappropriate use of the arcane-- but no two intimate encounters with him were ever alike. Sometimes it made you wonder just how many of those hours he spent locked away in his tower were giving him ideas. 

In hardly any time at all you could feel yourself soaking through your panties, your hips rutting forward to chase him and your mind slipping away into a helpless little puddle of mush, and he had barely even touched you yet. It was all by design, of course-- he didn't want to get too cocky and risk wasting a drop of himself that could otherwise be getting you pregnant. 

Discarding his shirt and dragging your panties down with shaking hands, Gale groaned at the sight of your arousal, the extent of it. You were right drooling between your legs, pussy glistening with the very same juices that drenched and clung to your underwear. He couldn't help but dip two fingers between your silky folds to collect your nectar for himself. As soon as it hit his tongue he felt like he couldn't breathe. Your taste was creamy and sweet like icing, a flavor he wouldn't ever tire of even if it was the only thing he could ever have again. He could devour you for a lifetime and still hunger for eternity. 

"You're going to grow so beautifully," He said lowly, eyes half-lidded and his pupils blown wide as saucers. In you he saw nothing but the future. One hand shoving his pants and briefs down his thighs and the other planting itself upon your stomach, his cock sprang up to kiss the plump flesh of his own belly as he continued, "I will thank the divines for the remainder of my life that I should have the pleasure of watching you ripen with our fruit." 

You could have cried. Your bottom lip did wobble a little bit as you gazed up at him, choking up, and he stooped down to kiss you immediately. 

"None of that," He mumbled against your lips, dragging his stiff, weeping cock through your folds to keep you good and dizzy, every contact of his skin against yours still buzzing with the arcane. "I have you, okay? I have you. I love you. You're alright." 

Nodding in response, feeling the tears dry up right then and there, your lips parted in preparation to respond but all that came out was a deep, pleasured cry. Gale was sinking into your hole like he was made for you, stretching you open with slow, delicate thrusts, his breath heavy and lustful in your ear. 

Stuffing you full of himself until the head of him was threatening to kiss your cervix, Gale stilled for a moment, nipping at the shell of your ear before kissing your cheek affectionately and checking in with you, "Feeling good, my darling?" 

"Mhm," You nodded, and as soon as your approval registered to him, he began to move. 

Bliss. Pure and uncut bliss. That quiet little hum of approval quickly melted into staggered breaths and mewls, your hands finding purchase in kneading at the dough of his waist. You really couldn't get over how well the extra weight suited him, how perfectly it softened his edges and padded out the warmest parts of his physique. He was made for a body like this, a little bit round and squishy and sweet. You wanted to swallow him in one bite. 

Every stroke of his cock inside you felt like true euphoria, crackles and tingles of pleasure radiating outward from each and every nerve ending, and he felt it too. You could tell by the look on his face, the way his mouth hung open with deep, wanton moans, the way he shivered and stuttered with damn near every thrust. 

"G-Gale," You cried out, nails printing into his flesh as you tried to tug him down to you. 

Typically he would have obliged you without hesitation, but Gale had other plans at the moment. Bracing himself against the fine oak wood to the right side of your head, his other hand gripped at your thigh and angled your leg up with ease. Before you could register what he was about to do, he was already doing it. 

Folding you into a half mating press, he drove into you deep, the Weave sinking into your bloodstream with a staggering intensity that nearly made you scream. 

Swallowing your cries with his own lips, Gale kissed you just about as deeply as he was fucking you, his facial hair scratching and tickling at your cheeks as his silky tongue slipped over your own. Every knock of his hips against your own had the dining table rattling too, the walls of your marital home ringing with the sounds of sex, the obscene squelching of your pussy sucking him in, the needy whines and moans slipping from you both. 

You felt like you were on fire in the best possible way. Every square inch of your body was alight with lust and magic, your legs hooked around his hips to draw him even closer. The two of you could fuse together and you would still want to get closer. 

Soon enough, your throbbing clit was met with the unexpected pressure of arcane fingertips, measured strokes of a figure-eight over your swollen bud that coaxed you higher and higher and higher until you felt like you were weightless there on that table, lifting from it, your lips only parting from his own as your head fell back against the oven mitt in a desperate gasp for breath. 

That breath was almost immediately followed by a broken cry of his name, the stimulation causing your greedy cunt to clench and pulse around him, again, by design. Sinking down on his elbow so he could speak directly into your ear, his cock stroking so deeply into you that it nearly felt like it was prodding at your lungs, Gale groaned, "That's it, pup, there you are... Such pretty noises from my good girl, my darling little wife..." 

"I love you, I love you, I--" 

Cutting you off with a kiss, Gale replied, "I love you more, and I'll give you as many babies as it takes to prove it."

Your vision went white, thighs wrenching tight around his hips as you plummeted over the edge unlike ever before. It felt like traveling through a lightning bolt, your spine arching up into a fine point, your stomach pressing up against his own as he emptied his load inside you, mage hand still circling your puffy clit. 

Ropes and ropes of creamy seed flooded your hole until you were stuffed to the brim, leaving behind that delicious pressure that came along with being stretched so full. Your bottom half felt heavy as you fought to catch your breath beneath him, tears leaking from your dewy eyes. 

"N-No more, no more with the mage hand," You stammered, sucking in a sharp breath as its thumb and forefinger took your clit in a delicate pinch. 

Another second or two passed in which he continued to have his fun before deciding you'd had enough. The stimulation to your bud slowly ceased, but as he withdrew his softening sex from you, you quickly realized you didn't feel any less full. 

Brows knitting together, you squirmed and struggled to sit up, watching Gale turn his back to dampen a washcloth before returning to you, gently wiping the sweat from your brow and the slick from your inner thighs, brushing your hair away from your face reverently. "Shh, shh. Just sit still for a moment longer, alright? Let me get you cleaned up." 

He continued his gentle work until you were refreshed and sparkling before scooping you up from the dining table like a princess in his arms, carrying you off to the bedroom to get you both changed. 

It was only as the two of you entered the room and you caught sight of yourself in the floor-length mirror that you realized Gale's mage hand was still very much at work, its thick middle and ring fingers plugging you up nicely. Not a drop was wasted with the diligent digits blocking the way. 

Gale helped you out of your dress and into a soft nightgown, and in your exhaustion you were ready to just crash into bed for the night. Curling up atop the covers as Gale changed into loungewear of his own, you were about to fall asleep right then and there when he woke you with a loving grin. 

"Huh?" You mumbled, reaching up to rub your eyes, and as his own raked over the image of your beautiful body, he couldn't stop thinking about the many ways it would come to develop over the next several months. 

"We still haven't eaten, my love." 

You groaned, burying your face back into the bedding stubbornly. "But I'm tired..." 

"You were the one who wanted dessert before dinner, sweetest," He teased. "We've had our dessert, and now it's time for dinner. Besides, I thought we agreed to fluff you up a bit?"

A bashful smile tugging at your cheeks, you narrowed your eyes at him playfully, huffing out, "Okay, okay, fine," reaching your arms out for him to carry you again, and you were so lucky he loved to baby you. 

Gale didn't hesitate to take you into his arms, your head nestled up against his chest as you returned to the kitchen together. He placed you gently down in a chair at the dining table before assessing what he'd left on the stove earlier. His 'masterpiece' was now ice cold and unappealing to him, and surely his darling wife deserved better than cold and unappealing. 

Turning over his shoulder to look at you, Gale asked you a question that you didn't think you'd ever hear him ask; "How about tavern food tonight?"

[purinfelix]

could you please write something where trent pining for his bestfriend for a long time before he finally confesses to her that he has feelings?? thank you! i love your writing sm <3

something stupid ₊˚⊹

pairing: Trent Alexander Arnold x reader summary: Trent’s never been the best at concealing his jealousy, especially not when it comes to you - even if the two of you are ‘just friends’ warnings: none w/c: 1k

a/n: had to combine these two because they gave me the best idea everrr ... anyways i missed writing for trent like i realised i don't acc write for him that much - soo pls send more trent reqss!! <33

♬ and then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like "I love you" ♬

Trent couldn’t decide what feeling was worse - the intense, almost burning jealousy ripping through him as he watched you from across the bar, or the even more intense guilt consuming him for even daring to feel that way. To feel such an all-consuming possessiveness over someone who wasn’t even his, and to be left with no option other than to loiter in the corner like some idiot, his grip on his drink growing tighter by the second.

You wouldn’t blame him, surely, you couldn’t. With the way you looked tonight, and the fact that you had personally invited him out with you - albeit with a couple mutual friends - but none of them mattered, at least not to him. It also didn’t help that you had spent the last couple of years, ever since meeting through a group project in some long-forgotten university class, dragging him through some sick cat-and-mouse game. Always toeing the line between being just close friends, or something vaguely more, and Trent hated himself for just going along with it, but he’d by lying if he said he didn’t enjoy how weak he was to your charms.

But as he watched you, his breath heavy and heart beating steadily, he couldn’t help but question whether you had meant to do any of it at all. He watched you throw your head back in laughter and hot jealousy pulsed through him once more, yearning for nothing more than to be the one making you laugh instead of whatever other guy you were lending your attention to. Still, you looked so happy, so at peace, he couldn’t help but curse himself for even considering the possibility that you were purposely making him pine after you. After all, it was his fault - he had still yet to muster up the courage to ask you out on a date, even after being stupidly enamoured with everything about you since the day he met you. It was probably more rational to consider that he had just misread most of your actions beyond the friendly gestures they were supposed to be.

Suddenly, his attention was turned to the steady arm of another one of your male friends snaking around your waist, which Trent had been dragging his gaze along excruciatingly slowly - but now his focus was turned to the fact that this asshole was pulling you closer to himself, and further away from Trent.

Fuck rationality.

The thud of his glass was definite, followed quickly by his heavy footsteps as Trent shoved past the small group you had amassed, not bothering to make his actions subtle. It was clear to everyone, including himself, that Trent was moving faster than his rational thoughts could form, but that didn’t seem to matter when his hand was already wrapped tightly around your wrist, dragging you in the direction of the bar’s exit. You protested, struggling against his grip, but all it took was one look from him as he turned back to you - equal parts pained and pleading - for you to go with him.

The biting cold of the late night hit you the minute you stepped out of the bar, causing you to stop straight in your tracks and huff with frustration.

“Trent, what the hell is going on with you?” your tone was demanding, not making any effort to conceal your annoyance with him.

“I wasn’t going to stand by and watch that filth lay his hands all over you,” he retorts, and if you didn’t know any better you’d think he was equally annoyed with you. But from the way he can’t stand still and his eyes are scanning the pavement, avoiding yours, you know there’s something else at play here.

“Bullshit.”

“Wh- I can’t do something nice for you?”

“Giving me a life, paying for dinner, those are nice things - not snatching me away when I was in the middle of a conversation? Why do you care if some guy touches me?”

“Why do I care?” he scoffs, almost as if he doesn’t believe you haven’t realised why yet, “Because I’m in love with you! You’ve invited my out tonight, and you seem to be having the time of your life, but when I saw you with that guy, him making you laugh, touching you, all I could think about was how much I wanted it to be me instead. How much I’ve always wanted it to be me.”

A silence falls over you two, and it’s only now that the weight of Trent’s actions have hit him, as well as the realisation that he can’t do anything to take back his words now, or stop whatever reaction you’re about to give him. He makes his regret obvious almost immediately, his flustered expression dropping as he looks down to the ground once more, unable to bring himself to look at you. His confession hangs in the air, having changed both everything and nothing at once.

You stood there, slack-jawed, mind racing yet absolutely speechless. You’d be lying if you hadn’t at least suspected Trent of having feelings for you, but you had brushed any inkling you had off as your own misinterpretation. Hearing him say it out loud was another thing entirely, and it was overwhelming your every sense, but in a good way.

The silence became too much to bear, and Trent figured he’d have to be the one to brave it, “Say something, please,” he mumbles, voice heavy, almost preparing himself for rejection.

“Trent…” you begin, stepping slightly closer and reaching out to take his hand in yours, “I’ve wanted it to be you too.”

At this, he looks up at you, eyes glistening. “Really?” the disbelief in his voice almost breaks your heart.

“Yeah,” you say, almost laughing at how ridiculous this is, “for a while, actually.”

“God, you don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to hear that,” he lets out an almost comical sigh of relief, finally breaking into a smile, and you can’t help but do the same.

“Now, I’d like to get back to my drink, if you don’t mind,” you say, but he doesn’t let go of your hand.

“Why would I mind?” he laughs, and you could slap him right there and then, but you can only smile in faux-annoyance as the two of you walk back to the bar, hand-in-hand.

[user211201]

Good Game

---

Originally posted on 2022-06-06 by dumb-and-jocked.

This was a collaboration piece with @rozza22365.

---

“Babe, how did you know exactly what I needed?” Brenden asked, skipping happily along the trail with his boyfriend’s hand in his own.

“I have my ways,” Chaz replied nonchalantly, although it was evident he’d thought about this long and hard. The whole day had gone according to his plan of making Brenden feel as relaxed as possible. After a very stressful promotion process at Brenden’s hair salon, Chaz knew the 22-year-old was going to need a break. He planned a romantic weekend getaway involving time at the beach, a stroll through the local park, and a fancy meal for dinner followed by “dessert”. Chaz was working hard to help his boyfriend take a step back from reality. Brenden just needed to slow down to keep his miniature body from exploding.

And by miniature, Chaz meant the 5’5 skinnier-than-a-flagpole twink hopping beside him like a delicate gazelle. His stick-like figure (along with the platinum-blonde locks gelled up in the front and a pair of beach balls in the back) often made him a target for bullying, including homophobia. Luckily, Chaz was usually enough to scare them off. The recent college-grad was only 5’11, but thanks to his many years on the swim team had developed a modest frame. He’d also gained a comfortability with public speaking and argumentation thanks to his political science degree. Once he got a job, then Chaz believed he would have everything he would need to be happy in life.

“Oh! Honey, look!”

Before Chaz could even follow Brenden’s sight line, his boyfriend was already skidding across the field. Chaz walked comfortably behind, smiling as he noticed how the light breeze blew through Brenden’s salmon-striped tank and ripped white jeans. Chaz thought about catching up, but he didn’t want to run in his cheap sandals. Not only that, but the last thing he wanted to do was rip his khakis and sweat through his casual button-up. It was already pretty warm out, so any extra effort might have strained Chaz’s body in ways that wouldn’t be attractive.

“Yum…” Brenden was basically drooling as Chaz joined him at the top of the hill. About 200 feet away were a group of jocks wrapping up what looked to be a game of baseball. They all appeared to be around the same age as the couple, except each was about double the size of both boyfriends put together. Even from a distance, one could see the jocks’ bulging muscles, shimmering layer of sweat, and (thanks to their lack of shirts) set of washboard abs. And their gym shorts perfectly showcased the numerous perky behinds and overstuffed pouches. With their hats all turned backwards as well, they looked exactly like the stereotypical college jocks.

“No kidding…” Chaz joined in the ogling, watching as they packed up their gear and started heading out. The boyfriends couldn’t stop admiring how the jocks looked, strutted, and acted. Their physical features weren’t the only thing the pair noticed however. The jocks were all engaging in playful gay banter, fake-kissing and bromanticizing with each other. Although it was pretty obvious that all of them were typical arrogant, straight boys pretending to be men, Brenden and Chaz couldn’t help but fantasize about the simplicity of their life.

The couple watched on as the jocks got into two lines facing opposite directions, ready to give each other the classic “Good Game” sendoff. However, instead of giving high-fives, they instead swatted every butt playfully. Brenden and Chaz bit their lip, every jiggle of a straight male’s buttock translating into a tiny pulse of pleasure through their modest boners.

“Did we…” Chaz started. “Did we just get baited?”

“No, at least I don’t think so,” Brenden retorted, taking a breath. “I think that was all natural. Nothing gay about it.”

“No homo,” Chaz imitated in a broish tone, gaining a laugh out of his boyfriend. “Ready to head out, sweetheart?”

“Just a second.” Brenden was still looking down at the field. “I think the boys might’ve left us a present.”

Sitting on home base lay two blue baseball caps. Making sure no one else was watching, Brenden instantly made a run for it. With a small smirk, Chaz followed behind at a quicker stroll. Apparently tonight’s “dessert” was going to involve roleplay.

“Chazzy! How do I look?”

The blue hat sat comfortably on Brenden’s head, the bill shading his cute face from the harsh sun.

“Exactly like them,” Chaz responded sarcastically, placing the other hat on his head.

“Thanks, bro,” Brenden replied in his version of a broish tone before leaning in for a kiss.

“Mmm!” Chaz was surprised to feel his boyfriend’s tongue quickly slide through his mouth. Once they pulled apart, Chaz stopped any further affection, “Darling, let’s roleplay when we get home.”

“But no one’s here,” Brenden whined. “No one will see us. Now, flip your cap around.”

Chaz quickly surrendered, too horny to use any of the argumentation skills he had learned over the years. Rushed, he did one more sweep around the field before following instructions. Brenden flipped his own as well, letting the front of his quiff pour out of the empty hole in the front. Instantly, the pair felt a sharp shock strike through their bodies. They physically lurched in extreme agony for a moment, but seconds later they had already forgotten about the pain.

“So what do you say, babe,” Brenden tried replicating his broish tone again. “Should we…”

Chaz, getting the memo, leaned down for a kiss. He closed his eyes, ready to feel his boyfriend's soft lips touch the bottom of his own. Chaz kept feeling himself get lower and lower, but eventually he became confused as to why he hadn’t reached Brenden yet.

“Dude! Open your eyes!”

Chaz’s eyelids lifted to reveal Brenden’s crotch right in his face.

“Ah ew babe!” Chaz backed away in disgust. “How could you prank me like that?” Brenden however was laughing so hard that Chaz could see each one of his skinny abs rippling on his lanky body. The 6’5 beanpole was cackling up a storm.

“Gotcha!”

“I didn’t even realize I had leaned in so far,” Chaz joined in with Brenden’s jovial nature. At 6’4, he must’ve bent almost straight down in order to get to his boyfriend’s crotch. “Ok, so can I kiss you now?”

“No bro, we’re still roleplaying.” Chaz noticed how Brenden was getting more in touch with his broish tone, so he decided to follow suit.

“Alright then…broski…what’s next?”

“What’s next babe is a game of gay chicken.” Brenden appeared extremely eager for this. Chaz could tell by the way his boyfriend’s cut-like-steel and shaped-like-diamonds calves bounced excitedly back and forth.

“What’s that?” Chaz replied, positioning his own legs out into a kickstand. Thanks to his khaki shorts, people were also able to see the fine, rugged calves he owned. Similarly cut like Brenden’s, yet just a little tanner and meatier. Although if Chaz ever brought this up, Brenden would just compete by acknowledging how he was slightly taller so his calves were drawn out more.

“It’s simple, bro. It’s where basically two dudes get as close to a kiss while trying not to. The person who kisses first loses.”

Chaz considered this, a little thrown off by the game. The rules seemed simple enough, but why would his boyfriend want to play this? Chaz was so horned up right now that he could just stick his head between Brenden’s two massive thighs. Chaz could just daydream about how if he placed his skull into Brenden’s gym shorts, then his boyfriend would probably be able to break him open like a ripe watermelon. Their chunky, meaty size was almost tangible, but unfortunately that’s not the game his boyfriend wanted to play right now. Chaz instead reminded himself that it could happen tonight for dessert.

“Ok, I’m in,” Chan announced, suddenly enthused over the prospect of a challenge. He clapped his own thighs together in anticipation, sending ripples across his soft and muscular quads. Just like his boyfriend’s, they too filled his own gym shorts nicely, looking like candy with a tight wrapper.

“Sweet dude! Since I brought the game up I have to go first.” Although Brender had seemed excited, Chan noted the new tone in his voice. The use of “have'' accented a new emotion laced into his boyfriend’s words: fear. The emotion was also evident in the way Brender’s torso was super tense. The man’s abs were extremely hard, flexed to their max capacity. His tender pecs were solid while his silver-dollar nipples were rock hard. Even the man’s delts displayed apprehension, hiding away from their true larger-than-life wingspan.

Slowly but surely, Brender slowly reclined forward. To make sure he didn’t get too close and lose in the first round, he placed a porcelain hand against Chan’s carved chest. He subtly felt up his boyfriend’s 6-pack, noting how each one felt like a stone plucked straight from the earth. Brender’s finger ran up the valley into the upper torso, giving each of the mounds of flesh Chan called pectorals a cheeky squeeze. He also made sure to give a little flick to one of Chan’s nipples, which truly looked more like an udder than something meant for nothing.

Brendor got close, but he paused at about 6 inches. “Gonna be hard for you to beat that!”

“Pfft, sure bro.” Chant was pretty confident this wouldn’t be as difficult as his boyfriend had made it look. Chant took a similarly sluggish speed that Brendor had, making sure to move forward at a cautious pace. To assure he didn’t fall forward, Chant grabbed his boyfriend’s massive arms. Brendor’s forearms were so long and sturdy with veins accentuating their muscular mass. His biceps were so firm and his triceps had a similar amount of vigor. Even the other man’s hands were gigantic, looking big and solid enough to catch a baseball without the mitt.

Getting to the 6-inch mark that Brendor had made it to, Chant slowed down his pace even more. He felt his own brawny appendages become strained, his own veins snaking across robust arms. Similarly to Brendor, Chant’s biceps stood as two proud mounds atop his tanned flesh. His triceps had a identical mass, and his forearms displayed a strength that had been built up over years of hard work. His heavily-calloused, giant hands only furthered the argument by looking more fit for a package of Hamburger Helper than a human being. Right as he passed Brendor’s previous attempt, Chant gave an obnoxious set of kissy lips before taking a step back.

“Almost had me there bro,” Brenor replied in a tone that was deep, masculine, and empty.

“Huhuhuh, you wish dude.” Chent couldn’t help but guffaw, his voice an almost identical replica. Absentmindedly adjusting his rope wristband, Chent felt a rush of adrenaline race through him as he said, “Ball’s in your court.”

Brenor gave a quick nod, his bulging Adam’s apple shaking in agreement. Bending his tremendous upper traps, Brenor approached Chent’s face once again. While watching his boyfriend dip closer, Chent took his time studying every part of the other man’s face. A square jaw loosened gently with some baby fat that made him look extra adorable. Eyebrows bushy but his brown hair was at a crew cut length beneath the cap. Big nose to circulate air while working out and fading eye black to advertise that there wasn’t much behind those dull brown eyes.

Reaching in on Chent’s last milestone, Brenor carefully cupped one of his gargantuan hands against his boyfriend’s face to steady himself. He loved how it perfectly fit against the other man’s carved jaw, the way it caressed the other man’s Neatherandthal-like bone structure. He couldn’t stop himself from analyzing Chent’s crooked nose after being broken from a previous game, or the way that his blond crew cut matched his light eyebrows. Even Chent’s lackluster eyes had a certain shine to them. He wasn’t hypnotized by the looks however, he was just purely appreciating aesthetics. And with that realization, Brenor pulled away gleefully.

“Let’s go bro!” Brevor cheered, stomping his Size 15 blue Nike’s hard on the ground.

“I thought I was just about to win there, babe.” Crent playfully kicked Brevor’s shin with a Size 14 black Adidas, not noticing how the term of endearment had come out more like an insult. Noting his socks had fallen down a little, he faithfully bent down to pull them up before continuing.

“You still have time to surrender,” Crent sniggered.

“Nah bro, you’re about to fade!” Brevor may have been right, that last stretch was getting close. But that didn’t mean Crent was going to give up! Confidently, he grabbed his boyfriends behind and pulled him in. Crent may have been focusing on his game of gay chicken, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t allowed to feel up his bro’s ample bottom on the side. And wow, was he glad he did. It was thick and tough. Soft, yet too muscular to derive any pleasure from. Sneakily, Crent shoved a finger into Brevor’s butthole, finding it was way too tight to be welcoming.

“Hey!” Brevor yelped.

“Sorry, brohama,” Crent purred. “I’m just luring you in.”

“The point of the game isn’t to turn me on, dude,” Brevor sneered. “That’s a different game of gay chicken.”

“I just gotta get comfortable, bro. Just doin’ the same thing to you I do to a…”

Crent stopped himself, unsure of what word was supposed to finish that sentence. Instead of dwelling on it however, he continued. With one hand still on the butt, Crent slowly explored the rest of Brevor’s midsection. He found a pair of heavy kumquats hiding in the man’s shorts, so large they were probably painful to contain in clothing. Above those was his boyfriend’s babymaker, a soft 7 inch sausage stuffed not so subtly. Right as Crent passed Brevor’s previous point, mere centimeters away from the lips, Crent gave the other man’s dick a quick squeeze and backed off.

“Is somebro feeling a little frisky?” Brevor remarked.

“We’ll see when you kiss me,” Crent antagonized back. Not being one to back down, Brevor stuck his hand right into Crent’s shorts. Finding the soft 7 inch joystick, he pulled the other man so close that he could feel Crent’s balls rub against his. Even though they were separated by layers of fabric, Brevor was able to feel their succulent, robust nature. After giving the pouch a good squeeze, Brevor found that Crent’s buttocks shared the same descriptive adjectives. Succulent and robust, but also tense.

“What…what are you doing…bro?” Crent murmured, finding Brevor’s actions were a little less playful than his own.

“I’m losing.”

And with that, Brevor pushed himself into Crent’s lips. At first it was only Brevor kissing, but Crent got the memo and quickly began reciprocating. It wasn’t very long and it wasn’t involving tongues, but it was a kiss nonetheless. Both of the men felt odd and weird about the kiss, but part of them felt good about it too.

Immediately, the two men felt their dicks get hard followed by a constantly-looming need to touch them. Being preoccupied by their strange kiss however, they could only think of one way to resolve their issue: grinding. The two bros instantly started humping each other, as if the same, horny thought process was guiding their decisions. But with each rub against the other body, their attraction and horniness faded, becoming nothing more but amusement towards each other. The thought of actually liking each other felt pretty gay. And the more the two bros shared their gaze while kissing and humping, the less desire they felt. Instead, they discovered a great friendship and comradery towards each other.

The fading of attraction towards was closely followed by their homosexuality as a whole. Even though they were physically with their bro, they were mentally dreaming about boobs and tight pussy. Their homosexualities weren’t the only things disappearing however, as their IQ had been steadily dropping during their entire process of “appreciation of the male form”. Their minds began restructuring, new memories settling in and piecing together their new lives.

Flashes of sports, porn, and endless sex. Bad grades and rich parents, privileged backgrounds and dull futures. Lots of banter with the bros, even a bit of gay banter. Obviously, they sucked and jerked their bros off every now and then but that wasn't gay–just dude stuff. Sometimes they even destroyed nerds’ holes in order to make them do their homework, but as long as they topped it wasn’t gay. And a simple “no homo” always cleared things up though.

Laughing more as they humped, the two men (if they could really be called that) began thinking of this more as a stupid game. With so many memories of banging and impregnating countless cheerleaders and sorority chicks over the years, the thought of being gay seemed like a foreign concept. Just the idea of motorboating or ramming their cocks and seeding some bimbo made the two jocks want to-

“OH BRO!” they both shouted in unison as giant blasts of cum soaked the front of their shorts. With IQs under 90, the pair began showcasing the best of male intellect by jokingly rubbing their wet fronts against each other.

“You’re such a fag, bro!” Trent guffawed. “I knew I was gonna win.”

“Oh whatever dude,” Trevor huffed. “I wasn’t the fairy who was enjoying it.”

They both continued bantering with each other before realizing the rest of their crew had already gone back to the frat house. Accepting defeat for now, Trevor smirked and gave Trent a playful spank.

“Good game, bro,” Trevor ceded. “But I’ll getcha next time.” Trent chuckled dully before giving a smack back to Trevor’s behind.

“Sure, broski. Good game.”

[ambicutiebutt]

How Daisy feels about DoL canon characters.

(R) means Mask is in a relationship with them

Since Daisy's drive is to get others to love her, I'm including where their in game stats are at. 💘= Love,❤️‍🔥=Lust

LOVE INTERESTS:

Robin (M): (100%💘) (42%❤️‍🔥) (100% Confidence) Ugh... Dead weight. Would like to stop paying his rent if it were possible Whitney (F): (R) (100%💘) (72%❤️‍🔥) (10% Dominance) Honestly the only reason they interact is because it's pretty easy to convince Daisy to go down on you if you have a dick and plan on having her choke on it. Also Daisy enjoys when people go through the effort to get her drunk in order to fuck her. Incredibly easy to beat up. Sydney (M): (R) (100%💘) (36%❤️‍🔥) (21% Purity) Feels guilty. Sydney deserves better. Recently un-corrupted Sydney. Kylar (F): (R) (57%💘) (98%❤️‍🔥) (99% Jealousy) Dismissed. There's no winning here. Avery (F): (R) (99%💘) (6% Rage) We're both just pretending. Using her in order to go to poker night and raise love/lust for otherwise difficult to get to people. Fun to piss off from time to time. Alex (M): (R) (100%💘) (9%❤️‍🔥) (0% Dominance) Yeah he's alright. Daisy is pretty much just here to taunt Remy and run the farm. Black Wolf (F): Ugh, stop it. Fuck off. Eden (F): (100%❤️‍🔥) Kidnapped by Eden a couple times. She is only there for a day or two where the two of them beat eachother up the entire time and then Daisy manages to escape. Pick someone else???? Pick Robin, I'm BEGGING YOU. I will drop him off gift wrapped. Great Hawk (M): (45% Dominance) Blames Great Hawk for at least a handful of her visits to the underground farm.

SCHOOL STAFF:

Sirris (F): (100%💘) She's alright. River (M): (100%💘) He's alright. Faints at anything sexual, but is fine beating people up? That's neat. Doren (M): (85%💘) He's alright. Kind of guy who likes to feel like a protector apparently. Winter (F): (100%💘) Oh she's more fun than the other teachers. Mason (M): (97%💘) (50%❤️‍🔥) Flirt once, chat twice, repeat. Easy to tease. Leighton (M): (0%💘) (20%❤️‍🔥) Blackmailing him really cleared out that love stat, huh. Fun to spend detentions with, both on the same wavelength. Likes how much of a piece of shit he is.

EMPLOYMENT:

Sam (F): (88%💘) Fucking mother fucker. Going to get that stat to 100% eventually. Olympic level victim blamer. Charlie (M): (100%💘) Easiest 100% love ever. He's a sweetie. Amazing he manages so well in this town. Darryl (M): (100%💘) Already at 100%, going to be sweet to Darryl while in the club, but will sell him out immediately for any bit of additional love from Briar. Niki (F): (100%💘) Don't think Daisy's forgotten the farm shit. But for now, Daisy is an exhibitionist and Niki is a photographer, so they have a good working relationship. Briar (M): (31%💘) Fun work buddy. Come on, get on stage with me~

CRIMINALS:

Landry (M): Fun work buddy. How are you losing these black boxes all the time? Would love to find out more about this guy. Mickey: Never asks Mickey any questions about themselves, never flirts with Mickey. It's very convenient that that happens to be what Mickey prefers. Wren (M): (100%💘) Fun work (?) buddy! Enjoys winning at blackjack all the time. Enjoys getting him to cum just from letting him kiss and fondle her. (Has not met Zephyr)

AUTHORITY:

Bailey (M): (2%💘) (40%❤️‍🔥) Papa~ Daddy~ Considers him family, but also plans on getting that Lust to 100%. Jordan (F): Idiot. It seems like you're trying to be a good person, but you're insanely bad at it. Quinn (M): (9%💘) (40%❤️‍🔥) It'd be really fun to kill this guy. Like, can you imagine? Not for the town's sake or anything. It'd just be so much fun to do a lot of horrible things to this pathetic man and then to kill him. Gonna get his love and lust as high as possible before that though.

OTHER:

Gwylan (F): Dying of curiosity but the game is providing NOTHING. Harper (M): (100%💘) A lot of fun. Gaslighting eachother is a fun way to be friends. Wants to dissect him. Ivory Wraith: (R?) (20%💘) (30% Obsession) Turns out max love is 20%? Knew the wraith couldn't love her back, but it still stings. As long as the Wraith continues to seek her out, she will continue to love it. Remy (M): (100%💘) Loves him. Fascinating man. Would love to observe everything about him. Would do anything for him, if he just wanted her to. Morgan (F): (8%💘) Gonna throw up.

[thelarriefics]

UNIVERSITY FIC REC, Part II: Below you will find more fics that take place in college. (Part I)

📖 Underneath It All by @peachypetalhazz (394k)

Enemies to friends to lovers AU where Louis is a cliché bad boy that Harry can’t seem to get rid of.

📖 there's no fair in farewell by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed (218k)

When Harry and Louis, two Cupids who have been bringing people together for decades, are tasked with making Soulmates Liam and Zayn fall in love, it proves to be much harder than expected. But maybe, just maybe, that isn’t such a bad thing after all.

📖 blue moon by @aquietlarrie (152k)

or the self indulgent 50’s au where i wanted a safe space to explore the culture, history, and sexuality of being gay in a time when it was extremely difficult to do so. includes, lots of questionable dancing, healing your inner child, and one heck of an emotional ride.

📖 Never Be by @cherrystreet (117k)

The one where Harry Styles moves to Connecticut from England for nine months as a part of a study abroad program, and he just so happens to move in with Louis Tomlinson and family.

📖 Pour Your Heart Out by @hrrytomlinson (92k)

Louis is his soulmate. Or at least Harry thinks he is. Louis feels the same as Louis. But there are a lot of people named Louis in the world and this Louis might not be the Louis. It’s besides the point though, because Harry knows he can’t allow himself to get close to any boys. He just can’t and he’s told himself this multiple times. He has to simply stay away from Louis Tomlinson. But he can’t. Harry Styles can never stay away from Louis Tomlinson. It’s physically impossible for him to.

📖 knock knock, i love you by @thelovejandles (86k)

Harry and Louis get kicked out of a statistics exam for passing a knock knock joke note, and subsequently fall in love. Harry's a virgin, there's a cat, a hot cocoa date, a lot of sex, even more knock knock jokes, and everything is lovely and happy.

📖 Are There Second Chances? by @kissyboystyles (85k)

the most eventful twenty-four days of Louis Tomlinson's college career.

📖 A Distant Hazy Light by @greenfeelings (76k)

Life’s pretty ordinary for Harry. He lives with his best friend, got into university just like he’s planned, and manages to support himself just fine for an unbonded omega. If he sustains that lifestyle by getting paid to help alphas through their rut every now and then, that’s nothing to be hung up on. Until he’s hired by an alpha that turns everything upside down. Or, Harry’s working on taking Louis’ walls down, until he builds his own up.

📖 Bikestrike by @thinlinez (68k)

What would you do if you saw someone riding your bike, which had been stolen weeks before, across campus? Omega Harry chose to show no mercy. He didn't know it would all lead him to his own demise.

📖 always you (i should have known) by @28goldens (60k)

or the one where harry and louis cant stand each other and fake date to make someone jealous.

📖 Start A Revolution From My Bed. by @rainbowsandlovehl (57k)

Louis is ready to live on his own, in a dorm, in a new city. He is ready to make new friends, have fun and study a little. But he is not ready for Harry, his pretentious roommate who is out to ruin Louis' sleep and make his dorm life a complete hell.

📖 Love's On The Line, Is That Your Final Answer? by @moonhusbands (54k)

Harry can’t believe it when Louis, the boy he’s always had a tempestuous rivalry with, asks him to be his boyfriend. Well, pose as his boyfriend, that is—for a new television game show in which young couples are quizzed on how well they know each other for a jackpot of thirty grand. Reluctantly, Harry agrees—because he's got student loans to pay off, hasn't he? What's the harm? And he can totally deal with keeping his secret thing for Louis under wraps too. This is all just to win some money. It's fine. No big deal. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything. Obviously.

📖 The First Year by @parmahamlarrie (46k)

When Louis Tomlinson was assigned a first year student to be his roommate for his final year at the University of Manchester, his expectations were low. All he needed was a cheap place to sleep and keep his stuff amidst his nights out, willing his brain to forget his past. He never expected Harry Styles to become his eclectic, sweet, and cuddly best friend. That was never the plan.

📖 your lips in the low light by @givesuethemoon (20k)

Set over the course of one night, at one fateful frat party. Louis and Harry find that there are not many things they will ever need more than each other.

📖 getting yourself wet for me by @dreamersdivin-headfirst (10k)

frat boys take on watersports

📖 my heart's against your chest, your lips pressed to my neck (i'm in love now) by @bottomhaztoplou (8k)

Five times Louis gives Harry a courting gift and one time Harry reciprocates.

📖 Hea(van) Is A Place on Earth with You by @insightfulinsomniac (6k)

University students Harry and Louis want to spend some alone time together — the problem is, both of their respective roommates are fast asleep. Harry solves that problem with some blankets, a secluded parking space, and his beloved beater van, Belinda.

📖 Lost In This Craze For You by @larrysballetslippers (4k)

Louis thinks he is incapable of making his boyfriend come, but Harry just needs a little more from him.

[beelanddiavolosimp-blog]

Hi! I love your writing♡ Can i request the brothers with an mc who has Haphephobia (fear of being touched, usually they can only touch people they trust after a long period of therapy) and their reactions to the first time mc tries to hold their hand?

Hello! ^^ thank you so much I'm so glad you enjoy my content :) I have never heard of this phobia but I will try my best to write as close as possible to its definition!

How the obey me brothers would react to a Haphephobia MC holding their hand

Lucifer

He listened attentively when you explained your phobia to him and completely understood. He thought to himself and decided a big way for your relationship to become stronger without touch is quality time. You often found yourselves on small coffee or tea dates or just something small where the two of you could relax. On one of those particular dates you found yourselves gazing at his hand. That sense of fear you once had at the beginning of your relationship wasn't quite there anymore. You decided to test the waters and sneak your hand to hold his. He stalled a bit realizing you broke that barrier you once told him would eventually come. He then turns and smiles at you "Good job Mc I am proud of you" he says softly.

Mammon

Now he at first was confused. Why wouldn't you like being touched by the one you love? He then realized that not everyone is the same as he is. Since he cared deeply about you he asked his brothers of different ways to show his love to you without making you uncomfortable. He eventually settled on the same as Lucifer quality time but it was more fun dates such as festivals or the zoo just an activity you two would enjoy. On one particular date you listen to him talk away about something before glancing down at his hand. You ponder for a bit before deciding it was time to do what you both were building at. You reach your hand out then gently wrap your fingers around his own. He immediately stiffened and his words became jumbled and incoherent. After a bit of time calming him down he gazed lovingly at you and said "thank you".

Levi

He himself was terrified of any romantic interaction with you so he wasn't as taken aback as the others were. You two found yourselves easily able to adapt to each other. You two mostly spent time in his room watching anime or playing games together. It was actually a long bit into your relationship and he never once faltered or made you uncomfortable fitting into your phobia perfectly for you. You look at his fingers and decide for you both something smaller would be suitable. You suddenly interlock your pinkies together and look up at him. He immediately flushed red and was another one who was incoherent. After he calmed down he first asked if you were truly okay with the action and you smile at him. "I feel comfortable with you Levi" you say truthfully and he smiles back.

Satan

He was very smart only ever reading books and gaining knowledge but when it came to you he felt so lost. Once he learned of your phobia he had no issues with it per say just wondering how he could make you comfortable. He decided on showing you things that helped keep him calm which included cats and books. It was a quiet chilly evening when the both of you were looking at cats together that you felt you two hit that peak comfortability to where you aren't afraid anymore. You gently interlock your fingers together and he had a small red hue to his cheeks yet he talked as if everything were normal not wanting to freak you out but on the inside he was as happy as he could ever be.

Asmos

He was so afraid to say the least. All he knew was being touchy and loving all over the person he was attracted to. He focused hard though to make sure you were fully comfortable with him because he loved you like he did no other. He decided gift giving was perfect. It showed he listened to you and your interest ontop of putting severe thoughts into the gifts. You two were gossiping in his room where he kept his distance perfectly comfortable for you. Yet you felt as if you'd be okay with even a slight touch so you reach your hand over to his and set it ontop of his own. He stopped talking and looked down at your hand before looking back up at you. "Are you sure this is okay Hun?" He asked genuinely. Once you nod he gently held your hand and wouldn't admit it but was practically vibrating with happiness that he came so far with you.

Beel

After you told him he was such a sweetheart that even when he came too close to you he immediately apologized or asked if you were okay. It wasn't an annoying amount just showing he genuinely cared for you and your comfortability above all else. He didn't mind not touching you he just enjoyed your presence just as he did belphie. He took you out to dinner at a really nice restaurant and he was speaking of all of the great food here that you should try. Yet your mind wandered to his hands. They were big yet warm and comforting. You perk up realizing you weren't afraid of the thought of holding his hand like you were before. You set your hand into the palm of his own and he immediately looked at the action. He then looked up at you and gave one of his heartwarming smiles. He made no action to move away or go further going with the pace you set.

Belphie

He is barely conscious most of the time so he didn't think he would have an issue with your phobia that is until it came to wanting to sleep together. He then realized he had to keep to himself and not cuddle up to you for your comfort. He protected you a lot from others who tried to become overly touchy since well he becomes a dick when it comes to protecting you. He found himself being fine with just sleeping next to you where no touch was needed. Yet when you two were out stargazing together you knew in your heart and mind that now was the time. You gently hold his hand and he immediately turns his head to you. His eyes asked you if you were truly okay and ready. When you nod he just gives your hand a gentle squeeze and looks back up to the stars wishing today could last forever now.

I hope I did well and that you enjoy it!

[thgfanfictionlibrary]

hello! Could please make a list with fic with Katniss and Peeta as parents? Thanks!!!

Hello Anon!

Below is a list of parent!evelark. I've added this topic of future masterlists. In addition, here is the singledad!peeta masterlist and the previous parent!everlark masterlist. Hopefully some of these are new to you! Happy reading!

Everything Grows-ashyblondwaves (ao3) Summary: During a pregnancy, everything grows. Love grows, fears grow, bonds grow, bellies grow and most of all, families grow. My take on Katniss and Peeta’s first pregnancy. Food Comas-mellarked-katnisseverdeen (tumblr) Summary: Post MJ Canon Thanksgiving Food comas give you my wild-melissaeverdeen13 (ao3) Summary: a look into katniss and peeta's life as they grow back together after the war; their experiences with friendship, love, and parenthood. Golden-JLaLa (ao3) Summary: A mandatory law brought them together. Four years later, Peeta Mellark comes to District 12 to the daughter he’s never known and the wife he barely met. An In-Panem AU with the marriage law twist. Hidden on this Prairie-RannonAce8 (ao3) Summary: Katniss lost everything during the war: her home, her family, and her innocence. Now, just a few short years after Appomattox she finds herself dislocated yet again when a dispute with the landlord leaves her homeless and unemployed. A chance meeting with a stranger offers her a chance at a better life out west but Katniss has no inclination to ever be involved with a man again. I Can't Believe You're Mine-JHsgf82 (ao3) Summary: Canon-compliant. Post-Mockingjay. Pre-epilogue. Katniss watches Peeta walk the floors with their infant daughter. As he cradles her, he whispers, "I can't believe you're mine" and Katniss's heart melts. I Can See you Standin', Honey, With His Arms Around your Body-HuntersWithCellPhones (ao3) Summary: Gale comes back to twelve years after the war, expecting to find a Katniss he could possibly fall in love with. Marry. At the very least, they could be friends again. But, instead, he finds Katniss married to Peeta with a little boy named Rye. Drama ensues. Worse Games to Play-belmione (ao3) Summary: "I expect Peeta's wanted a baby since he was one himself. In this moment I'm not sure how I've said no to him for fifteen years. Peeta Mellark hasn't smiled like that since the day on the rooftop of the Training Center before the Quarter Quell." My take on Katniss's decision to have children with Peeta. Pre-epilogue, but it will eventually go through to post-epilogue. Wrapped in Green-katnissdoesnotfollowback (tumblr) Summary: Wrapped In Red!Peeta is a horny boy and I am here for it He likes to dress Katniss up in nothing but those naughty red stockings, spank her, and then rail her into the mattress when the kiddos are fast asleep Yours-lunalark (ao3) Summary: Everlark. Mockingjay AU. After the last night in the training center before the Quell, Peeta’s “baby bomb” becomes a reality. It has been 5 months since the Quell, and Peeta has just been rescued from the clutches of the Capitol.

If anyone knows of a fic like this, please reblog, reply, or send an ask with fics fitting this idea and I’ll add it to the future lists!

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to shoot me an ask!

Updated: 9/22/24 at 11pm to include previous parent!everlark post

[nemo-in-wonderland]

OC Deep Dive Tag

Thank you so much for the tag, @mogruith! I am immensely sorry for the delay in which I finished this, but I had an up and down period, and when the brain doesn't want to brain, eh. It's hard to focus!!

HOWEVER, I FINALLY MANAGED TO ACTUALLY FINISH THIS!! So, once more, thank you so much for the opportunity, I love this type of games, they always help me think about my characters and how they would behave! so truly, thank you! <3

without further ado, please, enjoy this about Aranea!

-PHOBIAS AND OTHER FEARS

Death of the people she loves. After Halim’s own death, she is just terrified of losing anyone else she loves, because a world without them, doesn’t make any sense to her. She is still wrapping her head around, after 200 years, that Halim doesn’t walk anywhere on Toril, that his laughter doesn’t exist anymore, that she would never see his golden eyes ever again, if not somewhere in her dreams, and this whole chasm left by his absence terrifies her. This absolute terror was among one of the reasons why she froze her heart and had Mephistopheles cut it out of her breast.

-PET PEEVES

Whenever anyone of the Hellions (the name I gave to Mephistea’s cambions kids squad) takes her scythe to wreak havoc on the Mortal Plane. Jacob especially is guilty of this, and is the one more likely to incur in her ire.

Also, she absolutely hates when people interrupt her when she is trying to explain something and does so because they are being condescending toward her.

-3 ITEMS YOU COULD FIND IN THEIR BEDROOM

Aranea doesn’t truly have her own bedroom in Cania, because she shares Mephistopheles’ bed and rooms, so what’s in their room belong to both of them. However, she has a small quarter in the thermal baths underneath Cania that Mephistopheles has given her, mostly as a studio, and that’s where she keeps some of her most personal objects.

Among them, one can find all of Halim’s letters she had managed to save before escaping Zakhara - including the very last letter she got from him, before his execution; her own oud, a gift her adoptive parents gave her as a kid, and one that she still plays whenever she wants to relax; and finally, hidden under a crapton of spells and seals, imposed by Mephistopheles himself, the religuary where her frozen heart is kept.

-FIRST THING THEY NOTICE IN A PERSON

Their eyes are the first things she notices in anyone, because they can reveal much about one’s character and intention. It’s how Mephistopheles has managed to catch her attention, so to speak: she once witnessed him in a moment of vulnerability, during one of their intimate moments before actually becoming each other’s obsession, and his eyes were, for just a tiny fraction of second, so sad and lonely that they just managed to open a breach into the barrier she always kept around her soul and penetrate directly into her heart. His vulnerability became her own, and for the first time since Halim, she felt terrified at the possibility that, maybe, she could actually come to love her Archdevil patron.

-ON A SCALE OF 1-10, HOW HIGH IS THEIR PAIN TOLLERANCE?

I would say a good 10. She doesn’t feel anything anymore, at least when it comes to physical pain: her own misery is partially responsible for numbs any physical pain, to the point that even if she gets hurt, she doesn’t care, and this has made her absolutely reckless. Part of her resistance to pain is also a measure Mephistopheles has implemented because he didn’t want her to feel anything, especially after he decided that she was to be his and his alone.

-DO THEY GO INTO FIGHT OR FLIGHT MODE WHEN UNDER PRESSURE?

Aranea’s first reaction to anything that puts her under pressure is always to fight. She charges first, and then asks clarification, to hell the consequences. She wasn’t always like this: in her youth, she was careful and while trying to keep her own temperament in check, when under pressure she would still prefer to flight rather than fight. After carving her own heart out, she has become much more reckless and numb to danger, so her first response is fight, no matter the cost.

-DO THEY COME FROM A BIG FAMILY/ ARE THEY A FAMILY PERSON?

Aranea comes from a small family, made up by her adoptive parents and herself, but because she has felt so alone in her childhood, she wished to have a huge family for herself, once she were to marry her love. Her desire eventually came true, even if not in the way she expected it: with Mephistopheles, she created a family that, while absolutely deranged; I mean, she is step-mother to Raphael - something that makes him cringe each time he thinks about it-, adoptive mother of Jacob and blood mother to Karam, Zaynab and Azriel, all cambions, and all of them dear to her heart. So, while she never envisioned herself as a family person, after Halim’s death, she eventually grew into the idea once she started to fall for Mephistopheles and raised baby Jacob.

-WHAT ANIMAL REPRESNTS THEM BEST?

Before Halim’s death, the animal that best represented her was the White Heron: elegant, graceful, free, a symbol of prosperity and continuous rebirth; After losing Halim, the animal that would best represent Aranea is a snake that eats its own tail.

-WHAT IS A SMELL THAT THEY DISLIKE?

That must be Raphael’s cologne: he douses himself in the substance to conceal the smell of sulphur and brimstone, and while Aranea is partial to perfumes (in Zakhara EVERYONE wears them, and use them generously), Raphael’s choice makes her want to gag. So, it’s to the surprise of no one that, when Raphael feels particularly miffed with Aranea, for whatever reason, he would literally drench Aranea’s room with the cologne, making the poor woman escape Cania until the smell disappear.

-HAVE THEY BROKEN ANY BONES?

Several, throughout the years - it’s inevitable, with the type of lifestyle she has. But she is careful never to let Mephistopheles know, because she knows he would do something absolutely awful to the whatever caused her to break any of her bones.

-HOW WOULD A STRANGER LIKELY DESCRIBE THEM?

It depends on what Aranea is doing and what she is trying to convey to the world in that precise moment, but one thing would be true for all situation: a stranger would most likely describe her as an alluring woman, with a smile that hides a thousand secrets and promises a thousand pleasure, but it’s a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, which instead remains cold and hard like diamonds. She doesn’t speak about herself, and while charming in her speech, it’s all a glamour to hide away her true intention. It’s unsettling, like observing a snake studying you and decide if you are worth of being eaten or not.

-ARE THEY A NIGHT OWL OR A MORNING BIRD?

Night owl, even though the normal day/night cycle is not entirely existant in Cania. Aranea doesn’t care much for meditating, and usually has the awful habit of keeping herself awake as long as possible until she basically drops. She is terrified of her dreams, and so, she prefers to remain awake, when the moon is out and about.

-WHAT IS A FLAVOUR THEY HATE AND A FLAVOUR THEY LOVE?

Anything mild or bland is distasteful to Aranea’s taste. She hails from Zakhara, where the culinary tradition is rich and the flavours are delectable and even the air perfumes of spices, so, anything that is not spiced up to the maximum is bound to make her not enjoy her meal - she eats everything, if she must, but if she is to choose, she prefer a dish richful in flavor. But one food Aranea is absolutely crazy about - to the point that Mephisto had a multitude of shrubs grown for her in her private Gardens in Cania- is pomegranate and pomegranate melassas. Pomegranate Sherbet was her favourite food, in Zakhara, and it remains her favourite to this day.

-DO THEY HAVE HOBBIES?

Weaving. Aranea never truly disclosed this with anyone aside her closest circle of intimate friends, but she loves spending her hours at the loom weaving. The constant motion, the focusing on the pattern and the thread is a balm for her unrequieted soul, and she actually loves to create Zakharan’s garments with it. All her infernal children - Jacob, Karam, Zaynab and Azriel- wear garments in Zakharan fashion made by their mother.

Another hobby she has is dancing: she learned how to dance at a very young age, and continued to do so throughout her entire life, although she never does so in front of anyone. When she knows she is completely alone, sometimes she lets herself be transported by the memory of Halim’s voice, in a song she rarely allow herself to remember.

-BOOM, SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY! HOW DO THEY REACT TO SURPRISES?

She would probably try to find a way to escape without anyone noticing. She abhors surprises of any kind, and she absolutely hates celebrating her birthday (she stopped after Halim’s death). Mephistopheles is not one to actually care or pay attention to mortal tradition for birthdays and whatnot, so he never truly pushed or organized anything for her, and she was happy for it. She resents her birth, for various reasons, so she doesn’t truly see a reason to celebrate it.

-DO THEY LIKE TO WEAR JEWELLERY?

She used to. When in Huzuz, as part of the Zakharan culture, Aranea loved to adorne herself with small golden rings and golden armbands - she would have so many, Halim would oftentimes tease her that he didn’t need to see her in the house, to know that she was home: all he had to do was listening to constant jingle and tingling of her bracelets.

Ever since Halim’s death, however, she stopped wearing any jewel of any kind, with grief completely making her adverse to them, and she keeps the one she had when she was brought to Cania sealed into an old box where all her most personal objects are stored.

The one jewel she had was a pendant with an uncorrupted fragment of her frozen heart hanging on her neck - the last reminder of who she was when she was still Zil - but she parted with it when she gave birth to Asra and made the choice of depart her daughter and her father, Halsin, to hide them from Mephistophele’s intrigues.

-DO THEY HAVE NEAT OR MESSY HANDWRITING?

Before having to leave Huzuz behind, Aranea served as a Scribe underneath the Grand Vizier himself, and was also a scholar of renowed reputation at the university, with her immense thirst for knowledge, and she put always a great deal of attention and care in the way her notes and the official documents she needed to carve were up to the Grand Vizier’s standards; therefore, her handwriting is extremely neat, thin and almost spidery in the way she writes.

-WHAT ARE THE TWO EMOTIONS THEY FEEL THE MOST

Wrath and Grief. While Aranea is particularly apt in never showing either - unless provoked - the grief she carries within herself for having lost Halim is a constant of her life, a core sentiment of her whole being, and the direct fuel to the second strongest emotion she feels - wrath. The strength of these feelings is enhanced by residing in Cania, to the point that they consumed all that she once was. She is particularly good at putting on a mask to hide away her turmoil inside, but if one were to peer just a little more intensely beyond the concealment, they would just see a neverending maelstrom of pain and misery that just fuel her entire being.

Sadness always clings to her, somewhat, even thought Mephistopheles’ presence allows her to numb it away, at least so long they are close to each other. He actually stabilizes her moods, incredible as it sounds, and she stabilizes his, but when their tempers collide, oh dear Gods, that’s one hell of show no one in Cania wants to witness.

-DO THEY HAVE A FAVOURITE FABRIC?

Aranea is partial to spidersilk and leather: she loves the feeling of both against her skin, but if she were to choose, she prefers to wear gossamer robes - very much like the one she wore in Zakhara- because of how breatheable and soft they are against her skin.

Her own magical shawl - one of the last mementos Halim crafted for her with magic to protect her against the merciless Zakharan Sun - was made of the finest spidersilk available, and Aranea adored wrapping herself in it: it always felt like an embrace from the one that gifted it to her. The magical shawl, pretty much like her pendant, are now property of Aranea’s daughter Asra, for she truly is the embodiment of whatever remained of Aranea’s humanity.

-WHAT KIND OF ACCENT DO THEY HAVE?

Before moving to Huzuz to embark on her studies at the Al-Bidr Sallah University, she spent her childhood and early teen years in Ajayib, the City of Wonders. Therefore, she spoke Midani with the regional accent of the Pearl Cities. Her accent translates even when she speaks the Common Language, immediately clocking her as not native of Faerun. She never truly bothered masking it, both because she actually doesn’t like the Common Language cadence and because after years of living with Halim, during their marriage, her own original accent got mixed with his, and now, when she speaks, she can still hear his voice in her own.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

tagging all my BG3 mooties @margridarnauds @gravecleric0900 @bloodsol94 and whoever would like to do this with their Tavs/Durges!

[bcbdrums]

For the fic writer ask?

🥭🍐🍇

From this ask game.

🥭 Rank from most enjoyable/fun to write to least: Fluff, Smut, Angst, Crack.

Angst, fluff, smut, crack. Crack is hard because I don't know how to do humor. And the humor I do occasionally write doesn't fit the crack-vibe. Smut... Becomes kind of one-note after awhile, for me. Fluff is a delight. They DESERVE to be happy and I will write all those warm fuzzy feels that may not be entirely in character but gosh darn it, the blorbos deserve them!!! And angst... Ah, angst, my wheelhouse. They're already suffering in canon. I will make it worse, I will drag it out for thousands of words... And I'm good at it. Definitely the easiest, and the most fun.

🍐 Is there anything in canon that you absolutely hate and love to fix in fics? A wrong choice made, a bad characterization, a misunderstanding never cleared up, a conversation never shown onscreen, etc…

I wouldn't say hate. If I hate something I tend to dissociate from it. Like, I won't watch Star Trek Generations at all. Never seen it. Trekkies know why, probably. If I didn't see it happen, it never happened! (I still don't hate it - can't hate something I haven't seen.) Or Soul Eater NOT, again don't hate, but hate certain choices so I just...dissociate and disavow. Especially when it heavily contradicts established canon, it's easy to disavow. But if I'm just mildly annoyed by something, or frustrated, I'll write like...missing scenes. Things that answer the unanswered questions or clear up confusion. Or when a thing ends too soon, I may write a missing scene thing that fleshes out more of the details and emotions. But as a canon purist I never change things. Now, if we wanna be specific about a specific canon... Honestly, nothing is leaping out? Just that missing scene/fleshing out details, thing.............. WAIT. I've got one. In the Soul Eater manga. Maka should have hugged Spirit. Like. I get that the author needed to wrap things up fast, and comedy is a good way to do it. But.... That...... What the author did there. That was wrong. Which makes me think of the Soul Eater anime. A specific thing I would have changed is, all of Crona's lines in the final scene in the Death Room should have been spoken by Spirit (and changed to make more sense). Honestly, that part makes me cringe. It ruins the final episode for me. I won't keep going about it because it'll make me upset, but yeah.

🍇 Is there a particular scene/episode/book/etc that you want to just write a million fics about, over and over? Which one?

Well............... I've technically written over 200 fanfics about Drakken/Shego in Kim Possible. Just....those two. Aaaaaaahhhhh yesssssss making a villain romance work. That hits the spot. Like. How many love confession fics can I write? A lot, apparently. In Soul Eater, basically any moment Stein and Spirit are together onscreen I want to write about. 😅 Same in the manga. I'm not obsessed, I swear-- Other fandoms... I do have those moments but they aren't leapint out at me right now. If I think of them I'll edit this post to include them. Was trying to think of Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes (book and TV) canons. Hmm...

Thanks for the ask!!

[decks-writing-blog]

Whatever the Fuck Benrey is: Chapter Twenty-One: Pretty Neat, Huh?

Chapter One

Previous Chapter

~

If Gordon had had doubts about his sleep-deprived conclusion on his feelings for Benrey, they were dispelled upon waking up with him. Whilst asleep, they’d shifted into a more traditional spooning position, Benrey’s back pressed to his chest. Gordon could happily lay here forever with him. … Or maybe not forever. Waking up like this every day for the rest of his life sounded pretty good though.

No nightmares either. Or if he’d had one, he didn’t recall even the feel of it. Perhaps he’d just been too tired but Benrey’s presence had certainly helped because it always did. Probably cuddling anyone at night who was into it would’ve helped but it was Benrey who chose to, had suggested the idea in the first place. When or why he’d started caring enough to do so was still a mystery but it didn’t really matter, did it? He cared and Gordon loved him for that and for so many other things.

Which didn’t mean Benrey wasn’t an annoying bastard, trolling whenever possible when they played games together even if they were supposed to be on the same team. And Gordon had eventually found the cling-wrap over the basement door. It was probably only a matter of time before he pulled another prank. But he better knew Gordon’s limits now, putting them closer to being on the same page of what went too far. He hadn’t repeated anything like the falling bucket prank.

There was still the question of if he reciprocated. Even if what they had now was more than enough to make Gordon happy, the possibility of romance was still alluring. Theoretically he could tell Benrey how he felt and ask. Probably the wisest move but… what if that ruined what they had now? So he’d think about it more later, maybe ask someone or the internet for advice. Right now he didn’t want to move or even think in general. Going back to sleep would be nice.

Except even if he was still tired, that wasn’t easy. The light coming in through the gaps in the curtains was too bright. He needed to get up to get a drink of water if nothing else. Sometimes being a human with normal animal needs sucked.

And then sealing the deal on sleep being over… “I’d have thought you’d want to get up soon as you woke up today.” Of course Benrey was awake. He didn’t need to sleep as much as Gordon did so naturally when sleeping in, he’d woken up first. And of course he knew Gordon had woken up too; he could be quite perceptive at times.

Gordon took a breath, intending to ask why he’d not want to linger in bed but… let it out in a sigh instead. The reason he was so tired and sore, they’d just returned from the Black Mesa facility with all of Benrey’s experiment related stuff. Including his records that Benrey was going to let Gordon look at.

With a groan, he forced himself to sit up and look down at Benrey, his face an unreadable blur. “Good morning.”

“It’s not morning.”

“Yeah, probably not, huh?” The light coming in through the window attested to that. Gordon slid off the bed entirely, allowing him to reach over to the nightstand for his glasses. The beside clock read 12:32pm. They’d slept for almost ten hours… or Gordon had anyway. “You look at any of your stuff yet?”

Benrey slid out of bed too. The ruffled mess of his hair and pajamas was endearingly cute. “Nope, waiting for you. We’re gonna look together, remember?”

Of course Gordon remembered. Most of yesterday was a blur but that kind of thing wasn’t easily forgotten. “You sure you’re okay with me looking?”

“Yep.”

Gordon should perhaps decline anyway out of politeness or at least tell Benrey to go through it all himself first to sort out stuff he wasn’t all right with Gordon seeing. But he was being given permission to look. All the questions he’d ever had about whatever the fuck Benrey was could finally be answered. And not the type to be constrained by social conventions – especially ones that were stupid like the whole offering something out of a sense of obligation with the understanding and hope that it’d be declined for the sake of propriety thing that people sometimes supposedly did – Benrey likely wouldn’t lie about being okay with it. What was there to be gained from such a lie? Nothing as far as Gordon could tell.

“Wanna go look now?” Benrey gestured towards the door.

As eager and curious as Gordon was… “I gotta eat something first.” And more importantly get some coffee, he could drink some water while he waited for that to brew.

~

In anticipation for playing games together once they got a proper gaming computer built – a process they hadn’t quite begun yet – they planned to eventually get two office chairs into the gamer pad. For now though, they had only the one. Gordon was going to let Benrey have it but… “Nah, you’re taller so you’d have to bend over to see the screen good.”

Gordon couldn’t argue with that. And with all of the stuff they’d brought in from the lab, there wasn’t room to comfortably pull in one of the kitchen chairs. So with a sigh, he sat down and booted up the computer.

Back at the lab they’d pulled the hard drives out of the computers salvaged from the facility to plug into the ones they already had up and running. Here though, the salvaged computers were more high-tech than the cheap temporary computer Gordon had bought solely to be able to browse the internet on. Enough so that even if it wasn’t built for gaming, it still might be able to be used for such. And so while Gordon had had ‘breakfast’, Benrey had moved their computer aside and replaced it with one of the three brought in last night.

Which meant starting it up brought up the familiar Black Mesa login screen. Promoted and having put himself in charge of sorting through the old experiment data he’d long since gotten the master login from Breen. As he typed it in – slowly but surely he was developing a one handed way of typing that wasn’t as fast as he used to be able to do but was still far better than pick-typing – he repeated it out loud to Benrey so he could log in by himself later. It was possible to change the login for this computer or set it to boot up without it but whatever, Benrey deserved to know some of Black Mesa’s secrets. If he wanted to risk sneaking into the temporary lab to log in to one of computers there to set up a prank on Breen or whoever, as long as he could do it without getting caught or landing any of the Science Team plus Darnold in trouble, it wasn’t any of Gordon’s business.

What was his business though, being the one with easiest access to the mouse and keyboard was finding the experiment data saved to the computer. The systems used across all of Black Mesa were the same, making it easy to navigate even though the experiment was of an entirely different sort than the ones he’d worked on.

After who even knew how many years Benrey had been an experiment for, there was an awful lot of stuff, taking up most of the available memory across multiple backup drives. They were in luck though as the people in charge of organizing the data had done that job well – a surprisingly uncommon trait amongst the Black Mesa scientists – making it easy to navigate. True to Benrey’s word, a lot of the files had the term ‘Subject X’, implying they were about Benrey. Possibly a roman numeral. There might be nine prior attempts at making him or maybe nine other aliens captured for study. Or the ‘X’ might be because it was the first letter of ‘Xen’. Maybe it meant nothing and had just been chosen at random or for some reason not directly related to Benrey and the experiment.

“Start with the videos.” Benrey leaned in over Gordon’s shoulder. “You scientists are always super boring when writing your research paper stuff.”

Gordon should perhaps ask one last time if Benrey was really sure he was okay with him seeing. He’d already said several times that he was though and Gordon wanted to see. So much so he’d been willing to go all the way to the Black Mesa facility for the chance to. Thus instead, he said nothing as he followed Benrey’s orders. Not how he would’ve done it but it was only fair he let Benrey call the shots here.

The earliest video file was dated at April 1st 1983 and was titled ‘SubX Success’. So they’d presumably had Benrey for about twenty-five years. Well, it had already been established that they’d had him for at least for as far back as he could remember, thus basically his whole life. Still a long time to be an experiment though. Not that there was anything that could be done about it so instead of saying anything, Gordon opened it and set it to start playing.

On screen was a man – his age indeterminate beyond being old enough that his hair was starting to go gray – in a lab coat standing behind a table in a generic looking lab. “That light means it’s recording now, correct?”

“Correct,” came an off screen voice, presumably the camera man. In typical Black Mesa fashion, the camera used to record was more advanced than what would’ve been available elsewhere at the time. Allowing for video and sound quality to be not too far below what would be considered on par for modern day technology.

“Good, good. Now,” he turned his attention into the camera, “we finally have a living specimen. If it’ll stay alive for long, we don’t know yet, especially since its not quite what we expected, but I personally have high hopes.”

As he spoke, he pulled a cart in from off screen. On it was various equipment, including a stand that held up a small metal canister about the width of a pool noddle. Grabbing it, the man pressed something on the side that cause the lid to lift before upending it onto the table in front of him. The camera zoomed in on it as he did so.

A grayish blob flowed out of the canister, looking not at all like a living thing. Not until it moved anyway, reaching out with formless tendrils as if looking for the canister as it was pulled away. Finding nothing, the blob instead reached out all around it. Not the settling motion of a non-solid but seemingly intentional reaching out for something.

Was that… Benrey? It didn’t look anything like him but there wasn’t any reason for it to considering his shape shifting. If it was Benrey though, that made it a he instead of an it. Assuming that’s how Benrey preferred to be called anyway. Gordon had never actually asked so… he paused the video and looked up at Benrey. “You go by he/him, right?”

“Yup. Why?”

“Just wandering and making sure.” He could maybe ask for more specifics later if Benrey was willing to share his thoughts on the human made concept of gender and all that. For now though… “Let’s continue.” He clicked the play button, resuming the video.

The scientist’s hands came into the picture, one of them holding what looked an awful lot like a scalpel – this had only just started and it was already taking an uncomfortable turn. “As you can see, its form is a bit odd but when we cut it, it bleeds to heal itself.” He demonstrated with the scalpel, making a small cut on top of Maybe-Benrey, making him visibly flinch away. The blood was a now somewhat familiar slightly purple tinged red that did indeed seem to close up the small cut. “We’re not sure if it makes enough for us to be able to harvest it but the hope is that it’ll bigger and thus will in time.”

His other hand blocked the blobs attempt to crawl away, pushing him closer instead as he lifted the scalpel to do another cut, a bit bigger this time. “It also responds to being cut as if it feels pain. We will have to see how that develops in the future and see if it responds to other stimuli as well. For now, I don’t wish to keep it out of its simulated environment for long lest that kill it. End the recording ple--” The video ended, cutting him off.

Gordon turned in his chair a bit, letting him look up at Benrey. Before he could figure out how to ask what Benrey thought about the video…

“That ain’t me.” Benrey’s tone was just ever so slightly strained towards perhaps anger or frustration. Or maybe Gordon just expected him to be having an emotional reaction and thus was imagining it.

“Well, um… I guess we don’t know that for sure yet. The guy did say it might die. So maybe… the next one’s you or the one after that. We know it’s got something to do with you though so… you know.” There was a good chance that Benrey had looked an awful lot like the blob in the video at some point in his life. Which was interesting as that would make him a fascinating creature indeed.

“I tried the no structure thing. It sucks.”

“What does that mean exactly?”

“Last time I was doing the trying to find my true form or whatever thing, I finally like uh… dissolved all my bones or whatever. It sucked, didn’t feel right at all. If I’m really just… a dumb boring blob or whatever that was, I would’ve felt something, right?”

“I don’t know. I know less about how any of that should work than you do.” If they kept going, there was no doubt a lot more to be revealed. No bigger questions had even been answered yet. Gordon’s curiosity was stronger than ever and the answers were right here but… Benrey didn’t seem to be pleased with this little bit they had found. “You wanna stop? Or maybe take a break since we went all that way so it’d be a shame to stop now.”

“No.” Zero hesitation on that answer. “Next video.”

“How ‘bout we start from the top? The first document should have the purpose and intended method of the experiment clearly stated.”

“Fine, guess that’s easiest anyway since you wanna look at everything anyway.”

Gordon was no longer entirely sure he wanted to see everything, everything. Not if Benrey – or the prototype Benrey and eventually no doubt Benrey himself – was going to be shown being sliced and diced or anything of the sort. Science was only interesting and fun when no one was being hurt. Even if physical damage wasn’t as big a deal for someone with Benrey’s powers, that didn’t make it okay or pleasant to witness. For now though, he turned back around and scrolled up a bit to open up the earliest file on record, dated almost a full year before the first video had been taken.

“Read it out loud,” Benrey said as he leaned into the side of the chair, forcing Gordon to catch himself with his foot before it could swivel too far the right. “Make it entertaining.”

“I doubt I can do that.” His interest in the subject would make it compelling for him but his lack of experience reading things out loud would likely harm how interesting it would be to someone like Benrey. “I can try though.” That’s all that could be asked of him.

***

Benrey soon set into pacing behind the computer chair as Gordon read. As expected the file was dry, scientific, and took way more words than it really needed to, making it boring. If Gordon was indeed trying to make it entertaining, he was bad at it. Benrey hung on every word anyway. Finally it was time to get some answers.

The stated purpose of the experiment that had resulted in Benrey was to create a life form that could passively produce healing gel, negating the need to create it manually using limited resources. One of the key ingredients for which was a rare plant found on Xen that refused to cultivate in any lab scenario, creating the need for the experiment in the first place.

Benrey’s pacing slowed to a halt as Gordon read through the list of proposed materials and procedures to create this life form. This was an the answer to the question at last; Benrey had been made in the lab out of alien plants and chemicals. He was the only one of his kind. There wasn’t a group of aliens out there like him which also meant he had no family he’d been stolen from as an egg. He hadn’t even come from an egg but instead, reportedly a vat, not even a tube. And to top it all off they’d made him solely to harvest his healing juice.

That was… fine though. It didn’t matter. Nothing changed. It’s not like he’d have liked his family if he did have one. He’d have been mad at them, right? Because they’d have let him get stolen and experimented on. So this was probably the better option anyway, right? No one had let him be stolen and experimented on, he’d just been made to harvest healing gunk from and then bonus experimentation had happened along the way too. Shitty but… whatever, it didn’t matter anyway. He’d just been mildly curious. And now he knew so he could go back to not caring. He was fine with this.

Once apparently done reading – though Benrey had tuned out the last however long – Gordon turned the chair to face him. “So you were made in the lab but entirely outta alien stuff which basically means you’re like both, right? A lab grown alien. That’s pretty cool.” He would think that, wouldn’t he? “Even if uh… the reason they made you is kinda, not great. Or I guess their intentions were good but being made to have a resource harvested from you is uh… uncomfortable. But being a lab grown alien is pretty neat, huh?”

“Guess so, yeah.”

Benrey had apparently done a bad job of conveying just how much he didn’t care because Gordon’s attempt at a smile died. “You were hoping that uh… you were a just a normal alien, huh?”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care. Don’t need a family anyway. What they made me for kinda sucks but… I already knew they were keeping me ‘round for that anyway so it’s nothing new. So… I don’t care.”

“I’m sorry.”

Benrey scoffed. “Don’t be.” Even if him caring enough to be sorry was a good sign, Benrey didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He knew now so it was time to move on. “Let’s continue. There’s a lot to get through.” So the question of how Gordon would feel about him after would finally be answered too. It’d be real nice to just be done with all this nonsense already.

“You uh… sure you wanna keep going? I mean that was… You’re allowed to be upset by it. We could take a break to process that if you want.”

“I’m not upset and I don’t need a break. It’s easier this way, don’t gotta worry about trying to find my people or whatever. I’m like uh… um… a legendary Pokemon. There’s only one of me ‘cause uh… the world couldn’t handle more. So drop it and read the next file or whatever.”

“All right, if you insist. But if um, you do ever need a break, just say so, ‘kay?” Gordon swiveled the chair to face the computer again.

Benrey had no intention of taking him up on that offer. The sooner all this was done with, the better. So he settled back into pacing as Gordon started reading the next document.

~

Next Chapter

[fraeuleintaka]

Interview with the AAIC Devs

This is the 58th post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 23 days left until release!

Today's topic: an interview with the developers behind the Investigations Collection!

A few interviews have been released with producer Shunsuke Nishida and localisation director Janet Hsu (and the first including producer Kenichi Hashimoto as well) on the topic of the Investigations Collection and the AA series in general with some interesting revelations and information coming forth. I found three interviews on three different sites with some overlapping questions but also lots of different ones and I'm going to highlight the most interesting points (to me).

Development on the Investigations Collection began in 2022 (right after development for the AJ trilogy wrapped up) and they spent 3 whole months just working on the character sprites' graphics (as they knew fans wouldn't be satisfied with the product without putting in a significant amount of effort)

This is insane to think about considering how long they kept quiet about this! 2022! And most people at that time were thinking that any hope for an Investigations 2 localisation was delusional... So glad that it ended up happening! It also sounds incredible how they describe the amount of effort they went to for the HD sprites and updated graphics in general. They really went the extra mile(s) (ha!) to remake these two beautiful games as best as they could. So worth it!

Several people of the development team worked on the original games and they also asked other Capcom staff that worked on the original games for opinions and advice

This is good to hear! So they make sure that the enhancements, possible changes and localisation are all in spirit of how the games were originally meant to be. It's nice when they take care of the story and characters like this.

Replicating the feel of the original Investigations (and trilogy) was challenging (they tried to keep it as tonally consistent with I1 as possible but with 10 years inbetween the localisations slight differences are unavoidable) as well as keeping the complicated mysteries, threads and foreshadowing straight (they even created event timelines for their own reference), keeping things consistent and references straight is a big part of the process in general

I can imagine that 😄 I2 is about the most complex game in the series in the best possible way! And this sounds like they paid attention to every possible detail, nice! Love that they also wanted to make the 2nd one feel like the 1st one despite the long time between localisations, I hope it worked out. At least from what I've seen of the two first cases nothing feels jarring so that's promising.

Kay is JH's favourite character in Investigations and her added depth in I2 only makes her more likeable

Based opinion! I love Kay, she's my favourite assistant character in the series and her role in I2 is great. My favourite Investigations character is Shi-Long Lang and my favourite Investigations 2 character Sebastian Debeste (Eustace Winner).

They did not play the fan translation in order to create their own original localisation without outside influence

Understandable and probably the better way to do it instead of constantly having a different version in one's head. Though that'll likely mean there'll be no references to the fan translation which I'm a bit sad about.

There are cultural and grammatical challenges in localising AA to establish the right context and make the mysteries work, JH is particularly proud of the California rolls change

I honestly don't know what they mean with the California rolls thing. Maybe I'll know when I encounter it in the game. Apart from that I always love hearing about the localisation process and I hope that we'll get some blog posts from JH again about localising I2.

They didn't redo the Investigations localisation in any way, they only fixed typos and other glaring must-fixes

I think I prefer it this way. I don't know what they would even want to fix apart from typos and continuity corrections, I don't remember any major problems. Investigations' localisation is great the way it is.

• They redesigned the UI completely to account for larger screens and added on to the background visuals and other illustrations as necessary to extend them horizontally

The UI changes are obvious but I hadn't noticed that any of the visuals are extended in this way. Huh, neat, I'll have to check and compare them.

They gave no comment on further games for Miles or Investigations in general

They also didn't give any hints towards the Investigations Collection release though so this could mean anything. Maybe a sequel is already planned on for when the collection sells well...

JH just thinks of puns easily, the name finding process includes looking at the Japanese name to see what they were going for, brainstorming several names going in different directions and whittling down the list for the name that best fits the character (personality-wise) followed by a balance check at the end that all the names in a given game feel cohesive

That sounds like a very careful and extensive process to really make sure that the best possible name is chosen for a given character. Sure, if you can't think of the perfect name, it can't end up in the game but I'd really love to see the alternative names that were considered for some characters (like for Sebastian) and why they ended up choosing the one they did. That cohesiveness check is also interesting, I wonder if they ever changed a name because it didn't fit in with the others they'd chosen.

The growing number of AA fans was a deciding factor for releasing I2 now and they hope to increase the fanbase further, all the quality of life improvements are supposed to give the best possible experience for both old and new fans

As expected but still nice to have this confirmed. Why wouldn't they release it now? And as an old fan, from what I've seen, I'm more than happy with all of the improvements!

The HD redesign of the chibi characters was a massive undertaking (sometimes they thought they wouldn't finish in time) and they started from scratch on how to enhance them (exploring several options) as they're unique to Investigations and unprecedented

The more I hear about how much effort this entire redesign took, the more impressed I am. That they even did this is amazing. And just look at the result! All that effort was more than worth it!

Investigations is a unique take on AA not least because of Miles as the protagonist and his unique thoughts and developments guiding the narrative

Agreed! That's why the Investigations games are the best 😉 And why Miles is my favourite protagonist in the series, he's by far the most fun to play as!

When deciding on a name the level of pun appropriate for the character is important, if it's obvious or subtle, if the character is serious or funny

Makes sense and it's really noticeable. That's why we'll (sadly?) never have "The Adventures of Deid Mann". Though what counts as an appropriate name for a serious character in AA stretches the definition pretty far. I somewhat disagree on their chosen level of pun for Sebastian (and Ray aka Eddie), but if they think his name is serious enough for his serious arc in the later part of the game, it should also be serious enough for giving him a protagonist role in the next Investigations, right? Right?

The gameplay systems in Investigations (Logic, Mind Chess) reflect the nature of protagonist Miles Edgeworth

That's what I'm saying! Miles is just so epic that he has multiple unique mechanics to reflect his nature instead of one single gimmick like the others 😉

The most difficult part in localising is balancing the tone of the dialogue so that everyone can enjoy it, the fine-tuning of the words make or break the experience

Sounds pretty intense but only natural. You're basically re-writing the entire story so you have to make sure that not only is the meaning conveyed but that everything sounds natural in the language you're translating to. I've translated stuff before and it's noticably different from how you'd write it naturally in the other language. That doesn't work for a story. But the other localisations so far have been great so I'm positive that I2's will be as well.

A strong sense of how each character should sound keeps the characterization consistent while giving them a speaking style (including text scripting) that gels well with their personality and animations

The best thing is always when you can tell which character said which line just by the line alone. Distinct voices for all characters helps a lot in making them feel unique and bringing them to life in the story. The way they describe using speech patterns and how the text is delivered to convey characters' quirks and personality is exactly why AA characters are so memorable and why the games are so fun.

Miles is the most interesting character to write for because of all of his different eras, each version is a little different but still the same deep down (he's also one of JH's favourite characters)

Not surprising at all, Miles is one of the best characters in the entirety of AA after all and the most developed, too. That's why he's my most favourite 😊 He's so fascinating and despite his amount of screentime there's still always something new to explore about him!

I2 is one of the most thrilling localisations JH worked on being very happy about everyone's reaction to the announcement

It's not every day you can localise such an anticipated and sought after game so I totally get that. And the reaction was truly something - completely warranted! This is the only game I'm doing such a countdown for after all 😉

[devout-khajiit]

For the emoji ask game: 🌟🐉🐺 (if you can't see them for watever reason, it's star, dragon, and wolf)

~Jasper

Kasen Ibaraki! She's a hermit who is a Sage (star), who takes care of a lot of animals including a dragon (dragon and wolf, though she doesn't have a wolf, only a tiger). She also happens to be an Oni, one of the Big Four of the Mountain, albeit this group is now defunct.

Let's see... Kasen Ibaraki was at first a major ????? within the fandom, because her reveal as a youkai sage came along years later in the manga than her original debut. She's been a hermit since at least 1980 (Touhou follows the same time as us - which means they just celebrated New Years! Happy 2025, Gensokyo!), though she didn't debut back then, they're just saying she's been a hermit for a hot minute.

She's missing an arm, which was presumably severed from her because it was full of evil and made her evil. However, when they reunited, the spirit of the arm attempted to fully possess Kasen, before Reimu cut it off. Kasen now keeps it in a mummified state nearby herself as a reminder to be a good person.

She has a very non-hermit-like traits, such as still eating food (Hermits can survive on just eating fog or haze alone), but she's such a strict adherent of being a hermit that even when fusing again with her evil arm, she still chose to be a hermit and be at peace.

There's also some possibility that she's meant to be more of a rishi, a person who dispels wisdom. Those are often considered as Buddhist saints - though Kasen adheres to Taoism.

Alongside the rest of the hermit, some people believe she's pretending to be a hermit for some reason or another, likely to further her own goals, but she does have some skills that relate into being a hermit.

While her abilities are never directly stated in any canon, she has an ability to communicate with animals. She also has an ability to guide and "transfigure" youkai into new selves.

Her fake arm, made of black smoke but wrapped in bandages, has the ability to crush vengeful spirits, removing them from the cycle of reincarnation entirely, which Komachi Onozuka (think Charon plus Shinigami, and you got the right idea) has no idea how she does it.

She is seen as preachy and overly critical of others, sadly. She volunteers herself to others with advice and help, even when it's not wanted.

How can Kasen be in PCP?

Kasen isn't a Kami, so of course hero worship.

Kasen can be worshiped for matters of self control, learning wisdom, animal communication, as well as cryptid communication as her named pets are cryptids.

How about PCW?

For Kasen, a ritual for finalizing a familiar relationship could rely on Kasen.

She can be called upon to deal with vengeful spirits, either as a mediator or an exorcist, though I'd not go straight to exorcism, especially because Kasen probably wouldn't abide by it very well lol. She's more likely to pick peace when possible (and preaching) before moving into banishment.

Here's a picture of her! From Who's Who of Humans & Youkai - Everlasting Edition, which is a Touhou artbook with information about the characters within.

Thanks for letting me ramble, Jasper! Feel free to send more if you want! I won't complain lol, but no pressure!

(I'll be reblogging this to my Touhou PCP/PCW blog as well!)

[hoboblaidd]

APPROVAL + a huge, vine-wrapped package filled with frilly cakes and bonbons mysteriously arrives at the front lines of the rebellion. There is almost enough to go around for everyone immediately present, including a number of silver objects that change color upon coming into contact with many different poisons commonly used throughout Elvhenan.

ask meme | solas greatly (dis)approves

Solas preferred a surgical infiltration to an all out assault, but Felassan had received irrefutably good evidence that this small temple of Falon'din's housed not only much needed supplies, but at least a dozen servants bound by little more than their vallaslin. All told, readily defenseless.

Solas did not trust it. Anything that seemed too easy usually was. He might have tried to head off any surprise opposition by using the Wolf to focus attacks, but until they knew this was a trap, that would only draw attention to them.

They'd memorized the map to this temple and determined where the best entry and exit points were. It was as well-coordinated a mission as any other. "We proceed," Solas at last agreed. "Carefully."

They advanced with a loose coordination. Some of these elves had fought in the Titan wars, so they fell into line with more precision than the younger elves they'd freed that asked to join them. Solas and Felassan took point, though it was ever Solas' role to slip away to scout or distract if anything came up that required a new plan. He did so here, flitting between the vanguard and reconnoitering.

That is when he spotted the package. With a sharp whistle of warning, the advance stopped at Felassan's command. Felassan and Tarasahl met him where he stood over the package. The smell of cinnamon, rosemary, and cardamon was strong, and the lavishly wrapped package seemed almost to shimmer in the dim light.

"June," said Solas, with absolute certainy. The god had offered this, or possibly threatened it, the last time they'd spoke. 

"He knew that we would be here," said Tarasahl, her usually steadfast determination betrayed by a slight waver in her voice. They had expected no resistance, or at best, a minor general to contend with. They had not been prepared for a god.

"It is a trap then," Felassan sighed, eyes flickering to the small temple in mourning for the people trapped inside. "We should retreat."

"Perhaps," Solas allowed. He weighed it in his mind. June's game was neutrality, Solas knew, one hand offered to the rebellion while the other rested on the shoulders of the Evanuris. It was not his style to enter a fray directly.

"He knows our numbers," Felassan insisted, nodding at the package, "and knew when and where we would strike."

"It seems so." How June knew was worrying. A spy in their ranks was the most likely explanation. It could have been one of the artifacts they'd recently recovered, but Solas had examined those thoroughly. He would know June's signature after spending so long building his backdoor into the eluvians. No, the probability that it was one of their people was too high. The thought weighed just as heavy on Felassan's brow. Not only were they now forced to abandon the slaves inside, but they'd have to weed out someone they thought was their own. It was not a happy prospect.

"Counterpoint," offered Solas after a moment, "we could eat something other than dried bread and cheese tonight."

Felassan fixed him with a look that was somewhere between exasperation and bemusement.

"He sent cakes," Solas added.

"That's your counterpoint?" said Felassan, and his scoff was almost a laugh. "That the 'god of the craft' sent cakes?"

"I never said it was a good one."

They called the retreat, and once their people were at a safe distance, Solas burned the package. Weeks of planning wasted, and dozens of lives jeopardized, because Clever June had chosen that moment to play a game.

Solas is conflicted (and hungry), but smarter minds than his prevailed. Disapproves.

[adrianthevampire]

HI3 Genetics: Part 1

Hey y'all, I'm your local horse video game obsessed tumblr user and I'm here to ramble to you about genetics in the main horse game I currently play, Horse Isle 3 (that's my referral link which will give both you and myself some bonuses if you ever get a subscription 😘)

Caveat before we begin: I've been obsessed with horses my entire life and horse genetics for at least fifteen years, but that doesn't mean I'm an expert! Most of what I know, I've learned via video games like this one. Also, this will be filled with my own personal opinions and views on things, so just proceed knowing that this is a highly biased account of genetics.

Before we move forward, you do need a basic understanding of dominant and recessive genes (we will address co-dominant and other types of genes in later posts). Please see this post for information on that.

On to the first genetics lesson which I will call:

Base Colors

You've probably heard of the horse colors Bay, Black, and Chestnut. Generally these are considered the "base" colors of horses.

I personally disagree. I don't think Bay should be considered a base color. In my opinion Black and Chestnut are the base colors on each and every horse. This opinion stems from the fact that they are on the same allele, without any modifiers, while Bay is inherited separately. We will cover Bay in a different post.

Black is Dominant, represented by an E. Chestnut is recessive and represented by an e. Therefore EE and Ee horses are black based and only ee horses are Chestnut.

Below are examples of a black horse and a chestnut horse, with their genes shown, in HI3.

(the chestnut horse is also flaxen, which changes the color of the mane but ignore that for now: we will address those genes later).

In my view, ALL horse colors are built off these bases. They are either Chestnut based or Black based. This is an important foundation for future posts, speaking of all the modifiers.

Color Variations

In HI3, the are variations of each color, which seems to be measured on a sliding scale from darkest to lightest. These three horses below are all chestnut but different shades. Bright Chestnut, Liver Chestnut, and Black Chestnut. (also once again they're all flaxen because I'm flaxen obsessed and have no chestnuts that aren't lol).

There are more shades than just these, and there are also various shades of black as well, but I don't see a need to include all possibilities in the scope of this post. I just wanted to make sure this variation was known as we move forward.

I believe that wraps up Lesson Number 1 in our Horse Isle 3 genetics curriculum. It may have been short and simple for this one, but that's because I want to make sure I'm giving a good basis to work off of for the next lessons. Trust me, we're gonna get complex pretty quickly!

My ask box is open if you have questions!

[danglovely]

Regrading Taskmaster: S06E10 He was a different man.

*Score changes noted in parenthesis.

Series finale! Honestly, this season was a slog as evidenced by how slowly I got through it. Series Seven is a lot better (and one that a lot of people consider to be the best of all time).

That said, I've come off my Taskmaster fixation a bit. I'm still enjoying new episodes when they come out (including Australia and New Zealand), but now that I've stopped obsessing through these write-ups, it's getting harder. I at least want to get through Series Eight because it's my favorite, but this project might be naturally reaching its end.

Still, it's not like I'm on a deadline with this. I can always come back to it when I feel like. Anyway, let's wrap up Series Six.

Prize Task: The Least Appropriate Accessory For a Wedding Anniversary

How are you going to accessorize that?

Liza does a sandwich board stating "I Love Tom Hanks." Humor is subjective, but even as far as non sequiturs go, this is pretty weak. Russell does gift vouchers for a divorce lawyer. Pro - on topic. Con - a gift card that definitely isn't real because divorce lawyers don't give gift cards.

Alice thinks the mother of the bride should bring a positive pregnancy test. I fully agree. "She'll wear it as a corsage." Asim brings num-chuks. Even as non sequiturs go this is pretty weak.

Tim does a bunch of puns about bees! A for effort. B for execution.

Alice: 5 (+2) Asim: 2 (-3) Liza: 1 (0) Russell: 3 (-1) Tim: 4 (+2)

VT 01: Knock over the fewest skittles. You may place one item on each of the three ramp sections, or you may place two items on one of the ramp sections. Your items must be found on this table and may not include either you or the table. You may not tamper with the balls or the ramp.

What's that finger thing for?

Alex showed there was a right way to do this on YouTube! The only thing to evaluate here is whether anyone broke the rules. Possible trip-ups: (1) Wrong number of items in the section. (2) Items didn't come from the table. (3) Tampering.

Asim and Liza genuinely struggled understanding the rules. Alex's logic tracks that something that constitutes a singular form while it's on the table is an item. Asim narrowly avoids disqualifying by completely flubbing the task.

Alice, Russell, and Tim certainly seemed a bit smarter about it. It did seem like their attempts would have better results. Okay, maybe not Alice's banana peels. All said, this task was graded correctly.

Alice: 3 Asim: 3 Liza: 4 Russell: 5 Tim: 1

VT 02: Blow the candle out from the furthest distance. You may not relight the candle.

It was like an unhelpful Narnia.

This is going to be mean and people could call me incorrect about this, but it is brought up on the show and it should be taken seriously. Asim doesn't blow the candle out by any definition of the word. He knocks it over and it goes out.

Everyone else's score remain the same (+1 if you didn't get disqualified). Asim didn't complete the task.

Alice: 4 (+1) Asim: 0 (-5) Liza: 0 (0) Russell: 3 (+1) Tim: 5 (+1)

VT 03: Tell the Taskmaster you love him in the most meaningful way.

It was so . . . in me.

Liza wins. There's nothing to say about it. You have to see it and if you don't understand why Liza wins, I can't explain to you why Liza wins.

Russell gets one. He didn't do anything.

Asim's serenade was good enough to win the five in most instances. This wasn't one of those instances. Tim made himself Greg's mom which I thought was pretty inspired. Alice wrote, as Greg described it, a "heavily caveated declaration of love."

Alice: 2 Asim: 4 (-1) Liza: 5 Russell: 1 Tim: 3

Live Task: Display a number. You get one rosette if your number is higher than the person's on your right and one if its lower than the person's on your left. If you display the same number as someone else, you lose them all.

I am a creature of habit!

The only interesting part of this game (that is supposedly taking the world by storm) is that Alice asks Alex twice to let her pin the rosettes on herself.

There may be a game theory discussion to be had about this, but that's definitely not happening here. The scores remain unchanged.

Liza and Russell didn't get anything, but by rules I've set in the past -- zero is a number, so you do get points.

Alice: 5 (0) Asim: 4 Liza: 2 (+2) Russell: 2 (+2) Tim: 3 (0)

F I N A L

Episode --

Alice: 16 Asim: 13 Liza: 12 Russell: 14 Tim: 16

Alice and Tim TIE, which I took away from Alice in the past so I'M GIVING IT BACK TO HER.

Series --

I'm sure everyone's just as interested as me to learn who really won the series so let's math it up . . .

Alice: 133 Asim: 151 Liza: 149 Russell: 174 Tim: 179

Lost a hook, but won our hearts, it's Tim.

Actually surprised Liza didn't win it after calculation, I think odds on she was my favorite contestant this series. That said, good riddance to Series Six. I like you, but I don't like you.

Series Seven, let's go.

[annabthesolitarywriter]

For the Headcanons Game

ൠ - random headcanon

OC: Freya

Thank you for the ask!

Random headcanon and Freya.

This is really a tough one because I really don't have thought much about her. She's just kind of there because I felt like I had to include at least someone from Rohan to show that Enna doesn't really like the Rohirrim. Freya is Éomer's ward and her story is kind of similar to Adanel's (poor girl who has been taken in by someone who is far more powerful than he is). Since she's a bit of a wild card—careless, fun and far too spontaneous even for the Rohirrim—Éomer entrusts her to Enna in the hopes that she might handle her, tame her a little and teach her how to be a lady. He also knows that Enna is severely depressed and has no friends, so he thinks Freya might cheer her up and that the two girls might end up becoming close and develop some sort of bond. Needless to say, it doesn't really happen.

Freya tries to be friendly and is very kind to Enna, but the latter rejects her constantly and I think she'll send her away at some point. She'll mistreat both Freya and Mereida—her Haradrim maid, entrusted to her by Elessar as a part of a "let's re-educate the Haradrim" project—at any given time.

As a result of her growing paranoia—fueled by Mairon and Ioreth—she will become physically abusive towards Mereida (she'll slap her, for instance, when she doesn't get Westron words right the first time around and when she thinks she's not made the bed properly and that kind of stuff).

She'll be slightly kinder to Freya but the difference in treatment is mainly due to the fact that Freya is her uncle's ward and Enna is secretly afraid that, if it's becomes too apparent that she's actively mistreating someone from Rohan, she'll be held responsible for unintentionally starting a war between Rohan and Gondor, charged with high treason and executed. She still mistreats her and is generally horrible to her, but she tries to hold back as much as possible and resorts to insults rather than physical violence. Freya talks back to her at times, but she quickly learns she'd better shut up and do as she's asked if she doesn't want to get into trouble. Enna has the King of Gondor wrapped around her little finger so... one shouldn't really antagonize her (I'm quoting her).

Freya quickly realizes Enna has become addicted to a syrup she needs to take by Aragorn's orders and is also addicted to various other things that are supposed to help her sleep like the Middle-earth version of GOT's milk of the poppy and athelas. She looks like a ghost half of the time and, though she's really pretty, others find her scary to look at because her eyes are...empty. I suppose you have seen pictures of that shell-shocked WW1 soldier that went viral a while ago...? That's more or less what her face looks like. She's doesn't have any wrinkles, but her stare is uncannily similar to that.

Freya is concerned but doesn't say anything because she knows Enna would never listen to her and she's scared she's probably end up like Mereida. She'll eventually return to Rohan and will probably never go back to Gondor. She stays in Minas Tirith for only two years, I think.

I was thinking of having her marry Elfwine eventually, but she's a very minor character and I guess she's just kind of there in the background. As of now, she just exists basically.

I think Mereida will be a lot more relevant and will stick around a lot more because, while Enna gradually changes her mind about the Haradrim, I think she'll always resent the Rohirrim. Éomer and Elfwine won't even be at her wedding(s). Lothíriel will go as it is an excuse to meet up with Imrahil and the rest of her family, but I'm not exactly sure how her relationship with Enna is going to evolve. Probably Enna will grow to dislike her as well, I don't really know.

Éomer will probably just attend her first wedding to Eldarion, but she won't talk to him at all and he'll leave soon after the ceremony is over.

The less Enna sees of the Rohirrim, the better it is for both parties. She has her reasons to act the way she does, but I do agree that it is unfair.

I will probably touch upon Freya and Elfwine's relationship in The Handmaiden & The Prince! The story revolves around Ilmarion of course, but I'll talk about the other Middle-earth realms as well.

Anyway, thank you again for the ask!