#makes it worse I was going to get to double screen because the games are actually at a good time for my time zone and I haven’t had that

[pwhlboston21]

Mood for today is sad because plans I made before I became a hockey fan have made it so I can’t watch either games tonight :((

[oneforthemunny]

baby, I'm yours |older!dilf!eddie munson x pregnant!reader|

prompt: the older!dilf!eddie pregnancy smut you've been waiting for.

older!eddie edit credit to @eddiemunsons-missingnipple go say thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

contains: pregnancy, age gap relationship, reader is thirty, Eddie is forty-six, mentions of lactation play, pregnancy sex, oral fem receiving, p in v sex, 18+, MINORS DNI

Eddie fumbled around the kitchen, timer on the stove blaring as he jammed his fingers into the random buttons on the screen. He looked down his nose, eyes squinting to desperately make out the letters, but without his glasses (the ones he refused to wear because you teased him) he couldn't see anything. Wayne was right, once you hit forty-five, everything goes to shit.

A manicured finger snaked around him, hitting the button with a resounding 'beep!', ending the incessant chirping of the stove. Eddie huffed, looking at you with an irritated glare. "I told you I had it." He crossed his arms looking down at you. "You are supposed to be in the living room, relaxing."

You scoffed, rolling your eyes as you went to peek in the oven, Eddie's inked hand slapping over the stove before you could see. "Eddie, I'm bored." You whined, rubbing your neck. "And I'm starving. We are starving." Your hand moved down to your growing stomach, twenty-eight weeks now and already huge.

The pregnancy hadn't been an easier one. Your mom told you it was because you were having a girl, and "girls take all your beauty, steal it for themselves". She'd told you that at the gender reveal before you'd even actually revealed the gender, during a game about old wive's tales- you were nauseous, sore, tired, and didn't have the 'glow' everyone seemed to drone on about. As the weeks progressed, it only got worse.

The morning sickness dried up around your fifth month, just in time for everything to swell. For you to have hot flashes, mood swing, and acne like you hadn't had since junior high. Plus, on top of it all, Eddie couldn't keep his hands off you.

Under any other circumstances, you would have loved the extra attention. How he was constantly was pressing up against you, tender and possessive, hands on your belly, thighs, ass, anywhere really. It would have been paradise.

If you weren't so uncomfortable in your own body.

Skin that stretched uncomfortably and foreign around your own body, accommodating for the little miracle you were growing inside you. Breasts so swollen and sore where your milk was coming in. If Eddie even looked at your nippled the wrong way they pulsed, aching and sore already- you couldn't imagine how breast feeding would go, that was still up in the air if you'd do it. Ankles doubled in size, fingers too. Your back ached, low and deep in your spine.

And you were so fucking horny.

But you couldn't let Eddie know. You were sure he wouldn't ever get out of you if he knew. You'd been this way the last few weeks, whenever the morning sickness left you, and insatiable need took over you. You'd been able to use your vibrator for a while, but now with the ever growing and protruding bump, it was proving to be very difficult.

The last time you and Eddie had sex was a little over two weeks ago, and you'd still been hesitant. Your thirtieth birthday, and Eddie spent it spoiling you. Your birthday and you were carrying his baby? He went all out. Well, as much as you would let him.

"It's almost done, bunny, I promise." Eddie sighed peeking into the oven carefully. "I have a snack in the fridge. It's carrots and that weird tazinini-

"-Taziki-"

"Right that." Eddie huffed with a small eye roll. Brielle had been on him about eating healthier now that he was older. Wayne's recent heart scare had terrified her, and she was on a giant health kick- much against both of their wills.

Eddie moved to the fridge, opening it slowly and rummaging through it. "You want that? Or I could get you some of your cravings. Is Pickles wanting anything special?"

You giggled at the nickname. 'Pickles' is what you took to calling baby girl Munson for now, until you agreed on a name. You grew tired of calling her 'it' before you knew the gender, upset and emotional with how impersonal it was, so you and Eddie settled on calling her your number one pregnancy craving- Pickles.

"The carrots and dip is fine, baby, thank you." You grinned, sitting at the island. You knew Eddie would tell you to anyways, so cautious about you standing for too long.

You watched him as he made dinner, cooking and stirring, while chatting with you about his day. Things at the shop, how he went to check up on Wayne, when he talked to Brielle and when she was coming to visit, potential baby names.

You watched the way his sweat pants hung low, curly tendrils pulled back into a low pony tail with your spiraled hair tie, his salt and pepper slicks of hair by his hair line and on his temples. The sag of his sweat pants, low on his hip, soft, inked skin peeking out from his old faded t-shirt when he bent down to pick something up. Your name tatted on his rib cage, your signature with his last name.

You rolled your bottom lip between your teeth, mouth salivating at the sight of him. Your thighs clenched together, rubbing them softly, mind wandering back to just a few weeks ago. How filthy the two of you had been. When he sucked on your tits, teasing and flicking you, until he sucked a little too hard and your milk came in. It was debaucherous, filthy; you'd cum almost instantly from the shock and sensation of it alone.

"God, you must really be hungry." Eddie chuckled, snapping you out of your haze. You looked up at him, wide eyed and confused. He put the plated food in front of you with a grin. "Eyeing that food like you were gonna snatch it out of my hand." He teased, smacking a kiss to your cheek, hand rubbing over your belly. "Baby girl must be hungry, hm?"

You swallowed thickly, looking down at the food. It did look delicious. You were actually hungry, too. "She's starved." You grinned, moaning slightly at the warm food heating you from the inside out. "But she's so happy Daddy's taking care of us, aren't you?" You cooed down at your bump, voice lilting and rubbing a hand down your swollen abdomen.

You groaned slightly, face pinching in pain as she kicked your bladder. Somehow it was worse than the ribs she was favoring a few days ago. "She kicking?" Eddie asked, sitting next to you with his own plate.

Your face scrunched, rubbing to attempt to soothe the spot she was nailing repeatedly. "Yeah," You huffed. "I feel like this is your fault." You pouted dramatically at him.

"Me?" Eddie scoffed with a playful laugh. "What did I do? Takes two to tango, bunny."

You rolled your eyes, spearing your chicken with your fork. "I mean the kicking." You gave him an unamused glare. "Seems like a very Munson trait." 

"Well, you're very Munson last I checked." Eddie teased, ticking your side gently, making you squirm. "But, you might be right." He admitted, taking a swig of his drink. "Brielle did the same thing."

You laughed, shaking your head. "Shocking." You smirked.

The dinner had continued on, small chatting, gentle touches and stolen kisses. So domestic and intimate, everything you ever dreamed of. While you watched Eddie clean up, because he insisted you sit, one hand lazily tucked away under your chin, you stared dreamily at him.

You applied your cocoa butter and bio oil mix to your stomach and back- your mom had insisted it was the best remedy for stretching skin- rolling your neck and kneading the tense skin. Eddie sat propped against the headboard when you emerged out of the bathroom, in just his boxers, reading his phone, glasses perched on his nose.

His hair was wild, unruly like it always was before bed because he'd brush out the tangles of the day. His skin on his belly was soft, tattoos faded some fresh with ink, his stubble was more outgrown these days- he'd been working more between days at the shop, taking care of Wayne, and helping you nest. You drooled at the sight of him, eyes focusing on the bulge in his faded, green briefs. He wasn't hard, but you could still see the outline of his cock, resting against his thigh, lazily.

"Hey, bunny, did you see what Brie sent?" Eddie wasn't looking up from his phone as you padded closer. "She said 'bffr'? What does that- oof!" Eddie grunted softly, surprised when you climbed into his lap, straddling his hips with your thighs.

Your swollen bump pressed up against his soft tummy, your heated core over his bulge, grinding down in slow, circles. Eddie's eyes lit up, hands on your waist as he tossed his phone, ripping off his glasses and throwing them on his bedside table. "Really? Yeah?" He asked eagerly. "You want to? Really?"

You huffed, heat flickering and building between your legs as you felt him harden, nails gripping his shoulders. "Just... Just shut up before I change my mind." You gasped, leaning down to kiss him.

His lips met yours, scruff rubbing over your face, surely leaving you red and raw. You moaned, hand on the back of his curly head, gripping and pressing him deeper and deeper into you, tongues swirling and exploring each other.

You whimpered when Eddie started kissing down your jaw, neck, sucking the spot below your ear that had you crying out, eyes rolled back. Everything was heightened with the pregnancy- cravings, pains, but most importantly, sensitivities of every kind. Eddie swore up and down that's why he couldn't keep his hands off you, because you were so sensitive, so reactive to his touch.

Eddie's hands worked quickly, pushing down the straps of your cotton, maternity, sleep tank, your breasts presented to him, his hands cupping them firmly, mouth watering at the sight. Swollen and full, he squeezed then lightly.

“Careful, Ed, easy.” You whined, high pitched and breathy. “They're sensitive."

Eddie nodded, but you were sure he didn’t heart you, eyes glued on your nipples, already hardened, rolling the pads of his thumbs over them. “Jesus fuck, bunny.” Eddie groaned. “I don’t think you’ve ever looked so perfect.”

You scoffed, grinding down into his touch for friction. “I’m huge.” You rolled your eyes. “I can’t even shave my legs, my vagina, anymore.”

Eddie scoffed, nearly offended, looking up at you. “Like I give a shit.” He cocked his head to the side, hands moving down your ribs to your hips, which had widened as the baby started to grow more and more, filled out and full.

"I think you've never looked better." Eddie pressed a kiss into your jaw, scruff of his beard nuzzling into the nape of your neck, sucking and nipping at the sensitive skin.

Eddie shifted, moving you carefully, laying you down on to the turned down pillows, his hands gripping the fat of your hips, soft and subtle flesh kneading between his fingers. Eddie took his time kissing down your neck, sloppy smooches wet and peppering every inch of your exposed skin. One hand pushing down your pajama shorts, flinging them onto the floor next to your discarded top.

You whined, shifting as your stomach settled, flat against the mattress. "Ed, wait," You sighed, pushing up on your forearms. "I can't." You shook your head, watching his face fall. His eyes were filled with concern, rounding carefully to look from you to your bump.

"No, I mean," You huffed, grabbing his pillows and piling them against the headboard, shimmying up the bed so you rested against the headboard, sighing with relief at the relieved pressure off your abdomen.

"Is that better?" Eddie asked, groaning as he sat on his knees, leaning over you to adjust the pillows. "That comfortable?"

You nodded, grinning widely before cupping your hand against his cheek, wedding bands cool on his stubble and flesh, pulling him back in to you, lips tangling to his. Eddie groaned into your mouth, shifting himself between your legs. His hands went to your neck, hands tangled in your hair.

He made his way down your body, lips ghosting over your stretched skin, peppering every inch of you with a sloppy kiss until you were covered, skin hot and sticky, squirming against the pillows, hands in his hair.

Eddie dipped closer to your core, kissing the delicate inner parts of your thighs, arm nudging your thighs apart encouragingly. You blushed slightly under his gaze. You really hadn't been able to shave. You'd been meaning to book a waxing appointment, just some sort of maintenance, but it had fallen on the back burner, too wrapped up with names, nesting, maternity leave, and the million others things that were hurdled at you every single day.

Eddie's eyes were trained on your core, peering at him from over your bump. You felt exposed, in a way you hadn't felt since the two of you had first started dating- when everything was still new.

"I told you I hadn't shaved." You giggled nervously, legs squirming to move up further on the pillows, closing your legs.

Eddie's eyes flicked up to you, brow furrowed, deep creases itching into his features. "Bunny, I-" He shook his head with a laugh. Your back arched slightly, strangled gasp leaving your throat when he swiped your slick heat without warning, circling your sopping hole, thumb lightly pressing into your clit.

He pulled his hand back and you burned, flesh molting and hot at the absences of his touch and your slick coating his fingers. He pressed his index and thumb together, a vulgar clicking sound filling the quiet space when he separated them.

"You think I give a shit about you shaving, when I've got this?" Eddie's mouth watered, wicked grin on his face when he looked at you. You bit your lip, clenching around nothing. Eddie scoffed, swiping his fingers in you again, leaving you grabbling for purchase on the sheets.

Eddie's fingers teased you, one finger pushing into your drooling hole without warning, smirking when you clamped around the digit. "You're so wet, baby." He grinned, pulling his finger out.

His eyes were on you, brown eyes dark and salacious. He didn't look away, didn't blink, putting his index finger in his mouth. A filthy moan tore from the back of his throat, eyes rolling back when he removed his finger.

"Fuck, and so sweet." Eddie moved closer to you. He put this thumb on your bottom lip, finger still coated in your arousal. "Taste, bunny. Taste how fuckin' good you are." He pressed his thumb past your mouth, dick twitching when you swirled your tongue around the finger obediently.

Eddie's head was spinning, searing heat pooling in his belly, cock pressed uncomfortably against the fabric of his boxers. He pulled his spit soaked fingers from you, your eyes on him when he did, round and obedient, waiting for his sweet, syrupy praise you knew would follow.

Eddie grinned, lopsided and smug. "Good girl, bunny. Very good." His chest swelled with obnoxious pride when you blistered under his words, biting back a little smile that had him throbbing.

"Oh!" Gasping cry caught in your throat when Eddie pushed you lightly back into the pillows, climbing back down to your spread legs.

Your eyes clenched, hips grinding down onto Eddie's face, his lips latching onto your sensitive bud, suckling on it lightly, just enough pressure to have your eyes rolling back, grabbing onto his hair, pulling him closer and closer into your heat until he was suffocating. Eddie was more than happy with it, nose smushed against your coarse hair, drowning in your tangy scent. He'd happily let his lungs give out, more than content to go out smothered in your delicious pussy.

Your head was thrown back onto the headboard, thighs clenching and tightening. You were close with just Eddie's tongue alone. That was the beauty of pregnancy, so sensitive and reactive he could have you coming undone with the slightest touch, unraveling and hazy in no time.

Eddie's chin was sopping, scruff wet and sticky against his skin. His tongue swirled your clit, kitten licks lapping against the sensitive bundles of nerves, scruff tickling and scraping it haphazardly.

Your hips rose, belly shifting on your chest. "Fuck, Ed, 'm- holy fucking shit- I'm so fucking close, don't stop." You babbled, vision blurring as you felt the pressure deep in your belly, in your core teeter close and closer towards the edge of blinding, overwhelming pleasure.

Eddie's hand smoothed gently up your skin, over the swell of your belly in a feather light touch until he found your breasts, rolling your pebbled nipples between his calloused fingers, mouth still attached to your core.

Hands smacking his head, a little harder than you meant to, gripping his hair in tight fists around the curly, thick strands of hair, pulling them at the scalp. You cried out, so overwhelmed with pleasure and sensation you were sure you'd burst in ecstasy...and you did, in a way, gushing around Eddie's mouth and chin, soaking him in your wake while he licked you up. Cleaning your drenched pussy with his tongue, like the true gentleman he was.

Eddie's beard glistened, wet with the sticky release of you on his mouth. He wore it like a prize, grinning and shining in the low light of the room.

"You ready, bunny?" Eddie asked, nuzzling his nose into your cheek, pulling himself out of his boxers. You could see the weeping, angry tip of his cock from his fist, watching his pre-cum dribble down his veiny shaft. Your mouth salivated, eyes dreamy and fixated on his delicious cock.

Eddie smirked, hand cupping your face gently, a little squeeze to bring your attention back to him. Your eyes lifted, distant and wanton, rounded in anticipation. "How you wanna do this?" He asked, running the pad of his thumb over your bottom lips.

"Hm?" You hummed, foggy minded and still reeling from his tongue on your aching core.

Eddie laughed. "You wanna be on top?" Eddie snorted at your snarling expression. "How about all fours? I'll get you on your hands and knees, how's that sound?"

You nodded slowly, accepting his help off your cloud of pillows, crawling towards the other end of the bed. Eddie's eyes fixated on you with an intense glare, taking in every curve and arch of your body. He took his cock lazily in his hand, pumping himself, thumb gliding over the sensitive tip when you dropped onto your forearms. Back arched, legs apart so your glistening pussy peeked out, enticing him deliciously, your bump hanging low.

"Ed, can you hand me a pillow to put under me, please?" Eddie wasn't sure why you ever bothered to say please. To even ask him. He'd walk through fire for you if you asked, especially now that you were carrying his baby. Pregnant, sacrificing and embracing every change that came with your body, good or bad- for him.

Eddie pushed the pillow under your bump, body folding on top of yours, curls ticking your shoulder blades, leaving feather light kisses in your wake. "You ready?" He asked, breath tickling the shell of your ear. He laughed, darkly when you wiggled your ass, pressing it against his pelvis desperately. "You'll let me know if I hurt you?"

You nodded, dropping down into a deeper, further arch. "I will, promise." You sighed, pressing your face into the mattress, sneaking a glance at him.

Eddie sunk into you easily, audible, loud groan filling the room when he bottomed out. You were soaked, clenching and wetting his cock in the most delicious way. "Goddamit, bunny." Eddie groaned, one hand gripping your hip.

His eyes were trained on the recoil of your ass and hips, meaty and filled out like the rest of you, jumping with ever snap of his hips on you. "You- fuck- I swear, I'd keep you pregnant for the rest of my life if I could." Eddie rasped, free hand circling around you to cup your belly, fingers splayed out protectively over the swell of your abdomen that grew your baby.

You cried out with a particularly hard snap of his hips, feeling Eddie hesitate behind you slightly. He knew he had to be careful with how deep he went, especially this far along. He watched you for a moment, eyes scanning for any signs of displeasure or discomfort.

Eddie found his pace, steady and deep enough to have you drooling, cock stretching you out in the most delicious way, walls burning and adjusting against his thickness. "You'd like that wouldn't you?" Eddie growled. "Like it if I kept you pregnant like this? Keep you filled up, and- oh, fuck bunny- and sensitive like this. Would you let me, huh? Let me keep you barefoot and pregnant."

You were too fucked out, eyes glazed and mind spacey, drooling and dumb on his cock. "Mmm." You drooled into he duvet.

"Yeah? Would you?" Eddie grit his teeth, grip on your hip tightening with every thrust building closer and closer to his own release. He looked down at his cock, watching the creamy spend coat his base thickly.

He took a sharp breath, head tilting back to try and contain himself, keep himself from slamming into you, finishing by pounding you out hard until you were a puddle in the mattress. "You'd let me keep you like this forever, wouldn't you, bunny?" Eddie shuddered out, hand around your belly moving down to your puffy lips, finding your slit easily.

You squealed and cried out, clenching around him tightly, white knuckled grasp on the duvet, gushing over his cock that relentlessly pounded you. Eddie felt himself twitch deep within you. "Say it." Eddie growled. "Say you're gonna be my little pregnant wife. Just my little woman that lets me breed this pussy over and over and- fuck!" Eddie's strangled breath caught in his throat, tearing through a low groan and a cry.

Hot, thick ropes of his release filling you. He finished deep inside of you, bottoming out, hips against your ass, bumping into your gently with every squeeze of your walls around him, milking his cock.

Eddie's bangs were sweaty and puffy when they fell against your shoulder, breath hot against your sticky, flushed skin. He could feel you slack against the bed, bump protected by the pillows, but hips still lifted to keep the extra weight off.

You could feel his spend spill out of you when he pulled out, his own fingers catching it before it hit the pillow, pushing it back inside of you. You whined at the feeling, too sensitive and overwhelmed with sensation. "Ed, please." You whined.

Eddie's eyes stayed trained on your leaking cunt, spilling out his creamy release slowly down your mound towards the blankets. Eddie's breathing heaved, shoulders rounding and slouching, fixated on the vision in front of him.

"Can you get a washcloth please?" You whimpered, looking back over your shoulder at him. "I don't want to stain the covers again."

Eddie didn't move, eyes still trained on the trail of cum that was trickling through your hair, down your slit, out as you pulsated with the aftershocks of your orgasms.

"Eddie," You sighed, pushing up, flat palms in the mattress. You shifted carefully, trying to keep from spilling out and onto the bed.  His eyes were distant, glazed when they met yours, wide and awaiting. "Please. Get something to clean me up, baby, my back is starting to hurt." You pouted.

Eddie worked quickly, warm cloth between your legs, cleaning you up delicately and sweetly, soft nuzzles into your cheek, hand petting your damp hair. He adjusted the bed, fixing it back for you, helping you back into your pajamas before pulling on a fresh pair of boxers.

You didn't have to ask for your pillow, he placed it between your legs when you turned on your side, adjusting it so you rocked your hips in the feeling of relief on your lower back. Eddie's body contorted into yours, pulling you close into him so you fused together- one body, one mold, the same.

His large, inked hand splayed over your tummy, rubbing it gently in soft, soothing circles. "I can't wait for the baby to get here." Eddie whispered to you, eyes closed and breath tickling your ear. "You're gonna be the best mama."

You blushed under his praise, lashes fluttering, snuggling further into his hold, your hand folding on top of his, holding him closely against your swollen belly.

[icedragonlizard]

I might get torn apart for posting this, but imo it must be said.

To make it crystal clear, I don't excuse Susie's actions in Planet Robobot. But I don't excuse Taranza's actions in Triple Deluxe either.

I think people in the Kirby fandom infantilize Taranza way too much.

I am not joking when I say that I've seen people go as far as to say that he was "never a villain in the first place". That he's "innocent".

I'm sorry, but that's just flat out wrong. He was objectively the villain during Triple Deluxe. "He was just following orders!" is not proof of innocence when he was following the orders of a dictator. Taranza was a dictator-enabler. A dictator's right-hand man. That's not innocent. He lowkey kidnapped people in the name of this dictator.

Who knows what he could've done off-screen during the game while dragging Dedede around with him... probably could've tormented a lot of unshown Floralians while Kirby was trying to stop the takeover.

I also believe that Taranza loved playing the villain. He looks incredibly smug while dragging Dedede around and provoking bosses into fighting Kirby. Not to mention the very things that he says in his monologue right before he uses Dedede like a puppet to fight Kirby.

.... So much for the claims of "never a villain in the first place".

I very much believe he's reformed (Susie too, tbh) but I wish people would stop totally erasing his actions and pretending he did no bad.

This is not meant to demonize Taranza in any way. It's just... I absolutely hate that people treat him like a poor little innocent baby while simultaneously treating Susie like an irredeemable, unforgivable monster. They committed very similar crimes, but somehow get treated like they're opposite ends of the spectrum morality-wise.

Now, when comparing them, Susie is indeed the worse of the two overall, because her actions were done on multiple planets vs. one country. But that doesn't change the fact that it's still hypocritical to treat one of them like they're innocent while demonizing the other.

Regardless of the different scales of their crimes, they're both ultimately just second-in-commands to corrupt higher-ups that then helped give Kirby something to fight the final boss when it mattered.

I like to think that Taranza and Susie are both rather morally grey people with good and bad qualities. To me, they're friends with Kirby now, but they still have flaws despite not being as bad as they were before. I'd put Magolor on the same boat alongside with them too.

Taranza can both have grief and still have flaws. And I think Susie 100% has had grief for her dad too, even if she's less open about it.

One of the reasons why Susie discourse is so aggravating is because people simultaneously downplay and infantilize other villains, especially Taranza. People are hypocrites. I bet people wouldn't give a crap if Taranza or Magolor were to turn Meta Knight into a robot.

I get why the colonization and capitalism themes for both Susie and Planet Robobot as a whole can strike a nerve to some people and elicit discomfort, but I don't really think that warrants a massive and unfair discrepancy to how she gets treated compared to the others.

While I can get why those themes can make some people not like her as much as others, I don't think it makes it fair to treat her like an unforgivable demon because her villainy happens to be more real.

Just because the others are less real doesn't mean they're innocent.

The double standards suck.

[piss-pumpkin]

Sober confessions (are a little better) - Leo valdez x reader

Part 2 of drunken confessions (kind of suck), ~3.3k words, gn reader Masterlist

Leo was in shock. It took every ounce of willpower not to burst into flames as you froze for a moment, caught off guard. “I what?” You asked, dumbstruck. What really got to him though was your face. He knew you well enough to see the subtle blush, and the suppressed smile. 

But good or bad, that was the question. Leo laughed along, doing his best to play cool while his mind raced. “Yeah,” he giggled, averting his eyes casually by looking at the phone. “You had me blushing and everything,” he joked. Okay, that was a safe answer. Not saying he rejected you, or that he wanted to accept. Neutral mostly, if a little flirty. Leo’s eyes were trained on the phone screen, wide and wild as he fought a nervous smile and tried to mask it with a flirty one. 

“I did?” You asked, baffled. In his peripheral he could see you do the same as him, stare at your food. Okay, now he could look at you, if you weren’t looking at him. For just a moment he wondered if it was his brain that was on fire, with logic like that. He quickly shook it off. 

He got one glance in before he folded, eyes immediately darting back to the phone, which he just now realized was off, and had been for at least a minute. Shit. He turned in on, and opened a random app. In just a look he saw your wide eyes, flushed face and your hand covering your mouth, but by your eyes he could tell your pained smile. Double shit. Was drunk you onto something? Leo stared at a dumb mobile game and somehow managed to form words, “yeah,” he laughed. “You were pretty smooth.”

You cringed, and Leo decided he might be the worst guy around at reading signals, and actually you might just be embarrassed about confessing to a guy like him. You hummed awkwardly, “Oh, that’s… something.”

Something? Leo winced, waiting for you to say more. But more never came, and an awkward silence filled the air, which was somehow worse than a more awkward conversation. 

You finally spoke, “Like, for real? For actually? I actually did that?”

Leo purse his lips, pausing a moment. To tell you, or not to tell you? He could probably still lie, or make a joke of it. But he promised not too. “What, you can’t believe it? It’s true, you a little smooth when you’re drunk,” he smiled cautiously. 

You looked over at him curiously, and the blush across your face confused him just a little bit. “Wha-what did you say?” You asked, puzzled. 

Well shit. “Uh,” he started, looking for the easiest answer. Or best answer. How to say no, but I wanted to say yes. But I can’t say yes. And you don’t want me to, not really. And I don’t want to say yes, actually, because it sucks you only like me when you’re fucked up. “No?” He said. “I-I said no, I guess.”

”Oh,” you said simply, looking back at your food.

And suddenly Leo felt very small. In a bad way, he decided. Sometimes small could be good, people like small things, some people think they’re cute. But Leo felt small like a grain of sand or dirt that gets stuck in your shoe, a constant bother but hard to shake. He wasn’t sure why he needed to defend himself on this, “Well, it’s not like I could say yes,” he laughed. “Besides, it’s not like you meant it.”

You nodded, “Right.” And he couldn’t read your expression, a language he was usually fluent in. 

Panic. “Right?” He asked, trying to play it off, brow raised like he as teasing.

You looked over at him and smiled softly, nodding again, more confidently this time. “Right,” you affirmed, and stood up, plate in hand. “I think you tell me one more thing I did last night I’ll combust, so I’m gonna go catch up on whatever my chores are, alright?” You laughed warmly. “See ya later?”

Leo swallowed, nodded, “Yeah, later.”

And then you were off, first to burn what was left for the gods, and then out of the dining pavilion. And Leo was alone, and hoped nobody was around to hear that borderline painful conversation. He was certain he’d never struck out worse, in all the times he flirted around camp. And he didn’t even have to try this time. What an achievement. 

                                              …

This were bad. Your legs were shaking in your compelling mortified state as you walked out. And as soon as you turned a corner out of sight of the pavilion, you broke into a speed walk, then jog, then sprint back to your cabin. Oh my gods. You only got a few weird looks as you ran, and your head only hurt a little bit as it bobbed up and down with the steps. That was good, at least. 

You shut the door behind you, and ran your fingers through your hair. Okay. Time to take stock of your dead, you supposed. You made a fool of yourself asking out Leo, and got rejected. Rejected? You dramatically collapsed on your bed. Rejected. By Leo. 

What to do? Apologize? Act like it never happened? Something dramatic? Avoid him? Forever? You stared out the window at the trees a moment. You probably embarrassed him, too. Ugh. You dragged your hands across your face, pulling the skin. You half wanted to peel it off. Yikes. 

Leo was far from the only person at camp you thought you’d have a shot with, but he was definitely the only one you could want. And you just had to go ruin that. 

You spent a fair amount of time lamenting in your cabin, then a good stretch doing chores like you said. And did your best to keep busy as long as you could, and keep your head empty, without a thought of what had happened. At least nobody else knew. Whenever people from last night felt like talking to you, they brought up the other shenanigans, and you could have fun remembering, or hearing about your exploits. Distractions. 

But the sun was setting, and you were getting restless. Ignoring problems only worked for so long, and sometimes letting them fester was worse. Damage control. You should nip this in the bud. If you payed the right cards, maybe you could recover. 

You were just finishing cleaning up the arts and crafts station, when you nodded to yourself. Yeah. Good plans. Maybe you could save yourself. Half the work was done for you, he already believed it was just the alcohol.  

You started to the bunker, not bothering to check his cabin. He was probably working alone, at this time of day. The sun was going down, and the sky was turning a purple haze. You half hoped you were wrong, and Leo was somewhere around seeing the pretty colours. 

You knew the code, one of few with the privilege of walking in without knocking. And of course, you were right, and hopes wrong. There he was. 

“Hey,” you said softly, coming up beside him. He looked up at you with his wide brown eyes, and you cringed a little, hoping you didn’t ruin your friendship with him. You could live with losing your chances with him, but your whole relationship? No shot. “Uh, I just wanted to say… sorry about last night?” You said, offering an only slightly awkward smile. “Must have been really awkward for you.”

Leo smiled as he looked up at you, cringing with his eyes. “Yeah, little bit,” he laughed, then waved his hand, dropping the metal he was tinkering with. “But it’s fine, Y/n, no need to apologize.”

Well that’s good. You sighed in relief. At least things were good. He seemed at ease. Maybe recovery could be easy. With a smile, you hopped up onto the desk beside him to sit, like usual. At least things weren’t weird. You groaned, resting the back of your head against the wall behind you. “At least I don’t remember, because I’d probably be even more mortified that way.”

Leo snickered rolling his eyes, “If you only knew.”

You raised your brow, “Dude,” you said, laughing. “Are you holding out on me? Did I do something even worse than…” you paused, not wanting to bring it up, like that would make it stuck in his head more. “Embarrassing myself completely?”

He paused, and you knew him well enough to know that was his thinking face. You braced yourself, preparing for the worst, for you to have done the most embarrassing thing you could imagine, whatever that was. You probably shouldn’t have even asked, now that you think about it. Ignorance is bli-

But he interrupted your train of thought, “Well, you always, do that,” Leo laughed, smiling softly at his hands. He quickly looked back up to you and laughed, “try to ask me out, that is.”

What. You stared at him. The fuck. “I do not,” you asserted, shaking your head. Because that would be absurd. 

Leo rolled his eyes. “Yeah,”  he said, like it was obvious. “Ya do.”

But if that were true, then he’d have rejected you… how many times? And just never felt like mentioning it. No chance, if that was true, you’re probably just die. Right there on the table. “Yeah, no I don’t,” you said again, somehow more confidently. “Now you’re fucking with me.”

As much as you wanted to maintain what little dignity you had, Leo didn’t look like he was fucking with you. He was smiling, but softly, tiredly even. His mischievous grin that came out when he joked. He looked too serious for this, even if he did laugh, “Yeah, no.” He shook his head, “I’m for realsies.”

But you already knew that. Even if you denied it. If you confessed once and didn’t remember, why not twice? Three times? More? Ugh. You cringed, shrinking into yourself. “That… doesn’t sound fun,” you said, leaning your head back to stare at the ceiling. But you couldn’t resist glancing down at him, as hard as you tried. “For either of us.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, staring at the floor with an awkward smile. “It’s kind of awkward, having to reject you, pretty much every time you drink,” he admitted. “I kind of hate it.”

You swallowed, completely understanding why he looked at the floor. But he seemed to have a stronger will than you, his eyes didn’t waver like yours did. Sighing, you resolved to do better, looking at the ceiling, and this time not looking back. “You hate the idea of me liking you?” You asked, wincing. It came out far weaker than you’d have liked. 

He cracked a smile, leaning his head back on his chair, now staring at the ceiling. “Not the idea, just the practice,” he said, brow furrowed. “I mean, what am I even supposed to say when you do that?”

Yes? You thought. But didn’t say it. He’d already rejected you once today, it seemed. No need to make it twice. “You could have told me, you know,” you said, pulling your feet up where you sat, so your head could rest on your knees. “If you hate it so much. Maybe if you told me, I might stop.”

Leo paused, lips pursed, and then picked up his scrap metal again, and a few wires and bolts. He started to fidget as he spoke, “Well, I thought it would make things weird.”

You snickered, “I guess you weren’t wrong.”

You heard Leo let out a small laugh through his nose, “Yeah, guess so.”

Leo’s workshop bunker was never truly silent. Even when there was nobody to speak, there was always the low rumble of a machine, occasionally the soft hum of the forge, often the sound of Leo tinkering. So you couldn’t really say it was an awkward silence, but it was damn close. 

Leo looked like there was more he wanted to say, brow furrowed and face scrunched as he wired a small contraption with calloused fingers. He sighed, “sorry, I probably shouldn’t have even brought it up, you were just drunk.” He looked up at you, tired smile on his lips. “Believe it or not, it was your idea for me to tell you.”

You spared him a glance, doing your best to meet his eyes. “Yeah,” you said, looking away again. Those eyes were too much. “I guess last night I was just full of bad ideas.”

”Yeah,” he snickered. “Bad ideas.”

You offered him a reluctant smile. “At least now we can forget about it, yeah?” 

Leo nodded, returning the same soft smile, “consider it forgotten.”

You smiled, less reluctant this time. For better or for worse, at least things could go back to normal. It was easier to look at him now, his eyes fallen onto the project in his hands as he leaned over his desk to grab parts. You pulled your phone out of your pocket, the silence feeling much more comfortable now. “If only I had this last night, all the shenanigans could have been documented,” you laughed. Your camera roll was empty.

Leo grinned up at you, “There’s always next time, right?”

“That means you’ve got to come next time, too,” you smiled, lightly kicking him. 

He shrugged, soft smile on his lips, “Well shit, how could I say no now?”

”You can’t,” you smirked. The empty camera roll needed fixing, that was certain. You turned slightly, opening the camera and holding the phone in front of you at a high angle. “Be my first picture?” You asked, looking down at him.

Wordlessly, he posed, dramatically winking and giving a thumbs up to the camera, and you snapped the shot. “Nice,” you said. It was a good first photo.

You turned to show him, but lost the will immediately. Leo was looking up at you rather intensely, lips pursed. He answered before you could ask, “Actually, Y/n, I know we just said to forget about… that whole thing,” he said, pushing his chair back and resting his feet in the table next to you. “But… I sorta promised you last night that I’d talk about it.”

Oh. You swallowed. Okay. Maybe you weren’t in the clear yet. 

                                            …

Leo was really doing it. He sighed, palms sweaty as metal pieces and wires idly bounced between them as he tried to calm his nerves. “Y/n, I don’t want to forget the things you say when you’re drunk, because they’re so…” he winced, tying to find the words that wouldn’t make him sound as pathetic as this felt. “…so nice, I guess.”

For a good moment, Leo was certain that came off horribly. But you didn���t seem to think so, looking at him with wide eyes, mouth hung slightly open. Maybe surprised. 

Leo pursed his lips. You were waiting for him to say more, and who was he if he didn’t fold when you looked at him like that? “I guess I just wish you liked me when you’re sober,” he said finally, shaking his head, eyes lowering. Yeah. That was it. Straight to the point.

“Leo, I-“ you started, reaching a hand out to him. He held his breath as you hesitated, and released when you put your hand down at the edge of the table in front of him. “Leo, I like you when I’m sober.”

Leo smiled, laughing through his nose. He scooted his chair closer again, resting an elbow beside your hand so he could hold up his head as he looked up at you. “Yeah, I know,” he chuckled. “But not like that.”

You pursed your lips, deathly still, but your eyes moved to the floor. 

Leo stopped you before you could respond, free hand up in the air like surrender. “Hey, and I’m not asking you too,” he said, doing his best to maintain his causal smile. He laughed, “I just… hey, we’re both full of dumb ideas. I guess I just wanted to tell you.” That might have been a lie. Telling you was the last thing he wanted. But here he was. 

You stared for a moment, and Leo could feel his heart beating in his throat. Then you laughed, covering your mouth, and he gulped, preparing for the worst. “Leo,” you said, hand barely covering a smile. “Leo, oh my gods.”

Leo paused, scrunching his brow. Huh? This could go very bad. Or maybe good? You didn’t seem mad, at least. 

Smiling at the floor, you scooted closer, until you were sitting just in front of him, smirking down. He must have looked like an idiot, staring up at you with wide eyes and confused the way he was. But that wasn’t unusual for him. “Leo I think your only dumb idea was liking me,” you laughed, head resting in your hands. 

Now Leo was officially puzzled. He stared dumbly at you. Blinked once, twice, and then realized he should probably say something. The laughing was involuntary, and he was about fifty percent sure he liked what you were saying. “Ha,” he exclaimed. “Like that was my idea,” he said rolling his eyes, “that was all you.”

You giggled, and for a moment Leo thought he saw you blush for a moment. “Leo I might have another bad idea,” you said, leaning closer towards him. 

Okay, that might be a sign, Leo thought, perhaps even a signal. He also thought he might combust, or at least burst into flames if not explode right there. But when you smiled down at him, face maybe a foot from his, it all left his brain. Not a single thought at all. “What… is it?” he asked awkwardly, grinning like a dork. 

“I think,” you started, “that we should totally kiss, wouldn’t that be awesome?” you said, resting your forehead on his. 

Leo flinched as your heads touched, for a split second retracting to avoid burning you. He felt hot. Burning. But not on fire. Before you could pull back too and lose the moment, he bridged the gap, eyes pressed shut, didn’t burn up, and kissed you. Oh my Gods. He was half shocked when you didn’t pull away, and had a heart attack when you kissed back, wide smile on your lips.

You giggled when you pulled back, “Hey, we should do that more often.”

Leo was grinning like an idiot, looking up at you. Wow you were pretty. And he wasn’t entirely sure this was real, he could swear he’s had this exact daydream once. But never so vivid. He shook his head, laughing. “Y/n, you’re the worst,” he giggled, letting his head fall into his hands.

”You don’t mean that,” you laughed, playfully hitting him on the shoulder. 

He couldn’t help but smile more into his hands, “no, I don’t,” he said, shaking his head. “How could I, after that?”

He heard you let it a small nose laugh, and felt your hand on his. Without a seconds hesitation he let you move his hands away, and replace them with your own as you guided his head up to look at you again. He leaned gently on your hand as you spoke, “Leo, I’m sorry I made you think I- I only liked you when I’m drunk,” you said, eyes not leaving his face. “Because thats not true.”

Leo, for a moment scared you might pull your hands back, covered them in his own. And he thought your hands were the only place he could ever want to rest his head. “Well, you did a great job proving me wrong,” he snickered. 

You smiled, “that’s my favourite thing to do, actually.”

”Wanna do it again?” He grinned. 

Anyway. Teehee I was kicking my feet a little writing this one ngl.

Taglist: I’m just gonna tag everyone who asked for this in the first post lmao lmk if you want tag removed @annybah @nottherealslimshady @bellamysnatblida

[outsideratheart]

Meet Me At Henman Hill (Leah Williamson x reader)

A/N: I know I late posting this but hey better late than never right? I really enjoyed writing this one so I hope you like it too.

Leah was scrolling through her phone as she worked through her second rehab appointment of the day. Her attention was fully on the screen in front of her as the physio applied pressure to her slowly but surely healing ACL when she was handed an envelope. She tossed it aside assuming that it was something from the club but then she saw the Wimbledon stamp in the top left corner.  

Miss Williamson,

You have been invited to sit in the royal box at this years ladies final as a guest of Y/N Y/L/N. Please see inside four tickets and details of what you can expect from the day. 

We look forward to seeing you at Wimbledon. 

She couldn’t believe you kept your word. After winning the euros Leah literally bumped into you in the hallways at Wembley. You told her congratulations and said seen as though she and England  won you would invite her to see you win Wimbledon next year. That day she understood what the movies talked about when they say you feel a spark when you meet someone special. It was a feeling that Leah yearned to feel again. Little did she know you felt the same thing.

Leah truly did think you were joking and given that you haven’t seen or spoken to each other since then she certainly didn’t expect to be given tickets never mind be in the royal box. 

“What’s this?” Beth snatched the envelope out of Leah’s hand and then proceeded to read to note out loud “so who are you taking?”

“Beth would you like to come with me?” Leah asked even though the answer is obvious. 

“Me? Oh I’ll have to check my— yeah I’m free” Beth jokingly checks her phone’s calendar.

“Viv?” Leah asks the Dutch forward.

“I would love too”

Leah then texts Kim to see if she would like to the join the three of them to which she happily accepts.

A few days later on Saturday 15th July, Leah along with her team mates find themselves walking the grounds of Wimbledon. She could feel the history that the grounds held. Knowing this was the final filled her with excitement but she was going to see you play live which makes the feeling double. She had watched every match you had played in the last 2 weeks.

When she took her seat in the royal box she couldn’t help but feel a little bit out of place. Even after the year she has had she still feels like that little girl from Milton Keynes. The front row sat the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte with Billie Jean King sitting behind them. She knew from your interviews how much of an inspiration the Tennis legend was.

The crowd erupted when you enter the court along side Iga Swiatek. The latter currently held the number one spot with you number two. Not only was the championship on the line but the world number one ranking was too. She could have sworn that you looked up at her as you warm up but she tosses the thought aside and tells herself that you were looking at your idol.

The first set couldn’t have gone worse for you as you lose the set 6-1. It seemed nothing you did was working and you couldn’t help but feel like you were failing everyone in the area. You had your team, you idol and then there was Leah, the woman you had a huge crush on, in the crowd. What she must be thinking as you throw the game away.

You don’t let it get to you though as you come out fighting at the beginning of the second set. You remember why you are in the final in the first place; to win. You give it everything you have and it pays off because you win the set 6-3. 

The final would go to a deciding set, one which you would go onto win but that didn’t mean Leah wasn’t stressed out from the first serve to the final point. She spent the entire set leant forwards, elbows resting on her knees and biting her finger nails. Her eyes well up with tears as she watches you fall to your knees when you score the match winning point. 

You were in a state of shock for a least a minute. You had won Wimbledon. It had been a dream since you first watched the tournament as a child and now you had done it. The team that had been by your side on this journey were the first people you wanted to celebrate with so you run up to them as soon as you could. Then once back on the court you looked up at Billie and bowed your head to her and that is when you see the arsenal girls but Leah stood out to you. You send her a quick wink before being whisked away to collect the Venus Rosewater Dish and take photos with whoever you were told to.

Leah was just about to leave the box when a Wimbledon official made their way over to her.

“Are you Miss Williamson?” 

“I am” Leah shares a look with her friends before answering.

“You have been invited to celebrate Y/N Y/L/N’s win at The Polo Bar here at Wimbledon” 

The official goes on to explain where they will find the bar and explain that they can get food and complimentary drinks there.

“Let me get this straight. First she invites you to watch her play and now she wants you to celebrate the greatest moment of her career with her” Kim says.

“We. She invited all of us” Leah tried to play off the invite. She knows the tickets were addressed to her and then the official came to her but she didn’t want to make a big deal out of this. Perhaps you were just being nice.

The four of them found their way to The Polo Bar which they learned was Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar.  Leah started to believe Kim’s insinuation as there wasn’t many strangers in the bar. There were former and current tennis players, a few celebrities who Leah knew were your friends and then they were some people she didn’t recognise but she put them under the sponsors category.

It is almost two and a half hours after the match ended that you walk through the doors. You had swapped your Nike tennis dress for a pair of trousers, a t-shirt, cardigan and a pair of air force ones that look fresh out of the box, these were all white of course.

“Thank you so much for coming” You approach their table as soon as possible “I hope you enjoyed the match”

“Are you kidding me” Beth is quick to answer “That was incredible. I wasn’t sure if you’d win after losing the first set but you didn’t give up. It was incredible” the blonde repeats herself to make sure you heard her.

“It was tough but in this sport you can never give up especially not that early on in the game. Did you have a good time?” You look down to Leah who was sitting directly in front of where you were standing.

You could have got lost in her eyes.

“I was on the edge of my seat”

“I saw”

That was the confirmation Leah needed. You had indeed been looking at her from the other side of the court. Much to your disliking you were called away by your manager but you knew this would happen if you were to become the first British woman to win Wimbledon in the open area. It seemed that everyone wanted to talk to you.

Still as you shake hands with men in suits and woman who you can tell don’t really care for the interaction, you keep an eye of the English captain. She was having a good time with her friends which is what you wanted yet you cannot help but be jealous because you wanted to spend time with her.

Your friends knew that you had a crush on the blonde so they help you evade the introductions to people who you know you have no interest in keeping in touch with. 

Leah, unbeknownst to you, scans the room from time to time in search of you. So imagine her disappointment when you cannot be seen. Part of her knew thought this would happen. You wouldn’t want to celebrate with a room full of strangers, herself included. You were just being nice when you invited her here.

“Are you Leah?” 

“I am” she turns around to see Aryna Sabelenka standing beside her. As a tennis fan she feels a little bit starstruck but she also knows that she is one of your closet friends she tries to act cool.

“Y/N wanted me to give you this”

Leah opens a note, this time it was handwritten by who she assumes is you.

Meet me at Henman hill

Butterflies flood her stomach. 

“What does it say?” Viv asks.

“She wants me to meet her on the hill” 

“What are you still doing here! Go!” Beth is full of encouragement.

Leah leaves The Polo Bar and follows the signs for the infamous hill. As she turns the corner she finds you sitting on a bench waiting for her.

“Do you always communicate through notes?” Leah asks as she takes a seat by your side.

You shift your weight so you can face her with you arms resting behind her.

“No but I couldn’t escape and ask you to come with me so I enlisted some help. Drink?”

A smile tugs at Leah’s lips when she sees the souvenir plastic cup filled with the drink that is famously associated with the tournament.

“Why am I here?” It was a question Leah had asked herself countless times since receiving the invite.

“Because I like you even though I don’t know you”

“You just wanted to have the lionesses here for optics” Leah didn’t believe you.

“If that was true then I wouldn’t have invite you to my celebration and I would have given you general seating tickets but I didn’t. I gave you Royal box seats because everyone knows that winner of the tournament walks passed the exit near the royal box when they go to the balcony yet when I walked by I only saw the royal family”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me” Leah was oblivious to the point you were trying to make.

“I wanted to see you so they failed in comparison” 

Leah chokes on her sip of Pimms.

“But I’m just me. I’m just Leah”

“And I’m just Y/N”

“You just won Wimbledon”

“And you won the euros” you place your cup on the floor so that you can place a strand of hair behind her ear, it was the perfect excuse to get closer to her “Leah, I’m going to be very forward because right now I feel untouchable and I don’t know how long it will last. I think you’re beautiful, you intrigue me and I have been waiting almost a year for this exact moment”

Was it the euphoria of winning or the Pimms in your system that made you feel like you could fly, you couldn’t know for sure but the look in Leah’s eyes let you know she was feeling something similar.

“I have a present for winning today. Close your eyes” Leah was fully committed to what she was about to do.

“I’m not really one for surprises” 

“You’ll like this one. Close your eyes”

This time you do as you’re told. You wasn’t sure what to expect but it definitely wasn’t Leah’s soft lips against your own. The kiss was soft, gentle and didn’t last no where near as long as you wanted. When Leah pulls away you lean forward for more but a hand on your chest stops you.

“No, that’s for winning a grand slam” Leah knows she has you in the palm of her hand and she loves it. 

“This is my fourth grand slam meaning you owe me three more kisses” you pouted for a few second whilst gauging Leah’s reaction. When a smirk forms you know you have her permission to cash in. You remove Leah’s hand from your chest but keep ahold of it. The kiss is deeper this time and hold more passion than the first one. 

“Do you always do this after you win? Kiss a stranger?” 

You know Leah is joking but if there is even a slight possible they her question hold truth you feel the need to reassure her.

“You kissed me first but no I don’t” 

She could tell by your tone and the way you held eye contact that you was in fact telling the truth.

You kept looking at the clock next to the two large screens. You could only buy 40 minutes before you had to return to the bar and it took Leah a little bit longer to join you than you’d hoped but you think that could have something to do with the messenger of the note. Still, you only had ten minutes left alone with her.

This moment has been planned for the past 24 hours and you still had one last part to carry out.

“I have a surprise for you but it won’t be as good as yours” you led Leah down the hill and to one of the kiosks. As planned the door had been left open and you were able to get your treat from the fridge. 

Pimms wasn’t the only thing associated with Wimbledon; strawberries and cream were also a fan favourite.

“For you” you hold out a box containing the sweet treat.

At this point Leah realised this wasn’t some spare of the moment idea, you had this entire thing planned out.

“You knew I’d say yes to meeting you?” Leah asked before taking a bite of her first strawberry. For some reason it was sweeter than any other she had eaten before.

“No. My back up option was to sit on that hill, alone, take in the day and eat two boxes of strawberries and cream but I much prefer this” 

“Where are we going?” The blonde asks.

“Back to the bar”

“But it’s that way” Leah could point to the terrace of the bar. You were heading in the opposite direction.

“No, it’s this way”

“Y/N I can see the bar, it’s right there”

“Leah I wouldn’t direct you at the emirates would I?”

“Y/N” Leah persisted, she wanted to know what you were planning next.

“Fine, we are going the long way because as soon as I enter that room I will be whisked away and you will go back to your friends. I want to make this moment last. Consider this way the scenic route”

Within seconds you and Leah are walking in sync, each footstep hitting the pavement at the same time. She hangs on every word you say as you explain the history of the grounds. The passion your voice holds warms her heart. You move on to tell her stories how you used to come here as a child but never went inside the court because you preferred to sit on the hill. Leah learnt that you inviting her to Henman hill held more sentimental meaning that she realised.

When you got closer to the entrance of the bar your pace altered, every step took twice the time. Inside things were hectic and everyone wanted a piece of you but with Leah things were calm and easy. These are the thoughts that run through your mind as you open to door only to find that Leah isn’t behind you.

“I’m not ready to go in yet” her pout is adorable.

“I don’t have a choice. I was given 40 minutes and it’s been” you look down at your watch “41 minutes. We’ve had an extra 60 seconds”

“I want to see you again. Are you free tomorrow?” Leah asks.

“I’m not” 

“Oh right, yeah” Leah dips her head and tries to play it off but you don’t buy it.

“I will be here the whole day for media and what not then on the night there is a dinner to celebrate the tournament” you walk towards Leah and use your index finger to make her look you in the eyes “I’m free on Monday. I know a place not to far from here. How about I pick you up at 11?”

“You don’t know where I live. How will you pick me up?”

“I guess I’ll need to give you my number so that you can next me your address” you hand her your phone and she enters her number but before she gives you it back she texts herself so you have your number too.

You both walk down the hallway together and she watches as you save her contact.

Blondie 

“How original. Does that mean I get to give you a code name?” Once again Leah stops as she taps her chin methodically before typing. She proudly shows your her phone once she is done.

Ace

“Really?”

“What? It seems fitting. You won the game on one today and I happen to think you’re ace”

She was proud of the name and secretly you loved it too. 

The bar is empty when you enter. You look at Leah who shrugs her shoulders; she was just as confused as you were. You are about to ask a waiter where everyone is when you hear voices from the terrace. The only people left are your team, a couple of your friends and the Arsenal girls. They are all sat around a huge table. Your manager is the first person you look at and she simply smiles. She knew how much you wanted to celebrate tonight with those closest to you so after meeting the important people she organised for all media, meet & greets and whatever else to be scheduled for tomorrow. 

With your hand on the small of Leah’s back you guide her to a space that happened to be in the middle of her friends and yours. Something that you would later find out wasn’t a coincidence.

The night isn’t wild but it was just what you wanted. You recapped the match that you would remember for the rest of your life, Leah introduced you properly to her friends and to top it off Leah kissed you goodnight before going home. 

Who knew it took you winning Wimbledon to ask the pretty girl out.

[queenbeebumblebee]

"Trying to meassure"

Lee!Vox Ler!Velvette

Summary: Velvette is trying to meassure Vox for new outfits in plan(plus to Fix the old one) and it turns into a little Tickle Game.

Vox was just minding his own business looking through his new phone, he had to get a new one because You know, the last time Val broke his phone, wich it wasnt no fun.

Of course, his suit was a MESS! Because of today he had been dealing with Alastor, wich of course.. lost. You could tell he was extremely mad about this. Of course, this din't last for long.

As Vox was just checking on social media, minding his own business, he could hear some familiar footsteps coming closer and closer to him, it was non other than Velvette, who exactly, looked annoyed.

"Vox. Vox i need You to come with me now."

Velvette said sternly, earning Vox's look of confusion.

"hm? What could be the problem My dear?"

Vox asked, looking confused on the annoyed look the other Overlord gave, he din't Even notice his ruined suit.

"have You LOST your mind?! Look at You, You look horrible! Come over here now!!"

Velvette yelled, her expression on her face turning from annoyed to mad, she quickly dragged Vox by the wrist, guiding him to the wardrove.

"oh come on Vel, My suit doesnt look THAT Bad!"

Vox said, looking at his own suit, He thinks that this was just normal, but for Velvette, it was a DISASTER.

Let's skip to the important part.

Vox was forced to be Standing still as Velvette meassured him, because she needed to Make him a new outfit for him, plus a few Styles just to Make him look awesome, though, his breath has been caught trapped in his throat as the Overlord "accidently" brushed her fingers across his ribs.

"u-uhm.. Vel, what exactly are You-"

Before he could Even Say anything else, a soft snort came out of him as Velvette veeery slowly counted his ribs, while her other hand "accidently" tickled his hip, earning a few giggles from the Tv Overlord, his screen now heating up and his fans working to cool him off.

"V-Vehehel! Cuhuhut it ohohohout!!"

"hold still Vox, i'm trying to meassure You."

Vox tried his hardest to not move away, of course, he can't help but twitch slightly as it really tickled him, he did not want to be a giggly mess right now, as if it was gonna be worse, still, she did not stop.

"come on, it ain't that bad."

"b-but it tihihickles! Ohoho fuck, gehet it ohohover wihihith!!"

Vox said as he wheezed out a cackle, sure, he liked being tickled, Even though he wouldnt ever and i mean NEVER admit it, but it was hard to hold still when Velvette just meassured him as an excuse to Tickle him, yet he dint mind at all, but-

"AHAHA SHIHIHIHT, V-VEHEHEL NOT THEHEHEHERE!!"

Vox yelled as he shrieked when Velvette MESSED With his antenna, while her other hand was still "meassuring" him by brushing her fingers from his hips, to his Upper ribs, close to his Armpits.

"oh come on Vox, let me meassure You, i'm almost done."

"IHIHIHITS SOHOHO BAHAHAHAD!"

Vox yelled as he squeald and cackled, Velvette of course watched with a grin, she finds in funny how ticklish this Demon is, her and Valentino always takes advantage, but they don't do it better than Alastor of course.

A few minutes passed, Vox's laughter and snorts filled the air, until finally, Velvette decides to have some mercy on the poor Overlord.

"i'm done, You have to wait here 'till i get some outfits in your size, okay?"

"g-geheheheez.. okay... Ohoho god.. that was so Bad.."

Vox said quietly as he wheezed and tried to catch his breath, as Velvette left, Vox took this opportunity to just relax and wait, though he kinda wanted the Tickles to go on for longer, but he would rather double die then to admit it. He then took a seat as he waited for the other Overlord to come back with the outfits, he could hear her yelling at her employees.. let's just Say he had a Revenge plan, but for now, he waited to get a new suit.

THE END.

OMG finally i'm done with this, i'm sorry it took long, i was busy on some shit. But anyways, i hope You enjoyed it!

[giggly-squiggily]

Bus Stop Antics (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Guess who's obsessed with JJK again? Mee! Heyo everyone, I hope you're doing well! I'm watching season 2 of JJK and I'm just- these three make me so happy and so sad at the same time, you know? I love them and their friendship but if you've watch the show/read the manga it just...hurts.

But anyway! I wanted to write Lee!Gojo and I did :P I have this headcanon that when he was a teen he was stupidly ticklish and couldn't hide it as well as he can in his adult years and this is the result. I hope you like it!

CW: swearing, JJK season 2 spoilers!

Summary: While waiting for their bus, Gojo and Geto get into a "fight". Shoko unintentionally makes things worse.

Light burned against his skin, making Geto scrunch his face up as he stared into the sky. Not even the roof of the bus stop shelter completely protected him from the sun’s invasive rays.

“Aww, what’s wrong? Too bright for you?” Gojo grinned cheekily over at him, eyes hidden behind his usual shades. He was lounged all the way back, arms across the top of the bench they sat against and legs crossed. “Should have followed my lead and bought some sunglasses.”

“No way- you already fill the role of dork for both of us. Right Shoko?” Geto peered down at the mentioned girl, tucked away between them and doubled over in her seat.

“Mmm.” She made a noise in response, too focused on her phone. Across the screen, her self-named virus spread from one spot to another, infecting the virtual nation. Once she was invested in her game, there was no way of pulling her back out. “See, she agrees.”

A poke to the cheek made him look up. “You’re just bitter because I’m a trendsetter. Everyone’s gonna remember me with my cool shades and blue eyes and remember you as…well, the guy with dumb bangs.” Gojo chuckled, snickering harder at Geto’s death stare.

“My bangs aren’t dumb- you just have no sense of style.” Geto poked his face back, pushing in enough to make Gojo’s cheek move.

“Says Mr. No Eyebrows.” A finger poke back.

“Gray hair at sixteen.”

“At least my breath doesn’t smell like spirit boogies.”

“No it smells like di-”

“I won.” Shoko blinked back at the face shoving war going down above her. “I’m gonna go smoke. Save my seat.” She said as she stood, pulling out her cigarettes and leaving them to their war.

“You son of a- get over here!” Geto lunged, sending them both tumbling against the bench seat. Limbs flew and fists missed as they tussled, shoving at one another while continuing their childish name calling. At some point Gojo managed to grab the back of Geto’s hair, pulling him upright. In response, Geto reached out to grab his neck, aiming for his collar.

“HA! Gotcha no-AH!” Gojo spasmed when fingers brushed his collarbone, the hand in Geto’s hair pulling hard enough to set his hair free. Eyes widened behind falling green strands as Geto stared at him, hand frozen at his neck. “Watch the hands!”

“Dude, I barely touched….you.” Geto blinked, the puzzle pieces all falling into place. “Get out of here.” Without warning, he wormed his fingers into Gojo’s collarbone, wiggling gently.

“Ah! Nohoohoho!” The white haired teen squawked, scrunching up his shoulders at the feeling. He grabbed Geto’s wrist, pushing with all his strength. “Dohohohn’t!”

“Oh my god, you’re ticklish!” Geto was grinning now, all teeth and pure joy in his expression.

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, he is.” Shoko puffed around her cigarette. “Ridiculously so. It was a nightmare trying to practice my curse technique on him.”

“Shoko!” Gojo gaped, betrayed. Then he was squirming, trying to get out of Geto’s grip. “No, no no- don’t you dare! I’m not ticklish! I’m not!” If Geto believed him, he didn’t show it- taking his sweet time in redoing his bun. “That was just a fluke!”

“Sure it was.” Geto finished his hair before rolling his neck, getting all the creeks out. “Now, let’s start telling the truth, huh?”

“I am, you son of a- Gehahahahahahhahaha!” Gojo almost immediately busted out laughing when the fingers returned to his neck, both sides prodding and tasing, making him scrunch and giggle. “Noohohohooho, stahahhahap thahahahhahaht!”

“Aww, you did lie to me! Your best friend, too!” Geto gaped in mock hurt, one hand squeezing under Gojo’s chin when he tried pressing it to his chest, making him snort and kick. “I was gonna go easy on you, but now you’re officially on my shit list. Get ready- I’m gonna make you scream.”

“Nohohohohohoohw whohohohoho’s lhihihihiihihhihiying? Aheahhahahhaha Suhuhuhuuhguhuhuhuhuuruh-OHOOHOHOHOHOHO!” The infinity sorcerer arched with a cackle as Geto attacked his ribs, racing his fingers up and down like a pianist. “Nohohohohoh, nohohohohot the rihihihihihihibs! Nohoohohot the rihihihihihihibs!”

“Too ticklish here? Poor baby.” Geto cooed, tapping along each bone and giving them a scratch. “Should have kept your hands to yourself. Didn’t kindergarten ever teach you that? Oh wait- you haven’t covered it yet.” When his fingers found his third lowest rib, Gojo let out an honest to god shriek, hands clasping his wrists. “Oo, found a bad spot.”

“NOHOHOHOOHOHOHO SUHUHUHUUHUHGUUHUUHUHURUUHUHUHU!” He howled, face flushing an impressive red and glasses falling off his face. Without them, Geto could see the tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “STAHAHHAHAHAHHAP!”

“Hmmm…do you really want me to stop?” Geto dropped his hands to his waist, poking along the skin there and making Gojo twitch and squirm. “You and I both know you could easily break away. Why the hesitation? Don’t tell me…” He leaned forward, nearly nose to nose with his friend as his fingers trailed over his belly, earning a hiccupy squeal. “You love this, don’t you Satoru?”

Gojo made a whimpering sound, turning his head away as he giggled and squeaked. Shoko, watching them momentarily, had a rare moment of sympathy for the idiot and decided to throw him a bone.

“Satoru. Suguru’s hips are awful. Just pinch him there.”

Everything that followed was like a blur. Geto turned to her with a look of shock just as Gojo lunged, grabbing his hips and squeezing with all his might. Geto let out a high pitched shriek and toppled over, bringing him and Gojo down and off the bench. Within seconds, they were against the pavement, groaning through giggles and brushing off bruises.

“Heh. Dorks.” Shoko smiled as she put out the remains of her smoke, crushing it with her foot before taking the now empty seat. She kicked her heels up and against Gojo’s back, pulling her phone out and resuming her game. “I think I’m gonna name this virus the Sato-Sugu strain. Whatcha think?”

She got tired groans in response.

“Sold.”

Thanks for reading!

[rea-can-yeet]

Not me casually dropping part two after a long time of me being MIA. Sorry about that! Y'knowzzz life and all hahahaha! I edited my tumblr pinned post where I put my current status there so yeah if you wanna know what's going on with me you can check it out haha anyway here's chapter two of 'mutineer'! Does anyone still remember this?? Or even this blog??? Oh god what if y'all thought this blog was dead??? Or worse- sagau ain't a thing much now? Wait lemme double check after I post this-

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REMINDER: This is gender neutral for all readers. Sagau stands for Self Aware Genshin Alternative Universe, but this is leaning much towards the God/Creator AU where the characters are aware that they’re being controlled but not aware enough to know that they’re in a game. This story is set in God/Creator AU, imposter AU, and lastly villain AU. This contains religious and cult themes, graphic violence, and probably some suggestive scenes (not this chapter yet, but the series will show some) so viewer’s discretion is advised.

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🔻

🔻

♦️

𝕄𝕌𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔼𝔼ℝ

"Damn, Y/n. There you are."

A friend, who she met when they were little and still vibe with even when they first became aerospace engineer students, commented while leaning against the old chipped doorframe. Her eyes landed on s/c skin, the arms to be specific, sweating. Her friend was huffing while holding a wooden bat, hair covering e/c eyes from her view.

She looks around at the damage the h/c haired had caused. Broken glass bottles, wrecked armchairs, holes in the blackboard, mirror shards around the floor, some damaged computer screens, and keys from shattered keyboards near the left cracked wall.

If this classroom wasn't abandoned or owner-less, she would have to use her wealth to bail her angry friend from being punished.

She had to witness Y/n being reprimanded for something they didn't do.

Stealing.

Ridiculous, she thought. Just because you hate a student doesn't mean you get to blame them for stealing your stuff just cuz they happen to be the last one to get out of your classroom, stupid petty karen teacher. If her friend wanted something, she knew that her friend wouldn't try stealing. And besides, she was willing to buy whatever Y/n asked, but she knows that idiot wouldn't like to ask for a lot of money from her. Y/n is greedy, but she knows Y/n is not that greedy. And of course, not greedy enough to steal.

And if the Y/n did resort to stealing, Y/n would have never been caught. She would bet her whole wealth on that.

Not only that, her prototype project for Aerospace Design class was dropped on the floor, breaking it. The culprit? One of the rowdy jocks. The man didn't even apologize and proceeded to run to who knows where while being chased by his friends.

And as if two bad things were not enough, Y/n somehow left a very important item back home; lunch.

That must have been their breaking point. So she had to follow Y/n. It took some time to find them, but she somehow found a Primogem keychain and thought 'Ah yes Y/n must have been here', and was led by crashing and banging noises. That was how she found this abandoned school a few streets away from the main road leading to their university and into the woods.

She knew Y/n's side that they rarely show to some extent, knowing her friend's tendency to be a daredevil, but she didn't think that Y/n would actually go destructive if being angered without a proper cause. There's an inkling feeling, of course, just being proven correct was a whole different feeling.

Her friend got a bad record and is being under surveillance and suspicion, hard work was unjustifiably destroyed, and lunch was left at home.

One bad thing after the other.

"Sorry." Uttered her friend, not much making a move of some sort, not even a turn of a head, still catching their breath.

She only sighs and lets out a little chuckle. Y/n is a nice person, loyal, and dependable. She understands that people have their own bursts of anger sometimes. Though, her friend has a little destructive flavor to it.

"You okay?"

"...Yeah." Y/n takes a few more breaths, taking in a deep one, then exhale. "I calmed down a bit." They say as they stood properly and turned to the person leaning on the busted doorframe that Y/n may or may not have also hit a bit. Dropping the bat carelessly, glass clinking from the impact, Y/n dragged up an armchair that miraculously survived their wrath. They sat down and wiped the sweat from their brow, their friend pushing herself from the doorframe and proceeded to sit on the armchair's table.

"Here." She pulls out Y/n's favorite drink. "Got you your bag and some sandwiches too." She hands them and Y/n accepts them with gratitude. Y/n puts the bag beside the chair and opens their drink.

"So question, how'd you find this place?"

"I have an attraction towards signs that have 'do not enter' or 'danger, not safe' on them if you didn't noticed. Or places with rusty barbed wires in the middle of nowhere." They take a swig of their drink. A breath of relief and satisfaction escapes them after. "This place was abandoned because of a strong earthquake years ago. This place will be bulldozed into a new establishment soon. Until then, this has become one of my 'Escape Places'."

She had to ask about this list of places her friend tends to escape to when she gets the chance later today when they play genshin at her mansion.

"How'd you get in the barbed wire fences anyway?" Asked Y/n as they eat their sandwich, e/c eyes turning to her.

She just takes out her assortment of skeleton keys. "I'm not athletic like you who can jump or scale over wired fences. I went through the gate. The padlock was rusty so it took some time."

Y/n hums, impressed. Then the face of amazement turns to surprise when she just drops the key on Y/n's lap. "You can have it."

"Why???"

"I found a shop that sells these in any color you want. I want them pink so you can have these since I'll be buying new ones anyway."

"You gotta stop giving me free stuff, I'm being spoiled rotten." The friend just laughs, picks up the keys, and shoves them into Y/n's bag. "You also gotta stop shoving people stuff when they try to refuse."

"Hush my child, eat and replenish. You have to help me farm soon. Those Regisvines are a pain." She zips Y/n's bag shut and sat back. "So... What are you gonna do now?"

Silence came between the two, though it wasn't uncomfortable. Her eyes scanned the destruction caused by her friend. She knew Y/n was a kind person at heart, and they tried their best to be good. To mind their manners, to be respectful. But she knows Y/n gets these impulsive thoughts sometimes. But she knows Y/n is goodhearted. Y/n knows their limitations and where the line is drawn. A very good friend.

But she knew that if being pushed to a corner, left with no choice, being wronged unfairly... Y/n wouldn't just stand by. And if given an unholy amount of freedom or autonomy, in short, freeing Y/n from any restriction or any 'leash', who knows what Y/n might do.

Y/n's chewing could be heard after some seconds before gulping followed.

"Not to worry," there, she saw it, that smile, that fucking smile that only meant one thing.

Throughout the time they've been friends, practically became soulmates, she knew Y/n had a variety of smiles that indicate different things.

A smile that meant Y/n was not okay.

A smile that meant Y/n's up to something.

A smile that meant Y/n's on their last bit of sanity.

A smile that meant Y/n found something interesting.

A smile that meant Y/n is in trouble.

There were many smiles belonging to Y/n where she knew what they suggest.

And this one... This smile meant only one thing...

"I happen to catch a glimpse of that asshole's ID and locker number, I'll be putting that skeleton key to good use. And I got a receipt at the same time the crime happened. But I won't stop at just proving my innocence. I happen to know how to retrieve deleted CCTV footages."

A smile that meant Y/n had won.

.

.

.

.

.

Bennett walks around the edge of Dragonspine in hopes to find any treasure in his ‘adventure’. It may be uneventful, but his optimistic self continued on his path determined that today may be different.

Of course, he wishes to go on adventures with his creator guiding him again. Adventures with the divine one spreading their warmth upon him has always been the best feeling he has experienced, thrilling adventures brightly shining on his path. But he understands that someone as mighty as his god can also have weeks where they’re busy. In fact, he is already grateful to be one of the lucky people graced with their god’s blessings and guidance. Bennett never once thought that he’d be one of the blessed vessels in his lifetime. As if all his bad luck was meant for this very good one.

So while he waits for their holiness to come back, he embarks on another adventure on his own.

It was getting dark, but the moon was kind enough to illuminate his path to the camp he had set up. As he walks along the trees, he notices something swirling in his chest. The same warmth he feels when his creator was visiting Teyvat. His lips formed a huge happy grin as he jumps excitedly around. He awaits for the dreamlike subconsciousness to seep through.

He waits…

And waits…

He stopped to raise his palms, he was still in control.

That is strange. By now, he should have started running around or scaling high mountains, visiting foreign lands, or even doing simple commissions for others. He puts one hand to his chest, and he takes note that the divine aura felt strange, different even. As if the aura itself was thin and feeble, yet, it was not unnoticeable that’s for sure. As if the aura was swaying along the cold eternal winter wind from the near mountain, unlike the warmth that usually resides within him.

As if the aura feels less like an ‘aura’.

He can’t quite put a finger on it yet, but the change in the usual sensation of being guided by his god was concerning. He was just about to leave when he notices something from afar, much deeper into Dragonspine. He squints his eyes at what seems to look like a leg. Was there a person behind that bush? Worried for someone’s well-being to be threatened by the harsh weather of Dragonspine, he immediately runs to it.

But upon arriving to assist the person, his eyes widened at the sight before him. Laid behind the bush was a figure he frequently see around Mondstadt’s church, little statues of them on altars in households around the city. A face that he sees in paintings and on some Bibles. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, not trusting his eyes as they could be playing tricks on him.

There stood before your unconscious body was Benny, eyes wide with only one thought running in his mind.

Is he actually looking at the Creator right now?

He snaps from his frozen demeanor when he realizes that he was supposed to help you. He can’t leave you laying here in the freezing cold. But Bennett was hesitant, not sure how to approach you. He shakes his head from the nervousness, ready to help regardless of what identity you may have.

He kneels beside you, taking note of the rising and falling of the backpack on top of your chest. You were breathing, which was always a good thing to him while he places his hand on your shoulder to gently shake you awake.

He hears you groan, making him sigh a bit in relief that you were not completely out of it. He backs away on reflex as the person he is currently helping gently pushes the foreign and weird-looking backpack to the side. You inhaled deeply, making Bennett realize that the bag must have been making it hard for you to breathe due to its weight.

“H-Hey! Are you alright!?”

He can see your eyes still hazy and unfocused, but the air in his lungs was stuck to his throat by the sensation he was feeling from your waking presence.

It was undeniable to him now.

No wonder the aura felt less like an ‘aura’. Because it no longer felt like an aura, it felt more like …a presence.

He is kneeling beside his god. They’re there, with him, in the flesh.

His god blinks a few times, e/c eyes that he reads about shine under the moonlight. Glimmering eyes that seem to be glaring angrily towards the sky. Bennett stops his staring to avoid being rude and checked your body for any injuries.

“…That’s some rad Benny cosplay.”

You spoke, and Bennett never felt so stunned to hear the same voice that whispers around him to be murmuring coherently in front of him. And their first words were about… cosplay?

You sat up, with his help of course, and you looked closely at him. He sweats while casting his eyes away from you, unnerved to be narrowly stared at by his god. You looked around and Benny can tell that you were confused.

“Okay, what the… This is not my friend’s garden. And I swear it was summer. Why am I seeing snow?” You said as you looked at him, seemingly looking for an explanation. Of course, he is also as lost as you. But he did manage to find his voice and answered.

“Oh, um, we’re in Dragonspine…?”

And your immediate response was to laugh. “And you sound like him too!! Hahahaha! Oh man, and I’m in Dragonspine? Pff! Funny man.”

Benny only smiled while trying to make sense of your words.

“Man, not only does your voice sound similar to Bennett, your costume is so on point! Like- look at the detail! The shop you buy from is literally doing justice for Mihoyo’s drip marketing.” You looked around again, becoming more concerned. “No seriously, where are we? I don’t see my friend or her mansion or the tree house I fell from.”

You turned to the boy who held a nervous and unsure look on his face. “And what’s your name, exactly?”

“You just said it, your grace…”

“… You’re Bennett?” E/c eyes wide as saucers stared back at his green ones.

“Yes. I am. Your grace.”

You stayed seated, ignoring the cold as you stared into his eyes, looking for any traces of a lie. You trust your instincts in evaluating a person, your survival skills were honed by your parents after all. But it was still so surreal. You? in Genshin? No fucking way.

No fucking way.

You're in Genshin.

You see a flaming flower stamen nearby, and a sweet flower. The familiar sky. Dragonspine from afar, HD and all.

No fucking hell.

"... I'm actually in Teyvat."

You were well aware this isn't a dream. Despite your ability to discern reality and dreams, you tried pinching just in case. Yup, you were in your game alright. And surprisingly... you're not actually losing your shit.

Surprised? Sure.

But you can blame it on your survival reflex behavior to be whelmed in an unbelievable situation. You could release your burst of excitement later, right now there was an important matter at hand.

It'd be nice to chill in Teyvat if only you knew how to get out. Yeah, you weren't just gonna decide to stay forever. Teyvat may be cool, filled with characters you simped for and adventure and magic you could only dream of!

But you have a life.

It may not be perfect, it had downs and failures, but you couldn't just abandon that.

You wanted to become an aerospace engineer! Be close to the stars! Further the studies of astronomy! Help humanity reach the furthest parts of the universe, however small your contribution is!

Animes! Shows! Fics! Games! There were so many on your lists that you haven't checked yet and some are still unfinished and waiting for updates!

And also there were some people you want to get back at too. There's no way you're going to hell without settling some scores. You promised that when you're successful enough, there wouldn't be any reasons for you to stay as a goody-two-shoes anymore. And you would have to show those who wronged you who's boss, directly or indirectly, depending on that person and how they slighted you.

So you can't stay. You want to go home.

"Um..." Let out Benny as you turned to him. He was unsure. Not the unsure of someone so strange suddenly showing up, no, you were not that dumb or oblivious. It was much more. As if he wasn't sure what to tell you, movements showing that he knows what to say but is unsure when is appropriate.

He knows something you don't.

He called you something earlier. Your Grace. Were you some kind of high-status person? Is this a reincarnation scenario? Where you wake up one day as royalty who turns out to be the villainess in a novel for someone's amusement while stuck in class?

Nope, you checked yourself, and still in the same state as you were before you and your friend were falling to the ground. Dang, you hope your friend was okay, it looks like you were the only one who got sent here, which was good in a way. You like your friend's company, but dragging her to a place where she could get plummetted by a wild boar? Yeah, your friend would not survive long enough.

So what's with the title? You seem to have some sort of identity already in Teyvat despite being here for the first time, at least with the memories that have served you so far.

Maybe you could ask right now. But you want to butter him up first, get him comfortable. Of course, you know what kind of person Benny is. But with the off chance that Benny would be different than what Hoyoverse has displayed, you want to play it safe. At least, complete the evaluation to be sure that Bennett is the same Bennett that you knew in the game.

"Hey... I'm also at a loss here. I don't know how I got here. But I do want to find a way back somehow. Do you think you know where I could get help?" You asked, smiling nicely.

"I-I-I-!" You notice that he looks so surprised, there was a linger of disappointment too. Interesting, he wants you to stay a bit longer?

"I w..." There was a pause, you noted, "I could show you to Acting Grandmaster Jean. She should know how to help you!" You smiled happily, showing him you were grateful for the help. He slightly gets flustered and says that he has something to warm you up in his bag as an excuse to hide his face.

As soon as he distracts himself finding the item that might have probably been dropped somewhere with his luck, seeing as he's frantically still looking for it, your smile dropped, and stared at him.

He seems to know you to some degree, but he did not explain further, only saying that you should meet Jean for help. He should have explained something, seeing that he held no suspicion on you when you knew his name, and with the title he used for you, there was something. You heard his hesitation before he suggested Jean. He looked like he wanted to say something else. Of course, you could tell that he doesn't have any ulterior motives, but more so that he chose a different action instead.

Is it out of caution? Was he trying to be careful?

You have no choice but to gauge that out of him later when you get him comfortable enough.

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End of chapter 2: Rhododendron

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[obstinaterixatrix]

ok got to the end of the metaphor demo. it took like 10 hours. the thing is I love jrpgs so I’ll probably get the game for whatever black friday sale happens but I hate jrpgs so I’ll complain the whole time.

love the hieronynus bosch designs, intrigued by the inevitable metanarrative elements, and I do like that the protagonist is voiced and has a follow-up to whatever dialogue option you go for (feels more meaningful than the ‘yes/okay/sure’ choices you get in persona sometimes). I actually like where they’re going with in terms of ‘a hero without followers is a renegade that’s doomed to obscurity, in order to be a hero you need to connect with people and rely on their support’—sets up a good foil to louis and his… popularity/mass murder

the music doesn’t really hit (very high fantasy, might grow on me—apparently they’re using esperanto which is interesting), it’s definitely a LOT of telling over showing in the beginning with the ‘my village…! no I shan’t say. ok now it’s time to talk about my village…!’ and the ‘as you know we’ve been soooo close for at minimum 12 years and I am your best friend’ (which will inevitably even out after the prologue I’m sure), the lore-dump and ten billion words they throw around is always a little tedious at first (it’s so. greebly deebly.) and I hate monarchy. show me a king I’ll show you an axe. the thing is though, I tend to be :/ about monarchy narratives because there’s a lot of emphasis on lineage over. political competence. and with the hero/followers/king competition, this haaaas sort of turned into… well… kind of a democracy because it’s a popularity contest with literally everyone as a possible king and whoever’s got the most supporters from the citizens is going to be king, and also kind of not because one of the leading candidates is doing terrorism and has blown up the church and is killing a bunch of people and saying ‘make me your king or die’ and I feel like threat of violence and more mass murder should exclude him from king candidacy. anyway I took a bunch of pics and forgot to post em while playing

I always love the lowest stats, protag gets dragged so hard. his ass is CRAVEN, NAIVE, INFLEXIBLE, TONGUE-TIED, and VAPID

XIANXIA REAL… they actually let you do this in the city and all the peripheral gossip becomes all about how you’re an inconsiderate stupid show-off who everybody hates for reasons beyond mega-racism

when more was saying this I’m p sure I took a pic bc I was thinking WOAH…! BONDS OF PEOPLE IS THE TRUE POWER…. JUST LIKE P4

you have to go to the hushed honeybee inn & this dialogue option was my favorite one of the game. it stuck in my head so much I had a nightmare about trying to inch my body towards a massive swarm of bees so they’d fight the ants that were crawling all over me.

the protagonist is the most minority of the 9 tribes and thus gets mega fantasy racism directed at him instead of normal fantasy racism. I thought it was really funny that a pretty sour guy tries to be mean to you, double-takes, & then goes like. woah. you have it way worse than me, sorry about all the mega-racism, good luck

‘rich and poor’ hang on. hang on. that is not equal. that is inherently unequal.

I love that hulkenburg goes like. so you’re gonna murder this guy? cool. let’s murder him. together. also gallica has a point

the game over screen is really funny

[rosewood-multifandom-writer]

DLC Review Part 1: Metal Gear Rising Jetstream Sam (With Spoilers)

What? A DLC review BEFORE the main base game? What’s going on?

There is a reason for that! The Jetstream Sam DLC story is the prequel to the main story. So I thought it would make sense for me to talk about Jetstream Sam on this DLC review the most rather than dedicate a whole section to him on the review on the main story.

Plus… I got Metal Gear Rising because I thought it was more worth it than Lollipop Chainsaw Repop. I mean… it’s also a 2013 game, and it did not need a remaster. 🤷🏽‍♀️

So now, this is the official start of the Metal Gear Rising Review Trilogy. In the words of Samuel Rodrigues, aka Jetstream Sam, Let’s dance.

Gameplay (4.5/5):

Just like when I play as Vergil, I feel powerful when playing as Sam. Even though I’m sucking hard.

Samuel plays very differently from Raiden and is unique. With big pros, there are big cons. And I think it’s a fair trade.

For instance, holding the “Y/Triangle” button will charge up a powerful attack when you successfully fully charge it up, BUT it can and will leave you very vulnerable to any attacks. Another is his taunt, which makes him more unique (because neither Raiden nor Blade Wolf have taunts) which will enrage the enemy, but will make them act reckless and then you can easily slice them up, which makes for a good high risk high reward feature depending on who you are.

Unlike Raiden and Blade Wolf, he can double jump and dash forward in midair.

Like Raiden, he can use Sub-Weapons, like grenades and rocket launchers.

Now here is a personal nitpick of mine: Taunting is impractical in battle, and it’s worse than leaving yourself vulnerable while charging up an attack. Nitpicks aside, Sam’s gameplay is so much fun. In fact, his gameplay is just as fun as Vergil’s from Devil May Cry. I went through the first playthrough without having to use his taunt at all.

The VR missions just like in the base game are designed to test your skills and abilities and best for those wanting a big challenge other than story mode’s hard mode or the most challenging mode.

Story (5/5):

The story lines up nicely with the main story and feels plausible. Armstrong and Monsoon are expecting Jetstream Sam to arrive to attempt to take them out, just like he did a few drug cartel members plus the dude who killed his father (more will be expanded upon in the base game review), and Sam arrives on his motorcycle at Denver, Colorado, and slices two police officers in half after taunting a couple of them.

The first boss is Blade Wolf (Wolfy), where Sam appears to pity Wolf a little even saying that the orders Wolf is given are stupid and tells him (in a mix of sarcasm and genuine advice) to think for himself. After the fight, Sam decides to tell him straight up, that Wolf is being forced to follow these orders. It really shows just how close Wolf got to Sam off-screen after Sam joined the Winds of Destruction.

He also encounters Monsoon and is forced to fight off Metal Gear Ray with that epic Rules of Nature song playing and then Sam explains himself further, saying that he is there to take out people like the people involved in Desperado. But that is jumping ahead a little.

Sam, with the player knowing Sam’s true motivations and intentions (not me still accidentally making a Vergil joke lol), goes up and beats the final boss of Sam’s storyline, Armstrong. Collective Consciousness plays as Sam gets concussed a lot (because I suck, even with Auto Assist Parry lol) and Armstrong disables Sam by stabbing his shoulder to the point where Sam couldn’t even hold his sword anymore. Armstrong then offers Sam a job.

Not seeing any other choice, Sam laughs sadly and agrees to work with Desperado.

Then… the rest of his faith is sealed in the main story.

Jetstream Sam Himself:

Samuel is a man from Brazil who has taken out cartel members and uses a High Frequency version of his late father’s sword which he uses as both a tragic keepsake and his main weapon. He CHOSE to go down this path, and in the case of this storyline, it was for revenge. He wanted to take down evil organizations besides Cartels, like Desperado.

And I’m gonna talk about that a little more, because Kevin’s codec calls on Sam expands on Sam’s background, where his father owned a dojo

This is where I then start making parallels between Sam and Raiden, because Sam is willing to take down evil organizations like Armstrong’s because he believes that Armstrong is just like every evil organization, with Armstrong sitting back in his comfy office, letting innocent people die for his benefit.

Whereas Raiden is looking to take down Desperado through illegal means (just because what Desperado is doing is legal does not make it right), Samuel tries to take down Desperado from the inside out.

When it came down to Armstrong, Samuel also found Armstrong’s reasons for his villainy to be a load of bs and was ready to kill him right then and there. But… you know the rest of the story.

Sam is “offered” the job after getting disabled, and Sam looked defeated when Armstrong offered his hand and the job to be Desperado’s fighters. He is laughing, yes, but laughter sometimes comes from being nervous or in Sam’s case, being overwhelmed with sadness or defeat. He did not have a choice at that point. Plus, if he refused, he was as good as dead either way.

Jumping ahead before the base game review, Jetstream Sam’s theme “The Only Thing I Know For Real” does state at the end of the song, “looking downward from this deadly height, never realizing why I fight.” Sam does die, not fully knowing why he fights towards the end of the main story.

Off screen wise, Wolf does take a liking to Sam and has a positive relationship with him, in contrast to the negative relationship Wolf had with Mistral, which I will expand upon my Blade Wolf centered review.

But Sam in my opinion is one of the best written rival characters in gaming right next to Shadow the Hedgehog and Vergil. Those three are who I think of as the best rival characters in all of fiction.

As a character, Samuel Rodrigues is one of my favorite characters in Metal Gear Rising next to Raiden himself and Blade Wolf. He gets a 5 out of 5 in terms of character.

Overall?:

This DLC is the best addition to the game, and it shows more of Sam’s character from HIS perspective. When playing from Raiden’s perspective in the base game, Raiden and at first the player themselves cannot get a good read on Sam’s motivations and why he’s doing what he’s doing.

Metal Gear Rising is available on Steam. As of this post, it’s 40% off, so instead of spending $30 on it, you would instead spend $18, either way, I think it’s worth it. I mean, $30 for a 2013 game is already better than remastering said 2013 title that ran on the same consoles Metal Gear Rising ran on (like the PS3) and selling it for $45 or $60.

My expectations for Blade Wolf are high after playing Sam’s story.

[autisticlancemcclain]

The music gets more intense — heavier bass, faster drums, and the shrill screech of an alien instrument he can’t name.

Lance smirks. Oh, hell yeah. He is going to crush this level.

Heh. ‘Crush’. Because this dinky game is an alien version of candy crush, basically.

Lance takes a deep breath, narrowing his eyes and squaring his shoulders. He sweeps critical eyes over the shining little animated pictures of alien plants, carefully assessing which ones are all lined up, ready to make his final winning move and —

The game freezes.

“No!”

A loading symbol turns for a couple seconds, and then a green pop-up covers half the screen — preventing Lance from playing the game, but not from seeing the timer in the corner of his phone tick down to zero.

He lost.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!”

Now, losing a game to a pop-up is annoying. Be it for an operating system update, a text, whatever — all frustrating.

But this particular pop-up?

Oh, this popup is a thousand times worse.

It’s bright green (like, in-your-face, kelly green), with dorky black typewriter font, and a very familiar, bespectacled icon siting proudly to the left.

Pidge.

Lance grabs the pillow next to his head, shoving it in his face and screaming as loudly and for as long as he can. Of course it’s one of Pidge’s dumbass pop-ups, and of course it came up in the middle of his game. Because Pidge has an uncanny ability to know when she can be as annoying as possible, at any given time.

After screaming himself hoarse, Lance whips the pillow at the wall, sighing. He’s already lost, and it’s not like he can out-hack Pidge. The only way to get the damn pop-up to go away is to fucking interact with it. Ugh. He glances back to his screen, reading the stupidly persistent thing.

Your phone just got hacked, loser. LOL.

Lance scowls. God, she is so fucking annoying. He angrily presses the ‘okay’ button at the bottom, because it’s the one and only option. It clicks to a new popup.

However, I have just one question for you…

Lance hits ‘okay’ again, trying to get this shit over with. He wants to go back to his game, so he can finally beat the level. (It’s humiliating, but Lance is kind of addicted to candy crush-type games. There’s something about the deep, gravelly voice that plays when a level is cleared successfully, praising you for a game well played…well. There’s no action in space, okay? Lance is deprived. If a sexy disembodied voice telling him he’s doing a good job is the only action he’s going to get, then he’s damn well going to take it.)

(In fact, when he first was blasted into space, after the whole Sendak debacle, he was bored as hell in the stupid MedBay cots for a checkup that he played the game for hours, just to hear the voice. Of course, his phone eventually died, and then he realized that even if he did bring his charger to space, there was nowhere on the stupid space castle to charge it. He now had, in place of a phone, an electronic brick, basically, and that meant no photos of his family, no texts to look back on, nothing. And he didn’t know when he’d see them again. He’d cried for hours. Thank God for Altean mind-meld helmets that doubled as memory projectors, or Lance would have cried himself into space sans helmet.)

(But, anyway. Back to Pidge’s annoyance.)

Just one, teeny-tiny, baby question… the stupid popup reads.

Lance presses ‘okay’ for what feels like the millionth time, wondering what the hell Pidge needs so badly that she’s being a shit about it.

…Can you please bring me a sandwich?

Oh, Lance is going to kill her.

He’s going to kill her dead.

With a fury he didn’t know he was capable of, Lance slams the ‘no’ option as fast as he can, and continues to slam it when it just leads him to more pop-ups that ask the same question.

“For fuck’s sake, Pidge!” he shouts, after several minutes of unsuccessful refusal.

Ugh! Little sisters are so fucking annoying. Lance hates not being the youngest anymore. How dare the universe punish him for being an annoying younger sibling for so many years.

Gritting his teeth, he finally concedes, clicking the ‘yes’ button and scowling as a stupid happy face pops up. He stomps over to the kitchen — he knows damn well that if he doesn’t bring her a stupid fucking sandwich then she’ll keep sending pop-ups because she is a jerk — and assembles the most mediocre sandwich he could possibly make, taking care to pick the only plate in the kitchen that Pidge hates (it makes a horrible screeching noise if you accidentally scratch it with your nails) to place it on. Then he stomps over to Pidge’s workshop, kicking to door open and practically slamming the plate on her workbench.

She grins at him sunnily, placing her hands under her chin and tilting her head as if she is the picture of innocence.

How dare she. How dare she use the move that Lance uses when he’s being intentionally frustrating.

“Thank you,” she says sweetly.

Lance glares at her. “Texting is an option, you thick-shelled cockroach.”

She shrugs. “You would’ve ignored my text.”

“You could always — oh, I don’t know, make your own damn sandwich!”

“Not a chance, Lance-pants,” she says, turning back to her laptop. “Not a chance.”

Lance mimes strangling her when her back is turned, Homer-Simpson style. It makes him feel marginally better.

As he stomps back to his own room, he resolves to get her back. He may not be a tech genius, but —

He smirks.

He has four older siblings. Pidge only has one. Lance has been perfecting he art of driving siblings insane since he could walk — longer than she’s been alive.

He’ll get her back.

———

based on this post

[eats-all-your-shoes]

pearlscott rant because i’m normal about them :3

okay so first i just wanna talk about like. the duo name thing i use for them, because i know eclipseduo is the “official” duo name but like that doesn’t seem right because i don’t see them as completely platonic because they are exes, but they are definitely also not dating/romantic at all but like it’s so not just duo? so i use pearlscott as like just an alternative duo name type thing for them!

OKAY TALKY TIME!! i’ve said this before but the entirety of the divorce quartet is so interesting but i love pearlscott so much it’s just AAAAA!! after scott leaves pearl she might have been slightly okay, just by looking at the way she was joking about it in the first episode, but then martyn leaves her and she’s left completely alone in a new series, and if we add some watcher angst to that it makes it worse for her.

their dynamic is so bad that it’s good, pearl’s angry at scott but will also take any chance she gets to come back and try and be with him (breaking into his house and building on scott’s and cleo’s bridge) she wants him dead but also desperately wants him back, it’s raw and crazy and loud and everyone can tell she’s going insane over it.

scott on the other hand just wants her gone, she doesn’t matter to him anymore, he just wants to live peacefully with cleo and let her leave him alone. he hates her too and it’s very obvious, but he’s less loud about it then pearl. it’s that petty hate that’s not bad enough to warrant that bad of a reaction but just enough to annoy pearl which makes it so much worse

like it’s just so interesting to think about how different each of their reactions are and how that just makes them so much worse when you put it together.

then there’s the fact that they were ally’s, hell friends, in last life but that doesn’t matter anymore, all that they had together was thrown out the window when scott met cleo and they realized pearl and martyn weren’t looking for them.

ALSOALSO!! Pearl was regarded as the “bringer of death” in double life due to a lot of people dying close to her (joel and etho with the fishing rods, bigb and ren with the enderman) and scott has the winners curse (always having an ally of his win the game) and that just seems like something cool to think about but i’m not the best with symbolism so someone else can use that.

another thing, pearl was so close to killing scott in ep3, he stole her music disc and she axe crit him multiple times bringing them below half health and almost killed him by punching him off the bridge aswell, and if it weren’t for someone stopping her i think she would have gone through with it. the blood on her hands and just letting out so much rage by killing him (and herself, but i don’t think she would care all that much).

She didn’t even have the chance to kill him when she won, event the ghosts were chanting for her to do it but she couldn’t because scott killed himself first. but then when she’s on the respawn screen when she wins she says something along the lines of “he sacrificed himself for me. i guess i do forgive him.” and that’s just AAAA. she hates scott, but winning is horrible and she understands why he would not want to do it again, but also he has forced her to take on the burden of winning by killing himself. they are so complicated it’s amazing.

[leapypeanut]

What do you feel like the Remake does BETTER/WORSE compared to the OG ff7?

I like how they expanded a lot of the characters. I feel like they came more to life in the remake games (probably because of the graphics so they’re more expressive than those polygons, also the voice acting and way more dialogue) also I’m a very big Clerith lover (as you know) and the remake series is very Cloud and Aerith heavy which is nice because before the remake trilogy all the extra ff7 content we got was AC (after Aerith died) and CC (before they met) so to get so much more screen time of them interacting and really showing their chemistry in such a beautiful way makes me really happy!

Also in the OG Tifa was a very minor character that’s whole character revolved around Cloud. which i really dislike for obvious reasons. Tifa was actually originally outsourced from another studio and they only added her last minute after they decided to kill off Aerith. They didn’t really expect the fandom to get so attached to Tifa. But because of the love for Tifa from the fandom they gave her a lot more screen time in the remake trilogy. Which imo is kinda a double edged sword. Cause on one hand it sometimes feels like they’re trying to shove her in the narrative where it’s not necessary so she has the same amount of screen time as Aerith. Which is odd because Tifa is a side character and Aerith is a main character. And since they’re both technically the “heroins” of the game I feel like the developers kinda felt pressured to give Tifa more screen time to appease her fanbase. But on the other hand, while Tifa does still have a lot of the problems she has in the OG and is still very codependent (duh, she’s still the same character) but I feel like they’re gonna give Tifa more of a character arc in part 3. Where she realizes she doesn’t need Cloud and she doesn’t need her self worth tied to him. They kinda started going in this direction in the OG with Barret telling Tifa “"we did just fine before without him (Cloud), what happened to the strong girl l used to know?” But we never really got closer for that so I have a feeling they’re gonna go in that direction and if they do I’ll like Tifa a whole lot more. I also think Tifa going to the life stream by herself in Rebirth instead of with Cloud like the OG helped a bit in this. Because although what she saw in the life stream was still Cloud, and she still said “Don’t take him away, I need him” abt Cloud to Sephy in the life stream (showing she’s just as codependent as ever) further in the game (cosmo canyon) she talks abt how she feels closer to the planet and more motivated to save it since she fell into the life stream. Which I like because it gives her her own motivation because of her own experiences outside of Cloud yk?

I do think Cloud just randomly remembering Zack outta no where in Rebirth is kinda a cheap way to do it but I can kinda excuse it a bit because it does help with the plot further in Rebirth so it’s just a bit of a nitpick.

Something that did bother me was after cloud literally tried to KILL Tifa and push her into the life stream Cloud just walks into her room casually and Tifa’s not even remotely wary of Cloud at all, even tho he literally just attempted to murder her just a few hours ago. Also right after Cloud opens up to Tifa (the only time he’s ever really willingly remotely opened up to Tifa within the whole FF7 compilation) and tells her about why he almost killed her and how he’s having an identity crisis, this is a very vulnerable moment for Cloud. And Tifa thinks this is a good time to try and KISS HIM?! And Cloud looks completely confused. I don’t wanna accuse Tifa of trying to take advantage of Cloud in a vulnerable moment, I don’t wanna think Tifas that typa person, but that’s kinda how it comes across. the whole scene is very awkward and out of place. I’m very glad Yuffie, Nanaki, and Aerith walked in tbh.

Also I know this is kinda an unpopular opinion within the overall fandom but I like the multiverse stuff. I’m glad it’s not a 1 on 1 remake. Because the “remake trilogy” although it’s called “remake” it’s more of a sequel to the OG. So if you don’t like the remake trilogy it won’t affect the OG. The remake isn’t trying to replace the OG but just add onto the narrative. And honestly the multiverse stuff is a great way to market the game tbh. Because the Remake trilogy is gonna take at least 8 years to completely finish it. And nobody’s gonna be excited for 8 years if it’s exactly like the OG. That doesn’t make ppl excited, because they already know what’s gonna happen. But because of the multiverse stuff we have no clue what’s gonna happen in part 3. And that’s what makes you anticipate it, it’s the fun part. It’s fun to look forward to how they’re gonna take the narrative and making theories.

One last thing that kinda disappointed me was Cloud going insane. It was quite underwhelming compared to the OG tbh. Like I was expecting him to go completely crazy and the entire party to ostracize him and is completely scared of him under Sephiroths control. But that didn’t happen in Rebirth like in the OG unfortunately. But I do think they’re gonna include this within part 3! What i think they’re gonna do for part 3 is that they are not only scared of Cloud being controlled by Sephiroth but also creeped out because Cloud still thinks Aerith is alive. which she is alive in another time like that Cloud created right before she died in the main timeline but the party members don’t know that and just think Clouds going completely crazy because of grief and is just acting schizophrenic and hallucinating Aerith because he misses her so much.

[kaija-rayne-author]

I'm doing a series of reviews as I play Dragon Age Veilguard. One or two posts a day, whenever I can play.

This is installment one.

Can't remember if I mentioned that a lovely person gave me a copy of DAV. And I'm so very grateful I can play close to release. So I can do an unbiased review series.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I'm on media blackout while I play this, so I'm only getting second-hand info on how awful it is right now in the DA Fandom. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

I'm seven hours in. (2 in CC so 5 playtime.)

Spoilers for DAV. Dragon Age Veilguard

Also, this is all my off the cuff writing. I haven't the time, energy, or desire to edit them.

Five hours in... I can confidently say welp, it's a game. It is indeed a video game.

I don't hate it? Most of it? Can't say I love it, either.

Background and environment folks did a fantastic job. And I was pretty sure they would. That part feels like Dragon Age. Except for the floaty spaceship thing in Minrathous. Intentionally not saying what it's supposed to be, because they do tell you.

Baddy design is as bad as I feared. If not actually worse.

I totally called it on several points, which gods escaped, for one. The fact that those 'demons' were gonna give me a headache, too. And the whole Solas Varric sitch.

CC is pretty good. Nothing ground breaking, but people should be able to make a character they like? You can make a good redhead.

I like the new codex design. I still preferred DAO for that one. Aaaannnnd I've already caught a couple editing errors in the text.

Extremely thrilled that my non-binary ass can be non-binary.

Yes, you can actually make a (slightly) pudgy character.

That is still not Solas. And you can't try to tell me I'll probably like him once I see him in game, anymore. I don't. He does still move the same, so they got that right. Still has the subtle humour, too, which, since Weekes wrote him, makes sense.

They were right, the characters do look better in game.

AND THAT IS STILL NOT A FUCKING DARKSPAWN.

My youngest kid just glanced at my screen and did a double take with a 'Ma? Why are you playing Fortnite?'

From the mouths of babes. He's right in that Fortnite player age bracket, FWIW. And no, he has no interest in playing Dragon Age. No matter how much they made some of it look like Fortnite.

Not feeling any of the romanceables, yet. But I've only met Neve, Lace, and Bellara. Alas my poor bisexual heart. None of the women do it for me. That may change, it's still very early as per in-game events.

I'm going to stick with it to see if it'll actually catch me up. Because it sadly has not, yet. By an hour in on my first playthrough of DAO, I was head over heels for Alistair. By 1 hour into Awakening, Anders had me. By hour 3 in DA2? Anders and Isabela both had me. By seven hours into DAI? I was very much in love with Solas, though I was playing a guy because I wanted to Romance Dorian first. (Still really loved Dorian.) But yeah, that bloody elf had me first, and I think it was at the first damned scene with him in it. Which is roughly an hour or so in?

I'm intensely curious about the story, and it's why I was so desperate to play it. So unless it somehow utterly offends me, (worse than those not-fucking-darkspawn and what-the-actual-fuck-are-those-demons already have) I'll finish it. Unless I lose interest. It's at least worth playing so far. I don't feel like I wasted the seven hours.

Fighting is reasonably easy to adjust to. And it'll be more fun when I get the hang of it. (For me, I usually don't have a lot of trouble picking up new fighting systems in games.)

Oh, and it took Astarion BG3 half an hour. 🤣

Please no spoilers if anyone responds. As I said, only seven hours in.

In case you're interested, here's my predictions piece.

And here's the second part in my ongoing review as I play series.

[zealouskittenfox]

Chapter 5 of The Leap

Erik went through some weird moments, sad moments, and just plain boring moments. He watched the girl, Felice, touch herself to a random Instagram picture of his brother. When he asked Lura what the point was in showing him that, all Lura did was laugh. Then he watched the curly-haired boy have dinner with his family. Truthfully, Erik let his mind drift while they were on screen—what did this have to do with Wille? He didn’t have to watch every stranger’s family dinner, did he?

Then he watched August rib Wille a little. His brother handled it well and just went on to sit with the first years. Then two first years tried the “agree with everything Wille said” thing. Erik almost laughed at their attempts to impress him. That is not a way to win my little brother over, he thought.

Next, there was his little brother, texting their mother and asking to go home. Erik let out a sigh. He could have told Wille that was a lost cause. Once Mom sets her mind on something, there’s no stopping her, he thought. You’re better off asking the sun to rise in the west. There was another scene of the curly-haired boy talking to his friend and playing a video game—it looked like one he and Wille had played together once. What’s with this guy? Why’s he so important? Erik found his attention drifting again.

Then it showed the same boy making some sort of agreement with August. Erik’s brows furrowed. What does August want with him? Then the scene cut to Wille in class, looking visibly uncomfortable. Erik felt a pang of sympathy. He’d always hated those classroom politics debates too—where you weren’t allowed an opinion, not really. At least, not one you were allowed to share.

“I like him,” Lura said suddenly, interrupting Erik’s thoughts. “He’s got fire.”

Erik, who had let his mind drift again, snapped his attention back to the screen. The curly-haired boy was arguing with one of the yes-boys. Erik’s attention honed in when he heard the boy look over at Wille and say something about the royal family being the biggest welfare receivers.

“Was that a dig at us?” Erik asked, his tone incredulous. He leaned forward, squinting at the boy on screen. “He just said we’re the biggest welfare receivers, didn’t he? The gall.”

“That really got you, didn’t it?” Lura asked, barely hiding a smirk.

“We do a service,” Erik replied defensively, straightening up. More than that boy knows.

Lura looked at him, and then a laugh escaped before they doubled over, laughing harder and harder. It wasn’t cute. Finally, when Lura could catch their breath, they looked back at Erik, wiping their eyes. “Oh, you buy into the whole royalty ‘our blood is better than yours’ thing. Still?”

Erik clenched his jaw. “That’s not what I said. You may not know this because you’re a…whatever you are, but the royal family does a lot.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Lura replied, an eyebrow raised. “The royal family of Sweden does a lot? What has Sweden really given the world anyway? ABBA and IKEA?”

“A lot more than that.”

Lura continued, nonchalant. “Oh, and that tradition when you crown the May Queen and kill the boyfriend.”

“That was a movie, a bad one at that,” Erik shot back. “Midsummer is actually a very beautiful tradition. It’s about celebrating the light, family, community—”

“So is mummification,” Lura interrupted with a smirk, “but that doesn’t mean it should be continued.”

Erik couldn’t help but let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head. “Let’s get back to Wille.”

He looked back at the screen, but his heart sank at the sight before him—Wille’s initiation. Not the spit. Not the spit. Erik grimaced. Gross.

“Gross,” Lura echoed with a look of disdain. “You humans are savages.”

Erik couldn’t really argue there. “Fair enough,” he mumbled. “But it was supposed to get worse…” he trailed off, frowning at the screen. Why didn’t they finish it?

“They didn’t do the whole initiation,” he said aloud, mostly to himself.

“What do you mean?” Lura asked, sounding genuinely curious for once.

“There’s a part that was started by some guy in the nineties. It wasn’t good, but we never stopped it. I guess maybe they didn’t do it to Wille because he was by himself,” Erik said, almost relieved.

Lura tilted their head, arching a brow. “Are you referring to the part where they strip them down and make them watch a gay porn video while taunting them with slurs?”

“When you say it like that, it sounds worse than it was.”

“Sounds pretty bad. Are you saying you wanted that to happen to Wille?”

Erik bristled, searching for a response. “No…but it’s tradition.”

Lura rolled their eyes. “You’re going to get your eyes so opened during this year. You humans cling to the strangest things. And just so you know, that part happened to none of the first years this year.”

Back to the screen, the scene had shifted to the initiation after-party. August and Wille were sitting together, with August chatting away, seemingly in his element. Erik’s face tightened as he listened.

“Your only mistake that night was being around the wrong people. I get that you wanted to feel normal, go to an ordinary school, meet ordinary girls, and go to ordinary parties. But how did that work out?” August said to Wille, making his little brother visibly uncomfortable. “Ordinary people will never accept you as one of them.”

“He’s not wrong,” Erik muttered, though something about August’s tone grated on him.

August continued. “Here, you’re among equals. We could murder someone, and no one would say a word.”

Erik’s eyes widened. “What the fuck?” He looked at Lura, then back at the screen, incredulous. He watched his little brother laugh, and it didn’t make him feel better. Not in the slightest.

“Come on,” Wille said in a breath.

“I swear,” August replied, his tone serious. Wille’s laughter faded, replaced by a look of discomfort.

“What the hell, August?” Erik growled at the screen.

“That not the lesson you wanted him to teach your brother?” Lura asked, almost mockingly.

“Hardly,” Erik spat, still staring at the screen, his anger barely contained.

“Looks like your brother isn’t paying attention to August anymore,” Lura noted, their tone a little too amused.

Erik looked back at the screen to see Wille, drink in hand, glancing over at the curly-haired boy who had just walked in with his sister. Erik raised a brow, noticing the look on Wille’s face.

Then came the inevitable scene of his brother getting drunk. Erik sighed. “Great. Our parents sent him away to stay out of trouble, and now he’s drinking like a fish.”

“But you knew this was going to happen, didn’t you?” Lura asked, giving him a sidelong glance.

“Yes, I knew. I just hoped he had more sense than I did at sixteen,” Erik said, though he could already tell from Lura’s expression that his answer wasn’t going to satisfy them.

Lura giggled. “Seems like he’s following in your footsteps quite well.” They leaned back, giving Erik a smug look. “Maybe it’s not Wille’s sense you should be questioning, hmm?”

Erik bristled. “I’m questioning August’s influence more than Wille’s sense,” he replied, though he couldn’t shake the feeling that Lura was hinting at something.

He watched his brother zero in on the curly haired boy. Erik recognized the look in his brother’s eyes. It was the same look he got when their father let him pick out a pet and name it. Succubus was with them for ten years, only dying last year. It broke Wille’s heart and to this day their parents didn’t know where their four year old learned the word Succubus. Wille always listened to him and it was so funny watching his mother’s head almost explode while Wille through a fit that the Succubus was the name and nothing else. Erik had found the word in a dirty limerick that his father had read to one of his mother’s bodyguards.

“Your brother named his pet Succubus?” Lura asked.

“I didn’t say that out loud, how do you know?”

“No secrets here. Why didn’t he tell your mother that you told him the word?”

“Because he never told on me, just like I never told on him.”

“What was Succubus?”

“An Axolotl.”

“Interesting. You know what else is interesting, your brother chasing after that curly haired boy.”

Erik looked back at the screen and watched his little brother chasing after the curly haired boy, Lura was right.

“I was about to go outside. Wanna come?” Wille asked the boy.

He watched them climb out of a window he had climbed out hundreds of times. God, he missed going there. It was the only time he felt like he was free. Free-ish. Somewhere his mother wasn’t always breathing down his neck, his father wasn’t always…well, his father never really had much time for him. But it was still a freeing experience.

Wille and the curly haired boy talk about the curly haired boy’s sister whose name is Sara apparently and the girl Felice as they wondered off drunk together. It wasn’t good for anyone to wander off while drunk. In the woods you could get turned around and wind up in town. That would be really bad for the school. And with first years they are so young and naïve they could be hurt. Not all boys at that school were good.

“They’ll be fine. They make it back to the school without any harm,” Lura said. “It’s good that you worried about them.”

“I don’t like this reading my mind. But I’m glad they’re okay.”

They looked back at the screen. Wille and the curly haired boy were now sitting, hidden from everyone else.

“Oh, that’s nice, he’s drunk singing to the real singer. That must be why he wanted him to come outside with him,” Lura said, a little snidely.

“He’s having fun, leave him alone,” Erik told him.

On screen his brother was looking at the curly haired boy very intensely. Erik sighed when Wille grabbed the curly haired boy and keep August and his friends from seeing them.

“He likes him, like really,” Erik said.

“Yeah, on first sight,” Lura said.

On screen Wille was staring at the boy and the boy was staring back.

“Fine, I guess I need to learn the boy’s name. What is it?” Erik asked. Wille had a hard year in front of him, might as well have a distraction.

There was a giggle beside him. “Well, that distraction’s name is Simon, and you have no idea what’s headed their way.”

[front-facing-pokemon]

Would you give the mega crunch rant in an ask?

ahh i forgot writing those tags so for a moment the idea of a "mega crunch rant" was very funny to me. i'll leave it under the cut because it's Slightly just me being annoying

basically, the place where i get the models to picture them staring at the screen is The Models Resource. if you want models, you have to choose a game—originally, when i started this blog, i was using pokémon x and y, because it includes megas with the pokémon models. i later found out that the reason i was missing pokémon early on is because, inexplicably, the uploader just skipped like sixty percent of the pokédex. and i didn't bother to look at the numbers or double-check back then. so now i switched to using models from pokédex 3d, on the 3ds—the gen 5 utility. thus, it only includes models up to gen 5—that means no regional forms, and no mega evolutions. so any time i want a mega evolution, i have to go back to pokémon x / y—sun/moon has the same problem, but worse. and most of the time, the pokémon that has the mega is skipped, because reasons i guess. i don't know why, but they are. therefore, i typically have to get the mega from another location—since every game that has megas in it has skipped a few models, i usually have to get it from the only other gen 6 game that doesn't have skipped models, and also my favorite game of all time—psmd. i can get the megas from there, because they're included with awakening emeras in that game. though because that game is from a top-down perspective, the pokémon models are rather crunchy when you look at them close up! especially megas, since they only appear in dungeons

that's why megas are always so crunchy, and also partially why i always forget that megas exist. it's because of this inexplicable skipping of models on TMR that just. makes this more difficult