#the fight had also been going a bit sour beforehand so i think that made it seem even cooler hehe

[bloodborne-on-pc]

Just discovered something really interesting while playing Darkest Dungeon.

During a fight with the Drowned Crew, the highwayman in my party became Virtuous. He ended up in the front rank, but when the Anchorman tried to use "Heave to!" on him it just. Didn't work. It wasn't dodged, he was just immune to it entirely. It also granted some minor stress relief to the party when he resisted it. So then I spent the rest of the fight just keeping him in front, preventing the Crew from healing entirely, and slowly reducing the party's stress with every failed anchor toss.

I'm honestly going nuts over this. I had NO idea that Virtuous heroes were immune to the Crew's main gimmick. It was so dang cool.

[thepiedsniper]

A huge review for A Curse For True Love (spoilers, obviously - all below the cut).

DISCLAIMER: I have read the B&N and Waterstones epilogues but not the OwlCrate one yet (I don’t think anyone has, to be honest). So possibly some of my questions will be addressed in that ending.

On the Kiss: there was a compelling theory that Jacks would turn human due to his love for Eva (per the rules established in Caraval) and that’s how they could kiss and be together without killing Eva. I thought this made a lot of sense (because if your universe has established that becoming human is the canonical consequence of an Immortal falling in love, this kind of definitely needs to happen for the prequel series readers to believe that he really loves Eva, right?). Except Jacks clearly never really became human - his tears were tears of blood and the story curse refers to him as a not-quite-human in the epilogue. This also means he's still ageless and will ultimately outlive Eva by A Lot. So, oof.

To that end - I know Jacks is a fatalist and Eva is an optimist, but did it never even OCCUR to either of them to be like "what if we just did everything together EXCEPT kiss for the rest of our lives?" I know Jacks is compelled to kiss (and it’s obliquely confirmed that the apples are his way to fighting that urge) so you'd have him struggling with that arrangement in the long term. But also, Eva seems convinced she's never been in danger of Jacks kissing her before, so why wouldn’t she at least float that idea and see if he goes for it? Why go for the kiss other than Extreme Belief in The Power of Love; i.e. the exact thing Eva found out was actually the one condition that would ensure the curse killed her, according to Aurora like five minutes beforehand. Which Eva Does Not Mention to Jacks, by the way. "Hey, you know that blonde from Valenda you thought was the one exception to your curse and caused you a tonne of angst and confusion ever since? Turns out you had your whole curse backwards these last several hundred years lol."

Eva still owes Jacks a kiss. If you even care.

No but forreal, at least address it. Do a cutesy "OK, then spend that kiss on me, right now, mwah!" bit in the epilogue, or even a juicy "I’m never cashing it in, because not only is it practical that we can still speak telepathically, but I like that you're still tied to me magically foreverrrr". But like, these three magic kisses were the main conceit of this series. Until they weren’t.

The book seemed to shy away from many interesting plot hooks and tropes. Not even subverting them, just...moving on and away instead of fleshing them out. The main one off the top of my head is The Hunt. This seemed like a really specific and interesting event, with a lot of potential tension and parallels to Jacks’ former life as a hunter, if things went wrong in interesting ways. Except we never see any of it, and instead Someone Tries to Kill Eva (turns out Petra had a lover? This plotline is Not Important and everyone quickly moves on despite the fact that I’m pretty sure Belleflower was never found or dealt with) and we get a slightly less satisfactory Hollow II with the Ye Olde Brick Inn. And even the Inn introduces the Only One Bed trope only to sort of fumble it. Jacks has some mystery gold sleep dust (providence unknown) which just kind of doesn't do anything until it knocks them both out at differently convenient times. Idk man, it felt kinda meh to me.

I love Lala. She should have been in this more because she’s honestly one of the more interesting things outside of the romantic tension (which is great, but a novel cannot live on romantic tension alone, lest it become one-note). But also, when she does appear and we finally get to find out what her reunion with her great love was like, it's just kind of glossed over and hinted that her love with Dane has gone sour. Where’s the actual development/exposition!! Who actually dumped who, and why? What did she actually see in him in the first place? The small amount he’s in this book he is a) not turning into a giant dragon (Chekov would be disappointed), and b) kind of a tool. Lala became The Unwed Bride for this guy!!! At least let her have a proper “I realised I was sabotaging all my engagements not because I still loved my unreachable First Love, but because I enjoy the idea of love more than love itself” moment and make her canonically aromantic or something.

Chaos likes/loves Lala? I guess? He also murdered a bunch of people from great houses, for Reasons. He’s around, more than many characters were, but I dunno. What’s his deal these days? Does he still hang out with his vamp friends? Was he killing all those people because his parents asked him to, or was it pure hunger, or personal vendetta? Is he like, Tight with his folks now?

Another wasted (in my opinion) trope is Aurora stealing Jacks' heart away from Eva. I thought we'd get a little juicy angst from Eva seeing the man she loves be manipulated into fake-loving another (which would have also been a little poetic justice for Tella, but that's neither here nor there I guess because the Caraval characters Do Not Matter and are in fact not mentioned At All). But instead, we don't even find out what Aurora wanted to do with the heart, because it's immediately stolen back by Jacks (which like, why didn't Aurora make him swear in blood not to immediately knock her out and steal it back if that was an option? Is she just super delusional?). Also, it was meant to seem really romantic and self-sacrificing that Jacks gave up his heart and possibly autonomy to Aurora to save Eva... except he never intended to let Aurora keep it, so it was just another selfish scheme and not a sign of actual growth/love.

The Valor children in general (aside from Castor and Aurora) were pretty much non-existent when I honestly thought they'd be more of a Thing. One of them has memory magic, but that's not important for some reason. Nah, the thing Apollo did to Eva was just a potion from Aurora or something (providence unknown). Yeah.

It’s unclear why Honora Valor couldn't have reversed Jack's original Archer curse if that's something she easily did with a bit of hair at the end of TBONA. like I guess that says more about that book than this one, but it seems kind of lame that this mythical healer is never even ASKED about Jacks' kissing curse (or anything related to healing ever again).

Cycling back to Aurora for a moment: what was her magical ability in the end? Just non-specific spellwork that seemingly anyone can do (based on the first two books)? They made a point of lamp-shading it and then never actually addressed it.

And speaking of witches/witchcraft, Marisol is one of the many characters that never reappear or get much (if any) mention at all. Eva wouldn't have remembered her stepsister while her memories were gone, which I would have assumed would make for some interesting retconning opportunities for the conniving Marisol. But no, she's just not important anymore, I guess.

Also Gone: Luc. Did he and Marisol run away together after hashing out their twisted histories? Did Luc eat Marisol and then fall of a cliff? Who cares!!!! Not Important Anymore!!!

Tiberius is also Gone (possibly because his existence would have reminded the audience that Apollo has people he Actually Cares About in his life that might have helped him back from The Dark Path). The whole Protectorate just stopped being a thing as soon as the Valory opened. Do they know, or care? Surely they monitor that sort of thing? Was someone from the Protectorate able to piece together the sudden arrival of the “Vale” family at least?

Phaedra of the Damned from the very first book (the girl who first discovered Apollo wasn’t dead after trying to steal his secrets, and also Havelock is there) never gets explained. I assume she’s one of the twins from the Vanished Market mentioned in the Caraval trilogy, but she really was just there for half a scene in the first book and then never mentioned again. OK.

Havelock, Apollo’s most loyal guard, is not mentioned after Chapter 13 (when Apollo really starts ramping up the Atrocities). Again, possibly his existence would have complicated Apollo’s evil villain speedrun, but it would have been interesting to see what he might have done (and if he decided to leave Apollo’s service out of condemnation for the monster Apollo had become, a sentence or two establishing that might have been nice).

Which leads me to Apollo. He went very evil very quickly. I actually really liked the self-delusion in his focalisation, and his whole backstory with the pressures put on him by his father made sense. But damn, dude went from No Murder to Child Murder pretty dang quickly!!! Also, his death was fairly predictable. Which I wouldn't have minded, because not everything needs to be a Surprise Twist, but it really felt like that scene was the climax/final conflict in a sea of other loose ends that got ignored, so I guess I wanted it to be More so that it could make up for all the plotlines whose resolutions got sacrificed for it.

The original fox from the ballad doesn’t matter. She doesn't ever get a name. It's Fine. She could turn into a freaking FOX, which seems like a very cool and rare ability, but sure, she was just Some Chick Jacks was forced to hunt (and then kind of fell in love with and got traumatised by killing). Why do you want to know about her?? Why do you want Jacks to address the ways his feelings for her (and Tella) are inherently interwoven with trauma, in ways that don’t specifically relate to Eva?

I’m not sure I’m explaining this properly (because on the surface, of course the original fox is an important part of Jacks’ backstory and the overall plot; but only in a “Jacks is scared to love because he killed this one girl one time, and that also makes Eva sad” kind of way. The same story could arguably have been told without the Archer ballad, and just keeping the original concept of Jacks from Caraval – he’s the prince of hearts, doomed to kill all but his one true love. He kills many ladies that he hopes he’s actually in love with, but they always tragically die instead.

Cool twist with Aurora’s involvement in the curse, even if it was somewhat predictable (again, not a crime for a plot twist by any means), but I don’t know. It just felt like one of many things that got “resolved” with a quick aside (Eva found an expository journal entry) and then everything quickly moved on because hey, the reader knows what happened now that Eva found that journal entry, so who cares if Jacks knows too? Telling him everything important that Eva learned since seeing him would just detract from the love confession!

It's never officially confirmed whether Jacks of the Hollow's family owned the Hollow? Or what happened to his family, or the original owners if it wasn’t his family. The Hollow doesn't seem particularly attached to Jacks, nor he to it (according to the epilogues).

Eva should have gnarly back scars from her secondhand flaying and it's pretty clear they're either not there or just forgotten in ACFTL. My understanding was that The Hollow allowed Eva to become "fully healed" due to the effects of several weeks passing in the space of a day or two. So Eva's body essentially got the chance to heal naturally over time, in a sped-up way (which still would have left hella scars). Apollo, on the other hand, was healed with vampire venom (which canonically removes scars; see: Luc) but he's still got his back scars for some reason. Both of them healed in different ways during the period when the mirror curse wouldn't have mattered. I personally think it would have been interesting to give Eva horrible back scars she can't explain due to her amnesia. But alas.

All in all, it felt like the kind of book that wanted to be third of four instead of third and final. It wanted to introduce new and interesting concepts, but still had to rush to put a conclusion (satisfying or otherwise) to everything that had come before. I had fun reading it, and all the usual romance/drama/angst with Eva and Jacks was still super fun, but pretty much every other element felt lacking (and even a lot of the EvaJacks stuff kind of just Happened and then Kept Happening without a strong plotline to run along). I look forward to reading a lot of fanfiction addressing all the missing bits. Or a new trilogy series from this rich universe, maybe (even though I doubt it would follow Eva and Jacks directly).

[sunjaesol]

THE MANY CRUSHES OF LUKE PATTERSON... AND THE ONE THAT STUCK

💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌

1982

Luke Patterson's first crush ever was Haley Martin. He adored the colour of her hair — like the clementines his mom bought — and the way she finger-painted, enough for his four year old eyes to stare at her in awe.

He watched her make mud pies in the sandbox from the monkey bars, only to ruin them to get a rise out of her. He couldn't understand why she didn't like him the way he did, so he nagged his mom to explain.

"Teasing girls should be fun for them too, sweetheart," she soothed. "This Haley clearly didn't like it."

He blinked. "Huh?"

Her smile stayed warm, similar to hot chocolate and whenever grandpa conjured candies from behind his ear. "Why don't you share your grapes with her tomorrow? I'm sure she'll like that."

His nose scrunched up. "Why?"

"Because it's sweet, Luke."

"I don't get that," he shrugged. "But I'll try."

The next day, he sat beside her during storybook time and that seemed to help a little already. By the time it was lunch, her mood was lifted, which excited him too, and urged him to offer the grapes.

It earned him a featherlight kiss on the cheek.

Luke squeaked in surprise, flushing a firetruck red, to which she giggled and plopped another grape in her mouth.

Three days later, his crush was gone from his mind and he began sharing his grapes with his new friend Reginald instead.

1986

"Can you ask Jessica what she thinks of me?" Luke hurriedly whispered, eyes flickering between Reggie and the girl from across the courtyard.

Normally, Luke Patterson exuded confidence. The resident class clown, always opening his jaw to react to the teacher without raising his hand, catching fights with stupid classmates, sneaking into dad's stationwagon to create mixtapes.

Fearlessness was his freaking middle name. (It was actually Beck, but whatever. He wished it was something cool like Duran Duran though.)

But when it came to girls... he got so nervous. Because they were girls! He didn't understand them! They hated rambunctious boys and only listened to stupid pop music and blabbered about how they stole makeup from their sisters.

Jessica, however, somehow made his heart flutter and his stomach twist up. She just looked cool in her dungarees and she had a pretty smile and she didn't wear that overwhelming, sugary perfume that was now popular.

Reggie snickered, in the way only eight year old boys could. "You liiiiiiike her!"

"No!" He scowled. "I–I'm just curious."

"Sure," he drawled, but then shrugged in agreement, the oversized leather jacket rustling on his shoulders. He stole it from his older brother after he saw him kissing (!!!) some girl and figured it held some magic to impress the ladies with.

"Just do it!"

With a dramatic flourish, the boy left their hiding spot, Luke lurking around the corner of the alcove to watch. Jessica looked up from her hard work of creating friendship bracelets and smiled at Reggie.

Oh, gosh. She was pretty.

A minute later, a sheepish Reg slowly crawled back to him, cheeks red and fiddling with the zipper of his jacket.

Luke grabbed his shoulders, urgent. "What did she say?"

"Uh... well..."

"C'mon, dude!"

Reggie sighed. "She... likes me, buddy. Sorry."

His hopeful face crashed into one of devestation, quickly covering it up with a laugh and a squeeze of the shoulder. Oh, man, what would Steven Tyler do?

"That– that's dope!"

In the end, Reggie and Jessica were boyfriend and girlfriend for a week while he wrote an angry poem about how stupid dungarees were.

Huh... it was surprisingly good.

1988

"Hey, Luke," Gwenn greeted, shy, tucking her hands in her Camp Wacky Rocka hoodie. "I really liked that song you made about your guitar."

Jumping from the tree branch to the ground, Luke dazzled her with an appreciative smile. From above, Reggie and their new friend Alex watched on curiously.

"Thanks!"

Who would've thought that summer camp would be the first time he made a real, girl friend! Gwenn was super cool and she played the saxophone and she liked Joan Jett and her hair was all curly and big and it reminded him of pretty clouds.

Looking over her shoulder, he noticed a gaggle of girls staring at them. Like they were waiting.

Gwenn stared at him. "Can you close your eyes?"

He frowned. "Why?"

"Just 'cause."

Whatever. Maybe she wanted to show him something cool and would stick it in his hand. Complying, he closed his eyes and impatiently waited, bouncing on his heels.

"So?"

Suddenly, he felt a light, warm touch on his mouth and — oh! She was kissing him!

Luke staggered back in surprise, gawking at a blushing Gwenn as she squeaked a sorry and ran back to the now giggling and screeching girls. They ran away like a flock of birds.

It was a dare! His first kiss, stolen by a dare!

His boys jumped down beside him, awed.

Reggie hollered. "You kissed Gwenn!"

"I don't get it," Alex muttered.

Luke's face twisted up in a sour expression. Camp Wacky Rocka should be all about the music and becoming legends and Gwenn ruined it!

He stuck his tongue out. "Whatever. Let's go to the mess hall!"

1989

When Luke turned eleven, he kissed someone for real.

His birthday party was at the arcade, loud chatter and robotic sounds clashing together in an amazing cacophony. His parents hated the place, which is why Luke loved it.

Of the twenty guests, Yasmine clapped the loudest after he finished his song with the boys — Math Is For Losers! — and grabbed his hand as they walked to a duel game.

Luke felt fuckin' giddy the entire time. (Freakin' in front of his parents, fuckin' with friends.) The swoop in his stomach, his cheeks stretched into a wide beam.

Freshly eleven and the king of the arcade, he boldly asked if he could kiss her.

She smiled, her purple headband glittering in the neon lights, and nodded.

It was short and warm and her lips tasted like pink lemonade and sour gummies and it gave him an entirely new buzz. It was exciting.

He kissed her a couple more times the days after, eager and curious, until she claimed she was now only interested in twelve year old boys.

Since Luke now held the record of most kisses between him, Alex and Reggie, he wasn't too bothered by it. They shook hands, complimented each other on the kissing, and that was that.

1992

"Are you or are you not my boyfriend?" Olivia bit, crossing her arms.

Luke sighed, lazy gaze drifting from her to his band waiting by their bikes. Damn, he thought having a girlfriend would be way easier. Why was she so tense?

"I am," he said. "Why do you think I'm not?"

"Because you ignore me, like, all the time!" Pouting, she fiddled with the hem of her tartan skirt. "And now you're going to be with your band!"

He shrugged. "You can come with us and listen, if you want."

Luke met Olivia this year as deskmates in French class. Her raven hair was long and thick and her lips were all shiny from lip gloss and maybe he got a little cocky, thinking he could be dating the hottest girl of freshman year, so he naturally asked her out.

Maybe he should've considered beforehand whether they had anything in common, but he'd always been the overzealous type. And besides... she was a good kisser.

She scoffed. "That's not any better. Whatever. I'll just hang with Tina and Priscilla then. Laters!"

Plopping a kiss on his lips, she turned around and stalked to her whispering friends. Luke puffed, adjusted the beanie and made his way to the boys.

Girls were confusing.

"I bet dating boys is easier," Alex mused. "Like, equally terrifying, but also... easier. I think. Maybe."

Bobby laughed. "How's the girlfriend, Luke?"

"Ha ha," he deadpanned. "Let's go. I got this new song, Crooked Teeth, and it's a fucking banger!"

Olivia broke up with him after Sunset Curve's first, official gig at the arcade with the explanation that he loved music more than her. He never loved her to begin with, so maybe that was the problem.

She made out with Bobby that same night.

Holy shit, man. He supposed that bitter feeling at the sight of them tasted like rock 'n roll, the one thing he actually craved.

What a funny, funny feeling. (He wrote a hell of a lot of songs about it after. He never quite looked at Bobby the same way either.)

1995

"Hey, Maisie." Leaning against the locker beside the girl, he shot her a million dollar smile. "You comin' to our gig tonight? It's at The Orpheum."

Maisie was fucking awesome. Always in short, flowery dresses and fishnet tights and thick eyeliner like a rockstar, always listening to something new on her walkman. She came from a rich family, but that didn't hinder them from becoming friends.

Her jaw fell slack in awe, him instantly gaining more confidence. Ducking his head to meet her eye, he leaned a little closer. He knew damn well what he was doing, and he got a thrill every time it worked.

"Really?" She gasped. "That's awesome! I'll so be there!"

"Sweet," he grinned. "And stay after too."

A brow quirked up, intrigued. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Just 'cause."

"Right," she drawled. "Nothing is 'just because' with you, Luke."

"And that's why you gotta stay," he teased, nudging her shoe with his. "To find out."

If they rocked that gig and he felt like a fucking legend, he hoped it would end with the two of them hooking up. He wasn't interested in dating — having learned his lesson after Olivia — and he knew she wasn't either, but she was fun.

And that was the most important to him: to have fucking fun. Luke Patterson was here for a good time, not a long time.

And if nothing happened between him and Maisie, then he'd still feel like a legend. In a couple of hours, he was going to play at The Orpheum! How gnarly was that?!

2022

Twenty-seven years later, Luke was still seventeen years old. While he preferred to not question the science behind ghostly activities — he flunked physics anyway — he was happy that he froze at this age.

Because Julie was seventeen, too.

And, man. He was madly in love with her.

He loved everything, from the babyhairs curling around her ears, to her voice and compassionate soul, to her beautiful smile, all the way to her cute, doodled sneakers.

Her epic music taste, her snark, the way she always found his gaze, the way she finished his lyrics, the way she always knew what to say to make him feel better.

His heart melted to a flickering candle whenever she hugged him, a raging wildfire erupting between every kiss. He was a fool for her.

"Stop moving," she giggled, one hand coming up to hold his chin.

He grinned, "Sorry, Jules."

Shifting closer, she dabbled more glitter on his cheeks. They were playing at a black-light club tonight, so Julie and Flynn bought all the glow in the dark makeup available at the store for the occasion.

They looked ridiculous in daylight, Julie's weirdly pink lipstick claiming all his attention, but he knew they'd look fucking cool once the lights went down.

"You want to watch a movie after the gig?" she whispered.

Luke rolled his eyes, playful. "You're gonna fall asleep."

"Yeah." With a bashful tilt of the shoulder, she leaned in closer. "But then you'll be with me."

"Julie! How scandalous," he teased, though his chest swelled at the thought of having some alone time, some cuddle time, with Julie.

"So?"

Murmuring a yes, he closed the little distance to kiss her, sealing the deal, only for her to chase after him — an attempt to wipe the lipstick stain off his lips.

"Nah, keep it." A smirk grew. "So the people know."

She tsked. "Idiot."

"You like it."

"I'm still taking it off though, seeing as you're supposed to be a hologram," she pointed out. "But... you can kiss my lipstick away after the show."

He sighed, dreamy. "I love you."

Finishing his glitter and removing the stain, she dazzled him with a satisfied smile. "Love you too."

She rose up from the couch and went to search for Reggie, the boy likely with Carlos. For a moment, Luke was alone in the studio, allowing himself to sink into that warm, fuzzy feeling.

No matter how many blunders he went through with girls — Haley, Jessica, Gwenn, Yasmine, Olivia, Maisie — they all prepared him, in one way or the other, for Julie.

To not only recognise when an awesome girl was standing right in front of him, but also how to treat her — because Julie Molina deserved the fucking world.

Even if that world now included the supernatural.

Whatever. They were all a little crazy.

💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌

@bluefirewrites @blush-and-books @pink-flame @ourstarscollided @constantly-singing @unsaid-emily @willexx

[itsyasyall]

Da2 so far gave me lots of feelings, mostly on passage of time, not gonna address all the companions rn, just a few from act 1 and the beginning of act 2, plus some random stuff

Having meeting Anders beforehand in Awakening and traveling with a flirty witted mage ( who still resentful about circles, templars, people's lack of empathy with the cause -as he should- but not hosting anything besides his own thoughts inside himself) really makes an impression on you upon meeting him again in Da2, he still there but less then more, but less. He seemed fragile, still a smart mouth and blunt (and a healer!), something like "if you have meeted me one year before I'd be more/I'd be myself/ I'll only hurt you now".

Justice works in extremes and amplify emotions, and there's too many injustices in the world and Kirkwall. Wynne had Faith with her and Cole was Compassion (on his own body), Justice does feels like a lot to handle, it feels like it sours quickly. Less than 4 years and he's at edge of Vengeance, is Vengeance.

Fenris was not that hard to have around as i thought he'd be, he have strong takes on magic/ mages who comes from a place of trauma and a physical place of extremes (Tevinter), he have a backstory, a baggage.

His and Isabela's banters and conversations are always a delight, him in the Fade was wild (and a mess, he's so very strong and the entire fight was a Lot). Parallels and sharp words who intended to hurt between him and Anders, between him and Merrill, him and Hawke. Apologies not being a foreign concept, not hurting any pride (ha). His song lingering inside my brain " Lady, beautiful of the sun, if you give to the others (freedom), should it not also be given to me?"

Carver, my beloved. This one became a bit personal due the older sibling bit. Carver is resentful and full of rivalry, anger with too many places to go, confrontational, to the point of picking templar sided opinions in the middle of conversations fully aware of his sibling "apostate" status. A young warrior between two older mage siblings, coping with the loss of a sister, of a father, of having to hold on Hawke for a while, "to walk on their shadow". I can't ever have any other feeling for him than "he's a younger brother and I'd do exactly what Hawke did to take care of him, try to talk all the time, let him have his anger and rage, get a house, weird/hard jobs to make sure he's properly taken care of and never have to go through any of this again."

His friendship being something hard to earn works just fine for my Hawke bc i do think he have things to sort out, and that's a thing that only himself can do, while maturing and making his own path.

(I'm also a fully support of 'he'd never join the templars out of spit without regretting at least a bit, his siblings are free mages, were raised like this, and despite his ongoing rivalry thing, that seems like a step too further into a territory of hurt.')

Hawke is a beautiful wreck of human being, mage, older sibling, trying their hardest to provide a home, money, security to their family. Odd jobs, odd friends. Friends, who would thought! On a city made of chains, a perfectly group of ragtags. Varric is a balm in the middle of it all, words coming from the stone who doesn't dream but sprouts the most beautiful stories.

The entire world happening inside a single city, Ketojan's amulet on Hawke's neck, "you are worth following" ringing in their ears as fire consumed him.

Pangs of hurt here and there, always aching. The trip to the Fade cut a bit deeper that it should, Aveline's "I'm less opposed to the Gallows/Circles now that I've seen what mages can do", Fenris' "what does magic touch that it doesn't spoil". Not a single 'how are you feeling?' in months. Words coming from a place of fear and judgement slapped at Hawke's face.

Nursing themself back to their feet bc things still happening, it's been 3 years! And there's more years to come, and letters to answer and problems to solve! Beautiful Hawke. Eventually the bird must land someday, but not right now.

[writing-in-april]

Paint me

Laurent LeClaire x Female Reader

Summary: Reader finally has enough money to splurge on getting herself painted for the first time in her life. When she meets her painter, Laurent, she wonders whether she got more than what she bargained for.

A/N: Hello everyone- sorry this ones out a bit late tonight- I had practice and had to finish up a few things on this one after. This is my tenth fic for my 30 fics in 30 days for April- can’t believe we’re 1/3 through 🙈If y’all have ever seen In Secret you know what scene inspired this fic asdjksdj lol 😂 also @propertyofabelmorales fic from Valentine’s Day also inspired me 🥰 I low key probably spent more time on this than necessary considering he isn’t a very popular character but I couldn’t help myself 😅 In secret was actually the first movie (that wasn’t Star Wars) that I saw Oscar Isaac in so Laurent low key has my heart- even with his murderous tendencies 😂 I always love hearing from my followers so feel free to drop an ask or request here. Thanks for reading and hope y’all enjoy.

Warnings: 18+, Smut, Reader is fearful of Laurent, Reader thinks Laurent might kill her, Dubcon, Oral sex (F receiving), Unprotected sex, Creampie- if any other warnings need to be added let me know

Main Masterlist Word Count: 3.2K

Being painted was an important status symbol in this life. To have your image captured for all to see, put down on canvas by paint from a brush was a way of showing off beauty to the people around you, and the people that came after.

You were elated to have your image captured on canvas for the first time, finally able to afford it on your own. A rare sight in the world that you lived in to see a woman able to pay the fee of having her portrait painted.

Such a rare sight it was that when you had chosen a painter and contacted him he had almost seemed confused. When he had asked if you had a husband you had snorted turning up your nose to then tell him no. It was not that you did not want any sort of romantic touch, but being tied down to someone for years that would probably not cherish you the way you deserved sickened you. So, with no one around to pressure you into an arranged marriage you remained unmarried.

The painter you had hired, Laurent, was sweet as honey, almost to a sickly degree. The charm had remained even after he had realized that you were alone, basically a spinster. Whether or not he kept up the act because he thought it would be easier to get underneath your skirts or because he truly did not mind an independent woman did not matter to you. You would only let your gaze linger over while he painted you, that was all. He was here to paint you, nothing more.

He had positioned you in a chair to sit in a simple position. His reasoning for that he told you was that the simpler the position, the easier it was for your beauty to shine. Painters had a way with words though, so you tried not to let your heart swell from the compliment.

You let yourself stare in each session as he began to lay out the foundation of your likeness. Each time you sat in the chair time ticked by slowly, inch by inch. It was not as if you minded as it let you look upon how his inky curls shone in the dim lighting, plus every other part your eyes were allowed access to. It was only fair in your book, considering his job was to stare at you.

This session you were in now seemed different to the others; he seemed more distant. While you both stared at the other not a single word was exchanged, only the brush on canvas got to speak today with each stroke.

It was harder to concentrate this time on staying as still as possible. You ached to move your legs over, just a bit to the side. Daring to test the waters, hoping he would not notice, your legs twitched a little over to the right.

For a while he continued to say nothing, painting with ease like he had completely missed the twitch in your legs. That was until he decided to speak for the first time in hours,

“No-“ His face twisted, morphing into a look tinged with darkness. It was this first sign of displeasure you had heard from your hours of sitting as if you had a rod in your spine. Dipping his brush back into his paints again to find his desired color was a much more rushed action than before. It was an annoyed and quick movement, trying to swiftly correct the mistake you had assumed he had made. When he returned his brush where it belonged on his canvas it scraped along it as he pushed the paint along, molding it into his image.

Another moment goes by silently and with no more words of displeasure; you begin to relax into your position again. It was already hard to relax fully while his eyes flitted from your body to his canvas; your nerves only raised higher after his outward sign of displeasure. He scrutinized every angle and curve as his eye took in every inch of you to create an accurate portrait of you. You wondered if in his fee there was an understanding that he would paint you in the highest light possible. Though, truth be told it was foolish to question that. What type of painter would he be if he displeased his clients by being honest in his paintings?

It was in his job description to lie. Painters depicted the beauty they saw and made it shine, even if that meant trying to find beauty in the darkest of corners to forcefully shed a light on them. All it took was a painter of proper skill, a canvas, and of course a set of paints. Any unwilling features that tried to fight their painters lies would be forcefully bent to their will, almost like a king, and all with a simple stroke to canvas. No, you weren’t ugly, but you accepted that it was his job to bend the truth to his will.

The darkness you had briefly observed reappeared on his face once more. He tried to be quiet in his frustration, but his whisper could not contain the anger brewing beneath. Truthfully his words were a far cry from a whisper, it was more of a shout, “It is not right!”

Naturally you wanted to question what had made the painter suddenly rise with anger, though you wisely kept your mouth shut tight. You did not know this man, nor did you know what he could be capable of underneath the sweet words. The darkness that brewed glinted in his eyes as he took his brush to canvas again, this time with more venom in his strokes.

You were not going to trust the honeyed words he had spoken to you, at least not now while you saw how the honey could possibly be sour. Even though honey never turned acrid in common knowledge, the sight before you disproved that. Each new brush against his canvas turned violent, almost as if he’d push through the canvas with how much force he was using and create a hole.

You could have left the room in a hurry, or even demanded him leave. After all, it was you that employed him. Watching honey that soured so quick intrigued you, so the rod stayed in your spine, though you knew it was naive of you. You couldn’t trust his words, but you could still listen to them.

Brush after brush splattered paint onto the canvas in front of him that you could not view. His once dexterous movements had devolved into a man you did not know, not that you truly knew him beforehand either. You couldn’t imagine he was painting anything close to your likeness; you highly doubted long irritated strokes would be good for each of your contours and curves.

Clattering noises filled the air of the room you were both trapped in, one trapped by his job and one trapped by curiosity. You hoped the curiosity didn’t kill you like the cat. He had kicked the easel that held the painting he was being paid for, which had caused the clattering. Gripping the paintbrush in his hand with fury he then separated it from the canvas and began to pace.

As he paced your mind wandered further; it was all it could do while it was stuck observing the man before you spiral. You wondered if he had forgotten your presence, even if he had been painting you- and you had even been doubting that.

Clearly he hadn’t forgotten about you as he suddenly stopped his pacing, slowly turning to face you again. His gaze no longer flitted between two things calling his attention, now fully focused on you, still with that rod in your spine.

“It is you.” He spoke with a deadly bite and you could not help but have your bottom lip wobble at his accusation. Racking your brain you tried to find why you were the one that was the source of his wrath and why you were the one that was about to receive it. “You are not in the right position.”

You wanted to protest, saying that you had not moved a muscle since he had placed you in this exact position with your spine rigid in a chair. The protest became stuck in your throat, no doubt because of the fear you now held for the darkness that brewed underneath. You remained stoically silent, rigid as ever, waiting for him to mold you into the position that he wanted you in.

He twirled his paintbrush in his hand absentmindedly while he thought. You did not know what he was pondering, though you had to guess it had something to do with fixing how you were positioned. He answered your own curious thoughts by confirming them, “You need to relax.”

Relaxing, that was hard enough earlier when you had not had fear put in you. Still, you tried to let go of the tension held tightly in your shoulders forcefully just as he did whenever he forced your features to look their best in his painting.

He then sighed, obviously displeased with your effort. Instead of letting you try again he simply gave you an order to ‘stay still’ while he began to approach you with his paintbrush in hand.

As the paintbrush approached you instead of the canvas you could not help but tremble as it came closer. It was not any sort of weapon that could do you any harm; it would take a lot to hurt someone with a paintbrush. Still, you quivered as it approached, perhaps more because of the gaze that was transfixed on you.

Laurent’s gaze was wild, a hint of madness was evident in his eyes. They were two dark pools of almost black fixed upon you as if they were set on devouring you in the oblivion in their depths. Eyes were said to be the window to the soul and Laurent did little to make you doubt that claim. He did not give you soothing words as he saw you tremble beneath his daunting gaze and the slowly approaching bristles of the paintbrush, still partially coated in the color he had last been using. Instead of giving you the soothing words you may have desired the paintbrush crept closer, like it was stalking you in the night just as the obsidian pools he called eyes.

Your quivers were not solely because of the glint of madness you could see, hiding in the depths of his eyes. It would be a lie to say that all your quivers and shivers were rooted in the fear as to what he might do to you if you dared move from the position he had placed you in hours beforehand. Something else akin to desire had found itself at home run in through your veins, unburdened by the worries of what the black pools might be hiding in their abyss.

That feeling, the one that was running through your veins in spite of the lingering fear, was soon guiding your body. You were no longer staying rigid in your position out of fear; you wanted him to touch you, even if only with the tips of his brush.

He knelt down when close enough to then reach to lift up your skirts. You were scarcely breathing now, still afraid yet intrigued as to what a man could do with a simple paint brush. Opening your legs up at the approach of his paintbrush would have been indecent to some, but you could not help yourself. Biting your lip hard enough to possibly draw blood was so you did not move into his touch, letting him come to you as you did not want to incite his wrath. You wanted him to touch you with it, despite that fear of those black pools staring fiercely at you.

The soft bristles finally grazed the inner flesh of your thigh, a small tickle running through the nerves connected to the spot it touched. You could’ve been fooled into thinking that it had been the brush of his hand if your own eyes hadn’t been fixated upon him.

You moved your position just a hair, maybe even smaller than the ones on the paintbrush used to move you.

“There.” His whisper breathless, now devoid of the darkness that had stifled any sweetness.

You ached to hear him say it again, it was not a praise for you in the strictest sense. He had been simply readjusting you, hardly any room or need for any praise. The way he had whispered it along with the whisper of the brush upon your skin made it feel like he was praising you. Before you knew what was happening or considered the consequences you chased the brush he had begun to pull back with your thighs.

The darkness quickly came back on his face when he had noticed you had moved to chase his touch. He began to bark out a command to put you back in your place, even though he was the painter, and you, the client. “Sit ba-“

“Brush me again.” Your plea was too beautiful for him to let it go unanswered, even though you had cut him off. There no doubt was still lingering fear inside you, afraid of what he might do in retaliation.

He surprisingly obliged you, you could see his curiosity meld with the darkness in him. He lifted your skirts again, holding the brush just above the spot where he had touched moments before.

When he brushed the inner flesh of your thigh again, the pressure was harder, less unsure.

That simple touch made you moan, even though he wasn’t touching any spot that normally might bring you pleasure. It was as if a dark shadow had cascaded across his face to blur your perception of who he probably was underneath it all. If it wasn’t for your curiosity and your simple desire you would have thought more critically about his next request.

“Take off your dress.” Like someone without a thought you stripped it off of you in haste, as did he with his own clothes.

In no time at all it seemed, his mouth had enveloped your own, keen on devouring all you had to offer. He picked you up with ease by the tops of your now naked thighs so he could lower you to the floor. He then allowed himself to nip and suck on any section of skin he desired to put his mouth on. Not that you could reciprocate as he had your hands held above your head.

When his fingers started to dance along the tops of your thighs just as the brush had done you instinctively pushed your thighs together. The action was quickly reversed by Laurent releasing your hands to push your thighs apart, giving him an unobstructed view of your entrance.

His mouth was soon swiftly on the places that brought you pleasure, sucking your pearl into his mouth like a sweet.

You wanted to writhe underneath him out of sheer pleasure, but he did not need to bind you to make you immobile. That fear still lingering in your mind kept your body still, even as he combined his mouth with his fingers by pushing them into your entrance.

“There?” He whispered as he crooked them upwards, trying to find the spot that would make you see stars. It wasn’t quite right though, so you shook your head side to side. You didn’t dare to speak, not that you could do anything more but making unintelligible moans of pleasure.

“There.” He whispered with finality when he hit that somewhat spongy spot inside you making you cry out louder than before. It was so nice to hear him say those words again, honeyed words that tasted so sweet even though they were tainted by darkness. Your release shot through you quickly, like an arrow sent to kill you.

He removed his fingers from you when you were finished with your first release of the night, wasting no time to push himself inside you. He was larger than any other man you had been with, stretching you blissfully and almost painfully. You were lucky he was not too cruel to not let you adjust to his size, but as soon as you had he unleashed himself upon you. All you could do was wrap your legs around his waist and let him thrust into you at a brutal pace. The sounds of skin slapping on skin were so loud they almost over took the moans you were emitting along with his grunts.

When his hand came to wrap around your neck your own mortality became evident to you. Early before you had succumbed to his touch with a simple brush, you had been afraid he might harm you, even with the desire pumping through your blood. You had not even thought of beyond a simple bruise or cut to your flesh by him. His hand around your throat while he thrusted into you made you wonder how much it would take for him to squeeze until your lips turned blue.

Desire one again took over your fear, his hand around your neck combined with the sweet nothings whispered in your ear made you fall apart again. It was a slow devastating release like honey dripping off a spoon languidly until it dropped down to sweeten the pot. Even though his own honey had turned sour, he still was fully capable of making people feel sweetness while shrouded in darkness.

He filled you soon after you had finished your own release with a grunt. Neither of you had any real care to be able to give to the possible consequences of him filling you. He rolled off of you and you were glad in the moment he didn’t crush you under his weight like most men would have done.

Silence seemed to be a staple item that constantly wormed its way in between the two of you. No one spoke for a while, truthfully it might have been an hour. Laurent was the first to break it again, with much less malice than before,

“Do you want me to continue to paint you?” He whispered into your skin as he continued to pepper his plush lips across your skin. Glancing up towards the easel that still faced the canvas away from you and then over to the bare man next to you helped aid you in your decision. You could let him leave with wasted paints, wasted canvas, and wasted potential.

The wasted potential was what stopped you from letting him paint the rest of the angles of your body. Pondering what could come of the painting, and your relationship with the man who had just made you see stars while simultaneously making you fear or your life at the same time made you frown. The possibilities were endless, but those two black pools hid something too interesting for you to ignore. You wanted to know more, even ached for it.

“Yes.” You simply replied and you then willingly fell into the abyss.

Ask Me Anything

—-

Tag lists (message me if you want to be added):

All works: @shotarosleftpinky @90spumkin @kyra-morningstar @s1utformgg @takeyourleap-of-faith — grr tumblr is still being stupid

People who might be interested 🤷‍♀️: @propertyofabelmorales @sergeantkane @foxilayde

[caker-baker]

sir your super speed vs telepathy snippet is just so good??? i literally love it so much omg. if you have the time, could you continue it? thanks!♥️💕

The villain knew they were smart. They knew they were crafty, quick, and sometimes cruel. They knew a lot of things about themself. They didn’t know how much they would enjoy the hero’s company.

Yes, their plot had been to keep the hero, to keep those calm thoughts just for the villain whenever they had a rough day. The hero was meant to be a soothing presence, nothing more, really.

So, why were they reading together?

“Can I ask you something?” The hero set their book down.

“You just did.” The villain smirked at that, still holding their book.

“You’re hilarious. Really, though.”

The villain closed their book with one hand, and repositioned themselves to be fully apt for the hero.

“Something wrong?”

“Probably a lot of things.” The villain managed to issue the warning with their eyes, so the hero didn’t press any further on that subject. “But that’s not important. How did you do it?”

The villain warily looked at the band around the hero’s head.

“Which part?”

“Can’t you just read my mind or something?”

The villain groaned. “You’re a pain.”

“Only on Tuesdays.”

They picked their book up again, turning away from the hero.

“The answer to your first question is simple, I’m brilliant. The second is no, it’s not technically mind control, it’s more like compulsion. And yes, being alone would be easier, but would you want to be alone?”

It was a satisfying enough answer for the hero, but something still bothered the villain.

“I can tell there’s something else in that head of yours.” They turned a page, not truly reading at this point.

“No.” The hero lied.

“Is lying to a telepath really the best course of action?”

The hero clasped their hands together. “I guess not.”

“I hear your little inquiry, it’s the loudest you’ve ever thought. A classic really, most people think it everyday without realizing. ‘Why me?’ Truly, an idiotic thing to think.” After a pause, they added, “Not for you, though. I think your case is somewhat validated.”

“So?” The hero prodded.

“I thought I explained this.” Another page turned.

“While I was in a frantic state. It would do good to explain it again.”

“Do good for you.” The villain mumbled. Nevertheless, they were somewhat urged to comply.

“I can say with the upmost confidence that you are the only one who has ever brought a semblance of a calming presence. I had no interest in fighting some speedster with surely racing thoughts. Then I actually heard you.”

“And placed a mental track on me?”

“I’m selfish, I wanted that calming presence again.” The villain’s eyes narrowed. “You said you were in a state of panic.”

The hero shrugged. “It’s...blurry. You know I’m not lying.”

“No, you aren’t.” Sly eyes looked at the hero’s discarded book. “Answer some questions for me.” It wasn’t a suggestion.

“Ok.”

“Why do you think you were assigned to me?” The villain asked, something a bit too saccharine in their tone. “It was a gift, turns out, but I would like to know who to thank.”

Maybe the tone of voice should have made the hero shudder, but they didn’t, they couldn’t.

“I don’t know. They never even told me what you could do.”

“No one knew.” The villain brushed off. “I defeated them and took away any memory of how they lost.”

While the villain would have otherwise answered the hero’s silent question, the villain still had more to ask.

“And after the first few fights, you ran, both metaphorically and literally. Why?”

“I’m afraid of you.”

What a jarring answer.

“You still are?” The villain asked, their fingers curling around the edges of their book.

“I guess.” The hero shrugged, motioning to their head. “You’re capable of this. That’s fearful enough.”

Fluid would be the best way to describe how the villain moved, the hero suddenly face to face with the villain, who had rested their chin in their hand. It was probably the hell design on their head, but the hero’s own speeding receptors had hardly seen them coming.

“You didn’t know I was capable of that until three days ago.” They were smiling. “That was before all,” the villain waved vaguely. “this. Why were you afraid of me beforehand?”

“Hm.” The hero crossed their legs. “I’ve never thought about it. You just unnerved me, in a way.”

In a way wasn’t a good answer for the villain. But the villain had time now, and calm. Right now, they just wanted the calm. So they picked up their book, and went back to reading, the hero doing the same.

With one final sweep of the hero’s mind, the villain chuckled.

“It is an ugly band isn’t it? I’ll work on something else.”

.

On the eighth night of being there, the hero awoke to a nearly crying villain, or so they thought. It was extremely probable that the villain had been crying earlier, or just stopped crying very recently.

“You can...go back to sleep. I didn’t intend to wake you.” The villain had something clutched tightly in their hand.

“Are you ok?”

“No.”

On the eighth night and the ninth morning, the hero sat beside the villain, giving them all the comfort in the world.

.

The villain managed to turn the band into a well decorate bracelet.

.

It was a shame the villain trusted them, to an extent. The smallest amount of trust could work for the hero, they had played on much less before.

It was difficult to truly explain, but the hero didn’t feel the odd prodding in their head nearly as much as they had some time ago. There still remained that compulsion, that compliance, but the hero wasn’t particularly inclined to give into it.

The band, now the bracelet, had seemed to somehow dull

Regardless, they didn’t necessarily mind the villain’s fingers running up and down their arm.

“You’ve been gone the last couple of days.” The hero commented.

“I have.”

“What have you been up to?”

That threw the villain off. Even with the time spent with the hero, with the hero being mostly theirs, they hadn’t expected them, a hero, to ask. They probably wouldn’t want to know.

The villain answered with furrowed eyebrows. “What is your best guess?”

“Putting buckets of water on top of door frames?” The hero pulled away, much to the annoyance of the villain.

“That’s not a horrible idea.” In a touch starved attempt, the villain grabbed the crook of the hero’s arm, pulling them closer.

“You should reevaluate what’s a good crime an what’s not.”

“Oh, please.” The villain began running their fingers up and down the hero’s arm again. “I want your actual guess.”

“Why?”

The villain caught the hero’s second attempt to pull away, and not wanting to upset them, reluctantly relinquished.

“Maybe I’ll use your idea, maybe I feel like being cruel.”

It didn’t have the effect that the villain intended, the hero just made a low humming noice.

What did the villain intend? What effect did they want? Were they trying to seduce the hero to their side, or was this really some attempt at cruelty?

“I think you should let me go.”

The villain’s head snapped up, their eyes angry, focusing on the hero before locking onto the bracelet.

It was easy enough for the hero to tell what would come next, and so it was easy for them to speed behind the villain before they could freeze the hero again.

“That’s what you want to play, then?” The villain turned slowly, only to see no hero.

“The mental track is...” although the villain was shocked, they were also impressed, and couldn’t stop themselves from breaking into a smile. “You’ve been practicing? I’m curious as to how, exactly.”

The hero watched the villain turn in slow circles as they zipped place to place. They hadn’t been practicing as the villain meant, they just knew what to do. The band, then the bracelet, became easier to resist, and gave the hero some knowledge of the inner workings of the villain’s abilities.

“I can’t hear you either.” The villain’s face soured. “That was the whole point. But don’t worry, pet, once I get you back, I’ll enjoy combing through that lovely head manually.”

After more silence, the villain continued. “Don’t you remember what I said to you? Feels like forever ago, doesn’t it?” The villain sneered. “That I would find you, again and again, that you would have nowhere else to run. That holds true today, pet.”

With quiet concentration, the hero began to move their wrist at a different frequency, the frequency of the bracelet.

They didn’t like this trick, it felt like they didn’t exist correctly. Still, it was efficient, and it worked. The bracelet, which the hero realized was more of a cuff, dropped to the ground.

The hero sped away, feeling relieved and confused. For some reason, they could almost imagine what the villain would do.

Pick up the cuff-bracelet.

Realize their prize is truly gone.

And scream.

They were right, and wished they hadn’t been. The hero heard the villain’s screaming voice for days afterwards.

[lizacstuff]

Your thoughts on the epi? I thought it was a good episode overall. Serkan is acting the way I thought he would: he wants to be the perfect Dad, is scared she won't love him, is spoiling her but also teaching her things. I'm not quite sure why Kiraz isn't calling him Baba, maybe she needs time to adjust to calling him that. I have mixed emotions when it comes to the way Eda spied on Serkan. I understand she's worried but trust the man a little. No comments on Aydan and Ayfer! They are too much!

Hello! I liked the episode. It felt very light, very romcom-y and I thought it was very enjoyable to watch. Loved every minute of Serkan trying to be the ideal dad and I'm here for the Edser UST this ep brought. They want each other sooooo much. And, yes, Eda wants him, she wants him bad. I thought the custody thing at the end was silly and convoluted, but, hey, I'm totally here for the "they're not together and fighting their feelings, but forced to live together" trope so I will just ignore how unbelievable it would be for Edser to be drowning in hearteyes for each other all ep, getting along in regards to Kiraz, AND seemingly aware that Aydan/Ayfer were up to something and still allow a misunderstanding over their shenanigans to spiral to that nonsense degree.

Maybe the folks that think that Serkan & Eda were playing all the meddling family and friends are right, and they set it up beforehand, it's just that I've thought things were a fake out on this show so many times, only for them to be real, so at this point I'm operating under the assumption that this is just a romcom plot point to throw our romantic leads together and it's not worth examining it too closely.

I'll give my thoughts on the "Baba" vs "Serkan Bolat" thing and Eda's actions after we talk a bit about the B, C and D players... Thankfully we had plenty of Edser and Kiraz screen time this ep so the supporting stories didn't overwhelm the episode too much.

(much more under the cut)

That being said, who can we pay to get these people to mind their own f-cking business? LMAO. At least Engin and Piril weren't annoying and were actually trying to be helpful. I mean, Piril is still cancelled, but if she's not causing trouble now then she's not at the top of my shit list. However, I did laugh at her when she's sort of pleading with Serkan: "We've been friends for a long time, you'll understand why I did this." Um... what, Piril? You're sitting there approximately 72 hours after Serkan found out he has a child and he's already proven that he's ALL IN on being a father, and you expect Serkan to think you were right for hiding it from him? Cause why? He has already proven that any concerns you had about him rejecting Kiraz were invalid. The only thing wrong with Serkan's anger at Piril is that it will probably only last for that scene.

Anyone else think Kerem the assistant is an ass? Seriously, do they really want us to root for sweet Pina to be with this dickweasel? He's insecure, he thinks he knows it all, he's snarky and lashes out, he's vindictive. No thanks.

As for Aydan and Ayfer. Ooph. As punishment for their unprecedented assery this episode they both need to be stranded on a desert island with only each other. Only then maybe they'll learn not to insert themselves by such underhanded means. They're both giant pains in the ass, but Ayfer still annoys me more than Aydan. Because here's the thing, once Edser is back together and Serkan is happy, Aydan will fully embrace Eda again, but I don't think the same can be said for Ayfer. Did you see some of the bitchy, sour faces Ayfer was making, taunting Eda about her soft spot for Serkan. She's insufferable.

Turning to the nonsense meddling custody plot line, Kemal and Seyfi were just following orders, but what is Melo's excuse? It's unfortunate that the narrative pulled her into this. Ayfer may have her head in the sand, and not really care what Eda wants, but Melo does and she knew that Eda wanted to cooperate with Serkan and bring him into Kiraz's life, she knew that Eda was about 2 seconds from melting every time she was near Serkan, and that they were likely on the cusp of rekindling their relationship. There is no way she should have been complicit in trying to get evidence against Serkan or visiting lawyers behind Eda's back.

However, even after being complicit in Ayfer's nonsense, she still deserves a helluva lot better than Burak. That guy was annoying af this episode. What exactly does he think he's doing? I'm sorry, in that situation you step back and give the people going through such a monumental life change some space. Again, it's not like it needs to be forever, but you don't try and monopolize the kid's time the night of and 2 days after she meets her long-lost father. He needs to fuck all he way off.

Also since Eda had no interest in this guy, why is he coming over to tuck in the kid EVERY night? I get that he's been good to Kiraz and they have a nice relationship, but that's soooo overkill, it's just not normal. Especially since they've said they've only been living there a year. The only reason for a dude to revolve his entire life around a kid like that is because he's actively trying to get in the mom's pants. So when it comes to Burak's intentions, Eda is as dense as Serkan used to be with Balca/Selin/Actress. Burak only took that level of interest and inserted himself into their lives because he wanted Eda, and Eda should realize that and have a frank conversation with him. Eda doesn't even have to be cognizant that she will inevitably get back together with Serkan, she already knows she has no interest in Burak. She should tell him. And if she's already told him (which it seems she might have from her comments to Ayfer and Melo) she should put some boundaries in place because his presence was ridiculous.

It still blows my mind that this sad sack thinks he has a shot with Eda. Seriously, while the dude isn't hideous, he's also not attractive and he has the personality of dead grass coupled with the charisma of warm mayonnaise. He's not worthy of either Eda or Melo. The scene of Melo and Burak walking on the beach made me a bit uncomfortable. They're totally setting that relationship up, but so far all we see is Melo obviously harboring feelings for him as Burak broods over his Eda delusions. We'll have to see how this plays out, but I feel like Burak didn't need to be this upset over Eda for the story to work, and it would be a lot easier to root for him with Melo if by episode 5 if he wasn't still actively trying, as Engin said, to take over Serkan's family.

On to Edser and the newly forming Bolat family unit. It's funny, I'm not someone who thinks a woman needs to take her husband's last name, I think people should do whatever they want, but for whatever reason I really, really want Eda and Kiraz to have his name. Maybe because I think they all crave having people to belong to in a sense. Serkan because he was unloved and sent overseas alone at such a young age, Eda because she was an orphan, Kiraz because she didn't have a dad in early childhood. So for that reason, I really do feel like it will be meaningful to have them tied together that way as a family unit. They belong to each other now (or they will soon).

Along those lines, you say you're not sure why Kiraz isn't calling him Baba, narratively, I think it's because that will be a big milestone in their relationship. When she feels comfortable enough, connected enough, and secure enough with him to do that, it's going to melt all of our hearts right out of our chests. If she'd done it right away it wouldn't feel as special as it's going to feel when it eventually happens because she feels it (not just because it's a fact).

As for her calling him Serkan Bolat, I think it's adorable. That's how she knew him before, it would be weird if she called him anything other than that or Baba, (like Serkan or Abi) because then it would be like she was settling on that, but calling him by his full name, which is such a part of his identity, is cute and charming and pays tribute to the interactions they had before they knew of their relationship, and it's a signal that it's only temporary. Baba is coming, don't worry.

Loved Kiraz showing Serkan her room and all of her things, and really loved Eda standing there, smiling, soaking it in. I've seen a lot of criticism of Eda in this episode and she did have a few moments that were unnecessarily harsh, but I think it's also valid to give her a minute to adjust because this is a lot of change in just a couple of days. While she now knows Serkan had understandable, and even noble, reasons for what he did and said, that still doesn't erase the heartbreak and pain he put her through, or the 5 years of being a single mother and not having anyone to consult or needing to consult anyone on decisions regarding Kiraz.

I do think, though, that we didn't see Eda give him enough credit when he covered for her lies to Kiraz. When Kiraz asked her why she didn't tell her Serkan Bolat was her father and then asked him when mom didn't answer, he could have easily told the truth and thrown Eda under the bus, big time, but instead he comes up with something that passes as an explanation, doesn't make anyone a villain, but also doesn't make him look great. I wish we'd seen Eda recognize that. It was a magnanimous gesture on his part, since he and Kiraz were the ones who were lied to for 5 years.

However, her running a bit hot and cold this episode makes sense. On one hand when she's around him her heart feels that strong orbital pull towards him. She loves him. She always has loved him, she always will love him. Just like with Serkan, that will not change, and obviously didn't after heartbreak and separation. But it also makes sense that at times her head takes over and with it the fear and the memory of the pain and she freezes up a bit. It doesn't ding her or their love, she just needs time to let herself believe that this is really happening. That Serkan is back, that he still loves her, that he loves their daughter and wants to be a father and form a family. From the way she recorded those videos, how many times do we think she dreamed of them being a happy family together? I'm guessing a lot. Now it's within her grasp and I think she just needs to be sure that Serkan is for real before she fully succumbs to this dream.

She also needs to get over her pride, I'm sure there's a part of her (Ayfer's voice) telling her a woman doesn't go back to a man who hurt her that badly. But as we saw, girlfriend was snuggling with his shirt, she still has it so bad for him. But, pro tip, Eda, he wanted to stay the night, wouldn't it be so much more fulfilling to snuggle with the real thing? I promise it would... just let him in. The lawn scene was hilarious. Kerem is really and truly a gifted physical comedian. We know how tight the timelines are on this show and they don't get to do a lot of takes, but his stumbling over the furniture and falling was flawlessly done. Hande was great too... that bat! Of course the sexual tension in the robes and towel scene was magnificent. When she first walked in wearing that towell I thought my man was going to combust. That look on his face, priceless.

Speaking of priceless, what first-day Baba makes his little girl's dreams come true like Serkan Bolat does? Staying up all night to build her flying house? MY HEART!

What a fantastic first gift. It was incredibly thoughtful, it was meaningful to the two of them, and it was also Serkan giving a piece of himself (using his skills in what he does best as an architect) to her.

Absolute perfection.

And how sweet that Serkan wanted to spend the day with her alone!?! I really liked that because we all know he loves Eda, he wants Eda back, and he will use any excuse to spend time with Eda. And he could have done that here, but he doesn't. So the fact that he wanted to spend the day alone with Kiraz, clearly illustrates that his interest in Kiraz, his desire to be her father stands on it's own. Kiraz is not just an excuse to get close to Eda, he is pursuing both relationships, and they are both important to him.

Also you said that you have mixed emotions on the way Eda spied on Serkan, that she doesn't trust him, but honestly I really don't think it's about that. She might have been a little discombobulated by the idea because the man has never really spent any time with children and here he's thrust into fatherhood, but she trusts him and knows Kiraz is safe with him. Honestly, I think her biggest driving factor in following them is FOMO.

She doesn't want to miss this! She has wondered what kind of father he might be for years, and now she wants to witness it. She wants to be there and see what he's like when he's spending time with her. She also wants to be a part of it, and a part of her might be a little jealous. For years she's been the only parent, and now another parental bond is forming and it's natural she is curious what that's going to look like.

Melo even sees through her during their conversations while they're out spying. Eda pretends it's because she's worried that Serkan doesn't know what he's doing, but Melo susses out that it's really because she missed Serkan. I think she really just wanted to be a part of it.

And her ulterior motives are exposed when she reacts with jealousy over the park moms and then with Hulya. She's jealous over Serkan, but also over what it might mean if Serkan had a woman in his life that's not Eda. (Real simple way to ensure that doesn't happen, Eda, just saying). On first watch it was a little frustrating to watch Eda be upset about Huyla and not have it cleared up immediately. However, on the second time through I found it incredibly enjoyable to watch. Hilarious even. Knowing that Serkan is going to let her off the hook just a few minutes later, and it's not going to be a drawn out misunderstanding, it's very fun to watch him just totally bask in her jealousy. The way he sits there and giggles and is just so chuffed at her display was very endearing. Since he's been celibate for 5 years, I suppose he's earned an incrediulous laugh at her thinking he has all these women on the line.

Eda is not wrong to be concerned about the Bolat's ability to spoil Kiraz with material things, Aydan can get out of control, however I can't be mad at the pony. The girl asked him if he had horses the first day they met, she said she wanted a dad like Serkan who had horses, he HAD to get her one she could actually ride! The girl was deprived of her father for 5 years because both of her parents are stubborn, so, let's be real, she kinda deserves a pony. Besides Eda should be more worried about the "spoiling" she gets from her camp, where she, Ayfer, Melo and Burak let her get away with constantly running away/running wild, eating ice cream whenever she wants, being rude to strangers etc. The fact that she's taught it's okay to knock a customer's water over without apologizing is more damaging to a forming personality than a pony. (Yes, that was another dig at Burak.) The point is, spoiling isn't only about material things, and from the glimpses we've seen of Baba Serkan he's already taught her about taking responsibility (confessing to breaking the window and apologizing), being self sufficient (tying shoelaces, putting pjs on herself), and setting behavioral boundaries (don't shoot arrows at people in hotels, you shouldn't hug strangers). He's going to be a very good influence in her life, because despite growing up with material privilege the man believes in hard work, effort and personal accountability.

Anyway, loved that when Serkan told Eda about dinner with Engin/Piril/Can she looked so secretly pleased when she casually agreed to go. I think that goes hand in hand with why she was spying, she won't let herself admit it, but she so badly wants them to do things as a family. That was part of her tug o' war this episode. Wanting that, but then suddenly worrying that maybe she shouldn't want that after everything that's happened, those feelings are helped along by Ayfer's judgemental looks and comments, and Burak trying to assert his place and Eda maybe feeling guilty.

Eda's behavior at dinner perfectly summarized the war going on between her head and heart this episode. First she fights with Serkan, going so far as to tell him she hates him, but the second she gets good news she flings herself into his arms. He's the person she wants to celebrate with, he's the person she wants congratulations from. So even if she was mad at him, she can't help herself. Also thank you Engin for telling Eda how Serkan lost weight and didn't come to work for months after she left. Those are important things for her to know. Also reinforced later by Aydan.

And thank you, Jan, for planting that fear of her dad leaving again with Kiraz, because it gave us sleep over at the Bolat house. It also gave us Kiraz asking Serkan if he will leave her. A good question and I'm glad we have Serkan's promise to never leave her. Just with the way tragedy (and meddling family members and obsessed stalkers) seems to find both Eda and Serkan, it's good he's made that promise. And it's good that he knows she needs that promise.

Now onto the secret room. I suppose if you're going to keep all of that and you have a large house, then you might as well keep it in a special room. This was a huge missing piece for Eda. Something tangible that she can see with her own two eyes that proves that he never forgot her and has been pining for her since the day they parted. I thought Eda was suitably touched by it all, and the fact that he got her gifts for every birthday. Anyone else think that they're going to get married on the beach and she's going to wear those flip-flops, that white dress, and the locket when they do? That's what sprung to my mind. The Neslihan scarf product placement made me roll my eyes, though.

To be honest I really didn't care what the gifts were, all I cared about was that thank you cheek kiss. I DIE. The birthday-present-thank-you cheek kiss he gave her in 7 is one of my all time favorite scenes and this parallel was a long time coming and wonderfully executed. And then they delivered on the USTy stare off where they clearly want to make out, but they're not quite there yet. It was going to have to be Eda that broke them out of it, because up to Serkan they either kiss or he stares at her for the rest of time.

Did anyone else feel a crick in their back, neck, legs at how Eda slept on that couch? Serkan was as comfy as can be, stretched out using her legs as a pillow and her torso as a blanket, lol. I wish the editors would have given us a couple of more seconds lingering on them all contorted like that. It was too precious. It would have been sweet if they'd had Kiraz find them and watch them for a minute before waking them up. Show the parent-trapping gears turning in her mind.

Buba absolutely deserved Serkan showing up to spoil his outing. And of course both ladies instantly gravitated to Serkan. I liked this scene because it gave us over-the-top BDE Serkan, a whiff of "Drain the pool" Serkan, the comedy of Engin and Serkan doing the Cyrano thing, and the obvious little "fish" measuring metaphor. But what I really liked was Eda telling him that he didn't need to try so hard to win Kiraz, that he just had to be himself. That was important and lovely, and illustrated to him that she really did want him to develop a good relationship with Kiraz.

The best moments of the episode for them, though, came during their family stargazing outing. Loved Serkan's extra safety precautions, including the mirror just so he can see her in the backseat. Though, if he's that concerned about it, maybe a larger car, lmao? Kiraz tricking them into kissing was an auspicious start to the evening, hopefully that's a taste of things to come. I'm here for her forcing the two of them into intimate situations.

The way Serkan was looking at the two of them throughout the stargazing was something else. He was looking at them with such longing. Like he couldn't believe they were so close, but he wanted them so badly. DUDE, they are right there, continue to play your cards right (and not let Ayfer and Aydan spoil things, spoiler alert, they do) and you're just days away from having everything you want. Loved that he changed the Apollo story to give it the happy ending he wants. Hopefully, that gave hope to any doomsdayers out there that think this show is going to end in tragedy. (Spoiler alert, it's not).

The only shame is that they have that nice (if not detached from reality conversation since they pretend they're not going to be together raising Kiraz) adult conversation about cooperating and working out how they're going to deal with Aydan and Ayfer, only for things to go totally off the rails during said conversations. As I said off the top of this marathon post, it was totally unbelievable in the context of the rest of the episode, but as I always say you can't take this show too seriously, and I prefer to just enjoy the situations as they come and not get too annoyed when they take these writing shortcuts to drive the plot. I plan on very much enjoying Eda and Serkan forced to live together while they're (or at least she) is still pretending they're not going to end up together. Looks like next week is another fun romcom romp, and I'm here for it!

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Okay hear me out, I have spent minutes of my entire attention and focus on your Expanding on the “Schlatt’s book made Dream self-aware” theory and well i can't deny the fact you have made several critical points on your post Schlatt the dictator of the Manberg or what the hell it was country called now on since well it was just all a crater but oh my god... You're a genius the book that Schlatt have made Dream self aware but one thing is bugging me on on where exactly he became self aware? Was it the story that being written to them? Was the book that Schlatt gave Dream stated that he and the rest of the characters of the Dream SMP are just a figment of the imagination of the people who potrayed them? Did he knew that there's "us" the people the viewers that SMP! Dream who is watching the stories from before the "Tommy Join Arc" unfold cause if he is well.. But hey it's just my baseless conspiracy theory also.... Blood hell this making me all my head hurt more...

Where Schlatt became self-aware? Or Dream?

Because I think “the script” is probably the simplest answer for what’s in the book, since as stated before, 

The Schlatt Administration Arc’s conflict was started because Schlatt “defied” the script after he read it and decided he didn’t want to follow it.

(not really, of course, but within the story Wilbur was writing he did)

I didn’t even realize until I went back to answer that other ask that I realized that “the script” was literally referenced at this major turning point in the plot. The script, by name, by page.

Schlatt flipped through the pages, referenced the wrong plot points in the timeline and then endorsed the wrong party, then said “screw it” and ran for president himself, despite Tommy and Wilbur’s protests.

Now, notice how up until then Dream wasn’t really a main part of the plot in the Election Arc and then in the Schlatt Administration Arc following the inauguration? All he did was say he would be a shadow cabinet supporting the Pogtopians from afar. Explaining his actions with his politics, basically.

He read whatever was in the book and suddenly he knows about the traitor in the Pogtopians’ ranks and no longer seems to care about Schlatt’s “ambition” that he was making such a deal over beforehand.

Because if he knew the script, then he would also know that Schlatt didn’t actually provide a threat to his faction. And, knowing that it doesn’t even matter, Dream also stopped justifying his actions with faction alliances in the first place. It was just “chaos wins” for him after that.

PLUS remember his whole talk to Tommy by the bench where he said his whole thing about how “a little birdy told me” that there was a disc-burning stream being planned?

Yes, that could’ve just been Bad and Skeppy in-character saying they wanted to burn Tommy’s disc, but it could also double as Dream knowing the script for the future plotline.

---

Dream: jschlatt gave me something

Quackity: “Dream, what does that message mean?”

Tommy: “What’d he give you? Disease?”

Dream: “...I can’t say what he gave me. He gave me something that means I’ll have to defend...Manberg.”

Tommy: “He gave you a disease, didn’t he.”

Quackity: “What’d he give you? Why do you have to defend Manberg now?”

Dream: “Well...I can’t say what he gave me. It’s a secret.”

Wilbur: “He’s such a little anti-hero!”

Dream: “I mean, you can blow it up if you want, I don’t care about that.”

Tommy: “What could he have given you?”

Dream: “It was just an agreement. He gave me his signature on an agreement. Saying any more would give away too much of...his...plan, I guess.”

...

Dream: “I’d say that my uh...interest...is in myself. And I’ve been given something that is more powerful to me than just...’friendship,’ I’d say.”

...

Dream: “He agreed to something that neither Tommy nor Wilbur would agree to.”

---

What’s a script if not both an agreement and a plan? 

We know how the script went after that. They set up a war, had a fight and then Schlatt went into the Camarvan to “have a heart attack and fucking die,” and then Wilbur blew the whole place up anyway.

Yet, that was Schlatt’s “plan.” That was his plan.

“If I die, this country goes down with me.”

And then he died.

The one thing that I’m still not sure about is why Wilbur wouldn’t agree to it. Because wasn’t Wilbur the traitor? Tommy, sure, but why Wilbur? 

(And to clarify, since the meta theory can be confusing -- this upcoming idea is all referring to character Wilbur and not literal writer Wilbur since the 16th did go to plan in the actual writing)

I can think of one idea, but it admittedly might be a stretch...

With the meta narrative of Schlatt and Dream knowing the script, Wilbur’s Chekhov’s Gun was threatened.

Do you remember how everyone felt on the 16th just after Schlatt died? 

Wow, that was easy...a bit...too easy? Maybe even anticlimactic?

We know Wilbur spoke with Dream and they’d agreed that Wilbur would blow it up anyway, but Wilbur also told Tommy that he was planning on blowing it up if “things went sour.”

Things didn’t go sour. Victory was handed to Wilbur on a silver platter. Tommy literally handed Wilbur the Presidency back. It was the farthest thing from “sour.”

Remember how Wilbur was a little...confused when Schlatt had his heart attack?

---

Dream: “There wasn’t a traitor, Wilbur. I was just lying to make you guys scared.”

...

Wilbur: “I thought I was the trai -- okay...sure, uh...that’s why you took me into a VC and every...I mean it’s pretty obvious, wasn’t it? I mean...okay, I mean I guess...that’s...”

Tommy: “WE WON!”

---

Sure, Wilbur gave the reason that “there was a special place and it’s not there anymore,” but the biggest reason he blew it up was just...

Chekhov’s Gun.

As in, a narrative device in the script.

...

So...yeah. That’s just an idea.

But at the end of the day,

this is all definitely a VERY unlikely theory. It’s a crack theory that I enjoy, but the more likely explanation is probably something a lot simpler and with less meta going on. 

But it’s still a fun theory! :D

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Weird, “My human.”

You guys requested some more LFIL stuff, so I have brought it. Lots of Fluff, I hope. So please enjoy. Also based on a couple ideas given to me by the Discord server :)

“Where are we going.”

“You’ll see.”

“I feel like this is becoming our thing.”

“What?”

“Dragging the other to some sort of event and not saying literally anything about it beforehand.” Sunny hummed deep in her chest and Adam just rolled his eyes, looking around at the dark city awash with eternal night.

“Why Noctopolis of all the places. I mean we have a week off and you want to spend your vacation days in the literal dump of the galaxy?”

She huffed and rolled her eyes, “Please, you love it here. It's like any tradeworld from any sci-fi movie ever.”

That shut him up, and she could see the slow grin pass over his face.

Finally she shrugged, “Look, I just thought it would be nice to… go somewhere where we could relax, not have to worry about hiding.”

“I think there are a few nice beachfront planets we could have done that on.”

“Not with the tourism.” She shot back 

A gust of sour wind kicked up through the bustling night streets tugging at Adam’s jacket and rippling the blue of his shirt like ripples across a pond. He adjusted his eyepatch as she led him through a maze of back alleys and tall buildings.

They took a rickety lift down into the gorge where the ever-present red mist billowed and glowed below them in patterns that undulated and wired.

They stepped off into another shallow rift, and followed a narrow street down into another side alley, where Sunny stopped.

Trash and little bits of paper blew around them where they stood in front of a peeling red door.

Adam raised an eyebrow at Sunny, “Ah, beautiful. A lovely vacation spot, I would like to move here and retire.”

“Smartass.” She mumbled at him before knocking on the red door.

There was a long pause while they waited, Adam tapping his foot against concrete below before the door opened a crack and a single human eye peered out at them. The distant echo of music thudded up through the room echoing off the walls.

“What do you want?”

“I’m A friend of Adam.”

Adam frowned and raised an eyebrow as the door shut suddenly and there was a rattling on the other side as if a chain was being released.

He glanced at Sunny but she only shook her head.

The door opened, and a woman with short buzzed black hair stepped into the doorway, invisible tattoos glowing under the blacklight.

As her eyes fell on him, he watched as her eyebrows raised, single eyebrow stud glittering in the light, “You weren’t kidding. Then her stern face broke into a smile, “Come on in. Any ‘friend of Adam’s is a friend of mine’.”

Adam followed along behind Sunny as the music grew louder, “Is that a code for something…. Is this a code? I am very confused.”

He was a lot less confused a minute later when they stepped out into the main room, a large spacious area with multiple stories. A room off to one side had bright flashing lights, and emanated with the sound of drums. Then there was a bar and couches and pool tables and TVs.

It was less of a club or a bar and more like some sort of clubhouse. The bar seemed to be serving food. On the second floor there were more couches, and some rooms that led off into other rooms.

But what really gave it away was the people.

Aliens and humans.

Aliens and humans holding hands and often cuddled up together on the couches.

He shot Sunny a look.

She just shook her head at him, and together they walked over to the bar.

Just off to their side a human was busily and delicately helping a Finnari to put on some sort of dark shaded glasses.

“That better, hun?’

“Yeah…. Yeah, that's better.” the Finnari hugged the woman, “I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for>”

“I know you can change how warm you are, and I’m sorry I have to wear the glasses….”

She just laughed and kissed the top of his head.

Adam cleared his throat awkwardly and tugged at the collar of his shirt.

They made it to the bar before anyone recognized them.

“Admiral!” He winced and turned around running into a familiar face at the bar, a familiar green mohawk and a small blue finnari.

Adam frowned, “I thought you were living on the Tesraki homeworld now.”

“We lease an apartment there for business, but we prefer it here…. So tell me, what are you guys doing here.”

He glanced at Sunny, “That’s what I’d like to know.”

She took a seat, “Just relaxing. It is our vacation after all.

Mohawk eyed them a little as Adam sat down reluctantly.

“Drinks on the house then.”

Beside him, the little Finnari waddled over handing up a cup of cucumber juice for Sunny.

The man looked at Adam,”Pick your poison.”

Adam shrugged, “Something girly and brightly colored that tastes good. If I’m going to get drunk it better be worth it.”

Mohawk grinned and got to work.

Another couple wandered over to the bar talking and laughing sliding into seats next to Adam and Sunny.

The human recognized him instantly and grabbed his hand to shake, “Admiral, Vir. I can’t believe you’re here! I can’t believe I get to meet you…. I…. well me and Hasan.” He turned to look over his shoulder at the large, silver Drev sitting next to him, “We owe you so much, the entire community owes you so much.”

Adam blinked, “I…. Well I mean…. I only did what anyone would….”

The man shook his head and waved a hand at him, no no, only you could do what you did and only you DID what you could.”

Adam shrugged not entirely sure what to say before…. “May I…. ask you a question.”

“Anything.”

“Friend of Adam. What does that mean?”

The man waved his hand, “Oh, it’s just a little coad we have for someone who is LFIL, you know so that we don’t have to say it out loud to someone we aren’t sure about.”

“Oh, I see.” he glanced back at the silver Drev listening quietly from behind, “And i’m assuming you are some sort of Kung Fu master…. Dating a Drev and all.”

“Official battle partners , actually.”

Adam raised an eyebrow, “You mean you’ve challenged-”

“Challenged him to the right of unarmed combat. Yes I did. You sure know a lot about Drev culture.”

“You forget, I am Sentinel of a Drev clan, and I spent a couple months training with one of the clans on Anin.:

The man grinned, “But yes to answer your question. I am a…. Sort of well known here on Noctropolis…. MMA fighter, though I also dabble in the use of medieval weapons.”

“Adam only had a little trouble believing that this overly talkative man could probably kick him six ways to sunday, but it seemed strange with his strong but silent type Drev partner who seemed just happy to listen and sip at his juice.

The Bar tender came back with a pink smoothie that Adam was sure had so much rum in it he wasn’t going to be able to feel his legs tomorrow, but it tasted pretty good and it included a crazy straw, so he was happy enough.

The man he had just been speaking to grabbed him by the hand and dragged him to his feet, “Come on, you need to come meet the others, they will be so excited to see you.”

He was tugged to his feet and went only a little hesitantly.

Sunny fell back and began talking with the silver Drev rapid fire.

He was dragged across the open floor to where a group of them was sitting around a low table.

A woman in a nicely recessed suit was sitting with her chin on her hands staring intently at the board.

A few rolls of the dice, and the little black-furred Tesraki stood feet on the table and pointed at her, “HA I win, eat your heart out sweetheart.”

“Not fair, if you hadn’t put hotels on the boardwalk, i would OWN your furry ass.”

The Tesraki waggled his ears at her 

Adam couldn't help but bark out a laugh, “Are you playing monopoly…. Isn’t that dangerous to play if you want your relationship in tact?”

The Tesraki turned to look at him, walked across the table and then fell back into the arms of the wall dressed woman, looking rather smug as she wrapped her arms around him, “Not likely, human.” He patted the woman’s cheek, “my muse is one of the shrewdest business minds this side of the galaxy, and nothing is more attractive than pitting one financial mind against another.”

She stroked the fur on the top of his head.

Adam smiled but shook his head, looking around the room to where the others were staring at him.

He  leared his throat, “uh….hi…. Sorry to intrude we just….”

That is when the cheers started up and he was pulled into the group with the others. He shook a bunch of hands before things settled back down. 

A finnari and a human were curled up across the circle. 

Silver drev and his battle partner were holding hands just to their right, and Adam was feeling a little more than awkward sitting, back straight hands clasped politely before him like he was sitting at church.

“Forgive me for asking, Admiral. I know it might be a sensitive subject, but everyone here in the clubhouse know each other, and we…. Well we have been wondering for a while. Well, we know you are supportive of us, of course, but we wonder if maybe you have other…. Reasons.” They glanced at Sunny

He felt his neck turn red, and tried to cover it by pulling his jacket up.

He glanced at Sunny and she leaned in to speak to him, “I think you should tell them.”

HE frowned at her.

“Just hear me out before you shoot it down. “I know you're stressed trying to keep it secret, and these people have a code of conduct. They won’t tell anyone. I just think it would be good to get it off our chests for once to people who will finally understand.”

He could see her point of course, but still. He wasn’t sure. Just thinking about saying it oud-loud was causing his chest to tighten up a bit. He had been fighting to hide this for a while now, and it was sort of just habit.

The group stared at him.

Hopeful expressions almost. 

They were waiting for him.

But how was it that despite being with Sunny, he didn’t feel like one of them. The guilt was enough to galvanise him into action. He cleared his throat and sat up “well, not when I made the speech to the GA, no….”

They seemed to wilt.

“But,”

They all lifted their heads in anticipation, “I….. Sunny and I are….. Dating.”

The word fell from his lips like a led weight. His head felt suddenly light, and the room around them burst into sound and color as the group of them rose to their feet cheering. Someone slapped him on the back. 

He could barely hear.

“Feels good doesn’t it, to finally say something to people who understand. DRINKS FOR EVERYONE!”

The group was smiling and laughing, “Come on, you don’t have to hide here.:

“Hold her hand!”

“Yeah.”

He caved, even though his hand was shaky and slick with sweat.

More cheering 

He felt as if he was drunk, or drugged. As if he had stepped out of himself. Inside his stomach churned and swarmed with insects.

“Kiss her.” Someone else urged.

The group laughed, but took up the call. Blushing like red as a cherry he leaned up and gave her a quick kiss on the bheek before sitting back down.

Thanks for them, they sensed his nervousness and backed off.

Sunny hummed with pleasure.

He still felt lightheaded.

He could hear them talking but wasn’t sure what about.

Eventually Sunny got up with one of the other drev, and the two of them stepped over to a circle on the floor to have a friendly contest with spears.

Adam was left alone.

The partner of the Drev Sunny was fighting came to sit next to him looking over at the circle, “Pretty amazing aren't they….. Beautiful.”

He nodded lethargically before, “Can I…. make a confession?”

The group was interested and leaned in, he felt their eyes on him. He rubbed the back of his neck, “I… I really do…. Thank you all for… the encouragement but…. well . I have to admit that I….I’ve never really…. Felt like one of you.”

They seemed surprised but were interested to listen.

“What do you mean?”

“I…. well…. This is going to sound strange, but I’m not….. Actually…. Attracted to aliens.”

They stared at him confused.

He sighed and shook his head, “It's… complicated.”

“We’re listening.”

“I…. it's not the fact that she’s a Drev….. I would love Sunny if she were a Tesraki, or a Finnari, or a human. I’m not attracted to Drev as a hole, but Sunny….just Sunny. That’s it she’s the only one.”

There was silence for a moment, and for a second he thought he had offended them, but then.

“Aww, that’s so sweet.”

“I understand.”

“Yeah I can see that, but either way you are more than welcome here.”

He was surprised, and after that little exchange, he relaxed a little and smiled, taking a sip of his pink smoothie using his crazy straw.

Sunny was right, it did feel a little better to get off his chest.

And for Sunny, things felt better as well. Finally she had someone she could share with about humans. At one point the aliens and humans split off into groups, the humans living on nostalgic childhood games meant to cause pain.

Sunny sat with the others.

“And the mood swings with humans.” Someone was saying.

“Tell me about it. They go from angry to cuddly to horny in about two seconds flat.”

Sunny snorted, “Can’t say I’ve seen the last one, but the first two, yeah it's a bit of a roller coaster. No wonder they’re always exhausted.”

“Really, you’ve never seen the third one.”

“Adam is a bit…. Shy I think, It’ll probably take him a while.”

“Well you are in for a surprise when he does. Humans are a bit insane.”

One of the Drev huffed, “That’s a good thing I’d say.”

The group laughed and then, “Ok but does anyone else’s human get angry when they are hungry?”

A chorus of yesses.

Sunny sighed, “Oh yes, when your human is 6,2 and 210 lbs and often forgets to eat because he’s so busy. It is a common occurrence. Then he will try to argue with me when I go to feed him that he doesn't have time and he's stressed, and I tell him that he will feel better when he eats, but NO I’m the crazy one.”

One of the Tesraki smiled, “I find there are a few ways to remedy this. Number one, is that I have stashed snacks in all the vehicles and locations that we own. Barring that, I make it a habit to hide currency in her pockets so when she randomly finds a credit it makes her day. She doesn’t know I do this.”

Sunny smiled, “I have a friend who is a doctor, and he once made me read a paper about a human scientist Pavlov, who talked about conditioning, that if you associate certain stimuli with others you can cause a specific reaction. So I make sure to play this one very specific song when we spend time together or cuddle or something, so when he’s stressed  I discreetly turn it on,and either he relaxes or he comes to me for comfort.”

The group ohed at her genius and she felt rather smug.

That was until loud laughter rang out across the room, and the group of them turned to see humans standing on the bar… or specifically one human standing on the bar dancing stupidly.

She sighed, “yep, that one is mine.”

It was good to see him loosen up at little though and he was more than happy to be dragged around by her. She even forced him to come dance with her, and some of the others joined in. Flashing lights and bodies pressed tight together in a semi darkness. Aliens and humans.

All that while the humans were slowly getting drunker.

Thought that all lead to an impromptu karaoke session with most of the humans singing horrible off tune in their drunken state.

Interesting how humans could suddenly become so bad at speaking when drunk.

Adam did pretty well though for someone who got dared to sing Burning Love, which he did pretty well despite sounding absolutely nothing like Elvis -- though to be honest, Sunny wasn’t a big fan of Elvis anyway and preferred Adam’s version. But that might also have been for the eye contact he held with her on occasion, allowing her to think maybe the song was for her.

A fact that made her secretly very happy.

Adam got more socially confident when he was drunk.

It seemed odd to her that he could be such an extroverted person who was very charismatic some times, but in other situations he could barely string two words together.

Either way, looking around at other people’s humans she couldn't help but be a bit smug. Yeah sure their humans were fit, but her human was the best. In her opinion, he had the brightest UV stripes, the prettiest eyes, and the nicest smile. Not to mention that she would bet money he could win in a fight against the other humans . 

Unbeknownst to her, a similar conversation was happening across the room with the humans, accept it was out loud.

“I mean she’s fine, my boy is the best.”

Adam snorted, “Please, gold eyes and carapace the color of blue lightning. You can’t compete.”

“Mine is taller..”

“Mine is more huggable. The perfect height ratio, but have fun bringing a step stool around with you.”

“Don’t need one when he can pick me up.”

“She can pick me up too, so your point is irrelevant.”

He leaned back against the table, his voice slightly slurred as he stared across the room at her, where she was standing, demonstrating some sort of spear move to one of the other Drev.

His voice grew serious, “No woman, no Drev, no alien can compete with the sheer power, and grace. She is a phenomenal warrior, loyal…. Everything that is perfect.”

There was a pause, and then they all burst into a fit of drunken giggling.

By the end of the night most of the humans were passed out, or close to it. And the sober aliens walked over to collect their fallen human from the scattered bodies.

Someone ave Sunny a key, “Rooms upstairs.”

She nodded and thanked the bartender as she reached down and hoisted Adam up with her lower arms under his. He was probably going to have an intense hangover tomorrow, but now he looked rather peaceful in his sleep.

She waved at the other Drev doing the same thing to their humans. Occasionally helping one of the FInnari or Tesraki with a human that was too heavy.

She went upstairs and flopped him down on a bed. He didn’t wake up, but smiled in his sleep. She crawled up to lay next to him. She was glad that he had been able to relax. She had hoped finally admitting it to someone would help.

To be fair, she needed it too.

More than most could know.

[mirahuyooo]

Set The Night Alight | pjm

Set The Night Alight

— Shining through the city with a little funk and soul, Park Jimin sets your night alight.

Word Count: 2,159 Contents: flUFF, a pinch of AnGST, having fun, y/n be stressin’ but still hustlin’, jimin be sweet af uwu, mention of Hobi, Yoongs, n Kookie, non-idol au, best friends to lovers! au Pairing: Park Jimin x Reader

A/N: I planned on posting earlier but uhm... I didn’t eheh This one is heavily inspired by Dynamite! My sister got a great screenshot of Jimin so I made used it for an edit and write this little blurb skskksksks Hope you enjoyed!

[masterlist]

A grimace resurfaced on your face for the umpteenth time as you swerve away from yet another couple eating each other’s face before your very eyes. A frustrated huff left your lips at the inconvenience adding to the ever-growing misfortune you’ve had for the night. Just to your left earlier you had witnessed a crummy-looking drunk getting slapped by a woman for grinding on another girl.

You fled to a less distasteful area of the club, all by your lonesome. This has got to be the worst night out you’ve ever been to—and at the worst day of your life to date, too!

After waking up with nerves raging over test results in anticipation, you forced yourself to be ignorant of the looming sense of disaster you’ve felt since the night before. You wanted to start the day with a positive mental attitude—try to, at the very least. However, you were further tested.

When you arrived late to class after missing the bus, the professor looked at you with a disappointed stare that could rival that of your overbearing parents’. It was then announced to the class the news that you’ve been waiting for since you woke up. As it had turned out, you did fail the test. You didn’t cry, of course—even though part of you wanted to—but it definitely took a toll on you.  

For the rest of the day, anyone who would’ve laid eyes on you could sense the despair lingering in your aura. Your body sagged at the figurative weight you carried on you, as though you were Atlas holding the world on your very back. Your (e/c) eyes blinked as slowly as you responded to the world around you—your mind stuck in a haze that dipped your heart into more emotional baggage.  

Work came after class, as you, of course, had to support yourself for the goals and dreams you had in life. Alas, even the haven you found in the small diner was short-lived. Your ex-boyfriend enters the premises with his monthly new plaything, effectively souring your mood even more. Being the bastard that he is, he reveled at the contrast of your lives and though you didn’t bother to care about aspects, his general presence still irked you.  

“I thought I told you to get rid of that frown, hm?”

Pulled out of your stupor, you lightly jumped with a gasp as you were rendered startled and alarmed by the unannounced presence, until you realized that it was only Park Jimin—resident wild child, fellow diner worker, and best friend of six years. He had the audacity to giggle at your despair, while you recover from the slight scare with a hint of relief.

Your eyebrows furrowed with yet another frown. "I thought I told not to sneak up on me like that, hm?" You snippily countered, landing a smack on his arm to which he let out a yelp at.  

Still, Jimin grins brightly, a little woozy and clearly enjoying himself—a stark contrast to your still sober and still fuming state. He had two glasses of soju with him, setting them down before the two of you and leaning against the tall table on his elbows. "Come on, (Y/N). The night is young. We're young," he urges you, "You should really learn to loosen up."

If you had a dollar for every single time he's told you this phrase, you would have enough money to not be such a sour puss. It's not like you didn't have conception of fun. You, too, can be wild, go party, and dance the night away—albeit not as stunningly as your best friend—but with the fire in you that you're desperately trying to keep alive to spite the world, you found it difficult to easily do so.

Agitated, you ran your hands through the (h/c) hair that you've barely even brushed throughout the day. "A man almost vomited on me while I was out there," you cursed, not really at him, but it still stung nonetheless. You bring the bottle to your lips, wincing a bit at the taste but still gulping. Jimin does the same.

After a moment, you break the silence, fiddling with your fingers. You knew the irritable state you were in wasn’t easy on Jimin—or anyone else really. "I'm sorry, Chim," you sigh, "but you know I really can't be in the mood right now. We should’ve stuck with binging night."

Something about standing in the local pub right now made you feel out of place. Though you know you shouldn't be, you were irking to get going and do something else—something productive. Not that you would’ve been that productive with binging night, but at the very least you would’ve caught up on your current favorite series. Then, you would’ve had more time to do actual fruitful activities.  

You paused for a moment, frowning at your own way of thinking.

For the majority of your life, all you did was hustle. You were uptight, determined with proving yourself and the rest of those who've wronged you that you could be the thriving woman of your dreams, living the life goals you're working ends meat to achieve. The fire in you longed to see the people who abandoned you on their knees, kissing your feet at your success. And so, you move on after moping a little—this day will be yet another testament to such a fighting spirit.

At times you applauded your resilience. You were proud of the things you've managed to move yourself on from. Alas, this meant that you often starve yourself of care and leisure. Jimin knows this brilliant yet damning mindset of yours and constantly tries to ease you into the carefree lands of self-love.

When Jimin had offered you this night out after your shifts, you instantly rejected the offer, like you almost always do. He didn't like the way you held back on having fun, because you thought your mother would find out and her accusations of you going astray in life would spark into yet another rant of you wAsTinG yoUr PotEntiAL.

He does convince you somehow, thus this current situation. You were, however, beginning to regret going out instead of your tradition of breaking down in the confines of your apartment before switching yourself into an auto pilot mode where you work on projects and whatnot for God knows how long.

Your best friend, however, would never want you to feel such a way, especially if he could do something about it. He clapped his hands together. "Come on then," Jimin encourages, catching you off guard as he secured a hold on you by lacing your fingers together.

"What?"

The man before you downs a few swigs of the alcohol and smiles, eyes disappearing into crescents. "Let's go somewhere else," he tells you, matter-of-factly. "The night is young. There are lots of things to do."

You gawked at the sight before you as Jimin danced to the beat, his body moving effortlessly with the street dancer. Instinctively, you, yourself, were swaying to the beat. The crowd that had gathered around you had done the same.

Exiting the club, as it turned out, had been a notable move from the both of you, drastically mending your mood as your night was suddenly set alight by the bustling streets you wandered with your favorite person in the world. This predicament, however, landed before the two of you when you saw a performance going on. Jimin knew the performer—Hoseok, if you recalled correctly—and, in spite of not preparing beforehand, began dancing along to the music. He was doing brilliantly for someone who, about thirty minutes ago, was giggly from slight intoxication.

As the beat came to a drop and Jimin flips his body like it was nothing, cheers erupted from around you. Vigorously clapping along with the crowd, you couldn't care less if your cheeks were starting to hurt.

"Great work!" You beam at your best friend as he shyly walks back towards you with yet another charming grin that wills his eyes to close. "You've improved so much," you say, eliciting a blush from him. Both of you have aching cheeks now, but that didn't matter.

As the crowd began to disperse and he waved goodbye to his friend, Jimin offers an arm to you. “Let’s go?” he muses, still slightly out of breath.

“Go where?” you asked, but linking your arms together anyways.

Jimin says nothing, seemingly pleased with his plans. Butterflies ran amok within you, as his smile promises you more of these spontaneous adventures.  

As the night bled into later hours, the both of you sat in the very diner that you two worked at only hours earlier. Jungkook, who had gotten night shift this day, disappeared into the kitchen after getting your orders.

Feeling better than ever before, you allowed yourself to savor the serenity. Your hands drummed to the beat of the music flowing from the jukebox resting on one corner of the diner with your head swaying along too. Jimin, in front of you, was also lightly dancing in his seat.

Eventually, Jimin stands up to his feet, dancing as he reached out a hand. He comically wiggled his brows, inviting you to dance with him—and you let him.

There were no other customers in the diner, and Yoongi, who had manned the cashier, didn’t really care to be bothered about the shenanigans the two of you were up to. You let out a giggle as Jimin twirls you around.  

At this time, you took it to yourself to look at your best friend. As he often does, he had styled his brown hair back to expose his forehead, causing him to look attractive enough to fool anyone into thinking he's a reckless party animal when reality states that he's a soft gentleman at heart—and you support such a statement.

Park Jimin, with his massive golden heart, has stuck by your side far longer than anyone else in your life. In all of the years you’ve known him, he’s always been one to drop anything to help you with your plights. A sensation fluttered within you, rendering you frozen for a moment as you were confused by said feeling. Jimin, however, continues to goofily dance around you without a care in the world and elicits a snicker from you.

There was a whimsical sense in the air. Dynamite’s retro décor really had the ability to make you feel as though you had travelled back a few decades earlier. With Jimin’s own choice of outfit, the nostalgic effect multiplied tenfold. Could the butterflies in your belly be from the atmosphere of the moment?

“You look beautiful when you’re happy, y’know?”

Jimin’s words knock the air out of your lungs, sending you crashing back to reality. Before you, your best friend stood only a few inches away from your dancing dooming you into such a close position. Your heart once again picks up the pace.

You managed to let out a scoff but fail to counter his statement any further and simply shyly averted your gaze, leaning away to give the two of you some distance. To your shock, Jimin’s hands clutched yours in his hold, his eyes shining like diamonds as he stared into you.

“Chim—”

With the words you planned to say being stolen from you by the lips that captured yours, you couldn’t help but melt. As if on cue, the music’s beat picked up, encouraging your heartbeat to do the same. The emotions within you whirled wildly, setting your body on fire as Jimin pulls you closer. As you had felt his hold loosen, you took the chance to slide your hands up his shoulders and wrapped your arms around his neck, letting yourself get lost into a kiss you never thought to anticipate so much.

Eventually, the two of you pulled away for air, with Jimin grinning like the love-struck fool he was, while you were still in a haze from the kiss. You felt lips on your forehead as he soon pulled you in an embrace.

“(Y/N)?”

Your heart squealed at his voice, prompting you to hug him back tighter. “Hm?”

“I like you.”

With your head buried into his neck, your eyes fluttered to a close as his words bloom an ease in your heart—as if you had reached home after a long exhausting journey. There still existed a sense of surprise in you. You never expected to feel this way towards your best friend.  

Jimin, in spite of his worries from your silence, proceeds to murmur into your hair. “I want you to be happy,” he tells you, “I’d be happy if you let me be the one to make you smile.”

You pull away with a soft smile, eyes glistening with tears.

“You already are.”

[cloudhayato]

Greek Yogurt Melancholy

Happy @khrobscureshipweek guys

Lancia/Giannini

Lancia jerked awake from his nap. His heart was pounding and his face was drenched in sweat. Looking down, for a split second he expected to see blood on his hands, but there was nothing. Just the calloused and scarred skin after years of use. He blinked, needing a moment to process all this, and then let out a heavy sigh.

Nightmares again, huh? Even though it was all over, he still couldn't get a good night's sleep. He probably never will, and he doesn't deserve it. Even if Mukuro made him do it, all their deaths are still on him. He's the one who slit their throats and crushed their skulls and-

Yeah, he needed to do anything other than think right now. Getting up to his feet, he felt the weight of exhaustion push down on his shoulders, and dragged his feet towards the kitchen.

His apartment wasn't anything big or stylish. It was a small space with only a bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. That was all he needed though, he wasn't one for excess amenities.

Opening his fridge door, Lancia glanced at the almost barren shelves and felt a migraine coming on. Reaching towards the back, he grabbed a carton of greek yogurt and went to his drawers to pull out a spoon. The sour taste would help him feel more awake, and it was one of the few things he genuinely enjoyed.

After he sat down at his table, he popped the lid off, and felt his heart fall. Empty. Why would he even put the empty carton back in the fridge? Did he really hate himself that much? This was the sole event that almost made him consider therapy, but he pointedly ignored those thoughts and forcefully got up.

He'd just go to the store and buy more greek yogurt. It wasn't the end of the world, no need to be dramatic about it.

...Except he didn't have a car, and glancing at the clock, which said 7pm, he knew the store would close two hours from now. He wouldn't make it on foot. There was another option available for him, but he didn't feel good about it. Asking for things made him feel weak, and this would put him in the vicinity of another person, when he really would rather be alone.

Swallowing his pride, which was almost as sour as the yogurt he was craving, he walked towards his rotary phone and slowly inputted the numbers.

"Hello?" The familiar voice of Giannini said from the other line. "Mr. Lancia, is that you?"

He still didn't get how Giannini always knew it was him. Technology just never made sense to him.

"Yeah, Giannini, it's me." He answered. "I'm sorry to be asking you this so late, but could you drive me to the store?"

God, he sounded pathetic. He would never willingly learn how to drive one of those deathtraps though. Last time he tried to stop a plane from crashing, let's say the plane still crashed and his presence didn't really affect anything.

"Oh, yes of course Mr. Lancia!" Giannini chirped, as bright and chipper as always. "I'll be there in five minutes, just hold on one moment!"

"Yeah, thank you, Giannini."

Lancia waited for the familiar 'click' to signal the end of the call, and then put the receiver down. Pressing his forehead against the wall, he was already regretting this decision. Just thinking about it was draining, and he sounded so pathetic asking someone to come pick him up just so he could get some yogurt.

There was nothing he could do about it now though. He'd dug his hole and now he had to lay in it, no changing that now.

Lancia stayed like that the entire five minutes. His mind raced through constant mental turmoil, but that was his default state so it was fine, until he heard the doorbell ring. Finally removing his head from the wall, he steeled his face in a default expression that looked like it could kill you, and answered the door.

At first, Lancia was confused. He had to look down to speak to everyone, but he wasn't expecting to look so far down. He also wasn't looking at Giannini. On the ground was this little metal disk thing. A hand had come out of the top, and was still hovering by the doorbell, before receding back into what could only be some kind of machine.

"Mr. Lancia!"

He didn't expect the machine to shout his name. It took him so by surprise that he almost crushed it under his foot on instinct, only stopping himself at the last moment. That voice was Giannini's.

A high pitched shriek erupted from the disk at this attempted murder. "Please wait a moment—"

"Where are you?" Lancia interrupted, looking around the hallway in confusion before back to the disk. "Is this thing like a phone?"

"Exactly that! This is a roomba I've modified to have a variety of extra uses than just vacuuming." Giannini gushed, before calming down and sounding a bit more sheepish. "I'm sorry to have startled you, I should have given you fair notice beforehand."

Most of that flew over Lancia's head, especially the roomba part, but the moment it came up, he stopped caring. Not that he'd say that out loud, Giannini sounded excited and shutting him down would be rude.

"It's fine. Where are you?" Lancia asked, trying not to sound too exhausted.

"Ah, I'm parked outside." Giannini answered.

The 'roomba' turned around and pointed towards the stairs. He lived on the second floor so just at the bottom would be the exit.

Lancia just grunted in affirmation.

He stepped over the roomba and doubled his pace. This already felt like it was taking forever. He literally just wanted some Greek Yogurt, that was it. If only life itself didn't hate him with a burning passion.

The staircase went in a circle pattern. Not really a spiral staircase, but how most stairs in a small space worked. Lancia just jumped the railing and fell perfectly through the middle part where no stairs touched. It was just the second floor after all.

He landed on his feet, knees bent a little, but he barely felt the landing anyways. The building manager behind his desk was looking at him with wide eyes, but he pointedly didn't make eye contact as he walked past. He really didn't need to deal with that right now.

Opening the door to the parking lot, Lancia recognized Giannini's car immediately. It was bright yellow, and the mechanic had told him it was a 'buggy' as if that meant anything to him. It was small and cramped, and Lancia could barely fit himself in it, but it's not like he was going to make Giannini make, yes he made that buggy, a whole new car just for him.

Giannini excitedly waved at him through the windshield. Lancia was grateful he remembered not to honk the horn this time. The loud noise activated his fight or flight, and he was hardwired to always choose fight. He still felt bad about completely crushing the engine, but Giannini assured him it was fine and he could fix it.

None of that mattered now though, and as Lancia opened the car door, he finally felt like he was getting somewhere. The roomba jumped in after him and crawled behind the seats. He didn't have anything more to say about the invention so he just didn't acknowledge it.

"It's been awhile." Giannini said conversationally as he started the engine. "What have you been up to?"

"Mulling over the sins of my past." Lancia answered honestly.

"Okay!" Giannini smiled uncomfortably. "I was working on upgrading my microwave in order to stabilize isotopes."

"Hm. Did it work?"

"No."

The conversation quieted down to an awkward silence after that, both unsure where to go from there. It was difficult for them to relate to one another. Giannini was the son of a brilliant inventor trying to live up to his father's legacy, and Lancia spent most of his early life possessed and forced to kill. Finding common ground was a challenge.

"What kind of greek yogurt do you like?" Giannini spoke up after a while, sounding nervous.

"...Regular." Lancia mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed talking about this.

"Oh, an excellent choice!" Gianni said, with a little more enthusiasm than necessary. "I'm a big fan of vanilla myself."

"Vanilla's fine. I just prefer it more sour." Lancia responded, and from there they descended into a very thoughtful conversation about flavours and their own preferences.

It was the most Lancia had spoken since returning to Italy.

Before they knew it, they arrived at the store. Lancia was actually genuinely surprised that the car ride wasn't another long, agonizing ordeal to go through. He actually felt a little energized, as strange as it was to say. He'd need to ruminate over this later when he got back to his apartment and was trying to sleep.

"Well, we're here!" Giannini said needlessly, since they'd been parked for around two minutes already.

"We are." Lancia repeated in his gruff voice, and then opened the door and stepped out.

It was a small little corner store that was several corners too far. Still, it was cheap and never too busy, and that ticked all of Lancia's boxes. Only one automatic door worked and Lancia had to step around the frozen one. He walked through the aisles, not making conversation with the cashier and the one other customer present.

After a bit of searching, he found what he was looking for. The long sought after prize, Greek Gods Greek Yogurt, and in this moment he'd never felt so happy before to finally buy some gross dairy product.

As he went to grab the yogurt from the fridge, something else caught his attention. A little notice advertising a sale. 'Buy one get one free!' it said, and after some hesitation, he grabbed a second one.

Quickly, he paid for them and left the store. Giannini waved at him again as he stepped into the parking lot, and Lancia looked away, feeling kind of embarrassed. Hurrying over, he opened the door and took his seat beside Giannini.

"Did you find what you were looking for, Mr. Lancia?" Giannini asked, looking at him curiously.

Without saying anything, Lancia handed him the second greek yogurt. It was vanilla.

Giannini let out a small gasp as he took the yogurt, and out of the corner of his eye, Lancia could see the mechanic's lips quirk up in a delighted smile.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Lancia!" Giannini sounded so happy it was almost ridiculous.

"Yeah, no problem." Lancia said, and after a moment of hesitation. "It's just Lancia, by the way."

Giannini's eyes softened at that, as he handed over plastic spoons he had in his glove compartment along with various tools.

"Okay then. Thank you, Lancia."

Maybe this outing wasn't as bad as Lancia thought. The greek yogurt tasted a little sweeter on his tongue, and he found that he didn't mind as much.

It was nice.

[thebestestboyo]

How Remus Started Working For Patton: Part Three

Masterpost

Tw: eating? I mean it mentions fries/Remus being Remus/Swearing/Panic attack

After these nights out, Remus usually enjoyed the feeling of being in control of his body. But this time, all he felt was sore. He had forgot all the stuff he did before he decided to flirt with a gang member. Several of which left bruises.

"I knew I shouldn't have picked a fight with that seagull."

"Which one is it that you hate again?" Virgil piped up from his spot on the couch, one of his earbuds out to listen for Remus. Ree couldn't see much of his face from how his dark bangs covered his eyes, the roots beginning to return to their natural blonde.

"That one with the black markings on it's back. It has a personal vendetta against me, I can FEEL IT."

"Or maybe you just keep provoking it? I keep telling you to stop trying to steal it's french fries, it's unsanitary, and, the french fries are cold and those are gross."

"But cold french fries are my favoriteeeeee."

"Then get some that aren't from a deranged seagull?"

"Ugh. That's no challenge though!" He hopped over the back of the couch, collapsing over Virg's legs. "I need to feel the rush of running away from an angry flock! Natural instincts! We as humans were made to hunt!"

"Not in this day and age. Species develop over time, and as far as I can remember, you can get french fries at any fast food joint." It was clear Virgil was humoring him, prodding at his face. "Though, I suppose it's better than you chasing after people for their french fries. I remember you used to do that when we were younger."

"Ugh, I would, but I got away with so much more things when I was small. Nowadays it's less like 'oh a rambunctious boy!' and more like 'what are you doing??? Why are you wearing a toga covered in marmalade and trying to take my fries?'"

Snickering, Virgil merely tweaked Remus's nose, before turning serious. Ree had expected this coming, it wasn't like Virg to let things go that easily. "As much as I love discussing how much of a gremlin you are, I still wanna talk to you about last night."

"Ughhhh but we were having such a nice timeeeeee."

"Remus."

"Fine. Its not like we can change anything about it! It already happened! And I got this weird-ass earring from it which may have brought me into a cult or whatever. And now I have to wear a different earring in the new piercing and clean it because otherwise will get infected!"

"..." Virgil merely raised an eyebrow, not amused at Remus's usual shenanigans.

"Okay I know I'm not taking this seriously, but come on. You have piercings. You know how new piercings are."

"This is serious though! What if they're planning to kidnap you or something??? What do we do then??"

This whole matter was clearly bothering him, and when Virgil got too stressed, it didn't exactly do wonders for his mental health.

"Hey. Its gonna be alright. Let's just..." Remus wracked his brain for something that might soothe him, finally coming upon a phrase he remembered Logan using when he was stuck on one of his experiments. "Think things through logically?"

Surprisingly, it did not end in Remus's ass getting kicked, and instead on a quiet Virgil, who simply nodded as he messed with his earbuds, trying to keep calm.

"So. What do we know."

"We know that these are dangerous people who know where we live."

"Ok, and we also know one of them is an absolute candied vescular organ!"

"You don't know for a fact that they're a sweetheart Remus." He wasn't even thrown off by Ree calling it that, clearly more anxious than he originally thought.

"I do! He was very..." Remus tried to think back to some of the phrases Roman used, since he couldn't use his own and have it sound good. "Charming. If you will."

"Oh boy, this gang member must be something if he has you borrowing words."

"Hey! I can use words like charming! It's not borrowing!"

"Uh huh sure. Next you'll be saying-"

He was cut off by the buzzing of their apartment's old doorbell, an outdated thing that sounded like drunk and angry hornets. Virgil absolutely hated it, resorting to knocking if he ever got locked out, while Remus delighted in it, annoying the other with the horrid sound whenever he came home.

"Who the fuck could that be?" Curious, Virgil gently pushed Remus off of him, going up to the door and attempting to see through the peephole, even though the glass was cloudy and cracked.

Ree saw him begin to fuss with his headphone wires, mouth pursing as he began to overthink who was on the other side. This always happened when they weren't expecting someone, and even when they were, it wasn't much better unless Remus got up and checked whoever it was first.

"Don't worry Virgy! I'll get the door."

"Oh thank god."

Unlatching the lock, he made sure to have Virgil move out of the way, joking that 'if you're standing right behind it, I might make your body into a pancake!' He was expecting their landlord, or perhaps a neighbor, and maybe even Logan or his brother, though that was doubtful. What he most certainly didn't expect, was-

"Patton?"

Pat was standing beside...someone? He wasn't exactly sure, but this guy was pretty tall, even considering Remus's own height. Tall, a little lanky, but there was something in Ree's instincts that told him that he'd lose to this guy in a fight, not even including that splotchy looking scar on his face.

But back to Patton, why was he here?

"Sorry for the sudden visit Remus, I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay after last night." Pat was fiddling with his hands as he spoke, delicate fingers picking at stray pieces of lint or something.

"Oh! Yeah, I had a bit of a hangover earlier, but otherwise I'm as right as a guy without his left hand!"

Oops. Tall dude was looking a little more sour at that. Maybe he should-

"Ha! Is it because he's got nothing left?" Patton giggled, cheeks flushing a little at his clever pun.

Ok, scratch that, whatever keeps Pat smiling was worth whatever that other guy was cooking up. To his surprise though, tall bro seemed pleased, glancing between them.

"Remus...." Virgil called from inside, voice shaking. That was a bad sign.

As much as he wanted to figure out the mystery man, and to talk with Pat, he knew that if he left Virgil alone right now, it wouldn't be good. Leaving the door open for the other two, he turned to see Virgil attempting to ground himself at the thought of these two strangers.

"Hey. Hey tarantula. Its all cool. Is touch good right now?"

A nod was the only response he got, which was better than nothing. Remus lifted Virgil up into his arms, letting him rest his head on his chest to hear his heartbeat.

"Can you try and match my breathing? 4-7-8 right?"

Another nod, and the clench of Virgil holding onto Remus's wrist.

It took a while, but eventually Virgil was calm enough to mumble to be let down from Remus's arms. Vee clearly wanted to rest after that, so he took him to his room, letting him lie down on the mattress before he went back to the other two, who he had forgotten to take care of beforehand.

"I had to take care of him." He wasn't about to apologise for watching after Vee, even if the big guy expected him to. "How about we talk outside? I wanna let him get some quiet after that."

Patton seemed stunned at this stark change, but nodded, and let Remus lock up the apartment before leading them down to the complex's garden. The other one didn't say anything, just wordlessly followed after.

When they were finally settled down in the outside seats, Patton burst out immediately. "I'm so sorry! We didn't mean to make your friend scared!"

"He'll be ok. He's never been especially good with new people. You're okay though Pat and...you are?"

Turning his head to glance over at the other guy, he was surprised to find that his eyes were different colors, one more of a dark brown, and the other yellow.

"Demetrius. But you know me as Dee."

"Ohhhhh you're that guy! That guy who lifted me!"

He seemed surprised that Remus remembered him, or maybe just that he wasn't pointing out the obvious here, that because of Dee and Pat, Remus was apperantly part of their gang.

"Yes, I am...that guy."

Patton stopped fussing with his overalls to look over at Dee, perking up at that answer. Did he even know how cute he was?? Sure, Virgil had said that he and this Dee guy were part of a gang, but he did not have the rights to be so impossibly pretty.

"You're probably wondering why you now have a tag in your ear, am I correct?" Dee cut into Remus's thoughts with his voice, stern.

"I assumed it wasn't just a kink thing." Winking at him, Ree leaned back against his chair, legs propped up on the table.

"No, it was not a 'kink thing.' It was to give you clearance into our home of sorts. Since Patton clearly-"

Remus couldn't tell exactly, but he though he saw Patton jabbed his arm into Dee's side? Or something?

"-wanted to talk to you more."

"Oh! Alright. I have no idea where you live."

"In hindsight, we should have told you about it. But first-" Dee pulled down the collar of his shirt, showing the beginning of a tattoo. An anaconda, wrapping around his neck and disappearing into his shirt. "-I assume you know who we are."

"Dee! That really isn't necessary!" Patton frowned, pinching at Dee's cheek like a mother would to a naughty child.

"We need to make sure he doesn't tell anyone!"

Rolling his eyes, Pat leaned over the small table, clasping Remus's hands in his. "We're not exactly on the police's good side you could say. We'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell them where we live?"

Was he making puppy eyes? And, were those sparkles on his cheeks or was Remus just seeing things??? He couldn't tell, the image of dissapointing Patton was too much for him either way. "Yeah, yeah sure."

"Wonderful!!!"

The sight of his smile was dizzying, god it felt more intoxicating than the strongest drug. Was this that heaven Roman was always going off about?

Dee cleared his throat, throwing Ree off again. How many times was he gonna interrupt his inner monologues??? "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to hurry this moment up. I have a meeting later, and watching you two stare into each other's eyes isn't the best use of my time."

"Dee!"

"Not much of a voyager huh?" Remus wasted no time clearing the air, attempting to ignore the way his own face was beginning to turn red.

"Considering it's my brother, no."

While both him and Virgil had confirmed it, it was difficult for Remus to accept it. There was a couple similarities, sure, the way that their jaws sloped into soft lines, their hands, both worn with use, and their curly brown hair. But the glint in their eyes was different, not to mention the scars that seemed to line Dee more frequently than Pat, at least from what Remus could see.

"Can I grab my phone?"

"...grab your roommate too."

"What?"

"So he knows where you are."

"I'll see if he's okay, but it's not a guarantee."

Surprisingly, Virgil was already calm enough to answer Remus. "What the fuck would they want with me???"

"The big guy, Dee, said it's so you know where I am. I guess they'll want to suck out our brains together!"

"...as if they'd get anything from you. Your head is empty."

It was surprising that Virgil didn't fight about it, by his reaction earlier, Ree was almost certain that he wouldn't come.

The four met back up downstairs, Patton already chatting up a storm with Remus, leaving Virgil and Dee walking beside each other.

"What do you want with Remus?" Hushed, Virgil watched his friend and...Patton, walking ahead, the two already gushing to each other about who knows what.

"Oh I want nothing with Remus. My brother on the other hand has taken a liking to him."

"And that's enough to straight up make him part of your gang???"

Virgil couldn't believe this guy. Who the fuck does that??? Shoving his hands into his hoodie pocket, he continued staring ahead, not wanting to have to look at him.

"Well, I'd like to see you try and resist him. He can be very...persuasive."

"Oh am I gonna have to worry about him threatening me too?"

Demetrius (he felt weird thinking of him with the informal title of 'Dee,' when he already hated this guy's guts) seemed to bristle at that, and from the corner of his eye Virgil could tell he was glaring at him.

"Patton would never threaten someone!"

"Listen, considering your guys' jobs, I wouldn't be surprised if he did."

"Well if you're such a smart-ass, then why did you come along?"

"To make sure my friend didn't turn up on the news by the end of the day, why else?"

Demetrius shrugged off his leather jacket as they all walked, probably due to the afternoon heat. Virgil snuck a look over at him, about to make fun of him before he noticed that Oh Lord He Was Fit. He looked so lanky before though??? Where did those arms come from???

Demetrius didn't seem to notice Virgil's stare, or if he did, he ignored it, tying the jacket around his waist. "I doubt he'd be dead. You on the other hand, would not fare well under the gang."

"Oh you think I'd be useless???"

"No, just your pretty-boy ass would get torn to shreds."

"Oh so now you're saying I'm pretty." It was mocking, but he couldn't help a twinge of curiosity. Demetrius was handsome after all, even if he was a gang leader. But that was no excuse for him to fantasize! He probably killed people!

"Wha- no!!!"

"Mmhm sure."

The two continued bickering behind Patton and Remus's backs, the odd group traversing the city until they reached...well...home.

It certainly was going to be interesting...

[melyaliz]

Past Loves and Future Babies pt. 7

Masterlist 

Fandom: Marvel / MCU 

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OC

Notes: I feel like this chapter get’s a little muddy in the middle. I am TRYING to move the plot along but… these two are so slow. And I also got hella stuck, I think it was because my editor is ripping apart my novel and I am questioning everything.  

All Masterlists @melyalizarchive​

Connect with me! AO3 / Instagram / Pinterest

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

“Good morning huckson.” 

Steve blinked owlishly standing in the doorway of the bedroom staring at Dixie. Seeing her awake before him was a sight he wasn’t quite used to. In Fact he wasn’t sure he had, in the almost three weeks of living together, seen her up before noon. Already wide awake and ready for the day, the perky girl was holding a mug of coffee in her hand with a huge smile on her face. 

“Where did you get that apron?” 

Dixie giggled twisting the frilly pink apron slightly. “Do I look like a little housewife because I’m getting those major June Cleaver vibes.” 

Chuckling Steve nodded even though -like most of her references- he had no idea what she was talking about. But her excitement was always infectious. Letting out a yawn he ran his fingers through his hair which only made his bed head worse. He reminded Dixie of the small dog, Beaver, she had as a child. The little dog’s ears used to fold over when he fell asleep on the couch only to wake up with a growl looking around as if ready to fight off the world. Poor little thing use to think he was a lot bigger than he really was. 

She had loved that dog 

 “What are you making?” Steve broke through Dixie’s daydream about her first cuddle buddy as he looked over her shoulder at the slightly smoking pan. White blobs that were darkening around the sides looked up at him. “It looks… interesting.”

“It’s supposed to be pancakes but… I may just see if I have better luck with cereal.” Dixie mumbled poking the centers of the cakes making them oze slightly. 

Grabbing two bowls Steve went for the cabinet that Dixie had stocked with all kinds of cereals. Each with its own colorful cartoon mascot on the front and prize inside. A week into moving in she had told him that she was an adult and was going to eat like one and then ordered a huge supply of every surgery cereal she could find. 

Not that Steve could complain, especially after she showed him the wonders of mixing cocoa pebbles into your ice cream. 

“So what’s the occasion for the cakes?” 

“I wanted to try something new,” Dixie mumbled, scraping the charred bits into the trash. “It’s been officially three weeks since I moved in and no fights.” 

“Has it only been three weeks?” 

“Feels like an eternity doesn’t it.” 

“In a good way.” 

“That’s sweet of you to say.” Dixie took her bowl of Lucky Charms, taking a bite before moving to a seat on the kitchen bar. “So what are Mr. America’s plans for today?” 

And their morning started. Each of them making plans over rainbow marshmallows. Helping each other grab water and napkins while moving around the kitchen. Both of them being super domestic 

Steve didn’t even realize how much he had settled into their routine until he was handing Dixie her yoga mat on his way out for his run with Bucky and Sam. Her face lighting up as he mentioned maybe taking her to the beach over the weekend sometime since she had been saying she had wanted to go. 

As he ran laps with Bucky and Sam he knew what he had to do. What Dixie deserved to know. 

Because she was right, they were a team. 

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

Having book time with Wanda had become a thing. Dixie had never been a tea and book girl, more of a “let’s go hang out at the mall and talk about boys” kind of kid growing up, but there was something about reading it with someone else that… gave it all a new perspective.  Plus she didn’t know how Wanda did it but that girl made amazing tea. And sometimes there would even be baked goods to go along with the warm drinks.

And if there was one thing Dixie loved, it was baked goods. 

She was turning into a regular little Hallmark girl. 

Although she continued to stick to the small collection of trashy books that had been hidden in the corner of the beautiful library.  

“I got you something,” Wanda said as they both sat down next to a spread of tea and scones. 

“Aww why?” 

“Well you were almost done with your book.” handing Dixie a box Wanda shrugged. “I was picking up some other books from a local used book store and I saw them in a dollar bin and couldn’t resist.”

“Are these?” 

“Yep, amazing painted covers and everything.”

“Look at that hair.” Dixie giggled running her finger over the worn frayed paper cover. The man that held the beautiful buxom woman had the most beautiful hair. Honestly, Dixie was jealous. What shampoo did he wear? 

“I am so excited to read these! Thank you so much.” 

“Thank you for keeping me company.” Wanda said playing with the hem of her shirt. “It gets kind of… lonely here sometimes.”

Dixie felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. She always seemed to feel sorry for herself and how she felt out of place and alone here but she never really stopped to consider how the other heroes lived. What they had gone through, what trials they had had to face in their lives that brought them here. 

It was probably something way more fun than a time magician telling you your future child to save the world. 

Growing up, for whatever reason, Dixie had always had a hard time making and keeping friends. The fact that Wanda had come to her and took the time to make her feel at home really meant something. 

From her morning with Steve to this afternoon with Wanda Dixie was starting to feel like maybe… 

Maybe she belonged. 

Or at least fit in for now. 

It was good not to be hated by your roomates. 

“Well cheers.” Dixie said, holding up her cup of tea, “to keep each other company and hair goals.” 

Wanda giggled holding up her glass clinking the porcelain together. “I can’t wait  for you to explain the plot to me in great detail.” 

“Oh you know I will.” 

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

“So you’ll never guess what happened… what’s up?” Dixie froze in the doorway of their apartment, the box of books in hand. Steve looked up from the couch where he was pensively sitting. Something about the way his blue eyes looked up at her through dark lashes told her he was about to say something she wasn’t going to enjoy hearing. Her stomach lurched slightly feeling sick. For a moment she wanted to run. 

So much for fitting in. 

“I… I want to tell you about something… or someone.” 

“Ok” slowly she took a seat next to him, pulling her legs up underneath her. Calm down Dixie, he’s not upset with you. This is good, he’s opening up more. Taking a few calming breaths she tried to calm her heart. Tried to keep her mouth busy taking in air and not blabbering out her nerves. 

They both sat in silence for a moment. It stretched across them filling the room. Sticky and sour Dixie wanted to open a window, or jump out of it. 

 “Do you remember how I was saying that I wasn’t going to be around?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Well there was… someone.” he paused fumbling with a small folder he had been holding, “I… she… I had the chance to go back but.” pulling out a small photo he handed it to her, “It was too late, she had moved on.” 

Dixie took the black and whtie image, a beautiful dark haired woman smiled sassily up at her. 

 “Well fuck Steve, she’s georges. I would leave everyone for her too” Dixie said looking over the image. 

“You’re beautiful too” Steve rushed to say, making Dixie wince slightly waving away his protests about their looks. 

“I mean I know that but… like look at her.” Dixie held up the image of Peggy to her own face. “You can’t even compare us.” 

“Yeah I guess.” 

Dixie hadn’t really been that into history (or school) so she didn’t know much about the Howling Commandos. And after she had to go move in with their leader she had decided not to do any googling beforehand. 

Better to keep your expectations and knowledge low. 

“But It’s ok whatever you want to talk about, it’s ok.” Gently Dixie took his hand putting the photo on the coffee table. It was moments like these she wasn’t that good at. The sad ones. The ones where someone was trying to work through their emotions. “What happened?” 

“I wouldn't even know where to start.” 

“It doesn’t matter, go all over the place. I’ve seen Inception I can keep up” 

He was right, there was so much. Peggy had been more than just who he had been before but she was also where he came from. Like Bucky, in many ways Peggy was what made Steve Rogers Captain America. 

She was etched in his very being, written into his DNA. 

They ended up talking for hours moving from the couch to take a walk around the compound until late into the evening. 

Dixie had never assumed that Steve and her would work out. From the moment they had met. Yet they were fated to have a child together in whatever timeline mambo jumbo the gold ol’ Doc Strange had come from. But having a child didn’t mean anything. It could have been a one night stand, or a horrible ending relationship.

Or maybe Dixie was a different person then. 

Or maybe Steve was. 

So Dixie had decided before she got into that cab that no matter what she would keep this professional. That she would not feel anything romantic, she couldn’t let disappointment or that kind of hurt back into her life.

But under the stars listening to this man retell his heartbreak she couldn’t help but wish she could take it back. There was something tragically romantic about letting yourself love that way. 

Maybe she had been reading too many romantic stories. 

“You know, honestly, I’m envious.” 

“You’re envious of my broken heart?” Steve asked 

“No, I just. I never let myself feel that way. Pulling her legs up to her chest Dixie looked up at the inky black sky. 

“It’s not about letting yourself, when it’s right… when you find that person you’ll understand.” 

“I won’t” she whispered so softly picking at the grass at her feet. The words slipping from her lips before she even meant to say them aloud. Steve wasn’t even sure he heard it. Turning he looked at her as she threw the blades into the endless sea of green they were sitting in. .

“What?” 

“Huh?” she blinked turning to him, her eyes wide, lips pursed. Looking like a child who had just been caught saying a bad word. 

“What did you say?” 

“I didn’t say anything.” 

He wasn’t going to push it. She had given him time to tell her about his secrets and he would just have a wait for her to tell him his. 

“You know” she said, pulling him back to them sitting there. To the night of stories and screits. “our kids are going to be adorable. I hope they has your eyes.” 

Something about the sight of her. Curled up next to him with her arms wrapped around her knees pulling them close to her. The way the sky was so filled with stars, the silver moon giving the only light around them. Steve felt a warmth spread about them, even with the cool night air.  “I hope they have your sense of humor.” 

Leaned forward he kissed her. Enjoying her taste, the way she seemed to melt into him. Her body so soft and delicate. 

���Oh but not my amazing looks?” she asked as he pulled away. That large smile on her face, eyes bright. Steve felt his heart skip slightly. She was so adorable in such unexpected ways.  

“Those too.” 

“No, you can’t take it back” she giggled grabbing his hand pulling him up. He watched her as she struggled to pull his large body up.  

“What?” 

“Dance with me.” 

“There is no music.” he laughed getting up. 

“So?” She shrugged before starting to hum softly. He wrapped his arms around her enjoying the feeling of her small curvy body pulled up to his. 

“I’m glad it’s you.” 

Dixie paused looking up at him, blinking rapidly, “What?” 

“I’m just” he sighed, kissing her forehead, “I'm glad.”

“If you had to heal from a soulmate level heartbreak it was with me?” 

“I didn’t…” 

“No, I… that’s a huge compliment. Thank you Steve.” 

“Our child will be lucky to have you as a mother.” 

As they slowly swayed under the night sky Dixie couldn’t help but get swept up in the moment. That feeling a stability that she got when she was in his arms. That feeling of truly having a place to belong. A life that wasn’t just one day to the next. 

In his arms she  had to remind herself that nothing had changed. That he wasn’t hers and that she was a woman outside of this that she could never run from. 

But in his arms it was hard to keep herself focused.

And that scared the shit out of her. 

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[rosa-berberifolia]

The Man at the Bar|Mortal Kombat x Reader|Kenshi x Reader

A/N: a sort of AU where everybody’s kids also go to university along with being in the SF

Be Warned: nothing here, but maybe in another part

Word Count: give or take 1900

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

You sat in the club room for the anthropology students at your university as you usually did after classes. It was your favourite place to go after your lessons and labs to unwind before starting on all of your readings and homework. You were just strolling through Tumblr on your phone when two of your friends from Roman Combat Methods and Strategies came into the room.

“Hey, Y/n!” greeted Takeda and Jacqui as they came into the room hand in hand. The amount of cuteness that radiated off of them gave you micro-aggression. But you loved these two and so you tried to suppress your anger. Unbenounced to you, Takeda heard your ‘Fuck you and your happiness!’  loud and clear. And, being one of your best friends and wanting nothing but for you to be happy as well, the wheels of a plan started turning in his head. 

“There’s a party tonight, Y/n.” He notified you as he and Jacqui sat down in the seat across the table from you.

“Oh yeah! Count me out.” You said rather dead pan. You weren’t into parties or crowds. They made you anxious until you started drinking. But since you didn't really like the taste of alcohol you didn't really drink. And therefore you never really unwound. 

“Yeah, c’mon Y/n!” Jacqui started. You had been friends with Jacqui first, and since you met she had been trying to get you to come to parties with no avail. “This one won’t be that big. You should come! Please?!” She dragged the last word extra long. She and Takeda exchanged mischievous looks with each other which you missed, nose already into your readings for class. “It’s Takeda’s birthday!” Jacqui lied.

“Yeah,” Takeda added. “And I’ll accept your attendance at the party as an apology for not saying anything to me all day even though I told you about it last week.”

Your eyes shot up to Takeda who was giving you a pouty look that was making you feel guilty. Did he tell you? You didn't remember him telling you. Did he tell you and you completely forgot? You thought yourself a terrible friend. So you sighed and put your papers down. You hung your head back in defeat.

“Ugh!” You groaned. “Fine. I’ll go to your dumb party.”

“Great!” Takeda said a little too loudly. He lowered his volume, “Great, because there’s gonna be someone there I want you to meet.”

“WHAT?!” You exclaimed, not caring who might have heard.

“Ah! Too late! You already agreed!” Jacqui said pointing at you. You huffed and dramatically tossed the papers in your hand at the couple.

“Guess I’d better go groom then.” You complained as you got up and packed your bag to go home and shower, shave, and everything else you thought you ought to do before meeting a potential date. “Text me the deets.” You said as you walked out the door. As soon as you left Takeda filled Jacqui in on the details of his plan.

///

The getting ready part wasn't as stressful as it usually was. And since you got a new pair of spanx recently to wear under your dress and a pair of shoes a while ago that you hadn’t had occasion to wear, you walked into the party feeling pretty great about yourself. You looked around to see Takeda, Jacqui, and Cassie talking together and you went to join them.

“Y/n?!” Cassie yelled over the music. “I thought you didn’t do parties.”

“I was coerced.” You yelled back.

“We are glad that you came!” Jacqui said giving you a hug.

“So tell me about this mystery gent...lady?” You eyed Jacqui and then Takeda.

“Gent.” Takeda answered. “Now there’s a couple of things that you should know beforehand.” He said as he put his hand on the small of your back and lead you towards the bar.

“Okay...” You said slowly obviously wary of his next words.

“One: he’s blind.” Takeda said stopping a few feet away from the bar. There were three people at the bar and one was a woman. One of the men was tall and lanky, with light hair and eyes, and a face that wasn’t not  attractive, but he definitely wasn’t your type. ‘Please don’t be him.’ You thought to yourself. The other man’s face you couldn’t see, partly because he was facing away from you, and partly because he had a bandanna tied around his eyes. But he wore a red t-shirt with black jeans, and you could tell that he had muscles hiding under his clothes. You were very glad that that was obviously the man.

“Well, that’s not so bad.” You said in response to his first warning.

“Yeah, well, number two is a doozy.” Takeda started looking at you with a cautious face.

“What?” You asked with a deep and sharp voice.

“He’s my dad.”

“Nope. NOPE! No!” You started to to turn to walk away.

“Wait wait wait wait!” Takeda stopped you by holding your arms. “Please, Y/n?! He’s really cool and chill. I know he needs someone just like you need someone.”

“Who said I need someone?” You challenged crossing your arms over your chest.

“I do. I heard-saw, I saw the look of disdain you get whenever Jacqui and I enter the room and I know its because you’re lonely. Just give this a chance. Please!” Takeda tried to convince you. You just looked at him sternly and shook your head. He decided to switch tactics. “I noticed you didn’t bring me a present for my birthday.” He said eyeing you. Your expression immediately told him that he better not dare think of making you feel guilty about it, but he went along anyway. “Just talk to him for one drink?” He pouted and gave you his puppy dog eyes and you were a goner.

“Fuck you, Takeda. One drink.” You agreed reluctantly. 

“Yes! Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!” He turned you and pushed you back to the bar.

“But you have to introduce us.” You demanded quietly.

“Sure sure.” He said quietly back before the two of you got to the bar. “Hey!” Takeda said loudly getting his dad’s attention. He turned to face Takeda and yourself.

“Takeda.” He greeted calmly and then you saw his head cock. “Who is your friend?” He knew you were there? You were barely even breathing. He couldn’t have heard you.

“This is Y/n.” Takeda introduced you. “Y/n, Kenshi. Kenshi, Y/n.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/n.” Kenshi said extending a hand out to shake. You took it and shook it once before drawing back.

“You as well.” You greeted. There was an awkward silence before anyone spoke.

“Would you like a drink, Y/n?” Kenshi offered. You looked back at Takeda who gave you a pointed look. And so you gulped and answered.

“I’d love one, thank you.” You said hesitantly. Kenshi turned back to the bar and raised his hand to get the bartenders attention.

“Oh, look, Jacqui is calling me over. I’ll leave you kids to it.” Takeda said rushed. You looked over and Jacqui was in deep conversation with Cassie. ‘You fucking liar.’ You thought to yourself.

You were about to tell the bartender your drink order when Kenshi said it without you. “Whisky sour.” And you were shocked that he had guessed your favourite drink without you telling him anything.

“Yeah,” You said surprised, “How did you know?”

Kenshi smiled, “Lucky guess.” You couldn’t help but chuckle. The bartender mixed your drink and handed it to you. “So you study with Takeda and Jacqui?” You nodded.

“Yeah.” You answered. “What do you do?”

“I work with special forces.” Kenshi said. “Do you have an area of focus?”

“Ancient War.” You told him.

“Yeah?” He asked with his eyebrows raised in amazement. “I know a thing or two about that.”

And then the two of you spent the better part of fifteen minutes taking about ancient Asian fighting styles. Then you ordered another drink, and the two of you started talking about your other interests, both surprised to find out that you actually have more in common than either of you thought. After your second drink Cassie had come up to the two of you.

Cassie and you attended a lot of extra-curricular talks that the professors would give. After these talks there was always a luncheon were the person giving the talk and the attendees could meet. A lot of the time, guys that came to these talks would hit on one of you (usually Cassie). So you would come up to Cassie and ask her if she had a tampon. If the attention from the guy was unwanted, Cassie would say yes, and then the two would get the hell outta Dodge.

“Hey, Mr. Takahashi. Y/n,” She interrupted the conversation the two of you were having, and you both looked at her. “Y/n, do you have a tampon?” She asked eyeing you carefully. You looked back at Kenshi, then to Cassie. You were actually having a really nice time with him. So you shook your head.

“No, sorry, I don’t think so.” You admitted. Cassie smirked at you and gave you a wink.

“Okay, I’ll ask Jacqui.” She said and turned to leave.

///

The party was winding down and the people were all but gone. You and Kenshi were still seated at the bar talking away, and Takeda, Jacqui, and Cassie were watching you two in astonishment. It appeared as though Takeda’s plan had worked.

“Last call guys.” The bartender informed. You and Kenshi nodded at him.

“I actually had a really nice time tonight.” You said. Kenshi lifted an eyebrow questioningly at you.

“Actually?” he smirked faking offense with his tone.

“I mean, I don’t generally come to parties let alone have a good time at one.” You clarified.

“What made you come to this one?” he asked you.

“Well it was Takeda’s birthday so-” You started to explain but when Kenshi’s head cocked and face contorted with askance you stopped. “It’s not his birthday is it?”

Kenshi bit his lip and shook his head, “No.”

“Fucker.” You said quietly but he heard you and laughed. “Well regardless, I had a very nice time with you.”

“I had a great time with you too.” Kenshi smiled at you and you couldn't help but smile back. “Maybe we could do this again sometime? Outside of a bar setting.” He proposed. You blushed and looked down at the ground.

“I’d like that.” You agreed your smile increasing ten fold.

“Over dinner, perhaps?”

“That sounds great.”

Takeda, Jacqui, and Cassie watched the two of you talking. But it was when when Kenshi passed you his phone, you put your contact information in it, and then handed it back to him, the both of you smiling like idiots, that the three kids looked at each other in astonishment. 

“Did you guys set this up?” Cassie asked. Takeda and Jacqui high-fived giving her the answer. The sound of it though got your and Kenshi’s attention. You just shook your head at them, but when it was just Takeda looking at you you mouthed two words to him: Thank you. 

[tojikomerareta]

Vega

(Henry x Summoner) Fire Emblem Heroes

I've written this last year and I'm now comfortable to share it!! I used the name Sachiko as a placeholder so I hope you dont mind!!

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Sachiko hasn't spoken to him from the moment he woke up.

The atmosphere was heavy, and not once did she looked at him in the eye. Henry was sitting up on his bed at the medical wing of the Askr castle, after sustaining grave injuries during their last battle. He was sporting his usual unnerving smile, but if one looked closely, they could feel his uneasiness.

Sachiko was seated on the chair beside his bed, previously reading a book. She would occasionally stop and look towards his direction, but avoided his gaze entirely.

It's been 7 hours since he woke up. And a week has passed from the now-won battle.

Every 2 hours, Lissa or Veronica came in to check on him and his status. They would exchange a few sentences with Sachiko who, from Henry's perspective, looked like she hadn't eaten for a few days. Her eyes, once shining with life, holds an absent and unsteady gaze. Eyebags were a bit noticeable and the skin around them were slightly puffy.

Henry sheds his smile a few notches. Has she been crying?

To his left bedside was a plate of untouched dinner, slightly warm. Sachiko was the one who placed it there a few minutes earlier.

Sachiko looks tired, evident from the slump of her back and the way she lazily leans her left elbow to the chair's arm. Her book was now forgotten, neatly placed at the feet of Henry's bed. She still hasn't looked at him. And that fact alone made it harder on Henry's part to initiate a conversation.

But he'll try anyway.

"Sachi..." he quietly calls, hoping they'll have some semblance of a conversation. The heavy atmosphere is slightly suffocating him to be honest.

Sachiko looks over, sitting upright, but she still doesn't meet his eyes. "Do we need to call a healer?" She was about to stand when he told her no, I'm fine.

"Perhaps you need help with eating? Your hands are still weak from your injuries, hold on–" she quickly walks over the bedside to get his food but he interrupts her spiel. "Sachi..." his voice was quiet, but it firm.

She turns her head away.

"Sachi... what's wrong?" he reaches for her nearest hand and weakly pulls her to sit on his bed. Sachiko sighs and complies but tried to focus her gaze at remotely anything besides Henry.

Henry then reaches for her cheek and Sachiko slowly leans towards it, closing her eyes as if she might suddenly cry. But she tries to speak.

"I'm so sorry," it was barely a whisper and Henry almost missed it. It broke his heart when he noticed that her voice was hoarse and tiny. When she finally looked at him, tears were threatening to spill and her eyes are glassy, "I'm so sorry Henry."

Unsure of the reason of her apology and tears, he took the back of her head, rested her forehead against his shoulder and let her cry for a few minutes, his hands stroking her back to calm her down. She eventually did, after a while.

His face now fully painted with concern, he brushed away the remaining tears on her face when she sat up. His hands found hers and held them tenderly. "Would you mind telling me what's wrong?" His tone was surprisingly gentle, moreso as he was cautious of her crying once more.

"Please worry more about yourself, Henry. You almost died," she replied, eyebrows knitted with slight frustration as he addressed her problems before his own.

"These are just minor injuries Sachi!" he smiled to ease her worries.

"Henry, you were in a coma for a week! Don't play down the gravity of your injuries!" Raising her voice, she continued, "The healers told me that you refused any healing during the battle and continued fighting without any concern for your life! And the fact that this happened after I was forced back to my world feels like this is all my fault!"

New tears started to form but she held them back, "And when we found a way to come back I suddenly found out that you were basically on your deathbed and I–" Sachiko loses her voice and just held Henry's hands for dear life.

Henry was patient throughout Sachiko's outburst. "And you?"

"I thought I was gonna lose you and it's all my fault."

Henry stilled, seeming to forgot how to function.

Henry could see that the guilt on Sachiko's face was slowly tearing her apart. The way she desperately held his hand like a lifeline, the pained stare she gave him as tears threatened to spill anew, the way the rest of her body shook. All of this was new on Henry's plate. He had never seen her this distraught. He was used to her usual bashfulness during their strolls, her lips fighting back a smile as he cracks another joke. He was used to her focused eyes and her terrifying skill with weapons during battle, never letting any enemy faze her the slightest. He was used to intense training with her siblings, her small sounds of triumph when she outsmarted them.

And seeing her like this, all vulnerable, left a bad taste in his mouth.

Henry slowly removed their entwined hands and held her in an embrace that was overdue. He caught whiffs on pine and cedar, scents that remind him of home, as he held her close. And the fact that he's feeling pain all-over suddenly makes him realize why she was so worried. He did almost die.

Back then he had no complaints if he met a bloody and untimely death. In fact, he'd probably welcome it with open arms. But now, something (or someone) pulls him back from those thoughts and dying was suddenly not the best of ideas.

"I'm here, Sachi. Please don't cry."

Minutes of silence washes over them and was greatly appreciated. Sachiko was still distraught and Henry observed that she still wanted to say something but couldn't. I'm sure it could wait for tomorrow or until her voice comes back. Despite this, there was a sinking feeling that he couldn't pinpoint for some reason.

He directed Sachiko to sleep next to him. She made no objections due to her exhaustion and just laid next to him, a wave of sleep following quickly. When Henry was sure that Sachiko was indeed asleep, he tried to stretch his bandaged body and eat his dinner portion. After that, he continued to sit on the bed, stroking Sachiko's hair.

It was at this time when a plethora of thoughts occupied his mind, seemingly to have found the most obvious of reasons for both his and Sachiko's actions beforehand.

There was an unspoken thing between them and to Henry, a young man with a troubled past, friendships were a scarcity. It was obvious that both of them cared for the other, even the other heroes could tell. Henry hadn't formed any fulfilling relationships with the rest of the Shepherds, so he doesn't have any point of comparison with his relationship with Sachiko.

But Henry is not stupid, sure, he may say jarring things and laugh at inappropriate times, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't that stupid. Probably. The amount of time it took him to realize everything made him doubtful. But now, everything is slowly unraveling to clarity.

He now realizes the reasons why he likes inviting her to strolls in the afternoons, why he's willing to drink tea with her in the gardens, why he makes sure she's within his line of sight when they're in the same unit, why he keeps on making jokes at her presence despite it not being that funny.

It becomes clear to him why he was willing to throw away his life that day. The same day when he learned that a portal to her world opened briefly; she and her siblings nowhere to be found. It felt like a bucket of cold water was thrown at him. There was no goodbye, nor any previous indication that she was planning to go back. He thought they would continue their usual routine. So the moment the Askr royals were informing the heroes about the sudden AWOL of the siblings, he actually felt betrayed (like he had the audacity to feel so). Abandoned, once again. And suddenly, life wasn't really worth anything anymore.

He remembered not giving a damn when his body kept taking hits from Emblan mages and soldiers. He remembered ignoring the healers pleas and kept firing spell after spell after spell. He remembered being angry and proceeded to channel that in his final spell before his body decided to shutdown. But he also remembered her before he lost consciousness.

So imagine his disbelief when he found her on his bedside, looking ultimately distraught and vulnerable. He actually thought his mind was playing tricks on him. But when the healers, Lissa and the Emblan princess, addressed her regarding his state solidified his notions that yes, she was here with him, in this very room, at this very moment.

At first he wanted nothing to do with her. However, as the hours passed by, he soon regrets these negative musings. He saw her eyes, unwilling to meet his gaze, and cheeks clearly stained with tears. It left a sour taste in his mouth and he didn't like it at all. He carefully observed her, who never once spoke a single word, but attended to his wounds when it was time to change his bandages. Henry is fairly confident that he was a patient person. Especially when it comes to her. It took her 7 hours, as he learned, to finally look at him and speak to him. And Henry, despite the hostility that initially consumed his opinion of her, never showed her any indication of his negative emotions and was, on the contrary, very patient and forgiving. Anything for her.

Henry thinks that he is somewhat a sensible person. So he didn't really think much of their routine as anything more than good friendship. But the moment she was baring her vulnerability a few moments earlier, made Henry uncertain of his own initial conclusions. Maybe, just maybe, does she actually?

Does she actually what?

He cuts off his own musings and rested his gaze with the young woman sleeping soundly by his side. He suddenly feels uneasy continuing his self-reflection, but since when did he back down, even to his own thoughts?

Does she actually what, Henry?

His eyes find its way to her hands and the thought of buying her a ring that she deserves finally leads him to his long-awaited answer. He feels unusually at peace, glad to be clear of his own questions. He slowly eases himself onto the bed, careful not to wake Sachiko and allowed himself to be lulled by the silent thumping of their heartbeats.

Would you walk beside me for the rest of your life?

[nokikissa]

Whooooooooo did it, beat the story of borderlands 3 now. It took me 42 hours but I think I got still like some of those fight wave of enemies arena things I could do but I’ll look into that later, I did all the crew challenges and side mission outside of those type of things.

Story and character wise it was a bit of a mixed bag, there were a lot of things I like and couple things I really didn’t like, but all in all I had fun, the gameplay was excellent, and most likely I will play it again, to co-op with buddies or to try out different vault hunters.

Putting more in-depth thoughts about some story and character things under the cut, extreme major spoiler warning as I’ll be talking about like big plot moments and such.

I quite like most of the new characters they introduced in this, I’ve only played Fl4k and loved them, but from everything I’ve seen I feel like I’ll love the other new vault hunters as well. The Calypso twins were delightful villains, very entertaining but also like I couldn’t wait to get to kill them lmao. And then there’s like Ava, I loved her and her relationship with Maya that was good stuff. And Wainwright I quite liked as well, and I was very happy that Hammerlock finally has a boyfriend and is in a good relationship. And also Lorelei and Clay were both good too, tho I probably like Lorelei more of those haha.

How it handled some old characters tho.... That’s a bit mixed. Like I liked a lot of them: Lilith, Eliie, Tannis, Maya, Zer0, Sir Hammerlock.... Even Rhys! They got Rhys down surprisingly well in my opinion! Obviously he was bit more comedic and doofy but like it was still reminiscent of how Rhys acted in like comedic moments of tales, I could recognize where they got his personality from and so on, it was fine!

...Which makes it even more baffling that they fucked up Vaughn so completely that with Vaughn it feels like the writer maybe got a super vague description of the character at best which had been passed down through multiple people twisting it around like a game of broken telephone. I just don’t understand where they pulled some character traits for him at all.... During the game I tried my best to ignore his existence, which worked well for a long while until the game made you go back to pandora and made him story relevant again, god every time he spoke my reaction was like “please shut up...”

But. I knew that was coming. The Commander Lilith DLC and promotional pics and so on made it clear ahead of time that I would not like Borderlands 3 Vaughn. I had had time to go through the stages of grief and resign to being all well I’m gonna be one of those salty tales fans and keep on drawing content of like tales Vaughn and ignore the rest of the canon for him.

So anyway I was really liking the story during like the Promethea Atlas Vs. Maliwan Arc actually, Rhys and Zer0 and their interactions were fun, Katagawa was an enjoyable villain as well, I just hope the fandom don’t make him annoying to me... So yeah that arc was good and fun.... and then the Promethea Vault happened. I am still a bit on the fence about how I feel about Maya getting killed off. On one hand, I did not see that coming and it did get an emotional “Nooo D:” reaction out of me, which well I’ve seen games with similar character getting killed off scenes that are supposed to be a big deal but my reaction is just like “ok”, like Borderlands 2 with Roland for example. But like yeah I didn’t want her to die, and it feels like kind of a waste cos let’s face it in 2 she didn’t have that much personality since the game didn’t do voice lines for the vault hunters reacting to the story etc. So now she was finally getting to be her own character I feel like aaaand then she dies. :/

And then we moved on to the Eden 6 arc and initially I was excited all Oh get to meet Hammerlock’s Boyfriend! But soon my excitement soured............

So Aurelia’s evil now huh.... And like cartoonishly evil...... Man I hate what they did with Aurelia in this game, it really smashed my good mood coming from the promethea arc to this.... Like in pre-sequel sure she kept claiming herself to be evil and a bitch and so on, but yet when Jack did like actually horrible shit she did not agree with those, she felt bad about Felicity’s fate and didn’t agree with Jack killing the scientist, she even objected when Jack was killing off all claptraps! But nah here’s she’s evil, murdering people left and right and also fucked Troy Calypso cos idk she evil now  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Like god............ I really didn’t expect Aurelia of all the characters whose portrayal I’d be having this much issues but here we are... I guess I’m more pissed about it atm cos as I said with Vaughn I knew what was coming, but with Aurelia I kinda feel Bait and switched by the promotional material cos in all of those that I saw they showed like both the Hammerlocks and Wainwright standing next to each other so you know I was expecting her to be an ally, like maybe she and Alistair had started to tolerate each other and so on but NOPE! Go kill this character you like! Thanks a lot gearbox...

That’s the major issues I had with characters I suppose, Tho it is a bit disappointed Maya and Zer0 were only vault hunters from 2 that showed up. Would’ve been fun to get more personality for more of them. I did find some echo logs involving Krieg at one point which were interesting, aaaand according to like the sort of background filler assets Axton does porn now lmao. Also hmm where were Athena and Janey? Fiona and Sasha? So many characters missing... I know they’ve said probably more characters show up in dlcs, but still. Story wise kinda funny tho, like did Lilith contact the vault hunters from 2 for help at all? Were all of them like “sry I’m busy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ “??

Also one weird bit about the Eden 6 arc, it felt kiiinda out of place for borderlands that there were npcs being all “Oh man I sure love the Jakobs family they treat me well”, borderlands has sorta been all “the gun corporation suck” beforehand... I suppose the Promethea arc was bit too pro corporation in some way, but with that at least mostly the npc I saw were like “Rhys says he’s trying to do good with atlas... hm we shall see how that’ll pan out...” suspicion, but with the Jakob there were characters being all oh Jakobs is so great such good corporation :)

At the end side of the game you could get sooo much lore about like sirens which I loved, translating the eridian artifact things like clarified on like how sirens come to be and all which is great! According to that siren in her life can choose who specifically inherits her powers after she dies, or “release her powers into the unknown” which when described kinda gave me the impression that it’ll pass those onto some baby that’s born at some point, which yay clarification on the whole are sirens born as sirens or do they get their powers later: answer is both!

And it appears that Angel decided to pass her powers onto Tannis before she died? Which is interesting. And aw Maya chose Ava to inherit her powers.

That ending tho..... uhhh isn’t Elpis an inhabited place? How did that whole thing affect the people living on elpis lmao....?

And god that ending credits song, it is fitting but I just can’t take it seriously asfsfdggs...

i guess I’ll now move onto talking about the gameplay....

The gameplay was great. Same old Borderlands gameplay except with some improvements making it better, and that is exactly what I wanted from the game.

I especially love the way the guns are now and how much variety there is between the manufacturers, and even within them! Like previously I rarely liked to use shotguns in borderlands games, but in this one I fell in love specifically with the Maliwan Shockwave shotguns, and when one I had started to be too low leveled I desperately tried looking for new one everywhere lol.

And also Atlas gun’s smart bullet gimmick is so good especially now that I played on console, I know I joked about that before the game came out I’m sorry Rhys lol.

I really enjoyed the environments in the game, the planets looked cool and unique, and the maps were interesting. And god some of them are so huge! Which does cause some issue tho... They are weirdly stingy with ammo vending machines. In previous games they usually had ammo vending machines before like boss fight rooms, but in this one nope! Most of the time they only have those in like beginning of the map or like where fast travel points are? That’s annoying... And another issue is that the maps are big and sorta maze-like at times, so even though you have the mission marker in the mini map, I still needed to constantly open the map to see how to get to it, you can’t just go straight in the direction of the mission marker.

Gotta say, I was bit disappointed that we only visited Athenas to get Maya, I was hoping we’d return there cos the planet was very pretty but nope....

Fl4k’s gameplay was really fun, I got the skill that lets fl4ks pet heal you and man that skill is a lifesaver, there were some boss fights I survived purely because of Mr Chew keeping me alive by reviving me lol.

I did encounter few glitched that caused me to have to restart the game cos some mission objective got stuck somewhere and I couldn’t advance, that was a bit annoying. But it was only very few and like well into the game, compared to the hours I played it feels like a pretty good track record for playing a game right on it’s release haha.

So uh yeah. In summary again: Extremely fun gameplay, mixed bag story and characters. Had fun, will play again.