#a queue of armor around the world

[drpepperstrawberryfloat]

Hey, I don't know if you are still writing prompts but can you write a super sweet zevlor x Tav, maybe with sumt if you want 💙 thank you

HELLO, MY SWEET ANON.

I present to you: Sweet, tender Zevlor x Tav smut because I am weak for this man, and you KNOW he would 100% be dedicated to his lover and their pleasure.

Explicit! She/Her Tav! Good ol' missionary! Sweet dirty talk! MDNI!

Zevlor wasn’t used to someone flirting with him so boldly. 

Well, no. That wasn’t quite true. Halsin was incredibly forward in his advances, but he seemed amenable when Zevlor stammered out a declination. That wasn’t to say it wasn’t flattering, but Halsin was not particularly his type. 

Tav was either a miracle sent in their hour of need, or a poor adventurer who showed up in the wrong place at the right time. She had saved his people and extended kindness to everyone while doing so. Even Kagha was let off relatively lightly with a demotion from Halsin and a stern exchange with Tav. 

They held a party that evening. Zevlor stood off the side as he always did, drinking from a cup of wine as he watched partygoers mill about and socialize. Tav had a queue of folks who wanted even a second of her attention–some to thank her, some to congratulate her, and some who wanted to…proposition her, so to speak. So, when Tav approached him, her cup of wine barely touched despite the flush that decorated her face, he was slightly bewildered. 

“There are several others who might enjoy your company this evening,” Zevlor said as evenly as he could while she stood next to him smelling of lemon balm and lavender. 

Tav rolled her eyes and replied, “But none of them are you, Zevlor,” as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. 

Zevlor took another sip of wine and decided to allow himself this one indulgence. It’d been a long while since he was so openly desired. Tav looked at him like she was torn between kissing him and shoving him to the ground to mount him right then and there. 

When Tav stole him away, Halsin gave him a knowing smirk just as they disappeared around a corner. Her tent was tucked away in an offshoot of the camp. She had already stoked a fire, and it burned warmly as they sat and watched the flames dance and spit embers into the sky. 

“Why me?” he asked quietly as Tav fumbled with the clasps of his armor. There was no rush to her movements, and she glanced up to meet his eyes every so often before pressing another gentle kiss to his lips. 

“Because there’s nothing sexier than a man who is willing to do anything to protect his people,” Tav said matter-of-factly as she coaxed his arms up to pull his tunic off. When the expanse of his ridged, scarred skin was exposed, she traced cool fingers along his ribs until he shivered and rested his hand over hers.

Zevlor chuckled, warm and low in his chest. “Surely, that can’t be–” 

Tav kissed him again, far less chaste than the kiss before. 

“You seem to be in disbelief over my affections,” she said. “If I may be so forward…?” 

He raised an eyebrow and nodded, watching curiously as she guided his hand beneath her skirts. What he found was a slick mess, his fingers slipping into her with little resistance. Tav’s eyes fluttered shut as her soft giggle turned into a quiet moan. 

“Is this what I’ve done to you, my dear?” Zevlor whispered as his thumb found her clit. She gasped as he pulled her into another kiss, their tongues pressing together as she writhed under his ministrations. “I’m quite flattered.”

Tav gasped, “Please, Zevlor,” and she allowed herself to be tipped back until she was lying flat on her back with Zevlor hovering above her. She quickly pulled her skirts up until she was exposed to him; if he were a more patient man, he’d do this properly–worship her with this tongue until she cried out and clenched around his fingers, nibble her skin until he left marks that she could still easily cover for modesty’s sake. 

Right now, though, he desperately needed to be inside of her. 

It seemed that’s what Tav needed as well, as she frantically undid the ties of his trousers and made a frustrated noise when Zevlor didn’t move to help her shove them down. Zevlor laughed. This was such an absurd situation he found himself in. He felt so undeserving of such pointed affection, especially from a younger soul like Tav. 

But then Tav was grasping his cock and guiding it into her while she looked into his eyes, so wide and full of affection. Zevlor stroked her hair as he pushed into her, slowly, slowly, slowly. She was so hot, so slick and tight, that he was unsure how long he might actually last. Once he was buried in her, he leaned in to kiss her once more, slow and languid. 

“Please, Zevlor,” she gasped. “Please move. I can take it, please.”

Her moans and cries sounded wonderful in his ear. She locked her legs around his waist, forcing him deeper into her. Zevlor couldn’t help but think how wonderful she looked like this, falling apart beneath him as he pleasured her in a way he hadn't pleased anyone in a very long time. 

Tav’s hand moved to her clit, and Zevlor increased his pace, her chest bouncing with each thrust. 

“Gods, yes!” she cried. “So good, so good, so good, please, don’t stop…”

Zevlor huffed, “Is this what you needed, my dear?”

Tav nodded, though he wasn’t entirely sure she was comprehending anything other than the slide of his ridged, textured cock inside of her.

“Thank you for allowing me the privilege of assisting you, then,” he whispered. 

Suddenly, she was clenching around him and crying his name. Her back arched, and she sobbed as he fucked her through her orgasm. Zevlor wasn’t far behind, thrusting only a few more times before he was grunting and spilling inside of her. 

Afterwards, he spooned her on her bedroll as they warmed themselves by the fire. He wrapped his tail around her ankle, and she looked back at him with a soft smile. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and buried his face into her hair, purring wildly as he felt the heaviness of sleep weighing on him.

#zevlor x tav #bg3 zevlor #bg3 smut #nsft #thank you for your patience i got carried away here obviously #you can tell I write for ao3 when I accidentally add formatting codes to a tumblr post lmao

[holylustration]

Aurelia x Marazhai #24

Skipping the queue a bit to answer a more recent kiss prompt for my OG Pair! List of prompts is here, list of completed prompts is in my Index of Works.

#24: ...in danger.

Every time she stumbled with the spinning of the world, Marazhai cursed at her. He dragged her by her wrist, then the ruined collar of her dress, and then finally by the dirty rope that was her braid as they darted through the underbelly of that foul and sunless place.

Her feet slipped along the streets; she was still slick with gore from the arena and light headed from stim withdrawal, for she'd been too careless in sharing it. Jae needed it and Abelard needed it, too, but if they were to get out of this place, Aurelia needed it more, and the cold truth of it was starting to worm its way into the place the mind maggot had left behind.

"Why are we running?" she asked, her throat sore from screaming.

"We are being hunted," was the clipped reply.

"Everything in this place hunts." Aurelia was on her knee again, but so close to the ground, she could see the approaching shadows. She did not even wince as a tug on her braid brought her to her feet.

"Then stop being such easy prey, my - " Marazhai hissed as the momentum sent her sprawling into him.

Blood flowed on Aurelia's clothing as her skin scraped and was pierced by the spikes on his armor. She was too numb to care.

"Kae morag!"

The sickly green light of the street faded into deep shadows as Marazhai wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing her further onto the sharp spikes, and hoisted her in the air.

Aurelia caught glimpses of their surroundings over a shoulder plate: ruined, crumbling buildings. Some figures shambled, collecting garbage from piles. Other figures were propped over barrels or pushed against walls, their bodies obscured by leering, lean forms.

The distant sound of wings, of rushed footsteps, followed, mingling with the drugged moans and cries of the lowest of the low.

Marazhai pushed Aurelia into a corner, blocking her from view. His face was cast in shadow as he loomed above her.

"It is time for another game now, my pet," he whispered. "And if you break the rules, it will not be by my hand that you suffer." He took her face between his fingers, lifting her chin up as he brought his mouth to hers.

His lips were surprisingly soft and tasted of blood. He kissed her hungrily - no, urgently - as though it might be their last time, stealing the very breath from her lungs as he nipped at her mouth and let his tongue glide against hers. There was no way, even in the dark and with her eyes closed, that she could pretend she was anywhere else or with anyone else, not when she had become the center of his entire world.

The commands of the search party drew closer, but Aurelia scarcely heard them. The poisoned chalice of his affections had likely doomed them both.

#rogue trader #warhammer 40k #rogue trader crpg #warhammer 40000 #aurelia von valancius #marazhai aezyrraesh #marazhai #writing prompts #drabble prompts #kiss asks #kiss prompts #drabble #writing #fanfiction #fanfic

[sehtoast]

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall. (Depowered Homelander x OC)

1.1k words | Mild angst. Themes of body image issues. Brief promise of giving him head later bc he deserves it. | Depowered Homelander tries on his suit again for the first time in a long time. | Fic Directory

OC: Benjamin Colyer (The Boys-verse Spider-Man)

He'd left it there a long time ago. Soaked from the rain. Kicked to the corner when Benjamin had offered him some of his own clothes instead. 

They'd separated at that point. And yet, his little spider still took care of him. 

Well… to be fair, he had helped Ben first. Flew him home after finding him in an exhausted sleep in the rain. 

Now it was his once more. Dredged out of the closet in Ben's unoccupied apartment at the tower. It smelled of stale air and neglect. 

His lover stands before him, hands out to offer it. 

His suit.

The only one Vought didn't destroy– save for the one displayed in some monument to his legacy they'd erected after his 'retirement.'

His armor. 

His image. 

Him. 

He takes it with shaking hands, gulping thickly as his fingertips brush against the fabric. Tears sting at his eyes, and he wants to hug it as tight as he possibly can. Hold this long lost piece of himself close until it becomes part of him once more. 

"I remembered it the other day totally out of the blue. Thought you should have it back." Ben says to him. The web-head can tell there's temptation brewing. 

A desire to see if it's still him. He wants to don his image once more. 

As if on queue, they both ask near identical questions, words overlapping each other. 

Can you help me put it on? 

Do you want to put it on? 

It's tricky to wiggle into it this time. His body has changed, and he can tell now more than ever. It was always tight, but even more so now, and in all the wrong ways. A shiver runs through his body as Ben zips him into it. 

He feels like he's becoming whole once again. And yet… 

He knows better. 

But it doesn't stop him from dreaming. Imagining he'd never lost his powers. Picturing a world in which he could still swoop his little spider up and go anywhere their hearts desire. 

He tips his head back, sucking a deep breath before looking down. Everything looks normal again. He is exactly as he should be. 

He is The Homelander once more. He is a god. 

He is god. 

Except the suit is heavy. The false muscle weighs him down in a way he's never known before. The eagle epaulets are uncomfortable weights on either side of him. 

He meanders to the body length mirror hanging on the wall. It is there that the last embers of his dream are snuffed by the man looking back. 

Dark hair, messy and unkempt. Scruffy facial hair. Bags under his sullen eyes. 

The man in the mirror is not The Homelander. 

Not even close. 

Behind him stands Benjamin in his own suit, watching as he takes in the sight of himself. 

He's smiling, and John cannot understand why. 

"God," Ben chuckles. "You still look like the biggest boy scout in that thing." 

He wants to laugh in return– play it off, but all he gives is a curl of his lip. "I look like a fucking joke."

Ben scoffs. 

"That's because you see yourself through your own bad opinions of yourself." 

He wants to scowl and deny it, but he nods. Ben always had a way of knowing.

"Let me tell you what I see…" Benjamin approaches him, slings his arms around his neck from behind. "First and foremost, I see the love of my life." 

Homelander clenches his jaw, but lets his eyes flutter shut. Accepting compliments used to be so natural for him. Of course he was handsome. Of course he was perfect. 

Was. 

Very important word, there.

"I see my favorite face to wake up to, and the last one I wanna see before I fall asleep at night." Ben continues. "I see pretty blue eyes that make me feel like I'm looking out at sea."

He makes eye contact with himself, then. Sees the red rimming his eyes as he fights to hold back the torrent of emotions burning through him. He sees the blue Ben speaks of. 

He'd never thought of them in terms of the ocean, though. 

"Lips I love to kiss." 

Lips he's always chewing into an unsightly, chapped red. 

"Soft hair to play with when you lay your head in my lap." 

Shaggy overgrowth that made him look like a fucking idiot.

"The cutest little laugh lines.”

Signs of his age finally settling in.

"Then there's that hickey I left on you the other night." Ben giggles, nuzzling against his cheek. "Sorry 'bout that." 

He can't stop the little smile that spreads across his face. 

"There it is!" 

Oh, please. 

"A smile that's better than golden sunsets. You know the kind I mean." 

Of course he knew. They liked to watch them together on the front porch sometimes. 

"Okay, okay." He gripes. "I get it. You like me. Doesn't change the fact I'm nothing fuckin' special anymore." 

Ben contemplates his next words for a moment, simply staring at him. 

"Wasn't the suit that made you special, babe. Or your powers." He leans to press a kiss to his cheek before redirecting his gaze back to the mirror. "You made those things special." 

Homelander stares back at Ben through the mirror for a time, eyes big and doe like. 

"And, even when you take it off again, you'll still be special."

He inhales slowly, letting each and every word wash over him like waves kissing the shore. The sandy grit of his self loathing floats out to sea bit by bit. 

"I'm always gonna think the sun shines out of your ass, pumpkin." Ben plants a kiss against his cheek, swaying the both of them from side to side. "Now, whaddya say we get you out of that jigsaw puzzle of a suit and go figure out dinner? We can finish that documentary you picked the other day, too." 

He shakes his head to hide the smile that spreads across his face. 

"And maybe I'll suck you silly while you learn more about big man Washington." 

"Are you ever going to let me brood in peace?" He groans with a roll of his eyes. 

"Nope." Ben begins detaching the cape. "I love you. It's my job to bug you til you're smiling again." 

What bliss, to be loved so dearly.

#homelander #homelander fanfiction #homelander x oc #depowered homelander #the boys #antony starr #this was something small that hit my mind at random. wrote it all out in one go so hopefully it's solid lol

[27dragons]

New Year Countdown: Dec 30

I forgot again! I was actually going to sleep last night and thought, "oh shit, did I remember to post?" and then thought, "yes, of course I did" with the full memory of shuffling around my file and everything. Bad memory, no cookie! So for yesterday's belated post, have some Cyberpunk Steve/Tony, and since I'm going out tonight, I'll put tonight's post in the queue for later.

Dec 30 - Stony - Cyberpunk AU - Fireworks

It always took Tony a few minutes to recover when he dropped his connection to the Net. The nanites were so fast, faster than thought, and if he dumped them without the proper procedures, he’d be half-stunned, unable for a few minutes to think properly or even move his body without tripping over himself.

So he kept his eyes closed, breathing carefully and counting the beats of his heart until the spaces between them seemed merely slow and not interminable.

When he did open his eyes, Steve was standing in front of him, waiting patiently. “You back in the real world?”

Steve wasn’t wearing his smart armor, just a standard BPV, so the situation couldn’t be too bad. “The Net is real,” Tony said for probably the thousandth time. “But yeah, I’m back in meatspace. What’s up, Cap?”

“Not sure,” Steve admitted. “There’s rumors floating around that something’s going to happen down by the river. I thought we should go check it out.”

“No idea what?” Tony wondered. “You want me to dive back in, see what I can dig up in the Shadows?” He tapped at the housing embedded in his chest that maintained the nanites when they weren’t in use.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Netters,” he said, fondly exasperated. “I thought we could go check it out in person.”

“Old man,” Tony shot back at him, grinning. “You spend all your free time pining for the old days, don’t you?” He reached for his overcoat. It wasn’t armor, but it was lined with protective panels, and besides, it was cold out there. “Who’s staying here to keep an eye on the children?”

Predictably, Steve said, “Bucky.”

“And who’s going to keep an eye on Bucky?” Tony teased.

Steve shoved Tony playfully -- and gently, because despite his grousing about the danger of too much cyber enhancement, Steve’s skeleton and musculature were boosted and he could put Tony through a wall if he didn’t keep a tight rein on his strength.

They made their way out to the street and headed toward the river. “What do you think we’re going to find?” he wondered. Steve didn’t seem tense, like he was expecting trouble, but he did seem a little nervy.

“Don’t know,” Steve admitted. “You know, you spent the whole day in the Net. Must be hungry; want to stop at Joey’s for a burger on the way?” He waved at the diner’s signpost, just half a block from where they were passing.

“You don’t want to chase this thing down first?” That wasn’t much like Steve.

“From what I’ve heard, we’ve got some time.”

Tony shot Steve a suspicious look, but he seemed not to notice. “...Sure. Burger would be good, actually.”

Steve drew Tony into a discussion about the latest smartlink upgrades as they ate, and then they bickered lazily about whether Bucky should let Tony work on his cyberware or if he’d be better off going to WakandaTek for maintenance, and Tony forgot about his concerns. By the time they left Joey’s, they were well into a threadbare old argument about enhancements for Steve’s holoshield.

It wasn’t until the first explosion made Tony all but jump out of his skin that he remembered why they were wandering the streets in midwinter. “Fuck!” he gasped, ducking into an alley for cover and looking around wildly. “What was that?”

Steve looked up into the sky, and Tony followed his gaze. Against the purplish glow of the city’s night sky was a sparkling glitter of lights.

Steve grabbed Tony’s wrist. “Come on, it’s starting!” He tugged, and Tony was helpless to do anything but follow.

Another explosion lit up the sky with jewels of color and light. “Fireworks?” Tony said. “Your mysterious something was fireworks? You tricked me into a patrol to... what, get dinner and watch fireworks?” He blinked as the obvious answer occurred. “Is this a date, Steve?”

Steve shot Tony a slightly sheepish smile. “Well... yeah. If you want it to be.”

Crowds were gathering, now that it was apparent the explosions were benign, but there was no one there who knew them. Tony leaned into Steve’s warmth and looked up at the blooming colors in the sky, and smiled as Steve’s arm wrapped around his shoulders.

“Happy New Year.”

#my writing #countdown to 2024 #stony #cyberpunk au

[horanghater]

Nth Time’s a Charm

Summary: How many trips to the store does it take to decorate a tree? ▸ Pairing: Jimin x F!reader ▸ Rating / Genre / AU: PG-13 / fluff, humor ▸ Warnings: N/A ▸ Word Count: 1.3k ▸ A/N: This gift was created through @bangtansecretsanta​ and is for fellow Wings era enthusiast @jiminzfilter. Surprise~~!! I hope you enjoy, lovely! Thank you to Cherry for beta’ing and banner-ing! 

↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔

In this world, there is nothing that brings you more displeasure than being outside in the cold. Yet here you are, trudging to the seasonal decor shop in 5 layers of clothing so heavy that it feels like you’re dragging yourself along in a suit of armor. Your mind is begging you to end this mission, but your heart has other ideas. It’s the day before Christmas Eve – you have to try just one more time.

You have to stop when you finally do arrive at your destination to catch your breath. Why were you breathing so hard? Get it together and don’t embarrass yourself this time! You close your eyes, inhale shakily, and release. As your breath steams away from you, you will your nerves to do the same. A gust of heated air warms your face as you step through the automated sliding doors of the shop. When the entry bell dings, a store greeter hands you a shopping basket on queue and gives you their best customer service smile. “Oh! Nice to see you again. Welcome back!” It takes everything in you to ignore the mortification spreading across your cheeks and provide a salutation of your own before scurrying down the aisles to the ornament section, a path you know all too well. This is the 4th time you’ve visited the shop this week and somewhere around the 20th time in the last month and a half since the storefront opened for the season. The same thing happens every time: you peruse the ornaments for a conspicuously long time, have an awkward chat with the associate who always comes by to help, then you buy only 1 bauble and leave. Needless to say, your flimsy excuse of “perfecting your Christmas tree” has been seen through by everyone on staff. 

By now they probably have a nickname for you. Christmas Tree Courtney? Ornament Olive? Sketchy Sarah? Please, not Sketchy Sarah. “Y/N! How’s the tree coming along?” And there it is. That angelic voice you’ve fallen in love with yanks you out of your panicked imaginings so you can panic in real life instead. 

At the end of the aisle is the most stunning man you’ve ever seen with a cherubic face and gorgeous, cat-like eyes. His ash gray hair catches the twinkling of the fairy lights that line the shelves, giving him an almost ethereal glow. You’ve come to know this remarkable man in this unremarkable store as Jimin. What started as a harmless crush on him has turned into a (failing) mission to ask him out. For all of the times you’ve plucked up the courage to go see him, however, that grit flies out the window once he’s standing in front of you. 

You remind yourself to pick your jaw up from the floor as he approaches. “H-Hey! It’s looking good, almost done.” Jimin reaches your side and then turns to regard the wall of ornaments that you’re pretending to be interested in. “I should hope so,” he finally says after a pause. “This is our last day after all.”

Pause. “Last day?” Hopefully, that didn’t come out as stressed as you’re feeling right now. “Well, yeah.” Jimin absently grabs a glittery star from the wall to watch it twinkle in his hand. “We’re closed tomorrow and on Christmas day. The store’s done for the season.”

Internally, your world has come to a screeching halt. Surely, things can’t end so uneventfully? You’ve journeyed here to see Jimin for weeks on end and for what? To chicken out every time and watch as the love of your life (you’re positive that he is) slips through your fingers? Your hopeful Christmas story is starting to look much more like a tale of the one that got away. Unsure of what to say, you grab a bulb of your own, a shiny red one, and turn it in your hands. Jimin’s eyes catch yours in its reflection. He’s studying you as if he knows you’re hiding something from him. Instead, he grants you mercy by continuing the conversation himself. “Are you sure that’s the one? This ornament, I mean.” He gestures to the one in your hand. “I thought you said this year’s theme was tan and green?”

Queue the worst fake laugh you’ve ever laughed. “No, you’re right. I don’t know where my head is today!” This is not a lie. “Let me just–” 

You reach to hang the ornament back on its display, but Jimin gently intercepts your hand, slender fingers stealing the loop from yours. His smile is so beautiful that it hurts. “I’ve got it,” he says. “Here, I think I’ve got the perfect one for you.” Jimin crowds you between himself and the ornament wall, reaching above you to grab one above your head. Your eyes catch a sliver of the plush of his stomach that’s exposed when his shirt rides up and though you’ll never admit it, your mind is instantly flooded with thoughts of sin. It’s so hot in here all of a sudden.

“Here!” Jimin once again pulls you back into the present, this time by gently bringing your hands together to form a cup. You accept your new position obediently as he places an oversized, almost-bronze bauble in your hands. “I think this could be the missing piece,” he grins proudly. Everything about Jimin is so soft, so elegant, so overwhelming. No wonder you can only ever leave here with one item every time – how are you supposed to follow that up? It really will be a pretty addition to your Christmas tree even though it’s been “complete” for a while now. It’s just hard to focus on that when you’re having skin-to-skin contact with the most dazzling person you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. 

Finally, you manage to show gratitude with words. “Actually, I think you’re right. Perfect recommendation as always, Jimin!” This is all too much. You need to get out of here before you say something stupid. There’ll be time to wallow in despair about your own cowardice later. “Thank you so, so much. And Merry Christmas!” You can’t look him in the eyes as you say it, opting to glue your gaze to the bauble in your hands as you turn to leave. “W-Wait! One more thing!”

Body reacting before mind, you spin on your heel to face Jimin one last time. He produces a slip of paper from his apron pocket and beckons you back over to him so he can place it in your coat pocket. When your eyebrow quirks up in confusion, he explains, “Open it after you leave.”

“Wha–”

“Hi, how can I help you?” Just as abruptly things began, they end with Jimin breezing past you to help another customer that’s wandered into the aisle. He’s absorbed in his Ornament Monitor duties – acting as if your interaction hadn’t happened. It dawns on you that this is the last time you’ll see him. The moment for action has passed, you have to go home and never see this exquisite specimen of a man again. Your clothes suddenly feel like bricks as you make your way to the register up front to pay. The same clerk that greeted you at the door squeals “finally!” when you check out, but you barely hear it. All that’s on your mind is missed opportunities with Jimin. You thank the clerk for their help robotically and head out the door to begin your walk of solitude back home. The chill of reality hits your skin and you immediately shove your hands into your pockets. The paper Jimin left with you crinkles under your fingertips and urges you to inspect it now instead of in the warmth of your Jimin-less home. Ignoring the frost biting at your hands, you unfurl the stationary as you stand on the sidewalk. In black pen is a phone number and beneath it, dainty handwriting: “Call me? :)” 

Looks like you’ve got your Christmas miracle after all.

#bss2022 #btshoneyhive #jimin #park jimin #jimin fic #park jimin fic #jimin x reader #reader x jimin #jimin fluff #park jimin fluff

[dalliansss]

Galvorn au

fame is a strange thing. some men gain glory after they die, while others fade

song of achilles  —  madeline miller  sentence starters

Maeglin, bruised and battered, his galvorn armor stained with blood and guts (thankfully none of which belonged to him), sat by the long hallway leading to the overcrowded Healing Houses of Himring, awaiting his turn to be looked at by Helwion and his team of overworked and sleepless elven healers. The crowd inches forward at a snail's pace. Maeglin sat where he is supposed to be, only rousing from his reverie when the elves ahead of him by the queue also shuffle tiredly along.

This was the third attack of Angband toward Himring this year; and always, they have been prepared -- and by Maeglin's own tireless efforts, the people of his husband (and his people too, as consequence), are better armored and equipped -- galvorn armor, galvorn blades, galvorn arrowheads. But Morgoth's retaliation was to send tougher beasts, tougher orcs, more venomous werewolves with teeth now tough enough to dent galvorn armor. Ever since his first blunder, Maeglin had learned fast that living in Himring and The Gap -- the very frontlines facing Angband, was a world of difference that his safe and comfortable existence so far in Doriath, behind the Queen's Girdle.

It frustrates him, that despite his work, despite his husband Maedhros's genius -- still they lose lives. An entire platoon of annabon and a good number of Bór's people had perished under the unslaught of the Valaraukar and úruloki. Just remembering it makes Maeglin's sharp gray eyes warm with annoyed tears.

He sees it now, what Maedhros has been discreetly telling him: the Eldar cannot win this, not without everybody putting in all their utmost in a single, decisive attack. And Maeglin remembers his own Atar, Eöl, who had risked exile and banishment from Thingol's court in Menegroth, for daring to be vocal that the Sindar should take this chance again with better allies, to once and for all put forth their strength and numbers in an attempt to free Beleriand from the Enemy.

No matter how much armor, blade, arrowheads, siege towers and siege engines Maeglin and Eöl designed, ultimately...it may not matter.

His turn comes. He sits before an exhausted, gaunt-looking Helwion -- the Chief Healer of Himring was as stubborn as his lord, able to power through most situations, and countless times have pulled Eldar and Edain from the brink of death with his hands or with the aid of his team. Helwion orders Maeglin to strip off his dented breast plate and arm bracers, and Maeglin complies in quiet. He has long accepted Helwion is the one person in Himring who can order around Maedhros and himself.

His chainmail is also removed. His bruises are many, and he has a few cracked ribs. Helwion spares him a cup of numbing tonic, and warns him before he pushes what ribs he can back into place, and despite the tonic, Maeglin grits his teeth and cries out several times. Then Helwion puts him in a brace and strictly admonishes him from training and sparring, and that he should take full five days of bed rest. Helwion glared as he uttered these instructions, and Maeglin doggedly avoided his gaze. Helwion was long familiarized with his own stubbornness. "Match made in stubborn nuisance," Helwion had once commented of Maeglin and Maedhros's marriage.

He is given three bottles of painkiller tonics before Helwion ushers him away for the next patient. Maeglin dresses again, and bearing his chest plate and chain mail, he takes the long and winding path to the tower he shares with his husband.

There he finds their suites empty. Maedhros had not yet returned. He sets aside his chest plate and chain mail, and tiredly gets out of the other pieces of his armor, letting them drop to the floor. Then Maeglin curls up under the furs and pelts on their bed, and falls into an uneasy sleep.

He wakes to the warm touch of Maedhros's fleshly hand on his cheek. Maeglin rouses, and he and Maedhros share a meager supper of mutton broth, some thick-crust bread and warm ale. After the meal, Maedhros sits with him in bed, and Maeglin curls up into his side, his cheek on his husband's chest, and Maedhros's gold-and-mithril fingers carding through his black curls.

"Fame is a strange thing," Maeglin comments, breaking the long quiet between them. "Some men gain glory after they die, while others fade...the ellon who manned that trebuchet, for example...he will be remembered by the Eldar of Himring has having brought down an úruloki, but the young captain of yours from the western flank...trod in the mire...he might be forgot...."

"You are melancholic today," Maedhros murmurs. "But war does that to anyone. Perhaps you need a break." He kisses Maeglin's forehead. "Perhaps you need to go home to Doriath for a while. Go back to Eöl and Irissë. Mm...?"

Maeglin shakes his head. Gingerly, he tightens his arm around Maedhros's torso. "No. If you can build your strength, then I will build mine too. Just stay with me like this, when you can. I will manage. Just stay with me, himelya."

Maedhros answers not. Instead he rests his chin on Maeglin's head, and holds him closer, ever careful of his injuries.

@skaelds

#galvorn prince #maedhros #maeglin #lomion #silmarillion #my drabs #maedhros/maeglin

[drshebloggo]

I was waiting for specifically your reaction to the new A League of Their Own TV series! Your tags have not disappointed 🤣 Hope you’re enjoying

Thank you so much; this is so kind!!! I appreciate that this message ALSO serves as a kind of wellness check to make sure I SURVIVED the entire emotional deluge I experienced watching the show.

I knew going in that the alchemy of a women-centric WWII-era baseball story with underrepresented characters, relationship-based drama, and a central theme of self-discovery and finding your team was going to get me straight in the heartspace. I did NOT anticipate that the showrunners were going to use my heart as a DARTBOARD by taking all my favorite character tropes (embittered woman broken open by hope; woman projecting persona onto self as armor so as not to be hurt by the world; woman allergic to vulnerability; woman manipulating others using their perception of her (that she controls); woman told she has to make herself smaller to conform; woman adhering to duty and pragmatism over too-big feelings; woman wearing graphic patterns in 40s silhouettes) putting them in ONE CHARACTER and then made that character QUEER and THEN made that character D'Arcy Carden. THAT, I was not prepared for. I'm still processing.

I have more gifsets with long tags sitting around in drafts and queues, so I'll try to get more actually onto my blog. Also, I should probably divert some thoughts out of tags and into actual text posts, SO if anyone wants me to rhapsodize at any particular part of A League of Their Own (TV) at length, please feel free to drop me an ask. I'll try to get to them this weekend!

#ask box #A League of Their Own TV #aloto spoilers #I guess??? #just in case

[ghoulsbeard]

Hello and welcome to DWC!! How about "Character makes a promise" from the writer bingo card for Leliana or Josephine (or both)? Happy writing!

hi thank you!!! happy friday...

@dadrunkwriting

The Fereldan nights are cold enough to sprout icicles along the low stone roof of what has become their bedroom, hers and Josephine’s; the washbasin freezes, and the floor is good as ice. Josephine had expressed mildly horrified surprise that the cold found its way indoors— she has never been so far south. That, too, is Leliana’s doing. Perhaps she could bring herself to regret it if she hadn’t missed Josie so badly.

To Leliana, it’s a strange homecoming. She hasn’t returned to Ferelden since she saved it from Blight a decade past, and the last time she set foot in this old chapel, it was filled with dragon-worshippers, when her friend in the wardens killed them one by one and the stones of the sanctuary bled.

The room they sleep in now was once an archive. It still smells like old paper and damp dust, and the ghosts of Leliana’s memory tug at her tired mind when it wanders. But it’s homey enough, with Josephine-- buried up to her nose in blankets and soft flannel-- watching Leliana lay down her armor piece by piece.

“Leli,” she sighs, when they are both up to their noses in the blankets. “I feel as if we have not seen each other in an age.”

“It was only yesterday morning, Josie.”

“The day before,” says Josephine, gently. “Have you forgotten? Yesterday Charter came with news from the Witchwood.”

“Ah,” is all Leliana can think to say. She had not been thinking of her spies or enemies; she had not even been thinking, immediately, of Justinia. Not with Josephine tucked against her and the light burning low... “It must have slipped my mind. I apologize.”

“None of that. I only wished to thank you.” Josephine’s face sparkles when she smiles. “You promised I would be interested. So far it has all been... most interesting.”

“Ha! I suppose. That will teach me to make promises.” Now she is thinking of Justinia. That wretched temple... for some absurd reason she remembers the urn of ashes that cured the foul old arl. Then she had believed Andraste’s own body saved him; now, nothing is certain. But she wishes someone had saved a little more of the stuff before it was destroyed forever.

A warm hand catches her cheek. Josephine, kind and concerned, and completely exhausted. “You have always kept your promises to me.”

No spies are listening— yet. Things will change if the rift-walker survives. Leliana allows her aching head to drop into Josephine’s hands. “…You think too well of me.”

“Nonsense.” Josephine squirms further beneath the sheets; her round knees knock into Leliana’s thigh. She presses her forehead against Leliana’s cheek and the world shrinks to her breathing against Leliana’s chest, through an inch of soft wool. “Isn’t that my duty, as your dear friend? Here, I will ask for another. Please don’t stew in your tent all day. Come and see me. You don’t need to say anything, just come and… and wave.”

“Oh, dear heart…” It is so cold here, and so quiet; and Josephine sees no one but four stone walls and an endless queue. Leliana kisses her nose. “I’m sorry. I won’t forget.”

“And maybe you can bring some of that excellent peach brandy… for warmth, of course.”

“Josie!” She laughs, and blows out the candle. Two blanket-warmed hands fold around hers in the thick winter night. “How practical.”

#microfic #josephine montilyet #leliana

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

Epilogue

Heal my Wounds

all out of prompts :(

Warnings: None

This is part of a series. If you haven’t, I suggest starting at Part 1.

Perhaps Thorns & Jasmine readers will like this one :)

Previous | Masterlist | Next

Valadan checked his armor for what was probably the tenth time in the span of an hour. He stroked over the freshly dyed leather, now a deep black, hiding every trace of the blood that had stained it for so long. Josephine had insisted on taking care of it, and paid for it to be restored under his mild protests. Now some parts of the armor had a purple tint, matching the weapons he summoned — and his eyes, as she didn’t get tired of mentioning.

“Your armor is fine. You are fine. Stop being so nervous!” she said with a laugh, obviously having noticed him messing with the clasps at his side.

“The armor is fine.” He sighed. “But what if I am not? What if they don’t want me there?”

“Well, then we find something else.”

We. He still couldn’t believe it. Her telling him that she had requested a position on his behalf, at the new citadel she wanted to transfer to, had felt nothing short of a miracle. Hearing that he had been invited to introduce himself and talk about the prospects of employment was a miracle. Knowing that she would stay with him even if he wasn’t accepted, willing to keep searching for a place that took them both in, was something else.

Finally letting go of the clasps, he crossed the distance between them, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. Josephine returned his kiss, then freed herself.

“Nothing of that now. We need to be going, or we’ll miss the portal. Do you have everything?”

Valadan reached for the bag on the floor, slinging it over his shoulder. “Yeah,” he said, casting a last glance around. He had left a letter for Damien on the kitchen table, on the off chance that his brother might come back. Despite his best efforts, he had been unable to find out what had happened, why Damien had left.

At least there had been no record of his death, so Valadan was hopeful. Perhaps he’d try to find him at some point, but first he had to take care of his own life. The chance to directly join the Order was an incredible opportunity, and one he intended to not fuck up for once.

“Yeah,” he said again, his sad smile becoming earnest as he turned towards her. “Let’s go.”

She reached for his outstretched hand, and he closed his fingers around hers. The look he gave her was nothing short of adoration. Josephine had bought herself some armor as well. Silver leather and light chainmail, as well as a beautiful blade at her side. It was clear that she didn’t plan to join this citadel as a scholar, though Valadan knew she hoped to find a position where she could be both, a scholar and a warrior.

She was carrying no bag of her own. When he had asked her about it, she had told him that she had arranged for someone to bring her belongings for her later, so she wouldn’t have to bother with it. Valadan had only rolled his eyes, before whispering ‘princess’ into her ear.

Hand in hand, they left the house. As he locked the door behind him, he looked around the desolate garden one last time. This had never been a good place, and yet it had been the only home he had ever had. Leaving it behind left him with mixed feelings. Thinking about how he was about to start a new life, with her at his side, did dampen the sorrow. And this time he’d be able to come back. Should he become a member of the Order, he would be allowed to use the portal whenever he wanted.

The streets of Caldeia weren’t as busy as they had been a week ago. It had quickly cooled down during those last days. Today the sky was overcast, promising rain, but not quite delivering yet. By the time the sky would open up, they would probably be at the other end of the world already.

With each minute, Valadan’s nervousness grew, and by the time they had reached the palace garden, his hands were sweaty. There was no queue in front of the portal, not for a private attunement like this. All they had to do was sign the paperwork and wait for the nyvi to finish setting up their connection.

“It’ll be fine,” Josephine said, nudging him slightly.

Valadan only hummed in response.

Then the portal was up, a shimmering circle in front of them. The nyvi was already making impatient gestures; there were probably more people waiting to use the short window between regular attunements. No time to waste then.

Josephine squeezed his hand, then started to walk, pulling him with her. Valadan hurried to catch up, to walk at her side. Together they entered the portal.

When Valadan opened his eyes again — he had never gotten used to keeping them open when traveling — they were no longer outside. The hall they were standing in was large, but not overly so. The lack of daylight left their surroundings illuminated by floating crystals.

“Josephine! There you are.” 

As the portal flickered and vanished behind them, Josephine let go of Valadan’s hand to run towards Marian, hugging her. A woman was standing next to her, long, blonde hair and a rather familiar… oh. Valadan decided that he should give the strange walls of the hall a closer look. Something about their texture was off. They looked like… branches or roots, he realized after a moment. Intertwined and merged, to form a solid surface that still showed their former shapes and patterns.

When he finally stepped closer to the three women, Josephine turned around. “A lot has happened,” she said over her shoulder, towards Marian. Then, “I’ll tell you later. Valadan! This is Cecelia, Marian’s wife. Cecelia, this is Valadan.”

Now he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from twitching. “We’ve met before,” he said, glad that gazes could not kill. “It’s my pleasure to get to know you properly.”

Josephine raised her eyebrows, but was probably too preoccupied to dwell on it. She turned her attention towards Marian again, and the two of them started to walk. When Valadan wanted to follow, Cecelia held him back.

“You. And her.” It was a question, and it wasn’t, her tone incredulous.

Valadan looked down at her hand, pressed against his chest, fingers spread. It would be easy to sidestep her, but not easy to sidestep this conversation.

“Yeah,” he said.

“So when you said you’d been too busy to visit Marian… it was because you were with her.”

Valadan swallowed. “Yeah.” It was an image he didn’t want to be reminded of, least of all on an important day such as this.

Cecelia stared at him.

“I’m not gonna apologize for hitting you.”

Valadan grinned. “You shouldn’t. I deserved it.”

“I know every carnivorous plant in this jungle. If you hurt her, your body will never be found.”

“Good thing I’m not gonna hurt her, then.” Valadan’s grin turned a bit strained. He hoped Cecelia wouldn’t notice it.

He’d never want to hurt Josephine, but who knew if he would. The lifetime he hoped to spend with her would offer a lot of chances to mess up, to say something wrong, to do something that might accidentally hurt her. All he could promise her was that he would try; try to work on himself, try to be the best version of himself he could be. But that was a thing between Josephine and him, and not this adorably aggressive little woman.

“Valadan! Where are you?”

Josephine’s call made him sidestep the hand holding him back after all. A quick glance told him that she and Marian had left the portal hall already.

“She’s waiting for me. Let's postpone the threats against my life, okay?”

Valadan waited a moment, to see if Cecelia wanted to say anything else. When she didn’t, he started to run after the other two, following them into a tunnel that was illuminated by glowing crystals as well. He caught up just in time to catch the end of what Marian had said. 

“... wanted to greet you, but probably lost track of time. His office is here. You can just enter.”

Valadan looked from her to Josephine, who had laid her hand on the door, but made no attempt to open it yet. When her gaze met his, he shrugged, and she nodded. She pushed the door open, taking a step inside. Valadan put his hand on the door, to keep it from closing as he walked in behind her.

The room they entered was an office of some kind. Bookshelves crowded the wall to their right, cabinets and low tables the one to their left. In the middle of the room, framed by a high window at the far wall, was a large desk; and behind the desk sat a kalani who now looked up.

His features were less human-like than those of most others of this race Valadan had met so far. Rough, dark bark, with deep lines forming nose and mouth, and some bright purple eyes, paler than his own. As the kalani rose, it became apparent that he was quite tall, even for a member of his race. He had no hair to speak of, but was clad in purple and cream petals, some of them shimmering in the light.

He put down his quill, then caught it as it started to slide off the inclined stack of papers he had placed it on, then put it down again, properly this time. After giving the quill one last look, as if daring it to move again, he stepped out from behind the desk, hurrying towards them. The bark forming his mouth twisted into what could be considered a smile as he stopped in front of them.

“My name is Breannan,” he said. “Welcome to the Sentient Wilds.”

Well this was fun to write. Don’t worry, Valadan, I’m sure your brother is fine and nothing bad will happen to him, least of all because of you :)

Right?

Tagging: @dont-touch-my-soup​ @whump-in-the-moonlight​

#Heal my Wounds #write me a novel #whump #fantasy whump #this was originally meant to come directly after the bad end chapter #I think the pacing would fit it better but whatever #it's my story I can do what I want >:) #my writing

[leonstamatis]

also ruthstillo lmao :)

PLEASE. god. i am so sorry that all of this is going to read like a joke answer. i promise i am taking it seriously but also i'm cackling at the same time.

big spoon/little spoon: god can you imagine. they're. well. okay i mean i guess ruthless' armor could protect from the cactus needles. i so badly want to say ruthless little spoon. i'm sorry but it's too good not to put out in the world. i love them.

favorite non-sexual activity: my gut instinct was to say movie nights so i'm going with that. also motorcycle rides. i don't know which one of them owns the motorcycle. that's up to interpretation.

who uses all the hot water: jnakrbjnkjn does cas need to shower??? ruthless does. cas is hosed down with room temp water a couple times a month.

most trivial thing they fight over: cas keeps stealing baby's jackets and poking dozens of holes into them by nature of being a cactus

who does most of the cleaning: ruthless, but i don't imagine it's intensive/requires much effort. vacuum up some dirt and needles and you're done.

what has a season pass on their dvr/who controls the netflix queue: i. i desperately need the answer to this one to be castillo. i really do.

who calls up the super/landlord when the heat’s not working: castillo would do it but he's not great at verbal communication so whenever he notices the temperature isn't optimal for him he tosses the phone to ruthless and ruthless has to make the call.

who steals the blankets: C. CAN YOU IMAGINE. CAN YOU. I'M. CAS DOES BUT IT'S ON ACCIDENT THEY JUST GET STUCK.

who leaves their stuff around: ruthless, purely by nature of "being the one who actually has stuff"

who remembers to buy the milk: i think if cas were to drink milk he would die, so baby is on her own here.

who remembers anniversaries: neither of them, they're not the anniversaries type of couple

How often do they fight? not at all. not even once. their whole deal is not talking about shit. there are no problems, cas is literally only able to say five or six words, and anyway they aren't that serious about each other (says ruthless, a liar)

What do they do when they’re away from each other? send thirst traps. i'm so sorry. it's true.

Nicknames for each other? absolutely not, both because cas cannot and because ruthless would not.

Who is more likely to pay for dinner? castillo

Who steals the covers at night? castillo, again, they just get stuck--

What would they get each other for gifts? i don't think they do gifts, actually! not the kind of thing cas needs or ruthless wants.

Who made the first move? CAS. CAS CAS CAS--

Who remembers things? ruthless. this will give xem agonies later.

Who cusses more? i want to say it's cas but it isn't. it's baby. this is the way of things.

What would they do if the other was hurt? NOT talk about it because neither one of them is comfortable being vulnerable or showing feelings in any regard so it's kind of just being grumpy endlessly until the issue is resolved

#tam.ask #ask meme #thehallstara #i'm. sobbing. thank you so much for this gift. #i may never recover #i love them. i love them so much. they are hilarious. #wow these tags got FUCKED lemme try again #trying to figure out the ways in which 'harpy covered in armor' and 'cactus' can be domestic has fully done me in

[republicsecurity]

Musings of a Paramedic: Tea Breaks - A Glimpse of Normality

Tea breaks. Two words that, in the midst of our regulated existence, feel like a glimpse of normality, a momentary escape from the paramedic grind. It's a respite we cherish, a few minutes of solace in a sea of structured chaos.

You see, in the Paramedic Corps, even tea breaks are scheduled with military precision. They are a rare oasis of spontaneity, a reminder that we're still human beneath our red uniforms and shaved heads.

The mess hall, as always, is our gathering place. We queue up at the dispensers, but this time, it's not for "Chow." It's for tea. Plain, simple, and almost comforting in its familiarity. The options are limited: black, green, or herbal, each in its designated dispenser.

We clutch our mugs like lifelines, savoring those precious moments of autonomy. The room buzzes with hushed conversations, punctuated by the soft clinking of teaspoons against ceramic. It's as close to normalcy as we'll ever get.

Tea breaks are more than just an opportunity to sip a warm beverage. They're a chance to exchange snippets of our lives beyond the paramedic world. We share stories of our families, reminisce about our pre-service days, and even indulge in a bit of humor—though it's often laced with a healthy dose of cynicism.

But it's not just about the tea; it's about the camaraderie. We may be bound by rules and conditioning, but during these fleeting moments, we're free to connect as individuals. It's a reminder that beneath the armor and helmets, we're still people with stories to tell.

Even when we are on tactical training out in the field.

Clad in our red tactical armor, we trudged through rough terrain, simulating a high-stress combat situation. Our hearts pounded, and every move was precise, knowing that the lives of our fellow medics depended on it.

Then, as if the universe had decided to grant us a reprieve, the exercise paused for a tea break. I watched as my comrades, still in their imposing gear, gathered around. There was no designated mess hall here, no orderly queue for dispensers. Instead, a few enterprising souls had managed to sneak in portable camp stoves and a stash of tea bags. We were nothing if not resourceful.

Sitting on makeshift stools, our helmets off, we sipped our hot tea from canteen cups. The contrast was striking. These were the same hands that had administered life-saving treatments, and now they held delicate porcelain. We may have looked fierce in our tactical armor, but for those moments, we felt oddly human.

[baldursgatethoughts]

My thoughts on Baldur's Gate 3

This might just be the best RPG game ever created, and whatever you say game devs this should be a new benchmark for RPG game development! Let me touch down on some great, less great and just general experiences and thoughts around playing through this game ^_^

What they did amazing

This game feels like it took the best parts of Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Dragon Age Origins, 2 and Inquisition, Divinity Original Sin and Witcher 3 and just made the optimal game ever.

The character creator - amazing. All the choices you need without being overly complicated. Lots of beautiful moving hair. Does not make you create your character in the green light of the Fade (looking at you DAI). 10/10.

The intro is epic and highly immersive, beautiful, scary, intense and a great introduction to the story.

The graphics and environments are STUNNING and immersive. The devs said they wanted to create an experience that is like the one you have with a group of friends going on a pen and paper adventure when it comes to environment epicness and magical story element, and they have.

The companions are insanely well written and voiced, and most importantly their personal quests are intrisincally linked to the main story in a way that almost no other of those games I listed above managed. And the multitude of characters you can enlist and get to know is perfectly diverse, and it gives you great choice when it comes to how you want your playthrough and party to be.

Going back to Dragon Age Origins and voicing everyone else but not the main character to instead focus on a multitude of choices, hooray and yes! It's wonderful!

Characters aren't gender bound in their sexuality, as a bi pan gamer I thank you from the bottom of my heart that you enabled us to create and write our own romance stories instead of making out genders the most important part of the storytelling of the game.

The music is epic and amazing, tear inducing <3 Just wow, queue on Spotify in repeat mood.

The books are great; they are never too long like they can be in Elder Scrolls games but just the perfect addon to the rest of the content to deepen the lore.

Outfits and dyes; the diversity is through the roof in all the good ways and it's not all armor bikini. Like, you can have raunchy underwear and bikini dress if you want to (late game, for gold) but there is all kinds of armor and outfits for all kinds of characters and needs and it's just so in line with the lore of the world. Thank you!

What I would have liked improved

A way for us to actually hear the companions banter even though we are not exactly over them with the camera. I have missed at least 80% of the banter because you have to zoom out to create a path to walk for them. The party banter needs it's own volume setting and it needs to be heard no matter where your camera is.

Inventory management; more bags with autosort, and much better "Sort by type" sorting (the dyes where all over the place o.O) and and less times the sorting bugs out. Also the possibility to sort according to the unsual themes in the vendor screen. Perhaps even a subcategory of buttons for "armor, weapons, potions, books" and so on.

Better warnings when you are about to cast another concentration skill while already concentrating on something.

There was one NPC I honestly disliked very much that I felt broke the immersion and it is the bloated bartender son in Act 2. It was full on modern Resident Evil vibes and not at all a very Dungeons & Dragons type of character. Nope nope. That whole area was just weird, far too modern in comparison to the rest of the game.

A photo mode, naturally.

Bugs that screwed with my game

A bug that makes the character portraits go black or weird if you do not have your graphical settings on ultra for everything, please fix that one Larian!

Shadowhearts friend disappeared, rip.

A romance scene was deleted due to too many long rest cutscenes getting stacked on each other, and it put me into a fight with steel watchers instead.

The city houses in Act three constantly loaded their objects way before their walls which messed with countless cutscenes where the only background was the sky and a floating bed. I really hope they can fix this so the walls are loaded first.

My journey through the game

Act 1 is amazingly well polished and filled with exploration, wonder and well balanced magical content.

The game's incredible way of letting you choose whatever way you want to do things is both a blessing and a curse. It makes for wonderful content; you can sneak, persuade, kill everyone, you can be good, evil, chaotic, neutral, wise, stupid, decieving or intimidating, you can miss whole quest lines, areas and characters, or you can stumble into the most obscure little nooks with lore tidbits. It's daunting, and really cool that they give you so little guidance and so many options. The openness and vague nature of the Journal - akin to the original games - are sometimes a fun challenge and sometimes for me too scary to handle.

Just because you can never be sure if your choices lead to what you want or the death of everyone making choices can be a bit too scary for me sometimes and I find myself relying on guides to be able to choose. Not optimal, but that's mostly down to personal preference. In those moments I long for the railroaded stories of Mass Effect, but those moments with more railroaded questlines are also there in BG3 and they are amazing.

Act 2 was honestly really scary, the atmosphere was completely different and they did an amazing job creating a frightening cursed land. The only "weird" thing here for me is how very "steampunk" the game turns, which continues into Act 3 as well, which is a testament to the whole American and D&D view on fantasy settings. It is what it is, I'm just not a fan of that kind of setting mixing.

I also developed a fear of long resting here somewhere because I had quests that failed when going to the camp or resting and there is like no telling what those are so I just started doing as much as I could between rests which made the cutscenes during the rests go haywire and fight with each other.

Act 3 had an amazing beginning, and fun well crafted areas. The performance was terrible and kinda buggy due to the many NPC:s and assets in the area. The villains and their quests and areas were great!

I think I did some personal quests a bit early while I should have waited until I was a higher level, they were pretty punishing. When I reached level 12 with a gazillion summons nothing was really difficult anymore.

In the end I had basically every ally possible (except for Astarion's vampire buddys T_T) but I only used the strange ox and dame Aylin, who survived, and iron hand gnomes and city guards (who were killed by mind flayer arcanists) since I don't want people to die.

THE ENDING...

What the heck Larian, that's not ok. No reasonable closure on my romance, no tale of what happens to everyone, I just got a cutscene with Karlach and some lines from Gale. I really hope they are working on expanding on this as we speak and there are some indications that they are.

It wasn't full on "Mass Effect 3 at launch" but not too far from it. I am disappoint... And on that note:

My romance experience

It started amazing with both Astarion and Shadowheart, beautiful stories both. Up until the ending of Act 1 it was amazing and peachy pie. During Act 2 not much happens at all, except for Astarion breaking up with me over a drow and her blood. The horror... I had to break up with Shadowheart to be with Astarion, and at least we could kiss.

But that was about it, the only thing after that until the end of the game was the main personal quest of that character - where I missed a whole part because I couldn't find his siblings - and I did that waaay too soon, and I chose the soft ending which just made him sad and brooding and then there was nothing except for him slut shaming me when I slept with the incubus and scenes bugging out, as well as no real ending.

It started so well, and it ended with emptiness and sadness. Apparently he also has new voice lines during the final fight that I missed T_T

Rip.

In conclusion

Amazing game, 9/10 until they patch the ending and pace the cut scenes during long rests better and make the lower city less laggy. I am perfectly confident in that within a year all this will have happened and there will be no games able to rival this one in the scope of epicness and emotion <3

#baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate #tav #larian #baldurs gate iii #romance #bugs #my experiences #my playthrough #game of the year #i love this game #goty #ending

[doganbaldwin22]

Minecraft Java Edition 1.16.2

Since the Nether Update, the Piglins have been spotted by players entering their chests and taking a look at their chests. occities With 1.16.2 we're unveiling the Piglin Brute - an Piglin so focused on protecting the Bastion Remnants' chests that even gold cannot distract them.

Features

Accessibility

Two new accessibility settings have been added to help with visual comfort.

Distortion effects such as nausea and the Nether portal overlay are now reduced. - At lower values, the nausea effect is replaced by a green overlay as an alternative visualisation - Field of view effects, which are shown after speed modifiers are applied, can now be reduced

Chat Delay

The Chat delay has been added to the Chat Settings screen - pressing F3+D will now clear the chat messages in queue

Bastion Remnants

- Tweaked the Bastion Remnant chest loot - Chests inside Bastion Remnants are now more likely to be placed on the top of gilded, blackstone

Blocks

Brewing stands can now be crafted with blackstone - Lanterns and Soul Lanterns may now be waterlogged - Crimson and warped fungus can now be placed on mycelium Chains can be placed in any orientation

Items

Tools can now be sorted based upon material in the creative inventor Totems for Undying now provide the status effect of fire resistance of 40 seconds when activated

Mobs

Endermen are no longer able to place their held block onto bedrock blocks - Zoglins can now be leashed - When you encounter a Zombified Piglin is spawned riding the Strider, it will now be holding a Warped Fungus on a Stick - It will be removed Herobrine

Piglins

- Piglin Brutes added! Piglins now get angry at players who open or destroy a Chest Minecart - Tweaked bartering loot

Piglin Brute

Piglin Brutes These, which are more powerful versions of Piglins and live in the bastions and guard treasures there they guard. Piglin Brutes aren't cowardly or greedy like their counterparts who are cowardly. They attack on sight, regardless of their attire. Piglin Brutes wield axes, and don't require any armor, because they're that strong.

Respawn Block Positions

Modified the respawn locations for beds and anchors. - Respawn anchors will prioritize the direction of the cardinal axis over corners. - Beds will prioritize the side from which the player entered from, and spaces circling around the head of the mattress. - Players who respawn at blocks that are dangerous are not placed on them.

Villagers

Villagers emit green particles when they join a village, construct a home bed or acquire a job site or profession. Villagers lose their jobs when they change dimension.

Technical

Custom worlds now support custom biomes - Sign edit screen will now intialize from the existing sign text (should not have any noticeable impact on vanilla) Small improvements to resource and data pack selection screens - Tags now have the option of having optional entries

Commands

Execute

Execute in the present respects dimension scaling

spawnpoint & setworldspawn

Syntax: spawnpoint [][] Syntax : setworldspawn [] New parameters

angle - Floating point angle in degrees. It is a relative modifier that supports it.

Creation of custom-made worlds

- Custom world generation and dimension settings now use the same folder pattern in data packs as other resources (namespace//resource.json) - There is now experimental support for a worldgen folder in data packs worldgen/biome can contain biome definitions worldgen/configured_carver can contain definitions for world carver settings worldgen/configured_feature can contain definitions for feature placements worldgen/configured_structure_feature can contain definitions for structure placements worldgen/configured_surface_builder can contain definitions for surfaces worldgen/noise_settings can now contain noise configurations worldgen/processor_list can contain sets of block processors worldgen/template_pool can contain pool definitions for jigsaw structures - Custom biomes can now be used in the single biome/caves/floating islands world types (add the data pack containing the biome first) - Custom biomes can now be used in custom dimension generators

Limit on the number of packets a dedicated server can hold

Dedicated servers are now able to remove clients that send too many packets within seconds. This is controlled by the rate-limit settings in server.properties The default rate limit of 0 means "no limit"

Pack selection screens

When the screen is open, it will automatically update whenever the contents of the pack directory change. - Both screens for selecting packs will display contents of pack.png as the icon for the pack

Pack version

Version 6 of the Resource Pack has been updated

Tags

Optional entries

Entries in tags can now be marked as optional. If they fail to resolve optional entries will not stop the entire tag from loading. Example:

"replace": false, "values": [ "#minecraft:beds", // existing syntax "id":"#missing:tag", "required": false , // optional sub-tag entry "minecraft:anvil", // existing syntax "id":"minecraft:stone_button", "required": true , // new syntax for required tags "id":"missing:block", "required": false // optional single-element entry ]

Bugs

More than 150 bugs have been fixed in this release!

Get the Release

To install the release, open the Minecraft Launcher and click play! Make sure that your Launcher is set up to the "Latest Version" option.

#Oc cities #OCCITIES

[saltypiss]

Elden Ring is gonna age like got garbage. Seriously the only reward that ever happens in this game is you find a cool looking area. By the time you realize that’s...that’s all they really reward you with, otherwise all your own exploration is finding bullshit like throwing knives and tiny ass runes, it hits you that you’re literally playing, and waiting, for any kind of purpose what so ever.

The lack of waypoints is good, because it means you’re focused on just exploring the world and remembering it’s paths and patterns, but there’s absolutely, fucking nothing, in it. It’s mostly all obscured by trees or mountains n shit and what’s there looks computer generated and then user edited.

Everytime I find some cool area, you know what I think? “Oh boy I sure hope this one has something worth a fucking shit in it” and literally so far? None, not a single god damned place has rewarded me with shit. It’s genuinely impressive, every weapon and armor piece just looks like ass, so I’m assuming eventually, I’ll be rewarded with, at the very least, a cool helmet.

Eventually I got a hood that was cool, after using the fucknig ninja mask for so god damned long. Like at no point do I look at my character and genuinely feel any attachment to them. It’s like turning Mario into a generic plumber. Just absurdly boring and by the time you get a halfway decent looking character you’re having to decide between weight and looks, and I can’t stress enough, you can almost never have a decent looking fucking anything in this shit game. Probably because a majority of shit in here is from fucking Demon’s Souls, a PS3 game.

I seriously can’t stress enough, the only rewards so far has been the fucking areas, you find them, you explore them, 20 minutes in it becomes obvious this whole location is the fucking reward, but there’s NOTHING THE FUCK IN IT.

How...How do people like this shit? I went from IT TO DARK SOULS, and I can definitively say it’s a better experience all around! Solely because you’re rewarded with far fucking more than JUST a new location. It’s actually a challenge to get to the location too, you don’t just fucking randomly god damned find it, or go to a very obvious looking area, that suddenly takes you somewhere cool.

Bro lemme fucking explore, without it feeling so fucking directionless, until the developer genuinely at random decides “Okay you’re here now” The execution is almost good but the rest of the fucking game honestly makes me feel like it wasn’t even a genuine reward, I WALKED into it, it wasn’t a cave or anything cool, no it this long as elevator, which in genuine theory is actually cool, but the fact I stumbled into it just....When considering the rest of the game, it stopped feeling like “oh they intended for me to stumble into it” and more like “Okay so nearly everyone is going to go here eventually” which is just...boring, so fuckin’ boring.

I want to like it, I really, really do, but I’m probably nearly 100 hours in, and all I can say is “I have never, in my entire playtime, felt like I had any direction, was rewarded for absolutely anything, I feel like I’m wasting my fucking time, every, god damned second. I need a reshade to make the game actually look good, the controls are worse than Dark Souls in terms of input queue because they keep ramping the speed of combat up but not realizing this dipshit idea falls flat the faster a game goes, there’s just open ass fields and empty fucking caves and buildings, I’m honestly just bored, and for some reason they disabled the ability to do a normal attack, I don’t...know why there’s no reason, just have to restart the fucking game. “

[star-wars-the-old-republip8]

Star Wars - Knights of the Old Republic Cheats, Cheat Codes, Hints, Tips

💾 ►►► DOWNLOAD FILE 🔥🔥🔥 Note: This procedure involves editing a game file; create a backup copy of the file before proceeding. Use a text editor to edit the "swkotor. Save the file and start the game. Press [Tab] to list all console commands. Equip the shields on the arms of your current party members, then activate them. Resume the game. While activated, unequip them, then return to the game. The energy shield should still be active. Repeat this when necessary. Whenever you need to refill your health and Force, press Start then press the L or R until you get to the map screen. Press [Action] to transit back to your safe location for that world. Once there, you will have full Force power and health for your entire party. Now repeat those steps to transit back to your original location. Note: This usually only works when outdoors, and if you leave the area near your safe spot the transit back will be disabled, forcing you to walk back. Also when you level up, think about where you are in the game. If you know a big battle is about to happen and you do not need any new powers, then consider healing yourself, and not leveling up yet. Whatever experience you get automatically goes to your next level anyway, and leveling up completely heals you. It is more useful to do this than to try to heal or use medipacs in the middle of a battle. Activate droids before or after battles, you will receive more experience points just for activating them. Also do quests as they appear, and go back and visit other planets. There are sometimes new opportunities and chances to battle more for experience points. For an easy win against any opponent, target them by pressing R. Then, start running around in circles. This can be very helpful if you only have a small amount of health remaining and need to heal yourself. It can also help in a Jedi battle, as the enemy will eventually put his or her lightsaber away, giving you an opportunity to attack. If you happen to find yourself dying frequently in a battle and you have plenty of advanced medpacs and other healing items, wait until the enemy takes off lots of your health. After doing so, quickly press Start and save the game. Load it again and your screen should be in the combat "pause" mode, with the enemy sighted message. Press Start again and go to your inventory. You can now use as many medpacs or life support packs as needed, as compared to the normal one per round. This trick is especially useful when approached by Dark Jedi and you are stuck. Before major battles, use every kind of stimulant you can find, and put on shields for party members. Do this before opening doors and triggers that start these battles. Use Medpacs and Repair Kits during battle, and save healing by Force power for after battle regenerating. Use [Action] to stack commands and enable auto pause for each round in major battles. This allows you time to switch between characters, and make sure you have the best target. Assemble one Bondar Crystal in each of the lightsaber and another crystal of your choice. The two Bondar Crystals and Critical Strike will triple you chances of stunning the enemy. One of the most useful powers is the powered-up version of Force Push, which is Force Wave, that can be attained at level It takes out a large area 10 meter radius and can deal out some serious damage at later levels about 25 per use to multiple enemies. A useful tactic, especially in enclosed areas, is to have multiple Jedi characters queue several Force Waves. Select the power multiple times by pressing [Action], then repeat with the next character. When used in rapid succession between three Jedi, no enemy can stand up to the damage that is dished out. You really do not need to buy anything in the game under the easy difficulty setting. There are ample power-ups, weapons, and armor that can be found. However, make sure to buy the HK droid, as it is a party member. Save your money to advance yourself, make loans, and to buy the items that do appear anywhere else. Never ask for rewards, as they always are given. Use Persuasion to nicely ask for more. Whenever facing a Jedi or someone with a blade of any kind, equip and activate a personal shield to your arm to reduce the damage. Every time your character levels up , you can choose a new power. Get the two Force Persuade abilities and people will not be able to resist. Note: Forcing people to do your bidding will increase your Dark alignment on some objectives. The Persuasion ability is very useful and adds options to the game, and not just in conversations. Give the main character a lot of persuasion points instead of Dominate Mind so that you can add other abilities and still have good Persuasion. When using the random name generator, press it enough times and you will get character names from the Homestar Runner cartoons, such as "Homsar" and "Kerreck. Have different characters focus on different abilities. For example, give the droids high Computer and Repair abilities, use another character Dark Force powers, another for Stealth, etc. It is good to make one character power up in defense and saving throws, set default attack, and use as a "last one standing" to clean up in the event other characters fall. Switch characters when there are better suited ones for the job. Use your computer-skilled character to save Spikes, repair with less Parts, etc. Save the game before talking to major characters or events. You can try out the outcomes before gaining Dark or Light side points as desired. Use the following trick to choose more Force powers. Do not level up your character until they are a Jedi. Then, level up your character as many times possible. It is still possible to defeat Bendak Starkiller and everyone else at level 5. When doing the Sandral-Matale Feud quest, go to the Sandral home first when you have permission to investigate the disappearance of Shen Matale from the Jedi Council. Take the necessary steps to enter the home. After questioning Nurik Sandral, he will depart to the back of his home. Get to the point where you can deny Rahasia. You can go to the Matale's home and speak with him. If you select all the bottom answers, his last question will be for you to ask 2, credits for finding Shen. By selecting all the bottom answers, you have earned yourself a Dark side point. Talk to the droid again and Ahlan Matale returns outside with the same line of questioning. Repeat this to accumulate as many Dark points as desired. That is when Rahasia Sandral shows up and asks you for help. If you deny helping her free Shen, she will be upset. After denying her, go back to her and select "Apologize". After you apologize to her, she will continue with what help she needs, but deny her quickly instead of hearing her story. The apology earns you a Light side point. You can repeat this as many times as desired in order to accumulate high Light status. If you are playing a Dark side character, when you defeat Juhani do not fight her again. Instead, say that she can come back to the Light side. She will join your team and be helpful in later missions. You can make up for the gained Light points gained by getting Dark points in the Sandral-Matale Feud quest. When you start to do the last Jedi trial on Dantoiine, go in the Ebon Hawk. Ask the droid, if available, to make Computer Spikes. Keep asking for about 50 Computer Spikes. Next, go to Big Z and let him make Frag Grenades. Then, find the merchant near the Jedi Academy. He sells expensive and good armor. Sell those Frag Grenades and Computer Spikes, then repeat for as many credits as desired. After finding the stowaway on the Ebon Hawk after landing on the first planet you land on after Dantooine, select the "Get out of here, whoever you are! Right now! Talk to her before she leaves to catch her again. Choose that dialog option again. Repeat this to increase your Dark alignment. Look for a woman near the Hunting Lodge that will sell you a Wraid Plate. Sell it for credits. After that, go out into the desert and kill all the Wraid and get their skull plates. Return to the Hunting Lodge and sell them for 24 credits each. Enter the Sith Academy. Once there, you will find a room with slaves. There is a computer terminal inside the room. Log into the computer and chose "Hack into Sith Data files". When you do this, you will notice that the option to hack does not disappear. With the right party member, the cost for the Data Hack will only be 1 Spike. Each Data Hack will result in experience points for your group. Note: This was done after all the Sith Academy quests were completed. Also, you can get unlimited Computer Spikes on Tatooine. Then, choose "I think I got it". Do this repeatedly. Each time you ask her for code, you will get experience points. After obtaining the Sith Armor, transfer it to another person in your party and equip it just before getting the Sith papers from the Hidden Bek leader. When you see the Rancor that is facing away from your team in the large room, take only one of team members and put the other in the "Apartment". You should only have "yourself" and Mission Vao. At the entrance of the large room facing the Rancor with his back turned , take over Mission. Turn on the invisible camouflage and move Mission towards the door the Rancor is facing. Move Mission to the right side of the Rancor where his right foot is far enough back so she can pass. After moving past the Rancor, go to the door, open it, and notice two guards. Toss two plasma grenades at them, then finish them off with Mission's blaster. Turn around and move fairly close to the Rancor. Open fire on the Rancor to keep it distracted. Switch to your character and follow the same route that Mission took. The Rancor will be too distracted with Mission and will not notice you. Be sure not to touch the Rancor. Once your character has made it where Mission is located, toss only frag grenades. It will take between five to seven of them to kill the Rancor. You will not have enough frags to kill the Rancor, but you can both move to the door that the guards where watching and move to the next level. Finish off the Rancor later and continue on. Switch to solo mode. Turn on the stealth camouflage. Then, use Mission to pass the Rancor first. When she reaches the door to the gang base, equip a blaster and open fire. Then, take the main character and use their stealth camouflage to also pass the Rancor. Save the game at the door just before confronting the Rancor. Walk up until you pinpoint the monster in combat mode. Then, throw one concussion grenade. If he does not turn around, the grenade worked. Quickly run for the door to the left or right of the beast. Note: You will also need to kill two guards. When you see the Rancor, slowly walk up to it and throw an adhesive or concussion grenade at it. Then, quickly run in the room and defeat the Vulkar guards. Make sure you have a lot of medpacs. In the room just before the Rancor, you will notice a dismembered arm. Search the arm, and you will receive an item odor that is supposed to lure the Rancor somewhere. Go into the Rancor room, approach the corpse pile, and search it. Take all the items. Search it again, then press [Action] to enter "give" mode. Put in one frag grenade and one of the smelly synthesizers you got from the dismembered arm. Exit the item screen. The Rancor will approach the corpse pile, eat it, and explode. This saves you from fighting, keeps your health, gives you more experience points, and also saves you four or five grenades. Take Mission to the doorway. Go into solo mode and use her stealth ability. Walk to the pile of bones in middle of room. Take the things in the pile. Access the now empty pile and drop the odor obtained in the same area and one frag grenade in. An intermission sequence will begin. The monster will approach the pile, eat the grenade, and die. Search the severed arm just outside the door to the Rancor's lair to get three vials of synthesized scent. If you have only one frag grenade, run carefully to the corpse pile and take all the items there. If you do not approach the Rancor, he will stay back and not attack, even though he is shown as an enemy. After looting the pile, switch to "Give Items". Place one frag grenade in the pile, then one vial of synthesized scent. You will be treated to an intermission sequence showing the Rancor's demise, and an easy experience points. If you have a few frag grenades, you can easily use them to kill the Rancor. Walk towards it, and as soon as it highlights as an enemy, throw a frag grenade. Then, immediately turn and run back into the doorway you just came from. The Rancor will be unable to follow you, and after suffering 20 damage, will walk back to its starting location. Save the game and repeat to kill the Rancor for experience points. Five or six frag grenades should be sufficient, especially if you save and reload to ensure that each grenade does the full 20 damage instead of For added flair, you can rush in and finish the Rancor off with a melee attack once it is almost dead. However, you will be killed if your first swing misses. To cure Rakghoul without drinking the Serum and having to find another one, approach a random person. Talk to them and say goodbye. You should be instantly healed. If you are not instantly healed, your green bar should disappear in the matter of seconds. Note: This will not restore health; find a Healer or use Medipacs. In the Undercity in Taris is a man that has a shop. He sells Medipacs for 30 credits. Everyone else sells them for 40 credits. Go to the location where you meet a gang of looters. They will tell you to go back. You will then be attacked by Rakghouls. Slightly farther in that direction, you will find two groups of the monsters. Fight them. Return back later to that location and they will be there again. Repeat this to gain experience points. When you are on the east side of Taris, walk toward the three drunkards. This will initiate one of the drunkards to insult you. Pick the last response at the very bottom of the dialogue menu to start a fight with the drunkards. Before the fight, it will state that you have gained Dark Force points. Beat the drunkards to continue. You can find unlimited amounts of Computer Spikes on Tatooine. Go to where you can purchase droids near the desert gate and you can buy an unlimited supply of Spikes for credits each. After obtaining the Sandpeople Robes, transfer it to another person in your party and equip it just before the end of that quest. Have a party consisting of Bastila and Carth. Have Carth equip one or two melee weapons and have your entire party attack Calo. Note: It helps to have the normal or advanced power swing to attack him. If you have it, keep doing this and Calo will probably attack Bastila and Carth instead of your character. He should die quickly, and his thugs are easy pickings. When Calo Nord appears after coming out of the dragon's lair, instead of engaging him, you can run around the slain dragon on its right side and proceed to the exit of the Eastern Sand Dunes. Calo will not attack you. Make sure your entire party is with you when doing this. When you level up, you can choose a new Force ability. Choose Force Resistance, and the next one after that. When you know you are about to fight a Dark Jedi, cast Force Resistance and their Force powers cannot hurt you. Make these the first thing you use in those battles. Focus on these as you power up your character. To easily defeat droids with an energy shield, use the Disable Droid or Destroy Droid Force power to do a considerable amount of damage. However, if the droids do not have an energy shield and you do not wish to engage in close quarter combat, simply equip one or two lightsabers to deflect the gunfire. If you cannot equip a lightsaber, use an Ion Blaster or Ion Rifle. When going up against a Terentak or two, make sure someone in your party can yse stealth, and at least one other person has the Insanity Jedi power. Enable the stealth and begin lay mines in a clump or a path. Once done, get out of the Terentak's range of vision and the blast radius of the mines, and uncloak. Then, throw some type of grenade at it and allow it to approach. If done correctly, it should cross all the mines and knock its health down quite a bit. Note: The Terentak can not be concussioned; do not waste any mines that cause concussion such as flash mines. Once all the mines have exploded, use Insanity on it. It will be unable to attack. You can also attack it, and Power Strike works very effectively. Once the Insanity wears off, use Insanity again to render it harmless again. Repeat this until all the Terentaks are gone. Go to the submersible in Manaan. Equip your two other party members with the items to be duplicated. Your other two characters will have "respawned" with what they were wearing when they came down to the base, thus leaving you with one set of their equipment in inventory and another equipped to them. Note: Sometimes they do not respawn with the equipment. If this happens, re-equip all the items, then go through the airlock and come back inside. That should fix it. Also, instead of doing the "do not respawn fix", you can just put the items you want duplicated on again, then save the game. Then, continue with steps 3 and 4. This way, you can duplicate other items than just the ones your other two characters were wearing when they came down to the base. You save time by not having to go out the airlock to reset the respawn. The answers are: 22, 18, 64, 2, 6, 7. That will get you a security card to enter the Sith Private Hanger on Manaan. The four systems must be transferred from the left pillar to the right pillar. Move the four rings in this order:. PS5 Backward Compatibility. Has Facebook Screwed the Pooch with Oculus? The Life and Death of Motion Controls. The Best Games of Top 7 Badass Comic Stars. Top 10 Good Games. The 7 Fantabulous Faces of Harley Quinn. More Special Features Around The Web. No Cyberpunk? No Problem! Can Gamers Really Trust Facebook? Let's Face It Super Mario is Perfect! Do you like video games more now or sometime in the past? I enjoyed video games much more in the past. Games are the best they've ever been! View Poll History. Follow cheatcc. Top Stories. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.

[suitofvibraniumarmor]

Ficmas #2: Secret Santa

The little pieces of folded paper in the bowl held excitement for some and not-so-much-excitement for others. Still, the vote had been that they would do Secret Santa this year, and that even those who weren’t so excited would put in excitement-level effort.

Y/N tried to judge from everyone’s faces whose name they might have drawn from the bowl. A couple of people looked positively terrified, while a couple of others seemed to be pleased with their draw. None of them, however, looked so torn as Bucky. Y/N approached him with some measure of hesitancy and asked if he was okay.

Bucky nodded. “Yeah, all good. Have to figure out how to handle this, I guess.”

Her eyes went to the small piece of paper he held up. “Oh, I see. Do you – are you looking forward to Christmas?”

“Maybe a little more now.”

That gave Y/N some reassurance that she hadn’t made his life miserable by involving everyone in Secret Santa. With a small smile and a brief nod, she left him to his thoughts.

Tony nudged her on her way out of the common room. “Just curious, Y/N, is that –” He pointed at Bucky. “The thing you’d like to see under the tree Christmas morning? In something nude, perhaps?”

Y/N’s cheeks heated brighter and hotter than chestnuts roasting on an open fire. She made a quick exit, dragging her embarrassment back to her room and trying to think about anything other than Tony’s comment. He didn’t tease her, typically, unless he had a reason to – which meant that he could see that Bucky Barnes made her more nervous than anyone else on the team.

“That is very not good,” Y/N mumbled to herself.

A couple of days before Christmas, they all gathered to exchange their Secret Santa gifts.

Clint and Bruce had drawn each other and both invested in a round of golf at a local course, so that worked out. Nat had drawn Tony, gifting him with a book entitled Why Is It Always About You? Nat couldn’t stop laughing, but Tony didn’t quite see the humor. Y/N gave Steve a coffee table book covering all the major events in world history.

“Good information – more reliable than the internet in some cases,” she told him.

Steve smiled and hugged her. “Thanks, Y/N/N. I appreciate it.”

“Sure,” she returned, hugging him back. “So, hey, I was thinking, we should get out tonight, all of us, and do a little team celebration before some people leave for the holiday and the New Year.”

“Oh, yeah, no, I don’t think – nah, not tonight.”

Y/N frowned and turned to ask someone else, but they all were making hasty getaways, too. She discreetly smelled under her arms and then checked her breath – no, that wasn’t it. Feeling very confused and somewhat self-conscious, Y/N headed for the training room to distract herself from … whatever had just happened.

She was out of the shower after working out and trying to decide if she wanted wine or whiskey while she cooked supper in her suite. She had pulled the wine bottle down from the shelf when someone knocked on the door. She considered not answering it, but a bruised ego was no reason to be rude.

Bucky was on the other side of the door, looking nervous. Y/N felt her stomach flip and flutter like the contents of a snow globe.

“Bucky, hey. What’s up?”

“Well, it’s me – uh, I mean, obviously, it’s me. But I’m saying I’m your Secret Santa. I know everyone traded gifts earlier, but I – well, my gift to you is a little different. Will you come with me for a minute?”

Y/N bit her bottom lip and hesitated for only half a second before sliding her hand into Bucky’s. He smiled shyly and led her toward the common room. Just outside the doorway, he turned to her and told her to close her eyes.

Y/N raised a brow. “Close my eyes?”

“Please? Don’t worry. I think it’ll be worth it.”

She gave in and closed her eyes. Bucky took both of her hands this time and slowly guided her into the common room. He positioned her just so, then told her to open her eyes.

The room was lit up with only multi-colored Christmas lights hung along the ceiling, plus the white lights strung around the Christmas tree. A projector screen was set up, paused on the opening credits of It’s A Wonderful Life. On the floor were plenty of pillows and blankets over a huge air mattress.

“I know this gift is supposed to be for you,” Bucky started when you didn’t say anything right away, “but I’ve been trying to tell you for a while that you – I like you, Y/N. I didn’t know how to do something special enough for you, something you deserve, so I did have some help from the others, but –”

Y/N cut him off with a kiss to his cheek. “This is perfect, Bucky. Thank you.”

His nerves gave way to relief and he helped you onto the air mattress. The two of you settled in, not quite cuddling but certainly not in your own space, either. Bucky found the remote and pressed play.

By the time George was offering to lasso the moon for Mary, though, Y/N was laying against Bucky’s chest, and he had an arm draped comfortably over her. He kissed her temple, garnering her attention. He tilted her chin up and brushed his lips over hers.

“Merry Christmas, Y/N.”

She smiled against his mouth. “Merry Christmas, Bucky.”

AllOfTheThings: @captain-s-rogers @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @hurricanerin @im-not-an-armrest-im-short @shynara51 @sea040561 @pinknerdpanda @xtina2191 @beakami @heartsaved @fullprunerebelstatesman @blackwidowismyhomegirl @averyrogers83 @jennmurawski13 @connie326 @whitewolfvibraniumdreams

#bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x reader #marvel fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #mcu fanfiction #a queue of armor around the world