#I just know he would have loved and listened to all the cool death metal stuff I listen to. Rest in piss king | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

felassan · 2 months

Text

Thoughts on the DA:TV reveal trailer from June 9th. DA:TV spoilers under cut.

this post is rly late, ik hh ◕‿◕

General and some random stuff

It's important to bear in mind what the trailer advised at the bottom, which is that the trailer is "game engine footage" and that "not all images appear in game".

Overall I really liked the trailer and it made me feel super excited!! I thought it was cool. the general more light-hearted tone of it and the music choice weren't what I would've guessed or expected, but they were interesting choices. I was a bit [dog cocking head from side to side in confusion] in the early portion hh, but it really came together for me all chills n stuff with the 'rise of Rook'-kinda shot and the group fight scene at the end, by which point I was overwhelmed with excitement, all the new stuff it had shown and the prospect of going back to Thedas fr to the point that I was teary lmao (don't look at me). I think as well the subsequent gameplay reveal video was more representative of the tone that the game will have, and that DA has.. previous [affectionate] for slightly ?? trailers and portions of the marketing. (remember the DA:O-era Marilyn Manson 'This Is the New Shit' metal trailers with like blood splattering all over the place & screen like strawberry jam fountains and stuff and the male Cousland who inexplicably looks about 40-50 years old? hhh. yea).

I think it looked great ^^ it's very pretty and detailed, it has cool art.

I also dug the sound design, like when there were sound effects like Venatori drawing swords and stuff (as a random example), it was just very crisp and satisfying

Trailer song

I'm so curious to know who the cover/rearrangement of "Heroes" is by and to be able to listen to it in full sometime. Do you think it's simply music for the trailer, or that it's part of the game OST? Didn't DA2's have some Florence and the Machine on it for example?

Interesting to note that "Heroes" is about two lovers from different sides. "Under constant fear of death, they dream they are free, swimming with dolphins". the song "represents two opposing forces", a sense that they will be separated, and the idea that love can endure or overcome anything (umm Var lath vir suledin? 😭). it brings to mind the idea of two people on opposite sides of something as parted friends or star-crossed lovers or something like that.

I also think this is interesting: "Bowie placed the [song] title in quotation marks as an expression of irony on the otherwise romantic or triumphant words and music". When Solas raised the Veil, he saved his people and the world but also doomed his people and destroyed the world - he is an ironic and sad/tragic hero. In a previous trailer, he says [to Rook probably] in a non-positive, almost bitter tone, "They call me The Dread Wolf. What will they call you, when this is over?" It sounds like he thinks (knows..) that though Rook may save the day now, they could poetically end up like him, a mirror of him - hated for it after the fact, or a big damn hero that sadly no-one knows about (remember in Mass Effect when Kirrahe says "We are trained for espionage. We would be legends, but the records are sealed. Glory in battle is not our way"? remember when Mark Darrah said that at one point or other, the 'vision statement' for DA4 was "We would be heroes, but the records are sealed"?), or being a hero at great personal cost to themself, or saving the world from one issue but inadvertently setting off another or causing great collateral damage or something like that. a "hero", but an ironic one in some form or other. it's argued by some that despite its sound, "Heroes" is not a feel-good anthem per se:

Describing the song, [Bowie] stated it is about "facing reality and standing up to it", about achieving "a sense of compassion" and "deriving some joy from the very simple pleasure of being alive". Likewise, Pegg contests the song contains underlying dark themes that juxtapose its uplifting chord sequence and delirious vocal [...] while the repeated announcement of "nothing will keep us together" asserts that time is short. Regarding the themes, Lurie stated: 'alchemy: We may be average and regular in the present moment, but we have the potential, at any time, for heroic thought and action – even if only for one day. The transformation can be brought about by an external event or through an internal change in perspective'."

Purple and bronze

My favs <3 :)

People we've met before

We knew Lucanis wasn't really dead

I really liked the focus of the trailer and its accompanying text blurb on the cast of characters, a thing which is a mainstay focus of Dragon Age and something that people really love about it. The trailer gives the impression that the game is about Rook becoming a leader, the leader of this specific A-Team crew; the relationships between them and the crew members; all their unique and complimentary strengths and personal storylines as woven into the main plot; and working as a team to defy the odds.. together. the old lesson of, if we work together, we have the power to resist and triumph. real The Power of Friendship, Found Family-vibes, yknow? 🥺 I really liked this line "Create memories with your team which will deepen your experiences and give you more to fight for." (Dates and friend dates with them please). In ME, Liara can ask Shepard what she's fighting for, and if it's a chance to give Garrus peace. Shepard can reply that Garrus has been hurt and betrayed, and that she would like to offer him something better. that's the sort of thing that that line makes me think of.

I also get the impression that yeah, the DA:TV prologue/lead-in comic Dragon Age: The Missing was definitely originally intended to end not long temporally irl before DA:TV marketing content of this kind came out. like if you read The Missing then immediately watch this trailer, you can see what they may have been trying to go for in that comic and how they connect together. The Missing ends with Varric and Harding in Minrathous, and in this trailer, here they are in Minrathous. At the time of The Missing, I wondered:

this sounds like it’ll be Varric’s role in DA:D, right? The person who puts together the new Team, but not a companion per se. so… Varnick Fury? he recruits us? maybe the various characters Varric and Harding meet in this comic series are part of the wider team in DA:D, contacts, folks we meet?

and

D] highlight these four groups/factions and introduce the two new ones (Veil Jumpers and Shadow Dragons) in advance of DA:D. [...] Certainly if I was Varric at the moment when Harding asks “So who are you thinking?” at the end here, after the events I had experienced and people & groups I had met in recent weeks, with those being fresh in my mind, I would be thinking about the Grey Wardens, the Antivan Crows, the Veil Jumpers and the Shadow Dragons, both as groups and terms of the mental list of people that I had recently met who Solas doesn’t know. again it makes you think about the popular speculation that the DA:D PC will have the background of being from one of these groups.

this trailer and subsequent marketing materials since then have indeed detailed that Varric is not a companion, that he recruited Rook, that the devs were kinda thinking of an 'Avengers'-type team, that Neve (appeared in The Missing) is a companion, that Rook can be a Warden, Crow, Veil Jumper, or Shadow Dragon (among other things), that those factions are all important in the storyline of the game, that the companions include a Warden, a Crow, a Veil Jumper, and a Shadow Dragon, and that the crew will also have contact with non-companion NPCs who will be "faces" of their respective factions!! like we don't know for sure that the 'face' NPC[s] of the Veil Jumpers will be Strife and Irelin or one of them, but we do know thanks to Game Informer that e.g. Strife and Irelin do appear in the game as NPCs. When Harding asks Varric in The Missing "So who are you thinking?", it mirrors the trailer, where Varric asks Harding "What are you thinking?" after she states that this will take more than just the two of them.

A fun fact about the trailer is that the 'most replayed' segment is the Lucanis and Bellara part. the people know what they want hh.. ^^

Opening segment: Venatori, Varric, Harding

The trailer begins with a view of Docktown, Minrathous, just from a bit of a different angle to the one in that screenshot. the now-familiar floating castle is in the sky. I guess the bright green light on the docks in the trailer version of this scene is one of Minrathous' magical neon shop signs, specifically one above the door of the building on the docks that you can see here (albeit it's unlit there because it's daytime/or at least not overcast). it's foggy/misty, with a general moody vibe. Varric and Harding are in a bar. I think the bar they're in is through the doorway with the neon green light above it, and I wonder if that bar is this one.

Are the carved creatures with human heads and wings in the foreground statues on the nearest shore (where the 'pov' is standing) or carved prows of ships in the harbor? they remind me of harpies or angels. have we seen these assets before in DA? in-world were they based on a Thedosian creature?

[points] repeating rings/concentric circles

this bit reminds me of the different shapes and patterns here. (around 'Level 30', around '0 points available', and the skill tree itself both in terms of design and the pattern behind it)

Who doesn't love a good Mass Effect-style lens flare? :D somehow these always make me feel nostalgic.. this bit reminds me of an eclipse (of which much could be said in the context of DA and DA:TV..) or other astrological event, or like an event horizon or something.

These guys are Venatori Soldiers. Compare with those in the gameplay reveal video. they even attack in a big group of guys in the trailer the way they do in gameplay, Power Rangers badguys-style (a Venatori classic..). ^^

What's the deal with some of their weapons being red btw?

It's giving red lyrium, it's giving red lyrium blade like Certainty (two), it's giving the vibe of the red lyrium weapons pack, it's giving general Venatori fuckery (they have messed with red lyrium stuff for their own nefarious ends several times before).

the symbol on their foreheads is also familiar.

It shows up in Dragon Age: Absolution.

(from here) the flag scene on the right is seen during Hira's flashback when the Venatori killed her family as an example, punishing them for helping those less fortunate in Tevinter. so it seems like the Venatori have a new symbol and a new look in the post-DA:I material, right? like irl art direction/art updates-wise. just, in-world, they actually were using it in the past, as we can see it in the Hira flashback, at which point she was a child, long before the time of the Inquisition forming. unless this is a specific faction or offshoot of Venatori..?

I'm not sure that it actually is or not, but when I see this type of thing I also think about red lyrium shards. also, some of them have lil spiky shoulder blades -

which reminds me of that 'hostile architecture' vibe Tevinter architecture and designs of stuff have going on, like the spikes on the back of the chairs here. and I wonder if the guy with the red face covering is the leader of this particular squad?

When it pans out to this shot, we get a good look at the bar and also it's clear what a bunch of cowards the Venatori are. What is this, like, 7 on 2 at least.. but it was actually more than that in the beginning because Varric and Harding have already laid several Venatori soldiers out flat on the ground (I count at least 3 there and 1 flat on the bar lol). 11+ v 2 LOL. there are also a couple of injured but not KO'd people crouching who could be more injured Venatori, or else just innocent bar patrons who got in the way. in the background you can see what looks like a hookah, which we have seen in northern Thedas before. also, at this point, Rook is right there, sitting there all casual and nonchalant at a table over by the window, with their hood up and their back to the fight hh. the other thing that strikes me about this shot is the intricate patterns on the rug and how beautiful the lighting is - all those shafts of sunlight and candle/firelight and stuff.

Bar fights are such a fantasy, D&D-type classic. I wonder if this bar is the Swan, the tavern Corinne mentioned as being in Minrathous which has good tavern music? or if it's the same bar as where the game starts off, where Rook has the choice of intimidating a bartender or not? an article also mentioned a pub in the streets of Minrathous which has a dozen NPCs in it and which is reached via a wide, winding pathway. (probably at least two of these various bar/pubs are actually the same one being described/shown in a different way hh.) the Venatori try to look all menacing and the barperson, understandably, tries to scuttle out the way.

Bianca looks great and has had a glow up. the carved patterns are so pretty, and with the eyepieces and stuff she looks almost steampunky or Fable-y. which makes her subsequent demise at Solas' hands in the gameplay reveal video all the sadder. 🥺 we can also see at this point that at Varric's belt, he wears a symbol of the Inquisition, even though it's been around 8 years.. 🥺 as in The Missing, you can also clearly see that Varric has been aging. he looks old and tired, he has more of a beard, and his hair is thinning and graying. this look of his, including the outfit and scarring around his eye, iirc first appeared in Issue 2 of The Missing.

I wrote then of that,

he looks Older and more tired, and also maybe redesigned (outfit, scar etc). if this comic is set around 9:52 or shortly beforehand, he’s over 50 years old now since he was born in 9:1. according to this tweet of Fernando’s, it wasn’t Fernando who did a redesign, BioWare had sent along the reference for Varric for this comic. are we looking at Varric’s DA:D Era (Dad Era..) Redesign? is this how he’ll look in DA:D?

and it seems we were, and it seems it is! :D

When the shot cuts to Harding, we can see that the bar has a roaring fire (tho I question the heat efficiency of this with a wide open door :D). I like the symmetry of having Varric and Harding both shoot one Venatori each with their bow/crossbow at this point. Harding is in her new gear, the new look that appeared in The Missing. She looks so good! I love all the detailing on her and Varric's clothes, like the fur parts at their collar and shoulders (which up here in Tevinter seems so quaintly southern, Fereldan-y hh). my heart skips a beat when Harding whips her head around and blows her bangs out her face. 🥰 the motion of her and Varric's hair is soo goood (and for stuff like Harding's cape whipping around), and look at the detailing of her braided updo!!

Mid bar-fight, when despite being mid-fight Varric reaches for a tankard and Harding summarily takes it off him.. it reminded me of this panel from The Missing #2. at that time, I thought,

“food poisoning” ye sure okay bud. at the end of issue 1, Varric was after a stiff drink. this panel is a smart bit of continuity from that. [but] on a serious note though I hope Varric is doing okay like, and this was just a hangover after a celebration like he says, rather than part of his recent tired/sad/kinda strugglin vibe. otherwise coupled with his older tireder more haggard look it reminds me a bit of Ser Aaron. [and it's] sad to think about [anyone going through or struggling with that] :( (RIP Aaron...)

and the tankard moment in this trailer reminded me of that worry again. Varric, buddy... are you okay 😭

It's so funny (in a good way) when Harding in the background uses her bow like a freakin baseball bat to level a guy while in the foreground Varric is like 'yea it's fine, she got this' because he knows she can handle herself hh. and like, yea, in these few seconds Harding takes out three dudes herself. Varric is still looking forlornly at his now-empty hand when she's smacking a guy clean across the face with the mug. Harding.. make it rain!! :) bad guys drop to the floor and the sparkly effects of spilled drink both fall around her. also, does it look to anyone else that on the front of a pouch Harding wears on her front, there's the eyeball Scout-or-Inquisition symbol, like how there is on her bow? then Varric is like. 'okay, I'm listening'. :D

Neve

We see Neve meeting someone in a Minrathous backstreet. the setting here reminds of the Minrathous streets in the gameplay reveal, of this concept art and of this scene from a previous trailer. it's raining at night and she's meeting them - an informant or contact etc - at a specific time and place in a secluded area to make some sort of trade. they show her the goods and she offers them a pouch of what is presumably coin

from how the Venatori talk about Neve in the gameplay reveal, and maybe even a lil based on how this 'contact' (who is actually trying to rob her or maybe even trying to complete a hit/kill contract on her) is dressed, I wonder if this person was Venatori or one of their agents?

Neve's saunter made me weak in the knees. she seems so confident and capable. she has great instincts/reflexes, which makes sense for a character who investigates alone on the night streets; she saw the attacker's feint (and their real goal all along) coming straightaway. you can't get one over on Neve

In the final triumphant shot of her, when she holds the item aloft, she's got one foot on the felled person, who is lying on the ground hh

I appreciated the attention paid to the sound effects of her footsteps! it's like there's a metal clinking sound when she steps with her metal leg.

She does her specialty, ice magic, and ice magic looks so lovely - a bright white light coming from it, snowflakes floating all around

though I know it's probably more like, this was her planned design and the comic artist was given BW's reference for her, I love how faithfully Neve's complicated, fashionable design was carried over from the comics into this trailer/vice versa/matches in each!! e.g. the toe of her boot, her leg, all the details of her overcoat, the shape of her snake-belt, everything

Also her mannerisms match too! the spell she does here, with its staff-less magic and both hands coming forward with a burst of ice magic, is exactly like she does in the comics. :D (on the right below). I just think that's such a thoughtful touch.

I'm rly curious about the item that she was after. the red shard-type thing reminds me of red lyrium, and at this point a red gem-like thing set in golden metal surrounds remind me of the Venatori. those are different shapes of course, but see above with regards to: the red and gold symbols on the foreheads of the Venatori guys who attack Varric and Harding in the bar; the red and gold brooch or clasp thing from Absolution; and the red and gold symbol of the Venatori on their banners in Hira's flashback in Absolution.

What is it, and why was she after it? the other thing it reminds me of is the round enchanted clay discs from her TN short story, The Streets of Minrathous. they were seals to the demon's prison (the one that is under Minrathous) and involved blood magic. (this is red and gold though so it doesn't super-match tho, as if I remember right the seals in TN were described as being seated in polished black shell on gold chains, with a long, thin, 4-winged dragon etched on the front that was rising out of a dark sea..)

Another thing to notice here is when Neve's name's splash text comes up, what look like orange-red leaves blowing in the wind blow across the screen. this imagery repeats in a few of the other companion segments.

Lucanis

He assassinates a target in a crowded, beautiful, colorful and busy marketplace. Do you think this is Antiva, Tevinter or somewhere else? ^^ the target is frantic, he knows he's in danger and that he's being chased/watched (makes sense, 'The Demon' has a reputation); but Lucanis is so stealthy that he has no idea where he is. Lucanis is quick and deadly.

the orange-red leaves swirl around in the air

on the back of Lucanis' outfit we can see the purpley wing motif and the patterning of many eyes (more thoughts on that here), these are placed really prominently in this trailer.

Again the detailing of hair movement, clothes etc is awesome! Even the back of the target's cloak is all bejewelled and detailed.

Lots of NPCs in the crowd. peer around at their hairstyles just in case they're among those that are available in the CC for Rook :D we also now know that we will be able to re-create NPCs like these in the CC, as it was used to make them all.

Who do we think the target is? they are a human man. is he simply a random person to showcase Lucanis' assassin-ness for the purposes of the trailer, or meant to indicate a person from a particular group or faction? can we infer anything from the design of his clothes? the red pointy spike on his shoulder pad for example kind of reminds me of that of some Venatori (see above in barfight segment). and in general he seems well-dressed, and maybe his outfit has a sort of mage-y vibe. a higher-up Venatori? a bad magister? we know Lucanis has been going around taking contracts to kill prominent Venatori from TN, and that he was intending to do more of these jobs.

It's a mixed crowd, there are humans present and you can also see elves, qunari and dwarves. :) (please ignore the top right hand corner of the image below, I guess a copy-paste failed and I didn't notice at the time hh).

After the target knocks someone over by mistake, an angry guy behind him gesticulates, understandably annoyed.

Lucanis catches and kills him in one fluid motion. I would let Lucanis assassinate me

Grabs em by the face hh (makes sense, he then covers their mouth so they can't scream and draw attention I guess - it's the middle of a crowded marketplace after all)

mullet singing magnificently in the wind

lil crowfeather-like hair tufts sticking out

And he snaps his neck rather than stabbing with one of his knives or swords (and he is wielding one in this encounter). I guess it's more efficient and quick in this instance than stabbing. it also makes less of a mess. :D The setting and dialogue line for this segment is smart too - Lucanis kills this person by leaping out of the shadows/where he was hiding into the broad daylight, and kills them when it's light outside hh.

Bellara

an ancient elven ruin in Arlathan (Forest or Crater). birds fly overhead. I love the lighting and all the greenery :)

the orange-red leaves continue to fall in Bellara's segment too. they aren't a surprise here of course, the gold/orangey 'omg it's Arlathan/the Veil[Jumper] archer place from old concept art' trees are in Arlathan, where this segment is set, but they also crop up in the trailer in e.g. Minrathous in Neve's segment, in Lucanis' segment. they're a nice continuous aesthetic linking the scenes together ^^ We also see them on the Golden City version of the DA vinyl cover art, twining through the dragon's wings and growing among the buildings, in a way connecting this foliage to the Fade.

the design of the place reminds me a bit of the bridge at the Temple of Mythal in DA:I. I wonder if this ruin was a temple or palace in the past, and if so, to/of whom?

it's so beautiful and makes me feel really excited to explore ancient elven ruins and Arlathan :)

the two startled halla look so pretty

interestingly, the black bird that flies near the halla looks like a corvid - making you think of rooks, and Rook.

green Fade-y light gathers in the archway and our Veil Jumper's official proper introduction, fittingly, has her leaping out of the Fade[?], or otherwise leaping through part of the Veil :D Bellara's segment is so fun and I love that for her and us. when she first appears, she looks so happy and thrilled to be on the adventure that she's on here.

in her hand she grasps her prize, which I guess she's just taken from wherever she was - a gold-colored triangley thing (so, a piece of ancient elven tech or another ancient elven artifact). when she gets caught and pulled back into the portal, she drops it and it falls out of her hands.

👁️ Now, about the tentacles. from previous materials like the short story Ruins of Reality and DA: The Missing, we know that in Arlathan, space and time, and reality, has been warping. the Veil is thin and wild, wacky stuff is going on in there. there are Veil Bubbles. the Fade is a mess close to Solas' ritual and demons are coming through, etc. the tentacles in this segment are very interesting indeed 👀 Veil Jumpers are also being attacked by tentacles in this DA4 concept art. here's another DA4 concept art with a tentacled monster in it. I wonder where Bellara was jumping from? a different pocket of reality in Arlathan or elsewhere? a place "in-between"? from a Veil Bubble? the tentacles also reminded me a lot of the Cekorax. it was a big tentacled monster that Dorian hired Hollix to kill in Minrathous. in that TN story, Dorian recalls that a Mortalitasi once told him of "things past the Veil of our world, neither demon nor spirit"...

Emmrich

Cut to Emmrich in the Grand Necropolis in Nevarra. See the bottom of this post for thoughts on the final shot of the Emmrich segment.

Digging up a lot of buried secrets.. it's giving the mysteries of the Grand Necropolis (the lowest reaches of it are quite ancient), and it also makes me think of secrets in the Deep Roads, Descent-style 👁️

The pov at the start of Emmrich's segment has the camera inside the chest (or coffin-type thing, since the skeleton seems to rise from it a few seconds later) these two people are opening and looking inside. the lore says that the geography of the lower parts of the Necropolis varies and changes, producing a disorienting effect on visitors which has successfully prevented robbery attempts. but we can probably assume from location and context cues that these people are looters or grave robbers right? you could imagine grave goods and other treasures/loot to be found in the elaborate Nevarran crypts. (and, some of the wealthiest Nevarrans decorate their crypts with their most prized possessions.) Emmrich is a Mourn Watcher, a member of an order which serves as guardians and keepers of the sacred Necropolis. so it makes sense to see him foiling an attempted graverobbing :) [disrespectful of the departed anyway, but especially so in a culture where their death-related practises are kinda sacred to them like Nevarra]

I wonder if the people are just random petty thieves created for the purposes of the trailer, or if they represent members of a specific group/'speak' of a particular plot-thread? like I could imagine e.g. some Lords of Fortune or something wanting to loot a storied tomb full of walking dead, for treasure and glory.

the way Emmrich casts his magic here, he reminds me of a pianist or a composer. he's so calm and composed.

he's behiiiind youuu, Pantomime-style hh :)

when the splash text appears on-screen, in the bottom right you can see a fire burning - looks to be one of the robbers' dropped torches, which is a fun touch.

Davrin

I really love Davrin's design and I'm super curious to know which Creators' vallaslin designs he and Bellara have. he's so calm in battle, you get the sense that he's a skilled warrior for sure and I immediately trust him with my life. like Harding and Varric in the bar fight, he's holding off loads of enemies just him (well, him and Assan ^^).

He's fighting darkspawn which have been afflicted by red lyrium. (here's the "red lyrium darkspawn" for real too). as if regular darkspawn and the threat of being Tainted by contact with them wasn't enough, now you need to be careful of their red lyrium claws and the spread of red lyrium and stuff too. look how gross they look from behind.

In the background is a statue of a griffon, so I think Davrin is fighting in a Warden-related area. there are stone structures around and you can see some banners (albeit, not with Grey Warden symbols on them from what I can see).

It's dark and all around are the signs of the Taint - the darkspawn themselves, the dead gnarled trees, the corrupted tendrils, things which look like they could be Blight pustules/sacs, etc. I think the Davrin scene is set in the same location as this screenshot (which as it happens, also features Davrin!):

in the bottom left of this screenshot you can see water, and in the trailer, Assan runs past a boat. plus the other stuff looks the same too. and being that it's apparently a Warden-y location (griffon statue), I think that it's maybe the surrounds (or.. remains..?) of Weisshaupt in the Anderfels, and I definitely think it's the same place as here from the DA Day 2023 trailer:

- as the rock, lighting, structures, red lyrium etc all match up. Remember the line from that trailer, "Grey Wardens don’t hide in our castle. I won’t ask good soldiers to turn tail and run"? chat, it's not looking good rn for the Grey Wardens or for Weisshaupt (ctrl-F "Weisshaupt" in this post, and see also this post, for more on this topic.)

when the big red lyrium darkspawn charges forward, it knocks over one of the small ones hh.

Cut to Assan. good boy Assan!! he's already taken out at least one darkspawn by himself over there and we see him sitting on it hh. I wonder if Assan will join us in battle if we select Davrin as one of the 2 companions? it looks like he and Davrin have a close bond - he knows what move Davrin is thinking of just by how Davrin looks over at him. :) he's a strong baby - when he leaps on the big darkspawn he knocks it right over all by himself from the force of the impact. I love Assan's model and I think he's so cute oml 🥺 the way his ears perk up when Davrin looks at him 🥺... his big blue eyes like a husky or something.. the way he's kinda rangy and a bit scraggly like a puppy in the 'teen' stage where they're kinda tall and leggy but haven't really filled out yet 🥺 the lil whinny and squeaky roar he makes. HIS LYNX-LIKE EAR TUFTIES...

The shield-launching move is so fun and cool :D I think it's my favorite shot in the whole trailer. I just love Davrin, the relationship depicted here between Davrin and Assan, the trust and fun in that moment, the bond between them. and when he launches Assan here, Davrin looks so joyful and happy, it's nice :)

On Assan - is he one of the thirteen griffon hatchlings Valya discovered in 9:42 Dragon? or is he from a subsequent clutch? it's about 9:52 now, the question is how long does it take for a griffon to reach maturity? ^^

I also really wanna know more about Davrin. :D like Bellara and Taash, he hasn't appeared in prior DA secondary media like a comic or story so we don't have insight into him from something like that. we got quite a bit of insight into Bellara as a character in the Game Informer cover story (how we meet her, her personality etc) and a few lil snippets about Taash have come out here and there from social media (though I'd also really like to know more about Taash!). I'm dying to know more about Davrin too!! how did he come to join the Wardens, what motivated him to do that? what Dalish clan is he part of (is it a known one or a new-to-us one?), and where did they tend to roam? was he specifically entrusted with the care of Assan as a Warden assignment, was it more happenstance that he came into his care, or did Assan when he was a lil baby see Davrin one day and kinda be like "yea that is my guy" (griffons chose their riders by themselves, not the other way around) ((also. valid))? what does Davrin think of the possible Grey Warden civil war, the First Warden, the Hero of Ferelden? how long has he been a Grey Warden for, and how far is he from his Calling? what are some random lil trivia factoids about him? does he travel around killing other monsters in addition to darkspawn and saving people from them, and that's how he made his name as a monster hunter ("monster hunter" is giving a lil Witcher-vibe to me, and the voiceover line here anyways implies that Davrin also fights demons)? ◕‿◕

Also at this point is a neat transition to darkness. back in the bar, Harding and Varric are fighting back to back, a trope I am a sucker for hh.

Taash

(reverb womp womp womp sfx like a giant boomerang is being thrown :D)

"We'll need someone with fire in their blood" [to face dragons]. I know what this conveys (fight fire with fire, Taash is badass, brave, bold in the face of danger, will fight dragons etc) but I also thought this was an inchresting choice of line for Taash's segment.. Iron Bull once said "So, when you face a dragon, does it get your heart pumping? Do you breathe a little faster, feel the blood racing?" When qunari Inquisitor speaks to Old God Soul Kieran, he tells them: "I noticed your blood. It doesn't belong to your people." Corypheus taunts Adaar, "What do they call you? A qunari? Your blood is engorged with decay! Your race is not a race, it is a mistake!" In some scenarios, Corypheus can say of Adaar that they are "a beast of strange blood". and some believe that the Tamassrans cultivate dragon blood within the Qunari. so 👁️..

Some thoughts on Taash's design. (so I don't repeat myself too much. I link to each post in that series btw, one for each companion, at the end of this post).

Taash's segment is set on the Rivain Coast (two). you can see the palm trees, beach, bright blue waters, the skeleton of a large dead creature, that statue in the background, etc. fittingly she's fighting a dragon and there's fire everywhere :) I wonder if the Rivain Coast locale is where we will recruit Taash. she isn't among the characters (like Neve) who Varric knew prior to the start of the game; at the timepoint he speaks his Taash line in the trailer, he doesn't know her.

omg, the physics on Taash's braid! :D it looks like the gold cuffs on her horns have an eye symbol carved on them. dear Taash, please tell me the story behind each shiny trophy that you wear. 🙏 in addition to the dragonscale-looking parts of her armor, it looks to me like on her gauntlets there are also teeth (assumedly dragonteeth). love that for her. and as she gets up to charge forward, she does a small smile or smirk to herself. she's havin a great time fighting a dragon :D the heat-warping effects from the fire are cool too.

When Taash's splash text appeared on screen, it was at this point (the last one lol..) that I realized there were different effects on the companions' name texts. Harding has horizontal lines through hers, like the flightpath of arrows. the bits in Neve's could be chunks of ice. Lucanis' looks scratched/slashed, as if by daggers. Bellara's contains the floating triangle pieces that indicate ancient elven magitech. maybe Emmrich's is the particle effects of his necromancy? Davrin's could be slash marks from a sword or claw marks from a griffon's talons. and Taash's is all burning and on fire, with dragon-looking claw marks. smart!!

check this out in the background, the rock structure which looks like a head with pointed teeth -

it's the same structure as in this shot of Rivain from the DA Day 2023 trailer.

only in Taash's scene, she's on the beach and the teeth-rock structure is in the background, whereas in this shot, the POV is like you're standing under the jagged overhang, looking out from the jaws of the 'beast'. in the 'in jaws' shot you can even see the beach Taash may be fighting on, it's the area with the big skeleton on the shore. when we saw this shot in the DA Day trailer, it reminded us of teeth, and now that we can see the rock shape from another angle, it really does look like the maw of a great dragon-y creature, with fangs on the top and bottom jaws. the placement of this in Taash's segment interests me because there is also the suggestion of a dragon-y creature with teeth in the background of her card art. ^^

I also wonder if we can identify what type of dragon it is here from the dragon's design? ^^

When Taash leaps through the air, you can hear her yelling. :D at this point it looks to me like this is the same place as in this screenshot of Rivain Coast that came out later. you can see the big skeleton ribs, the campfire, the wall, and the hanging line thing. it's just from a different angle.

Rook and back in the bar

Do you think the Rook shown in this trailer is the 'default' Rook for marketing, like mage dude Hawke in DA2? And/or the Rook from the gameplay reveal video? you can see a lil bit of their face in this trailer.

dae get the feeling that when Varric says "This crew needs a leader. Someone we can count on" he might be thinking of Hawke? not to suggest as the leader of this crew (remember how he gave the Inquisition the run around to protect Hawke when they were looking for them), but just like, he's thinking back to a different place, a different time, a different crew, a different found family. 20 years ago in Kirkwall, his home, when he was part of Hawke's gang and they sheltered all the DA2 misfits (affectionate) under their wings. a reality he hasn't inhabited for ~10 years now. 🥺 "Someone that the world can count on" takes me back to his line to Cassandra in her interrogation, "The entire world is on the brink of war. And you need the one person who can help you put it back together". And it also has me wondering if by that point he's also thinking of the Inquisitor, another leader that he followed, a leader that saved the world. 🥺

Varric also understands the importance of a good leader as the core of a group, of the power of bringing friends together around someone great. a lesson he learned at Hawke's side, then later solidified or emphasized at the Inquisitor's. then, with "But where are we gonna find...?" he's probably going through the factions he and Harding encountered in DA: The Missing in his head at this point, but I also feel like he's rotating the leader-hero blorbos he keeps in his head and scrolling through them. Hawke? [if not left in the Fade]. Absolutely not, the world has taken too much from them already and he just wants to protect his friend. The Inquisitor? Won't work [for the literal leadership role], at this point they know they need to find someone that Solas doesn't know. and it doesn't even occur to him that he himself could lead the new crew. for one thing, Solas knows him obviously, and he's tired, but for another, Varric knows he's the storyteller, just a character in other peoples' stories, a follower, not a leader (of that kind). its a lil meta but it (and the rest of the stuff I said here) is also just 🥺.. when you think about Varric's life and what's happened in it.

Where in the opening segment, Rook was there chillin sitting all casual at a table by the window in the bar, they've now gotten up and started laying into Venatori themselves. (contrasing with e.g. the bartender, who ran out of the way, and other bar patrons who stand around in the background during the fight at various points or are seen floored. you can see why Rook specifically attracts Harding's attention at this point.) it's so funny [pos] - Varric and Harding are now staring thoughtfully into the fire discussing their plan in a circle of KO'd Venatori, Varric with his hands on his hips, meanwhile Rook has taken the heat off them and fends off a gang of Venatori by themselves. and the Venatori are back to trying to like, 6v1 someone. Oh Venatori dudes, you're so retro Power Rangers badguys. Rook only came out here for a quiet drink, and they are feeling so attacked right now.

Varric and Harding conducting a demon-summoning Heroic Leader[™]-summoning ritual

The unconscious/dead Venatori on the bar is still there on the bar. Rook lays someone else out on a table. Harding hears the commotion behind her and slowly turns around. Venatori flail towards Rook. Rook, backlit all cool, smashes two of their heads together silly-style (pos) and then steals their stuff (a sword). Rook pistol-whips a guy in the face with the handle of one of their own swords. Rook then launches themselves off a bench (floored Venatori in the background), yeeting the Venatori on their back (floored-table Venatori also in the background) into the bar, then elbows them in the face. Harding, understandably, falls in love (I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream..). Varric isn't aware of what's going on yet, either because he's so lost in thought reminiscing about his glory days with Hawke and/or because maybe his hearing is going a lil in his old age. Harding makes bedroom eyes at Rook.

Five Venatori then run at Rook (haha.. these fuckin guys :D). At first I was like wait, where did this wave come from? but if you look around Varric and Harding's feet at this point, the Venatori that were laid out in a circle around them are no longer on the ground - so that's a nice touch, that it's the same ones who got back up to have another go. Rook executes the swashbuckling action-adventure trope of cutting a rope to drop a chandelier, crates or other objects on some bad guys, which is fun. this bar patron (hit the image limit on this post hh) with the magnificent feathery collar is unfazed and just enjoying their drink. Harding's cape whips as she turns around; Harding is paying ATTENTION. The Venatori tackle and swarm on top of Rook like they're playing rugby. The chandelier drops. The Venatori are taken out. Harding is like 'wake up grandpa, get with the program'. Varric turns ("HUH?") and then, understandably, also falls in love. Varric makes bedroom eyes at Rook.

And then Rook rises (backlit, among flames and from the heap of a whole football team of Venatori that they KO'd themselves), and also rises. at the same time the music is crashing to a crescendo and the song says "We can be heroes". :D And at this point I'm feeling a bit unhinged over trees, but it looks to me like some of the particles floating around at this point are the orange-red leaves again hh.. Having no "Rook" splash text at the Rook-focus segment makes sense, they aren't a companion and while they are always "Rook", that isn't their name and of course they are the player-defined character of the bunch. I really like the shot where they look over their shoulder, back at Harding, Varric, and the pov.

looping back to the question I first asked in the 'Rook' section of this post, in this trailer it looks like Rook is wearing this outfit, which is also the outfit Rook (there a Shadow Dragon Rook) wears in the gameplay reveal trailer. So I think we can surmise that the Rook in the character reveal trailer is a Shadow Dragon Rook (and a rogue too, as in the gameplay reveal). I wonder if this Rook, this Shadow Dragon Rook, is sort of the 'default' Rook for marketing? or whether in the next trailer, they have a different Rook?

About Rook's clothing in this trailer. it looks similar (e.g. hood shape, presence of a hood, diamond-quilt-like pattern in places, the diamond-shape pattern on the shoulder, etc) to this figure on a Minrathous street from the 2020 trailer, who I assume is a Shadow Dragon or Shadow Dragon Rook. like in that post, it again makes me think of the art which accompanied Minrathous Shadows, the short story about the Viper. the outfit of the person in that art isn't the same as Rook's, but there are similar aspects in the way that people from the same faction have similar aspects in their outfits. again I'm wondering if maybe the Viper is associated with the Shadow Dragons faction, maybe even the Viper leads it? and what if their contact in that story, a lady who is lightning smart, is Neve? ^^

Also, Rook already has the Veilguard symbol on their clothes in this trailer. I wonder which moment the trailer is depicting. Is it depicting the moment when Varric and Harding first met Rook, then after it they recruited them to join the team? Or is it depicting a time after that when Rook had already been travelling with them for some time (per some info we were told before we know that Rook has been with Varric for a while already before the start of the game), as just a lil part of the team, only their performance in this bar fight was the moment when Varric and Harding realized that Rook could lead? Is it neither of these, and more just a cool scene for a trailer for vibes (that is very valid btw, it's a trailer - we didn't see the Hero of Ferelden's eyes for example glowing blue as they entered that specific cavern full of darkspawn like in that one DA:O trailer etc) - the trailer did note at the start that not all images in the trailer appear in the actual game. the trailer also depicts a barfight, and we know the game can kick off with a fight in a Tevinter bar (depending on if Rook chooses to be aggressive in the bar, a fight scene can follow). or maybe the trailer is showing when Varric and Harding met Shadow Dragon Rook specifically? since we know that faction choice basically determines why Rook has been called to help in the fight against Solas, and in this trailer it's Harding being impressed by Rook in Minrathous as they fend off Venatori, specifically.

End group fight

I really love the tagline "Together - Defy The Gods". "Together" puts the emphasis on the companions, the characters and their relationships with Rook & one another as they work together as a team. it makes sense to flash up at this point too, when the whole party (not just Rook+2) is fighting a serious battle together and quite a few of them get a spotlight of them doing their thing as the camera pans around this battle. the tagline also reminds me of when the Inquisitor can say defiantly to Cory at the end of DAI, "I don't believe in gods". ◕‿◕ I also really liked the swelling of the music and the drumming as the trailer ended, it was cool.

At this point, we can see Shadow Dragon Rogue Rook, Neve, Harding, Lucanis, Davrin and Bellara, though in the next bit we also see Taash fighting in the circle. am I just missing her at this first point? can anyone see Taash in that image? ^^ (Emmrich runs up in a following scene.) they're fighting off loads and loads of red lyrium darkspawn (when I watched this scene a second time I realized those humanoid darkspawn remind me a lot of the husks from Mass Effect, only red instead of blue). the big darkspawn swinging a hammer near Lucanis looks like one of the redesigned ogres. I really liked the group fight scene, I thought it was really cool and heroic. :) I hope this is a cutscene and bossfight-type battle at some point in the game's main storyline, because it is a really cool scene. :D maybe the trailer version with all the companions in it is just that, the trailer cinematic version of the fight, and in the gameplay it's Rook+2 companions as in this screenshot?

from the way the structures around them look architecturally, the place they're in has ancient elven ruins. the red sky is ominous. from the darkness and the curling tendrils, and what looks like maybe sacs on the walls, the place they're in is afflicted by Taint corruption. there are also floating chunks of rock in the sky, a trait of the Fade or places in the mundane world where the Veil is thin and Fadey things are Fadin'. they are in the same place as in this screenshot. (when the dragon alights later in this segment, it also generally evokes the sense of this key art for me.) and like I said here, this place and dragon encounter bears a resemblance to the 2x cover arts of the DA Vinyl, which we know were called "Golden City" and "Black City". so here we are maybe, in the corrupted/Blighted Black City..? and if it has ancient elven architecture.. brb, lying awake at night thinkin of how the elven architecture on the vinyl cover art basically confirmed the long-held theory that Arlathan is the Black City. these tower-tops are quite like what we see here in Arlathan Forest and here in Arlathan Forest at Solas' ritual site in the gameplay reveal video, for example.

Bellara's bedroll in her backpack in this climactic battle is so cute and pratical. 🥺 when her 'arrow' hits its mark, darkspawn blood and guts go everywhere. Rook has a cool golden dagger. Lucanis, please move, you are about to be smashed by an ogre's hammer. I'm really curious about his purple wing ability - like how does it work and what does it do? he pretty much stays on the same spot, wings outstretched, for the duration of this scene. I love the way Neve moves when she casts magic, it's like she's dancing, like some forms of bending in Avatar or something. when she lights up with the bright light she looks even radiant-er than usual. and the flash of Neve's ice magic turning the screen white for the next text to appear is a smart transition. ^^

(darkspawn feet pic.)

I'm a sucker for a good ol' 'camera pans around the gang fighting something off together and looking cool'. you know that one shot in the Avengers somewhere where it circles round them when they stand ready in a circle? that's the vibe, and it reminds me of when the devs mentioned the Avengers in the context of talking about the game's name change.

Davrin's boots have spur-looking parts! you can feel the force of Taash's blow there. and then Emmrich comes running up to the team from somewhere else chased by more darkspawn and the freakin dragon. did.. did they use poor Emmrich as DRAGON BAIT (I kind of get the impression that they wanted to draw the dragon to this particular location, and I wonder if that has something to do with the circle)? 😭😭 Grandpa..?? they wouldn't let him help fight in the circle with his magic, or assign a more physical member of the team to be the bait, and were instead just like run old man, run. 😭 he's running for his life and Harding's like over here Emmrich, I'll keep them off you, promise. at this point you can also see lots of those Blight sacs on the walls. the dragon is huge and looks really cool and detailed - when it's getting ready to breathe fire, you can see light through the tissue of its throat, and the fire dripping from its maw is cool.

in the final scene with the dragon's wings outstretched, on the left you can see a red lamp-type thing. it's the same as the blue ones here, only red. I wonder what those are? and why do they change color?

and of course, like I said here, in the background at this point we can see the Evanuris symbols in the form of their headshapes, specifically on the tops of statues just like the ones that surrounded Solas' ritual site in Arlathan Forest in the gameplay reveal. this makes me wonder - this battle seems quite climactic, if it occurs at the end of the game, maybe the game ends where it all really began, back at the Arlathan Forest Ritual Site, which by that point has maybe become extra Fadey and has corruption spreading in it, which killed all the vegetation? that would be poetic. an alternative spin on this theory is that, since this place is kinda Fadey, maybe it's the in-Fade reflection (specifically the Black City) of the irl ritual site.

I've previously wondered if the dragon in this shot is Elgar'nan (dragons were a form reserved for the divine, i.e. the Evanuris, in the time of the Evanuris), but on a re-watch, from the way things are positioned (maybe that was intentional?), the statue-head directly behind the dragon in the center as it spreads its wings is actually the one with the Ghilan'nain headshape, so maybe it's actually Ghil? this dragon's horns curve down like Ghil's headpiece curves, not upwards like Elgar'nan's. this concept art piece for DA4 to me implies both Ghil and Elgar'nan take dragon form (2 dragons here, 2 Evil Gods rising), and as we know, they were a shape of the divine generally speaking back then anyway so it's totally feasible. the dragon in the trailer matches the one on the left in this concept art more than the one on the right.

The other big thing about the final shot is that there is an eclipse in the background. this is just like on the vinyl cover arts, and is something we've seen a lot in DA:TV marketing (ctrl-f "eclipse" here), e.g. the astral-looking spheres here, this previous iteration of the logo. it's also a thing that has cropped up in related lore in previous games, along with sun&moon imagery (example), like:

two shadowed spheres among stars / an eclipse as Fen'Harel stirred [Emergent Compendium]

and I looked up and saw the seven gates of the Black City shatter, and darkness cloaked both realms. [Chant of Light]

etc. and if you think about it, in a solar eclipse, the moon blocks out the sun. Elgar'nan in Dalish lore is the son of the sun; he threw the sun down from the sky and is known as He Who Overthrew His Father. throwing down the sun would cause darkness, and it could be a poetic reading of an eclipse-type event like we're seeing here. additionally, the Dalish believe that when he did so, he buried the sun in the abyss (which might be the Void), a place which sounds like it's in a different part of reality to the waking world and which sounds like it could potentially be Blighted. (and in this trailer we're looking at a Fade-y or Fade location, and it is corrupted).

as the trailer ends, we can see pretty designs similar to the one here around Rook's level in the top left.

At the end of this post I'm gonna link to some more of the other posts I made about the trailer & related things at the time, just for the sake of completion. ^^

Post with the reveal trailer in it

Related official new screenshots from the website

Yeyyy, griffons are back (outside of the books)

Vallaslin

We saw you from across the bar

Lucanis wings compilation pic

Floating building, welcome back

He is here

A dream come true

Yoooo

They have come to deliver this world.. (◡ ‿ ◡ ✿)

88 notes · View notes

draculasfavoritewife · 5 months

Text

No Word For Hero

Summary: You love him and the way he will always be your protector, but sometimes facing the truth is the most terrifying thing of all.

Pairing: Din Djarin x fem!Reader

Warnings: Nightmares and discussions of death. The one-two punch of angst and fluffiness all in one. This one is a fair bit more somber than my other Mando stuff.

Another trope I will never ever get tired of -- the "having a nightmare while sleeping with your partner" routine! 🥳 Gets me in my feels every time, particularly with a character like Din who (to me at least) canonically also has frequent nightmares. I first drafted this one a couple summers ago as a result of all my feelings after that big moment in "The Marshal", as I'm sure will be obvious.

*Translations of less common words/phrases in Mando'a at the end

It's coming, exploding up from beneath the billowing sands, looming over everyone, titanic, monstrous, ravenous....

...He turns to you, ever so briefly, tilts his head in that meaningful look you know all too well...that damn look that means he's going to play hero again.

Damn his altruism.

When is he going to stop?

You already know that answer, too. It lurks forever in the back of your mind, awake or asleep, always whispering there, a constant venom ever deepening its grasp around your heart until one day the cold reality finally breaks it.

He'll stop when he finally doesn't come back to you.

When he's at last granted the warrior's death you know he desires.

Only then.

You can't even scream as he disappears down the dragon's throat, too frozen with horror to make a sound....

You bolt upright, gasping for breath, damp hair clinging to your face and tears running down, their salty tang sharp on your lips.

Stupid nightmares.

"Go away," you mutter, rubbing harshly at your eyes. "Just stop."

The cot is small, realistically much too small for two adults, and your distress is painfully evident to the man sharing it with you, whose arm has just been violently dislodged from its place around your torso.

"Bad dream?"

He sounds tired. He hardly ever sleeps through a full night at the best of times, and even then it's rarely a deep sleep.

If the old saying "sleep with one eye open" were actually true, Din would be its personification.

You curse your overactive mind a second time, for disturbing his precious few moments of rest along with your own.

"I'm fine." You don't lie back down, instead pulling your knees up to your chest and wrapping your arms tightly around them. Normally you find his quarters chilly, but the adrenaline coursing through your veins makes the room suddenly feel close and stuffy.

He shifts against you in the dark, no doubt to study your posture. "You don't sound fine."

You sigh. "I will be. You should try and get some sleep, Din."

You hear him lean back into the wall, a long exhale betraying stiffness somewhere in his muscles.

You've offered him the side of the bed that's not right up against the wall, but to your surprise he actually likes to be pressed closely between your body and the solidness of metal at his back.

You suspect it gives him a sense of security in a life that holds so little for him.

"I'm sorry I woke you," you add before he can speak again.

"You didn't." His revelation is cool and distant, as if his lack of rest means nothing to him. "I haven't slept at all tonight."

You turn to stare at him in dismay, only to be met with the void of deep darkness. "Why didn't you --"

"What? Wake you up to tell you I can't sleep?" Somehow you know he's shaking his head at you. "That fixes nothing, Cyar'ika. My sleep was disturbed since long before we met." His voice softens as he reaches for you, his large, comfortingly familiar hand stroking down your side. "But when I have you in my arms, listening to your breathing, I can at least find some peace. And that is often enough."

You let out another shuddering breath and gaze out into the dim compartment, the images from your nightmare replaying over and over behind your eyes like a holovid stuck on loop.

"I think I need some air," you murmur.

"Take my shirt, then." You're grateful he doesn't try to stop you; he knows you were taking care of yourself for a long time before you two struck up your partnership. He trusts you to look out for danger.

"Vor'e, Cyare." You slide from the bed, his fingers trailing away from your hip as you break from his gentle touch. He watches as you blindly take his shirt from the pile of clothes left on the floor and pull it over your head, pausing only to grab a vibroblade before exiting his quarters.

"I'll come back," you promise softly.

And the words sting deep down as they leave your lips, knowing that one day, one of you might not be able to keep that promise.

The night is cool and clear on this planet, and the breeze smells like living growth from the thick woods nearby. It's a far cry from the dust and smoke of so many of the worlds you've stayed on before, and soon you start to calm down, heartbeat returning to normal and perspiration drying at the wind's light touch. Everything is peaceful around you, the night birds calling and water flowing somewhere behind the trees.

Not for the first time, your thoughts stray towards the impossibility of trying to stay somewhere like this place, to drop everything you know and carve out a life on a frontier planet somewhere. You and Din and Grogu, living modestly and secretly away from the prying eyes of the Imperials or the Jedi, pretending at normalcy....

There's the key word.

Pretending.

You've played many parts since you lost your buir so many years ago. Dancer in the clubs of the Core worlds, thief, animal wrangler, pilot, hired gun. You could adapt, you feel fairly certain. It's the skill that's most reliably kept you alive this long.

But Din....

He's so deeply entrenched in his upbringing. His honor, and the hunt, mean everything to him. Whatever else he tries to be, he will always be the Mandalorian first and foremost. The Way runs through his veins, thicker than blood, and the fierce heart of a warrior beats beneath the beskar.

It's why he will ultimately always make sacrifices to keep those under his protection safe.

It's who he is. His identity.

The reason that one day he might not emerge from the belly of the beast in triumph.

And you love him, exactly the way he is. You'd never ask him to change.

But Maker, sometimes the knowledge of what that means hurts deeper than any physical wound.

So you stand there at the edge of the woods and let the tears come, let the sobs wrack your body as you bury yourself deeper in his comforting shirt, praying that the day never comes that all you have left are memories and clothes that smell like him.

Eventually, your grief runs its course and you can breathe once again. The crunch of footsteps in the damp grass warrants a side glance, but as you thought, it's only your beroya, come to check on you, no doubt.

"You've been out here a long time," he remarks.

"Had a lot on my mind."

He encircles you in his arms from behind, chin resting in the dip of your shoulder. You're surprised that he didn't replace his helmet to come out here, but sunrise is still a long way off.

"I'm usually the one with the nightmares," he teases softly. "This one must have been rough. Want to talk?"

You find his hands at your waist, interlock your fingers with his.

"I lost someone. Someone very important to me."

Turning slightly so you can rest your cheek against his, you kiss the very edge of his lips. "It scares me, Din."

He's quiet for some time, and you try to imagine the expression on his face.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispers. "I can't give you anything but my word that I will always try my hardest to come back to you. That is what fuels me, ner'kar'ta. The fire in my blood, the strength in my bones, is knowing that I need to make it back for you. But I realize that it is a double-edged blade. Because it also means I would give everything, to keep you safe in the end."

"I know, Din. I remember what my buir used to tell me, you know, how we have no word for 'hero' in our mother tongue, because to be Mando'ade is to risk all for the ones you love. I know I'm so selfish." You turn all the way around at last, hiding your face in his bare chest. "But I accept your vow. And it will have to be enough."

Collecting yourself and finally raising your haunted gaze to his, you manage a small smile. "But I will fight for you, Din Djarin. Death will find one hell of a struggle when it finally comes for you, I can promise you that."

"There's my girl." The fond grin in his voice is audible. "Now, will you come back to bed? It's getting lonesome in there."

You let him lead you back to the ship, and the sigh of the wind now seems to promise to whisk your fears away for the time being.

The door slides shut behind you, and you shiver, realizing all of a sudden just how cold you are. His shirt is a welcome barrier against the biting chill, and you wonder how he was able to get along without it outside.

"Cold?" he asks.

"Yes." You reach out for him, wordlessly begging for his warmth.

He sidesteps you and folds his arms across his chest. "Take it off," he demands, and indicates the shirt with a nod, husky voice brimming with humor and a shade of something hungrier. "Or I will."

You hug the worn fabric closer to your body and shake your head mutinously. "But it's the only thing keeping me warm!"

"So you've chosen the hard way." He crosses the small space in a couple of long strides and starts to tease the garment off of you, bit by agonizing bit. "And how dare you let a piece of clothing do a man's job."

"You're making me cold again," you complain as he pulls you into bed with him, the hunter retreating back to his lair to finish off his fortunate prey.

"Then honor dictates I repair the damage I've caused," he hums, and you surrender to the bliss of being completely enveloped in his embrace. Din has always run hot, ever since you started sleeping together, and his warmth and familiar weight are so much better than any sweet dream of yours could be.

In the here and now, he's still alive, and he's still yours.

There will be no more tears tonight.

"Better?" he growls into your throat.

You run your fingers through his thick curls, sighing at the way he always manages to banish all of your dark thoughts away. And maybe now there will even be time for him to get some sleep before morning as well.

"I am now."

Vor'e = Thank you

Buir = Parent

Beroya = Bounty Hunter

Ner'kar'ta = My heart

Mando'ade = Child of Mandalore

111 notes · View notes

partywithponies · 5 months

Text

I watched @quinton-reviews 's new video and I wanted to do my set homework and come up with my own dream Nicktoons Unite team, except I never had any of the american channels growing up and I'm not familiar with a lot of these shows.

But nevermind, I came up with a compromise. Here's my concept for if they did a Nicktoon Unite style game but with CBBC and CBeebies characters:

1) Danger Mouse: reboot DM in particular is the obvious pick to replace Jimmy Neutron in this lineup. He's already dealt with cross-universe travel and portals in canon, and he has Professor Squawkencluck, who already just invents whatever device the plot requires. He's both practised enough at saving the world to be believable in these situations, while still being incompetent enough to need help from the others. Plus it'd be fun to see how his massive ego would react to these other guys.

2) Victor from The Secret Show: the most niche pick here, but come on. He's literally a secret agent. I'm not going to leave him out. (I dithered over whether to include Victor or Anita since I could only pick one. I chose Victor not because I'm sexist but because I just really want to hear Danger Mouse deliver the "Victor! Are you still alive?" line.)

3) Postman Pat: Now I know this looks like an insane choice. I know that making a postman fight baddies in life or death situations is ludicrous. But listen. Postman Pat: The Movie did it first. Blame them, not me.

4) Dennis The Menace: People who've never read The Beano might think that an un-superpowered 10 year old boy would be way out of his depth on a team with three adult men, two of whom literally fight evil for their job. But people who have read The Beano know that in canon Dennis has already thwarted alien invasions, travelled through time many times and dealth with the ramifications of changing the past AND avoided being beheaded, fought killer robots and man eating plants and sea monsters, toppled multiple dictatorships, got the British prime minister arrested, and fought climate change by going directly to the source and tearing down the factories. Whatever these games could possibly throw at him would be just another tuesday for Dennis.

5) Tiny Clanger: she's kind of the Spongebob of the group, both in the sense that high stakes situations and saving the world are really not what she usually does, but she would if she had to, and in the sense that she'd be the heart of the group. DM, Victor, and Dennis are all kind of self-centred assholes at heart who only save the world because no-one else will, and Pat is a middle aged British man (and therefore emotionally repressed), while Tiny Clanger is unfailingly loving, and kind, and friendly, and empathetic. Also her best friend in the world is a large metal bird, and I think Tiny suddenly riding around on the Iron Chicken would be a really cool power up for her.

#quinton reviews #cbbc #cbeebies

143 notes · View notes

arctichotch · 2 months

Text

the cod boys at the eras tour ✨

Johnny “Soap” MacTavish:

this man might actually be more excited for the show than you are.

he’s made his own friendship bracelets, handed some out on base. he would never mention it, but he saw ghost wearing his while training rookies.

a dedicated swiftie, knows the setlist off by heart. makes a list of surprise songs he wants.

only listened to taylor for you, but fell in love with her. wants to buy the poster from your show.

maybe tears up a little seeing how happy it makes you and loves that you guys can share this together.

beyond fascinated at the pyro during bad blood. maybe you shouldn’t tell him about the picture you sent to ghost of johnny eying up all the fire.

won’t take any mocking that he’s a taylor swift fan. that’s his singer and he will defend her to the death (not literally but close enough)

Simon “Ghost” Riley:

less into her and more reluctant to attend the show with you. doesn’t understand why you wouldn’t want to go with a friend instead of him. he doesn’t think he’d fit in.

definitely the tall ass boyfriend who blocks people’s view and feels bad about it.

allows you to jazz up a balaclava of his for the show. he normally wouldn’t wear one in public, but he doesn’t exactly feel comfortable in a crowd of thousands, especially with his scars. doesn’t want to scare kids (:()

listens to you talk for hours about taylor swift. anytime you guys are driving together, she’s playing.

wouldn’t consider himself a swiftie, but he knows his stuff. you saw him swaying at times and vibing to shake it off at the show.

you love any reference to ghosts in her songs, even though they’re mostly extremely depressing, because that’s your man!!!!

one of the best nights of his life, but he’d never admit that.

thinks the tortured poets department is one of the best albums ever made. listens to it constantly when he’s away from you.

John Price:

this dude is old!!! he’s not really that old, but acts a lot older than he is! so he honestly doesn’t have a clue who this “taylor swift” is when you two first get together.

boy, does he know her now.

honestly, a swiftie. he can’t deny it. she has some bangers.

cheered you on when you were in the ticketmaster battle to get tickets, not letting on that he was also in the queue on base with his own code. ended up surprising you with the tickets after your attempts failed. will never forget the look on your face.

(he definitely also had selfish reasons trying to get tickets. he just has to go!)

loves it. i mean he doesn’t look like he’s in the eras tour spirit but inside he’s feeling it. looks like someone’s grumpy scary dad, but also knows a solid 80% of the words.

he was big into rock and metal type bands when he was younger. went to tons of shows as a teenager before enlisting. this was his favourite he’s ever seen.

can’t stop admiring the technical aspects. finds it all fascinating. thinks he could’ve been a roadie in another life.

Kyle “Gaz” Garrick:

now this man has been a swiftie since before you two got together. teardrops on my guitar was his jam in secondary school.

glad he can be open with you about how much he enjoys taylor swift when you are together.

you both compiled a comprehensive list when trying to get tickets. with who was going to try for what shows, budgets, codes, dates, times. it reminded him of a mission brief. almost with the same stakes.

you ended up getting tickets for 3 shows across the UK.

had the best time at all of them. would go another 18 times if he could. kept noticing things at each show that he hadn’t seen before and you both kept pointing different cool things out to each other.

definitely one of the best summers of his life, and he got to do it with the love of his life by his side.

cried when the kids got brought up for the 22 hat.

56 notes · View notes

jujuberii · 3 months

Text

main 4 music headcanons :)

psa these are mostly stan and kyle lol

stan playlist:

kyle playlist:

kenny playlist (wip):

specifics under the cut!

Stan:

'heh... you ever heard of a band called... radiohead.? yeah... they're pretty niche..'

listens to music on one of those portable record players his mom got him

collects records but never actually uses them to listen to music

teenage dirtbag music but not in a cool way

tryhard

listens to 'face down' by red jumpsuit apparatus and 'gets it'

90's alternative divorced dad rock typa

doesnt like to listen to ac/dc because randy would play it all the time

'yeah, im kind of an old soul... i bet you don't even know nirvana....'

'name 3 songs'

used to be really into death metal (would compare how heavy his music is to other peoples) but he calmed down abt it after middle school

plays acoustic

'you know, i can play this song on acoustic.... (rizz)'

Kyle:

the cure enjoyer (not goth tho)

poser

music taste is varied, he mainly listens to whatever he finds on tiktok

Tyler, the Creator was his #1 artist

got Stan into the cure and the smiths

listens to full albums

would complain about Stan's music taste back in middle school

gorillaz fan but doesn't care abt the lore

has Tyler merch

Kenny:

listens to literally anything and everything

does not gaf

playlist goes from the offspring to britney spears in 5 songs

would love cupcakke but hasn't discovered her

Stan and him share a similar music taste lowkey

designated aux because eric likes how some of the songs on his playlist annoy kyle but stan can stand the other songs

'the bad touch' by bloodhound gang was his favorite song in middle school (overplayed it)

doesn't have spotify premium so he sends his playlists to kyle so they don't have to deal with ads when he's on aux

doesnt listen to his freaky songs when karen is in the house

can play bass if he cared enough to keep playing after elementary

Descendants was his #1 artist

(just like me fr)

Eric:

literally only listens to music that's annoying

really bad soundcloud rap, shitty meme songs etc.

NEVER put him on aux

(he will beg to be put on aux)

in secret he listens to a lot of 2000's pop

its canon he likes britney spears and justin timberlake so

lady gaga is his idol

calls stans music emo

kenny is the only one who knows his real music taste

has gaslighted kyle into thinking that he legitimately likes the shitty soundcloud rap he plays

2014 boom clap songs are his go to at parties

compares kyle to ed sheeran

#south park #south park headcanons #sp stan #stan marsh #sp stan marsh #sp kyle #kyle broflovski #sp kyle broflovski #sp kenny #kenny mccormick #sp kenny mccormick #sp cartman #eric cartman #sp eric cartman #music headcanons #playlists #headcanons #sp style #<- if u squint

28 notes · View notes

lemon-natalia · 4 months

Text

Harrow the Ninth Reaction - Chapter 49

ORTUS NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO GIVE AN IMPROMPTU POETRY RECITAL

and Harrow’s started reciting the Noniad despite the fact that she hates it! aww, goes to show Ortus does mean a lot to her, especially after their little bonding session a couple chapters ago

oooh and Abigail’s coming in clutch with some kind of spell

they summoned the ghost of fucking Matthias Nonius!!!! guess it really is the time to give an impromptu poetry recital

‘why am i speaking in meter’ omfg thats hilarious, i didn’t even notice

imagine meeting the long-dead guy you wrote an epic fanfic about, Ortus might die again from sheer joy

‘Gideon [...] might have better appreciated the anonymous monster [...] she was a prodigious fighter’ i think its very cool that Harrow’s here watching the non-necromancy dream combat sequence, while Gideon’s off dealing with all the ancient necromancers and their weird dynamics. they’re both very out of their depth

i don’t have a lot to say about this combat other than go the Ninth!, Matthias Nonius is a sick fighter. guess i did get to find out more about him after all. now i want to know how the fuck Matthias Nonius originally died, it better have been old age because i don’t want to meet what/whoever could have taken this guy out

‘she had been, once again, so slow’ oh me fucking too, i just accepted that all of this just might as well happen. but there is a kind of weird dream logic to it all, where the rules are those of the mind

‘plastered themselves in red whorls’ listen to me, book, listen, you gotta be less ambiguous and tell me if the hair is red from blood or its natural colour, because that is very much going to colour my perception of whats going on 👀 and if the Sleeper is the woman on the portrait that happened to look a lot like Gideon …

‘but i still don’t know why i’m talking in meter’ someone free this man

i kinda ship Ortus and Matthias ngl

and the Sleeper has a metal tag, kinda like a name tag but it says the word ‘awake’, like some kind of message to Harrow to wake up?

nooo Abby i don’t want to say bye to all of you ghosty guys again

and the whole ghost gang is gonna go help Gideon the First fight the RB! thats a fight i wish i could actually see on page. speaking of, poor Gid, he’s the only Lyctor apparently doing his actual job at the moment. he’s gonna be so fucking confused when a bunch of stabby ghost cavaliers show up to help him

Harrow is finally getting some therapy. from ghosts, but it'll have to do

oh no but now Harrow has a terrible choice to make. and like i know that accepting Gideon’s death is technically the right thing to do (and probably better for Harrow’s mental health) i also really really don’t want Gideon to die again

‘Jeannemary said to tell Gideon hi’ awww Jeannemary’s lil crush on Gideon is still alive and well, unlike either of them

‘actually i’ve got something to tell you’ ohhh some brand new and shiny information is apparently coming Harrow’s way. would love to know what it is without the dramatic cliffhanger

#i am so so sorry for the ridiculous length of this post #the locked tomb #tlt #the locked tomb liveblog #lemon natalia reads the locked tomb #harrow the ninth

38 notes · View notes

wafflerageface · 6 months

Note

Top 5: Favorite Durgetash headcanons

Like my personal headcanons or ones I’ve seen?

Personal headcanons:

1. Durgetash were head over heels in love with each other, even if they expressed love in ways that seemed fucked up to everyone else. They were two incredibly lonely people that just clicked in all the right ways to make each other feel like at least one person out there cared about them, and they did.

2. Enver Gortash is autistic/ADHD and Durge was his favourite person to info dump on. I mean look at him. My wife is autistic and they have very similar mannerism and ways of thinking. (In the logical sense anyway my wife hasn’t killed anyone) Especially with how his parents described how brilliant he was even as a child, I can just imagine child Enver coming off as annoying and needy to everyone around him because he wanted to talk about his inventions and no one cared to listen. Durge, on the other hand, grew up in a temple where they were expected to behave a certain way and was essentially treated as a puppet, even if they could’ve called the shots how they wanted to. I can’t imagine being a child taken into a murder cult and feeling anything but fear, even if you don’t need to be afraid. Durge knew nothing but blood and death for years, and along comes this funky little guy that wants to rant for hours about the kind of metal he wants to build his steel watch out of?? Yeah. They loved that shit.

3. Enver is a pansexual monster fucker that will love your Durge no matter what. This man has been so lonely for so long that I genuinely think he doesn’t care what package the love comes in so long as he isn’t being used anymore. You’re a Dragonborn? Cool he can work with that. A tiefling? Excellent he’s gonna use those horns as handlebars. A cute half-elf that has a surprising appetite for blood? Absolutely and can he join the next blood bath please?? He loves seeing you work

4. Durge did not want to be Bhaal’s scion. I know a lot of people don’t like how the Durge opening makes it seem like they’re trying to “erase” that Durge was evil, but I view it more as perhaps Durge was never willing. Just because you’re fathered by a murder god doesn’t make you a murderer, and amnesia doesn’t really change who a person is, they just forget. Your brain literally just won’t let you recall memories. Now personally, I’m all for if you think your Durge hates everything about being the Chosen, or (like for my Durge) you think they just hated not being in control of themselves or allowed to kill as they please. Both are great mechanics for a well-rounded character, but I really think either way, Durge hated being what their father made them into, and would have jumped the moment they could escape. The prayer of forgiveness? A classic here’s my fake apology abusive parent so I can spare myself more abuse.

5. Enver whored himself out as a young man to get lots of power and money and he hated every second of it. We know it’s canon that he slept around a lot before the present day setting of the game, but I don’t think he ever enjoyed it. Not really. He grew up in the HoH where he was beaten and abused and nearly tortured to death on many occasions. He finally escapes with nothing to his name and once again he’s at the mercy of whoever he can convince to give him food, shelter, money, etc for the price of his body. This man absolutely has two wolves inside of him and one is a god complex and the other is an ego so crippled and fragile it’s a wonder he ever comes out of the house. When he meets Durge, he’s willing to manipulate them however he must to secure their alliance. He’s done it before, he’ll do it again. I think he’s so very surprised when Durge catches feelings back, when they go out of their way to take care of him, compliment him, even if it’s in their own fucked up fashion. I think the real sticking point for him would be when he and Durge are attending some high society to do together and they run into an old fling. Enver being upset and uncomfortable enough that they leave early and he tells Durge everything. The next day, and the following weeks, he finds severed hands, fingers, bloodied jewellery, all placed at his desk or beside his bed and he can’t help but smile. Durge bringing him pieces of their kills like a cat is so endearing to him.

I’ve got so many more but I think those are my favourite.

#durgetash #enver gortash #durge #bg3 #baldur’s gate 3 #bg3 durge #the dark urge

53 notes · View notes

carolmunson · 2 years

Text

sweet you rock, sweet you roll

welcome to 1990 where our besties are still on the early side of their lil’ love journey. for those that are new here, i use the name ‘Stella’/'Stella Rink’ as a fill in for 'Y/N’, so don’t get thrown off if you see it. it’s still a 'reader’ fic. cw: swearing, p in v sex, oral (f receiving), fingering (f receving), kissing, touching, honestly some of the cutest shit i’ve ever written, daddy kink mention if you squint, two people being in love with each other, fluff, smut, fluffy smut. sort of casual dominance but not really? he just likes to do stuff for her. —

“No, can’t go there,” Eddie’s voice sounded a little tinny over the phone, but happy to talk to you just the same. You’d been on two dates already, planning the third after a three week hiatus while you went on a press tour. Now you were both back in California, and he’d been itching to see you again. “Why can’t you go to Rappaport? Not like the food or something?” you ask, looking at the list of restaurants your assistant brought you. “Oh no, like, I can’t go there,” he urged, “I’m banned.”

“Oh,” you say, “So definitely not Rappaport then. How’s Sorrelli’s sound?” “Banned.” “Deltas?” “Banned.” “Rain Bar?” “So banned that I can’t even be on the block, sweet thing.” “How many places are you banned from?” “Thirteen. At least in Southern California,” he explains, you can tell he’s proud of it.

“Ed…why? Where are we gonna go to dinner?” you asked with a whine.

“Fuck dinner, let’s do something metal,” he says, like you know something metal, like you know the difference between a bass and an electric guitar.

“Like the planetarium?” you ask, it’s a joke and he laughs so hard into the speaker that you have to pull the phone away from your ear.

“Oh Stell, that’s so sick,” he says, “Fuckin’ love the planetarium.”

So you went, in disguise – baseball hats and sunglasses – dressed down. As dressed down as Eddie could be in his metalhead get up. No one called the paps, the science museum employees didn’t jump and squeal when they saw you, you got to just be. You held hands during the presentation, giggling and ‘Ooh’-ing at the projections, laughing when the little kids at the show would shriek and say little kid things to their parents. Eddie would cast glances at you, admiring your face in the blue light reflecting off the 360 screen, he wanted to keep the moment as a photograph in his brain that he could whip out whenever he wanted. You were so happy next to him.

You toured the rest of the place when the show was over, looking at all the telescopes, listening to the tour guides exhibits. Some parents nudged each other, and looked in your direction and as you left a little boy came over to tug at Eddie’s jacket.

“Are you Eddie Munson?” he asked, his front tooth missing.

“Yeah dude, what’s your name?” he said, squatting down to get on his level.

“I’m Chris,” he said, a big smile spreading over his face.

“Hey Chris, how old are you? You just lose a tooth? That’s pretty metal, man,” he smiled, flashing his straight white teeth at him.

“Six!” he said, holding up his hands to show him the number, “The tooth fairy came and everything. She gave me a quarter!”

“A quarter? That’s rad,” he said, fishing into his back pocket for his wallet, “You know something? She gave me another dollar this morning to give to you for having such a cool smile.”

“Chris, you can’t be running off like that,” a guy with bleach blonde hair that hit his chin with a battle vest on that rivaled Eddie’s was jogging up to the little boy, “You’re gonna be the death of me kid, who you talkin’ to?”

The man scooped Chris up, resting him on his arm above his hip, “Dad, it’s Eddie Munson!”

Eddie stood up and nodded to Chris’s dad, “Hey man.”

“Oh shit dude, hey,” he had the same smile as his son, just with all his teeth, “Big fan, holy shit.”

“Big fan of your little dude, here,” Eddie said, “The tooth fairy actually gave me a dollar this morning to give to him, if that’s cool.”

“That’s real cool of you man,” the man said, “Thanks for talkin’ to my boy, takin’ the time.”

“Don’t sweat it, what’s your name?”

“Phil,” the guy beamed.

“Have a sick day, Phil. See ya later, Chris.”

“See ya laterrrr!” Chris called out from over his dad’s shoulder while they walked toward their car. “You’re so good,” you say, nudging his arm, “You’re sweet.”

“Oh no, the jig is up,” he says dramatically, “Now you know how nice I am.” It’s so easy to roll your eyes at his antics, but you can never get yourself to commit to doing it. Your heart fluttered when he reached out to hold your hand to walk back to his car, his ‘84 Mustang SVO – all black. He was so predictable. “Wanna just drive around? I don’t wanna be done hanging out,” he said, opening your door for you. “You gonna drive like you did earlier?” your stomach flipping, remembering all of his fast turns and speeding.

“Nah, I’ll do it nice and slow for ya,” he winked, shutting the door behind you once you got your seatbelt on. “That’s how you like it, right?” he asked, bouncing into his seat. He loved the effect he had on you, watching your cheeks get hot when he got a little dirty. You hadn’t even kissed yet and it was driving him insane, he could barely contain himself when looked at your lips for too long. “Shut your mouth,” you teased, your heart hammering now at his implication. “You know what I’m gonna say,” he said, putting his arm behind your headrest to pull out of the parking lot. “‘Make me’?” you guess. “Okay, well now it’s not a fun hot joke because you actually guessed it,” he huffed, fake exasperation flowing out of him. Once you made it to the highway, he put his hand on your inner thigh intuitively. You were buzzing at his warm touch, his thumb grazing the fabric of your jeans. It was so inadvertent, the hold he had on you, he wasn’t even trying. He was just Eddie.

The sun had gone down while you drove through LA, pulling into a McDonald’s drive through when you both said you were hungry at the same time. “Ed, I can’t,” you said while he pulled into the line, the yellow of the lights outside tinging you both through the windshield. “Angel, you just finished a press tour,” he argued, “I know you haven’t eaten in weeks, get a fuckin’ Big Mac and live a little.” “If my trainer finds out –” “I’ll kick your trainer’s ass. Let me order you some fine cuisine,” he said matter of factly, the car dragging up to the speaker.

“Heyyy, can I get two Big Mac meals, one with no onions and extra pickles, and light ketchup, like whisper of it if you can. The other is fine as is,” he leans out of the window slightly, his shirt riding up showing off his tattoos. If you weren’t drooling over him knowing your exact Big Mac order after only hearing it one time two months ago, you were now. “Anything to drink?” “Uhhh, lemme get a – two diet cokes?” he said, “Actually, fuck that, one diet coke, one regular coke cause she’ll want a sip of the regular one. Medium.” “Anything else, sir?” “And uh,” he looked at the car behind you, two kids and a tired mom in the front seat, “I’ll cover whatever the people behind me are getting.” “Are you sure?” the speaker asked back. “Hundred percent,” he said, “That’s all, thanks.” “I’ll let you know your total at the window, sir,” the speaker said. You ate in the parking lot in the car, watching families and cars walk by – oblivious to the two of you. “Can I have a sip of your–” “Yeah, baby, have the rest,” he said, passing you his regular Coke and taking your diet Coke, popping it in his cup holder. “I don’t want the rest,” you say back, but you know it’s a lie and so does he, so he doesn’t bother fighting you over it.

You ended up back at his place, it was closer and the traffic on the way to yours was brutal. It was very much a rockstar mansion, black and chrome and red all over. Vaporwave elements and neon at every turn, it would’ve been more cool if you were less exhausted. He was jittery when you ended up in his room, like this wasn’t his intention, “Uh, do you want some pajamas or something?” “T-shirt works,” you assure, “Do I get to pick the band?” “Absolutely not,” he says with a shake of his head, “I’ll pick for you.” He rummages through his drawers, fishing out a Black Sabbath ‘75 concert tee and tossing it to you. You tiptoe to the master bathroom to change, stepping out anxiously in just his t-shirt and a pair of mismatched socks. He’s sat on his four poster, now just in his jeans and his t-shirt from earlier – wallet, belt, vest, and shoes discarded elsewhere. When you asked why the bed frame looked so industrial he told you not to worry about it, but the metal loops on the posts gave you a pretty clear idea. He bit his lip when he saw you come out, a vision in his t-shirt with your hair down, your glossy lips tight in an embarrassed smile. You folded your clothes and put them on the bedside table closest to you, climbing onto the bed and sliding against the cool satin to lay on your side. He crawled up the bed to lay across from you, half of your faces hidden by the pillows you were laying on.

“We can watch a movie or something,” he suggests, but your sleepy face steers him away from it. Eddie’s soft gaze lingers on you, a shaking finger skating down the side of your thigh, “We can just stay like this, too.”

He watches your eyes flutter closed and then look back to him through heavy lids, mumbling into the satin pillowcase, “I like this. Bein’ next to you.”

“Yeah?” he asked, his ribcage could’ve snapped open, “I like being next to you, too.” He skated his finger back up your thigh, his hand palming the flesh over your hips. Eddie toyed with the hem of his shirt on you, fingering the fabric between his fingers. It had been through the ringer too many times to be worn out in public anymore. It was a thousand times in the washing machine soft, but to him, it wasn’t softer than the skin under it. He saw it all peeking out through the holes in the sleeves and at the neckline – just falling apart. He was falling apart just the same.

“Can I um, can I get closer to you?” his voice sounded like he was back in eighth grade on Valentine’s Day, passing out carnations to the pretty girls and going home with none.

You don’t respond verbally, just shimmying your body over the black satin duvet and lazily swinging your leg over his hip. He let you pull his arm over your waist, his hand falling onto the mattress behind you while the crook of his arm laid snugly between your hips and your ribcage. He brings his hand to splay across your back, tracing shapes between your shoulder blades.

Your noses are just about touching and looking at each other is a little distorted but he still breathes out, almost a whisper, “You’re so pretty.”

“You keep saying that,” you laugh quietly.

“I don’t think I can stop saying it,” he says. It’s quiet and he can tell by the steadiness of your breathing that you’re maybe ten minutes away from falling asleep. America’s Sweetheart in his bed, in his t-shirt, a little angel on his black cloud of satin sheets.

Eddie let his teeth sink into his lip, nervous was an understatement. He filled the small gap between your noses, his eyes closing too, “I really like you, Stell.”

“Hmm,” your soft sleepy moan was comforting, the little smile tugging at your lips made his throat tighten. Maybe you’d only heard him in a dream.

“I really like you, Ed,” you half whisper, stretching your arms and legs and letting them crash back over him, “Big crush.”

“You got a crush on me?” he teased, blushing redder than the bouquet of roses he sent to Chrissy Cunningham for her birthday his Junior Year. Saved up his pay from the auto shop for a month to afford them only to forget to sign the card. Jason saved the day by saying he got them for her, instead.

“Oh yeah,” you smile, “Huge.”

“I have a big crush on you, too,” he pulls you close to him so your chests are touching. The scent of your perfume hitting him in the chest where the butterflies were begging to get out. Eddie takes his hand from your back to your thigh, gently hoisting it up to align your hips with his. He holds his breath when your arm snakes around him too, tied up like balloon strings – like you’d both float away.

“You’re warm,” you say, looking at his lips while the hand that was on your thigh meets your cheek. You can feel his heart hammering under his No Rest for the Wicked '88 Tour t-shirt, as soft as the one he put you in when you said you were getting tired.

“You’re…” his tongue felt too big for his mouth.

“Don’t say pretty, again,” you sleepily tease, “Say something else.”

“Ugh, ya got me, let’s see,” he chuckles, putting his forehead to yours, “You’re…I don’t know Stell, you’re so many things.”

“So…many…things?” you whisper, your lower lip tucking between your teeth.

“Ugh, that was dumb, I’m sorry,” he was embarrassed as soon as he said it, but your eyes perked up from their sleepy state when he did. That teasing glint in your eye that made him feel like a kid on the playground where he got picked first for Ringolevio teams. Hawkins Elementary’s best tagger, fastest runner – shame he didn’t go for the track team – just ran away instead.

“I promise, I’m smooth,” he laughed, letting the hand on your cheek slide further back, a little behind your neck so his thumb rested delicately on your jaw.

“You’re…” he didn’t want to say the love of his life, you’d only been on three dates. How would he even be sure of that? Sure, he felt sure of that, he already called you his wife to his favorite paparazzo – but did you feel sure? He didn’t want to scare you away.

He leaned his head back a little to look at you, your features only lit up by the soft glow of the white Christmas lights artfully hung from the ceiling. He hadn’t really outgrown the early twenties male experience of decorating poorly – at least an interior designer had put them up for him.

“You know at the planetarium when they just showed the stars at the beginning? And it sort of feels like you’re suspended in mid-air? Like, in space?” he asked. You nodded back at him, stifling a laugh building in your throat.

“And you can’t believe the whole galaxy is so big around you, but everything is so bright and so exciting and you know you want to go explore it? But it’s sort of scary, right? Cause y'know, you don’t know how much oxygen you have and god, fuck, I’ve never even been to space camp, I’d never get hired to NASA so –”

“You’re rambling, Munson,” your voice is gentle, and his nervous prattling quells when you raise a hand to rake comfortingly through his hair.

“You feel like that, Stell. Like the whole galaxy. You’rebright, and exciting, and funny and I wanna learn everything about you,” his voice is almost pleading, like he’s asking for an invitation to explore, “But y'know, it’s sort of scary 'cause you’re just so – you’re really it.”

“I’m scared, too,” you admit shakily, your hand matching his behind his neck, your thumb sliding over the barely there stubble on his jaw.

“What? You’re not scared of anything,” he said, searching your face with his big sweet eyes for an answer, “Why’re you scared?”

“'Cause,” you started, becoming a little breathless at his gaze, “No one’s ever looked at me the way you look at me.”

“What do you mean, sweetheart? Everyone’s always lookin’ at you,” he teased, “I’m just some guy.”

“No, Ed. You really look at me,” it made your heart race to admit it, “Like you’re seeing me, and I – no one ever sees me.”

He put his forehead back against yours, your faces back to being distorted and bug like, “Is this what you mean? Am I seeing you like this?” he laughed your noses squished together. Your giggle makes him overwhelmed like he can’t believe he can make you laugh, that you think he’s funny, that you think of him at all.

“You know what I mean,” you say, back to just breathing, nose to nose.

He nods in agreement against your forehead, his eyes closed for a moment while he breathes you in. Your perfume is still putting him in a tizzy, he’d buy you four billion bottles of it if it meant you’d smell like that forever. His heart is still hammering against your chest, you can feel a nervous film of sweat building on the back of his neck.

“I really wanna kiss you,” his words are barely audible, eyes still closed, his full lashes tickling his cheeks, “I’m tryna be good though, y'know. A gentleman.”

“Such a gentleman,” you whisper back slowly while his eyes flutter back open and closed again. You can feel his strong ringed hand press against the back of your neck, tilting your head up to meet him. Eddie brushes his lips to yours just barely, ghosting over skin at the corner of your mouth. Electricity was thrumming through him, his chest becoming the most metal drum solo he ever heard. Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her. C'mon Munson don’t be a wimp.

His lips found yours, gentle and timid, warm honey pooled in your stomach at the feeling. You could feel his body tremble while he went in again, his kiss getting more confident, the arm he hid under your pillows snaking out to cup a hand on your other cheek.

Eddie’s mind is just static and the feeling of your lips, the way your hips rocked against his, the softness of your skin. He could’ve guessed that this is how it would be, like he’s known the whole time what your lips would taste like on his. Like they were always meant to be there.

You break away to breathe, looking at him with a heaving chest and pinked tinged cheeks.

“Was that good? W-was that okay?” he asked, catching his own breath, the heat on his body radiating higher and higher.

“More than okay,” you gasp back. Your heart matched his in beating, fluttering wildly in your chest. More, more, more, more, more.

“Should we – can I do it again?” he asked, his caution rivaling when he lost his virginity in the back of his van in his senior year. Seventeen and stupid with an old pack of condoms he stole from the gas station.

You don’t answer, just roll your hips so he’s flat on his back on the mattress with your legs on either side of him. Heat burning in both of your stomachs at the change of position. Eddie can’t think to keep his hands to himself while one arm snakes around your waist and the other one holds your back so you stay pressed flat against him.

The rest is hot breath and teeth and tongue, Ed’s gentle hands brushing over his t-shirt on your body, snaking it under to stroke the skin of your back.

“You’re so soft,” he mumbles into your lips, “I’m scared I’m gonna hurt you.” He knows he means it in more than one way, he hopes you don’t notice.

“You don’t have to be gentle,” you say into the next kiss.

“I want to be gentle,” he says, pulling away, “I wanna show you how that feels.”

You blush at him remembering that you complained that other guys you’d been with had always been so stifiling. So focused on their own pleasure, on seeing America’s sweetheart with their dick in her mouth, on showing you off. A trophy to be won, a PR stunt to be had, a body to be masturbated into. No one ever took their time, no one ever even bothered to ask.

You thought he wasn’t listening the first time you had dinner, but he was focused on tucking away every single word you said so he’d never forget it.

“At least until next time,” he smirked, “’M sure I’ll find some other things to show you.”

“Oh, so there’s gonna be a next time?” you tease, sliding your hands from his face to his hair.

“If you’ll have me,” he shrugged, his voice getting playful, “I’d love to be considered.”

“I’ll definitely consider it,” you smiled, sharing a breath with each other before your mouth reaches for him. You let your hips slide over the ever growing bulge in his jeans, savoring the friction against the heat between your legs. A little gasp popping out at the feeling of his hands quickly gripping your hips to steady them.

“Eaassyy,” he hissed out, holding back a breathy groan, “Go slow.”

“I think it would be more fun if you didn’t have these on,” you giggled, sitting up and back on the tops of his thighs, tugging at his belt loops.

“Stella,” his voice comes out with an exasperated edge, “I didn’t – I don’t want you to think that this is the why I invited you back here.”

“I know, Ed,” you said, “It’s okay.”

“Like I didn’t want to just bring you home and take you to bed, y'know? It was just gonna be a long drive back to yours.”

“Eddie, stop, I don’t think you had a master plan or anything,” you put your hands on his chest, your hair falling forward over your own. You looked at each other for a beat, both of you mulling it over.

“If they come off it’s like…that’s it,” he laughs, putting the heels of his hands over his eyes.

“I can’t believe I just told Stella Rink not to grind too fast on my dick,” he scolds himself with a cheesy grin, “Every man in America would literally die to be me right now.”

“Y'know I have a really big following in Budapest, too,” you laugh back, “If you’d believe it.”

He sits up to meet you with a kiss, “I believe it.”

“I think I’m the first girl you’ve ever told to slow down,” his heart pangs a little when you say it. You are the first girl he’s ever told to slow down.

“Not every day I have Andromeda in bed with me,” he mutters, maneuvering you off of him while pulling at his belt. He gets off the bed to peel his jeans off, standing there in his black boxer briefs, a sheen in the fabric glinting in the low light. His pulse throbs in his throat while he takes his shirt off, anxious if you’ll still like him without any clothes. He was running a little thinner these days, coming back from a particularly rough time with some friends in low places – he didn’t tell you how long he’d been clean. He didn’t tell you anything at all. You sat on your knees on the mattress, satin sheets sliding under you, taking him in. Every inked tattoo flashing harsh against his fair skin, the hair on his stomach trailing down behind black nylon. The veins on his arms protruded down to his hands where his rings sparkled. His soft pink lips slightly parted while he reached up to shake his frizzed curls out. “Wow,” your eyes are glassy and round while you look at him, your body pins and needles as he steps to the edge of the bed. Eddie pulls you in, sucking in your bottom lip before trailing kisses down your jaw. You hiss when he gets the base of your neck, your knees parting under you. “Right there?” he asked into your skin, his tongue slipping over that spot again. You can feel his confident smirk against your collar bone. “Mhm,” you whine, “R-right there.” Eddie tugs the neckline of the shirt to the side to leave soft kisses on your shoulder, the other hand smoothing over the curve of your waist. “You can take it off,” you blurt out. He pulls away from your shoulder, looking at you like you just told him he was playing Madison Square Garden for the first time. “Your shirt? My shirt?” he asked, his voice cracking, “I mean, the shirt you’re wearing?” He swallowed hard when you nodded and reached for the hem, gathering the worn fabric up over your arms. Your hair flounced back down, messy but somehow still in place. He kept the shirt in his hands while he looked at you, holding his breath. “Ed, you’re…” you suddenly felt self-conscious, his eyes lingering too long to just see your body. His gaze was pouring into you, “You’re giving me that look again.” He blinked and shook his head, letting out a sharp exhale through the mouth, “Baby, you’re – you’re perfect.”

“No one’s perfect, Ed,” you blush, your whole body burning. “No, no, I think you’re being modest,” he says, gently guiding you to lay back on the bed again. The shirt you were wearing had been forgotten, discarded on the floor. He placed himself between your legs, taking one of your arms to kiss just above your wrist, the crook of your arm, your bicep – he took his time, flicking his gaze down to you with each one. He put your arm down, caging you in with each of his arms on the side of you, leaning down to kiss the top of your chest. Sloppy and wet, leaving spit in their wake, his hair tickling over your breasts.

Eddie couldn’t hold back a moan when he let his tongue slide between them, a hand reaching to softly massage one. Your whine made his eyes roll back when the rough pad of his thumb slid over your nipple, back and forth, watching the other one peak in time. His lips lingered over it, looking at you almost to ask if it was okay, you nodded feverishly. His tongue swirled and flitted over the nub of skin, smiling as he heard your first quiet ‘oh god’ fall from your mouth. He’d soothed you while you squirmed underneath him, moving from your breasts to your sternum, down to your stomach, your pelvis. Eddie’s tongue and lips only stopping to whisper soft little nothings into your skin like ‘you’re so perfect,’ and ‘be patient, baby’.

He got to your underwear and paused, on his knees on the mattress between your legs. Eddie let his hand run over your thigh, dipping his fingertips down to the soft inside flesh. You shivered.

“Is it okay if these come off?” he asked, fingers exploring from your thigh to the tops of your panties.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s okay,” you turn red at the question, no one had ever asked you that before. You were never really given so much choice. He was slow about sliding them off your body, watching them flow down your thighs and calves at the guide of his hands. Once they were making friends with your discarded t-shirt on the floor, he looked back up at you.

You cross your legs, nervous and excited for what he might do next. It felt good to not know, to let him take the lead. He touched you exactly how you liked to be touched, like he’d been studying it for years. You watched him make a mental note of every little gasp or whine you let out, every involuntary shiver.

His hands wrapped around your ankles, uncrossing your legs and putting them back on either side of him. He hoisted your legs up from under your knees, slowly parting the limbs until they were splayed out like butterfly wings. Childlike excitement bubbling in his chest, opening the biggest present from under the tree. There you were, your puffed up lips parting just slightly, the sticky sound of them separating over slickness whispering in the room.

“Jesus Christ,” he whispers, a pot of honey to a bear, he’d never had so much restraint in his life, “Fucking beautiful.”

You blush, you don’t know if you’ve stopped blushing, your hands immediately going up to cover your face. You feel his finger trace over the manicured patch of hair between your legs. “I’m sorry, I didn’t wax,” you mumbled behind your palms, “I didn’t think we were gonna…I didn’t think you were gonna see it tonight.” “Sorry you didn’t wax?” he asked, your eyes peeking out through your fingers. He’s grinning down at you, his eyebrows quirk, he can’t believe you’d apologize, “I’m a grown man, Stell.”

“Let me see your face,” he said, “Wanna watch you, watch me.” “You’re so bad,” he sees your smirk while you say it, your hands coming down flop next to your head. “What? I like an audience,” he shrugged with a wink, pressing a kiss to the inside of your knee. His salivary glands are working double time while your hips move slowly underneath him. Eddie lets out a soft hum when your thighs twitch, his lips pressing more sloppy kisses against the soft and plush flesh. You can feel his breath at the crease of your leg to your groin, biting your lower lip while a soft desperate mewl shoots out of you. “I’ll get there, I’ll get there,” he teases, his eyes flicking up to meet yours, “I take it I don’t have to ask if this is okay?” “It’s so okay, Ed,” you huff, propping yourself up on your elbows to watch him down the slope of your body. Eddie’s flat on the mattress on his stomach, propped up on his own elbows so he can push your thighs back and out. The guitar pick on his necklace dangling dangerously close to your entrance. He lets his tongue stripe up one lip, a huff of breath left at the top, your hips jumping at the feeling. He’s slow, licking up the other, ducking out of your hand reaching out to put his face between your legs. “So impatient,” he chides, “No wonder your assistant thinks you’re a nightmare.”

You let out a laugh, your head falling back and exposing your neck – he thinks he might love you like this. You might be the person he loves the most.

Eddie waits for you to look back down at him before giving in to you. You could’ve sworn those big brown eyes were magnetic with the way your gaze snapped to his. He kissed the fleshy part of your thigh again before finally sliding his tongue in a flat stripe between your folds, lingering over your clit but not touching it.

The gasp you let out made his head swim, ‘more of that’ he thought. His tongue flicked over your clit just once, your thighs twitching again, desperate. Tears wet your eyes as the anticipation built in your stomach, your chest feeling hot. “Please more,” you whined out, it came out a little more pathetic than you hoped, “Don’t tease, s’not fair.”

“Sorry, angel,” he smirks up at you, cockines falling into his voice, “Not polite to play with your food, huh?” You shook your head no, your mouth falling open at his tongue going back to work. Soft and slithery, you could feel him exploring you, dipping inside you to drag your fluids up and around while you just got wetter beneath him.

“Oh that’s – that feels so good,” you drawl out, his lips suctioned loosely over the bud of your clit switching agonizingly between sucking and licking, fluttering and vibrating while your walls clenched around nothing. “Can I use my fingers?” he asks, fingertips trailing your inner thigh, “Make you feel even better.” “Yes,” you rasp out, shaking on your elbows, knowing you weren’t going to last much longer. With his tongue still working your clit, you barely register his ringed finger teasing your opening until the first thick knuckle presses past your walls. “Oh fuck,” you hiss through gritted teeth. He wasn’t looking up at you anymore, eyes closing while his finger disappeared into your entirely, curving upwards to toy with your g-spot. He was completely in his own world where it was just him and your pussy, the sound of your moans, and the way your hips bucked against his unrelenting mouth and fingers.

“‘M gonna cum,” you pant while his ring finger meets his middle finger inside of you, stretching you out. You can’t believe how full you feel from just the two of them alone. “Oh baby, I know,” he breathes against your thigh, “I want you to.” “Wanna cum – ooh! mmm – with you inside me,” you beg him. He’s suddenly stupid after hearing your admission - with you inside me, with you inside me, with you inside me - ringing in his ears on a loop. His fingers slide slowly out of you and go to the mattress where he presses himself back up onto his knees. “You’re sure you want to? I know we’re in the moment,” he said, sliding his hands comfortingly up and down the sides of your thighs, “I don’t want you to feel like that’s what I want, so you have to.” “I want to,” you say, breathless and empty feeling, “I want you.” He maneuvers you, propping all the pillows up nice and fluffy and placing you over them, just your lower half down on the mattress. The rest of you on a mine of goose down feathers and black satin. Eddie’s next kiss is deep and wanting, hands immediately cupping your cheek and wrapping around the back of your neck. Your hands find his boxer briefs and he swats them away while breaking the kiss, “Again with the impatience Stell, your assistant must hate you.” Even his mischievous smile is endearing while he teases you, hopping quickly off the bed and sliding his underwear off. You can’t help the bulge in your eyes when you see it for everything it is – and its fucking big. “Yeah, yeah, the rumors are true, whatever,” he says, waving his hand dismissively. If there was anything you knew about Eddie before you met him was that every tabloid rag in America would have an exposé from an ex girlfriend or lover that said something along the lines of ‘Awful guy, huge dick.’

“Oh-kay big shot,” you tease back, while he climbs back on the bed between your legs, “Reel it in there.” He hits that spot on your neck again with his tongue and your back immediately arches, a soft and satisfied purr coming from his chest. He pulls at your hips, dragging you further down the mattress, the tops of your thighs kissing your chest. “You ready?” he asks while guiding the swollen tip of his cock to just outside your entrance. “Are you?” you ask gently. “Very,” he says, stroking himself long and slow, “I know you’re gonna feel as good as you taste.” The sentence comes out of him primarily and gutturally. Your walls flutter while he shifts closer, just the soft skin of the tip pushing into you at first. You watch his face as he pushes in slowly, his mouth hanging open with a huff, his head tilting forward on a hinge.

“God, fuck,” Eddie huffed into your hair while falling down against your chest, pushing into you to the hilt. He laces fingers with yours, pressing your hands into the mattress while he thrusts again, “Feel’s so fucking good, sweet thing.”

“Pussy like fucking velvet, Jesus,” his words coming between ragged breaths, whining, The grinding of his hips finding a slow and steady rhythm inside you.

You could barely talk, just choked gasps and breathy moans pouring out of your mouth while he rocked into you, your body barely accommodating his size. White blinding your eyes while the curve of his cock met the edge of the sensitive spongey button inside of you, over and over.

“Ooh, don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop,” the words peppered out of you desperately, your hips rolling in time with his slow thrusts. Your sweat blending between your chests, leaving no space between you, “Just like that, Eddie.”

His face slacks, his brain nearly turning off at the sound of you moaning his name, coming back to reality quickly while his lips find your neck. He lets go of one of your hands to prop himself on a forearm, looking down at you, stealing a kiss as you moan into his mouth.

“Does that feel good?” he asks, a question he normally says with a mocking confidence when he’s backstage making groupies scream into his dressing room couch. Tonight it’s genuine and soft because he actually wants to know. Is he making you feel good? Do you feel what you’re doing to him? Can you tell he’s falling in love with you?

“It feels…huhn…it feels,” your breathy gasps answer for you.

“Don’t hate me for saying it sweetheart,” he starts with a smirk, leaning down to kiss your cheek, “But you’re so pretty like this.” “God, can I be anything else?” you giggle, a little moan squeaking out while his thrusts quicken. “You could um,” he gulped and swallowed, slowing down his pace to a stop, still staying inside you, “You could be my girl? If you want?”

You don’t reply at first and you can feel an embarrassed heat flash through his body. His mouth starts and doesn’t stop, barely breathing between words, “Totally get it if you just wanna keep hangin’ out though. If you hate labels, I hate labels – right, baby? Y’know, I wasn’t planning on asking under these circumstances – was gonna maybe ask on our next date. Not that I’m assuming there would’ve been a fourth date but like, I figured maybe you might want to see me again. I definitely would’ve wanted to see you again. Thinking about it now, literally five seconds later, I probably should’ve waited. Holy shit, I’m such an asshole – who does that? Who asks that while they’re fucking? I mean Jesus Christ, talk about manipul –” “Hey,” you say, putting your pointer and middle finger on the center of his lips, “You’re rambling again.” You lean up to meet him, taking your fingers away and replacing them with your lips. He involuntarily starts his rhythm again, sliding in and out of you with ease, feeling your heels bounce against his lower back. You quietly look at each other and your breath hitches, not just from how good he feels inside you, but from that look. You might love him, you might be falling in love with him. You might be so terrified of him that you can’t breathe, that you can’t think straight. Maybe he’s the best of the worst guys you could be with – or maybe he was the best of the best. Maybe you’re being fooled by his messy hair and big brown eyes, the dimples in his cheeks when he smiles at you. A charming little scorpion that’s waiting for you to give him a ride on your back across the river. Maybe he’s just like the snake tattooed down the right side of his ribs. “Sorry, ‘m just nervous,” he said, “You make me so nervous Stell. I feel like a fuckin’ teenager when you’re around.”

Nevermind. He’s an angel. He buries his face in your neck, returning to his steady pace. You weren’t expecting him to be so vocal this way, grunting and moaning while he fucked you. You’d expected mean taunting words, you expected him to mock you, to make you tell him how good he makes you feel. To be honest, as hot as it was to hear him in your ear while he pleasured you, you sort of wanted to know more about the authentic Eddie Munson sexperience.

Eddie pushed off you and on his haunches, angling your hips further back with his hands on the backs of your thighs. A high moan peeled through you when he pushed into you again, hitting every spot he could with his cock, he felt it too. Your moan reverberated back to you, bouncing off the walls and the ceiling, ringing in both of your heads. He was fucking you slow, but still managing to fuck you dumb. “Feels so good inside me, daddy,” you whimper out, not even knowing where that name came from. You’ve never called a man that in bed before. Eddie’s voice and eyes darken, his little devilish smirk passing across his face, “Careful with that name, baby. Don’t want him to come out too soon. Daddy isn’t nice like me.” You turn bright red but you aren’t sure if it’s from embarrassment or because you desperately want to know how not nice he can get, “I never say that, oh my God.” “That’s okay,” he said, hips finding a quicker rhythm now that he knows where you’re at, “You can meet him next time, yeah?” “Yeah,” you whine out, your voice getting small. “You want it a little harder?” he asks, gentle, gentle, gentle. “Mhm,” you say, eyes glassy up at him. He knows you’re at his mercy now, fucked silly, needy for it. He wants to slide into his regular routine – flip you over and pound you out with your ass up in the air, begging and crying for more. But no. You’re different, he wants to see you cum, he wants to see you love it. He wants to watch you love what he does to you. Eddie keeps his hands on the backs of your thighs, his thrusts getting harder and faster. Your head immediately pushes back into the pillows under you, barely able to contain yourself at the feeling. “Ah fuck, I’m close,” he hisses through heavy breaths, sweat sliding down his face from under his hair. You can hear the clap of his balls and hips against your ass, feel the grip on your thighs, the sound of his ragged chest. The euphoric slide of his cock slamming into you, pace getting erratic as he got closer to the edge. You’d been teetering on your orgasm since he pulled his fingers out of you, riding the coast of it while he made love to you. The coil tight in your belly close to snapping as he looks down at you, hungry and loving – that look. That look. He leans back down against you, knowing you need a little extra coercion to make it over the edge. Eddie’s hair tickles your chest while he gets back to the base of your neck, right at your favorite spot, his teeth drag gently over it. “Oh!” you cry out while he sucks up part of the skin, his tongue swirling, teeth gently coming down on it. The coil snaps, sending you reeling – you don’t know if your loud ‘Oh, God!’ is you moaning his name or not, but he’s moaning yours in your ear.

“That’s it Stell, cum for me. So good f’me, baby, so good…” You can feel hot ropes of his cum being let out inside you, warming you up from the inside out. He stays inside while you both come down, covered in sweat, heaving breathing into each other.

Eddie brings his head up, heart pounding like it was before he kissed you, and rests it gently against your forehead. He nuzzles your nose against his, coming in for a soft kiss. His voice when he speaks is small and innocent, almost boyish: “Can I keep you?”

You nod against his forehead, both of your eyes closed. He wraps his arms around you while rolling off to the side, spooning up behind you. He wants to scream at your nod, to do a victory lap, to call Wayne and tell him that he’s dating the biggest movie star of the early 90s. “Wanna be your girl, Munson,” you say sleepily, snuggling back into him. “You are my girl, Rink,” he murmurs, sleep sneaking into his voice, too, “Gonna be my wife one day.” “Gonna be your wife,” you repeat back. “Gonna be my wife,” he says again, with a soft kiss on your shoulder. The glow of the room comes back to you when you open your eyes, you know you should get out of bed and clean up – and you will. But for right now, this is nice. To be held by a maybe scorpion on a ride across the river, the sweetest boy you ever met who is banned from 13 restaurants in southern California, an angel with horns under his halo. Your boy. His girl. Gonna be his wife one day.

#rockstar!eddie #rockstar!eddie munson #rockstar!eddie smut #rockstar!eddie munson smut #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things au #eddie munson rockstar au #eddie munson au

437 notes · View notes

iheartchv · 7 months

Note

Hello !! Can i request for a romantic cod match up? (Can be n/sfw, go ham with it!!) If thats alright aaa, its my first time asking but I love your works! >__<

✧ Im a 5'5 filipino girly (currently 22 years)

✧ Im slim and a bit on the underweight side, struggling to maintain a normal balance TT..

✧ I have a short black mullet hair with blue peekaboos, skintone's a bit on the lighter side

✧ Currently taking culinary classes, im in my 4th year

✧ an introvert but I can go up to people and talk about the things I observe about them! (For ex. The pins they have, the kind of clothes they have, etc etc) otherwise, I just stay quiet and stay put

✧ I love cooking, reading books, listening to music and oh dear god— sleep!!! Its the most rewarding thing for me as a stressed and pressured student

✧ The kind of music that i listen to is probably shocking for someone meeting me at first— they usually think I would listen to pop more but noooo they're wrong.. anyways, its Death metal, Black metal, and Nu metal :3

✧ I had an emo phase (mcr, p!atd, ptv, and so much more-) but now my style is more on old money and sometimes dark academia!

✧ Im diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and to top it up, im also diagnosed with bpd :(( I am all over the place, i need constant reassurance on what im doing or i'll go nuts..

I feel like I overshared on this one— oh dear—

You can pair me up with anyone you deem fit for me :33

I hope you have a nice week! Muwah muwaah!!

🤔 uhmmmm.... I'll match you with...

Simon "Ghost" Riley 💀

I feel like Ghost would be your match

At first it would seem like he doesn't care about you at all;

You had told him he had a cool mask on

He just gave a soft grunt and went about his business

But once he warms up to you he'll be a lot less of a jerk

As friends, when you were out together, he'd always say something like "this isnt a date"

"Never said it was"

But you wished it was

Ghost was a nice guy underneath his cold exterior

He was there for you, a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen and hear you out

He has your back 🖤

It took a bit but he asked you out

He got tired of waiting for you to ask

He knew you had a crush on him

You were more open than he was so he got to know more about you

When he trusts you completely he will open up to you

Further on into the relationship he will take his mask off around you and tell you his few secrets he has hid from everyone

Volunteers to be your guinea pig for any recipe of yours

No, it's not an excuse to eat your food...

....though it is the most delicious food he's ever had...

He's missed eating real food

Has noticed he's put on a few pounds

But you say he looks better

Even his close squad mates noticed

And though they may tease him having a girlfriend, he ignores them and mentions that they're 'just jealous'

25 notes · View notes

marmie-noir · 7 months

Text

Jealous

It had not escaped my notice that Mitch was a handsome guy. Really, even with an arrest record and a prison stint under his belt he was a real catch. Handsome, talented, business owner. Hell, any woman who didn’t look at Mitch Keller with some sort of interest was an idiot. That fact did not soothe the burn in my chest when scantily clad women pranced up to the bar in their micro skirts and bralettes, grinning at Mitch and ordering another drink, giggling far too hard at whatever he said.

“That rag owe you money?” Ann’s voice cut through my glaring at the new brunette leaning on the bar with a back so arched she’d be feeling it tomorrow, all but pushing her tits in Mitch’s face. “What?” I asked, confused before glancing down to see I had been wringing a rag out to wipe off some tables and now had it in a death grip, my fingers white from the pressure. I blushed, dropping the rag in the water and shaking my hand, sighing. “No, sorry, I’ll get those tables now.” I said, grabbing the newly dunked rag and wringing it out gently this time, heading to the few tables on the side to wipe them down.

Instead of leaving me to wallow in my self pity Ann followed, the redhead perceptive and annoyingly friendly. I liked her, really, but sometimes being confronted with how stupid I felt wasn’t the best time.

“You don’t have to worry, you know.” She chirped in, leaning against the booth of the table I was wiping off. I huffed, brushing my ponytail over my shoulder.

“Worry ‘bout what, Ann?” I asked, not looking at her as I moved to another table to clean it next. She stuck to me like my shadow, red waves bouncing as she nearly skipped behind me.

“Bout Mitch talking to other girls.” “Why would I worry about that?” I asked, impressed at how casual I sounded. “Mitch is a good lookin’ guy, he can flirt with whoever he wants to. I’m not married to him.” I said, scrubbing at a scratch on the table a little too hard, brows drawing together before moving to the next table.

“Sunny, c’mon. I’m not blind.” “Never said you were.” I snipped, eyes on the tabletop I was working on, refusing to look up at her.

“I know you like Mitch.” “He’s a nice guy.” “Girl,” She huffed, crossing her arms and giving me a look. “C’mon now. I’m not blind or stupid. You know I don’t mean as a general person.” I sighed, dropping the damp rag on the tabletop and putting my hands on my hips. I finally looked up at her, unsure how to handle the situation. “What is your point, exactly?” I asked, wanting this conversation to be over.

“Mitch rarely took women home before. Now he doesn’t at all. He smiles, and is sweet, because it’s his job. But he looks at you with these love sick eyes. Like a damn puppy dog.” Ann glanced at the bar, stepping closer and keeping her voice low to not be overheard by the man in question. “Listen, I just wanted you to know. Mitch watches you like I’ve never seen, and I’ve worked here for years. You matter to him too.” I looked between her bright eyes, seeing nothing but the truth reflected back at me. I snuck a glance at the bar as well to see Mitch looking at us, eyes slightly narrowed at our interaction. He was far enough away that I knew he couldn’t overhear. I talked to Ann all the time but never with this set to my shoulders, the tension in the air between us obvious.

I rolled my shoulders back, forcing myself to relax as I avoided Mitch’s bright blue eyes. “Thanks, Ann.” I said, flashing her a smile and snatching the rag off the table, brushing past her. I dumped the rag back into the sanitizer bucket before dipping into the back of the bar and into the kitchen. It had been impossible to miss the trio of young women at the bar before Mitch, loudly talking about shots as if it wasn’t fucking 2:30 on a Wednesday.

I brushed past Charlie as well, the old man tossing me a confused look but not interrupting before I stepped into the walk-in cooler.

I let the heavy metal door close behind me, the fans of the cooling unit loud, the frigid air a shock to my system. I took a few deep breaths, running a hand over my hair and tucking some strands behind my ears, letting my face cool off and my heart start to slow.

The sound of the cooler door opening made me jumps lightly and I glanced over to see Mitch step in, brows pulled low as his eyes settled on me. “You hidin’ in here darlin?” He asked, letting the door hang open slightly, the thick strips of vinyl plastic stopping all the cold air from rushing out.

I sighed, because of course he came to check on me. “I’m not hiding.” I said, crossing my arms and looking up at him with a little frown. “Just needed a minute. Can’t have that anymore?” Mitch held his hands up, raising his brows, as if to show he meant no harm. “Course you can, just had me worried is all.” He said, deep voice full of that frustratingly perfect southern twang. “Ann say somethin to ya? Or was it a customer?” “No, no Ann is great. And nothing a customer said.” I reassured him, not wanting to cause issues over my childish reaction to being jealous. “Sorry, I’m fine. I promise. Just needed a minute and some cold air. The Oklahoma heat must have gotten to me.” I said, giving him a weak smile before moving to step past him out of the cooler. “So you weren’t jealous?” His words stopped me in my tracks. I froze, eyes on those opaque plastic strips covering the entrance to the cooler. “I’m sorry?” I asked, glancing over at him.

“You weren’t jealous?” He asked again, looking far too amused as he crossed his arms once more, leaning on one of the metal racks that held the crates of fresh veggies. Like he already knew the answer and asked because he liked to poke at me, liked to see what I would say.

My eyes narrowed slightly and I crossed my own arms, leaning on the other side. “Didn’t think you were old enough to go senile. You spend too much time with Dwight.” I sassed, my pride not letting me show a single chink in the armor, to hint he was right. Perceptive asshole.

“Funny you’d mention Dwight. He talks about you a lot, you know.” The man said, hand rubbing at his jaw while flashing me a grin, his rings catching the dim cooler lighting. Goosebumps broke out along my arms and legs but I refused to move, to go back out where it was a normal temperature.

“I don’t know what Dwight would have to say about me.” I countered. I didn’t dislike Dwight exactly, I just wasn’t his biggest fan. He had grown on me a bit in the last few weeks, that much was true, but I wasn’t about to go around claiming I liked the man either.

“Says you are a good girl. Sweet.” Mitch said, taking a little step towards me so the tips of his boots nudged at the rubber front of my running shoes I wore to work. “Said you cared a lot. That I’d be an idiot to let a ‘good girl like you’ go.”

Well shit, maybe I did like Dwight.

Blushing in a cooler was hard but not impossible, my cheeks heating up as I looked up at him. Mitch reached out, grabbing onto the metal shelf next to my head, leaning in towards me. My lips parted slightly and I blinked at him, a mix of confused and flustered, unsure what exactly he was doing. “Told him I didn’t intend to be an idiot.” Mitch murmured, low voice going even lower. I watched his blue eyes flick from mine to my lips, tracing the shape of them a moment before meeting mine once more with a grin. He was close, the smell of his cologne cutting through the cold cooler scent that was an odd mix of ice and plastic. Warm, familiar.

We stayed there a moment before he flashed me another smile, pulling back with a tomato in his hand. He tossed it and caught it, as if he’d intended to do nothing more than grab it the entire time. “Come out when you are good and ready. That table of girls left, but I’m sure Ann will bus it.” He said casually, sauntering out of the cooler and leaving me there to overthink everything he said to me.