#love it when games let me say silly shit and annoy my companions with it

[silver-horse]

him: asking if we are serious

me:

him:

[hiccanna-tidbits]

The RotBTD+ Gang Plays DnD! (Feat. my ships, sorry not sorry XD)

So highkey I’ve actually been wanting to do a “The Gang Plays DnD” type post for AGES now, but then I saw @hobie-brown and @ohlooksheswriting-wips do DnD AU posts for RotBTD, and then I was like “Ah shit, I really should finish mine, eh?” So thank you to both of you for inspiring me to get off my ass and actually write the post!!!

Hiccup DMs. He comes up with this super complex plot revolving around dragons (because of course) where the party has to dismantle this society ruled by evil knights who want to genocide all of the dragons. Imagine his chagrin when the party wants to do nothing but fuck around in towns and aggravate NPCs 90% of the time.

They usually end up playing at Jack’s apartment, mainly because Hiccup’s dad doesn’t really want a bunch of loud nerds yelling about 20-sided dice in his household while he’s trying to work, if he can at all help it. Jack’s sister regularly barges into their living room and roasts the fuck out of Jack and his friends for being such damn nerds and eats all of their DnD snacks they’ve set out. If they’re in the middle of a combat session, she always gleefully proclaims that they’re all going to die. While Jack is annoyed by this, the rest of the party finds it deeply hilarious.

Jack Overland plays the absolute mayhem warlock Jack Frost, who got his powers through making a deal with the archfey Prince of Frost and has absolutely no qualms about being an evil god’s mortal Sower of Chaos. He spends the vast majority of the campaign doing such useful things as creating ice slicks under annoying NPCs and freezing people’s drinks. He also plays a Tiefling because absolutely no one can talk this boy out of playing the creepy demon race.

Rapunzel plays a woodland nymph druid who is also the party healer (because of course she is). Her name is probably Sunlily or something else suitably hippie-esque. Whenever there’s downtime (or whenever the rest of the party is also dicking around, and she can get away with it), Rapunzel likes to go into the nearest forest and pick the best berries and nuts for the rest of the party. She also loves baking fruit pies and cooking the best nymph food for her companions when given the chance. Definitely the party Cinnamon Roll (every party has one!). She often will turn into cute animals to distract the guards while the party infiltrates a building.

Merida’s character is the party archer and general ranged weapon master, as well as a raging lesbian. Hiccup learns very quickly that any male NPC who tries to flirt with her will very quickly get impaled with an arrow. She can’t ever decide if she wants to be a ranger or a rogue, so she multiclasses in both for flare. She also plays a Tiefling, and continually insists that her character is both scarier and sexier than Jack’s. In combat, she either Leeroy Jenkins her way in with a sword and just starts slashing every which way, or just shoots 90% of the enemies with arrows before the fight even starts. There’s really no in between. She can get away with this because she’s highkey one of the party tanks, and consistently deals a shitton of damage.

Anna plays a human bard, basically having read over the class options and going “Wait, in this one I get to make stylish medieval music??? And wear dramatic and garish outfits and a dumb hat??? And cast wacky illusion spells??? And do silly little magic tricks??? And INSPIRE EVERYONE??? Hell yeah, I’m in!!!” She mostly uses magic attacks in combat (definitely favors Tasha’s Hideous Laughter), but occasionally when she’s out of spell slots she’ll just take to slamming enemies in the face with her lute. She also has WAY too much fun with Vicious Mockery, let’s be real.

Elsa, upon hearing Jack’s character concept, rolls her eyes so far up in her head she can see her damn brain, and vows to play his concept, but serious–solely out of spite. She rolls up a super OP elf Chaos Sorcerer, filled with lots of brooding angst about how uncontrollable her winter powers can get if she isn’t careful. She combines it a bit with Storm Sorcerer so she can create literal blizzards, and Hiccup ends up allowing it just because he thinks it’s cool. Although Elsa’s character is undoubtedly aggravated by the rest of the party’s antics, she starts becoming grudgingly protective of these idiots and can deal some pretty crazy damage when her companions are threatened. She also contains one of the party’s only brain cells.

Eugene of course plays dashing rogue master thief Flynn Rider. Although his high deception and lockpicking skills certainly come in handy, he’s the most chaotic neutral fucker you’ve ever met and will take any excuse to rob NPCs blind or cheat them out of every cent they have in a tavern card game. It’s nigh impossible to get him to cooperate with the rest of the party much of the time, and often Elsa’s character has to either bribe him with some of her family’s gold or threaten to freeze him to stop him backstabbing one or more party members. Eugene’s character forces Hiccup to add in many more heist plotlines than he originally intended. This delights Eugene immensely, and sometimes he goes a bit crazy planning elaborate heists.

Moana plays a sorcerer water genasi. She can control any body of water, but she has a special affinity for controlling saltwater (i.e. the ocean lol). She also requests an animal handling bonus, but only with marine animals, solely because she thought it would be funny. She’s also an ex-pirate who robbed a lot of wealthy merchant ships and freed their slaves back in the day, which Merida thinks is incredibly badass. Moana tends to get bored and unengaged when there are no bodies of water to play around with, so Hiccup ends up having to add a lot more lakes, rivers, and oceans to the campaign than he originally planned on. Moana also takes a sailing skill, and thus the party often ends up traveling by boat. Typically Eugene and Rapunzel will infiltrate and hijack it, and Moana will sail it. Moana probably contains the party’s only other brain cell.

Astrid plays a gigantic berserker orc barbarian who is never without his trusty axe. Astrid is hands down the party’s top tank, and unquestionably deals the most damage every combat session. Much like Merida’s character, Astrid’s character is absolutely a shameless power fantasy. Hiccup pretty easily picks up on this, but is too polite to say anything about it. Jack also picks up on this, but is hardly as courteous as their DM, and teases Astrid mercilessly. Astrid is not amused.

Rapunzel requests that her weapon of choice be a frying pan, her justification being that her character found a discarded one at the edge of a human village outside her woods and mistaked it for a highly-dangerous human weapon. Hiccup is like “…you know what? Fuck it” and rolls up stats for a goddamn frying pan. Jack has nigh-endless admiration for Rapunzel for choosing such a goddamn memey, absurd, yet oddly effective weapon and it definitely makes the poor boy even more smitten with her than he already is.

Eugene and Merida have a bet going on who can sleep with more sexy barmaids. Merida is currently winning, much to Eugene’s chagrin. She’s not even inherently better at seducing NPCs, she and Eugene have the same charisma stat–she just consistently rolls better than Eugene. Eugene is incredibly salty about this.

Anna and Elsa want to be sisters in-game as well, but neither want to change their race–so Anna decides her character was adopted. Hiccup and the rest of the party go along with it, mainly because there’s something deeply hilarious about a regular human bard being adopted and raised by a family of high-powered elf ice mages.

Astrid is absolutely the sort of player who tends to get bored and restless outside of fights, and tends to fidget and twiddle her thumbs waiting for the next combat session. Jack picks up on this, and purposely does more roleplay for longer just to piss her off. He’s also just a very dramatic fucker and highkey loves roleplay.

When she’s not causing mayhem around the town or sleeping with hot women, Merida tries to entertain Astrid between combat sessions by offering to spar with her. Unfortunately, this does not usually end well for poor Merida, as even the most hardcore and badass of tieflings is prone to getting dumpstered by an 8-foot-tall barbarian orc with an axe. Astrid is, nonetheless, grateful to have someone to fight.

Rapunzel, Elsa, and Moana will humor Hiccup and attempt to actually play the main plot. Meanwhile, Jack, Merida, and Eugene are a DM’s worst nightmare. They constantly derail the damn campaign to fuck around, cause mayhem, and do inane shenanigans in every. Damn. Town. They go to. Anna is kind of a wildcard–she’ll typically go with whatever group looks like they’re going to be doing something more interesting. Astrid will go along with whichever group is more likely to get into a fight–which, often as not, is Jack and his posse of terrible Chaotic Neutrals (who have definitely pissed off a number of NPCs into attacking them).

As the campaign goes on, Elsa and Eugene become the beleaguered Party Mom and Dad. Both are quite aggravated by this–especially poor Eugene, who just wanted to play a morally-gray charming rogue who stole everything and got away with it and then accidentally ended up caring about these idiots he got stuck with.

Anna initially joins the campaign because she has a planet-size crush on Hiccup, and inevitably is the one who dragged Elsa into it too. Being the hopeless romantic that she is, Anna writes a love interest into her backstory. Hiccup eventually has the party run into said love interest, and Anna is overjoyed. He starts flirting with her as the love interest, and it’s easily the best 30 minutes of Anna’s life.

Moana and Elsa also give Hiccup pretty detailed backstories, and he works in little subplots for them. Moana gets to bring water back to a dying part of the jungle in the middle of a draught, while Elsa gets to go on a whole sidequest to explore her family history and how they came to be sorcerers.

Jack, Merida, and Eugene also give Hiccup fairly elaborate backstories, but Jack’s and Merida’s are like 99% memes and Dumb Shit. Hiccup tries to give all of them backstory-related plot hooks, but inevitably any hooks he provides are either stabbed, robbed, or frozen. Honestly any plot hook offered to these 3 will be all but spat in the face of and tossed off a cliff.

The one relevant part of Eugene’s backstory is that he and Rapunzel decide they used to be partners in crime before the campaign started. Rapunzel would infiltrate and scout out places he wanted to rob as small, unobtrusive animals (her preferred Wild Shape is a chameleon) and later distract the guards as a bunny or kitten while he went in and took every gold coin in sight. In return, Flynn Rider would bribe builders to not develop into Sunlily’s forest. Rapunzel and Eugene partly came up with this For Funsies, but also it was Rapunzel’s sneaky way of tricking Eugene into having prior connections in the party so he’d be less likely to betray them. It works pretty well–although the entire party is protective of Cinnamon Roll Sunlily, Flynn is certainly especially protective of her.

Astrid does the absolute bare minimum as far as backstories go. She is literally just here to smash stuff, slice people, and beat some fuckers up.

Rapunzel has a backstory, but she’s typically so invested in the main plot and the other party members that Hiccup rarely needs to bring it in to keep her engaged. She’s highkey the party emotional rock, and probably the only one keeping them all together.

On that note, Rapunzel’s character is the ONLY one who can get Jack’s character to take the plot even REMOTELY seriously. Like he’ll be dicking around in the nearest tavern challenging the nearest orc to a drinking game, and Rapunzel will come in and ask him to help them on a Main Plot Quest. And he’ll be like “come onnnnn I’m having funnn” and she’ll be like “Jack pleeeeeease?” and you just. Can’t resist Sunlily’s puppy dog eyes. At all. Also, whenever Sunlily is genuinely threatened, any silliness immediately goes out the window and Jack Frost is OUT FOR BLOOD.

For better or for worse, Rapunzel is not immune to being looped into Jack’s shenanigans. Occasionally if either Merida or Eugene have a particularly hare-brained scheme she’ll go along with it, but by and large Jack is the most successful in convincing her to temporarily abandon the plot and cause mild mischief with him. They once wasted half a session creating an elaborate “ice theme park” for some squirrels in the forest.

Hiccup tries to get Merida to play the main plot by eventually having there be no more sexy female NPCs to seduce in the towns they go to. Unfortunately, this backfires–Merida just hooks up with Moana’s character instead. When asked to roll for how good the lay is, Merida gets a nat 20–and thus her character and Moana’s character end up hooking up regularly throughout the rest of the campaign.

Hiccup introduces a few Wise Old Mentor-type NPCs to guide the party throughout the campaign. While Rapunzel, Elsa, Moana, and Anna actually try to listen to them and take their advice, Merida, Jack, and Eugene absolutely refuse to take them seriously and mercilessly play pranks on them.

At one point, Hiccup gives the party the option to attempt to tame a group of wild dragons and use them as mounts. They all have to make animal handling checks. Anna, Rapunzel, Elsa, and Moana pass. The rest of the party fails, with Jack and Eugene crit-failing. Hilarity ensues.

Hiccup ends up bringing back Anna’s backstory love interest as an NPC regular. Anna thinks he’s just being a good friend and a good DM and trying to incorporate her backstory as much as he can, but really, he just wants an excuse to regularly flirt with her. He hardly has the balls to out-of-game.

Merida comes out as gay toward the end of the campaign. Everyone in the group is extremely supportive, of course, but everyone is also like “Merida…with the amount of barmaids you’ve banged…and the amount of times you and Moana’s character hooked up…this isn’t exactly surprising.”

Hiccup actually finds a way to use Jack and Elsa’s same-concept-opposite-execution characters to the plot’s advantage. He decides one of the main villains will have a prophecy saying he’ll be taken down by a powerful ice mage. The party manages to fool this guy into thinking this ice mage is Jack, and sends Jack to fight him. As soon as the villain sees Jack, he’s like “WHAT??? THIS clown???” (word has absolutely spread throughout the land of Jack not using his ice powers for anything besides mildly annoying trolling). Naturally, the bad guy lets his guard down after thinking he’s going to fight this literal joke, and then Elsa crashes in from the side and absolutely dumpsters him.

Jack tries to defeat the final boss by just annoying him so much that he leaves. Unfortunately, he just annoys him so much that he attacks Rapunzel’s character. Jack’s just like “oh HELL no” and attacks with absolutely nothing held back. Turns out he’s pretty terrifying when he’s not using his magic for Dumb Antics.

During the final boss of the campaign, the Big Bad tries to one-shot Moana’s character, and Merida’s character super theatrically jumps in front of her to take the blow instead. Rapunzel just barely manages to heal Merida’s character, but it’s a really close call. During all this, Merida is like “ah shit...maybe I’m NOT just in this to get fantasy-laid.” After the fight’s over, her and Moana’s characters have a big dramatic love confession and share a Big Damn Kiss in front of everyone. It’s pretty epic.

After the final session of the campaign, Merida drags Moana outside Jack’s apartment and sputters and trips over her words for a solid minute before she finally gets out that through all this nonsense...well...maybe it’s not just in the game that she thinks Moana is hot. Moana just gets this HUGE grin on her face and says “c’mere, Leeroy Jenkins” and just pulls Merida in and kisses her. Cue the rest of the party barging in on them. Merida and Moana freeze, and there’s a moment of terrified silence...and then the entire party starts cheering them on like “took you long enough!”

The entire rest of the party could detect the sexual tension. Literally all of them.

But Eugene is like “HA, THIS MEANS IF WE DO A SEQUEL CAMPAIGN I’M WINNING THAT BET! BECAUSE YOU’RE GONNA BE DATING MO’S CHAR AND THUS NOT ABLE TO SLEEP WITH ANY MORE BARMAIDS!”

By the epilogue session, Jack and Rapunzel are dating. Merida and Moana are also dating. Hiccup and Anna STILL haven’t figured out why they’re so prone to spending half the session flirting when Anna’s love interest shows up, and Hiccup STILL hasn’t figured out why he likes to have Anna’s love interest show up so often. Bless their souls. Maybe they’ll figure it out next campaign...?

Damn I actually really like this...maybe if people like it I’ll do some incorrect quotes or a drabble or something??? Or maybe some HCs from next campaign???

[crab-in-a-pocket]

reserved farmer headcanons + meeting the bachelors for the first time!

wanted to make some generally reserved farmer headcanons to kick off this blog and bc i see a lot of very friendly farmers out there and i... am not one of them LMAO

additionally, there's reference to a supposed volatile relationship with a (former?) loved one (projection time!)

also i forgot to open my askbox bc idk how to tumblr ?? i think it's open now (i hope).

tw: drinking and alcoholism, references to past trauma, one Bad Word (sh^t!)

when you first meet everyone, it's a quiet greeting and maybe a witty remark, but you don't stay for any chit-chat

close-lipped smiles are your signature move, along with the Man Nod whenever you run into someone

you are, of course, a nice and courteous person but you don't feel the need to say hello to everyone every damn time you pass by them because, really, you're too busy rushing to Pierre's for some seeds or lugging around foraged beach stuff

okay, maybe some of them think you're a little cold and an introvert who has... problems

but you're not! you are a strong and emotionally stable farmer who gets Shit Done and prefers to observe over participate and think over talk!

mayor lewis is extremely puzzled and almost mistakes you for someone else-- it's been over a decade and people change too much, too soon. he makes a remark about a wishing well your grandfather had built long ago (remember the well? how you fell in it that one time?) and you nod along politely (i didn't fall, i climbed in because i desperately needed my wish to come true)

it's nice to meet people who aren't as temperemental as the tides. maybe, for once, you could have a proper relationship with someone.

alex

easily the most annoying and extroverted person in town what with his obsession with sports and loud, brash personality but you two get along fabulously because you had that same passion for gridball in college before you were too busy being a corporate slave

he's a little surprised that you sit next to him at the saloon but he goes along easily and the conversation flows between the two of you easily, ranging from future plans (thinking of going pro... think i'll make it?) to the weather without sounding like you're making fake smalltalk (i wanted to play pro, too, and here i am now. if you really want it, you'll have to leave this all behind)

there's something genuine about him that's intriguing and it leaves you wanting to find out and see what the real alex is like inside because you can see through that wall he's made

and there's something enigmatic about you, who is reserved and quiet and seems to be a simple open book, when in fact, you are a very attractive onion with many, many layers

sam

you think he's immature. a wildchild, a manchild, a wildmanchild, really. sam, on the other hand, is drawn in by your calmness and how in-control you appear to be-- when you offer to play a game of pool when sebastian doesn't show up, he's delighted at the opportunity to know you better

okay, so he is immature and a wildmanchild but there is a softness in him that surprises you every time he shows it-- which is frequently around you

he has a soft smile to counteract his proud one and he's so in awe of how you get so much stuff done every day (i don't know how you do it, that's gotta be tough), every week, and every month (you'd like the responsibility, i think. to me, it's one big project i need to finish)

he has instant crush on you because you're so cool even though your line of profession really doesn't evoke much awe. i mean, you're  attractive, you are so in control of your life, and you have a really cute smile whenever he compliments you-- how could he not?

shane

bit bold of you to sit next to him at the saloon because every knows he's can be a real asshole, but he glances at you with a hint of awe and more than a hint of annoyance. you elect to ignore this and choose to order a whisky on the rocks (if you don't drink, call it apple juice)

whisky: shane's a touch impressed because you look like a lightweight. well, it's nice that someone can hold their liquor. he makes a remark about it (planning on getting drunk, huh?) and you raise a brow at him, looking a little haughty and tell him that it's your drink for the week. he's annoyed at your remark and starts an argument that surprisingly, settles down into a civil conversation

apple juice: he snorts at that and makes a remark about meeting penny for your lessons the next day. you play along and sip at your drink, making witty remarks (thank yoba for hangovers. it's the non-drinker's edge, really. just like not having liver failure). he's not sure if he should be annoyed or impressed at your cool-as-a-cucumber personality, not sure if it's too big city or too closed-off

you offer to buy him a pizza if you can take a away his beer-- at any rate, he looks like he'll end up with liver failure the way he's going. shane aquiesces and devours the entire pizza. your conversation is slow and punctuated with his loud chewing but you're pleasantly suprised that he's quite smart and well-read about whatever you're interested in

the fourth time you sit next to him, he turns down your pizza and doesn't say a word. neither do you and it's almost like it's back to square one until you realize that he hasn't made a single salty remark about anything. you decide to try again the day after tomorrow-- nothing comes too quickly to people like you and shane.

sebastian

it was the necklace you wore that caught his eye. a shining teardrop stone hanging off a gleaming silver chain. he had spoken before he could stop himself and watched as you smiled and told him he was right-- it is supposed to be a Yeti's tear.

you're pleased to meet someone who is also a homebody and a touch more reserved than a lot of other people in town. he's easy to get along with (oh, you're kidding, you really have the signed edition?) and he's got pretty good taste when it comes to literature-- after all, who can refuse a good sci-fi book? (of course i do, i'm dedicated fan)

oddly enough, your conversation is quick and eager and not all reserved. instead of the companionable silence everyone assumes you two to have, you two nearly talk over each other because you finally have someone to complain to about everyone's over-friendliness and he finally has someone who understands what it's like to be trapped in a small world

you tease him about the corporate rat race and he fires back at you about being a part of it. you like sebastian and he likes you-- it's as simple as that.

elliot

he had heard of you through leah who had heard of you through emily who had heard of you through gus who had heard of you from lewis. it was a long grapevine and he's not sure how much of the truth was preserved and it's almost a relief to meet you because, to be frank, he's tired of being the town's newcomer.

first-- you're not peppy and overly cheerful at all. second, you are definitely not hot-tempered. and third, there's something so fascinating about you, something hidden under your calm, pragmatic character. he finds a kindred spirit in you, save for the flowery words and, admittedly, the vanity.

you're amused to meet a writer living on the beach. the cabin was built by one of your grandfather's old friends, a rather surly man who had taken a liking to you when you were much younger. while the hut is in no way fancy, you can't help but consider how pretentious and, contrastingly, humble the writer must be. pretentious in such a way that he thinks living in a sandy, damp shack is a way to beat writer's block (it's odd, it's rarely a choice people make) and humble in such a way that he accepts and bears with living in a worn house with little complaint (it's admirable, if not a little silly!)

you find yourself in his company late at night when you can't sleep and it's so easy to open up to him because he's kind, he listens, and most importantly, he's not embarassed to admit he's got faults, at least to you. you let him see past your collected facade and into your cracked heart far sooner than you think and elliot doesn't mind at all

harvey

you might be the most mysterious person in town simply because of the way you present yourself. he finds himself always stuttering a little whenever you're around because of the way you watch him, set in a relaxed stance, your gaze flat and cool. later, he realizes that it's your resting face. he wonders about what you'd look like if you smiled-- really smiled

he's touched at the fact that you buy him coffee whenever he had to patch you up-- which is frequently, given your liking for the mines. you're adorable when he gives you general anesthesia. he had run out of local anesthesia and you needed a fair amount of stitches and though you told him that you have a high pain tolerance (stitches are far more painful than you think. i really don't want to put you through that), he insisted and you let him (fine, fine. get on with it, doctor). you had let out several inappropriate jokes under anesthesia and your cheeks had hurt from laughing non-stop

harvey's entranced. there's no other way to put it-- he's bewitched by your bright character hiding under that collected facade. he never pries for your secrets because he's got secrets, too. you like harvey because he's sweet and compassionate and even though he has to put up a firm, professional affectation, he wears his heart on his sleeve.

you see him as a friend at first, all platonic and it seems to be the end of it. but one day, as you hand him a coffee, he laughs and smiles and hands you a coffee just the way you like it. you're falling for him so hard and fast you think someone's put a spell on you that makes you notice the minute expressions on his face and mull over the way he talks to you. you're in love with him-- you can only hope he feels the same way too

[flowercrown-bard]

I Scream a Truth, You Hear a Lie - bonus chapter

for @ban-aard  <3

read on AO3

previous

this takes place way before any of that fake-marriage nonsense. This is the real moment Geralt realised he was in love. So it can be read as a stand alone one shot

content warning: mention of animal death (falsely assumed by a character. No actual death)

“And who’s this lovely lady?“

Geralt rolled his eyes. “That‘s Roach.”

Jaskier snorted and put his hands on his hips. “Listen Geralt, I know that it’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other, but I am fairly certain that I remember Roach being a lovely shade of brown and not grey.” Jaskier let a moment pass before he gasped, clutching his chest in that overly dramatic way of his. “Geralt! Are you cheating on her?”

“I lost my old Roach.”

Immediately, Jaskier’s playful demeanour dropped and his grin was replaced by a furrow of his brow.

“Oh,” he said, his voice uncharacteristically small. “Geralt, I’m so sorry, I wouldn’t have made fun of it if I’d have known. I know you loved her.” He took a step closer in the way one would approach a wounded animal. “Are you alright?”

There was a brief moment of hesitation before Jaskier reached out to touch Geralt’s arm, just for a heartbeat, just long enough to make it clear that he was offering comfort, before pulling away again. It was strange, but after being apart from Jaskier for so long, it felt…nice. Geralt almost found himself wanting more of that touch. Which was a ridiculous thought, of course.

Before he could do something stupid and catch Jaskier’s hand mid-air, Geralt grunted and turned away, but something about the crestfallen expression on Jaskier’s face made him stop.

“She didn’t… she’s not dead, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Geralt said awkwardly. There was something uncomfortable of having Jaskier’s eyes so intently on him. It made his heart beat harder against his ribs. Geralt found himself wanting more of it, but he turned away harshly, leading Roach over to a tree he could fasten her reins onto. It bought him enough time to get his heart back under control enough to go back to Jaskier.

“She’s not?” Jaskier’s eyes lit up as if he had just been announced winner of a bardic tournament. No, that wasn’t right. Geralt had seen him at such an event once and the look Jaskier had on his face now was so much brighter than it had been back then. It did something to Geralt’s chest that he couldn’t quite name, didn’t want to name. “But you said you lost her?”

Jaskier said it so tentatively, sounding almost as if he was truly concerned for Geralt or his horse.

Geralt huffed, rolling his eyes. “I lost her at Gwent.”

For a long moment Jaskier just stared at him, before he narrowed his eyes. “You’re shitting me. Geralt, you can’t joke about Roach like that.”

“It’s not a joke.”

“Come on. I watched you play and listened to you get all excited about all the strategies and tricks of playing Gwent for years and in all that time not once have I seen you lose a game.”

Geralt shifted and crossed his arms. He didn’t need to justify himself to Jaskier and there was no need for his stomach to twist in that way when Jaskier mentioned listening to Geralt. After all, it wasn’t as if Jaskier had ever complained about Geralt talking about Gwent. In fact, he had always seemed rather interested in what Geralt had to say and he had only ever seemed disappointed when Geralt realised that he was getting carried away and shut himself up.

Jaskier cocked his head. “Alright then. Who was this mysterious Gwent champion who defeated you?”

“Why do you need to know?” Geralt said, sounding perhaps a little more self-conscious than he wanted. He quickly tried to cover it up by adding more playfully, “About to write a sing about how I lost a game?”

“No,” Jaskier said, his face set in determination. “I am going to challenge that person to another round of Gwent and win Roach back for you.”

Something in Geralt’s chest stuttered and his mind was unable to form words. He could only stare at Jaskier.

“You really mean that, don’t you.”

“Of course,” Jaskier said without hesitation. “Roach is your friend. So, who is it? Who has Roach?”

It didn’t make sense. There was no reason for Jaskier to get so worked up over Geralt’s horse. The bard had never even gotten along with her, always complaining about her almost nipping his fingers or chewing on his expensive doublets. But thinking about it…despite all of his complains Jaskier had never stopped approaching her and trying to win her over with treats, silly songs about her beauty and the promise of scritches.

“Roach is with a farmer,” Geralt said slowly. “A retired one whose old fields are now over run with wild flowers and all that.” There really was no need to add that, but seeing a smile spreading across Jaskier’s lips and getting wider with each word made it impossible to stop himself. “The farmer’s son played me for Roach, saying his mother needed her to get to the market every once in a while. And that she could need a companion.”

A strange look passed over Jaskier’s face. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable and yet it made Geralt want to look away. Or to keep looking until he understood.

“So…” Jaskier drew out the word, his eyes searching Geralt’s face. “Roach is on some old farm somewhere happily munching on some flowers and keeping an old lady company?”

Geralt hummed.

“Well then. Maybe…maybe I won’t challenge anyone to a game of Gwent anytime soon then.” Jaskier gave him a lopsided grin. “After all, how could I defeat someone even you lost to? Which I am sure didn’t happen because you were wilfully holding back.”

“Of course not,” Geralt growled, his weak pretence of being annoyed fooling no one, even if he weren’t already betrayed by the smile tugging at his lips.

“However, if you were willing, I would play a round of Gwent with you?” Jaskier said, fiddling with the hem of his doublet.

Geralt’s eyebrows rose. “Since when do you actually want to play?”

“Since I have something I want out of it.”

“Oh?”

Jaskier raised his chin in a challenge. “If I win you are going to tell me everything you know about your new Roach so that I can already begin to befriend her?”

Geralt’s lips twitched and he pulled out his deck, shuffling it.

“And if I win?”

Jaskier heaved a heavy sigh. “If you win, I promise to grand you some blessed silence and not to sing at all until we reach the next town.”

Geralt smirked at that. He was almost tempted to make the game quick and brutal, just to watch Jaskier’s cocky smirk change into that pout he sometimes got. And a small part of Geralt didn’t want to tell Jaskier about how to bond with Roach.

It hadn’t exactly been a bad experience to watch Jaskier coo over his old Roach and do his best to get her to like him. If Geralt was being honest with himself, those evenings where Jaskier’s face lit up because Roach had let him stroke her mane were ones he had thought of often when he had found himself at Kaer Morhen and strangely enough missing the presence of the bard who had somehow wormed himself into Geralt’s life.

He would love to add more such moments to his memory, of Jaskier trying to gain his new Roach’s favour all on his own. But on the other hand, the way he looked at Geralt so hopefully now made his throat tighten. And for some reason Geralt couldn’t shake the thought that it was important that Roach and Jaskier got along. They had to, if they all were to travel together for the next couple of years.

The thought sent a strange pang through Geralt. The next couple of years.

He risked a glance at Jaskier who rolled his eyes and marched over to Roach, holding his hand out to her and watching with bated breath as the grey mare came closer and nuzzled into the touch.

Geralt couldn’t fight his smile when Jaskier turned back to him, a huge grin on his face. A sudden tightness in Geralt’s chest made it difficult to breath.

He didn’t want to lose that grin in a couple of years. He didn’t want to lose the shared laughs and the songs around the campfires at night. He didn’t want to walk the Path without knowing Jaskier would be there waiting for him at an inn with a worried look and the gentleness of his hands as he stitched him back together.

He wanted to keep all of it. Wanted to keep Jaskier.

How could he not want that, when for years Jaskier had been his best friend, the person whose ridiculous outfits and endless tirades about his bardic competitors made Geralt’s heart skip a beat. When Jaskier was the one Geralt –

Oh.

Geralt’s hands stilled and his heart clenched.

He couldn’t tear his gaze away from Jaskier who by now was throwing his head back laughing as Roach tried to eat his hair, his eyes twinkling in mirth.

Oh.

How could Geralt not have known before? How could he have ever been stubborn enough not to give a name to that feeling he got every time he saw Jaskier again after a long winter? Every time Jaskier accidentally bumped shoulders with him or gave him a smile when others only scowled at him?

Seeing Jaskier now, it was so easy, so obvious.

Jaskier was an idiot. He was ridiculous and loud and gods, Geralt loved him.

“Hey Geralt,” Jaskier called over, interrupting Geralt’s thoughts, though the shout couldn’t take away the warm feeling flooding Geralt. “Are you done shuffling your cards yet? I’d almost think you want to buy yourself some time until your second defeat.”

Jaskier gave him a wink and poked the tips of his tongue out.

Geralt froze, transfixed.

“I’m ready,” he said, hoping Jaskier didn’t notice how strangled he sounded.

-

Geralt lost the game.

He accepted Jaskier’s gloating and bragging with a roll of his eyes. When they were back on the road and Jaskier was composing a new song about how Geralt had been defeated by a bard, he allowed himself a smile.

How could he not? Geralt’s deliberate loss at a game was not a bad price to pay for seeing his love happy and maybe having him in his life just a little bit longer.

[skyeofloxlay]

Personality / Brief history / important things about MC / Reader for my fanfics or when I make requests.

Okay, I decided to do this more for myself when I make a request to someone, but this is also useful to let you know a little more about the MC / "reader" of my fanfics.

The MC is a cis-woman of almost 1.60cm in height, (age may vary) but generally the age will be between 20 and 23. She is heterosexual/straight (I don't know if there is a difference between the two things, but I don't understand why I would have two words for the same thing) and usually in fanfics she has never had a boyfriend before the character she will be together with (be it Jake (Duskwood), Jason (Todd), Spencer (Reid) or any other character). 

She was born in Brazil and lived a large part of her life there, and depending on what story she is in, she makes an interchange trip abroad because of college, and because of that she lives far from her family and lives alone, but she has her faithful companion, a male Schnauzer dog (his name in fanfics is undetermined.)

MC has always been a lonely person, because after several events in the past she does not trust people easily, and the only people she does trust are her family, but she still has trouble talking about her problems to them.

Furthermore, MC is a very shy, introverted, anti-social person and suffers from social phobia, which of course, is a perfect combo to be an alien in society and not be able to make friends, even if she wants to.

MC also doesn't know where it all started from, but she does know that she has probably suffered from anxiety for many, many years, even though she only discovered it a short time ago, and went to get help even less time ago.

Because of anxiety, she ends up being stuck in her own world, or I should call it, hell itself. Her mind is a mess, bad, unreal and meaningless thoughts invade her mind all the time, and because she has been this way for so long without help and not knowing what to do, her situation has worsened to the point where her anxiety starts to change into a depressive anxiety.

However, as much as she has been suffering with her own mind for years, she can always count on her family whenever she needs them, even if they are distant from each other, they are inseparable. 

Her father, as much as he doesn't understand most of the things she goes through, supports her and wants the best for MC, and so he does what he can to help MC pay for psychological treatment, and even though he doesn't understand, he always makes her smile and laugh, even when the situations are bad, even though he was always busy because of work, he always did what he could to be together, even in the simplest things, like family lunch, playing video games, watching movies, shopping together.

Her mother, on the other hand, has been through similar things like MC, and always try to help her the way she can, always speaking encouraging words, helping MC to do her things when she couldn't, sleeping next to the MC when she couldn't sleep because of anxiety, always being by her side, always supporting any decision, no matter the situation, MC's mom will always be there to hear her, either to hear about something that MC wants to do a lot or when she has some fear. 

And there is also her younger brother (3 years younger), as much as they ended up arguing for silly things, he is her best friend, maybe her only true friend, always having fun together doing what they like, protecting each other, always being one for another, even when it was not known which words were right to say.

MC is blessed to have such an amazing family, and as much as she couldn't say "I love you, you are everything to me" to them, she loved them with all her heart and soul, and she couldn't say what would happen to her if she lost them, but probably something really bad would happen.

As much as it seemed that MC doesn't care about other people, maybe looking selfish and boring to others, she cares a lot about others, but she knows that this is also one of the big reasons why she suffers from anxiety, caring for others more than for herself, and for her own mental health, she had to try not to think so much about the problems of the world that she cannot solve. 

Some people may think that she was wrong in doing this, but she wanted to have some sanity, even if little and trying to recover, than to go crazy with things that are impossible to fix, at least impossible for her to fix.

(Some other things about MC, but now simpler, because I'm out of time and too lazy, help me)

- Very distracted

- Very clumsy

- Nerd

- Dreamer / lost in her own world

- Impulsive

- Impatient

- Think too much about everything

- Studious

- Lonely

- Forgotten

- Problems with deadlines, do everything at the last minute.

- Avoid fights / arguments with people she doesn't know, but if it's someone close and it's a silly fight, she'll defend that she's right until the end, if she's wrong in the fight, she'll just be quiet for a while. If it is a serious fight, she will argue for some time until the tears stop her from continuing, and then she will be silent for a long time.

- Too stubborn

- Sarcastic with the closest people

- Always try to look for the good in people, but it is impossible for her to achieve kindness in certain people.

- Pessimistic

- Very sensitive / hurts / cries easily

- Perfectionist

- Very insecure

- She cannot express in words what she feels for other people

Likes:

Chocolate

Coffee

Rainy days

Winter

Music (Mainly, pop and  rock)

To drive

Flowers

Taking pictures (mainly of landscapes)

Animals

Old things, like things related to the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, or things from centuries ago

History

Books

Learn things

Horror stuff (games, books, movies)

Mystery

Horseback riding

Nature

Farms

See the city lights at night

Night

Games (both video games and board / cards)

Comics, Movies, Series etc about Superheroes

Mexican food

Travel

Psychology / Understanding the human mind

Buy drawing materials and books (even though she will never use / read them)

Big clothes

Wind

Ride a bike

Explore Abandoned Places

Dislikes:

Summer

Hot days

Insects

Spiders

Her mind

Who annoy her

People fighting

See things or people comment on things related to death or illness

Having to be patient

Who speak ill of her family

Working in a group

That people belittle her feelings

Parties

People

Delays

Alcoholic beverages

Buy clothes

Make up

High heels

Short dresses

Physics

Fears / Phobias / Things that bother her:

Spiders

Falling / High height

To drown

Die

Getting seriously ill

Dark / Night

To sleep

People

Speak in public

Losing her family

Stay alone

Crowds

Closed places

Tight clothes (Because she feels they are suffocating her)

Arrive late

Forget things

Having a car accident

Never be loved / Stop being loved

Future

May her fears come true

Skills:

- To draw

- Write

- Cook

- Game programming 

- Sing

- Play keyboard and guitar

- To compose

- To dance

Hobbies:

Basically, it's her skills + reading + playing video games + taking pictures of the landscape.

Job:

Usually she either works as a waitress in a coffee shop or works in a supermarket (working at the checkout or replacing products on shelves)

As much as many find it strange, MC is very happy in her work, and does not mind working in "simple" jobs (basically jobs that earn little), and as much as she doesn't have much money, just enough to live reasonably well, she is happy with what she has and doesn't care about the money.

College: 

She studies digital game design

I think that's it, there are some other things that I only do when I'm writing specific situations, for example, MC's opinions on certain subjects, and honestly I don't have time at the moment to make the MC's different opinions, and just say that she tries to be as neutral as she can, because she knows that extremes are never good, and that when asked which side she is in a situation (depending on what it is, but usually she says), she says doesn't have a side because it doesn’t identify herself by either side, because both are extreme, and this usually leads people to think that it’s on the fence, but it’s not like that, it’s more or less. "You were teleported to a place, there are two paths, one on the right and the other on the left, at the beginning of each of these paths there is a person, each talking about their paths and talking about why their path is the best of than the other and why you should follow their path. And then you must make a choice of which path to follow " But MC does not agree with either side, and will not wait there to see which side gives her the best benefit as many would do, she goes there and moves on, where there is no path, where there is no one, because she doesn't want to be on anyone's side, she wants to make her own opinions, and not follow what a group is saying. 

Oh, and one of the philosophies she follows is of yin and yang, which says something like "There is good and there is evil, both need each other to exist, there is no good without evil, and no there is evil without good, and that nothing can be completely good or evil, since, however small, there is evil in good, and there is good in evil. "

Some phrases she would say:

"You can say anything about me, but don't come and talk about my family"

"I can't always do it, but I always try to be balanced, because I know that nothing comes out of extremism, no matter which side."

"I'm a Christian, I may not have proofs but I believe in God, but I don't believe everything in the Bible because it was made by humans, and I know that many of them used and still use people's faith to do very bad things . "

"Sorry, but I suck at remembering names, in fact, I suck at remembering."

"Shit, I knew I was forgetting something."

"I hate logic, most of these things don't make any sense!"

"At least I have you with me here DN" (DN = dog name)

"There is nothing that is not so bad that it cannot get worse"

"I think I celebrated too soon"

"I sleep! But no matter what I do, I will be forever sleepy!"

"No matter what I do, my thoughts disturb me from the moment I wake up until bedtime, and even while I'm asleep. And it happens every day."

"Sometimes ... I think ... people would be better off if I didn't exist. I just hinder and hurt people." 

"I don't know when or how it started, I just know that I have been scared forever"

"I don't do it because I want to! It's not my fault if I'm easily distracted"

"I think writing is the only way to say what I feel"

"Yes, I know, I'm crazy, you don't have to tell me that"

"I'm not a normal person. Maybe I'm not even a human? What if I'm an alien and I don't know? A synthetic human? A robot with high artificial intelligence that is identical to that of humans?"

"I don't like to be afraid, but I love to see and read horror stuff."

"I love old things, they are so fascinating"

"What day is it today?"

"I just wanted to have a little courage that other people have"

"I have no hope of anything, as always, every time I had hope, very bad things happened, close people and pets died when I had hope that they would survive. For me, hope has long since died."

"I think, in a way, I am a miracle, just like my brother. I mean, it was almost impossible for my mom to have a baby, and look, here I am."

"I'm not cute!"

"I'm not short, I'm average height, it's the rest of the people who are very tall"

(Maybe I wrote a lot? Did I overdo it?)

Sorry if there is something confusing or errors in English 

[bouncydragon]

LORD: Legion of Random Dinos

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Bonus (Part 1) | Bonus (Part 2)

And here is the second part of the bonus!

The writing style kinda changes? I’m not sure. Oh well...

I had a lot of fun writing this. I didn’t include everything that I put in the tags of the original chat (well a reblog of it after it was finished), mostly because I forgot some of it... But it’s okay. 

Well, I hope you like this. 

(And I’m happy if I never have to use Tumblr on my laptop again...)

************

Bonus: Endgame, But With Dinos! (Part 2)

"I am inevitable," Thanos said and once again snapped his fingers. 

But nothing happened. 

Of course not. 

Thanos looked at the Infinity Gauntlet confused, and then over to Tony kneeling on the ground, bloody and bruised and with the infinity stones glowing on his hand. Everybody stared, holding their breath. It was like time stood still. 

"And I… am… Iron Man," Tony said, sounding exhausted but determined. 

It would all end here. Tony would reverse the snap and things would go back to how they used to be. And Thanos would be gone. This was the end. 

Before he could do the snap though, Loki appeared next to him and took his hand. Tony looked at him surprised and then watched as one after another took each other's hands, forming a chain. Tony smiled softly. 

"You are not alone, love," Loki told him, smiling and gently squeezed his hand. Tony's smile grew. "Also, I told you no self-sacrificing shit," Loki added then. 

It caused Peter, who was holding his hand, to chuckle. Tony raised an eyebrow and then chuckled too. 

Loki turned his face to Thanos, who stood there looking stunned. "Didn't expect that, huh, you big ugly grape?" he mocked him, causing some of the people to snicker. 

"We – are – Avengers!" he added after a pause, sounding just as exhausted but determined as Tony. And proud. He was part of the team he had once fought. He was accepted and appreciated. He had redeemed himself. He was, if he liked it or not, a hero. 

Tony grinned at him and then snapped his fingers. The power of the stones ran through all of them. It was like a tingling but it hurt. None of them would go unharmed but they'd live. They'd all live to see another day. 

Thanos disintegrated with a shocked expression still plastered on his face. Silence fell over the battlefield and for several long moments nobody said or did anything. 

"It's… It's over?" Tony asked breathlessly then and held on tightly to Loki's hand. 

"Yes, it is," Loki confirmed and let go of Peter's hand to wrap his arms around Tony and kiss him. "We won," he whispered as he rested their foreheads together. 

Everyone was silent. All were letting it sink in that they had won. Against all odds, they had prevailed and won. 

Steve held Bucky close to him. He too had suffered from the loss of his partner. But he had gotten him back and he would never let him go again. He understood the emotions Tony and Loki went through very well, and as much as they annoyed him at times, he was happy for both of them. And he was glad that they both were still here, alive and kicking. 

Thor smiled seeing his brother show such raw emotion and affection. Loki didn't do that often. The games he and Tony played while with the others were just that, games. Meant to annoy their friends. But Thor knew that in private they weren't like that. Well, at least not the majority of the time. Probably. He couldn't truly know but he just had the feeling that he was right. 

He was happy for his brother. The Norns knew that Loki deserved happiness and love, and he had finally found it. Tony and Loki were meant for each other. They were perfect together. They brought out the best in each other and completed each other. More importantly, they understood each other, even without words. 

Thor envied Loki a bit for what he had. 

Loki couldn't bear losing Tony. Just like Tony couldn't bear losing Loki. They were two halves of a whole. One felt lost without the other. So incomplete. But they hadn't lost each other. They were still here. They were alive. They still had each other and all their dreams. The future was bright and full of love. And mischief. 

The moment was rudely interrupted when Captain Marvel—Carol Danvers—did a hero-landing next to them. Loki couldn't resist shooting here a glare. They were having a moment! A very important one at that! 

Carol looked at them and crossed her arms. "You know you could've just let me do the snap." 

Loki rolled his eyes. "This has more meaning. It's legendary." 

"Fair enough," Carol acknowledged. 

Loki opened his mouth to say something else, possibly about how she had ruined their moment, but then he spotted something red behind Carol and beamed. 

"Goose! Buddy!" he exclaimed and the Flerken came running to him. Loki let go of Tony and picked the cat-look-alike up to cuddle him. 

Tony groaned and rolled his eyes. He loved Loki more than anything but it really annoyed him that he had to share him with his pets. More often than not, Loki would forget Tony to spend time with his fluffy companions. Yes, that's right. They had gotten two cats. So Tony had to share his boyfriend with a dragon, a lizard and two cats. They were named Machiavelli and Shakespeare, by the way, because why not? And occasionally, Tony also had to share him with Goose. Of course. 

Okay, to be fair, Tony wasn't annoyed for long. Usually just a few brief moments. Because whenever Loki interacted with his pets or Goose, he was fucking adorable. So silly and giddy. And childish, frankly. But Tony loved seeing him like that. It meant he was comfortable. 

So, to be honest, Tony didn't really mind that he had to share his boyfriend. He knew that, no matter what, if he needed him, Loki would be right by his side. Just like he had been today. 

"How?" Steve suddenly asked, pulling Tony from his thoughts. Steve stared at Loki cuddling Goose with an expression of plain confusion. "Fury lost an eye!" 

Carol shrugged and smiled. "Goose loves Loki." 

"No surprise there," Tony said, smiling affectionately at his boyfriend cuddling the Flerken (however had he managed to gain the creature's trust?). Really, it was no surprise. Loki was exceptional with all kinds of animals and creatures. The story about the horse wasn't true though; Tony had asked. 

Tony put his arms around Loki's waist and rested his head on his shoulder. "Can we go home now?" he asked quietly. "I'm tired." 

Loki smiled softly at him but then grinned and abruptly stood up. "But we need to celebrate!" He turned to his brother. "THOR! ASGARDIAN FEAST!" he yelled. 

Thor's expression was one of utter delight and yes, even giddiness. Whatever Loki meant by what he had said, it made Thor cheer. "OH YES!" 

Tony had no idea what Loki meant by 'Asgardian Feast' but he had the feeling that it probably involved a lot of alcohol. 

***

So, Asgardian Feast was meant literally. 

Thor and Loki had turned the common floor of Avengers Tower into a feast hall. No one had been allowed on the common floor for hours until the princes had finished preparing everything. 

Tony had never seen Asgard before it had been destroyed but he knew a lot from Loki, who seemed to be sad that Tony would never be able to visit Asgard. Which was probably why the common floor now resembled exactly how Loki had described the feast hall in Asgard's palace. All gold and plants Tony had never seen before decorating the ceiling and walls. Instead of electric light, there were actual candelabra and chandeliers. The flickering light of the candles gave it all a very warm, homely (and medieval) atmosphere.

A large round table was in the middle of the room, decked with various foods, more than anyone could ever eat. Not even all of them would be able to finish this! There were also kegs of what Tony assumed was mead and wine and some "normal" alcohol. 

In the middle of the round table a fireplace was set up. It reminded Tony a bit about those French Asterix comics. From what he knew, feasts on Asgard had been held at a long table, not a round one. Loki said he preferred this because it made everyone equal, no one was at the head of the table, no one was better or more important than someone else. Very "King Arthur". He still had a point. 

Anyway, Thor and Loki looked very proud and pleased with their work. Loki had assured Tony that he'd have his undivided attention tonight. No dragons or lizards or cats, or Flerkens. Just Tony. 

Everyone gathered at the table and it was Loki who opened the feast by holding a short victory speech. 

They celebrated for hours. They ate and drank and laughed. All the tension was gone. All the fear. The threat was gone and they could live in peace. They could love and be happy and enjoy the next sunrise. And the next. And the next. 

It was well after midnight, the celebration still going and not showing any signs of ending any time soon, when Loki took Tony up to the roof. They looked up to the stars for a long time, Tony safely in Loki's arms. And then Loki retrieved something out of one of his pocket dimensions. Tony knew exactly what it was and there was no hesitation. So he took the golden apple from Loki and ate it. He could feel its effect immediately. He felt more alive, full of energy, younger and like he could climb a mountain with his bare hands. 

He smiled up at Loki. This was all he had ever hoped for and more. A life with Loki, millennia of them being together. He could see it. It wasn't just a dream, a fantasy, anymore. It was true now. 

They returned to the feast some time later and from the look Thor gave him, Tony knew that the Thunderer was aware of what had transpired on the roof. He got more proof of that when Thor hugged both him and Loki. Usually it would've made Tony's bones crack alarmingly but not this time. Tony grinned. 

The celebration carried on for days. There was never really a break. Well, this victory deserved a grant celebration. They had eliminated great evil and had saved the universe. They knew that the peace wouldn't last for them but they didn't worry. They were still here and as long as there was breath in their lungs, they would fight for Earth, for their home, for the ones they loved and held dear. 

Because that's what they did. What they'll always do. 

Because they were Avengers. 

But for now, they could celebrate their victory, spend time with their loved ones and enjoy the peace while it lasted. They could finally take a breath of relief and rest. 

***

Two years later, Tony asked Loki to marry him. They had a double-wedding with Steve and Bucky at Avengers Tower. It was spectacular and the happiest day of their lives. 

Tony and Loki decided to move away from New York. They moved to Norway but not New Asgard. Instead they had a large estate somewhere in the middle of nowhere. It was surrounded by dense forests and only a small walk downhill was a lake. It was perfect. Quiet and private. 

They still had Gwaine and Scaley the lizard and their two cats and their family was about to grow because Loki was pregnant (yes, he could get pregnant). Forget earlier, this was Tony's happiest day, the birth of his son. They named him Merlin, because why not? 

Occasionally, Carol visited and left Goose with them. Tony could see it happening that one day the Flerken wouldn't want to come with Carol anymore when she picked him up. But he also was convinced that Carol wouldn't mind because she knew Goose was in good hands. 

Steve had officially retired from the Avengers. He and Bucky had bought a house outside of New York and had adopted a baby girl which they had named Hope. They had also gotten a dog and had named him Rex. 

The rest of the Avengers were still active, with some new additions in the form of Peter Parker and some Inhumans. 

LORD resided on an inhabited island somewhere in the Caribbean which Loki kept hidden with a spell. Tony thought it would become a new Bermuda Triangle but Loki assured that that wouldn't happen. Only time would tell. 

Some dinosaurs still lived at Avengers Tower and helped when needed. Clint was their new commander and he loved it. He missed the old days though, the glory days of DTSWDT and the Mischief Squad. But he also understood why Tony and Loki had moved away, or Steve and Bucky. He was happy for them. They deserved it. He had his family back and was happy as well. His kids loved to play with the dinosaurs. His wife hadn't been okay with it in the beginning but now she didn't mind anymore. Two velociraptors stayed at Clint's farm and served as guard dogs. Well, guard dinos. 

Natasha came to Norway as much as possible because she was Merlin's godmother. Also, she and Bruce were dating, but technically nobody knew about that. 

Stephen had kept the dinosaur he had made friends with during the battle and had named him Stark. Apparently, the dinosaur was smart, mischievous and very stubborn. And also had taken a liking to coffee. 

Thor divided his time between New Asgard and New York. Being a leader was hard work but he had Loki as an advisor. And he actually also listened to what his little brother had to say. It was thanks to Loki that the remaining Asgardians had finally settled in their new home. 

They might have scattered but the Avengers were still there when needed. This team was an ideal that lived on. Even if some have moved on, others remained to continue the work. Because the world would always need heroes. 

The important thing though is, that they all were happy. 

All was well.

THE END

[hydrospanners]

fic masterlist: swtor

at the request of literally no one, i’ve created a masterlist of all my swtor fic. first is a chronological collection of all the swtor fic i’ve written in my “canon”. it’s broken up into snippets of time relative to the events of swtor. aus and gift fics are at the end. this is more for me than anything else, but if you have a bunch of time on your hands and want to read some fic--enjoy!!!

i am the most self-indulgent author known to man so there are numerous fics that don’t feature any canon characters in any significant way. i’m not sorry, but i did mark them with an asterisk for everyone’s edification. i also wrote actually vaguely descriptive descriptions instead of whatever bullshit i put in the descriptions on ao3. all links go to ao3 because tumblr was not designed for reading and it shows.

53 fics below the cut... what a trip, y’all.

backstory these fics are about things that happened before the opening of the class story. 

* a very velaran life day - snippets of different life days in the velaran family history. no canon characters in it yet, but maybe this christmas i’ll get to some fics that aren’t solely about my own ocs.

* the shape of things to come - the story about how rea finally joined the jedi at the ripe old age of sixteen.

* a dimming star - the first steps on rea’s jedi path. they aren’t fun ones, lads!

* necessary sacrifice - like three years down the timeline and still no canon characters! rea continues to struggle with this whole being a jedi thing, and it continues to struggle with her! this one features a haircut as a symbol of a turning point in the story.

bars and stripes - canon characters??? in my fic????? its more likely than you think. this is a shameless ripoff of an episode of m*a*s*h masquerading as doc backstory. does it have cameos and/or mentions of other healer companions? maybe!!!

prelude these are fics set during the prologue of the class stories, everything that happens between the start and completing the capital planet missions. 

* memories - rhese? do you finally get a say in all this??? this is the moment rhese and rea finally see each other for the first time since they were recruited to the jedi, set at the very start of the class story.

attachments - kira and rea talk about rhese. that’s it. that’s the fic.

act one all the stories set between killing tarnis and beginning preparations to capture the emperor (everything after coruscant ending and pubside balmorra starting). rip orgus. one day ill finish all those wips about how sad it was when he bit it. in the mean time, can i interest you in some gifsets?

lessons - now rea’s padawan, kira reflects on how bad rea is at teaching, though maybe without as much clarity as i just implied.

a tangled web - so stupid it’s basically crack, kira has to rescue rea from an embarrassing situation.

of flowers, failure, and the virtues of friendship - kira and rhese start to bond over the shared torment of having to be around rea. rivals to friends (one day i’ll write the “to lovers” part that comes after).

act two all the stories during the time when the knight is prepping for the assault on the emperor’s fortress and then assaulting it. everything between pubside balmorra starting and breaking free from the emperor’s fortress after that super successful plan to bring him in alive. great job jedi!

filling the table - is that shipfic????? the reason i started writing swtor fic in the first place??? this is rea being thirsty disguised as me sewing seeds for the eventual doc x rea romance. pazaak themed for some reason? (doc x rea)

when the wicked play - this is me being obsessed with the translation of video game violence to vaguely realistic circumstances posing as doc feeling some kind of way about rea murdering a whole bunch of dudes who wanted to hurt her but weren’t powerful enough. not primarily romantic but definitely some setup for their relationship.

night shift -  everything is doc x rea and nothing hurts. rea’s got work to do but who can work when there’s a horny mustachio’d doctor trying to persuade her back to bed??? it’s not love it’s just good sex!!!!! honest!!!!(doc x rea)

these nights never seem to go to plan - rea isn’t yearning for affection, she’s just too tired to get out of doc’s bed after so much boning. okay maybe this is about slightly more than good sex after all... doc x rea TENDERNESS.

somewhere we’ve not been before - this is the good shit lads!!!! doc x rea!!! first dates!!!! shenanigans!!!! honest to goodness falling in love between all that fucking that do!!!!!!!!!!!! (doc x rea)

no better taste - a sequel to the last fic featuring the morning after!!! some post-horniness introspection!! tenderness!!!!!! hints of yearning!!! god i miss the days before the mind control and the carbonite when the problems were normal things like commitment and abandonment issues. (doc x rea)

heart - rea sends doc a rocking “thanks for the great sex” gift!! rhese is disgusted by every part of it! this is comedy folks!!!! (doc x rea... i guess)

interruptions - rea takes a work call while she’s boning doc. that’s the whole fic. i think this was my first spicy fic?? i can’t remember. (doc x rea)

* where you go to rest your bones - sibling tenderness!!!! their relationship is super complicated, but rhese is reminded that underneath all the bullshit rea really does love him a lot.... it’s both sad and not sad at the same time. schroedinger’s sadness.

gifts - the crew tries to plan a gift for rea, but what do you get for the woman who’s banned from everything?? so dumb it’s basically crack and i’m not sorry for it.

crapshoot - the crew takes bets on what rea’s next Bad Idea TM will be. she shows them you can’t predict chaos. basically crack but i don’t care.

spoonful of sugar - vignettes about the jedi knight crew dealing with sickness. almost entirely comedy and/or fluff. doc x rea content is present and rhese x kira content is suggested.

a little eggstra - grocery shopping gone awry, based on an old tumblr text post. hella stupid, yet hella fun. doc x rea is in the background.

to break our bones for kindling - you thought we were just having good times??? you’re a fool. doc’s job is to heal people and rea’s job is to break them. sometimes they have work-related disagreements!!! be sad with me. doc x rea.

* when a problem comes along, you must whip it - i can only stop being stupid for so long, so here’s the story about how rea came to possess her lightwhip, the stupidest weapon known to man. these events do not go well for rhese.

things unsaid - a dumb doc x rea drabble about stupid shit rea says when she’s been mortally wounded. if doc were to just let her die, no one would blame him.

* the things you do for love are gonna come back to you one by one - a bit of a character/relationship study about what rhese is willing to sacrifice for love of his sister, no matter how complicated things are between them. a second chapter about what rea sacrifices for rhese is in my wips and will be completed... .eventually. 

lovesick - doc x rea ship content. my interpretation of that one conversation where doc’s like “hey would your jedi powers tell me if im going crazy also do you love me? check yes or no. i will not elaborate.”

* the things we left behind - oh no lads.... we’re building up to the fortress shit.... our good times are over. rea does some underhanded shit to make sure her brother doesn’t go on this mission to capture the emperor cause the plan does not seem like a great one.

act three wow wasn’t act two fun??? so much silly nonsense and love. now get a drink assholes it’s Time To Be Sad. act three covers everything in the class stories after coming back from that super successful assault on the emperor’s fortress (great job jedi!) to finally stabbing the bastard in the dark fortress and hoping that gets the job done at last. (spoilers: it doesn’t!!!!!) aka stories from belsavis to the final assault on dromund kaas.

everything we left there - it’s trauma time!!! rea’s fucked up from the fortress and feeling the pressure (thanks for the prophecy scourge!!! love that!!!!) so she hurts people she cares about to protect them. it’s her signature move!

the only thing that’s real - rea continues to be fucked up from what happened on the fortress but hey... at least she isn’t fucked up alone??? sad doc x rea content.

into the jungle - the gang is on belsavis and no one is having a good time! since rea isn’t herself, doc tries to pick up the slack and reassure kira that it’ll all be okay! it goes about as well as you’d expect.

interlude now that i’m looking at it, there are some serious gaps in my fic coverage. anyway, sad hours are over, the emperor is (kind of but not really) dead and there may still be a war on but things are looking up! this covers everything between the emperor’s death and the beginning of kotfe, including forged alliances and the shadow of revan.

hands too hungry - doc finally takes rea on that honeymoon she didn’t really care about in the first place! tragically, rea is way too horny to be impressed by what an amazing vacation he planned for himself them. peak rea x doc content.

no kind of romantic - it’s doc and rea’s one year anniversary but they are both working on opposite sides of the galaxy. sad! it’s doc x rea fluff disguised as angst.

a little help from a friend - rea and theron are worst/best friends and i recycle romance tropes into annoying friendship ones. this is the least sexy sharing body heat fic you’ve ever (not?) read. bite me.

retirement - rea has some feelings about her very violent, stressful job and how it interferes with her husband doing things that actually help and heal. doc x rea content.

the dreaded kotfe content these are sad hours!!! this is everything from arcann’s invasion on, cause i’m not breaking it up by post-carbonite storyline you bastards. i don’t know why i’m being so hostile no one asked me to do this.

every doubt we had - after watching what may have been his sister’s death by exploding starship, rhese is having trouble sleeping. no one is more surprised than him when seeks out doc for comfort! doc & rhese brothers by marriage solidarity. carbonite angst...

love is a waiting game - rea’s been MIA for six months since the ship she was on bit it and her crew is finally making some changes. doc is sad about it. doc & rhese brothers by marriage solidarity again. doc x rea angst.

waiting - some time has passed and now rhese is the sad one again!!! grief is so funny isn’t it??? hahahaha haha hahahaha why is no one else laughing? doc & rhese brothers by marriage solidarity yet again.

the greatest distance - rea’s back baby!!!! oh but this isn’t a celebration. she’s taking a tour of her long lost ship now that all the people she loved aren’t in it. it’s a sad one, fellas. 

* when the stars are the only thing we share - rea tracks down some people from her past to help her track down her brother since he went missing while she was having a nap. no canon characters were used in the making of this fic.

leave her sleeping a little longer - rea has a dream and wakes up missing doc even more than she was before. sad hours. doc x rea angst.

take back what the kingdom stole - after theron pulls some Shenanigans (you know the ones) his friendship with rea is in peril. they both break character and actually talk shit out for once.

a wish your heart makes - rea dreams a dream. so does doc. it’s a wet one. this makes it sound lighthearted but actually it’s angst with a side of porn. doc x rea supreme spicy/sad content.

overserved - back to crack baby!! rea gets drunk and acts a fool based on a joke made in a discord server. this is the best shit i’ve ever written.

thrusting back into my skin i feel anew - the band is back together again and everything is fine!!!! just kidding -- actually people change a lot in six years and rea and doc are having some trouble fitting back into the marriage they had back then. doc x rea angst but with a hopeful ending!

non-canon fics i’ve written a couple of things with my dumb characters that are too stupid even for me to put into their canon story or are otherwise aus. these are them, listed in no particular order.

the lies we tell ourselves - a sadder (yet possibly more realistic) take on the ossus reunion and what follows. a bit experimental. doc x rea angst au.

archiban frodrick’s kennel - a romance au where doc is a vet and rea has a pet with a health issue, inspired by my own stupid dog whom i love very much. doc x rea. spiciness suggested but not detailed; sorry horndogs.

fallen - a fun au where rea’s shittiness as a teacher and everything being bad leads to kira falling to the dark side... its angst lads.

the new recruit - rusk’s squad adopts a kitten. that’s the fic.

cruel - ever wonder how things would have turned out if rea was never smuggled off eriadu and got plucked up by the sith?? no??? well i have and i wrote about it. the self-indulgence never ends.

fill my lungs with sweetness - a gift fic for @hoiist; flower-themed vignettes about doc expressing his love for hoiist’s knight, vii. this is some real soft shit, lads.

remember me, love - another gift fic for @hoiist; this time some ossus-flavored angst about doc seeing through vii’s eyes in his dreams. what he sees is not comforting!!! all aboard the angst train--choo choo!!

[monochromemedic]

Yeah I’ll admit, I really need to find out more about the Fallout and Borderlands boys. I keep meaning to. Well, there must be a way we can still talk about it. Um . . . Maybe I could be like a sounding board? You can all say your thoughts on your them and I’ll respond? I wanna help in any way I can.

long 

Boone’s backstory is so sad and depressing you can tell that Carla was probably his first and only love and if not he loved her to death and the fact he had to kill her or thought that was the right thing to do to save her from being a slaver while she was pregnant honestly was the right choice seen as how the slavers are insinuated to be treated and have literal bomb collars on them and the fact that that haunts him so much along with the fact he committed the war crime at Bitter Springs and just makes him cruel, quiet and rude even though he’s a bit caring through all the stuff makes me sad and it’s so memed on probably because Boone is so secretive about it and it’s his whole backstory but it’s so good and sad and i think meme on it to make it hurt less. Boone might be shorter then alot of the companions in the game but like he’s strong and built kinda he’s a bit squishy but like that bitch shoots like a god damn champ i love that asshole Deacon should have been romanacable, his backstory is also pretty fucking sad of him being a bigot against synths and then when he actually killed a supposed synth he saw how sick it was and wanted to change his life and move on from his stupid college group he was in only to find out the girl he was with is wife when he settled down was a synth and his group came back and killed her and he went apeshit and killed them all back and then got into the railroad to help synths and was probably so disgusted in himself and his pass he doesn’t use his real name anymore and changed his face so many times apparently and all his disguses have sunglasses probably meaning he doesn’t like to show his eyes is just sad he’s so self hating despite how cheerful and jokey he seems on the outside. Like when you go to pretty sites there’s a chance he’ll go ‘she would have liked this’ and the first time i heard that in the lighthouse it broke my heart like i’d wanna help him move on he’s so scared to get close to literally anyone but he deserves to move on. Sturges is underrated little fucking greaser mechanic southern hospitality built like a brick shit house secrectly a synth why the hell can’t I fuck him or have him as a companion fucker builds a teleporter out of scrap he’s cool let me kiss him Todd Howard. Danse is great big secret synth, war asshole so eager to please and be involved and loved that he goes and be’s with douchebags to be accepted he’s way too good and im glad you can get him out of there because he deserves the world. hes so shocked when you say you like him or love him he’s so shocked it hurts with his big old puppy eyes that guy has probably never been with anyone ever and it’s sad because he’s great and he talks like a robotic dipshit. Vaughn is a champ short short king. literally short then like everyone of his friends. smart ass boy, secretly buff cause he ‘put an exercise bike in his cubicle’ is funny but they fucked him over so much in borderlands 3 just making him a psychotic asshole who loves his body so much running around naked and doing nothing he’s so much more then that and the fact they don’t take advantage of the great lore he had and flanderized him into this one note annoying character pisses me off to no end and if in the next game he isn’t in there and isn’t fixed i’ll do it myself doing my boy so dirty. Like yeah he would adapt to being on this alien world with cruel creatures and people to kill him but it was shown that he CAN and did it well in a short time but apparently the more time he spent on there he went crazy like no there’s people who have lived there or have been there for longer and didn’t go crazy why the hell would vaughn would, they just wanted ‘haha silly small buff man’ that’s so shallow he’s so much more he helped take down handsome jack, he helped his fellow helios survivors and was a leader for them on Pandora and made a small little army bandit group that was well put together. he’s also so down on himself thinking that Rhys is so cool and that he questions one time that Rhys will leave him cause he’s meeting so many cool people and handling it well and thinks that Rhys will go so far and he’ll just be left there like that’s sad. Rhys is weird but so put together, fought off handsome jack ai and made great sacrifices like he ripped off his own robot arm and cybernetics in his head and eye to ‘kill’ him that takes so much guts. they also kinda fucked him over in borderlands 3 but not as much as Vaughn. They made him seem inept and more like a joke but Rhys is entertaining as he is he doesn’t need to be so childlike. I’m happy get got his company like he wanted and revived Atlas into a great gun company and honestly the Atlas guns are some of my favorites in that game it’s just so fun good on him. Tim has been through so much. getting plastic surgery and faking his death to him mom who laughed when she heard he ‘died’ just to pay off student loans is so real but depressing in the same vain and then he had to work directly under Handsome jack who hit on him and then made him do so much dirty work and then locked him in a casino full of other doublegangers of jack and now he’s the only one that’s alive and he’s fucked up in the head starting to act  a bit like Jack cause of Dna implanted in him which idk how much that would work but he has to write on the wall to remind him he ISN’T jack like fuck you jack you are such a bastard man Tim is a sweetheart. Like yeah Tim can shoot you in the face and not care but it’s not what he wanted and he shows cowardness and disdain for it alot of the time.

[formerprincess]

Rules of fake dating me | Thiam Week Day 2

Fake Relationship

College AU: A breakup and a party encounter lead to the whole college campus thinking Liam is dating Theo Raeken, president of the rivaling frat of Liam’s ex. Well, nobody said college life was easy, right?

"You need to get laid again!”

With this very bold statement, Mason had barged into Liam’s dorm room and snatched the controller from his best friend’s hand. He ignored Liam’s indignant squeak and went on to explain that it had been six weeks since Gabe had broken up with Liam and it was time Liam started socializing again. Liam’s objections that he went to his classes, met with his study group and his friends were rewarded with an eye roll and Mason continuing to pick out clothes for Liam to wear tonight. 

“That’s all fine and dandy but you need to show Gabe what he’s missing out. Even if it’s just for one night, go out and have fun. You know the saying: The fastest way to get over somebody is to get under somebody else!” He had stated, shoved the clothes into Liam’s arm and slammed the door to the bathroom in Liam’s face. Only his threat to drag Liam under the shower by himself made Liam finally move around the bathroom and start getting ready.

And here they were: At the Iota Alpha Chi house, the frat Mason’s boyfriend Corey was part of, and Mason had made Liam promise to stay at least two hours and actually try to have fun, maybe even flirt with a nice guy or gal. Which was easier said than done. It wasn’t so much that he was heartbroken but the way Gabe had ended things had abated Liam’s pride. Not easy not do when your boyfriend of almost a year told you he just didn’t saw any use in their encounter anymore. Being with Liam had been a nice pastime but now he wanted to do other things. So yes, Liam’s pride was hurt and even after six weeks, it still stung. He had avoided everything related to Gabe or his frat Rho Gamma Zeta and only had agreed to come to the party because he expected not to meet any Rho guy at an Iota party. The two frats didn’t get along in the slightest, having a constant rivalry and more than once Gabe had been disapproved of Liam spending time with Corey since he was part of Iota. Liam never really cared about all that, he wasn’t part of a frat, but since he was in a relationship with Gabe, he was siding with Rho obviously. He still kept a good friendship with Corey but Gabe took the rivalry really to a new level. 

Liam pushed through the crowd and collided with another person. Luckily he was able to save his beer before it could spill to the ground but when he looked up to the face of the other person, he almost dropped his red solo cup. “Hey, Gabe.” He finally muttered.  “Liam! Fancy, seeing you here. I mean, guess I should have expected it. Now that you can’t attend Rho parties anymore, you have to settle for that, huh?”

Liam resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “You’re here too. So are your friends.” He nodded over to the guys gathered behind Gabe and Gabe shrugged. “Have to keep an eye on the competition, right? Make the party better than it is.” “Uh uh.” Liam said jaw clenched. A part of him wanted to punch Gabe in his smug face. Asshole! “Doesn’t this constant rivalry get boring after a while?” He asked, trying to keep his cool and sipped on his beer. “I mean, it’s kind of childish.” It had been one of the topics they always fought over. Liam liked competition, especially on the lacrosse field, but this war between the fraternities was just too silly for him.  Now Gabe reacted the way he usually did. He frowned. “Liam, we talked about this more than once. If you didn’t get it until now, you probably never will. Not that I expect you to.” As always when this topic came up, he made Liam feel stupid, like a dumb kid, and Liam hated it. He narrowed his eyes. “Stop making it sound like I’m dumb.” “Aren’t you? I mean, you’re friends with Iota.” “You...”

“Gabe! I knew it was you when somebody told me they saw some losers hanging around.” A voice sounded up behind Liam and then he felt a hand on his shoulder. Somebody stepped closer to him and when Liam turned his head, he was faced with no other than Theo Raeken, president of Iota. They had met several times during his relationship with Gabe or when he and Mason visited Corey at the frat house but they never had any real interaction until now. What Liam knew about Theo though, was how little he liked Gabe.  “Did I miss something? As far as I know, nobody invited you into this conversation.” Gabe snarled back. He didn’t like Theo either. “So, leave and let Liam and me have a civil conversation.”

“Didn’t the two of you break up a while ago? And he’s still pretending he likes talking to you? That’s actually impressive.” Theo squeezed Liam’s shoulder and Liam blinked in surprise. He had not expected Theo to keep track on his relationship, to be honest. Gabe seemed to have the same thought because he laughed sneeringly. 

“Are you so desperate you keep track on other people’s love life now? Guess it’s the only option if you don’t get any, hm?” “I get more than enough, not that this is any of your business,” Theo replied calmly. “And it was more out of admiration for Liam’s ability to tolerate you. That’s some tough shit.” He flashed Liam a smile and Liam could not help but return it. When he returned his attention back to Gabe he saw the annoyed crease of his brow at the smile and a part of Liam enjoyed this more than anything. Gabe obviously didn’t like his ex-boyfriend and rival to get along so well. 

“Well, Liam obviously liked the year I gave him. He was pretty devastated when I broke up with him.”

Okay, rude! Liam had not been happy but devastated was a pretty strong word, okay? How could he have missed how arrogant Gabe had been the whole year long? He glared at the dark haired boy and huffed. “I wasn’t devastated.” He corrected and sipped on his beer to resist the urge to punch Gabe once more.  “Keep telling yourself that.” One of Gabe’s companions called out. He had also been there when Gabe ended their relationship. Another nice part about the breakup: It had been in front of the whole frat. “Well, maybe he was kind of bummed in the beginning. The hour after your breakup must have been hard for hi., I’m sure.” Theo cut in, voice taunting. “Luckily he got over it the minute I asked him out.”

Liam almost choked on his beer. He could not believe Theo had just said that! He knew Gabe and Theo butted heads every time they met but that was completely surprising, apparently for everyone involved, because Gabe stared at him gobsmacked.  “You two are dating now?” He finally asked incredulously. And Liam gulped down his beer, eyes narrowing at the judgemental tone in his ex’ voice. Like he was disgusted by the sheer thought.

“We are.”

Liam was surprised when it was his voice which sounded up. Had he just jumped on the thing Theo started? He had not even thought about it but Gabe judging them both and his arrogant behavior prior had riled him up enough. Now he felt Theo’s hand soft stroking through the hair on the back of his neck and a soft shiver ran down Liam’s spine. The touch felt good, he had to admit it. Maybe he was touch starved?

Gabe’s mouth curved into a derisive smirk. “Good, Liam, I was aware you were devastated by our breakup but settling with Theo? That’s even lower than what I expected.” “See, this is where you got it wrong. After almost a year with you, he really needed a reward.” Theo replied to that and smirked smugly when Gabe glared at him. Liam couldn't help himself but chuckle. It was pleasing to his ego to see Gabe like that. Especially now when Theo pulled Liam closer and put one arm around his shoulder.  “We would like to further enjoy this party, so if you don’t mind.” He dismissed with a sweet smirk but his eyes betrayed him. He kicked Gabe out. Gabe got the hint because he huffed and then turned around to march out of the house, followed by his friends. Liam waved after them and then laughed. 

“You just made my night. Thank you.” He told Theo and The chuckled.  Well, you gave me the opportunity to kick Gabe out. I should thank you.”  Liam shrugged. “I really didn’t do anything, so don’t mention it.”  He played it down. Theo smiled and then nodded over to Liam’s drink. “Come one, I’ll get you another one.”

 ****** In the end, Liam was kind of happy Mason dragged him to the party. For once because he got the laugh out of his encounter with Gabe and afterward he and Theo had actually launched a conversation. They found out they liked the same video games and shared the same taste in movies. Liam kind of wondered why they never really talked before aside the occasional “Hey.” and “What’s up?” At the end of the night, he stayed longer than what he promised Mason and he left with a smile on his face.

It didn’t even come to his mind that there could be an aftermath of the party but a few days later Liam found himself lounging on his bed and doing some reading for his classes when the door opened and in stepped Mason, Corey and Nolan, Liam’s roommate. All three stared at Liam who questingly raised an eyebrow. “What’s up?”

“You and Theo, how long is this already going on?” Mason asked, looking kind of betrayed. Liam furrowed his brows. “What?”  “The whole campus is talking about Gabe’s ex being in a relationship with no other than Theo.” Corey explained and Nolan added: “Probably because Gabe is pissed. He’s talking about it almost constantly, claiming you did a downgrade.”

Liam blinked. It took him some time to adjust to this information and then: “WHAT??” “My reaction exactly. I know why I reacted like this but why you?” Mason commented dryly and Liam shook his head.  “We’re not dating!” “Uhm, what?” That was Corey now, looking as confused as Nolan and Mason. “Because I’m pretty sure I heard from several people Theo and you admitted to dating on that party.” “Yeah well...” Liam blushed and rubbed his neck. “Gabe was there and he was being a total dick.” (”As always.” Nolan muttered under his breath). “He riled me up and suddenly Theo was there. You know how those two are, always trying to outdo another and Gabe insulted me which prompted Theo to defend me. Long story short, Theo said he asked me out and you should have seen Gabe’s face. I couldn’t stop myself and jump on that bandwagon.” Liam explained his friends. “So, really, it was meant as a joke to make Gabe leave. It worked.” 

“Oh yeah, it worked so perfectly that anybody who witnessed the exchange got the same impression and you know the gossip around campus. So, joke or not, literally everybody is under the impression you and Theo are actually a thing, Liam.” Nolan concluded and Liam paled. Oh fuck, he really had not thought this trough.  “Great and what am I supposed to do now?” He asked his friends and while Mason and Corey shrugged and patted his shoulder, Nolan cleared his throat. “You have two options. Options No 1: Keep the lie and whenever you start another actual relationship declare the relationship between you and Theo over. Things happen, you know? Option No 2: Come clean but that would mean Gabe would win and I don’t think that’s what you want.” He laid out and Liam had to agree with him. Basically, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. “I’m fucked.” He muttered and Mason snorted. “Not really but everybody thinks you are by no other than Theo Raeken.”

******

Liam made his way into the library, trying to ignore some whispers behind his back. His relationship with Theo seemed to be one of the hottest topics right now and Liam couldn’t shake the slight suspicion it was also because Gabe was still spitting mad. Well, sucks, he had broken up with Liam after all. 

Making his way over to an empty table Liam was about to put his bag down when he spotted Theo in one of the aisles. Before he could think twice Liam marched over and grabbed the other by his arm to yank him into a corner. “I need to talk to you!”

“Why?” Theo asked and closed the book he had been reading when Liam yanked him away.  “Because the whole campus thinks we’re dating!” Liam hissed and pushed his backpack up his shoulder to prevent it from falling down. Theo looked oddly unimpressed by that and leaned against the shelf. “So?” “Doesn’t that bother you one bit?” 

Theo looked at Liam and then chuckled. “Not really, no. Over the years I had so many rumors about me going on, I learned to ignore them. People will always talk, Liam.” He looked at Liam and smirked even more smugly. “Besides, Gabe is literally fuming with anger because of it and that alone is reason enough not to address this issue. Even now he’s not letting us leave his sight, he even got up and walked over to act like he’s shuffling through a shelf. He’s that jealous.” “He...what?” Liam was about to turn around when Theo grabbed his face and made him look at Theo.  “You’re not the most subtle person on this planet, huh?” “Uhm.” Liam made since Theo still squished his cheek together and prevented him from really talking. Theo let go of him but Liam didn’t bother turning around once more.

He didn’t have to because Gabe just stepped up to them. “What are you doing?” He asked.

“Planting trees.” Theo dryly replied. “Why? Want to help? The earth needs every friend it can get. Grab a shovel and dig yourself a hole.”

“I can dig a hole for you if you insist!” Gabe snarked back and Liam stepped between the two frat presidents, one hand pushing against Theo’s chest, the other against Gabe’s. “It’s still a library, so if you two gamecocks could tone it down a notch, yeah? That would be amazing.”

Theo and Gabe continued their stare off until Theo shrugged and put one arm around Liam’s waist, pulling him against his chest. “Anyway, can we actually help you with something? My boyfriend and I would continue our conversation from earlier. Have to make some arrangements for date night, you know. Like which movie to watch, choosing a restaurant to eat and then decide if we go to his dorm or my room to have sex, the usual, you know?” Theo teased and Liam gripped his arm when Gabe’s face turned a very angry shade of red and he stared at Liam.

“Didn’t take you for such a slut, Liam!” He spat out and Liam heard Theo growl behind him. Before the two could really fight, he grabbed Theo by the arm once again and dragged him out of the library. Outside he took a deep breath and let go of Theo’s arm immediately. He may had broken up with Gabe but getting insulted still hurt and he had to walk that off for a second. Theo followed him.

“The hell was that?” He inquired and Liam sighed. “You said we would have sex.” He explained and Theo made a sound close to duh. “Well, Gabe reacted like that because...I never slept with him.”

Theo stopped walking and held Liam by his arm. “Hold on.” He started. “Just to get this right: You and Gabe were in a relationship for almost a year and you never had sex?” Liam nodded unwillingly. “Yep.” He then said and shooed Theo’s hands away. “It was never the right moment.” “Are you a virgin?” “What? No, I’m not and Gabe isn’t one either.” “Then how come you didn’t had sex?” “Not every relationship is about sex, Theo!” “I know that but almost a year? When the two of you had sex before with different partners? That’s kind of surprising.” “Well, maybe I didn’t want to sleep with a person I didn’t love.” Liam muttered under his breath but Theo had heard him nonetheless. And he frowned. “Why were you in a relationship with a man you didn’t love for almost a full year? That doesn’t follow at all.” Liam sighed deeply. “Because it was convenient. Being in a relationship took all the stress away with who was my date for an event or my company for Friday night. Before I started the relationship with Gabe I was kind of the third wheel with Corey and Mason and suddenly we could do double dates and such. It was nice.” “Nice.” Theo parroted. “I mean, yeah, who doesn’t want a nice relationship? That’s what is important. Screw love or trust and loyalty. Nice, that’s the important thing.” “You are an idiot!”

“And you didn’t have sex for over a year. Which is a shame.” Theo told him, eyes raking over Liam’s whole body before he started walking again. And Liam may be oblivious most times but such a direct flirt? Even he got that! Now he hurried to keep up with Theo. “Now, what? Keep the dating lie up to annoy Gabe?” Now that he said it, it actually sounded fun.  Theo shot him a grin. “Why not? If I’m informed correctly, he kind of treated you like shit, right?” Liam bit his lower lip but nodded. He had no idea where Theo got this from but the guy seemed to have good resources. “Yeah.” He confirmed. “So it serves him right to get a bit jealous. Besides, and that is a fact you can’t deny, I’m more attractive than him. You made an upgrade, Liam.” Theo told him with a smirk and Liam had to laugh.

****** “Okay, I made up some rules for fake-dating me.” Theo chuckled and looked at Liam from where he sat on his bed. “Does your real boyfriend follow rules too?” He inquired and Liam glared at him, making Theo only smirk more. “Okay, share your rules with me, baby.” “No pet names! I’m not in the pet name type of guy. Aside from that, no kissing. If someone asks we say we’re both not big fans of PDA.” “That’s a lie and I’m sure everybody around here knows that.” Liam ignored Theo and continued. “If one of us ever meets someone he would like to start a real relationship with, this thing is off. In case somebody asks, we just say we broke up. No further explanation.” “Is there somebody you’re interested in already?” “I hate you.” “Speaking of: I love you? Yes or no?” Liam let his notepad sink where he had scribbled down his rules. He had not thought about this until now. Those three words were important to him, he could not start to toss them around like that. “No. No I love you.” “Aww, baby.” “No pet names!” “Sorry, honey.” “You’re doing this to annoy me, right?” “Me? Never, hun bun.” Liam rolled his eyes. “Why did I agree to this? Remind me again?” He muttered. “Because you like to piss Gabe off, angel face.”

****** “You are completely insane!” Mason scolded and Liam shrugged. “Maybe.” He checked his reflection in the mirror before grabbing a leather jacket and slipping it on.  “Just to get back at Gabe you’re ready to live a lie?” “It’s not really a lie. Everybody thinks we’re dating and all we do now is spending time together, going to see movies, go for coffee and generally just hang out.” He told his friend, trying to dissolve Mason’s worries. Mason still looked like he had lost his mind.  “I still don’t think it’s a good idea, L.” “Too bad, we already started, I can’t let Gabe win this!” “Liam, dating and love is not a war! I know he hurt you but playing this game with Theo is literally playing with fire. I don’t want you to get burned.” Liam paused getting ready and turned to face Mason. “You think I will fall in love with Theo and get myself hurt.” It wasn’t a question, Liam was stating it. Mason sighed. “You have the tendency to fall in love very easily.” “I certainly do not.” “Brett. Hayden. Gabe.” “Not Gabe!”

Mason groaned. “Okay, fine, not Gabe. The others? Yes, they were relationships but still. You are a good person with a very good heart which has lots of love to give. You fall easily and Theo is charming. You’re posing as a couple, so forgive me for being worried about my best friend. Your last breakup wasn’t that long ago.”

“I can take care of myself! I don’t fall in love easily! I’m not dumb, Mason.” He was angry. “And now excuse me, I have a date to attend.” He grabbed his keys and wallet and then slammed the door to his dorm room shut.

Fights with Mason always got to him and deep inside Liam knew Mason just wanted to protect him. But Liam was too stubborn to admit that his best friend maybe was right. In the past, he had proofed how easily he fell for his past partners and I love you always came easy. But this time it was different. They weren’t in a relationship, they were just pretending.

“You okay?” Theo asked. Liam had barely said anything the whole evening, despite them being in a really nice restaurant not far from the campus. Instead, he played with his napkin and his food. Now he looked up, startled by Theo seemingly seeing through him and noticing something was off.  Gabe never did that, Liam’s brain helpfully offered and he mentally cursed Mason. This was his fault and Liam didn’t want those thoughts. 

“Had a fight with Mason before I came here. Sorry.” He apologized and Theo smiled softly. “Want to talk about it?” He asked but Liam shook his head, smiling weakly. “It’s okay. Thanks.”

“Uh, then smile and act like you are okay because Gabe just entered the restaurant and he’s accompanied by a redhead. They’re coming this way.” Theo told him and Liam sighed but then braced himself for the moment the couple would walk past them. When they did, Gabe gave him one dirty look then he followed the waiter to their table. Right in the side of Liam and Theo. 

“Typical.” Liam muttered and looked down at his food.  “Want to leave?” Theo asked. Liam thought about accepting but then shook his head. “It’s okay. Just..tell me something. Anything to get my mind off.” “Banging your head against a wall burns 150 calories an hour.” Liam blinked. “What?” “If you lift a kangaroo’s tail off the ground, it can’t hop.” “Theo...” “Gorillas burp when they are happy.”  Liam had to laugh at that. “You’re weird.” “But it made you laugh. That’s what I wanted to.” “Now you’re getting sappy.” Liam laughed again and was quite satisfied when Gabe stared at him. Liam ignored his ex and focused on Theo again. 

****** Over time they settled in this rhythm and hung out quite a lot. Either around campus or on Theo’s or Liam’s room. Theo as the president had a big room for himself at the Iota house but Nolan was having a job at the campus café so Liam was almost alone every time when Theo came over. Today Liam was on his bed, balancing his laptop on his knees and video chatting with his parents at home. Dr. Geyer just filled his stepson in on some things that needed to get repaired around the house when it knocked at Liam’s dorm room. Getting up from his bed he walked over to the door and opened it. 

“Mom, Dad, that’s Theo by the way.” He introduced his parents to his visitor and Theo looked surprised for a moment then he smiled the most charming smile Liam had ever seen and waved at the camera.

“Hello, Mrs. Geyer and Dr. Geyer, nice to meet you.” He greeted politely and Liam heard his mother let out a happy gasp. “Liam, do you have a new boyfriend?” Of course, she would think that! 

“Uhm, mom, no! Theo’s just a....

“Theo, darling, so nice to finally meet you. I knew there was somebody there who made Liam happy. A mother knows those things. So, tell me about you. What is your major? Where do you come from? How did you two meet?”

“Mom....” Liam tried again at the same time Theo started talking. “I’m from around Beacon Hills and I’m a business major. I lead one of the fraternities on the campus and that’s how Liam and I met. Corey, Mason’s boyfriend, is also part of our frat and with Mason came Liam. I noticed him right away. He just had this sparkle in his eyes and from the first moment I knew he was a very interesting person. He’s a very true and real character but I’m sure you know that. You raised him after all.” He chuckled and Liam swore he could hear his mother swoon. He was swooning himself because the way Theo talked about him made his heart jump slightly. Until the party he had been under the strong impression Theo never really noticed him, that he was just a face to him. Damn, Theo was good at this whole fake thing.

“Such a nice guy. Liam, why didn’t you introduce us sooner?”

“That was my fault. I wanted to make a perfect impression and got a bit self-conscious. You only have one chance to get to introduce yourself to the parents of your boyfriend, right?” Theo went for a joke and Liam stared at him, blinking owlishly. What the hell? He was stunned and so he barely said anything and let Theo and his parents talk for almost an hour. He learned about Theo wanting to have his own business one day, hence his major, that he liked to visit museums and would like to go to New York one day. His favorite color was dark blue and his favorite breakfast were blueberry pancakes. Things he never bothered to ask when they were hanging out. He witnessed Theo joking around with Dr. Geyer and asking questions about the work at the hospital. So when the call ended, he was kind of speechless.

“Dude, my parents already love you!” Theo shrugged with a soft smile. “They are nice.” “No, you don’t understand. They love you.” “You already said that. I was just nice to them. That’s how it goes, right?” “No.” Liam shook his head and Theo looked confused “No?” “They hated Gabe.” “I like your parents even more now.” “No, seriously, they didn’t get along with him and he didn’t like them either. To see you talking to them like that was wow.” And it made his heart flutter. Something Liam had not expected to happen but now he couldn’s stop his little heart from doing so. And while he still had in mind what Mason told him (even though his best friend had later apologized for being too harsh and they had made up) he realized that this time it felt totally different than ever before.

A beeping sound shook him from his thoughts and he almost jumped off the bed. Theo looked at his watch and cursed. “Fuck, my shift starts in ten minutes. Gotta go!”

“Oh. Sorry for making you sit through the call in your free time.”

“Nah, stop it, your parents are cool. It wasn’t a waste of time.” He smiled at Liam and grabbed his bag. “See you later.” He muttered, leaned in to press a quick kiss to Liam’s cheek and then leave the room. Liam stayed behind, stunned by the sudden kiss and the way his heart bet even faster now.

******

Liam shuffled up the stairs and down the hallway. Knocking at Theo’s door, he didn’t even bother to wait for an answer and just opened the door to shuffle inside the room and kick the door shut. Dropping his bag unceremoniously on the floor, Liam head first fell down on the bed and groaned. Lacrosse practice had been a bitch today and he was sore all over. 

“Your bed’s comfy, can I stay here forever?” He muttered and snuggled further into the comfy mattress. Hearing a chuckle from the adjoining bathroom made him smile sleepily too. 

“Hard training?”

"Hm.” Liam made a sound and then raised his head to actually look for Theo. The Iota president had a big room and his own bathroom which door was currently open and he was inspecting himself in the mirror. Liam swallowed because all Theo was wearing were black sweatpants. The light in the bathroom cast a soft glow on his naked torso and tired or not but Liam appreciated a nice view and that view was spectacular.

Now Theo walked out of the room and leaned against the door frame, giving Liam a nice long glance on his toned upper body. Liam swallowed dryly. “Did I interrupt anything? I didn’t mean to. Your room was just closer than my dorm building.”

“You didn’t. Just had taken a shower and got dressed.”

“Halfway dressed.” Liam corrected automatically and his eyes still lingered on the other’s abs and well-defined chest. Theo was attractive, no doubt, even more attractive than Gabe ever had been. Liam could see this too, he had eyes, okay? And they were working. He knew his friend was actually hot like burning and many people on the campus wanted to climb him like a tree. Nothing new here. New was the realization that Liam belonged to those people. 

Since the video call from his parents, he tried to ignore the beating of his heart every time Theo was around. The way he smiled, his scent, being close to him, it all made his heart almost jump out of his chest, and after a while, Liam had not been able to ignore it any longer, at least not in front of himself. He was about to fall head over heels for the older but since he knew Theo only saw this as a joke, Liam had made a decision. It would hurt but in the end, he had to protect his heart.

If Theo weren’t only making this harder, looking so incredibly good right now. But Liam sat up and cleared his throat. if he didn’t do it now, he wouldn’t do it anytime soon and that was problematic.

“I also came here to talk.” “About what?” Theo asked, putting his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants and pulling them slightly down in the progress, exposing the V of his hip bones. Focus, Liam! “I thought about it and I think...we should end this fake relationship. We can say you broke up with me, that would be totally okay.”  He had expected a joke or agreement, but Liam wasn’t prepared for the way Theo’s face fell. He looked taken aback and then he just looked sad. “May I asked why? Did you fall in love with somebody?”  “No...yes...in some ways yeah.” Had he thought Theo looked sad before, he now looked devastated. But he nodded. “Okay. If that’s what you want....”

Something was wrong. Liam could feel it. He had played this in his mind over and over again and Theo never reacted how he reacted now. Liam prided himself on knowing the other by now, he couldn’t be so off with his expectations, right? So what was off? “Theo?” He asked softly and got up from the bed to step closer to his friend. “What’s wrong? Look, I know it may sound a bit ungrateful but I appreciate what you did for me. We are still friends, yeah?” Theo gave him a look. “Really? You’re giving me the ‘we’re still friends line’? Come on, Liam, I know you can do better than that.” “I’m not giving you any line. We are friends, always have been. Over the last couple of weeks....” “Months.” Theo cut in. “It’s been months. Three months to be exact. I like to keep tabs on my fake relationships, you know?”  “Okay, fine, over the last couple of months we’ve grown so close and....”

“So close that you couldn’t even tell me you fell in love with someone?” Theo’s voice sounded cold and Liam frowned.  “It’s not that easy.” “Then make it easy. Give me a name. Where did you meet them? Tell me you are not dumb enough to go back to Gabe. Tell me everything you would tell your friend. Mason knows, right? I thought we were friends too and yet I had no idea. Wanted to spare my feelings? Cute but I don’t need you for that. Got that covered!” Theo sounded colder with every word and his face was as solid mask of blankness, “Don’t be an ass!” Liam growled.  “Oh, I’m the ass? Good to know.” Theo pointed at the door. “Know what? Just leave. You did what you came here for, so no need to complicate this even more. You obviously don’t want to tell me, it’s fine. We will all live, no hard feelings.” 

“You’re the one making this hard! I just came here to call the fake relationship off and because I wanted to spend time with you.” “Why?”  Liam boggled at that question and his frown deepened. “What do you mean?” “Why do you want to spend time with me? Thought we broke up?” It was meant to sound sarcastically but it cut deeper than Liam thought it was possible. He bit his lip and stared at Theo. That was what Mason had warned him about. He should have listened to his friend.

“You want a name and then what? Go to the person and be an ass there?” Liam snarled. “Nah, I planned on giving them the talk to treat you right because you fucking deserve it, you precious angel.” Theo snapped back. Liam glared at him, hands slowly balling into fists. Why did every man he liked end up being an asshole these days? “Then go on and have fun, mirror’s over there. While you’re at it, might as well tell yourself to stop being such a freaking asshole. It’s not like I could walk up to you and say ‘Hey, by the way, this whole fake relationship is nice but what about an actual date?’, right? I know you see all this as some prank on Gabe! No need to make this even more painful than it already is for me!” Liam yelled at Theo and the older actually shied back as if he had been hit. 

He stared at Liam, completely stunned by the outburst, then he rolled his eyes. “You can’t be that oblivious, can you? Remember what I told your parents? About me noticing you from the start? That wasn’t a lie! I did it the first time you came over with Mason. You were by far the most attractive one here and you seemed like a cool guy. Really think I would invest that much time in a prank on Gabe? If it weren’t for you? Don’t you dare to tell me it was painful for you when I have been crushing on you since basically day one!” Theo yelled back and then grabbed Liam’s face to pull him into a rough kiss. Liam wrapped his arms around Theo’s neck in an instant and returned the kiss. He moaned when Theo bit down on his lower lip, rough enough to draw blood, and licked it away. Now Liam deepened the kiss, fingers running through Theo’s hair and rumpling it. He faintly noticed Theo pushing him back to the bed and him holding on when they both fell on the mattress. After that, it was just all a blur of passion and lust.

****** “Do I want to know why you look so smugly?” Liam asked. He had his chin on Theo’s naked chest and watched the other staring at the ceiling. Now Theo turned to face him, still smirking. 

“Simple.” He began. “I had to think about you telling me you never slept with Gabe. I’d say I won.” 

Liam rolled his eyes but he had to smile. “I never slept with him because I didn’t love him. You won in that regard too.” He muttered and leaned in to kiss Theo’s. 

“Damn right I did.” Theo muttered against his lips and ran a hand through Liam’s tousled hair. 

[crawl-out-through-the-callout]

Fallout 4 Mods on PS4

So I made a list of all the mods I have active on my current file. In doing so I found some I need to, uh, change or that are redundant, but I can still fully endorse any of these mods. For context, I have the Season Pass, I'm on the PS4 and usually play on Very Hard. The balance feels okay in that it's never outright impossible but situations vary wildly from easy and hilarious to drain-the-blood-from-your-face levels of oh shit. I can also safely say this is the prettiest mixture of mods that I've ever had. Anyway, the mods:

Armor and Weapon Keywords Community Resource (AWKCR) (PS4: All DLC) Creator: Valdacil Notes: Important. For everything. Seriously.

USO Base Game (core component of Unlocked Settlement Objects) USO Season Pass USO Mashups Creator: ANDREWCX Notes: Good for people like myself who spend entirely too much time decorating settlements.

Integrated Commonwealth Creator: ANDREWCX Notes: Actually makes the DLC kind of mixed with the main region instead of this weird, walled-off land you can only really tell your other companions about.

[PS4] SimpleGreen - SimpleSeasons 'Spring' [PS4] SimpleGreen / SimpleYellow / SimpleRed (Nuka-World Plugin) Creator: ANDREWCX Notes: I know it's fall and all, but it's been 200 years and plants are vicious little buggers. If nothing else, Boston should be drowning in kudzu.

[PS4] Cages Overhauled & More Creator: 3lric Notes: Kidnap and adopt local faction members, synths, and creatures, and get robot settlers that work.

[PS4] Overgrowth, Immersive Living Forests And Grasslands [PS4] Overgrowth, Far Harbor Creator: MisterOverseer Notes: -and sure, the bombs in Fallout are supposed to be crazy strong, and it's not like people have stopped using nukes there since the Great War, but if people can live there, plants certainly should be. And Nagasaki and Hiroshima look just fine today. It's been way longer in Fallout.

Reverb And Ambiance Overhaul -  ALL DLC [PS4] Creator: Mm137 Notes: The reverb sometimes sets back to max at odd intervals - I usually keep it at around half - but it makes the audio blend into the various settings so much better. You'll be less eager to throw an explosive in that pipe you're standing in, but it's more immersive and just sounds nice. The radio echoing off of old walls in abandoned rooms is especially nice.

[PS4] Eli's Tweaks and Fixes All-In-One Creator: TheRealElianora Notes: So, so many of these bugs needed this. Water, power, and defense go up more per their sources, weights have been altered, you can get a new molerat disease cure by befriending Curie and gathering a bunch of stuff, and more unique game items don't get dropped into the 'junk' category - like MacCready's toy soldier.

[PS4] Water Redux Creator: lamanise Notes: Looks good. Like, so good. The water is changed based on what kind of body of water it is and whether or not it's stagnant.

Limited Minutemen Quests [PS4] Creator: Chucksteel Notes: Poor, sweet Preston. He didn't ask for that overwhelming sense of duty, and this mod helps the both of you out. You won't be constantly getting asked to help settlements (or failing the quests when you don't immediately jump on them) and he gets to relax a little.

[PS4] OCDecorator Creator: Ethreon Notes: For placing all those little objects in your settlements without worrying about a settler making them explode into an interior decorating disaster.

Time Scale changed from 20 to 6 [PS4] Creator: StormLord Notes: Longer days, longer nights. Makes keeping track of in-game time easier and more immersive without outright breaking any quests.

Peaceful Radstags Creator: Ash1597 Notes: No more bloodthirsty companions running off to murder the local wildlife for, uh, existing.

Loaded Loading Screens Creator: PoppaMcNikap Notes: Funniest mod by far, is even better if you're familiar with the original ones. Had actually made me laugh out loud sometimes.

Be smol (p small) NO DLC! [PS4] Creator: Drhamm Notes: I'm short. I like my character being short, too. Only makes some animations (like putting a fusion core in Power Armor) look silly at its worst, is otherwise very immersive.

Sanctuary No More Hammering Creator: Djpudz Notes: Sweet, sweet relief for your ears and for the settlers' arms. It's not like they were doing anything except aggressively hitting buildings anyway.

[PS4] Restore Barney Rook mission Creator: Abates Notes: Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy is this such a paaaaaaaaain. C'mon, Barney, you've been here for how long and you're gonna die as soon as you since I'm within three miles? Dude.

Plenty 'O' Exploration - PS4 - New Interiors And Exteriors To Explore! BETA Creator: DangoSan Notes: Lots more story and many more locations to check out. Blends in well with the vanilla setting - to the point that looking at the list now, I'm surprised by how many of these locations I thought were just a part of the game to begin with!

Power Conduits Radius Increase And No Build Limit - All DLC [PS4] Creator: StormLord Notes: Settlements no longer end up 60% wiring, 40% building.

The Beantown Interiors Project [PS4] Creator: Chucksteel Notes: Love me some new places to explore. There were too many boarded-up buildings, anyway. This one even adds some to Far Harbor and Nuka-World!

Colzie's Place Doors Anywhere Mod Creator: Colzie Notes: Doors are nice. The Wikipedia page for walls says, "Doors are mobile walls on hinges which open to form a gateway." Which, I mean, I guess is true. I can't say it's wrong.

NSA No Settlement Attacks  (Base Game + DLC) PS4 Creator: Djulisa Notes: The only part of the vanilla game I actually dread. Settlement attacks never seemed to really care what your defense was at or where you were, but now you can escape that responsibility.

The Castle Revamp [PS4] Creator: FelloutIsLife Notes: Has that annoying problem where the debris sometimes respawns, but the fixes to the wall (and the free materials from scrapping that debris) are worth it.

[PS4] Luminus Workshop Lights Creator: ShanicTheOatMeme Notes: No more streetlamps that give off the light equivalent to that of a candle! Works and looks great with mods to change the brightness of nights.

Vault 88 - Restored Lighting - Rad Scanners - Turrets [PS4] Creator: StormLord Notes: The first area in the Vault looks crummy and is a pain to fix/work around...Until now. This mod fixes all that.

Immortal Cats - PS4 Creator: GenaTrius Notes: I really like cats. That's all I have to say about this one.

D.C. Glory Expansion Pack 1 Light [PS4] Creator: SlacksNawfside Notes: The Great Green Jewel sure as hell doesn't look like one...Until now. My poor system doesn't like the full version of this mod, but the Light one still looks lovely and makes it feel like a settlement worthy of the name.

TenPines Bluff Settlement Overhaul Ps4 Creator: Undernier Notes: Went here at too low a level. Gonna have to come back. The settlement itself still functions regardless but the nearby quest can be pretty dangerous. Look out for the minefield.

Power Line Physics [PS4] Creator: Cdante Notes: Because that's what a Bethesda game needs. More physics. (No, but really, it looks nice.)

Stumble Upon Interiors [PS4] Creator: Chiaro22 Notes: More things to explore? Yes, please. Some of these are actually really cool, and all of it blends in well with the vanilla game.

Consumables Overhaul - PS4 Creator: Aaronc53 Notes: Because food should matter, and cooking it should matter more. Works well with mods that decrease stimpak quantities.

No Build Limit - No DLC [PS4] Creator: StormLord Notes: Oh, no. This is here twice, sort of. Aw, shi-

Fizztop Grille Workshop - PS4 Creator: Mk221 Notes: Gage did say Colter had some peculiar taste, and I agree. I'm just gonna push everything off the top of the Fizztop and put in my own stuff.

Workshop Decorations Pack Creator: Astlem Notes: Probably one of my favorite mods ever. The bookshelves can have books, tables can come with clutter, desks look like they're in use...It's all so, so good.

Insignificant Object Remover Creator: AKcelsior Notes: Helps with frames, is generally comforting. Tucks you in at night and reads you a story.

[PS4] STS - Scrap that Settlement (Base Game) (+dlc addons) Creator: 3lric Notes: Doesn't let you scrap everything, but it sure lets you scrap a lot. There's this one makeshift structure on Spectacle Island that gets on my nerves, but I can't think of anything else I've had issues with since getting this mod.

UCO Base Game (core component of Unified Clothing Overhaul) (+season pass) Creator: ANDREWCX Notes: Very important. Very nice. Lets you upgrade, recolor, and wear armor in all kinds of ways.

DLC Ammo Leveled Lists Creator: Worlds Notes: Adds DLC ammo and weapons to other level lists, rearranges what drops when.

NPC Pipboys for PS4! Creator: Batta0909 Notes: Looks cool. That's about it.

(DLC) Companion Combat Overhaul Creator: Haighter Notes: A different mod that changes up perks for companions and actually makes them, you know, hit their targets. Their base clothing is also a little better. Also makes every other Courser a little harder thanks to the boost to the Courser Uniform X6 wears.

Superb Settlers [PS4] Creator: LilleMats90 Notes: Settlers actually show up with some gear, which makes sense since they're been getting by on their own 'til now.

NPCs are not Cartoons AIO  -vBy Drhamm [PS4] Creator: Drhamm Notes: Companions look a little less unsettling. Plus, why do these twenty-year-olds look forty? Radioactive problems or not, it's creeping me out.

PS4 Shut. Your. FACE. Creator: Random.Encounter Notes: Why does every NPC feel the need to yell at me?! I'm JUST TRYING TO LIVE MY LIFE.

[PS4] Dogs not Brahmin Creator: ANDREWCX Notes: No more Brahmin cornering you in settlements or spawning on your roof. Besides, the Commonwealth could use more dogs, right?

Equilibrium: Weapons (Balance Fixes) Creator: Alexananiev Notes: Pros: Your pipe pistols are no longer useless. Cons: Enemy pipe pistols are no longer useless.

M.C.O.R. - Main Character Outfit Redux Creator: Sargeschultz Notes: One time I accidentally scrapped Kellogg's Outfit and broke my own heart. Never again.

Buffed Minutemen Militia 2 [PS4 Version] Creator: Dragonovith Notes: If I'm gonna be the general, you can bet your ass I'm training and equipping you...Or this mod can do it for me. Squads summoned by the flare gun (I'm not sure I've ever done that?) also have a squad leader, which is a nice touch.

Companions In The Institute Creator: Ash1597 Notes: I get lonely, okay?

Companion Perks (PS4)-DrNewcenstein Creator: DrNewcenstein Notes: Gives companions lore/backstory-based perks, which is pretty cool.

Ranged Robotics Hack Creator: Djulisa Notes: Re-breaks this perk into the funniest thing to bring into the Mechanist questline ever. Make robots explode at a distance by aiming your gun at them, then hacking from however far you are. Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

More Map Markers - PS4 Creator: Mogomra Notes: Because it's nice to know where you're going - and where you've been.

Slower Respawn Rate Creator: Sway4829 Notes: I like feeling like I'm actually having an effect on the Commonwealth, like clearing out a location matters. This lets me pretend.

[PS4] Deliverer Mark2 Creator: Areis3020 Notes: I love Deliverer. I usually grab the Mark2 at ~level 60 or so and use the regular one until then.

1st Person Animation Tweaks [PS4] Creator: Thedust01 Notes: Mostly lets your character chill out when moving around instead of constantly pointing their gun at everything all of the time. Don't be so paranoid, Sole, it's not like everyone you've ever known is de-oh.

Vender Diversity Overhaul [PS4] Creator: Hroun Notes: Vendors should matter, right? Right.

NPC Loot Drop Rebalance [PS4] Creator: Hroun Notes: Fewer enemies carrying stimpaks, adds more variety and character to the various factions. Maybe this file won't end up with 200+ stimpaks (but it probably will)

No Legendary Items from Creatures [PS4] Creator: Hroun Notes: Why did that Mirelurk have a gun, anyway? It'd be cool if it was jutting out from one of its claws from someone it had killed before, or something, but no. It just has a gun. This fixes that.

Sanctuary Hills SP Rebuild [PS4] Creator: SpiritPixie Notes: C'mon, Codsworth, you've been cleaning for 200 years and this is what it looks like? No way.

Silent Stealth Field [PS4] Creator: AlpineYJ Notes: Bweeep. Bwooo. Bweep. Bwooo. Bweep. Bwooo. Every. Single. Time. You move. NO MORE.

Loyal Gage [PS4] Creator: Sway4829 Notes: I just wanna keep my trash friend, okay? I love Porter, but I also really love shooting the Nuka-World Raiders in the face. Or in the back, in this case.

Pipboy Light To Spotlight Creator: Ska00l Notes: Provides a bigger light than similar mods while still remaining more immersive than the vanilla light, which apparently turns you into a beacon or something.

[hexaethylene]

I got tagged by @for-lack-of-a-better-world so... Hello there!

Rules: tell me your favorite characters from fictional works (movies, books, tv, video games, etc.) and tag 10 people!

Personally, I’ve tried to keep this to one character from each thing or I’ll fill this list before I get past FFXV and KH, so...

1. Ignis - FFXV - Hands down my favourite character in it, and since it’s flavour of the month with me (and BOY do I go for the long haul on a fandom sometimes, so this could be a very long month), he gets top billing. I just... The voice, the looks, the fact he says ‘petrol’ instead of ‘gas’, the fact that he’s an adorable little nerd that looks like a catwalk model and clearly has bags of style and so very little taste in clothing... I love this character. He’s heavily, heavily flawed, and he makes stupid selfish decisions based on feelings and not practicality, and you agree with him because damn it, feelings. Yes, I’m going to take this newly blind person into a horrible soggy mine that’s treacherous underfoot, and a maze to navigate, filled with monsters; it’d be cruel not to. (Other contenders: Gladio, Iris, Aranea, Cor, Prompto, Noctis, Ardyn.)

2. Saix/Isa - Kingdom Hearts - It took me a decade to fall out with this series hard enough to bump this guy to a number two slot. I liked Saix anyway, because his introduction, where he shows up and golf claps at Sora before asking if he’s seen a man named Axel just got me. I could listen to Kirk Thornton read the phone book, and then he’s a blue haired prettyboy with yellow eyes underneath that hood? And then he clearly has a flair for the dramatic, since he decides to exit by holding his arms out and stepping backwards into the corridor of darkness. Then we find out he was a silly little kid named Isa, full of mischief and teenage arrogance, with his best friend Lea and the way that friendship broke down, and I just want to hug the little shit. I wanna hug both the little shits. (Other contenders: Axel/Lea, Marluxia, Larxene, Xigbar and he nearly got his own slot despite my rule, Even/Vexen, Ienzo/Zexion)

3. Havelock Vetinari - Discworld - One of my literary crushes when I was younger, still a favoured character today. I’m not a fan of the last few Discworld books, but the Patrician in Jingo is just an absolute star. Jingo, Feet of Clay, Going Postal, Making Money, and all inbetween are the glory days of the series for me, and they’re where Vetinari is at his peak. Seeing him as a youngster in Night Watch was excellent. (Other contenders: Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Sam Vimes, Angua von Uberwald, Cheery Littlebottom, Nobby Nobbs, Dorfl, Adora Belle Dearheart.)

4. Ulquiorra - Bleach - This arrogant, miserable little no-nonsense buttmunch. He’s utterly loyal, for some reason, despite the fact that he gets Demyx’d (used as a verb because, like Demyx in KHII, Ulquiorra also gets put in the way of the hero in order to slow him down with no expectations that he will survive the encounter, and in point of fact, surviving the encounter would thoroughly scupper the bad guy’s, that being his boss’s, plan) and he seems to know he’s being Demyx’d. He doesn’t half witter on with himself, mostly about how everything is pointless because he’s so much stronger than the hero, but he also successfully killed the hero twice. Unfortunately for Ulquiorra, Ichigo had plot armour, so he got better, both times. (Other contenders: Grimmjow, Nnoitra, Nel Tu, Apacci, Szayel)

5. Maleficent - Sleeping Beauty - Don’t come near me with the Angelina Jolie version. Original flavour Maleficent or GTFO please. She’s a black fairy who decided the best revenge she could get when she was snubbed for a party was to let everybody fret for sixteen years, and then capture the prince and keep him until he was so old it didn’t work any more. She was evil, and she enjoyed it. Also she turns into a dragon, always a bonus.

6. Kadaj - FFVII Compilation - Some good contenders for this one, but I have a soft spot for the poor unfortunate swine that got to be the physical manifestation of Sephiroth’s batshit insanity. He knows he’s not mommy’s favourite, so he’s riddled with inadequacy issues. He’s another character in desperate need of a hug. Also his motorbike is ridiculous and far too big for him. (Other contenders: Aerith, Hojo)

7. Freya - FFIX - She has her own story within the game, but it never takes over, and even though it’s a love story, it never once stops her being an absolute badass.

8. Donna Noble - Doctor Who - Best companion of the modern series by far. She starts out as the sort of annoying, attention seeking, absolutely tedious person to be around, who I’m sure we all know at least one of, and ends up growing so much over the course of her journey, and she doesn’t change because of the Doctor, she changes because of the things she sees and learns along the way. Shame about the way they ended it for her.

9. Professor McGonagall - Harry Potter - Favourite Harry Potter character by far. She’s so no-nonsense in her job, and yet she’s also super competitive, and an absolute ass kicker. I wish there’d been more of her.

10. Arya Stark - Game of Thrones - I need to catch up on reading these books, because I seem to read at the pace GRR Martin damn well writes, but she’s just such a broken character. Life is cheap to her, she is terrifying, life has been cheap to her since she was very little. The events of the story just stripped her compassion away, for the sake of her own survival. People seem to think she’s amazing, and strong, and a badass, and she is, but she’s also very, very broken by all that she’s lost.

I tag... anyone that wants to do this. I know the people I’d be tempted to tag are unlikely to participate.

[halfambidextrous067]

My opinion/review of Mass Effect Andromeda

So I’ve played Andromeda for 80 hours and have a 97% completion, so I’d say it’s fair that I’ve seen almost all it (currently) has to offer. Spoiler warning, duh.

Never has a game had me so undecided about how I truly felt about it. On one hand, it was an amazing game that more often than not, had me smiling, laughing, and eager to see what’s next. On the other…I was frequently let down by poor mission diversity, backtracking, wonky animations, and just the occasional feeling of lack of effort on Bioware’s part.

So, to the negatives first. Andromeda is beautiful game. No denying it, but I’ve always felt like the current Frostbite engine creates mediocre character models compared to weapons, environment and vehicles. This game is no different. I won’t beat the dead horse on animations, because there’s been enough of that. I will say this though, there was such a small percentage of immersion breaking facial animation glitches, that it didn’t bother me. What bothers me the most is how lifeless the eyes were. Everything else was forgivable, but a AAA game should be better. Especially considering Dragon Age Inquisition was animated better with a better character creation. Which brings me to my next point…

Character creation was mediocre. I loved the character I created, but I felt it didn’t offer much. It wasn’t bad, but like I noted earlier, it was a step down from Inquisition.

Andromeda suffers a lot from what I like to call “open world syndrome”. What that means is that there is a vast open world, populated with so many things to do, but damn if I can’t remember half the shit I did. A lot of games are like this these days (Ubisoft, I’m looking at you). Now I get that it wasn’t going to be the Witcher 3 or Skyrim, but it was just so disappointing. The original trilogy had so many great side quests, but outside of loyalty missions, which I consider to be critical path, but by definition they’re side quests…but I’m getting side tracked, loyalty missions aside, I can’t remember even half of them. There’s a crap loa of fetch quests, that’s fore sure. I didn’t mind the getting stuff for movie night, cause that was silly, but that was like four(?) times What makes that even more infuriating is that Bioware said that there would be meaningful side quests. Yeah sure, scanning rocks and plants is meaningful…

I felt the critical path was a little too short, like they filled it with so much side content that they didn't have enough budget for the main story. And the fact that settling a colony is considered part of the critical path is BS. It shoehorns you into doing forgettable side quests to raise viability just put an outpost. But it's not like the outpost will have unique quests to give you. Nope! Go here and kill this giant Remnant. Every outpost. I just wish they expanded the conflict between you and the Archon. I also dislike how they used your sibling in the game. Sure they could get nabbed by the Archon, and sure they could be in a coma for a while. That's fine. But to literally be in a coma up until the point where they become a (very obvious) plot device was annoying. Let them join me on the Tempest! Have a loyalty mission. The wouldn't necessarily have to be a companion, just be there more.

The backtracking that I mentioned, might be a pet peeve of mine, but honestly. I go from the Nexus after clearing all the tasks I had left to the Tempest, sit through the takeoff video aka loading screen, and BOOM! “You have a new message at your terminal, pathfinder” what does that message say? Meet me at the Nexus for this! So I have to sit through another landing sequence to do one stupid interview. And it’s like that with all the other planets. get into orbit and another quest on that planet populates.

Which, while I’m discussing this, you should be able to choose where you land on a planet. Going to Kadara is a chore half the time when you need to go into the boonies via the market, and then the slums before you can fast travel.

When I said lack of effort on Bioware, I’m still not convinced it was Bioware’s fault. I think EA rushed this out the door. This game lacks so much polish that is normally in a Bioware game. I see everyone with all these game breaking glitches, I had none, but they’re there, and I’m stuck thinking, “was this a Bethesda/ Ubisoft game?” So I’m unsure who’s truly to blame for this.

On to the good! I did talk about a lot of the faults, at least that I could think of off the top of my head, but there’s so much good to this game. So much.

I can’t say how many times I was laughing at the dialog. Ryder is hilarious. Liam is hilarious, Jaal’s fish out of water aspect is done smartly and hilariously. Everyone is funny. So much of Shepard’s character was semi decided how they would be in the original trilogy, but because of the removal of the paragon/renegade option, Ryder truly feels like me in the characters shoes.

I enjoyed the story a lot. I felt like it was a mild re hash of the original game, but in a good way. The plot twist you discover when unlocking your dads memories sets up nicely for dlc or for the sequel, which excites me. The ending with the quarian ark excites me for future content as well. Romances and friendships were some of the best yet. Being able to have meaningful time with a companion that's not a romance scene is legit. And there were so many times that I wanted to abandon my romance to try someone else. This new crew is awesome. I know that I highlighted more bad than good, but Andromeda is much more than the sum of its parts. It's not the strongest entry in the series, but there's a lot of good here, especially where it counts. I'm excited to dive back into the game for new game + and to try to resist the temptation of romancing the same crew member again. Excited to see what high level game play is like (I finished at level 62). More over, I'm excited for all this game and sequel have to offer next. Overall I'd give the game 7.5/10 And I'm not like IGN or Gamespot where a 7 is mediocre and a baseline something should strive for. An average game would be a 5/10.