#people will eventually start want it to be soft and vice versa

[gavin-reed-is-gay]

I love how reed900 started as karma for Gavin’s actions against Connor and now it’s “they’re soulmates, they love each other, they have a beautiful spring wedding and spend the rest of their lives together with their ten adopted cats”

[fairlyang]

Woken up 🕷️

You get woken up by miguel eating you out

w/c: 2.1K

pairing: miguel o’hara x f!reader

tags: 18+ smut. fwb, some kind of plot, lots of teasing, spend time apart, he finds you in bed, can't help it, eats you out, but you're asleep, kinda dub-con, somno, you wake up

Miguel didn't do relationships which was why everyone thought it was odd and strange when he was always so soft towards you. You didn't question it, you thought you'd just given him the best first impression possible but that wasn't exactly the case.

He was fascinated by you, captivated by your beauty, wit, and sarcasm. Although it irritated him that you were one of the few that wasn't afraid to stand up to him or talk back, that was one of the things he especially liked about you.

He eventually started flirting with you as well as seeing how you'd react when giving you little touches like his hand pressed against the small of your back, or lightly wrapping his arm around your shoulder. When he saw you ease into it, he started testing the waters a little more by putting his hand on your knee, or getting his face really close to yours. Even took it a step further and would have his hand on your thigh rubbing circles on it.

Eventually you caught on and started doing the same to see how he liked it. Well he did, but in another sense he didn't. He hated the effect you had on him almost instantly. His ego was never going to let him cave before you.

He was slightly teasing you even more by going behind you breathing down your neck when you were alone or have his hands on your hips when you stood still.

You didn't always wear your suit at HQ sometimes having some sweats around or just a hoodie with the suit underneath, and he allowed it until you started wearing provocative clothing. He couldn't stand the idea of other people staring at you the way he did so he told you that you were no longer an exception to that rule but you had fun while it lasted wearing tops and dresses that accentuated every inch and curve of your body.

So then you took your tight fitted suit to your advantage by rubbing your ass against him "on accident" and even going as far as reaching down to pick something up from the floor when you knew he was watching.

He then decided enough was enough and he quickly grabbed your hand and dragged you to his office to finally have you. He demanded you take off your suit while he took his off. When you were both fully nude he smashed your lips together and his hands were all over your body, feeling how soft your skin was and you were feeling him at the same time. A passionate and almost hungry kiss. All the teasing that lead up to this had you both aching to just get to it. So you did.

That didn't end up being the last time you did it at HQ and you'd go to him when you needed his touch and vice versa.

Turns out both of you were always so needy so he made you share his office with him. It made your lives much easier instead of running and swinging around trying to find each other.

You both tried to be as discreet as possible not wanting to bring attention to yourselves even more than before. It didn't stop your friends from pestering you to tell them about it. Miles and Gwen being the most curious and nosy. Good thing you had an incredible poker face and were a decent liar. Hobie on the other hand kind of read through you but you knew he wouldn't say anything.

It did end up going under the radar and they soon stopped asking questions and focusing on putting Hobie on with someone which didn't go well..... You thought you were in the clear and your secret would just be forever hidden until Jess ended up catching you on your knees in front of Miguel in your shared office. She quickly looked away and said she didn't see a thing and left.

She ended up pulling you aside a few days after and asking how you managed to do that out of curiosity and you just shrugged confused by it yourself. She didn't tell a soul and the secret has been hidden for five months now.

You both always had to keep it at a minimum considering you both move in and out of universes especially when you aren't always in the same teams for missions. Although you were practically his right hand girl he didn't always automatically schedule you to be on his team, especially if it was high odds of it being hard to complete or really dangerous.

But this led to him seeing you a bit less given he didn't want to put you in any danger and the timing was never on point.

He felt himself crave you at moments he shouldn't. He thought of you, and your body in the middle of missions, he'd try to shake off the ideas, and positions he wanted you in but it was extremely hard. You were always the first and last thing he thought of right when the day started and ended.

It was the same way for you but you had slightly more time on your hands because he let you choose what you wanted to help out with at HQ. You'd help out your friends, read up on files, and label vials. But always in the back of your mind was Miguel and the way he would touch you, breathe you in, please you.

Something you had always wanted to try with Miguel was somnophilia, whether it be you or him giving each other head while you slept. He loved the idea but as time wasn't ever on your sides it never happened. But it was always on the back of your mind anytime you went to sleep.

You went to sleep tired as fuck after a long day of dealing with all the dipshits not doing their job right in your regular job on your Earth during the morning, and helping out at HQ almost directly after. You decided to go back to your Earth after you were done putting away the anomalies you successfully caught. You changed as fast as possible only wearing a random shirt and some panties. You went straight to bed and knocked the fuck out.

Miguel went to go find you in your room at HQ but he didn't see you there and went back to his own quarters. He went into his room seeing you weren't in his bed either and began to panic. Then he realized there was one other place you could be and he made a portal to go to your Earth.

He walked through and was in your living room. He closed the portal and walked to your room quietly. He open the door slowly trying to not make any noise and goes inside. He closes it slowly and turns around, a sigh of relief leaving his mouth seeing you asleep on your bed.

Although you've been mainly just fucking around he's grown close to you, he's grown to care for you more than he imagined.

He walked closer to your bed, right on the edge as he looks as you closely. Your shirt had gone up to your back exposing your lower back and curves. One of your legs was laid straight down and the other was lifted up. One hand under your cheek and the other swung out.

He easily took notice of the tiny red thing you were wearing. His mind was already running wild and he hasn't seen you in a few days. He felt hungry.

He moves to the left side of your side and sat down by your legs. His fingers lightly went up and down your legs and thighs. Good thing you were a heavy sleeper.

He felt bold so he moved your already stretched out leg a bit farther so now you were a bit arched, more than before that is. His mouth salivated at the sight in front of him. He knew if he started there was no going back.

His fingers lightly traced up and down your leg, he noticed you didn't move so he went higher up his hands playing with your ass. You stirred a tiny bit and he stopped but then kept going. He carefully tried to take your thong off but knew he wouldn't be able to peel it off from your knees. He tried but just left them there.

His eyes widen at your already slick cunt. He smirks and lays down between your legs. He lightly blows against your slit and you squirm a bit making him chuckle. He spreads your ass then lets go letting it jiggle and he swears. He's never played with you unconscious but you've both talked about trying it someday, and right now was the perfect time for him to try.

He leaves a kiss to your slit then kitten licks down to your clit and moves back up to your slit absolutely loving how you taste. It's something he can never get tired of.

After a few minutes of him doing that and not much movement from you, he decided to change his pace.

He was then devouring your pussy as if it were his last meal. Not stopping and wrapping his arms tightly against your hips. You were now squirming and slowly waking up. But he wasn't going to stop until you came all over his mouth conscious or unconscious.

You were now letting out some moans and your breathing becoming unsteady. Miguel moans against your pussy and collected all your dripping juices on his tongue. Suddenly you let out a shaky breath, opening your eyes, and wake up letting out a whimper.

This made Miguel even more feral and he went down to suck on your clit making you squirm but he held you down how he needed. "M-Miggy?" You asked breathless, your eyes hazy and feeling his hands grip you harder.

"Oh- o-oh fuck- Miguel." You whine and spread your legs so he can have more space.

He smacks your ass as a thanks and you moan into your pillow. You could hear the slurping noises and his tongue working it's magic making you somehow even more wet. You could feel him go up and down your slit and even tease your hole making you whimper. He gently spreads your folds and you feel him blow on it making you shiver. "y-you're sick-"

"Te encanta nena." He murmurs and goes back to it very softly and slowly trying to stick his tongue in your pussy. (You love it baby)

You whimper again and feel your body shiver and your orgasm fast approaching. "M-Miggy- fuck- asi así-" you whine and try to buck your hips against his mouth. (Like that, like that)

He pulls away and spit on it and dives right back in. You feel him lick down to your clit when suddenly he slides one finger inside you accidentally going all the way because of your slickness. You whimper and he sticks another finger in and starts pumping them in and out of you fast. You squirm and he starts curling them up and going deeper inside you.

His mouth is on your clit sucking on it and his fingers dripping while coming in and out of you. "M- fuck! Miguel- amor no parres- i-I'm so close-" (don’t stop)

He goes even faster, deeper, his mouth devours your folds and sensitive clit making your legs start to shake. He never pulls away, practically making out with your clit and fucking you with his fingers when he suddenly adds a third and you clench against them moaning out and feeling so close.

Your legs start shaking and that feeling in your stomach coming up fast. The final moan was a mix of that, a scream, and a whimper. Miguel slows down as you ride your high and lets go of his grip on your hips.

He leaves little kisses on your thighs before slowly taking his fingers out of you. You whimper suddenly feeling empty and can't seem to move, extremely used up and tired. He pulls your shirt down and gets in bed pulling you towards him. You were still shaking as it's been a while since Miguel's last been able to play with you.

"Estas bien amor. I'm here." He whispers leaves a kiss on your cheek. (You're okay my love)

Your breathing calms down and you look up at him. "T-thanks." You whisper and weakly smile.

"Of course. I mean I just couldn't help it...." He whispers and leaves a small peck on your lips before pulling away.

"Go to sleep angel, I'll be here tomorrow I promise." Was the last thing you heard before falling asleep in his arms.

[acealistair]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard GameInformer Article Transcribed

I saw some people lamenting that they had no way to read the GameInformer article, and while MVP dalishious posted screenshots of the article here, I figured that might be a little difficult to read, plus people with screen readers can't read it of course. So I've gone ahead and transcribed it! Full thing below the cut!

As a note, I transcribed it without correcting any typos, capitalization errors, etc. that the article itself had (as much as it pained me, omg the author capitalizes so many things that shouldn't be and vice versa). There may be some typos on my part as I did this as quickly as I could, so apologies in advance for any you might encounter.

I have also created a plot-spoiler-free version of the article for those who would like to learn more about the mechanics of the game without learning more plot info than they want!

Throughout my research and preparation for a trip to BioWare’s Edmonton, Canada, office for this cover story, I kept returning to the idea that its next game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard (formerly subtitled Dreadwolf) is releasing at a critical moment for the storied developer. The previous installment, Dragon Age: Inquisition, hit PlayStation, Xbox, and PC a decade ago. It was the win BioWare needed, following the 2012 release of Mass Effect 3 with its highly controversial and (for many) disappointing ending. Inquisition launched two years later, in 2014, to rave reviews and, eventually, various Gameo the Year awards, almost as if a reminder of what the studio was capable of.

Now, in 2024, coincidentally, the next Dragon Age finds itself in a similar position. BioWare attempted a soft reboot of Mass Effect with Andromeda in 2017, largely seen as a letdown among the community, and saw its first live-service multiplayer attempt in 2019’s Anthem flounder in the tricky waters of the genre; it aimed for a No Man’s Sky-like turnaround with Anthem Next, but that rework was canceled in 2021. Like its predecessor, BioWare’s next Dragon Age installment is not only a new release in a beloved franchise, but is another launch with the pressure of BioWare’s prior misses; a game fans hope will remind them the old BioWare is still alive today.

“Having been in this industry for 25 years, you see hits and misses, and it’s all about building off of those hits and learning from those misses,” BioWare general manager Gary McKay, who’s been with the studio since January 2020, tells me.

As McKay gives me a tour of the office, I can’t help but notice how much Anthem is scattered around it. More than Mass Effect, more than Dragon Age, there’s a lot of Anthem - posters, real-life replicas of its various Javelins, wallpaper, and more. Recent BioWare news stories tell of leads and longtime studio veterans laid off and others departing voluntarily. Veilguard’s development practically began with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. When I ask McKay about the tumultuousness of BioWare and how he, as the studio manager, makes the team feel safe in the product it’s developing, he says it’s about centering on the creative vision. “[When] we have that relentless pursuit for quality, and we have passion and people in the right roles, a lot of the other stuff you’re talking about just fades into the background.”

That’s a sentiment echoed throughout the team I speak to: Focus on what makes a BioWare game great and let Veilguard speak for itself. Though I had no expectations going in - it’s been 10 years since the last Drag Age, after all, and BioWare has been cagey about showing this game publicly - my expectations have been surpassed. This return to Thedas, the singular continent of the franchise, feels like both a warm welcome for returning fans and an impressive entry point for first-time players.

New Age, New Name

At the start of each interview, I address a dragon-sized elephant in the room with the game’s leads. What was Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is now Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Why?

“These games are reflections of the teams that make them, and as part of that, it means we learn a lot about what the heart and soul of the game really is as we’re developing it,” Veilguard game director Corinne Busche tells me. “We quickly learned and realized that the absolute beating heart of this game is these authentic, diverse companions. And when we took a step back, as we always do, we always check our decisions and make sure they still represent the game we’re trying to build.”

Dreadwolf no longer did that, but each member of BioWare I speak to tells me The Veilguard does. And while I was initially abrasive to the change - lore aside, Dreadwolf is simply a cool name - I warmed up to The Veilguard.

Solas, a Loki-esque trickster member of the Elven pantheon of gods known as the Dread Wolf, created the Veil long ago while attempting to free the elves from their slave-like status in Thedas. This Veil is a barrier between the magical Fade and Thedas, banishing Elven gods and removing Elven immortality from the world. But players didn’t know that in Inquisition, where he is introduced as a mage ally and companion. However, at the end of Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC, which sets the stage for Veilguard, we learn in a shocking twist that Solas wants to destroy the Veil and restore Elves to their former glory. However, doing so would bring chaos to Thedas, and those who call it home, the people who eventually become The Veilguard, want to stop him.

“There’s an analogy I like to use, which is, ‘If you want to carve an elephant out of marble, you just take a piece of marble and remove everything that doesn’t look like an elephant,’” Veilguard creative director John Epler says. “As we were building this game, it became really clear that it was less that we were trying to make The Veilguard and more like The Veilguard was taking shape as we built the game. Solas is still a central figure in it. He’s still a significant character. But really, the focus shifts to the team.

“[We] realized Dreadwolf suggests a title focused on a specific individual, whereas The Veilguard, much like Inquisition, focuses more on the team.”

Creating Your Rook

Veilguard’s character creator is staggeringly rich, with a dizzying number of customizable options. Busche tells me that inclusivity is at the heart of it, noting that she believes everyone can create someone who represents them on-screen.

There are four races to choose from when customizing Rook, the new playable lead - Elves, Qunari, Humans, and Dwarves - and hundreds of options to customize your character beyond that. You can select pronouns separately from gender and adjust physical characteristics like height, shoulder width, chest size, glute and bulge size, hip width, how bloodshot your eyes are, how crooked your nose is, and so much more. There must be hundreds of sliders to customize these body proportions and features like skin hue, tone, melanin, and just about anything else you might adjust on a character. Oh, and there’s nudity in Veilguard, too, which I learn firsthand while customizing my Rook.

“The technology has finally caught up to our ambition,” Dragon Age series art director Matt Rhodes tells me as we decide on my warrior-class Qunari’s backstory, which affects faction allegiance, in-game dialogue, and reputation standing - we choose the pirate-themed Lords of Fortune.

Notably, instead of a warrior class, we could have chosen mage or rogue. All three classes have unique specializations, bespoke skill trees, and special armors, too. And though our Rook is aligned with the Lords of Fortune faction, there are others to choose from including the Grey Wardens, Shadow Dragons, The Mourn Watch, and more. There is some flexibility in playstyle thanks to specializations, but your class largely determines the kind of actions you can perform in combat.

“Rook ascends because of competency, not because of a magical McGuffin,” BioWare core lead and Mass effect executive producer Michael Gamble tells me in contrast to Inquisition’s destiny-has-chosen-you-characterization.

“Rook is here because they choose to be, and that speaks to the kind of character that we’ve built.” Busche adds, “Someone needs to stop this, and Rook says, ‘I guess that’s me.’”

Beyond the on-paper greatness of this character creator, its customizability speaks to something repeated throughout my BioWare visit: Veilguard is a single-player, story-driven RPG. Or in other words, the type of game that made BioWare as storied as it is. McKay tells me the team explored a multiplayer concept early in development before scratching it to get back to BioWare basics. The final game will feature zero multiplayer and no microtransactions.

Happy to hear that, I pick our first and last name, then one of four voices, with a pitch shifter for each, too, and we’re off to Minrathous.

Exploring Tevinter For The First Time

Throughout the Dragon Age series, parts of Thedas are discussed by characters and referenced by lore material but left to the imagination of players as they can’t visit them. Veilguard immediately eschews this, setting its opening prologue mission in Minrathous, the capital of the  Tevinter Empire. Frankly, I’m blown away by how good it looks. It’s my first time seeing Veilguard in action and my first look at a Dragon Age game in nearly a decade. Time has treated this series well, and so has technology.

Epler, who’s coming up on 17 years at BioWare, acknowledges that the franchise has always been at the will of its engine. Dragon Age: Origins and II’s Eclipse Engine worked well for the time, but today, they show their age. Inquisition was BioWare’s first go at Ea’s proprietary Frostbite engine - mind you, an engine designed for first-person shooters and decidedly not multi-character RPGs - and the team struggled there, too. Epler and Busche agree Veilguard is the first RPG where BioWare feels fully in command of Frostbite and, more generally, its vision for this world.

We begin inside a bar. Rook and Varric are looking for Neve Gallus, a detective mage somewhere in Minrathous. The first thing players will do once Veilguard begins is select a dialogue option, something the team says speaks to their vision of a story-forward, choice-driven adventure. After a quick bar brawl cutscene that demonstrates Rook’s capabilities, there’s another dialogue choice, and different symbols here indicate the type of tone you can roll with. There’s a friendly, snarky, and rough-and-tough direct choice, and I later learn of a more romantically inclined “emotional” response. These are the replies that will build relationships with characters, romantic and platonic alike, but you’re welcome to ignore this option. However, your companions can romance each other, so giving someone the cold shoulder might nudge them into the warm embrace of another. We learn Neve is in Dumat Plaza and head into the heart of Minrathous.

Rhodes explains BioWare’s philosophy for designing this city harkens back to a quick dialogue from Inquisition’s Dorian Pavus. Upon entering Halamshiral’s Winter Palace, the largest venue in Dragon Age history at that point, Dorian notes that it’s cute, adorable even, alluding to his Tevinter heritage. If Dorian thinks the largest venue in Dragon Age history is cute and adorable, what must the place he’s from be like? “It’s like this,” Rhodes says as we enter Minrathous proper in-game.

Minrathous is huge, painted in magical insignia that looks like cyberpunk-inspired neon city signs and brimming with detail. Knowing it’s a city run by mages and built entirely upon magic, Rhodes says the team let its imagination run wild. The result is the most stunning and unique city in the series. Down a wide, winding pathway, there’s a pub with a dozen NPCs - Busche says BioWare used Veilguard’s character creator to make each in-world NPC except for specific characters like recruitable companions - and a smart use of verticality, scaling, and wayfinding to push us toward the main attraction: Solas, attempting to tear down the Veil.

All hell is breaking loose. Pride Demons are rampaging through the city. Considering Pride Demons were bosses in prior games, seeing them roaming freely in the prologue of Veilguard speaks to the stakes of this opener. Something I appreciate throughout our short journey through Minrathous to its center below is the cinematography at play. As a Qunari, my character stands tall, and Rhodes says the camera adjusts to ensure larger characters loom over those below. On the flip side, the camera adjusts for dwarves to demonstrate their smaller stature compared to those around them.

This, coupled with movie-liked movement through the city as BioWare showcases the chaos happening at the hands of Solas’ Veil-break ritual, creates a cinematic start that excited me, and I’m not even hands-on with the game.

Eventually, we reach Neve, who has angered some murderous blood mages, and rescue her from danger. Or rather, help… barely. Neve is quite capable, and her well-acted dialogue highlights that. Together, Varric, returning character Lace Harding, who is helping us stop Solas and is now a companion, Rook, and Neve defeat some demons. They then take on some Venatori Cultists seizing this chaotic opportunity to take over the city and other enemies before making it to Solas’ hideout. As we traverse deeper and deeper into this hideout, more of Solas’ murals appear on the walls, and things get more Elven. Rhodes says this is because you’re symbolically going back in time, as Minrathous is a city built by mages on the bones of what was originally the home of Elves.

At the heart of his hideout, we discover Solas’ personal Eluvian. This magical mirror-like structure allows the gang to teleport (and mechanically fast-travel) to Arlathan Forest, where Solas is secretly performing the ritual (while its effects pour out into Minrathous).

Here, we encounter a dozen or so demons, which BioWare has fully redesigned on the original premise of these monstrous creatures. Rhodes says they’re creatures of feeling and live and die off the emotions around them. As such, they are just a floating nervous system, push into this world from the Fade, rapidly assembled into bodies out of whatever scraps they find.

I won’t spoil the sequence of events here, but we stop Solas’ ritual and seemingly save the world… for now. Rook passes out moments later and wakes up in a dream-like landscape to the voice of none  other than Solas. He explains a few drops of Rook’s blood interacted with the ritual, connecting them to the Fade forever. He also says he was attempting to move the Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain, part of the Evanuris or Elven gods of ancient times, to a new prison because the one he had previously constructed was failing. Unfortunately, Solas is trapped in the Fade by our doing, and these gods are now free. It’s up to Rook to stop them; thus, the stage for our adventure is set.

The Veilguard Who’s Who

While we learned a lot about returning character but first-time companion Lace Harding, ice mage private detective Neve Gallus, and veil jumper Bellara Lutara, BioWare shared some additional details about other companions Rook will meet later in the game. Davrin is a charming Grey Warden who is also an excellent monster hunter; Emmrich is a member of Nevarra’s Mourn Watch and a necromancer with a skeleton assistant named Manfred; Lucanis is a pragmatic assassin whose bloodline descends from the criminal House of Crows organization; And Taash is a dragon hunter allied with the piratic Lords of Fortune. All seven of these characters adorn this Game Informer issue, with Bellara up front and center in the spotlight.

The Lighthouse

After their encounter with Solas, Rook wakes up with Harding and Neve in the lair of the Dread Wolf himself, a special magical realm in the Fade called the Lighthouse. It’s a towering structure centered amongst various floating islands. Epler says, much like Skyhold in Inquisition, the Lighthouse is where your team bonds, grows, and prepares for its adventures throughout the campaign. It also becomes more functional and homier as you do. Already, though, it’s a beautifully distraught headquarters for the Veilguard, although they aren’t quite referring to themselves as that just yet.

Because it was Solas’ home base of operations, it’s gaudy, with his fresco murals adorning various walls, greenery hanging from above, and hues of purple and touches of gold everywhere. Since it’s in the Fade, a realm of dreams that responds to your world state and emotion, the Lighthouse reflects the chaos and disrepair of the Thedas you were in moments ago. I see a clock symbol over a dialogue icon in the distance, which signals an optional dialogue option. We head there, talk to Neve, select a response to try our hand at flirting, and then head to the dining hall.

A plate, a fork and knife, and a drinking chalice are at the end of a massive table. Rhodes says this is both a funny (and sad) look at Solas’ isolated existence and an example of the detail BioWare’s art team has put into Veilguard. “It’s a case of letting you see the story,” he says. “It’s like when you go to a friend's house and see their bedroom for the first time; you get to learn more about them.” From the dining hall, we gather the not-quite-Veilguard in the library, which Busche says in the central area of the Lighthouse and where your party will often regroup and prepare for what’s next. The team decides it must reach the ritual site back in Arlathan Forest, and Busche says I’m missing unique dialogue options here because I’m Qunari; an Elf would have more to say about the Fade due to their connection to it. The same goes for my backstory earlier in Minrathous. If I had picked the Shadow Dragons background, Neve would have recognized me immediately, with unique dialogue.

With our next move decided, we head to Solas’ Eluvian to return to Arlathan Forest and the ritual site. However, it’s not fully functional without Solas, and while it returns us to Arlathan Forest, it’s not exactly where we want to go. A few moments later, we’re back in the Arlathan Forest, and just before a demon-infested suit of mechanized armor known as a Sentinel can attack, two new NPCs appear to save us: Strife and Irelin. Harding recognizes them, something Dragon Age comic readers might know about. They’re experts in ancient elven magic and part of the new Veil Jumpers faction. The ensuing cutscene, where we learn Strife and Irelin need help finding someone named Bellara Lutara, is long, with multiple dialogue options. That’s something I’m noticing with Veilguard, too - there’s a heavy emphasis on storytelling and dialogue, and it feels deep and meaty, like a good fantasy novel. BioWare doesn’t shy away from minutes-long cutscenes.

Busche says that’s intentional, too. “For Rook, [this story’s about] what does it meant to be a leader,” she says. “You’re defining their leadership style with your choices.” Knowing that Rook is the leader of the Veilguard, I’m excited to see how far this goes. From the sound of it, my team will react to my chosen leadership style in how my relationships play out. That’s demonstrated within the game’s dialogue and a special relationship meter on each companion’s character screen.

Redefining Combat Once More

Bellara is deep within Arlathan Forest, and following the prolgoue’s events, something is up here. Three rings of massive rocks fly through the air, protecting what appears to be a central fortress. Demon Sentinels plague the surrounding lands, and after loading up a new save, we’re in control of a human mage.

Following the trend of prior Dragon Age games, Veilguard has completed the series’ shift from tactical strategy to real-time action, but fret not: a tactical pause-and-play mechanic returns to satiate fans who remember the series’ origins (pun intended). Though I got a taste of combat in the prologue, Veilguard’s drastic departure from all that came before it is even more apparent here.

Busche says player complete every swing in real-time, with special care taken to animation swing-through and canceling. There's a dash, a parry, the ability to charge moves, and a completely revamped healing system that allows you to use potions at your discretion by hitting right on the d-pad. You can combo attacks and even “bookmark” combos with a quick dash, which means you can pause a combo’s status with a dash to safety and continue the rest of the combo afterward. It looks even cooler than it sounds.

Like any good action game, there is a handful of abilities to customize your kit. And, if you want to maintain that real-time action feel, you can use them on the fly, so long as you take cooldowns into effect. But Veilguard’s pause-and-play gameplay mechanic, similar to Inquisition’s without the floating camera view, lets you bring things to halt for a healthy but optional dose of strategy.

In this screen, which essentially pauses the camera and pulls up a flashy combat wheel that highlights you and your companions’ skills, you can choose abilities, queue them up, and strategize with synergies and combos, all while targeting specific enemies. Do what you need to here, let go of the combat wheel, and watch your selections play out. Busche says she uses the combat wheel to dole out her companions’ attacks and abilities while sticking to the real-time action for her player-controlled Rook. On the other hand, Epler says he almost exclusively uses the combat wheel to dish out every ability and combo.

Busche says each character will play the same, in that you execute light and heavy attacks with hte same buttons, use abilities with the same buttons, and interact with the combo wheel in the same way, regardless of which class you select. But a sword-and-shield warrior, like we used in the prolgoue, can hip-fire or aim their shield to throw it like Captain America, whereas our human mage uses that same button to throw out magical ranged attacks. The warrior can parry incoming attacks, which can stagger enemies. The rogue gets a larger parry window. Our mage, however, can’t parry at all. Instead, they throw up a shield that blocks incoming attacks automatically so long as you have the mana to sustain it.

“What I see from Veilguard is a game that finally bridges the gap,” former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah, who left BioWare in 2021 before joining the Veilguard team last year as a consultant, tells me. “Uncharitably, previous Dragon Age games got to the realm of ‘combat wasn’t too bad.’ In this game, the combat’s actually fun, but it does keep that thread that’s always been there. You have the focus on Rook, on your character, but still have that control and character coming into the combat experience from the other people in the party.”

“This is really the best Dragon Age game that I’ve ever played,” he adds, noting his bias. “This is the one where we get back to our roots of character-driven storytelling, have really fun combat, and aren’t making compromises.”

Watching Busche take down sentinels and legions of darkspawn on-screen, I can already sense Veilguard’s combat will likely end up my favorite in the series, although admittedly, as a fan of action games, I’m an easy sell here. It’s flashy, quick, and thanks to different types of health bars, like a greenish-blue one that represents barrier and is taken down most effectively with ranged attacks, a decent amount of strategy, even if you don’t use the pause-and-play combo wheel. Like the rest of the game, too, it’s gorgeous, with sprinkles, droplets, and splashes of magic in each attack our mage unleashes. Though I’m seeing the game run on a powerful PC, which is sure to be the best showcase of Veilguard, Epler tells me the game looks amazing on consoles - he’s been playing it on PlayStation 5 and enjoying it in both its fidelity and performance modes, but I’ll have to take his word for it.

Pressing Start

The start or pause screen is as important to a good RPG as the game outside the menus. Veilguard’s contains your map, journal, character sheets, skill tree, and a library for lore information. You can cross-compare equipment and equip new gear here for Rook and your companions, build weapon loadouts for quick change-ups mid-combat, and customize you and your party’s abilities and builds via an easy-to-understand skill tree. You won’t find minutiae here, “just real numbers,” Busche says. That means a new unlocked trait might increase damage by 25 percent against armor, but that’s as in-depth as the numbers get. Passive abilities unlock jump attacks and guarantee critical hit opportunities, while abilities add moves like a Wall of Fire to your arsenal (if you’re a mage). As you spec out this skill tree, which is 100 percent bespoke to each class, you’ll work closer to unlocking a specialization, of which there are three for each class, complete with a unique ultimate ability. Busche says BioWare’s philosophy here is “about changing the way you play, not statistical minutiae.”

Companion Customization

You can advance your bonds by helping companions on their own personal quests and by including them in your party for main quests. Every Relationship Level you rank up, shown on their character sheet, nets you a skill point to spend on them. Busche says the choices you make, what you say to companions, how you help them, and more all matter to their development as characters and party members. And with seven companions, there’s plenty to customize, from bespoke gear to abilities and more. Though each companion has access to five abilities, you can only take three into combat, so it’s important to strategize different combos and synergies within your party. Rhodes says beyond  this kind of customizable characterization, each companion has issues, problems, and personal quests to complete. “Bellara has her own story arc that runs parallel to and informs the story path you’re on,” Rhodes says.

In Entropy’s Grasp

As we progress through the forest and the current “In Entropy’s Grasp” mission, we finally find Bellara. She’s a veil jumper, the first companion you meet and recruit in-game (unlike Neve, who automatically joins), and the centerpiece of this issue’s cover image. Because our mage’s background is Veil Jumper, we get some unique dialogue. Bellara explains we’re all trapped in a Veil Bubble, and there’s no way out once you pass through it. Despite the dire situation, Bellara is bubbly, witty, and charming.

“When designing companions, they’re the load-bearing pillars for everything,” Rhodes says. “They’re the face of their faction, and in this case [with Bellara], their entire area of the world. She’s your window into Arlathan Forest.” Rhodes describes her as a sweetheart and nerd for ancient elven artifacts. As such ,she’s dressed more like an academic than a combat expert, although her special arm gauntlet is useful both for tinkering with her environment and taking down enemies.

Unlike Neve, who uses ice magic like our Rook and can slow down time with a special ability, Bellara specializes in electricity, and she can also use magic to heal you, something Busche says Dragon Age fans have been desperate to have in a game. Busche says if you don’t direct Neve and Bellara, they’re fully independent and will attack on their own. But synergizing your team will add to the fun and strategy of combat. Bellara’s electric magic is effective against Sentinels, which is great because we currently only have access to ice. However, without Bellara, we could also equip a rune that converts my ice magic, for a brief duration, into electricity to counter the Sentinels.

As we progress through Arlathan Forest, we encounter more and more darkspawn. Bellara mentions the darkspawn have never been this far before because the underground Deep Roads, where they usually escape from, aren’t nearby. However, with blighted Elven gods roaming the world, and thanks to Blight’s radiation-like spread, it’s a much bigger threat in Veilguard than in any Dragon Age before it.

I continue to soak in the visuals of Veilguard with Arlathan Forest’s elven ruins, dense greenery, and disgusting Blight tentacles and pustules; it’s perhaps the most impressive aspect of my time seeing the game, although everything else is making a strong impression, too. I am frustrated about having to watch the game rather than play it, to be honest. I’m in love with the art style, which is more high fantasy than anything in the series thus far and almost reminiscent of the whimsy of Fable, a welcome reprieve from the recent gritty Game of Thrones trend in fantasy games. Rhodes says that’s the result of the game’s newfound dose of magic.

“The use of magic has been an evolution as the series has gone on,” he says. “It’s something we’ve been planning for a while because Solas has been planning all this for a while. In the past, you could hint at cooler magical things in the corner because you couldn’t actually go there, but now we actually can, and it’s fun to showcase that.”

Busche, Epler, and Rhodes warn me that Arlathan Forest’s whimsy will starkly contrast to other areas. They promise some grim locations and even grimmer story moments because, without that contrast, everything falls flat. Busche likens it to a “thread of optimism” pulled through otherworldly chaos ravaging Thedas. For now, the spunky and effervescent Bellara is that thread.

As we progress deeper into the forest, Bellara spots a floating fortress and thinks the artifact needed to destroy the Veil Bubble is in there. To reach it, though, wem ust remove the floating rock rings, and Bellara’s unique ability, Tinker, can do just that by interacting with a piece of ancient elven technology nearby. Busche says Rook can acquire abilities like Tinker later to complete such tasks in instances where Bellara, for example, isn’t in the party.

Bellara must activate three of these in Arlathan Forest to reach the floating castle, and each one we activate brings forth a slew of sentinels, demons, and darkspawn to defeat. Busche does so with ease, showcasing high-level gameplay by adding three stacks of arcane build-up to create an Arcane Bomb on an enemy, which does devastating damage after being hit by a heavy attack. Now, she begins charging a heavy attack on her magical staff, then switches to magical daggers in a second loadout accessed with a quick tap of down on the d-pad to unleash some quick attacks, then back to the staff to charge it some more and unleash a heavy attack.

After a few more combat encounters, including one against a sentinel that’s “Frenzied,” which means it hits harder, moves faster, and has more health, we finally reach the center of the temple. Within is a particular artifact known as the Nadas Dirthalen, which Bellara says means “the inevitability of knowledge.” Before we can advance with it, a darkspawn Ogre boss attacks. It hits hard, has plenty of unblockable, red-coded attacks, and a massive shield we must take down first. However, it’s weak to fire, and our new fire staff is perfect for the situation.

After taking down this boss in a climactic arena fight, Bellara uses a special crystal to power the artifact and remove it from a pedestal, destroying the Veil Bubble. Then, the Nadas Dirthalen comes alive as an Archive Spirit, but because the crystal used to power it breaks, we learn little about this spirit before it disappears. Fortunately, Bellara thinks she can fix it - fixing broken stuff is kind of her thing, Epler says - so the group heads back to the Veil Jumper camp and, as interested as I am in learning what happens next, the demo ends. It’s clear that even after a few hours with the game’s opening, I’ve seen a nigh negligible amount of game; frustrating but equally as exciting.

Don’t Call It An Open World

Veilguard is not an open world, even if some of its explorable areas might fee like one. Gamble describes Veilguard’s Thedas as a hub-and-spoke design where “the needs of the story are served by the level design.” A version of Inquisition’s Crossroads, a network of teleporting Eluvians, returns, and it’s how players will traverse across northern Thedas. Instead of a connected open world, players will travel from Eluvian to Eluvian to different stretches of this part of the continent. This allows BioWare to go from places like Minrathous to tropical beaches to Arlathan Forest to grim and gothic areas and elsewhere. Some of these areas are larger and full of secrets and treasures. Others are smaller and more focused on linear storytelling. Arlathan Forest is an example of this, but there are still optional paths and offshoots to explore for loot, healing potion refreshes, and other things. There’s a minimap in each location, though linear levels like “In Entropy’s Grasp” won’t have the fog of war that disappears as you explore like some of Veilguard’s bigger locations. Regardless, BioWare says Veilguard has the largest number of diverse biomes in series history.

Dragon’s Delight

With a 10-hour day at BioWare behind me after hours of demo gameplay and interviews with the leads, I’m acutely aware of my favorite part of video games: the surprises. I dabbled with Origins and II and put nearly 50 hours into Inquisition, but any familiarity with the series the latter gave me had long since subsided over the past decade. I wanted to be excited about the next Dragon Age as I viewed each teaser and trailer, but other than seeing the words “Dragon Age,” I felt little. Without gameplay, without a proper look at the actual game we’ll all be playing this fall, I struggled to remember why Inquisition sucked me in 10 years ago.

This trip reminded me.

Dragon Age, much like the Thedas of Veilguard, lives in the uncertainty: The turbulence of BioWare’s recent release history and the lessons learned from it, the drastic changes to each Dragon Age’s combat, the mystery of its narrative, and the implications of its lore. It’s all a part of the wider Dragon Age story and why this studio keeps returning to this world. It’s been a fertile franchise for experimentation. While Veilguard is attempting to branch out in unique ways, it feels less like new soil and more like the harvest BioWare has been trying to cultivate since 2009, and I’m surprised by that.

I’m additionally surprised, in retrospect, how numb I’ve been to the game before this. I’m surprised by BioWare’s command over EA’s notoriously difficult Frostbite engine to create its prettiest game yet. I’m surprised by this series’ 15-year transition from tactical strategy to action-forward combat. I’m surprised by how much narrative thought the team has poured into these characters, even for BioWare. Perhaps having no expectations will do that to you. But most of all, with proper acknowledgement that I reserve additional judgment until I actually play the game, I’m surprised that Veilguard might just be the RPG I’m looking forward to most this year.

[eli0004]

I was hoping someone would ask for this! Yaaay!!!! I hope you enjoy @chinchillaerwin

Summary: further information on french kissing with Levi

Gn!reader

Warnings: slight nsfw implication

I think in most cases, Levi becomes a little nervous when trying something new. French Kissing, in his head, is one of those things that takes more skill than regular kissing, and he’s always unsure whether he has that necessary skill. He never wants to disappoint you, or do something wrong and fuck up the moment.

I think this will probably happen with most of the firsts in your relationship with him. Even the first kiss was strategically planned. His sweet little brain loves to follow order and routine, and going outside of that has to be on his terms more often than not.

Additionally, you have to admit french kissing does not sound appealing at all. And he might be unsure at first about having your tongue in his mouth, or vice versa. Essentially, Introducing new things into your intimate relationship takes time.

Eventually he’ll go for it. When everything feels right and the circumstances all add up, when he feels comfortable to explore, he’ll decide he’s ready and he’ll initiate.

In this particular instance, you’re probably touching him nicely. Not too aggressive or eager, just taking your time with him. Like i said in the previous post, he’s just an awkward lil guy so he isn’t sure where to put his hands when you two first get started. He’s likely holding onto your forearms or searching for your hands to hold.

You’re kissing him sweetly, gently, and that’s always a boost to his confidence. He likes knowing that you place importance on handling him with care sometimes, especially since most people assume he’s invincible.

With that newfound confidence, he’ll decide to go for it. You’ll feel the tip of his lil tongue poking at your lips in between your kisses, caress his cheek softly with your thumb and let him in.

Levi discovers that he quite likes the passion and eagerness of open mouth kissing. He lets out these soft breathy hums, and his hands move from your arms to your hair, his nimble fingers tangling themselves into the roots.

His body is more lax and pliable now, and he’s really into the moment. If you decide to touch him below the belt, be prepared for things to escalate quickly. I believe that kissing with tongue is likely something that turns him on quite a bit.

[meazalykov]

jamal musiala is in love

jamal musiala x reader headcannons

warning: 18+ nsfw mentions

❀⋆ Jamal was pulled to you the moment he laid eyes on you. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of you since he found you stunning. I can imagine this being at a party or event setting. He asks Alphonso or Tel if they’ve known you, but both of them don’t. Eventually, he gets the courage to walk up to you and engage in a conversation with you since he realizes that none of his close teammates know you well enough to be his wingman. 

❀⋆ He is not the person that will move quickly into a relationship with you. The starboy is too focused on football to make you a priority just shortly after he met you. This doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care about you or doesn’t want to be with you. He knows he wants to be with you, but Jamal is patient, doesn’t want to rush things, and knows good things take time. 

❀⋆ A year after the two of you met for the first time, he asks you to be his girlfriend. You were shocked, as you started to slowly lose hope that he would want a relationship while he focused on his football career. He promised you that he likes you a lot and does have time outside of Bayern to spend time with you, since you both live in Munich. 

❀⋆ The Bayern Munich star is secretive and reserved. He doesn’t want the media to get a hold of his relationship with you. He loves you so much and shows you off on his small private account with his close friends and family who follow, but he knows what the public could do to relationships. 

❀⋆ This doesn’t mean that the media will never get a hold of it. One day, a German gossip reporter posted to instagram that they’ve received a tip on the relationship between the both of you. Other gossip pages tagged along with this rumor. You’re an influencer who gained a huge following from (your favorite interest) so people immediately shipped the two of you and couldn’t believe it.

❀⋆ Jamal is obsessed with you and is your number one supporter (and vice versa). He always texts you goodmorning/goodnight, brushes/combs your hair, compliments you, loves massaging your feet and hands, he cooks your favorite foods, loves cuddling with you, applies your skincare on your face when you’re too tired to do so, and helps you put your jacket on when you’re heading to an event with him. Clearly, Jamal's love language is acts of service and quality time. 

❀⋆ When you’ve met his mother for the first time, six months after becoming his girlfriend, she loved you like her second daughter. You’ve engaged in daily conversations with her about things that reminded her of you, you visited her by yourself without Jamal sometimes, and the two of you engaged in things like going shopping, getting manicures, and more fun activities. Jamal appreciates your close relationship with his mom because he prioritizes his family too and wants you involved with them. 

❀⋆ Jamal loves wearing the clothing brand Supreme. You’ve noticed this throughout your relationship with him, since he has an interesting choice in fashion. For two weeks, you went to New York City to visit your best friends who didn’t live in Munich. Throughout this time, you’ve missed him so much. 

❀⋆ One day in the city, you walked along the street with your friends and saw a Supreme store. Your eyes light up and you’ve pulled your friends into the store with you. The two girls were confused about your actions since you didn’t wear Supreme at all. Once they’ve noticed that you’re shopping for men’s clothes, they’ve realized what you’re doing. You went back to Germany and gave Jamal all of the stuff you’ve gotten him. 

❀⋆ “Awe baby you shouldn’t have”  he softly spoke as his soft lips made contact with your forehead. 

❀⋆ “But I wanted to!” You blushed as you gave him a tight hug. 

❀⋆ The both of you have a healthy sex life that is driven with love and affection. The first time you’ve both had sex, the two of you were drunk off of beer (#Germany). At first, you felt ashamed since this happened before things were official between the two of you. You were nervous that he would’ve left you since many people had that stereotype about footballers. However, he reassured you that he was head-over-heels for you and isn’t leaving you. The both of you started having sex regularly shortly after the relationship was official. The boy goes crazy at the sight of you bended over in-front of him, your droopy eyes as his face is in-between your legs, and your lips struggling to kiss his during missionary due to moaning. 

❀⋆ The king of aftercare. He will never leave you to fend for yourself after making you finish. He loves running a bath for the both of you where he sits behind you, he will give you nice cold water to drink, and he does his best to take care of you. 

❀⋆ Jamal is motivated when he's playing for Bayern. However, he goes crazy when he sees you in the crowd watching him. He believes that you’re a good luck charm and loves seeing you have his name and number on your back during the times you wear his jersey.

❀⋆ He is obsessed with kisses. He could fall asleep feeling your lips kiss over his forehead, cheeks, lips, and neck. He can’t get enough of you. It's the same way you’re obsessed with his arms and hair. 

❀⋆ Jamal would trade the world for your happiness. He loves you and you two have a great long life together <3

[bunni-v1]

Would you do A, C, I, J, O, Q, R & X for Jamil and Idia? Ik it's a lot but,, I love my boys;;

🍓A lot is fine! I'm pretty sure I answered some of these for Idia already, so I'll have to find those posts and link them!

Jamil

A - Affection: Jamil isn't exactly Mr. Affection. It's not like he'll NEVER be affectionate with you, he just rarely thinks to be affectionate. His parents aren't cuddly, and he rarely got any affection from anyone in his life, so, of course, he himself isn't super affectionate. However, once he gets a taste? He's hooked like it's heroin or smth. He cannot get enough of the feeling of being adored by someone.

C - Cuddles: Like I said, once he gets a taste he can't stop. Cuddles may just be his favorite type of affection. He won't ever cuddle up to you in front of others for the sake of both your reputations, but when you're alone he's always game. Any kind of cuddles too. Watching a movie, playing games, doing homework, taking a nap? He's down.

I - I love you: It takes Jamil a while to say that he loves you. He doesn't want to commit to loving someone in case you want to back out when you get a taste of the life he lives. He waits until he's sure you won't leave him behind at a moment's notice to say I love you. When he does say it, it's so soft and genuine and vulnerable it almost breaks your heart.

J - Jealous: Jamil is... an odd case? It's not like he doesn't get jealous at all, it's just only with specific people. Randoms at the college, whatever, they can do what they want they aren't worth your time. People like Leona Kalim or Malleus? He's gonna wanna raise hell. He knows that he can't provide a cushy lifestyle, so he feels threatened by the people who CAN give you that.

O - Open: Jamil is not an open person. He is so good at lying sometimes he can fool himself. Still, he does try to open up to you. He makes an effort to be vulnerable and himself, it's just hard and it comes slowly. Little by little he peels back his layers for you, and he only gets more and more comfortable opening up the longer you're together.

Q - Quizzes: Jamil knows everything about you. From your favorite color to that obscure ass tv show only you have heard of but won't stop talking about. He knows your tells of happiness and of discomfort. He knows how to calm you down when you're angry, and he knows how to cheer you up when you're sad. He prides himself on his ability to read others, and you are no exception.

R - Remember: Jamil loves the day that you both actually got together. You and he were having another "tutoring" session where you both laughed and joked around instead of studying. You'd been talking for weeks and toeing the line between love and friendship. You were the one who took the big step, asking him what you were to him, and he answered "Someone I'd like to spend a long time with."

X - Xtra: Jamil is really amazing at doing his own hair. He can put it in a million different fancy ass styles, and sit there patiently for hours as he winds intricate braids into it. When it comes to other people's hair though? He sucks. He cannot for the life of him apply the skills for his hair on other people. The first time he tried with Najma was the last time he was allowed to touch her head. He could learn if he really needed to, it's just not as simple with another person's head.

Idia

A - Affection: Answered here

C - Cuddles: Idia LOVES cuddles, but you didn't hear that from him. He's pretty touch-adverse for a long while into your relationship, but eventually, he starts warming up to physical affection. Once he does, he really can't stop himself. He loves the feeling of you pressed up close to him, and how safe you are with him wrapped around you. (and vice-versa).

I - I love you: Idia won't say it first. There's just no way you get it out of him. He's too nervous he's gonna overstep a boundary, so even if he really wants to, his pretty little lips are sealed. When you do say it though, he is so relieved. Seriously, he was starting to worry he was the only one who felt that way.

J - Jealous: Answered here

O - Open: Answered here

Q - Quizzes: Answered here

R - Remember: Idia's favorite memory isn't anything special, at least in his mind. The day he realized that he loved you, is probably his favorite day ever. You were sitting on his lap trying to beat this boss for the millionth time, and you were getting really pissed. Idia said he could do it for you, but you were so damn determined. When you finally did beat it, you jumped up and pranced around his room like it was the biggest achievement in the world. From how happy you looked, it must've been to you, and Idia realized that he wanted to see you happy like that forever. He realized that he loved your smile and that -- oh sevens, he loves you.

X - Xtra: So, we know that Idia's hair changes color based on emotion and stuff, but there's no way that's all it can do. You can touch it when it's just the regular firey blue, that doesn't hurt, but when it flares up in anger the room he's in becomes a sauna. Do not touch it, it will give you a huge burn and Idia will be left feeling awful for weeks after. When it's pinkish, it emits this soft warm heat that's pleasant. Like a campfire. You've asked to roast marshmallows over it, and Idia replied with utmost confidence, "It doesn't work :("

[poppadom0912]

Together (X)

Warnings: Mentions of violence, blood, injuries, abuse, kidnappings, shootings, swearing and scary men.

Summary: Everyone's reunited at last and are never letting go.

A/N: This is the last chapter before the epilogue. I just wanna reiterate how much fun writing this has been and how much i appreciate all the love and support you've shown this series.

It's a bit too late for my liking but I've only now finished writing. This week was so busy for me but I promised and here it is!

Enjoy the last 2.5k words of angst because the epilogue is next!!🙃😊

Previous Chapter / Series Masterlist / Next Chapter

Kelly was bursting through the seams with anxiety. The entire time while responding to the car pile-up, he was riddled with it and the tension he harboured carried through to everyone else.  

It put him at somewhat ease to know at least Sylvie and Violet were with you as well as Intelligence and then eventually everyone at Med. You were going to be surrounded by people you loved and vice versa.  

When the scene started to get cleared up, Boden wasted no time and let Kelly go, urging him to take his buggy and promising everyone would be there once everything was finished.  

The second Kelly stepped into the ED, April was at his side and guiding him towards the ICU where you were being kept for now. On the way up, she carefully explained what she knew and warned him about your appearance.  

Kelly didn't know what to think till he saw your face for himself and God, he wanted to bring hell onto earth.  

Jay heard his soft steps, picking up his head from the back of the chair. Kelly wouldn't say it to his face, but Jay looked horrible, eye bags dark and sullen, hair uncombed and frizzy and injury wise, the bandages told him enough. Somehow, Jay looked worse than what he did yesterday when Kelly last saw him.  

Upon seeing the lieutenant, Jay tiredly smiled at him, easing himself out of his chair and half limped out the room with the IV pole in his left hand. Kelly went forward hastily to help him, telling him to sit back down or help him out the room into another seat but Jay shrugged him off, weakly pushing his efforts away. 

“Go be with my sister you dumbass. April’s here to help me, don’t worry.” 

And with that, he watched his childhood friend help support his supposed soon to be brother-in-law down the white hallways of the intensive care unit. 

Kelly's eyes burned when he first caught sight of you. The last time he saw you was on the video he'd been sent of you screaming as you were being beaten up.  

Gosh, Kelly had felt so helpless and still feels as such.  

Sitting in the chair Jay had previously been inhabiting, Kelly took his time to fully study you, memorising every feature of your face once again in fear of having you ripped out his grasp again.  

You looked so different. Kelly knew your body by the back of his hand and had your every single detail down to the cell engraved into the forefront of his mind. You looked so different but so recognisable, there was no mistaking that this sleeping woman was indeed you.  

Six hours ago, everyone was ready to mourn the oldest and the youngest Halstead. Despite the resilience Intelligence bleed, everyone had been told to prepare for the worst and six hours ago, all hope was lost and giving up seemed so sweet but so sour it still stung now.  

Kelly hesitated, hand hovering mid-air over yours, eyes cast down on your battered body that he could only see little of. Healing scabs and scars alike marred your hands, the sight making him falter, wondering if it was even a good idea to hold your hand. But then the last two days flashed in his eyes and without another thought, he gently placed your hand in his.  

Relief washed over him in waves, flooding his veins. This sensation felt so bittersweet, the sweet poking the tears from his eyes and the bitter nipping at his ankles. To have you back in his vicinity, to have you back home, Kelly never wanted anything so badly before in his life. Despite this, you had been through the ringer, experiencing pain like no other, pain that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.

Actually, the Murray’s deserve worse, maybe the devil himself. Hell and a bit more sounded sufficient enough.

With his hand safely enveloping yours, Kelly felt himself calming down. Even with all the machinery beeping around him, to feel your pulse against his fingers made this dream a reality.

Soft knocking brought him out of his thoughts. Reluctantly pulling his eyes away from you, Kelly found Sylvie standing at the door with two coffees in hand, Violet nowhere in sight.

“Maggie said I can’t give this to Jay, so…” Sylvie said, dragging the word as she held out the paper cup towards him, shrugging her shoulders sheepishly when Kelly smirked in amusement.

“Thanks Brett.” Kelly smiled, gladly taking the caffeine from her hands, and drinking with no hesitation. Truth be told, no one in the firehouse slept much last night, they had too much playing on their minds.

“Crocket said surgery went well.” Sylvie started, standing by your head, fingers caressing your hair as she gently pulled each tangle apart one by one. “I know it doesn’t look like it but she’s going to be fine.”

There was a pregnant pause, Sylvie’s attention diverted and solely on detangling your matted hair before bringing a washcloth that sat on the table to get rid of any residue and dirt stuck on your face. Her trained fingers were put to work, her eyes not once leaving your face as she continued without stopping.

“She’s going to be just fine.”

*****

Kevin was overwhelmed, so was Kim and Hailey but much less so than the aforementioned man. The rest of the team, well they were off busy with the Murray’s and their many, many (somehow attained) henchmen.

The two women were bystanders in it all, coming much later and missing out the most brutal parts. The same could not be said for Kevin and Will.

The two men were following Jay out the warehouse but at a much slower pace. Kevin was supporting Will as best he could, apologising every time the doctor winced and faltered in his steps. Eventually, Jay got so far ahead that he disappeared and very likely was already outside and getting you into the single ambulance waiting.

All of a sudden, the silence that was only interrupted by Will expressing his pain was intruded by gunfire.

They really couldn’t catch a break, could they?

Will apparently remembered the hallways and pointed out a dead-end corridor for them to take cover in and despite his pain riddled brain, he wasn’t wrong.

Without any hesitation, Kevin drew his gun from his holster and shot when necessary and whenever he found someone lurking nearby. Without diverting his attention, he grabbed his walkie and called for backup, relaying both in code and not what was happening.  

Eventually when some time had passed, way too long for Kevin to be comfortable with, Kim and Hailey appeared from around the corner, guns held up in caution before they lowered at the sight of the officer.  

Despite having everything under control, Kevin felt better having his colleagues with him now that Jay was gone. With their help, together they could probably get Will out quicker.  

Now that everything calmed down, Kevin could finally solely put his focus onto said man. Turning his back to the two women, Kevin went to talk to the redhead but found himself speechless at the sight he was met with.  

Lord knows how but up above was a window that some crazy henchman busted his way through and had silently landed on the ground behind him. The man was dressed in all black, blonde hair pocking from the mask he wore armed with both a gun and knife.  

Worst of all, the unnamed and very much unwelcomed man was way too close to Will for Kevin's liking.  

Before Kevin could properly take care of the dude, a shot was fired, and the man fell very ungracefully onto the solid floor, the sound of the impact making all the intelligence personnel internally wince.  

With the nuisance out of the way and no more pathetic distractions, Kevin turned to the redheaded man once again and the sight made him sick. So sick that he had to bite his tongue and hold back any bile from coming up.  

Kim and Hailey clearly felt the same, both gasping from behind him.  

The annoying man had been left ‘alone’ with Will for plenty long enough because along with all his injuries, another gaping wound had been added. Will was riddled in open wounds, the longer you stared the worse they looked. This one, instead of sitting among the others in his torso, was nicely placed in his thigh which conveniently was just above where Jay had been shot.  

It seemed very convenient that every place on his body that had a wound were the places that bled the most. Will was having so much fun right now.

“Shit! Will!” Kevin rushed to kneel down before the slouched man. Chucking his gun and radio aside, quite carelessly, his brain short circuited before everything kicked in.

“Pressure.” Will coughed out, visibly struggling to keep breathing steadily. “You- you need to put pressure on it.” He repeated, wheezing as he liked his chapped and pale lips.

Without question, Hailey hastily took off the thin jacket she was wearing, rushing forward, and kneeling besides Kevin. With caution and slight apprehension, she positioned the jacket around his thigh but hesitated when she was supposed to tie it.

“This is going to hurt Will.” She said firmly, her strong tone warning him.

“The tighter…” Will started, slowly blinking up at the blonde woman who he knew secretly liked his brother and vice versa. “The better.”

And with that, Hailey tied the simplest knot and pulled hard.

“Fuck!” Will exclaimed, voice breaking. “Motherfucker-“

“Sorry! I’m so sorry but it’s all done.” Hailey incessantly apologised to him; her remorse visible on her face but before she could get up, she was stopped by a hand gripping her wrist.

“You have to go tighter.” Will stated, his fingers clutching her wrist as tight as he could but Hailey barely felt any weight. “Just like a torniquet. It has- has to be tight or else…”

“Will, stay with us man.” Kevin said, his tone leaking with urgency, almost pleading him. “You’re the doctor, walk us through it.”

Forcing his eyes open, Will blearily started at the three of them. His mind was completely muddled and subconsciously, he incredulously wondered how they hadn’t been trained to make a tourniquet in the field.

“Belt?”

Without further say, Kevin was getting up to unbuckle his belt easier, Kim replacing his space.

With much struggled, many pauses and tons of encouragement, they kept him alert enough for him to guide them through making a tourniquet around his thigh. The pain was unbearable, altogether it was blinding.

“I’m so sorry Will.” Kim whispered, sitting in front of him but she was alone with him, Kevin and Hailey gone off to find what was taking the medical attention so long to arrive. “Just a little longer I swear.”

“Jay! Stop panicking.”

“Hailey, it’s Will-“

“We’ve got him, go be with Y/N.”

“But Will- are you sure?”

“He’s trying his best, okay? Go be with our girl.”

And that might’ve been the last thing Will heard, the faint shouting between the two detective partners. Kim’s voice actually, he heard that last, her shouts for help when his eyes slid shut.

Actually, Jay’s desperate pleading, that was the last thing he heard.

*****

"It was part of protocol we run a rape kit."

Kelly couldn't breathe. His only saving grace being that Jay wasn't currently in the room with him.

"It came out clean."

Kelly physically deflated at the good news.

"It's going to take a while but she will recover. They both will." Ethan said, having permission from Crocket to tell him the news.

"And no one's heard anything about Will yet?"

The silence was so suffocating, if Kelly squinted, he could probably see Ethan turning blue from the lack of oxygen.

"We've been told we're waiting on a body. They want us to confirm it."

Kelly didn't need to ask for Ethan to break it down for him. He knew exactly what that meant.

If he looked the Korean man in the eye, Kelly would definitely see a thin sheen of tears coating his eyes.

*****

Antonio had been doing this for a long time, he’d seen and been through a lot himself but this, this would stay with him for a long time.

The guttural screams that tore his vocal cords to further damage. The blood trailed after him like the bread from Hansel and Gretel, painting the crime scene a war zone. His cries begging to know his baby brother and sister were safe and, in a hospital, where they could recover.

They were watching the innocent doctor become a martyr right before their very own eyes.

What happened next could only be explained by pure, sheer will and determination.

While they were hounding for an ambulance, Antonio caught men getting escorted away in cuffs, all looking identical until the final two men left the building. The rage he felt, Antonio didn’t know how any of them remained stationary.

It was a miracle Will came back to consciousness. When he closed his eyes and his body went limp, everyone truly thought that was it, after everything the Halstead’s had done to survive, this was the unhappy ending they were getting. But then, Will gave the biggest middle finger to fate because after all of this, she could be damned for all he could care.

Will remained alert enough, being continuously roused by each of the remaining intelligence members when they noticed his eyelids sliding shut. They tried distracting him, updating him on the wellbeing of his siblings, news that was happily provided.

The only ones that remained was Antonio and Kevin. The rest had been forced to accompany Jay just in case, they were all preparing for the worse case scenario. And Hank, he was making sure the bastards never got to see the light of day ever again.

Ten minutes passed. By now, it had been two hours since they got on the scene and an hour since they raided the warehouse. The more Will struggled; the more Antonio was losing his patience. Right before the naked eye, out in the open for the entire universe to see, Will was bleeding out; he was dying. Death was looming, crawling from a mile away but its stench was strong, it’s shadow too close for comfort.

Making eye contact with Kevin, they had a silent conversation and with no argument, they were lifting Will up and nearly carrying him towards the car.

This was their last chance and they weren’t going to wait for that ambulance anymore.

And for once, fate guided them with a beaming light. She overturned the hatred she'd shown and led them safely, holding out a much-needed lifeline.

And so when the car screeched to a halt at Med’s ambulance bay doors, Will found it easier to breathe.

Series Masterlist:

@mads-weasley @sowrongitslottie @elite4cekalyma @senjoritanana @hufflepuff-blackwidow @mrspeacem1nusone @kmc1989 @goth-cowgirl-03 @daggersquadphantom @photographerkaiya0306 @jamie0515 @samanthavitale @iamasimpingh0e @lanea-1 @swidkid @jamie0515

[ddxviine]

Glad to know there's actual rational people in this fandom after the s2 drop 😭

(copied from an Instagram comment I posted awhile back, VERY big s2 spoilers implied)

I feel like the people complaining about Aziraphale's character development didn't really pay attention to the symbolism and parallels that Neil and the writers purposefully put in the show for the fans. I find it very unrealistic for people to expect Az to grovel and immediately abandon the place he was created and was put under strict supervision and orders for since the beginning of time. It's a lot easier to fall from heaven to hell than it is vice versa, and angels are meant to uphold differently from demons. He's lived only to know Heaven and his devotion to God, and nothing else; the way true angels should. Even if their love is extremely strong, that doesn't automatically make their relationship soft and safe. Even if the cliffhanger was very saddening and heartbreaking, from a writer's perspective, it just makes sense considering what they've been building up with the entire season. It feels flat and two-dimensioned for people to ignore the undertones and hints of religious trauma and manipulation Aziraphale went and is still most likely is going through currently.

There isn't a need to automatically start assuming Neil doesn't know how to write Aziraphale anymore, and that he's begun to act out of character. Aziraphale didn't "let everything him and Crowley worked for crumble", and he most definitely didn't forget what they went through considering he remembers the Alpha Centauri scene and still doesn't trust Heaven entirely. He even says himself that no, he doesn't want to go back to Heaven; he's AWARE of how it is up there. Beelzebub and Gabriel's banishment would've been a sign of hope to anyone that they could eventually fix things, that Heaven was progressing forward in a positive way. He's very aware, and so is most likely Crowley, that the both of them won't be able to have their happy ending together on Earth as long as Heaven is still corrupt and on their tail. That's why ineffable bureaucracy was sent away; they'd never be happy together if they stayed. Az wouldn't have even accepted the offer if the Metatron hadn't made bringing Crowley back apart of the deal. He isn't just doing it for the sake of fixing Heaven; he's doing it for himself and Crowley. Even if his attempt to restructure the angels is most likely going to be in vain, it's Aziraphale we're talking about; we've SEEN how being away from Heaven was a sensitive and hesitant subject for him, both in season one AND season two.

TL;DR

Aziraphale isn't stupid, he's just hopeful. Him going back upstairs was an act of love to fix Heaven, the only place he's known ever since the beginning, and to ensure a happy future for him and Crowley. Unless corruption is fixed from the inside, using Az's logic, ineffable husbands are not going to be at peace. Don't lose hope in Neil and the writers yet.

[theemporium]

hi cece, how are you??🩵 i hope you’re doing well and getting enough sleep!!☀️

i’m coming in with a maxiel au that i can’t stop thinking about🙈 okay so the reader and max are this rich power couple, max is a ceo of some company and gives off very confident vibes when it comes to professional stuff but then he’s a bit uncertain when it comes to his sexuality because he feels that something is lacking in the bed for him… that being a dick to be precise, so he and the reader decide to hire a male escort to spice things up and see if max will be satisfied that way. that escort is none other than daniel, who is annoyed at first because he thinks max is just another rich guy who hides his homosexuality and cheats on his wife and will treat daniel like shit. but max is nothing like that, he’s very shy and new to this and daniel is instantly smitten by those innocent blue eyes. you (the reader) are just watching at first, being close to max for reassurance and letting him discover this new dynamic on his own so he’s not overwhelmed. and daniel, who is used to being sub for older men, sees that max needs guidance and switches to his true nature of a soft dom. he explains everything to max, constantly asking for consent and if everything feels good and is just very gentle with max who is on cloud nine. later on, the reader joins in and these meetings become more frequent while everyone begins to catch feelings, max and the reader for daniel and vice versa. just for entertainment, i think there needs to be some angst, for example that both the sides think that a relationship between all three of them is something forbidden because they were paying daniel to have sex with them and so on, but eventually, they confess their feelings to one another and daniel quits his job and becomes a trophy husband for max.

sorry that this is super long, i just needed to get this out of my head and i share it with someone because this idea makes me dizzy😵‍💫

CHRISTINE MY BELOVED!! hello, hello🫶🏽I am good (probably not getting enough sleep but good!!) how are you???

ALSO I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS

because there’s also this added level of angst where daniel feels himself falling and knows he has feelings for you both, but he knows this place and he’s just being paid for a job. and he thinks yous view him just as that—an employee

whereas, you and max deal with this angst that you don’t think daniel would want yous like that. yous think that he only keeps entertaining the dynamic for as long as you pay him before he moves on to the next job, and it hurts when yous two are blindly falling for him

BUT ALSO THE DYNAMIC? like it starts of with daniel dominating and guiding max because he needs that extra reassurance. but then it moves onto you too. and maybe there was never really any fitted roles or dynamics between you and max, so this is new to you too but daniel is so sweet and doting

AND THEN THE ADDED DRAMA AFTER??? people mocking daniel’s profession or trying to use it against max to undermine him??? daniel would feel so bad but max doesn’t give a shit😭he would chew those guys out and spit them off to the side before he lets them insult the loves of his life

[munsonswhoresposts2]

What I think dating eddie Munson would be like

- Loves nicknames for you and him

- pretty boy, Ed’s, eddie-bear (will never admit he loves that last one)

- he loves calling you darlin’ with a southern drawl when your upset because it makes a soft watery smile appear on your face

- “There’s that pretty smile”

- Loves cuddling

- Skin to skin holding each other just basking in each others presence after a hard day

- Loves laying with his head on the soft pudge of your stomach your thighs on his shoulders with his hands on your knees fingers strumming like they would on his guitar while you both smoke while watching a movie on his bed

- His favourite sleeping position is his head on your boobs your legs around his waist with his arms around you, both of you clung to each other like koala’s

- Would beg you to give him a stick and poke

- If he’s nervous he holds your hand to know your there with him

- If you guys share any classes he would make sure to sit behind you so he can nudge your chair to annoy you and would constantly pass you notes in class with the most random shit on it

-flirts with you like you aren’t already dating

- When you play with his hair he will literally melt

- Loves the taste of your chapstick so much that he wears it sometimes

- Doesn’t like to admit it but needs a lot of reassurance due to the years of bullying and torment

- Smacks your ass any chance he gets

- Your bending over to take something out the freezer? He’s smacking your ass, just stood with your back to him? He’s smacking your ass

- The one time you did it back to him he jumped about 50 foot in the air and squealed like a little girl and then got all red and embarrassed by it

- Wouldn’t talk to you for an hour because of how hard you laughed at him he was pouting the whole time and eventually only forgave you when you begged for it and gave him a kiss

- Let people know your his by Wearing his jacket and his rings

- If the rings don’t fit your fingers he puts them on a chain for you to wear them as a necklace instead

- Begs you to study with him so he can finally pass but always ends up in a make out session 20 minutes in

- Zones out staring at you a lot but gets all embarrassed and flushed in the face if you catch him no matter how long you’ve been dating

- If he ever walks into the trailer to find you already there talking to Wayne having a cup of coffee laughing with each other he just stands at the door watching with a soft smile on his face because he loves to see his two favourite people getting along

- Dates in the back of his van at lovers lake listening to music having a joint and watching the sunset

- Constantly writing you songs and always plays you them experiencing the way your eyes light up and the blush covers your cheeks

- When you him and Wayne have movie nights the few occasions that Wayne has the night off Wayne sits on the arm chair and you and Eddie sit on the couch but most of the time you end up on the couch alone because Eddie can’t sit still and will end up moving to the floor in front you leaning his back on your legs so you’ll play with his hair

- Gives the best hugs

- You can feel the love emitting through the embrace.

- Loves PDA because he had the fattest crush on you before you started dating

- Now he gets to touch you and kiss you in public he will never stop even if his friends all groan in disgust when a peck turns into a full blown make out

- He’s very touchy

- Always has a hand on your thigh or his head on your shoulder

- LOVES stretch marks

- Thinks they’re metal

- You have a drawer in his bedroom and a side of his closet for your stuff and vice Versa

- Any pyjamas you keep at his are pointless because he always wants you to wear his boxers and one of his t shirts

- Can’t control himself once he sees you in his clothes though and you end up naked anyway

- This man can not cook for the life of him

- Burns everything he tries to cook for you

- Feels bad about it but you reassure him it’s okay

- Instead takes you out for dinner both of you buying the cheapest thing on the menu

- Loves gossip

- Like you come home from work or school with some scandal? Oh he’s invested

- Interrupting with little shocked “no she did not say that!”

I didn’t mean for this to be this long but all in all Eddie Munson is just perfect.

[wordbunch]

SFW Alphabet: Éowyn

a/n: this was my first time ever writing for her and it was very challenging and fun! it was requested, I hope I did okay - do let me know if you liked it, and consider reblogging so more people can see it 💛💛💛 (how beautiful is she in this gif??)

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?) Initially she isn’t the most affectionate person you’ve ever met, but gradually that changes as she gets more comfortable around you and lets her guard down more. She’s a sucker for hugs especially, but she prefers to shower you with affection in privacy, behind closed doors. Her hugs are so lovely, and she will also use any opportunity to pepper your face with kisses!

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?) Oh she would be an awesome best friend, and you two would have some sorta friends-to-lovers development. You met when she was snooping around the armory, looking for the best sword to train with (which she wasn’t supposed to be doing, but shh), and you offered to train with her. The rest is history.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?) You’re bigger on cuddling than she is. She definitely doesn’t mind it, but you usually initiate it in the evening before you go to sleep. Éowyn generally enjoys being the big spoon and tucking her head in the space between your shoulder and neck, but after a particularly rough day she won’t object to being the little spoon either.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?) Now now, we’re not going to comment on the cooking and cleaning part, but she would eventually like to settle down with you, but I imagine you’d have a longer courtship. You don’t push her into anything and you know that she will talk to you about it when she’s ready. Ultimately, she loves you too much not to want to spend all her life with you.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?) She would get pretty emotional and most likely tear up, but she would be very respectful and cut straight to the point instead of dragging it out and torturing both of you for longer than necessary. 

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?) I guess this is already partially covered - the two of you wouldn’t get married straight away, but it would still be a solid relationship through and through. Over time she did realize that marriage to you wouldn’t be a confinement, as she had feared for so long, but instead a celebration of your love and commitment to each other.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?) It really depends. She’s simultaneously tough and soft and, honestly, she can be a bit moody, but you love her for all of it. If you two train swordsmanship together, she would be almost recognizable. When you’re behind closed doors in your giant bed, it’s a whole different story though. Emotionally, it would take some time for her to really open up to you, but when she does, she’s an open book. You know you can tell her absolutely anything, and vice versa.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?) She loves hugging you, but preferably away from prying eyes. She pulls you in so tightly and warmly and neither of you want to let go. Éowyn likes to just breathe you in or run her fingers through your hair while you hug - it calms down her mind and body instantaneously. On the other hand, during public feasts or balls, she always has an arm on your waist or shoulders in some sort of half hug.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?) You both took your sweet time first, building a solid friendship with lots of understanding and trust before it happened that someone started falling in love with the other person. Both you and Éowyn somehow knew that you loved each other way before anyone said anything, so when she finally caved in and confessed it, it was the most natural thing of the world. You wanted to squeal with glee, and she laughed merrily as you spun her around in joy. 

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?) She is the least jealous person ever. She trusts you with her life and she knows how you feel about her, and that she doesn’t have a single thing to worry about when someone else tries (and completely fails) to make a move on you. Actually, she finds others’ attempts even a little amusing and she likes to watch how you handle it classily. 

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?) Firstly cautious, then overwhelmingly passionate - she’s fiery! Éowyn likes sneaky little pecks throughout the day while you’re both busy and sometimes run into each others, but she’s no stranger to pulling you away for a proper kiss in secret. She loves kissing you on the cheek, and she absolutely melts when you give her a forehead kiss.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?) A bit anxious and cautious, but still friendly and warm. Probably only you can tell that she’s secretly nervous.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?) I imagine her as someone who wakes up rather early, but ever since you waltzed into her life, she loves to wake up and stay in bed for some time, just admiring your peaceful sleeping form. When she gets a bit restless, she would start to gently stroke your cheek or fiddle with your fingers.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?) Nights with her are the best. After a long day you both just get to completely unwind and relax. There’s a high chance of one of you running a bath for the other (or for both of you together). Nights are also the perfect time for cuddle sessions! 

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?) Éowyn would take some time before letting you into her inner world, and she would also be hesitant about “burdening” you with her problems. You just need to reassure her that you love her and want to be there for her, and she will gradually open up.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?) By other people? Sort of quickly -  there were a few occasions of you having to save her from a situation that she cooked up for herself. However, it’s super rare that she’s angry at you. If so, it’s usually for a good reason, but you work through it together. Maybe you’re the one who insists a bit more on talking things through. 

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?) She really tries her best to remember most things, and you know that. She learns your body language quite quickly so she’s able to read you in that way, and she also quickly memorized some little mannerisms of yours, like how your lips sometimes move when you’re dreaming.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?) Éowyn treasures every moment that could be considered kinda “boring” - quiet nights, slow mornings, going for walks, braiding each other’s hair… because she’s aware of how quickly everything can change and how dangerous the world can be. She chooses to treasure every little mundane thing you do together, so she can’t really point out one favorite memory. 

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?) As much as she wants to be very protective of you (on the inside, she is), she knows how stifling that can feel and she’s seen you handle situations yourself multiple times. Only if things really escalate will she step in, but she loves to observe how you confidently stand up for yourself. You act the same with her mostly. 

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?) Like I have already written, she treasures every little moment, so she will also do her very best to make the little things meaningful and special. For extra special occasions, she will go to great lengths to plan out a wonderful day for the two of you, but when it comes to gifts you’re a bit better. However, altogether it makes for a lovely balance!

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?) Sometimes she will close herself off and barely talk to you, not because of something you’ve done, but because of something else, even though she already knows you’re always willing to help her and that you will never judge, no matter what.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?) As long as she’s wearing clean clothes and her hair is not too much of a tangled disaster, she is good to go! Although on special occasions she does put in more effort into dressing up and looking her best by your side. Let them watch.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?) She wouldn’t  - Éowyn is literally a personification of a strong and independent woman! You fill a great place in her life and you’re more special to her than words can say, but she is fine on her own too. 

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.) For some reason, she is a bit shy when it comes to singing in front of you, but if you give her puppy eyes and a pouty face (and say that it would really make you feel better if she sang you something) she cannot say no.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?) We already know that she hates feeling limited and trapped, but in a partner I feel like she’d never go for a person who’s sort of indifferent, without some passion that drives them.. 

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?) Éowyn is a very light sleeper so she’d wake up at almost any noise or if, God forbid, you get up because of something.

🌾🌾🌾

everything taglist + everything LOTR taglist: @lotrnonsense @starlady66 @lazymeriadoc @entishramblings @thesolarangel @silversword7000 @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog​ @averys-place​ @valkyriepirate​ @i-killed-ramsey @emmaarenstarr​

[incorrectjane-andthedragon]

More context/explanations for the AU I made with @thelightfantastik that I mentioned in a previous incorrect quote. There's no real name for this AU (yet?) so I'm just going to call it the Curse and Ghost AU.

So basically:

-I always JATD as being a world with "soft" magic-Dragons and that being pretty much it-if that makes any sense, but in this AU, full blown "hard" magic exists, like magic curses and ghosts.

-John D'ark, Sir Theodore, and the unnamed woman in Sir Theodore's mysterious portrait all knew each other and eventually got caught in an extremely tangled and painful love triangle.

-Then an invading army is about to take Kippernia.

-John D'ark uses powerful and dangerous magic to destroy them all, but in order to do so, he turns himself into stone, and turns Portrait Woman into stone too, either because a.He's madly in love with Theo and has a "if I can't have you then no one else can either" mentality, or vice versa, with Portrait Woman instead. Or b. something Happened and he was agonizingly furious with them both and wanted to hurt both of them at the same time and take down the invading army in one fell swoop.

-Army is defeated, but D'ark and Portrait Woman are still stone, and Theo is left behind to pick up the pieces.

Here's where things get a little bit tricky.

-In one version of the AU, everyone knows what happened and just decide to not talk about it because, hello? World shatteringly traumatic wartime event involving magic most people don't understand? Best to just let some sleeping dogs lie and silent statues stare. Because the statue is of magical origin, it can't be moved or destroyed. It remains, a constant reminder.

-In another version of the AU, the Castle Wizard uses a spell of his own to wipe everyone's memories of what happened. He possibly even wipes some of Theodore's memories, as per his request, so he's not left shouldering the burden of everything that happened, or the memories of what the man he loved became.

-Then, somehow, D'ark and Portrait Woman get free. My personal interpretation is that a specific frequency on the dragon sword either reverses the spell or breaks the stone. D'ark is back, but far from better than ever. In fact, he's worse than ever, having spent decades frozen in a moment of blinding heartache, obsession and agony and now freshly dropped into a kingdom that has changed immensely. It's time for everyone to reckon with what they thought they could sweep under the rug. (note: in the amnesia version of events, everyone who remembered what happened would also get their memories back when he returned.)

Miscellaneous(?) stuff:

-In a version of events where Jester also dies, then that opens up a whole new can of worms, like Corrupted!D'ark and Ghost!Jester bonding and Ghost!Jester being led down a darker path.

-Also, Theodore sees parallels between D'ark and Jane, and that scares him. Maybe he can remember the exact details of what he's so afraid of, maybe he can't. Regardless, seeing Jane act a little too much like D'ark makes his stomach sink.

-Also I basically just thought of this right now- What if the secret to everything: D'ark, the curse, how to break the spell, was hidden by the Wizard in the one place no one would even know to look: The Book of Dragons created by King Bartok, hidden away? If Jane and Dragon find that book, they find out everything else too. But of course, Theodore-whether he understands why or not-knows that it is imperative that Jane and Dragon do not find that book, so he starts hindering their efforts to learn more dragon lore. This drives a wedge between Jane and her mentor, making her side more with Dragon (an allusion to the whole conflict of Jane needing to choose between the castle and Dragon in Dragonblade.)

[umemiyan]

hi!! it's me 🌟 ! back with more ume x reader x sakura bc my mind is running so fast!!!!!!!

okay firstly! i'm dying just imagining how their whole est relationship came about? i envision it as ume x reader falling for our sweet touch-starved sakura and wanting to give him all the love he deserves!!! but i can also imagine sakura falling for reader and ume not being opposed to that but they all love each other so deeply!!!!!

and secondly! between your lungs has me fantasising about how it'll be when sakura learns even more? i feel like he'd be such a giver and would love to please reader so bad!!! and IMAGINE! UME TEACHING HIM TO GO DOWN ON YOU! AH!

don't even get me started on when sakura finally gets to be inside of you :( poor baby would probably cry but that's so cute like he'd feel so loved and complete and i knooow he's somehow holding both of you and ume's hands!!!!

HELLO!!!!! AHHHHH ASDKFJASO i'm so excited to talk about them tbh 😭❤️ like they are so heavy on my brain!!!

but yeah my thought was basically a mixture of what you said!! i mean i didn't have it super set in stone while writing it, but i guess i sort of envisioned sakura always having some strong feelings for both reader and ume, though he wasn't sure exactly what his feelings actually were. he just knew that he always felt incredible around the two of them and watching them be together made him feel warm and fuzzy on the inside (setting off his "romance sensor" and making him blush haha)

there wasn't even any jealousy involved necessarily. he didn't look at the two of them and go "ugh i wish she was with me instead of him" and vice versa, but there was a part of him wishing that he could just be... involved. share in the abundance of love. he wanted both of you to look at him the way you looked at each other.

but he never said anything. sakura kept it to himself, because what else was he supposed to do? you two were obviously happy in your relationship, and he didn't even understand what it was that he was feeling. there was no way he could articulate something like that and also risk ruining the wonderful friendship you all had. but he didn't realize the two of you had special feelings for him as well.

you and ume always had a soft spot for sakura, and that's a big part of why he had developed such a massive crush. you always treated him with such love and kindness, the dynamic between you and hajime feeling like the perfect balance with sakura's own person.

anyways i'm rambling a lot about this LOL but essentially there were mutual feelings all around, and reader + ume made the first move with sakura and were thrilled when he turned out to feel the same way, though they had suspected it a bit given his behavior (he's not always great at hiding it lol). he was flustered and awkward at first (and often still is), but feels more and more whole with every day he spends with them.

NOW ON TO THE SLUTTY STUFF

you're right, i see him as SUCH a giver who is desperate to show just how much he loves you guys and how appreciative he is for everything you do. sakura's not always so great at expressing it in words, but he makes up for it with actions.

ume teaches him all the tips to eating you out, and he is EAGER to learn. sakura almost sees it as a friendly competition to learn how to do it even better than hajime, but overall he's simply dying to satisfy you. he definitely takes a lot of ume's pointers, but he also intuitively figures out his own ways to please you.

oh, and you teaching him how to suck ume off 😵‍💫 god there are so many great firsts here and he has the best people to guide him along. don't even get me started on you eventually prepping him to take hajime's cock. it's a major step, but there's lots of lube and patience and reassurance involved, and the pleasure haruka gets from it is SO WORTH IT.

back tracking to him getting to be inside you for the first time and feeling that sort of tight heat—he would TOTALLY feel like crying because of the intensity of both the emotions and physical sensations, and he'd lowkey be humiliated because of it (it still takes him a long time to accept that he's allowed to have vulnerable feelings and isn't being judged), but it'd feel so good that he'd eventually not care quite as much.

you and hajime treat him so delicately thoughout it, and YESSSS, each of you holding one of his hands 😭😭 i love it. part of me wants to say you'd be on top to try and control the pace and take the pressure off of him, but another part of me feels like he'd want to try and push himself a little bit by having you in missionary 🤔 idk maybe it starts out like that but he's overwhelmed so you decide to take over lolol it's tasty either way!!

ume stays hands off for the most part to let you and sakura enjoy the special moment, but turns out that sakura looks to him for guidance and comfort regardless. he truly wants BOTH of you and needs each of you in different ways.

[seas-of-silver]

Imagine... a new baby brother AU by peakwonderfulness

So @peakwonderfulness said they were doing an AU where Tom and Sabine had another child when Marinette is 15, and subsequently made my brain go into overdrive 😂 so here are some imaginings I had from our discussion in @frostedpuffs's discord server...

(btw we had decided collectively that the baby would be a boy and that Adrien was 1000% invested in the baby and helping out wherever and whenever he can - I mean, Alya, Nino, Roland and Gina would be also, but they're not in this scene)

Imagine Marinette and Adrien encourage Tom and Sabine to have the night off and go for a date night, and so Adrien stays over to help Marinette look after her baby brother. Imagine Adrien heating up the baby bottle and feeding the baby while Marinette makes dinner for them both. Imagine that while one of them is out of the room (say, for example, to go shower or change the baby's nappy), the other lets their kwami fly freely around and interact with the baby, and the baby absolutely adores the kwamis, and vice versa. Imagine Adrien and Marinette taking turns trying to settle the baby, and once the baby finally drifts off into dreamland and placed securely in his crib that Adrien back-hugs Marinette, and she rests her head on his shoulder with his cheek resting on the crown of her head, standing there watching the baby sleep soundly, content in the peaceful visage and hypnotic rhythm of breathing while in the arms of one another before they eventually slip out of the room.

Imagine Adrien telling Marinette that he was already loving his first ever sleepover, and upon hearing that Marinette decides to treat Adrien to some staples of sleepovers - including a pillow/blanket fort (complete with the baby monitor because they are responsible teens). Imagine Adrien wanting to try braiding Marinette's hair, and he keeps losing his place because he really likes how smooth and soft her hair is. Imagine Adrien insisting they paint each other's nails and gossip (which was less gossip and more swapping stories from their childhoods - Marinette's memories of their classmates and the shenanigans they all got up to, and Adrien's recollections of the antics and friendships with both Chloé and Félix). Imagine Adrien is so focused on painting her nails that he unconsciously bleps and Marinette can't help but find that adorable. Imagine them having to stifle their giggles so they don't wake the baby, leading to silent fits of laughter, rolling on the floor as tears stream down their faces, the only sounds are the hiccups of breaths as they try and fail to calm down.

Imagine that they decide to watch a movie together, and because they don't want the baby to wake, they opt for making a batch of cookies instead of popcorn - as well as a plate with some vegetables and dips - to snack on, and while Marinette is looking after the cookies, Adrien finds some tea lights and votive glasses, so he lights the tea lights because he thinks the ambience would be really nice when watching the movie with Marinette. Imagine that they cuddled up to watch the movie and at some point Marinette falls asleep against Adrien as the movie plays, and he just holds her contently. Imagine the baby awakes and Adrien carefully extracts himself to go look after the baby.

Imagine Marinette wakes to find the movie paused and Adrien gone, but before she could panic she hears his voice coming through the baby monitor and she sees through the camera that he's just finished changing the nappy and he starts to try and settle the baby. Imagine Marinette hearing Adrien confide to her baby brother that he thinks Marinette is absolutely amazing, and that the baby is so lucky to have her as his older sister, because she's the most amazing person Adrien knows. Imagine Adrien goes on to gush about how wonderful Tom and Sabine are as parents, and how blessed the baby is to be so loved and cared for by so many people. Imagine she gets up and goes to her parent's room (where the crib is) and leans against the doorway as he promises her brother that no matter what happens in the future, that he'd always be there for him. Imagine Adrien turning to see Marinette in the doorway and smiles at her before putting her now sleeping brother back in the crib. Imagine Marinette hugging Adrien and whispering to him that he is just as loved as her brother is, and how grateful she is to have him in her life.

Imagine Tom and Sabine come home to find Adrienette snuggled up together in their pillow/blanket fort with the baby monitor still directly in front of the two teens as they slept soundly. Imagine them placing bets as to when the two teens would get together, because they know it's only a matter of time.

Imagine the next morning Adrien wakes up first, and he spends some time admiring the sleeping Marinette with her head on his chest, and he entertains the notion of falling for her (even though something in him tells him he has fallen a long time ago), before falling back asleep. Imagine Marinette waking up some time later, watching Adrien peacefully sleeping and reflecting on the way he looked after her brother the night before, and all the words he said, and thinks to herself how wonderful of a father he would make one day. Imagine he wakes once again and they greet each other with soft whispered "hey"s that are as gentle as the morning sun, with smiles to match. Imagine they quietly set about cleaning up the area before Marinette offers to teach him how to make omelettes, which is a fun yet slightly chaotic experience, but it works out well, and they once again realise they make a great team together.

Imagine many more such sleepovers are had, and one time as Adrien is settling the baby as Marinette sleeps, Tom and Sabine come home and overhear Adrien telling their son that one day he hopes to marry Marinette, if she'd have him. Imagine Marinette had, again, awoken to find him missing only to hear his voice saying those words over the baby monitor.

I can't wait for more of this AU (so you might see me obsessing over it every now and again) - I have more thoughts/ideas about this AU, so if you want to see them, let me know!

Thank you Peak for this AU and I will probably be bombarding you with things I come up with for it XD

[thotsforvillainrights]

Hello!! First I wanna start with I absolutely love you’re writing! And I was wondering if you would make some headcannons for some hassaikai members like rappa, overhaul and maybe chrono with a s/o that’s like Lady Dimitrescu. Now do with that what you may and have an absolutely stunning day!

(Mega late on this! Have my sincerest apologies pretty please!)

~Rappa/Kai/Chrono’s S/O Lady Dimitrescu type~

headcanon|scenario|imagine|match-up

~Rappa~

-How he could’ve ever ended up with someone like you is a mystery to him and everyone around you two. The two of you are like night and day. He’s wild, impulsive, brutish. You’re reserved, very graceful, someone that should’ve turned their nose up at the first site of him. Honestly he’s scared you’ll get enough of him and turn tail at the first chance you get. However, you seem to be never deterred from him no matter how out of control he gets. If anything, you’re probably the reason why he’s tried to control himself more these days. Even Chisaki sees a noticeable difference with the way Kendo has been acting. He’s afraid not of you, but to lose you. If you had the time then you’d take it to reassure him that you love him as himself. Afterwards you finally see that fear start to slowly leave his eyes. Lucky for him since he hates all that insecurity he’d been feeling lately!

~Overhaul~

-Wouldn’t you know it but this man feels as though he’s the perfect match for you and vice versa. If anything, he’s probably the one that chased you first. I suspect you didn’t have the time for some street thug to pursue the likes of you. Unfortunately for you, he was willing to play the long game. So day and night for a bout a YEAR straight, he attempted to get at you, to capture you heart as his. The way he sees is that you’re his first and only love. He’s already mentally made plans to turn you into a yakuza wife/husband/partner. He won’t really take no for an answer. It’s a good thing courting never boiled over. Eventually he was just barely able to woo you. After that, the rest was history! The two of you became a power couple within the Hassaikai. With you having the attitude and mannerisms that you did, it wasn’t hard for the others to respect you. Honestly a lot of the lower men end up respecting you more than they do for Chisaki. He’s not pleased with that but there’s no way in hell he’d try to display dominance when it comes to you. You made it clear from the moment you accepted his hands that you wanted to be equals and that you’d never be below him. He’s accepted this by now.

~Chronostasis~

-Like Rappa, he’s a bit insecure when it comes to you. Compared to him you’re like gold and he’s like a dirty little lump of coal. Nothing but a common gangster trying to woo a socialite. He felt like you’d belonged with someone in a nice home with a LOT more money than he could ever hope to have. It’s lucky for him that you didn’t see it that way. He’s one of the only people you had a soft spot for. You can be a bit snobby and snappish with others but with him it’s different. You love him and it means everything to him to know how you feel about him in all honesty. You also let him know that you’d kill for him but that’s a story for a different time lol. With you he feels like he could somewhat aim for an image of a better man. He even tries to dress up more but you remind him that you like him better when he wears those hoodies all the time. Aside from this, you don’t always get the best reputation from others. A lot of people tend to put down on him at a chance for getting with you. It takes the two of you together to shut it down. He should feel like he’s much tougher but not when he’s seen you chew someone out the way you did. He makes sure to never get on your bad side.

[peaceloveandstarrs]

29 for a ship of your choice! 🥰 I trust your judgement

as a promise.

Paris, 1961

John gazed at Paul as Paul doodled in one of the many notebooks they'd brought on this trip, chatting happily with him. It felt good to be away from family, away from friends, just alone with his love. It was a bit cliché that they'd gone to the City of Love (it was called that, right?) to be together, but he didn't care. Point was, they were in a place where they could fully love each other. Alright, so they didn't go about holding hands and kissing in the streets, but they made up for that in private.

They spent their nights enjoying each other's bodies, hands and lips roaming as they made love in whatever position their young, creative minds could think of for as many rounds as they could handle. Then afterward, they cuddled in the tiny, almost too-small bed. They were sweaty from their rounds of passion, but that wasn't important. They were together in the most intimate way, and that was what mattered most. John loved the feeling he got when he would rest his head on Paul's chest and hear his heart pounding as gasps of breath rushed in and out of his lungs. Or vice versa. Or even when they were clothed and John caught Paul watching him with a soft expression in those doe-like eyes.

He felt love. Actual, real love, the kind he craved. Paul truly wanted him. Part of John was afraid to let himself reciprocate. People had loved him and left him. Surely Paul would do the same eventually. The dark voices in his mind said that he deserved it. If he didn't, then why had it happened? Why had so many people that supposedly loved him abandoned him? Why had his parents shoved him off onto his aunt if he didn't deserve abandonment? So as he rested his chin in his hand and continued to watch Paul draw, John felt the darkness coming over his mind again. He looked down at the table in front of him. It was suddenly too painful to look at Paul. Too painful to let himself love or be loved.

Paul looked up from his notebook, where he'd been doodling a myriad of different logos for the band. He was particularly proud of the way he'd made the last letter S into a treble clef and the B into a little drawing of a bug. Or even a little guitar. He rubbed his bleary eyes. How long had he been doing this? And... John had gotten awfully quiet, too. They'd been talking for the longest time. He didn't think anything of it. Maybe John had decided to read; he tended to get quiet when he was immersed in a novel. He looked over at the other side of the room and saw John's slumped, forlorn posture. He knew what was going on. Paul went over to John's table and sat beside him, heart aching when John turned away. He longed to pull John into his arms and kiss away whatever thought was in that beautiful mind of his, but he knew that wouldn't work. Not when John was so far into his mind that he wouldn't even talk.

So he sat there with his hands on top of the desk as though waiting for John to take one. Paul was good with words; he could figure out what to say. But it had to be just right. John deserved nothing less than the best. He deserved more love than Paul could possibly give. He pondered his words for a moment, nervously biting at his thumbnail. How to start this? Best to start simple.

“It isn't true, y'know.”

John looked up at Paul, almond-shaped eyes wide and soft. Paul could see the pain behind them, see that John had let that mask come down. In a strange way, it was an honor. After all, John didn't let very many people see this side of him. Paul would do anything to get into that mind and erase all of those thoughts, but he knew he couldn't. But he could try to make John see that he was worthy of love.

“What's not?”

“Whatever that mind of yers is telling ye,” Paul answered softly. He took the chance and reached to take John's hand. Much to his relief, John took it. Paul hung on, lacing their fingers together with a reassuring squeeze.

“How'd you know?”

“I know ye pretty well by now, I reckon. And look, ye don't have to tell me what's on yer mind if ye don't wanna. But just know, it's lyin' to ye.”

A long pause. John looked down and chewed on the inside of his lip. No way was he gonna cry. Scousers didn't cry. But Paul had read him like a book. And if he couldn't trust Paul, his love, who could he trust? So he gathered his composure and looked back up at Paul, blinking to get rid of the prickling sensation in his eyes.

“Might as well tell ye,” John mumbled morosely. “I... damn, I can't even bloody say it.”

“Take yer time. I'm not goin' anywhere without ye.”

John froze. There it was again, that strange, almost psychic connection that the two of them had shared from the moment they'd met. The ability for Paul to somehow read his mind or for him to read Paul's, both as lovers and bandmates. Paul had just told him exactly what he'd needed to hear without John even saying a word. His jaw dropped in awe. Paul was a miracle. An absolute miracle. And he was sure that thought showed in the way he was looking at Paul in that moment.

“Promise?” John whispered. Paul leaned in and kissed John tenderly. For a few seconds, minutes, who knew, John and Paul moved together in perfect synchronicity, lips pressing together softly and lovingly with each kiss. When Paul pulled away to catch his breath, he rested his forehead against John's.

“I promise, John. Wherever ye go, I'm comin' with ye. Lennon-McCartney forever, remember? And I promise, I'll love ye until the day I die. Nothin' will change that.”

John hugged Paul, clinging to him almost. Something somewhere inside of him shifted. He couldn't name what was going on, but something was changing in his soul.

Maybe, just maybe, he was healing.