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allywthsr · 5 months

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CHRISTMAS MOVIES | (l.norris)

summary: you and Lando watch Christmas movies

wordcount: 1k words

pairing: landonorris x fem!reader

warnings: none!

notes: what are we thinking?

advent calendar

”Lando, come on!“

You were sitting on the couch, waiting for Lando to come and join you. You planned a Christmas movie marathon for tonight, Lando finally had less stuff to do for McLaren and could relax from the stress he had over the year.

The day had been eventful with buying presents and getting ready for Christmas, you counted down the minutes until the evening would start and Lando and you would sit on the couch.

”I‘m coming babe, you can start Netflix already.“

So you did just that, grabbing the remote control and starting the TV, opening Netflix. Clicking through the different movies that Netflix had to offer, you wanted something romantic but funny and knew you had to make it sound cool or Lando wouldn’t watch it.

He came into the room with two mugs in his hands, he made cacao for the both of you, and he even added little marshmallows. You took the mug from his hand and took a small sip after blowing on it, so it would cool down a little.

”The aftertaste is different, it’s fucking good, what did you do with it?“

Now he sat down next to you and clinked your mugs together, putting his hand on your thigh and stroking it softly.

”I added some of your candy canes, I hope that’s okay I stole some.“

”Of course! It tastes tucking delicious.“

”Have you found something to watch yet?“

”No, I’m torn between this film and that one. What do you think?“

”I like the first one better, I know you love that film.“

You looked at him and pouted.

”Why, what’s wrong?“

”You’re so cute!“

You put your mug on the table and grabbed Lando’s mug from his hands to also set it on the table, now you threw yourself at him and hugged him tightly.

”You’re the best boyfriend ever.“

”Because I said we can watch a film that you love?“, his slight chuckle made you smile.

”No, you’re always the sweetest, and look at you, making me hot chocolate because I’m freezing.“

”You’re always freezing, so obviously I want you to be warm.“

”Whatever reason, I love you.“

”I love you too.“

Now you two lay on the couch and no one moved to press start on the movie.

”Y/N, will you get up and press play?“

”But I‘m so cozy right now.“

”Then we’re not going to watch the film.“

”Ugh, fine.“

You moved off of him and pressed play, drinking another sip of your drink, and laid back down on Lando. He put his hand on your back under your hoodie and started to slightly scratch the skin, while your hands found themselves in his hair to pull lightly on his strands. You both needed an evening with cuddles and movies, needing to be close to each other.

The wintery scene on the TV looked beautiful, you couldn’t wait for the weekend in the snow you had planned soon.

The hot chocolate on the table was now empty, and you were craving for more, you kindly asked Lando to make you a new one, because you could never make it as good as he could.

You paused the film and he got up to walk to the kitchen, while he was prepping another round of cocoa, you opened the metal box with the self-baked cookies and placed some cookies on a plate to take with you to the couch. If you placed the box on the the table, it would be empty before the movie was finished, and Lando and you would have stomach pain for the rest of the night.

While you two waited for the milk to warm up, you sat on the counter and he stood in between your legs, rubbing his hands over your thigh. You enjoyed the silence, and before you could say anything, the milk was ready and Lando was mixing cocoa powder and a half candy cane into the mugs, not forgetting little marshmallows.

Together you walked back to the couch where you resumed in your old position, on top of each other and with the hands somewhere on the body of the other. Your hands were on his neck now, you loved gripping and caressing it, the strong muscles moving underneath your grip.

The movie was playing, and you knew Lando wasn’t that into it, but he was content just holding you, he told you that multiple times when you caught him staring at your face. When the romantic kiss came, Lando pulled on your chin and pressed a kiss to your lips, starting to move them carefully against your lips. Quickly the kiss got more heated and Lando sat up, pulling you on his lap, you could feel him getting excited, he was squeezing your ass, grinding your lower half against his. You had to stop this.

”I‘m sorry baby, my period is due soon and I’m already leaking some weird liquid.“

”It’s extra lube.“

You slapped his chest playfully and kissed his cheek.

”I‘m not in the mood, I’m sorry.“

”That’s nothing you have to apologize for, my love. I was just joking.“

”Do you want me to help you?“

”I‘m good, it’ll go down in a second, you know how excited I get while kissing you.“

You smiled against his lips and pecked them quickly.

”You want to watch another movie? You can choose. Are you okay by the way? Do you need any pain meds or a hot water bottle?“

”I just need you to hold me, I can endure it for now.“

You pressed another kiss to his lips and he settled back on the couch, laying you next to him, so he could put a hand on your lower belly, caressing the skin slowly.

You took the remote control and chose the next film, another Christmas romance, but it was what you craved right now, and Lando would never deny your requests, as long as he got to spend time together.

#lando norris #lando norris imagine #formula 1 #lando norris x you #lando norris x reader #lando norris fluff #lando norris x y/n #lando x reader #lando norris one shot #lando imagine #christmas #movies

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naffeclipse · 3 months

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Hmm what if Eclipse and Yn switched places?( thinking humpback here)

In the past three have been massive whale hunting rounds for their bones and such so what if Humpback Yn still rembere those days and when Photografort Eclipse comes they do everything to get him away but it backfires?

Oh my gosh, I LOVE the role reversal here! Humpback Y/N would be bent on killing any and all humans on sight, and finding one (walking on two legs but not fleshy? What is this? Doesn't matter—looks human enough. It's got to go). Y/N gets ready to take the unsuspecting animatronic under only to have their picture taken by a terrified Eclipse. They register his slight awe for them like they're the most beautiful, dangerous creatures he has ever seen.

Well, maybe he's not too human. He can live, for now, but Y/N isn't going to make it easy for him to take pictures. When he tries, they steal him away from his responsibilities (they also like how easily he fits in their arms, how small he is yet taller than the other two animatronics.)

The intention of driving the not-human off with relentless bullying and sabotage falls horribly flat when Y/N finds themselves eager to see his faceplate again and hear what other photos he's captured and how much he cares for his brothers—this wasn't how it's supposed to be. They should have killed him already. They shouldn't trust anything the humans touch or send their way, but Y/N is very careful when they stroke the little 'sun rays' upon his head. He's so sweet and sees the frozen land and the wintery seas with admiration instead of contempt.

Y/N doesn't want to let him go.

#apex polarity #photographer!eclipse #humpback!reader #cailaventog

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fatuismooches · 1 year

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How do the Harbingers spend Christmas/the holidays with their lover? What do they do with the reader?

Imagine spending Christmas with the Harbingers, set in a modern world. [I also listened to Last Christmas while writing this. Maybe that will enhance your reading.]

Pierro never had time for Christmas before. The holidays always flew by for him, since he was always so busy working. Or more like, he continued to work as there was no reason for him not to. He had no one to spend time with, so why should he take a break? That was until you slid into his life and forcibly stopped him from doing that ever again, literally scolding him for even thinking about not being home for the holidays. Though, he doesn’t really know what to do. I mean, he’s aware of what people do during these times, but do you want to do all of that? How do you celebrate? What you came to realize was that he doesn’t like to do much during the holidays. All he really wants to do is spend time with you. And so, he is content with pretty much anything you choose to do.

Really, Pierro has come to enjoy and appreciate even the very simple things that occur between the two of you, that may seem boring to others. Reading out the complicated instructions on a package or recipe, even stealing his coat in public (which he always tries to hide from the eyes of others due to embarrassment, and also not wanting others to see you.) Reading Christmas novels with you comes to be one of his favorite traditions. It may not be a typical Christmas, but it’s one with you, and that’s all that matters to Pierro.

Capitano is really amazing during the holidays. Why? Because it’s always cold and wintery and he gives the best cuddles during these times. I don’t know why but I can see him unironically liking ugly Christmas sweaters. You originally brought him one as a joke but he actually started to wear it around the house. Most of the time you don’t mind because laying on his chest with it on is very soft and nice. Capitano is also the type to just go along with whatever you say because he rarely ever argues with you, plus he has no idea how to be festive so he just follows your lead. You find this adorable since he’s usually regarded as the captain who everyone follows, but when he’s with you, he’s hovering over your shoulder trying to mimic your movements.

You handle all of the cooking and stuff along those lines. It’s not like Capitano can’t cook, but rather, every time he tries to handle the ingredients, they always get up wrangled or mashed up due to his extreme strength (he apologizes so seriously every time and you have to hold yourself back from dying of laughter.) He feels bad for not helping with anything, so you let him do the mixing and beating parts. (Do not let him crack an egg.) Though, Capitano handles all of the heavy lifting. You two always get a lot of stares in the supermarket, because there’s this tall, hulking man, trailing behind you carrying dozens of items easily, while you’re leading him around. He doesn’t even let you hold a purse or bag. Singlehandedly carries the tree up the stairs as well. Capitano comes to enjoy the holiday more than he thought. He has some stories to tell his troops now.

Dottore on Christmas is… honestly, I don’t know what to write. He is not a festive man at all, does not care about it whatsoever. He will stand there and watch you if you try to put up lights or a tree and laugh when you fail. You will not be able to convert him so I don’t suggest trying. At the very least, you can try to put on a Christmas movie. He will critique it, point out the awful cliches, the overused plot points, the corny romance, and much more. You hear more of him talking than the actual movie, but it’s the time together that matters, right?

Though, if there’s one thing he appreciates, it’s the delicious food. Zandik did not care much for the taste of food before, only viewing it as a form of sustenance, but he can’t deny that your cooking is exquisite. However, he likes to experiment a lot of course, so there have been times he added random ingredients behind your back. You don’t find out until you tasted the final product - it either tastes God-awful or surprisingly good! In general, a frequent pastime for the two of you is making a small batch of a new recipe, and Zandik throwing in whatever he thinks will somehow enhance the flavor. Either way, he is smiling maliciously and eating it since the taste does not matter much to him. Curse that maniac genius meanie. >:(

Columbina enjoys the holidays a normal amount. She really likes shopping for cute clothes for the two of you, getting Christmas drinks, eating sugar cookies and hot chocolate, and all of the other sweet things couples do around this time. Around the holidays she gets especially clingy and cuddly - it’s her way of showing how grateful she is for you. Columbina also loves to steal your sweaters too. She likes to take photos with Christmas filters with you and post them to the group chat - the ones that add Santa hats and beards, or reindeer antlers, or falling snowflakes - you name it. She likes to take photos in general - she is really photogenic, in your opinion. Even when she’s not posing, she manages to look so beautiful especially when it’s snowing.

On Christmas day it is a challenge to get yourself and her out of bed. Columbina literally holds you hostage in her arms, refusing to let your warmth leave her. She would honestly spend the day in bed with you and some snacks while watching movies if you didn’t force her to get out of bed with the promise of gifts and more cuddles later. Overall, Christmas with her is sweet and endearing. She’s always near you, likes to drape yourself over you when you’re opening your gift, and giggles in your ear. Smothers you with kisses by the time the day is up.

Arlecchino on Christmas is surprisingly sweet. You would think that she spends it alone, but in recent years, she had begun to spend the holiday in the orphanage she had opened up not long ago. Arlecchino and you always make sure that kids have delectable dinner on Christmas day. There’s always a really long table with chairs and plates for all of the dozens of kids. (They tend to fight over who gets to sit around Auntie Arlecchino and you, which secretly embarrasses her.) She is also very good at wrapping gifts. Arlecchino became a master of the skill after helping to wrap dozens of gifts for the children at her orphanage. In the days coming to the holidays, you two wrap gifts for the kids after she teaches you how to do it efficiently.

After all the kids are put to bed after an eventful day, she likes to spend some time with you on her lap near the fireplace, maybe some wine too to wind down. Arlecchino has never been a very wordy or gushy person, so it greatly surprises you when she confesses how thankful she is for you, and how she loves you very much for staying with her. (The children will never stop bringing up how they found the two of you asleep together the next day.)

Pulcinella (platonic!) has seen and experienced a variety of Christmases. He knows the dos and don’ts of how to celebrate. He knows which decorations go with each other, what theme to do this year, the kinds of food people would like the most, and more. He shows you every step of his planning, wanting you to carry on the traditions. However, the one thing he won’t teach you is his secret stash of scrumptious recipes that he refuses to give to you until he’s in his grave. You can whine all you want but he is not giving you that mac and cheese recipe.

He does not have any family left besides you so he encourages you to invite your friends over for Christmas. You invite your friend group (the Harbingers) and even though he’s seen them a few times before, he always scrutinizes them carefully to analyze who you’re hanging out with (especially Dottore - heavily on Dottore…) You all have a good time - he usually leaves you alone with your friends as he doesn’t want to intrude on your youth. But after everyone leaves, he likes to watch these old black-and-white Christmas films with you and tell you about how back in his day… *insert lots of stories and his grandpa rambling.*

Scaramouche has never cared for the holidays. He had long been estranged from his mother, having cut contact with her, therefore having no one to be with during the festive times. But Kunikuzushi declared to himself and everyone that he did not care. It didn’t bother him as he saw families shopping for the holidays, or couples getting Christmas-themed drinks together. Hmph, he couldn’t care less. Well, that was until you came into his life, and brought the holiday spirit with you. When you wake up one day, all excited and way too early for his liking, taking a bunch of utensils and cooking stuff out, retrieving oval lights he didn’t even know you had, Kuni questions you in a sleepy stupor - what the hell are you doing? After you recovered from that jaw-dropping statement, you immediately exclaim about the holidays and how you must prepare! There was no time to waste!

But Scara just rolls his eyes and slumps back into bed, confusing you. And that’s when it clicks - your lover has probably never understood the point of holidays like these, which stemmed from his lack of love and familial bonds during his upbringing. He most likely thought this was stupid and a waste of time. So you gently introduce the idea to him. You ask him to help you bake cookies (to which you have to add less sugar since he doesn’t like sweets.) He begrudgingly helps you make a small Christmas dinner, and when you teasingly throw some flour at him, he returns it ten times more. You teach him how to wrap gifts, too.

He ends up admitting that all of the activities were oddly comforting. Scaramouche opts for the more homely and loving aspect of Christmas, not caring much for the gaudy extra decorations or tree or whatever. It takes him a couple of Christmases to truly warm up, but deep down he can’t deny that spending time with you on the holidays is something he secretly looks forward to every year. Perhaps one day his mother could join the two of you. One day, maybe.

Sandrone was not very interested in the holidays either, more because she had better things to do rather than to partake in some silly little celebration. Why would she care about such things when she could be researching? Even as a child she saw it as useless, preferring to lock herself in her room doing far more productive tasks. Well, that changed when you came along, begging her to at least semi-join you in your favorite traditions. For the first time in her life, she finds herself helping you haul a small tree into your shared place and making ornaments out of her spare parts from engineering. Also, Sandrone likes to observe people on Christmas with you. Seeing people flood the stores searching for a last-minute gift, or even slip on snow, she finds it amusing and interesting.

If you’d like she would make her robots hang up the decorations instead so that you could just relax with her (she was getting a bit annoyed at how your presence was always so far away.) After spending the days with you, Sandrone finds the idea of the holidays a bit more appealing now. (She began to dress up her robots in small Christmas outfits that the two of you sewed together, like elves and reindeer. She would die of embarrassment if anyone else saw.)

La Signora gets invited to a lot of Christmas parties and always wears a new dress to each of them. Can’t be seen wearing the same outfit to an event. Though after she met you, she decided to spend less time going to these parties and spend more time with you. How, you ask? She’ll host her own party of course, with her darling lover. Signora dolls you up real good and makes sure you look absolutely stunning. She wants everyone to know that you two belong to each other, to not come near her territory. (The message comes through loud and clear.) Signora is an excellent host, but she never leaves your side for too long. Takes over uncomfortable conversations for you and watches out for any possible weirdos who try to talk to you. She makes a toast to you and praises you which everyone claps to. Even if you don’t like large gatherings, she still manages to make it feel good.

After everything is finished, she likes to spend some alone time with you. It is late in the night, but Christmas is not over yet, she reminds you. Rosalyne seems to be the type to enjoy slow dancing with you, chuckling as you step on her feet sometimes. Watching her sway her hips and twirl you around is simply enchanting. I can see her ending the night by drinking some wine and little snacks, talking until you both fall asleep.

Pantalone loves Christmas because he now had a reasonable excuse to spoil you with gifts without getting reprimanded by you. No, really, he does not hold back. The gifts are piled so high that you can barely see the Christmas tree anymore, the only thing peeking out was the star at the top. Pantalone has a list that he makes in the months coming to December. Every time you show even the slightest bit of interest in something, whether you stare at it for a second or offhandedly mention that it looks cool, it’s getting added to the list. You get items you barely remember seeing yet Pantalone’s laser memory reminds you of the exact moment of when you commented on it while he smiles proudly. You honestly probably have a whole room dedicated to the miscellaneous gifts you get from him.

Also the kind of guy who will always deeply cherish whatever you get him. He especially likes homemade gifts - he finds that idea of you going out of your way to handcraft him something so incredibly sweet. Puts it in his office so he can look at it while he’s working. Of course, Pantalone also likes to take you out to scenic spots for dinner. Shamelessly books the whole restaurant and makes sure you two get the best view, with lots of glazed snow and five-star courses.

Childe adores the holidays, mostly because he genuinely loves spending time with his family. They bring him so much joy, and when the first Christmas with you as his lover rolls around? He’s so eager and excited for you to join the tradition. Yes, he had invited to you spend Christmas with him and his family before, but that was when you two were just friends. Now it’s completely different, Childe insists. And no, there is no possibility of getting out of this. Do you have to work? Too bad, he’s personally going to your boss and politely forcing them to give you your rightfully deserved days off.

Expect to spend a lot of time with his siblings - Tonia, Anthon, and Teucer. Decorating the tree? Check. Putting up Christmas lights? Check. Ugly Christmas sweaters? Check. No matter how corny or embarrassing it is, Childe is convincing the whole family to join him. (Though it’s not very hard considering how much his siblings look up to him. They tend to comply easily.) His new, favorite tradition though? Kissing you under the mistletoe. Literally recruits his siblings to randomly place them all over the house, and even in the middle of his conversations with you. Ajax is quite devious and greedy when it comes to you.

Bonus - Poly!Harbingers: Friendsgiving with poly! Harbingers except it's for Christmas (and you all live in the same mansion.) Dottore is banned from bringing anything for obvious reasons and Columbina is too because her cooking is inedible most of the time. Childe is the best cook and makes most of the feast. I think Signora is also a good cook so she helps him too. Pantalone buys everything and Sandrone’s robots makes sure the place is decked out in the prettiest decorations. Arlecchino and Columbina cuddle you with the static of some movie in the background - Columbina is trying to feed you sweets before the feast while Arlecchino is trying to stop her. Dottore tells you about all the miserable people he’s seen so far while he laughs (typical of him.) Scaramouche disses the food despite enjoying it, nearly causing a fight. Pierro is making sure things like that don’t happen and oversees everything. Capitano struggles to do any of these delicate tasks so he kind of just stands there with you and makes sure you aren’t doing anything. Though, he puts you on his shoulders so you can place the star on top of the Christmas tree!

Even if your cooking is the most mediocre thing there, all of them will be eating it up like their last meal. The house gets very loud especially when they start passive-aggressively fighting over whose food you liked the best. They take pictures of you doing everything - by the tree, in the snow, opening gifts, catching you off guard while eating, while you’re drunk - they have a shared album of over a thousand pictures by the end of the night. (They also make sure they all receive kisses from the dozens of hidden mistletoes around the house.) It is a very good and chaotic Christmas indeed.

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justporo · 4 months

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From savoury to sweet

All your friends are invited for winter festivities and you're doing your best to prepare everything for a big reunion. But a certain vampire keeps testing your patience until it ultimately snaps...

MASTERLIST | AO3

Author's Note: Written for the "Delicacies" prompt of the BG3 Winter Holiday challenge and since I'm running this challenge I'm cheating a bit and also fill the "Holiday spirit" with this - because I guess everyone knows the feeling of feeling stretched thin when the end of the year comes around with all the joy and stress it has to offer... And sadly I don't have a sassy vampire to pull me through it *sighs* Happy holidays to you all!

Pairing: Astarion/GN!Tav (You) Warnings: none Wordcount: 1,5k ~~~

The little townhouse in Baldur’s Gate you and Astarion lived in was filled throughout with delicious smells: mulled wine, freshly baked pastries, simmering gravy. Together with everything being neatly decorated with holly, candles and more wintery decor it made for a very cosy and festive atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the comfy mood was disrupted by smells of burning and colourful curses being spat.

Gale and you had been bustling around the kitchen cooking, baking and making preparations, meanwhile Astarion sat at the long table there - one leg lazily dragged up onto the bench. He was reading something and kept stealing brandy infused cherries out of a bowl that always seemed to magically find its way back into his reach - no matter how often you moved the bowl away from him.

The wizard had come over to help you prepare a whole bunch of food. And of course there had been a very good reason behind all of this.

Somewhen when winter had rolled around and the Midwinter holidays had come closer, a thought had entered your mind and been stuck there ever since - and with that a wish.

It had been quite some time since you had seen all the other members of your little adventure group last - or friends rather because that was what they all had become. And you missed them all deeply. But fortunately there could be something done about that.

So, you had brought up the idea to Astarion to invite them over for the holiday to have a nice festive evening together.

Immediately, the vampire’s nose had scrunched up in distaste: “You’re not becoming all sappy all of a sudden, are you? I didn’t sign up for this.”

You had swatted his arm and pouted profusely, feeling a little hurt by his immediate rejection of your idea.

This had been a dream of yours for a long time: having a really fancy and enjoyable holiday festivity with someone to actually share it. Because you never had the chance to have that when you had grown up on the streets of Baldur’s Gate.

The closest you’d ever gotten to a holiday celebration had been sharing a stolen pie with some other urchins while you had huddled somewhere under tattered blankets, trying to escape the cold.

When you had painted that picture for Astarion (maybe purposefully laying it on thickly), his sassy attitude had immediately fallen. You had seen some of your past hurt mirrored in his red eyes. With a small sigh he had hooked his thumb on your chin and promised you to give you the holiday festivity you had always dreamt of.

“But”, he had immediately added when you had already started jumping up and down joyfully, “no one and I mean none of them will stay with us, darling. I had enough of sharing camp with all these buffoons for a lifetime - for all of immortality even.”

You had brushed off his sarcastic words quickly and had sent out letters to all your friends the following day. Answers had come in slow and sporadically since then - but that surely only meant that everyone was just very busy. Right?

But once you had started to think about what dishes you all wanted to prepare for this evening, how to get everything festive and whatnot, all these worries had quickly been forgotten. Gale had immediately been enlisted as your aid to tackle the massive task - obviously not taking no for an answer.

So there you were: a prodigy wizard and a former thief slaving away in the kitchen for almost a whole day in preparation for holiday dinner. Meanwhile a vampire was contributing nothing to the efforts - except if you counted his snide remarks (and of those he contributed many).

Every surface in the kitchen was filled with already finished dishes, loose ingredients or heaps of dirty pots, pans and utensils. Together with Gale you had prepared little filled pies as a starter, a variety of sides for the main course of different picks of meats and fish and sauces to compliment everything.

Almost all of it was done being prepped for dinner. Now only your baked dessert was missing. And of course that had been where things had went awry. Your nerves had been on edge already, stressing how everything would go. Gale had not been helping with his unhelpful-helpful commentary. And not even to mention your vampire just lounging there on the bench like a cat, making it a point to annoy you even more with his sassy manner.

And you had reached your breaking point when you had pulled a completely burnt cake from the oven, covering up the delicious other smells while a small smoke cloud had erupted in the middle of the kitchen and Astarion hadn’t been able to keep his mouth shut about it.

“Oh love, I mean, I am no expert by any means, but I do think that’s a bit dark even for a dark chocolate cake,” he’d commented while he had barely even lifted his eyes from his book, one elbow propped up on the table and head placed on his hand while he popped another cherry into his mouth.

And that had also been the reason why he’d been hit with a small bun. Caused by your already thin stretched patience finally snapping you had grabbed the nearest throwable thing and had hurled it at the vampire’s head. That thing had happened to be a bunch of sweet rolls you had made as a side. Your impeccable aim had made sure that you hit your mark - and the screech you had let out had probably given it even more force.

Without even checking Astarion’s reaction you had sunk down on the bench opposite of the vampire and had buried your face in your hands while you tried to not let tears overwhelm you.

Astarion reflectively hissed and swatted the gnarly pastry away from him. But then he took in the scene and quickly realised that he had rightfully brought this onto himself.

Gale, who had taken a step back from you in caution with hands lifted defensively, threw the pale elf a sour look now while you suppressed sobs. “Incredibly supportive, Astarion, a job well done”, the wizard scolded the vampire who at least had the good grace to look ashamed of himself.

The wizard sat down beside you and started rubbing your back while he kept throwing Astarion looks. The vampire shuffled around awkwardly for a few moments, not being used to and not enjoying having to apologise.

With a sigh he finally got up and moved around the table and with a “shoo shoo” motion chased Gale out of the kitchen so he could be alone with you for a moment or two.

“Love, I’m sorry,” Astarion whispered as he sat down beside you and looped an arm around your shoulders. Immediately you let yourself fall into his touch. You really didn’t want to be mad at him. Under different circumstances you would have just laughed at his comment.

“I’m sorry I upset you with the stupid thing I said, forgive me?”, the vampire added and softly nuzzled his nose into your hair as you buried your face at his chest.

“I forgive you - sorry I threw baked goods at you”, you mumbled into his chest but you knew he had understood you when you felt the soft rumble of his laughter run through his whole body.

“It’s all good, my love. I got what I deserved and may I add: incredible aim. You’ve not lost your touch since the end of our grand adventure”, Astarion added and pressed a kiss to the top of your head.

You relaxed a little and just sat there with him for a few moments as you felt that your breathing slowly became normal again and some tension leaving your body. Astarion just held you.

After a while the vampire dragged over the bowl of liquor drenched fruit he’d been stealing out of. “Cherry, my sweet?”, he asked and with that made you look up again. He was holding the sticky fruit between his thumb and index and winked at you.

And for some reason that made you laugh. But when you didn’t immediately answer, Astarion shrugged his shoulders and popped the little treat in his mouth. You whacked his hand.

“No, Astarion! And stop eating those, we still need them!”, you scolded him as your partner pouted at you for being told off.

“Alright, no more cherries, but only if you agree to come with me and get some fresh air”, Astarion proposed. You wanted to protest but the vampire hushed you. “I’m sure Gale can be trusted to not burn the house down for like half an hour alone”, he continued.

You looked at him with some suspicion: “Unlike you to trust Gale with anything but walking in a straight line.”

Astarion rolled his eyes while he already got up and made to drag you along.

“Well, unusual circumstances and the like - you know”, he went on and let his free hand draw circles in the air. You just shrugged, honestly being happy to be dragged outside for a while.

“Now come, love, get your cloak - you need a break from all the sweet and savoury dishes here”, Astarion said and patted your butt for some motivation.You grinned at him: “Alright, except for that one sweet snack, my dear.”

Tag list: @spacebarbarianweird @sunfire-ancunin @tragedybunny @dependsonthedream @tallymonster @magazzne @micropoe10 @aoirohi @my-bunny-prince @lumienyx @fayeriess @darlingxdragon

#astarion #baldur's gate 3 #astarion ancunin #fanfiction #astarion x tav #bg3 spoilers #baldur's gate iii #baldurs gate #astarion x mc #astarion x oc #bg3holidayfluffle23 #astarion x you #astarion x reader #bg3

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coqxettee · 4 months

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How to romanticise January 🦢✩₊˚☁️⋆☾🌬₊✧

Happy first week of January completed!

I know January can be one of the dullest & hardest months, especially because Christmas is over, it’s still wintery & cold and it’s back to “normality” but here are some things you can do to make January a beautiful and cozy month ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Embrace the beauty of new beginning’s. Have an everything shower, create a new schedule, tidy your bedroom/space, organise your work, clean, plan a glow-up/plan for the new year. It’s a new year which means new beginnings so embrace these changes. Change can be scary but it is needed and can be beautiful ₊˚⊹♡

Invest in YOU. Save up money (or use money from Christmas) to get your hair done, a new manicure, buy a new item of clothing, invest in self care products i.e - A new robe/fluffy dressing gown, skincare products, new January pyjamas etc ₊˚⊹♡

Journal. Purchase a journal and practice journaling. You can do morning/night journalling, or write about what you did that day. There are loads of Journal prompts on Pinterest ₊˚⊹♡

Wear white’s, creams, beige’s, baby pink’s, grey’s & browns. Neutral colours look stunning this time of year, especially when there it’s frost on the ground or it’s raining outside. Perfect for outfit pictures ₊˚⊹♡

Bundle up in your nicest coat and scarf and go on a wintery walk. Take outfit pictures and listen to romantic music as you walk. Bring back dead leaves from the trees and press them to create a winter journal page ₊˚⊹♡

Bake - Bake anything. The new year is the perfect time to try new recipes, maybe try some healthy baking recipes. Take photos of them and write the recipes down in a notebook ₊˚⊹♡

Have cozy movie marathons, watch your favorite comfort films under huge blankets with hot cocoa, in a cute mug ₊˚⊹♡

Heal your inner child. Listen to classical music, ballet music and movie soundtracks, to take you far away to whimsical places. Light candles, watch nostalgic movies & tv shows, read your childhood favourite books ₊˚⊹♡

Eat warming, nourishing and comforting foods. January can be one of the coldest and hardest months for your body and mind, nourish your soul with warm soups, hot drinks etc ₊˚⊹♡

Start new habits/hobbies, Yoga, Pilates, (Working out in general) Painting, Crochet. Having a new hobby means you can always go back to it in the year ₊˚⊹♡

Read - Create a new TBR if you haven’t and start it at the top. Read new books and make your way through the list ₊˚⊹♡

Try frosty “Cold Girl” makeup with beige undertones for January. Try a new lip colour or put something shimmery on your eyelids. Also, give your makeup a clean (your brushes, palettes etc) ₊˚⊹♡

Take care of your skin babydoll. Use a moisturiser after showering, wear hand cream, use a good winter primer for your makeup, always take your makeup off in the evening and never miss a morning/evening of winter skincare. This is when your skin needs it the most ₊˚⊹♡

Get a new daily coffee order/go to coffee order at your local coffee shop. Try something new ₊˚⊹♡

Try going on daily walks ₊˚⊹♡

Self care nights at least once a week (working week) and set aside Sunday’s to have self care DAY’S ₊˚⊹♡

Start a new TV series ₊˚⊹♡

Limit screen time ₊˚⊹♡

Make lists of things you want to go that day ₊˚⊹♡

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biteofcherry · 1 year

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To find the light, we must first touch the darkness

Please also check out @bluepinkangel’s amazing hot moodboard for this universe 🖤

dark!mafia Steve Rogers x female reader

summary: When you unexpectedly are appointed to run a health center, you foresee many struggles along the way, but not one in the form of a merciless mob boss. Steve Rogers’ core aim is to own and he won’t take no for an answer. To any of his demands.

warnings: dark!Steve Rogers; manipulation; threats; power imbalance;

word count: 4.4k

Touch the Darkness Masterlist

Chapter 2. Lava in the snow

~ * ~

Always a professional, you decided on setting hard boundaries with Mr Rogers, but in the privacy of your office.

It was never a good idea to have an audience for a type of a scolding, especially if a person considered themselves in a position of power compared to the people witnessing the scene. That escalated reactions, while meeting eye to eye gave the opportunity for both parties to still hold respect.

Taking a step back from Rogers’ towering posture, you stiffly motioned for him to walk inside your office.

You cast a pointed glare Natalie’s way as you closed the door. She was swift in her work against the unexpected circumstances, but you wanted to drive in the point of not doing favors for anyone.

The only favors you accepted in the center were those for the patients. For them you’d make things as flexible as needed.

You took a calming breath, fingers still resting on the door handle, before you pulled back your shoulders and turned around to face your guest.

He watched you curiously. At least you preferred to assess it as merely curiosity, as something told you it was best not to read the intensity in his eyes as actual, deeper interest.

The way his gaze slid up from your feet, taking in every inch of your body until it settled on your face, was bordering on inappropriate.

You met his gaze evenly, trying not to show that the vivid contrast between you two made you feel uneasy.

You were wearing a simple, pale blue pantsuit (the jacket currently hanging over the back of your office chair) and a white blouse; your heels not too high, a few jewelry pieces not overbearing your looks.

Appealing light tones to underline your professional approach.

He was an unpolished chunk of darkness. Clean, but heavy boots; jeans on which you tried not to focus, since they seemed so tight around his thighs and ass; a dark henley and a black leather jacket to match.

Each piece was basic, but pristine; and heavy compared to yours.

Light versus dark, to put it simply.

But there was more to the difference between the two of you. And you weren’t certain - not with the way he carried himself - that you’d easily maintain an upper hand even in your own office.

Rogers was like a nugget of volcanic rock that landed among the bright snow of your world, and the black heart of it sizzled with so much destroying force the innocent wintery landscape would have to melt for him.

“Please sit, Mr Rogers.” You tilted your chin up, adamant on not yielding.

You walked around him, noticing that he moved to sit down only as you took a seat in your own chair. He probably waited to assess your intentions. Or it could be a gentleman’s habit, though you wouldn’t assume he possessed such traits.

Not with the way he strolled into the center, like there was no risk of him being denied anything he demanded.

He was probably leading some old-money, family company, where the great grandsons of a slaver were so used to their wealth and spoiled with attention, they didn’t even bother to show simplest acts of courtesy.

“I’m sure you’re a busy man Mr Rogers,” you forced your jaw to relax, not to grit the words through your teeth. “So I assume your need to see me goes beyond simply wanting to meet the new director of the center.”

You knew there have been phone calls with invitations to lunches, or brunches, or other unches, with bored philanthropists and benefactors. Which Natalie skilfully dodged, placating the hungry for novelty elites with promises of you joining them for a meal in the future.

You didn’t suspect Rogers of that, but one could never be sure.

“It does, but you are a curiosity.” He leaned back in his chair.

“How so?” You raised an eyebrow.

Was it because your name hasn’t been on the list of celebrity doctors, with whom Stark-level elites were mingling with? To have an actual commoner become the head of a prospering health center could shake the boring world of snobs.

Then again, it didn’t seem that the center was interesting to any of them, since Howard made sure to not profit from it. Its main goal was to serve people, not his name.

“A pretty, shiny fish being dropped into a tank full of sharks and swimming through it all calm and confident.”

His voice carried hints of amusement and disbelief; and also a drop of fascination, which alerted your senses as something bad.

Still, you weren’t about to reveal uneasiness, nor uncertainty. That’s how people of his caliber learned they get to poke at weaker ones. You wouldn’t be weaker. So you crossed your palms in your lap, holding your back ramrod straight.

“If you mean dealing with health care system moguls, I assure you I have experience in that. Managing donations for a privately based center won’t be much different than wrapping pharmaceutical companies around a finger.” You shrugged, quite confident in your abilities.

Rogers, in turn, grinned darkly.

“That’s not what I mean at all.” He replied, entertained with your attempts to cover a shiver which clearly shook your body.

Becoming even more annoyed, you huffed and placed your hands on your desk.

“What is it that you mean, then?” You asked, your patience thinning.

“You have no idea who I am, do you?” Rogers tilted his head to the side, previously shown amusement dimming down.

The air around him seemed to hum with power as his features settled into sharp seriousness. You were starting to suspect it wasn’t a usual business meeting. Nothing about this man was usual. Not in your standards, anyway.

“One of Howard’s benefactors?” You swallowed nervously, while still trying to remain calm on the outside.

You wanted to believe that initial assumption, even though you now suspected it to be a lie. Not only from the course of the conversation, but also the way Steve Rogers sat in a basic office chair as if it was a throne.

His ringed fingers resting loosely over the armrests added to that aura.

Thick, dark silver bands; some simple, some twisted in more intricate shape, a few even had colorful stones submerged into heavy metal.

Vines of black ink stretched over one of his hands, a shape of bare roots that twisted into a thicker pattern over his wrists, but the tattoo disappeared under the sleeve of his jacket and you were unable to decipher it.

You should’ve noticed earlier that he wasn’t a spoiled heir to an old fortune, but someone who probably reaped his riches with brute force.

“Of sort.” Rogers quirked his eyebrows, the corner of his mouth tilting in a smirk for a brief second. It was all gone in a blink of an eye.

“I’m someone who has all of those benefactors under my thumb.” He stated simply. “As well as other people.”

He wasn’t boasting. Rather laying down the law he expected you to take into consideration and abide by.

“What do you want exactly?” Earlier you were careful not to irritate (too much) a potential donor, now you needed to stay cautious of danger that lurked beneath the surface of Rogers’ handsome face.

“A lot of things,” his grin was sharp and threatening, “but now, from you? I want this place.”

That actually surprised you. Having watched too many movies, you half expected to hear something about paying for protection, or else your place will accidentally burn down to the ground.

Instead, Steve Rogers wanted to own the whole place. For what reason? It made absolutely no sense. It wasn’t a company that gained money, you weren’t producing, or selling anything worthy. It was a health center founded on charities, basic contracts with the ministry, taking care of people who couldn’t afford private help.

“You want to run a health center?” You asked slowly, still not comprehending his words.

“Not at all.” Steve shook his head, his grin not disappearing. “The grounds it stands on are of value to me.”

At that you felt a surge of anger. Justified, in your opinion.

A cocky bastard, who potentially could kill you with his bare hands, was attempting to deprive dozens of people in need of medical and mental help they needed, just because he wanted to own some valuable land.

“There are plenty of available plots all over the city and outside of it.” You rose to your feet in a rush, ready to throw him out of your office (though you weren’t sure how exactly you would manage to do that).

“I am not going to hand over this place, robbing people in need of the help they only recently received, just because you wish to broaden your show-off territory.” You circled your desk in swift steps, standing in front of Rogers with your hands on your hips.

“I won’t ever sell it. Or hand it over. No!”

As you nearly screamed the last word, it dawned on you what you’ve done. How reckless was your outburst, considering the man you were speaking to.

You still had no idea who he was exactly, how deep under the ground he buried his enemies - or maybe, quite the contrary, he displayed them for all to see, so no one else would go against him. But you sensed it was stupid to go for his throat so boldly.

“You haven’t yet heard my offer.” Rogers remained seated, though you noticed his fingers clenching on the armrests of his chair.

His rings scraped against the metal and you almost felt the cold pressure of them against your own throat. He’d undoubtedly leave red dents in your skin if he clenched his large hand around your neck.

“I’m not interested in it.” This time your reply came out softer; as if his fingers were already circling the front of your neck, threatening to squeeze.

You weren’t going to change your decision, but you had enough working brain left to control yourself to not antagonize Rogers further.

“You should be.” Steve slowly stood up.

As he did, you instinctively took a step back, bumping into your own desk. Which was a bad move, you knew. Not only you sort of blocked your own way of escape, but showed a sign of fear, which the predator before you undoubtedly noticed.

“See, I’m not the only one who will show interest in this place.” Rogers rolled his shoulders back, in a move similar to fighters readying to throw a punch.

With how big he was, how strong his fingers alone looked, you suspected that if he punched you, your teeth wouldn’t only rattle in your mouth, but fall out.

Though maybe he wouldn’t hit you, just break your neck in one quick snap.

“Word goes around, especially in this city. Others will reach out to you, too, when they find out I’ve shown interest.” He took a step forward. “Sooner or later. For your sake, I hope it’s too late for them.”

When his gaze slid up the length of your body, it felt like a scrape of a blade against your skin.

His eyes were so cold, irises a shade of rising sunlight caught in mountain ice, that running a sharp knife along your skin might feel a warmer caress than standing his gaze.

A chill crept up your spine.

A different kind of zing surged downward at the unexpected image of Rogers' blue eyes studying your responses as he runs an actual blade over your body.

Still, you tilted your chin up defiantly, arms crossing over your chest.

"If it's so desired by many, as you claim, why should I take your offer instead of others?" You asked, stubbornly refusing to bend to Steve Rogers' will.

Not that you planned on taking anyone’s offer, but perhaps you could play a sneaky game and lead them all in circles with false declarations of selling to the others. Though you doubted they’d believe it for long. Rogers sure didn’t look stupid enough to fall for it.

He cocked his head to the side, a glimmer of curiosity reigniting in his eyes; like a glint at the tip of an ice pick about to pierce right through you.

"Because-" his voice was so deceivingly warm and deep- "I can protect you from them. But no one can protect you from me, Princess."

First obvious threat striked you, forcing the air out of your lungs in a gasp. Your arms fell to your sides, fingers slightly trembling.

You wanted to accuse him of a big ego, laugh that any petty criminal would say how dangerous they are and no one else could protect you from them. But somehow you believed Rogers. You believed he’s as scary and untouchable as he painted himself to be.

“There’s no need for condescending names,” you blurted out instead, needing to direct your shaken feelings at something.

“Condescending?” Steve inched even closer, his feet bracketing yours as his hands slipped between your arms and your body to rest on the edge of the desk.

He had you truly trapped. Caged between the desk and his powerful body, which radiated warmth that was so tempting to lean into.

Further temptation was his perfume. A warm spicy scent, notes of cedar and cardamom, with a splash of something awakening, something tart and fresh to pull you from the lulling haze of the first notes.

His perfume was just like him - a lethal slice of acid hidden beneath a warm, comforting veneer.

“A Princess is a title of a royal family’s member,” Rogers’ eyes bore into yours, “You may not be connected by blood, but you are now an heiress to Stark, who has been treated like royalty for decades.”

“A Princess-” one of his hands brushed your hip- “is also a girl deserving to be spoiled.”

You couldn’t help glancing at his lips when he licked them. Or maybe you wanted any excuse not to be looking into his ice cold eyes.

“Seize the opportunity while I still consider you deserving of it.” He pulled back; the comforting softness of his voice transformed into coarse bidding.

“You can keep your center, I don’t need it locked down. But you will sign the property over to my name.” There was finality to his tone which you didn’t dare object at this very moment. “You have twenty four hours to consider. This time tomorrow, I’ll come to hear you say yes to me, Princess.”

Don’t hold your breath, itched to roll out on your tongue.

You kept silent, however. Twenty four hours wasn’t long enough to wage your options, but perhaps it’ll be enough to contact law enforcement or other institutions and gain yourself help.

You watched Rogers leave your office, your fingers clenching on the edge of the desk as you allowed tremors to shake you now that he wasn’t watching.

A few heartbeats, three deep breaths, and you were straightening.

You walked to the door with purpose, telling yourself you wouldn't shake if Rogers was still behind them. Yet you sighed in relief when you saw his shadow disappearing far around the corner.

Your gaze shifted from the end of the corridor to the two people still standing nearby. Natalie was typing away on her phone, seemingly unperturbed by what just occurred. Felix wasn’t shaking as much as before, but his forehead was still dewy with sweat.

“In my office, n o w.” You ordered, though your anger didn’t scare them as much as Rogers calmth did.

Maybe you needed to start wearing darker clothes?

You shook your head to rid away the idiotic thought, reminding yourself that you did not want to be anything like Steve Rogers. Your goal wasn’t to terrify people, it was to provide help and safety.

Something Rogers was probably unfamiliar with as a concept.

Felix closed the door when both of them entered your office, choosing to stay behind and sit on a small chaise that served more decoration than a used seat. Natalie took the chair which Rogers not so long vacated, spreading her calendar open in her lap and looking at you with her usual readiness to follow the day’s agenda.

“Who. The. Fuck. Is Steve Rogers?” You paced the floor, needing to get rid of the last remnants of adrenaline his visit evoked.

“I swear, if one of you says influential-” you leveled them with a pointed glare- “I will throw a stapler at you.”

“He’s a mob boss.” Felix gulped, rubbing his hands against his thighs. “A very, very bad man.”

“Well, he’s good at running his branch.” Natalie rolled her eyes. “There are three major mafias in the region. Rogers is the head of one of them. Over the past few years, his power has grown enough to push back the other two families, leaving them only scraps.”

“A mob boss.” You said to yourself, nearly breathless.

You suspected it, but some naive, helpless side of you didn’t want to fully believe it.

Things like that happened in movies and books. Sure, you were aware the likes of him truly existed, but they never crossed paths with people like you. Hell, the only crime you ever committed was a speeding ticket half a year after passing your driver’s license exam.

“More like a king, to be fair.” Natalie looked at you seriously, a first flash of her taking the situation as heavy as it was. “He really has ties all over the city and far beyond that.”

“I’ve heard he has at least four senators in his pocket.” Felix piped in, calmer now that Rogers nor his men were anywhere near. “And quite a few big fishes on other continents, too.”

Rumors tended to be overblown. Those serving to cement someone’s big, scary reputations were probably deliberately maintained, so people wouldn’t fight him out of fear of consequences. As there were - to some - repercussions worse than death.

“I should assume he has sway over the police, then.” You nearly deflated as realization dawned on you.

If Rogers had even one third of the influence they said, it meant you wouldn’t do well going with this case to the police. He’d know about it right away, which could result in retaliation worse than what awaited you if you just stubbornly said no.

“I-” Felix opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “He was seen having dinner with the chief of police and some FBI person. Chatty and cozy, like old friends.”

Your eyebrows rose nearly to your hairline. Natalie turned her head, glancing at Felix over her shoulder with a genuinely surprised expression, too.

“And how do you know that?” She asked; perhaps a little offended that Felix knew more than her. Natalie liked to be the best at everything.

“You know me, I can’t help but live for the gossip columns and blogs.” He admitted, with an embarrassed sigh. “Even if that’s only gossip, I’m pretty sure it’s close to the truth.”

You suspected he was right. If some of the information about Rogers’ connections was exaggerated, still it was safe to assume it had basis in truth. There was no safe way to ensure your actions weren’t reported back to him.

“Fucking fantastic.” You muttered, closing your eyes and pressing your fingers against your temples.

If the whole ordeal resulted only in one big headache, you’d take it. Unfortunately for you, there were more problematic consequences awaiting, regardless of your choice.

“Can’t you just give him what he wants?” Natalie asked cautiously.

“No!” Felix’s protest sounded more vehement than yours.

His suddenly discovered moral spine surprised you. In a good way.

Natalie was calculating, you couldn’t blame her for that. If saying yes meant little trouble, you probably would choose it as the logical option. But Rogers owning the place meant he could decide its fate at any time. Promises of letting you run it could be revoked within months. Not to mention the reputation of the center would shatter, if the public learned who truly owns it.

“If Mr Rogers simply wanted me to admit someone into our program, cutting the waiting list, I’d give him that.” You’d still be pissed that some rich fucker wanted to screw over poor people who were also waiting, but it was something at least someone in need could actually gain from.

“What he wants isn't that simple.” To him it was; a simple yes or no. To you it could change your entire life.

Moreover, his insinuation suggested others would be coming with similar propositions. Perhaps worse propositions, leaving you no false hope of even running the health center as it was.

His wrath, if you took someone else’s offer, would probably be a very painful one, too.

Why did it all have to fall on your head? Couldn’t Rogers discover the worth of these grounds a few months ago, when it would have been Howard’s problem, not yours?

The rest of the day ticked away like mad. Meetings and smaller problems, with which you’d deal easily any other day, now seemed to gain in size and difficulty. Your head wasn’t clear; images of Rogers’ face flashed back before your eyes. The sound of his voice saying twenty four hours resounded with each strike of the clock.

Before you knew it, the sun was setting. Meaning you stayed at work longer than you first assumed you would.

It was dedication to what you did, but at this very moment also fear of having to fully face the truth of what was coming in the morning. Who was coming.

And you still had no idea what to do.

Felix and Natalie were long gone when you left the building, as were the rest of the employees. Only the night shift security guards remained. They escorted you to the parking entrance and locked the door behind you.

You nervously swayed your car keys in your hand as you walked toward your car, briefly entertaining the idea of driving far far away.

An escape would postpone making any decisions. But it wouldn’t solve the problem.

Quite the opposite, it could multiply it.

Plus, it wasn’t in your nature to just run. You always fought back against whatever life threw at you. Granted, often you fussed and whined, pitied yourself when you had to struggle with something, but you never ran.

You were a few steps away from your car when you heard a sound from somewhere behind you. Clutching your keys in your hand, you turned around.

There was no one.

Before you were able to let out a sigh of relief, a dark cloth was thrown over your head.

Arms wrapped around you, trapping your own arms to your sides. Your scream was muffled by the hood that covered your whole face and a hand pressing over your mouth.

You squirmed with all your might, trying to jerk your head backwards to maybe break the assailant’s nose. You managed to kick them, your pointy heel cutting into their leg.

He cursed, but his hold on you didn’t falter much. It was a man, judging by his voice. He called you a bitch when you began kicking back with all your effort, striking his legs a few more times.

Then another set of hands were grabbing your ankles, depriving you of this form of defense. They hoisted you up, despite you thrashing like a fish out of water.

Suddenly, your legs were dropped down. You didn’t know why, only heard a grunt and the sound of something heavy falling.

Your other captor cursed, pushing you down so hard your head hit the asphalt. Above you, something metallic clicked, then grunts and sounds of something crushing followed. You rolled on the ground, hoping to blindly get yourself from whatever was happening.

Buzzing noise filled your head as you propped yourself on your hands and knees. You really hoped you didn’t have a concussion.

With jerky moves, you ripped the hood off your head. Your vision was slightly foggy. It took you a long moment to realize it wasn’t dark because you had a severe head injury, but because it was very late in the evening.

You glanced toward the commotion. Someone was lying on the ground, unmoving. Perhaps it was the man who was holding your legs. The other one was fighting with someone. Futily. Despite his muscles and physical strength, he couldn’t block any of the fast punches from his much smaller opponent.

You weren’t interested in staying to see who would win. Your savior would have to do with self-pride, because you weren’t going to stay to say thank you. Oh no, you were going to drive the hell away from here.

As soon as you located your car keys, which had to fall out of your hand when you were tossed to the ground.

You were searching for them in panic, squinting your eyes to see better in the shadows, when a screeching sound of tires pierced the night.

A black car burst into the parking lot. It raced past you, smoothly wedging itself between you and your assailants, and halting.

Two pairs of heavy boots jumped out of the car, landing with a thud on the asphalt. One pair ran around the car toward the fighting strangers, the other pair turned your way.

“Get rid of them,” came someone’s cold, angry voice.

“Then find that fucking little rat.”

You almost crawled back on all fours when those boots stopped inches from you and a familiar face came into your line of vision when he crouched down.

Steve Rogers was here again.

And it hasn’t been twenty four hours yet.

You stared at him, both in fear and awe. He appeared to be your savior, but his eyes didn’t hold an ounce of pity or sympathy. A stormy ocean was locked in his irises. You couldn’t be sure if you weren’t also a part of the source of wrath shining in his eyes.

Steve reached his hand out, picking up your keys, which suddenly materialized so close to you. He tossed them up and caught them again, but didn’t offer them back to you.

“Come, Princess. Before midnight strikes and more trouble comes your way.”

“Worse trouble than you?” You huffed, wincing as you tried to stand up.

You weren’t that badly battered, but it still hurt to move. Dizziness took over your head as you clumsily stood up.

Rogers’ hand wrapped around your elbow, supporting you as you swayed a little. There was that smile again - half amusement, half threat - but the shadows distorted it into a wicked grin.

“Give us a chance,” he teased, not letting you go, but forcing you to walk along him toward his car, “you may like the kind of trouble I am.”

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x female reader #steve rogers x you #dark!mafia steve rogers #dark!mafia steve rogers x reader #dark mafia!steve rogers #dark mafia!steve rogers x reader #to find the light we must first touch the darkness #touch the darkness #my writing #steve rogers fic #steve rogers imagine

716 notes · View notes

morgueofstories · 6 months

Text

c!Dream ship rings

Basically rings that I believe c!Dream's partners would give him. I didn't do a lot of c!Dream ships because I couldn't think of how and why they would do a ring for c!Dream. So if you don't see the c!Dream ship you like in this post don't be mad at me

DNB

Techno would craft the ring himself, using the gold and gems from his own collection. The flowers represent roses, Dream's favorite flower. Techno engraved the words "Home is where you are" on the inside of the ring's band. It took Techno a couple weeks to craft the ring as he wanted it to be perfect for Dream.

Dream bursts into tears when Techno proposes with the ring a wintery night, the northern lights and stars the only witnesses to the lovely event as Techno puts the ring on Dream's finger.

Dreamnap

Sapnap crafts the ring using nether roads and gold, and he enchants the ring with fire protection like how blaze hybrids would do when getting married to other blaze hybrids, as it prevents the ring from melting. It takes Sapnap a few tries to craft the ring and he has to ask Bad to help him, but Dream loves it and that is all that matters.

Sapnap almost dropped the ring in his excitement to put it on Dream's finger which they still laugh about years later.

Awesamdream

Sam is meticulous when making the ring, he doesn't want it to be flashy to the point it looks fake and cheap but also wants it to be symbolic of their relationship. After creating many designs and making a few test rings, he goes for a simple gold band with an emerald in the center that reminds him of Dream's eyes.

Sam is initially worried that Dream won't like the ring because of how simple it is, but his fears disappear when Dream kisses him, stopping him mid-ramble. Dream pulls away from the kiss and tells him that he loves it, and that is all Sam needed to hear to put the ring on Dream's hand.

Drunz

Punz's expertise in making stuff involving gold and gemstones is only for weapons, so he decides to try and find Dream an exquisite ring that no one else has. He manages to hear a rumor about a ring being sold in a black market auction that was found in the End and believed to have been worn by one of the rulers of the End before the kingdom fell into the void. The ring is said to have been made by End crystals, Nether Stars, and Amethysts, making its value extremely high.

Punz won't tell Dream how he obtained the ring and why he had gone to a black market that suspiciously went up in flames hours later.

Farfadream

Farfadox uses Netherite ingots to make Dream's ring as that is how rings are made in Demon culture as it shows how much you respect and love your spouse. Farfadox manages to obtain a pink diamond (which is a rarity as there are so few to be found) and places it in the center of the ring, surrounded by engraved roses.

He proposes to Dream in the rose garden that he had built for his lover, and the way Dream's eyes sparkle as he says yes makes Farfadox feel like the happiest man in the entire universe.

#dnb #dreamnoblade #dreamnap #drunz #farfadream #nethersmile #I had fun doing this

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ultimate-blorbo-collector · 7 months

Text

Winter King with a flower sovereign

I've been pumping these out like crazy. It's a little embarrassing how often I think about this man.

Warnings: Mentions of Candy Queen kidnappings and schemes

You and the Winter King had met in passing at some events and parties that happen around Ooo. You two often didn’t meet much though because the events you and he attended tended to be different.

However, you two really met when the Candy Queen kidnapped you as a gift for the Winter King. She thought it was romantic, but the king openly apologized about the fact that you got wrapped up in the Candy Queen’s plot to woo him.

He did as much as he could to make it up to you, and you hit it off, to the Candy Queen’s dismay.

She’s so angry about it that she often kidnaps you and puts you in a separate cell than Winter King. (To be fair imagine you give flowers to a guy, and he likes the flowers more than you. Kinda valid.)

She does start doing more violent, blender-like schemes toward you though.

Luckily, the scouts save the both of you before the Candy Queen is really able to do anything drastic.

Once you two do start to date, Simon really does pull out all the stops.

He makes a wintery garden just for you. He claims it was because he felt like it was needed, which it might have been, but he wouldn’t have done it if he hadn’t met you.

It’s so beautiful though. He found some flowers that do well in the cold, like some Arctic Willows and Tundra Roses, and they are all over the place. He also makes so many plant ice sculptures.

He definitely asks you to help him tend to the garden. He could create ice landscapers, but this is something he wants to carefully build with you. You’re able to tell what the flowers need, and he cherishes the time you spend together.

One of his favorite gestures is making small flower sculptures and giving them to you. He does it almost every time you meet.

Also, while he loves having you around, he’s so worried about you freezing over. He does his best to give you blankets and coats. You can often find him dusting off a little bit of snow off your leaves.

He also tries his hardest to make sure you get enough sun and water. He notices and starts to feel guilty if you begin to wilt or lose your color.

He wishes you could spend all the time in the Winter Kingdom, but he often takes you out of the Kingdom just so you’d get a good amount of sunlight.

He also visits your kingdom from time to time. While every square inch of your kingdom might not be planned like his, it’s still beautiful to him.

He actually thinks it’s a great balance of planned and wild. The streets are planned, but the way the vines and shrubs grow around the kingdom is unpredictable.

He loves to visit your kingdom’s many gardens. They give him ideas for his own, and it’s just so refreshing and relaxing.

#Winter King #winter king x reader #winter king headcanon

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spacebarbarianweird · 4 months

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headcanons or a one-shot of astarion x gn!tav baking cookies and/or doing other wintery things? thank you for the bonus prompt! i love domestic wintertime vibes 💙❄️

Hi! I fucked up with your last prompt, so here is your bonus one! And Merry Christmas!

Prompt ✶New Beginnings✶ for BG3 Winter Holiday Challenge

The pieces of the book Tav is reading are taken from Forgotten Realms Wiki.

Got inspired by this amazing piece of art by @demiesop

The Sea of Moving Ice

Synopsis: Astarion returns too early with a confession.

Tags: fluff, comfort

Read on AO3

Masterlist

Headcanons

Nestled by the fireplace, you find solace amidst the raging blizzard outside. The crackling flames cast a comforting glow, kissing your face and enveloping your arms in their gentle warmth. You slowly turn pages.

The Sea of Moving Ice is located west of Icewind Dale and northwest of the Cold Run. Almost completely uncharted, the ice masses set wide enough apart for a ship to pass.

You shiver. Well, as it wasn't cold enough. Now you can't stop thinking about the freezing hell stretching far to the north.

The domain of ice dragon and unimaginable horrors!

You wrap yourself in a fur blanket. You never had a chance to learn how to read and Astarion always teased you about that. Whenever you wanted him to read for you, he would try to sit you down and teach but you knew the dance. You would make puppy eyes and praise Astarion's voice and the vampire would give up and read any book you want.

But the end of autumn met you far in the north, in the town of Firesheer. You got sick and, by the time you fully recovered, it was already too cold and dangerous to keep travelling.

So you decided to wait until the beginning of spring. In the meantime, Astarion finally made you learn to read.

Along with seals, walruses and polar bears, the Sea of Moving Ice is also home to other dangers. Lairs of ice trolls can be found in errant shipwrecks, and white dragons often make home within larger icebergs.

White dragons! For some reason, the idea of seeing those creatures fascinates you. You turn pages further trying to find a chapter about them.

Adult white dragons have several abilities well suited to their arctic habitat: they can climb ice cliffs with ease, fly very high and fast, and are exceptional swimmers.

The door to the room opens and you see Astarion.

"I thought you wanted to walk around till sunrise?" you ask.

He doesn't say anything and sits behind you wrapping his hands around your chest and pressing his face against the crook of your neck.

"Astarion, is everything all right?"

He doesn't move as if frozen. You suppress a desire to stand up to hug him, to make him tell you everything. Maybe, a year ago you would have done it, but now you know better. Sometimes it's best not to pay attention.

You caress his knuckles.

"I've read a few chapters already. Well, of course, you would have finished the whole book, but I am trying my best."

Another page. The picture of a fortress captures your attention. It looks like a giant skull adorned with a crown.

Grimskalle.

No matter how much Far North scares you, your innate desire for adventure craves to see all these places.

Astarion is silent and motionless. He wraps you tightly not allowing you to move. Maybe something triggered him? Reminded him of his recent past? Or is he just overwhelmed? He almost never spends nights inside, even if there is a snowstorm like that.

"Thank you for having patience with me", you say. "You were right. Being able to read feels so nice."

Silence. You listen up. Astarion has a very unsettling skill of being able to cry without making almost any sound.

"I love you."

The words return you to reality. Astarion holds you tightly and presses his lips against the nape of your neck. You feel as if you were submerged in warm waters.

"I love you too, Astarion" You smile.

Expressing his feelings doesn't come easy for him. While he's become adept at discussing negative emotions, fears, and traumas with you, simple confessions are still quite rare.

"No, you don't understand," he muffles. "I love you. If I were alive, my heart would skip a beat every time I see you. You are so warm and kind, I can't believe you are real. Your sole presence is enough to wash away the nightmares from my mind. I feel new with you. I feel innocent. I feel … redeemed."

You finally set yourself free and turn to him. Tears prickle in the corners of his eyes but he smiles with this sincere goofy smile you saw on the graveyard for the first time.

The real him.

You cup his face and kiss his forehead. Then you proceed kissing his cheeks and lips, making sure no part of his face is left untouched.

"So, you’ve returned earlier to tell me all that?"

"Yes. You always tell me good things. How much you love me; how much you care. You bath me with affection and I just wanted to reciprocate."

You shake your head. "My love, we agreed on that. You don't need to reciprocate. You don't owe me anything…"

He sighs. No his face looks serious. "Isn't love always about a fair exchange? One-sided affection sounds awful. I owe you and you owe me. That’s the deal, isn't it?"

You reluctantly agree. Yes, if Astarion never returned any love, you would probably have lost any interest in this relationship months ago.

But, gods, he loves you!

There is so much love and care in him! Somehow, Astarion managed to conceal them deep within his undead heart that he forgot about their existence.

But yet he found access to them as if finally obtaining the key from an intricate locked box.

Ability to love.

Ability to care.

Ability to laugh and enjoy life to its fullest.

When you wake up, the first thing you see is his eyes. He watches you sleeping with such adoration it makes your heart skip a beat. He cares about you so much; you can fully give yourself to him and not worry about anything.

Astarion, your beloved.

"You know... I lied"

"About what?"

"That nothing bothered me when I came back"

"Oh? What happened?"

He turns away collecting his thoughts. "You know... I've never really thought about the nature of our relationships. The very idea someone could love me the way I am seemed ridiculous. When I confessed to you, I expected you to break up with me. I couldn't understand what you are to me. My love? My partner? My significant other? I didn’t know. To this day."

The conversation takes an unexpected turn and you wait.

"I walked around the town and bumped into a woman - she was closing her jewerly store. She started bothering me with all these stupid questions. Where we are from, where we are heading. Who you are. Who I am. Who we are to each other. And, well… I ended up buying something."

"Buying? Not stealing?"

"We are going to spend here at least two months. Wouldn’t be smart to steal from locals. Close your eyes."

You oblige and in a second you feel something cold on your palm.

Two rings.

"W-what is this, Astarion?"

"She was trying to find out if you are single. Or if I am single. She probably couldn't decide which of us she liked more. I just… threw her money saying "We are going to marry so fuck off."

"Oh?"

"Listen... if you don’t like this idea... I..."

"I do."

You take his left hand and without hesitation put the ring on his finger. Then you kiss the knuckles and it seals the deal.

Astarion's hand is trembling as he puts on the second ring on you. "I want to see the world with you, Tav. I want to see all these weird and scary places. I want to be with you. I want to be with you in every possible form."

You lean for a kiss. "And we are going to see the Sea of Moving Ice !"

Tag List

@tugoslovenka @marcynomercy @wintersire @vixstarria @not-so-lost-after-all @ashiro20 @theearthsfinalconfession @herstxrgirl @starlight-ipomoea @micropoe10 @astarion-imagine-archive @veillsar @elora-the-slutty-songstress @fayeriess @lumienyx @astarion-beloved @tallymonster @caitlincat-95 @tragedybunny @valeprati

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blooming-violets · 2 months

Note

Hii! Can I request a Joel miller x fem!reader where Abby goes to golf town on reader instead of Joel and Joel is in Ellie’s position watching her get killed. Just utter angst💔🥲thank youuu❤️

An Eye For An Eye || Joel Miller x fem!Reader

A/N: I meant to do this from Joel's pov but somehow ended up in Reader's pov. Enjoy some death! (Also threw in a little Glenn from the Walking Dead winkwinknodnod in there, too)

Fire rained down on the infected as the people surrounding them tossed molotovs over the wrought iron gate.

The heat of the flames bathed over their skin to push the wintery chill from their bones.

Joel could feel your arms wrapped tightly around his waist, clinging protectively onto him, as he slowed their horse next to Tommy’s. When your grip didn’t loosen to climb down, he gave your hand a gentle pat of encouragement.

“I don’t like this,” you whispered in his ear. There were too many people. More than you were anticipating. Large groups of strangers were never a good sign.

His head tilted back towards you, his eyes closing peacefully at the feeling of your cold breath against his cheek, “You worry too much. We saved that woman’s life. It’s fine. We need a place to ride out the storm. Just behave yourself.”

You replied with a quiet laugh. Joel Miller was the king of worrying too much and the master of bad behavior. Who was he to tell you otherwise?

“You’ve gone soft, grandpa. I blame Ellie,” A kiss was placed to his gray peppered beard before you jumped off the horse. There wasn’t even that big of an age gap between you two but you were still fond of the nickname, simply because it made Joel groan every time he heard it.

Joel smiled, following you off the horse, “I blame you both. I only have this gray hair because of the shit you two put me through.”

The moment the garage doors closed to block off the incoming swell of snow flurries, a weight of dread settled in your stomach. You ran a mittened hand over the hind haunches of your horse to wipe away some of the snow in an attempt to help soothe your unease.

“Hey, I heard you guys saved Abby?” A short haired woman approached you with a warm, but hesitant, smile. “Thanks for bringing her back to us.”

You looked over and did your best to flash her a smile of your own. Trust had to be built somehow. You might as well try to start here.

“Oh, yeah. No problem.” You tugged off your mittens, stuffing them in your jacket pocket, and reached out your hand to shake.

“I’m Mel,” she spoke softly. “Nice to meet you.

You returned the greeting. She seemed nice enough. For now. First impressions meant nothing in this world. Everyone could act kind until they weren’t. You’d been fooled one too many times to take that sort of chance again. The moment she let go of the hand shake, she turned to Tommy to repeat her introductions. Your guard was on high alert, trying to take stock of anything you could use as makeshift weapons and plot the best hiding spots.

Joel slipped his arm around your waist. He could sense your worry and pressed his lips against the side of your head, smelling your hair, as he spoke.

“Don’t worry,” he mumbled into your hair. “Tommy and I got this covered. We’ll hang out for the night. We can take turns staying awake so someone’s always on watch. Then we’ll be gone in the morning after the storm.”

“That sounds like some famous last words,” you grumbled.

The three of you were led into the room off of the garage. A large wooden bar sat against the wall and you took note of the half filled bottles of alcohol cluttering the surface.

“Maybe it won’t be so bad afterall,” you nodded to the drinks, giving Joel a cheeky wink.

He hid a smile by scratching at his beard and turning to the new people, “What are y’all doing out this way?”

A man with a baseball cap answered, “Oh, just passing through. You three live nearby?”

Tommy took that as an invitation to invite them back home to restock their gear. As if you wanted these people anywhere near your family.

It was clear neither party really trusted the other. There was a tension in the air as each individual tried to make sense of the other. Both parties were searching for hidden dangers. Your eyes sought out everyone, studying them, trying to find their strengths and weaknesses. It was Abby quietly conversing with another man in the corner that caused your heart rate to spike. You didn’t like the way they were whispering. From behind, you could tell her body language was tight, nervous. Your stare stayed trained on the pair as they whispered back and forth. Even as they stood quietly in the shadows, trying to appear relaxed, you could tell she was mulling over something in her head.

Your hand found Joel’s and you gave it a small squeeze. You leaned in closer, standing on your tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “Maybe we’re better off risking it in the snow? We can find some place to stay that’s not here.”

Before he could reply, Tommy was throwing around more introductions.

“I’m Tommy,” he announced to the group. He was too calm for your liking. Too friendly. Something was wrong. This wasn’t right. They had to leave. “This is my brother…Joel. And this is his partner-”

You couldn’t hear his introduction of you. You were too busy watching the change in Abby. The entire room fell silent. Her shoulders tensed. Her jaw tightened, flexing subtly as she ground her teeth together. Her back straightened up to attention and she shifted the shotgun in her hands.

You knew it the second Joel did.

This was bad.

“Y’all act like you’ve heard of us or somethin’,” he muttered, trying in a last ditch effort to soothe out the peace. His arm instinctively pushed you protectively behind him just as gun shot rang out.

“That’s because we have,” Abby said as the trigger was pulled.

You let out a scream of terror, watching Joel yell in pain, his leg shooting out from under him, and tumbling to the ground.

“Joel!” You collapsed down to his side, throwing your body protectively over his head to block him from any more bullets.

“No!” Tommy shouted.

Two men were on him before he could even move. They pinned his arms down, throwing him back against the bar, and struggled to hold him steady while he thrashed wildly against them. You couldn’t help him. You refused to leave Joel. All you could do was watch in horror as Tommy was bashed repeatedly in the top of the head with the grip of a pistol until he went limp. You had no idea if he was dead or knocked out. Thick lines of blood trailed out from under his hairline and waterfalled down his vacant face.

You reached for the knife hidden in your back pocket. The second someone grabbed your arms, you slashed out, making contact with someone’s cheek.

But there were too many of them and so little of you.

The knife was wrestled out of your grasp. You were being dragged away from Joel with two men clamping down tightly to your arms and throwing you up against a window. The back of your head bounded against the glass pane causing a shooting pain to ricochet through your brain.

“No!” You could hear Joel cry, his voice deep with worry. “Get off her! Don’t fucking touch her!”

He struggled to get up but his leg was useless under him. Blood spurted from his thigh and soaked into his tattered jeans. He tried to take down the person closest to him but all it took was a bullet whizzing by your left ear, instantly deafening that ear, and shattering through the window behind your head for him to stop.

The howling wind burst through the broken, jagged hole to swirl snow around the room. The cold caught in your lungs, mixing with your panic, to make it difficult to breathe. You gasped for air, eyes watering, as you stared helplessly back at Joel. The look of anguish you found staring back at you was enough to break your heart. He knew you had been right. He knew he should have listened. They couldn’t trust these people. He knew.

But it was too late.

It took two men to pin his arms up against the back wall as if they were about to crucify him. His ragged, angry breaths filled the room to meld together with the howling wind.

“Don’t hurt her,” he panted out with a hiss of pain. “Don’t hurt her. Me. Hurt me. Not her.”

It was hard to hear him. You reached your hand up to cup over your left ear where the bullet had shot past. You could feel the stickiness of blood leaking from your burst eardrum. Subtly, you tilted your right ear towards him so you could better understand what they were saying.

Abby had leaned down in front of him. She was breathing nearly as heavily as he was. Fury etched into her every crease and a burning hatred scalded Joel in her sights.

“Joel Miller,” she whispered. Not asking. Not confirming. A statement.

“Who are you?” He shot back.

“Guess.”

Your eyes slipped close with dread. You knew Joel had no idea who this woman was. Joel’s past was filled with all colors of evil. She could have been anyone. It didn’t matter who she was or what Joel had done to her. Everything he’s ever done to survive, every horror, every act of ruthless murder would be flashing before his eyes right this very moment. He could pick any one out at random and it would be enough for someone to want revenge. He didn’t care who she was. She had her reasons and she was probably right for wanting his life. His past was bound to catch up to him eventually. He was just sad you had to be here to bear witness to his end.

The resignation you saw settle slowly onto his face was enough to push the tears stifled in your eyes down your cheeks.

“Why don’t you say whatever speech you got rehearsed and get this over with,” he spat out at her with a scowl. “I’m the one you want. Neither of them ever did anything to you. They’re innocent and deserve to live. Kill me and be done with it.”

“No!” You cried, begging them for his life. “No! Please. Please. I need him. Please. Don’t do this.”

Joel turned to your cries and gave you a half hearted smile. If they killed him, the one they were clearly looking for, then there was a chance that you could go free. If there was a chance to save you, he would take it. Always.

Abby took notice of the look on his face when he stared back at you. She turned between the two of you and a dark smile grew across her face. She stood up, walking from Joel over to you.

The move was all it took for Joel’s panic to immediately kick in, “Wait, stop! Leave her out of this! I’m the one you want!”

Abby grabbed a fistful of your hair and jerked your head back to expose your neck. She leered back at Joel, “Do you love her?”

He tried to lunge forward to reach them but was held back by the men. The blood loss from his leg was making him weak. You could see the color paling from his face. His eyes were turning bloodshot.

“Leave her alone!” He shouted, his voice coming out like a pained roar. “She didn’t do anything to you!”

Abby tossed your head back and walked over to the bag of golf clubs at your side. You watched her browse through each one before pulling out the one she wanted. She held it up to the light from the broken window to admire the view.

“I said,” she whispered, the sound deadly. “Do you love her?”

A scream of rage ripped out from Joel’s throat, “Yes! Fuckin’ dammit, yes! I love her!”

A look of sorrow flashed across Abby’s face like she wasn’t entirely sure this was the plan she originally wanted to go through with. She down at you with regret, “Then I’m sorry to do this. It’s not your fault. But revenge is revenge. An eye for eye, if you will.”

You swallowed, eyes widening as you stared at the end of the golf club, realizing exactly what was about to happen but being useless to stop it.

You were not going to leave this cabin alive.

“Joel Miller killed someone I loved,” she sighed. “I am going to kill someone he loves.”

“No!” Joel screamed. From behind Abby, you could see him thrashing violently against the men. He caught one of their hands in his mouth and bit down as hard as he could, mauling his head to the side with a jerk, as the sound of snapping bones echoed through the freezing air. The man shouted in pain as his finger was nearly ripped straight from his hand thanks to the death grip Joel had with his teeth.

Another gun shot rang out to silence everyone. This time it flew over Joel’s head and the bullet lodged into the back wall.

“Enough!” Abby shouted. “Hold him down, dammit.”

“Then hurry up and get this over with!” The man standing at your shoulder yelled back. “Before he bites off more of Jordan’s fucking fingers.”

The sound of your cracking skull was all you could hear as the club came straight down to make perfect contact with the top of your head. You hadn’t even seen her lift it over her to strike. You had been too busy trying to keep Joel in your sights.

You slumped forward, falling onto your knees and holding yourself up with your arms.

“Joel,” You mumbled through the delirium setting in. Your brain was rattled. Hot blood washed away your blurring vision until all you could see was red. “Joel…stay…me…with me…stay…”

Wack.

Crunch.

Wack.

Splash.

Your breath strained in heaving, gasping wails as your brain function rapidly declined. Blood showered down around you, seemingly falling from the sky like rain drops on a dreary evening. It reminded you of the way rain clings to the leaves to roll down their waxy surface and drip in warm drops down onto your forehead. A pleasant, familiar feeling. If you looked skywards, you wouldn’t see a ceiling, but a forest canopy of wet, green leaves.

Your arms shook under your weight to hold you up and pushed you back into a kneeling position. Your body swayed on unsteady legs, unable to focus on any one particular part of the room. The socket of your eye had been shattered. Your eye bulged in your head and hung loosely out of your skull.

You remembered the first time you found Joel. Over a decade ago. Smuggling supplies back and forth into the Boston quarantine zone. He had hated you. Thought you were annoying and never shut up. You’d pester him with a million questions, desperate to learn all his survival techniques. Somehow he never managed to shake you from his gasp. At some point along the way, you had weaseled your way into his hardened exterior and made a home inside his heart. He could complain all he wanted. He enjoyed your company.

Crack.

Your body gave out. You slumped onto your side.

From this position you could make out the hazy vision of Joel through your one working eye. There were tears streaming down his face. You’d never really seen him cry before. Not like this. His mouth hung open in a scream but you could no longer hear what was being said. You didn’t need to hear to know he was wailing out in agony for you. This was the kind of torture being inflicted on him that was meant to destroy his soul. This was worse than his own death. This was going to break him.

Oh, Joel.

He was on his stomach, arm outstretched, desperately trying to reach you.

You remembered the late nights of sitting around a campfire, with a cup of stale, weak coffee shared between you two, out in the woods. Joel always hated campfires at night. They were dangerous, easy to be seen, but you had convinced him to give it a try just this once. Just long enough to heat up your coffee. The coffee had tasted watery and bitter but his lips tasted sweet and soft. The risk of the fire was worth watching the way the warm orange glow danced across his skin.

Your fingers twitched out to reach for him.

If only you could touch him.

One last time.

You stretched your arm as far as you could.

Crack.

You were reaching blindly. Both your eyes are gone now. No sounds. No sights. No pain. Only Joel.

In the darkness, you reached for him.

His calloused tipped fingers brushed across your bloody hand. He was only close enough for your fingertips to reach but they laced together the best you were able.

A smile flashed onto your dying lips.

Crack.

You didn’t need to see him to know him.

His face exploded behind your blinded vision to greet you in the dark. Always sweaty and covered in dirt. Salt and peppered hair. Eyebrows tugged low in a permanent frown. The slope of his strong nose. Pouted lips peeking out from under his unkempt beard. The frown lines etched into his forehead that would soften whenever he caught sight of you. The warmth of his arms wrapped tightly around your body to keep you safe from the chilly nights.

His quiet whispers of “I love you” spoke into your ear when he thought you were sleeping.

He hardly ever said those words out loud to you when you were awake but he never had to. You could see his love through his every action.

Even now.

His last act of love he could ever give you was to fight against his restraints and reach far enough for his fingers to graze yours. So you knew you weren’t alone. So he could keep as safe as he was physically able to.

So he could touch you one last time.

I love you, Joel Miller.

Crack.

This was fun a little side step away from my usual beloved Andrew Garfield muse. I don't think I'll write for Joel much in the future. Not because I don't adore him but because I just write for a different fandom and struggle to do both at the same time. But I enjoyed a little peek into some Joel angst for my Sunday afternoon.

#the last of us #joel miller #pedro pascal #joel miller x reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller fic #joel miller one shot #the last of us spoilers #the last of us fic #joel miller angst #joel miller fanfic #tlou #joel tlou

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elvenbeard · 4 months

Text

What if we kissed under the bigass neon Christmas tree at Corpo Plaza surrounded by virtual snowfall?

🥺👉👈😘🎄🐟❄️ (<- the emoji combo Kerry sent Vince to start off their date, probably)

Fantastic neon tree prop by @lokiina (you don't have to scale it up to 3000% like I did, but you can, and that's awesome!) 💚

Snowflake props, comfy sweater (Kerry), scarves, and pullover (Vince) by @pinkyjulien💛

Some headcanons and behind the scenes pics below the cut xD

I wasn't sure if I'd manage to do wintery pics still in time cause the last weeks I was ill and also busy as hell, so yeah XD But then, as I was playing around with the Christmas tree, knowing that it's scalable, I had the spontaneous urge to see just how big you could make it... and we'd been talking about how utterly decked out NC has got to be in colorful lights and shit around Christmas (because, yay, consumerism!). And since there are virtual cherry blossoms everywhere, there's gotta be virtual snowfall too!

This is what it looked like from afar :D

Now, headcanon time!

I think, as someone who grew up in the 90s and poor-ish, like me, Christmas must've been a special and magical time for Kerry, even if it's probably lost its charm as he grew older. I still think though, since I interpret him as someone very nostalgic who tends to linger in the past, he'd definitely be into decorating the house and having at least a small fake tree or something set up. He probably did that with Louise and his kids as well (cause yay, giving presents to make up for the guilty feelings of being a probably otherwise not very present parent - ba-dum-tss), and in the following years it brought back too many bad feelings and memories for him to really look forward to it. But with Vince he'd wanna make new memories, he'd probably be in the holiday spirit again for the first time in a long time... but little does he know that Vince is a little Grinch ("What the fuck is a Grinch?" - ".... movie night, right now!")

Vince's family *never* celebrated Christmas in a big way. His mother thought the decorations tacky and didn't want them in her house. Culture-wise, with his dad's Japanese background, Christmas is more a romantic couple's holiday than the traditional family or even religious thing we have in the west. So he doesn't have strong feelings about Christmas apart from "hm, yeah, the lights are pretty I guess". But I'd also like to think that Kerry does manage to get him in the holiday spirit at least a little bit too xD Cause in the end, it's about spending time with your loved ones and giving a shit about the rest imo XD

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #cyberpunk photomode #cyberpunk vp #cyberpunk 2077 vp #cp2077 vp #cyberpunk kerry #cyberpunk v #kerry eurodyne #kerry eurodyne x v #vincent ezaki #otp: to bad decisions #virtual photography #my vp #*writing whole essays about them again aösdfhasdfasfhdsa*#also finally decided on what they're watching in the movie night photoset from last week XDD

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sterekfests · 5 months

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Welcome to our Winter round of Sterek Fests! Sterek Winter Fest will run from November 26 - January 6 in celebration of Winter, whether you are excited to begin decorating for Christmas, have last-minute shopping to do for the holidays, or just want to enjoy the cold weather and snow with your pack or family, there’s a little something for everyone!

Check out our Rules and FAQs.

We also have a Discord you can join.

How to Participate:

Participating in Sterek Winter Fest is easy and stress-free! This is a no-commitment fest where you can participate as little or as much as you want. Participate in one week and none of the others if you so fancy, or participate in all of them! We have an AO3 Collection for you to post all of your creations in! This fest is open to both Fic and Art, so create to your heart's content!

How to post:

You can post your creations to any website that you want, as long as they are viewable to the public, whether that’s Tumblr, LiveJournal, DreamWidth, or our AO3 Collection. @sterekfests so we see your creations to reblog them. Use the tags #sterekfestswinter2023, and #sterekfests for generic tags. For weekly tags: #sterekfestsbeginning, #sterekfestssnow, #sterekfestswonderland, #sterekfestswant, #sterekfestschristmas, #sterekfestsmidnight

Late Posting:

Late posting is always welcomed! The collection will stay open for late submissions. You can find our Summer and Fall collections also if you’d like to add to those collections.

If you have any questions, feel free to send us an ask!

- Liam (@sterekbros) & Dori (@evanesdust)

Keep reading to see all the awesome theme weeks ahead!

November 26 - December 2: “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

With Christmas music playing in the background, it’s time for Derek and Stiles to decorate for the holidays. Do they pull out old, familiar ornaments as they reminisce about past Christmases? Or are they building new traditions, weaving fresh memories into each tinsel and bell? Either way, it will be a perfect little Christmas moment.

December 3 - 9: “Let it snow.”

The weather outside might be frightful, but that won’t stop Derek and Stiles from enjoying the snow. Whether they’re building snowmen, throwing snowballs, or making snow angels, they’re bound to have a fun time.

December 10 - 16: “Winter Wonderland.”

This holiday season, Stiles and Derek can look forward to snow-covered landscapes, twinkling lights, and quaint little shops full of festive cheer. Maybe they wander through town, observing the festive decorations. Or perhaps they find joy in small moments, as they slide down a big, wintery hill. No matter how they choose to spend their day, laughter is guaranteed.

December 17 - 23: “All I want for Christmas.”

Christmas wishes are abundant this winter season, whether that means Eli wants the latest toy on the market, or Stiles wants to spend time with his family and pack during the holiday season. Perhaps Derek is spending his time shopping for the perfect present for his mate and pup, or Stiles is trying to create the perfect holiday atmosphere leading up to Christmas. Either way, Stiles and Derek spend the holiday together, sharing winter feelings and love this chilly season.

December 24 - 30: “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.”

It's Christmas time, whether that's in Beacon Hills, New York, or somewhere else around the globe where Stiles and Derek are celebrating Christmas. Maybe they're at home, sharing their first Christmas as a couple, or it's Eli's first Christmas with the Pack. Either way, the gifts and love they share will warm their hearts this Christmas season.

December 31 - January 6: “Kiss me at midnight.”

The countdown to midnight has begun! Are Derek and Stiles spending their New Year's in New York City watching the ball drop in Times Square? Perhaps they're spending time at home together while they watch the ball drop on TV while their kids sleep in the next room. Or maybe they're meeting for the first time at a New Year's party and kiss at midnight. Of course, they fall in love. Share their New Year's and resolutions with us this winter season!

@thebigbangblogproject @teenwolffandomevents @sterekevents

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gaypleasantview · 4 months

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Day 5: Wonderful Christmastime // Clothing Set

Set includes:

⋆ spannersims' AF Dawn Sweaters, converted from TS4 on keoni's 4t2 EP11SweaterFrench mesh

⋆ GenericFan's AM Knifty Sweater (Pride & Holiday), converted from TS4 on lowedeus' 4t2 SP17 Sweater Crochet mesh

⋆ Miss Ruby Bird's AM Winter Sweaters for the Boys, converted from TS4 on lowedeus' 4t2 SP17 Sweater Crochet mesh

⋆ Miss Ruby Bird's CU Winter Sweater Recolor, converted from TS4 on RentedSpace's 4t2 EF13SweaterFairIsle mesh

⋆ spannersims' Holly Jolly Hat, converted from TS4 on MDP's 4t2 EP05Santa mesh

Link, swatch and more info under the cut ♡

Hi! Happy holidays to everyone celebrating! I'm thinking of maybe sharing a couple more gifts before the end of the year now that I have a little more free time. May not be the most traditional way of doing an advent calendar ever but it's more true to my culture that way, anyway. And yay, presents!

Today I wanted to bring you something really wintery so I converted a bunch of sweaters and a Santa hat! I didn't feel like having another breakdown meshing clothes so I looked for some recolors for TS4 meshes that have already been converted by amazing people in our community. Some of these sweaters have a more holiday-ish vibe, and some are just cute thingies that your sims could wear in cold weather. All of them allegedly work as outerwear, too, but I currently don't have the separates mod to check so let's just hope I'm not lying on the internet right now.

Everything is tooltipped and compressed. I tried to name the files clearly so you know what kind of print every file contains, if I labeled something weird it's because I don't always understand pictures lol. No age convesions today, unfortunately. But feel free to send requests, I'll see what I can do!

Credits: spannersims, Miss Ruby Bird, GenericFan for the textures; keoni, lowedeus, RentedSpace, MDP for the meshes; Julia Dreams for some of the original patterns; 4t2 CAS Conversion Archive for being a super useful and fun tool!

☁ Download

Important: all of the AM sweaters (Knifty Sweater and Winter Sweater AM) share the same mesh (lowedeus_TS4sweater_MESH) so please be careful not to put it in your game multiple times. I put it in the shared folder :)

SFS | Mediafire

☁ Swatch

⋆ spannersims Dawn Sweaters on keoni's 4t2 EP11SweaterFrench mesh - AF, everyday & outerwear

⋆ GenericFan Knifty Sweater on lowedeus' 4t2 SP17 Sweater Crochet mesh - AM, everyday & outerwear I think I will convert the solid/striped/Halloween sweaters eventually, but for now I only did the Holiday and Pride ones. The colors on some sweaters might not be spread out evenly due to the mesh mapping. I also edited the lesbian ones a little bit to be slightly more orange and resemble the older flag less.

Pride:

Holiday:

⋆ Miss Ruby Bird Winter Sweaters for the Boys on lowedeus' 4t2 SP17 Sweater Crochet mesh - AM, everyday & outerwear

⋆ Miss Ruby Bird Winter Sweater Recolor on RentedSpace's 4t2 EF13SweaterFairIsle mesh - CU, everyday & outerwear

⋆ spannersims Holly Jolly Hat on MDP's 4t2 EP05Santa mesh - TU-EU, glasses bin, layerable

#s2cc #my cc #the sims 2 #sims 2 cc #ts2cc #4t2 conversion #4t2 #ts2 #spannersims #missrubybird #genericfan

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apprenticestanheight · 3 months

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kindly asking for hoffman taking care of a sick s/o (but also not opposed to the same prompt for amanda,,)

Hoffman and Amanda taking care of a sick s/o headcanons

Okay!! This is coming out literal months after it was sent into my inbox and for that, I apologize! I am notoriously terrible at time management and I will procrastinate as much as the day is long.

Procrastination in accompaniment with a couple of personal issues and mountains of demotivation and anxiety as tall as mount everest are not the best cocktail and again, I am very sorry for how long this has taken!

I do have it titled in a way that might be a little confusing but, just to clarify, I did do headcanons and I did two separate sets rolled up into one fic just so that I could make it a little easier on myself because I could not, for the life of me, choose between hoffman and amanda for this. I don't write enough for either of them so this is kind of how I'm compensating for that lol

Fic type - this is very fluffy!

Warnings - the reader has a sinus infection/cold, so there's likely to be symptoms of that discussed, plus mentions of medication

oooookay!! To start, we're gonna go with Hoffman!

You wake up sick one random morning at the beginning of February and Mark is immediately like "oh NO, did I give them the sinus cold that's been going around work?" bc he had it like,, two or so weeks beforehand

and when you say good morning in a way that tells mark you're groggy but also sick, he calls in sick from work on your behalf and then calls the precinct to waste a few sick days to take care of you

After he's called in sick from work, he kisses your forehead both because he wants to and also to check for a fever. He finds that you're burning up, which is a bit of a surprise given the fact that, the minute Mark had adjusted, you'd practically stolen all of the blankets from him.

So, he kisses you on the forehead again and then leaves your apartment to grab the essentials: ibuprofen for the inevitable headache, a combination pack Nyquil and Dayquil to ease the fever and also help you function like a person during the day and get some sleep at night.

He also grabs chicken noodle soup and bread for toast, plus a few of your favorite snacks.

When he gets back home, he tosses one of his older NJPD sweaters into the dryer so that it comes out warm once the fever has broken, finds you in your bed with nothing but a stolen pair of Marks boxers and one of his button ups to act as clothes. A thick blanket covers your legs entirely and you've sat up in the bed, clearly trying to will yourself to function like you would if you weren't sick.

Mark is at your side relatively quickly with a Dayquil and bottle of gatorade in hand, kissing your forehead as you take the pills and thank him for running the errand.

Generally, Mark is absolutely the type of guy who just wants to make sure you have the time to rest. He takes care of the house work, makes sure that the windows are open so that you're still getting fresh air but aren't practically drowning in the wintery cold, does everything he can to make sure you're resting well.

that also means he's with you lots of the time--he'll lay down with you in bed for as long as you want, happy to kiss the top of your head and act as your anchor when a migraine sets in.

It also means kisses after you've taken your meds--you'll pop a Dayquil, sip some gatorade, and Mark will kiss your forehead or your cheek and then say nothing when you fall asleep against his shoulder twenty minutes later

he's generally very sweet and absolutely one hell of a guy to have around when you have a cold

okay! It's Mandys turn

Amanda is super clingy and has herself a few connections, so when she finds out you have a cold she uses those connections.

the biggest connection that she has is lawrence (I am firmly of the belief that they had a sibling dynamic and also that they were both only children) and she uses it the second you're asleep while sinus-infected and bedridden

she calls him up like "hi. my partner has a cold. I need a prescription for the best cold meds you have or at least a bit of advice please and thanks."

so, Lawrence kind of like,, he gives her the play-by-play, right? He tells her what over-the-counter meds work the best and gives her advice on how to help you

she follows it bc she wants you to get better. She gets you the good stuff and benadryl, which has the tendency to knock a person out as it were and the night-time cold meds were out of stock at the pharmacy she went to.

She even goes to walmart and gets you a heated blanket. she is the fuckin--she loves you so much that she's willing to spend the 2001 equivalent of modern-day $20 for one of the decent ones.

And then she gets home and kisses you on the cheek bc emotional support, and you thank her while she sets up the heated blanket

generally, Amanda is like--she's on top of your care. She makes sure you're always comfortable, bribes you with kisses to get you to take the buckleys or whatever it is that she finds when she checks another pharamacy after a bit of apprenticing one day

you also sleep a lot, and Amanda pretty much acts as your body pillow??

the minute you're tiredly pressing your face against her shoulder, she's just kind of happy to let you sleep as you please because she wants you to get better

generally, she's very attentive and is quick to get you what you need when you need it.

#mark hoffman x reader #amanda young x reader #mark hoffman #amanda young #saw 2004 #saw franchise

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