#I went into that mission with determination and a dream and came out victorious

[deadal3x]

🎮

🎮: give me some game night headcanons!

The Bates-Wayne/Gonzalez family household had to ban game nights because AJ, Marcus, Audrey and Archer got extremely competitive. Blame their godly blood, tbh. (🤭🤭🤭)

Meanwhile at Camp, the Athena cabin organize game nights in order of game and game type, that way everyone can play the games they wanna play.

Monopoly was banned from Camp after ToA. (Meg absolutely crushed everyone at that game) (Apollo cheered her on, ngl)

In terms of Video games, There's a destiny 2 clan called "Demigods of Light" and the cabin counselors are the admins of it.

Percy doesn't play often, but he and annabeth are like, unmatched when playing. Annie's really good with load-out planning and mod work, and she's absolutely cracked at making builds for different things.

AJ and Annabeth play together sometimes, and they're also a decent team, but the one thing AJ is good at is surprising annabeth with the most out of pocket loadout ever. (What do you MEAN you just beat the witness using nothing but Ace of Spaces, a shit SMG and Gjalarhorn?)

Marcus is a warlock and he refuses to run solar, esp well of radiance. Claims he doesn't want to be known as the Hephaestus kid who uses fire based powers in video games.

There's a camp wide Minecraft server, with a perfect recreation of camp build (completely done in survival) (You'll never guess who did it) (annabeth ofc)

There's a secondary Minecraft server that's modded to hells and back, and it's super fun to play on. Percy prefers the modded server because it has a ton of ocean-life mods + Origins so you know he's down in the ocean as a Merling. He secretly recreated Ariel's trinket's cave for himself.

The DnD group at camp also has some Baludr's gate 3 play-thoughs going, and they're all fighting over who to romance. Several campers in these play-throughs have romanced the illithid.

The hades cabin played the Hades game franchise once, and are jokingly bullying their dad for potentially hiding Zagreus from them.

Chris and Grayson deal with AJ bullying the conventionally attractive art work of their parents when he doesn't get the boons he likes from them.

Hades has given AJ a sword literally named "Styigus" and it's raised more questions for the cabin than answers.

Percy plays fortnite. So does the ares cabin. (and coach hedge)

Camp wide Jack-box party pack nights. Leo hacked the game to allow more than the cap to play. Quiplash games leave people wheezing and dying of laughter.

Somehow, Percy, Damien, and Travis are all tied for most Quiplash games won.

There is a hall of fame for both board games and video games. Pandora Bates holds a lot of places in the board games section.

this hall of fame is located in the pavilion. it was built shortly before annabeth, Luke and Thalia made to camp, and expanded on when Leo and Marcus invented demigod safe technology.

AJ sucks at Uno, but is unmatched at basic card games and mythomagic. He's only undefeated by Nico in that regard.

[creedslove]

DESERVE IT - PART TEN

Javier Peña x f!reader

Summary: you are forced to hear what Manu has to tell you, and a surprise at the office makes you rethink your relationship with Javier

Warnings: hurt, angst, offenses, fluff, mentions of smut, sexual tension, jealousy and more angst

A/N: sorry taking so long, I was sick and I was caught up in a sudden Agent Whiskey vibes that got me distracted from Javi and Joel 🥺

Also, I think it's pretty obvious I have no idea how the DEA office works in the show, so in my story, I picture it as the station of B99 where there's the upper floor department which is the DEA and the lower floor department that it's the station, lol

• PART ONE

• PART TWO

• PART THREE

• PART FOUR

• PART FIVE

• PART SIX

• PART SEVEN

• PART EIGHT

• PART NINE

5.3k words

When Manu left his home that Sunday morning, he was determined to face the man he hated the most in the world. 

He wasn't sure how he began hating that man, but it had something to do with the moment he joined the police enforcement in Colombia. 

He was a typical american guy, looking down at everything in Manu's beloved country and always thinking he was above all. 

Maybe it was his smug smile, those stupid tight pants as if he'd been trapped for over a decade or how the office girls swooned for him. He hadn't exchanged more than two or three words, but whenever they had some mission concerning Escobar and the DEA dogs, that motherfucker walked around with that attitude, as if he was better than anyone else. 

Manu just hated how pretentious he was, how he swore he had all those women on his feet. Most of the time, he did, but the women he had on his feet weren't the kind of women Manu liked. They were usually cheap, easy girls, or literally prostitutes. And then he saw you. 

You were possibly the most beautiful woman Manuel had ever seen in his life, you were always sweet and kind to everyone, politeness and efficiency were something everyone from the office noticed, you treated everyone equally… except for maybe Colleen, it was noticeable how you couldn't stand her, but no one could actually blame you as that woman was kind of annoying. Manu watched you from afar every day, since you began working at the station. He liked admiring you, he had never spoken to you, but in his mind, he was sure you were a beautiful person, inside and out. He just didn't understand why you seemed to be attached to Peña's hip, you weren't a cop, you weren't his partner and you certainly weren't his girlfriend, as the word on the street said Peña didn't do relationships. 

And yet, you gave him the heart eyes, you were always laughing together and very often you giggled at whatever he had said. 

Manu was always confused as to why someone like you, could orbitate around Javier. 

Then, Carlos initiated his weird obsession with you. He still went after the girls in the office, but you seemed to linger longer in his mind. One of the reasons was that, just like Manu, he also couldn't stand Javier. And winning one of his girls would be a great victory for him. And also because you never gave Carlos the time of the day, and it drove him mad. Not many women refused him, but you did, so when flirtation didn't work, he turned his aim at you, and tried making you the office's joke, which Manu immediately put an end to it, when he was around at least. He didn't need people gossiping around and distracting themselves from work. 

So he just decided not to listen to any of that gossip and remind himself that everything that came from Carlos was pure shit. 

And then you were transferred to his department, and when he met you, he knew he'd made the right choice by not letting any gossip about you influence him. You were everything he'd dreamed of in a person and just the fact that you actually took a liking on him, was enough to show Manu that sometimes good things happened. 

During your brief relationship, Manu never really liked the fact you were once so close to Javier, but just as he had his own past relationships, you did too, besides, you were always so honest when you said you didn't have anything with him, you two were friends and nothing else, and well, as for Manuel, he had no reasons to doubt you.

He was bothered ever since he woke up the day before, he'd spent a wonderful night with you, you had finally had sex, he was staying at your house and that must've been a big deal, right? But once he woke up, he heard you whimpering and moaning in his sleep. He smirked happily, assuming you were dreaming of him and possibly wanted another round of him.

So he trailed kisses around your neck and your shoulder, which you sleepily welcomed with more moans, but then he heard Javier's name coming out of your lips.

Manu didn't really believe it at first, he must have misheard what you said, and even after he questioned you and you explained yourself saying you were just telling him good morning. Once again, he believed you, he had no reasons to doubt you after all. 

Then when you both got to the barbecue, he couldn't help but have that characteristic feeling of hatred and anger spreading through his body. The mere presence of Javier caused that. Everything about that guy bothered him, made his skin crawl and the fact he kept his stupid, ridiculous sunglasses on all the time pretending he wasn't eye fucking you, was driving him insane. 

Manu couldn't lie about the fact he was a little disappointed when you asked him to go home, he loved every minute of the night you had spent together and every fiber of his body was longing for a repetition of that, he wanted to do it again, to have you lost in his arms, being in so much pleasure you couldn't help but being loud as hell. However, he didn't want to overstay, if you were asking him to leave you had a good reason, and for the third time, Manuel Herrera believed in you because he had no other reason not to.

When he woke up that Sunday morning, he sighed as the side of the bed you were supposed to take as your own was cold and empty. He hoped he could wake up to your sleepy, smiley face, but that was not happening. He got up and made himself breakfast, taking his time to think about your relationship and smiled at himself, he had something good going on and he wanted to assure things would continue that way. An idea crossed his mind and after debating it with himself, he decided to do it, as there was a slim, but consistent possibility it would work out. 

He saw himself driving to the place of the guy he hated the most in the whole wide world: Javier Peña.

At first he hadn't planned it very well, but it was something pretty simple, he was going to talk to Javier in a straightforward way, no beating around the bush, he was just going to straightforward ask Javier to leave you alone once for all. 

He wasn't trying to control your friendships, but he didn't trust Javier and since you seemed to have been so vulnerable towards him, he thought it could be a nice request, a fair request, even. Especially since Javier had been treating you like shit for months, Manu thought it would be a decent idea. First he was going to knock on his door, have a chat with him and then he would go to your apartment, kiss you on the lips and take you out for lunch. 

He stood in front of Javier's door, knocking on it and as soon as the door opened, he recited the words he'd rehearsed in his mind, until he went completely silent at the image of you, standing there, naked underneath that shirt and Manu's world was forever changed by that. 

At first, it took him a split second to recognize you, he'd eyed first the naked legs and only then his gaze went up until the confirmation of who it was hit him harder than a train running right off the track. His first assumption was that it was just another hooker opening the door, but when he realized it was no one but his own girlfriend, it felt like the ground had disappeared from under his feet. 

"Manu?" You whispered in shock, he was literally the last person you thought that would knock on Javier's door. You were even holding his badge, being sure Javi himself returned to get it, but not your boyfriend. He just stood there, with a shocked and horrid expression, he didn't dare say a single word, instead he saw as your lower lip trembled and your eyes immediately filled with tears. 

"Manu" his name was nothing but a ghostly whisper coming out of your lips "I'm so sorry…" you began your apologies but he didn't want to hear any of it. 

He ran his hands through his hair, in frustration, pain, heartbreak.

"How long, Y/N?" His voice was steady, he really thought it was going to break, show you how gutted he really was, but to his own surprise, it came out as emotionless as it could be.

"Manu, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for anything to happen, I was gonna go and talk to you later today, explain to you what's happening, I know I hurt you, but I don't want you to hate me…" 

The way he stood there, not moving, not speaking, just staring at you was worse than if he was throwing a scene. So far, you had only met the good side of him, the side that was docile and sweet, you had no idea how he'd react to the shock of catching you red-handed. 

"How long, Y/N?" He repeated himself "how long have you been double dealing like that? How long have you been cheating on me with Peña?!" He raised his voice and grabbed you by the arm. His grip wasn't painful but it was strong enough so you couldn't simply break free from it. 

He took you inside Javier's apartment and closed the door, not wanting the neighbors to experience that scene. 

"I-I haven't been with Javier for long… it happened last night, but I was gonna talk to you Manu, I swear. You are a great guy, and you deserve someone good to you, someone who doesn't hurt your feelings and can love you…" you explained, as you couldn't control your sobs, too many feelings flooding you all at once, finally the guilt and shame you had been lacking appeared. It was completely different now, at the light of the day. During the night, you'd been so caught on in your feelings for Javier, he was arms length close to you, he was right there, you couldn't resist, and your boyfriend… well, at that moment he was just an idea, a thought pushed away to the back of your mind. But now, Manu stood there, flesh and bone, right in front of you, anger and disappointment all aimed at you, and he was right in every single aspect. What you did to him was inexcusable, you couldn't even try to justify… what could you tell him? You couldn't resist Javier? You were carried away in the moment? You loved Javier and the whole reason why you dated Manu in the first place was because he made you forget your heart break for a little while? Would all those excuses be enough for you if the roles were reversed and you just found out your boyfriend had spent the night with the woman you hated the most in the world? You knew it wasn't enough. 

"Ay, eres tan dulce!" He scoffed and looked at you, before turning around and taking a good look at the apartment "even when you were bouncing on Peña's cock you were still worried about my feelings… aren't you a great girlfriend?" 

"I'm so sorry Manu, I never meant to hurt you, I really care for you, but we are not right for each other.." 

"I'll give you one on that, querida, we are definitely not right for each other, because unlike your new boyfriend, I don't go out with whores" he said in a low voice "you know, Carlos always said you were one of those, a whore, a tiny little stupid girl who ran after Peña like a puppy with stupid heart eyes in hopes one day he would pay the slightest attention to you, and I always thought he was wrong… but now, I see he was absolutely right. I just came over to have a small chat with him, about you, by the way! So he would leave you alone, and I find you here, playing housewife, cleaning up after his mess, look at the way you are dressed, for fuck's sake, I've seen Peña pick up prostitutes wearing more clothes than you are right now! But I guess Carlos was right, you are not only a bitch, Y/N, but a real stupid one… out of all the men you could get involved with, you go and choose Peña?!" Manu laughed softly "I don't usually have hard feelings, and to be honest, if I could I'd wish you to be happy with him, but the problem is that I know you won't. Because he is an asshole, he's a manwhore, and you and your tight little pussy aren't gonna be able to keep him to yourself much longer, eventually he'll grow tired of you, and he'll go after other whores to seek the pleasure you won't be able to give him any longer, so I just know for a fact you won't be happy with him, but it's fine by me, because you deserve every single heartbreak he's gonna put you through, Y/N" Manu said giving you one last glance, a glance full of despise and walked out the door, leaving you alone with your guilt.

Now, if Manu had slapped you across the face, or kicked you in the guts it would've probably hurt less than his words. 

You knew he was right, you couldn't even try and argue, he was just right. You had played with his feelings, used him in order to feel better about yourself and pretty much just to make Javier jealous. 

You felt so ashamed of yourself and you wanted to curl up in some corner and disappear, everything he'd told you echoed through your mind. You didn't regret your night with Javi, not in a million of years, but now you saw you could have handled things better, not only that, you should have handled things better, that was the bare minimum. Manu never deserved the heartache you put him through and you would live with the guilt of that. 

You walked back to his bed and curled up under the blanket, you wanted him there, you wanted to assure yourself he was real, what you two had was something worth screwing up your relationship for, but at the same time your ex's words were haunting you. Was Manu really right? At some point, would Javi just get tired of you? 

You didn't know when you fell asleep, but you certainly did so while you were still crying, and only at the smell of Javier as you buried your face into your pillow was able to calm you down. 

                             •••

Now, Javier was annoyed. 

He wasn't just annoyed, he was pissed off. If he were trapped in a room with Steve Murphy and Pablo Escobar chances were he would shoot Murphy. 

Javi felt he had been ripped off a dream, he'd spent the perfect night with you, the woman he loved and craved and he had made plans to spend the perfect day with you. 

He would bring you breakfast in bed, sit next to you and enjoy your company, maybe share a cigarette with you. Then, he would invite you to shower and play with your tight, sweet and beautiful pussy there, kiss your body and soap all over it, so his hand would be a lot slippery when he explored your body. 

Taking you to bed, he would probably rail you, and god, he wouldn't save any of his fantasies, he would have you on top of him, doggy style, topping you, it didn't matter, he just wanted your body against his, he wanted to spill inside of you and keep you to himself. 

Then, as a gentleman, Javi would take you out on a date and finish this perfect Sunday buried balls deep inside of you once more. But then, Steve began knocking on his door like a madman demanding Javi to go check on La Quica information that led to nothing and deprived him from a whole day of you. 

He wondered what you were up to, though. As he drove through the streets of Colombia and pretended to hear Murphy's words, as he blabbered about his wife, his kid and his life. But Javi's mind… ohh that was elsewhere. 

He licked his lips and focused ahead, but all he could think of was you. He wondered if you went back to your place, if you'd changed clothes… what if you were on his bed, legs spread and fingering yourself thinking of him? The thought made him groan and his jeans get a little tighter.

"Wow, pay attention, man!!!" Steve suddenly said as Javi had run the red light and nearly hit another car. 

"Jesus… sorry" Javier mumbled as he got back to his senses, your sweet pussy nearly got him killed, he smirked at himself. 

It didn't take much longer to get home, he was just so eager to see you. Javi was convinced you were getting ready for your date, maybe he should have bought you some flowers? He wasn't sure, he hadn't been on a date in ages, what if you didn't like flowers? Was it possible? Women usually liked flowers. He could always get some on your way to the restaurant, it didn't really matter, he just wanted to be near you. 

He barely paid attention to Steve saying his goodbyes and got into his apartment. He knocked on your door first, but as he had no replies, he went to his own, maybe you were still there. 

He silently walked inside, and headed to his bedroom, he called you in a low voice but didn't get an answer, he didn't like that silence and closed his eyes, allowing himself to be taken back to his pop's ranch, he was sure he would never be welcomed by silence, instead there would always be music, laughter and giggles, coming from his loving wife, you and your babies. 

He shook his head, he couldn't keep having these thoughts, it was too damn early for that, he didn't even know if you relationship would last. He wanted to, of course, but he also knew you deserved better, so if you ever found someone really good and would like to be with the new guy, Javi was sure nothing could be done. 

But those self loathing thoughts died the moment he found you in his bed. You were still in his shirt and his heart clenched at the image. 

You were just so relaxed, so gorgeous, and he smiled at himself. It felt like a whiff of new air, leaving the suffocating feeling he constantly had in his life, his job and just going home to something good. Suddenly he understood what his dad meant, fuck, he understood what Steve meant. It was about having something to come back home to. 

Javi got rid of his shoes and sat next to the edge of the bed, he admired you, your hair, your body. You were everything Javier ever wished for, and he was aware it was too much for him, but it didn't matter at that time. 

His hand went for your hair, caressing it gently, seeing how you barely moved in your sleep. His hand ran down your back this time, he stroked you over the shirt, and saw how it rolled up, exposing your cheeks. He bit his lips, your ass was so perfect, so gorgeous, inviting, it was a sight that would always drive him insane, but at that very moment, he didn't want to touch you inappropriately, he wanted to feel you closer. He lowered his body and sank his face into the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent, it smelled like home to him. Javier chuckled at himself at how pathetic he was, you definitely put him under your spell and he loved every single minute of it. 

When Javi wrapped his arm around you, you shifted and raised yourself startled as you didn't even remember falling asleep in the first place. 

You turned around and saw him, he looked puzzled, confused even, but you didn't care. You just threw your arms around his neck and pulled you for a real tight hug. You tried controlling your tears, but it was hard. That heaviness in your chest wouldn't go away, it seemed every time you took your breath something stung inside and it was like a pool of tears were being contained by a thin curtain that was about to burst at any minute. 

Javi just held you, keeping you in his embrace as tight as he could, though he immediately demanded to know what was going on. Through his mind the worst possible scenarios ran freely, he gulped thinking of what could've happened to you, fuck, for a moment he feared even someone from Los Pepes had tried to harm you in any way, but when your shaky, low voice professed the name of your now, ex-boyfriend, everything made sense. 

Truth was, Javier was so drunk in love, he spent his afternoon living in a world where only you and him mattered and only you and him were a couple. No one else existed, no else was in the picture, so of course he forgot about Manu's pathetic existence, and consequently, also forgot you were going to talk to him.

"Shit baby, what happened? Did he hurt you? Did that motherfucker harm you? If he touched a strand of your hair I'll go over there and I'll fucking kill him!!!" Javier raged, though you didn't seem physically bad, he didn't trust Manuel at all. But your head shook and your grip got tighter around his body, in a clear sign you didn't want him to leave at all. 

So he patiently waited. He rubbed your back, pulling you so close you were now on his lap again, and for the sweet coincidence of having you on top of him like that for the second time in less than twenty four hours, he smiled. With the exception that this time you were the one who needed to be comforted. 

And eventually you started talking. 

You told him in details, how you noticed Javi had forgotten his badge and you were just so sure he was the one knocking on the door. You told him about Manu's shock, how silent he was, until how he crushed you with his words. 

But you didn't stop there, you looked into Javier's eyes, not hiding your tears and told him how every single word Manu had told you was right, how guilty you felt and his heart shattered, as he had no clue on how he could help you. 

Javi cupped your cheeks, wiping your tears with his long fingers and pecked your forehead. 

"Guilt is painful too, when you have conscious, it hurts to deceive someone you care about. I'm sorry it is eating you up alive, cariño, but the damage is done and all I can tell you is that I'm here for you… maybe it's too soon, maybe it's stupid but if you want to try, I want to try, we can make something out of this situation… maybe what he talked about last night, about the ranch, about leaving our jobs, maybe it could happen.." 

Javier's eyes were so hopeful, so full of expectation you couldn't even believe in yourself. It was just too much, too many feelings overwhelming you, crushing you and he was there, wanting to date you. 

Oh my god, the date.

You were supposed to go on a date with Javi, and there you were, crying your eyes out because your ex barked a few mean words to you. 

You felt so angry and so tired, you could feel another wave of hot tears threatening to spill from your eyes, but his soft touch snapped you out of your crisis. 

"Come on, princesa, let me get you home" he said in a calm voice, helping you out of his bed and crossing the hallway with you. It was funny how close you two were living and how easy it was to just come and go. 

He closed the door to your apartment behind him and once more cupped your cheeks, holding your head in place and making you pay attention to him.

"You need to rest, you're too nervous… it's just a lot of emotions, I ain't no expert, but I guess it is making you suffer, so you should take a shower, put on some of your own clothes…" he pointed at his own shirt that covered so little of your beautiful body "we can just go on our date tomorrow or some other day, there's no pressure… I can also stay tonight, or not… you can think about that while you shower" his voice was calm and he just walked you to your room, opening the wardrobe and picking you something he thought you would enjoy wearing. 

That was some domestic Javier Peña you didn't think you would ever witness. It made your heart warm, melting slowly and you suddenly felt like your chest had been cleared away, like a wave of good, positive feelings were going through your veins and for a brief second, that known feeling everything would be alright. 

You didn't even bother looking at the clothes he pick vced for you, instead, you just got rid of his shirt.

"Javi?" You whispered and waited as he turned around, you rested your arms on the side of your full naked body, a little nervous, not sure what to do with them, as Javier stopped everything he was doing and stared at your gorgeous, naked body. 

He had touched you, and he had eaten you out, sure, but it was dark the night before, he'd seen you but not as explicit as he was at that moment, and he loved it. 

He could feel his cock twitching in his pants and didn't hesitate in walking to you, arms around you, pulling you for a deep kiss. 

You corresponded to it, wanting his body on yours. It wasn't enough, you were craving him just as much as he craved you. 

"I want you to shower with me, Javi… please" you begged against his lips, though you knew you didn't have to beg, he would take you right there and then if it were to him. 

As you helped him undress, you both jumped at the phone ringing.

You ignored it at first, your hands unbuttoning his painfully see through white shirt, giggling as you kissed along his jawline and down his neck. 

But then the phone rang again, and again and at some point, Javier sighed annoyed and broke the kiss, walking to your living room and picking it up. He didn't care if it was your mom, your dad, your sister or Pablo Escobar calling you, he didn't make any efforts to sound remotely polite, he just wanted whoever was calling you to stop. 

"Oh, hello agent Peña… I've been calling your apartment but I had a gut feeling you would pick up Y/N's phone…" Manu's voice greeted the man with a sinister excitement, he sounded way too happy for someone who had just found out he'd been cheated on.

"Anyway, I'm sorry to interrupt your night, but as Y/N might have mentioned, I got the evening shift at the station tonight and we made an arrest… now our prisoner is asking specifically for you, to see if you can help with the release" 

Javier's blood ran cold. 

What if they'd arrested someone from Los Pepes, that would explain why that son of a bitch was probably grinning as he talked on the phone. In fact, the whole call was weird, it sounded like a trap to begin with, but he'd called and asked for Javier himself, and not for you… so he didn't really think Manu would try and do something against him, then yes, you confirmed he had the evening shift that Sunday, which meant he might have been telling the truth. 

And it also meant Javier would only find out when he got there. 

At first he said no when you insisted on going with him, even if Manu had come up with an evil plan, Javi was driving towards the office, there was no problem, there were always so many people no matter what time of the day, so he couldn't really try to do anything against him. But Javier wasn't comfortable with the situation, what if it was indeed someone from Los Pepes, he didn't want you to see it, to witness it… it was humiliating, embarrassing even. But then you gave him those beautiful puppy eyes of yours and he had to give in, he always did when you begged him right. 

As you both arrived not later than 30 minutes, you both saw Manu waiting at the door, he was in his full uniform and smiling big as he realized you'd come along. Just like he had planned. 

He greeted you both good evening, which was ignored as Javier rushed inside, getting to the cells as fast as possible, you followed him right behind, being also tense and curious to know who was the mysterious prisoner. 

"So, as I was trying to say, the prisoner is an old friend of yours, Agent Peña…" Manuel couldn't hide his excitement as the two of you stood in silence.

"JAVIIIII!!!" a squeaky voice came from the inside of the cell, where the prostitute was being held. 

"G-Gabi?" Javier stuttered, swallowing hard as he looked from you to the woman. 

Gabriela used to be his favorite girl to go to when he needed a hand… or a mouth… or any other part really. He'd spent quite a lot on her services over the years and the two of them had the closest thing Javier could call a relationship before you came along. He'd paid for her services, enjoy them and she would still linger around for a cigarette or two, there was even a time she ended up falling asleep next to him, and they only woke up in the morning, and of course, she didn't charge any extras. 

Manu saw your jealousy expression and felt so much joy. He had predicted Javier would screw things up with you, but he just had no idea of how fast he would do it. Even if Manu was enjoying every single second of it, even he thought it was kind of ridiculous how quick your fantasy of living a happy life with Javier was falling into pieces. Because even if he did get his shit together - which Manu and everyone, even you deep down, doubt it, would you still be able to deal with his past?

Manuel grabbed the key and opened the cell "here it is, the person you requested, ma'am" he bit his lip to try to hide the smile the moment Gabi dramatically wrapped herself around Javier's neck and began crying into his shirt, telling him a sob story of how one of her clients refused to pay so the situation turned into a whole scene and the cops were called and she was arrested even if it was unfair. 

Your stomach churned at the scene and you tried your best to remind yourself Javier had a life before you, a very busy one, but would that be frequent? From time to time you'd have to handle ghosts from this past like that?

When that that woman who knew your man better than you did, intimately, more than you did, wrapped her arms around his neck, you knew you had enough for the night, not only for that, but for the whole weekend. 

You turned around and walked out of the station.

____

A/N: so I guess Manu's "revenge" was pretty satisfying, wasn't it? I told you guys I wouldn't turn him into a bad guy, and idk to me he had all the right to call reader that way and he could've done it even worse but I guess he's just a good guy after all. And then he had a little help from destiny and now we gotta wait and see what happens next!!! Tell me what you guys think of this chapter besties ❤️

[yxlnst]

Elysium's Embrace: A Journey of Love and Adventure

idol!Jeonghan x reader!y/n

🎀 Summary 🎀 : Jeonghan and you wake up in a video game, face challenges together, and grow closer, ultimately returning to reality united.

🧸 Word Count 🧸 : 1,285

Fluff!!

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The sun had just dipped below the horizon, casting a golden hue over the city as you and Jeonghan sat in your living room, controllers in hand. You had both been obsessed with the new virtual reality game, "Elysium," an open-world adventure where players could explore vast lands, fight mythical creatures, and complete various quests.

"Alright, let's tackle this last mission before calling it a night," Jeonghan said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "We need to find the Crystal of Eternity to level up our characters."

You nodded, equally excited. "Let's do this!"

Hours passed as you navigated through dense forests, fought off dangerous beasts, and solved intricate puzzles. Finally, you reached the ancient temple where the Crystal of Eternity was said to be hidden.

"Here it is," Jeonghan whispered, his character reaching out to grab the glowing crystal.

As soon as he touched it, a blinding light enveloped both of your characters. You felt a strange sensation, like you were being pulled into the screen. The world around you spun, and everything went black.

When you opened your eyes, you found yourself lying on a grassy field, the scent of wildflowers filling the air. You sat up, disoriented, and looked around. The landscape was eerily familiar.

"Is this... Elysium?" you whispered to yourself.

"Y/n, are you okay?" Jeonghan's voice came from behind you.

You turned to see him standing there, looking just as confused as you felt. "Jeonghan, what happened? Where are we?"

He looked around, his eyes wide with realization. "I think... I think we're inside the game."

You both stared at each other in disbelief. How was this possible? One moment you were playing a video game in your living room, and the next you were actually inside it.

"We need to find out what's going on," Jeonghan said, his voice determined. "Let's explore the area and see if we can find any clues."

You nodded, feeling a mixture of fear and excitement. Together, you started walking through the lush landscape, taking in the vibrant colors and surreal beauty of Elysium. It was like stepping into a dream.

As you walked, you noticed that your surroundings were incredibly detailed, far more than any video game you had ever played. The trees rustled in the wind, birds chirped overhead, and you could even feel the soft grass beneath your feet.

"We need to be careful," Jeonghan said, glancing around warily. "This world may look beautiful, but it's filled with dangers."

You both knew the game well, having spent countless hours playing it. You understood that while Elysium was a place of wonder, it was also home to fierce monsters and treacherous terrain.

As you ventured deeper into the forest, you heard a rustling noise behind you. You turned to see a group of goblins emerging from the underbrush, their eyes gleaming with malice.

"Get ready!" Jeonghan shouted, drawing his sword.

You reached for your weapon, realizing with a start that you had the same equipment and abilities as your character in the game. You unsheathed your sword and stood back-to-back with Jeonghan, ready to face the goblins.

The battle was intense, but you and Jeonghan fought with skill and precision, just as you had in the game. The goblins were tough, but you managed to defeat them, your adrenaline pumping as you stood victorious.

"That was close," you said, panting. "But we did it."

Jeonghan nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. "We need to find a safe place to rest and figure out our next move."

You continued your journey, eventually coming across a small village nestled in a valley. The villagers looked at you with curiosity as you approached, their expressions wary but not unfriendly.

"Excuse me," Jeonghan said to an elderly man sitting by a well. "Can you tell us where we are?"

The man looked at you both with a hint of suspicion. "You are in the village of Eldoria. Who are you, and where do you come from?"

You exchanged a glance with Jeonghan, unsure of how much to reveal. "We're travelers," you said cautiously. "We're trying to find our way back home."

The man's expression softened. "Well, travelers, you are welcome here. But beware, these lands are dangerous, and not all who come here find their way back."

You thanked the man and decided to stay in the village for the night. The villagers were kind, offering you food and shelter. As you sat by the fire in a cozy cottage, you and Jeonghan discussed your situation.

"We need to find the Crystal of Eternity," Jeonghan said. "It's the only way to get back to our world."

You nodded in agreement. "But we need to be careful. We don't know what other dangers await us."

The next morning, you set out with renewed determination. You knew that the journey ahead would be difficult, but you were ready to face whatever challenges came your way.

As you traveled through the vast lands of Elysium, you encountered various characters and creatures, each with their own stories and quests. Some helped you, while others tried to hinder your progress. But through it all, you and Jeonghan grew closer, your bond strengthening with each passing day.

One evening, as you sat by a campfire under the stars, Jeonghan turned to you, his eyes filled with a warmth that made your heart flutter.

"Y/n, I know this isn't how we planned to spend our time together, but... I'm glad we're in this together. I don't know what I would do without you."

You smiled, feeling a rush of emotions. "I feel the same way, Jeonghan. This journey has shown me how strong we are together. I wouldn't want to face this with anyone else."

As the days turned into weeks, you and Jeonghan continued your quest to find the Crystal of Eternity. You faced countless challenges and dangers, but your determination never wavered.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, you reached the ancient temple where the crystal was said to be hidden. It was a grand structure, its walls adorned with intricate carvings and glowing runes.

"We're here," Jeonghan said, his voice filled with awe.

You nodded, feeling a mix of excitement and apprehension. "Let's find that crystal and get back home."

You entered the temple, navigating through its labyrinthine halls and solving complex puzzles. The air was thick with tension, and you could feel the weight of your journey bearing down on you.

At last, you reached the inner sanctum, where the Crystal of Eternity lay on a pedestal, glowing with an ethereal light. You approached it cautiously, your heart pounding in your chest.

"Are you ready?" Jeonghan asked, his hand reaching out to yours.

You took his hand, feeling a sense of calm wash over you. "I'm ready."

Together, you reached out and touched the crystal. A blinding light enveloped you once more, and you felt a strange sensation, like you were being pulled back to reality.

When you opened your eyes, you were back in your living room, the familiar sounds and smells of home surrounding you. You looked at Jeonghan, who was still holding your hand, a look of wonder on his face.

"We're back," he said, his voice filled with relief and joy.

You smiled, tears of happiness streaming down your face. "We did it, Jeonghan. We made it back."

He pulled you into a tight embrace, his warmth and presence reassuring you that everything was real. "I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for being my strength and my hope."

As you held each other, you realized that your adventure in Elysium had changed you both. You had faced unimaginable dangers and challenges, but you had emerged stronger and more united than ever.

From that day forward, you and Jeonghan cherished every moment together, knowing that no matter what obstacles came your way, you would always have each other. Your love had been tested in the most extraordinary way, and it had triumphed, shining brighter than ever.

And as you looked into Jeonghan's eyes, you knew that your journey together was only just beginning.

[platonicpokemonwriter]

Dear Trainer (Platonic Yandereish Sobble line with Trainer Reader)

Summary: Your partner Sobble sees you as his dear trainer. He wants to protect you and make you happy, maybe too much when he thinks about attacking people who bully you or make you unhappy. 

Sobble was a fearful weak Pokémon when you met him. Scared of the smallest Pokémon. Lost almost all battles, until he met you. You were exploring the Wild Zone with your mother's Pokémon when you found him. He had just lost to a Zizagoon and you took pity on the Water Type and patched him up at your place. You fed him berries and let him stay until he was healed. When he could leave Sobble didn't want to leave. You were a safe place, you were caring, you protected him.

When you saw Sobble didn't want to leave you offered him to stay and if he wanted, he could be your partner Pokémon. Sobble eagerly agreed.

The first few weeks weren't very good. Sobble was easily scared of opponents and would lose often. This didn't deter you however, you believed Sobble could be a good partner. You were patient with him, you helped him not be afraid of opponents and trained him how to win fights by having him practice battling your parents’ Pokémon.

When he evolved into a Drizzile you had caught a Rookidee and were looking for a sponsor for the gym challenge. It was hard to find a sponsor for the gym challenge, and as time passed you became saddened by this. It was your dream to take part in the Galar Gym Challenge, and have a chance to battle Leon.

Drizzile saw you sad and didn't like it. He likes you to be happy, sadly he didn't know how to cheer you up. He hated feeling useless, especially when it came to his dear trainer. You did so much for him, and yet he couldn’t do much for you.

When you finally found a sponsor Drizzile made it his mission to defeat all opponents you put him against, no matter how intimidating they were. It was the least he could do for you, his dear trainer.

For a time everything was going well, until you defeated Kabu. 

You and your team were training in the Wild Zone to get ready to face Alister when you heard something that caught your attention. You went to investigate and saw someone in a pink coat bullying another trainer. You didn’t like bullies so you went to confront whoever this was, and when you did the person threw insults at you, like you expected. Drizzile didn’t like this in the slightest. How dare this person insult his trainer.

When the two of you got into a Pokémon battle Drizzile forced himself out of his ball so he could fight. He would show this trainer what happened when he insulted you.

"Drizzile?" You were shocked never seeing this from your ace.

"Hmp, it seems you can't control your Pokémon." The challenger said. 

"I don't control my Pokémon; they listen to me because they respect me as a trainer."

"We'll see."

Drizzile didn't like this challenger the more he spoke. He would teach this Human to watch what he said to you.

Drizzile did well with defeating the first two Pokémon, but the Ponyta was a fast annoyance who kept firing Psybeams that were hard to counter and dodge. 

"Drizzile," you said, concerned when he fell to the ground.

"Drizz."

No, he was losing and to someone that insulted you, that was almost worse than losing to a gym trainer or gym leader. He couldn't lose, not to this person.

Drizzile must get back up, he had to defend you from this bully like you protected him from wild Pokémon.

Drizzile pushed himself up, determined to continue.

"Drizzile," he said, before light covered him. When it disappeared an Inteleon stood there glaring at the Ponyta's trainer. Inteleon bent down, and stretched his arm out, a finger pointing at the Ponyta even if he wanted to point it at its trainer. Inteleon's fingertip glowed for a second before he shot a bullet of water the fast Pokémon couldn't dodge.

Inteleon screeched victoriously when the Ponyta fainted from the attack.

"Good job Inteleon! That was awesome!" You exclaimed. Inteleon liked it when you praised him, it felt good.

"That was so cool." The trainer beside you said.

With the new evolution it was easy to defeat the trainer's last pokemon. Hopefully with this embarrassing defeat he would know not to insult you.

When the challenger left you spoke with the other trainer and learned his name was Hop, and the person you just defeated was Bede.  

Inteleon would remember Bede. If Bede was smart he would stay away from you, or at least not mess with you. If he did, Inteleon would Snipe Shot him.

After a short introduction, and conversation on Bede, you and Hop decided to travel together, much to Inteleon's dislike. Until this point you only traveled with your team of Pokémon, and Inteleon liked it that way. Maybe it was because he was worried that people would hurt you, or maybe he liked it when he had most of your attention, he didn't know but he would make sure Hop didn't do anything to you. If he did, Hop was sure to get a Snipe Shot.

Hop might just get a Snipe Shot even if he didn't harm you. As time passed he was aggravating you because of his lack of confidence, and it was Inteleon's job as your dear partner to crush anyone who made you anything but happy. 

Regardless if Inteleon attacked Hop with a Snipe Shot, he would make Hop more confident in order to make you happy. He just wasn’t sure how to, but he would find a way. 

Inteleon would do anything for you, his dear trainer.

[lamarckianenterprises]

Magitech Mechs and Vengeance (Dream)

Henrietta Head of HЯ — 12/05/2022 2:40 AM

Had a fun dream about magitek mechs and vengeance, or well, I say mechs but tbh they were more like vehicles that transform into mechs.

The core conceit is that I was playing a third person shooter or bullet hell video game where the gimmick is that my character can only hold so many 'memories' gained from shooting down and defeating enemies before I need to 'sleep', regaining hit points and activating in combat buffs apparently but only once per mission

It was one of those classic isekai things where the magitek entered the world, allowing megalomaniacal people to act out their villainous plots to alter the shape and nature of the world around them under the belief that their strong powers grant them some measure of divine purpose that justifies their actions.

I was supposedly a regular guy until some shit happened to kill me and an unrequited crush, and instead of hoping that I'd go to heaven with her or some shit my own regrets dragged me down into instead wishing that if I was given another chance at living, I would get my vengeance, and never let anything hold me back anymore.

But instead I woke up, and instead of being a baby or whatever the clock had wound back, I was the woman I had a crush on, nothing had happened yet, but I was still determined to use my second chance to get my vengeance, and enjoy life as it came. Developing my budding powers, creating a network of contacts that tipped me off to the various cells of the organization trying to take over the nation state of Java for me to dismantle, and awkwardly realizing that I exist in this timeline too and trying not to interact with him too much even if he kept showing up.

Slowly but surely becoming the very kind of powerful but unfettered 'divinely ordained' monster I used to hate, getting a sweet makeover, and watching this neat super sentai series about a group of three who each aspired to be just as good as the big three DC superheroes of old only to realize that they're wrapped up in a plot involving alternate realities where they do exist.

Until it was finally time, I had driven the organization to a corner, (I never really bothered to learn its real name and referred to it exclusively as 'that organization' or 'my enemy' apparently) and was about to crush their latest or potentially last base in my magnum opus, a massive and sleek hover tank of sorts armed to the teeth with an array of missiles, lasers, cannons, lasers, and lasers, and it all made me wonder why I was still doing this to begin with, and what comes next really. 

Pure vengeance is nice and all but what? Do I just die after this? Do I keep going until something kills me? Do I dedicate my whole life to mopping up the mess this organization left behind and stopping others like them? All of this sprang to mind, unlike the morality of essentially driving up to a hotel, blaring out a short warning, and then immediately blowing it up for the umpteenth time, the only thing stopping me from immediately doing so this time around being the sight of my old self inside, surprising me enough to make me declare that they will have a grand total of 30 seconds to evacuate before I tear the building and everything below it apart. Instead the other residents took the time to fire back and summon a great slime, which I cursed only because I exclusively wielded fire, heat and impact based weaponry this time around, forcing me to only blow up the building itself as I kited around the most disappointing enemy so far, doing next to no damage as I slowly tore it apart into little chunks to evaporate, before I finally did something risky and hot swapped one of my lasers or something to make it a cold laser capable of freezing it, and allowing me to smash it apart.

My victory being short lived however, as I went to sleep, and woke up to find myself facing off against a mechanical black dragon once more, finding the rider of the recurring foe (that was inexplicably capable of cutting itself in half to have the tail and lower body move and fly independently of the front) to be none other than.... My old self. This shocked me a fair bit, as I realized that in my ceaseless pursuit of vengeance I had in fact, lost the reason why I embarked on it in the first place, I had never grown close to myself, and I had lived well past my supposed day of death.

Backing me into a corner as I took one withering blow after another... Until I had a vision, of all of the people I met and connected with, and of the future, or at least a potential one. It wasn't of me happy and married or queen of the world or whatever, it was a clip from the ending of the show I've been watching throughout this game, that I've consistently noted as having strong homoerotic tension between the various supermen and batmen, and in it just before the final battle, the superman wannabe (male) leaned in to kiss the cheek of the batman wannabe  (male) who was driving, causing the usually stone faced and stoike man blushing a little, and asking what that was supposed to be.

The sight, above all else made me realize that there was more tying me to this world than simple revenge, more to see, more people to meet, more that can be worth fighting for. The realization causing my magnum opus to warp and reshape itself around me as I charged forward to meet the black knight riding astride his mechanical steed, and then I fucking woke up before I got an actual ending.

[captains-simp]

hi! can you write a yelena x fem!reader based on best friend’s brother by victorious where reader is nat’s best friend but falls for yelena?

I love the best friend's sibling trope🤧 Yes, I used Google translate for some parts. Yes, I am sorry in advance

7k words

Warnings: brief injury description and R getting tipsy (and having less of a filter than usual 👀)

[ masterlist ]

Buy me a coffee ☕

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Nat you're not going to believe what I just saw! It has single handedly made my week- whoa!" You exclaimed as you threw your hands up and backed against the nearest wall.

"Who are you?" Demanded the blonde from the other end of her gun. You glanced frantically between her hand gun and her stone cold grey eyes, not knowing which you should be more afraid of.

"Y/n." You answered shakily, your mouth and throat suddenly feeling like sandpaper.

"Yelena!" Natasha shouted as she came into the living room. "Put your gun down you сумасшедшая сука (crazy bitch)!" Yelena hesitated as she gave you the once over and slowly lowered her weapon. You didn't fail to notice how she kept it in her hands until Natasha snatched it away.

"Hey!" She argued and tried to grab it back.

"You get gun privileges back when you stop pointing them at my friends." Natasha said as she put it in the safe under the kitchen counter.

"She didn't knock!" Yelena defended with a thick accent.

You were still stood awkwardly against the wall as you watched the interaction. You had no idea who the blonde was much less why she had acted like a paranoid guard dog. Not that you were offended, being friends with someone who had a lot of protective friends and coworkers meant this had happened more than you wanted to admit. JARVIS actually had some very over the top weapons pointed at you twice.

"I don't knock when I go to her place." Natasha pointed out. You smiled nervously at the blonde when she looked over at you again.

"Well as your new roommate it seems like something I should know."

New roommate? Natasha hated the idea of a roommate and had always been very vocal about it. It was why she insisted on having her own apartment rather than living in at the Avengers compound.

You glanced around and couldn't see any moving boxes or suitcases or really anything that indicated anyone else was living there. Either Yelena had already packed or she just wanted to keep all her personal things to herself.

"Temporary roommate." Natasha corrected making the blonde huff. "Who still hasn't gotten the groceries." Yelena mumbled something under her breath in Russian as she trudged towards the door. She glanced your way once then looked back as if second guessing you. She narrowed her eyes slightly and you fidgeted on the spot, feeling nervous under her gaze.

"What did you see?" She asked.

"I'm sorry?" You replied, not knowing where the question came from.

"What did you want to tell Natasha about." You stared at her blankly for a second before you suddenly realised what she meant.

"Oh! I saw a man walking seven ferrets." You said with a fond smile as you remembered the way their leads were getting caught up as the scrambled over each other. Yelena stared back at you. "Seven is a lot." You said. She still didn't seem to get it. "I like ferrets." You mumbled as you felt embarrassed.

She didn't say anything as she looked you over one more time and opened the door to leave, shutting it firmly behind her. You released a breath you didn't know you had been holding once the door clicked shut.

"Seven?" Natasha teased with a smirk as put some toast in the toaster. You grumbled as you walked over to the kitchen island and leant against it.

"She's intense." You commented and whipped your head around to the door, afraid she would walk back in.

"She's my sister." Natasha said casually.

"Sister? What?! Since when did you- Sister?!" Natasha chuckled at your reaction and shrugged simply.

"It's complicated."

"Everything with you is." You fired back. "Look I'll tell you our life story later." She waved off. You had known Natasha for years and considered each other your closest friends. You told her everything but you understood early on that there was a lot about her life she couldn't talk about. Whether it was because it could endanger you to know or it was simply to painful to recall, there would always be something.

"And I'm sorry about her wanting to shoot you. She's a lot." Natasha sighed, clearly tired. She had been away for months and you guessed she had found Yelena at some point during that mission. She had only been back a week and clearly needed a break. You wondered if she would finally take Fury up on his promise of a vacation.

"She's just protective." You shrugged. "Like someone else I know." You eyed the redhead with a smile. Yelena honestly seemed nothing short of terrifying to you, but you weren't going to admit that to your friend who would remind you of it every chance she got.

"Trust you to defend someone who put a gun on you." Natasha rolled her eyes and pushed a hot drink towards you.

"She seems nice." That wasn't the right word and given the look Natasha gave you she agreed. "Witty?" You tried. Natasha pulled a face in disagreement and you sighed in defeat. "Whatever, she's cute though." You thought aloud. Natasha shot you a warning look.

"Don't go crushing on my sister, y/n." She said with a serious edge to her tone. You laughed at her sudden shift and fell down on her sofa to grab the remote to start binging the shows Natasha had missed with you.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

*

It was a Friday night when you saw the blonde next. The bar you worked at was surprisingly quiet for the day but you didn't mind at all. Less people meant less chance of having to deal with a drunken fight. Not that that ever really happened there.

You worked in a small bar that had been running since long before you were born. It wasn't the most out there establishment and combined with it's location on the quieter, arguably more sketchy, parts of the city, it wasn't massively popular. In fact, everyone who showed up at the bar you recognised instantly, lest the rare groups of people who stumbled upon the building. No one who went there was all that talkative, but you had come to know each of them over the years.

It wasn't that the bar itself was sketchy. It wasn't involved in illegal gambling or drug dealings. It was just that it seemed to remind people of home. You had alcohols there that you just couldn't find in shops or other bars. Behind the bar was everything from Mexico's brightest palomas to Russia's strongest vodka. The latter was what had drawn Natasha to your worn down place of work the first time you met her. While she didn't like to be reminded of her past in Russia, like a couple other customers you had, she couldn't deny she missed the booze. So you guessed you shouldn't have been surprised to see Yelena joining her that night.

"Just give it a chance will you." Natasha scolded her younger sister in a hushed voice. You smiled at the encounter as the pair came towards the bar. Everything the redhead had been able to tell you about her time away was evident from the way the siblings interacted. It really hadn't taken them long to fall back into the squabbling sisters role, like they hadn't ever been apart.

Yelena grumbled something in Russian as she glanced around the bar, her eyes soon landing on yours and just as unreadable as the last time you saw her. The memory had been playing a lot in your head.

"Hi again." You smiled at her before turning your attention to your friend. "The usual?"

"For this one too." Natasha nodded to her sister as she sat down on a stall, soon followed by Yelena.

You took two shot glasses from the shelf and put them infront of the sisters and opened a bottle of Natasha's favourite bottle. You filled the both to the brim and put the bottle on the counter, knowing the redhead wanted it there. Natasha wasn't really a regular drinker, but when she did enduldge herself she didn't seem to have a limit. You had never once seen her drunk.

Natasha didn't hesitate in tilting her head back with the glass at her lips and didn't flinch when she swallowed the drink. Yelena rolled her eyes but copied anyway.

You carried on with drying some glasses and tried not to pay close attention to the blonde's reaction. You always loved the moment that customers realised they had found the drinks of their country. And as Yelena was harder to read, it took extra attention to detail to spot the moment of realisation. Natasha was watching for it too.

Yelena shrugged. She shrugged, clearly underwhelmed. "It's good." She commented. Natasha sighed dramatically and poured herself another shot as she grumbled about never being able to please her sister.

You went back to your duties properly and shook your head with a sigh. First time for everything. However when you risked a glanced at Yelena you saw a hint of a smile tug at the corner of her lips. You grinned to yourself, deciding then that you were determined to see a proper smile from the blonde at some point.

"What's got you smiling?" Natasha asked with a smirk.

"Am I not allowed to just smile, Tasha?" You quipped back.

"I take it your date went well." You groaned at the mention of the event.

"It actually really didn't." You huffed. It was actually one of the worst dates you had ever been on. You had been giggling like a school girl when Natasha told you a shield agent had eyes for you. The two of you exchanged numbers and arranged a date but it became clear to you pretty quickly she wasn't as ready to date again as she thought she was. "She's definitely not over her ex." She grimaced. Natasha hummed in thought.

"Okay, but do you want me to key her car?"

"She paid for my coffee!" You laughed, she always had to be dramatic with her protectiveness.

"Is that a no then?" Yelena asked. You honestly had no idea if she was joking or not.

"It's a no." You confirmed with a smile.

"I'm sure I can find you someone else." Natasha said confidently. You hummed in response and watched her pour another pair of shots.

"That's okay, Tasha. Maybe you should focus on yourself and a certain other redhead." You grinned. Natasha shot daggers at you as Yelena whipped her head around to stare at her sister.

"You have a boy..." She paused and scanned her sister quickly. "Girlfriend?" She concluded. You snickered and poured a drink for another customer, focusing on him momentarily as the pair bickered further.

"There is nothing going on with me and Wanda!" Natasha exclaimed.

"The magic one?" Yelena asked with interest.

"The magic one." You confirmed with a grin.

"What's she like?" The blonde continued as she leaned forward.

"She's better than you Сволоч (jerks)." Natasha mumbled as she rolled her eyes.

"And a total babe." You added and leapt back when the redhead went to hit you.

"Y/n!" You spun around at hearing a familiar voice. Joseph, your oldest regular, was making his way through the room towards the end of the bar, a fond smile etched into the deep lines on his face.

"Hey, pal." You smiled back and went to prepare his usual as he started to chat away at you.

"You never had anything with her?" Yelena asked boldly as she tilted her glass towards you.

"Y/n?" Natasha was surprised to say the least. She had never thought of you that way and no one else had ever asked about it. "No." She chuckled, thinking of all the times you had done everything in your power just to get her and Wanda alone in a room together. "Why'd you ask?"

"I just wondered." She said as she tapped her glass in thought, grey eyes watched you actively engage in conversation with the older man. Natasha narrowed her eyes at her sister.

"Right. Just don't crush on my best friend." She warned as she poured her sister another shot.

"You got it." She nodded and threw her head back as she downed the shot.

*

You ended up seeing Yelena quite frequently. Not only did she join Natasha in coming to the bar, but she seemed to always be there when you visited your friend too. She wasn't much of a small talker, you learned that quickly, but the passing moments you happened to be alone in each others company stopped being awkward quickly.

Yelena was surprisingly easy to get along with. Once you had found a common ground of interest (making fun of Natasha) you could easily carry a conversation with her, but she was still closed off - something you were expecting given her past. There was one evening that made that as clear as it could be.

"I'm just saying the Avengers would be very happy to have you!" Natasha exclaimed with a smile as you sat giggling next to her.

"I'm not going to be a hero." Yelena waved off. She had quickly began agitated when she had nothing to do. There had always been something. Some mission. Some test. Some important training. Anything. And now she was free from the Red Room Yelena was struggling to know what she could do. You could tell she wanted to have a meaningful role, you just doubted she was going to admit that.

"There's always bounty hunting." You suggested as you flicked through the thin file in your lap. Sometimes when Natasha was struggling with a particular case file she gave it to you for a new insight. You never got a name or any big details in the files and it still wasn't entirely within the rules, but sometimes you actually helped.

"He bled to death from the stabbing, then he was shot." You muttered to the redhead as you passed the file back. Turns out being a drop out med student was good for something. While Natasha was the best of the best, she was still human and there were things even she overlooked from time to time that you picked up on.

"That's a good one." Yelena agreed as she sipped on her beer, pondering the suggestion.

"But why even go for something like this at all?" You said. Natasha and Yelena gave you a confused glance.

"I'm sticking to what I'm good at." The blonde said slowly.

"I'm sure you're skill set expands beyond all...this." You waved your arms around aimlessly. "Was there anything you remember enjoying before?" You asked curiously and Yelena instantly stiffened.

"No." She said bluntly and put her bottle down on the table. "Bounty hunting sounds good, I'll look in to it." She said as she left the living room area and headed towards her room without a second glance.

Your throat felt dry suddenly as guilt washed over you. What kind of a question even was that? She was only a kid when it happened, part of you wondered if she even remembered the part of her life before the Red Room.

"She's okay." Natasha assured, as though reading your mind.

"I shouldn't have asked." You muttered.

"Probably not, but for what it's worth" Natasha started as she went to put the shield file away "I thought you were onto something."

So you never asked about her past again, but that didn't stop you from thinking about it. You wondered if it was something she and Natasha talked about, only able to confide in one another about the nightmares they shared. Or was it an unspoken thing, something that they kept in the deepest darkest parts of their minds? You didn't expect to ever get an answer to that question.

Not so deadly assassin: THERE'S A FUCKING RAT IN MY ROOM

Not so deadly assassin: come deal with it!!!

Not so deadly assassin: Y/N

Not so deadly assassin: oh NOW you have a life

Not so deadly assassin: if you don't come over in 5 minutes I'm killing it

You huffed as you took your phone out of your pocket to see who had been blowing up your phone. You skimmed over Natasha's messages and sent a quick threat telling her if she ended the rat's life you would end hers and sped up your walk.

Luckily you were only a few minutes away from Natasha's apartment and after running up the stairs a few at a time you knocked on your friend's door and licked your partly spilt drink off your hand with a curse.

Yelena opened the door and motioned for you to come inside, seeming unfazed by your arrival and no doubt knowing why you were there. "Is she okay?" You asked as you looked around frantically.

"She just got called away for a mission." Yelena said as she led you through the apartment to Natasha's room.

"I meant the rat." You mumbled and spotted it in the corner. Yelena snickered at your comment and leant against the door frame as she watched you slowly approach the rodent.

"How did it even get in here?" You asked as you cooed and held your hand out to the rat that considered you curiously.

"Came in through the window apparently. I think Natasha wants to tear down the fire escape now." Yelena deadpanned.

"Like either of you need it anyway." The rat came closer to you and sniffed your hand before walking onto it. You picked up the small creature and placed her down gently on the fire escape before shutting the window.

"Was that so hard?" You said with a smile.

"They carry disease, you know?" Yelena fired back.

"So do we!" You exclaimed and paused when Yelena gave you a side eye. "Okay some of us." You corrected as you washed your hands.

"I hope she didn't call you away from anything important." Yelena said as she glanced at the hot drink you had left on the counter.

"I was just about to go to the pharmacy." You shrugged.

"It's your lucky day, I need band aids." Yelena declared as she picked up her satchel bag.

"Band...aids?" You questioned with a shit eating grin as you grabbed your drink and headed for the door with the blonde behind you.

"Yes, y/n. I need band aids. You're as bad as Natasha, she doesn't seem to think we need them either. We have everything in that bathroom except band aids!" You giggled as you watched her ramble in exasperation, finding it undeniably cute when she got lost in her own world about something.

"So if you're bleeding to death you'll be fine but if you get a papercut then things are gonna get bad?" You teased as you left the building. Yelena rolled her eyes at you but seemed to not be able to stop the small smile fighting for it's appearance, tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"It's a pretty big papercut." She mumbled as she inspected the cut on her forefinger.

"Well I think you're very brave." You grinned.

You walked in a comfortable silence for a while until your eyes landed on something that spiked every happy hormone in your body. "Yelena!" You grabbed at her arm and pointed across the street. The blonde was understandably alarmed at first and you noticed her reach into her back pocket for something until she saw what you were pointing at.

"Seven ferrets." Yelena muttered as she watched the small animals half run down the street infront of their owner.

"Seven adorable ferrets." You corrected as you watched them continue to scurry along.

"I can see how that could be the highlight of your week." Yelena recalled and you couldn't help but blush slightly. "I think this is the highlight of mine." She admitted.

"You're only human." You sighed as you turned around to keep walking, a content smile on your lips.

"Why don't you have pets if they make you so happy?" Yelena asked curiously.

"Not allowed in my apartment." You said gloomily. It was probably for the best, you would have a lot of pets if you could, too many to handle.

"If you think about it, rats are just small ferrets and you see those everyday. You could go find some more." Yelena teased and you chuckled.

"Haven't you heard? They carry disease." It was Yelena's turn to laugh lightly at that. You smiled proudly at causing the beautiful sound and felt your stomach do a small flip.

*

It turned out all the Avengers were keen to have Yelena on their team. Tony and Steve had introduced themselves to the new Russian one evening and bored (Yelena's words) her with stories of their latest successful missions and how great it was to be an Avenger. She didn't buy it.

Then she started getting emails and texts from the team, inviting her to different events and trying to get on her good side. Tony had even sent an extravagant gift basket to the apartment one day. Yelena had asked you to spend the afternoon sorting through it with her, snacking on all the expensive chocolates on the way as you told the blonde you thought she had a secret admirer.

It was early in the afternoon when she finally agreed to meeting the whole team.

"I just think it could be fun. I know they probably seem like annoying children right now, but at those parties they have to behave." You said into the phone as you balanced it on your shoulder.

"I don't think I own the right kind of clothing for it." Yelena said.

"I'm sure Natasha can lend you something, she is your big sister after all." You teased and heard her groan.

"You don't even have to stay long. But once you actually meet them they'll lay off about you joining if you still don't want to."

"It's just not-"

"Your thing." You finished with a smile. "I know, Lena. They'll get it." She hummed in thought and a silence fell over your phones until you cursed. "Shit." You muttered when the table leg fell down again.

"You need help putting that table together?" Yelena asked for the umpteenth time. You sighed as you sat back and glared at the parts sprawled out across the floor.

"Yes please."

*

Yelena Belova wearing a suit was something else entirely. Every outfit her sister offered her she turned down until Natasha grew frustrated and took Yelena out for a suit fitting, and god it paid off. The blazer hugged her body closely in a way you partly wished you could feel. You knew the blonde wasn't big on any form of affection, especially physical, but you loved it and Yelena had become a good friend. During late evenings when she was sitting comfortably in an armchair with a large hoodie on you thought she looked so soft and warm. You could only imagine how safe you would feel in her arms. You always had to put those thoughts aside quickly, not wanting to let your mind linger on things so intimate.

"Told you this place isn't so bad." You laughed nervously as Yelena approached you. She smiled and shook her head, her eyes looking so much brighter in the new lighting.

"I can't argue with that." The blonde shrugged and followed you to the bar.

"You um, you look amazing by the way." You said as she avoided Yelena's gaze, not wanting to let your eyes wander the way they were straining to. Unfortunately that meant you missed how she took in your attire and the admiration she struggled to hide.

"So do you." She smiled.

"Evening." Natasha said with a smirk as she came up to you and Yelena from the other side of the bar.

"This does not feel right at all." You winced making the redhead smile, more so when she prepared what she knew was your favourite drink.

"Yelena! You running away from me?" Sam grinned as he strolled towards the bar. You smiled into your drink when you saw the blonde shift on her feet in slight frustration.

"You gotta come meet Maria, you're gonna love her!" He exclaimed as he tried to steer Yelena away. She looked back at you with a face that was clearly asking for help but you just giggled as she left and waved goodbye to her.

"Has she met Wanda yet?" You grinned at Natasha knowingly and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

"She has." You hummed and looked across the room to spot the Sokovian in question. "And?"

"And they only just stopped talking when you arrived." You nodded with a triumphant smile, knowing the pair would get along. You missed Natasha's short analysis of your expression, trying to find the thing she knew you were hiding until someone else arrived at the other end of the bar and she rushed off.

You leaned over the bar to pour yourself another drink and started across the room. It didn't take long at all to find Wanda, or rather for her to find you.

"Y/n!" She exclaimed as she pulled you in for a crushing hug barely a second after you had turned around.

"Hey Wan." You laughed as you tried to hug her back.

"How are you, sweetie?" She asked as she let you go.

"I'm good, how have things been for you?" It had been far too long since you had seen the Sokovian and you missed her company a lot. She had such a calming presence that you always felt so comfortable around. You had told her that once, not knowing the fears she faced of her powers and the mistrust she had in herself, and she had teared up as she pulled you in for your first Wanda hug.

"So, I hear you met Yelena." You smiled after a while of catching up with the redhead.

"I was slightly terrified of her at first." She admitted with a laugh.

"She had a gun on me when we met!" You exclaimed as you remembered it clearly.

"So I heard." Wanda teased. "I also hear you guys are getting on like a house on fire." She continued as she watched you carefully.

"Yeah." You muttered as you spotted her talking to Maria. "She's pretty great." You said easily.

You spent a while catching up with various team members between drinks. You kept steeling glances at Yelena, mostly catching her in conversations she clearly didn't want to be in but a few times you caught her eye and paused to smile at her. She was always beautiful but you really couldn't get over how she looked in the navy suit.

You were sat by the bar when the party started to come to an end. You usually would have left a while ago but you wanted to be able to say goodbye to Yelena before you did.

"I'm exhausted." Came the familiar husky voice from behind you. Yelena leaned on the bar next to you and poured herself a vodka and downed the shot.

"Me too!" You said loudly with a slight slur. Yelena paused before letting a smile creep onto her lips as she watched you with an amused glint in her eyes.

"How much have you had to drink?" Yelena asked as she took your glass away from you.

"A few." You thought as you tried to calculate in your head but just shrugged in conclusion.

"легкий (lightweight)." The Russian muttered.

"Hey, come over here." Natasha called as she rounded a corner and spotted you and her sister. "We're putting a film on." She declared. You glanced around and noticed that everyone had gone. When did that happen?

"Let's go, Lena!" You called as you took her by the hand and led her through to where Natasha had gone.

"Are you sure?" She questioned as she looked down at your entwined hands.

"Absolutely!" You jumped up a few steps and saw the group sitting around the large TV on the comfy sofas.

"I missed these." You said to Yelena as you fell down onto the nearest sofa and pulled her down next to you. Natasha placed some snacks down on the table and eyed your joined hands without a comment.

You brought your legs up underneath you, not unlocking your fingers when the blonde's who didn't seem to mind. The other Avengers didn't seem to take much notice or interest in how close you were to Yelena and thanks to your slightly tipsy state you didn't bring much attention to it either. All you knew was that you felt comfortable sitting so close to the Russian that your bare arm was touching her soft blazer.

"Your hands are really soft." You whispered to her. She smiled to herself and tried to fight off the slight blush painting her cheeks that you, lucky for Yelena, didn't notice.

"So are yours." She whispered back.

What you didn't realise was that Natasha was still paying close attention to you both with Wanda smiling knowingly besides her, even when the film started and the lights dimmed. She finally stopped when she heard Wanda laugh lightly at something on screen, turning her attention to the girl besides her and then the film.

Barely 10 minutes in you found yourself growing sleepy. The dark room and the warmth of Yelena were certainly part of the cause but you found you really didn't mind, especially when your head fell onto Yelena's shoulder and she didn't shake you off.

Your eyes struggled to focus on the screen and really anything that wasn't the blonde when she shifted on the sofa to let you lean back against her. You smiled faintly as you let your eyes close and relax against Yelena, your hand still in hers.

*

You awoke when the main lights started to come back on and you felt Yelena stretch behind you. Her blazer was draped across your front and you smiled like an idiot when you realised. She had only worn it for a few hours and it already smelt like her.

"Hey." She husked and you felt a chill run through your body when her breath hit your neck.

"Hey yourself." You grinned back.

"Come on, let's get you home." She said as she sat up on the sofa.

"Can you get me a cab?" You asked as you rubbed your eyes.

"I'll drive you." Yelena stood up and held out her hand to help you up too. You took it happily and leaned against her for support for a moment.

You said goodbye to the team and made your way slowly out of the living area and eventually out the building in a concentrated silence. Concentrated for you, Yelena didn't have any issue putting one foot infront of the other.

"You guys okay getting home?" Natasha called from the entrance as Yelena helped you into her car. You gave Natasha two thumbs up and grinned her way as Yelena nodded. The redhead nodded back and folded her arms as she watched you carefully leave the building site.

It wasn't that long a drive to your apartment. Yelena drove in silence while you hummed along faintly to a song playing quietly on the radio, unaware of the smile playing on the blonde's lips.

When Yelena had parked outside your apartment complex she helped you out the car and up to your apartment, unlocking the door for you and guiding you through to your room where she lay you on the bed gently.

"You should change." Yelena said as she got some of your night clothes from the closet and went into the kitchen to get you a glass of water.

"You should stay." You grinned at her. She arched a brow at you in question but you didn't respond, only turning around on the bed. "Can you help me with my zipper?"

Yelena nodded and put the glass of water down on your bedside table and pulled the zipper down, trying to ignore the urge to see if the skin on your back was as smooth as it looked. She cleared her throat when she realised the zipper went lower than she thought, reaching your tailbone. Yelena took a step back and turned towards the opposite wall as she heard you step out of the dress and into your bed clothes.

"You should take some too." You said when you pulled the duvet back.

"You really want me to stay?" Yelena questioned, it looked like you were starting to sober up.

"Of course!" You grinned as you leaned on your elbows to watch her and patted the space in bed besides you.

"Okay." She smiled and got some clothes from your closet that she quickly changed into when you looked away to drink the water she had given you.

Yelena folded her suit on a chair in the corner of the room before hesitantly getting into the warm bed besides you. But she surprisingly felt a lot more at ease when you draped an arm over her stomach as you closed your eyes. Yelena sighed lightly at the contact. She never thought she was one for physical contact, but she had been wondering what it would be like to receive it from you for a while. Even craved it after you had held her hand earlier that night.

"Night Lena" You mumbled sleepily. Yelena put her hand on your waist to pull you closer to her and brushed a stray strand of hair away from you face.

"Good night y/n."

*

Despite the killer headache that greeted you, you actually woke up feeling pretty great. Your bed was warmer than usual and you didn't feel quite as alone as you always did in the large bed.

You rubbed your eyes and groaned but froze when you felt a hand on your bare waist where your shirt had ridden up. Yelena was sleeping soundlessly besides you and your breath caught in your throat when you took in her appearance. The sunlight seeping into the bedroom hit her face just right and you had to remind yourself not to stare, even if she wasn't awake to notice it.

You spotted a bottle of advil on the bedside table and a fresh glass of water that you took together. You tried to be careful not to wake Yelena but she started to move when you did, her soft hand slipping from your waist.

"Morning." You said after finishing the glass of water and wiping your mouth with the back of your wrist. Yelena groaned as she stretched out like a cat and looked up at you.

"Morning to you too." She smiled and you wondered if she knew she had her hand on your waist just a few seconds prior.

"Feel free to take a shower and borrow some of my clothes." You offered as you stood up from the bed and made your way across the room.

"Thanks." She hummed quietly. "Hey." You turned around by the door when she called you. "How did you sleep?" She asked curiously as she sat up to face you properly.

"Like a rock." You recalled happily. "You?"

"Yeah," Yelena smiled back, "pretty great." You nodded and made your way to kitchen as Yelena got out of bed with a content smile.

Yelena was in the shower when you started on breakfast. Usually you would have made something simple like toast or some fruit but you figured as you had a guest you should make something better and settled on pancakes. You also wanted to thank her for staying the night with you.

"That smells amazing." Yelena said with wide eyes as she trudged into the kitchen, still drying her hair. Your heart swelled at the sight of the blonde in one of your band shirts with some loose shorts. Your thought that your clothes probably looked better on her and you imagined how soft she would look in your favorite hoodie.

"Take a picture, it will last longer." She teased when you didn't respond. You snapped out of your daze and smiled sheepishly as you avoided her eye and continued to flip the pancakes. You put a plate down on the kitchen island and motioned for her to eat as you put some juice and fruit down too.

"No pressure, but what I think of you as a chef is going to be determined by these." She quipped as she started to cut the food. You smiled and turned around to watch the blonde's face change into a childish grin.

"Not too shabby." You concluded before shovelling more of the food into her mouth.

"No too shabby." You repeated with a sense of pride as you sat down next to her.

"That's what they used to say on the American shows I watched as a kid." She explained. You were about to tell her you had heard the expression before but paused when you realised it was the first time Yelena said anything about her childhood to you.

"Weren't they translated?" You asked carefully.

"No because they were copies from America. My father got them for us." She said and you noticed the far away look in her eyes, no doubt remembering that day as best she could.

"Well if you remember what the show's called we can try watch them again." You suggested with a shrug. Yelena considered you for a moment before she smiled at you softly. "Okay." She agreed. You opened your mouth to speak but there was a sudden loud thudding on your apartment door. You went to stand up to see who it was until Natasha opened the door and slammed it shut making you jump.

"I locked that door." Yelena said with certainty.

"I have a spare key." Natasha showed the metal piece before putting it back into her pocket.

"You want pancakes?" You asked as you stood up to put some more batter in the pan.

"What's going on with you two?" The redhead demanded, ignoring your question.

"What do you mean?" You and Yelena used in unison.

"You know exactly what I mean!" Natasha exclaimed as she raised her voice and looked between you and her equally baffled sister. "Are you dating? You could have told me." She continued as a hurt expression flickered across her face.

"We're not dating." Yelena said slowly but glanced at you. "Are we?" You could have sworn you heard her voice hold something hopeful rather than teasing.

"Not since I last checked."

"Can you quit fucking around and just tell me?" Natasha took a second look at the shirt Yelena was wearing before her jaw clenched.

"Oh no no no. We didn't- she just slept over!" You rambled as you started to panic. Natasha looked far from happy. You had been thinking a lot about what your friend had said the first time you met Yelena. You were never sure if she was really serious or not. All you knew was you that you started to feel guilty when your eyes lingered too long on her sister or when you felt the butterflies in your chest at her contact or really anything she did. You told yourself you kept your promise and didn't have a crush on Yelena, but it was becoming increasingly harder to convince yourself and now Natasha.

"You can tell me." The redhead said quieter as her stance softened. You looked to Yelena who seemed set on staying silent as she stared at her empty plate.

"Natasha I really don't know what to say..." You honestly didn't. You were baffled by the whole situation and Yelena was hardly helping. She really thought you were dating?

"Right, I just wanted to know." The older Russian sighed as she trudged towards the door. There was a heavy silence over the apartment until Natasha stopped by the open door to turn towards you both with a frown.

"I didn't mean it. What I said about..." She glanced around as she fidgeted in the doorway and searched for words. You and Yelena waited patiently. "Wanda said you guys are cute." A smile flickered at the corner of your mouth and you looked to the floor. "She's right." She left without another word and shut the door gently behind her. You exhaled heavily once you heard the click and leaned against the counter.

"Crazy, right?" You laughed nervously. Yelena didn't respond. "You okay?" You started filling the washing up bowl with water, needing to do something as you talked.

"She thinks we're dating." Yelena muttered.

"Yeah that's what I... that's crazy." You laughed more and scratched the back of your neck.

"Is it?" She questioned as she turned around to face you. You couldn't help but stare back at her light eyes that you struggled to read.

"Maybe not." You shrugged. The blonde looked back at the ground with a conflicted look. "No... no it's not." You concluded.

"I like spending time with you." Yelena continued. "Just hanging out, helping you put together that damn table, sleeping next to you. Even at that damn party with like one hundred people I still just wanted to be with you." She admitted and you exhaled a breath you didn't know you had been holding. "I just like being around you."

"I like being around you too." Yelena looked up and you held her gaze as your hands shook with nerves.

"Would you still like being around me if we were on a date?" She asked boldly. You couldn't contain the smile that grew at her words. You reached out and took her hands in yours as you took a step closer to the Russian.

"I would love it." Yelena smiled and stood up slowly, her eyes flickering to your lips as you licked them. You closed your eyes and leaned forward bravely, finding your hands were no longer shaking. Yelena's left hand left yours and came up to your neck to steady herself and close the gap between you, pressing her lips ever so softly against yours.

You snaked your hand around her waist to bring her somehow closer and deepened the kiss you realised you had been craving for so long. You pulled away softly and rested your forehead against Yelena's, suddenly feeling very dizzy.

"I have a huge crush on you." You admitted with a sigh, to yourself and Yelena.

"I have a huge crush on you too." Yelena laughed softly. "Can we do that date now? I think I've waited long enough." You giggled lightly and nodded your head as excitement rushed over you.

"Sounds perfect." You smiled and went to your bedroom to get changed but paused in the hallway. "You should call Nat."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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[shotofire]

Dream Catcher

•LEVI ACKERMAN x READER

•Overview: In which you own a stand to sell dream catchers, and Levi takes an interest in the concept

•Warning: Cursing, angst, mentions of sex, descriptive gore

•Season: Not specified

-

It had been going on for weeks now. Levi Ackerman would wake up pretty much every night covered in sweat and breathing so fast as if the air might run out. Nightmares were nothing new to him at this point. They came and went, but it had been a few years since they’d been this bad.

He wasn’t sure what had triggered the dreams. A mission hadn’t occurred in almost two months believe it or not. The reoccurring nightmares were always the same, down to the details. It started with him in a beautiful field filled with flowers, and the sun was warming his skin.

The peace in the beginning was always short lived, and soon he’d hear a terrified scream erupt behind him. The mood of the fresh air would change immediately, and everything around him had changed in the blink of an eye. Instead of a field filled with flowers it was a field scattered with dead bodies. It seemed to go on for miles, bodies covered in their own blood.

Scream after scream filled the air leaving no room for silence. He would watch as titans snatched up his friends and chewed their body parts like candy. He wanted to help them and he was skilled enough to do so, but his feet couldn’t move.

Everyone would be screaming his name and begging him for help. But the ground acted as if it were glue, keeping him in place as he watched everyone die. Every last person in the field would be ripped apart at ease, leaving him the last one alive. Tears would be streaming down his face as he saw the faces of everyone he cared about with fear struck expressions that would stare back at him.

The titans wouldn’t pay any mind to him. He’d be left alone with no one to care about, no one to love. Even though Levi would die before he admitted it, his greatest fear is to be alone. It’s not the fear of dying that leaves him paralyzed, why would he be scared of the inevitable? Being alone is avoidable and a more logical fear in his opinion.

Once a titan looked at him with a gut wrenching smile he’d sit up in his bed at full speed. His shirtless chest would be hot to the touch and sticky with sweat. There had been a few times he’d woken up with dried tears on his cheeks, or still in the middle of crying.

He pushed it aside at first thinking they’d just go away on their own and he’d be fine. None of his nightmares lasted more than a solid week because he’d find someway to get over them. But once it hit almost a month he was beginning to worry. His lack of sleep was catching up to him, and the bags under his eyes were prominent.

Hanji had bugged him about it for about a week now. She constantly pointed out his dark circles and how slow he was starting to move. The women went as far as to call him ‘an old man’ just so he may tell her what’s going on.

“You look older today,” she whispered in his ear, as he drank some coffee, causing him to jump in surprise.

Levi rolled his eyes once he knew who it was. She just never seemed to go a minute without saying something. He’s been in the dining hall for maybe an hour and she’d already insulted him five times.

“Maybe it’s because i’m getting older,” he grumbles in annoyance.

She sits across from him with a loud thud. Her hands immediately reach across the table to grab his wrists which nearly causes him to drop his coffee. The man didn’t even have the energy to ask what the hell she was doing. Her eyes began scanning his face swiftly, taking in every detail.

“When was the last time you had a good nights sleep?” She asks before letting her tight grip on his wrists go.

He scoffs as if what she was talking about was way off. She basically jumps across the table to smack her palms on either side of his face, squishing it a bit. He grabs her wrists to move her grip but it’s no use, he was too tired and she was far too determined.

“I heard you gasp in your room last night when I was going to get a drink,” she says with narrowed eyes, “and I know you aren’t getting laid so it had to have been a nightmare.”

His mouth hands open at the somewhat insulting words that came out of Hanji’s mouth. How would she know he wasn’t getting anything? He pushed his eyebrows together in a knot and wanted to tell her to fuck off, but he kept himself together.

“So what if I did, it’s not a big deal,” he mumbles and she finally lets go of his face.

“It kinda is a big deal if it’s been going on for weeks,” she says while waving her hands in the air, “eye bags like those don’t form over night.”

He looks down at the wooden table so she’ll stop pointing out and looking at his sleepy features. He’s fully aware of how bad he looks but he’s too stubborn to get help. Hanji knows of Levi’s ways and that’s why she’s trying to annoy the hell out of him. She thinks if she bothers him enough he’ll seek help just for her to leave him alone.

“I know a way your nightmares can go away,” she says with her tone laced in excitement, “get a dream catcher!”

The man had never heard of a dream catcher. For a second he thought it was a drug, he wouldn’t put it past Hanji to try something ‘in the name of science.’ His confused features become prominent and she realizes she should probably explain what this dream catcher is.

“About a month ago I was having this awful dream and it kept going on and on. So I went into town to see a doctor for some strong sleeping medicine and then I saw this colorful sign that said,” she stood up to show how big the sign was, “dream catchers for sale!”

Levi was still beyond confused at this point. And his annoyance with how much energy she had this early in the morning was growing. He just wanted to walk away and get some paperwork done, and then hopefully be able to fall asleep without disruptions. Deep down he knew the dream was just going to happen again.

“The girl there will explain it to you, she will do a lot better job than me, but basically they get rid of your bad dreams,” the smile on her face was huge.

That’s when Levi became interested. So all he didn’t to do was get a dream catcher and this would all go away? It seemed easy enough. Hanji noticed the way his shoulder perked up and her smile only grew.

“It’s right next to that little tavern I forced you to go to with me that one morning, and it’s impossible to miss the sign,” she beams, “also the girl is cute, so you may leave with another prize.”

She wiggles her eyebrows and Levi can’t help but roll his eyes at the crazy women. She stands up quickly before strutting out of the room feeling victorious.

“Thank you Hanji,” Levi whispers just enough for her to hear.

“You’re welcome,” she sings back.

He’s left alone with his thoughts. Was he really going to go see whatever the hell Hanji was talking about? When it comes down to it she didn’t explain what it looked like or if it was a damn drug. He really was going into this blind, but his need for sleep was far too high to not atleast check it out.

Going into town wasn’t his favorite thing to do whatsoever. Most of the time he wouldn’t be seen walking around. Hanji would have to beg for hours, sometimes days, for him to leave base with her. In all the years of knowing him she’d only succeeded a handful of times.

Yet here he was walking through town with his hands stuffed into his pockets. It was rather noisy and crowded, which is what he hated the most. The sun was shining and children were out playing, running in the streets like no one else was around. He had nearly ate shit when a little girl ran infront of him as if he wasn’t there.

“I’m gonna go crazy,” he mumbled to himself.

Right as he turned the corner he saw that sign Hanji had described to him. Swirls of pink, purple, and blue were painted onto it and white block letters spelled out ‘Dream Catchers For Sale!’ His eyes observed the little stand and watches as a women handed the young girl money with a big smile on her face.

Once the women walked away and no one was occupying it he began making his way in that direction. The girl had turned her back before he’d gotten there, he could only guess she was putting away the money. When she turned back around her eyes widened and she jumped at his presence. The girls cheeks heated up as soon as she realized what she did.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t hear you come up and got a bit startled,” she says nervously.

Levi half smiles at the girl, and he kinda surprised himself with his own actions. He finds her awfully cute which he didn’t see coming. It had been a few years since he admitted to finding someone attractive. He looks behind her to see some sort of art, maybe, hanging on nails imbedded in wood. The girl had gotten a big slab of wood and painted it with the same colors as her sign.

“How can I help you?” She asks with a warm smile that makes his heart skip a beat. What the hell is going on with him right now?

“My uh,” he thought for a second, “my friend told me about this thing called a dream catcher. I wanted to get one possibly.”

She smiles and nods, happy to help someone.

“Well i’m (y/n) and i’d be glad to help you,” she beams.

Levi can’t help but abserve her beauty, and her name had a nice ring to it. She turned around to grab one of the objects hanging on the wall before bringing it back to him. She sets it down on the small table infront of her so he can get a better look.

He observes the object and found it rather interesting. There was a large circle at the top, appearing to be made out of wood, that had red string wrapped around and across it to create abstract patterns. More red string hung off the bottom of it, and at the end of those strings were white and grey feathers.

(y/n) watches as his eyes scan over it in curiosity. She loves the looks on people’s faces when they take in every detail of her hard work. He then looks up at her to see she’s looking at him, and his heart beat increases a bit.

“I’m Levi by the way,” he says, “And i’m guessing this is the so called dream catcher?”

She didn’t expect the stranger to tell her his name but she was glad he did.

“Nice to meet you Levi, and yes it is! Would you like me to explain the dream catcher a bit?” She says excitedly with her same smile that got prettier by the minute.

His answer comes in a nod.

“So, a dream catcher is supposed to prevent you from having nightmares, and it’s the healthy option too. Getting medicine you know little about can be dangerous and have negative effects,” she explains.

Levi can’t help but watch the way her lips move and eyes light up. She was rather endearing and knew how to keep your attention with her sweetness. He could tell she found joy in helping people, and he found that admirable.

“It’s not proven to work so don’t come yelling at me tomorrow if you still struggle to sleep,” she giggles, “it’s more of a positive energy object. If you put faith into it and wish it to work it most likely will, that’s what my grandmother always told me. Plus i’ll be handing it off to you with my positive energy!”

He couldn’t help but smile at how excited her tone was. She was happy to help him, a stranger, with her little creation.

“Basically just keep an open mind and gather up all of your positivity,” she says, “Oh and also you hang it on your wall, preferably near your bed. Even better if it’s above your head.”

She was sorta rambling due to the fact she found Levi extremely attractive. It’d been awhile since a man had found his way to her stand, let alone one who had such perfect features. Sure she’d noticed the bags under his eyes but she knew that was the reason he was here.

“Well uh, i’ll take it. Thank you for explaining to me (y/n),” he smiles softly.

The way her name rolled off his tongue sent a chill up her spine. His voice was so deep and smooth, she wanted to hear it in other ways. She pinched her wrist at the dirty thought that was beginning to creep into her head. This man could be crazy for all she knows.

Before she can tell him the price he’s already digging in his pocket and setting the money on the table. She could quickly tell it was more than what she charged.

“Let me get you your change-“ “No, keep it.”

Her cheeks heat up at his kindness. She was struggling financially right now, not many people found her business appealing.

“Actually,” he grabs more money and puts it with the stack on the table, “I’ll take two more.”

(y/n) can’t help but smile brightly at his actions. She grabs two more for him and puts all the dream catchers in a small basket then sets a note on top that Levi didn’t seem to notice. She hands it off to him and he smiles back at her.

“Thank you so much,” she says with her sweet voice that Levi found comforting.

“Of course,” he says, “I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you if it worked for me, but it’s more of an excuse to see you again.”

Her eyes widen at his words and she’s sure her face reached a shade of red that it never had before. He watches as her features get all flustered at his words and he smirks. This girl truly was adorable and he had to come see her again.

“Have a nice rest of your day (y/n),” he says before turning his back and walking off.

“Y-You too,” she stutters. In that moment she wanted to face palm herself for being such a flustered mess. She’s just met him maybe fifteen minutes ago and he already had an effect of her.

That night Levi hung all three dream catchers on the wall above his headboard. When he went to put the basket on his desk he noticed the small yellow tinted piece of paper laying on the bottom, face down. He picks it up and sees the neat handwriting spread across it.

Thank you for supporting my business!

My positive energy is rooting for you to have a good nights sleep!

Levi smiles at the words, she were awfully kind. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop himself from going to see you tomorrow, even if he had things to do. Her sweat voice range through his head as his eye lids became heavy. He laid down and it only took him a few seconds to fall into a deep sleep.

Tonight was the first night in weeks that Levi slept peacefully. There were no bad dreams, and no seeing his friends die. He’d slept so soundly then when he woke up he was kind of confused. That’s when it hit him, he’d just gotten a full night of sleep with no interruptions.

He stretched his body and it felt amazing. His eyes didn’t feel like bricks in his face, his head wasn’t pounding, and his body felt loose instead of stiff. He looked up at the dream catchers with a small smile on his face. The girls little creation had actually worked, but he thought it was her kindness that contributed to the good nights sleep.

Later that day he walked back to (y/n)’s stand and praised her for his good nights sleep. The blush on her face never seemed to leave the whole time they talked. And Levi couldn’t remember that last time he’d laughed this much during a conversation. If anyone who knew him saw him right now they’d think he was filled to the brim with alcohol. That’d be the only thing they could think of to make his personality do a three-sixty.

Levi ended up asking (y/n) to get coffee with him the next morning. It was the start to a beautiful relationship.

[pineconesarecrunchy]

Pillow

Edelgard x F!Bylteh

(Byleth tries to help Edelgard sleep better at night, but things take a turn.)

Note: This is post time skip, minor spoilers for that!

...

Another day goes by means another busy day full of planning. Ever since your return, Edelgard has been excited to catch you up with everything, but being an empress has its own demanding duties. Edelgard has matured so much since your first encounter. Seeing her directing and giving orders makes you feel her power just by standing near her and being in her presence alone. Her stern and serious attitude remains as she keeps up a strong front defending her ideologies and carrying out missions in order to fulfill her end term goal. Her determination is astonishing and the front that she puts up has not changed at all over the five years. Two things haven't changed within those years, her soft spot for you and her persistent nightmares...

Edelgard's nightmares have gotten progressively worse since the last time you had discussed the sensitive topic with her before the five years of your absence. You notice recently that with each passing day that it has begun to take a toll on her. You wonder if proposing to stay by her side as she sleeps will help ease her fears.

It's a dark now, almost around midnight, and there are not many people roaming the monastery at this time except for you. You walk up to Edelgard's room door and give it a soft knock.

"El..." Only silence replies. She usually is awake at this hour, what could she possibly be doing? You slightly push the door open to see the room is...empty? You begin to give yourself to a self guided tour of her room. Her bed is neatly made but sitting atop of the duvet is an armored bear stuffed teddy you gave her when you first began your days at the monastery. She kept it. That thought brings a smile to your face as you walk over to her windowsill aligned with badges and medals. To the right of it is her desk, sitting on it are a stack or various papers. The one on top is a drawing of someone who looks...awfully familiar. It's not something Ignatz could conjure that is for sure, but is certainly a portrait of you. You open the desk drawer to see an uncovered box of hair pins and ribbons that she used to wear back in the day. You take one of the ribbons and bring it to your nose. It smells just like her and feels as if she's in the room.

"Professor?" You drop the ribbon and slam the drawer close almost immediately.

"E-Edelgard! You...startled me." You mumble as you examine the figure standing in the door frame. Edelgard looks disheveled and sweaty. Her white hair is up in a messy bun, but some strands have fallen and cling tightly to her face. Her nightgown clings to her damp chest and you realize how sheer her gown is and look away abruptly. "Sorry for intruding."

"Snooping are we. I never took you for a peeping-Tom, Professor."

"Byleth."

"...Byleth." She takes a step inside. "Is there something you need from me? It's awfully late."

"I just wanted to see how you were."

"Why?" She asks carefully, sounding like she already knows what you are eluding to.

"The past few days you have seemed more distracted and disorientated than usual, and I think your nightmares are the culprit. Your current state right now—"

"I am... I am not in the best appearance right now to be disagreeing with you." She says nervously. "I guess there is no use in hiding it from you. It's like you can almost read my mind." She chuckles.

"Perhaps I can."

"Then what am I thinking right now?" She seems like she genuinely wants you to guess. Her expression is curious, her thin eyebrows raised with a small smirk.

"Edelgard, you are avoiding the topic at hand. Please tell me what is troubling your dreams."

"Okay." She sighs and walks over to her bed and sits on it. she pats the empty space next to her beckoning you to join her. You walk over to her side and once you sit down she rests her hear on your shoulder. She entangles her arm with yours and grasps your hand. Your shoulder begins to feel hot form her extremely warm body. Edelgard's sweat seeps into your shoulder making your arm feel slightly damp, but you do not mind. You are fulfilling your promise you made to her all those years ago.

To be there by her side.

"My nightmares have been getting progressively worse."

"What do you think is the cause of them? Is it the next upcoming battle?"

"Yes. I...My dreams are vivid. The next battle I, I am a bit worried."

"You will be victorious; I am sure."

"That is not of my concern."

"Is it the enemy?"

"That is what I am worried about."

"Do you know who is the main target?"

"I have to fight family."

"Oh..."

"Yes."

"Dimitri?"

"Yes."

"You dream fearing fighting him?"

"I dream of being the cause to his demise. I dream of him being the cause of my demise." She squeezes your hand even harder. "I even have moments where I envision both of us living our final seconds looking into the eyes of someone we had loved and grown up with. I wish I did not have to fight him."

"You will cross that bridge when we get there."

"But, that bridge is soon."

"That battle isn't soon, it's not until about three moons or so away!"

"That is very soon for me. I — I cannot, I know it is business matters and it is inevitable, but I am so scared, Byleth. Being the reason of suffering to the one you care deeply for... It is unfair! It is so unfair!" She turns away to choke in her sobs. "Why did we have to be on opposite sides. If he had come to his senses, I wouldn't have to fight him, why is this so dastardly unfair!" She throws herself into your chest and cries, grasping onto your arms.

Edelgard's breathing is staggered and heavy. She shudders and trembles with every inhale and exhale. You can only imagine this is how she has been for every battle she has fought in the five years without your presence. You rub her back with one hand and pat the back of her head with the other. With every second passing, the clothes around your chest gets wetter with her tears. Suddenly she pushes you away and stands up.

"I should not be doing this." She says sniffling and rubbing the tear crust from her eyes and cheeks. "This, is unprofessional."

"No it is not."

"I, Edelgard von Hresvelg, Emperor, should not be crying over something so trivial as to fighting an enemy—" She sounds like she is getting upset with herself for being vulnerable. She shouldn't be.

"I would be upset too if I was in your place about to fight my brother."

"I am not upset!"

"You are being open about your worries to me, there is nothing trivial about that."

"This is so embarrassing." She groans.

"Being worried is nothing to be embarrassed or humiliated about, it is human nature."

"It is not what an emperor should do. I have to set an example and be fearless and—Why did you even come here?"

"Edelgard, I love you."

"What?"

"I love you and care about you."

"So you come here to listen to my anxieties and then confess your love to me when I am the most vulnerable—"

"I love and care for all of the people here. I simply noticed you were acting different and came to see if I could help in anyway and even stay by your side as you sleep for comfort. But, my intentions are clearly being mistaken and so I will see myself out." You head for the door. "Goodnight, Lady Hresvelg."

"Wait!" You stop midway in the door frame.

"What?" "I will take up your proposition."

"Excuse me?"

"To sleep by my side... It sounds...nice.... Hold on, come here." You turn around to see her pull out a stool from underneath her dresser. "Let me change out of this gown first." You go and sit on the stool. Edelgard goes over to her wardrobe and starts rummaging through.

"Should I turn around?" you inquire.

"Why? We have seen each other in the bathhouse before."

"Have we?" You cannot recall ever seeing Edelgard in the bathhouse before. You tend to go late at night of early in the mornings where there are no occupants. Has Edelgard seen you before, but not approached you? Edelgard...who would've thought you were one to act like that... "What were you doing this late at night?"

"I had woken up after imagining Dimitri's blood staining my gloves and axe handle; so I went for a walk."

"A fast walk I presume? You were sweating quite a lot."

"It was more of a ...run."

"Where to?"

"Just around the monastery, the bridge outside the cathedral looks stunning this time. What were you doing?"

"Looking for you."

"...Oh...What about before then?"

"I was scurrying around doing minor quests for people. Gardening, collecting items for people, returning lost items; the usual stuff."

"How helpful." You hear a final snap of her gown. "You may turn around now." The new night gown she wears is cream colored and reflects her pale skin. It is just as sheer... no even more sheer and see through than her first gown. Her messy bun is redone and her gaze rests upon her bed. She walks over to it and plops down. Propping her left arm up to rest her head upon and look at you.

"Are you going to watch me as you sleep?" You inquire.

"No." She mumbles and turns to lay on her back, starring at her ceiling.

You sit in silence for a bit. "Would you like me to blow out the candles?" You inquire.

"Yes, please." You walk around the room blowing out the candles around the room before returning back to the stool. The moonlight is now the only source of light in the room and it shines brightly through the large windows. A few more minutes past.

Then a few more.

Edelgard's face leaves a blank soft emotionless expression. Her skin looks so soft, if you were to touch it, it would probably be so smooth and smell of fresh carnations, her favorite flower. Edelgard groans.

"Is there something the matter?" You ask.

"Could you..." She pauses. The silence is deafening. "Could you get in with me?"

"Sleep with you?"

"...Yes. If it's not too much trouble." Why would it be too much trouble? That is the main reason you came here.

"But, I'm still in my outing clothes."

"It does not matter, you can borrow one of my night gowns if you so please." You hesitate. Accepting would be completely out of line for the Emperor and you as her aid. If anything it would feel awkward because a few hours ago she was yelling at you for misunderstanding your intentions. You really should not accept.

"Sure." To your reply, Edelgard quickly gets out of bed and rummages through her wardrobe again.

"This would look nice on you." She says holding up a royal blue nightgown. Royal blue is a pricey color of clothing. "Don't think about the color's wealth. Just try it on."

"It's like you're reading my mind, Lady Edelgard."

"Oh how the tables have turned and please, it's El."

"Thank you, El." you say and she smiles. You take the gown out of her hands. The two of you stand awkwardly there.

"I should... I will be waiting in bed."

"Okay."

"You can change here." She gestures to the unfolded room divider next to her wardrobe. You did not even notice its presence the first time. Maybe that's where she had changed when you were looking away.

You stand behind it and change while hearing her rustle the sheets and return to bed. You feel as if her eyes are scanning you through the paper frames in the divider, but how could you tell except for only the feeling of it. She could be watching but she could not...just like at the bathhouse. When you finish Edelgard is laying in bed facing away from you, you clear your throat to let her know you're done. She turns around.

"Byleth, it looks stunning on you."

"Thank you. Um, where should I put my clothes?"

"In the drawer next to the wardrobe, second drawer." You open the second drawer and place your neatly folded outing clothes in the empty space next to Edelgard's. The clothes there are of a deep crimson, each are neatly folded. You see a divider between the clothes and a small rectangular box. Glancing over your shoulder to see Edelgard isn't looking, you peek in the box. Then immediately close it once you see a glimpse of the assortment of lace—

"Is there an empty space there?" she asks groggily.

"Yes! Yes, I, I am coming." You say closing the drawer and joining Edelgard in bed.

You lay on your backside looking at the ceiling while her back is towards you. You were right, she does smell of carnations. She turns to face you and you cannot help but glance at her for a moment before looking away again. You feel her slender arm wrap around your waist and another one of her arms wrap around yours; pulling you closer to her. She places her head on your chest like it's a pillow. You can feel her breathe more slower than before now that she's calm. This feels nice.

What are you thinking? How this moment makes you feel is irrelevant. You are here to support Edelgard and help ease her nightmares. Only that and —She begins to softly snore.

How adorable...

...

The next few days Edelgard has been asking you to join her in her slumber to help ease her nightmares. This time you bring your own nightgown, but she insists you should wear one of hers as a thanks. You never give in though. She let you save the blue nightgown from your first night with her, but you never wear it. You keep it hung up in the front of your wardrobe as it smells of her carnation scent. Edelgard seems that she has returned to her diligent self. Working hard and focussed on the tasks at hand. You have not spoken about if her nightmares have changed. Sometimes she would start to sweat in the middle of the night and her breathing would increase rapidly. You would just hold her and tell her everything is alright and you're here for her until Edelgard ceases and calms down. She never uses the pillows in her room anymore, just your chest is a good enough pillow for her.

You can't help but wonder if the frequency of her nightmares are the same or if she's using that as an excuse to spend time with you...

Each passing day spent with Edelgard is a day closer to the reality of her nightmares...

...

SO I — Accidentally deleted the first half so it may not be as descriptive and well done as the rest because I was re writing it and not writing on the spur of the moment. But AAA my first Edelgard/Byleth fic! May/may not make this into a series lol who knows.

[capitainelevi]

72 & 115! (･ิω･ิ)

Thank you for your ask!! ❤️❤️

Drabble challenge: Followers send a number to your ask and you write a drabble using that sentence/prompt in your piece. "You’re competitive and so am I, and it’s going to lead to a fight." and “I let you win.”

Let her go

Petra and Levi attend a fundraising party together.

Slightly NSFW Canon universe.

Word count: 1592

Petra brushed her fingertips along the material of her dress, enjoying the silky feeling against her skin. It was not often that she got to wear such luxurious pieces, and while she never dreamed of being anything else than a soldier, getting to pretend she belonged with Mitras` high society was the highlight of her night. Lord Reiss` Winter Ball proved to be the perfect opportunity for the Survey Corps to secure donations from the inebriated nobles pretending to be concerned about the faith of humanity. And that year, the Commander had decided Petra had the highest chances of raising funds for their cause.

Petra looked at her reflection in the mirror once again, a part of her astonished how much of a difference a beautiful dress and makeup could make. With blue powder accentuating the amber of her eyes and rouge painted on her cheeks, Petra thought she resembled the women on the posters she found herself admiring each time work took her to the capital.

She was in the middle of retouching the red on her lips when a knock on her door pulled her out of her reveries. Despite the fact the Commander had made sure to put her in an inn on the good side of town for the night, she could never be too cautious. Her captain had taught her to be wary of humans just as much as she should be of titans. Petra picked up the knife Levi had given to her on the first day on the squad and made her way to the door. She sighed in relief at the familiar figure resting against the wood frame, and she hurried to put down her weapon.

Levi raised an eyebrow at the warm welcome, and Petra shrugged as red started to stain her cheeks.

“I`m sorry, Captain. I wasn`t expecting visitors.”

Levi muttered something under his breath and locked the door behind him. Once her fluttering heart calmed for a bit, Petra realized the oddity behind the sudden visit.

“Wait, Captain, why are you in Mitras?”

Levi frowned at her, expecting his subordinate to have figured it out by then already, but when the silence in the room became unpleasant for the both of them, he shed some light on the regard.

“I`m accompanying you to the party.”

Petra closed her eyes to gather her thoughts as her heart threatened to burst out of her chest. She would have never dreamed of accompanying her captain to a party, let alone to act as his date for it. She was certain the shade of red painted on her cheeks challenged the red of the dress she chose for the event. Petra could not help the smile growing on her lips as she allowed herself a slight indulgence- “Are you my date, then?”

Levi`s eyes widened for a moment as if he had not realized the situation himself beforehand, and he chose to nod as an answer. Spending the evening with his favorite subordinate was far from being unpleasant.

“Was it your idea or the Commander`s, sir?”

“Don`t be a brat, Petra.”

Petra laughed at his crass behavior, one that she came to be fond of as she spent years by his side. Her captain was rude, short-tempered, and often awkward, but she would never change anything about him.

“Help me button up my dress?”

Petra turned her back to him, and Levi made his way to her slowly, as if he was afraid by the proximity. The floral scent emanating from her skin invaded his nostrils, and he closed his eyes to savor it. Despite being fond of her usual soap scent, he was enjoying the variety. Levi let his eyes wander, admiring how the dress she had chosen for the even hugged her forms. When his fingertips made contact with the soft skin of her back, Levi could feel her slight tremble under his hands.

“Why choose a dress you can`t put on yourself? That`s stupid, Ral.”

Petra turned her head to look him in the eyes, and the sudden closeness to his face stunned her. Levi barely acknowledged her, too enrapt in the task at hand, and she couldn`t help but smile at the slight frown of concentration forming on his face- “Maybe I had a feeling you would be here to help me, Captain.”

Petra and Levi had been partners in this dance since he chose her for his squad, yet it never went beyond that. Not more than a tease or a light touch, much to her frustration. Just when she thought she got past his walls, Levi retreated, and she found more put up in their spot. On some nights, Petra swore she hated him just as much as she loved him. But she was determined to get to the real Levi, even if it took her the remaining years of her life to do so.

Levi finished working on the last button of her dress as he accentuated- “Levi.”

Levi did not care much for formalities, often asking Petra to drop his title every time they were sharing a cup of tea in the middle of the night. He enjoyed the slight blush adorning her cheeks every time his name found its way to her lips.

Petra did a twirl for her captain- “So how do I look, Levi?”

Levi did not give a second thought before answering her, and he was pleased with the sparkle in Petra`s eyes as she heard it- “Beautiful.”

Petra pointed at the door- “Shall we, then?”

Levi hated parties more than he hated a mess. Well, almost as much. He could still recall the 868 Kitchen Tragedy when his squad tried to follow Oluo`s recipe for making tomato juice. He trembled at the recollection, getting the attention of the subordinate holding his arm. Maybe with Petra by his side, he could enjoy himself. They made their way to the buffet, and Levi ignored the hungry looks the woman by his side was drawing their way. While his subordinate was usually talkative enough to fill the silence for the both of them, she had barely addressed two words to him since they arrived at the party.

“What is going on inside that pretty head of yours?”

Yet his question required no answer from her, as one glimpse at the smirk appearing on her face was more than enough for him to know. Levi shook his head no, winning a pout from her.

“You’re competitive, and so am I, and it’s going to lead to a fight.”

Petra sensed that she might be crossing the line, but she figured Levi wouldn`t mind. And even though they were still on duty, they could still enjoy themselves a little.

“I didn`t know you were scared of losing to me, Levi.”

Levi downed his glass and nodded at her to keep going. He could imagine Erwin`s disapproving stare at their childish behavior or the squad`s anxiousness at them engaging in yet another “innocent” game, which usually ended in Levi cussing and Petra crying and yelling at the unfairness of her loss.

“Whoever gets the most donations wins a can of good quality tea leaves.”

Levi`s eyes sparkled at the thought of a good cup of tea, and he shook Petra`s hand without giving it a second thought.

Four hours later, Levi had trouble in getting his subordinate to be quiet as they made their way on the hallways of the inn. Petra was too high on her victory against her captain to care about waking up some strangers. Petra plopped down on her bed, satisfied at the ending of her night. She could feel Levi getting on his knees, but a chill ran through her when she felt his fingertips on her skin. She watched with a smirk on her lips as Levi worked on taking off her sandals.

“I let you win.”

Petra laughed at the absurdity, knowing Levi would never waste the chance to drink a good cup of tea. She could feel his hand caressing her leg, and she tried to ignore the heat spreading through her at the contact.

“I`m too cute. They didn`t stand a chance.”

When Levi got close enough to her lips so that she could feel his soft breath on them, Petra gulped, aware of the lump forming in her throat. He murmured against them- you are, as he captured her mouth in a hungry, messy kiss. When Petra moaned, he slipped his tongue in her mouth as their tongues clashed, fighting for dominance. All her shame was lost to pleasure as she tangled her fingers through his hair, pulling his mouth closer to her to devour him. Petra nipped at his lip before slipping her tongue in his mouth as Levi pushed her on the mattress. Petra whimpered at the feel of his erection against her thigh as she slipped one of her hands under his dress pants.

“Petra, stop.”

The faces of all the comrades he made promises to on their dying moments flashed in front of his eyes. The promise he made to Erwin all those years ago was booming in his ears. He could not afford to be selfish. His mission, his purpose, was more important than any desire he had. And that included a life with Petra by his side.

And with I love you on the tip of his tongue, Levi whispered- “I`m sorry, I can`t do this.”

Levi stormed out of the room, not taking another glimpse at the woman waiting for him.

ao3

[amphxtrite]

fred weasley x fem!reader

This is for @feetoffthetable ‘s 500 follower writing challenge. Congratulations again on 500!!

hope you like it.

prompts:

“What happened to their happily ever after?”

“Not all love stories get a happily ever after, sometimes it’s just once upon a time.”

warnings: angst, spelling/ grammar mistakes.

word count: 3.1k

tag list: @cupidpoison @marvelhoesworld @wonderful-writer

enjoy<3

__________________________________________

Almost every girl can remember the days where they’d dream of their fairytale romance. Dancing, a prince charming and a kiss in the moonlight as every problem faded away; A thrilling fight between the lovers and the evil villain ending with the two wrapped in each other’s arms. Despite being muggle tales, the wizarding world had also grown to adore these stories, smiles widening on even grown witches' faces with each ‘once upon a time.’

You’d grown up reading about maidens being swept off their feet into the arms of their knight in shining armor, fate seemed to encompass every story you laid your eyes on, so when Fred Weasley entered your life, with a charming smile and a playfulness that had you wanting more, you couldn’t help but fall.

And so began the pining. Stares across the classroom at the wave of red hair, crossing your fingers when group projects were announced, peeking down corridors to see if you could catch the prankster twins in action, and daydreaming from dawn till dusk. You could barely get words past your lips if he ever smiled in your direction. You found yourself wondering what it would feel like to run your hand through his hair. Doodling his name on parchment became common, and dreams of dancing with him plagued your mind. You were young, and in love. You could almost feel your fairy godmother pushing you towards him, fairy tale magic coursing through your veins whenever your eyes would meet.

It took a couple years, but you found your voice. Starting small with congratulations after quidditch games, an occasional joke during classes, a couple more smiles here and there.

The unrequited love, became returned. Fred Weasley thought you were just the shy girl from his transfiguration class, quiet and meek. When you built up the confidence to strike up conversations and joke about Snape’s hair, he found himself hanging onto your every word.

The older twin went from not knowing your name to looking forward to even his most boring classes just to catch a glimpse of your face. Making you smile became his mission, and Godric did he love it when your face would completely light up. Not just a small smirk, but when your eyes sparkle, your lips pull up far enough to see your teeth and your cheeks go a bit pink, that was most definitely his favourite sight.

Even the most enchanting storybook couples would stare amazed at the adoration Fred Weasley and Y/n L/n shared for each other. Two best friends pining for the other without realizing the mutual warmth that had grown. Spending countless hours together, hiding their flushed cheeks, sweaty palms and loving eyes to enjoy every moment spent together.

When the Yule ball was announced Fred had fallen flat on his face running up to ask you. He’d spotted you in the clock tower courtyard with one of your friends and he knew immediately, you were the only person he’d want to go with. He sprinted up to you intending to drop to his knee and ask, but his foot got caught in the stone and he fell for you the second time. Now any other person may have lost hope and ran away, but Fred Weasley was determined to make the most of it, rebounding it with a cheesy pick up line, In true Fred fashion.

Cinderella would’ve glared in jealousy when the two of you waltzed across the dance floor. Not only was the night magical, but it was awkward, nervous, and fun. It didn’t seem like the far fetched dance at the end of a film, it felt real. You’d step on his toes and he’d shuffle his hand around your waist, but when it came down to it, you didn’t care. You really did feel like a princess dancing in the arms of her lover, swaying to the beautiful music as other students starred in awe at the two gryffindors gliding around the room, laughing happily while moving their feet in a mesmerizing waltz.

That night Fred Weasley finally asked you to be his girlfriend, he got down on his knee in the middle of the dance floor, pouring his heart out to you, his confession wiping even the soliloquies of Romeo Montague out of the water.

“Y/n, from the moment you started to talk to me in our third year, I fell. You make me smile, laugh, blush and always know how to cheer me up. Honestly, why didn’t you start talking to me sooner? I never knew how much I needed you, but my eyes have been cleared, my feelings in tune and now I’m asking you on the dance floor to maybe take this foolish man to be your prince?”

Droplets emerged from your eyes as you shook your head up and down, happy tears flowing free as you pulled the red-head up again.

The entire student body had paused to take in the scene before them, watching in surprise as Fred Weasley stood to his feet to dip the girl with tear stained cheeks into a low kiss, only standing again to catch his breath before stealing you away out the door.

You’d give anything to go back to that night. The seed of young adoration finally blossoming into a flower of love. Love so true, beautiful and pure you’d probably blind anyone who saw. You ran through the halls to Black Lake, dancing to the beats of your hearts in the embrace of your love, swaying in the moonlight as puzzle pieces of your life finally seemed to fall into place and stars aligned.

Holding your love in your arms is a feeling so surreal and fantastic, something that has an addicting property that you couldn’t help but crave. When Fred’s arms surrounded you, you didn’t feel trapped, enclosed, barricaded. You felt free, as though you could fly.

It is hard to define love, but what was between the redhead prankster and gryffindor dreamer painted a clear picture for anyone to see. Love opens the best in us, it reveals pieces of us never seen before and unlocks emotions never known. Fred grew more in love with you with each passing day and his desire to see the smile upon your face never faded.

Your love for your prince charming was something that would never be taken away from you. Everyday took your breath away and every time Fred smiled at you, your brain seemed to turn to mush, the childhood pining never seemed to leave.

Your last year at Hogwarts brought about some problems, with the monstrous pink toad and Fred’s tendencies for trouble, you could say difficulties were inevitable. Nights where Fred snuck into your dorm broken down, tired, and ready to collapse became frequent, especially after he was banned from the quidditch team. Fred was hesitant to reveal his sensitivity, but with cuts across his hands and the loss of his favourite activity, he was willing to lose it all just to rest in your arms again. Many nights he’d run to you, exhausted and restless. You’d hold him close, soothe him the best you could and heal his wounds to the best of your abilities. You didn’t know what to say, but you didn’t need to talk. Fred was content laying on your chest as you fussed over him, pressing kisses across his freckled face and mumbling rather choice words under your breath about the pink devil as you gently caressed his injured hand as light as a butterfly.

You were the first person he’d told his scheme to leave Hogwarts to, begging you to go with him and start a new life in a place he’d dreamt of since he was a child. He honestly wasn’t expecting you to agree, but how could you not? It’s not like you had much planned. Anyways, you were tired of the pain Fred had to endure during the past year, so if he was ready to leave, so were you.

You’d compare flying a broom into the sky as fireworks flashed behind you, to riding into the sunset on the back of a stallion, but yours was so much cooler. Fred had grabbed you from the floor and pulled you onto his broom, you clutched onto him for dear life as he and George flew their last victory lap and destroyed every last horrid plaque of rules that hung on the walls of the school of magic. Another feeling of freedom was evident throughout the entire building as victorious cheers sound from every window.

This was definitely better than a ride into the sunset.

Life with the twins in Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes couldn’t be defined by just one word. It was exciting, chaotic and the most fun you’ve had in your life. Designing product boxes and using charms was more of your strong suit while the boys caused explosion after explosion, perfecting their concoctions. As weeks turned into months, you and Fred felt as though you were really living a couple’s life. Waking up wrapped in each other’s arm without the worry of being caught, making and eating breakfast to tunes on the radio, dancing to a record player as day bled into night and your feet finally got sore.

This is how fairy tale characters must feel after their story ends, you’d think every day, happy and so deeply in love, relishing every moment together and at peace.

You’d finally been introduced to Mrs. Weasley that coming Christmas, her tender love really made you feel welcome and almost moved you to tears.

“It’s nice to see Freddie finally found someone who loves him as much as you do, I can see it in your eyes darling, you’re perfect for him.”

Fred never understood why they said ‘fall’ in love, sure you may feel your senses fade at times but it was never like a fall. If it made sense he’d say he rose into love for you. You brought him to cloud nine, you raised his spirits whenever you joked with him when he was down. You raised the corners of his lips into a smile by just existing. You raised him further towards his dreams and supported him no matter what. Ironically, he dropped to his knee to propose to you, just like he had in your sixth year at the Yule Ball, once again pouring his heart out to you, this time to truly make you his.

“Here we are again, love.” He laughed as he fell to his knee behind you in a muggle park not too far from Diagon Alley.

“Darling, I love you. I love you so much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You push me towards my dreams, comfort me when I’m upset, and make me smile every single day. I realized how much I needed you back in our sixth year, but today I ask you to seal the deal and become, y/n Weasley?”

It is hard to define love, so many forms of it, so many ways to express it and spread it to the people around you, but when Fred Weasley proposed to you, people looked over and felt the unconditional love between two people that brought tears to their eyes. When Fred Weasley looked at you, you were his everything. His past, present and future, his calm during a storm, his brightest star.

When Y/n said yes, you could hear the love of the purest of heart. The love of a best friend and a partner.

Love opens the best in us, it reveals pieces of us never seen before and unlocks emotions never known. Fred could now ensure a smile on your face for the rest of your days, and the childhood pining could finally rest knowing you would be with this man forever.

When the war finally pulled the wizarding world into the dark, the prankster and the dreamer knew they wouldn’t be able to stand to the side. They needed to help bring back the peace, and they would fight beside the people they cared about. The wedding was postponed until further notice, but it was sworn on a pinky promise that as soon as the chaos was over, you’d pick up where you left off and walk down the aisle in your white dress.

As you stood on the Hogwarts school ground, death eaters on every side and Voldemort cackling maniacally, you reached out for your prince’s hand. Closing your eyes to regain your calm before you had to charge into the incoming fight. Fred had squeezed your hand before pressing his lips to yours in the most passionate kiss the two of you had ever shared.

Looking back, you should’ve held Fred there with you, by your side throughout the entire fight. You should have kept your hands interlocked, standing tall by each other’s side, an unbreakable force to be reckoned with.

Instead the two of you charged forward separated, fighting close, but by your friends’ sides, throwing spell after spell to inch closer to a brighter future. Pain didn’t matter, each wave of your wand could be a step closer to a happy tomorrow.

It was almost thrilling fighting by your classmate, protecting them brought a new sense of purpose to your being and drowned out everything else to focus on the task at hand. Things were turning your way, Neville slayed that dreaded snake, Harry returned, Voldemort would never win now right? Everything would turn out fine. Right?

How wrong you were.

Victory was within reach, death eaters were filtering into smaller numbers and your friends were still alive. Your head was swivelling for your love, the only thought on your mind being to find your prince, your knight, the love of your life. The flash of red hair was just ahead, the light at the end of the tunnel was right there. You called out his name and his head whipped to meet yours. Your eyes met and you could see your future, your wedding, a family, growing old with this man.

Then the rubble fell, and in a flash, everything was taken away from you.

It is hard to define love, but when witches and wizards heard the shrill cry of a heart being torn in half, they could feel the love y/n l/n held for Fred Weasley. The pure, unconditional love that would’ve withstanded the test of time and any problem life could throw her way. The love that had so much hope many people turned away, it was too much to bear. The love that had you digging even though your hands were scabbed and bleeding.

Now when you ask how Fred Weasley showed his love in this scenario, the only thing to say was he died with a smile on his face. He died knowing his last sight was the love of his life running towards him, ready to turn to the next chapter of their lives.

You dug through the rock frantically, grasping onto the hope that for some divine reason Fred could be alive.

This isn’t how the story is supposed to end, your prince was supposed to wrap you into your arms and every problem was supposed to melt away, you were supposed to marry, kiss in front of all your family and friends and live the rest of your days together.

Realization hit you like a speeding train, you were never going to walk down the aisle to see Fred’s reaction to you in a white dress, you were never going to hold your child in your arms and see Fred become the amazing father you knew he would become. You were never going to see him grey and old, still a prankster and still deeply in love. You were never going to feel his lips against yours ever again. Hear his whispers in your ear about how much he loved you, or his melodic laugh that brought butterflies to your stomach every time.

Turns out, the villain of your story wasn’t unrequited love, it wasn’t Umbridge or even Voldemort. It was something even more cruel and insufferable. Death is not something humans really understand, even the most powerful witches and wizards cannot deny that death will come upon you, it is inevitable. There is so much about death we do not understand. All we know is one minute they’re here, the next they’re gone. But you might say, this is a fairy tale, there’s bound to be a happy solution and our lovers will get their happy ending. No, this is reality and our lovers were not that lucky, and the loss of half a heart is not something to be taken lightly.

“No.”

When Fred’s body was retrieved, you were joined by the rest of the Weasley family in their grieving, and while you could never understand what it would be like to lose a brother and a son, you’d lost the man you were going to spend the rest of your days with, and that left a hole in your heart never to be repaired, never to heal.

To lose a lover, but to hold their lifeless body in your arms is a surreal feeling you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, it’s something that has the power to break even the strongest people and make the most positive lose hope. Every ounce of love in your being spilt through tears that held every wish and hope you’ve ever had. That day you lost your feeling of freedom, and a sick sense of being trapped plagued your every move.

This isn’t how the story was supposed to end.

“What happened to their ‘happily ever after?” A young girl asks her father.

“Well young y/n, as you may know you were named after the very girl who fell in love with my brother and lost everything. Some say she died of a broken heart, others say Freddie came back and took her away to paradise.” An older George Weasley smiles down at his young daughter, snuggled in blankets, clutching a picture frame in her small hands.

“But why couldn’t uncle Fred come back? I thought every fairy tale ends with a happily ever after, those were aunt y/n’s favourite stories right?” Young y/n’s brown eyes flash in confusion and hurt as she lowers the photo of you to her lap.

“Yes, they were her favourite. There was no doubt her and Fred had a love greater than any fairy tale, but not all love stories get a ‘happily ever after.’ Sometimes it’s just a ‘once upon a time.”

[thequietmanno1]

Thelreads, MHA 246, Replies Part 1

1) “Oh, cool cover with the hero kids- doing a cosplay of Persona 4 I would assume. Huh. Interesting.”- Given the overlap between Izuku and Tsuna, the protagonist of Katekyo Hitman Reborn, it almost feels like Izuku’s cosplaying as Tsuna’s later fighting getup, especially with the headphones and tricked-out gloves

It’s not just the looks- they have the exact same personality type. Absolute cinnamon roll until you press their berserk button, and then they switch gears to ass kicking mode and god help you then, cause nothing else will.

This is the same guy

A lot of people consider Izuku to be Tsuna if he went into being a superhero, rather than the mafia.

2) “Alright, fair enough, but there’s more to it, he realized that even though his power crossed the singularity, it still not enough. It pushed him to the absolute limit, he even started to surpass his own resistance and decayed himself in the process, this quirk alone is not enough for him to win against the things to come, he needs more.”-Tomura’s got no problems tearing himself to pieces if it means he takes down hero society with him, but he’s smart enough to realise that even fi eh doesn’t give a dam about his physical condition, he needs his body to hold together long enough to actually achieve that goal. With the sheer numbers of heroes out in the world, even if Tomura unleashed that wave several times, it might cause devastation, but there would always been more heroes he couldn’t reach before his body gave out on him. Instead, he’s determined to force himself to the limit in order to perfect himself enough that little things like ‘limitations’ don’t hold him back anymore- which is appropriate, as Izuku is also somebody who’s been defined throughout this story by his limitations and the consequences of breaking through them. 

Unlike Izuku though, Tomura is blatantly cheating to get the power he needs now and bypassing the long-term repercussions of his reckless attitude by Ujiko enhancing him to withstand the blowback. Granted, from what the doc says, the process won’t be an easy one, even to somebody as out of his gourd as Tomura is, to the point that pain doesn’t even really seem to register all that much with him anymore, but still, he’s gaining far too much power without needing to fear overclocking his body, unlike Izuku. Depending on how this all shakes out, Izuku may need to break through his limitations himself just to stand against him- and then it’s just a question of who can out-last the other.

3) “Oh yeah, he’s not playing around. He now has a goal, he has an objective, a mission, and he’ll not stop until he can gather every ounce of power that he can to help him succeed.

It’s not only Midoriya that is giving his all. Both sides are determined to push themselves far beyond their limits. The villains have weaponized Plus Ultra as well.”- The thing is, even if Izuku pulls out everything he’s got, Toura still holds the advantage over him, because he flat-out doesn’t care for himself in the long-term. Izuku might have overlooked the issues with using 100% in the moment before, but they always came back to haunt him, though causing worry to his friends and family and potentially crippling his dream of being a hero. Tomura, meanwhile has absolutely nothing left to lose by going all-out and tearing himself apart to reach victory. His old life has been so utterly destroyed that there’s no way to reclaim it, and he’s left in a constant state of mental agony and irritation by All For One’s manipulations and society’s apathy towards people like him, to which he can only find relief when he starts ripping it all apart- so much relief that he doesn’t even process the negative feelings of pain and agony that his body must be experiencing as it starts to decay himself as well. 

Toura has no way to live in the current world and nothing to strive for save its destruction, so he has no shackles holding him back from swan-diving off the abyss’ edge, whereas Izuku’s attachments to his loved ones and desire to live beyond the battle prevent him from going as far. Tomura’s basically on an extended suicide attack, wherein he literally can’t accept dying unless he’s made sure to destroy all the hero society with him, so his allies can rebuild from the ashes, but at the same time has no problem recklessly throwing his life away. If he perishes in the cost of tearing it all down, he’ll happily pay that price if that’s what it takes for him to not feel itchy anymore.

4) “Yeah, powers intermingled and thus started to mutate, evolve, generations later the power started to get more and more advanced than ever before… And that’s why AfO got him? To study that evolution through the use of trigger, seeing how quirks would evolve if they were pushed to their limits? At least that’s a bit of what we can gather from his operations in Vigilantes”- The actions of Trigger seemed to be more about mutating the ‘body’ to help bring out the full extent of the quirks potential, or vice-versa, forcibly amplifying the quirk’s potential to see what the corresponding effect would be on the body. AFO’s ultimate goal, as he stated once, was to be an all-powerful demon king that ruled over everybody. 

It makes sense he’d be concerned if the very thing that enabled that childish dream to come true held the risk of one day backfiring on him and damaging his vessel if the powers he was trying to take were too much for his body to handle- and conversely, if he would struggle with taking new and stronger quirks that came along, that increased the risk of others successfully resisting him, if he’d lose his ultimate trump card of being able to steal their powers for his own benefit in an instant. Him either implementing the Trigger experiments from the start, or co-opting their later results for his own use, then makes sense, as he would be interested in any kind of research that held the long-term chance of expending his vessel’s capacity, even if only a little bit.

5) “And I think I’m starting to get where this is going… As the quirks started to get more and more powerful, AfO feared that soon he would be unable to control them, so he got this doctor to study their evolution by mixing and pushing quirks to their maximum through the use of trigger, it just so happened that the end result was a good bio-engineered soldier. And now, the same process can be used to their benefit… All of the strengths, none of the weakness, the process has been perfected.”- It’s not really remarked upon much, but AFO’s body is still that of a first-generation quirk user- somebody who was around during the advent of quirks first appearing. Powers back then were weaker and not as stronger as they’d later develop to be, so AFO had an easier time hoarding so many quirks at once, but whilst quirks continued to grow, develop and mutate in unpredictable and powerful ways, AFO’s body remained the same, a container with a finite amount of space that couldn’t withstand all that power all at once. Him passing on quirks to his followers to gain their loyalty might not have been just a manipulation tactic, it could have been a necessity for AFO, as he’d need to ‘free up space’ on his ‘hard drive’ to run all the ‘programmes’, or quirk combinations, that he could safely without risk of overheating or exploding from the strain. 

And as the quirks grew more powerful and complex to use, that in turns takes up more space for him to store them if he sees a quirk he wants- and he outright admitted he’s basically got Quirk Kleptomania before, so he’s practically compelled to take any quirk that catches his fancy, even if he really shouldn’t try to ‘swallow’ more than he’s got on his plate already. AFO fostering blind, near-mindless loyalty and fanaticism towards himself in his followers might not just have been a manipulation tactic, but a means of creating ‘containers’ for the powers he wanted to hold onto but physically couldn’t anymore- containers that wouldn’t turn those same abilities against him or run off with them. It’s ironic- for all that his ability to hoard any type of superpower in theory means he’s able to have the right ability to counter any type of situation on hand, his only actual weakness is that self-same power, and his inability to contain more than he wants to. All For One’s greed is arguably as big a threat to his well-being as OFA. 

When faced with his body’s natural limitations, rather than accept that there’s only so much he can have at once, he went for the risker option of artificially expanding his vessel’s capacity to stockpile more quirks, simply because he’s so power hungry he refuses to give up something he sees as ‘his’ once he takes it, even if holding too much power at once risks causing him catastrophic damage one day.

6) “Oh, seems like I was right on the mark there.”- On a related note, this means that All Might ‘did’ succeed in Killing AFO, after a fashion, at the climax of their initial bloody face-off. With his vessel permanently damaged beyond even the ability of hyper regeneration to repair, the research to expand his capacity to withstand even more power than before was a moot point. With his hardware irreparably cracked and damaged, even with the patch-job to allow him to keep working in a functioning state, he can no longer quite reach the limits of his prior power nor reach the level of absolute power his desires demanded he achieve, as his body is simply not capable of taking the strain anymore. As quirks get more and more powerful, even the current medical procedures that fixed him up will eventually start to be overcome, as AFO starts running into powers too strong for his damaged vessel to contain without excising some quirks to ‘make room’- and that in turn limits his main threat, that he can hoard amazing powers to their full capacity without limitations, and combines them together for massive destructive effects. 

Sooner or later, AFO’s current body simply won’t be capable of safely stealing anybody’s quirk, without a lot of preparation and him having to sincerely choose between taking the power or giving up what he’s already got. Him passing Ujiko’s research onto Tomura might not be just his way of ensure his protégée can withstand everything contained within All For One’s quirk when he gets it in one go, it’s also a second-hand way of All For One creating the ‘absolute being’ he sought to become himself through Ujiko’s research. After All Might robbed him of the ability to become a god upon the earth, he’s been grooming Tomura to become the ‘next him’ and reach the heights that he himself can only dream of. As he said, when you lose the chance to achieve all you wanted in this life, you do everything you can to ensure that vision is brought into reality someday, if no longer by your own hand.

7) “And oh boy, look at that, AfO knows that he can’t handle the power of One for All, and as such, he’s getting his successor to succeed where he failed. He’s preparing Shigaraki to be the one to inherit both All for One and One for All

The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, that’s what Shigaraki is destined to be.”-  Interesting that this is clearly the first time that Tomura’s even heard about OFA. Whilst Izuku was made aware of his inherited legacy and the unspoken burden of being gifted great power to fight AFO’s vast legacy of evil shortly from the start, when he was still inexperienced and uncertain in himself, Tomura, as he’s forging his ‘own’ legacy, only find out about it and his grand destiny to achieve what his master couldn’t once he’s in the process of gaining the power necessary to take it, having grown his character enough to be worthy of the task, and only needed to be gifted the tools to succeed. It fits with his dynamic of Being Izuku’s opposite, and put this meeting in a whole new light.

If he was unaware of OFA and AFO’s history with it, he never suspected the real context behind Izuku being aware of his master, only that All Might must trust him greatly to tell him about his old arch-foe. He noted that Izuku was aware of things he shouldn’t have known about, but as it seems AFO never confirmed his hypothesis that Izuku was the 9th until the fight at Kamino, and never even told Tomura of the origin of All Might’s great power, despite him standing as the peak of what they both seek to overcome, Tomura has zero context on the fact that He and Izuku are fated adversaries, whereas Izuku’s all too keenly aware of it. His reaction when he realises the big target he needs to take out isn’t All Might’s scrawny shell, but the annoying kid who keeps getting in his way will be an interesting one… if unpleasant for Izuku.

8) “Meanwhile, Hawks is still trying to get something else, some clue, anything that will help him, but it seems like it’s all quiet. The silence has begun for the next four months, and then, the end.”- Like Twilight, a spy’s greatest defence when deep behind enemy lines is making others think there’s no reason to be cautious or observant of them always, creating gaps in the surveillance he can risk finding out valuable intel to piece together the gran puzzle of the PLF’s overall plan so he can better thwart in in some other matter than relying on teenage recruits to bolster the ranks. It’s a different kind of risk than a hero would normally face in a fight with a villain, a quiet battle where the first outbreak of violence signals Hawks’ loss, but he’d still rather risk this high-stakes gamble himself than put the kids in harm’s way if he can help it. @thelreads​

[elysian-entries]

One film, two visions; The Justice League

It’s 2017; the highly anticipated “Justice League” film, directed by Zack Snyder, is set to be released later in the year as a continuation of the DCEU.

A blockbuster movie showcasing the biggest DC characters uniting. Taking down the ultimate super villain; bound to fulfil millions of past and present children’s, as well as current adults and elderly dreams.

Then a fork in the road appears, Snyder and his wife, Deborah, step down from the colossal project due to the incredibly woeful loss of their daughter, Autumn. News hits the fans like a brick. Resulting in Joss Whedon and the Warner Bros. Studio stepping up to the mantle. Or at least attempting to.

Whedon's theatrical cut lost Warner Bros. Pictures approximately $60 million dollars. With overall painfully negative reviews and reception. Breaking the hearts of DC fans everywhere.

4 years, campaigns, hashtags, sky banners, petitions, and billboards later; I can’t say how many of us would have predicted receiving the holy gift that is the “Snyder Cut”, in its full 4 hour running time glory (in a 4:3 ratio, which somehow adds to the grandeur). 4 years of dedicated, passionate and determined people helping in any way they can for the cause. It was a journey to behold.

A large section in Snyder’s 4 hour venture is used to build dimension and depth in the characters. Making an absolute world of a difference. Something that was sorely lacking in Whedon's cut. The film had a completely different feel and atmosphere instantly.

There's no better example of increased depth in characters than Cyborg's (Ray Fisher's) narrative. I was engaged, and intrigued by his story. In Whedon’s cut, he isn't even given a second thought. His entire backstory was cut as well as his father's important role also being stripped. His scene where he sacrificed himself in order for them to find the mother box was gone. And it took away such an important, integral part in Cyborgs story, and in the film in general I believe and also realised having seen the two movies; the complicated but delicately developing relationship between father and son. And just the whole story in general made such a difference in Snyder's cut, it really is almost indescribable the difference it made. It just felt so much more genuine and heartfelt. Like a real developed and executed narrative.

In Snyder's cut we were shown detailed flashbacks that fully fleshed out his character, his morals and his relationships. Creating a much needed deeper connection with the audience. We experience his conflicting journey to accepting his responsibility, accepting the past, the "gift he has", and his purpose in the league. Leading into receiving closure. He was given great and meaningful importance and purpose in this cut.

Similarly, Ezra Miller's Flash was too given a largely more meaningful and impactful role that left quite the impression on me. His character was light-hearted and charming but still had those important, emotionally impactful scenes. Which were painfully lacking in Whedon's cut. I was left loving Barry Allen a lot more than I already did. Barry's scenes with his wrongly convicted father were hard hitting for me. They also play a large part in making later scenes more impactful. Like his detrimental importance during the final fight. In Whedon's cut his big hero moment was saving a Russian family. The overall the inclusion of the family was superfluous and extraneous, along with the robber at the start and many other things. Not only that but Whedon's cut gave the Flash a silly, attempted comical relief role. To be fair he attempted to give everybody a comical relief role. Which hardly worked because none of the attempts were actually funny and were at time agonizing. It ultimately lacked substance and came across as almost immature. The scene where Barry went on about brunch was painful. Leading me to ask, why? Why was this so important to film Whedon?

After re-watching Whedon’s version, I had gained a new found appreciation for Snyder's representation of Barry. '"Make your own future, make your own past"; he echoes his father’s words. "Your son really was one of them, the best of the best," as his theme "At the Speed of Force" plays in the background of this pivotal moment. A powerful scene reflecting Barry's ulterior motive, doing his father proud. Which invoked many tears. And still does whenever I re-watch the scene or listen to the song. As if it were the first time experiencing it. Thomas Holkenborg's soundtrack truly amplified emotion and made the scenes much more powerful, It makes for one of the absolute best scenes in the movie; I'd say one of, if not my absolute favourite.

His job in charging up Victor was completely removed and I have to wonder why. Instead Barry was left to participate in "bug duty" (bugs being one of his fears also). Barry's role in Snyder's cut, and that one incredible scene where he broke the rule was arguably better than Whedon's Justice League as a whole.

I think the only scene in Whedon's cut involving Barry that I thought was actually meaningful was where he was faced with his first real mission. And he was confronted with his fears of "obnoxiously tall" beings. He appeared anxious and frantic. Fearful. Communicating to us his inexperience. And Batman simply told him to just "save one". To which he then, without struggle, saved them all. And was also able to participate in the final battle. The "save one" scene made those achievements more meaningful.

The scene after they won the battle, showcases the victorious team standing proud; and Barry with a sweet, goofy, golden retriever-esque smile plastered on his face. What a loveable smile.

An interesting contrast is the scene in where Barry reveals to his father his new position at an “actual job”. In Snyder’s cut the father was absolutely over the moon, shouting at the top of his lungs, "his foot is in the door!" repeatedly in excitement. It tugged at my heart strings; his shameless pride in his son. Making me wonder how he would have shown his pride if he found out Barry saved the whole Earth and humanity. We can assume Barry had that unequivocally powerful underlying thought too. Contributing to his saccharine reaction. In Whedon’s cut the reaction was softer and more timid but nonetheless a sweet moment. Barry becoming bashful.

It was a sweet touch to have Cyborg and Flash finally fist bump during that victorious scene after Victor rejected Barry's initial advance in Whedon's cut. Ezra Miller improvising that “racially charged” line, acknowledging the possible racism attached to a fist bump I assume. The whole fist bumping being "racially charged" was not included in Snyder's cut. The grave digging scene was entirely different. Which I far more preferred. It was a group excursion. With a little positive interaction between the Atlantean and the Amazonian. And funnier, more light-hearted dialogue between Barry and Victor.

Aquaman’s contrast was interesting. In Whedon’s cut he actually sought out to obtain the trident to help the league (although he was always disagreeing with them). Compared to Snyder; where he was apprehensive and had to be hesitantly persuaded by Willem Dafoe’s character Vulko (who was completely absent from Whedon’s cut). This was also an importantly established relationship by Snyder. Arthur first makes his desire to help the the team known saving them from the water rushing from Gotham Harbour. He isn't acknowledged in the theatrical cut but in Snyder's cut Diana notices and takes a moment to take in his presence (I assume?). Then Barry asks who that guy is. And of course we all know, it's Aquaman.

I particularly liked how Snyder chose to include Barry asking for Arthur's opinion on military hats. It's an odd, minimalistic thing to include - the reasoning as to why I like it. I also thought it was quite charming.

A scene I think deserves a mention is when Aquaman is first introduced, and then rejects Bruce's offer, he then makes his way back into the ocean. A farewell song is performed. This was quite early in the film and I think the voices being hauntingly beautiful, yet slightly eerie/poignant set the perfect atmosphere. A well done scene.

His overall character was also contrasting. He became a genuine hero who was proved capable of more than water powers and silly moments. Including that god-awful lasso of truth scene. In the theatrical cut he was bitter, a bit of a joke, not caring too much about the events that were unfolding. He had more of a heroes’ sense of purpose within Snyder’s cut.

Gal Gadot did not gain too much from the extra scenes. Though different to the theatrical cut, Snyder had paired her with a repetitive character establishing theme. It could be referred to as ancient lamentation music. Hauntingly beautiful. Something I could only assume would be the battle cries of the Amazonian warriors and the Amazonian warrior inside Diana. In some ways possibly over used, though I thought it was brilliant. It has a special place in my heart because I love that type of soundtrack. The almost eerie, maybe poignant but overall emotion provoking type. Especially her introduction scene where she faces off against the terrorists )which was overall better in Snyder's cut) The haunting warrior moans fade into her classic theme to create an incredible atmosphere. And that atmosphere was definitely missing in Whedon's cut, in more than just that one scene. It was also sorely lacking the lamentation music. We also didn't get that sweet interaction between Diana and the little girl.

When Diana began detailing Steppenwolf and the mother boxes past to Bruce, the cuts were very strange and abrupt/awkward in some way. And it felt silly and rushed; and I think that perfectly describes the whole film.

Whedon's cut also included uncomfortable scenes. Almost forcing characters to be funny where it was just completely out of place and character. Or just downright inappropriate. To be fair, Whedon is known for the Marvel movies in which fourth wall dimension breaking and odd self ware/ironic jokes are heavily used. One of the main reasons I don't particularly enjoy them, but rather enjoy the darker, more meaningful DC movies. I say meaningful in the way in which we are completely transported into this universe; where it's taken seriously and has obvious effects and meaning to the characters. Compared to Whedon's Marvel films in which the threat is joked about and the characters make fun at their expense.

Another negative contrast is the colour grading and overall shots. A good example is the conversation between Lois Lane and Martha Kent. In Whedon's version the colour is poppy, reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or The Office. As if it were an empty shell of a TV show. Lacking any artistic or symbolic aspects. Whereas Snyder's conversation between Martha Kent (who was actually Martian Manhunter) and Lois Lane was beautiful. The lighting was dim, with steam from their hot coffee creating a brilliant shot and conveying the perfect mood. Almost a piece of art. A lot of Snyder's cut looked as if it were ripped straight out of an incredible graphic novel. His talent when it comes to filmmaking is grandiloquent. Compared to Whedon's over saturated and flat scenes as if it were from a cliché sitcom.

Whedon also made the Justice League a lot more dysfunctional than it needed to be.

The scene where the team unanimously come up with the plan to revive Superman seemed really silly and lackluster in Whedon's cut. In Snyder's cut it was a genuine moment. A "wow" moment where the penny dropped. It gave me goose-bumps. The way it was implied, the explanation/analogy with the house, and then Cyborg creating a Superman visual as the team, standing around the table, stared at it in awe. All thinking the same thing. Without even having to say it (as Barry pointed out) It was a uniting moment. Whedon's version was just, disappointing. Lacking any impact at all. And it made the team seem disconnected in a way. Whereas in Snyder's scene the league's thoughts were in unison.

There was also an agonizing amount of Wonder Woman praise. I think praise is a...well...nicer way of putting it. It was more so adolescent boy humour, immature if you will; with her being the butt of the joke. To the point where it was little uncomfortable and borderline unnecessary. And to another point where Gal Gadot refused to do a scene, (the one where Flash lands on her) and Whedon insisted so much on still including it - that they used a body double. A scene so stupid and pointless it actually hurts. Why, Whedon?

Superman's main feature in this film is his moustache. Or, lack thereof. At the beginning of the theatrical cut, we witness the infamous Superman film scene, where we are introduced to his CGI moustache…then “Everybody Knows” by Sigrid plays as we see the aftermath of his death. I really enjoyed this scene, the song and the atmosphere. I think it was a strong start, setting the poignant mood. But of course it all goes out the window and downhill from here.

The biggest difference between the two Superman’s was the elimination of the godforsaken CGI removed moustache and the introduction to the “Recovery Suit” in Snyder's cut, which was a brilliant touch. We actually see Clark stumble upon the suit. A scene where various voices from his past, echo in his mind. An equally important and impactful scene; where he flied up into the universe, overlooking the Earth he is to protect.

I also really liked the whole, "Lois Lane is key" setup, with the eerie premonitions and glimpses into the “Knightmare”. Adding yet another deeper layer to the narrative. Setting the scene for Snyder's envisioned sequel.

In Whedon's cut during the first confrontation where Clark is confused immediately after his resurrection - the previous BvS battle is implemented more. With the "Do you bleed?" question being revisited. Giving us an unwanted closer look at the strange looking $3 million dollar CGI.

I liked Snyder's first confrontation better. It included more action and participation of all parties. And it was just a longer scene, making it seem more plausible and less silly. Before Clark reached Bruce he went through every member. Resulting in a little appreciated interaction between Arthur and Barry. I also thought Whedon’s scene showing Superman throwing Batman away like a ragdoll added to the ridiculous nature.

During the final battle. (Not mentioning how uncomfortable the colour grading was causing an unlikable atmosphere. Especially when it became daylight, taking away the exciting and intense atmosphere.) Whedon's Superman's entry was a little plain. Maybe cliché. Banging on about "truth" and "justice". Which isn't necessarily bad. It's just, maybe, too Superman? We then see the relieved faces of all the members. Batman's giddy smile was by far the best. It was nice to see genuine happiness and I think that played an important role in communicating to us Bruce's character arc. From lowest of lows, and his conflicting attitude towards Superman in BvS, to Superman giving him incredible hope. Though it slightly made me uncomfortable.

Snyder's entry of Superman was brutal in the best way. Appearing just before Cyborg was chopped to bits. Giving us that epic moment of 'He came.” Superman mercilessly rips into Steppenwolf for the next minute or two. No breakaways. Which was a great choice. It perfectly showcased his abilities. Though in the theatrical cut he was shown to be the only capable one of saving the world and being the real “hero”, in Snyder’s cut, especially The Flash, they were all shown to be powerful with meaningful parts to play.

Bruce Wayne appeared more guilty and conflicted about what happened in BvS in Whedon's cut. Though he was overshadowed in terms of writing by Superman and Wonder Woman. He also was the one who brought in the "big guns" a.k.a Lois Lane as a contingency plan in case the Superman resurrection went awry. In which it did. In Snyder's cut it was coincidence, or the doing of Man Hunter in that mysterious scene. Bruce was also quite tense and wasn’t too much a bright beacon of hope as he was in the Snyder cut. Even despite Snyder's vision of him being reminiscent and heavily inspired by Frank Millers version; darker, older, broken and violent in a way (which is brilliant) he still had this character arc. The lover’s tiff he suffered with Diana was irritating and what I thought was superfluous. Creating an unnecessary disconnect with the group. It wasn't an interesting sub-plot/complication at all .

Bruce's character arc (from the dark BvS time, to the hopeful present) was more thoroughly shown in Snyder’s cut compared to Whedon's. I briefly mentioned Bruce's schoolgirl grin when Superman arrived right on time. Though Snyder more effectively showcased this positive rise through his obviously increased in optimistic attitude. When the team are off the defeat Steppenwolf once and for all Alfred asks Bruce how he can be so sure of the Man of Steel’s arrival. And Bruce replies full of vigour, “Faith, Alfred, faith!” And in another instance Barry questions their strength against Steppenwolf due to the amount of demons he has won against. Bruce declares that, “He’s never fought us. Not us united.” It was a powerful statement that heavily elevated excitement for the final fight.

During this final fight, Batman basically goes out on a suicide mission. Then the rest of the league join him for a family reunion. The Snyder cut better represented this with an astounding freeze-frame, slow motion shot of the team. It nicely established the power of unity in this case.

The way in which Steppenwolf was defeated was vastly altered. Changed completely. Mostly due to Darkseid’s absence in the theatrical cut. Darkseid added an important extra layer of looming fear, and even gave Steppenwolf more depth. It gave him an important reason as to why he was doing what he wasy doing. As we saw his utter dedication to Darkseid. It alerted us of the larger dangers that were present. Steppenwolf’s death in Whedon’s cut was ultimately debilitated after seeing Snyder’s version. Instead of being anti-climactically eaten alive by his bug minions as the sun rose; (maybe it’s a personal preference but I heavily dislike the daylight, especially for action scenes) his head was chopped off, first horn by horn, then from the neck. His decapitated head thrusted back through the portal into his own world, landing at the horrifying Darkseid's feet, along with the terrifying parademons. Engulfed by a fiery hellscape. The horror that Earth could have faced. But still could face. It reveals the deeper and darker enemy, beyong Steppenwolf looming just beneath the surface.

A sinister tune plays, as we see the victorious Justice League looking back at them. The portal then closes. Although a victory, we can’t help but wonder what the demonic and powerful entities, far more powerful than Steppenwolf, have in store for Earth’s future.

The Knightmare vision being apart of that future. It's set up from BvS to the very end of Justice League. It's a very intriguing part of Snyder’s vision. The moment where you can link up and see the connections between all the post-credit scenes and the “premonitions” is an epiphanic moment. It’s a whole other narrative on its own that you can analyse, hypothesize and discuss. It’s a very intriguing/exciting concept to think of what would have been Snyder’s future movie where Barry (as we saw previously reverse time) goes back to warn Bruce that “Lois Lane is the key”, to avoid the whole disastrous scenario. We can gather that he is referencing what we see at the end of Snyder's cut, Superman turned evil. The death of Lois Lane, whose skeleton we saw Superman cradle previously, we can assume had a hand in that, and possibly the Anti-Life equation too. It's an incredible narrative, and there are few things I would love more than seeing the Snyderverse come to life on this epic scale again.

We also finally get a glimpse of Snyder’s joker. A very exciting moment for me. Seeing any new iteration of the Joker is an exciting moment. Could Jared Leto somehow redeem himself?

Well, it sure was infinitely times better than the Suicide Squad rendition. This Joker was actually eerie and unsettling. I felt almost uneasy watching these scenes, and his odd laugh caused shivers to form down my spine. Jokers comments about “boy wonder”, whom we find out was indeed Bruce’s adoptive son, were heartbreaking (I believe he was actually referring to Dick instead of Jason surprisingly as his grave was once seen in a previous movie) Leaving me holding my breath, wondering what Bruce would say next, or what other wretched thing Joker could say. Of course the "reach around" comment was a bit off, but I’ll just brush over that.

We also learnt of Arthur Curry’s death, Harley Quinn’s death. Proving that Snyder had such a colossal plans for all the characters, dead and alive.

It’s a poignant feeling; to see this incredible, vast narrative, just beneath the surface, unfold. Knowing that we won’t be able to see it fully developed. As of now.

While watching these two completely different cuts of the same movie; it occurred to me and I am sure many other people, that attempting to produce such an in depth narrative intensive movie on the small scale that Whedon attempted, will commonly end in a painful, empty and superficial representation. Or maybe that really was just Whedon's vision.

As the epilogue ended, the credits rolled. Hallelujah began playing, sung by Allison Crowe. And as they rolled, in big letters the words; "For Autumn" took center focus. White against black. Clear as day. Like a bus, it hit hard. The reason I was sitting on that couch finally having the great honour to watch such a film. The courage it must have taken to continue and finish such a project is beyond admirable, it's heroic. Also non-profit. It only further proves what we already knew, that the intentions were pure, as no one ever doubted.

Also acknowledging the giant billboard on one of the buildings promoting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. A very important cause, especially to the Snyder’s. To date fans have raised over half a million dollars to the AFSP in honour of Autumn. A truly incredible feat.

When looking at the two movies side by side, it blows my mind to see the difference that I do. The emotion, meaning, the depth. It all just made sense in Snyder's cut. The emotion was palpable, absolutley unmistakable. Things mattered more. The people mattered more. There were reasons, and purpose. It was a genuine journey for every one of the characters, and I felt it. There were so many little scenes that made so much difference that added depth and meaning, emotion.

And I cannot say such words for Whedon, though I won’t put all the blame on him. Warner Bros. is about equally responsible. .

The true, original and intended Justice League; expatiated heroes, people, stories and journeys coming together on a grandiose scale, executed with passion and care. But also giving us a bittersweet taste of Snyder’s epic trilogy that could have been.

The end of the saga; and the rest of Snyder’s visions, are left unfulfilled; as of now. But regardless, remains as one of the things I hope to see come to life. Watching this movie, and the feeling I had during and afterward is indescribable. I want to say a massive congratulations to Zack Snyder. The film was beyond breathtaking. It really is so special and it will forever have an important place in my heart.

Though I think the most important thing to take away from the Snyder's incredible work is Autumn's story.

Thank you Zack Snyder.

For Autumn.

www.imdb.com/title/tt12361974/

[noneatnonedotcom]

RWBY before Oswald is stuck in a hard place the council needs a mission done but no one is willing to sully their hands and he can't bring himself to go see jaune he tries to talk to ruby only to have her publicly rip him a new one stating her beloved isn't a tool to be used by him and the council when he sees fit

   right so sorry I took so long with this but as you can see I did put a lot of effort into this, I hope you all like it. also @bssaz97 I’m tagging you because I know you like this au and wanted to do a scene or two with summer and tai so figured it was best to make sure you were in on the new “cannon”

                                       ADAM’S PEAK

This was a disaster, not just militarily but personally. It was devastating news, and Oswald wasn’t sure just what to do about it.

A white fang general had taken the faunas’ elite troops and had gone on a mad crusade through Vale’s countryside. In a little under a week, they would cross the western mountain chains and be into their heartlands.

The fact that Adam was not acting under orders would do little to calm the hatred of vale and the other kingdoms. Menagerie might very well be whipped off the map as a result.

The actual problem was that the huntsmen were not ready for combat like this, he barely had a thousand of the newly minted warriors, and adam was marching with some six-thousand-five-hundred troops. All with aura unlocked. All with years, sometimes decades of experience in human combat. And well equipped too. The only ones with an army left after his idea to rely solely on huntsmen was Atlas. And their military commanders were… less than ready for the war to come.

There was only one man who could save them, and Oswald already owed him too much to be willing to ask him himself.

But his hands were tied with the news that came in this morning. The council of Atlas had called back the expeditionary force under the command of ironwood. There was a significant uproar over this fact, and the returning general ironwood had launched an investigation, but Oswald knew the truth.

The first battle with the white fang was a disaster. While ironwood managed to get his men out fast enough, Adam had defeated the army soundly. It was only ironwood’s impeccable tactical understanding that allowed him to survive it. With most of his army but none of the provisions as their camp was ransacked and raided as they were forced to retreat.

And now only one man could save them, and Oswald couldn’t bring himself to ask.

When he explained the situation to ruby, she had been quiet for a long time before she finally asked, “Is that all he is to you? A sword you can draw in times of war and put away when you’d rather not face the dark truth? Who do you think you are to ask him for more after what he gave! His family was nearly left destitute by you! His legacy and way of life are gone! His reputation tarnished! His very dreams now taken from him, and I have to lie awake a night listening to his nightmares! All on your orders!” she was shouting, now unable to sit with the anger coursing through her. “WHAT MORE CAN YOU TAKE FROM HIM? THERE’S NOTHING LEFT FOR YOU, OSWALD. ALL THAT’S LEFT TO HIM IS HIS LIFE AND HIS HONOR!” she was crying now Oswald reached out trying to offer comfort to the girl by she smacked his hand away.

She glared at the man she once saw as a grandfather “he’ll go, we both know he’ll go. He’s a knight of Vale. He’ll always stand ready to protect those he loves. He’ll give the full measure of devotion for his kingdom” she turned away “you don’t deserve him, none of you do, but he’ll take up lance and sword for you” her final words as she shut the door behind her “you deserve eternal life.”

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In the backroom of the council chambers, Adam Taurus smirked, looking over his weapon a katana. Menagerie had ordered him to stand down. Told him that the time of heroes was at an end. But adam knew there was one last trial left for those who sought to be a hero. One final glory before the end of the age. And his name was Sir. Jaune the Just.

Though adam preferred his other name.

The butcher of anima.

The knight’s age was coming to an end, he knew it, jaune knew it, everyone knew it. But there would be one last glorious battle before the end. It was only a matter of setting things up. He needed jaune out of vale and away from his retenue. Luckily for him, the council wanted to be rid of the knight. And of Oswald. All they needed to do was have Oswald be the one who sent jaune out, and when the hero died, both would be gone.

This battle needed to happen. It was his last chance. If he missed this, it was over. His name would never be mentioned in the history books. But if he could take the head of the butcher? Then his name would live forever as the last knight of the world. And the last great general.

When the councilors came and told him the news, he was overjoyed. But he kept his mask up. All he needed from these fools was a chance to kill jaune. Once that was done, their bargain was complete.

And vale was wide open for plunder.

Yes, if this was the last act of the heroic age, let him return to menagerie with a heroes bounty.

In a week’s time, he would face jaune at a no named castle fortress. He didn’t mind that it had no name. For by the end of this, it would be known as adam’s peak!

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Jaune stood before his army, his steel-like gaze casting over the lot of them. They were not knights, not even soldiers and barely men, but they were his. Not for the first time, he cursed the council for sending these men out to die with him rather than having the courage to execute him themselves simply. But he put aside his anger; this wasn’t about the council; this was about his men.

“Nothing is more becoming of a man than to be brave before your enemy,” he began, his voice clear and level as he made eye contact with as many of these boys as he could. Seeking to let them know he was there with them, “but a man may be afraid and still be brave!”

The soldiers, despite their nerves and apparent fear, perked up at this, “And any man who goes into battle without fear is a moonstruck fool! To be brave is to go forward anyway, no matter how a-feared! That is why I go forward in the company of so many other brave men.”

Jaune shot the men before him a grim, but encouraging smile, “I will not lie to you, I can promise you nothing but a hard struggle to come.” Jaune was met with silence before he continued you on, “What would you have me say? I will not lie, not to you, and not for any matters of strategy or state. I will not shame myself as such. But there is one thing I will tell you.”

“YOUR FATE SHALL BE THE SAME AS MINE,” the men cheered at this, “whatever glories in the battle to come, I want you to know that we shall share them, I will be by your side!”

Jaune saw the enemy army marching over the last swell of the hill, having divided themselves into two separate forces consisting of thirty-five hundred men each.

“It is a great honor to be thought of by the kingdoms as an educated and well-read man. After all, it is the home of one of the greatest places of learning in the world! But I tell you this, in all of my studies, I have never encountered the likes of our foes! They would fill bestiaries yet unwritten, and good scholars would blush to write of their perversities!”

“And finally, I can tell you as a man of learning that a book can be beneficial before a battle, I would not recommend Tacitus though, the pages of his books are very rough on your nether regions!” the men laughed. Jaune raised his sword, “THEY WILL REMEMBER!”

A great cheer went up as the men rushed to their positions, forming together in tight spear walls on the mountain’s steep incline.

For Jaune, there was only one truth that rang in his head at the moment, that invincibility is found in defense, but victory can only be found in the offense. It’s why he had ignored the small wooden walls of the “castle” behind him.

No, he wouldn’t die cowering behind the wooden wall of a fort. His destiny lay down the hill before him. And with a determined look upon his face, Jaune kicked his horse into a gallop and went down the hill; his banner raised high...

… And rode right past the second army, making their way up towards him.

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Adam would give this to Jaune; he had indeed done his best to give his men every possible advantage. A lesser commander would have hidden behind those wooden walls at the top of the mountain, but not Jaune. He had sallied out and met him, man to man, on the field of battle. But Adam wasn’t worried. Even with such a steep incline helping the enemy, they were no match for trained soldiers with armor and aura.

The poor peasants that the council had sent to die with Jaune would be remembered at the very least, as they would have the privilege of taking place in the last battle of the Age of Knights. A movement out of the corner of his eyes showed him the banner of house arc proudly dancing in the breeze, with Jaune running down the mountainside right past his army.

He immediately ordered his second army to give chase as the envelopment meant nothing to him. In time these farmers with their pointy sticks would fall, but Jaune must not be allowed to escape and rally a defense elsewhere.

It was not some three minutes later when his lieutenants spoke of Jaune coming for them, leaving Adam to gape at such an action. What Lunacy, surely, no one would be foolish enough to charge an army on their own?!

Adam had little time to comprehend his enemy’s ploy, for when he turned around to the battlefield, he was greeted with a sight to behold. For there before him, plowing through his men as if they were nothing more than dominoes to be toppled over was Jaune Arc: His horse a resplendent white; His armor a polished to a perfect shine; and with his lance couched at a perfect angle as he connected with the unsuspecting Adam’s armor.

There was a moment of resistance before Adam felt weightless as he was taken off his horse from the momentum of Jaune’s weapon crashing against his armor. Then, he felt a flare of pain as Jaune’s lance tore through his armor and pierced his heart in a clean kill before his limp body crashed against the cold, hard ground in an undignified heap.

And then, there was nothing but the void of darkness to greet him.

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Lie Ren was not a knight. He wasn’t even a soldier. He was a farmer, a poor one at that, so when the council had said they needed men to act as levies, he’d signed up. He figured they’d have him digging ditches and carrying supplies, nothing too overtly complex he’d imagine.

But not this

The world was a haze of violence and pain in front of him; faunas in heavy armor struggled uphill through their wall of spears. He thrust without thinking, hoping that it might dissuade the warriors, while every few seconds, another cry would go up as one of his allies took a blow. Nearly all of them were bleeding now, yet none dared to fall, for to fall now would surely lead to their death. Before them, the mass of knights had formed a solid wall; he’d kill for a musket like the one Nora had wanted to buy him, but it was too expensive, and he wanted to save the money to get new farm equipment.

That steam tractor seemed so frivolous right now.

A flash of steel was his only warning as the man next to him died, clutching his throat. Eyes wide, begging for help the first one but most likely not the last. Ren thrust the spear, again and again, ignoring his growing fatigue as he did so. He’d survive this, and he’d make it home to Nora, that’s all that mattered.

But how? They were surrounded.

He wondered if Nora would find another, he hoped so. She deserved happiness, more than he could offer her, that was for sure. Her smile was the best thing about her. It was what drove him to work so hard. Knowing that she’d be back at home waiting for him, he could endure any hardships for that smile. He was hoping to marry her when he got back when the farm was stabilized, and they could build their lives together.

He hoped she wouldn’t mourn too long.

It was just as he was about to give up when he saw him; Sir Arc had gotten behind enemy lines. Down the massive slope, he could see the other half of the army giving chase. And it all happened in slow motion.

Sir Arc Riding up the hill

His lance lowered just as the enemy general turned to see him.

A great screeching as the lance went through the armor of the faunas.

There was a moment of stunned silence.

And then they started screaming.

Panic took the enemy that just a second before was utterly unfazed by them. But now, with their spirits broken, so too was their aura.

The battle was now a haze of red, and Ren gave chase without thinking. He needed this, needed to kill them as they had tried before. He stabbed with his spear running down the fleeing knights as they tried to escape his spear, barely having the time to rechamber as he killed with reckless abandon.

This was no longer a battle; it was a glorious red hazed slaughter, the most potent high of rage elation and victory ren had ever felt, and he needed more, and more, and more! Let the world drown in his enemy’s blood.

HE’D KILL THEM ALL!

Eventually, though, they ran out of men. And ren came down from his high, all around him were tired bloody men, but more importantly, the field was covered in a carpet of dead knights, so much so that the grass couldn’t be seen underneath.

Ren looked at the sky, and that couldn’t be right.

The sun hadn’t moved; it was still high noon.

It had felt like hours, but…

“One thousand men, and seven and a half minutes,” came the voice of Sir Arc. Ren took in the sight of their savior. His horse, once pure white, was now covered in red. His armor the same, his eyes tired. “That’s what it took to gain victory over six-thousand-eight-hundred and thirty-eight men. All consisted of the greatest knights still living after the great war, and the Faunus rights revolution. And the leadership to the militant arm of the white fang” Sir Arc laughed, “and it took me seven and a half minutes AND A THOUSAND FARMERS WITH POINTY STICKS!” and the call went up, the men cheered and hollered. Their cries echoing off the mountain.

Ren would go home to Nora; when he did, they would make love, to the point that he exhausted her. And they would keep going until a week later when Ren’s pay would show up, along with a sizable bonus, and a note.

In time all this would happen, but for now, ren stood on the pile of corpses, covered in blood, spear raised high over his head, and he screamed his victory to the gods on the slopes of what would be known as Adam’s peak.

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Legends would be told of this battle jaune knew as he looked over the clean up being done by his men, the knights of note and the leaders were being beheaded, jaune personally doing the honors for adam. He had plans for all of them. He also had a message from adam’s personal effects back at his camp. He and the council would be having words, and all the world would know of their misdeeds.

The battle itself was the deathblow to the knightly way of life though, jaune could feel it in his bones. It was jaune’s victory purely because of the weaknesses of the knightly system. Aura was based on morale, how willing to fight a man was. When things were going well in a fight, this was all well and fine but scare a man, disrupt his concentration, and he could no longer muster the will to fight, then he was just as vulnerable as any other. Perhaps worse so, as all his skill was based on what he could do with his aura.

The weak point of an army was always their order of battle and morale. And when jaune had killed adam, it had broken them, they could have rallied, but luckily one brave warrior by the name of Lie Ren had rushed forward, seizing the initiative, and as a result, inspiring all the men behind him to push forward as well.

Lie Ren had won this battle just as much as he did.

But adam had committed everything to this battle and lost everything. The knightly system was high risk, high reward, with no real way of knowing how the results would turn out.

The huntsman system didn’t have this problem. It was decentralized, meaning you couldn’t kill a general to break the enemy’s will. And the loss of a team of hunters meant very little in the grand scheme of things. Vale could lose again and again now and still have more to give.

The system was simply a higher reward for lesser risk. And so jaune was faced with the unenviable knowledge that he was the one to end the age of knights. And that he would be the last commander for the final battle.

The after-action report was straightforward. After all, he was only writing it for Oswald. And that was only so ruby would know he was alive before he showed up with the heads of his enemy. Perhaps vale would hate him for this as well, but he no longer cared what happened to that den of vipers.

Jaune had been stationed in the mountains that will henceforth be known as Adam’s peak. He had one-thousand levies from the local farms, poorly trained and equipped. And he had been engaged by the enemy army of the White Fang numbering six-thousand-eight hundred and thirty-eight. Being made up of the elite knights and veteran leadership of the white fang. Knowing that the wooden castle walls would do him no good, he had set his men on the steepest slope in a choke point. It would not have granted him victory, but it had bought him time and had set up the next stage of his strategy.

Adam had sought to capture him for a grand execution and had sent half his army to ensure that he did not escape. Jaune had gambled on the fact that he was a high priority of the enemy general and had run past the second army with his banner held high. Jaune was right in that the enemy was quick to pursue him. He then made a suicidal charge through the back lines of the enemy and slew Adam in a single blow. Therefore, the morale of his enemy and their aura shattered the rest had been a simple mop-up action to ensure they could not rally. With him personally hunting down and killing the enemy commanders as his men slaughtered the rest.

Having followed him, the second army was already exhausted from the chase and, with their auras weakened, could not run away fast enough, blocking the first armies escape and ruining any chance of organizing resistance as units ran through each other to get away, utterly destroying cohesion.

In total, the battle had taken him seven and a half minutes. In seven and a half minutes, Jaune Arc had shifted the direction of fate and history and had secured for himself the title that all would know him by for the rest of his life.

Sir Jaune Arc, The Just, The Butcher Of Anima.

And The Knight of Miracles

[soundwavereporting]

this (currently untitled) fic was intended for the sadly-cancelled tfrarepairings week :< 

onesided soundwave/shockwave/prowl (all the pining is on soundwave’s end) ft. the junkion campaign, casual war crimes, attempted genocide, mentions of unethical scientific experiments, fantasizing, poorly handled PTSD, mentions of xenophobia, canon-typical nonsense and violence. lmk if you think there’s anything else that needs a tag.

it’ll go on ao3 whenever i think of a title!

Soundwave sat and waited.

This sector of Junkion was almost familiar—even before their arrival, it had clearly been one of the areas the unfortunate masses had fled to survive. Soundwave knew little about Junkion’s governing bodies, but he doubted it mattered.

No matter where they went, the result was the same.

A stay thought process attempted to run the probabilities of the Junkions themselves organizing a revolt against their leaders, had they not had the misfortune to make contact with the Decepticons a mere five centuries ago. Soundwave cut off the calculations before they could begin to run in earnest. That the Junkions were a mechanical race, fully sentient and still going to be extinct within the next week…Soundwave tried not to think about that.

He wondered what might have changed if Megatron were here. Would Megatron have forbade Shockwave’s envoy from landing on Junkion? And what about the test group of Junkions, sent to them as a peace offering, who now lay in pieces in one of Shockwave’s laboratories. They came from this sector, Soundwave knew, because their fear smelled like these buildings.

What little he remembered of his life before finding Ravage and the birds surfaced only in his most restless dreams. For whatever it was worth, Soundwave had come from a place like this.

Soundwave saw himself in Junkion; a chaotic melange of unstructured sensation, brought to heel only by the strength of will.

Not even his own will: Soundwave leaned back in his seat, stretching his awareness to the edge of the planet, seeking the only respite this place offered. Junkion was maddening chaos and disorder, threatening to break through what little focus had survived this campaign. He pushed past the colors and sounds that danced across the walls surrounding him, unhindered by the sensornet dampeners he had installed around the building.

He found it quickly: after all this time, his sensors were perfectly attuned to the chilling void of Shockwave’s mind.

Soundwave lingered in its absence for as long as he dared. Shockwave had never given any indication that he noticed Soundwave’s intrusion into his mind, but Soundwave did not dare press his luck. On multiple occasions, Shockwave had floated the idea of Soundwave being assigned to his command, with the understanding Soundwave would be there to continue work on Ferak’s aptly-named Nightmare Engine. Megatron had denied each request, not even needing to ask Soundwave for his input. Shockwave’s command was a euphemism for test subjects.

If nothing else, Shockwave’s cold desire for him provided all the incentive Soundwave needed to remain in Megatron’s good graces.

Soundwave could not read Shockwave’s mind, but he loved the silence all the same.

The only hint that Shockwave was still planetside at all was the passionless void amidst Junkion’s chaos. Soundwave had managed to carve out a semblance of peace in this sector, killing every Junkion in a hundred-mile radius and transferring what little signal-blocking equipment could be safely removed from his ship. Junkion was still a constant storm, but now it lingered in the back of his processor, allowing him to focus on relaying Decepticon communications across the planet. It was a simple task—too simple, leaving Soundwave excessive free time to struggle over Junkion’s hold on his mind.

Soundwave’s internal temperature kicked up a notch. The Junkions had unleashed a weapon—more chaos than anything substantive, a flurry of hundreds of acid-soaked scrap metal raining down on the encampment.

And then—ah. There he was.

Where Shockwave’s mind was eerie, comforting silence, Prowl’s mind was a tumult of conflicting numbers and trajectories as he calculated the exact path of the acid maelstrom raining down on them.

Soundwave lacked the presence of mind to look deeper and attempt to understand exactly why Prowl had determined stepping up to divert the Junkion’s attention away from Shockwave was needed.

He trusted Prowl’s reasoning all the same. Soundwave had spent a full week analyzing Prowl’s strategic choices in past campaigns, and he rarely made an error that could not be traced back to unreliable information. He allotted himself a few minutes to run scenarios as Prowl directed his squad where the fire, shooting down the storm of acidic debris with pinpoint accuracy.

Chances were Prowl had decided to save Shockwave in order to preserve command structure. Were he to allow Shockwave to be killed, the void in Decepticon High Command would lead to temporary victories—at least until someone took Shockwave’s place. Prowl likely feared someone even more ruthless—and more unpredictable—than Shockwave himself would be promoted. Bludgeon or Scorponok, perhaps.

The second reason, Soundwave was startled to realize, was because Prowl knew he was here. Decepticon communications had been transmitting across the system flawlessly, and Prowl had deduced it was because Soundwave was present. Killing Shockwave would flush Soundwave out—maybe. Or it might drive Soundwave deeper underground.

And Prowl had determined, Soundwave realized with no small amount of surprise, he was important. Not important in the vapid, Autobot way, where important mechs like Optimus Prime were lauded and shielded from the worst their factions had to offer. Important like a Decepticon, where he mattered. Not because of his alt mode or a shiny, false bauble had been implanted in his chassis, but because he was…

For a moment, Soundwave indulged himself, lingering in the tantalizing mix of fear and hate Prowl felt whenever he thought of Soundwave. He felt Prowl’s instinctive repulsion of Soundwave and his abilities, his devotion to a cause that had torn his home apart. What little sympathy Soundwave might have had for him dissolved like acid on protometal. Orion Pax had done more to destroy Soundwave’s home than Soundwave ever could, long before Soundwave had ever picked up a blaster, but Prowl would never see it that way.

He relayed the last transmissions for the cycle, then powered down the console and settled back in his chair. He was too far away to reach the battlefield before the skirmish inevitably finished (as it always did these days: in a draw), and his mission was clear: streamline Decepticon communications, jam Autobot transmissions.

Soundwave switched off his visor. Through Prowl’s eyes, he watched the Autobot gunners successfully take down the last of the storm. The Autobot’s tactical processor detected an anomaly in his surroundings, and Prowl whipped around, only for Shockwave’s blow to bounce painfully off his doorwing, shorting out the sensors as Prowl screamed and Soundwave winced at the unexpected blow.

Prowl’s mind was a finely-tuned, ruthless instrument of war, but compared to Shockwave’s dispassion, he was nothing. Soundwave allowed himself a moment to imagine what it might be like, struggling under the weight of Shockwave’s empty gaze as the scientist peeled him apart, finding what made Soundwave Soundwave…

And making it Shockwave’s.

As it inevitably did, the fantasy switched gears. Soundwave hadn’t been at an Institute in a hundred thousand years but he remembered it well—the cold steel restrains, the sharp needles digging into his neck. The mnemosurgeons’ barely-contained fear of having a high-profile target in their ‘care’ smelled like sulfur.

Soundwave exchanged the mnemosurgeons for Prowl. Where they felt fear, Prowl felt anger.

He had lived most of his life with both, and Soundwave always preferred the anger. Prowl would hurt him, yes, and Soundwave would hurt him in turn, reciting the things Prowl kept close to his spark, guarded with what tattered remnants of compassion had survived the last two million years.

And then he imagined them both, united against him. Their hands on his plating. Undoing him. Making him theirs, all ruthless, unyielding focus and cold logic pitted against the chaotic harmony of Soundwave’s mind.

Soundwave wanted nothing else.

The skirmish was brief: Shockwave was not built for combat, which factored into all of his plans. One of Shockwave’s scouts sent a ping (which Soundwave intercepted effortlessly and read before sending it on its way). They had found a way to the planet’s core.

Prowl’s scouts had found a path two days ago. Soundwave had allowed himself a brief moment of selfishness, withholding the information from Shockwave in the hopes that they might remain on Junkion a while longer.

Clearly, he had underestimated him—he had underestimated both of them.

With some disappointment, Soundwave realized their time on Junkion was coming to an end. The whorls of muted color dancing across the walls vanished for a moment, leaving nothing but the dead gray of his surroundings. He spent another longing moment in Prowl’s mind—while he might need to take care not to alert Shockwave of the mental intrusions (if an intrusion could even be detected), Prowl did not warrant any such courtesy. The desperate, rebellious part of Soundwave wanted Prowl to feel it, to seek him out and hunt Soundwave down.

He cut off that thought process as well. That bordered on courting treason—there was imagining a fantastical scenario where he was pinned between Cybertron’s greatest minds and fragged senseless, and then there was wanting to be caught by the enemy.

He felt the collision of the skirmish dissipate into Junkion’s murky atmosphere as the Autobot and Decepticon’s respective forces retreated. Steely resolve and bottomless logic clashed once more, and then Shockwave and Prowl parted ways a moment later, each sporting new dents and scratches Soundwave would have given anything to touch.

So many of his memories faded to hazy sameness as time drained all but the strongest of his emotions dry, but Soundwave hoped he would remember this.

Soundwave sighed and reactivated his visor, then got back to work.

[regrettablewritings]

Finn Fluff Meme (I, K, V, & Y)

Because fucka this, it’s my blog and we need more Finn love dammit!

I = Impression (What was their first impression?):

Sweaty. You thought he was incredibly sweaty. And not in the sexy kind of way, but in the “somebody just got caught doing something they probably shouldn’t be doing” kind of way. And given that he appeared to be sneaking around the escape pods, you had every reason to determine that that was exactly the case.

It only got worse when you learned that this sweaty, stuttering mess was actually the same man whose name was traveling fast among the remaining Resistance members. Suffice to say, you had a completely different image built up in your head when you’d first heard about Finn: Strong, courageous, confident, cool . . . You might’ve been setting yourself up for disappointment when you had learned that, well, he was such some kid no older than yourself, just as frazzled as you were about your current circumstances but more willing to show it. Truth be told, you couldn’t exactly blame him, but you also couldn’t let him know that.

Admittedly, Finn didn’t exactly think much of you -- which wasn’t to say he thought lesser of you or that you had no redeeming qualities about you, he just wasn’t in a mindset to think much of you beyond “shorter than him”, “not Rey/unrecognizable”, and so on. To be fair, nearly everyone else he sprinted by had gotten just about the same assessment from him: He was more so focused on what happened, what was happening, where he even was, and where Rey was. Not the most pleasant first impression, where the person who would become your significant other is too busy focusing on another woman.

Thankfully, he got a second chance.

As it turned out, you were correct in your initial expectations of Finn -- to a degree. He was certainly brave, if foolhardy at times; his strength lay in his resilience and loyalty and willingness to help out in the end, even in the face of his own worries and wants; in addition, while there were very few especially unsavory characters you’d come across in the Resistance, Finn was, by far, one of the sweetest. You took back all your previous concerns: Finn was, without a doubt, the hero you’d imagined him to be -- only better.

And yet, the entire while, Finn didn’t see those traits about him. In fact, while you were convinced he was a hero, he was convinced more and more every day that you fit the hero title better. After all, you were competent even at the first sign of danger; you were able to actually compartmentalize and know when to be intense and when to allow your natural sensitivities show. When the two of you talked more, you weren’t too afraid to admit to him that you were actually constantly worried and sometimes even found yourself questioning the sense of it all, if the future held any promise worth fighting for. Yet here you were, a pilot still willing to fly out upon the first command. Not out of blind obedience, thankfully, but to you, it simply made sense: You didn’t know for sure if the Resistance would be victorious in the end, but you had to fight because at least there was a chance; by not fighting, then you already knew what the answer was.

It did well to remind Finn of this from time to time until, eventually, the roles were switched: In the beginning, you thought Finn would be your hero. He still was, though in a much more familial sense. Meanwhile, you had become Finn’s own hero.

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?):

First kiss was sudden, excited, and very awkward; almost like a schoolboy’s. But it could be forgiven for two reasons:

For one, it’s not as though Finn had been in the right environment to learn how to properly kiss up until relatively recently. And for two, you were pretty sure he was riding on a high of excitement: A transmission had come in from one of the squadrons that the mission, initially deemed bleak, had turned for the better. Much better, in fact! Clearly, Finn had to ride this as far as he could -- including, apparently, down a path where he asked to take you on a date.

“Or, you know, well,” he stammered, face burning with blush. “As date-like as we can get in a more or less run-down base? Er, that didn’t sound promising . . . But I can promise you, I’ll make it work -- ”

You would’ve been a complete nerf-herder to say no to the Resistance’s “Big Deal”!

In hindsight, he should’ve known better than to be that excited. You hadn’t exactly been secretive about how fond you were of Finn: The two of you had grown rather close in spite of the less-than-promising first impressions. Any spare time he had that wasn’t spent resting or training was spent with you, talking or trying his best to stay awake just to he could enjoy every moment he could with you. And any free time you had, you were more than happy to spend watching him work or train or sharing stories of your life before joining the Resistance.

But then again, just because it wasn’t exactly a secret didn’t mean that neither of you requested a certain decorum about it: You had made many a threat to General Dameron that if he kept referencing your obviously budding feelings, you would “push him down a slope and make it look like an accident.” And while Finn’s attempts at shushing his friend weren’t as violent, he had no qualms attempting to manually shut his mouth. Thankfully, though, Poe wasn’t there to smirk proudly at the sight. And to directly witness what happened next.

In hindsight, Finn wasn’t even sure what possessed him to do it -- maybe he subconsciously saw other partners in the Resistance do it when they reunited or something? Maybe he thought it was just something you were meant to do? Maybe he was just way too high on the excitement of the moment? Well, whatever the hell it was, he sure did go for it: He grabbed you by the waist, picked you up, and went in for the kiss he’d been dreaming about for so long.

In hindsight, he should’ve probably taken it slow. Maybe keep his eyes open for a bit. Long enough to make sure your lips were actually going to connect, maybe. At least he had the decency to place you down gently, despite the sudden pain caused by your heads colliding and teeth bonking against one another.

As he sheepishly ushered you out of mission control and towards the infirmary to treat your now bleeding nose, that was of course when Poe decided to show up.

“The Hell did you do to her, did you headbutt her out of happiness?!” he quipped as he watched his hugely embarrassed companion skitter down the corridor with his new datemate, of whom was currently occupied with looking upwards while pinching their nose.

(After Poe got the story, he had to excuse himself from the room and wheeze himself into an infirmary visit.)

Thankfully, Finn hadn’t broken your nose, and thankfully you were a pretty good sport about it. 

“You were just caught up in the excitement, that’s all. It was cute, if a bit painful,” you smiled weakly. But you had meant it: As bonked up as the attempt had been, the one thing you couldn’t say was that it was forgettable. Though, from then on, you wanted to keep “kisses” like that strictly to that one memory: Any kisses from now on needed to be authorized so that surprises like that wouldn’t wind up with visits to the medical wing like this.

Though, you were more than happy to help him practice that.

V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?):

His accomplishments. To say that Finn ever saw his life turning out this way would be to tell an outright lie: The only expectations Stormtroopers are allowed to have is to remain loyal, to fire when told, and to be ready to lay down their lives for the First Order. The only hope or dream one could personally have is to live to fight destroy another day. But escape did happen in spite of the odds.

And even in the present, Finn has difficulty entirely believing that it had happened at all: He has a better understanding of the world around him; he has loved ones; he has a purpose where he, as an individual, is valued; he has a life! Ever since he could remember, he’d been taught to be melded with everyone else and to not stand out. So, as one could imagine, the rise from faceless Stormtrooper in sanitation to the general in a resistance organization would be nothing to sniff at or gloss over. And, truth be told, he can’t help but be prideful about it. Not arrogantly so, but enough to joke about it to you.

“Is that any way to speak to a general?” he jokes whenever you call him a goof.

“Come back safe. That’s an order from your superior,” he’ll tell you before you fly off for recon, adding in a clumsy wink.

(Additionally, Finn is actually proud of the fact that he’s Force-sensitive. Not loudly so, mind you, but in a quiet way. He’s not especially prone to showing it off due to his lack of experience with it, but that’s not going to stop this mad lad from trying to use it to pour you a cup of water, or bring him his jacket even though you’re right there. Heck, he’d going to try to use it to bring the jacket because you’re right there. The only problem is that when he does this, there’s a 50-50 chance that the water jog will go careening into a wall or be defenestrated, or that his jacket will collide so hard into his face that it’s accompanied by a slapping sound.)

(If there’s one thing Finn may not be proud of, it may be asking Rey to help him train after one too many Force Incidents.)

Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?):

Yes. Eventually. Maybe. Just not now.

Let it be reminded, once more, that Finn’s entire life has been a cluster: He went from serving the First Order to going on the run to winding up with the Resistance and participating on the other side of a war he never wanted anything to do with in the first place. Don’t get the wrong idea, Finn doesn’t regret a bit of it. After all, so many great and amazing things came from this: He got out of a bad environment; he made lifelong friends; he discovered his Force sensitivity; he helped win on the right side of history; and he met you!

But all these happened sort of at once, all things considered. He needs a bit of breathing room. And now, with the war beginning to wind down, it seems he’ll have more opportunities to embrace exactly that.

Not having to stick around to be a general for a resistance group means he can explore his freedoms as never before. It means traversing the galaxy without needing any real reason to besides for enjoyment. The thought is actually almost overwhelming for Finn: There aren’t really any orders left to follow as the dust settles. The temptation to go buck wild is strong, but he does fight it off because alongside that, there’s also the excitement of knowing that he can now focus his time on himself. That is, exploring himself as he explores the galaxy -- with you.

He wants you to be there with him as he learns for the first time in his life what a freer world feels like. He wants to be there with you as you get to experience planets without being covert or on a mission. You both just want to be with each other without any expectations besides where you plan on going.

It is said that love in a time of war can bloom much like a flower in stone slab, and you both would dare to agree that you’re living proof of that. That being said, marriage can wait: For now, you’re both plenty fine with just being yourselves in a new era -- whatever that may mean for the both of you respectively.

[sunset-novice-writer]

When The Dust Settles |Shigaraki Tomura x Reader|

A lot of things have changed in the world of  Heroes and Villains. The rise and decline of power shifted so often between those two forces as it was like a rising tidal wave crashing against one another. One will always end up beating the other which had you hoping for the latter since you supported your lover. All of his achievements lead up to the recognition he worked himself to the born for most times you two had your ups and downs. Yet, where most people who would rationalize dating a villain came to their senses--to be fair that’s a fair point. 

Love had no grand design for two people involved. It was crazy, unexplainable, wonderful, and sometimes a bittersweetness that had lessons to be learned from it.You knew that it took rather long time in the beginning to build that trust with him.Where how he found so little trust in others their were precious memories you shared. He knew this fragile thing to experience a foreign closeness with other human beings, even a platonic one. At least patience had been something that was your strong suit coupled with you could actually touch Tomura. 

How could you explain your relationship to get to this point with him?

Well, it was literally a rollercoaster ride that sometimes could be so frustrating other times it was with all the risk you endured.

 Purely you loved Shigaraki most didn’t know you existed because you didn’t want to be used to trap him against the law. You’d rather risk your freedom to make sure he ensured his own. Everything you did was for him all the sacrifices that balanced between your relationship.You had no intention letting him doubt why you wanted to be with him--his moral compass were choices you respected, his appearance did not affect things for you either.

As much as he dodged and weaved to push you away from him you always stayed with him through the ringer. The occasional pout came on your end when you tried your darndest to beat that unnatural gaming genius that was your lover. He teases you about how his you-player two was almost catching up, but gets creamed. Those times were fun you didn’t win or lose against him, as much as you loved spending more time with him.

There were no missions for the League to fill that Tomura had him calling for meetings soon. The other members took off to enjoy themselves in their own personal adventures outside the hideout. You and Shigaraki  had some pleasant time alone for yourselves with a video game marathon.  Topic for the game you picked: Soul Calibur,  Tekken, Street Fighter, and Shigaraki picked a few of his own as well, which was quite the selection. 

You both were playing Street Fighter Chun Li versus Bison which your boyfriend used the muscle antagonist to kick your ass. You sat between his legs with his head rested on your shoulder, biting back a snicker at your determination to win against him.  Tomura knew your health was at its crucial point although you slightly got him in the yellow whilst you already dyed from green to red.

“It’s not even  a challenge learning the basic movements, Pet.” He teased you with his hands keeping a four finger grip on the  controls  like  usual--curse his teasing and taunting you would win. You shivered when you felt his lips brush against the shell of your ear, as tingles rippled a familiar warmth within your belly. 

This is just unfair right now.’ You thought to yourself, eyes went to focus back on the game. All you needed to do was focus on the game, not Shaggy's tempting touches from his mouth.You stammered a little feeling his teeth playfully scrap the edge of your ear.”You may be the best gamer here, Shiggy. I’m going to make a comeback.” 

“Oh?”Tomura rose a brow  lifting his face to stare into your own to look at your face. You challenged him that moment it made you wonder what sort of thoughts were swirling in his head.  It both thrilled you to see what he would come up with, and  scared you to see what stirred up in his mind sometimes. 

Yet, it usually ended if Tomura was a savant of video games, no wonder he made excellent strategists when coming with the tactical parts of the mission. You knew if he ever accomplished his dreams with villainy, your man would be the wickedest video game creator on the planet. 

His carmine ideas brightened you instantly knew he was thinking sort of wager formed in that brain of his. You always like trying to beat him occasionally, you tried to win-- keyword tried. Shigaraki always topped you though.” All right then, [Y/n]. If you beat me in this round, I’ll do something just for you.” He smirked down at you, loving how you gulped nervously, as he explained the terms of the bet. 

“Fine, I agree with the bet.” You knew despite his grumpy reaction he secretly was happy with the affection. If anything Tomura loved when you backed your affectionate gestures up with words. You loved the reactions you see come from him in so many expressions that he could show was always new.

He grunted at you trying not to think about what transpired he scowled at you as he spoke.” Really, I can’t say I disliked it. But distracting me won’t help you win, pet.” This had you rolling your eyes knowing that already, but you kissed him because you wanted to. “Don’t worry, I just wanted to kiss you Tomu.” You grinned, giving a laugh when he called you an idiot,  and then you both returned to the game. 

Not expecting within those few minutes you knew Tomura had been you without so much effort. You pouted though while giving him your word, waiting for him to see what he wanted you to do. He wanted to just hold you, which were his terms for the beat, not that you minded. A moment you kept just between the two of you besides it made you feel a sense of pride. You were the only person who could ever touch him like this, thanking yourself that your quirk came out to be like this.

These moments of silence became treasured time together as you peppered him with a kiss--much to his grumpy, flustered protest and cuddled him for the rest of that day. “I love you [Y/n]” He whispered, causing you to become flustered with your heart fluttering again, and hugged him tighter.

“Love you too, Tomu.”

Your own fears made you think in the most critical of times while he was out on missions. One’s that he thoroughly planned to put himself on the line to complete his goals, and his subordinates too, though you admitted they all had weird relationships together. In the beginning, a lot of bickering with clashing egos hitting heads leaving you as the peacemaker (mostly, for Tomura when it came to himself and Dabi.)it surprised you how things settled between them now.

When the dust had settled through each trial everyone came out stronger from their journey. You did so as well mostly given most couldn’t handle your choices. While you felt happier now more than in your old life you were grateful to have met Mura.Sometimes you wondered how he thought about you when he was away. Time after time, you noticed those little looks of insecurity, wondering when you’d leave him. Whether he feels elation to be rid of you coupled with those nuisance in emotions he developed.”I love him now more than ever truthfully,” You smiled thinking out loud glancing out the window, noticing the sun beginning to set  in array amber-orange with purple tint to the clouds it was beautiful.  A picture of what could explain your life and their own making you ponder a bit more.

Tomura wanted you to stay at the home base for this recent mission. What irked you be not being there with him. He’d been stubborn about you getting caught in the crosshairs of this one with much reluctance you agreed to his whims. Sometimes, you wished he knew you had a handle on your skill set not to be babied inside your own head you rationalized it. He never would tell you anything unless he wasn’t damned sure you were capable.

If there was one thing for him, you could say he didn’t sugarcoat shit  to cover up facts. You felt anxious sitting there doing nothing until they got back home. You missed him wondering if Toga left any updates on your phone, yet you didn’t receive so much as a ding of a notification. Drifting back to your thoughts for a moment, thinking of your parents who slurred your name about who you loved.

A part of you felt bitter thinking of how they came to be was irony itself. A reformed villain and a hero clashing together into separate sides of the spectrum to lecture you on the news. Now, that shit right there was so laughable you couldn’t contain the hypocrisy of it all. You’d never expected to see through you too well through your mannerism to call you out on the lie.

Why hide behind better yet why give a shit about it. More that those thoughts lingered he did make a good point instead of wholly in stupid state of self you erased them from your mind. It wasn’t good to waste time in the useless memories of the past, and shifted to lay comfortable in the bed.

“He better come back in one damn piece..”You grumbled under your breath huffing in annoyance, as cuddled up in his coat inhaling his scent to seek some  sort of comfort. A sandalwood musky scent that carried in his favorite hoodie he always wore around sometimes you’d sleep in it to cuddle with him. 

A soft thud of footsteps trailed up the hallway that went noticed by you with little murmurs that left your mouth..At the thought of his latest victory you wondered how the story would be told this time to you. Always eager to hear every feat he accomplished to look like child’s play, as  the heroes were left guessing to his true motives. Tomura Shigaraki was a man that laid hidden talents, so the underestimation where he would lead his organization shifted the world.

You shifted your eyes to the ceiling thinking about a variety of things that sprouted many different thoughts in your mind. “Making me worry like this...darn you Tomu-chibi..”Your scowled deepened, your cheeks puffing out in a noticeable pout.

“It’s a good thing I won huh,Queenie?”

Shigaraki’s raspy voice startled you out of your dampened mood, as you jumped up quickly on the bed to stare at him.  A smirk adorned his lip and his carmine eyes were in pure amusement delighted at your pouty expression.Taking in his face, a calm sort of confidence was in the aura he pleased with himself at the success about the mission. You felt relieved he was uninjured moving from the bed to walk over towards Tomura his eyes glanced at your attire noticing it.You’d just be wearing something comfortable if you caught the way his eyes darkened focusing on you. Clearly, pleased with the way his jacket looked too big on you though still cozy with you only in a set of thigh high socks in a tight fitted t-shirt with a pair of lacey panties in his favorite color.

Down to the choker you made yourself that had his initials TS dangling on your neck. It was fact that you in all utterance were his completely, and he thrived on that sheer fact. You could tell your gift made him happy you spent most the time he was out to finish it.

“I see you liked the gift I made.” You smirked, sauntering you away over to him, carmine eyes followed your movements as you approached to stand in front of Tomura. 

‘It’s a good thing  I told those idiots, not to disturb me.’ He thought to himself, he had collected fully on when you lost to him in your wager, plus he planned to collect his reward. “I do pet, I really do.”His eyes focused on your own trying to drink up the vision of every inch of your body.

You walked over to Tomura to bring yourself closer to him though the growl clear in displeasure.Your visage was coming closer to his own taking the view away from appreciating your outfit in the full glory he wanted to take in. Tomura knew that you’d  walk around like this sometimes though by his gaze he wasn’t having you go out like that. Not that you cared, you wonly focused on spending time with him now that he returned safely.

Well, there were hickies all over your neck and collarbone last time he saw you in something was for his eyes only. To be fair, you wanted to make something for him to eat that day still that was a great, great way to start the morning for you both.When he first learn that your quirk allowed him to touch you with all five fingers he shown shocked. the first time it happened, and enjoyed the being touched.  Unlikely to admit how touch starved he was to anyone else if teased he’d threaten to disintegrate them. 

“I’m glad you made it back, Tomu.”You pull him into an embrace and your face nuzzles into the crook of his neck, as you feel his hands come to wrap around your waist. Both of you alone together you’d seen his vulnerable behind closed doors at this moment he enjoyed how close you were to him.

“Those pathetic Heroes didn’t stand a chance, [y/n]” He scoffed at the notion, he would let himself lose against  those unskilled bosses' attempts to capture him. After all, he got a bonus item that would aid his cause even further, not to mention he had his very own princess he needed to come back too. 

“I believed you would, Mura.”You lifted your head up to stare in his eyes, as he in turn watched your own look at him liking the way the affection for him always seemed to show on your face.He placed his hands on your hips tugging you closer to him making gasp in surprise at the action. “Besides that, nothing in the world would keep me from my angel.”He smiled at you making you’re heart do flip-flops before it shifted into a wicked smirk, as you noticed something else was excited to see you too..

[a/n:why in the hell I did add that]

“Your Decay Daddy seems to recall you losing our bet last time..”Tomura’s voice dropped lower thick with his lustful intentions that stirred up an all to familiar warmth in your stomach.He chuckled a little at you as he added on,”I need to collect it, princess.” While the thrum sent brief sparks of pleasure to your core as you clenched at the thought of him taking you. They spoke no more words between the both of you. Hiis lips came down to capture your own dominance, making itself known. 

You’d stick by his side through the thicket of worse times soon to come for you both. Now, you let all that go, enjoying the feeling of his lips against your own as he kisses you wrapping your arms around his neck, pressing your body closer to his.

The dust of chaos that consumed both your lips you’d been there for Tomura without a doubt. When the world was sculpted  with the ruins, be cleared to a fresh hope you’d be by his side. A feeling of love that couldn’t be justified to one who didn’t understand it, and your love for this man was something you never regretted. 

He pulled away from your mouth causing you to let out a disappointed whine, as you both knew none of the members would get sleep thanks to their leader. But, hey, it’s not like they didn’t know who was dickin’ you down so well, anyway.  

“Don’t get distracted now, Angel.” He chastised in a teasing voice, as his hands grabbed your chin gently, you noticed the tempted twitch of his fingers to disintegrate your clothes. “I’m all you needed to focus on now.”

Hell, you agreed with whoever said bad boys needed love were not wrong whatsoever. “Yes, sir.” You replied giving a peck to his lips, yes, this was your happiness now with someone you loved.Nothing was better than enjoying this moment with your lover while you prepared to show your actions all afternoon long..

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I can’t believe that I finished this today, so happy about this!!

Taglist : @mrsreina​ @blackgirlanimes​ @koiibito​ @tomurasprincess​ @fairylucynamipiece​ @shigaraki-is-my-master​

Hope you all will give some feed back and comment. Still, I feel like this is came out so well. Let me know if you want to get tagged on this.