#look literally only my own character was good at getting places quickly-misty step and all

[baekuras]

Today I also had a fantastic fight of getting Crit-Hit every single time during the Cazador fight and the one time my character didn’t immediately get downed again and everyone else getting body blocked was of course the round where Cazador decided to.....remove Astarion

this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I saved beforehand

[delicatenightfury]

Christmas Surprise

Wolverine and the X-men onshot

Pairing: Warren Worthington III x OC

Summary: Warren decides to surprise his girlfriend for Christmas

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: fluff, just a little steamy at the end but not a lot

Author's note:

So, I made @mistys-blerbz watch two of my favorite X-men shows - X-men Evolution (2000) and Wolverine and the X-men (2009). We've been exposing one another to different shows and encouraging one another to create OC's for those shows. So, Misty created a character.

But we quickly realized that there is literally no fics for Angel other than the X-men Apocalypse version, and if I'm being honest, I really don't like that version of him. So, of course I had to go and write my own to satisfy us both.

Also, please don't steal my work! I don't own X-men characters or the OC (which belongs to @mistys-blerbz), but this is my own idea.

Elsie hummed happily to the Christmas music that echoed throughout the station. The place was decorated wildly for the holiday. Lights hung from the ceiling and wrapped around several railings. The large red and gold Christmas tree was put up in the lobby. Elsie always loved the train set that was always placed at the base of the tree, especially since the train was replaced with a bright fire truck. When she was younger, she used to lay in front of the tree and watch the train go round and round the base.

She could hear her family chattering around the place, cheering at the football game or laughing at the poker game they had started. The sounds made her feel a sense of peace, filling her heart with warmth. And while she wanted to join them, Elsie had claimed charge of the grill, cooking up enough food to feed a small army. Fire fighters sure knew how to eat. Not that she minded. She was used to cooking for large groups of people. The kids at the Institute could easily rival her Chicago family.

“Dinner smells great, kiddo,” Frank said as he came up next to her. “Glad to see you’ve still got it.”

“I’m hurt, Frank! You think I’d lost it?”

Frank smiled and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. The fire chief was like a father to her. He had graying hair and a full mustache that looked straight from the 80’s, but always had a charming look to him. Elsie guessed he was quite the lady’s man back in the day.

“Never.”

“Good. Now get the hell out of my kitchen. I’m working.”

Frank laughed as he stepped away.

“Ya hear that, boys? She’s home for all of two minutes and she’s already taking over!”

“Damn right!” Elsie called.

“She can take over all she wants!” she heard Ben shout back. “She cooks better than you can, old man!”

Elsie simply smirked at Frank, who looked shocked at the comment.

She loved her family, as crazy and nontraditional as it was.

When she was a baby, she was left at the fire station by her parents. The reason they hadn’t wanted her? She was a mutant, born with green skin, white hair, and golden eyes. The firefighters at the station had decided to take her in rather than turn her over to Child Services, knowing that she would have a better chance growing up with them instead of more than likely jumping foster homes. They gave her a room just for her and taught her everything she knew. 

They hadn’t cared about her appearance. In fact, they loved her for it. One of the first things they requested when she had arrived was that she turn off her image inducer bracelet and remain in her true form. The only other time she got to be in her own skin was when she was at the Institute or on missions with the X-men.

Elsie couldn’t have asked for a better family. She loved getting to come home for the holidays and be with them. They always made time for her, even leaving their own families for a time so that they could spend time with her.

The only thing that could possibly make this time better was if her special someone were there with her. The very thought of him made her smile. 

She had been dating Warren for several months now. Like her, he was a mutant with a physical mutation. They had gone to college together but did not officially get together until after they both joined the X-men.

The only downside was that neither of their families knew of their relationship.

Warren’s reasoning was straightforward: his father was a big public figure, the CEO of Worthington Industries, with a very vocal dislike for mutants. He even funded several anti-mutant projects. Having a mutant as a son was a “bad look” for Mr Worthington in general, so to learn that his son was dating one would be an even bigger blow to his image.

Elsie’s reasoning was a little more complicated. Her family consisted of a bunch of overprotective fire fighters. They would not hesitate to grill Warren given the chance, possibly even give the “if you hurt our girl” speech. As much as she wanted Warren to meet her family, she was nervous about the responses they would receive.

Elsie smiled when the meat finished on the grill, quickly putting it all on a large plate. She had timed everything perfectly so the food was all finishing around the same time.

She let out a loud whistle, knowing it would catch everyone’s attention.

“Dinner’s ready!” she shouted. “Come and get it while it’s hot!”

In the distance, she could hear people moving around to come upstairs. But she wasn’t expecting to hear a voice in the kitchen with her.

“Think there’s room for one more?”

Elsie whipped around to face the source, her eyes wide.

“Warren?!”

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said with a grin.

She gaped at him as he maneuvered through the kitchen to approach her. She wrapped her arms around him - she could never resist a hug from him. He picked her up briefly, swinging her around a little before setting her back on her feet. Her hands subconsciously drifted toward his back, fingers tracing familiar patterns there.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked.

“Thought I’d surprise you,” he said.

“But I thought you were spending Christmas with your father?”

He shrugged.

“I told him that I wanted to check out the Chicago lab, see how things were going. I just came from there.”

“You faked an excuse? To come here?”

He nodded, but was slowly looking a little unsure.

“Was that okay?”

“Of course!” He had faked an excuse to his father just so he could spend time with her. She hugged him again, planting a kiss on his lips. “I just wasn’t expecting it!”

“Hence why it’s a surprise, Els.”

A loud cough broke in, drawing the couple’s attention away from each other and toward the kitchen entrance. Elsie winced when she saw that nearly everyone was piled into the doorway staring at them. Slowly, they trickled in and all eyes were on the pair.

“Who the hell is this?” Todd asked.

Elsie smiled sheepishly, linking her arm with Warren’s, who smiled politely at them all. 

“Guys, this is Warren,” she said slowly. “My boyfriend.”

There were varying expressions of surprise on their faces. Elsie waited anxiously to see what they would do.

Frank stepped forward first, arms dropping from where they were crossed over his chest. Warren offered his hand to him.

“Warren Worthington. Pleasure to meet you, sir,” he said.

Frank scanned him over briefly before taking his hand and shaking it.

“Pleasure’s all mine. It’s great to finally meet you, Mr Worthington,” Frank said.

“Please, call me Warren.”

“You taking care of our girl, Warren?”

He chuckled a little, almost nervously. He looked at Elsie, flashing her a smile before turning back to Frank.

“Doing my best. But some days it’s more like she’s taking care of me.”

The fire chief smiled.

“She tends to do that. Hey, why don’t you take off your coat? Stay for dinner.”

Warren glanced at Elsie. She gave him an encouraging smile and a small nod. Warren took a breath before he shrugged off his coat. Elsie watched his wings unfurl, stretching them a little to get more comfortable. They seemed to glow in the kitchen lights. As Warren folded up his coat, Elsie looked at her family. They looked even more surprised than before, but they also appeared to be in awe.

“Woah,” Joe breathed.

Elsie smiled at Warren before clapping her hands.

“All right! How about we put the food on the table and eat?”

The rest of the night passed without incident. Of course her family wanted to know everything, so dinner mostly consisted of questions being fired left and right. Sometimes someone would say something that caught Elsie off guard and caused her to groan in embarrassment. In response, Warren would place his hand on her thigh. He’d squeeze it every now and then but would primarily rub his thumb gently over her skin.

But his actions did little to calm her down. In fact, he only succeeded in getting her to go from embarrassed to horny. And that damn man knew exactly what he was doing to her, that little smirk told her everything.

Warren had offered to help Frank clean up from dinner, much to Elsie’s annoyance. She wanted nothing more than to drag him up to her room. But he had chosen to socialize instead, wanting to get to know her family.

Damn, pretty boy.

In all honesty, she loved seeing him openly interact with her family. Warren rarely got to be himself in public, but he didn’t need to put up a front with them. It warmed her heart to see just how comfortable he was with everyone.

The hours slowly went by and things eventually settled down. Most of the crew went home to their families, a few staying in case of emergency. Elsie and Warren said their good nights to everyone before they headed upstairs to her room. 

Once the door was shut though, Elsie was practically on top of Warren. The man laughed, putting his hands on her hips and squeezing them in the way that Elsie loved.

“Woah there, sweetheart. Seems like someone is a little excited.”

“It’s your own damn fault,” she said, tugging at his sweater. “You kept touching my thigh during dinner, then brushing up against me throughout the rest of the night.”

Warren hummed, grinning as he pressed a kiss to her lips.

“Can’t help it, beautiful. I love seeing you all confident and happy. Plus you look amazing tonight. I love seeing this version of you.”

Elsie smiled.

“I guess I can forgive you. But only if you get these damn clothes off.”

“Way ahead of you.”

The two fell into bed, losing themselves in each other. 

Elsie sighed as she settled comfortably on Warren’s bare chest.

“God, I missed this.”

“What sex?” Warren said with an amused look.

“No. Well, yes. But no, I meant you.”

Warren smiled. He gripped her chin and pulled her face up to his so he could kiss her sweetly. Elsie hummed happily.

“I missed you too, sweetheart,” he said. “I’m glad I was able to come by.”

Elsie chuckled.

“I still can’t believe you lied to your dad just to come here.”

“Hey, I’d much rather spend time with you than with a father who barely talks to me. Your family is much more fun. You all seem very close.”

“I’d like to think so. They all basically raised me after my parents left me here. I’d never ask for a better family.”

“Don’t let the kids back at the Institute hear you say that. They might take offense.”

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

Warren laughed. He tugged her closer and buried his face in her shoulder, pressing a kiss to her skin. Elsie smiled. He never could get enough of her, though the feeling was definitely mutual. 

“Oh, I just remembered,” she said. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Before dinner, Frank said it was great to finally meet you. Any idea what that was about?”

Warren nodded. He seemed a little nervous suddenly, but he spoke up anyway.

“Since we were in college, I’ve been giving monthly donations to the station. And when there was that accident a few years back when this place flooded, I helped pay for the repairs. So Frank and I have actually had a little bit of communication since all that.”

Elsie had pushed herself up so she could stare at Warren. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“But all that… that was before we even started dating.”

He nodded.

“Yeah, I know. And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know how you’d react. But I wanted to support the station because I knew how much it meant to you, and I knew how much they did to take care of you.” He reached up to cup her cheek, swiping his thumb over her freckles. “I hope that’s okay.”

Elsie could feel tears in the corners of her eyes but she refuses to let them fall. She laughed a little and surged down to kiss him. He was momentarily caught off guard but wrapped his arms around her to bring her closer. Elsie adjusted so she was straddling him, thick thighs on either side of his hips. She pulled away enough to look at him, a wide smile gracing her lips.

“It’s more than okay,” she said. “I just wasn’t expecting that. I knew the station was receiving donations, but Frank never told me who they were coming from. I just… thank you.”

Warren smiled, brushing her white hair back behind her ear. 

“Of course, Els. I love you.”

“I love you too, Warren.” A little devilish smirk slowly spread across her face as she rolled her hips. “Now why don’t I show you just how much?”

[silvysartfulness]

Can you tell me more about your cats?because I love cats. (I have another song rec: lemon by kenshi yonezu)

Ohboy, ohboy, can I?? 8D

I currently have three cats, after losing my beloved companion of 19 years, Misty, a short while ago. She really was one of a kind. This was her:

So now we “only” have three boys, one cranky old man and two younger hooligans. ♥

Furiel is a sorrel Somali (the longhair version of Abyssinian), he’s 16 years old, and doesn't have a lot of teeth left.

He doesn't like the other cats a whole lot (probably because they enjoy chasing and biting him, but to be fair it's often his own fault for walking up to them and slapping them...) Mostly they get along fine, though!

He is the biggest cuddlebug, though, and he loves me, wholeheartedly. He's the biggest momma's boy, always has been. He demands literal hugs – when I'm on my desktop computer, he'll walk up to me on the desk and press his whole body against me and won't stop being a nuisance until I wrap an arm around him and squeeze him up against me, nomming his ears.

He's an absolute sweetheart. He's also grown absolutely shameless in old age and will steal food right off your plate if you don't keep an eye on it.

Milo is a blue-silver Abyssinian. He's 5 years old and a bit of a disaster. He is incredibly intelligent in certain ways – he learned to open doors when he was only about 17 weeks old, and he's very good at problem solving, figuring things out. In others... not so smart. He's very good at getting himself shut in, or out of places. He will eat Not-Good-For-Cats things (bird-feeder seeds and wasps come to mind).

He loves lettuce and vetegables. Whenever we make salad, he'll come beg for veggies and snarf down some good lettuce, or bellpeppers, or beans... corn... cauliflower leaves... radish leaves... Boiled potatoes are good too.

Sometimes he's wonderfully photogenic, a wonder of feline grace.

Sometimes... less so.

Ravi is a genetic mess – mostly Somali (that's why we got him, we wanted a good temperament-match for our other two boys) but also Norwegian Forest Cat, Persian and Ragdoll. Suffice to say, the more laid-back Persian/Ragdoll came through quite a bit stronger than the active/clever Forest Cat and Somali.

He is a sweetheart. He is very pretty, and cuddly and very very kind - and he has all the brain cells of a feather duster. He's officially the family Blond.

He is also an absolute chonk. He has a super-thick neck and massive paws.

His fur is very silky – it has the smooth gloss of the Somali and Forest Cat, but it's softer. Not quite as soft and easily matted as Persian-fur, but still very, very soft. His tummy is the best for bellyrubs, and he loves them. When we watch tv, he can lie upside down in my arms and have his belly rubbed for literal hours.

He and Milo are only half a year apart in age, and they are super-bros. They love to play and hang out, but sometimes you can see Milo low-key judging his fluffy brother for his lack of cerebral prowess. (Milo will quickly get bored with new toys or repetitive games, as soon as he's figured them out. Ravi will still be as endlessly fascinated by the same thing two hours later.)

In some ways, though, Ravi can be Smart! He's learned that when I'm on my desktop, I need my hands on the keyboard and my right arm free to use my tablet. So he'll come flomp down between my arms, always facing left, so he can rest his head on my left arm. That way he can get kisses and I can still use the computer. ♥

Milo is a bit afraid of heights. He likes being high up, but he doesn't like jumping down from too high up – we have a floor-to-ceiling scratchpost tree by our bookshelves, and he'll use that to get down. Ravi... Ravi has a limited understanding of gravity, aside from That Handy Thing That Gets You Where You Want To Go. He'll just step off things. Being the chonk he is, you'll occasionally just hear a loud THUD and know Ravi decided he wanted to be on the floor now. He descends stairs the same way – just flinging himself out, going THUD halfway down the stairs, and doing the same thing twice more to be on the bottom floor.

They're all indoor cats, have been all their lives, but if the weather is good, Milo enjoys being caried outside for a walk in the garden. He very quickly learned that squirming = going right back inside, so to show his cooperation he'll go all limp, and then we'll walk around the garden and Look At Thing or Sniff At Things. Sometimes, he's allowed to sit in the apple tree (because the branches are so high up he doesn't dare jump down and run off XD) and survey his domain.

In short, we have the Best Cats. ♥

And thank you so much for the song rec! ♥ The lyrics were really good, but I just can’t get over the language disconnect! XD English is the language I write in, Chinese the language of the series itself and the characters’ voices/intonations, but suddenly throwing Japanese in there just brings my brain to a needle screech halt. XD

[mcwriting]

Starstruck (10; finale)

honestly this could be read standalone if you haven’t read any other parts of this story but it would definitely help with context

Here it is!! It’s been over a year coming with lots of ups and downs and hiatuses and it’s finally here! I’m so thankful for everyone who’s been on this journey with me and the people who have joined along the way!

Please don’t hesitate to stick around! Message me, ask questions, make requests! I’ve got big things coming and I’d love to add you to my taglist ;)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10

Ship: Tom Holland x Reader

Setting: LA

Word Count: 3228

Warnings: Mild language, a little bitty bit of angst but then fluff

Rating: K+

                            __________________________________

You woke up at 8 Friday morning excited for the day ahead. You turned your head to see b/f/n still asleep on the other side of your bed, so you grabbed your phone and scrolled through social media.

It seemed like Tom had gone quiet on social media, and therefore people seemed to tag you in less things about him.

After about an hour, b/f/n finally rolled over and stretched.

“Well hello there,” she said, voice somewhat raspy.

“You ready for today?” you immediately asked. A sly smile crept on to her face.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

The previous night had been spent pampering yourselves with facemasks and deep hair conditioning, so you felt your skin and hair were prepped for getting made up that afternoon.

You started off the morning with breakfast, then hung out for a while. After lunch, you go to work on your hair.

B/f/n helped you get bouncy curls and you pinned her hair into a low updo. It took another hour to get your makeup done in full glam. You didn’t skimp out on glitter and highlight.

Finally, it was time to get dressed. B/f/n suited up first, wearing a red gown with a layered tulle skirt, then you put on your blue dress. 

You said your final goodbyes to your parents and headed to the venue. 

                             __________________________________

Tom, Harrison, and Harry were rushing around the house getting last minute finishing touches from Christine, who’d been available to come style them and would keep it on the down low.

“Tom stop squirming! I’m trying to get this curl to lay right!” she exclaimed, fawning over his hair.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t sit still! I’m so nervous!” he explained in reply. 

They’d all explained to her the main gist of what was going on, so when Christine stopped to look right at Tom, he knew she was about to say something serious.

“Okay look at me. I’ve known you for how long now? I’ve never seen you this nervous. It’s going to be okay, Tom. No matter what happens you’ve got a great group of people to support you. You’re going to go out there tonight looking incredible and you’re going to tell the girl how you feel. You got this, man. I believe in you.”

Tom smiled at the encouragement and nodded.

“Yeah, alright. You’re right. I’ve just never felt this way before and I don’t want to mess it up.”

“You literally talked two multimillion dollar corporations into coming back together just for the character you play while drunk. I’m pretty sure you’ll handle yourself just fine tonight,” she winked, finishing everything off with some hairspray.

“Okay perfect. Now Tom, you better not mess this hair up since I worked so hard to make it lay just right. Oh, and go get Harry for me. I don’t want him having an afro tonight.”

                             __________________________________

You and b/f/n arrived a few minutes after doors opened and found your other friends already right inside taking pictures. You all fawned over each other’s wardrobes and got plenty of photos together.

You happened to miss the “ The Brother’s Trust” logo on the poster listing off the night’s sponsors, though you probably wouldn’t have known what it was anyways at first glance.

Inside, you all found a table to set your things down at while you hung out on the dance floor before the actual dinner.

As more people, young and old, showed up, the dance floor became more crowded and it was fun to let loose with your friends. What you didn’t know about was the commotion happening behind the scenes.

Tom, Harry, and Harrison pulled into the back parking lot of the venue and looked around nervously. They weren’t quite sure what to do next, so Tom called the event coordinator he’d been in contact with for the previous week.

They were directed to come to the kitchen door to be let in, so the boys sprinted across the lot to avoid anyone seeing them. The door flung open and they were quickly ushered through the kitchen into an office.

The coordinator introduced herself, then requested for them to stay there until the dinner began. Someone brought them food to eat as people in the main room started getting off the dance floor and heading to their own tables.

You were happily seated around the table waiting for your meal when a woman came onto the stage.

“Good evening, everyone. As the food is being served, I just want to thank you for your support through purchasing tickets and for the generous sponsor donations. It’s well appreciated and will be put to good use. Here in just a little bit we will be bringing out our different surprise guests, so please, sit back, enjoy and I’ll be back in a little bit to announce the first guest.”

Your table was filled with chatter over who could be speaking. There had been rumors spread about different celebrities and business owners that might come, but it had been pretty well kept under wraps.  

The first people were a band that came to play a few songs while people ate their appetizers and who promised to return to the stage later after the dinner portion was over. 

Next as everyone enjoyed their entrees was a talk show host who made everyone laugh like they were in a comedy club.

As the desserts went around, the lady from before came onto the stage again.

“Well I hope you all enjoyed that. As the desserts are going around, I’d like to introduce our final surprise guest. This person has, through his family’s charity trust, generously given a large donation to this organization. I’ve asked that he would come just say a few words as the dinner came to an end. So everyone please give a warm welcome to Mr. Tom Holland!”

There were claps and cheers all around you, but you just took a sharp gasp, glancing around and blinking furiously to make sure this wasn’t a dream (nightmare?). 

You were frozen as you watched him step out from behind a curtain and take a microphone from the woman, waving as he scanned the crowd. He was wearing a grey suit with navy accents. 

You looked to your friends who looked at you with wide eyes. B/f/n avoided eye contact.

“Good evening, everyone and thank you for the warm welcome,” he began as the cheers died down.

You again looked at b/f/n.

“Did you know about this?” you whispered accusingly. She looked down with guilt. “Oh even worse. You had a part in this, didn’t you?”

“Y/n, I can explain-” she began, but you cut her off.

“No, you know what? Save it. We’ll talk about this later,” you spat, turning back to face the stage where Tom was. If you could just make it through his little speech, then you could drag b/f/n outside to figure out what the hell was going on.

“I’m so honored to have been involved in this and am excited to see where the money given by the brother’s trust will be used.”

He continued to scan the room until his eyes finally locked on yours.

“And, um. I,” you looked away and he cleared his throat. “Excuse me, um, I’m excited to get to meet all of you after the dinner has finished…”

You realized he was still looking at you when you looked back up. You couldn’t handle this like you’d thought, so you tossed your napkin on the table and grabbed your phone, quickly trying to run out without too many people noticing.

Of course, Tom saw it from his place on the stage. He looked at b/f/n who put up her hands and gave a head nod towards the door, then got up to follow you.

“Anyways, I’ll let you get back to your desserts. Thank you all again for your support tonight,” he quickly finished, rushing off the stage to more claps and cheers. 

“Y/n just ran out, what do I do?” Tom asked hurriedly to his brothers from backstage.

“Figure out how to get out there! Where was b/f/n?” Harrison asked.

“She followed her but I don’t know how much time I have. We need to figure out the best way to avoid the crowd!” 

In the lobby, b/f/n was pleading with you to stop and calm down. You whipped around to face her, eyes misty.

“I can’t calm down, b/f/n! What the hell is going on?! How- why did you do this? I thought you said this would be the perfect night to move on and have fun, but I can’t really do that when you’re in kahoots with the guy who broke my heart! I mean what were you thinking!”

“I was thinking about you, y/n! You’ve been so depressed these past few weeks… I know you have feelings for him whether you want to admit it or not. I saw the way you smiled when we talked about that cologne the other day, and the way you get that longing look when you see a picture of him. Neither of you are over each other, and I couldn’t stand to see you like this any longer.”

“What happened to never hiding anything from each other again, huh? You didn’t think to, I don’t know, warn me before tonight that he would be here? Considering that I’m sure you’ve known about this for a while.”

“Oh come on, y/n. You wouldn’t have come tonight if you knew Tom was going to be here. He and Harrison and Harry begged me to keep it a secret so that you two would be able to have a real conversation. Tom wants to see you. Bad. Look, I’m sorry that it caught you off guard, but this was the only way I could think to get you two together.”

You sighed, still stewing over everything. 

“Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have come. But that would have been my choice. I don’t know that I want to talk to him after what he did to me. What could he even want from me, other than to mock me for not having clout or something?” You paused again. “This was supposed to be a fun night, but now all I want is to crawl in a hole and hide forever.”

B/f/n looked down again.

“Like I said, I’m sorry we did it this way, but I knew you’d say no if I asked. He’s had a change of heart, y/n. Could you please reconsider? I mean… he’s right there,” she gestured behind you and you turned around. 

There he was, in the flesh. Flanked by his brother and best friend. You crossed your arms and looked at b/f/n again.

“I’ll give him five minutes, but I swear if he does anything funny we’re leaving, okay? Promise me that.”

B/f/n looked between you and Tom’s group.

“Absolutely. Five minutes.”

She walked over to them and said a few words, Tom essentially keeping his eyes on you. She then gestured for you to follow them through a couple halls to a secluded room, leaving only you and Tom to talk.

“What do you want from me, Holland? I’m sure b/f/n told you, but you’ve got five minutes to explain yourself before I get the hell out of here.”

“And that’s all I need, y/n,” he pleaded. “I just want you to know how sorry I am. For everything. I’m sorry that I dragged you into my life unwillingly, I’m sorry for humiliating you and shunning you on a world stage. I’m most sorry for leaving you. I truly am.”

He looked down, ashamed. You were still mad, but felt a little pang in your heart.

“And that’s just supposed to make everything okay? I thought you were cool after the time we spent together. I thought I could trust you. But no, you had to listen to those awful people who you pay to be awful and go out and tell the world all about me. You chose the life of stardom, but I didn’t get that choice because of your cowardice,” you spat.

You knew somewhere in the back of your mind that you were being harsh, but everything you’d kept inside since he left was finally bubbling up again. He nodded his head in agreement.

“This doesn’t make it okay, at all. I didn’t think about the negative effects it would have on you before I put your name out to the millions of people who follow me. I was stupid and careless. And as far as my management goes, well, I fired them. After your speech went viral, what you said finally clicked. You helped me realize what dicks they were and the dick I was for listening to them.”

You stood up straight when he mentioned the last part, looking at him suspiciously.

“You- you did?” you looked around the room, even though no one else was there. “This isn’t another one of their little set ups?”

“No, no absolutely not. Do you really think they would have let me come here under their direction? Y/n, I came here because I know I messed up. Big time. I want to fix that, I want to be friends with you and I don’t know… maybe something more? I realized in these past few weeks that I am really and truly infatuated with you. And you can say no and I’ll walk out of your life for the final time, but I just needed you to know that I like you, a lot, and I’d like for you to be in my life in some way or another.”

You took a heavy breath and furrowed your brows, processing what he’d just confessed. 

He’s here, on his own accord, for me? He cares? Is this an act still?

Tom took your long pause as a no and started to walk off.

“Wait, Tom.”

He turned back to you, eyes hopeful. You breathed deep again before speaking up.

“What you did was wrong, and it hurt, but I want you in my life, too. I’ve never met anyone that I felt so comfortable with so quickly. I don’t know why… I don’t know how… but, I like you too. No matter how much I pretend to hate you for what happened, I could never find a place in my heart to actually hate you.”

You couldn’t meet his eyes, instead shaking your head, wondering what had convinced you to finally admit that out loud.

“You mean that? You actually like me too?” he asked skeptically. You couldn’t blame him.

“Yes, Tom! I like you! I can’t help but spread the cologne you gave me over my sheets, or smile when a fan tags me in one of a bajillion of those fan edits they’re always making! I think back on the conversation we had that night at my house and I wonder what made me so against being a fan of yours from the beginning. I like you Tom. I just can’t believe that you like me, too.”

He gave you a watery grin at your explosive confession.

“Can I do something that I’ve been wanting to do since the night I fell asleep right next to you?”

You had a pretty good idea of what he was suggesting, but played dumb anyways, stepping forward so that you were about a foot away.

“I don’t know, can you?”

He rolled his eyes and closed the gap between you. One of his hands found itself resting on your waist as the other reached to tip up your chin. Your own arms instinctively grabbed his jacket lapels.

The last thing you caught before closing your eyes was the way his sparkled, and then your lips met.

You felt like you were back in bed laying on your side facing Tom when he told you about his own home and family and you explained your passion for dance. It was like the next morning when you first smelled the remains of cologne woven into your bed sheets as he gripped you in his arms. It was like holding his hand in a disgusting public restroom as the adrenaline of running from the paparazzi waned.

He felt like home.

When you pulled back you were really finally starstruck. A big smile rose to your lips, as did his. 

You couldn’t contain yourself as you threw your arms around his neck and kissed him again like you’d never done with anyone else, one hand gripping his curls.

He laughed as you pulled away, letting go of you to smooth his hair.

“My stylist is gonna kill me if she knows my hair got messed up,” he joked. This time you were rolling your eyes.

“Maybe I do remember why I didn’t like you before…”

He laughed it off and pulled you into a hug, which you happily reciprocated. You didn’t realize that it had been five minutes until b/f/n burst through the door, trailed by Harrison and then Harry.

“Alright did you two solve your issu- Oh. Well then, looks like our work here is done boys,” she joked. You and Tom blushed.

That is, until Harrison pulled your best friend into his own arms, picking her up and spinning her around. You and Tom looked at each other, then them, and then Harry suspiciously. Harry just tossed his hands up and shrugged. 

“Are you two trying to steal our thunder?” you taunted after he set her down and they were lost in each other’s eyes. It was their turns for their cheeks to redden. 

“Well the only thing I’ve learned on this trip is that I should have stayed home. Maybe then I would’ve at least had Tuwaine to caress me,” Harry deadpanned, causing you all to laugh. “Well come on, then, we should get back out there. We did promise to mingle.”

Tom panickedly looked at his watch.

“Yes! Right, we should get back out there. You all go ahead and we’ll be right behind,” he said. They all left, b/f/n wrapped under one of Harrison’s arms. You were happy for her.

“So… ready for me to formally introduce us to the world together?” he asked you, holding out his forearm for you to grab.

“Not really, but this time I have you by my side,” you replied, snaking your arm around his. He smiled as you began to walk with him. “By the way, I see you matched the suit to my dress.”

“Oh you like it? Well you’re looking like a real stunner in that…” 

Your voices faded into the background as you entered the room as Tom and y/n. Y/n and Tom.

It’s not often a girl can say she’s fallen for a big time celebrity and that he’s felt the same way back, but there you were. And it’s even less often that his and hers best friends fell for each other, too, but there they were.

And you were facing a starstuck world together.

The end.

                            __________________________________

A/N: ugh this makes me soft. Thank you all again for reading and please please please hang around! I’m not planning on going anywhere just because this is done!

TAG LIST: @marvel-lously, @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @dreamyvans, @lisannehus, @honeymoonpeter, @shootingstarsaretearsofheaven, @chenellearose, @photoshopart15, @parkeret, @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch, @racewife2004, @joyleenl

If you’d like to be added to my permanent tag list, please send a message or ask!

[unluckyplanet]

The More Villainous Side

Summary: Thomas adventures through the imagination and finds something... unusual

Warnings: Remus, One(1) Innuendo,  giant holes, darkness(I think that’s it, but if there’s anything else I should tag tell me)

Word Count: 1298

---

Here he was. In the imagination, or technically in his living room. Both? Probably. Either way Thomas had made it into Imagination, a realm made for all of his fantasies and characters to live in. He had always been curious about it, but never gotten a chance to explore. Yes it was his own imagination, but considering how little he knew about parts of his personality there would be tons of things to discover there. 

And from the looks of things, he was right! The land was full of meadows and forests straight from his dreams. The sky was filled with birds of paradise that had no place in the temperate land. In the distance a castle sat glimmering white and gold. Towers with dragons spiraled around them also seemed dotted around the land. Basically it was a dream come to life—literally. The land even seemed misty and hazy. Like it refused to be real. 

Thomas finished taking in the scenery and set off to explore. His face turned into a wide beaming smile as he thought about what he should do. He could fight a dragon and save a handsome prince! Or, oh, was that a unicorn in the nearby forest? Thomas set off in a random direction to see what he could find! Everything just seemed so amazing!  So awe inspiring!

He wandered into a nearby forest. It was sunlight and a bright friendly green. Thomas could hear the chirping of birds, the chittering of squirrels. He was barely looking at where he was going. No, the magical looking flowers were much more interesting. The wild animals that seemed to smile at him were much more engaging. 

Thomas suddenly felt the ground—or the lack thereof under his foot. He quickly snapped his attention back in front of him. There was a giant hole in front of him, and he had just stepped into it. Panic flashed through his head, and he reached for something—anything that he could hold onto. He grabbed a root that bordered the whole, and looked up. A large tree with silver apples was right in front of the hole. Thomas began climbing up the tree roots when one of those silver apples fell out of the tree. It landed right on his head and everything went dark.

Thomas opened his eyes after what seemed like a few moments. He was still in the imagination, but it was nothing like the land before. No, he was in a cave down the hole he had fallen down. Looking up Thomas could see a bright light above him, but it was far above him. He tried to find a handhold, but the cave wall was crumbly and fell apart with too much force. He turned towards the dark tunnel in the cave. It looked like he had no choice, but to go down it. 

As he walked in the visible light from the hole faded. The surroundings turned into a pitch black void. Thomas ran his fingers against one of the walls, just so he knew something was around. Step, step, step. Thomas walked on. Crumble, crumble, crumble. The walls and floor and darkness of the tunnel remained the only things he could see. For what seemed like eons (but was probably minutes) he walked on. Still just darkness and dirt.

“Hello?” Thomas called out into the darkness.

“Hello! Hello. Hello… Hel… lo,” The cave echoed back 

Thomas’ spirit dropped farther than he had. He looked behind him, but the void behind him was just as dark as the void in front of him. His breath sped up as his anxiety worsened. For a second he thought that he could summon his sides to help. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Yet when he opened them there was still no light, no words and definitely no sides. At this point Thomas didn’t know what else to do, but continue. So he took a deep breath and picked up his pace.

Finally, finally after what seemed like an eternity, Thomas found something. Or more specifically, he found light. Green-ish light shining from something in the distance. Thomas began running towards the light. Maybe he had found an exit! When he reached the light he found a much larger cave. It had an exit! And a weird tree molded out of some silvery metal. Thomas almost rushed out the cave, but something about the tree was mystifying. 

It looked carefully crafted. Gossamer thin leaves came off of thin spiraling branches. The three had an otherworldly green glow, shining gently in the dark cave. Bumps in whirls in the metal bark seemed too real to be real. Like it’s magic, or a petrified tree. Most intriguing of all were the glowing items nestled in the tree. A brain shaped object, glowing in between the roots. A cloud crackling with electricity caught in the top branches. A heart nested in the tree’s branches. A snake curled around the tree’s trunk. And lastly, a star sitting inside a nook in the tree. 

Thomas reached for the star, and a mace smashed right in front of him. Thomas jumped back and let out a shrill scream. Both because of the mace and it’s wielder. Remus looked at Thomas with a wicked smile on his face. Remus wrenched up the mace and blipped it away.

“Well if it isn’t Thomathy!” Remus said. “Visiting my side of the imagination? What a surprise!”

“I uhhh, just kind of wandered here,” Thomas said nervously. “Through the tunnels.”

“Well have you finally decided to try out some of my ideas?” Remus asked. “It’s never too late to jump into a industrial fan!”

“No!” Thomas yelled. “I just want to get out of here.”

Remus frowned, “Awwww, come on! Your viewers would enjoy something more exciting!”

“Maybe... later?” Thomas said, although the words seemed strained. “I’m still kind of freaked out from...” He gestured at the tunnels.

“Huh,” Remus huffed. “Well if you want to get back to reality you’ll have to cut off your own head!”

“What!!!”

“Just kidding,” Remus cackled. “All you have to do is close your eyes and focus on reality! The fun stuff or the boring stuff.”

“Thanks…” Thomas said. “And what is that?” He pointed at the glowing heart.

“Oh, the paragon of vice!” Thomas gave the duke a weird look. “Hey! Roman made up the name, not me. I would have named it something much better.”

“Well what does it do?” Thomas asked, already knowing it couldn’t be good.

“It’s basically you but a ‘villain’,” Remus said, putting air quotes around the word villain. “All the most fun parts of you get magnified! At least all the parts of your personality.”

“But there are some other fun parts that would be great magnified,” Remus winked.

Thomas couldn’t help but laugh at that. He looked at the tree and back at Remus. The weird artifacts were obviously bad, but he was still curious. What was evil Thomas like? There were obviously artifacts for all of the sides, so what were the evil versions of his sides like? And why was Remus of all people warning him about it? Thomas would have expected Remus to be happy about Thomas acting less nice. He wanted to find out more, but Thomas knew he had things to do in real life.

“Well, thanks for helping me out,” Thomas laughed.

“Your welcome! After all you can’t become a nudist trapped in here!” Remus yelled.

Thomas closed his eyes and concentrated. Slowly he felt himself sinking out, like when he left a side’s room. As the world slowly shifted from the imagination to reality, Thomas could hear Remus yell one final thing at him.

“And if you wanna try some more adult stuff I’ll be here~”

[tigerkirby215]

5e Zed the Master of Shadows build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Riot Games)

Well; I did promise it. I’ll be honest the only reason for this build is that it’s the most obvious build to make with the new Echo Knight from Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, and it would be an injustice not to do so. I honestly don’t care much about Zed as I feel like his popularity has sort of died down as his meta relevance has waned. Regardless this build isn’t just a straightforward “lol Echo Knight 20″ so I hope those of you who want to play the edgy shadow ninja boy are pleased.

GOALS

Living Shadow - Of course the core of Zed’s kit is his shadow clones. Man I wonder how we’re going to recreate that?

Shadow Slash - Both Zed and his shadows need an arsenal of weapons that are always on-hand and are ready to both slash and throw.

Contempt for the Weak - Zed passive is what makes him an assassin, quickly killing anyone who’s already hurt.

RACE

Zed is a Human but due to my continued determination to avoid using the Variant Human race (and also because we really don’t need a Feat in this build except maybe Skulker) we’ll be grabbing Flash from Mark of Passage from Eberron. Your Dexterity increases by 2 and you can increase one stat of your choice by 1: choose Wisdom for some later Feat investment. You can also choose one language on top of Common: if Ionian is a language choose that, but Elvish is pretty close I suppose?

You get Courier's Speed for 5 feet of extra movement from your Zeal, and  Intuitive Motion lets you add a d4 to any Acrobatics check you make or check involving land vehicles, because of all your training with the Kinkou apparently taught you how to drive a cart as well as do back-flips? But of course the main reason I said to take this race was for Magical Passage, giving you a one-time cast of Misty Step per Long Rest. Flash is a powerful summoner spell: use it to make some stylish plays.

ABILITY SCORES

15; DEXTERITY - Being a ninja is about swiftness and precision, and doing sick backflips and parkour. Wait this isn’t a Talon build?

14; WISDOM - To be a master you need to be wise; wise enough to know you enemy and how to exploit their weakness. It’s also a requirement to multiclass after all.

13; CONSTITUTION - Just because Zed isn’t a tank in-game doesn’t mean some extra tenacity (not the CC reduction type) isn’t appreciated. CON is also tied to some of our clone abilities.

12; INTELLIGENCE - The art of war is a game of intelligence. If fighting is sure to result in victory then you must fight!

10; CHARISMA - Zed runs around in Shredder cosplay and half his voice lines are literally just him grunting. He has his own order but he isn’t getting any free beers.

8; STRENGTH - Again you’re not a tank, and Strength simply isn’t needed for this build. The only thing we’d ever really use Strength for is Athletics, and we can get proficiency in the skill to remedy that.

BACKGROUND

Much like the Kayn build we’ll be going with the Faction Agent background, only this time you’re the faction head! Much like your protegee you get Insight proficiency as well as Intimidation since you’re a spooky shadow man. And of course your Shadow Order can provide you with a Safe Haven if needed, giving you a safe place to hide if your half-brother is looking for you. As for your two languages again it doesn’t matter, so pick something fun.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - ROGUE 1

Starting off as a Rogue for the extra proficencies, also because no shit you’re a ninja. Regardless Rogues get proficiency in 4 skills from the Rogue list: choose Stealth, Perception, Acrobatics, and Athletics so you can keep to the shadows and strike at the perfect time. You also get Expertise in two skills that you know: I’d opt for Stealth as well as Intimidation from your background, so you can sneak up on someone and go “boo!” before cutting out their throat.

Of course the main appeal of Rogues is their Sneak Attack, letting them add a d6 of damage against any enemy who’s close to another ally, or you have advantage on by attacking them from the shadows.

Finally your Shadow Order is well-versed in Thieves’ Cant, a secret code that neither the Noxians nor the Kinkou understand.

LEVEL 2 - ROGUE 2

Second level Rogues get Cunning Action, letting them Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a Bonus Action. The key to playing Zed well is much like the key to playing Rogue well in 5e: keep mobile and be everywhere at once. Don’t give your enemy a moment to hit you.

LEVEL 3 - ROGUE 3

You can choose your Roguish Archetype at level 3 and of course the Master of Shadows needs shadowy blades. Or should I say psychic blades? The Soul Knife subclass from the Psionics UA can create weapons as a Bonus Action with their Psychic Blade feature: these are finesse weapons that you can dual-wield, and throw 30 feet normally and up to 60 feet with disadvantage. These weapons deal a d6 of psychic damage and disappear after they hit the target you throw them at, when you dismiss them for free, or after you let go of them.

You can also choose through a variety of Psionic Enhancements. You can either give yourself 30 feet of telepathy, 5 feet of extra movement speed, or health equal to your Rogue level plus your Intelligence. You may notice that in total that would add up to a 4 currently, but that isn’t likely to go higher so I’d recommend either the telepathy or the movement speed. (5 feet of movement combined with the 5 feet from your race means you’re moving at Barbarian speed!)

WHY LOW INTELLIGENCE? - The Soul Knife, despite being a psionic class, doesn’t need Intelligence to function. A +5 in Intelligence would only mean a total of 8 extra health because we’re not going to be taking any more levels in Rogue. You need both Dexterity and Constitution more in this build, so it’s not worth investing in Intelligence just for one skill. But if you can get your Intelligence high go right ahead.

And finally your Sneak Attack increases to 2d6 now.

LEVEL 4 - FIGHTER 1

Now that you have your shuriken it’s time to get your clones. Level 1 Fighters get a Fighting Style and there’s a lot of options to choose from:

Two-Weapon Fighting is the obvious pick, letting you squeeze a bit of extra damage into your second weapon attack if you decide to opt for two-weapon fighting with your Bonus Action.

Thrown Weapon Fighting from the Class Feature Variants UA will vary in utility depending on your DM’s interpretation of “drawing a weapon.” If they let you summon your knives for free with this fighting style (as long as you throw them instantly) take this fighting style. If not Archery could also perhaps increase your ranged accuracy if your DM is cool with the rules.

When all else fails Defense provides a flat +1 to AC.

Why not Dueling? - Dueling is good in it’s own right to increase damage output but it technically only works if you have one Psiblade out. This means that you’ll be gimping yourself by only summoning one knife at a time, which means you can’t have two ranged shots before needing to “reload.” If you have a cool DM Dueling can still work for more damage.

You also get Second Wind, so you can pop a Refillable Potion to heal for 1d10 plus your fighter level once per short rest as a Bonus Action. Even at this late level that can equal up to a third of your health bar!

LEVEL 5 - FIGHTER 2

Second level Fighters get Action Surge, allowing them to take an additional action once per Short Rest. Man I love Fighters; so simple to explain.

LEVEL 6 - FIGHTER 3

HA HA FUCK ME AM I RIGHT?! Echo Knight from Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount suddenly becomes a hundred times more complex! For the sake of brevity I’m literally going to copy-paste the Echo Knight’s ability description from my Skullgirls Isaac build:

The echo (or Living Shadow, if you will) has an AC of 14 plus your proficiency bonus, 1 hit point, and immunity to all conditions. If it has to make a saving throw it uses your saving throw bonus for the roll. It’s the same size as you and occupies a space. On your turn you can make the echo to move up to 30 feet in any direction without using an action but if your echo is more than 30 feet from you at the end of your turn it is destroyed.

You have several things you can do with your echo:

* You can swap places with your echo with 15 feet of your movement, regardless of the distance between the two of you.

* Any attack you make with the Attack action can originate from the echo’s space if you choose to do so.

* When a creature that you can see within 5 feet of your echo moves away from it, you can use your reaction to make an opportunity attack against that creature as if you were in the echo’s space.

* You can use Unleash Incarnation to make one additional attack from your Echo’s location when you take the attack action, adding up to 3 attacks total. You can use Unleash Incarnation a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier.

In short: Living Shadow can attack for you. We good?

(Artwork by Riot Games)

LEVEL 7 - RANGER 1

We’ve got our Q, we’ve got our W, now it’s time for our... passive? Building characters in D&D is weird. Regardless Rangers get another skill proficiency: I’d recommend the Survival skill to survive if you decide to go into the jungle.

You also get a Favored Enemy and Favored Terrain from Natural Explorer. As per usual whenever I use the Ranger class (which I seem to do a lot) I recommend talking to your DM to find out what enemies and terrain you’ll need, or alternatively use Unearthed Arcana rules. This build is rather separate from Unearthed Arcana but regardless it’s much better than baseline Ranger so I suggest looking at it.

LEVEL 8 - RANGER 2

Second level Rangers get a Fighting Style so I’d recommend one you didn’t take from Fighter 1 (since Fighting Styles don’t stack.) But notably you get access to Spellcasting and learn two spells from the Ranger list: Detect Magic will let you check if your opponent has their ultimate up before fighting, and Hunter’s Mark will let you mark an enemy for death and do an extra d6 of damage every time you hit them.

LEVEL 9 - RANGER 3

Speaking of damage: third level Rangers can choose a conclave archetype, and the Hunter archetype is as useful to assassins as it is to hunters. You get the Hunter’s Prey feature which lets you choose from three different ways to do extra damage, but Colossus Slayer will let you show your contempt for the weak by doing an extra d8 of damage to anyone who’s injured.

You also get Primeval Awareness, letting you spend a spell slot to detect enemies that are near. (Read the ability for a better understanding of how it works.) And speaking of spells how about a smoke bomb? Fog Cloud will let you create a... cloud... of fog. The area is heavily obscured for the duration unless you lose concentration or a strong wind blows it away so you can use it to block enemy vision and get into position to hide and strike!

LEVEL 10 - FIGHTER 4

Man we skipped over our Ability Score Improvements for awhile huhn? Well thankfully there’s no more multiclassing anymore as it’s just straight down Fighter now. But we’ll first be taking a Feat to even out some of our uneven ability scores, and the Observant feat is perfect for a ninja, getting an increase to passive perception to spot assassins in the dark and being able to read the lips of an enemy so you can relay the message to your allies.

LEVEL 11 - FIGHTER 5

5th level Fighters get an Extra Attack good lord finally! The thing is that more attacks means that you’ll have to “reload” your Psychic Blades with a Bonus Action more often, which is why we opted for Colossus Slayer first. So just remember that your knives are limited.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

LEVEL 12 - FIGHTER 6

6th level Fighters get another Ability Score Improvement: increase your Dexterity and Constitution to finally get rid of those awful uneven Ability Scores.

LEVEL 13 - FIGHTER 7

7th level Echo Knights get Echo Avatar: You can see and hear through your Living Shadow, deafening and blinding yourself while you do this. You can keep it up for 10 minutes max and can end it at any time without an action. While your echo is being used this way it can be up to 1000 feet away from you without being destroyed, meaning that you can theoretically teleport to it if you so desire. One of Zed’s biggest strengths is his ability to be practically everywhere at once.

LEVEL 14 - FIGHTER 8

8th level Fighters get another Ability Score Improvement: you can finally cap off your Dexterity for maximum damage with your knives and your shurikens.

LEVEL 15 - FIGHTER 9

At level 9 in Fighter you get Indomitable, letting you reroll a saving throw once per Long Rest. You must use the new roll so be sure to only pop your QSS on an important stun you know you won’t get hit by again 3 seconds later.

LEVEL 16 - FIGHTER 10

10th level Echo Knights get Shadow Martyr. Hey it has “shadow” in the name! Regardless once per short rest you can use a reaction to have your Living Shadow defend an ally (or yourself) when being attacked, forcing the attack to hit the echo instead of you. People can’t shoot Zed’s shadows in League but that doesn’t mean he can’t block a skillshot for an ally.

LEVEL 17 - FIGHTER 11

11th level Fighters get three attacks per round thanks to an improvement to Extra Attack. Again remember that you can only throw two of your Psychic Blades before needing to reload, meaning that if you decide to throw them you can only do so twice before needing to spend a bonus action, and will run out of daggers if you decide to Action Surge. But since your echo can attack with melee it should be fine, right?

LEVEL 18 - FIGHTER 12

12th level Fighters get another Ability Score Improvement: increase your Constitution for more health and more uses of Unleash Incarnation, adding up to you dying less and your enemies dying more.

LEVEL 19 - FIGHTER 13

13th level Fighters get another use of Indomitable. Isn’t cool-down reduction a great stat?

LEVEL 20 - FIGHTER 14

Our capstone is an Ability Score Improvement from the 14th level of Fighter: 2 points in Constitution will give you a 20 HP boost and one extra use of Unleash Incarnation.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

The merest shade of me... - You have a huge array of options in combat which are almost always available for use. You can always be armed with both a melee and ranged weapon and have insane mobility with Misty Step and the ability to swap places with your Echo, not to mention that a 40 foot movement speed puts you above the average movement for humanoids and on-par with most mid-to-high level enemies, letting you easily chase them and keep up.

Our blades crave battle - You have incredibly high damage output. Three attacks with your psychic blades is good in its own right but combined with Sneak Attack, Colossus Slayer, and Hunter’s Mark you can do a grand total of 3d6 + 1d8 extra damage with one of your three strikes. Extra attacks are a great contingency for on-hit damage boosts.

Only the worthy survive - While Zed is squishy in League of Legends this build is much tankier than average. Actually being able to invest in Constitution without losing out on abilities and most of your levels being in Fighter means that your health can easily reach up to 200. Add in Second Wind and Indomitable and you have more than a Guardian Angel to protect you.

CONS

Secrets kept are weapons wasted - You have a lot of set up time to get all your abilities up. A bonus action to draw your weapons and then another bonus action to summon your Echo, plus extra bonus actions to create more blades or more echoes, which will take away from Cunning Action or your mobility abilities.

Only time can judge us - Many of your abilities are limited: limited spells, limited protection with Indomitable and Shadow Martyr, limited damage with Unleash Incarnation and Action Surge, and most notably limited ranged attacks per turn since you can only summon two Psychic Blades per turn.

Balance is weakness - The three levels of Ranger really don’t provide much. More damage is swell and all but taking 3 more Fighter levels instead of 3 Ranger levels would give you more sustainability with Reclaim Potential, another Ability Score Improvement, and most notably a third use of Indomitable and a second use of Action Surge. Ranger makes your average damage output higher but removes your ability to quickly assassinate a target, or keep alive. And it of course forces you to invest somewhat in Wisdom, which might not be possible if you didn’t roll well for stats during character creation.

But I honestly struggled to find many points of weakness in this build; I’m actually impressed with how strong it is overall. You have the tools to take on any fight that may come your way, moving around the battlefield at lightning speeds and dropping any enemy with a flurry of blows. It’s only up to you to use those tools, less you prove yourself a Faker.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

[tetrakys]

Trois Allumettes - Chapter 14

Rewrite of MCL UL episode 16 with Lysander.

Big thank you to the people who sent me their suggestions, let me know if you think I got it right.

FYI the song I mention at some point is Tsar B - Escalate

Chapters 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13

“She’s here!”

I looked up startled by the sudden commotion around me. I’d been walking slowly, my eyes on the ground, lost in my thoughts. I couldn’t stop picturing Nath covered in blood on the gym floor.

What had supposed to be one of the most pleasant evenings out of these holidays, had turned out to be one of the worst, spending hours at the hospital hoping for Nath conditions to be not as bad as they seemed.

I was finally back to campus and the whole little group with whom I’d gone to the carnival what felt like ages ago, was there, relieved looks on their faces as soon as they spotted me.

“I…” when I saw Lys my eyes got all misty, and the pressure suddenly subsided. I threw myself into his arms sobbing.

“Candy… I’m here…” he hugged me against his chest, and I got the feeling that the hold of his embrace calmed my heartbeat.

I cried in his arms for a minute, probably drenching his elegant coat with my tears. When I calmed down, he kissed me gently on the head.

They all wanted to know about Nath. I wasn’t looking forward to their questions, but apparently they already knew most of it from Amber. At least they knew that he’d been taken to the hospital after a beating. I filled them in with what I could. I had to stick to the mug story, I couldn’t tell them the truth, it wasn’t my place to.

“What a jerk!” we all turned around surprised to see Castiel fuming. “He supposedly wants to handle the situation on his own and then calls Candy? I doubt she’s the most appropriate person to call when you get mugged. What was the point? For her to see his condition without actually being able to help him? Imagine if the group of muggers had still been on the premises?! They would’ve gone after you too!”

“That’s enough, Castiel.” Lysander said in a firm tone, laying his arm around my shoulders. “We appreciate your concern, but this is not the right time. As you can clearly see Candy is upset enough.”

“Sorry,” Castiel nodded, “I shouldn’t have talked about it now, but it seemed important to make the point. We were all worried about you… My concern is what was talking.” He added, looking at Lysander earnestly.

We all said goodbye and Lys walked me to my dorm room.

“Are you ok?” he asked me as soon as we were alone in front of my door. Concern in his eyes, he sweetly stroked my cheek and I leaned into his touch.

“I didn’t know what to do, Lys… I felt so helpless.”

“You did the right thing, calling an ambulance. Despite his harsh tone and bad timing, I agree with Castiel. Nathaniel shouldn’t have put you in this situation, he should’ve called the emergency number from the start instead of putting you in unnecessary danger. I wish… I wished you’d asked me to go with you.” He added taking me in his arms.

“Lys… I didn’t think about it… I just ran.”

“I know. And this is one of the things I admire the most about you. You’re just so good and kind, you’d literally do anything for your friends. I just hope that one day you’re going to trust me enough to see me as the person to lean on when things get rough.”

“I trust you, Lys.” I hugged him tighter but didn’t add anything else, and he didn’t either. We both knew that we didn’t have nearly enough time together to become each other’s crutch.

“When I couldn’t find you I got so scared Candy. I pictured you alone, in that crowd and the worst scenarios ran through my mind.”

I kissed him apologetically, “I’m sorry for disappearing on you like that. And just when we’d finally managed to find some time to be together.”

“About that… I’m going to be busy tomorrow, and the day after I’m leaving for the farm where I’m going to spend the rest of the week.”

I felt my heart sink. We were on vacation, I was hoping to spend at least a bit of time with him and he was leaving.

“Would you… I mean…” I looked up at him, surprised by his stuttering and sudden embarrassment. “If you’ve nothing else to do… you could come with me.”

With him? To the farm? A whole week together?

I knew my answer already.

---

 “A whole week together starting with a road trip?” I said looking at Lys’ beautiful profile focused on the road ahead. “I feel quite lucky.”

“I would hardly call this a road trip,” he laughed, “it’s just a few hours stuck in a car with me, and I know I’m not the most talkative person. I’m afraid it’s going to be quite boring.”

Mph… he had no idea… how non-bored I was feeling at the moment. I’d always found men at the wheel quite sexy, but this particular man… the way he hold the wheel, his firm grip, his focused stare… he had a certain authoritative and slightly aggressive way of driving that seemed a little out of character for him and, at the same time, suited him a lot. It made me wonder if there where other aspects where he could act bossy and rough.

The simple thought made me blush.

To be honest, I hadn’t been able to think about much else these past 24 hours. Since knowing that I was going to spend the week at the place he’d grown up, I’d been ecstatic, I couldn’t wait to learn more about him and his past.

But when the thought of spending the night together had finally sunk in, I started to hyperventilate.

Not because I didn’t want to. I wanted to, oh… I really wanted to. I literally couldn’t wait. I’d even bought new underwear. A black and red corset with laces at the back but that could easily be removed thanks to convenient zip at the front, it also came with matching panties.

No, I wasn’t hesitant at all. I was fully prepared to take things to the next level.

What I wasn’t sure of, was if he wanted to.

The one time we’d come close to it, or at least were heading towards it, he’d backed off. He’d said he didn’t want to take advantage of me, knowing he was going to leave in a few months. The mere thought was absurd to me, no one was taking advantage of anyone here, I was very willing, more than willing. Also, we hadn’t been officially together at the time, so maybe his feelings had changed meanwhile.

Still, I was afraid of how he might react if we got close to it again, I wasn’t sure my self-esteem could take another rejection.

“Anyway, thanks for coming with me. Your presence alone is going to brighten what would’ve otherwise been a very tedious week.”

He explained that he didn’t have much heavy work to do, since the people he and Leigh had hired to work at the farm for this year where taking care of it. But he was supposed to meet with some clients, mostly local business owners, restaurants and such, who made use of their products.

This meant we were also going to have lots of free time to spend together. I literally couldn’t wait.

We spent the whole afternoon quietly listening to music on the radio, I made him laugh when I tried (and failed) to sing along. Let’s just say I’d never been gifted with a perfect pitch.

Sometimes he absentmindedly rested his hand on my knee, and my head went completely into overdrive. Particularly when his fingers lightly caressed my skin, sometimes rising a little up on my thigh.

I could tell that he wasn’t completely conscious of these gestures, because as soon as he realised what he was doing, he quickly removed his hand placing it back on the wheel. His grip so tight his knuckles became white.

We only stopped once to grab a quick bite, and when we arrived at the farm, it was already dark.

“I’m going to show you around tomorrow morning,” Lys said while we walked up a few steps to reach the front door. “It’s too late now and you need daylight to move around the property if you’re not used to it.”

He was right, I could tell the house was a big, old villa, but it was too dark to make up anything else. Inside though… as soon as he opened the door and turned on the light I was left speechless. It was old, yes, and rustic, definitely nothing I would’ve associated with Lysander, but it was also homely and comfy. We passed through a living room hosting a couple of soft-looking sofas that I was dying to throw myself on. A fireplace on the wall completed the picture of the perfect, dreamy, country house.

He showed me quickly the kitchen and the bathroom and stopped in front of a door.

“Here we are, this is your room.”

My… excuse me?!

“You’ll find clean sheets on the bed and extra pillows in the wardrobe if you need them. Goodnight.”

He leaned to leave a quick kiss on my cheek and disappeared in the room next door.

I remained there for a few seconds, petrified on the spot.

What had just happened?

Okay, I suspected he might still be worried about “taking advantage of me”, hurting my feelings, or whatever crazy idea he had created in his mind that stopped him from getting physical with me. But… even sleeping together, hugging each other, would have been amazing. I just wanted to feel closer to him. And now, with just a wall between us, he seemed so far away.

I pushed the door and stepped into my room. I didn’t even look around, I just headed directly to the bed like a zombie and sat on it.

He must’ve been tired for sure, having driven the whole day, still… it didn’t explain his odd behaviour.

Was it… me? Was he tired of me after spending the day together in close quarters? But it seemed he was having fun the whole time, I was positive about that. No, something else was going on.

I spent at least an hour sitting on that bed, trying to figure out what to do with no success. I might as well call it a night, it was very late, probably around 3am. It was best to try to get some sleep and talk to him the following day.

I removed my dress and remembered what I was wearing underneath. That corset had brought nothing but the worst of luck. I was now left in it and a long underskirt with a side cut that I made myself so that I could use it underneath a couple of dresses in that particular style.

I was about to start removing everything else so that I could slip into my nightwear, when I realised I was parched and it was probably a good idea to grab a glass of water from the kitchen before going to bed.

I just removed my shoes and headed towards the kitchen barefooted as to not make too much noise waking up Lys.

Trying to find my way to the kitchen in the dark wasn’t easy. I took the wrong turn a couple of times, when I finally found myself in the right room, I felt I was dying of thirst. Filling a glass from the tap, I took a huge sip and that’s when I heard the music.

Yes, there was music coming from somewhere. I couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but it sounded soft and almost sad.

Leaving the glass on the kitchen counter, I followed the sound, step after step bringing me closer to the source of the music, until I found myself in a room where something incredible was going on.

A huge grand piano was in the middle of the room, which was mostly dark, lighted by candles in different corners. Lysander was playing, following a music coming from a sound system. He looked so focused, so immersed in the music, I’d only ever seen him like this that one time he was reciting his poem at the open mic.

I had no idea he could play, and he definitely could. He’d rolled the sleeves of his white shirt up over his elbows and I stayed there, charmed. looking at the expert movements of his hands on the keys, listening to the amazing sounds he was creating. I could feel it reverberating in my chest, as if I was under a spell.

“Did I wake you up?”

Lys voice took me back to reality. The piano’s final note had just died but the song was still playing, probably on loop. It sounded so different without the piano, less melancholic and more sensual.

Or, at least, those were my feelings when I saw Lys raising his head to look at me, and I remembered that I was half undressed, only wearing my lingerie.

He took in my whole body, from head to toe. Starting from my flushed face and my long hair that I’d left loose around my shoulders, reaching mid-waist. He took in my corset and the way it squeezed my chest, creating a generous cleavage and a tiny waist. Then my hips, hugged my the underskirt, and the deep cut, that showed my thigh and leg, down to my bare feet.

He was speechless and couldn’t take his eyes off me.

“You didn’t,” I replied, “I was on my way back from the kitchen when I heard the music. I’m sorry if I interrupted your practice. I had no idea you could play the piano.”

I stepped into the room and walked towards him, stopping in front of him next to the piano.

I pressed on a key out of curiosity, the sound reverberating into the room. “You’re incredibly good.”

He smiled sadly. “Thank you, but I’m far from it. My mother was the pianist of the family, I’m but a mere amateur. I play from time to time to calm myself, when I’m too pensive or restless.”

“And what are you now? Pensive or restless?”

“Both.” He replied earnestly, resting his hands on my hips. “I feel restless because I can’t stop thinking about you and at how much I want you.”

My heart skipped a beat at his words.

“I feel the same. I want you and I can’t sleep thinking about how you pushed me away the moment we stepped into this house.”

He didn’t try to deny it, he knew exactly what I was talking about. I was standing in front of him while he was still sitting on the bench, from my higher vantage point I felt I could act bolder, so I laid my hand in his hair, caressing the soft tendrils between my fingers.

He closed his eyes, lost in the sensations of my caresses. “I was trying to do the right thing, but I don’t think I can anymore.”

“Good.” I simply replied. “If being together is wrong, then I’m ready to make the biggest mistake of my life. Over and over again.”

His hands tightened their hold on my hips and when he opened his eyes again I could read so much longing and lust that I knew he was done pretending now.

Before I could realise what he was doing, he pushed me against the piano and made me seat on the keyboard. The cacophony of sounds completely ignored as he attacked my mouth with his. One hand grabbed my chin, as his lips took possess of mine, repeatedly. His other hand grabbed my thigh through the slit and moved it so that I could hook my legs around his waist.

Without interrupting our kiss, he lifted me and, walking around the instrument with complete ease, as if I weighted nothing, he dropped me on the closed lid.

Only then we finally came up for air. I knew I must be flushed and completely dishevelled, but he looked at me as if I was the most fascinating piece of art he’d ever laid eyes on.

“You’re so beautiful.” He said almost pained. “I never knew what desire was until the day I met you. I thought I did, but it turns out I was just an ignorant fool. You haunt my thoughts and dreams Candy, day or night, I’m inevitably, completely yours.”

I wasn’t as good with words as him, so I simply took his hand and put it on my chest, right above my heart. “So am I. Yours.”

This seemed to be enough for him to put aside any final reservation and doubt. The hand on my chest got bolder and he grabbed my breast above the fabric of my corset. When he realised the garment was nothing but an hindrance to his explorations, he grabbed the zip and slowly opened it, savouring the exquisite torture of anticipation.

At the same time his other hand went beck to my thigh, caressing higher and higher.

The moment my chest was completely exposed to his eyes, he looked spellbound and lowered his lips to my soft skin. His hand now had finally reached the spot it was looking for, and the combined sensations of his lips and his fingers above the fabric of my underwear, was enough to make me lose my mind.

But before I could even start to let go, he left my body and I almost cried at the loss. Grabbing both skirt and slip, he pushed them down my legs, so that now I was completely naked in front of him.

He looked so handsome and impressive as he took in my now completely naked body, that I almost felt like a sacrificial offering to a god, and I was ready lo let him do whatever he wanted to me.

He slowly, without breaking his eyes away from any part of my body he felt like looking at, removed his shirt, so that now I had a perfect view of his chiselled chest that I was dying to feel under my fingers. But he didn’t give me the chance to raise to touch him.

Grabbing my knees, he opened me to his stare, and I saw his eyes turn incredibly dark and lose any trace of self-control.

His mouth was on me before I could even say a word, not that I wanted to. Pushing me down, he made me lie with my back on the piano, and helped me slide so that now my bottom was at the edge. His hands on my breasts, grabbing with a rough strength that was almost deliciously painful, and his tongue on my bundle of nerves, tasting me hungrily.

When one of his hands rose up to my face and his index finger rested on my lips, I knew exactly what he wanted me to do, so I looked at him in the eye as I took it in my mouth and sucked, wetting it with my saliva.

A few seconds later I felt that finger entering me.

I dropped my head on the piano and lost myself in the sensation. He was playing my body with the same focus and passion as he’d done with the piano, and I hoped that the sounds I was making were as pleasing to his ears as his music had been to mine. I was panting, moaning, and crying his name over and over again and, when I felt I was just about to fall off the edge of pleasure, he stopped and stepped back.

I groaned in frustration. I’d been so damn close.

But before I could find the strength to protest or beg, I felt something much bigger than a finger entering me and he took my breath away.

Yes!

We were finally one, and I could feel him everywhere, inside of me and over me.

If I thought making love with him was going to be sweet and tender, I was wrong. Completely wrong. He was rough, and strong, and he took me as if he wanted to possess me completely, body and soul. There was still something loving in the way he delicately moved a tendril of hair from my face and caressed my lips, as if he wanted to kiss me, but the position made it impossible. So he kept pistoning inside me like a man possessed. The moment his thumb came to my clit I came while crying his name.

And as I came down from my high, and my eyes found his again, he followed me, moaning something that I wasn’t able to understand. The force of his orgasm so strong that he crushed over me, his head resting on my chest. My hands came immediately to his hair, caressing his locks as we both found our breaths again.

“You’re perfect,” he whispered.

“I believe you are the perfect one here. Seriously, poetry, music and… this… is there anything you cannot do?”

I felt him lightly laugh against my skin.

“I’m not sure, I guess we have to practice thoroughly and make several tests to find out.”

“Well, I guess there’s no other choice then,” I replied faking a resigned tone. “I guess I shall help you out.”

“Please,” he laughed. “I have so many ideas on my mind, this week won’t be enough to test them all.”

His lips found mine, and we kissed again.

Again and again, all the way through the night.

---

Back to Chapter 13

[runningwolf62]

@wardencommanderrodimiss, @pachelbelsheadcanon Oh my god I hate case fics, have the first half of Turnabout Ablaze.

-

At first, it’s a pretty simple routine. Get up. Get dressed. Walk the dog. Go back to Edgey’s apartment. Apply for jobs. Write fic. Rinse and repeat.

The chapter is less of a mess than Larry had originally thought and while his readers love it, they have questions and Larry wishes he had answers. WolfDragon offers what support he can, apparently he’s got something coming up with work, his coworker, who he compares to being “frighteningly like Viper from your fic” has something for him that’s gonna keep him busy for the foreseeable future but Larry already misses him. Like, he’s not gonna sit around waiting for him to get back, but he finds that WolfDragon’s really become part of his life and he’s gonna miss being able to chat with him quite as much.

Pess is good company though as he binges his way through Edgey’s collection of Steel Samurai, occasionally he texts him a picture of the TV with some caption as he reacts to whatever is happening in the episode. Edgeworth seems largely amused by Larry’s reactions though occasionally he asks his opinion on a plot twist or writing choice, but given his focus is on visiting his family in Germany he doesn’t have too much time to talk.

But then, a few days into Edgeworth’s vacation, something pops up on Larry’s radar. Namely because he’d been searching “Steel Samurai” in an attempt to find a reference for some art to draw Edgeworth, partially as a joke, partially as a thank you. But this is the answer to Larry’s prayers. Sort of.

The embassies are hiring, of all things, someone to perform in a stage play of Steel Samurai. Larry figures fuck it, and throws his hat in the ring. It can’t hurt to try and plus he’s still working on getting published.

Something that hurts to even think about, because he misses sitting with Elise and talking about plot ideas, just the camaraderie of having someone to sit with and work with. He misses having a mentor and it guts him still to think about writing serious work.

He knows he needs to though. He needs to strike while the iron’s hot, but he’s made a deal with himself. Find a new place, find a new job to pay the bills, and then he goes back. He’ll give himself that much time, that should be enough time to mourn.

What he doesn’t expect, is that he hears back almost immediately. Like later that day immediately.

But Larry’s not one to turn down a chance at work, however brief this will be. So, he says yes.

He waits to tell Edgeworth though because he wants to see his face.

-

Oh, he sees Edgeworth’s face alright. Larry prides himself on everything Nick taught him in college and then stuff he picked up in his time working here that he doesn’t break character when Miles Edgeworth himself asks for his autograph. He really cannot wait to see his face now. He might have to film it. He tries to wink at him as he hands over the autograph, but he doesn’t think Edgeworth sees it. He doesn’t recognize the young girl with him either, she reminds him of Maya though, something about her eyes, bright chirping voice and dark hair.

Edgy and Nick were just adopting kids all over the place huh?

He remembers what he’s here to do though. This is a big moment, a big goodwill thing, no pressure Larry. No pressure. Just shaking a guy’s hand.

Thankfully that ends without incident, Larry feels like he’s riding some kind of high. He’s not only impressed Edgeworth, admittedly not that Edgeworth knew that, but he’s done a massively impressive thing without fucking it up! Though now that it’s over, he did just kind of shake a guy’s hand. Like, yeah, the gesture was important, but it was just an everyday thing really. He tells himself that in the hopes his heart rate will go back down to normal.

Well, honestly, getting out of his costume and getting some fresh air might help. He takes a secret staircase up and out during the Jammin’ Ninja thing to go sit on the roof and take his helmet off and just cool down.

He does let out a fist pump and a cheer though. Larry Butz, Turnabout Champion in his own right after all.

He takes the time to relax, rehydrate, and admire the chimney, it’s got some interesting architecture though he’s not sure why anyone would have a fire going now. It’s LA in March it’s not that cold, it shouldn’t be smoking. He gets so lost in studying the chimney that he kind of forgets he’s supposed to head down to his room and then to the speech.

Until the police arrive, to find him still admiring architecture.

And he’s accused of murder.

Again.

Larry decides at this point the universe is against him this year.

He lets himself be dragged back downstairs, holy shit there’s an actual dead body, he feels his breath stop in his throat, memories of Elise, er, Misty, and the memory of Cindy haunting him as he stares at the body.

He steps back as this very aggressive - did he actually just snarl at him – Interpol agent steps towards him, he wants to be back on the roof, away from her, away from the body and the accusations, just long enough to clear his head and think.

He backs away and right into something solid that grunts as Larry crashes into them. The pitch suggests male. The whip that makes his head spin, literally as his mask spins around him, suggests someone else.

“What do you think you're doing to my subordinate!?” Yeah, he knows that voice and whip. He quickly pulls his helmet off so that he can see her, “uh hi aga- Edgy?”

Edgeworth’s eyes about leap out of his skull, and Von Karma spares him a glance, long enough to ask, “who is this fruitcake!?” Okay now that felt harsh.

“I am Larry of the House of Butz: Married Man of Neo Olde Tokyo, m’ ma’am!” He would not say m’lady he had not sunk that low, he had not. His head was still kind of spinning though, and given he’d smashed his name together with the Steel Samurai’s introduction he might also have some kind of heat exhaustion.

“Now I remember. This... person is one of your childhood friends, isn't he, Miles?”

Edgeworth softens slightly as he seems to take in Larry’s frantic state, “yes… he is.”

Larry laughs a bit nervously, “Hey! It’s good to see ya, I’m in a bit of a bind.” He also hadn’t realized Edgeworth was back in town, had they missed each other? He’s been walking Pess, even with his now hectic schedule, the show coming up had caused the past week to be a bit of a blur.

Edgeworth’s eyes narrow and Larry fights the urge to shift around nervously, “what sort of "bind" are we talking about here...?”

Larry glances over his shoulder at the agent behind him, who also had narrowed eyes and a cruel, sharp, sneer, “the suspect kind! I accidentally became a suspect in a murder!”

“I see. That is quite the bind.” Edgeworth sounds calm though as he took in the room so maybe things will be okay. Maybe.

Von Karma arches an eyebrow and tugs on her whip, “...Not that we're in the least bit surprised.”

Edgeworth makes a noise in his throat while Larry feels himself deflate like a balloon. Namely like the one he launched into Gourd lake. Sounds like a good idea right now. Not just ‘cause he felt like shit, but he was also sweating in the costume.

“Franziska, he has been making quite the effort to improve himself,” Edgeworth speaks quietly but firmly, “I assure you; he’s only improved.”

Larry gives him a grateful look while Franziska eyes him critically, Larry hates how he feels himself coming up short as she sizes him up. But the she nods.

“Well then, fools of a feather flock together.”

Edgeworth nods and then seems to take in Larry’s outfit, “wait!”

Larry grins at him tiredly, “surprise? I hope you liked the autograph?” he really hopes Edgeworth did, he hopes that had made him happy in some way.

Edgeworth is gawking at him again, “you were the… On stage…”

“Yeah?”

“Not to interrupt,” the voice that cuts in is one clearly delighted to interrupt and Larry about jumps out of the suit when the hand comes down on his shoulder.

Edgeworth’s eyes harden to flint as he takes in the man next to Larry. “Aha. So, this is the incident you mentioned earlier.”

The Agent grins and Larry feels like the big bad wolf is hanging off his shoulder, “Mr. Prosecutor, this man... this childhood friend of yours... is our prime suspect. Of what, you ask? Of the murder of a man who had snuck into this embassy, Mask☆DeMasque II!”

“There was a second one?” Larry looks at him in surprise, he almost feels himself throw up, he doesn’t need a reminder of that god awful week, and this time without WolfDragon and Nick to help pull him out of it, he doesn’t need to remember the break up, the fight, the foolish, stupid-

“useless looking young man”

He bites back bile and has barely zoned back in when he hears Edgeworth ask someone, a different detective? Where had he come from?

“Why exactly was that man placed under arrest, Detective?”

The detective glances at him curiously, “that... samurai?”

Edgeworth grins slightly, “he was born looking suspicious, but not for the reasons you suspect, I assure you. As you can plainly see, he is completely harmless.” Larry gives him a dirty look, now is not the time for jokes but Edgeworth doesn’t seem to mean anything by it other than light ribbing.

The detective looks at him and hesitates, “well, it was just a random guess... It's not like he's actually under arrest...”

What? Larry spins to look at the agent, who had certainly made it sound like he was being arrested before he decides that is not a man he wants to fight. Samurai sword or no.

“Tonight, here, at the Allebahstian Embassy Ambassador Alba was to give a commemorative speech. And that's when... the Yatagarasu showed. But keep in mind... the Yatagarasu isn't who I'm talking about right now.”

Larry tries to catch Edgeworth’s eyes, the whomst? But Edgeworth’s focus is on the detective as he continues.

“Those seats for the guests who had been called to sit in them were empty.””

Edgeworth glances at Larry out of the corner of his eye, “a no-show...? Who was it that failed to take their seat?”

“Me,” Larry muttered miserably, “I was up on the roof.” And had completely forgotten.

The detective, Larry leans to see the name Badd – is that a joke?!? – pinned on his shirt. “The Steel Samurai. Until the speech was to begin, each member of the entire Steel Samurai family was to wait in a separate room, However, for some weird reason that man was spotted in a different location than his assigned room at that time.”

“On the roof,” Edgeworth finishes, and glances at Larry, “and what, were you doing up there?”

Larry tugs on his collar, “After the show, I left the pushcart in the Rose Garden, and came into the embassy. Then, they took a picture of me shaking hands with the ambassador. After that, and until my next appearance, I had some free time, so I wandered around, and I was overheating so I thought I’d go outside and cool off. Celebrate a little.” Stupid, stupid, stupid. “That's when I spotted the chimney. A chimney like that is a rare thing, you know.” He bites back his excitement, “and I was busy admiring the architecture and missed my cue and that’s when they found me on the roof.”

“You were just up there cooling off?” Edgeworth repeats, as though there’s doubt. Larry shrugs his shoulders.

“Did a little people watching too and that sort of thing but mostly yeah.” He pauses, “I was also wondering why smoke was pouring out of it, given it’s March. In LA. You know, not the time to cuddle up in front of a fire.”

He folds his arms and tilts his head to think, “which is really weird ‘cause I think that’s Mindy’s room and she was taken away on a stretcher so I don’t know why she’d want to overheat.”

Edgeworth and Von Karma startle at that and he realizes he’s probably handed them some evidence they’ll need to make sense of. He gives them a chance to prowl around the room and investigate, doing his best to stay out of the way while keeping Edgeworth between him and the wolf guy. He has a very intense stare as he watches Larry from across the room, he certainly knows his aesthetic and lives up to it.

"I must again ask why we are helping this foolish fool," Von Karma asks with a glance over at Larry, who grins sheepishly.

Edgeworth glances at his sister, "that man helped me when I was at my lowest point and believed that I could return. I would like to offer Larry the same chance."

"Thanks, Edgy- wait that man? Do you mean-"

"Can someone please get the Pink Princess so we can ask her some questions?" Edgeworth smoothly steamrolls over Larry's confusion. That man really.

The wolf man huffs, eyes narrowing as he watches them, Larry feels very much like a rabbit might under the gaze of a wolf. Edgeworth’s attention turns to him now and the investigator shifts to address him.

“You did some investigating over in the Babahlese Embassy, too, right?”

Edgeworth nods once, “I did. Is there a problem?” It’s like a tennis match, though Larry thinks Edgeworth prefers when his partner on the court (hah) is Nick.

“Lang Zi says: ‘A wolf who aims to hunt for two rabbits at once...’” he rumbles, almost a warning and Larry kinda wishes he could be that intimidating.

Edgeworth keeps his cool though, and Larry is very impressed. “I believe the idiom you require is, ‘He who runs after two hares will catch neither.’”

The agent scoffs openly at that, “A real wolf can catch both.”

Edgeworth smirks just slightly and Larry knows he’s got him. “I see. So, what are you trying to say, seeing as how I am currently handling two cases?”

The agent pauses before he snorts again, “suit yourself. But don't say I didn't warn you.” Larry isn’t sure he even did that in the entire conversation but he’s having the horrifying realization of why the agent’s way of talking sounds familiar. He talks like WolfDragon. But like WolfDragon if he was a rampant asshole.

Edgeworth turns to Larry now, “I have some questions for you.”

“I’ve got some for you as well,” Larry folds his arms over his chest, the costume clanging slightly as he does, “what’s with you and that man” he rolls his eyes at the term, “and adopting kids? Like you turn your back and he’s got another one and now you’ve got one hanging off you. Where is she by the way?”

“She couldn’t get- she is not my- I am not adopting anyone,” Edgeworth flusters and the agent lifts his eyebrow.

“Maybe you two could be childhood friends.” He mused out loud, Larry gives him a dirty look before he can think better of it.

The pink princess arriving keeps Larry’s foot out of his mouth for the moment. “Hey!” He greets her cheerfully; he likes Mindy and thinks she likes him. Thinks she liked him a lot more when he mentioned off handedly that he wasn’t dating right now because he was focusing on getting himself and his life back in order. “Feeling any better?”

There’s no response and Larry finds that a bit unsettling. “Umm.”

Edgeworth and Von Karma glance at her and then begin musing over the fireplace, Larry has no idea how the fireplaces could be connected; his only experience with architecture was drawing it. He could admire it, but he didn’t know the mechanics.

But it’s important to the two of them obviously. Larry’s not sure how he feels watching them interact. It’s like they almost get along but can’t help sabotaging their own relationship.

Edgeworth turns from his sister and the fireplace to Mindy, “Ms. Pink Princess. I have a few questions I'd like to ask you.”

Once more she doesn’t answer, and Larry and Edgeworth share a concerned look. The agent shifts his weight slightly, Larry realizes in that moment if something has happened to Mindy at least he’ll be on their side in this.

Edgeworth took a step forward, calmly, “Ms. Pink Princess! If you would please answer...” as he spoke, she began to remove her helmet and Edgeworth’s voice definitely shot up an octave on “me!”

Edgeworth makes a noise like a computer finding an error and Larry was given vivid flashes of that one cursed job, his past has all come back to haunt him today hasn’t it?

“Wh-what the--!? A-Aren't you Ms. Oldbag!?” Larry stammers out, barely managing to not curse, mostly out of fear Von Karma will strike him.

Edgeworth whirls on him, “why are you so surprised!?”

Oldbag looks surprised to see him, “Ah, so you're the one they got to play the Steel Samurai. It's too bad I didn't realize that until now.”

“You are acquaintances with Larry...?” Bit stronger of a relationship than Larry would say they have but he’ll gladly let Edgeworth talk to her.

Oldbag laughs and waves her hand like she’s trying to reassure a jealous lover, “why, yes! We worked at the same company for a little while, you know. That's why it's OK, my Edgey-poo! You don't need to be jealous!”

Edgeworth makes a strangled noise and Larry does not blame him in the slightest.

Oldbag continues, “I was in the next room, you know, trying to get in some beauty sleep. But it was so noisy here that I couldn't fall asleep. So, I came over to complain! So, imagine my shock when I saw my precious Edgey-poo waiting here for me! I mean, who could've imagined that you would ever come to a show like this! I guess I've misjudged you, Edgey-poo!”

Von Karma and Larry both shift closer to Edgeworth as though he might need them for support. Von Karma pulls on her coiled whip and asked slowly, “you ‘misjudged’ him...?”

“I thought he was trying to avoid me, you know!” She laughs but Larry can see by Edgeworth’s face that was exactly what he was doing. “But it looks like the winds have shifted and he's now willing to be chased after! I'm simply overwhelmed! Don't you worry, Edgey-poo! I'd chase you for forever! To the ends of the Earth!”

Von Karma looks ready to jump in front of her brother and buy him time to run but instead says, “Isn't that just peachy?”

Oldbag explains that she used to work for the studio, and they’d called her last minute as understudy for Mindy. That certainly did explain why “Mindy” had missed so many cues and fumbled in so many places. Larry had done his best to cover for his co-star when he’d needed to. Which he’d had.

“How did you get the role,” Edgeworth asks Larry absently as they watch her hand the paper proving it to Von Karma.

“Guy they wanted for the role got a bigger acting offer. Some movie that’s gonna have John Marsh in it or something.” Edgeworth nods and Larry adds, "I also thought I was applying for the crew."

"That... does make more sense."

"Yeah, I'm good with my hands and arts and building stuff, so I figured stage and tech couldn't be that hard, helped once with one of Nick's things in college but I guess I clicked the wrong link or something 'cause I got called in for an audition."

Edgeworth’s soft laugh is fond, “that does seem your kind of luck.”

Larry grins at him and shrugs, a feeling of warmth uncurling in his chest. If he wasn’t accused of murder this would be downright heartwarming.

The sound of a dog barking makes them start, Larry turns his head, since when did police departments use Shibas?

The Agent immediately begins to praise him, Larry settles next to Edgeworth to watch the unfold. After a moment he leans over and asks, “what his name anyway? The guy who like tried to arrest me.”

“Agent Lang, he’s with Interpol.” Edgeworth replies and Larry tries to suppress a shudder at just how much trouble he’s gotten himself into.

Larry watches Edgeworth debate and reason exactly how Larry isn’t the killer and connect various pieces of evidence with a speed that Larry has to admire. “You’re a real Sherlock Holmes Edgy,” he comments with a grin as he watches Edgeworth display his wit.

Agent Lang huffs and curls his lip in a smirk and Larry’s eyes widen, was this guy an actual werewolf why were his teeth like that?!?

He jerks back as Agent Lang speaks, “well done Mr. Prosecutor.” He glances between the two of them, “although, I still find it a bit unbelievable that the two of you are friends.”

Edgeworth and Larry are silent, they’ve proved how well they know each other, if that’s not enough for him Larry doesn’t know what will be. Especially if he’s gonna be like this about it.

Lang’s eyes glint with a bit of excitement, “but the suspicion on that guy over there-” head jerk at Larry, “isn't completely resolved yet, so don't get any funny ideas about running off, OK?” This time he smirks at Larry and he steps back.

“Uh Edgy, what does Wolfman mean when he says I’m not off the hook?” He thinks Lang twitches at the Wolfman name. He knows he does, it slipped out by accident, but Agent Lang is like WolfDragon’s evil twin or something.

Edgeworth sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose, “he means the murder weapon. Larry, did you forget? There are two layers of suspicion hanging over your head.”

Lang smirks like the wolf who has caught the first scent of blood, “That's exactly what I mean. We can't only rely on the words of the suspect, after all. We may have figured out where he was and what he was doing all night… but the blood-stained Samurai Sword that was left at the crime scene- As long as there is no satisfactory explanation for that then this wolf will refuse to ease up on his bite!”

Larry thinks he snapped his teeth at the end of his sentence, “Jesus, Edgy, He looks like he's seriously about to take a bite out of me!”

Edgeworth glares at Lang, “he probably will.” He draws himself up and steps up to debate, Larry’s beginning to realize that with his luck it’s a damn good thing his two childhood friends became lawyers.

He chimes in when he can, confirming that the spear and the sword are made of the same stuff and bend easily, he’s pretty sure not even Lang could kill a man with one. It would be rather like killing a man with a carboard tube.

And then Franziska and Edgeworth finally get to what has been lingering underneath the surface of their exchanges.

Her father.

Larry hates that man more than he could ever put into words. He remembers Greggory Edgeworth faintly, more a kind feeling, a warmth and an aching loss. He knows exactly what he did to Edgeworth though and for that he will never forgive him. He bites his words back though; this is between the siblings.

And you know it’s serious when your sibling calls you by your last name, “Ms. von Karma, as you know, unlike your father, I am not a genius prosecutor. Plus, I doubt his record of a 40-year win streak will ever be broken.” Edgeworth raises his head proudly, “but perhaps, it is for the best if it remains unbroken. For no one should've conceived of the notion to ‘convict all defendants’ in the first place!”

“Atta a boy Edgy,” Larry’s muttered praise fills the silence as Franziska stares at her brother. Her whip strikes over his armor and he yelps.

“What a foolishly foolish statement from a foolish fool who hates to lose!” Franziska steps towards her brother which is hardly intimidating in Larry’s opinion when Edgeworth is that much taller, “it's the job of a prosecutor to make sure that all defendants are found guilty in court. There is nothing more important in this world than a perfect victory!”

Edgeworth shakes his head sadly at her, “That may be your opinion, however, I don't believe that's all we are.”

Lang makes a startled noise, Larry smirks at him now, like he told WolfDragon, Edgy is the best of the prosecution, not for his record but for his beliefs.

“As a prosecutor, what I pursue is not the perfect victory, but the perfect truth. And if that means that the bridge, I must cross will crumble beneath my feet... ...then let it crumble as I walk on towards the truth!” Larry itches to write that down, or clap, or something. He just grins at Edgeworth with pride, and he catches a hint of gratitude from Edgeworth. Edgeworth has come a long way from his ‘Demon Prosecutor’ days and Larry’s so happy to see him get here.

Lang is quite a moment longer, perhaps aware of the moment they are sharing before he grins and cuts in, “you're good at keeping me entertained, Mr. Prosecutor!” He looks actually pleased, not the cocky arrogance Larry’s begun to associate with him, but it shifts back into the challenging smirk and he and Edgeworth start going again.

The verbal sparring is much louder when Larry is standing right next to everyone yelling “Hold it!” and “Objection!” and “Not so fast!” His head spins but Edgeworth proves that the murder weapon wasn’t even the sword. Or would’ve if they’d be allowed to examine it.

Larry feels a pang of guilt as Edgeworth agrees to take the responsibility for any repercussions from examining the statue, this is his fault. If he’d been more careful, if he’d been where he was supposed to be Edgeworth wouldn’t be risking everything for him.

Except that this evidence they find is literally game changing. He’s off the hook and everyone looks too busy to explain what is happening, so he heads off back to his room.

Once there he realizes that his ‘son’ is missing. Great. The last thing he needs is to get in trouble for having lost a prop. Nothing for it. He’ll just have to check everywhere that isn’t a crime scene. Actually, that might be a good idea. Keep him out of the way and out of trouble. But first he needs to get out of this costume before he sweats to death.