#overpowered universe 7

[weebinator01]

So...... theoretically speaking.... let's say Goku got his tail back right now. Would he be like an Ultra Instinct Oozaru??? Could you imagine that? 😭

You're fighting Goku and all of a sudden he goes Oozaru. You think it's great! Bigger target, this'll be easy! WRONG! Bro gonna be dodging like he's in Matrix 💀

(And I can just imagine Vegeta in the background tryna figure out if he can have an Ultra Ego Oozaru)

[zorosbeau33]

Alpha Laxus Dreyar + Courting Headcanon

❖ Fairy Tail, Laxus x Gender Neutral Reader

❖ Headcanon, Fluff, Comedy

❖ Tw: Mentions of fighting

❖ wc: 1777

❖ @tojiseviltwin @kimnamshiks ❖ Masterlist Natsu~❖

. ⋅˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ ⋅˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

I was supposed to do a strictly Courting Headcanon but uh I got distracted...SO I shall put a strictly nsfw courting (and maybe some more bonus sfw) headcanon on my to-do list X.X Sorry

. ⋅˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ ⋅˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

We are going to do Laxus post his first fight for this one~ Because we love character growth in this universe~

Laxus is an alpha, a seemingly calm alpha with a selective and secretive short fuse. 

He has no time anymore for meaningless violence. Laxus is too busy looking towards the future and doing whatever is within his power from behind the scenes to make the lives of his guildmates better

However if you purposely put yourself in his way, by threatening his assumed fairy tail this man will assert himself as the alpha and without letting that sink in he will strike

One blast of lightning is all it takes to fry most, and just to be a disrespectful shit, he will let his scent out so they are stuck smelling like the alpha who kicked their ass so easily and warning any of their buddies there is a Fairy Guardian ready to kick ass if they try to lay a hand on them

Unlike Natsu or Rogue he is not hiding or ignoring his alpha status, he doesn’t necessarily think it makes him better than anyone anymore. However He knows that secondary gender often leads people to be naturally stronger in terms of strength and scent

He is very mindful of how much force he puts into everything, from opening doors to helping someone up who fell. It would bother and upset him if he accidentally caused injury to someone who did not deserve it

Unlike how Natsu just has a generally lower scent unless he’s angry, Laxus’s scent is strong and he has gone through time to learn how to keep it calmer and not overpowering for those around him. In fact it is a rather grounding and calming scent that makes you feel you can rely on this man

He takes pride in his scent but understands not everyone wants to smell him 24/7 so he hardly ever pushes his scent out(except as a power move on assholes), and never scent marks not even the Thunder legion 

Although awkward when it comes to expressing affection, Laxus is a very passionate alpha it comes across in the tiny turns of his lips, the stance he takes to protect others, and the crackling of his lightning (it differs in fights against guildmates vs enemies you can feel his ferocity)

This goes for shows of affection to his guild mates too, he plays with them like a jock big brother would the youngest sibling. He treasures them but also this usually comes through him unintentionally teasing them or pissing them off by how he interacts with them

Alpha Laxus is not looking for power, he is looking for a family. A place to rest and a place he can protect with everything inside him

If he is needed to lead then he will but it will not be from the thought of I am alpha so you will listen, but because he wishes to protect and he will serve the role of protector (not alpha) but protector for those who he has come to accept as family regardless of their secondary genders, primary genders, sexuality, or magical ability

He has learned to protect the strong as well as the weak and he cherishes each one even if he does not know them personally all that well, when family views them as his family thus he will protect them

As for Laxus as an alpha to be with you, well you must be a member of Fairy Tail plain and simple, or someone Fairy Tail sees as family

If you are seen as family but a part of another guild it won’t work for him. He has to be able to protect you and while he does see other guilds as friends he can’t trust them with your safety

Civilian? Oh guess who just got the best gig ever? Working at Fairy Tail! Congratulations~

He is a quiet partner at first, he speaks with his body and actions. You’ll need to learn to notice his glances because they speak volumes about whether he is watching you lovingly, worried for you, or just perplexed by your behavior.

Same for his body positioning, he tends to linger closer to you not like hovering beside you, but same side of the room as you. Sitting just a seat or two away, or positioned so he can be beside you in an instant if anything happened

Laxus is not huge on PDA, he just is a bit awkward because he doesn’t really crave skinship in the way many do

He prefers to gently fix your hair as a way of giving you affection before moving on to the next objective. Or cup your cheek and smile for a moment before he walks away to go get you food or one of his jackets 

He will on occasion stand just a half step behind and to the side so he can rest one of his gargantuan hands on your hip and bask in your presence

Laxus will actually commit murder if he sees you crying. The snarls and way he snaps you up into his arms is terrifying enough to his guild members let alone the stranger who had hurt your soul thusly

He feels helpless but will be there to hold you and offer soft words of encouragement and protection. This is one of the times you would hear him give you verbal affirmations without having to ask for them. He will get revenge for you unless you stop him

If its because of unfortunate events, nature is nature after all Laxus will steal you away to somewhere safe preferably your nest so he can just be a strong shoulder to cry on, and later cook for you. Expect the best cuddles, kisses, and home-cooked food, unintentionally becoming more like husband material by the day

It's much later on in your relationship when he starts to act on certain alpha impulses

One of those is kissing you, he found you too cute before and he was in no rush to claim you. If you wanted him like he did you it would happen in time

When he finally acts on it, it is probably after a heated battle or moment where he feels he had nearly failed to be the man (not alpha) he wanted to be for you and is so desperate and filled with all the love he has been storing up inside for you

It’s a claiming and dominant kiss and later he will apologize if that wasn’t the sort of kiss you wanted your first kiss with him to be

Now he seeks you out sometimes tugging you in gently by your hips or cupping the back of your head while he presses slow claiming steamy kisses to your lips (or if he is feeling needy or worried about you to your throat by your scent glands)

If someone in the guild is getting too close or handsy expect his jealousy to leak out slightly in a small scent flare and him coming over to kiss your forehead and cheek and suggest you both go “-get a drink” “show him that thing you were talking about” or if they really pushed it “to our Home”

Another impulse he is acting on? Scenting for the first time in years! He wants to leave his scent lingering on you so that you know he is never too far away

It does ward off others as well, being an alpha but it was more because it's his way of claiming his mate as a man who is terrified to lose you and his family again

The times it is as an alpha is if you have to go into battle and either of you are worried about the other's safety. He hopes his alpha scent could deter any harm that might come to you, he knows it can't always but even if it helps a little it's worth using his secondary gender then. Please scent him back, it helps calm his mind that you will be okay while he has to fight. He also fights six times harder with your scent on him subconsciously fighting to defend his mate with all the deadly precision he has learned over the years as an s class wizard

If he knows you are okay with it he will often wrap you up in some of his clothes

It tickles his heart seeing you drowning in his huge things

He’s unaware of it but the others see that alpha light in his eyes when you wear something of his. All the pride and love of an alpha watching their mate but they really want to tease him for this behavior he's unaware of

Alpha status can sometimes be used by him without thinking if it can make your or the guilds lives easier or safer. It is less OOO I’m a big scary alpha and “Oh? Scared of alpha’s huh? Then get the fuck out of here before I show you what an alpha really is, scum.” 

Would not appreciate being referred to by his secondary gender, it brings up bad memories and discredits his actual prowess and growth. Use his name, or his position as a s class Fairy Tail wizard not “Alpha”.

Is re-assured if you like his secondary gender but it's something he wouldn’t realize he finds relieving until it happens and you tell him as such. Although he would still prefer if it was not one of your favorite things about him

Not the greatest at understanding what the other positions need, but he is trying to learn every single day. Has gone to the library to try and find books that aren't archaic so he can be sure to provide the family or you with whatever you require at any time. He still gets surprised by things, like why your little clicks and prrts can grab his attention from across a battlefield. Doesn’t realize that is his mate's way of calling to him and him alone and he is responding to it the right way, he may ask you to be more careful about when you make those noises after he accidentally gets distracted by it while you were cheering him on and Natsu socked him in the jaw

I’ll do a more courting one but I think this is more than I had meant to do for just him as an alpha lol XD Heres a few little more but I’d be willing to do a courting headcanon, or nsfw mate headcanon if people are curious

[megalony]

Follow me home

This is an Ed Warren request from the lovely @sn0wdolly I hope this is what you were hoping for. Any Ed requests would be lovely.

Taglist: @lunaticspoem @butlegendsneverdie @langdonzvoid @jennyggggrrr @rogmeddows @radiob-l-a-hblah @rogertaylorsbitontheside @chlobo6 @rogertaylors-lipgloss @sj-thefan @omgitsearly @luckytrashgooprebel @scarsout @deaky-with-a-c @killer-queen-ofrhye @bluutac @vousmemanqueez-blog @jonesyaddiction @milanosaurus @httpfandxms @saint-hardy @7-seas-of-fat-bottomed-girls @mrsalwayswritex @rogerina-owns-me  @hellsdragon @im-an-adult-ish @crazylittlethingg @allauraleigh @onceuponadetectivedemigod @ceres27 @avyannadawn  @noonenuts​ @sleepylunarwolf

Masterlist

Summary: After a long case, something follows Ed home and takes an instant disliking to his wife, (Y/n). - (Protective! Ed fluff)

Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a long night, a long day and a very long week. A week away from his wife, who Ed was desperate to get back to. (Y/n) had been the only thing on his mind while he'd been on this case and she was blinding all of his senses.

He could see her out the corner of his eyes, he could feel her hands on his arms and her arms just out of reach from him. Her smell would wander beneath his nose and make him feel nostalgic and lonely all at once.

Now that he was home, all Ed wanted to do was wrap (Y/n) up in his arms and hold her like he was afraid she was going to disappear. But it was two in the morning and he couldn't be so cruel as to wake her up just because he was desperate to feel her touch. He would bind himself around her while she slept and starve himself of her comfort, her waking touch and her voice until the morning.

Ed started to shed his jacket and shoes when he walked into the house and now he made quick work of the buttons on his shirt and his trousers just as he reached the bedroom.

The moment Ed crept beneath the cover, the overpowering feeling of relief, love, warmth and general sense of home hit him like a truck and he could have cried. He didn't do well when he had to be away from (Y/n) and a week dragged on like a year was passing him by. He became dishevelled and lost focus when (Y/n) wasn't at his side to ground him.

Ed didn't usually do a case on his own but things were different now. He didn't want (Y/n) coming on a case with him now she was pregnant, he just couldn't risk anything happening to her. When the demons were particularly dark or aggressive, people got thrown around the room, windows would break and if someone was possessed, they became violent. Ed couldn't have (Y/n) around if that was happening. It was safer for (Y/n) to go ahead to a university and do a lecture while he was away on a case.

With tired limbs, he shuffled deeper under the cover and slowly laid his arm over his wife's waist, gently tugging her closer until her back was flush against his chest and his hand laid over the small swell of her stomach. His lips pressed against the top of her head and he slowly inhaled her scent that always felt like home to him. He could feel a sense of calmness overtaking us previously tense body and his mind finally felt like it was at peace now.

A smile tugged at his lips when he felt a pair of small hands wrap around his bicep and pull his arm tighter.

With a start, (Y/n)'s eyes shot open and her body shuddered down against the bed. She could feel Ed's arm draped over her chest and his face tucked up against her head, his soft breaths nuzzling into her hair. Although she didn't know when he had come back home, his presence would have been thrilling if it wasn't for the constricting feeling around her throat that was frightening her.

Her chest was quaking, moving up and down frantically to try and get some oxygen but something was tight around her throat, cutting off her breathing. Tears burned in the corners of her eyes as she flailed her arm out at her side, swatting at Ed's bare chest to try and get his attention before she dug her nails into his upper bicep. She didn't mean to hurt him, she really didn't but (Y/n) had to get his attention somehow, she needed help.

The room was still dark, it wasn't even morning yet and Ed was sleeping. Was she having some kind of allergic reaction to something? She wasn't choking and Ed nor anyone else were choking her. But when her watery eyes squinted frantically in the darkness, (Y/n) could have sworn some kind of shadow was hovering above her.

A hiss whistled through Ed's lips and he jolted forward, feeling like he was falling through the air as his senses awakened with a start. He could feel his arm just below his shoulder stinging like he had been cut but a shudder ran down his spine when he realised it was (Y/n)'s fingernails clawing at him.

"Hun? What's wrong, talk to me."

Ed pushed up on his elbow and tried to lean over (Y/n) when her hand finally released his arm that was going to be bruised come morning. His fingers brushed over her cheek as he squinted to adjust to the darkness around them.

He watched (Y/n)'s hands move towards her throat and he gently but firmly pulled her hands away when it looked like she was about to scratch her throat like she had just done his arm to wake him up. The feeling of his fingertips dragging down her chin and throat would have been sensual and made (Y/n)'s stomach flutter if she wasn't struggling to breathe. She could feel his fingers pressing around her throat to try and find out what was wrong.

But just as quickly as (Y/n) couldn't breathe, the weight on her throat suddenly lifted. She gulped for oxygen, coughing and scrounging to breathe deeply while her eyes shed streams of tears down her face and her vision tried to focus on Ed who was now hovering over her like a guardian angel.

"Alright, you're okay, breathe with me hun. Just breathe," His deep guttural voice was soothing to (Y/n)'s ears that were beginning to ring like church bells.

His thumb brushed over her cheek in a repetitive, firm motion that grounded her and his other hand continued to flutter across the side of her neck while he steadied his own breathing so she could copy him.

Reaching up, (Y/n) pressed her trembling hand against Ed's face, watching him lean into her touch while her other hand moved to his back, wanting to pull him closer.

"Just a panic attack, sweetheart, you're alright."

Ed let some of his weight settle on top of (Y/n) while his hand creeped up into her hair, his fingers fisting the strands up between them in a comforting motion. He wet his lips and smoothed them across her temple, feeling how flushed her skin was and he could feel her rapid breathing with their chests meshed together. She must have had a bad dream or maybe something had panicked her during the day and her body was finding it's way of release now during the night.

It wouldn't be the first time Ed had woken up and found his wife in a frantic state like this suffering from nightmares, memories, fears and sudden bouts of panic attacks like this. He just hadn't expected one so soon after coming home like this.

(Y/n) closed her eyes and tipped her forehead up into his kiss, trying to steady her breathing now she had made up for the oxygen she had lost.

"Hhm."

Maybe she did have a panic attack, but it didn't feel like one.

It felt like something had tried to strangle her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As she walked down the stairs, (Y/n) felt her chest tightening and she couldn't help but look across to the right where the locked room was. Maybe the other day when Ed came home, he put something in the room and that was what she kept feeling. Something had to of given her a bad vibe for her to have some kind of panic attack of nightmare like that and all day yesterday, it felt like there was just, something, in the house besides the two of them.

Part of (Y/n) felt the need to go in the room and double check. She knew every possessed item in that room by heart, she could walk round the room blindfolded and point out each and every object held within there. (Y/n) would notice if Ed had put something new in there.

But she didn't want to.

She didn't want to risk disrupting the evil in that room or provoking something when the room had only just been blessed last week by the priest. It was best to leave the room alone and ignore the sixth sense that was creeping up the back of her neck. Sometimes (Y/n)'s senses would be heightened and she would get intimidated for no reason.

Hurrying past the room, (Y/n) dashed across the living room and headed over to the kitchen. Ed would be back soon, he had only gone to the shops and when he was here, the balance would come back and (Y/n) would feel safe and calm again.

(Y/n) busied herself moving the cups and plates off the table from breakfast and took them to the sink before she switched the radio on. Silence was never nice, it left (Y/n) prone to being stuck in her thoughts and that often led to trouble.

Her soft voice hummed along with the tune playing loudly throughout the kitchen and her body slowly relaxed and started to sway side to side as her eyes fell shut. She could feel herself becoming lost in the music as time passed by and she kept herself busy. But something started to prickle at the back of her neck. The hairs on her skin started to stick up in defense and a small slither of dread crawled up her spine.

She wanted to keep her eyes closed. (Y/n) was desperate to stay in the darkness and be oblivious to any other sixth sense she was starting to have in her home that always felt like a safe haven; but she couldn't help it.

Her eyes opened without her command, and something sweeped across the corner of her vision.

For a few seconds, (Y/n) stayed deathly still facing the window with her hands unmoving in the sink, too afraid to pick up the plate she had been washing but also too afraid to try and dry her hands. Her breathing slowed down until she was barely breathing at all and she prayed whatever had just caught in the corner of her eye had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

The most horrifying, deafening scream took (Y/n) by surprise.

It was such a shrill torturous sound that cut through (Y/n) like a sharp knife slicing into her skin and it sounded like someone was less than an inch away from her ear, screaming at the top of their lungs.

Her body became stiff and rigid before she began to shake with fright. Her head turned to try and see what was suddenly standing beside her but one look at the horrid face with the broken, hanging jaw and black teeth had (Y/n) shutting her eyes as tight as she could. Her fingers moved up and curled around the cross hanging from her neck and a Latin chant bumbled past her lips.

What was in her home with her? Why was it in her home?

A searing pain shot through her wrists that felt like someone had searing hot pokers for fingers that were burning into her flesh and caused (Y/n) to scream. It was gone.

For a few seconds, maybe even a few minutes, (Y/n) stayed stiff as a board in the same place that thing had left her. Both hands were tightly holding the cross around her neck, her eyes were screwed shut and her wrists were scolded and torturously hot. Every part of her started to shake and she could feel the baby inside her doing summersaults from the shock and confusion of what was going on.

She hadn't realised she started crying until she dared to open her eyes and look around but she already knew it had gone, her sixth sense was dulling back down now and she was back to being alone.

When she looked down at her hands that were still shaking despite clutching to her cross for dear life, her wrists were marked. It didn't look like scorch marks and they didn't look burned like they felt, but they were discoloured to say the very least. And if she looked closely, (Y/n) was sure she could see the faint outline of finger marks.

The sound of the front door opening sent a shiver reeling through (Y/n)'s body but she couldn't find it in herself to move. Her body was rooted to the spot, her legs were made of stone, unwilling to budge in any direction in case the demon came back again. Her fingers felt stiff like she was in rigamortis and she was half expecting them to crack or snap when she finally prized her hands from the cross searing into her skin.

Her hands trembled when she submerged them into the water and she had to bite down a cry when the water licked at her wounded wrists.

The music from the radio finally seemed to get through (Y/n)'s ears now the screaming had ceased and the music made her feel less stiff and a little more at ease before she could hear Ed's ruggid voice calling out to her, asking where abouts she was. She couldn't trust her voice enough to answer.

"Hey hun, I think I got everything... are you okay?" Ed placed the shopping bags down on the kitchen table so they weren't cutting through his fingers but the smile on his face slowly faltered at the corners when he looked across at (Y/n). She looked like she was washing up, but she wasn't actually moving and she hadn't said anything yet when usually she would bound up to him the moment he came home and almost knock him off his feet.

"Hm, I'm fine."

(Y/n) did her best to smile and she shook the water from her hands before she turned and met him halfway.

Her arms cocooned around his lower abdomen and she buried her face in his chest, breathing in his scent that was clinging to the woolen jumper he was wearing. She could feel him chuckling deep within his chest which vibrated through her blood and made her feel less like a statue made of stone.

"Sweetheart you're shaking," Ed felt the smile slip off his face in a heartbeat. She was trembling in his arms, why was she shaking like this? He had been gone just over an hour, two at the most. Not long enough for something bad to happen, surely? "Talk to me hun, what's wrong?"

He tried to pull back but (Y/n) clung to him tighter and tighter until her arms were cutting into his sides and back and her face was pressing up against his ribs like she was trying to merge them together. Now she was scaring him.

With gritted teeth and pursed lips, Ed gently held (Y/n)'s arms and pried them free of his waist so he could take one tiny step back in order to look down at his wife.

"When you came home the other night... I think you brought something back with you."

(Y/n) didn't have to say it explicitly for Ed to realise what she meant. She wasn't talking about some unintentional animal climbing into the car on his way home or him bringing an illness back home with him. Something evil had come back with him from his latest case, but he couldn't think what or why or even how.

He had vanquished the demon he had gone to deal with. He and Dean had listened, analysed, recorded and exorcised the demon along with a priest from that area. It had gone and all the strange happenings had ceased, how did he bring something malevolent back with him?

"What did you see?" Ed smoothed his hands up and down (Y/n)'s arms and he tried to control his temper that was beginning to flare.

"I don't know what it was, it was screaming, I felt it the night you came home."

(Y/n) almost jumped when Ed's hands suddenly moved from her arms, up to her neck. His thumbs gently caressed the soft skin on her neck and she could see he was looking for marks since it had just dawned on him that if she felt it when he came home, then whatever it was had tried to hurt her. She hadn't had a panic attack.

His hands were soft and warm on her neck and the feeling made her skin tingle and a warmth formed in her stomach. Moving her hands, (Y/n) cupped his wrists and tried to smile but it seemed to be the wrong move. A darkness washed over Ed's face and his hands retracted from her neck within an instant and moved instead to hold her hands. He pulled her hands towards his chest and (Y/n) shivered when she saw his lips curl up in fury like he was about to snarl.

"It hurt you,"

"No, I'm okay," Even as she spoke, she didn't believe her own words and she knew her husband didn't either. One look at the marks on her wrists and it was clear they had to hurt with how nasty they looked. Something had followed him back to their home, their sanctuary, their safe space. And now it was trying to hurt his wife; this was something Ed wasn't going to stand for.

Moving her hands, (Y/n) looped her arms around his neck and leaned up until she could bury her face in the crook of Ed's neck. She took a few moments to breathe in his scent, feeling it wash through her like a drug overtaking her senses while his arms slowly wound around her hips.

The music from the radio once again seemed to tune back into (Y/n)'s ears and wrapped around them like a comforting blanket and (Y/n) could feel Ed slowly swaying their upper bodies along to the music.

It was soothing, it was sweet.

(Y/n) found herself smiling into his skin and her eyes fell closed as a few minutes passed them by while they stayed in their small bubble. But then (Y/n) could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up on end and a slow shiver tiptoed down her spine and throughout her nerves.

Her eyes stayed tightly shut and she could feel Ed's fingers digging tighter into her hips, showing he felt it too. (Y/n) tried to focus on the feeling of Ed's strong hands pressing into the flesh of her hips and how she could feel his head tilting up until his chin was touching the top of her head. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. His hands slowly curved around her sides and he slowly side-stepped around her until (Y/n) was behind him, his arms out behind him so he could still hold onto her. Reassuring himself she was safely behind him.

One hand moved to grab the cross around her neck while her other hand scrunched up Ed's jumper in a fist so tight her arm started to shake.

Whatever had followed him home, it was back again.

(Y/n) didn't dare open her eyes this time. She didn't want to know what it was or what it looked like, she just wanted it to leave. It had taken a very quick disliking to her, usually it was the other way around, usually spirits and demonic presences took a liking to (Y/n). They sought out her sixth sense and tried to communicate with or through her, they didn't normally try and attack her straight away but the moment Ed came home the other day, this spirit seemed to hate her.

Ed tightened his hand on (Y/n)'s hip and slowly nudged her back until he knew she was pressed between the kitchen counter and him. At least if he had her sandwiched behind him, he knew he could keep her safe. He wasn't having her get hurt by what was in front of him.

Where was his bible? What incantation should he recite to try and vanquish this demon? It wasn't one he had seen this week, he had brought a rouge one back home he hadn't even sensed until now.

Moving one hand, Ed quickly crossed himself before he held onto (Y/n) again and slowly started to shuffle her towards the doorway. His bible was in the living room, if he could get in there quickly he could find the right incantation and be rid of his spirit before it did any damage.

They only moved two steps away before (Y/n) screamed. It felt like fingers were knotting in the hair at the back of her head and yanking on the strands so harshly she was sure a few loose ends had been ripped from her scalp. Her hands fumbled to try and reach behind her but just like when she had been strangled, she couldn't feel anything there.

Ed whipped the cross from round his neck and held it above the back of (Y/n)'s head while his other arm linked around her waist and pushed her in front of him. If only he had some Holy Water he could have sprinkled around (Y/n) to keep her a little safer.

But the cross seemed to do the trick for (Y/n) stumbled forward, feeling like her hair had been released but her body had been given a rough shove.

"My Bible's in the living room,"

(Y/n) kept her shoulders hunched and her arms coiled around her stomach and with Ed's arms around her shoulders and chest, they stumbled through the kitchen and into the living room just as the door slammed shut behind them. Trapping them inside.

It felt like a game. When Ed grabbed his bible from the coffee table, the vase of flowers in the window suddenly started to levitate.

"No!"

(Y/n) hastily curled her fingers around Ed's arm, disrupting him in finding the right verse in the book so that she could drag him down to the floor before the vase smashed into his head.

They backed up towards the sofa and (Y/n) coiled in on herself, lowering her head down near her knees and then Ed wrapped around her like a safety net. He leaned his chest over her back, keeping her tucked into his chest with his arms around her frame and the bible held in front of them.

He had to squint badly to read the Latin script, he didn't know where his glasses were and there was no time to go hunting around for them. With the book in his left hand and the cross hanging from his right fist, he started to chant. He felt (Y/n) hastily repeating the same verse, muffled by his jumper, but still audible.

Everything around them began to shake and every door in the house must have opened and slammed closed at the same time making an hurricane of wind barge through the room, knocking them both off balance.

Ed's chest heaved with each harsh breath and he felt lightheaded from his rapid chanting but a wave of heat seemed to swarm around them. The cold had all but evaporated and the glass on the coffee table settled back in place and the rippling water in the glass finally leveled out again. Whatever had followed him home had been vanquished.

"Hun, are you alright?"

Straightening up, Ed sat back on his heels and squared his shoulders to crack his spine back into place. He let his arms loosely coil around (Y/n) as she pushed herself back up. Her hands clenched around his jumper so tightly he thought she was going to rip it off him but he could see the look in her eyes. It was a look he had memorised so many times over the past few years. A wave of calmness wahed over her pupils and the frantic look disappated.

Her sixth sense wasn't flaring up anymore, she could feel everything settling around them again.

"I think so."

"Good. I'm sorry, I swear nothing is ever gonna follow me home again."

[imgeekgirlfan]

The Curse of Cassandra [EP : IV]

Read in Ao3 : here

Pairings:  Qimir x f!reader(SEA Reader)  [The Acolyte]

Content Rating : Mature 18+ ��Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warning (AT YOUR OWN RISK)

tags/themes : Alternate Universe - Dune & Star wars, Partners in Crime, Strangers to Lovers

Summary: Even though you saw a chance to escape, you face an inner conflict between desire for freedom and a growing attachment to Qimir. You’re unsure whether you want to flee or stay by his side.

Status: finished writing this fic! (It will end in Episode 14)

A/N : beware! This dude is a mastermind manipulator (and he's also fucking hot when he does this)

➡  Intro // EP : 1 // EP : 2 // EP : 3 // EP : 5 // EP : 6 // EP : 7 // EP : 8 // EP : 9 // EP : 10 // EP : 11 // EP : 12 // EP : 13 // EP : 14 (Completed)

[Episodes 4] Seek freedom and become captive of your desires.

A storm was raging across the surface of an unfamiliar planet, and through the small viewport, nothing was visible except for the relentless sheets of rain and the murky, gray sky. All other sounds were drowned out by the deafening roar of raindrops striking the roof. The air was thick with the damp scent of rain, but it couldn’t mask the overpowering stench of blood that lingered stronger still.

You closed your eyes, taking a long, measured breath, trying to calm your turbulent mind. You had known this was inevitable, yet the guilt burning in your chest hadn't diminished at all.

Your mind drifted back to your memories. Three days ago, you had begun using your prescient visions once more, searching for the future that lay ahead. It was then that you saw one path in destiny—a crucial opportunity to escape Qimir. The likelihood of success was a staggering hundred percent. As long as events unfolded along this path with no missteps, freedom would be yours, true and unshackled, severing all ties with him and every other bounty hunter who might come after you.

However, the price for your freedom was steep, paid with the blood of others.

And that price had already been exacted—on Qimir, with you as the cause.

That was the story you had seen in your vision. Like the butterfly effect, it all began with a small rumor that spread like wildfire among the bounty hunters—a whisper passed from one to another, ear to ear, that Qimir was in possession of a woman with a high bounty on her head, and they were now wandering across the galaxy together.

These rumors fueled the greed of many, and eventually, a group of daring bandits concocted a sinister plan. The plan was brutally simple: kill Qimir, capture the woman, and claim the bounty for themselves.

Your prophetic vision had laid it all bare for you. They would attempt to assassinate Qimir on a day when a heavy storm raged on a remote planet far beyond the reach of the Republic's watchful eye. Everything was perfectly set for murder and evidence concealment, ensuring that no lawkeeper would trace the deed back to them.

But what those criminals hadn't considered was that Qimir was no easy prey.

You had faced off against Qimir multiple times. You knew him thoroughly, unquestionably in his skill, and the future vision confirmed this. Even though he would be surrounded by over a dozen armed men, Qimir was still formidable enough to defeat them all—and ruthless enough to kill every one of them, leaving no one alive to tell others about you.

You already knew he wouldn't die, but this fight would severely injure him, paving the way for your escape. Qimir would have no chance of catching up with you, and if you managed to escape successfully, he would never find you again. The thread of fate binding you two together would end there.

You knew this was the only chance you'd been waiting for. The chance to break free from him. as you've always wanted.

So, you chose not to warn Qimir, even though you knew exactly what he would face.

You didn't care who got hurt or died. You fully embraced the truth that you were not a good person because this universe had no place for good people. To survive, one had to learn to be selfish and heartless. This was how you were raised, and there was no changing that.

All you have to do is wait. Let fate play out as you've foreseen it. Don't interfere; don't alter the course. Then, when Qimir is gravely injured, you'll leave him here, steal his ship, and escape to another planet. That would be the end of all this chaos—no more being hunted, no more death, and no more Sith haunting your dreams.

Everything seemed so easy in your mind. But when the moment arrived, you found yourself hesitating.

Your clear blue eyes gazed down at the large figure lying on the floor. Qimir's face was growing paler by the moment. His eyes closed in unconsciousness. His body was riddled with wounds, and his clothes were soaked with blood that had darkened to a deep crimson. At a glance, it was hard to tell if he was even breathing, but deep down, you knew he wasn't going to die—not today.

And yet, the sight of him had a greater impact on you than you'd expected.

You clenched your fists so tightly that your nails dug into your palms, the pain sinking deep into your thoughts. A voice from your conscience whispered accusations, telling you this was all your fault. You might not have wielded the knife against him, but you allowed this to happen. You were part of what led him to this fate.

You quickly shook your head, trying to banish the nagging thoughts. You had no reason to feel guilty about Qimir. He was a bounty hunter, after all. He had captured you and imprisoned you, all for the sake of a reward. He was just as selfish as you. You don't need to care about him at all.

You tried—really tried—to convince yourself of that. You tried to force yourself to walk away while you still had the chance.

But in the end, you found yourself right back where you started. Back where Qimir's body lay unconscious, injured, and vulnerable, as if he could die at any moment.

“Damn it!” You curse under your breath, frustration gnawing at you as you kneel down, gathering all your strength to lift him off the ground, not caring that his blood is staining you all over.

You pulled his arm over your shoulder, struggling greatly as Qimir was much bigger than you. But you were determined to drag him through the rain and onto the ship as quickly as possible before anyone else stumbled upon you and the bodies of the criminals.

You knew you were getting yourself into trouble. You knew that well.

But this time, to hell with fate.

“How long am I unconscious?”

Qimir’s question makes you frown, your eyes drifting for a moment in thought. “About a week, I guess. I didn’t count.” You shake your head before focusing on examining the large wound on his abdomen again. “Don’t move. Do you want to tear your wound open again?” you scold him firmly, pushing gently against his chest as he attempts to sit up suddenly.

Qimir complies, though he feels somewhat bored. It has been three days since he regained consciousness, but he remains confined to the hard bed of his ship, with you attending to his every need—cooking for him, applying medicine, and wiping him down. You do all this without a single complaint.

In truth, the wound is minor for him. He could heal himself completely right now if he wants to, but he doesn’t want to draw any unwanted attention from you. Moreover, deep down, he enjoys your care and attention. With this thought, enduring another few days of lying still isn’t so bad.

Qimir watches as you move closer, close enough that he can smell the faint scent of sandalwood from you. It is a strangely calming scent. You place your hand on his abdomen, near his wound, your fingers carefully tracking along the shape of his muscles. Your face looks worried as you look up at him. “Does it still hurt?”

Not at all, he thinks, but chooses to answer the opposite. “It hurts.”

You lower your eyes, trying to ignore Qimir’s gaze that has been fixed on you constantly since he fully regained consciousness. You reach for the Bacta spray, telling him, “Just bear with the pain for a bit, okay?” Then you spray the healing substance on his wound. The blue liquid covers all the damaged areas on his skin, rapidly regenerating new flesh.

The bacta healing process is quite painful for a large wound like this. However, Qimir’s expression doesn’t change one bit.

After finishing dressing the wound, you are about to move away, but Qimir grabs your arm, holding you in place.

“Why did you save me?”

You hesitate, taken aback. Even though you knew he would eventually ask this question, you are momentarily speechless.

You had previously tried to come up with a hundred reasons to answer this question for yourself, but no matter how much you pondered, none of the answers seemed entirely correct.

Even now, you still don’t understand yourself. Why?

Why are you still standing here? Why haven’t you just left him?

“I don’t know,” you say honestly, pretending to busy yourself with putting the medical supplies back into the box, avoiding his gaze. “I just didn’t want to see you like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like...” You close your eyes, and even with your eyes closed, you can still feel Qimir’s intense gaze. This time, it holds more than just curiosity. There is something in his eyes that makes your heart waver and tremble. “I didn’t want to see you hurt,” you say, opening your eyes, but you still don’t turn to face him.

Qimir notices your nervousness, which you can’t hide. He can tell you are speaking the truth, not lying.

He chuckles at your reaction before playfully tugging at your hand, pulling you closer until you are almost breathing on each other’s necks. You stiffen, your face flushing lightly, but you don’t pull away or push him off.

“You are worried about me?” His voice is low but not threatening. On the contrary, you think it sounds oddly seductive.

You bite your lip hard, refusing to answer his question. You’d rather die than admit you are worried about him because you know that if you do, he’ll start to get cocky. You don’t want to boost his already towering ego any further.

Qimir seems unwilling to give up his intentions. He raises his hand to cup your face, gently forcing you to look at him again. As your eyes lock with his, your breath quickens involuntarily. It is the first time you are this close to someone, so close that you can feel the warmth radiating from his body and see all the details you have only observed from afar before—his collarbones, his sharp jawline, and his eyes...

You notice that Qimir’s eyes are pitch black, devoid of any other color, as if nothing exists within them but an empty darkness.

Strangely, you think Qimir makes that black color look captivating.

Your heart pounds erratically as he leans in closer, his nose almost touching yours. For a moment, you think he might kiss you, but instead, Qimir simply tucks a loose strand of your hair behind your ear.

“You know, you don’t have to hide yourself when you’re with me,” Qimir whispers, his fingers tracing your cheek slowly. The warmth of his touch lingers long after he has pulled away.

You blink, momentarily lost in a trance. As reality rushes back, you step back as if you have touched something scalding. Without a word, you quickly make your way out of his room, almost running in your haste.

Yet, even then, you can still feel Qimir’s dark eyes following your every move, watching you until you vanish from sight.

Swallowing hard, you place your hands over your chest, hoping to calm your racing heart. With each passing day, it becomes more apparent that Qimir’s presence is disturbing your thoughts and emotions deeply. The only solution seems to be distancing yourself from him before things go too far.

But it is impossible for you to stay away from him. No matter where you go, his presence, his scent, his gaze, and his voice always manage to find you.

And you know well that, deep down, you don’t want to leave him either.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

How would things change if the time limits switched? Yeerks need kadrona every two hours (so way more portable generators or have them installed in yeerk run building bathrooms maybe? ) But the Animorphs can stay in morph for up to three days (way more surveillance opportunities/longer battles...)

I think that in a world where yeerks need kandrona every two hours, the invasion can't happen like in canon. We know a kandrona generator is "the size of a small car" and that yeerk pools don't work without it (#7). The yeerks might have to take a few decades and improve kandrona technology (i.e. #41) and then invade Earth, because an invasion would be too risky without that tech.

That said, the yeerks are fleeing the andalites as much as they are colonizing planets — the andalites control their homeworld, part of why they're stealing everyone else's. So maybe the yeerks try to make do, for lack of time. Probably they'd equip humans with thermoses of kandrona à la AniTV, and then help controllers create excuses to slip out every two hours. The thermoses might have to be refilled often, but there's a system for that in canon.

However, as anyone who's ever raised an infant can tell you, humans do not function well if their sleep is constantly interrupted every two hours. So lots of tired/confused controllers. And all kinds of other issues — work shifts with an "on" component, long tests, driving really far, needing a security team 24/7, being in hospital, etc. It'd preclude taking most important people as hosts, including anyone who regularly flies on airplanes. Animorphs can go for weeks without morphing, and can pop briefly out of morph in a pinch (even underwater and in the yeerk pool as needed). Yeerks literally die without kandrona, and they can't leave their hosts unattended for even a second; Mr. Pardue gets like 10 seconds of freedom in #8 makes a huge mess.

Ergo, I don't think they could pull off an invasion. There are too many humans with too much weaponry to launch an open attack from Day 1, but a quiet attack won't be able to get those with social power. And it'd run up against a thousand instances of (for instance) Jean and Steve taking Tom to deprogramming therapy because he hasn't been sleeping and has been carrying a thermos everywhere for weeks so clearly SOMETHING is wrong. So the yeerks are already quite underpowered, before we touch the issue of the andalites being wildly overpowered in this universe.

[circeyoru]

Is the Collector capable of feeling romance? Sorry if you've already answered this or something similar😅

I know it's our choice, but i would like to know from the writer's perspective.

This is for {Collection of Overlords}, check MASTERLIST for the work

If it's something similar... I think it'll be the ask about if the Collector/you are ace or like Alastor when it comes to romance and relationships, the main answer is here and the add-on is here.

But, in my perspective, the answer to your question is yes. You're capable of feeling romance and do feel such things. Now why it was never explored in the story up until now is because you take your standing into consideration.

After Part 7, you're set up as one of the sides of the universal balance. So pretty OP (overpowered), just not a top-of-the-world type of deal since you share this same title with Trick. BUT you are the top person in Hell, so yeah.

The closest 'romance' you have of feeling is towards Alastor. Remember you healing him? Yeah, you didn't need to show yourself to him to heal him nor do you need to make your appearance known in the hotel. You being out in the open is a way of showing that you care. I mean, you even stayed and started a new project of yours. Your favouritism is 'love', but I didn't show it as obviously because the focus group this time included other Overlords.

Your love language here is Acts of Service. If it's not obvious enough. Cause you treasure your collection and their uses. You'd be in love with what they do in your name, like someone is killing for you or growing strong for your attention. Are you a narcissist? Not really. You're not that self-centered or arrogant, nor do you lack empathy and consideration for other people. You're just more selective in your care and attention. That's how you got your collection in the palm of your hands.

Yet you can't help but give more favouritism to Alastor because of his over-the-top devotion to you. But, not sure if anyone noticed, Alastor's not the only one to submit to you as quick, Zestial is the other one. (a bit of lore here) The reason why Zestial and Alastor got along was cause they have that in common. Now why you favour Alastor more? Because Zestial is not as active as Alastor when it came to his services.

While Alastor hunts down unworthy and self-proclaimed Overlords for you, Zestial collects information and assesses the situation with his wisdom. See, Zestial doesn't actually do much to be frank. He as the oldest in the Collection is good to you when it comes to teaching new souls that enter your collection, that's all. Not to mention, he holds unspoken power when you aren't present in meetings. Like in episode 2, everyone quiets down, listens, and agrees with Zestial. It's cause Zestial is seen as another you.

Why not Alastor? Because he's just seeking your attention, he doesn't care for leading the group on or helping the others, he doesn't care about others or giving them a chance to gain what would be his attention and favour from you. Alastor is well aware that the collection has such a variety of demons and personalities because you want demons with different talents and focus. Most of the other Overlords knew this too, there's a hierarchy that I won't explain here.

Oh, Alastor's not the only candidate for your 'love'. There are bits of romance towards Carmilla and Rosie, if you prefer that. Otherwise, see it as platonic~

These are my thoughts. In the end, you're the one interpreting the story and 'you'.

[americas1suiteheart]

Weird Science | Chapter III

Egon Spengler x Reader

Notes; This is sort of poorly written at the end, but I think most of it is okay. Nothing else to add.

Warnings; Lots and lots of mentions of drinking and foul language.

Part 3/? | <Previous Chapter | Next Chapter>

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶꒷꒦︶︶꒦︶︶︶꒦꒷

Music blared throughout the building, the clinks of glass and people talking and laughing added even more to the noise. The smell of cheap colognes and perfumes somehow overpowered the smell of alcohol.

You look around to see Ray sitting next to what you assumed was Peter based off of the way he looked, and another man sitting next to Peter right next to him, tinkering with something.

You walk up to the group and tap Ray's shoulder.

"Hey, Ray! Sorry I'm a little late, I underestimated how long the walk from my apartment was." You say, your voice louder than how a person would normally speak, trying to be heard over the noise.

"Y/n, hey! Don't worry, we've only been here for 10 minutes. You look great! Sit down. This is Peter, though I think you said you remember him, and that's Egon over there." Ray says, pointing to the man tinkering with some piece of metal and wires.

You go to shake your hand with Peter and he holds it, bringing your hand to his lips.

"Y/n, long time no see. You look just as beautiful as before, if not even more." Peter says flirtatiously.

You pull your hand away, grabbing a napkin from the table and wiping your hand off. "Yeah, uh, great to see you too, Peter. You haven't changed a bit I see." You laugh dryly.

You look beside Peter as he lightly slaps the man's arm to get his attention. "Take your hands off of that thing and say hi to the beautiful lady and introduce yourself, Egon." Peter says, sounding like a mother.

The man turns around to look at you and fixes his glasses before he extends his hand out to you, a slight look of annoyance on his face.

"Hi, I'm Egon." He says in a monotone voice.

Oh.

You do the same, shaking hands with him. "I'm Y/n, I used to study computer science and parapsychology at the University." You say, smiling.

You remembered him now. He often sat with Ray and Peter during lessons in the class that you took parapsychology in. That's where you met Ray and Peter. Though Egon wasn't much of a talker so you guess that might've been the reason why you didn't talk to him much.

You thought he was handsome and you'll admit that. You often caught yourself staring at him during classes or when you sat with the guys during lunch.

You release your hand and go to sit next to Ray, you look over at Egon to see he's gone back to tinkering with his piece.

"So, how's moving the stuff out of your lab been going?" Ray asks, taking a drink from his bottle.

"Well, it's been going. I don't really have any other place to put everything except for my apartment so it's cluttered in there right now, but regardless of how much I hate the Dean I'm really happy that he gave me a month to get everything out because it's going to take a good amount of time."

"We can always help you, you know. Just speed up the process. Oh! I almost forgot to ask you, I know it's only been a couple of days since we started talking to each other again, but I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join this thing that we're doing right now. I know you used to like doing the whole studying about phantoms and all, and we started this ghost busting business so-" Ray rants excitedly.

That's one thing you always liked about Ray. He was always so enthusiastic and passionate about everything that he talked about, easy to talk to. There was never a time that when you were talking to him you felt that he was bored or not interested in what you were saying. He always listened intently and responded well. And that's how you were when having conversations with him too, it's what made you grow close to him over the span of the 4 years that you hung out and talked to him regularly, and it feels like you still have that same closeness with him even after 7 years of not talking to him.

"Woah, woah, woah, now, Ray. We never talked about letting someone else in this biz." Peter says, interrupting Ray.

"Oh, come on, Peter. Y/n's one of the best engineers I know, we could use that kind of stuff for this." Ray argues.

"We have Egon for that, Ray. I th-"

"I would love to. It would be nice to have something to do and to get to work with you guys again after so long. I did miss talking with you guys, I'll admit." You cut Peter off, taking your bottle of beer from the bartender.

"That's great! Hey, in that case we could just move some of your equipment with us! This'll be fun, just like old times, right!" Ray says, patting your shoulder with a smile on his face.

You look at Peter as he shrugged his shoulders and took a drink from his cup, probably out of defeat.

"What do you mean move my stuff in with you guys? Didn't you get kicked out of the University, too?"

"Well, yeah. But we found a place where we could all do our stuff and run the whole Ghost busting thing we've got. We could move some of your stuff in there and you could work with us."

"Really? How'd you guys find a lab that fast?! it's only been what, two days now?" You say, looking at Ray in shock.

"Well, it's not really a lab, more of an, old fire station." Ray shrugs.

"A fire station! That's so cool! Does it have the pole to go down and everything?" You say, with wide eyes and a big smile on your face.

"Yeah it does! That's what I was most excited about too!"

"Don't encourage him, Y/n." Peter says, looking away from his glass as he gives you a disappointed look, to which you roll your eyes to in response.

It would be awesome to work with them again. And although when you were in college with them you never really got to work with each other all that much, you had fun doing so. The only hard part about working with them was that it would take forever to finish something due to the amount of time that was spent cracking jokes and talking to eachother about completely unrelated things.

You finish your bottle and order another, taking a long drink from it before continuing to talk to Peter and Ray.

Egon stayed tinkering with what he was working on, didn't really bother to get involved into any conversation and didn't bother to drink.

You were a little upset he wasn't talking but you were too scared to try to spark a conversation up with him. You kept glancing at him more than you would like to admit, just like you used to all those years ago, and you weren't being very sneaky about it unfortunately.

"You got your eye on something, Y/n? Or, someone?" Peter says teasingly.

By now you were already three drinks in, a little farther in than a buzz. Your tolerance to alcohol was way lower than it was when you were in college as you never got together with friends like now or bothered to drink that much when you started working at the University.

"What?" You slur.

Peter only gives you a wink and a smirk, and goes back to his conversation with Ray.

You feel heat rise to your cheeks and the tips of your ears. Was I really being that obvious? You sit and stare off at the other people playing pool to try to distract yourself.

"Y/n, we're gonna head out in a bit. Are you gonna need one of us to walk you back to your apartment?" Ray says, putting his hand on your shoulder, snapping you out of your trance.

"Oh, okay. And yeah, if you guys could that would be great. I don't think I'll be able to make it there without getting lost." You laugh.

"Great, we'll send Egon with you then!" Peter says, butting in.

You look at him wide eyed and see Egon look up at Peter to give him a look.

"Alright, Egon. Be a doll and help Y/n get to their apartment safely. Me and Ray will be at the station. We'll cover your bill, Y/n. Our treat." Peter says, turning to look at you and smiling.

You'd be absolutely happy and thankful that Peter was covering your bill if it weren't for the fact he was going to have Egon walk you to your apartment *alone*. The only reason why you had asked for someone to take you was because you immediately assumed it would be Ray. This was 1,000% Peter's idea of a joke or some sort of torture. He really hasn't changed then in that case.

"We'll be on our way now, guys. It was nice seeing you, Y/n! Hopefully it'll be more often." Ray says, putting a couple bills on the table and then getting his jacket on. Peter and Ray walked out of the bar and left you and Egon there.

Assholes.

You sigh and grab your things to get ready to leave, putting a 10 dollar bill on the table for the bartender to have as a tip.

"So, where do you live?"

"Huh?" You say, looking up and pausing before realizing what Egon was asking. "Oh, uh, it's that apartment complex on 121st street."

"Alright then." Egon says, leading you out the door with the parts he brought with him in his hands.

You stumble a bit trying to catch up with him but to no avail you couldn't. The cold New York weather made you regret not putting your jacket on before you left, as the cold began to sting your arms.

"Egon, jesus, wait!" You pant.

Egon turns around and walks to you as he realizes how far ahead he was of you.

You continue to pant, trying to catch your breath as you put your coat on and button it up.

"Do you uh, do you think you could slow down a little?" You say, pausing every other word as you caught your breath.

"Oh, sorry." Egon apologises.

After a couple of seconds to recover, you and Egon continued to walk to your apartment building.

The whole walk was quiet. You were too buzzed and awkward to even try to make any small talk, and Egon didn't seem to be much of a talker. It was very awkward for you at least.

"Thank you so much, Egon. I hope that this wasn't too much trouble for you, I really appreciate this." You say opening your apartment door.

"Of course, it was no trouble at all."

"Well, um.. I'll be going to bed now, sorry for keeping you up or anything because of this. Goodnight, Egon." You said, tapping on your doorframe nervously.

"No, you didn't keep me up, don't worry. Goodnight, Y/n." Egon says, looking at his trinkets and parts he was working on earlier.

You wondered what he was working on that had him so immersed in it at the bar. You could work with music, but all of the other noise like the bottles clinking and the people talking distracted you greatly. You have no clue how he could do that.

You close your door gently and lock it. You do the usual; throw your keys onto the kitchen island, hang your coat, navigate your way through the towers of boxes, brush your teeth, dress out into your sleep clothes and go to sleep. You fell asleep faster than you usually did, very obviously because of the alcohol that was still in your system.

I forgot just how handsome he was.

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶꒷꒦︶︶꒦︶︶︶꒦꒷

I had done 3/4 of this in 2 hours, and then I pushed it off for a month or so, and I'm so sorry about that, guys 💀💀. This is longer than the other two chapters though!

[mrsnancywheeler]

okay hear me out (just a warning for mentions of trafficking and self harm)

It’s a cold winters day in District 4 and it’s been like a year ever since reader became a victor and sadly a sex symbol to the Capitol. Obviously, to Finnick’s dismay, she has been feeling horrible about herself. Not only has Snow stolen her youth, her innocence, her sanity, her best friend, but he also had to take her dignity too by selling her.

Everything weighs on her like like thick snow and sometimes it’s too much to handle. Of course, Finnick is there to help his sweet girl and try bring her at least SOME comfort in a world that is actively breaking her down. but sadly, he isn’t always there. whether he’s at the Capitol or just wondering around the markets, his sweet girl is left alone with her thoughts and god is that dangerous.

The overpowering guilt from Conway, and how dirty and disgusted she feels with herself after a trip back from the Capitol- sometimes it’s all too much.

She needs to punish herself.

it’s so sad but imagine as a way to punish herself, when it’s a cold and snowy day in District 4, she actively goes out into the cold, the cold that seems similar to the one that nearly killed her.

Finnick comes back to the home except the person who made it a home wasn’t there. his sweet sweet girl. he runs out of the house, desperate to find her only to be met with the sight of her sobbing in the snow- allowing the cold to threateningly bite at her to remind her of all of her previous sins. I can just imagine Finnick’s heart breaking as he runs over to her while ripping his jacket off. when he realises that his sweet girl can’t allow herself to find warmth, not even in his arms, so he has to pick her up and carry her home.

She’s so cold in his arms, when he finally returns home he immediately either puts her infront of their fire place or in the comfort of their bed. he brews her some hot tea with honey in it and gathers as many blankets as humanly possible.

he’ll cuddle with her and whisper the sweetest words into her ear until she falls asleep.

“i love you. i love you in every universe”

no because this is so on brand for reader bc as we know she is a self-hater, literally 24/7, all she thinks about is loving Finnick and how much she hates herself.

and like I imagine for a while she literally refused to go outside in the cold, especially in the rain because of the hypothermia related trauma but then she realized like 'I deserve to suffer like that' and her and finnick are so codependent, like I think if her brain wasn't constantly occupied by his presence then the other thoughts start to invade

I feel like she'd do it so robotically too, like it's early morning. it's rare for it to snow in district 4, and finnick hated not being able to go on his early morning swim so he goes ice fishing super early. usually he's able to come back, his sweet girl is still in bed, he takes a quick shower and snuggles back up with her. but she wakes up before he returns, from a nightmare that's left an immeasurable amount of residual guilt and so robotically is letting it take over. just walking outside, barefoot, in her nightgown in the snow.

and it's freezing, but the guilt is so loud that not even the part of her that can't even take anything but a hot shower, is drowned out. until finally she's sat in the snow, feet and fingers going numb, teeth chattering, but no care because her thoughts are so occupied with how she deserves this. deserves worse.

then finnick is coming back with his fish, and when he enters their bedroom to find her gone he's immediately confused. she's not in the bathroom, but the balcony door is slightly ajar. which only confused him further because his sweet girl wouldn't even dream of opening it, it's too cold out. but he goes outside and he finds her, down the balcony stairs in the snow, completely exposed to the snow. and he's running down them, calling her name.

finnick instantly has his jacket around her shoulders, "angel, are you okay?"

"c'mon let's get you inside"

"you're gonna get frostbite, sweet girl, we gotta go in."

"hey, hey, it's okay." he's wiping away her tears and is shocked by how her face is somehow even colder then usual. but she doesn't move and he just picks her up, brings her inside. wrapping her up in blankets, rubbing her hands and legs to try to warm her back up. I don't think he'd want to leave her alone for any amount of time, so he'd take her wrapped up in blankets to sit in front of the fireplace as he made tea. softly guiding the cup to his angel's mouth so she could take small sips before carrying her back up to bed where he cuddled her, not just to provide the extra body heat, but to prove that he was there, that he'd always be there for her.

"angel, you can't do that."

"m'sorry."

"you don't have to be sorry, we just gotta think of ways to handle it until I get back. you could've died."

and her little, "I know," shatters the already broken pieces of his heart.

he decided rope tying would be to dangerous of an option, no matter how short he cut the rope, he'd never drag her out with him when it was this cold out, and eventually he landed to leaving long notes on the vanity about all the things he loved about her, all the things that made life worth living, and a cup of tea. just long enough that it could give her something to read until he returned and could comfort his sweet girl.

because he couldn't just make her better, or make her stop the self destruction, but he would sure as hell so whatever he could to quell the storm.

and they really do love each other in every universe

[m-jelly]

Ulterior Motive - Chapter 7

Levi x reader

Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, mafia, Gangs, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Gangsters, Yakuza, Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Romance, Love, Love Confessions, True Love, First Love, Yandere aspects, Protective Levi Ackerman, Possessive Levi Ackerman, Tattooed Levi Ackerman, Blood and Violence, Eventual Smut, Childhood Friends

In this chapter: You and Levi had your first ever fight, but you work through it quickly. You and Levi share a sweet moment before you go out without him knowing and get revenge.

Ao3

Ending

When you woke up in the hospital, it was clear that people had taken great care in making sure you were comfortable. There were lots of blankets, cushions, soft lighting, cuddly toys and even some pictures. It was like you’d been fully moved into the room. It warmed your heart to see how many people worried and cared for you. There were too many gifts to count.

It surprised you to wake up alone, but you assumed that they’d gone to take a call or get something to eat. You sat your bed up causing a bit of pain to spread through you. Your arms were covered in bruises, there was almost no normal skin colour. One wrist was bound and the other was wrapped up a lot. Your leg was in a cast with signatures already on it, it was like a love letter to you for when you woke up. You realised that you couldn’t see out of one eye, meaning you had a patch on it.

You looked around the room for a moment and saw Levi walking in. The bags under Levi’s eyes were heavy but there was also a redness, meaning he’d not slept and had been crying. His hands were bound up to show he’d punched the man so hard he’d hurt his hands. He looked very cute to you, you just wanted to give him kisses.

You smiled a bit. “Hello, Levi.”

Levi flinched at hearing your voice. He stared over at you as tears filled his eyes. “You…” He moved closer as he said your name. “You’re…” He hurried over to you. “You’re awake.”

You nodded. “Yeah.”

He sat on the bed and cupped your face. “My darling bunny. I’m so glad you’re okay.” He kissed your face loads. “I missed you.”

You hugged Levi. “You were in my dreams. How long was I out?”

He pulled back and started cleaning your face of all the dried blood. “Not long, only a day. The doctor says it was normal because your body was working a lot to heal you.”

“I’m sorry I made you cry.”

Levi kissed you. “You didn’t make me cry.”

You caressed his cheek with your weak hand. “Are you sure?”

He leaned his head against your hand. “You are so beautiful.”

You hummed a laugh. “Something must have happened to make you cry.”

He released a long sigh. “I haven’t slept since you’ve been here. I’ve been making those men talk. I then hunted down Frank Cassio.”

“You hurt him?”

“Badly.” He lowered his head. “I cried because I was worried about what you’d think about me after I beat him within an inch of his life and took everything he owned. I assumed you would be terrified of me.”

You tangled your fingers in his hair and pulled him in for a kiss. “I love you for you. Besides, I watched you beat that six-foot-odd monster of a man.” You purred. “It was incredibly sexy. You overpowered him, it was incredible.”

He smiled at you. “You always know how to make me feel better.”

You lightly touched under his eyes. “You should sleep. You’ve not slept since the last time we were cuddling in bed together.”

“I had a lot of work to do. I needed to make sure those men paid the price for touching what is mine.” He nuzzled your hand. “I worked very hard.”

“You deserve a reward.”

“I wasn’t expecting one, but I would love one.”

You giggled at the sparkle in his eyes and how excited he was. “Oh, you found the ring.”

He admired his left hand. “I did.” He showered your face with kisses. “While you’re on bed rest, you could look at wedding magazines and on our tablet.”

You squeaked in delight. “Yes. I can’t wait to plan with you. We’ll make it perfect.”

Levi held your hand and kissed it over and over. “We will. Can I get you anything?”

You nodded. “I’d love a drink and something to eat.”

“I’ll get you anything you need.” He got up and walked over to the water jug. “What food?”

You groaned in thought. “A burger. A nice juicy burger with lots of fries.”

He tapped away on his phone. “Milkshake?”

“Please.”

He handed you a cup of water with a straw. “Drink.” He kissed your forehead. “All ordered for you. It should be brought over soon.”

You gulped down water and sighed. “So, when do I meet your parents again? It’s been years.”

Levi blushed. “When you’re better. I don’t want them seeing you like this.”

“Cause I look bad?”

He shook his head as you giggled. “No, it’s because they might think I can’t look after you correctly and I’ll get an ear full from my mother and father.”

“An earful!?” The two of you looked over at two people, both incredibly attractive and one was almost a spitting image of Levi. “Levi Ackerman, explain yourself.”

Levi winced. “Mum, I can explain.”

“Explain!? I’d love to hear it!”

Levi let out a long sigh. “It was just…well…”

“You’ve been engaged to this adorable woman all this time and you didn’t set up one meeting!”

Levi frowned. “What…”

She walked over to your other side. “Hello again.” She lightly touched your cheek. “You’ve grown up into such an adorable woman.”

You giggled. “I wish I looked better.”

“You’re a dream.”

You smiled at Levi. “You’re just like your mum.” You gazed at her. “You look amazing Kuchel. I can’t believe the last time I saw you and Sebastian was when I was a young teen.”

Kuchel sat on your bed. “That’s right. I always knew you two would end up together.”

You held Kuchel’s hand a moment before looking over at Sebastian. He had the same eyes as Levi and a harsh look, but you knew he was as soft as anything. Levi got a lot of how he reacted to you from his father. Sebastian was incredibly protective of his wife and son, he would do anything for them and had done a lot. He often spoiled the two of them. He was a bit taller than Kuchel, had wide shoulders but a slim waist and was what people referred to as a lean build that was often seen in dating sims. His hair was a beautiful raven black like Levi’s and was combed back in a beautifully soft and puffy way.

Sebastian hugged Levi against him. “Good to see you, son.” He smiled at you. “You too. I can imagine you wished this was a better meeting.”

You hummed a laugh. “A bit, yeah.” You gasped. “Sebastian, please don’t cry.”

Kuchel hurried over to her husband. “Oh, my sweet bear. You’ve got a good heart.”

Levi leaned his elbows on the bed and placed his head in his hands as he groaned. “So noisy.”

You played with Levi’s hair. “I love you.”

Levi lifted his head and smiled. “I love you too.”

“Kuchel? Sebastian? Do you want to sign my cast?” You giggled as they both said yes and hurried over. “Thank you.”

Levi stood up as he held his phone. “Food. I’ll get it for you.”

“Thank you.” You watched Levi’s parents for a bit. “You two are so deeply in love.”

Sebastian squeezed Kuchel. “This woman is my everything.”

You fiddled with your bed cover. “Are my parents okay? I’m surprised they’re not here.”

Kuchel gasped when you started crying. “Oh, oh darling.”

Levi walked in and saw you were in tears. “What did you say to her!?” He put your food and drink down and sprinted over to you. “Bunny.”

You sniffed. “Where are my mum and dad? Why haven’t they come to see me? Did I mess up? Did I upset them?”

Levi cleared your tears away. “Darling bunny cakes, they are here. They were the first people I called and they were the first people in this room.”

You whined. “Why aren’t they here now?”

He gulped. “I uh…told them…that…well…”

“You haven’t told them I’m awake yet?”

He smiled at you. “Bun-bun love. Bunny cakes. Bouncing bunny.”

You pouted hard. “Levi.”

“I’m sorry, I just…you were broken in front of me. I…I just wanted you all to myself.” He let out a long sigh. “I’m selfish, I know.”

You released a long sigh. “Can everyone leave?”

Levi squeezed your hand as his parents walked out. “Bunny.”

You pulled your hand from his touch. “Everyone.”

Levi backed up a bit. “I’m sorry.”

You gulped hard as he left the room allowing you to be alone with your thoughts. You loved Levi so much, he was your soulmate, he was your forever but you could have died and that’s frightening to your parents. You understood that Levi found you being choked to death, that you were so badly beaten he didn’t recognise you, you couldn’t imagine what thoughts were going through his head as he rode with you to the hospital while you were out of it. You couldn't comprehend what Levi went through while waiting for you to wake up. Levi knew who sent people after you, meaning getting beaten and almost killed was due to you being Levi’s fiancée. This wouldn't have happened if you were not with Levi, so this must be hurting him badly.

You put your head in your hands and sobbed. You didn’t know what to think or feel. You loved Levi so much. You felt terrible for kicking him out. You wanted him to hold you, kiss you and protect you. You wanted Levi to tell you that everything was going to be alright and he’d kill everyone who dared hurt you. Your feelings were complex. You were mad at him, but you slightly understood. If you were in his situation, you were sure you’d probably do something similar.

You looked up and smiled. “Mum, Dad.”

Your mother, Cathy, rushed towards you and held you. “Oh, my sweetpea.”

Your dad, Dead, sat on the bed and held your hand. “We’re so glad you’re okay.”

You sniffed a bit. “I’m okay. So, you’re not mad at Levi, are you? I understood the dangers that would come with being with Levi. I knew I could get hurt, so please don’t hate him.”

Cathy frowned. “Hate him? Sweetpea, we don’t hate him.”

Dean smiled. “We love him. He’s a wonderful lad.”

You gulped. “But he didn’t tell you I woke up.”

“He’s a man in love, deeply in love, his focus was on you and being happy you’re alive.”

Cathy nodded. “Your father is right. He blames himself for this.”

You frowned and felt a bit confused. “What do you mean?”

“Levi poured his heart out to us after we first saw you while you slept. Levi said told us everything. He blamed himself for it all.”

Dean nodded. “Poor lad cried his eyes out.”

You gripped your bed cover. “Levi said he didn’t cry because he felt bad. He said to me he cried because he was worried I’d hate him for hurting the bad men.”

Cathy put her arm around you. “Please don’t be mad at him.”

“I’m not. I’m just realising how much he does for me.” You sniffed as tears ran down your cheeks. “I feel bad for kicking him out of this room.”

Cathy wiped your tears away. “It’s going to be okay.”

You kept sniffing. “I feel bad. I don’t know what to think or feel. He didn’t tell you both I was awake, but you’re okay with it.”

Dean smiled. “We understand. You have a right to be a bit annoyed at him, but please be a bit softer on him. You could have died on his watch. There’s nothing worse than almost losing the person you love most because of something that’s possibly caused by you. While you were out, Levi was blaming himself over and over again and trying to fix things. This was all out of his control. It’s hard for a man who’s tough and has this city under control to lose control.” He looked to the door. “He feels weak like he failed and that maybe this man Mr Cassio was right. Be gentle with him.”

Cathy kissed your forehead. “He’s a wonderful man. We love him a lot. We’ve always loved him.” She held your hand as she said your name. “I’m going to send him in here after we leave, okay? Make up with him. Forgive him. Love him. You’re good together. Also, over these next few weeks while you’re healing, let him nurse you back to health and let him be a bit overly protective.”

You hummed a laugh. “He’ll be super protective.” You felt your heart flutter. “It’ll be cute.”

Dean patted your leg. “So, what do you say? Will you talk to Levi and forgive him?”

You looked from your mother to your father over and over. “I…”

“Don’t let this fight come between you both. It’s your choice, sweetheart.” Your dad smiled and ruffled your hair. “We’ll support you. This type of thing might happen again, but then again it might not at all. You can’t predict what will happen in life. Even if you left him because you couldn’t forgive him and life was too dangerous with him, that’s okay but something bad could happen to you being away from him. You don’t know what life has in store for you. If you stay with him, he could protect you and love you but it also could mean you could get hurt again.” He released a long sigh. “Make the choice you won’t regret. Think about it. Five years down the line you’ll either be single and working another job or married to Levi with kids.”

You laughed. “That soon?”

Cathy giggled. “Of course! The two of you are so passionately in love. Kids will arrive very fast.” She got up and kissed your cheek. “We love you.”

Dean pinched your cheek. “We love you so much. We’ll be back later, we have to talk with the in-laws.”

You smirked. “In-laws, cute.” You waved goodbye to your parents and started eating the food Levi brought you as you thought. You gulped down your shake and smiled when you came to a decision. “Levi?”

Levi peered around the door. “Bun…” He winced and said your name instead. “I uh…how did you know I was here?”

“Well, I know it’s hard for you to leave me alone. I’m also assuming my parents told you to come back.”

“Y-Yes.”

You waved to him. “Come in. I want to talk.”

He closed the door behind him and approached you. “I’m deeply sorry.”

You patted a spot next to you. “Sit.”

He hurried over and sat on the bed. “I should have told them. I shouldn’t be making excuses. They’re your parents.”

You tangled your fingers in Levi’s hair and kissed him. “Levi, I love you. I love you more than anything. I cannot see my life without you. This happened because Cassio made a choice, not because of you.”

Levi’s eyes widened. “How…your parents, they told you.”

You smiled sadly. “I knew you’d cried because of that. You didn’t need to hide that.” You caressed his cheek over and over. “I think it’s sweet.”

He pressed his cheek against your hand as he smiled at you. “I’ll do anything for you.”

“I know.” You released a long sigh. “I’m not going to say I forgive you.”

Levi looked pained. “Oh.”

“Because there is nothing to forgive. You acted with love. You kept my parents in the loop and you talked to them right away. When you saw me awake, you just wanted to be with me. Your focus was all on me being alive and in your life again.” You smiled at him. “I would have done the same as you. I love you. I deeply love you. You’re going to be my husband. We cannot predict what the future holds. Living without you is far more scary and horrible. We’re stronger together. I know you’ll protect me if we stay together. Plus, why the fuck would I leave the man I’m obsessed with, have fantastic sex with, who loves me so much he’s wiped out a whole gang. I love you and you love me.”

Tears ran down Levi’s cheeks. “I love you. I love you so much. I don’t deserve you, I really don’t but I’ve been blessed with your love and presence.” He kissed you over and over. “If you say yes to staying with me, I am never ever letting you go. You hear me? You’re mine, forever.”

You smiled at him. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

You giggled. “Well then, I’m all yours. Forever.” You opened your arms. “Please, lie with me?”

Levi climbed onto the bed and laid his head on your breasts. “I will make this up to you, I swear.”

You kissed the top of his head. “You don’t need to. Just be there for me.”

“But.”

You hummed. “How about you nurse me back to health, hmm?”

“Got it.” He squeezed you.

You slipped to the edge of your bed and sighed. You were glad to be home and not stuck in the hospital anymore. All your stitches were out and the bandages off. Your voice was back to normal. It sucked you couldn’t work, but you were sure that your days of working were over and you were a stay-at-home girl now because of the dangers. You liked it.

You pushed yourself to your feet, grabbed your crutches and moved to the bathroom. You finished up and left the bathroom to see Levi was stood there looking a bit annoyed. “Oh, hello Levi!”

He scooped you up making you squeak. “No moving around.”

“I needed the toilet.”

He sat you in bed. “Don’t leave this bed without me.”

You nodded. “Okay.” You wiggled your toes in your cast. “Can you sit with me?”

He climbed onto the bed and cuddled up to you. “What can I do for you?”

You nibbled your lip. “Can we wedding plan a bit more?”

He kissed your temple. “Of course. Do you have the tablet?”

You grabbed it from the beside and snuggled up to Levi. “Is there anything you really want?”

“To marry you as soon as possible.”

You giggled at his comment. “Cute, but we need to talk about the wedding.”

He cuddled you. “Mm, well how about wildflowers.”

“I love them.” You leaned the side of your head against his shoulder. “I’ve been looking at venues, but nothing stands out massively. I just want something simple but I know you’ll want to show me off.”

“I want to marry you somewhere as pretty as you.”

You stared at Levi. “Levi.”

He pouted. “I know, I know, I’ll moan there isn’t a single place on Earth that is as beautiful as you.”

You lifted your head and kissed his cheek. “So, is there a place out of the ones I’ve chosen you want?”

He swiped through the selected ones and smiled at a nice old hall with a massive garden. “This.”

“It’s magical. Perfectly vintage.”

He kissed the side of your head a few times. “I can’t wait to see you in your dress.”

“I’ll think carefully about it.”

Levi reached over and massaged the inside of your thigh. “You’ll be incredible in everything.” He frowned when his phone went off. He pulled it out and eyed the message. “Mm, I have work.” He kissed your neck. “Be a good girl for me and do not leave this bed for anything unnecessary.”

You grinned at him. “You got it!”

He kissed you and hummed. “Thank you.”

You waved to him as he left. You waited for the door to close before climbing out of bed and dressing in something nice. You smiled when your phone went off indicating your ride had arrived. You moved to the door and grinned at Lucas and Shino. “Hello, gents. Have you gotten everything all sorted for me?”

Lucas eyed you. “Yes. Are you going to be okay moving around?”

You moved past them. “I have a broken leg, I’m not falling apart. I’m fine.”

Shino followed you. “Has Levi approved of this?”

“Nope. He doesn’t know I’m doing this.”

Lucas gulped. “Peach, this is a bad idea.”

You glanced back at him. “Levi said not to leave the bed for anything unnecessary. This is necessary.”

Shino hummed as he considered what was about to happen. “She’s right. This is necessary.”

“Thank you, Shino. You’re my number one today.”

Lucas gasped as Shino winked at him. “I’m hurt! I’m always your number one.”

You hummed a bit. “Are you?” You smirked at him before climbing into the car. “Let’s head out. This will be fun.”

Shino sat next to you as Lucas drove you to your destination. While you were driving Shino was texting away making sure everyone was in place. He released a long sigh. “Everything is in place. Target is in place as predicted.” Shino looked over at you. “If Levi finds out about this.”

“When.” You glanced over at him. “He will find out about this.”

“When Levi finds out about this, what are we going to do?”

You patted Shino’s thigh. “Leave him to me. I can handle him.”

Lucas laughed. “She’s right. You know, he might be pissed at first but I think he’ll be rather impressed by his bunny. You found something very interesting out.”

You felt your cheeks heat up. “Thank you.”

“Speaking of.” He stopped the car. “We’re here.”

Stacy smiled as her feet were tended to. She had her usual gathering of rich women around her all worshipping her. “There’s nothing better than having your feet massaged after such a perfect victory.” She looked up to the door to see Shino and Lucas enter. “Well, well, well, I see you two have finally chosen me over the previous trash.”

Lucas put his hands in his pockets and smirked. “Oh, I don’t know about that.”

Shino fixed his cuffs. “We’re here on business.”

Stacy’s brow raised. “Business?”

You moved into the room. “Yes. I have business here.”

Lucas pulled a chair for you. “Peach.”

You sat down and sighed. “Thank you. Those crutches do mess with my hands a bit.” You smiled at Stacy. “Stacy, right? We met at that casino event but we never formally met. You called me a whore if I remember and my fiancé told you the news your husband had no money.”

Stacy clenched her jaw and gulped hard. “I remember. Why are you here in my shop?”

You hummed a laugh. “Well, I have a few things I want to say. A few things I figured out.”

“Oh yeah?” She rolled her eyes. “Fascinating.”

You released a long sigh. “I’m sure you know what happened to me, right?” You knocked your knuckles against your cast. “Got grabbed and beaten.”

“Didn’t knock any sense into you.”

You laughed mockingly. “Funny!” You smiled. “But no. I’m still me, just have a broken leg. So, my fiancé stopped the men and almost killed one of them when he saved me. Hell, he caught Cassio and almost killed him too.”

Stacy tensed up. “And?”

“Well, I was thinking about it all seeing as I’m stuck in bed a lot and you know what’s weird?”

“Your dress sense?” She smirked as some of her friends giggled.

You smiled softly. “What’s weird is Cassio picking on me. He believed women should be put in their place, and that Levi was weak. He was rather annoyed about Levi having an outspoken woman, but not enough to do something about it.” You sighed. “I paid close attention to that conversation and it was odd. You see, Levi made a passing comment about dry meatloaf and Cassio was annoyed.”

Stacy laughed. “Right, so the meatloaf did it.”

You slapped your leg. “You’re so funny! But no.” You tilted your head. “What was weird to me is how he reacted. He was upset about how rude Levi was about his wife, but strangely enough, he didn’t bring his wife with him to the party.” You stared at her as she shifted a bit. “Isn’t that weird?”

Shino placed his hand on the back of your chair. “I think it’s strange. For a man that’s so dedicated to his wife, why wouldn’t he bring her?”

Lucas nodded to the backup entering. “Really makes you think. Why is he judging the boss when he hasn’t got his wife with him?”

You smirked. “You know gents, the nice thing about that event is people that come together wear something that indicates they’re together, that they’re a couple.”

Shino handed you a drink. “You and Levi matched perfectly.”

“We did.” You sipped your drink. “Mm, thank you.” You placed the cup down. “Anyway, you’re incredible with your fashion. Everyone praises you, Stacy.”

Stacy smiled. “Thank you. I’m always making a statement.”

You hummed. “Exactly, I mean everything you wear you wear for a reason, right?”

“Right!” She grinned at you. “You get it.”

You laughed. “I do. Your dress was stunning. You were a vision.”

“Thank you.”

“Truly breathtaking.”

She flicked her hair. “I know.”

You picked up your cup. “So explain to me why you and Cassio were matching.” You sipped your drink as the room became deathly quiet and Stacy looked white. You sighed and put your drink down. “Seems odd, right?”

Stacy started shaking. “I-I…well…”

“I mean, you have a taste for older men.” You smiled at her. “Anyway! Congratulations.”

“F-For?”

You referred to the shop. “This place! I mean, Levi said you had almost no money. You must have found some sort of money.” You looked at your feet and wiggled your toes in your cast. “Levi told me he took everything from Cassio, but things were missing.” You looked up at her. “Men like ours tend to spoil their women. Levi spoils me so much that I have to tell him off sometimes.”

“Mm.”

You looked over at Lucas. “Lucas, my darling?”

Lucas grinned. “Yes, peach?”

“You used to work with an old fart of a gangster before Levi, right? I think you or Levi killed the guy in the end.”

Lucas folded his arms and smiled fondly. “We worked together.”

You patted his arm. “Wonderful. Now, did he have a mistress?”

“He did.”

You locked eyes with Stacy. “How did he treat his mistress?”

“Like she was his everything. Bought her new things and pretty things.”

“Mm. Thank you.” You shifted in your seat. “Shino? You know expensive things. Tell me, was Stacy’s outfit expensive on the night and is what she wearing now more expensive?”

Shino adjusted his glasses. “Indeed, peach. The dress she wore and accessories on the night were out of her husband’s price range at the time. Her current outfit is too.”

You smiled. “Thought so. Do you have what I asked for?”

Shino checked his inside pocket and pulled out papers. “I do.”

You looked them over and hummed. “You know, I’m so blessed that Levi owns someone in almost every place possible. A lovely lady in the bank was so sweet to Shino and gave him records of bank accounts.” You eyed the papers. “Funny how before Cassio was taken, a chunk of his money went to you, like he was protecting it.” You handed Shino the papers. “What do you say, Shino? You and Erwin are the big brains of this.”

“Seems like this is the money that the boss, Mr Ackerman, reported as missing from Cassio.”

You faked shock. “Oh my, whatever could it mean? Stacy has Cassio’s money, she wore his colours, she has expensive jewellery that her husband can’t afford and she has a brand new shop.” You tapped your bottom lip. “I wonder what it all means. I could just ask you, Stacy, instead of guessing.”

Stacy laughed nervously. “I…you…you have nothing! It’s all guesswork.”

You giggled. “Maybe it is. I mean, I don’t think I offended Cassio enough to hurt me. I offended you and Cassio would do anything for you. I mean, he gave you a lot of his fortune. I might not be the smartest person in the world, but I’m not a fucking idiot.”

“I didn’t do a thing!” She shook more and looked panicked. “I’m innocent! You have no proof of my relationship with him.”

“You’re right, I have ideas but the thing is I told you Levi has a lot of people all over the place and I learned from that.” You smirked at her. “I started doing the same thing. I have a fun mole who was very happy to give you up. You see, your ego and nastiness against those around you have caused you to be alone, very alone.” You grabbed your drink. “Shino?”

Shino bowed. “I’ll take over for you. Now, our mole will be protected by the Ackerman family for life and their child as well. I’m here, on behalf of the Ackermans, to offer this protection to the rest of you. Side with us and help us and we’ll protect you. It’s that simple.”

Lucas chuckled as all the women abandoned Stacy, while they did they spat nasty words towards her, it was clear she had wronged them all. “Welcome, ladies. If you’ll just step outside with our friends, he’ll take the evidence.”

You tapped one of your crutches against the floor while the ladies left. “So, wanna confess that you were behind it all? You begged Cassio to hurt me because I humiliated you and insulted you.”

Stacy snarled. “I wish he did more than break your fucking leg! I told Cassio to make his men break you. I wanted you to be mentally broken, but they only broke your leg! The fucking, idiots!”

You weakly stood up. “They let you down.”

She rushed you. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

You swung your heavy crutch against the side of her face and sent her to the floor. Blood pooled on the floor as she screamed about her precious and expensive face. “Hmm, I’ve always wondered what would happen if a person with Botox got their face hit.” You turned. “Trash the place and get as much money as possible. She was supposed to be ruined financially so we’ll make it like that.”

Shino clicked his neck as adrenaline rushed through him, he was excited. “Yes, peach.”

You moved outside to see Levi’s car parked there. You slowly looked up and saw Levi leaning against the car with his arms folded. “Levi.”

He sighed. “I told you not to leave that bed.”

“You said I shouldn’t leave for anything unnecessary. This was necessary.”

His brow raised. “Explain, bunny.” He listened closely as you unloaded everything on him and why you were here. “Right.”

You pouted at him and gave your usual sweet wide-eyed look that Levi found so hard to resist. “Are you mad at me?”

“No.” He pulled you against him. “I’m not mad. I’m proud of you for working so hard and standing up for yourself. You’re so fucking smart and you figured all this out? It impresses me.” He showered your face with kisses. “It’s sexy.”

You giggled. “Thank you.”

“Let’s get you home, okay? I’m sure the gents can finish the job.”

“Mm, okay.”

He helped you into the car. “Be right back.” He pressed the end of your nose. “Love you.”

“Love you too. Be nice to Shino and Lucas, okay? They helped me out so much.”

Levi winked at you. “I’m not going to shout at them. I’m going to thank them for helping. I promise, okay?”

“Okay!” You waved and watched Levi go into the building and then after a while, he came out laughing a bit with Lucas and Shino. “Everything okay?”

Levi nodded. “Sorted.” He climbed into the car. “Let’s get you home, full of pain meds and stuffed with food.”

You hummed in happiness. “Awesome.”

[bardic-tales]

Creators' Club: Meet the Project: Fantasy Worlds Collide

For this week, I'm going to do something a little different. I'm going to be talking about the entirety of the 'Fantasy Worlds Collide' passion project. This project spans two fandoms (Final Fantasy 7 and Inuyasha), as well as original work centered on the kingdoms of the abyssal and infernal plane.

You could say that FWC was created 27 years ago when I first made Bianca. At the time, she was a human who worked at Shinra. I'm proud of how she evolved since them.

Warnings: complex plot, existential questions, temporal manipulation, dark themes, moral ambiguity, tragedy, emotional impact, assault, and violence.

More info, below the cut:

The Infernal and Celestial Planes are embroiled in eternal conflict. Azrakiel, now Asmodeus, Prince of Lust, yearns for omnipotence. Obsessed with a prophecy foretelling a being of light and dark reshaping the Omniverse, he abducts a guardian archangel, Seraphine, fathering Bianca Moore. To protect her, Seraphine sacrifices herself, sending Bianca to the future. Asmodeus relentlessly pursues her across time, dimensions, and other realms, including the Inuyasha and Final Fantasy 7 realms. Bianca, raised as human, discovers her celestial powers, faces exile from the Celestial Realm, and battles her destiny in a clash of cosmic forces.

Pairing: None

Main characters:

Bianca Moore: A Nephilim born from celestial-demonic love, she's sent through time to escape danger. Unaware of her celestial heritage, her encounters with Sesshomaru and Sephiroth shape her destiny. Facing heartbreak and darkness, her journey unfolds in a relentless pursuit of love and power.

Azrakiel: Azrakiel, a fallen Archangel, craved forbidden power, birthing Incubi and seeking cosmic supremacy. His pursuit of Bianca led to cosmic battles across dimensions.

Seraphine: Seraphine, a celestial guardian, embodies grace and wisdom in the cosmic tapestry. Her abduction by Azrakiel sets the stage for a universe-defining struggle, her influence spanning dimensions and eras.

Worldbuilding:

Pathway of Reality: The Pathway of Reality, an enigmatic and timeless location, transcends known dimensions. Its black rocky staircase leads to an ethereal nexus with swirling rifts serving as portals to diverse dimensions, including Gaia from Final Fantasy VII. The Pathway's most enigmatic aspect is its profound connection to the Edge of Creation, a mystery within the Final Fantasy 7: Remake, awaiting exploration and understanding in the grand tapestry of the multiverse.

Nephilim: A Unique Fusion of Infernal and Celestial Essence. Singular in Existence. Possesses the Potential to Unleash Unprecedented Multiversal Powers. Crafted as the Vanquisher of Deities—Gods, Celestials, and Infernals Alike. Revered as the Harbinger of Darkness and Madness Across Realms. Reverberating in Biblical Lore, the Nephilim is Symbolized by the Mighty Dragon.

Bianca's journey, marked by love, betrayal, and sacrifice, reaches a pivotal moment at Shinra Manor. There, she finds solace with Sephiroth amidst the chaos of the basement. Their intense, albeit brief, romance is challenged by Sephiroth's dark descent. Bianca grapples with her conflicting emotions, torn between love and fear of her powers succumbing to darkness. After Sephiroth's devastating actions, Bianca aids her newfound comrades but soon faces caputre and torture under Professor Hojo's experiments and daily infusion of Jenova cells and Shinra's control. Freed by Reeve Tuesti, she escapes, encounters a Sephiroth clone named SC X and journeys to the Northern Crater with the help of Sephiroth. There, Bianca stands as a sentinel, overpowered by her demonic heritage fueled by Jenova cells and bound to Sephiroth in love and destiny.

Pairing: Bianca Moore / Sephiroth

Main OC Characters + Canon Characters:

Bianca Moore: Fleeing from her father Azrakiel, Bianca Moore, a Nephilim born of demonic ambition, seeks refuge through another dimension and arrives at Shinra Manor. Grieving Sesshomaru's death, she unexpectedly finds solace in Sephiroth, whose dark allure and inner turmoil mirror her own. They have a bond intertwining them together, shaping their destinies.

Diana Ravenscroft: Diana Ravencroft commands Shinra's research as one of the lead scientists and assistant to Professor Hojo. She ruthlessly oversees experiments, including those on Bianca Moore, as she is driven by her need for scientific advancement. Her cold demeanor gives way to obsession as she tries to understand Bianca's celestial-angelic origins, much like Hojo's fascination with Jenova.

Sephiroth: Sephiroth, the legendary warrior of SOLDIER and son of Jenova, is both feared and revered. His silver hair and piercing green eyes mask a tormented soul. Amidst the chaos of his dark ambitions, he finds an unexpected love interest in Bianca Moore, who he has a bond with that shapes their destinies.

Worldbuilding:

Eternal Convergence: The soul-bond known as Eternal Convergence links Bianca and Sephiroth across space and time through a mystical 'red string of fate'. This connection allows them to feel each other's emotions and pains even when seperated by their alternate versions of Earth (and Gaia), which both shook off as phantom sensations. However, the ability to communicate, as well as having their emotions amplified, was awakened once Bianca was injected with S cells and Jenova cells, respectively. This bond transcends space and time, creating a twin soul link that influences their actions and decisions. It is represented by a red string tied around both of their wrists. This string appears when they are close to each other with red heart loops spaced half a centimeter apart.

Project N: Project N, an offshoot of the Jenova Project, is the code name for 'Project Nephilim" and is named after Bianca Moore's heritage and is lead by Professor Hojo and his assistant, Diana Ravenscroft. Once it is discovered that Bianca's demonic blood can slow the degradation of the Jenova and S cells, as well as her ability to regenerate completely, she is subjected to gruesome dissections and infusions that highlights the cruelty of Hojo and Ravencroft's ambitions and Bianca's own resilience, leading to a deep hatred for Hojo, Ravencroft, and Shinra.

Bianca, once loved by David and Sarah Moore, struggled with night terrors and violent episodes, leading to her institutionalization at 10. Her life was shattered by Azrakiel's cult, which murdered Sarah and burned their home, forcing Bianca and David into a life on the run. This unstable existence deprived Bianca of stability and security, casting a shadow over her formative years. At 20, Bianca, a successful author, met and married Sesshomaru, who had silently protected her throughout her young life. He sent her to the feudal era for safety, where she faced battles alongside Sesshomaru, Rin, and Jaken. Bianca's powers grew as she fought Naraku and Azrakiel. Despite suffering losses,Bianca's determination and mastery of her angelic and demonic heritage led her to victory.

Pairing: Bianca Moore / Sesshomaru

Main OC Characters + Canon Characters:

Azrakiel: Azrakiel, a powerful fallen angel, commands a devoted cult that wreaks havoc in pursuit of his dark ambitions. Ruthless and cunning, he seeks to control Bianca and harness her unique powers, leaving destruction in his wake. His malevolent influence shadows every step of her journey.

Bianca Moore: Bianca, a fallen angel with a unique blend of angelic and demonic heritage, journeys through the feudal era alongside Sesshomaru. Her strength and compassion make her a vital ally in their fight against Naraku and Azrakiel. Determined and resilient, she protects her friends while mastering her extraordinary powers.

Sesshomaru: Sesshomaru, the enigmatic demon lord, embodies strength and honor. Initially aloof, his connection with Bianca reveals his depth and loyalty. A fierce warrior and protector, Sesshomaru's evolving emotions and relentless determination to safeguard Bianca and their allies make him a pivotal figure in their battle against darkness.

Worldbuilding

Cult of Asmodeus: The Cult of Asmodeus is a secretive and fanatical group devoted to the dark entity Azrakiel (Asmodeus). Known for their brutal acts of violence and arson, they destroyed Bianca's family home and tragically ended her mother Sarah's life. Led by zealotry and driven by Azrakiel's malevolent influence, they pursued Bianca relentlessly, forcing her and her father David into a life of constant flight and instability. Their actions left a deep scar on Bianca's soul, shaping her journey as she sought security amidst the chaos wrought by the cult's devotion to Azrakiel's dark legacy. They have their roots in Japan's Feudal Era.

Solstice: Solstice, Bianca's celestial sword, is a masterpiece of craftsmanship forged from a rare silver alloy. Adorned with intricate engravings and Enochian inscriptions, it symbolizes her angelic heritage and connection to the divine realm. As Bianca wields Solstice, it becomes a beacon of light and hope, embodying her role as a warrior of righteousness. This Great Sword channels her inner strength and celestial powers, enabling her to unleash devastating strikes against her foes while protecting those she cares for. Solstice's radiant presence on the battlefield marks Bianca's unwavering commitment to justice and her determination to confront the darkness that threatens her world.

[stiffyck]

I’m just gonna drop an AU idea I has here.

So basically multiple characters from different universes and genres are somehow transported to this one, a la into the spiderverse. Shenanigans ensue.

Grian is a normal architecture student living in a one bedroom apartment. He has two siblings, Jimmy and Pearl, but they live on different parts of town. Portal opens up and out pops Hotguy “Hawkeye” or Scar from a stereotypical superhero movie. Claimed Grian as his sidekick and now acts as a wildly controversial vigilante in the city. Currently living on Grian’s couch and begged to keep a stray cat he found. He named her Jellie.

Mumbo is from a Victorian Age Vampire drama, and has really called off. He tried to do his usual routine of getting his prey, but all it got him was a kick to the groin and a face full of pepper spray. Grian found him starving in an alleyway and he is now living in Grian’s Closet. He is fascinated by the technology in this world and has a hobby of disassembling and reassembling any technology he comes across. Grain lost a toaster and the oven to his hobby.

Some more miscellaneous information :

Gem is a magical girl, and is ridiculously overpowered. She has the capacity to split a skyscraper in two and vaporize anything she comes across. She is currently roommates with Pearl.

Speaking of Impulse, he is a dragon from a fantasy game. He is actually quite chill when unprovoked and is currently working with and living with Skizz. Out of everyone, he’s the most chill about his current situation.

Etho… is a normal dude, he just dresses like a ninja 24/7. No one knows why.

Doc and Cub are from Scar’s universe as it’s titular villains. Doc can be defeated by cute shrubbery, the power of friendship, simply removing a screw from his inventions, or asking about his child.

Cub is more complicated, as he is currently possessed by an alien plant thing. He used to be very close to Scar, but Grian knows a difficult subject when he sees one and doesn’t press for more information.

Ren runs a logging business and ran into both Bdubs and Martyn, both from the same fantasy universe as Impulse. According to the both of them, he has a strong resemblance to their king and both sweared their undying loyalty to him. Both do not hesitate to attempt to Murder anything in their way.

Jimmy is just a coach as the local elementary school. Everyone wants him.

Tango is from a sci-fi drama, and was the engineer of several fleets of spaceships. He currently works as a normal engineer but is a bit hard to hide and control his literal flaming hair and completely red eyes. Pining after a certain coach.

Scott is from the same sci-fi drama as Tango, complete with literal starry eyes and hair, and has been here the longest. He is known as a wildly popular influencer and is well known throughout the city. Also moonlights as a thief. Friends with Jimmy.

OOOH I LOVE THIS YES

[transingthoseformers]

I just imagine Rung just being dropped into the Bayverse after the events of Lost Light, specifically during the first movie. He be so saddened about his race's state as there are way way less around than in the incarnate's original universe. The moment Rung realizes the Allspark is intact is when our dear therapist figures 'Why not fix this'?

He can easily sense the Cube's location. Even though this is a different dimension, any Primus is still capable of detecting vital relics such as this. It would be hilarious that all sides are taken by surprise at the complete wildcard who stole the Cube from Sector 7 and just disappears whenever possible.

Rung is a force of beneficial chaos absolutely done with this damn civil war.

Yepppppp

He knows there's work to be done here and that he can do it

Lol yeahhh they didn't expect that

I just realized that yes the mecha in the comics are often more overpowered than their other counterparts and that makes this great as fuck

[emmanuellececchi]

Not-Yet-Written-Fics Game

AKA 4 liners outlines in my Scrivener files that no-one asked for but maybe I'll write ✨someday✨

Thanks for the tag @erathene 😘 As you did I added the probability of writing it... Maybe

1 - When Eomer got a hair cut. Way back when I was younger I imagined this that Eomer got capture by orcs and that they had cut his gorgeous hair. Not so long ago I exchanged with @konartiste about it and put a few lines in a file. Eomer got captured, hair cut, eored filled with mutuals as horse lord (thought it would be funny), Eomer feeling ashamed in front of his Queen, until he feels her nails rakes through his short hair, and feels her kissing his neck... That's it. That's the plot. Probability of being written: 1/10 - Already lots of things on my plate. Maybe a scene somewhere... Or a one shot. For now, it will stay in my files.

2 - Valisthea University. FUNNY AU for Final Fantasy XVI. Where every dominants is a Uni Professor. each of them in a depatment fitting with their personality/powers. No plot. Just shenanigan on a campus with professors acting like adolescent, love and gossip, all fun no drama. Maybe an OC, maybe not. Just a fleeting ideas among the sea of ideas I have. Probability of being written : 1/10 - Simply because I have already so much WIP for FF16, this one is just... too much. Although it could be one shot compiled in a non coherent story... Maybe I just bumped the probability by one... So 2/10

3 - Dark Phoenix. DARK FF16 AU Where Joshua turns evil after learning the Undying actually killed his brother. Once again. No plot. just an exchange of ideas with @cantanatova. Probability of being written : 0/10 - Even when I am making his life even more miserable, I want Joshua to have a happy ending. This cannot end good... So I don't feel I'll be able to write it.

4 - The Warden of Shadow. DARK FF16 AU where there are only two dominants Light and Darkness AKA Dion Lesage and Barnabas Tharmr. All the other are allies from one side or the other. In this one Barnabas capture someone of Dion's family to have a child and make the child the next Warden of Darkness but imbue with the power of light. Goal being to have someone able to overpower Dion and conquer the whole world. The child is growing up without love and is teached war, fights, and so on. Sleipnir watches over the child who is a daughter. This is a twisted relationship as Sleipnir, is actually an spirit/egi from a third, forgotten power : Shadow. At one point Barnabas will want to break the twisted bond between Sleipnir and the girl in order to break the girl and make her the perfect vessel. All hell break loose, And the girl claim the Shadow power. The last scene is of the girl and Sleipnir looking over a battle field where Darkness and Light are fighting and reading to wreak chaos on both side. Probability of being writen : 7/10 - Barnabas and Sleipnir are bad guys in the game and I have no trouble giving them hell. And I found the twist of having another set of "bad guys" or non aligned guys to just break everything without a care in the world.

I have many others but I'll just list this 4. It actually helped me while writing about them so thanks again @erathene!

Let's send a no-pressure tag to @konartiste @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras and @quillofspirit and everybody else who would like to share with us! @ass-deep-in-demons and @frodothefair: I am tagging you but you already posted yours ;)

[anjinghangat]

Typing LBC LIs: Ayn

ESI(ISFP) sp468 EVFL / sx468 EFVL* RLOEI

*Ayn's personality ranges. His modern and Eden self is sp4 but in Godheim, he is sx4.

Self-preservation 4 <tenacity>

«because I suffer, I make myself work»

it is not uncommon for the SP4 to be very stoic, as they are used to swallowing pain. They have learned to tolerate pain and not dwell in it. Because of the SP need for survival, they demand a lot from themselves and have a passion for effort.

Ayn is a reactive character, all his motivations come from an external stimulus that causes him to suffer. In the modern universe, his mother's death drove him to persist on playing the piano despite his father's disapproval. Despite the lack of support, he remains stoic, wanting to prove his self-reliance.

[However, Ayn also wants to prove that he can achieve great things by himself.] 7. Memory - Pleasant Coorperation.

In Eden, the burning down of the black market where he was being sold as a slave against his instinct to survive and persist.

"Destiny is a farce. Fire usually ends lives, but in the end, I had to use it to save myself." ...[I look into Ayn's eyes and see that red is indeed a good protective colour. WIth how bright and colourful it is, it's easy to overlook the immense pain it hides.] 11 - The Past 3

Masochistic attitude - Ayn bears with suffering readily for the need for love and recognition

Difficulty accepting limits - Ayn pushes himself even when he's putting himself at risk of when he doesn't have any support

Difficulty expressing tenderness - Ayn restrains tenderness and affection towards other because those are related to dependency of others

Sexual 4 <hate>

«because I suffer, I hate others»

When Envy comes into contact with this instinct it produces a character competes with others in an attempt to gain approval or recognition. Sx4s then make others suffer as an unconscious way of trying to rid themselves of painful feelings of deficiency. They are the kind of people who’d rather be hated for who they are than be loved for someone who they are not.

In Godheim, Lars's takeover pushes him to climb a hierarchy to prove himself and take back everything that he had lost because of Lars.

[For Ayn, happiness is something that was beaten out of him during his childhood. He demands satisfaction: a life for a life.] "I want to take back everything I've lost, everything Lars had taken away from me." 12 - Symbiosis.

Ayn is deeply envious of Lars and he expresses it to be the reason behind his motivations openly to MC once he starts showing his vulnerable side.

"I want to become stronger, so I can topple him from his throne. The throne is rightfully mine, and so are you..." 15 - The Sword Beneath the Moon

Guilty and Blaming others - Ayn largely blames Lars and the incompetency of his father for his suffering, because he doesn't want to accept his own guilt.

Violent - Ayn was physically aggressive against Alkaid and MC

Overpowering - the start of Ayn's and MC's relationship was a contract that made sure that he would always have the upper hand over her

ESI (Socionics:ISFj / mbti:ISFP)

Ne PoLR: Ayn has a conscious fear of potential, which is what causes trust issues. He is wary of people and what they might do in the future, that's why he puts all sorts of precautions and he himself becomes rigid. Fi base solves this by labelling people and holding on to that - this is a friend, that is an enemy. And depending on how bad it is, he can go around thinking everyone is his enemy (even when they aren't.)

1E (Psychosophy)

Ayn is confident in emotions but can appear more closed off about expressing them in EFVL because of the influence of 3V. Notice that Eden Ayn is somewhat warmer than Godheim Ayn. Ayn's decisions are heavily influenced by his own emotions and are not affected by others' emotions.

[iamnmbr3]

House elves joining the fighting in book 7 is treated as an almost cute little moment but actually it should be a huge, tide-turning event. houselves are probably some of the most op creatures in the hp universe. they can perform wandless magic so powerful they can disarm a wizard carrying a wand.

goblins resent that they are reduced to second class citizens because they don't have wands but house elves don't need them. when they're free to use their powers they are able to overpower armed wizards. kreacher captured mundungus. dobby defeated lucius in book 2 and then disarmed and held at bay multiple wizards in book 7. and army of house elves would wreck the Death Eaters lol.

tldr: Kreacher deserved more credit for rallying all the house elves and probably singlehandedly turning the tide of the battle

[laurelindebear]

Saturday nights have been D&D/TTRPG night for...a long long time now. But at the moment I'm not taking part, and it feels...weird, and sad. My group is still going, but about a month ago, before we went on our trip away, the session ended with something of a falling out and it brought to a head all the problems that have been building up for me for awhile. Rant and just...being sad below.

The group consists of 7-8 people: myself, my husband, his brother (and sometimes sister in law), and four of our friends. Husband and brother in law normally take turns DMing. They're both pretty good DMs, but we use a lot of homebrew and allow a lot of stuff that isn't in the rules, and power creep has become a real thing.

Main problem I have is that at this point, three of the (currently) seven people are actively harming the fun for me. One of the people is husband's oldest friend and they used to be closer but they don't have so much in common now. They have always been annoying (eg calling us on the phone every single day when we first got married, before always-online services). Despite having played TTRPGs for decades, they never remember what their spells or abilities do, whether we're playing, what time we start, etc. They and they alone have trouble with the dice room (somewhat conveniently - we swapped to using a room with dice rollers years ago in part because we simply didn't believe their actual rolls with physical dice (we're playing on voice, not in person) - they're also a habitual liar about pointless things like that. Maybe most annoying is that they are always playing another game at the same time (usually World of Warcraft), and not something that's easy to tab out of, or which only uses half your brain. I level fishing etc while playing a lot, because it's so boring otherwise, but it doesn't take my attention. But because of this, they are only ever half-aware of what's going on, at best. They get bored of their characters before the end of every campaign, without fail, and often have them get killed off/reroll in stupid ways because they think its funny.

Person two is a friend who is just kind of obsessed with finding ways to 'break' and game the system to make their character overpowered. At the end of a previous campaign they decided they were going to one-shot kill the ultimate big bad by summoning a herd of...oxen or something way above the guy's head and dropping them on him for massive damage, because it was funny. It only half-worked, partly because the DM wasn't keen on having the final battle go that way, I think, but you get the idea. This time they're trying a multiclass build specifically to do ludicrous amounts of damage every fight, which works because of the way we handle short and long rests and healing. Then there's the fact that all their characters are super greedy and have to loot everything, even when it's detrimental to the party; and that their go-to special thing to do to anyone they don't like or anyone we need to question is to shove stuff up the person's butthole. (They also enjoy being very cold and evilish and acting without consulting the group.)

Person three is my BIL who I've talked about before. Sometimes we get on ok. But we have very different values and we can clash a lot. He's borderline obsessed with the military and military loyalty, and he's actively proud and defensive of British colonialism. (!!!!) He also is very precious about male gaze, and criticism thereof, to the point of acting very personally offended and harmed by how 'women on television/ in films/ in games can't have big boobs now.' In this campaign he's been very metagamey, where no matter what we encounter (we're jumping between universes) he knows exactly who and what everything is and doesn't hesitate to explain it all to us. He may have encyclopedic knowledge of all TTRPG systems and critters, but his character absolutely wouldn't. He's also very bossy; he gets cross if he feels he's the only one putting forward plans and strategy, but as often as not when anyone does suggest a plan, he immediately jumps in to say how terrible it is and why it won't work - even if it will. He's loud and can be aggressive and I'm pretty shit at assertiveness, although sometimes if my husband is DMing he'll actually tell me, off mic, that my plan/idea is a good one and to keep going with it regardless of BIL's dismissals. In this last campaign especially, he's been obsessive about sex and boobs and everyone in the party getting laid every adventure, when that's really not what most of us are about.

Anyway, the last game I played turned into a mess because we got transported to your typical 'warworld coliseum battle royale' type world run by a super powerful wizard or lich or something. We were fighting some of the guy's minions and doing ok, but Powergamer decided it was too dangerous and taking too long so he tried to attack the big boss, despite hints from the DM (husband) that it wasn't a great plan. As a result we all got Meteor Swarm-ed and Doesn't Pay Attention died (again).

As we were in the process of escaping, I had a wild thought to try to pickpocket the boss, or maybe sneak something from his balcony while he wasn't there - I was playing a rogue and my stealth and sleight of hand were very good. I mention this in just a thinking out loud way, and get screamed at by BIL because 'THIS IS A LEVEL 36 MAGE CASTING LEVEL 18 FIREBALLS, OF COURSE HE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE INVISIBLE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING' etc etc. Somehow when other players do something bonkers and risky - say, diving off a zeppelin into a tower window, telefragging a castle, or using a weird demonic artifact to bring a Mecha Joan of Arc back to life, whose programming is essentially to destroy all humanoid life - it's more likely to be taken as funny, or 'haha it's your funeral but do whatever', but for me, no, I'm an idiot and how dare I even think about doing that random thing? Nevermind that neither his character nor anyone else would know what 'level' the bad guy was because that's not how RP works, characters don't have stat books on them! I lost my temper and just said something like 'ok well I try and I'm dead then, forget it', and left the channel, and I haven't been back.

So now I'm without a group, and...it sucks. My husband is sad, and I'm sad. But I don't want my RP games to be all powergaming and sexual assault and celebrations of colonialism and getting shouted at. It's not fun. And it just wasn't fun...but I wish it were. It so often has been. Maybe it will be again. But right now I feel lost and a little bit alone and it's coming at really the worst possible time, with autumn being a historically very shitty time for me and this year with my stress about politics making me both physically and mentally unwell on the daily.