#*SCREAMS AND FLAILS INTERNALLY*

[omgitsaddyc]

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY !! <333

I hope u had an incredible day aaa,, I just KNOW barb made u the most incredible cake 🥺 and juza ofc there to share it with you... YOU'RE WONDERFUL AND YOU DESERVE THE WORLD <33 ILY LEVI <333

AHHHH THANK U HAHN!!!! 🥰🥺💗 That’s the dream birthday right there 🥺

AHHHH I LOVE U TOO AHHHHH

[bundoesnotcompete]

Reader is a Vidyadhara and Dan Feng's apprentice. This is wayy to long at an amazing 7250 ish words. Slight lore inaccuracies and maybe oocness. Childhood friends to lovers. Reader is dubbed 'Baofu' as a name but it isn't mentioned often. See end for more notes. Enjoy!

You were floating in something warm. Whatever you were contained in was very warm and so wonderfully comfortable. You had to wonder where you were and why you felt so calm. Fragments of a previous life, of a game and wondering the cosmos, filled your mind. You startled and kicked around, it was too much for your young mind to handle. Your mind gently drifted off.

The next time you woke, you were much smaller. Your tail felt around your small chamber, that too was smaller. There were voices yelling outside, but they were muffled. Your chamber was dark, so seeing outside was not an option. They were horribly loud too your sensitive ears, and you shifted away from them, accidently flipping your prison around. They stopped yelling.

This was fine, you could handle being in a diffrent position if it meant you got your peace and quiet. You felt movement around you before your room righted itself. You floated to the bottom, happily sleeping again.

It was beginning to get cramped in your home. This was what you had decided the next time you woke. Quiet voices could be heard outside. The voices were familiar to you since you heard them often.

When you stretched out your limbs to relieve their sleepiness, your feet broke your container. Water was quickly filling your home and you panicked. The egg you were in was fragile and you easily broke free of it. Kicking and clawing your way to freedom and safety.

Well, it would've been safe if your toddler body could swim. Even the fragmented memories and instincts weren't enough to remember the motions to swim. You had yet to open your eyes, too busy flailing to think about opening them. Panic set in and you began to cry and scream, an internal part of you getting embarrassed. Water splashed around you before a set of hands grabbed your naked and screaming form. As you were lifted out of the water, you were decided to open your eyes.

Blurrily, you could see the face of a man with a set of blue ish horns and brown hair. Dan Heng? A fragment of your original self echoed. Who was Dan Heng? Blinking and settling yourself, you stopped screaming.

"I shall inform and retrieve the others, Imbibitor Lunae!" A panicked voice entered your ears. Even though fat tears were still streaming down your face, you could make out the man in front of you better. Blue eyes, dark brown to black hair, and long ears are what you could make out as he cradled you to his chest. You tail swoshed gently behind you as he shifted to hold you.

You watched from where your head laid on his shoulders as he left the waters. The dark cobbled room greeted your eyes. The place where you had slept was filled with green seawees and sand. Your former home laid in ruins from your panicked escape. Pieces of the egg shell floated in the clear water. You had eased up in your crying as you studied the room.

More people hurried into the room, these ones did not look lile the one who held you. They had long ears but lacked the horns and tail you and you handler had.

"Imbibitor Lunae, here is some blankets to wrap them in." A woman took you from you handler's arms and wrapped you in a warm blanket. You shifted, the blanket felt like it was crunching your tail. You began to cry again at the feeling, your toddler body not having much emotional control.

You made grabby hands toward the one known as Dan Feng, crying louder. You wanted to go back to safety and not being uncomfortable.

"Give them here. I will take them to the next room." Dan Feng commanded the room and you were quickly given back to him. He adjusted the blanket for your tail and held you to his chest.

What followed next was something you could not remember, your drowsiness taking over. What you did learn was that you were not something that was supposed to be alive.

Your egg had appeared from nowhere. An elderly Vidyadhara caretaker had found your egg. No records of you were found and that had caused an uproar. Scans confirmed that you were a Vidyadhara. Your egg was quickly isolated. An arugement had broken out about you when the entirity of the Vidyadhara Preceptors council had gotten together.

It was only when you were roughly seven in human years did you fully regain yourself.

--------

Being reincarnated sucked. Your reincarnation into the Vidyadhara called Baofu wouldn't have been so bad if the others hadn't looked at you strange. The new name and body hadn't taken long to get used to, but the looks did.

"Its not normal to show your tail and horns. Why are they doing that?" Many had murmured behind your back.

"I heard that the Council thinks they are a reincarnation of Long." Others would gossip. Many expectations were placed on you. Any wrong doing was punished twice as much then anyone else and any achievement belittled. The council members from all ships sucked.

You were in a small pool out in a green area, currently working on water techniques like your shifu taught you. The artifical sun of the Xianzhou Loufu was bright in the water. Your shifu sat behind you.

Dang Feng watched you as you struggled and got frustrated. His knees tucked underneath him and tail resting behind him. His face was passive at your growing frustration. He crossed his arms.

"Do not think of water as a shape right now. Think of it as a flowing river, do not fight against it, but go with it." His stern voice hit your ears just as your control faltered and water plooped back down into its source. You let out a frustrated cry and your tail hit the water hard. You turned around to face the dark-haired man, ignoring the fact he was gently wiping water from his face.

"Can we go home? I've been doing this forever. I wanna go play." Your voice was a hair below shouting. Frustration was thick in your voice and your mentor merely sighed.

"Give it another shot. You are closer to doing it then you think you are." He encouraged. You groaned before turning around. You held your hands out and focused. Let the water flow freely, but encourage it to keep its shape.

A small, clear blob gently floated in front of you. You imagined a ring in your mind and attempted to mould to water to that shape. The water shakily formed a ring and you held it in the air. A large smile broke out on your face and you turned to you mentor who gave a small smile. Turning your head back to the ring of water., you felt your control slip and watched the water flop pathetically back to its source.

You sagged slightly at the sight, but turned around as you heard your mentor stand. He dusted off his white pants and beckoned you toward him. You walked to him and got out of the water. Your sandals were covered in sand and the edges of your shorts were slightly wet.

"I will permit you to have extra time to play today. You will not get the opportunity tomorrow." He held out his hand for you to take. You took it, his large hand encompassing yours. "You did well today. So not let the others bring you down. You are still quite young." You both walked back to your shared home.

Once you changed, you fled the house. Your master watching as you left. There was a park you could go to that had many children there often. It was a wonderful place to go to when you just wanted to be a child. As you arrived, you scanned the area. The park was rather empty today. The only people in it were a white haired man and a young boy. His son, you guessed by the looks of it.

You darted to the sand box the boy was in, you tail gently swaying as you ran. The boy heard you and looked up from where he was playing. You stopped in front of him and looked down at him. Gold eyes watched you carefully. You had this. You could do this without being socially awkward.

"I am Baofu and I think we are going to play together." Shit, that was too demanding. Plan B, Plan B. "If you wanna. If not I can go play somewhere else." You back tracked, trying to fix your tone to something lighter. Heavens did you even sound like a child?

Nice going, you messed it up and now he's not going to play with you. You thought.

The boy merely smiled and shuffled over to make space for you. He patted the sand beside him. You stepped in the box and sat next to him. He turned to you, white hair messily framing his face.

"I'm Jing Yuan." He said, scooping some sand into a his pale blue bucket. He made no comments on your more dragon like appearance. Instead, you two played like any other children would. Being a child again was a wonderful experience at times, this being one of them. Even as his father came to take Jing Yuan home, you two promised to meet again.

You often met with Jing Yuan at the park after that. In between your forced duties and schooling, you would try to catch him at the park. You only truly made friends with him and no other child at the park. Between your social awkwardness and appearance, no child wanted to be friends with the odd one out. Except for Jing Yuan, that is.

"I'm going to be a Cloud Knight!" He proclaimed to you one day as you both played Knights. You had been friends with him for nearly three years at this point. "Dad even enrolled me in training courses to help me get started earlier. Though we just stick to book stuff."

He swung at you with his stick and you dodged and tried to get him back with yours. This was training disgused as play time. You had to give his dad credit, disgusing this exercise as a game was clever. It also left you ego and shins bruised. Jing yuan was too good at attacking.

"I think you'll be a good knight!" You had merrily chimed back as you hit him with the back of the leg with a stick. You heard him yelp and fall. Aa you approached him he glared up at you from his spot on the ground. He couldn't keep the grumpy face for long though, and he eventually broke out into laughter after you helped him up.

Unbeknownst to the both of you, this was the last time you would see one another for years to come. Training took up the majority of your time and then eventually Jing Yuan's. When you had gotten your first phone you had gotten his number, but you both ended up being so busy that you didn't talk much.

You had progressed wonderfully in your training, the water eventually succumbing to your will. Of course, you weren't on the level of someone like Dan Feng, but if he couldn't be there you often took his place.

It was exhausting. The other high elders expected so much of you. Dang Feng did his best to control the influence the other elders had over you, but he could only do so much. Then, while you were working on the Yuque, it came under siege from the Denizens of Abundance. What was supposed to be simple help with injuries from a band of roaming mara-struck turned into a battlefield.

The injuries only multiplied from there. If you weren't being ran ragged by the injured then you were out on the defense lines. The Denizions did not take well to boiling, high pressured water shooting at them at high speeds. The tiredness from earlier only worsened when you fought.

The Yuque was quickly turning into a mess. While the defensive lines did hold, everything else was falling apart. The medics were quickly being overwhelmed and the soldiers were running out of weapons. Denizions were tough to kill, even the weapon shifu had made for you eventually cracked from battle. In a way, you were cracking just like your weapon.

"Please, you have to help her instead of me. My children deserve to have their mother more." The solider laying in front of you begged, how wife laying next to him. An attack on the district had left them both injured. The man more so then his wife.

"She will be fine. Stop moving." Your patience was wearing thin. Another Vidyadhara was coming towards you. The man in front of you jerked again and you finally gave into your frustration and hit him on his leg wound. It was cruel, but he needed to follow orders. You whipped you head to him as he cried out.

"Shut up and lay still or i will do more then just hit you." You hissed to him. You never got violent with your patients, but he would not stop moving and your patience was thin.

"That is enough, I will deal with him Baofu." There was a hand on your shoulder. "You are needed in the command tent. The main tent. Go get some rest after that. You look horrific." The woman's voice was authoritive. You looked up at her dipleased face before finally standing from your seat and storming out the tent, the frustration obivous on your face.

The main command tent was in the center of camp. More people shuffled around then before, new faces coming in with the old. Supplies were quickly feeding into camp. It appears help from the Loufu has finally arrived. Sliding past the busy people had taken a bit of time, but you made it to the tent. You felt tired just looking at the Major in charge.

Throwing open the cloth door, you could see four familiar people standing around the table. You knew them as Dan Feng's friends, but you never had the time to truly meet them.

"Ah, Baofu. It appears our prayers have been heard. Help has finally arrived." The major in charge of this camp gave a relieved sounding sigh. She continued, "I will give a short summary of who is who just in case you don't know. I know you know your shifu. The woman to my left is Baiheng, she will be helping with starskifts." She waved towards a Foxian Woman. She pointed to a white haired woman next. "This is Jingliu and her appreantice, Jing Yuan."

You merely nodded in response to her introductions. You gave a small wave to them before turning back to the Major, not fully comprehending the fact that your childhood best friend was standing across from you. Scooting closer to the table, you took a look at the map. The lines hadn't moved on the Alliance's part, but the Denizions appeared to have grown in number.

"I want you to give a debriefing to your shifu after this. He needs to know what mess he is walking into." The major continued. She turned her attention to the map in front of everyone and began her debriefing. If there was one thing you did not like about the major, it was the fact that she was boring. She had a monotone voice that could put anyone to sleep. You got drowsy as she continued on, the debriefing not keeping your attention. This was the first time in a while you had been in such a still place. You blinked awake.

Dan Feng had moved beside you, as if sensing you were about to fall asleep. You looked up to see his disapproving, but worried look. Well, as worried as his neutral face got. You played with your hands, distracting yourself. You ignored the fact that you felt yourself shaking. You blinked awake again. She was still rambling. A hand was on your back this time. Dan Feng leaned down to your ear.

"Stay awake for a few more minutes. You do not need to debrief me, so you can just go to your room." He whispered quietly. You nodded. Heavens, you were so tired. When was the last time you ate? Your eyes drooped again. Fighting against sleep was difficult. You entire body was so exhauasted from constant use. It was not used to war.

You did not blink awake like you did last time. Instead, you woke with an intense grogginess. The bed you were in was warm and soft. The wonderful feeling of the bed did not change the fact that your bones ached. Everything ached, actually. Muffled voices came through the door to your room.

"We both know Baofu cares too much. I've only known them for a bit, but even i could recognize the signs. Hitting a patient was the final straw." It was the voice of the Vidyadhara Woman from before. Lady Wu was what many called her. The voice of your mentor came closer.

"Why didn't you pull them from active duty earlier…." You zoned out from the conversation as they got closer. Your brain felt like it was frying itself.

You cracked open your eyes, trying to gather information about your sorroundings. Sitting up proved to be difficult, but you maaged an upright position before the door to your room opened. Dan Feng entered the room quietly.

Seeing that you were awake, he spoke. "You gave us quite to scare, collasping like that." He approached and sat in the chair next to your bed. The room lit only by the small, dull lamp in front on your bed. "You are in a state of absolute exhuastion. Do you even realize how in bad of shape you are?"

You looked to him and huffed. The look on his face warned you of an an incoming scolding and lecture. He got a cup of water from the small side table beside him and handed to you.

What proceeded was the most intense scolding of your life. You had been out for nearly three days and Dan Feng had been worried. He listed facts after facts about your poor health and how you needed to take care of yourself more. You were no use if you were overworking yourself. Now here you were, in a state of weakness caused by your own doing.

"Jing Yuan will need assistance in helping train the soldiers more. Jingliu can only do so much and she is furious at the poor state of the soldiers training. Light duty only." He gave you a sharp look at those final words. "I will send for Jing Yuan and he will update you shortly. For now you will have three days of rest before light duty." You licked you dry lips nervously. You hadn't seen your friend in so long, you were basically strangers.

Dan Feng stood and sighed. "I do not have much time to spend with you here. So, I am going to say this now. You did a wonderful job healing the injured." You could tell he wanted to say something else. "Please, do not be hard on yourself when you lose a patient, you cannot save everyone." He turned as began to walk to the door. You were unsure what to say to that, so you only watched as he left.

You cleaned yourself in the next few hours. Brushing your hair, taking a shower, and taking care of your tail were the beginning steps. The door opened and a white haired teen waltzed in. You held a tight grip on your tail to prevent it from wagging. A smile broke out on your face, however.

"Jing yuan!" You called to him as he approached. He was quick to snatch you in a hug. Your hands letting go of your tail to hug him back. You tail thumped against the floor happily.

"I was a bit worried about you. You just suddenly collaspsed in the meeting." He start as he set you back on the bed he had snatched you from. He sat on the chair that Dan Feng originally sat in. "I'm glad your okay. Things really are a mess here. How about I give you an idea of what your going to help me with and then we catch up."

Appreantly, the Denizens of Abundance where being helped by an emanator named ShuShu. Upon finding this out, Jingliu wanted every soldier trained harder in order to be more ready for battle. The higher ups did not want more to become mara-struck. With better training, they could achieve that.

Jing Yuan mainly needed someone to help him show his trainees how to patch wounds. Since a majority of the soldiers did not have formal training, they often did not know how to patch wounds. Many were civilians who took up arms to help the overwhelmed knights.

Thus began your days of recovery. You would attend the training, show some basic medic skills, like stitching up wounds, and then spend your day with Jing Yuan. Of course, you could only spend time with him if Jingliu hadn't taken him or if he wasn't busy.

After your recovery, both yours a Jing Yuan's training intensified. Neither of your Mentors wanted you two to fall in battle. Your original training did not revolve around combat, so Dan Feng largely trained you in how to fight better. Your ability to heal at fast rates, whether that be on yourself or others, was a gift that Dan Feng used. Your fast healing made others and yourself more durable in battle, leading to people being in battle longer.

You did not particularly enjoy combat, oftentimes staying farther back and using the cloudhymm to heal your soldiers en masse. It was an ability others appraciated. Eventually, the High Cloud Quintet was formed. Though you often visited them when they had their meetings, you never formally joined them.

Your duties often kept you on other lines apart from them. Instead you unintentionally formed a healing group with other Vidyadhara that often kept your soldiers in battle for far longer then normal. In fact, those who often where in your small group branched off to other divisions to help there. Years drew on, and you fame only grew with how many battles you dragged out and how many frontlines were moved under you and your people.

After the western front was secured, you were asked to go to the eastern front, where your mentor was. The Denizens of Abundance were far stronger on the eastern front since they were pushed back. So, you and several divisions of soldiers went east to support them. A massive attack at ShuShu and his forces was about to be underway. Any relief that you're soldiers could give would be helpful.

The relief your soldiers brought was immense. Many of the overworked were able to take a small break now that help had arrived.

Arriving to the main command center, you entered the building to see where you would be placed. Large arms encased you in a hug from behind before you could find the commanders. Only one person would do that.

"Hello Jing Yuan." You sighed. He dropped you and you turned to him. He had gotten far prettier over the years and you decided that it wasn't fair. Who let this man be so pretty? He was also far too kind to you. He always listened to you and often times tried to distract you from the war. He would be a good boy- wait, no. You did not have a crush on him. You couldn't do that, not with your best friend. Those weren't the words of you loving him, they were just words of appreciation. Yeah, appreciation.

"Why, I'm here to take you to the others." He guided you to a room in the opposite direction. "They figured you wouldn't know where to find them, so they sent me to wait for you." He looked to you as you walked. You had grown to be quite beautiful, in his opinion. Your empathy drew him to you even if you pretended too not care so deeply. He enjoyed many other traits about you too.

Entering a large room, the other High Cloud Quintet members were there. Baiheng gave you a beaming smile and waved to you as you approached the war table. You took a spot next to your mentor. Jingliu stood at the front, Baiheng to her right, and Jing Yuan was next to Baiheng. Yingxing stood to Jingliu's left, Dan Feng next to him, and then you at the end of the table.

"Shushu's forces are making a desperate attempt to stop us." Jingliu began. "An attack must be happening soon. If we can strike first, it could cripple their defenses." Jingliu looked up from the table. "So here is the plan."

The plan never happened, Shushu's forces had far greater power than anyone had anticipated and had attacked first. The Sanguinary Abyss that shushu had set up was dangerous, and any who passed through it were often trapped on the other side. Your mentor was on the other side and suffering from Dragon's Delirium.

Even as both you and Jing Yuan cut through countless enemies, their defenses would not break. Your healing was keeping the soldiers alive longer, but they were still falling rapidly. At this rate, you were merely stalling. Purple hair was quick to rush by you and run into the enemies' defensive line.

Baiheng was rushing and bulldozing her way through both the Sanguinary Abyss and enemy lines. Her recklessness carving a way through the enemies defensive line. Yingxing was quick on her tail.

"Everyone," Jing Yuan managed to shout out to enough soldiers, "Follow us through the lines, we have a way past them! Inform everyone around you!" He looked your way as he parried and killed one the denizens. Hearing his command you repeated what was said to nearby soldiers, shouting as loud as you could.

Rallying to Jing Yuan, you kept the soldiers you had alive as you stormed the enemies crumbling defensive line. Following behind Baiheng by a few short minutes. The following battle raged on for longer as the forces around you unknowingly made a defensive line to Baiheng and the others.

Shushu's defeat was quickly realized as the Denizens of Abundance fled in large numbers and the battle was quickly ended. You told Jing Yuan to find the others as you went for the wounded. You could worry about them later, your soldiers were more important since they did not have the same power as the others.

As the battle slowed and ended, You created patches of misty haze that healed your wounded soldiers and helped keep those with major wounds alive for longer. Hours bled together as you helped settle the remaining skirmishes and healed the wounded. In some cases, even killing them after they had been mara-struck.

You did not hear news of Baiheng's sacrifice until you returned to camp to rest. You saw your master and Jingliu speaking and had decided to approached.

"Shifu." You spoke from behind Dan Feng. He looked horribly pale. "Are you alright?" You looked to Jingliu who was no better. Assuming the worse you quickly approached to look for wounds.

"Your not injured are you? Where is Baihe-" you were quickly cut off by Dan Feng.

"Baiheng is dead. She gave herself to defeat ShuShu." Dan Feng's voice shook as he spoke. Shock colored your face. You had quickly forced him and Jingliu into a hug, your arms barely reaching around them both. Neither cried, but neither resisted your hug like they normally would've.

"I'm sorry you two. Is Yingxing alright? He ran up with her to meet with you two." You let go of them both.

"Yingxing is alright. He is helping bring the injured back to camp." Jingliu spoke, voice hollow. "Jing Yuan is still on the battlefield cleaning up the remaining Denizens of Abundance."

"Would you mind helping heal the injured? I need to rest from the battle with ShuShu, but I do not wish to leave the injured unattended." Your mentor spoke. You knew he just wanted an excuse for you to leave. You didn't push him and instead nodded.

"Yeah, Both of you get some rest. I-" Pausing, you gave yourself a moment to think, "I am here for you both if you need me. I don't know what to say, but I can always listen." You reassured them and left.

The next weeks were solemn. Your Mentor was not taking Baiheng's death well. Her funeral had been large and many from all ships came to mourn her loss and celebrate her life. Yingxing and Jingliu were no better in their grief, but Jingliu was coping better than the other two, but not much. Jing Yuan had taken up the offer of comfort when you gave it to him.

Baiehng's death had hurt him too, but he leaned on you for help and was healing better than the others from it. He was quickly flying through the ranks of the Cloud Knights and there were even rumors of Teng Xiao chosing him to be his successor, which were later proven true. You had both celebrated his promotion with glee. Cherishing the nigh as you both knew his time would be limited. Even with his limited time, he tried to make time for you and you tried to make time for him.

The romance between you two was steadily beginning to grow, but you wouldn't get together with him until after the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae.

You had noticed your master acting suspiciously a few days before his crime. He and Yingxing often together and planning something. When you had confronted him about his behavior, he had blown up. The fight between you two leaving feelings hurt and opening a wound between you two.

You had cried to Jing Yuan when he came to see you that day. Your mentor's words hurting more than any true wound could. He had comforted you, and the bond between you two only grew deeper.

In order to avoid your mentor, you went to Scalegorge Waterscape to help with tending to Vidyadhara eggs. Tending to the eggs was not one of your major duties, but it was peaceful. The other caretakers had allowed you to join them, sensing you needed to break from everything. In the early morning hours, your mentor and Yingxing would commit a crime that would be told for centuries.

You had sensed something was going to happen at the Watercape, so you left early for what you called "Egg Duty". When you had arrived, the sight of having the Ambrosial Arbor exposed had you running for it. You had quickly texted Jingliu that something was up and asked for reinforcements. You had told her you had a feeling your mentor was doing something stupid and she had relayed it to Jing Yuan.

Finding your master, you discovered that he had tampered with the Ambrosial Arbor. Not only that, he had invoked Transmutation Arcanum and was commiting a unforgivable sin. Things were quick to dissolve after Yingxing had recieved backlash and you cronfronted your mentor.

You couldn't do anything to him though once the Draconic Abomination had been born. The thing quickly formed after your mentor lost control over the Arbor. You had quickly shifted your attention to the massive rampaging dragon thing that was quickly ruining the waterscape.

You fought the beast for hours once you shifted into your true draconic form. You used the water around you to stall the beast and cause a stalemate. The healing factor from you both was causing a stalemate and that in turn was destroying the Waterscape. You had fought for a long while until the beast struck a nearly unhealable blow to you.

The thick claws of the beast had caught the side of your face and caught your eye. It was quick to use your disorientation to pin you. While you had managed to injury the beast greatly while pinned, it was going to kill you of you could not shake it off. You mentor was nowhere in sight. Dredging up the last of your waning strength, you summoned the nearby water to knock the beast off of you. While it had been successful, you did not get up in time before it pinned you again.

It had tackled you and broke more bones in the process, the blood from both you staining the waters. Your savior came in the form of Jingliu. Her ice strikes were decisive against the beast and caused it to turn its attention to her. You did not join the resulting battle, not even to heal.

Even as Jingliu killed the beast and became mara-struck, you merely laid there and continued to try to heal yourself. It was hard when you were in so much pain and taking wheezing breaths. You closed your eyes and focused inward.

A hand was on your muzzle and you felt another Vidyadhara's cloudhymm help you heal. You cracked open your good eye to see who it was. Weakness caused your vision to be blurry, but you could recognize one of the preceptors. There were shouts and voices around you, but you felt yourself fading.

"Baofu, you must rest. We will handle your master and this beast." Their voice was muffled. The Cloudhymm throughout your body intensified. You closed your eye as you heard the voice speak, "That's right, rest." You allowed the all-encompassing darkness to take you.

You awoke again in a darker place and in deep water. You managed to get your head above water and on shore. You did not recognize this place. This large of a healing room was not used. Since so few Vidyadhara can truly return to their draconic form, rooms like these were useless in this day and age.

The door in the room opened and you recognized the preceptor that came in. They were the one that saved you.

"Finally awake, I see. You took quite the beating from that abomination." They came close to your snout and examined you. "Holding off that beast was impressive considering how long you lasted." They examined the eye that was slashed. "Thank you for fighting it and defying your master." They walked in front of you as you lazyly stared.

"You have been unconscious for nearly a week now. Healing such intense damage to bones takes time. Much has happened in your sleep. The high elders will arrive shortly once I give the word. I will go inform them of your state. I will be back after your meeting." They quickly left the room without giving you a chance ro say anything. You drifted between dreamland and reality until the door had reopened for the high elders.

You shifted to get more comfortable and to face the High Elders, Dan Feng's teachings instilled into you even in dragon form. All four had approached you and formed and semi cricle around your snout.

"High Elders, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you for." You hoarsely spoke. The elder from Zhuming was the first to speak, his voice echoing across the empty chamber.

"Your master had chosen you to be the successor. You are to become the next Imbibitor Lunae, even if we do not fully agree." The elder from Yuque was next to speak.

"What he means to say is that even with the circumstances sorrounding your birth, your loyalty to the safety of the Xianzhou Alliance has convinced is to allow your ascension. Your display of power and defiance to your mentor's plan has proved to us that you are worthy of his title." Her tone was impassive. The elderly Vidyadhara next to her spoke.

"Your mentor's sin has caused him to be punished and his title stripped from him. The only reason he lives is to give you his power before rebirthing." The elder from Fanghu spoke.

"We will explain in more detail your duties later. For now, rest. In three days time you will recieve the power of Imbibitor Lunae. More will be discussed later. We will leave you to rest." The elder from Yuque softly said to you. They departed from the room as you laid there. Trying to comprehend what was happening.

You pushed yourself deeper into the massive pool and sunk to the bottom. You emotional state quickly becoming depressed.

The next days passed fast and before you knew it, the time for your Ascension had come. You had the strength to revert to human form for the ritual, so that was the form you chose for it. Getting dressed and ready had been easy.

Entering the room you had been guided to down the hall had not been easy. Seeing you mentor sorrounded by preceptors and high ranking officals was stressing you.

"All who are present in this room are to witness the birth of the next Imbibitor Lunae. Baofu has been chosen and approved to be Dan Feng's successor." The loud voice of the Yaoqing's elder sounded throughout the room.

You approached Dan Feng and ignored the happenings around you. When you approached and stopped in front of him, he gave you a sorrow look.

"I do not regret it. Just know that I know you will do well and I'm proud of you." Dan Feng had spoken softly to you as he began the process of transfering power to you. However, the process was never fully completed and you only got splinters lf his power. This was the last time you saw Dan Feng before his rebirth and those words were the last he spoke to you.

After the ceremony, you returned to your estate you had shared with you mentor. The emptiness of the estate felt like thousands of stones were weighing on you. You were robotic in your movements as you went about you nightly routine. The only thing that stopped you was the knock at your door.

Opening to the door to Jing Yuan was something that you felt should've surprised you, but the day was still trying to process. He gave a soft look to you before he gently asked if he could come in. Of course, you let him in and when you closed the door and turned back to him, he crushed you in a hug.

The hug broke something in you. The weight of the day was hitting you hard. You could hear him apologizing, but the ringing in your ears was quick to drown him out. The feeling of helplessness and grief hitting you like a tsunami. You hugged him back as sobs ripped from your throat.

You were never going to see your father figure again. He would be reborn and you would not get the chance to see him again until the new him was born. Jing Yuan merely hummed as you sobbed into him. He cried with you, but not much. He had few tears left to give.

When you managed to calm yourself, you asked if he wanted to stay the night. He said yes, joking that it could be like old times when he had snuck in to see you as children. He managed to get a smile out of you with that joke. Waking up in Jing Yuan's arms that next morning had almost caused your heart to stop. You swore you had died for a few moments when you finally realized who was with you.

He was warm from where he was spooning you. Although you felt your heart was about to stop beating, you did not move. Instead,you laid there drifting in and out of sleep until he finally stirred. Neither of you mentioned your sleeping arrangement until you had made a comment later.

"I do appreciate company. Prehaps if you aren't opposed to it, you could stay the night again?" You quietly suggested, asking it as a question. His smile told you his answer before he even spoke.

"Of course." Jing Yuan turned for the door. "I am here for you. I hope you understand that." As you let him out you replied to him.

"Of course. I am here for you too."

Thus, time moved on. You took up the duties of Imbibitor Lunae and eventually took the young Vidyadhara Bailu as an apprentice. Jing Yuan had his duties as general and came to visit often, even after he expelled a young Dan Heng from the Laofu in order to free him. After a long while of unoffically dating you finally confessed and both of you made it offical. Even though you both tried to be quiet about it, word eventually spread.

Roughly four decades before Jing Yuan would bring Yanqing home to be his retainer, you offically got married. The entirety of the Xianzhou Loufu partied rather hard in celebration. Though, you believe that they were just looking for an excuse to party. The wedding had been private with photos released at a later date.

When Jing Yuan brought a young blond child home, you questioned him. He explained that the boy had lost his parents and needed a caretaker. Jing Yuan was in need of a student and retainer so he decided to bring the boy in. You were miffed by his actions, even if you would come to care for the boy later. He still could have informed you.

Bailu at least enjoyed Yanqing's company. The boy was going to turn you grey at the rate he was going. He was a good swordsman, but he was young. He tended to get in over his head when choosing opponents. He did not seem to understand that while he was good, he needed experience and wisdom before he recklessly charged into battle.

In the current time, you watched Bailu practice in the same pond you had trained in when you were young. She seemed to be picking up the water techniques better then you though. When she met her goal for the day, she always turned to you in excitement with a smile on her face. You smiled back and praised her. If she failed at something, you merely used it as a lesson for her.

"Come, Bailu. I think we should practice the healing technique you wanted to work on." You said to her. The beaming smile she showed reminded you of Baiheng's. She was quick to depart the water and run infront of where you had stood up and began to walk.

Yes, this is perfect. You had thought, ignoring the massive ball of dread in your gut.

The sun was shining and the day was wonderful. You unknowingly had time to savor this moment before the crisis with the stellaron was to occur. If you had known what was to happen, you would've savored it longer. But as it stood now, you were to train your little apprentice more before going home to Jing Yuan.

The day was going to continue to be good, you just knew it.

-----------

End notes.

I rushed the ending i just wanted to end it and i didn't even do everything i wanted. It was just getting so long. The original idea i had was supposed to be for Zhongli but here is Jing Yuan instead. I am not proof reading that so i hope it makes sense because it was written over several days. See you next time!

Edited some errors on 9/8/24

[lovries]

A LOVE EPIPHANY

featuring. the demon brothers (lucifer, mammon, leviathan, satan, asmodeus, beelzebub, belphegor).

summary. they're so confused— you're sudden avoiding them/acting super shy! well, they don't seem to realize it's because you figured out you've got a crush on them!

warning. gn! reader, not proofread, levi on the verge of an anxiety attack, physical affection (asmodeus).

꒰ ♡ ꒱ ─── LUCIFER

"Lucifer? You called for me?" You couldn't meet his gaze, stepping into his room apprehensively. Your stomach was already churning, your heart doing flips. It was plain and simple, you had a crush on Lucifer. Of course, after figuring this out, you couldn't help but grow shy around him, trying to avoid him when you can. And he noticed.

"I did, come in." Closing the door behind you, you make your way to the front of him, shifting your weight from foot to foot. "You're not in trouble, no need to be so nervous." He teased, however you only tensed further. He had no idea at all, it seemed, that you were nervous for a completely different reason.

"Uhm, what did you need then?" Lucifer sighs when you don't look at him. Seriously, what had gotten into you? Were you mad at him? Had he done something you didn't like? He just couldn't figure it out!

"Well, I suppose there's no need to beat around the bush," He says, clearing his throat, his fingers clasping together, "Have I done something to upset you, Y/n? I've noticed... well, your behavior has been quite strange as of late. if I can fix whatever it was, please let me know. Everyone would like your time here in the Devildom to be as comfortable as possible."

Internal screaming. You're internally screaming. He noticed that you've been acting shy as of late, and he thinks it's because you're mad at him!? You groan, hiding your burning face in your hands.

"Uhm, I- I'm not mad at you, so don't worry..." Lucifer furrows his brows. If you're not mad at him then why...

Oh.

Lucifer couldn't help the small smirk that tugged on the corner of his lips. "I see," He clears his throat, hoping to cover up the chuckle that wants to escape. "Very well, you may leave now." Before you fully leave though, Lucifer makes on last comment. "Ah, and Y/n... Please do wear formalwear this Saturday."

"W... What for?"

"I'll be making a reservation at Ristorante Six." He finished with a wink, grinning at the way you seemed to short-circuit.

꒰ ♡ ꒱ ─── MAMMON

You've been locking your door, going to bed early, taking a different route home, avoiding where he works. At first Mammon tried to brush it off as just a coincidence or that you were just in a crappy mood, but then he realized... He's the only one you're avoiding! And damn it, but you're so good at avoiding him, no matter how hard he tries to talk to you, you manage to slip away each time.

"Oi! Y/n!" Mammon grinned at finally catching you in the hallways of RAD. He was accompanied with Asmo, who couldn't help but watch in amusement as your eyes nearly popped out of your head before you took off. "Wha- Hey! Get back 'ere you- Ugh..." You were too far gone, and Mammon was too sad to chase you.

"My, my, dear older brother, it seems someone is shy around you," Asmo giggled, only for Mammon to sigh and slump forward.

"Yeah, I just don't know whyyy." He drags out the sentence with a whine, "I didn't even do anythin' this time- uh, I don't think so anyways?" He glances over at Asmo he's stifling a giggle. Seriously, Asmo knew his brother was dense, but this badly? Jeez, Asmo guesses he'll help him out just this once.

"Listen closely, okay?" Mammon nods, leaning in, a serious and concentrated look on his face. "Y/n," Mammon nods again, listening intently, "Likes you."

Mammon can only stare at Asmodeus as he tries to process this new information, before he's obnoxiously gasping and flailing around. "A- Are ya serious? Ya better not be lyin' to me, ya understand? I- I gotta go!" Mammon nearly trips over himself, taking off in the direction that you went. Asmo rolls his eyes, but he's happy for his brother.

Meanwhile, you think you've finally found a safe spot from Mammon. It's not that you want to avoid him, but you can't stand the sick feeling in your stomach when you get around him, or how your brain can't think straight, or how sweaty your hands get! You just want it to go back to how it was, when you were oblivious to your feelings.

You jump when the door slams open, and you look over to see a very out of breath Mammon. "I," he heaves, "I finally found ya." Seems like there is no where to run this time.

꒰ ♡ ꒱ ─── LEVIATHAN

Whilst you tried not to avoid Leviathan, mostly because you knew he'd have a panic attack and would begin degrading himself senseless, you knew your attitude around him shifted. Instead of being your usual self, you've grown incredibly shy and self conscious, and all because you had to realize your feelings.

Like now, it's incredibly awkward as you two sit in silence. You were doing well at hiding your shyness when Leviathan had to reach over you to grab a snack— suddenly you had cringed away from him. Levi faltered, and tried not to immediately blame himself. Maybe you were so immersed in the show? But it wasn't long until he was blaming himself.

"I- I'm sorry," Leviathan finally whimpers out, "I understand if you don't wanna be here with me anymore— it must suck being stuck with a y- yucky otaku like me, huh?" He's mumbling out other self-deprecating words, and you can't stand to hear them.

"Levi," you timidly call out, fiddling with your fingers, glancing over at him. When he doesn't respond, you call his name out a little louder. He doesn't respond again, instead he's stopping the movie and pacing the floor, lost in his thoughts.

"Y- You've actually been really weird lately too, like distant and quiet, i- is it because you're finally sick of me? I'm sorry, you d- deserve better, you don't have to pretend to be my friend anymore, I- I-"

"Leviathan!" You finally manage to gather the courage to yell his name, and he comes to a still, looking at you in shock. If he wasn't so surprised at you yelling at him, he's sure there'd be tears in his eyes. With shaky hands he wrings his own wrists.

"Y... Yeah?"

"Listen, I..." A lump forms in your throat, but you try to ignore it. "I don't hate you or anything, I want to keep being your friend, I promise." He seems to relax a little, although still anxious. "I didn't mean to flinch, you just... surprised me? I can't really tell you but... Just trust me, I- I don't hate you."

It's quiet for a few minutes, before he's sitting in his spot next to you again. "Okay... I don't know... I don't know what's going on with you but... I'll trust you." He gives you a soft, nervous smile, and if you had been weaker, you're sure you would've passed out at how cute he was.

꒰ ♡ ꒱ ─── SATAN

It was cute... At first. Satan wasn't entirely sure why you had grown shy around him, but he did enjoy teasing you and seeing you grow more flustered than usual. It was nice, until he realized you could barely form a sentence around him. He missed having intellectual conversations, deep conversations that could range into the early hours of the morning. Now he's more annoyed at your reservedness.

Satan watches as you fumble over your words, barely getting a sentence out. You startle when he clears his throat, glancing over at him. Despite figuring out you had a massive crush on Satan, you tried your hardest to still hold conversations with him... but it was just so hard! You kept getting distracted by his stupidly attractive face, or you'd slip into daydreams of more romantic interactions with him (which you'd then get embarrassed about because he's literally right there).

"I've been thinking," Satan begins, "You've been shy lately. Is it possibly because there's something you want to tell me?" He guesses he's right when he notices the way your shoulders tense. "You know, you can tell me whatever it is, I won't judge you." Of course you knew he wouldn't judge you, still... it was hard to confess you liked him— You barely even began to grasp it yourself!

"It's nothing, r- really..." You're playing with the hem of your shirt, your face growing warm. You imagine what it'd be like to confess to him right now, would he accept your feelings? If he did, he'd surely whisk you off your feet! Ah, just the thought if making your heart flutter! You giggle to yourself, lost in thought, when Satan clears his throat and you jump out of your daydream.

"I promise!" You say, almost a little too defensively. "It's... It's really nothing," The room only seems to get warmer as he leans in further, his face only a mere few inches from yours. He's inspecting you, trying to see if you're lying. And if he deems it so or not, he doesn't tell you. He pulls back and sighs.

"I'll trust you for now..." You let out a silent breath of relief. You'll have to either start hiding your crush better, or plan on confessing soon.

꒰ ♡ ꒱ ─── ASMODEUS

This was hard. Having a crush on Asmodeus is hard. Prior to you realizing your crush on him, you never minded his extra affection— the way he'd hug you when he saw you, or the way he'd casually hold your hand whilst walking, or the way he'd lean in real close and put an arm around your shoulder, or the way he'd pull you in to dance with him— all of his usual actions, they all began to fluster you more and more.

"A- Asmo!" You squeak as he wraps his arms around your waist and nuzzle into your back. He giggles, only tightening his hold around you.

"You're not getting away from me this time!" He coos teasingly. Asmodeus has most definitely taken notice to the way you've been pulling away from his touch, but that only made him double down on his actions. "You're starting to hurt my feelings, you know?" He pouts, loosening his grip so you can turn around. Staring down at his little pout only worsens the condition of your rapidly beating heart.

"Asmodeus," You sigh, putting your hands on his arms and gently prying him away. "It's just... This kind of affection... i- it's usually reserved for... lovers," you whisper the last part, ignoring your warm cheeks. "It's embarrassing."

This only furthers his pout, and he backs away from you with crossed arms. "Hmph, you didn't find it embarrassing before! What changed, hm?"

Geez, he really had no clue...

You thought his vanity would make him guess it in seconds, but it seems not. You look the other way, unable to meet his inquisitive eyes. "Let's just drop it..." You mumble. His gaze was so intense, you were beginning to feel almost naked under his eyes.

Asmo lets out a loud, obnoxious sigh, "Fine. But we will be circling back to it later!" He takes your hand and giggles at your shock. "Geez, you're acting like you have a crush on me or something," Your stomach drops, although it doesn't take you long to realize he was joking... "C'mon, I just got some new nail polish in the mail, I wanna test them out~"

꒰ ♡ ꒱ ─── BEELZEBUB

It honestly took Beelzebub a long time to figure out you were acting different. It wasn't until he saw the look on your face when he had offered you some of his snack that he realized something was off about you.

"Hmm... Have you noticing something different about them?" Beel asked, looking over at Belphegor (who had been napping peacefully until he was interrupted). Belphie groaned, forcing himself to sit up and look over at you. You were a bit further away, working on a project with Mammon.

"Uh... No? They seem like their usual annoying self. Why?" Belphie slumps against Beel, and Beel sighs in frustration as he shoves some chips in his mouth.

"It just seems like... they're avoiding me... maybe... or something, ugh, I don't know." Belphie frowned. Whatever it was, it was really irritating Beel, which mean it was now annoying Belphie.

"If it's bothering you that much, then just ask'em." Beel scratches his head, his frown only growing.

"That's the thing! Whenever I try to talk to them, they get all quiet and kinda jittery." It then dawns on Belphie what exactly is happening. Ah, you've finally realized your giant crush on Beel, have you? Belphie snickers, causing Beel to furrow his brows. What was he laughing at? "Do you know what's happening?"

"I have an idea." Belphie yawns, stretching out before slumping back down. "Let me know when ya figure it out, okay?" Beel wants to ask what he means, but Belphie is already fast asleep. Seems like Beel won't figure it out anytime soon.

꒰ ♡ ꒱ ─── BELPHEGOR

Belphegor is beyond annoyed— his favorite pillow is gone! Whatever's made you so shy and squirmy is really beginning to irk him. He's just trying to sleep but you keep wiggling about and kicking up a fuss. He groans, and a part of him wants to sink his nails into your thigh and keep you still... but he refrains.

"Why are you being more bothersome than usual?" Belphie finally grumbles out, rolling over to look up at you. "Well? Spit it out, so I can put a stop to it and you can go back to doing what you do best; being my pillow."

If only he knew that he was the problem. He'd probably tell you to stop being dumb and throw a pillow at your face. You sigh, anxiously playing with his hair. He purrs at the touch, his eyelids dropping, he almost fell asleep, almost- until you were squirming around again!

"Alright," He forces himself to sit up, glaring at you. "Tell me. Now." What a brat. You question why you like him, only to be reminded that you do, and grow shy.

"It's nothing..." You mumble under your breath, but clearly Belphie isn't going to be satisfied with just that.

"Nothing? Nothing is making me lose precious hours of sleep?" You open your mouth to speak, only to close it. He blinks once, then twice, before shaking his head. "You... You're... Look, I won't tease you, so just tell me."

You debate it, you really do, but you just can't seem to find the courage to actually get the words out. Wringing your wrists, you try to force the lump in your throat to go away. "I'll try to be still..."

Not the answer he wanted, but he can see how reluctant you are to share, and (begrudgingly) decides not to push it (because then you might leave him)!

"Fine, whatever..." He'll be bringing it up later though; He'll figure out the reason for your sudden shyness whether you like it or not!

﹙ thank you for reading! have a wonderful day! ﹚

[uchu-no-bashira]

PLEASE, let me nerd out with my OG Gyomei moots.

Mod here! Long read/rant about he big guy under the cut. Tagging @himejima-san @otomesass @the-axe-and-flail IDK ANY OTHER OG GYOMEI PEOPLE, SORRY-

You know what I love about Gyomei? And bear with me, because I'm not the best writer and it's so hard for me to be normal about this man and talk about him without stimming profusely - ANYWAY.

As a person who read the manga front to back and read about the descriptions of Gyomei's breathing style, movements and fighting style on the wiki, it is so exciting to see him animated, and it confirms all f the head-canon's I had about him fighting!

Sorry if I get a little nerdy or whatever, but I absolutely love, that I was right about one thing. ONCE HE STARTS, HE CANNOT STOP. Also, his weapon is NOT JUST DEADLY TO DEMONS! He is also a danger to HIMSELF! I mean, obviously, but just think about that! It's so cool! He has to simultaneously listen to the reverberations of his chain, get a mental image of his target and attack with INSANE accuracy, All while dodging his own axe and flail.

If you go frame by frame - yes, I did because I'm a nerd and have been waiting for this moment for like 2 years or whenever the Hashira meeting episode was first aired - you can see Gyomei using the chain as a BATTLING ROPE!! THAT IS SO COOOOOLL!! (calm down mod. deep breath) THIS MEANS, that he has to maintain a constant flow of momentum. And let's face it, he has the lower and upper body strength to do it! WHICH ALSO EXPLAINS WHY HE'S SO BIG!

I wondered, from the moment I read about his flash back or any of the little tidbits about him, why he wend from being thin to being extremely Jacked. One, it's because he believes a robust lower half is essential to maintaining stability, power etcetera - and he's right, because you're (supposed) to lift any and everything with your legs.

And, if you keep watching, he uses his chain, axe and flail as Nunchaku! Meaning the more momentum he has, the deadlier the attack. AND, you'll se him do a jumping side spin, which means he is JUMPING OVER AND DUCKING EITHER CHAN THAT HE IS USING. One, to not get hurt, Two, SO THEY DON'T GET TANGLED! Because you'll see him use his neck as well.

I IMPLORE ALL OF MY OG GYOMEI STANS - if you haven't already - TO GO BACK AND WATCH THAT SCENE FRAME BY FRAME. Because it is truly amazing and I just... Ahh~ I love him and his strength and resolve! And he did it so fluently! When we saw Tengen do some of the same (no shade because Tengen is fucking amazing too) He was screaming to the top of his lungs against Gyutaro.

Gyomei just did it, like he 'bout that life. UGHSRLGL;S I cannot. There are so many other things I'm missing, but that was the one that made me do the flappy hands, internal scream combo.

[alienpossession]

Ethnographic Research: Part 1

Loud screams and flailing hands, yet no one to help as all of them already jumped off their boat in the middle of the lake. They can feel it, something is filling them up, fast, and they cannot do anything about it. But after a wild couple of minutes, deafening silence as no more scream for help coming out. Soon, they climb the ladder by the side of the boat and get back up to the deck, looking at each other with curiosity and gleeful, awkward smile. One of them then mouthed

"Let's inform the Mother Ship of a job well done," and just like that, the cold expression-less face turned warmer, rowdier even, as it takes on a more humane color and expression.

----

There's no such thing as a memo or pointers on "How to Perfectly Blend In among Human" or "Step-by-Step Guide for Seamless Integration into Human Society". At least not for the Xarthan. As an invasive, cruel yet hyper-intelligent extraterrestrial being, taking over by sheer force and adapting accordingly is always the playbook. It's in their DNA to give complete disregard of other species as long as their species advanced or survived through their tumultuous, warring lifestyle. Yet, a handful of Xarthan believed that there's a better way of life out there. That they don't have to continously move from one planet to the others, pillaging one's life after the other, just to get their euphoric-inducing stimulant release. That maybe killing other species is not the only way they can get that sensation that makes them alive. Their centuries of research eventually led the descendants of these slightly differing Xarthans to the small blue dot their transmission revealed to be called planet Earth.

So, these small pack of 20 Xarthans decided that their research hypothesis need to be verified. They descended in batches, 2 in each spot seemingly infested by human being and planned to converge after each of them lived at least around a month or two acclimatizing to Earth's society. Their mission is to verify whether or not the sexual release done by the male population of Earth released a similar stimulant to what the Xarthans experienced when they manage to exterminate other species

In a complete Xarthan's style, these batches of alien take over the first human they encountered with little to no regards about the life these human previously have. In its static form, a Xarthan is usually 7-8 feet tall, translucent and very slender being. But due to its "liquid" nature, it can adjust its shape. Upon contact of the vessel's internal water or blood, a Xarthan will merge with it and then spread itself through the entire system of the body. This also applies to bodies of water in the wild, so in the event of encountering bodies of water, a Xarthan can break down into millions of microparticles and takeover multiple vessels at once. After taken over, those vessels will be controlled by a singular hive mind as those microparticles originated from a single Xarthan entity before breaking down. That case happened to the unfortunate Pike boys and their girls who spent their time on a lakeside cabin for their weekend break. When they jumped to the water, they have no idea that 2 Xarthans just landed a couple minutes before right around the area where their boat stopped. Upon unknowingly making contact to the infested water, their bodies all contorted and spasmed as millions of microparticles swarmed their system. They tried their best to save themselves but it was just too much and before long, they were all taken over

Still in the States, but more to its Northwest area, the hunting group didn't realize that there's a pair of predator lurking around the shadows. The group went to Montana for a casual hunting since this is not yet the season for elk hunting anyway. They split themselves into group of two, not knowing that by the end of the day, a pair of them will be back as totally different person. That misfortune befell on Richard and Logan, the slightly more experience hunter among the group as they were USMC veteran and probably have the most experience with gun compared to the others. The Xarthans that took over their bodies laughed on the last memory the two humans have

"He was scared shitless. It was genuinely the most horrified he's ever been,"

"Yup, same goes here. I think he peed his pants HAHAH"

The 4 Xarthans in the States are just 1/5 out of the research group. If went according to the original plan, the other 16 will land around:

1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2. the Greek isles

3. Bangkok, Thailand

4. Ibiza, Spain

5. The Carribbean

6. Northern Europe, and

7. Eastern coast of Australia

[odysirena]

meet cute (lo’ak x gn!metkayina!reader)

A/N: first atwow oneshot!! please let me know what you think! requests are open and i hope we all have some fun here! not proofread because i run on no sleep (1.1k)

The first thought that enters your brain when it regains consciousness is, Eywa give me the power to remain friends with this girl. 

You groggily whisper curses as your best friend, Tsireya, shakes you awake. She says your name again and aggressively shakes you three more times before she stops, letting silence engulf your marui pod. You feel yourself getting dragged to where you know the edge is and groan. You pull yourself up in a swift movement, not wanting a repeat of the morning splash incident. 

“I’m up, I’m up,” You put your hand up in surrender, slightly towering over your best friend. 

Tsireya wastes no time. She immediately takes hold of your hand and drags you away from your pod. 

“I haven’t even eate–” You interrupt yourself with a yelp when you’re forced to a stop. 

Tsireya shoves a fish your way, “Come! You need to meet the newcomers!” You take note of your best friend’s excited look before you redirect your gaze towards the fish.

“Okay, first of all, this is no longer warm, what am I supposed to do with this? Second–” 

“It would still be warm if you actually woke up on time.”

“–Newcomers? Anyone interesting?” You ignore her previous statement and resort to giving her a teasing look. 

Your best friend lets out an exasperated sigh before a playful smile graces her lips, “Well. . . I personally didn’t find anyone interesting,” She winks your way, “But you might.”

You furrow your eyebrows and stop walking, turning around to face her again. You catch sight of the shit-eating grin she has on her face. You put a hand up on front of you defensively, opening your mouth to let out a complaint but it dies down. 

Tsireya gives you a knowing look, you let out another sigh, “elaborate?”

She urges you two to start walking again before she speaks, “They are forest people.”

Once again, you come to a stop. Your best friend chuckles at your dazed expression before taking hold of your hand and dragging you, forcing you to walk by her side. 

“You told me that your father came from the forest,” Her voice gets softer, it always does when your conversations decide to dip its toes in unfamiliar waters.

She takes note of your hesitance and continues, “If you don’t want to, it’s alright, I won’t force you,” She bites back a grin, lightening up the conversation as she does,“I don’t think you’ll find their youngest boy that terrible looking though.”

She shoves you playfully before calling her ilu, she sends one last wink your way–an invitation to follow, and the option to eat along–before jumping in the water.

After quickly weighing your options, you decide to take a quick walk to your shore. It’s not officially yours, it’s more of an unspoken tradition amongst the Metkayina; if a Na’vi is seen habitually hanging around a specific area for a long enough time, it unofficially becomes their spot. 

It’s why your steps come to a halt once you spot a Na’vi in your territory. You can only see his back but it’s evident with the hue of his skin that this must be one of the newcomers that your best friend was blabbing about just a few minutes ago. 

You walk silently towards him, only stopping once you’re directly behind him. While waiting for him to take notice of your presence, you realise that he has a pile of wood and is most likely about to start a fire. You move your gaze to his left and spot his day’s hunt.

Your mouth twitches as it fights an internal battle; wait for him to notice or speak your mind.

“Not bad for a newcomer,” He turns to face you and lets out a high-pitched scream. You smile at the image of the newcomer flailing his arms theatrically. 

Once he’s calmed down, you’re able to take his face in. You tilt your head to the side in curiosity. Your examination is interrupted when he coughs, the tint on his face making his embarrassment known. 

“Hi?” He says, voice significantly deeper than it was a minute ago. 

You bend down to his level and bring your face closer to his before you stand back up, “I didn’t know people of the forest inked their body the same way we do.” 

“We don’t?” 

He stands up, now towering over you. He offers a hand, “Lo’ak” 

You say your name and quickly shake his hand before staring up again at him in wonder,

“But you have markings on your face?”

His ears flatten and you realise you have spoken without thought. You try to think of how you could possibly lighten the situation and resort to helping him cook his day’s hunt. 

You go around him, crouching down to light the campfire, motioning for him to help as well. He sits cross legged and works on cleaning the rest of the fish. 

Still unsatisfied with the comment that seems to have left him unsettled, you cough, quickly getting his attention. “It suits you,” you continue, “the markings I mean, it makes your face look nice.” 

Lo’ak looks at you in shock before looking down, you catch his bashful smile–fangs and all–the sight of it making your own lips twitch,

He straightens his back, “Thank you,” he coughs again, “We must hurry, if my family starts cooking before I finish then this would be wasted.”

You glance at the fish and the basket he has on the side, “They do not know that you are preparing a meal?”

“No, I didn’t even know I’d catch this many.” He says sheepishly.

You nod, looking up at the sky and taking note of the time. Lunch would usually be eaten in 4 hours, but considering they were newcomers performing activities their bodies aren’t used to, it’s better to make haste. The two of you begin to put the fish on the campfire

“It is your first time hunting here.” You comment, catching his gaze to see if your guess was correct. 

Lo’ak  nods enthusiastically, “Yes. I’ve caught fish before though, back in the forest,” he makes a figure with his hands, using them theatrically, “We don’t use nets like you do though, since we catch them in rivers, we use our bows instead.”

You smile at his story, moving fish from the campfire to the basket as you do, “You did well for a first catch,” you commend, smiling when he shoots a grin your way. 

“I don’t think I saw you when we first arrived?” It seems it was his turn to question you.

“You make it a habit to look at everyone?” You ask him playfully.

He furrows the ink above his eyes in thought, “No, not really,” he smiles at you, “You would definitely catch my eye though.”

His comment brings a smile to your face, you decide not to comment and instead answer his previous comment. “I was busy,” he tilts his head, “sleeping.” 

Lo’ak throws his head back in laughter, “You and I will get along well.” 

You both smile at the promise.

[uncanny-tranny]

Maybe this is just my inner abused child speaking, but I am always initially suspicious of parents who complain that their child is a demon. Almost every single time, it turns out that that child is either facing intense internal turmoil or they are currently being abused and are trying anything to scream for help. They are drowning in a river all whilst the adults in their life complain that they can see that kid flailing in the waters.

In my experience, it is an abuse tactic to treat the victim-survivor like they are the issue, that they need to be gotten rid of, that everybody's lives would be better off if they were gone. Be extremely fucking wary of that.

[those-late-night-feels]

Choke

Summary: Loki almost killed you during the Battle of New York. You struggle when he returns.

Warnings: If the title didn't give it away, choking. Also, Loki being an ass. Smut. 18+

AN: I'm a slut for comments and reposts!

*****

Why wouldn't he just leave? That irritating smirk, as if something was so damn amusing, lingered on Loki's face, his eyes on you like prey. He was that constant itch that you couldn’t scratch away, the ever looming ache in your side that you couldn’t ignore. While the rest of the team discussed their next mission, you sat at the far end of the table incessantly tapping your foot while he reclined in a chair. It was bad enough that after all the destruction he had caused in New York that he decided to show his face again on Earth, in tow with his brother. But the fact that you had to see him every day, breathe the same air, act like everything was water under the bridge, felt almost impossible. Thor had framed Loki's return in the brightest of lights–that he'd changed, that he had been brainwashed and tortured and wasn't the same person anymore. The rest of the team was willing to be cautiously accepting for Thor's sake, and perhaps were starting to buy into the idea that Loki had turned over a new leaf. But the rest of the team hadn't looked into Loki's eyes, seen that possessive evil, when he had lifted you by your throat while smiling, slowly closing your windpipe as you struggled to break free.

That fateful day had been permanently etched in your memory. New York was under attack and you had been focused on surveillance for the team in Stark Tower when he had shown up, strolling proudly with his scepter in hand. Standing abruptly, your heart pounded as you sized up this towering giant and watched his movements; your combat and defense skills were good, but they'd never been put to the test by a god. "Are you going to attempt to appeal to my humanity?"

His demeanor was so high and mighty, like this was all so far beneath him. "And why would I do that? Clearly you have none."

Your legs mimicked his movements, circling each other around the open loft. He paused and cocked his head, an amused smirk pulling on his face. "Don't tell me you intend to fight me, girl. Adorable, but I can assure you I am no match for you."

"We'll see about that."

"And why would I waste my time fighting you? You could be quite useful to me." He aimed the tip of the scepter at your chest, but you were quicker than he’d anticipated and swiped the staff to the side before kicking him in the chest. It didn't do much, he was as solid as a tree, but it was enough to catch him slightly off guard to kick the scepter out of his hand and you both watched as it slid across the room. Adrenaline pumping, you attempted to lurch at the fallen weapon, but he was faster and grabbed your wrist, spinning you around.

"And where do you think you're going?" His tone was sinister and his large hand wrapped around your neck, lifting you off the ground as your legs flailed. Long fingers slowly squeezed on your windpipe and you struggled to pry them off. Tears blurred your vision and started to stream down your face. "Such pathetic floundering bottom feeders you Midgardians are. I should put you out of your misery."

He smiled while watching you struggle in his one hand, prolonging your agony. Squeezing tighter, the world moving out of focus into black. And then a window shattered and the Hulk emerged, ultimately saving you and smashing Loki in the process.

For three weeks, every time you looked in the mirror you were reminded of what he did to you. Your neck turned black and blue, then purple, then green, then brown and yellow. But even as the bruises faded, it was still raw in your mind.

So when Thor had pulled you aside to convince you why his brother deserved another chance, you screamed internally while plastering a smile on your face. He had to have known the trauma Loki had put you through. "Are you okay with this, y/n?"

The pleading in his eyes confirmed that if you said no, it would break his heart. Thor was like a brother to you, and while his brother was the spawn of Satan, you pushed your feelings aside and lied straight to his face. "If you say he's changed, then I believe you."

*****

Loki knew who you were, what he had done to you. The recognition on his face when you first walked into the room and stopped short was evident. His eyes lingered as you leaned against the far wall, keeping a significant distance between you and him. Absentmindedly, you nibbled at your lip and fiddled with the hem of your shirt.

"Lady y/n!" The bellowing voice made you freeze as you watched the large blonde man stride over, dragging his darker haired brother behind him with a perturbed look. He wasn't actually bringing his brother over to you, was he? "I'm glad you are here," he smiled, like this was a family reunion, "Y/n, my brother Loki."

The expression on your face was blank as you tried to hold it together. "We've met," you deadpanned at the same time Loki said, "I don't believe she cares to meet me, Thor."

The oblivious blonde shook his head at your responses. "Nonsense! The last time you met was a misunderstanding. This is a chance to start anew."

Loki watched the vein in your neck as you clenched your jaw together, your nostrils flaring slightly at the thought of your near death being a "misunderstanding." The way your hand shook by your side. He knew you were not ready for this.

"Please excuse my brother. Y/n, it is a pleasure to meet you formally.”

You studied the carpet as he spoke, noticing a burn mark on the rug you'd never seen before. He turned to leave, pulling Thor with him.

“Is that it?” The words were so quiet you barely heard them yourself. But Loki paused and turned toward you. You didn’t want to look at him, didn’t want to be near him, didn’t want to be on the same planet as him, but you also didn’t want to be the weak girl that he clearly thought you were, so you pulled your eyes from the floor to look directly at him, your eyes blazing with anger. “Is that all you have to say to me?”

“I… No. I am sorry for any pain that I caused you. It is inexcusable, I know that.”

You willed yourself not to bring your hand to your neck, remembering how the person in front of you toyed with attempting to snuff out your existence without blinking an eye.

It's an act. It's just for show.

Glaring at him, you didn’t want to believe his words. If he was expecting forgiveness, he wouldn’t find it from you. "You're right," you replied. "It is inexcusable."

Pushing past him, you hated the feeling that perhaps he had been sincere.

*****

The constant stress of being cooped up in a tower with him was weighing on you. The need to leave rooms, change directions, hide out in your apartment; was it childish? You didn't know. But every time you saw him, your pulse started racing, your throat turned to sandpaper, and your stomach tensed.

When Natasha announced it was time they all went out for a night, you were all in, needing to literally let your hair down and dance your cares away.

Stark paid an exorbitant amount of money to have access to an exclusive club that he and his friends could access at any time. You showed up in a little black number with a mission to let your cares go.

Dancing for hours had left you parched and you made your way to the bar. He was already there, arms crossed as he watched others with a judgmental look of disapproval. You ordered a rum and coke, telling the bartender to put it on his tab, causing Loki to roll his eyes but nod all the same. He turned his attention to you, the hairs on the back of your neck prickling. "Having fun?"

"I was," you snided, sipping your drink. "I thought you enjoyed this type of thing. Thor said you had your fair share of banquets and masquerades."

"Yes, well, my tastes are…a little more…refined."

You rolled your eyes at his snobbery. He was truly the worst. "When are you planning to leave Earth? I'm sure there are other planets just waiting to be conquered."

Hesitating at your remark, he studied you, no longer shaking from nerves and a more bold tongue, chalking it up to liquid courage. Leaning in closer to you, he could smell a mix of your vanilla body wash, sweat, and alcohol. "Why would I leave when my presence is clearly torturing you?"

The sinister smile on his face made the lump in your throat return and you quickly sipped at your drink again, the alcohol pushing your nerves back down. "Look at you. I don't even have to lay a finger on you and you whither in front of me."

Your cheeks went hot under his intense gaze, feeling small as he hovered over you. Swallowing, you looked up at him, butterflies erupting inside you.

"Fuck you, Loki," you breathed. Storming off, you could only imagine that arrogant smirk on his face as he watched you walk away. Heart pounding, blood boiling, you grabbed the first man you saw on the dance floor, gyrating with him under the strobe lights, trying to remove the image of him hovering over you from memory. When you looked up toward the bar, Loki was still watching you, a smile pulling on his lips like he knew exactly what he was doing.

*****

Combat training with various team members was grueling but necessary work, dripping sweat and lungs burning. You and Natasha went at each other, you landing a blow to her ribs, her landing a kick which resulted in an armbar. A few rounds and the two of you had called it a night, her leaving to shower while you stretched weary muscles.

"Your combat skills have seemed to improve since the last time I saw them." You heard him before you saw him. Narrowing your eyes and putting on a braver face than you felt inside, you groaned, crossing your arms.

"You're like an annoying gnat. What do you want?"

"I'm curious, when the team goes on missions, who is the one that babysits you? Do they take turns or is it the same person?"

He was trying to goad you, trying to get a rise out of you, you knew that. Well two could play this game. "How exactly did you convince Thor that you changed? All that talk of torture, did you make that up? Is there even a, what was his name? Thanos?"

His face dropped for the quickest of moments and a part of you regretted your words. But when he recovered, the look on his face made you take a step back.

"Tell me, how many nights have you been kept up at night thinking about my hand around your throat."

Your hand reacted before your brain could and the crack of your palm against his cheek was heard before it was felt. He smiled when he turned his face back to you, taking another step in your direction. Fist clenched, your arm swung up toward him, but he grabbed it and held it in place. Another step, your knee came up to his stomach, and he grabbed that too. You felt the wall behind you, a shallow breath released as you tried to hold yourself together, his chest centimeters from yours. When you looked up at those blue-green eyes though, it wasn't the same look as last time. There was no darkness, no evil, no possession. His smile was covering something else. Slowly, your eyes locked on his, you guided his other hand to your neck. His breath hitched as he watched you wrap his slender digits around your throat.

"Wha–" but you silenced his question with your lips. What started as a desperate need to shut him up turned to lips hovering near each other, tongues dancing together, breaths being shared. He pulled away to look at you, a question playing on his face, his silver tongue clearly tied. Your eyes dropped down, embarrassment starting to flood your mind, and his hand flicked your face back up to his and kissed you again, hand gliding from your neck to the back of your head, gripping onto your hair. Your fist was dropped as he glided his palm down your side, wrapping around your ass, bringing you wanting core to him. A whimper left your lips and he pressed into you with need.

Brains turned off, hands scrambled to pull at clothes and feel every inch of one another. His fingers slipped inside your pants, running his long digits along your silky crevices and you shook as the tip of his finger circled your clit, smiling into your mouth. "Seems like you've thought of this multiple times, pet."

"Shut up,” you demanded, greedily scrambling to free his throbbing erection from its enclosure, pulling at zippers and buttons, a relieved sigh escaping from him when it was freed.

He was quick with his movements and flipped you around, hands pressed against the wall, pants yanked down with a swift jerk, fingertips drawing lines up your thigh, up your hip, up your spine, causing shivers. His hand came to rest on your neck, tilting your head back to him. His warm throbbing cock slid between your ass cheeks and through your thighs, playing with your anxious opening.

"Beg me," he whispered into your ear. A strained cry left your throat as he rubbed his hot erection up your slit.

“Please,” you breathed, then moaned loudly as he stretched your tight opening, flexing his fingers under your jaw.

“Is this what you want, pet?” You wondered that yourself as he smoothly pulled and pressed into you, but as he hit your cervix while locked against him, you knew this was exactly what you wanted all along. A secret desire you wouldn’t even admit to yourself. The noises you made were sloppy, no longer able to make sense. He pulled your head toward him again, gripping down a little harder while pounding into you. “I asked you a question girl.”

“Y…ye…yes…” you wailed. You were close, but if it were to coming or passing out, you didn’t know. His cock hit in places you didn’t know were inside of you, and as he reached down to circle your clit, your body shook violently. The world went black for a moment and you collapsed into him, but vaguely you could hear his words. “I got you. I got you. Good girl.”

Pressing yourself into him on the floor, your lungs burned. He rubbed your neck, your arms, your back, while you came back to full recognition. Looking up at him, he pressed his lips together while you bit at yours. “Do not tell anyone about this.”

He cocked his head, raising an eyebrow. “I doubt they would believe me even if I did, pet,” and kissed your hand. "Do you still want me to leave Midgard?"

Lowering your face into his shoulder, you hid your reddened cheeks. Your lips pressed together, unable to answer, but knowing you didn't want him to go.

Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/thoselatenightfeels

[rollinouttahere-writes]

I wonder how would lucky story go if she met the strawhats crew when there were younger instead meeting them when there 17? Instant big sis or instant mother figure🤔

Honestly, Lucky already is going to have a big sister-esque relationship with most of the straw hats, so I went with her being a mother figure. No yandere stuff here because they're all kids.

Careful What You Wish For

Child Straw Hats x Reader

2.2k words

“Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up!”

Thankfully, the stars aligned, and against all odds, your mother actually answered, “(Y/N)? You never call, what’s going on?”

“Oh thank God, I need help!” You were practically weeping from relief.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Oh I knew this would happen with all that exploring you do!” Your mother flipped from concerned to scolding in record time.

“No, it’s not that! I don’t know how,” you take a deep breath, “but I just became a single mother of seven and I don’t know what to do.” You elect to keep the information that one of these kids is, in fact, an anthropomorphic deer to yourself. You gotta ease her into this.

The line is silent for a minute before your mother speaks up again, but not without an exasperated sigh, “This isn’t funny (y/n), I thought something was actually wrong. Don’t offer to babysit that many children if you can’t handle it.”

“No! You don’t understand! I didn’t-” you’re cut off by the sound of the line going dead. This bitch. You don’t know if you want to scream or cry. Maybe both. Of course she didn’t help, you honestly don’t know what you expected.

Loud sniffling from above your head called for your attention. Chopper, the previously aforementioned deer, has been perched on your shoulders and clinging onto your head for dear life practically since he got here because Luffy bit him. You blindly reach up to pat his head, internally grateful for the fact that he’s stopped crying.

The patter of tiny feet coming right for you catches your attention and you look to the side to see Luffy charging at you with Usopp trailing behind him. Oh boy. This kid was a lot, but he also did really weird shit. His limbs stretched like he was made of rubber, something that nearly gave you a heart attack when he first revealed this.

His eyes locked onto your cell phone, “What’s that, let me see!” Without even giving you a chance to respond, his arm does the stretchy thing and snatches it out of your hand. He turns it over in his hands, visibly perplexed by it. “What’s this supposed to be?”

You try to get it back, but kids become masters of evasion when they have something they aren’t supposed to have, “Give that back Luffy, you’re going to break it!”

“Nuh-uh! I’ll be careful with it!” He disagrees as he immediately drops it. Luckily for you, Usopp catches it before it can hit the floor.

“I know what this is! It’s… um… it’s,” Usopp examined the phone closely with the same level of confusion that Luffy had despite his previous claims that he knows what it is. 

Fortunately, he was too focused on your phone to see your hand coming and you were able to grab it out of his hands. You hastily stuff it into your back pocket, “It’s just a phone, don’t worry about it.” You walk away from them, wanting to locate the rest of the kids that have since dispersed.

Luffy followed behind you like a duckling, reaching up to tug on Chopper, “Hey, come down and play with us!”

Chopper only clung onto your head tighter, “No! You’re gonna bite me again!” You winced at the feeling of hooves digging into your head.

“I won’t do it again! Don’t be such a scaredy cat! Er- Scaredy deer!” 

“I’m a reindeer!” Chopper snapped indignantly. You mentally made a note that he’s a reindeer, not a deer.

Luffy was not deterred by the protests and decided to take it a step further by slingshotting himself up your back. You yelped at the sudden action, completely being thrown off balance. Luffy only giggled at your distress.

Between Chopper flailing from Luffy invading his personal space, Luffy treating you like a human jungle gym, and Usopp latching onto one of your legs (presumably not wanting to be left out of the chaos), it’s hardly surprising when you topple over. 

Chopper was dislodged immediately, tumbling away from you with a scream. You groan from the impact and force yourself to take a deep breath so you don’t explode at a bunch of young children. It doesn’t help that much. You look over your shoulder to glare at the two kids still attached to you, but whatever scolding you had in mind died on your tongue upon seeing Luffy’s smiling face. Dammit. He has no idea how lucky he is that he’s adorable.

You pushed yourself up, shaking Usopp off your leg and reaching behind you to pluck Luffy off your back. He giggles at being held upside down in front of you, not a care in the world for what his mischief caused. You try your best to at least look stern, “It’s not very nice to knock people over, you know.”

“I didn’t think you would fall over just from that! You’re kinda clumsy,” he has the audacity to laugh in your face. 

“You little-” your eye twitches, and you have to remind yourself that it’s not a good idea to swear in front of children. You dropped him into your lap, which only made him laugh more and squirm around to get upright. The second he is, he latches onto you again.

“You should come play with us, too!” His smile almost breaks you, but you have other things you need to do. Despite your mother’s assumptions, this isn’t some babysitting job. This is some bizarre case of seven children spawning into your living room with no warning or explanation.

“Maybe later. I need to go check on everyone else, okay?” It takes a bit of effort to pry him off this time, his rubbery arms being surprisingly strong. He’s pouting when you do manage to pull him off, but quickly shifts his focus onto Chopper who is hiding behind a chair. Well, hiding is a strong word for what he was doing. Only like half of an antler was actually obscured from view.

The reindeer took off like the devil was chasing him, Luffy not far behind. You decide to let them work this out. Luffy probably won’t bite him again, maybe they’ll be able to settle their differences. You massaged your temples in a half hearted attempt to ward off your oncoming headache.

“Are you okay?” Robin put the book she was reading down enough to peer at you over it. She was the oldest one, looking to be either a preteen or very young teenager. The girl was very quiet, choosing to keep to herself and curl up on your couch with one of your books.

“I’ll be alright,” you say unconvincingly. In reality, you feel like you’re about to have a panic attack, but you’ll keep that to yourself for now. There’s no need to dump all of that on her. 

She regarded you with a high degree of uncertainty, clearly not buying it, but shrugged it off. Her eyes flitted back to the book, “Okay, but you might want to go check on Nami.”

“Why?” Panic spikes in your heart, wondering why she was saying this.

“She ran off with your purse a while ago,” Robin offers nonchalantly, nodding her head in the direction of your bedroom. 

“Oh come on!” You sprint towards the room, kicking yourself for not taking note of the suspiciously closed door sooner. Upon throwing open the door, you find the culprit kneeling on the ground next to the dumped out contents of your purse. She looked surprised to be caught, but distinctly not ashamed. “Get out of there! You shouldn’t go through other people’s belongings!”

Nami doesn’t even flinch, only smiling cheekily at your attempt to scold her, “Your money looks weird, and you don’t even have that much of it.” As she’s saying this, she pulls out the sorry contents of your wallet. Some crumpled up singles you got as tips at work along with some loose change.

“Hey! I don’t need that from you!” The last thing anyone needs is a small child calling them broke. You lunge for the wallet. While you do manage to grab it, it doesn’t mean much. Not when she’s already got tiny fistfulls of crumpled bills and coins. 

Nami bolts, but not before taking a second to stick her tongue out at you. You run a hand through your hair and hazard a glance down at the wallet. Completely empty. You just got robbed by what looks like a six year old. That’s a new low for you. You heave out a sigh and decide to let it go for the time being, you’re pretty sure all she really made off with was maybe $4.27.

This still leaves two kids unaccounted for, and you are almost afraid to find out what they’ve gotten up to since you’ve become distracted. Steeling yourself, you exit the room and begin your search. 

Robin is still reading on the couch, but now Chopper is curled up next to her, looking frazzled. Usopp is messing with the remote to your tv, and Nami is hiding (poorly) under your table while counting her (your) money. Luffy is nowhere to be seen, but you can hear him so you at least know he hasn’t run away.

On top of that, you can also hear bickering coming from your kitchen. Hurrying over there, you find the last two kids arguing with each other. Over knives. These kids are going to put you in an early grave, you’re sure of it. 

“No! You can’t have them, I just finished sharpening those!” Sanji kicked Zoro’s shins, trying to wrestle three knives away from him. One of which was in his mouth while the other two were in his hands. 

“I need them for practice, you can have them back later!” Zoro speaks shockingly clearly despite having a paring knife clenched between his teeth.

“Drop it!” You screeched, startling both of them. Zoro didn’t even get a chance to put the knives down before you swiped them away. He started to protest but shut his mouth after you glared at him, “I don’t want to hear it! No knives! Go play with sticks like every other kid!” Zoro crossed his arms and huffed, but ultimately settled for stomping out of the kitchen. 

Sanji, on the other hand, was proudly beaming at you, “I wanted to cut up some fruit for you, Nami, and Robin, but all of your knives were dull so I sharpened them for you!” 

The kid looked so proud of himself that you couldn’t find it in you to be as upset about him handling knives as you probably should be. “That was very nice of you, but you shouldn’t be handling knives at your age. Please just ask me to do it if they get dull again,” you do your best to keep your tone kind but firm.

Sanji cocks his head at this, “No I’m not, I work in a kitchen and do this all the time! Old man Zeff taught me how.”

What in the child labor? You shake your head, you’ll question that more later, “Well you’re not working right now, you’re in my home and I say no using the knives.”

Sanji pouts, looking like a kicked puppy. He grabbed onto your legs and looked up at you pleadingly, “But I know what I’m doing! Please! It’s not just a job to me, I love cooking!”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t cook, just no using knives,” you tried to assuage him, but he’s still looking at you like you just robbed him of his passion. “Okay, how about I let you, but only under supervision?”

The compromise causes him to perk right up and nod his head enthusiastically. He looks like he wants to say more, but is interrupted by someone else coming into the kitchen. You don’t even need to turn around, recognizing the sound of sandals slapping across the floor.

“I’m hungry! Do you have any food?” Luffy was staring up at you pleadingly, as if he would wither away any second. 

Oh yeah. Having a bunch of kids around does mean that you have to feed them. You internally cringe, you barely have enough food for yourself most weeks. Still, you can’t just let them go hungry, it’s not their fault they’re here. You did just do your weekly grocery shopping trip yesterday, so you do have enough to feed them right now. It definitely wouldn’t last you all the rest of the week, though. You’ll have to figure something out.

“Sure! Give me a few minutes and I’ll get lunch ready,” you force a smile on your face despite your worries. Sanji looks up at you expectantly, “Yes, you can help.”

He grins and hops up onto a stepping stool so he can get to work on slicing the apples he set out. While he does that, you rummage through your fridge, grabbing what you need to make sandwiches. You honestly don’t know what you’re going to do food-wise after today, but you’ll worry about that later. 

This is certainly an interesting change of pace for you.

[atsadi-shenanigans]

What Shall We Become 16 - Sacrifices

The rogue is badly injured.

On AO3.

Fucking TRIGGER WARNING for torture and gore here.

Pain is everything. Wretched, grinding pain. Can’t breathe, can’t move, can’t think. He tries to sink into oblivion once again, but his thrice-cursed vampiric nature will not let him.

He’s broken. Blind. Can’t hear. Smells only blood—old and dead and his own. Worthless blood. He’s tasted it before (not a thinking creature, the master had decreed, red eyes leering; have a taste, boy and it was the most rancid thing to ever touch his tongue).

Rancid, undead blood. A mockery of life.

He’s…where? Why?

His thoughts won’t coalesce. Something touches him and his skull shifts and pain lights his hair on fire. There’s something deeply wrong with his head. It’s broken. He’s felt that before. Skull smashed like a sun melon.

Oh, what has he done.

The master rarely lets anger show so directly. It usually comes in disgust and annoyance. In a predator’s eyes in a dark room. But he can be pushed to anger. Astarion has a talent for it. Wretched, stupid boy.

He can’t remember what he’s done, this time, though.

Cold hands on him and his skin lights up in agony. He’s being dragged, he thinks. His siblings hauling him somewhere (he knows where). More than one, even. He’s made some terrible mistake. If they’re all here, if it takes all of them and not just Godey…

He whimpers.

There’s no point in fighting. There never is. The master will let them, sometimes. Let them have that small freedom. But exercising it makes it all so much worse. Yet compliance, when Astarion forces his own legs to move himself and his own arms to stretch out for the manacles, his reward is the master’s chilled fingers sliding through his hair and a thin voice in his ear, “So pathetic you don’t even try.”

He doesn’t know how long they drag him. Must have been in a distant wing of the palace. He can’t remember this night at all. Doesn’t know what he’s done or failed to do to draw the master’s ire like this.

It doesn’t really matter. Master doesn’t need a reason. At least not one Astarion’s stupidity needs to understand. He’s so worthless, so insignificant, he can’t even comprehend the lessons the master must carve into him, over and over again. He must be corrected so frequently.

Eventually, they stop. Eventually, his siblings haul him onto a table. His own blood is so thick he can’t smell the stink of the kennels. He’s not sure that’s an improvement.

Then they pull his arms up and oh, he’s truly shattered, isn’t he? Ragged fractures twist and tear him internally as they move him and he cannot stop the screams. The master laughs; he enjoys Astarion’s screams. They’re the sweetest of them all.

New pain starts. Hot slashing, scraping over his ribs. Is Godey starting with a flailing? It’s been some time since he’s experienced that one. The screams begin in earnest, now.

Voices warble. His previous injuries have filled his ears with blood, likely crushed his ear canals entirely. There are no words, no sense. Just warbles and his own, pathetic cries.

Godey hoots and jeers, as Godey does, wretched beast. And then they pull at the incision. He’s being dissected. He wishes he knew what he did so he can beg properly. Sometimes—very, very rarely—that works. The master appreciates a good grovel, especially in front of an audience: his siblings and guests alike. Likes to show his power and control.

But Astarion can’t remember, and can only scream as skin is ripped open and scraped from underlying muscle.

“…more! Bleed more!”

Doesn’t know that voice. The master must have company. A special guest. Perhaps Astarion did nothing at all and the master just wanted to show off his most beautiful creation. Those are the worst nights.

Something nudges him inside his broken head. His fuzzy thoughts blur a moment. The master is often in their thoughts, but never so small. And the master is right here, overseeing Astarion’s correction.

Another nudge. Something urgent. Something angry.

He’s failing his punishment. The master means to make a pretty example of him. But he cannot move to thrash, cannot think to plead. His eyes are ruined and he can’t even cry as the torment continues. A poor example. A failure, even in this.

Frustration, now. And…and fear. No, not just fear.

Terror.

…that. Is not the master.

Something in his skull crunches. His body tries to stitch itself together even as the tearing continues. That’s Godey’s favorite part. The way Astarion’s body struggles despite his mind knowing better. He lets Astarion heal, just a little. Expend whatever meager rat blood he’s consumed enough for the nerves to reconnect. And then starts again. For the challenge. Grind Astarion down until even his body fails. Because to lift one up, to shape them to perfection, they must first be destroyed.

Sound filters in. Still warbling (must be the blood or the brains in his ears). But it’s enough to make out chanting.

“Boooal! Boooal!”

What in the hells is a boooal?

A knife cuts into him again. The air is thick and stinking. Fingers inside him as something jeers as it hooks fingers between his ribs and tugs.

He screams again. The master’s favorite sound. Drawing it out, playing Astarion’s agony like a musician with a lute.

He hears…water. A soft lapping behind the chanting and his own vocal chords go ragged.

There’s no water in the kennels. Only blood. Old and rotten and his own.

“Boooal! Boooal!”

“Yes! Bleed! Bleed more!”

The air shifts. He catches the scent of that water, cool and dark. And of…fish.

This isn’t the kennels, is it? And if it’s not the kennels…

Something else clicks and crunches in his head and a memory floats up: he fell. In the Underdark. He was running with his…his illustrious leader. And something exploded and knocked him into the depths and shattered him.

Something taps in his head again. It almost feels like her. But he remembers that, too. She was in his mind (and he in hers). She saw it. Saw his own memory. The river. The rope. His knife.

She knows he cut her loose and left her to die. She’ll see right through everything that came after, all his pathetic attempts to soothe the ire he knew would come eventually. Of course she would find out. He always knew, deep down, she would find out because good things do not last. This, the thing rummaging around inside him, that is reality.

He might actually die here. After all the running. After everything. Not an illithid tadpole. Not an orc club or a goblin arrow or even a githyanki blade. He’s going to be torn to pieces by what sounds and smells like fish.

A pathetic end. A pathetic failure. That’s all he is, anyway.

At least he’s not in the kennels. At least Cazador won’t get him back.

His arms won’t move and neither will his legs. He must have crushed his skull and probably his spine. He can’t get away. He ought to resign himself and save himself the trouble. There were times he prayed to the darker gods for something like this. Any way out. Anything at all.

And yet.

“Bleed the sacrifice!”

Whatever gurgling monstrosity hovers over him reeks of putrid blood. “Bleed him for Boooal!”

“Boooal! Boooal!”

Ah. He’s being sacrificed to another god he’s never heard of. There certainly is a crop of those popping up all along the Sword Coast this year, aren’t there?

And yet.

He doesn’t want to die. He didn’t two centuries ago. And while that hasn’t held true all the time since then, it does once more. He doesn’t want to die down here, soaked in his own blood, surrounded by stink and fish and rot. Blind.

Alone.

He doesn’t want to die alone.

“…arion.”

The voice in his head. Oh wonderful. He’s hallucinating. Perhaps he can lean into that and get out of his own cracked skull while his body succumbs to the grave he clawed out of centuries ago. Perhaps he still has a soul (unlikely). Perhaps he can find the others and haunt them.

“…starion…”

The gith? No, too boring. And besides, she might have some astral ability to blast him to another plane. The Blade would simply exorcise him. As would the cleric. The tiefling? No, no, she doesn’t deserve that. The wizard, then?

“Astarion.”

Unless someone is very good at using the tadpole. But the only one so far good enough to form words is the wizard (he gets the sense the gith can, but doesn’t deign to). But that voice doesn’t sound like the wizard, and Astarion has blocked himself off. Thrown up every wall he can because he cannot stop what is happening to him (never can, stupid boy, weak runt) but he can damn well hide in his own mind, at least from them. But something slips through his walls. Slips through because it’s familiar. Because he’s recently been part of it and she halts at the soft edges of his consciousness. Waiting.

He’s usually the one who needs an invitation to enter.

His illustrious leader. Not dead. Not even distant. What…?

He reaches out. And she pulls him in as she did before. He can almost touch the inside of her skull, trace the contours of the bone from the inside. Then he’s staring out through her shit eyes.

Everything dim, in shades of gray and faint blue. A vast lake. The upturned front of a boat (the bow) ringed in chanting fish creatures. A be-gored figure standing over a table, and upon that table, some broken thing, all white and red.

It’s him. She’s looking at his mangled self as the disgusting figure raises a knife again.

Her rage is the sharpest thing he’s ever felt.

Eleanor.

She’s right there. Slipping along a rocky outcrop at the edges of the horrid camp or temple or whatever it is.

She’s too close. She’s not stealthy. Can’t melt into the shadows as he does and she’ll be seen. Be captured. Be dragged to the table to join him, only her mortal, human body won’t stand up to this as his own does and they’ll both be tortured to death by whatever even is that?

But then a memory: digging through a pack (his own) (must have dropped it) (she found it, her vision blurring for some reason). A bottle filled with liquid silver. An invisibility potion. Taste of absolutely nothing in a way that makes her grimace.

She’s invisible. Slinking along the edges, creeping closer. She’s not speaking to his mind through the tadpoles. She’s simply gotten close enough for his unnatural ears to catch her voice.

Why. Why is she even here?

And the danger of that tadpole connection is that she can feel his thoughts as her own when they’re not careful (the pain, the stretching and tearing of his muscles and the pink of his skin turned inside out).

She lets her thoughts be his in this moment: she returned for him.

It makes no sense. It’s pure idiocy. There’s no reason—

The knife cuts and the gore-slicked fucking little goblin cackles and clasps its hands as Astarion wrenches and oh.

Oh, her rage is a thing to behold. Not a fire. Not a storm. Not any of the terms poets usually describe it as. Hers is a blade: clean and sharp and glowing cherry red as it burns. It’s aimed at that figure, at the fish. She’s going to kill that goblin. It’s not a question. Not a suggestion or a want or a wish. She’s going to kill it as certain as she breathes; she only needs to find the right approach.

And for that, she’s fallen to her usual habits.

It’s not a habit.

It very much is, darling.

The smooth vial in her hand. Her skin tingles where the liquid sloshes inside. A shade of orange found at the edge of a flame, shifting to hot blue where it ripples in its confinement.

What’s an “emotional support grenade?”

She didn’t mean to let that slip.

Arsonists oil. The one he gave her.

She’s close enough now to smell them all even with her dim, human senses. The heavy stink of fish, the stomach-churning sweetness of rot, and the thick, metallic reek of blood, old and coagulated.

The figure (goblin) above him sways back, its head falling as it inhales. The fish flail around in devotional frenzy.

She hefts the vial. Cuts their connection. He slams back into his grinding, screaming body, blinded and paralyzed as every nerve lights in agony.

Glass shatters. And it’s as if the world (Eleanor) manifests his own agony into reality as scorching heat flashes over him and the fish scream.

The thing over him (he doesn’t think it’s a goblin) shouts. Everything hurts, everything burns.

And then a rush over him. Something crashes. Screams. The sound of wood bashing flesh.

He can’t move, can’t see. Can’t know what’s going on and he can’t—can’t—he needs to see.

He finds the doorway to her through their connection. She’s distracted. He doesn’t need to sink into her this time, only skim along the edges until he finds the shape of her eyes.

If she notices, she doesn’t react. She’s rather busy. Everything in her is focused. A razor’s edge aimed at that awful creature. It’s short thing, with a sharp chin and a mouth full of needle teeth. Familiar. Seen it before.

Fire boils in the midst of the fish creatures. Two lie, presumably, dead. Others back away. Many are scorched.

She sees this in a glance, and hones back in on her target.

Goblin, she calls it. It’s not, but he’s in no shape to correct her.

The goblin screeches and swipes with the knife still sticky with his blood. She backs away, holding still at it flails. As it screams insults and pink spittle froths at its lips.

It can’t see her. Good. She’d never believed in a fair fight (one of her most admirable traits). The goblin moves fast for her to angle behind it (which she would prefer). And it’s too close to that table and the gurgling thing upon it for her to risk another grenade.

Fear twists through her. He doesn’t understand why. She’s not in the goblin’s reach, isn’t—

Kill it. End it. Tear it apart.

That fear falls beneath the anger. She’s got her whacking stick (staff). No poison robes, though. A fucking pity. But that stick’s pretty damn solid and she demonstrates this by smashing down at the horrid beast.

It senses the blow. Tries to dodge. The staff swipes down the side of its arm. Then the thing grabs it, twists, nearly pulls it from her.

She remembers a fight like this: Lae’zel and Harvey Dent. She doesn’t think. There’s no thoughts. Only that rage and her purpose and she lets go.

The goblin stumbles back. She’s already on it. Grabs its face and shoves it back. They hit the table and pain blasts through Astarion’s body—

Fuck! I’m sorry!

And the goblin kicks. Scrabbles. She doesn’t have the strength to wrestle it, but she does have the bulk. Lae’zel said something about that once, huh?

She slams it down. Reaches for the eyes, fingers hooked into claws. Take out the eyes, cripple it, don’t get up, don’t let it get up.

The goblin shoves its chin down. Those needle teeth sink into her forearm. She shouts (hollers) and jerks back, but it don’t let go. It’s slicker than shit and manages to twist out of her hold. The knife flashes, and she has to stumble back again. But not before kicking out and connecting as pain rakes down her shin.

No, no. It needs to die. It needs to not exist. That thing will end.

She throws her staff. It goes visible as it leaves her hands; the goblin snarls and swipes but she’s moving again. Grabs something at her neck—careful, be careful fucking ringwraith shit—and bashes the thing full in the face with a metal flask.

The goblin screams. Throws something (poison; Astarion’s lungs stop their labored, habitual panting). But Eleanor—

She lowers her head, holds her breath, and plows into it. Through it. Grabs it like a spitting, clawing cat and slams the both of them down to the ground. Grabs a fistful of gore-slicked hair and pops the thing’s skull against the ground. Once. Twice. Then spots the end of her staff and plucks that up, lunges backwards to her feet.

Before it can do little more than hiss, she’s on it.

There’s a strategy to her work, though he doubts she’s conscious of it (never get up, don’t never get up, you don’t get to hurt nobody motherfucker). She systematically begins to smash the creature apart. Crunches and shatters the joints, like she did with that gith in the mountain pass.

The knees, so it can’t get up and can’t run.

The elbows, so it can’t claw at her.

A shot to the neck because that is her favorite spot, not that he can blame her.

And then the face.

That part isn’t necessary. The beast will die after she crushed its throat. But she’s on a roll, and he’s certainly not going to stop her.

Die, die, die! her mind chants over and over, in that same frozen, almost detached way he realizes she slips into when she’s like this.

She beats it beyond dead. Past having a face. Spatters of blood coat everything and he’s sure it freckles his own body.

(he wonders what it would taste like if he licked it off her skin)

And then the silence finally registers. To the both of them. And she pauses to look up; stomach lurches as her gaze skitters over his ruin but he’s seen his own insides before and she notices him in her head at that thought and they both backpedal—

Astarion slams once more into his broken puppet of a body. Agony drowns everything for a moment—he feels air where there shouldn’t be any, and if he were a living man, he knows he wouldn’t feel it for long.

“You have killed out god?” burbles a fishman.

Eleanor leans in over Astarion, smelling of blood and sweat and fury and he wants to turn his face into her warmth.

“Can you light this when I say?” she says. Holds something over his head and she found his secret stash of sparkpowder, didn’t she?

“Yes,” he manages. His mouth is full of his own, rancid blood. It spatters over his face when he forces air out of his shivering lungs.

“Our Boooal?” a fish says.

“All you shits stay the fuck back, or you’re fucking next!”

“He killed Boooal.”

Which starts another chanting of that stupid name.

She fumbles with the rope—simple rope; a testament for how mangled he is that something so simple and rotten could hold him down like this. Swears in her own tongue and the words come out thick and trembling. Funny, he hadn’t felt her fear of the fish when he was in her mind.

“Boooal was a liar!” A different voice. The others fall silent. “Boooal was not a god!”

A murmur runs through their audience, and it sounds like wind rustling a flooded field of long grass.

“Boooal not god?”

“Boooal! Boo—ah!”

“Boooal was an impostor! A test!”

“Astarion, what the fuck’re those things,” she says as she manages to free one of his hands.

He doesn’t answer. Doesn’t reach up to free his other hand as he ought to. For some reason he cannot fathom, he reaches down to find his skin and lift it, burning and screaming, back into place over his ribs, like a maiden clutching at what modesty she can find after something horrible.

Eleanor makes an injured sound. Her own wounds must be finally hurting her.

“I’ve no…idea,” he says, in between bouts of choking on his blood.

“A test!” the fish shout in a chorus.

“A test!” the first repeats. “A test from our true god!”

Her fingers still over his other wrist.

“Our true god! Mah-gloompah!”

“Mah-gloompah! Mah-gloompah!”

The chant takes up, sounding rather like some deranged devotional, if all of the congregation had previously drowned. A sick gurgling that sweeps over them both.

“Hail, Mah-gloompah!”

“It seems,” he manages, “that you’ve become a god, dear.”

***

Heads up that I'll be taking a week off to catch up. Chapter 17 should be next, next Wednesday, September 11.

[scribefindegil]

Been thinking about how Reigen has different "modes" that he switches between, e.g.

Customer Service (the standard when he's in the office or giving advice; mask is friendly and professional)

Flailing Muppet (certain customer consults; instinctive response to stress/danger/confusion)

I Am Completely In Control Of This Situation (*slams* that mask on while screaming internally; used in high-stakes situations; mask is calm and calculating)

The Mortifying Ordeal Of Being Known (rare and fleeting moments of earnest openness which I treasure like gems)

[phr3ia]

I Got Isekai'd Into A World Where I'm Just The Side Character (Wuthering Waves x Fem!Reader) [Chapter 2 : Theories]

[On your way back to Jinzhou...]

The overwhelming situation left you in disbelief, prompting a quiet internal scream as you struggled to process everything. "This is crazy!!!" Doubt crept in as you questioned whether it was all a dream, forcing you to test reality by attempting to pinch your skin. "I think I'm not doing it hard enough!" In a moment of desperation, you dashed towards a nearby tree and forcefully bashed your head against it, causing you to collapse to the ground in a daze.

"AHHHHH!!!" Chixia screamed, taken aback by your sudden action. "Y/N!" Yangyang exclaimed, rushing towards you to assist you in getting back on your feet.

Rover was the last one to catch up to the commotion. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern laced in his voice as he approached you.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Chixia snapped. "Are you trying to kill yourself?!"

Yangyang's calm demeanor attempted to diffuse the tension, "Let's get her to the Capital. Once there, we can get her checked by Mortefi."

"Yes, let's move." Rover agreed, supporting your arm along with Yangyang.

"Shit! Why does everything feel so real? Even the pain!" you silently panicked, glancing back and forth between Rover, Yangyang, and Chixia. "I don't understand! Am I dead? Was I just dreaming the whole time? I can't tell what's real anymore!" Panic filled your thoughts as confusion clouded your mind. "No! I'm 100% sure that I'm just dreaming right now!" you declared firmly. "How do I bring myself back to reality?" you pondered as you began to feel unsettled by the situation.

"That's it!" you loudly exclaimed, a grin spreading across your face.

You shifted your gaze to the surroundings and noticed a pond ahead. Without hesitation, you pulled away from Rover and Yangyang, diving headfirst into the water.

"Wait. I'm not sure if ending my life in this dream would wake me up." Then a sudden realization dawned on you when you remembered what Ryuji did to you.

"I'M DEAD!!!!!" you silently exclaimed in your thoughts as the reality of the situation finally sank in.

"HELP!!!" "I CAN'T SWIM!!!" you screamed, flailing your arms as you struggled to stay afloat.

"Y/N!" Rover exclaimed as he leaped into the pond to rescue you, only to discover that it wasn't even that deep.

Rover sighed as he stood there with his arms crossed, watching you struggle in the water that barely reached your waist. He slowly lowered you down, your feet touching the bottom. His other hand was already gripping the back of your shirt, holding you up just in case. "You're okay." he calmly said with a chuckle.

"There's something wrong with you!!!" Chixia pointed at you, accusing you of being crazy. "We really need to get her checked." Yangyang suggested as she awkwardly smiled at Chixia.

The water was freezing cold, causing you to shiver uncontrollably. This prompted Rover to quickly wrapped his leather jacket around your shoulders to keep you warm. "Let's get going." He stated, his hand resting on your back to guide you out of the pond.

Upon your arrival at the Capital, Rover, Yangyang and Chixia escorted you to the Huaxu Academy. They had already informed Mortefi in advance about your situation. You lay on the examination bed, with Rover standing close by as you both waited for him. While the girls were outside, conversing with Baizhi to inform her about what happened.

"Try to relax." he advised, gently smiling at you.

Just as Rover's expression turned pensive, the door to the examination room swung open, Mortefi striding in. "Ah, Rover." he greeted.

Rover nodded in acknowledgement.

"We've brought her in for an evaluation, Mortefi. Her behavior has been quite peculiar since we found her in the forest." Rover explained.

Mortefi approached the examination table, his hands gripping the edge. His eyes met yours, and he began to inspect you from head to toe. "Let's find out what's going on." He said, giving you a reassuring nod.

"Thank you..." You replied, silently hoping that this man could provide you with answers.

Rover couldn't help but wonder where you came from. He was certain that you were not at the top of the Giant Banyan Tree when they first left the area. Your sudden appearance remained a mystery not only to him, but to everyone as well.

Mortefi's eyes narrowed as he observed you closely, his mind racing with a million thoughts. He could sense that there was something off about you. But he knew better than to jump to conclusions, instead preferring to gather all the necessary information before forming a hypothesis.

"Tell me, do you have any recollection of how you ended up in the forest? Can you remember anything about your past?" Mortefi asked, his tone curious.

You're somewhat giving a similar aura like Rover, but there was something about you that was different. Something 'strange'.

"Is it okay if I tell him everything?" you silently questioned yourself. "What if he doesn't believe me?" After all that happened, you were filled with doubt and had become more cautious about everything. "But this is my only chance..." If there's even a slight possibility that you are still alive, you are determined to seek justice for what those bastards did to you.

As Mortefi watched you, he could sense your mixed emotions. He was surprisingly patient this time, so he waited for you to start your story, never once judging or attempting to prompt you. He understood that some things needed to be said at the right time, and he was more than willing to listen when that time came.

You took a deep breath, your voice trembled slightly as you speak. "There's a lot to tell, but... it's better if I just tell it all, right?"

As you narrate your story , your eyes glazed over, as if you could still see the horrors in your mind. You bit your lip, trying to regain control. Rover gazed at you with so much concern in his eyes. Mortefi listened intently, his expression unreadable. At times, he would jot something down on his notebook or examine you more closely, as if searching for corroboration in your physical condition. "I'll need more time to process this information, but I believe you." He explained, his voice firm yet full of understanding.

Mortefi walked over to a nearby cabinet, retrieving a device that resembled a modern stethoscope. He listened for a moment as he pressed the metal diaphragm to your chest, his eyes widening as if he heard something unexpected. With a furrowed brow, Mortefi removed the device. "This is interesting. I need to run more tests."

"Rover, could you ask Baizhi to do scans and bloodwork for Y/N?"

Rover nodded in agreement, understanding the urgency in Mortefi's voice.

Mortefi's gaze never left yours as he began to walk around the table, making a mental note of your condition.

The pieces slowly fell into place, and he began to form a hypothesis. It was a theory as old as history itself, but recent events in Huanglong had made it more plausible than ever. He couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement at the possibility of finally having tangible proof to support his theory. It had the potential to change the course of history in Huanglong.

The test results would provide invaluable insight, and Mortefi knew that every second counted. He couldn't afford to let this opportunity slip away.

"I'm not sure if we'll find answers right away, but I'll use all my resources to uncover the truth. In the meantime, you're safe here. No one will harm you while we have you under our care." Mortefi said, giving you a single pat on the shoulder.

Baizhi and Mortefi spent hours conducting examinations on you. But they were surprised to discover that all your results from the Forte Examination came back as an error. You do not have any tacet mark, no Rabelle's Curve, nothing! Indicating that you are not a Resonator. A contradicting result from what Mortefi detected earlier as he sensed a very strong frequency and vibration coming from you, yet the tests gave them an opposite results.

Mortefi suppressed a smirk. "Well, this is a first. Our scans indicate that you are not a Resonator. So, what are you, exactly?" He asked curiously, his mind racing with possibilities.

Mortefi's brow furrowed in confusion, his mind racing to make sense of the seemingly contradictory findings. His intuition told him there was more to you than meets the eye.

He turned to Baizhi, "Baizhi, I've heard rumors of a third category beyond Resonators and Non-Resonators. Have you ever heard of anything like this?"

"Well, yes, there was a theory circulating amongst the ancient texts. Individuals who are neither Resonators nor Non-Resonators, but who possess similar abilities." she replied.

Mortefi's eyes widened in astonishment. The theory, though controversial, was intriguing.

"Y/N, I will not ask you to trust me, but you have no other option. There's a method I want to try, but in order for it to work, I need your cooperation. Are you willing to do this for the sake of finding answers?" He asked, seriousness etched in his voice.

"Like what he said, I have no other choice." you thought to yourself as you sighed, nodding in agreement with him.

After that, Mortefi offered you a few suggestions that would also benefit your current situation. He then instructed you to keep this information confidential, as he wanted the experiment to remain discreet.

Mortefi pulled out a small, black case from one of his drawers. "This is a device called Omnisensor. This will allow me to monitor your physiological and psychological changes in real-time." With gentle hands, Mortefi attached the Omnisensor to your wrist. It was slim and almost unnoticeable.

"I'll keep in touch through the Omnisensor. Make sure to inform me of any unusual occurrences, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Rest assured, I'll leave no stone unturned until we have answers." Mortefi reassured you before he left the room to continue his research.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

End of Chapter 2 🥀...

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

[gyumibear]

💖 create a sim(p)! — 18: friends?

synopsis — after stupidly claiming on stream that you’ve been dating popular youtuber choi beomgyu in secret after accidentally creating an identically looking sim, you beg him not to reveal your lie to the public when it goes viral. weirdly, he agrees and you two begin to fool the public. can your lie become the truth or will it eventually catch up with you?

prev / masterlist / next

a/n — back with another written chapter! but this time it’s gyu’s pov! (wc: ~1k) as for warnings: swearing, mentions of murder, mentions of pineapple pizza(😭) and beomgyu having an internal crisis throughout the whole thing!

“What’s up?” Beomgyu greeted, walking smoothly into your room.

“Sit. We have much to discuss.” You ordered.

He plopped himself down in the bean bag chair.

“First order of business, my mandatory freak out.”

Beomgyu looked at you confused. His expression only amplified into one of abject horror when you, without further explanation, started screaming incoherently into your pillows. Your arms flailing wildly, you let out all your grievances and curses while Beomgyu watched on in silence, unsure whether to flee or comfort.

After you tired yourself out, you lifted your head, your neutral expression returned to your face. Beomgyu was relieved you were done screaming, given he had just become super concerned about you. Friends worry about friends right? He thought, thinking back to his conversation with Keeho and the others. Yeah, but you can also worry about someone you’re interested in. What the hell- now is NOT the time to be worried about that.

“Are you okay?” He asked quickly, desperate to clear his thoughts from his mind. “That was… unexpected.”

“I told you beforehand I was going to have a mandatory freak out. Be grateful I had the sense to not scream without the muffler.” You barked, absolutely no bite attached. Beomgyu shrugged, deciding to let you have that.

Wait, am I just doing that because I like-

“Second order of business!” You clapped your hands, snapping Beomgyu out of his mind. “We need to figure out how to address the thread.”

“Would it be crazy for me to say…” Beomgyu started, unsure how his next words would go, “I don’t think we should address it all?”

“Why would we not?!”

“Listen… It’s just giving that person what they want: attention. Nobody else was agreeing with them, so it’s not like we have much to worry about.”

“Not yet! But what if people start reading deeper into everything we do? Then we’re in deep shit.”

“You’re in deep shit.” He corrected without much thought, immediately facepalming himself for two reasons.

One, that was an asshole thing to say. And two, the way your face immediately fell made him feel like crap.

“Oh yeah… I forgot…” You whispered softly, more to yourself than out loud.

“No no, wait.” He didn’t like that expression on your face. “I didn’t mean that. Slip of the tongue. You’re right. It’s our problem, and we should fix it together.”

Friends don’t leave friends to drown. Even if said friend is in this situation because of their own stupid, idiotic actions.

“Yeah…” You nodded before looking away.

Now, it was like a wall was between the two of you. Beomgyu felt kinda bad. This whole time you had been trying to be nice to him and build a friendship, but he only gave you half-hearted reactions and treatment. Sure, you had probably only done it so that your fake relationship would look realer, but still… You were trying so hard… And he wasn’t trying enough.

No wonder he was so confused about whether he liked you as a friend or partner. Fake dating really is a terrible idea.

“Hey, why don’t we stream again? Like nothing happened, and if someone asks we can shut it down there?” He suggested, wanting to fill the silence and show you he cared at the same time.

“That could work… What should we say?”

“Pretty much that that person is reaching. It’s simple, to the point and we don’t have to make anything up.” Beomgyu made a mental note to also make a tweet condemning any of his fans for spewing hate about you. “How about that?”

“Sounds good to me. When should we do this?”

“Yeonjun actually wanted to be in one of my vlogs, so we can meet up with him tomorrow? Hang out and then record? Two birds with one stone…”

“Yeonjun…?”

“My best friend.”

“Ah… Wait, you brought your friend with you? What, you thought I was gonna murder you or something?”

“He had to shoot!” Beomgyu defended, “And to be fair, he was the one that thought you’d murder me. I trust you.”

“Oh really?” You looked surprised.

“Yeah,” Beomgyu smirked mischievously, “Trust that you wouldn’t be stupid enough to try anything. You have no chance against me.”

“What?! I’d totally kick your butt if I wanted to!”

“Sure.” He dragged out the last syllable, making it extremely clear that he was being sarcastic.

“You know what? Let’s go! Right now!”

“No thanks, I don’t wanna have to explain to Yeonjun why we have to flee back to Korea before I get arrested.”

“You are not funny!”

The way you guys could playfully banter like this was making Beomgyu even more confused. He enjoyed your company, which was normal for friends… But he couldn’t help but think you were so attractive the way you shook your fist at him. It’s not like he wanted to kiss you. Or did he? Do friends kiss? God, he sounded like a loser right now.

Maybe he should text his friends again…

If Taehyun was here he’d probably set Beomgyu straight. But Taehyun would also drag him for every decision he’s ever made and then call him dumb. Jake was unhelpful for things like this, given he was a prime example of what not to do in relationships. Yeonjun was helpful… when he was available. Which wasn’t often. He was probably out right now. Keeho? He was pretty normal and pretty helpful too… But, he was addicted to being in people’s business and getting himself involved with both sides of the party...He did not want Keeho to start talking to you.

Maybe he should just take a nap.

“Fine, fine, you win.”

“Damn right I do!” You grinned, laying on your back to look up at your bare ceiling. “So… What do you wanna do for dinner?”

“Pizza?”

“Yes! Can we get it with pineapples?”

“No? What monster eats pizza with pineapples?”

“I’ll have you know me and NingNing adore pineapple pizza.”

“WHO??”

“Oh! That’s what I call Kai.”

“Oh. I thought you had an imaginary friend or something…Anyways… No pineapple on the pizza.”

“Darn.”

© GYUMIBEAR. do not repost, modify or translate my work onto other social media sites.

[shinyshade8026]

Hunting Issues

S is killing worker drones when suddenly, their tail gets caught in one. They can't get the body off and need to get some outside help, much to their own shame. (S gay panics the entire time)

Warning! There are Murder Drones typical worker drone deaths, a little violent.

All was peaceful on Copper-9, a thick blanket of snow over the ground and the smooth howling of wind. A group of worker drones were messing with something, numb to their surroundings. What a perfect opportunity for any drone with murderous intent! Gliding through the sky came S, its wings cutting through the snowflakes. They land silently in the snow, grinning a sharp grin as their visor displays a blue-teal cross. They giggle lightly as they scan the worker drones. Only five drones, this would be so easy.. Serial designation S slid open their tail with a small mechanical click which caught a blue-eyed drone's attention. His eyes hollowed as he opened his mouth to warn his friends but S shot a bullet clean through his robotic head. The four others whirl to them instantly, fear creeping into their systems immediately. S tackled one to the ground, their tail stabbing another in the side making its systems freeze up. They cackled evilly, killing the one underneath them with a clean bite to the neck and cutting the frozen one in two with their claws. S then plunges a blade into another's head and then starts to go after the last one...

"SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!" The worker drone cursed, running and stumbling through the snow. Its movements seemed sticky, like it had been jammed up by something.

"I've got you now!" S says with a sweet tone before stabbing their tail directly through the drone's body. It goes through, entirely, leaving the body at the base of their spade-shaped point. But when S tried to shake it off, it wouldn't move. S looked confused, flailing their tail to get it off, but it wouldn't budge. It hissed bringing their tail to themself to try and pull it off, but the odd angle aided them none.

They flail their tail around, hissing angrily and spinning slightly to try and get it off. They left score marks in the snow from their whirling, spinning, and flailing. They even tried slamming it into the ground, but that did nothing. S groans in frustration, before spotting an odd substance on the worker's body and clothes. They touch it, and their finger gets stuck for a second before they yank it back. They flail their tail more, and from an outside view, they look like a big cat in distress.

"Aw~ Need some help?" Came a familiar voice and tone.

S shoots up, eyes wide as they stare at the source. It was V, the last drone in the whole universe that they wanted to see right now. S blushes in embarrassment, hiding their face. "I got it, V," They mumble, slamming their tail into a wall to no avail. 

"I don't think you do," The female disassembly drone lands, her hands on her hips as she looks at S in disapproval. "How did you even get like this?"

S groans in pure embarrassment. "I stabbed my tail too far through the body and now my spade is preventing it from coming off. So yeah... My tail is stuck."

V laughs at S's situation, crossing her arms. "Want some help with getting it off?" S reluctantly nods, mumbling to itself as V grows closer. They brought their tail to V, whose eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what the hell to do. She brought out her claws and started to cut at the worker drone, while S sat with their hands over their face. It screamed internally with gay panic due to the proximity of V. 

After a bit of cutting and pulling, V managed to get the body off of S's tail. She happily drank the oil from this one as S gathered the other bodies. "We are never, ever, going to tell the others about this incident," S mutters sternly to V, who raises a digital eyebrow.

"And what is stopping me from telling N and the toaster, hm?" She says with a small grin.

"You tell them, and I'll mention the fact Miss Murderer actually helped me," S says with a blank face, getting a glare from V.

"And what is stopping me from telling them anyway?"

"If you tell someone, I'll end your fucking existence."

V is barely fazed by the sudden curse from S, she then smiles smugly. "You would never,"

"What makes you think that?"

"Cause you love me too much to do that~" She says in an oddly sweet, sing-song tone.

S's eyes widen as they cover their brightly blushing face with a flustered noise. "AHH- SHHHH. YOU NEVER HEARD THAT CONVERSATION!!"

V summons her wings and expands them, ready to fly off. "Except I did, and I will forever use that knowledge against you,"

"Will you ever give me an answer about it though?!"

S doesn't get a reply, and V flies off. S stares after her, mouth open before they groan, tail flicking behind them. That was a clear no to getting a response.

[c-billbaby]

"Waaaaaaahoo!" Gemma cried as the Tiburon darted through the valley, its arms flailing at the squad of battle armor latched onto it, their lasers and claws cutting into its thin armor. "Have at 'em, lads!" Gemma herself had her armor's battle claw dug deep into the internals of the 'Mech's shoulder and was riding it like she was trying to tame a wild beast, her right arm raised and the blunt nub of the laser where a hand would be on a person firing off red beams into the sky.

The Sea Fox Tiberon came cresting a small rise and turned hard, but it still couldn't shake the quartet of Inner Sphere Standard Battle Armor that was chewing it up like piranha on a sack of meat. Gemma knew that any moment someone would hurt something very important inside the clan machine and her ride would be over, leaving her and her swuad to go hunting the rest of this star, provided any were left after The Bloody Gash's conventional 'Mech troops were done with them.

She was just about to let out another whoop and go digging herself when she saw the forest coming up fast. Oh no. The bastard was going to car wash his problems away. With a shriek of despair she leaned forward, bracing the shoulder of her battle armor before her as the 'Mech entered the trees at over 90kph. Branches slammed into her and her visor was filled with nothing but a blur of leaves and broken wood. Over and over again she was buffetted and bashed about.

The feet of her armor slipped with the repeated impacts and she found herself flopping about atop the Tiberon, only still on because her armor's battle claw was stuck in a thick bundle of myomer muscle and wire inside the 'Mech. She was not too proud to scream in terror and her visor bounced off of jagged strips of ripped open armor, the edges of which she knew were sharp enough to go straight through her face and into her skull if the visor broke.

But it didn't. The venerable IS Standard was built tougher than that.

Eventually she emerged back into the light and the open plain of the valley, and she regained her footing. A quick look told her that the rest of her squad hadn't been so lucky and were lost somewhere in the forest behind. "Not so easy to lose Captain Gemma Orlais, is it Foxy?"

She rammed the muzzle of her laser into the hole her battle claw had made in the 'Mech's armor and cut loose a long burst that she held until the safety cut in to prevent her from melting the barrel. Somethingside sparked and fumed, then the Tiburon jerked once to the side and fell skidding to the ground with Gemma surfing it to a stop as she had a dozen or more times before on 'Mechs both larger and faster than the battle scout that was her current prey.

Gemma jumped off and turned towards the cockpit, but it was buried in the ground. Dead or alive, the MechWarrior inside was not going to be getting free any time soon. So, satisfied with a job well done, she turned away from the wreckage to head back towards the forest and the rest of her squad.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned to see the Tiburon's leg moving. That wasn't good. She turned, preparing to leap back onto the 'Mech when the whole leg shifted and she saw, crushed underneath it, several suits of Elemental battle armor, the feared toads of the Clans smashed to pulp when the Tiburon fell on them. They must have been on their way to answer a distress call from the MechWarrior, looking to clean her squad off of him, but luck was not on their side and the sudden fall and skid must have taken them by surprise.

But now it is Gemma's turn to be surprised, and not by the two smashed suits of elemental armor under the leg, or the two she now sees smeared across the ground in the runnel left by the skidding 'Mech, but by the fully intact one throwing the Tiburon off of itself and stalking directly towards her.

Gemma waved, "Hello there! Rough day?" Then without waiting for a reply she fired her laser at it for a full burn and ignited the jets in her armor to propel herself away. The laser went wide as the Elemental roared up into the sky itself, chasing after her. When she hit the ground it was right on top of her, its own laser coming up towards her faceplate.

She grabbed it with her battle claw and wrenched it upwards so the beam fired up and away and instead of directly into her faceplate visor. But even as her claw crushed the clan weapon to scrap the elemental's own claw punched into the side of her armor and latched on. There was a great tearing as the bigger, stronger armor hefted her bodily into the air, visor to visor.

She could see a shadow there beyond the tint and the fog of sweat and rage inside, and it seemed to be smiling. The crunch and tear of metal near her ribs told her that her enemy was still very much trying to peel her open to get at the soft flesh inside of her battle armor. Gemma never thought she'd have to do this.

She let go of the elemental's laser with her claw, but it brought its damaged arm around to guard against any blows against it. Gemma however was not trying to do anything to it. Instead she reached for the chestplate of her own armor where she traditionally kept her last ditch weapon.

The elemental continued to lift her higher and higher, and something in the right side of her armor gave. She could feel air against her bare skin and then the hard coldness of one of the pincers of the clan battle claw. Now she was staring down into the faceplate of the elemental and seeing the reflection of her own armor's chest plate and the neon pink letters mirrored there.

LET'S BE FRIENDS! Right across the front of an antipersonnel mine. Her claw found the rigged up ripcord trigger for it and pulled.

Boom.

Warning. Catastrophic damage detected. Administering morphine. Error: Morphine supplies depleted. Seek immediate medical assistance.

"Probably shouldn't have partied that hard last night," Gemma groaned at her HUD, whose flashing warnings were superimposed on a clear blue sky above. The IS Standard had held, barely, but she was done, all controls unresponsive, laying on her back in the middle of a field. She could see smoke trailing up from her prone form.

With a groan she twisted her head and bit down on the emergency release, which set off explosive bolts at the front of her armor and sent it flying away, a twisted hunk of steel done no favors by taking explosions from both sides, and she pulled herself free and into the open air. The elemental was thirty meters away, its entire left arm and shoulder missing. Idly, she noted that arm was still stuck in her own armor, leaking blood from the severed stump at the end.

Gemma was about to go digging for her radio when she heard a hiss and pop from the elemental. "Oh come on," she grumbled and turned. A hugely muscled woman was climbing out of the clan armor, her left arm a blackened, bleeding stump. Several injectprs ripped put of her skin as she pulled herself free of the crippled machine, obviously part of that clan black box thing that kept its elementals full of an entire cocktail of drugs to keep them fighting past normal human limits.

"We could talk about this," Gemma offered the woman, but if she heard she made no indication, instead bellowing a cacophonous roar of defiance and charging right at her, one gigantic hand raised up like a claw coming for Gemma's throat.

Gemma sighed and pulled her howdah pistol, which was really just an anti-materiel rifle she'd taken an angle grinder to until it could fit comfortably strapped to her thigh and could generously be called a handgun and more accurately called a huge mistake. The elemental had the audacity to look surprised before the gun barked and her face, along with most of her upper body, turned into a moist red cloud and fluttered to the grass atop the rest of her.

The recoil sent the gun flying from Gemma's hand and off into the field behind her somewhere, but she ignored it and sat down in the grass with a sigh of pain and exhaustion. Then she pulled a fine fat Phactian cigar out of her cleavage and stuffed it between her teeth with a grin. "All's well that ends well."

[thetinyadventurer]

Sir, why are you so cute?!?! -internal screaming- Also, Helga Sinclair, how could you betray this adorable nerd?! He’s too cute to betray! No amount of money would be worth that! -flailing-