#it's gonna plague me until i get the thought out of system now

[neurolady]

So much has been made of Aziraphale's response to The Kiss. I mean, Michael gave us so much to work with!!

But what about Crowley?! David did such a good job of closing himself off, apart from that microsecond of hope before "I forgive you".

We know it was a desperate last ditched attempt, but did it awaken something in him too, or is his heart in too many pieces to have felt any connection between them from it?

Is he clinging onto those few seconds Aziraphale held him back, or did seeing the distress on Aziraphale's face afterwards feel like too much of a rejection?

Does he regret doing it, and having that forever be their first kiss, or is he clinging to it because he thinks its also their last?!!

I have thoughts!!! I have questions!!! David gave us nothing!

[magicalqueennightmare]

I Meant You

Sometimes Tony's meddling ends up being a good thing

Drinking games gone right

Warnings: Cursing, mention of kissing and steam (ish) themes

You glanced up from where you'd been laid back across Wanda's legs when Tony walked in whistling. "Uh oh" the downside of the compound when there were no missions or no big event to attend? Tony tended to get bored and a lot of times you all were dragged into it.

"Tony" you warned cautiously but he just smiled "C'mon now sparky we need some fun and I've got just the idea" you groaned under your breath glancing around the room and realizing just why Tony had summoned all of you to the media room "What's the idea?" Nat asked coming to sit next to you and Wanda, curling her legs under her gracefully. "Well I have a few bottles out of my personal collection for us mere mortals and Thor brought some mead from home for the super soldiers and demi gods amongst us"

"You called us all here to drink?" Sam spoke up but Tony shook his head "Not just drink. We're gonna do some team building exercises" you narrowed your eyes "Drinking games" he pointed to you with a smirk "first point goes to sparky for figuring it out!"

You rolled your eyes but honestly? It sounded kind of fun. Hell it wasn't like most of you ever got the chance to have downtime and a lot of you had never had a normal upbringing so why not cut loose a little? Or maybe the appearance of a certain brunette super soldier wandering into the room with Steve and Thor perked your attention.

Bucky had moved into the compound a while back, after Steve and Sam's prompting. Your quarters were on the opposite ends of the same floor. Of course you'd known stories about him, both as the winter soldier from the S.H.I.E.L.D. files and as Bucky from Steve.

You didn't judge him for the winter soldier stories, you knew those codes were far gone out of his head and he was no longer a threat in that way. He'd shied away a lot, only talking if you prompted first and honestly you hadn't thought he liked you at all until one night he'd been plagued with back to back nightmares.

You hadn't been able to sleep so you'd headed for the kitchen that was the middle mark of your floor. Tony had them all strategically lined up, something about ventilation systems or something. You knew that he had the best espresso machines in every kitchen and that the fridge and pantry would be stocked.

You walked into the empty room and asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. if she could access your Playlists. She started playing one and you smiled, humming along with it before moving around the kitchen. You started a cup of espresso then headed for the pantry to see if any of the croissants Tony had brought still remained.

You'd walked out the pantry and nearly dropped the box of croissants because Bucky had spooked you. He moved so quietly and was so damn broad you hadn't been expecting him to be standing in the doorway. "Sorry doll. Didn't mean to scare you"

The small smile that was pulling at his lips made your stomach flip. Damn he was gorgeous, those damn blue eyes made you forget your train of thought for a moment before you recovered "Oh, it's fine Bucky. Did I wake you?"

He looked confused so you motioned to the lights and speakers "I couldn't sleep" he nodded "Yeah me neither" a silence fell so you held up the box in your hand "Ever had chocolate croissants?" He shook his head so you smiled "Ever had espresso?"

He shook his head again so you grinned "So I'll set the machine to make another cup and we'll head to the media room. Tony has like every movie known to man at our fingertips so we might as well take advantage right?" He looked unsure for a second "You sure you want the company?" "Of course! Bucky you're my team mate and I'd consider us friends. Friends hang out so let's hang out" he smiled "sounds good"

Since that night you and Bucky had started getting closer. He let you in on things only Steve knew and a few things Steve didn't. When you had a nightmare he was there to comfort you and vice versa. On missions you always ended up teamed together and any outing the avengers had to attend he'd be close to your side especially after the incident where you'd threatened a reporter for making statements towards him and Natasha about the redroom and hydra.

You'd started to develop feelings for him but damn who could blame you? He was gorgeous and sweet, strong but gentle. When you'd fall asleep against him and wake up in his arms it made your mind wonder to how it would be to truly be in his arms. How did he kiss? How would it feel when he touched you? When he pulled you close?

You knew that was a line that couldn't be crossed, no matter how you felt when he smiled and asked if he could sit with you even as Tony and Sam argued over what game all of you would play. "So what's Stark up to?" You shrugged "He wants to play never have I while Sam wants to play a twisted version of two truths and a lie"

You turned towards him and saw the confusion in his eyes "Bucky, you don't know either of those games do you?" He shook his head so you quickly explained the basics of both games, not only to him but to Steve and Thor as well.

By that time Tony and Sam were through arguing and turned to adress the room "We're playing never have I first if there's no interesting incidents we'll move onto two truths and a lie" "Set up" Sam motioned to the table so everyone grabbed a glass.

You were seated cross legged between Bucky and Nat. So far you'd taken two shots, Bucky had taken one of the mead while Nat was three shots in. Everyone around the table had taken at least one shot.

"Ok here's one" Nat spoke up and when you cut your eyes at her she gave you a wink "Never have I...had feelings for someone younger than me"

Tony took a shot considering he was married to Pepper who was two year younger than him. Wanda took a shot since technically Vision was younger than her. Steve and Thor both took a shot. What surprised you and made your thoughts run rampant was when Bucky gave you a small smile before tipping back a shot himself.

Who did he have feelings for? It couldn't be you no matter if the thought had been fleeting through your head. Could it be Nat? Or maybe Maria or even Sharon.

Of course he'd have feelings for someone, hell he was allowed to date same as the rest of you. No matter Iif the thought of him with someone else made your heart clench.

Bucky noticed how you went quiet at his side. You'd been laughing and joking over the various questions up until that point. Christ, had you figured out he meant you?

Maybe that's what was wrong. You knew he meant you when he took a shot for having feelings for someone younger than him and didn't feel the same.

He didn't want to make you uncomfortable, hell you were one of his closest friends now. When he'd moved into the compound he hadn't been sure anyone would trust him, not that he blamed them. You on the other hand had been one of the first to greet him with a smile.

You were beautiful and smart. You were able to think on your feet during missions and always did the headcount once everyone was back on the jets to ensure no one was left behind. You'd defended him and Natasha alike to the press.

More than one night when neither of you could sleep you'd end up in the media room watching some movie you'd clicked on. He hadn't cared about the movie as much as the company. You always slowed his mind down and help chase the demons out.

The first time you'd curled up into his side he'd been sitting with his arm across the back of the couch. You were sitting hip to hip with him citing that the movie had freaked you out a bit but you refused to not finish it. He hadn't minded you getting closer. The movie was almost finished when he realized your head was leaned over on his shoulder where the metal of his arm met with flesh.

He hadn't been sure if he should wake you or not. As he sat there you snuggled closer to him and despite himself he found a smile working its way onto his face. He'd let his mind wonder what it would be like for you to be in his arms in earnest, to feel your lips against his.

He'd never meant to fall for you, it just sort of happened and now had he inadvertently pushed you away by half admitting his feelings?

You shook yourself from the shock of Bucky admitting he had feelings for someone to clear your throat "Ok here's one, never have I had merchandise of me" you laughed when damn near everyone in the room aside from yourself, Bucky, Wanda and Maria took a shot. "Ok Sparky you got me on that one. My turn. Never have I threw a punch on reporters" you, Nat, Sam and Maria all took shots.

You leaned a little closer to Bucky, trying to get your mind off the question of who he had feelings for. You missed the look Nat shot Sam who spoke up "Never have I had feelings for someone older than me" you leaned up to glare at him before taking a shot. Luckily you weren't the only one, Nat and Maria both took a shot which opened a whole new line of questions.

You avoided Bucky's eyes when he bumped your arm with his. He leaned down next to your ear "Is it Steve?:" you shook your head slightly "Nope" "C'mon now didn't think we had too many secrets any more" you turned to face him, thoughts escaping you at those blue eyes staring back "Yes I have feelings for someone older than me, way older but no it's not Steve"

You felt everyone's eyes on you which made heat rush up your neck. Normally you could handle it but given the amount you'd drank mixed with the fact that Bucky clearly had meant someone else was too much. You downed the shot in front of you before standing up "Excuse me. I've got to use the bathroom" you turned and walked quickly out the room with intentions to hide in your quarters long enough to let the embarrassment pass.

Maybe you could convince Bucky you meant Loki or Sif?

The moment you left the room every set of eyes landed firmly on Bucky "Tin man are you really that dense?" Tony was the first to speak up. Bucky was trying to comprehend what had just happened "What the hell did I do Stark?"

"She means you man!" Sam shoved him when he spoke. "What? No she doesn't" Bucky argued which made Nat stand up and walk over to him "Dammit I know her better than anyone. She's had feelings for you for a while and you've had feelings for her. Man up, go chase her" "and if you're wrong?" He asked so Nat pointed towards Tony "I will let him take out a billboard that says Natasha was wrong for once"

----------

Bucky headed in the direction you'd went knowing you were more than likely in your quarters. The closer he got the clearer he could make out the faint music slipping under the door. It was that band you loved.

He paused for a second before finally knocking. The moment the door opened he saw your eyes widen "Damn I was hoping for Natasha" he shrugged "I can go get her?" He started to walk off but you grabbed his arm, your fingers curling around the cool vibranium of his palm. "Wait, Bucky what did you need?"

He looked down where you were holding his hand and a smile slipped onto his face. "I meant you" the words escaped without any thought behind them but the moment they were out in the air he didn't want to take them back.

----------

You froze, fingers digging into Bucky's hand slightly. He meant you? "Are you saying that to save my feelings because Nat told you I meant you?" He smirked slightly "Actually Nat, Tony and Sam told me you'd meant me but no I'm not saving feelings. I meant you"

You stood there for a second before Bucky moved, his right hand cupping the side of your face "Can I kiss you?" You nodded and he smiled before leaning down to capture your lips with his.

He tasted sweet, the honey of the mead prominent in flavor and on his tongue. You sighed slightly and felt him relax into you as he deepened the kiss. His left hand went to your waist pulling you flush against him even as you were forced to pull away in need of air "Well damn" you breathed out and he smiled "That a good reaction?" You laughed breathlessly "The best. Now please kiss me again"

[angelmichelangelo]

brothers

chapter three

verse: human au/2k12/idw rating: t word count: 3.6k

read on ao3!

x

Mikey really does not like working with Xever. In all of his defenses, there wasn’t really a great deal of people Mikey worked with that were overly nice or fun to be around, with the exception of Angel of course, he oftentimes found himself paired up with the kinds of people that were his exact polar opposite. 

He greets him with a stiff nod of his head at the warehouse; as good as a hello or good morning than he’s ever gonna get. As they wait around outside for Hun to appear, he feels Xever’s eyes rake down his body – still dressed in Raph’s clothes from the day before, he’s sure he’s rocked up to work looking in a far worse state than he did right now. “Nice sweater,” Xever jeers, lip curling. “You going to church after this?” Mikey manages a meek, forced smile to appear at his lips. “Ha,” is all he says, fighting off the impending headache given to him from the night before. “Good one.” His phone chimes and when he looks down, there’s two new texts, one from Raph and a second one from Alopex. He’d texted Angel on his way out but it was probably going to be another long, few hours until she woke again to respond. The one from Raph simply reads, 

talk when you get home. Whilst the other one from Alopex says,

love you alongside a string of orange colored emojis trailing behind it; no doubt Raph and her had held a conversation about his whereabouts over breakfast this morning, making his stomach drop about fifty feet down. He’s back to thinking about Leo’s stupid guest bathroom again when Hun finally appears. He strolls up to them, pausing to drink in the state of Mikey’s face when he grins. “How’s your head?” He asks, jamming the keys into the door without breaking eye contact. Mikey knows if he wants something, he’s going to have to ham it up, so he smiles sultry at him, curling his lip and says with a shrug of his shoulder, “Dunno. You tell me.” Xever calls him a crude name under his breath as the pair follow their boss into the building. It wasn’t much, just a deliberate front for Hun to work out his business from without causing too much of a fuss with the authorities sniffing around. The back room housed a little makeshift greenhouse, where their boss would be tended lovingly to his crop whilst his minions ran about the city and did his dirty work. A little bit of green was far from the worst of what was to come out of Hun’s empire, and Mikey was pretty front and center to such things. His gut curls at the thought, the benzo’s from last night having slowly slunk away out of his system, there’s an itch starting to crawl beneath his skin he’s so desperate to claw at. 

“Gotta guy down on fifth,” Hun starts to explain, flicking a thumb over his phone, attention entirely on his screen rather than the two workers standing before him - this was just another Wednesday to him. “Wants a tester so give him the quart bag but nothing else. Don’t be fucking buffaloed by these assholes.” Xever nods stiffly and Mikey just hums in acknowledgement as to what they had to do. Dealing and selling was a far lot easier than having to get payments off people, he’d come to realize very quickly. More times than none he’d walked away from a job with bruised, bloody knuckles and a sick feeling in his chest that refused to go away for days on end until he reminded himself that the people he was ragging on were just as bad as Xever or Hun themselves. It didn’t stop the feeling from creeping back into his system of a night though, plaguing his subconscious like a dark shadow. “Half hour tops. I want you both back here after,” Hun says. He looks to Mikey, eyes flashing darkly. Half an hour, Mikey thinks to himself and he holds the eye contact fiercely. Then you can get what you want… for a price.

[sirwadewilsonfromimgur]

Scene/ vignette 11

Domesticated Animals part 1

The Holiday season" November/December . New York. Earth-10005

11/27/24 (American dating system)

Deadpool and Wolverine had been living comfortably for most of the month now, two of the most violent, dangerous and feard people to ever walk the earth hold hands as they come back from the bodega getting groceries for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. They we're both proudly Canadian, but when in New York do as the New Yorkers do. They were planning on having most of the usual people over for dinner tomorrow and were prepping now so that Thanksgiving wasn't them running around with half cooked food and a late dinner because nothing worked out.

Logan has been adapting to Wade's...shall we say.. "physical touch forward" form of affection. Since they had made it official all bets were off for Wade. But Logan wasn't always in the mood to be touched.

look bub, I love you... you know I do. But if grab my ass again while I'm trying to prep this turkey for tomorrow I'm gonna cut your fucking hand off. Wade tried... he really did but his gremlin brain demanded that he sexually harass his Wolverine. He siddled up to Logan who was Spatchcocking a 18 lb turkey so he could brine it. "I'm warning you bub" what i'm not doing nothing, im just standing here... inches from you... Wade thought he'd be clever, I won't grab his ass... folks he grabbed Logan crotch. *Snikt* "DAMN IT WADE!" it wasn't your ass! before he could talk again a familiar set of foot long Adamantium blades went through his wind pipe and out the back of his neck. Logan pulled him in close. "Now, I warned you bub, you know good and well I'm busy and instead of bothering me you could be baking the pies or some other helpful thing. But instead your standing here bleeding on my freshly moped floor, because you grabbed my dick after aske you to stop. He pulled him in closer to whisper in hopes that Althea wouldn't hear. Look... if you're good and help me out maybe I'll let you play with it later. He winked. A smile formed on Wade's face. Logan smiled back kissed him on the cheek "I love you" then violently ripped his claws back out of Wade's neck "now don't get your blood all over the turkey or you really will be regenerating a whole new arm for the rest of the afternoon." Wade made wet rasping sound in response, grabbed some paper towels and cleaned the blood off the floor. The house got to enjoy a few minutes of silence as the catastrophic damage to his larynx healed while Wade started making a pumpkin pie.

Logan could be equally Violent and Tender sometimes in an order of magnitude, he regularly showed Wade the tenderness that he clearly craved. No longer did they have sides of the bed. Logan held wade in his arms every night since that day in Central Park. It surprised him when it actually resulted in better sleep for the both of them. Two deeply traumatized men held on to each other, Logan could sware he felt a literal bond tighten between them some nights.

The dreams of Distant wars, murders, and injustices had slowly stopped. It'd been a week since he'd shot straight up out of bed in a cold sweat gasping claws fully extended. The worst part was the panic that set in after he realized he was only in bed. Did he stab Wade or worse, the little dog that also shared the bed usually cuddled up against his or Wade's chest. Lifting the shredded blankets hed make sure they were both ok. Thankfully not once had Marry Puppens gotten so much as a nick on her. He didn't know how he'd deal with it if she had, she'd probably be hurt and confused. "Why'd my daddy hurt me for no reason." The thought devastated him. She like everyone in that bed that night would have quickly healed. But the guilt would have plagued Logan. Less fortunately he couldn't say the same for Wade, he hadn't cut him up until recently. Wade however never took it personally, more annoyed about being woke up than anything else.

As a rule he tried not to stab Wade. At least not when he made a terrible joke, he'd been politely ask not to do that. However Wade Winston Wilson frequently had a policy of "negative attention is still attention" and would occasionally delight in pushing his Wolverines button. Logan set boundaries. Gave warnings but at some point Snikt, blades fly, and again sometimes he was certain this was Wade's end game. He'd have his attention usually start behaving after that and the day would move on. It was a dynamic unlike any other relationship in his long walk of life. He certainly was never board.

Later that evening all the prep work they could do was done pies were baked, turkey was Brining, vegetable trays had been cut, bread had been baked and side dishes were pre-prepared just needed warmed in the oven. Althea had even made cranberry relish. All of it as non GMO as possible and as little corn syrup as possible at Wade's insisting. They all had a light dinner Ceasar Salad, and a bottle of riesling knowing tomorrow would be an exercise in classic American gluttony.

In bed that night, Wade had Logan cuddled against him. Wade was the big spoon for a change. Cuddling his beefy boy he whispered "I'm pretty sure I was good the rest of the day today, and I intend to collect on our bargain old man" a snake like hand caressed his pecs, slowly worked it's way down in between the line that demarcated the middle of his abs and over his navel. Logan was feeling a little frisky and mischievous, so he decided he'd let this play out. The hand had tucked it's self under the waistband of his underwear. When it made it to it's goal Logan let out a pleasured growl... then suddenly an exasperated voice came from across the room. "Damn it, boys! I'm not even asleep yet. Can you not! I can absolutely hear the both of you over there... please, I've asked you. I know y'all got needs, but not while I'm in the house, in the same room." Sorry Al, they both called out in unison. It might be time for a bigger place, Wade grumbled. Let's just go to sleep. Logan responded... Wade, babe... yeah, honeybadger. Not that, I... don't *he gulped and let out a small moan* like what you're doing down there. *he shuddered a little* But Al did ask us to stop. Damn it! Fine. He pulled his hand out of Logans underpants and huffed

I'm going to grab the tits though. Wade firmly and defiantly grabbed Logans righ pectoral and pulled him into a closer cuddle. That's fine. Logan sighed he wasn't exactly happy to be blue balled either but thems the breaks. Wade... yes dear, he said in a still slightly salty tone... I love you. I love you too. Goodnight

Link to scene 12

[randomized-sims24]

What Still Haunts Me

/All he heard was screaming, all he saw was fire and blood. But he couldn't move. He couldn't quite tell where he was or who was screaming- was it Sun? Jack? Dazzle?

Then he heard what they were screaming.

Moon!

Moon!

MOON!

moon help me, please, it's so hot and it hurts, I can't breath!

A chill ran through his systems. He recognized those words. They plagued his mind on sleepless nights like a ghost hanging over him.

Johnathan's last words before he died.

Now Moon found himself trying to move, struggling against whatever was holding him back.

Moon looked down at himself, finding he was trapped by purple ropes of energy.

Then, out of the fire stepped a tall, lanky figure.

Nexus.

Why was he here?

Nexus leaned down, taking hold of Moon's hat and made him look up at him.

"I will make sure you suffer if I can't have the information I want. And if I can't get any from you, maybe I can make Sun be more cooperative."

"Bastard...if you even try to lay a hand on him-"

Nexus laughed.

"Oh please, what can you do against me? You're weak and pathetic. You can't do anything you me, Moon. You'll never stop me. Now,"

"Wake up."/

Moon suddenly woke up with a start, trying to sit up.

The lights, though low, still irritated his eyes, and he hurt all over.

Mostly his head, though. God he hadn't felt a migraine this splitting since he had Killcode active in his body.

He held his head as he tried to get up.

"No, no Moon lay back down." He heard someone say as he felt someone pushing him back down.

He immediately started trying to push them off, still disoriented by his encounter with Nexus and coming out of rest mode, so he was still getting his bearings, which wasn't helped by the person pushing him and telling him to stay down.

"Moon, seriously, knock it off and lay down, please, you still need to rest."

The voice was finally registering in his head.

Sun.

He finally opened his eyes and looked up at him.

Sun looked at him, worry etched on his face. Slowly Sun brought his hands to Moon's face, gently holding him.

"Moon? Are you ok? Are you gonna listen to me now?"

Moon leaned into him and curled up a little, nodding slightly.

"Head...killing me..."

Sun sat back a bit and grabbed something and handed it to him- some ibuprofen and water.

Moon gladly took it, chugging down the bottle until it was empty.

"Yeah I...I'm listening..." He muttered.

"Good. How do you feel? We've been worried about you..." Sun said, his hands leaving Moon to settle on his lap, fists clenching tightly against the fabric of his pants.

An old nervous habit Sun had, Moon remembered. He must have been really freaked out.

"I feel...fine? My everything hurts though..." Moon said, closing his eyes again.

"Yeah, I imagine so. You were pretty damaged by that dark star power stuff. Solar sort of filled me in about what happened to you. You've been out for like...three days, Moon."

"Wha- three days?!"

"Yeah...Solar said you were really messed up. Your circuit board was almost cut apart...you nearly died, Moon."

Sun looked away from him a moment, not wanting to think about it further.

Moon watched him, carefully sitting up and taking his hands to comfort him a little.

"Honestly? I probably would have been if it weren't for Monty. Idiot threatened him with a shotgun." He laughed a bit before coughing and groaning.

"Yeah that...that probably wouldn't have ended well for them." Sun said and sighed.

"I was terrified, Moon. I thought you were gonna die again..."

"Nah, you won't get rid of me that easy again." He smiled a little before it fell. "I was scared too, Sun. It was awful, mostly how it felt. But I...I remembered things, too. Things I don't like thinking about." Moon leaned in and rest his head against Sun's shoulder.

"I remembered Johnathan. John, the kid that liked me."

Sun looked down at him, eyes a little wide.

Moon brought his arms around Sun's waist.

Sun hugged him back and held him.

Sun then felt Moon shaking, then heard a quiet sound and felt something wet on his shoulder.

Moon was crying.

Sun hugged him a little tighter.

"That was all I could see and hear, the fire, all the blood, and the last things he said..."

"He was crying for me, Sun. Begging for me to help him, Sun, but I couldn't. I couldn't do anything to save him..."

Sun listened, holding him and trying to comfort him like he had for him months ago, when he learned Dazzle was Evelyn.

"It wasn't your fault, Moon. You did what you could for him. He knew you cared about him. You tried to help him from his home. He knew you were trying to help him."

"Trust me, I know how it feels to blame yourself for someone dying, how it feels to think it's your fault and clinging to all that guilt and shame for years. But it doesn't do you any good to hold onto it forever. I know that's easier said than done, believe me. But it helps having someone to lean on to help you get there easier."

"I know it doesn't ever really go away, but having someone can make it easier to deal with. And you know if it ever gets too bad for you, I'll always be there for you, Moon."

Sun hugged him close again.

"I know. It's just hard not to think about when you're forced to remember it. But thank you, Sun. I mean it. That actually does make me feel a bit better."

Sun smiled softly. "I'm glad I could help. Guess Earth' therapy sessions rubbed off on me a little. Now you should get some more rest. Solar and Molten have been taking shifts outside the door in case Nexus comes here to try anything. I've been sitting in here with you. And don't worry, I've been charging too."

Moon nodded. "Okay, good, I was gonna say...are you gonna stay again?"

"Yeah, I'll stay until you're good to go again."

"Ok, thank you."

Moon looked at him and could tell he was thinking something.

"On the off chance you're thinking about it, you are not going after them yourself. We aren't doing all that again."

"I'm not, I promise I'm not! Mainly cause it ended so badly the last time I tried, and I gotta watch Dazzle now. I'm not gonna go after Nexus or Dark Sun myself."

"Good, good, thank you..." Moon muttered, finally laying back down, his battery still a bit low.

Sun settled back into his spot by the bed and closed his eyes, loosely holding Moon's hand as they fell asleep.

He would keep his promise and not run off, but he would beat Nexus into the ground for what he's done to Moon the next time they meet.

-end-

[undertale-anomaly20]

Mortal Kombat 9 x reader

final chapter 6

(Name)’s P.O.V

“shit!” yeah that’s the first words you hear coming out of my mouth this chapter sorry but considering that I’m trying to fight off Goro right now I think I have the fucking right and privilege. “puny human you shall die!” he bellowed before I cracked him in the jaw with a broken rail stunning him giving me the chance to run. I run past many soldiers and hide in an alley behind a garbage can. I can’t summon anymore strength like I did in the tournaments, I’m all bruised up and my cuts are bleeding. All I can do now is wait. “well congratulations (Name). This is another fine mess you have gotten yourself into, you can’t do something as simple as remember Shao Khan’s resurrection even now I can only remember what will happen if the event is occurring. No phone, no proper clothes…no friends to help you…just nothing” I tell myself bringing my knees to my chest. The feeling of hopelessness clouded and plagued my mind so much that I didn’t notice someone walking in front of me.

“Hey you ok?” I looked up to see Kabal, the Kabal that I would use as a fighter in my games. I nod slightly “what are you doing here? It’s dangerous” he said offering me a helping hand. I look at it “don’t worry I’m not gonna hurt ya” I take it standing up “I’m Kabal and you are?” “(Name)” “come on, we need to get out of here” I nodded. We ran out of the alley and across the street until we heard a voice “You are not authorised for portal use” I look to Kabal “portal use?” I asked “it’s a long story. And Says who” we turn around to see Sub-Zero but in his cyber form His robotic suit is colour-coded blue, and his hands pulse with ice energy “Kuai Liang” I said sadly Kabal turns to me “you know this guy?” he asked “I did, but he didn’t look like this” I said not taking my eyes off him “Sub-Zero. Unit L-K-5-2-0” Sub-Zero replied “Heh, you say that like it means something. Better stand back ma’am” Kabal said in fighting position “As you will soon discover” Sub-Zero said getting into fighting position as well. They fight. As a cyborg, Sub-Zero is more powerful than ever, boasting an array of ice attacks and cybernetic powers his previous form could never muster. However, Kabal's mastery of his new powers proves to be an equal match to the cyborg and with a few clever moves Kabal manages to disable Sub-Zero and power down his systems. “Ha! Not as cool as you thought” Kabal gloated I walked over to him and raised and frowned “sorry to say but he is my friend” I said kneeling down beside Sub-Zero.

I tear up looking at him “h-hey what’s the matter!?! Why are you crying!?” Kabal exclaimed worried “t-this is my fault! If I had kept in contact with him he wouldn’t have become this…thing!” I whimper placing a hand on Sub-Zero’s. “I’m sorry, Kuai Liang, I’m sorry” I whispered when I heard footsteps approaching. I wipe my eyes and look up to see Sheeva “Why do you turn on your brother, Lin Kuei?” she asks “That is not my brother. He's machine. I'm human” Kabal states “You do not appear human” “Don't let the mask fool ya” I growl “Kabal it’s my turn” I say standing up “you a mere pathetic mortal?” Sheeva laughed “we’ll see who’s pathetic after this, bitch” I growl. I launch at her with a nearby railing, as time seemed to slow down, and hit her directly in the gut, then the legs, then the arms an finally the head. I jumped back to where I was standing before as time sped up again. She wobbled a little bit then fell to the floor “much better” I said walking away. “Sub-Zero!” I turned around to see Raiden standing next to Kabal and Smoke running and kneeling next to Sub-Zero.

I walk over to him “what they have done to him…it is…hideous” Smoke said looking to Raiden “there might be a way to help him” I said gaining everyone’s attention “Lady (Name)? You’re alive” Smoke says with a hint of happiness in his voice I smile and help him carry Sub-Zero.

Timeskip

“Where have you been?” Smoke asked me. After we had arrived at a temple, we had met up with our friends and had Jax try to fix Sub-Zero. “I’ve been trying to find a way home” I replied not meeting his gaze. The way he asked me was as if he were scolding a child “have you had any luck?” “no I’ve been a bit too preoccupied with finding shelter and food” “you could have stayed with us so we could help” “I couldn’t” I said turning away from him only to have him grab both of my arms and held me in place “why not?” “I just couldn’t besides the elder gods would have sent me home. Figured out that already” “lady (Name) please answer” “you wouldn’t understand” “just tell me why!” “Because it would hurt less!” I exclaimed. His eyes widen in shock as he let go of me “it would hurt less ok! I’ve grown attached to you all! Where I come from I have no friends! No one cares about me enough to ask me if I’m ok or if they can help me! With you guys I have people who look out for me and make me feel special and when I go home I’ll never be able to see any of you again!” my voice starts to crack as tears stream down my face “that’s why I didn’t contact anyone or try to find anyone…”

My body trembled as I tried to hold in my sobs when Smoke wrapped his arms around me and pet my hair “please Lady (Name). Do not ruin you beautiful face with tears. wipes away tears with his thumb there much better. If it pained you so much to leave us why not stay?” he asked I looked up at him “I don’t have a choice. Once my duty is done I’ll be sent home. And judging by the point in time we are at now I won’t be here for long” I said sadly. Smoke held my chin with his thumb making me look at him and with his other hand removed his mask. He was so handsome! I blushed a little “if your time here is to be over soon blushes then forgive me but I must do this before you go” and with that he kissed me. My eyes widen and my blush turns a violent crimson ‘my first Kiss!’ my eyes flutter shut as I kiss back. His hand moves to my waist and the other one to the back of my head deepening the kiss. When Smoke’s lips move from mine he smiles and places his mask back on “coughs we better check on Sub-Zero” I say blushing looking at the ground Smoke nods and walks back to the part of the temple where everyone else was.

3rd P.O.V

‘incredible’ Smoke though as he followed behind (Name). He finally kissed her, yes Smoke knew that the other men, even Kuai Liang, had strong feelings towards the attractive young female but Smoke was the first to act on it.

Everyone stands around Sub-Zero. “here goes nothing” Jax says as Sub-Zero turns on.

Sub-Zero's mainframe begins rebooting, all of which is seen from his point-of-view. “You are certain this will work?” Smoke asks “Hell no! I've never done this before. It's not like there's a manual” Jax replied “it’ll work just give it time” (Name)’s voice is heard. The screen is suddenly lit up in red. The word "OVERRIDE" shows up in enlarged text. It successfully engages, and Sub-Zero tries connecting to a wireless uplink. The connection fails and an error pops up, noting his command and control module is missing. With that, his slaving protocols are disengaged and his autonomous command module is engaged, restoring his higher brain function. Smoke looks directly into his eyes at this point.

“Sub-Zero?” Smoke asks then looks to Jax “Can he hear me?” “He should” Jax replied Sub-Zero locks onto Smoke's eye and does a retinal identification. “Sub-Zero?” Smoke asks again. The scan provides Sub-Zero with information about Smoke, including his age, country of origin (both unknown), his allegiance (Lin Kuei) and special ability (teleportation). “Yes, Smoke” “How do you feel?” Sub-Zero sits up on the slab he's been placed on. He grunts in displeasure. “What is it?” “I remember… The things I have done for Shao Kahn…” Sub-Zero says regretfully Smoke places a hand on his friends shoulder. “He cannot be allowed to merge the realms” (Name) walks to the other side of Sub-Zero “sorry I wasn’t around to help, Kuai Liang” she apologized. Sub-Zero looked to her and placed a hand on her head “it is alright, lady (Name). It is not your fault” Sub-Zero replied making the girl smile “I’m glad to see you alive…Smoke and I both thought you dead” Sub-Zero “nice to know how highly you think of me” (Name) chuckles. Nightwolf turns to Raiden and asks “Haokah how can Sub-Zero best help us?” “I do not know. My attempts to alter future events have had negative consequences. Sub-Zero should never have undergone this transformation. Enlisting him may only further divert the flow of time” Raiden replied then turned to (Name) “lady (Name) what are we to do next” he asked.

(Name) turned to him and frowned “haven’t I screwed up enough as it is? Until a certain point in time comes up I ain’t doin jack squat” she said frowning “We need intel, right? Let's send him back to Outworld undercover” Stryker suggested “They will be unaware of my defection. I could deceive them” Sub-Zero said looking at everyone. Everyone nods as Sub-Zero gets up and walks out of the temple leaving everyone to wait for him.

(Name) sits down on the steps thinking about how Smoke had kissed her; she was so confused did Smoke like her THAT way? And how could he? She barely spoke to him at all. Although, (Name)’s heart raced when she thought about it. Boys from where she was from never took interest in her since she was a gamer and to them gamers are supposed to only boys but here a man took interest in her; she smiled at the thought of someone liking her. Not too far away Liu Kang and Kung Lao were looking at (Name).

‘She’s so cute when she’s smiling’ Liu Kang thought with a small blush. Liu Kang had begun to have feelings towards the young girl after he had met her. At first it was in only interest in how she acted but after the battle with Ermac and how she stepped up to the plate and fought with Ermac on her own, with no powers and no training, then winning the fight, he admired her greatly. He was the one to carry her along with Kung Lao to the infirmary to heal, as he sat at her side while Raiden healed her he noticed how afraid he was at the thought that he might have lost her had she lost the battle with Ermac. Liu Kang knew for sure that he was in love with the girl and once Shao Khan is defeated he would confess his love to her.

‘She’s so adorable’ Kung Lao thought smiling. Kung Lao met the young girl after his defeat from Scorpion and he couldn’t deny he found her attractive. She proved herself to be a worthy opponent when she took down Ermac in her first battle and her speech she gave during it lit a fire under his belly and filled his heart with hope, he worried for her once the fight was over and even more when she faced Shang Tsung but her fighting spirit confirmed what he had been thinking since the first match. Kung Lao believed that she was destined to be his and his alone. Once all of this is over he would confess his feelings toward her to her.

Kabal was looking at her as well admiring her looks ‘heh not bad, she’s actually kinda cute’ he thought smiling under his mask. Although he had not known the girl long, Kabal liked the girl. She was cute and adorable on the outside but on the inside was a fighter burning with rage. He liked that in girls. When he gets the chance he would ask the girl out.

Smoke is leaning on a wall thinking about (Name) and how flustered she looked after the kiss ‘so cute and innocent’ Smoke owed much to the girl who saved his life and his friend but felt strong feelings towards her. This small girl warmed his heart and showed him that dying for honour was ridiculous that living to fight another day was worth it. Smoke couldn’t help but fall for her and felt pleased with himself since he had already kissed her.

(Name) stood up remembering what is to happen soon “Raiden, I need you to send me somewhere” she said walking to Raiden gaining his attention “where is it you are in need to go?” he asked “St Dominic's Cemetery” “I am confused why would-” Suddenly Sonyas’ wrist-communicator beeps “This is Sub-Zero. I have encountered Quan Chi. He seems to be casting a spell” (Name) walks over to Sonya when Raiden receives another vision - this one of the Soulnado engulfing New York City “Raiden, what is it? What did you see?” Nightwolf asks “One of Shao Kahn's Soulnados, on a scale I thought unimaginable. All of Earthrealm's souls imprisoned, absorbed by Shao Kahn, multiplying his power!” Raiden said looking at his amulet. More cracks and a burnt signature adorn it “hence why I said to send me there” (Name) said looking at Raiden “very well lady (Name)” Raiden said using his teleportation powers to send her to the grave yard.

(Name)’s P.O.V

I found myself in the graveyard behind a grave next to Sub-Zero “Nightwolf will be here soon” I said surprising him “lady (Name)? But how-” “no time, we need to be quick” I said interrupting him as I stand up and walk into the clearing following Sub-Zero. Noob walks towards us “You. You are not worthy of the name Sub-Zero” Noob said pointing at Sub-Zero “he’s more worthy than you” I said growling, as I walked out from behind Sub-Zero, getting Noob to look at me “lady (Name)?” he seemed surprised “in the living flesh” I said “Quan Chi told me you had died” “yeah well he lied about that now didn’t he?” “lady (Name) you know him?” Sub-Zero asked “you should too. Isn’t that right Bi-Han?” I said not taking my eyes off of Noob “Bi-Han?” “Yes, Kuai Liang. It is I. Quan Chi restored me” “he turned you into a fucking puppet! How can you consider this better than eternal rest?” I exclaim

“I have been perfected, eternal rest means nothing to me now” I clench my fist “For what end? To serve the Netherrealm and Outworld?” Sub-Zero questioned “It suits my purpose” Noob responded “But brother, we—” “We share blood. We are not brothers” Noob said getting into fighting position “Then I will not regret your defeat” Sub-Zero replied. They fight. Bi-Han may have had power granted to him from the Netherrealm upon his death, but Kuai Liang's cybernetic upgrades prove to be superior in battle. After a fierce battle, Kuai Liang manages to defeat his brother and leave him unconscious.

I frown and kneel beside the fallen warrior placing a hand upon his “Bi-Han, forgive me” I said as I felt my heart ache and throb in pain. I look to Sub-Zero “go after Quan Chi. I’ll try to fix Bi-Han” I order as he follows it. I look down again at Bi-Han “I’m sorry. I should have stayed with you to protect you. Had I known that Quan Chi and Scorpion would have went after you I would have never let your side. a single tear slips from the right eye this is all my fault” I said wishing he could hear me “if you can hear me, Bi-Han, please abandon Quan Chi. Save yourself from death. Please” I whispered then lean down placing a light kiss on his forehead, I stood up but was knocked over by a powerful wind I shook my head and looker up to see Nightwolf running to me.

He kept running and as he was about to pass me he picked me up bridal style “we are to leave. The Soulnado has been destroyed” he said as I looked back to see Noob teleport. ‘Be safe’ I look back up to Nightwolf “this isn’t over, Nightwolf. There is one more thing that must happen to stop all of this but groans I can’t remember” I groaned holding my head as it pulsed “once we return to the temple you might remember, Lady (Name)” he replied.

Timeskip

Nightwolf and I both walk towards the others. Sub-Zero rushes to my side “lady (Name) are you injured?” he asked “I’m fine” I reply smiling. “It is done. Earthrealm's souls are safe” Nightwolf says as we all stand around a table. Raiden looks at his amulet. More cracks appear on it. “No! How is it not enough?!” he yells. He slams a palm down on the slab in front of him. “I must speak with the Elder Gods. Shao Kahn's violation must be punished” “But the battle is joined here, in Earthrealm!” Liu Kang exclaimed “We cannot win without the Elder Gods” “But Master—” “Liu Kang, close as a shadow…” Johnny taunted Raiden turned to me “Lady (Name), you will lead until we return” I nod “understood” I say with a straight face. Raiden takes a hold of Liu Kang and they disappear in a flash of lightning.

“Well, now what? Standing around here won't do us any good” Stryker said about to leave “Wait!” Sub-Zero says as he looks around. That’s when I remember “The Lin Kuei! They surround us!” I exclaim ready to fight beside my friends. Multiple Lin Kuei cyborgs reveal themselves around the temple “So much for standing around” Stryker said looking around “lady (Name) your orders?” Nightwolf asked “take em’ down!” I yell charging at the cyborgs. The others follow my lead.

I take two down sweeping there feet out from under them. I notice Smoke having trouble so I run to help him, I grab a candelabra and use it to skewer the cyborg then toss it and him off to the side. I look back to Smoke and help him up when a cyborg came from behind him “no!” I exclaimed and held my hands out towards the cyborg when smoke came out of my hands, instead of the ice, and entered the cyborgs system tearing it apart from the inside out. I look at my hands then to Smoke “h-how…” that’s when it hit me “that’s it…that’s it! Every time before every match I had skin contact with one of my friends which temporarily gave me the same ability they have!” I said happily. “Smoke use your ability to tear them from the inside out. uses wrist guards to make large icicle wanted a sword but ok” I said before running off to fight more. ‘I’ll fight till my last breath and protect those who deserve to live’ I began fighting like I was on autopilot, like I knew how to, as I cut through the cyborgs until they had all been taken down.

I breathe heavily and look up to see Kitana looking for something I walk over to her dropping the icicle “Kitana? What is it?” I asked Kitana doesn't reply at first, but then she spots what she was looking for I follow her gaze “mother” Kitana responded. Sindel walks into the temple, letting off a banshee scream multiplied tenfold from her original powers. Sonya and Stryker are pushed to the stairwell by the force, Sub-Zero is forced to generate ice shield, Jade wards off the attack as best she can with her staff, while Johnny Cage only keeps his balance by holding onto one of Jax's arms. I’m covering my ears as I drop to my knees ‘holy shit, that bitch can scream!’ Only Nightwolf is unaffected by the scream. She finally stops and smirks “Come forward, if you dare. I will finish what the Lin Kuei could not” she says confident. The others get together ready to attack “no!” I yell standing up “all of you stay out of this. glares at Sindel she’s mine” I growl summoning an ice sword. “kid we can take her” Johnny said confident “no you can’t! the original story line, where I wasn’t there to interfere, she kills you! I’m not going to let that happen!” I stand before her ready to fight “find a way to get Raiden here soon! Go!” I shout they make no movement “go!” They all run, after a moment’s hesitation, off except for Smoke “Tomas” I said asking his eyes widen “please go” his eyes showed pain as he nodded and teleported away.

I breath and turn back to Sindel “ok, queenie, let’s dance. Hiyah!” I scream launching at her as she did the same “foolish child! This shall be your final resting place!”

3rd P.O.V

On another plane of existence entirely, Raiden and Liu Kang stand in the temple of the Elder Gods. “Elder Gods, I beseech you. Earthrealm is in danger” Raiden called out There are six Elder Gods, all of varying genders and appearance, towering over Raiden and Liu Kang in spirit form, but they all speak at the same time. “We are aware of your plight, Raiden” “Then you must intervene on Earthrealm's behalf” “We cannot” taken aback Raiden tries to explain “But Shao Kahn… Liu Kang has bested him twice, yet he still—” “Shao Kahn has not violated the rules of Mortal Kombat” “What?! He invades Earthrealm as we speak!”

“Invasion is not itself a transgression. It is the merger of realms that is proscribed” “A distinction without a difference! Innocents are dying at the hands of Outworld!” “It is regrettable. But the Mortal Kombat tournaments are not intended to prevent certain outcomes. They are intended only to maintain balance among the realms” “Please, you must—”“We have spoken. However we shall give you a warning; your champion that has been given to you is the key to both you success and failure” and with that the Elder Gods' spirit forms disappear, leaving Raiden and Liu Kang alone. “The last doors are closing. We are nearly trapped” Raiden says looking to Liu Kang. Liu Kang can’t help but have an unsettling feeling in his stomach “Lord Raiden they spoke of a champion they sent us. But that means-” “lady (Name) is in danger”

(Name)’s P.O.V

I fall to my knees coughing up large amounts of blood while Sindel laughs. I barley hit her at all while she tossed me around like a rag doll leaving me with gashes, cuts, bruises and a broken left leg “those who go against Shao Khan deserve to die” she said smirking. “You…still don’t…get it. Do you” I rasped out looking up to glare at her “you’re his puppet! stands up shaking summoning the ice sword again he had you resurrected that’s true! But do you even remember who you once were?! You stood for peace and prosperity” I say trying to hit her with my sword without collapsing “you gave up your life to prevent that fuck from swing getting into Earthrealm! swing you never wanted a repeat of what happened to Edenia to happen to Earthrealm! swing I swore that I would die before I let this world be ruled by that prick! slashes Sindel across the stomach, giving her a deep cut, causing her to fall back in shock” I sit on her stomach and change the sword to a knife “for Earthrealm, for my friends, FOR OUR FREEDOM!” I scream as loud as I could as I drove the ice knife directly into Sindels’ heart.

As I watched her die, her eyes changed from pure white to brown like Kitanas’. As she laid there dying, with blood coming out of her mouth, tears streamed down her face and she smiled ‘what? why was she smiling?’ “t-t-thank you” she whispered before drawing her final breath. The light in her eyes dimed until they glazed over. Tears streamed down my face after realizing what I had just done.

I took her life

Never in my life have I had the desire to kill anyone, the thought of someone taking another person’s life sickened me and yet I had just done that. Shaking I got off of her and dropped the knife, shattering on impact once it hit the ground, and cover my mouth with my hand as I look at her corpse in horror “o-oh god….w-what have I done?” I say then I take my hands away from my mouth and look at them how they are soaked in her blood, I let out a horrified scream/strangled cry as I dropped to my knees wailing in pain and sorrow. I heard many faint footsteps approaching and the sound of thunder. “lady (Name)!”

Rewind 3rd P.O.V

“damn we can’t reach Raiden” Sonya said aggravated “well we gotta do something! The kid can’t hold out for long!” Johnny said pumped up “there’s gotta be a way to contact him” Jax said crossing his arms “what if we-” Kung Lao was cut off by a horrified and pain filled scream. Kung Lao, Smoke, Sub-Zero and Johnny knew that cry all too well “(Name)!” they all yelled running back to the temple. They were all filled with fear praying to the elder gods that they were wrong, that (Name) wasn’t dead. ‘I should have stayed! I should have never had left her alone to fight’ they all thought. And once they reached the temple what they saw shocked them all including Raiden and Liu Kang who had just arrived. (Name) was soaked in blood, covered in multiple cuts, gashes and bruises, sitting on her knees wailing and in front of her was the body of Sindel. Liu Kang ran over to her after snapping out of his shocked state. “lady (Name)!” he called out

(Name)’s P.O.V

I turned my head to look at Liu Kang as he ran to my side. He placed his hands on my shoulders “what happened?” he asked worried “I-I-I didn’t…I just…” I wanted to explain but I couldn’t, my tears were clouding my vision my body shook as I tried not to sob “take deep breaths and tell me what happened” “I killed her! I took a life!” I cried out. Liu Kang look down at Sindel then to me and embraced me “I didn’t want to…s-she thanked me Liu…she thanked me. Part of her humanity was still in there and I ended it…I’m a murderer…she could have been saved” I cried into his shoulder as I held onto him tightly as if he was going to disappear. I felt his hand pet my hair “you did save her, lady (Name)” he said I moved my head to look at him “you set her free. If what you say is true then she was watching herself hurt others and she suffered just as much as they did. You set her free by killing her you saved her” he said smiling wiping away the tears and blood from my face.

“There now I can see you” I knew what he meant it means I can see you for who you are. I nod and stand up looking at everyone they all ran up to me to see if I was ok but once they see my injuries they looked like they regrated leaving me to fight Sindel “I’m fine really” I said trying to not shake as I put weight on my left leg. Kung Lao picked me up bridal style and carried me over to the table that once held Sub-Zero and places me on it “thanks Lao” I said smiling a little “there was no trouble, lady (Name)” he replied placing a kiss upon my forehead I blushed furiously.

Raiden heals me up along with the others “Raiden send me to the Netherrealm, I may be able to get Scorpion on our side. He might listen to me” I said surprising the others “ok kid how hard did you hit your head? Because you just came out of a near death experience and you wanna go back in?” Johnny asked worried for me “Spector or not Scorpion still has his humanity! He can be reasoned with” I said looking at him directly. Raiden thinks it over “Raiden please. I want to give Hanzo one last chance” I begged him. he nods and hands me a small Smoke bomb “once you are done break this upon the ground beneath your feet and you shall be brought back to us” he said as I got off the table “understood. I’m ready” Sub-Zero and Smoke stepped forward “we wish to accompany you Lady (Name)” they said in unison I nod “alright let’s go” Raiden teleported us to the Netherrealm.

“Scorpion! Scorpion!” I called out looking around the fire filled wasteland when Scorpion appears before me in a flash of hellfire. His eyes widen in surprise “Lady (Name)? What are you doing here?” he asked then noticed Smoke and Sub-Zero “I’m here on a peaceful mission. I need you to help us” I said trying not to provoke him “and they are here why?” he asked. Smoke and Sub-Zero step before me placing me behind them in a protective manner “to protect her” Smoke said glaring at Scorpion “in case you decide to harm Lady (Name)” Sub-Zero said placing and arm in front of me. Scorpion glared and his eyes flashed purple for a split second “you dare accuse me of doing such a thing to her! You will pay with your lives!” Scorpion growled in full rage. I watched as the fought each other when Scorpion used his hellfire to burn them. Their bodies dropped to the ground dead.

“no!” I cried out running to them I kneeled between them both my body shaking I try to hold their hands but I end up burning my own. I glare up at Scorpion who looked shocked “Lady (Name) I-” “MURDERER!” I shriek launching myself at him pinning him to the floor I sit on his waist as I curl my fists holding onto the front of his clothes, burning my hands even more, bringing him close to my face “They. Were. My. FRIENDS! You bastard! First you killed Bi-Han and now Smoke and Kuai Liang! I came here offering you a second chance of redemption and you throw it away! Give me one reason why I should forgive you!” I scream I his face. “I’m sorry” was all he could say I let him go and got off of him. “sorry isn’t going to cut it. You’re not Hanzo Hasashi of the Shirai Ryu anymore now you are Scorpion puppet of Quan Chi and a murderer” I said sadly grabbing the Smoke bomb not taking my eyes off of Scorpion. He held out his hand to me “lady (Name) please!” he begged “to earn my forgiveness, give me back my friends” was all I said before throwing the Smoke bomb to the ground transporting me back to the temple. Once I got there everyone was gone “guys?” I called out when the ground shook I look up at the ceiling “Shao Khan” I said to myself. I run up the stairs when I get pulled into my own mind.

I look around and see that I’m floating in a black void when suddenly there are six Elder Gods, all of varying genders and appearance, surrounding me “your task is almost complete” they spoke together “why have you brought me to this world!? I’ve done nothing but mess up and get people killed! I killed another person, I got Smoke and Kuai Liang killed, I couldn’t protect Bi-Han and I hurt Scorpion! What could you have possibly gained by bringing me here!?!” I yelled “to set you on the path for your life” “what?” “Where you are from you shelter yourself in a home and never go out. You hide yourself in fear of what others may think of you. You are afraid of the world. That is why we have brought you here to show you that you are capable of incredible things. We gave you the chance and you used it to its fullest potential” I look at them in awe.

‘they’re right…through this whole fiasco I’ve done things I never thought I could before. I put my life at risk numerous amounts of times, I faced creatures of the night and faced my fears, I changed so much in the time I was here that I wouldn’t have known had I had stopped and thought about it’ “you have one final task Lady (Name), of earth” they said “I know, but how? I don’t want anyone I care about to die anymore. What can I do to prevent Liu Kangs’ death?” “let Shao Khan pass through then once he has entered Earthrealm we shall aid you. However there is a price, once our power leaves you, you shall die and be sent to back to your world. Do you understand?” I nod without hesitation “yes, I understand” they all disappear and I find myself at the top of the tower where the world looks dead and Raiden and Liu Kang are fighting “STOP!” I shout running to them. They both look at me in shock “Liu Kang Shao Khan must come through. I have a plan” I said looking him in the eyes “but Lady (Name)-” “no buts! Liu Kang this has to happen” “but-” “do you trust me?” his eyes widen.

“well?” he thinks for a moment the nods I smile “thank you” I say before standing in front of them as Shao Khan walks through “Ah, Raiden. You have come to your senses” Shao Khan says as I turn to see Raiden bowing “Raiden on your feet!” I say as everyone joins us on the roof I turn back to Shao Khan “big mistake messing with Earthrealm, ugly” I say cracking my neck “there is no one left to stop me. I have won” I raise my fist prepared to fight “not if I have anything to say about it” we fight I give it everything I have and try to land hits on him but no matter how hard I try I fail. After what seemed like hours, which in reality was only 5 minutes, I upper cuts me and I skid backwards on my back covered in gashes, cuts and some of my flesh was ripped off my body.

I cough up my own blood, and tears of pain and agony rundown my face, as I raise my body into kneeling position I look back, weakly, to my friends who looked like they wanted to join the fight “do you see now, foolish girl? This is the end of all things” Shao Kan said. I laugh catching all of them off guard “what? Why do you laugh mortal!?!” he demanded. I smirked looking right at him with blood oozing out of my mouth.

“Because I have one more ace up my sleeve”

Golden lightning flashes before his feet. More flashes strike the rooftop around us, and from a portal from the heavens, six golden dragons fly out and around my body, lifting me into the air, healing my wounds and making me feel incredible! With a final flash, I stand before Shao Kahn. The dragons still surround me making me glow in a golden light. “You think you have won but you are far from it! The elder gods condemn you to death for your violation of the entering Earthrealm without victory in mortal kombat!” I shout and charge up a golden variation of lightning and blast Shao Kahn with it. It has no effect and Kahn laughs out loud. “An anaemic effort from ineffectual deities. Today, I become THE Elder God!” They fight. The battle is truly epic, with neither the me being given such power or Shao Kahn are getting any clear advantage for the majority of it.

For what seems like ages, the two of us give it everything we have, but eventually I win and knock Kahn to the floor. As he struggles to his feet and tries to charge again, I blast him once more with the golden lightning. “Never again will you harm Earthrealm!” I shout with the elder gods voices as one this time, the blast has an effect, and the dragons surround Kahn as he is blasted. They begin biting into his body at various places, causing him to scream in pain. His body is scorched by their magic. The Elder Gods' assault on Shao Kahn cause the warlord to explode in a flash of golden light that reaches to the heavens.

I hear my friends cheer behind me happy that it’s all over. The elder gods leave my body draining my energy. I feel so…light? I look down at my body to see it eroding away slowly into embers of light. I smile ‘I can’t feel anything except…happiness’ I collapse onto the ground “Lady (Name)! No!” I turn my head to see everyone looking at me then running to my side; Liu Kang dropped to his knees and cradled me he raises my head so that I’m looking at him “lady (Name). What is happening?” he asked on the brink of tears as well as everyone else “isn’t it obvious, silly? I’m dying” I said softly as I looked into his eyes “why! You survived everything else! Why now!” Kung Lao yelled his voice cracking. “The elder gods warned me that if I asked for their help my life would be the price. I’m finally finished my task, I save so many people but failed to save the few who needed me most. Smoke, Bi-Han, Sub-Zero I lost them because I didn’t think ahead” I spoke then looked down at my body to see half of it gone. “please don’t leave” I looked back up to Liu Kang as tears poured out of his eyes and dripped onto me I looked around me and saw everyone was crying from me.

I smiled “I wish I didn’t have to…I would have loved to stay here with you all places eroding hand on Liu Kangs’ cheek wiping the tears away but I can’t, I’m sorry” I said almost gone “I’ll never forget you. I love you” my eyes widen at Liu Kangs’ words “you shall always have a place in my heart. I love you lady (Name)” Kung Lao said his eyes shadowed by his hat but tears clearly shown streaming down his face “آپ ابدی آرام اور امن، زندگی کا بچہ مل سکتی. (May you find eternal rest and peace, child of life)” night wolf spoke solemnly. “Thank you for everything, young lady” Stryker said saluting me as did Kabal and Sonya “we owe you a lot” Kabal said “it was an honour to fight beside you, (Name)” Sonya said trying not to cry “thanks (Name). You made one hell of an action hero” Johnny said taking off his glasses. Jax saluted me “you’re one brave soldier, Kid.” he said smiling “thank you, (Name)” Kitana said trying not to cry “may your soul be safe with the elder gods” Jade said bowing. “We owe you our lives, Lady (Name). I only wish I had seen your death in my visions so I could have prevented it” Raiden says bowing his head. My head has almost vanished I smile one last time and with my final breath I speak “goodwill always wins” then everything went dark.

(Name)’s P.O.V

My eyes snap open as I quickly sit up. I look around frantically to see I was back in my room. ‘No…I couldn’t have been…it was…a dream’ I bring my knees to my chest and hold myself in fettle position and sigh “should’ve known it was a dream. I mean really, a bunch of cute guys crushing on someone like me? Me being super powerful? Me being a hero? Yeah right get real” I scold myself then sigh getting up out of my bed I stretch my arms but they felt heavier than usual I bring them down to look at them and my eyes widen. Bi-Hans' wrist guards!

I couldn’t believe it! I still had his wrist guards on my wrists! I quickly looked to my hair and saw it was still below my knees “but if it wasn’t a dream then…” I quickly ran to my PlayStation and put the mortal kombat 9 disk in and turned it on. As I select story mode it starts off as it normally does except it switches to me! Its shows my dream and how I got there. I play through the game and finally reach the last cut scene “goodwill always wins” is what the video game me says. I watched more of it to see what happens.

Soon Liu Kangs’ arms were empty and embers of light blew away into the wind. The final words of what I had said brunt into their brains and would remain there til the end Raiden remains on his knees, and looks to his amulet one more time. Finally, the cracks adorning it are removed, and it remains as it once was “It is over” he says his heart heavy with sorrow. Liu Kang clenched his fists hard till his knuckles turned white “but at what cost?” he asked as tears ran down his face, Kung Lao placed a hand on his friends shoulder “she still lives, Liu Kang. She lives within us. As long as her memory stays with us she shall live on” Kung Lao said trying to hold back his tears. Then a narrator voice says “Although they have saved Earthrealm they had lost a dear friend who meant so much to them all. One they would never forget” I felt horrible leaving them like that I would have stayed with them if I had a choice.

“Come. Let us tend the fallen. Then we must help our realm rebuild. Our work has only just begun” Raiden say. He then teleports himself and everyone else away in a flash of lightning. Only Shao Kahn's war helmet and my rose? I feel the top of my head with my left hand to find that the rose was indeed gone. Anyway they are all that remains on the rooftop, forgotten by all… except the one who walks through an unseen portal and picks it up; Quan Chi. As he examines the trophies, another being fades into existence before him. “Your plan worked to perfection, Lord Shinnok” Quan chi said smirking “Shao Kahn was blinded by rage. How easily was he convinced that the Elder Gods would ignore his merging the realms” said Shinnok free from his bonds “Yet the Thunder God still lives” “and the girl?” at this I was curious was he talking about me? “Regrettably dead, my lord” “No matter. Neither Earthrealm nor Outworld can now withstand the Netherrealm's onslaught. It is time. Soon I will be free. Earthrealm and Outworld will be ours and that girl shall never intervene ever again”

My eyes widen they planned on using me! I notice that once the main menu popped up again there was an ‘epilogue scene’ option to select curious I select it and watch the cut scene. The scene shows the Netherrealm where Scorpion trying to meditate when Quan chi appears before him “Scorpion” Quan chi speaks “what is it? Can you not see I wish to be left alone?” Scorpion says annoyed by Quan Chis’ presence “I bring news” “why should it concern me? Be gone” “it is about the young fair maiden you had taken a liking to” Quan chi smirked seeing Scorpions eyes snap open “Lady (Name)? What news about her! Tell me!” Scorpion demanded jumping to his feet. Quan chi presented my rose to Scorpion. But I noticed the rose had blood splattered on it “she has been slain in battle” Quan chi said handing over the flower to Scorpion. He held the rose with shaking hands, tears gathered in his eyes “who!” Scorpion yells as hell fire engulfs him “it appears that Sub-Zero had planned to kill her from the very beginning. So before he died he set a trap for her that would go off and kill her. A second body his soul could use before Sindel had slain him” Quan chi said creating another vision “Hanzo he’s lying!” I screamed at the TV knowing it was useless.

The vison showed me, running away from Lin Kuei cyborgs, crying “Hanzo! Help me!” the vison version of me cried out. I was cornered into a corner of the temple I tried to use the wrist guards but they were broken. I cowered in fear with my right arm shielding my head “Hanzo…help” the vision me whimpered when one of the cyborgs stepped forward and approach ‘me’ it was a cyborg that looked like Sub-Zero “Kuai Liang! Please don’t!” Sub-Zero simply raised his ice sword above his head as ‘I’ looked at him in horror “somebody…please help me” were the last words the other me uttered before an ear piercing scream is heard and all that is seen is blood splattering upon the temple walls, the rose I wore in my hair falls to the ground splattered with blood. “no!” Scorpion yells as Quan chi smirks “Sub-Zero is now a revenant and works for us” Scorpion looked to Quan Chi “and what of lady (Name)?” “Regrettably I could not find her soul there for she cannot be resurrected. I shall leave you too your grief” and with that Quan Chi teleports away. Scorpion falls to his knees and looks down at the slightly singed rose and gently stokes the petals. “lady (Name) please forgive me…I had not meant to harm you or your friends. The rage within my being was brought out suddenly I…I had no control” he said I placed my hand on my TV screen as tears welled in my eyes.

“I wish I had told you sooner, perhaps the outcome would have been different, I wish I had told you my feelings towards you. Lady (Name), champion of mortal kombat, hero of Earthrealm and keeper of my heart. I shall always love you in this and every other life” the screen fades to black as the credits roll.

I was in shock, Hanzo loved me. I look out my window noticing it was dawn I stand up and walk over to my window and look out at the scenery. ‘my friends I swear, I shall always hold you close to my heart and pray that one day we shall meet again’ What I didn’t notice was Sub-Zeros’ armour peeking out from under my pillow and my mortal kombat X disc briefly glow for a few moments.

(trust me I know. 17 year old didn't know how to write for shit. I'm only posting this so that the rest of the series will make sense. If I didn't need to post this I wouldn't)

[doomednarrative]

@temporalmystusions I saw your tags and yknow what, I'm gonna use them as a jumping point to talk about this dude for a bit. I'll put it under a cut so the post doesn't get long ~

So, to preface: The idea for Jessie and the other ocs in this story came from a stupidly vivid dream I had like a year ago sometime after finishing watching Ryuki for the first time. In the dream, a short segment of a story played out about a guy (who became Jessie as he exists in my head now) fuckin covered in blood horror movie style, holding a baseball bat while a scared kid stood behind him as he was seemingly defending this kid from demons that were coming out of the reflective surface of the windows in their house in front of them. That is All the dream gave me, but from there I kinda extrapolated the concept and decided to build on it while brainstorming with some friends.

What I ended up with after all of that (which is Still actively developing in my head and currently plaguing my thoughts) is this:

Jessie is 32 years old, and a huge loner. Doesn't really have any friends, parents died when he was a baby and he went thru the foster care system the rest of his childhood years, and the guy he was dating for a few years died in a freak car crash. He's pretty much to the point where he believes people aren't going to last if they're around him, so he's made no active effort to meet anyone. The only companion he has is a cat named Leaf who he found abandoned as a kitten and took in out of pity. He works a shitty job at a grocery store which isn't enough to pay rent anymore for his little one person apartment, and he feels like life just does not care for him.

By some sheer luck, he stumbles across an ad hanging near his job for someone looking for a babysitter for their kid. The pay is decent, it's full time, and best of all housing is provided. It's a total live in job for a home schooled kid who needs someone to look after him and who knows how to cook and clean.

Jessie's never really seen himself as a caretaker or a parental figure to anyone, but he decides it Has to be better than whatever his life is now. So he quits the grocery store, packs up what little stuff he has in his apartment and shows up to the house hoping the job offer is still open.

He's greeted at the door by a 12 year old named Zander who just looks at him and says "You're here for the nanny gig aren't you?" and lets him in, and then promptly disappears to his room. The kid seemingly has no interest in getting to know Jessie, but that's fine. It's day one. They'll work things out.

At least that's what Jessie hopes.

Things are slow but fine for the first week or so. Jessie cooks for Zander, who spends most of his time in his room either doing schoolwork or working on his own little art projects, and they eat quiet meals together. He helps clean the house (whoever was the nanny before him seemingly left in a hurry and was a mess about it, which is curious to him) and even if Zander doesn't talk to him much, the kid's at least not mean to him. And the kid likes his cat, so small victories.

It's not until Jessie starts to Maybe feel like this won't be a total disaster that something has to go wrong, of course.

It's about 2am one night when Jessie wakes up to the feeling that something is wrong. He can't quite pinpoint what, but something inside the house feels off, and he can't shake the feeling no matter what he does, so he gets out of the bed in his personal bedroom and goes downstairs to see whats up.

Zander fell asleep on the couch that night with Leaf curled up beside him, and Jessie had let them be, taking it as a win that the kid had felt comfortable enough to not lock himself in his room for once. He really didn't think much about it past that and thought it was fine if he left him alone for the night.

Maybe he shouldn't have.

The house is quiet, almost deathly so as Jessie walks around, careful not to wake Zander. Nothing is out of place, it doesnt look to the naked eye like there's any danger around. Jessie starts to think that maybe he was just having a weird night still adjusting to the new house and got spooked for no reason.

It's not until he makes his way over to the giant sliding glass doors that led out to the backyard that he thinks he sees something, reflecting at him in the glass. Not a person, but some sort of creature with glowing yellow eyes, clearly looking back at him.

He doesn't have time to move or think before something darts out of the glass towards him, hitting him in the lip as he can feel it start to bleed.

Safe to say, he screams, because whatever wrong feeling he'd had was apparently Right, and there is something or someone in this house, or surrounding it that has every intention of hurting him.

He's too stunned to realize that his scream had woken Zander, and it's not until the kid appears behind him, thrusting a baseball bat that he has no idea where it came from into his hands, saying "That won't be the only one!" that he realizes hes not the only one in danger here.

He's got a kid to look after, and if the way Zander is acting says anything? This isn't the first time he's seen this kind of thing appearing in his house. It's not until then that Jessie realizes he has no clue what kind of babysitting job he'd actually signed himself up for.

---

So! Jessie finds out the hard way he did Not sign up for a normal babysitting job.

Zander is a half demon child, and in this universe, halflings like him basically have a mark on their head from birth. His mom is human, and she walked out on him some years ago, tired of being a single mom with her life constantly in danger. She basically told Zanders dad, a demon named Lerajie (Or Larry as he eventually will be known) to figure it out if he cared about his son's life, and so the solution was to try and find another human who was strong enough to help defend Zander and watch over him while Lerajie kept the house warded from afar. (He would help more physically if he could, but he's incapable of doing so where the story starts out.)

Jessie knew none of this. He doesn't find out until after that first demon attack that he's like the tenth babysitter Zander has had. All of the others walked out once they realized the actual danger involved in the job, and Jessie begins to understand why this kid was reluctant to talk to him or even get to know him.

Turns out they were both used to losing anyone they tried keeping around, even if the reasons for it were massively different.

Jessie's not remotely qualified for this. He's just some dude in his thirties with no real physical skills and barely a clue what he's doing in his life.

But. He knows what it's like to be a lonely kid with no family, getting passed between people who stopped caring about you once the novelty wore off. He lived it his entire childhood.

So. He decides to stay. He'll keep Zander safe, or at least fucking Try to do so. And maybe along the way he can drag his dad back into the picture too, if he has any say in all of this.

This one oc dude I had a dream about months ago has been haunting my thoughts again so here’s some doodles of him ~

[n-anon]

Anti’s Connection to the Septic Eye (A Theory)

A little boy gets hit with a football, and ends up infecting his eye, it turns septic, it recovers but the name Jacksepticeye persists with him until he begins his YouTube channel.

We all know that story at least, but what if I told you Anti was always connected to the septic eye, even in his early infancy of just a small comment or word from Jack.

To specify, I'm going to go back way to RYC number 48 in which Jack answers the question of 'Jack why are you Everywhere' with the following quote:

'Its cuz I have the septic eye! It spreads, it bounces around in it's septic tank and infects everybody else!! You're all gonna get it eventually!'

Now see this really could've been a funny joke, at the end of the day, and it probably is, but I sometimes think about it, and it reminds me heavily of Schneeps quote in KJSE, 'Once one goes down, they all go down'.

The thing about a septic eye is that it's an infection of the eye, a small virus, can be easily cured if you let the eye heal. It shouldn't be able to cause everything Anti does yes, even if most of his appearances cause a very seen again and again symptom of bleeding eyes (This is just four examples)

But while a septic eye itself is small virus, sometimes viruses mutate, they lay dormant in a system for years, adapting to the immune system and even copying some of it in better to survive, and that's what I'm proposing Anti is. Plague reminded me that viruses can mutate, and develop new symptoms on their own such as insanity, destructive tendencies, nose bleeds, possibly eye bleeding too. It's not that hard to put that connection on the table.

In this universe, C!Jack might've not even gotten the septic eye, I don't know, maybe he got it a different way then the story we know, but you can't deny the connection. Anti's connection to eyes and causing nosebleeds as well as bleeding eyes is just one example of this, which is where the IRIS connection comes in, and I've been thinking about this for a bit as well, but we've seen that IRIS has no qualms with exposing anomalous properties to someone they find a useful subject in some way, and while I don't know if they experimented on c!Jack directly it's possible that Jack was exposed somewhat accidentally, when Arins character mentions the slab that causes headaches, nosebleeds and various other symptoms it's possible that they didn't extract ALL of it, and maybe c!Jack stumbled on it somehow but that's just my two cents on the matter.

I just wanted to get my thoughts on this down-(so sorry if it's a lil rambly) and explain my thoughts on why I find this theory so compelling out of all of the ones I've seen over the years (imo anyway shdhdhy)

Imma tag a few theorists, just in case the tags decide to be stupid again

@fear-is-nameless @isas-theory-wall @vixthefantheorist @tracobuttons

[beauvibaby]

Purple and Yellow – j.oleksiak

• Jamie Oleksiak goes through heartbreak and challenges along with his daughter but then he meets a woman who seems to catch both their hearts •

a/n: ok this is NOT proof read at all I’m sorry but I knew if I went back and did that I’d end up hating it and not wanting to post it but I know y’all wanted it so here you go!

Word Count: 6.1k

Jamie knew he was going to Seattle, and he’d be lying if he said the proposition didn’t excite him, but once his name was inked on that paper, reality came crashing in. He had to up and move his daughter, she was only three, maybe it wouldn’t be that hard. But who was he kidding, everything is hard with a three year old. And how would he explain that they wouldn’t be able to visit mommy every weekend, just like they did every weekend since. That’s all that plagued his mind as he drove home from the airport, Ivy was waiting for him, but he knew she’d succumb to her sleepiness before he could get there. His parents already texting him with a picture of her half asleep on the couch.

Then, the cars on the other side of the road slammed on their brakes, the sound of tires spinning out made everything come rushing back.

“Is this the father of Ivy Oleksiak?” Jamie didn’t even have a chance to speak before the words came across the phone, “yes, who’s speaking?” Jamie replied, heart rate picking up at the soft sigh the woman let out. “Your daughter and Miss Cora Hadley were brought into Medical City from a car accident scene.” All she said were those words before he was rushing to his feet, “are they ok?” He asked quickly, never getting a pair of shoes on so quickly in his life. “Sir, I’m not–“ “Bullshit! Is my baby and my fiancé ok?” He snapped, based on the way she whimpered, a rather young woman on the other end of the line. “Your daughter will be fine, just some scratches, the car seat did it’s job.” She spoke slowly, her breath hitching. “I think it’s best you get here as quickly as possible.” She spoke carefully, and in that moment Jamie’s heart fell to his feet like an anchor, he could feel his stomach twisting and his eyes burning. He knew what those words meant. Then he thought of Ivy and that snapped him out of his daze, he had to get there, now.

Jamie pulled into his driveway safely this night, parking beside his parents car, a sigh escaping his lips, forcing the terrible memories from two and a half years ago away. He gathered his bags, and lugged them inside, smiling at his family all asleep in the living room. That made him forget that oh so familiar ache in his chest just a little bit more. He put his bags in the corner, those could wait, but right now all he needed was to hold his baby girl. He scooped Ivy up, smiling as she fluttered her eyes open just enough to see him. “Daddy.” She murmured, “hi bug.” He inhaled the scent of her toddler shampoo, his mom always taking care of her hair the best, brushing the detangler through the unruly hair she got from her father. “Sleep with you.” Ivy whined when he started heading for her room, normally he didn’t give in, not wanting her to be dependent on him to sleep, but he needed her tonight too. “Just tonight princess.” He gave in, bringing her to his room with him, where she fell asleep instantly when he placed her on the plush bed.

Jamie laid awake, staring at the ceiling for a little while, thinking of how he would tell Ivy about having to move. “I hope you’re proud of me.” He whispered out, his tears staying pooled in his eyes as he forced himself to calm down. “Sleep daddy.” Ivy complained, nuzzling closer to him. “Hold me.”

“Jamie.” Cora whispered, hoping he was awake despite the late hour, he grunted in response, being a light sleeper ever since he found out Cora was pregnant. “Hold me.” She demanded with a light tone, her back aching and stomach bulging as Ivy kicked around in there. Jamie blindly opened his arms for her, letting her settle into his chest. “Always.” He murmured, already half asleep as she sighed in content.

“Come here baby girl.” Jamie murmured at Ivy, letting her rest her head upon his chest, Ivy was a very cuddly little girl, the second she was comfortable with you, she’d be sitting in your lap and telling you stories and anything to be touching you. It was one of Jamie’s favorite things, especially when he came home from a roadie and all she wanted was to be held by him.

***

“Daddy!” Ivy called, she managed to climb onto the bathroom counter to brush her teeth but now she was too scared to get down, “daddy!” She shrieked again, Jamie’s eyes fluttered open as he quickly took in his surroundings, “daddy, I stuck!” Ivy called, this time sounding annoyed by his lack of response. He threw the blanket off as he knew where she was stuck, this was a common occurrence. He appeared in the bathroom doorway, arms crossed over his chest, “and just what do you think you’re doing?” Jamie asked his daughter as she made grabby hands for him, she grinned brightly at him, “I brushed my teeth!” She answered in a duh tone, she grabbed his face once he scooped her up, kissing the tip of his nose, and he the same to her, “I’m very happy you brushed your teeth, Ivy, but you know you’re not supposed to get on the counter, that’s why we got you a stool, remember?” He explained, for easily the tenth time in the past month. “I know.” She huffed, dramatically pushing her hair back, making Jamie chuckle as he walked down the stairs, hearing his parents talking in the kitchen.

“Well, good morning sleepy heads.” Alison teased as Ivy gasped at the sight of pancakes on the counter, Jamie shook his head with a smile, placing her on the seat beside his dad, “I’ll make you a special plate.” Richard quipped to the little girl, which really just meant drawing a smiley face on it with whip cream. “Thanks mom.” Jamie gave his mom a kiss on the cheek before shuffling around to get his coffee, desperately needing the sleep kicked out of his system. “When are you going to tell her?” Alison asked, taking a small bite of her food, giving her son the side eye when he hesitated. “Today.” He gave in, knowing he absolutely had to start packing now, otherwise it would never be done in time. “So, Ivy, do you have any plans for today?” Alison shifted her attention to her granddaughter, figuring they could take her out to do something so he could get more done. “Gonna go see momma!” She cheered, some syrup smeared around her mouth.

Jamie froze, it was Saturday already, he checked his phone and felt humiliated that he had forgotten his promise to take Ivy to the cemetery. Evidently the panic was written across his face when both his parents stared at him. “Why don’t grandma and I bring you? We haven’t been there in a while.” Richard offered, rubbing Ivy’s back when she looked to Jamie for permission. “I think that would be nice, right baby?” Jamie finally found his voice, and Ivy nodded brightly, anytime she got with her grandparents was cherished. “Daddy coming to?” She asked, tilting her head as he sipped on his coffee, “I’ve got some work to do, alright, I’ll go next time.” He assured her, shooting his dad a thankful look as he quickly changed the subject before she could pester on any further.

“Ivy, I need to talk to you.” Jamie announced, he couldn’t wait any longer, he had to do it and be done. Alison nearly choked on her coffee and Richard looked at his empty plate like it was suddenly the most interesting thing. Ivy nodded, munching away on her pancakes, not understanding the severity of what was about to be said.

Jamie cleared his throat and pulled out the chair beside her, “you know how I had to go away to this new place for work, yeah?” He reminded her, “Seattle.” He said, and she nodded, “Seattle.” She repeated, not entirely perfect but good enough. “I got a job over there.” He spoke, waiting to see what she thought. “Hockey?” She asked, confusion lacing her tone. “Yes, still hockey.” Jamie chuckled softly, “it’s with a new team.” He paused, glancing away for a second, “we have to move there.” He concluded. Ivy nodded slowly, “new house?” She asked, she might be young, but she knew that moving meant not in this house. “Yeah, new house, new city, new people.” Jamie explained, panicking when she went wide eyed, “what about uncle Ro-Ro?” Ivy asked, referring to Miro, she was closest to the young defenseman as she always saw him beside her dad on the ice. The nickname had been dubbed upon him when she was learning to speak and liked to repeat things. “We can visit, baby.” Jamie spoke softly, heart breaking as she began to sniffle. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head, he knew the realization was coming. “But Momma!” She sobbed.

And that completely shattered his heart.

“I know.” He picked her up, feeling her sob into his neck, “momma.” She whimpered, though she didn’t remember her, Jamie made sure to keep her an important part of her life. Ivy didn’t know that she loved going to a gravestone that much until this moment. “Hey, look at me, bug.” Jamie demanded gently, situating her to be in front of him. He sat her on the countertop and stood in front of her, “momma will always be with us, right? Isn’t that what I always say?” He explained to her. Ivy nodded slowly, she was so young but always acting older, trying to wrap her head around this. “Yeah.” She mumbled sheepishly, cheeks red and eyes puffy, she felt shy under the gaze of her grandparents. “It’s alright, daddy’s sad too.” He assured her, lowering his head to be eye level with her. She stared into his eyes, reminding him so much of Cora in that moment, and once again she kissed the tip of his nose. “No sad daddy.” She demanded, drumming her fingers on his cheek. He pecked her forehead, “alright baby.” He agreed, if she could do it, so could he, right?

***

Ivy slept the whole plane ride, which is what Jamie was hoping for as they would be meeting the moving truck at the new house, plenty of things to be done asap.

“Come on Ivy.” Jamie mumbled, carrying her off the plane as she groggily woke up, looking around slightly confused until she remembered what was going on today. “Daddy, Seattle?” She asked, lifting her head from his shoulder, he chuckled, lowering her so she wasn’t so high up on his chest. “Yeah, Seattle baby.” He assured her, her pigtails bouncing as she looked around rapidly. He smiled at her reaction to the airport alone.

“What do you think, Ivy?” Jamie asked, raising his eyebrows as the three year old spun to face him. “Love it!” She squealed, her room was twice as big in this place than her bedroom in Dallas, and Jamie told her she could pick whatever color (within reason) to have her walls painted. Of course she would love it here. Jamie looked around their new-but-empty-house one more time, sighing as he could picture Ivy growing older in this house.

Time to make it a home.

“Hi.” Ivy grinned up at one of the movers as he placed a stack of boxes in her room, Jamie just being outside the door heard her speaking, he raised an eyebrow waiting to hear the guy speak. “Hello.” The young guy spoke sweetly, chuckling at the little girl. “I’m three.” She spoke, “how old are you?” She asked, Jamie held in a snicker as he walked in. “Ivy, leave him alone, bug.” He laughed softly, the guy taking it as his excuse to go get more boxes. “Ugh.” She huffed, flopping down on her bed dramatically, Jamie rolled his eyes, looking around. “What color do you want?” He asked the opinionated little girl, he sat beside her, smiling as she stood next to him, being eye level with him. “Hmm, purple!” She gasped, looking around the currently beige room, Jamie nodded slowly, “light purple.” He countered, knowing she would want to choose the darkest shade. “Fine.” She giggled, “we can go tomorrow, alright? Today we need to focus on finding all your stuff.” He tickled her sides.

***

Ivy was tugging on Jamie’s hand, somehow spotting the paint section quicker than he could. “Slow down!” He laughed heartily, his daughter shooting him a glare as he purposely slowed his feet down. He hoisted Ivy up to see the purple swatches along the top row, she reached for a dark one, just like Jamie knew she would. He sighed, “Ivy, we agreed on light purple, what about this one?” He offered, grabbing a lavender type color, she grunted in disgust, shaking her head dramatically, her blonde curls hitting his face. “Love this one.” She pouted, holding it in front of his face.

Jamie held in a sigh as you walked past him, stopping to look at paint swatches as well. “What about this one?” Jamie compromised, it was darker than he wanted to go, but still light enough to not feel like a dungeon. Ivy’s lip began to quiver, quickly catching both Jamie and the woman’s attention. “Ivy.” Jamie sighed softly, you intervened, “you know, I wanted a dark purple room when I was your age too.” You spoke to Ivy, catching her attention as she lifted her head, Jamie shifting slightly, giving you a smile. “My dad wouldn’t let me do it.” You made a face, getting a giggle out of Ivy, “he was right though, but guess what we compromised?” You mused, holding your hand out for the paint swatches that Jamie had. He handed them over with ease, “we painted one wall, dark, the wall I had my bed on, and the rest we did light.” You explained, Jamie giving Ivy a bright smile when she looked at him like it was the greatest idea ever. “We can do that, Ivy.” He agreed, and you giggled, “glad I could be of help.” You added.

“Thank you,” Jamie paused, waiting for a name. “Y/N.” You told him, smiling at the pair, “and your name is?” You asked, already figuring the little girl's name was Ivy. “Jamie.” He introduced himself. “What are you painting?” Ivy asked boldly, not one to talk much around new people, Jamie set her down so she could look at other colors, amused by her sudden interest. “I’m painting my dining room.” You answered, squatting down to her level, “do you have any color suggestions?” You asked Ivy. Jamie gave you a look that said you really don’t have to entertain her but you just gave him a smile. “Yellow.” Ivy announced, looking at the wall and grabbing actually, a very nice swatch, it was just yellow enough. You tilted your head as you looked at it, imagining it in your space. “That’s a very pretty color, Ivy.” You told her, smiling brightly as she blushed, handing you the color sample. “Thank you, Y/N.” She spoke politely, even though the words didn’t come out perfectly, it was a great attempt. “You’re welcome.” You stood to your full height, shocking Jamie by walking over to the counter to order the paint, no hesitation that a random little girl picked it out.

“You don’t have to-“ Jamie started to say, but you shrugged, giving him a happy smile, “I just got a new place, a fresh start, yellow seems fitting.” You told him. Jamie gave you a lopsided smile, if only you knew he was doing the same. “Daddy, this ones.” Ivy gasped, giving him two swatches, he chuckled at her grammar, squatting down to her level, “you’re sure?” He asked, he knew after all it was just paint, and if it turned out so terrible, they could paint over it but he didn’t want to have to do this twice. “This one looks like momma's dress!” Ivy explained, Jamie looked at the dark purple in his hand, instantly remembering Cora in that dress, Ivy’s favorite picture of her that she kept in her room. Suddenly her color choice made sense, you couldn’t help but eavesdrop, your heart stopping at Jamie’s next words. “Yeah, I think momma would have loved this.”

Was she… dead? You tried to knock the thought from your head, they were so young, but you knew accidents happened. You quickly looked away as Jamie stood back up, “here you go ma’am.” The teenager behind the counter spoke, you took the gallon from him, shooting him a smile. “Have a good day.” You told him, offering Jamie and Ivy a wave. “Will I see you again?” Ivy asked, Jamie nearly had heart failure right there as you stopped and giggled. “Oh I don’t know sweetheart, Seattle is a really big city. But don’t you worry, if I ever see you out and about I’ll be sure to say hello.” You assured her, watching as she got all giddy and slightly hid behind her father again. “Bye.” You told him, biting the inside of your cheek to keep from smiling any wider. “Bye, Y/N.” He mumbled, seeming a little dazed as he made his way up to the counter.

***

It had been nearly a week in the new house, the walls were done, almost everything was unpacked and they were starting to feel a sense of normalcy. Jamie loved the neighborhood they ended up in, a true mix of all different people, yes their house was rather large, but it was still homey. The community was sprawling, having a little bit of everything, stand alone homes, townhomes, even some condos, there were plenty of kids around which made him feel good about his choice as he followed Ivy down the road as she rode her bike. “Slow down, Ivy.” Jamie cautioned as she was getting a good bit ahead of him, she huffed dramatically and slowed down, waiting for him to catch up. She was looking around at the houses, confused as to why they were attached, even though Jamie had explained it to her plenty of times. Ivy gasped so loudly, that you could hear it from your front lawn where you were spray painting a piece of furniture. You glanced over and did a double take.

There was absolutely no way, you refused to believe you were actually seeing this, then you saw Jamie and you were convinced the universe either loved you for letting you see him again, or hated you, as you were in ratty old painting clothes.

“Ivy!” You grinned, laughing when the little girl flew off her bike, letting it fall sideways, making Jamie groan, “hi Y/N!” She squealed running up your lawn. You smiled brightly as she hugged your leg, “Ivy.” Jamie called, giving you an apologetic smile but you shrugged it off. “Did you paint your room?” You asked the little girl as she pulled away, a pink tint to her cheeks, she nodded, her blonde curls bouncing in her ponytail. “Yay, that’s great!” You cheered, Jamie walked up behind her, “hi, Y/N. How are you?” He asked, his daughter leaning back against his legs as you two spoke. “Good, been busy making this place my own.” You laughed, motioning to the small townhome behind you. It was your first solo place, and you absolutely adored it, even if it needed some work. “Yeah, you always forget how much work it is moving into a new place.” He agreed, chuckling softly. “Did you do yellow?” Ivy asked, rocking on her feet. “I did.” You assured her, “would you two like to go in and see it?” You asked, cringing internally as you waited to look up at Jamie. “Sure.” He answered, grabbing his daughter's hand, following you inside.

You led them to the dining room, giggling as Ivy gasped, “so pretty!” She cheered, the yellow paid off, it made the space feel much more happy. “All because of you.” You told her, she asked if she could look at the pictures you had sitting on the entry table and you gave her a quick nod, giving you and Jamie a chance to talk. “Same neighborhood? If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were stalking me.” You teased him lightly, getting a hearty chuckle out of him. “It is quite the coincidence.” He agreed, he felt butterflies in his stomach for the first time since he had met Cora.

It absolutely terrified him.

***

It had been a few weeks since that day, and you’d seen Ivy outside playing with another woman, Jamie not to be seen. You came out to grab your mail as she went riding by, “hi, Y/N!” She called, continuing to pedal away. “Hi, Ivy.” You spoke, you went over and introduced yourself to the girl, Taylor, finding out she was her babysitter. “Jamie must go out pretty often.” You commented to her, she shook her head, “oh no, he never goes anywhere without Ivy aside from work.” Taylor told you, “he plays hockey, I'm surprised you didn’t know that.” Taylor added, smiling as Ivy came up to the two of you. “We should be going, it’s almost dinner time.” Taylor spoke, she couldn’t be older than 20. You gave them both a smile, “yes! You don’t want to miss that.” You chuckled, bidding them a goodbye before going inside and googling Jamie.

What you found shocked you.

Jamie Oleksiak taking personal time to mourn loss of fiancé.

Jamie Oleksiak, will he be able to balance a professional career and a baby?

Will he bounce back from this?

You clicked the first article, bracing yourself as it loaded.

The date was from almost three years ago, you scrolled down and began to read…

Jamie Oleksiak has announced the sudden passing of his fiancé, Cora Hadley. Together they shared a daughter Ivy, who was also involved in the incident, she is expected to make a complete recovery.

A close friend tells us it was a severe car accident.

Our condolences to the family.

You clicked away from the article as tears burned your eyes. That was terrible. You read some of the other articles and only grew mad at how the reporters belittled his pain, only talking of how poorly his game play had been since then. And though you’d never wish that kind of loss on anyone, you know they wouldn’t be writing like that if they had felt it.

***

You and Jamie exchanged numbers, citing that it was for “neighborhood emergencies” you giggled at the thought as he was currently asking you what he should get Cora for the upcoming Christmas.

She’s the pickiest three year old ever, everyone always tells me that.

Well, what does the pickiest three year old ever like to do?

She’s either riding her bike and getting absolutely filthy or she’s inside playing dress up and being a little princess

Princess car?

They make those?!?

Oh, Jamie, I really need to take you shopping 🤦‍♀️

Tell me when and I’ll be there…

You tell me hot shot, you’re the one that plays hockey for a living.

How did you find out?

Google is a powerful thing… just kidding, Taylor told me.

Of course she did

Saturday afternoon? My parents will be in town and they want to take Ivy out for the day, so it’s a perfect excuse.

You know where I live, see you then!

He started typing, but then the dots went away and you never received another message.

You brushed it off, feeling butterflies in your stomach for the first time in years as you thought of merely shopping with Jamie for Christmas.

****

“You like him!” Your friend gushed to you as you spoke on the phone while getting ready, “no!” You rushed, only proving her point more. “Y/N, really.” Your friend, Amanda, spoke. “There’s nothing wrong with that, he’s clearly attractive and he’s a dad! He’s not going to be a jerk that just messed around with girls! It’s great.” She rambled, you sighed, pulling your jeans on with a little jump, “his fiancé died, Amanda. He could very well not be over that yet, and I wouldn’t blame him.” You explained, she went silent, “well you left that part out, how was I supposed to know.” She mumbled sheepishly. “It was almost three years ago, their baby was only six months old.” You whispered, cursing when your doorbell rang down the stairs. “Shit, shit, I have to go Amanda!” You rushed, hanging up as soon as she said bye. You adjusted the sweater you had on as you rushed down the stairs, careful not to fall flat on your face. You grabbed your purse as you walked past the counter, yelping as you stumbled and landed on your butt. So close.

“Y/N? Are you alright?” Jamie called, hearing the thud, “yes, yeah, just a second.” You called out, wincing as you stood up, that was definitely going to hurt later. You finally, finally reached the door and unlocked it, pulling it open and giving him a bright smile. “Did you fall?” He asked instantly, bursting into laughter when your face went blank. “We’re not going to talk about that Jamie.” You chastised, stepping onto your little porch to leave with him. “Sorry, sorry.” He chuckled, giving you a once over as you locked the door. “Is Ivy excited to be with your parents today?” You asked him, Jamie laughed under his breath, “so excited, she didn’t even care that I was going out.” He told you as he opened the passenger side door of his truck for you. “Thanks.” You mumbled as you slid in, your heart pounding in your chest. He shut the door and made his way around the truck as you adjusted in the seat.

“So, where to?”

****

Jamie was shocked and grimacing at the price of the princess car that he and you both knew Ivy would love. “Is she the type to give up on new toys quickly?” You asked, tilting your head as you both stared at the display, he shook his head as gave in. He had been leaning against the shelves and as he walked away you noticed his phone had fallen out of his pocket, you picked it up so no one would steal it as you waited for him to come back with a cart, and hopefully someone to help him with the box because it was not something you’d be much help with. His phone began to ring in your hand, the contact flashing across the top said mom, you let it ring, you’d tell him as soon as he came back. As soon as it stopped it was ringing again, you panicked and swiped to answer it, worried that something had happened to Ivy. “Hello?” You spoke into the phone, hearing Ivy wailing in the background. Fuck.

“Who is this?” His mother rushed, “I’m Y/N, Jamie forgot his phone he’s walking around the store– is everything alright?” You asked, cutting straight to the point, “no, we’re going to the emergency room, Ivy fell at the park and I think she broke her arm.” His mother rushed, and thankfully you saw Jamie approaching, “Jamie!” You shouted, rushing over, he furrowed his eyebrows seeing you on his phone.

“It’s your mom.” You rushed, giving it to him and you could see the wheels turning in his head as he listened to her speak over Ivy crying. “Shit, alright I’ll meet you there.” He told her, shooting you an apologetic look. “Go.” You assured him, he shook his head grabbing your hand and pulling you along, he wasn’t going to leave you stranded in a department store. “Sorry, he’ll purchase it another day!” You called to the employee who had a blank look on his face. “Let me talk to Ivy.” Jamie demanded after his mom had said something else, “daddy, it hurts!” Ivy got out between cries as his mother held the phone to her ear. “I know, princess. I’ll be there soon alright? I promise.” He assured her, finally releasing your hand as he realized he’d been holding it this whole time.

He managed to get off the phone so he could drive to the hospital, repeatedly apologizing for you being stuck with him and that this happened. “I was going to take you to lunch and ugh I’m just sorry.” You raised an eyebrow at his ramblings as you guys got stuck at a red light less than a mile from the hospital. “Jamie, stop apologizing. She’s your daughter, she always comes first, that’s how it’s supposed to be.” You soothed him, he glanced over at you, nodding softly, “reschedule the lunch?” He asked, despite the panic in his head, he still wanted to make sure you saw that he was interested in you.

“Yeah, we can reschedule, let’s just go see your baby.” You leaned over the center console, kissing his cheek as the light changed, doing a little happy dance in your head at how he blushed deeply at your actions.

“Family only.” The nurse remarked as you were about to follow Jamie to the room Ivy was in. He gave her an incredulous look, “it’s fine, go.” You assured him, pulling away from him to stay in the waiting room. He hesitated but went along, disappearing behind the doors as you picked a seat in the corner, making sure you had a sight line to the doors he went through. Over an hour went by as you sat there, scrolling through your phone, not hearing from Jamie, which you assumed was because he was being bombarded with questions of the girl who answered his phone, while also dealing with Ivy who was not going to enjoy the process of getting a cast.

Your phone chimed with a text just as you had finally decided to get off of it,

Finishing up now, sorry if my parents are a lot

You chuckled at the message, making sure you had all your items, including the little stuffy you’d bought at the hospital gift shop during your time sitting here. You stood up as you saw them walking out, Ivy draped over Jamie’s chest, half asleep with her head on his shoulder. “Y/N, it’s so nice to meet you.” His mom spoke, offering her hand, you repeated the sentiment, as well as with his dad. “Ivy.” You whispered, placing a hand on her back, holding the small stuffed animal in your hand, “I got you a little gift for being such a big brave girl.” You mumbled, she shifted to look at you with her puffy eyes, and pout settled deep on her lips, “thanks.” She whispered, taking it and holding it close to her chest, she kept her eyes on you as you walked behind Jamie, keeping up a conversation with his parents. And he was right, they were kind of a lot, but you pushed through, smiling when Ivy finally fell asleep in the car.

You sat in the back with Ivy, Jamie insisting you didn’t have to but you wanted to. “She handled it pretty well.” Jamie commented as he glanced back to see her asleep with her hand in yours. “She’s a tough little thing.” You agreed, glancing over at him, he gave you a heartwarming smile. “Thanks for coming with me today, I know it didn’t go to plan, but it was nice, you know… before she broke her arm.” He trailed off, pulling into your driveway to drop you off. You carefully pulled your hand from Ivy’s, she didn’t budge as she was exhausted from today.

Jamie got out to say goodbye, surprising you with a quick kiss to the cheek and a promise of that lunch date.

***

“Did some research?” You asked teasingly as Jamie took you to your favorite restaurant, you gave him a sideways glance as he parked the truck, “I may have had some assistance.” He shrugged, making you realize that’s why Ivy was grilling you the other day, when you had offered to watch her since Taylor was unavailable. “You two are trouble.” You quipped, watching him slip out wordlessly before opening your door for you. “But I’m a gentleman.” He reminded you, “a very good one at that.” You agreed, steadying yourself with his shoulders when you hoped down. “I’m going to kiss you now.” He declared, had you not wanted to kiss him so badly you would have teased him for the nervousness in his voice, but you simply looped your arms around his neck and let him sweep you off your feet with a wonderful first kiss.

The first of many.

***

Two months, and many, many, sneaky dates and stolen kisses later…

You were over at Jamie’s house, having dinner with him and Ivy, you and Jamie had gone out here and there, but most of your time was spent together with Ivy, and that’s what told him that you were the girl he needed to hang on to. Jamie wanted to take tonight to explain to Ivy that you two were dating, but he was scared, petrified even, that she would become upset and confused. You kept telling him nothing had to be done yet if he wasn’t ready, but he was, he swore he was.

“What’s your favorite color?” You asked Ivy, dinner was long gone and you were playing a game of twenty questions, she wasn’t entirely aware of that but she was having fun nonetheless. “Purple! Like my mommas.” She declared, you gave her a smile, glancing over at Jamie to see how he handled it. Many conversations had happened between you two about the loss of Cora, you never wanted to rush him, and as he only gave Ivy a proud smile, you could tell he was truly ready to start the next chapter of his life again. You liked to think Cora was proud of him, for choosing you to be in their life.

“What’s yours?” Ivy countered back, giving you an inquisitive look, the closer she got to age four, the more like Jamie she seemed, and it always made you chuckle. “Yellow.” You told her, watching as she grinned, Jamie winked at you as you turned sheepish under their gaze. “Because of me?” Ivy gasped. “Yes, because of you.” You giggled, welcoming her hug when she bounced over to you. “Ivy, do you know what it means when people are dating?” Jamie asked his daughter as she stayed seated on your lap, she rested her elbows on the table, holding her head in her hands. “No but you said I’m not allowed to do that.” She spoke in a serious tone, sending you into a hysterical fit of laughter, not expecting her to be so blunt. Jamie tried not to but he joined you with a deep laugh, tipping his head back as Ivy grew impatient. “Ok, besides that.” Jamie cleared his throat, “when I say I’m dating someone that means that I really really like them and I want them to be part of our life.” He explained as best he could, you smiled from behind her at his words. Encouraging him to go on.

“Y/N and I are dating.” He spoke officially, you both held your breath as you waited for her reaction, she turned and looked at you, and then back to her dad. “You love her!” Ivy grinned, sending Jamie wide eyed and you into a wide smile as he blushed, “you love my daddy!” Ivy gasped turning to you, now he was the one grinning as you opened and closed your mouth trying to find the words to say. You gave her a nod, “well, it’s a bit more complicated than that when you’re our age, but yes.” You agreed with her, Jamie grabbed your hand from across the table, giving it a squeeze as Ivy climbed off your lap and started dancing around.

This had gone so much better than he had hoped.

When he was tucking her in that night while you were waiting for him on the couch, she said a few words that made him one hundred percent sure that everything was going the way it should, and that Cora even played a hand in this. “Can I have two favorite colors daddy?” Ivy asked, looking up at him sleepily as he pulled the blanket up her body, she was clinging to the stuffy you’d bought her. “Of course, bug.” He assured her, thinking that was that, but as he kissed her forehead she said, “purple and yellow are my favorites.” By the time he pulled his head back, her eyes were shut and her breathing was evening out. “Yeah, I think those are my favorites too.” He whispered.

Taglist: @boqvistsbabe @tortito @2manytabsopen @heybarzy @barzysreputation @yzas-stuff @iwantahockeyhimbo @hockeyunits

[maximons]

All Is Lost

Summary: Zombies have taken over the world, humanity on the edge of extinction. All hope was lost. Despite that, Wanda couldn’t seem to let go of Y/n, who had fallen victim to the plague herself.

Word Count: 2,263

Genre: Angst

Requested?: No

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, death, cannibalism, suicide, mentions of blood. Spoilers for Ep. 5 of What If...?

A/N: I know, I know, I’m gonna get into the stuff I promised soon. But for now, the Zombies episode inspired me and this came out. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, go watch it. Its amazing and depressing. Also this is DARK guys, probably the darkest thing I’ve ever written, so...Happy Reading!

The Zombie apocalypse was always something everyone joked about, but never something that anyone could actually predict.

Everything happened so quickly, Wanda could barely keep up. It’s hard to believe that everything was so normal only two weeks ago. Now, she was locked away with Vision in an abandoned military base in New Jersey. Desperate to survive for as long as possible while Vision worked on a cure.

Some of his experiments had been a success, most notably Scott Lang who he was able to revert back from his zombified state. However, the man was now only a severed head.

Despite the success, Vision was less than optimistic. For one, Scott was one of the first infected. While the cure worked on him, the android theorized that the disease has mutated greatly since then, and it was likely impossible to cure everyone. And even if he could, the technology to do so is beyond human comprehension and therefore doesn’t exist.

Vision might have all but given up hope, but Wanda didn’t. She couldn’t. She refused to give up on you.

Wanda and you have been best friends for as long as Wanda had been an Avenger. You were already a member of the team and greeted her with an open mind and open arms, despite all she had done. You had fire powers, and while your powers weren’t identical to Wanda’s, you still offered some basic tips and tricks to keep such explosive powers at bay.

It wasn’t a surprise that she fell in love with you.

But her stupid fear had to get in the way, and when you came to confess your own feelings for her, she panicked and rejected you. You were so heartbroken, Wanda didn’t need to read your mind to know that.

And it kills her everyday knowing that that was the last interaction she had with you. The last one with you as yourself anyway.

All that remained now was the flesh hungry, blood thirsty monster that wore your, now rotting, skin.

This wasn’t you, she knows that. She looked into your mind and saw no trace of the woman you once were, the one she loved with all her heart. She couldn’t feel you, you were gone.

Despite this, Wanda couldn’t let you go. She couldn’t handle losing you entirely. She already lost almost everyone.

She managed to convince Vision to keep you in the base for testing. You were locked behind a large steel door, with only a window to see you through. But you were here, and that’s all Wanda cared about.

The cure wasn’t working for you. Your powers caused it to incinerate when it entered your system, proving it to be ineffective. Still, she refused to give up.

Vision thought it best to terminate you after the failed tests, but Wanda begged him not to. Knowing he couldn’t overpower her, and sensing his friend’s distress with anything that comes to you, he agreed. As long as Wanda had it under control.

She doubted he knew that she was luring innocent survivors into the base so you could feed on them, but she did what she had to do.

Wanda spent most of her days sitting outside of your cell. The first few days, you were ravenous. Banging on the walls and trying to burn them down, growling and screeching with the inhuman noise that took over your vocal chords, but you didn’t manage to break free. After a while, it seemed you have given up, and just sat in place. Only moving when Wanda opened the cell and let some of your ‘food’ in.

There were times where Wanda thought that maybe, just maybe, the cure was working more than they thought. You seemed to have recognized her, your facial expressions formed into ones that she had recognized and missed dearly. But that hope quickly died when she would peek into your head and still sense nothing.

“Hey, Y/n.” Wanda walked up to outside your cell and sat cross-legged like she did everyday. Your head rose, staring at her with your now glowing yellow eyes. “Still no progress on the cure, but don’t worry, I’m not giving up yet.” You offered no response, not that she expected one. “It’s hard. It’s only getting worse out there...” She sighed as she trailed off. She raised her hand to the glass, like she always did. “I’m going to figure it out...we’re gonna get you back to normal, and I’m going to tell you every day how much I love you. I miss you so much, but...we’re almost there. I can feel it...” Wanda’s voice started choking up, as tears ran down her face. “We deserve our happy ending.”

Her hand was still pressed against the glass as she finished her speech. She was about to lower it, but then something unexpected happened. You stared at her hand curiously, beginning to raise your own. Wanda watched, smile forming on her face as your arm made it’s way to the glass. 

“Wanda! Please come here, we have a situation.” You had almost pressed your hand against Wanda’s, when Vision’s voice interrupted. Your attention turned to the direction it came from and you let out a growl, clearly angry at the interruption. Wanda sighed in disappointment, but she tried not to let it take over. You still showed massive improvement, something worth reporting back to Vision. “It’s okay.” She soothed you. “I’m going to go see what he wants then I’ll be right back, okay? I know you’re hungry, I’ll get you some food too.” You didn’t offer a response as she walked off.

“Vis! I have to tell you-” Wanda began as she walked into the main room, but cut herself off at the new faces. She didn’t recognize the bald woman with the spear or the wimpy looking man in a workers uniform, but she was familiar with Peter. What surprised her most though, was Bruce Banner. A man she hasn’t seen in over three years. “What is going on?”

“I ran into them outside the premises. Apparently word has gotten out about the cure.” Vision answered before turning his attention back to the guests. “As I told you, I am afraid we cannot help you. The cure seems to be a moot point.”

“Well, what about-” Peter began, but he was interrupted by a new voice.

“For something you have no hope for, you sure don’t have a problem bringing in new test subjects.” Wanda recognized Bucky Barnes’ voice. She turned around, and her eyes widened as she saw King T’challa on his arm, struggling to stand on his one remaining leg.

Shit.

“My king! We thought you dead.” The bald woman exclaimed in relief and surprise.

“Your highness. I was not aware you were in the base.” Vision said, confused on how that got by him. It didn’t take him long to figure out why. “Wanda...”

“I’m sorry.” Wanda whispered, knowing she was caught. “The cure wasn’t working on Y/n, and in order to keep her at bay, I had to feed her.”

“So you fed her our King?” A spear was raised to her throat, threateningly.

“It was nothing personal, I promise. I have her under control and the cure is starting to work, I know it. We just need a little more time!”

“Why not just kill her? You lured innocent people to their deaths just for her when there a couple million more Zombies out there that you could use for testing. Ones that have a chance of being cured.” The whole room went quiet after Bucky said that.

“Uh oh. Shouldn’t have said that.” Wanda heard Scott say, but she was too busy glaring at Bucky. Her eyes started to go red, but before she could do anything, she noticed the spear held to her throat begin to glow red and melt. The woman dropped the spear as it began to burn her hands.

“Did it just suddenly get like, super hot?” Peter asked as he began to fan himself.

“Oh no...” Wanda trailed off. She looked up to notice the steal walls that led to your cell begin to melt. “You’ve done it now...she hasn’t eaten in days.” Before anyone could respond, the steel doors melted completely. The man in the uniform was unfortunate enough to be standing in front of it, as a strong burst of flame shot out and incinerated him on the spot. Only a second later, you flew out the door, covered in flames as you hovered above everyone.

Wanda watched in horror as you began to fight everyone. They weren’t holding up very well, and that’s when Wanda finally realized what she had done. This wasn’t you, and if you were still here, you would hate to see your body be used to attack and kill others.

“Vision! Get us out of here!” She heard Bruce yell, and Vision shot a blast towards the wall, blowing it up and letting everyone out. Wanda turned her focus back to you, you watched them starting to escape and you began to fly after them, but a red mist surrounded you before you could. You turned your head, starting to growl, but stopped when you saw it was Wanda.

“Y/n. Stop...” You tilted your head, still struggling to move as Wanda came closer. She took a chance and reached up, gently placing a hand on your face. “I am so sorry...you never deserved this...” Your face softened at the touch, beginning to show the signs of emotion that Wanda desperately held onto. However, it was clear now that it was too late.

You snapped out of it, as you managed to break free from Wanda’s hold. You opened your mouth wide, intent on biting and feeding on her, but something stopped you. You hesitated, and Wanda noticed. You settled for pushing her aside to the ground as you reignited yourself and flew out of the base.

Wanda picked herself up after a moment, intent on stopping you. She ran past Okoye’s body, charred and eaten, but she was sure there was little time until she turned. She ran faster to where you were, now facing off against Bucky. She sprinted further, about to take off and fly when she paused.

Vision was face down on the ground. She kneeled next to him, glowing red hand turning over his body, afraid of what she’ll see. Once he was turned, Wanda gasped at the sight. The mind stone was torn out of his head.

“Oh no...no, no, no...” She held his body, tears slowly building as she mourned the loss of her best friend. She had officially lost everything. “I am so sorry Vis...I’m going to make this right, I promise.”

She heard Bucky scream. She looked over to see you start to feed on him. She saw Bruce, Peter, Scott and T’challa in the distance, making their way to the jet. They were your next target.

No. Wanda wasn’t going to let that happen. It ends now.

She used her powers to propel herself forward, landing directly in your path. You growled at her yet again as she used her powers to hold you. “Y/n...please, stop.” You struggled to get out of the hold, but Wanda held on. “This isn’t you...you wouldn’t want this...I love you more than anything, and I’m so sorry...I hope one day, you’ll forgive me.” 

Wanda used her powers to grab the gun laying by Bucky’s side. She held in to your head, ready to pull the trigger...but she couldn’t. She let out a scream of frustration and dropped her hold on both you and the gun. The gun fell to the ground, but you haven’t moved.

“I can’t do it...I...I’m not strong enough...” Wanda began crying, shutting her eyes and waited for you to finish her off. She failed everyone, no one deserved death more than her. She opened her eyes when nothing came. You stood, staring at her with a tilt of your head. The yellow of your eyes dimming as you stared.

“W....Wan...” You struggled to let out, but it was enough for Wanda to hear. She cried even harder. She was right, you were almost there...but it was too late now.

You took in your surroundings as best you could, you didn’t have a lot of awareness, but you knew enough to piece everything together. You saw the influx of zombies starting to enter to base.  Everyone needed to get away. You turned back to Wanda, and you knew what you had to do. You felt the little control you had start to slip away.

You bent down and picked up the discarded gun. You shakily pointed it to your temple, the control slipping away faster and faster. “Love....you....I...sorry...” You managed to croak out. Before you could lose control completely, you pulled the trigger.

Wanda watched in horror as you shot yourself in the head. Pieces of your brain landing on her, your blood drenching her. She looked down to see your body, half your face still together, but you were gone. Truly gone.

She knelt down sobbing, as she held your body. After a moment she looked up to see the Hulk appear as the zombies began to overwhelm the base. She saw the jet take off, and she gave a weak smile. They got away. Wanda’s job was done. This is where her story ends. All was lost for her.

So when the zombies finally reached her, she didn’t fight back. Accepting her death with open arms.

Epilogue

[favefandomimagines]

Fools Gold (r.c.)

Summary: how much are you worth to rafe and his friends?

AN: sorry the new obx pics that were posted inspired me to write an angsty af rafe fic also thinking about doing this same concept with JJ.

again, the rafe i write is not canon. he’s just a dick most of the time.

You weren’t friends with Rafe Cameron. There wasn’t any parallel universe where the two of you would be friends.

He despised you because you chose a life with the Pogues over a life with the Kooks. But he didn’t seem to have as big of a problem with Kie as he had with you.

You couldn’t figure out why he disliked you more than anyone on the island. You figured it had to do with the fact that he didn’t like the fact that everyone knew he slept with a Pogue.

Once upon a time, you lost your virginity to Rafe. After realizing how he acted towards you, you didn’t really know why. But at the time, you felt safe with him. Better him than some random tourist at a party.

But after you and Kie made the grand transition from Kook to Pogue, he never spoke to you again. And when he did, would he some mean and snarky comment that you tried not to let get to you. But a person can only take so much before the words start to stick.

—

You were at a Boneyard party with your friends, you and Kie talking about the upcoming beach cleanup the two of you were planning. You were minding your own business but you could feel a pair of eyes burning into the back of your head.

“Dude, $500 you can’t get Y/N to go out with you and stay with her for 6 months.” Topper bet the older boy. “$500? That’s it? To get Y/N to go out with me?” Rafe laughed. “Yeah, it should be an easy $500 right?” Topper asked.

Rafe thought about it for a moment, deciding if he was really that bad of a person to lead you on like that. He didn’t really hate you as much as he said. He was just hurt that you felt he wasn’t good enough to stick around for.

“It’s a bet. $500 in 6 months.” Rafe finally said. The two Kooks shook hands and Rafe’s fixation landed on you.

You were standing with Kiara by the fire, drinking your hand, clearly talking about something you were passionate about. Rafe noticed that whenever you talked about something you loved, you talked with your hands ten times more than you did normally.

He assumed you were talking about the ocean or something like that with how big your smile was.

Rafe then put on his asshole Kook facade and began to approach you. “Hey, Y/L/N!” He called. You took one look at him and instantly rolled your eyes.

“Can we help you?” Kie asked him. “I need to talk to Y/N. Alone if that’s not a problem with you.” Rafe sassed the girl. Kie looked at you, almost a nonverbal way of asking if you’d be okay alone.

You gave her a small nod and she reluctantly walked away. “What do you want, Rafe?” You sighed. “Go out with me.” He said. “What?” You questioned. “Go out with me. We can go somewhere on the mainland or somewhere local. Wherever you like.” He explained.

You couldn’t help but let out a small laugh before you realized he wasn’t joking. “You’re serious?” You asked. “Yeah, I’m serious.” Rafe answered. “Sorry if I have a hard time believing you want to go out with me after you’ve treated me.” You said.

“I was a dick. I’ll make it up to you. Just give me a chance.” Rafe replied. You looked at him for a moment, being very wary about the whole offer. “Okay. One date and if I even so much as a sense a stupid practical joke, I’m out.” You finally said.

Rafe smiled down at you before slowly backing up. “Great. I’ll pick you up, Friday at 6.” He said.

You had no idea what just happened. Rafe Cameron asked you out? And he actually seemed to mean it?

And to say the date went well was a total understatement for both you and Rafe. You both had an amazing time together, exploring the mainland and not having to worry about the Kook v. Pogue prejudice.

In the 6 months Rafe had been with you, he soon realized there wasn’t a single thing he didn’t love about you. He loved how you would dance around to your indie and alternative music as if no one was watching.

How you dragged him to the beach to watch the baby turtle eggs hatch. Even though he said he didn’t want to, he’d go anywhere if you asked.

Rafe also loved how you loved life in general. You didn’t care about the class system on the Outer Banks, you just cared about the people you loved. Your dad, your brother, the Pogues, and now Rafe.

Which made him feel even worse about the bet. It was nearing 6 months and Rafe knew he couldn’t just end it with you. He knew how that would hurt you. So he called Topper and asked him to call the whole thing off.

“Maybe we should just end the whole thing. You can have your money and we can call it off.” Rafe said over the phone.

“You aren’t going soft are me now are you?” Topper mocked. “No, I’m just saying this bet is stupid. It’s too easy now.” Rafe lied. “I’ll double it. $1,000 if you can make it to 6 months with Y/N.” Topper said.

Rafe hadn’t known you were going to come over so early so he thought he had time to talk to Topper. But you were standing out in the hallway in front of his door, listening to the whole thing.

“Wow, $1,000. Only an idiot would turn that down.” You sneered. Rafe turned around with wide eyes before quickly hanging up the phone. “H-How much did you hear?” He asked. “All of it.” You answered. “So you asking me out that night was a stupid bet? And our entire relationship has been a lie?” You asked, your voice raising.

“No, Y/N, let me explain.” Rafe pleaded. “Why should I? I think you and Topper explained everything perfectly. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you. I’ve just been a huge joke you and your friends could laugh about.” You said.

Rafe began to walk towards you but you talking a couple steps back made it very clear you didn’t want him coming near you.

“We’re done, Rafe. I hope you enjoy the money.” You said sadly before you left his bedroom. When you walked into the hall, you saw Sarah standing a little ways away, but you knew she heard everything. “Did you know?” You asked her. “Of course not. I had no idea he was doing this for money.” She answered.

“Everything was a lie. I-I really thought he cared about me.” You spoke quietly, the tears welling up in yours eyes.

Sarah frowned and pulled you into a warm embrace. She couldn’t help but feel guilty since it was her brother who was causing you so much pain. “I know we were supposed to hang out tonight but I think Im just gonna head home.” You said.

She didn’t want you driving home in the state you were in but she also knew that you being alone was what was best for you.

When you arrived home, you avoided your father’s questions like they were the plague and made a b-line for your bedroom. But even then you couldn’t escape Rafe’s presence because everything reminded you of him. 

For weeks after you are Rafe broke up, you were a bit different. You didn’t really feel like yourself because you didn’t know what was real anymore. Finding out about the bet made you question everything and your self esteem took a pretty big hit. 

But you were good at faking it for the most part. You still hung out with the Pogues as if nothing was wrong.You went out to Boneyard parties, hung out with Kie, surfed with JJ, went shopping with Sarah. But you could only pretend so much. 

You were sitting on your surfboard in the water, JJ floating next to you as you two waited for a wave. 

“JJ, can I tell you something?” You asked him. “Of course, Y/N.” He said. “Rafe and I broke up. Apparently I was nothing but a cash grab for him.” You confessed. “What? What do you mean, cash grab?” He asked. “I was just a bet. Apparently Topper bet him $500 to go out with me and make it 6 months. I guess he was calling Topper to call off the bet but he offered him $1,000. I haven’t told anyone, only Sarah knows.” You explained. 

“You know he’s a moron, right? You’re not even worth $500, you’re priceless, Y/N and don’t let Rafe and his dickhead friends make you think any differently.” JJ said. 

You could tell that telling him the truth really riled him up but he never fought with Rafe for the sake of you. Your friendship was more important than wanting to knock Rafe flat on his ass.

“What are you going to do?” JJ asked. “I don’t know. I’m having a very hard time believing he faked everything the past 6 months but Rafe is pretty convincing when he wants to be. But am I really that stupid to think he actually cared about me?” You answered. 

“No, that doesn’t make you stupid. And what I’m about to say I will never admit to saying but what if Rafe actually did care about you? I mean, everyone knows his dad is always on his ass about money and he was going to turn it down for you.” JJ said. 

You sat quietly for a moment, watching the stillness of the water before looking back to JJ. “Are you saying I should talk to him?” You asked. “I’m saying maybe you owe yourself that much.” He answered. “Since when the hell did you become so insightful? Usually you’d tell me to beat him up or smash his car.” You laughed. 

“Well, this time I just want you to be happy. And as much as I hate to say it, he made you very happy.” JJ said. “I really don’t like it when you’re right.” You muttered. 

After a couple more minutes, you and JJ headed back to the beach and when you got there, Rafe was standing on the sand a few feet away from the shore line. 

You slowed your pace slightly as you made eye contact with him. You readjusted your grip on your board as you and JJ kept walking. “Y/N, hey, can I talk to you?” Rafe asked uncomfortably. 

You and JJ had never seen Rafe look less confident before until that moment. “JJ, I’ll meet you back at the Chateau.” You told the blonde. JJ nodded his head but not before giving Rafe a suspecting look as he walked away. 

“You wanted to talk?” You asked him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Y/N. I should’ve never taken that stupid bet in the first place. I-I guess I was holding a grudge against you before.” He said. “For what? I never did anything to you, Rafe.” You asked. “You left me. You chose the Pogues and the Cut over me. We were always friends before and then you and Kiara just decided it wasn’t good enough anymore. That I wasn’t good enough.” He explained. 

“I didn’t choose the Pogues because of you, Rafe, or over you. Figure 8 is toxic and everyone we used to hang out with was terrible and I couldn’t do that anymore. You were the one who froze me out after we slept together. Let’s not also forget that you faked our entire relationship.” You rebutted. 

“No, no, Y/N, I didn’t fake anything. Everything we had was real. You have no idea how it easy was to fall for you because you are amazing and I-I messed it up. I hurt you and I know it’s not going to make it better, but I’m sorry.” Rafe said. 

You pushed your board into the sand before sitting down in front of it and motioned for Rafe to do the same. 

“I was falling in love with you, Rafe. So to hear you and Topper just use me for your own sick enjoyment, broke my heart.” You started. “I defended you to everyone to just find out that they were right.” You finished. “You said ‘was.’ Like past tense.” Rafe spoke quietly. 

You swallowed the lump in your throat as you stared at the sunset. “I wish we could just move on, forget it ever happened but I don’t think we can.” You said. 

Rafe’s body stiffened and he hung his head low, not liking where the conversation was going.

“But, we can start over. Clean slate.” You added. The boy looked up at you, almost as if he thought you were kidding. “Really?” He asked. “Yeah, really. But, on a few conditions.” You said. “Anything, I will do anything.” He said. “You leave my friends alone. He’s going to kill me for saying this but JJ was actually the one who told me we should talk so you kind of owe him. Second, you let me punch Topper, very very hard.” You told him. 

Rafe laughed lightly at your words as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder. “Sounds like a plan.” He said. “Also, give me your phone.” You said. Rafe took his phone out of his pocket and gave it to you. 

He looked over your shoulder to see what you were doing as you opened the Venmo app. 

You pressed ‘pay and request’ and put Topper’s user name in. 

@TopperThornton: Pay $1,000 

Summary: congrats, i lost the bet. Y/N is worth so much more. she’s also gonna kick your ass 

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Rafe commented. You hummed in response, resting your head on his shoulder. Rafe pressed a light kiss on your forehead as the two of you watched the sunset together. 

[guqin-and-flute]

Episode 73: Koala Chlamydia Is A Problem [My Brothers, My Sister and Me Excerpt]

[MBMSAM AU] [First Installment] [Podfics!] [Ao3 Link]

[COVER ART BY THE FANTASTIC LITTLESMARTART]

Jin Zixuan: Do we want another question?

Qin Su: Sure, yeah, got one right here. 'When I was younger, I was really skinny and weak'--hey! Hey, now, negative body talk, much! That's super judgmental of yourself!

Mo Xuanyu: And of us people who are skinny and weak right now! [teasing] Right, Yao-gege?

Meng Yao: [calmly] I'm not affiliated with you.

[crosstalk] Mo Xuanyu: [cackles]

Qin Su: 'When I was a kid, I was really skinny and weak, so I made it my mission to get as jacked as possible so people would take me seriously. I put in a lot of hard work, changed my exercise routine and diet and it worked. But now, as an adult I'm a 6 foot 7 dude--'

Jin Zixuan: [incredulous] 6 foot 7 ?

Qin Su: Just a mountain of a man. '--6 foot 7 dude with serious muscle mass--'

[crosstalk] Jin Zixuan: [sotto voce] Good God .

Qin Su: '-- and a pretty intense resting face. I routinely make children cry just by existing and everyone shoots me nervous looks in the grocery store. It gets to me sometimes. I’m not a bad guy! I just look scary. What are some ways that I can make myself less intimidating?’

Mo Xuanyu: Huh.

Qin Su: I mean, let’s see...puppies are unintimidating. Can you devise a system where you carry a few around with you at all times? Maybe in some saddle bags, everywhere you go?

Mo Xuanyu: The movies, the gym, on dates… .

Jin Zixuan: Sure, until they start pissing down your legs. Then you’re not just unintimidating, you’re the guy no one wants to stand next to at the bus stop.

Meng Yao: I mean, it still does the job, doesn’t it?

Mo Xuanyu: You could get a butterfly tattoo, like, directly on your forehead.

Meng Yao: Okay, please explain to me your thought process on how exactly that would make anyone more approachable.

Qin Su: They still want to be able to navigate human society, A-Yu.

Mo Xuanyu: Ew, why? 

Jin Zixuan: Let’s see...what makes someone approachable….Who is the least intimidating of all of us?

Qin Su: [immediately] You.

Meng Yao: [affirming] Mm.

[crosstalk] Jin Zixuan: [incredulous] What?

[crosstalk] Mo Xuanyu: Oh yeah, you’re like...you’re like a poodle. Or a--

Jin Zixuan: [highly offended] Excuse me! I'm the oldest and definitely the tallest one here!

[crosstalk] Meng Yao: [ill concealed snort]

[crosstalk] Qin Su: [pityingly] Oh, da- ge .

[crosstalk] Mo Xuanyu: Or a golden retriever.

Qin Su: Please don't tell me you think that being tall translates into you actually being scary. You’re tallest by, like, 3 inches. At most, that’s just part of the equation of being scary.

Meng Yao: And the rest of Zixuan’s equation is just filled with collared polo shirts. Which absolutely tanks the intimidation ratio.

Mo Xuanyu: That doesn't tank yours, though.

Meng Yao: I wear button downs. It’s not the same. [Vaguely disgusted undertone] Collared polos.

Jin Zixuan: Excuse you, polos are weekend wear and there is nothing wrong-- I can be intimidating!

Qin Su: [doubtfully] Ehhhhh…

[crosstalk] Mo Xuanyu: [badly stifled snickers]

[crosstalk]Jin Zixuan: I can! Just because I’ve never had to intimidate you --

Qin Su: Let's just say; citation needed

Mo Xuanyu: Please, jiejie has you beat.

Jin Zixuan: [indignant] Wha--

[crosstalk] Qin Su: He's right, gege; an unopened jar of mayonnaise has you beat. And I'm no unopened jar of mayonnaise. 

Mo Xuanyu: That shit is opened .

Meng Yao: That’s a Tinder profile quote.

Qin Su: What? 'Spicier than mayo?'

Mo Xuanyu: [half singing, half chanting] ‘My mayo brings all the boys to the yard, and they’re like-- [normal voice] this is really underwhelming.’

Meng Yao: [musing] ‘Saltier than soy sauce, spicier than mayo….’

Qin Su: Why do we always come back to food? Are our Skype calls haunted by starving Victorian ghost children? Are we possessed?

Mo Xuanyu: [mournful, high pitched, bad British accent] ‘My name is Bartholemew and I’m starving. Please, spare some mayo.’

Meng Yao: It’s your own fault if none of you bother to eat before we record. You all had the schedule.

Mo Xuanyu: [crunches loudly near mic]

Meng Yao: [falsely happy] Hey, thanks! Thank you so much, A-Yu, love the level spike on that one. Editing mouth noises out of our podcast makes my day brighter.

Jin Zixuan: [under his breath] Just...unbelievable….You all….

Qin Su: [smiling] I think we broke him.

Meng Yao: [laughing] Zixuan is limping behind the conversation indignantly, brandishing his cane….

Mo Xuanyu: [sympathetically] Awww.

Jin Zixuan: I--! I am a high powered businessman! I am trained in martial arts and archery and swordsmanship --

Mo Xuanyu: [mouth full] Oh please, gege, you’re a pod caster.

Jin Zixuan: [forcefully] I am a CEO--

[crosstalk] Qin Su: [ignoring him] I think Yao-gege is somehow the most and least intimidating out of all of us at the same time, if we're all being completely honest with ourselves and our place in the world.

Mo Xuanyu: Aww, I thought I was at least a contender!

Qin Su: Honey, you're feral. There's a difference.

Mo Xuanyu: What does a kid have to do around here to be intimidating?

Meng Yao: Learn how to chew with your mouth closed, for one.

Jin Zixuan: [indignantly] A-Yao? Are you not going to deny this?

[Brief silence]

Meng Yao: [calmly] I don't think I'm scary.

Qin Su & Mo Xuanyu: [instant uproarious laughter]

Jin Zixuan: Oh, come on! He's like...a little koala bear or something! How is that scary!

Meng Yao: [offended] Excuse me--

[crosstalk] Mo Xuanyu: [still laughing] I’m gonna pee --

Meng Yao: -- koalas have smooth brains and eat poisonous leaves all day. Are you calling me a poisonous idiot bear?

Qin Su: [wheezes] Only in private.

Mo Xuanyu: [laughter trailing off] Wait, wait, hold on. Don’t all koalas have chlamydia or something?

Qin Su: [renewed laughter]

[crosstalk] Meng Yao: [startled laugh] What?

Mo Xuanyu: Chlamydia! I think that I read--!

[crosstalk] Jin Zixuan: Oh my god, I think I’ve actually heard that. The plague, the bubonic plague, isn’t it? Or that--Some sort of--that disease people used to get where bits of you fall off?

Qin Su: Beheadings?

Meng Yao: [voice strangled from laughter] Yes, A-Su, that ancient disease the French Revolution that all koalas have--

[crosstalk] Jin Zixuan: [snickering]

Mo Xuanyu: [loud and close to mic] LEPROSY .

[crosstalk] Qin Su: Ow--

[crosstalk] Jin Zixuan: Holy shit--

Mo Xuanyu: It’s leprosy and you’re thinking of armadillos, da-ge. 

Jin Zixuan: [muttering] Aren’t we all….

Qin Su: [solemnly]  Armadillos and guillotines. Every damn minute of every damn day.

Mo Xuanyu: And I googled it, I’m right; koala chlamydia is a problem.

Meng Yao: And we’ve just found the title of this episode.

Qin Su: If most koalas have chlamydia, I feel like they have other problems they have to deal with.

Mo Xuanyu: Those pesky, promiscuous koalas!

Qin Su: Get them some damn sex ed! Use those eucalyptus leaves for protection!

Meng Yao: [pleasantly] That’s just about the worst thing I’ve heard all day.

Mo Xuanyu: Eugh, that menthol, though. Like Vicks for your dicks!

Meng Yao: I hate it.

[crosstalk]Jin Zixuan: [pained] PSA: don’t do that. Ever.

Qin Su: The voice of experience?

Jin Zixuan: I don’t think you actually want an answer to that, meimei.

Meng Yao: You people make me hate learning and also knowing things.

Mo Xuanyu: Also I've been looking it up and mountain lions are the ones that can have the bubonic plague.

Meng Yao: Choose your fighter; chlamydia ridden koala, leprosy ridden armadillo, or mountain lion with the Black Death.

Qin Su: Well, at least the mountain lion could inflict some damage. Use it like a poison delivery system, like an anthrax letter to secretly infect people.

Meng Yao: [patient teacher tone] ‘A mountain lion is to an anthrax letter, like a koala is to a…?’

Qin Su: [mock frustration] Oh, man, I know this one….

Mo Xuanyu: 'I can't come into school today, I got attacked by a mountain lion.'

Qin Su: [acting concerned] 'Oh my God, are you okay? Are you gonna have scars?'

Mo Xuanyu: 'Worse. The Plague .'

Jin Zixuan:  Okay, glad we got our animal infections all sorted out--back to what we were talking about. So, riddle me this--

[crosstalk] Mo Xuanyu: [delighted, Riddlemancer voice] Rrrriddle Me Piss, kids--!

[crosstalk] Meng Yao & Qin Su: NO!

[crosstalk] Jin Zixuan: Oh my god --

Mo Xuanyu: [laughing] I don't actually have anything today--

[crosstalk] Meng Yao: A blessing .

Mo Xuanyu: --but I'll get you next time.

Jin Zixuan: No, I need to know, genuinely, this is not a bit-- why do you think A-Yao scarier than me?

Qin Su: I mean, what's not scary about a smooth brained bear full of toxins and chlamydia?

Meng Yao: [disgruntled] Uh huh.

Mo Xuanyu: Technically, they’re not bears, they're marsupials! And I think Yao-gege is more of an armadillo--hard on the outside--

[slight crosstalk] Qin Su: --And full of leprosy on the inside. 

Meng Yao: [further from mic, keyboard tapping] 'And to Mo Xuanyu...and Qin Su...I leave... absolutely nothing, except...this bag of dog shit and...spiders…..'

[crosstalk] Mo Xuanyu: [laughing]

[crosstalk] Qin Su: Awww, A-Yu, we're being written out of his will again!

Jin Zixuan: Listeners, am I wrong? Am I crazy? He’s the size of a toddler--

[slight crosstalk] Meng Yao: [still away from mic, keyboard tapping] ‘And to Jin Zixuan...I leave--’

Jin Zixuan: He looks like a sugar glider baby that got turned into a human man--

[slight crosstalk] Meng Yao: ‘This box...of useless...tetanus filled screws….’

Qin Su: Da-ge--

[crosstalk] Meng Yao: ‘--that i...encourage him to use…--’

[crosstalk] Mo Xuanyu: [snickering]

Meng Yao: ‘As acupuncture needles.’ There. Sent to the notary. Now, what were we talking about, again?

Qin Su: Da-ge, all those things might be true--

[crosstalk] Meng Yao: [flatly] Wow.

Qin Su: But here’s a test. What would you do to someone picking on A-Yu in school?

Jin Zixuan: [immediate, sounding businesslike and slightly aggressive] I would contact their parents and set up a meeting with the school officials and make it very clear that they are never to do that again.

Qin Su: [grinning] Okay. Yao-gege, what would you do to someone picking on A-Yu in school?

Meng Yao: [calmly] Absolutely nothing you could prove in a court of law.

Mo Xuanyu: [bursts out laughing]

[crosstalk] Qin Su: I mean--

[crosstalk] Jin Zixuan: Uhhhh--

Qin Su: You see? Also-- [quick sing-song voice] 🎵 This is a joke, for legal reasons, this is a joke 🎵 [normal voice] He’s got that--that--

[crosstalk] Mo Xuanyu: [lingering laughter] Yeah, it's that menace. Da-ge, you’re like--you’re like if a duckling--okay, you remember when I brought you to Hot Topic? You were like a duckling at a Death Metal concert.

Jin Zixuan: [defensively] The music was so loud--

[crosstalk] Meng Yao: [pityingly] Oh, Zixuan.

Qin Su: You're like if a golf course got turned into a human. 

Meng Yao You're what would happen if you gave mac and cheese a social security card and keys to a lamborghini.

Jin Zixuan: [unamused] Okay.

Mo Xuanyu: [laughing] You're the lightly salted almonds of people. 

Qin Su: You're like a wholesome Hallmark movie fucked the concept of the suburbs.

Jin Zixuan: [unamused] Sure. Sure.

Meng Yao: You emanate the peril of a box of lethargic kittens.

Jin Zixuan: Wow. My own family. This is coming from the physical manifestation of a My Chemical Romance song--

[crosstalk] Mo Xuanyu: [smug] You say that like it’s a bad thing.

Jin Zixuan: -- and the woman who cries at the Land Before Time every time she watches it. I think this is a case of glass houses, here. Let ye who are intimidating... 

Qin Su: Oh, so we’re not roasting Yao-gege back?

Meng Yao: Not sure how me being compared to a STD riddled marsupial for about 5 minutes straight escaped your notice, A-Su, but alright. 

Jin Zixuan: I feel that you are all being...heinously short sighted, here. Are you seriously trying to tell me that A-Yu is scarier than me, a full grown man?

Meng Yao: I would certainly be more warranted in my concern about him stabbing me than I would about you.

Mo Xuanyu: Oh my God, gege, that was like 5 years ago and I already said I was sorry--

[crosstalk] Jin Zixuan: [loudly] What--

[crosstalk] Qin Su: Did we actually help this person? I mean--

Mo Xuanyu: We always help, jiejie.

[crosstalk] Jin Zixuan: Hold on--

Qin Su: We learned a lot about exactly how disturbing the animal kingdom is, but….

[crosstalk] Jin Zixuan: No, go back--

[slight crosstalk] Meng Yao: Dress like a middle aged accountant, share minion memes on Facebook, and buy your son a puppy so you have an excuse to talk to the dog and not people. There you go. Done.

Jin Zixuan: No, rewind--Xuanyu, you stabbed our brother? 

[brief silence]

Qin Su: [brightly] Well, that's going to do it for us today, folks--!

Jin Zixuan: A-Yu!

[crosstalk] Mo Xuanyu: It was only a little!

Jin Zixuan: How can you stab someone a little ?! 

[crosstalk] Qin Su: Thank you so much for listening in this week--

Jin Zixuan: With what ? Why?!

Mo Xuanyu: It honestly wasn’t that bad, he made it sound like--

[crosstalk] Jin Zixuan: That's not an answer --

[crosstalk] Meng Yao: [begins laughing]

Jin Zixuan: A-Yao--!

[crosstalk] Meng Yao: [still laughing]

Qin Su: [brightly]  We hope you enjoyed our enlightening romp, here! We want to thank Sister Sledge for the use of the song We Are Family. A-Yu, how about that last Yahoo?

[crosstalk] Meng Yao: [farther from mic, clearly grinning] Ohhh, boy. 

Mo Xuanyu: Okay, okay--anonymous Yahoo Answers user asks….[exaggerated, desperate voice] ‘I can’t afford a freezer. Where do I put my deer meat?’

[Outro music begins quietly]

Qin Su: [laughs] I’m Qin Su.

Jin Zixuan: [sighs, disgruntled] I’m Jin Zixuan.

Meng Yao: [grinning] I’m Meng Yao.

Mo Xuanyu: [sheepish] I’m Mo Xuanyu.

Qin Su: And this has been My Brothers, My Sister, And Me! Thank you to everyone, see you next week and remember; send your trash dad straight to jail!

[itsnothingofinterest]

Something I think worth mentioning about villain redemptions is, in addition to people just liking the characters; one reason the villain fans want redemptions for the League is that their redemptions would almost certainly signify the addressing & remedy of serous systemic issues that have affected many characters and aspects of the series, and have been felt since the first line of the series.

It’s no secret that the world of HeroAca is plagued with systemic issues rooted in inequality, corruption, and the gross mishandling of quirks among other things. These have affected both villains like Shigaraki, Dabi, Toga, & Spinner, and hero students like Izuku, Shoto, Shinsou, & Shoji. However while the students’ character focus is, on average, about how to overcome these hurdles to become good heroes and what kind of heroes that makes them; the villains’ character focus is more on what to actually do about the systemic issues they were never able to just overcome, and so are attempting to tackle full force. In other words, the handling of the villains is seemingly going to be directly tied and inversely correlated to the handling of those systemic issues and, in turn, just how many problems are really going to be solved in the aftermath and not rear their heads again..

The Problems

It’s like this: people often like to compare BNHA to Avatar: The Last Airbender (probably because of Todoroki’s resemblance to Zuko, even though his position is more like a less Azula-ish Azula, but that’s beside the point), and have even made comparisons between Shigaraki & Dabi and Ozai. Now that’s more than a bit weird, but we’re gonna role with that to explain something.

See, the thing about Ozai is, he was in a position of power; a position from which he and the last 2 Fire Lords had effectively caused all of the problems. And the reason they did that was basically just because they were arrogant; they thought the Fire Nation was better than everywhere else. Meanwhile; the Gaang had Zuko, the next in line to the throne who had been enlightened by his travels about the values of the other nations & how wrong the Fire Nation’s way of doing things was. The Gaang new if they defeat Ozai & Azula, he gets that position of power and will cease all the problems arising from it. For them, that part of the plan was simple: defeat the big bad = no more problems.

For Shigaraki & the League, it’s no where near that easy. See, while they have acquired power in various forms; they’re really just average joes picked off the street. Naturally occurring misanthropes produced by societal failures like oppression, abuse, inequality, prejudice, corruption, and other such topics. Heck, Jin’s name means ‘humanity’; both as in compassion, but also as in a face in the crowd (or rather the entire crowd). And Shigaraki even once compared them all to maggots crawling out of the trash piles the heroes swept under the rug. And you aren’t gonna accomplish much just squashing the maggots; they’re just gonna keep coming faster & faster as the piles get bigger & bigger, and even without a League we’d just see more Kaminos, Fukuokas, Daikas, & Jakus. The thing they need to address is the trash piles, the issues in society, in order to actually stop the problems.

The Easy-Yet-Hard Solutions

“Well, okay,” you might say, “but can’t those societal problems get addressed and the villains still get killed or jailed for life, as are the consequence for their actions?” Well technically yes, that is possible, but the problem is it would be a very, very, very hard sell to the audience.

For one; not many on the heroes’ side see these things as problems. To most of them, the biggest problem in society is that it needs more All Might. Not to say there’s no one in the country who thinks society needs to change...but there is the slight hurdle that a good number of them joined the PLF, and are presumably headed off to Death Row for association with Shigaraki. (You may think that’s an extreme assumption, but Kurogiri got worse for very similar crimes.) This doesn’t exactly discount our heroes tackling all those root issues we discussed; but, well, it’s a bit hard to believe the heroes might try to change society in accordance with the wishes of people we assume they’ll just think of as enemies until the end. (Especially regarding the necessary changes that might inconvenience the heroes.)

What’s more, the villains most directly represent the victims of those issues, so it’s hard to separate their treatment from the handling of those issues. There’s just some dissonance in the idea he heroes would be like “In our pursuit of justice, we shall ensure no hero has the power to abuse their family any more, and shall hold heroes accountable for any breaches of the law they commit. But as a separate matter, screw Dabi. Life in prison for him and he’s (debatably) lucky we’re not killing him. Endeavor of course shall walk free because he’s trying to change, and he’s gone through so much, and he means so much to us.” Like I said, that’s a hard sell. It gives off the impression that the heroes are just doing what they’ve always been doing, which conflicts with the idea that they’re then going to change things.

The Hard-Yet-Easy Solutions

Conversely, if the villains get redeemed and end up working with the heroes; societal restructuring to remedy those systemic root causes of villainy are all but guaranteed. They know better than most what problems there are in society, seem to have thought pretty hard on how to fix them or what alternative systems could be installed, and have no reason to be coy about any of that. The heroes, conversely, tend to have the faith in humanity to think they can better the world without needing any acts of terrorism, and the societal sway to then actually do it. Or at least will acquire that sway, if we’re assuming the UA students are gonna end up doing most of the leg work on this.

In short, each side has about half of what’s really needed to guarantee a societal remedy that’ll ensure we don’t get any more naturally occurring Shigarakis, Dabis, & Togas; and in turn that we don’t end up right back where we are now eventually.

It’s not quite accurate to say they need to work together on this; both sides could accomplish this restructuring on their own. But with the heroes, it’s highly questionable if they’d even think to change things if they get the chance, and how how hard they’d really try if they did; and with the villains we know they’d put their all into it, but it would incur massive costs in human life. If the villains get redeemed though, and the two sides work together on this? It’s very easy to believe the presence of one side would entirely eliminate the issues in the other’s methods. The best solution is the one that comes from both sides working together; and that’s probably why Izuku & Shigaraki’s quirks each ended up being named after half the phrase “All for one and one for all”.

Conclusion

Look. I get it. The League are terrorists, there’s no getting around that, and at times it can feel like the villains fans ignore this. But that truth is that it’s more complicated than that.

Shigaraki’s inner circle are simultaneously some of the victims most in need of saving & some of the greatest threats the HeroAca-verse has ever faced. They are, in several ways, the greatest conflict a hero could ever face, and how a hero would handle them would define not only the type of hero they are but also the quality of hero they are. I’m just saying; a high quality hero that’d save them, the real Plus Ultra-type, would probably be the kind best suited to taking care of those metaphorical garbage piles and reach that “no more problems” state you usually want your stories to end in.

Does that really mean they need to get away with everything they’ve done? Honestly, got me buddy. Like I said, from a hero’s perspective, their situation is complicated; so if you’re looking for the perfect solution for how a hero should handle them, it’ll probably be pretty complicated in itself. To me personally, that stuff seems like details. What I’m most prioritizing is if we’ll get the best resolution to the root issues as possible.

[syubub]

What makes BTS most vulnerable

Woo! A reading! I wanted to do this bc its been on my list for a little while now!

I just got off work and wanted to do this asap! Pls forgive mistakes! I'm not gonna proof read bc im lazy.

Cheeky disclaimer: this is for entertainment purposes and not to be taken as fact! This is my interpretation of the cards!!

So so so so

First off, I did each member and also one for the group! I didn't have a specific plan in mind when I started, so I just went with the flow!

Let's start with the group first

So. The 5 of pentacles is what makes them most vulnerable. This card talks about isolation, feeling lost, anxiety, not having money or influence. Most of all, a mindset of lack.

All of this to me makes me think that what makes them most vulnerable is the fear of being right back where they started. Feeling exiled from the industry, not having the funds to be sure of a stable future and also not having a strong sense of identity as a group and within the group. It's like their vulnerability comes from something almost like ptsd? Let me try to make that make more sense. I genuinely think that where they started and the uncertainty and constant ridicule really had an impact on them. The vulnerability they have as a group is essentially emotional distress? Like, I wish I had better words to explain. It's the fear that they haven't actually grown or gotten anywhere and that they are insignificant that is their vulnerability. Fear based on where they started?

I really hope that made sense. Moving on though, 7 of swords is how it manifests for them. This card is sneaky. It talks about getting away with something and betrayal but I think this meaning is the most relevant: strategic moves. So how their vulnerability manifests is that the fear that they have causes them (and the company) to make very specific moves to keep their fears from happening. It's like, they take steps to make sure their fears don't get realized. Career wise but also personally. They can sometimes force growth because they fear stagnation. Kinda like rolling something uphill? Once it loses momentum it starts rolling back down.

The other two cards, Wellness and busy times and multitasking, are what they can do to lessen that vulnerability. Keeping healthy in mind body and spirit (also keeping the group bond healthy too) as well as channeling their emotions and fears into productivity. (Think the ly:tear album)

Seokjin

This is really intresting. So, what makes him most vulnerable is repressed emotion that causes inner turmoil. The moon is all about your insides and the vastness it has. In its reverse it talks about the darker parts of your subconscious. So, him bottling shit up and repressing it becomes a monster that affects him without him even necessarily knowing.

As for how that manifest in his life, it literally affects his judgment. Like, literally. It messes with his decision making.

As a fellow human with a similar problem, I can almost bet that any issue he has with another member will be shoved away and it will fester until he's at his breaking point and he'll absolutely weaponize it but disguise it as "just poking fun" or he might also purposefully create low level chaos. It's really intresting because this could manifest in so many ways. It could be his insecurities, issues with other people, fears ect and they fester in his brain space fucking with his judgment.

What he can do to lessen this vulnerability is deep emotional healing. Istg these cards are too perfect to make up. He needs to do THE WORK and heal it. He probably recognizes this and is working on it. Its not fair to himself to put himself aside in order to put other people first. (I think this probably happened a lot in the early bts days bc he had to be an older brother and a responsible figure to 6 other kids so he prioritized group harmony over his own issues and emotions)

Yoongi

????

Um, okay. So what makes yoongi most vulnerable is the dark side of wealth. That's the 10 of pentacles rev. But it gets interesting bc the 10 of swords isn't what makes him vulnerable but it also isn't how it manifests?? So here's my theory time. What makes him most vulnerable is the dark side of wealth. I can only assume that it's the isolation and internal conflict of benefiting off of a system that fucked you over in the first half of your life and also feeling bad for having wealth that most people can never imagine? I really don't know? But with the 10 of swords talking about betrayal and deep wounds, it could be that he's extremely afraid of being taken advantage of? Like, that's another downside of wealth. Maybe people have tried to use him for money or influence? Especially in his personal life. Like, he probably finds it extremely hard to get close to people because he's afraid of betrayal over something that is already hard for him to deal with?

Also loss. He wasn't born rich. He worked his ass off to get what he has and he's probably afraid to lose it. He might "stash" money?

Anyway, knight of swords, how it manifests. This card is about a drive to succeed. So essentially this makes him run and push himself hard and harder and harder to out run what he sees as an inevitable end? Sometimes this can blind him.

As for what he can do to lessen this vulnerability, we have, self confidence through God confidence. This card to me talks about having faith in your actions and skills and trusting in yourself even if you doubt your ability. Essentially, yoongi just needs to trust in himself to land on his feet no matter what happens. Life is always uncertain so he needs to trust that he can weather any storm he might face.

Hoseok

This was one gave me some thoughts. So, similar to jin, it's the bottling shit up and having you subconscious mind eventually figure shit out because it's been neglected but with the 2 of swords in reverse, talking about confusion and being indecisive, I think this kinda causes him to shut down? He might get apathetic. It's almost like when you work a computer so hard that it crashes.

And how this manifests for him with the 3 of pentacles in reverse is that he gets thrown out of alignment with the group. Kinda like how you shouldn't drive on a flat tire. He withdraws and becomes hard to reach and puts up a wall that causes a lot of problems for him as well as those he is around. It's a defense mechanism. It can also manifest in him preferring to work alone as well instead of group settings.

This exposes him to depression and doubt.

Also similar to jin, for how to lessen this vulnerability we have Bless your heart with talks about reaching out (breaking down that wall) and healing your heart and healing the root issue.

Namjoon

Okay. This is the one that makes so much sense but also confuses me.

So. What makes him most vulnerable is the magician rev and 10 of cups. Unrealized potential and poor planning as well as love, harmony and alignment.

So.... what? How does love and the happiest happiness make him vulnerable?

Well, I think he's suspicious of it. I think that he can't help but wonder in his big big big brain if THIS is the right happy or if its really happiness at all? Almost like commitment issues but also not? It's like, he's afraid that it won't last? He might have trouble fully allowing himself happiness. Also, what makes him the most vulnerable is love. It opens up every bit of his soul and puts it on a laundry line for everyone to see and I don't think he thinks he's worthy enough to be seen like that?

As for how it manifests in his life, 9 of cups, personal fulfillment and a strive to have everything else in hislife sorted out? Essentially wanting to have a perfect foundation so eventually he can share with all the important people in his life.

As for what he can do. Value your self worth. pretty straight up. He needs to value himself more. He deserve love and he deserves to feel seen even if it's uncomfortable at first.

Jimin

Oki. What makes jimin most vulnerable is choice. The 7 of cups talks about focusing on what's best for you and making choices based not on illusion. I think jimin is plagued by unrealistic expectations and confronting the fact that it's not possible is what makes him most vulnerable. He makes choices that are driven by illusion. Usually about self. I think specifically about how he doesn't always see how good he already is so he pushes himself to chase after something that isn't always right for him or even there in the first place. Acknowledging and facing it brings vulnerability that he doesn't always want to face. I think he might equate vulnerability to powerlessness.

How it manifests. 9 of wands rev. Paranoia and being defensive. It's his own fear and insecurities manifesting outside of himself.

As for what he can do, passion and purpose and multifaceted. Focus on what is close to his heart and don't get side tracked. Theres so much more to this situation and there isn't an easy fix. There's a lot of things that need working on in order for him to feel comfortable.

Taehyung

Oki oki oki. What makes Tae most vulnerable is strength rev. Raw emotion. He doesn't always express his emotions and when he chooses to be more open, his emotions go through a bit of a filter. Showing his unfiltered emotions makes him most vulnerable because it's him as he is. In his truest form. It's all of his wants, joys, fears. Everything.

As for how it manifests, 10 of wands and Hanged man, it becomes a burden that he carries because he feels like he can't just be honest. He pauses and allows himself time to feel on his own but that means possibly being misunderstood and a bit isolated.

Now. What can he do to lessen it? Bless your heart and healthy communication in relationships. TALKING TO PEOPLE AND ALLOWING HIMSELF THAT VULNERABILITY. It's not bad to be vulnerable. Heal that shit bb bc you are worth it.

Jungkook

So, what makes him most vulnerable? The world in rev. Not having closure and seeking it. The process of seeking closure for himself about things that could have or putting to rest something that has come full circle. It brings vulnerability because he has to face things that he could have done better. He has to face things coming to a close and be okay with is.

How it manifests, the tower, ace of cups, 5 of cups reversed.

The tower is essentially everything crumbling down. I think jk thinks too much? If you follow a ball of yarn all the way to the end then you just unraveled a whole ass ball of yarn.

Him going to close those things cause him to unravel his foundation.

With the ace of cups, creativity and love/ new emotions, I think him taking the time to pursue personal closure helps him to be more open to love as well as giving him creative fuel.

The 5 of cups rev. Means that him doing this closure thing helps him to forgive himself bc he's taking time to move on and tie up loose ends?

For jk this closure thing manifests in every aspect of his like and I almost see it as him shedding? Sounds weird but he's consciously moving on and paying attention to what he needs?

As for what he can do? Deep emotional healing! He runs the risk of feeling more of the tower manifestation so he needs to keep himself emotionally healthy in order for this to be productive instead of destructive!

~~~~~~~

I hope y'all like this! I feel like the cards didn't always follow what I was kinda going for with my questions but it all works out in the end I guess?

My next reading will be up later this week (I've already done it and taken all of my notes. I just have to type it all out) so look foward to that as well!

[mettywiththenotes]

Dabi And Stain’s Body Count

Okay so I’ve talked about this before with Dabi, but let’s also talk about Stain and this connection

With Dabi, I theorized that he’d planned those 30 murders for the sake of ruining Endeavor, not because he wanted to. That he did this only to be established as a Villain and then leave it at 30

Which was only a simple theory until Stain said this in the recent chapter

40 murders. That’s quite a lot, and yet not as many as you would think someone called The Hero Killer would have

Stain’s goal, his will, is to do away with the fakes of society. Any Hero looking for only fame or money, he targets and kills them. Except, let’s not forget where Stain started

Before he became a killer, he entered into a private high school. Private. Which means his family must have had a lot of money, or at least enough to get him into the school. He then despaired over the corrupt view of Heroes in the system and dropped out

He started making speeches, pressing for True Hero revival, but this ended when he said that words are lacking power. In the 10 years that followed, he trained himself to kill which is where he got his skillful blade wielding from

He says Hero isn’t a title to be given out to those seeking rewards and fame, and the narrator described Stain’s influence as a purge

And, personally, I always found it hard to see where Dabi was taking inspiration from Stain. He said he’s following “Stain’s will”, but nothing so far had shown why and what parts he was following exactly

But now I get it

40 is enough to get you seen. It’s enough to make you acknowledge the killer

10? No. 20, a glance maybe. 30 causes the world to look your way. 40 makes you feared

Hopefully you’ve had a look at the link and skimmed the post to know my thoughts with Dabi on this

Dabi, too, has controlled his kill count. For Dabi to be a Villain, for Dabi to be seen as a killer, you would expect the count to be higher. But it isn’t. It’s always that specific number that gets repeated; 30

Dabi is Touya. He’s a Villain, but he’s still that little boy trying to get attention, trying to be acknowledged by the world and his father

Just as Stain is Chizome, the boy who wants a just society, Dabi is Touya, the boy who wants to be acknowledged

The similarities don’t end at the body count. The commentary for Stain’s internet video strikes me with very similar narratives too

“Deeply impressed by All Might’s debut, he sought to become a Hero.”

Private school = a lot of money, and as we know, the Todoroki’s are very wealthy

“He despaired over the fundamentally corrupt view of the Heroes within the educational system.”

“He dropped out the summer after his freshman year.”

“He concluded that words alone are lacking in power.”

“Only through a relentless purge can society be made aware.”

“This guy’s whole style is gonna spread like the plague.”

A plague... almost like an apocalypse... a catastrophe of some kind

The only bit of that video that differs is the part where Stain had said “Hero should be a title earned through tireless self-sacrifice.”

Whereas Dabi’s hot take is

I believe that Dabi took inspiration from Stain almost word for word

The body count is similar in how small it is, they both have a fall and rise story, and they have a singular moment which defines them, something that makes them famous, something that had an incredible impact on the country

One more thing I want to add is this quote said by the news presenter after Stain’s capture

Stain’s body count of 40 is, apparently, a large number for an independent Villain. It’s, apparently, a mark on the history books

Dabi killed 10 below that number

Remember what I said before?

10 victims? No. 20, a glance maybe. 30 causes the world to look your way. 40 makes you feared

It’s quite interesting that Dabi didn’t want to aim higher, or even surpass Stain. He kept it at 30, which tells me that maybe there’s a sense of humanity in him. Or maybe that he didn’t want to turn full Villain. Again, I’ve talked about this in the linked post

I think it’s also interesting that we’ve never actually been told Stain’s exact body count until now (from memory anyway). They only said “With the largest number of murders (...)” which, upon hearing, you would think would be higher for such a famed murderer

Which means that Dabi must have researched this. If they hadn’t said it in the news, if they didn’t even seem to say it in the internet video, then Dabi had to have researched his body count

I keep seeing a humanity in Dabi, a self-awareness, where if he had taken inspiration from Stain and researched the body count which was 40 - if he wanted revenge and wanted to make the world see but didn’t know where to even start, and then came across Stain’s video - then he’d use his will but make it uniquely Touya

I wonder if a part of Dabi/Touya didn’t want to kill, not as much as Stain anyway, so he killed as much as was possible to make him seen. He’d use Stain’s will but still be himself

Of course, the “no true heroes” differs, but the action of it all? Minimal kill count, famous videos, rise and fall with admiring Heroes? It’s so similar that I just can’t see it being any other way

Thank you for reading :)

EDIT:

@lastsunlight​ brought to my attention that Stain’s kill count BEFORE prison was 17, and after prison, where he likely killed some if not most of the retired fake Heroes when he got out, it was 40. I was under the impression that Stain’s body count was 40 even before prison, but this is actually super interesting!

(I’ve discussed with lastsunlight’s ask about Stain’s 17-40 kill count here, but I want to talk about his connection with Dabi regarding this)

Dabi killed 30 people, whereas Stain before prison killed 17 people.

This actually makes Dabi more famous than Stain

Stain’s independent kill count was 17

Dabi’s independent kill count is 30

The news presenter said himself that

Stain’s was the largest number of murders of any independent Villain. He made history

And, as we know, Dabi worked alone to kill those 30 people. He was a part time independent Villain in a way

So what this means is Dabi surpassed Stain

Dabi has made history, not just by revealing that he’s the son of the Number One Hero, but by being the youngest and only independent Villain to kill 30 people since the advent of All Might

Of course, there are different factors to take into account

Stain is basically a human, so he was chasing after Heroes with quirks that could outrun him or overpower him. He had his skill and his own agility but at the end of the day he’s a human man who has to get close enough to taste blood in order to win - I know he did this with Tensei but I just mean in his earlier years, where he was just starting out. Let’s also remember that Stain seriously injured 24 Heroes during his time as Hero Killer, so these are likely 24 Heroes that only just got away, maybe because of their quirks

Dabi has a fire quirk that works long-range. He could kill people from far away if he wanted to (and he has)

Really, Dabi has a little more advantage over Stain, quirk-wise, but agility is a big factor too. No doubt Dabi has quite good reflexes but I don’t think his agility is anything much, while Stain has been training for 10 years in the art of killing, and an extra 2-to-5 years killing Heroes; overall 12 to 15 years of agility training in order to catch up to the enemy

Another thing too is that Dabi probably started killing once he watched Stain’s video, which means Dabi has been spacing out his kills for at least a year, whereas Stain has been killing for 2-to-5 years (not counting training where he may or may not have killed a person, who knows)

There’s quite a few things to take into account between these two and how many they have killed, but it doesn’t change the end result: Stain - 17, Dabi - 30

OR AT LEAST IT WOULD BE THE END RESULT, had Stain not come up in the latest chapter and said

So, narratively, Stain bumped up to Famous Independent Villain status again. Kind of. All Might’s era is already over with, and with the general chaos after the War, I doubt anybody is keeping track of a murderer’s kill count, but still

I actually find it kind of funny that Stain was the most famous, then Dabi, and now it’s like Stain has come back to “reclaim his position” or something lmao

BUT let’s also take into account their influence

Stain inspired Dabi, then Dabi kills people and shakes the world with his reveal, causing the collapse of Hero society, then Stain comes back and, likely as a result of Dabi’s consequence, begins to kill people again. We’ve come full circle

I say “full circle” but I kind of hope Dabi and Stain keep narratively competing to see who shakes the world more. I’d love to see it

[whiskeyshoneybee]

Work of Art

( Marcus Pike x f!reader) [ 18+]

Summary: a twist on the traditional sipping and painting date night

Rating: Explicit 

Word count: 2 K

Content warnings: Established relationship,  body paint, oral (f and m receiving) bad art puns, P in V, 

A/N: This date night idea has plagued me for weeks and I’m finally glad to have finished it.

The white bed sheet was so bright it was hurting your eyes. A contrast to the dimly candle lit bedroom. Marcus had suggested going to a paint and sip class for date night but you had other plans. Being a good partner you told Marcus that you would handle the details and make the reservation. Keeping the secret plans to yourself. 

“Sweetheart I’m gonna get cleaned up and then I'm ready to go.” He replies blissfully and leans in to kiss your temple. Your sweet, sweet lovely man had no idea what this night would hold.

 Marcus had no problems bringing you to pleasure through the use of his mouth, hands, cock or vibrator. But you would always relish the look of shock and awe when the two of you would try something new together. The shy look of a rule following boyscout caught like a deer in headlights made your body feel warm all over. 

Perched on the edge of the bed donning a silky robe you waited for Marcus. Exhilaration zinging through your body in anticipation of shared pleasure that was soon to follow. Marcus entered the bedroom, a towel hanging low on his hips and skin flushed from the warmth of the shower making his beautiful tanned complexion look more ethereal than usual. “Baby are you okay? You're not ready to go yet.” His eyes showed panic and his hand ran across your forehead, checking if you’re feverish. Rising from the bed and taking his hand in yours, you propose the alternative plans for this evening. “ Marcus, I haven’t been totally honest with you.” His face dropped, preparing for the worst. “I didn’t make reservations for tonight, I thought we could paint here.” You walk into the bedroom closet and pull out the supplies. “That sounds fun sweetheart, lemme put on some comfy clothes.” He says in a soft tone before turning away looking for his favorite gray sweatpants. “Marcus, I was thinking we could paint each other.” Your eyes search his face for any signs of discomfort but you’re only met with excitement . “Really baby?.... Okay, how does this work?” His voice seems curious, enthusiastic. You set out the paints, brushes, and the pallets on the bed. Marcus was ready to follow your lead.

 “Is this paint safe for our skin Sweetheart?” He looks over the labels and inspects the paint as he speaks, his honey eyes crinkling slightly. 

“Yes I checked and it’s very safe. Sit down baby. Can I paint you first?” You say as Marcus eagerly sits still clad in his towel. You assemble your colors on the pallet and grab a brush before standing in front of him.

 “Tell me if you don’t like this or want to try something else Marcus. What color are you?” 

 “Green.” he cheerily replies. “Maybe the color system is not good for this.” Both of you start laughing at the juxtaposition. 

“I promise to tell you if I’m uncomfortable Sweetheart.”  He cranes his neck up pleading for your lips that you gladly give him. Dipping the brush into the color you start at his neck, Flicking up across his skin slowly dragging, depositing an opaque luster. Marcus lets out a soft hum, he is enjoying watching your concentration. Your brow slightly furrows trying to decide what color and pattern to adorn his body with next. Dipping your fingers in the next color you drag it down his chest applying more pressure. Marcus takes the opportunity to play with the strings of the silky robe exposing more of your body to him. His lips nip at the delicate skin on your neck until you're humming and forgetting the task at hand. 

“Is my muse getting handsy?” You tease him for his ministrations. “Sweetheart you are the real muse here.” Your cheeks flush at his complement. “Right now I’m the artist and the artist would like their muse to disrobe.” Marcus happily obliges and tosses the towel in the hamper. You descend to the plush carpet and dip fingers in the paint, drawing loops across his calves up to his thighs applying more pressure but not quite scratching his skin. 

You lock eyes with him, and slowly bring your face to his chest darting out your tongue to lick the paint. His breathy moan is music to your ears. “Honey, you didn’t tell me this was edible paint.” His body twitches underneath your actions and you take your time to tease him, circling your tongue around his neck before he grabs your face with his hands to give you a messy kiss. It’s desperate, your teeth clash together and your tongues wrestle for dominance. 

You pull away “I think I missed a spot.” You deposit more paint on nimble fingers, drawing zig zags on his tummy and  in the crease where his hip meets his legs. Marcus’s breath hitching and you lick around your new paint unable to resist yourself any longer, his hard cock weeping with pre-cum making your mouth water. You kiss just the tip of him,  and Marcus responds with a deep throaty moan. You kitten licking across the sensitive underside before taking him fully into your mouth.

 Marcus is a whimpering mess. “ Sweetheart you don’t have to.” Marcus is a giver who specializes in giving you pleasure. It’s rare for him to let you focus on only making him feel good. You reluctantly unattach from him, leaving a trail of saliva behind. “ Baby I wanna make you feel good, do you know how much it turns me on having your beautiful cock in my mouth?” He sighs heavily, his lust blown eyes look back at you he replies. 

“Okay Sweetheart.” You continue to lick and suck his cock until he's a moaning mess again. Your cunt clenches and weeps from how turned on you are and he hasn’t even touched you yet. Your velvet mouth moves to suck on his balls and Marcus grips the bedding. 

 “Stop baby, I wanna finish with you.” He takes a moment to regain some composure before planning what he wants to do with you. “Now it’s my turn to paint a masterpiece. Lie on your tummy baby.” Marcus helps you rise to your feet and disrobe.  Marcus peppers your neck with open mouth kisses and pulls your hair away from your body for better access. “You’re so beautiful, I don’t think painting could improve you.” You lie on the bed and wiggle your ass trying to tease him. “ Wouldn’t it be fun to try?” He spanks you and the impact elicits a moan from you. “Let's find out.” he says as the brush in his hand, he starts at your neck lightly stroking down and up and down and up on your spine. His brush swirls across your ribs making your body feel electric and goosebumps erupt under your skin. You hear more paint hitting the pallet and feel the warmth of his hand rubbing your shoulder blades. You feel it, he’s drawing stars and hearts on you before moving lower to the globes of your ass. More hearts, a smiley face and four letters that spell out mine.  An experimental handprint on the other cheek is placed and his breath puffs out, willing the paint to dry. The motions are fanning the simmering desire in your pussy 

“Can I take a picture of you baby?”  Your head turns to look back at him and you can see how very pleased he is with his handiwork. “ Yes Marcus, I wanna remember this.” After a few clicks of his phone camera he hovers over you and places an experimental licks and nibbles to his artwork. 

Your clit is throbbing from how good his mouth feels. His gravelly voice full of desire asks. “Can you turnover for me.” You sit up and capture his mouth with need, he slowly pulls away. “ Is my muse getting handsy.” He teases you back. 

“You just make me feel so good Marcus I can’t help it.” He looks at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes “Marcus don’t.” you warn but he’s already squirting paint down your chest, the cold paint causes more goosebumps to break out across his canvas. Your skin starts feeling electrically charged by all his touching and licking.  Before you can playfully doll out a light smack, his mouth attaches to your skin. Licking, sucking and painting you with his tongue. He sucks your nipple into the warmth of his mouth and you're so consumed you think you may come from just his mouth and hands alone as he continues his teasing. Your paint covered hands tint his brown locks with color when you encourage his actions. 

“Marcus baby, That feels so good. ” He lowers himself down your body, wiping the excess paint off on the clean canvas of untouched skin. 

“ Does your pretty pussy need me? Baby your so wet. I’ll make you feel good.” He kisses your clit and you buck your hips. “It’s all for you Marcus.” you gasp the words and the praise spurs him on. He grabs for your hand to lace together with his. Marcus licks wide stripes across your opening to your clit, taking his time to savor you and pull those sounds from you that he loves so much. 

He dips his tongue in you and feasts on your taste. “Marcus, I’m so close!” He attaches his mouth and sucks sweetly on you and you come while shaking and you scream out his name. He stops his actions once you gently push his head away from the overstimulation. He makes his way back up to you to pour every ounce of his love into you in the form of a kiss tasting yourself on his tongue. 

You thank the stars and whatever gods were at work for finding this man.  Once you’ve come back down to earth, Marcus stares adoringly at you, running his fingers through your hair. 

“Marcus, baby, I need you inside me. Please.” He peppers more kisses gently across your nose, eyelids, cheek and neck. 

“Well we just can’t have a needy muse now can we?” He reaches over to the bedside drawer and uses a baby wipe to get the last remnants of paint off his hands before sliding a condom on. He’s big, but he always takes the time to make sure you're ready.  Marcus lifts your legs to his shoulders, littering more kisses across them. 

“Sweetheart, are you ready?” Your chest heaves in anticipation of the glorious stretch you’re about to receive. 

“Yes Marcus, you are the only one who makes me feel this good.” This man is addicted to your praise and he wishes he could bottle up how he feels in this moment with you. 

Inch by inch he sinks into you moaning at the vice your pussy has on him once he is fully seated. 

“Baby I don’t know how long I can last.” This angle hits you deeper and it’s not long before he is rubbing against that spot within you that sends your body trembling in ecstasy. He knows you're close from your breathy moans and how you're soaking his cock.

“Does my masterpiece need me to play with her clit?” He asks in between deep drags of his cock. 

“Please Marcus  I need you, come with me .” His deft fingers provide the extra stimulation to make you come hard. Your pussy locks him in place and your sweet patient man finally lets go, moaning hard into you. The two of you stay connected for a while until the sticky paint threatens to keep you too permanently stuck. 

“Marcus I’m gonna start the shower, you coming?” You turn to ask him.

“ I’ll be there in a second my love.”  He discards the condom and takes the sheet off the bed. 

The different colors mix together in abstract patterns and it mesmerizes him. He waits until it’s dry and then he folds it into a shadow box, highlighting the shape of the both of you. He hangs it in the bedroom and puts a small placard underneath with the title ‘Date Night’. 

A keepsake from the canvas of making love and art together.