#my body is being lifted to the sky holy shit

[ent-is-indecisive]

Second aabria campaign i watch, second time she commands a player (specifically brennan) to kill all their allies

[mimasroom2]

Hot tub time ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و

Ellie x reader modern au/slice of life

I have a hot tub but we need to get it fixed. I’m literally so eager so I wrote this LMAO. I LOVE SLICE OF LIFE ELLIE X READER SM!! Expect a bunch more, I have so many ideas written down😚 Im so sappy grrrr,,, I already wrote kinky ass sex so here’s soft sex for u guys���

C/w: smut lol. Ellie + reader have their own house YAHOO! A bit of fluff in this one >•<. Au but Joel is still dead 😞. He’s mentioned like once. Cunnilingus😝 (r! Receiving) I feel so awkward using y/n like seriously and unironically ahhhh.

W/c: 2.4k

𓆟. ° .• .𓆝 .• ° . 𓆟 . ° .• .𓆞

“I’m actually so fucking bored I’m gonna gouge my eyes out.”

You scoff and roll your eyes. Ellie is always so damn dramatic. You glance over and she’s pretending to pull her hair out, large fistfuls in each hand.

You playfully shove her, “Okay, shut up Ellie.” And you both laugh. It was winter, and she was right… sadly. There was nothing to do during this time of year. Well, besides stay in and cuddle. The only problem was.. you’ve already done that. You two were both off work for the holidays, and you’ve already spent the wholeeeee vacation laying in bed together, so you guessed that Ellie wanted to do something a little more active.

“Wanna play Mario kart? I think the switch is in the bedroom.” You try suggesting, absentmindedly rubbing her leg.

“Nah,” she stretches her arms out on the couch, “Somethin’ more like physical yknow. Gotta keep these pretty muscles toned.” She winks at you, and you roll your eyes.

“You’re actually such a gym rat, you should just live there at this point.” You smirk to yourself, examining your nails.

“Maybe if I did I wouldn’t constantly trip on all the shit you leave around here.” Ellie remarks back, lightly kicking you on the knee.

“Hey, I keep it pretty clean considering we both share a room, thank you very much.” You cross your arms and huff.

Ellie gasps and starts kicking you more, so you yelp and start shoving her away. Suddenly she stops, holding out both her hands. “Holy fuck, babe. Yknow what I forgot about?”

“Huh.”

“Hot tub.”

You sit up at lighting speed, “OH DAMN YOURE RIGHT!” You actually can’t believe you forgot about that thing. You try to remember the last time you even used it.. must have been last summer. The hot tub was one of things that you’re OBSESSED with at first, but then you use it one too many times and you forget about it for a couple months. And then the cycle continues.

Ellie leaps off the couch and bolts down the hall. “GET YOUR SWIMSUIT ON WE ARE GOING IN!!”

~

You come outside and see Ellie lifting up the top of the hot tub. The whole things underneath a roof outside, so there’s not much snow in the porch where you two are standing, but it’s still really cold. You look up at the sky. The sun is starting to set, it’s been a little over an hour since you two had dinner. Delicious deer soup that Ellie made from when she went hunting a couple days ago. You always said that if Ellie was stuck in a post apocalyptic world, she would survive.

You suddenly remember the cold air hitting you, breaking you out of your thoughts of your girlfriend. You shiver, and pull the robe you’re wearing tighter around your body. You glance over at Ellie still messing with the top of the hot tub. All Ellie’s wearing is her classic swimsuit: plain black top and swim shorts. Her tattoo flexes as she finally pops the top off and turns the hot tub on.

You jump up and down in your slippers, trying to move to stay warm. “Ellieeee how much longer?”

She reaches down into the water and starts poking around at the buttons and jets. “Hold your horses, y/n, I gotta check all the filters n shit. Haven’t used this in a hot minute.”

“Mmmm I know but it’s cold.” You groan in protest. You know damn well you’re being a brat, but you swear you’re not built for any weather too hot or too cold.

“Well you wanna shut up and help me? Make it go by faster..” She looks up at you and you shake your head vigorously. “Yeah thas’ what I thought.” She smirks at you.

After what felt like foreverrrrr in the cold, Ellie turns the jets on and says you can hop in. There’s steam coming off the water as it hits the cold air. You can barley wait, you’re hyping the hot tub up in your mind. It’s something that feels like a luxury to you. The only thing that can make you stop thinking about your precious hot tub is your precious Ellie. You look up at her and get butterflies, even though you two have been dating for about 2 years now. She looks soooo beautiful, just standing there, folding up the tarp from the tub. You shake your head, thinking it’s so damn stupid to be drooling over your girlfriend who’s literally just standing there, doing the most mundane possible thing.

Some snow falls on top of your head so you brush it off. It’s getting too cold for you. You lick your lips, turning around to shed your rob, you’re still slightly shy undressing in front of Ellie, even though you’re still in a swimsuit. You hang your cute pink robe up on the hook where the towels you brought out are.

Turning back around to head into the tub, you see Ellie with her back towards you, messing around with the water guns from last summer. You check her out unapologetically, looking at her ass before you snap into reality again and take your slippers off to step into the hot tub. The hot water feels like it burns your skin, compared to the cold winter air. You take a couple minutes slowly sliding more of your body deeper into the water.

Ellie turns around, with one water gun still in her hand. “Feel alright, babe? Not too hot?”

You sink in deeper, up to your neck, “Mm feels good.” And then rise up again slowly, “Come in, Els. I’m gettin’ bored in here.”

“Oh yeah?” She closes one eye and lifts up the gun, suddenly shooting a short stream of cold ass water at you. “Not so bored now, huh?” She laughs and walks closer to you.

Your jaw drops and you scream when the water hits you, “ELLIEEEEE WHAT THE FUCKKKK!”

“What?” She fakes a pout, lowering the water gun. “I told you I gotta keep these muscles in good shape, right?”

Before you can retort, she’s already getting in the hot tub. “God, shove over. I’m freezing.” She accidentally splashes you as she’s hastily getting in.

“Ellieeeee! Don’t splash me! >~<“ you whine, but she just laughs, and this time splashes you on purpose. You sigh dramatically at all her antics.

She doesn’t reply, and just sinks in deeper, and you take no shame in watching her stretch her body out. Ellie groans slightly at the hot water enveloping her body. You sigh and blink at her, watching her eyebrows furrow. She slowly leans her head back against the headrest of the hot tub. You swear she’s egging you on, because she moans softly, giving you the perfect view of her neck, which she knows is your favorite place to kiss her. Suddenly, Ellie opens her eyes and says something that breaks you out of the trance you’ve had all day, “You keep lookin’ at me. What’s goin’ on?”

You let yourself float away from her in the water ever so slightly, “Nothing. I’m not looking at you.”

“Yknow I can like,,, feel your eyes burning into my back whenever you stare at me.”

You cover your face with your hands and

face away from her. She laughs to herself. She finds it so cute you still get flustered around her even after all this time you’ve been together.

“That’s too bad because I’m reallyyyy not looking at you.”

Instead of a snarky remark back, Ellie’s abnormally silent. You slowly bring your hands down to face her again, and she’s just looking at you with this look in her eyes. You think it’s somewhere in between concern and contemplation. “You trust me, right?” She says softly, after a few moments. You’re surprised, this is probably the quietest Ellie’s ever been with you.

“Of course I do. What’s wrong, Ellie?” Her tone is completely different than what you’re used to. This only happens on the rare occasion you guys have a disagreement. Or when you talk about something serious.

“Jus’ don’t want you thinking I’m gonna leave you.” She says, almost ashamed. She’s fidgeting with her fingers like how she always does, and avoiding your gaze.

You laugh softly. “Were you….. going to?” You can feel your heart rate speeding up.

Ellie’s eyes widen, “No. no no no.” She sighs, slowly, taking a few moments to collect her thoughts. “I get scared thinking about the future.” She mutters.

You look up at her. You knew Ellie gets scared. Of course she does. When she told you about Joel dying on what, your second date, you knew she’s not as… sturdy.. as she pretends to be sometimes. But that was in the past, and to hear Ellie admit she is worried about her own life ahead of her.. honestly made you surprised.

“Like.. I just want you to know that I’m always gonna be here for you.” She looks so concerned, like she might cry if you guys talk about this for any longer. She’s still looking down, trying to make herself smaller.

“Oh, Ellie.” You raise your hand up and softly tilt her chin to look at you. “I know. Okay? And nothing bad is gonna happen to you. Or me. Or us.”

She looks into your eyes for a second, before she gently tucks your hair behind your ear, leans in, and kisses you.

The kiss is as soft as she’s been talking - all emotion and thought as her lips move slowly against yours. She puts her hand on the back of your neck, pulling you in closer. You sigh into the kiss. She was so tender with you right now. You were so used to fervent and desperate make out sessions with her. Not that that was bad, at all, but you didn’t realize how nice of a change this was until it was happening. You grab her waist, pulling her in closer to you. All of her is so soft and warm against you: her lips, tattooed arm, thighs.. and not just because you two were in the hot tub.

She pulls away to look at you, and you want to melt from the look on her face. She looks like she’s actually in heaven.

“I really love you.”

You smile softly at her, tracing over her tattoo lightly with your finger. “I love you too.” You pull her back into a kiss. After a couple more minutes, she’s more intent with her movements, like how she usually is. She’s not afraid to run her hands over your thighs and squeeze you nipple under your swimsuit.

You gasp at the sudden contact, and moan a little into her mouth.

She pulls away, “Cmon, baby. Need more of that.” and kisses you again, almost immediately licking your bottom lip, asking for entrance. She’s not as soft anymore, back to her usual self wanting to make you moan in pleasure as she works your body. You don’t even try fighting for dominance, just letting her tongue dance around yours as she pleases.

“Ellie…” is all you have to say, and she understands, shifting her position to let you have more of her. You want to press yourself down onto her, and please you both at the same time. You lift your legs up, trying to hook them around her, but you start floating away in the water. You’re not even going fast, it’s so comical how slow the jets are pushing you. You snort and reach out to grab Ellie’s hand.

“Ohmygod!” Ellie starts laughing and she grabs your hand, “Can’t exactly scissor in the water, I guess.” You blush and scoff at how forward she can be.

“Cmere. Let’s get ya propped up.”

You untie the knots on you bikini bottoms to take them off, tossing them somewhere you’ll pick up later. She grabs your hand and gently guides you to sit on the edge of the hot tub, on one of the corners so you don’t lean back and fall off. She brings your arm down to her face, and kisses you on the back of the hand. You smile and giggle. You swear you feel like a little girl again. You’re a princess and Ellie is your prince. You glance up at the sky - the sun is setting. An array of orange and pinks.

Ellie’s below you, turning down the jets of the tub a little, and getting into her favorite position: right between your thighs. You really couldn’t ask for a more perfect fantasy if you tried.

“This okay?” She asks, lightly rubbing your thigh with her thumb.

“Yes,” you breathe out, “please, Ellie.”

From where she is, you’re practically a goddess towering above her. You feel powerful and confident, and fucking desperate, wanting Ellie to just devour you already.

Ellie only hums in response before kissing your clit. You gasp sharply, you swear no matter how many times she eats you out you could never get used to the heavenly feeling. Her tongue starts lapping you up, and you moan loudly. You silently thank the neighbors for never being outside late during the winter, and that the hot tub is reasonably private, so no one can see you.

Maybe it’s just the cold frigid night air in comparison to Ellie’s warm, wet mouth, but you swear this is some of the best head she’s ever given you. Ellie never stopped licking and kissing at your clit - eventually she didn’t know if you were shaking from the sex or shivering because of the cold, but either way, she could tell from the volume of your moans that you weren’t going to last much longer.

“Mmmmmm- gonna cum soon..”

Ellie just nods, her face still buried into you. You can feel her cute little nose bumping up against you, and both her hands are up on your knees, spreading your thighs open for her.

She knows you’re close when you start whimpering and gasping for air.

“Ohmygod ohmygod Ellie,, fuck- you’re gonna make me cum..”

As soon as you warn her you’re throwing your head back, and your hips snap up as your orgasm takes over you. She keeps licking you clean until your breathing slows and you let yourself sink back down into the hot water.

You can’t even think of anything to say, so you grab Ellie’s arm and wrap it around you, as a way to ask her to cuddle you.

“Always such a cuddle bug after you cum..” Ellie mutters, mostly to herself, as she rests her head on yours.

You just chuckle and look up into the sky as the sun finally sets. You sigh in and out the cold winter air. Ellie kisses the top of your head, whispering one more ‘I love you’ as she pulls you closer into her arms.

𓆟. ° .• .𓆝 .• ° . 𓆟 . ° .• .𓆞

[ohimsummer]

poly stsg doting on us bc we're pregnant and full with child 🫠🫠🫠 oh they'd be such good daddies to be wouldn't they?

satoru goin ham on setting up the nursery.

taking turns on who goes the maternity appointments. satoru making the ultrasound his lockscreen until the baby's born.

setting up a surprise maternity photoshoot for you.

sugu reading pregnancy books to udnerstand what you'rw going through as much as he can

satoru's hands constantly on your belly to feel the little one kick

taking the time to hold the heavy baby bump to give your body a bit of a break whenever they could

they love to tease you but even they tone it down bc you're carrying their baby, you should be treated with the utmost respect.

them stocking the fuck out of your hospital bag. satoru waking suguru up when you enter active labor because its fucking happening holy shit its happening

i may be a bit of a mess.

UR RIGHT UR SO RIGHT!!

satoru setting his lockscreen as the ultrasound is so cute I’m eating my fist rn….suguru reading pregnancy books because he likes being informed on things…..yes yes I hear u

i imagine it’s like a switch flips. They’re teasing you and you say stop and they stop. Instantly. That lasts throughout the entire pregnancy and with other things not even just the teasing. You ask (demand) Satoru for his favorite dessert and normally he’d give you a little shit for it but now he just hands it over. Might be one of your cravings!! He won’t question it, he can always buy another some other time. They’re at your beck and call no questions asked, anything to keep you happy :3

It’s 50/50 whether they fight over what goes in the nursery. Gojo wants a pretty blue sky painted on the walls, Geto wants a calming night sky. You’re supposed to be the dealbreaker but both ideas sound good in your eyes so they play rock, paper, scissors to decide.

Satoru stocks it with so many cute toys and decorations and you and Suguru are staring at this giant Blank Spot where the crib should be….it’s okay he simply got a little too excited!!

You don’t have to lift a finger if they can help it. Cooking, cleaning, random chores, they got it! Giving you massages on whatever sore spot of your body, brushing your hair, applying your lipgloss. They’ll dress and feed you if you’re tired and so desire them to.

On outings if they even catch whiff of a threat, they’re in Protective Dad mode. one of them hugging you to his chest with hands on your belly, the other between you and the threat/“threat”.

They both like talking to the life growing in your belly! During a soothing walk through the park, Suguru gives your stomach a gentle tap, murmurs softly about the loud whistles of birds in the trees. Satoru comes home from work and tells them fantastical, embellished stories about his day (he turned a meeting with the higher-ups into a tale of him trapped in a prison by evil monsters and how he made such a daring escape).

the insanity rlly jumped out rq…ooh wee

[roseyreveries]

Hunted

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Part Two <- click!

Summary: Hydra infiltrates SHIELD and takes control of Bucky again, setting the Winter Soldier on course to take out his target: you.

CW: Guns, Violence, Blood, Angst, not very movie accurate, the Avengers being weaker than usual for plot

Directory

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ .

The bass from the radio thrummed in time with my heartbeat as I belted out the lyrics to the song blaring from the speakers. My sister, Maggie, laughed beside me, swaying in her seat, her off-key voice matching mine perfectly. We’d done this a hundred times before—road trips, late-night drives, blasting karaoke-worthy tunes that never failed to lift our spirits. Today was no different; it was just us, the open road, and the kind of freedom that only a highway can bring.

I glanced over at Maggie, her face scrunched up in exaggerated concentration as she hit the high note, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re killing it!” I shouted over the music.

“Please, you’re the one auditioning for a Grammy!” she shot back, winking at me.

The world outside was a blur of cars, the sun dipping low in the sky, painting the horizon in streaks of orange and pink. I felt alive, invincible. But then, out of nowhere, everything changed.

It happened so fast. One moment we were carefree, and the next, I was slamming on the brakes. A figure stepped onto the road, right in front of our car—a man with long dark hair, clad in black, his presence commanding the space like he owned it. But it wasn’t just anyone. It was Bucky Barnes.

My heart seized in my chest. His eyes locked onto mine through the windshield, cold and unyielding. I barely had time to register the large gun in his hands before he aimed it directly at us. My breath caught in my throat, the world around me slowing to a terrifying crawl.

“Holy shit!” Maggie screamed, her hands flying to the dashboard as if she could somehow shield herself from what was about to happen.

The next second, a loud bang echoed, piercing through the chaos of the traffic. I watched, helpless, as a disk shot from the barrel of Bucky’s gun, hurtling straight at us. It slammed into the underside of the car with a deafening thud, and before I could even process what was happening, the world exploded.

The blast sent a shockwave through the car, and we were airborne. The car flipped violently, the screech of metal against asphalt and the shattering of glass filling my ears. My body lurched against the seatbelt, the force knocking the wind out of me as the car tumbled. Up became down, and down became up—everything spinning in a disorienting blur of sound and pain.

My vision flickered, the interior of the car now a shattered mess of broken glass, smoke, and twisted metal. I tried to scream, to reach for Maggie, but my voice was lost in the cacophony. The car finally came to a bone-jarring stop, landing upside down on the road.

For a moment, all I could hear was the ringing in my ears. I blinked, the sharp taste of blood in my mouth, my mind struggling to catch up. Everything hurt—my head, my arms, my chest. My vision was blurred, but I turned to my right, my heart hammering wildly.

“Maggie!” I croaked, the word barely a whisper. She was hanging upside down in her seat, her eyes closed, a small trickle of blood running down her forehead. I reached out, my fingers brushing against her arm, desperately trying to shake her awake.

My hands trembled as I reached out to check Maggie for injuries. I forced myself to focus, pushing through the blinding panic. I ran my hands along her arms, her legs, feeling for breaks or dislocations. Her pulse was strong, steady under my fingertips— a small comfort in the midst of the wreckage. I checked her pupils, watched her chest rise and fall with each shallow breath, all the while praying she would open her eyes and tell me this was all a bad dream.

I knew what to look for— what signs meant danger and what was just superficial. Years of training kicked in, the muscle memory of countless missions and drills guiding me through every step. I wasn’t just a regular sister panicking in the aftermath of a crash. I was more than that, had been for a long time now.

Maggie didn’t know the truth. No one did. To everyone else, I was just me— the sister who sang too loudly, who drove too fast, who lived a life that was seemingly normal. But behind closed doors, under the cover of night and secrecy, I was something else entirely.

I was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Not just any agent, either. I’d climbed the ranks quicker than anyone expected, my skills and determination earning me a seat at the table alongside the Avengers themselves. I’d worked operations so classified, most people wouldn’t even believe they existed. I’d been trained by the best, learned to fight, to strategize, to survive. And now, all of that training, all of those missions, came flooding back in a rush.

Maggie’s injuries were minor—cuts, bruises, a gash on her forehead that looked worse than it was. She’d be okay, at least physically. The relief was so overwhelming, I almost cried. But there was no time for that. I needed to get us out of here before Bucky— or whoever the hell he was working for— made another move.

I glanced outside, taking in the chaos around us. Bucky was still there, his expression as unreadable as ever, but he wasn’t alone anymore. Other figures moved in the shadows, closing in on the wreckage. I cursed under my breath. This wasn’t just a rogue attack; it was a full-blown ambush. And we were smack in the middle of it.

I reached for the hidden compartment in the console, the one Maggie didn’t know about. My fingers brushed the cold metal of my concealed weapon— a sleek, high-tech piece courtesy of Tony Stark himself. I’d been armed and ready, as always, just in case. I hadn’t expected to need it on a karaoke drive with my sister, but that was the life I led— the life no one knew about.

I checked the safety, my eyes flicking to Maggie once more. She was still unconscious, but she’d be okay. I had to believe that. I had to keep her safe, no matter what.

I eased myself out of the wreckage, gun in hand, and moved with purpose. The agents in the shadows were getting closer, and I recognized the insignia on their uniforms. Hydra. Of course. Bucky was working with Hydra— or maybe he was brainwashed again. I didn’t have time to figure it out; all I knew was that we were in serious danger.

Bucky’s eyes met mine, and for a split second, something flickered there. Recognition? Regret? I couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter. Right now, he was my enemy, and I had a job to do.

“Stay back!” I shouted, aiming my gun at the nearest Hydra agent. They hesitated, their eyes flicking to Bucky for guidance. My heart pounded, adrenaline surging through my veins. I was outnumbered, outgunned, but I’d been in worse situations. I knew how to handle myself. I knew how to fight.

And I was going to fight like hell to get Maggie out of this alive.

“Bucky,” I called out, my voice steady despite the chaos around me. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but they’re not in charge of you anymore. You’re safe, Buck.”

He hesitated, his grip tightening on his gun. The seconds stretched on, an unbearable tension hanging in the air. I didn’t know if he’d listen, if he even could. But I had to try. For Maggie. For all the people who’d counted on me to keep them safe.

For the person I used to believe Bucky was.

His gaze shifted, something softening in his expression. I held my breath, praying for a miracle. But just as quickly as it came, it vanished, replaced by the cold, unfeeling mask he wore so well.

“Move,” he ordered the Hydra agents, his voice flat, emotionless. The moment was gone. He wasn’t Bucky Barnes, the hero. He was the Winter Soldier. And there was no reasoning with him.

I steeled myself, my grip on the gun firm. If Bucky was going to make me fight, then I would. There was no turning back now.

I stepped forward, adrenaline surging through my veins, and fired the first shot. The Hydra agents scattered, their movements synchronized like a well-oiled machine. They fanned out, ducking behind cars and debris, their weapons raised. I squeezed the trigger again, aiming for the nearest target. The bullet hit its mark, sending the agent sprawling to the ground. But there were too many of them, and I was just one person.

The highway erupted into chaos— bullets whizzed past, shattering the remnants of glass around me. I ducked low, using the twisted metal of our car as cover, my mind racing to formulate a plan. There was no backup coming; it was just me against a small army. But I’d faced worse odds, and I wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

I darted out from behind the car, my movements fluid and precise. I fired off two more shots, dropping another agent before spinning to take cover behind a cement barrier. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat a reminder that I was still alive, still fighting.

They kept coming, relentless and determined. I counted at least six, maybe more, their dark uniforms blending into the shadows of the wreckage. I fired again, hitting another in the shoulder, but the rest were closing in, tightening the circle around me. I moved quickly, pivoting and shooting, each motion a calculated effort to keep them at bay.

A bullet grazed my arm, the sharp sting slicing through the adrenaline. I hissed through clenched teeth, ignoring the pain. I had no time to bleed, no time to think. I fired again, but my gun clicked— empty. I ducked behind a nearby car door, my fingers fumbling for another clip, but I came up empty. I was out of ammo.

Shit.

I crouched behind the door, my breath coming in short, ragged bursts. My mind raced, calculating my next move. I could hear the Hydra agents regrouping, their footsteps growing louder, the sound of their weapons being loaded. I glanced down at my gun, flipping it open to confirm what I already knew— no bullets, no way out. My eyes darted around, searching for anything I could use, but the highway was a wasteland of broken cars and debris.

I was trapped.

Then, with a deafening crack, the door was ripped away, torn from its hinges like it was made of paper. I stumbled back, my eyes widening as Bucky stepped forward, his silhouette framed by the chaos beyond. He moved with a lethal grace, his metal arm still raised, the door now discarded at his feet.

I scrambled backward, my hands searching for anything to defend myself, but all I found were shards of glass and twisted metal. Bucky’s gaze was locked onto me, his expression unreadable, his footsteps deliberate and unhurried. He advanced, and I kept retreating, my back hitting the wreckage of another car.

Just as he reached for me, something red streaked through the air, smashing into Bucky with the force of a freight train. The impact sent him flying, his body hurtling across the highway before crashing into the side barrier with a bone-rattling thud. I blinked, stunned, my brain struggling to process what just happened.

I turned my head, and there he was— Iron Man, standing with his fist raised, his helmet gleaming under the dying light of the sun. The red metal glove that had just knocked Bucky out of the way hovered mid-air for a split second before it shot back to his arm, snapping into place with a hiss.

“Thought you only worked at night,” Tony quipped, his voice crackling through the suit’s speakers, though the concern was evident beneath the sarcasm. He didn’t waste a second, his repulsors flaring as he took off to engage the Hydra agents swarming the scene.

I barely had time to register Tony’s arrival before two more figures emerged from the chaos. Black Widow and Hawkeye moved like shadows, their motions fluid and deadly. Natasha’s guns blazed as she took down the agents closest to me, each shot precise and unerring. Clint loosed arrows at an impossible speed, his sharp eyes targeting every Hydra soldier who dared to step forward.

“Go!” Natasha shouted, nodding her head towards the car where Maggie still lay, her voice sharp and commanding. “We’ve got this!”

I snapped back into action, scrambling to my feet and sprinting towards Maggie. She was still unconscious, the faint rise and fall of her chest the only reassurance I needed to know she was still hanging on. I fumbled with her seatbelt, my hands slick with sweat, and pulled her free, cradling her limp form as gently as I could.

I scanned the road, spotting a bystander— a man in his thirties who looked more terrified than I felt. “Help her!” I yelled, thrusting Maggie into his arms. “Take her to the nearest hospital!” He nodded, wide-eyed but willing, and hurried away, cradling my sister as he dashed toward the edge of the highway where it was safer.

With Maggie safely out of immediate harm, I turned back, just in time to see Natasha sprinting towards me. She tossed something in my direction, and I caught it instinctively— two matte black handheld firearms, their sleek, familiar weight grounding me instantly. My usual weapons. The ones that had seen me through countless missions, each nick and scratch a testament to the fights I’d survived.

“Thanks, Nat,” I breathed, loading the guns with a practiced ease. “I owe you one.”

“Just another Tuesday,” she quipped, her eyes scanning the area for threats as we ducked behind a nearby car, taking cover from the barrage of bullets raining down from the Hydra agents still standing. Tony and Clint were keeping most of them busy, but there were still plenty to go around.

I fired off a few rounds, picking off agents as they attempted to advance. The familiar rhythm of combat settled over me, a strange comfort in the midst of the chaos. I turned to Natasha, my voice low but urgent. “What the hell happened? Why is Bucky like this again?”

Natasha grimaced, reloading her guns. “There was a breach at the tower. Hydra got in, and they took Bucky. Managed to wipe everything— reset him completely. He’s back to being the Winter Soldier.”

My stomach dropped, a cold pit forming as her words sank in. “And now he’s trying to kill me?”

“That’s the part we don’t get,” Natasha said, her tone edged with frustration. “The intel we managed to pull says you’re his primary target, but we don’t know why. Whatever programming they shoved into him, it’s all centered on you.”

My mind raced, trying to piece together a motive, a reason— anything that would explain why Hydra would send the Winter Soldier after me, of all people. I thought of every mission, every time I’d crossed paths with them, but nothing added up. I was high up in S.H.I.E.L.D., sure, but I was far from their most dangerous enemy. At least, I thought so.

“We’ll figure it out,” Natasha promised, her eyes meeting mine, fierce and determined. “But first, we get through this. And we stop Bucky before he does something we can’t undo.”

I nodded, steeling myself. I couldn’t afford to think about what might happen if we failed. I had to focus, had to keep fighting, because there was no other option. Not when Bucky was still out there, lost and controlled, a weapon aimed directly at me.

Natasha and I exchanged a glance, and then we moved as one—emerging from cover, weapons blazing. The air was thick with smoke and gunfire, the acrid smell of burning rubber stinging my nose. But I pushed forward, each step driven by the need to protect the people I cared about, to find a way to bring Bucky back from whatever hell he was trapped in.

The battle raged on around us, a whirlwind of gunfire, explosions, and shouting. Tony blasted through Hydra agents, his repulsors sending shockwaves that tore through their ranks. Clint’s arrows flew with pinpoint accuracy, each one taking down an enemy as he moved with effortless grace. Natasha was relentless, her strikes precise and lethal as she fought her way through the chaos.

But Bucky was the eye of the storm, moving with deadly efficiency. He tore through Hydra and Avengers alike, his metal arm swinging with brutal force. Every hit landed with bone-shattering precision, every movement calculated to maim or kill. The Winter Soldier wasn’t just in the fight—he was dominating it.

Tony launched a barrage of energy blasts at Bucky, but Bucky dodged with inhuman reflexes, closing the distance in a matter of seconds. He tackled Tony mid-air, dragging him down to the pavement with a force that cracked the asphalt. Tony hit the ground hard, the impact jarring, but he was up in an instant, firing another repulsor blast that sent Bucky stumbling back.

“Stay down, Tin Man!” Tony growled, taking to the air again, trying to put some distance between them. But Bucky was relentless. He lunged, his metal fist smashing into Tony’s side with a clang that echoed through the highway. Tony’s suit sparked, systems flickering, but he kept fighting, blasting at Bucky with everything he had.

Bucky ducked under Tony’s next attack, moving in close. His metal arm swung up, catching Tony square in the chest. Fingers of steel closed around the arc reactor, the very heart of Tony’s suit. With a vicious twist, Bucky ripped it out, crushing it in his grip. Sparks flew as Tony’s suit shut down, his systems failing with a flicker of dying lights. Tony fell, gasping as the suit collapsed around him, powerless and struggling to breathe.

Natasha rushed in, her movements a blur as she aimed for Bucky’s legs, trying to trip him up. She landed a hit, her boot connecting with the side of his knee, but Bucky barely staggered. He swung his arm, catching her mid-strike, and sent her flying into the wreckage of a nearby car. She hit hard, the impact knocking the wind out of her. Natasha tried to rise, her expression set in determination, but Bucky was already on her. He grabbed her by the throat, lifting her effortlessly before slamming her back down. Natasha gasped, struggling, her hands clawing at his arm, but she couldn’t break free.

Clint loosed an arrow, the projectile striking Bucky’s shoulder with a solid thud. Bucky snarled, releasing Natasha, who crumpled to the ground, clutching her side. Clint fired again, but Bucky deflected it with his metal arm, the arrow splintering against the steel. Bucky moved in, his fist a blur as he knocked Clint’s bow from his hands. Clint ducked under a punch, rolling to the side and grabbing another arrow, but Bucky was faster. His metal arm swung like a sledgehammer, catching Clint across the ribs and sending him crashing into the guardrail. Clint grunted in pain, struggling to get back up, but Bucky was already turning away, his focus shifting.

And then his eyes locked onto me.

A chill ran through me as Bucky turned, his gaze zeroing in like a predator who’d just spotted its prey. I was out of ammo, my guns discarded on the ground, my body aching from the earlier hits. My heart pounded in my chest, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I scrambled backward, my hands searching for anything I could use as a weapon. But all I found were shards of glass and twisted metal, nothing that could stop him.

Bucky advanced, his footsteps slow and deliberate, each one echoing like a drumbeat in my ears. I swung a metal pipe, but he caught it effortlessly, wrenching it from my hands and tossing it aside as if it weighed nothing. I stumbled back, my back hitting the wreckage of a car, nowhere left to run.

“Bucky, please,” I tried, my voice cracking.

He didn’t respond. He was right in front of me now, his expression blank, his eyes cold and empty. There was no sign of the man I knew— only the Winter Soldier, a weapon with one purpose: to eliminate his target.

I swung again, this time with a jagged piece of glass, but he deflected it easily, sending the shards clattering to the ground. His fist slammed into my side, pain exploding in my ribs. I gasped, falling to my knees as the world spun around me. I was exhausted, every part of me screaming to give up, to lie down and let it end.

But I couldn’t. Not with Tony down, Clint barely standing, and Natasha struggling to breathe. I couldn’t let this be the end. Not like this.

I pushed myself up, using the car behind me for support, and faced him. “I know damn well you’re in there somewhere. This is not you, Buck. You need to wake up. Please.”

For a second, Bucky’s arm hesitated, his gaze flickering. But it was gone as quickly as it came, replaced by the cold, unyielding stare of the Winter Soldier. He raised his metal arm, poised to strike, ready to finish what he started.

In that moment, everything seemed to slow. I could hear the faint sound of Tony struggling to get his suit back online, Clint’s pained breathing, Natasha’s quiet groan as she tried to push herself up. And Bucky, standing over me, ready to deliver the final blow.

Bucky’s metal arm was raised, ready to deliver the final blow. My heart pounded so violently I thought it might burst from my chest, every instinct screaming at me to survive, but I was cornered, and there was nowhere left to run. I stared up at him, my breath hitching in terror as I crumbled against the wreckage, tears streaming down my face. The Bucky I knew isn’t there anymore. This is it.

“Please, Bucky,” I sobbed, my voice breaking under the weight of my fear. “Please don’t do this. Please! I don’t want to die.”

My words were a desperate, frantic plea, spilling out in a torrent of terror as I shook uncontrollably. His expression was blank, his eyes cold and unfeeling as he loomed over me. I pressed myself further back against the twisted metal, trying to make myself as small as possible, but there was no escaping him. I could barely breathe through the sobs racking my chest, each breath coming in panicked gasps.

“Bucky, I’m begging you!” I cried, my voice cracking. “You don’t have to do this. Please… please, let me live!” The words were tumbling out of me, broken and raw, and I was shaking so hard I could barely get them out. “I’m not your enemy! Bucky, please!”

His arm didn’t falter, his face a mask of cold determination. I squeezed my eyes shut, my entire body wracked with sobs as I screamed, “Please, Bucky!” The second I saw his arm swing down, I looked the other way and screamed, “I love you! I love you!”

The words ripped out of me, raw and desperate, cutting through the chaos. I opened my eyes to see what had happened. Why wasn’t I hit? His arm was stopped, freezing mid-swing. His eyes widened, confusion flickering across his features as if he were suddenly woken from a trance. The soldier’s unyielding stare gave way to something else—something conflicted, like he was struggling to understand.

Bucky stumbled back, his hand flying to his head as if he were trying to claw the commands out of his mind. He groaned, a guttural sound of pain that echoed in my ears. I watched, tears still streaming down my face, as he fought with himself, his body convulsing with the effort to regain control. His breaths were ragged, each one a struggle against the chains of Hydra’s programming.

He let out a tortured scream, the sound filled with agony as he staggered back, his fingers digging into his scalp. His metal arm jerked erratically, twitching as if caught between following orders and breaking free. It was like watching someone try to tear themselves apart from the inside out. My heart ached at the sight, every second a painful reminder of how deeply he was trapped.

“Bucky…” I whispered, my voice trembling as I reached out a hand, but he didn’t hear me. He was lost in the battle within his mind, his body shaking violently as he continued to scream, his face contorted in a mask of pain and fury.

His feet shuffled back further, his back hitting a crumpled car as he slumped down, his hands clutching his head. He pounded his fist against the ground, each hit sending cracks through the pavement, each hit an attempt to silence the war inside his own head. I wanted to reach out, to help him, but I couldn’t move, my own body weakened from the fight and the fear.

As Bucky struggled, I heard the distant sound of heavy footsteps— the unmistakable thud of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents rushing in. My vision blurred, the adrenaline finally wearing off and leaving a dull, throbbing pain in its place. The world around me began to fade, the sounds of Bucky’s anguished cries and the agents shouting orders blending into a muffled haze.

I tried to keep my eyes open, to hold on just a little longer, but my strength was gone. My body slumped, the last of my energy spent as darkness crept in at the edges of my vision. The last thing I saw was Bucky, still fighting against the storm in his mind, and then everything went black.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ .

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[whispereons]

Oracle!Reader Part 8

Masterlist - Part 1, Part 7, Part 9

Gonna be honest, Y/N is not nice in this chapter. Not like abusive but just wanted to warn ya'll. My au is supposed to be dark and cruel in a way. This is yandere imposter sagau after all.

A storm brewed above the ship as the two hydra heads roared toward the sky. Shielding your face with your arms you tried to gaze up at the towering dark blue bodies. The teal markings on its armor-like heads let you know who exactly was attacking you.

Beisht, Avenger of the Vortex. AKA Osial's wife who not only has a grudge against Liyue but Beidou specifically due to her warning Ningguang about Beisht's attack.

The Crux has probably gone hundreds of times to Inazuma peacefully but the one time you go is when they get attacked by a sea monster.

Just

Your

Fucking

Luck

Beidou's laugh rings out as the ship sways from the currents and the crewmembers start running to their weapons and positions. Not missing a beat Xinyan ends her song as she uses her vision to blast fire at Beisht.

Holy fuck, this wasn't an accident. This was planned. Beidou planned this shit and went through with it even though you, a guest, are on this crazy ship.

Anger swells up in you like a tornado and you ignore the blasts of water that try to hit the jumping form of Beidou. You look around in blind anger for one of the ballistae on the ship.

The thought of shooting either Beidou or Beisht with it was making your blood pump faster. And even if you did hit Beidou, you could always lie that you were aiming at Beisht.

You spot the closest one and start running towards it. Firm hands wrap around your waist and lift you off the ground.

"I apologize for the urgency, but this isn't a safe spot for you."

Kazuha's calm voice in your ear has a soothing effect on your temperament. Forcibly relaxing your body, you let Kazuha carry you down the stairs and he sets you down quickly in a room.

"Stay here while we take care of the sea monster. I don't want you getting hurt, it will not have mercy on you."

You clench your hands as your body trembles in anger. It's Kazuha's worried and sad eyes that make you unclench your fists.

"I know it's scary so please heed my words."

Burying your head into your knees a muffled sound of confirmation slips out. If he wants to think you're scared, let him. Some time alone might even be good for you.

Kazuha leaves and it's then that you can hear the sound of the fighting as the boat rocks. Xiangling and Xinyan's pyro make the air sticky as Kazuha swirling the water makes it humid too.

The crackling of thunder no doubt from Beidou makes you grind your teeth. You were right to be afraid of going with the Crux, she may be popular but she's far too dangerous.

That was definitely Beisht, you think back to her boss fight and remember her attacks. Shooting water, slamming her head and neck, water missiles, and wait wasn't there a third head?-

A loud bang echoes as the ship starts tilting dangerously. Yelping you shield your head from the items that start falling onto you. Another deafening thud and you're being thrown onto the opposite wall.

As more heavier items crash onto you, the wall makes a cracking sound. You couldn't be sure that it was the boat breaking but you couldn't risk it.

If you stayed here, you'll either be crushed to death or drown if that wall breaks. The Alcor keeps rocking left to right as you struggle to stand and leave the room. Closing the door shut, you know you have a few more bruises than you came in with.

The hallway is even worse than the room. Harpoons and other weapons are dangerously close to falling and you rush up the stairs to avoid that disaster.

The main deck is a chaotic mess of crewmembers running back and forth. Xiangling is continually setting wooden spears and stakes aflame before different crewmembers shoot it.

Xinyan, Kazuha, and Beidou all work together to attack Beisht's heads whenever she gets close to attack. Keeping a death grip on the railing you watch the incredible yet infuriating display of power.

Finally remembering that you'll need to defend yourself too, you go back down the stairs. Swiftly you dodge the dropping objects and get to your room. Shoving your hand into your bag and selecting the sickle, you pull it out.

The fear of dying is remedied by the weight of the weapon. Sprinting with more confidence you get back to the main deck. Both sides of the deck have one of her heads low and close ready to shoot the powerful jet of water.

Something about the way she looks is... off. Your mind wanders back to the game cutscenes and automatically compares it to what you see now.

What were once toothless jaws were now filled with layers of sharp teeth. The underbelly of her bodies looked less watery and sleeker. The fins on her back looked firmer and seemed to be in a more organized row.

Beisht shoots the water from her mouths, and you can feel how hot the water is. Xinyan is quick to dodge by climbing the stairs while Kazuha leaps using the wind. Beidou uses her skill to defend herself and rack up energy.

As the scalding water gets closer you hold the sickle to your chest and try to back away. You may be crazy but not stupid enough to try what Beidou is doing.

Surprisingly she stops only inches away from you, lifting her heads she shoots the brunt of the attack toward the sky. Hot droplets rain down on the ship as the attack dies down.

Her heads regroup and her third one appears behind the first two. All her heads roar and they slam onto the deck. Instead of slamming onto you as you expected, she boxes you in the middle of the deck instead.

As two heads serve as the walls, her third head opens its mouth. The sight of the teal muscles with holes in them makes you shudder. Would dying to a sea monster be better or worse than dying accused as an imposter?

Probably better, at least this way you would be remembered fondly and missed. Even if it's only for a short while.

"Glorious creator, it is my greatest honor to have lived long enough to meet you."

What the fuck.

The sounds of everyone else attacking Beisht's other heads are drowned out as you look up at her in shock.

"Although my husband could not meet you, he was a devoted believer. These puny mortals are having you travel in such conditions with such little glory. Do these pirates not know your greatness?!"

Her tone gets louder as she speaks about the Crux. How could she recognize you as the creator? Were you right in guessing that the creatures of Teyvat could recognize you? But she's more on the god side so how could she realize but not Ei?

"Beisht, how have you heard of me?" If sea monsters gods could smile then that's exactly what Beisht was doing.

"Your blood, your grace. They bleached your gold blood. They hurt you with violent intentions. Just as the scriptures said, the offenders will pay for hurting you. Teyvat is calling upon your true worshippers to deliver justice."

This doesn't make complete sense. Beishts own arrogance and hatred for Liyue is having an impact on her words. What does seem to be true is that Teyvat was alerted when you got hurt and is drawing strong creatures that it can connect with to you.

"Then this is something we should be talking with less distractions." Choosing your words carefully, you note how everyone has been listening to your conversation with Beisht.

It's a good thing they can't understand her. Whether she's intentionally not letting them understand her or not isn't important.

You motion Beisht to back away with a flick of your wrist. Beisht is expecting you to act like the creator, you need to play your part. This whole situation is a golden opportunity.

Beisht obeys your silent command and moves her heads off the boat. Beidou is the first to run up to you with how close she is. The battle comes to a silent pause as everyone watches your seemingly unharmed form with relief.

"Are you okay?!" The urge to scoff and give a snarky response is strong but you push it down. With a solemn expression, you speak clearly.

"I've been granted a rare opportunity to talk with Beisht according to the creator's will. I have messages to relay to her but I cannot do so with everyone here."

A rare confused expression crosses Beidou's face at your words as you step away from her and move closer to Beisht. With a tight grip on your sickle, you speak calmly to Beisht.

"Come closer so we can speak somewhere with more privacy. The matter of the divine isn't one to always be so open about."

Beisht seems to pick up on the identity you have in the eyes of the Crux and lowers her main head onto the boat. With confident strides, you walk to her head and climb on.

Fear and worry rise within you as you grip the middle feeler on her head and look at the Crux with a smile.

"I'll be back soon, so don't stop sailing. I'll catch up before you know it."

Your grip on the feeler becomes tight as Beisht's head suddenly drops into the water. A scream instinctively leaves your throat from the sudden gesture.

The last thing you saw before the ocean engulfed you was the various expressions of horror and fear on everyones faces. A small part of you smirks at the guilt that paints Beidou's face.

You shut your mouth and eyes expecting the salty water to drown you. Yet not even a drop of water touches you and the sight of the vast ocean surrounds you.

In awe you watch the air bubble around you supplying you with oxygen and shielding you from the water. Fish swim past as Beisht continues to descend into the depths.

Soon enough the only light around is the teal markings on her body. It reminds you of just how frightening the ocean can be. That at any moment Beisht could think that you're an imposter too and let you drown here...

Tightening your grip on her, you push those thoughts away. They will only hinder you, being nervous will make everything worse. You've made it this far, haven't you?

As a distraction, you think about how exactly this air bubble is being made. Was it Beisht, Teyvat, or did you unconsciously do it? Considering that you can only control elements that you accessed from the Statue of the Sevens then it can't be you.

Beisht was connected to the vortex and water. This air bubble wasn't just reusing your oxygen, it was supplying fresh oxygen. She can't control oxygen so that only leaves Teyvat. Then how could Teyvat protect you from drowning but let the electro from Ei hurt you?

Beisht finally stops and you can vaguely see the outline of her main body due to the glowing teal marks. It keeps reminding you of a certain god masquerading as a bard.

"Your grace, I see the false identity you hold in front of them. Yet I do not hold the same wisdom you hold, please enlighten me on why you hide yourself."

Her vocabulary is naturally arrogant but the tone she says it all in, sounds like she's imploring. It's good, you can utilize this and her natural dislike for humans.

"Coming back from that other world has left me very weak. I have little memories of when I was the creator and this body is weak. They see my unmasked face and assume I'm an imposter. Ei was the main culprit. Just a mask would solve that but my mere presence shows my divinity. Quite a few of my acolytes barely believe my words as an oracle, I would be a fool to publically reveal myself as the creator."

Your words are spoken with a sense of coldness as if you're completely detached from the situation. The water around you seems to raise a few degrees. Taking a risk you speak lowly with a mix of sadness and condescension.

"Humans and Archons are not that different. They cannot accept the truth if it's different than what they expect or desire. Greed and pride have always been the downfall of humans."

"Your grace, they do not deserve your attention or words. The Electro Archon will pay for harming you. They will all pay for hurting you. Thank you for teaching me, I will do your bidding. I will make sure that you'll never need to worry about me acting as foolish as those Archons."

Perfect, it's exactly what you wanted.

"We will take over and subdue Teyvat for harming you. We'll lay the Archons, humans, and anything else that dares defy you at your feet. We will make them atone for their sins. That pirate crew will be the first to pay! Not only have I lost my husband and child to them, they even harmed you!"

What child? They had a kid??? Wait that can come later, Beisht going out of control would harm the reputation you've built up, this has to stop!

"Silence." Your command is swift and your gaze is cold as you stare down Beisht. The quiet that comes makes you smile inwardly. Playing hot and cold towards someone who idolizes you tends to make them more attached. More desperate to keep your wavering love and affection.

"Now, now don't get too worked up. Going off and doing whatever you wish in my name is contradictory to what you said earlier."

"I beg for your forgiveness, your grace." Beisht lowers her heads in shame. A kind smile crosses your face and you reach through the bubble to pet her heads.

"I forgive you Beisht, mistakes are part of the learning process. You've already done so well in recognizing me. Why don't you start by answering my questions first? What happened to your child?"

Beisht closes her eyes and bubbles float up as her heads sigh in content over your touch.

"My child, born from Osial and I, fought for days against that pirate ship. In the end, they killed my child and his murderer gained a vision from it. Celestia truly mocks the defeated from the Archon War."

Sea monster, 'that' pirate ship, and a vision from his death.

Haishan is her child.

No wonder she hates Beidou so much. She basically killed her whole family!

"Haishan has lived in my name and with his death, he returned to me too. I can tell your anger is as great as your sorrow. Take comfort in my words and let your anger fuel your devotion to me."

Loneliness is a manipulator's best friend. Beisht is terribly lonely and will cling to you and your words as her only lifeline. And in your situation, a dog like this will be needed.

"I will your grace, someday I too will return to your loving embrace through death."

Gently she nuzzles your hands with her heads. Tracing the glowing marks that adorn her head you ask in a soothing voice.

"Tell me how you came to find me."

"After the battle with Liyue and the human-adepti I retreated to the depths of the ocean to heal myself. I was dormant when Teyvat called us. It spoke about harm coming to you, at how your gold blood had been bleached."

"Who is 'us'? You also referred to yourself as 'we' earlier too."

"I was not the only one stirred by Teyvat. The water has become more lively with strong elemental currents. I do not doubt that there are even more beings awakening on land. We are all being called to defend you and pay back your liquid gold blood. After so long without you, we are regaining our reason for living."

So if many other elemental monsters are being 'stirred' then that means you could get more allies. Guoba didn't even know he used to be a god until he was told so was it in character or not that he knew you were the creator? You'll need to find more evidence on land but this was leading to a favorable situation.

But Beisht's fixation on your blood being gold was not good. You'll have to address that now. If you wait too long and it reveals outside of your control she'll believe that you were lying to her. God knows what she would do to you then.

"On the topic of my blood, there is something I must clear up. My blood is not gold, it is red."

An eery stillness takes over the atmosphere and you seemingly look down at the 3-headed hydra. The feeling of her scales seems to heat up a little, gritting your teeth you continue.

"I sincerely hope that you are not doubting me. The scriptures never said that my blood itself was gold. The true meaning of that text is that my blood is as precious as gold."

Your blank expression and sharp eyes don't leave her. In one hand you hold your sickle above and electro-coats it with a dangerous crackle.

The looming threat of death washes over you as the sickle crackles with more ferocity. Teyvat heeds your silent wishes and hydro starts rapidly spinning around you. Swiftly you thrust it into the water and it hits Beisht as she thrashes from the pain.

"Forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive this arrogant and foolish follower!"

She roars and begs, your heart is as tight as your grip on her but the sickle still crackles in the water. She's a sea monster and that's the only reason she hasn't died yet.

It's only the sight of toasted pieces of sleek flesh on her that you pull the sickle out of the water and back into the air bubble. The electro fizzles out and Beisht's sad wails echo around you.

She's whimpering and begging with near-silent pleas for forgiveness. Your hand is gentle and warm on the head that she is carrying you on.

"Hush now Beisht, this punishment was something you brought onto yourself. Never doubt my words, my teaching is law. Do you see how futile suspecting and denying me of my divinity is? Crimson or gold, my blood is not what matters most, it is I that exist above you."

Beisht's body seems to curl around the air bubble you stand in as you continue petting and soothing her. Your pleasant humming is a sharp contrast to your rapid heartbeat.

You were either going to die to Beisht or die to your electro. But this turned out better than you originally thought. Even though it hurt you to cause the one powerful ally you have pain, it was necessary. You can never let her entertain the idea of betraying you.

If you must play the role of oracle in front of the others then you must play the role of creator in front of the rest. Y/N was the oracle, the creator, and most importantly a liar.

"The fact that you could sense my presence on that boat intrigues me. How could you sense me while Ei could not? The same goes for the other Archons, surely they would have felt Teyvat's call too."

"The Archons accepted Celestia's power which drew them away from you. They worship you the mortal or human method more often than the way elemental beings do. Changing their style of worship may have connected them to other mortals better but it also muddled their sense of hearing Teyvat"

Her voice is hoarse and low, humbled after her punishment. Your smile was kind and your touch tender, but the sly part of your heart reveled in it.

"Tell me the difference between the two."

"Elemental beings worship by sacrificing parts of themselves to you. Some offer up energy, blood, lifeforce, and others give limbs. Only their own, offering up anyone else's would be sacrilegious. As elemental beings, we will always heal and reform. Celestia has possibly blinded them to the consequences of forsaking our worship to keep them away from you."

Now that was one of the most useful pieces of information you've gained thus far. What would happen if you convinced one of the Archons, not counting Ei, to try this style of worship? Would it enhance your position as the oracle, make you more suspicious, or give them the idea that you might be the creator?

Your thoughtfulness seems to make Beisht anxious, that's understandable seeing as you've proven to be volatile in her eyes. With a nearly patronizing pat on her head, you speak with a happy tone.

"As the creator, I require both elemental and human worship. I have many plans and it includes you Beisht. With each nation I visit and interactions with the Statues of the Seven, I gain more power. I will need you to spread the truth of my arrival to those who Teyvat awoke. Can I trust you with that?"

"It is a privilege to serve you, beloved creator. I will travel through the ocean and fulfill your command." She's clearly enthusiastic and grateful. You have her right where you want her.

"Stay quiet and careful, avoid fighting in general. I have much of the world to explore on my own and see to tell who deserves my forgiveness when everything is revealed. No rushing, I have a long life to live. The other elemental creatures will have the information I need too."

"I understand your grace. At this point and time, your main attention is to investigate the mortal's faith. I will stay unnoticed after this point so that I do not hinder your plan."

You had no plan on revealing your status as the creator. These words were only said to keep Beisht calm and peaceful. Beisht has such a terrible reputation as a villain that if she told the truth, it would only make them all think worse of you.

The little pieces of evidence you have acquired, proving your title might be enough if you were in regular Genshin Impact. But in this world with obsession, death, and violence, you could not claim that so easily. Beisht better be prepared to wait a long time, if not your whole life span which might not be long considering your luck.

"Can I really trust your words Beisht? You think lowly of the mortals for harming me but you have hurt me as well. And it's not when you doubted me, I'm talking about how you hurt me physically."

Your words are like a bucket of cold water. The suspicious gaze she receives from you makes her stutter.

"W-What do you mean your grace? The moment I spotted you, I drew away."

'Pathetic' that's what your expression told her. That's exactly what you thought of her. Her lie specifically.

"Never try to lie to me. This is your only warning. When you rose from the water, you spotted me first but you let yourself be distracted by the sight of Beidou. So caught up in the fight, it wasn't until I got banged up by everything that you finally spotted me and remembered your original task."

The words seem to hit the nail on the head as Beisht lowers herself to you. With an ominous air, you swing the sickle back and forth.

"I will not deny my sins. I lied to you and tried to hide it. Whatever punishment you choose is one I will accept wholeheartedly." Her voice wavers and cracks. She's scared and your smile makes her tremble beneath you.

But it seems to wash away as you rest your upper body on her head closest to you. Ignoring the lingering water droplets you pet her softly.

"It's okay Beisht, I know you were emotional after seeing Beidou. The pain and wrath were hard to fight wasn't it?" The forgiving voice you used was almost like a mask as you traced her scales using the sickle at the same time.

Unnerved, confused, grateful, and scared Beisht sounds like she's near tears.

"Thank y-you, your grace. The mercy you have on your creations is not something we deserve yet you give it anyway."

"I've been hurt so many times Beisht. So you'll prove yourself worthy of my trust right?" The sickle gets stuck at the brightest teal scale on her main head's forehead.

"Take this scale off and give it to me. This will be proof of your devotion to me." You whisper the command disguised as a request.

Without hesitation, Beisht's second head comes closer and you move away just in time to see her tug the scale off with her mouth. It's placed at your feet and it glimmers as you pick it up.

"It's beautiful Beisht. I will accept this as proof of your faith in me. It's time for me to be returned to the ship, do not forget what I have told you."

"Yes, your holiness." The attitude she has is much more subdued than the one she held when you first went down with her. You can now safely trust that in a worst-case scenario, you'll go to the ocean and have her bring you somewhere safe.

Fish and other sea creatures swim past you as Beisht brings you back to the boat. It's a lot further than when you left but that's no problem for the leviathan.

The Alcor is above you and Beisht only raises her head that has you on her above water. The air bubble dissolves and the sun shines down on you. The heat of it is welcomed after staying in the freezing deep for so long.

Yet it's the bright flash of electro that you are greeted with as Beidou jumps toward Beisht.

Thoughts bombard your mind on what to do, what to say. Electro, hydro, claymore, Beidou, Beisht, sickle, and defend!

With adrenaline and fear coursing through your veins, you bring your sickle up as a defense. Electro meets electro as the force of the blow keeps you both locked in place.

Planting your feet steady on Beisht's head, you grit your teeth and push harder against Beidou. In mere seconds your electro overpowers hers and Beidou is struck back to the boat with a pained yell.

The crew, Xinyan, and Xiangling rush to where Beidou was thrown. A sense of deja vu fills you as Kazuha jumps to you and quickly carries you away from Beisht.

After smoothly landing and setting you behind him, Kazuha brandishes his sword in Beisht's direction. The multiple cuts and bruises on his body show just how injured he got in the earlier battle.

A small part of you can't help but feel touched by his protection. Even though it's entirely unnecessary. Why didn't he immediately go check on Beidou? They are very close after all...

Letting that thought fade away, you place your hand on Kazuha's shoulder and smile reassuringly at him. Beidou grunts as she's helped out of the mess of broken wood.

A brief sense of vindication enters you at the sight of the multiple wounds on her, mostly likely from the previous battle. Splinters and new scrapes cover her exposed skin and a particularly big one went through her left palm.

The blood mixes with the wood chips as it drips off her palm. She's grabbing her weapon again and tries to head toward Beisht. Quickly you move to stand in front of her.

"It's alright Beidou, Beisht isn't going to attack anymore." Beidou's eyes widen as she takes in the sight of you. Not a single scrap or drop of blood is on you.

Turning back to Beisht, you motion her to leave with a hand gesture. Obediantly Beisht dives back into the water and disappears.

The waves start to calm and the clouds slowly disperse. You think of the electro you used against Beisht and Beidou. The control you have over it has been growing, despite how dangerous it is, you'll need more power.

Eyes widening in surprise you're spun around by Beidou as she checks your body throughly.

"I was so sure you died, I never meant to hit you with my claymore. I'm beyond grateful that the creator protected you." Your earlier spiteful joy at her injuries melts into guilt at the caring way she was handling you.

Smiling sheepishly you pat her uninjured shoulder.

"If the creator wanted me to die by Beisht then I would accept that wholeheartedly. I'm sorry for worrying you and everyone else."

That small petty part of you wanted to bring up how this all could have been avoided by just not provoking Beisht since they didn't know she was looking for you. But maybe you'll do that when everyone isn't injured.

"I'm not sure whether to applaud you or scold you for doing something so reckless but I think that would be counterproductive at this point."

Beidou shakes her head as she speaks before sighing. Turning back to her crew and friends her voice rises above the murmur of everyone else's conversation.

"Listen up everyone! Beisht has fled this area, but we can always be attacked at a later date. Get inside, rest up, and prepare to arrive at Liyue tomorrow morning!"

Multiple "Yes, Captain!" can be heard directly after her words before they scatter to various activities. You still need to talk to Beidou but she beats you to it.

"Y/N, I need to speak to you about the situation with Beisht. I'll get cleaned up in the medical bay and meet you at the head of the ship."

You nod and head to where she was pointing. Kazuha, Xiangling, and Xinyan follow Beidou to the medical bay. Would they be a part of whatever conversation Beidou wants to have with you?

Swinging your legs as you sit on the edge of the boat, the calm waves draw your gaze. What will Beidou tell you? What lies will you spin to protect yourself?

It's the thumps of footsteps behind you that alert you to Beidou's arrival. With a friendly smile directed at her, you suppress the urge to laugh at the feeling of eyes on you.

Xiangling is most likely in the kitchen as Guoba is nowhere to be seen. Kazuha and Xinyan on the other hand may have been instructed to watch or listen while hiding.

You already knew your stunt may have bad consequences if you aren't careful but you didn't think Beidou would make your job so easy. After all, the more people that hear this conversation, the farther your reputation will spread.

"Hope you didn't wait too long Y/N," Beidou speaks amiably as she strolls over to sit next to you. Her mood is hard to read with the way she smiles but you can still guess accurately.

"I'm all good, I would even say that the break was appreciated with how tired I was."

"Then let's not waste any more time. I'm not here to interrogate you as much as I'm here to explain myself. I put the Crux and you into a life-threatening situation and although everyone else knows exactly what can happen, you did not. I'm sorry about that."

Your feet hit the boat at a slow pace as you think about her words. Now that the anger and chaos of that situation has calmed down, you aren't nearly as annoyed. Not up to talking just yet, you simply nod.

Taking it in stride Beidou starts explaining.

"For the past few days, monsters and leylines have been unusual. The leylines are spawning in new areas with stronger enemies than usual. The behavior of the monsters is strange too. They wander around as if looking for something and the boss monsters have become less violent. It's worrying and on our way to Inazuma, I saw the ocean change. That's why I had Xinyan perform to draw attention."

Seems Beisht was right to guess that other monsters were becoming aware. Hilichurls may respawn but you aren't sure if another monster species that canonically don't regenerate will still be alive. You need to speak with the enemies most likely to recognize you.

"Seeing Beisht listen to you was shocking. I mean she has always been hostile towards people. I don't wanna push you to speak but I would like to know what happened."

"When I was forced onto the main deck to avoid being crushed by the boxes I saw a part of the battle. That's when I realized that I could understand Beisht and the creator ordered me to speak with her privately. Who am I to disobey? The conversation was enlightening, to say the least, and what you just told me has confirmed it."

Your dramatic and cryptic words confuse your listeners. Standing up and balancing on the edge of the boat you continue speaking.

"I have been granted a prophecy! Well more like a revelation of the current and future events. The creatures of Teyvat are exhibiting new behaviors due to the creator's will. Of course that doesn't mean we'll stop defeating them, just don't take it as some grand evil rising."

The nearly childlike joy you speak with only confuses Beidou further. She stands up and tries to hold your shoulder but you twirl away from the edge.

"When was the last time we saw sudden differences in behavior?" Your words are spoken with a carefree smile as you continue dancing away.

"That would be when the traveler arrived on Teyvat and leading to the awakening of acolytes of course!"

You playfully tug the white ahoge that sticks out from Kazuha's hiding spot. He doesn't even seem glum at being found so quickly.

"And why did that all start happening?"

The feeling of eyes watching you faded as Beidou moves closer to the spot you stood with spread arms. Xinyan wasn't here but that's fine, the story you've spun will be spread either way.

"Because the creator's return was starting to approach! It may be worrisome because the creatures may harm people more than they did before but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate that the creator is a step closer to coming back."

In reality, you just wanted more allies. Paraphrasing everything to fit the narrative that you desire was easy in this situation. Very few people could tell if you were lying or not after all. In fact, some would even-

"Agreed. At the same time this all has been happening, the wind had gotten stronger. It's crisp and clear, it has become more active in communication too."

Between your celebratory smile and Kazuha's serene expression, Beidou had nothing to refute with. Instead, a wide grin crosses her face and you stumble as she drags you and Kazuha down to the main deck.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Everyone's eyes are drawn to Beidou as she yells. "The creator is a step closer to coming back to Teyvat and we all witnessed it! So let's celebrate like we mean it!"

It's impressive how nearly all of them already grabbed a glass of beer and raised it at her words. Cheers were heard all around as they raised the glasses and drank cheerfully.

Beidou had already released you and Kazuha to grab her drinks. Your eyes linger on the bloodied bandage wrapped around her palm. It was still bleeding heavily.

A familiar tug on your clothes brings your attention down to Guoba.

"Lala? Lalala!"

You don't fight the caramel-colored panda as he drags you toward the kitchen. It also doesn't let you notice how Kazuha was reaching out to you before being dragged into a conversation.

Xiangling runs around the kitchen with a tired but bright smile as you are pulled in.

"Thank you Guoba for bringing Y/N here! You can have this spicy cornbread as a treat."

She's quick to place a plate of food on the table and return to cooking. The sight of Guoba's food reminds you of your last conversation with Xiangling.

Yeah, you aren't forgetting that for a long time.

"Sorry for calling you here after so much went on, I just had another favor to ask you. I was curious if you can bless food the same way the creator can."

Wasn't she the one who fought a leviathan, is still somewhat injured, and went straight to cooking??

"I've never tried to bless food before but I would be happy to try! What food exactly do you want me to bless?"

Blessing food the same way the creator does sounds a lot like how you would feed the characters in the game. The most likely method would be cooking the food yourself and seeing if it had any effects.

The only other way you could think of blessing food would be by putting some part of your body into it. Which would be disgusting and a pain to do so, so hopefully you just need to cook it.

"I want it for Beidou to heal her hand. It's bleeding pretty heavily and she needs it to use her weapon. I was thinking something easy like sticky honey roast."

"Then just leave it to me Xiangling, do you have the recipe?"

"Yep! Right here." She hands you a slightly charred paper before scurrying over to a pot that's almost boiling over. Would you need to cook this manually or just use a pot like in the game?

The recipe consisted of 3 meat, 2 carrots, and 2 sugar. Nothing else was written on it... How were you supposed to cook with only this?!

Sighing you take the ingrains as the young chef runs around the kitchen. With a lingering sense of unease, you drop the ingredients into the pot and light the fire.

You turn around to grab something to stir it and look back to see it cooked.

Standing there stunned, you look at the perfect sticky honey roast sitting innocently in the pot. Deciding to count your blessings, you serve it on a plate and confidently call it blessed food as you hand it to Beidou.

It works surprisingly well, the bandage is unwrapped to see the skin sewn back together and most likely repaired. Beidou whistles as she examines her hand.

"Gotta hand it to you kid, this is pretty impressive. I usually have to wait for the creater to come and heal me up or wait ages for it to get healed properly."

"This was all Xianglings idea, she deserves the praise. I'll be sure to tell her the good news." You leave as Beidou begins drinking faster with her healed hand.

So you basically never need to cook again, what luck! Would giving someone a fried egg, bring someone back to life? Or would it wake someone up from a concussion or coma? That would all depend on whether characters are dead or just passed out when their HP reaches 0.

Walking into the kitchen, Xiangling is busy putting the final touches on the feast she prepared.

"Got good news for you Xiangling. The blessed food worked and Beidou's hand doesn't even have a scar."

"That's great to hear! I was pretty worried she would have permanent damage or something. She always brushes her wounds off if they aren't life-threatening."

Xiangling pouts at the memory of Beidou's recklessness as you take the initiative to help her. The silence is nice but your thoughts keep wandering back to the human remains.

"Hey Xiangling, I've got a question for you but this might be the wrong time to ask." The look she sends you is one full of curiosity.

"What happened to the families of those you killed and made into food? Did they not get a burial, casket, or at least an urn?"

The expression she wears is a mixture of guilt and disgust.

"Blasphemous people like them do not deserve a funeral. They die and everyone will scorn them for betraying the creator. Most families disown that person or act like they were never part of their family."

She stays kneeling by the cart of food and Guoba trods over to her with his usual carefree attitude. She holds him close and speaks sadly.

"They do deserve punishment for what they did but I want to believe the creator would want them to perish with some good blooming from it. At least by cooking them, that person can help another life grow, and my cooking skill improve."

Each time you ask something like this whether it's Inazuma or Liyue, the situations are always so much worse than you thought. To think what you thought Xiangling did from some sick sense of worship, which isn't entirely false, was mostly born from her signature kindness.

Do you condemn her, comfort her, or encourage her?

"We may never know exactly what the creator thinks, all we can do is keep moving forward. For what it's worth, I don't think you're in the wrong. Your intentions are pure and it's not like your actions can make the situation any worse than it already is."

You bend down and place your hands on her shoulders. She looks up at you and smiles happier at your caring expression.

"Enough about that. Let's go bring these dishes out so we and everyone else can enjoy them. We should be celebrating after all!"

The prep she usually has comes back and she's pushing the cart as you follow behind her. Everyone cheers as Xiangling hands out food and people sit down.

Picking a plate of F/F, you sit on a crate next to Xinyan and Kazuha. Beidou seemed to disappear somewhere with Xiangling again.

The taste and texture are like nothing you've tasted before. Whatever she did to make your favorite food taste even better needed to be shared with you.

"Real happy with that dish aren't ya?" Xinyan comments as you basically inhaled everything but the plate.

"If this dish was meant to be savored then she shouldn't have made it taste this good."

Xinyan laughs at your words before continuing to eat the spicy food she has on her plate. By the overload of spices you can smell, it must be one of Xiangling's creations that Xinyan is so happy to try.

"Now that things have calmed down, I wanted to tell you that I loved your music! It was a bit worrisome with all the fire but I understand that you needed it for the battle."

"Aw, that's real nice to hear! Most of my performances tend to burn down the stage but rock 'n' roll is all about that kind of fire."

"Must have taken you a long time to learn how to use your instrument and vision without burning down everything."

Your comment is casual as you start eating one of the desserts Xiangling brought out. Alcohol is starting to be passed around, you aren't sure if you should drink or not.

"I practiced loads with people as the 'audience'. They all died during the test runs but it's fine since they were already known for being sacrilegious. Burning them to death as a sacrifice was the best thing they could hope for."

The dessert gets stuck in your throat at her words. Coughing a little, you keep your head down to avoid showing your face. Kazuha rubs your back trying to help you.

Was it a trend for pyro-vision women to tell you horrible things with complete ease?! First Xiangling with the cannabilism to Xinyan sacrificing people...

"That was legal, right? Do you still sacrifice people like that?" You struggle not to stutter and Kazuha is still watching you with that same worried expression.

"It is legal in Liyue with the right certifications. Not long ago you had that private concert with the burning of a few treasure hoarders if I remember correctly."

Xinyan nods in agreement at Kazuha's words.

Maybe you should stop being surprised and just expect everyone to have committed crimes like this. What's next? Brainwashing?

Kazuha and Xinyan continue to chat about whatever burning they may or may not have participated in as Xiangling comes over with some alcohol.

"Sorry to interrupt but I was wondering if any of you guys wanted some beer, rum, or grog. Grog is the lightest since it's just water and alcohol. I might just drink that since I just became old enough to drink."

"I'll just have a glass of beer, I have another concert tomorrow and the last thing I want is a hangover." Xinyan is quick to take a swing of the beer.

"I'll pass on the alcohol today, I drank enough yesterday." Kazuha glances at you as he speaks with a slightly nervous tone, no doubt remembering his behavior when he first met you.

"Could I have some rum? I wanna celebrate a lot after completing the first major mission from the creator." Discarding your previous thought of avoiding alcohol, you decided to drink to congratulate yourself for surviving this long.

Definitely not because you wanted a distraction from what you just heard from Xinyan. Nor of the idea that Liyue may be even harder to live in due to their dependency on Rex Lapis. That may or may not have also pushed them to be even more fanatic for the 'creator'.

The rum was sweet but it burned as it traveled down your throat. The strong liquor made your head spin for a split second. You're quickly coming to regret it.

"Hey, Kazuha? Can you watch over me as I drink? This rum is stronger than the drinks I'm used to."

You ask Kazuha with a flushed face as you rest on his shoulder. The lights shine down on you as everyone else is up enjoying themselves. As sweet as always, Kazuha smiles down at you and nods.

"I promise to watch over you. No harm will come to you especially as I don't plan on drinking a single drop."

Feeling reassured you thank him and continue drinking. The party is getting louder and messier with each drink given around.

Xinyan is singing and strumming her guitar as a good chunk of the crew sings along with her. Xiangling was passed out on a crate as her tolerance for it was still low. Beidou was the only one you couldn't see from your spot on Kazuha's shoulder.

"You're the work hard, play hard type huh?"

You sway a little as you jump in surprise at the voice so close to your ear. Kazuha peers around you at Beidou who was standing firmly despite the amount of liquor she already drank.

A feeling nags you that Beidou is still as sharp as ever. Someone who drinks as much as she does must have a high tolerance. The smell of alcohol is strong as she speaks.

"You didn't strike me like the type to drink rum, I would have thought you would go for a beer or just a single glass."

You follow her gaze to the multiple glasses next to you. It seems you drank a lot more than you initially planned.

"Don't look so disappointed Y/N! It's normal to want to relax with a good drink after such a long day. This is a celebration too. Let all your worries melt away."

She speaks with a cheer and your hazy mind makes you smile up at her. Your worries, anxiety, and general distrust of everything are the farthest thing in your mind.

The sharp smile Beidou sends Kazuha as he tightens his grip around your waist goes unnoticed. The weird tension that occurs is gone just as fast as it came and the liquor seems to hit you full force.

"I think I need to sleep, it's really hitting me now." Your head keeps falling onto his shoulder as you struggle to keep your eyes open.

"I'll escort you to your room Y/N-" "And I'll join you two with Xiangling, poor girl couldn't even handle the grog."

Kazuha's face is frozen in a smile as you drunkenly nod at Beidou. Xinyan who is still pretty sober waves at you all and you wave enthusiastically back.

Giggling as the room spins you let your body rest on Kazuha as he helps you down the stairs. Xiangling is thrown over Beidous shoulder as she follows you both down the stairs.

"If I ever let myself drink after this, I wanna drink with you next time Kazuha. Wouldn't it be fun?"

"That does sound nice, I'm sure the wind will have us meet again after this trip." Kazuha's voice can be barely heard through the fog in your mind. A crooked smile is on your face as you nod sleepily.

Fears of the future seem far away at this moment. The fear of coming across a statue of the seven and Zhongli appearing is like a distant memory. The mental image of saying the wrong thing, getting caught with the wrong group, and getting a torturous death is comparable to a dream.

As the urge to close your eyes gets stronger and harder to resist, you instinctively adjust your mask.

Your fragile and most important defense against a repeat of the Ei situation. Terror squeezes your heart as you realize just how dangerous this situation is.

All it takes is for Kazuha to remove the mask during your drunkenness. Whether it be out of curiosity of your face or kindness thinking it would be uncomfortable to sleep with it on.

Nothing you think, worry, fear, or do will matter after that. Despite the dismay, your eyes close as the urge to sleep overtakes you. With your consciousness drifting away and your body in the ronin's mercy.

I was really excited to post this chapter. Everyone's reaction to Xiangling's cooking was super funny. (Fixed it up on mobile so forgive the mistakes.) On the topic of Beisht, I have to say that my original plan was to have it be a oc. Haishan's ancestor from the Archon War. But after everyone was guessing Beisht, I started thinking if it could work. And surprisingly it did! All the main points I had with the oc worked with Beisht. Plus Haishan was still able to stay as a kid cause a visionless Beidou defeating a whole sea monster god just doesn't make a lot of sense unless he wasn't full-grown. And I honestly don't want to create an oc if I don't have to. I don't trust myself that much. Xiangling's cannibalism was supposed to be just a one-time thing. But a certain person mentioned Hu Tao and I realized I forgot to incorporate the rest of the world into it. So that's what inspired me to think deeper on it. I'm quite happy with how it turned out! It confirms Xianglings kindness, and the cruelty of the cult, and can help excuse any future plot holes I may accidentally create. So thank you certain person that I will not name in case that's uncomfy. I also wanted to ask ya'll a question. Do you guys expect certain sagau tropes from this series? Like I incorporated popular stuff like healing foods, mentions of gold blood, etc. But the only thing that I've really made set in stone in my sagau is the cult au and imposter au (without a true imposter masquerading as Y/N). I'm asking since I don't want people expecting something like a character to recognize us (like Fatui or acolytes from Khanriah -kaeya for example). Then get disappointed when I don't ever do that. Not saying I won't have interactions with those characters! I just don't want to lead anyone on. If you read this far then thank you <3. I really appreciate ya'll support. Just seeing a notification that I got a heart, comment, reblog or message makes my day. Taglist: @vvyeislazzy, @nikqi, @the-dumber-scaramouche, @etherisy, @yourlocalstranger123, @ra404, @iruiji, @goldenglow149, @haru-tofuu, @lsleepysimpl, @bebobeboben, @yuyuzi-ling, @amidst-the-tempest, @resident-cryptid, @mxd1zzy, @mochicurls21, @nervouseaglelover, @thedevioussmirk, @yumuramma, @kwqsla, @undecidingfate, @ehjane, @game-savvy, @akiramirae, @sielt, @fluffy-koalala, @formacoon, @sxftiebee, @khxii-i, @ursinaw, @chuuya-brainrot, @sweetbills, @kazuchaos, @snowfoxnix, @bluebelony, @conspicuous-mayonnaise, @pencil-of-ashes, @ghostlyintervention, @taiformaifoe, @sielt, @goaudduck, @carminerin, @maddysflowers, @zenith-of-all-zeniths, @crazydreamcat, @leafanonsforest, @grimreapersscythe, @leylanx, @undecidingfate, @sapphireknown, @help-whatdoimakemyusername, @zhonglisfruityass, @fluffy-koalala, @mer0n37, @victoria1676

[exoticb-utters]

So this is Love?

“Flufftober” series. 5 All Smite X Reader Part 1/3 Word Count: 1.7k

Writing this for self indulgent purposes…enjoy ;)

You huffed in frustration, wiping the water that relentlessly poured down your face from the heavy rain. A crack of thunder is heard overhead as your heels clack against the ground.

Knew I should’ve brought an umbrella to work today…

You stomp your way home, silently chastising yourself for forgetting that it would be raining today- well, technically tonight. Fortunately, you didn’t live too far away.

Just as you pass an alleyway, you heard a cough. You slow down your movements, turning your head to the ominously dark path. 

“H-hello?” You call out, not sure if you wanted a response in this situation. 

Instead, another cough rings out from the darkness, this one sounding more ragged and…wet?

“D-do you need help? It’s raining pretty hard out here…” You trail off, lifting a hand over your eyes to block the cold water from running down your face further. 

Nothing fills the silence this time. 

You take a deep breath before exhaling with a sigh. Just your luck. 

You turn on your heel and walk into the abyss. The night sky and even darker clouds did nothing to help you see in this alley, but there were some (barely) functional streetlights behind you. 

You spot a large figure, kneeling behind a dumpster in a hunched over position. “Sir, a-are you hurt?” You ask, nervously approaching the stranger. 

What were you doing? This is crazy! You, a single woman, are approaching a random man in an alleyway for crying out loud! 

Another sickly cough is ripped from his lungs, his chest heaving as a crimson liquid spills out onto the pavement beneath him. 

Well, this random man in the alleyway clearly needs help. Your brain reminds you. As a nurse, it was hard to ignore your moral code. Guess old habits die hard. 

With another sigh you bend over, inspecting him further. You almost immediately notice a large gash on his side. You quickly cover your mouth to hide your gasp. 

“You’re hurt!” You exclaim as your eyes flickered over his body, searching for any extra injuries.

“Well, obviously.” The man before you sneers, his voice deep and…slightly intimidating if you were being honest. He hacks once more, another concerning amount of blood splattering against the ground as he did so. 

“Here, let me help you.” You offer your hand. Who were you kidding, this guy was a literal giant- no wayyou were lifting him up. 

You see his head tilt to the side, as if he were giving you a once over before scoffing. 

“Come on, you’re seriously hurt, can you walk?” You question, slightly retracting your hand. 

“Yeah…probably.” He answers almost shakily, all previous attitude in his tone gone. 

“Well, you can’t just sit here and bleed out so up you go!” You huff, taking his hand in an unsuccessful attempt to lift him to his feet. 

He sighs to himself before pushing himself up, standing on his feet now. 

And holy shit was he tall. 

“Lean on me if you have to, my apartment’s closer than the hospital so I’ll fix you up there okay?” You say softly, looking up at him to make sure he was okay. 

You found he was already looking down at you. His thick blonde brows were furrowed in an unreadable expression as blood ran from his forehead to his chin. You felt a shiver run down your spine at his intense gaze. You quickly brushed it off, not letting yourself overthink the action. 

“I’ll take that as a yes…” You answer for him, the heavy pitter-patter of the rain drowning out any surrounding sounds other than your soft tone. 

“It’s just down the street.” You lead him out the alleyway, his large arm slung across your shoulder awkwardly as he held his injured side. 

You’re given a curt nod as he hobbles next to you. The sight of your predicament was truly an unruly one, thankfully, the hour of this rainy night prevented anyone from being outside to witness it.

In record time, you made it to your small home. You helped him up the stairs before opening the front door.

“You don’t lock your doors?” Whether it was a look of astonishment or disdain he was giving you, you couldn’t tell. 

“Um…no? Is that weird?” You reply, chuckling to yourself. You led him to your living room, motioning for him to sit on the couch while you looked for your med-kit. 

“Well, seeing how there are villains around these parts that could break in at any time while you’re away- yes. It is very weird.” He says matter-of-factly while you fished through the bathroom cabinets. 

You snort out a laugh from the other side of the house at his reply, coming back with the kit and rag in hand. He then plopped down on the sofa, the furniture dipping in from his size with a dangerous groan.

“Well, with heroes around I guess I haven’t found a reason to lock it.” You hum with a shrug, sitting next to him on the coach. 

“Lift your shirt for me.” 

He did so reluctantly, revealing a deep gash with blood spilling from it. You sharply inhale through your teeth as you hold your rag against the wound. 

“You need a better bed-side face doc.” He quips, a huff of amusement leaving his lips. If the room wasn’t so quiet, you might’ve missed it. 

Wait a minute…Did he see you leave the hospital? No, that’s impossible how did he know you were a nurse? Your gaze then flew to his in shock. “How did you…?” 

“You still have your tag on, you know that right?” He muses with a raised brow. 

Oh. 

Well, that makes more sense. 

You’re taken by surprise when he slowly reads your name aloud. “Hm, a villain could’ve definitely used your identity against you. You need to be more careful, y/n.” He repeats, your name almost sounding natural coming from his lips. 

“Seems to me that you’re awfully paranoid.” You retort, removing the bloodied rag and taking out the gauze. 

“Or you could just be extremely reckless.” He counters as you begin to stuff the wound to prevent further bleeding. 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” You say finally, wrapping medical cloth around his midsection. 

A comfortable silence fell over you, nothing being heard but the quiet rain from outside. His gaze eventually fell over you. He’d never had someone so gentle with him, All Smite. The number one villain. Clearly you didn’t know his infamous title, or you wouldn’t have him in your home right now. 

He liked it, the break from not instantly being recognized as the number 1 villain in Japan. Maybe he’ll even thank you for your hospitality. 

You tape up the wrap, making sure it wouldn’t move. “Okay, that should hold until the morning when I can take you in for proper treatment at the hospital.” You say while wiping your hand against your forehead, some light sweat forming after the work.

“Let me know if you bleed through the wraps, I’ll change it out whenever okay?” You spare a quick glance at the man in front of you, zipping up the medical equipment.

He looks down at the bandaging, fingers lightly brushing over the material. Another beat goes by before he speaks. “Thank you.” 

“Of course!” You manage, giving him a quick, biter-sweet smile. “I’ll have to make my way to bed now. I wake up early for my next shift.” You say with an exhausted sigh. 

He raises a brow at your words. It was already late, and to think you would be waking up early for another shift was quite the absurd thought to him. 

“How many hours do you work?” He asks, your eyes meeting to his in surprise. 

“Usually around 40-50 a week, I’m always on call during the week but I get weekends off so…” You say with a shrug. 

He shakes his head. That was…objectively too much. Before he has a chance to respond you’re already speaking again. “Well, goodnight! You’re welcome to sleep in the spare bedroom if you’d like.” You offer, motioning to a room down the hall. 

He nods slowly, watching you walk down a different hallway to where he’d assume were your own personal quarters. 

How interesting you were. Interesting and extremely naive. Not only did you just bring the most feared man in all of Japan inside your own home without even realizing it, you gave him hospitality and left him unattended. 

He chuckles to himself, standing up before walking to the spare room you were talking about. 

Opening the door he is meet with a twin bed adorned with white sheets and a single pillow. Other than the bed and a small coffee table next to a window, the room was utterly bare. 

He hummed to himself, sitting on the bed while looking at the window. He watched the water run down the glass tranquilly, lightning flashing in the distance every so often.

He didn’t think he’d stay until morning, but resting his eyes here couldn’t hurt. There was something warm and endearing about your presence. Something he didn’t even know he was missing until encountering you. 

He’d keep an eye on you, someone who doesn’t lock their doors is sure to be prone to robbery...or some form of villainy. As the man of crime himself, he knew this all too well, more than anyone else. 

He took off his shoes, setting them next to the bed. He laid back into the mattress, the bed frame creaking loudly under his weight. 

Even though his ankles were well off the edge of the bed, he couldn’t recall a time where he’d been this comfortable; so at peace. 

He closed his eyes, he’d stay here and rest. 

At least for a little bit.

[joaofelix70]

69 WITH JOÃO FÉLIX | a concept.

author's note: first of all, thank you for reading this and my first story that was boycotted by his ex's fans, lmao (i know joão's flopping here, actually) 💀

many people are not writing for him anymore and that's why i'm doing justice to him, so you're welcome, lol. please, tell me what you think about this work, polite feedbacks are VERY appreciated. i get inspired in the morning and wrote it kinda quickly. really random, but i need to say how obsessed i am with joão being religious, like this gif shows. the way he's crossing himself, kissing his hand and pointing to the sky 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️

I'M CRYING, SOBBING ON MY KNEES AND BEGGING HIM TO HAVE A RELIGIOUS FAMILY WITH ME. also, my requests are open. i'm waiting for you to talk to me there <3

warnings: self-explanatory sex position. +18 content. smut, nsfw without context. plus, he's also fingering you here (our dream 😭).

words: 461.

"holy shit, what a good pussy. i missed it, princesa (princess). i missed you!" his fingerprints wrap in your midst of the hot, overflowing fountain: causing an insatiable thirst, to which no other substance would be able to succumb.

"i always need you so badly, gatinho (handsome). i fucking belong to you!" your whimpers exude despair in the name of pleasure, making joão laugh and his ego to inflate.

"of course you do! all this shit, all this is only mine. fuck, i'm such a lucky guy." your walls tighten and compress his beautiful bones, sending sinful sensations to his area of hardness and dampness. then, you're empty. his tongue curls around his fingers, appetizing you.

"so fucking delicious!" wet kisses are deposited on your neck and boobs: delighting his face on each, vehemently sucking and biting them.

"use my body to show it, joão. i'm yours!" your hands involve around the structure of his cock, lips swallowing the resplendent pre-cum from the head and witnessing it run down your chin. stroking and tasting the testicles, you lift your mouth and enter every inch of it into your throat, scratching his toned tights. your hair is pulled by félix and your head guided to have him deeper, completely.

"yeah! just like that! be the good and grateful girl that you are. i'm so proud of you, princesa." joão's destabilized, moaning in portuguese, echoing your name with his beautiful accent, while eyes are closed. however, he doesn't stop. his saliva spread throughout the shape of your torso, hickeys pigmenting the place below where you're most begging to be touched. his mouth explores your intimacy, painting formats and drawings, like you're his work of art: his nose rubbing your clit and offering continual instigations, the tip of his tongue persistently granting the beg leave in the entrance. so he persists, controlling your greedy movements against his face: firm pressure on your waist.

"let me know when you're close, ok? wanna take care of you!" félix grabs your ass, flattening and reddening your skin. tears are shed over your flushed face, your voice weakened after so many verbal liberations. you hold his dilating dick and slap it on your cheek, teasing it through licks and your light, sensitive touch.

"tell me how much you love me, gatinho. i deserve this for being your good girl who is about to cum on your face." you testify his acts getting intensified: ecstasy, along with sexual spasms, protruding from joão. his head goes back and, at this point, he's worshiping you. you're his religion.

"i fucking love you, y/n. gonna cum in your precious mouth and throat!"

"that's my man who i fucking love! please, come for me and i'll do the same for you!"

[galaxycunt]

I Can’t Keep Crying pt 4

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3

Smut/fluff/Angst

Also would like to note I read a fic that inspired my own dancing scene so give that one a read too!! Almost to the end folks!

You had been out to sea for three weeks now, Buggy still giving you the hot and cold treatment. On the good days, he’d invite you to play for him, scheming for a way to make you stay. The bad days come when you refuse him. He still kept you around, watching you work.

The sun was getting hotter, your mind frying from looking at him too long. You were a hot mess, his toned and sweaty body giving you ideas.

You climbed up the crow’s nest just to get away from him. Closing your eyes as you fantasized. Frowning, realizing you only wanted to think about Buggy. Your mind drifted to other lovers, and shit had it been a long time. Then it hit you.

The last time you were on land, before this recent resupply, you ditched buggy for some guy.

Was he really that pissed off about it?

You should’ve known better, you figured Buggy was getting off with someone else anyway. The way he teased you, it pissed you off enough to blow him off at the last second.

Shit, that was 3 months into your fling. A long time to harbor any feelings.

”Hey! Buggy wants you! Tent got ripped!”

You climbed down to the deck, heart weighing your shoulders down. You thought you heard a rumor about someone else joining his bed, you hated yourself for being so stupid. It was all too late now.

Buggy opened the door shirtless, the windows letting in a soft breeze. He was all smiles today, the locket swinging against his chest.

”Heya sunshine, got a list of things from the last show. Are you good with wheels? Of course you are, the unicycles been squeaky.”

”Hello to you too, Buggy.”

He smiled again, his eyes lingering over your body. Swallowing, his eyes shot back up to yours.

“I have something else for you.”

He handed you a package with brown paper wrapping, tearing it open revealed a songbook.

You smiled widely, “holy shit! Thank you, I…why?”

”What?”

”Why are you giving this to me?”

He blushed, “I’m tired of your songs. Wanna hear something new.”

You shot him a look, it hurt that he couldn’t just be nice to be nice. Buggy always knew how to really hurt your feelings. You decide to hurt yourself more.

”What’s in the locket?”

His hand covered his chest, “nothing.”

”Heard you got a new nightly visitor, is that why I haven’t played for you in awhile?”

”Who told you that?”

”Goes around.”

”Well it’s a lie.”

You chuckle, not believing a word.

He grabbed your chin to look him in the eye, “there hasn’t been anyone else.”

The force of the grab along with the flex in his arms did something to you. You want to kiss him, against your better judgment.

“You don’t strike me as the type to stick with one person.”

He frowned and whispered, “is that what you really think of me?”

You could only shrug, Buggy letting his arm drop to his side. He doesn’t look at you, shooing you away to do your work in private.

It’s late at night when you finish, and you crawl up that crow’s nest again. The night air is a hundred times cooler than it is in your stuffy room. Your mind wanders, unable to sleep. You think about Buggy and the way his hand clutched your face.

You briefly look below you, empty. You were completely alone. Settling in, you wiggle out of you shorts.

You think about his hands, rough and strong. Dipping your fingers inside you and wished it was his.

On more than one occasion, he teased you with a threat of his dick staying inside you while he went off to work. He only made good on that promise once, the memory serving you well right now.

You thrusted against your fingers, thinking about that day. Circling and pressing on your clit the way his tongue used to, the filthy things he’d whisper in your ear as you begged for him to fuck you.

You lifted up your shirt, pinching your nipples the way he used to. You were so close to cumming, whispering his name into the sky. Your fingers kept working, trying to climax again, you figured if you came enough tonight you wouldn’t have to think about Buggy anymore.

As you twisted your shorts lower, you heard something roll away. Frozen, you gathered the courage to look below you. Still empty. In the dark you groped for what could possibly be in your pocket. It felt soft and a little velvety.

”Hope you enjoyed the show, you fucking asshole,” you yelled into the single ear in your hand.

With a huff you dropped it onto the deck below, careful to not let it land in the ocean. You thought of your next move, either stay or try to hide in your room. Regardless, Buggy was going to be a pain in your ass.

“Fuck it.”

You climbed down, looking for the ear on the deck. It must’ve already made its way to its owner, and you decided to follow it. As you made your way through the dark corridors of the ship, you wrote your script on confronting him. You were never good at relationships, no one ever proved you wrong. The script was always the same.

You knock on the door, waiting impatiently for him. Like a boy in trouble, Buggy’s eyes were glued to the floor.

”I didn’t think you were gonna do that.”

”How long have you been fucking spying on me?”

He scratched his nose nervously, “heard you were up there all day, got worried.”

Now it was time for your script, “Buggy, stop with this bullshit okay? We both know you don’t care about me all that much.”

”Why do you say that?”

You gestured around you, “I’m not made for love, okay I get it. Embarrass me a few times, now it’s done. All of it.”

In the light, his eyes glistened. Carefully he stepped toward you, your resolve threatening to break. Buggy tugged at your shirt’s hem, afraid to hold your hand. You had never seen him like this, your world crumbled around you.

“You are. I…know you are.”

You moved closer to him, wrapping your arms around his neck. He squeezed your waist, pulling you tight against him. Neither dared to move, you listened to his heart thump rapidly against you.

”I’m no good, but I want to be. I just knew,” he huffed, “I knew that you’d fall for someone better.”

”You hurt me too much,” you whispered.

”I’m sorry. I’m not good at this stuff.”

He rubbed your back, resting his chin on your head. You didn’t know what to say, afraid to be vulnerable. So you let him hold you, the only sounds being the waves crashing against the ship, and your own hearts.

”I shouldn’t have slept with those people, I just thought…you didn’t want me. Couldn’t blame you for that, you know.”

”I want…I want love, Buggy. I don’t like what you do.”

He nodded, “I know. I…only been in love once. I was young, and maybe he loved me back. I dunno…he left me, betrayed what I thought I knew about him.”

You lifted your head to look him in the eyes, a pain threatening to break him down.

”I haven’t learned how to love since. It’s not fair to you, is it?”

You shrug, and he squeezed you tighter.

”Don’t just roll over for me, you’re better than that.”

“Maybe I want you anyway, I can see the man you really are.”

He choked on a sob, “you’ll find someone better.”

”Buggy, look at me.”

He did, regret written on his face. Your fingertips ghosted over his cheek, inching closer and closer to his lips. He met you there, the taste of salt landed on your tongue. You rubbed his eyes gently with your thumbs, he kissed you again. A shy smile on his face, matching your own.

“I missed you.”

”I missed you too.”

Your lips couldn’t stop finding each other, you felt like you were floating. Buggy led you to his bed, your bed really.

“Is this okay?” he said.

You nodded, tugging at his bandana. Running your fingers through his hair, he hummed in delight. The words you wanted to say danced on your lips, a small anxious side of you wondered if this good feeling was going to last.

He seemed to sense it, his own nervousness filling the air. Slowly he unbuttoned your shirt, peppering your skin with kisses.

”What were you thinking about, up there?”

You laugh, “every crazy thing we done before.”

He smiled, “I guess it’s okay to tell you I jerk it to the time we fucked in that bar restroom.”

”Like recently?”

”Oh babe, all the fucking time.”

That seemed to ease you, biting his collarbone, your eyes still on that locket.

Would it be weird to bring it up again now?

”You should go around shirtless more often,” you teased.

”Only if you do,” he kissed you again, “now let me fuck you. Please.”

You giggled as his hands roamed down your body, a satisfied smile as he felt your wetness. You missed his rough fingers thrusting inside you, only to slip out to give your clit attention. You bit his earlobe, a groan let out that you missed hearing.

“God damn,” he said as he sunk into you.

His fingers still circled your clit as he thrusted into you, “you missed this fat cock, didn’t you?”

You nodded breathlessly, you certainly missed his dirty mouth. Buggy rode on that ego, making you squirm beneath him. You claimed his lips with a searing kiss, feeling intoxicated on him and how he made you cum.

He lifted your legs up to hit deeper, the moan you let out louder than either of you expected, edging him closer.

You couldn’t hear what he whispered as he came. Before you could ask, he buried his face into the crook of your neck, kissing you. Emotion overcame you, and you cry silently. He noticed it anyway.

”Hey, please don’t be sad. I…don’t want to ruin this,” he pleaded.

You eyed that locket again, fingers inching towards it. He let you open it, you recognize the photo. It was the day you snuck off to an island to spend alone time together. You thought you looked bad, and he teased you about it. He said he thought you were cute anyway.

”You didn’t want it, so you know.”

”Needs you in there too, so we can both wear it.”

He smiles and kisses you, “I’m not tired, are you?”

You shook your head, letting him lead you out of bed. Buggy gently placed your hand on his shoulder, his own placed on your hip.

”Excuse my bad singing,” he says.

He hummed a quiet song, swaying you both gently. It was a love song, and you realized you never had anyone do this with you before. You pressed your bodies closer together, and you cry again.

”Hey, hey. It’s okay,” he whispers.

Buggy kisses your tears away, the song long forgotten as you dance together, the moon shining down on you. It was almost too perfect, too unbelievable.

”I didn’t mean it, when I did it first.”

He frowns, “I shouldn’t have done anything either. Let’s just move past it okay?”

You nod, “sorry.”

”It’s okay, I just believe in clean slates. Blame those missionaries that corner you at every port.”

You laugh, “you’re such a clown.”

He wiggled his eyebrows, kissing you again. You don’t want him to stop, letting him take you to bed again.

He’s between your legs for the second time tonight, and you’re determined to keep him there.

[edgessunflower]

I've been through everything

Pairing: Maven x Fem reader

Description: Maven becomes an unlikely friend to you after coming back to WWE from an injury that ended your career

Everything felt surreal as you went backstage seeing the locker rooms with new faces and faces of many old friends you hadn't seen in so long since your life had changed forever. You had gotten injured at Wrestlemania 16 and it wasn't just an injury that you would be out for awhile but it was the most serious injury you ever had and it was the one that ended your career within a second at the prime of it as it had been sky rocking over the past three years, you had woken up in the hospital and saw your body covered in bandages but what scared you was not being able to feel anything from below your mid waist finding out that you were paralyzed from your injury leading you to hide in your home while severely depressed and in denial until a month later when reality hit you like a trainwreck. Tears formed in your eyes seeing just how much things had changed since your last night at a pay per view, "You lost?" you turned to see a man not too much younger than you standing a few feet away before walking to you unable to ignore the look on his eyes that made you feel human for the first time in a long while since your injury as you follow him to his locker room falling into conversation after clicking in just a second which hadn't happened since meeting your closest friends who still performed on the roster and who didn't know that you were backstage let alone at the show until Lita saw you while talking with Trish who both stopped before running down the hall and stopping right in front of you only to hug you with excitement that you were back. "Holy shit Y/N oh my God you're here!" you laugh softly hearing Christian's voice as he and Test hugged you before Edge was crying and laughing as he gently lifted you in his arms out of your chair, maven was in disbelief once he heard your name and realized it was you and not just someone working backstage and despite everyone surrounding you and in their own conversations talking to you, you kept eye contact and softly spoke to maven in between talking to your old friends feeling at home for the first time in two full years as you watch all your friends matches and went on commentary that sent fans and the commentary table into shock and joy at your return while watching maven's match leading to the two of you walking around backstage talking nonstop neither of you knowing that this peaceful and simple moment would be the start of a truly rare beautiful, and unbreakable friendship between the two of you while opening up about your injury. "I've been through everything but this is the first time and this is the first time I've truly been happy and alive since what happened" he was caught off guard by you thanking him just for his kindness and talking to you but he couldn't help the smile that forms and the warmth that washes over him realizing just what his actions by talking to you truly did for you, the friendship growing between the two of you was like no other friendship either of you ever had at all and you could never truly put into words how much you meant to each other not just as friends but family.

[dilf-din]

Tomb of Silence

Title inspired by the Great War by Miss Taylor Swift

That was the night I nearly lost you. I really thought I lost you. We can plant a memory garden, say a solemn prayer, place a poppy in my hair. There's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair. And we will never go back.

Fandom— The Last of Us

Characters— Joel & Ellie

Summary— set post episode 8, slight spoilers but no explicit mention of what happened. Fluff, after care, Joel being the dad he never stopped being. Them!!!

Word count— 950

Note— This is my first ever fic, blurb, whatever you want to call it so please give feedback! Good, bad, constructive, I’ll take it all. I just needed a tender moment with them after getting my heart stomped on last night.

They hobbled together for what seemed like hours. Leaning into one another, bracing when the wind kicked up. Ellie just wanted to get as far away from that place as possible. Her gaze hazy, too afraid to focus on any one thing lest it all came rushing back. Joel didn’t push her to talk, just whispering the occasional instructions. “Careful, it’s steep,” “Watch out for that root,” “Turn here.” Faithfully he wove them through woods behind neighborhoods until the sun started to sink in the sky. He began scouting to find a place to settle, and he wasn’t necessarily worried about those people coming after them. He shuddered at the thought of the bodies he saw hanging. Silently thanked whatever deity might be listening that she made it out, she was here in his arms.

He knew they needed to head East to reach Salt Lake City, they had probably covered a few miles on their wordless trek. He would go out in the morning to get his bearings and cross reference the street they had just passed over with the map. He noticed a sort of path leading into the woods, the thick pines overhead obscuring the snowfall so he turned to lead the girl into the woods once more, feeling that would be safer than a main road. Hoping for a cave or, holy shit a cabin.

“Look,” he whispered down to Ellie who lifted her gaze and nodded at the sight.

They trudged together the last hundred yards. No lights, smoke, tracks, nothing to indicate they had company. Joel sat her down on the steps, his jacket still around her shoulders.

“I’ll be right back,” he assured slinging the rifle off of his shoulder before going in to look around.

Thirty minutes later they were sitting in front of a roaring fire. Joel had used what was left of his strength to push the small couch in the living area closer to it so they could share the warmth. This place, of course, had been raided. The cabinets almost bare, but he found some towels and blankets. There was a small shed out back with a stable where he found some leftover oats and decided some stale oatmeal would be better than nothing. A small kettle creaked as it hung from the hook in the fire place heating up some snow, slowly swaying over the large flames. He dipped a rag into another bucket of water he had thawed and said, “Lets get you cleaned up darling.”

Ellie stared into the fire looking more haunted than he ever would have hoped. Joel placed a tentative hand on her shoulder causing her to jump. “It’s just me, it’s me,” he said softly, the terror in her eyes melting as they settled on his face. She closed her eyes as he leaned forward with the rag to clean the blood off her face, some hers, a lot of it, well. She sucked in a breath as he dabbed over her busted lip.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said gently, “Almost done.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, a tear slipping out of her closed eyes.

“You can cry baby,” he said drawing her head into his chest, arms wrapped firmly around her. He pressed a kiss into her matted hair while her body shook with the sobs she had been holding in. She leaned against him limply as if she had no fight left in her. “I’m so sorr-“ he started.

“Don’t,” she said sharply, finitely. “Don’t blame yourself Joel or I swear to God,” she said through sniffles straightening up to face him. “You almost died,” she reminded him.

“So did you,” he whispered back, pain painting his face, almost leaking out of his eyes.

“We’re safe now,” she said firmly, “We’re okay as long as we’re together.”

A small smile crept up the corner of his mouth. “I’m not letting you out of my sight ever again, I’m sleeping with my eyes open,” he said with a hand on her cheek. She allowed her own to rise and meet his squeezing it. They weren’t good at talking about their feelings, but the love in their eyes was evident to the other.

He pulled a clean sweater off the back of the couch and offered it to Ellie, “Here, so you can get rid of, that,” he said gesturing to the blood soaked sweatshirt she still had on.

She held up the light grey one he was offering her and took in words embroidered across the chest.

“It’s a grandma thing!” she laughed incredulously, loudly. He thought he might never hear that sound again.

“It was the only thing left upstairs,” he said through a chuckle.

She peeled off her top layer and threw it into the blaze, watching the fire consume at least part of her memory of the day. She pulled it on quickly, “How do I look?” she asked proudly, flashing a grin. “We’re quite a pair huh? Grandpa and grandma!” she laughed hitting his arm and he rolled his eyes instinctively, no longer able to hide the smile she brought to his face, his heart, his life. “Too bad there wasn’t a matching one,” she continued, “Maybe I’ll learn how to knit back in Jackson and make you one,” she grinned stretching her stiff fingers out towards the fire.

“There wasn’t one that said smart mouthed daughter or I would’ve picked that one instead,” he shot back, carefully dumping some oats into the hot water. He never turned to see her smile, but he could feel it burning brighter than the flames in front of him.

[trippygalaxy]

⛩️))

Imagine this trippy:)

Chain found a good spot to set camp at and everything is peaceful chime with wild at the campfire help him with cooking til her ears pin up and chime look to the direction to the left side of camp as twilight too heard something but can't figure out what is but he tag warrior scarf to get him to be alarmed but chime ran to the wood making the chain now alarm and grab their respect weapons while wild yell for chime chasing after her.

Time: wait you two!-

Twilight, warrior and legend armed were going to chase after them but see wild ran back .

Wild: holy shit! Ya wouldn't believe what chime found!-

Twilight: what the hell do you mean?!-

A whimpering cry happen and the chain slowly look up to see chime return hold in her arms is a.....baby! But see the baby is blonde with a tail and ears like chime.

Twilight, time,warrior and sky star at the baby in chime arms then both lift their arms (one for each) to slap wild from the head as wild say ow.

Wild: ow! What was that for?!! It's not my baby.

The older chain are uneasy and worry that someone left a baby that's the same kind as chime in the woods alone or abandoned as chime gently hold the whimpering baby that turn to a wolf pup and chime sniff the baby head to try pick up on the parents scent only for her eyes to widen and blushing this got the chain attention.

Twilight: chime? Is the baby okay? Did you?-

Chime: um.....this baby.....is me and....wild baby.....

All the chain look to wild only see his face red and they all remember that portals wrap them to different timelines and guess this is bit in the future so this leaves..

Twilight slap wild and sky too since both are parents and time can feel he's getting older again.

Chime held her pup and can see that this baby is like herself in race but have bit of resemblance of wild.

Wild: so is the baby?....a boy or girl?

Chime: oh um a girl.

Wild felt his heart soften and he walk over to chime to see his daughter since she clam down and see she a puppy but she turn back to her hyrulian body to clearly see she kind of like him but as a girl version.

Wild: hehe, she's cute baby just like you-

Wind being a kid gag on the romantic feelings he's seeing and peek at the baby and find her adorable til her tail smack wind face.

Chime smile, she never thought she'll ever live to have a family of her own or a lover til now.

Just when everything clam down a roar is heard behind them the group armed and turn to see a (future) versions of wild (totk link) and chime and they clam down once they see their younger selfs with their baby. Time decided he'll have that talk with the older boys on protection and alcohol milk too.

.

[cartoonfuel]

Mind Games Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Complete Set

See Chapter 1 for synopsis, warnings, rating, etc.

Chapter 14: Is Tartarus Hiring?

~~~~~

Holding in a scream, you dropped to your knees and stared at the purple nub that used to be your right hand, your gaze eventually shifting to focus on the lifeless body part in front of you. The rot had reached all the way to your bone marrow, though you wouldn’t have known without getting to see the inside of your arm.

In other words, no matter how delicately you treated it, your hand was going to come off whether you wanted it to or not.

Despite having lost part of a limb, you were in far less pain than you had initially imagined. Perhaps Shigaraki’s Decay severed the nerves in your wrist some time ago?

Angrily, you grabbed ahold of the hand and managed to stand up, carrying the grotesque thing under your arm. You stumbled back to where you’d last seen Tomura and Deku facing off, a scowl like no other on display for everyone to see. You arrived to see the One For All user on the attack, swinging his fists and kicking at Shigaraki repeatedly. It was a shock to see Tomura dodging most—if not all—of Midoriya’s attacks. Considering Deku’s speed, it was hard to picture Shigaraki being able to match it, yet here he was moving out of the way each and every time.

If I just wait for an opening…

Dammit, that was close.

Aya?

Holy shit, her hand is gone!

Distracted by your injury, a wide-eyed Deku glanced over at you, eyes aglow and tears beginning to form. Green lightning danced all around him.

Careful, Midoriya.

If I could just get…

Her hand?!

The Symbol of Peace’s blood…

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.

I guess that’s my fault, huh?

This is my fault…

Oops.

I was too late to help her and now I’ve cost her a hand!

He seems distracted.

This might be my chance…

That would really be something!

After honing in on a certain set of thoughts, you immediately looked over to see Himiko Toga crawling towards All Might who was still unconscious. Geez, maybe you did hit him harder than you meant to…

In an instant, you rushed over to kick Toga’s injured leg, causing her to topple over onto her side and writhe in agony. “Don’t you dare touch him,” you hissed. You changed position to face Deku and Shigaraki, lifting your detached hand into the air and shouting, “Here!” You lobbed the hand to the villain, with both him and Midoriya watching in silence as it hit the ground with a thunk. “To add to your stupid collection, Shigaraki.”

To your surprise, he actually knelt down to grab the hand and hide it inside his coat. “Now I have the complete set,” he said with a grin. “Thank you.”

And thank you for this.

With that, Shigaraki lunged forward, his hand violently latching onto Midoriya’s face.

“Deku, you idiot!” you yelled in horror. “I was giving you an opening, not him!”

Instinctively, you charged forward with absolutely no plan of attack. Disrupting Decay and protecting Izuku was the only thing on your mind.

All of a sudden, a blur of red and gold whooshed by and lifted Midoriya into the sky.

Sorry I’m late.

I assume you have your quirk back?

“Hawks,” you mutter, momentarily forgetting the fact that Shigaraki was standing right in front of you. Your blood ran cold the moment you remembered.

He could’ve at least let me get away with killing dumb Midoriya.

I wonder, Aya.

What did Hawks tell you?

Are you confused?

Going to tattle on him?

We can’t have that.

“I won’t,” you replied, nervously backing away from Shigaraki whose thoughts were growing louder and louder. “Haven’t you figured it out already? I’m a neutral party!"

Which makes you utterly useless.

Goodbye.

Shigaraki leapt towards you, unveiling a sadistically feral expression that screamed bloodlust.

Before you knew it, you were lifted into the air as well, not by Hawks himself but by a few of his crimson feathers. The feathers dropped you off on top of the nearest two-story building alongside Midoriya, Todoroki and All Might.

Hawks hovered in front of the four of you, scratching the back of his neck. “I had to use so many feathers to lift you, All Might,” he smirked. “Even in your tiny form, you’re as heavy as an elephant. It’s okay though, I barely broke a sweat carrying all of you to safety.”

Looking at All Might, you sighed and admitted, “You have no idea how glad I am to see you. Awake, that is.”

“Yes, yes,” All Might nodded, his calm demeanor gradually evolving into one of pure rage. “Now, do you mind explaining WHY YOU HIT ME?!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t want your mind getting hacked into and hitting you was the only thing I could think to do!”

“I’m going to need a little more information than that. Thanks to you, there’ll be a bump on the back of my head for weeks!”

Todoroki cleared his throat, “Aya’s quirk doesn’t work on anyone who’s unconscious, so I believe she had to knock you out in order to protect you.”

All Might relaxed his shoulders and exhaled. “Well in that case, thank you,” he chuckled, patting you on the back. “I don’t care to hear the details. Just know I appreciate you doing what you can to save people.”

“As touching as this is,” Hawks interrupted, “I’m going to fly back down and help. If you’re smart, you’ll stay here.”

Hawks took off, the four of you peering over the edge of the rooftop to watch the scene below you unfold. You quickly discovered both Shigaraki and Toga had been cornered by several Pro Heroes, including Endeavor, Midnight, Aizawa, Present Mic, Nezu and a few others. Doppelgänger was with them as well and notably trapped, gagged and blindfolded by Aizawa’s sturdy binding cloth.

You surveyed your surroundings atop the roof, quickly realizing someone was missing. “Wait a minute, where’s Bakugou?”

Todoroki’s heterochromatic eyes met yours. “He’s right here.”

“No he isn’t,” Midoriya cut in with a furrowed brow.

That’s when all four of you looked to the left in sync, locating Bakugou several meters away. “See ya, extras!” You watched as he fearlessly jumped off the building, plummeting to the ground and executing a perfect landing. “No way in hell am I not getting in on this!” Bakugou continued to roar as he ran away. “Shigaraki is going down and I’m gonna be the one to murder him!”

Dumbfounded, Todoroki blinked a couple times. “Oh.” Midoriya rolled his eyes and All Might facepalmed.

You turned towards Midoriya. “Deku, are you okay?”

“Oh please, I’m fine,” Midoriya replied to you. “You’re the one missing a hand!”

“It doesn’t even hurt, promise. Is what it is.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” All Might interjected.

Todoroki raised an eyebrow and locked eyes with Deku. “Midoriya, you should introduce Aya to Mei Hatsume.”

All Might unexpectedly shushed all of you, gesturing to the ground below. “Todoroki and Midoriya, be ready for anything. Aya, can you read their minds from up here?”

You concentrated for a moment. “Most of them.”

Bakugou joined Aizawa’s side, the home room teacher quickly frowning at him. They were too far away to hear but just within distance of your quirk’s range.

What the hell are you doing, Bakugou?

You’re not ready for this.

Don’t take this from me!

I need this more than you know.

Please.

Ah, who am I fooling?

Don’t die, kid.

Meanwhile, Shigaraki, Endeavor and Hawks were just below, close enough for the four of you to overhear all their exchanges loud and clear.

Despite being cornered, Shigaraki seemed completely calm. “Sorry everyone, but I don’t think I’ve leveled up enough to fight all of you yet,” he groaned. “Oh, and Doppelgänger? Say hello to All For One for me in Tartarus.”

Doppelgänger started thrashing and yelling, requiring Aizawa to tighten his binding cloth’s grip on him. Meanwhile, his mind was going rampant.

No!

I can’t go there!

Anywhere but there!

They’ll torture me!

By putting me in quirk-cancelling handcuffs or something!

And restraints!

I’ll never get to use my quirk again!

Please, allow me to use my quirk!

Just once!

One last time!

Tomura Shigaraki, you bastard!

You just used me!

Help!

I need it!

I need Doppelgänger!

I can’t go without it!

Don’t take it from me!

You can’t!

You can’t!

You can’t!

Untie me!

Let me take Decay!

I’ll show him!

Give it to me!

Just let me look at him!

Goddamnit!

You wanted it to stop, needed it to stop. His mind simply wouldn’t relax and it was driving you off the ends of the earth. He was unbelievably attached to his quirk, which made sense, but this was just too much.

Thankfully, Midnight interjected.

Quit your whining and go to sleep, honey.

The R-Rated Hero approached Doppelgänger with poise, confidence, a conceited smile on her face and hands on her hips. She blew a kiss at Doppelgänger, her infamous sleep-inducing aroma wafting into the air and surrounding him. His crying quickly subsided as he fell over, completely passing out.

“I think Doppelgänger might be addicted to his quirk,” you commented to Midoriya.

“How can you tell?” Izuku asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“I mean I just haven’t heard of someone being addicted to their quirk before.”

“Think about it, Deku. If quirks could be passed around and exchanged like drugs, this world would become a breeding ground for a new type of illegal market.”

"I guess you're right. It’s a good thing quirks are biological and not purely transactional."

Without warning, Shigaraki and Toga defied gravity, shooting into the sky and waving goodbye to the crowd below them.

Shigaraki, however, was focused intently on you, waving your hand around instead of his own.

See you at the next family reunion.

Your blood was boiling. "Bastard.”

Idiot.

Shouldn't I be the one calling you that?

The two villains then disappeared out of view entirely. Off in the distance, you noticed Twice, Mr. Compress and Spinner floating into the air as well, also disappearing in the distance not long after.

Endeavor was preparing to take flight and pursue the League of Villains, but an outstretched wing blocked his path before he could even activate Hellflame. “I’ve got this one, Number One,” Hawks said to him with a grin. "You weren't fast enough to catch Dabi earlier, so what makes you think you'd be fast enough to catch the entire League?"

“Punk,” Endeavor snarled, crossing his arms. “Fine, I’ll tend to the people down here.”

With that, Hawks took off into the sunrise, his wings noticeably smaller than usual.

That's when it clicked.

Hawks really was the League’s “getaway driver.”

You laughed quietly at the thought, unknowingly catching Midoriya’s attention. “When Hawks said it’d be like picking up kids from school, he wasn’t just kidding,” you chuckled to yourself. “He literally picked them up.”

“What was that?” Midoriya raised an eyebrow at you.

“Oh, nothing. Let's catch up with Bakugou."

Back on the ground, you, Midoriya, Todoroki and All Might wandered over to Endeavor and Bakugou, the two of them most likely arguing over nothing. "You could've at least let me go with Hawks to chase them down or something!" Bakugou roared. "I'm faster than him, dammit!"

"Pipe down, kid!" Endeavor roared right back.

"Like hell I will! We totally had them and you let them get away! You Pros are useless!"

In your opinion, Bakugou did have a point. Why do the Pros seem so lazy sometimes?

Endeavor pinched the bridge of his nose. "Please just let us handle this, Bakugou."

"That's exactly what I did and all of you wasted my damn time!" Bakugou screeched, quite literally sizzling. "Shigaraki was right in front of me!"

"You've got guts to argue with me, boy."

"I've got guts, balls and everything in between! You don't scare me and you never have! You just wait! I'm going to dethrone you!"

It was getting harder and harder to suppress your laughter.

Midoriya anxiously elbowed All Might. "Don't you think this is getting a little out of hand?"

All Might cleared his throat. "That's quite enough, Young Bakugou," he cut in, patting the spiky-haired teen on the back hard enough to slightly knock the wind out of him. "You did good.”

“You’ll get your chance, Kacchan,” Midoriya smiled at his classmate.

“Shut up, Deku, I didn’t ask!” Bakugou retorted, folding his arms and stomping his feet.

“You guys are giving me a headache,” Todoroki interrupted, rubbing his temples. “Can’t you just get along?”

“Sorry,” Midoriya mumbled, lowering his eyes.

“Yeah, whatever,” Bakugou grunted, shoving his hands in his costume’s pockets. “Hey, what the hell happened to Aya?”

He pointed at your arm and you shrugged. “What do you think?”

“Shigaraki, I presume.”

“Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner. My, aren’t you a smart one, Sludge Boy?"

“Knock it off, New Girl,” Bakugou snarled, investigating your arm. “I can’t say I’ve lost any limbs before, but that sucks. You get some help, ya hear me?”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks anyway.” To your right, you overheard Aizawa speaking with Principal Nezu and Present Mic. Blowing off Katsuki, you stepped away and decided to eavesdrop.

“This boy’s name is Ito Osamu,” Aizawa stated, handing Nezu what must’ve been Doppelgänger’s driver’s license.

“He appears to be in his early twenties,” Present Mic added as he held the snoring villain upright.

“See that he is brought in for questioning as well as taken to Tartarus for conspiring with the League of Villains,” Nezu demanded. “I have a feeling this is the one we’ve been searching for.”

~~~~~

Chapter 14: Is Tartarus Hiring?

[genedara]

Things are getting weird

I remain grateful about this universe, even with its tribulations.

“Nobody moves or the elf cunt gets blasted,” young Kallard snarled, pulling Genedara close to his body, keeping one arm hooked around her torso, the other holding his pistol to her head. The elf didn’t seem the least be bothered by this, almost as if her life being in danger was a daily thing. She just stood there, moving whenever Kallard moved.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” old Kallard said, both hands in the air. “Come on, man, let’s talk this out.”

“If you were me?! YOU ARE ME! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!” Kallard hollered, both confused and furious.

“Relax, Kal,” Seia said, taking a step towards the alternate version of her brother. “We’re all friends here. We called you here to discuss the entity that invaded your realm. That’s all. We’re not here for any other purpose.”

Kallard took two steps back, keeping out of grabbing range of the woman who looked like his sister. That couldn’t be her. Kallard watched her lifeless corpse lay there on the cot, having checked her pulse five times. She was dead and cremated. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t happen. Stuff like this just wasn’t possible.

“Let’s just hear them out, Kal. If we don’t like what they have to say we can leave the same way we got here. We can even pretend this didn’t happen,” Yuki begged her friend, wishing he wasn’t always so quick to fly off the handle.

“Start talking then,” young Kallard snarled.

“Okay. One year ago the twins here found me doing some awful things,” Genedara started talking without waiting for the others, doing her best to explain everything in detail. “As it turns out, I was possessed by an entity with no name and a singular purpose: to end all life everywhere and usher forth a new age of chaos.

“And I’m not talking about goats raining from the sky or your dog can suddenly talk. I speak of the stars dying, planets exploding for no reason. Life as we know it would end. If he wins we all die, you included.

“If you kill me, you will be stranded here with us in a world that’s not your own. How long do you think you could last in a different world? You don’t know how things work here. Your magic probably won’t even work here. Either you help us kill this thing or everything dies. You. Me. Your friend there. Everyone will die. EVERYONE!”

Kallard took a moment to consider this new information and eventually released the elf. She didn’t rush away from him and instead turned to look up with him with white eyes. Wait, did he really just hold a BLIND WOMAN hostage? Jeez Kallard, that’s a new low.

“Okay, fine. I’ll listen,” young Kallard grumbled, holstering his pistol.

“Thank you,” Genedara said as she sized up the younger Kallard. “What are your skills? Your counterpart here can wield the Light as a weapon. Can you do the same?”

“The fuck is the Light?”

“I’ll take that as a no,” both old Kallard and Genedara said at the same time.

“I can’t use magic at all. My people, Garlean, cannot use magic at all. We’re unable to manipulate the aether in and around us. Instead we use technology that’s like magic to do our bidding.”

“I can use magic!” Yuki said, raising her hand. “I can conjure up the elements when I’m using my sword.”

“Speaking of swords, can I see yours?” Kylona asked of her counterpart Yuki. “I’ve never seen a blade like that before.”

“Well this is perfect! Try drawing it, I want to see what happens,” Yuki said, slipping her katana out of her dash and offered the weapon to Kylona.

The katana was gently lifted out of Yuki’s hand and the Raen watched as her twin studied the sheathe up close. She let out a low whistle, clearly impressed with what she saw. The blade didn’t hesitate for a second and allowed itself to be drawn by Kylona. She gasped as she looked at the blade and its sheer perfection.

“Holy shit this is a well made blade. What does this lettering mean? What language even is that? I’ve never seen anything like it before. Wait, no, it almost looks similar to Pandaran.”

“Pan…daran?” Yuki asked, trying to sound out the word. “What’s that?”

“Pandaria is a region in the southern reaches of the Great Sea. Its people are walking talking bears. The region is known for its ale and food,” Genedara said, excusing the girl’s ignorance due to her being from a different reality.

“Oh! So you have Beast Tribes here too?” Yuki asked once more, watching as Kylona took a few test swings with her sword.

“No, we don’t have those,” old Kallard said, looking at the Raen. “Those horns are wild.”

“Thank you!” Yuki said with a sweet smile. “And for an old Kallard, you aged real well! So rugged and handsome.”

“While I’m sure you all have some enlightened things to tell your counterparts, that will have to wait. We need to discuss what we’re going to do about this problem we all share now,” Genedara chimed in, agitation seeping into her voice.

“What can we even do about that thing?” young Kallard asked. “Not like we can shoot a being without a physical form. When we saw it, it was this weird formless body that seemed to suck in light.”

“Shit,” old Kallard muttered. “It’s getting stronger. It’s never shown itself like that before. That must be its true form, one it must inhabit if it wants to cross realities. Ugh, there are just so many unknowns.”

“Why not just, you know, ask it? Don’t villains love talking about themselves and their plans?” Yuki asked.

“You know, she’s got a point,” Kylona replied as she passed back the sword to its original owner.

“It has proven to be quite talkative, depending on which personality is in control,” Marilini added with a nod of her head. “It can’t hurt to try. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll slip and say something we’re not supposed to know.”

“Yeah, but how are WE going to ask? It’s not like we can just go to the other universe with these two,” old Kallard said.

“I propose sending Marilini back with them. I’d suggest either Kylona or Kallard, but they look identical to Kallard and…”

“Yuki!”

“Yuki. And I’m assuming that since she is not here, Marilini died in your universe, didn’t she?” Mari asked her brother’s counterpart.

“Yeah, she’s dead,” young Kallard muttered.

“How is he not dead?” Marilini asked her brother. “When one dies, so does the other. If that’s the case, how is he still alive?”

“My ticker isn’t fully organic. When Cassian died,” young Kallard said, pointing at the counterpart of his husband and then thumped his chest. “I lost both my arms and parts of my chest. Doctor’s affixed some gizmo to my heart to keep it pumping post surgery. That’s probably what’s keeping me alive.”

“Why not send me?” Cassian asked the group. “I died in both universes. I shouldn’t even exist right now.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Yuki mused. “I think people would freak out if suddenly Kal’s sister is alive and well. I think Cassian makes more sense.”

“Perfect,” old Kallard said, slapping his husband on the back. “Go get your gear.”

Cassian leaned over and kissed his husband on the cheek before vanishing downstairs. While he was gone the group talked about nothing of import, just casually talking about the weather. After roughly ten minutes Cassian came strolling back up the stairs with a large duffel bag thrown over one shoulder. In his other hand he held his bag of armor and weapons, all neatly packed away with extra care to ensure nothing was rubbing up against anything else.

“Okay, I’m ready,” he said with a warm smile.

Yuki looked over at the blond, handsome man and smiled, wiggling her fingers at him. “I bet you’re gonna have lots of questions!”

“I do! I’ll save them for when we’re on your side.”

Young Kallard and old Kallard fist bumped each other and Marilini pulled her younger counterpart into a loving embrace. She rubbed his back gently and whispered something in his ear. Yuki saw a single tear streak down her friend’s face as he kissed his sister’s head. Cassian hugged and kissed his husband and repeated the same with Genedara and Marilini.

Once everyone was ready, Kallard told Genedara to reopen the portal. He watched with amazement as a portal to his reality was opened, tearing a hole in both realities for the briefest of second. The trio said goodbye and stepped through one at a time, the portal closing behind the last person, Cassian. He looked at his two friends with a warm smile, setting his gear down next to Yuki’s desk.   

“I look forward to getting to know the both of you,” he said, that warmth seeping into his voice. “But for now, Kallard, I think it would be best if we avoided getting too close. I don’t want to cause you any undue hardship.”

“I’m just happy you’re here,” Kallard said, beaming at the man he had called his husband. “Welcome to the shitshow.”

[yukihirata]

Things are getting weird(er)

I remain grateful about this universe, even with its tribulations.

“Nobody moves or the elf cunt gets blasted,” young Kallard snarled, pulling Genedara close to his body, keeping one arm hooked around her torso, the other holding his pistol to her head. The elf didn’t seem the least be bothered by this, almost as if her life being in danger was a daily thing. She just stood there, moving whenever Kallard moved.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” old Kallard said, both hands in the air. “Come on, man, let’s talk this out.”

“If you were me?! YOU ARE ME! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!” Kallard hollered, both confused and furious.

“Relax, Kal,” Seia said, taking a step towards the alternate version of her brother. “We’re all friends here. We called you here to discuss the entity that invaded your realm. That’s all. We’re not here for any other purpose.”

Kallard took two steps back, keeping out of grabbing range of the woman who looked like his sister. That couldn’t be her. Kallard watched her lifeless corpse lay there on the cot, having checked her pulse five times. She was dead and cremated. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t happen. Stuff like this just wasn’t possible.

“Let’s just hear them out, Kal. If we don’t like what they have to say we can leave the same way we got here. We can even pretend this didn’t happen,” Yuki begged her friend, wishing he wasn’t always so quick to fly off the handle.

“Start talking then,” young Kallard snarled.

“Okay. One year ago the twins here found me doing some awful things,” Genedara started talking without waiting for the others, doing her best to explain everything in detail. “As it turns out, I was possessed by an entity with no name and a singular purpose: to end all life everywhere and usher forth a new age of chaos.

“And I’m not talking about goats raining from the sky or your dog can suddenly talk. I speak of the stars dying, planets exploding for no reason. Life as we know it would end. If he wins we all die, you included.

“If you kill me, you will be stranded here with us in a world that’s not your own. How long do you think you could last in a different world? You don’t know how things work here. Your magic probably won’t even work here. Either you help us kill this thing or everything dies. You. Me. Your friend there. Everyone will die. EVERYONE!”

Kallard took a moment to consider this new information and eventually released the elf. She didn’t rush away from him and instead turned to look up with him with white eyes. Wait, did he really just hold a BLIND WOMAN hostage? Jeez Kallard, that’s a new low.

“Okay, fine. I’ll listen,” young Kallard grumbled, holstering his pistol.

“Thank you,” Genedara said as she sized up the younger Kallard. “What are your skills? Your counterpart here can wield the Light as a weapon. Can you do the same?”

“The fuck is the Light?”

“I’ll take that as a no,” both old Kallard and Genedara said at the same time.

“I can’t use magic at all. My people, Garlean, cannot use magic at all. We’re unable to manipulate the aether in and around us. Instead we use technology that’s like magic to do our bidding.”

“I can use magic!” Yuki said, raising her hand. “I can conjure up the elements when I’m using my sword.”

“Speaking of swords, can I see yours?” Kylona asked of her counterpart Yuki. “I’ve never seen a blade like that before.”

“Well this is perfect! Try drawing it, I want to see what happens,” Yuki said, slipping her katana out of her dash and offered the weapon to Kylona.

The katana was gently lifted out of Yuki’s hand and the Raen watched as her twin studied the sheathe up close. She let out a low whistle, clearly impressed with what she saw. The blade didn’t hesitate for a second and allowed itself to be drawn by Kylona. She gasped as she looked at the blade and its sheer perfection.

“Holy shit this is a well made blade. What does this lettering mean? What language even is that? I’ve never seen anything like it before. Wait, no, it almost looks similar to Pandaran.”

“Pan…daran?” Yuki asked, trying to sound out the word. “What’s that?”

“Pandaria is a region in the southern reaches of the Great Sea. Its people are walking talking bears. The region is known for its ale and food,” Genedara said, excusing the girl’s ignorance due to her being from a different reality.

“Oh! So you have Beast Tribes here too?” Yuki asked once more, watching as Kylona took a few test swings with her sword.

“No, we don’t have those,” old Kallard said, looking at the Raen. “Those horns are wild.”

“Thank you!” Yuki said with a sweet smile. “And for an old Kallard, you aged real well! So rugged and handsome.”

“While I’m sure you all have some enlightened things to tell your counterparts, that will have to wait. We need to discuss what we’re going to do about this problem we all share now,” Genedara chimed in, agitation seeping into her voice.

“What can we even do about that thing?” young Kallard asked. “Not like we can shoot a being without a physical form. When we saw it, it was this weird formless body that seemed to suck in light.”

“Shit,” old Kallard muttered. “It’s getting stronger. It’s never shown itself like that before. That must be its true form, one it must inhabit if it wants to cross realities. Ugh, there are just so many unknowns.”

“Why not just, you know, ask it? Don’t villains love talking about themselves and their plans?” Yuki asked.

“You know, she’s got a point,” Kylona replied as she passed back the sword to its original owner.

“It has proven to be quite talkative, depending on which personality is in control,” Marilini added with a nod of her head. “It can’t hurt to try. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll slip and say something we’re not supposed to know.”

“Yeah, but how are WE going to ask? It’s not like we can just go to the other universe with these two,” old Kallard said.

“I propose sending Marilini back with them. I’d suggest either Kylona or Kallard, but they look identical to Kallard and…”

“Yuki!”

“Yuki. And I’m assuming that since she is not here, Marilini died in your universe, didn’t she?” Mari asked her brother’s counterpart.

“Yeah, she’s dead,” young Kallard muttered.

“How is he not dead?” Marilini asked her brother. “When one dies, so does the other. If that’s the case, how is he still alive?”

“My ticker isn’t fully organic. When Cassian died,” young Kallard said, pointing at the counterpart of his husband and then thumped his chest. “I lost both my arms and parts of my chest. Doctor’s affixed some gizmo to my heart to keep it pumping post surgery. That’s probably what’s keeping me alive.”

“Why not send me?” Cassian asked the group. “I died in both universes. I shouldn’t even exist right now.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Yuki mused. “I think people would freak out if suddenly Kal’s sister is alive and well. I think Cassian makes more sense.”

“Perfect,” old Kallard said, slapping his husband on the back. “Go get your gear.”

Cassian leaned over and kissed his husband on the cheek before vanishing downstairs. While he was gone the group talked about nothing of import, just casually talking about the weather. After roughly ten minutes Cassian came strolling back up the stairs with a large duffel bag thrown over one shoulder. In his other hand he held his bag of armor and weapons, all neatly packed away with extra care to ensure nothing was rubbing up against anything else.

“Okay, I’m ready,” he said with a warm smile.

Yuki looked over at the blond, handsome man and smiled, wiggling her fingers at him. “I bet you’re gonna have lots of questions!”

“I do! I’ll save them for when we’re on your side.”

Young Kallard and old Kallard fist bumped each other and Marilini pulled her younger counterpart into a loving embrace. She rubbed his back gently and whispered something in his ear. Yuki saw a single tear streak down her friend’s face as he kissed his sister’s head. Cassian hugged and kissed his husband and repeated the same with Genedara and Marilini.

Once everyone was ready, Kallard told Genedara to reopen the portal. He watched with amazement as a portal to his reality was opened, tearing a hole in both realities for the briefest of second. The trio said goodbye and stepped through one at a time, the portal closing behind the last person, Cassian. He looked at his two friends with a warm smile, setting his gear down next to Yuki’s desk.   

“I look forward to getting to know the both of you,” he said, that warmth seeping into his voice. “But for now, Kallard, I think it would be best if we avoided getting too close. I don’t want to cause you any undue hardship.”

“I’m just happy you’re here,” Kallard said, beaming at the man he had called his husband. “Welcome to the shitshow.”

[kallard]

Things are getting weird

I remain grateful about this universe, even with its tribulations.

“Nobody moves or the elf cunt gets blasted,” young Kallard snarled, pulling Genedara close to his body, keeping one arm hooked around her torso, the other holding his pistol to her head. The elf didn’t seem the least be bothered by this, almost as if her life being in danger was a daily thing. She just stood there, moving whenever Kallard moved.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” old Kallard said, both hands in the air. “Come on, man, let’s talk this out.”

“If you were me?! YOU ARE ME! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!” Kallard hollered, both confused and furious.

“Relax, Kal,” Seia said, taking a step towards the alternate version of her brother. “We’re all friends here. We called you here to discuss the entity that invaded your realm. That’s all. We’re not here for any other purpose.”

Kallard took two steps back, keeping out of grabbing range of the woman who looked like his sister. That couldn’t be her. Kallard watched her lifeless corpse lay there on the cot, having checked her pulse five times. She was dead and cremated. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t happen. Stuff like this just wasn’t possible.

“Let’s just hear them out, Kal. If we don’t like what they have to say we can leave the same way we got here. We can even pretend this didn’t happen,” Yuki begged her friend, wishing he wasn’t always so quick to fly off the handle.

“Start talking then,” young Kallard snarled.

“Okay. One year ago the twins here found me doing some awful things,” Genedara started talking without waiting for the others, doing her best to explain everything in detail. “As it turns out, I was possessed by an entity with no name and a singular purpose: to end all life everywhere and usher forth a new age of chaos.

“And I’m not talking about goats raining from the sky or your dog can suddenly talk. I speak of the stars dying, planets exploding for no reason. Life as we know it would end. If he wins we all die, you included.

“If you kill me, you will be stranded here with us in a world that’s not your own. How long do you think you could last in a different world? You don’t know how things work here. Your magic probably won’t even work here. Either you help us kill this thing or everything dies. You. Me. Your friend there. Everyone will die. EVERYONE!”

Kallard took a moment to consider this new information and eventually released the elf. She didn’t rush away from him and instead turned to look up with him with white eyes. Wait, did he really just hold a BLIND WOMAN hostage? Jeez Kallard, that’s a new low.

“Okay, fine. I’ll listen,” young Kallard grumbled, holstering his pistol.

“Thank you,” Genedara said as she sized up the younger Kallard. “What are your skills? Your counterpart here can wield the Light as a weapon. Can you do the same?”

“The fuck is the Light?”

“I’ll take that as a no,” both old Kallard and Genedara said at the same time.

“I can’t use magic at all. My people, Garlean, cannot use magic at all. We’re unable to manipulate the aether in and around us. Instead we use technology that’s like magic to do our bidding.”

“I can use magic!” Yuki said, raising her hand. “I can conjure up the elements when I’m using my sword.”

“Speaking of swords, can I see yours?” Kylona asked of her counterpart Yuki. “I’ve never seen a blade like that before.”

“Well this is perfect! Try drawing it, I want to see what happens,” Yuki said, slipping her katana out of her dash and offered the weapon to Kylona.

The katana was gently lifted out of Yuki’s hand and the Raen watched as her twin studied the sheathe up close. She let out a low whistle, clearly impressed with what she saw. The blade didn’t hesitate for a second and allowed itself to be drawn by Kylona. She gasped as she looked at the blade and its sheer perfection.

“Holy shit this is a well made blade. What does this lettering mean? What language even is that? I’ve never seen anything like it before. Wait, no, it almost looks similar to Pandaran.”

“Pan…daran?” Yuki asked, trying to sound out the word. “What’s that?”

“Pandaria is a region in the southern reaches of the Great Sea. Its people are walking talking bears. The region is known for its ale and food,” Genedara said, excusing the girl’s ignorance due to her being from a different reality.

“Oh! So you have Beast Tribes here too?” Yuki asked once more, watching as Kylona took a few test swings with her sword.

“No, we don’t have those,” old Kallard said, looking at the Raen. “Those horns are wild.”

“Thank you!” Yuki said with a sweet smile. “And for an old Kallard, you aged real well! So rugged and handsome.”

“While I’m sure you all have some enlightened things to tell your counterparts, that will have to wait. We need to discuss what we’re going to do about this problem we all share now,” Genedara chimed in, agitation seeping into her voice.

“What can we even do about that thing?” young Kallard asked. “Not like we can shoot a being without a physical form. When we saw it, it was this weird formless body that seemed to suck in light.”

“Shit,” old Kallard muttered. “It’s getting stronger. It’s never shown itself like that before. That must be its true form, one it must inhabit if it wants to cross realities. Ugh, there are just so many unknowns.”

“Why not just, you know, ask it? Don’t villains love talking about themselves and their plans?” Yuki asked.

“You know, she’s got a point,” Kylona replied as she passed back the sword to its original owner.

“It has proven to be quite talkative, depending on which personality is in control,” Marilini added with a nod of her head. “It can’t hurt to try. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll slip and say something we’re not supposed to know.”

“Yeah, but how are WE going to ask? It’s not like we can just go to the other universe with these two,” old Kallard said.

“I propose sending Marilini back with them. I’d suggest either Kylona or Kallard, but they look identical to Kallard and…”

“Yuki!”

“Yuki. And I’m assuming that since she is not here, Marilini died in your universe, didn’t she?” Mari asked her brother’s counterpart.

“Yeah, she’s dead,” young Kallard muttered.

“How is he not dead?” Marilini asked her brother. “When one dies, so does the other. If that’s the case, how is he still alive?”

“My ticker isn’t fully organic. When Cassian died,” young Kallard said, pointing at the counterpart of his husband and then thumped his chest. “I lost both my arms and parts of my chest. Doctor’s affixed some gizmo to my heart to keep it pumping post surgery. That’s probably what’s keeping me alive.”

“Why not send me?” Cassian asked the group. “I died in both universes. I shouldn’t even exist right now.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Yuki mused. “I think people would freak out if suddenly Kal’s sister is alive and well. I think Cassian makes more sense.”

“Perfect,” old Kallard said, slapping his husband on the back. “Go get your gear.”

Cassian leaned over and kissed his husband on the cheek before vanishing downstairs. While he was gone the group talked about nothing of import, just casually talking about the weather. After roughly ten minutes Cassian came strolling back up the stairs with a large duffel bag thrown over one shoulder. In his other hand he held his bag of armor and weapons, all neatly packed away with extra care to ensure nothing was rubbing up against anything else.

“Okay, I’m ready,” he said with a warm smile.

Yuki looked over at the blond, handsome man and smiled, wiggling her fingers at him. “I bet you’re gonna have lots of questions!”

“I do! I’ll save them for when we’re on your side.”

Young Kallard and old Kallard fist bumped each other and Marilini pulled her younger counterpart into a loving embrace. She rubbed his back gently and whispered something in his ear. Yuki saw a single tear streak down her friend’s face as he kissed his sister’s head. Cassian hugged and kissed his husband and repeated the same with Genedara and Marilini.

Once everyone was ready, Kallard told Genedara to reopen the portal. He watched with amazement as a portal to his reality was opened, tearing a hole in both realities for the briefest of second. The trio said goodbye and stepped through one at a time, the portal closing behind the last person, Cassian. He looked at his two friends with a warm smile, setting his gear down next to Yuki’s desk.   

“I look forward to getting to know the both of you,” he said, that warmth seeping into his voice. “But for now, Kallard, I think it would be best if we avoided getting too close. I don’t want to cause you any undue hardship.”

“I’m just happy you’re here,” Kallard said, beaming at the man he had called his husband. “Welcome to the shitshow.”

[yespolkadotkitty]

Kinktober Day 4 - shower/tub sex

I skipped Day 3 - nipple play - because I had a hella busy weekend and bc nipple play isn’t particularly my bag.

May I present a brief break in our regular programming for some light Shang-Chi fluff/angst/smut.

Pairing: Shaun/Shang-Chi x fem! HCP reader

Words: 675 ~ Warnings: angst, swears, very soft sex. No use of y/n.

**

We’re back.

The text from Katy turned your world upside down. You stared at the screen for a moment, willing words to transfer from your brain to the screen, but there were too many. Finally, you typed: Where is he?

You watched the little dots that indicated Katy was typing.

His place.

I’m at mine. So, you know, if you wanted to go over-

Katy had long been at you to confess your feelings to Shaun.

You stuffed your dirty scrubs in the hospital wash bin, thankful that you were just ending a shift, not just starting one. You wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on patients knowing that Shaun was back.

The garbled message from him, punctuated by traffic noise - I have to go away for a while, explain when I’m back - had set you on edge for weeks.

You didn’t know whether you wanted to deck him or kiss him. Maybe both.

On Day 8 of his hiatus, you’d let yourself into his place - you, he and Katy all had keys to each other’s homes - and snuggled into one of his hoodies, falling asleep on the couch.

You took the bus to his place, alighting at the familiar stop and weaving through a farmer’s market. The sun was low in the sky, and the humid air made your nervous sweat more acute.

You knocked his door in a pretence of being polite, when you wanted to hammer it down.

He didn’t answer, so you let yourself in.

As you shut the door, you heard a groan from further in the apartment. You dumped your bag, and spied a trail of clothes on the floor. Your blood heated.

He’s probably in the shower.

I should go.

But you didn’t.

“Shaun?”

No answer.

You stepped into the tiny hall. The bathroom door was ajar, and without thinking, you pushed it open.

Shaun turned, surprise in his brown eyes as he mouthed your name.

“So it’s true,” you accused. “You are back.”

“I’m sorry-”

You barely took in the fact he wore only boxers and holy crap he was built. “You’re sorry? It’s been four weeks! I thought you might have died-”

His mouth settled into a firm line. “Katy was with me-”

And that was a sore point. “I know! You took Katy, but left me behind-”

“-She didn’t give me much of a choice-”

You shoved him, dead centre of his chest. “You could have asked-”

“It was going to be dangerous-”

You opened your mouth to shoot back a reply, but no words came out. Finally, you whispered, “I thought you were dead, Shaun. I thought you were dead, and I’d never get to tell you…”

Realisation dawned on his handsome face as you gazed at each other, and then, then, he pulled you into his arms and you sobbed against his chest. His skin was warm and firm and you cuddled in, crying nonsense words.

“I wanted to tell you,” he murmured into your hair. “But I was supposed to do what - just ask a doctor to leave her patients for fuck knows how long?”

He had a point and you hated that.

“I wish you’d been with us,” he added. “I saw my father. And met my Aunt. And Katy’s a crack archer now.”

You jerked your head up. “You - what the hell? Where did you go? What did you do?”

Shaun sighed. “I have a lot to tell you. But right now, in this moment? I’m more interested in hearing what you thought you’d never get to tell me.”

“You really don’t know? You’re an idiot. I let myself in while you were away and slept on your couch.” You poked him in the chest to punctuate each word of the last sentence.

Shaun’s brows winged up. “You-”

“I love you, you absolute-”

You never got to finish because Shaun cupped your face in his hands and kissed you. Whisper-soft at first, and then when you opened for him, the kiss turned hungry. You clutched at his shoulders, then slid your hands into his hair, gasping when he settled his hands under your ass and boosted you up. Your legs came around his waist and - holy shit, he was into this, if the evidence against your belly was any indication.

“I love you, too,” he panted, at length.

You nuzzled his neck, breathing him in. “Ugh, I wish I could wash the hospital off me.”

Shaun nodded to the shower. “Well, I was about to get in there…”

Your pulse rocketed. “Yes.”

This was not how you had pictured your day ending when Katy’s text had come through, but right now, you were elated.

Between kisses, Shaun undressed you hurriedly, and you helped him along, getting a case of the giggles when removing your leggings tickled your thighs. The laughter might have made you feel uncomfortable with another man, but this was Shaun, who sang terrible karaoke and made you ramen on your days off and shared his Pocky with you.

When you were naked, he pulled you close, his dark gaze drinking you in.

“You’re beautiful.”

How you’d dreamed of hearing those words in his deep voice.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” You tugged at the waist of his boxers. “Could use less clothes.”

He grinned, cheeky and confident, and your heart pounded at how handsome he was, and how much you wanted him. “Help yourself.”

You did, and he was long and thick and ready, and you watched him struggle for control as you wrapped your hand around him, kissing the groan off his lips.

“Shower, now.”

He turned the water on and tugged you inside, shutting the glass door, and you were cocooned in his arms under the hot spray. You lifted your face for his kiss and he obliged. Steam fogged up the glass and it was like being in your own private world.

You learned each other’s bodies with tongue and teeth and hands, and he left you breathless, until you could only moan his name, your hands in his hair as he did his best to spell his name on your clit with his talented tongue.

When the orgasm broke over you, he lifted you as your legs shook, braced you against the shower wall, and slid home, and it was all you’d ever wanted. He was all you’d ever wanted.

“Shaun,” you groaned against his neck.

He smiled into your hair. “It’s Shang-Chi.” At your puzzled hmmm, he added, “We have a lot to talk about, but it’s hard to think when you’re naked.”

You pulled him back in for another kiss. “Okay. We’ll think later.”

---

Unbeta’d.

I’m not sure who from my list would want to be tagged in this but I do think @astroboots​ will like it.