#HE WAS SO CUTE IN THE EVENT QUEST DID ANYONE SEE THAT

[sunshinetoshi]

a solid pair

kuroo x reader (<1k words)

content (warnings): fluff

a/n: i was going to wait until kuroo’s bday to post this but i simply -cannot wait- it’s been a fat minute since i’ve written anything more than thoughts into my notes app so if this is bad i will pretend it’s not. self-confidence. also bless romcoms for making me rot for love once more.

“I have a question.”

“I have an answer.”

“What do you want for your birthday?”

His chest rumbles in soft laughter beneath you. He hums in thought before responding, “I’m going to give a kind-of answer because I already know you’re not going to settle with me saying I don’t need anything.”

You nod your head, “You’d be correct. Like give me ideas or a price range that makes you comfy. I have a couple different ideas but I wanted to ask you.” You sat up to give him a proper look in his eyes, “Just amuse me, it’s the first birthday we’re spending together and I want us to both be comfortable with how we celebrate. It’s unknown territory,” you hold a hand out to him like you’re making a deal, “help me out here.”

He grins before pushing your hand out of the way and engulfing you into a hug. “All right give me second.” He rubs small circles into your back. “Hm.. Don’t get me anything fancy, so definitely nothing expensive. But I don’t want to say anything specific. I want to be surprised. Helpful?”

“Just barely,” you huff in a faux dramatic tone, “But yes, helpful.”

“Hey, if you really want an honest answer you could get me a rock and I’d love it.”

“A rock.”

“Yes, a rock.”

“You joke a lot, you know.”

He shook his head, “I’m not joking around, I’d love it and I’d love it because it’s from you.”

———

“Socks?” Your friend stops in their tracks.

You nod without taking your eyes off of the displays you’re scanning, “Mhm, socks.”

“Please explain before I cast judgement.”

“We’re at the mall getting socks because he has said so many times he - quote unquote - loves funky socks. And he’s always wearing a different pair when I see him so why not add to the collection?”

“Funky how?”

“Funky like his favorite pair have cats on it. As in he prefers striped or polka dot socks over plain ones. As in he complains when he has to wear plain ones for fancy events.” You smile remembering the last big meeting he had and the little grumble Tetsurou made as he put his socks on.

“Aw, I guess that’s nice then. Okay you said there was a another part to your gift?”

“Yeah, and if you’re loving this side quest you’re gonna love the next - oh! These! He loves space and these lil guys are way cuter aliens than the other socks.” You hold up the pair for your friend and they laugh in disbelief.

———

You can’t help but join your friend in laughing at yourself.

“You look ridiculous!”

“I feel it too but I need to find a good one. Just stand watch and tell me if anyone’s coming.”

You continue your search, picking out select candidates when you realize after quite a while your friend is no longer giggling at you.

You turn you turn your head and look up at them. Their grin is wide. “What?” you ask, cracking a smile of your own.

“This is too cute.”

“What is?”

“You’re squatting like a kid looking for the perfect rock to give your boyfriend because he said he’d be happy even if you have him a rock for his birthday. You’re like a little penguin and it’s really really cute.”

You give a bashful smile and go back to searching for the perfect one.

———

“Did you get full?” Tetsurou gives your leg a gentle shake from the driver’s seat.

“I did.” You take in the smile on his face. “How’s your birthday so far?”

He shakes his head. “Oh man, a great day at work and a great evening with you with great food? Pretty great.” He gives a cheeky grin.

“Good,” you respond, satisfied with his answer. “But actually I have one more surprise,” you reach down to your jacket on the floor of the passenger seat - where you had been hiding his present.

You hold it out to him and expect him to giddily open it up. But he grabs it with care and takes it in. This was a softer smile than you usually see on him and when he turned to look at you you swear his eyes had a brighter twinkle.

“Thank you, really. I was serious, you didn’t have to get me anything,” he grabs your hand and gives it a squeeze. “I’m gonna treasure whatever is in this box.”

“See what’s inside first,” you give his hand a squeeze of your own before dropping it so he has both hands free.

He chuckles and begins to untie the ribbon of the box. “Dang,” he lifts the box up closer to the car light above him, “This is a nice box. This is present enough.” Back to his teasing self.

“Open it,” you laugh.

“Okay, okay, but I’m serious. I’m keeping this box. it’s fantastic.” He lifts the lid and after of beat of silence of him processing what he sees he lets out a deep laugh at the rock sitting in the box. “A rock?” He laughs again before looking at you, “I love it.” He lifts it to get a closer look, reading aloud the tiny letters you carefully (stressfully) wrote on one side of the rock.

Happy Birthday Tetsu ♡

He traces over the date and your name you also wrote. He rolls the rock in his hand, tossing it a couple times. “This is like the perfect shape too. You know what, I’m putting this on my desk, that way I can look at it everyday.” He smiles at it once more before reaches over and gives you a big warm hug, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” you giggle before bringing his attention back to the box, “there’s more - just a little something.”

He lifts the piece of paper you used to separate the two parts of your gift.

“Socks!” He takes them out and looks at the design on both pairs. “Aw I love them! Hey these are great quality, they’re thick. Look at this one with the little aliens. And this one,” he lifts the other pair, “Is your aesthetic to a T.”

“That’s what I said!” you exclaimed in excitement.

He laughed at the outburst. “Then clearly,” he put each pair on either side of his face, “We’re the perfect pair.”

And maybe it was how he appreciated the small things. Maybe it was how his jokes, though corny, always made you smile. For reasons, emotions, beyond you, you decide then that yes - he’s the one.

hi!! given it’s been almost 2 years since i’ve written anything here i will no longer being doing taglists. ty for reading thooo <3

[luucypevensie]

cute character questions + tally?

YAY, MY FAVE DEMIGOD WITCH! THANK YOU HOPE! Tagging @daughter-of-melpomene because Ik she loves Tally too

The Basics

Name: Tallulah “Tally” Carmichael

Age: 15 about to turn 16 at the start of season 1 of Teen Wolf

Zodiac Sign: scorpio

One Good Trait: girl is exactly like percy; super loyal to the people she trusts

One Bad Trait: SO SUSPICIOUS OF ANYONE SHE DOESN’T KNOW

Habits

One Bad Habit: night owl over here; refuses to get a proper night’s sleep (then again, her mother is Hecate)

One Good Habit: she likes to keep up with current events, so she and her father have a tradition of reading the newspaper together in the morning while drinking their coffees

One Habit They Can’t Break: DRINKS WAY TOO MUCH SUGARY COFFEE DRINKS (she literally can’t go a day without one; her dentist LOVES her)

One They’ve Broken: whenever she got nervous, she would bite her nails down to a nub (she was able to break it by applying strengthening coats on her nails, as well as getting the occasional mani)

What They’re Afraid Of: that she’ll forever be cursed to love someone who doesn’t love her back

Family

Their Parents’ Names: Mark Carmichael and Hecate, Greek Goddess of Crossroads and Magic (side note: her paternal aunt’s name is Emily, while her uncle’s name is Clark)

Their Siblings’ Names: she doesn’t have any direct siblings, but she considers her little cousin Tatiana an honorary little sister

Favorite Childhood Memory: seeing her first broadway play at the tender age of 5 (it was beauty and the beast)

Favorite Childhood Toy: a kid-sized guitar

Embarrassing Story: i have a headcanon that tally goes on the quest with percy, grover, thalia, bianca, and zoe in titan’s curse. once they reach california, she takes them to beacon hills where she knows no monsters will reach them. after introducing the group to emily and clark, clark accidentally brings up the first time tally did some accidental magic (she turned her dad into barney in the middle of a temper tantrum at age 4). the whole group burst into tears of laughter while tally buried her face into a couch pillow and screamed

Favorite Family Member: it’s a toss up between her dad (she’s a total daddy’s girl) and her aunt

A Story About That Family Member: mark and emily’s mother, tally’s grandmother, was a powerful emissary for a pack down in georgia, so they grew up knowing all about the supernatural

What They Prefer

coffee or tea

showering in the day or night

taking baths or taking showers

tv or movies

writing or reading

platonic or romantic love

iced tea or lemonade

ice cream or smoothies

cupcakes or cake

beach or mountains

Favorites

Song: black magic by Little Mix

Band: Fleetwood Mac

Outfit: black turtleneck with a red plaid skirt, black tights, and black doc martens

Place: new york city (specifically broadway)

Memory: Scott telling her he loves her and then asking her out

Person: Erica Reyes (her best friend since kindergarten)

Movie: singin’ in the rain

Show: sabrina the teenage witch

[residentskeletoninthecloset]

I finished Lantern Rite '24 in the nick of time before it goes away on the NA servers and I'm so glad I did. Hoyoverse have a good record with this event and it was another spectacular one this year.

I did think Paimon is picking up a horrible habit being so rude. I remember some complaints about as much for Furina's story quest and it unfortunately seems to have continued. I don't usually mind Paimon and I even kind of like the little flying exposition fairy most of the time but she was super rude with some of the dialogue this year. Hopefully isn't an issue next year!

I really enjoyed Zhongli's appearance and immediate understanding of the not-so-elaborate plan the gang had cooked up. It's also really funny to think he was just out and about flying kites as the former Lord of Geo does. It was also really sweet that he and Ciao got to share the moment they did. Not often we get development between those two.

On that note I was especially glad I went to see Xiao after the Lantern Rite like he asked. Really cute and wholesome moment between the Traveler and Xiao. I don't get too into shipping but pairing the Traveler with Xiao has always been one of my favorites.

Back to the Lantern Rite itself I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed Gaming's focus for this year's story quests. I was already a fan of Gaming's personality and play style so I knew I was going to like it but it was even better than I expected. As someone that had similar familial issues and unresolved issues with my own father this year got me good. I'm really happy for Gaming, even though he's a fictional character, and I'm glad for anyone else who maybe by some stretch were able to work through some of their own familial issues in part thanks to this year's Lantern Rite. Stranger things have happened, maybe this silly little beautiful gacha game story can be a catalyst for good for some folks.

[lesvegas]

Question 12/13 for the fallout ask post? Also love ur blog sm <3

12. What’s a quest that everyone hates, but you like?

While I don't think anyone outright hates Come Fly With Me so much as they just find it tedious to do over and over again (and believe me, I Get It), I genuinely do enjoy going through it. Even though I can easily skip over Novac altogether let alone this one quest, I tend to do it when I can anyway because I like the tension that comes with sneaking around in cramped, dark corridors full of invisible guys that can easily kick my ass if I'm not careful. I also like disarming all the traps in the room Hadrian's in. Honestly it feels like a quest that caters to my overly-cautious stealth play style on top of being one of the most interesting side quests in the whole game.

13. Which companion quest did you enjoy the most?

I think it's a tie between Old School Ghoul and I Could Make You Care. I may be biased because Raul and Veronica are my two favourite companions, but imo they're also two of the most well-written companions with equally well-written quests.

While Old School Ghoul physically amounts to dragging Raul around while talking to some old guys, it also acts as a vehicle for him to tell his own stories (which I can listen to all day) and brings up the subject of... well, aging. Of growing up and growing old and changing as your body changes, while remaining who you are despite that. Raul was only around 30 when ghoulification hit, and is basically a young man 200 years older than he should be, and his body began to deteriorate while still in his prime. Despite this, he's tried to make himself Useful TM as both a handyman and a protector, facing the worst of the age of raiders and living long enough to remember it all. When he fails to protect someone, he seems to give in to his perceived uselessness in 'old age', giving up his guns altogether and settling for simply finding purpose in repairing things. It's only when he sees a few older men still doing what they can that he considers not relegating himself to a quiet life, though he still needs the courier to tell him that it's something to admire and that these guys aren't useless or should live a certain way just because they aren't physically the same as they've always been. You can convince Raul to take up his guns again to become a protector during and after the events of FNV, just as he had 200 years ago, and he does a damn good job of it despite his cataracts.

Meanwhile, I Could Make You Care starts with Veronica seeing just how well the rest of the wasteland is doing, from the Followers to the Boomers to even the Fiends (at least in how much trouble they give the NCR compared to the BoS). Exploring the outside world forces her to come to the conclusion that the Brotherhood, her family, is slowly dying because they refuse to change their ways even slightly to become self-sufficient. You have the opportunity to help her find something that will make the Elder wake up, from farming technology to an advanced weapon, but even with evidence the Brotherhood refuses to change. While you can technically convince Veronica to remain, I think it only narratively makes sense for her to leave, whether she ends up joining the Followers or not. She's seen how everyone else has adapted and continues to, and how the quick the Brotherhood is to turn their back on her the moment she challenges their dogma. Even if you can't relate to her on a personal level here, her quest is a powerful conclusion to the Brotherhood's role in Fallout as a whole (by which I mean fo1 and fnv) and serves to symbolize how fast humanity has grown in the last 200 years since the world ended. This quest is so fucking good it makes me wonder why all I ever seem to see from the fandom about Veronica is how much she likes dresses. Sure, it's a cute fun trait and we love her for it, but you'd think that's her main quest instead with how much people sleep on this one.

[theother-victoria]

Thank you everyone for the overwhelmingly positive feedback on What Once Was! I wasn’t expecting it to be that popular but since it is, I wanted to share some of my thought process and where I took inspiration for some of the scenes.

@snobwaffles tagged as u requested <3

For starters, I really enjoyed how the Hoyoverse writers didn’t give Scaramouche a typical redemption arc. I know many people were saying it was one and it did feel like one, but you take a closer look at the writing and realize it isn’t one because of one key difference: he is not forgiven by anyone. Part of it is due to the erasure of himself from Irminsul and the fact that those he needs to apologize to are dead 💀 ok well maybe Kazuha and the Kamisato siblings but we’ll see how their future interactions go.

This is debatable because redemption arcs are inherently a personal thing (to the character) and I could delve into a whole analysis on the quest and his character, but the most important thing in regards to “What Once Was” is that rather than “redemption,” “acceptance” is a better word for his development. I went through great pains to ensure (Name) did not come off as forgiving or disdainful after finding out the truth because a.) the former feels rather cheesy and for a story that focused on him rather than the reader, it would feel cheap and b.) the latter is a disappointing and unrealistic response in that situation.

Rather, I wanted them to be understanding. They empathize with the pain he’s gone through and understand his past self’s actions, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to forgiveness.

If you read closely, you’ll notice that (Name) never says “I forgive you” to him. The most they say is “why should I abandon you?” because they understand that he is trying to change himself for the better and that is enough to accompany him for the rest of his journey.

There’s a bit more about the ending (where I took specific lines from, etc) but that’ll be at the end of this post.

(Explanations for the rest of the story utc broken down by region)

act i: mondstadt

There’s not too much to discuss in this one tbh 💀 Mondstadt is relatively straightforward in comparison to the other two regions but there’s still a couple of Easter eggs hidden here and there.

For the descriptions of Mondstadt and the rest of the nations, I just opened up the game and described what I was seeing to the best of my abilities- it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to do so 💀

The first place (Name) and Ena go to is Thousand Winds Temple and I chose it for the sole reason that it was where Scaramouche made his first appearance in the “Unreconciled Stars” event. The historical significance of it also aligns perfectly with Akademiya (Name) doing their research at the time. Starsnatch Cliff, the next location he brings them to is also a popular getaway for couples in Mondstadt, so I added that for a cute romantic touch.

Did you catch the reference to Kaeya at Angel’s Share? How about Venti upon entering Mondstadt? There’s cameos from other characters throughout the entire story- did you catch them all?

Their last stop in Mondstadt- the top of the cathedral- is a reference to Amber’s birthday art actually! It was that one chibi art of her and the traveler sitting atop the church and Amber pointing out how a perfect view of all of Mondstadt could be seen.

act ii: liyue

I was writing Liyue when the Lantern Rite event was happening so I took extra measures to recreate that familiar festive spirit when describing the harbor and the celebrations. I actually drew upon my own experiences and some of what I’ve witnessed when writing this part, along with stories my parents have told me.

The biggest one is the releasing of the Mingxiao lanterns at the end. While Ena and (Name) write their wishes on them before releasing them, he also mentions how the people of Liyue have a tradition of writing riddles on them. This is a direct reference to a tradition in real life! Ever since the 6th century, festivals celebrating the Lantern Festival in China would have a popular activity of guessing lantern riddles (which became part of the festival itself during the Tang Dynasy), and it’s still done today in major cities such as Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Shanghai.

The releasing of lanterns can also symbolize people letting go of their past selves and getting new ones, so it could also be interpreted that Ena is doing this in order to further let go of who he was and embrace who he is today.

There was also a tradition in the early days where matchmakers would pair young people together in hopes of creating couples and the brightest lanterns were symbolic of good luck and hope so interpret that as you please 🤭

act iii: inazuma

This is where the bulk of the symbolism lies and also the chapter that gave me the biggest headache

The Statue of the Omnipresent God in Inazuma City which they pay a visit to early on clearly doesn’t look like the Shogun. Ever since Inazuma came out, there’s been a theory going around that the statue is meant to be Istaroth, the God of Wind and Time, especially with the Eye of the Storm necklace it has. It’s the theory that’s the most credible especially after Act 2 of Shogun’s story quest with the lore drop of Istaroth helping to get the Sacred Sakura Tree planted and it’s who I had in mind when writing it (the rhetorical question of who it’s supposed to be), but there’s also other theories out there.

The ringing of a bell at a Shinto shrine is meant to alert the gods to your wishes. In that sense, Ena is basically asking for his mom’s help 💀

I googled what the term “prodigal” meant and by extension, “prodigal son” and I got some interesting results. A prodigal son/daughter is someone who leaves home and behaves recklessly, but later makes a repentant return. Scaramouche definitely fits the former part, but he hasn’t really made a repentant return unless you count the Traveler whooping his ass, much less to Inazuma where after the developments of the archon quest, really wouldn’t serve much purpose because no one of importance would remember him. The Biblical parable of the Prodigal Son is similar. A son receives his inheritance (is being the Shogun’s creation a form of inheritance in terms of exalted status?), travels to a distant country (Snezhnaya, Mondstadt, Sumeru, basically the rest of Tevyat), wasted all his money in wild extravagance, becomes desperately poor (his humiliating defeat in Sumeru), returns to his father, and is received with open arms.

He fits the definition quite well, but it’s clear he’s not quite done with his journey as there’s still parts of the definition that he hasn’t met yet. Ena has definitely moved past the leaving home and behaving recklessly part, but he hasn’t made a repentant return home yet, which is what I wanted to write in the Inazuma chapter.

The ending of the archon quest ends with him remarking that Nahida seems to have his whole life planned out for him, which made me wonder what he would do after owning up to the consequences of his actions and is what served as the basis of this story. Inazuma is where I really got to explore this idea, especially when returning to Tatarasuna that is the ultimate manifestation of his guilt. This is the part that is meant to represent his repentant return home, but unlike the Biblical definition, he does not return home to his father (mother). But similar to the Biblical definition, he is welcomed back with open arms- in this case, the ghosts of the residents of Tatarasuna. In that sense, the Tatarasuna arc represents the end of his journey as the prodigal son and now, he is free to become who he wants.

act iv: sumeru

Nahida was… surprisingly hard to write despite only having a few lines. It took some input from others to get her personality down just right. The smart cookie line is probably my favorite one <3

The voicelines that (Name) hears when witnessing Ena’s memories are the same ones he heard when he was recovering them, but I also added some from Dottore and his character teaser + the iconic “are you dead or just stupid” line.

For the ending scene, I actually took reference from two fanmade comics. For the “What do you do with a broken doll” lines, I took that from @/4dango’s (twt and insta) comic titled “Kagome Kagome” and expanded on the idea that perhaps starting over is the best idea sometimes. @/emaiiyaru’s (insta) comic “atoning for my (your) sins” was where I derived the idea of letting go for the sake of your happiness from. I saw their comics early on and combining the two formed the ending I was working toward for three months.

Anyway, those were thoughts and inspirations as I was writing that behemoth of a fic. I hope you enjoyed reading this and learned a thing or two in the process!

[ac-liveblogs]

Lantern Rite 2023

The first two days were boring as sin. Nothing else to say about them. YaoYao got introduced and vanished, it’s a regular NPC storyline used in place of a playable character, it’s an excuse for another loredump and cares far more about the lore than the characters included, and I don’t care how often I need to say it - there is no point playing “who’s that Adeptus?!” in Liyue when Zhongli would happily answer every possible question anyone could ever have about that subject, and literally any other.

If you want to do mysteries like this, pick any other region, god. Also, please make a better mystery than “Madame Ping played a song this one time. It was a really bitchin’ song. Also a guy almost drowned. GUIZHONG EXISTED!”

Cloud Retainer is sexy now though. That’s cool, I guess. We needed that. Also, I love that every time Shenhe shows up lately she doesn’t know some extremely basic thing. Last time it was flavoured drinks, and this time it’s THE CONCEPT OF MUSIC, despite music being such a huge thing in her quest??? This woman has goldfish brain, I swear.

The epilogue was a little better - no lore dragging us down - and I was surprised (pleased) to see HYV actually picking up on the thread from the Chasm about Xiao needing to socialise more, and seeing him attempting (and struggling) to do so. Xiao is very cute. Nothing else to say. He raises my serotonin levels. I Like Him.

Although, speaking of Xiao, and I’m just throwing this out there - I think this event would’ve been better served if maybe instead of some rando from Fontaine trying to find the magical music playing person from another country that saved an ancestor’s life with breathtakingly beautiful music, we could’ve maybe leveraged the two characters in this event that already have that backstory, and were IN THIS EVENT, BUT WHATEVER. WHAT DO I KNOW-

Anyway, this event was clearly trying to be funny, and while seeing Xiao “?!” “um” “uhhh”ing was cute, the humour is definitely muted by the VA’s restrained performances, and the lack of facial expressions/restricted movements on the 3D models mean any scene always seems a bit slow and underwhelming and can really impact a joke’s delivery. More to the point, HYV really cares far too much about Zhongli’s dignity to be able to capitalise on a skit where both Hu Tao and Venti put a fair amount of effort into mocking him. His straight man routine is sorely lacking.

At the end of the day, it’s 40 minutes of people sitting around a dinner table and a decent chunk of it is “oh I met [x] at [y]!” As always, Genshin needs a script editor to trim the fat.

In terms of character dynamic:

Xiao and Aether’s slowburn romance friendship continues to be adorable, even if the foundation for its intensity is extremely shaky. Despite the fact that the PV wasn’t integrated into this year’s Lantern Rite at all, it did earn some points in my heart.

Chongyun, Xingqiu and Xiangling’s inclusions were mostly to justify the identity shenanigans involving Venti and Zhongli, but they were a bit lost in the scene despite this. The scene always seemed to forget they were there, which is a shame, because Chongyun has very specific beef with Xiao (per his mats) and Xiangling’s cooking should really be leveraged for comedy faaaar more often than it is.

Xiao and Zhongli is about what I would’ve expected it to be. Solid dynamic, no notes.

Hu Tao and Venti get on like a house on fire, which should really cause Zhongli more dread than it does. I did enjoy them burning each other, but again - HYV’s comedy is always a bit slow. Would’ve been great to see Zhongli lose his cool a bit.

It’s a bit sad that my relationship HCs about Xiao and Hu Tao, or Xiao and Venti, weren’t really challenged or confirmed in any real way. Due to Xiao’s dialogue about them in his mats, I’d assumed he’d already met Hu Tao and only knew of Venti, but I see that’s the other way around. Xiao clearly respects Venti a lot (the differing reactions between when you blame either Zhongli or Venti for Xiao’s awkwardness at dinner, plus Xiao’s reverence of Venti’s music, show that), but I don’t really get the sense that the two are “old friends”. If anything, Xiao having Venti as an “old friend” seems kind of odd given what we know of his backstory.

Anyway, I still think Mondstadt wins at festivals overall. Windblume soon!!! Looking forward to that!

[udretlnea]

Fav. Library Event (Headcanons; Piece #1/5)

A/N: "For the creator’s event at the Favonius Library”.

Taglist: @theblueskyofthedawn​

Headcanons

Venti

On the anniversary of their victory against Decarabian, he goes to that one tree in Stormterror’s Lair and plays a song he used to sing to his old friend during the past.

After the GAA event with Mona, Fischl, Kazuha, & Xinyan he fell off the roof of the Cat’s Tail and into a bundle of cats; he ended up bedridden in the church for several days.

The most drinks he’s ever consumed in one sitting was 100, and that was during one particularly bountiful Weinlesefest in Mondstadt.

(Ehe~)

Xiao

Created small shrines to the other Yakshas in a secret compartment in his room at the Inn; he regularly gives offerings of items that he thinks they'd like. (Ex: Bonanus- Rice Buns, Indarias- Chili Minced Cornbread Buns, etc.)

After hearing Venti play on the flute once, Xiao went and tried carving one himself to practice with; keyword tried because he has no experience in woodcarving. The result looks terrible, but he keeps it stashed in the aforementioned compartment.

When not suffering from karmic debt or slaying demons, sometimes he observes mortals coming and going in his little bird form, pretending to be nothing more than what he appears.

(I miss the other Yakshas...but their deeds won’t be forgotten anytime soon so that’s nice.)

Nahida

She makes bento for the Wanderer’s lunch, even decorating it with a cute lil’ Aranara made out of a radish.

Whenever Wanderer comes to visit report to Nahida, she takes the time to ask him MomTM questions like, “How was your day?”, “Anything interesting catch your eye?”, “Would you like me to make your favorite?”

 You know those Aranara in her character demo? She plays games with them irl whenever her duties take her near Vanarana.

(No thoughts, only Nahida-Mother brainrot)

Heizou

He has his own fanclub; they’re a small but passionate group.

Heizou thought that deep-fried food was mid at first, but after the day he received his Vision his perception of it shifted as a result of the trauma and thus it now tasted delicious.

Despite not looking like it, Heizou is a decent beetle battler; he’s managed to win against Yoimiya, but not Ayato.

(I lowkey like Heizou. People should appreciate him more.)

Kazuha

When Tomo was still alive, Kazuha would pluck a strand of the former’s hair and be able to play music from it as if it were a leaf.

Kazuha used to have nightmares about that day of Tomo’s execution whenever there was stormy weather, but after putting his friend’s vision in front of his grave they aren’t so intense anymore.

On one particularly fair day, Kazuha napped on a rather warm rock until sunset; he was later woken up by an amused Hu Tao who mistook him for a dead body and was in the middle of taking measurements for his coffin. The two sheepishly explained what they were doing to each other and quickly left; the event stuck with Kazuha throughout the present.

(I kind of went off with the last one here; I’m lowkey proud of it)

Tighnari

Tighnari once forgot to pack enough water during a trip to the desert for research and started acting like a clown because of thirst-induced hallucination; Dehya and co. found him before he could hurt himself and helped him recover. Tighnari doesn’t know that Dehya found him like that while the latter thought it was mildly amusing.

After the events of Nahida’s second story quest, the Traveler went to inform Tighnari about Nur and the other mushrooms at Mawtiyima Forest; now he helps tend to the garden there (if you did the quest, you know what I’m talking about).

When Collei still had Eleazar, if he heard anyone badmouth or berate Collei he would personally see to it the offender would be stuck with some embarrassing chore.

(Idk what went through my mind with the first one other than “shenanigans”. It was midnight.)

Albedo

Keeps a pouch of snacks inside his coat; it’s filled with spiders covered in a sweet resin (it sounds gross, but it’s actually quite tasty).

He’s gotten so detailed at sketching that he’s definitely opened commissions at least thrice; practically all citizens of Mondstadt flock to his office to ask for them so he’s had to set up a hard limit of ten commissions.

During the Irodori Festivsl he came across an onikabuto battle and was fascinated enough to go out and try it himself. He sometimes writes essays on the optimal and ideal form to engage in onikabuto fights.

(Can you tell that I loved the Onikabuto event so much I included it in several of these headcanons?)

Xingqiu

On one particularly sunny day, he tried to successfully practice the moves he read in his martial-arts book. He keeps practicing so as to have another option if he were disarmed in combat one day.

Thanks to the above, Shenhe and Xingqiu have developed a minor respect and the former even gives pointers on the off-chance she runs into the middle of his practice.

His hair used to be more professional and traditional, but he insisted on getting it cut to resemble Yelan’s haircut after that one encounter with her (see About Yelan) because he thought she was cool-looking.

(Nothing special on this one. This one’s fine.)

Sucrose

Regularly writes to Collei asking for updates on her teachings and offers to donate her books to Collei; Collie appreciates it, but declines because she’s determined like that.

At first, Sucrose didn’t have time for nor was interested in TCG, but after playing with the Traveler and Fischl she got hooked and now low-key collects cards a la Cyno.

When it’s just her and Albedo working together in general, she feels comfortable and safe enough to let her ears stand up.

(I wonder if Hoyo will have Sucrose and Collei interact again...)

[martianbugsbunny]

OUAT Thoughts Pt.28--Episodes 14-15

I have watched through S3E15; spoilers DNI. Also, spoiler warning for anyone further behind than I am.

—I think Bae’s death might’ve destroyed me even more than Rumple’s death. I didn’t really believe Rumple would be killed permanently. This one I do believe. What’s the point of bringing Rumple back if he can’t be with his son anymore?

—Rumple finally gave up the dagger for Bae. How dare that be in the same episode as Bae’s death! It’s too tragic.

—Tryna be positive here…it’s pretty hard. There were a lot of things about these episodes I adored, but A) I’m too focused on crying over Bae to remember them well, and B) many of them were related to Bae and Rumple.

—In this episode, I noticed that Bae’s face just lights up when he smiles. He has the most gorgeous smile lines around his eyes.

—I totally believe in bi4bi Rumbelle. Rumple’s seemed a lil fruity to me (on vibes only) since, like, day one. Belle’s outfit in the fairytale world, particularly the vest, is enough to encourage this headcanon. And it’s my headcanon, so I can have it either way. *shrugs* *dabs*

—Emma wanting to keep Henry’s old memories from him forever is really selfish. He has—well, now, only one other parent—but he has other family members who miss him. It’s especially cruel to Regina to want Henry in the dark. And it’s also not fair to Henry, because that was his real life, and because he deserves to know that he has another mom, a good man for his (dead) father, two grandfathers, and a grandmother.

—Snow’s pregnancy clothes are super cute. She’s got this adorable pink jacket that I absolutely love.

—I firmly believe that all of our heroes have a single braincell between them, and that the Wicked Witch has stolen it already. They’re all acting exceptionally stupid right now. This random lady they’ve never met shows up, claiming to have been a friend of one of Snow’s friends, and just happens to be well-versed in being a midwife? How is that not s u s at all, especially with the Wicked Witch running around?

—I was just thinking about how sweet Hook and Bae’s relationship could be, and now I’ll never get to see it again. They did that on purpose.

—And now Rumple is back in his basement cage. He’s completely under the Wicked Witch’s control. And he has nothing to ruminate on but his son’s death. There is literally nothing good in his life.

—Regina’s caught on to Robin being her soulmate. I hope she can work out her complicated feelings about that and start something with him.

—Rumple did look *fine* when he was resurrected from that goo. Although, his resurrection is now part of emotional damage, so…I can’t help looking back on that with a truckload of salt.

—Seriously, this sucks. I can’t stand it.

—I don’t think it would be possible for me to hate the Wicked Witch any more than I already do. Also, I’m bummed that it looks like I won’t actually be seeing most of the other Oz characters.

—That fear shadow thingy was freaky as hell. The glitchy way it moved was hideous. But it’s also a fun little philosophical idea, I guess.

—Rapunzel’s dress and tiara were ridiculously gorgeous. So shimmery and fancy. Also, Rapunzel being brunette from the start is interesting, although it doesn’t seem her hair has any magic in it. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that part.

—Actually, her entire introduction was little weird. I would’ve expected it to be a slightly more important event than a side quest for Charming. On the other hand, that’s refreshing. It somewhat allays my fears that the more modern princesses are going to hog the spotlight. (Especially the Frozen princesses. They terrify me.)

—They really need to work on a memory restoration for Henry. Him not knowing Regina is hurting me. Also, the fact that he doesn’t believe in magic anymore is depressing.

—I can’t believe we went through all of that just for Baelfire to die. It’s so unfair.

—I want Regina to smoke that Witch. I will admit, I’m impressed that OUAT can make that green biddy into even a little bit of a serious threat, but I don’t believe for a second that she’s more powerful than Regina. —If Rumple is forced to kill someone I or he cares about, I might have to quit the show.

—It was pretty stupid of Emma to leave Rumple in the forest by himself. Maybe it wouldn’t do any good to bring him with, considering the Wicked Witch has his dagger, but leaving him there? Not the most intelligent move Emma’s ever made.

—Charming is also the dumbest man alive not to have realized Snow was pregnant—or at least the most oblivious.

—His guilt over having to send Emma away is a decent plot bit, though. That scene where he dreamed about teaching her to dance for her first ball was so sad. It makes sense, and it will no doubt make thing with the new baby a little bit tense, and I’m all here for that.

—I’ve reached the end of the post, and even though I’ve found some positives, I’m still not over Bae’s death. Parents shouldn’t have to watch their children die—that’s that, the end, period. Stuff like Bae’s death, or like Philip Hamilton’s death in Hamilton, is painful to watch.

—It took me forever, but I finally realized that Emma was also Cassidy Sharp in This Is Us (which is, by the way, possibly the best family drama I’ve other seen, other than OUAT). Don’t know what triggered the epiphany, but it happened.

[aromantic-misguide-to-romance]

Thoughts on the Furry pop quiz

because I played it only hours before it ends, also as usual

even if I'm actually indeed a furry and have been since I was two, I'm kind of tired of furries in this game. Just how many animal and bunny events are there going to be.

locked route actually makes sense if you go through it platonically! The length is comparable, some interactions are longer when kept platonic. Episodes don't get cut immediately after opting out of romance! It's becoming a pattern because I've been enjoying events recently mostly due to them being actually not boring me to death anymore

if you go platonic, there's often something interesting about the dynamics between the boyos, so if you're playing for them and not for generic romance, there are some nice crumbs if you ask them about it

I have an impression that kiss quests will be back because I suspect that the fanbase has already started stirring shit about events having plot and not being all about kissing. But tbh I don't mind romance/harem choices actually have a kiss

I actually like this event a lot

give the boyos some lie detector animal ears and watch the show how they try to tsun around not to admit they care about each other

spoiler: it's not working and they're exposed

also Lucifer legit going "I want to sit out Feelingz", and showing that his usual high and mighty better than thou attitude is pure bullocks. Every 5 seconds, whenever he opens his mouth

but also these guys are disasters, the event wouldn't have happened if one question was asked at the beginning lmao. Aka "did anyone see [the lost thing's description]"

but srsly Solomon, that's not how research works

in conclusion, hilarious and heartwarming, a very cute event, I hope the trend continues

[tuxedo-rabbit]

Who should Marlow’s LI be?

I honestly am having trouble deciding, Writing out my thoughts on the two people I think would fit into his story the best, as well as what I like and dislike about Marlow and Cassandra, to try and help me figure things out. 

I know it’s my OC, but if anyone has their own opinion I’d love to hear it!

Dorian

Marlow and Dorian meet in Redcliffe briefly, Marlow ends up going with the Templars instead so the two don’t meet again till the attack on Haven. They have a bit of a rocky relationship at first. Dorian is upset that Marlow did not help at Redcliffe. Marlow thinks magic is dangerous and the two butt heads a bit on that. However, they’re both from noble families, they both don’t get along with said families, and they both ran away. It takes until after the first major Skyhold Quest (WEAWH) for them to be comfortable calling the other a friend, but then they’re very close. I could see them having a very deep romance in the end, depending on how Dorian’s romance is written. From what I understand, Dorian’s romance is a bit of a slow burn, so it would give Marlow some time to get over Cassandra before he jumps into something new emotionally.

Josephine

Marlow flirted with Josephine quite a bit in Haven, but stopped eventually when she showed no interest (plus he was starting to fall for Cass). They come from similar backgrounds and their families run in the same social circles. Both of them prefer diplomacy to violence and dislike unnecessary bloodshed. Marlow has quite a bit of respect for Josephine and the work she does. Josephine appreciates Marlow’s ability in politics (it was a surprise to her given his reputation and how much of a sarcastic goof he is). If they had a romantic relationship, I think it could be cute and balanced.

 However, the timing would be weird. Marlow would break up with Cass right before Halamshiral, go to the ball, finish up Josephine’s personal quest and then...jump into a relationship right away? I don’t think Josie’s relationship takes too much longer after you complete her personal quest and I’m right at the end of it in the save file I’d be going back to. I can’t imagine putting it off any longer than after the ball, what with Josephine’s life being danger (even waiting that long feels weird but I can fudge it if I decide this romance feels like the best choice). But at least Marlow would get a chance to dance at the ball with his eventual LI in this instance, since Josie is the default for a no-LI Inquisitor!

Cassandra

I could always stick with Cass and try to make it work. Marlow flirted with Cass from the get-go, at first just for fun, but then somewhere along the way he realized he deeply cared for her. He admires her passion and dedication. They’re both very Andrastian and she shares similar views to him on mages and templars. He trusts her and, before he got chosen for the role, thought that she should lead the inquisition. They form a very good friendship in the events leading up to the attack on Haven. Soon after they reach Skyhold, he realizes the depth of his feelings for her and stops flirting with others. He doesn’t expect her to return his feelings. He focuses on being a good friend to her while she struggles with the whole Hawke & Varric thing. Cass tells him she admires how decisive he is in his leadership and when she asks what guides him, Marlow tells her she does.

When Cass confronts him on the garden balcony, tells him what her ideal romance is and that she doesn’t think he can meet that ideal, I think Marlow is honestly confused. He’s not sure if that was a rejection or if she’s asking him to prove himself. I originally had him go for the latter and come up with this big romantic grand gesture on his own (I really love he idea of him scoping out the perfect place, and the quest to gather the stuff is honestly really fun). 

I have played through the romance scene, and it is really sweet, it felt mostly right for them. The immediate jump to sex felt a little rushed to me, after Cassandra showing 0 evidence of interest and 0 evidence of even like...silently yearning or whatever, but ok, I can try and make that work. But then I did the Winter Palace and...I get that Cass’s whole thing is that she puts on a tough front but really does want the romantic stuff, but the way it’s written came of more of her once again having 0 interest in Marlow romantically, and only begrudgingly dancing with him. Out of all the LI’s she’s the only one (besides maybe Bull) who has nothing really sweet or supportive to say during the balcony scene. She’s fed up with the ball and wants to go home, and she’ll dance with you if you insist but all you’ll get as a half-second of a smile and a “I guess this isn’t so bad,” and if you choose not to dance, you don’t even get to take a moment to be on the balcony watching the stars together like the other LIs. You awkwardly stand 3 feet apart for a bit and then go home.

I like the idea of Marlow and Cass being together, but not the way it’s written in game. If the rest of the romance scene’s are like this (which, I think there’s only 1 left) then...it doesn’t really feel like a romantic relationship?? I just don’t buy that Cass actually has romantic feelings for him, it feels like she wants an ideal romance maybe, but not with Marlow. Plus if I fail to get Vivienne to be Divine, Cass will most likely get elected instead, and I have a feeling that will end the relationship between them. 

So if they break up, it’ll be after Marlow has gathered all the material’s for his romantic grand gesture. In my head, he’s approaching Cassandra to talk about their relationship, to make sure he’s reading the signals right, because there would be nothing more unpleasant for the both of them then him making a big romantic gesture when Cassandra has no interest in him. The actual in game dialogue for for it goes like this (I’m paraphrasing):

Marlow: I need to talk to you about our relationship...

Cassandra: There is no “relationship” between us, I thought I made that clear.

Marlow: ...Quite clear.

Cassandra: Let’s never speak of this again.

Again I know this is probably supposed to be Cass hiding her feelings, and ending things first before she gets hurt. But in context of what Marlow knows, it feels like a confirmation that he’s been bothering her this whole time.

Ughhh I’ve been trying to headcanon my problems with the romance away but it’s just not working.

[hwaitham]

( ! ! spoilers 4 da 4.6 special program ! ! ) coco m feelin vrie hopeful 4 haithie in a 4.6 cutscene after dis special program ! ! ! at least . i hope cyno’s story quest ii will giv us dis :3 m So excited 2 get remuria lore dis patch too eek ! anw ya wen they mentioned haitham m brain went ! ! ! omgiez coco’z husband ! ! ! nnn event king itto is makin a comeback ! ! m Not gonna lie tho i dn’t rmbr meeting dvorak during da 3.4 lantern rite at All n wen they asked ‘ does ani1 remember dvorak ’ i Rllie thought they were talking abt mr new wrld symphony dvořák ૮꒰ ྀི . . ꒱ა umm . n on da topic of music ! m vrie excited 4 da third fontaine ost album ! ! bcos seeing u get all cute n excited abt genshie osts has inspired mi 2 go through da osts for miself n actually listen to th instrumentation n evithimg nnnn yea heheh

do u thimk u are gnna pull 4 ani chara dwis patch ? m kinda surprised they chose to rerun baizhu iiii personally think it wld hv been funnie 2 rerun wrio dis patch bcos he was d only person to talk abt remuria during da archon quest so . t’wld b a nice callback typa thing ukno ? did not mean 2 ramble dis much abt da special program lulul but ! ! ! m just so vrie excited for 4.6 aaaa wat abt u bbie ? — 🌷

( redemption codes 4 anione who needs them : WTKBMBD8ZZRZ ﾉ EAKA5BU9HHRM ﾉ 9B3AMTCQZYQ9 )

haii rosie ♡ im feeling vewy hopeful too .. when i heard his voice i started tearing up aahh ( ྀི o̴̶̷᷄ o̴̶̷̥᷅ ) most normal haitham fan ever ... will finally hv new voicelines to listen to on repeat heh . looking forward to seeing collei too in cyno's sq — i think she's such an angel ♡ im not too mawch of a lore player but remuria looks super beautiful .. it seems to be centred around music or some symphony of sorts so tht excites mi a lot 🫧⭐️ i wuz rllie happi to see another itto event as well =^__^= i know many ppl may be annoyed by him but he's a character so dear 2 mi so ... im grateful hyv is showing him the love he deserves . the gnshn osts are quite lovelie , yes ?? do u hv a favourite album ,, or specific tracks ?

im not rolling for anyone until m haithie has his rerun .. 119 wishes saved for him as of dis morning ♡ wbu rosie ? i fink i remember u saying u wntd to wait for wriwri , mhm ?

[flowersdaggersviolasandblood]

Flower Girl

Name: Pero Ophiin (She/Her)

Race: Wood Half-Elf

Class: Druid (Circle of the Land)

Background: Outlander

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!

Hey yo! It's been a minute since I updated this blog. As I mentioned before on my other blogs, my computer was dealing with an issue where the drivers were not updating properly. Not wanting to put further strain on my computer by continuously playing BG3, I decided to put this game down until I, one, got a separate work computer, and two, got my baby sent to the computer doctors. This, of course, caused me to spring two other game logging blogs related to Pathfinder: Kingmaker & Pillars of Eternity.

(You can find the blogs here and if you know my main blog, you can find them newly pinned there as well:

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/we-c0uld-be-kings

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thewatcherprevails)

But now that we're back in town, let's wrap back around to seeing how Pero is faring on her side of the world! Last we saw her, she fucked everything up at Last Light Inn by failing to save Isobel, got soft locked out of Halsin's quest all because I missed ONE FUCKING DOOR, was able to release and ally with Dame & Jaheira, and marched to Moonrise Towers to defeat Ketheric Thorm. But good lord, the many bodies that were left behind. Because Last Light fell, many of the Tiefling NPCs died, Isobel was mind controlled to fight by her father's side, with no choice to reverse the effects, the Harpers got bodied. All in all, we are pressed for allies at the moment.

Made even worse, the Shadow Curse still plagues the land, leaving Pero with a bitter taste in her mouth as the crew moves on to Baldur's Gate with the land demolished by the hungering shadows. Also, we didn't get to recruit Halsin because I MISSED ONE FUCKING DOOR!

On the road to Baldur's Gate, Pero talks with Wyll about how and why he got into his pact with Mizora. He explains his situation during the time of the Rise of Tiamat event. How he was swayed to fight an impossible battle, but was granted power by Mizora in exchange to save Baldur's Gate. But this resulted in him being banished by his father. When Pero asked if he missed his father, Wyll expressed that he did, harboring no ill will towards his dad since, at that time, Wyll was forbidden to truly speak of his pact.

As for Karlach, Pero is growing increasingly worried. With Dammon dead, thanks to the situation back at the Last Light Inn, Karlach is now out of a reliable source of mechanical help for her infernal heart. Pero is fearful of losing anyone else close to her, so searching for a solution to that heart is top priority for Pero. Pero and Gale also have a pseudo cute moment together as Gale expresses how he is amazed and curious about how the Chosen Three (Gortash, Orin, and Ketheric) were able to find a powerful artifact that still held copious amounts of netherese. He believes there might be some magical scholars in Baldur's Gate who might still hold some ancient knowledge and text about such magic that might help us determine how they got such an item and how to potentially control it.

As for Astarion, Pero does not hide that she doesn't think it right for Astarion to go ahead with ascending himself. Not that Pero isn't sympathetic to his reasons why, but Raphael CLEARLY stated that not only was this ritual absolutely diabolical, but it required souls to complete the spell. Which means, people will have to be sacrificed to ascend one individual. Pero still agrees to help Astarion stop Cazador, but she will promise nothing else.

As the crew were turning in for the night, Pero and the gang get overwhelmed by the voice of the Elder Brain, the Absolute, commanding their army forward to Baldur's Gate. Not only that, but some Githyanki warriors decided to hop into our camp and attack us. After narrowly escaping them, we enter the Astral Prism and discover the truth about our Guardian. The Guardian is actually a Mindflayer! One who calls themselves, The Emperor. Despite Pero's distrust of the creature, she fought alongside with them to contain another peculiar Gith that's trapped within the prism.

The Emperor goes on to explain their story, how they were not always a Mindflayer and stumbled upon Moonrise Towers to search for treasure. But what they found instead was a Mindflayer parasite in their head and being under the control of the Absolute. But they broke their hive mind state and left that lifestyle to peruse a path of their own once again. They were able to keep a stable and private life, but then Gortash found them and dragged them back to the Absolute.

What released The Emperor from this mental bounds was the discovery of the Astral Prism and learning of Orpheus, the lost Githyanki prince who has true control over the Mindflayer parasite and halting the effects of ceremorphosis. With this in mind, even if Pero doesn't like the idea of siding with The Emperor, she has no choice as it is clear that whatever their motives are, it's keeping her and the gang from truly transforming into thralls, or worse yet, Mindflayers.

When given the choice to evolve, Pero willfully refused, but the Emperor asked that she keep the starving larvae; confident that she will come around to wanting to enhance herself further with her tadpole powers. After that, the crew returned back to the Material Realm to finally get some shut eye.

In the morning, Pero decided to make a change!

Thanks to the previous update where we can now change our characters appearance throughout the game, I decided to change Pero's hair and face a bit to include scars and a new cut! Unfortunately, there's not a lot of braid styles in the game, so I stuck with a "shadowheart-esque" type updo. But I think it works for Pero here since it's showing her transition from a sweet, inexperience young girl to becoming a determined hero and adventurer. Months of experience riddling her once unmarred face. Now, I'll go into what we discovered and experienced while we were in Rivington in a separate post, but I'll leave this post on a more sweeter note.

As we're entering this new location, we are immediately approached by a heterochromatic child named Yenna and her cat, Grub. Yenna asks if they saw their mother by any chance as the young girl was informed that their mother was off to find food, but she hasn't returned. All around us in this area, there are clear signs of refugees, other than the Tieflings from Elturel, who fled to Baldur's Gate due to the coming army of the Absolute.

Out of kindness, Pero was able to produce some berries to allow Yenna to eat. The young girl happily thanks us and rushes away with their cat Grub. But don't worry, we'll see the young girl again pretty soon.

[astro-pioneer]

Celestial!S/O 『Xiao, Thoma, Childe』

No because why did this idea pop up when I was doing the second part of the event quest with my baby being the sensitive eater Traveler thought about- | I didn't know a good name for this since it was originally adeptus!s/o but that would only apply to the scenarios in Liyue so | These are shit I'm sorry fjwnfjej

⌾ He patrols the north, you patrol the south

⌾ Only lets you call him Alatus and secretly gets huffy when you don't

⌾ He may be the pickiest eater in all of Teyvat but if he know that you made the food? 100% will love it no matter what

⌾ Totally learned how to make your favourite food and makes sure there's a plate of it and almond tofu whenever he knows you're visiting

⌾ Making each other rest when it's their birthday and patrolling all of Liyue earlier in the day so the both of you can relax with each other

⌾ Totally asked you to watch the lanterns with him long before the Traveler even thought of him

⌾ That's why he kept on refusing to go with them but knew he was gonna get flustered if he told the real reason

⌾ Almost threw hands when he found out they requested your assistance with an issue regarding the Abyss and got yourself injured

⌾ Instead he resorted to silently brooding while making you allow him to patch you up despite not needing it

⌾ Will always put your call of his name over anyone else's and knows you'll do the same

⌾ Was iffy about you at first not gonna lie

⌾ Always knew you as an enforcer of the decree so he didn't like you

⌾ It was when he first witnessed a vision being taken that he started to see you differently

⌾ The guilt and obvious hesitation in your eyes and actions made him confused

⌾ You??? The lead general??? Are hesitant??

⌾ Started to notice that you ignored people's visions when patrolling Inazuma City

⌾ The first time he saw your face was when you dropped off supplies at the teahouse and had to take your mask off for security reasons (who would risk pretending to be the general anyway-)

⌾ AND THEN THE SMILE YOU GAVE TAROUMARU?

⌾ Boy was deceased right then and there

⌾ Took a while for you, him, and Ayaka to warm up to one another but after that it was monthly hangouts at the teahouse before the Shogun gave you more things to do before the decree was ended

⌾ Heard your signature weapon was a bow and wanted fighting tips

⌾ Grew from sparring partners to him practically stealing you from the Tsaritsa and dragging you everywhere he goes for jobs

⌾ Presented you in the most flamboyant way to Zhongli when stationed in Liyue

⌾ Always proud of you no matter what you did (and verbalizes it all the time).

⌾ Teucer loved you as soon as he met you while Tonia and Anthon asked questions before deeming you a friend

⌾ You found Teucer with the Traveler, Paimon, and a deactivated ruin guard and almost had a heart attack

⌾ The two just awkwardly watched as you doted and fretted on Teucer before asking where Childe was

⌾ Despite them not being on the best terms they couldn't help but admit that you guys would have a cute family but then realized you were cute already

⌾ Once saw you take a fatal hit for someone and, despite knowing only archons could kill you, went batshit

⌾ Definitely spit on the corpse of the one who hit you before carrying you back to the palace to patch you up

[multifandhoem]

Home || Issei Matsukawa x Reader

A/N: This is my present for @seita in the Haikyuu HQ Secret Santa event! It’s longer than I expected, but I hope you like it!

Genre: smut

Warnings: pseudo incest, stepbrother!Issei, softDom!Issei, virgin!reader, first time, oral (male receiving), spanking (female receiving), fingering, unprotected sex, squirting, cum eating, slight manipulative!Issei, a creepy guy tries to hit on reader at the beginning

Word count: 4713

READ THE WARNINGS, DO NOT COMPLAIN TO ME WHY YOU READ SOMETHING YOU DON’T LIKE!!!

“I’m going to the store do you want to come with me?”

Issei was leaning on the doorframe to your room, watching with a smile on his face how you excitedly crawled out of your bed, eager at the thought to spend time with your nii-chan. He was home from Tokyo for a couple of weeks and it has been so long since you could really spend some time with him, but with your parents, on a weekend vacation, you had him all to yourself.

Even if he wasn’t your biological brother, something made you always want to spend time with him. He was always radiating a sense of security. You really couldn’t imagine any safer place than in his arms.

Issei chuckled at the way you excitedly stood in front of him within minutes, ready to join him on his quest to the store, so you two would have food for the next three days.

“Well, then let’s go little one.”

Your heart jumped at the endearing nickname he had given you when you were first introduced as his little sister. You really loved your nii-chan so much it hurts.

*-*-*-*-*

It was the weekend before Christmas, so the store was packed.

Issei used his height to his advantage, scanning the aisles and navigating through the least crowded ones, with you clutching the ends of his jacket to not lose him.

“Hey, little one, we need some cheese, milk, and yogurt, can you get these here? I will go grab some cornflakes real quick.” He threw a reassuring smile in your direction before he already dipped down into some aisle, leaving you in front of the refrigerated display shelf.

You were always shy and unsure in situations outside of your comfort zone, but getting some ingredients.. you could make that work, you were sure of it!

Otherwise, Issei-nii chan would be disappointed with you and that was something you really didn’t want.

And everything went great, you nearly got all of the stuff Issei-nii had told you to get when suddenly this one man started talking to you.

“I can think of a better cream you can get.” He didn’t even introduce himself, just sleazily standing way to close to you after you had turned back around, cartons of milk in your hand.

“T-that’s milk.”

You wanted to duck away from the uncomfortable situation, when he suddenly took your wrist into his hand, tugging you back towards him. “Don’t be like that, I was just making friendly conversation!” The grin on his face made shivers appear all over your arms, but maybe it was also the cold shelf you stood in front of.

You shouldn’t think so badly about people or men in general. Stereotyping was bad.

“I’m sorry, I just have to get back to shopping.”

You tried to drop the cartons of milk into the cart, but he still had an iron grip on your wrist. “You haven’t even introduced yourself, that’s not very nice of you. You see, I’m-“ The rest of his words went down in an unattractive squeak, as he was suddenly ripped away from you.

You felt tears arise in your eyes when you saw Issei-nii’s furious face appear behind him. You really messed up this time, you didn’t want Issei-nii chan to be angry at you.

“Get away from her, you scum.” His voice sounded so scary, but after his face softened immediately when he laid his eyes on you you relaxed a bit.

He took the milk out of your arms, dropping it into the cart, before squishing you firmly into his side, navigating the cart with only one arm.

For the whole duration of your shopping spree, he kept you pressed against him, not speaking a word, which made you rethink if he really wasn’t angry with you.

He also had a mean look on his face, but you still couldn’t help but feel safe, tucked under his arm, nearly buried inside of his jacket, tightly clutching his sweatshirt in your hands.

*-*-*-*-*

By the time you arrived back home, you were sure that he was angry with you.

He had gripped the steering wheel unusually tight and he still hadn’t said a word to you.

“Nii-chan…” You fiddled with your fingers, standing in the kitchen while he was aggressively placing all of your purchases in the respecting cabinets. “I’m sorry I upset you. I really didn’t want to, please don’t be angry anymore!”

Your nii-chan was never really angry at you, so for him to be so aggressive now made you very uneasy, to the point that tears started appearing in your eyes, slowly rolling down your cheeks.

“Oh, my cute little baby, I’m not angry at you, come ‘ere.”

He took a big step in your direction, engulfing you in his arms. Immediately you felt warmth blooming in your chest, something only your nii-chan was able to produce.

“I could never be angry at you, baby. I love you too much.”

Issei pressed little kisses onto the crown of your head, his fingers caressing your back gently.

He wasn’t angry at you? The relief made you cry a bit more when the refrigerator started beeping due to being open for too long. Issei silenced it with a kick to the door, still cradling you in his arms.

_______________________________________________________________________

He slowly guided you to the couch where he seated you on his lap, pressing you tightly against him.

“My sweet, sweet baby. I love you so much. It’s okay. You’re just so naïve, I should have known. You’re just a small little baby, I should have never left you alone.”

He raised your head by your chin, kissing your wet cheeks repeatedly with his soft lips, making you sniffle. “I love you too, nii-chan.”

His heart exploded in his chest as you said that. Yes, you loved him. He could not have wished for more. But you should love him. He was your nii-chan. He protected you, he cared for you, he kept creeps like the man today away from you.

The whimper that escaped your lips made every little doubt and regret vanish. You were just so cute. When you clumsily started to move your lips against his, reciprocating the kiss, he wondered if you have ever kissed someone before.

Something primal in him growled at the thought of being your first kiss and within that second he was determined to not only be your first kiss.

Your cheeks were flushed, and your tear flow had stopped when you finally ended the kiss, resting your forehead against his’.

“I just don’t want anyone else touching my sweet little baby.”

“I didn’t know! I thought he was being friendly, nii-chan, really,” you defended yourself, desperate to make him happy with how you acted.

“Nobody is ever ‘just friendly’. Remember that. But you’ll only let your nii-chan touch you from now on, right?”

His hands roamed over her back and he smiled contently when you nodded wildly. “Only you, please, nii-chan.”

This time you took the initiative and pressed your lips to his, willingly opening your mouth for him to slip his tongue in.

The heat in your chest was overwhelming you, spreading through your whole body. You wanted to be good for your nii-chan. Wanted to show him that you’re his good little baby.

“Nii-chan!”

A shudder traveled over Issei’s entire body at your whimper of the title and he felt his dick twitch in his pants. You were still pressing yourself tightly against him, so he moved a hand to the lower part of your back, slightly pushing your hips forward until you were nestled against his sizeable bulge, even if he wasn’t even fully hard yet.

You moaned again, continuing to slightly hump him even though he wasn’t pushing you anymore.

_______________________________________________________________________

Did you know what you were doing? He wasn’t sure, but for some reason the thought only made him get more aroused. “You feel good, baby?” He couldn’t hide the slightly teasing tone in his voice when you kept humping him.

The face you made was so innocent but so vulgar at the same time, he loved it. “Yes, nii-chan!” You were already a bit breathless, moaning loudly when he moved his hips in time with your thrusts to maximize the pleasure.

You were extremely happy with the smile that had been on Issei’s face as soon as you started to push your hips against his. He seemed so proud of you. You never wanted it to end.

You have never done these things with anyone in your life, but your nii-chan would help you, you hoped. And he would still be proud of you. You increased your pace, humping him even harder and faster, moaning every time his cock was angled in the right direction, pressing against your little clit.

You had to do good for your nii-chan. You pushed yourself forward, lips crashing against his messily, your teeth colliding, a bit of salvia dripping down onto your chin.

“Easy there, baby.”

You had done something wrong. You realized it the second he assisted you in pushing your hips forward again.

_______________________________________________________________________

“I- I want you to feel good, nii-chan,” you stammered as a defense and he chuckled.

“You want me to feel good? Then stop humping my lap and get on the floor.” It took a couple of thrusts until you could stop yourself, abandoning your pleasure to shakily climb of his lap and sit on the floor.

“No, baby.” Issei chuckled at you, stretching over the couch to get a pillow he threw on the floor in front of him. “On your knees.”

You scrambled around to get in the right position, embarrassment burning on your face at your stupid mistake. You were now on the same height as the obvious bulge in his pants and uncertainly, your hands moved to his thighs and then the band of his sweatpants, to pull them down.

“Tch.” You pulled your hands away as if you burned yourself. “Did I say you could do that? Don’t be so greedy. Just wanting to get right down to business, I hadn’t expected for you to be such a whore.” You flinched at the insult.

“I’m sorry, nii-chan. I thought this was what you wanted, I only wanted to obey you.” The proud smile he had had on his face earlier had disappeared and you desperately wanted it back again.

“Put your mouth to better use.” He didn’t even wait for you. His hand just snaked itself into your hair, pushing you against his clothed erection, nuzzling your face against it. “Lick it.”

You tentatively started licking it, a sharp tug at your hair reminding you to not be too soft. It felt weird, your mouth was getting dry and fuzzy, but you still tried your best in licking his erection up and down, even sucking on some parts and all in all making a mess of his sweatpants.

“Good girl.” You doubled your efforts at his praise, trying to produce as much spit as possible in your mouth to continue slabbering against his crotch. He raised his hips a bit, finally sliding his sweatpants off, letting his half-hard cock spring free.

You looked up at him uncertain, waiting for permission to continue. A small nod of him was all it took for you to vigorously start lapping at his length, cradling it in your hands while wetting it all over.

_______________________________________________________________________

Issei loved the sight of you on your knees in front of him, tongue playing with his cock.

He wasn’t even fully hard yet and still, your face and hands next to his dick looked extremely tiny in comparison. But you were his tiny little baby, so what else did he expect?

He used the hand he had in your hair to align your mouth with the tip of his dick, pushing it into your warm cavern.

“You look so good sucking cock, baby.” You beamed around his cock at the praise, pushing down even further and promptly choking around his massive length, sputtering to get off it right after. His brows furrowed, his hand keeping you in place.

You weren’t even halfway down, you had to do better than that. He had to teach you. “Relax your throat, if you want to be good at that. I’m not even halfway in, there has to be more that little mouth has to offer.” Tears were welling up in your eyes as you felt him in the back of your throat, the corners of your mouth burning from the stretch around his girth.

You had read somewhere that you should not use teeth under any circumstance, so you tried your best to keep them shielded with your lips, even though your whole mouth was filled.

You wanted to suck, make it tighter and more pleasurable for him, but there was no room for that. And he still didn’t stop.

When you started violently gagging, he held still for a moment, but he didn’t let you retreat. He wanted at least three-quarters of his cock buried in your mouth. Anything else would be unacceptable. He couldn’t have a little sister who could only fit half of a cock in her mouth.

And you understood. Your eyes were big and filled with tears, but you still gazed at him with adoration in them. Your nii-chan was teaching you how to suck dick properly. How to pleasure him properly. And there was nothing more that you wanted, other than your nii-chan feeling good because of you.

_______________________________________________________________________

After he was content with how much dick you could fit in your mouth, he pulled you off of him, letting you breathe for a couple of seconds before shoving you right back down, now bobbing you on his dick.

You tried doing something, eventually giving up, relishing in his moans while he fucked your mouth. Every surge of pleasure of his was a different pleasure for you.

Seeing your nii-chan get off with your mouth, feeling his dick becoming fully hard, because of you, it was the greatest pleasure you ever experienced.

“Good little baby. Sucking my cock so good.” The praise made your insides bloom with a comfortable warmth. You did good. Your nii-chan was happy with you.

One of your hands cupped his balls, fondling them, unsure what to do with them. But he moaned louder, so you were sure you were doing something right. You wanted to see his face, but the tears streaming out of your eyes obscuring your vision, only getting more with each time he hit the back of your throat.

_______________________________________________________________________

The sounds you made were heavenly. Issei wanted to record you to always hear them.

The choking and moaning around his cock was something he could never grow tired of. He wondered if you would swallow his come like a good girl.

He would make you swallow it one way or another, either directly from the source or licking it up from his fingers, his cock, or the floor.

The thought sent shivers down his spine and he thrust even harder. The image of you licking his come off the floor. He had to try that sometimes.

Probably not today, if you behaved. It was still your first time after all and he was a good nii-chan.

“Keep going, baby, just a bit longer.”

Praise made you more eager to please, practically devouring his cock, tongue moving everywhere it could while he was still restlessly thrusting into your mouth, nearing his climax.

You were just so cute, with spit and tears all over your face, humping the air while kneeling between his legs. Issei was sure you weren’t even aware you were doing that. You just loved him so much.

_______________________________________________________________________

His thrusts grew more and more erratic and his groans louder. You tried to blink the tears out of your eyes, but new ones were appearing over and over again.

You just wanted to watch your nii-chan lose himself in the pleasure you gave him. When you could finally make out his facial features he had a breathless smile on his face. A feeling of accomplishment bloomed in your chest, especially when he gently took up more hair in his hand, pushing it out of your face in the process. You just felt so loved.

And then he came.

You were so grateful for your nii-chan’s come, even though you had to choke a bit when he pressed you deep down onto your dick, shooting his seed deep into your throat.

He still kept you around his dick, as his breathing came down again, enjoying the slurping noises you made around his dick, desperate to not let a drop escape. Seems like he worried for nothing.

“You did great, baby.” He finally let you come up for air, chuckling at your proud smile. “Thank you, nii-chan. I really enjoyed it.” He mentioned for you to come back up onto his lap again, letting you sit on his lap again, his sweatpants still dangling around his knees.

“Leave it there. I like you messy. Especially when I’m the reason for that.” He stopped you from wiping your spit and tears from your face. You looked so good with a wet face.

“I’m never going to be messy for anyone else, nii-chan. Only you.” He groaned at your statement, feeling his dick springing back in motion again.

“That’s right, baby. Only messy for me, right?” He chuckled at her nodding, tapping your ass. “Then let’s reward you for being a good little baby. Lay over my lap.”

It was borderline funny how fast you scrambled to get into position, even though he had to help you a bit until your ass was positioned right over his crotch, his large hands roaming over your cheeks.

_______________________________________________________________________

The teasing touch already made you twitch thanks to the pent-up frustration you had from sucking your nii-chan off. But a warning slap to your right cheek made you remember your position immediately.

With one final movement, he pulled your leggings down until they were hanging below your ass, only exposing your round cheeks and nothing more.

“Such a pretty baby,” he hummed appreciatively, fingers dancing over your naked cheeks, sometimes even dipping between them a bit.

You whined against the pillow you were pressed against, drool already sullying the cover.

“Don’t be an impatient brat.” He spanked your ass again, making you moan. “Let nii-chan be gentle with you, you won’t like the alternative.”

You weren’t sure if you could dislike anything your nii-chan did to you. But you trusted his judgment, biting into the pillow to refrain yourself from whining.

Finally, his hand dipped down between your checks for more than a quick brush over your lower lips. He let out a surprised moan when he let the tip of his pointer finger dip between your lips.

“Oh, baby, you are embarrassingly wet. Did sucking me off turn you on that much?” He laughed a bit, swirling his finger around in your wetness, eliciting quiet sighs from you. “I like making Issei-nii feel good,” you confessed, missing his content nodding.

“Yeah, you do. You’re the perfect little sister, aren’t you? My slutty little sister.”

He dipped a finger into your hole, making you arch your back, pressing up against his finger. He immediately removed it again.

“Look at that. You suck your nii-chan off one time and suddenly you think you deserve more than I decide to give you?” You whined in apology, forcing your ass back down.

“I’m sorry, Issei-nii.” He returned his finger back to your entrance and this time you were a good girl, not moving.

There was a slight squelching noise when he started slightly thrusting his finger in and out of you, enjoying the way you obviously had to hold yourself back from impatiently moving.

_______________________________________________________________________

Even though Issei’s fingers were thick, one of them was not nearly enough to quench your thirst. Especially when he was neglecting everything else apart from caressing your asscheeks with his other hand.

But apparently, your silent prayers were heard, since he gently started prodding at your hole with a second finger. You immediately felt much fuller, even if it wasn’t enough yet. If he could move a bit faster, or harder, the situation would change, but at the moment you were breathing into the pillow.

“Moan for me, baby. You shouldn’t move, but you can make me hear how good I’m making you feel.” He scissored his fingers a bit, promptly eliciting a moan from you.

“Can you move faster, nii-chan, please?” He allowed you to talk, right?

Apparently not, when he pulled his fingers out from your pussy, delivering a harsh slap onto your ass, making you flinch in surprise.

“I allow you to moan and you are already requesting stuff? Bratty little slut. Well, I’m going to give you something more.” He pushed you off his lap, roughly tugging you upright, pushing your leggings off of one leg, so you were straddling him again.

He took your face into his hand, squishing your cheeks together, smearing your essence all over them in the process.

The big dick of your nii-chan was already hard again and the second you wanted to gently rut against it, he lifted you a bit, aligning his cock with your entrance. Excitement filled every one of your pores at finally being one with your nii-chan.

That was until he slowly pressed into you.

_______________________________________________________________________

With the way your hole fought against his dick, there was no way you weren’t a virgin. The thought of being your first made him slow down for a second to contain his excitement. And he still didn’t want to hurt you too much.

He had wanted to prep you more, but you had decided to be a little brat. He worked his cockhead into your little cunt, groaning at the feeling of your wet insides engulfing him.

“Too big, nii-chan. Too much.” You were whimpering against him, tears streaming down your face once again.

“Remember, you decided to be a little brat and not let me stretch you properly first. So now take it like the slut you were trying to be.” He spanked your ass again before taking mercy on your shaking form and moving his fingers to your neglected clit, rubbing it gently.

Suddenly your whole body tensed up, a rough shiver moving through your whole body, legs twitching, mouth opened in a silent scream.

It took a couple of seconds for Issei to realize what was going on, but the erratic clenching of your pussy was, what gave you away. He was only inside you with the head of his dick and you had come.

Your cunt kept sucking him in, making him slip in a couple of centimeters further. He really had to hold himself back. You just looked so fuckable. He couldn’t believe you just came, without him really doing anything. Not that he had anything against that. You were just so fucking perfect.

“Fuck, baby.” With a deep growl, his hips thrust up a bit, sheathing him inside of your cunt halfway. “That was the hottest thing I have ever seen.” A tired smile was on your face, happy at the praise, even though you weren’t really understanding what had just happened.

If he had known that you were so sensitive, he would have fucked you a long time ago.

_______________________________________________________________________

Issei gave you a small break to come down from your high before he started massaging your clit again, ready to elicit more of your beautiful moans from you.

And he was not disappointed.

Your mouth was dry from the continuous moaning he made you do, his skilled fingers making you relax more and more, making you forget the pain while you slid further down onto his cock.

You were already so full of your nii-chan’s cock. You couldn’t imagine anything more having space inside of you, but when you looked down you saw that there was still a bit left. And you were determined to take your nii-chan’s cock fully.

So, you kept sinking down more and more, until you were fully pressed against him, his dick completely inside of him. The proud smile on Issei-nii’s face made you forget about all of the pain as you blinked the tears out of your eyes, stretching yourself to connect your lips again.

It was only when he slowly thrust his hips up again, that you felt a bit of pain return, but not nearly as strong as before. On the contrary, the pain was kind of.. pleasurable?

You felt dirty at the thought, but your brain was emptied again when Issei-nii began to move normally, thrusting his cock in and out of your stretched cunt at a slow pace.

_______________________________________________________________________

He kept his eyes fixated on your face to see any signs of discomfort immediately. You were looking so hot. Your tongue was rolling out of your mouth, you were panting, and your eyes had a delirious sheen to them. You already looked so fucked out. And he hadn’t even really started.

He quickened his pace a bit, but still no signs of discomfort. Your moans got louder, and you tried meeting his thrusts with your hips. You really were perfect.

He moved you until your back was pressed onto the couch and hastily shoved a pillow under your ass. Now he could really let go.

Already the new position made you see stars. It felt like he was even deeper in you if that was even possible. He hooked your legs over his shoulder, leaning over you until your knees were pressed into your body. And then he started practically hammering into you, eliciting a loud scream of his name from you.

It took only a couple of thrusts until you were spasming around his cock again, but he couldn’t stop. He was in way too deep. He just had to ruin you now.

“Issei, Issei, nii-chan, I – I – fuck, please, please, more.” The words you were slurring had no context, you just didn’t want him to stop. You felt something good coming.

Issei wasn’t even thinking about possibly stopping. He was too enamored by your tight cunt sucking his cock in over and over again.

He felt his release approaching. But he wanted you to come one last time around his cock, so he squished his hand between your bodies, furiously rubbing at your clit, watching you lose yourself with a loud scream, your body twitching with the intensity of your orgasm, liquid spurting out of your abused cunt. It was the sight of your face and the feeling of you squirting that made him lose his composure, shooting his seed deep inside your cunt.

_______________________________________________________________________

You were breathless, slowly coming down from your high, while Issei-nii peppered your face with kisses. “You did so good, baby. So good. Perfect little baby. I love you so much.” The praise made your heart bloom, and you gave him a tired smile. “I love you too.”

You whined when he pulled his cock out of your abused hole, watching with fascination how his cum dribbled out of you, mixing with your fluids. He scooped the mixture up on two of his fingers, hovering them in front of your mouth, not waiting long until you had sucked them completely clean.

“Messy little girl, squirting all over me, ruining the couch.” You were too tired to pay any mind to his words, only continuing to suck his fingers every time he offered them to you.

He cleaned you up correctly after having you eat your cum, gently wiping you clean with a washcloth. He would have preferred to shower you, but you already seemed like you were going to pass out every second.

You felt his gentle hands around your abused cunt, removing the sticky feeling and sliding clean clothes onto your body before carrying you somewhere, probably his room, if you could go from the scent.

And in the back of your mind that was still conscious, you couldn’t help but be excited about everything the next few days had to offer.

[shroudcore]

Speak now, or forever hold your peace. (III)

Summary: You successfully convinced Eliza to stop the wedding. Unfortunately (or is it really), Eliza has come to a solution that she thinks would be best for everybody and it’s happening no matter what. 

Idia x GN!reader. Reader is MC, or takes the role of MC in this story.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)

Warnings: none

As if by some miracle, he was still standing—even after you failed to convince Eliza how unnecessary a wedding would be. Now face-to-face with you on the altar, he still couldn’t believe how things turned out. This wasn’t  supposed to happen in real-life. Things like these were the stuff of movies. Or anime. Or dating sims. 

Ace, Epel, Rook, and Riddle were freed at your request. They, along with Ortho, were now arranging the paralyzed students into chairs, since Eliza refused to let them move for disrespecting the “couple”. When you ran out of excuses, some heavily opposed the impromptu wedding. Idia knew why: he wasn’t the only one in NRC who liked you like that. He’d been aware of some schoolmates’ attempts to romance you for a while now. Really, all you had to do was pick a route. 

How did he know, you might ask? It’s not like he secretly researched and listed down his competition so he could keep an eye on them. 

Alright… maybe he did. Heat crawled up to his neck at the thought of anyone finding out. 

“So… we’re getting married,” you said, pulling him out of his thoughts. You spoke slowly, as if testing the words in your mouth. Like him, you couldn’t quite wrap your head around the fake wedding just yet. You fidgeted more than usual—barely looking at his face or talking to him since you joined him at the altar. 

Were you thinking of the same thing? The inevitable kiss after you say your vows?

A weak hum was all he could manage. A smile appeared on your face, showing that you understood. You didn’t tell him to speak up; you never told him to. Somehow, the sight of that smile put him at ease like a recovery potion after a Despair battle ailment. It felt like another day in his room, the two of you hanging out and eating candy. 

“Nice suit, by the way.” 

“Th...anks?” Idia turned his head to the side. If he looked at you any longer, he might combust. Not that he didn’t already. Which was embarrassing btw.

You inched closer, making him gasp and jump back as multiple alarms went off in his head. Really… mind the Personal Space Bubble! Oh wait… that’s right. He’d stopped telling you off for getting too close long ago. 

Your face flashed a look of surprise, which quickly faded into concern as you observed him. When you whispered, your breath grazed his neck and ear. Hopefully his shudder escaped your notice. 

“You okay?” Immediately, you backtrack. “Wait, that was stupid. I know you’re not.”

“So many people watching...” he mumbled. His eyes quickly scanned the hall. “I can’t do this.” And he ended it there. You didn’t need to know how he felt about marrying you.

Again, you understood. Your smile faded and Idia found himself missing it immediately as it went. 

“Sorry, I...” you look down, fiddling with your fingers again. “I really should’ve tried harder to stop this.” 

Idia silently wished for dialogue options, because he didn’t quite know what to say to that. However, it looked like he didn’t need to. You took his hand and squeezed it, a determined fire flickering behind your eyes. 

“This’ll be over soon. Just hold on,” you said, squeezing his hand. “It’s just another quest, player 1.”

At the familiar nickname, he smiled in spite of his thumping heartbeat and everything that had happened. “Let’s do it, player 2.”

“Let us proceed with the ceremony!” Eliza, who had been watching the two of you closely, was eager for the wedding to commence. She clasped her hands in anticipation, looking no different from a normie watching a Rom-com. At her command, the wedding music played again—the same one as before. You gave Idia a look and shrugged. 

“Can’t believe we’re getting married to this music...”

“Sounds like doom, doesn’t it?” 

“Isn’t that what marriage is? Doom?” 

“Haha! E-exactly…” Normally, he would’ve agreed wholeheartedly. This time, he couldn’t help but wonder if that’s how you felt marrying him. 

The ghost officiant returned to the makeshift altar (maintaining a good distance from you). Each NRC student who had the misfortune of attempting a proposal sat in a chair, watching the event. You smiled reassuringly, eyes sparkling like embers. 

“We are gathered here today to unite these two lovers in the bonds of matrimony,” the officiant begins. The darkness of the hall gave him quite a sight: the flickering flames of his hair illuminating your face in blue light. Seeing it, when in the safety and darkness of his room, made him feel this warm, fuzzy feeling he thought was reserved for 2D characters. 

“Do you, Idia Shroud, take … as your lawful spouse, to have and to hold from this day forward—for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, keeping yourself solely unto them for as long as you both shall live? If so, answer " I do". 

This’ll never happen in real life. “I do.” I don’t have a chance, do I?

Confessing would only ruin the bond he had with you. If it meant never losing your friendship, then this fake wedding would be enough. 

He looked at you, standing in front of him as you were about to say your own vows and silently implored Mnemosyne to burn this scene into his memory forever. 

“Do you take Idia Shroud as your lawful husband, to have and to hold from this day forward—for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, keeping yourself solely unto him for as long as you both shall live? If so, answer "I do."”

It seemed that you were doing the same. Idia faltered under the intensity of your gaze. “I do.”

“I now pronounce you as spouses. You may now kiss!”

Here it comes. CODE RED! CODE RED!

The way Idia’s face burned rivaled that of his hair. He was becoming hyper-aware of the snickers coming from his schoolmates. Seeing you made him worse—the corners of your mouth twitched and your shoulders shook as you fought back a laugh. 

“Hey! We’re about to kiss and you’re laughing?!” he cried, covering his face. “Kill me now.”

Just like that, your quiet and tender moment was gone. You couldn’t hold it in anymore. Covering your face like he did, you erupted in giggles. Peeking out from the gaps of his fingers, Idia thought about #3 from the Signs of Attraction list he found on the Internet: 

“Another unconscious sign of attraction is mirroring, or matching another person's movements. When people are interested in one another, researchers have found that they tend to mimic each other's movements and gestures.”

Nah. Can’t be. He would have thought it was cute, if you weren’t laughing at his expense. 

“S-sorry! Your hair’s just—” another round of giggles interrupted you. “...burning really brightly!” 

“I can’t help it, okay?” he said, face red from annoyance and of course, the thought of what you were about to do. “Stop!” 

You tried to stop, but just the sight of his red face and hair sent you into another round of wheezing laughter. So hard you laughed, that an inhuman sound came out of you. Immediately, you stopped and looked at him, eyes wide. 

But it was Idia’s turn to lose it. 

“You… sound like… a Minecube pig!” he said, each word punctuated by uncontrollable peals of laughter. The wedding attendees had no choice but to watch on as you and your groom wheezed at the altar instead of kissing. 

“Baaya, what is wrong with them?” a confused Eliza asks. 

“I do not know, but it is apparent that they were made for each other.”

It wasn’t until the annoyed officiant cleared his throat that you and Idia stopped. You straightened up, wiping tears from your eyes as you tried to catch your breath. It was only then that your expression turned serious, but not without a few traces of your mirth from a few seconds ago. 

“Idia, we don’t have to—I’m really, really sorry about this, okay?” you whisper to him. “I know how much you value your firsts…”

“It’s fi—”

“...not that I’m assuming you haven’t had your first uh, kiss yet but—oh god, I uh… ” 

No dating sim—nothing could have prepared him for this situation. But strangely, laughing his ass off with you gave him a spark of courage that he rarely ever felt. In a moment, he would be kissing you. He hopes that courage lasts. 

“Let’s get this over with,” Idia surprised even himself with how steady his voice sounded.

“Oh…” 

You were still, staring at him open-mouthed for what seemed like a few minutes. He stared back, until you were forced to avert your gaze to the ground. Something told him that he was doing something right. A lone voice from the audience chanting “Kiss!” pulled the two of you back to reality. Someone was making an obnoxious kissing sound. Neither of you dared to look and see who it was. 

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” the ghosts joined in on the chant. 

Shyly, you lifted your head back up. “O-okay. Here goes nothing!”

He tried recounting how first kisses were described by people on the Internet, from his manga, and the countless dating sims he played. Some said there were fireworks. Some said it felt electric. Some described the feeling as the rest of the world falling away. One swore it made them feel like the ground disappearing beneath their feet and before they knew it, they were floating. 

Should he close his eyes? Which side should he tilt his head? Where does he put his hands? How exactly do you kiss? Questions, panicky thoughts, and movie kissing scenes ran through his head like a computer reading code. When you leaned in, someone pressed ‘mute’ on the sounds in the hall and all that was left was him and you. 

When you held his face in your gloved hands, it was Error 404. He let his eyes flutter closed. When everything went dark, all he felt was the shy, feather-light brush of lips against the corner of his mouth. Not quite on his lips, just dangerously close. 

Purer than a first kiss, but more than just a friendly peck. The students of NRC witnessed Idia’s hair at its most fiery just the same. 

~~

To be continued. 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA Characterization hard

Hehe, hope you liked this. Part 4, the finale, coming soon. 

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)

[yandere-romanticaa]

Honestly, as much as I would love to see more Kazuha, I don't see him getting much attention later on. Unless he comes to play a bigger role and get his own quest, kind of like Albedo did. I know a lot of people underestimated him so skipped his banner and now everyone wants him. As a Kazuha haver, he reveals some interesting details in his dialogue. Such as how he may respect Sara and Raiden, but cannot forgive them for what they did. And honestly, I don't blame him. I think Kazuha's completely valid.

I actually think the opposite of what you think. I think a majority of the female characters Mihoyo pumps out (with unrealistic outfits for battling, like seriously who wears panty shorts to fight?) do one of two things: either they make the female character follow the "overworked and more work" troupe like their whole personality surrounds their work (ex: Keqing during the lantern rite, Jean during her quest), or they make a good female character with good potential but kill that potential (ex: Sara being a good leader but blindly following Raiden, Raiden having the potential to be a good morally gray character but being made to fit the cute waifu standards in the end). So yeah, there are my thoughts. Yeah, I can debate about this for a long time. I have many criticisms.

WAIT, you make a valid argument in the second bit!!! I enjoyed playing the lantern rite event but I didn't even realize that I had an issue with Keqing's story until you pointed it out?! As for Jean oh Lord, I love her so much, are we really going to forget that she's a hopeless little romantic at heart? We don't even need to give her a romantic interest tbh, maybe she can get a little story where she learns to love herself while still keeping that dream of hopeless romance alive!

As for Kazuha, I can't help but to feel a little smug how everyone skipped him and now people want him so bad. He's a discount Sucrose they said, but my boy ended up being one of the most used characters ever, I've never met anyone that wasn't satisfied with having Kazuha! 🥰💅Story wise though, I also don't really see him becoming super important either because with Albedo he at least has a little bit more depth to him and I don't think his story is over quite yet lmao