#i just don't have the time to write so much filler

[beauty-and-passion]

Why you should listen to Chonny's Charming Chaos Compendium

I didn't expect to truly write a post about this album.

Anons introduced me to its genesis, production and themes and they seemed interesting... but was there enough food for thought?

I had no idea. My expectations were positive, so I imagined I would listen to something good: I just didn't know if this album had enough for me to talk about and say something new - considering that the CCCC fans already did a great job analyzing every detail of the songs.

But when I listened to them (and read more theories/explanations), I noticed some interesting things. Things that stirred my brain and made me think. Things I wanted to talk about.

So here I am, writing a post about Chonny's Charming Chaos Compendium Volume 1. I am not pretending to explain the lore or the songs in detail and I don't want to bother you with an extremely long post. All I want is to give you some material to decide if CCCC is worth a try.

And, if you've never heard about it before, I hope my words will spark your interest, because this album deserves more attention.

One last thing: please be aware I will talk about all sorts of themes, from love to suicide, because those are also the themes of the album.

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A simple plot

I can hear you, fans who have listened to the whole album: simple story?! It's complicated! It's open to interpretations!

And yes, you're right. But if we consider the core foundation on which the songs are built... well, that's quite straightforward. With this album, Chonny Jash is telling us about his struggles and how they led to a psychological split inside him into Mind, Heart and Soul. Then these three parts start fighting, until they find a way to reunite again.

And yes, we can also add that this is a time loop and things are destined to repeat themselves, but the structure is still simple, clear and concise. As clear as the tripartition of the album into Calamity, Cacophony and Concord, three parts that correspond to the story's three main points: the split, the fight, the reunion.

And this simplicity isn't a bad thing, oh absolutely not. This is perfect.

There's a common misconception that a good story should be complicated. The plot should be complex and convoluted and the more complex and convoluted it is, the better the story will be. I made this conceptual mistake too and it took me years to realize how wrong it was: the better stories are not the most complicated ones, but the simpler ones.

Why?, you may ask. Isn't a simple story proof of amateur writing - or even worse, lack of creativity?

Actually, it's quite the opposite and there are four reasons why:

If a story has a simple, clear foundation, it will be easier to build on it: a simple foundation is stable and strong, it won't break down too easily. You can add layers and metaphors and hide your plot points behind different interpretations, but your public won't get lost, because the foundation would still be clear: there are three figures, they fight, they reunite. Everyone can understand it.

If everyone can understand your foundation, your story is universal. Everyone can approach and experience it, from an old person to a child, and everyone will find something inside: a message, a feeling, a piece of advice, anything.

If your story is universal and the foundation clear, your vision is also clear. And if your vision is clear, you know what you're doing. And if you know what you're doing, your story will be much more organized too: there won't be dull/useless parts, filler, or moments in which you're just dilly-dallying, waiting for the right idea to strike.

Since your story will be more organized, the flow will be better too and the events will make sense, the public will be more prone to welcome the suspension of disbelief and immerse themselves in the story. People aren't stupid, they can subconsciously feel when an artist is confident and the story is strong. And once they feel it, you win. The public is yours now, you can guide it into your world and show your vision as you intended. And people will let you do it, because they know they're in good hands.

This is what I experienced too, the more I progressed with my listening. There was a lot of care behind every word, the lyrics kept explaining and expanding the plot and everything showed the confidence of an author who knows what he is doing and how to do it.

And there's nothing better for a story, than a confident author.

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Clear elements despite the ambiguity

Even if the foundation of CCCC is very simple, the story is enriched by a ton of ambiguities and things purposely left very vague. They may be better explained when/if Volume 2 comes out in the future, they may be left open to interpretation forever. It doesn't really matter: having a full understanding is good, but leaving everything behind a veil of mystery is a good choice as well. It depends on Mr. Jash's choice - and if my previous point wasn't clear enough, I trust this guy's choices.

However, despite the ambiguity, I also really appreciated how there are a lot of extremely clear elements in this story, starting from some events, to specific details of the main characters involved.

Some examples?

Heart tried to shoot/kill/destroy Mind

Heart's breakdown is due to something love-related

The whole series of events is stuck in a loop

Mr. Jash threatens suicide if the parts of himself don't reconcile

Mr. Jash frequently talks about how he keeps making covers of songs others made before him

And what about the details? For example, we know that every character has a specific set of elements associated with them:

an object: a blindfold (Heart), a crown (Mind), a trident (Soul)

a name: Artemis/the moon/Juno (Heart), Apollo/the sun (Mind), Atlas (Soul)

a color: black+purple (Heart), blue+white (Mind), gray+red (Soul)

And those are all elements we get from the songs and they get stuck with you, while you progress with your listening.

Again, this is a very clever choice: considering everything is open to interpretation, having some clear elements serves as "anchor points" in a sea of ambiguities. By doing that, the listeners won't get lost in a maelstrom of possibilities, but they will keep being guided down a clear path - the one traced by the main points of the album (breakdown, fight, reunion).

Also, having some fixed elements keeps everyone's attention too: some people might like to get lost in pure ambiguity, but most lose interest in a too-vague story. Even if the author had a clear plan, if everything is too obscure, people will inevitably think: "It's incomprehensible, so the author had no idea what they were doing" and ditch the story entirely.

Mr. Jash handled the ambiguity aspect very well, by balancing the obscurities with the clear elements. And this proved, once again, how clear, strong and detailed his vision is.

_______________________________

Favorite character?

Ooof, that's hard.

Each character has a specific personality and that alone proves how carefully Mr. Jash planned every element related to them.

Heart is sad, desperate, apathetic, prone to self-pity, sick and tired of everything. But he's also strong enough to try and oppose Mind out of fear of what he could do. He tried to attack someone as powerful as him and take him down, just to preserve the Soul and save their vessel.

And that proves he's not weak at all: he's a lot more powerful than he seems. And, as he said, he's not a child: he felt Mind could've been a threat, so he took the matter into his own hands and tried to find a solution.

And it makes sense his solution was so drastic, because it was dictated by feelings. Because the Heart is influenced by feelings. It's perfectly coherent with the kind of character he is.

Same goes for Mind: he's cold, harsh, a threatening figure because of his design/nature. He takes control of the situation, he appoints himself as the new leader, he wants to react, do something, move forward and ignore the element he sees as the weak link.

And he definitely doesn't hold a grudge towards Heart, nope nope: my bro spent a whole song saying "Look at Heart, he's an idiot". And then, if this isn't enough, he ended his song, by calling Heart "akaryocyte": which is a cell without a nucleus. Hence, a virus.

I'll admit it: this sick burn is the sickest burn that ever burned and probably the most clever insult I've ever read and that made Mind top #1 best character of the album - sorry Heart, but Mind is too sick. (Also, I am a cold logical person too, so I ended up thinking the guy wasn't so bad after all.)

Last but not least, we have Soul. And Soul is basically shut down all the time by these two motherfuckers arguing, to the point he looks more like a shadow, rather than a real character... until he decides that you know what, time to show how confident he actually is:

You must be so arrogant to think that either of you Can control The Soul so wholly When to be one whole you can't hold solely

One song was enough to show Soul's true colors. He's stronger than the other two, he's more in control than them and he's the only one able to draw a line and make an actual threat: if they do not find a way to reunite, he will kill them both.

A couple words and Soul's picture got flipped: he's not just a background voice anymore, he's the leading figure now. And if he is sick and tired, then these three are facing the real shit.

But just like the other two, Soul isn't just that and we see it in The Bidding.

Here happens something incredibly beautiful: once Heart and Mind find a way to harmonize, Soul immediately rejoices: with the impatience of a child, he asks them to do it again, "One more time, go again/No, this can't be the end". Soul, this powerful figure who threatened suicide one second ago, begs them to try again, to do it "for me", because they can finally harmonize, because "I don't know how much more I can take".

Once again, with a couple sentences, we learn how heavy this whole situation has been on Soul and how eager he is to try again, once the other two find a possible harmony.

This doesn't just show how deeply Soul has been affected by the whole situation, but also (on a higher level) how strong hope is.

Soul was ready to commit suicide: a few verses before he said this was the day "we'll tie the rope". But one small step in the right direction, despite being flawed and made out of spite and resentment, was all he needed to change his mind and drop the idea of suicide entirely.

That also proves how human Soul is. Because this is what humans feel too, especially when they play with the idea of suicide. Most of the time, this idea is the result of desperation and inability to find a way out of a situation that seems impossible to overcome. But once these people find even a teeny tiny fragment of hope, the will to live overcomes desperation and people latch to said hope, no matter how small it is. And, just like Soul did here, they try to have it again, to repeat it, to feel that spark again.

Because the will to live is always much, much stronger than the desperation that leads to suicide.

_______________________________

The choice of a time loop

These three characters are stuck in a time loop: things are destined to repeat themselves. And believe it or not, but this is extremely human too - and a clever choice as well.

From a psychological perspective, Mr. Jash can "break" again anytime. Life is full of stuff and events, so... who knows? Maybe in the future, he will face another heartbreak and his Whole will break down into three once more. Or maybe it won't be because of a heartbreak: maybe something else will happen and lead to a new split, a new fight and a new reconciliation. Maybe even the lack of confidence that starts to shine in Concord is proof of a future split.

But if we think about it, the time loop works from another perspective too: a meta one.

Every time you listen to the whole album, every time to replay the songs, you are relieving the split. Every time you listen to them, Whole splits into Heart, Mind and Soul. Every time you trace their history, they split, fight and reconcile.

In other words: every replay is a new loop, a loop in which these characters are stuck - not just because of their humanity, but because they're characters and this is their story. They cannot escape from it, because that's their entire world.

I don't know if Mr. Jash thought about that while making this album... but he gave me this thought and that's just another proof of what I said at the beginning of this post: if a story is very well made, everyone can find a message inside it. And I'm sure you will find something too.

(How about a coffee? ☕)

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TAGLIST:

@royalprinceroman @mudpuddlenl @allmycrushesaredead @aquatedia @whatishappeningrightnow @effortiswhatmatters @bella-in-a-bag @doydoune @forever-third-wheeling @payte @hypnossanders​  @idontreallyknow24​  @imcrushedbyarainbowoffical @patton-cake​  @hereissananxiousmess​  @purplebronzeandblue​  @cynicalandsarcastic​ ​@lost-in-thought-20 @andtheyreonfire​ 

@riseofthewerewolf​ @rosesandlove44​​  @chewy-rubies @groaaaaan​ @arya-skywalker  @csi-baker-street-babes @queen-of-all-things-snuggly @reesiereads @dracayd-universe​ @starlightnyx​ @stubbornness-and-spite​ @averykedavra @joyrose-fandomer @mihaela-tbg @igonnatalknothing

@thatoneloudowl @grayson-22 @softangryfuckingdepressed @theotherella  @boopypastaissalty @nevenastark @varthandiveturinn @roses-bubbles @cuter-on-the-inside @coldbookworm @snixxxsmythe @charmingcritter  @analogical-mess @emphasis-on-the-oopsie @selfdestructivecat @yangwalkerao3 @the3rddenialist

[lix-ables]

ʚ : TURNING SKZ ON WHILE MAKING OUT ₊̣

note. helloooo !! please take this as a mini filler while i write skz + bondage, skz + corruption and god knows what else . enjoy !! ( based on an ask i got for hyunjin, decided to do it all for the members !! )

mdni, smut includes – making out duh, leaving lipstick stains on them, grinding, marking, handjobs, cockwarming thats it ig . (wc 1207)

B.CHAN … either you’re on the couch or on the floor with him leaning against the couch while you’re on his lap. his fingers are in your hair, and that's how he tugs you close before leaning in to kiss you. what would start off as something innocent, would actually turn into chan having his hands all over you, his fingers caressing your skin, or slipping them inside your shirt to feel you up, obviously being very subtle about it. that is until you grind up against him, your hips brushing his crotch and he lets out a sigh before pulling away from you to look at your face. “what?” you frown a little, your eyes following chan’s as he points to his now forming boner. “i didn’t m-mean to!” “it’s alright love, it just means i don't have to deal with this alone?”

L.MINHO … from the very start, minho can’t get his hands off you, exploring every inch of your skin, before pulling you against him so you can feel his dick through his sweats. “guess i missed you a little too much today,” he mumbles between kisses, his hand fumbling to shut the door close. your nails dig into his shirt when he moves to your neck, tugging your sweater to expose a bit of your shoulder. his kisses trail all the way from your lips to your neck and finally rest on your shoulder. “so fucking gorgeous,” he smiles against your skin when your hand reaches to cup his boner over the sweats and you whine when he pressed into your hand a bit more. “you gonna do something about that?”

S.CHANGBIN … changbin did NOT expect to get turned on so quickly, but from the moment you climbed onto his lap, to the second your fingers trailed and traced every bit of his chest, he felt goosebumps. his hands were at your lower back within seconds pulling you close to him, only for you to lean close to his face, a smile resting on yours before pressing a single kiss to his lips. changbin deepened the kiss before you could even pull away, his hand now cupping your face, moving down to wrap his fingers around the back of your neck, until you find something poking from under you. “fuck im sorry,” changbin breathes to your neck, as he moves forward to press kisses to your neck. “sorry about …?” “my dick,” he laughs, nuzzling his nose to your skin.

“we can stop if you –” “do you want –” you and changbin start to say at the same time before he urges for you to continue. “i was gonna ask if you wanted me to help you, because..” you whisper to his lean when you lean in close, your hips moving against his clothed cock which changbin decided really wasn't helping, “…it’s clear that your dick loves this.”

H.HYUNJIN … make out sessions with hyunjin could last hours if you both wanted it to – which leads you to right now. you’re sitting in front of him, his lips swollen from kissing him, hair so long and messy now that they covered his eyes a little, his sweater hanging off one shoulder exposing the part of skin that you had earlier marked, along with the reddish marks on the side of his neck and collarbone. the corner of his lips was smeared with your dark lipstick, and he lets out a sigh which came out as a pant. “fuck.” he mumbles to himself like he couldn't believe what just happened. “fuck is the right word to describe it..” you start, moving to him once again, your hand accidentally brushes his crotch, and you feel him twitch a little under your touch, and he shifts in his place on the couch. “did you..” “don’t finish that sentence,” he warns, eyes glaring at you just as you continue, “like that? you definitely did, oh my god.”

H.JISUNG … make out sessions with jisung are the complete opposite compared to hyunjin’s – they’re sloppy and messy and heated. which leads you to currently having your fingers reaching inside his sweats to bring out his dick, your thumb caressing the tip as you lean in to continue kissing jisung. his lips are swollen now, and so are yours – a bit more red compared to his but as you pull away, you notice his face now littered with your lipstick stains and he chuckles at your expression. jisung’s fingers rest around your wrist, helping you stroke him, before you squeeze it a little, your grip tightening around his length, and you earn a moan from the boy in front of you. “fuck do that again,” he mumbles, his hand reaching to tug on your hair.

L.FELIX … “baby we have a long day tomorrow,” felix starts to say when you lean in to kiss the corner of his lips, trailing those kisses all the way to his neck, staying there a bit longer than intended. you know he’s given in when he has his arm around your waist to pull you closer to him, and he mumbles how pretty you looked. you wrap your leg around his, tangling them together, when you accidentally brush your thigh against his dick, and he lets out a low groan that gets you wet immediately. “i-im sorry!” you start, but felix just reaches for your hand, resting it against his crotch with a smile on his face. “you just need to finish what you’ve started, don’t you love?”

K.SEUNGMIN … not the type to get turned on that quick, but when you start grinding against him, seungmin helps you out. his hands rest on either side of your thighs, teasing you once or twice by thrusting his hips into yours, mentioning how you started it when you begin to whine and protest. “you’re the one doing this to yourself, baby,” he starts, while also shifting under you to get more sounds out of you. “im merely just… complying to what you want – to tease me, hm?” seungmin would in turn tease you just because he can, and also that its his way of trying to distract himself from knowing the fact you’re turning him on while you’re making out.

Y.JEONGIN … definitely would NOT waste time when he knows what he wants – which is why you’re in the situation that you’re in right now – in jeongin’s living room, on his couch, cockwarming, while he scrolls on his phone. god forbid he takes a selfie with you right there, because, after the make-out session you had, your face pretty much looked fucked out. “you are at fault here,” he mumbles into your neck when you whine at him thrusting his hips into you twice, your walls clenching around his cock. “who pounced on me?” “no one fucking pounced on you!” you start when he interrupts you with a kiss on your lips. “well you started grinding against me, offered me a blowjob and also make me give in to this,” he smiles, pointing at the way your body is pushed up against his, your nails digging into his skin which you knew would leave some marks soon.

🎮 . taglist . @telesvng @starlostseungmin @chrisbahng @comet-falls @niijo @chvnnie @joonszn @cherryhanji @blueberry-chan @dnadoublefelixx @ethereallino @stuckwithaphobiaa @chewryy @bangchanbabygirlx @zizis-world12 @aimeexx @whatudowhennooneseesyou @nightlychans @americanokisses @katieraven @hwan-g @idek-at-thispoint @es-kay-zee @writerracha @lethallyprotected @lino-jagiyaa @zoiescastle @compersian @jilixcuddles @teaspeungmin @eulaenthusiast @chriscentric @iadorethemskz @abcdefgiwsmcty @l3visbby @yukichan67 @hoshologies @zee17 ( green and bolded means i cant tag you ! this maybe has something to do with your visibility, which you can change in your settings ^^ )

© lix-ables. translating and/or reposting is not allowed.

[eternalsa2z]

Dear Diary

DAY 1

I don't know why I'm doing this. I found this hot pink journal in my room. The logo is a little silly but it'd be a shame to waste all the paper. So I guess I'll write down what I'm thinking.

DAY 3

Honestly this has been nicer than I expected. It feels good to get your thoughts down on paper. Then you don't have to think so hard about your troubles.

DAY 7

I noticed how negative I've been when journaling. So I decided to be more positive and try some new things. Dress nicer. Take care of my appearance more.

DAY 14

I went to the salon today. It was a strange impulse after writing down things I wanted to improve. Just a little trim...maybe some highlights. Something simple.

DAY 15

I went full blonde today. Light blonde. I should feel self-conscious but it feels...sooooo good!

DAY 28

Another salon day! Got a touch up with a cute pigtail hairstyle...and a bit more. The girls convince me try some filler and more than a 'lil makeup. It felt like a lot but they were sooooo excited. So I couldn't help being excited too!

DAY 40

Like, people are looking at me funny. Is it my clothing? They, like, don't fit as much any more. My boobies...I mean breasts...seem bigger. Butt seems rounder. Oh well! Time for a shopping spreeeeee!

DAY 47

Um, like, sorry for not writing more. I've been, like, sooooo forgetful of late. I do my makeup, squeeze on a cute outfit, then I totes forget anything else! Is that bad? 'Course not! It feels too good to be, like, empty headed

DAY 55

Cherry is having truble trouble thinking. Cherry can't, like, 'member lyfe life before writing in diary. Was Cherry, always blonde, busty, and unsofisycated unintellygant dumb? It's like Cherry's thot thoughts all gone once she writes. But at least, like, she's hawt! :)

DAY 69

Cherry iz, like, luving lyfe! Peepole call me, lyke, a dumbo bimbo...but Cherry soooo doesn't care! Cherry iz happy. Cherry iz cute. Cherry iz, like, no thinky any more since she start wryting in diary.

[showtoonzfan]

Now that the episode is out officially, here’s my rant review of Oops!

PROS:

- Fizz and Ozzie were adorable and I honestly love them. Despite the sex jokes, you can tell they love each other for who they are OUTSIDE of sex. While I did wish we would have seen more, (like how Ozzie took him in and fell in love) they’re still adorable to watch. They’re the better version of Stolitz, can the show be about them instead?

- Brandon’s voice acting holy shit, he really knows how to sound like he’s in tears or is broken. As much as I hate the character and feel no sympathy, he displayed genuine and broken emotion very well.

- Alex Brightman Alex Brightman

Okay that’s it. Moving on to the Cons. Bear with me, it’s a lot and I go back and forth a bit. 😭

CONS:

So for a quick short summary, this episode:

- Once again puts more focus on the filler plot rather than actually focusing on the relationships between the characters, so all we're left with is a 10 second clip of Fizz being burned while the rest of the episode is surrounded on sex jokes/petty bickering and Stolas and Ozzie sitting around.

- Completely erases what made Blitz and Fizz's dynamic interesting in the first place because it retcons it with a dumb miscommunication trope about how Fizz actually wanted to see Blitz and Blitz tried reaching out to him. Not only does this feel like a cheap attempt to make Blitz out to be sweet/sympathetic and NOT the one in the wrong so Fizz can suck up to him, but this also makes no sense within the narrative.

- Has Fizz forgive Blitz despite him being the last person anyone would think would forgive him. (So honestly ruins Fizz himself because it turned him into a soft boy who's forgiving compared to the asshole he was in Ozzie's) All because Viv would sell her whole soul before she even remotely considers painting characters like Blitz and Stolas out to be the one's in the wrong.

- Takes Stolas out of the hospital completely, erasing all the drama/tension Western Energy had and proves that that episode was utterly pointless.

- Turns Striker from an interesting complex villain to a Saturday morning cartoon goon.

- Proves to us that Crimson is just a flat tool and gives us more prove that the world building rules Viv set up in season 1 legit don't matter.

-Ruins Blitz/Barbie's feud now because now you're making Barbie look like the one in the wrong since the fire was an accident. God forbid a female characters emotions in this show are justified.

But if you want my more in depth rants, it’s under the cut! (There’s a lot so bear with me lol)

- As usual WAAY too many sex jokes and swearing. It gets annoying and repetitive at times and some of them distract from the main plot. There’s a long and I mean LONNG dragged out joke of Fizz talking about Ozzie’s dick, then later saying he’s hard when Striker has a gun to his head, as well as Blitz making a joke about him and Fizz making out once they hug. Again, Viv can’t be serious for 2 seconds without an unfunny shitty gag. I genuinely wonder if Hazbin is ganna be like this, where a character is in a life threatening situation or a deep dark serious scene happens only for the next scene to be sex related.

- This is one of those “shit happens because the plot demands it” and it shows. Crimson and Striker COINCIDENTLY meet up with each other, and Fizz and Blitz just so HAPPEN to be in the same exact area they are. Viv wonders why we call her shit a fanfic and this is what we mean, when she creates wild wacky plots and focuses more on THAT rather than the actual character writing. This entire episode hinges on a useless poorly last minute planned kidnapping plot that didn’t need to happen. Also way to once again make the characters idiots so the plot can happen, cause Fizz KNOWS Ozzie worries for him and that the Greed Ring is dangerous, yet purposefully puts the spotlight on him.

- Stolas did NOT need to be in this episode. The plot completely ignores the fact that he was in the hospital the last time we saw him, and he’s only here for Stolitz banter. You’d think that a character admitting they have feelings for someone would be a big deal but he just flat out says it and it’s so underwhelming and feels half assed with no weight to it. Fan comics have made more dedication to this than Viv has. We're supposed to believe him too despite the show failing to actually SHOW us this. Same for Blitz ranting about how “nice” Stolas has been to him, laughing at his jokes and liking his posts…hey Viv, can we actually SEE that on screen so it’s more believable? Or are you only determined to show them sexually flirting? 😑

- Once again Viv felt the need to shove a B plot into this episode and this one sucks because it’s just two characters sitting and doing fucking nothing. It felt like Viv had no idea what to do with Stolas and Ozzie, and I refuse to believe that Ozzie just sat there knowing Fizz was in danger. If anything he would have said “fuck the paperwork” and went to save Fizz himself. Way to show that gif of Ozzie getting mad as a sneak peak to get fans excited, only to see that Ozzie spends the rest of the episode sitting in a dark room LMAO what a let down.

- Ozzie is weirdly chill and cool with Stolas and it’s something I don’t get. While he did say that Stolas had the real “spirit of Lust” in S1E7, it still gave you the impression that he was also more poking fun at Stolas rather than respecting him. The whole point of House of Asmodeous was that Ozzie outs him and publicly embarrassed him. Stolas literally was intimidated just by Asmodeous’s mere name, and hid his face around him. It seemed like Stolas certainly didn’t want someone like Ozzie to know about his private life especially since they’re both part of the Ars Goetia. Now here Ozzie is just cool with him and it feels like a missed opportunity for their dynamic.

- Stolas confessing his feelings about Blitz also makes…no sense narrative wise. I thought the whole point of The Circus and the ending to Western Energy was that he was realizing that Blitz didn’t like him that way and was finally waking up. I thought that’s why he was doing this whole crystal deal in the first place, so he can let Blitz go, yet the show keeps flip flopping and insisting that these two love each other and are good for each other. It’s really making you realize how this season and the previous stuff set up is becoming nonsense because the writers retcon EVERY damn episode. Also….why the hell is Stolas telling Ozzie his feelings for Blitz? Out of all people, why is it Ozzie, the person who outed Stolas and embarrassed him. Why is Stolas even respectful of Ozzie? He has no reason to, and he’s not under the impression that he’s dating Fizz either. I get that he needs the crystal but mentioning his love for Blitz makes no sense.

- Striker and Crimson teaming up to kidnap Blitz and Fizz was such an ass puller last minute decision. It feels overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time, more because it feels like Viv has no idea what to do with these two villain characters other than give them something evil to do to start the plot. Also…why…are they working together? It feels so random.

- Striker’s character especially is all over the place. First he’s working for Stella, then he’s painted as the best assassin in hell, and now he’s…looking for more work I guess and working for Crimson? Why? Does this guy even have a motive anymore? It feels like his character is just dangling around until Viv wants to use him for another wattpad kidnap plot and it ESPECIALLY shows when Striker escapes for the THIRD fucking time. Can this character/storyline actually GO somewhere or are you just going to keep introducing him and have him run away. 🤦🏽‍♀️

— How did Crimson not know who Striker is despite him being labeled as “the most popular assassin in hell”, and how the hell does Crimson know Ozzie and know all the information about him being in a relationship with Fizz?? Oh right because we needed the plot to happen somehow. Still, even if Crimson did know that Ozzie was the "weakest" and loved Fizz, (which….what about Beezlebub?)) he still should have known he was playing with fire. I get that he's supposed to be evil and intimidating but how could he have predicted that Ozzie would actually stand down and fill out the paperwork? He could have immediately came there and killed Crimson for all he knew. It's just distracting how..not planned this shit was.

- Fuck this episode for calling Striker a supremacist. It makes no sense?? Viv is trying SO hard to villainize him despite him being the one in the right and it pisses me off. He has every right to be mad at the upper class, he’s part of the lower class that we’re said Hell takes advantage of, but god forbid we call out Rich and powerful Stolas because that would mean he’s a b-bad person and we can’t have that complex morality! This is so not a “eat the rich” story and it shows bc Vivzie is rich as hell. Striker as a character deserves so much better man. Congrats writers, you had an interesting character and motive set up for him, now he’s nothing but a silly goon that you might as well kill off already cause you clearly don’t care about him. Crimson meanwhile is just a piece of paper, a boring plot device I could give less of a shit about. I thought his motive was to go after Moxxie, now he’s just doing fuck whatever because this show desperately wants a bad guy for their filler fanfic plots.

- We get more world building issues, Ozzie and Fizz are so determined to hide their relationship for obvious reasons, but then at the end of the episode just say “fuck it, no one would dare tell anyway”. So now they’re being open about their relationship and lmao I told y’all the newspaper scene of Ozzie being called out for being a hypocrite wouldn’t go anywhere. Even if Ozzie did threaten his workers to not tell, they can’t be so sure that someone wouldn’t see or snitch, it’s kinda a retcon too cause they were pretty lovey dovey in Ozzie’s. Still, it makes the characters look dumb and it makes the rules Viv set up for Hell once again not mean anything.

- We finally get to see Fizz’s backstory in action and it’s executed in the most underwhelming way possible. It’s literally a fucking 10 second clip of what went down, and rather than experiencing the event for ourselves, it’s in flashback mode but with Fizz’s voice talking over it. That’s it. I’ve seen fan comics/fanart that built this shit up better than Viv did, that actually took the slow time and dedication it needed, and here it feels like such an afterthought, like Viv could care less. Maybe if this actually was a character driven show like Viv claims, Stolas, Striker, and Crimson would be taken out of the picture and then that would leave us with PLENTY time to actually explore and develop Blitz/Fizz, bc most of this episode is just them pettily bickering and Stolas and Ozzie sitting around. But nah, we gatta have our fanfic kidnapping plot. Same goes for the reveal of Blitzo’s mom dying in the same fire. Glad to know that she got the same treatment Moxxie’s mom did, where we don’t even know her and yet we’re supposed to feel moved and care about her death. You nailed that one Viv. 👍

- I predicted that this episode would victimize Blitz and have the fire incident be an accident, (because Viv is a pussy writer and can’t make her characters actually do bad things like god forbid) but I never thought they’d actually have the balls to have Fizz forgive Blitz immediately in the same episode and pull the “actually turns out that horrible thing you did to me helped me in a way”- trope. Biggest flaw of the episode, fuck you Viv. I was actually going to applaud Blitz for taking accountability, but then the dialogue reminds you that an abuser wrote this, and he shifts his apology to “okay but I lost something too see so it’s not all about you” as if he’s fucking dismissing Fizz’s trauma and making it about himself. “I love flawed characters” my fucking ass. I would have smacked a bitch if I was Fizz because Blitzo loosing his mother in the fire too isn’t an excuse?? Fizz lost his fucking ARMS AND LEGS, and at the end of the day Blitzo STILL KNEW HE WAS HELPLESS IN THE FIRE BUT LEFT HIM BEHIND. He could have gotten help and came back, but didn’t. If this were a good show Fizz would have threw that apology back in Blitzo’s face and said “I don’t care if it was an accident or not, you still left me there and then proceeded to loathe me for years”. This is why Helluva will never be Bojack cause at least characters in that show who got treated horribly by him knew when to say “no, fuck you.”

- The episode retcons again, this time they make it out to be that Blitz TRIED contacting Fizz the years they were apart but no one would let him see him. Then they say that Fizz actually WANTED to see Blitz but assumed he didn’t want to, so their entire feud was solely because of miscommunication?? Number one, show don’t fucking tell omg. And number two, that makes ZERO sense. Blitz talked badly about Fizz in Loo Loo Land, and when they finally reunited in Ozzie’s, it was clear they fucking loathed each other. You got the impression that Blitz was petty and jealous just because Fizz was more popular, and Fizz not only loathed him for the accident, but liked to rub in his face about how much of a big shot he was. They literally do that in this episode too, so the episode is literally contradicting itself. Blitz and Fizz had multiple chances to meet up with each other, you can’t just say “oh they couldn’t because no one would let them”- So which is it? Did they hate each other because of bad blood, petty drama, or that they thought the other didn’t want to see them? Pick ONE Viv and stick to it, but she never does. Their feud was interesting and now you ruined it just to have some sweet happy ending. “Adult mature show” my ass lol.

-Bottom line is Fizz shouldn’t have forgave Blitz so easily, or forgave him period. I find it funny how he says “it’s hard to just forgive you” and then he literally does lol. I feel so bad for Fizz fans, him and Blitz’s feud was honestly interesting, so to see all of this go down in a half-assed piss poor way as if this was Care Bears is….wow. The fan interpretations had more thought and care put into this storyline but what else is new lol.

- I’m really tired of these shitty annoying songs. If you’re going to get Broadway actors, please put effort into your songwriting and actually have them sing something good, not something that’s literally nonsense. This Fizz song sounds like it took less than a minute to write and Sam Haft was just thinking of anything he could think of at the top of his head. Also Why the fuck are Striker and Crimson just STANDING there while Fizz sings. They look like idiots, just SHOOT them omg. If this were a funny show, Fizz would have started his first note and Crimson just rolls his eyes and pulls his gun out.

- Fizz and Ozzie kill the lawyer but not…Crimson? Despite Fizz knowing what ring he’s in and even Ozzie knowing what he looks like? Same for Blitz, he doesn’t try to make sure Striker is dead. I get that the plot demands for these two to still be around, but there’s a way to keep them alive without making the main characters look like fucking idiots. Also Stolas just leaves without doing or contributing anything to the plot yay.

- Fizz: “Let him have it, you could say he’s earned it”— Uhm….Nope. Blitz did NOT earn shit. He didn’t even earn Fizz’s forgiveness. Last time I checked, the moment Blitz cried and said it was an accident, Fizz forgave him, knowing he didn’t mean it. What effort did Blitz do to “earn” that as well as the crystal? Because he saved Fizz and didn’t leave him behind for the SECOND time near the end?? Cause if so than the bar is extremely low. That’s the bare minimum, just because Blitz cried and felt bad about it doesn’t mean he should be let off the hook Viv. I hate this so much, what a shitty conclusion, it feels forced just so Blitz can have the crystal and just so the writers can once again paint him as the one in the right. It’s almost insulting that they make it seem like Fizz was in the wrong for assuming Blitz starting the fire too, same for Barbie.

God what a shitty day it is to be a Fizz fan, I’m sorry. The episode did NOT do him justice. Fizzarolli deserved better than that half assed gaslighting apology for someone who lost their arms and legs man, and I’m tired of the show letting every character suck up to Blitz and Stolas for their horrible treatment just because they feel bad. Not only that but the episode (as most recent HB episodes) was a huge time waster. Everyone was really hoping for an in depth walkthrough of his character/backstory but again, when he’s not with Ozzie, the rest/most of his screen time is dedicated to him being helpless and pointlessly arguing with Blitz, plus a long dragged out nonsense song that didn’t need to happen. It felt like SO much time was wasted when we could have used the runtime we have to dive deeper and see more, like….again it would have been nice to see Fizz’s life AFTER the accident and how he became well known as well as how he fell in love with Ozzie, but his backstory is briefly scratched upon in a single scene and that’s it, all because Viv wanted this filler plot and wanted to dedicate more time to THAT rather than actual character expansion/development, something we could have got had you took out Stolas and Ozzie’s B plot and Striker and Crimson.

Viv is so on her way to murder/ruin every character that isn’t Blitz and Stolas and I won’t be here to watch further. I’ll check out the Mammon music video thing but that’s it man, this show is going off the rails, Adding Fizz to the character adoption list!

[matrixbearer2024]

Okay okay, hear me out! Vox POV of the "Get Off My Screen" series with Velvette or Valentino finding out about collage reader.

How would that go? Would Vox even tell us that they know? What would those two think of Vox hiding this from them? "You mean to tell me, you accidentally found a way to commune with the world of the living MONTHS AGO, AND DIDN'T TELL US?!" - Val or Vel (not shipping reader with those two tho, just Val and Vel finding out about Vox's crush on a human (Valentino being pissy about it))

Oops, Guess I Spilled The Tea

Vox x CollegeStudent!Reader

A/N: Wowowowow I have so many filler episodes now ahdosndkaks the direct continuation is actually finished and I'll probably post it right after I finish the interludes. Even if I'm working on the finale, if you guys come up with any ideas or suggestions still feel free to drop them in and I'll write out the scenario! Whether it's before Reader's death or after, go on and drop the idea in my inbox! After all, what's a good story without the fun content? As always, happy reading and I hope you all enjoy this installment!

A/N: While I initially wanted this to be more comedic and lighthearted, I don't think Vox would be taking it that way by the time this confrontation happens. He and dear Reader have been chatting together for a little over a year and a half by now, so while he has loyalties to the Vees- he's probably a protective mess all the more since he'd been slowly catching feelings too.

Waking up that day, Vox grunted when he realized it was his phone buzzing to life that roused him.

Ughh... wasn't his daily alarm for a few more minutes?

Sitting up and stretching, he sleepily grabbed his phone to check who'd want to bother him so early in the day.

Only to end up with a dopey smile on his face when he realized it was just you.

Somehow, you'd actually risen earlier than him this time.

"Wakey wakey eggs and bakey you workaholic picturebox!"

That was rare, he knew you were the type to have a million alarms because the first one wouldn't be enough to get your butt out of bed.

Well, he probably wouldn't want to get up either if it was waking up to you.

Wait-

What?

What the fuck.

Vox shook his head, woah... okay- maybe he wasn't quite awake yet.

"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine, what's got you so cheery this hellish morning?"

He replied back with a waving emoji of himself, taking his phone with him as he left his bedroom to go and make a cup of coffee.

Unlike you, who for whatever reason he couldn't understand-

Preferred tea.

He chuckled remembering how that conversation went.

"Ehhh??? You like drinking your coffee black? Remind me never to share a morning drink with you."

"Oh really, what's your drink of choice then? Can't be much better."

"I like drinking tea thank you very much, it's healthier too from what I've heard."

"Ewww, leaf water."

"Ewww, bean juice."

A fond smile unconsciously wormed onto his screen as he turned on the coffee machine.

"Bean juice... that's so fucking stupid."

Though as quickly as his smile appeared, Vox replaced it with a poker face when his acquaintances came into the room.

Velvette was expectedly on her phone and Valentino was just dragging himself to the breakfast table.

His good mood would've just shattered had his phone not buzzed again and taken his attention.

You sent him a selfie of you on the way to university, the morning sun lighting up your face and your surroundings.

Not to mention the genuinely cheerful expression you wore.

Vox didn't really remember much about the mornings from when he was alive.

After all, it was a long time ago.

But this... seeing your picture-

That made the overlord think he'd crutially missed something when he was alive.

His fans whirred louder as he stared at your picture-

Were you always that pretty?

Though he was quick to click off it when the coffee machine beeped loudly, reminding him it was done.

"It's amazing outside! Seriously dude, if you weren't all dead and everything you'd probably enjoy the weather today."

He slowly sipped his coffee while typing back a reply with his free hand.

"Maybe? I'm not really a morning person, you know I get up just because I have to."

"Well who knows, it's not like we can find out now anyway. Anyhowww, I hope your day goes well! I know it rarely does with Valentino's tantrums and Alastor screwing up your stuff but still!"

"Forever the optimist huh?"

"Nah, I just think today would go great for both of us. Call it a hunch."

Vox just rolled his eyes before putting the phone down.

He was thankful he'd been drinking coffee, otherwise there was no way he could conceal the grin that threatened to break out on his face.

Though, what he hadn't expected were the other two Vees to be staring at him like he'd grown three heads.

He glanced between them and suspiciously raised an eyebrow.

What was going on in their minds?

"Vox, who the hell were you on the phone with?"

Velvette spoke first, crossing her arms and staring at the overlord in question with narrowed eyes.

Did she wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

Vox didn't bother answering her question, just continuing to drink his coffee.

"Oh come on Voxy~ you haven't been spending much time with me either~"

Next came Valentino's whining, stretching along of his hands to sensually stroke his colleague's arm.

To which Vox just pulled away from the moth's grasp and made an odd expression.

The other two Vees knew what that was.

Disgust and annoyance.

It's never happened before to Vox's knowledge-

It's never happened that Valentino's hands on him just felt so... wrong.

Especially when the pimp overlord used to warm his bed or even take him for a rough night to forget the day's stresses and problems.

Nights that Vox had completely forgotten over the course of time he'd been chatting with you.

Nights that became less and less of an occurrence when your friendship blossomed.

All to the point they'd stopped entirely.

It was a subconscious decision, a bad habit he didn't notice that changed until today.

Of course- his reaction didn't sit well with the moth.

"You fucking asshole! Who the hell is it Vox?! Have you been fucking another whore behind my back?!"

Vox felt his blood boil, he didn't know even know why-

Why he felt so... angry for you.

Angry that Valentino thought you were just another fling.

Angry that you'd been disrespected and called a "whore".

He let out a frustrated sigh and put his coffee mug down.

So much for having a pleasant morning like you'd hoped for him.

"I don't owe either of you an explanation. I don't need to justify why I've been doing the things I have nor do I need to always tell you guys what I'm doing."

Vox glared at both his colleagues, the words ended up spilling from his mouth before he could stop them.

He didn't know why he suddenly felt protective of you, even when he knew neither Valentino or Velvette could capitalize on your peculiar situation without his help anyway.

Not that they'd want to.

You weren't anything special to them.

Not a person of power, influence or even wealth.

You were just you.

A person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Or well, by conventional standards.

You always told Vox you didn't think so, sometimes even going as far to call his company a blessing in disguise.

Ha, as if.

"It's nothing big anyways, you're just making a fuss."

Valentino slammed his fist on the table when Vox brushed him off.

Did he fucking think he was better than them or something?!

Tensions rose high in the room, until the familiar sound of a phone buzzing caught the attention of all three.

It wasn't Velvette.

It wasn't Valentino either.

Which only left Vox.

The technology overlord sprung up from his chair to grab the device which was just nonchalantly resting on the table.

But he wasn't quite fast enough.

Velvette swiped the device before he could grab it and unlocked the device.

Of course she'd know all the passwords, who do you think managed all the Vees social media accounts?

Though, what she saw nearly made her drop the phone.

"You've been talking to a LIVING person this entire time and you hadn't told us?! How long has this been going on for Vox?!"

Velvette screeched, causing the overlord in question to cringe from her tone.

Blegh... she was like a haughty child.

Valentino's reaction wasn't any better, ripping the phone out of Vel's hands and just continuing to yell at Vox.

At this point, he'd just turned his hearing sensitivity all the way down.

At any rate, his day was pretty much ruined already thanks to them sticking their noses in his business.

"'Professor's being a bitch again, how's your day been going?' Vox who the fuck is this?!"

"Just someone who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, nothing special."

"Uh huh, you wouldn't be so protective if they weren't special to you."

Valentino was about to type out an angry reply to you before the phone in his hand erupted into sparks and frayed wires.

Vox didn't want to resort to it, but he could always just get a replacement phone.

Better than you possibly getting the wrong idea.

Even if he had to explain later on that his colleagues were not really happy that he'd hid this situation from them.

"We will continue this conversation later, I have a broadcast in ten minutes and I cannot be fucking late."

With that, he'd left both Velvette and Valentino irritated and angry with him beyond belief.

Stepping back into his bedroom, Vox leaned back against the closed door with a sigh.

Just a year ago and he would have thought nothing of your situation.

He wouldn't have cared if his colleagues found out-

Hell, he would've probably encouraged them to bother and annoy you.

If they even took advantage, he wouldn't have batted an eye.

But now...

Vox rubbed a clawed hand over his screen.

What in Lucifer's name was fucking wrong with him?

A/N: 👀 Voxy is just confused and stressed, the story can't all be sunshine and rainbows but this isn't exactly angst? All this drama while our dear (Y/N) is just going about her day HAHAHAHAHA- So here have some tension on a plate while I go back to making more lighthearted stuff :)

[gloomyclauds]

I'm back with another lookbook! The support I got on the last one was surreal, and we're getting close to 200 followers already! Thank you all so much for the love!! 🧡

This here is Willow! She's a freegan, who busks to make by, and she's also a werewolf. I've been playing with her whenever I need a break from my NSBPR challenge, cause that save is very story heavy. And it's nice to just play the game for once, without having to worry about where it's all gonna go, the screenshots I need to take/redo, the rules,... it can all be a bit much at times. I do want to bring her story to here at some point, I just want to finish the first gen of the challenge I'm doing first. I also need to edit all the posts still, cause I'VE GOT NOTHING READY YET 😆

Keep Reading for the FULL CC LIST ⬇️ Otherwise this post will be too long. I may not talk much, but I write a LOT. Sorry.

GENERAL Skin Color | Skinblend | Misc. Face Details | Skin Detail Blush | Moles | Skintone Set | Eyebags | Face Structure | Cleavage | Torso | Lip Mask | Teeth | Face Scars | Body Scars | Eyebrows (Soap) | Hair (1) (2) | Septum Ring | Belly Button Piercing | Necklace | Rings

TATTOOS Simlish | Flora | Harmony

DEFAULTS Tinsel Skinblend | Eyes | Feet | No EA Lashes

PRESETS Ear | Cheeks | Nose | Lips | Body

SLIDERS Esotropia and Exotropia | Eyebrow (1) (2) (3) | Cheeks | Nose (1) (2) | Mouth Scale | Chin | B-tt | Legs | Hip Shape

MAKEUP Eyeshadow (1) (2) | Eyeliner | Blush | Lipstick | Eyelashes (N2) | Lash Filler -> Nails from Grunge Revival Kit

EVERYDAY Top | Shorts | Socks | Sneakers

FORMAL Rings | Dress | Heels

ATHLETIC Top | Pants | Sneakers

SLEEP Shirt

PARTY Bracelet | Top | Skirt | Flower Sandals

SWIMWEAR Bikini

HOT WEATHER Top | Shorts | Sandals -> Headwrap from Urban Homage Kit

COLD WEATHER Turtleneck | Sweater | Jeans | Boots -> Beanie from Cottage Living EP

POSES 1st Image | 2nd and 3rd Image

A huge thanks to the cc creators!

@lamatisse @mousysims @okruee @glitchsyndrome @kris-sims

@vibrantpixels @starshipcap @faaeish @sims3melancholic @northernsiberiawinds

@sammi-xox @yooniesim @pyxiidis @helgatisha @twisted-cat

@simstrouble @pralinesims @aharris00britney @arethabee @adiec*

@herbalia @magic-bot @kijiko-sims @mmsims @obscurus-sims

@miikocc @pirumxsim @teanmoon @CmarNYC @luumia

@cosimetic @goppolsme @mintvalentine @clumsyalienn @solistair

@mossylane @serenity-cc @madlensims @sentate @dogsill

@caio-cc @jius-sims @its-adrienpastel @poyopoyosim

*I don't know if they deleted their account, or if tumblr deleted it for no reason, as they're doing that a lot lately 🙄 If they changed their username, lmk 'cause I couldn't find anything.

[watermelonlovershigh]

The Rated R Card Game {part 6.} (housemate!harry series)

Returning Favors {part 5.} (housemate!harry series) (SMUT)

AN: this part took me the longest to write because i couldn't get the wording right and kept having to switch things up. this is mainly a filler chapter meaning not much happens but will be needed for context later in the series. i hope you enjoy. let me know what you think. thank you for reading.

This story contains: mentions of bisexuality, mentions of threesomes, mentions of kissing, mentions of mommy and daddy kink, mentions of sexual stuff in general, mentions of a safe word being used, fluff

{ housemate!harry - friendrry - soft!harry - au!harry }

word count- 1,977

Your friends Mave and Charlotte come over to yours and Harry's house to eat pizza, drink wine, chat, and play a very rated R card game.

Friday has finally arrived and you are filled with excitement. Your friends Mave and Charlotte are coming over to meet Harry for the first time. After spending a few hours working on your computer, you got up and started tidying around Harry's living room, which was already clean as he maintains a fairly tidy house. You took out the card game you intend to play tonight and set it on the coffee table. The only thing left is the alcohol, but Harry will be picking some up on his way home from work.

After leaving the school where he teaches at, Harry drove to a nearby shop and obtained the wine you had requested. You'd asked Charlotte and Mave about their choice of alcohol and they recommended wine to prevent themselves from getting too intoxicated by stronger spirits. Upon arriving home, Harry placed the wine bottles in the refrigerator to chill, and then hurriedly went to take a quick shower.

At approximately seven o'clock, your friends arrived at your home via Uber, as they foresaw the possibility of becoming too intoxicated to drive home later in the night. You introduced them to Harry and they formed a liking to him instantly. In a playful manner, they whispered to you that they may just steal him away from you, that's how much they liked him. Plus, attractive wise, they thought he was hot.

Harry kindly ordered a pizza to the house and the four of you gathered in the living room, indulging in the large pizza accompanied by several glasses of wine. Essentially, you all spent a delightful two hours eating, drinking, and having great conversations in the living room. Mave and Charlotte made quite the impression on Harry. They were incredibly easy to be around and had a remarkable talent for lightening the atmosphere with their jokes, especially during moments of high tension. They possessed a fearless nature and were never hesitant to speak their minds.

Once everyone was stuffed with pizza, you pick up the card game you had sat on the coffee table earlier in the day and announce, "Okay, game time."

"How does this game work exactly?" Harry asks, followed by a giggle. Yep, he was definitely tipsy.

You open the box and pull out the stack of cards. You know there's a correct way to play this game but you wanted to make up your own rules, just to spice things up. "Okay, so basically I'm gonna leave the stack of cards in the middle of the table. We'll each take turns picking a card but to make it fun, we all have to potentially answer every question, no matter who pulled it. Each card has either questions or something we must confess. If you don't feel comfortable answering one then you must take a sip of wine. Got it?"

"Seems easy enough." Charlotte exclaims with a clap of her hands.

"Hey, can I pick first?" Mave asks eagerly and you all agree.

As everyone sits around the coffee table on the floor, Mave reaches for the top card and giggles as she silently reads it. "You've got to actually read it out loud." Charlotte remarks in a sassy tone.

"Okay, okay," Mave retorts before repeating what the card says out loud this time. "Have you ever made out with a guy in the back of a car before?"

You, Mave, and Charlotte each say "yes" with confidence before stealing a glance towards Harry, hoping to gauge his response to the question. To your surprise, he appears bewildered and voices his confusion. "What kind of questions are these? I was expectin' somethin' light-hearted, not about romantic encounters," he queries.

You pick up the game's box and point to the bottom right corner where it shows the R rating. Once he notices, he mutters an, "Oh fuck!", taking a swig of his red wine for dramatic effect. "But um, yes I have."

Charlotte and Mave are surprised to learn that he's kissed a guy. Not in a judgmental way but they are genuinely shocked considering how much you confide in them about Harry's feelings for you. It seems you forgot to mention that Harry was bisexual, but then realize it's not your place to inform them of that anyways. Charlotte boldly questions Harry, "You've made out with a guy before?"

Harry nods his head in agreement and casually states, "Yes, m' bisexual. Y/n didn't inform you of that?" Though he knows one's sexuality isn't something people tend to share, he knew you shared nearly everything with these two friends so he's surprised you didn't let his sexuality slip up in a conversation before. But knowing you didn't share makes him feel all warm inside. It shows how much you care and respect him.

The woman shakes her head to indicate she was unaware. Harry typically never feels anxious about sharing his bisexuality as he finds that most individuals are accepting or simply don't care. Although he occasionally encounters negative reactions, mostly from the people he's seeing, he makes an effort to try and not allow those to affect him.

"My turn," you announce, reaching for the next card to advance the game. "Ohhh, a confession. How intriguing. Do you tend to be more dominant or submissive in bed? Mhm...... as for me, it's quite simple. I can be either, depending on my mood."

"No way," Harry interjects, "m' also a switch. Just depends on the person and the mood m' in at that moment." As you glance at one another, you can feel a secret message being conveyed through just your eyes alone. One that's saying you're meant to be. A perfect match, some would consider. Because it's rare for both people in a relationship to be dominate some times and submissive other times.

Mave and Charlotte affirm they're both complete submissives, leaving Harry to select the next card. "Tell us about the most outrageous experience you've had during a sexual encounter. Uhm, let me think on that for a moment."

"Oh, I know." Mave speaks, "For me, I'd have to say being double penetrated."

"You what?" you gasp at her answer, unaware of this encounter she's had. She usually tells you everything but you guess she's been keeping this one a secret.

With a playful giggle, she admits, "Back in uni, I had a few threesomes, and one of them involved double penetration. It was painful at first but the pleasure that followed was incredible." Her confession triggers a vivid image of you in Harry's mind, arousing him at just the thought of having a threesome with you. But he wonders if you were open to that idea.

"Personally, I tied a man to the bed once and rode him while he wore a cock ring. Although it was pleasurable for me, the man experienced tons of discomfort. So I decided to let him come after an hour." you answer the question. It wasn't super outrageous but you weren't that freaky in bed. Again, all Harry can think about is you doing that to him and at this point he has to set one of the couch pillows in his lap without looking too suspicious. He's now actually hard in his pants.

After thinking for a minute more, Harry's ready to answer. "I guess my answer would be, this one time I let a girl fuck my throat with her strap-on. Let's just say my throat was bruised for days." Fuck, now it's you conjuring up images of possibly doing that to Harry. You don't own a strap-on but you sure as hell would go out and buy one if he agrees.

Charlotte optes to taking a drink of wine instead of answering and then picks a card beings it's her turn now. "Have you ever had to use your safeword during sex? Thankfully no. What about you all?"

Harry and Mave both said no as their answer, whereas you, on the contrary, chose to take a sip of wine. You could have easily said the truth, which would have been yes, but then would've had to provide an explanation for their curious minds. And you'd prefer not to do that in front of everyone, especially as it regards the situation where you had to use your safe word. It evokes a very unpleasant memory. Nevertheless, you can see a compassionate expression on Harry's face and have a feeling he'll bring it up at a later time.

The game continues with questions like, "Where is the most unusual place you have engaged in sexual activity?" "What is your preferred sexual position?" "Have you ever accidentally called out the wrong name during sex?" "Do you secretly have a mommy or daddy kink?" Harry's responses were as follows: in a club bathroom, preferring missionary with women to see their expressions and opting for the doggy style with men, almost moaning the wrong name (which happened to be yours), and has only ever jokingly used the terms daddy or mommy if his partner was interested in that kind of stuff.

Your responses to those particular questions consisted of: the bathtub, missionary or spooning position, almost saying Harry's name but correcting yourself before it was on the verge of slipping out, (though you didn't share to them it was Harry whoms name it was), and lastly, although you're not actually into the whole kink, you've humorously said daddy once to cater to your partner's wishes. Which made you cringe so bad immediately after.

By the time eleven o'clock rolled around, all of you were considerably intoxicated. Though most of you managed to answer every question, you've still been continuously sipping from your wine glasses with multiple refills. In a drunken manner, your friends suggested, "Maybe we should call an umb... uber...."

Rising on wobbly legs, Harry retorts, "Why don't you both stay if you want? I'm sure Y/n wouldn't mind you sleepin' in her bed, and she can sleep with me in mine. That way you won't have to go home drunk." Harry is literally the sweetest.

"You sure?" Mave asks, looking at both of you for confirmation.

You nod, agreeing, "Yeah, yeah. That's fine. Just don't puke in my bed, please." remembering all the times where they've gotten sick from being too drunk.

-------------------------------

With Mave and Charlotte settled in your bed, you made your way to Harry's room across the hall. He was busy arranging the pillows and covers. Just as you were about to join him in bed, you remembered, "Wait a minute, I need to use the bathroom."

Harry bursts into laughter. "Is that so? You didn't realize that when you were in the hallway?"

"Hey, no laughing at me!" You exit the room and hurry to the bathroom located in the hallway. Upon your return, Harry is already tucked in under the duvet, with only the lamp providing a dim light. As you join him, and he reaches over to switch off the lamp.

Now in the dark bedroom, Harry shuffles closer to you for a cuddle and whispers, "You're not gonna puke in my bed are you?"

You playfully swat at his chest and confirm, "No, I'm not that drunk, silly. But I will have a killer headache in the morning. Night."

"Night, sleep tight." Harry leans in and plants a tender kiss on your lips, momentarily catching you off guard. However, you quickly embrace the intimate moment, realizing that receiving these small, affectionate kisses from him for no specific reason is something you should start getting accustomed to. After all, it's a typical aspect of being in a relationship, isn't it?

As you gradually drift off to sleep, your mind becomes consumed by the lingering sensation of Harry's lips meeting yours and the burning curiosity to discuss the explicit answers he provided during the rated R card game earlier.

(PLEASE REBLOG BECAUSE WRITING IS NOT EASY AND IT'S FREE SO JUST DO IT)

(no more tags are allowed because i've hit my number limit. sorry : ( )

tag list: @one-sweet-gubler // @harryscherrysugar // @hsfanficsrecss // @lollypopsx // @harrycanyonmoonn // @allthelovehes // @damnasstyles  // @mrsstylesharry // @softmullet  // @meetmyblondemuffins  // @thegirlnextdoorssister // @stanleystyles  // @haarrrys // @michellekstyles  // @skyangel57   // @the-gardener-31 // @lhharrylilpumpkin // @yousunshine-youtemptress // @clairestylessss  // @kissmyaxe140  // @goldenmelonsugar-hi // @kaitieskidmore97 // @florencepughily  // @alienorknight //@dancearoundthelivingroom  // @swiftmendeshoran

 // @luv-flor7777  // @alohastyles-x // @tenaciousperfectionunknown  // @sleutherclaw // @siredtohybrid // @whoscamila // @a-strange-familiar  // @golden-elodie // @mrspeacem1nusone //  @goldenkhae // @lntwithhrry  // @shadowygladiatorlight  // @manifestrry  //@mendesblurb // @sunshinemoonsposts  // @depersonalizationsucks // @academiaghost // @zendayassimp // @reveriehs // @vsnnstuff // @dancinsunflowerkiwi // @quinnsgrapejuice // @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite // @justlemmeholdyou // @hsonlyangelxo // @luvonstyles // @howdey

______________

My Masterlist Masterpost

Spontaneous Pleasures {part 7.} (housemate!harry series) (SMUT)

[avidread3r]

•141 is not without Gaz.

•141 does not include konig.

•Konig is not a main character, he's just a skin.

•Gaz is one of the main playable protagonists in Modern Warfare

•Gaz has more lore and screen time than most of the other characters, especially konig.

•f you don't like him, fine. But don't try to replace him.

• only writing for him when he's convenient as a filler is iffy too

•It's suspicious when one of the MAIN campaign character's is pushed aside but other random skins from multiplayer are loved. Especially when said main character is black and the others are usually white.

•"But I don't know enough about him" bitch just say you haven't played the games.

• even if you haven't, you should just watch yt videos of his scenes in the game at least. I mean, you have no problem rewatching konig tiktoks, and listening to his voice lines. So....

•"Gaz is gay so I can't write for him." Elliot Knight his actoHoliday blues 20s

•141 is not without Gaz.

•141 does not include konig.

•Konig is not a main character, he's just a skin.

•Gaz is one of the main playable protagonists in Modern Warfare

•Gaz has more lore and screen time than most of the other characters, especially konig.

•f you don't like him, fine. But don't try to replace him.

•It's suspicious when one of the MAIN campaign character's is pushed aside but other random skins from multiplayer are loved. Especially when said main character is black and the others are usually white.

•"But I don't know enough about him" bitch just say you haven't played the games.

• even if you haven't, you should just watch yt videos of his scenes in the game at least. I mean, you have no problem rewatching konig tiktoks, and listening to his voice lines. So....

•there's so much info on wikia and yt. It ain't that hard. I mean y'all will sniff for every possible crumb relating to simon, konig, soap and price but suddenly doing the same for gaz is too much??????

•"Gaz is gay so I can't write for him." Elliot Knight his actor is queer but I can't find or remember anything stating that Gaz is gay.

• Activision could have done a way better job to promote Gaz's character and could have given more specifics about him but that doesn't excuse "not knowing him (gaz) enough"

• you can like konig. That's fine. just stop replacing Gaz with him.

•Stop treating Gaz like he doesn't deserve to be in 141.

▪︎ Writing for 141 and only including gaz when its convenient and giving him little to no plot, doesn't count. You can right 4 paragraphs each for everyone else but Gaz only gets one...like?????????

• if you're not attracted to gaz that's fine. You don't have to be. Everyone has preferences. But like don't exclude him from 141. Y'all still include laswell so do the same for gaz.

•141 task force. Is a TASK FORCE. A TEAM. GAZ IS APART OF THAT TEAM. SO STOP EXCLUDING HIM????!

•the treatment towards Kyle Gaz Garrick compared to the other characters doesn't sit well with me.

• ngl a lot of y'all are just straight up racist.

I know it's just a video game and it's all just fiction, and y'all are entitled to write whoever and whatever, however. But y'all can not convince me that shit y'all do ain't racist.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[agendabymooner]

mamma mia (again) ! daniel r. x ofc (måneskin member! ofc)

“they ask me why i’m so hot, ‘cause i’m italiano.”

summary: a series of video clips, but it’s only just danny ric being in love with a certain lester alessandro.

content warning: hint or two of suggestive comments (nothing detailed or graphic), use of explicit language, filler blurb or something, danny being a simp for few videos straight (“have my kids” type beat), lester being an etsy and pinterest enthusiast, literally posted this blurb from my phone so they’re crazy about their image limits 😩

note: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE 105 FOLLOWERS?! UHM? seriously, i’ve never been so happy. i honestly only started posting these because i have them ingrained in my brain and won’t let go until i write or make something. just indulging my imagination you know? enjoy xx

masterlist

𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐁𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐘 𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐏

【VIDEO ONE — daniel ricciardo is a gatekeeper】

[1st image: yeah, i dunno. everyone just found out that i made it official with my girlfriend and i’m pretty sure i just saw lando weeping in his room. max was the second to react to it and i’m so sure he recoiled. he did say that he didn't want to know what happened in imola few months ago.]

[2nd: interviewer: what happened in imola few months ago? daniel: *chuckles* wouldn’t you like to know - nah, i’m messing about. nothing happened in imola besides from me retiring to my bed early. i think we were both drunk when i posted that photo and i know it looks lewd but there's no way we could've done anything questionable.]

[3rd: d: but yeah. we didn't really want to catch that much attention until maybe i don't know... when we're married or something *chuckles* i: keep it a secret until the wedding? d: yeah. but charles, the absolute fool, posted videos during the concert with me in the background. It would've been real nice if no one caught onto it until we had a mini ric running and racing, you know? just to wreak havoc.]

【VIDEO TWO — daniel ricciardo talks about lester’s love language in his gq video】

[1st: i got this journal from lori. it has my initials "DR" on it for daniel ricciardo*laughs* it's one of those many first gifts that i’ve gotten from her throughout our first few months of dating. her love language isn't just shitting on my life -she has every single aspect of love language within her and this is one of them.]

[2nd: when she gave this to me, all she said was "you can write out your thoughts if you can't let them out through your mouth. *giggles* "she clearly had her thoughts sorted out that time especially when she showed me a page with an embossed phrase or nickname, "tasso di miele" - it means honey badger. she apparently bought the custom embosser from etsy and almost fought tooth and nail just to get it in time. *laughs even more* i love her so much, i honestly wanted to cry that day.]

[3rd: lori actually has a laptop with *laughs* itunes on it and she still got some playlists from 2010-2014? yeah. she’s put a lot of old taylor swift songs in my ipod during the christmas break. my favourite album right now is speak now. she loves red.]

【VIDEO THREE — lester hates ashy hands confirmed】

[1st: daniel: i think i should just cover my hands with gloves all the time. lando: that literally has nothing to do with anything that we're about to do. d: lori tells me that my hands are rough whenever she holds them.]

[2nd: l: or you know... you can just use a hand lotion all the time because your hands dry up real fast? d: ah that's true. i wonder if that's why lori just casually put a bottle of hand cream on my travel bag. the thing smells nice though. it’s chamomile.]

【VIDEO FOUR — it’s okay to spoil your partner; even if it’s an accent chair from her pinterest board】

[1st: d: lori just sent me a picture of an armchair from ikea. l: why was she randomly in ikea, by the way? I saw the text. d: window shopping. but anyway, she saw this armchair that she had on her pinterest board. she asked "pretty or no?" with the green velvet chair. l: what did you tell her?]

[2nd: word to word? I texted her "LOL you should see the accent chair I've gotten you for our flat in monaco." l: are you serious? *laughs* d: she wouldn't tell me what she wanted for her birthday. I only got a brief idea when she left her phone in my pocket once and gave me a free access to her pinterest boards.]

[maltesejjong]

Its my first time putting a request so I'll try to sum it up!!

Could you make a bangchan x f!reader? Where yn and Chan have been trying for a child for abt 2 years they've had 3 or 4 miscarriages and after a long time, they have 2 beautiful twins!! (You don't have to do it if you don't want to!! Your health comes first 💗)

OMG ilysm for this. Thank you for being my first request, and thank you for trusting me to be your first request! Before I go any further, though, I want to touch on a few things with this one. First off: this is a very real thing that doesn’t get talked about enough . Miscarriages happen and there is no shame. If you have ever lost a baby before, please know that you are stronger than you think, and that you did nothing to deserve such a loss. Secondly: this is a major fear of mine. I want nothing more than to be a mother. I have had three moms throughout my life and I want to be able to give someone the love and protection the first two didn’t give me. I’m also the mom friend so yeah lmao. Finally, to all the moms out there, or those who would have been moms if not for this loss: thank you for all you do. You deserve more than what you have because you truly do the most unappreciated task in the world. You bring children into the world and give them life, regardless of if you lost the baby, there was still a life force that you created. That is an amazing accomplishment. I apologize ahead of time if any of that seemed insensitive but please know you are loved and appreciated. You are not alone🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽

ONTO THE POST!

Warnings: mentions of miscarriages, that’s pretty much it. You’re married to Chan, afab!reader. Pure fluff! Oh, and mentions of girl dad Chan idk bout y’all but girl dad Chan needs a warning because he’s TOO DAMN MUCH ISTG HE IS A GIRL DAD

There’s a time skip bc I was lazy and wasn’t sure what to write as filler lol I’m sorry😭😭

Wc: Idek I didn’t count

Enjoy 😊

꒰ঌ(⃔ ⌯' '⌯)⃕໒꒱

You sigh and drop your head back to rest on the cabinet behind you. It had been almost two whole hours since you laid the damp stick on the counter and slid down to sit on the cool tiled floor. You had been feeling nauseous lately, but chalked it up to something you ate.

Until you realized you’re late.

By three weeks.

Three. Whole. Weeks.

You’re never late.

So, of course, you decided to take a pregnancy test.

While your husband was at work.

It’s not that you don’t want Chan to know. It’s just… after so long, after trying for this long, all the disappointment and heartache that came with each failed pregnancy, you learned to avoid the topic of kids. Specifically kids of your own. As much as you both want kids, the hardship of discovering each miscarriage broke your spirits.

So you’ve learned not to get his hopes up. Which is why you keep a secret stash of pregnancy tests. Because no matter what, you always get your hopes up when you realize what is most likely going on with your body.

You close your eyes, trying to relax your mind when your phone buzzes, bringing you out of your thoughts.

💙channie💙: hey princess. I’m on my way home

You: alright babe

💙channie💙: want anything from the store?

You: ice cream?

💙channie💙: ofc baby. I’ll see you soon love you

You: love you too. Drive safe💞

Sighing, you put your phone down, knowing you need to get this over with before he gets home. You slide your thumb over the diamond on your left hand before pushing yourself up to look at the results of the test.

“Shit,” you mutter. “I knew it.”

Four months later

You let out a sigh as the doctor spreads the cold gel across your belly, which, despite being four months pregnant, has stayed suspiciously flat. Hence why Chan never caught on.

“How’s the morning sickness?” Dr. Kim asks.

“Gone,” you say.

“Any general nausea?”

You shake your head. “Only when I sit or stand up too fast.”

He nods and hums to himself. “Any cramping? Abnormal bleeding?”

“None,” you happily reply.

His eyes flick up to yours. “Have you told your husband yet?”

You close your eyes. “No,” you whisper. “And please don’t hint to him.”

“Like I would,” the doctor scoffs.

Dr. Kim, as he is known at work, is one of your closest friends. The only time you ever call him Dr anything is when you’re in his office. Outside these walls, he’s just Seungmin to you. Your best friend since high school. He’s also the first person you tell when you’ve gotten pregnant in the past… and the first to know when you lost the baby.

“I can’t tell him, Min,” you say quietly.

“Why’s that?”

You feel your eyes start to burn. “What if I lose another one?”

Seungmin stops what he’s doing and grabs your hand. “Y/n, do you realize how long it’s been? It’s been four months. In the past, it only lasted half of that. I think it’s safe to tell him. You’re more than halfway through your pregnancy. Doesn’t he deserve to know?”

You bite your lip. “I don’t want to get his hopes up, though. It would crush him.”

“And it wouldn’t crush you?”

You blink back tears.

“Y/nnie, this is why you’re married. In sickness and in health, remember? You’re with each other through thick and thin. If this is gonna crush him, then let it crush you too. It’s okay to go through that. I understand protecting him, but have you ever considered that he wants to do the same to you, but he can’t? Let him in. Let it hurt if it ends up hurting. But you’ll heal together.”

“Minnie… as a professional… do you…?”

He understands your unfinished question. “Yes, love,” he says, eyes softening. “I think it’ll make it. So tell him.”

You take a deep breath and nod. “I will.”

*************

You feel something tickle your shoulder and sleepily roll away from it. But it returns, traveling up to your neck.

“Mmm,” you groan tiredly.

“Morning, beautiful,” Chan whispers against your skin.

You roll over to face him. “Morning,” you reply, feeling a loopy grin stretch across your face. You sigh contentedly when his hand slides up your waist and rests there, holding you close. You peek up at him, recognizing the glimmer in his eyes. “What?”

His dimples appear. “Nothing,” he instantly replies. “You’re just so pretty.”

You squint at him. “Is that all?”

“What? I can’t call you pretty?”

“Christopher Chan, I know that look in your eyes. Out with it.”

He props himself up on one elbow, half hovering over you. “I was thinking…”

“Oh boy, that’s never good,” you tease, reaching up to tangle your fingers in his soft black hair.

He closes his eyes in bliss for a moment, than takes a deep breath. “What do you think about adopting?”

You go still. “What?”

“Adoption. I don’t know I just think maybe it’s time to add another member to the family?”

You bite your lip. “But… baby. We already have another addition to the family.”

He looks at you, obviously confused off his ass. “We do?”

You nod, steeling yourself. “Well… it might take a bit but… yeah we do…”

“Love, what are you talking about? It’s not a very long process. Did you pick one out without telling me?”

You feel your eyes widen as you realize he’s not talking about the same thing you are. “Channie, what are you on about?”

“I asked you first.”

You shake your head. “Not until you spill.”

“A dog, babe. What else?”

“A… a dog?” You ask in exasperation. “I thought you were talking about a child, Christopher.”

“No…?” You watch his eyebrows join together in thought. “Wait. Back up. We already have another addition? What is that supposed to mean?”

Shit. “Umm…” you start to consider saying you actually did pick out a dog already. “Nothing.”

“No no no no no. Nah-uh. Y/n. What did you mean?”

You shake your head, refusing to answer.

“Fine then.” His hands meet your shoulders and he pushes you into your back, hovering over you. “You don’t wanna talk? Fine. Then I’m not getting up.” And he plops down on top of you, dead weight.

Of course, it hurts. Hurts even more considering you have an extra little someone residing in you. “Shut,” you yelp. “Chan get off.”

There’s something in your tone that makes him shoot up. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

You shake your head. “Not… not me…”

“Then who…” as his voice trails off, so do his eyes, until they land on your stomach. “Fuck. Wait. No.” He looks up at you. “No. Baby. What?”

You bite your lip and nod. “Yes.”

“Shit. I…” he places a hand on your stomach. “I— I could’ve hurt you,” he whispers, staring down at your tummy.

“Baby, look at me. Please?” He does and you cup his face in your hands. “It’s okay. I’m okay. It’s alright.”

He bites his lip. “Are… are you sure?”

You nod.

“How long?”

“Four… four months,” you whisper.

He blinks. Five times. “What?”

You nod. “I had an appointment with Minnie and he said everything looks fine. He said that I just have a late developing baby bump. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I just didn’t want us to get our hopes up… But Min said that since it’s been so long and I’m already more than halfway there…”

Chan’s eyes light up. “There’s a chance?”

“A very high one. You aren’t mad?”

“Mad?”

“That I didn’t tell you sooner.”

He shakes his head. “Baby. No. I’m not mad love. I understand your hesitation to tell me. Truly.”

You blink. “Why are you so calm right now?” You bury your face in his arm, which is still planted next to your head. “I feel like I’m freaking out and I want to cry and… God I don’t even know.”

He presses a kiss to your hair. “Because I know freaking out won’t help you and staying calm is the best way to process this.”

You sigh. “Why are you so perfect?”

“Just part of the charm. Besides, I have two princesses to take care of; I can’t let myself be anything less than that.”

You turn to face him. “Two?” You ask, raising your eyebrow.

He smiled sheepishly. “I feel like it’s gonna be a girl.”

You hmmm in thought. “What if it’s a boy?”

“Then I’ll still be nothing less than perfect. I’m just saying I think it’ll be a girl.”

“I think you just want to be a girl dad,” you tease lovingly.

He blushes slightly. “Maybe.” He leans forward and nuzzles your neck. “I think id be a great girl dad.”

You kiss the side of his head. “I think you’d be a great anything dad.”

“We got this,” he whispers against your neck. “We always do.”

You wrap your arms around him. “You still want to adopt?”

He chuckles. “Babe, you just told me we’re having a baby, and now you want to add a puppy in the mix?”

You shrug. “Why not? We’re growing our family, right?”

He nods against you.

“So then let’s grow it.”

@linoalwaysknows Tysm again for submitting the request

[k-daydreams]

The Pursuit of Feeling Alive: III. Bratty Behavior

Pairing: fem!reader x azriel, platonic!innercircle

Synopsis: cousin to Rhysand and Morrigan, y/n was once her family’s golden child. Faced with trials and tribulations her whole life, she needed reprieve— a distraction. Until a surprise homecoming opens Pandora’s box, and gives y/n a reality check. Especially facing her once close friend Azriel. Friends to Enemies to lovers trope.

Word count: 4k

Warnings: swearing, trauma, reader being shitty, slow slow burn, mor and Cassian being readers moral sanity, filler chapter, grammatical errors lmao

Authors note: hellooo! So this is kinda a filler since what I was writing for this part was so long. Next part will really be juicy I promise! Thank you guys for so much love on the last part, I hope y’all will like this! Not a lot of Az has been in this part, mainly talking about him in 3rd person, but I promise hold on hope y’all get him in action in the next!! Lmk what you guys think

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

"Rhysand isn't impressed with Azriel," Mor declared, her knife slicing through a piece of meat. "To be honest, Y/n, I could genuinely throttle him." She took a bite of her food before continuing.

It was your first night back in Velaris, and the inner circle, along with the company, was aware of what had happened between Azriel and you. Well, at least what Cassian, Nesta, and Elain had witnessed. Rhys and Feyre hadn't approached you about it yet; Mor mentioned they wanted to spare you any further distress for the time being. Typically when one of the inner circle members had returned home from something, Rhys would have organized a celebratory family dinner, but he had decided against it for now. Instead, you and Mor dined alone in the House of Wind tonight.

Nonchalantly, you shrugged and took a sip from your wine glass. "Just another tantrum from that Illyrian man-child. Nothing new, really." You tried to sound relaxed, not wanting your friends and family to worry about you or the argument. You didn't want Azriel to know his words had cut you deeply or give him any satisfaction. You had already shown him just how much they had affected you. The impact was tangible—you had been restless, tossing and turning in bed for the past few nights, with no appetite to eat. Your homecoming was supposed to mark the beginning of your healing journey, yet here you were, starving and sleep-deprived due to the nonsense uttered by a man who thought he knew you.

Mor nodded knowingly, her napkin dabbing at her lips. "He had no right to speak to you like that," she said, her voice firm. "He knows that, no matter what, you're family. That's why we came back for you when Helion sent word. He knows we would do the same for any member of our family and to disregard you so quickly like that."

Disheartened, you let out a sigh. "I don't know, Mor. I knew we ended things on a sour note, but it's been nearly 60 years since then. I thought he would have moved on."

Her food momentarily forgotten, Mor nearly choked when you made that statement. "Please tell me you didn't just say that," she responded incredulously.

What do you mean?"

She stared at you intensely, her eyes burning into your soul as you went blank. "Seriously?" Perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. "I've seen you hold grudges for centuries, and yet you expect him to forgive you for an argument that happened over half a century ago?"

Both of you fell silent, studying each other across the table. Mor's loyalty to Azriel, despite never reciprocating his feelings, was unwavering—just as yours had been in the past. At times, it made you question if her feelings for him were truly nonexistent, like now. A queasiness churned in your stomach, and your head throbbed with a dull ache. Perhaps drinking on an empty stomach hadn't been the best idea, especially when thoughts of Mor and Azriel intertwined.

You cleared your throat, a newfound coldness lacing your tone as you spoke up. "Every grudge I've held has been a result of something more severe than an argument," you stated, fidgeting with the table linen. "An argument, mind you, that happened because he didn't want me to follow Rhys."

Mor retorted sharply, "Look where that got you." Your heart started pounding, your ears heating. Your gaze dropped in her direction, and a familiar flame ignited within you. "What he did was fucked up, but Y/n, you can be a stubborn brat." You opened your mouth to object, but she raised a hand to stop you. "I'm not trying to be rude. I say this because I care about you. But it's time to own up to your mistakes. Only then, maybe, just maybe, you can find peace again."

Mor's tough love never felt good, but you knew it always came from a place of good intentions. Angry and devastated, you found it hard to accept hearing all that. Sure, you could be opinionated and stubborn at times, but reducing yourself to a brat felt unjust.

Draining your wine, you replied, "I had hoped for a civil conversation with him whenever we did talk." Mor looked skeptical, likely not fully believing you. You did have a record for the last century or so with picking arguments, you blamed being around Mor and Amren so much, and maybe a lot of repressed feelings.

Despite her irritation with you, Mor reached out and took your hand in hers, comforting you with gentle circles on the back of it, like a mother would. "When it comes to you, it seems his shadows turn to flames."

There was so much you wanted to say, but you remained silent, allowing her words to echo in your mind. You couldn't quite grasp their cryptic meaning, but you didn’t want to indulge in the topic too much longer. Mor let go of your hand, standing up. "Feel like grabbing a drink at Rita's?" she asked, her tone changing, a small smirk forming. A way to nurse your wounds.

Shaking your head, you replied, "Not tonight. I need to rest. Traveling today drained me. But thank you." You offered a tight-lipped smile.

"Sweet dreams, little star," Mor said, patting your head before walking away.

The once-dull headache now throbbed prominently in your forehead, and you cradled your head in discomfort. Mor’s conversation seemed to reflect the same argument you had a few days prior with Azriel. Though not filled with as malicious intent as his did, it still left you feeling just as scorned. The house cleared the table immaculately as you stood to make your way to your room.

The hallways were quiet and deserted, illuminated by the dim twinkle of faelights illuminating the red stone of the walls. Each light flickered slightly in your presence before dimming again, but you were too weary to care about such peculiarities of your powers. The House of Wind sprawled endlessly, a labyrinth of doors and spiraling stairs within the mountainside. A few new paintings and plants adorned the halls, likely additions from the High Lady and her sister, but it all remained as you remembered.

When you enter your room, a plate with an assortment of delectable cheese and crackers, accompanied by a tall, refreshing glass of water. Along with a small container of headache powder sat patiently on your bedside table. A sigh of relief escaped your lips as you witnessed the house meticulously pulling back your sheets, reminiscent of the way it used to prepare your bed during your childhood days. Gently placing your night clothes at the foot of the bed, a smile of gratitude graced your face, silently expressing your appreciation to the house. It seemed that Rhys had been right about something you thought once you were in bed getting pulled into a restless sleep.

･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

You trudged begrudgingly through the halls of the endless mansion. Feyre had roused you from slumber earlier that morning, informing you of a meeting with the inner circle in an hour. Though you harbored little desire to attend, it was the first order by your new High Lady, making it a matter of importance. You hated how far your room was from the war room. Wishing you had wings, even better, you wished you had a room closer to one of the rooms you frequented the most. Finally almost out of breath, you made it to the entrance. You stalked into the room, you found Amren, Cassian, Lucien, Azriel, and Mor already settled in their seats.

"Tsk, tsk, fashionably late to your first meeting?" Cassian playfully jabbed at you. Walking past him, you discreetly flicked the back of his head, eliciting a muttered "brat" as he dramatically nursed the imaginary injury.

Your steps faltered for a moment, as that word—brat—pricked at your annoyance. Not letting it fester too much, you take a seat between Mor and Lucien. Sitting across from Cassian and Amren, with Azriel positioned diagonally next to his brother, you could feel his intense gaze fixed upon you. Determined not to shudder or shift under his scrutiny, you resolved not to let him see how deeply his words affected you. Deep down, however, you couldn't deny the lingering care you held for him, or the way his presence had consumed your thoughts over the past week like a plague.

"I don't see Feyre and Rhysand, so technically I'm not late," you declared, a smug tone coloring your words.

"Actually, they had other matters to attend to," Amren replied indifferently. It had been less than an hour since you last saw Feyre, leaving you puzzled as to what could have transpired in such a short span of time. Cassian nudged your foot under the table, a silent reminder of his earlier warning. Narrowing your eyes, you retaliated by kicking his shin, relishing in his sharp intake of breath as he winced. "Relax, Y/n!" he exclaimed, while you concealed your smirk, leaning back in your chair with crossed arms.

"Must you be so childish?" Azriel's voice snapped at you, catching you off guard.

Cassian stared at his brother in shock, attempting to defend your actions. “Brother I had started it-“

Beside him, the spymaster exhaled, regaining his composure. "I don't care who started it; I want to get through this as quickly as possible.” he requested, his tone cold.

"Yes, please," you muttered under your breath. The shadowsinger shot you a look.

Though you sensed he had more to say, Amren began speaking before another argument could erupt, cutting straight to the point. "We haven't visited the Court of Nightmares in quite some time. It's about time we made an appearance; I'm sure they're on the brink of chaos by now."

Mor sucked in her teeth, and you could hear Lucien gulp audibly, clearly apprehensive at the thought. You bit your lip anxiously.

"I won't be able to attend. Rhysand, specifically Feyre, has requested that you, Y/n, take the reins tonight," Amren announced, a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. She seemed unfazed by the prospect of missing out on the formal affair. Uncertainty flickered across the faces of those from the inner circle, unsure of how you would receive the order, except for Azriel, whose expression remained inscrutable.

You fidgeted with your fingers, picking at the hangnails. Before Amarantha, you had taken pleasure in Rhys entrusting you with these meetings, where you handled official business between the Court of Dreams and Nightmares. It had been empowering to witness your family obeying your orders, having spent so long following theirs, only to be shunned upon your return in the aftermath of one of the darkest days of your life. Your parents were ready to condemn you for treason when they first laid eyes on you. That’s when Rhys had appointed you as an emissary. Primarily since you had spent the most time in the court knowing the ins and outs, and as a sick punishment for your family.

Now, anxiety gripped you as memories you had desperately tried to suppress from your childhood. Those memories now attached with the new ones you sought to repress from your encounter with Amarantha. It became increasingly difficult to focus on Amren's words as your gaze wandered blankly through the expansive window behind her, stretching from the floor to the ceiling.

"Azriel will be right beside you for protection throughout the night, Cassian will accompany Mor, with Lucien joining them," Amren continued, a hint of wariness in her words.

"Why-why can't Cass be by my side?" you stammered. "He's a general for a reason." You had an inkling to why Azriel had always been at your side when you’d be in charge of this responsibility, but you also wanted him nowhere near you. Didn’t anyone else think that him and you together was an awful idea at the moment?

"Because Azriel has a more intimidating effect on your family," Amren replied, looking knowingly at him. Azriel remained stoic, mirroring your own defensive posture—scarred muscular arms crossed, leaning back in his chair, stil as a statue. "As I said, it's been some time since we made an appearance. Who knows what they might do? We can't risk any harm coming to the Princess on her first days back at court," she added mockingly. Rolling your eyes, you fought the urge to offer her a vulgar gesture. For that remark alone, she could certainly go to hell.

"Cassian will come to fetch you later, so you can all gather at the townhouse and winnow together," Amren concluded nonchalantly. "Now, I need to speak with Mor and Cassian privately. You three are dismissed; I'm sure Azriel and Y/n are just itching to throw themselves off the dining room veranda by now." She said to you, Lucien, and Azriel. She was right about one thing, you thought to yourself, your chair scraping against the floor as you stood, eager to escape the war room as quickly as possible.

You closed the door to your room, and fell into your bed screaming into the mattress. You were frustrated, overwhelmed, and exhausted from lack of sleep. A small commotion on your nightstand made you jump, looking up, a medium box now laid on the stand. An envelope attached to a deep purple ribbon wrapped around the gift. You sat up, and grabbed it, opening the paper.

‘Give them hell tonight, you've earned it little star. -R&F’

Inside the box was a diadem of silver, stars of different shapes hung all adorning the chain encrusted in emeralds, diamonds of different hues, and sapphires for you to wear tonight. You sighed, a new feeling slithering through your veins. Maybe this was Rhysand’s way of giving you therapy. You all played a game and made a show down in the court of nightmares that the inner circle all got a kick out of at one point or another. Maybe playing the act was what you needed? You had let your mental shield down, letting your thoughts empty to nothing, hoping Rhys would be paying attention.

You planned this intentionally? You thought once your mind was blank.

Me? What would make you think so? Rhys purred in your mind.

You rolled your eyes. Mhm, you two just had to conveniently leave all of a sudden?

That’s a matter for tomorrow, just try not to torture someone to death tonight, especially not our spymaster. He taunted.

Your spymaster, no promises. You clarified.

Have fun, little star. You could feel him poking at your mind to signal he was no longer there.

You threw your shield up, and laid back on your bed. Tonight was going to be interesting.

･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

You fixed your lip shine in the mirror, finishing the final touches to your look before a rhythmic knock on your ajar door sounded.

“You ready?” Cassian peaked before walking into the room.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

He let out a low whistle as he examined you. “Your family’s not gonna like that.”

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” You smirked despite a brief heat rising to your cheeks.

The gown you chose was something you had saved for a trip specifically for the court of nightmares before you had been trapped under the mountain. The bodice had long sleeves and was skin tight, black crystal branches wrapping up your arms, and up your waist with thicker branches covering your chest. The skirt billowed with several layers of gossamer, much like the gown you wore in the day court just several days prior, but had slits dangerously high risking a reveal of your hip bones unlike the other gown. You wore the highest heels you had in your closet that were sure to make you grumpy just by standing in them for more than a couple minutes— exactly why you chose them. Then the diadem that Rhys and Feyre gifted you graced the top of your head and shimmered in the faelight of your room that flickered in your wake, when you felt the satisfaction from Cass’s comment.

He clicked his tongue, crossing his arms. “I don’t think I even like that.” Then he noticed the slits in the fabric. Rubbing a hand over his face in disbelief. “Mother of the cauldron Y/n, are you even wearing anything under that dress?” He made a face which made you laugh out loud.

“Pig, no need to worry about that!” You slapped his arm lightly before looping yours through it.

“You’re right I don’t want to know.” He shook his head. Cassian was always your comedic relief from your worries, and you were thankful that hadn’t changed. “Could you let Nesta borrow it?” He suggested cheekily.

You groaned disgustedly, “then I would have to burn it afterwards.”

“Good, I don’t want to see you in this gown again after tonight.”

“You’re not my father.” You teased as you two walked out to the balcony.

“Yeah but in my head you’ll always be like my little sister, no matter how much of a brat you are.” He nudged you.

“I hate that word,” you admitted, preparing yourself for flight.

He picked you up bridal style as if you weighed nothing in his arms. You adjusted the fabric so it wouldn’t fly up mid flight. “You know it’s true.” He said, his wings rustling, preparing himself.

You gave him a pointed look, “I’m considering it’s true.” Providing a pinch to his bicep. Without warning he took off into the night sky of Velaris, teasingly loosening his grip on you like he was going to drop you.

“If you keep hurting me, I’ll have to sic my mate on you.” A mischievous glint in his eyes.

“She probably knows you deserve it.” You watched the city below light up under the starry sky.

“Touché,” he smiled. He looked in thought as a silence fell over you two letting you admire Velaris below. You hadn’t had a chance to explore the city since your return, today would’ve been the day if it weren’t for the meeting in the court of nightmares. You could see the rainbow quarters perfectly from above and hear the music in the distance. The stars and moon were close to you as well, the music and being so close the light brought solace to any nerves you may have had. It prickled softly at your skin, seeping into your skin.

“I could guess one person who’ll be excited to see you.” Cassian broke the momentary silence.

“Don’t say his name,” you begged, seeing the angle he was trying to pull.

“Who, Azriel?” He grinned broadly.

“My peace is ruined,” you deadpanned, him chuckling at your disdain.

“Don’t let him being an asshole deter you. He’s been all bent out of shape since your absence. I think he’s just hurt deep down, and those little shadows that are always in his ear when you're around doesn’t help.”

You listened to Cassian ramble, confusion filling you. “You haven’t heard everything he's said to me.”

He relaxed a bit, soaring lower, the familiar townhouse now in your view. “I haven’t heard everything you've said to him either, and I don’t think it’s my business or my right to say anything on the matter given my record. Sometimes you say shit in the heat of the moment, sometimes you say shit to hide what’s actually going on underneath it all. One thing I know whenever it comes to you he’s always all up in arms. Not even Elain can do that to him. I didn’t even see him like that with Mor besides that one time.” He cleared his throat awkwardly, getting ready to land. You gripped his neck tighter, bracing yourself.

“When you’re not annoying, you’re actually wise y’know that?” You were in awe at his words. You weren’t sure how true his interpretation was, but for now it brought you slight comfort and ease about the Azriel situation. He landed with his wings slightly fluttering about, shaking off the wind of the night. He gently set you down, and you tried adjusting yourself now that you were standing. You went to fix the diadem, but Cass pushed your hand away lightly, doing it for you.

“I would hope so, year 600 is creeping up on me fast.”

You laughed softly, “you're about to be an old man.”

“Yeah let’s not talk about that, we’re talking about you remember?” He fixed a loose piece of hair that was out of place. “Try not to let him get to you too much tonight or at least channel it into you being all scary and brooding. I’ve missed you in court, it hasn't been the same.”

“Thank you Cass, and I’m sorry for not visiting.” You said sincerely.

Pulling you into his arms for an embrace, he sighed. “I figured you needed space. There’s nothing wrong with that. Rhys went to the cabin after he came out from under there. You just went to the day court for almost a decade long sabbatical.” He shrugged casually. “You can repay me by training again once you’re settled.” You nodded, pulling away. He wrapped his arm around you, “C’mon we have a party to get to.”

Lucien, Morrigan, and Azriel waited for you two. Azriel was the first to look up at the sound of your heels clicking on floor into the foyer of the townhouse. His hazel eyes darkened, eyebrows slightly narrowing, and jaw clenched at the sight of you. Your heart skipped a beat as his eyes traced your body, lingering at the top of the slits of the gown that could expose your hip bones at any sudden movement, before taking in your bare legs that were accentuated by the uncomfortable heels. You felt a warmth in your core that betrayed any ill feelings towards the spymaster, and you had to take a deep breath to calm yourself. You never knew a look would be able to enthrall you so much and ignite such feelings.

He was in his more formal fighting leathers, muscles at full display even underneath the leather, his hair neatly styled back, sciphons glowing under the light of the common room. He was god-like, you couldn’t deny that. Not rugged looking like Cassian or as regal as Rhys, but he was beautiful. You wanted to be sick at thinking these thoughts. His shadows whispered in his ears as he stared at you. You couldn’t discern the look in his eyes as Mor approached you.

“Oh my, my fathers gonna croak, I love it!” She squealed looking at the patterns on your dress. “But we do have to get going, Y/n winnow Cass?” She looked at the male beside you.

You were about to agree, but Azriel spoke up. “I think I should be with her. Just in case. Amren said they’re possibly at a brink of chaos.” His voice was gravelly, and your heart pounded erratically at the huskiness in his tone.

“O-okay? Cassian, let’s come on then.” She looked at you, your eyes were wide in surprise.

Azriel approached you, and his scent of cedar and mist filled your senses making you want to melt even more. You only cleared your throat, straightening your back as his scarred arm reached around you pulling you closer to him as you got ready to winnow. You could feel the rough pad of his thumb near the top of the slit of your dress making your mind blank. His shadows swirled around your wrists in greeting for the first time since you’ve seen him, and you could feel your cheeks heat up.

Mor and Cassian disappeared along with Lucien right behind them. Azriel’s body heat and movement of his hand on your hip was making you flushed, unable to concentrate. Then his lips were close to your ear and you could feel his cool breath on your neck.

“Whatever happens tonight, don’t take it to heart.” The grip on your hip had tightened, and you could feel the sheath of truth-teller in your lower back.

You looked up to him, even wearing your tallest heels he had towered over you, observing the deadly calm on his face. Your gaze lingered on his lips for a second before flirting back to his intense hazel orbs.

You said barely above a whisper, scared your voice would betray your words. “You forget I’m great at this game, shadowsinger.”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

[x] previous chapter [x] next chapter

Aaaaand we’re off to the races besties!! I had so much fun writing this part! I hope you’re excited as I am for the next one!!

Taglist: @tcris2020 @rachelnicolee @thelov3lybookworm @bubybubsters @mich0731 @t0uch-starved-h0e @penguins-are-the-best @justagingerliving @brekkershadowsinger @jiinmii

If I missed any of you just lmk!

[glassrowboat]

Curled Gloves. Dottore.

Summary: At work, everything seems the same, the same monotony, the same red eyes on you, the same - seriously though, Dottore, can you stop staring?

Authors note: Just me trying to do a character study. Need to learn how to write for this man <(_ _)> Will probably delete later.

Oh, and for those curious, the type of welding reader is doing is called TIG

Let the puddle build and pull back, keep the nozzle in place for steady gas flow, feed the filler through your fingers with every passing second as you once again dip the rod into the bright orange and red pool the was forming under your hands. Your handiwork.

Don't weave.

Don't press down too much and accidentally increase the heat.

Keep your hands steady.

All something you've done time and time again that this action is so ingrained in your brain it has become second nature. As they say, one can never forget how to ride a bike. Welding is much the same.

So why were you struggling so much today? Well the answer was right there as you moved your foot off the pedal, looming over the work that wasn't even fully done up with a half finished bead as, through your hood, you looked up at the man who was staring you down this entire time.

Dottore. Or Prime. Or whatever you wanted to call him, really. That mask he always donned an unwelcome sight.

He always wore it around the lab, hiding his face away like it was some grand secret that only those must trusted could possibly bear witness to; yet you've seen it all the same. An accident, of course. A bad habit of yours was to forget your keys basically everywhere. Desk? Check. Lunch table? Check. The lab? An unfortunate check that meant coming face to face with a pair of red eyes glaring at you as you quickly ran out.

You never did get your keys then, having to beg the apartment management to let you in.

“You're staring.”

Dottore's head cocked ever so slightly to the side as he asked “is that a problem?”

Oh how you wanted to pop his blueberry head for lingering over you for so long, much alike to when a teacher passes you by during an exam and they make a remark about the test right after staring at your paper. But, it's not like you could. Even if imagining it did help get through the work day as he flitted about. A fly you couldn't wave off buzzing in your ear.

“It is, so stop it.”

“Ordering a harbinger around won't do anything for you, welder. Remember your station as you speak to me.”

That card again. It was enough to have you placing the filler rod down to keep yourself from being tempted to jam it into his ear. Its pointed tip, from being melted down, truly was a tempting sight. And it was like he could read your thoughts, or maybe the twitch of your fingers, as he picked it up. Toying with it between his fingers.

“Your gloves are too big for you. I didn't know you felt the need to use a man’s equipment.”

Your eyes shot down to those yellow gloves, curled from both heat and lack of anything properly filling them out.

“It's all I have.”

“What of the pair you had when you first came here?”

“Caught on fire.”

Dottore's mouth opened only for him to pinch his lips closed.

“I suggest you try and tell me about a lack of equipment. I don't need your work coming out as anything less than I know you're capable of because of something easily fixed.”

Well, he did order you to ‘help’ with building the prototype to that false God project, so it does make sense he trusts what you can do. The project was a pain trying to understand his scribbled notes in the margins; the blueprint itself was readable. He deserves credit for that, at least.

And those yellow gloves, they weren't the ones you used when building the Shiki- No- That's not it. Shouki no Kami baby version.

“Fine, I need smaller gloves.”

There was no ‘now was that so hard’ like you were expecting, no snark (the younger versions of him would have), not even a curl of his lip in satisfaction of winning out this bickering tournament. Just a nod. Just a: “I'll be sure to tack them on to next week's orders.”

“Thank you.”

Plucking the filler rod from his pinched fingers you held it close to the piece you were currently working on, just about to get back to work as he started to make his way to the door. Most likely to head back to the lab proper where all the researchers keep themselves locked away with bottles of chemicals and things of the like.

“And one last thing.” The clicking of his boots stopped, no longer clicking against the tile as he stood before the door to leave. One hand pressed to the handle yet refusing to turn it. “Simply come to me if this incident occurs again. I don't need to find out days or weeks later.”

“Of course, sir.”

“In the meantime, I think it would be best for you to take something else. You can record the stock for me, or there's holes that need to be drilled in the base plate for that project Alpha was never able to finish.”

“Drilling holes with gloves too big for me? That's a good way to get them trapped in the rotary and my finger snapped like a pencil.”

You have heard occasions of it happening to others before, and oh boy, does that not sound fun. Hard pass on that one.

“I will not have you standing around doing nothing when there is work to be done. Time is a valuable asset, welder.”

The door was pushed open as he looked back at you, the faintest sound of the heating from the hallway buzzing in your ears. In here there wasn't really a need for that, not when you could prop the door open and get to work. The job warmed you up well enough.

“Just simply do without them.”

“Do without my gloves?”

That's a good way to get your hands all scratched up. Metal shavings flying in the air weren't exactly screaming ‘this is safe’ to anyone. If anything, that seemed like a great spin on a weapon, something akin to a gun just blasting out bits of sharp metal.

Best to keep that thought in your mind unless you want Dottore getting hyper fixated on something again only to forget about it in a week.

“It is within regulations.”

His boot was already crossing the threshold of the door, leaving you as you threw the gloves off to the side. Useless things they were.

‘Never thought I'd complain about going at it raw, but here we are.’

“And one last thing.”

Taking your hood off you let it fall down to the table before you with a clatter. Your hair is probably a mess, but it mattered little in a place like this when everyone else around you is covered in ash and dirt. Well, besides Dottore of course.

“Next time you come back to the lab late at night without first getting permission, I won't let you simply walk away. Remember that for the next time you leave your keys behind.”

The door closed behind him, leaving you as it suddenly fell quiet. Hum cut off mid cycle of its usual pattern.

In the end, you still wanted to pop his blueberry head, even when the proper sized gloves were there for you to use at the beginning of the next work day.

[tobiasdrake]

Hi! Absolutely adore your DBZ analyses, thank you so much - just spent a delightful time reading them all. I was wondering, since you've commented on Chi-Chi and Goku's marriage, what do you have to say about Vegeta and Bulma's relationship? (I've always been entranced by it - mostly because as with all his romances, Toriyama had the wisdom not to show any of it onscreen. But I'd love to know your thoughts about it.)

Bulma and Vegeta are a match made in Hell, and they deserve each other. (Which is to say yes, I love this ship.)

Hooking Bulma up with Vegeta was a hell of a narrative swerve. Generally speaking, stories rarely do this; They rarely let characters break up once they're already invested in a romance, unless it's supposed to be like a love triangle thing.

And Bulma? Bulma was invested. At least, to a degree.

This was the birth of the original Bulma romance that ran through about half of the manga. Two teens interesting in the opposite sex suddenly realize the availability of the other and a relationship is born.

Toriyama says he's bad at writing romance but to be honest, this has always hit me as more believable than your typical drawn-out five-seasons-of-pining Will They/Won't They affair. I'm a girl. You're a boy. Wanna go out and see what clicks?

And these two... these two do not click. We only really see their relationship from Bulma's perspective but it's clear that these two are miserable together.

The manga sorta takes Bulma's side, in that we never really get to hear Yamcha's opinion about their relationship one way or another. When he's around, all he wants to do is talk shop about martial arts. Since Toriyama doesn't like to write romance, we simply don't see much of it from them. What little we do hear about it comes from Bulma complaining about how miserable she is.

Bulma is pretty much always pissed off whenever the relationship is in focus at all.

Anime filler tends to take Yamcha's side instead, portraying him as a put-upon victim of Bulma's jealousy and abuse. A nice guy who doesn't deserve the way she treats him.

It's not hard to buy into this interpretation of their relationship since, as noted, we rarely get anything from Yamcha with regard to his relationship to women or Bulma specifically but we know Bulma's a lot. It's easy to accept Bulma as the "bad guy" of this relationship because. Like. Remember that time she enslaved a sentient being? Good times.

Though one particular moment from Yamcha later on kinda stands out as a bit of a retroactive Yikes.

Yeah. Uh. Threatening violence against a woman for rejecting his bro is a bit of a Yikes. Is this who we were supposed to see Yamcha as all this time? Because, if so, it might have helped to let him opine about the relationship more. Just saiyan.

According to Toriyama in interview, Yamcha and Bulma ultimately broke up because she caught Yamcha cheating on her. I guess that's what him being "popular with girls" was supposed to mean: Once he got over his gynophobia and found confidence with the opposite sex, Yamcha became a player.

But that doesn't necessarily come across from the statement, "Bulma can't stand that Yamcha's popular with girls." A lot of fans took that to mean girls just like him for no reason, and Bulma's unreasonably jealous about it. The anime took that position too.

Note that the "Yamcha is popular with girls" thing isn't helped by the fact that we never see it on-panel because he's only ever talking shop when he's around. But we do see a wandering eye from Bulma often enough.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying the aesthetic appeal of another party even when you're in a monogamous relationship, but it doesn't really present the "Other party is a womanizer and cheater" case when you're the only one ever seen doing this.

So it feels like there's a lot about Yamcha and Bulma's relationship that never made it to print yet influenced later decisions. Those decisions ended up being controversial because the foundation for those decisions was never laid. Here, Toriyama's disdain for writing romance worked against him.

But ultimately, regardless of whose side you take, it doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter who the "bad guy" is. A healthy relationship does not have a "bad guy" in it.

Whether or not Yamcha cheated, whether or not Bulma's just an unreasonably jealous hell-beast, it doesn't actually matter. What matters is that once you reach the point where you're taking sides over which party is the most obnoxious asshole and I hate you and I wish we never met... this relationship is not working for anybody.

It doesn't matter who the bad guy is. It doesn't matter who deserves the blame for this relationship being a toxic shithole. That there is blame to throw around in the first place is the problem. Every relationship has its ups and downs but if one party is constantly miserable for years and has possibly been looking for an escape hatch since year 1, that's not a little tiff.

What matters is that these two are not working out. Any time we see their relationship in focus, they are miserable together. The anime tried to do some patchwork on that with audience reception by giving them some cute moments as well, but because those moments aren't canon the pair remained miserable.

And then this happened.

Despite everything, I think we all assumed that Bulma and Yamcha were going to work it out. Fictional relationships are often portrayed as tumultuous. To a writer, nothing says true love like being constantly miserable and despising every waking moment you spend with your awful, nagging ball-and-chain of a spouse. That's just. Like. What the straights think romance is. It's weird.

I think we all thought that was going to be the deal here too. And then Trunks came along and said, "Nope, actually, they finally severed the cord."

Again, Toriyama says he's bad at writing romance but holy shit, the toxic and miserable relationship actually ended. The two characters involved who only got together out of loneliness and desperation later found they were incompatible with each other. That's so real. Much moreso than a lot of fictional romances.

Instead, we got the absolute crack ship that is Vegeta and Bulma. What a wild-ass revelation for Trunks to drop.

Like. Until the end of the Namek arc, this was the only time these two characters even met.

She also saw Vegeta for like two seconds here.

That was it. That was their entire history together until Goku defeated Frieza while Kaio sent everyone to Earth. But that's when everything changed for Vegeta.

Stranded on Earth with no ship, no affiliations, no ability to leave the planet and nowhere to go or be and no obligations to anyone but himself, Vegeta's circumstances were wildly different than they'd ever been before. He had become one of the Namekian refugees.

And Bulma was offering refuge.

Hard to resist, indeed. That moment is absolutely hilarious in retrospect. Bulma rolled a Nat 20 on that charisma check. It's pretty clear who the instigator of this relationship was.

Like. It needs to be stated that at this point, the only thing Bulma knew about Vegeta was that he tried to kill them all multiple times, and also he's kinda hot. But. Like.

It's Bulma. Anyone who doesn't expect this from her by now either hasn't been paying attention or started watching the English dub of the anime when they did Z first.

So, naturally, Vegeta is a kind and loving man and became a phenomenal husband and fa--

Wait. No. I got my notes mixed up. It says here Vegeta's a rotten dirty bastard. Like. Chronically. He has Supreme Dickshit Syndrome. It's genetic.

Most of Bulma and Vegeta's developing relationship happens offscreen. From what snippets we get, Vegeta has a tendency to vanish during the day, but he still lives at Capsule Corp so Bulma sees him around.

By the end of the three-year timeskip, it's official. Or semi-official. Yamcha and Bulma broke up at some point during that timeskip and Bulma's given birth to Trunks.

As for Vegeta, he's evidently moved out of Capsule Corp and into his own place.

I guess he's still keeping contact with Bulma since she knows what his intentions are. Not to mention he found his tranquility during these three years, though it's somewhat ambiguous as to what exactly brought that peace to his heart.

But the relationship is off to a rocky start nonetheless. Clearly something went down between Vegeta and Bulma that drove Vegeta out of Capsule Corp. To. Uh. Somewhere.

I like to imagine Vegeta living in some shitty West City apartment he rents off a stipend Bulma's sending him that he refuses to openly acknowledge. Like, room 101 is a down-on-his-luck tax accountant, room 102 is a couple with a kid trying to make ends meet off two retail workers' salaries, and then room 103 is Vegeta, Prince of All Saiyans. Sometimes he goes to community events and pretends he isn't having fun.

No lie, I would absolutely watch that as a sitcom.

As for Vegeta himself, he's still a rotten dirty bastard.

Worth noting that Vegeta's saying this as a Super Saiyan which means he's drunk on the form's enhanced aggression. But. Still. Vegeta is an absolute monster being dragged kicking and screaming into a pleasant life that he'll one day resent himself for enjoying. This is his arc moving forward.

It's not so much a redemption arc as it is a domestication arc. The uniquely evil even by Saiyan standards Vegeta is gradually being changed by his new terrestrial life. He doesn't want to own up to how much he enjoys it here. Seven years later, he's still desperate to avoid owning up to it.

He doesn't want to be happy here. He doesn't want a loving wife and a son who looks up to him and the most lavish home wealth can afford him and easy, comfortable days spent with friends and loved ones by his side. He doesn't want a happy ending.

But it's like Bulma warned him: Dragon Ball's queen bee is hard to resist.

Welcome back to Capsule Corp, Vegeta. We hardly even noticed you were gone. Honestly, Future Trunks deserves a lot of the credit for this; Watching him die at the Cell Games was what flipped the switch in Vegeta's head that he wants the family he and Bulma have spawned together.

Sure is a good thing we have Dragon Balls because this is a hell of a time to suddenly decide you love your son. But we see the consequences of that seven years later, since Vegeta moved back into Capsule Corp from... I don't know, wherever he went. They're gonna miss him at the next community poolside summer BBQ event for all tenants.

Part of what makes Vegeta and Bulma work, I think, is that they're on the same page about one crucial point. For Bulma, there is one person who will always take precedent in her life above all others. Romance comes and romance goes, but this is the relationship that matters most to her.

Especially when it comes to martial arts and fighting. Bulma doesn't know a lot about the subject, but she knows that Son Goku is her #1. She has no reservations about saying that to her lover's face either.

When fists start flying, Bulma knows who she's rooting for. If Goku's involved, then it's not her guy. That's. Just. Something that anyone who wants to be with her has to be willing to understand. The single most important relationship in Bulma's life will always be her friendship with Goku.

And the thing about Vegeta is... He kind of agrees? Like. See above, re: I wanted Babidi to destroy my feelings for Bulma so that I could become the warrior that can fight with you, Kakarot.

As much as Goku will always be Bulma's #1, he'll also always be Vegeta's #1. He even gets included into Vegeta's fond farewell to the family he loves.

Goku is basically the platonic third in a two-person polycule. This is the second marriage that this poor ace plays a vital role in despite having no real interest in romance whatsoever.

Bulma is selfish, spiteful, petty, and vain. At one point, DBS: Broly directly compares her to Frieza; A comparison that manages to be unbelievably unflattering to both participants.

They're the same picture. A revelation that would probably be horrifying to both.

And Vegeta. Especially Vegeta. But. Like. She warned you she was irresistible. You didn't take her seriously and now look where you are. Married to the She-Frieza. Maybe you should think about your life choices.

This is just. So much fun. As I said at the outset, Bulma and Vegeta are a match made in Hell who make it work because they're both similar brands of awful.

As for Yamcha, it's a little known fact but Yamcha rebounded and moved on with his life. He stops having much story relevancy after he leaves Capsule Corporation so we see very little of his private life from there. After retiring from martial arts and splitting up with Bulma, Yamcha's left without any story hooks to keep him involved.

But there was this interesting moment, when he realized they had a Shenron wish to spare.

After Krillin comes up with something better to use the wish on, he takes it back and claims it was a joke.

This is, surprisingly, a point of contention in the fandom as some of Yamcha's fans prefer the idea that he died miserable and alone after Bulma ruined his life by leaving him. This takeback gets pointed to as proof that he made up his girlfriend entirely. However, in context, it's clear that a) he's trying to brush off his earlier attempt at making a petty wish and b) the thing he's transparently pretending was a joke is the necklace wish, not the existence of his new girlfriend.

Like Bulma, Yamcha moved on with his life after the break up of their miserable relationship. And that was the final word that was ever uttered on Yamcha's romantic prospects, because this was the last time he was ever meaningfully involved with anything at all.

[eternalmarvel]

MK1 BI-HAN X READER ~ belong ~

an: hello everyone ❄️ decided to write some more small fluff / filler content ! i swear there's not enough bi-han love man LETS KEEP THOSE FANFICS AND HEADCANONS ROLLING 😈also i came up with this idea while i was h!gh as hell so please excuse me if the idea itself seems a bit weird this is why i need requests from people because i am TOO lazy to think of any good ideas on my own

if u guys want something different to spice things up like headcanons or smthn just ask :-) honestly i don't know how good i'd be at writing smut so it's not of priority right now but if people request it i can certainly try

anyways i hope u guys enjoy some fluffiness to kick off the winter szn !!

note; bi-han and reader are married in this story + a little bit of toxicness but it's not from bi-han

++ this isn't proofread so sorry for any mistakes

~~

you had been married to bi-han for about a year now. your duties separate from the lin kuei often required you to travel far and abroad where you couldn't see your husband for weeks at the time. you didn't complain too much at first, but it got a bit frustrating after some time -- nothing that you couldn't overcome though. on the other hand, bi-han was IRRITABLE. it felt like the whole stronghold was walking on eggshells around its grandmaster, careful not to say or do the one thing that would set him off. he was sexually frustrated and grumpy on incomprehensible levels. everyone around the clan noticed how much angrier he had become. he'd bark orders at an unprecedented rate and mean mugged everyone who came across his path. even having the kitchen staff make all his favourite meals from when he was younger did nothing to wipe the horrible scowl painted on his face. when you were at the lin kuei stronghold, you and bi-han collectively sat down with the rest of the ninjas for dinners -- something that bi-han often avoided before meeting you. however, with a bit of nudging from you, he started to participate in group dinners more, even enjoying them (though he would never admit to this). there would still be a grimace on his face, but having you beside him made everything more palatable anyway. when asked why he seemed a little more irritable than usual, he stormed off and dismissed the question.

"i am the grandmaster, i will NOT answer to you."

smoke had realized that soon enough the only way to get him over his mood fluctuations and have some semblance of peace would be to get you back at the dojo. your phone's ringtone blared alarmingly, and you picked up the call in annoyance.

"tomas? what are you calling me about? can it wait? i'm really busy right now."

smoke lets out a sigh of relief now that he's gotten ahold of you.

"(name)! we really need you back at the lin kuei. bi-han's really ...cranky without you there," he whispers the last part, almost like he's scared bi-han will snatch him up out of nowhere. you pay no heed to tomas' concerning remarks, continuing to write down on the ledger on your desk.

"i'm sure my husband is just a little overwhelmed with his duties right now, this has nothing to do with me. give him some slack. he's fine."

smoke spoke with more urgency now.

"(name), he really is frustrated because of you. today, frost said '(name)’s hair' but he thought she meant '(name)’s here' and i swear i thought i saw his eyes gloss over like a dog seeing its owner for the first time in forever. ever since he found out frost was talking about your hair and not about you actually being here, he's been giving frost dirty looks. i think she's starting to get pissed off now that i think about it..."

you put down your pen and look up at the curtains of the hotel room in front of you, sighing. it was more serious than you previously expected. your face twisted in cruel humour, and you knew it'd be funny to use this opportunity to prank your husband and see what his reaction is.

"you know what tomas. i'm sure i can get out of these meetings and make it back to the stronghold by tomorrow dawn. i'll come back."

tomas sighs, finally unanxious.

"thank you, (name)! i knew you'd pu-"

"but i wanna play a prank on him. and you're gonna help me observe and set the environment."

tomas sighs once again, but out of exasperation.

"i don't wanna participate if it's too extreme. i've already caught the brunt of bi-han's verbal torment this week." you chuckle at his expense. "don't worry tomas, i'll make sure he doesn't hurl an ice pick at you. this prank is harmless, i promise. it's just for me to see his reaction." "fine. what are you planning on doing?" "sit tight and don't stress. i'll tell you when i'm on my way back."

you had informed tomas of the most perfect plan. you'd get back to your husband -- not long enough that he'd go back to his normal, serene state when he was with you but enough that he'd manage to calm his heartrate a bit. you were planning on inviting the daughter of a family friend of bi-han's family when he was younger. she had eyes for him all these years, still pointing to hints that she would pursue him despite the fact that he was now married to you. you would invite her over and have her bug bi-han (dare you say, flirt) and follow him all around the stronghold. you wanted to see if that so-called sexual frustration that tomas was referring to earlier really mattered in the case of every woman or if it was exclusive to only you. was it toxic? perhaps. could it be considered manipulative to use his father's family friend's daughter who had probably loved him for the last 10 years to get him closer to you? most likely. would you love every second of it nonetheless? absolutely.

you didn't inform bi-han of your arrival. as far as he knew, you were still going to be a few weeks out from coming back. you walked in through a secret back entrance bi-han had only told you about just in case the stronghold was ever attacked and he needed to get you out safely. you walked through the corridors and heard your husband's hoarse voice coming from the large drawing room across from you. you walked in quietly and sneakily, but obviously not subtly enough considering bi-han had his eyes immediately on you.

"(name)....," he almost whispered, his eyes widening.

you give everyone in the room a wave, including the senior ninjas, which they kindly return with a nod of their own.

"clear the room," bi-han asserts hastily. his tone isn't as harsh as it was before. the ninjas comply almost immediately when they've noticed his demeanor soften up a bit, realizing that you've worked your magic. as soon as the last ninja is out the door, bi-han is by your side in a half of an instant, taking your face into his broad hands.

"hey," you say softly. you were tired from your trip, but being in his presence and ironically his warmth doubled the exhaustion and fatigue your body had attempted to so valiantly fight off.

"you didn't inform me of your early arrival."

you smile into his palm, your head tilting a bit as you rest your own palm on his hand.

"wanted to surprise you, my love."

he looks at you intensely for a few seconds before snapping back to reality.

"i will excuse myself from my duties today. perhaps i can get kuai liang to take over for me."

"why, bi-han? we can catch up late. i don't want you neglecting your duties because of me."

a small scoff escapes his lips.

"it's been much of the other way around. we have not seen each other in weeks. the lin kuei can do without its grandmaster for a few hours."

you look at him mischievously for a brief second before you hear the faint sounds of footsteps outside the drawing room. your plan was coming to fruition before your eyes. rina had come along just on time.

"actually, bi-han, i think we might have a change of plans. rina is coming over today!"

bi-han shifted his gaze from you to rina, who was standing out in the hallway. it was safe to say he was unamused.

"rina. i wasn't aware you were going to be here. it seems as though i've been misinformed on MANY fronts," he says, side-eyeing you. you pay him no mind, bringing rina closer.

"i have to deal with a bit more business-"

bi-han looked at you in disbelief. who the hell did you think you were, the president? a grandmaster yourself?

"--BUT i promise it won't take too long. rina wanted to catch up with you too, so i thought why not kill two birds with one stone?," you say, trying to resist the impending smirk on your face. bi-han was clearly displeased but you gave his arm a squeeze and whispered, "just a few hours," and he knew he'd have your company again in no time. he sighed quietly, before slightly nodding again.

"if i must."

you disappeared to find smoke and left bi-han with rina to do god knows what. you found tomas sparring with some of the newer initiates out in the courtyard and ran up to him, dragging him away from kombat.

"h-hey!," smoke exclaimed.

"c'mon! i finally got bi-han to agree to meeting with rina. now we gotta go hide around the place and see how he reacts with her around."

"this is ... not nice.." smoke remarks uneasily.

you roll your eyes. yeah it isn't nice, but it's funny and it's not like you actually meant any harm by this prank. you and tomas make your way to the blindspots around the lin kuei and spot bi-han walking as rina edges closer to him. you guys get in close enough to try and make sense of their conversation.

bi-han walks into his room and changes into a new hanfu, the same shade of dark blue he often wears. the collar part of the attire is folded, and rina brings her hand closer to fix it but just as she’s about to mend it, bi-han grabs her hand.

“what do you think you’re doing,” he lowly seethes, his eyebrows furrowing in anger.

rina shakes him off, annoyed. “i was just trying to help you, calm down!”

“unless i ask for your assistance, it is not required.” he says stoically before making his way down the corridor again. you and tomas both exchange a strange look. you didn’t want rina dead by the end of this prank. silence is shared between bi-han and rina for the next minute before the latter pipes up again.

"you haven't seen your wife in a while, huh?" rina asks coyly. bi-han turns to look at her for a second before turning back around and keeping that stern look on his face.

"no. her business keeps her away from m-the stronghold quite often,” bi-han remarks quietly.

“you know most wives stick with their husbands and don’t just leave them on their own for weeks on end. perhaps there may be something that you aren’t aware of…,” rina whispers before her statement trails off.

bi-han stops in his tracks and turns around yo face her.

“do not think to insinuate such horrible things about my wife again so shamelessly. you forget your place when you spew these things -- do not forget, SHE invited you here as a token of her hospitality. i did not."

rina chuckles. at first glance, it would seem that she does this sarcastically at first, but it seems like those words really stung rina.

"i'm leaving."

"you know your way out."

tomas sucks a deep breath in while you look down in defeat.

"ooh, boy. alright, i think you were right." "you needed a prank to prove that?!"

you wave tomas away.

"i will make sure there are no further casualties," you say to tomas, as you give him a small hit on his arm and make your way to your marital bedroom. on your way there, you see rina coming your way. you have to pretend like you didn't just witness your husband eat up this poor woman. you smile and put your hands together, bowing to her.

"hey rina! how's it going? i wa-" she puts her palm towards your face and continues walking away.

"i don't wanna hear from you." you watch her as she leaves, staring off into the distance momentarily and sighing. thank god she was an asshole or else it'd be really hard not to sympathize with her.

you walk into your bedroom and see bi-han on the bed. it seems he's getting ready for a bath -- he has a robe-like hanfu loosely draped around his body with his chest visible and and legs exposed. his hair is down and he is reaching for his back like it's aching.

"done with all my duties." you say innocently, your arms behind your back.

bi-han only looks at you momentarily and not even fully before going back to closing his eyes and mending his backache. you walk up to him carefully before sitting down beside him, using your hand to gently knead his back. he lets out a small groan of relief at your gesture.

"you've probably missed my massages all week," you say coyly.

"they were not the thing i missed."

you feel a blush creeping up on your cheek. being away from you for so long made him starved, like a dog meekly asking his owner for more rations. you felt horrible for being away for so long.

"i won't leave again for a while. i promise. we have lost-time to make up for," you say quietly. you prod at his hand and he envelops your hand in his, grazing the outside with his thumb.

"i'd rather not have lies spoken to me for the sake of momentary comfort."

you get up and gently move his right leg further to the right so you can sit on his thigh.

"now you know i can give you more than momentary comfort," you say smirking (but still VERY nervous).

in the blink of an eye, bi-han flips your body over and pins you to the bed, planting a long and voracious kiss at your lips. you bite at his lower lip and he responds by wrestling your tongue with his own. after what seems like an eternity of your mouths fighting for dominance with each other, you break the kiss as a string of saliva follows your mouths.

"you know, i saw everything that unfolded with rina. i think it really is safe to say we belong to one another."

bi-han looks at you with a hint of amusement. "i should have known you didn't have pure intentions with inviting her over." he slips his hand down your frame, erecting shivers from you. he plants small kisses trailing down your midsize.

"perhaps the rest of the lin kuei should know the grandmaster's wife isn't really as much of an angel as she lets everyone think she is."

[genshinluvr]

Seeking Solace

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader

Summary: You're feeling sad and unmotivated. It's hard for you to get out of bed and go downstairs to eat. The twenty-five men comfort you and keep you company. Just when you thought it would happen for only a day, it dragged on to the next day.

Note: A filler fic since this week was my midterms week, and I am drained from this entire week alone. I didn't have much time to think of a specific plot for this week because I was too busy studying for two tests, writing two essays, and remembering my lines for my performances. This week has been nothing but stressful and busy, so this is a filler fic. I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: Not my best work since I didn't have time to really plan this fic out due to my midterms and performance. It's all comfort. There's no angst, I promise

Word Count: 7.4k

There are days when you feel sad, and you can’t help but feel that way. Even if you’re having a good day and the day is winding down, the sadness will hit you out of nowhere once you lay on your bed. Silence is never a friend to those who have the loudest minds. It’s cruel, and having to hear these loud thoughts almost every night is physically, emotionally, and mentally draining. You try not to let it get to you, but you can’t always be strong. Not when your legs are about to give out from underneath you, causing you to cave in and lay in your bed all day and never step out of your room once. 

“Has anyone seen [Y/N] today? It’s almost two in the afternoon, and I have not seen them step out of their bedroom once today,” Zhongli murmurs.

Venti shrugs his shoulders. “Maybe they’re sleeping in! After all, they did spend countless days pulling all-nighters just to complete this huge project for the Akademiya with Tighnari over there,” Venti says, gesturing towards Tighnari’s direction. 

Cyno looks over at Tighnari. “How was [Y/N] after completing the project?”

Tighnari hums and taps on his chin. “Well, after [Y/N] and I completed the project for the Akademiya, they seemed visibly exhausted. Of course, I knew they were pulling all-nighters, but I didn’t think it would be this bad,” Tighnari sighs, massaging his throbbing temples. 

It’s true. You did pull all-nighters just for this huge project with Tighnari. While Tighnari wasn’t the one that pulled all-nighters, it was you that did it, and Tighnari would always be the one to drag you to bed and stand outside of your door for an hour just to make sure you went to bed. After an hour of standing outside of your bedroom to make sure you were asleep, Tighnari would peek his head into your room to double-check to see if you were fast asleep. Once he confirmed that you were asleep, he would go back to his room to continue his sleep.

Of course, you would wake up not long after and attempt to continue where you had left off, only for Tighnari to stop you from going downstairs to continue with only one hour of sleep. Damn Tighnari and his keen sense of hearing! Although if it’s not Tighnari, then it’s Gorou that will be the one to drag you back to your bedroom. Gorou would give you puppy dog eyes and plead for you to just go to sleep. How could you resist someone as adorable as Gorou?

“Does anyone want to check and see if [Y/N]’s awake? They missed breakfast and lunch!” Thoma says, plopping and sprawling across the couch.

Childe shoots up from his spot with his hands raised. “I volunteer to check on my snookums like the good boyfriend that I am! Unlike you losers,” Childe says, walking toward the staircase. 

The men stare at Childe as he walks up the stairs. Childe looks over his shoulders and sticks his tongue out at the men before continuing his way up the stairs. Compared to the first floor, the second floor is silent other than the sound of his footsteps. Childe stops in front of your bedroom door and presses his ears against the wooden door, listening for any footsteps or sound in general that is coming from your room.

So far, Childe hears nothing. Childe reaches for the doorknob and twists the doorknob before cracking the door open. Childe peeks his head into your room and notices the only light illuminating your once-dark bedroom is coming from the cracks of the curtains. On your bed is a round lump covered by a mountain of blankets. Childe enters your room, keeping the door halfway open.

Standing over the lump on your bed, Childe pokes the said lump. The lump doesn’t flinch or move after Childe pokes the lump for the second time. Childe kneels on your bed and leans over to peek at the lump that is you. Childe grabs hold of the edge of the blankets and pulls it over to see you blinking at him sleepily. You’re hugging a pillow to your chest, curling up into a ball, and your face is puffy from your long slumber. Childe smiles at you before plopping down in front of you, resting his head on his biceps.

You yawn and rub your eyes. “In case you were wondering, I did wake up and brush my teeth, but I was still tired, so I went back to sleep,” you speak, giving Childe a small smile.

Childe doesn’t say anything. Instead, he tucks your hair behind your ears and strokes your cheek with the pad of his thumbs. You close your eyes and hum with contentment. The more Childe looks at you, the more he’s starting to notice some things. You have dark circles under your eyes, your eyes are swollen (not from sleep, that’s for sure), and your eyes are bloodshot red.

Childe opens his mouth to say something, only for it to be interrupted by Baizhu walking into your room. Childe sighs and sits up, narrowing his eyes at the green-haired doctor. Baizhu ignores Childe’s glare and places a cup of tea on your nightstand. 

“Zhongli brewed you matcha tea, and I offered to bring it up to you. How are you feeling, my precious violetgrass?” Baizhu asks, sitting at the edge of your bed.

You take the mountain of blankets off your body before sitting up and stretching your limbs. Dear Archons, it was not wise of you to stay in that position for so long. Now your left arm is sore from laying on it for however long.

“I’m okay! I feel drained and very sad,” you reply, hugging your legs to your chest and resting your chin on your knees. “It’s been making it hard for me to get out of bed. Hence why I skipped breakfast and lunch.”

You lean toward the nightstand and grab the teacup and saucer before sipping from the cup. The warmth from the tea sends chills down your spine, causing you to visibly shiver. Silence hangs in the air as you drink your matcha tea, basking in Baizhu and Childe’s company. You finish your tea a few minutes later, putting the teacup and saucer back on the nightstand.

A knock coming from your bedroom door breaks the silence. You, Baizhu, and Childe look up to see the other men standing at the entrance. You give them a weak smile and wave them in.

Kazuha sits across from you, brushing the stray hair away from your face. “Are you hungry? You didn’t eat breakfast or lunch today, and we don’t want you to starve,” Kazuha murmurs.

You give Kazuha a tight-lipped smile and shake your head. “No, thank you. I’m not feeling hungry right now, but thanks for asking.”

“Even if you’re not hungry, can you at least eat a snack? I can go downstairs and cut you some fruits to snack on if you’d like.” Heizou offers.

A snack doesn’t sound too bad. You did drink all of the matcha tea Zhongli brewed for you. Maybe snacking on some fruits wouldn’t hurt. It’s better to snack on something than go all day on an empty stomach. Not only would that make the men worry, but it would also make them scold you for skipping out on eating breakfast, lunch, and maybe dinner. And you’re not in the mood to deal with twenty-five people scolding you over your lack of appetite.

You nod, giving Heizou a smile. “Yeah, I would like that. Thank you, Heizou,” you murmur.

Heizou grins and walks over to you, giving you a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead before exiting your bedroom to cut some fruits for you to eat. Once Heizou left your room, you lay back on your bed and curled into a ball.

Pantalone kneels beside you, running his fingers through your hair. “How are you feeling? You made us all worried by not showing up to breakfast and lunch today,” Pantalone comments, gazing at you worriedly.

“I feel drained and sad. And before you ask, nothing happened that caused me to feel this way. It came out of nowhere, and here I am,” you give Pantalone a weak smile.

Kaveh plops down on your bed beside you with a groan. “Seasonal sadness, I get that. You don’t need to explain yourself,” Kaveh says, rolling over on his side and wrapping his arms around your waist.

Childe scowls at Kaveh and gets off your bed, glaring at the blond man. Kaveh ignores Childe’s glare and proceeds to cuddle you. You close your eyes and snuggle into your pillow while letting yourself relax in Kaveh’s arms.

“If you don’t mind us asking, how are you doing in school?” Diluc asks, leaning on your desk.

Your face pinches up before you turn around and bury your face into Kaveh’s chest. Dear Archons, now that Diluc asked you that question, everything is starting to hit you all at once. Sumeru Akademiya. Huge project. Tighnari. All-nighter. Lack of sleep. All of it is hitting you at the same time. 

“I’m doing decent in school. You know, the usual. I’ve been taking up a lot of projects recently because I’m graduating from the Akademiya soon,” you reply, voice muffled against Kaveh’s chest.

Al Haitham sighs, sitting on the corner of your bed while stroking your calf. “Why are you taking on so many projects? You’ll stress yourself out and overwork yourself to the bone,” said Al Haitham, frowning at you.

You roll over again and look at Al Haitham. “I’m not the best at saying no to people. Especially when they want me to help them with something. Not only that, but the more projects I’m a part of, the more it’ll look good on my resume, and it’ll show that I have lots of experience,” you said.

Now that you think about it, should you start applying for job positions before graduating from the Akademiya? You have a year left at the Akademiya, and you’re not sure if applying for jobs before your graduation year is a good idea. Some jobs take a while to go through job applications, and you’re not even sure if you’ll get picked to be the candidate. 

“Do you have a job in mind?” Aether asks.

You purse your lips and give a ‘so-so’ gesture. You have an idea of what you want to apply for, but the problem is that you’re not sure if any of these occupations are accepting job applications at the moment. Great. You’re graduating in one year, you have no idea if the jobs you want to apply for are accepting new employees, and you’re wondering if it’s wise for you to take on so many projects for the Akademiya.

“Don’t overthink this,” you pull your blanket up to your neck and close your eyes. “There’s still some time left. No need to rush things. Just take it slow, and everything will be okay.”

“Oh! It looks like Heizou is back with sliced apples and sunsettias!” Gorou says, bringing you out of your thoughts. 

Kaveh helps you sit up and ruffles your hair afterward. You grumble and fix your disheveled hair before reaching for the plate Heizou is holding out to you. You take a bite of the sliced apples while the men lounge around in your bedroom. While snacking on the sliced apples and sunsettias, you began to space out while chewing on the fruits mindlessly.

Yesterday you were okay. You went hiking somewhere in Sumeru— you can’t remember where exactly. Still, the view was beautiful, and you remember having a picnic with your beloved boyfriends there after reaching your destination. Now here you are, sitting on your bed while eating sliced fruits because you didn’t have breakfast or lunch today. Why did the sadness creep up on you out of nowhere and decide to strike now?

You stop eating the sliced fruits halfway and stare off into space, not knowing that you are staring at your blanket. The men look at each other worriedly before gesturing to one of the men to nudge you. Itto kneels beside your bed and pokes your leg with his long, black nails. You continue to stare at the blanket in front of you, barely blinking.

Itto pouts before dramatically sprawling over your lap. “Onikabuto booboo bear! Give me attention!” Itto whines, reaching up to your face and cupping your face in his hands. 

You blink at Itto and give him a weak smile. “Sorry, Itto. I didn’t mean to space out,” you murmur, stroking his cheek with the pad of your thumb.

Itto lets out a huff of breath before nuzzling against your hand while you stroke his cheek. The men around you and Itto roll their eyes but don’t say a thing. At least you smiled, even if it was a small one. Everyone would rather see your tiny smile than a frown on your face. At least your sadness is only temporary, right?

You and the men all thought the same thing. That your seasonal sadness was going to last for only a day, but boy, all of you were wrong. The next day rolls by, and here you are, laying in bed, wrapped in a blanket cocoon. 

“Are you sure you’re not hungry?” Dainsleif asks, brushing your hair away from your face.

You nod. “I’m sure, Dainsleif. As much as I would love to eat something, I don’t have the energy to get up and go downstairs. That and I don’t have the appetite right now,” you whisper, giving Dainsleif a weak smile. 

Meanwhile, the men downstairs are pacing in the living room while trying to come up with a solution. The men know they can’t force you to automatically feel better and come downstairs to eat. This was the first time they’d seen your sadness affect you this much to the point where you’re skipping meals and only wanting to sleep in. None of them are against you sleeping in and staying in your room all day, but they are against you skipping breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

“What do we do? Do we bring lunch up to their room so they can eat, or do we drag them out from their bed and make them come downstairs to eat?” Xiao asks, leaning against the railing of the stairs and occasionally looking up the stairs. 

Scaramouche snorts and rolls his eyes. “I don’t think that would be a good idea, Xiao. [Y/N] wouldn’t appreciate being dragged out of bed and down the stairs to eat something. If they want to eat something, they’ll do it themselves.” 

While what Scaramouche said sounded harsh, Scaramouche wasn’t lying. The only time you ate upstairs in your bedroom was when you were sick because you could barely stand up without feeling dizzy and feeling weak at the knees. 

Ayato hums and taps on his chin, sitting across from the Harbingers at the dining table. “I believe we should check up on them. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind us keeping them company,” Ayato says nonchalantly while shrugging his shoulders.

Back in your bedroom, you’re sprawled out on your bed while Dainsleif stands at the edge of your bed. You and Dainsleif stare at each other, not saying a word. You just want to lay in bed and go back to sleep even though you have taken a nap four times already. Despite napping four times already, you still feel tired. Which isn’t something out of the ordinary for you. You’re always tired, no matter how much sleep you’ve gotten every night. Three hours of sleep? Tired. Eight hours of sleep? Still tired. Taking naps every other hour on the same day? Still tired. 

Dainsleif opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by a knock at your bedroom door. You and Dainsleif look over at the door, breaking eye contact.

“Come in!” You reply, blindly reaching for your other blanket and draping it over yourself.

Kaeya peeks his head into your bedroom, giving you a smile. “Hey, sugarplum, are you alright?” Kaeya asks, opening the door wider before walking into your room.

You shrug your shoulders. “I feel the same as yesterday, unfortunately. Only this time, it’s worse,” you reply.

You roll over and kneel on your bed, your hair sticking all over the place, and you have marks on your face. You close your eyes before plopping face down on your bed, wrapping your arms around your cold pillow. 

“You don’t look too good,” another voice interjects, pulling you out of your thoughts.

You turn your head to the side and look at Albedo. Albedo walks into your room and sits at the edge of your bed, pressing his gloveless hand against your forehead. Albedo furrows his eyebrows and hums, his hand trailing down to your neck, pressing the back of his hand against your neck. 

You sigh and place your hand over Albedo, smiling at him weakly. “Albedo, I’m not sick. I’m still healthy as ever, but….” you trail off, making a face. “It’s that time of the month. My seasonal sadness lasted way longer than the previous one, unfortunately.” 

“I believe that Albedo meant that you look like you hardly slept despite staying in your bedroom all day,” Pierro interjects, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

You snort and gesture for Albedo to help you sit up. Albedo pulls you into his arms and lets you lean against his chest, your head resting on his shoulders while trying not to doze off for the umpteenth time today. You rub your eyes before turning and snuggling against Albedo.

“Don’t I always look tired? I think ever since I got accepted into the Akademiya, I’ve been lacking sleep way more than I already was,” you murmur, closing your eyes. “Now, if you all plan on belittling me for not getting enough sleep and for staying in my bedroom all day, please see yourselves out because I don’t have the energy to deal with it all.”

“We’re not going to belittle you, kitten. Now, everyone, please leave [Y/N]’s room. We’ll do the visitation in small groups instead of having everyone pile up in [Y/N]’s room. It’ll overwhelm them even more than they’re already feeling,” Dottore comments from outside your bedroom. 

You look at them quizzically as the men in your room start to leave your room one by one. Albedo presses a quick kiss on your forehead before walking out of your room. Once Albedo closed your bedroom door shut, you collapsed on your bed and stared at the ceiling. You feel your stomach start to grumble, making you pinch your face and curl into a ball.

Just when you thought you weren’t hungry, your stomach started to say another. The door to your room opens after a few minutes. You turn your head and see Ayato, Childe, Kaeya, and Cyno walk into your room. You give the four men a weak smile and wave them over to your bed while wrapping yourself in a blanket cocoon as they approach closer to your bed.

“We’ve been informed that you’re in need of some comfort,” Ayato says, sitting beside you.

Childe rolls his eyes. “No offense, Lord Ayato, but the way you said it makes you sound like you have a stick up your ass,” Childe comments, sitting on the other side of your bed.

Before Ayato could retort, you groan and unravel your blanket cocoon. You sit up and glare at Ayato and Childe, your hair standing all over the place while you’re huffing and puffing. You let your hands flop in front of you before looking at Childe.

“Childe, please don’t start anything. I’m dealing with internal battles right now. I don’t need to be dealing with two hydro users duking it out in my bedroom,” you said, closing your eyes and releasing a long exhale.

Kaeya chuckles and shakes his head. “I’m not surprised that he was the first one to start a conflict. It’s typical for someone like him,” Kaeya snorts.

You give Kaeya a look, almost as if you’re begging him not to fuel the fire. Which you are. You’re not in the mental state to deal with men and their need to start problems amongst each other. Quite frankly, you’re never in the mood to deal with it, but today is the day when you’re not in the mood for it at all. 

Cyno rolls his eyes with a sigh. “Anyway, aside from those three children, how are you really feeling?” Cyno asks, sitting across from you on your bed.

You purse your lips and run your hands through your disheveled hair. “Honestly, other than feeling sad, I want to cry,” you respond truthfully.

You have an overwhelming urge to cry, but you can’t get yourself to cry, ironically enough. Perhaps you need a little nudge to get the tears to start leaking, but no matter what you’re thinking, the tears won’t come out. The four men remain silent, letting you continue to speak.

“I think that if I were to cry, I’d feel better! But so far, I can’t get myself to cry no matter what I’m thinking. I tried thinking about the time when I was so stressed out during my finals, but nothing came out!” You begin patting your cheeks. 

You’re approaching your final year at the Akademiya. Time has flown by so fast. Way too fast for your liking. Finals week at the Akademiya was so stressful that you nearly fainted from lack of sleep and food because of how much you’d been forcing yourself to study for your final exams. It’s gotten to the point where you would go to Baizhu for IV fluids because you weren’t taking care of yourself. You even begged Baizhu not to tell the other men about it, but Changsheng ended up telling the others about it anyway. 

You lacked the amount of sleep you needed every night during finals week, and your sleep schedule has been off ever since. Baizhu prescribed you melatonin pills to take every night before going to bed. But did you take them? In the beginning, you did take them every night! But did you continue to take them after the first few days? No, because it tasted disgusting and almost like chalk. It was so dry and powdery after you chewed it. 

“I want to cry. I really do. I want to cry it all out to feel better, but I can’t. It’s like my tear ducts are dry, and there are no tears left to cry. I’m sad, I want to cry, but I feel so empty,” you whisper, letting your head hang low. 

Childe wraps his arms around you and rests his chin on your shoulders, pulling you against his chest. You close your eyes and let your body relax in Childe’s arms. You feel so tired, so worn out, so powerless. You want this feeling to stop. You want to feel happy, like how you were a few days ago. 

You were so happy and content with your life, but it’s all crashing down around you, and there’s no way for you to stop it. You feel trapped. You feel claustrophobic. It feels like you’re buried under so much pressure, and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting farther and farther away from you. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You’re okay. Remember to breathe and relax,” Childe whispers into your ears, stroking your hair while holding you close to him.

Ayato kneels in front of you while Kaeya and Cyno kneel beside him. Ayato squeezes your hand while Kaeya squeezes your other hand. Cyno rubs your biceps while whispering reassuring words to you.

“It’s okay to cry. I know it’s hard, but you’re subconsciously holding back your tears,” Ayato mutters, stroking your cheek.

You look away and squeeze your eyes shut. Why are you holding back your tears? Isn’t this what you wanted? You wanted to cry it all out to feel better, right? If so, then why are you trying so hard not to cry right now? Is it because it’s embarrassing? Or is it because you didn’t want to cry in front of the men? 

“Don’t hold back your tears. It’s okay to cry, you know that, right?” Kaeya murmurs, tilting his head to the side to get a better look at your face. 

You scrunch your face. “I know, but I’m an ugly crier! You all know that!” You whine, letting go of Kaeya and Ayato’s hands to cover your face. “My face gets all blotchy, and my eyes get so swollen that they nearly shut!” You mumble.

Cyno chuckles. “You may think that you’re an ugly crier, but I think you look adorable whenever you cry. It hurts me to see you cry, but sometimes it’s good to cry,” says Cyno, giving your bicep a squeeze. 

You huff and peek at Cyno from behind your fingers. “You’re lying, I know you are,” you grumble playfully, your lips quivering.

It’s hard to tell whether you want to laugh or cry. This reminds you of that one time when Itto and Kaveh made you laugh so hard that you cried while laughing. And the ‘laughing until you cry’ type of laugh turned into you actually crying and no longer laughing. It was strange, and you and your twenty-five boyfriends have no idea how that happened.

Since then, the men have made sure not to make you laugh to the point where there are tears rolling down your cheeks. Your laughter is cute, and it brings everyone joy. Nobody wants to see tears streaming down your cheeks, even if you were laughing. 

Just when Cyno’s about to respond, the door to your bedroom slams open, startling everyone. You look at the entrance to see Itto standing there with his hands on his hips, narrowing his eyes at the four men in your room before pointing at them.

“Times up, gentlemen! It’s our turn now!” Itto says as he, Gorou, Albedo, and Zhongli walks into your room casually.

You raise your eyebrows at the new guests while Kaeya, Cyno, Ayato, and Childe get off your bed and begin to exit your room. “The visitation was timed the entire time?” You ask, grabbing your throw blanket at the edge of your bed and wrapping it around yourself.

“Yes, the visitation is timed. We only decided on timing it because some people are going to hog you for themselves. We don’t want that to happen,” Capitano says, pulling the last person out of your room before closing the door.

After the door has shut, Gorou immediately latches himself by your side and rests his head on your shoulders with his arms around your waist. Itto huffs and narrows his eyes at Gorou, his bottom lip jutting out into a dramatic pout.

“How are you feeling, dearest? We noticed you didn’t leave your room today and were worried about you,” Zhongli says, sitting beside you at the edge of your bed.

You give Zhongli a weak smile. “If I have to be truthful, I’m sad, and I want to cry. Even though I feel this way, I can’t get myself to cry,” you reply, resting your cheek on Gorou’s head.

“It’s okay to feel that way. It’s going to sound repetitive once people are walking in and out of your room, but we mean it. It’s okay to feel sad and want to cry,” Gorou says softly, grabbing your hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. 

You reach out to Zhongli with your other hand, gesturing for him to come closer. Zhongli scoots over to your side and presses a kiss on the side of your head, lacing his fingers with yours. You squeeze Zhongli’s hands and give him a weak smile. It finally dawned on you that the men weren’t wearing their day-to-day attire. Instead, they were all wearing their comfortable clothes instead of shoes— who in the world wears shoes in the house if they’re not leaving the estate or just coming home from somewhere? Anyway, they’re either wearing slippers or just plain socks around the estate.

Albedo looks at you curiously. “You look like you have something on your mind. A Mora for your thoughts?” Albedo asks, resting his head on the palm of his hand.

You give Albedo a sheepish smile. “Ah, it’s nothing. I’m just glad that none of you are wearing shoes in the estate,” you say, releasing Zhongli’s hands and rubbing the back of your neck. “But other than that, there’s a lot going on in my mind, but it’s jumbled up.”

Itto plops on your bed and grabs the onikabuto plush, and lays on top of it. “Do you want to talk about it? I heard that you’ll feel better once you get something off your chest— the stuff that’s been bothering you, I mean,” says Itto, gazing at you curiously. 

You plop forward on the bed, face burying into your mattress. What’s there to talk about? There are a lot of things you want to say, but you don’t think it's important. You’re sad, and it’s not because of a specific thing like failing an exam, even though you didn’t fail your exams. You aced that shit with flying colors because of the number of all-nighters you pulled. 

Archons, but your success wasn’t for nothing. The countless all-nighters and tears shed while studying was insane, but regardless, you still passed with the highest mark in your class. Granted, you did fall asleep after submitting your exam while waiting for your classmates to complete theirs.

Gorou says, “I don’t want to make it seem like I’ve been eavesdropping, but I heard that you told the others you wanted to cry. Is there a reason why exactly? A-again! I wasn’t eavesdropping.”

You lift your head and see Gorou anxiously scratch his ears with a shy smile, his cheeks almost as red as the streaks in Itto’s hair. You smile at Gorou and roll over on your side, taking the onikabuto plush from Itto’s grasp before hugging it to your chest. 

“I wanted to cry it out. I wanted to cry the sadness out, hoping it’ll make me feel better, but of course, I wouldn’t get myself to cry.” You sigh, rubbing the soft onikabuto plush.

Zhongli chuckles softly and runs his fingers through your hair. “You can’t force yourself to cry. Unless you’re an actor or trained yourself to do it, I don’t think it’ll be easy to do that,” Zhongli comments, lightly pinching your cheek.

“I can force myself to cry! All I have to do is think about something sad, and it should trigger tears! But, unfortunately, my tear ducts are dry,” you said lamely. “Plus, I’m an ugly crier, and I don’t want any of you to see my swollen eyes and puffy face when and after I cry.”

Albedo raises his eyebrows at you, the corners of his lips curving up. “But we’ve seen you cry plenty of times before,” says Albedo.

He’s not wrong. You nearly forgot about this one time when you cried for a week straight because of how stressed, tired, and frustrated you were with the Akademiya. It wasn’t about your grades or studies, it was that there were many opportunities offered to you, but you weren’t able to snatch them up because people would beat you to it because they succeeded more than you did in the Akademiya.

The students that were able to get these opportunities before you did were students of the Akademiya way before you were accepted. That, and they’re also incredibly intelligent and talented; they’re your seniors, and you look up to them. Heck, they were students there before you were thrown into Genshin Impact. Sometimes you forget that you’re in a video game, a video game you love so much because it keeps your mind occupied when the thoughts in your head are getting too loud for you to handle. 

“Still. I’m an ugly crier, and it’s almost humiliating to be crying in front of people, no matter who they are.” You grumble.

The moment was interrupted by the door slamming open again. You sigh and turn to face the door, glaring at the perpetrator that slammed the door open. Venti, Xiao, Kazuha, Aether, and Heizou look at you and the four Geo men sheepishly, rubbing the back of their necks or shaking their heads at one another. Then there’s Scaramouche, looking unapologetic compared to the other five beside him. Classic Scaramouche.

“You guys need to stop slamming doors open. If you guys continue to do that, the doorhandle will punch a hole in the wall someday,” you comment.

Aether points at you. “But it didn’t now, did it?” Aether asks, raising his eyebrows at you.

You roll your eyes. “Not yet, it didn’t,” you grumble before turning to look at the Geo men with a small smile. “Looks like that’s your cue to leave.”

Before Zhongli, Albedo, Itto, and Gorou leave your bedroom, each man kisses your cheek, forehead, and head before walking towards the door. Once the last person left, Heizou closed the door while Venti trotted over to you and plopped on your bed with a smile.

Venti grabs your hand and kisses your knuckles. “How are you doing, Windblume? Need me to play a tune or two to distract you from your lingering thoughts?” Venti asks, lacing his fingers with yours.

You close your eyes and nod. “That would be nice, actually. I would love for you to play a few songs to distract me from my thoughts,” you reply, scooting closer to Venti.

Venti throws his arm over your torso and nuzzles up against you, resting his chin on your head, and closes his eyes. Aether, Kazuha, Heizou, Xiao, and Scaramouche sit on the edges of your bed, trying to get a better understanding of the situation.

Kazuha clears his throat. “Thoma would like for me to inform you that he and Diluc will be bringing lunch up for you to eat. You didn’t come down to eat, and it made everyone worried,” Kazuha says, brushing his fringe away from his eyes before smiling down at you.

You crack your eyes open and turn to look at Kazuha, smiling at him sleepily. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll say thank you to Diluc and Thoma when they’re here,” you murmur, rubbing your eyes. You yawn and stretch your arms, letting out a strained groan.

“Oh? Our time with you has just started. Are you getting bored of us already?” Scaramouche asks, raising his eyebrows at you while crossing his arms over his chest.

You blink at Scaramouche sleepily before facing the ceiling and letting your eyelids flutter shut. Now that you think about it, sleepiness is starting to overtake you. You lost count of how many times you’ve napped today, and here you are, on the verge of falling asleep at any moment. You exhale deeply through your nostrils and rub your eyes with the heel of your hands.

You jokingly say, “I’m not getting tired of the others, but I am getting tired of your sassiness, Scaramouche,” you say, peeking at him from between your fingers. “If you were nicer, maybe I wouldn’t get tired of your presence so quickly.”

Scaramouche narrows his eyes at you before reaching forward and pinching your nose hard. You groan and whack his hand away from your nose. Once Scaramouche releases your nose, you rub your aching nose while glaring at him. Xiao gives Scaramouche a disapproving look and nudges the man beside him, making Scaramouche roll his eyes at the Yaksha.

Heizou snorts and shakes his head. “I’m glad to see you have the energy to sass back at Scaramohche. I love seeing the sassy side of you, angel. You never cease to make me smile,” says Heizou, smiling at you sweetly. 

You blink at Heizou, a lazy smile slowly making an appearance on your face. “I can say the same about you, Heizou. Seeing that cute smile of yours always brings a smile to my face,” you say, reaching toward Heizou.

Heizou grabs your hand before kissing your knuckles. Xiao closes his eyes and rests his head on his hand. He opens his eyes and stares at you intently. You give Xiao a small smile and pull your hand from Heizou’s grasp, brushing Xiao’s hair away from his face. Xiao continues to stare at you, not saying a word.

You look at Xiao with a questioning look. “What’s on your mind?” You ask.

Xiao blinks at you. “I should be the one asking you that question,” he murmurs, placing his hand over yours. “You know we’re always here for you, right?” Xiao asks, rubbing the back of your hand with his thumb. 

“I do, Xiao. I know that all of you are at my side no matter what,” you whisper.

Kazuha gets up and walks over to your desk, skimming his eyes over the contents on your table. Notes, chapstick, photo albums of you and the men, letters, pens, pencils, etc. Kazuha grabs the small picture frame on your desk and stares at the picture, a small smile appearing. “We want you to be happy, and it hurts us to see you go through this. Just know that you’re never alone, and you can come to us to talk about anything. We’ll do everything we can to help you,” Kazuha murmurs, turning around and leaning on your desk. 

You roll over on your bed and get off your bed, stretching your legs after laying in your bed for however long. You stretch your arms and legs. “I know I can rely on all of you. The only issue is me feeling like a burden whenever I come to you guys for help,” you reply.

“You will never be a burden to us all, [Y/N]. You mean the world to us, and we’re incredibly proud of you for your achievements since your arrival,” Aether says, standing before you.

Your bottom lip quivers at Aether’s comment. You shake your head and look away from Aether, pressing your lips into a thin line. Just when you thought your tear ducts were dry and you couldn’t get yourself to shed a tear, Aether somehow manages to strike a chord in you. 

You’re so drained from the last few weeks that you can barely remember conversations from a few minutes ago. Hearing Aether say that (the others before him probably said the same thing, but to be frank, your memory can’t go that far at the moment) makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. You also feel relieved, in a way. Almost seen.

Heizou’s eyes widen. “You’re not going to cry, are you?” Heizou asks, getting up from the bed and immediately standing beside Aether in front of you.

Venti and Scaramouche look from over Aether and Heizou’s shoulders, looking at you worriedly. You laugh and shake your head, unsure of how to answer. Yeah, you’re about to cry, but you don’t want to admit it because, again, it’s humiliating to cry in front of people, no matter how close you are to them.

Scaramouche snorts and walks to you. “You don’t need to lie about crying. We know that you haven’t been feeling like yourself lately, and it’s okay if you want to cry,” Scaramouche caresses your cheek and brushes the stray tear that made its way down your cheek.

Venti stops beside Scaramouche and nudges him. “You’re going to make them cry! You know it’ll hurt me to see them cry!” Venti whispers, giving Scaramouche a tight-lipped smile.

Your once-closed bedroom door slams open, startling everyone in the room. The tears you were about to shed soon disappear, and you close your eyes, shaking your head. One day…. One day, the doorknob is going to make a hole in the wall with how many times these men have slammed your bedroom door open.

“We’ll be cutting the separate visitation short due to time,” Pierro says.

Diluc and Thoma shoot each other a look when they walk into your room with trays of food and snacks.

“Why so sudden? And don’t say time because you said that already,” Diluc says, narrowing his eyes at the first Harbinger.

Thoma shakes his head and places the food tray on your nightstand before gesturing for you to come over. You give Scaramouche’s hand a squeeze before walking to the nightstand where Thoma is standing beside. You sit on your bed and grab the food tray, placing it on your lap and taking a slice of the small pizza.

Thoma sits beside you and rubs your back. “I know you get this asked a lot already, but how are you feeling? Your eyes are a little bit red,” Thoma murmurs, tilting his head to the side while gazing at you worriedly.

You wipe your mouth and look at the pizza before you. “I’m exhausted. Everything is draining, and I’m trying my best to feel better,” you reply. “Maybe I’m feeling this way because I’m hungry.” 

Thoma pats his shoulder. “You can rest your head on my shoulders if you’d like.” Thoma offers, giving you a closed-eye smile.

You smile and silently thank him before laying your head on his shoulder while taking a bite out of the slice of pizza in your hand. While you’re eating your pizza, more men start to pile into your bedroom, trying not to push each other over.

Baizhu places a prescription bottle on your nightstand. “These are your melatonin pills. I recommend taking them every day an hour before your usual bedtime,” he says, smiling at you.

You nod and continue to space out while finishing up your pizza.

“Do you, perhaps, want to talk to us about anything? Anything to get off your chest?” Al Haitham asks, sitting on the ground in front of you.

You shake your head, continuing to eat your pizza while staring into space. Your eyelids are beginning to feel heavy, making you cover your mouth and yawn. 

Tighnari sits beside you, sighing and stroking your hair. “You don’t need to explain anything to us, alright? Finish up your pizza, and we’ll let you get some sleep,” Tighnari murmurs.

You shake your head and place the slice of pizza on the plate, putting the tray on the nightstand beside the melatonin pills. “I’m just going to bed right now. I don’t think I can finish my food,” you murmur, hunching over and burying your face in your hand.

Kaveh sighs in relief. “We’re just glad that you ate something. On an unrelated note, I call dibs on snuggling with you!” Kaveh says, pushing Thoma and Tighnari away while climbing onto your bed.

Al Haitham glares at Kaveh while Kaveh gets comfortable on your bed and pulls your blanket over his body. “Are you serious right now, Kaveh?” Al Haitham grumbles.

Kaveh shrugs. “Hey, I called dibs! If you want to snuggle with [Y/N], then you can do it on your own time when I’m not the one that’s snuggling with them,” Kaveh retorts.

Kaveh pokes your back to grab your attention and pats the spot beside him. You rest your head on Kaveh’s biceps, snuggling against his chest while he tosses the blanket over your body.

Dottore chuckles and nudges Kaveh with his foot. “Just to let you know, we’ll allow you to snuggle with [Y/N]....” Dottore trails off.

From across the room, Dainsleif raises his eyebrows at Dottore, crossing his arms over his chest. “If….?” 

Pantalone smiles innocently. “If we all get to take turns, of course! It wouldn’t be fair for the rest of us, now, would it?” Pantalone asks.

Kaveh huffs and wraps his arms over your torso, burying his face into your neck. “Fine, we can do that.” Kaveh mutters against your neck.

Capitano looks over at you. “Are you okay with that?” 

You nod, hugging Kaveh’s arm. “I’m okay with that. I feel safe and comfortable when I’m with all of you,” you whisper, slowly dozing off. “Thank you for being there for me. I really appreciate it.”

Thoma smiles and strokes your hair. “We’ll always be there for you, [Y/N]. Now, get some sleep.” 

The last thing you remember before falling asleep was each man taking turns kissing your forehead goodnight.

Note: Ah. Idk how I feel about the ending, but this is just a filler fic for this week ;v; Also, the fic ended quick because I am this 🤏🏻 close to falling asleep at my computer. Hopefully, I will get an idea for next week's fic. This quarter has been nothing but stressful. I barely have time for Genshin and Honkai Star Rail 🥲 anyway, my inbox is opened, but I am not accepting any requests at the moment. Especially when I'm in the middle of a stressful quarter at my university. I'm also going to redo the request form, too, so yeah. To my new and/or returning readers, please keep in mind that I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

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[nateofgreat]

Okay, let's talk about the accusation that the last two episodes were "filler" the most overused term in media critique.

Filler episodes were originally for anime that needed to make up an original plotline while they waited for the manga they're adapting to get ahead of them.

It later began to refer to entirely self-contained episodes that have no plot importance. Like a one-off trip to the beach that no one mentions again.

Then it referred to ANY episode that didn't move the main plot forward.

NOW it refers to episodes that DO move the plot forward but don't resolve it completely.

We've reached peak nonsense.

The past two episodes covered them finding their way to Mt. Tantiss and has now gotten them on the way.

"But the Bad Batch could've found their way to Mt. Tantiss two episodes ago by having Crosshair plant the tracker!"

Yeah, and Tolkien could've had Frodo walk through the Black Gate and straight up to Mordor. How anti-climactic would that be?

How dumb it would it be for tbb to just find the super secret planet and go there instantly. Everyone would be calling that contrived writing. The Bad Batch having to hitch a ride on an imperial shuttle, not knowing where they're going, not being able to organize an attack, and not having an easy way back is SO MUCH more interesting than them just, knowing where to go and having all the time in the world to plan an attack.

This way it's an "all or nothing" operation on an unfamiliar terrain.

There's not a story on earth that doesn't have "filler" if we go by the modern definition of the word. Frankly, I think it's mainly used nowadays by review channels when they're mad they don't have enough clickbait for their review video.