#it may not bother xiao (that she shows anyway) but it bothered ME that she tries SO HARD only to fail constantly

[my-current-obsession]

Devastated to report that Margaret's marriage event in RF4 is just okay. :/

Considering the time and effort it took to get here I feel like it should be better. It's not bad really, but after seeing so many other marriage events I am forced to admit it's nowhere near the best.

What pains me most is that ignorance is truly bliss. I was INCREDIBLY lucky on my recent run of the game to get all her events in just over a year, so of course I married her without hesitation. But it's not half as satisfying as it would have been if I could have done so on my first playthrough when I wanted to, before coming to know and love another girl.

Below is a long, rambling account of the romantic nightmare that was my first playthrough of Rune Factory 4 (as Lest), and how my second run brought me closure... but also regret.

Margaret was my favorite on my first blind run of the game and I even got a bit lucky with the town events to have a truly organic feeling start with her - got "Thoughts Lost in the Lake" as one of my earliest events, so we basically upgraded from acquaintances to true friends around friendship level 3-4, which felt right. Then I got her mini-event as soon as she hit level 7 and confessed right after, and she accepted me immediately (which I know from my Frey playthrough is not guaranteed. I got rejected so many times at first...).

And then... I beat the game. In-game months passed. I loved Margaret. I went on SO MANY dates with Margaret, and we were an absolute power couple in any dungeon. But I wasn't getting lucky with the town events and her other events never seemed to show up. Pretty sure I was loyal to her for over a year before I finally gave up and started looking for love elsewhere. I wanted desperately to marry Margaret, but more than that I wanted to marry SOMEONE, and clearly she wasn't happening anytime soon.

I went into Rune Prana with one girlfriend. I beat Rune Prana with 4, the other two soon to follow. I had ultimately decided to seek out as much content as possible, though that wasn't my initial intention.

I had wanted one girlfriend who I'd stay loyal to. When that failed, I set my sights initially on just one other girl - my number two pick - and thought I'd try my luck with her. Tragically for me, Clorica was horrifically dense. Day after day, for WEEKS she responded to my love confession with the most platonic of "I love you too"s. I could only take so many oblivious rejections before my spirit broke.

That was when I started confessing to Xiao Pai. To be honest, at the beginning of the game I hadn't been very interested in her at all. Her anime intro of SITTING on the camera did her no favors, IMO. But the more I got to know her, the more I liked her. She's clumsy and somewhat airheaded, but very kind to everyone and always wanting to help WITHOUT trying to insert herself in their business (I had come to realize that Margaret was... a bit of a busybody). And despite her constant screw-ups, she never gives up and strives to do her best and improve at everything, which I found admirable.

And so, nearly two years into the game (not counting the timeskip, so technically three), she had risen from 5th place to 3rd in my heart. And while I alternated confessing to her and Clorica, she was the one who accepted first after only a few tries (whereas I'd been confessing unsuccessfully to Clorica for AT LEAST a full month). Dating Xiao Pai brought out a new side of her that I hadn't seen before - she's very open and physical with her affection, which I loved.

She has multiple dialogues that imply hugging/cuddling with Lest gives him or her or both energy, like charging a battery. It's an adorable comparison.

I had liked her before, but as days passed and we went on a few dates I began to realize just HOW MUCH I liked her. Maybe even more than I liked Margaret. While they're both incredibly kind, I could find Margaret occasionally overbearing and nosy, while Xiao Pai tried to offer kindness and help when it seemed appropriate and didn't go around looking to solve peoples' problems. Margaret was incredibly shy and flustered on dates, WANTING to have physical contact but unable to go for it. That was cute at first, but the longer the relationship went on the more it felt out of place. Surely she'd get more comfortable and open eventually? Xiao Pai was confident and comfortable enough to initiate physical contact often, right from the beginning. Basically, Margaret has a very sweet and shy "just started dating" vibe, which is fine at first but eventually feels lackluster, whereas the vibe with Xiao was very easy and casual. They got along well, they communicated well, they were playful and flirty with each other.

At this point, even though my bias had started to shift and I probably would have happily married either girl (though Margaret still had multiple events to go and Xiao needed one of two), I made a mistake. I got the mini event where Dolce has Lest try on clothes she made and he brings up the other girls, which makes her jealous. Since this was my first run and I had barely encountered any mini-events at this point and didn't yet understand their purpose (almost all of them are pretty romantic and serve to indicate that your FP level is high enough to confess), I was pretty confused. Between this event and some of her generic dialogue lately, which had just happened to be more romantic/flirty, I honestly thought the game had glitched somehow and she was somehow my girlfriend too.

I deliberated on what to do before deciding I'd try to confess. I half expected her to truly be glitched and respond with something along the lines of "yeah I love you, too". But if that wasn't the case, I was confident she'd reject me. With only one girlfriend, I couldn't get Clorica or Xiao to accept me until they hit level 9. She had only recently hit level 7 and I had TWO girlfriends, so I was sure it would be fine.

It wasn't. Against all odds, my first (and basically unintended) confession to Dolce was successful. And so I decided... that might as well happen. This was the point I went all in on seeing all the content I could. Due to my frustration with being unable to marry Margaret, I had started looking stuff up by now, and I knew that Dolce's marriage event WOULD pop up (seeing as her one required event is guaranteed in Special), given a few dates and level 10 affection. I also had the one event for the other girls done, too, so technically I could currently theoretically marry any girl EXCEPT my two favorites.

I alternated dates with my girlfriends and renewed my daily confessions to Clorica, who continued to be oblivious. I started gifting Forte and Amber, to make them more amenable to future confessions.

And then, just before I would've asked Dolce on her 3rd date (which would have also brought her close to level 10), Xiao's second event happened. I wasn't sure how the game would handle TWO marriage events being ready simultaneously considering they're given priority, so I backed off from Dolce. I was much more keen to see Xiao's first, anyway.

And it was honestly spectacular. In hindsight, having seen all but 2 marriage events now (Leon and Forte), I can say it had EVERYTHING I want in a marriage event - we learned more about Xiao as a character, her relationship with Lest was relevant and important to the event, but there was also ANOTHER plot/conflict that was at least partially separate so it wasn't just relationship drama.

Xiao's relationship with her parents is... complicated, but lovely. Despite how unfair it is that Lin Fa lucks out and succeeds in life despite her total airheadedness, while Xiao tries so hard yet constantly fails, she loves her mother and looks up to her. And I'm not a fan of the "misunderstand/miscommunication" trope, but it was basically WEAPONIZED by Xiao's dad here to test her resolve. Xiao needed to be more determined than EVER here, to love Lest enough that she couldn't give him up to the other thing she loves most - her mother.

Xiao's proposal and Lest's response to it... their mutual love and understanding as they embraced... and then the wedding itself were all just SO good. This event had thoroughly cemented her in my heart as my favorite girl. I desperately wanted to carry on the save where I married her.

But I didn't. I had resolved to see Content, so I forced myself to reject her, which was INCREDIBLY painful, and moved on. I told myself that I could always go back to her and propose myself once I'd seen everything.

Everything after that in my first run... didn't really matter. Yes, I finally added Clorica to my harem. I saw Dolce's marriage event. Didn't really care for it. Started dating Amber. Clorica's marriage event was really good but Lest frustrated me by forcing me to pick stupid options. If he MUST be oblivious to her problems even when I'm not, just use text boxes instead of making ME pick the wrong choices!

I added Forte to my list of girlfriends, completing the set. However, my motivation was running dry FAST - it had been several in-game months since I'd beaten Rune Prana. There was virtually nothing left to do in game. Nowhere to explore, no new farming to be done; only upgrading the late-game seeds. I STILL couldn't marry Margaret.

I managed to power through for a few more weeks and got Amber's marriage event. It was honestly really compelling and helped me see a more mature side of her. Too bad she immediately reverts to her usual too-childish self afterwards.

I had been playing the game for nearly four in-game years at this point, and still wasn't married. I COULD have been married a year ago if I hadn't rejected Xiao. I wanted to marry and have a kid, but what would I do to pass the time every day? There was nothing to do anymore beyond getting gold crowns for shipping items, which. No thank you.

In the end, I gave up. I had six girlfriends and yet my first run ended bitter and alone. I left the game untouched for several ACTUAL months. And when I came back, I had a plan.

First, a fresh start - wipe my save data and start a HARD playthrough to slow my progress a little, hopefully allowing more time for a relationship to happen before the end.

Second, I put some hard rules in place - I want a lover that feels organic to my run. I made up a spreadsheet in Excel for this. I was tracking more than JUST town events - I also accounted for mini events, and the random, just for fun compatibility checker, which I took each girl to see SIX times since there were SIX girls. All those things were worth a certain amount of points, and a girl needed to hit a certain threshold (unique to each of them, since they have varying numbers of prereqs & mini events) before I was allowed to confess. I will allow a maximum of TWO girlfriends - save the rest for a future run. Confess to at least one of them BEFORE beating act 2. I'm also more likely to be able to actually marry someone with some game left this way.

(For the record, I also started a new Frey run with these same rules. While my first Frey run wasn't AS bad as my Lest run, it was also dragged out and poisoned by content seeking. So they BOTH got a do-over.)

I won't lie, I went into this hoping the RNG would bless me with Xiao. While I still had a soft spot for Margaret as my "original" love interest, Xiao had long since eclipsed her as my favorite and I wanted to recapture the magic of dating her and actually get to marry her this time.

Instead, the RNG blessed me with... Margaret. Without any save-scumming to change the town events on my part, I got ALL FOUR of her events and her mini event in a little over a year - late Spring of year 2 (technically 3). In that time, I also saw the one event all the other girls required and one of Xiao's, but ultimately my two allowed girlfriends of the run were Amber and Margaret, due to them first hitting the aforementioned point threshold.

I was a tad disappointed to not have Xiao in this run, but when Margaret's fourth event popped up I was THRILLED. Literally jumped around my room in joy. After the hell she put me through in my first run back when I WANTED to marry her, this felt like a miracle. Or perhaps a heartfelt apology.

And so it was that after 5 and a half-ish years in-game across two playthroughs, and over two years in reality, I finally got to see her marriage event and pop the question.

And it was fine. Not bad. Not great. Just... fine. It TECHNICALLY hit all the checks for a "good" marriage event I mentioned earlier - though I'd argue that Marget's hangup about being an elf who will lose any human she loves one day is pretty clear prior to this event explicitly spelling it out. Basically, we don't learn anything entirely new so much as get a bit more detail on something already implied. I'll admit I really liked the very end of it, with her finally making a bold move and heavily implying Lest should propose soon. After everything they've been through, and the event basically being ABOUT her having to let herself fully love a human despite her fears, that felt really good.

I'm absolutely going forward with this save, so I've come full circle. I'm going to marry Margaret and finally see what this game has to offer post-marriage, with the original girl of my dreams. Even if she's NOT the girl of my dreams anymore. At this point I couldn't marry Xiao even if I wanted to, since I'm still missing an event for her and who knows how long it would take to show up.

It's a bittersweet feeling. I still like Margaret, she's probably my 3rd favorite girl now after Xiao and Clorica, and I certainly feel a sense of resolution having FINALLY married her. But I miss Xiao. I should have married her when I had the chance.

[lume-nescence]

One Simple Commission

Hu Tao + Xiao x Gn!Reader

summary: commissions, a duty everyone fulfills everyday. it’s boring to do them alone, and it’ll be amusing to bring more people along.

an: hello people of tumblr, it’s my first time sharing my works with other people besides my friends and im actually kinda nervous and excited at the same time. i’ve been reading on here for a long while until i thought to write out some ideas i have up my sleeve but i was shy to share them. but from courage, that’s what convinced me to make this writing blog! the looks of this might look wonky but please bear with me for it’s my first time. (tbh i didn’t know how to write hu tao but i trusted my hu tao enthusiast friend to evaluate! and maybe ooc xiao because my brain tends to go overboard) but anyways, enjoy!

pronouns: you/your

genre: fluff with a hint of angst, oneshot

cw: just a glimpse into xiao’s backstory but nothing out of the ordinary (that plus i just wrote it off of the top of my head so it may or may not follow the actual lore) and this is perceived as platonic :)

Traveling through the depths of Wuwang Hill alone to do the last commission you needed to do is one thing, but to be accompanied by not one but two people?

Well, for one little commission this is a bit excessive. But the more the merrier as they say. However you weren’t the one that invited the two; Hu Tao insisted on coming because she decided to take a break with her funeral parlor duties since there wasn’t immediate work to be done.

So for that she left it in Zhongli’s hands to deal with. And two she kept going on and on about helping you so you just.. let her come with. As for the other person.. Well, it was Hu Tao’s idea to invite the third person to the party.

“Ooh! Ooh! Y/n! How about we call out that mysterious old yaksha! He’ll be perfect to accompany us on our little stroll! And plus, I’m sure it’ll be interesting.” She whispered the last sentence and you know it’s full of mischief.

“Hu Tao, I don’t think we should bother him. He could be busy with his demon slaying business and this is just a small commission to do, so I don’t see any point in calling him to do just that.” She pouted.

“Awww you’re no fun.” Until an idea popped in her head and you’ve sworn you heard a lightbulb appear on top of her head. “Y/n! What if we stumble upon some big scary looking monster that even we can’t handle? It would be easier to have him with us rather than calling him because who knows? Maybe he’ll be a minute late!”

You stopped in your tracks and pondered to yourself; well she could be right. What if you both get into a scenario where neither of you can’t speak? Or call for help? That could happen. When you turned around you could see a prideful look emanating on her face. Clearly showing she thinks she’s convinced you. You gave in.

“Okay, okay. I guess you’re right. We’ll call him just this once.” Sparkles floated around her as she relished in this sweet victory as she calls it. You stood where you are and called out his name in a whisper. With Hu Tao literally bouncing in excitement.

“..Xiao?” And as the saying goes, he appears in a flash when you call out his name. When you called him he appeared in his usual pose with his arms crossed and a stern look painted on his face. A mix of greens and blacks materializing in the process. It almost looks inhuman because of how fast he showed up. (no pun intended) He looks at you.

“You called?” You could see Hu Tao in the corner of your eyes having the biggest grin on her face known to mankind. You rolled your eyes playfully.

“Yes, I was wondering if you could accompany Hu Tao and I to complete a commission.”

He looks behind you to see Hu Tao waving at him with that same grin on her face. He sighed, and said:

“If that’s what you desire, then consider it done. However..” He looked back at you. “For you two to venture amongst these heinous forests alone is foolish. Especially when it’s filled with hidden monsters that could arise at any given moment.” You sweatdropped, he then looked back at Hu Tao. “And I advise you both to be more cautious of your surroundings.” Hu Tao had her eyes and mouth widened as if she’s offended when really, she’s just playing around. Classic Hu Tao.

“Are you underestimating me? I am more than capable of being aware of my surroundings! It just seems more fun to explore in a place like this, these are the types of places I long for exploration! To my heart’s content!” He practically groaned at her antics, as he’s basically used to this by now.

“Traversing here willingly? Of all places?” He scoffed then turned his back to you both. “I prefer for you stay out of my way and let me handle this. Since you have proved you can’t take these matters seriously, I believe it’s best for you to sit this one out.” He walked away leaving an actual offended Hu Tao and a surprised Y/n. You chuckled.

“That’s Xiao for you.”

“That’s so spiteful of you! Where did you learn to say things like that??” He kept walking but stopped abruptly to turn his head to look at the both of you.

“I am merely playing along with this thing you mortals call teasing. I have no intention of hurting you in any shape or form, I only intended to mess around.” Woah, that’s new. You thought to yourself; you knew Xiao as cold and straightforward with his words, but this is unexpected of him. And yet, you find it sweet for him to slowly get used to being around those he finds close. Despite how reserved he is.

After those countless years of mistreatment from his abusive God, he lost himself. Being taught to live on as a weapon, to become someone he didn’t choose to be, to follow every order that’s given to him with no restraint. All of this, until the Archon War had begun. Many people were slaughtered in the war, most of which were by Xiao’s hands.

That’s until the former geo archon saved him, giving him a new name to abandon his old name that once held all those terrible memories. Cleansing him. But even so, Xiao has lived on with that guilt for his whole life.

Having to bear his karmic debt as a price to pay for all the innocent souls he’s killed. However, he changed into a new person after his encounter with the geo archon. Without him, he wouldn’t be where he stands today. He changed his ways by per their contract, that’s why he respects him.

And to meet those people along the way makes him feel less lonely. He’s trying to understand the concept of friendship bit by bit but at least he’s trying and that’s what matters. And this little occurrence is the first step.

“..What’s with the faces? Ugh, nevermind. Let’s get going.” He continues to lead the way with you following behind him with a soft smile on your face.

“You guys! Ah! Wait for me!” She attempts to catch up to you both, clearly not expecting what Xiao said. Well, if you had to be honest, you thanked Hu Tao in your head for suggesting to invite Xiao along.

You know these two would be getting along just fine, seeing as Xiao teased Hu Tao back. He’s working on his joking habit! He’s just very direct with his words. Though it’s rather fitting, is it not? Well, the three of you are going to have a great time together. Even if it’s just one simple commission.

[genshinwriter111]

Monstadt and Liyue boys: You fall asleep on them, and they fall asleep on you. Plus a bonus for some of them!

Diluc, Venti, Kaeya, Albedo, Chongyun, Kazuha, Childe, Aether, Xiao, Xingqiu, Zhongli, Scaramouche

No Warnings

Headcanons, Gender Neutral (They/Them, You/Yours)

A spoiler for We Will Be Reunited in Aether’s second story, but its vague

Diluc

You fall asleep on them

It was a tiring day of commisions and the like, but you wanted to spend at least some time with your boyfriend. He was rambling on and on about his day and other stressful things that you could’t help but doze off. It took him a bit to notice, but when he did, he blushed. He knew the sofa wasn’t the most comfortable and gently carried you to your room, placing you on your bed, tucking you in. As he turned to leave, you clung to sleeve, silently asking him to stay. He gently nodded, and crawled in next to you. You and him both slept better than ever before.

They fall asleep on you

It was basically the reverse, but you couldn’t carry him, and just curled up next to him, drifitng off with his arms wrapped around you. He looked calm, and at peace. He genuinely trusted you. When he woke up, he blushed. He didn’t move until you woke up, and if you did before him he would apologise, face still tinted red. You forgave him, giving him a soft kiss. It was moments like this he adored, just being able to show his soft side. It was also a small gossip among the maids for about two days, but he never found out.

Bonus: PDA opinion

Not a huge fan of PDA, but if someone’s getting too touchy, won’t hesitate to pull you close. And show off his vision. If he’s around Kaeya, like at the tavern, he doesn’t mean to be rude but may slightly ignore your affections, just to spare you both from the teasing. Afterwards, will kiss your forehead and apologise, explaining his reasons. You forgave him, as always. You did understand, Kaeya was a menace at times.

Venti

You fall asleep on them

You were rested in his lap, as he played his Lyre. The tune was so calming, you weren’t particularly tired but drifted off. It took Venti awhile to notice. Only when he asked if you wanted to go for a walk, and you didn’t reply, did he notice. The bard didn’t wish to wake you, and let the lyre vanish into the winds. He let out a soft ‘Ehe~’ before leaning against the tree, and playing with your hair. He did drift off soon, with a comfortable expression.

They fall asleep on you

It was a late night, and you were carrying Venti back from the bar, as he was far too drunk to get home on his own. You got home and changed, your boyfriend laughing and waiting for you. You walked over to him on the bed, before wrapping your arms around his small frame, and pulling him close. You talked for a bit to him, noticing he had fallen asleep when he cuddled closer and his breathing was softer. You gently laughed, kissing his forehead before falling asleep yourself.

Bonus: PDA opinion

Unless you don’t want it, there is a lot of PDA, he just wants everyone to know your his beloved! Will cuddle or hug or kiss you anywhere from on the streets, to the tavern to the middle of the forest. His favourite place to cuddle with you, is of course, Windrise. He loves to rest with you there.

Kaeya

You fall asleep on them

You couldn’t help it! Despite the captain’s cryo vision, he was warm. And comfortable. And..Well, you could go on and on with excuses. It happened when you two were cuddling after a pretty tough day for the both of you. You tried to stay awake, but failed. He noticed quickly, with a chuckle. “Oh? Falling for me yet again..Adorable.” He kissed your forehead, and stayed awake, mainly because he had more work to do. He decided to put you to bed first, not wishing you to be uncomfortable.

They fall asleep on you

Similiar to Venti, you had to walk him home from the tavern. You struggled a bit, as he was somehow more clingy than you expected. You did get home, but not without struggle. “(Name)~” Kaeya whined, as you lead him to your room, letting him stay there. You knew what he wanted, and stayed. You leaned against the headboard, Kaeya clinging to your side. You stroked his hair until he fell asleep. You fell asleep soon as well. He was embarrassed when you mentioned how he acted, but played it off like it was intentional.

Bonus: PDA opinion

Another one for PDA. He’s flirty in public, but will stop or tone it down if you ask, he doesn’t want to make you discomforted, after all. He wouldn’t hesitate to be even more clingy if somebody was bothering you. Kaeya loves you, and will never let you think otherwise.

Albedo

You fall asleep on them

Albedo knew you didn’t understand much about the experiment he was explaining, but was glad you listened to him. “And that’s how...” He trailed off, noticing you were asleep on his shoulder. “I suppose it was a boring topic for them..” He muttered with a smile. He didn’t want to wake you, knowing how important sleep was for you, so he gently pulled you in his lap and wrapped his arms around you. Resting his head on your shoulder, he too fell asleep. His body was warm, a difference to the cold air of Dragonspine, and a nice one. Or, maybe it was just the fire that flickered in the background.

They fall asleep on you

You had begged the Chief Alchemist to take a break, as he had been working for a week straight. Albedo had deniend the need for rest, but the bags under his eyes said otherwise. He eventually gave in and you pat the sofa, with a happy smile. It wasn’t long that you felt a weight against your chest, and saw he was asleep. “I told you so..” You said, rolling your eyes in a loving manner. You stayed awake to make sure he stayed asleep, and he did until the morning, where he thanked you. You could never get his sleeping face out your mind, it was absolutely precious, and it was nice seeing him so at ease.

Chongyun

You fall asleep on them

Chongyun was rambling about some encounter he almost had with a spirit, but you weren’t paying much attention, only listening to the sound of his voice. He noticed when you leaned against his shoulder, eyes shut and breathing soft. He didn’t want to move, despite him beginning to overheat. He tried to gently move you so he could get a popsicle, but when he heard you mumble, he froze. The exorcist didn’t move, at all. He waited until you woke up, which wasn’t pleasent and he didn’t feel the best afterwards. When you noticed, you were quick to apologise and grab him one, coming up with excuses. Chongyun forgave you, he couldn’t stay mad (not that he was), at you anyway.

They fall asleep on you

Xingqiu had pranked him with a far too spicy dish and you were thankfully there, able to quickly get the situation under control and help your boyfriend. You both went back to your place, as it was getting late. You were talking, and before you knew it he was passed out agaisnt you. You couldn’t blame him, it was rather stressful earlier and he was burnt out. You gently kissed his forehead before carrying him to your room and laying down next to him. When he woke up, he was blushing, but still was calm. It surprised him, a lot.

Kazuha

You fall asleep on them

Beidou has agreed to let you come with on the next voyage they went on, and so you were pretty happy. It was a few nights in, and you and Kazuha were talking. You were leaned against him, and he had an arm around you. It was late, and it was to be expected but you drifted off to the sound of his voice, the ocean crashimg against the boat and the wind. Kazuha noticed instantly, and smiled. Beidou walked onto the deck, about to say something when he gave a small wave, asking her to be quiet. She nodded, deciding it could wait and left you two alone again.

They fall asleep on you

You hadn’t joined them this time, waiting for your beloved instead. When he got back, you were both quick to leave and talk elsewhere, which was your home. You rambled about what had happened in the mean time, while he listened. After falling asleep, he looked even more peaceful. You were happy to rest with him, knowing it wouldn’t be too long before you both would leave again.

Childe

You fall asleep on them

The harbinger had gotten some free time, and was spending it dragging you through the harbour. It was a rather long day, and you were exhausted by the time you got home. You sat on the couch, with your beloved. You were talking for awhile before the exhaustion kicked in and you dropped against his shoulder. Tartaglia didn’t expect this, and shot up, assuming you were trying to attack him, (for some reason, maybe to keep him on guard.) That was not the case, and you were thrown to the floor because of physics, and hit it, harshly. He was embarrassed to say the least, and in your moment of exhausted anger, you did smack his shoulder. He found it fair. Childe was forgiven, but only because he let you sleep in his lap instead.

They fall asleep on you

Childe returned home after a long day of training new recruits. He curled up in bed next to you. You spoke for awhile, until exhaustion set in for him, and he fell asleep. You considered pettily waking him up, like he’d done to you, but when you saw his peaceful and loving expression, you couldn’t. You kissed his cheek before falling asleep as well. His arms wrapped more around you in your shared slumber, and he was grateful when he woke that you’d let him rest. He still felt bad about the other day, and was trying to make it up to you.

Aether

You fall asleep on them

Aether had invited you to the teapot, and you were in his room. Paimon was there too, but she was eating something in the kitchen area, leaving you two alone for now. It was awhile later that you had grown tired, and Aether had as well. He opened his arms and let you cuddle close. This was all fine and dandy until Paimon entered the room. “Aether! We’re out of sticky honey roast!!!” She mentioned, practically yelling. You let out a tired and confused mumble, being awoken by the yelling. Aether gently hushed you, and covered your ears. “Paimon, if you don’t shut up right now..I will tell Xianling to turn you into emergency food. That is a threat.” He said, his tone tired but harsh. Paimon squeaked and quickly left. You were both undisturbed for the rest of the night.

They fall asleep on you

Aether entered your home, and he seemed distraught. He explained everything that happened with his sister, and sobbed into your arms. You were worried, and let him cry it out. You noticed Paimon was no-where to be seem and assumed he’d asked to be alone. It took awhile, but his breathing slowed and he’d..well he’d cried himself to sleep. You were just glad he was mostly uninjured, gently stroked his hair, hoping to keeo him asleep. It worked, as he slept throught the night fully.

Xiao

You fall asleep on them

You had spent the day at the balcony of Wangshu Inn, waiting for you adepti boyfriend. It had been a slow day, but you hadn’t slept much and were tired. This didn’t stop you from offering a bright smile as your beloved appeared. You both talked about what things you’d seen recently, and as always he was a bit shy. You wished you could’ve told him that you were tired, but you didn’t want to waste what time you had with Xiao. It was well into the evening when you felt your tiredness kick in, and you fell asleep, against him. It surprised the Adeptus, and before either of you knew it, he vanished. You woke up instantly, and looked around for him. You sighed with a bit of disappointment, you wanted to apologise, and weren’t sure how.

They fall asleep on you

It was days later he made an appearance again, you rushed over to him, apologising on repeat. Xiao softly hushed you, guilt in his eyes. He’d spoken to Verr Goldet, and she’d told him the best course of action. He’d let you hold him, and both of you eventually drifted off, he apologised again in the morning. You’d already forgiven him. Plus, the fact he’d let you get so close and even hold him in his sleep was proof he trusted you.

Xingqiu

You fall asleep on them

It was an agreed date, you could rest and he would read. Plus, you’d be in each other’s company, which was great for the both of you. Xingqiu let you rest against him as he read, encouraging you to get the sleep you needed. You were a bit suspicious, assuming this would be some prank, but trusted him anyway. That proved to be a mistake, as when you awoke and walked back, you recieved odd looks. You didn’t understand until you got to your mirror, and saw the small doodles he’d drawn on your face. You were embarrassed, heavily. You swore to get your revenge.

They fall asleep on you

Xingqiu entered your home, it was a long day for him. All he really wanted was just to cuddle you and go to bed. You offered a sweet smile, scooching over and letting him lay next to you. After he fell asleep, you wondered on your revenge. It seemed fate had other plans as you fell asleep as well. When he woke up first, he’d expected you to have gotten some form of revenge, but noticing nothing had changed, he did feel a bit bad. When you awoke, he apologised and promised to let you rest normally next time. And when that time came, he kept his word. He didn’t want to upset you too badly, after all he was always big on chivalry.

Zhongli

You fall asleep on them

Zhongli spoke of more stories, history and the like, you normally loved listening to him and were always interested, but you’d stayed up a bit too late and were tired. You sat on his lap, as he told another one of the things that had happened in his long life. He noticed you fell asleep when your usual questions never came. He chuckled softly, kissing your forehead. He carried you to bed, and tucked you in. The archon though for a moment, before deciding to join you.

They fall asleep on you

The atmosphere was relaxed, and Zhongli wrapped his arms around you. You smiled, leaning against his chest. He rested his head on top of yours, and shuts his eyes. He didn’t mean to fall asleep, but he did. You didn’t mind, and let the archon rest. If anything, you were glad to be getting so much rest with him, something told you that others weren’t so lucky.

Scaramouche

You fall asleep on them.

It was rare moments you were able to rest with the harbinger, but you never took them for granted. You would clear your schedule when he was free, knowing Scaramouche was a busy person. The one thing you couldn’t change was your energy levels, and you were exhausted. The past week you’d done nothing but work, and rarely slept. But when he notified you he was free, you rushed over. You’d managed to hide your sleepiness so far, knowing how against physical affection he was. But your eyes grew heavy, and you dropped against him. He froze up for a moment, before shoving you off. He hadn’t even registered you were exhausted nor that you had fallen asleep. You blinked, staring at him befofe muttering a small apology and that you had to go, not wanting to bother him. He realised he messed up, and hoped to be able to let you forgive him.

They fall asleep on you

It was another time you were both thankfully free, and he had asked to meet at your place. You had nervously agreed. Upon entering, the first thing he did was apologise, which was a surprise in itself. Then after the small bit you talked, you noticed he seemed tired. He had mentioned he wanted to make it up to you...You moved closer, which confused the harbinger, before you wrapped your arms around him. He was about to protest, before you reminded him of what he had said. He nodded, with a sigh...but he had to admit, he was comfortable..and maybe this wasn’t so bad. His eyes eventually closed, and he had guessed you would shove him off like he’d done to you..but all you did was offer a smile, holding your boyfriend closer, before falling asleep yourself.

[tellerluna-stories]

halo-halo dreams

PAIRING: xiao x reader

GENRE: domestic fluff!! reunions with good food (and perhaps an ice cream date?)

OTHER NOTES: halo-halo is a dessert served here in the Philippines!! its name literally means ‘mix-mix’. i wrote this bc i realised that hey halo-halo has leche flan in it and leche flan looks kinda like almond tofu,, what if we mixed the two,,,, anyways i don’t really eat halo-halo often but if someone ever actually does mix almond tofu n halo-halo I’m willing to try it!!!

TW/CW: n/a.

A/N: this is a belated bday gift for my beloved Tall Best Friend @starrymaidensthings !! she likes xiao and she likes halo-halo so naturally i was like mm yes let’s combine those two MUHAHAHA HAPPY BIRTHDAY ILY

It was no secret that the Vigilant Yaksha did not care for mortal food— his opinion was always the same if he was asked about it. ‘I have no interest in mortal food. Cooking is tedious and the wait is long. The one thing I can manage to stomach is Almond Tofu.’

So when Xiao came to Verr Goldet asking for permission to use the kitchen of Wangshu Inn for a few days, she stared at him as if he’d grown a third eye.

“By all means, you may, but…”

The grim expression on his face discouraged her from asking any more questions, and she settled for asking, “Do you need any ingredients from the kitchen? Let me know so I can order them for you.”

“There is no need; I will provide my own ingredients.” Xiao bowed in thanks, his face and tone of voice absolutely unreadable. Without even a moment’s hesitation, he turned and walked off in the direction of the kitchen, leaving Verr Goldet to marvel in shocked silence.

Suspicion began to sprout in the back of her mind, but she put it aside to process it later; she’d need more proof than the information she had now.

Not long after Xiao had left, Smiley Yanxiao ran out of the kitchen with a terrified expression on his face. “Boss… H-he…. in- in the kitchen……”

“It’s not like you haven’t seen him in the kitchen before.” She tried to reassure him, but the chef shook his head vigorously, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow.

“Yes, but this time it’s different.” Smiley Yanxiao crouched to whisper in Verr Goldet’s ear, his voice trembling with every word. “He’s going to cook.”

“What else would he use a kitchen for? Get back to work, before I deduct from your pay for slacking on business hours.” She irritably flapped a dish towel in his face, causing him to stumble back with a fit of outraged spluttering. “And don’t bother him— it must be important, if he was desperate enough to ask us for a favour.”

His initial superstitious terror was replaced with the true fear of not being able to pay the bills, and so Smiley Yanxiao dragged himself back to the kitchen with a gloomy expression, muttering under his breath of bad omens and great misfortune. With one with as little faith as he, one incident that happened outside of everyday routine was enough to shake him to the core.

“Well, I never.” Verr Goldet leaned back in her chair, glancing at the cat on her desk. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say that Xiao’s gone and fallen in love… either that, or the world’s about to end.”

Wei gave an assertive meow in reply; Verr Goldet nodded in agreement, scratching the cat behind its ears. “We’ll just have to see which one it is, eh?”

Blissfully oblivious to the commotion that was going on outside, Xiao stood at the kitchen table with a piece of paper in hand. It showed some signs of wear and tear, having been folded and unfolded many times; but the ink of the writing was still vibrant and easy to read.

“Milk… red beans…. ube…?” He started to count on his fingers how many more ingredients were required. “So many ingredients needed for a seemingly simple dish.”

Smiley Yanxiao clumsily tiptoed into the kitchen in a hopeless attempt of going unnoticed— but against the battle instincts of an adeptus, the chef stood no chance.

Xiao glanced up as soon as he entered, and an awkward silence fell over the kitchen as Xiao and Yanxiao stared at each other.

“Do you know what these ingredients are, and where I can get them?” Xiao spoke suddenly, holding the paper towards Smiley Yanxiao.

As if the previous ordeal wasn’t enough, the chef was forced to read the entire thing while under Xiao’s watchful gaze; by the time he folded up the paper and returned it to the Yaksha, Smiley Yanxiao was trembling like a leaf.

“Although I’ve heard of most of them, these ingredients seem to be from a completely different region. It would be difficult to get these as we don’t even know if they’re in season or not… perhaps if we ask that adventurer who drops by here once in a while—“ The chef mustered a reply, trying desperately to conceal his trembling hands behind his back.

“That is of little consequence to me.” Xiao’s golden eyes flashed with something akin to motivation, his entire body tensing up slightly. “I said I would provide my own ingredients, and an adeptus does not go back on his word.”

He stalked out of the kitchen, leaving Smiley Yanxiao to comprehend what had just happened.

And so, for the next few days the staff of Wangshu Inn had to deal with the strange antics of the Vigilant Yaksha. He would appear out of the blue with his arms full of all sorts of weird and wonderful foodstuffs and then march into the kitchen without another word. Xiao would then stay in the kitchen for the rest of the day (or night, depending on what time he chose to show up), and then leave as soon as he was finished with what he was working on. Nobody was certain what it was— Xiao would immediately turn his body and cover what he was making if anyone dared to peek.

“What could he possibly be doing?” Smiley Yanxiao grumbled on the evening of the third day, aggressively taking out his frustrations on the eggs he was whisking. “I’ve been working in the same kitchen as him but I haven’t seen a single peep of whatever he’s making. He even makes sure to clean up whatever he leaves so that not a single trace is left.”

“You could stand to learn a thing or two from Xiao. At least he makes sure everything is clean before he finishes up.” Waving a spoon with leftover rice residue in the chef’s face, Verr Goldet clicked her tongue in distaste. “I am aware that I don’t pay you to wash the dishes, but at least try to keep a clean cooking environment for the sake of the guests.”

“He startled me the other evening when I was bringing up the supplies.” Huai’an remarked as he sorted ingredients into storage bins. “I didn’t see him when I was putting them away, so when I turned around he was standing there like a ghost.” The memory of seeing the glowing eyes of the Yaksha’s mask at night was enough to make him shudder, and Verr Goldet put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“But don’t you think it’s weird, though…” Smiley Yanxiao paused, his egg whisk poised mid-air. “He always thought cooking was a waste of time. What could’ve possibly made him change his mind…?”

No matter how wild their imaginations were, the staff of Wangshu Inn could not picture the scenario that had brought about the strange circumstances they were now faced with. Silence settled over the kitchen as they pondered what could’ve brought about this change, and this somber atmosphere carried over for the next few days.

——

In reality, the reason behind Xiao’s sudden change of heart was quite trivial— in his own opinion, at least.

It had started one cool afternoon, when the leaves had begun to change colours and the wind blew colder than it had before. The two of you stood together atop the highest balcony of Wangshu Inn, enjoying the beautiful day— well, that was what you were doing. According to Xiao himself, he was watching over the land of Liyue; the fact that all his attention was wholly focused on you was a mere coincidence.

“Summer’s almost over…” You remarked as you leaned against the railing of the balcony. “There goes the perfect weather for eating cold desserts.”

“…When the snow is thick enough, we can eat it.”

“Ah, no. Not like that, Xiao— I don’t want you to have to ever eat snow again.” You waved your hands vigorously, alarm evident in your face. “When I said cold desserts, I was thinking of a certain kind of dessert where I’m from…”

You paused, and a strange look crossed your face— a mixture of longing and fondness, with perhaps a little bit of homesickness mixed in. “…It would’ve been nice to eat it with you in such good weather.”

Though Xiao supposedly did not care for the affairs of mortals, he found himself asking, “What is it like?”

“Oh, it’s delicious.” You clasped your hands together in joyous reverie, eyes shining with memories of the sweet treat. “The kind of ingredients change depending on who’s preparing it, but the usual ingredients are things like banana, nata de coco, monggo beans, ube ice cream, leche flan—“

Xiao raised a hand before you could proceed any further with the ever-growing list. “I do not know half of the things of which you speak. If there are going to be any more, just write down the recipe and spare yourself the words.”

“Straight to the point as always. But that’s a good idea- wait, hang on, I have some spare paper.” Your voice trailed off as you scribbled quickly on the little scrap of paper. “You know when I think about it, this could work well with your almond tofu. I should try mixing the two together when I have time…. Here you go.”

Pressing the neatly folded slip into his palm, a soft smile formed on your lips as you closed his fingers over the paper. “Thank you, Xiao.”

Thank you? Why were you thanking him?

“Around this time of the year, I often find myself missing home more and more often. But…” A wry chuckle escaped your lips. “Talking with you has made the homesickness a little easier to bear. Weird, isn’t it?”

“But somehow…” You turned to look at the faraway mountains, a dreamy expression on your face. “You feel like home away from home, Xiao.”

Conqueror of evil, devourer of dreams, protector of Liyue— Xiao had been given many names and titles, both good and bad, and he had accepted them all as they came. They all struck fear into the hearts of those who heard of him, and he had thought it was fine that way. All the more people would distance themselves from him and the karmic debt he had collected over the centuries.

But to be called ‘home away from home’— to be someone who you could find comfort in, even miles away from your homeland…

He was so lost in thought he didn’t realise that he had been staring; you cleared your throat and hid your face in the crook of your arm, trying to hide the slight flush in your cheeks. “…Well, uh— I have to go.”

“Is it already time for you to leave?” The words were out of his mouth before Xiao even realised it.

“Yep. Time flies, huh?” You sighed reluctantly as you slung your bag onto your shoulder. “I’ve got to go somewhere and I might not visit for a while. But hey, who knows— maybe next time I’ll have mastered the fusion of almond tofu and halo-halo. Be my taste-tester then, okay?”

A strange feeling gnawed inside him at the idea of parting so soon- not yet, he wanted to say. He wanted the time to stop in that very moment. Not yet, not yet, not yet.

“I’ll be back soon, Xiao.” You smiled at him fondly, giving his shoulder a firm pat in reassurance. “I already know the drill— call your name if I need help, right?”

“…Come home safe.” He said quietly.

Your eyes began to sparkle in surprise, and the smile on your face grew even wider than before.

“…I will.”

Like the wind that carries autumn leaves to faraway places, you were gone, leaving Xiao with a promise that he knew you would keep.

But even though he had lived hundreds of years, Xiao found that the days spent without you passed more slowly than he recalled them to be. When the sun rose, Xiao found himself thinking of whether you were awake to watch it with him, and when the moon came out he wondered if you were sleeping well.

He tried to distract himself by throwing himself wholly into his duties, and for a while that seemed to work. But the feeling of restlessness grew only stronger with each passing day, and the sun and moon started to become eyesores to look at, for they only reminded Xiao of how much more time he would have to spend without you. In fact, had it not been for the fact that it would’ve been far below his station to do so, he was sorely tempted to shake his spear at the celestial bodies and tell them off with some… choice words.

Then one day an idea occurred to him, one far more beneficial than cursing out the sun and moon for circumstances that they had no control over. Xiao had been sitting at his usual table in Wangshu Inn, listlessly poking at the plate of almond tofu in front of him as he read the little paper in his palm for what must have been the thousandth time.

“Home away from home…” He murmured quietly— and that was when the idea had struck.

It was a simple, wild idea that Xiao would never have even dared to dream of under ordinary circumstances; but in that regard you had his restless state to thank. A strange recklessness and impatience had taken root, and the Yaksha’s usual self-loathing was completely overwhelmed by the feeling of missing you.

It couldn’t be that difficult, now could it?

Xiao marched into the kitchen without even a second thought (after receiving permission, of course), solely focused on one goal and one alone. Ingredients were later procured with the help of Madame Ping and Yanfei (though the latter had asked many bothersome questions about what he was going to do with them), and what couldn’t be found was substituted with local specialties. He had even taken notes on the cooking procedures of the young chef from Wanmin Restaurant when she braved through Jueyun Karst for ingredients— though Xiao admittedly opted to skip a few of her outlandish practices.

Thus armed with a fruit knife and a long-handled spoon, the Vigilant Yaksha faced the fiercest battle of his life in the kitchen against the trial and error of making a dessert he had never even seen, let alone tasted. But each time Xiao failed, his resolve only grew stronger— it was as if each failed attempt would bring you closer, and the day he mastered it was the day you would finally come home to him.

——

Almost two weeks after his initial dive into the culinary arts, Xiao finally produced something that he could look at and deem presentable enough for his own standards of perfection.

He sighed wearily, pulling out a chair and resting his head on the kitchen table; the hardest part of making it had been transporting the snow directly from Dragonspine. Even with the help of Madame Ping, it had taken Xiao many melted pots of snow to figure out the most efficient route back. But today he had had the good fortune to encounter the little herb-gatherer of Bubu Pharmacy on the way back, and she had kindly kept the snow frozen till they had to part ways— Xiao made a mental note to gather some herbs later to give to her in thanks.

Briefly, he admired his handiwork; a scoop of purple yam ice cream sat on a pile of clean white snow and milk, surrounded by colorful jellies and red beans. The medley of colours contrasted with the milky white of his signature almond tofu in a manner that was pleasing to the eye— with purple from the ube ice cream, scarlet red beans, golden brown from the flan and the ripe yellow of the mango, the dessert was very festive and colourful, much like your personality. Perhaps he could understand why you were so enthusiastic about this dessert.

“It doesn’t look… terrible.” Xiao remarked, nudging the handle of the spoon with his finger.

It was only too bad that he couldn’t give it to you.

That one thought was enough to sour his good mood, and Xiao momentarily considered going through with the idea of taking his frustration out by yelling at the sun- but he was too worn out.

With a muffled groan, he buried his face in his arms. He’d eat the halo-halo later— it would be a waste of effort to just let it melt.

How many more days of waiting?

“Xiao.“ Like the sound of a distant flute, a familiar voice brought him back to the present. “Xiao.”

Someone must be calling for my help, he thought dimly.

Xiao raised his head and blinked owlishly, then immediately froze upon seeing the person in front of him.

You grinned at him, your eyes sparkling in a way that they never had before. “I’m home, Xiao.”

Had it not been for the fact that his dreams were mostly horrific flashbacks to his time at war, Xiao would’ve thought he was dreaming.

Before he could say anything, your attention was immediately drawn to the dish on the table. “Is that—?”

You unslung your bag and slid into the chair across from him, pulling the glass towards you with gentle fingertips. “Xiao, did you- did you make this?”

Xiao could only muster a vague grunt in affirmation.

“I didn’t even tell you how halo-halo was supposed to look like, yet you replicated it almost perfectly…” You murmured, an look of absolute wonder on your face. “Did you suddenly decide to change your career to being a chef? Was I gone that long?”

“What- no.” He retorted. “This is something I made for no reason. I have no need for eating, so you… you may have it, I suppose.”

“For no reason, I see…” You nodded sagely, obviously not buying his excuse. “But just for the record, I want you to know that I missed you too.”

All the pent-up tension in him melted away like snow- you missed him too? You had missed him?

Your spoon mixed the dessert together almost rhythmically, acting as a beat to the tune of your voice. “I missed you a lot, although it’s a little embarrassing to admit it aloud.” You looked up to give him a sheepish grin. “Even if it was fun to go around and meet new people, I couldn’t stop thinking of you— eugh, wait, that sounds so cliche.”

Hastily, you shoved a spoonful of halo-halo in your mouth before you could say anything even more embarrassing.

Xiao’s heart leapt into his throat. “How… how does it taste?”

You closed your eyes as you chewed, savoring the flavours in deep concentration. “It’s sweet. Not too much and not too little— just the perfect amount. However…”

Beckoning Xiao to lean closer, an unreadable expression twisted your face. He prepared himself to hear the worst; that it was disgusting, it looked strange, he had used spoiled milk— all the worst possible scenarios filled his mind.

But instead of the harsh reprimand he was expecting, a warm whisper breezed into his ear as you murmured, “I still don’t think it’s as sweet as you, Xiao.”

Eh…?

His mind went completely blank, unable to process what he had just heard. A strange warmth filled his chest and rose to his face- could he be—?

“Are you blushing?” Your voice took on a more playful lilt. “Come on, I only told you the absolute truth.”

Xiao ducked his head in an attempt to hide from your observant eyes, but it was too late; you had already seen the faint blush creeping up his face and neck. You giggled slightly, presumably at his unusually shy behaviour.

“It’s a nice day to eat halo-halo outside, Xiao.” In one fluid movement you caught his hand up in yours, swinging it back and forth slightly as you grinned at him. “Shall we go upstairs? It would taste better if we ate it together.”

He could only nod dumbly in reply, his thoughts in complete disarray and distraction at the sight of your smiling face.

——

Peeping from around the corner, Smiley Yanxiao, Huai’an and Verr Goldet had somehow miraculously escaped detection as they spied upon- er, observed the exchange between you and Xiao.

“It’s all coming together now,” Verr Goldet muttered. Her hunch had been right all along, but she still couldn’t help but feel absolutely blown out of the water by this revelation. “I had an idea when their visits started to sync up a little too often, but I still can’t believe I was right…”

“Ah, young love.” Huai’an slipped an arm around his wife’s shoulders, giving her a light squeeze. “Reminds me of how we were when I first started courting you.”

Smiley Yanxiao said nothing, but his slack-jawed expression was all he needed to express his shock. The three of them exchanged glances among each other and silently tiptoed away, leaving the couple to enjoy the time they had with each other.

[jade-parcels]

I love your headcanons about Diluc being a father! Based on that post, how would Diluc, Zhongli, Kaeya, Xiao, and Childe as fathers handle it if they found out their child was being bullied? Would they confront the bullies themselves or handle it in a different way?

The dads find out their kid is being bullied

With Diluc, Zhongli, Kaeya, Xiao and Childe

—————————

Diluc:

Something Diluc loves about his job is that most days, he gets to work from home in his office! So when his son gets home from school, he always runs into his office to show him what he learned in class

But today, his son trudged into his office with puffy eyes and tearstained cheeks “I don’t wanna go to school anymore...” Diluc has never dropped his work so fast. He sets everything aside and takes his kiddo to the couch in front of the fireplace to talk

Since you’re all still living in Mondstadt, your kid is going to the same school that Diluc went to. He knows how bratty some of these kids can be since he serves wine to their parents every weekend. This is just unacceptable.

He hugs his boy and tells him that he’ll make the bullying stop. And he does. That night at the tavern, he’ll confront those parents, even threaten to ban them from the Angel’s Share if they don’t correct their kids’ behavior “I will not tolerate your children picking on mine. So until you get them to stop, I’m going to have to cut you off for now”

Let’s just say that the bullying stops faster than he thought it would. Mondstadters are serious about their wine intake 0-0

Zhongli:

Zhongli knows something is wrong the second he steps inside when he gets home from work

His usually energetic girl is sulking in her room instead of running around or doing school work

He’ll change out of his work clothes and go sit on the floor with her “is something bothering you?”

Zhongli may be a chatterbox but he knows how to listen. He’ll sit and listen to everything his daughter has to say, pulling her in for a hug when she starts to cry

He makes sure she knows her feelings are valid, that she doesn’t deserve to be picked on

He also tells her that she can’t let them see her cry “they want you to cry, they want you to feel sad. So if you don’t allow their words to hurt you, they will leave you alone” “really?” “Really. That’s how mean kids think. So if they don’t leave you alone, remember to hold your head high, okay? After school, talk to your teacher about their behavior too” he’s great at making people feel better about themselves :’) he just happens to have thousands of years of experience under his belt lmao

Kaeya:

Kaeya loves getting to pick his daughter up from school! He loves how excited she is to see him and how she happily talks about everything they did in class while they walk home.

But when she hurries outside and hides behind him, sniffling and crying he’s quick to help out

He’ll kneel down to her height and give her his best ‘dad hug’ “What’s the matter, sweetheart? Did something happen today?” “Uh huh...” he’ll sit there on the ground with her while she explains what happened

Since there are plenty of other parents there to get there kids, Kaeya won’t hesitate to approach the parents of the bullies

“Excuse me, you may not know me but it seems that your daughter has been picking on mine. I think she owes her an apology” of course they all know who Kaeya is so he may be using his position with the Knights as leverage...maybe, maybe not lol

He’s not shy. He doesn’t tolerate bullying!! If the roles were reversed, he’d make his kid apologize too.

And since she had a rough day, Kaeya would let her pick what they have for dinner that night just to cheer her up :)

Xiao:

Xiao is not an emotional guy but when his son runs up to him, bawling his little eyes out, he can’t help but feel upset too

He picks him up and tells him to tell him all about this bully at school. Man oh man, it totally breaks Xiao’s heart to hear that cause his kiddo is so cute and well mannered, why would kids pick on him??

Xiao will take him to school early the next day to have a word with his teacher “You need to do something about this. If you don’t talk to these kids or their parents, I will”

Then he’ll kiss his son on the cheek and leave, the teacher is probably freaked out cause if looks would kill, Xiao’s angry glare would have killed them for sure

If the bullying continues he will pay those parents a visit. He won’t be rude but he will be blunt with them, that’s just the way he is “Your style of parenting is repulsive. Do you think it’s okay for your kid to pick on mine? Pathetic”

Once he’s big enough, Xiao will train his kiddo to fight. He would have done this anyway but since he’s been bullied, Xiao thinks that building muscle and learning to fight will be extremely beneficial for him

Childe:

This man....is such a good dad

He’ll do anything to make his kids laugh, anything to make sure they’re never hurt, sad or in danger! To them, he’s the best toy salesman around! And he’s the coolest day they could have! He takes them ice fishing and teaches them archery once their big enough. His kids are always having fun when he’s around

So you can imagine his surprise when you come home with your youngest son and he’s crying his little eyes out

Ajax wants to beat those little shits uo himself, no one makes his kid cry and lives to tell the tale!! That stupid 5 year old will feel his wrath!!....Which is why you have to handle this.

He’s disappointed when you say you’re going to talk to the bully’s parents cause HE wants to do it!! But you both know that if he’s the one to go, those parents will shit their pants in fear

So instead Ajax stays behind with the kids, playing with them and making them laugh. Your son will cheer up right away and probably forget how the other kids were mean to him earlier :) so yeah, you gotta handle bullies and their parents...Ajax is...scary lmao

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 19, part one

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Chilling in Yiling

We start off with Wei Wuxian hanging out in a busy area of Yiling, which is a really dumb place to pick for a fugitive rendezvous.  

He's wearing a fashionably distressed brown robe, and a woven disguise hat, that makes him invisible to his enemies until the moment he takes it off, kinda like the mask he wears in his second life. Unfortunately he is a polite boi so he takes off the disguise hat when he goes indoors to get a bite to eat, and promptly gets smacked down by Wen Zhuliu. 

Xiao Zhan's stunt double is really good at this wire-pull+table-smash move; this is the second time Wei Wuxian goes crashing through a table (the first one being when Yu Ziyuan was beating him). This time he clutches his now core-less abdomen, in a move we're going to be seeing a lot of, going forward. Abdominal surgery is a bitch. OP can personally attest to this.

Wen Zhuliu provides some comic relief by looking at his hand in puzzlement; he clearly can tell Wei Wuxian has no golden core, but he isn't going to bother telling Wen Chao that.

Wen Chao gloats and steps on Wei Wuxian's hand while Wei Wuxian stares at his shoe and OP wonders, not for the first time, how they make rubberized zig-zag treads in Ancient Fantasy China.

(more after the cut)

This is all happening in the Yiling Wine house where Wei Wuxian will later share the most important meal of his life, the one in which A-Yuan lays claim to Lan Wangji, ultimately giving LWJ a reason to live long enough for Wei Wuxian to be resurrected. If that doesn’t deserve a good Yelp review, nothing does. 

Dream a Little Dream of Me

While Wei Wuxian gets ready for his big whump scene, Jiang Cheng is dreaming, and looking absolutely breathtaking in this deceptively simple robe, that's made of a really complex fabric, that catches the light all over its surface.  The lighting here is warm and romantic, giving everything a nostalgic glow.

He looks around the courtyard in his dream, and sees Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian come running in the gate carrying kites. 

A child fetching a kite was the first casualty of the Wen attack on Lotus Pier, so this image may already be a little fraught for Jiang Cheng. In this initial image of his family, Jiang Cheng isn't present as a child, but then his junior self comes running up, to be warmly greeted by his mother.

Jiang Cheng's reaction to the scene playing out in front of him is not a simple one. We've seen him externally expressing his trauma at the fate of Lotus Pier and his family - his anger and his despair - and this dream shows us his private, interior trauma. 

His body has been repaired by Wei Wuxian and the Wens, but his psyche has not.

This family interaction can't possibly be one that ever happened. It's too lively, too affectionate, too comfortable. The family he was part of as a young adult was cold, angry, cracked.  Families don't change that much in 10 years, unless there's a major trauma that alters things in a fundamental way.

Even the glimpses we got of his childhood contradict this image. This warm group is not the family of "I sent your dogs away" or "wait in the cold until Jiang Cheng lets you in" or "I won't tell Clan Leader Jiang what happened" or "I'm only 11 but I'm in charge of soup and bedtime already"

Jiang Cheng smiles at the affection he sees enacted in front of him, but quickly moves to grief. When a toxic person dies, you don't just lose the relationship you had with them; you lose the hope for a better relationship. Perhaps Jiang Cheng has always imagined this version of his family; now nothing like it can ever come to be.

The pleasant scene vanishes into nightmare, as his mother starts bleeding from her eyes, ew. This is like Nie Mingjue when he qi deviates, but dream Yu Ziyuan is perfectly chill about it. 

Jiang Cheng is not perfectly chill about it. 

He turns around to see Lotus Pier burning. When he turns back, his family has been replaced with Wen Zhuliu, who is particularly gleeful as he reaches into Jiang Cheng's chest and melts his core.

Jiang Cheng wakes up on the mountain, alone (as far as he knows), and quickly stands and boots up his new golden core.

It's purple, because of course it is. King. The nightmare is gone and he smiles, maybe for the first time since the attack on the pier.

In a moment that is probably going to feel really embarrassing in hindsight, he kneels and bows toward the mountaintops to thank Baoshan Sanren, who is totally not there. 

Wen Ning, on the other hand, is there, although we only see a little bit of his belt and robe as Jiang Cheng walks off to Yiling to meet his brother.  This entire plotline walks a very weird line in which the audience is told just enough about what’s really happening to be confused, but not surprised.

Do the Whumpty Whump

After some initial roughing up, Wen Chao has his dudes stand Wei Wuxian up so he can question him without actually getting any information out of him at all. They take turns calling each other dogs, with Wei Wuxian saying that when Wen Chao talks he just hears a dog barking. (Of course if he really heard a dog barking he'd be terrified) 

Then he says "isn't that right" to Wang Lingjiao, and Wen Chao gets super pissed; don't disrespect me to my woman. 

He has his minions do a Nancy Kerrigan to Wei Wuxian's knee and then kick him for a while.

Then they kick the shit out of the camera operator.

Wen Chao is really not about fighting his own fights.  He also keeps threatening to have Wen Zhuliu melt Wei Wuxian's core, and Wen Zhuliu keeps popping up his hand and then putting it back when Wen Chao changes his mind, which gets more hilarious every time I watch it. Feng Mingjing’s physical embodiment of Wen Zhuliu is endlessly entertaining, even in scenes where he has literally no lines. 

I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost

Wei Wuxian continues to goad Wen Chao, telling him that more torture is good because then he'll die with loads of resentment. He says that after he dies, he will come back as a ferocious ghost, which is...almost exactly what happens, except he stays alive for the ferocious part. 

They go back and forth about the feasibility of this whole haunting plan. Wang Lingjiao is the voice of reason, for once, arguing the "ghosts aren't real and anyway fuck this guy" position.

Wen Chao thinks that he can’t haunt them because of cultivator security hardening procedures soul-calming rituals, but Wei Wuxian wasn't born into a gentry family so didn't have the anti-fierce-ghost treatment that other cultivators get.

This is the only time in the whole of the show when Wei Wuxian says, himself, that he's the son of a servant. He's using his reputation as a commoner to bolster his threats. 

Wei Wuxian is working hard to put on a scary-guy persona, which works pretty well on Wang Lingjiao but not as much on the rest of the group. Three months from this time, however, he will have become the scary, vengeful creature he's currently spitballing about.  He will also become way, way better at torture than the people who are currently mistreating him. 

Wang Lingjiao and Wen Chao go through a whole sequence of ideas about what to do with him. For whatever reason Wang Lingjiao doesn't insist on chopping his arm off even though she's been craving it for ages. 

She does gleefully burn his burn some more, causing it to bleed directly into the giant obvious bag he has hanging from his belt leaking resentful energy. Which the Wens do not take away or search.

Wen Chao, incidentally, starts calling him Wei Ying during this encounter, which is rude of him. Tch.  Finally Wen Chao decides on a plan, which involves sword-flying effects so terrible that no soul can survive them.

Jiang Cheng is looking for Wei Wuxian in town, wearing a woven hat like Wei Wuxian’s.  This...is not a disguise. If you want to be inconspicuous, maybe take that giant piece of silver off of your head.

He hears random people talking about the Wens being in town, and then he apparently looks up at the sky and sees the Wen dudes flying on their swords with Wei Wuxian, but it looks so ridiculous that Jiang Cheng's mind cannot process what he is seeing.

While they "fly," Wen Chao delivers a massive brick of exposition about the burial mounds, while Wei Wuxian looks genuinely frightened. The VFX of random, undifferentiated mountaintops and clouds do nothing to sell this menace, but the exposition is actually pretty good, creating a real sense of disturbance and threat.

Then they toss him in, and we go from the terrible VFX of sword flying to a visual effect that they mercifully did really well throughout the show - the black resentment smoke. This time it catches Wei Wuxian and holds him for a few moments, before dropping him the rest of the way to the ground. It also apparently pulls the turtle sword out of his belt bag, but we don't see that part.

They Say That Every Man Must Fall

Having seen Wei Wuxian at his lowest point (so far) and dream Jiang Cheng also in deep distress, we go to the Dafan Wen sibs, who have also reached a breaking point. Because they helped Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, they are traitors to their clan - unquestionably so - and are being punished for it, with Wen Ning having been tortured in addition to being locked up.

I see my light come shining From the west down to the east Any day now, any day now I shall be released

You know how Lan Xichen successfully argued for Wen-Clan-Member Meng Yao's life and status, because Meng Yao betrayed Wen Ruohan to help them? Even though Meng Yao killed a bunch of Nie guys? Wen Ning and Wen Qing also betrayed Wen Ruohan and helped the Sunshot Campaign, without killing a bunch of guys. They should have been treated as allies by the four other clans, but they got diddly.  

I’ve Been Dead Once

We return to Wei Wuxian in the burial grounds, where he's lying on the ground surrounded by resentful energy and by strained, desperate voices calling his name. This whole sequence is remarkable, since it effectively communicates the horror he's experiencing, through little more than Xiao Zhan's face and good sound design.

I hang around dying to be tortured  You'll never be alone in the bone orchard

The voices call four versions of his name. A variety of voices call him Wei Wuxian, Wei Gongzi, and Shixiong, which (I think) is what the young Jiang disciples would have called him. And in the midst of those voices, Lan Wangji's voice, low and calm, saying "Wei Ying." Upon hearing that Wei Wuxian starts to drag himself up.

For a show with definitely no zombies in it, they sure do use the visual language of zombie films for Wei Wuxian's first motions after hitting the ground. Starting with twitching fingers, then gradually pulling himself halfway up and crawling, lurching across the ground. Wei Wuxian comes slowly back to life, the very first member of his army of the dead.

He makes his way across the ground toward the floating turtle sword. Along the way he accidentally grabs the world's most bowlegged thigh bone; the lack of sunshine in the burial mounds puts the skeletons at risk for rickets.  All of the skeletons in the show are exactly what you would expect from the practical effects team that made the demon hand and the animatronic dog.

The turtle sword is roiling with resentful energy, and is talking to Wei Wuxian as he crawls toward it, asking if he wants revenge. And what a coincidence, he DOES want revenge. 

He grabs the sword and plunges it into the ground in an explosion of resentful energy. (Ground: why you gotta take it out on me?)

The sequence ends with the most compelling, ominous shot of Wei Wuxian's face...a new man. 

Soundtrack: 1. I Shall Be Released by Bob Dylan 2. Beyond Belief by Elvis Costello  

Writing Prompt: The Day Wei Wuxian arrived, from the POV of a Burial Mounds ghost. 

[wesimpforxiao]

Say My Name and I’ll Be There:  10.3: The FINAL Chapter!

Author’s Note: IM SO SORRY IM A DAY LATE I ENDED UP BEING BUSIER THAN EXPECTED AND HAD TROUBLE WRITING BUT HERE IT IS!!!! THANK YOU FOR READING! Be sure to stick around for Inception(Childexreader) ;)

"Xiao! Come here real quick!"  

The yaksha glanced your way but didn't bother to get up since you were the one approaching him.  It took a moment to register that your hands were entangled in his hair, placing something in it.  Your smile was unusually bright today--so much so that it was blinding.  Not that he minded though; you've been through a lot these past few months.  Maybe this was the happiest you've been in awhile.

"I knew it," you beamed as you admired the flower crown atop his head, "You look so cute!"

"C...Cute?"  His gaze flicked away from you for a moment while the tips of his ears reddened. "I-"

"Oh, take the compliment already.  We've been together for awhile now.  You don't need to be so shy around me."  You let yourself fall back onto the grass that was shaded by a large orange tree.  Is it a gingko?  I need to ask Aether next time he comes in here, your mind trailed.

"I..."  Xiao returned his attention to you and lay down next to you, careful not to invade personal space and always leaving an inch or two of space between the two of you.  He let his hands lay on his abdomen until he jumped a little from you scooting over without a word.  When he looked at you, he was greeted by a cheeky smile.

"I know you're not used to this type of thing called affection, but I can tell you don't mind it."

"Hmph.  You've gotten smarter."

"Hey, I told you I'm not a stupid human!"

"You're beginning to sound like Aether's companion."

"Okay, there is a huge difference between emergency food and a stupid human."

"So you admit it?"

"Ugh, keep this up and I'll have no choice but to put more flowers in your hair."

"Do you dishonor every adeptus you come across?"

"Well, you're the only adeptus I've met besides Rex--Er, Zhongli!"  The filtered sunlight peeking through the leaves above blinded you when you broke eye contact with Xiao, so instead you propped yourself on your side and admired the view behind him.

Aether's Serenitea Pot was massive.  It had to span a mile or two in every direction, and the entire territory sat upon five tall cliffs that were connected via wooden bridges and held flowing waterfalls.  The weather was always pleasant day-round.  There were several pets outside of the main house on the main cliff that you had befriended, while Xiao seemed to connect the most with one of the gray tabby cats near the entrance.  You had caught them sitting quietly together on several occasions.

"Granny would've loved this place," you sigh.

"I shall go with you to visit her grave."  He didn't look at you as he said this, but the sincerity of his words rang as clear as the sky above.  "...She'd be happy to know you're safe."

"All thanks to you."  Despite originally admiring the scenery, your eyes had drifted downward and landed on his stomach.  Both of you were fully healed by now because of Bennett, and neither of you had any lasting effects from your battles minus the required resting time.  Your side held a prominent scar both at your front and your back, but did Xiao even get scars?  He never revealed the answer--mostly because you were too embarrassed to ask--and thus leaving the idea to your imagination.

"I should probably check on the situation outside soon; it's been awhile since Aether updated us."  Xiao sat up and summoned his spear--he had mentioned a few times that it was difficult for him to relax here and needed to keep himself busy since a comfortable life is a foreign concept.

"Oh, right..."  Your gaze followed his figure as he rose to his feet.  Sensing your--what was it, disappointment?--Xiao turned to you and removed his flower crown before gently placing it atop your head.  That action was followed by a faint smile, then his lips lightly pecked the tip of your nose.

"I shouldn't be long."

"You two love birds have made quite the nest here!  I've gotta say, Aether's got great taste."  A familiar voice caught both of you off your guard and Xiao's stance became aggressively defensive in an instant.  You and Xiao were supposed to be the only ones in the teapot at the moment, and even then, those who did occasionally stay in here didn't greet you like this.  The person that voice belonged to wasn't welcome--or at least, belonged to a presumably-dead man--regardless of that savior act he pulled in Snezhnaya.

"Childe?"  More shocked than afraid, you too rose to your feet.  "What're you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?  I came here because I had something to say."  The harbinger was as carefree as ever, but as he walked towards you a slight limp became noticeable in his steps.  He was hiding an injury, but was it from Scaramouche or from Aether?

"What did you do to Aether?"  Xiao's voice was as low as a growl as he raised his spear higher.  He stood slightly ahead of you to ensure your safety since you no longer had a vision and couldn't use those mysterious anemo powers ever since the rescue.  And knowing you and your idiotic tendencies, he had to make sure you didn't do something stupid like try to fight Childe if provoked.

"Haha!  Relax!  Aether and Mr. Zhongli are doing just fine; in fact, they allowed me to enter!"  Childe hid a wince when he stopped walking, but noticed the flicker of recognition in your eyes.  His lips curled upward with flattery.   "Don't worry, ojou-chan.  A little scuff isn't going to take me out."

"I-I wasn't worrying about you."

He seemed unconvinced but faced Xiao again anyway.  "You'd be pleased to know that both Aether and Zhongli let me in on their own accord--no manipulation from me whatsoever."  The fact that he had to clarify that! "Why don't we chat over lunch?  I'll cook.  Show me to the kitchen, girlie?"

.............

To say that you and Xiao were staring was a bit of an understatement.  Here you were, both sitting at the dining table in the main hall of Aether's adeptal house watching Childe cook up a meal fit for a large family while expertly navigating the kitchen like it was his own.  And when he served you, the delicious aroma that wafted into your nose was nothing short of enticing.  You and Xiao withheld your utensils--one out of weariness, and the other because it's not almond tofu.

"What?"  Childe let out a slight chuckle as he took his seat and dug into his plate.  You have no idea how thankful he was that there were forks in the drawers instead of chopsticks.  "Oh, perhaps you two already ate before my arrival?  More for me then I suppose."  

"Um, so why are you here?"

"I figured I'd give you an update regarding our little situation outside."

"'Little?'"  Xiao couldn't contain his scoff.  He hadn't dismissed his weapon either, and it levitated beside his seat.

"Seems like the quiet life hasn't changed you one bit, yaksha."  The harbinger stopped stuffing his face and set his fork aside to look at you.  "Regarding what happened with Scaramouche, I think it's safe to say I won."

"If it weren't for you coming here today, I would've assumed your untimely demise."  Ignoring Xiao's look of disapproval, you reached for your utensils and started to eat.  Both of you hadn't taken your eyes off of the harbinger as he cooked, so the chances that he may have tampered with the ingredients were low.  Plus it'd be out of his character to go about eliminating enemies like that.  "I'm grateful that you saved my life, but don't think for a second that that makes up for everything you've done to us."

"Oh, I wouldn't dare.  I know I've been aggressive for lack of a better term, but I'd like you to know that I'm only like that when it comes to my duties as one of the eleven harbingers.  Aside from that, I'm happy to call you a comrade just as I view Aether and Zhongli."

"Woah woah woah," you nearly choked.  "I'm certainly not going to start viewing you as a friend now."  

Childe simply laughed at your objection.  "Think what you may, but I do respect you and the rest of Aether's party.  As for my motherland and it's affairs, I think you'd be happy to know that the Tsaritsa has stopped her pursuit of you and Xiao.  She's not exactly appreciative of you wrecking the palace and would like to avoid any further destruction that can hamper her current plans."

"That's all it took for her to leave us alone?  You must be joking."  The archon had spent so much time and resources on hunting and imprisoning you--the idea of her giving up just like that had to be unrealistic, right?  And the fact that Xiao managed to bring the entire palace down...there's got to be some sort of bounty on your heads.

Childe met your gaze and held a level of sincerity equivalent to the time when he confessed his feelings and offered you a position among the harbingers on Dragonspine.  "Not in the slightest.  Regardless, you're free to lead carefree lives from now on.  Though if you'd like to rejoin the Fatui I'm sure I can pull some--"

"Nope.  I'm done with that."

"Ha! Very well then."  Childe resumed eating with an amused grin on his face, but Xiao wasn't satisfied with this conversation yet.

"You've given us no reason to trust your words."  His stare was hard and calculating as he tried to decipher any hidden motives behind Childe's friendliness.  It wouldn't be unusual for this to be some kind of trick.  In fact, he expected that there'd be some sort of catch.

The harbinger sent a brief glance Xiao's way before guiding another forkful of food into his mouth and shrugging.  "...Like I said, think what you may.  I don't care if you two choose to live in this realm or in Teyvat with the rest of us.  But then again it must be incredibly boring for a guardian yaksha to be lounging around in this domestic place.  I know I'd be driven mad if I had to live in such a quiet place for so long."

Xiao didn't flinch or give any indication that he was right, but your eyes briefly flicked his way.  It was uncomfortable for him to be 'relaxing' here with nothing to do.  It wasn't surprising that he'd be yearning to go out and uphold his contract with Rex Lapis again.

............

"Childe, wait."  Your hand gripped his forearm rather aggressively as he reached for the door handle to take his leave.  Xiao had heard a disturbance outside and went to check on the realm just in case, so it was only the two of you inside the mansion.

"What is it, ojou-chan?  Miss me already?"

"Yeah right."  As he turned to face you, your grip lightened until you let go.  He hadn't called you 'Mezzetin' once since he got here, only referring to you with this nickname like old times...Childe raised a confused brow.  "Why?"

"...Why?  Why what?"

"Why did you save me?  You could've just let Scaramouche kill me back there.  So...why did you risk your life to save mine when you didn't care less when I was tortured?"  Your stance was firm as you faced him head-on.  "I need to know."

"Ah," Childe awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "that."  Some sort of conflict flickered in those blue eyes of his as he formulated an answer he didn't quite know himself.  "Like I said earlier ojou-chan, I've always seen you as a com--no.  As a friend.  Just as Zhongli and I converse despite the Osial controversy, I see you in the same light despite my loyalty to the Tsaritsa."

"That doesn't answer my question, though.  You had several opportunities to stop what was happening, and it was only then when you decided to step in.  So why then?  What changed your mind?"

"I don't know."

"Bullshit, Tartaglia.  There's got to be strings attached to this, right?  You expect something in return from me? Just get on with it already and tell me."

"I doubt you'd be satisfied with my answer regardless," he muttered mostly to himself.  "I may be kind of a bad guy, but I'm not completely heartless."  He observed the stumped expression that sat on your face as the gears turned in your head.  Then, he turned to the door again.  "When you're ready, you should join Mr. Zhongli and I for drinks sometime.  Farewell, girlie."  He was gone.

Despite the deep-rooted grudge you held against the harbinger now, you couldn't help but still hold some sense of familiarity or gratitude for him.  You might just take on that offer if only to purposely antagonize him at the dinner table.

......

"Xiao, how did you get your tattoo?" The two of you were sitting beneath another one of the many trees native to Liyue in the adeptal realm, still waiting for news regarding your return to the mortal realm.  Several days have passed since Childe paid you a visit, and Zhongli and Aether still had yet to check in on the two of you.  To keep Xiao occupied and keep him from worrying, you'd ask him questions.  "I don't have any of your memories of it."

Despite his memories being shared with you due to your bond, the further back in time they're from, the blurrier they got.  The oldest memory you could 'remember' dealt with the god that enslaved him, and even then, there was no mention of the mysterious green markings that sat on his arm.

"I've always had these markings," he answered gruffly.  He had sat up a moment prior with the intent to exit the teapot out of concern for your companions, but your random question caught him off guard.  His amber eyes narrowed cynically when your fingers traced them.

"Do they have a special meaning?"

"'Meaning?'"  His gaze averted for a moment as he decided whether or not to indulge such a topic.  But your eyes were so full of life as you traced his arm, and your touch was so warm...  "They represent my true form."

"True form?"  You tilted your head and attempted to picture whatever the heck he would be, but all you saw were a bunch of random shapes.  The other adepti in Liyue are shaped like deer and cranes, but what the heck was this mosaic supposed to be picturing?  "And, uh, what would that be?"

Xiao let out a tiresome sigh and realized he may have made a mistake in answering these questions.  Now that he had told you, you weren't going to stop asking until you got to see for yourself.  He never uses his true form; very few had ever seen it and those who have have already passed.  Zhongli had only ever seen it once.

Seeing his apparent concern made you raise a brow.  "No way.  Don't tell me your true form is a bug or something!"

"Tch.  Is that really what came to mind?"  Xiao shot you a glare before standing.  He was planning on walking away and ending the conversation, but your silent pleading made him reconsider almost instantly.  We are alone, he thought.  Perhaps I could show her once.  "Fine," he grumbled.  "Close your eyes."

You obeyed.  He didn't exactly say 'no' when you asked if he'd be a bug.  He wasn't going to appear as such...right?  Butterflies fluttered in your stomach at the anticipation.  And just as your excitement grew, so did the winds that brushed past you.  Even the leaves in the tree above were shaking violently. Then, everything stilled.  Something soft brushed your fingertips, which were resting on your knees.  It was a cue.

"Hm?"  Xiao was no longer standing over you.  Instead stood a majestic bird with blue and green feathers that shimmered like glitter in the sunlight that filtered through the tree branches. "You're--!"

"--a bird," he finished.  He didn't say anything for a moment and allowed you to take it all in, seemingly shy or even embarrassed as you instantly reached out to touch him.

The blush that rushed to your cheeks was ignored by the both of you while your fingers grazed over the feathers that stuck up from the top of his head. He was beautiful; as breathtaking as a peacock, even.  Your fingers trailed down the back of his long neck, earning a rise of feathers as Xiao contemplated your movements.  His feathers were softer than the finest textiles in Liyue! And the tail feathers he had must've been as long as you are tall.  They glowed a light blue that's similar to the eyes of his mask.

"So beautiful," you whispered in adoration.  Xiao shifted his wait to his other foot.  "Thank you for showing me."  The fact that he did showed how much trust he placed in you--

The sound of a twig snapping scared the crap out of both of you--so much so that Xiao immediately transformed back into his mortal self.  Since he was so close to you though, it looked like he was sitting on you from the front angle.

"Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to check in--" Aether nearly stumbled when he approached you.  "Um...am I interrupting?"

"No!"

"The Vigilant Yaksha is BLUSHING?!"  Paimon squealed so loud that the three of you scowled.  "And what's with that sitting position?! You--"

"Paimon!" Aether swatted at his companion before she could say something that angered the yaksha.  "We came here for a reason!"

"Hey! Paimon is NOT a fly!"

"It's confirmed to be safe now.  You two can come home!"

"Wait, really?"  The two of you stood up.  "Are you sure?"

"Yep! There's no issue with the Fatui anymore.  Everyone's backed off.  We'll see you at the Pavilion for dinner to celebrate, okay? Don't be late!"  The two partners exited the realm in a flash.

"Ready?"  Xiao turned to you.

"Right now?! It's so sudd--"

"You don't have any belongings here anyways."  The statement cracked a smile on both faces.  "Let's go."  He reached to tap the symbol on his hand.

Your hand grabbed his.  "Wait!  Let me see you a little longer."  He was confused to say the least, but you didn't bother explaining how gorgeous he looked in the light right now.  Those amber eyes mirrored your own--though perhaps it'd be more accurate to say the opposite.  This is the last chapter of the crazy 'adventure' and the dangerous waltz with the Tsaritsa.  In just moments you'd be back in reality, return to Liyue Harbor, return to your Granny's grave, and he would return to his duty of protecting Liyue.  One more moment in this peaceful environment is all you need to admire him before life got hectic again.

Now your new adventure will be permanently at Xiao's side for however long your lifespan is: training with him, supporting him at his darkest moments, and loving him.  No matter what Teyvat brings next, you'll be able to take it on head-first despite lacking a vision and at his side.  You'll both thrive, not just survive.  And as you peered into his eyes, you could tell he felt the same.  "Okay," you nod.  "I'm ready."

[is-nini]

Genshin impact x reader

Episode: 2

Title: proven innocent?

A/n: someone ask me to make a tag list... I never make one.. but i hope I'm doing this right.. if i make a mistake please point it out😅 thankiuu❤️❤️. possible love interest for now will be : Diluc, Kaeya, Albedo, Zhongli, Childe, Xiao, Beidou, Ningguang.

"you're in Mondstat.. the land of freedom.."

She trails off, you take the glass and gave her a thankful smile. Mondstat.. oh yeah.. the land of freedom.. the land where the anemo god rule.. wait what now? The land of... Huh??? Isn't that- your brain clicked. Mondstat is where the traveler start....

The girl seems to notice you staring off into space, the glass is still glued to your mouth and the water is touching your mouth but.. the water is not decreasing and you didn't seems to do any gulping either.

"u-uhm.. my name is Barbara! What's yours?".

The girl that now you know named Barbara asked, you contemplate for a while.. what is your name? Well- you know your name but what should you gave her ...

"y/n.."

You trailed off, why did you do that?! You don't even know.. this is just a game anyway, what's the bad thing that could happen?

"y/n? Hum... A very interesting name."

She nods in understanding interesting? What did she means? You thought to yourself.. maybe giving your real name away is not the right choice..

"so y/n.. where do you come from?"

You widen your eye, you space out for a bit which made Barbara very suspicious of you but she wait either way. While Barbara calmly waiting for your answer, your brain is going on a world war. What can you say? Where you from? You haven't gone that far into the game you doesn't know anything?!

"I don't know.."

Good going y/n you face palm yourself inside your head. Barbara furrowed her eyebrow damn... You're dead.

"hum... It's okay, we will find your family soo-".

Just as about Barbara finished her words, the door suddenly opened reveals a tall tan man with a eye patch on his right eye- this is that man.. the one who claps at the traveler in one of the early cut scene, Kaeya if you're not mistaken.

"ah-! Sir Kaeya".

That now you know 100% is Kaeya, walked inside the room and smile at Barbara.

"well Barbara, you have done a lot of things for this stranger.. why don't you go and take a rest?".

The words that Kaeya kust said might seems caring and kind.. but the undertone of mystery and more is also present.. and unfortunately for you.. you're probably doomed here.

Barbara was about to say something but quickly shuts her mouth, she make her way outside your resting room. Now you're alone with this hot man.. brain he is hot but please don't get swayed you thought to yourself.

"okay stranger.. tell me where are you from?".

He goes straight to the point. Your brain goes to another stone as you tried to answer his question.

"Mondstat".

Frick why did i say that. You look at him intensely in the eye, trying to prove to him that you're not lying. Kaeya narrowed his eye and fold his hand.

"you're pretty good at lying, sadly for you I'm not buying it".

Yeah.. well that's kinda expected. You look away from him, gazing at your feet that's covered with white blanket. You don't know what to say now.. especially if this man is hard to lie to..

"I don't know where I'm from".

You decided to come clean.. well- there is a lie there but it's kinda true. Kaeya looks at you intensely. His eyes really looks like their calculating by default.

"hum.. interesting. You're wearing a one of Mondstat's common dress yet you don't know where you're from?"

Wait what.. you finally observe your surroundings, you stare down at your dress. You didn't notice this.. you realize that you are wearing a dress similar to the one that the girls around Mondstat use.. you know the npc one. Okay being sucked in the game is fun and all but really game? You could've give me a more interesting dress. You stare at the man and sigh.

"listen.. i don't know where I'm from and also let me ask you back- how am i here in the first place?".

Kaeya stare at you, blinks a couple of times and laugh out loud clutching his stomach. You look at him weirdly now it's your turn to fold your hand.

"okay that was unexpected of you stranger".

He take a seat beside your bed, he folds his right leg over his left and smile at you. You don't really remember about his personality.. but you do know that he is flirty.

"uhuh? Thanks?".

You looks at him suspiciously and also taking his confusion and amusement as a good thing.

"well.. let me answer your question. One of our knight found you at the sea shore.. you were knocked out cold. They assume you are a member of Mondstat".

He unfolds his leg, rest his elbow on his knee, bend his back forward a little bit and resting his chin on the back of his palm making him look 1000x more hot- okay brain.. stop wondering off to useless place you shake your head and nod at his previous words.

"but they never saw you around Mondstat.. they're scared to do anything so they called the nurses immediately.. i was about to quarantine you.. but because this is Mondstat.. they decided to save you".

You gulp nervously. What does he means by quarantining you?! Is it like... Some kind of jail? No... You don't think so.. Mondstat is the land of freedom.. not having a jail would make sense. Kaeya stare at you for a while and sigh, catching your attention. You looked at him nodding understandingly but completely confused.

"just call me Kaeya".

You look at Kaeya up and down, you puts your point finger at your chin and staring at Kaeya up and down, not even bothering to hide the fact that you're checking him out.

"what are you doing".

Kaeya deadpans, you just shrugs your shoulder as you slowly stroke your leg outside the bed, trying to get up.

"i am checking you out mr. Hot".

You stated bluntly because hey.. there's no use hiding it anyway. You're not discreet and not trying to hide it anyway. Kaeya holds your arms as you struggle a little bit to get up. You smile up at him.

"thankyou mr hot.man".

You finally look around the place, not noticing the slight red blush across a certain blue haired man's face while You are observing the room and the dress you wear. You felt kind of bumped not being able to wear cool clothes like the playable characters but.. Oh well, you're not meant to be here anyway. Talking about not meant to be here.. how do you get back?. You turned back to the man.

"Mr hot man... what is the name of the place that i was last found.. if i may ask?"

Kaeya ponders for a while, he looks back at you.

"the last time the Knights found you is on the sea near star fell lake".

Where is that place... Flash back when you're playing the game.. wait nevermind, you didn't remember the map. Oh well maybe you can ask around later.

"thankyou Mr. Hot".

Kaeya chuckles as you wave goodbye to him and left the room. Kaeya didn't even bother to escort you after all.. he has something important to do.. searching for your information.

"ah-! Y/n!"

A voice you heard sounds familiar, right when you're outside the door of the room that you just been in, Barbara came to you.

"hello Barbara!".

She stops in front of you and look to your left and right side. She touched your head, trying to check if you're okay or not.

"you doesn't seem sick.. well then! That's good".

You didn't say a word, assuming that Barbara have something to tell you. You and her have a akward staring contest. You blink once and giggle.

"thankyou Barbara!! That's very nice of you to check up on me, what's wrong?".

You asked her, assuming that there is something she would like to say, she startled back as if she finally remembered something.

"o-oh yeah! My sis- i mean the acting grand master would like to see you".

Andddd your assumption are right. She does need something, you were about to say goodbye when you remember something.

"ah-! Barbara where is this.. acting grand master?"

Barbara slap her head and quickly explained to you where the place is, you nod at her and make your way to the acting grand Masters room.

"halt!"

Once you reached the the door to the entrance of the office, a guard stopped you from going in.

"Tell me what business do you have here".

The guard ordered you to say your reason to be here, you were about to say something when the door suddenly opened.

"what's happening here?".

A girl with a low ponytail that's slipped forward with a purple flower shows up. She wears a.. pretty tight dress with two slits on the side like one of those chinese dress but with purple colour.

"oh.. it's you, follow me honey".

Before the guards even say something the woman already ask you to join her, the guard seems like they just let her whatever she does. So you just join her inside without looking back at the guards.

"she's here jean".

The girl called "jean" that looks pretty similar to Barbara stare at you, she smiled as you and got up from the seat. She pulled her hand in front of her, asing you to shake her hand. Being a polite person you are you shake her hand back.

"hello there.. y/n if I'm not mistaken?".

You nod and smile back at her, she asked you to take a seat in front of the table that is located inside the room.

"so.. y/n I'm sorry but we must investigate you for a while.. seeing as you existing out of nowhere and nobody here claims you to be their family i have a question.. where are you from and how did your hand gets on one of the Mondstat dress?"

You blink at her confused, you sigh and without thinking much you just said everything that you knew.

"I don't know where I'm from. I don't even know where im at when i woke up.. I don't know how can i get my hands on this.. Mondstat dress".

Yeah everything you said makes sense.. Barbara did say that you don't know where you are when you first woke up.. but that might be a trick is what jean thought.

"oh apologies, my name is jean. I am the acting grand master".

She explained, she doesn't seem like she is ignoring your previous word... Maybe she's changing the subject?

"nice to meet you miss jean".

You greets her back with her name rolling off your lips. Lisa stare at the conversation intensely and quietly.

"well then.. thankyou for meeting us.. you are dismissed".

Dismissed? What? You stands up and nod your head thankyou. Before you get out you turn your body towards jean.

"I-i'm sorry but where am i suppose to go..?".

Jean and the purple dressed girl looks at eachother it's as if they're talking about something but with no words being spoken.

"ah yes.. uhm- you will meet a certain knight.. please wait for a while".

A/n: I know cutting of the story here doesn't make sense but please bear with it for a while T-T i accidentally make a mistake and i will continue this on the next story! I Apologize deeply for the mistake, thankyou for reading!

Tag list:

@laic2299 @inlustris-is-slowly-dying

[heliosthegriffin]

A blade should be sharp at all times

Marrows up to the group, his tail wagging ecstatically behind him: You guys want to play a prank on Juan?

Ren and Nora’s eyes narrow, but they say nothing.

Flynt, Cobalt, Ivory, Neon, Yang and Elm all look at him with obvious interest.

Harriet snorts dismissively: Why would I want to bother the new meat? He’s got enough problems as it is.

Winter nods her head in agreement.

Marrow’s tail stops wagging, as he looks offended: Because it would be funny!

Harriet rolls her eyes and walks away.

Marrow: Fine, be that way!

He turns back to the more interested members of the room: So, what about you guys? Wanna hear it?

Ren says nothing and Nora motions for him to continue: Depends on what the prank is?

Yang nods along: Yeah, Xiao-Long as it’s nothing too mean to Milf-Magnet.

The rest of the room groans; while Yang absorbs the life-force they’ve lost to her pun.

Marrow smiles and continues: It’s nothing too out there, it’s just an old Atlas military tradition, to see how prepared a recruit is for field work.

Ren rubs his chin: I don’t know, Jaune and the rest of us have spent pretty of time in the field, he hardly ever leaves his armor, or his weapons besides when he cleans himself.

Marrows smile widens: That’s the idea!

Ren’s eyes widen in disbelief: You’re going to prank him in the showers?

Marrow doesn’t say a thing but his tail wags faster.

Ren groans and hold his face.

Nora though...

Her face splits into a manic grin as she starts cackling wildly, falling onto her back as she laughs so hard.

Ren shakes his head in leaves.

Marrow points his hand at Ren: STAY!

Ren freezes in place.

Marrow a little sheepishly: Uh, can’t have you spoiling the surpise, sorry.

Nora still keeps on laughing.

Ren’s pink eyes sparkle briefly, then a magenta pulse of aura breaks Marrows hold on him.

Marrows eyes widen in disbelief.

Ren rolls his neck and scowls at Marrow: Believe it or not, having strong aura control is just as important as a strong semblance.

Marrow falls to his knees, his tail desperately waving behind him: Please, please, don’t tell Joanna!

Ren shakes his head and leaves.

Nora: Don’t worry, he won’t say a thing or do anything, in fact, neither will I. Have fun kids.

Nora then follows Ren out.

The room goes silent.

Yang: Well, that’s ominous.

She then notices Winter is still in the room.

Yang: Why are you still here?

Winter huffs: To make sure you all don’t go too far with your ���Prank’. I will observe and intervene should you all go to far.

Marrow cheers: Yay! Alright, everyone here is how it’ll work. Flynt, Ivory, and Cobalt, you three will being most of the legwork. Cobalt and Ivory, find Jaune and tell him he’s got special permission to use the Specialist private bathrooms, Flynt I want you to hide in the bathroom and use your semblance to make it seem like we’re under attack to scare him out.

Marrow takes a breath and turns to Neon, Yang and Elm: Here’s you girls is part, to really sell it I want you all to make sound noises and make it seem like you’re fighting, then when Joe runs out from the showers I’ll make his freeze, then you girls can throw cold water on him! He’ll be so embarrassed!

Ivory and Cobalt shrug, though Flynt, Neon and Yang seem a little put off.

Neon: I don’t know, seem a little mean spirited.

Flynt: Yeah, we’re not best friends and all, but I don’t want to embarrest the guy.

Yang scratches her chin: It doesn’t seem very, cool thing to do to a friend.

Elm though looked excited: Don’t worry! This is nothing, what’s a little nudity between comrades! If you’re out in the field and not prepared to fight at anytime, even naked, or if you get embarrassed by your comrades seeming you nude, you’re not cut out for being a Hunter. Hell, all of the Ace-Ops have done it. Even Winter!

The sound of a sword leaving it’s sheath rang out.

Winter says says menacingly. I made you promise to never speak of it again, all of you.

Elm: Oops.

Marrow waves them off: Whatever! Anyway this is just a rite of passage in Atlas, come on guys it’ll be a laugh.

The group thinks it over and eventually complies.

Marrow: Alright! Lets get this show on the road!

--------

Ivory and Cobalt escort Jaune through the halls.

Jaune: Wow, Gen. Ironwood really said I could use the Specialist Showers? That’s really kind of him!

Ivory nods and smiles: Gen. Ironwood always takes care of his own.

Cobalt taps Jaune’s shoulder and gives him a approving look. 

Cobalt: Deserve it, hard training and self-improvement are their own reward. But, Top Brass notice.

Jaune’s cheek glow slightly, a slight smile forming: Thanks, It really hard sometime, you know, to be able to see that I’ve improved, heh, no matter how much I feel like i’ve grown, I still feel like a waste of space and a burden on my team.

The group comes to a stop, Ivory and Cobalt looking slightly uncomfortable now.

Jaune turns around flashing them a pleasant grin, “Well, thanks guys. I’ll make sure to tell the General thanks, and that I won’t disappoint his trust for giving me a chance to be Huntsman.

Ivory and Cobalt say nothing and nod.

Jaune then enters the private bathroom.

Cobalt and Ivory look at each other.

Ivory: Are we the baddies?

Cobolt: Yes, but better him, than us.

Ivory sighs and taps his wrist, a small ringing occurs.

Ivory: The target is in position.

-------

Jaune walks through the state of the art bathroom humming a pleasent tune, completely unaware of the watching eyes on him.

He goes into a stall and undresses, the prying eyes losing sight of him.

Jaune then leaves the stall a towel wrapped around his waist and goes the hi-tech showers, another towel bundled in his arms.

Flynt watches Jaune enter the shower stall and sighs deeply, he liked Jaune, he really did, a decent guy all-around. But, if it kept others from seeing’s Flynt’s birthmark for another day, he would do what must be done.

He used his semblance, dividing himself into four copies of himself and then took off running inbetween the stalls.

Flynt x4: We’re under attack!

As Flynt came to the end of the room, he was not prepared for what happened next.

--------

Neon and Yang sparred with Elm in the changing room, where Jaune would have to enter to get dressed, trying to create as authenity as possible combat sounds.

Elm grabbed Yangs right hook and swung her into Neon.

Elm smiles: Got to be quicker than that.

Yang and Neon got off of each other and squared up for round two.

Marrow whispered yelled at them: It’s time! Get into postion, I just heard Flynt.

The girls and Elm nodded picking up bucket of ice-water while Marrow got ready to freeze Jaune. With Marrow having to stop himself from cracking up at the thought of Jaun’s expression.

Yang looked slightly recluntant, but the idea of a good prank won out.

Winter sighed in the corner ready to stop the prank if it goes to far, and hopefully preserve some decency.

The wall to the showers exploded out towards them, a spray of dust and stone and metal sharpnel covering the room, as heavy wet foot steps ran towards them as bellowing war howl echoed out from the destroyed room.

A figure running through the cloud of dust glowing a faint golden white, carrying a mechashifted sword in two hands over his head, the blade glowing blue from the hardlight dust along with gravity dust purple in the middle.

Jaune then leaps out of the dust howling: Just try and take them from me again you bastards! I’ll split you in twain, I’ll break you over my knees and slay you! I won’t let you take them from me again!

The group stands dazed as Jaune runs straight through them and through a wall, completely naked, his towel being shredding into binding that tied his meaty tube of a cock to his lower-thigh, while holding his sword overhead before slashing in front of him creating a hole for him to jump out into the campus.

A blush creeps up the faces of those present.

Marrow burst out laughing: That was amazing! Did anyone, get a picture?

Elm falls to her knees: I think I’m in love?

Neon shake her head sadly: No, I was too... Mesmerized.

Yang: So that’s why he wears two belts.

Winter...

Winter has disappeered.

------

Later that evening....

Atlas Reporter: A well-known Huntsman known as Jaune Arc has gone on a murderous Grimm-Hunting rampage all while streaking! What will those crazy kids think of next! Next on the block, pregnancy rates in Mantle having been climbing by over 750% over the last six hours, is this related to the previous new? The Answer may surprise you.

Ren flicks the Scroll-Box closed.

He then rests his head on Nora’s shoulder. 

Ren: Yep, it happened again.

Nora: We did nothign to stop it.

Ren: We could have warned them... But, better they learn first hand.

Nora: You did it because you thought it was funny, don’t you dare lie to me.

Ren smiles as he opens the scroll so that Nora can see, the Scroll showing a madly blushing Winter chasing after Jaune in a Bullhead, providing both aerial support, and firing t-shirt and boxer shorts at him, while he rampages through a horde of Grimm.

Ren smirking and pulling Nora close: You know me too well.

[papergirllife]

Down The Rabbit Hole

Xiao De Jun (M)

🎃Happy Halloween,everyone.🎃

*gif credits to owner

*masterlist is pinned at blog.

warnings : unprotected sex, high sex, choking.

Alice in distress,

may the Cheshire cat be blessed.

Community service your mom said, it’ll be great for publicity, which is all she cares about. Your mom is the part of the community of your neighborhood, and let’s just say she loves fulfilling her duties so much that it’s become an obsession of hers to be seen on the local papers for the activities she attend, something like a minor celebrity. Sadly, the moms here all love her, your mom wanted to work a reputation up, since your father left her for someone younger, your mother needed something else to fill the emptiness and lack of accomplishment she’s felt because of him. Hence why you’re trekking in the forest of your town, trying to pick up as much rubbish as you could that were thrown by irresponsible hikers.

“This is all you fault Y/N, if it weren’t for you, we won’t be stuck in this shitty hike in such a cold weather.”

Becca was part of the so called ‘friend group’ of this neighborhood of yours that your mom forced you to make friends with just because she was friends with her mom. You don’t bother answering her nor the deathly glares from her clique to you, you didn’t have any real friends in this town, other than one or two boys you played games with.

It was until the middle of the hike when your mom called for a break, the community members all started to sit down and have a picnic.

“Remember to clean up after yourselves,” your mom said.

You chewed on a sandwich you packed begrudgingly, wishing you had hot food instead, cursing at yourself for not packing food into a thermos. When you finished, you decided to venture further away on your own, unable to stand the not so silent whispers behind your back. You decided to sit underneath a sturdy looking oak tree that looked older than any other tree here. Once you leant back, your back started falling, for some reason, the stem of the tree opened up and swallowed you in, the hole you fell in closing as you fell deeper into the hole. You didn’t scream, you were too scared, you knew you would be dead once you hit ground, so you closed your eyes and waited.

Instead of hitting ground, you fell into something that felt softer than cotton, with a blue glow like the clouds on the sky. Were you dead? You looked around, you were still in the forest, but the forest looked different here. Were these the unexplored parts of the hill?

“How graceful, Alice has nothing on you, sweetheart.”

You screamed, trying to get out of the ‘cloud’, but all you could do was trash in it because of how it’s too soft and big.

“Easy, don’t panic. I’m right here.”

Suddenly, a man around your age appeared next to you, his smile bright and somewhat familiar looking. That’s when the memory came back to you.

“You’re just like the Cheshire cat in Wonderland. Where am I? And who are you?”

“You’re in the other side of the forest, or the whole world, depends on how you see your position geographically. I’m Xiao De Jun, but you can call me Xiao Jun, and I’m a fairy. Oh and another detail? I eat humans.”

“Wait what? What do you mean the other side? What do you mean fairies eat humans?”

“Well, let’s just say fairies aren’t all Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, those stories are told just to induce naive humans like you to fall in our traps. But you’re a pretty one, and you didn’t scream like a darned banshee just now, I might just keep you.”

“Keep me? Get us out of this thing, who said I was an object?!”

“I’ll get us out once we reach my palace, now hold on tight sweetheart, and please don’t scream like a mad woman, or I’ll eat you up in a gulp like the others.”

Xiao Jun booped your nose with his index finger before he leant back with an cynical smile on his face. The cloud floated up high, letting you see the scenery below you clearly. There were cities just like the human world, but instead of metal and blocks, these were held up by wood and magic, because there was no way a building as tall as the Eiffel Tower require no bolts and nuts, and you doubt its transparent like bubble had any glass panes.

"It’s beautiful.”

“It’s nothing compared to the beautiful lady beside me.”

You could feel your cheeks heating up at his flirty remarks. You quickly thought up of something to divert the topic, not being used to receiving compliments out of the blue.

“You said you have a palace? Are you a prince?”

“I’m a king, my father just passed away.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Xiao Jun.”

“For a human you’re quite sentimental, cleaning the forest, not threatening to kill me even though you have a knife in your pocket, and not screaming at me like a mad woman. You’re quite different from what I expected.”

“What do you...

“That’s our stop, less chatter and get a move on, or no mint chocolate ice cream for you.”

Calling Xiao Jun weird would be an understatement, his personality was like a cross of between Marry Poppins and Willy Wonka, and his palace was nothing far from that either, fortress painted with pastel tones, and that fountain was definitely chocolate, the windows looked like panes of thin candy, while the draw bridge was shaped like a milk cracker. The swimming pool at the back looked like it was filled with different flavours of fanta.

“Are you the witch from Hansel and Gretel?”

“Do I look like an old hag?”

Instead of entering from the main entrance, the cloud took you to the back of the castle where there was a balcony which overlooked the pool and the garden. Once you landed, the cloud disappeared beneath you, but Xiao Jun’s quick reflexes caught you before you fell on your butt.

“Welcome to my chambers. I forgot to ask for your name sweetheart.”

“Y/N,” you said as breathlessly, still in shock from your near fall.

Xiao Jun’s room was huge, the walls were mint green while the furniture were all made of dark oak with gold accents, just like his favourite ice cream flavour. You looked up to see a beautiful chandelier that defied the laws of gravity. The candles as well as the whole structure of the chandelier was shaped like an overturned tiered cake, each tier turning at its own pace with different colours flickering on the candles. The bed was just like the cloud you travelled on, just bigger and in a shade of pastel pink that made it look like cotton candy.

“You must really like your sweets.”

“The only human food that actually tastes good. Make yourself comfortable, it’s not like you’re leaving.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m keeping you.”

“You can’t do that! I don’t belong to you!”

“It’s written in the stars that you’ll be my queen, and I don’t have to force you. You’re going to stay.”

“Why would you know that?”

“Because I’ve been watching you and your fate in our stars, you lead an unhappy life in the mortal world, living like a balloon which lost its string, wandering aimlessly, slowly deflating just like your personality. When was the last time you truly enjoyed yourself without your mother giving you disapproving looks? What happened to your dream of being a writer? What happened when you said you wanted to go out for your birthday? What happened when you told her about your anxiety? Oh right, she called you a freak.”

Xiao Jun wasn’t shouting the words in your face, in fact it was gentle like an angel’s singing, yet what he said drizzled into your heart like sweet poison. You let out a chocked sob, you felt naked under his scrutinisation. Xiao Jun observed your life under a microscope, knowing you better than yourself.

“How do you know all of this?”

“I’ll show you.”

Xiao Jun wiped your tears with his expensive button up, the tears making the blue silk turn inky black. He then took your hand in his, guiding you out of his room into a room down the same hallway. Compared to the other odd looking fancy doors, this was bare of any jewels or gold. Xiao Jun turned the knob and led you in the dimly lit room, the room only had a large mirror with red candles on its sides.

“Show me, Lee Hyenji.”

That was your mother’s name.

The mirror flickered a few times before showing you the image of your mother.

“Where is that dumb girl? Always day dreaming and never getting things done. Wandering on her own, I’m just waiting for the day she leaves me like that useless father of hers.”

“Show me Becca Park.”

“I’m soo glad she’s lost, we don’t need to deal with her just to make our mothers happy anymore. She didn’t like hanging out with us anyways.”

Xiao Jun’s eyes flickered to yours to see your reaction, instead of holding sadness like he thought it would’ve been, your eyes were empty, the images on the mirror reflecting in your eyes like shadows in a murky lake.

“Why aren’t you angry?”

“Because they’re right.”

“No, they’re not. Mirror, show me Saved Memories.”

The mirror played images of you working on your short stories, snippets of you singing along your favourite song, as well as videos of you learning a dance.

“You shine like the brightest star in the galaxy sweetheart. Don’t let ducks call a swan ugly. They’re not even in your league, darling.”

“Am I?”

“You don’t need my confirmation, you can see it as well, maybe a flicker here and there, but those little flickers will grow into a  flame if you leave that life of yours. Don’t think too much about it, come, have a shower, I’ll show you to your room.”

Xiao Jun took you down the hall into your room, which was in front of his.

“I made it just like the bedroom in your world, so there shouldn’t be a problem with figuring out the shower. That laptop is yours, as well as those books, they’re the ones you already have and ones that you always wanted to read. The internet’s password is your birthday, yes we have internet access here. I painted the walls with the shade of blue you love, the bed is lilac, since you love that colour as well. There’s clothes from your own wardrobe as well as our clothes, it might be a bit fancy, but you might like it.”

Xiao Jun turned into such a sucker for you, the ‘I eat humans’ was such a front, you couldn’t help but smile at his dorkiness.

True to what Xiao Jun said, the shower was just like a regular shower, and the clothes in the wardrobe were nicely prepared to fit your size, making you wonder how he knew even these little details.

You went out and knocked on his door, Xiao Jun was out by the third knock, his hair now in yellow curls.

“What’s with the hair?”

“This is my natural hair colour, didn’t want to scare you too much just now. Though we really do eat humans, just the hearts, the hearts taste exquisite, according to the old fairies, and only if they threaten to develop that piece of forest. We used to eat humans all the time, until my father put a ban on it, didn’t want to look suspicious.”

There was a look of horror on your face.

“Trust me, only the old fairies eat humans, we prefer animals most times.”

You let out the breath of air you were holding in.

“This is my own private dining room, and tonight we would be having steak and ox tail soup, no humans.”

You manage to let out a laugh at his odd humour, starting to feel more at ease in his presence.

The two of you ate and drank wine, talking about his life as a royalty in his fairy kingdom.

“My mom told me I would have wings, I was so scared I checked my back every night before I slept, until I realised no one had wings and that it was just something made up in the tales.”

After dinner, the two of you danced ungracefully, the wine making your head light and footsteps a mess, giggling at each other’s mistake. After the two of you got tired, Xiao Jun carried you into his room.

He placed you on top of a couch, taking a seat beside you to admire the beautiful stars in the clear night sky.

“Would you like to try fairy dust?’

“It makes you fly? Like Peter Pan?”

“That is only one usage of fairy dust, we eat it as well. Wait let me show you.”

Xiao Jun took your hand and led you to his walk in wardrobe, it was just as big as the room he gave you, but what caught your attention was a mini pool, but instead of liquid, it was filled with swirling sparkling dust.

“Oh my god.”

Since you were drunk, you did the dumbest yet most logical thing ever, jumping into the pool. The dust made you bounce on an invisible force.

“Why am I not flying?”

“You have to give directions in your head, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that, I wouldn’t want to call medic when you hit your head.”

“Right...Jump in, join me!”

Xiao Jun shook his head in disbelief, but jumped in with a smile on his face regardless. Xiao Jun walked to your direction, stopping right in front of you.

“Breath it in.”

You did as he said, the fairy dust making you feel happy and free, as well as a warm feeling in your stomach that you can’t put your finger on once you look at Xiao Jun,, your eyes scanning his beautiful physique. Xiao Jun breathed in the dust after you, his eyes diluting into a darker shade of brown, his senses picking up little things about you that he didn’t before, like the plump of your lips, the curve of your hips under that tight skirt.

“Y/N, I want you.”

Xiao Jun kissed you with fervour, his tongue dipping into your welcoming mouth. Instead of pushing him away like he thought, you kissed him with just as much passion, your hands starting to linger under his shirt. Xiao Jun started to unbutton your top, throwing it out of the pool.

“No bra?”

“This isn’t the mortal world, there aren’t any sex predators here.”

“What about me?”

“This is for you, my king.”

Xiao Jun didn’t know whether this was you talking, or the fairy dust in your system. Xiao Jun marked up the length of your neck, purple flowers blooming in his wake as you started taking off his shirt and pants.

“Why the rush, love?”

“I need you, please.”

The amount of slick flowing onto your legs was too much to be normal, you didn’t know what side effects the dust has, but you just needed relief, and only Xiao Jun could give that to you. Xiao Jun took off your skirt and panties, smiling at that pretty piece of ruined silk in his hands.

“Wonderful.”

Xiao Jun let his hands travel southwards as his lips engulf your breast in his mouth, nibbling and sucking away like a new born, as well as leaving a mark near your nipple, the slight possessiveness sending shivers down your back. Your hands curl in Xiao Jun’s soft locks as he pushes a finger into you, when he could feel how wet you were, he decided to push two more in, curling his fingers at your sweet spot, making you cry out his name breathlessly. 

“Xiao Jun, more please. I need you inside me.”

You grinded onto his bare cock, his pre cum smearing over your slit, egging him to slide inside you.

Xiao Jun, pushed inside you in one go, your wet walls welcoming him. The action made both of you moaning in sync, lust filled relief washing over the both of you, making both of you crave for more. He started moving once you adjusted to his length, you could feel every vein and curve of his length as he bottoms out inside of you. Xiao Jun pushed himself closer to you, feeling you nipples against his own as he thrusted inside of you, the friction making your head spin from pleasure. Xiao Jun couldn’t believe it, after so many years of waiting, he finally had you in his arms, withering under his pleasurable touch. Xiao Jun slides a hand from your hips down to your clit, rubbing quick circles over it. Whimpers of his name fall from your lips like a beautiful piece of music, you were nearing your high as you felt the build up of an orgasm as your toes start to curl, your legs wrapped tighter around Xiao Jun’s waist as your head falls onto his shoulder, the overwhelming pleasure binding your body with his as he continues his thrusts, pace quickening once he felt you nearing the edge. Xiao Jun lifts you higher to thrust into you at a better angle, his tip hitting your sweet spot with every thrust, making you scream his name as your nails dug down his back, the pain mixing with the pleasure fuels Xiao Jun’s desire to absolutely ruin you under his touch.

“Cum for me, Y/N. I know you’re close.”

When you didn’t answer his request, Xiao Jun snapped his hips against yours at an even quicker pace, the speed of his thrusts inhuman, making your head swirl in pleasure as little bits of saliva drip from your lips down your throat as you throw you head back, the sight of the marks Xiao Jun left behind from earlier pushing his need for release. Once Xiao Jun wrapped a hand around your beautiful neck, you lost it. You couldn’t even scream as the pleasure was overwhelming all your senses, blinding white light behind your closed lids, your mind chanting his name like a mantra. Xiao Jun let out a beautiful moan once he felt your walls closing around his length in a vice grip, sending him over the edge as he paints your walls a milky white, his pearly white teeth biting down your shoulder to muffle his noises.

Once your orgasm subsides, you collapsed into Xiao Jun’s arms, energy drained completely by the handsome fairy. Xiao Jun carried you into his bed with the assistance of fairy dust, glad that he didn’t need to wobble into bed supporting your weight as well as his. He adjusted the pillows and blanket to accommodate your comfort, slipping in beside you once he was done, taking you into his warm embrace. Only one thought in his head.

‘You’re going to be with me for eternity, and nothing is going to take you away from me, my love, just like what the stars told me.’

[carroteen]

Unluckily Lucky || Pt. 3

Pt. 1 // Pt. 2 // Pt. 3

Summary: Murphy’s Law states that “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. As someone who lived under that curse, you learned to have a backup plan or solution prepared for any situation. But nothing could ever have prepared you for meeting Jun.

insp. by 莫非, 這就是愛情 (Murphy’s Law of Love)

After work, I stopped by the toy store the cashier from this morning had suggested, however I was only given an apologetic head shake; I didn’t really expect my visit to be fruitful, but I still went on the off-chance that there may have been one last action figure tucked away in some obscure corner. I leaned against the glass wall of the bus shelter, my phone pressed against my ear, waiting for the bus.

“_________,” my sister’s sigh sounded both exasperated and amused, “It’s okay if you couldn’t get your hands on the toy. You can always get Dohee something else; in a few weeks she’ll have forgotten all about it and moved on to the next shiny thing.”

“I’m just so frustrated because I was SO close to getting it,” I whined, flagging the bus down. I swiped my card and collapsed into the first available seat, “This stupid guy in front of me took the last one just as I got to the store.”

My sister started to reply but her voice was drowned out by loud singing in the background. “Dohee, honey, keep it down please; Mommy’s on the phone.”

I smiled at my niece’s cute antics, “What is she singing this time?”

“The jingle from the action figure commercial,” my sister groaned, “It’s the only thing that comes out every time she opens her mouth…I’m going crazy over here.” There was a pause, “Look, ________, I have to go, but don’t worry about the toy okay? She’ll be happy with anything…and come over for dinner one night, when she isn’t singing that cursed jingle, Dohee’s asking when you can come play.”

“Drop her off at my apartment some time next week. It’s been forever since you guys had a night to yourself; let the spinster sister babysit,” I joked before hanging up. The bus reached my stop, which was conveniently located right in front of my apartment, and I thanked the driver and got off. I greeted the doorman and made a beeline for the elevator, melting against the railing as the doors closed; today had been a pretty eventful day and all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and watch the newest episode of my favorite TV show.

“Are you serious? What is all this?” I kicked at a box in irritation. Once I got off the elevator, I was greeted by a bunch of moving boxes obstructing my way, making it impossible to go inside. “Who just puts their stuff in front of someone else’s place? So inconsiderate…”

I glanced at the slightly ajar door next to mine, barely making out a bunch of similar looking boxes through the crack; my old neighbors had moved out months ago and it looked like the apartment had new tenants. I had come to appreciate having complete silence from one side and hoped that my new neighbors wouldn’t be any trouble, but judging by boxes blatantly blocking my way, maybe my hopes were too high.

I made my way around the boxes in front of my neighbor’s door and just as I lifted my fist to knock, it swung open, revealing a tall, lanky guy; he had a small, v-shaped face and soft, chocolate brown hair that swept across his forehead. I yelped in surprise, simultaneously he jerked back, eyes wide. “Hi. I’m _________,” I lowered my arm and extended my hand out to him, “Your boxes are in front of my door.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re my neighbor!” he exclaimed, quickly grabbing my hand and pumping it twice in a firm handshake, “I’m Minghao. I’m so sorry about all the boxes, the movers just put them down wherever they wanted to…I was hoping to get it all sorted out before you got back.” He released my hand and made a move to go around me, “I’ll go clear them out of your way right now. Sorry again for the trouble!” he said apologetically, looking a little frazzled.

“Hey, Minghao,” I began, watching as he scrambled to move the heavy looking boxes away from my door, feeling a little guilty at thinking him inconsiderate and annoying. “It’s okay, I understand; when I first moved in, my stuff was all over the place too. Do you need any help? It looks like you have a lot to sort through.”

Minghao whirled around, looking surprised, “Oh, no it’s okay! I don’t want to bother you anymore than I have. You’re probably exhausted from work.”

I shook my head, “It’s totally fine, I was just going spend the rest of the night watching TV anyways, at least now I’ll be doing something productive.” I dug through my bag for my keys, “Let me drop my stuff off and change and I’ll come over.”

A few minutes later, I found myself sat on the couch in Minghao’s living room, taking things out of boxes and putting them into designated piles. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor by my feet, digging through a box of his own. Minghao was so easy-going and amiable that soon we were talking and laughing like we had been friends for years; I told him about my awful morning and my job at the dating agency and I found out that he worked as a veterinary assistant and was also part of a b-boy dance crew in his spare time - with a little prodding and pleading from me, he demonstrated some moves.

“You have a lot of action figures,” I observed, as I opened my second box of carefully packaged toys, “Do you collect them?”

Minghao glanced over at the box on my lap, “Oh those aren’t mine, they’re all my roommate’s; he really likes them.”

“Roommate?” I tilted my head, “No wonder there’s so much stuff here. Where is he?”

“He had a meeting today, so he couldn’t call off to help me unpack,” he explained, “His name’s Jun, he should be home soon so you’ll meet him.” He stood up and threw his arms above his head, stretching from side to side, “Hey, it’s already 7, you must be starving; I’ll make you dinner to thank you for all your help.” Holding his hands out, he hoisted me to my feet and led me to the kitchen, which was surprisingly uncluttered.

I sat down at the table and watched as he boiled some water on the stove, “You don’t have to go all out for me, I’m fine with anything.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Minghao laughed, “It’s just ramen; we haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping yet so there's nothing but that." After a while, he turned off the stove and grabbed two bowls from the cupboard. “Here you go,” he placed a steaming bowl in front of me and handed a pair of chopsticks over.

He sat down across from me and we both dug into the noodles in silence, before continuing our conversation. “What does Jun do?” I asked, lifting the bowl to my lips to drink the rest of the soup.

“He works at a consulting firm, so he usually comes back pretty late.”

“So you work with animals and he’s corporate,” I scrunched my eyebrows, “How did two completely different people like you meet?”

Minghao slurped the rest of his noodles before replying, “We’re not so different; we actually met through my dance crew,” he looked up at my widened eyes and nodded, “Yeah, he isn’t a b-boy but he’s really good at stunts and stuff like that. He left to join a local theater group though; he was always super passionate about acting.”

I opened my mouth to respond but suddenly there was a loud knock at the door. “That’s gotta be Jun,” Minghao said, jumping up, “The landlord dropped off our keys while he was at work. I’ll go get the door, can you put the dishes in the sink? Don’t worry about washing them, I’ll get to them later.” He headed for the door and I gathered our bowls and put them in the sink, choosing not to listen to him and wash them myself instead.

As I scrubbed at the bowls, I could hear Minghao fiddling with the locks and opening the door. “Xiao Hao Hao, I’m home!” I heard a new voice sing out.

“Don’t call me that.” Minghao retorted, “And stop clinging to me like you haven’t seen me for years; you saw me just this morning.” I giggled at both the cute nickname and his exasperated tone.

“Who’s shoes are those?”

“Our neighbor __________’s, she’s been helping me unpack since someone couldn’t help.”

“Okay listen, you know I why I couldn’t call out; I should’ve just taken the day off, the meeting was a total bust anyways. Some idiot spilled on my shirt and I didn’t have enough time to change so I had to go to the meeting with a ruined shirt and completely embarrassed myself…” Jun’s voice got closer, “But that’s not even half of what happened today…” I stepped out to introduce myself and he froze when he saw me, his voice trailing off. “What are you doing here?!” he sputtered, his eyes bugging out.

Oh my god it’s the guy from earlier. I thought to myself, completely horrified. “What are you doing here??” I demanded.

“What?” Jun asked, his face a mixture of disgust and bewilderment, “I live here! Are you following me or something?”

My mouth dropped, “No! I live next door!” I spat back, my eyes narrowing, “I was helping Minghao unpack.”

There was a brief pause as Jun and I glared at each other. “Uh,” Minghao piped up, eyeing the two of us, “You already know each other?”

“If you can call it knowing,” Jun scowled, turning to face Minghao with a roll of his eyes, “That’s the idiot who ruined my shirt and basically ruined my meeting.”

“It was an accident! It’s not like I saw you and thought ‘Oh hey, let me just dump my drinks all over this guy!’” I protested, also pivoting to look at Minghao, “He’s the one who bought the last toy this morning and wouldn’t let me have it!”

“Again with the toy!” Jun grumbled, “I got there first!”

“You didn’t have to be so rude about it!”

Minghao watched the two of us bickering back and forth, eyebrows raised in amusement. “Jun, why didn’t you just give her the action figure? It’s for a little kid and besides,” he gestured at the boxes in the living room, “You already have two boxes solely for your toys.”

Jun glared at his friend, his features scrunched in indignation, “Seriously man, you too? It’s mine! I bought it first!” He stalked past us and into the kitchen, “Whatever, I don’t have time for this; I’m starving.”

“I should get going,” I muttered, heading for the front door, Minghao trailing behind me, “Thanks for dinner.”

“Thanks for helping out _________, I owe you one.” he replied, opening the door for me, “I’m sorry about my roommate by the way, he literally has the mentality of a five-year old when it comes to toys. Let me know if you really can’t find another one anywhere and I’ll try to talk to him again.”

I smiled gratefully at Minghao’s kind offer, “Thanks, that’s really nice of you but I doubt he’ll give it up. I’ll see you around though! If you need anything, I’m right next door.” He gave me a cheerful goodbye wave and closed the door behind me.

I walked the five feet to my door and hovered my hand over the knob, banging my head gently against the wood. “Why does the universe hate me? Why did he of all the billions of people in the world have to end up living next door to me?”

After closing the door, Minghao headed back into the kitchen and found Jun hunched over the stove, stirring his ramen with a pair of chopsticks. “So what was that all about?”

Jun glanced over at his friend and turned back to focus on his cooking, “What was what all about?”

“The hysterics; she really got a rise out of you.”

“I wasn’t being hysterical, she was.” Jun turned around, one oven mitted hand holding the pot and began eating directly out of it. “Everything that happened today? Her fault. I was just the victim.” His eyes flickered up to see Minghao staring at him, the corners of his lips twitching. “What?”

“I’ve never seen you get so worked up over someone before,” Minghao mused, cocking his head to one side. “Even with all that happened between you guys. What’s different about her?”

Jun rolled his eyes, brushing past Minghao to sit at the dining table, “You’ve been watching too many dramas.”

[xz1005fanblog]

What is the current status of the Xiao Zhan. Is it true that media is still attacking him in China? I am speechless:(

He’s doing well :) I’m not sure which media you are talking about? Official media have never attacked him personally. Yes there have been some people trying to hold him responsible for the action of some “fans”, but that was quite a few months ago. I won’t go into the details of all the fake stories surrounding his fans this summer, it’s been proven to be a massive smear campaign to get him into trouble with the sponsors/government in China. I’ll just give a few examples, because retelling everything would take me far too long hahahha :’D and this blog isn’t built for that.

Xiao Zhan fans are notoriously from every age groups, so much that they have a lot of buying power in China and dominated most popularity polls this year. Haters and antis used this to attack him, saying that fandom culture is toxic and his underage fans spend too much time voting for him and buying his products and thus he should somehow be (?????) held accountable for it (but why lol he never forced his fans to spend money for him and never encouraged voting at the expense of their personal life). There were fake fan accounts created that encouraged fans to spend thousands of yuan on his single just to cement the image that his fans are crazy. While it is true that many of his fans bought multiple copies of his single for boost the sales count, actual data showed that most of his fans are between 20 to 35 years old (AiMan data) and were not underage girls who spend their parents’ money for their idol, and also that around 80% of people who purchased the single only bought 1 copy (data back in May 2020, may have changed since then). Note that both the official fanclub and XZ studio released statements on the day of the single’s release to discourage unreasonable spending. 

A few months ago a fan was accused of stealing the wb account of a deceased user 晨小晨 to “fabricate” data for Xiao Zhan. After investigation by weibo officials, it was revealed that this so-called “fan” was actually an anti who had 3 accounts, one to fake her death and then to pretend to be a crazy fan, one to denounce the so-called “fan”, and an unused one where she pulled the same “fake suicide” trick years ago to gather sympathy on an online MMRPG she plays. So basically the entire fiasco was just one single person playing multiple roles and throwing dirt on “Xiao Zhan fans” reputation. 

Another example was the Chuan Mei incident back during Xiao Zhan’s birthday. Antis tried to blame fans for making graffiti of Xiao Zhan’s name on a school’s wall, when in reality that wall was made for graffiti and a lot of other celebrities and drawings were permitted. This actually went on Chong Qing’s local news too, with local security guards confirming the fact that graffiti were allowed on that wall. Even so, antis still spam called Chuan Mei’s local authorities to “report Xiao Zhan fans’ evil deeds”...

Oh that day there was also an event in Chong Qing where people gathered to celebrate his birthday in October, antis reported that event, saying that fans were bothering local commerce and blablabla such gatherings shouldn’t be allowed during COVID etc etc. When in reality, there were a lot of tourists and crowds because it happened during the National holiday weekend, and local commerce welcomed the crowds because they had suffered from having no customers during the quarantine (which happened earlier in China, from January to March, there was no lockdown in October). 

Anyway, many many other such examples exist, thinking back it’s just so obvious that the entire fiasco was nothing but a smear campaign dragging on and on without end, and since the criminal investigation started in May, rival idol agencies don’t dare spread fake rumors about him personally anymore, so they started attacking his fans instead and trying to pin the actions of his “fans” on him, saying that he’s a bad example/idol because of it. 

[butterbeeryuta]

the tech guy

techie!xiaojun x historian!reader | oneshot series | fluff, slight angst | 2.3 k 

summary: if there was anything people had to know about you, you were very clumsy. You were so clumsy to a point where you may have dropped your laptop and broke the screen. Of course, you brought it to the computer shop, and the tech guy did his shit. What he didn’t expect was for you to break your laptop on a weekly basis.

‘So what you’re telling me is, you tried to reach for the packet of Lotus biscuits on the top shelf, with your laptop on your left hand, and the moment you reached the biscuits, your laptop dropped?’ Yuqi, your roommate, asks as looks at you as if you were the dumbest person to ever breathe. Though if she did think so, she wasn’t exactly lying. You knew you should have left your laptop on some flat surface rather than your hand. You knew that your only talent was dropping things, or making a fool out of yourself by tripping on things unnecessarily. You couldn’t help but just be naturally clumsy.

‘Ok yes, I might have not been exactly careful—‘

‘_______ you dropped your laptop and broke the screen in exchange of biscuits.’ She says monotonously, as if she is trying to comprehend whatever you just told her.

‘I mean if you put in that way, then yeah, I did that. But Yuqi babe—‘

‘You’re an actual idiot, why didn’t you leave your laptop on a desk or something?’ She loudly asks, not bothering to listen to whatever defence you had. Which was honestly quite reasonable because you didn’t really have anything to defend yourself. You were just… you. Not wanting to hear whatever Yuqi has to say, or scold you, you placed your broken laptop down and cut her off.

‘Okay yes yes, I know I am in idiot. I know I should have placed it down, but Yuqi this was bound to happen someday, I just break shit—‘

‘Because you are so stupid—‘

‘Stop cutting me off! Anyway, it already happened and it’s not like you’re gonna pay for the repairing cost so tell me babe, do you know any tech place where I can ask someone to fix this?’ You desperately asked, pointing at your damaged laptop screen. Yuqi sighed, fully understanding that her getting angry at you won’t exactly change your extreme clumsiness. At the same time, who the fucking hell can be that clumsy?

‘Oh well I don’t know ______ I haven’t broken a laptop yet for trying to reach for some brown-coloured biscuits’ she sarcastically says, only earning a deep sigh from you. Thinking that your roommate’s great disappointment in you won’t go away, you decided to leave the shared space and go back to your room, and look for a repair shop by yourself.

‘Alright ______ I’m sorry, I know you’re a clumsy mess. I’m just worried that if you keep doing careless things, you won’t fix it’ she says, going towards you with her arms slightly open to hug your sulking frame. Not exactly sure what to say, you sort of just let her hug you, unsure if you should feel relieved that she will stop telling you off, or annoyed that you’re letting her be this affectionate towards you after bursting at you. Then again, a fraction of you felt that you needed to be told off for your clumsiness. This wasn’t your first time you drop such… valuable items. In Grade 9 your mother’s engagement ring slipped off your finger when you were planting a tree for service purposes. Then in your last year of schooling you accidentally dropped your friend’s camera in the sea when you and your friends were on a boat— it was a mess. The only good thing about your unnecessary clumsiness was that you at least admit it. You just nodded under Yuqi’s embrace, now thinking of ways to repair your laptop because you had a research paper due in a few days, and you only had to finish your conclusion. You were not willing to rewrite 7500 words in a matter of 72 hours. As if your roommate read your mind, she looked down at you currently smaller form.

‘You know, I know this guy whose really good at tech stuff. How ‘bout I give him a call about your laptop? I know you have your History paper due soon,’ she softly asks, hoping for a more cheerful response from you. You looked up at her immediately, very close to hugging her tightly for actually saying something useful.

‘Really? You’ll do that for me?’

‘Yes, why won’t I?’

‘Because you called me stupid for being a clumsy ass—‘

‘Okay yeah no Yuqi was being mean, I’m sorry bub.’ Well, at least you got some support from her roommate.

—————————————————————————————

If you remember correctly, Yuqi told you to turn left after you see your favourite stationery shop, and that if you keep walking straight, you’ll see a shop with the sign ‘Xiao Devices.’ And of course, you still managed to fuck up. Yuqi said to the tech guy that you’d come around at 4 in the afternoon. What was originally supposed to be a 10 minute walk turned into a 30 minute walk, making you 20 minutes late. Good on you _______. Despite your shitty navigation skills, you somehow made it to the store, and my dear, were there a lot of devices. The moment you enter the shop, it was gadgets stacked on top of another. You were beginning to wonder if the setup of the place was done for aesthetic purposes, but you felt as if you were about break something with how the store was setup.

‘Hello?’ You ask, slowly taking out your damaged laptop. Just as you were about to take out the mess you made, you felt someone coming out wherever they were. Turning to see who it was, you came to face probably one of the prettiest faces you have ever seen. He was a pretty lean guy, not too tall, but not short either. His dark hair was laying over his round glasses, making him look quite soft. In other words, he was attractive. He couldn’t be the tech guy, right?

‘You’re Yuqi’s friend? ______?’ He asks with his surprisingly deep voice, contrasting his soft features. His oversized knit sweater was not helping the fact that you thought he was some soft-spoken little guy that liked puppies, and was on a whole new level of nerdy. Then again, he probably could still be.

‘Uh, yeah. I am _______. And you’re Xiaojun?’ I confirmed, hoping that I did not mess up his name just like how I did last time with Yuqi’s ex-girlfriend. One year ago her ex came to your apartment to pick up Yuqi for a date, and you mistakenly called her Minnie instead of Miyeon, and you were very close to breaking them up. Now, the consequences will probably not be as big as what happened last year, but you still did not want to take the chance.

‘Yep, that’s my name. Yuqi told me that you broke your laptop, but she wouldn’t tell me how. She said something about how you were a better person to ask about how your laptop broke…?’ Well fuck. Of course I can, I can casually and confidently just say that my laptop fell out of my hand when I was trying to reach up for a biscuit with my other free hand. Yeah, I can totally say that. Fucking clumsy ass _________. Showing your broken laptop to Xiaojun, you took a deep breath and explained what led you to creating the product you were showing to him. You did not want to look at his disappointed face. You literally met this gorgeous guy for the first time, and you do not want your lungs to explode on the spot for your high quality embarrassment. After telling him your reason to why your laptop broke, you could feel his piercing eyes looking at your sulking frame. In your mind, he was piercing your body with a spear.

‘So you’re telling me that your hand just… gave up on you when you were reaching for the biscuits, and it just, crashed to the floor?’ Precisely Xiaojun. Precisely. You nodded slowly at him, unsure if you wanted to run away from the store and never come back and show your face to him ever again. ‘Well, that is a first for me. A much more interesting story than I expected to be honest. Come on ________, let’s take a quick look at what we can do.’ He says in a surprisingly cheerful tone, only causing you to look up at the pretty man immediately, only to see nothing but a smile on his face. Oh?

—————————————————————————————

‘Damn, you’re a History major? At fucking Tsinghua University? Damn, that’s really impressive,’ Xiaojun exclaims as he replaces your horrendously damaged screen. You were just telling him about how you needed your laptop to finish off you research on Japanese invasion of Korea, otherwise known as the Imjin War from 1592 to 1598. It was pretty interesting for you, but you didn’t exactly had the need to tell him about your research in full depth. You didn’t want to bore anyone with it, no matter how much that hurt to say that internally.

‘Well, thank you. How ‘bout you? When did you start being so… techie?’ You asked, watching him screwing the new laptop screen. Right after the words left your mouth, you felt him tense a bit from the way his gripped the screw harder. Did you say something wrong?

‘I was actually a theatre student, then my father passed away so I took over the shop…’ Oh. Unconsciously biting your lower lip, you were not sure what to say anymore. You weren’t even sure if you should talk. Deciding to stay quiet until he fixed your laptop, your head naturally dropped, your eyes watching your two thumbs fiddling with another. Xiaojun noticed your sudden change in posture; you were making yourself smaller. Taking in a deep breath, he knew that it wasn’t your fault to suddenly change the mood. You didn’t even know anything about it, you literally just met him. He couldn’t have expect you to know everything about him the moment the two of you exchanged looks.

‘It’s alright __________, you didn’t know. Now instead of keeping quiet over there, why don’t you tell me how the hell did you become roommates with that crazy ass friend of mine.’ He says, cutting the tension in the room to hopefully lighten the atmosphere. And he genuinely did wanted to make you feel at ease, you could tell with the way he looked at you. The moment you lifted your head, it was clear that he genuinely wanted to let you know that what you did was okay, and there was nothing to feel sorry about. You smiled at him, somewhat trusting his word, although you didn’t exactly know why you have to trust him in the first place. But, it just felt right.

‘U-um, it’s really nothing special’ you stuttered, trying to keep your shit together without trying to feel like pure crap. Which was already too late, but you still gave it a go. This tech dude was making you feel that you were alright for some reason. ‘I was looking for a roommate cause the apartment I currently live in is a bit pricey for one person. I kinda just asked my friends if they knew anyone who needed to move, and that’s honestly how I met Yuqi. She’s lovely, but she can be quite intimidating at some times. But lovely!’ Trying not to say anything wrong. You did not want to go through another mini meltdown.

‘Yuqi is scary as shit, that I can agree with. I don’t know about “lovely” though’ Xiaojun chuckles, and if you didn’t think you were falling for this tech guy, well you lied. His little chuckle only further complimented his soft aura, and his naturally nice personality just makes it even easier to just admire him.

————————————————————————

‘Alright here you go _______. Screen is brand and new, and zero cracks.’ Ha, thank you Xiaojun.

‘Well thank you, I honestly thought this would take more than a day to fix.’

‘It usually takes 1 hour, but yours took 3 hours to fix… so you weren’t wrong with the length of the time.’ Oh.

‘Right, of course. Well, thank you so so so much Xiaojun. How much does it cost again?’

‘Actually, you don’t have to pay. It’s alright ______.’ Your eyes widened at his words, what the fuck did her say? Ya’ll live in China for fucks’ sake, sure communism is a thing, but capitalism is still at the top.

‘I’m sorry what? It took your 2 more extra hours than usually and expensive ass crap to ease my clumsiness, I don’t think you want to get nothing in return.’ You said, not wanting to hear any more of his nonsense. He just smiles at you, closing your laptop and handing it to you.

‘Well if you put it that way, then yeah. I’ll give you a discount though, you made my job easier today despite the longer hours.’ It would be a lie to say that your cheeks didn’t go red from what he said. If he implied that your company made his job more fun, perhaps, you died internally. Perhaps. You handed the cash to the tech guy, only for you to leave his shop looking like a tomato with the image of his beautiful smile embedded in your brain. Goddammit Xiaojun.

If Xiaojun thought that was the last time we was able to see you, that would be a complete lie. Let’s just say that you were running to classes with your backpack zipper open, and only one of the straps were actually hanging for its dear life. And let’s just say that your laptop may have fell out, and fell flat on the concrete ground. Well, I guess you’re going to the tech guy again.

a/n: HELLLO EVERYONEEEEEEEE. so this took longer than i thought but here iT is. school has been closed for almost 2 weeks now because the virus, and i hope everyone else is taking care of their hygiene even more. yesterday was my birthday, but it honestly didn’t feel like it cause h a h a school decided to give us a load of shit to do since we had no school, so i was focusing on those. BUT BUT BUT BUT the KICK IT MUSIC VIDEOS JDNISDFNIJFNIJ anD the alBUM holy fuck actually what the literal fuck. taeil’s high note, MY BBY yuta has lines, haechan served, and fucking johnny... this is HIS era ya’ll. i really like elevator and pandora’s box the most, but lmao sit down is by far the most different(?) note euphemism djksjks idk how to explain it. kneeways, i hope ya’ll have a good day/night. 

[needtherapy]

to be human is a haunting, Part 1

A love story for Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen

In a modern world, in a modern city that still has need for cultivators, Song Lan 

(war hero, rogue cultivator, orphan)

goes for a run in the park, kills a dankang, makes a friend, and meets a beautiful man with a dog, all before he has to go to therapy. It's the best day he's had in ten years.

Read more Kristina Writes Tiny Stories

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Read over on AO3 instead

Title from molly ofgeography’s song Runaway, Run

Rated E for Explicit sexy times, mild demon killing, and swearing.

Part 1

Song Lan wakes to the sound of screaming

 familiar

 too familiar

and he knows it is his own voice seconds

 long seconds

before he can snap his mouth closed around the last trailing sob.

The thrum of the city leaks back in, pushing past the roaring in his ears, and reminds him to ground himself. The clean white walls of the stark room around him. The feel of the bed underneath him, the smell of lemon dryer sheets, the glow of the neon light across the street. All known. All safe. He skips the taste of morning breath.

If he could remember the nightmares, the exact details, maybe he’d tell his therapist. It would at least give them something to talk about instead of the silent hour he wastes twice a week now.

No. That’s a lie. He knows what’s in them. He still wouldn’t talk about it.

The clock by his bed claims it’s 5:04 am, a fairly reasonable time to be awake, so he gets up. May as well get his run over with.

— ⚔ —

“Do you run every day,” Dr. Wen asks.

Song Lan nods.

Dr. Wen writes something down.

“Do you enjoy running?” Dr. Wen asks.

Song Lan nods.

Dr. Wen writes something down.

“Why do you enjoy it?” Dr. Wen asks.

Song Lan shrugs.

Dr. Wen writes something down.

— ⚔ —

Song Lan doesn’t really enjoy running any more than he enjoys digesting food. But it’s too ingrained in him now, the rhythm of air and feet and arms. He couldn’t stop if he wanted to. It is the anchor of his day.

Ten miles covers a lot of the city, and as familiar as it is, as long as he’s lived and run here, it looks different every morning, like noticing a light freckle on the back of his wrist. When it’s cloudless before dawn like today, he runs down the lakeshore path to watch the sunrise at the halfway mark. On cue, with all the fanfare and flourish of a seasoned professional, at 6:17 am, the sun erupts in yellow and pink over the horizon and turns the water to diamonds. It looks like magic every time.

This he loves and doesn’t have to lie about.

Song Lan is two miles from his place, running through the park, when the skin on the back of his neck prickles, and he slows his pace. Is it a hundred yards away? Maybe closer? He opens his mind and sends out a questing wave of qi from his core. He doesn’t know if he needs to draw the sword strapped to his back yet. There’s no one else around. Maybe whatever it is will just...mind its own business.

He doesn’t hunt anymore, not actively, but he still runs with his sword. It’s just habit, probably. He would feel incomplete without Fuxue’s weight between his shoulder blades. And even if he doesn’t go looking for danger, danger is often waiting.

Without warning, an enormous dankang explodes from the bushes by the running path and careens toward him. The green pelt that had camouflaged it glows in the early morning light, and Song Lan is swinging Fuxue almost before the sword is even in his hand. The boar roars in a very un-pig-like way, and he idly wonders, as the blade cuts into the demon’s hide, what the taxonomic difference between dankang and pigs is. Are they different families? Orders? Or is there some divergence further back? It squeals in pain but doesn’t give up the attack, changing direction mid-stride and flashing wicked yellow tusks at him.

It takes six strikes to kill the monster. He always counts. The counting, like the running, is an integral part of him. One downward hack. One thrust to the shoulder. One spinning jab in the dankang’s ribs. Two upward slashes. One strike in the throat and the beast is dead.

Song Lan texts the Nie cleanup crew his coordinates and takes a thin cloth from his pocket to wipe the blood off of Fuxue, dropping it on to the body when he’s done. He’ll clean the sword properly when he gets back.

“Six strikes,” a voice says from behind him, and he whirls, surprised to be surprised. “Was it luck, or are you really that good?”

There’s a man in a long trench coat standing on the path with a dog sitting next to him. The dog is one of those scruffy brown mutts that would be completely ordinary in every way except it looks far too clever to be a dog. It cocks its head and one floppy ear flips inside out.

The man is backlit by a golden ray of sun

 not ordinary

 in no way ordinary

and Song Lan can’t see his features clearly enough, not from this distance

 a hundred and thirty-three feet

 wind from the east

but it looks like he might be carrying a sword.

— ⚔ —

Sometimes in therapy, Song Lan counts the holes in the acoustical ceiling tiles.

Sometimes he counts the colored pencils on Dr. Wen’s desk.

Sometimes he counts the number of times Dr. Wen spins his pen in his fingers, waiting for Song Lan to answer a question. Any question.

— ⚔ —

Song Lan counts to seven before he answers, the numbers slowing his heartbeat.

“It was one more than last time.”

The man laughs, a bright chime of bells that wrinkles his nose. The dog looks up at its master, and its mouth drops open in a doggy grin.

“Clearly a failure, then. I hope the next time I see you, you will have improved.”

Song Lan is distracted by his voice, deeper than he expects, more musical than he expects, and he’s acutely disappointed when the man turns and walks away, the dog at his heels. He’s almost overcome by the impulse to call the man back, just so he can see his face again, so he can decide if it’s real or not.

“I’m here every day at 7 am,” the man calls over his shoulder before he disappears around a corner. Or maybe he disappears into a beam of light. Song Lan can easily believe either.

He takes one step to follow, and then realizes what he’s doing. It’s ridiculous. He takes a second step anyway. But a woman is suddenly at his elbow, handing him a clipboard, asking for his ID and signature. He has no idea how the cleaners got there so fast.

“I haven’t seen a dankang in this park before, have you?” the woman asks.

Song Lan shakes his head.

“Yeah, they usually prefer the suburbs. More hedge rows,” she says, and Song Lan isn’t sure if this requires an answer, so he doesn’t.

She takes the clipboard when he’s finished and peers at it. “Oh, I should have known. You’re the silent rogue—not technically a hunter, but still has more kills than most of the competitive cultivators? Wild!”

Silent rogue, he wonders. As opposed to what?

The woman hands him a card as her team finishes loading the demon into a step van.

“Luo Qingyang. Call me directly next time. I have an office competition to win.” She winks at him and saunters away.

By the time Song Lan gets to the corner where the man disappeared, there’s only cars and pedestrians and noise, and it’s 7:30 am. He has somewhere to be at 9 am, and he doesn’t want to be asked why he’s late.

— ⚔ —

“Dankang?” Dr. Wen asks.

Song Lan’s eyes flinch, glancing up in confusion.

“Well, that was almost an answer,” Dr. Wen says cheerfully.

Song Lan frowns.

“If you want to know, you’re going to have to ask,” Dr. Wen says, eyebrows raised in what might almost be a challenge.

Song Lan doesn’t care. He really doesn’t.

“How did you know?” his voice says anyway, low and soft. Maybe no one heard the question, and Song Lan can pretend it didn’t happen.

To his credit, Dr. Wen doesn’t gloat, but he smiles. Song Lan suspects he’s not going to be able to stay silent forever after all.

— ⚔ —

Song Lan takes a shower after therapy, not only to wash the tattling green dankang fur out of his hair, but scalding enough to burn the words off his skin.

 I’m here every day at 7 am

Is he really going to feel like he is fluttering at the end of a rope for the next twenty hours

 twenty hours and seventeen minutes

until tomorrow’s 7 am?

Evidently, yes. The shower doesn’t shake the man’s voice loose from his thoughts. Neither does lunch, the library, an episode of a cooking show in a tent, weights, two more episodes of the show—whatever a kouign amann is, he wants one—and sixty pages of Dune. He doesn’t even bother trying to work.

Song Lan makes a salad for dinner, neatly arranging paper-thin slices of carrot, cucumber, jicama, apple, and red onion on a bed of dark green leaves and half a chicken breast. He likes salads that are more toppings than lettuce, so he throws almond slivers and cranberries in his bowl too. “Love yourself enough to make a salad,” is practically the only thing he’s learned in therapy. He’s not sure about loving himself, but he’s pretty fond of salad.

He takes his meds before bed, turns on the white noise, and for once, falls asleep before the world spins into a new day.

— ⚔ —

“Do you blame yourself?”

Song Lan keeps on the blank face he’s so familiar with and stares over Dr. Wen’s shoulder at the photograph of three black cats sitting in a window.

“If you don’t blame yourself, who do you blame?”

Song Lan does not narrow his eyes. Or maybe he does, because Dr. Wen tips his head and gives him a piercing look.

“Even if you’d gotten there sooner, Song Lan, what could you have done? Tell me one thing you could have done.” Dr. Wen almost sounds like he’s pleading.

What I should have done, he thinks. Die with them, he thinks.

— ⚔ —

The man is there at 7 am, sitting on a bench.

With the dog, who is also sitting on the bench.

And that face.

Oh, the face is worse, actually, because Song Lan can see it clearly now. The man smiles when he sees Song Lan, a curving, curling, invitation of a smile on a mouth that looks like a bow without an arrow. The angle of his cheekbones, the graceful lines that can’t fairly be called anything as mundane as dimples, make Song Lan wonder if the rumors of fae in this country are true. The man’s eyes tip up at the corners when he notes Song Lan’s inspection of him, and Song Lan stops moving, maybe stops breathing.

The dog sticks its wet nose in Song Lan’s hand, and he jerks back, staring down at the animal. He doesn’t like to be touched, even by animals, but he isn’t angry, just surprised. He’s just surprised. He can’t understand why he’s just surprised.

“She’s inviting you to sit,” the man says, laughter in his voice.

The dog snorts at Song Lan, a chuffing noise that sounds like she is laughing at him, too.

“Is she?” Song Lan asks, and the man grins

 an unfairly perfect expression of genes

and shakes his head.

“No. But I am. Will you join us?”

Song Lan sits on the bench on the other side of the dog.

“A-Qing, get on the ground like a normal dog,” the man scolds.

The dog harrumphs but stands, delicately sets her front feet on the ground one at a time and stretches her long body the rest of the way, as slowly as caninely possible. Song Lan feels the corner of his mouth twitch.

“I’m Xingchen,” the man says, his lips shifting to a different kind of smile, a tip of the hat friendly smile.

He is wearing a white sweater, a white scarf, baggy white pants, and his name is stardust. Of course it is. Song Lan wonders if it’s a real name or one he’s invented.

“No last name?” Song Lan asks, and the man laughs again. Song Lan can’t imagine what it must be like to have so much laughter bottled inside him. Even before the war, before the massacre that took everything from him, laughter was a precious commodity, not something anyone would squander in the park on a cloudy day with a man like him.

“If I tell you my last name, you’ll think I made it up,” Xingchen says, and it’s so close to Song Lan’s thoughts, he tips his head, realizing belatedly that he looks like the dog when he does it.

Xingchen’s face shifts to mischief, and Song Lan’s mouth feels dry, chasing a mirage in the desert, only to discover it’s real. “You tell me your first name, and I’ll tell you my last name,” Xingchen says.

“Zichen,” Song Lan says immediately, without thinking, without the capacity for thought. He backpedals. “No one calls me that anymore, though. I’m just Song Lan.”

He has not been anyone’s treasured child in three years. He only thinks of himself as the mist now. It’s easier to be insubstantial, just passing through, nothing to see here.

“Oh no, you must be Zichen. Precious child, treasured seed,” Xingchen says in a singsong voice like it’s a line from a song or a poem. “Song Zichen, I’m Xiao Xingchen. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Would you like to have breakfast? With us?”

Song Lan does think it’s a made up name now, but he could have said his name was Horsehead Nebula, and Song Lan would still say yes.

“Yes, thank you.”

Xingchen stands and a-Qing, who had been laying on her back in the grass, snaps to attention, dashing over to lean against his left leg, looking up at him with clear adoration.

It hadn’t been a sword.

It is a cane.

“Well?” Xingchen asks. “Are you coming? I’ll tell you about it on the way, if you like.”

Song Lan nods, and then answers out loud, in case the nod was stupid and thoughtless. “Yes.”

— ⚔ —

“Do you have friends?” Dr. Wen asks.

Song Lan frowns at the rude question, which inexplicably makes Dr. Wen grin.

“I’ll take that as a no,” he says. “How about this? Do you want friends, Song Lan?”

Song Lan doesn’t give an answer, but Dr. Wen seems to think he sees one anyway.

“Well. What are you planning to do about that?”

— ⚔ —

Xingchen says it’s not that interesting of a story. He is slowly going blind. There is nothing anyone can do, and everyone has tried. Surgery. Magic. Lasers. Everyone. Everything. He says a-Qing is helpful. He says he decided to learn to use the cane now, while he can still see a little. He says all of it like it doesn’t matter, and it is Song Lan who is numb with the pain of a loss that isn’t even his. That he didn’t even know about until five minutes ago.

Oh, and Xingchen says he does have a sword, actually, but it seemed like bad manners to bring it on a first date

 first date

 implying date

 implying subsequent dates

even if he hadn’t been entirely sure Song Lan would show up.

Breakfast is in a diner not much wider than a dead dankang, and they tuck into a booth in the back. A-Qing lays on Song Lan’s feet, and it still doesn’t bother him. She’s warm, and he thinks he likes the way it feels when she rolls on her side and sighs.

They order pancakes and a poached egg for a-Qing. He tells Song Lan that a-Qing came from a local shelter because there’s no requirement that service dogs be purebred, they just usually are. He says it’s just harder to pick mixed breed dogs who will be good service dogs, but he didn’t pick a-Qing, she picked him.

“She scaled an eight-foot chain link fence and sat at my heel as though she’d been in service her whole life,” he says with a laugh, reaching his foot to poke a-Qing on the belly and accidentally brushing Song Lan’s leg.

It is a very good thing, Song Lan thinks, that he is accustomed to hiding his reaction to being touched because the feel of Xiao Xingchen’s foot rubbing against his leg makes him suddenly, painfully, embarrassingly hard, and he can vividly recall what it was like to be a teenager in want of a very large notebook to hold in front of himself.

Song Lan rarely eats food he doesn’t make, even more rarely eats fluffy pancakes drenched in butter and syrup, and he has no idea why. They taste like heaven, and watching Xingchen eat is...an experience. He cuts his food precisely, examines every piece, and closes his eyes when he chews, as if each mouthful is a fine wine he plans to savor. He finishes in twenty bites.

“Is your name made up?” Song Lan finally can’t resist asking, and Xingchen shrugs.

“Aren’t all names?”

Song Lan snorts, almost a laugh. “Is it the name you were born with?”

“No one is born with a name, Zichen.” Xingchen sounds like he is very seriously and very patiently explaining why the sky is blue, and Song Lan wants to shake him.

But that makes Song Lan think about laying his fingers on Xingchen’s shoulders, caressing his skin, grazing his collarbone with his thumb, and he shudders, blinking for a heartbeat too long.

“It is my real name,” Xingchen says softly, touching the back of Song Lan’s hand tentatively, as though he understands it might not be welcome. It aches like a spark from an autumn campfire. “My mother is a bit of a hippie, and I was a beautiful baby.”

This time it is a laugh. A real laugh. He hasn’t laughed in so long, he forgot what it would sound like, how it would feel to vibrate through his chest, how it could turn to tears. He covers his eyes with his hand

 not the hand Xingchen is touching

and tries to turn back the choking gasp that catches in his throat and forces its way out.

Xingchen doesn’t ask, just holds Song Lan’s hand and waits.

“You are a beautiful adult,” Song Lan says, when he can swallow again, and Xingchen smiles.

“So are you. Although, I have no idea what you looked like as a baby. This could be a recent development. Maybe you were hideously ugly a year ago.”

Now he sounds like he’s teasing, and Song Lan looks at him. Xingchen’s head is propped on one hand, and his expression is both curious and evaluating.

“Would you like to come home with me?” Xingchen asks, threading his fingers through Song Lan’s as though it is completely natural, and somehow, it is. His fingers fit perfectly into the spaces between Song Lan’s. The flames that spill from his fingertips into Song Lan’s arm and flow through his blood whisper the answer.

It is the easiest thing in the world to give them voice and say yes.

Read Part 2 Here

[razberryyum]

The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 9, Part 1 of 2

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed)

[covers MDZS chapters 28 and 29…kinda…well, the Yue Yang Chang sect murders was introduced in those chapters, but it is different from how the show presented it]

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰+🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰 +🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰+🐰+🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰+ 🐰🐰🐰

(so I decided to come up with a more organized way of scoring on the WangXian meter cuz I was starting to confuse myself: for every scene they’re in together or if they’re even thinking about each other, one 🐰 is automatically given; one scene can earn up to 5 🐰, depending on the intensity of their interaction or thoughts of each other. And I’m gonna separate each individual scene with “+”. I didn’t mean for the grading to be an exact science but I think making it less arbitrary is definitely better…at least for my poor dumb brain)

I have a couple of favorite WangXian scenes from this episode, the one above is the first of them. When Wei Ying defends Lan Zhan from Jiang Cheng, I love how the camera then lingers deliberately on Lan Zhan’s reaction for just a second more; I swear if Lan Zhan was the blushing type, that would’ve been the moment for him to turn red like a tomato. That reassuring smile Wei Ying flashes at him could probably melt all the glaciers in the world and drown our planet, how can any mere human being resist that? That small beam of absolute sunshine had to have made Lan Zhan’s knees go just a little weak and his stomach do a tiny flip flop. It’s moments like this that make me marvel all over again at how perfectly cast Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo are in their roles: XZ with his dazzling megawatt smile and WYB with his beautifully nuanced stoicism are truly Wei Ying and Lan Zhan come to life. Even though I was already attached to their performances by this point, I wasn’t truly able to appreciate just how great and perfect they were as the embodiment of their characters until after I read the novel, and now I’m just in awe all the time as I watch them on screen.  

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan’s little yin metals expedition is really the gift that keeps on giving: despite having to deal with a few (lovable) third wheelers hanging around them, they were still able to further strengthen their bond. I think this is clearly as evident by simple little moments like how often they looked at each other for affirmation. What’s amazing about that is Lan Zhan basically went from refusing to spare Wei Ying a glance even when he was outright clamoring for attention to constantly training his eyes on Wei Ying at every turn. I really can’t get over how effectively Team CQL was able to show the progression in their relationship and Lan Zhan’s feelings towards Wei Ying by just showing these minor differences in the way they interact from before. Watching the change in Lan Zhan is of course the most fascinating aspect of this early part of their relationship because you can track how he’s clearly being overcome by the force of nature that is Wei Ying. I especially enjoy seeing the way he gets perturbed and maybe even jealous by the intimate way Wei Ying interacts with others. Take this moment when Wei Ying is offering protection to Nie Huaisang:

The way Lan Zhan’s eyes focused on the way Wei Ying was holding onto NHS’ arm and that resulting sour look on his face really says it all. And then, shortly after when they left the cave, as Wei Ying was trying to assure NHS, Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing that they were protected in the magical net he created, I actually guffawed when Lan Zhan could be seen just walking off behind him, as if he’d had enough since he just finished watching Wei Ying being rather familiar with Wen Qing.

And then when they were in the forest trying to hunt down Wen Chao’s owl, it’s almost as if Lan Zhan’s disgruntled mood stayed with him since even though they were in close proximity, when Wei Ying started calling out his name, he refused to answer. First time I watched that scene I remember thinking, wtf’s wrong with Lan Zhan, why won’t he just respond to the poor guy who’s obviously worried he lost him in the fog? But now I feel it was a deliberate choice to indicate that Lan Zhan was annoyed at him.  

Because Lan Zhan is not the type of person to be open and friendly with everyone, I really do feel now that it probably did bother him a lot that Wei Ying was a complete opposite to him in that sense, and as he watched Wei Ying carelessly be equally and almost selflessly kind to everyone around him, his frustration with that aspect of his personality gradually built up over time, culminating in what he later says to Wei Ying about Mian Mian while they’re in the Xuanwu cave. I can easily imagine Lan Zhan thinking, if he’s like this to everyone, does that make the way he treats me meaningless? It’s a really sobering thought especially from Lan Zhan’s point of view, but it also justifies why he still ran cold from time to time when dealing with Wei Ying because he was probably holding himself in check, constantly reminding himself that he’s just the same as anyone else in Wei Ying’s life, so he shouldn’t get his hopes up. Thinking about how much inner turmoil Lan Zhan put himself through even before Wei Ying’s death as he tried to grapple with his budding feelings for Wei Ying always makes me feel a little weepy because of how much my heart aches for him. It really makes me so grateful that at least he had Big Brother Xichen to talk to, which also makes me love big bro more for being so understanding and encouraging.  The alternative would have just been too unbearably sad.  

Ugh, and now I just made myself sad for no good reason. Seriously, on a daily basis, I actually get into a near weepy state for WangXian at least once when I think of all the suffering they had to go through before they finally got their happy ending. If MXTX-laozi’s other novels are going to do the same thing to me as MDZS/Untamed has, I probably need to start saving money to seek professional therapy once I’m done reading Heaven Official’s Blessing and Scum Villain (and I’m desperately trying to carve out time to read them soon).  

Anyway, back to this episode: I have a soft spot for seeing my OTP standing back to back in a scene since I think it’s a very effective and sweet way to convey their support and solidarity with each other, nothing says “we are in this together” than two people having each others’ backs, so seeing their stance in the forest really warmed my heart.

I also loved that they eventually teamed up to fight against Wen Chao’s forces. It would not be the first time they fight together, but it is one of the few times that Wei Ying gets to do so with his sword. I think the next instance of that happening is the Xuanwu cave before it’s all over and he is only able to use his flute, so I really treasure moments like this now, especially since they have such pretty moves.  

Every time Lan Zahn and Wei Ying fight with their swords it looks like they’re dancing. I love how Team CQL always makes sure to choreograph in ballet twirls into their fight sequences, even when it’s not quite necessary, such as this moment back in the cave when the two of them twirled away to get away from the ghost puppets:

A BIT on the dramatic side, but hey, I’m not gonna complain when Lan Zhan and Wei Ying looks so damn good doing their twirls.  

WeiQing Watch 2019

I said I was going to keep track of the WeiQing love story that Team CQL was going for way back before MDZS fans thankfully put a kibosh on their plans: here’s one such moment that I think can serve as evidence that they might have been cooking something up between Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing. It’s not just that Wei Ying was holding on to Wen Qing’s wrist for a longer time than necessary—Wei Ying’s a touchy-feely guy, he grabs on to everyone anyway—it’s Wen Qing’s reaction to what he did that gave me pause: she in turn holds on to her wrist in the exact spot where his hand was for a longer time than necessary. I’ve watched enough Chinese dramas to know that that is usually an indication that feelings are being stirred up from physical contact. Wei Ying’s awkwardness at realizing what he was doing was interesting too, it’s as if he suddenly remembered Wen Qing’s a girl. Since I do believe that Team CQL did end up keeping the aspect of Wen Qing’s characterization where she is in love with Wei Ying—there’s  no other logical explanation for some of Wen Qing’s reactions to Wei Ying otherwise—I think this moment might have served as the catalyst for the feelings she develops for him. It was already obvious that she was concerned for Wei Ying before this: she not only tipped off Jiang Cheng to his whereabouts but then she also joined in on the rescue herself, despite knowing what consequences she may face. I know her explanation for her generosity was because Wei Ying saved Wen Ning’s life and this was her way of paying back that favor, but it’s really a hollow excuse considering the larger predicament she was essentially putting herself, Wen Ning AND her clan in: she had to know she was endangering all her loved ones’ lives by helping Wei Ying.  I know she saved Lan Zhan and Nie Huaisang as well but based on her later actions, I think at the end of the day, her concern really was more for Wei Ying. Much like Lan Zhan, Wen Qing was already starting to fall for Wei Ying, and really, who can blame her?

To be Continued in Part 2...(posted)

[sunnylildragun]

Merging Souls

Day threr of three of the Bumbleby week! This one came in a bit of a rush, but I wrote it with a lot of love ^-^

"So... you're telling us that you already bought the ring but hasn't proposed yet?" Weiss asked before sipping the wine in her glass. He other hand was intertwined with Ilia's on the table, exhibiting her silver wedding ring. Both women were staring at Blake with disbelief, what made the tallest amongst them sigh.

"Listen, it's not that I don't want to... I just..." the woman sighed. "I'm not sure about how to do it. Would it be good to make a speech? Should I take her out for dinner? Or should it be something more intimate, like a candlelit dinner? Or are these too cheesy?"

"I don't think she would mind it, to be honest." Ilia voiced her opinion. "She would say yes if you proposed on the battlefield, sweaty and bloody and gross."

"Like you did to me?" Weiss nudged her wife playfully.

"You know my ways, sweetheart heart." Ilia pecked white haired woman's cheek.

"First of all, please get a room." Blake said with a smirk, just before sighing. "Secondly, a few years ago she told me marriage was a huge deal to her! I don't want to disappoint her."

Weiss reached out for Blake's hand over the table. "Blake, she loves you. She loves you a lot, soulmates level of a lot. I don't think anything you do regarding asking her to marry you could ever disappoint her."

"Yeah!" Ilia agreed. "Besides... I think she was talking about the wedding itself when she said it's a big deal to her. Not about how either of you is gonna propose."

The ravenette remained silent for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. "I think you're right. Both of you."

That made Weiss smirk. "Of course we are. We're the voices of reason in your life."

"Sure," the cat faunus rolled her eyes.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means you should recall how I was the one who helped you through your countless gay panics when you and Ilia were still in the 'is she flirting or just being nice?' phase."

"I- you- how dare- the nerve of-" the CEO blushed so hard there's no shade of red to describe it. "Fuck you, Belladonna."

"Nah, that's for Yang to do." Blake grinned at their friends' disgusted expressions. "That reminds me... I should probably head back home. It was nice talking to you and having some wine, but Yang's winter break from Beacon starts today, and I wanna celebrate with her."

Blake hugged them goodbye and went out of the diner that was by the Senate, where she worked. She still didn't believe how far she had been able to take the Faunus Rights cause. In a few years, she was able to have laws in protection of her people approved by her fellow Senators. Now any kind of discrimination towards faunus was punishable. There were also separate classes on Faunus History, Faunus Literature and Faunus Rights, from kindergarten to the academies.

She hadn't done things only for the faunus, though. Blake reviewed various projects on the reconstruction of the city, helped founding an effective police force to avoid crime lords such as Torchwick from rising again. She also suggested the building of the Municipal Vale Library, which is planned to be a safe haven to many students, researchers and bookworms. Blake has a bold dream for it, and wanted it to have more books than one would be able to read in a lifetime.

She thought about it as she rode her truck back home. As she stopped in a red light, thoughts about Yang came to her mind. If what Ilia and Weiss said was true, then Blake wouldn't be able to hold herself back when she got home. She would propose to Yang right then and there, and kiss her girlfriend- fiancée by then- as if that was the last time she would do so. And then they would do it all over their apartment to celebrate their engagement.

Blake's eyes finally found the building they lived in. It wasn't nothing too high class, but it was still considerably big. As heroes of Remnant they receive an ungodly amount of privileges and gifts, ones that she found very unnecessary, but accepted anyway. Most of them she and Yang donated to people who actually needed the money that could come from selling them.

They didn't need expensive things. They just needed the world to be safe.

Blake parked her car in her spot, and couldn't help but notice Bumblebee 2.0 parked in its own spot as well. Yang said she would work on some students files until a little bit later that evening, as she was just back from a training trip. Then what in the world was her motorcycle doing there? Had something happen? Probably. Was she suddenly feeling ill? No... she would tell Blake if she were.

The only way to find out was asking, the woman figured. She walked to the elevator, entering it and pressing the button to the eighth floor. A person entered as well, a man named Robin who lived in the sixth floor. He was a fox faunus, and had chatted with Blake some times. He used to be a robber, doing his own kind of justice, but not quite into the White Fang. Being caught in the middle gave him a few scars, which he wore proudly even as he settled down with his wife.

"Senator." Robin smiled at Blake, nodding respectfully.

"Greetings, Robin. And I told you already, there's no need for these formalities. Out of the Senate Building, I'm just Blake."

"It's force of habit. It's just so common to see you on TV, giving speeches, that I forget that you're actually my two floors up neighbor."

Blake chuckled at that. "Well, you should get used to it."

The elevator ringed, making both of them drop their ears. "Geez, they should really make this shit stop doing that noise."

"Yeah... pretty disrespectful." Blake agreed as she rubbed her cat ears. "I'll try to talk them into it. Again. For the thousandth time in six years."

"I believe it's my time to go, though. See you around, Blake."

"See you."

Soon enough, Blake was in her own floor. As she reached her apartment door, she could feel the unique smell of Yang's grilled salmon. It made her stomach growl like an angry Sabyr, which prompted her to rush to the door. She fumbled with the keys for some seconds, saliva almost spilling from her mouth. Yang knew the effect seafood had in Blake, what made the short haired woman wonder what was the occasion.

Just as she closed the door, a body collided with her own. She was caught in a tight, warm hug that could only be given by the sunshine of her life, Yang Xiao Long. She hugged back, head burying into her girlfriend's shoulder. Blake took in all the warmth she could, enjoying the moment.

"Welcome home, dear." Yang said in her cat ears, kissing the space between the two.

"Hi." was Blake's muffled answer.

They pulled away for a moment, and then their lips met. Yang's trip had taken some days and there was no words to express how much Blake missed her. Missed her lips. Missed her arms. Missed her as a whole. So she pushed her girlfriend to their sofa, making her sit there. Then, she sat on the blonde's lap amd they started kissing again. It was a mess of damcing tongues, of biting teeth and of light moans.

Yang's hands were already unbuttoning Blake's dress shirt as the shorter rolled her hips agains her. The groan that came from the brawler was almost a growl, feral and raw as she pulled away from their kiss- with teeth pulling her lower lip- to attack Blake's collarbone. She kissed and sucked and bit, and there were hands on her hair. Her hear was soon guided by impatient hands to the ravenette's neck.

Yang licked the column, taking a moan from Blake's lips. She then proceeded to bite and suck on her girlfriend's pulse point, as more room was given for her to explore. She felt a hand pulling her blond locks lightly, and it triggered something in her. The hands that were once moving with Blake's hips were soon exploring her back and her stomach and only some times- teasingly- grazing her neglected breasts.

"Please." Blake's voice was wavering as Yang scratched her stomach. "Take me, Yang."

"You gonna have to wait till after dinner, Blakey." came the raspy response.

"What is so important about dinner that can't wait?"

"I haven't eaten with you for days now, babe." she sucked on the other's ear, and than bit it. "I really miss having a quiet moment with you."

"You could be eating me right now. Isn't that even better?"

"It sure is. But I bet you don't wanna miss on the salmon I cooked."

"Ugh, I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?"

"Tease me."

"You actually love it, don't lie to yourself."

"Let's just get this dinner over with."

"Okay. You're gonna love it, I promise."

Blake got off of Yang and then helped her up. She didn't even bother buttoning her shirt up again, and swayed her hips on the way to the kitchen. Yang started the show, then she sure as hell will have it to the end.

They sat on the table, face to face. Their plates were already served, and Blake dived in as soon as she looked at her fish. She could feel Yang's eyes on her, could tell she had a smirk on those delicious lips. But Blake couldn't care less that instant. It was her and her salmon. Girlfriend could wait.

"How were things with Weiss and Ilia?"

"Good." Blake answered after swallowing. "The two of them are progressing well with their project of dissolving the Schnee Dust Company. Weiss wants it to become something else and she said that to do so, she must destroy it from the inside to build it back up."

"Sounds cool. What about their married life? Are they past the honey moon phase?"

"Will they ever be?" Blake shot back, making Yang laugh.

"Yeah, I don't think so." she smiled. "You should really take a look at your napkin, though."

"Huh?" Blake was confused for a moment, but did as she was told. She started unfolding the napkin, and a metallic object fell to the ground. Just as she was about to lean down to get it, Yang shot up from her chair and grabbed it. She kneeled before Blake, holding an engagement ring with her right hand. "Yang-"

"Listen, Blake. Please. Or I may never be able to say what I want to say. We've known each other for twelve years now. During all this time, we've been through a lot together. We cried together, we laughed together, we hurt together. We rebuilt ourselves, and then rebuilt what we had with one another. We defeated our biggest demon together... and then we defeated the world's worst nightmare together. You're to me, Blake Belladonna, what no one else ever was. You're the one who came back. You're the one who stayed, even after slipping from my fingers. You're the one who raises my spirits. You're the one I can't see myself without. You're the one I love. And that's why I ask you here and now. Blake Belladonna, will you be my wife?"

Blake's jaw dropped and tears started falling from her eyes. The ring was marvelous, sculpted in black metal and gold. There was a yellow gem on the top, a shade that matched Blake's eyes- and Yang's aura. It reminded her of the engagement ring she had bought to propose to Yang.

Right.

She was going to propose, too.

She started laughing involuntarily, tears of joy spilling from her eyes. Yang looked at her in confusion. Just... what was she laughing about?

"Uh... why are you laughing?"

Blake reached in the pocket of her skirt. She took a velvety black box from it and kneeled down before the blonde.

"Yang Xiao Long... there are no words to describe the love I feel for you. It transcends time, it transcends our weak and breakable bodies, it transcends everything. My soul is yous, and yous only. My whole being falls in love with you every single day, over and over again. You complement me in a way no one ever har, and that I thought no one would ever be able to. So yes, I wanna marry you. What about you, though? Would you do me the immense honor of being my wife?"

"Yes!" Yang shouted, hugging Blake and knocking both of them to the ground. "A million times yes!"

They kissed again, this time sweet and slow. There was no desperation in the way Yang's prosthetic fingers traced the scar on her left side. So many years ago, those wounds pulled them apart, just to tie them back together. And today, they started a new phase in their lives. A new step into their futures, a whole of possibilities for their eternity.