#oh also i forgot lisa

[somniumfae]

thinking abt how all of gevie’s relationships w her friends involve them seeing through each other in some way

[dutybcrne]

@strdstd replies to your post:

{Bruh Boothill would LOVE Mika and Noelle- Esp if he gets to be Kae’s right hand if he gets hus Captain job back, assuring Kae he’d look out for them, too.}

Hfhhfhfb Kae immediately emphasizing Mika also fights with crossbow to him ONCE and Boothill just as fast setting on giving the kid a few marksmen pointers and personally mentoring him a bit in combat styles he could potentially make more use of his crossbow in

[mondaymelon]

— 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 ♡

໒꒱ || :feat~ albedo, kaeya, zhongli, childe, ayato, thoma, alhaitham, kaveh, wriothesley, neuvillette x gn!reader:

໒꒱ || notes: a new nation joins the mix !! please help there are too many what do i do when natlan appears?! ITS OKAY RAAAAH FLUFF FLUFF RAAHHH FLUFF CHILDE COMMITS MANSLAUGHTER AGAINST A FUCKING PUMPKIN RAHHHH @anonbinaryweirdo CHILDE IS BEING A SILLY ALL FOR YOU MWAH HApPY OLI DAY!!

ᴛᴀɢʟɪꜱᴛ (open!) : @manager-of-the-pudding-bank, @iamdedinside, @ilyuu, @achlysis, @swivy123, @solxima, @poweredbyghostadventures, @haliyamori

⤷ the seasons are changing, so let’s have some fun, shall we? ♡

"Klee, don't run so fast..."

ALBEDO sighed, yet his mouth curved upwards into a faint smile, one that could almost be mistaken as a laugh. Maybe it was. “Klee, if you’re going to run off like that, the Acting Grandmaster will certainly throw a fit about it.” There was little hope in soft threats against the child, but he had succeeded in capturing her attention, and she whipped around to look at the two of you, her bright beam dimming to a small pout.

“But Jean isn’t here! That means I can boom everything and she won’t put me in solitary confinement, right?” She gazed up fiercely at the two of you, her bold ruby eyes sparkling with daring excitement. The three of you had decided to take a little excursion to a nearby pumpkin farm at Jean’s insistence, saying that you especially had been overworking yourself with the new influx of tasks to do and that now they had stabilized, she could manage them for a day or two. She had been a little suspicious about it though, beaming the entire time and occasionally laughing at moments that weren’t remotely amusing. Her distracted gaze also kept glancing at Lisa, who had been shelving books with a devious smile. Just what is up with those two? You blamed it on the lack of sleep.

“Although…” she tilted her head, looking very thoughtful for a brief moment. “I’ll let you decide!” She ran over to you, clinging to your clothes with sparkling eyes. “What do you want to do? Just today, Spark Knight Klee will let you lead the adventure, ‘kay?” She was bouncing on her feet now, her expectant gaze a little too earnest.

“Klee, let’s be respectful…”

“Eh?? But… I want to be nice to your sweetheart!!” Klee pouted, cheeks flushed.

“S-Sweetheart…” Your mouth dropped open as the tiny girl let out a little ‘ah!’

“Oh no, I forgot I wasn’t supposed to tell you that! Shoot, Kaeya is going to be sooo mad!! Shhh, you didn’t hear anything, okay?? He definitely didn’t tell me that Albedo liked liked you, so please don’t snitch!” Klee held her hands over her mouth, looking rather apologetic as her round eyes threatened to burst into tears. Albedo sounded like he was choking.

“K-Klee, why don’t you go over and look at the pumpkins for a while? I’ll let you take home the biggest one you can find…” Albedo was clearly startled, his smooth speech interrupted with a stutter. As the girl eagerly dashed away towards the fields, he let out a long sigh. “I’m very sorry about that, it seems the Cavalry Captain has been saying some strange things to my little sister.”

You shook your head with a smile. “No, don’t be. It’ll be funny later on as we look back on it, although…” Your voice trailed off as what Klee had said flashed through your mind. In a voice barely above a whisper, you glanced up at him, “Is it true? Do you… feel that way for me?”

His breath caught in his throat, and he did not speak until three beats later. “I didn’t want you to find out this way, but now that it’s come to this…” He cleared his throat, returning his averted gaze to stare at you, his brilliant teal eyes meeting yours. Every movement of his lips entranced you, and you could feel the way your cheeks grew warm as his words slowly sunk in.

And it was true, he meant it. His body was living, breathing proof, even if his life wasn’t meant to exist in the first place. That was okay. He was okay with it all. If he could have you, then the origin of his life didn’t matter. At the very least, his existence could be filled with your warmth.

“I wish to be your partner.” ♡

“Hm, this should be fun~”

KAEYA appeared amused as he hummed with delight. The reason? Something a wine-lover like him was sure to enjoy - a winery tour, not Diluc’s, to ensure the maximum happiness of both brothers. The wind lightly breezed by, rustling the warm colored leaves that resemble tongues of fire. All around you, people trailed after the tour in front of the group, aimlessly chattering amongst themselves or dutifully nodding to whatever information the guide was saying at the moment. Did it really matter? In all honesty, you knew that Kaeya had come for the sole purpose of wine, and now that the two of you were here, nothing else really mattered. He glanced at you with a beam. “C’mon, what’s with the grouchy face? Don’t you think this will be fun?” Without much of a warning at all, he grabbed at your face, pinching and stretching your cheeks while he quietly laughed to himself.

“Hey, shtop-” You manage to wrench out of his grasp, rubbing your aching cheeks with a pointed glare directed towards the male. “You know I’m not a good drinker. I’ll pass out and then you’ll have to go through the trouble of carrying me all the way back…”

Kaeya blinks, then laughs. “Hey, it's only a winery tour, who said anything about actually drinking the wine?” He chuckles into his fist, tilting his head with a swift motion. “Although, I suppose it can’t really be helped…”

“Exactly. So if you see me drinking a little too much, you better tell me, alright?” You stared him down in the eye, a failed attempt at looking the slightest bit intimidating. “I don’t want to be all intoxicated and babbling all my secrets out for the world to hear. That’d be utterly mortifying.” Just the thought of you made a shiver course through your body, a detail Kaeya’s diligent gaze didn’t miss.

He let out a cheeky laugh. “Ah, I don’t know, wouldn’t that be funny to look back on later?” The two of you were walking side-by-side on the stone-pebbled path, and he skillfully swept your hand into his, fingers intertwined in a motion so fluid it almost felt like the two of you had done this in your past lives as well. “You know, you’re really cute when you’re drunk.”

Your mouth falls slightly ajar at his bold words, whipping your head to the people around you just in case they heard. They didn’t, and continued blabbering about the most useless things in the world - the ripeness of apples, the types of long grass that was near the fields, all that significant information that one typically could do without. “Kaeya!” Your voice is panicked as you whisper shout at him, eyes wide. You know your face is red, you can feel it, and it’s something that’s too easy to spot with an eye as trained as his. “Don’t say that kind of stuff in public! Besides, it’s not even true!”

Kaeya pouted like a little child, fake crocodile tears threatening to spill from his eyes despite his voice giving away his clear amusement. “Awww, but love, why not? Is it such a crime for me to profess my love to you in the great outdoors?”

“Ugh…” You sighed, turning away in an attempt to hide your flushed cheeks. “Kaeya, you know what you-”

Too late. He had grabbed onto your chin with a grin, carefully examining just how red he was able to make you.

“Haha, you don’t even have to drink wine, love. Your face is already red enough just from my presence!” ♡

“Be careful. It’s hot.”

ZHONGLI passes the cup to you with a soft smile on his lips, one that makes his amber eyes glow with warmth. “If I had known you liked tea, I would’ve brewed you some more often.” He holds his own teacup with a gloved hand, seeming indifferent to the heat he had just warned you about. “It’s a fine day, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.” You took a sip of tea, reveling in its rich flavors that danced across your tongue. “A hot drink like this is a good way to spend it.” Zhongli’s smile was one of fondness as he nodded to your words. “On days like these, you can find solace in a book by the windowsill and a drink in your hand… Although I’d like to learn more about you. How do you like to spend your time?” You glanced up from the fluid in the cup and locked eyes with his gilded ones instead. 

“Are you curious?” You answered with a nod, and the male let out a low chuckle. “Honestly, while I’m knowledgeable in a few areas, how to pass time isn’t exactly one of them. If you asked me about Liyue’s traditions and legends, however…” He paused as he swirled the cup’s contents. “I could likely go for weeks on end.”

That was the kind of man he was. Stoic, yet warm-hearted, and with a surprisingly in-depth view on Liyue’s history and culture. Where he learned all of this, you had yet to figure out, but his presence in and of itself was something soothing you couldn’t quite describe. At times, you feared his tranquil way of speaking had been inflicted upon you, but that wasn’t a bad thing in the slightest. The way he spoke was like verses in a poem, well thought out, wise, experienced, and with gliding tones like the reddening leaves on the wind. The way he was able to move even the most cynical crowds with the sway and caring truth in his words was but one of the things you admired about the man. Someone like Zhongli must've been a person who had received the favor of Morax, considering how well-versed he was. It wouldn’t be a shock if it were true.

You smiled, propping up your chin on your elbow. “Then, amuse me.”

He shook his head gently, almost in a reprimanding manner. “I’d rather see you to your residency before the sky turns dark. It’d be a shame if I were to take up all hours of your day.”

The words flew from your mouth before you even had the chance to consider them. “Who said I wouldn’t want that?” With a panicked gaze, you watched as Zhongli’s expression shifted into a startled one. For once, the stone-firm man seemed to have been given the slightest of shoves. 

It was a moment before he responded. “Saying such things…”

“They are the truth.”

“...Very well, then shall I tell you a story?” Now, his eyes glittered with a distant, deep sadness that had appeared in the short instant of silence. You nodded your head, and he continued onwards, his words forming one great melody, one intertwined with a knowledge that transcended the earth yet persisted with a harmony of tightly knit feelings that you could never begin to unravel. “One about the god of contracts, and the god of dust, a very, very long time ago. Did you know how far Morax’s love went for the goddess? He held her with much reverence in his heart, yet one day, she flowed through his fingers like the dust she was. He was never able to tell her the truth that lay in his heart, and fell into a deep sorrow.”

He fell silent, and you cocked your head. “Then… Then what happened?”

Zhongli’s somber face brightened as he smiled at you, his shining umber gaze one that held something clearly important. “That…”

“His heart has healed, with the help of someone dear.” ♡

"Against a pumpkin? Hah, that'll be an easy duel!"

CHILDE’s arms are raised, hefting up a… weedwhacker? How’d he get his hands on that?? From what you heard, it was a newly designed kind of weapon, though for some reason used to cut grass, of all things, that had been recently shipped from Fontaine to various influential people around the globe for its first use. Apparently, Childe qualified as one of those people. That, or he had just beaten up someone who had, then plucked it from his grasp. Either way, it was certainly not a welcome sight. You just barely managed to wrench it out of his hands, though with grudging certainty you can tell that it’s only possible with him going easy on you. He laughed again, his shoulders raised in triumph. “C’mon, just let me at him!”

“‘He’ is a pumpkin, Childe. You are challenging an inanimate fruit to a duel.” You deadpanned at the sight, making sure to place the weapon far, far away from his reach. “We came here with a job to do, let’s not forget that. These are going to be important Halloween decorations around the harbor and Jade Chamber, remember? Lady Ningguang commissioned us… or rather, me, herself, and I’m not about to present her with a gouged out collection of gutted and ravaged pumpkins.”

The male pouted, visibly upset. “But. It was looking at me strangely! That thing clearly is itching for a fight, and all I’m doing is giving it one it deserves!”

Yet another cause for a long sigh. You could feel your willpower slip away with your exhale. “Childe, it’s not looking at you. Those were the guidelines I drew with ink. Please, for once, cooperate with me.”

He pauses, then his eyes twinkle, and you know with reluctant confidence that he’s thought up something stupid. Surprise, surprise! You receive your big, fat, green checkmark as soon as he opens his mouth to speak, his lips raised in a mischievous smile. “Only if you give me a kiss~” 

It was better to agree now, then change the promise afterwards. You nodded exasperatedly, “Alright, alright, now let’s-”

“Ah ah ah!” Childe tutted, raising his fingers to your lips to shush you. “Sorry, but I only receive upfront payment~!”

You resisted the urge to slap him in his painfully handsome face. His features were so perfect it hurt, with his deep ocean eyes and freckles dotting his skin like stars in the night sky. “Come here.” Instantly, he perks up, and you can just imagine him with dog ears and a wagging tail, a sight that almost makes you like him. “Mmmmwah.” You plant a kiss directly on his cheek, only leaving your lips on his skin for a brief moment before pulling away, trying to hide the growing red on your face. “There.”

“Wh- Ah, no fair, you can’t do it on the cheek!” Once Childe snaps out of his initial ecstasy, there of course comes the complaints. “Do it again, do it again!”

“You never specified where. Now get to carving.” It’s hard not to laugh when you see the growing, childish frown that crosses his expression.

“C’mon, kiss me just one more time?” ♡

“Are you enjoying the view?”

AYATO’s eyes twinkle with amusement, his light hair swaying gently in the cooling breeze. The wind had grown chillier in the weeks prior, but you had luckily dressed enough for the occasion, and the warmth of his and yours intertwined fingers was far enough sufficient to dispel any chills far, far away. 

“Mhm. It’s beautiful.” You weren’t lying, the courtyard garden the male had invited you to view was certainly a marvel to behold, the warmly tinted leaves dangling like fiery ornaments from the great wooden branches, yet at the moment your eyes could only linger on the light smile that graced the man’s lips. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards, a soft expression that made the colors around you seem all the more vivid. His lashes fluttered close, then blinked back open, his seas of violet underneath a breathtaking wonder more than anything else in this world. And the beauty mark the archons themselves had painted with such delicacy, just beside his eye.

Simply put, Ayato was a man of majesty.

Your man of majesty. 

It still astonished you how someone like him had chosen you, out of all people. The way your heart beat faster and words grew hastier when he was near was something you found impossible to deny.

“You say that, but continue gazing at me all the while.” He lets out a low chuckle, speaking nonchalantly. “There’s no need to needlessly flatter me like those Inazuman officials, who are always ever so desperate to gain my attention.”

“Ayato, that’s not my intention!” You pout in protest, jokingly offended that he had dared compare you to such foolishness. “Besides, it’s in no way ‘needless’! Your beauty must certainly be admired, or it’d be a waste of that pretty face of yours!”

His eyes widen a fraction as he stares at you with a slightly dumbstruck expression, that is, until he breaks into an uncharacteristically loud bout of laughter, one gloved hand over his mouth failing to mask his beam behind it.

“Ah-Ahahaha!” Ayato smiles into his fist, grinning to himself. This was what he loved about you, apart from everything. Your laugh, your smile, the abrupt way that broke apart from his somber lifestyle, all of it. “Beloved, sometimes I wonder how you’re able to come up with such things.”

“Why are you laughing? What I said was true.”

“Just like that, right there.” His smile only widens as his eyes twinkle at the sight of you.

“You're not finding this funny, are you??” You squint up at him accusingly, frowning. Ayato locks his gaze with yours, his lilac eyes against yours a captivating sensation.

“Funny? No, I could never. Beloved, you’re the most endearing of them all.” ♡

“Now mix it together…mhm, just like that.”

THOMA has a firm grip on your wrist, aiding your motions as you gently stir the fluffy batter. He’s standing behind you, his taller stature the slightest intimidating - that is, if you didn’t know Thoma at all. He’s one of the sweetest people you’ve met, especially in an originally hostile Inazuman environment. His spring green eyes sparkle as he releases his fingers, slowly taking the bowl from your grip. “Okay, I think it’s ready now!” He’s excited, and you can tell by the way the corners of his eyes crinkle when he smiles. “Let me just adjust the fire, put it in, and then we can wait until it’s over. It should only take 10 minutes or so with this fancy new furnace Master Ayato installed the other day…”

He rambled onwards, skillfully multitasking spreading the batter on the pan, adding more fodder to the fire, and checking its temperature, all while still talking. Another fact about Thoma - he had much to say about people he admired. Although it was rather awkward to admit, it seemed that you were one of those, as Ayaka told you with a sheepish smile on her face how Thoma had chattered all about you while briefly cleaning her room. Well, not awkward, per se. It was a feeling that was hard to put a label on, just one that made you feel warm inside. Oh… was it because of his pyro vision? Perhaps that was why your face felt so hot at the moment, listening to him talk in his smooth voice and seeing the genuine interest in his gaze. “You’re pretty.” It hasn’t even struck you that you’ve said those words out loud until you realize that he’s stopped talking, and is now staring at you instead with round eyes and a mouth slightly ajar… that, and the growing red on his cheeks. 

“I-I…?” Thoma can’t even speak with how hard he’s stammering, like something out of a cartoon, and his face is completely flushed, to the point where you think he might be feverish instead of embarrassed. “Wh-Why are you saying things like that, all of a sudden…” He coughed into his fist stiffly, readjusting his posture and taking his oven gloves off. “Besides, between the two of us, no, out of all of Teyvat, you’re the prettiest.”

Maybe he hasn’t realized that he’s said those words out loud either, because his gaze is casted to the floor that’s going to burn from how hard he’s staring at it.

“You heard me, right?” Oh, it seems you were incorrect, he had meant for you to hear it. Is that why your heart was beating so fast?

“You’re the prettiest one.” ♡

"You didn’t have to come.”

ALHAITHAM’s sharp gaze is locked onto you as he gently holds his hands in yours - per your request. His skin is cool to the touch, just like the chilling air that’s causing his hair to ruffle. “I’m here on official business, so I’ll be here awhile. Are you certain you don’t want to head back home?”

“And listen to a sleepless Kaveh rant about building structures for the next four hours?” You scoffed playfully, leaning into his frame with a smile. “No thanks. Spending that time with you is absolutely the better option of the two.”

Al Haitham’s brows furrowed the slightest bit, and he turned his head away with a brief exhale. “If that’s what you want.” He’s acting with a mask of indifference, but you know him well, well enough to discern that he’s not being truthful to himself. There’s the slightest lean in his posture, how his eyes are just a little softer, and how his voice isn’t as stony as it should be - telltale signs that he was hoping for your presence in his long work shift. Whilst the blonde architect you knew complained day and night about the two of you’s shared roommate, he wasn’t unbearable at all… although, perhaps it was unfair to compare the two. After all… you thought with a faint smile. We’re lovers.

The ashen-haired male turned to you upon seeing the change in your expression. “Is something amusing?”

“Nothing, Haitham,” you replied, beaming innocently. “You’re just very handsome, is all.” The Haitham you knew was right here, at this moment. The way his eyes widened a fraction and the way his lips twitched, the way his cheeks remained pale but you knew his ears were painted rose under his headphones. It was a person the people around him who only yearned for his attention and status could never dream of seeing. A Haitham that was for you only. 

“...What has you saying those kinds of things? I’ve already told you not to mess around, and here we are.” Al Haitham sarcastically sighs, and you know its a fake. The negligible hesitance in his usually quick-witted response has his words trailing a half-second behind, a detrimental mistake enough to determine his flusteredness. Reading Al Haitham is like a game, where the answer key is provided to onl you.

“You looked like you wanted to hear it.” You smile sheepishly, clinging tighter onto his sleeve. He’s not radiating warmth by any means, but the faint heat that rises from his body is satisfactory enough for you to feel warm. 

“Hopeless.” He says, yet doesn’t move to pry you off his arm. “Utterly hopeless.”

In his gaze is a hidden secret that his mouth wouldn't dare speak.

He was the hopeless one. The fool hopelessly in love with you. ♡

"Don't be scared, I'm right next to you!!"

KAVEH certainly looked the part of a fearless boyfriend, with the way he’s clinging to your body and shaking like a leaf. It’s no secret that he’s utterly terrified, but you’ll let him live his fantasy that he’s fooling you, at the very least. The flickering bravery in his eyes had long disappeared the moment you stepped foot into the haunted castle, a surprising suggestion coming from his roommate Al Haitham, of all people. You had heard the rumors, and heard more than a couple mouthfuls of curses directed towards him on nights where Kaveh stumbled into your place, completely wasted and reeking of booze. It was only now, with begrudging admittance, that you could confirm their truth. To tell the architect of this “romantic” and “couple-bonding” journey through a new Sumerian attraction was all it took for Kaveh to completely jump on the idea. “H-Hey, stop walking so fast, I can’t keep up…!” The blonde looked quite pitiful, holding onto your shirt with tears pooling at his eyes as he struggled to keep up with your average-paced speed. “H-Haha, you must be terrified, to be running like this…!” His awkward laugh was quickly strangled into a high-pitched screech as a person dressed in ghosty blues and greens dropped down from the ceiling and dangled there ominously with a cackle.

Moments like these made you question how you had even become acquainted with him in the first place. 

“C-C’mon, let’s run, I-I’ll protect you!!” Despite his outward appearance being disheveled as could be, with his usual properly groomed hair strewn and sticking up all over the place and his sleeves bunching up near his elbows, he managed to wrestle his way behind you while sprinting away, so at the bare minimum, if they caught you, he would be the one to fall to their claws first.

Ah, perhaps this was why. The ever steadfast desire of his to make sure you, at least, were safe. That astounding selflessness that remained apparent even through the tears that clouded his wavering gaze. You resisted the urge to laugh as your dash slowed to a brisk pace, and instead pressed against Kaveh’s side with a smile.

“H-huh?” His voice was airy, out of breath, startled. Kaveh glanced at you, crimson eyes round and expectant. “What’s wrong…?”

“I’m scared.” Lying through your teeth was guilt-inducing, but the brightening beam on Kaveh’s newfound flushed expression just about swept it all away. “Let me hold you like this, o-okay?” You even added a stutter for an extra effect, which just about drove the arrow through his poor heart. Where was your oscar? You held onto his hand fearfully, staring up at him.

Kaveh, all of a sudden, seemed to have been invigorated like someone had pumped adrenaline directly into his system, that is, an energy called “l-o-v-e!” “A-Ahem! If-If that’s the case, very well! Stay behind me, and I’ll protect you! Ahahaha! No demons would dare even set foot near my… elemental powers!” 

“Oh, thank you Kaveh…” If he noticed the evident sarcasm in your voice, he pretended not to, and there wasn’t a single change in his dumbstruck expression.

“No need to thank me! If I were unable to shield you, what use of a lover would I be?” ♡

"Look what I got...! It's for you."

WRIOTHESLEY’s eyes sparkled as he presented a glossy red apple for your viewing, its smooth, unblemished exterior being handled with the most delicate touches in direct contrast to the silver studded gloves he usually wore. “Here, c’mon, try a- Ahem.” He cleared his throat, carefully straightening his posture. “Please take it.” 

It always amazed you how his dignity still tried to uphold somewhat of a “professional” view on this entire situation. Puzzling, indeed. Perhaps he was just paranoid that he’d be seen so giddy like this and be absolutely clowned on once word got around and he went back to work at the Fortress of Meropide. The prisoners must be harsh to control on a daily basis, considering how on more than a couple separate occasions the man would come home with cuts and bleeding knuckles, to which you’d scold him (gently) for a good half hour while bandaging them up. His personality shifts were nothing but unusual.

“If you insist? Thank you.” You took the apples from his hand, fingers brushing. It was a light contact, yet Wriothesley flinched all the same, able to contain the red on his cheeks but not the dusting of it on the tips of his ears. Lucky him, it was more or less covered by his white streaked hair anyways. He could only hope and pray that you didn’t catch the sight.

Spoiler alert: you did. His fingers were warm, despite him being a cryo user. Not unpleasantly warm, like a sweaty hand that makes you feel all gross inside, but a pleasant version of it, one that makes you want to pepper kisses all over his pretty face for just existing within your realm of life.

You had to hold back on indulging in those thoughts, however, as the currently posing as stoic Wriothesley was gazing into the distance with a dramatic expression. Ooh, should you compliment him? Perhaps he’d invent a new shade of red, then! It’d be a sight to see. As silly as the idea was, you didn’t exactly what to tease him right now, not when you could taste the crisp sweetness of the apple he had picked for you on your tongue.

A smile flitted across your face and he took notice of that, giving you a small smile of his own. “Is it good? Let me have a bite. Aahh~” He leaned forward, and opened his mouth, which slowly closed in the silence that ensued. It was hard not to laugh at how sheepish he looked, rubbing the back of his head with a silly grin that escaped his usual patrolling of expressions. Who would’ve thought that a man who worked at a prison day in and day out would be so into… cheesy things? No matter, it made your heart race all the same. 

Wriothesley had expected the crunch of an apple, if he was lucky and you didn’t leave him hanging in your confusion. What he hadn’t expected was the sweet taste of your lips against his, your warmth blending with his own, your arms around his shoulders and his around your waist. It’s warm, hot. Yes, he felt like he was burning, from the inside out, from every touch of your fingers to every movement of your mouth. Sweet.

“So? How is it?” You pulled away, wiping your mouth with a cheeky smile that made him want to kiss you again.

So he did.

“Sweet. Impossibly sweet, yet nowhere near sweeter than you.” ♡

"Do you feel warmer if I hold you like this?"

NEUVILLETTE has found his arms wrapped around your smaller frame before he can even come to his senses. Yes, that’s right… the two of you had decided to go on a brief outing, with promises that you’d show him more of the outside world and that he’d, in turn, accompany you on this little adventure. Except… the two of you hadn’t accounted for the weather to be this chilly, and while there was no rain, as there was never when the two of you were together, the sun’s stale light wasn’t sufficient enough to warm your frozen body. You said you were fine and that the two of you should just stop by the next sightseeing point in the trip, but his gaze is certainly nothing to laugh at. In an instant, you’re in his arms, and he finds you in his. You’re shaking, quivering, and he’s fucking upset at himself that he didn’t do anything sooner.

“Y-Yes, it’s warm now… thank you.” Your shaking has evidently subsided, and now you lean against his chest, rising and falling with every heave of his chest. With how close you are, body pressed together with his, can you hear his heartbeat? It’s loud in his own ears, and he’s paranoid you’ll hear it - the rise and fall of the water on the ocean shores, the choppy, erratic waves on a midnight black sea. He’s afraid you’ll hear his jumbled symphony and leave him before he can say what he wants to say to you the most.

Oh, but does he even mean it? He wished he could provide the question forever poisoning his thoughts with an answer, but no matter how much he inquires of his all-knowing archon, no matter how much he judges the cases of the land, no matter how much… he still can’t find a solution that will resolve his quaky heart. It’s a problem that lies in him, that’s something that’s at the very least certain. It cannot possibly be with you, you who is as bright as the sun and whose warmth is that of a clear summer day. A beautiful disposition that is unmatched with his gloomy one. Still, he’ll yearn for you until he makes sense of it. Neuvillette cannot bear himself not to try. He will make the scale just, so that the two of you may…

“Neuvi?” The call of your name for him snatches his wandering attention in an instant. He gazes down at your figure, wrapped into his coat tightly. “Are you okay? You’ve been looking distant for a while now.” The concern in your eyes lessens the concern in his heart, and he smiles softly at your words.

“Yes, I’m alright. If you want, should we stay like this the entire trip?”

“W-What?? No, I couldn’t possibly…!!”

Verdict complete. He’ll wait. Wait until the days pass and bring the months with it, he’ll watch the leaves sink to the ocean floor and he’ll wait for his heart to decide.

Oh, if only he could know the verdict of yours.

“If it’s for you, know that I’d be more than willing.” ♡

(a/n) this reached the fucking image limit and i had to get rid of the dividers. i am so upset

anyways gotta love how they're all so romantic and childe is just like: mmm... murder... pumpkin... mmm.. screw chiscara and zhongchi . childe x pumpkin ftw (this is a joke) eek wrio feels so ooc im goinng to sob

[comicwritesstuff]

okay this is so incredibly specific so please feel free to ignore BUT i’ve been wanting to read a fic for ages where the reader is Chase’s childhood best friend from Australia and she moves to New Jersey for a fresh start. She’s staying with Chase while she gets settled, and one day she comes to visit him at lunch at the hospital, where she ends up meeting House and he’s… intrigued by her 👀 either romantic or smut would be so very cool :^D <33 💐

YES. I LOVE THIS PROMPT IM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG BUT IM FINISHED!!!

Gregory House x Fem!Chases bsf!Reader

Warnings: None really, just cussing and tooth rotting fluff >:) 3k+ words.

Chase's POV: 

“Well I was just wondering if we could go out sometime, I think you're really-” My attention shifted as y/n's call lit up my phone, interrupting the conversation. It was a more pressing matter than pursuing a one-night stand.

“Excuse me for a moment.” I say walking away, the woman having an annoyed look on her face. 

I answer the phone.

“Hello, y/n? Whats up” 

“Chase! Long time no talk haha.”

“You called me yesterday.”

“Learn to take a joke, anyways, I have some exciting news for you.”

“I’m moving to New Jersey!!” 

“Wait what? Really?”

“Yeah, I kinda forgot to tell you and i'm actually at the airport right now, so I hope you aren't busy tomorrow so you can pick me up.”

“Wow, um alright, yeah I can pick you up, do you have a place to stay?"

“Um…no…” I sigh, “Just stay at mine for now.”

“Don't even with the sigh i’ve known you my whole life you can put the nightly hookups on hold for your best friend.” 

I smirk and shake my head, “Yeah yeah, I’ll see ya tomorrow y/n” 

Y/N’s POV:

I smile as I hang up with Chase, grabbing my luggage and pulling it along the airport. Ahh yes, crying babies, rushed parents, annoying couples and that one insanely attractive person you see for a split second, I love the airport. 

Glancing at my ticket I realize I might have to hurry to make it to the gate, speed walking I see a text from chase, “Have a safe flight.” Let's hope so. 

Time skip (to lazy to write all the details about fucking airports)

Relaxing on a 21-hour flight proved challenging, especially with a toddler nearby. It was unclear whether the toddler would be a source of annoyance or just be tolerable. The flight just started. So to entertain myself I decide to do some digging about Chase's job, he brags about it all the time and the infamous Dr Gregory House. To be honest I thought Chase was gay for a little while with how much he talks about him. Still speculating. 

The plane lifts off and I start my look, at first just looking up Gregory House, a surprising amount of things show up. An article titled, “Gregory House, Talented Doctor? Or a lying Narcissist?” Oh well that's a good first impression.   

Scrolling down I see another article, “The world's greatest doctor, and his deepest secrets” 

Now that's enticing. I click on it only to find out his deepest secrets, including using 3 in one shampoo and how his leg got hurt. I guess people hardly know anything about him. I click on the photos of him, there's only a couple, most of them blurry but to be honest he's pretty good looking from the photos I can see. I’d honestly be gay for him if I was Chase. 

The toddler next to me starts giggling, I glance at her and notice her staring at a picture of House. She's kicking her feet too. That's so relatable. 

For the rest of the flight I find some stuff about this guy named Taub, who somehow also figured out that he cheated on his wife which is why he had to quit. How did I find that out? I took a coding class in 8th grade. (I got lucky) 

Lisa Cuddy the Dean of Medicine, unfortunately only good stuff about her, boring. 

Remy Hadley, oddly, can't find anything on her. 

Eric Foreman, his brothers in jail, fun. 

And the others are just as boring. For the remainder of the flight, the toddler proved surprisingly chill. I passed the time by binge-watching random movies I had downloaded earlier

*Another time skip to plane landing* 

Finally, 21 hours on a fucking plane is horrible. 

I check my phone after I take it off airplane mode, seeing a text from chase a couple minutes ago. 

“I’m at the airport, is your flight done?”

“Yep, wya.”

“I’m parked in the front.”

“That's specific” 

“There's no other front dumbass”

I roll my eyes at his text, and get off the plane as soon as I can. I walk out and see Chase standing outside his car waiting for me. His eyes light up as he spots me, and a grin spreads across his face. Unable to resist, I rush forward and envelop him in a bear hug.

“Man you’re a lot uglier in person” 

I say jokingly, smirking.

“Oh shut up”  

We climbed into his car, and he drove us back to his apartment. When we arrive he helps get my crap into the house, before he gets a call saying he had to head to work. 

Eventually a week or two passes, I've gotten more comfortable in his apartment, applied for a bunch of jobs, and looked for places to stay so I’m not invading his “man” space anymore. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of options, and no jobs have replied to my applications, which is weird since im overqualified, it's almost like they aren’t even getting my applications in the first place. 

I’m doing the dishes when I get a text from Chase.

“Hey, I left my wallet on the counter, so I don’t have money for food, could ya bring it for me?” 

“Nah”

“See you soon”

I breathe out a laugh and grab his wallet, putting a coat on then driving to the hospital. 

When I get there I walk in, looking around before I call Chase, “Where do I go this place is huge” I can hear talking in the background, actually more like arguing. “Uhm just wait at the entrance i’ll be right there.” He says in a whisper.

He hangs up so I just stand there awkwardly waiting, that was a weird ass phone call. To be fair Chase is a weird ass guy with weird ass coworkers so what do I expect at this point. 

Before I see Chase I see Dr Gregory House, limping quickly towards me. And damn he’s even hotter in person than the pictures I saw of him. 

“Hey, no time to explain, you need to come with me.” He grabs my arm dragging me into the elevator. Before it closes I see Chase come out of the stairway, he sprints towards the elevator but it closes. I hear him trying to say something, but it's muffled and I can’t understand it. Wait why the fuck did I even follow House? 

“You're real compliant, you’d make a great hooker.” 

I turn around and side eye him.

“Thanks, so would you.” I say giving a fake smile. 

“Speaking of compliant, why did you drag me away from Chase? What's going on?’’

“I made a bet with Chase.”

“That's really specific and helpful thanks” 

“Oh yeah no problem” 

Sarcastic asshole. 

“If you don’t tell me, I'll stop following you and go with Chase.” 

He rolls his eyes.

“Fine, Mom! The bet is that I can convince you to work as my assistant here.”

“Really? That's it? I need a job. Why would Chase even bet against that?” 

“He thinks you’ll fall in love with me so he doesn’t want that to happen, in his words, “She has a thing for homeless looking, narcissistic assholes with beards.” So he’s trying to prevent it, and he’s sure he can.”  

Damn- I feel so called out. I stay silent before nodding.

“Well to be honest he isn’t wrong.” 

I see House smirk before we get out of the elevator, he hobbles and leads me to his office, locking the door then having me sit down. 

As I sit down in front of his desk, he grabs a ball and starts throwing it against the wall, while sitting down. 

“So are you gonna interview me or something?” 

“Yeah, I’m just waiting for Chase to get back up here so he can watch me interview you.” 

He really is an asshole…it's kinda hot though. 

“Fair enough.” 

We wait a bit before Chase comes jogging up to the door, out of breath, he’s clearly been running plenty. He starts banging on the glass door that House previously locked.

“House!! Y/N! Let me in! This isn’t fair!” He exclaims, House is grinning when he leans over his desk, crossing his arms.

“Okay! Let’s start this interview now.” 

“Y/n! You traitor!” 

Did I abandon my childhood best friend for some disabled doctor? No, I did it for the job. At least that's what I'm telling myself.   

Turning my attention back to House instead of the Australian cry baby outside the door, he asks me, “First question, do you want the job of being my assistant?” 

“Obviously”

“Great! You have the job!” 

I mean, easy enough. I smile and shake my head. This hospital really has some unique people. 

House shakes my hand, grinning as Chase is sitting on the floor defeated outside. 

As the days turned into weeks at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, I got to know everyone. Cuddy had to actually approve of me working as House’s assistant first, but once she saw a…normal enough individual, she welcomed me into the environment.

Getting to know House better, I found myself drawn to him in ways I hadn’t really expected. The bet between House and Chase, Chase thinking I would fall for House, I took it as a joke, until that joke turned more into reality. 

Despite House being a narcissistic piece of shit, there were small moments that I saw, or shared with him that made me fall for him. Ones where he seemed happy, or just easy to be around. At work he's serious but when Wilson dragged him out to bars, or other social environments, he could actually be fun. And though him being a dick is undeniably attractive sometimes, when he was…”himself” that's how I began to fall for him.  

One day, after an especially tough day for the team, and being forced to go break into houses and get coffee and food, I found myself alone with House in his office. The rest of the team had left, leaving us in a rare moment alone with each other. As I glanced up from the medical chart of the most recent patient, I caught House’s gaze lingering on me, his blue eyes intense and unreadable. 

“Something on your mind, House?” I asked, attempting to break the awkward silence between us. 

He smirked, leaning back in his chair with a casual ease, “Oh just wondering why a catch like yourself doesn’t have a boyfriend, or husband?” He responds, his tone laced with flirtatiousness.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his response, a faint blush on my cheeks. House and I had gained an uncanny camaraderie, made from me running around doing everyone's paperwork, being the designated “you get to tell patients they are dying!!” person. And as you’d expect people didn’t respect me a lot, but if someone was blatantly mean to me, House would step in and destroy their self esteem in a second and walk away like it meant nothing. That's another thing that I think made me fall for him. 

“Believe me, I’ve been asking myself that a lot too.” I smile, placing the medical chart on his desk. 

“Do you want a boyfriend? Or girlfriend, or a pet or something.” He quips, his eyes looking like they are reading me, studying my every movement and reaction to what he’s saying, it's flattering and uncomfortable at the same time. 

“A boyfriend would be nice.” I say reassuringly, a laugh escaping me as I shake my head in amusement.

“Alright let's say *hypothetically* I asked you out. *hypothetically* what would your response be?” 

Raising an eyebrow I ask, “Are you trying to go on a date with me?”

“I said hypothetically, now answer the question.” 

A smirk plays on my lips as I roll my eyes in a mock annoyance. 

“Well.” I say, “Hypothetically, I would say yes.” 

“Great, meet me for dinner at (some random fancy place idk u make up a name i'm too lazy to), wear something cute.” 

 With that, he sauntered out of the office, leaving me to think about what just happened. Glancing at the clock, I realized I had just enough time to get ready for our “hypothetical date.” 

The anticipation bubbled within me, standing outside (IDK A RESTAURANT NAME IT), waiting for House to arrive. My heart raced with nervous excitement, unsure what to expect from a…unique…guy like House. I had used all the time I had to work on my outfit, settling for a simple dress (or suit, or just anything you're comfy in :) ). 

As I scanned the busy street, searching for any sign of House, I heard the obnoxiously loud sound of a motorcycle approaching. House rode in, parking his bike before getting off and walking (limping) towards me. My breath caught in my throat as I saw him, he looked impossibly handsome, in a tailored suit that made his rugged charm come out, good god he looked fine. 

“Y/n,” he greeted with a warm smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners in genuine affection. “That outfit makes your ass look nice.” 

I scoff playfully, hitting his arm. “So much for acting like a gentleman, at least you look like one.” 

He chuckled, offering me his arm in a more gentlemanly gesture. “Yeah yeah, shall we?” 

With a nod, I looped my arm through his, savoring the warmth of his touch as we mad our way into the restaurant. The ambiance was elegant and inviting, with a soft candlelight casting a warm glow over the decor. 

As we were seated at a table in a quiet corner of the restaurant, I couldn’t help but feel a flutter of excitement in my chest. I’m finally going out with House, damn Chase was totally right. 

Throughout the evening, our conversation flowed surprisingly easily between us. I had half expected him to be rude or stuck up, but he seemed actually interested in me, in my life. He was asking questions, laughing and joking with me. Sharing stories of his own, and treating me like an actual human. Honestly it was scaring me a bit, but it was making me fall harder for him. 

House raised an eyebrow, a playful glint in his eyes. ‘So, tell my Y/N. What’s the most embarrassing thing that's happened to you?” 

I laughed, shaking my head as I thought about the memory. “Well, there was this one time in college-” 

“Let me guess,” House interrupted, a smirk playing on his lips. “It involved copious amounts of alcohol and very questionable decisions?” 

I chuckle and nod in agreement. “You could say that. Long story short, I ended up streaking through the campus fountain at three in the morning. I'm pretty sure Chase might still have a video of it still.”

House raises an eyebrow, an amused laugh coming from him. “I wish I could say I was surprised, oh and also. I am finding that video.” He states, with a determined and mischievous grin. 

The dinner continues and our connection just seems to get stronger, fueled by shared laughter, stories of shit Wilson and him did in college, things Chase and I did in highschool. With each passing moment, I found myself more and more under House’s spell, captivated by the complexity of himself, his character. His gaze, laughter, even his personality. Maybe it was the wine or something, but House was being nice, he had charisma, and was being attractive in general.  

I don’t even realize that we’ve spent almost three hours in the restaurant just talking. I check my phone seeing that it's 9:30 already. We had got and paid the check awhile ago, but had stayed to talk longer. The restaurant closes at 10, and I felt a sudden pang of disappointment that our date was close to being over with. I didn’t want it to end, I was savoring this moment I was having, this seemingly perfect night. 

When the waiter arrived to take our dessert order, I couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment that the evening was drawing to a close. I wasn't ready for it to end—I wanted to savor every moment, to prolong the magic of our time together for as long as possible.

House notices my look of disappointment, “I’m aware how amazing I am, but if its up to me, this won’t be our last date.” 

A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth, my cheeks heating up as I blush. The butterflies in my stomach going absolutely insane. 

So with a quick glance around the restaurant, I rose from my seat, House grabbed my hand as he led me towards the exit. 

Stepping out into the cool night air, I felt a sense of happiness coursing through me. This was it, the beginning of a new relationship, a surprisingly healthy one so far. 

As House’s hand tightened around mine, his touch sent sparks of electricity coursing through my veins. I knew now that maybe Chase knows me better than I know myself, in all fairness he predicted this, but right now I wasn’t afraid to admit this, to admit the undeniable attraction that I had towards Dr Gregory House. 

His touch leaves mine, his hand pulling as we stand in front of the restaurant, close to each other, staring in each other's eyes. I glance at his lips before leaning in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips, not sure if he expected it, but I pull back.

“Goodnight House. I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that I walk away, to my car. When I get in my car, I look in the mirror, seeing House standing there with a lovestruck grin, one a child would have over some school crush. But it was cute, he was cute. And this was just the beginning of an annoyingly predicated relationship with a Vicodin addicted, asshole, who I suspect has a soft spot for me.

[slickfordain]

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬.

Warning: Yandere behavior, but we all know I always write Yandere on Tumblr. No specified gender for you. Also, reader with my personality again— since some people liked it very much.

Edit: I forgot to say the kids in Genshin are all platonic 💀

Teyvat is aware of their divine using them as a vessel. Teyvat is aware Celestia cannot defeat you either… As Celestia was obviously made by you. However, you have some concerning habits… Some are very very cute in your harem’s eyes ~ While some makes them worry for your health.

You have a problem with making your Genshin self-insert insert having such a gruesome backstory, it makes them wanna cry and hug your self-insert in their world. Apparently, your insert is indeed inserted in the game— ahah, when you shut off the screen and log off of course ♡

Perhaps, let’s say Zhongli would pick up on how you eat a lot of food… It amazes him. You even have a lot of mora, that you only spend it on food and nothing else. It… Does make him worry— But Yanfei would definitely sign the chefs to make your favorite dishes, just in case ~

Xingqiu would pick up on how you write an unfamiliar word called “Fan-fictions”. It has some Japanese words such as “Yandere” and “Tsundere”. He listened further into your works, and goodness, he has never felt so called out in his entire life when you specifically explained what Yanderes are. If you liked writing about Yanderes… You wouldn’t mind him being one for you, would you?

Childe would laugh his ass off whenever he hears you talking constantly to yourself, pretending as if you’re responding to them. But this makes him think you’re trying to communicate with him and Teyvat, makes his heart sore so much. You’re so sweet and acknowledging everyone, specifically him. ♡

Characters such as Pantalone and Baizhu have a realization you love spending Primogems on wishes, and always wasting them. So what do they do? Mischievously somehow gain Primogems for you, which you didn’t complain about at all.

People also have heard about your hatred towards Albert for being a creepy stalker. Now, this made Mondstadt furious at Albert. Not only does he stalk poor Barbara, he even dared to boldly disappoint you. (Barbatos killed him ehe)

Barbara has never felt so loved this much, she wants to bawl her eyes out — to show how much she loves and adores you.

Characters like Razor and Raiden Ei have come to realization you love sleeping around so much, they’ve gotten to know you sleep in work from time to time whenever it’s break. They take this advantage to make a setup room for you, where either of them can hold you in their arms and cuddle as they sleep against you.

Beidou, Lisa and Yae Miko would often see that you especially get easily injured. I’m not saying they’re the only ones terrified— trust me, many people in Teyvat are going to kill whoever hurt you,,, but they are the ones who ends up hearing about your condition. They’re so worried when they find out you don’t scream in pain, nor do you care about it because you’ve always been clumsy since childhood. They’re so worried, they might have a heart attack someday.

The Adeptus’ pick on the fact you like listening to “8-bit” version of music… It sounds hard to play, but they can’t deny you did have taste in music. Makes the guy from Lantern lite quest more inretested with you, and wishes to know you more! Or more so… Perhaps Enjou would take interest in this.~ He’s just as silly as you, why not?

Dainsleif notices how you stare at his character with adoration and love his design oh so much, that he also knows you love drawing, just like Albedo. Hearing this, Albedo loves you to death, like… Literally.

Aether hearing you’re also unstoppable that even Unknown God can’t stop you? Goodness this boy is falling in a deep rabbit hole for falling for you~!

Paimon sees you as a mother/father figure too honestly… Paimon relates to you so much about food, and always gets so happy when you agreed by getting food. Despite your tired expression, she just wants to cry because you did not once call her an “Emergency food”.

How about your complex theories? Tighnari and Al-haitham will have a whole set of a store with written details about your theories. You did die when Teyvat was made, so makes sense why you didn’t know everything. (…. You ate popcorn and watched your show as Archon war was a thing.) Every theories, is about very interesting things.

Snezhnaya and Tsaritsa would be so happy when they find out your world was filled with snow (to those who live in a snowy weather like me), and would flex it off to other nations like cocky little bastards. They see this as a blessing, and would try getting to know your culture by just the fact you and them have snow. That would mean you wouldn’t be cold in their place, right?

How about Fontaine being in horror when they find about your Creepypasta and FnaF books? They’ll keep themselves aware of the woods and will isolate any innocent beings from anywhere that involves woods and trees. Jeff the killer and Jeffrey C. Hodek (canon Jeff) definitely traumatized numerous of the people in Fontaine, considering their skins got burned a lot.

Yelan being also surprised she and other rich people in Teyvat, are in fact not the richest people in their own world after learning that… Moras aren’t actually real money? I can see Mona laughing at their misery, even though she’s sad she doesn’t exist literally in your world. How the fuck is she supposed to kiss hug you huh?

Venti and Nahida being so drawn to your morning voice, hearing you cursing as they didn’t know what the meanings behind those languages meant. Nahida would stare at your face in awe, listening to your stories as Venti would too, making a song about it probably— only for it to go downfall when they realize you occasionally hurt yourself in work. They’re horrified. YOU FELL OFF THE STAIRS??! They’re gonna faint.

Cyno who is in love with a heated face when he learns you love jokes, hearing you making a dark humor that just has him down bad for you— and ends up laughing. Your dark humor never goes too far, and he just loves it that you can accept his jokes. He is definitely going to be very loyal towards you…

Imagine Scaramouche/Wanderer lovingly gazing at your side view as you try to do makeup real quickly before playing your game. It didn’t matter. He loved your little habit of always doing your makeup first— and then play. He’s patient, and will always try his best… Ends up killing Hilichurls under one second, oops~

With everyone in Teyvat learning about your habits, learning about your talents…

They officially are definitely in love with you. They will always love you. They know when it’s you, even if someone tries to look like you and act like you to get attention. It will never work. They don’t care what form you take, because they’re obsessed and in love with the idea of you. They will only love you, you you you. You’re genderless? They’ll love you, you’re a bully? They’ll love you. It doesn’t matter what form you take.

They will always love you, [Name].

I wanna do a small love hc with Dainsleif and Pantalone x reader because I’m in love with them ♡ but I also wanna do persona insert x canon… Man.

[gfdazai]

IT'S LOVE, IT'S ROMANCE.

* Being in a relationship w/ them.

* CW / Established relations, GN reader (I thinkies,) not proofread / edited, I'm making this up as I gooo! Sorry if this is OOC, it's been a wwhile since I've genshided?... Genshinend?.... Yknow. this isnt good im ngl. SO RUSHED this is . unbelievable. It's all over the place but

Ningguang, who showers you with anything that you look at when going window shopping. She doesn't even think twice about the price — despite your refusals, and complaints — she gets you to accept it eventually.

Ningguang, who lets you do her hair as a sign of love. She's a busy lady, it's basically a proclamation of love when she spares enough time for you to sit down, comb her hair and braid it, if you're lucky enough.

Ningguang, who hunts out almost every Qingxin when you say one is pretty. Ningguang, who pays for a crate of cecilias when you say you wished they grew in Liyue.

Beidou,, who brings you back stuff from each of her voyages! ! You say you'd like some fabric from Inazuma? Done. You want wine from Mondstadt? Done, even quicker!

Beidou, who collects shells for you from each shore she comes across. All her treasures (shells), are taking up at least 3 drawers. You don't have the heart to stop her, as she seems so happy when she brings you another pouch everytime she's home...

Beidou, who schedules a whole day for cuddling before she leaves. She refuses to take you with her — scared of you getting hurt, or something — so she spends as much time with you as she can. She forces you to clear your schedule to stay in bed with her all morning, not caring if you had a meeting with whoever, wherever.

Lisa,, who constantly uses you as a guinea pig for her potions. You wanna spend time with her? Okay, just drink this!! Of course, she'd never let anything harm you, she only gives you the potions with the silly side effects.

She'd constantly tease you, calling you petnames that not even the flirtest would think of, just for the amusement of seeing you flustered. If you tease her back, though? It's like a compitition of who get's more flustered first. It's gotten so bad, to the point of the library emptying out because of it.

Lisa, who doesn't even spare you from her punishments as a librarian! Oh, you forgot to give her the book last night? No, no, that simply won't do! She can't be stopping her job for her pretty thing, no, not even for you. ...At least she apologizes afterwards.

Furina,, who 'makes' (gets someone else to make) sweets for you. She somehow knows exactly what you want, and exactly when you want it.

She'd also let you sit in on tea parties, right next to her. She'd make you a little hat like her own, like her own little claim on you, making you sit there and look like her pretty little thing.

Furina, who gets flustered the moment you imply going anything romantic. Holding hands? Not that bad, it'll get her a little flustered. Kissing? She feels like she's having a heart attack after the first kiss the two of you share.

She'd get Neuvillette to get you plushies, preferring to stay with you as he goes to find whatever animal she requested this time. She'd get jealous if you picked a plushie to have in your arms instead of her, whining and wiggling around in the bed until you replace the plushie with her.

Please don't steal my work, nor feed it to any sort of AI. Thank you! ♡

[atinylittlepain]

Crush On You

no outbreak!joel miller x fem!reader

Hungry Hearts masterlist

The summer of '86, a season of love, record-breaking heat, and evening softball games in one Austin neighborhood. What happens when seventeen years later, that lost love comes back around?

warnings | 18+ cursing, smut, young joel is a goddamn menace

wordcount | 9K

a/n | hi folks, i come bearing part two of my hungry hearts series. she's long, okay? i'm sorry, the spirit of young joel possessed me what can i say. hope y'all enjoy this one, come tell me what you think in my inbox! also much love, much thanks to my trenchcoat brother @northernbluess for beta-reading this baby - love you, cousin

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

“Well, well, look who has graced us with her presence. How’d you scare her out of hiding, Miller?”

“Oh, you know, black mail, extortion, a cattle prod.” Her scowl is lost on the pair as Mikey Donahue pulls Joel into a hug that’s more of a gruff back slap than anything else before promptly putting a beer in his hand. Meanwhile, she’s already regretting her decision to come along, trying to temper her grimace when Mikey hooks his arm around her shoulders to crush her into his side, grinning big and boozy down at her.

“Good to see you, big city. College suits you.” She has to laugh, seeing as Mikey didn’t have the time of day for her in high school and now he seems to be all too intent on laying the charm on thick.

“Thanks, Mikey, that’s real, uh, kind of you.” Before Mikey can reply with what she’s sure would be an equally charming remark, Joel curls his fingers in the neck of his t-shirt to pry him away from her, steering him further into the house.

“Alright, Mike, don’t scare her off, I just got her in the door. C’mon, man, I was promised a keg stand here.” All she gets from Joel is one more glance over his shoulder before she has been left entirely alone in a sea of her old classmates, with quite literally no escape route, considering she drove here in Joel’s rusted-out pick-up truck. 

She fields a few polite hellos, trying her best to move through the house as unnoticed as possible to get to the backyard and away from the smell of sweat and socially anxious bodies. Mercifully, there’s only a few people outside, couples all tangled up and people smoking around the edge of the pool. She forgot Mikey Donahue had a pool, though she supposes his parents were always notorious for their money and how visible they made it. 

This wasn’t her scene in high school, and it certainly isn’t now. Honestly, she’s not sure why she agreed to go with Joel in the first place. Oh yeah, Lisa-Anne. She kind of wishes she let Lisa-Anne have this one. 

“Hey, big city, there you are!” Mikey again, this time with no Joel to wrangle him off and away from her. He really is the quintessential all-american boy, home from some expensive east coast school that she can’t remember the name of, the whole blonde and blue eye thing, floppy and smiley like a well-bred golden retriever. She isn’t quite sure where this sudden chumminess with her has come from, they certainly didn’t run in the same circles as teenagers. But there isn’t much room to ponder it when he has once again slung his arm around her, his face so close to hers that she can smell the pabst blue ribbon he probably just tossed back. 

“Remind me what you’re studying all the way up in Chicago?” She knows for a fact that drunk Mikey has a temper, like, punching holes in the walls of his parents’ basement temper, so she makes no move to push him away, though she’d really like nothing more right now, trying and failing to create even an inch more of distance between them. Mikey doesn’t like that, dropping his arm to sling low around her waist, his fingers brushing against the bare skin between her jean shorts and where the fabric of her t-shirt has rucked up. 

“I’m studying English.” It comes out smaller and quieter than she would like it to, her throat tightening with something like panic at Mikey’s continued advancements. On his part, Mikey seems to find the whole thing amusing, tossing his head back in a hard laugh.

“That’s right, always a little bookworm, weren’t you? Tell me this, what the hell can you even do with an English degree, big city?” 

“You can do a lot of things with an English degree, Mike.” She’s just pissed off enough to finally yank out of his grip, sending him stumbling a few feet back, though he’s quick to recover with a laugh that sounds a little less friendly. 

“I know it’s been a while since you’ve been home, big city, so I’m gonna do you a favor and pretend like that was just an accident.” 

“Hey, Mike, where’d you go, man?” She’s never been so happy to hear Joel’s voice in her life, she thinks, taking one more subtle step back as he sidles up next to Mikey and slings his arm around his shoulders. The light from inside the house casts shadows over Joel’s forearm where it’s draped against Mikey’s chest, and she can see the tendons jumping there from how hard he’s holding onto him, though it otherwise looks like a friendly embrace.

“Was just catching up with that one, Miller, so you can fuck right off, thanks.” And there it is. She feels herself wince with the bite of Mikey’s words, though Joel stays completely calm, a placid and altogether unsettling smile quirking up his mouth. 

“I think you’ve had enough to drink, man. Why don’t you leave the nice girl alone and go sleep it off before you do something you’re gonna regret?” She should probably do something other than stand there and stare at what is probably, definitely about to become a bad scene, a small crowd starting to form around them already. But she feels frozen where she stands, her eyes darting between Mikey’s sneer, and Joel’s ticking jaw. 

“And who’s gonna make me regret it, Miller, huh? You?” Because they are apparently still children, the crowd of people let out a low chorus of ooooh at that. And then for a moment it’s perfectly silent and perfectly still, Joel and Mikey staring each other down in a strange, half-way thing between an embrace and a strangle-hold. But by the time she blinks again, the both of them have swung, Mikey missing and Joel making clipped contact with the side of Mikey’s jaw. It’s just enough to send Mikey stumbling back and over the edge of the pool, and because he’s still got a fist clenched in Joel’s shirt, he gets yanked in after him. 

The crowd is quick to disperse after such a disappointing climax to their little spat, and while Mikey hauls himself out of the pool on the other side like a drowned cat, she finds herself offering out her hand to an equally sodden Joel. He drips all over her sneakers when he gets out, his flannel clinging to his torso, damp and darkened, something she tries not to pay too much attention to. 

“You okay?” 

“I’m not the one who just fell into a pool.” He drags a hand through his hair to get it slicked back out of his face, water still dripping off the tip of his nose as he looks at her. For a moment, she thinks that he looks small, a slight shiver in his shoulders, his eyes wide and his lashes all stuck together. He looks young, and he’s looking at her and only her. 

“I’m fine, Cher, let’s get out of here, huh? This party is dead anyways.” With a quick shake back of his shoulders and a thumb swiped under his nose, that familiar front has already slipped back into place. But she’s fine with it if it means they’re going to get out of this place, letting Joel lead the barreling way back through the house, his sneakers squeaking and squelching with every step. And even though he looks ridiculous, dripping all over the hardwood floors of Mikey’s parents’ house, he keeps his chin tilted up like he owns the place and his shoulders squared off as broad as his leanness will allow, easily parting a path for them through the crowd and out onto the front lawn. 

Neither of them speak when they get into the car, leaving the radio off as the engine splutters to life and they start winding their way back out of the wealthy neighborhood. She wants to say something, to thank him, to ask him if he’s sure that he’s okay, but she can’t find the right words, twisting her hands in her lap and watching the way the truck’s headlights spill out over the road. 

“So you’re really going for it out in Chicago?” His voice breaking the silence startles her out of her simmering mind, and when she glances over at him, he only offers her a quick side sweep of his eyes before he focuses back on the road. 

“You said you’re studying English?” He heard that? How long was he watching her and Mikey?

“Oh, um, yeah, yes.” She keeps her focus on the knuckles of his hand draped over the top of the steering wheel, a subtle tension and flexion to his grip.

“Gonna be a big shot writer, right? That was always your dream, wasn’t it?”

“When I was a kid, yeah. I don’t know, I’ll probably end up teaching, though I think my parents expect me to just wind up married and pregnant by the end of it anyways.” He snorts at that, shaking his head though he keeps his eyes on the road. 

“You were always writing stories, Cherry.”

“Uh-huh.” Honestly, she’s surprised he held onto that fact, the ratty composition books she carried around everywhere as a child, and well into her teens too. 

“Ever write one about me?” 

“Oh, sure.” 

“Wait, really?” His eyes finally dart over to her, eyebrows shot up his forehead and she has to bite back a laugh.

“Yeah, it was about your astonishing humility and non-existent ego.” She can barely get it out with a straight face, already dissolving into another laugh as Joel rolls his eyes at her dig. 

“Alright, alright, guess I walked into that one.” They’ve just pulled up in front of her house, Joel flicking off the headlights so her parents don’t notice. For once, she’s in no hurry to get away from him, an honestly foreign feeling as they sit in his truck. He’s still soaking wet, his hair starting to stick up every which way from how it’s drying, though he seems perfectly content to keep staring at her, something like a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. 

“You don’t like being home very much, do you, Cherry?” 

“I really don’t, no.” She says it on a long sigh, no idea why she’s inclined to be honest with him like that. 

“How come?” 

“I feel like no one takes me seriously down here.” 

“I do.”

“Joel.”

“What? I do.”

“How can that possibly be true when you still call me a name that came from me snorting soda out of my nose?” 

“Okay, maybe originally it came from that, but that’s not why I call you it now, not really.”

“Please enlighten me then, why do you call me that?” His brow furrows for a moment, like he’s choosing his words carefully, opening and closing his mouth a few times before he finally answers.

“Because– because I just do, okay? But I do take you seriously, for the record.” She leans her head back on the seatrest, tilting her chin to look at him where he has his arm hanging over the steering wheel, his full body leaning and twisting toward her.

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh, and I’m gonna want a signed copy of your first book.”

“Oh please.”

“I’m dead serious, Cher. I probably won’t read it, but I reckon it’ll be worth something when you get all famous and shit.”

“Lovely, Joel, thanks so much for that.” He shrugs, though his gaze stays steady with hers, and it happens again, that softening around the edges, that kid she remembers. And again, it’s gone in a flash, Joel suddenly leaning toward her in an unexpected way. And, well, she reacts before she can really think.

“Jesus! What the fuck, Cher?” He has bodily recoiled from her back into the driver’s side, his palm cupping his cheek where she just landed a hard smack with the flat of her hand. 

“Me what the fuck? You what the fuck? What the hell was that, Joel?”

“I don’t– I thought we were having a– a nice moment!” She goes to open the passenger side door, but Joel is quick to reach over and shut it again like a petulant child, eliciting a bitter laugh from her.

“We were until you pulled that shit. I’m not one of your little housewives that you can do whatever you want with.” This time, he doesn’t try to stop her when she clambers out of the truck, though he isn’t quite finished yet. 

“Oh c’mon, Cherry! This ain’t playing fair!” She quickly shushes him before he starts to wake up half the neighborhood with his exclamations, only staying close enough to the car so she can whisper yell back at him.

“I’m not playing, Joel. Do me a favor and just stay away from me, why don’t you?”

…

While Sarah may not be the strongest batter, which is okay because Joel is working with her on it most afternoons, she makes for a mean third baseman, though part of him secretly wishes she played shortstop more often. And though he’s usually busy shouting reminders and tips at her from the bleachers, Joel is a bit preoccupied today watching something else, or someone else is more like it. 

He’s never been so pissed at chain link fencing in his life for obscuring his view of her, standing in front of the bleachers with her arms crossed and her hip cocked out as she watches the game from behind sunglasses and a ball cap. But he’s also never been more grateful for the Austin swelter because it means that she’s in a tank top and jean shorts, and he’s pretty sure his mind is starting to short-circuit because it looks to him like Cherry picked up some tattoos in the last seventeen years. He can’t tell what they are from this distance, something wrapped over her right shoulder and down her bicep, and, fuck him, something on the top of her right thigh. So maybe he’s craning his neck a little to try to make out what the ink is, and maybe he should be paying more attention to the game, because when there’s suddenly some sort of scuffle on the field between the umpire and one of Sarah’s coaches, he has no clue what he missed. 

“That was an out, are you kidding me? She tagged her!” He’s sitting close enough to third that he’s pretty sure it’s Ellie, at least he thinks that was her name, who the umpire and the coach are arguing over whether Sarah got her out or not before she stepped on third. Yeah, definitely Ellie, because here comes Cherry from the bleachers on the other side. 

“Her foot was on the base when she tagged her, that wasn’t an out!” The umpire looks at Cherry with an amount of exasperation that tells Joel they’ve interacted before. Cherry, meanwhile, has her cap off and her sunglasses slanted down her nose to look at the ump with all the kindness of a parole officer.

“Ma’am please let us handle this and return to the bleachers.” He’s not sure why he decides to get involved, it’s not like he actually saw what happened. But the combination of it being Sarah who either did or didn’t get Ellie out and his own small desire to get a little closer to Cherry, regardless of the context, has him up off the bleachers and hooking his fingers through the chain link fence. 

“I’m pretty sure it was an out, I had a better view of it than you did, Cher.” Judging by the way she scoffs and shakes her head, he probably shouldn’t have called her that, though there isn’t much time to ponder that when she’s walking over to him and getting as up in his face as she can with the thin mesh of chain link separating them. 

“Don’t Cher me, Joel.”

“Mom, please, it’s fine, I’m pretty sure she got me before I tagged up.” Ellie and Sarah both look pretty ready for this situation to be over, huffing and rolling their eyes at their parents’ strange display. 

“Els, you are not out, okay? You’re gonna stay on third and the game is gonna get going again–”

“Always were a sore loser.” It just slips out, and it isn’t even true. He was the sore loser, and he knows it, and judging by the way Cherry whips back around to glare at him, he has just incurred her admittedly deserved wrath. 

“Oh, that is real rich coming from you, Joel Miller, you are–”

“Alright, folks, we don’t have time for this and I’m going to have to ask you both to wait in the parking lot while we finish this game.”

“What?” They say it at nearly the same time to the umpire, who just shakes his head at them and points toward the parking lot next to the ball field. 

“Both of you, out of here, or I’m going to disqualify both of your girls from playing.” Well, really no arguing with that, especially not when Sarah and Ellie are giving them both pleading looks from behind the umpire. Cherry doesn’t give him another look, simply mutters an apology to the umpire before heading off toward the parking lot. And all he can do is sheepishly follow behind her with his own apology and a gruff play well offered to Sarah who just rolls her eyes at him.

No, not exactly what he had in mind for their second meeting.

He probably shouldn’t, but since he already seems to be playing the fool, he figures he doesn’t have much to lose in approaching her where she’s sitting in the popped-open trunk of her minivan, her sunglasses pushed up to the crown of her head and her legs swinging idly over the lip of the trunk. 

“I’m, uh, sorry about all that.” Her eyebrows raise, a weary look that makes something hot and slippery curl in his gut, a little bashful under her gaze. 

“I am too, I guess. They probably shouldn’t let us on the field together, huh?” Her words crack a bit dryly with the curl of her smile, instant relief washing over him in mirroring her expression. 

“No, I reckon not.” She doesn’t say anything more, just scoots her hips to one side and pats the space next to her, an invitation he tries not to seem so eager to take as he sits down beside her. Close enough now that he can get a better look at the tattoo on her arm and her thigh. Something beating hard in his chest and tightening up his throat when he realizes that it’s a bouquet of chrysanthemums etched into her thigh. And on her arm, spiraling over her bicep and across her shoulder is a branch of a cherry tree.

…

There’s no other option on a Sunday. She wishes more than anything that there was, but she knows that everywhere else is closed. 

“Thatcher’s auto and towing, how can I help you?” She hasn’t spoken to him in two weeks, not since that night they went to Mikey Donahue’s party. She even started picking Will up herself for dinner to avoid having him anywhere near her, pointedly ignoring the his shouts of her name from the ball field whenever she does. So hearing his voice gives her pause, and she nearly hangs the payphone back up, but she really has no other option right now.

“Uh, hi, my car broke down and I need to get it towed.”

“Cherry?” 

“Um, yes?” There’s a long pause on the other end, though she’s pretty sure she can hear him let out a deep sigh. 

“Shit, okay, where are you?”

“I’m out by the new mall, um, I think right off of eighth street? I don’t know what’s wrong with it, honestly it just sort of– gave out on me.” 

“Alright, I’ll be there in five, just stay right where you are.” 

“Well, I can’t exactly go anywhere else, Joel.” She can hear the sound of something metal clanging around in the background, followed by Joel letting out a low curse.

“Right, yeah, just hang tight.” With that, he hangs up with a quiet click, and all that’s left to do is walk the two blocks back to her car. Technically, it’s her mom’s car, her old station wagon that had been given to her as a graduation gift, dark green with wood paneling and a dent in the back bumper that she has somehow managed to hide from both of her parents for a year now. She gives the car another once over, definitely nothing wrong with her tires, and she’s not even going to pretend like she’d know what’s going on under the hood, so she settles against the side of the car door and bides her time watching the slow trickle of traffic pass by.

It’s the middle of the afternoon, another record-breaking day of heat, she’s pretty sure. At least it feels that way, her eyes set in a perpetual squint under the hard beat of the sun as she swipes at the sweat on her forehead with the back of her wrist. Though mercifully she’s not waiting for long when a truck with the Thatcher’s Auto logo on the side comes pulling up alongside where she had managed to park her car on the shoulder of the road. He hops out of the truck, dressed in a pair of coveralls with the sleeves tied around his waist, a white wife beater on top that’s smeared with grease stains, and she has to remind herself that she’s still pissed at him when his dimple pops with a sheepish smile as he approaches her, tugging the baseball cap off his head to run a hand through his hair before settling his hat on backwards.

“Hey, Cherry, um, how– how have you been?” 

“I’ve been better, Joel, considering that my car won’t even start.” Nope, she’s not going to give him anything else, setting her jaw in a hard line and jerking her chin back over her shoulder as if to say get on with it. Joel seems to take the hint, giving her a jerky nod before taking a quick look around her car. 

“Well, your tires look fine. Lemme pop the hood and see if it’s anything obvious.” She hopes more than anything that it is something obvious, that she isn’t going to have to drive back to the shop with him, but judging by the way Joel lets the hood close with a shake of his head, she doesn’t think she has gotten so lucky. 

“I don’t know, Cher, I think you’re gonna have to come back to the shop with me so I can take a closer look.” She pinches the bridge of her nose, trying to hold back a frustrated groan before she finally looks at Joel again. 

“Okay, fine, and how long is that gonna take, do you think?”

“Got a few other cars I have to take care of first, but it shouldn’t be too long. You okay to wait at the shop?”

“I don’t think I have much of a choice, so yeah.” She waits in the cab of the truck while Joel hitches her car up, keeping her eyes flicked down and out of the passenger window when he gets back in. 

“You giving me the silent treatment?”

“No, I just don’t have anything to say to you.” She doesn’t look at him as she says it, but she can hear the huff of a sigh he lets out before he cranks the truck into drive. He doesn’t try to talk to her for the rest of the drive, and she keeps her arms crossed pointedly in front of her chest, her whole body angled toward the passenger-side door. However, when they pull into the garage at Thatcher’s and she tries to get out, the lock on her door promptly clicks down and the handle won’t budge. 

“Can we just talk for a second, Cher?” She pries the lock back open, but just as soon as she does, Joel clicks it back into place, forcing her to finally glare at him. His brow is furrowed and his knee is bouncing in his seat, and if she didn’t know any better, she’d guess that he’s nervous. 

“Fine, what is so important that you have to lock me into your truck like a goddamn serial killer?”

“Wouldn’t have had to if you weren’t being so goddamn stubborn to begin with.” She lets out a clipped bark of laughter at that, once again pulling the lock up on her own to try to get out, and once again, like a deranged comedy act, he clicks it back into place before she can even get her fingers around the handle. 

“Joel Miller, I swear to God, if you don’t let me out of this car right now I’m going to scream.”

“I just– just– fuck, Cherry, I’m sorry, okay? I wanted to say that I’m sorry.” That gives her pause. There have been only two other times in her life that Joel has apologized to her. The first time was when they were eight years old, and really, she thinks, it shouldn’t count because his mom forced him to, her hand between his small shoulder blades nudging him forward to say sorry for pulling on her braid from the pew behind her at church and making her cry. 

The second time, they were ten. That one does count. She was sitting on the swings at the playground down the street, scribbling in her notebook when a little crew of boys in the grade above her came out of nowhere and started heckling her. Joel showed up on his bike as she was picking up the tattered pages and scraps of what had been the story she was working on in her notebook. She remembers that she was trying really hard not to cry in front of him when he knelt down beside her to help her gather the torn pieces, small hands trying to make it right. He had nothing to be sorry for, but he still said that he was real sorry, Cher, quiet, and sounding much older and wearier than a ten-year-old should. That one counts. But otherwise, those words coming out of his mouth have been non-existent, so she can’t help but fall silent to hear just what he has to say. 

“You’re sorry?” He takes off his cap again, setting it down on the dash of the truck and dragging his hand back through his hair, very clearly having to work himself up to saying it again when he finally looks at her.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about what happened after Mikey’s party. I just– I thought that you–”

“Thought that I what? Did you really think I was going to be that easy, Joel?”

“What? No, if you would just let me finish speaking for Christ’s sake, I know that’s kind of difficult for you and your big mouth–”

“Wow, Joel, you really know how to apologize to a girl, huh?” With that, he slams the heel of his hand against the steering wheel, letting out a sharp curse that makes any other smart remarks fizzle out in her throat. 

“You know what, Cher? Just forget it. You can go wait in the office and I’ll have your car ready for you as soon as I can.” He finally unlocks the car door, and she’s more than happy to get out and slam it behind her.

“Fine.”

“Yeah, fine.”

…

“So is your wife not a fan of softball?”

“My what?” 

“Your wife, does she not like coming to games?” All he can do is laugh for a moment, pure disbelief at her question, and when he finally looks at her again, her brow still furrowed in confusion, he shakes his head with a huff.

“Is that like a funny question or something?” Just a little snap of annoyance behind her words, though he’s quick to respond, holding out his left hand in between them, his decidedly ringless left hand. 

“A little bit considering there is no wife.” It’s the middle of the fourth inning from what he can tell, still plenty of time for them to be not allowed on the field, sitting in the back of Cherry’s car. 

“Oh, but– was there one? I mean, Sarah’s mom?” 

“Uh, no, she’s not in the picture, at all.”

“I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be. But, uh, what about you? I mean– is Ellie’s– is your, uh–” She cuts off his floundering with a nudge of her shoulder against his, a tight smile on her lips.

“Not in the picture.”

“At all?”

“Never, doesn’t even know Ellie exists.”

“Shit, Cher, that had to have been hard.” She laughs, a clipped sound in the back of her throat as she slides her sunglasses back down onto her nose, keeping her gaze out on the field in front of them. He quickly does the math in his head, pretty sure that Ellie and Sarah are the same age, something heavy and hot settling in his chest when he realizes that she would have only been twenty-two when she had her daughter, just like him. It’s an aching fact, one that his mind starts to swim with, though her voice pulls him out of it quickly.

“It definitely wasn’t easy, but I’d like to think I’ve done alright.”

“I’ll say, it seems like every year there’s a new book of yours in the news for being a bestseller.” She turns to look at him at that, her eyebrows raised and her lips parted before settling into a slight smile.

“Have you read any of them?” 

“I didn’t think you’d want me to.” His answer seems to stop her, her face falling behind the darkness of her sunglasses, though she’s quick to catch herself with a breathy humph before turning her eyes back on the field in the distance. He wishes he could tuck those words back in his throat, try that again if only to keep her eyes on him. 

“Are your folks still in town?”

“Oh yeah, dinner every Sunday with them still.” She hums, a light sound that curls with her smile, though she still doesn’t look at him. 

“That must be nice.”

“I think ma would throw a parade if she knew you were back in town.”

“Oh please.”

“I’m dead serious, Cher.” There, she looks at him again, her smile turning crooked as she nudges her shoulder against his, an easy moment that still makes his heart kick up in his chest. 

“And Tommy’s still around? Miller’s Construction, right?” He must have a funny look on his face when she says that because she laughs again, something warm and flushed creeping into her cheeks that makes his mind go a little fritzed. 

“I promise I’m not stalking you, I was just looking for someone to come fix some stuff at the new house. Sounds like you two have done well for yourselves.” His mind still hasn’t caught up, still such a strange feeling to have her here in the present, talking about these things in the present, all these normal, very grown up things. 

“Uh, yes, yeah, we do alright. Tommy is still a fucking nuisance, but it’s good work. What’re you looking to get done?” 

“I think my back porch is all rotted out, nearly put my foot through a plank the other day. Do you have any idea how much it would cost to redo the whole thing?” 

“I’d have to come take a look, but I could redo it for you, no problem.” He has already decided how much it will cost. Nothing, not for her, though he knows if he told her that now she’d scoff and get someone else to do it who would accept payment. He’ll save that fact for after it’s finished. 

“Alright, is there a number I can call to schedule an appointment?” Oh, oh, he’s not stupid enough to let this opportunity pass him by.

“Why don’t I, uh, give you my number? It’ll be easier that way.” He knows she knows what he’s doing, her lips pursing for a moment as if to consider it, but she still slides her phone out of her back pocket and hands it over to him. He has to think really hard about what his phone number is, typing it in with a small tremor in his hand that only gets worse when he gives her phone back to her with a barely there brush of their fingers. 

“Can I ask you something?”

“Maybe, what’s the question?” 

“Why’d you come back? I don’t know where you’ve been, Cher, but I can tell you that I never expected you to come back here.” Shit, he shouldn’t have asked that, because she’s not looking at him again, her chin tucking down as her mouth settles in a thin grimace.

“Honestly? I don’t know. We were in Chicago for the longest time, and then New York while I was working on my last two books. And it was great while it was great, you know? But it was just too much after a while, too much for Ellie, and too much for me.” He ducks his head down, trying to catch her gaze now that her sunglasses are pushed back up into her hair.

“So you made it to New York, huh?” That gets him a grin, her eyes crinkling up under her lashes at him.

“Yeah, the big leagues and all that shit.”

“How was it?”

“Lonely. I think I would have lost my mind if I didn’t have Ellie.” His heart twinges and then swells in his chest because he hates to hear that, and is also relieved to hear that, and then he hates himself for being relieved to hear that. That there wasn’t anyone else. 

“For what it’s worth, Cherry, I’m real glad to see you back here again.” No, that didn’t come out quite right, and he has to stop himself from physically wincing when she gives him a furrowed look in response. 

“I find that a little hard to believe, Joel.”

“Why?”

“Well, we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms, did we?” He feels a long sigh leave his lungs, and she’s already hopping out of the trunk and brushing her hands down the front of her shorts as if to shake the conversation off.

“I am sorry, Cher, I–”

“Don’t, Joel. Don’t do that.” She shakes her head hard at him, eyes fierce for a moment before she slips her sunglasses back into place. 

“Well I am.” 

“Well I don’t want you to be. There’s no need for it when that was such a long time ago.” He wants to say something else, anything, but the tightness in his throat keeps the words stuck and simmering somewhere in his chest. She doesn’t look at him again, murmuring something about the game ending and wanting to help Ellie pack up, and all he can do is dumbly agree, shutting the trunk of her car and walking back toward the field a few paces behind her. Always a few paces behind her, it seems. 

…

Joel was full of shit. Something about fixing her car as soon as he could, something about it not taking too long. Yeah, bullshit. She has been sitting in the front office of the auto shop for the last three hours, trying and failing to get some writing done in her notebook amidst the seemingly ceaseless sounds of whirring drills, clanking and crashing metal, and the men in the garage cursing and carrying on amongst themselves. Though some of the sound has died down now that it’s just Joel working, the other men all clocking out at five o’clock. Meanwhile, he hasn’t even gotten to her car yet.

Everytime she glances into the garage, his legs are still sticking out from under a cream-colored mustang. When he does finally pop out from underneath the car, her hopes of getting out of the place soon are quickly dashed as someone pulls up to the gas pumps out front. She knows that car, a convertible in an obnoxious shade of turquoise that could only mean Maureen Henderson. Her daddy got her that car for her sixteenth birthday and she never stopped thinking she was hot shit for it ever since. 

She gets up from her cracked vinyl chair in the office to stand at the windows, trying to get a better look at their interaction. Joel is in fine form, of course, leaning down close over the driver’s side door, all grins, all popping gum with his jaw as Maureen rests a perfectly french-tipped set of fingers on his bicep. He must say something really funny for her to toss her head back like that, her teased-out hair bouncing with her tittering laugh. Joel slips around the front of the car, and, really, she thinks, is it so necessary for him to pump Maureen’s gas for her? Can Maureen really not just pump her own gas like a normal person? All a bit outdated, if you ask her. Though Maureen seems perfectly pleased with the whole production, leaning across the passenger’s side and slipping a few folded up bills into the back pocket of Joel’s coveralls while he’s turned away to set the pump back in its holster. How nauseatingly sweet of Maureen, who’s rewarded with another grin and something that must be really fucking funny for her to laugh so loud before she peels away from the shop with one more waggle of her fingers at him. Joel, meanwhile, seems in no hurry to get back to work as he moseys back into the garage, counting the bills that Maureen just tucked into his pocket with a stupid smirk on his face. Yeah, she’s seen quite enough.

“Hey, so I’m just wondering, when you said this wasn’t going to take too long, did you know that you were full of shit? Or is Maureen just that distracting?” Her eyes nearly water when she steps into the garage from the smell of motor oil and burnt rubber, though she’s a little too pissed to worry about that as she walks over to where Joel is rummaging through a tool box next to the mustang. 

“Aw, Cherry, don’t tell me you're jealous of little old Maureen.” She would like to smack his smile clean off his face, the only thing stopping her being the fact that she still needs him to fix her car. 

“I’m not jealous, Joel. I have been sitting in that office all afternoon watching you do everything except fix my car and I would like to go home now.” 

“So you’ve been watching me, huh?” 

“Christ, you really are relentless, aren’t you?” She honestly can’t believe he’s already bounced back to his incessant teasing after their little blow up in his truck, poking his tongue into the side of his cheek and squinting at her as she huffs at him.

“Alright, Cher, you’ve waited long enough. I’ll take a look.” She follows close on his heels as he sidles over to her car, popping the hood and ducking his head under to look at the engine.

“Well?” Though she has no clue what he’s looking at, she still leans over the engine next to him, searching his face for any answers.

“Hmm, oh, here’s your problem.” He twists what looks like a loose knob down into the engine, shocking her with how quickly he stands back up with a satisfied smirk on his face. 

“That– that’s it?”

“Yep, loose spark plug.”

“And you couldn’t have fixed that earlier on the side of the road?”

“No, I could have, but then you wouldn’t have come and kept me company with your death glare all afternoon.” He can barely get his words out around a laugh. But she is decidedly not laughing. It’s completely impulsive, and maybe childish, but it feels good to shove the flat of both her palms into his chest, making him stumble back against the side of the mustang parked next to her car. And since it felt so good the first time, she decides to do it again, this time with enough force for his laughs to die out with a grunted oof. 

“You’re an ass, do you know that? A huge– fucking– ass–” Each word gets punctuated with another shove, though on the last one Joel wraps his hand around her wrists, collecting them both in a tight hold and only pulling her closer against his chest when she tries to yank away from him. 

“Let go, Joel.” Their faces are so close to each other’s that she can smell the cinnamon on his breath from that Big Red gum he likes to chew, can even see the freckle tucked between his lashes underneath his right eye, the same freckle that’s been there since they were kids. 

“No.”

“No?”

“No, I’m not gonna let go.” 

“You’re a fucking child.”

“That the best you got, Cherry baby?”

“Do not call me that.”

“Or else what?” A beat, a blink, a moment for her heart to sink into her stomach and shoot straight up into her throat when they both lurch into the space between them. There’s nothing nice about the first one, in fact, it hurts a little with how hard they both press into it, her nose mashing up against his as their teeth scrape and clash with each other. They kiss ugly. They kiss angry. Both of them too stubborn to let the other one get away with anything, the moment he licks into her mouth, she tangles her fingers in the back of his hair and tugs hard, swallowing down the grunt that looses from his throat. Though her upper hand is short-lived when Joel drops both his palms down to her ass and squeezes hard, her whole body jolting in his hold and pressing closer to him. He’s probably getting grease all over her clothes, but she’s not too concerned with that as she keeps drawing low little groans out of him every time she swipes her tongue against his. 

“Wait, Cher– shit, wait– I can’t– I don’t–” She finally pulls back when he keeps mumbling, and suddenly the reality of the situation comes plummeting down on her, starting to panic when it seems like Joel has decided this was all a big mistake.

“What, what is it?”

“I want to do this right with you– your– you should have a nice first time and–”

“Wait, what?” Joel’s eyes get wide and round, his hands dropping down by his sides from where they had been holding her hips when she takes a step back from him.

“Well, I, uh– you– you’re–”

“Joel, have you just assumed that I’m a virgin?” He winces at the word like it’s a curse, and she finally has to laugh at how ridiculous this is. 

“Does that mean you’re not?”

“Just shut up, Joel.” With that, she reaches forward for his waist where the sleeves of his coveralls are tied, making quick work of the knot and rucking his pants the rest of the way down as she kneels in front of him. She tucks her fingers into the band of his boxers, unable to help her grin when she feels his stomach tense against her knuckles.

“Can I?”

“Fuck, yeah, yes– you can do whatever you want, Cherry.” She likes him like this, with his throat bobbing and a crack in his voice pitching his words up an octave, his eyes wide and watching as she tugs his boxers down. And oh, she likes him like this too. Pretty boy who’s certainly pretty all over. The narrow tanness of his hips tapers into a dark thatch of curls, and well, there’s no two ways about it, he’s big, already hard, the tip flushed a perfect pink. Only a little intimidating, but judging by the sound he makes when she suckles the head of him into her mouth, she has it under control. 

“Oh my god– fuck, okay, fuck– you– you’re good at that– Jesus.” There’s a bit too much of him to take it all into her mouth, though she does her best to bob her head down his length, her hand wrapping around what she can’t quite reach as she laps at the vein running along the underside of his cock. A fleeting thought in the back of her mind, this was not how she imagined her day going, not in any universe. But something has snapped, something that cannot be stitched back together. And now, all she feels is an aching want, pulling taut in her stomach, pulling her to him. Want, want, want. She’s never wanted something so bad in her life, she thinks. Not very ladylike to want like this, to gag with it, to dribble spit around it, to see how much more she can take just to coax another broken moan out of his chest, her palms splayed out on his hips to keep him pinned still beneath all her want. But what she didn’t consider is that he wants it just as bad and big as she does, hooking his hand around the back of her neck to pull her off of him and hoist her onto her feet, chasing after the taste of himself on her tongue as he turns them around to press her up against the side of the car. 

“That was gonna be over too fucking soon if I let you keep doing that.” His hands get a little greedy, a little desperate, fumbling to get her t-shirt off before tugging her bra up and overhead without even unclasping it, ducking his head down to let his teeth scrape and nip at the newly exposed skin. He pauses only for a moment, pulling back, his parted lips shiny and blushing and his eyes heavy as he takes her in. She can’t help but drag her hand back through his hair, something tight settling in her chest when he absent-mindedly nudges his cheek closer into the cup of her palm. 

“You’re something else, Cherry.” She doesn’t have any time to ask him just what he means by that, his lips already finding hers again, a small gasp in the back of her throat at the feeling of her nipples dragging against the fabric of his wife beater. And then it’s an awkward, slow shuffle, given that his coveralls and boxers are still pooled and pulled around his ankles, around to the front of the car, his hands finding the backs of her thighs to coax her up and onto the hood. From there his palms start to wander, one coming to cup the side of her neck before slipping down to her breast, the boyish squeeze he leaves there making her laugh, though the sound dies fast when his other hand rests heavy at the waistband of her shorts, thumbing at the button. 

“Can I touch you, Cher?” It’s entirely too earnest, the way he’s looking at her from beneath the thick fan of his lashes, a small crease between his brows. And she’s a little afraid of how her want might skitter up her throat, so instead of saying anything, she simply pulls him in by the nape of his neck for another kiss as her other hand bats his away to undo her shorts. Mercifully, it’s enough of an answer for Joel, his hand replacing hers and dipping down beneath the fabric of her panties, the broadness of his palm cupping her cunt and grinding up into her heat in a way that makes her gasp against his mouth. 

Annoyingly, he’s halfway decent at it, swiping his fingers through her cunt in a harsh rub, though she tenses up when he tries to immediately dip two of his thick fingers into her clenching entrance. 

“Jesus Christ, warm me up a little first, why don’t you?” He looks genuinely perplexed by her exclamation, his hand stilling beneath the fabric of her panties as his brow crumples in reaction. 

“What did I do wrong?” She tugs lightly at the hair at his nape, a light laugh leaving her lips when he lets out a huff like an impatient boy.

“You’re a bit harsh, Joel.”

“Well, I’ve never had any complaints before.” Said with a roll of his eyes and his hand still down her pants so really, she has a hard time taking him seriously. 

“Well, I’m complaining. Just– gentler, here.” She clasps her fingers around his wrist to pull his hand away, giving her room to shimmy her shorts and panties further down over the curve of her ass, the way Joel’s eyes instantly fall to where her legs have now splayed open a bit wider not getting lost on her. She fits her palm to the back of his hand, guiding it back to her cunt, her fingers pressing against the backs of his to direct a firm, swirling pressure to her clit. Her head tilts back on her neck as the pleasure settles over her slow and smooth, continuing to guide Joel’s hand with her own. 

“Just like that, s’perfect.” 

“Like that?” He says it so quietly, so uncharacteristically small that her attention snaps back onto him. His eyes are glued to where her hand is still moving his, lips parted, a look that borders on wonder and clear concentration, and suddenly, she can’t take her own gaze away from the sight, her head tilting on her shoulder as her hand falls away from his to let him do it on his own. 

“Yeah, Joel, feels really good like that. You can– you can add a finger now.” When he does, much slower, much softer, her eyes scrunch shut with a small curse and a sigh, and she finds herself leaning back on her elbows over the hood of the car, her whole body splayed out before him. Joel follows her slow fall, keeping a steady rhythm with his hand as he curls over her, his mouth resting hot and open between her breasts before he tilts his head to the side to take the peak of one of her nipples into his mouth. 

“That feel good, Cher?” 

“Yes, keep doing that, please. I– I’m gonna get there just like this.” Miracle, he listens, only adding another finger when she asks him for it, fucking her with his hand just how she wants him to. Miracle, she can’t tear her eyes away from his, the way he seems to be watching her face for every tell, every sigh and every fall. And miracle, she comes undone for him slowly, a cry catching in her throat when it finally hits her, the easiest unraveling. He only stops when she whines for him to, tugging his hand away and pulling him down for a kiss that’s more just two open mouths laying over each other than anything else. 

“Can we? Do you want to?”

“Yes, I want to.”

“Condom?”

“Birth control.”

“Gotta love women’s lib.” 

“Just don’t tell my mom.”

“Please don’t talk about your mom right now, Cher.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay, just come here.” He struggles a bit to tug her shorts and panties off of her feet, the fabric getting caught on her sneakers, though when he’s finally successful it’s the easiest thing for his hips to slot with hers, his hands curling around the backs of her knees to hitch her legs around his waist. Her arms settle loosely around his shoulders, laying back and bringing him with her as he presses his cock against her swollen cunt. A quick snarl of pain that pleasure snaps and smacks after when drives into her with one languid stroke, both of them letting out stuttered sighs when his hips press against hers. All of that want flickering up and down her spine as he starts to fuck into her, spreading her open again and again. 

“S’a fucking dream, you’re a fucking dream.” She almost wants to laugh at the breathless murmuring of his words, because truthfully she doesn’t think anything has ever felt this real. Her body fitting around his, the way her heart is threatening to beat a break in her ribs, the way her nails can drag down the sliding wings of his shoulder blades, and the incessant, aching heat of him throbbing so deep inside her that she thinks she’ll still feel that hurt tomorrow. She hopes that she will. 

“Joel, look at me, please.” She has to tug on his hair to coax his face out of the hollow of her throat and suddenly that want is dangerous. Looking into the crumpled pleasure painted across his face, watery eyes and slack jaw, and that want becomes dangerous because that want becomes something more. 

She can feel her slick dripping down her thighs, the sound of skin meeting skin mixing with the obscene slip of it, only a fleeting worry about making a mess of the car, though that flits away when Joel drags his fingers back over her clit a little harder, a little greedier.

“Just want one more, Cher, please.” She likes please on his tongue. Please pushes her right over the edge. A little harder this time, a little more ragged, furling up tight and taut around him before everything melts down with a whine of his name. He’s still saying please like a prayer when he comes, and all she can do is sigh with the warmth spreading inside of her. Inhale, exhale, her ribs expanding as his contract, a careful, quiet dance as they both come down, still pressed close, lips suggesting grazes. 

“Do you, uh, want to come up to my apartment?” Want says yes, a whisper her ears prick to under the obvious shout of no. Want says yes, over and over.

“Yeah, okay.”

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

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[unabashednightmarepizza]

𝐹𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑒𝑦𝑣𝑎𝑡, 𝑇𝑤𝑜 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠

Genshin Masterlist

Mondstadt was far too peaceful, compared to the modern world of your planet. There was more greenery, more land to run around and just sit back and relax, trees and flowers weren't withered or tainted with cement...

And now, you were taking your words back as fast as Usain Bolt once ran.

Perhaps the outside of the city was just as you described, but the city? The City was the worst.

Children crying and screaming, people flocking around you and exclaiming their gratitude, elders praising you for your strength and beauty while telling how pretty and strong children you would have, how you were one of the fairest and most fierce maidens of the city and how blessed you were for having a face very similar to their Champion...

Aether's situation was worst, as he was soon surrounded with the teens of Mondstadt who had literal heart eyes for him, staring at his naked abdomen time to time as he blushed deeply while trying not to break anyone's heart...

You were starting to reconsider your early thought of settling here one day.

Your brain was turned into a puddle of jello, their constant talking doing nothing to relax your already throbbing head. Not even rubbing your temples worked, something that eased your school stress which often made your poor nape throb.

And the only way to just ease your poor abused mind, was to come to the Windrise where it was most peaceful with the almost-there hum of the nature and the huge tree

"Don't you think Lisa and Amber are like sisters?" you casually tell to Aether while extending a hand to touch the branch above your head as the shorter male looks up at you from the food he was eating, a kind of sandwich from your world that he was sure he would beg you to prepare more often.

It was one of the best snacks he ever had, and even tasted...familiar.

"Why do you say so?" He raised his brows with a questioning look, already preparing to hear yet another bizarre thing out of your mouth like you usually did whenever you were too bored, while wiping the leftovers on his lips with a napkin you offered so that he didn't use his dirty hands like an uncultured boy.

Nah uh, not on your watch.

" Amber does all of Lisa's footwork. Elder sisters also ask, rather demand, their little sibling to do something for them to laze around." You hummed all-too-knowingly with a shrug, slapping the branch softly with a smile.

He only hummed for a few seconds, pondering for an answer while looking through his previous memories with his sister. Although he forgot most of his memories, he was still able to remember Lumine and all the bickering they did.

And that alone put a smile on his face.

"Hmm... Since me and my sister are the same age, we always used to decide with playing rock, paper and scissors. How about you Y/N?"

"Oh... Uh, It's actually... Something I really don't want to talk about." you trailed off, clear discomfort written on your face as you and Aether sat side by side with Paimon laying on the green field like a starfish, looking up at the Tree of Vanessa and watching the slimes slowly go away to their path, totally unaware of the awkwardness that hung on the air.

But you also knew, from the almost teary eyes Aether had that he missed Lumine and needed to just vent... Even if you didn't wish to speak of your life back on Earth.

"How about Lumine? How is she like?" you asked him with a sigh, tightening your hold on your folded legs and resting your head on your knees as you turned your head to look at him with a soft smile. From what you vaguely knew, while Aether was a sunshine and more approachable due to his cute and round face, Lumine seemed more calm and collected and more likely to beat someone up and not be sorry.

Though she also had her soft and loving moments occasionally. As a matter of fact, you saw yourself in her even when you hadn't actually met her yet... A girl, looking so tough and strong, also sarcastic and funny in her own way, but is actually very vulnerable and in dire need of someone understanding her struggles and pain, and still loving and being there for her.

You could have become such good friends with her...

But you just... couldn't help wondering what happened to them. Why were they there? What did they see or experience enough to leave this world in a hurry? Why the Gods of this world didn't leave them be? What was beyond what others saw in them?

What did the Celestia plan for them this time?

You widened your eyes as your heart started beating erratically, all the while trying not to alert Aether, who was looking at the horizon, from your sudden fear, your mind was suddenly blank at what just crossed your mind. What was even this Celestia you just said? And what did it mean "this time"? You were so sure that you didn't know this world, you couldn't possibly know anything since you just started playing the game and getting into the lore, watching theory edits and such.

And you definitely hadn't read any books about the history of this world either. Then what was that sudden thought thar crossed your mind? Why did it sound like you knew this would happen and this Celestia?

The only thing you had gotten close to knowing about this world was that time when you first met Storm Terror and... a strange bard who talked to that dragon...

Who stared at you with a shocked face, eyes wide with terror and sadness as he looked at you tearfully, as if he had seen his lost lover after years of death taking his love away.

As if a war had wracked both him and whatever he held dear to himself forever to not give what he once blissfully had but never realized it. As if he had seen the ghost of a friend, or a lover right before him when he thought he would never.

Why am I thinking about such things? I mean sure, he was pretty cute with his big green and turquoise eyes and I literally felt my heart broke for him after he made such a kicked puppy face but... I don't even know him! Who is he anyways, and why do I feel like I know both him and that dragon? Why did such a terrifying creature literally whined at the first sight of me?

And your eyes just drifted up, where a land was floating slowly above, close to Mondstadt as if flauntly, as if to showcase its own power, to tell the humans below that they were the ones in power and that they could end them with just one single blow...

Arrogant jackasses... Those fucking, good for nothing Gods, thinking so highly of themselves yet still hiding...

Something inside of you told you that for whatever reason, you would see both that bard and dragon once again and then, you could demand some answers from him. Maybe it was a bit harsher than usual saying in such situation where you didn't even know that bard and therefore couldn't have any problem to begin with but, could anyone blame you for your fear, nerves and behaviour when you didn't know anything and anyone, not even about your travelling partners?

So, as weird as this whole situation was and you were getting the creeps because of it as if you were being watched, you were still happy to be here with Aether and hopefully learn more about him and his sister.

Maybe I could become friends with her too when all this ends and we find her? I wonder what she likes though, I hope she doesn't beat me up because I would be really sad but happy to be beaten by a strong, pretty-

At his silence that made the little balloon in your mind pop, which was enough to tell you that he wasn't ready to talk about her yet, you pondered for another way for him to open up without causing discomfort to him.

"What... exactly happened when you wanted to get out, Aether? And above all, why did you want to get out in a hurry?" you asked softly, not wanting to startle and trigger him since his eyes seemed lost as he concentrated on somewhere far away and also, not to dive deep in your own thoughts of being beaten by strong and pretty women.

He turned to you when he heard your voice after minutes of silence, focusing on your eyes as he shrugged his shoulders. He trully didn't remember much, he even barely remembered telling you that he and his sister was leaving in a hurry.... Perhaps, it was another play of that Unknown God to make him weaker, to enslave him forever.

He was going to have his revenge oh so badly, he swore it.

"I don't remember... All I remember is that feeling of panic and fear before the Unknown God came and another shooting star protected us before everything went black and I woke up near that shore."

You nodded your head absentmindedly, plucking a Windwheel Aster to play with as your mind played the familiar screen play where you needed to choose one twin over the other to save.

Which was just a while ago before you suddenly woke up here.

However, it was strange enough that there was a shooting star which protected them from the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, Asmoday, though he was yet to know her true name. From someone way too powerful than anyone on Teyvat, even the Archons.

But yet again, it was only normal. Archons were once normal Gods who lived in Celestia, before whatever it was that resulted in the ruined buildings, abandoned castles and desolate lands all across this vast world.

Yet...

Since the world was changing with your presence here, obviously since you were not from the game and lore... Would you dare to change the destiny of this world? Of all the people you will meet, of Aether and Lumine? Of Paimon on who you had no idea over as to what or who she is?

Do you dare to go against Celestia, as a human who didn't have a chance against Them even when a God had a slim one at deceiving and fighting that power?

These were definitely not in the game... Just what else is different than the game version?

Apart from the uncertainty this new reveal brought to you, which was initially another side that excited you, life in Mondstadt was... Peaceful for the most part.

It seems their Archon did a good job with maintaining what they were created for: Freedom.

Even imagining what future days may hold for you in this city, the secrets those ruins held, the kind of history they hid and what you could discover there filled you with a buzzing feeling that almost made you shake with excitement. After all, playing through a screen and actually witnessing them were way different.

Spoiler alert: You didn't like those Ruin Guards.

But even amidst your happiness, the one feature you had thanks to your more shy and reserved self back in your world since no one really paid attention to you started working: Picking on the mood of people close to you.

And in this case, it was Aether who was your stark contrast, sitting with a face close to breaking apart.

At first glance, Aether almost seemed like he didn't care about what happened to him. His eyes were hard most of the times, even when he didn't talk about his sister, and since he was kind of selectively mute because he didn't understand Teyvat language and you and Paimon were the ones who talked to him and communicated with others in his stead, that's why people often thought of him to be too harsh and hard to get close to.

If only they knew how wrong they were, if only they knew he had such a golden heart as you stared at his teary golden orbs as the boy slowly broke apart after months of being alone.

"And just like that... I lost both my sister and powers as some kind of seal was casted upon me and now, we are trapped here." Aether spoke out in a whisper, too low for you to hear had you been a few meters away from him as he clenched his hands angrily, veins popping up by the sheer force he applied at remembering the smug face of that Unknown God that trapped him here.

You always knew how lonely and hard it must be for Aether, with no one else to talk to like you did and no one to spend time casually with. Humans, whether on Earth or some other universe, always needed to be social whether they liked it or not. The humankind had always been that way, always seeking out closure and companionship and never wanting to be alone. If asked "What do you fear the most?", most people here would answer with "Archons." probably with "being alone" being the second most given answer.

But Aether had been alone for the longest time and possibly fought with many Gods in other worlds and this one, just to get out of here with his sister.

He experienced all the fears of ordinary people.

Paimon could always fly to wherever she wanted and eat without a problem, and even go for her own journey if she wanted. You could always ask for help from people and even hang out with them freely without worrying about anything and there wouldn't be a huge language barrier between you and them as well, unlike a certain short blondie.

Paimon could find another travelling buddy, you could settle down here and even build a new life for yourself.

Aether had no one and no way to do such things.

How could I be so stupid to not see this before?! He must have felt too bad as I hung out with Kaeya! Like a lonely kitten only wanting its owner..!

"You know... You are not alone here." you tentatively spoke, after internally scolding yourself for being carried away from the excitement of being in Mondstadt, carefully weighing your words as you slowly touched his hand, to which he lifted his head slowly in shock and stared at your star-shaped eyes that seemed to captivate him even more with each day.

"What do you mean? Have I suddenly started to understand their language or something?" he sarcastically asked with a slight hint of amusement, which he only did with you and not Paimon because your reactions were better, making you sigh out and pinch his cheeks harshly with a giggle as you cooed at his flustered state.

"Getting sarcastic now, are we? Oh my, I didn't know you had that side of you!" he rolled his eyes sarcastically at your dramatic gesture, swatting your hand away. But as the noisy little shit you were, you kept pestering him and nudge him with a wide smile that Aether couldn't dare to erase.

Enjoyment, nowadays, was hard to find for him after all.

He continued to look at you and listen to you excitedly talk, even though he knew it was because of your nerves by how hard you were chewing on your lips and fiddling with your fingers. Unaware, you kept on talking while putting stray hairs behind your ear to push them aside, all futile attempts too mask your nervousness from what you were about to stay...

And whether they would come off as offensive.

"I mean, obviously, me and Paimon can't be like your sister and we absolutely have no intention to do so but we are your friends. If you have something troubling you, you come to us. If you want to talk about anything, absolutely anything, you come to me. Because let's be real, Paimon would probably pull it towards foods and I'm rambling but you got the idea-

"Thank you... Y/N..."

"And I mean, I know I could be very-wait, what?"

You stammered nervously in shock at what left Aether's mouth so softly with a deep emotion, not expecting the chuckle that left his lips breathlessly next at your shock. His giggle was really cute, something that eased your worried heart and almost made you think everything was back to normal and that you two were just simple people hanging out together and not trying to roam this world for a way to get out.

But he was trully grateful, grateful for your attempts of making him feel better, always looking out for ways to look after him, being his friend...

Everything.

"I know you don't trust us yet, but I can assure you that as long as I am alive, I'll make sure you see your sister again and travel worlds again." you finalized what you had to say with a firm yet soft pat on Aether's back, promising him just like the time you had to choose one of them with a heavy heart and let the other be taken.

Like the first time you felt like a true villain.

Aether only gave you a wide yet tearful smile as he nodded his head, the light of the Sun of Teyvat hitting on both of your skins and making them appear to be so soft that you almost thought it was coming behind a silk cloth.

After all, he wasn't going to be alone anymore... After fighting his demons in the dead of the night for so long, without anyone really understanding his struggles...

He now had another friend, another one who understood him and how traumatic it was to be trapped in a completely foreign world.

Seeing you finally broke every kind of ice between you two, and since you didn't want to be sad all day when the weather was so nice, you hugged him tightly from his shoulders with a wide smile, opening your palm to show the vast greenery before you which was a blessing of Mondstadt and their Archon... well, whoever that fucker was now.

"Besides! You can't really get rid of me that easily! I have this bad habit of never separating from those I deem very close," you whispered the last part almost threateningly, leaning closer to his ear with a hand covering your mouth and his ear as if there was someone that could hear you, unaware of the heavy blush covering his whole face while he avoided looking down at your lips unconsciously...

A sudden, soft murmur broke you two apart harshly.... And saved Aether from the embarrassment by giving him enough time to dip his whole face to the cold water at the Windrise.

" So, does this make you and Aether my siblings, Y/N?" you flinched when you heard the childish yet sleepy voice of Paimon suddenly, who grew on you even if she sometimes got on your nerves. She was stretching as much as her tiny body would allow, slapping her lips loudly as she yawned and looked around with wide and curious eyes as if she wasn't here hours before she slipped into a deep slumber

Nonetheless, you couldn't help but coo at her cute question with a hand over your chest as Aether chuckled next to you while looking at Paimon who was sitting in front of you both before patting her head and confirming her...

Well, that was before she decided to become a little menace to you once again.

"Wait, wha- Aww you are so cute for-"

"Since you do all the footwork and I float-"

A cheeky grin from her as you groaned.

"Are you fucking serious right now?" An irritated scowl was plastered on your face with brows raised in question at the floating emergency food, the latter wheezing at the expression of your face while Aether tried to cover his giggles to be spared from your wrath ( which only earned him a slap to the back of his head because how dare he get satisfaction from such thing!).

But as much as betrayed you were from Paimon fooling you, it was also... kind of funny, what she said. She was really like a kid who didn't have a filter on her mouth and mind, never knowing when and what was the appropriate time to say something... That was perhaps what made her endearing in your eyes.

"Come on, Y/N, I can see your smile! I know you found it funny!"

"...Maybe, yes, it was funny." you grumbled to which they let out a loud yay! and you smiled at their enthusiasm with tired yet content eyes as silence settled once again. Paimon eyed you and Aether for a few seconds, admiring how pretty and strong you looked as you allowed Aether to lean his whole weight onto you and laid his head comfortably on your shoulder while she wasn't in any different position as she laid across your lap, with your hand slowly caressing her hair and pat her head.

For some reasons, you always gave off of a comforting vibe ever since they saw you or well, you saw them, timidly getting close to them to ask if you could sit with them near the fire they had built, promising that you wouldn't hurt them. They were suspicious at first just as any normal person would be, but Aether couldn't find it in his heart to decline you when you looked so helpless, just like he first woke up in Mondstadt apparently and didn't know anything, desperately in need of help.

You reminded him of himself, helpless and unaware of the dangers that laid ahead.

What sealed the deal for you and them, since they had eyed you all throughout the night for any suspicious move, and since Aether was laying down from the deep cut he got from his abdomen and bleeding, but was only met with a happy tune you muttered under your breath while getting warm with a contented smile, was how easily you got up and drew your dual blades- which they soon learnt them to be actually a spear that could be connected to each other- to protect them from a horde of hilichurls and even two Abyss Mages, with burning red and blue flames engulfing your blades and later the enemy.

The only thing you gave to them that night was a serene smile as you pointed to his wound with a worried expression, which made them both wince with guilt from how badly they thought of you when you only cared to protect them.

"Your wound looks bad... I have some ointments I made myself and I know how to sew a wound, letting it stay open like that would surely make it get infected. If you allow me, may I help you, young travellers who helped me?" and then a gorgeous smile that captured them.

And as you prepared everything while making small talk with Aether to draw his attention elsewhere from the numbing pain of his wound, initially learning you both were not from this world, that was when your fates aligned together which would change the fate of all of the Teyvat.

Suddenly, you three had become each other's companions and the others' everything.

And as she laid on your lap comfortably Paimon felt... bad and even saddened for you, feeling like crying suddenly as she stared at your protective hold on both of them even while you rested, being completely exposed to any kind of danger, although they knew there were no hilichurls or Abyss Mages close by.

You have always been there for both of them, protected them even when you barely knew them, patched them up, cooked them food and even gave some of yours to Paimon because she loved that particular dish so much or to Aether both because he was hurt and he was usually the one who did most of the work and needed energy more than you...

You have always been sacrificing something for them and what had they ever done to repay beck for all the kindness and love you gave them?

So far, nothing... They didn't exactly have a lot of Mora , even with new commissions they were taking and besides, you always refused to have a share of it since you three needed to either buy food or medicinal items and strictly prohibited them from buying anything for you like a mother scolding her children from spending too much for them.

"I don't need anything to know that you care for me and love me, sillies! Just be happy, healthy and make sure to not hurt yourselves too much and we're fine! Seriously, you are giving me grey hairs..."

Perhaps they couldn't show their love however they wanted to, per your orders, but she could definitely tell you how much you and Aether meant for her!

"Besides the footwork joke... Paimon never really had a family, or at least doesn't remember having one. So, Paimon is very happy to have such strong and caring siblings!" she smiled serenely, genuinely as she tilted her head to look up at you both, knowing full well that neither of you were actually sleeping from the small smiles you both supported. She nuzzled closer to your lap happily with a relaxed sigh, not caring whether you heard or not because she was so damn sure you did.

Paimon really could be so damn adorable when she wanted....

She didn't have to know, but both you and Aether were keeping your eyes closed just so that Paimon wouldn't get worried because of the tears that blurred your visions from what she said so earnestly, her touching words reaching the depths of your heart.

"We really are a strange Trio, huh? Two Outlanders, one pixie baby who refuses to be our little emergency food-" you idly sighed out with hands smoothing down their hair gently, making them both sigh and nuzzle closer to you... Though Paimon was just a tiny bit agitated because of what you said about her.

"For God's sake, come on!" you giggled in the most evil way possible at her growing irritation and kicking her legs up in the air angrily but continued anyways with little to no care.

Hah, that's what you get for always teasing me!

"One can easily understand this world's weird language and also the language of his other outlander companion, but doesn't have any other super powers-"

"They are called Visions!"

"And even so, it seems that some people noticed our strange behaviour..." You mumbled to yourself in worry as your hand momentarily stopped in mid-action, head lifting up to look at the city far from you three, standing on the lake and bustling with energy.

Oh yes, Lisa and Jean had their own suspicions about your powers. Both you and Aether seemed like normal people on the outside, but Aether could easily use Anemo vision and not get affected by the venomous tears of the dragon Dvalin.

And you? You used a different, much more powerful kind of fire than anyone else, wielded a long and heavy spear (something less than 3 people or so did in Mondstadt), and somehow... Understood Teyvat language and Aether's mother tongue without any difficulties even when you weren't from either one of the worlds.

"It's still very strange. Even if It's obvious they are exceptional and strong people, neither Y/N nor Aether seems to be affected by Dvalin's tear..." Jean mumbled curiously from her position near the window, staring sternly at you two as you shuffled closer to Aether to shield him and Paimon. That was, until your attention was taken away by Lisa who circled around you like a predator does to its prey, a finger touching your chin and turning your head to her direction flirtitously with a slight pout.

"Besides, StormsTerror seemed much calm and soft when its eyes landed on our cutie Y/N... I wonder why, have you ever interacted with a dragon before perhaps?"

To be honest, you also didn't have the answer for that. While you were floating up in the air with Aether, cross firing at the vicious dragon to stop it from harming the City....

You felt a sudden sting deep in your heart which threatened to tear you apart when its eyes found yours.

And no, it wasn't because of the glider Amber gifted you weighing on your back, making it harder to breathe since you weren't used to... floating.

It was as if you were hurting a very dear old friend, a family that was once your everything and a part of your soul.

Besides that chest piercing pain you still continued to experience even after that dragon flew away, what was that mysterious voice that helped easing your scared heart as the wind gently caressed your whole body and mostly face, as if phantom fingers rubbed your cheeks and head to map your whole face, and helped you with making StormsTerror leave Mondstadt for some time right after helping Aether with some shitty Mages that appeared out of nowhere?

Don't worry Windblume, I won't let you go. Not this time... Now concentrate and feel the wind in your veins just like you did before...

It was so soft, so loving yet... Also so pained, so hollow as if he missed a great part of him, as if he was trying to make up for a mistake he has done as you felt a sudden surge of power in you, a sweet pain on your back and just like that...

Five Mages were down with a flick of your spear.

"I just hope we didn't make their job harder than before with our presence..." You sighed after a long while, those thoughts still lingering at the back of your head and tapped their heads gently to get them to move since the sun was slowly setting and you needed to go back to the city where Jean kindly prepared a room for you three in the headquarter... After she asked what you needed since you three saved the city.

All of you first declined, but after Paimon and Aether left the room completely, you turned to Jean and with a stern face, asked for only a room which Aether would never have even a speck of information about you asked for it.

Fortunately, she understood your reasoning and with a kind smile, and even more respect growing in her for you, she offered whichever room you wished to have alongside new clothes and three courses of meal and told Aether that it was a "special thank you to the Honarary Knights from the Knights of Fovanius" and to have both of you closer in case of emergency.

Thank her and her brains, no wonder she is the Dandelion Knight and the Acting Grand Master...

"But just as Amber said, the number of hilichurls and Abyss Mages decreased significantly! Paimon wonders if it has something to do with Aether or Y/N!" Paimon exclaimed curiously as she watched you pack up and usher them both to go to their merry way as you turned abruptly, pointing to your chest unbelievingly and looking around.

"Me? Why though?"

She kicked her legs up in the air frustratedly, swiping her palm through the air and showing the nature around her as if it was an obvious fact and you were a fool for not seeing it....

And you trully didn't get it.

Seeing your confusion, Aether chuckled as he lead Paimon to float before you two started bickering again as he started to explain as much as he could.

"They always liked hanging out with you and even protected you... An insane part of me even thinks that they know you're in Mondstadt and therefore, don't want to disturb you since they know you are safe and happy."

Life truly didn't turn out the way Aether had wanted, and probably would never. His life had taken a sharp tune as soon as he and Lumine chose this world to travel next and... All of you knew how it ended.

But now, it wasn't so bad like it used to be months ago. Every day, even every hour, he was met with yet another extraordinary person or habit and it intrigued him a lot. Learning all about the people of Teyvat, what they did for living and their history, hanging out with people... He loved doing all those things, it made him feel like he was back to being the previous Aether before all the chaos happened.

Even though he knew he shouldn't get too attached and form bonds that would be broken in the end inevitably... when he finds his sister and leave the world behind. But maybe... Maybe he could get to bring you and Paimon with himself too? It wasn't like you couldn't, you definitely could land on another world since you were also an Outlander. There was a chance that Paimon couldn't, since he still didn't know of her origins, but he would fight Gods and Archons if he needed, so that he could keep his family together.

His sister, who was the literal half of his soul. Paimon who was always there to help him out and make him enjoy the life Teyvat could offer while guiding him and you... You, who always had tragic yet also comedic stories to tell them from your world whenever they get uncomfortable in some ways. You, who roasted people with your sharp tongue and quick mind, while being a total menace and gremlin, whenever they didn't take no for an answer since Aether didn't want to offend anyone and just did everything they wanted as the "helpful boy" he always was...

or whenever people didn't believe him whenever he said he was probably a lot older than their Archon because of his young, baby face.

Oh yeah... He was very doomed as he already got attached to you and the floating baby you always sweetly called.

"If you can consider being in a city where people worship 'The Champion' that eerily looks like me who fought alongside Barbatos for many times and face a huge statue of the said-champion every day being happy and safe... Then yes, I definitely am!"

Aether snorted at the sarcastic answer he got from you and the dramatic flip of your hair, not being able to help the fake-disappointed shake of his head as he watched you fondly with hands on either sides of his hip.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Probably bear with me and my awesome self and amazing jokes, and also love me!" You turned around with a gleeful smile, hair floating up and dress swiping through the sudden wind that engulfed you softly and in that moment, he wished that the smile you always had would never disappear.

That you wouldn't loose the happiness and hope blossoming in your eyes with each new day greeting you.

And he thought, whatever strange things revolved around you and the mysteries even you didn't know about yourself...

He would always be there for you, just like you did and will continue to do with him.

You would get to solve all the mysteries and puzzles about just who this "Champion" was and their link to you. Meet and demand answers from that Archon about his sister and the Champion whom he was always depicted together with and maybe... Maybe, at least one of you would be able to get rid of that fog which clouded your memories.

And with that, three of you entered the safety of the walls of the City of Freedom once again... A place where you already started calling "home".

Unaware of what was waiting for your group in the headquarters.

[pigeonpeach]

Cuddles for my Love!

Summary: You are turned into a cat and desperately try to get your lover to notice and help.

Characters included: Diluc, Jean, Itto, Neuvillete

No cw just silly cat times

In a puff of smoke you looked down at your hands finding no more than paws. You were alarmed to say the least! A potion you had ordered, intended to help with some back pain, had instead turned you into a kitty cat! A very cute one yes but still! At least your back doesn’t hurt. But you must inform your lover and request help!

Diluc

“Hm a cat?” Diluc seemed confused as he opened the door to his office to be greeted with a meowing cat. He didn’t recognize it. “Adelinde did suggest getting cats to prevent mice.. or maybe you’re one of the maid’s cats?” He questions as you meow demandingly. You paw at his leg.

“Oh you must be hungry. There aren’t much mice here anyways. I’ll get you something little one.” He knelt down to scratch your ears. Oooh that felt good no! You must focus!

“Oh? Is something wrong little one?” He asked as you meowed excessively. “You must be very hungry.” Quickly he left to go to the kitchen making you follow him while meowing. You realized you had no chance of communicating with him so you decided to try a different way. You spotted a photo of you and Diluc and hopped onto the vanity, you grasped the photo in your kitty mouth and hopped back down. You trotted over to Diluc who was examining some fish Adelinde had been preparing, sneakily carving some off. Your meow was muffled as you lay the picture in front. Then scratch at his leg. He looks down.

“Oh now why would you do that?” He said a bit disappointed. “That’s my favorite photo.” He pouted as you meowed trying to somehow communicate to him your struggles.

“Oh.. did they send you? I got it, you must have been a gift for our anniversary tomorrow. I guess you broke out of your hiding spot.” He smiled. You however were now more annoyed but also concerned because you almost forgot your anniversary was tomorrow. You meowed more but to no avail. He just patted you.

“Such a beautiful cat, you look a bit like them oddly enough. Your eyes are… a similar color?” He seemed to finally take notice. You meowed encouragingly. You batter the photo and tried to point to yourself.

“Hmm… you seem oddly intelligent for a simple cat… if you can understand me then.. spin clockwise.” He said curiously. You did so excited to finally have established communication! You’re closer to telling him!

“Oh! You can? What kind of cat are you then? Um… if you know where my beloved is then roll over.” He instructed. You did so. He seemed intrigued. “Huh. Well then lead me to them.” You quickly trotted over to a mirror as a idea came to you. You batted at your reflection as you looked back up at him. He seemed skeptical but confused. He knelt down to observe you as you bumped your face into his, giving him a kitty kiss. He seemed to understand then.

“Oh.. I’ll bring you to Lisa then, She should know what do from here.”

Jean

You were so miserable, the maids in your shared home simply considered you a cute and needy cat. Saying how pleased Jean would be to have a friendly cat. You had one choice: escape and find Jean. Or Lisa. albedo? Just find Jean first! You know where she is, her office as always. You spotted a window and crawled out onto the roof. You noticed how far up you were as you felt a bit scared. You knew cats could make long jumps.. but you were so sca-

“Kitty!” A excited voice exclaimed. You heard someone landing behind you as you turned to see Amber putting away her wind glider. “Ohhh you must be lost! I’ll take you to the knights, we’ll find your owner don’t worry!” She said. Great! You can hitch a ride on her and get right to Jean

Unfortunately Amber didn’t let you leave the designated library spot. With the diligent maid Noelle watching over to make surd you didn’t run off. You tried to plead with her to let you go, you were so close to Jean! You needed to see her! Worse of all Lisa wasn’t here!

“Oh you must be hungry. Unfortunately I don’t have any snacks on me.” Noelle cooed trying to calm you. You meowed in distress trying to make it to the library door. “No no no you must stay here! Your owner will be coming shortly. Don’t worry you’re safe.”

You begrudgingly sat as you tried to wait for her to not be looking. Meanwhile she stroked your back, it felt really nice though. You relaxed a little. Overtime she started to read the rule books diligently. You tested out her focus by getting up to stretch. She didn’t seem to acknowledge it. You then took a step away, before sprinting at full speed to the door. Immediately Noelle shot up to follow.

“Wait! Did I startle you! I didn’t mean to I’m sorry!” She said worriedly. You looked back to her realizing you couldn’t open the door. You gave her your cutest pleading face. She pondered. “Hmm.. maybe you know where your home is? Is that it?” She asked. You nodded to her surprise. She opened the door as you quickly walked over to jean’s office. She seemed hesitant. “Oh no we can’t disturb her! She’s always busy at work!” She whispered panicked. You let out s loud meow as you scratched at the door. She quickly pulled you away, then the door opened as Jean stood there. Immediately you squirmed away from Noelle to Jean.

“There she is.” You heard the familiar voicd of Lisa behind her. Jean seemed relieved to see you as Noelle seemed worried.

“Don’t worry Noelle you didn’t do anything wrong. Thank you for watching over them. I’ll handle it from here.” She said quickly bringing you into her office. Lisa seemed to be preparing a potion.

“Yes dear, unfortunately I used the wrong ingredient for your potion, but I hope you had some fun as a kitty.” Lisa said patting your head. Jean seemed a bit upset though.

“I’ve been looking for you. Lisa informed me of her mistake but by then you had already ran away.” She held you put letting you dangle. You meowed defensively making her smile. “Its fine now though, you’re here.” She gave you a kiss making you shut up.

She sat you on her desk as Lisa continued brewing the remedy. You immediately used this opportunity to cuddle with your wife who seemed pleased now.

“Next time don’t give the maids such trouble. You had me so worried.”

“Next time? Are you implying you would rather this happen again?” Lisa playfully added.

“No that’s not what I meant.. just I’m glad you’re safe.” She said brushing you lovingly. You meowed in reply, purring contentedly.

Arataki Itto

“HEY GUYS LOOK AT THIS CAT!” Itto proudly displayed you, now a cat like a trophy to his buds. You meowed in annoyance.

“A cat? Where did you get that?” Kuki questioned.

“I don’t know it just walked over to me meowing constantly. I figured the fella must like me!” He said. “Oh you know what? My beautiful partner would love this cat! Do you know where they went Kuki?” He said. She looked at you as you continued meowing.

“I have a idea…” she says. “Hand me the cat.” She said

“Huh? No way its MY kitty! It chose me! See its meowing because its happy!” He says while you meow trying to tell him to listen to Kuki. Unfortunately he doesn’t speak cat.

“You’re holding it wrong, here.” She grabbed you from his arms, holding you properly.

“Hey!” He whined. You meowed again to which she shushed you.

“You idiot, this isn’t a normal cat. Your partner got transformed!” She said annoyed as she examined you.

“Hah?” He said confused.

“I’ll take you to the shrine and have you fixed don’t worry.” She said.

“Huh? I didn’t know they offered neutering at the Grand Narukami Shrine?” You meowed in annoyance. At least Shinobu knew what she was doing.

Neuvillete

“Such a peculiar feline.” He remarked as you rubbed against him. He seemed to analyze you carefully. “Hmm… it appears you’ve been transformed.” He says, you’re surprised he understood so quickly, but you suppose he is used to these things more. He is a dragon after all.

“Sedene?” He called out. The melusine came trotting in as she looked at you confused.

“Oh? What has happened to your beloved? Why they like this?” She asked.

“I’m not sure, but please request the mage Emilie to come here as soon as possible. I’m sure she’d be able to undo this.” He says, gently stroking your fur to help you relax.

“On it. But… I’m not sure where she is. I’ll find out.” She says. “Oh and heres your water, special from Mondstadt’s springs!” She says bringing out a bottle. He smiles.

“Thank you Sedene.” He says as she quickly heads off. He turns to you, scratching your chin.

“I’m sorry dear but I don’t have experience in undoing these kinds of spells. But I assure you I understand your struggle. I ask you simply relax now. There’s nothing you can do right now so just relax. I’ll handle everything.” He said sweetly. You let out meow in agreement, making yourself comfortable on the paper on his desk. He chuckled.

“Sweetheart I need that.” He said trying to pull it out. You didn’t budge, you didn’t know why but this paper was really comfortable. “Dear, I know you can still understand me, please just stand up.” He sighed. Eventually giving up.

“Are you hungry my dear? I don’t think I could bring you your usual foods but I could request some tasty fish.” He said. You meowed to confirm it. You were quite hungry. strangely fish sounded good right now. He smiled as he called for his assistant once more.

The second your fish came you stood to receive it. Neuvillete seizing the opportunity to rearrange your makeshift bed, taking the important documents and replacing them with some unnecessary ones. You happily chowed down. Purring as you enjoyed some tasty fish. You looked back briefly to watch him pretend he did nothing, but you heard him. Still the fish was too tasty and you continued to eat. He pet you lovingly as he continued with his work. Once finished you immediately set your sights on once again taking up his attention, you jumped back onto the desk sitting yourself right on the paper he was working on. He sighed.

“You’re as needy as ever, but I can’t resist that cute little face.” He said giving you a nice chin scratch. “Hopefully Emilie can come soon, otherwise I may never get work done.”

[sleepis4theweak]

WARM UP SKETCHES YAYYAYAYYAYAYYYYYY

Except plot twist: all of them are based off of posts I have saved as reblogs in my drafts.... I like to save stuff there to look back on! And so I was scrolling through them for doodle inspo!

So credits:

1- @trashyandtiredsol ! From their ref of themselves here! <3 2- @cuddlebugmonster 's Usagi <3 <3 <3 Whom I love so much.. his design is so amazing I'm in love with it AH! Ref post here. 3- @bulbabutt 's Mona Lisa! I've been following their comic and I'm so so interested in seeing where it is going....... here's the one I have saved (tho theres a third one now!) and here's the first in the series!

4- @scarylarry376 's rottmnt oc Elise!! I just think she looks really cool hehehehe... I've been wanting to draw her for a while! Post here! 5- @winkwonkblog 's Leo from this post!! LISTEN LISTEN I JUST LOVE THE WAY THEY DRAW THE TURTLES OKAY??? IM OBSESSED AND LEO IS SO PREEETTYYYYYYYY <3 6- @probably-not-a-rutabaga 's aberration au Leo!!! I LOVE HER SO MUCH AND ALSO HERE'S THE POST I AM FASCINATED BY THIS AU

7- @junoinouterspace ... listen this au has been in my head for weeks now it feels.... teacher mikey.... and also his design.... it rotates in my head constantly... mayhaps an unhealthy amount even..... I adore it. Here's the post! (Also I forgot Mikey's nose ring OH NO-) 8- @defnotnoodle 's Miku Donnie!!!! EXCEPT I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THEIR LITTLE BROWSER FACE COVERING IM SORRY AHHHHHHHHH) Post here!! <3 9- Little note cat <3.... Its a cat that I doodle on all of my notes... he's stinky :/

10- @sha-biest 's GF MIKEY AND AMMI!!!!! BECAUSE I LOVE THEM AND THEIR DESIGNS!!!!!!! I've been wanting to draw them for a while and they were just as fun to draw as I imagined..... anyways posts here and here! <3

SORRY FOR ALL OF THE TAGS AND NOW I'M OFF TO DRAW BYE BYE <3 <3 <3

[velnna]

oh the portrait thing seems interesting but could also be sad because paintings change over time the colors fade and change and eventually will look pretty different unless you restore it but if the paintings old and valuable people often wont restore them to prevent risk of damaging the painting(a good example is looking at comparisons of the mona lisa and then seeing its sister painting the mona lisa prado done by da vincis apprentice and was restores and shows more vibrant colors and details you cant see on the mona lisa) all this to say i imagine astarion getting a portrait and then over the years details fading and he doesnt notice bevause hes too afraid to damage the painting and lose one of the last remanents he has of his love but as a result hes unknowingly forgot different parts of their face, like certain details and the exact colors if their eyes.

Oh yeah the portrait idea definitely comes with a "it will fade over time just like his memory" caveat

[stephstars08]

Falling Apart

Austin!Elvis Presley x Reader

Warnings: Angst, Mention of Drugs being taken, Drugs, Mention of Drinking Alcohol, Divorce, Depressed Elvis, Yelling/Fighting, Elvis having a meltdown on stage, Colonel trying to manipulate Reader, Mention of Elvis collapsing, Fluff at the end, and Maybe some Grammar Errors. (Sorry if I forgot any!!!)

Summary: Due the Colonel making Elvis take a bunch of drugs to keep him energized to perform, it’s making Elvis completely fall apart. It get’s even worse when Pricilla packs all of her stuff up and leaves Elvis taking their daughter with her. After Elvis’s dad’s assistant Y/N hears the news she does everything she can to help Elvis pull himself back together.

Word Count: 2,162

Author’s Note: FINALLY MY FIRST ELVIS MOVIE STORY IS HERE! I’ve been waiting for basically a year to finally get a plot for a story for one of my favorite movies of all time! This isn’t just my first Austin/Elvis story but this is also my first story of the new year so I hope you all enjoy! If any of you want to you can read this as Elvis x Reader or Austin!Elvis x Reader! It’s up to you!!

Y/N Y/L/N is the assistant to Vernon Presley who is of course the father of the one and only Elvis Presley. Vernon is in charge of Presley Enterprises. Vernon hired Y/N to be his assistant when Elvis came home from the army. Due to all of the films Elvis was staring in at the time it was getting too hard for Vernon to take care of everything by himself so that’s why he hired Y/N.

When Y/N got the job, she wasn’t expecting to be around Elvis so much. Of course, Y/N isn’t complaining since Elvis has brought her in with open arms and so did his wife Priscilla. Elvis has thanked Y/N so much for helping his father out.

Y/N would be lying if she said that she has never had a crush on the heartthrob. When Elvis first started out Y/N immediately grew a crush on him, but that crush did fade away after she graduated from high school and when Elvis went overseas to be in the army. But as time went on that crush returned and the more, she was around Elvis, the more the crush grew. Y/N wished she didn’t feel that way about Elvis since he’s married to Priscilla, and she is really good friends with Priscilla as well. But those thoughts just flood her mind whenever she is with him.

Y/N loved everything about her job except having to work with the Colonel who is the manager of Elvis. Ever since the first day she met the Colonel she knew he wasn’t very fond of her. She hated being around him since she always feels uncomfortable around him, and she always gets bad vibes from him.

But Y/N didn’t see the Colonel’s dark side till Elvis started to play a residency in Las Vegas.

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

Y/N was at her apartment getting ready to meet Vernon at a business meeting. Right before she walked out the door, she heard her phone ring. When she answered the phone, she heard Vernon’s voice.

“Hi, I was just about to walk out the door to meet you.” Y/N said into the phone. “Priscilla left Elvis this morning.” She heard Vernon tell her which made her heart drop. “Oh my gosh.” Y/N said in a shocked tone. Even though she’s shocked by the news she knew the reason why Priscilla left. “She moved all of her stuff out and she took Lisa with her.” She heard Vernon tell her. She could hear the sadness in his voice. “How is Elvis?” Y/N asked in the phone. That was the only question that was coming to her mind. “He’s a complete mess.” She heard him tell her which broke her heart.

“Can you go to Graceland and just stay there with him till I come back from the meeting?” Vernon asked her. “I just really don’t want him to be alone right now.” He added. “Of course, I can.” Y/N answered into the phone.

“Thank you so much dear.” She heard him say. “I’ll talk to you soon.” He added which made her smile a little. “You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you soon.” She told him through the phone. After they said their goodbyes Y/N hung up the phone.

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

Y/N parked her car in front of the big Graceland mansion. She turned the car off and grabbed her purse from the passenger seat. She got out of the car closing the driver's seat door. As Y/N made her way to the front door she wrapped the strap of her purse around her shoulder.

When she got to the door, she rang the doorbell and waited but no one answered so she rang the doorbell again but still no answer. Y/N put her hand on the doorknob and twisted it which made the door open. Y/N walked inside the mansion. “Elvis!” Y/N called out as she closed the door. She looked around and noticed that things that belonged to Priscilla were gone. Y/N let out a sigh she she walked into the dining room and put her keys and purse down onto the table.

“Elvis!” Y/N called out again as she walked over to the bottom of the staircase and again, she got no response. She knew Elvis had to be home because where else would he go. Y/N walked up the staircase and right when she got to the top, she heard whimpering. Y/N walked down the hallway and stopped in front of the door to what was the bedroom Elvis once shared with Priscilla. That was where the whimpering was coming from. She was going to knock on the door, but something was telling her to just walk in.

When she opened the door, she saw a bunch of medicine bottles on the floor. Y/N walked in and at first, she didn’t see Elvis till she walked past the king-sized bed. Elvis was sitting on the floor crying into his knees that were hiding his face. It broke Y/N’s heart seeing Elvis in this kind of state. “Elvis.” Y/N said in a soft voice. Elvis looked up at her with his eyes filled with tears and his cheeks soaked with tears running down them. “What are you doing?” Elvis asked her. She could hear how broken he was in his voice. “Your father wanted me to be here with you till he comes back from his business meeting.” Y/N told him. Elvis didn’t say anything back. He just looked away from her.

Y/N sat down next to him. “I’m so sorry about what happened.” Y/N told him with sincere in her voice. “Why are you saying sorry to me?” Elvis asked still not looking at her. “What do you mean?” Y/N asked him. “I’m the reason why she left. She said I’m like a zombie.” Elvis told her as tears continued to stream down his face like a waterfall. “Those pills are what turn you like that.” Y/N told him which made him finally look back at her.

She can’t just keep jumping around it anymore. When he’s on those pills it’s like he’s a completely different person. Those pills are making him fall apart.

“The pills. They just keep controlling me. It’s like they have taken over me.” Elvis told her as he started to cry harder if that was even possible. “I know.” Y/N started. “That’s why I’m here. I’m going to help you get through this.” Y/N told him looking him straight into his eyes. Elvis believed her as he stared back into her eyes. “Okay.” Elvis said in a soft voice.

“I’m going to go downstairs into the kitchen to get you some water.” Y/N told him but before she could stand up, he grabbed her hand. “Please, don’t leave me. Please stay with me.” Elvis said to her in a pleading tone. “Okay! Okay, I’ll stay here with you.” Y/N told him in reassurance. Y/N wrapped her arm around him and rubbed her hand up and down his arm as he cried.

They stayed like that till Vernon came home.

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

As a lot of time pasted Y/N kept her promise to Elvis. She’s been looking after him as much as she could. Even though Y/N has been doing her best to take care of Elvis, he’s still not the man he once was.

The only time Elvis looks happy is when he is on stage in front of his fans. The only people that knew what he was going through were the people he sees every day.

Elvis was playing another show in Vegas. Y/N watching him perform from the side of the stage with Jerry by her side. “You’ve been very quiet this evening.” Jerry said to her which earned him a glare from her. “You know damn well why I’ve been quiet.” Y/N told him in a stern tone. “The Colonel came before I could call you and right away, he made Dr. Nick shoot him up with drugs.” Jerry explained to her. “I’m not mad at you, okay!” Y/N told him with a heavy sigh. “He should be in a hospital bed but instead that monster decided to make the decision to shoot him up with the same drugs that is what made him collapse in the first place.” Y/N said with anger in her tone.

Jerry saw the tears forming in her eyes, so he brought her in for a hug. He knows about the feelings she has for Elvis, so he knows it’s hard seeing him like this. As Y/N returned the hug she tried her best to keep her tears in.

They released from the hug when they heard Elvis singing to Suspicious Minds with no music. Y/N could sense right away that something was wrong, and it was just going to get worse. As Elvis went on a rant about how this was going to be his last show in Vegas the Colonel immediately made his way up to the stage.

“Pull the curtain down!” Colonel told someone in a demanding tone which made Y/N and Jerry look at him. “What is going on here.” Colonel asked Jerry in a stern tone. Jerry took a glance at Elvis and then back at the Colonel. “I think he wants to know that, too.” Jerry told him.

When Elvis saw the Colonel started to act even more out of character. Elvis was having a melt down and it was starting to scare Y/N a little since she’s never seen him act like this. As the curtain started to fall Elvis started to yell at the Colonel. When Elvis said, “You’re Fired!” to the Colonel Y/N felt her heart rate speed up.

As the Colonel walked closer to him, he just kept saying “you’re fired” louder and louder each time. “YOU’RE FIRED!” Elvis screamed into his microphone which made everyone, and everything go silent. Everyone looked at Elvis with shock as the Colonel looked at him with sadness. “You’re fired.” Elvis said more calm and not into the microphone.

When he dropped his microphone, it made Y/N jump by the loud noise the mic made when it hit the stage. She watched him turn away from the Colonel and walk off the stage.

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

Y/N decided to wait an hour before going up to Elvis’s room to check on him. Y/N was walking down the hallway to the elevator when she felt someone grab her left wrist. Y/N turned around to see that it was the Colonel who grabbed her wrist.

“Let me go.” Y/N told him in a demanding tone. “You go up there and tell him to take me back.” Colonel told her in the same tone she used. He knew she was going upstairs to talk to Elvis. Y/N let out a scoff as she pulled her wrist out of his grip. “You are the reason why he’s falling apart!” Y/N told him. “You’re the reason why he’s hooked on all of those drugs and you’re the reason why Pricilla and Lisa left him!” Y/N added as she looks at him with a fiery look in her eyes.

“Do it or you’re fired!” Colonel told her in a warning tone. “You’re not the boss of me and you never were.” Y/N said not back down to him. “You stay the hell away from him!” Y/N told him in a warning voice and walked away from him.

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

When Y/N got to Elvis’s room before she could knock on the door it opened to reveal Elvis. “When I heard footsteps, I figured that it was you coming to check on me.” Elvis told her letting her inside. Y/N could tell that he was more calmed down then what he was just an hour ago. “I was going to come up here right away, but I decided to let you cool off.” Y/N told him while he closed the door.

“I’m sorry that you had to see me like that. I guess I just lost control.” Elvis told her turning around to face her but didn’t look at her. “Elvis, you have nothing to be sorry about.” Y/N told him. She put one of her hands onto one of his cheeks which made his eyes meet hers. “It was the drugs and that shot of alcohol didn’t help either but that’s what made you lose it.” Y/N reassured him.

“But what you did right was you set yourself free from that monster.” Y/N told him stroking his cheek lightly with her thumb. “I didn’t want him taking you away from me, too.” Elvis told her.

Before she could say anything, Elvis’s lips connected with hers. Y/N immediately returned the kiss. They continued to kiss until they had to pull away for air.

“I think I’m falling in love with you.” Elvis confessed to her. Y/N’s lips curved up into a smile. “Me too.” Y/N told him and leaned back up to reconnect her lips with his soft lips again.

[beevean]

Rewatching NFCV with @woodchipp and @the-crow-binary has been miserable so far.

Not because of them, of course: we all need each other to bear the Peak. but holy shit I forgot how mindnumbingly boring the show is. it's way worse at a second watch because now I know how much it falls apart! We're only at S2E3 as of this post!

S1 is the best season, and even that is largely forgettable, especially S1E3 which wastes 22 minutes of my life to say "here's the bishop. he's proof that CHURCH BAD". But S1E1 may be the best or second best episode of the whole show thanks to Dracula and his performance... and isn't that sad, that the show peaks at the very beginning? The rest of the show is just... Trevor doing his stuff (while the framing mostly makes fun of him), talking, some fighting, and CHURCH BAD. As positives, I still like Trevor's mini-arc in this season, and the vague effort to be faithful to CV3 (Sypha being petrified by a cyclops, falling down a chasm to find Alucard).

S2 is terrible. Yes we're still less than halfway through. I already hate everything.

I hate Alucard becoming a legend to the point that the Wallachians name his Alucard (as in, Dracula's opposite) after only a year - why couldn't he name himself Alucard? Why complicate matters so much? Isaac calling him Alucard, and Dracula recognizing the name, makes absolutely no sense: how do they know about it? Dracula lost contact with his son one year ago and I doubt Wallachian human legends have reached him. And Isaac was in the Sahara until sometime after Lisa died!

I hate Alucard himself. He's a cunt. He does nothing but insult Trevor and the Belmonts without provocation, and it's not funny banter, he's mean! He's genuinely cruel! He hears that Trevor lost his family at 12, and he can only say "lol and lmao I had more of a childhood than you. anyway they were mentally ill and child killers, they sacrificed chickens and hoarded dead cats". And this piece of shit is the most popular character of the show??? he's not even pretty what are y'all seeing 😭

(it's also weird how he's all angsting about killing his vampire father, but he hates the Belmont for being vampire hunters. bro. bro you're also about to hunt a vampire. why are you defending a race of monsters so staunchly. not even a hint of, I don't know, a Belmont hurting him when he was a child because he was confused for a full vampire? Remember that logically, a vampire child is a child turned into a vampire, we have no other indication that dhampirs are running all around the world. I know that in the games he seems fully on board with "vampires bad and me bad for being half vampire", but you have the chance of making it better and you squander it?)

Sypha is also ruder than I remembered. I think she suddenly became more cheerful in S3 and that's why I liked her, but also girl, you keep criticizing Trevor for being rude and not consoling you, but you look at him with a perpetual resting bitch face and insult the Morning Star calling it an "ugly thing"? Why does Trevor even bother with the likes of you? How is Trephacard the most popular ship in the franchise?

I hate Isaac. Oh, I gave him the benefit of the doubt back then, because I really wanted to understand why he became the fan favorite. But now? No, I'm sorry, he's overrated as fuck. He's so damn pretentious, his speech about how he wants a pure world without love is terrible from the lens of him being a Muslim who is devoted to the Devil, and his backstory is so tryhard and historically inaccurate that I almost prefer Hector's past being exposed through voiceover.

Oh, and Hector, I hate his scenes. Because he's actually treated with dignity. He's fine! I actually like the guy! I like the scene where he rebukes Godbrand (who as a character only exists to attract infodumps and to question Dracula) because "I have to work" - he sounds actually proud of his role, if not even competent, perish the thought. Also by reading the scripts online I forgot that he was the one who yelled "you do not question my loyalty!". Which I like a lot? I can hear the real Hector protesting like that out of pride, even if in private he would admit that he disagrees with the bloodshed. And the scene where he soothes the newborn Night Creature... yeah, this character used to be written with respect, and knowing how he gets tortured and disrespected and used for rape apologism by a sex pest hurts even more. Also, in retrospect, the scene where he stares at the fire while reminiscing about the day he set fire on his own childhood home doesn't go anywhere, even as the finale of S3 echoes it :^)

And Dracula, oh my poor man Dracula. He's already being presented as an ineffectual depressed old man spending his time staring at a fireplace, who can't even command his presence in the war room, who allows Carmilla to insult him and Lisa in front of everyone - it's so embarrassing how he gets the Red Eyes of Fury and then he simply... lets her go after he gets the flimsy explanation of "yeah I humiliated you because everyone is asking themselves the same question. I wanted to help <3" girl (Dracula), she's a mere regional ruler, as she herself said??? why do you need her so much that you allow her to do this shit??????? oh but then you posture to godbrand, he gets to be threatened because... he's not relevant to the plot i guess. fucking pathetic. what have they done to my man.

(and I hate Carmilla. but that has never changed. annoying smug ass #girlboss with the charisma of spoiled seafood. her way of manipulating Hector isn't even manipulation, it's just her telling him very plainly what she wants him to do. She and Lenore utterly suck at their job, and they only get their way because muh plot)

And then there's the infodumping. Oh my god these people won't shut the fuck up. Godbrand is like "why should we listen to two humans?" and Dracula dumps twice that he trusts Hector and Isaac for their human nature (which, again, it's a decent reasoning, but it goes on and on and even they should know, I get it). Alucard dumps about the apocalyptic scenario where Dracula wins and rules over a world without humans... but he only describes it as we look into his ugly face, instead of doing something more creative like actually showing what would happen. Hector gets this random flashback-through-sound, shoved there as if Ellis didn't know where to put it in the script; later on he explains to Carmilla the origin of Night Creatures, as if ever remotely matters. Isaac dumps about his jihadist philosophy about how by killing humans he and Dracula will create a pure world. Carmilla randomly reveals her Tragic Backstory after kicking Godbrand down the stairs, another scene I can't stand because it's all about what a #queen she is and how she's better than Dracula. At one point they seriously discuss about the myth of vampires unable to cross running water, which is a moot point anyway because Carmilla resorts to using a zombie bishop to bless the river!! No I will never let it go!!!

(also I love that in the one occasion where Alucard has the chance of describing his childhood, he retells the tale of Lisa meeting Dracula, something we've already seen and he was also obviously told about, not something he experienced himself. They couldn't even come up with another anedocte to actually tell us what kind of mother Lisa used to be. so lazy)

This show is half people sitting in a circle and talking, and half average fight scenes. Yeah at this point not even those impress me anymore. I'm serious when I say that Knuckles' fight scene in Divergence, also animated by Powerhouse Animation Studios, is of a better quality than what the show has offered.

And this is why I'm so reluctant to watch Nocturne. If the best seasons of this highly acclaimed show are so painful to sit through, how are we going to survive a sequel series that not even the fans liked it as much?

[according2thelore]

I just saw a writing prompt that I HAVE to share with you when we talk about the Codependent Brothers(tm) because it'd be hilarious.

A reversal of the "there was only one bed" trope. Instead, I offer: too many beds

I just love the idea of Sam and dean, maybe post getting together, not knowing how to function when having to sleep separately. They're so used to cramped motel rooms with single beds, and after becoming official(read: declaring their love to each other in the moonlight and then fucking nasty in the impala) they feel even LESS able to handle this dilemma.

Maybe they have to put up an act for someone, maybe they are forced to eb separated by outside forces, or maybe they just forgot that that was an option. Either way I just think it would be hilarious watching them fumble their way through realizing they have to sleep in separate beds for once.

(This would also fit in the LS/ES Verse because LS! Sam and Dean would have to hide their relationship from their younger selves, who make it a point, and take great effort to actively Not Be Too Weird Or Clingy around their brother who they're secretly desperately in love with.)

"there's two beds."

dean looks up at sam's flat tone, and his stomach sinks as he realizes, oh shit. there are two beds.

the clerk at the counter must've given them a key to the wrong room.

they'd been carefully "accidentally"ing themselves into rooms with kings since that night a few months ago, dean's blood soaking underneath sam's nails and sam finally kissing the fuck out of dean--the absolute hell out of him--as he'd slipped into hypovolemic unconsciousness.

since then, dean had talked sam into sleeping in his room in the bunker. it started as sam sleeping over after sex, but they weren't twenty anymore, and after the sixth night of marathon acrobatic fucking, dean had said "maybe we could watch a few episodes of game of thrones" and tried very hard to strategically fall asleep on top of sam so he couldn't get up and leave.

after that, the convincing got less...well, convincing, but sam stayed anyway. somehow, his clothes migrated over to dean's dresser. his toothbrush sat next to his on the sink. his house shoes stayed next to the bed.

that's it. just the one bed. but now...

"i could," dean clears his throat. "i could go ask him to switch us."

sam tears his eyes away from the damning beds in question.

"huh? i mean. no."

dean blinks. sam shrugs, looking unsure.

"nah, it should be fine, right? it's just for a night."

dean nods.

"yeah. i mean we've slept in separate beds for thirty years." dean agrees, a factual statement. they stare at each other. they stare at the beds.

just two red-blooded american guys staring at two separate beds.

like god intended.

dean is in front of the clerk thirty-nine seconds later, being told that there's a boxcar rally in town. he won't find a king bed this side of the river.

or the next river. dean asked.

dean has been sleeping in a bed by himself--he does the math--for almost thirty-six years of his life. he knocked off three cumulative years for how often he and sam shared beds as kids and that year with lisa.

so he's used to sleeping in his own bed. never mind that dean has never been sleeping better than the past few months. he thought he just slept poorly, but he dares any person alive or dead to not sleep like a goddamn baby when sam has his hulk-hogan arm wrapped around your torso. you can't. it's a scientific impossibility.

it turns out that the regular soothing effect of hearing sam breathe that could get dean to sleep for the first forty years of his life (minus the first four for obvious reasons, dean doesn't really count those anyway) worked exponentially better when sam was actually exhaling against dean's sternum. who knew?

dean was getting a full six, a full eight, a full nine hours of sleep tucked up behind sam, and the hair in his mouth--while a trade off that deserved consideration--could be overlooked.

dean is sitting in his bed later that night, unsure of where to put his arms. or his legs. or his body. sam is standing next to his own bed, looking confused.

dean looks at him, and damn. this room is huge. he's like...really far away.

"so." dean says, voice a little louder so sam can hear him all the way over there, "we should get up at seven. to get to montana by tomorrow afternoon."

sam nods.

"yeah, okay." he says. he sits down on his bed. dean realizes that because he's used to sleeping on the side closest to the door, and sam is used to sleeping on the opposite side, that they're pressed to opposite sides of their separate beds, giving the maximum amount of space between them.

dean frowns. he turns the light off.

he can barely hear sam breathe in the dark. how the hell did he hear him before? he scoots over, and finds that sam has already done the same. they stare at each other across the three foot space between beds.

dean is hot. like he's...really hot. he kicks the blankets off.

sam has pulled his blankets up to his chin. how the hell is he cold right now?

minutes tick by. they build up on top of each other like snowflakes on a drift.

dean has his eyes closed, and thinks he's probably close to something, but just as he's maybe getting somewhere, sam turns over, and dean loses the sound of his breathing.

dean blinks up at the ceiling, wide awake.

"hey. hm. hey sammy. can you. uh. can you turn back over?" dean whisper-calls.

sam turns back over.

dean looks at the clock. it's thirty two minutes past when they laid down.

"what the hell?" dean smacks the clock a few times. it stays the same. he watches for over thirty minutes as it turns from 11:23 to 11:24. dean flops back against the bed. this is a fucking nightmare.

sam sneezes.

"gesundheit." dean says. sam thanks him. dean starts counting cars that go by on the interstate. he makes it to forty-seven when sam sighs heavily.

"okay," he says, firm, and he stands up. dean whirls back around to look at him, and watches as sam crosses the chasm between their beds, and kicks dean's body with his knee. "move."

dean rolls over immediately, tangling in his blankets in his fervor to get over.

sam wraps his humungo he-man arm around dean's waist as he crawls into his bed.

dean is asleep before his head hits the pillow.

in the morning, dean's left arm and leg are cold and numb, sam having squished all the blood and feeling out of it. they sleep through their alarm, they sleep so well. dean is pulling sam's hairs out of his mouth for the rest of the day. sam has a crick in his neck that dean sees him wincing about every time he turns his head.

"next time," sam says, folding himself into the passenger seat of the impala as they get ready to drive away, "we'll go to the next state if we have to."

dean nods.

it would be easier. it's not like they need it, though, or anything.

~~~

ES/LS BONUS!

"yes, it's time to go sleep in my bed," dean says, standing up. his teeth are clenched. "by myself."

his younger self looks at him like he's speaking a different language. dean glares at him. it's his fucking fault he's not getting any goddamn sleep around here.

"yeah." sammy says, hauling himself up. he sounds defeated. "a night of 'sleep' will do me good."

"why did you say it like that?" sam says, brushing his bangs out of his face, and looking up at his older self. "i heard those air quotes. what was that about?"

"because we sleep normally." sammy says, bitterly. "like regular people."

"do y'all hang from the ceiling or something?" younger dean asks. "what the fuck is happening right now?" "we're going to bed!" dean snaps. "because we're regular people, who treat each other regularly!"

"i have never felt more normal in my life," sammy agrees solemnly. "good night."

dean and sammy don't see the baffled what the fuck sam mouths at younger dean, or the way younger dean makes sure he has his silver knife in his pocket. maybe things aren't all they seem around here. bc what the hell was that?

but their younger selves don't see the forlorn look dean shoots sammy before he closes his door. sammy sighs ten minutes later, thunking his head on his own closed door. he forgot his toothbrush in dean's room.

~~~

this ask was DELIGHTFUL!!!!!!!

this was SUCH a fun prompt, and i had such a great time writing it, thank you sm bestie 🥹

trust that i have seen your other ask! i have been in a ES/LS rut for the past few weeks as i work on my big bang piece (an ES!Dean/LS!Sam fic that i'm excited for y'all to see later this year!). but i shall answer! i promise!

thank you for this ask, animangalover! mwah <3 hope you're doing well!

-lizzy

[killuwumi]

Jealous Bard~ Venti/Zhongli x Fem!Reader

a/n: i just wrote this random blurb from a prompt on pinterest..lol..

warnings: possessiveness, fem reader, jealousy, not proof read, all lowercase (lazy writer alert). 

"He is a weapon. A killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick but that will not change it's nature."

the wind in mondstadt was whipping, it felt like it could blow you over as you sit under the windrise tree. venti was sitting next to you as those words fell from between his lips. it was unlike the sweet things he would sing about at the bar. it was crude and honest, yet still poetic.

you knew who he was referring to, you both knew as you sat and recovered. you had just gotten back from a trip to liyue to attend rex lapis's funeral. it was a long way home and you nestled under the windrise tree to regain your stamina and health. but venti was never far from his followers..never.

"i know venti, i know. you warned me about him before i even left to meet everyone in liyue. but look, i came back, i'm here aren't i?" venti scoffs at your words, a bitter and ugly jealous feeling in his chest that he isn't sure what to do with. he's tried countless times to stop you from meeting zhongli. that man is dangerous, venti knows this, of course he knows this. not only is his human form handsome and charming but he's got a lovely nation and connections.

now, venti would never want you to not find your sibling, but he knows more than he lets on about your sweet, dearest twin. venti knows he could help you move on! you wouldn't need to worry about anyone but him if you would just stay. put. but for god's sake you can't seem to stop traveling.

"i know, i know dandelion. i just worry! it is safe here, our conflict in mondstadt has been quelled..i just prefer you be safe." yes, he does prefer you to return to him, safe and sound. which is why he pulled a favor from an old friend. xiao. the adeptus that had been secretly trailing you for the entirety of your journey into the mountains of liyue. not that you would notice of course, you've never even laid eyes on xiao.

venti had offered to do a favor for xiao if he did this for him, he promised xiao it was all for your safety, and luckily venti steered you right along the path xiao usually watches when doing patrols. so conveniently there was never so much as a hilichural even in your way.

"i have to find my twin venti, i promise mondstadt will always be my home. and zhongli said he might be able to help!" a sweet laugh tumbles out of your mouth and right on to venti's listening ears. even if he is caught up in thought, your laugh is the only song he ever wants to hear. until the grating sound of another archon's name registers in venti's head. ah, he almost forgot that zhongli was still the topic of conversation. that lying bastard, that awful lord obsessed with contracts. venti could wager to guess zhongli knew just about as much as he did when it came to your sibling. and venti seems to somehow be rarely wrong.

he swears up and down that one day he is going to sweep the tips of those peaks in liyue right off and send them straight into the deep waters. then maybe it won't be so pretty. maybe he will crush the harbor while he's at it. but his thoughts are interrupted by your movements..where are you going?

"dandelion, where is it that you're going?" he puts a playful infliction on his tone to ease the jealous feelings he's having. he too gets up and dusts his outfit off.

"i'm going to stay with mona for a bit while i'm back, and see if she can help me at all with a few commissions zhongli gave me. i also need to return a few books to lisa that i got from people in liyue. i think she'll appreciate it." so, so sweet you are. always doing things with other people in mind. don't you ever want to be selfish? oh well, no matter if you do or not, venti is selfish enough for the both of you. and more.

"ah, well be safe my dandelion." venti made sure to put extra emphasis on the my. maybe the wind will carry this conversation to zhongli..maybe.

in the following days, venti was conveniently wherever you were, enjoying you being around. but when he began to see you packing your things in mona's house he knew where you were going, liyue. ugh it left such a bitter taste in his mouth. that harbor, those mountains, and specifically that man.

"ah! is it time for you to go yet again my dandelion? oh how i will miss you, may the wind lead." were the last words you spoke to venti before setting off to liyue, where you were going to meet zhongli with this new information.

liyue harbor was bustling yet again, as you arrived right before the sun set, and headed straight for the teahouse. you were a little late for your meeting with the former archon. a hot cup of tea still waiting for you with zhongli watching over you as you approach.

"hello dear, how was your journey here? safe i presume?" zhongli knew who was watching over you, he knew about the deal between venti and xiao, he was an informed man after all.

"it was good, venti made sure to see me off!" you smiled and the atmosphere feels light. watching zhongli pick up his tea cup and sigh as you sit down.

"he is..quite the doting archon, isn't he?" the tea tastes more bitter when he has to talk about venti, he can't get enough of this alone time with you. even if it is just to piss venti off, he can see your appeal and why the anemo archon is so obsessed. you're pretty, young, adventurous and smart.

"yeah, although he tends to say some strange things, that seems to be a trend with archons." you laugh, zhongli nodding knowingly. zhongli did in fact, know what that bard had said about him.

"you are correct. and maybe he isn't wrong in what he said to you, whatever it may be, but do be aware that not everyone is who they seem to be." zhongli states in a cool, unwavering tone. careful to plant a seed of doubt in your mind the same way venti had.

zhongli might seem like a simple man, and he is, but he does enjoy playing mind games with a rival. and you better believe that this has lit a fire under venti, both of them trying to outdo the other. maybe one of them will get you to solely reside in their nation, their care. but only time will tell.

[yuugen-benni]

HELLOOOO may i request childe diluc and thoma with reader that has adhd and dyslexia? Thank youu

Hi! Thank you for the follow and request

Note: Always with requests like this i research a lot as I can, but If I said something wrong about ADHD or Dyslexia please tell me!

Thoma, Diluc and Childe + ADHD/Dyslexic!Reader

Thoma:

Thoma has a big heart and naturally cares about his partner, no matter the circumstances. Another point is: Him. He is. Helpful. You can count on him for literally EVERYTHING

Forgot something important, keys or wallet? He knows exactly where they are

Anxiety or restlessness that is affecting everyday life? He has his arms open with a drink (of your choice) on the counter.

Want to express something but having difficulty? Say it any way you can, he'll be there to listen!

Thoma discreetly makes you take little breaks during the day: he suddenly appears and says ''Oh..I didn't know you were here!'' and asks if you want some Boba or his best way to spend the time: read to you :)

(And when I say he likes to read to you, HE LIKES A LOT. It helps him understand Inazuman literature and helps you read)

''[...] By the way! Is there anything i can do for you ? or rather...do with you ?''

Diluc:

He is not very ''present'' like Thoma, who can always help you. BUT this does not mean that he doesn't care

From the moment you tell Diluc about the ADHD and Dyslexia, he is visible more patient with you than with other peoples;

He ''adapted'' his own mansion for you, putting important day-to-day things in a specific dresser and even a "routine board", or simply: a board full of post-it notes with your activities to help you remember ( And at the same time write);

(Speaking of writing… imagine taking short reading and writing classes with Lisa! She would be so sweet ;3)

Also, Diluc loves to hear everything you have to say. Any random facts, weird thoughts, your favorite things or just dumb questions. Listening to you makes him understand how adorable and smart you really are. Fills lonely nights in the Winery. it Makes him smile…

''Don't be late for dinner this time, I know you and Lisa love to talk but.... sigh….I can't wait to hear how your day goes''

Childe:

We know how Childe is, and if you want a boyfriend who motivates you: he is perfect The compliments never end. I'm not talking about fake or unrealistic compliments, I'm saying about words that can be simple like ''I'm proud of you'' but…can make your day so much better. Compliments can be helpful for everyone, especially those with mental, physical or emotional problems.

Childe is the type of guy who always looks up to you with pride because he knows it's hard for you to just do an easy thing, and being tough is not the right way.

He guarantees he'll help you with ''his way''….aka money. He traveled ALL over Teyvat, if you want he can easily find a doctor, a teacher, a therapist, buy objects that help with focus and anxiety. EVERYTHING.

Now, talking about family: Childe's family is amazing. imagine your siblings accidentally asking you to read a book to them but you're a little embarrassed because of your dyslexia but then Childe comes along and offers to read it to you all and-.........

Let's finish here

Reblogs and feedbacks are greatly appreciated!

resquest OPEN (for now only for BSD and GI)