#that’s about all the claymores I know by name

[lizzyflowers]

" Are you satisfied now, Dream? "

DS!Nightmare & DS!Dream by Onebizzarekai Art by me [@lizzyflowers]

Ramblings below:

That one post of Kai saying that even if Dream managed to kill Nightmare, it would leave a gaping hole in his soul. Leaving him feeling empty and hurt, absolutely regretting killing the only other person that he loved.

I feel like after that, Dream would just drown himself in his work, anything to not focus on the pain of killing the person he convinced himself he didn't care for. That he was sure was the reason for the misfortunes and evil of the world. Oh how blind he was.

The guilt would consume him and he wishes he could hold Nightmare's lifeless corpse forever but he has an organization to run and he can't ruin himself like this for eternity. He definitely would still visit the kids at the orphanage, but sometimes he just needs to a moment to himself. Now more than ever.

He keeps Nightmare's body tucked away in a casket somewhere deep in the castle where nobody else can find but him. Maybe he would visit sometime, maybe he would talk to Nightmare as if he was still alive. He's not delusional, he knows Nightmare is long gone, but he likes to think that the other is listening. He is.

Did he change his ways of dealing with criminals? No. Of course not, he would have to listen to Nightmare first to even consider it, but now Nightmare's gone. Now, he's much more brutal and swift with his targets.

He would no longer feel anything as he slays another man down, only separating their faces with Nightmare's because everytime he ends another life in the name of justice, it reminds him of that day all over again. The same hurt face, the same blood, the same corpse, the same soaked clothes, the same tainted claymore.

He's reminded of it every. single. time.

Ink notices the change, and he would know why. He would try helping his boss but he isn't really great at comforting others. Maybe he'll try organizing the usually tidy desk that's now left messy and unorganized. Maybe he would remind Dream to rest or eat/drink something. Funny, it used to be him being reminded by Dream, not the other way around.

Cross is... well i remember if Nightmare did get killed, Cross would get consumed by rage, allowing XChara to take control and letting him on a rampage. Getting him killed in the process to protect the masses. Angered by your close friend's (possibly crush/lover's?) death, dying by the same hands to keep everyone else safe.

Error? God, how would Error even feel. Losing both of your closest friends by one person leaving you alone, again. The only person that he could trust with touch is gone. The person that he would joke and watch anime with is gone. How devastated would he be?

Blue... well, he could take this opportunity to try and convince Error to come with him, he won't be alone anymore with an old friend now would he? But Error knows better, he knows better now with the help of Cross and Nightmare. How dare Blue try to insinuate that he replace them with Blue so easily, that Blue could just saunter up to him after he lost his two close friends?

But maybe in another timeline, Error, still so hurt and grieving, blindly accepts Blue's offer because he doesn't want to be alone. Not again.

God i am NOT OKAY ABOUT THIS, GAHHHH

[dkniade]

Claymores… Wolf’s Gravestone would make a pretty cool guitar. Song of Broken Pines too. oh and the Bell as well

something something metal songwriter Diluc whose guitar is basically just Wolf’s Gravestone but just guitar-shaped enough to play

am I suggesting that Diluc, Eula, and Freminet should play guitar together or something

[erosiism]

GENSHIN MEN AND…

prompt: HOW THEY WOULD REACT IF YOU SACRIFICED YOUR LIFE FOR THEM

character(s): diluc, zhongli [part one] childe, ayato [part two, out]

warnings(s): angst ofc—mention of blood, my first post on tumblr so my writing style may be a little icky, inaccuracies since I haven’t looked up genshin lore for a hot minute 

note(s): male reader, second person, present tense, not beta read

DILUC

There’s a lot of things you haven’t told him yet. Things you wished you had told him—but everything’s fine, because in this single action you are willing to do for him—your feelings will come inevitably with it and it’s a torrent of emotions that you’re about to burden him with.

He’s been your childhood friend for seventeen years now. All those times you have seen him, smiling, his merry laughter carrying over the breeze, his lips purple from sampling grapes, to the time where that very laughter and smiles disappear to smoothen into a stone face. After the death of his father, Diluc has become reserved, cold, and rather distant. Bitter.

You two were close, once.

You two had a bond that many could not quite interpret— it was as clear as day that you both trusted each other fully, but each always had secrets to hide. Some say proximity is the reason why both of you got close — your manors were near to each other, but truthfully, it was as simple as it was: you two had the same social standing. Both you and Diluc were, for each of their families, supposed to be close for the sake of future alliances and unions, but the friendship soon turned genuine, only for it to crumble under the weight of guilt and grief.

Only for it to crumble on the day Crepus died.

You still remember it vividly; in all its sickening, gruesome, heart wrenching detail. You were fortunate enough not to witness it, but etched in your memory, all you can think of is Diluc’s ravaged expression when he trembled before his father’s corpse.

You were helpless then. You could have extended an arm, you could have done something.

You didn’t.

But now would be different. You know the archons have it in for him when the incident happens the same way it happened with his father: via a carriage incident. 

You laugh then at its bitter irony.

Bandits come, a whole load of them, and this time Diluc fights while you are there helpless once again, trembling when you hear the clash of swords and arrows. When you hear his claymore smash against flesh. You don’t have a vision. Diluc has. You don’t have any particular skill in handling a sword; Jean has tried to teach you once, but it has failed. Your brain may be quick and witty, but your steps aren’t. 

The bandits have delusions. The archons really are cruel.

You see it before he does. There’s a burst of electric power that he's battling, the elementals clashing with each other—you’re still lagging behind, barely missing the whizzing arrows that skim your flesh, your heart wrenching as you see Diluc’s pained expression. You know what he’s thinking of, and it isn’t you. His memories are reverting back to his father’s death. His birthday. And perhaps that’s why his usual sharpness is wearied down.

You see the sword about to plunge his back before he does.

You scream to tell him.

Your body moves before anything.

Your fingers fumble to clasp the fabric of your clothes, before you tug him out of the way. You feel the weight of a sword against your back; you feel the way it slices through your skin before it presses against your flesh. You taste blood on your tongue, before a myriad of colors burst out; crimson, carmine. All the shades of red. You wobble then, choking out blood, before you stumble. You hear a few slices; razor, swift sharp ones. Then the last of the assailants falls down, and you are made aware that your decision has been the right one.

Diluc has survived. 

You stumble. You feel your body hit the ground. Murkiness runs your vision.

“[Name],” you hear a soft, whispering voice carry to your ears. You try your best to cling onto the words. But pain is burning within you—it’s ironic, how they feel more scorching than Diluc’s flames have ever felt. You try your best to swallow down your pants and your pained noises, but it ends up slipping from your mouth in broken, mottled syllables.

Your blurry vision makes out a face.

He cannot be Diluc. He’s crying. And the last time you have seen Duluc cry is when—

Oh.

“Don’t cry,” you say weakly. “Don’t cry, Diluc. I’m sorry I wasn’t of much help.” You try to reach out to his cheek. You regret it a split second afterwards because blood stains his cheeks wet from tears. You end up smearing red all over his face.

“Why?” Diluc says, and it sounds guttural, like the words have been punched out from him. “Why, [Name]?” You hear a flurry of footsteps behind. You assume it’s some surviving witness who has gone to call for backup. But you doubt you’ll survive.

You don’t even know why. To begin with, you aren’t even sure if you are in love with him. The swirling butterflies that flutter about when you see him tells him you are, but society’s expectations push those down. You have been in love with him for as long as you can remember; you have loved him. You have annotated every inch of him down to your memory, every contour, every bit. In your dreams he visits you, smiling sweetly. And you try to remember him when you wake up, trying to pretend that he’s still there, that he’s no longer bitter. 

“I don’t know.” Your words come out broken, punctuated by the gurgling of blood from your windpipe. 

It’s a half truth. You love him. You don’t know if you do.

“I’m sorry.”

Diluc is sobbing now. It’s uncharacteristic of him. You are brought back to the night when you saw him break down in front of his father’s corpse. And you aren’t yet a corpse: your heart is still beating faintly, your lips are still moving, your body is still trembling. “There’s a lot of things I wanted to tell you, Diluc.”

“Don’t die,” he pleads fervently. His lips graze your forehead, then—and before you know it, he’s embracing you, his tears wetting your shoulder. His begging is childish. Does he not know that the Archons have long abandoned their people? Does he know the sky is empty, and that no amount of pleads can bring a person back to life? You doubt so. “Don’t die, [Name]. I love you.”

He loves you. You smile. He loves you. Words have never felt so sweet befor, and it curbs the bitterness of death upon your tongue. “I love you, [Name]. I love you, so don’t die.”

He loves his father too. But still his father had perished. Similar to you.

“I’m so happy to hear that,” you smile weakly. Your finger starts to fall. “I’m really happy to hear that.”

You don’t have enough time to say those three words back, but it’s fine.

Your actions already did. 

ZHONGLI

note(s); reader is an adepti, takes place during archon war

A God has seen their fair share of grieving. So have Adepti. Some come with age—it’s normal for mortal alliances to die before those who are immortal, after all. There is also the Archon War, which has already torn away Zhongli’s beloved companion, Guizhong. And everyday he chokes down the bile in his throat and continues to annihilate and fight. He’s always been built for this, after all, he’s an Archon. He’s a ruthless one at that, known for his brutality and his power. And everyday he looks at you and can only pray again and again to Celestia, that you remain alive.

Guizhong and you have both been his favorites since you two have met. It was Guizhong and you first, before Zhongli met you. Both you and Guizhong were best friends; almost; like sisters and brothers. Guizhong was gentle and sweet, reprimanding at times. You were sweet too, but could be more uncouth. Strong language littered your sentences at times, and Zhongli would see it then; the way Guizhong tugged at you to scold you, or the way you would smile at her. Brother and sister.

Naturally, when Zhongli grew close to Guizhong, he grew close to you. It was funny to see that you hardly knew much about history, though Guizhong clearly loved it. And so it was almost a cycle. Whatever Guizhong taught Zhongli, he taught you. Guizhong had remarked a few times, what an incredible person he was to make even you listen to facts you had earlier called boring.

(“You mellowed a lot, Morax,” Guizhong had told him once. “[Name] mellowed you. You really do care alot for him, don’t you?”

“I suppose.”)

Gods aren’t meant to be mellowed. They are meant to be powerful. Strong enough emotionally so as to not bat an eye when it comes to deaths.

But everything falls apart when Guizhong dies.

He sees you fall to the ground, sobbing and sobbing and crying at the loss of your beloved sister. He sees the way  you touch her statue, turned to stone, cradling her face and wishing you were touching soft skin, instead of cold stone. Not sister by blood, but sister in name. He sees the way you break apart after that; Zhongli feels a human sense of emptiness and pain that comes with her death.

It’s all right, he told himself repeatedly. In his grief he has started to flood himself with reassurances. I still have [Name]. I still have [Name]. I still have [Name]. 

He sees the way you lose yourself in battle after that. Your attacks become sloppy, you become more careless. You become more injured. Zhongli never bothered with your skill. You were talented and strong enough. But now he finds himself protecting you the times you stumble, the times you start to choke out sobs during battle, the times you go wild and bloodthirsty against those you assume have contributed to her death. 

Guizhong has said once that he loved you. Zhongli never bothered to think about that. He assumed he would know it himself, when time came. He didn’t need to worry about being in what mortals called a relationship—he would get this war finished with you, become a mortal, and love you freely. It didn’t matter if you didn’t love him. Zhongli could love you at a safe distance. It would all be all right. 

He never imagined your declaration of love towards him would come so easily and devastatingly.

Zhongli sees you struck by a burst of elemental power before anything. He sees the way you shoved him inside; he sees the irony. He was so preoccupied with watching you. He hadn’t seen the enemy crawl up to him or nearly kill him. Like how he was watching you, you were watching him. And now his care has killed you.

“[Name].”

There’s an avalanche of emotions. First, he’s furious. He will leach out the killer and will inflict a thousand times more pain on them. Second, he’s heartbroken. He’s terrified of losing you. He can feel your life ebbing away with each passing moment, and he has seen enough wounds to know no healer can save you. He feels your pulse thrumming beneath your skin and he knows you’re dying.

You smile. It looks more like a grimace. “Just survive this goddamn war.”

Zhongli isn’t sure if he will. He feels like he might kill himself, that he might lay his body down next to yours, so that after death your souls would be intermingled, of sorts. It sounds romantic, but there’s absolutely nothing romantic about your death. He does what the Gods are not supposed to do. He feeds into his humanity; he cries.

“Afterwards, just live as a human. I don’t know. Be a dusty collector of antiques. Be a funeral planner or something strange like that. Just live, okay? You look like you want to die.”

You continue to ramble on. Your sentences become connected with each other. Your eyes start to flutter. Your words become faint and faltering.

“I can’t live with you,” he whispers. “First Guizhong, then you…” it’s all his fault. He should have seen it. He should have been more aware. He should—he should…

It’s too late. You’re dead, and he mourns just like a human; sobbing, aching, and dying a little inside.

For a brief moment Zhongli isn’t a God. 

hope everyone liked it! it’s my first post so im apprehensive haha be sure to like/reblog & leave a comment if u can

[lavandulawrites]

The fact that there are no yandere Kinich fics/hcs is illegal. Litterly, the whole internet is all over him and no single fic/hc? R u shitting me?

Anyways, if you would be as kind as to consider this following request: yandere Kinich with a darling who is in love with someone else.

You dont have to do it if you dont want to. Have a nice day and make sure to drink enough water!

A Supporting Friend

He is truly criminally underrated</3 Fun fact my saurian is called Roberto haha

Masterlist

Warnings: stalking, Ajaw being a dick (what’s new), Kinich is delusional, murder, slight gore, Kinich is jealous, female reader

Word count: 814

A second didn’t pass without him thinking of you. His hazel eyes trains on you as you went about your day. You were so effortlessly beautiful. Like a goddess. As the dark haired man snuck in the shadows following you, he couldn’t help but feel a burning hatred whenever you looked at him. He was taller than Kinich with huge muscles and a stupid smile that never left his face.

The raven haired man hid behind a large stacks of boxes as he watched over you. God knows what could happen to you now that the Abyss were more aggressive than ever.

His annoying companion popped out of thin air with a whine. “Are you seriously still following her?” the little dragon-like creature asked with amusement.

Kinich spared him not even a single glance as he continued to let his eyes watch you.

“Jeez, ya are seriously fucked in the head, aren’t ya?” the little gremlin laughed. “Just face it, she doesn’t like you. Just like everyone else, so why don’t you just trip and die?” Ajaw snickered like the little devil he was.

“Shut up” Kinich sneered as he looked Ajaw away which resulted in multiple cursers following.

Of course Kinich knew your heart didn’t belong his, at least not yet. Your eyes were sat on that disgusting fool of a man. It was a pity and made Kinch’s skin crawl.

Days passed and you continued to see Kinich as only a friend. A friend which you told all your secrets and asked for help with various matters. Normally the young man would be over the moon with being so close to you, but not when you continued to rant about him.

“Roberto looked at me today. He even smiled! Do you think he likes me Kinich?” you asked him as you looked off in the distance with a longing gaze.

Oh if only you knew how much he loved you, how his heart fluttered in his chest when you looked at him. When you smiled it was like the Celestia had granted their blessing. Still, he chose to hold his tongue and only hum at your question. “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him” he answered with a strained voice. As he watched the red flowers that littered the meadow in front of them, he couldn’t help but imagine how Roberto’s blood would look against the lush grass.

“I want to ask him on a date” you interrupted his trained of thought. “Tomorrow” you turned to look at him with a huge smile. A bale blush dusted your cheeks as you thought about your crush.

Kinich’s heart quickened at the cute display of your blush. If only he was the one to make you blush. “Oh really?” he mumbled.

“Yeah. I want it to be perfect though. I am thinking in the field with flowers in the forest near my house. It’s the perfect spot. Really romantic.

“Indeed. Romantic” the words akin a sneer.

The next day the ancient name bearer jumped from tree to tree as he stalked Roberto on his way to hunt. The robust man was busy adjusting his crossbow, completely unaware to his surroundings. Kinich scoffed at his obliviousness and he couldn’t help the smirk that crept upon his lips.

He leapt down on the grown as silent as a feather as he crawled towards the man. His claymore already in his hand.

Quicker than a heartbeat he jumped up from the bush and ran towards Roberto.

Roberto screamed as he picked up his crossbow. Unfortunately for him, the weapon were not loaded and completely useless.

“What do you want?!” he screamed as he backed away with quick steps.

The hazel eyed man remained silent as he stalked closer and closer towards him.

With wide eyes Roberto turned on his heel and ran.

The case was as thrilling as Kinich had expected. Given his massive body, Roberto was rather slow compared to the shorter man. Stupid too.

It didn’t take long before Roberto had stopped at the end of the cliff. He was trapped between the blood thirsty man and the high fall. Neither he would survive.

Kinich had become tired of the little hunt so he leaped forward and missed Roberto’s chest by a mere centimetre. Which resulted in Roberto falling to his death with a high pitched scream that suited more a little girl than a 190 cm man.

Kinich peered over the cliff and down on the stony ground. Roberto’s body was no more than a red mass that looked like spaghetti given how he had landed on multiple sharp rocks. A satisfied smile tugged on Kinich’s lips.

Now he had to play the role of a comforting friend and hold you in his arms as you sobbed over your deceased crush. His smiled widened uncharacteristically at the thought of you finally being his.

[channelinglament]

Aeon of Unity.....the first aeon....they were there since the beginning they gave life to all and showed every life they created love and protection but when a threat known as honkai arrived they gave there life to seal it away in another world unknowingly becoming the object of its obsession now millions of years later you've returned and your already showing your creations that love and protection they missed oh so dearly but it seems your divine power has weakened so it's only natural your creations offer some hell right

Low on credits not anymore cause Asta, herta and Himeko have generously donated millions to your mailbox

Not enough resin to continue farming calyx for material's don't worry gepard and bronya have already sent the silvermaine guards to farm as many supplies as you need

Simulated universe giving you trouble well guess what now you can pick 2 paths and you get a bonus curio named [Divinity derived from unification] that buffs all characters depending on how devoted they are to you (you one shot gepard twice with Serval)

Even though they've given you all there love and you give it back 100 fold they still hear you speak of other worlds.....what are honkai, what's a archon and why does the broken claymore in herta's collection give himeko an uneasy feeling and make yoy cry the first time you saw it while saying "your sorry"........they may never know that your loved by not just them but beings of elemental and universal divinity.....maybe one day you'll meet all of them you are the great unifier after all

WOWIE

This is a big brain moment here

This is amazing

Also I think I accidentally altered it a bit- while I was writing- I was rereading it and just noticed that, so I am sorry 🙇

You had all three games installed. You played all of them. Everytime you saw a reference to the previous game, you either squealed of happiness, either cried if sadness.

They all saw you as their Aeon. Aeon of Unity. At some point it is true, as they exist ONLY on your device. Only on your account. Nowhere else. Whatever you do with them, will be there permanently. You can kill them, by deleting your game. You have all 3 games. All the universes. You "unite" them all. So, in a way, what they call you is not a lie.

You gave them life when you downloaded the game.

When you first installed Honkai Impact, you didn't expect Honkai to do...all that. Then you payed Genshin. All that amde you feel sad. Considering they all are alive (well...not exactly-) you can't help but feel sympathy towards them.

You gave them your everything, your love and affection. You did truly love them. At some point, you couldn't continue helping them out. No matter what you do, new "bosses" and enemies get in. They get injured, they die, they revive, and the cycle continues. No. That's not what you want. You want them to be free. To be happy..

So you did what you thought was best. You decided to free them from this "nightmare".

You deleted this games

You did regret it, you felt bad, but.. You reassured yourself that it was for the better.

Plus, now that they're.."dead". When you tried downloading again...they were just a bunch of codes. They weren't themselves anymore. They were not aware.

"I'm so sorry"

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

Later, new game came out.

Honkai: star rail

You downloaded it.

They became aware aswell..simialrily to previous game.

The guilt of.."killing" their other counterparts..or their other selves was eating you away. They WERE alive. And you had "unalived" them.

So you promised yourself to not repeat this mistake again. This time, you will talk to them and explain your worries. They could help you, while you help them.

You don't need to worry about them dying anymore, as your healers, Bailu and Natasha have the best healing light cones and artifacts. You don't need to worry about damage aswell.

You don't need to worry about them dying because of a string enemy. You can easily ascend them, because you always have resources now.

If in the past you never talked about this and tried to farm it all by yourself..now

Now, that you talk to them about it.. they help you out with it.

You need credits to ascend something? All donated to you.

You want another character? The crystals are donated aswell, while during the ten pull you get to E6 them. You get their light cones. And 4* are coming in aswell.

You need materials? Silvermane guards are doing it for you, and your characters are doing it aswell!

You make them all strong. You make sure they're able to defend themselves in a fight, while staying at full health.

You've seen video of a person who defeated Kafka without even giving her a single turn? Yeah that's how the fights go without you. While you're here, the game doesn't always let them do that (meme teams are best trust me-)

Oh, the SU is too hard? Dw they got you!

You grace them with your presence, you make them healthy, you make them strong, you CARE about them. You LOVE them

So all they ask of you is your eternal love and attention. Though, you already give it to them.

Sometimes, they hear you crying behind..whatever separates your..worlds

You say sorry, when you look at strange glider. Or a broken claymore. Some feel stable emotions looking at it. (Welt and Himeko)

When Traiblazer hears a strange female noise coming from nowhere saying "Let's explore this area later" you laugh..and cry a bit?

You laugh, and it flutters Trailbazer's heart!

But when you cried? They were confused. Didn't you laugh a moment ago?

Anyways, they're bathing in your attention and affection. They will give you their everything, just ask them!!

Ah, how they wish you came to their world!

Well, it's not a problem anyways..Herta and Aeons found a way to bring you here..

for now, you will see them when you're asleep. For them, you're in SU, but to you..you're just dreaming..right?

They never keep a secret from you, but.. no

This isn't a secret..this is a surprise! You will be happy aren't you oh dear Aeon?

Soon, you will finally be united with them.

Meanwhile the..other worlds..

They are not exactly "dead", since they were never quite "alive" to begin with

They're stuck in some void...

They've seen your attempts to come back to them, and they're grateful for it. They know your reason for..."killing" them

And right now, they're trying to find a way to contact you..you seem to be moving on from them, focusing on other world. Oh nononono...

That's not how it supposed to be..focus on ALL of them..

It seems they need to pay hsr a little visit... hopefully, you will smile at them the way you always used to

[jinkicake]

Runaway

No matter how far you run, he’ll always catch you. 

Yandere!Diluc, Dottore, Zhongli x Reader

A/N: Hello, my friends..... I was not able to write ANYTHING this week and then I thought about yandere!diluc for .2 seconds and pulled this out of thin air.... if i take a turn toward yandere after this, this is my apology.

!! YANDERE IS ITS OWN WARNING !! ((maybe ooc! idk))

WC - 2,355

~~~

Diluc R. 

“I have a present for you,” Kaeya softly coos behind his drink at the Angel’s Share. Diluc, with the heavy bags positioned below his eyes, glares at his brother. He doesn’t have time for this, not when you are missing from his sight. “it is worth your time to come with me, Master Diluc.” 

And that’s how it happened, the two of them walking through the Whispering Woods as Diluc’s heavy hand rests on his claymore at all times. Kaeya continues to walk confidently in front of him, a sort of air surrounds him that tells the redhead he’s more than thoroughly pleased with his own actions. 

“I heard you lost something recently,” Kaeya starts and the hand on Diluc’s red weapon grows more secure. 

“Kaeya.” Diluc snaps at his brother, warning him to stop at once. 

“See, if I ever lose something, I always have my name on it so everyone knows who to return it to.” The cavalry captain comes to a complete stop before boldly pointing in a direction of a campfire. “You should try it. Perhaps then this situation will not repeat itself.”

Diluc watches warily as Kaeya begins to walk back to the gates but, at the promise of you, he trudges on through the forest. He follows the light between the branches and nearly stiffens when he comes across your figure. Your eyes widen in shock but no noise comes out due to the tape plastered across your lips. The closer Diluc gets, the further you try to press yourself back into the tree that you’re tied to. 

“Beloved, how could this have happened?” At once he drops to his knees and unties the rope around your waist, not yet ripping the material tying your wrists and ankles together. Diluc touches you with a gentle hand, a soft touch as he continues to look you over. He’s been so worried about you since you managed to escape the Winery. 

For nights, he searched every inch of Mondstadt and did not sleep a single wink. How could the cavalry captain have found you when your husband couldn’t? He’ll have to confront his brother about this.

Someone must have hidden you. 

But, Diluc doesn’t have the time to worry about that now when you’re right in front of him again. 

“The outside world is cruel, isn’t it?” He takes note of the way you are shivering before taking off his own jacket to cover your upper body. The bruises against your skin caused by the rope make him sigh. “Let’s go home.”

You thrash against his touch as he effortlessly picks you up, carrying you in his arms. It pains him to see your eyes so full of worry, don’t you understand that he’s here to help you?

“It’s been quiet the last few days without you,” Diluc starts and you tightly swallow in an effort to avoid this conversation. Instantly your eyes close shut. “oh, you must be tired.” 

“We will continue this when we get back home.”

The next time you open your eyes, it is because of the sound of water running. You’re still in Diluc’s arms, supported by his strong build, but now he is focused on the water instead of you. The tape on your mouth is gone, the ropes are long gone, and so are your clothes. 

“This will help you sleep better tonight,” Diluc murmurs into your neck as he slowly lowers you into the bathtub.

“I missed you,” Diluc confesses and the raw vulnerability in his eyes makes you flinch. You choose to focus on the water instead of his genuine kindness. “so much. Not a moment went by where I did not think of you.”

“If there is something that I did to make you leave, you must let me know. A judgment of error can be erased, I can make this life better for you. Let me,” As his hands grab your own, squeezing them beneath his rough skin, you merely blink. “(Y/N).” 

He never calls you by your name in private, it’s always a sweet pet name. 

“I want to go outside.” Your voice is raw, it’s the first time you’ve spoken in hours. Diluc looks pained by this request as his eyes cascade to the ground in shame. 

“I cannot allow that of you. You must understand how cruel it is out there-”

“Just within the lawn of the winery, I won’t go any further than that.” You plead and turn to face the man entirely. Diluc is stunned by your passion and still looks unconvinced, even as you lift your hand to cup his cheeks. 

Instantly, he leans into your touch. 

“Once you get used to that land, you’ll ask for more.” He murmurs, more so to himself. “I apologize, my dear, it pains me to deny you of anything but, no.” Diluc stands from where he was kneeling beside the tub to grab a towel hanging on the wall. “When you want to go outside, you will go with me.”

“And you will never leave this house without me again.”

Dottore

“Zandik,” You weakly murmur as your vision starts to focus. The hue of light blue forms into his wavy hair and the ensemble of colors morphs into his Harbinger uniform. All at once, you manage to see the true picture in front of you. “get away from me!” You scramble to sit up but aren’t able to move. The fatigue now in your arms is heavy, so heavy. Under your weight, you buckle and fall back against the plush hospital bed. 

“I’m known as The Doctor now,” He grins and leans forward enough that the tip of his mask pokes your nose. “aren’t you curious as to why you are here?” The closer he gets, the more you start to freak out. You thrash against the restraints that are pinning you down to the hospital bed but, you’re not able to get anywhere.

“Leave me alone,” Using all your strength, you lift up your exhausted leg and kick it in his general direction. Dottore doesn’t have to move and doesn’t even flinch as he wraps his gloved hand around your ankle. Roughly, he keeps your foot pinned to his chest. Breathing is becoming harder and speaking is almost now impossible to do. It’s a miracle that your slurred, tired words are still enough to use for communication. “Don’t touch me-”

“I will do as I please.” His cold attitude nips at you but, you’re far too out of it to care. You should be worried about his clenched jaw and tight grip. Instead, all you can think about is sleep. 

You can’t fall asleep in his presence. 

“This must be a nightmare,” It’s the only explanation for all of this. You haven’t seen the ex-student, your ex-boyfriend, in years and there’s no way he would be back in Sumeru without you knowing. The Akademiya would be fools to let him back into the city. 

“You still think of me?” He leans closer to you and you stubbornly turn your head to the side so that you don’t have to look at him. “Dream of me?” His hand lowers your leg to the sheets before running up your calf, lightly cupping the muscle as his thumb rubs soft strokes into your skin.

“Stop.” You know that you can’t keep your eyes open for much longer, with each passing moment your blinks are getting heavier and longer. There’s a hopeful part of you that pleads with the Lesser Lord Kusanali that this will all be over once you wake up again. “You’re not supposed to be here,”

He watches you with interest, with a certain fascination that he used to harbor for you all those years ago. Pathetic mask on his face or not, you can still read him like an open book. It makes you feel sick. 

“Where should I be then?” His fingers move up to the back of your knee, gently resting against your skin as he rubs gentle circles. You take a deep breath before looking over at him, eyes half-lidded and your body ready to give out entirely. 

“As far away from me as possible.” You knew that this was going to anger him, deeply frustrate him. Dottore reacts just as you thought he would as his gloved fingers dig painfully into your leg. In a pitiful attempt, you try to squirm away from him but, you can’t move a single inch. Nothing has changed from before. 

“You still have a mouth on you, hm?” He sneers and the rasp in his voice makes your temples ache. Whenever he speaks, he reminds you of a dark melody. You can’t get tired of it no matter how many times you hear the soothing sound. 

“Please leave me alone,” One more time, you try to beg him again. You fool yourself into thinking that maybe, for once, he can give you up. Your breathing is getting slower and you know that by now, you’re out of words. 

“Don’t act so foolish.” His scowl makes you whimper and you finally give up on trying to stay awake. Your eyes flutter shut with the intention of remaining that way for some period of time. It’s a shame that you can still hear him talk, you can still hear his cold words that destroy your entire resolve and crush your world. “You know that for as long as I breathe, I will keep coming back for you.” 

Zhongli

“You thought you could run from me?” Where he stands tall before you, Zhongli looks wrongfully disappointed. His amber eyes are dull with judgment, brows furrowed in irritation at the thought of being separated from you. “Part from me?” His thick arms are crossed over his chest, muscles bulging against the dark material of his sleeves. “What you have committed is a breach of our contract, a crime against the natures of this world.” 

Your lips part open to speak, to defend yourself but, you’re silenced by the pointed look in his eyes. From where you kneel before him on the cold ground of this mountaintop, you’ve never felt smaller. 

“Due to your unlawful actions, a serious crime awaits you.” Zhongli looks you over, glances over you with his hardened eyes before beginning to walk past you. 

You can’t let him walk away like this, you feel completely and utterly useless. 

“I’ll do it again,” You quietly spit and Zhongli is close enough to hear it, just barely another stride in. His eyes widen with a certain anger he’s not sure he’s felt in years before he tightly grips your shoulder. 

No, something like this can never happen again.

“Are you threatening me?” He asks slowly, calmly but you can hear the shake that swallows each word. You can’t bring yourself to nod or shake your head as he stands behind you, fingers pressing into your collarbone. “Perhaps, I have been too kind with you.” 

That’s all the warning you get before he roughly pulls you to your feet by your bicep, you’re dragged behind him by his tight grip. No matter how hard you resist and try to dig your feet into the ground, lower yourself to the rocks, your perseverance is no match for Zhongli’s strength. 

“If I must, I will hold you over the cliff side until you willingly submit to me.” The cruel words are matched by his actions as he holds you over the path. All that stands between you and the faraway ground is a single hand. Zhongli ignores your desperate attempt to get back onto land, in fact, his grip slightly loosens the more that you move. 

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry!” You cannot take your eyes off the ground, the yellow grass and clear streams seem so peaceful, so calming. Calming if not for your heart nearly failing in your chest. “I won’t run away anymore, I promise!”’

“You promise to go back to the house and never leave it unless I tell you to?” He watches how your expression falters, how you lie through your teeth with an obedient nod. “I don’t believe you.” For a moment, he lets go of you entirely. For a moment, you’re nothing against the harsh confines of gravity. Nothing stands between you and the ground hundreds of meters below. 

But, then, Zhongli grabs your flailing hand. He lifts you up high enough that you’re above the mountain top that he stands on but, your feet aren’t touching the ground. Even with a struggle, your feet can not touch the ground. 

“I give you second chances because I love you.” The tears in your eyes blind you from the raw emotion in his own amber hues and to the frustrated sneer on his face. “Why do you put yourself in such dangerous positions? I cannot trust you to be on your own, you understand, don’t you?” 

Slowly, Zhongli lowers you back to the ground. The feeling in your legs is gone from being tossed around like a doll and you immediately slump against him, gripping his chest to stand upright. Your beloved supports you with a strong hand around your waist. 

As he tilts his head, lowering his face to your ear, you squeeze your eyes together tightly. 

“(Y/N), try to run away from me again and I will let you fall further next time.” The mere mention of his torture makes your knees buckle and his touch only grows tighter. “But, do not worry. Your husband will always catch you.” 

You find it odd how Zhongli refers to himself as your husband, as something that concerns only the mortal man. But, then, you feel his ring pressing into your spine. Even as an immortal, he takes this marriage much more seriously than you do. You can’t possibly understand it. 

His raw emotion, his deep feelings, you’ll never understand the true extent of them. Zhongli has waited for ages to feel like this, to feel so satisfied with his tasks. He’ll never let you go.

“I will never let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”

[adrift-in-thyme]

@uncleskyrule happy belated birthday!!! Thank you so much for your patience while I wrote this! I hope it's worth the wait!

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

Four knows what sleep deprivation looks like. 

He’s seen it spelled out on his grandfather’s face when long days turn his usual joviality to melancholy exhaustion and draws the shadows of half moons beneath his eyes.

He’s seen it painted across Dot’s beautiful features after an arduous night when the memories resurface, memories of a leering crimson eye, of claims to possession hanging heavy over her, of cages and darkness and smothering magic. 

He’s seen it shadowed across his own face too, when the battles within and without grow to be too much, darkening his features, drawing them thin, sucking the youthful fat from his cheeks, the light from his eyes.

And he’s seen it…on the faces of his brothers.

On Time’s when the moon is full. On Twilight’s when a quiet twilight falls and skeletal trees whisper in tongues known only to some. On Wild’s when the amnesia recedes, Warriors’ when phantom lips press across his cheek, Wind’s after he awakens screaming his sister’s name. On Hyrule’s when he gives too much, Legend’s when the adventures he never speaks of tell their tale in his petrified cries at night…

And now on, Sky’s.

Some may find it strange for a man who can drift off practically anywhere to suffer from fatigue. Add to that uncanny ability, Sky’s penchant for seeming one of the most mature of their little group, the most…put together.

But Four is well acquainted with the deceptions someone can tell through demeanor alone. He himself has been dubbed mature, put together, responsible. And while, yes, those labels are true (Four would certainly be cross if people decided to start dubbing him childish or, Hylia forbid, a disaster as they call some more unruly children in his Hyrule), the lie rests in the assumptions they bring about.

Beliefs of invincibility and impervious spirit. Beliefs that there is no need to be gentle or kind, no need to offer respite or lighten the load.

It is the same fate their leader suffers so often, the same Warriors and Twilight sometimes crumble beneath. Suffering silently, yet always strong. So strong.

And Sky…

Sky hides it better than anyone.

Four is uncertain whether or not he is the only one who notices his distress. Perhaps, he is. 

It doesn’t matter though. In fact, if he is the only one who has taken note of it then it is all the more important that he do something before Sky’s inevitable collapse.

But life never makes things simple. And in the end, he’s too late.

It has happened too many times now — a portal that separates the heroes into mismatched groups. Four thinks that perhaps, after his near defeat at the combined hands of the champion and the rancher the Shadow is attempting to be more careful. 

More conniving. More vicious.

Attack first and you won’t be defeated. Such is the attitude of wild animals and beasts. More than likely, the Shadow shares it too.

This would explain why in addition to splitting the heroes up, this portal also dumps them right onto a battlefield.

Or at least, it does for Sky, Legend, and himself. Four can’t be sure what the others are facing. But he can only pray it isn’t a sand-drenched dungeon packed with redeads and stalfos.

The unearthly screeches of the emaciated corpses fill his ears as he fights, teeth gritted, heart pounding. It’s all the three heroes can do to stay out of reach of their paralyzing cries.

Back up to escape one beast and you nearly collide with the mad swing of a stalfos’ claymore. 

Four winces as the very tip of a blade slices across his left arm and leaves an angry gash in its wake.

That’s going to need a bit of potion to remedy.

Beside him, Legend growls what sounds like a curse as he plunges his hand into his pouch and retrieves a fire rod. He brings it in a sweeping horizontal arc. In a blaze of blistering heat, a group of the monsters fall.

“Well done,” Four says with a breathless smirk. He plunges his sword into the gaping chest cavity of one of the stalfos still struggling for survival on the darkened floorboards. With a raspy exhale, it dissolves into ash. “I think you just turned the battle in our favor.”

“I’d better have,” Legend huffs. “The sooner we get rid of these things, the sooner we can get out of here.” He screws up his face in a grimace. More monsters crumple beneath his skilled hands. “It smells like death.”

It does, indeed, Four thinks as, finally, the last of the monsters fall. The stench of it hangs heavy, permeating the thick darkness that surrounds them, wafting from the thin threads of light carrying from faltering torches. 

But now that the battle is over they can focus on escape. Hopefully, to a place where it proves easier to breathe.

He sheathes his sword, glances around. The gash on his arm throbs and the various bruises and smaller cuts he earned join in its stomach-churning beat. Still, it could have gone far worse. 

“We all okay?” Legend asks, bangs falling into his face as he replaces his fire rod. 

“Yes,” Four says. “How about you…Sky?”

His voice pitches an octave higher as he catches sight of the Skyloftian, turning the question almost into an exclamation. 

The knight lies crumpled where he had stood mere moments before. The Master Sword lies fallen beside him, his cape flows over him like a blanket of snow. His breath comes in shuddering gasps that grate upon Four’s ears as he races to his side. 

“Sky!” 

He shakes him, slightly, and hazy blue orbs flutter open. Sky groans. 

“What happened?” Legend drops down beside him, panic in his voice and a half-empty potion bottle in his hand. “Did a monster get him?”

Four shakes his head. “I don’t think so.” A quick inspection provides no sign of blood or other injury. But Sky’s face is ashen and he shudders as though in the throes of fever. “Sky, are you hurt?”

“N-not hurt.” Sky curls his fingers into a fist, as though attempting to gather strength. “J-just…just…” He swallows, tries to drag himself up, and nearly collapses again. It’s only Four and Legend’s quick movement that keeps him upright. “‘M fine.”

“Like hell you are!” Legend’s eyes are blazing with emotion now. “Sky, what happened?”

Sky shudders again. He glances down at the trembling hands he has folded into one, white-knuckled fist. There is a certain helplessness in the look.

“I dunno,” he croaks. “Was fighting and the room start-started swirling.” He curls in on himself further, and Four wonders if the next shaky exhale brings tears with it. His voice is very small. “I just-just fell.”

“And you didn’t have the strength to get back up,” Four says, solemnly. An idea is already forming in his head, a confirmation of what he has witnessed these past few hellish weeks. 

I should’ve acted sooner.

But there had been fights both in and out of the group, and injuries and secrets unveiled. There had been discussions long overdue, restorations to be made in the face of pain and sorrow. And he, he had been in the midst of it all. 

Between explaining the Four Sword and its powers and making up with Wild, he just hadn’t found the time…

“You haven’t been sleeping, Sky…have you?”

Now, Sky raises his head, glazed eyes focusing unsteadily on Four. Slowly, he shakes his head.

Legend blows out a sigh. He sits down beside Four and brings a dusty hand over his sweaty brow. 

“Sleep deprivation? Yeah, that’ll do it. How long haven’t you been sleeping?” 

Sky swallows. A beat passes, then another. The oppressive feel of death begins to crowd in on Four again. He struggles to breathe beneath it.

Then, “Since Twilight,” Sky whispers, and Four’s heart plummets to the depths of his stomach.

Legend’s hand falls to his lap with more viciousness than defeat. His face screws up in an expression that toes the line between sorrowful and intensely irritated. “I knew something was up! I knew it! I should’ve — ”

“Couldn’t have done anything,” Sky croaks, leaning further into Four’s touch. A small smile quirks his lips. “Was me that should-should’ve d-done something in the…in the first place.”

Legend’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”

Sky looks back down at his hands.

Another theory is beginning to form in Four’s mind now, joining with the previous one, enlarging it, and embellishing it until things start to make sense. A theory born out of something Sky has said before, a snippet he had overheard and tossed aside in favor of giving his full attention to fighting the Yiga that had taken Wild captive.

“I’m sorry, champion,” the Skyloftian had said as he had helped Warriors tend to the boy’s wounds. “I was late…again. I’m sorry.”

“You blame yourself.” Four measures the words carefully, speaking each one with intricate precision. Lest he step in the wrong place and cause them all to plummet. “You blame yourself for what happened to Twilight.”

Sky lifts his bloodshot eyes. A tear wells in one of them then spills over to slither gracefully down his cheek. 

“Why would you blame yourself?” Legend asks, even as comprehension burns in his violet irises. “It’s not your fault the rancher got hit. You weren’t even near him when it happened!”

“I was near enough.” Sky’s voice is quieter than ever now, more like a whisper than anything else. “I know the skyward strike. I could’ve hit that…that thing if I’d been…b-been faster.” His breath hitches. But to Four it sounds defeated more than panicked. “I was late and he paid for it. I’m a-always…”

He curls in on himself, weighed down by exhaustion, shuddering with pain and sorrow. Legend looks at Four and Four looks at Legend. Then, slowly, together they reach out and draw Sky into their arms.

It’s strange. Four hadn’t taken Legend for someone willing to show physical affection freely. But he embraces the Skyloftian as though it is no price to pay. As though he has done so before.

Long nights. A shuddering sob. Soft feet dressed in boots with wings adorning their sides. Whispers in the dark that exhaustion muddles before Four can make them out. Amethyst eyes staring from over a hazy cloud of silken white. Sliding shut as a larger form huddles deeper into an embrace.

Sky shivers again and Legend holds him tighter.

“It’s not your fault,” Four murmurs, pouring every ounce of confidence he possesses into those words and praying that it is enough. “It’s not your fault, Sky. You did everything you could do for him. There’s nothing else you could have done.”

Sky doesn’t reply. 

They hold him, whispering assurances, as his tears wet their tunics and his fatigued body quakes beneath the burden he forces it to carry. They hold him until, at last, in the murky darkness, surrounded by carcasses of monsters and piles of resting sand, he drifts off.

In the arms of his brothers.

[mielwriting]

My thoughts on the 5.0 livestream

Disappointed Mavuika appears to be another pyro claymore. Was really hoping for a 5 star pyro sword. Would also help make connections to Bennett, since he's the only other pyro sword.

Props to those who predicted Il Capitano would be a cryo user!

Also props to whoever predicted the Archon Quests would follow the pattern shown in the Mond prologue: that is, first we learn about the Abyss Order as enemies, then we focus on the Fatui for a while, then the Abyss Order comes back into focus closer to the final showdown. It seems they’re getting a much bigger focus in the Natlan archon quest!

Also, wow, so we already know Natlan and Mondstadt have weird connections - Now we know they have another one: Natlan and Mondstadt are the only 2 nations the Abyss Order is interested in. 

Hey look a pale npc with dreadlocks

Love the greater focus on the Mandarin language! Very nice for a learner

Furina wasn’t biologically an archon, so her hair didn’t glow - she had that glowy fabric in the back of her outfit to kinda hide that. Mavuika is a really nice contrast - her entire head of hair glows very bright! Not just the tips like previous archons

Was noticeable how they reframed the player feedback: “everyone’s very interested in our inspirations for Natlan” as a corporate translation of everyone’s anger over the whitewashing and Spirit Halloween-ifying

Still disappointed in the pyro archon’s leather biker suit

Someone more familiar with Genshin’s music look into this - but around 34:10 when they started answering the question “will someone be resurrected” does the music resemble more the music from La Signora’s funeral video?

Wonder about the original Mandarin titles for the Archon Quest acts - Because “Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn” sounds so cool - and then Act 2 is “Black Stone under a White Stone”. It’s just comically simple compared to the big words that are usually in genshin titles

Also really interested in the Ancient Names thing. I’m almost certain it’s something taken from a real-life culture, and should really research more into that. 

Did I understand that right? They’re gonna give us Kachina for free, just like we got Amber and Kaeya and Lisa back in Mondstadt? 

All 3 of the new 5.0 characters mark regional specialties, and also have additional exploration benefits!

Wow you can really see the effect that Wuthering Waves had on Genshin

And Test Run finally lets you test out the effects of the characters in an open-world environment!

Traveler will not get the pyro element this update - but it sounds like that’s a possibility for once the Archon Quest has finished?

So I noticed that the 2 new Geo characters we’ll get - Kachina  and the tall lady - both come from the same tribe - the one associated with rocks and such. Makes me wonder if it’s possible to even get a vision that doesn’t correspond to your tribe’s element. 

Really seems like the cultural elements here are more simplified “everyone in this tribe loves music” “everyone in this tribe loves extreme sports” “everyone in this tribe loves mining” where’s the complexity. 

I shall add capybaras to my teapot!

Yay another Dodoco event! I really enjoyed the one last year

They’re also giving out extra rewards for completing archon and story quests within the 6 week release - including giving us a lot of the ascension materials to get to level 60!

Did find it funny when one guy was explaining all the new benefits and the other is like, “wait, this is Genshin Impact? All this cool stuff is in Genshin Impact?” Like yeah Wuthering Waves bred innovation!

FREE STANDARD FIVE STAR EVERY YEAR

I already have Tighnari, Dehya, and Keqing. I don’t really want any of their constellations, so my choice is between Qiqi, Mona, Jean, and Diluc. I don’t want Qiqi, and I don’t need Mona since I already have Furina. It’s down to Jean or Diluc. Jean’s ability to push people away looks really fun, and I can certainly think of places where I would’ve loved to have that skill. However, I have wanted Diluc since the very first time we played him in that trial run during the Mond archon quest. I also already have Kaeya, Rosaria, and Venti, so completing the Angel’s Share team would be cool. My only hesitation is that his gameplay will probably be outdone by Mavuika. But leaks have said she might not release til January, when I was expecting her in November (however leaks also said Emilie was part of Hexenzirkel they aren’t always right).

Love that Oratrice Mechanique d’Analyse Cardinale made it into the stream

BEFORE Khoi Dao repeated that phrase, I did not know he spoke French. But I could hear his actual good French-speaking accent when he said it, and turns out he does indeed speak it! Cool!

Yippee!

Zach Aguilar and Khoi Dao are a great comedic duo

LOVE to hear Brittany Lauda talk about relating to her character, Chiori, for both being seen as intimidating - I specifically relate to Chiori for her basic facial expressions, her bluntness, her acceptance of her quirks, and difficulty making friends because of those traits. Just really glad to hear I’m not the only one. 

The English voice actor for Lumine actually has a twin brother?! 

Amber Lee Conners appeared at the end of the stream, so this is a good place to say how AMAZING her voice acting as Furina is. Just listening to her voice lines and hearing the difference between her acting confident and her actual, recovering-from-depression self is a clear display of talent. Always a treat to listen to. 

Jenny Yokobori (Yoimiya VA) having worked as a pyrotechnician! Cool! 

And her sharing the bond with her character for their dads. So sweet.

Let Erika Harlacher-Stone sing as Venti more!

The Clorinda VA Crystal Lee also loves Tabletop Games!

[amaiaqt]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤミㅤdangerously charmingㅤ⋆ ｡˚ㅤ♡ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤa gentle reader with a claymore ! ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤtighnari, cyno, kaveh, al haitham !

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ｡ﾟ ⊹ㅤtighnari !ㅤ

it is one of his favorite things about you, how you're so sweet and gentle then unrecognizable when you pull out your claymore. but but, he won't lie and say it didn't catch him off guard the first time you fought along-side him, he was shocked actually ( if it weren't for you throwing a pebble at him to get his attention, he would've been standing there watching you do the work )

can't really blame him though, don't get him wrong, it's just that he didn't expect you to be so.. how should he word this... merciless ?

but he was amazed really, how different you were when it came to beating down eremites — who were, funnily enough, much larger than you, though he doesn't have much place to talk about size does he ? yeah he won't comment on that anymore

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ｡ﾟ ⊹ㅤcyno !ㅤ

see, the first time he witnessed you in battle, he barely had time to react since he was in the same battle that very minute. his initial reaction beforehand was to pull you behind him, only for you to strike first against the eremite that came up from your side. that claymore in your hand had no business being almost as big as him, its size actually irked him

but only when you two successfully finished clearing out the eremite camps in that area did he take the time to comment on it

"i do find it admirable how you wield such an... obnoxiously sized claymore." he didn't know how else to put it, really. but the way he said it made you laugh so hard he actually felt glad he worded it that way, "believe me, i didn't trust myself with it as well," you started, "i suppose i just got the swing of it overtime." along with a swing of your claymore

was that a pun ?

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ｡ﾟ ⊹ㅤkaveh !ㅤ

dumbfounded, stunned, starstruck — both in literal context and in the context of seeing stars after you accidentally hit him with the dull end in the middle of the fight, but he was just standing there ! it's not your fault, really ( and it's you so he doesn't mind all that much )

you had to negotiate with the eremites to give you a minute to drag him to the side so he doesn't get trampled on, legit, they just felt bad honestly

and a few minutes later you trampled them. such a power move

moving on, kaveh admires watching you train and he finds the dynamic in your attacks really well calculated, as long as he's not on the receiving end of them, of course

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ｡ﾟ ⊹ㅤal haitham !ㅤ

he doesn't really have any reaction, more like a click that went off in his mind. he was definitely curious if you were a fighter or not, and what fighting style you trained if you were. so yes, he was surprised and taken aback, but he didn't show it

when you first showed off your fighting style to him, it was during a casual afternoon in which the question bubbling in his mind popped out of his mouth, "say, [name], have you ever fought ?, with a weapon, more specifically."

and a few minutes later, you two were sparring in a random clearing you found in the forest. while he admits you had fairly sharp and trained attacked, and an upperhand with your fighting style, you could use more training

that's all he made a comment about, "you could use more training." just a very straightforward, to the point comment while watching you heave on the ground

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ© amaiaqt, 2023 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤdo not plagiarize !

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Sword gays showdown, losers bracket (Round 1)

Propaganda:

For Hershel Layton:

For a professor of archeology he wins a LOT of swordfights. why is he so skilled at the blade. why do these games include so many sword fighting cutscenes. why has no one else talked about this. 

He swordfought what he thought was a vampire while tripping on hallucinogenic gas and won. He also swordfought a crazy guy on top of a giant robot with nothing but a metal pipe. King tbh. As for the gay part: he is bisexual TO ME.

For Jade:

A badass lady in love with a badass princess. Damn RIGHT!

More Jade Propaganda: (mod note: this section is from a reblog and all from one person)

Jumps off the edge of the world to follow her girlfriend, who also jumped off the edge of the world.

Out of the three braincells that the Questies collectively own, Jade always has two. (Willow likes to think he has more, but I’m not so sure.)

So tired. So very tired. Please give this girl a break, a therapist, and some rational peers.

Guys, she is named after a sword. I don’t know if that matters, but….still.

Crazy repressed, and fighting like hell to hold onto her last shred in sanity. You can see in pretty much every scene that she is *this* close to losing it, but never does.

She is “totally, ridiculously, desperately, in love” with Kit.

But not so much that she wouldn’t choose her own dreams. I think that this is a really important part of her character, the way that once she knows what she wants, she goes after it. Whether is it to be a Knight if Galladorn, to rejoin her family, or to pursue the butch princess who gives new meaning the concept of a dumbass, Kit.

THE PINING! Oh my word, the PINING!

She sometimes just decides that it would be more fun to smash a troll’s head in with her pommel, instead of using her blade, and I appreciate that in a character.

She is a protector- through and through.

She is the archetype of the devoted knight, and does it SO well!

We only got 8 episodes of Jade, but she has completely re-wired my brain. I haven’t seen the dragon prince, which is now on my list, and I am thrilled to learn all about this disabled butch badass. However, I wanted to offer a bit more propaganda for my girl, Jade.

[quirkwizard]

Pro Heroes at the Olympic Games

Well, it's been another three years and another Summer Games has rolled around. Only seems fair I'd try again with a post about what heroes would belong in what games. This can be based on anything from powers to skills to whatever I think would be the funniest to see.

Kamui Woods-Archery: I just think it'd be really cool for Kamui Woods to make a bow and arrow from his wooden body. I don't need any more reason than that.

Midnight-Rhythmic Gymnastics: I mean, a whip is pretty close to a ribbon. And it's not like the outfit she has to wear is that much different from her hero costume.

Sir Nighteye-Golf: Sir Nighteye seems like the kind of guy that would be into golfing. That's it. I just thought it'd be fitting for the guy that looks and dresses like a stoic businessman.

Hound Dog-Handball: This is a sport all about catching and throwing a ball around and keeping it away from another team. Naturally, this should be no problem for the man who is part dog.

Beast Jeanist-Diving: The need for precision and elegance would, in this event, fit great with someone like Best Jeanist. That and it's the sport with the least amount of clothing for him to cheat with.

Mount Lady-Sports Climbing: She's got mountain in her name. Of course that means she's good at climbing. Oh, who am I kidding? She'll just turn giant-sized and reach the top instantly.

Snipe-Shooting: Considering all of his shots are guaranteed hits, I would want to see how disrespectful Sniper would get with this. Like doing it with his eyes closed or even shooting other people's targets.

Miruko-Basketball: I could have chosen any leg-based sport for her, but I wanted to pick the one with some more direct competition. Plus, there is the easy reference in putting her in a Toon Squad jersey.

Present Mic-Breaking: Yeah, apparently breaking dancing is considered an Olympic sport. And look me in the eye and tell me Present Mic of all people doesn't know how to break dance.

Nezu-Table Tennis: This is just the only sport that I think could fit him. Literally. He might be too small to use or do any of the sports on the roster. Even then, he's going to have to wield the paddle like a claymore.

Wild Wild Pussycats-3x3 Basketball: Considering this is one of the few team events that requires such a small number, it only feels fitting to place Ragdoll, Mandalay, and Pixie Bob here. And what about Tora? He can be a cheerleader.

Fat Gum-Wrestling: Could you imagine someone trying to wrestle as big and plushy as Fat Gum? They're going to go in for the grapple and immediately sink right inside of him. Now the real question is whether or not it counts as a clinch or a pin.

Eraserhead-Artistic Gymnastics: I wanted to give him Rhythmic Gymnastics so badly with how well it fits him, he even has the ribbon for it, but it's a women's only sport in the games. Still, this fits well enough with his impressive acrobatic skills.

Edgeshot-Fencing: Perfect set up for a fencer. He can make himself as thin as an epee and extend himself out as his pleases. Plus, it's the only official sport that lets you wear a mask in game, which should be no issue for Edgeshot.

Endeavor-Boxing: While I could say that I think that Endeavor is smart enough to handle the sweet science of boxing, the real reason is that he is that huge. I don't even think he'd need his powers to demolish someone in the ring.

Gang Orca-Water Polo: While Gang Orca would kill in any of the water-based events, he would definitely kill it in an event where hitting something really hard is part of the goal with his strength boost. Seriously, his spike might actually kill someone.

Ectoplasm-Rowing: This sport is all about being as in sync as possible with the rest of the rowers. Why bother when you can have your hivemind of clones work perfectly together? And if any of them run out of juice, just switch out one of your clones with a fresh one, no one will notice.

Hawks-Skating: Like Sir Nighteye, Hawks just looks and acts like he would be a skater. It wouldn't surprise me if it was part of his training at the Hero Commission to appeal to a younger demographic. Now he can truly become like his heroic namesake, Tony Hawk.

[eluxcastar]

The One and Only

── ୨୧：arlecchino x reader

୨୧﹑synopsis :: a collection of moments from Arlecchino's recollections of the former Harbinger

୨୧﹑genre :: Idk actually

୨୧﹑content :: fem reader, reader is a harbinger, not proofread

୨୧﹑words :: 2.8k

threw this together on a whim because I missed these two I realised it's been like nine months since I wrote one of repetition I was like I wanna play around with these people in their dynamic. you don't have to necessarily have read one of repetition for it to make sense I don't think but I have a bad habit of assuming people know things they don't so take that with a grain of salt

one of repetition

Snezhnaya has never been immune to the curse of rumours that run rampant among its people. Some spread like wildfire and others die out before they gain enough traction to matter. When they somehow manage to make their way to the House of the Hearth, it matters—Mother is liable to find out, and that's when it's revealed whether or not she spread them herself.

There have never been more rumours about anyone but the first Harbinger. Arlecchino realised that when she was young.

They tell the daring tales of a tyrant decorated in well-worn armour able to bring the nation to its knees at their feet with nothing more than a pyro vision and a claymore.

Many of the kids at the House share the same sentiment. Brighella is terrifying, and though they'd like their approval, they never want to meet them. The few who have met them say they're weird.

Supposedly the child of the Tsaritsa, you have been tainted by the ever-waining loveless God of Snezhnaya and become little more than a heartless warmonger seeking absolution. You have not even removed your helmet in three centuries nor shown your face. You are fussy, childish, impulsive and arrogant like your whole reign of tyranny is a giant temper tantrum, and you'll only stop once you've realised the nation that has been dwindling ever so gradually will one day be reduced to a wasteland.

Maybe then, the ashes left behind by the fire you let tear apart this icy world will be your single lesson.

Arlecchino meets you for the first time at the celebrations for her ascendance to her Mother's position. Every Harbinger gathers at the behest of the Tsaritsa, an important event demanding their presence. All nine others and the Director are called to return, and along with them, you appear clad in armour, even on a formal occasion. You are feared, yes, but undoubtedly lavished in praise and feigned respect meant only to appease you. People seek to impress you because you are the first, an immortal Harbinger with the nation under their thumb.

Though foolish, she finds she cannot help but be swept up in the glory of it all, the appeal of having a warmonger's approval if only because it feels like the only good sign she'd ever get. Her ascendence is not born of admiration, merely convenience, a way to escape her Father and gain power. She is young and inexperienced and fills the shoes of her Mother with the grace of a newborn fawn. For just a moment, she could revel in receiving your praise, then go right back to indulging the bitterness she associates so heavily with your name. Whatever you have that sends shivers to the very core of grown men, she wants it, and having you pay some attention to her feels right. It cannot keep her from detesting you for possessing it.

You touched her shoulder once with an unnaturally warm gloved hand—a silent congratulations, she tells herself—it is the only way to justify her racing heart as you lean down and speak barely above a whisper. "Do no disappoint me, Arlecchino."

Everything takes a backseat as a fire is lit in the pit of her stomach, the drive to wipe that infuriating smirk she knows is hidden beneath your mask off your face. If she didn't know better, she could almost convince herself you thought you owned her.

For all her staring, however, she can't recall another moment of that night you spared her more than a single glance in her direction before turning away. It was Pierro who pinned Arlecchino's delusion to her chest and welcomed her, the Director, not the Tsaritsa's child. You merely took it upon yourself to congratulate her— professionally— as any colleague would.

The first time Arlecchino saw your face, she could not believe her eyes. You lack the odd companion she has long grown used to seeing by your side. She does not even recognise you at first, sitting in a chair in Pierro's quarters in plain clothes, your helmet discarded at your feet. In your hand is a glass, the liquid inside sloshing as you motion with your hand in some general direction amid your conversation.

It almost makes her uncomfortable to see, like staring down at your severed head pathetically rolling back and forth under the sole of your boot as you entertain yourself with it. It does not roll far before the adornments resist, and you don't fight them, instead rolling it back. Your only response to her gawking is to quirk your eyebrow at her.

You regard her with curiosity, though she would be remiss not to notice the glint in your eyes. "Arlecchino," you say, perhaps some mockery of greeting her.

Since she met you, her poker face has only gotten better, though her short pause is a dead giveaway that she has to think to recall your title. She still does not quite believe the woman she sees is you. "Brighella."

A smile tugs at your lips, and another sip of the drink in your glass marks your second pause. "Are you lost, or did I interrupt something?" you ask, though you turn to Pierro for the answer to the question.

Arlecchino takes a breath, determined not to let you get away with speaking to her that way without seeing any bite— "I called her," Pierro interrupts her before she can even say a word, and your eyes flicker back to her.

"I'll take my leave then," you say, gathering your things. You hook your fingers under your helmet and pick it up like nothing is wrong, as if you don't notice how Arlecchino stares and tries to remind herself that it should be obvious someone was under there. 

The only thing that helps her remind herself nobody else could sport that cocky smirk in Pierro's office without receiving a cold glare. He merely watches as you down the rest of your drink in one mouthful and leave the glass for him on his desk before stalking off. You stop only to put your helmet back on.

There's a sigh once you leave the room, and Pierro silently collects the glass.

The second time Arlecchino meets you, it is more arranged: a trip down the halls leads her to a stray fatuu bearing a message for her. You want to see Arlecchino in your chambers. There's no indication of why, and the man delivering the message had no inclination to ask before scurrying off. She cannot even say she blames him. She's seen the way you speak to the lesser fatuus before.

Arlecchino arrives in the corridor to hear the unusual noises in your room. It is like someone is rummaging through your belongings with reckless abandon and tossing whatever is in their way aside. 

She eyes the door with particularly harsh scrutiny. If there is an intruder, rifling through your room is the most effective way to get things they might want, and she can't allow them an opportunity to escape.

That is until Arlecchino hears your voice from inside, and you exaggerate a frustrated groan. You sound on the verge of tearing your hair out.

Then she braces herself to knock, and the room falls starkly silent as you register someone is standing outside.

"Who's there?" You pose the question like an accusation despite having to know you would have guests. You invited her, after all— demanded her, really.

Through gritting teeth, she finds the will to bite her tongue and say nothing about your attitude rearing its ugly head again. You find a way to always be like this. The moment she gains some semblance of understanding of your motives, you screw it up by acting superior again, like you genuinely believe the world should fall helplessly at the mercy of your whims and run as you will it to. 

"It's Arlecchino," she responds, the animosity she wishes to show neatly tucked away beneath a layer of barely cordial stoicism.

"Oh," is the only sound from inside, followed by footsteps and a light thud as if you place something down, perhaps one of the things it sounded like you were moving. "Are you alone?" 

For a moment, she almost began to wonder if you had forgotten her.

The question confuses her. "Yes."

"You may enter. The door is unlocked."

Arlecchino does not waste another moment before she opens the door to greet your unmasked face. This time, she recognises you from the pattern of your scars to the odd look on your face, though the off feeling staring into your eyes gives her strikes immediately with the same confusing force. 

It should be less jarring the second time, and yet, as she slowly closes the door behind her, she cannot help but scan the room in search of your helmet.

Your room is a damn mess, probably because you just tore it apart for reasons beyond her. She spies your helmet discarded by the bed on its side, hollow and lifeless and so unlike she usually sees it perched atop a suit of armour brimming with self-assured grandiose.

"I was worried he'd followed you all the way here."

She grasps at who you're implying almost immediately, yet can't say she understands why. It can't be anyone but the man in armour you brought back from the abyss who follows you around like a stray puppy. 

"Are you referring to the—" she also realises she has no idea what it is that follows you around— "man you took in...?"

"Yes." You answer without notice for her apprehension, or perhaps so used to it that it no longer seems worth commenting on. "He has a habit of stealing faces, and though I already told him he can't have mine, he's determined to get it."

Stealing...faces...?

"You're probably wondering why I wanted to speak with you." All too quickly, you change the subject, jumping from whatever you just said to a completely different train of thought as you turn away from her to find something amidst the clutter on your dresser. Your body obscures her view, unable to see what you're doing.

She saves you the discomfort of having a hole burned into your back from her gaze, instead taking the opportunity to look around. Do you always live in this dump? In a way, it's not hard to believe; your behaviour is reminiscent of a spoiled child who never learned to clean up their messes, yet she expected you would treat your living space with the same methodical attention as your subordinates.

"It wasn't included alongside your message," she responds absently, merely engaging because she must. Her mind is occupied, overlooking the pile of armour dumped on the floor like junk metal.

You place a glass down behind her as you speak, the sound unmistakable to her ears, compounded by the sound of something pouring. "Intentionally. You would never have come if you knew why I wanted to see you."

She cannot help but glare at the back of your head. "Is that so?"

"Indeed."

When you turn to her, she cannot help the way her attention draws to the two glasses in your hands—glasses you have no doubt filled with alcohol. Pantalone taught her such a trick not long after he became a Harbinger, and she has not a single doubt that you learned it from him as well.

While your company isn't paying attention, fill a glass and offer it to them. It's rude to refuse once it's been poured. It'll keep them put.

It didn't occur to her until after you extended the glass in your left hand to her that she realised you had trapped her in the conversation should she strive to maintain her pleasant façade. Her fist clenches tightly at her side, nails digging into her palm with a sharp pain.

Arlecchino takes the glass with a tight smile, a wordless exchange. The look in your eyes tells her you know it, too.

"I hope you didn't bring me here for a frivolous venture." Her own warning, one she feels she has earned over the past few minutes.

"No," you say, swirling the liquid in your glass as a means of entertaining yourself. "I simply wanted to observe you."

"How forward." She cannot help it by the time she realises she's said it. There is obviously disapproval in her voice.

Despite her venom, you only smile at her dumbly as if you don't notice the tone of her voice or the furrow of her brows. "Isn't it?" a rhetorical question. You let out a light chuckle at yourself. "It's strange, I thought the one to overtake the Knave would be a little more like that old hag, but it turns out you couldn't be more different if you tried."

This is what you wanted to say?

Arlecchino's eyes narrow. "What do you mean by that?" 

"Oh, come on, are you blind?" Your penchant for mockery shines through your words whether you meant it to or not. "Surely you've noticed by now."

"I don't aspire to become my mother," she retorts just a touch more harshly than she meant to.

"I meant it as a compliment, don't you realise?" you question, "The House has run this way for years because she made it that way. I'm sure many of the children she bought are itching to go home." Your musings lead somewhere—they must—and yet you insist on meandering your way there at a leisurely pace to draw it out. It's as if you wait and watch with eyes filled with curiosity for her to guess, but she makes no attempt to. "Will you return them to their families?"

Arlecchino considered it many times. The thought is appealing. It would be like setting her siblings—now her children—free. She grew up alongside them, played with them as a child and now presides over them.

Wanting to stall, Arlecchino takes a sip from the glass before speaking.

"No," she answers. 

It's not possible. 

If not a monetary figure or tangible reason, it quickly became a stark impossibility when she considered that someone would have to explain why the orphans the Knave had acquired carefully raised were being returned. 

Many would live in harsh conditions, some would die or merely be sold again, and some were too broken down by motherly love to find their peace in the common world again. 

It's not worth the pain of trying.

Something in her answer piques your interest, and she notices your hardly disguised intrigue almost immediately. Years of wearing a helmet to hide your emotions have certainly done a number on how much you are able to hide them naturally. 

"I thought for certain you would say yes."

"You were incorrect."

You quirk an eyebrow at her as if to challenge that idea. "Was I?" you question.

Were you?

"Yes," she says before she can think of anything to disprove that. Time made her aware of the many impossibilities she had spent years fantasising about, but she would not share that with you.

"You're certainly gentler than her," you remark, almost a passing comment as it's quickly overshadowed, "Less of a pain in the ass to talk to as well. I'd have to chase her for days to get her to come talk to me."

Arlecchino suddenly understands why the room is in such a state of disarray—you hadn't expected her. Instead, you were tearing your room apart under the impression you would have days to clean it up before she found her way to you. It seems that punctuality is a burden to you. If nothing else, it's motivation to never be late.

She finds herself aimlessly staring into the glass in her hand, a lesser part of her mind trying to determine what's in it, though too clouded by conflict to place an answer anytime soon. Instead, she stands and listens to whatever you insist on saying, lost in your words and the musings of the past, your unique knowledge of what came before her.

The observations of now the piercing gaze that threatens to spill her soul out before the two of you and dissect it as you please while she watches at the mercy of your rank, the lingering respect that refuses to leave her from years of seeing you as an ideal.

Talking to you is something quite bizarre; knowing you is something even stranger. 

She may never forget the time you spent intrigued by the young orphan who overthrew her mother to take her place at your side as your colleague.

CROSSPOSTED ON AO3

[clearheartsgreyflowerss]

About my darling! - Furina x reader

Side notes: reader uses a claymore. this was written with a chubby reader in mind, but I believe it can really be interpreted however :)

SPOILERS FOR THE FONTAINE QUEST UTC

Asking about [Name] - oh? You want to know more about [Name]? I'll have you know, they are the most beautiful, most amazing partner in existence! If I of all people am amazed by their presence, you should be too.

About [Name]'s eating habits - Does [Name] like cake as much as me? Well, no one likes cake as much as I, yet they are a close second. We often have tea time together whenever our schedules line up, and I always make sure they get a slice of Hotel Debord's famous cake- yes traveller- even if that means I have to give up a slice. My darling deserves only the best!

Serious thoughts on [Name] - they... Saved me, to an extent. After the events of the prophecy, I was immediately cast down from the life of an archon. I feared I would lose them when they figured out I had lied... Yet, when they finally found me after, they gave me the biggest hug, and promised me everything would be fine. They often make silly little promises, but I really believed them in that moment. I struggled for a long time after that, but they always stuck with me, and for that I am eternally grateful.

About [Name]'s weapon (speaking with Neuvillette) - ...oh archons, they can swing that claymore around. They're so amazingly strong and I love them so much- hey! Listen to me! No I am not "rambling on"; [Name] is very important!

About [Name]'s love language - The people of Fontaine often use that saying, yet I've never truly thought about it. Hmmm... I'd say [name] likes using their words, but they also enjoy doing things for me. In return, I believe they most enjoy my touch, and words of encouragement just like theirs.

This is just a short little thing I wanted to try, and I felt like I could do it for Furina best. She's a character I relate to, but also really like in a romantic sense.

If y'all liked this please feel free to suggest other characters, they may not be as great but I did really enjoy writing this, so lmk!

Also happy pride month all my gays and theys 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Daily click to help those in Palestine

[bitethedustfools]

New sagau idea? Part 2

Decide to make part 2 because i have bunch of ideas that probably might inspire you and i do feel these kind of stuffs need to be explored more. Fyi, I don't play genshin but i do know some from watching people gaming. Apologizing once more of these kind of idea/au exist as well.

Decide to make part 2 because i have so many ideas.

1) A violent and heartless player

You play Genshin Impact to pass time and are also a very violent and aggressive player where you'll always yell and throw items to vent or throw insults under your breath, and then back to gaming. In short, It's like a Call of Duty toxic player went into Genshin Impact.

Falling to death or drowning angered you to the point of banging your head and cursing. Not to mention, walking in the game angered you too because the characters were too slow!

You suck at first; impulsive action is not the best choice when you're angry, but you are in some way adaptable. You decide that your anger will be the source of your motivation to go through everything, so everything works out in the end.

Insulting is your mother tongue, so that means the characters and even the NPC are not spared as well. Most of your vicious, colorful insults and hurtful comments went toward people whom you hated and annoyed the most.

You remember the time when you laughed at Timmie's dumb dead birds and wished you had an option to push him off the bridge. His dad probably sensed he was a little b*tch back when he was a baby and went out to get some milk and never come back.

You sometimes intentionally let them die in a fight or or do something all in the name of experiment. You would even build a prison for them in the serenitea pot and just do the f*cked-up stuff that's possible in this game.

So one day, you broke your gaming setup due to your outburst, and somehow you woke up in Teyvat.

You didn't believe it was reality, and you still treated them as characters. Besides, they looked stupid with those stupid clothes on. They would stood out like a sore dumba$$ if they walked around in your world like that.

Anyway, killing Hilichurl or other small enemies is no problem for you. Committing a crime doesn't bother you. You probably don't bat an eye on killing people as well. Besides, all of this is just a game to you.

They're not real to you.

Their death is their fault for picking a fight with you. Should have just looked away instead of approaching you. Not your fault their feelings hurt.

Archons wanted to smite you, and somehow you managed to escape them and deal a few harmless blows. Not that it matters; you will be the one to seek them out and fight them when their backs are on you, and the cycle will repeat.

How you're still alive using a measly weapon because you don't know how to use claymore, polearms, and etc. is beyond you. But hey, anything is a weapon as long as it deals damage and even if it don't, you are still satisfied from letting all your anger out.

Nevertheless, all of the nations are in turmoil, and the culprit is none other than you.

The characters will definitely hate you, or maybe they feel ashamed and insecure about themselves because they want to fix themselves. Some acolytes and the people who believe in justice and peace had 'kill on sight' pinned on your back. They don't even believe that you are a god. God don't act like this.

The Wanderer 4th betrayal definitely happened, and Dottore clones definitely got hunted for sport because they annoyed you Does the Fatui wants to recruit you? You don't know, depends. Do they believe you are the god they worshipped? Also, don't know. Not like you care though.

No one can wreck havoc and commit more sins than you. You, a single person, broke Teyvat's peace and order effortlessly than the fatui with just impulsive anger and chaotic energy.

And if one day you realize that you actually have blood on your hands, you'll probably shrug it off and say it doesn't matter.

If you go back to your own world, no one knows what you have done. Who's going to tell the police? The dead people you stabbed out of annoyance? Those fiction characters that had animosity toward you?

No, will there even be someone alive in Teyvat if you were to return?

2) Streamer and gamer player.

In which you are transported into Teyvat along with some game skills, menus, and anything relevant to a game. That includes the chat box.

You learned that you were still streaming when you got sent to Teyvat, and everyone in the chat can see you. Cool, so it's not a dream; it's real, and instead of playing, you are the player! Where's Aether/Lumine? Why are you here? "AIYO!?? We got to see DAT CAKE!"

You are not aware that you looked like an idiot talking to yourself unless pointed out by the chat. It seems that the chat sees you as part of the game, which means that they can see the characters and NPC thoughts and words while you see them as a normal person.

Cool. Now you have to have the chat got your back, or else you're doomed. Dead. Unable to be revived. You're not sure if you can do that, but you're not willing to try.

Another problem that arises is that the chat tends to troll you or bombard you with loud sounds. It makes it harder to trust them or focus on what the characters are saying when they did this.

Sometimes you beg the chat, like they are some sort of sadistic god looking down at you from above the clouds with their chins high and a sneer.

All because you want some goddamn money because apparently, if they donate money, it instantly becomes moras and you're broke as fuck like cmon, help a fricking clown out.

Strangely, despite everything looked real, you have the physics of a game. The things you find in the game work if you try hard enough. For example, glitching under the Mondstadt's land. With these kinds of things, you don't need to walk when you can just glitch and get sent flying across the nation. Just making use of this bug makes your life easier.

Oh, how did you get stuck on this cliff while you were trying to use another entrance to Sumeru? That's right, it's an experiment to see if it works.

"Don't laugh, chat; I'm doing this out of curiosity and for you. Youre the one whos suggesting this."

The characters in Teyvat thought you were a rather peculiar person, talking to yourself at random times, and you seemed to know too much even though you didn't do any research, merely fighting hilichurls and robbing back the bandits–

–Oh Great Archons! You can fly!? No? It's a glitch? Well, they don't understand enough to understand you, but hey, that's so you. Keep up being weird, player.

Maybe the things you do are… unique and can be considered divine in their eyes. After all, who could walk on air like you do? Or bringing people back to life and knowing so much? No one could do that, so you must be a god!

As a matter of fact, you remind them of a certain figure. That's right! The creator! The creator acted like you too. Always talking to this thing called "chat"

"Um, no, I'm a gamer and chat is chat."

You fail to take into consideration that while everything looks like a game in your eyes, the people are definitely real, and this is what they thought of you.

3) Killer player

You don't play Genshin Impact, but you are quite resourceful, cunning, and deviously smart. You know this game is quite famous, and coincidentally, the prey you aimed to take life is playing it too.

In order to get closer to your prey, you must be fluent in their language. You listened to all that your prey blabbered and what they showed with an interested smile. You even question them once in a while to get them going all for the sake of learning the prey's personality and schedule and how you want to unalive them.

When you did kill your prey and accidentally broke their computer/laptop in the process, you got transported to Teyvat. In a way, you had stolen your prey's fate instead.

(The characters had mistaken you for their creator before but dismissed it because you lacked a certain presence. However, you do feel familiar with them because you sometimes watch over the game when your prey has played before.)

Now, you heard interesting things about this game, and you grew more interested when the characters interacted with you. How amusing! The characters had no idea you were a very sinister and cunning person behind a weak and polite persona.

In terms of healthcare, they are leaning toward supernatural stuff, and the medicine using materials found in this world is also effective. However, they seem to be lacking in a certain area that needs surgery.

Most deaths were common due to hilichurls and bandits, or those whom they called the Fatui, so they wouldn't be examined too closely. You doubt that they even have something that closely resembles fingerprint identification, judging by the lack of technology..m

…Which means hiding and killing is much easier than in your previous world.

Teyvat is such a nice place to have entertainment. It didn't take too long for you to settle here and get comfortable.

Monstadt is a city known for freedom and peace; however, once you arrive here, every night, no doubt a single person will go missing or be found dead. You are normally a silent killer, but you couldn't resist letting them know. Their expression thrilled you.

All those knight roaming around at night, and they couldn't even save a single person. What a pity.

In Liyue, the funeral parlor became rich all thanks to these crimes you were committing. Does a certain acolyte know what you're doing? Maybe not, afterall, there are more ways to kill a person than just a sword and poison.

Accidents could happen, you know? falling off a cliff, in the wrong place at the wrong time, being mauled by animals where people conveniently are not near, or dealing with the wrong person.

Inazuma is much more easier; their deaths could be pinned on one person who is also the source of the nation's tense atmosphere. Hatred, anger and fear rose with each crime you committed, but there is no evidence that you did it. After all, what could a weak and polite person who looked like they couldn't wield a sword do?

Plenty actually. Not that they know.

Sumeru is quite nice. Full of gifted scholars and intelligent individuals. You thought it will be a challenge seeing as you have similar minds and yet, most disappointed you.

All these smart people, and they couldn't string the murder together. Maybe you don't kill the right one which mean the don't care. Oh? Then should you kill the one with that grey hair? He seems to be someone of importance.

You made Akademiya your target. You must admit that you learned quite a lot of precious knowledge in this place. While youre here, might as well pretend to be one and use this time to gather infos.

They did not know and realized how you got into the Akademiya or how you had disguised yourself as one of the scholars. They don't know how you got through security or how one by one are slowly not attending the class or the expedition.

They said that acting confidently like you belong there and becoming part of the background like a plain NPC is always the key to infiltration.

And oh, even if they get suspicious and point that out to you, you know what to do. Lying, speaking half the truth, and gaslighting are also languages you are quite good at.

And Fontaine, oh, Fontaine. A nation that is known for justice when, in fact, it's not always about justice but entertainment. It is a nation that indirectly challenge you as well. Entertainment? Why, you know what kind of entertainment you shall give! It will be something that everyone remembers for the rest of their life.

You are like Jack the Ripper, never caught and never punished. Did the Archons ever suspect you? Who knows. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't.

All you know is that you have an alibi to back you up and a likeable and underestimated personality.

[breannasfluff]

Eldritch Divinity

When the attack comes, it’s not an ambush. One moment the Chain are eyeing the trees off the path as they walk, and the next there are people in the trees. An aura, rotten and bloated, rolls off the figure that leads them. Dark Deity.

Wild hisses, hand tightening on his sword. Everyone in the group bears his Claim. While it’s easier to override an old, faded Claim, like Skull Kid had, it’s hard to take someone freshly Claimed. The champion isn’t going to give this evil a chance.

Dark Deity tilts his head as if meeting on a morning stroll. Despite their distance from the river, fog still clings to the trees and dips of the land. Standing at the edge of it, eyes burning and leaking mist, Dark Deity is more amorphous mass than hylian.

“Hylia might have done her best to hide her pets, but even she can’t protect you forever.” Behind him, hylians shift in the mist. It’s hard to see how many there are. They slide too smoothly and Wild’s reminded again of joints too loose to hold them up.

Are they the same hylians who surrounded Dark Deity before? Or are these his hylians, from Wild’s era? Will he see the face of someone he knows as he cuts them down?

Dark Deity steps forward again. His double helix sword is held casually, like an afterthought. The teeth of them gleam—clean this time.

It’s Wind, from somewhere behind him, who yells, “Where are the monsters?”

When the deity laughs, it’s the scrape of rocks crushing everything in its path. “I found the leader of that pathetic rabble. He might have put up a fight, but the monsters did not. Fighters need cunning.”

Reaching out, he strokes the head of a hylian like it’s a pet. There’s no response in the dead eyes. Just dark ochre dripping like tears.

“I won’t leave anything up to chance. Or intervention by the goddesses. What did they ever do for us?” The end of the question comes out a hiss. “Left to rot and suffer, surrounded by screams of pain and agony. Innocents, sacrificed in the name of the royal family. Of justice.” Dark Deity spits and a fang presses against his lip.

“Who are you?” Wild asks.

“An echo. A memory. A thousand hurts left to fester and join. I am the wrong the blessed hero leaves behind.”

It’s no more of an answer than the first time the question was asked in Arbiter’s Ground. Or maybe it is. Wild isn’t going to take this moment to pull about the nuances. What matters is that Dark Deity is a product of dark magic, the Fierce Deity mask, and Time’s body, all being misused.

Dark Deity’s aura roars over them and the Chain grunts under the weight of it. Without Wild’s Claim, they’d have run screaming long ago. Now, the boys ready their weapons and spread out, keeping an eye on not only the deity but the soldiers as well.

“I think we’ve talked long enough, little hero. This ends today.”

Wild is about to switch his sword for a claymore when the hilt of a sword is pressed into his hand. He glances down, then to the side to see Sky’s firm nod. The Master Sword sings in his palm. The chosen hero doesn’t give him a chance to protest, just plucks the unused sword from Wild’s hand.

The divinity in the sword sings to him and something deep inside sings back. Dark Deity’s smile fades and he steps forward. The possessed hylians follow.

Read the rest here!

[nivalingreenhow]

Here is my unnecessarily long deep dive into the Claymore timeline, which is just a way to try and figure out how old they all are.

first, is the tl;dr bullet points (more explanation under the cut)

Male era lasts for maybe a few years, but maybe less, as Riful is a warrior before Isley, Dauf, or Rigaldo awaken.

There is an undetermined amount of time before Teresa’s era, but it is likely a long time, given how many Number ones happened during that time (four of them during this time were stronger than the Abyssal ones, implying the existence of many others who were not as powerful)

Cassandra and Roxanne happened before Luciela, but we can’t know how long before

Luciela and Hysteria were likely back to back since Teresa was a trainee when Luciela awakened and a new warrior when Hysteria goes out.

Rosemary is only Number 1 for a short time, quicky overtaken by Teresa.

Teresa is Number 1 for a long time, maybe even a decade. She is well known among other warriors, even after her time. She is very familiar with Irene, suggesting they were trainees together. Both seem ‘older’ than other warriors in terms of maturity and introspection

The time between Teresa’s death and the start of the manga is about 5-6 years, based on Clare’s physical appearance.

This means Irene is a milf by the end of the manga

The era a male claymore probably didn’t last very long, given their limitations with awakening too soon. We see that Riful comes along before Isley, Rigaldo, and Dauf have awakened. There is not necessarily anything to actually support this, but I feel like she awakened rather quickly, too. She just seems to be the type to not ever hold back.

After this, we have a handful of number ones that have somewhat of a history in canon, however, we are not given their exact order unless we go in the order they’re introduced by the Organization. We have the names Licht, Chloe, Sistina, and Lutecia. We know there are more Number ones than this, as these are mentioned as specifically being more powerful than the three Abyssal Ones. We can assume these four came before the next set, which we do have some sort of timeline we can follow.

We know Cassandra comes before Roxanne, and we know they both come before Hysteria because Hysteria and Teresa overlap. We can also assume that Luciela came before Hysteria since Luciela awakened when Teresa was still a trainee, but Hysteria was killed when Teresa was a full warrior. What we can infer from this is that Hysteria was No. 1 for several years. Teresa appears to be about 11 or so when she encounters Rafaela after Luciela awakens, though we do not know how long this is after Luciela awakened. Teresa is a fully fledged warrior once she encounters Hysteria, implying several years have passed. Time in the manga is…blurred, but it is mentioned (if not necessarily shown) that training takes years and years before warriors are actually let out on their own.

I also have the personal HC that Irene was a trainee at the same time as Teresa, but did not immediately get a single digit rank. I like to think she actually had difficulty with control at first, which led to her signature technique. She over compensated, and as such, was able to keep the tightest control over her yoki. It’s made very clear that Teresa does NOT have relationships with other warriors, that she does not socialize with them or get to know them. However, she is very familiar with Irene, suggesting they have some sort of history, however you want to read it. Irene also knows so much about her which could be because of two reasons. One: Irene is obsessed with/in love with Teresa or two: Irene makes it a point to know everything she possibly can about her opponents and her teammates so she can assess their strengths and weaknesses and formulate the best plan possible. I personally think it’s a combination of both. When she speaks with Clare, she has clearly thought a LOT about Teresa’s emotional wellbeing outside of just her tactical abilities. In turn, when Teresa awakens through Clare, she recognizes Irene’s arm immediately. Regardless of what their relationship was, I would argue that after Clare, Irene may have been the person who knew Teresa the best. If Priscilla had followed directions, Irene’s plan to kill Teresa would have worked. (Sorry, that became a tangent lol, but it is meant to explain my reasoning for thinking Irene and Teresa were in training together).

Rosemary is only number one for a hot second before Teresa surpasses her. This could have even been just a matter of weeks or months. We can assume she awakened and sent her black card to Teresa soon after.

Now, translations have Teresa listed as the 182nd Claymore of the 77th generation in the Organization, however, I’ve seen some argument that this translation is not entirely accurate and could just be a date or time stamp. It does seem unlikely that there have been 77 generations of Claymore. Despite this, I believe Teresa was Number 1 for a long time. Maybe a decade. It seems that at her time, the top warriors are rather stable, with Irene being well known in her position, and Noel and Sophia being very familiar with each other, as well. Sophia states it’s been a while since she’s seen Irene. They’re all shocked when Priscilla comes along and shakes up the ranking, implying that those ranks have stood for some time. Teresa gives off the vibe of someone who has been stuck or a while, who is going through the motions, who is very comfortable (in a bad way) in what she’s doing. Irene, as well. Both their techniques allow them to keep on when other warriors may have awakened. Teresa doesn’t use her yoki at all outside of fighting Rosemary and Priscilla. This means she is more than likely never going to reach her limit. Irene has become exceptional at controlling her yoki, arguably better than any other warrior. The two of them could have been warriors indefinitely. Teresa also remarks it’s been a while since she’s seen Irene. She doesn’t give an indication that she has any such recognition of the others.

We all know what happens next and we DON’T need to talk about it.

Anyway, the next Number One is likely Alicia. I doubt there was anyone else who would be promoted above them. With the loss of the top five warriors all at once, the Organization would have been forced to take drastic measures. As a Number 5, Elda would not have been suited for Number 1, but it seems she was likely promoted as Rafaela takes the Number 5 spot. At this time, Clare is also around 11 or 12, and as a warrior, she looks to be more in her late teens. The time between Teresa’s death and the start of the Manga is likely 5 or 6 years. Claymore don’t age, but it does seem like they continue to mature until they are adults, as both Teresa and Clare are shown as children even after going through the operation but are also shown as mature adults later.  

After this point, we have a much more definitive timeline, so there isn’t much need to go into it. I mainly wanted to do this exercise so I could think about how old Teresa and Irene are during the events of the Manga. I always headcanon that Teresa is around thirty, Irene a little bit younger perhaps, when Priscilla awakens. This would make Irene around 35 more than likely when she encounters Clare again and over forty by the end of the manga. She and Teresa just exude more maturity than a lot of the other warriors, suggesting they are older than the typical late teens/early twenties of most of the other warriors. Others who reach a more mature age would be Rafaela (obviously), who is likely forty or so when she merges with her sister. Galatea probably is around 30 as Sister Latea. She and Miria come off as older than the other Ghosts. I’d say Miria is a similar age. Clare would be around 23/24 after the time skip, with Helen and Deneve being a few years older, but still younger than Miria. Just going off rank and personality, I’d say Cynthia is around the same age as Deneve, while Yuma and Tabitha are closer to Clare’s age, though maybe a bit older. Alicia and Beth are also probably pretty old for warriors. If we assume they were full adults when Priscilla wakens, say 20, then they’d be over 30 after the time skip.

It is very heavily implied that most warriors do not last long, that especially lower ranks get cycled out very quickly as they either reach their limits or are killed in battle. The higher ranks are logically more likely to have greater control of their yoki and greater chances of surviving their assignments. These ranks are likely more stable, leading to single digit warriors being older and wiser. Reading through the manga, it does become clear that Norihiro Yagi plays fast and loose with the canon timeline, so I have tried to go through this in a logical way that makes sense with what we know in canon and what would be the most realistic timeline, ignoring plot holes or inconsistencies. It makes sense that training takes years. Being strong and fast does not mean you are skilled with a sword. Warriors are generally weaker than full yoma, but they have exceptional sword skills that give them the advantage. For context, in medieval times, it took over 7 years of training for someone to become a knight. In Japan, samurai trained for even longer. Yoma blood could have sped up this timeline, but if we combine this knowledge with Clare and Teresa’s physical differences from trainees to warriors, it looks to be at least 5 years, if not longer. Sometimes, there is this feeling in the manga that number one warriors turn over quickly, but logically, they must last for a while typically. I think Yagi got caught up in the story, which is easy to do when writing such a long story over so many years, and lost sight of what a logical progression of warriors would look like. So, I think from Teresa’s rise to number one to the end of the manga was roughly 20-25 years.

Anyway, this was a long unnecessary justification for me to draw Irene as a milf.

Please let me know if you have thoughts, if you agree with my assessment, if you disagree. More than anything, I love looking at this manga and discussing all the missing pieces, trying to make it all fit together.