#the dandelion pictures were taken on a different day

[ichbineinkriechend]

[ID: Three pictures of a grey and black bee, either an ashy mining bee (graue Sandbiene, andrena cineraria) or a grey-backed mining bee (Weidensandbiene, andrena vaga), in the first picture sitting on a table in front of a tiny bit of water, in the other pictures sitting on a dandelion. End ID]

[giamee]

CHAPTER VI! just like in the movies

<- prev masterlist next ->

the feeling of a finger poking at your cheek is what made your eyes finally reopen on the flight. the first thing you saw was dehya, leaning slightly over you with a grin on her face as you batted away her hand groggily.

"morning, sunshine. it's time to get up," she cooed, and you did a quick stretch before unbuckling your belt. peering out of the window next to you, nothing really seemed different to sumeru yet. but then again, this was an airport.

the blur of getting your luggage sorted and going through security went by surprisingly quick, and you said a what you hoped was sweet "thank you" to the man who had stamped your passport. he wore a metal chestplate of armour, your first real indication that mondstadt was different to where you lived. you vaguely recalled thoma telling you about the favonius knights who patrolled the main city - where you would be headed for the first few days of the trip.

getting a bus wasn't too hard, and neither was getting your luggage into your room after checking in to the hostel room you would all be sharing (cyno had taken the heavy bag from you without a word, not giving any room for you to oppose).

even though it was evening, the city still seemed to be bustling with life, a fact that had you fighting the urge to whip out your phone and start taking pictures like a damn tourist instead of focusing on getting yourself to the hostel and then being able to sightsee.

the room itself wasn't bad, with the beds piled up on each opposing wall and a narrow path set out between them. since there were so many of you there weren't any spare beds, effectively making the room your own.

kaveh was quick to call dibs on one of the beds closest to the door, with alhaitham taking the other, flopping down before anybody else had the chance. it wasn't lost on you that cyno took the bed directly across from alhaitham's. you, on the other hand, noticed the large window at the end of the room, opting to pick a bed closer to that.

and before you even had a chance to open your suitcase, kveh was clapping his hands together with glee, asking if anyone else wanted to go out for a drink.

it was a fairly unanimous decision made by the group, you included, that left only tighnari, layla, and nilou to rest in the room as you all began a search for the nearest bar.

the goth grand hotel was placed a convenient few minutes away from a local tavern, one that the sign outside assured was "mondstadt's finest" considering the fact that you had spent all of two hours in the city, you weren't exactly qualified to be the judge of that.

but if the warm bustling atmosphere as soon as you stepped through the doors was anything to go off of, maybe the sign was right. you managed to snag an empty table near the back of the tavern, before leaving to go to the bar and order some drinks.

you had decided to go for one of the local specials, some flavourful dandelion wine that you had remembered thoma recommended to you. dehya decided to join you in drink choice, though the guys had all opted for a round of shots.

a bad choice on kaveh's part, you thought to yourself. it would be entertaining, however, to see just how tipsy the resident lightweight would get over the course of the night.

sinking back down into your seat had never felt so good, and you couldn't help the little sigh as you felt yourself truly start to relax after the plane landing.

"here's to having a good summer, guys," kaveh grins, raising his shot glass brimming with liquid. you laugh at his antics, raising your own glass to tap against his and everyone else's, before you all drink. you don't miss the way kaveh winces at the spirit, though you and dehya both hummed in approval at the dandelion wine.

you turned to alhaitham who was sat on your other side, offering him a sip of the wine. he eyed it warily like you were making an attempt on his life, before gingerly taking the glass and trying some.

his nose wrinkled in a sinilar fashion to kaveh's earlier, muttering how it was "way too sweet," making you roll your eyes at the man.

you turned back to face everyone else, surprised to see a pair of carnelian eyes already trained of you, a hint of a frown on his face. you let your gaze sweep past cyno, instead laughing at the joke dehya just told, jumping at the wheeze kaveh let out as he hit the table, cheeks already dusted pink. a bad choice on his part, indeed.

and of course, it wasn't too many more drinks between the table before the resident lightweight was nearing a state where he had to be helped back to the hotel room. dehya, arguably the most sober out of everyone, stood up and wrapped one of kaveh's arms around her shoulders.

"guys, i know i'm strong but kaveh's a lot heavier than he looks," dehya huffed, looking expectantly at the three of you. you paused to look at alhaitham and cyno, both were definitely stronger than you, and if the way your head spun when you stood were to get any worse, you would probably have to get carried home by someone as well.

there was a moment of silence before cyno volunteered, slipping kaveh's other arm around his own shoulders before glancing back at you and alhaitham.

"are you two gonna be okay on your own?" even in your less than sober state, you could see just how hesitant cyno was to leave with dehya and kaveh. but in your mind, there was no worse pairing to be wandering around drunk with than your ex and your friend who looked a little too good, so you waved off cyno, insisting that you'd be fine.

the man still didn't look convinced, but an assured "they'll be fine" from dehya and a sly wink thrown your way told you all that you needed to know about her half-baked plan.

you didn't immediately turn to alhaitham after they left the bar, only risking a glance at the man after he cleared his throat a little awkwardly.

"should we go as well?" you let your head rest against your palm as you pretended to deliberate his question.

"and where exactly are we going to go, haitham?" his already pink cheeks seemed to darken a touch at the nickname, but his eyes didn't shy away from yours.

"you wanted to sightsee, didn't you? we might as well." you hummed in agreement, taking a moment to finish your third? fifth? drink before leaving the tavern finally.

some time had passed by now, with the sky no longer bearing the warmth of a sunset, but giving way to the clear and bright moonlight and its accompanying stars. you let your head tip back to admire them, and how they looked so different compared to sumeru, with the clouds often remaining too thick for you to properly stargaze like this.

you felt the familiar giddy headrush as you faced forward again, almost stumbling if it weren't for alhaitham's hand shooting out to grab your arm, steadying you.

"you should be more careful. you're clumsy when you're drunk." you roll your eyes at him, shrugging off his grip and spinning on your heel to point at him.

"i'm not drunk." alhaitham looks unconvinced, and you point accusatorily at his flushed cheeks. "if either of us can't handle their alcohol, it's you."

you ignored his scoff, instead focusing on the decorations that were up. you vaguely recalled layla mentioning how you were coming to mondstadt near the end of their summer festival, and you beamed at the colourful balloons that were strung so neatly along the main street.

there was no particular direction that you and alhaitham took, mostly you wandering off and alhaitham following closely behind, and you marvelled at the city in the privacy that the empty streets offered late at night.

every time that you turned to look back at alhaitham, he seemed to be paying no mind to mondstadt like you were doing, instead focusing on you with his pink-tainted face that your tipsy brain thought was pretty.

at some point, him following you had turned into you clutching his arm for support as you got wobblier, though the way he stayed closer to your side than was necessary made you think that he didn't mind this all too much.

you seemed to be full of good ideas tonight, and when you rounded the corner to see a large square with a centerpiece fountain and accompanying sprinklers, you looked at alhaitham with a gleam of mischief.

"want to run through them?"

alhaitham sighed, though you didn't miss the slight quirk of his lips at the suggestion.

"if you insist..."

you let your hand slip from his, dashing ahead of him to let the cool water spray against you and your clothes, a giddy laugh erupting from your lips as it cooled you down from the warm summer air.

alhaitham wasn't so far behind either, in pursuit of the warmth of you that had been ripped so suddenly from his skin, grimacing at the cold sensation that met him instead.

but no matter, as he was by your side again soon enough.

now dripping wet, you and alhaitham flopped down onto a nearby bench, both of your chests still heaving from the laughter lingering on your lips and the shock of the cold.

your head spun as you let yourself fall backwards, your head ending up flopping onto alhaitham's lap. he was surprisingly warm, even through the later of his wet clothes, and you felt yourself quiet down as you stared up at him and the stars above.

he has gone quiet too, you didn't fail to notice, and you forced yourself to look past his eyes so intently staring at you, and focusing on the beautifully clear mondstadt night sky.

"hey, haitham, the moon looks pretty from here."

he's still silent, unmoving, something churning behind his pretty eyes. you pause now too, focus back on the man you were lying on. you weren't sure what to say, if you should say anything at all and break this moment, but any words died on your tongue as he shifted forwards, quicker than your tipsy self could comprehend, and brushed his lips against yours.

✦ ⠂⠂୨୧ trivia :: as the notorious lightweight of the group, kaveh was tipsy off of only one full glass of mondstadt's dandelion wine after having that first shot

✦ ⠂⠂୨୧ gia's notes :: a little gift of plot progression to say thanks for waiting for this series to continue!! even tho this chapter is kinda dookie cos i was forcing myself back into the rhythm of writing this series oop

✦ ⠂⠂୨୧ taglist :: @makimakimi @aeongiies @sukunasrealgf @ssoliva @sakiimeo @eggn0gcookie @yxcade @fiona782 @heartswonder @eunchaeluvr @clumsyphuq @pinksodacan @aelxr @themusingsofmany @obervation-subject-753 @kittycasie @aimno256 @maxineshearts @mafuyuslover @meigalaxy @mintydump @v4lerixxq @artwitchh @geo-hew-hew @imkaaayy @c4tsfr0mh3ll @kokoscutie @erzarq @eu-la @ddiluc @ichikaisflowers @rahhhmen @esmetrees @rain-and-a-nice-nap ( let me know if you would like to be added / your username has changed !! )

[stalkerofthegods]

Zeus Greek god, Straight to the point deep dive on epiphets, offerings, etc.

Herbs • Holm oak, olive tree, star anise, dandelion, almonds, pine, vervain, oak in general.

Animals• cuckoo-bird, swan, bull, satyr, eagle, wolf, woodpecker

Zodiac • Sagittarius and Pisces, maybe cancer.

Colors • Silver, blue, white, gold 

Crystal• White and yellow diamonds, Lapis lazuli, Blue and yellow sapphires, turquoise,  celestite, iron/steel, any quartz

Symbols• olive tree branch, throne, Lightning bolt, a crown, scepter, the Aegis

Diety of• sky and weather, the Greek gods, cities, the home, property, strangers, guests, and supplicants, law, order, justice, hospitality, Kings

Patron of• the sky and weather, men, the Greek gods, cities, the home, property, strangers, guests, and supplicants, law, order, justice 

Offerings• Wine, Whiskey, Milk, Tea, Coffee, Small cakes, Breads, Red meat, Scaled fish, Fruit, Rain water, Silver, blue, white, gold candles, Figures of eagles and bulls, Symbols of a thubderbolt, The scales of justice, Crowns, Statues of Himself, eagles, or thunderbolts, Cinnamon, Laurel, Art or pictures of eagles and bulls, Eagle and bull plushies/toys, Oak, Pine, Toy crowns, Imagery of thunderbolts (ex- art, keychains, pictures, toys), Photographs or art of storms, Golden oobjects, Blue, white, or gold flowers, Assignments you got good grades on anything you are proud of (ex-art, writings, a dance you made or perfected, your songs, your favorite toy that you’ve taken care of for years.), the fat on the bones of the animals, a scepter, throne photos &, etc, fruit juice, rainwater, wedding rings, White wine, medals, hammers, acorns, cotton balls, coins.

Devotional• Check the weather for the day, Learn to recognize the different kinds of clouds, Speak out if you see an injustice (do not speak over those actually receiving the injustice), Dance in the rain, Examine ideas on fatherhood, examine how any paternal influence you received may have impacted your life,  your parents for the good parenting you received, Listen to storms and bask in their glory (whether its a real storm or you’re just listening to a recording of one), Learn to appreciate different kinds of weather, learn the property lines of your house, Take care of yourself, Learn a little more about politics and the current political state of your country, fight for what you believe in (only if it is not harming others), Help sort out a conflict or an argument, Also learn about your country’s legal system, Be hospitable, Take leadership in a project that you’re doing, Destigmatize sex work and homelessness, Practice divination, Learn about your local hawks/eagles/birds of prey,  learn ornithomancy (divination from the flight of birds), study meteorology and climate change, study local and national politics, practice good citizenship, vote, volunteer to register voters, support issues and candidates, collect rainwater, support your family, help your grandparents, help people move, donate to charity & homeless centers, worship his family in his honor, singing his praises (he likes being complimented)

Ephithets• ABRETTE′NUS/Abrettênos-surname of Zeus in Mysia, ACRAEUS/Akraios-given to various goddesses and gods whose temples were situated upon hills, AEGIDU′CHOS/AEGI′OCHOS/Aigidouchos/Aigiochos- surname of Zeus, as the bearer of the Aegis when he strikes terror into the impious and his enemies, but also a surname of Zeus being fed by a goat, AENE′IUS/AENE′SIUS/Ainêios/Ainêsios- surname of Zeus when he was worshipped in the island of Cephalenia, AE′THIOPS/Aithiops-the Glowing or the Black, AETNAEUS/Aitnaios -an epithet given to several devine beings connected with Mount Aetna, AGAMEMNON/Agamemnôn- A surname of Zeus, under when he was worshipped at Sparta, AGATHODAEMON/Agathodaimôn/Agathos Deos-Good God, when Greeks drank a cup of unmixed wine at the end of every repast, AGE′TOR/Agêtôr- surname given to several gods, AGO′NIUS/Agônios- a surname or epithet of several gods used in the sense of helpers in struggles and contests, AGORAEUS/AGORAEA/Agoraia/Agoraios-epithets given to several divinities who were considered as the protectors of the people in agora, ALASTOR/Alastôr- surname of Zeus, describing him as the avenger of evil deeds, ALEXI′CACUS/Alexikakos- the averter of evil, AMBU′LIU/AMBU′LIA/AMBU′LII/Amboulia/Amboulioi/Amboulios- surnames when the Spartans worshipped Athena, the Dioscuri, and Zeus, APE′MIUS/Apêmios- a surname of Zeus when he had an altar on mount Parnes in Attica where sacrifices were offered to him, APESA′NTIUS/Apesantios- when zeus had a temple on mount Apesas near Nemea, where Perseus was said to have first offered sacrifices to him, APOMYIUS/Apomuios- driving away the flies, AREIUS/Areios-  either the warlike or the propitiating and atoning god, ASBAMAEUS/Asbamaios- protector of the sanctity of oaths, A′SIUS/Asios- surname of Zeus, from the town of Asos or Oasos in Crete, ATABY′RIUS/Ataburios- surname of Zeus derived from mount Atabyris or Atabyrion in the island of Rhodes, ATHO′US/Athôos - a surname of Zeus, derived from mount Athos, CA′RIUS/Karios-where he had a temple at Mylassa in Caria, CA′SIUS/Kasios-surname of Zeus, derived from amount Casion not far from Pelusium, CATAE′BATES/Kataibatês-who descends in thunder and lightning, CATHA′RSIUS/Katharsios- the purifyer or atoner, CENAEUS/Kênaios- derived from cape Cenaeum in Euboea, CHRYSAOR/Chrusaôr- The god with the golden sword or arms, CLA′RIUS/Klarios- the god who distributes things by lot, CO′NIUS/Konios- the god who excites or makes dust, CORYPHAEUS/CORYPHAEA/Koruphaia -the highest or supreme god, and is, CROCE′ATAS/Krokeatas- derived from Croceae, near Gythium in Laconia, CRO′NIDES/CRONI′ON/Kronidês/Kroniôn- a patronymic from Cronus, and very commonly given to Zeus, the son of Cronus, CTE′SIUS/Ktêsios - the protector of property, DICTAEUS/Diktaios- derived from mount Dicte in the eastern part of Crete, ELEUTHEREUS/Eleuthereus- used in the sense of the deliverer, and occurs also as the surname of Zeus, EVA′NEMUS/Euanemos- the giver of favourable wind, 

GAME′LII/Gamêlioi theoi- divinities protecting and presiding over marriage, GENETAEUS/Genêtaios- derived from Cape Genetus on the Euxine, HETAEREIUS/Hetaireios - the protector of companies or associations of friends, HOMAGY′RIUS/Homagurios- god of the assembly or league, HO′RCIUS/Horkios- the god who watches over oaths, or is invoked in oaths, and punishes their violation, HYES/Huês- the moist or fertilising god, HYE′TIUS/HYES/HY′PATUS/Hupatos-the most high, ITHOMATAS/Ithômatas- derived from the Messenian hill of Ithome, LABRANDEUS/Labrandeus derived from a temple he had at Labranda, LAPE′RSIUS/Lapersios- derived from the Attic demus of Lapersae, LAPHY′STIUS/Laphustios- derived either from Mount Laphystius in Boeotia, or from the verb laphussein, to flee, in reference to the human sacrifices which were offered to him in early time, LARISSAEUS/Larissaios- derived from the arx Larissa at Argos, LECHEA′TES/Lecheatês- the protector of childbed, LEUCAEUS/Leukaios- when he was worshipped at Lepreus, in Elis, LIMENO′SCOPUS/LIME′NIA/LIMENI′TES:LIMENI′TIS/Limenia, Limenitês/Limenitis, Limenodkopos- the protector or superintendent of the harbour, LYCAEUS/Lukaios- a surname of certain divinities worshipped on mount Lycaeum in Arcadia, MAEMACTES/Maimaktês- the stormy, MECHANEUS/Mêchaneus- skilled in inventing, MEILI′CHIUS/Meilichios-the god that can be propitiated, or the gracious, MESSAPEUS/Messapeus- derived when he had a sanctuary between Amyclae and mount Taygetusm, MO′RIUS/Morios- the protector of the sacred olive trees, NEMEIUS/Nemeios- when he had a sanctuary at Argos, with a bronze statue, the work of Lysippus, and where games were celebrated in his honour, NOMOS/Nomos-a personification of law, OGO′A/Ogôa- the Carian name of Zeus at Mysala, when he had a temple where a sea-wave was seen from time to time, OLY′MPIUS/Olumpios- the Olympian, occurs as a surname of Zeus and in general of all the gods that were believed to live in Olympus, O′MBRIUS/Ombrios- the rain-giver, PANHELLE′NIUS/Panellênios- the god common to, or worshipped by all the Hellenes or Greeks,, PARNE′THIUS/Parnêthios- derived from Mount Parnes in Attica, PATROUS/PATROA/Patrôios/Patrôia- all the gods whose worship has been handed down in a nation or a family from the time of their fathers, whence in some instances they are the spirits of departed ancestors themselves, PHY′XIUS/Phuzios ex- the god who protects fugitives, PI′STIUS/Pistios- the god of faith and fidelity, POLIEUS/Polieus- the protector of the city, SOTER/Sôtêr- the Saviour, STHE′NIUS/Sthenios- the powerful & the strengthening, XENIUS/XE′NIA/Xenia- masculine Xenios are epithets of Athena and Zeus, as presiding over the laws of hospitality, and protecting strangers,

ZYGIUS/ZYGIA/Zugia/Zugios-  surnames of Hera and Zeus, and as them as presiding over marriage, Ομβριος/Ombrios- Of the Rain,  Ὑετιος/Hyetios- Of the Rain, Αφεσιος/Aphesios- Releasing (Rain), Σκοτιτας/Skotitas- Dark, Murky, Κεραυνιος/Keraunios-Of the Thunderbolt,!Αστραπαιος/Astrapaios-Of the Lightning, Καταιβατης/Kataibatês-Descending, Λαβρανδευς/Labrandeus-Furious, Raging, Ικμαιος/Ikmaios-Of Moisture, Κονιος/Konios-Of the Dust, Μαιμακτης/Maimaktês-Boisterous, Ευηνεμος/Euênemos-Of Fair Winds, Λιμενοσκοπος/Limenoskopos-Watcher of Sea-Havens, Βασιλευς/Basileus-King, Chief, Ruler, Ὑπατος/Hypatos-Supreme, Most High, Ὑπσιστος/Hypsisto-Supreme, Most High, 

Κορυφαιος/Koryphaios-Chief, Leader, Κτησιος/Ktêsios-Of the House, Property,Ἑρκειος/Herkeios-Of the Courtyard, Βουλαιος/Boulaios-Of the Council, Αμβουλιος/Amboulios-Counsellor, Τελειος/Teleios-Of Marriage Rites, Μοιραγετης/Moiragetês-Leader of the, Fates, Κλαριος/Klarios-Of the Lots, Σημαλεος/Sêmaleos-Giver of Signs, Μηχανευς/Mêkhaneus-Contriver, Κοσμητης/Kosmêtês-Orderer, Θεος Αγαθος/Theos Agathos-The Good God, 

Επιδωτης/Epidôtês-Giver of Good, Πλουσιος/Plousios-Of Wealth, Φιλιος/Philios-Of Friendship, Ξενιος/Xenios-Of Hospitality, Strangers, Ἱκεσιος/Hikesios-Of Suppliants, Φυξιος/Phyxios-Of Refuge, 

Παλαμναιος/Palamnaios-(Punisher) of Murderers, Καθαρσιος/Katharsios-Of Ritual Purification, Προστροπαιος, Prostropaios-Turner of Pollution, Απημιος/Apêmios-Averter of Ills,  Σωτηρ/Sôtêr-Saviour, Deliverer, Μειλιχιος/Meilikhios-Gracious, Merciful, Πανελληνιος/Panellênios-Of All the Greeks, Λαοιτης/Laoitês-Of the People, Πολειυς/Poleius-Of the City-State, Σωσιπολις/Sôsipolis-City-Saviour, Ελευθεριος/Eleutherios-Of Freedom, Χρυσαορευς/Khrysaoreus-Of the Golden Sword, Στρατιος/Stratios-Of War, Warlike, Αρειος/Areios-Of War, Warlike, 

Σθενιος/Sthenios-Of Strength, Strong, 

Τροπαιος/Tropaios-Turns to Flight, Defeats, Φυξιος/Phyxios-Puts to Flight, Banishes, Ὑμηττιος/Hymêttios-Of Mt Hymettus (Attica), Παρνηθιος/Parnêthios-Of Mt Parnes (Attica), Ανχεσμιος/Ankhesmios-Of Mt Anchesmus (Attica), 

Απεσαντιος/Apesantios-Of Mt Apesas (Argolis),Λαρισαιος/Larisaios-Of Larisa (Argos acropolis), Νεμειος/Nemeios-Of Nemea (Argolis), Κροκεατος/Krokeatos-Of Croceae (Laconia), Ιθωματος/Ithômatos-Of Mt Ithome (Messenia), Ολυμπιος/Olympios-Of Olympia (in Elis), Λυκαιος/Lykaios-Of Mt Lycaeus (Arcadia), Κιθαιρωνιος/Kithairônios-Of Mt Cithaeron (Boeotia), Λαφυστιος/Laphystios-Of Mt Laphystius (Boeotia), Κηναιος/Kênaios-Of Cape Cenaeus (Euboea), Ολυμπιος/Olympios-Of Mt Olympus (Thessaly), Δωδωναιος/Dôdônaios-Of Dodona (Thesprotia), Αινησιος/Ainêsios-Of Mt Aenus (Cephallenia), Πελασγιος/Pelasgios-Of the Pelasgians (Tribe), Πελασγικος/Pelasgikos-Of the Pelasgians (Tribe), Δικταιος/Diktaios-Of Mt Dicte (Crete), Αταβυριος/Atabyrios-Of Mt Atabyris (Rhodes), Καριος/Karios-Of Caria, Λαβρανδευς/Labrandeus-Of Labranda (Caria), Λαβραυνδηνος/Labraundênos-Of Labranda (Caria), Καπετωλιον/Kapetôlion-Of the Capitol (Rome), Βουλαιος/Boulaios-Of the Council-Hall, Αγοραιος/Agoraios-Of the Market-Place, Σκοτιτας/Skotitas-Of the Dark (Oak-Forest), Λευκαιος/Leukaios-Of the White-Poplar Grove, Λυκαιος/Lykaios-Of the Wolves, Απομυιος/Apomyios-Averter of Flies, Λεχεατης/Lekheatês-Of the Childbed, Κλαριος/Klarios-Of the Lots, Τελειος/Teleios-Full-Grown, Αρισταιος/Aristaios-Of Aristaeus (hero Ceos), Μεσσαπευς/Messapeus-Of Messapeus (hero Sparta). 

Equivalents• Jupiter (Roman), Rigyeda (Hindu), Di Pater (Oscan), Ioues Patres (Marrucinian), Iupitar (Umbrian), Tina (Etruscan), Mitra / Varuna (Vedic, probably syncretized), Mithra (Old Persian), Dei-Patrous (Illyrian), Dyaus Pitar (Indian), Debess Tevs (Latvian), Attas Isanus (Hittite), Dievas (Baltic), Tatis Tiwaiz (Luvian), Papaeus (Scythian), Thor (Norse), Odin (Norse)

Signs their reaching out• Sudden signs of his animals, his statues, art of him, his mythos, a sudden pull to him. 

Vows/omans• His wedding vows.

Morals• Morally dark.

Courting• Hera/Juno, they are married.

Past lovers/crushes• I couldn’t find all of them, and please cut me some slack, but some are, Semele, Demeter, Europa, Eurynome, Métis, Callisto, Leto, Mnemosyne, Thaleia, Themis, Electra, Leda, Aegina, Alcmene, Ganymede, Persephone, Dione, Maia, Metis, Nemesis, AIX, Alkmene.

Personality• I heard he is funny, mercifully, calm and collected, and obviously father like.

Home• Mount Olympus. 

Mortal or immortal • Immortal

Fact• He led a rebellion with all the Olympians except Dionysus because he wasn’t born yet, against his own father, and won.

Curses• bad flying conditions, storms, lightning, thunder, justice, Eagle poop all over your car, marriage issues

Blessings• good flying conditions, good storms, good lightning, good thunder, having justice, help in creating an eternal fire, no marriage issues, help in legal matters

Roots• Crete, raised by the nymphs Adrasteia and Ida, daughters of Melisseus, nursing Zeus, with the milk from the goat Amalthea, given to them by his mother Rhea.

Parentage• Rhea and Cronus

Siblings• Hestia, Hades, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, and Chiron.

Attendees• Kratos (Strength), Zelos (Rivalry), Nike (Victory) and Bia (Force), he is often seen with Hermes, his high councilor is Themis, Hestia in hall, and Metis in his stomach (the Greeks thought the stomach held knowledge, and wisdom) or mind, Harpies and Hebe and Ganymede

Pet• A golden eagle named Aetos Dios

Children •AGDISTIS (born when Zeus accidentally impregnated Gaia the Earth),AIGIPAN/Aegipan (son of Zeus and Aix or Boetis), ALATHEIA (daughter of Zeus)APHRODITE (daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Dione, most say she was born in the sea from the severed genitals of Ouranos), APOLLON/Apollo (son of Zeus and the Titaness Leto)

ARES (son of Zeus and his wife Hera.), 

ARTEMIS (daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Leto), ASOPOS/Asopus (son of Zeus and Eurynome, however most call him a son of Okeanos and Tethys), ATE (daughter of Zeus, others say she was born fatherless to Eris), ATHENE/Athena (Titaness Metis and Zeus), 

BRITOMARTIS (daughter of Zeus and the Nymphe Karme), DIONYSOS/Dionysus (son of Zeus and Semele or of Zeus and Demeter or Dione), EILEITHYIA (daughter of Zeus and Hera), EIRENE/Irene (daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Themis), ERIS (daughter of Zeus and Hera, most say she was a daughter of Nyx), ERSA (daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Selene), 

EUNOMIA (daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Themis), HARMONIA (Zeus and the Pleiad Elektra, usually a daughter of Ares and Aphrodite who was only fostered by the Pleiad), HEBE (daughter of Zeus and Hera), HEPHAISTOS/Hephaestus (son of Zeus and Hera, though many say Hera conceived him without the assistance of Zeus), HERMES (son of Zeus and the Pleiad Maia), HORAI/Horae (Dike, Eirene, and Eunomia--were daughters of Zeus and the Titaness Themis), KABEIROI/Cabeiri (sons of Zeus and the Mousa Kalliope, but call them sons of Hephaistos and Kabeiro), KAIROS/Caerus (youngest divine son of Zeus.), KENTAUROI KYRPIOI/Cyprian (sprang from Gaia the Earth when Zeus accidentally impregnated his failed attempt to make love to Aphrodite),

KHARITES/Charites (Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thaleia are daughters of Zeus and the Titaness Eurynome), KORYBANTES SAMOTHRAKIOI/Samothracian Corybantes (sons of Zeus and the Mousa Kalliope), LITAI/Litae (elderly goddesses of prayer were daughters of Zeus), 

MELINOE (She as a daughter of Zeus and Persephone), MOIRAI/Moirae (Atropos, Lakhesis and Klotho, who are daughters of Zeus and the Titaness Themis, others say they were daughters of Nyx, Ananke or Khaos), MOUSAI/Muses (Kalliope, Terpsikhore, Kleio, Euterpe, Ourania, Thaleia, Polyhymnia, Melpomene, Erato, were daughters of Zeus and the Titaness Mnemosyne), NEMEA (minor goddess-nymph, daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Selene), NYMPHAI/Nymphs (Nymphs in general were sometimes called the daughters of Zeus), NYMPHAI THEMEIDES (Three goddess-nymph daughters of Zeus and the Titaness Themis), PALIKOI/Palici (Twin gods of Zeus and Thaleia, but others say they were sons of Hephaistos and Aitna), PAN (son of Zeus and Hybris but others invariably call him a son of Hermes), PANDEIA (devine daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Selene), PERSEPHONE (Devine daughter of Zeus and Demeter or, according to one account, of Zeus and Styx), PHASIS (devine son of Zeus, other say he was a son of Okeanos and Tethys like the other Rivers), ZAGREUS (divine son of Zeus and his own daughter Persephone), 

AIAKOS/Aeacus (son of Zeus and the Nymphe Aigina), AITHLIOS/Aethlius (son of Zeus and either Protogeneia or Kalyke), 

AKHEILOS/Acheilus (son of Zeus and Lamia), ALEXANDROS/Alexander the Great (son of Zeus born to the Makedonian Queen Olympia), AMPHION (He was a twin son of Zeus and Antiope), 

ARGOS/Argus (He was a son of Zeus and Niobe.), ARKAS/Arcas (son of Zeus and Kallisto.), ARKEISIOS/Arceisius (son of Zeus, or according to others, of Kephalos and Prokris), ATYMNIOS/Atymnius (He was a son of Zeus and Kassiopeia), 

DARDANOS/Dardanus (He was a son of Zeus and Elektra), DIOSKOUROI/Dioscuri (Twin princes of who were hatched from an egg laid by Queen Leda. Polydeukes, was fathered by Zeus, but the other, Kastor, was the son of Leda's husband Tyndareus), EMATHION (son of Zeus and Elektra), ENDYMION (He was the son of Kalyke, either by Zeus or her husband Aithlios), EPAPHOS/Epaphus (son of Zeus and the much-suffering Io), GRAIKOS/Graecus (son of Zeus and Thyia), HELENE/Helen(daughter of Zeus by Leda or the goddess Nemesis), HELLEN (son of Zeus and Pyrrha, though others say his father was Pyrrha's husband Deukalion),

HERAKLES/Heracles (1) (Alkmene who was seduced by Zeus in the form of her own husband.), HERAKLES/Heracles (2) (A son of Zeus and Lysithoe), HEROPHILE (daughter of Zeus and the Libyan queen Lamia), IARBAS (Zeus and an African Nymphe), IASION A prince of the Island of Samothrake (son of Zeus and Elektra), 

KEROESSA/Ceroessa (daughter of Zeus and Io), KOLAXES/Colaxes) (son of Zeus and the Nymphe Hora), KORINTHOS/Corinthus (He was a son of Zeus but, according to others, of Epopeus), KRINAKOS/Crinacus (He was a son of Zeus.), KRONIOS/Cronius (Zeus and the Nymphe Himalia.), KYTOS/Cytus (Zeus and the Nymphe Himalia), LAKEDAIMON/Lacedaemon (son of Zeus and the Pleiad Taygete.), LATINOS/Latinus (son of Zeus and Pandora.), MAGNES son of Zeus and Thyia but some say he was the son to Aiolos and Enarete), MAKEDON/Macedon (He was a son of Zeus and Thyia), MANES (a son of Zeus and Gaia), MEGAROS/Megarus (son of Zeus and a Sithnid Nymphe), MELITEUS (He was a son of Zeus and Othris), MINOS (He was a son of Zeus and Europa.), MYRMIDON (He was a son of Zeus and Eurymedousa.), ORION (He was conceived by three gods--Zeus, Hermes and Poseidon--who urinated upon a bull's hide and buried it in the earth, to grow an earth-born infant), PELASGOS/Pelasgus (He was a son of Zeus and Niobe, but others calls him a son of Poseidon and Larissa or an Autokhthon), 

PEIRITHOUS/Pirithous (son of Zeus and Dia, most authors say the father was Dia's husband King Ixion), PERSEUS (son of Zeus and Danae), POLYDEUKES/Polydeuces (his twin brother were known as the Dioskouroi, the son of Zeus and Leda, while his twin brother was the son of Leda's husband Tyndareus), RHADAMANTHYS (a son of Zeus and Europa), SAON (he was the son of Zeus and a local Nymphe, but others say he was a son of Hermes and Rhene), 

SARPEDON (1) (He was a son of Zeus and Europa.), SARPEDON  (2) (He was a son of Zeus and Laodameia), SPARTAIOS/Spartaeus (one of three sons borne to Zeus and the Nymphe Himalia), TANTALOS/Tantalus (son of Zeus and the Okeanis Plouto), TARGITAUS (son of Zeus and a daughter of Borysthenes), 

TITYOS/Tityus (a son of Zeus and Elare others say he was a fatherless son of Gaia the Earth), ZETHOS/Zethus (He was the twin brother of Amphion and a son of Zeus and Antiope.)

Appearance in astral or gen• regal, mature man with a sturdy figure and dark beard.

Festivals • Diasia, Epulum Jovis, Hetairideia, Lykaia

Day • Tuesday 

Status• Greek major god, as the king of all gods, part of the Big three. 

Planet• Jupiter 

Tarot cards• the Emperor, Justice, Wheel of Fortune, King of Swords, King of Wands

Reminds me of• Vapes (my dad vapes), cloaks, marriages, and Dad jokes.

Scents/Inscene • Frankincense, myrrh, or rain sceneted incense, Vervain, Sage

Prayers• 

To attract more eagles 

Zeus, king of the Theoi, god of the sky, father of gods and men, Zeus, the one that holds sacred the sharp-sighted eagle and far-flying hawk, I come humbly before you with a single request. I ask for the friendship of your cherished eagle and hawk, The symbols of your power and grace, Gentle reminders of your ever-watchful presence and protection. I shall revere them as I do you. Great Zeus, Father Zeus, I thank you for this newfound friendship.

In general

Father Zeus, protector of the weak, help me to be strong against my fears. Father Zeus, protector of the wronged, help me to do right by all I meet. Father Zeus, protector of the home, help me to safeguard those within my walls. Father Zeus, help me to do what I must, be with me as I walk in the world.

Links/websites/sources •

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zeus https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Zeus.htmlhttps://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ZeusFamily.html https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zeushttps://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ZeusFamily.htmlhttps://twelfthremedy.tumblr.com/post/626464048642408448/zeus-offerings/amp https://star-of-zeus.tumblr.com https://star-of-zeus.tumblr.com/post/638693970789138432/zeus-devotional-actshttps://star-of-zeus.tumblr.com/post/638790200476221440/tuesday-is-zeus-day https://star-of-zeus.tumblr.com/post/638790200476221440/tuesday-is-zeus-day https://star-of-zeus.tumblr.com/post/650165209920651264/acknowledge-the-duality-of-the-godshttps://honorthegods.tumblr.com/post/159458931171/what-offerings-would-you-recommend-for-zeus-and/amp https://www.theoi.com/articles/where-was-zeus-born/#:~:text=Greek%20mythology%20states%20that%20Crete,significant%20deity%20in%20ancient%20Greece.https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-equivalents-to-Zeus-in-other-god-mythologies https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-equivalents-to-Zeus-in-other-god-mythologieshttps://mythopedia.com/topics/zeushttps://www.desy.de/gna/interpedia/greek_myth/creation.html#:~:text=When%20it%20came%20time%20to,a%20handsome%20youth%20on%20Crete.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_(nurse_of_Zeus)#:~:text=According%20to%20Apollodorus%2C%20Rhea%20gave,were%20the%20daughters%20of%20Melisseus%22.https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-equivalents-to-Zeus-in-other-god-mythologieshttps://www.havefunwithhistory.com/facts-about-zeus/https://www.tumblr.com/alder-bos/669862051714318336/deities-and-their-tarot-cards-long-post https://star-of-zeus.tumblr.com/post/640511172666392576/prayer-to-zeus-for-hawkeagle-friends diana-thyme

Zeus is the Greek god of weather and many things, you may see him as a ‘Cheater’, but in many cases, the people who claimed to stem from Zeus were just fatherless people, wanting to claim fame for their bloodline. He is a kind a merciful God, as long as you don't speak unwell or lies.

This deep dive is a payment to my friend Bri @briislame, May you look up and find Zeus looking down with smiles.

[dansnaturepictures]

16th December 2023: Fishlake Meadows

Flora, fauna and fungi pictures taken in this set are of: 1. A rodent I observed along the canal before reaching the reserve, I believe a young rat I did see other rats too. 2. Viburnum along the canal path which I enjoyed seeing. 3. A sea of gorgeous turkey tail which I was taken aback with on a tree stump. 4. A cheery Robin. 5. A ravishing Red Kite which was a treat to see, I was captivated by watching it. I excitingly saw one from the train on the way and also I believe two on a tree from the train on the way back, exciting to see them doing well here. 6. Grey Squirrel. 7. One of a few Mute Swans I enjoyed watching whilst having a blissful lunch at the viewing screen. 8. A majestic Marsh Harrier, another raptor I love which it was delightful to watching soaring over the reedbed and water a couple of times. 9. Dandelion. 10. Cormorant.

In swashbuckling moments before reaching the reserve along the canal I saw a beautiful Kingfisher perched and catch a fish, a riveting encounter with another favourite of mine. Completing a super six of my visit alongside the Kingfisher and two birds of prey were two pleasing passerines, crimson Stonechat which I'd not seen here before and powerful moments listening to the siren like call of a Nuthatch and watching this eyecatching birds as well as stunning views of a Great White Egret at the screen perhaps the closest I've ever been to this angelic egret I was just too slow to get a photo before it flew. Other bird highlights on an amazing walk round were Goldcrest, Wrens, Chiffchaff, the energetic burst of sound from a nice few Cetti's Warblers calling, Long-tailed Tit seen well for a second day running, Blue Tit, Great Tit heard and seen well, Collared Dove and House Sparrow along the canal, Mistle Thrush feeding on mistletoe (how it gets its name) which was memorable, Blackbird, Magpie, Grey Heron including parading over nicely, Moorhen, possibly a Water Rail seen quickly too, the regular sight and sound of Greylag Geese, Shoveler and Wigeon key waterfowl of the day and Common Gull. Other key plants seen were pretty forget-me-not, ivy including mixed well with mushrooms, hazel catkins, white deadnettle, rose hips and burdock seed heads. Candlesnuff fungi spotted only from being beside the rat in the photos I took seen for a second day running was nice and possibly mossy maze polypore among other mushrooms were good to see. On the way to the station this morning seeing winter heliotrope at Lakeside and further on and hawthorn berries, dandelion and hearing Magpie by Lakeside were good moments with Jackdaw, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Starling and Collared Dove enjoyed at home today. My Mum is currently recovering from a major operation so as I don't drive I'm doing some trips to nature reserves via trains, so far last Saturday and today and I'll do more in the New Year, and it makes it a really interesting and enjoyable day taking a different route to get out to places. Today at Fishlake Meadows and getting there was a fantastic day of nature watching and appreciating being outside.

[zenith3501]

The Minotaur and the Goblin

The Sun, The Hills, The Quiet…

It might have taken us a while getting out there but damn if it wasn't worth it!

The whole idea had come up four days earlier, when my closest friend and I both left our final exams together, mentally exhausted, sleep schedules a shattered memory, with eating habits that could make any nutritionist worth his low sodium salt fall to his knees and scream his lament to the heavens.

Us, and about four hundred other kids.

The exams had been a bitch, and we didn't have all that much time for each other. I was forced into remembering the entire history, from the greatest triumphs, to the most disastrous defeats of three different world conquering empires.

From the first time a guy kicked a rock into place and called it Rome, to the last guy who bore their eagle standard into battle, I'd packed it all into my brain case… Somehow.

Toren, on the other hand, had spent every free moment dedicating the blueprints of entire train engines to memory, and even finding time to make a few scale models for extra credit.

Truth was… We were fucked.

Fucked from school, fucked from classes, from family who didn't get that yes mum, I love you too, but god DAMN IT this list of Emperors and their many, many, many accomplishments isn't going to remember itself, woman!

We needed time away from… Everything.

When I sent a picture of the old family van to Toren later that evening while I was knee-deep in the decomposition process, with just the words, "Come see the sun with me?" Her answer was as simple as I'd hoped.

"Yes. I'll bring drinks."

The next day, I managed to kick the damned thing back to life, and pick her up, giving the grand tour of our luxurious hotel on wheels.

Front seat. Boot. Bed replacing the back seat. Four wheels and an engine that went from 0-60 in my dreams.

I noticed the slight quirk of her brows… Hard to miss that kind of thing on a minotaur. Specifically, it was when I had shown her the only bed, but I quickly brushed it off, pointing out that the thing was plenty big enough for the both of us to lay down on it without getting into Frennies with Bennies territory..

Toren was about as pretty as a minotaur got, but we weren't best friends because of her looks.

Mostly.

Admittedly, a girl with muscles that could bend a steel bar was always a benefit, but still.

I… Couldn't help but enjoy her company.

It was something about the way that she snorted when she laughed, and how she was one of very few people I knew that could enjoy a quiet moment together with a drink and a calm evening, no ingrained need to fill the silence with pointless conversation.

Toren had a less than traditional ring through her snout. Golden, rather than silver, and set with a stubby, squared emerald that really brought out the meadow green and flecks of dandelion yellow in her eyes.

Her horns were pretty eye-catching too, a pale, bone white, rather than the usual deep brown or black. Though, really, working on cars and other mechanical things all day kind of made sure they were never perfectly clean.

I, on the other hand, am a goblin.

Really, that was the biggest reason Toren and I were friends.

While she was outcast for her size when we first got into highschool together, I was judged as probably becoming a trouble causer and eventually, likely to end up behind bars.

Later on, people matured around us, catching up to the emotional age our own weirdness had forced upon us early, but even now, when everyone knows Toren as a gentle giantess, and me as the guy who only steals a book to finish it all in one night and flex on the other history nerds… we stick together.

Two cogs that just click.

A couple of pages that belong together.

The road-trip was honestly everything it needed to be. Snacks as we drove, beautiful countryside, and getting the van up to the fabled sixty kilometers an hour when the wind, the straight roads, and the downhill sections lined up just right.

At night, we'd light a fire, play card games, drink what we'd smuggled or bought along the way, and shared all of the drama and tidbits of news we had both been way too busy to indulge in over the last couple of weeks.

Toren’s tutor had left their final exam in a blur, moving faster than anyone expected a Gruff of that size could, leaving his teaching assistant to make sure none of the engineering students took the opportunity to do a little “Post-Prep studying.”

From what Toren had said, Mr. Clove’s wife had given birth to three healthy, loud little boys.

Despite the interruption in our social lives, really, we just fell right back into place, and I was flooded once more with all of the reasons I’d invited her out on this trip to begin with.

By the third evening on the road, we'd reached the coast, just in time to set out a blanket on the roof of the van, pour ourselves a couple of drinks, and watch the sun setting together.

I think that Toren knew that something was up, but she let me work through the nerves myself, always knowing me to be happiest when I solved something alone.

"You know, it's been a while since we got to be alone like this, with the exams and everything…"

I thought it was a pretty okay start, and so I drank to avoid mouthing the other possible ways I could have said that.

Toren nodded thoughtfully, sniffing as she looked back out to the falling ball of flame that now flushed her fur a bright amber, and set my own pale skin to some unusual tones.

"I know… Kind of missed having you around to just… Bullshit with, y'know?" She asked, her deep and steady voice so much more certain.

I nodded, swallowing my beer.

"It… Kind of made me realize just how much I missed not having you around. It… Actually, it kind of made me realize a lot of things…"

Toren didn't speak. She only gave me a glance, enough to know she wasn’t going to say anything yet, her eyes almost looking like green fae-fire in the sun.

"It's been on my mind for a while, but I didn't want to bring it up while we were both stressing over the exam and surrounded by people asking us how we think we did…"

I felt the tension slowly building in her… Anticipation? Concern? Hope? Who knew…

"Toren I… I just wanted to asked you ifff…" I squeezed the can, metal crumpled in my hand, louder than I expected it too.

Maybe that's what forced me to just sort of…

"I think I have a big fuckin' crush on you, and I'd kinda like to-"

There was a blur of fur.

The van rocked.

The remains of the beer can flew from my hand.

I was pinned down under a pile of muscle, passion, and five hundred "YesYesYes!!!!"'s a minute!

I felt her holding me tightly and hugged her back, though gasping…

And… That's… The story.

That's how it happened.

That’s first time I broke a rib.

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Dunning's Miner Bee - Andrena dunningi

With a few days of sunshine and gentle winds, it’s finally beginning to feel like spring over here in Toronto. With springtime around, the flowers have opened, the greens are growing, and many prominent insects begin to make themselves known. Time for me to go outside! While tending to the front and back yards (and checking for dandelions), I was greeted by 2 distinct Bees flying around in search of flowers or mates: The Eastern Bumblebee and the Carpenter Bee. I’ll wager their numbers will pick up as they establish colonies and homes respectively, and come summer when many more flowers open, they’ll be out to forage for their families. While these are the largest Bees you might see, there are several smaller, solitary Bees that also emerge from an overwinter to build nests and search for food. The Dunning’s Miner is one such Bee. I haven’t seen any yet this year, but the last few years they have been spotted near flowers in my neighborhood. Or at the very least, a Bee very similar to it; Andrenidae (and genus Andrena) Bees can be tough to identify without looking at them very closely. Dunning’s Miner is well known and wide-ranged, so it’s the best chance we have to discuss this family of insects. The description below may sound similar to the Unequal Cellophane Bee’s description (different Bee family), but it’s worth it to share again.

 These Andrenid Bees make their homes in soil and sand, digging a column with side chambers to store the next generation of Bees and the pollen that the mothers gather as provisions. Though a solitary species, they can nest close to one another if there’s enough room to go around. The Cellophane Bees apparently nest in larger aggregates and (as can be determined from even a pictures) are larger than Andrenids, which helps to identify them if you happen to find some Bees near holes in the ground. Strange, but true to know that Bees can live comfortably in the ground, as we usually expect Bees to live in tree hollows or wooden cavities. They do live there of course, but underground living is more common than you may expect (even Bumblebees live underground). Nevertheless, whether in the ground or a tree, the hardworking Bees get to work providing for their young while simultaneously pollinating the flowers they visit. Dunning’s Miner is reported to be a generalist; feeding and visiting on many flowers. While Bumblebees may have more longevity (due to their colony structure) for pollination, Miner Bees can help get things going for the first wave of spring flowers! Enjoy these Bees while you can as they bow out gracefully after June, although other Andrenid Bees keep to a different schedule. Keep that in mind, as timeframe will help you identify what visitors come to your garden. Bless the Bees! Especially the mother Bees!

Pictures were taken on May 3, 2020 with a Google Pixel 4.

[alitreofpeace]

2023 wrapped: part 1 - art recap!

i'll be honest, after the lowest art rate (2 drawings/year) that i achieved in 2022, i thought it would be really hard for me to bounce back from that, especially since i spent the first three months in severe creative burnout. i had to throw away a ton of art at the end of 2021, and that left a gaping emotional wound that made it hard to recover from, on top of the difficult academic year that 2022 proved itself to be.

however, we came back much stronger, with a sketch at the beginning of me and my fiance in my signature art style of I Cannot Draw Eyes.

i was actually really proud of this, especially because this would have taken me hours more just two years ago, and i was surprised that i was still... capable? either way, it gave me the drive to keep going.

my next drawing was this attempt at drawing markjin kissing - you will find a theme in following artwork - and it's nowhere near perfect but this was the first time i'd drawn two people kissing and didn't cringe and want to burn the end result, so major win for me.

my return to twitter was marked by me getting swept up in the hype that comes when one of my ships ends up doing something extremely homosexual, this time in the form of dropping a selfie with the most quintessentially Mark caption with donghyuck looking at him in a manner that i struggle to write about. and well, as a result, this drawing was born, in a creative burst after a long day of work, because that's what yaoi does to you.

heavily inspired by mark's golden hour, that always makes me think of aeri because i once forgot what song it was when she was singing it in her car - and later that year i find out she listened to the song almost ten thousand times. and i thought i was crazy for listening to broken melodies 1100 times.

one of the times this year that i thought i'd peaked was when i wrote stomachaches and dandelions (hate this distance) on the day before and on my birthday. 14000 words in forty-eight hours, i thought i would never top that, and the style of writing was so different from my usual, i could feel myself growing as a writer and i was so thankful that i didn't give up on writing for good.

i took one of my favorite paragraphs and made my first comic!

my birthday also brought my favorite selfie from this year! thank you nomin for smiling upon me, i know i'm your favorite :) i drew this on the train to milan, next to a bunch of loud aunties who were laughing and talking in fast italian while i sketched this out.

i also drew this picture that had dropped on the train after! again, never do i regret the day that i decided government assigned ships were the way to go.

sitting in a small hotel room on the italian countryside after my sister had fallen asleep (our sleeping times are always staggered by 2.5 hours at least), i drew this little sketch for my fiance, who adores all the cats in the hostels and attempts to win their favor constantly.

the end of july was when i attempted yet another comic, when i came across one of the cutest poems i'd ever read in my life (oranges by jean little). this was harder because i had to draw more people and i tried, and i know it's not perfect, but i am extremely proud of the way i drew that orange.

i drew a gift for my fiance towards the beginning of august! a collection of pictures and a bunch of little jokes on all the things i loved him for.

mid-august brought along the birthday of a man who has silently occupied a very high position on my bias list since i got into nct.

to this day, i still call myself a Jaemin Girl when i buy cute things for myself and turn my dosas heart-shaped and eat when i'm supposed to.

in the middle of a career crisis, vitamin d deficiency, and academics kicking my ass, i couldn't draw for another month and a half, but my wayv brainrot came back strong and i found myself making a quick triplets sketch towards the end of september.

getting back into the drawing groove, i found myself sitting at my laptop for a solid five hours thinking about nomin kissing. hence, this. i have nothing more to say for myself. it's that goddamn magazine's fault.

christmas nomin drove me damn near insane, a fact that the pass girls and ila can definitely attest to, and in the middle of stressing about how much i had to write for it, i ended up drawing for it instead (do you see what i mean when i said there would be a theme?).

one of my biggest dreams is to have an artist draw art for my fic, but until then, i think i'm quite happy multitasking. i was particularly proud of this one, it was really nice to complete.

i started drawing more on paper in november, just to remember what it was like to do that again, and i thought it would help me get better at copy drawing, considering that original drawing is really not my forte. here are some of my favorites!

i drew the final drawing of the year this morning! mildly melancholy, but i am genuinely so happy at the end of this year, and i am so proud of all the art i managed to create. it was a great year.

here's to an even more creative 2024!

[guidedwanderer]

Bitter Sweet

Although this is my last post for the class I would like to think I will keep using this page to share my continued relationship with the world outside my corporeal body. These four pictures were taken at different instances along my journey, some of which my plant identification apps were not able to give me a concrete ID for. The flowers on the top right are known as Asian Bleeding Hearts whereas I am pretty sure the flowers on the bottom right are Virginia bluebells.

This experience has been a much needed one. Taking walks and exploring the areas local to me served as a fresh of breath air, no pun intended, and as a way to let go of the stresses of day-to-day life. I learned a lot of new names and thus made new plant friends. Not only that however but I was able to push and test my human relationships, with my partner in specific. I would often invite him to tag along on my journeys and teach him the names of plant friends I was familiar with. I even had him help me harvest dandelions for the cordage I had been wanting to make to then possibly teach myself the skill of basket making. I even had him taste some plant friends such as dandelions and chickweed. It was a relief discovery he enjoyed my fascination with the outside world and was willing to come along with me and explore. It was a huge relief knowing he doesn't find me to be crazy and was open to being crazy with me nonetheless.

[qtmoony]

spring break

These photos were taken during spring break. The first one is a picture of the sky I took while at the park. The clouds almost follow a pattern that stays consistent. I also really enjoy the balance that the colors brings, on one side it's cold while on the other side it is warm. The second photo is a picture of my cat. I think there is a nice contrast between his dark fur compared to the surroundings which are very bright since the lights are on. In the third photo, I am holding a dandelion. I think the balance is very symmetrical since it is in the center and the background is very similar in the number of trees that are on each side. This photo has an emphasis on the flower and my hand which is holding it. The emphasis comes from the sunlight shining on my skin and the background being blurred out, leaving the flower to be the only object in focus. The fourth photo has a swirl pattern on the frosting of the cookie. Again, the sunlight has an emphasis on the object that is in the center. There is variety in the bacon bits that are different sizes on the cookie, those do not follow a pattern. The last picture is one I took leaving campus. The butterfly and flowers create unity. The butterfly is dependent on the flower and they are a part of each other's environment, therefore, it is unified when together. You can see patterns on the butterfly's wings. The colors used to balance the darkness of the butterfly in contrast to the white of the flowers. The movement of the wings and flowers can almost be felt because it was a windy day which is why there is a lack of sunlight. Overall my spring break was fun.

[ddarker-dreams]

When Worlds Collide. Yan Scaramouche x F Reader

Warnings: Yandere themes, unhealthy relationships, implied forced marriage, pregnancy mention, and mild not SFW themes.  Word count: 3k.

You never thought the day would come where you’d actually enjoy tea in a social setting.

In place of fine porcelain teacups hand-painted to order atop saucers worth more than you could fathom are plastic cups with bright, saturated colors. You don’t have to feel the leering eyes scrutinizing your every movement as if one wrong dip of your head spelled certain doom. There’s no pressure, anxiety churning your stomach from the inside out, or condescending quips meant to test your patience. There’s only—  

“Some for me,” a young voice chirps, “And some for mommy!”

—The center of your universe, a star who shines brighter than the sun, your most precious daughter, Chie.

Chie fusses about the table you’ve set up for her. The cups must be just so, adhering to rules known solely by her. For as far back as you could remember, she was particular about details. She requested for her sandwiches to be cut into certain shapes, put her toys back exactly as they were before, and took care to not color outside the lines for her art.

Her chubby cheeks pinch into a smile while she sets the toy teapot down. “Tea is done.”

To accompany her proclamation, she curtsies, the sight sending your heart soaring. She’s too much. She must’ve observed some ladies in the city doing that, her mimicry a touch clumsy yet adorable nonetheless. Not wanting to keep her waiting any longer, you pick up your plastic cup, pretending to blow away steam like it was piping hot.

“Remember to blow so you don’t burn your mouth,” you remind her, to which she puffs out her cheeks, utilizing far more air than necessary. Chuckling, you shake your head. “It’s not a dandelion, sweetie. Here, like this.”

You bring the rim to your lips and demonstrate a more gentle rendition. Chie stares up at you in awe, her eyes wide and doe-like. They have such a strong indigo inclination, you think. You’ve seen that coloration before. They haunt your dreams and lurk in your subconscious like piranhas ready to gorge at the first hint of blood. The eyes you picture are somewhat different, however;  those have crimson pigment lining the eyelid. Enough is embedded into Chie’s face that you can never forget him, no matter how hard you try.

He was everywhere and in everything. Innocent pleasures were tainted for you like a stain that would never come off. Wind chimes, ringing bells upon entering shops, jingling keys struggling to enter locks. Each sound carried with it a tangible weight atop your psyche. Promises of premonitions you wish to never come true. It’s been years, you’ll often reassure yourself on restless nights. Years of freedom that have yet to be stolen back.

Chie lights up as an idea comes to her. “Can we go outside?”

Sunlight peaks through the half-drawn curtains of your humble abode. There’s not a cloud in the sky and the wind is gentle, rustling the nearby trees in a pleasant symphony. You suppose soaking in the rays of the sun would do you both some good. The hesitation that hung over you for years to explore your surroundings has begun to thaw — not that you don’t remain vigilant. It’d be no life for your little girl if you were living in constant paranoia.

The cottage you occupy lies on the outskirts of Springvale. It’s peaceful here, almost idyllic, the days passing by without any major happenings. Unlike the other nations you’ve been to, Fatui don’t lurk in every corner of Mondstadt. It’s for that reason you’ve sought shelter here after years of being on the move.

Ever since that one little girl dressed in red became Chie’s acquaintance, she���s taken to exploring the outside world. You think you heard something about Klee being in solitary confinement recently. Without her friend to play with, Chie’s been restless, so you cave to her demands.

“Alright, but remember to stay in the fence where I can see you. Promise?”

She nods her head with newfound excitement and rushes over to the door to slip her shoes on. She then gets your shoes out, placing them side by side and looking at you expectantly.

“I’ll be right out,” you gesture to the dirty dishes in the sink from your recently finished dinner. “Don’t have too much fun without me.”

“I won’t!”

Household chores might be a humdrum pain to some, but you find solace in routine. Through the glass planes of the window, you spot Chie running around, arms stretched out to mimic the nearby birds she so adores. She never forgets to greet each one with an enthusiastic wave. It’s times of reflection like these where you know you made the right choice. That the loneliness, the anxiety, mistrust toward strangers, and constantly staying on the move was worth it. How could you doubt yourself when you see the culmination of your efforts living a life without a care in the world?

You’d do it all for her again in a heartbeat.

You glide across the kitchen to put utensils back where they belong. The plates in the upper cabinet, silverware in the drawer, cups on your windowsill for when Chie got thirsty and asked for something to drink later on that night. She’d recently acquired a taste for warm milk. Late at night, while you were preparing for bed, she’d wander in your room with a bedhead requesting the prized drink.

No matter how hard she tried to sneak around, the creaking floorboards would give her away. A chuckle leaves your lips at the thought. Who would’ve thought that the skill you acquired in those days would come in handy for parenting? A lot of what was crammed into your skull served you well. The important difference being the person you did it for changed.

“Chie?” You call out upon noticing she’s not in your front yard. Immediately, the rag in your hand is forgotten, haphazardly discarded while you make a beeline to the door. There are times where she catches sight of a pretty butterfly and wants to chase after it, much to your chagrin. You thought the talk you had about it last time would’ve been enough to deter her from doing that again.

Upon swinging the door open, you find the gate to your front yard askew and Chie nowhere in sight. Fear wraps its slithering tendrils around your pounding heart in her absence. You call her name out, once, then twice; the volume and pitch increasing alongside it. The secluded area you live in is both a blessing and a curse. It keeps prying eyes with potential unwanted connections away, yet also surrounds your humble abode in thick forests. The few months you’ve lived here haven’t been enough for you to memorize the lay of the land.

By a clearing in the woods, you spot the bright yellow gingham dress Chie picked out for herself today. The familiar sight sparks relief in your tightening chest. You make your way closer, vacillating between wanting to scoop her up in a tight hug or chastising her for making you worry. You hear her voice, though the sounds of nature obscure the contents. Was she trying to converse with wildlife again?

That’s when you spot a figure crouched down in front of her and your body freezes.

His clothes are exactly how you remember them. Ornate, regal, flowing like silk. The veils attached to his kasa billow in the breeze. Accompanying it is the shrill sound akin to funeral tolls after a death, You’d pictured this worst-case scenario in your head in the past. Mulled over the contingency with ideas of what you might do or say. The nightmarish daydreams never lasted long, as nausea and malaise would plague you, making it impossible to think about it for more than a few seconds.

Indigo eyes meet yours and you know he’s won. The ultimate victory at the cost of everything you hold dear. If this tragedy of your life was a play, this would be the final act, the curtains closing.

“Mommy! Mommy!” Chie exclaims, scampering over to where you stand, still as a statue. “I made a friend.”

She doesn’t slow down at your lack of response and continues, “He said he’s looking for you.”

No words form on your tongue. You just stare, your mind in shambles, unwilling to accept what’s happening in front of you. Scaramouche stands up and brushes off his clothes. Chie begins tugging at your dress’ hem, trying to get your attention. He takes a step forward and you can’t breathe. It’s not until he’s mere feet away that you snap into action, bending down to pick Chie up, holding her in a protective embrace so she can no longer see him.

The second Chie’s gaze is off him, Scaramouche’s friendly smile shifts into something sinister, the skin beneath his eyes and around his mouth tightening. A shadow crosses over his face and your breath is caught in your constricting throat. You can see your reflection in his eyes — the horror, the dread, the helplessness. He delights himself in it and devours your suffering like a fine wine.

“Mommy?” Chie turns her head and Scaramouche’s expression melts back into something deceptively softer, “Is he your friend?”

He speaks up on your behalf, much to your dismay. “Oh yes. We’re very good friends. Wouldn’t you say so, dear?”

“...”

It’s only fair that if the gods would abandon and cast him to the side, they’d do the same to you as well. Your fates were so deeply intertwined that they must regard you as one entity. His tone drips with poisoned honey, corrosive enough to break through the walls your mind built in a frenzy to protect your fraying sanity. He lifts his hand to your face, slow enough where you could flinch away if you tried, but he knows you won’t. Obedience has been injected into your veins by him, flowed alongside your blood, and been accepted by your body to survive.

His fingers make contact with your skin like death itself coming to take you to the underworld.

The weight in your arms reminds you of what’s at stake here. It’s no longer your life on the line, it could be hers too. You haven’t the slightest inkling of his current mental state. Would you be killed for besmirching his pride? Was there enough humanity in his heart to spare your daughter the grisly sight? These questions and more invade your thoughts and proliferate.

Scaramouche watches, expressionless and eagle-eyed, as you place Chie back onto solid ground. You press a kiss to her forehead. When you pull back, you notice the confusion on her face and smooth over her hair that’s the same shade and texture as yours. Your resolve cannot waver. Whatever path you must take to ensure her safety, you will gladly do so, accepting anything and everything that comes your way.

“Chie, would you please clean up our tea party from earlier? I need a few minutes alone.”

Scaramouche’s callousness is a disease that cannot be cured. You don’t want to risk Chie getting infected, and pray that there are enough crumbs of goodwill within him that he’ll leave her be. He’s sure to have lots to say to you.

“But…” she cuts herself off at the unusual severity haunting your visage, “... ‘Kay. I will.”

Chie spares Scaramouche a final glance, to which he waves, the friendly smile from before returning to his lips. She sheepishly returns the action then heads back to your home, the door still wide open from when you barged out earlier. At least she won’t have to be in his presence for a few more minutes. Now left alone with the devil incarnate, you turn to face him, resolve burning in your eyes that he no doubt intends to snuff out.

“Little Chie is right, you know. I have been looking for you for quite some time now.”

Your fists clench by your side. “When did you… how did you…?”

“The Fatui have big plans for Mondstadt,” he explains. “However, imagine my surprise when some lowly agent burst into my office, claiming to have seen my wife with some kid in the Favonius Cathedral. I didn’t take you for the pious type, [First].”

Ah, so that was how he found you then. You wanted to introduce Chie to more populous areas after years of scarcely seeing anyone other than you. It didn’t matter how careful you tried to be, how many times you checked over your shoulder, or the long paths you took to avoid being followed. Against Scaramouche, everything was for naught.

He doesn’t give you time to wallow in self-pity, a trait that hasn’t changed from what you remember.

“So, she is my daughter.”

It isn’t a question but a confident statement.

You nod and attempt to gauge his countenance which remains blank, his lips in a thin line, and his eyebrows relaxed. Whatever he’s feeling at this moment, you have no way of knowing. After what feels like forever, he snickers, his hand rising to cover his mouth.

“Not only did you leave me,” he laughs at a joke known only to him, “But you were pregnant with my child too?”

The sound of his humorless cackling makes you visibly wince. You never knew how he’d react if he ever found you, but this is definitely not what you were expecting. Gathering every ounce of strength in your trembling body, you manage to speak to him, your voice quieter than a whisper.

“If you’re going to kill me, then please, at least spare her. She has nothing to do with this.”

Scaramouche cuts his laughter off at that, his eyes narrowing and head tilting. “Kill you? Why would I do that?”

He takes a step forward.

“Do you think it’s because you begged me to fuck you that night, only so that you could lower my guard and make your little escape? Is it because I had to search for you year after year? Or maybe…” his voice drops an octave and you shiver, “You think I’d let you off so easily?”

His breath warms the shell of your ear. “Oh no, that just won’t do. You have vows to uphold to me, my sweet, sweet wife. I never intend to kill you. Or have you forgotten the promises you made to me? I know I haven’t.”

The months leading up to your escape were a blur of empty assurances and hollow smiles. You did, said, and acted in any way that might fool him into believing his revolting feelings were reciprocated. What started small as not to tip him off that something was wrong grew into a complex web of deception. How ravenous he was for validation, your validation. Which you offered in abundance at the expense of your pride. What worked once will likely never work again. You’ll have to readjust your strategy accordingly.

“So long as she is safe,” you close your eyes, wanting to block his intrusive presence out, “I’ll do anything.”

Scaramouche scoffs at this, nostrils flaring out and arms crossing over his chest.

“Hm. Count yourself lucky, woman. Had I not been so taken with you, I would’ve had that lying tongue cut from your mouth ages ago.”

He dances his pointer finger along your bottom lip. “No harm will befall the child. She is my daughter, after all. Had she not been…”

The pause is accompanied by electricity thrumming in the air and your heart plummets to your stomach. What stands in front of you is not a human but a monster wearing skin, you’re certain of it.

“We’ll be leaving for Inazuma immediately. Have her pack her things up but leave yours behind. I can’t stand seeing you in these rags,” he lifts the collar of your dress and grimaces. “You’ll be dressed in a manner befitting of my wife soon enough.”

“What am I supposed to tell her? She’s just started to make friends here, and now she has to leave them behind?”

He examines his nails like he’s bored. “That’s for you to figure out, not me. You should’ve never been in this backwater nation to begin with.”

The distaste he harbors for Mondstadt doesn’t surprise you. This is where you’ve managed to escape him for a few years — it’s a wonder he hasn’t sought to burn everything to the ground. In some regards, his affiliations to the Fatui could be considered fortunate. Without anything to tie him down, who knows what he’d do. Any hope that he’d allow Chie to live her life uninterrupted here dies almost immediately.

That doesn’t mean you won’t try.

“Kunikuzushi,” you notice how his shoulders stiffen when his real name is spoken, “Please think of our daughter. This is an important time in her development, just upping and leaving everything she knows is too cruel—”

“You should’ve thought about that before you ran. Deal with the consequences of your actions without whining to me.”

He cuts you off without remorse, then takes advantage of your stunned silence by adding, “I don’t want to hear it. Be grateful that I’m benevolent enough to not drag you kicking and screaming to the ship — I can still change my mind on that.”

If there’s anything you remember about him, it’s that his threats aren’t empty, he’d follow through if you didn’t bite your tongue. So you do just that. Your face burning up with humiliation, your gaze cast to the ground, and your eyes brimming with tears. The sound of his footsteps against the grass goes ignored until you realize where he’s headed.

Scaramouche starts on the trail to the home you’ll be leaving behind, glaring holes through it. Chie’s room on the second floor is visible from here, and the two of you stare in silence while she moves around, toys in hand. Unbeknownst to her, these would be the last few hours spent in a world she was familiar with. The thought breaks and shatters your heart into too many pieces that could never be put back together.

The monster standing beside you snakes his arm around your trembling shoulders in a mockery of a lover’s embrace, asking a purposefully provocative question that has your blood running cold.

“Now… do you want to tell her to refer to me as ‘father’ from now on, or should I?”

[lupically]

#FEF5F1 | DILUC RAGNVINDR.

genre | fluff

word count | 1825

warning | none

note | i finally wrote something for my top husbando :’)

it came to you as a surprise that diluc, at all, sleeps.

there has always been this fantasy version of him in your head, a fantasy that lacked the great ideals and bright adventures most fantasy novels you have read consisted of. in contrast, your fantasy of him was insulting and otherworldly at best—someone restricted to the rules, a personality as plain as a dull purple doormat, a total stick in the mud that kills joy at the mere sight of it, an emotionless robot that has no use for human necessity such as the bathing and sleeping.

does diluc even need to consume food? you have literally never seen him eat or drink anything before. has he ever taken off his gloves to pick up a hamburger—oh, archons, you just realized now that you have never seen the skin of his hands before. he always has gloves on! was it to hide something?

"oh, wow," you exclaimed lowly to yourself as you leaned forward to examine the hands of the very annoyed red-haired man before you. your long-term question was finally answered. "fascinating... so you do have hands!"

diluc spared not even a glance toward the limb you were so interestedly staring at. he kept quiet for a moment and peered down at you from his bed, one leg propped up and the other stretched out—a rather awkward position he had no time to get out of after he almost burned you alive for sneaking into his bedroom in the winery.

"what drunk wind blew your incompetent self here?" he asked, ignoring your remarks about his lack of real and human hands. whatever you meant by that? you were always spilling weird things out of your mouth, you might even be worse than venti, he reckoned. 

you glared up at him after hearing his mindless insult. you were only fifty percent sure (which was already a lot in your book!) diluc never actually meant those hurtful words, that they simply fly out of his mouth due to his weird need to make sure everyone around him knew that he leaves no room for unnecessary sentiment. 

being kind blatantly was not his thing, and he has no intention of being applauded for being a decent person. why that was, you couldn't be sure. you had your assumptions, but kaeya turned out far too different than diluc that you weren’t sure if you should put your finger on the assumption. you also didn't dare dive deeper into it because (a) you just weren’t invested enough, and (b) by then, it would be a family business you would hate to indulge yourself with.

"kaeya dared me to take a picture of your sleeping face in exchange for some wine. our good friend, the honorary knight's smaller friend also wanted it as a possible blackmail souvenir," you told him honestly.

diluc immediately murmured something you couldn't quite hear, but he looked more confused than annoyed when he glared down at the mattress of his bed. he grumbled something along the lines of how the roles were definitely reversed. you didn't press further about that.

"if that is what you came here for, your best bet is to leave the way you came," he said after a moment, pointing a cold hand toward his bedroom window. "you're not taking any pictures of me."

you snorted, holding up your kamera and tapping the lenses. “uh, i think i came pretty close to taking a picture of you sleeping, diluc.”

“i had woken up the second you walked through my bedroom door. you could never,” he said.

you hummed under your breath, eyeing him suspiciously. he was probably telling the truth. he barely struggled in surprise when he grabbed your hands in the dark; was it pure luck that he perfectly found where your kamera was on the first try or does diluc secretly has night vision? your guess was as good as the unknown. 

not to mention, he looked normal, just like someone who may be in the know of your intrusion. he appeared grumpy but that was just his normal state. you could barely get him out of a frown even if you pay him, mainly because he wouldn’t need your money, but also because he was stubbornly against smiling, it appeared. 

"you know, i was surprised at first. i didn't know you sleep at all! i always thought you kind of just shut down, or maybe you have stayed awake all your life," you said with a shrug, and when he deadpanned at you, you defensively waved your kamera around. "i'm sorry! i just–you don't strike me as a person who sleeps!"

"so dead, then?" diluc asked calmly, although there was very little calmness in his facial expressions, especially those judgemental eyes of his.

"not dead! just... not really human–" you paused and pressed your lips together, thinking back to what you said to him and realizing that he might have a point. then you turned to him. "you also eat, right?"

“are you leaving or not?” he asked, a hint of flare in his voice that if you looked closely, you may see fire emerging from his body.

being stubborn as ever, and knowing that diluc would never really hurt anybody he knew to be good people, you feigned thoughtfulness for a second. tapping your finger against your chin, you scrunched your nose and shook your head. setting the kamera lumine forcefully had to borrow you between your crossed legs, you flashed him a mischievous grin. 

“no,” you said. “i am getting that picture out of you!”

“like i said,” he said, “you will never.”

“fine! then i guess i will just have to sit here and wait for you to fall asleep on me,” you said, slapping your hand down on his soft mattress. “don’t try to force me out of here! i will make it way worse for you!”

diluc furrowed his brows, wondering if you meant what you said. when his questioning gaze couldn’t get even an ounce of budge from you, he could only sigh in frustration. if you planned to sit on his bed until he doze off, then you would definitely make it worse if he tries to dump you out of his bedroom through whatever means you could.

he may be a skilled swordsman and a vision bearer, but unfortunately, he was not immune to bullshits from the likes of you.

diluc closed his eyes to savor the tiniest bit of sleep he managed to get before he heard your extra loud footsteps creeping around his room. he was supposed to get a good night's sleep, which was something he hasn't had in a while because of all the business schedules and his side vigilante job.

he was supposed to rest tonight, and there came you.

there always comes you.

dilly-dally, unpredictable, the epitomie of 'knights of favonius... always so inefficient,' letting klee out of solitary confinement and causing a ruckus amongst the responsible adults kind of irresponsible, has paid for his wine at least a zero number of time kind of broke, and was just always here to ruin his mood at the tavern every single day. 

most of the time, diluc thought about you in a negative light, much like he did with everyone around him and the entirety of the knights of favonius. but there was a version of you in his head that painted you as somebody different—somebody respectful, somebody worth keeping around...

somebody he likes, perhaps.

after all, joy was never prevalent in his life. it used to be, but that was a past he has long forgotten the details of. even if he wanted to remember them now, he could only remember snippets that wouldn’t guarantee him a good nostalgia. he may just end up feeling worse at the end. the only constant influx of distraction he has now seemed to be either you or venti, and with the godly bard as his other option, he would much rather choose you. 

but it was not because that venti was too hard to confine in. you were just as hard to talk about problems with considering your optimism and fickle attitude. 

what diluc wanted was permanence; a train that never stops, a bottle of wine that continuously refills, dandelions that do not stop flying even after it reaches celestia. and venti was too understanding and abstract to be one. as interesting of a character he may be, venti knew when to leave people alone. or, occasionally, he just cared too little. after all the city of mondstadt didn’t lack a god because he was responsible. 

you, though. diluc could never pinpoint if you were as dense as you appeared to be, or if you did know how to read the room and simply chose to ignore it, but you never leave people alone. you never left him alone; you unknowingly pick a petty one-sided argument with him all the time, you get drunk at the tavern and somehow has never let anybody take you home but him, you barge into his bedroom in the middle of the night because of some stupid dare his brother made you do and you still refuse to leave despite being sleepy.

you give him a way out, whether he likes it or not.

arms crossed in front of his chest, he deadpanned as he watched your head drop lower and lower to the mattress. soon enough, you were snoring away on his bed with the gadget discarded by your feet. he watched you in silence, your cheek smushed against the surface and the intensity you always radiated lessening from your body. you looked normal now; not energetic, not talkative. just sleeping peacefully, the way he always made sure you were after carrying you home. 

diluc’s heart was finally softening under the knowledge that nobody was watching him anymore. the pessimistic monster that often emerges from him was still here, but in the face of you, it has painted itself pink and it has forgotten vengeance and retribution. in the face of you, it has been dragged out from the death it once laid and became forgiven. 

carefully laying your head down on the pillow, diluc draped the blanket over your shoulder to tuck you into his bed. after making sure you were fine and well, he placed the kamera on the desk in the room, somewhere visible you could find once you wake up, and he left for one of the guest rooms in the mansion. 

tonight was the first time in a while when he has forgotten about all the problems he’s had. something that wasn’t about wine, the family business, or the abyss order. it wasn’t the rest he wanted, perhaps it was hardly any rest at all, but he was glad he got to think about something else.

of course, diluc would never tell you that.

[ray-ray-writings]

hihi!! could i get some sbi + bee hybrid reader? idk i just think hybrid readers are cool lmao (ps: can i be 🎮 anon?) (pss: i really hope i did this right i don't really request things often so sorry if it's bad or wrong)

(Of course!! Welcome 🎮 anon!!!!! This idea is so cute! As well as, I know you said SBI but we’re also including Tubbo in this because how could I talk about a bee reader and not include the bee man himself???) (P.S. This was not bad or wrong in anyway!!!!)(P.P.S. Last post of the night because I’m very tired! Maybe more tomorrow, I’m unsure because of my schedule)

So I picture that you would have little wings that would poke out of your back. You wouldn’t really be able to fly with them, but you would be able to hover and move from place to place if need be. Philza would help you take care of your wings because he also had wings. Of course they were very different, his had feathers and made it so he could fly and yours did not have feathers, but were translucent and made it so you could hover and travel short distances off the ground, but he knew how to take care of wings and was always willing to help you take care of yours. The boys also love looking at your wings. As I have mentioned, they’re translucent and just really cool too look at and so they would spend a lot of time looking at them and if you were okay with it, running their hands over it. 

You would love honey. Love making it, collecting it, eating it, you would love it. Tubbo would also love honey and would love to help you collect it and make it as well. You would sometimes get protective over your honey and wouldn’t let him near it but once he gives you a little pout, you’d let him have some. Your house would always smell like honey and you would always have at least three bottles in your home. 

Something very sweet that all the boys would do is they would constantly bring you flowers. You would always have vase upon vase of fresh flowers. This became a tradition when one time Wilbur handed you a flower to hold onto for a second and your face just lit up so brightly and you clutched the flower so tightly, bringing it to your nose and smelling so deeply that by the time you pulled your face away, pollen coated your nose. You were just so happy to have a new pretty flower in your possession. Wilbur wanted you to hold onto it for a second but he couldn’t take it away after seeing how happy it made you. Wilbur told his family about your reaction and so now at least once a day you get a new flower. Technoblade even built a greenhouse out in the middle of the tundra where he can grow flowers so he’ll always have one to give you if you come over. 

For my next trick I will now be telling you what type of flower that the boys give you the most often with no further explanation as to why I feel this way. Philza gives you poppies. Wilbur gives you cornflowers. Techno gives you dandelions. Tommy gives you tulips. Tubbo gives you sunflowers.

I imagine that sometimes when anyone accidentally bumps into you, you get mad. Like if you’re walking somewhere and your shoulder gets bumped, anger stirs up inside you and you glare at the person and your wings flutter a bit. Philza, Wilbur, and Tubbo all feel really bad when they do this. They will apologize and promise to give you an extra flower the next time they see you and you calm down. Techno just kind of stares at you and chuckles a little bit before murmuring a very small apology before moving on. When this happens, it takes a little longer for you to calm down, but once Techno brings you a small thing of honey, you calm right down. Tommy on the other hand will purposely bump into you to get you mad and then he will act like he did nothing wrong and that you’re over reacting causing you to get even more mad. It sometimes get so tense that Philza has to step in and make Tommy apologize to you and give you a flower. You huff, but accept the apology and the flower, ignore Tommy for a few hours but eventually get over it. 

Another thing that makes you mad is when people disturb your nest. You don’t have a traditional bee’s nest. It’s a little nest in it’s own room of your home where there is a bunch of shelves full of honey and lots of windows with vases of flowers sitting in them. There is a small couch in the room with many blankets and a table in front of it that you use to make honey. You spend a little bit of time in the room everyday just to settle down and relax. One time Tommy was over and he found the room and accidentally knocked over a bunch of honey bottles and messed up your blankets. You got so mad that you almost bit him (more on that in the next paragraph). Tommy was really scared of you in that instance and he bolted out of your house, you chasing behind him. He ran to Phil’s house and explained what was going on. Once again, Philza had to calm you down and tell you it would be alright. He would follow you back to your house and help you fix the nest before giving you flowers, honey, and sugar water. 

So back to the biting thing. So I imagine that you wouldn’t have a stinger. No instead you would have the urge to bite the things that annoy/scare you. The bite would hurt as much as a bee sting and would leave a little bump like stings do. Sometimes if you’re really pissed off, you would pump a little bit of the venom that bees have. Each of the boys have definitely received a bee bite from you because they made you very upset. They would just be talking and you would reach out, grab their hand, bring it to your mouth, and just give their arm a bite. Once you had bit someone, the anger and frustration would leave your body and you’d be okay. Tommy would let out a little scream and go running off to Phil screaming “they bit me! They bit me!” But Phil, who has also been bitten by you is just like “What did you do to piss them off?” Phil when he got bit was shocked but instantly asked you what happened. You would explain to him how he was upsetting you and the only way you could express that was through your ‘sting’. Phil would then learn to read your body language and know when you were reaching that point and would pull back on whatever was happening. Wilbur would pretend that he was offended, just to make you laugh. After you bit Phil, he had explained to all the boys what had happened and not to freak out if it happened to them and to try not to get you to that point. But when Wilbur accidentally did, he would let out a fake gasp of offense, “You dare bite me? Your absolute favorite person in the world?! How dare you!!! I think you need to be taught a lesson” He would then throw you over his shoulder, causing you to giggle like a madman, no longer mad at the man who had you captive. Techno would just accept it and continue on with whatever he was talking about. He would just keep talking as you bring his arm to your mouth and bite him. He doesn’t even react, just lets you do it. After you let him go he pauses and quietly goes, “Feel better?” And you feel slightly guilty but you nod, and he nods too and says, “Okay then good… Back to what I was saying” Tubbo would just be so confused when it happened. He was there when Phil told them, but he didn’t really understand. “You bit me!” He’d exclaim in surprise as you pull your mouth away. “Yeah and you were irritating me… Now we’re even” He would then go back to Philza and he would have to explain to Tubbo again what had happened. Once he understood, he would go back to you and apologize. 

No matter your gender identity, the boys call you “Queen” (Unless you are completely uncomfortable with that, then they will call you ‘Your Highness or your majesty). But if you don’t know, bee’s have a hierarchy where the queen is the top most important bee that is to be taken care of at all costs. So the boys affectionately call you their queen. You are very precious to them and you are the ruler of the hive. Sometimes when they’re joking around and messing around with you they’ll just go “Oh Queenieeeeeeeee” which makes you roll your eyes but also smile at the cute nickname. 

Thank you for this request! I really loved writing it and I really hope you enjoyed reading it!!!

[servingy-nneeds]

I WISH YOU TOLD ME HOW YOU WERE AS A KID

How would they react to you taking care of them as a kid:

Word count: 635 (I got carried away)

Midoriya Izuku

Happily married to the current no.1 Pro Hero you couldn’t help but be curious as to how he was during childhood but you never got an answer from him nor his mother.

“Hey Izuku how were you as a kid” you asked curiously peering your head at the washroom catching him off guard he tripped over from removing his hero costume.

“Maybe you should ask my mom for that? I know she has some of my pictures” he said successfully avoiding your question turning his back to you continuing to remove his skintight suit

“Hey Mrs. Midoriya can you tell me about Izuku how he was when he was kid? He said it’s best to ask you having pictures and all?” you phoned her one day

“Oh! I’m not sure I should be answering that” she answered back a bit anxiously ‘Was his childhood a sensitive topic?’ you thought ‘Maybe I should back off the topic and let Izuku tell me himself, heaven knows he’ll spill the details easily one of these days’

Your conversation was cut of by the knocking of the door. Quickly saying your goodbye’s and hanging up the phone you answered the door to find out that the universe has her own way of satisfying your curiosity

So now here you were carrying a child version of Izuku phoning his mom on the situation at hand, apparently he got hit by a regression type of quirk while shielding a group of civilian.

Literally his flustered mother was ready to take young Midoriya of your hand if not for your constant reassurance that you were (1) perfectly capable of taking care of your quirk regressed husband and (2) she was way over Mustufa city

For real tho if you hadn’t called his mother, Izuku would had thought that the Pro hero carrying him, which by the way was his sidekick, sold him to total stranger, or worse a kidnapper

Entertaining him as kid was quite easy, really, all you had to do was show him different video clips of his adult self saving citizens

From time to time you caught him staring at you and when asked whatever was on his mind he would just be flustered and ran away from you

You later found out he wanted to play pretend hero and that you were the damsel in distress

Thank goodness for his mom for sending his old jumpers, although you were quite taken back at the numerous All Might jumpers that he owned as a child

Child Izuku is such a cinnamonroll, one time he saw you crying at the kitchen, it was just the onions you were chopping  for dinner. Then the next 5 minutes he was rushing over you offering a dandelion, he picked from the grass, hoping that his little gift would bring back the smile he adores so much

You made it into a pressed flower

He still carries some of his adult tendencies mainly avoiding confrontation unless necessary: seriously, you need to always look out for his body language. The neighbor’s kid wanting to play with you? He was pouty and clingy at the hem of your pants the entire time you have a conversation with the kid’s mother

Another trait you haven’t thought he had was being clumsy, you guessed he grew out of it as an adult? He’s just good at hiding his clumsiness from you

Baby boy constantly bumps into wall and randomly trips on the way back home from the grocery store

BONUS✨: The reason that he didn’t want you to know how he acted as a child was because he wants to preserved your view of him as a confident and self-assured young man. He knows and is still insecure of his wimp self back before he met All Might.

Request made by anon, I’m sorry I couldn’t tag you dear anon

[dansnaturepictures]

13/01/2023-Lakeside and home: Jay, winter heliotrope and more

I had a good lunch time walk for plants, enjoying the stunning winter heliotrope kissed by the golden winter sun on the verge by the road entrance to Lakeside. It was an honour to admire their beauty once more, I was keen to get a photo of them with my macro lens and one of them in the sun having taken photos of them twice with other lenses in cloudy conditions on two days this year so far and I got both which was great. I took the eighth picture in this photoset of some in the gorgeous light. I also enjoyed seeing penny cress or mustard as the third picture in this photoset shows, delightful daisy and dandelion and red deadnettle bringing great colour to the green out the front on my walk. Alongside the heliotrope at Lakeside it was pleasing to see catkins in all their glory again. At home I enjoyed leaves and flowers on the balcony and some rose hips still going, the mini bush in the first picture in this photoset, more leaves and glorious looking lavender in the strong light today. It was nice to see some fungi along the northern path at Lakeside as the fourth picture I took today in this photoset shows.

Despite really wanting the chance for macro and/or (with it a bit in and out at times on the walk) sunny pictures of the winter heliotrope in their obscure corner towards the end of my perimeter walk around four edges of the country park this lunch time as time was getting on having stopped for macro photos a lot on the way to Lakeside I wondered if this should wait until next week having enjoyed them earlier this week. But I stuck to it and I’m glad I did as it was also late on in this corner of the walk that I had my bird moment of the day. I firstly heard the squawking call of a Jay, then soon after saw this buoyant and distinctive bird dance through the air over the eastern meadows. I got a cracking view of this beautiful bird I adore, my first of the year taking my year list to 118 a sweet way to bring up a hat trick of working week year ticks this week to keep my year list on the highest amount of birds I’ve ever seen on this date in a year. The Jay was a good target to have and I was thrilled to see it. I have enjoyed this week after the week off to start the year seeing so many birds having a fair few bird targets to look for still and seeing some of them some great highlights of wildlife and photo moments of the week among others.

Other bird highlights today were a beautiful Cormorant flying around at Lakeside, Tufted Duck on Kornwestheim lake, Coot and Moorhen seen well and good views of Blue Tit and Wren on the walk. I loved watching a Blue Tit in the garden at dusk after my early finish at work today with it a bit light still having seen Starlings late in the day too. It was good to see a Magpie out the back at home and I saw one closely at Lakeside making it a good day of crows with Jay too and Collared Dove in the sweet sunlight in the back garden today too. Goldfinches were a key bird seen today in the back garden and I finally managed photos of some in the trees across the road out the front as I went for my walk a common sight of recent months including the second picture in this photoset, the wind created some unique scenes of them looking down at me and in different angles. I took the seventh picture in this photoset of female and male Mallard on Concorde lake. I enjoyed seeing a Grey Silverfish in the en suite this evening a cracking view of it which it was good to take a macro photo of.

There were some beautiful views at Lakeside and throughout the day on this stunning mostly sunny day. At Lakeside I enjoyed the watery continuity of the landscape with the big volumes of water in the lakes and bare branches on trees really allowing you to look across lakes and into others. There were grand scenes of pines, cedar and other trees today. There were great creamy winter light scenes throughout the day, with an alluring pattern of clouds as the day went on and nice ones this morning too, and it was good to see and photograph as tweeted on Dans_Pictures tonight the moon well again this morning in the blue sky I’ve had a great time for seeing and photographing the moon this cycle. I took the fifth and sixth pictures in this photoset of views at Lakeside today, ninth looking back towards it on the way home and tenth and final picture in this photoset of sky out the back as the sun lowered today. I hope you all have a nice weekend.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Jay of the year, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Blue Tit, Wren, Goldfinch, House Sparrow and Starling seen nicely out the back, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot, Greylag Goose, Cormorant, lots of Black-headed Gulls at Lakeside again which was great, once again after another day a larger gull out the back flying possibly Lesser Black-backed Gull and Grey Silverfish. I seem to recall hearing Blackbird also.

[demonslayedher]

Hello! I don't know if you've been asked about this before but I love your analysis and reflections and I'd love to know all your thoughts about Zennezu if you don't mind 👀⚡🎀 Thanks so much for this blog!! 😊💝

Thank you again for your patience, as well as your comments on my fics and stuff in the meantime (even on Bird Fic, kya~ thank you <3). All my thoughts, hmmmmn…. Well, clearly I am a fluffy ZenNezu shipper and ship-content creator now, but I sure didn’t start that way. This may be long and rambling and mixed between analysis and personal taste. (Actually, it turned into almost 4000 words.)

So. First a little background. I usually am not much of a shipper. The very few OTPs I have all ended in horrific tragedy, and when romance is a big focus of something I’m otherwise enjoying I usually end up not paying much attention to it in favor of all the other elements I like. This is so much more the case when you can tell they’re going to wind up happily ever after. So what happened to make me so soft and fuzzy about the Kimetsu ships, when I otherwise usually don’t have an appetite for happy fluffy romantic endings?

Three major factors: 1. I’m obsessed. 2. I love these characters and want to see anything and everything about them. 3. Romance wasn’t actually a big element at all in canon, so it left me with an appetite and curiosity for it.

Even though I figured from long ago that ZenNezu would be end game, initially I was somewhere between indifferent and put-off. As much as I love Zenitsu, and I acknowledge that Ufotable the added the “run around and chase Nezuko” bit and removed the part with Zenitsu adoringly talking to Nezuko through her box, and as much as he can be defended for being lonely rather a pervert, the fact still stands that his level of appreciation for girls makes the characters around him uncomfortable. His most cringe-worthy lines at the Butterfly Mansion are all straight from the manga, and even though he was easily one of my favorite characters by the end of my initial watch of the series, I was very put off by his “girls are all queens” surface-level comments and more disturbing pleasure he took in the presence of girls (especially when he could physically interact with them), not to mention his pathetic introduction bothering a complete stranger and displaying that he doesn’t actually take girls’ feelings into consideration.

All this made me inwardly groan, feeling bad for Nezuko, figuring they were going to wind up together because she’s a saint who can find the patience to deal with someone like that, as he clearly wasn’t going to be desirable to any of the rest of the female cast. Enjoying the series well enough despite this, it didn’t bother me terribly much, pairings happen, whatever, I have a history of ignoring them. But one day, well and deep into caring about this whole cast like they’re all my children, I realized something. Isn’t… isn’t it cute how they both get their strength from taking naps? W-wouldn’t it be cute to see them innocently take naps together? Naps to protect each other? Oh. Oh-h-h-h-h. Oh dear. Oh no, it’s cute. Oh no. OH NO.

And that was how my warming up to this pairing started, it very quickly grew into “I love these children and I want them to be happy, being with Nezuko will make Zenitsu very, very happy, I love seeing him happy, happy Zenitsu” but was still a little reserved about Nezuko. Zenitsu was going to make her happy, right? It wasn’t just going to be a case of Nezuko having gotten fond of him over the course of everything they’ve been though, he is actually going to be her taste and make her heart go “kyun” right? Oh Nezuko, oh saintly Nezuko…

Let’s take a moment to pause here and think chronologically, though, as well as analyze their personalities and tastes. Neither of them are particularly picky, we can start there. Aside from fussy busy-bodies like Aoi, as long as it’s a girl, any girl is Zenitsu’s type. He’s desperate, and he’s painted the whole of girl-kind in pretty similar, not always realistic rosy colors. Even though he’s been used and abused by so many girls in his past, it’s his desire to believe that each new one he meets will fit that rosy imaginary color he paints over them that he chooses to let himself be duped, because he really is that lonely. I’ll give him that, sure, he’s a healthy young man with an interest in physical touch, but his dream in Mugen Ressha gives a good indication of what he’s really looking for: companionship, someone who likes spending time with him, someone who will find him useful and believe in him and look to him for protection, someone who likes him enough to spare him the physical intimacy of simply holding his hand. This is all an extension of what Zenitsu desires as whole, hoping he can better himself enough to be reliable and valued in general. Picturing it in the form of a significant other is one very vivid way to focus all those feelings, resulting in that rosy ideal which Zenitsu probably knows in his heart of hearts is too good to be true. That’s why he probably doesn’t think he’s ever going to find it, and therefore why he’s all over any slightest chance of attaining it.

My gosh, if being abandoned over and over isn’t enough, the fact that none of the girls he dated in the past were ever willing to even hold his hand hurts so much.

Nezuko, though, grew up in a secure family with a good relationship to observe between her parents. She probably always envisioned growing up to be like her mother, the quintessential “good wife, wise mother” (a phrase coined later on in the Taisho period to idealize the traditional roles of a woman). She cooks and cleans and sews and the first fanbook even tells us she was good at using an abacus, so she can handle family finances like a pro. Her traditional values probably made her tastes pretty standard, hoping for a reliable protector, but also someone who might be as kind as her father and her brother. But as for what makes her heart go doki-doki? The extra comic at the end of volume 3 tells us that she does long since have a type, it’s a person who’s like a Hisha.

Hisha: a chess/Shougi piece that can move an unlimited number of spaces in horizontal and vertical directions, and is crowned a dragon when it enters enemy territory.

So, yes, this is the part where we all smile and point at Gotouge and say, “I see what you did there, Wani-sensei.”

I find this reassuring; it tells me that Nezuko can find her heart squeezed at how cool Zenitsu is instead of just coming around and liking him because she was flattered by his affection and learned to see how nice he is and stuff. There are plenty of nice Demon Slayers who are strong and cool protectors, but that ZING that Zenitsu has (when he’s asleep) is something that can make her heart race. I’m all for this. I hinge so much of my ZenNezu feelings on this Hisha comment.

The second fanbook states that Nezuko initially had trouble sorting out her memories, and because Zenitsu gave her two such different impressions, it felt like memories of two different people, but over time the memories overlapped to form one complete person. We could say that she and Zenitsu had two first meetings.

Initially, when she was in the box, her little demon heart did go doki-doki; it was the first time a boy besides her brother had protected her, so even though Oniichan is Number One in her heart for the general duration of canon, this encounter was sure to leave a flattering impression. However, when they met face to face that night, he was just some confusing dandelion yelling and screaming about weird stuff, and then he was just a confusing (and possible bothersome) dandelion wanting to hang around her and give her flowers and stuff. It’s anyone’s guess just how “there” Nezuko was at this stage, as she does seem to gain back more of her own will and thought processes over the course of the series, rather than being guided by very, very simple rules to govern her behavior.

Zenitsu feel in love at first sight, and the second fanbook tells us he asked Tanjiro about her human personality, seeing as she wasn’t fully there. He was initially doubtful that anyone so perfect as Nezuko could exist and figured Tanjiro must had been biased and therefore exaggerating, but can we blame Zenitsu for being a smidge guarded? He’s been let down a lot, after all.

We know from Taisho Secrets and side novels that Zenitsu spent a lot of time with Nezuko during their long recovery at the Butterfly Mansion. Even how much more thought we see Nezuko display in the Train arc, she probably underwent a lot of mental development in this time, and my guess is that due to how much he interacted with her, this is probably when Zenitsu went from being a strange dandelion to a strange companion. She probably focused more on the goldfish and the pretty flowers (which he did take her to see!) and any flattering mention of her brother, though. Zenitsu, I’m relieved to say, seemed to genuinely care about what would make Nezuko happy instead of selfishly assuming something like “she likes me too, she wants to marry me.” But knowing Zenitsu, he probably assumed that her willingness to spend time with him was an indication of being willing to talk marriage once she was more herself again, though.

Let’s pause here and put on our Oniichan goggles, though. Early on, Tanjiro has to insist to just about everyone that Nezuko is still her own person with her own thoughts and feelings. Being a demon has taken a lot of her freedom to act on her true nature away from her, but he knows she’s still in there and he treats her like an equal human being. He had to watch over and over as people see his sister and only think, “demon.”

And then there’s his friend Zenitsu, who looks at her and thinks, “girl. Girl! Girl. Girl. Sweet girl, adorable girl, best girl in the world.” And maybe that’s a little bothersome, but yes, someone gets it!! Someone understands! Even though Tanjiro’s initial concerns are keeping Nezuko from being bothered by unwelcome advances, as long as Zenitsu is willing to respect that Nezuko is not entirely able to speak for herself now, he seems pretty approving of Zenitsu (provided Nezuko decides she likes him back). I’d like to think there was an unspoken promise between bros on what boundaries to follow. Besides that, Tanjiro believes in Zenitsu a lot more than Zenitsu believes in himself, so Tanjiro probably wasn’t worried about the “strong protector” role a future husband should fulfil. Or at least, Tanjiro doesn’t seem concerned once he gets to know Zenitsu, he’d have rejected Zenitsu flat-out on that first meeting. Zenitsu, you are so lucky Tanjiro is so forgiving.

However, for as much as Zenitsu sees Nezuko as “GIRL!! Girl, girl, girl!”, he’s still got his rosy vision that conveniently clouds out any disturbing realities. She is, after all, a demon.

This is something Zenitsu never actually had the chance to struggle with, and I would have really liked to see him challenged by that reality a bit more. He never witnessed Nezuko’s berserker mode, nor did he ever see her struggle to keep from eating someone, he wasn’t even awake to watch her fight like a violent animal/angry toddler on the train. Had there been a scene of Zenitsu forced to face how terrifying she had potential to be, it would had really sold his commitment to Nezuko specifically, instead of only Nezuko as his most likely girlfriend candidate.

On the train, Nezuko has the good fortune of seeing another side of Zenitsu, getting one hell of a doki-doki moment. As she’s gaining more self-awareness back, it probably made those doki-dokis more complex too. While I understand there wasn’t a good opportunity to fit in the pace of the story, I love that Taisho Secret of her concerned about him before he wakes up. Instead of him just being that boy who shows her pretty things and says nice things about her Oniichan, this is when he starts becoming something a little more unique among all the people whom little demon Nezuko has bet and who have been nice to her.

In the months that follow, we don’t get much deviation from this slow development. Zenitsu’s feelings toward Nezuko don’t really change at all, but there’s another thing about this ship: neither one chose the other over anybody else. They sort of just came together, Zenitsu gets hooked on one girl at a time, but what if someone had come along with an interest in him? At what point would he had given up on Nezuko? Probably pretty quickly, if someone was serious enough about him. It wouldn’t have been a break up either, since he was still in the pursuing stages (might be more of a break-up conversation with Tanjiro, who had been tacitly supportive).

Actually, for most of the remainder of the series, the affection that Nezuko and Zenitsu build for each other is done when they’re apart, dwelling on their thoughts of each other. For Nezuko, we see this come out after the Swordsmith Village arc in her sunlit elation to see him again, and her efforts to greet him. She very clearly recognizes him and is happy to see him, a big difference compared to how she was more elated by the sight of a fishbowl before. In Zenitsu’s case, this deepening of his affections and running away with his thoughts and feelings results him declaring once and for all, this is her. He’s found her. This is the girl who he will be committed to his whole life, in his heart she is already his wife.

When human!Nezuko is gaining her memories back, her first impressions are of the boy showing her pretty things and giving her flowers, someone who probably has a crush on her, rather than thinking back to someone who she may have had a crush on. (Those cool impressions probably hit her later, I’m assuming, given the stress of the moment.) Romance is not immediately on her mind, though she does quickly recall having friendly affection for this boy for has always been so sweet to her. And Nezuko, handling his surprising level of affection gracefully, helps Zenitsu off the battlefield while he’s in terrible pain (though she probably was too, my poor girl, that fight with demon!Tanjiro was so rough). But honestly, not only is she probably too overwhelmed by everything to think much about romance, but she probably doesn’t take Zenitsu very seriously initially. She knows he’s got a tendency to overexaggerate, and it’s nice that he’s so sweet to her, but since he acts all fluffy and silly around her she probably thinks he’s not being that serious either. Furthermore, she’s got a lot of people to suddenly care about, Zenitsu has a lot to contend with for trying to get special attention. Hell, Zenitsu was probably awake and causing a racket while she was frantic with worry that comatose Giyuu might die. While she did remake Jiichan’s haori to fit Zenitsu’s later, see spent her time in the hospital mending Giyuu’s haori (Nezuko, baby, doesn’t your hand hurt though!?). While Zenitsu was swept up in happy “Nezuko is human now, we’re totally gonna get married” feels, he probably didn’t even notice that he was only one slice in a very big pie of memories that Nezuko suddenly found in her lap and had to slowly chew and digest.

So… this brings us to the extra post-canon comic in the second fanbook, which I initially did not like very much back when it came out in February. I’ve come around a lot to it, but what really hit me at first was “oh no, Nezuko really is only going to accept this marriage because she’s a saint, he’s not being desirable at all.”

But, treating it with a little more patience and sympathy for Zenitsu… he’s just gotten what he’s always wanted, of course he’s going to stop striving a bit and get blissfully carried away in it. And Nezuko, the ever sweet, isn’t going to stop him.

Some of the other commentary in the fanbook states that Zenitsu, for a time, found himself terrified of how girls could be sweet to his face while hiding their true thoughts about him. But, finding that Nezuko was not at all two-faced, he nearly “died and went to heaven” as the exaggeration goes. He doesn’t like to work hard in the first place (but does, because it will make people like Jiichan proud), so getting away with being spoiled is too big of a temptation to resist. Nezuko is sensitive to what makes the people around her happy or uncomfortable, so she never makes any request of Zenitsu. She’s so grateful to have their new little family that her happiness is everyone else’s happiness, she doesn’t really desire a heartthrob romance, even if being a wife and mother is an eventual goal. And, without being under any pressure to make someone proud, Zenitsu gets swept away and indulges.

Thank you, Tanjiro, for putting a stop to this.

He’s still rooting for Zenitsu, since this is his friend and he knows it would make his friend happy to wind up with Nezuko, but he’s setting himself up for failure, or setting Nezuko up to be cheated out on a good match at this rate (if she were to accept out of being nice). Very, very thankfully, Zenitsu responds well to pressure. By this point Nezuko has gotten so used to sweet but indulgent Zenitsu that he seems she totally accepted that his Hisha side didn’t exist anymore, if it even existed in the first place.

Good for Zenitsu asking for her response a year later (when they’d be getting to the legal marriage ages for the Taisho period anyway), he knew he still had shaping up to do to earn her affection. And Nezuko probably needed time to build some admiration for him again, since the doki-dokis were so gone. Even if he couldn’t use that super cool Thunder Breath anymore, it would probably catch her attention to see him strive again, to put effort into being manly, specifically for her. It wasn’t just the Thunder Breath that gave her doki-dokis, it was the Hisha knight-like attitude too, whether asleep and acting on his inner potential, or awake and bravely defending her based on his own goodness and faith.

I hope that in their married life, Zenitsu will retain that sort of manliness in being a provider for her, even he does get indulged a lot at home.

Now for how this plays into some of my fanwork and headcanons:

You know how I said all my OTPs were tragedies? Yeah, I love a good dose of angst. I did start writing a single-scene fic one time of injured Zenitsu desperately trying to cover Nezuko from the sun while waiting for Tanjiro to find them, and in Nezuko’s panic about the sun she starts losing her self-control over her appetite, and Zenitsu is forced to confront that the girl he loves could very easily kill him. I never finished it, though, and it was embarrassingly self-indulgent.

For my big favorite AU of a monster fanfic, I did add more ZenNezu on the massive edit, because by this point I just enjoy ZenNezu so much that I wanted more of it. But!! What I really like about working with it in this fic is that there’s a conflict: Demon!Tanjiro. In this canon divergence, Human!Nezuko and Zenitsu get to interact more than they ever did while she was a demon, and they both already have affection for each other, but the lingering fact that Tanjiro is technically their enemy gives me some tension and angst to work with.

Yes, I wrote a One Shot of Zenitsu and Nezuko as fresh new parents, but it was a bit of a dark dive into Zenitsu’s feelings of inadequacy. But domesticity comes with some inevitable fluff anyway, and likewise it felt embarrassing indulgent, and I can’t write fluff without a little bittersweetness. M…maybe the reason I’m not a shipper is because I’m easily flustered???

I’d like to think that Zenitsu got a desk job that he worked hard at because he wants to be a provider, and Nezuko does find his hard work attractive. I headcanon it was at an electric company, because hahahaha, electricity. I’d like to think he had a long career in that company (and although his colleagues know him for having a bit of an extreme personality and being obsessed with his wife, they sometimes catch glimpses of a very, very strong side of Zenitsu—like, scarily strong), and that when he’s old and retired in the Postwar Economic Miracle, he buys a fancy camera to take pictures of Nezuko (instead of “say cheese” it’s “Thunderclap and Flash!”), and he takes Nezuko to Paris because that’s the romantic thing to do. Also, I don’t like moustaches as a rule, but I totally approve of old man Zenitsu having a fluffy moustache.

World War Two, though… I’d like to think that if his job had him in the city, he was extremely reliable when it came to protecting his family in case of bombing. I’d also like to think that this was when the Kamado family moved to the city, because Nezuko was worried about Kanao and her nieces and nephews, so Zenitsu made sure they were all together. Inosuke might had taken the opposite route and taken his family to the mountains to shelter out there in the wild.

AAAAHHHH, listen to me being so self-indulgent with headcanons, I pride myself on sticking close to canon in my fanwork, I will never produce this, AAAAHHHH, I’m embarrassed~~~~I---I’m not a shipper! No! I don’t have a shipper’s bone in my body! Who needs romance, it means nothing to me, I don’t get swept up in happy fantasies about young newlywed Zenitsu and Nezuko, really I don’t, I take what canon gives me and I stick with it, I’m here for bromance and comradery and fights to the death, I—I don’t need disgusting fluffy feelings, ew, ew, no, really-----ahhh, too flustered, too flustered, too flustered, no, no, no, no, no, no, WHEN DID I BECOME A SHIPPER, nnnnnnnnhhhhjjjj

Which is all to say that Zenitsu and Nezuko as a pairing really grew on me, even though it is essentially a fluffy happy pairing that only got surface-level interaction and was never seriously challenged. It’s got some shadows lurking in there, especially diving into Zenitsu’s heart, but in general this was a slow build-up of mutual affection between two characters with pretty simple desires of their own, and most of all, a desire to see each other happy. That makes it a good comfort ship.

And they’re both are sleepyheads, hNNNGGGHHHhhhhHHHHHHHHHHH

[chatonne-rousse]

Orange You Glad I'm Not Seeing Green (Nope, Totally Not Jealous At All)

A continuation of my Gifts from the Heart series, the whole of which is written as a gift for my dear friend @sketchy-panda.

Read it on Ao3 here.

Follows Great Minds (and Kind Hearts) Think Alike, which can be found here.

*********

The first forty-two minutes had gone so well.

Marinette was acting weird, but a normal, endearing weird - the kind of weird that warms his chest with affection and makes him smile. There is no one quite like her, and Adrien knows her friendship is a sweet blessing indeed. Even if it takes a moment or two to decipher her jumbled sentences sometimes. Even if she's a teeny tiny bit of a disaster.

When Ms. Bustier had paired them up for a literature project, he was thrilled. Adrien would never scoff at the chance to spend time with his dear friend, much less to enjoy a window of escape, however short, from the echoing silence of his own home. He'd turned to her with unabashed excitement to find her cheeks and ears pink and a strange mix of joy and terror in her eyes.

"Yay!" she'd squeaked, the word accompanied by awkward jazz hands. This had prompted a nudge under the table from Alya that didn't escape his notice. With that, she'd taken a deep breath, set her shoulders, and asked if he'd like to come over after school to work on it together.

Would he ever! The wave of happiness that had risen in his chest must have shown on his face, but when Marinette's smile had softened to match, he realized he didn't care if he grinned like a fool in front of the class. An afternoon with a friend - a friend! - was such a rare treat. And he's already read The Three Musketeers, so he'd been sure this would be a breeze.

And it was. Until six minutes ago, when they realized that the plate of cookies they'd been snacking on had dwindled to one. This discovery came by way of both of them reaching for it without looking, hands meeting over the plate amidst blushing cheeks and murmured apologies. With an awkward laugh, he'd taken the final cookie, carefully broken it roughly in half, and offered the slightly larger piece to his wide-eyed project partner.

Their fingers brushed in the handoff. She breathed a thank you. He smiled graciously.

It all happened so quickly after that.

Before he could take a bite of his cookie, her elbow had knocked into her glass, sending orange juice across her desk, her lap, his stocking feet.

"Disaster!" Marinette had shrieked, prompting Mrs. Cheng to peek through the open trap door a few moments later, looking first at her daughter dancing frantically around her now-toppled desk chair and then to a bewildered Adrien, still holding half a cookie in one hand and Marinette's keyboard, rescued from the rogue wave of orange juice, in the other.

She'd just smiled. "I'll bring up some towels, dears."

Adrien could only nod.

Now, Marinette stands in front of her sink, wiping the front of her pants with a damp towel and sighing every thirty seconds. He's barefoot, his socks whisked off to parts unknown, ostensibly to be laundered, though he'd protested that wasn't necessary. Their cookie and juice supply has been refilled, and calm has settled over the room again. Sort of.

"I'm so sorry, Adrien," she says quietly, a tinge of misery at the edge of her voice. "I'm so clumsy."

He tries to make her smile the best way he knows how. "It's okay, Marinette. Orange you glad it didn't get on your drawings for the project?"

She stops trying to clean off her jeans and raises her eyes to his. "Did you just...?"

His eyes gleam. "You know, workers in the orange juice factory will lose their jobs if they can't concentrate."

Her surprised giggle is incredibly gratifying. He takes it as a green light to continue. "Do you know what language oranges use to talk to each other?" When she shakes her head, he gleefully answers, "Mandarin!"

"You'd fit right in, then!" Marinette laughs heartily, the sound making his grin widen until it hurts. (It's worth it.)

"Well, I am very a-peeling. I have a real zest for life."

She groans, though she's still laughing, and facepalms with the hand holding the towel. Adrien watches as she realizes how sticky it is against her face, throws it on the counter, and blushes when she makes eye contact with him once more. His own smile never dims. Making a friend laugh like this is one of life's great joys. Laughing with a friend like this is one of the greatest.

Finally, she washes her hands at the sink and he takes a moment to right her desk chair, gazing around the room to the sound of her drying her hands. Magazine photos of him still remain, though they mix on corkboards and wall collages with pictures of friends and family. His own face smiles - truly smiles - back at him from several of them. He remembers each of these days, shining memories with beloved friends that he treasures. He's glad Marinette treasures them, too.

His gaze slides to the corner of her desk, near her sewing machine and a large box he assumes is full of sewing notions, and his breath catches. There, on twin display stands to keep them upright, are two figurines he doesn't know how he missed earlier. Ladybug holds her yo-yo in her right hand, Chat Noir's baton is held in his left. Their tiny plastic hands clasp in the middle, just as they were molded to do for the 1st Anniversary Special Partners Edition figures he would know anywhere.

Marinette sits back down in her desk chair, looks at him, then follows his gaze to the figurines. Adrien turns his eyes to her.

"I didn't know you were a superhero fan, Marinette!"

She laughs a nervous laugh as a blush rises to her cheeks. "Me? A fan of Chat Noir? Psssh." She waves a hand as if to dismiss the idea.

He isn't sure if he should be offended or gratified. He'd certainly prefer the latter.

"Why wouldn't you be a fan? I am. I think the heroes are awesome."

"You do?" she breathes, eyes wide.

"Of course! Paris is lucky," he elbows her arm gently and winks, "to have them."

Her giggle makes him smile again. He always feels so light and so carefree here, in her warm home, with her friendly parents and a plate of cookies and the sweetness she seems to radiate in his presence. Paris is lucky to have superhero protectors, but he's lucky in his own way to have found this kind of gentle contentment in a world denied to him for so long.

"I guess we should get back to the project--"

"Where did you get them?"

They each speak at the same time, twin blushes and stammered apologies following just as with the cookie incident.

Marinette breaks the ensuing awkward silence first. "One of my best friends gave them to me."

"I'm not surprised," Adrien responds with a grin. "Alya might be the biggest fan in Paris!"

The blush on her cheeks spreads to the tips of her ears and her eyes widen before she blinks. "Oh, um...it wasn't Alya." Marinette looks at her hands in her lap and then back up to him. "But she does have this set. She's kind of obsessed."

Strange, he'd never heard about any other best friends from Nino or Alya, though that didn't mean Marinette didn't have a very close online friend or someone in the design community she just hadn't talked much about before. He hopes this person knows what a good friend she has in Marinette, that she treasures her like Marinette deserves to be treasured. Though of course she'd gifted her with the set of figurines, so this friend at least knows quality merch when she sees it. Adrien's heart warms at the thought of Marinette having such good friends. She deserves nothing less.

"Adrien? Are you okay?"

He blinks twice, shaking himself from his reverie. "Oh. Yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You were far away for a minute there."

He smiles warmly. Marinette is so thoughtful. "I promise. I was just thinking what a great best friend she must be to have given you such a cool gift."

"Oh," she says quietly, looking at the figures again, though Adrien is still focused on his friend. He watches as her eyes soften and her smile turns gentle before she speaks again. "He definitely is. There's no one better."

Her gaze snaps to his again. "I mean! I'll bet you're better! At being hot. I mean cool! I mean..." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "So! The Three Musketeers, eh?" She pulls her notebook back in front of her and opens it to a random page that contains nothing having to do with Alexandre Dumas. She laughs nervously, resolutely staring at the page and not the boy beside her.

The boy who hasn't breathed since her quiet "oh." The boy whose brain is still stuck on one word.

He.

Adrien can feel his smile turn brittle at the edges and forces his face to remain neutral, but it's difficult all of a sudden.

It shouldn't bother him. It shouldn't affect him at all. Marinette is friends with Nino, Kim, and Max, and he doesn't think twice about it. Why should he? This is different, though, somehow. An unknown entity. A boy friend he's never heard of who makes her expression soften like that, with memories of private jokes and gift exchanges and laughter. Probably. That's probably what it's like with Marinette and her other best friend, who isn't Alya and whose name he doesn't know.

An odd feeling twists his stomach. Adrien doesn't like it.

"Well," he starts, sliding his own notebook over and opening to the last page they'd been working on before the orange juice spill, "he has very good taste in Ladybug and Chat Noir merchandise. I have that same set myself."

"You do?" she squeaks, and their eyes meet again.

"I do. But I didn't take mine out of the packaging." He chances a cheeky half-smile at her, the knot in his stomach loosening just a fraction at the smile she returns. "Mine will be pristine when the set is worth millions someday."

When she laughs, the tension in his chest dissipates like springtime dandelion seeds, floating away on a sudden breeze of fresh, sweet joy.

Maybe Marinette's mysterious best friend can make her laugh like this, but right now, Adrien is the one sitting beside her - something rare and precious and not to be taken for granted - and it makes no sense to do anything other than enjoy the moment.