#Caretaker!Paimon

[quimichi]

·˚ ◌༘₊· ͟͞꒰➳ THEIR CONTACT NAMES FOR YOU wholesome & cursed

AN: just a super random idea, also ran out of contact name ideas

Aether 》Mine forever 》2nd Emergency food

Albedo 》Love 》(just your number)

Amber 》My BunBun 》Traveler

Al-Haitham 》Y/N <3 》Kaveh 2.0

Arlecchino 》My dear 》My annoying dear

Ayaka 》Dance partner for life 》Simp

Ayato 》Mrs/Mr Kamisato 》Professional Yapper

Baizhu 》Cure to everything 》Antidepressiva

Barbara 》Angel 》Wants to bash my stalkers head

Beidou 》Hot bbg 》Mommy issues

Bennett 》Lucky charm 》(accidentally blocked you and broke his phone)

Capitano 》Dearest Y/n 》Y/n L/n

Candace 》Dessert Flower 》Dehya's bestie

Charlotte 》Model 》My stalking victim

Chevreuse 》Babe 》Chrispy Fries

Childe 》My Girly 》Baby boo boo snuggly poo

Chongyun 》Sweet as ice 》Popsicle 🍦🧊💦

Clorinde 》Darling 》0/10 would lose in a fight against me

Collei 》Flower 🌺 》Jokes as bad as Cyno's

Columbina 》Hummingbird 》They're next 🔪

Cyno 》Love them from my head 🍅's 》Love them from my head 🍅's

Dainsleif 》My star 》Traveler Y/n

Dehya 》Princess 》Lil spoiled princess/brat ♡

Diluc 》The burning flame within my heart 》Y/n

Diona 》Big sis/bro/sibling

Dottore 》Little Labrat 》Subject 291

Dori 》10/10 wouldn't sell

Eula 》My Passion 》 (just your number)

Faruzan 》Lover from another timeline 》Grandkid

Fischl 》My dearest lover of the night 》Diener der Verurteilung

Freminet 》Pengu 》Fathers first pick

Furina 》Bubsibaby 》My Maccaroni

Ga Ming 》babes 💞 》Boss

Ganyu 》Love 》Pillow

Gorou 》Forever my mate 》No, not my "owner"

Hu Tao 》Forever mine even in afterlife 》Possible good advertisement once I'm done

Jean 》Dandelion 》The Traveler (Y/n)

Heizou 》Hottest babe everrr 》🍑🍑🍑

Itto 》MINE RAWR 》barkabakewooofwofbrakk

Kazuha 》My dearest Y/n 💞 》he's to wholesome for this

Kaeya 》Snowflake 》Side chicken (he's joking dw)

Kaveh 》My world/everything/love/baby/boo bear 》Mommy

Keqing 》Love 💜 》Housewife/husband/caretaker

Kinich 》Most important thing in my life 》Gf/bf/lv

Kirara 》Kitty 》Owner

Klee 》Partner in crime

Kokomi 》Little Jellyfish 》Bloopfish 🤍

Layla 》Sleepyhead #2 》Good Pillow, Good nap partner

Lisa 》Big cutie 》Book due since: 1 week 🔪

Lumine 》Big Baby, but mine 》Another Paimon

Lynette 》Catlover 》My Y/n

Lyney 》My rose 》Father approved

Mika 》I'll find them everywhere 》The one who never forgets me

Mona 》My future 》Dies by old age, 2091

Mualani 》Wookie Pookie 》Them in swimwear 💯

Nahida 》My best friend the flower 🪷

Navia 》Sweets 》Yummy baby

Neuvillette 》Fiance

Nilou 》Dance buddy 》Hopless, can't dance

Ningguang 》Princess/Prince/Royalty 》Gold digger

Noelle 》Rosie 》Lazy

Pantalone 》Sugar baby 》Spoiled brat

Pierro 》Darling 》Y/n M/n L/n

Pulcinella 》Dearest Y/n 》(your number)

Qiqi 》Y/n

Raiden 》Sweets 》The one that cooks

Razor 》Y/n but mispronounced

Rosaria 》Y/n <3 》A sinner

Sandrone 》Doll ♡ 》Doll nr.72

Sara 》Love forever 》Member 28 of the Raiden Shogun fan club

Sayu 》Nyummmm

Scaramouche 》My bitch 》That bitch idk

Sethos 》Babes 🔥 》Can't cook for shit, almost died

Shenhe 》My Y/n 》Y/n L/n (from ___)

Shinobu 》Milk (she's Kuki) 》also has mommy issues

Succrose 》Code 143 》Human experiment 81.01

Thoma 》their houshusband 》Miss Ayakas best friend

Tighnari 》My Padisara 》Laughs at Cynos jokes

Venti 》Windblume 》Non-alcoholic

Wriothesley 》Bbg/bbb/baby 》Solid daddy issues

Xiangling 》Yummiest 》Bleh but mhh

Xiao 》My Human 》(didn't even give you a contact name lol)

Xianyun 》My beautiful 》Y/n

Xilonen 》a beautiful creation 》wtf did their parents make??

Xinyan 》MY ROCKSTAR ☆ 》that one with no taste in music

Xingqiu 》The most beautiful 》(a ugly nickname lol)

Yae Miko 》🦊💞 》My simp

Yanfei 》JUSTICEMAKER 》horny jail time

Yaoyao 》Big sister/brother/sibling Y/n 🌱

Yelan 》Pretty one 》The next

Yoimiya 》CAUSE BABY YOURE A FIIIIIREWORK 》Almost blew them up, oops

Yun Jin 》My biggest fan 》Y/n - no rhythm

Zhongli 》Y/n (you're his only contact lol)

[scaredpigeons]

Aqua Regia III: My love is an animal call.

Previous chapter // Next chapter // First chapter

Neuvillette x fem!Reader

Word count: 2.3k

It seems both yourself and the honourable Iudex are struggling with some… ahem. Big feelings.

Authors note: i had to get wri involved, you don’t understand— no it was a necessity. Yeah— no, you get it. Don’t worryyy about ittttt :)

Neuvillette was struggling. 

Now, it wasn’t the way he was struggling before, no. 

You’d swept into his work life and cleaned up the mess he’d found himself caught in, made it safe to breathe again, made it easier. He’d never be able to put into words how eternally grateful he was for your work. You helped him retain the dutiful and serious image he’d carefully painted of himself over the years, even through this hectic and strange transition. 

No, for the first time in his life, Neuvillette felt like he was losing his grasp on his own mind. 

His capabilities within his workplace were fine, stellar as always, as everyone (you) keeps reminding him, but his inner workings and home life were in shambles. 

Strange, archaic instincts were clawing at his psyche, making him act irrationally. His bedroom was a mess, his prized belongings hoarded around his bed, walling it in so he quite literally had to leap into bed at the end of the night. 

He tried taking down the mess of knickknacks, books, fabrics and antiquities one morning after he first made what he now calls his ‘nest’. He shook his head as he carefully unstacked all of his most precious items and put them back in their proper places, only for him to return home after work and feel so restless, so incredibly distraught. 

Everything inside him screamed for the nest, so he remade it, and never took it down again. Anything to avoid that sense of restless panic that pulled at his chest. 

Neuvillette was also hungry. His appetite grew and grew, and his thirst was never quenched. He found himself pacing his house, only to give up denying his instincts and throw himself into the waters in the cover of darkness to hunt within the depths— something he hadn’t done since his youth. 

He felt like an animal, like centuries of living in the high society of Fontaine was reduced to ash in his palms, and if he didn’t satiate these urges, he would go mad and make a fool of himself in front of his citizens and colleagues. (again, you)

He thought of you a lot. He thought of you when he woke up, when he arrived to work. He thought of you throughout the day when you weren’t in his presence, and he thought of you on his way home at the end of the day. 

Even in his fever induced late night dives, he wondered what you would say if you saw him like this. Would you worry for him? You always seemed to be worrying for him. 

You were so considerate, so thoughtful and kind. He was confused, irate. He truly tried to keep himself distant from others, to remain a truly impartial and fair judicator of this nation. 

Ever since the traveler came through and wormed into his heart and homeland alike, he found himself more at ease when interacting with humans. He even found himself more at ease with the idea of perhaps having a friend or two, trustworthy people, people he genuinely believed would never be on the wrong side of Fontaines laws. 

He opened up with Wriothesley a little more, which seemed to shock the Duke at first, but he was very open to the idea of having personal chats as well as work conversations— which he had been pushing for ever since starting his career as the caretaker of the fortress. 

The traveler made it a point to speak with him whenever she and Paimon were in Fontaine, often inviting him to go on exciting little excursions when his schedule allowed it. He considered the both of them to be his friends now as well. 

The melusines were his friends, he supposed. He cared very deeply for them. 

But you? 

He knew you well enough by now to know that on surface level, you were a genuine, good natured law abiding citizen. But he’d seen people of the same standing do heinous things. 

He tossed and turned in his sheets at night, battling logic and centuries of experience with the longing in his chest that he felt for you. 

Whenever he would attempt to berate himself, tell himself that he could not get close to you, he could not risk the image of impartial justice he carefully constructed— a tumultuous and archaic anger would rumble in his chest, and he would quite literally growl at himself. 

A dark voice inside himself would berate him instead when he thought of all the ways you could betray his trust, the ways he’s seen it happen to others before— how dare you think that way of her. 

But no, he didn’t know you well enough yet to trust you completely, even though every fiber of his being was pulling him towards you. 

He was so confused. 

It took everything in him to compartmentalize during the day, get his precious work done, only for him to go home and completely lose himself to the madness. 

His chest ached, yes. But what worried him the most— more than the drive to hunt, to nest, was the aching feeling between his legs. 

He’d been around humans long enough to understand how procreation worked. It was similar with all species, though humans were the only ones he knew of that routinely copulated solely for the sake of pleasure, rather than procreating. 

He vaguely knew about dragon mating cycles, that dragons would choose a mate to further their species, carry on their legacy. But every time he tried to justify the pulsing between his legs, he would laugh at the lunacy of it all. 

He had gone half a millennia in human society without feeling any of these urges, and coming into his powers must be the reasoning for such primitive and dubious symptoms. You were just an unfortunate bystander in it all, It couldn’t have anything to do with you. 

No, certainly not. He surmised that he must be ill. There was no other explanation. His body was not used to such an influx of power, and was acting out, throwing one last hurdle his way before all was well and settled. 

Yes, that was it. 

——————

You used to hate having days off. 

It meant less money coming into your bank account, and more time to sit alone and think. Your friends were lovely distractions, but nothing really quelled the overarching feeling of dread you had at the end of the night when the lights were out and the dark consumed you. 

Now that money was no longer an issue, thanks to your cushy job as personal assistant to the ruler of the entire nation, (a job title that still astounded you,) you no longer felt guilty when meeting up with friends. 

You didn’t have to refuse their charity any longer, or invitations to expensive meals, or parties. 

You truly felt at peace with the majority of your life, and so when the Duke of Meropide invited you to the fortress for tea one evening, you happily accepted. 

You loved visiting Wriothesley. He was a lovely little breath of the air you used to breathe, of trouble and mischief. 

Certainly a close friend, confidant, and many others (Miss Navia and Charlotte) often poked at you that perhaps he would make a good husband for you as well. 

That certainly couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

Wriothesley was fun. He was witty and intelligent, strong, he fell into the role of leadership with far more grace than you had seen in anyone before him, and he made you feel very happy. 

But he was also emotionally unavailable, his entire world dedicated to his work, to the fortress and its residents. He left room for his friendships, keeping the fires there well stoked— but anything further would be a disaster waiting to happen. 

You’d thought about it once or twice, marrying him just for the sake of it, for the security, the titles and privileges that came along with it. 

These were weak moments, when you’d been at your lowest, finding no worth or value in yourself. These were selfish thoughts, unfair to your friend and yourself. Selfish because you knew he would say yes, if only to make your troubles disappear. 

Wriothesley was a great friend. You wished to stay that way for as long as he’d allow it. 

He seemed quite content sitting on the front of his desk while you sat in front of him, sipping an absolutely divine tea while listening to his favourite classical record. 

You still found it so amusing after all these years that he retained such a dark and intimidating outward appearance and still listened to the posh classical music he grew up on. He said it was something about reclaiming a part of him that he didn’t want his parents to own. He had a lot of parts to him that he reclaimed for himself. 

“This is beautiful, remind me what it’s called again?” 

He sat his tea cup down, eyes closed as he absorbed the music with you. “L’Amour Récompensé mais inconnu III, one of my all time favourites.” 

“It’s so calming, are the others of its title the same way?” You asked, placing your teacup next to his on the desk. 

“The record in total is four songs. It’s a love story, and this is the track that symbolizes the moment the lovers realize their feelings for each other. It’s less sorrowful than the first two, a bit more light than the last.” He says, looking across the room thoughtfully. “It’s happier, more hopeful than the others. It almost makes me understand what it might be like to be in love.” 

You knew what he meant, though you tried to push the idea away with each passing day. You could not have feelings like these, it was completely unacceptable. 

Wriothesley must have noticed your breathy sigh, your face scrunching up as it grew heated, and he quirked a brow at you. 

“Nothing-“ you stammered, pushing yourself up from the chair and pacing a few steps away from him. “It’s nothing! Don’t worry about it.” 

“You do seem a bit lighter these days,” he says, that telltale smirk spreading across his face, teasing you. “Don’t tell me someone’s finally caught your attention.” 

“What do you mean, finally?” You spun to face him, red faced and projecting your embarrassment into a raised voice. “I-I’ve had plenty of men interested in me!” 

“Ah, but that’s not what I said, is it?” He rose from the desk, walking towards you in half the steps you took to get to the same spot in the middle of his office. “I asked if someone caught your attention. Plenty of losers have thrown themselves at you over the years to no avail. But I’ve never seen you so flustered.”

His presence, while physically looming over you, was rather comforting. You felt safe within this office, in his counsel. 

“I’m… going through some mixed feelings…” you admitted. 

“Mixed?” He inquired. 

“I… I am attracted to someone I really shouldn’t be, and I loathe myself for it but I can’t seem to bring myself to stop thinking about them.” 

“Oh… certainly a sticky situation you’ve got yourself in, kiddo.” His words were light, but genuine. 

A knock at the door echoed from the spiral staircase beneath you, and he yelled down for whoever was knocking to enter. Steady footsteps sounded from the stairwell and you frowned, a little perturbed that you were finally about to vent to someone, only for it to be interrupted. 

In a kind gesture, he ran his hand soothingly down your upper arm a couple times, a gesture he repeated often, something he did when he knew hugging you would be a bit too much, or when others were around. 

His hand rested on you as he lowered his voice. “We can talk about it more later, okay? I don’t want you to—“

In a flash of white and blue, Wriothesley’s arm was ripped away from you, and he staggered back a few steps as his assailant held his hand up and away from you with firm grip to the wrist. 

You blinked, and Neuvillette was between you, holding Wriothesley’s hand and breathing heavy, if he was straining somehow. 

Wriothesley stared wide eyed and completely shocked. You were sure you looked equally as startled, because Neuvillette looked between the two of you, then at his hand gripping Wriothesley’s wrist, before his own eyes widened and he dropped his hold, stepping back and clearing his throat. 

“I am… so incredibly sorry, Wriothesley,” he said, rubbing a thumb along the palm of the hand that grabbed his friend. “I truly have no idea what just came over me then.” 

Neuvillette looked incredibly guilty, and his eyes wouldn’t meet yours as he picked up a folder that must have been dropped on the floor in the scuffle. 

“Here are the files you requested.” He said softly, setting them gently on Wriothesley’s desk. His gaze trained on the floor, so unlike him, so wounded, and you felt so confused. 

“I’ll take my leave now. again, you have my sincerest apologies, the both of you.” 

The Chief Justice nearly jogged away, a brisk pace you’d not ever seen him take before. 

“Wait!” You’d called out. “Sir! I’ll walk with you back!” But he was already gone, the door closing audibly before you even finished your sentence. 

You turned to Wriothesley, still staring at the spot Neuvillette was mere seconds ago, and gave him an apologetic look. 

“I’m sorry,” you stammered. “It seems like somethings really wrong, I need to—“ Wriothesley just nodded, blank stare, so you bolted after Neuvillette, taking two stairs at a time. 

Moments later, when Wriothesley recovered, and you’d been long gone, he sat in his chair, holding his wrist in awe. 

“Well,” he said to himself. “At least it’s reciprocated.” 

He smiled. “I just wonder when they’ll figure that little detail out for themselves.” 

[luceafarul-de-dimineata]

Since I saw that mine comic with the kings being young and Gusion being their math teacher, I've been plagued by one thought.

What nobles were the babysitters to the kings? In real life, when a king is below the age of 18 and unable to rule they have a couseler which takes care of basicly everything for them and has the role of taking care of the small king.

I think for Satan I would have to go with Paimon. To me, Paimon seems like the only Gehenna noble I would trust to raise a child. He just seems fullfiled in life, like his character arc ended and he's now a self-fulfiled devil. Plus, the way he holds Satan in the bath card comic is gold.

For Mammon it's a bit hard. First of all, we only know 3 nobles from him and I'm not sure any of them fit the bill. I would wait for this one, but if I had to choose now I would say maybe Buer. He holds a lot of secrets and he's a doctor so it makes sense that he would be the main caretaker of a sickly child. Though the only problem with this one is that he moved to Paradise Lost later.

The closest thing Leviathan had to a caretaker was Orias but... I mean, we all know what happened. If you don't, just look up the Requiemof the Survivors event.

Beelzebub and Bael are besically twins, but I think Bael was kind of put in charge of making sure that Beel doesn't combust or something. Every noble so far in Abyssos gives me 20s vibes, there's no way they're older than the king.

Lucifer was born in his 30s, he had to raise all the angels himself. Bro is the caretaker.

For Asmodeus I have this hc that Phenix was his caregiver and that's why he ended up the most affected of the bunch. We see in one of the mini comics that Phenix's lust is kind of a illness since Morax can transfer it to himself momentarly. Maybe there's some guilt from Asmodeus for unintentionally driving his suragat parent insane.

Belphegor has Gusion. Can I call this one cannon, cause it pretty much is. If stuff from likability comics and personal stories is considered canon, why not this. Plus, Bathin comes from Paradise Lost and Andrealphus was a baby when Belphegor was an adult, so that only leaves Gusion.

[bah-sekai]

Hello! Can I get an untitled song of Paimon from Genshin? Any roles related to eating are preferred but if you don't like that do whatever. Thx in advance (And ofc, not forced)

⸺　　❛ level one - untitled song

name : Paimon, Amara, Sherbet, Cocoa, Miel

pronouns : she/shi/it/xe/cake/sweet

role : body caretaker, chef, gourmet

sexuality : pansexual, aroace

gender : female, demigirl, agender

source : paimon

[canonical-transformation]

Genshin Prompt Meme 2023 Wrapped

A huge thanks to everyone who participated in the prompt meme over the past year! I haven't read every single work posted but everything I saw was amazingly fun and creative 💕

Prompts given: 110+

Works posted: 56

An arbitrary selection of nine fics:

without yearning, all returns to silence – Magepaw (@uncommonfate)

Prompt: "Raiden Shogun -- the puppet, not Ei -- deserves a chance to make friends[...] Anything humanising the Shogun and showing her experiencing the world would be awesome."

Other notes: Featuring some poignant talks with Albedo, Klee, and other Mondstadters.

Two Golden Fireworks and Ninety-Two Planks of Wood – Emanating_Auras (@emanation-aura)

Prompt: "It's been nearly two years since the end of the Decree. Yoimiya finally removes the false wall (floor, ceiling, etc.) in the workshop that she'd used to help people hide, and reflects on a much scarier time."

threeways – qwertyu (@nomorebluess)

Prompt: "exploring the messed-up dynamic between Sara, Miko, and Ei"

Author's notes: "Kagura's Verity also happens to suggest that Miko's a little. toxic-girlfriend core"

sweet lies & breathless blooms – qilinggs

Prompt: "Miko has been lying about her [Hanahaki] for five centuries, and she will absolutely gaslight Ei if it means not dealing with her feelings"

Miko levels: severe.

scenes from life in the hold – GStK (@commonfate)

Prompt: "Maybe something about Paimon mailing Alhaitham a book from Fontaine[...]?"

Synopsis: In the Fortress of Meropide, Alhaitham and Paimon are penpals.

Ruminations on a Body – stormyseasons (@stormy-seasons)

Prompt: "Zhongli's reflections upon bodying his own 'corpse' for the rite of parting"

Must Love Cats – Velvetwastaken (@velvetwastaken)

Prompt: "Keqing and Ganyu are dating. Unfortunately, Keqing has a pet cat that doesn't exactly like Ganyu. One day Keqing has to leave for the weekend and the usual caretaker option (Keqing's friend) isn't available[...]"

made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter – Magepaw (@uncommonfate)

Prompt: Diona brews some tea for Lynette.

Written during: 3.8; Lynnette vibes: 💯

as always – qwertyu (@nomorebluess)

Prompt: "in which Barbara gets her c6 and the morality and emotional turmoil with being a necromancer is introduced"

Genshin Prompt Meme 2023:

If you see a prompt you like, write/draw/Create for it however you like, and add it to the collection! New prompts should go in the 2024 meme instead.

[snowflake-of-destruction]

For the 1 Like=1 Fic I Want to Write Game (the post s pinned if you want to join) and @rodhatz

Role/Situation Reversal plot for Stolitz and their deal.

Stolas got out of his marriage to Stella long ago, and rather explosively. I'm thinking that instead of just being abusive to him, Stella turned on little Via, because that is the only thing I can think of that would make Stolas completely snap. You would think that we all could cheer for him standing up for himself....but the type of snap I'm going for is not a cathartic yelling match and then telling his staff to make sure she gets out, but, rather, a knee jerk reaction he can't take back that has huge ramifications. He turns Stella to stone.

Usually nobody would care (What royal demon doesn't have the occasional "whoopsy" and kill a member of their household?), but Andrealphus and the rest of Stella's family demand justice. They have titles, influence and power of their own. Stolas ends up getting judged by a goetia court for crimes against another member of the royals. He is cast out--stripped of some of his demonic/magical powers as well as his titles if that sounds realistic, or just disowned by Paimon and disavowed by the rest of the goetia if not. Octavia is taken away from him and to be elevated to his position with Andrealphus acting as her caretaker and training her powers.

SO we have "regular guy just scraping by" Stolas who runs a fortune telling business, one that built a reputation for being always extremely accurate, completely unlike other scams--because Stolas ripped the portal spell out of the grimoire before he gave it up and can still travel to the human world. Or, well, he could until recently when Paimon went to check on Octavia's progress and found out she has no practical experience reading the stars?!? Blah blah missing grimoire spell, missing spell tracked down, Stolas's portal spell and even his memories of it are taken.

What's an owl to do?

Well, that's when Stolas sees Vox's sit-down interview with Verosika and Blitz Mayday (Yes, he took her name). The interview, more than being about Verosika's music is about personal questions.

There are attempts to talk about the rumors about Verosika's alcohol and drug abuse or the rocky state of the Mayday marriage, but Verosika insists that it's all false. Vox also tries to needle Blitz about how he used to be a performer and his career never took off (And what is he doing now? He used to be Verosika's head of security, everyone knows that, but...is he really just a househusband now? Completely irrelevant and, oh, starting to get out of shape?). Blitz deflects...mostly. There is some threats of how he'll show Vox just how out of shape he is.

Verosika and Blitz push the story of their wonderfully happy family instead. Their five adopted children, each from a different ring and each with their own talents they are discovering and pursuing. How much Blitz loves them...they both love them...and they're both totally involved of course.

Somewhere in there, an anecdote is told about how, when she was leaving for her Two World Tour, their youngest child hid Verosika's Asmodeus crystal to try and get her to stay home. Verosika didn't even notice and she felt so bad. Didn't notice? Yeah, she still keeps mostly succubi and incubi as background dancers and entourage. There's always someone else to open a portal. Plus, the Hell dates were before the human world dates so it was months before she went topside anyway.

There's more of course, but that's what sticks out to Stolas: an Asmodeus crystal that the owner just leaves lying around and won't notice missing, a legal portal to the human world to keep his business legitimate.

A heist is planned.

Stolas gets caught. Of course he gets caught. Blitz is retired, but he's still sharp and more than capable of his own home defense. Blitz rants about firing their staff because this isn't the first time they let some sick stalker who wanted to hide in the closet to surprise Verosika slip by them.

Stolas thinks on his feet, and coos that he's actually there for Blitz. He saw him on TV, so handsome, so underappreciated. Blah blah, I want you to ravish me, Blitzy.

Blitz isn't as easy of a target as Stolas was in canon, but Stolas still manages his seduction and robbery after a bit of convincing.

Blitz is also slower to notice the crystal missing than Stolas was with his grimoire in canon, but then quicker to track the thief and not interested in a deal. However, Stolas is dressed only in that slutty red robe when Blitz tracks him down, and....things sure do happen and Stolas gets away again.

Things evolve into these regular meetups where Blitz makes sure Stolas is at least taking care of the crystal, and Stolas feels the burden to keep Blitz charmed so the whole situation doesn't unravel.

[trashogram]

WIPS & Ideas:

Hazbin/Helluva:

He Chose You — 2 chapters left

He Chose You AU — Charlie tries to connect with her mother whom she’s never met as Mom!Reader has been stuck in Heaven

He Chose You-verse: Alastor — 1st part up, 2nd part/smut in the works

Paimon/Nightjar!Reader — You’re little Stolas’s caretaker and you put Paimon in his place

Charlie/Valentino — Charlie takes Angel Dust’s place in his contract and has to survive to get revenge

Verosika/Reader — You get dragged to Ozzie’s and catch the succubus’s eye

Charlie/Angel Dust — fulfilling asks I’ve gotten for them

Other?

X-Men:

Nightcrawler/Reader — Red String of Fate AU

Nightcrawler/Reader — Your friend takes you to their church where the priest is a mutant that you inexplicably have the hots for

[haravatat-slime]

The Narzissenkreuz Adventure: Initial Thoughts

I want to make sure I write these down before I forget them, so please don't consider this post an "in depth" lore rant so much as some preliminary thoughts I hope to delve into later!

SPOILERS FOR FONTAINE UNDER THE CUT

First: names. Oh my god. Friends will attest that I've been screaming in Discord for the last few weeks, "WHY IS THE FROG NAMED JAK!?," with no context. Now I finally have an answer, and I am sated (for now). While the names of the actual water constructs aren't inherently important - they even say so themselves - we can now conclude that Mary-Ann / Ann pulled the names of people who lived and worked around her at the Narzissenkreuz Institute for the characters in her children's stories. We have Jak(ob Ingold), Al(ain Guillotine), Rene, Kate (possibly Karl??) and Petit Chou (this one is a stretch, but since Chou and Basil Elton are both named after vegetation, I think that's who Chou is supposed to be.)

Also I love that they decided to make Mary-Ann a direct reference to Alice in Wonderland (Mary-Ann is the name of the housekeeper the White Rabbit mistakes Alice for; and the Narzissenkreuz Mary-Ann is a caretaker and governess for the children).

Platonism has SO much weight in Fontaine, and especially here. Ashikai made a video recently that references the Veluriyam Mirage and Plato's Allegory of the Cave, and this time around we have characters who blatantly announce that their physical forms and names have nothing to do with their essence. In their minds, their "purpose" in the story is who they are. This is highly likely to be a reference to Aristotle and Plato's believe in animism and essentialism - all things have souls and the soul is the true form of the self.

JUNGIAN ARCHETYPES!!! This made me extremely excited. The Adventure Team says that "our purposes are our essences," which feels very archetypal. Kate is not Kate, but The Battle Hardened General. Narcissus is not Narcissus, or even an Oceanid, but The Dragon. Ann is not Ann, but The Hero. The repetition of certain archetypes in every single nation we've been to has made me spin in circles the whole time I've been observing it. There have been MANY archetypes that have repeated themselves in each nation (a Dragon, a Dragon-Slayer, a Holy Bird, a Big Tree, etc.) - and if things like archetypes and the collective unconscious are real and have a real effect on the events of Teyvat, it brings up two more questions: which of these archetypes were the "first," and how many times will they keep repeating?

"THE RULE OF THREE IS AN ANCIENT PRINCIPLE" DO I NEED TO SAY MORE? yes. yes i do. SO. despite poking through BOTH Aristotle's Rhetoric and his Poetics, while he loves listing his premises and theories in groups of three, he doesn't actually mention WHY he uses the number three so often. It's more likely thanks to our buddy Pythagoras that the number three is considered a Special™️ number, because he thought that (since it's the sum of all numbers beneath it - 1 + 2), he believed to be a "noble" number representing unity and harmony. Hence, why it's shown up everywhere from Christianity to neopaganism to writing to business marketing (!?) since.

THE NARZISSENKREUZ DOMAIN IS AN ENDLESS DOWNWARD SPIRAL WITH EACH LEVEL ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER AND THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS GOING TO BE A LONG TOPIC FOR ANOTHER DAY

The only other time we've seen Paimon have such a strong response to a domain was under The Chasm - which was also a time loop of sorts. We've also seen (especially via the Sabzeruz Samsara) that she can't tell when we're stuck in a time loop. She can only feel its effects via fatigue and dizziness. This definitely has to be important.

So these are artifacts right. The pocket watch and the feather. These are symbols of aspects of Ann's story, so they're parts of an artifact set? They hold parts of her soul? We're all on the same page with that right!? RIGHT??

It's not given its proper name, but the Jabberwock's Holy Sword is quite obviously the Vorpal Blade, a well-recognized dragon-slaying sword from Lewis Carroll's poem "The Jabberwocky," which features in Through the Looking Glass.

Speaking of all the Alice references in this world quest - the final chapter of TtLG ("Who Dreamed It?") is a little unnerving in a Genshin context, since "what is life but a dream?" implies that, if whoever is dreaming of Teyvat(?) ever wakes up...well. Let's hope the collective unconscious thing is a more accurate representation for how Teyvat works, since then everyone would have to wake up for the universe to disappear.

EDIT: Ann mentions three cities/civilizations while we're in the Looking Glass Domain: Yith, Arcadia, and Hyperborea. I've posted an explanation about Yith in my Lovecraft References post but I want to mention the other two really quick! In Greek mythology, Arcadia was supposed to be an unspoiled paradise outside of human civilization, where the god Pan lived alongside a bunch of nature spirits (dryads, nymphs etc.). Hyperborea, meanwhile, was a city "beyond the reach of Boreas (the North Wind)," inhabited by people who worshipped and were beloved by Apollo (god of being Booked and Busy, apparently). The former wasn't so much a utopia as a place where supernatural entities could chill away from humans (which reminds me of the lost kingdom of the Seelie?), while the latter was a maybe-real, maybe-not utopia inhabited by 10-foot-tall blondes.

THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT FOR NOW BUT. but if you want to chat about things that happened in Narzissenkreuz, my ask box is open!!

[monhavre]

Places where we may have crossed paths before,

BASIC CLOSED AGENCY:

As caretakers,

AreWeGifted: Mon from The Gifted (@TheLastGifted)

Garislnteraksi: (G)I-DLE Shuhua (@DenganKaira)

HeartOverdue: ILLIT Minju (@SignedtoFATE)

As members,

thephemeral: Paimon from Genshin Impact (@paimoneph)

colorfulground: NewJeans Minji (@colorsminji)

stayinditto: Kep1er Huening Bahiyyih (@HIYYIHddo)

AccursedAbode: Vladilena Milizé from 86 -Eighty Six- (@LenaCRSD)

TheBreezyCamp: Kamado Nezuko from Demon Slayer (@CamperNezuko)

 REVENGERHOOD: Kugisaki Nobara from Jujutsu Kaisen (@REVNobara)

TheGoldenAppIe: Kuki Shinobu from Genshin Impact (@VoyagerShinobu)

HappiestFools: ITZY Lia (@LIAAfools)

loserforlover: ITZY Ryujin (@loverforryujin, @loverforryu)

unromanticlub: ITZY Ryujin (@RyujinUNRM)

ThisYokohamas: Power from Chainsaw Man (@SubsPower, @SubsPowie)

TeaterSasmita: Kurumizawa Ume from Kimi ni Todoke (@Kurumii202)

OSHIPROD: Ayasaki ℛ𝑒𝑚𝑖✰ from Horimiya (@Oshi40REMI)

TraiIofWisdom: Ningguang from Genshin Impact (@OutlanderNing)

SHISACRE: Ieiri Shoko from Jujutsu Kaisen (@JutsuShoko)

MilikRemaja: NewJeans Hanni (@HanniAUD)

BoundByFates: aespa Ningning (@AmoreNINGNING, @AmoreNING)

RunakoVillage S2: Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan, as Verena Tyra Schneider a.k.a. Vretender (@ArmyVerenaTS)

ofElectionaires: Himeko from Honkai Star Rail, as Kartika Shari a.k.a. Shay (@PikmiSHARI)

DekostMerpati: Kuronuma Sawako from Kimi ni Todoke, as Yemima Elisheva Libi (@KostMima)

TheLovescape: Yae Miko from Genshin Impact, as Avelia Namira (@GF10AVELIA)

blissvacay: LE SSERAFIM Eunchae (@EUNCHAEglee, @MANCHAEglee) & KISS OF LIFE Haneul (@HANEULglee)

xourkitty: Red Velvet Yeri (@YERIkits)

LovesCrisis: NewJeans Minji (@loversMINJI)

RedFestive: LE SSERAFIM Yunjin (@YUNJEANinLove)

dearIyours: NMIXX Haewon (@AdmiredHaewon)

TheDreamtival S2: STAYC ISA (@TreatIsa)

RMSMobius: Hu Tao from Genshin Impact (@MBsHUTAO)

StarsIntoYou: NMIXX Kyujin (@TwinkleKYUJIN)

BoundQuester: Kim Minju (@QuesterMJ)

NEX Hogwarts: Power from Chainsaw Man, as Elora Kinsleigh of Gryffindor (DCRP)

PeakOfLoves: STAYC ISA (@iGazeAisa)

HeartfeltGuy: fromis_9 Jiheon (@LookAtJiheon)

pawfectmatches: ILLIT Wonhee (@wonheepawrent)

CrushReplays: BABYMONSTER Asa (@AdmirerAca)

SteardyHeart: NewJeans Minji (@NoisyMINJI)

GambleGuild: NewJeans Danielle (@GritDANIELLE)

ArtemOdysseys: NMIXX Haewon (@CouncilHaewon)

WishfulEndeavor: NewJeans Hanni (@EmployeeHannyi)

BeyondGalileo: ILLIT Minju (@WandererMinju)

ThatWinterSnow: ITZY Ryujin (@FrostedRyujin)

FrostToHeart: izna Sarang (@GlacierSarang)

UntoldSparks: IVE Wonyoung (@CharmerWony)

EdgeOf20: IVE Yujin (@Yuddingsters)

DIFTINITY: aespa Winter (@fellowWINTER)

thelovetide: NJZ Minji (@fromMINJl)

TheGrieverie: NJZ Minji (@Minjisnote)

CasadeMoney S3: NJZ Minji (@MinjiEVORA)

chateauday: STAYC Seeun (@inviteeseeun)

HeartCareHub: aespa Ningning (@HCH02Ningning)

thebluessoming: TXT Beomgyu (@PassBEOMGYU)

toiletopia: ILLIT Minju (@MinjuDuduk)

LoveseMosaic: NMIXX Sullyoon (@LoveseSULLY)

[entwinefates]

𔓕 VAPORIZE ⸻ PLOTTING CALL

takes out pocket watch. late! i'm late! unfortunately, my brain has been absolutely static for the past week, and i could hardly string a sentence together to save my life, but i'm good now! holding my hand out - let's take ibuprofen together, traveler. like the last time, i'll list everything i'm interested in, but i'd prefer to take only two threads at a time to minimize burnout ♡

ORIGAMI. ooo i think it would be cute to mix this with the japanese legend "senbazuru," which fables how folding a thousand paper cranes will grant you a wish. this can be for anything but usually people wish to heal an ill or hurt loved one.

i imagine another muse might happen upon paimon who's covered in shoddy paper cranes and question what she's doing, only for her to spiritedly explain she's sending them to her friends from abroad. they could offer to lend some help, and the two of them could sit together as the other teaches paimon how to fold correctly ( or maybe they both struggle hahaha ) while swapping stories about who they're sending their wishes to.

╰┈➤ taken; darcy!!! hi!!!

PEPESHI. conveniently, there's a floating starlight fairy buzzing around the hotel, furiously scribbling notes on penacony to bring back to her best friend, and an easy sucker for offloading your labor in exchange for some information. she'll handle all of the hard work of getting to those lofty places with her flight magic, and you'll walk away with some extra credits; it's a win-win situation!

unfortunately, this small fairy has a big mouth⸻this microaggressor is going to speedrun the enemy of the pepeshi achievement unless she's stopped. as the one who brought her in, it is your moral responsibility to correct this tourist's poor behavior and keep her out of trouble.

( otherwise i think the two muses goofing off in the hotel doing odd jobs just sounds cute sjskakaj )

PLOT BUNNIES.

one of my favorite paimon media is her teyvat food notes entry which is the cutest thing ever. i'd love for her to actually get her wish - baking her very own a slime-flavored cake! i think it'd be cute having the two muses puzzle over how to make such a thing edible for non-paimonials, combined with paimon's natural messiness in the kitchen.

hic. i'm so soft for someone taking care of paimon while she's sick. i imagine depending on the caretaker she'd enjoy being pampered for the day, or be a cranky little baby since she wants to go out and play.

╰┈➤ taken; duncan hi hi hiii

[kakusu-shipping]

paimon wants to say happy birthday!! paimon hopes you have a wonderful day, full of fun things and happy moments! please always remember your f/os love you very much ♡

anyway, for the ask game: coconuts & lychees?

✦ paimon from @wishis!

Thankyou so much for the ask Paimon!!!! (≧∇≦)ﾉ And thanks for making the ask game as well it's very fun!!

Coconuts ✦ What's your "type" in terms of fictional characters? What character trait(s) are you most drawn to?

When I realized I was Asexual I was very "I don't have a type" about romance, self shipping included, and while I still stand by that because to me my F/O list looks like it's kind of all over the place... I have submitted to the fact that a man simply has to be Pathetic and Cringe for me to like him. Koro-Sensei instilled that type in me,

Other than that I'm not sure, someone else would have to tell me, I'm not good at picking up "types" between characters, they're all so unique to me I can't see their tropes kfjgkfg

Lychees ✦ Do you use self-shipping to explore dynamics that you otherwise wouldn't in real life? What dynamics? Do you use self-shipping to imagine things you do want to experience in real life?

Yes to both, but obviously different dynamics krgjdfjgkdfdkg

For what I do want in real life, it's mostly Polycule dynamics. A good, communicative group of a couple. Me, my partner, their partner, our collective shared partner, the Queerplatonic, my other partner, our friend who isn't dating anyone but is hanging out, and the person we're all desperately trying to swoon.

I know a Big Polycule isn't the most realistic thing in the world, but it's my personal dream to have a polycule of 4 or more people interchangeably dating living together. I like imaging that life in Self Shipping a lot, with grey areas between Romantic and Platonic sense that's where I naturally fall, and solid communication of feelings and wants/needs expressed.

As for stuff I wouldn't want in real life, it almost falls in the same category? I adore Grey love, this middle space between Familial, Romantic, and Platonic. Between just a little over protective and completely obsessive. Between overbearing affections and devoted co-dependence. The space just before we hit a breaking point and cross the line into forbidden

A caretaker who loves their child the wrong way, a friend who never wants to let go of your hand, a teach who shows favoritism to a certain student or a sibling who just wants to spend a bit more time together.

Supposedly there's a Right and Wrong way to love someone, a clear cut line between the types of Love in the world

I like to blur that line while self shipping.

[caldella]

Good shower thoughts and very accurate!

I remember having a conversation along these lines when Full Moon first came out. Both how their upbringings/respective traumas caused a difference in overly polite/extremely blunt and confrontational, and how they both went through situations of being the 'unwanted outcast' but learned extremely different responses to that: Blitzø learned that he has to fight and be loud to be understood, and Stolas learned that he should just give up the moment there's pushback.

Blitzø spent his childhood being constantly second to Fizz, scraped himself from nothing after the fire, and lived even as a young adult in Fizz's shadow (he worked balloons at Loo Loo Land when Via was young and Fizz/the Fizzbots were already a big thing). We've had hints like in Truth Seekers that he tried going solo, and it didn't work out. He's gotten to the point he is in the story by fighting for absolutely everything he has and refusing to be put down by anyone. It's the only way his voice is ever heard.

Stolas, on the other hand, was raised to believe he should not fight, and that being open and honest will never get him what he wants because nobody really cares about that unless they're benefiting. His feelings like excitement or sadness were unbecoming or downright ugly. His marriage was 'non-negotiable.' His job was chosen for him. His palace according to the exterior sigil was Paimon's before it was officially Stolas'. Having a child was forced upon him. And honestly, he was given a job that revolves around prophecies, which are by nature inescapable. Expressing himself either made no difference or got him admonished. He was married to an abusive woman who probably blew every little habit of his out of proportion and he walked on eggshells constantly - de-escalating things, like you said about being accustomed to deflating situations. Based on The Circus, Stella even clamped down on interests/important traits like his singing. He had Via and was quickly thrown into a caretaker role, where he threw his own life under the bus to keep her stable and happy. "Fighting" or having conflict for him = giving up to make the person happy, either because was doing what he deemed best for a child or because the other person didn't want to hash things out - they wanted him to shut up and be compliant.

So between the overt societal niceness and the willingness to just give up, Blitzø does convince himself that Stolas' feelings don't run that deep. If he actually had them, surely they would've had it out a little more at the end of Ozzie's? But no, when called out, Stolas just says goodnight and lets Blitzø go. So he definitely can't care enough, right?

And that definitely comes to a head in Full Moon. Blitzø pretty perfectly set off Stolas' PTSD-type response by following him and screaming. He was hurt and confused and desperate to be heard - fighting things out is the only way he's listened to. He was, at his core, terrified of being dropped and begging for honesty. But Stolas has learned to shut down and give up. An argument means someone doesn't like him. He just wanted to get away and break down somewhere where his tears wouldn't be called ugly again.

Apology Tour Stolas has dropped the societal niceties toward Blitzø, which fights against the "he was just faking it" that Blitzø convinced himself of, but he's also given up. The morning conflict with Blitzø hammers it in even more - Blitzø is still focused on sex, refusing to acknowledge that Stolas cares about him, and accidentally lets slip that Stolas had an assassination attempt while doubling down that he doesn't see it as a big deal. He gives a big "Weeelll fuck you!" at the concept of addressing his own self-hatred. Stolas comes to the conclusion that he really was far more emotionally invested than Blitzø ever was. He gives up again and just leaves.

I think you're absolutely right that the drunken conversation at the party turned a very significant corner with Blitzø and making him fall more heavily - or at bare minimum at least realize that it was happening. And I think the All 2 U song really set the stage for that. Because that song was a perfect combination - Stolas was singing about his pain, but all the personality undertones that Blitzø was convinced were fake were there. He wasn't angry or fighting in that instance. He sang an entire song about giving up the idea that he ever meant anything to Blitzø, while also giving Blitzø a slight benefit of the doubt in "I don't think you meant to hurt me." There is no reason to put on fake politeness here; the people around him want him to be vindictive and to lash out, and he simply doesn't. He's once more throwing in the towel and just letting Blitzø go. And I think Blitzø finally faces that the overt politeness and acquiescing were never an act, just behavior that's been ingrained into the owl.

And that in turn probably makes Blitzø absorb the drunken conversation afterward even more, because he also doesn't convince himself that Stolas' attitude is any sort of class-based condescension. He's seeing Stolas as the complex individual well beyond the royal Goetia - but he's too overwhelmed by it to express himself in the moment, and Stolas is too drunk and despondent to realize he's making any sort of emotional impact. It's still stuck in his head - when people follow him while he's upset, it's bad. It's specifically to hurt him or put him down. So why is Blitzø still here? We've already opened this wound multiple times - do we really have to throw salt in it, too?

It will be really interesting to see how Stolas develops with snark/sass vs. the ingrained politeness/giving up going into S3. He's reached another point where he's largely 'given up' on himself and therefore lost a lot of the mannerisms plastered onto him. Though not entirely. "Go enjoy your Sinsmas, Blitzø. I'm fine," is yet another case of him minimizing his feelings and being too polite for someone else's sake. Blitzø is just learning enough about Stolas to see past it.

It'll also be interesting to see Blitzø probably become increasingly vulnerable around him, which is something I don't think Stolas has expected. At least, not to this degree.

Love watching these two idiots (affectionate) work each other out.

Shower thoughts moment about Stolas and Blitz' communication issues.

Something I haven't seen in these discussions before myself (beside the matter of how wishy-washy and overly accommodating Stolas tends to be):

Stolas is *overly polite*, to a degree Blitz simply can't decode the intricacies of it anymore.

His politeness is such an obvious, on-brand part of his behaviour that it gets overlooked as a source of communication issues, and their difference in social 'rank' is connected to this, too.

Tl;dr Stolas' usual cordial manner, overly restrained by the upper class code of conduct he was raised with, makes it very difficult for Blitz to take what he does and says at face-value, and this results in a fundamental unease and distrust on his part.

-

I was rewatching 'Ozzie's' again, and something occurred to me about their conversation after.

Stolas gets out of the car, probably after quite the long awkward silence. Blitz is clearly stewing in displeasure.

And then, what does he say? What's the kind of message he chooses to send, in-between his invitation?

'Hey Blitz, *thank you for asking me out, this was nice.*'

He doesn't completely skirt around the obvious issue that things ended on a sour note, but he skips over it quickly, in a hurry to avoid seeming unhappy or ungrateful or upset.

Now, after the whole debacle, Blitz knows damn well this was a mess from start to finish. He invited him out on a fake date, couldn't be arsed to really pay attention to him because he was still caught up in his Original Plan of spying on MnM, and not even minutes later, being unable to keep his gob shut, he ends up attracting the attention of everyone and their mama to him and Stolas, to get them both sublimely roasted in public.

'I enjoyed spending time with you', says Stolas.

'Bullshit', thinks Blitz.

No, he didn't. He got dragged into a sassy rogue's hare-brained scheme like the naive princey he is, tidily sat aside while Blitz thoughtlessly treated him like distraction at best, got publicly humiliated by the top dog of the Lust ring to the point of cringeing and hiding away, and got carted on home in a cramped messy car with a thundercloud in the driver's seat.

-

Stolas' intention isn't to bullshit Blitz. He knows his friend knows he knows this went terribly awry, but in his social circles, something so obvious doesn't have to be stated aloud. It'd even be incredibly unbecoming to complain openly, let alone to have a bitch fit and express frustration the way 'a lower class person' with no filter might.

He can tell Blitz isn't happy with things, and it's perfectly understandable and thoughtful of him to try to think of a way to salvage the evening, rather than to get hung up on whatever the fuck that whole mess just was. He knows Blitz isn't likely to be eager to talk about 'it', whatever 'it' might be, but they don't have to - if they can just spend a bit of time with each other to ensure things are alright between them, they can part ways with some peace of mind.

So that's what he does: he sidles around the unpleasant elephant in the room, like any properly behaved Goetia would, and extends a courteous, polite invitation to wave it all off and have a pleasant evening regardless.

Stolas spent his entire life 'on stage'. He's an actor, both due to a genuine, benign penchant for dramatics, and out of pure necessity to get by when surrounded by high society folk, and living in a household where conflict would be never-ending if he doesn't go out of his way to diplomatically calm things down. He has more than two decades of active training in 'how to ignore the ever-growing pile of crap, and put on your tidiest smile'.

-

By comparison, Blitz is *explicitly* vocal about what he thinks. The day they met, he wasn't shy at all about telling little Stols that his books are boring, and as an adult he's still impulsive and bluntly honest. He's used to open conflict and butting heads with people, and expects others to 'come and give it to him' if they have a problem.

From Blitz' perspective, Stolas' earnestly motivated behaviour has to come off as a bit 'fake', like an actor walking through a script.

Calling Stolas out by going 'oh come off it, you and I are just sex and nothing else' may sound incredibly blind, or deliberately obtuse, but I think he may have partially meant that to say 'can we not with the whole pretend-nice play acting right now, let me remind you of what's real here, and I'm not in the mood for messing around with whatever you think you're doing here'.

He really doesn't think Stolas inviting him to come in and hang out like friends is genuine, and in a sense - why would he? They just had a disaster of a night, and this weird prissy owl isn't starting a shouting match or crying or bitching about it - clearly he's up to something, but it's for sure not 'in earnest'. If it was, they'd be having an argument, or at the very least be talking about the whole thing.

-

Heck, the very first time they met was a whole mess of confusing communication, with the very first thing Stolas says to him after closing the door to his room being something straight out of a sexy roleplay. Talk about making a brand new first impression on Blitz as someone who apparently just Does That Kinda Thing like the massive nerd he is.

I really think Blitz struggles to interpret some of Stolas' behaviour correctly, or at least, in the way Stolas is going for. Their social surroundings and habits are so vastly different there really is no meeting in the middle at times. They're not just not on the same page, but reading a whole different novel.

-

And hey, this goes the other way, too.

During Full Moon, Blitz goes after him when Stolas withdraws from the interaction( wich is what you would do if in the middle of a fancy party, your emotions start to boil over - you excuse yourself to have a breakdown where nobody has to be annoyed over it).

Someone following him when he departs can either mean they cares about what's going on and are invested enough to want to be there while he's upset, OR it's a case of someone like Stella just not being done ripping him a new one. The way Blitz comports himself does *not* make it one bit clear that him chasing after Stolas is 'because he cares', not when mister hot-headed 'I turn fear into fury' Blitz is going off on a hostile tirade.

'LET'S GO!!' he shouts.

It's literally a case of someone screaming to be engaged with. 'Get back here you bastard we're not DONE.'

This is Blitz 'being real' with people, as unpleasant and aggressive (and in its own way a defensive front) as it is. This is Blitz ready to tear through the haze of indirect, vague communication, expecting, wanting Stolas to stop running, turn around, and give him a piece of his mind properly. If Stolas is upset, angry, hurt... he should just say so, damnit!

That's the social rules he lives by: you throw out a provocation, and the other party responds in the same way, clapping back with whatever crap it is that's got their panties in a twist, and whatever comes out of such a tiff would at least register as 'honest' to someone like Blitz.

This is how he interacts with Verosika. It's how he interacts with Fizz during their conflicts. It's how Barbie interacts with him. It's just 'how you do things' by Blitz' script.

*None* of that aligns with Stolas' expectations or understanding. To him, acting like that is just rude, aggressive, and mean, and he's not the kind of person to match that energy in kind.

-

And this is where in Apology Tour, there is a noticeable and critical change in Stolas' behaviour: for the first time, he gets *snarky*.

He shows Blitz his disapproval, his impatience, his frustration. He blocks him off, pushes back, argues with him. He legit gives Blitz 'a bit of a hard time', well-deservedly, even if for the most part he's still aiming to cut communication short and go back to handling his feelings in private.

Later at night during the party, when he's drunk off his ass and his usual patience and self-control are running on fumes, Blitz approaches him rather demurely, ready to at least try to make amends. It's at this point that Stolas' communication turns into a style Blitz understands: blunt, expressive, and unrestrained. He finally stops holding back, and lets his feelings, notably anger and hurt, show plainly.

Snark and sarcasm, immediate clap-backs - that's the language Blitz speaks fluently. That's what, to him, registers as 'honest', as real, as true. That is the point at which he no longer has any instinctive reason to think Stolas is just putting on a fancy show, because that's how 'normal people talk'.

-

I very much think that as much as Blitz already had intense latent feelings for him, it's the point at which Stolas showed him something 'real', something relatable and understandable and trustworthy, that the imp fell even harder for him.

It broke through the distortion caused by Stolas constantly holding back, and Blitz being quite aware that Stolas, in a sense, constantly put on a performance for him.

In short...

Stolas claims Blitz is the person he can 'be himself with' the most, but I truly think it took until Apology Tour before he started breaking down his own walls of reticence and distance. They've only *just* gotten started, but this tiny bit of change that already started before Mastermind is a sign that things can absolutely go into a better direction with them.

[alpaca-writes]

For the ask

Call me?

Oh this was fun! Thank you anon!

Call Me: write a drabble about one character asking for another.

OCs: Whumpee!Arch and Caretaker!Paimon.

CW: None.

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

It was a gentle floating, whirling feeling. Like being on a playground swing, steadily climbing to its apex from which there was no descent. If it were real, Arch would have doubled over in nausea by now, but they didn’t because there was no reason to. The darkness granted the illusion of no movement at all, despite what was otherwise felt. They were traveling farther than they had ever traveled before in their mind- in this space they believed to be their mind; an imagined Labyrinth, merely devised in a dream and created out of pure, pathetic need.

They wondered when they would see her. They hoped they might find her. Call out to her somehow.

“Mom!?”

The darkness continued to whirl through the Labyrinth without a sound. Arch’s voice was lost to the darkness too, as though it was sucked up through a vacuum. Without any solid forms to echo their voice back to them, there wasn’t even the illusion that they were not alone.

“Mom!?”

The more they cried out, the more they felt lost in the solitary prison. Maybe mom was calling out too, Arch hoped, maybe I just can’t hear her… Maybe she can’t hear me…

The smallest beacon of light shone at a distance and with sudden charge, Arch flew toward it, and it grew bigger with every moment that passed.

“Mom? Is that you?”

They picked up their pace, and then realized that the light had passed them by already- the strange place had done a number on their sense of distance and time. They turned back and stopped. The light was there, floating by on its own accord and choosing its own direction to travel. Arch simply watched as the light continued on, unresponsive to their cries.

“Mom… Please… Is that you?” Arch could feel themselves crying, though there was nothing to prove that they were. “Mom I know it’s you… I can… I can feel it.”

Arch had no desire to leave the light behind. They followed it as it went on, and they paused by its side when it stopped. There was no way for them to hold the light, to touch it, or to do much else than just watch. The light lowered and remained lower for several moments. When it rose to its normal height, it left a familiar gold crucifix in its wake.

“MOM!”

Arch awoke with a jolt, the sound of their own shouting still filling their ears as they rose up from the pillow, nearly jumping off the side of the mattress onto the hard stone floor of Paimon’s home.

The lights of their room turned on, filling the space with an eerie orange glow. Then, there was a knock at the door.

With their heart still pounding and their sweat collecting at the back of their neck, they waited for the second set of knocks before they welcomed in exactly who they had expected would be knocking at that time.

Paimon opened the door, respectfully. His hooves clattered against the floor as he allowed himself in, and he sat on the edge of the bed in silence.

“Nightmare?” He began. He did not make eye contact with the human- they were not so willing to either.

“I don’t get nightmares,” Arch retorted. “Don’t be stupid.”

“It’s not stupid to become the victim of one’s own mind, it simply happens,” Paimon said, a hand smoothed out his long beard and rested at the end of it, twirling its point. “Every one of us has had to battle with our conscience, our guilt, and our fears at one time or another. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

Arch settled themselves against the headboard, their arms choked out a long cream coloured pillow as they lowered their chin into it, hiding the redness that began to show itself below their eyes.

“Why did you let me remember her?” they asked him, muffled by the pillow.

“Would you have preferred I didn’t?” Paimon inquired, mildly surprised.

“Of course,” they replied. Tears came welling up, but they blinked them away as soon as the temptation to cry had struck them. “She would be so ashamed of me. Of what I’ve done… I’m… evil… I’m a… monster…”

“But my sweet, sweet, thing!” Paimon pressed a hand into their shoulder, eagerly but tenderly. “Don’t you see? Your shame about who you are and what you are- that is not your burden to carry! Your shame began with your family, and it will end with them. You feel their guilt and their fear, and the weight of their conscience. Don’t allow them to bring you down.”

“Then get rid of it for me! Erase them! Erase everything!” Arch pleaded.

Paimon shook his head, and removed his hand from their shoulder.

“That would be too easy. The moment that you can leave behind those you care for of your own volition, is the same moment you will know that you have become more powerful than any other being on Earth. I will not rob you of that victory.” Paimon stood up, and head towards the door. “Not in your wildest dreams.”

“Wait,” Arch felt awkward even thinking this, but it was what they needed. They had a big day tomorrow, and they needed some good rest. “Could you… Could you put me to sleep? No dreams, no nothing?”

Paimon returned to the bedside motioning for them to readjust their sleeping position. Taking the pillow from their arms, he fluffed it once and propped it beneath their head. Arch pulled a blanket up around their shoulders and sunk into the welcoming pillow and soft mattress below, feeling much more comfortable than mere moments before he had come into their room.

“Thank you, Paimon," they sighed.

Paimon nodded, and lifted a hand over their forehead. He lightly touched above their browbone.

“Cwsg sydyn.”

Paimon lowered the lights as he made his way toward the door. He gripped the doorknob and turned back as the sound of Arch’s deep breathing of slumber was already audible.

“Goodnight, sweet thing,” he uttered just before closing the door behind him.

[idcallmyselfhuman]

Aether would be an excellent apprentice for Barbara in her caretaking duties.

Imagine... the first thing you feel when you wake up from an outer body experience of a dream is hunger, and this boy whom you’ve never interacted with before looks at you in worry and offers to make any dish you’d like, if only to make you feel better.

I think I’d die on the hospital bed.

[iicheeze]

Genshin SAGAU except Reader is a lore fanatic

cw: lore dump, archon quest spoilers, side quest spoilers, etc

“ guys did u know that the Sea Ganoderma is actually souls of children who died young trapped and is forced to spend generations absorbing elements from the sand and sea as the form of punishment?? ” “ what the fuck your grace. ” Tighnari muttered.

“yelan, i know where u got ur jacket. ” “ o- oh, really, Your Grace? ” Yelan stuttered, sweat dropping. “ Yeah, i know u stole it from a Fatui Harbinger that was supposed to be a gift for the Tsaritsa and made some 'adjustments' to make it fit your style. ” you stated with a smirk, while yelan tries to hold in her cries because you rlly are a Divine Being, knowing everything about Teyvat.

Archon quest spoilers down ahead

“ Guys, I have a theory that the upside down Statue of the Seven and city the Traveler and Paimon saw are actually the correct way and that proves it because when I took a walk at Spiral Abyss when I went down I expected it to be pitch black but instead I'm met with the galaxy sky and a moon and possibly, Khaenri 'ah and Enkanomiya are the ones that are actually in the surface, while Teyvat is underground and yknow what? Scaramouche is RIGHT. The stars are fake the sky is fake everything is fake as we know of HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ” your maniacal laughter echoed through the Akademiya as many Researchers are baffled by this amount of information

“ Alhaitham, do you have a second? ” “ Of course, Your grace. What is it? ” “ Are you the Scarlet King ” “ ........ excuse me ”

“ WELL i noticed that the color of your eyes matches the Scarlet King's eyes, and your boots matches the color of the buildings of the Scarlet King's Civilization. A blue gem appeared when the Scarlet King sacrificed himself and it kinda looked like the gems at your back. And when you do your burst it looks REALLY similar to the Primal Constructs’ attacks, and the Primal Constructs are what's left of the Scarlet King's civilization. And at your chest it looks like it has the wings of an eagle, and your name literally means young eagle. What does this have to do with the Scarlet King? Well, at the Dunes I've ventured, I've seen murals and a figure with a bird head and it could possibly be the Scarlet King but it strangely reminded me of you!!! Plus, you know how to use the devices made by the Scarlet King, whereas the books and researchers at the Akademiya shows no information on how to properly use them. Pretty suspicious...... ”

and then theres alhaitham sweating his balls off on how the hell did you get that information.

“ guys, did you know that when Enkanomiya was plunged deep into the ocean, they created a fake sun called Helios to survive, right??? But actually, the nobles wanted more power. They wanted a puppet or ruler that they could easily control or manipulate. And WHO WOULD MAKE A GOOD CANDIDATE??? THAT'S RIGHT! A CHILD. AND THUS, BEGIN THE REIGN OF THE SUNCHILDREN. They were young and ignorant, obviously easy to be deceived and lied to. They were manipulated to commit heinous deeds. The first Sunchild was deceived to imprisoning his role model for life, aka isolated from everyone. The sunchildren were DESPISED by their own people, EVEN THE CARETAKERS ARENT ALLOWED TO SPEAK TO THEM. Knowing that the Sunchildren could realize that they were being manipulated, the nobles then introduced Rite of Solar Return. Now what the hell is a Rite of Solar Return??? Basically, when a Sunchild hits a certain age, they will be taken into the inner sanctum of Helios. The artificial Sun's high temperature could AND WOULD incinerate them alive!!!!! AND SOMEHOW, SOME HAVE SIMILARITIES WITH OUR CURRENT ARCHONS!!! Orupeusu had a talent for the lyre, aka the Anemo Archon. Risutaiosu made lifelike sculptures, like the Electro Archon. And Isumenasu would roam his country, AND EVEN HAD A SPEAR LIKE THE GEO ARCHON AT HIS GRAVE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA I AM A GENIUS ”

the fact that people would still listen to your rants about Teyvat but still be concerned about your mental health is hilarious

if you werent the Divine Being of All, they would've locked you up where no one can find you, you know

Dottore would like you tho

so that's good

[mamichigo]

Cyno has been watching the scene unfold for quite awhile now, though he's no less confused than he was five minutes ago. Alhaitham, unaware of his gaze, continues to chat with the two little kids hanging off his frame. Ah, make that three. There's a girl, smaller than the other two boys, valiantly attempting to climb up Alhaitham's leg.

"What's this word?" One of the older kids asks, peering over Alhaitham's shoulder with two little arms wrapped around his neck.

Alhaitham pauses his reading, eyes scanning back to the word the boy just pointed at.

"'Bewildering', it means confusing or difficult to understand."

"Oh, oh, I get it!" The other boy exclaims. "That's just like you! Mister, you're be...be..."

"Bewildering."

"Be will daring!"

"Hm. Your pronunciation is a little off, but your effort to break the word down to more familiar sounds is admirable," Alhaitham nods solemnly.

"Yeah, I didn't get any of that, Mister."

The two boys laugh as if Alhaitham just told them the greatest joke known to men. The little girl, clueless as to what's happening around her, breaks into a toothy grin and claps at them.

It's bizarre to watch. Alhaitham doesn't get along with most people, and Cyno never pictured him to be patient with kids. And yet, here he is: somehow, he hasn't even made a sarcastic quip this entire time.

(If Paimon saw him now, she'd surely have a few words for him.)

"What's going on here?" Cyno finally asks, curiosity winning over him.

Alhaitham doesn't seem surprised to see him.

"They were looking for Candace," he says. "I'm just a convenient substitute. Are your meetings done?"

"For the time being. We've only just started to formulate a plan on how to make the passage between the desert and the rainforest safer, but..." He sighs. "It's only the start, there's still a lot to be done. Oh, and Candace stayed behind to talk to Dehya. I'm afraid she'll be awhile."

The children (who had been not-so-subtly paying attention to their conversation) all deflate in unison. Alhaitham raises his eyebrows at the boys.

"You heard the General Mahamatra. It seems you'll have to find something else to do for the rest of the day."

The two of them grumble as they jump off of Alhaitham's shoulders and stalk to a corner to whisper amongst themselves. Cyno tunes them out as a gesture of goodwill. He doesn't need to scare the villagers any more than he already does.

"And this one?" Cyno crouches by the little girl, smiling when she beams up at him.

"Too young to speak much, as far as I can tell. It seems she was attracted by the commotion the boys were making."

"I'll help you find her caretakers later." Cyno gently sits by her side, allowing the girl to tug at his hair. "Sorry I've made you come all this way with me."

"I don't mind. For now, I'm the closest thing the Akademiya has to a representative, excluding the Dendron Archon herself. I'm sure you understand it's a little too soon for her to be the face of the rainforest around here."

Cyno nods absentmindedly. He scrunches up his nose when a strong tug stings at his scalp. Is he supposed to let her continue, or chastise her for hurting him? Is it even okay to chastise someone else's kid? He's not sure. For now, he settles for prying her fingers off his hair.

"Everything alright?" Alhaitham asks, smiling with amusement. "It looks like you're in quite the heated battle, General."

"If you can tell, then give me a hand."

"Me?" Alhaitham held a hand to his chest. "I wouldn't know the first thing about helping with children."

"I can't tell whether you're lying or not sometimes," Cyno huffs. "I'd hand off this one to you, but it looks like you're already in demand."

He raises his chin towards the two boys, currently waving to get Alhaitham's attention.

"Are you going?"

Alhaitham hums. "Do you think I should go?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Well, I don't have any particular reason to go, and I still would like to finish my book. But if the General says I should go, then I will."

The girl coos at him and pats his cheeks. She could probably see him blush. Somehow, it's a lot more embarrassing to be seen like this by a child, so Cyno resolutely looks away.

"You should go play with them and lose at whatever game they've come up with," he jokes, hoping to disperse the charged air between them.

Alhaitham seems to ponder his words for a moment before closing his book and crouching by Cyno.

"I've recently found out there's very little I wouldn't do to make you happy," he declares, as monotone as one would talk about the weather.

"Testing the limits of that hypothesis is a good enough pastime, at the very least. I'm off then."

He gently lays a hand on Cyno's head, then pinches the little girl's cheek. Cyno watches him walk away, mouth agape.

And as Alhaitham "loses" in a race against two kids, Cyno looks down at his little partner, grinning despite himself.

"He really is be will daring, don't you think?"

She happily gurgles her agreement.