#He's acting the same as everyone else when Rex was so sure he was different.

[anyoldfandom]

"You better get some control of yourself, mijo."

"Or what? You'll use that thing on me?"

[the-bi-space-ace]

I’m in a Mood™️ so here’s what our favorite clones are like when they want attention:

Echo:

It depends on who he wants attention from tbh. With Fives, Tech, or Crosshair? He’s such a little shit. Has the patience of a tooka that’s grumpy he’s not getting enough pets. Is rather forward about wanting attention, though, which is shocking for him considering he’d rather bleed out than ask for help. Attention is different though. With everyone else he can play up his charms. He’s persuasive and will use his powers of “sweetness” to get what he wants.

Crosshair:

Did I hear someone say cause problems? Yeah. He’s gonna cause problems. He’ll be super grumpy but never say a damn word about what he wants. Best believe he’ll be a little shit on purpose in order to get attention: positive or negative. Any attention is good attention. Also acts like an impatient pets-starved tooka but he’ll bite to get his way instead of head butting. He teases, pokes or prods, makes a fuss out of embarrassing things his squad has done. All to get them to retaliate so he gets what he wants. Little shit.

Tech:

Straight forward man. He’s not shy about asking for attention and he will be honest about it. No grumping although sometimes he’ll get tetchy before he recognizes what it is he wants. He simply interrupts when he wants something. Echo is on his comm and Tech comes up to him, says nothing, takes the comm, turns it off, then starts rambling.

Wrecker:

He’s gonna play. I’m talking roughhousing, pillow fights, tickling, anything for some physical affection. When he’s gone a real long time without any attention he gets sad. Maybe even pouts. Not as sulky as Crosshair can get but he sure does play the kicked mastiff well with those big eyes of his.

Hunter:

Man can’t even ask for a cup of caf let alone affection. Gets cranky and ends up taking a nap instead of just, idk, asking for a damn hug. Has to be bullied into accepting it like it’s the worst thing ever. Dramatic behavior. Almost as bad as Crosshair for fucks sake. Echo nearly tackled him one day bc he kept moping and it was driving Echo up a wall. When the two of them both want attention at the same time just let Echo at him. He’ll wear him down, he’s good at that. No one can resist tooka eyes from Echo.

Rex:

Rex will always suggest an activity he knows the other person likes. It’s his sneaky way to ask to spend time together because he’s sure they won’t say no. He doesn’t like that cafe but Fives does so he’ll suggest it for lunch for some one on one time.

Cody:

Refuses to admit to needing anything he’s big and tough no need to give him anything. He will start to isolate if he’s feeling too itchy for attention. It makes him feel weird that he needs Something. Ridiculous man. Pulls away when he wants to be closer. It’s easier for him with Rex, Echo, or Fives because he’ll just show up and tell them they’re doing something with him and they follow. Anyone else? Can’t do it. Won’t do it. Will show off sometimes to impress his general for some positive feedback.

Fives:

He’s up front about it! But he’s gonna use pestering to get his way! Echo won’t even get a day without Fives trying to bother him for some attention. He gets under Rex or Cody’s skin to get a reaction. They know he’s doing it on purpose and they humor him anyway.

[book--wyrm]

Since I've been having so much fun with predictions for this show, I'm gonna lay down my incredibly specific bet for how Francis dies.

I've touched on most elements of this before but I want a post to go back and reference when ep 7 ends, to see where my head was at even if I'm wrong.

It's time to connect some dots.

And then find out next week that i didn't connect shit lmao.

There's a reveal waiting in the wings to do with Rex Calabrese, for sure.

Obviously Rex has been set up since the first moments of the pilot, and he came up again in ep 5, and again ep 6.

Rex has specifically been set up as a positive, aspirational figure in Oz's life, the guy who took care of everyone, for whom crime was his way of being a good guy.

This entire show, this Rex Calabrese Myth has been the core of Ozwald's self justifications. It's all worth it to do the good that Rex did, to be loved like Rex was.

But the show has also not shied away from how selfish and hollow these justifications are. Even in this episode—"You know how meaningful that is? To be the guy in the neighborhood who takes care of people?" Not to take care of people for their sake. To be the guy they love for taking care of them.

Especially compared to Eve's genuine love and bond with her girls, Oz's good gangster fantasy has been shown time and time again to be just self aggrandizing excuses.

So I am convinced that one part of this Rex Calabrese reveal is going to be that he was also a lying asshole con man, that Oz was just one of the suckers who fell for it. We've seen from Eve that Oz can spew bullshit with the best, but can't sniff it out like Sofia can.

But there's something else to the Rex thing. The show has been real quiet about Oz's dad so far. That even got pointed out this ep.

In Ep 5, Francis says that Oz has big dreams, just like his father. And Oz says, no, I ain't like him.

In Ep 6, Francis talks to Oz as if she thinks he's his dad, saying that he needs to do something about the heat, that like it or not, "they're his boys", and if he doesn't, she'll go to Rex.

It sounds initially like Rex and Oz's father are different people, but... Oz had two brothers. Two older brothers, too, I think.

This is a bit of a stretch, and the part of this theory I'm least certain about, but I think it's possible that the person Oz thinks is his father is only Jack and Benny's bio dad, and that his bio dad is actually Rex, when his mom went to Rex after the dad couldn't keep the money coming in.

I just feel like this would make for a great gut punch combined with the takedown of the Rex myth, you know? If Oz learns that he is the son of his childhood hero, only for that idealized vision of Rex to be exposed as a facade at the same time, for Oz to have to face that he was born of, has admired, and has ultimately been acting just like a slimy, sleazy scumbag who did more harm than good in his life.

Maybe even hurt his ma? Maybe that's why Francis left Rex and went back to her original partner?

Vic's lie to Francis about Oz killing the whole Falcone family

First of all there is no way this doesn't come up when Sofia and Francis are in a scene together. Like. Vic didn't say all the Falcones except Sofia. He said they're all dead. Oz pulled this off.

But it was a lie. Sofia is the last of her line, by her own hand. It was all a lie, and Francis has been so consistent about this, she hates when her son lies to her. I can't blame her, either—when your own mind lies to you constantly, you want there to be an anchor, a pillar of truth in your life. If you can't trust yourself, you have to be able to trust *someone*, or you're lost.

Oswald didn't lie to her, this time. Vic did. But under the circumstances, I wonder if that isn't a technicality that gets easily lost.

I wonder if she isn't going to do what she's done all throughout the show, and cut Oswald to the core when she finds out.

The way Francis has been displacing affection onto Vic has clearly been leading up to... something.

She has consistently been so harsh, so demanding towards Oswald, the only remaining son who has the means to take care of her.

But to Vic, she has been so sweet and kind, possibly because she has no expectations of a boy not her blood, possibly because she's mentally substituting him in for her other sons.

Death makes martyrs of your children.

And Oz hasn't been responding well to this. To the way Francis praises Vic, to the way Vic was able to calm her down and make her happy when he just made her angry.

Oz responds badly to a lot of things. But when Eve broke up with him, he said something specific. "You got some high roller you'd rather be shacking up with?" Do you have someone better than me? Have I already been replaced? Am I not enough for my place in your life, is there someone who does everything I do but better?

This whole family unit is sitting on an emotional powder keg.

Francis's request for euthanasia uahghghghghgh

In a show about a determined antihero, Oz would follow through on his mom's request. This is not that show.

That being said, I think that means there are sort of two really evil ways that the show could kill Francis. Which will happen, btw. She is going to die.

The first is for Oz to refuse to kill his mom, leaving her in position to die horribly at someone else's hands.

I can see this one in theory, but I feel like it doesn't have a solid emotional impact? Refusing to euthanize your mother is an understandable, if slightly selfish thing to do. Especially under an extremely stressful situation like your mom has been kidnapped and. idk. electroshocked by Dr Subdrop, who fucking knows.

The other really awful thing they could do is to have Oz kill his mom, in a scene where she is explicitly lucid and clearheaded, and then justify it to himself afterwards as a mercy killing, it's what she asked of me, I was a good son to her.

People working on the penguin have been dropping hints that by the last two episodes, Oz will have done something irredeemably horrific, and I just. This would be fucking *vile*.

Here's my theory. And I type this with the full understanding that this is so specific it's almost certainly not going to go down like this.

Sofia takes Vic and Francis away somewhere, and over the course of whatever scenes they have, Francis realizes that "Oz wiped out the Falcones" was a lie. (idk that I would want Sofia to tell her directly, we already did a "oh, you didn't know?" scene with Eve.) Oz shows up at some point, and learns both about the lie Vic told, and that his mother is now furiously angry about it

Somehow Oz gets Francis away, and here my theory kinda splits into two possibilities.

a) Oz gets Francis away by sacrificing Vic, and Francis blows up on him about leaving vic and about the lie.

or b) Oz, Francis, and Vic all get away, and once they're out Oz attacks Vic for lying to his ma and making her mad at him, and Francis blows up on him in Vic's defence or just because she's so angry at him she doesn't even think about Vic.

Either ways, she throws the truth in his face in a moment of clear eyed lucidity—he is Rex's son, and just like Rex, he's a scummy, lying piece of shit who will never amount to anything.

(there's a part of me that thinks maybe instead of Rex it'll be smth about his brothers? god knows how their deaths will play into things idk where they fit here)

and in a mirror to the absolute senseless rage and pain he felt when his childhood dream of being Rex was insulted by Alberto in Ep 1, he kills his own mother, and cements himself as the villain of this show.

[jedi-enthusiast]

I'm bored, so here is how I'd fix 'The Bad Batch.'

Caveat: Obviously I would've preferred a show centered around clones like Rex, Cody, Fox, Wolffe, Echo, etc. instead of some random "special" clones we've literally never heard of, but that's not what we got so I'm making a post about what we have to work with. Also, obviously I'm not gonna cover every issue about the show, these are just the main things I'd change.

1. Un-whitewash them. In fact, un-whitewash all of the clones, but that's a given.

In the same vein, though, have them actually look like clones. It makes like 0 sense for them to have to hide or have to wear disguises or what have you to hide the fact that they're clones...when they don't look like clones.

I'm gonna be honest, if they weren't introduced as clones in the show, then I wouldn't have had any idea that they were clones. They look nothing like Temura Morrison or the other clones. Fix that.

Or, hell, if people are absolutely dead set on them looking different, have them hate the fact that they look different from the other clones rather than making them think they're so much better than everyone else.

Sure the Kaminoans might've said something or other about them being "better" then the other clones, due to their modifications, but they're also just as likely to have said something negative about them looking different since they want things to be uniform---not to mention that their "special modifications" probably got more attention on them from the Kaminoans, which would obviously be something that sucked ass and probably got them in more trouble/gave them more restrictions.

I feel like it'd be more plausible for them to want to blend in and not want that extra attention- (and everything that comes with it) -rather than them having a whole complex about being "so much better" than everyone else. Especially considering that, generally speaking, their modifications don't really seem to make them any more "special" than anyone else.

----------

2. Get rid of the animosity between TBB and the rest of the clones. It makes no fucking sense.

No more of the "regs" bullshit, no more of TBB not giving a shit about other clones, no more of the bullying that apparently went on on Kamino. None of that shit.

The whole "oh the regs bullied TBB because they looked different, boo hoo" thing doesn't even make fucking sense!!! 99 looked different than all the other clones and they fucking loved him! Not to mention the importance that the clones place on individuality, distinction, and being yourself---it makes no sense for looks, of all things, to be something the other clones make fun of TBB for!!

And, honestly, given how TBB consistently talked about/treated the "regs," I'm more willing to believe that the other clones started "bullying" them in retaliation to TBB calling them "expendable" and acting like they were so much better than them.

But, that's besides the point, anyway-

Have TBB actually care about the other clones, have them be close, have TBB have more than blank faced reactions to finding out their brothers are being mind controlled---actually have them give a shit and want to help, but they're unable to.

----------

1. In the same vein, get rid of the animosity Crosshair has with the rest of TBB. It makes no fucking sense, given the direction they're trying to take with the show.

It definitely makes no sense for them to have this whole plot/conflict thing about "saving Crosshair" when none of them actually seem to like each other.

In fact, make the whole team actually seem like they like each other---right now they seem like strangers who barely tolerate each other that just got locked inside a 7/11 together. If there's gonna be a show centered around them, that's gonna try and sell the idea that they care about each other or whatever, actually make it seem like it!!

Have them have more emotions about being separated from Crosshair, have them fuck up a mission on accident because they forgot he wasn't there, have them be more than just "😐" at everything, for the love of fuck.

----------

3. Instead of making them boring characters that are basically just stereotypes + a one-dimensional version of Echo, give them actual personality.

Also, assuming they keep the abilities the same, let their abilities actually affect them negatively instead of just being a way for them to one up everyone.

Hunter - Give him a habit of being overly anxious. He's supposed to be a leader and he's supposed to be close to his team, so have him be worried about making a wrong decision so he often overthinks things to make sure that doesn't happen. Have him look up to Cody and maybe try to emulate him, since Cody seems to take sort of "older brother" vibes when he's around other people, people just seem to look to him for answers- (yeah because he's Marshal Commander, but also let me just have this). Give Hunter sensory issues, have him get uncomfortable and irritable and upset when things get to be too much.

Wrecker - Instead of making him "stupid, childish, and strong," actually make him smart---he's supposed to be a demolitions expert, so he's not just gonna be a dumbass. Also, maybe make him really protective over everyone and self-sacrificing, believing that he's the strongest so he can take the things that everyone else can't---have him be reckless, not because he's stupid, but because he doesn't want his brothers- (including the "regs") -to do the same thing and get hurt. Give him chronic pain. It hurts to grow and he had to grow a lot more than the others---plus, with all the injuries he's endured from protecting the others, he's bound to have been a little fucked up by those.

Tech - They wanna make him autistic coded? Great, we need more representation, but don't feed into stereotypes this time. Make him smart when it comes to his interests---engineering, technology, etc---but then also have him be lost when it comes to things that aren't in his areas of interest, don't make him know everything because that's not realistic. Maybe give him anxiety when it comes to social situations, me and a lot of other autistic people I know get anxious because we don't know what's "right" and "wrong" in social situations, let him actually have anxiety related to his social awkwardness instead of him just- 😐 -all the time. Have him be curious about things related to his interests and prone to rambling about them---let him be excited to tell other people what he knows instead of just saying- "I thought it was obvious." I'm not really sure what Tech's special ability is supposed to be other than just "smart," so let's just say he has an eidetic memory or something. Give him insomnia. Again, me and a lot of autistic people I know have trouble sleeping, and also let him have stress related to everyone always looking to him for the answers---let him mess up and feel guilty about messing up because "he's supposed to know everything/be the smart one."

Crosshair - Don't just make him an asshole who's always looking for a fight---maybe just make him quiet but with a sarcastic sense of humor, that way it's a lot more shocking when he starts speaking up against Hunter. Let him also be anxious in social situations since he doesn't know how to navigate them, let him look to Hunter or Cody for cues on what to do. Instead of basically saying "let's leave Echo for dead, he's just a reg" in TCW, maybe have him be vocally supportive of Rex whenever someone else shows doubt---have him understand not wanting to leave someone behind, have him care deeply about his brothers, and then let that make it hit so much harder when TBB has to leave him on Kamino. He's supposed to be The Best Sharshooter Ever due to genetic engineering? Great, give him eye problems. Make really bright lights hurt him, so he has to wear his helmet to make things easier on his eyes---maybe have him struggle with seeing things really close to him.

Echo - JUST GIVE ME TCW ECHO BACK, AND LET HIM ACTUALLY HAVE PTSD FFS

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4. Finally, change the direction of the story.

Make more of their story center around trying to help Rex save their brothers and try to figure out how to stop the Empire, not just them apparently having the world’s worst luck and being shitty bounty hunter knock-offs. When Rex asks them to help the Rebellion/their brothers/whatever, have them agree to help and go with him rather than Hunter basically just saying- "welp, that sucks ig, but I only care about my fellow "special" clones, so nah."

Have them join the Rebellion and help Rex free the other clones, use the show to give us a deeper look into the clones---what sort of culture they would’ve developed, the complicated relationship they would’ve had with the Republic, etc.

Give us episodes that center around Gregor, Cody, Wolffe, Fox, Rex, etc. and give us insight into what their lives were like after the Empire took over, rather than just having this show about a random group of "special clones" basically copying the style of The Mandalorian.

[enigmatist17]

Catch me thinking about all the clones "waking" up in the past after their final brother (read Rex and Kix) eventually dies....pt 2

Part 1 is here

Kenobi returns to the Jedi Council after a good month, looking haunted as he explains to the Council what he's learned from these mysterious clones

there is a lot of arguing, but it is nigh impossible to lie to Kenobi or any Jedi, and the younger Master finally says he's brought some of the clones with him

Cody, Fox, and Fordo are brought in, hidden under robes as to remain unseen, and after making sure there were no devices hidden in the Council chamber, they stand at attention for questioning

they speak with the voices of soldiers despite wearing the bodies of younglings, and with trust that had only come with time and care, they let the Council see into their minds

It's the first time Fox and Fordo see a Jetti shed tears, Fox in particular leaning against Fordo in weariness as the Council begins to speak in outrage. Cody leans against Fordo's other side, and the Jetti forget they're even there until Obi-Wan gets everyone calmed down

Half of the Council depart for Kamino that night, while the other half fake continuing on as normal, knowing now they had a Sith on the same planet as their Temple

Cody has their transport stop to pick up Obi-Wan's padawan, Anakin having been sent on a small retreat. He's confused as he's hurriedly ushered to come with, but Obi-Wan doesn't seem stressed by the three guys who look alike, so he's not concerned as they shoot off into the Outer Rim

The Council members aren't sure what to feel as they follow Obi-Wan into the main facility, and the same haunted eyes as those of the three who had shown them everything are watching in nervous excitement

Rex was chatting with some of his vod in a training room when an excited Anakin seems to just materialize from nowhere, the Force seemingly pointing out the startled clone who freezes when they lock eyes

Obi-Wan yanks him back before Anakin can step forward, and Rex doesn't shamefully hide behind Wolffe as he can't deal with Anakin yet, raspy breathing and a blade born of the blood of younglings humming behind him

Anakin is confused why the other is distressed at seeing him, and the other Jedi masters who were nearby are drawn to the pain being broadcasted into the Force. Wolffe stiffens when Plo looks into the room, and Ponds calls out to General Buir, please help us calm him, and the master feels his legs moving towards the small group before he realizes it. The Force is telling Plo that these boys are his children, that they have always been, so he listens as he hugs the group of teens as tight as he can manage,

It's a very long night for both clones and Jetti, and it's realized that this time would be different

The captured Kaminoan's are surprised and relieved when they're visited by the Jedi, hoping that they might be freed from their cells. Instead, they're interrogated for what felt like hours, and when they're offered a way to return to their people if they give up all of their work and knowledge of who orchestrated the creation of the clones, they agree. They'd been paid, and whatever happened now was of no concern to them, so after everything from creation to knowledge of how to disable/stop the chips from being made, they are escorted off-planet and to their freedom (Huge fan of Kamino not being their home planet but a testing ground as it were for the clones/other experiments)

With knowledge in hand, those who had remained on Coruscant are given the proof of who Palpatine is, and before they can act, the Sith is killed by assassination

Fox smiles when he learns, and knows that his little side trip when they fist went back to Coruscant was a success.

Cad Bane is now stupid rich, and doesn't really care either way.

The Republic, understandably, freaks out

They fail to notice that the Separatists are also freaking out, as Dooku is freaking out/not sure what else to do

The clones don't really care at the moment, focusing on running the facilities and seeing who can get a hug from a Jetti

I just

I need to stop writing 5 different things at once, and then come up with another AU

But

My clones are my children

[thepatchycat]

hellooo! 👋

i hope it as okay to tag you in the WIP game!!! 😅😅 you have so many cool projects underway!!

I would love to hear more about your Defiance series! Side stories and spin offs?! What a world you must be creating! 🤩

thanks and have a lovely day !!☀️

Certainly! :D I don't always respond to tag games, but I do always appreciate being tagged in them. This one especially makes for a nice excuse to ramble about projects, and I'm delighted to talk about Defiance~

I'm pretty sure Defiance (the main fic) is the second fanfiction I've ever worked on in earnest and also my first and only longfic (not counting some sort of journal thing for Pokemon X I think I started many years ago, as I quickly lost interest in that project; otherwise, I hadn't really tried my hand at writing fic until 2020, despite reading it for much longer). Back in early 2021, with far too much time on my hands and having recently finished binge-watching all of The Clone Wars TV show, I felt very strongly that Fives needed to live and everyone deserved a happier ending, so I started planning a fix-it (actually the idea may have begun cooking back even before I finished the show, but February 2021 is apparently when I created the first doc).

It, uh, spiraled a little.

The planning/notes document is currently sitting at 102 pages (~46k words) of loose outline, worldbuilding notes, character notes, media notes, etc. The fic document itself is at 127 pages (~49k words) of stuff ranging from rough outline to fully written chapters and outtakes. There is also a Sheets file with timelines so I can track who is where, and when. The Sidestories doc is for ideas that would probably take place during Defiance but not be part of the more central plot, like bonus side chapters, and the Spin-offs doc is for other fic ideas that would take place in the same universe—some of which have graduated to their own documents. Though I've not been making consistent progress in the actual writing and have a very long way to go, I am lost in this sauce.

Anyway, the general plot of Defiance is as follows: unbeknownst to Palpatine and the general public, a timely intervention saves Fives' life. This allows him to actually explain himself to the Jedi, who along with the clones investigate the chips further and work behind the scenes to prevent Order 66 from happening while trying to figure out how to take down who's behind it. Critically, despite their suspicions they do not have hard evidence of Palpatine's involvement, so most events parallel canon up through ROTS with the investigation/preparation taking place discreetly, until the train hops off the rails to avoid sailing off the cliff.

If you'd like a sneak peak snippet, here's the first page or so of the main fic below the cut!

Something is wrong. The Force is muddled with a constant and indistinct unease, as it has been for years now—moreso on Coruscant than anywhere else, to Shaak Ti's perceptions. Its warnings are difficult to discern with any specificity. Even so, it murmurs them now. And Shaak possesses her own instincts, enhanced by the Force but extant outside her connection to it; these, too, whisper to her that something is wrong, as she watches Knight Skywalker leave the Jedi Temple conference room to find Captain Rex and investigate the situation with Fives. They are the best fit to track him down and the most likely to confront the rogue clone without further violence. Shaak warned Skywalker that Fives has been acting differently without his chip, that he may not be the man they knew—though she herself is reluctant to believe it—and the Knight and Captain are plenty capable of handling themselves. They will be all right. Still, something is wrong in a way she cannot yet define, and so Shaak Ti decides to join the hunt. Since the Jedi have not been asked to search for Fives, she does not contact the Coruscant Guard when she leaves the Temple. Instead she steps out of the building, pulls up the hood of her cloak, and makes for one of the speeder bikes kept at the Temple for general use. It whirs to life under her hands, and she rides to the nearest transportation portal leading down into the undercity. As she descends, passing speeders of all makes and sizes, Shaak Ti considers what she knows. She is well aware of her own struggles in becoming emotionally attached to the clones; her role on Kamino requires her to balance her care for them as people with the need to defend the galaxy. But many of them, such as Domino Squad, inevitably leave an impression. She watched Echo and Fives grow from bickering cadets to determined protectors, some of the best of their brothers. Her belief in their character during their final tests had not been misplaced. And yet, over these past few days Fives repeatedly defied the Kaminoan doctors, removed his chip, claimed something about a conspiracy, then attacked the Chancellor and fled. Shaak cannot deny these facts, and she must not allow personal feelings to cloud the truth. Then there are the Kaminoans. Shaak clashes frequently with their attitudes toward the clones, the way they view them as products rather than sentients. Nala Se’s arguments for terminating Tup and assurance that the chips are not a problem fall in line with her position as a manufacturer. And Shaak is well aware that the Kaminoans have not shared all of their secrets with her, as she is not owed them. But the medical scientist's resistance had been… spirited. None of this paints a clear picture. As they concluded in the meeting back at the Temple, the Jedi need more information. The familiar sound of a military engine hums past, and Shaak turns her head to watch a pair of gunships heading down the portal through one of the military lanes. She swerves out of the civilian traffic and dives after them, further and further below the surface of the city.

[luvyanfei]

anon said. ooo a new blog! can you do confession headcanons where xiao, childe, and scaramouche react to reader confessing to them and the aftermath of it? thank you!  

a/n. xiao’s is kind of terrible ;; ue ue gomenasai

“i love you, [character’s name].”

SCARAMOUCHE.

huh? is this some kind of a joke? if so, it’s definitely not a good idea to mess with his feelings like this, especially when he also shares the same sentiment. scaramouche is almost impressed by your boldness. not everyone has the nerve to confess their love for a harbinger in front of their own faces, after all. when he’s hit with the realization that you’re serious, he secretly pinches himself to make sure he’s not in a dream.

the sharp pain that comes with his nails making contact with his flesh affirms that this is real. he stifles back a genuine smile, choosing to stay calm despite the bliss he’s currently feeling. “i guess it can’t be helped. hmph, you should be lucky i’m rather fond of you as well, [name].” he says that, but he’s the fortunate one to have successfully stolen your heart before others can claim you for themselves.

unfortunately, his time with you is quite limited due to his affiliation with the fatui, so any fleeting moments are captured in photos from the kamera to look back on. he secretly carries a picture of you while he’s out of town on important missions so that he won’t miss you too badly. he fondly looks at your still, yet smiling face to cheer him up after a tough work while everyone else is asleep. well, almost everyone.  

“hmm, who’s that in your hands, scaramouche?” childe asks, gesturing to the photo the harbinger is admiring fondly. scaramouche rolls his eyes to hide his slight embarrassment and hesitates a bit before he answers.  

“oh them? their name is [name], my... sibling.” childe almost gapes in disbelief as he looks at the blue-haired man in shock. 

“you have a sibling? why didn’t you tell me? they’re so cute!” the 11th harbinger squeals in delight, which honestly irks poor scaramouche. he scoots away to give himself some space as he tucks the picture in his pocket for safe-keeping. 

“you didn’t bother to,” he explains matter-of-factly. “now if you’ll excuse me,” he stands up from his crouched position and dusts himself, “i’m going to take a walk, alone.” 

he wanders through a dark forest and grassy fields, until he finds himself standing on top of a cliff, the moon glowing brightly above. he peers up at the twinkling stars in the sky and imagines you beside him, watching the breathtaking view together. humming an unfamiliar tune to himself, scaramouche muses over the past and replays your confession over and over again. if he could, he would respond differently than he did before. 

‘i love you.’ those three letter words echo in his ears like a melody and he allows himself to smile. 

“i love you too, [name].” 

XIAO.

he automatically perks up an eyebrow in confusion. what? is it just him or did you seriously admitted you love him? xiao stammers for a brief second, no words spilling out from his partially open mouth. what is he supposed to say? “thank you?” “i love you too?” 

when he pulls himself together, xiao shakes his head and frowns. his answer is clear and simple: no. you mortals don’t understand just how dangerous it is to get close with someone like him - a yaksha. drowning in the brink of debt and despair, he doesn’t need you to suffer all the same. the dejected expression on your face pains him to a considerable degree, yet he convinces himself, this is for your own good. 

since then, he avoids you like the plague in hopes that your feelings for him will disperse into flames. you deserve someone better, someone who won’t place you in harm’s way, someone unlike him. out of kindness, you still visit him from time to time while you go and do your daily commissions, but your interaction is heavily tense and an air of discomfort seeps through your gaze. why does his chest hurt as if he was impaled with a knife and so much more when you look at him like that? the thought of breaking down and revealing the truth that he’s also in love with you tempts him eagerly, but his pride and anxiety tides over his desires. 

you, on the other hand, is aware that xiao harbors feelings for you. you discovered this secret of his when you climbed the stairs to the spot on the balcony where he was to surprise him with a greeting, but your ears captured a faint voice in the night breeze and you couldn’t stop yourself from eavesdropping on the little conversation xiao was having with himself. he muttered about “rex lapis”, the fate of liyue, and etc. you were about to leave him to his own devices, but the next words he said stopped you in your tracks. 

“will [name] accept me if i say i love them? probably not, i suppose.” you left before he could spare a glance in your direction and a smile graced your features as you happily walked away. and being the persistent individual that you are, you inquire verr on why he’s acting so cold towards you, desperate to seek the answer you need. “xiao is, as you’re well aware, a yaksha who’s experienced hardships throughout his life, and probably lost loved ones along the way. i’m sure,” she turns to look at the setting sun in melancholy, “he doesn’t want to hurt anyone important to him again.”

you plan ahead of time for the best way to approach him without giving him any chance to escape. unfortunately, this is the only thing you can think of as you place a hand on either side of his head, trapping him between you and the wall. xiao looks at you curiously, devoid of amusement. he crosses his arms and frowns. 

“what are you doing?” your hands twitch and you chew on your bottom lip nervously before you explain yourself.

“i heard from verr why you’ve been giving me the cold shoulder, that you don’t want to hurt anyone important to you, but...” you trail off to blink back the tears threatening to burst. 

“it hurts, when you ignore me like this.” your voice is quiet enough that he needs to step closer to hear you. “it hurts how selfless you are. can’t you be selfish just once? i meant what i said and i’ll say it again. i love you.” 

xiao stammers, at a loss for words, before he starts sniffling and buries himself in your arms, crying out apologies as you stroke the back of his hair and gives a closed-eye smile. “it’s okay, xiao. i’m sorry too, for not realizing how much you’ve been suffering by yourself. you don’t have to carry the burden alone anymore,” you say, looking into his tear-filled eyes, “i will always be here with you, no matter what path you choose to take.” 

“even if that path may eventually hurt you?” he whispers in a cracked voice, fingers curling around your sleeves. you nod. 

“it’s worth the pain as long as i can hold you in my arms, like this.” he chokes out a bitter chuckle and wipes away the glistening tears. 

“i love you too, [name].” 

CHILDE.

the harbinger blinks his cerulean eyes once, then twice, and... you find yourself pulled into his arms, as his lips uplift into a jovial smile. “really? you love me? [name], i had no idea you held such deep admiration for me.” you playfully roll your eyes and chuckle as you wrap your own arms around his body, fondly reciprocating his affection.

he’s the fastest to accept your confession than the other two men. you’d bet he would scamper to where he’s staying at to tell every grain of detail to his adoring relatives. 

he writes letters to his siblings about your daily dates and the progress you two are making in your relationship. they tease him for the most part, but they’re happy that he’s found the love of his life and requests that he bring you along with him on his next visit. childe smiles in relief, content that they accept you already despite never meeting you and he asks you if you’d like to come with him to his home country where you can introduce yourself to his family. without hesitation, you agree instantly, eager to meet the siblings he gushes about. 

snezhnaya is colder than you thought, as you hug yourself to preserve your warmth, even with the layers of clothing wrapped around you. “we’re almost there, [name].” childe notices your trembling and rubs his gloved hands against your back. “sorry, it’s a bit chilly here, but please bear with me.” 

you nod and continue on. when a building enters your field of sight, childe stops and grins shyly at you. “this is the place.” breath materializes in front of you as he gestures for you to head on in. almost immediately are you greeted with a little embrace as a young boy wraps his fingers around your waist and grins up at you. 

“so you’re the one who big brother said he’s in love with? have you kissed before? when is your wedding?” the child bombards you with questions excitedly and a girl has to pull him away from you, tonia, you guess. 

“teucer,” childe scolds gently, a light blush colouring his cheeks, which does not go unnoticed in his siblings’ eyes, unfortunately for him. 

a wedding, huh? seeing the sparkle in your eyes, the laughter in your voice, and the warmth of your touch as you idly chat with his siblings makes him hope, that maybe in the distant future, he’ll brave himself to take the next step to further deepen your relationship, for he wants to be with you always. 

as he tucks away the last sleeping child, childe wanders in to your shared bedroom, surprised you’re still awake. “you really love them a lot, huh childe?” he nods seriously, as you pull him to lie down comfortably into bed. 

“but do you know something else?” his breath tickles your ear as he intertwines his fingers with yours, offering a meek smile. you shake your head and nuzzle closer to him. 

“i love you too, [name].” 

[mrpenguinpants]

Xiao and Diluc: Opposites Attract HCs

Minor spoilers for Xiao’s and Diluc’s backstory.

Yes, more xiao content. Oh and Diluc. Diluc is there too. I wonder who my favourite child is? Honestly, it’s probably Childe. Every time I write “child” I end up misspelling it to “childe”. It’s consumed me. But yes anon I love the opposites attract trope. It’s so nice having person A be this cute cinnamon roll and person B is the ew don’t touch me go away I hate you, just mwah 💕

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Today’s appreciation post goes to imlikemoony. My entire reblog notifications have just been you and thanks for the spam haha. I love seeing new people go through my work and enjoy it so thank you^^ Please don’t feel like this is a callout post I swear it isn’t 💕💕

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Xiao Semi Series

[ Friendship ] [ Falling in Love ] [ Cuddles ] [ Protective ] [ Affection ] [ Jealously ]

Diluc HCs

[ Comfort HCs ] [ Relationship HCs ] [ Being Fathers HCs ] [ Jealously HCs ] [ Unrequited Love HCs ] [ String of Fate [Soulmate] ]  [ Fainting ]

[Masterlist]

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[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

@hanniejji  @mikeysbike @unionwitch @musekala @twistedsunnshiii @stanzastic @akaasea @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover @dilucsz @dai-tsukki-desu @youaskedfurret @snowy224 @mayumintsu​ @tigerpriestess @yuu-yuukurotsuki @legionqueensav

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Xiao and Diluc: Opposites Attract HCs

Xiao

It occurs to Xiao one day that despite being alive for centuries, he doesn’t know a lot of people. Xiao has only known Rex Lapis and his fellow adepti and only just recently introduced this life to others such as Verr and Ming. It never bothered him and still doesn’t, he prefers his life to be peaceful and in solitude since it’s safer that way, but when you crash into his life with all your unrestrained energy. He’s a bit of a loss for words. The only other person he knows that acts similar is Guizhong, but it’s still a bit of a troubling memory but either then that, he’s never interacted with someone so...open with their feelings. Though he supposes that Hu Tao was somewhat similar but in a different way. Unlike the craziness and exasperated actions that Hu Tao brought, your presence was a breath of fresh air and sometimes he found himself caught up in your antics.

When Xiao thinks about it, if he were to ever find love he suspected he would prefer someone who was calm and independent. He wasn’t the most affectionate so he wouldn’t want a partner that relied on that and he liked the peace and quiet the inn provided. That was until he saved you one day and you felt it was your absolute responsibility to return the favour, even though he told you many times that you really did not need to. If you wanted to return the favour you could leave him alone. Simple as that. Which didn’t work and in hindsight he was glad you were so stubborn to hang around until you managed to find out his favourite food was almond tofu.

The moment that set in stone Xiao’s love for you is when he told you his past. When he was named Atalus. How he had been possessed and forced to kill against his will. How he devoured dreams and lived in agony before he was saved by Rex Lapis. He was scared that you would fear and leave him, only for you to slowly lace your hands with his and wept for his own misfortune. He’s never had someone cry for him and he realized that he never wanted to see you upset like this again.

At first your larger than life personality put him off a bit, how could someone run through life as if nothing was wrong? What would happen if you finally faced loss? Wouldn’t that make things worse? It wasn’t until he spent more time with you that he saw your point of view, that while he couldn’t adopt the same idea, he respected it and began to appreciate it. It was nice having some sort of solace in his day even if it was just for a few minutes. Something to get his mind of the darker things while you start chatting about this really nice old lady with a domain sized teapot.  

Though, there was a bit of a downside to this. Since you bared your heart on your sleeve, perhaps in Mondstadt it would seem normal but here in Liyue, everyone hid behind some kind of mask so people found you a bit naïve and would try and hassle you. It always sent Xiao into a worried state when you left the inn to go out on your next adventure. Verr likes to compare him to a cat waiting for it’s owner at the door, but as soon as they return he acts so moody as if he wasn’t waiting at the balcony trying to see if he could see your clothing peak over the hill. He has no idea how she comes up with these ridiculous ideas.

Another “downside” Xiao discovers is that you have mini bursts of affection. You describe it as a those anemo slimes that pop when you shoot them, morbid as that description is, you’re not wrong. Your bursts of affection always manage to startle and embarrass Xiao, especially when he was with others. He wasn’t going to tell you to change yourself, never will he do that, but when you clasp his hands and tell him with all your love and shining eyes that he’s “doing such a good job” and “you’re so proud of him”. He wants to melt because wow, he never noticed how much he values your praise and how it sends his heart flying. But he can’t because Childe and Zhongli are right there.

Zhongli smiles pleasantly while Childe looses his absolute shit, which causes Xiao to kick his spear at Childe because he refuses to let go of your hands and hisses at him. Even when you try and scold him it doesn’t last long because this has become a weekly occurrence. Only now Xiao will give you a quick kiss before he goes off to gut Childe while you and Zhongli wave pleasantly and talk about how the weather is faring. Everyone that isn’t a native to Liyue think’s you’re all insane as they hear Childe’s screams as Xiao attempts first degree murder.

It interesting to see you both interact to outsiders. Xiao has his piercing yellow eyes and reserved demeanor while you’re this sweet and bright person. Before Xiao met you, people could never get a good look at the mysterious man that stays in the top balcony of the Wangshu Inn. But now if they came at the right time, they could spot a soft smiled man in green listening to a very animated talk with someone else, using their hands with a dramatic flair. That is until the man notices them trying to eavesdrop and the softness in his eyes drops and goes to irritation as he glares at them, curling a hand around his partner’s waist, and he let’s off a warning growl. His partner never seems bothered, only turning around to give a small wave in greeting, smiling as if the dangerous aura radiating behind them didn’t exist, before giving the man a small kiss as they go back to their conversation.

While you live a larger than life way, you also enjoy the small moments with Xiao. Xiao prefers to spend his time sitting above the inn and overlooking Liyue which you enjoy too. Resting near each other as you watch the sun go down is calming and takes the stress of life away. But sometimes you just want to bring Xiao out and have some fun.

Which ends up with you dragging him off to the pond near the Wangshuu inn, you wanted to catch frogs for whatever reason. Weren’t you both a bit too old to be playing with frogs? But he stands by and watch's you chase around the poor animals, tracking mud all over your clothing and skin, he can’t help but let a small smile slip. It isn’t until you end up falling into the pond after slipping that he’s on alert mode that he runs over worried.

Only for you to pop up and start bursting out into laughter. Xiao is stunned for a few moment as he watches you laugh at your own mistake, mud scrapped all over your face and clothes, the fact that you’re still in the pond with a frog on your head. He can’t help but feel his face fall as his mouth twitches into a smile as he chuckles along with you. He reaches over to try and scrub the dirt off your face but it only ends up smearing it more but you appreciate the effort. He carefully lifts you up as he carries you back to the inn. He thinks back to when you both first met, how he spent so much time worrying over his life as an adeptis and you as a human, but now those thoughts have been flung out of his mind. He wants to take your approach, that why worry over the little details of the future when you can enjoy the bigger moments you have now.

Diluc

On days that Diluc works as the bartender for Angel Share, if you come at just the right time when the sun was still high in the sky, you might be able to catch the ever distant man smiling and engaged with a conversation with one specific patron. Of course, this silly “rumour” was made up by the ladies of Mondstadt with too much free time on their hands but given Diluc’s reputation and demeanor it did make some travelers curious. Only for them to write it off as this special patron to be a green bard or cunning captain. One that Diluc surely did not crack a smile at. In fact it seemed to be the opposite. But the tavern isn’t so bad, there’s this nice individual that will listen to all your sorrows with kind eyes and a gentle heart.  

As soon as the last customer leaves and Diluc locks the door, does he let his shoulder drop and he breathes a sigh of relief. Before turning and walking to you as he let’s himself relax in your embrace. He listens as you re-tell on the woes of a jewelry saleswoman from Liyue to how Venti is still getting ID checked at the Cat’s Tail as he basks in your warmth. He’s glad that this is what’s troubling the people of Mondstadt and not anything incredibly dangerous relating to the Fatui or the Abyss Order. He asks if you’re doing alright to which you grin and nod that everything was perfect, before placing a small kiss on your forehead and he leads you out back and into the night and ready to return home.

Kaeya finds a lot of enjoyment going to up to you and discussing his “concerns” about Diluc. It always leads to you fretting over his health and if he was working too hard and he should take a break. Diluc is whipped and cannot say no to you so he always begrudgingly let’s you lead him away as Kaeya smiles and waves him off. It’s gotten to the point that no matter what Diluc is in the middle of, unless it’s of the upmost importance, if he catches Kaeya anywhere near you he’s swooping in and leading you away.

Diluc has always been straight to the point, non-nonsense idle talk, but when you drag him away to simply lie down at Starsnatch Cliff just because you were worried about him, he can’t help but feel his heart warm. Watching you blow on dandelions and enjoy the peaceful winds of Mondstadt does he let his hectic life standstill. 

When Diluc first met you, it was during his three year long journey to discover the truth of his father and the Delusions. You had saved him during his escape from a Fatui stronghold and explained you were apart of a third-party observer from the North. A vast underground intelligence network that approved of his actions and wanted him to join. Diluc, still deep in his anger and untrustworthy state of anyone, declined the offer but you still hanged around him. He didn’t understand why, and frankly did not want you anywhere near him, but you did save him. Something you very much liked to bring up, even after returning to Mondstadt. He couldn’t necessarily push you away and despite leaving the Knights of Favonius, he still maintained the same chivalry that all knights had.

From then on it had just been the two of you, him looking for the next Fatui base while you travelled with him as an “observer” despite helping him and being overly chatty. Asking where the next destination is like you’re some sort of overeager kid. At first, he really disliked your presence. A lot. In his mind you were a second Kaeya and after the events of what had happened, he might have been far colder to you than he should have been. He thought you were hiding behind the same kind of mask Kaeya did and that you were secretly some Fatui agent sent to kill him. But that never seemed to deter you, even making fun of the idea that the Fatui would seriously try and send an agent to con him rather than try and kill him outright with all the information he had on them.

You both had your clashes when it came to certain things, especially when it came to taking breaks and sightseeing. He felt that you were way too relaxed for something so important and you felt he was way to uptight and needed to stop running through life. But overtime, he found that he actually somewhat enjoyed your personality and quirks. While you could kick a Fatui’s guard head off if you tried hard enough, you would also drag him to feed the ducks by a pond. He had come to learn that you and Kaeya were different, you didn’t wear a mask and bared your heart to the world. He thought you were a bit foolish for doing that since you can never really trust anyone but you instead offered that not everyone was a bad person, that if he spent every waking moment trying to backstab someone would that really be a life worth living?

It’s during the lantern festival in Liyue does he really come to understand his goals in life. Writing down wishes for the new year to send off in paper lanterns is when he acknowledges his shortcomings and finally agrees to join the underground intelligence network. You offer him a bright grin as you cheer that he finally finally got off his stubborn self and you’re now officially partners in not-really-but-still-technically crime. For the first time since Diluc started his journey, he gives a small smile and let’s himself relax as he watched the golden lanterns fly through the sky beside you.

When he decides it’s time to return to Mondstadt and take up his position as Diluc Ragnvindr, he tries to not so subtly ask if you would want to join him. He knows that you still have ties to that secret organization and you probably have your own agenda but Diluc has gotten used to your bubbly personality, he doesn’t want to live without you. But his worries are quickly squashed when you tease him for a bit but slip your hand in his and ask where the next destination is. 

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Gripping my writing hand, I went overboard and ran with it. I really want to write pre-hcs of how you met Xiao and a continuation of young Diluc and you. But I must finish my inbox.  Also my joke of Xiao beating things into submission started all the way back to my first Xiao HCs of friendship. I did not know this lol. I just think it’s funny to imagine xiao doing it. I’m about to high five my past self.

By the way, should I break up my hcs more? I feel like they are actual paragraphs and that might be annoying to read.

[obiwanobi]

Well if we are going full reasonable Anakin let’s say he doesn’t even try to get close to him after the whole confessing thing. He will accept that his master may have realized that he doesn’t need Anakin the way Anakin needs him (after all he’s the one who told him not to think about him that way) and Force be damned it hurt. So now there is distance, a lot of longing on both parts and after a while it becomes a Temple problem because The Team is falling apart and both radiate sadness and act as if they are stranger to the point of Mace actually considers playing matchmaker « these two stare so much at the other it gives me diabetes ». In the end it’s Rex who corners Anakin with « What happened to you and General Kenobi ? No in fact that’s not my problem, you were both supposed to go with Ahsoka at the Spacewhale exposition and both of you cancelled so that you wouldn’t see the other. You are making Ahsoka sad General😠 ». It’s a collective stratagem that gets them in the same room and before Obi-Wan can leave because he won’t be able to take another rejection, Anakin gently takes both of Obi-Wan’s hands and softly says « I love you, I’m in love with you and you would know if you had let me finish last time, which was very rude Master by the way, how could you think I could do anything but love you? ». And they finally talk.

After that is just a matter of everyone exchanging credits (they were a lots of bets) « Master Tii ! You knew? », « Please, everyone knew for sure the day Skywalker started harrasing us for the mission reports where he wasn’t with you and yelled at us for not making you go to the infirmary ‘you are not taking care of Obi-Wan this is outrageous !’ were his exact words I think and you were a lost case the second he gave you a hug all these years ago and for the first time in weeks after your master’s death your force presence was light and bright ».

(@tomicaleto here's your happy ending!)

wait wait, I want more angst before a sweet ending, with Anakin saying things he doesn't realise are making Obi-Wan feel like he's being stabbed repeatedly, like they're both being assigned a new mission and Anakin says "yeah, I don't think we should do things together now" because he's trying! he wants to do the right thing and make it easier for Obi-Wan to distance himself!

and Obi-Wan stands very still and silent next to him and doesn't look at him so Anakin adds "it would be best if we're treated as two different people now and not as a team" and if you listen carefully you can hear Obi-Wan's heart being crushed in approximately millions of pieces, which is made even worse when Obi-Wan goes back to their shared quarters which are apparently only Obi-Wan's quarters now because Anakin moved all his stuff somewhere else when Obi-Wan was away.

Ahsoka finds him face down on the couch two hours later and he asks her "am I the most pathetic person you've ever met Ahsoka" and Ahsoka who has never seen Obi-Wan showing any signs of strong emotions before promptly says 'oh boy' and flees.

But once they reconcile, can you imagine how sickening they're going to be. How disgustingly in love. How Anakin will never be found more than a meter away from Obi-Wan and Mace will be like "as I was saying, this is truly a vital operation for us and... I'm sorry, Skywalker, could you please be a little more... formal? This is an important discussion" and Anakin, head on Obi-Wan's shoulder and hand on Obi-Wan's arm and playing footsie with Obi-Wan is like "hmmmmmmm. no"

[ninjastormhawkkat]

Morally Gray AU: Miss Powers and Kid Math

I had not covered these two for my Morally Gray Wordgirl au. I did not do this at first because I did not realize how much these interactions will change for this au. I didn’t think I need to write them down, but as I am getting to my Mousegirl Au, I realized that I needed to cover these two for my au because unlike my Alliance Swap and Becky Boxleitner au’s, Wordgirl’s interaction with Miss Powers is completely different from canon. 

Miss Powers: So basically their meeting and interaction is the same, the difference in this au is that Wordgirl catches on how Miss Powers uses words to hurt the villains. Now Becky becomes protective because no one, especially the villains, need to be treated like that. I said in my other Morally Gray au posts that Wordgirl is more sympathetic to the villains this time since being raised by one. The dilemma for her here is that Miss Powers claims to be a great hero and teacher of heroes and Becky is interested in learning from her because she wants to be a better people to protect the city and help everybody out. She sorta gives Miss Powers a few one too many chances trying to convince her to be a little nicer to the Villains. Becky realizes that not everyone shares her values, but that doesn’t mean you have to treat people differently base on whether their heroes or villains. Miss Powers does most of the bullying and tries to get Becky in on it, but Becky rather stands off to the side feeling really uncomfortable about the whole thing and trying to figure out how to solve the issues. (She’s a 10 and a half year old trying to make adult decisions!) Wordgirl does hang back and apologize/comforts the villains when they are hurt by Miss Powers, They try to convince her she is bad news and needs to be stopped. Wordgirl makes excuses such as “she doesn’t know how things work on Earth” or “Just give me a little time to make her nicer.” Becky is ready to throw hands when she sees how Miss Powers threatens her dad because no one hurts her family. After that, everything else happens like canon with some changes:

1. Becky does not develop a bad attitude because of Miss Powers influence, she just develops a lot of anxiety and has issues trusting her own judgement.

2. Spoiler for my Becky Boxleitner au as well: Miss Powers when mishandling Two Brains, sees a picture of Becky fall out of his pocket. Miss Powers starts tormenting Two Brains and threatening with the idea of possibly harming Becky since her reasoning is that Becky must be a villain since her dad is one. This really gets Two Brains and he tries to fight back or bargain with having to eat no cheese for the rest of his life because he is more terrified of losing his daughter than the possibility of a world without cheese. Two Brains begs Wordgirl, before he is taken off, to find Becky and hide her from Miss Powers. At the end of each version, there is an emotional reunion between Becky and Two Brains. 

3. When Becky is defeated by Miss Powers the first time, she feels guilty over being to trusting of Miss Powers and not listening to the others that she was trouble. She also feels guilty over not doing more to stop Miss Powers from being mean even though she herself was not sure what to do at those moments with only thoughts of comforting the villains afterwards.

4. In the final battle with Miss Powers, Becky let’s a little more of her villainous morals out there which greatly frustrates the evil alien. Miss Powers tries to hurt Becky by saying something along the lines of, “You won’t be a great hero if you act like a villain!” and Becky retorts that “I may not be, but I will be a better hero than you!”

Kid Math: So its basically a lot similar to canon with the added changes of Rex being in shock that Becky’s dad is a super villain. The funny thing I added for both this and the bb (becky boxleitner au) is that upon learning that Dr. Two Brains is Becky’s dad, he goes through a ‘windows.exe has stopped working, please reboot’ moment because he has a hard time grasping that villains and heroes can live together as families because he always thought that they were enemies fighting each other all the time. Kid Math does question why Becky is more sympathetic to the villains and more lenient with them. Becky explains thats how she is due to being raised by a super villain her whole life, and that the main reason she became a hero was to protect innocent lives. Becky explains to Rex that she knows her methods aren’t popular among most heroes but she is comfortable with that lifestyle. She tells Rex that it is okay to find his own morals to practice with his heroic actions and it doesn’t matter if he follows Becky’s style or not. The rest of the episode pretty much happens the same with the end featuring Kid Math thanking Becky for her teachings and telling her he will try to find his own path of heroics, but he may practice some of her methods towards his future villains because it seem friendly and fun to get along with villains despite being on opposite side. A funny joke at the end is that Kid Math wonders if he can find his own villain father to help teach him some villain tactics which makes Wordgirl giggle (even though she figures that not all villains may be approachable to teaching heroes like her dad). Huggy just face palms in frustration and thinks, “Welp, this generation of heroes is ruined.”

So yeah, that’s what I have, If you guys have any questions or want to ask how other characters fit in my au, please reply in my section of share what you want to see box, or comment on post if you prefer. 

[ladysyrinx]

Dragon, not Lamb, Part I

The Demon in the Attic

Chapter 5

The Demon in the Attic

I stare at the demon in front of me. Weird that the brother who is hidden away is the first one to show me their demon form.

Or maybe not. He has nothing to lose, after all. And he doesn’t necessarily know I’m human.

“I asked you a question,” he growls at me, tail swishing in a shockingly menacing manner, considering it’s a cow tail. I’m pretty sure that shouldn’t work, but it definitely does.

I take a slow, deep breath. I can panic later. Panicking now will only make the situation worse. I stuff the fear and anxiety away in the back of my brain, just like I do when a panic attack begins but I’m not somewhere safe enough to have it. The careful disconnect from my emotions allows my brain to resume coherent thought. That unfortunate practice is coming in handy now. When I’m pretty sure my composure wouldn’t break even if a raging T-rex were to break through a wall to come eat me, I speak.

“I’m Tahlia,” I lie, trying to hide how weird the name feels on my tongue. I’m claiming a name I haven’t even spoken before. It’s weird and I don’t like it.

“Tahlia. What kind of name is that?” He sneers at me.

Unfortunately for him, his attempts to demean me are completely ineffectual because I, too, have no attachment to said name. In fact, I’m even less of a fan of it than he is. “You know, I’ve wondered that since I got it,” I say honestly, but I inflect just enough to play it as a joke told straight. “It’s quite awful, isn’t it?” I hope Lilith is listening, little b**** that she is.

The corner of his mouth twitches slightly. “Well, at least you can recognize it.” He lifts his head haughtily, the kind of gesture I’d expect from a lord of hell. “Did Lucifer send you? He’s hoping to get a therapist to change my mind, is he? It’s not going to work.” Belphegor sniffs at me.

Does he think that I’m a demon? Maybe he can’t tell the difference behind Lucifer’s spell? An idea begins curling in the back of my mind. Therapy. That could be the solution. The vague idea must have had pre-checking because it’s pouring out of my big, stupid mouth before my brain can look it over to see if it’s a good idea. And I can’t even blame Lilith for it.

“Yes. I’m here to assess you and see which therapist would be the best match for you,” I say. Well, too late to take it back now.

Belphegor looks startled. “So, what, you’re the head therapist? A Lord of Hell isn’t good enough to be part of your clientele?”

Um, no, I’m not a therapist at all, I think. So you can’t have therapy from me. My brain scrambles, spine straightening to put on the air of a confident professional.

“It’s not about who’s in charge, it’s about who’s the best fit to help you,” I say calmly. “That’s my job.”

Well, it kind of is my job, anyway. Lilith did ask me to help with her brothers. Yeah, that memory cleared up with all the rest. Or hopefully the rest. I don't really have a good way of knowing if she's hidden anything else from me. Thanks Lilith.

Belphegor leans back against the wall behind him, eyeing me up and down. I refuse to fidget under his scrutiny, instead resting my weight on a single foot to give off ‘relaxed to the verge of boredom’ body language.

Belphegor smirks at me. “You’re bold, even to me. Did you act this same way around Lucifer? Or are you underestimating me because I’m the seventh Lord of Hell? You shouldn’t do that, you know. I could tear you apart just as easily as they could.”

I shrug slightly. “I’m this way to everyone. I even talked to Diavolo once, and I acted this way to him, too.”

He throws back his head and laughs, a broken and insincere sound, though dregs of mirth still swim around in the depths of the bitterness drowning the sound. “You spoke this way to Lord Diavolo? I wish I could have seen that.” His eyes reassess me, glittering far too brightly in the dark. It’s unnerving, and I have to swallow a chill before it shows.

“I did. I’ve never been one to lie or grovel or brownnose. It's not in my nature.”

Belphegor smirks again. “No, I suspect you haven’t.” In a movement almost too quick for me to see, he’s at the door, looking through at me. My blood chills in my veins and only with great effort do I keep the shiver from running down my spine as it wants to. If it weren’t for that spell trapping him in, he could tear out my entrails before I realized what was happening.

I really, really didn’t like that thought. I was suddenly fervently grateful to Lucifer for locking him up.

He looks at me for a moment more, then leans back away from the door, turning his back to me. “Tell you what. I’ll do the therapy Lucifer wants, but only if you’re the one doing it. No one else.” He says it nonchalantly, as if he doesn’t really care, but there’s something that tips me off. I can’t put my finger on it, on how I know, but he feels lonely, and like he actually enjoys taking to me.

I feel a lump form in my throat. Well, crap. I can’t just pretend to be a therapist. Can I? Would that be better than no therapy, or worse because I’m not qualified? Should I try to convince him to take therapy from someone else, or would that just turn him back off the idea entirely?

Argh, thoughts for a different time. Right now, I need to pay attention to what I’m doing. “I’ll do that. I’m not sure if he’ll agree or, even if he does, when I’ll be able to come see you regularly, though. So if it takes a few weeks or months, don’t be surprised.”

Belphegor scoffs like it doesn’t matter to him one way or another. But that almost unnerving feeling of knowing returns, and I see the slight slump of his shoulders, the way his tail falls closer to the ground, though it’s so faint I doubt even he noticed he did it. Part of me wonders how I noticed it myself.

Oh for goodness’ sake he’s got to be lonely up here. Ugh, this is such a mess.

“Well, Belphegor, I’m afraid I have to get going. I will see you another time.” With that I turn to the staircase and climb down. To my immense relief there’s no Lucifer waiting for me at the bottom. With any luck, he’s still at RAD talking to Diavolo.

I scramble out the door, closing it quietly behind me. Checking around to make sure no one saw me, I walk away, quickly making a couple turns until it no longer looks like I’m walking away from that doorway. The whole way my mind races faster than a hummingbird’s wings. I’m screwed. I’m so screwed. And maybe dead. My heart pounds frantically in my chest, as if it is trying desperately to row up a river that inexorably pulls it back towards a cliff. What on earth am I supposed to do now?

Then again, I’m not exactly on earth anymore, am I?

That's the thought sends me over the edge into incoherent panic realm.

I am so very, completely, incredibly, thoroughly screwed.

~End chapter 5~

~End of Part I: The Demon in the Attic~

Previous ~ Part II Chapter 1

*Just to be clear, I do not approve of or recommend pretending to be a therapist or using a good friend as a therapist replacement. Therapists are trained to help with mental health issues, and are the safest bet for recovering from mental health struggles and trauma (Though good and supportive friends are also a must and important to recovery, they just aren't a replacement for therapy:). This is a work of fiction, and this is being used to create drama and explore a moral dilemma. Don't try this at home XD There's a reason people get trained to administer therapy.*

Thank you so much for reading! And for finishing Part I of Dragon, not Lamb.

Please stay tuned for:

Part II: Lucifer's Match

Coming soon to a Tumblr near you ;)

You can visit the obey me page on my blog to see the fanfictions I've posted so far on here. Also for connections to my Ao3 stories (I have more posted there).

Part II will be coming out most likely next weekend? At least the first chapter. Mental health providing I might post more and sooner, we'll see. I have at least the first chapter of Part II written, and the majority of the second chapter. Please stay tuned! Subscribe for more chapters and fanfics. Like if you enjoyed reading this. Comment to bring me happiness because you're a nice person<3 ;)

Also sorry about last week, I was out of town so I didn't get much of a chance to post. Kinda busy with other things haha. Still figuring out posting on Tumblr, I'll try to schedule my posts in advance to avoid this happening again. Thank you for your patience<3

Until next time, have a great week!

[codythecheshirecat]

Halfway through the war, something Force-related happens and suddenly  three Obi-Wan look-alikes appear. Like, let’s say Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka, Cody, and Rex are having a meeting about the upcoming battle and poof, there’s a flash of light and three people sitting on the floor looking just as confused as they are.

The three look-alikes are actually three of Ewan McGregor’s past characters, for this let’s say Roman Sionis (Birds of Prey), Dan Torrance (The Shining/Doctor Sleep), and Christopher Robin (Christopher Robin) because these are the only things I’ve watched with Ewan McGregor. Course all they know is that they happen to look and sound alike, and come to a conclusion of some weird inter-dimensional clone stuff happening (it’s not like they’re all going by the same name, so they can’t be the same person from different dimensions, right?).

Everyone is confused. They’re civilians, so they shouldn’t be brought onto the battlefield, but they probably shouldn’t be left to their own devices either. For plot’s sake, they’re each taken from after their respective films, and so Dan and Roman are inexplicably alive again but they aren’t questioning it.

Cody takes one look at Roman and just knows that This Man Has Something Wrong With Him. Roman is trying to act normal because while he might be a madman he knows when to play nice. Everyone knows he’s playing nice, but they don’t necessarily realize just how unhinged he is.

Christopher is super interested in all the technology-- sure, he knows magic, but space travel? He drives Anakin up the wall because he’ll act like the most normal, boring person in the world and then he’ll say the most bizarre thing Anakin has ever heard and there’s no in-between.

Meanwhile Dan is like. Vibing. This is the weirdest time of his life but it’s preferable to pretty much anything else he’s ever lived through. He spends ten minutes with Anakin and that ‘Same Hat’ meme flashes behind his eyes. Anakin doesn’t know why Dan is suddenly acting like he wants to be a big brother to him but he’s not against it...

Anyway the day is saved because the entire situation just derails things completely. Dan convinces Anakin he needs help, actually (Anakin listens because Dan isn’t shy about sharing his own traumas and mistakes). Christopher provides an interesting, new outlook on the war and politics and work vs life, utterly reminded about his old boss that overworked them while going on vacations (’you know,’ Ahsoka says, ‘you make a point about who is benefiting from the war’). Roman spends most of his time surrounded by a rotating set of guards so he can’t do anything nefarious (Cody: He has the General’s face but he is Worse Than Dooku, watch him with your lives) and afterwards every time one of the Troopers that have been on Roman Guard Duty is in the same room as Palpatine (it happens more often than you’d think, because Palpatine likes Anakin and Obi-Wan spends a lot of time with Anakin, which means the 212th are around Anakin, which means the 212th are around Palpatine) they realize the Vibes are the same.

Evidence against Palpatine grows, Dan has a dream about the chips and comes clean about his Shine, order 66 never happens and the war ends because three Obi-Wan lookalikes get stuck in the wrong dimension.

[more-than-chaos]

GENSHIN AGE HC'S: MONDSTADT (1/3)

as promised here is the genshin stuff!!! I've decided to share my genshin age hc's. This is how I see them. And yes this might be disregarding some canon, time moves weird in Teyvat and I really don't think that everyone can be like, 20 because really where are the responsible adults in which case.

Bear in mind, while I have all of the 4* in here, most of them are friendship 1-3 (with a few exceptions), and so I haven't unlocked many voice lines about them, and I also have 2 5*, and not all of their lines have been unlocked either. Also I did the story quests ages ago (like, August?? I think? Before Inazuma), so my memory might not be the best.

as usual, it's gonna be split into 3 parts (one per nation available)

MONDSTADT

Diluc: at least 30 man has eyebags, goes out at night to fight and runs a bar. he's tired let him sleep. Also he's literally the owner of the whole wine industry in Mondstadt, possibly the best in Teyvat.

Kaeya: 25. He's younger than Diluc, but he hangs out and drinks with Venti and Rosaria, so I'd like to think that he wouldn't hang out with people who are heaps older/younger than him (it's just awkward man). I'm not too sure how old he is based on all the lore, there's a lot to go through but I DO think he ages at a different pace to everyone else.

Jean: 30. There is no way this woman is 24 Varka would NOT leave a lass that young in charge also she's Diluc's childhood friend they're around the same age.

Lisa: 32. Okay, hear me out. She's older than Jean and also her lifespan was cut in half. Let's say she was like 24 when she got the power. That makes her 3/4 through her life now. Makes sense right?

Klee: This child is 7. I do not make the rules. She's old enough to know right from wrong and judging by her speech patterns, knows words but messes them up sometimes. Also how else would everyone forgive her for blowing heaps of stuff up?? You're way more likely to forgive a 7 year old who goes "I'm sorry, I didn't know :(" (I won't though).

Diona: 11-12. I think it's canon that she's around this age, but also she's old enough to know her dad's an abusive asshole (he hits her when drunk), but young enough to try and delude herself about it. Poor girl :(

Venti: Chronologically he's around 6000, he's the only "original" archon left, and Rex Lapis was over 6000 years old when he died, therefore, old. Looks-wise, probably around 23-24. Diluc knows he's old enough to drink, and regularly serves him alcohol, even before it's known that Venti is Barbatos.

Rosaria: 24. I think that despite being a bit goth or emo, she's actually kind of young, especially in comparison to the other nuns.

Barbara: 16. This girl is 16 no one can convince me otherwise. Unfortunately this does mean that Albert is creepy but we already knew that.

Bennett: 16. I think in one of his birthday mail things it says how he's only had 4 birthdays on his actual birth day (29th Feb), so he's 16.

Fischl: She's canonically 16, she was 14 when she got her vision and no electro visions have been handed out for 2 years.

Razor: also 16, however he's slightly feral, so y'know. He probably acts a bit younger and didn't have proper schooling so may seem stupid (poor boy, he's smart I promise).

Amber: 21. In the webtoon, she complains that Kaeya still treats her like a rookie, and I think that being a young adult kinda suits her, she's bubbly and hasn't really "given up" on being fun (I suppose). It's also stated multiple times that while she's allowed to drink, she chooses not to do so very often.

Noelle: 19. I think she's just into adulthood mainly because Jean doesn't want her being a knight yet due to overworking herself, and I think that Jean also wants her to have a bit of freedom while she's young before she gets "locked" into a strict life of being a knight.

Sucrose: 22. She's a responsible young lass, and in the latest Dragonspine event we get to see her sassier side (talking to Timaeus).

Albedo: I'm not actually sure. He isn't a "real" human, so I'm not sure he ages like everyone else. If I had to choose, I'd go with 25-26.

Mona: 19. I struggled a bit with coming up with her age, partially because of her outfit (literally wtf girlie you are in a leotard and tights how do you not freeze also don't you think its a bit racy (even compared to the other "fanservice" outfits)), but also partially because surely if she were older she would've gotten a job by now (that sounds so mean omg) (usually people are reluctant to hire younger people for fear of them messing it up).

Eula: 23. While her family is a bit old fashioned (read: incredibly rude and nasty to everyone who's not an aristocrat/Fatui), she's been hanging out with the Knights for long enough that she's changed. Kinda like the Gen-Z at Christmas dinner, if you will. That said, I do think that she's a little bit older than Amber, despite them hanging out a lot.

I think I got everyone but I'm so sorry if I missed someone!! Please let me know if I did!

Once again, these are just my headcanons about ages, it's not really "canon", although most of them fit in the "canon" age brackets they've been given.

[uponrightful]

I've been wanting to send this one in for a while. What was going through the Wolfpacks mind and how much did Wolffe hear?

“I’d heard about him a lot from your brothers, how angry he was and that they thought he could use someplace like here. Home. But I didn’t think that he would ever show up. And, after a couple times something happened. I don’t know who really even started it.” The girl took another steadying breath, before continuing on the now spilling thoughts and feelings she’d been bottling up for months now. Completely unaware of the three men’s attention being drawn out the window where a grey and blue painted trooper walked towards the front door.

“I think about him, all the time. I hear his voice when I wake up, and I constantly dream about him. It’s like I’m constantly in this fever dream where I’ve finally been given something that I can’t deny I want.” All of the confusion crashed down in a wave of crystal-clear realization. Audience of troopers aside, the girl hadn’t thought it all through so straight.

She was brought back to Rex, sitting there drinking his caf with a look of disappointment when she’d mentioned that there wasn’t anything she wanted out of life. Other than helping the troopers. It hadn’t been the first time he’d asked, and she hadn’t realized why until now. She had the ability to have what she wanted. Regulations didn’t affect her, and neither did anyone else who didn’t have her best interests at heart. Rex hadn’t meant love specifically, or anything of the like, but what she didn’t get was why it mattered. His constant reminders spoken to the fact that without knowing… she couldn’t possibly go about getting it. Whatever “it” is. The girl’s sudden epiphany was that she finally knew -for once in her life- that there was something she wanted more than anything.

And that was Wolffe.

Her awestruck reaction and frozen posture thawed to see not a single pair of eyes focused on her. Boost, Sinker and Comet were all watching high above her head into the kitchen at something positively damning. Behind her, the heavy sound of boots thumped against the floor echoing off the silent walls of the house. Her heart, already thrumming with personal-realization began working double-time as the steps got closer.

Commentary Track for Welcome Company

Copy 500 words -or more- of any of my fics and I’ll give my thoughts/rambles on what was going through my head -or the character’s- when I wrote it!

*Send one in here*

@taz-107 You and I have some of the best discussions on literally everything Clones, and I'm so happy you sent this one in! I kinda went all-in, because I know you don't mind my word vomit 😅

I love you dearly 🤍

***

Let's start with the Wolfpack shall we?

Comet and Sinker know Pup the best, obviously. They think she's sweet, and they've always had a sense of little-sister vibes from her. It's the way she always invites them in, and never let's them leave without being adamant that they come back again... Preferably leaving less time between visits. Her home is one that the Pack really doesn't get to spend much time in, but when they do get the chance it's like they never left. Habits are created very easily, so the same dinners are almost always on the menu and there's almost a bedtime ritual they both have which never goes abandoned. Comet and Sinker are men of habit, but they never miss out on Pup's willingness to oblige them basically anything they want.

For Boost, his normal happy-go-lucky (and troublemaker) attitude is absent. This is the first time he's meeting Pup, and like most troopers he's hesitant for a number of reasons. It's illegal what they're doing, and although this girl has been nothing but a god-send for his brothers, it's nerve-racking to be in an unusual situation like sitting in a living room and talking just for the enjoyment of it. In a matter of an evening though, he's already falling into that same trap of love and affection that everyone else does when they meet Pup. She's sweet, and overly worrisome about his boots not being comfortable. (Something Boost wasn't sure he'd ever thought about before.)

The Pack's decision to make a visit wasn't a difficult one to make. Each of them had seen the changes in Wolffe's personality, whether big or small, and right away they knew that it was because he'd finally went for his own visit. It wasn't until Chapter Five that they realize there's something more going on than just what Comet and Sinker are familiar with experiencing during their stays at Home. It's the way their Commander doesn't seem to respond to them quickly -like he's off somewhere else in his mind- and the many times they've caught him taking a nap during a mission, mumbling to himself with the occasional slip-up of her name crossing his lips. The entire Wolfpack -Plo Koon included- know that their Commander has it bad. And initially, they're a little bit confused as to why Pup would ever take a liking to someone as harsh as Wolffe.

Note: Until this point, no one has seen Wolffe interact with Pup, and I made this decision very carefully. It was crucial that Wolffe come to form some sense of habit and security with her before this moment happens. It's to better display the completely different way Wolffe acts as a Commander, versus when he's with Pup. Wolffe is extremely talented at prioritizing tasks, whatever they may be. Therefore, when he's a soldier that's the only thing he normally has the mental capacity for. But when he's with Pup, he takes that romantic role just as seriously as he would directing troops on the frontlines.

The Pack know Wolffe is the one coming in the door. They also realize that they'd incidentally forced Pup's hand, and now they had no way of stopping her from talking without making everything even more awkward than it's already becoming. With every second that passes between seeing him walk past the window, Pup just keeps talking and the collective hope of the 104th is that Wolffe's change in attitude isn't just a passing fancy for Pup, and that her proclamation of love is one that their brother will see as something significant. In the background of this apprehension for Wolffe's reaction, they're actually shocked to hear Pup admit what she does about Wolffe.

They've always known Wolffe to be a little on the stiff side of rules and decorum, and even the mention of him being the least bit romantic enough to capture her attention is just another blow to these men's (hopelessly misguided) ideas about their Commander. He's not the most gentle person, and Pup is nothing short of an angel... (That's literally Sinker's nickname for her.) They make for a strange pair, and there's a bit of all three of them that have the same worry that Rex does; Can she actually handle him?

Note: I've always thought of Wolffe as a tortured soul, that never deserved the copious punishments that was handed to him in his life. And in the fic, there was a huge motivation to really play up just how worried troopers get about their brothers who end up the way Wolffe is when we see him post-cybernetics. He's angry and vicious to an extent. Not that he was a really carefree guy to begin with, but it's such a contrast that all of the men who knew Wolffe closely can see a very scary change in the Commander once he's brought back for duty. (Fives and Rex's conversation in Chapter Five is where I tried to make that fear a little more palpable and realistic of what war has done to Wolffe through the eyes of men who've seen things similar...)

They hear her words, and they're all staring at Wolffe who's got the most impassive expression they've ever seen before. It's stiffer than when he's at a parade rest, and even his posture looks like it could fucking snap at any second. But the second Pup's pause of realization hits her, Wolffe suddenly decides to join them all. Every last one of the Pack are holding their breath for this; Literally none of them have any idea of what to expect. They're all making subconscious guesses, trying to read his movements, literally anything that might help try and relax this tension. But when Wolffe just sits himself down at Pup's feet; Stretching out his leg and visibly melting back against her chair...

It's utter shock.

Note: I chose Boost for the next POV because he fit the need perfectly. Not only does he know Wolffe extremely well, but he doesn't have this predetermined idea of what Pup is like. He knows on a surface level that she's very kind and a little shy. But I needed him for this moment because it's truly perception-bending to see Wolffe take such a submissive posture towards this girl. (Her admittance that she loves him aside.) Boost has never seen Wolffe carry himself like that, and I wanted you to see it through his eyes because that's Wolffe's constant personality. Pup is the only one who's seen Wolffe soft -so this isn't new to her- but for the Pack, this is unprecedented behavior.

Now for our sweet, sweet, Commander 🤍

Wolffe was very preoccupied with his conversation with Anakin from Chapter Six and the upset over being forced to come back so late in the evening. He wouldn't dare not return after promising that he would, but the idea of making her wait up so late didn't sit right with him in the slightest. Being so caught up in his own head, he doesn't notice the Wolfpack staring at him through the open window dressings, and he's completely unaware that they'd chosen to come and see her as well. (He tries not to worry himself too much about what they do on planet-leave, and this was just one of his weaker moments.) Not that Wolffe would ever admit to being constantly worried about his brother's getting into trouble, and him not being able to get them out of it.

But all of that changes the second he walks into the house and hears Pup talking. It's not what she's saying at first; But instead just hearing her voice is enough to make Wolffe pause and listen as he pulls his bucket off his head. She's so soft, but this time there's a different edge to it; And standing in the hallway is when Wolffe finally realizes that she's talking about him. It's a miracle he didn't drop his bucket in a loud clatter to the floor in that instant.

Pup is saying things that Wolffe couldn't have dreamt about even coming from her mouth. Admitting that he’s in her dreams like she constantly takes a place in his. Detailing just how surreal it is to have him around her, just like it feels in his own mind. Pup is speaking exactly what Wolffe has been feeling for months and it's all Wolffe can to do try and stay quiet, just so he doesn't miss another word. Every syllable is spoken like she read it right from his heart, and Wolffe is so speechless that he's on the verge of busting through the house to find her and really show her exactly what a fever-dream he could provide for her.

But the moment he sees his brothers, all staring at his shadowed figure in the kitchen he realizes that they knew he was listening, and that now there was no turning back. Wolffe is feeling really pressured at this moment. Not because he doesn't love Pup -because he really does- but it's hard to traverse the admission with his men watching him for a reaction. They know nothing about his relationship with Pup, and he's kept it that way for fear of someone thinking it was unprofessional, and attempting to do something about it that would not only risk himself and the other men who need her, but Pup herself for providing care and warmth to men who were considered GAR property. He doesn't suspect that his men would ever do something like that, but there's this sense of fear that makes Wolffe present himself so emotionlessly. That is, until he can collect his own emotions for hearing her, and try to play it off.

Note: Wolffe is very skittish. And that's all to do with the treatment he faced after his fight with Ventress. He thinks very lowly of himself personally, but has an unbreakable expectation that he do everything exactly as it should be done without failure. This makes him a wonderful leader, but god-awful at admitting he has feelings aside from diplomatic neutrality. He's struggling to do the right thing here, when there really isn't a textbook example of how to handle expressing the emotion of know the person you love, admitting to loving you back in front of a small crowd. Wolffe doesn't understand that anything he could've chosen to do would've been acceptable here. But in the end, Wolffe's diplomacy is what guided the plot. (Once again, I only write for the characters, I hardly ever get creative liberty when coming to the conclusion of what my non-OC characters do. Even then, my OC's are very diligent in reminding me that they have their own personalities and I can't just make them do anything.)

Wolffe chooses what feels comfortable to him in this moment. At this point, everyone -including Pup- is waiting for him. And when he walks into the living room, his first instinct is to go where he feels the safest. And that's with her. (It's important that he sits at her feet and I'll tell you why in a moment.) Wolffe wants to be with her as best he can in this moment. He still feels that emotional relief and warmth of hearing her say she had the same feelings for him, but the last thing he wants to do is put either of them on the spot in front of his brothers that are appearing very worried and utterly confused at the moment. So to tone down the tension he'd accidentally created, he just does what feels right; And that's to let Pup know he's happy to see her, and give the apology he'd been meaning to all along.

"Sorry m'late."

From there, his men -sharp as ever- realize that he has wants to do this one his own, and Comet takes the initiative to take conversation somewhere else for the time being. He's silently grateful for that, and although he never says anything to them about it, Wolffe is certain that they did so on his behalf and wouldn't expect a thank you for it.

The rest of the night is easy to get lost in. His boys -always needing to show off- take turns coming into themselves again, and decide that a competition of war-stories and funny -albeit stupid- stories are in order. It feels natural like this, and Wolffe hasn't ever felt so proud having all of his brothers and his precious lady all in the same room where they can just be normal for a little while. He's extremely attentive to Pup's attempts at touching him, and he has to bite back a smile when he feels her secretive touches against his back. She's doing it on purpose to avoid his brother's notice, but Wolffe realizes she's probably just as nervous to be outright about it as well. After all, he'd not made a single comment about what she'd said, but he was kriffing surprised that it didn't change her desire to be close to him.

Note: Wolffe sat on the floor for a reason. And it wasn't my decision in the slightest. The way the living room sits, Pup has the best view of the room. Her back is to a corner, and the couch and chair that Boost, Sinker, and Comet occupy and positioned to face in her direction. It's strategic -and instinctual- that Wolffe put himself at the center of attention. That is basically a requirement that he head his squad at all times, and naturally he doesn't distinguish this scenario apart from any other. It's simply the Commanding Officer in him. But to a -wonderfully complex- part of Wolffe's character, he's doing it because that puts Pup at his back where he knows she's safe. His brother's aren't harmful in the slightest, but Wolffe knows that should there be a threat, he'll see them coming, and they'd have to go through him to get to her first. Protecting Pup is one of Wolffe's greatest motives throughout the entire fic, and this was one moment I wanted to play that theme out silently. (I don't know if anyone really picked up on it.)

This choice to sit at her feet appears very submissive to the Pack, and to Pup for that matter. But really Wolffe is subconsciously staking claim and protective charge over Pup without even realizing that he's doing so. For example; he could've picked her up and sat down in the chair with her in his lap, he could've sat down next to one of his brothers instead, or even chose to stand somewhere. But all of those choices leave Pup undefended. Wolffe doesn't see that he's doing it, and neither does anyone else in a very direct way. But if you pay attention to the way I toned the scene, you'll notice that Wolffe doesn't ever lose control of the room. Focus and power is always on him even when no one thinks wiser. It's what makes Wolffe such a commander figure all of the time. He has a natural predisposition to hold command, so even when Wolffe isn't trying have dominance, it's always present in the subtle way he moves, speaks, and presents himself to those around him.

***

Thank you for sending this in my love ☺️ I hope it wasn't too long, and you covered everything well enough! If not, let me know what I missed and I'd be glad to fill in the blank spots!

Much Love, Rightful 🤍

[siennahrobek]

I had so many ideas on what to write about today but I was scrolling through the Obi-Wan tag during my break and I came across a huge post that had been baffled and a bit crazed. It was labeled about forgiveness and mercy and such but it was like a huge insanely interpreted post about the Jedi Order and some of the characters. Of course I wasn't about to start any sort of argument (and wow was the post long) but I just had to write something, at least, in my own post, unconnected with theirs. I guess this is a reaction and buckle up cause it seems like this is going to be a long one. I have a lot to say and I'm not gonna stop being all anxious about it until I do but uh....

I'm sorry, did we watch the same movies?

They go through a lot of movies and completely do a opposite take on the Jedi; how they are "unattached" (I say this because there are so many misconceptions about the word) and celibate (which we know isn't actually true) and how Anakin becomes living proof why this attitude is wrong.

First of all, it's not an attitude; it is a way of life. One that has worked for thousands of people over millennia. Second; their point WAS proven. Anakin turned to the dark side and became a sith. He committed genocide after genocide (the Jedi, Mandalore, Alderaan, Lasan etc.) and in the end, he only turned back because of his son. Which, may seem good on the surface, but it only goes to show how no other children or people that he murdered actually mattered, it was only his blood child that did. But that's not where I'm going. You don't actually see him regret doing the countless things he has done (probably because he dies) and he only does this because of his blood son. It, for me, gives the impression that blood means everything.

Anyways, there is quite a bit of talk about Obi-Wan and honestly? It is all not good. I'm not blind to Obi-Wan's faults but in general? He is a really good person; he tries so hard and goes through so much and is ugh, always trying. Obi-Wan shows no understanding? What? What? Did we watch the same movie? I mean it has been a while since I have watched Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith (they hurt my heart because ugh) but that is NOT what I remember. I remember Obi-Wan teasing Anakin gently to get his mind off of his anxieties when they were going to see Padme again. I remember Obi-Wan saying "dude don't be a horny teenager" (not in those words obviously, but that was essentially the message). I remember him literally parenting and teaching him - like he's supposed to do. I remember him trusting Anakin to do the right thing and to protect the Senator alone, by himself. I remember Anakin saying he's been having dreams - not visions or anything and nothing specific, just about his mom - and Obi-Wan going "it's alright dude, those pass in time". I mean everyone has DREAMS, that's not beholden to force-sensitives. My dreams sure as heck don't mean anything. Just cause he is a Jedi and COULD have visions, does not mean they are. And he didn't tell Obi-Wan they were visions, he literally says dreams.

(this is about the time that I wish I could work with gifs and understand them)

Anakin is not stronger than Obi-Wan; I mean, really? Sure, more powerful? I guess? But let's go back. Who beats who on Mustafar? Obi-Wan. Who does NOT murder a bunch of children and turn to the dark side? Obi-Wan. Literally, sure, he's more "powerful" with the Force, because I guess that is the whole point but he's not stronger or wiser than Obi-Wan because as Captain Rex said "experience outranks everything" and man, does Obi-Wan have a lot of that.

Let's take a break and go to Shmi. They claim that her death is a dark page in the Jedi's book. I mean, w-what? How can you possibly blame the Jedi for Shmi's death? For not freeing her? Did Qui-Gon even tell the Council that Anakin was a slave? I don't remember, honestly. But still, she ended up freed and married to a man she fell in love with. And if I remember correctly, someone was sent (by Padme maybe? to free her but she was already gone to the Lars' by that point).

Okay, I know it sounds like I am reacting to a post and well I am I suppose. But like, this post is literally blaming the Jedi for Shmi's death and how they did not offer Anakin compassion. And then just to say that it is bothersome how Anakin was solely blamed. Uh, because he was a the perpetrator! How can you possibly justify the MURDER of children. Even though it not the Jedi way, I could understand, sort of, if he went after the people that hurt his mother specifically; probably some of the men/warriors/adults. But the babies? The children? You can literally not justify that. And to blame the Jedi Order and Obi-Wan for not "taking his nightmares seriously?" Are you serious? Anakin mentioned the dream (DREAM) once in passing, there is no indication that he said that she was in danger or that this was a vision. And visions are known to be notoriously unreliable! Not to mention, the Council is responsible for the Jedi as a whole - that is thousands of people.

Alright, now to the war.

There was a claim that throughout the war, the Jedi became more and more aloof, intolerant and unforgiving and determined to win despite the suffering of the people.

What. The. Krutack.

I will include the Clone Wars series, since it was directly referenced in response. Once again, did we watch the same show? Because I'm pretty sure that virtually the whole point of the show, aside from showing us horrible things the CIS did and the individuality of the clones, was the compassion and kindness of the Jedi. How they fought to protect as many people as they could. They were dying alongside the clones. Does anyone remember how kind and caring the Jedi were when they came across civilians. Do you remember how Obi-Wan literally carried and protected with his own body the little Twielek girl, Numa, on Ryloth? Does anyone remember how many NON-Republic planets they helped? I remember them helping even CIS senators and planets that had no ties to the Republic. They helped Mandalore even when they were not part of the Republic. The vast majority of Jedi are shown protecting not only citizens but the clones as well. They are on the front lines - not hidden behind a desk (although some are and that is necessary - tactics and strategy people) and trying to save as many lives as they can, even if it costs them. They inspire creativity and individuality in the clones - this is literally a thing. I could go on and on and on.

Okay, on to Revenge of the Sith - the sadness that will probably haunt my heart forever. We will start with Dooku; specifically when Palpatine tells Anakin to kill him and that he deserves it; it is revenge for cutting off his and whatever. And this, this, post asks if this is an act of mercy for the guy kneeling in front of him (and tells him Obi-Wan later denies him) and like, what? How in the world is that mercy? He murders a defenseless man. Sure, he is the enemy and he is a criminal but he is supposed to stand trial (not to mention all the intelligence Dooku could possible give to help win the war) which is incredibly ironic, considering later, Anakin screams at Mace Windu telling him Palpatine should stand trial (even though he is much more dangerous and more of a threat than Dooku). This is not mercy. This is a handless, defenseless (although evil) man who Anakin does actually kill. It is not mercy.

Anakin has dreams about Padme; similar to his mother. You would think he would have learned his lesson and confided in someone by telling them what was actually happening. Anakin once again, DOES NOT give Yoda any specifics, just that he fears someone he is close to will die. It is claimed that he is lacking empathy and compassion to Anakin's dilemma. WHAT DILEMMA? Anakin won't tell anyone anything that could actually help. What Yoda says is true; like "dude, people die and you have to move on from that. You cannot stop death and you cannot let this fear control you. You have to let go" which is a completely reasonable thing; I mean, hello - grief counseling anyone? Yoda probably thought he was talking about Obi-Wan - who was off on a very dangerous mission against a cyborg that had killed many Jedi and padawans; this seems like a very normal fear. Whether or not Yoda says this in the right way is not really relevant; Anakin knows that he has to let go of what he fears to lose because eventually, no matter what, he will lose it. NOTHING is permanent. Now if Anakin had specified he was having what he thought were visions and the actual person in them, I'm sure Yoda would have said things differently and probably helped him.

(Also, did Padme get any real health care or like??? Was it too much of a secret???)

(The genocide of the people in the Temple is conveniently glossed through with bare mention)

and then Mustafar. Contrary to Padme (apparently) Obi-Wan shows no clemency. ANAKIN MURDERED THE ELDERLY, THE SICK/INJURED AND BABIES in the temple. Not warriors, not even full grown men and women (some would be full grown but all the able bodied were probably out in the war trying to defend the universe). He should NOT be granted clemency. Anyone else would probably have been executed for this direct horrifying act. But they seem to gloss over how Obi-Wan is always on the defensive, not really because Anakin is more overpowering (And Obi-Wan does use a defensive style, Soresu) but because he is trying to give Anakin time to chill out and come to his senses. That is literally how the choreography was designed.

And Obi-Wan's last words were? Harsh? What? If I remember correctly, Obi-Wan says something like "You were supposed to destroy the Sith not join them" and when Anakin screams he hates Obi-Wan, the return is "you were my brother, Anakin, I loved you."

That is heart-breaking and sad, not harsh. How can you look at Obi-Wan's face in this scene and call that harsh? How can your heart not break for him?!

Say what you will about Obi-Wan leaving Anakin without "finishing him off". Whether or not this is a mercy, whatever. First, we needed a reason for Vader to be in the suit. Second, Anakin was unarmed; Obi-Wan doesn't go around killing unarmed enemies, much less loved ones. (Hello, the slaver from the series, anyone? He didn't kill him; it is against his beliefs. Rex killed him). Can you even imagine how Obi-Wan was feeling? How could he possibly kill his brother? Like, I have so many feelings and not enough words ahdkjgkjgjkf. Anakin does suffer and Obi-Wan has no reason to believe that Anakin would survive his injuries. Furthermore, if I remember correctly, Palpatine ship was coming? Also, Obi-Wan had to get to Padme - she was injured and more of a priority. Because she is someone he can try to save - Anakin is long gone - in more ways than one.

Although it claimed that they are not denying the terrible things Anakin has done; that is almost kind of what they are doing. They are literally putting Anakin's choices and agency to the fault of the Jedi - not just individuals but the culture and people. It is literally gone on to say that if he had left with his wife, the worst could have been avoided. What was the worst?

Oh, a mass murderer got his legs cut off and accidently burned alive. Uhm, okay, that sucks but you do realize he committed genocide of his entire family right? And he choked his wife into unconsciousness.

I can't even with humans.

There is not even a note to Palpatine and how he manipulated Anakin for years. No blame at all on the man we need to blame the most - they put all the blame on the Jedi which just. Blows my mind.

The Clone Wars proved there was no right choice for the Jedi - they were doomed to fall. Not because of anything they did - they did everything they could - but because of Palpatine's plans and schemes. I will never, ever agree that the Jedi failed because of themselves. I do not think that the "institution" was destined to fall ( that "institution" lasted for longer than the Republic). The Jedi were trying so hard - they were kind and good and compassionate and trying so hard for peace and saving as many lives as they could. The Sith were evil. The CIS was evil. The Senate was corrupt. And the Jedi were trying.

There is so much Jedi-blaming for Anakin's attitude, disposition and choices it is literally driving me insane. Why did I do this to myself?

Things delve into a New Hope and immediately there is bashing of the jedi; where Obi-Wan cuts some guy's arm off at a Cantina and Obi- Wan "lying" that Vader killed Anakin. Which, honestly, I could see that being true. Him being Anakin's murderer, at least. Vader may have Anakin's body but even he claims that he killed Anakin Skywalker. Anakin, at least, how he thought he was, was loyal and passionate and loving - or at least he tried to be. Vader is literally none of these things; there is very little of "Anakin" in Vader. And at first glance, it may seem that Obi-Wan and Yoda are setting Luke up to kill "his father" but honestly, I see it more as preparing him to fight Vader and kill him, if necessary. It's a horrible thing, but they do not outright say anything. And honestly, they were right. Vader is willing to kill Luke - he cuts off his hand and fights him. Okay, I have so much to say about this but that is for another time; i will digress about this particular point (of lying and such)

Luke, apparently, decides to forgive Vader and show him mercy (which is claimed the Jedi and Obi-Wan NEVER did for Anakin, no matter what he did for them which is such BS I'm virtually crying rn)

There is a lengthy talk about Luke trying to rebuild the Jedi culture and how it crushed him, his contrast with Obi-Wan's attitude and shame(?) and how trying to be a Jedi has caused him to fail. Because apparently Luke is the only one who apologized and that makes him different I guess? (How many times has Obi-Wan apologized and thought things were his fault even though they weren't?)

I won't get into the Sequel Trilogy because honestly, it does very little to interest me. I am mostly a Prequel- era person mostly because I love Obi-Wan and the strength and compassion of his character. Finn seemed really interesting to me and man I thought having a female Jedi character would be really great - we had some fantastic female Jedi such as Ahsoka, Shaak Tii, Depa Billaba and so many more - but they were rarely the focus and I thought it would be fun. But, I was a bit disappointed because killing off Han Solo the way they did? Eh. Didn't care for it. I was also in the era of Mara Jade, Jacen and Jaina Solo, Anakin Solo and Ben Skywalker (Luke's son) so perhaps I was a little bias. I didn't really understand why Leia and Han would name their child after someone that they didn't really know (although I do have a headcanon concerning Leia and Obi-Wan which I find hilarious that I love).

I didn't particularly care for the Sequel Trilogy. They made it a Skywalker show and they did an emphasis on romantic love and from what I recall from what I have watched, the majority of the characters weren't nearly as interesting or compelling to me. And then bringing Palpatine back, sighs. Why does it always come back to him? That is just exhausting.

I'm not hating on the Sequels; everyone is allowed to like things or whatever. I just didn't; they focused so much on Rey and Kylo Ren (who I actually have a bit of an opinion on but I won't right now) instead of the more intriguing characters. I would have been much more interested in Finn as a Jedi. To overcome what he has been through as a stormtrooper and becoming a Jedi would be a really interesting story. I didn't care for how they handled Luke. And I didn't like how Rey apparently became a master so fast without any real training? Even Anakin, the Chosen One, the most powerful force-wielder, had ten years of training under Obi-Wan and the Jedi. That stuff doesn't just...come; you learn it.

I wrote more about the Sequel Trilogy than I care too. I suppose this is a rather reaction post but wow; I felt like me and this person had watched two separate movie trilogy/shows. It boggles my mind on how people can get the opposite of something that was so clearly shown. I hope I didn't upset anyone too bad. I'm not hear to start a fight, just to get out some feelings.

I wrote this all instead of homework that I desperately need to do. Sighs.

I need to go through my likes and read some good Jedi content cause man, that, that was hard.

[xiaomomowrites]

home

Genshin Impact | TartaLi/ZhongChi

Summary:  “Home isn’t always a place,” he taps Zhongli’s chest, “home can mean a lot of things to different people. For me, my home is my family. Wherever they are is where my home is. And maybe that’s in Liyue, maybe it’s in Snezhnaya, or maybe it’s in Inazuma. Either way, wherever my mother is, wherever my siblings are, that’s what I call home.”

As Childe trails off, he’s suddenly aware of how he’s fidgeting with a button on Zhongli’s coat now. The tips of his ears turn red. He meets his gaze abashedly. “Does that answer your question?” 

Zhongli smiles fondly at him. “I believe it does. Thank you for indulging me.”

Or; Zhongli struggles to define what exactly “home” means to him.

Find it on Ao3!

This part takes place between act V and Zhongli, Come Down. I know I posted this series totally out of order, please forgive me for my lack of organization :,D

A/N: First of all, I finally have a beta reader!! She’s helped me through the process of writing this and I’m incredibly thankful for her support. I accidentally made her cry with this fic though, even if it wasn’t necessarily sad?? Regardless I appreciate her feedback haha. 

Oh my, I feel like I’ve been writing these two being really soft for too long. After this, I really need to face the music and write these two fighting. The time has come. They won’t be in the honeymoon phase forever!! I’m gonna vibe check all of you. 

Also, do yourself a favor and listen to the songs Home by Michael Buble and Sparks by Coldplay after or during you read this. You’re welcome.

Lastly, you can find me on Twitter @/xiaoscribbles where I’m extremely active and talk too much about Genshin. I love making friends there!

Enjoy <3 -u.n.

--

Zhongli never had a place to call home. 

Or rather, he never bothered to find one of his own and commit to it.

He was always too mobile, too nomadic. He had places to be, people and adepti to see, contracts to see through. Zhongli never found himself settling into one place for too long. Sure, when he was Rex Lapis, he had nested many times. He was a beast whose presence was too large to be confined into one space, so he would glide to the highest mountain in Liyue with ample space for a dragon like him, and settle. Zhongli remembered how he would make it as comfortable as possible for himself using all kinds of things he would pick up on his travels. A deep purr of satisfaction would rumble through him as his scaled belly would make contact with the coolness of the earth, and Rex Lapis would allow himself to relax against the stone, body sinking as if he were weightless. Although, no matter how he shifted, tossed and turned when he tried to rest, something was always missing. 

Even the familiar feeling of the Liyuan ground was not enough to fill the void in his chest.

It was satisfying, sure, but never completing. 

Hence, his lack of understanding of the human desire to settle down in one home for the rest of their short, yet meaningful lives. 

Were they not itching to get up and go somewhere else? See the world? Appreciate the land beneath their feet in all its entirety? Zhongli failed to comprehend. Even an ancient being like him fell short in understanding the idea of a “home”. 

Well, what consisted of a home, anyway? Four walls and a roof over their heads? A kitchen filled with food? A soft bed with layers and layers of sheets? What was the meaning of all that, when the true beauty of the world was beyond those four walls, high into the sky, and deep beneath the sea? What kind of pleasure could possibly come out of being domesticated? 

Nevertheless, Zhongli did make an old promise to try to understand humans as they were. So sure, Zhongli supposed he could appreciate the art of architecture. He saw how hard people worked to build these beautiful houses with intricate designs to maximize safety for the residents excited to inhabit them. It was endearing, Zhongli thought, how enthusiastic humans got about a house. The idea of settling down with their loved ones would give them so much serotonin, so much drive. It was inspiring to him. Zhongli had always hoped that one day, he could feel the same way about someone.

So why couldn’t bring himself to understand the joy in this “home” everyone spoke of? What was he missing? Was he missing the duvet? The one thousand thread count sheets? Was he missing the fine China he saw peddlers selling on roads far from town? Because he had tried his best, living in his mortal form, to find the simple pleasure in decorating his home. 

But no matter what he did, no matter how many throw pillows he placed on the couch, he simply could not deny the gaping hole in his chest when he went to bed at night. He had reached a point where even cooking for one every night upset him so, and he would go to bed disgruntled and hollow. The vast margins left on the king sized bed in the middle of the night kept Zhongli awake.  Though he did not even need sleep, he had tried his best to form what the humans called a “proper sleeping schedule”. Apparently, according to Hu Tao, sleeping at four in the morning and waking at seven for work was “not suitable”.

But in truth, what was he supposed to do? Pray tell, what could he possibly do to absolve the issue of the chasm growing in his chest with each passing night? 

“Xiansheng!” A jovial voice snaps him out of his reverie. 

Zhongli looks up from his mundane paperwork to see a familiar head of red hair bounding toward him languidly. Oh, what a sight for sore eyes.

“Childe,” he greets, “did you pester Miss Hu Tao into letting you back here again?”

“Pester?” Childe brings a hand to his chest to mock his hurt, “I hardly have to bother her to come back here. A simple ‘you look fantastic today’ is always my ticket in.”

Zhongli scoffs fondly. “How can I help you, Childe?” He sets his pen down and leans back in his chair, amber eyes following the Harbinger curiously.

“Well your break is in ten minutes, so I figured I’d come grab you for lunch at Wanmin?” Childe plants two hands flat on the cherry red oak desk and leans forward into Zhongli’s space. There’s his signature teasing smile spreading slyly across his face, the one he knows Zhongli won’t be able to resist.

Zhongli hums in approval. “Sure, let me just wrap up this last form and I should be ready to go shortly.”

Childe drops down to his elbows in response and rests his face between his palms. “You sure? We could just go now, you know. I got Hu Tao consulting Ying’er about the new fragrance for the next hour or so.”

Zhongli leans forward and meets him in the middle. “I must be responsible, Childe. If my lunch break is at noon, then I will not leave my post until then.”

Childe pouts, jutting his bottom lip out cutely in an attempt to convince him otherwise. Zhongli, immovable as ever, simply leans forward and captures his lips between his own. The Harbinger makes a happy noise in the back of his throat and presses closer, positively humming when the ex-Archon reciprocates. But the older man is quick to get back to work, pulling away as quick as he came, but not before he nips at Childe’s bottom lip. The ginger whines petulantly at the loss of contact. 

“Have a seat, Ajax.” Zhongli speaks, a hair’s width away from kissing him again. Childe grumbles, but agrees regardless. He seats himself in one of the plush armchairs located in the corner of the office and makes himself comfortable for the next ten minutes. 

Zhongli readjusts himself in his seat and picks his pen back up, glancing back down at the form he had already completed. He blinked owlishly at it. He must have finished signing it while Childe was talking without realizing what he had done. Regardless, he moves onto the next document to peruse silently. Mid sentence, he scoffs playfully, shaking his head at the thought of the ginger distracting him so. Is he even surprised at this point? Not even a little bit. The ginger has an incomprehensible hold on his heart, one that he doesn’t really want to shake off.

“Something funny, Xiansheng?” Childe teases from his seat. He’s reclined in his chair, relaxed, head lolling against the cushioned headrest. His eyes are closed and his shoulders are drooping into the leather. He’s relaxed, for once, and the thought of Ajax allowing himself to let his guard down in his presence makes Zhongli’s heart thump happily in his chest.

“Not particularly,” Zhongli pushes himself up with a groan. Goodness, his joints are getting tired. He pads over to where Childe is seated and forcefully makes room for himself on a chair that is clearly made for one person. Childe lets out a surprised yelp at the sudden intrusion but scoots over to make room, anyway. Zhongli makes himself comfortable by angling his body to where it’s being cradled by the junction between the armrest and the back, and opens his arms as a silent invitation.

Childe takes it happily and launches forward to burrow into Zhongli’s chest. He rests a gloved hand over his heart and snuggles closer, inhaling the deep scent of silk flowers and leather. Zhongli’s arms come around to strap him against his chest, gloved hands petting his sides as he presses a kiss to red hair. The contact immediately vanquishes the discourse in his mind. He squeezes him tight for good measure, forcing a grunt out of his Tartaglia. 

“Xiansheng,” he calls. 

“Hm?”

“You’re working too hard again.”

“Am I?” He questions absentmindedly. “And here I thought I was pulling my weight just fine.”

Childe snorts. “Pulling your weight? You know I make enough for the both of us. You could retire and stay at home, relaxing and reading books, or whatever it is you do at home.”

Ah, there it is again.

Home.

For the second time that day, Zhongli is struck with confusion.

“What is home to you, Childe?” He asks, voice soft and far away. Childe frowns against his chest in confusion.

“Home?” He parrots.

“Yes, home. What is ‘home’ to you, Tartaglia?” 

“Hmm,” the Harbinger hums, tapping a gloved finger against the ex-Archon’s chest idly as he speaks. “I suppose home is Snezhnaya. Home is what I grew up in. The unbearable cold and the old cottage house. Ice fishing with my siblings, massaging my mother’s back. Those things are all home to me.”

Zhongli ponders. Of course that is what home means. Familiarity, yes? So, technically, his home was Liyue. The hustle and bustle of trade by the harbor, the loud sizzling woks at the food stands, the loud marketers on the street that work hard day and night, the enthusiastic story tellers spewing exaggerated lies— that was all home to him. 

So why, then, was Zhongli still dissatisfied with this conclusion? Home should obviously be Liyue. He created this land with his own two hands. Gave people the very drive that keeps them alive today; he gave the idea of mora and fair trade and economic prosperity. He’s watched countless faces pass him every day, every year, every century. He’s seen new faces, young faces, old faces, familiar faces, too, the ones he had seen on older souls. Reincarnated souls. Zhongli knew those souls. He’s had dinner with many of them on multiple occasions. 

And it was no secret that Zhongli was well known in his hometown. Every business owner was familiar with his eloquent way of speaking and ambitious ways of buying. With the arrival of Childe, every business owner all but doubled their enthusiasm now that Mister Zhongli finally had a means to pay. People knew Zhongli, they adored him. They admired his amber eyes and long, beautiful hair, the ends of it looking like it had been dipped in melted mora. When he walked, people’s eyes followed. They would stare longingly at his beautifully crafted coat, his single earring, the fine leather gloves that cover his deft hands, and they would admire the way he walked with purpose, and with fire. A confidence so set in stone, it was almost difficult for one to even approach Mister Zhongli. For so long, he was considered Liyue’s most handsome bachelor, until of course Tartaglia came along and swept him off of his feet, capturing his attention in a way no one else could ever imagine imitating.

Yet, despite all the attention his people lavished upon him, there was always a nagging feeling of isolation nipping at him in the back of his mind. Despite creating the very ground beneath their feet, he simply felt like he did not fit in. Only when he was with Tartaglia did he truly feel like he belonged anywhere. It was rather inexplicable. There was something about the way Tartagali’s presence wrapped around him with a level of tenderness he had never experienced. It covered him like a gentle embrace, welcomed him without judgement, and loved him without expecting anything in return. The thought of Ajax himself made Zhongli’s heart swell

Speaking of which, the said man was now pressed tightly against his chest tracing lazy patterns into the fabric of his coat. Their long legs were tangled where they were dangling off the seat, with Tartaglia’s foot rubbing affectionately against the older man’s ankle. 

Oh, how far they have come. 

“But,” Tartaglia suddenly interjects, jolting Zhongli out of his thoughts. “If my family were to come here to Liyue to stay, then I suppose Liyue would be home, too.”

Zhongli hums. “Naturally. I’m sure they would find the variety of houses here in Liyue nice and peaceful, perfect for a new home.”

At that, Childe lets out a light laugh. “Honestly? They could live in a cardboard box in Inazuma, and I would still call that home.”

Zhongli frowns. Well now he’s even more confused than when he started. Since when was a cardboard box a suitable home for a human? It completely lacked all the appliances the houses here in Liyue had. Why would Childe settle for that? He of all people was aware of the love he holds for his family, there simply was no way he would call that a suitable home for his family. 

“I don’t understand,” he says instead, “a cardboard box, Tartaglia? You do not strike me as the type to settle for such an...unbecoming home. Especially for your family.”

“No, no, Xiansheng,” the Harbinger chuckles, sitting up slightly so he can look Zhongli in the eye. “I was just exaggerating. And, home isn’t always supposed to be a house, you know. Those two things can be mutually exclusive. Maybe not all the time, but, definitely most of the time.”

Well this was certainly new. Now he truly did not understand what it meant to have a home.

“Apparently I do not know.”

Childe sits upright to look down at the ex-Archon.

“Home isn’t always a place,” he taps Zhongli’s chest, “home can mean a lot of things to different people. For me, my home is my family. Wherever they are is where my home is. And maybe that’s in Liyue, maybe it’s in Snezhnaya, or maybe it’s in Inazuma. Either way, wherever my mother is, wherever my siblings are, that’s what I call home.”

Childe is aware he’s rambling, but he can’t help it. Once he starts talking about his siblings, he simply cannot stop. “It wouldn’t matter where I was if I couldn’t hear my siblings from the other room. If I didn’t wake up to Tonia’s loud blow dryer every morning, or if I didn’t hear Anthon trying to talk to her over the blowing, then it isn’t home. If I can’t hear Teucer’s footsteps coming toward me asking about a new Mr. Cyclops toy, it isn’t home. Not to me. But like I said, it’s different for everyone.”

As Childe trails off, he’s suddenly aware of how he’s fidgeting with a button on Zhongli’s coat now. The tips of his ears turn red. He meets his gaze abashedly. “Does that answer your question?” 

Zhongli smiles fondly at him. “I believe it does. Thank you for indulging me.”

Childe pushes himself up and off the chair, stretching and yawning obnoxiously. “Great,” he replies once his jaw finishes unhinging itself from that yawn, “let’s eat, I’m starving.”

—

To put it simply, Zhongli rethinks his definition of home all night. After he gets home from his dinner date (Tartaglia tugged on his sleeves until he agreed to leave his shift early in favor of a new restaurant that had popped up recently), he closes the door behind him to take in the composition of his home. Tartaglia had been the one to pick out most of the furniture, so although it lacked many of the traditional Liyuan decor Zhongli would have furnished the place with himself, it had a nice touch of Tartaglia everywhere he went. 

His couch, for example, was a deep mahogany leather that stayed cool to the touch despite the hottest of summers. Zhongli’s dresser was nice and tall, a deep chestnut brown cut from the forests of Snezhnaya to match his bed frame. His bed was elevated by an incredibly grandiose four post frame that hung a beautiful golden translucent curtain all around the bed, draping the perimeter and creating an ethereal atmosphere for when he sleeps at night. 

(“It’s kinda sexy, don’t you think?” Childe had asked one day, while he was pondering which bed frame to buy for his boyfriend. Not that he needed to, considering Zhongli finally has a stable salary, he just wanted to.

“Ajax,” Zhongli had said disapprovingly, “what about it is sexy to you? 

“I don’t knowww,” the Harbinger hums, “maybe it looks like I would feel like I’m on cloud nine when we’re, you know…”

“You can say sex, Ajax, I believe in you.”

“Oh stop that!” Childe whacks him playfully with the catalogue, “I’m being a good boyfriend and getting you a beautiful bed frame cut from the finest oak tree and sheets woven with high quality silk! You could be nicer to me, you know.” He’s pouting, and he knows it. Zhongli’s eyes soften.

Zhongli shakes his head, laughing. “You know you don’t need to do that, you know.”

“I want to,” Ajax persists, “this is your first actual living space as a mortal! I want it to be perfect. I refuse to have my boyfriend, who is a literal god, sleeping on a bed with no bed frame. Unacceptable.”

Zhongli smiles and watches him as he continues to ramble about all the different bed frames he could buy. Oh, his love for this boy knows no end.)

The hints of Ajax everywhere he goes is how he keeps himself sane each night. His possessive urge to be around him every second of every day (courtesy of being a dragon deity his entire six thousand year life span) is soothed with the smell of him on his sheets and the extra toothbrush by the sink. One of Tartaglia’s scarves is folded neatly on the arm of his couch, and during those nights where he truly feels Ajax’s absence, he’ll hold the red fabric close and breathe the scent in deeply. The smell alone is enough to rock him to sleep on some nights, but on others, it simply is not enough. On those nights, he finds himself reading book after book about Snezhnaya culture until he passes out from exhaustion. 

One would think that it would be better for them to just live together. Given that they spent every second outside of work with each other, even going so far as walking the long route home just to avoid saying goodbye, a person would look at the way they held each other close in public and think that they’ve been married for quite some time already. 

But alas, they had agreed to take their relationship slow in the beginning. The both of them had much to adjust to, given that one of them was a notoriously fierce Harbinger, and the other was an ex-Archon adjusting to the world without his gnosis. They both had complex schedules that they were much too familiar and comfortable with to just up and leave for another person. There was a certain period of time that they had agreed to spend apart, well, as “apart” as they could be, before they decided to do anything drastic, like move in together. 

There was too much to consider, anyway, Zhongli reflects as he gets ready for bed. Would their living habits even align? Would Tartaglia even be a good roommate? Would he take out the trash responsibly? As much as he loves the ginger with his entire heart, he doesn’t think he could do it for long if Tartaglia was the type to walk around with shoes on. Such an act should be considered illegal, anyway.

Waiting was the right thing to do. 

Right? 

The nights Tartaglia spent with him were the nights he could sleep a full, uninterrupted eight hours. They were the nights that Zhongli felt himself truly relax into the sheets and sink into a blissful sleep, knowing his beloved was being held impossibly close. And if nighttime was therapeutic for him, mornings felt ethereal. The mornings where he rose with the sun to be met with the sight of Tartaglia next to him were the mornings he felt like he could fly again, and soar through the open Liyue skies in his rawest form forever, so long as Tartaglia was with him. 

In fact, more often than not, Zhongli thought about the way it would feel to have Childe by his side as he explored the skies again. He would think about the way he would have to strap him down, nice and close so he doesn’t fall off his back, and then take off high into the sky. Not too high, lest he accidentally give his boyfriend a heart attack, but high enough to hear those delightful shrieks Childe will let out when he’s excited. He thinks about the way Childe could grasp onto his mane for security, hands threading through golden locks, legs tightening around his torso to avoid falling. Oh, he thinks about this a lot. 

But, waiting was the right thing to do. The last thing he wanted was for Childe to feel uncomfortable with the pace that their relationship was going and make him uneasy. Besides, just because he was a possessive dragon at heart, it didn’t mean Ajax was willing to cater to his needy tendencies. So, he promised himself that he would create a reasonable distance between them for the time being.

Why then, did he hate this distance with every fiber of his being? 

Why is the distance so unbearable, especially at night? 

Why is he so unsettled with the very few miles between them? It’s not like Zhongli is in Liyue and Childe is in Snezhnaya. Tartaglia is literally only at the inn. 

Yet he craves nothing more but to be close to him at all times. Zhongli’s skin itches with the desperate desire to feel him by his side when he goes to bed, when he wakes up, and all the moments in between. Does that make him clingy? Maybe. But old habits die hard. 

Zhongli huffs and looks down at his flattened pillow with disdain. No amount of fluffing will restore it to a state that is suitable for his likes. Even the elegantly woven silk night robe wrapped around his body offers little to no comfort. 

He glances at the clock. 

It’s only half past midnight. If all went well with Tartaglia’s shift, he should be home now, fresh out of the shower. 

Without thinking twice, Zhongli throws together an overnight bag and rushes out the door. 

—

“Coming, I’m coming,” Childe calls to the incessant knocks at his door. The knuckles continue to rap against the barrier, though, and Childe’s fingers itch to summon a water blade in the case that things go south. Considering that there is rarely anyone that would dare to disturb him at this time of night, Childe would say his precautionary measures are reasonable. He had summoned an angry water god, after all. It was only a matter of time before the angry mobs got to him. 

The knocks sound again, and Childe angrily ruffles his hair against the towel. If they could just wait one second, he could answer the door with dry hair, but no. Peace was not an option, apparently, and neither was a perfectly fluffed head of hair.

He stomps toward the door and swings it open, ready to scold whoever had—

“Xiansheng!” He startles when he sees Zhongli standing in the doorway, donning a simple black t-shirt tucked into high waisted pants that were loose and slightly flared at the bottom, and his feet were covered by simple strappy sandals. Childe vaguely remembers purchasing those pants for him when he had mentioned wanting more loose and liberating clothes. The ex-Archon looks good like this. He looks… impossibly soft. Vulnerable, almost. There’s a distant look in his amber eyes that has Childe mildly concerned, though. Childe tries to ignore the sudden urge to protect him to his last dying breath.

“What are you doing here?” He sidesteps and reaches out to drag his boyfriend in. “I thought we had already discussed you sleeping so late! I know you’re an adeptus, you don’t require sleep, blah blah blah, but still, you—“

“I missed you,” Zhongli stated so matter of factly. “I wanted to see you. So I came here.” 

Childe gawks at him and closes the door slowly. So he had just walked all the way here?! At this hour?! Goodness, the audacity—

“Xiansheng,” he whines instead, dragging the older man into an embrace. He wraps his arms around his neck and presses his cheek into his hair. “You can’t just say those things. It’s impossible for me to love you more.”

Zhongli holds him with desperation, welcoming the hug so enthusiastically that Childe knows there’s something to be said. 

“Can I stay the night?” The adeptus asks once they pull apart. 

Childe looks at him, dumbfounded. “You don’t even need to ask! Go, make yourself comfortable. Are you hungry? Have you had dinner?” 

Zhongli drops his bag by his side of the bed and takes a seat, still watching Childe with careful eyes. 

“I’ve eaten,” he answers carefully. “I just couldn’t seem to get comfortable at… home… so I came here.” 

Childe frowns, and joins him on the bed. He flips the covers open and clambers in, resting back against the headboard. “Not comfortable? Is something wrong with your place?” 

“Maybe,” Zhongli tries, “I really don’t know. Frankly I’ve been conflicted about… many things… recently, and I feel as if I have reached an impasse. I don’t know where to go from here.”

“Zhongli,” Tartaglia says, suddenly serious, “how come this is the first time I’m hearing of this?” His voice drops an octave, the worry seeping into his tone. 

Zhongli reclines and rests against the headrest, too. “I did not know how to express my troubles to you, mainly because I’m having trouble defining it myself.” 

Well, that’s fair enough. Tartaglia can’t find it in himself to be mad at that reasoning.

“Well,” Tartaglia begins, reaching for Zhongli’s hand and hugging his arm to his chest. He scoots closer and uses Zhongli’s shoulder as a pillow. “Why don’t you just start rambling and maybe it’ll come to you.”

“I think I have a vague idea, actually,” Zhongli adjusts himself to make himself more comfortable for Ajax. The both of them find themselves staring up at the ceiling as they converse. “Remember when I asked you what ‘home’ means to you?”

“Of course,” Tartaglia answers. Oh, he has an idea of where this is going.

“Well, I’m unsure of what it means to me.”

Bingo.

“What it means to you?” The Harbinger asks, craning his neck to look up at him. Zhongli hums, affirmative. 

“Yes, I’ve been struggling to define the term for myself. I’ve been observing others much more closely and how they define their own home, but I’m afraid it has made me more confused.”

Tartaglia juts out his bottom lip in contemplation. “What do you mean?” 

Zhongli takes a deep breath, a long explanation at the tip of his tongue. Tartaglia braces himself, as he usually does.

“Today you told me home was your family. Miss Xiangling told me home was her father, and the smell of their kitchen. Young Xingqiu told me his home was within whatever book he was reading, even describing it as his safe space. And Miss Ningguang, most peculiar of all, had told me home was when she was out at sea, but only when Captain Beidou was by her side. Mind you, I had fully expected it to be the Jade palace, considering the built it from the ground up.” Zhongli rambles, “and I just found it strange how so many humans find different definitions for the word home. Such a simple word, too, so imagine my surprise when I discover it’s true complexity.”

“I’ve encountered many things in my life, Ajax. I have met so many people in this lifetime and watched them grow, watched them die, and even watched some be reincarnated. But I think…” he trails off, and the warmth in his eyes glimmer as he reaches an epiphany. “I think I am struggling to define the term because I have never been presented with the idea of stability. Things are always changing. The world around me continues to warp and I have noticed, in my time so far, that humans find the need for stability and reassurance because of the nature of their short lives. That is where I am lacking.”

—

Try as he might, Tartaglia takes slight offense to his statement. 

Lacking stability? The thought was bitter on his tongue.

Was… was Childe not enough? 

No, no, he forcefully derailed that train of thought, he came here tonight because you’re the only thing he can rely on in his life right now. Show him that.

“Well,” Childe starts carefully, and thanks the stars that his voice is steady. “What about me?”

Zhongli makes a confused noise. “What about you?” 

“Do you consider me as a stable thing in your life?” Childe prods, digging his cheek deeper into his shoulder.

“Oh, absolutely not,” Zhongli snorts. 

Childe unironically feels an ache in his chest. He stills against Zhongli. Ouch. 

Luckily, Zhongli is at least able to pick up on his sudden discomfort, and he’s quick to follow up his statement. 

“You misunderstand, Ajax, you being wildly chaotic is a beautiful thing in and of itself.” Zhongli gently pries Childe off his arm to look at him directly. As expected, Childe is upset. He’s got the same glassy eyes he always dons when he’s upset, but doesn’t want to admit it, and his bottom lip is red and obviously bitten in an attempt to keep himself from feeling unreasonably angry. 

“Oh,” Zhongli coos at the sight, “I’m sorry my love, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s fine,” Childe blinks hard, “I’m just being dumb.”

“You’re not being dumb,” Zhongli is quick to negate his self-deprecative tendencies, “I must have come off very harsh just now. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Childe thumps a fist against his chest, “it’s fine, really.”

“As I was saying,” the Archon continues, “nothing about my life so far has been stable, Ajax. Things are constantly changing. Time continuously flows, and it simply does not wait for any man. Unfortunately, I have seen many people come and go. And unfortunately, one day you will become one of them--”

“Zhongli stop,” Childe interrupts him. He’s angry, now. His brows are furrowed and there’s an evident frown on his face. There’s a slight scowl across his lips where there used to be a precious smile just moments ago. “What the hell?” He asks angrily. 

“Ajax,” Zhongli scolds softly, “it would be in your best interests if you let me finish.”

“Well, not if you’re just gonna talk about death,” Childe retorts. He’s aware that he sounds childish, but such a topic is not to be taken to lightly. Especially when it revolves around him, and what he would be leaving behind. The thought makes him sick to his stomach.

“Whether or not you’re stable, whether or not you’ll be here forever, you are the most important thing to me, probably ever.” He speaks with a certainty that makes Childe shiver. “You are the first person in a very long time that has made me want to try to grasp at the fleeting seconds I have with you, Ajax. You drive me crazy. And I love you for it, because never in my six thousand years have I had as much fun as when I am with you.”

Dammit, Childe is crying now. Zhongli has such a way with words, how could he not? Dating him is just one, huge, glorified emotional rollercoaster. Zhongli brushes a stray, reluctant tear away with the pad of his ungloved hand. 

“Frankly, stability is overrated,” the ex-Archon smiles at the soft giggle that escapes his beloved’s lips. “I have found, albeit slowly, that I would rather have someone loud and rambunctious than someone slow and settled. That is my role, if anything. There simply cannot be two of us, can there?”

A soft “no” is huffed as laughter from Childe. What a boring relationship that would be, truly.

“But if it is stability you seek, Ajax, let me be that for you. Let me be here, solid as stone and steadfast. Let me be the pillar of strength you need to turn to in times of trouble. Okay?” He brushes a knuckle gently across his skin.

Childe makes a sound that sounds a little broken and a little delirious. “When did this become about me, Xiansheng?” 

“To me, it’s always been about you,” Zhongli smiles fondly. Childe feels as if he’s been shot in the heart.

Childe gives him a shaky smile and nods. He can’t seem to control his heart at the moment, so instead, he says, “You’re my home, Zhongli.”

--

The gears seemed to finally click somewhere in Zhongli’s chest. The hollow feeling inside suddenly swelled with a sense of nostalgia, bringing with it a feeling of peace and serenity. Zhongli’s eyes widen, and the ex-Archon looks down at Childe with a sudden air of solid certainty. Childe almost shrinks at the intensity of his gaze. 

“Of course,” he mutters, mostly to himself. “Of course it’s you.”

“What?” 

“How could I be so blind?” Zhongli cups his face with both hands, and Childe reciprocates by placing both palms on his wrists. Confused, but following along. Cor lapis eyes stare straight into his soul, unforgiving as it digs deeper and deeper into what makes him whole. 

“Xiansheng?” Ajax asks, dazed by the intensity of Zhongli’s stare. God, his eyes are so golden.

“It’s you, Ajax,” for once, his voice cracks and he loses composure, “you… are home. You are home. To me, that is my definition of home. I only ever feel-- I only ever feel like I belong when I am with you. It was so obvious, and I--”

“Zhongli,” Ajax gently pries off the hands cupped around his face. His heart can’t handle this right now. It’s too much. He’s too in love, he needs to do something or he’ll explode. He stares directly into those beautiful, mesmerizing golden eyes. Ajax cradles Zhongli’s hands in his own, petting over his knuckles, when he asks, “Marry me?”

His eyes widen comically, as if they weren’t already the size of saucepans with his first epiphany.

“Oh.”

So that’s what he was missing. 

“I know we said we would take it slow, and I know I’m young, or whatever” Childe begins to ramble, “but fuck going slow, Xiansheng, it’s been months and all I want to do is go to sleep with you next to me. I know what I want and it seems like you do, too, but if I misread that then--”

Zhongli hushes him with an incessant press of his lips against Childe’s. It is a loving kiss, yes, but it is filled with a desperation that only the both of them understand. It is a kiss that is so different from the others; one full of certainty and ambition, a kiss full of overwhelming commitment. The longing behind the contact is an answer in and of itself, but he pulls away to speak regardless. 

“Yes,” he breathes, pressing his forehead against Childe’s, “yes.”

That night, Zhongli finally comes to the conclusion that home does not have to mean four walls and a roof. It doesn’t pertain to any kind of fancy kitchen appliances, or four post bed frames. Zhongli quickly learns that it doesn’t have to be about a place, and all the stories it tells. It’s not even Liyue, the very land he built himself. It has nothing to do with any of that. In fact, the sheer ridiculousness of Zhongli’s inner conflict has him rolling.

Instead, it has everything to do with the red head beneath him. It has to do with the way he calls his name in the middle of the night, claws his hands down his back and juts his hips forward, desperately seeking friction. Home has everything to do with swollen lips, red from being kissed, cheeks hot pink from the heat slowly filling the room, and strong thighs clenching and unclenching around his waist. Home has to do with his precious Snezhnayan soulmate.

Simply, home is Ajax.