#SURPRISE. another one for you
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it's customary for WISE agents to meet with their handlers in an open environment to avoid suspicion , usually a nice little café just outside of the city. their conversations would appear pleasant as they drink their coffees , but within the words lies a secret code stashed between each verb & noun , allowing for the passage of information to safely cross one another without anyone else knowing any better. while their meetings are work related , twilight would not be able to deny that he does enjoy these moments spent with @satellitewar. in between their secret messages are real conversations about who they are outside of their work , what it was like working with sebastian at treadstone before she became apart of WISE & vice versa. slowly all the pieces of the puzzle that is emily kelso is finally coming together & loid rather likes that she's the one handing the pieces over to him one by one each time they meet. he's a master spy ━━ he could easily retrieve her file & figure out everything about her for himself , but that would be less enjoyable for him. the fact that she herself is telling him these things means there is trust between them ━━ one that goes beyond their work partnership. he covets that trust more than anything right now & he plans to keep it sacred for as long as she decides to keep trusting him.
today they are speaking about their humble beginnings , already having finished going over intel about his latest mission. emily speaks about having been in the field herself once upon a time & loid hides a smile as he drinks his coffee , listening earnestly to her past adventures. ❝ did you think i had it in me ? ❞ emily's coy & teasing lilt is admittedly music to loid's ears. his smile comes easier whenever he's around her & it's becoming harder to keep his stoic persona intact whenever they meet in person. one sentence from her & his walls come crumbling down , but rather than try to hastily build them back up again , he allows her to do this. these feelings are dangerous . . . he shouldn't allow himself to enjoy their meetings , but he hasn't had this sort of happiness in so long. perhaps sebastian is right . . . he should allow himself something. perhaps someone. ❝ oh , i have no doubt you were brilliant in the field , ❞ loid offers politely , his smile gentle & soft ━━ a rare sight to be seen. ❝ i do think you're much better suited at the computer. you have an intelligence that is unmatched by other agents. you see things that i cannot & have saved me countless times. i wouldn't be here with you if not for your guidance , honestly. ❞ another sip of his coffee , surprised by how easily compliments leave his lips whenever he's around her. ❝ is this what you plan to do for the remainder of your career ? please don't see this as me wanting you to leave , i'd never want that . . . ❞ absolutely not. ❝ i only mean that . . . you're so smart , miss ━━ i mean , emily. you seem much better suited for bigger things. better things , if you don't mind me saying. ❞
#satellitewar#˗ˏˋ ᶜʰᵃᵖᵗᵉʳˢ· ic ﹕ master of disguise.#˗ˏˋ ᵉᵖᶤˡᵒᵍᵘᵉ· answered ﹕ words are not enough.#˗ˏˋ ˡᵉᵗᵗᵉʳˢ· for a better world ﹕ master of disguise.#˗ˏˋ ᵃˢˢᵒᶜᶤᵃᵗᵉˢ· emily kelso.#SURPRISE. another one for you#this dynamic is SO IMPORTANT TO ME#we need them to officially fall in love k tHANKS
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Based on what the subtle dialog in his backstory implies about what the slave masters used him for...I can't bring myself to imagine Aventurine as being totally normal about intimacy...😩
#another one where you can feel free to insert whatever character you ship him with#this is more musing about his personality#I like angst#hsr#hsr fanart#hsr aventurine#hsr stelle#honkai star rail#star rail#star rail art#don't surprise him...#spoilers#just in case#avenstelle
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Out of sight, out of - wait.
[First] Prev <–-> Next
#poorly drawn mdzs#mdzs#wei wuxian#granny wen#a-yuan#It's always fascinating how colours translate from the page to the screen.#It would probably surprise a lot of people to see what some of these comics actually look like in physical form.#My lighter colours takes about 3-4 washes before it shows up on scan which means it tends to ripple the page.#And my yellows and oranges are drastically different colours when scanned compared to the ink colour.#There's about 20 or so comics where everyone's hair is purple - because it scanned in the exact same colour as my light grey.#Wait my book is right here in front of me so I can...yeah...Comics 57-77 were indeed purple.#This is all to say - is it not fascinating how what we see is often not the full truth of what the subject truly is?#Is it not fascinating to open another episode that reminds us that despite everyone's claims they could totally spot the evil YLLZ-#-The man walks around among them for months as no more than a man haggling for deals like the rest.#It's almost as if he's just a person. It's almost as if none of us - no matter what we do are really anything more than just a person.#Your good acts will be overtaken by how other's interpret you in negative light.#Just as easily are people willing to forgive crueler actions if they hold you in high esteem.#But what's real? Is the page I hold the real version of this comic? Is it the one you look at?#Is the man known as Wuxian the most himself when he is alone or on the battlefield?#Perhaps he is and has always been a scared orphan boy lost in the market.#I think there is no good answer to any of these questions.#But I do know that panic rising in WWX as he frantically looks for A-yuan was for more than one boy.#To be human is to have layers around a delicate center. We only really grow around our wounds from childhood.#In other words; Donkey from Shrek would also probably call Wei Wuxian an onion. I'll see myself out now.
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if aziraphale doesn't grab crowley by his gay little scarf in season 3 then what's the point. why does he even wear it. take that shit off if it's not important to the plot
#fearandhatred#neil adding the scarf to crowley's design in s1: this is a surprise tool that will help us later#i might actually be mad if this doesn't happen in one way or another#but also i'm joking crowley don't take it off it's hot#i know other things you can take off though huh who said that#good omens#ineffable husbands#aziracrow#crowley#aziraphale
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Thoughts of you
#phoenix wright#miles edgeworth#narumitsu#wrightworth#ace attorney#fan art#aa#pressed to say this is ship art because its really just im obsessed with them art#HOWEVER. the idea WAS that these are a series of instances where they were thinking of each other and/or depictions of those memories#also if you look at it they’re supposed to sort of surround one another#leftmost phoenix is surrounded by miles and likewise the rightmost miles is surrounded by phoenix#not perfectly exectuted but not terribly done either#surprising no one i love the yawny phoenix bc 1 i relate but 2 i love him with morning shadow like HOMF#when i say they make me insane i mean i did this in less than 48 hours#no brain head full of narumitsu#rendevok
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Can you do a drawing of Billy Loomis aka Ghost face? Please?
sure ♥♥♥
#he's another one that I'm surprised to look back and realize I've never drawn before!!#anyway i hope you like it ♥♥#billy loomis#ghostface#my art#scream franchise#slasher#scream#tw blood#slashers
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"I have many fears, most of them about Lucrezia." — Cesare Borgia (The Borgias, 2011-2013) + hints of insecurity
that she adores someone that much / if she will reject his dark nature and act of love and violence as Ursula did / if he truly is not part of her desires / that she easily forgets him
#i have so many thoughts on these two#hes such a clingy brother wth#as much as he soothes her it is only by asking lucrezia verbally or#by looking at her that his fears and insecurities in her life can be soothed#cesare torn between - being relieved she had some joy in the ruthless marriage he had no power to prevent and did not even want to bless#or being envious there is someone else now when his little sister once said she will not love anyone as much as she loves him#but Accepting it anyways because it is impossible loves and maybe he is starting to become aware his love falls in this same category.#“should i envy this narcissus low-born who shall never see you again because of his impossible love for you when i love you just the same?”#the knife more surprise than fear. in a time when he did not love himself...“she accepts me as i am? as i do her”#biting her as if another black panther pet looking for reassurance that their love#that HE is still included in her perfect world even if he himself pulls away#“surely you're in agony as much as i am? are you already satisfied with your child and husband if we cannot share our love openly?”#“your eyes drift to mine when you say 'husband' am i not he? do you see me as so even when it was just 'tonight'?”#and then his sudden gaze as if to look for truth because how can she forget him when he only thinks of her#AND AGAIN pulling away being eaten by shame and guilt of corrupting her (when their relationship is not just his doing)#torn between hope (we have the capacity to forget and move on) and hope (our love has that much devil power over her)#cesare as the god or the devil or whatever it is that overwhelms whether at war or in love#cesare is one confident man and even if his insecurities has layers of righteousness and importance..it is still insecurity nonetheless#and only for lucrezia#lucrezia borgia#cesare borgia#cesare x lucrezia#the borgias#dailyborgia#perioddramaedit#perioddramasource#weloveperioddrama#onlyperioddramas#romancegifs#the borgiasedit
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Huzzah! It's birthday time! I'm slowly accumulating more and more things I like (latest additions this vest I made and a travel typewriter! Still need to fix the latter one though)
Sure has been a year.
#terri#niart#got my wisdom toofies out#well 2 out of 4#still got stitches#idk if this removal lowkey fixed my fear of the dentist?#it was so easy and painless#also finally i'm on anxiety meds jkahsdjash#i also got depression meds but i haven't tested them yet#I'm going to see the love of my life soon again!!!#only 2 more months to go....#i've also finally found awesome friends who don't make me feel like i'm insane for wanting to be cared for#the difference is like night and day#old friends saying hey let's surprise another friend of ours oh also i think it's your birthday on that day#new friends reminding me to pick a brunch place for us to go on my special day#i am sobbing#the right people are out there#don't lose hope#i've never felt this platonically loved honestly#also yes i'm working on the next dragon's lair aksjdhasjkd#just#a lot of things happening and i'm sooo burnt out#this piece was such a strain and i just#don't have patience for art rn#this is photobashed btw there's an actual photo of my typewriter under all those layers#i'm not about to spend 300 hours just to draw a typewriter from this angle kajshdjkasdh#ALSO ONE MORE THING CAN I JUST GUSH ABOUT THE ANASTASIA BROADWAY OKAY?!?!?!#I didn't realise until now that they made it way more historically inspired and i mean bruh BRUH#i have been having a recording of it playing on the background nonstop for like 3 days now#Vladimir Popov I want to inject you straight into my veins holy shit he is a perfect man
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We need candy Marshall and vampire Gumball!!!
Waow okay anon imma give you a lil concept, sorry for making you wait too long 🥹
My current takes on Candy Prince Marshall Lee and Vampire King Gumball
#heavy on concept bc i'm still pondering Gumball's design 👁️#there's a lot of red here mhm h idk how to feel#i don't know how to draw armor SHHHHHHHH#but i still want Gumball (Gary?? Gareth??) to have it bc he's a little paranoid about getting staked by surprise so he just always wears it#I like Marshall and his Marshmallow hair 🥹 Don't believe his lies tho he only has pointy ears because he modified them himself 👉#But at least Marshall Lee is able to have ear piercings in another universe#Speaking of universes.. these two don't share the same universe hgyhjhhj I definitely should've mentioned it the first time-#I only said I already had some swap concepts in mind.. and they're a bit different.. so yeah this is technically a crossover then 🫴#back to the fun facts Marshall Lee is called Marshmallow King. Because Vampire King.#I want to give Gumball a crown but i ran out of ideas for a nice one at the moment 🫴 I might give him a similar one to the VK#For now he just has an all time low pride lmao#Another fun fact Gumball's armor is based on PB's armor outfit (・∀・)#uhhhh what else.. i think that's all i have to say about them rn I hope you like it 🫶#fionna and cake#gumlee#marshall lee#prince gumball#swap au
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I’ve grown to appreciate the aus where Shen Yuan enters the story as “Shen Yuan” - same name, probably similar face, generally able to interact with PIDW as himself and change the story through his added presence. I like the sense of “if only you’d been here, things might have been better the first time around” of it all.
And I was thinking, it’s a funny coincidence in that scenario that someone named Shen Yuan gets put into… another Shen Yuan. What are the chances? What a weird twist of fate that Airplane would pick out the name that his most dedicated critic could slip into seamlessly.
What about a version where it’s not coincidence at all?
Airplane goes to school with a kid named Shen Yuan. He’s prickly and hard to approach and a little intense, but Airplane is persistent. In fairness, Airplane is relentless - and maybe it’s a good thing that they end up being friends, because they’re a little too much for anyone else to handle. They balance each other out. They’re the “weird kids” in class and they’re okay with that, because even when they don’t have any words for it, they know they’re not like their classmates, not really. That’s okay; they don’t want to be.
Recesses and breaks are consumed with the elaborate stories that Airplane wants to tell, and all the holes Shen Yuan pokes into them. It’s not mean-spirited, though, even though Shen Yuan isn’t the kind to temper his words. It’s passionate. He cares about those stories the way Airplane cares about them, and it can’t be mistaken for anything else when they lean together conspiratorially across the lunchroom table. They’ve both got notebooks filled with details and characters and monsters. Shen Yuan’s practically got a whole bestiary sketched out in wobbly childhood attempts at art, entries fervently scrawled beside them. Airplane prattles out plots nonstop, always with the promise of shining eyes and being asked “what happens next?”
They come up with a whole world together. Airplane’s going to write about it someday. Shen Yuan is going to read every word.
Shen Yuan misses school. Shen Yuan starts missing school a lot.
Airplane goes to the hospital room instead. He doesn’t think to worry, because Shen Yuan is okay - that’s what he says. He looks okay, and he’s a kid, and it doesn’t feel real that anything bad should happen to a kid. He doesn’t think to worry. He doesn’t think to say goodbye.
It’s one of the older Shen brothers who catches him on the way up to the room one day, in the hallway just outside - snaps at him to go the fuck home, and when Airplane hesitates, pushes him into the elevator and tells him not to come back. “Tells” is a generous way to describe the way the words come out - a growl, a hiss, the sound an animal would make when a hand got too close to a wound.
(It’s not fair to name a villain after him, even if the name never really comes up in the story. He wasn’t trying to be mean. He’d lost a brother minutes before, and he was getting his brother’s friend out of the way so he didn’t have to… see. It isn’t fair, but then, none of it is fair.)
Death feels very real after that.
The notebooks get shoved into a closet, and it’s not until Airplane’s moving out and one falls on him from a high shelf that he thinks about it again. He’s written things, lots of things, but nothing as ambitious as this - nothing as important. It could be good, he considers. He’d promised. Shen Yuan wanted to read it.
The problem was that no one else does, not for a long time, not until Airplane has whittled himself and his art into a corner and into such an unfamiliar shape that he has to wonder how it’s still his own face he sees in the mirror. He has to eat. He has to pay rent. Shen Yuan would yell at him, but Shen Yuan isn’t there to yell at him, and who cares. Who cares if it could have been better? The people who actually are here love it, and it’s paying his bills, and sometimes stories don’t go the way they’re supposed to and the world is fucking unfair. It doesn’t matter.
(It does. But he shoves that thought away along with styrofoam cups and soda bottles to the bottom of a garbage bag.)
Authors are not gods and their power is limited, but Airplane exercises just a sliver of what he’s been granted and gifts an inconsequential sort of immortality. He thinks about making him a rogue cultivator, maybe the kind that goes around documenting beasts and compiling his findings. He thinks about making him someone too powerful for death to touch, or too important to threaten, but when Airplane looks at the world he crafted and everything that’s become of it, it feels like the kindest thing he can do for Shen Yuan is a childhood where he’s loved, and a death that’s peaceful. What does it say about that world, that he’d kill off his best friend too early again instead of making him live there?
(The best writing he ever does is the only, shining moment of humanity that his scum villain ever displays: a lament about death that comes too early, about a brother gone too soon. The commenters praise him. The commenters flatter over how real the emotions feel. The commenters don’t get any response from Airplane on that chapter.)
Death is incredibly real when it comes for him too early, too, still hovering over his keyboard with the story technically finished and incredibly incomplete. Airplane could tell himself that’s because the written version can never be the version in the writer’s head, always shifting and with every possibility still on the table, but he knows better than that. The System knows better than that, with its condescending message about “improving” his writing and “closing plot holes” and “achieving his original vision”...
…and he’s a child again. He’s a child in his own story, he’s Shang Qinghua now without the benefit yet of a peak or cultivation or anything, and maybe he’s a little bitter, and a little scared, and…
And Shen Yuan - with longer hair, with robes, with a couple of older kids watching him from across the street, but undeniably the prickly little boy who used to sit down imperiously across from him and tell him everything that was wrong with the chuck of writing that had been handed to him last period, but with that smile that said he was only invested because he knew it could be better and they were going to make it better - marches up to him with a fire in his eyes and a frown that warns of a coming tirade.
“You told it wrong,” is the first thing he says.
Shang Qinghua wants to ask how him how he’s here, how this is possible, or maybe laugh because, yeah - yeah, Shen Yuan has no goddamn idea how wrong he got absolutely everything.
(Shang Qinghua wants to say “I missed you” and “why did you leave so soon” but he’s here now. He’s right here.)
“I know,” he says instead. “I’m sorry. It all kind of… spiraled out of control.”
Shen Yuan frowns, but then it dissipates the way it always does, and his eyes shine with ideas the way they always used to. “That’s okay,” he relents, grabbing for his hand. “We’ll fix it. We’ll make it what it was supposed to be.”
#scum villain self saving system#svsss#shang qinghua#shen yuan#airplane shooting towards the sky#this got more into the feelings than i thought it would#surprising no one#anyway just! childhood friends au! as a reason for a shen yuan insert!#obviously he is not going to die as a child in this version#shang qinghua would not have that nope not again#also pls consider poor shen jiu who looks at this child that shen yuan has picked out for a best friend like '...really? that one??'#(it's up to you if he's shen yuan's actual brother from his first life)#(put there's a part of me that likes the idea that shen jiu also gets a second chance to spend more time with his brother)#a second chance for them to grow up together!#THAT SAID#RIP TO SHANG QINGHUA#WHEN SHEN YUAN IS OLD ENOUGH TO LEARN ABOUT ALL THE PAPAPA#the LOOKS shang qinghua is going to get#anyway here have a thing because I CANNOT add another au to my drafts thank you and goodbyyyyye
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oopsies lots of wing stuff 👀👀 :3,,,, fey sisters
he’ll tell you he’s studying (he’s solving sudoku)
sad beanix ™️ (pls pretend he’s on a bridge or cliff i tried and failed to draw that then gave up lol)
added wings to these + bonus edgeworth
sketches from a while ago (the cross legged maya one is actually the third thing i ever drew for this au :P)
finally,, uncropped version of the first 2 vv
this set of images comes with a winged apollo headcanon (,,,or canon ig??) His wing movements are usually very reserved, but when he gets really lost in thought, he will start hovering without noticing he’s doing it.
Realized after writing this that I never really explained how his fear of heights manifests, so allow me to here :33 :
Just like in canon, Apollo has a fear of heights that is stronger that Phoenix's. However, Apollo's doesn't kick in until he's x-distance above the ground, so he has no problem with hovering. As opposed to Phoenix, who hates the feeling of not having his feet on the ground (at least in the og trilogy).
link to masterpost
#ace attorney#maya fey#mia fey#apollo justice#miles edgeworth#phoenix wright#feenie wright#feenie#beanix#okart#ace avian#might post a wingless version of the fey one in a couple weeks#so if you see it again don’t be surprised#i was gonna split this post up into two but i am too lazy and impatient to do that >:3#i had a lot of fun with these;;; esp the feys and apollo#i mentioned in another post that after AA4; phoenix loses his fear of heights#someday i need to draw an interaction where beanix (being the legendary and kind mentor that he is) is like flying above apollo like#“god apollo it's not even thaat high cmon”#empathy who?#also i need someone to draw ship art of these guys LOL cuz i don’t draw ship art much
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i cant stress how much joy i get from doodling magneto as A Dramatic Comic Book Villain i cannot even lie to you chat
#wip#you guys like wips. im never posting another one again <- this is a lie#rb if you want ig idk#snap sketches#he looks like a fuckass beetle with those horns i love him#i was just gonna post the pose but the fuckass dialogue is necessary. i love it when he talks like that i cant stand him#i usually dont post wips cause i love surprises but idk if im gonna finish this#maybe i will. there's more to this its a dumb comic referencing issue 18 again VJAELKJVKLAJ#but anywayt. Yeah <3#big fan of how his dramatic ass was reasoned to be erik putting on a show to act as a 'lightning rod'#well good job girlfriend you definitely put on a show. only problem is i love you#one of these days i am just gonna make a magneto doodle page of dramatic poses or something#also hi charles. youre here too. obviously.#ok bye i have to be in class i guess#if i post a proper drawing later today or tomorrow it'll be a miracle
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"the strike is gonna kill my favorite shows" babe okay if you don't want to think about the human livelihoods at stake (you should really be thinking about the humans though) like. think about what happens after this. when writing pays you enough to eat; more people get to be writers. more stories. more interesting plots and ideas. think about what gets made when artists aren't starving.
you've been complaining for years that tv is going downhill. part of that is because the writers aren't paid enough - a screenwriter needs to be able to live with a very low paycheck while being virtually anonymous, so as a profession it self-selects for a very slim number of people. part of bad writing is burnout and the absolutely criminal amount of influence corporations have over scripts. writing is actually a craft, despite what people who love chatGPT will tell you - and, as a craft; it takes time, diligence, and support.
and yes, i understand. you have a connection to a piece of media, which is what writers want. but we regret to inform you that your blorbo is as real as the image in the mirror - is your reflection actually you? can the reflection ever show anything but the truth? as writers, our work is the reflection. you can't keep throwing our bodies under buses and then being shocked that our work is bitter, 2d, "needs revision". imagine what gets made when the artist is inspired and has the time, space, energy, and fucking budget to actually make what makes them happy.
i love you so much. but also, really - and for real - before anything else, please remember it's human livelihoods at stake.
#tbh i think we're about to see another rush of “reality tv”#idk how well that same approach will go for streaming services bc that's a lot of how cable skirted around the last one#but also at the same time social media exists and reality tv has been dying pretty significantly -#there's a huge push for 'definfluencing' and being LESS involved in parasocial relationships which is VERY GOOD#but i wouldn't be surprised if netflix starts some kind of big brother/love island/etc#im writing this to seduce one very specific person#it's you
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hey, y’all! i’ve got an exciting announcement to make!!
i’ve posted a few times about my upcoming seraphim ace (designated s-flame) fic, titled heaven down an angel. it’ll be a multi-chap story starting with an egghead arc rewrite, followed by a journey throughout the grand line and beyond. however, what i haven’t shared yet is this: i’ve got a partner in crime for this monstrosity! meet my close friend and amazing artist nera (@njere), who will be illustrating this fic!!
info, premise, and more art below cut!! (thank you to nera for the beautiful pic formatting✨)
and last but not least: tpg readers, don’t be alarmed! i’ll get back to it someday. just gotta get this out of my system first. :)
#HERE WE FUCKIN GO#breaking news: writer and artist team up for evil plan#we are so excited to destroy you all emotionally.#ahh look at me. starting another monstrosity. surprise surprise#also yeah i’m aware ace usually equals 1 in card games but px-01 already belongs to kuma rip im sorry#asl brothers#portgas d. ace#monkey d. luffy#sabo#sabo one piece#one piece#egghead arc#vegapunk#seraphim ace au#one piece seraphim#seraphim ace#one piece fanart#one piece fanfic#and last but certainly not least:#hdaa
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Childhood
#if you remember all of these you get a sticker#there was also this old flash game that I think was Japanese and its title translated to you are lucky#I could only find it once in a while so I don’t remember if I played it a lot but I wish I could have included it#those creatures were so stinking cute#I always fucked up the math mini game though because I can’t read it#another one I liked was this series of point and click games of a girl who lives with a bunch of ghosts? it was on gamershood.com#it doesn’t work anymore but I really liked playing it.and I really liked this point and click puzzle series that is a little obscure#I wanna draw that one next actually its so nostalgic#I’m surprised I don’t see more post talk abt eyezmaze games on here I feel like it’d be a hit#I drew a lot of inspiration from them and the funny creatures so they have a special place in my heart#i also wanted to draw elephant quest/elephant run.. actually the collection is on steam I wonder if I should get it and replay em#nostalgia#doodles#my art#myart
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talks of the past - zhongli
ship: zhongli x reader
synopsis: in which the wangsheng funeral parlor’s consultant tries to restore your faith in rex lapis
notes: 1.7k words, chapter 7 of bookkeeping!verse; with ties to various chapters in the series
It was yet another day you found yourself traveling with Zhongli to Qingce Village. Objectively speaking, it was a beautiful morning. The sun was high in the sky without a cloud in sight, the birds were chirping, and the temperature was nice. Really, there shouldn’t have been anything there to get you down. And yet…
There you were walking with your head down and a faraway look in your eyes. Had you been more aware, you would’ve noticed your companion speaking a few times. You would’ve seen the concerned look in his eyes as he peered down at you. But you were lost in your thoughts, uncharacteristically troubled and insecure.
If you had noticed, you would’ve felt a bit of pity for your companion. It was not often that you were seen in such a depressed state. Really, despite your temperament, you were generally alert and sociable. He often enjoyed the banter that would come about between you two. Truly, you were a dear friend to him. That being said, it wasn’t often you shared your concerns with him. He wasn’t sure if you even would if asked.
He cleared his throat.
“First, is… there anything that’s bothering you?”
It took a few moments for you to respond, almost prompting him to ask again before you let out a long sigh.
“Zhongli,” you began, looking up to him imploringly, “Can I talk to you about something?”
He couldn’t deny the slight start of his heart that came with your question. You’ve brought up your concerns to him before, but those were often accompanied with glares and opinions regarding his financial decisions. This time, however, exhaustion was evident in your voice with dark bags under your eyes. He could not recall doing anything that’d result in your loss of sleep.
“Sure,” he began, careful to keep his wariness absent.
“It’s not a big deal,” you began in a way that implied the opposite. “I’m sure you know how much I revere Rex Lapis. Even though he passed, I still greatly respect the legacy he left behind.”
“Yes,” he replied with a nod. “You’ve mentioned this to me a few times in the past.”
A bit too many, he would add. And with your way with words, it never exactly was… pleasant. At the very least, he was relieved your lack of sleep wasn’t with anything he did as Zhongli.
“It’s just… Lately, I’ve been talking to Madam Ping in my free time, and… I feel like my faith is beginning to be shaken…”
He frowned.
“‘Shaken?’ In what way?”
“I…” You bit your lip as tears welled in your eyes. “Don’t hate me for saying this, but I…”
You hesitated.
“I’m beginning to think he was actually a complete weirdo.”
A… A weirdo?
He cleared his throat, feeling if not just a little attacked.
“In what way?”
You sighed, glancing away with your guilt-ridden eyes.
“In… in every way.”
‘Every way?’
“For instance, take into account Mora…”
Of course, it had to do with Mora.
“Well, I once heard a story that Rex Lapis created the first home out of Mora. I always thought it was metaphorical or just a silly children’s tale, but… Madame Ping confirmed it to be true. When I asked her why he chose Mora, she said it simply was because it was available. He didn’t have any deeper meaning to it.”
He frowned. Ignoring the sense of déjà vu he felt regarding this specific topic, he didn’t see any problem with his actions.
“Yes, it only makes sense. To the God of Wealth and Commerce, what material is easier to get than Mora?”
“Exactly!” You exclaimed suddenly, nearly causing him to flinch. “Only a simple-minded man would come up with such a simple-minded conclusion.”
“S-Simple-minded…”
You nodded.
“Just because he had all the access in the world to Mora didn’t mean the common folk did. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to make the first model home out of materials available to everyone?”
He coughed.
“Perhaps.”
You sniffled.
“It’d be fine if that was the only thing, but Shitou from the Jade Mystery told me that once Rex Lapis stopped by his family’s shop in the past and purchased a spoon made of fine Noctilucus Jade to sample the culinary delights of Liyue Harbor.” You buried your face in your hands. “Why would he spend that much Mora just for a simple spoon?”
“W-Well…”
“I know, I know. As the God of Wealth and Commerce, he had easy access to Mora. And I’m sure it made him happy to contribute to the wealth of Liyue Harbor’s commonfolk, but for someone who spent so much time around his people, it’s like he had no concept of his own creation’s worth! It’s shamelessly extravagant! I didn’t think he was such a wasteful person…”
In the back of his mind, Zhongli had the urge to disagree, to stand up for the good name of Rex Lapis. Really, he wasn’t so shameless as you made him out to be, at least he didn’t think he was. But before he could respond, you continued.
“That’s not all though…” you started again.
Oh no.
“A while ago, I told Meng and the Ferrylady that Rex Lapis wasn’t a self-absorbed narcissist, but…”
Oh no…
“I was talking to Sir Yun the other day of the Yun-Han Opera Troupe? I always knew that Rex Lapis enjoyed the troupe’s shows, but did you know he starred in a few of them? As a warrior, she said. And as you know, Rex Lapis is known as the Warrior God. So that means he basically played himself in operas singing songs about… himself. Can you imagine doing that? How…”
Tears came to your eyes.
“Cringe.”
He resisted the urge to clear his throat.
“Though records say he may have taken part in those operas, I can’t recall Miss Yun stating he starred as himself,” he began. “The assumption he did so is mere conjecture at best.”
That last part slipped from his tongue before he could rein it back in. You never took kindly when his opinions differed from yours, and yet… Well, perhaps he was feeling if not a little attacked. The Yun-Han Opera Troupe had a long history, after all. They certainly would not be more the wiser if some tales became embellished over the years. He thought out of all people you would be more aware of that than most.
Thankfully, much to his relief, you were. Instead of taking to anger like you usually did, you nodded obediently.
“That’s true. I hope you’re right,” you replied with a hopeful smile. “Madame Ping said that not even the great Cloud Retainer watches operas about herself. It’s too embarrassing.”
He did clear his throat that time.
“I suppose not everyone enjoys hearing tales of their past,” he finally let out.
You nodded.
“I’m glad at least she agrees with me that only weird and abnormal people do things like that,” you let out with a bit of relief. “I was getting worried I’m the only person that feels that way…”
He only smiled in response, ignoring the fact that Cloud Retainer only said that it was “embarrassing,” not “weird” or “abnormal.” You really did not hesitate to deal your blows, did you?
“You know what the worst thing is, though?” You asked, looking up at him imploringly. “Legend has it that the gods are able to change their physical forms. There are even tales of Rex Lapis taking a female form. But… out of all the records, there are no depictions of his female form, only that she had amber eyes.”
Zhongli frowned in thought. Though he heard and understood your words well, he didn’t know what was the wrong in what you said. The tales of Rex Lapis were often embellished, especially in the way they painted him as the type to change his form often. The truth of the matter was far from that. Not that he could tell you that, of course. But before he could respond in any way, your eyes became filled with tears.
“I mean, he obviously didn’t mind leaving evidence of his male visage. And as I told you before, he made sure he looked good in every one of them. So if he was narcissistic enough to do that, why not leave anything behind of his female form? You… You don’t think… she was UGLY, do you?” You cried in pain.
If his brain didn’t shut down before, it definitely did then. But not noticing, you continued on.
“That’s the only reason I can come up with. Rex Lapis shares his beauty with everyone, after all, so she must have been so ugly that a narcissist like him couldn’t bear for others to see!” You sobbed.
Every word that left your mouth felt like a blow to his ego. Was this truly what you thought about him?
“So do you see why my faith has been shaken? If we try to view him as a person, Rex Lapis was a simple-minded conceited weirdo that was so ashamed of his female form he wiped any and all traces of her depiction out of existence.”
He couldn’t do this anymore.
“While the tales of the past may be rooted in truth, it’s important to realize they are only that. Tales. Nothing more. As it is, we simply do not know how much we can take as fact. So I would not let it bother you too much, First,” he stated in a matter-of-fact manner.
Though you looked as if you had more to say, you slowly nodded once, then once again with more surety.
“You’re right. I guess I’m looking far too into this. Surely if the great Rex Lapis was revered by so many, even the adepti, he must have been worthy of the respect. I just need to remember that,” you replied bashfully. “I’m sorry to have piled this all on you, Zhongli.”
He shook his head with a chuckle.
“It is alright. I am glad to be your voice of reason.”
Laughing in return, you nodded.
“Yes, thank you. And well, I guess it could be worse, I suppose. Madame Ping was always respectful to Rex Lapis in her stories. She could’ve said that he was the kind of person with… I don’t know. No common sense or something. Like could you imagine if he was the type of person that thought it was a smart idea to bring square cups instead of circle to a party?” You asked with a laugh. “Now that would be horrifying.”
……
Yes, you certainly had a way with words.
#genshin impact#genshin x reader#my writing#zhongli#zhongli x reader#bookkeeping!verse#never thought i’d be updating this#trust me i am just as surprised as you guys#this is a dumb one boys#i’m sorry#it’s not gonna be that funny i am not good at making ppl laugh orz#what i will say is that every example reader gives in this is a canon tale abt rex lapis#canon in that i didn’t make it up#they’re all said or told at one point or another in the game#but they may not be completely true as well#for example from what zhongli implies he never had a female form#fun fact
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