#Welcome to The Star Inn

[itsmegirrrx3]

+ KIKUO BONUS‼️‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥

I had this idea of drawing Vocaloid memes I found on Pinterest lol and one of my favorite songs from on of my favorite artists (Kikuo) is Welcome to the star inn so here I give you Woronowil!! ^0^

[itosh1teru]

ようこそ星のお宿 [welcome to the star inn!]

[kikuo-tournament]

Kikuo Tournament : Round Three

"Welcome to The Star Inn" VS. "Don't Look at Me Like That"

Remember to vote for which one you like more, not based on popularity!

[ranjevel]

it's 4AM and I'm drawing Woronowil fanart

[neositdow]

Plushies of characters designed by chotashiki for two of kikuo's music video. I really love their designs ( and the musics they were made for ) and I couldn't resist to try to make plushies of them <3 They're both around 30cm tall ~ -----

I hope you like it ! ----

Characters comes from Yoru No Uta and Yōkoso hoshi no o yado You don't have the right to use these pics in any way thanks

[kariosho]

Listened to Kikuo and activated like a sleeper agent.

[queencoin]

IF YOU MADE THIS PLEASE PLEASE LMK ID LOVE TO FOLLOW YOU!! GOT IT YESTERDAY AT KIKUOLAND

[aroace-polyshow]

i have a few hw songs put a bunch of times into my main playlist and i never get tired of them bc i get to imagine hw mvs and its super fun

[tsukikoayanosuke]

Awakening Gashadokuro - Ruikasa Week 2023

Day 1: Mythology

Do you really want to die now?

Huh… Not really…

Kufufu… Be glad, mortal, for I’m gracious at the moment. Awaken now.

——————————————————————————————

When Rui opened his eyes, he didn’t know where he currently was. It looked like he was in a simple poor wooden house with its window closed. On the bedside table, he could see a tray of food he didn’t recognize. But he was quite hungry. Surely this is for him if it is placed here, right?

FoOd!

LeT’S EaT It!

GiMmE! GiMmE!

Taking a bite, Rui knows that it was a slice of raw meat. Strangely enough, he doesn’t seem to mind it. Perhaps he was too hungry to even think about it. There were a lot of questions in Rui’s head. Where is he now? How does he get here? Why is it so…loud?

StRaNgE PlAcE!

WhErE ArE We!

NeW KiD! NeW KiD!

Whose voice are those?

CaN We lEaVe nOoOoOwW…

I’M HuNgRy!

LeT’S RuIn tHiS PlAcE.

Why are they in his head?

I CaRvE ViOlEnCe…

HeY, nEw kId. LeT’S GeT OuT Of hErE.

WhErE’S ThE WaR?!

FiGhT! FiGhT! FiGhT!

Be quiet…

ChAoS! I WaNt cHaOs!

WhErE’S ThE FiGhT?! WhErE’S ThE WaR?!

BlOoD! BlOoD! BlOoD! BlOoD! BlOoD! BlOoD!

“SHUT UP!”

Someone held his hands that he never realized were covering his ears. He didn’t even realize that he was crying either. Through his blurry tears, he could see a blond boy with glasses, looking rather concerned but gentle. “Don’t listen to them,” he said. “Just breathe. Follow me.”

And Rui did, closing his eyes again, he breathed. In and out… In and out… Until the voices in his head calm down, barely above a whisper. He let out a sigh. “I’m okay now.”

“Good to know.” The boy smiled again. And that is when Rui notices the pair of tanuki ears on top of his head.

“You’re a tanuki…?”

“And you’re a Gashadokuro.”

“I’m…not?”

“I could see the guy above you.” Rui looked up and didn’t see anything, but he could feel a presence that was almost suffocating. “I’m guessing you had voices in your head?”

“How did you-”

“If seen someone like you before.” The boy sat on the side of his bed. “They made a deal with Gashadokuro and almost went insane from it.”

“A deal- Oh.” The first voice was from a Gashadokuro. “It asked if I want to die or not.” He turned to the blond boy again. “So, am I really dead?” But he didn’t even remember how he died.

“If it’ll help, I’m dead too,” the boy said. “Made a deal with a pair of tanuki and kitsune and here I am.”

“Who are you anyway?”

The boy grinned in an almost cheeky grin that Rui could imagine a tail popped out. “My name is Tenma Tsukasa. I found you in a nearby graveyard and brought you here.”

“So, you save me.” Rui pulled a cheeky smile. “I don’t have money on me. Can a kiss will be sufficient?”

Tsukasa let out a hiss with a blushing face. “Shame on you!”

Rui laughed, feeling light for the first time since he woke up. “But I thank you for saving me.”

Tsukasa sighed. “Not a problem. Just doing my job.”

“Your job is picking up dead people?”

“Well, let’s just say it’s a personal new purpose after death.” Tsukasa stood up and picked up a red umbrella that was on the table. He opened the umbrella and Rui could feel strong energy coming from Tsukasa. “One day, the Star Inn shall be known across the spirit and human world as a safe haven for lost souls. I still have a long way to go before I can make my name.”

“The Star Inn?”

Tsukasa gestured around the room. “This house can’t fit even two people. One day, I’ll get a new building.”

“How are you gonna do that?”

“Uh…” Tsukasa’s ears folded in embarrassment. “I haven’t thought about it.”

Rui chuckled. “Sound like an admirable ambition.” And it wasn’t a lie. He couldn’t remember his past life that well, but something about Tsukasa’s words pull something in his stilled-heart. To create a safe haven for lost souls…like him…

“Can I join?”

Tsukasa’s ears perked up again. “Huh?”

Rui stood up from the bed. “I want to join you. Four hands are better than two, right?”

Tsukasa’s ears folded again and Rui decided it was the cutest thing he had seen. “I-I wasn’t expecting that,” the tanuki said. He cleared his throat and stood up straight. “Well then,” he offered a hand, “welcome to the team, uh…”

Rui giggled and took Tsukasa’s hand, giving it a firm shake. “Kamishiro Rui, Pleasure to work with you.”

[jksarchives]

volume 3

[ 35/35 ]

ᯓᡣ𐭩

❖ proposal — by @hansolmates

Jeon’s the editor-in-chief for Big Hit Publishings, a closet romantic with a penchant for antagonizing his assistant on the reg. When his work visa is in the process of being renewed and he takes a trip to Norway, his eligibility to stay in America is on the line. However Jeon Jungkook doesn’t go without a fight, and in order to save his job he offers you a proposal you can't refuse. | 20.1k [f, a]

❖ magic stick — by @badbtssmut

Jungkook is kinda sad because he has never been with a girl who could take him balls deep because of his size, reader doesn't believe him and she wants to see, but he tells her that he can't atm bc he's not hard. She is wearing this kinda halter top style with no bra so she looses the top and shows her tits to him and let's him touch them. After he's hard he shows her his dick and she says she's willing to try to take it all and she rides him into the sunset. | ? [s]

❖ crazy — by @girlygguk

you know it sounds twisted. that most people would see hyungwon as the perfect boyfriend. healthy, balanced, all the things that relationships should be. that’s when you realized... you weren't like most people. but that's okay. because neither is jungkook. | 15.5k [s, f, a]

❖ we are all dreamers — by @yoonia

Jeon Jungkook is a cocky bastard. Not only does he have the pride and insolence twice the size of his head, but he also has an anger that could open up the door to hell on itself. As he continues to refuse to believe on the soulmate system, he keeps on unknowingly hurting you, punishing you for what the universe has thrown at him in the past. Would he change his ways as he finally meets you? Or would you run away, giving him the exit that he had seemed to desire so greatly? | 16.5k [a, s]

❖ comfort inn ending — by @joonbird

“It was you who Jungkook gave his heart to- that is, until the day you broke it. And it is you now, hoping that some faultlines can be repaired, and that some broken hearts can be put back together again.” | series [a, s]

❖ angel’s trumpet — by @hansolmates

one second, your life is flashing before your eyes and the next, you’re transported into a world exactly like your own. but the jungkook you meet in this world isn’t a renowned singer or your former almost-lover, in fact he has no clue who you are and why you know him so well. as you work to find your way home lost and confused, you conclude that you’re either dead or in the middle of the most wicked drug trip of your life. | series [ a, f, s]

❖ the habits of a broken heart — by @softykooky

jungkook and you are soulmates. so says the matching crescent moons on both your wrists. however, things are never as easy as they seem, and you are quick to learn that falling in love with someone who does not believe in love is a one-way ticket to heartbreak. | 26.3k [a, f]

❖ animal — by @cutaepatootie

series [a, s]

❖ a fallen bookmark on a thursday afternoon — by @cutaepatootie

He came to you like the air comes into the train station after the fast arriving of the machine. It comes fast and unexpected, making you hoist your head to look at the long vehicle and the people inside. It is so fast you can't even distinguish the different wagons. As the train comes to a stop, the wind that it creates plays with your hair, leaving you breathless. That's how Jeon Jungkook came into your life. | 19k [a, f, s]

❖ scattered stars — by @taegularities

It’s easy to despise Jungkook when your contradicting magic doesn’t allow you to touch each other without fatal consequences - but what if your eternal enemy turns out to be your soulmate with whom you, unfortunately, do fall in love? | 17.9k [f, a, s]

❖ welcome to the heartbreak show — by @numinousher

you’re in love with your partner in class that everyone fears (and loves) due to his stoic facial expression and the way he rejects girls rather harshly. as you get to know him, will he be able to handle your heart that you so willingly gave him to care for or, will he break it due to his hatred for people who are in love with him? | 28k [a, f]

❖ mutt — by @letsbangts

when you realize you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. | 6k [s, a]

❖ answer your phone — by @letsbangts

when the consequences of his actions come calling. — 12.8k [a, s]

❖ the love prognosis — by @awrkive

for as long as you can remember, you've always been a hopeless romantic. the girl who’s always dreamt of cheesy encounters with her soulmate, grand love declarations, and a cute little beach wedding to boot. but reality pretty much slaps you hard right on the face, because love, unfortunately, doesn’t come grand — it’s simple and it’s quiet, but it is quite painful, especially when the love that you’ve been seeking for all your adult life has just been right under your nose all this time. | series [f, a, s]

❖ lie with you — by @girlygguk

in which jungkook doesn't realize what he has until he just about loses it. | 8.4k [a, f]

❖ out of gas? — by @97kuu

It was a setup between Taejoon and Jungkook to get him to hook up with you in the car. However, his guilty heart and physical desire revealed that he wanted more than what he was willing to confess that night.. | 3k [s]

❖ ordinary things — by @lovieku

after a lost match, jeongguk’s only source of comfort is you. | 6.9k [a, f]

❖ cosmic balance — by @explicit-tae

Every universal realm has a positive and negative - good or bad. Jungkook manages to cross the portal from his dystopian world to your utopian one and decides that he'd do anything to stay with you. | 8.7k [a, s, f]

❖ seven storms — by @wintaerbaer

As a young woman of considerable wealth, it has always been your father's expectation that you would marry one of the local aristocrats once you came of age. Your family's stable hand? Certainly not an option. | 9k [a, s, f]

❖ first class— by @girlygguk

in which you are just another spoiled, bitchy, annoyingly gorgeous trust-fund baby who has everyone at Yonsei University eating from the palm of your hand. and jeon jungkook, your spoiled, fuck-boy, annoyingly gorgeous trust-fund baby best friend, is always first in line to take a bite. | 25k [a, f, s]

❖ when she loved me — by @jungkookstatts

How does one live when life is bound to end? | 11.2k [a, s]

❖ staged for the season — by @voyter

Going back home for the holidays meant facing his ex — the one he still couldn’t let go of. determined to win her back and spark a little jealousy, he brought you along… as his fake girlfriend. — 18.3k [f, s, a]

❖ guilty as sin — by @gldrushh

You are stuck in time, and Jungkook doesn't stop running from it until he eventually does, and you learn that grief doesn’t wait for death, that love isn't all that dignifying. — 17.3k [a, s]

❖ mature — by @jiminrings

The good thing about professing your feelings to jungkook is that it'd be over with, whether or not he likes you back — the bad thing is that he rejects you, even if you haven't confessed. — 8k [f, a]

❖ 6 AM — by @neimaami

Jungkook wakes you up at 6AM for more than just morning cuddles. — 4k [s]

❖ year 22 — @rkived

���‘I knew you’d be standing in my front porch light, and I knew you’d come back to me.’‘ — 11.5k [a, f, s]

❖ tangled webs — @ughseoks

Soulmates are tricky thing. Not everyone is lucky enough to have their destinies intertwined with their missing piece. Signs come in dreams for those fortunate souls; short bursts that are barely memorable when the sun rises. As for you? Flashes of red and blue are your only indicators to the identity of your other half. — 14.1k [a, f]

❖ fighting hearts — @kooktrash

Never living a life of luxury, Jungkook does what he has to do to make ends-meet. right now that means fighting in underground clubs, getting beat black and blue until he wins. he knows there’s a better life out there for him but he never let himself think about it. until you came along and suddenly a weight is being lifted off his shoulders letting you through his guarded walls. you’re everything he needed and you make him want to fight for more. — 15k [a, s, f]

❖ a thousand reasons why — @taegularities

After leaving to work towards his dream rather than the bonds that shackle him to home, you didn't expect to see Jungkook again years later at your best friend's wedding. And even less, for love to rekindle at second glance. — 43.1k [a, f, s]

❖ can’t be without you — @ahundredtimesover

One night you’re gushing over rom-coms and Jungkook’s cooking; a few nights later you’re tending to his beat-up face. But while it’s his stubbornness that’s saved you countless times before, it’s that same quality that constantly puts him in danger. OR your best friend just can’t let go of underground fighting and so, drama ensues. — 30.4K [f, a, s]

❖ tangled thoughts — @hongcherry

It wasn’t easy to leave your boyfriend of two years, but the constant lies made you question your relationship. You tried to move on, but you were somehow constantly tangled in his web. After being captured by an unknown, yet familiar, enemy, Jungkook wondered if he was doing the right thing by keeping his secret identity from you. Was it too late to come clean? — 10.5k [a, f]

❖ warning signs — by @hongcherry

Spider-Man is a beacon of hope for most residents in Seoul; although, it causes you to feel a little useless to society. With determination to be a change in the world like your masked boyfriend, you find yourself involved in a secluded organization meant to eradicate underground gangs. However, you’re deeper than you expected—leaving Jungkook trying to discover who this ‘new you’ is alone. — series [a, f]

❖ kiss me better — by @jaykaysthicthighs

Jungkook said some really mean things to you when you started coming home so late. when he realizes how horrible he was, he tried making it up to you. — 4k [a, f]

❖ disney+ & blast — by @1kook

There’s a pounding on your door a little past noon, so hard and rough, that you almost think it’s the police finally coming to catch you for all your years of illegally pirating Phineas and Ferb. It’s not. It’s just a really drunk boyfriend wailing for your forgiveness at the door. — 13k [f, a, s]

❖ blackjack — by @kpopfanfictrash

Bangtan is one of the most vicious mafias on the west coast. Only six members are known by name though, with a mysterious seventh member dubbed only as ‘the shadow.’ When you become indebted to the worst of the worst – how, exactly can you find a way out? — series [s, a, f]

PREVIOUS | NEXT

↪︎ MASTERLIST

↪︎ FIC RECS

[the-moon-files]

Not sure if anyone has asked this before I think it’d be funny for the Links to get flustered if reader asked them to touch their ears (out of curiosity) (I’m totally not curious myself)

Like are they sensitive? Just some thoughts to ponder...

Again, just going thru old asks, so if i don't apologize in the ask, I promise its a given 😭

Moon: presumed male reader, but no he/him, only "you" used, so gender neutral really ig ("you")

Orbit: SFW, Headcanons-ish, SHORT

Stars: vaguely the classic chain of links

Comets & Meteors: CWs: mildly suggestive, mild discussion about ear piercings/cartilage mention, & TWs: ear piercing disussion (vague, no talk of needles).

Please comment if I missed any. /gen

☆

I actually sorta touched on this in an old ask, I’ll leave the link here in case u wanna see it, (when i find it…)

so ig I’ll expand on some short headcanons here!

so i mentioned last time i talked abt this being like a cultural hylian thing to only touch the ears of someone you love dearly, so like obviously parent/child, maybe older/younger siblings, etc. but i like to think generally,

esp as hylians grow up and become adults, their ears are like a thing only lovers/spouses touch/take care of

including piercings a lot of the time, so like a parent or sibling or lover will learn to properly pierce ears (tho i imagine they only really pierce non-cartilage piercings commonly)

so on the subject of piercings, i definitely think they see any multiple piercings/cartilage piercings on your ears as badass/def a show of good pain tolerance regardless of what you acc can withstand lol

(bro and if you have non-ear piercings?? Wind/Wild is Fascinated, and Leg/Hyrule/Sky/Wars jaws def dropped, even Time’s eye widened)

ok switching lanes back to the intimacy aspect

ok so we’re continuing off that situation in teh last post where you touch Four’s ears and are told what that means, and then half jokingly respond that they are very dear to your heart

(but obv if they’re uncomfortable you’ll def not do it)

bro the effect this has on them is actually irreversible lol

Wind was def the first to outright ask you to like check his ears after swimming or if they get nicked or even to ask you to pierce them once!

(if ur squeamish u said “no Wind, ask ur grandma” lol - but if ur not, like me when i was drunk once, u go for it after making super sure they’re symmetrical and sterile and whatnot, theyre just his firsts, as in the earlobe basic, and lend him a pair of your own earrings to keep in the meantime until healed, which is faster than humans. he is so happy he looks more like a pirate lol)

and the others def followed suit after Wind gave them the courage ironically (both being the youngest and also they literally all fought evil lol)

Wild politely asked if you could make him/help make him some earmuffs, Hyrule shyly asked if you would change his earrings, Four nearly went as red a tomato giving you a pair of earrings before suddenly but slowly all of them (except Wind?) gave you earrings some way or another (made or bought)

When one of the waitresses at an inn you guys stayed at giggled at seeing Sky give you a pair of carved pretty wooden feather earrings, before quickly running off, then congratulated you,

u asked what for, only to have her giddly explain it was a courting gift of course!!

…

nahhhh, all the Links gave you a pair of earrings, they were just being sweet and welcoming you into their culture probably!

or showing that you were dear to them to, since it was an “ear culture” thing!!

…you see the waitress sigh pitifully at the blonde men at your table later that night.

☆

thanks for the ask!!

peace out,

🌙📁

[janeuary-month]

Get ready for Janeuary 2025! @firawren is hosting a Jane Austen fandom event throughout the entire month of January. Save the date and start drafting your creations!

Anyone can join, and all types of fandom works are welcome: fanfic, fanart, gifs, manips, memes, fanvids, podfic, mood boards, etc.

Each day has a new prompt to inspire your creation:

(Text version of prompts under the “keep reading” link below)

You are NOT expected to do something every day! Just 1 work for 1 day of your choosing is enough, though you are welcome to do more if you like. And you are NOT expected to create your fanwork on that day, just post it on that day.

Your work must follow one of the daily prompts, be new for the event, not use AI, and include at least one of the following:

Character from one of Jane Austen’s works

Character from any Jane Austen adaptation (including modern ones)

Setting in a Jane Austen-like AU

For example, any of these would be fine:

Darcy and you the reader live in the Star Wars universe [character from Jane’s works]

Cher from Clueless marries Inigo Montoya [character from Jane adaptation]

Han and Leia live in Regency England [setting in Jane AU]

Darcy and Cher live in Regency England [all three: Jane character, Jane adaptation character, Jane setting!]

Completely canon-compliant works are of course also allowed!

Full rules for the event are here.

Send an ask or DM if you have any questions!

Please reblog this post to spread the word, since this is a brand new event, and follow this blog to see all the works that are posted!

Daily prompts:

Letters

Harp

Bath

Portraiture

Inn

Restraint

Servants

Cravat

Tea and coffee

Wedding breakfast

Card playing

Handkerchief

Christian name

Pianoforte

London

Gossip

Navy

Calling cards

Lock of hair

Dearest

Aristocracy

Estate

Bonnet

Hunting

Churchyard

Militia

Cousins

Gloves

Carriage

Garden

Manners

[boombox-fuckboy]

May 3rd is Bandcamp Friday, which means artists on Bandcamp get more out of your purchases. Why not support some of your favourite fiction podcasters, and get some crisp audio in the process?

Fiction Podcasts

Anamnesis (Full Audio Drama + Soundtrack)

Awake

Camlann (Season 1)

The Dungeon Economic Model (The Complete Series)

Folxlore (Part 1 • Part 2)

Generation Crossing

Inn Between (Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3)

Old Gods of Appalachia (Season 1 • Season 3)

Sidequesting (Season 1 • Season 2)

The Tower (Part I • Part II • Part III)

What Will Be Here

Podcast Specials

The Deca Tapes (Puzzle Box)

The Dungeon Economic Model (Halloween Special)

Leaving Corvat (TEMPLE OF SLEEP)

Welcome To Night Vale (Live Shows: Condos • The Debate • The Librarian • The Investigators • Ghost Stories • All Hail • A Spy in the Desert • The Haunting of Night Vale)

Where The Stars Fell (The Christmas Chronicle)

Music From Podcasts

The Adventure Zone

Aftershocks (Soundtrack)

Alice Isn't Dead (Music From)

All My Fantasy Children

Among The Stars and Bones (OST)

ars PARADOXICA (When I'm Not Here • Electric River (End Theme))

The Ballard of Anne & Mary (Soundtrack)

The Big Loop (OST: FML • The Fugue )

Camlann (Keep the Fires Burning: The Original Soundtrack)

The Deca Tapes (OST)

The Department of Variance of Somewhere, Ohio (OST: Season One • Season Two)

Dreamboy (Silent Night, Holy Night)

The Dungeon Economic Model (Royal Musical Accompaniment • Chill Beats to Build Profitable Dungeons To)

Eeler's Choice (OST)

The Fall of the House of Sunshine

Folxlore (Music To Dance With Your Inner Demons To)

Friends At The Table

Gospels of the Flood (Soundtrack)

Greater Boston (Soundtrack, Seasons 1-3)

The Grotto (Soundtrack)

Hello From The Hallowoods (Starcrossed Gods OST)

It Makes A Sound (Wim Farros: The Attic Tape)

Kane and Feels (OST: Volume 1 • Volume 2)

Lake Clarity (OST)

Leaving Corvat (Re-mastered soundtrack)

Liars & Leeches

The Lost Cat Podcast (Musical Features)

Malevolent

Midnight Radio (OST)

Mockery Manor (The Music Of: Season One • Season Two • Season Three • A Midwinter Night's Dream)

Neoscum

Nowhere, On Air

Old Gods of Appalachia (What is Sung Under The Mountain Vol. 1 • The Land Unknown (Theme) • The Bride • Familiar & Beloved)

Our Fair City

The Pasithea Powder (Theme • Mary Ann • Odysseus)

The Penumbra Podcast

The Polybius Conspiracy (OST)

Re: Dracula (Concept Album)

ROGUEMAKER (Soundtrack)

Rogue Runners (OST)

Skyjacks (Call of the Sky)

Station Blue (OST)

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

This Planet Needs a Name (Albums: The Nameless Songs - Landing - Growing - Shifting)

The Tower (Original Score: Part I • Part II • Part III)

Unplaced (Soundtrack)

Unseen (Soundtrack)

Where The Stars Fell

WOE.BEGONE

Wolf 359 (OST: Volume One • Volume Two • Volume Three)

Zero Hours

2024 Bandcamp Friday Dates

May 3rd

September 6th

October 4th

December 6th

[kikuo-tournament]

Kikuo Tournament : ROUND TWO

"Welcome To The Star Inn" VS "Water, Water, Yuyyu"

Remember to vote for which one you like more, not based on popularity!

[mondaymelon]

— " 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐢'𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧... "

art by @/kodokunoakashi on twitter, edited by me !! angst. an eensey weensey redemption at the end

xiao, zhongli, wanderer, neuvillette x gn!reader

[ centuries after their lover’s passing, they finally are able to rest in your ghostly touch. ₊˚ෆ ]

Perhaps the day he had found your lifeless body, eyes long fluttered closed and splatters of red decorating your throat was the day Xiao began falling apart.

He knew it from the start, that your death would be inevitable. You weren’t like him - a weary soul who had traversed these lands for thousands of years in search of a refuge that Teyvat had never provided for him. No, you were like the evening’s first star, brilliantly shining and setting the entire night sky ablaze. A warm glow that sparked flames wherever its light reached. He was one of many fortunate enough to be caught in your spiraling trap, those cursedly charming grins and a laugh with the innocence of a child. Your sweet warmth was addicting, and once he had a taste, he couldn’t get enough of it. Was that why the adeptus found himself leaving his corner of the inn more and more often, just to trail by your side? Maybe this was the reason he had found himself expressing something on his lips that he had never before?

Fragments split your face in his memory. Years, decades, centuries had passed. To the outside eye, all that could be observed was that the yaksha was particularly more elusive than before, only having briefly appeared once or twice before mortals. With ignorant and foggy minds, they’d declare that the Conqueror of Demons must feel despair over the sudden death of Rex Lapis, and they’d just leave it like that. An open question hanging in the air with no answer to pair it with.

Xiao didn’t know if he still had tears left to weep. 

His brethren that he had lost so many years ago had robbed them with their passing, and they were nothing left but an empty remnant of once had remained. A shapeless echo… yes, perhaps that was what he was now. All that knew him were certain that your passing had stolen a part of him that would never recover. The fragments of emotion that you had left with him had only dissipated with time, and he despised himself for it. Shards that danced in his vision as he hefted his spear, whirling it with precision and slaughtering all in its path. They had dared lay hands on you. They had taken whatever resolve he had left. Now, he was but a shell, hollow without your embrace.

It’s cold.

Sometimes, he heard your laugh on the wind, and he’d whip around, expecting to see you there, but only to be met with the terrible, terrible silence, and all the adeptus could do was laugh bitterly. Crystalline drops of tears would threaten to roll past the barriers of his carefully crafted facade, and he’d curse at himself, grasping at his chest with heavy breaths and blown eyes.

He didn’t deserve to cry. No, not after he had failed to protect you. Guilt, self-loathing, karma, all of it… it bound him down with red tendrils that burned against his skin. Pain bloomed throughout his body, a brilliant crimson that stained his clothing, an anguish that he ardently welcomed. His vision dimmed, and his honey eyes which had long since lost their light slowly shut, embracing the darkness that reached for him.

Darkness, so how come when he opened his drowsy lids, all he saw was light?

“Xiao?”

A familiar voice, one that had blurred with time, yet now rang clearly in his senses. Those excitement-filled eyes, that mischievous curve on your lips, and the warmth of your fingers with his. The grass prickled at his back, and the scent of blooming wildflowers filled the air with its spring sweetness.

A smile tugged at his lips. His sorrow spilled from his eyes. He almost could’ve laughed at your concerned gaze, and with a bandaged heart he pulled you closer in his arms. His wounded voice was barely a whisper. “Thank you… for waiting for me all this time, love.”

He still remembers it. It’s a sight that’s been burned into his eyes. The way his composed expression had collapsed, how his disgraced self had fallen to his raw knees. Zhongli had held you then, feeling the precious warmth leave your body, listening to the thrum of your heart slowly ebbing away.

He had been seconds too late to hear what you had spoken in that moment, and only saw the wordless utter on your moving lips, the raspy, labored breaths, until they ceased to nothing but silence. How could something void of sound be so unequivocally loud? The silence rings in his ears, like a horrible testament of his broken contract. That bright moment the two of you had shared seemed centuries ago, an abstract painting of something that couldn’t have possibly occurred. With a beaming face, you had held his larger, gloved hand with two of your smaller ones, grinning at his touch.

“Let’s always be together, okay? No one can keep us apart!” You laughed to yourself at how red the man had grown at your words, and then stared fondly at the silver band he had placed on your finger a day prior, when he had kissed your hands and uttered his words of confession. Red dusted your cheeks at the thought, and to the wide-eyed man, you looked simply ethereal, with the way your lashes fluttered with every blink and the way your cheeks were warm with a smile.

“Yes.” Zhongli had been starstruck by you, so utterly breathless at how speechless a mere mortal could make him. It was astounding, how your smile seemed to steal his words away. He wanted to do nothing but to freeze those seconds, to place them in a glass and cherish them and relive them in a loop that lasted eternity.

Oh, what’d he do to see the way your lips curved upwards into a cheeky grin that you’d display just for him, the snarky comments leaving your mouth, and the way you laughed at his subtle reactions.

It’s only been two hundred years. Should he say “already?” Time passes slow, then fast, fluctuating without any thought of the man in mind. At times, when the clock strikes midnight and moonlight spills into the courtyard like liquid silver, the seconds slow into minutes and the minutes slow into hours, and he’ll gaze out onto the grassy fields where the two of you used to stroll hand-in-hand, and he’ll allow himself a moment of reminiscence. In other times, the world speeds up around him, and the incompetent man is unable to keep up. Your funeral was one of those times. How could he simply walk away from your framed portrait and declare, “that’s that?” Liyue had suffered a terrible loss, yet only he seemed to register that. How come?

Some days, he’ll talk to himself, as if you’re beside him. His words meet empty air and he smiles vacantly, holding a hand that isn’t there and kissing the lips of someone who is long gone. Your shadow is everywhere. He can’t escape it, but that’s okay. He doesn’t want to. Zhongli allows those remnants of you to linger and dance in the wind with the reddening leaves. By the bridge, excitedly petting the stray dogs, calling each and every one of them the name that you’ve bestowed upon them. A sight Ganyu would have loved to see. Or in the branches of a particular tree, laughing down at him with a giggle like birdsong, taunting words. “Would you look at that? Up here, I’m even taller than you, Zhongli!”

And every time he hears your transparent, faded voice, he can’t help but smile, despite how hopeless he feels. You’re gone, and that’s the truth, so where’s the harm in bathing in your afterimage just a moment longer?

He knows it isn’t you. It can’t ever come close. As centuries blur and whirl past, and he finds himself departing to the more secluded spaces of Liyue’s wilderness, he decides it’s time. His nation no longer needs him. The reason he had for living is gone, and the heart that had once been so lively has dulled.

Would it be too foolish to hope that when he opens his eyes, you’ll be there, waiting for him?

“Xiansheng? Come on, come on sleepyhead, wake up already!” Pause. “Oh, will this do the trick?”

And then there’s warmth on his cheek, the feeling of your lips against his skin, and he feels alive, for the first time in those archon-forsaken years. He knows what he’ll see, when he opens his gilded eyes that are shimmering with dew. “Yes, love. I’m here.”

Betrayal. Those sickening words you had spoken to him, sweet beyond belief… Wanderer hissed through his teeth, holding his hands over his ears as his tears fell to the earth and soaked into the dark earth.

Yes, at that time he should’ve known. The truth you spoke to him was simply too good to be true - a fantasy that could never be attained. Yet he had been swayed by your smile and fell for your warmth, and since then had been willingly trapped in a void that was you, with no intention of escaping. It amazed him, almost, how he can smile in this moment, albeit however sour it is. What more proof did he need? To be unable to stay somber in the moments of your passing, did that not just prove how flawed he was? How undeserving? 

He detested it. No wonder why you had left this world. It was a pain to even be by his side. Words without “love” and a chest that did not thrum with flusteredness could never convince you to stay beside him. Once again, someone he yearns for has cleverly slipped through his fingers. From the beginning, he was a sinner. A worthless puppet incapable of feeling a shred of what you held for him.

Red dripped from his fingers as they clawed at the earth, as he bends into himself with ugly wails. Could you see him now, wherever you were? Tears flowed freely from his eyes, not heeding his mutters for all of it to cease. He wanted it to end, all of it, the suffering that he felt and the emptiness he could never fully elude. The fatui, his mother, they’d all laugh at him with pointed fingers if they saw him now, wouldn’t they? His flushed cheeks are stained with salt and his throat was raw from his shouts. The blood pooling around your body has already cooled, and your fingers that were intertwined with his had already grown cold to the touch. 

“Woah, Wanderer, your skin is really cold! Aren’t you hot at all? It’s summer!” You had stared at him with a childlike fascination, holding his hand in yours, poking it for extra effect, only growing more astonished.

“It’s nothing to be impressed over.” He cleared his throat into his fist, yet did not let go of your hold. “If anything…” At the time, his words had not completed themselves, yet his gaze had trailed to your own hands, and he had kissed the back of them with a cheeky half-smile. I like yours. They’re warm. There had been an inkling of naive hope, that your life could fill the void in his, and perhaps that was what allowed his plastic expression towards you to grow into true ones.

“H-Hey, c’mon…” His voice broke, unsteady like the legs of a newborn fawn. He took your blood-stained hand and pressed it to his cheek, only further wetting it with his tears. “This isn’t funny, you know, you can… you can stop now…”

Look how broken he’s become, stooping as low as to speak to a corpse.

That was only a decade ago. Every morning, the ache of its recollection brings a fresh dose of misery. Every evening he lulls himself to sleep by repeating the words you once said, imagining the stroke of your hands tangled in his hair, imagining your sunbeam-like smile as you gazed down at him fondly.

Really, what’s the point of living with you gone? Could he really call it “life?”

Those questions still remain sharp in his mind as he sputters out a cough, glancing down at the blade in his shattered chest, positioned right where his heart should have been. Cold, unforgiving steel, driving down and tearing apart. Wanderer blinks up at the cursed heavens above and heaves out blood that leaves a lingering red on his lips, and he can’t bring himself to cry anymore. He spits out a final damnation at Celestia before slipping away, eyes closing as he finally-

“Wanderer? Where’s your hat? You aren’t wearing it today?”

Your voice. It breathes life into his empty soul. Warmth. He wants to hold it, hold you, ever closer like he never had the courage to. His violet eyes spring open as he sits up with a start, his disheveled garments flinging about. “Y-You-!”

“What’s with you today? You’re acting strange, silly. Did you eat something you shouldn’t have?” You grin stupidly, an idiocy he finds all so lovable. The twinkle in your eye - you’re alive. You’re breathing and you’re existing before him. A final grace that he can’t thank whatever for enough.

There’s the sound of wind, and then you find yourself tightly wrapped in his embrace, your shoulder stained with his tears that spill despite how much he doesn’t want to show you this weakness. He buries his face into you, and you can feel the ghost of a smile against your skin. “I’ve missed you. So, so much. Please, please, don’t leave me again.”

Lifeless, your body lay, along the shores and lapped by waves stained crimson. That day, Fontaine realized what it was like to truly rain, not a few drops, or even spring showers. Water fell endlessly from the skies, a downpour that may never end, an all-swallowing sea from the heavens that swallowed all unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. Irony clouded the skies, and Neuvillette found himself broken into pieces he didn’t know how to put back together.

His efforts to understand the human population were in vain. A complete, utter failure. How could he possibly judge, knowing the world despised him? Knowing that the scales were upturned and that nothing could ever be just? Your death, it was unfair. Unfair to the world and unfair to he who held you ever so dear. But what else could he do but continue his oversight? Quitting his position wouldn’t bring you back. Nothing would. He could hear your cheery voice in his ear, and the hint of a pout, a chiding tone. “Neuvi, you can’t quit! Let’s all try our best, okay?”

The days where you were by his side were the happiest. Fontaine had become akin to Sumeru’s desert, the sun blazing overhead and the moon shining brightly at night. Yet, how come the people of Fontaine had seemed upset at the skies for his contentment? They begged for rain, begged for their dying crops, to the point where you were forced to distance yourself from the man for days at a time, just the unrelentless sun would cloud over and perhaps a drop or two of rain would be squeezed from the heavens.

If he had known you would leave so soon, he would have never permitted you to depart from his side. If he had known you would pass this world and traverse to the next, he would have held you with every ounce of his soul, he would have declared his love for you over and over, he would have placed the ring he had been saving in his pocket, the one he slipped on his finger whenever he was at a particularly difficult trial. 

So many “what if’s.” None of them would materialize. Once again, his efforts would fall short. Once again, he’d lose someone. 

The tea was hot. It burned his tongue, yet he couldn’t feel a thing. You, the clearest of springs and purest of waters, had set his own sea into a never-ending storm. Lightning struck and its own surface churned choppily with enough rage to devour a nation. The second tea cup that was on the other side of his office desk remained untouched, the contents slowly cooling into nothingness. A something that could never be.

“Hydro dragon, hydro dragon, don’t cry~” He could hear it when he shut his eyes for what he hoped to be the final time, your voice from the mist that shrouded his mind, and he wanted nothing more than to embrace the owner of it. How could he possibly heed your words, when he felt his tears slip past his eyes, flowing as unperturbed as a river? Your back is facing him, but you know he’s there. You glance back with a fond beam, extending your arms outwards. An invitation. One that he’d readily take, any time, every time.

He would never enable you to slip from his grasp again. He allows you to engulf him in your arms, he allows you to stroke your thumb on his face and wipe away his salty tears, he allows you to brush his hair behind his ear and press butterfly kisses into his closed eyelids. Your warmth floods his body, and with a smile he takes the ring he’s saved for you out of his pocket, and fulfills his regrets as he slips it onto your finger, a final tear rolling down his cheek. “There’ll be no more reason to cry, not anymore.”

(a/n) this further proved to me that writing angst is so fucking mind destroying but at the same time provides this sort of quiet sorrow that you aren't able to attain anywhere else and for some twisted reason this is literally one of my favorite things ive like. ever written. holy shiiiii

໒꒱ || ᴛᴀɢʟɪꜱᴛ (open! send an ask or a comment ♡) : @manager-of-the-pudding-bank, @iamdedinside, @ilyuu, @achlysis, @swivy123, @scara-is-my-wife

[nexility-sims]

𝐍𝐎. 𝟑   ❛ 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬 ❜   |   RIVA DORATA, TARTOSA, MAY 1998

While serious publications prepared to cover the most prestigious premieres, interpret the thoughtful commentary of illustrious casts, and divine the future of cinema from the awards race, most people would encounter the Tartosa International Film Festival in pop culture. Accordingly, executives at entertainment giants Day One and MondoVibe had an unprecedented idea. Stephany Fox was as ubiquitous in Simerican culture news as her Tartosan counterpart, Giannino Adimari. Putting them together on one screen had never occurred to anyone. It was a smart move—an intercultural novelty, like the festival itself, that blended respective knowledge, style, and personas for a global audience. It was a lucrative move, too, with collaboration translating directly into cheap, constant, breathless coverage.

Entertainment, the spectacle and celebrity, piqued general interest more than the artistry. Everyday consumers may venture out to see a movie months later—perhaps Captivated for horror fans or Into the Wild for romantics, although sexy, gritty, action-packed thrillers like The Last Con and The Phoenix invariably outsold them these days—but wouldn’t recall having seen them first in festival coverage. On daytime television or in grocery store aisles, what they noticed were the famous and beautiful people whose names they, somehow, already knew. They tuned in for salacious gossip about their personal lives, all torrid affairs with co-stars and spiraling substance abuse and workplace calamities swept under the foreign label of “creative differences.” Photographs of attractive faces and physiques, glamorous attire, and adoring crowds caught the eye. Cheeky headlines shouting half-truths held it long enough to ensure they glimpsed an advertisement or two. If they wouldn’t flip to page six or sit down for a full segment, they would at least pause with a wistful gaze to wish they, too, were arriving in sunny Tartosa.

𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟰 🅐🅤 ‣ start \ prev \ next

big thank you to those who opted into this part !

@sirianasims @armoricaroyalty @theroyalsofcorrilea @earthmoonz @crvptydgaming @houseofrenaldi @simsishh @nilonne @crownsofesha

TRANSCRIPT:

STEPHANY | Hello from Day One, live in Tartosa! I’m Stephany Fox— GIANNINO | —and I’m Giannino Adimari, for MondoVibe! STEPHANY | It’s the first day of Tartosa’s annual International Film Festival. We’re at Riva Dorata this morning and, as you can see, a crowd’s already gathered on this beautiful overlook.

STEPHANY | The Tartosa Grand Hotel is well-known for its gorgeous views. The hotel’s signature speedboats ferry guests here from the mainland, meaning anyone can arrive in style, but— GIANNINO | And, actually, the Tartosa Grand Hotel is impossible to get into this time of year. Why? It’s reserved for the festival’s most special guests: golden ticket holders, the invitees.

STEPHANY | That’s right. Every other hotel and inn in Riva Dorata is booked up, too—it’s the people in this crowd, maybe with tickets to see the new films but most likely here to do some celebrity-spotting. This overlook is a go-to area for tourists and locals alike.

STEPHANY | Life in Riva Dorata is typically languid, relaxed, and quiet, but it comes alive in a new way for this springtime festival. GIANNINO | The locals are used to the fanfare and take pride in welcoming everyone—new faces from other places but also Tartosan artists here for a homecoming as well.

STEPHANY | He’s here with composer Lee Thompson and up-and-coming actress, Sierra Moss. Moss co-stars in The Last Con, a classic dramatic thriller from Teresa Salame. Thompson scored Hudson Waverly’s irreverent comedy, Trash Tease, also premiering this week.

GIANNINO | Which, oh, can I give my personal opinion, Stephany? STEPHANY | [Chuckles] I can’t stop you— GIANNINO | Waverly is a genius, and maybe a comedy deserves to finally win the Golden Laurel this year. STEPHANY | Maybe. That’s for this year’s jury to decide.

STEPHANY | The invite list has more than just industry people, though. While film folks are representing the “international” spirit of the festival, ambassadors in the form of bonafide royalty do it in a different way. GIANNINO | See, there’s the Renaldis from nearby Saocossaint looking stylish and ready for some festival fun! STEPHANY | Vivica Haywood is over there—a celebrity stylist, here as one of this year’s “friend of the panel” guest.

STEPHANY | Armorican actress Anita Garcia is a panel guest as well. GIANNINO | Can you tell us what that means, Stephany? STEPHANY | Organizers, led by producer and festival president Sanja Dinapoli, as well as artistic director Bruno Raffaele Como, send two kinds of invites: to those screening films and to “friends of the panel.” People who will, as they say, “enhance the festival.”

GIANNINO | There, Max Kyle and Lena Scott! They were on MondoVibe’s festival “ones to watch” list. Plus a spread in Vogue Simerica last month and a profile on Scott Group in Venture before that. STEPHANY | Kyle’s screening an important documentary. It’s wonderful to see people who have such immense success in really powerful sectors put their energy toward, not just the arts, but social justice. GIANNINO | Ah, yes, true. Fashion is icing on the cake!

GIANNINO | Speaking of fashionable people: another princess! STEPHANY | Many countries are represented at the festival, some unofficially like with Princess Leonor of Uspana. She’s attending as a plus-one for an A-list invitee, Renzo Ledford. He’s debuting two films— GIANNINO | Maybe making up for time away building a family with the princess! MondoVibe covered that. Two movies, two babies! STEPHANY | How about that?

STEPHANY | The most esteemed arrival today is Queen Nicola of Corrilea, who has been a fixture of the global film industry for, well, six decades. She’s an active member of Corrilea’s royal family but also the boards of several festivals, including Tartosa’s.

GIANNINO | And cameras love her just as much now as they did before her retirement! A living legend. Maybe the fountain of youth isn’t just a myth after all, and she—

STEPHANY | Here’s Yuling Zhao. She’s premiering a buzzy period drama. Having already established herself as a talented storyteller, it— GIANNINO | Kiara Bello! Tartosan beauty. Why haven’t we seen her on screen lately? I blame the comedian, who many say isn’t even funny— STEPHANY | Maybe inspiring attendees, like Yuling Zhao, can get her back on screen soon. The festival is famous for networking.

GIANNINO | What comes after this parade, Stephany? STEPHANY | The board and jury meet while these stars settle in behind the hotel’s walls. Of course, we can assume many won’t get much rest before the big opening dinner this evening. GIANNINO | Hair and makeup! If we’re lucky, we may glimpse some black tie outfits while they’re filing into Palazzo Ofelia.

STEPHANY | Oh, look, Tyler’s starting her snap interviews soon. GIANNINO | Rae Donovan! Now, this is a big comeback year for her. STEPHANY | And, when we come back: over to you, Tyler.