#and turns out there's some fun things to discover along the way haha

[muirmarie]

writing fic more consistently than i have for, yikes, like 8 years??? is funny because i keep realizing i'm writing directly in conversation with myself? like i find myself raising points that i inadvertently answer in something else? just internally, i mean, i don't think it is/should be noticeable from the outside, per se. but for example the time loop fic had the "when did you stop believing in me?" line, and in the knife to the throat fic i kind of realized i was writing it directly in response to that idea? idk it's just interesting when writing more consistently how my brain is just doing a call and response across different stories? i always feel so awkward talking about the process of writing lmaooooo, but anyway general reminder you can always block that first tag <3

[kiwiana-writes]

hey! I recently discovered your writing and I really love it but I have to ask you a question. you seem to write a lot of kink and I love that but: are you into pet play? it's a boundary for me for authors not to be into kinks that skirt around illegal acts so if you could let me know if your work is safe for me to read that would be great. thanks!

I got this last night and didn’t have the wherewithal to deal with it, and now I’m running on like 4.5 hours sleep, so… I’m going to treat this more as a general PSA than anything else.

So:

1) If your concern is that at some point in some hypothetical future I may write Kink X, Trope Y, Pairing A/Z, or anything along those lines, and me doing so would make you regret interacting with any of my previous work: please assume that I may do so, and curate your experience accordingly. I’ve written a bunch of things that I have, at some point in my life, said “I don’t think I’ll ever write that”—not because I was being a dirty liar, but because things change. There are also things I have written in the past that I have no plans to write in the future. Tastes shift over time, and so does what feels easy/fun to write; not to mention some things just hit different with different ships.

2) If your concern is more rooted in whether I think it’s fine for other people to write Kink X, Trope Y, Pairing A/Z, or anything along those lines—you should ABSOLUTELY assume the answer is “yes” and proceed accordingly. There are a whole bunch of kinks, tropes, and ships I am simply not into that exist on a continuum from “not my jam but if I writer I love tackles it I’m at least willing to give it a go” through to “if I never see evidence that this exists again it will be too soon��, but I do not believe that my personal tastes or sensibilities should be the yardstick by which fics are allowed or not allowed to be written. My personal tastes and sensibilities are the yardstick by which I READ fics, because I am in complete control of my own fandom experience.

3) If the information you need to proceed is what I am personally into, you can in fact fuck off. You are not entitled to this information. Kink writers are not required to disclose their kinks to you, in the same way you shouldn’t be demanding anyone’s sexuality/gender/trauma to determine whether they’re ‘allowed’ to write about a particular topic. I have been dealing with this shit on and off for YEARS, both from a ‘how dare you get turned on by this’ angle and from a ‘how dare you write this if you’re NOT turned on by this’ angle, and both takes are invasive and obnoxious. This is, incidentally, why I really hate the rhetoric of “the hottest fics are the ones the author wrote with one hand haha”—both because it’s really fucking weird to speculate on the sexual proclivities of someone who is usually a stranger, and because in my experience it simply isn’t true. I have really successful kink fics that are kinks I’m into and really successful kink fics that are things that don’t do it for me; I have less successful kink fics that I personally find really hot and less successful ones that I don’t. I have personal kinks and fetishes I’ve never written and probably never will (although, see point 1) because I worry that readers will perceive me a little too much. The only thing you’ll learn about my relationship to kink from reading my fics is the things I find psychologically interesting to write about.

4) I have fundamentally zero interest in debating the ~ethics~ of any particular kink, in fiction or otherwise, but I absolutely recommend perfecting the art of being squicked out or even disgusted by something without attaching any moral superiority to that feeling.

Like… curate your own experience, my friend. If you need to block me, block me. That’s cool. If you’re a regular reader/commenter/someone I interact with on tumblr dot com I’ll be sad to see you go, but you gotta do what you gotta do to make fandom fun and comfortable for you. But I tag my kink fics, so the ones that yuck your personal yum should be pretty easy for you to avoid.

[forlorn-crows]

Dearest Crow, I've been thinking about Rain's Lake Wife recently.

Do you have any Nyneve thoughts to share? Did Dew ever know her as a water ghoul? Please tell.... leaves a shiny

💙

nyneve lore incoming

ive actually talked about dew's knowledge of her a little previously here! but here's the essential highlights from that:

the elder ghouls may have passed down the knowledge about her, and some, like Water i think, dont. maybe theyre a little selfish about her, feel like theyve been 'chosen' and that everyone else should have to discover her too. with Water (again, Delta, w/e), it was turbulent with the new summonings, the changing of ghouls and even elements. there simply wasnt time to be like 'oh yeah also theres a big tentacle lady in the lake if you want to have a fun time' you know? not his fault . . . . . . Nyneve's def had a relationship with many a ghoul, but it hasnt been linear. it hasnt all been water ghouls either, but i think the interaction of other elements has come and gone throughout time. i havent decided if any of the 'more recent' ghouls beyond the others mentioned have met her, or just know of her . . . . . . Rain had to introduce Dew to Nyneve. once he got over the fact that he'd have to tell everyone else about her, considering hed come home with sucker marks all over with no real logical explanation. i think Mountain is the first one he tells, but Dew is the first one he introduces.

so to answer that question, unfortunately dew never got to meet her when he was a water ghoul. but you know rain goes to him for first dibs, especially after putting two and two together. and dew has a particular . . . thing for tentacles. rain already knew that, considering he has one. but oh. oh. is dew in for it when she gets her hands on him.

funnily enough, i dont know if mist would, uh, fuck with her (unless its a nice lil slimy handy), but i think theyd be mischievous friends, preying on innocent passerbys and snatching ankles for fun haha

something i have been thinking about is a prequel about her life 'before'. ive tumbled around the idea of her actually being human, somehow magically turned into the beginning of the creature we know she is today. something about a traveler during religious prosecution, going from village to village to secretly tempt women and men, but also just live her life.

not witchcraft, though that is what she ultimately is accused of. chased through the town and past the woods, right up to the lake that she currently resides in. maybe they drowned her, maybe she fled from them and couldnt swim. she escapes them that way, but the entities (lucifer, someone else?) saves her soul by morphing it into the fledgling version of her squid-like self.

does she remember her human life? how does she transform into such a creature? these are things i havent worked out yet. nor have i worked out her birth name, nor all the names she chose for herself along the way. but, if i were to write it all, i think id title it 'Maiden of the Mist'

insert copia-esque, self-satisfied 'eh?' here

[emberglowfox]

okay a few people have asked now abt steelheart redux so i will do my best to give an overview the maelstrom of vague thoughts it consists of at the moment

basically, steelheart is the oc story i've been posting a shitton of on and off for the past while. steelheart redux refers specifically to its latest iteration, which is completely (mostly) sci-fi and mech driven as opposed to the standard dragon rider story it was before.

it focuses primarily on these guys!

arthur is a human, while zarian is a DRACO, specifically a v1, which i will elaborate on below the readmore bc this is a little long haha

the setup for the story is essentially this:

the DRACOs (version 1, aka v1s) are big draconic mechs that are basically the equivalent of a super high-tech fighter jet with some other bells and whistles, the most notable being that they're pretty much human powered. but to be efficiently powered long-term, they have to be (or have part of them, really) permanently fused to a human host (or any living creature, technically, but humans are what they're like. made for).

despite all that, stuff surrounding their creation goes pretty well for a while, until the v1s mysteriously 'wake up'-- as in, suddenly attain self-aware consciousness, and start talking to their hosts (known as pilots) who understandably take this pretty badly. it's like if the fighter jet you've been flying around and are also kind of biologically fused to suddenly grew a brain and started asking about your day. things get even worse when the company producing the v1s attempts to like. undo this by forcing out an update patch, which has the unintended effect of corrupting the (previously entirely benevolent, just curious) v1s and turning them into crazed murder machines. stuff is bad for a while.

the ACTUAL story takes place 15 years after this, when stuff still isn't amazing but has mostly evened out. the company responsible for the v1s collapsed in the initial chaos, but from its ashes came a new company, Defenex, which has been producing DRACO v2s. they're the sleeker, badder cousins to the v1, made for the sole purpose of protecting towns from and hunting down remaining v1s. they're also, very critically, Not Mysteriously Self-Aware like the v1s are (or. were?) which is good.

the plot follows arthur steele, a fifteen year old boy living in one of the surviving cities, who through a series of accidents comes to be permanently fused to a (mysteriously un-murderous but distinctly unhappy) v1 calling himself Zarian. at first, his goal is to get Zarian removed from his back so they can go their separate ways and he can go back to his unremarkable, relatively safe life. unfortunately, this does not go according to plan. at all. but in the process, they start learning more about the mysterious origins of the DRACO incident and asking questions some people REALLY don't want answered. along the way, they make a few friends, come to actually like each other, and accidentally develop a reputation as Public Enemy #1, Definitely Evil, Kill On Sight. oops.

and that's the gist! i know... a lot of what happens, within that window, but most stuff isn't like nailed down clearly or in order yet, because i've discovered that while i am good with coming up with originally story ideas, actually plotting one from start to finish, coherently and satisfactorily, does NOT come naturally to me at all.

but, at the very least, it has become a fun brain playground and happiness generator, because i am veeery attached to these guys. moreso than i ever have gotten about my own ocs in my whole life tbh

:)

[enbypotat53]

For the hermit ask: 🧥🌻 🪻

"Who’s new skin is your favourite? "

I'll be honest - I haven't seen many of the new skins yet, but I really love Scar and Keralis's skins! I honestly kinda want the Zookeeper outfit myself, and something about Keralis's silly little floral shirt just does it for me 💙

"Which POVs will you be watching the most this season?"

Planning to watch Tango, Xisuma, and Joel mostly, maybe Grian and Mumbo? Depending on free time (exams, bleckh!) and interest in storylines/builds/etc I might watch some more (Doc's villain arc seems fun, and it's great to see Iskall and Stress back on the server, too!), but I want to branch out!

S6 and S7 I only watched Grian (old comfort and all since I watched him before HC and discovered the series from him), S8 I watched Grian, Mumbo, Iskall, Scar, and Xisuma (ended up burning myself out trying to catch up on so many episodes, though), and S9 I watched Grian and Mumbo, so this time I want to watch some new people!

I wanna catch up on Tango's S9 episodes and all of the DO streams, too! (Still haven't seen the DO crossover stream due to lack of time to do so, but I really wanna!) I sorta have a newfound interest in Tango's videos - he always seemed like a really fun guy to watch but I never really took much interest until Double Life and his dynamic with Jimmy. I watched his Secret Life POV and he's honestly amazing!

I'm planning to watch some Hermits that I don't typically watch, but still stay inside my comfort zone, y'know? I've been watching Joel for YEARS before Hermitcraft, ALLLL the way back to Crazy Craft videos (maybe earlier?), Xisuma's season 8 was super fun to watch despite burnout, and Tango's sparky personality and amazing build ideas always keep me entertained! I think it's gonna be a great season overall! (This turned into a really long answer, oops! I'm just super passionate about HC!)

"What are some things you hope to see this season?"

Not really sure! I tend to enjoy things as they come along, and don't really have set expectations for new seasons. I suppose new dynamics are always fun, especially with Joel and Skizz on the server now, and I'm hoping to maybe see another war of some kind or the obligatory revival of tag, haha!

Maybe some more minigames? Obviously not necessarily as complex as DO/DO2 or the TCG, but it's always great to see Hermits having fun, and seeing the love, effort, and creativity is what makes this series worthwhile for me! 💙

[ekingston]

I was gonna be cheeky and ask for 10 and 19 again BUT I shall resist that urge… for now.

I will be sneaky (critical failure) and ask for three (I lied) 28. 30. And 37.

And what the hell, everyone should be proud of their work/s so a 33. (Feel free to pick a couple if this is just asking for a lot - I feel like it is 😅)

I feel like I’m order takeout or reading lotto number here

haha thank you! and the bonus number is…

Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing?

today i’m reminding myself to practice mindfulness! and not in the sense of breathing exercises or lengthy meditation sessions (although I’m sure those have their benefits too) but by making myself be in the present, paying attention to all of my senses, and remembering that my characters would do the same. you’ll need that material to fill in the little details that draw the reader into your work, that tricky thing that makes them feel like they can’t just see it, but like they’re actually there. life is a sensual experience, and i think our stories should reflect that!

Describe a fic that almost happened, but then didn’t.

this got long, so…

i once scribbled down a dream i had that was a sort of trippy time travel/repeating day type of thing, where Lena was part of a small crew of criminals that used Lena’s tech to travel back in time to aid them with their heists. they would simply rewind time over and over, taking note of the details, learning every possible outcome, eliminating obstacles along the way, practicing the motions often enough to nail the final, perfect execution.

the first scene was a very bloody one, and i came in right in the middle of it, not understanding how Lena and her people could be so callous about the people laying bleeding and dying at their feet, especially because Kara was one of them. Lena’s crew just kept saying they’d ‘fix that next time’, like some sort of cryptic mantra.

in the dream Lena ended up looking for Kara in every run through, charming her in a thousand different ways, always the same, Kara falling for her every time. there were a few rewinds that took her back so far that Kara was still a child, immediately smitten but completely lost on earth, abandoned and alone, and Lena lobbied hard to make sure her crew fixed that, too, even when it meant Lena would never meet her again.

i saw Lena’s crew running down a dark alley over and over again, at least one of their crew dead or dying, at least one other gravely hurt. Kara turned out to be the reason their plan failed every single time. Lena ended up having to turn against her team to save her before they could eliminate her from their timeline completely.

in the end Lena lay dying in child-Kara’s arms, telling her ‘we’ll fix it next time.’ this was when she’d finally discovered Kara wasn’t human. the line i woke up with was Lena telling Kara to promise her, ‘if you figure it out someday—fly up’. the theory being, i think, that if Kara somehow were to fly high enough, fast enough, she’d achieve the same effect Lena did with her tech, and Kara could go back to save Lena instead.

my dreams get pretty elaborate, but they rarely come with as tidy of a plot as this one did, so i bet it already exists somewhere.

Do you research before writing or while you write? Is it fun or boring for you?

i don’t feel i write the kind of stuff that requires a lot of research and that’s probably a good thing! because i will go down absolutely every rabbit hole the internet has to offer when i do and zero writing will get done. my longform WIP TFOT has been brewing since—let me check—December 11, 2022 (thanks @mooosicaldreamz) and i’ve written less than 20k words, including my outline. instead i have spent my time working on it ‘studying’ veterinary medicine, learning about sustainable agriculture, planning trips to Wyoming and wondering alongside Paula Cole where all the cowboys have gone.

Give your writing a compliment.

i can’t tell you how happy it makes me when people tell me i managed to write something that made them laugh out loud. several times even! sometimes waking up their loved ones or startling strangers! i love that so much.

[ironicsoap]

I wanna be able to make custom avatars for Vrchat of some of my more uncommon species characters but tutorials for how to use blender absolutely kill me (I do better learning if it's written down with some pictures, or entirely hands on with someone guiding me in person) how did you learn to make your own models? Do you have any recommendations for instructions or any YouTube videos that might be easier to grasp and follow along to? I really love your work and I'm actually saving up for one of your bases for my kitties <3 my only experience with avatars right now is texturing, and even that is subpar unfortunately.

Written down resources for beginners on how to use blender are scarce, because it's such a big program with so many things, and you really need visuals to know where things are when you're learning (Very possible with written guides, but very tedious to put in Enough pictures to show everything) Every time I've used a written Blender guide, it was for some really high level niche thing I needed haha I learned how to make my own models by figuring out projects I wanted to do, then googling/youtubing every step/aspect on how to do them, and repeating! After the first low poly model I made though I just kinda went straight into attempting to make pixar models and they took me FOREVER and looked horrible but I had so much fun in the process of doing and learning I kept throwing myself at these huge projects and got better over time. Then I discovered toony models, and then vrchat, and I was like wow this is way easier and extra fun *permanently changes the course of my career and artistic style*

What I recommend to everyone who asks me how to learn, is pick a project you want to do (start small! very important so you don't lose motivation) and google/youtube how to do it I haven't kept up to date on newer beginner tutorials, there might be something better that's more recent than these! But I think they teach you applicable knowledge to making character models (vs the donut..lol) Froggy | Bunny | My 3D tutorial playlist | Great overview of the pipeline

Motivation is the most important factor on if someone learns 3D. Attempting smaller stuff before moving onto slightly bigger things, then slightly bigger, etc, means you don't spend a billion hours on 1 REALLY hard project only for it to suck and demotivate you so much that you don't wanna do 3D anymore. (Or have blender turn into an obsession like me and do that and not get demotivated, judge for yourself :P)

If a tutorial feels like its taking WAY too long to get to the point, it probably is, don't feel bad about needing to put it on 2X speed or looking for a different tutorial. (Donut tutorial sucksssss) Blender is probably the most heavily documented and tutorial'd 3D program out there so you're in luck x) most of the other ones you have to pay money to properly learn them

[dreamii-yume]

So, I’ve been having a hard time sleeping lately but instead of taking some melatonin like a normal person—I decided to turn to ASMR to tickle my brain for a bit, and along that ride…I stumbled upon a few interesting Japanese Yandere Roleplay ASMR, you know the ones that uses a binaural mic so it really immerses you lol

I remembered these audio dramas were the ones that shaped my hornii preferences back in the days ☠️ Yandere, Non-Con, Incest—These audios were a literal goldmine for those that were into dark fantasies and I ate all that up back in highschool. Anyway, I thought I got over that ear porn phase already but I got curious one day and checked some Yandere audios in Youtube, thinking it wouldn’t affect me as much as it did back when I was just a squealing teenage girl lol

But I was wrong, so I am here to share this hidden masterpiece that I found haha

I love this guy’s channel, so please check him out—His voice is heavenly, but this one specifically took my heart because I love, love these kinds of yandere situation and type, and hearing this voiced was mmgh. A literal heaven.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like it has an english translation—So, I’m here to spoil it in the simplest way of what happened! :DD

It’s basically about the listener (that’s us ♥︎ uwu) getting locked into a closet with a shy boy who keeps apologizing (and crying) because he said that this must be the work of his bullies who likes to make fun of him because he’s taller than average. We comfort him, patting his head until he calms down and starts warming up to us and it was getting cute—Until he starts saying sussy shit like asking us to sit on his lap, hugging us because he said it’s cold, and we just let it happen because?? Cute boy, am I right?

Welp, it turns out he’s a batshit crazy yandere who had been in love with you, because you were the only one who was nice to him when everyone else treats him like shit. He was also the one who deliberately destroyed the fucking key to the closet, and organized the two of you to be locked together alone so he’d have the opportunity to have you all to himself for the whole night lol He confesses his sins and deluded himself into thinking that you feel the same way because he mistakened your fear as confirmation of his love. He has a thing for that too, he’s a hidden sadist for your tears 🤡

But anyway, unfortunately—that’s where it ends 😔 It fades to black because implied non-con and youtube can’t handle that much yikes lol A cockblocked teasing ending, but ITS STILL REALLY GOOD. PLS.

It’s been weeks since I discovered it, and I still think about it to this day lol and I wanted to share it, so I won’t be the only one haha

[crystalflygeo]

Long overdue final ebg post (lmao) bc I need to get this out of my system...

Tag for all the posts/storyline

Art by the amazing lovely precious cutie Aine @/ainescribe

First of all I want to thank @i23kazu immensely for allowing me to participate pls I was SO unsure at first haha and she absolutely killed it with the interactions, the lil side project, the prompts, the scores tally... it's just so much work, kudos to you Ying fr!! It was a super fun game.

Shoutout to my besties/mutuals

@silentmoths @ainescribe thank you for your lil asks I love seeing your characters aaaaaaaa 💕

@floraldresvi @moraxsthrone and all the anons I got, your sabotages here and in discord were brutal omg Vi you almost made my cry //pos bc I wanted to react/respond to Li's messages 🥺 EVERY SINGLE TIME ghgnhgnghgn and NOT KEL MAKING MY GIRL HAVE A WET DREAM/SPICY MEMORY TYVM 💕 the way I had to contain myself hELP I loved it svcgavscgvsjgacbkackl

@meimeimeirin you also sabotaged me a lot, meanie //pos I loved SO MUCH your asks/little stories aaaaaa thank you for engaging so much when I know you're super busy 🥺 it def made my day everytime, ty for bringing the girl home and solving my silly lil mystery hehe 💕

@kurikurikurisu GIIIIIRL it's so funny to me that we kinda started interacting more on the last ebg for Rin and then I was like "she's a cool person I wanna fren.... 👉🏻👈🏻 but I shy...." took my sweet time to invite you to the server and turns out THIS ebg got us closer (I think? ehe?//hit) we didn't interact much in tumblr with each other's plots but bOY were we emotional support in discord, we really were in this suffering together 🤝🏻 mhm //nods nods 🤣 thank you so much for being interested in my lil silly plot and my girl aaaaaa

As for the "plot" and other things... (this got so long I am so sorryy;;;)

Well at first I wanted to do kinda a normal ebg, no plot or anything bc I don't think I have the smarts to do an elaborate game/story lmao and I kinda wanted to have more established s/i lore?? And then I realized hey I can use the ebg to introduce my s/i!!!

See I'd been working SO hard on her names lately, researching and studying in-game adepti lore and stuff and I though why don't I make it a simple game where the goal is to guess her name (with me giving hints ofc) and at the very start I had the idea of her losing her memories so she could re-discover/remember things about herself alongside the "players" learning them. Whoever character I got as my bias would help her and get to know her too along the way, even npcs (or in the rare case of me getting Dottore/Pantalone, probs be the villain for her memory loss lmao)

And then I got Kazuha. And it was so SO perfect. I took inspiration from Spirited Away with the plot point of having your name/memories/identity stolen and for some reason I remembered the whole Ino-shika-cho koi-koi card combo from Summer Wars I just had this vivid mental image of a scene where Kazuha dropped the biggest hint by writing the Kanji for Butterfly (Chō) which doubles ofc as the Hanzi for Butterfly/Crystalfly (Dié) written the same pronounced (and romanized) differently :3c

I was very proud of myself//hit also

I did not end up making haiku bc they are complicated but I at least tried to loosely keep/emulate the 3 phrases, phonetic rhyme and sensory elements while referencing my lil plot lmao

✧˖Originally I was gonna blame it on a playful tanuki or smth but I don't think they're powerful enough youkai lmao it was probably a kitsune.... we may never know ✧˖She was technically never in any danger yeah but imagine being lost with no memories and no way to know if you could get them back even because every person she met kept telling her they didn't know ofc she'd break down, or at least me, I'm very crybaby and neurotic sometimes//HIT ���˖Yes this entire thing was technically Zhongli's fault since he did write her a letter addressed 亲爱的晶蝶 ("My dear Crystalfly/Jingdie") and that IS her name woops on a random note I kinda imagine he also signs with something like 你的龙 "Your Dragon" and vice versa with Crys ("My dear Dragon/your Crystalfly") sgcvgajsvcjhacbajkca //squeals kicks feets

And all this started because I was stressing over the fact that "Crys" is not an appropriate name for a Liyue character lmao, I debated for so long giving her a chinese name, but I didn't want to further make her an OC I wanted her to represent me/my blog (also part of me was and still is immensely worried I somehow insult cn ppl by being as some sort of weeabo equivalent or that I am "appropriating culture" or idk I may be dumb but I try to do my research and I prommy it does not come from a place of malice or anything I genuinely love genshin and Li and it's got me interested in a culture/country I funnily enough have somehow interacted with and have friends in but never really paid that much attention to ig...) and then I just had the epiphany What if I just reverse engineer and name her Crystalfly in cn? Lore would be that either her name got accidentally translated in documents a long long time ago and ppl started calling ehr Crystalfly/Crys and she rolled with it or she simply adopted the translation/nickname as her name for international settings, keeping her true name more private (hidden in plain sight tbh) p sure the only ones who know are the elder adepti (Ganyu/Xiao included) and Neuvillette (once he told her his real/first name) (ironically Crys may be harder to pronounce i other languages lmaoooo rip Fontaine)

Anyway this got way too long lmao sorrryyyyyyyy thank you everyone kith kith love y'all bye!! 💕

[letstalkwhump]

Let's Talk Whump No.16

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump, a series of interviews that spotlight the amazing people in our whump community! I’m Malice and I’ll be your host today. 

Here today to talk all things whumpy is the fabulous @whumperofworldsrlds!

Thanks for joining us today! Let’s start with a fact or two about yourself!

Hi! I'm WoW, 28, and I love gaming and writing! I also love making new friends and chatting, even though I'm bad at keeping in touch!

What does whump mean to you? 

To me, whump is an escape, like how some people draw and write to escape from their problems! I'm going through a lot right now, and writing and reading whump is a good way to ease the stress! That and I really enjoy torturing characters, haha!

And how did you find the whump community? What made you want to join? 

I first heard of the term "whump" from a Sherlock Holmes (the original) fic that I forgot the name of at the moment. I first discovered the community around 2019 on Tumblr, after looking up a bunch of kidnapping scenarios. I joined in 2020 because it sounded like fun, as a huge fan of writing kidnappings, and man, I'm glad I did!

Do you think your view on whump changed since you joined? Any specifics such as new or disliked tropes or fandoms?

It hadn't changed a bit, I have to admit, haha! I still love kidnappings and characters getting restrained in some way! There are a few tropes that are squicks and dislikes for personal reasons, but otherwise, the only thing that changed is my love of whump, which has gotten bigger! OC vs. Fandom, I love both, though I wish we had more fandom whump, especially in the fandoms I'm in, Fire Emblem, Super Smash Bros, and Final Fantasy 1!

And your favourite whump trope?

Used as bait is my favourite of all time! Whumpee getting kidnapped as bait for Caretaker/their team, bound and gagged and placed in a highly revealing location for them to find, and they could only scream and struggle in vain as their saviours try to rescue them and get caught themselves! I also love the Parting Words Regret trope! It makes me cry every time whenever Whumpee and Caretaker had a bad argument, and something terrible happens to Whumpee, getting kidnapped, or worse, died. The angst is so good!

Time to hype yourself up! Wat’s your favourite piece that you’ve written?

Out of all the fics and stories I've written, I absolutely LOVE writing and rereading my Super Smash Bros fic, Plead To Me, sadly on AO3 only, sorry! It's a way to celebrate Sephiroth joining Smash Ultimate, and what better way to celebrate his appearance than writing whump where he hurts Cloud Strife and his boyfriend, M!Robin, named Reflet since there's a female version of him to tell them apart! In the fic, he tortures Reflet first, while forcing Cloud to beg and plead so he could stop. He then turns his attention to Cloud himself and tortures him while Reflet watches! And then the rescue from the other Smashers… epic! It all ends well but Sephiroth is still out there, and he'll likely strike again when he has the chance… I absolutely love my description of the whump, along with the two boys' reactions when they're forced to watch each other get hurt and can only scream and plead for the other to not get hurt!

Do you mind sharing what your writing routine looks like?

My writing style needs a bit of work, admittedly, especially in the description parts haha! I usually write while I'm at work (which is overnight), on my lunch break! After working a lot, it feels great to sit down, relax, and write some whump after working hard! I usually have a drink and food with me though I end up forgetting them since I get too focused on my writing, haha! I also write with music blaring (without lyrics so as not to distract me) that fits the mood, like fight scenes, I put RPG fight music. I sometimes do blocks of sentences, but otherwise, a sentence here and there! As for inspiration… I write when inspiration strikes me! I try to write regularly but it feels forced to me, so I usually wait till I find a good prompt for me to use or I get a random idea out of nowhere!

And do you find that it's easier to write some things over others?

The easiest for me is writing what the characters are doing with a flair of some descriptive words as best as possible! The words flow as I write and think of what they're doing, like are they having a conversation? Working on something? Oh man, descriptions are my biggest struggles! Like if I need to describe a chair, all I say is "it's wooden and red" and that's pretty much it, hahaha! I'm working on it though, but it's hard to think of ways to describe some things like settings or items!

Is there anything you're working on at the moment?

I'm working on a few stories and fics with whump! I'm writing a new part of Decedents of Chaos but that kinda stopped for a bit so I can take a break from whump. I also have You're Mine still in the works, just ran into a writer's block. I then have a generic prompt idea sitting in my drafts, and don't get me started on the 292847291 WIPs that I had in my Google Docs for a few years, hahaha!

Is there any advice you’d like to share?

Keep writing, never give up on it! If you need practice, do a "quick scenes" document (basically like sketch dumps for artists, but you put in random scenes that you thought of), and write, write, write whatever you can think of! Also READ! I got better at writing thanks to reading, and I copied a bit of ideas and styles from other writers!

And now a shout out to your favourite writing/whump blogs, bffs or people who've inspired you!

I'll give special thanks to @painful-pooch, @actress4him, @kawhump, @guys-in-distress-database, and my BFF and sister @thequestingbunny for all the encouragement, the love for my stories, and for letting me ramble on about my ideas! Y'all are awesome! I have a lot of others but the list will be too long haha!

Anything you'd like to add?

Know that you're loved, everyone, and keep on trucking! Happy whumping, and keep on torturing your faves!

So good to have you here today, @whumperofworlds!

And to all you folks at home, have a whump-derful day!

[frogprincesnowglobe]

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better. I was tagged by @heliza24. Thank you, this is fun! I loved reading about you

Three ships: I'm not sure I have three ships. My main ship right now is Wilmon, Wilhelm/Simon from Young Royals, though I anticipate you guys will all know that! I also really love the pairing of Anne and Gilbert Blythe, especially in Anne with an E.

First ever ship:  The first I actually remember is Guns and Handcuffs Aka Drarry Aka Draco/Harry from Harry potter. I read so much Harry Potter fanfiction. I actually found a Harry potter fanfiction I was writing when I was 11, in lime green Gel pen

Last movie: Okay maybe my answers are going to be boring, but I genuinely can't remember the last movie I watched. My attention span has been *short* lately. The last TV show I watched was The Circle, a terrible but fun reality tv show on Netflix.

Currently reading:  Here's where I get nerdy!! Be prepared for me to waffle! Yesterday I picked up a vintage copy of a book called Things Will Take a Turn Stories Old and New by Beatrice Harraden. I assumed the book was pre- 1950 (probably the 30s.) and the book has a label/bookplate inside saying to was a awarded to a young girl for good schoolwork at a sunday school in a small town in England. There isn't a publishing date but I recognized the publisher (Blackie) as a Scottish one. The back of the book has a small sticker from the book and stationary shop it was purchased from in the small town. Not to overwhelm the paragraph, but things I've figured out so far: The original book was published 1894, and you can tell my copy isn't that old. The Church in the small town still exists, but the bookshop was sold in 1937. I even found pictures of the shop, the three at the bottom (warning for 2000s style bright purple text on dark black) This book is from the Stories Old and New Series, and I've found a ton in the series online that are from the mid to late 20s. Once I actually research the girl who won that book that will solve that mystery. Anyway, this is something I love. Researching treasures like this. And it's currently the book I'm reading, haha. I'm also reading a Cat in the Stacks mystery, I forget the title of that, but I'm working my way through them! Along with 1 trillion YR fanfics.

Actually something @heliza24 @bluedalahorse and @freakishly-bookish-ant in particular (but the rest of you too) might be really interested in is that I discovered that the Author of the Book, Beatrice Harraden was a Suffragette! Founding member of the Women's Social and Political Union (a Suffragette organization), member of the Women Writer's Suffrage League and the Women's Tax Resistance League (a group that used resisting taxes as a way to protest Women's disenfranchisement) among many other dope things related to women's rights.

Currently watching: I'm still kind of working my way through Gåsmamman. I haven't watched an episode in about month, but I am technically watching it.

Currently consuming: Water! I have a nice little bottle with me.

Currently craving: I'm craving cookie dough ice cream, I just want some gooood cookie dough ice cream. (heliza24 you should take that class, I''m with you on your craving too!)

I'm tagging (not sure who all has been tagged): @atdawnweryd @freakishly-bookish-ant @bluedalahorse @andthatisnotfake @omarera @kruemel8 @notalotgoingonatthisinstant @books-books-smolderinglooks @wasitroyal

[pesterloglog]

Karkat Vantas, Jade Harley

Act 5, page 3972-3973

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling gardenGnostic [GG]

CG: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING NOW.

GG: pw.

CG: SERIOUSLY, WHY DID YOU GO BACK TO SEE HER? YOU DIDN'T MENTION THIS LAST TIME.

GG: listen fuckass

GG: i am going to need a password before we continue

GG: plz <3

CG: RIGHT, OK.

CG: LET'S SEE IF I CAN REMEMBER, IT WAS PRETTY ELABORATE IF I RECALL, OK HERE GOES.

CG: I'M A DISGUSTING WORTHLESS BILGESACK ON THE GARGANTUAN TEAT OF A LABORING, LEPROUS MUSCLEBEAST. MY SELF ESTEEM IS SO SMALL, ITS EXISTENCE IS A MATTER OF CONJECTURE AMONG THEORETICAL PHYSICISTS. I SMELL SO BAD, THE STENCH CANNOT BE EXPRESSED WITH EVEN THE MOST ELOQUENT, FLORID LANGUAGE. THE ODOR MY BODY MAKES HAS MADE POETS CRY. I HAVE WON SPECIAL AWARDS FOR DISCOVERING NEW PLACES TO TOUCH MYSELF EROTICALLY WHILE FARTING. I UNFAIRLY PULVERIZE THE COMPETITION IN ASSHOLE PAGEANTS, AND I HAVE RECEIVED A LIFETIME BAN FROM UGLY CONTESTS BY PRESIDENT SHITFACE HIMSELF. MY BLOOD IS NOT FIT TO FLOW THROUGH A SEWER, AND MY SIGN IS A PICTOGRAPHIC SYMBOL THAT LOOSELY TRANSLATES AS "PLEASE HIKE THESE PANTS UP TO THIS GUY'S ARMPITS, CHAIN HIM TO A FLOGGING JUT, AND MAKE A FUCKING EXAMPLE OUT OF THIS SORRY SACK OF SHIT." WHEN I LOOK IN A MIRROR, MY REFLECTION SLOWLY SHAKES HIS HEAD WHILE I WET MYSELF IN SHAME.

GG: ....................... :|

CG: WHAT, THAT WAS IT, WASN'T IT. HOW WAS THAT NOT FUCKING IT, DID I FORGET AN APOSTROPHE SOMEWHERE?

GG: no karkat, that was not quite the password

GG: but you were on the right track :p

CG: CAN WE JUST TALK NOW

GG: do you even remember the right password?

CG: SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF GRATUITOUS SELF DEPRECATION FORCED INTO MY MOUTH, INVOLVING REFERENCE TO SOME KIND OF WEIRD HUMAN COUPLING RITUAL?

GG: youre being deliberately dumb

GG: it was...

GG: IF I HATE MYSELF SO MUCH, THEN WHY DON'T I HATEMARRY MYSELF?

GG: remember?

GG: i was just using the password system to poke a little fun at you, and you turn it into this whole overdramatic thing, jeeeeez.

CG: HAHA! WHEE.

CG: CAN WE GET DOWN TO FUCKING BUSINESS AGAIN?

GG: i wonder if we will ever be able to start a conversation without having a ridiculous argument about the password system?

CG: IF YOU WOULD DROP THE PASSWORD SYSTEM AND LET FUTURE ME TALK TO YOU, HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU AN ANSWER.

CG: SPOILER: THE ANSWER WOULD BE NO, BECAUSE THE PASSWORDS ARE RETARDED.

GG: why would i want to do that??

GG: the only guy whos dumber than past karkat is future karkat, and vice versa!

GG: i have this on good authority from both sources

CG: I STILL THINK YOUR USE OF THE TERMS IS KIND OF ASININE, THERE REALLY IS NO PAST OR FUTURE KARKAT FROM YOUR VIEW

CG: THERE'S KARKAT WHO KNOWS LESS STUFF AND KARKAT WHO KNOWS MORE STUFF. WHY NOT JUST GATHER THE FACTS FROM THE ONE WHO'S GOT THE LOWDOWN ALREADY?

CG: I MEAN, I'D DO IT MYSELF, BUT I CAN'T STAND THE GUY.

GG: you see, that is your problem

GG: okay, one of your many, many problems...

GG: you have no patience to do things the right way, youre always just looking for the shortcut!

GG: even if doing so has brought you nothing but trouble a hundred times before

GG: it is sort of funny that the only thing standing in your way is one of your other problems, your preposterous self loathing

GG: so you cant even trust your future self to help you cheat!

GG: its like you have so many problems, they cancel each other out

CG: THAT'S NOT THE ONLY THING STANDING IN MY WAY. YOUR STUPID PASSWORDS ARE ALSO STANDING IN MY WAY. IF NOT FOR THAT I COULD BE FAST TRACKING THIS TO SOLUTION CITY FOR US BOTH.

GG: exactly :D

CG: OK, WHATEVER, LET'S JUST GET ON WITH THIS "LINEAR CONVERSATION" OK?

GG: ok

CG: SO YOU GAVE ME THAT SILLY PASSWORD, AND WE ENDED OUR CONVERSATION A FEW MINUTES AGO FROM MY END

CG: AND I SCANNED AHEAD LOOKING FOR A GOOD MOMENT ON YOUR TIMELINE TO PICK IT UP AGAIN

CG: AND I NOTICE YOU WENT BACK TO SEE HER AGAIN FOR SOME REASON

GG: yes

CG: SO I'M JUST WONDERING WHY

CG: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FROG BREEDING, I THOUGHT WE WERE ON A ROLL WITH THAT

GG: yes, we still are!

GG: this little detour was related to that task. we should be nearly done.

CG: WHAT WAS SHE EVEN SAYING TO YOU, I CAN'T UNDERSTAND A WORD OF THAT HORRIFYING GIBBERISH.

GG: i can understand her just fine!

CG: I STILL DON'T REALLY GET IT.

CG: WHY MY DENIZEN WAS SUCH A NIGHTMARE WHILE YOURS APPARENTLY GIVES YOU GUTTURAL PEP TALKS IN SOME BYZANTINE MONSTER LANGUAGE.

GG: we already talked about this

GG: echidna and i have an understanding now ;)

CG: OOH, VAGUE BULLSHIT, IT'S THE EXACT FUCKING THING I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF.

GG: well maybe if you werent in such a grumpy hurry all the time you wouldnt have killed your denizen so quickly

GG: you might have actually learned something!!!!!!

CG: HUGE UGLY MONSTERS ARE FOR KILLING, PERIOD.

GG: did you ever talk to kanaya about it?

CG: I DON'T REMEMBER, MAYBE?

CG: I'M A BUSY GUY, JADE. I TALK TO A LOT OF PEOPLE ABOUT A LOT OF STUFF, INCLUDING MYSELF.

GG: her situation was very similar to mine

CG: I THOUGHT SHE KILLED HER DENIZEN TO LIGHT THE FORGE OR SOMETHING

GG: it doesnt sound like you got the whole story

GG: or maybe you just werent listening to her :p

CG: WELL I SURE DON'T THINK IT WAS WHATEVER YOU DID

CG: AND IN ANY CASE I THOUGHT ALL THAT WAS OVER WITH

CG: WHY ARE YOU BACK, WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH FROG BREEDING?

GG: this was kanayas suggestion

CG: KANAYA'S STILL HELPING YOU?

GG: yes!

GG: im talking to her right now actually

CG: OH

CG: I SEE HER ACROSS THE ROOM, SHE'S NOT TALKING TO ANYONE ON A COMPUTER NOW.

GG: durrr, of course not, shes from a different time than you genius

CG: WHICH TIME

GG: a few hours in your future!

CG: AH, I SEE HOW IT IS.

CG: YOU WON'T TALK TO FUTURE KARKAT UNTIL I JUMP THROUGH YOUR FUCKING PASSWORD HOOPS AND BECOME HIM EVENTUALLY

CG: BUT YOU'LL TALK TO FUTURE KANAYA JUST LIKE THAT. DOUBLE STANDARD ANYBODY??? JADE SAYS YES PLEASE.

GG: you are so ridiculous, i have kanaya using the same password system as you

GG: she is just a little further ahead on my timeline is all

GG: it would be pretty hard to keep you both synced up!

CG: I THOUGHT YOU DIDN'T WANT SHIT SPOILED FROM THE FUTURE THOUGH.

GG: yeah, from MY future, i dont want you guys telling me the things i do before i do them because you talked to future me!

GG: but knowing a few things about your future doesnt really matter, NOT that i am going to tell you any of it, so dont ask

CG: I THINK I AM ON THE VERGE OF BECOMING A RELIGIOUS PERSON, I JUST DON'T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO TURN TO REMOVE THE AWESOME SUFFERING THAT TROLLIAN'S TEMPORAL CHAT BULLSHIT MIRACULOUSLY CONTINUES TO INFLICT ON ME.

CG: MAYBE THE MIRTHFUL MESSIAHS WILL COME AND TAKE MY PAIN AWAY?? OH YES, THAT SOUNDS HEAVENLY.

CG: JADE, PLEASE EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO PAINT MY FACE TO OUTWARDLY REFLECT THE BEAUTY OF MY INNER AWAKENING, AND DRUB MY THINK PAN MERCILESSLY TO REDUCE MY INTELLIGENCE TO THE LEVEL NECESSARY TO SUSTAIN THESE BELIEFS.

GG: siiign, what are you even talking about?

CG: ARE WE ALMOST DONE CRAFTING THIS "MASTER PLAN"?

CG: I HAVE STUFF TO ATTEND TO HERE. MY TEAM IS FALLING APART.

CG: AND I CAN'T FIND GAMZEE ANYWHERE. I'M WORRIED HE MIGHT HAVE WANDERED OFF SOMEWHERE AND GOT HURT.

GG: aw

GG: well...

GG: youll find him

CG: I THOUGHT YOU WEREN'T TELLING ME ABOUT MY FUTURE.

GG: i know, i made an exception

GG: but only one!

CG: LET'S MOVE THIS ALONG. JUST UPDATE ME ON THE FROGS, AND GIVE ME A NEW PASSWORD, OK?

GG: kanaya thinks we should all talk about this

GG: she says youre important to consult on the matter, but the you from her time is too busy

CG: BUSY WITH WHAT?

GG: :x!!!!!

GG: she is opening a memo

[mmfpeg]

Super Cub review: Happiness is light personal consumerism

[this was written recently after the show ended (mid-2021). it's relatively better than my recent attempts at writing, probably because covid brain hadn't set in yet]

No, I'm not in favor of capitalism. Shush. Ah, imagining people genuinely argue for capitalism with "buying little cheap things is neat" depresses me already.

But anyway, would you believe me if I said that among the exciting superpowered extravaganzas and visual smokeshows of the anime (plural) of this season, one of the most interesting shows is just a simple story about buying stuff and being happy with it and not much else "happening"?

I'm gonna try to do a bad impression of a MyAnimeList's synopsis here. I don't know why I need to do that; you can just easily google it and see what's up. But in the interest of giving context to the readers without needing them to click away from here… What's Super Cub? It's a series of motorbikes manufactured from Honda, a long-lived model dating from 1958. It's also an anime adaptation of a light novel about a high schooler named Koguma, a lonely jerk without family and friends, going through high school on a scholarship, living in a place where the only entertainment is an FM radio. One day, after seeing someone riding a scooter to school and thinking, "That's neat," she wandered to a bike dealer, and due to a stroke of luck, managed to get a motorbike that's in her budget: a used Super Cub that apparently has killed 3 people. Immersing herself in riding the Cub and taking care of it, she finds joy, forges connection with other people, and even made some friends! Blegh. I'm sorry. but that's the gist of the story! If that doesn't sound like much, that's because it isn't. Still I implore you to watch it anyway.

It's genuinely a thing of beauty, how the gears of this show turn (pun). It's by design a story where much doesn't happen, and that works to its advantage. You don't need big hitter studios like SHAFT or Madhouse because there's not much happening on the screen at a time. Monologues and dialogues are sparse, especially at the start of the show, which is a bit of a wonder when you consider that this is a light novel adaptation. One ponders if the light novel consisted of just 75 lines of written out anime noises. "Uh." "Haa." "Humu." Haha. Anyway, this, along with the aforementioned non-busy screen, give room for the story to breathe, so to say. Stuff like lines of rapid-firing dialogues that even the subtitlers have a hard time keeping up with, or a character's complicated powers that was described a few seasons ago so you forget now and you're left confused, are not here to get in the way of the story. But then again, as I said on the synopsis, there isn't much of the story anyway. So what is this show then? It's��� a lot of pondering. Koguma pondering about the changes in her life due to having a motorbike. Koguma pondering about the subtle changes in herself after buying a motorbike. Koguma pondering about the subtle changes from the little upgrades on her motorbike.

Among the fun pondering and navel gazing (two of the things that do happen), one fun thing to point out about this show is that almost all episodes of the show follow a formula that can be summarized as: Koguma buys something with her paltry allowance. Koguma discovers thing works well. Koguma's happy. Wonderfully, even though it's a Honda copyright sign officially sanctioned work, the story manages to convey those consumerism plot points without overtly sounding like a salesperson (the only branded thing that they would ostensibly be advertising is the Cub series motorbikes, after all). It's just a subtle pattern of the show that you don't notice at first, but then you start to and your brain just latches on to it. It's almost like a fun thing for a certain type of jerk (like me) to bring up on the show's discussion as a gotcha of sorts. As an "Indy doesn't actually have an effect on the movie's plot" type of thing. But, you know, the manner in which the story is told doesn't really let me do a "this show is trying to sell you consumerism!!!" argument anyway, even in bad faith, haha. Koguma's living on scholarship. A lot of the conflicts of the show stems from her needing to solve problems arising during her rides, looking for the obvious solution to it, seeing the price and going, "I can't afford this, you're having a laugh." Solutions range from unorthodox stuff that does fit her budget, to connections that she unexpectedly made.

Being a weirdo just by itself leads to a lonely life, but being a weirdo with a Cub begets another weirdo with a Cub. Reiko is one of the first things (people) that Koguma discovers (or rather, discovers Koguma) due to her Cub. Reiko acts like a sweetener to Koguma's bitter, lonely disposition, Reiko being a cheery and in-universe established It Girl, also an expert voice that helps ease Koguma through her honeymoon period with her Cub, a siren(!!) voice that sucks Koguma even deeper in love with her Cub and the concept of "driving around", and some tasty understated interpersonal relationship as well. Reiko calls Koguma exclusively with the -san suffix, even though they're as tight as friends can be on the outside; she only eats lunch with Koguma, Koguma sleeps over at her lodge, uh, thing? They endlessly drive around in tandem, just best buds things. It might be out of reverence; Koguma is a scholarship girl after all, and even though Reiko is the one more experienced and knowledgeable with regard to the Cub and driving, she tends to childishly reject solutions for their driving problems (like not wanting to install a windshield and leg shields due to them looking uncool on Reiko's Hunter Cub. To be fair, they do look uncool on Reiko's cub specifically, haha), and only relents after she sees Koguma using the solutions with no drama, effectively making Reiko the one following the lead. On the other hand, the -san might just be because that's how "distant" their relationship is (the only actual thing that they have in common is that they both ride a Cub, after all). Anyway, speculations aside, Reiko's here to help Koguma buy things! and consume better!!

Joking aside, even though having "I did consumerism!" as high points in the episodes might sound like a very weak proposition, there's this cute little thing that the show does to accentuate it. Put a pretty ribbon on it. You usually don't notice it due to the slightly depressing? undertone of the story, and the not-lavish production value, but the episodes and scenes tend to start out with desaturated colors. And then, after bouts of trying something out to solve her problems (which, as I mentioned before, largely involves her buying something for it), the moment where she finds out that the thing works well, colors come into the screen. It's quite a thing. You haven't been realizing that you're not seeing colors as vividly as they could be, until you see the vivid colors. A shot of happiness in your eyes. Happiness ranging from getting a raincoat so you can brave the rain to do your courier work, installing a windshield to protect you from the late fall cold air, consuming a warm coffee to counter the cold, brewed by Suu-chan, another friend you made along the way… (okay this is a stretch for the "consumerism" talking point lmao she still "consumes" though lmao)

The "being officially sanctioned by Honda" thing does remind me of another show with that distinction, a miniseries titled One Off. I've never actually watched it; the only things I remember from that show are the opening song, "Yakusoku no Basho" by Round Table ft. Nino, which is a great, cute song, obviously better than both SA-A-GIA and the CV song for the ending of Super Cub, though charming as they are; and the ending song, which is shown in story as a part of an in-universe scene, depicted as the characters doing karaoke, which happens to be my only exposure to the actual animation of the show… It left something to be desired. The premise is far more exciting than Super Cub! A beautiful foreigner! Riding a big dang bike! Through the mountainous roads! Although now, with hindsight, we found out that you don't need all that to sell a Honda. All you need is a simple story written effectively! A story about finding a hobby,

making friends along the way,

light personal consumerism,

dressed as an even simpler story about a girl in Yamanashi riding her motorbike.

[rhonddaandallaneuro]

As you would now be aware we have not had that good an internet service with problems with our stories simply disappearing into cyberspace. Very frustrating as we do not know if the last two stories will turn up or not.

We are now on Friday the 18th November and It is clear that they will not so here goes trying to recall our journey to date. Rhondda’s photos have gotten through so if you need to know anything please feel free to ask her.

We boarded the Polaris, our home for the next two weeks, and set sale after doing a canal cruise where we saw sites as the 7 bridges etc. This involved us needing to take a bus from the Museum District out to the mouth of the river where we again boarded the Polaris.

On this journey we saw just how important the dykes are to Holland with the walls at times nearly 20 metres high protecting the community.

The first night was the usual with safety meeting and the captains welcome, which basically is a free glass of bubbly wine.

Our first stop on day two was a city called Cologne which had one of the biggest cathedrals we have ever seen along with a coach ride to Augustusburg Palace that was as good a exhibition of excess as I have ever seen. The entrance way had what appeared to be a domed ceiling but when you moved up the huge three tiered stairway it was flat. A great optical illusion. The palace entrance even had a fully covered entrance so the carriages and horses did not endure to much stress while delivering the prince who came to the palace two weeks in every year to fly his falcons, proving he was a true leader. Hahah

We were on the Polaris for seven days but due to the water levels had to do a bus overland to join the Vega. The two boats are exactly the same and I have to say it is like nothing else. The food and staff are great and the booze very cheap.

Sights and towns we have visited are blurred a lot but from memory we have been to Rothenburg with it’s forgotten in time that had a “ cuckoo” style hourly show that is terrible. Lasts for a minute with a figurine drinking a beer for one minute. That is the show. The town also has a Xmas museum that you can get lost within without trying. Amazing but very very very expensive.

The town also boasts to be one of the last covered city walls, which we walked along before visiting the main church which has a wood carving alter as its centre piece and this alone makes the entire trip worthwhile. Stunning.

We have also visited Rudesheim, famous for its Music Museum which was one of the best things we have done. The town was setting up for its Xmas markets so we did not see a great deal but has character to say the least.

From here on to Miltenberg, where we did afternoon tea with local family, which was fun but once is definitely enough.

On to Wertheim doing a night time tour. This was great with a taste of what the xmas markets will be like. Was cold as you would expect but only makes the experience better.

Back on the boat we have discovered the McGeary bar that has a happy hour where drinks are even cheaper. Great way to wait to be fed. Haha

Met some lovely people in Jim and Jen from Wales along with Trisha and Kevin from Victoria and they share the same interests and humour as we do. The entertainment on the boat is basic but really after spending the day touring then eating and drinking most nights we are ready for bed. Wuizburg a very pretty place, home of a huge castle, one of many we have seen. Spent hours walking a streets with beautiful views over bridges and within the gardens. Very relaxing.

[midgardianweasley]

I‘d love to see you write an angsty fanfic with Natasha x reader (male or female is up to you) with a bad ending of your choice.

No pressure of course ✨

as requested Violet!! I hope it's okay<3

How could you do this to me?

Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Summary: Natasha hasn’t been around recently and Y/N’s been really missing her company, but that changes when some CCTV footage is discovered.

Warnings: Cheating, swearing.

Word Count: 3.6k

there was an attempted proof read, but sorry in advance if i've missed anything!!

message/ask to be added to the taglist<3

Requests are open!

You weren’t surprised when you woke up to an empty bed once again, the space beside you missing a red-head assassin. You’d grown used to the sight of bedsheets spread lazily on your side of the bed, almost completely thrown off of the edge. It wasn’t unusual, however, the feeling of disappointment that lingered in your chest every morning never eased with time.

‘I’m just off to train, baby.’

‘I need to go and see Fury about this next mission, you go back to sleep’

‘I forgot to debrief the team last night, so we need to have a meeting this morning instead.’

‘Off to get some breakfast, my love. I’ll save you some eggs.’

Those were the typical reasons you received whenever you questioned where she was going in such a hurry in the mornings. You knew she was busy, of course you did. But, you missed the mornings when she’d pull you back into her chest, refusing to let you leave until you gave her a few kisses, which never ended up just being kisses, but you always gave in either way.

Now that you think of it, you can’t remember the last time she held you. Not properly. She used to hold you in a death grip, so tight that you could almost feel her heartbeat in your own chest. Nowadays, you were lucky to get more than a few taps on the back, it felt like you were being congratulated for something.

You’d always brushed it off, thinking that you must’ve been selfish for wanting so much of her attention, you had to be more understanding of how demanding her job is. It wasn’t like you never tried, you did, everyday. It would just be nice to feel her love for you a little more, even if it was just a quick peck before she left in the mornings.

“Hey Wan’, Hey Vis” You smiled at the pair as they stood at the kitchen counter, cracking eggs and buttering some toast. They loved cooking together, Wanda always told you how cute it was when Vision was trying to learn, especially after his fiasco with the Paprika.

“Hi Y/N, want something to eat?” Wanda handed you some toast, which you took gratefully, slowly munching on it.

Vision looked up as though to engage in conversation, when he then looked around in confusion. “Where’s Ms. Romanoff?”. You shrugged.

“I’m not sure, I think she’s training, I’ve not heard from her yet.”

You were looking at Vision, but it was near impossible to miss the sympathetic look Wanda was giving you. She knew about how you’d been feeling with Natasha not being around so much, she had tried to help, to hint to Nat that you’d been feeling a bit neglected for a while now, but she hadn’t gotten very far.

“Nat, nat, I just think that maybe you should spend a little more time with Y/N” It was obvious the assassin wasn’t listening to her, shrugging it off and trying to walk past the witch, only to have a hand pressed on her chest to push her backwards.

“Wanda, I need to go, I'm running late.”

“you’re always running somewhere. I'm sure Fury, or Tony or whoever you’re in such a rush to see, can wait. You haven’t seen your girlfriend in forever.”

“I saw her last night.”

“Crawling into bed in the early hours of the morning and sleeping next to her, isn’t seeing her, Nat.”

Her words fell on deaf ears as she watched her friend turn around and walk the other way. She could’ve used her powers to stop her, she didn’t see a point though. She wasn’t listening, and she couldn’t force her to.

“It's fine though, honestly! I can hang out with you guys today if you’re not busy?”

the couple shared a look of awkwardness before looking back towards you.

“Actually, we were going to go into town and do some sightseeing. You’re welcome to join us though!” She smiled, not wanting you to be alone, which you were grateful for, but you couldn’t intrude.

“No no, don’t worry! I think I've got something Tony wanted me to check out in the Lab, now that I think about it.” You didn’t. “You guys have fun though! take pictures!” You winked, knowing full well that your best friend didn’t believe you, she hesitated before nodding her head in agreement and beginning to walk off with Vision in tow.

__________________

An hour or so went by, you still hadn’t seen Natasha at all, or anyone, really. They all seemed to have disappeared to do their own thing, leaving you to find yours. So, you found yourself wandering into your lab, where you found Tony observing the screens with an endless amount of data changing every couple of seconds. You never really understood how he made sense of it all so quickly, but you’d always been intrigued nonetheless.

He must’ve sensed someone was there, as he broke away from his train of thought and glanced over towards you, fully acknowledging how your shoulders were slumped and your eyes lacked your usual sparkle. Tony alway had a soft spot for you, he’d known you for years, taking on a role similar to a father’s. Seeing you look so defeated recently, it’d hurt him a little more than he cared to admit.

Gesturing for you to come in with a gentle smile before moving and adjusting various chunks of metal on the table in the centre of the lab.

“Ah ah!” He tapped the bridge of his nose

“You can’t be serious! Tony I-”

“Nope”

“I’m a grown woman!” You laughed in disbelief at his

“Yes, you are, and I do not plan on taking said grown woman to medical because she got a shot of electricity through her eyeball. Put them on.”

You rolled your eyes, picking up a pair of the obnoxiously large lab goggles and put them over your face. He really took being a ‘father figure’ too seriously sometimes. With your goggles on, you took yourself over to where he stood, hoping to help him out somehow and keep yourself occupied.

You watched him move around blueprints on the screen above. “So, whatcha working on?”

“Well, remember that last mission we went on? How that ended?”

“Well, considering I had to get bullets removed for the last two hours, I’d say I remember pretty well.”

His face cringed slightly “Yeah, that’s the one. I’m basically just trying to layer the suits more, but keep the weight to a minimum so that there’s more protection, but the speed and mobility is almost, if not, the same.” He pondered, mind wandering off again to try and figure out how he could make this work.

Suddenly springing to action, he started assembling some pieces together, chucking some aside and reaching for different tools he required.

Looking towards you, he tilted his head “Can you pass me the-”

His sentence was interrupted. “Hey Tony, hey-” Banner. You didn’t mind Bruce, he was always quite quiet and polite most of the time, a little awkward, but, when you have a literal Hulk inside of you, it’s probably the least of your concerns.

You waved at the Avenger. “Hi Bruce” You gave him a friendly smile, for it to be returned with an awkward gaze, which he tried to quickly shove off.

“Yeah, uh, hi, Y/N. W-what brings you here?”

“Oh, no particular reason, I wanted something to do so I thought I'd come down, just pay a visit.” He nodded, acknowledging your words but appearing a little on edge, almost.

“Hey, you okay?” You asked “You look a little pale?”

“Yeah, yeah n-no I'm fine, just a-a bit tired.” He stuttered before suddenly directing his attention towards the man standing beside you. “How’s it coming along, Ton’?”

“Not bad, I have a wonderful assistant to help me out.” he nudged you playfully.

“Haha, yeah. She’s great. Anyways, you seem to have a good hold on things, so, I’ll leave you to it and come back later.”

Neither of you had managed to get a word out before Banner had walked out and was already out of sight. You turned to face Tony again.

“Was that- did you find that weird at all?”

“I find most of the people in this compound weird.”

It was a serious question, but you couldn’t help but let out a laugh at the millionaire’s response.

“I do pride myself on it.”

“As you should. You’re the weirdest one.”

“Hey!” You slapped his arm. “Rude!”

“I’m kidding! Now, pass me that screwdriver, goggles.”

Chuckling, you threw him the screwdriver and zoned out thinking about Bruce’s weird behaviour. While Tony was right, the majority of us are weird. You couldn’t stop thinking about how unusual it was, even for him. You put it to the back of your mind though, focusing back on what the man beside you was working on. You’re sure it’s fine.

________________________

You thought you were going crazy. First you had Nat, who was disappearing every chance she got, Then you had Bruce who couldn’t look you in the eye and when you finally believed it couldn’t get any weirder, you picked up on some strange vibes from Steve.

“Oh finally! I was beginning to think no one else actually lives here.” You approached Steve who seemed to be walking and talking with Bruce, both taking a step back when they looked towards you.

“Hey Y/N, we were just-”

“We were just about to go and have a shower. Training.” Steve cut in, earning himself a glare and a shake of the head from the scientist beside him, subtle, so you hadn’t noticed, otherwise you would’ve questioned it.

“Oh? You were training too, Bruce?”

“Well, I-” He glanced at Steve. “Yeah. Yeah, I, uh, wanted to get some combat down, just in case I needed it.”

“Considering our last mission, I think we all should.” the super soldier quickly added, sending you an enthusiastic smile, which you had returned. You went to speak again, possibly inquiring as to whether or not they knew where your girlfriend was, but you hadn't had the chance as the pair of them quickly rushed off, muttering something about catching you later, leaving you on your own, once again.

What the hell was going on?

_____________________

Feeling defeated, you trudged your way into your bedroom, just wanting to shower, get into bed and sleep, and hope for some form of normality.

What you hadn’t expected, was to walk in and see the back of a familiar figure sporting the black suit she practically lived in, tying her hair into a low bun and beginning to change into some more comfortable clothes.

You were dating, so it wasn’t new to see Nat changing, but you still thought it would be decent to make her aware of your presence. The small “ahem” was enough to make her spin round and flash you a smile, her pearly white teeth on show.

“Hi babe, i’m just changing for bed. You okay?”

The words felt so unfamiliar to you, having not heard them in what felt like forever. Still, you decided to humour it.

“Yeah, yeah I'm okay. A bit of a weird day is all.”

She laughed, returning to laying out her clothes. “Well, we are surrounded by some weird people.”

“That’s what Tony said.”

There was an atmosphere in the air that you couldn’t quite pinpoint. It had always felt comfortable with Natasha, you would describe her company as being like a safety blanket, enveloping you with warmth and a sense of security. This felt different. It didn’t feel familiar anymore, it was like you were face to face with a stranger and the more you looked at her, the more it upset you.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Natasha put her palms on your cheeks, bringing your Y/E/C eyes to meet her emerald ones in the process. You hadn’t realised that tears had fallen until the pad of her thumbs gently brushed them away.

“I just, it sounds so stupid.”

“Tell me.”

You let out a sigh, eyes beginning to dart around the room. “It just feels like I’ve never seen you, I don’t remember the last time we’ve spoken and it’s, it’s been lonely.” Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at your response, lips falling into a frown, but you were quick to speak again.

“It hasn’t just been you though, I understand that work gets in the way, but, it felt like some members of the team were acting differently around me.”

“Really? Like who?”

“Well, I mean, Bruce could barely bring himself to say anything more than a sentence to me and I tried to speak to Steve just before I came here and he rushed off like his life depended on it. I don’t know, maybe I’m just being a bit paranoid.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing, Detka, I wouldn’t worry about it.” She whispered, hands pulling you forward with ease to bring your lips together. You smiled at the contact, you’d missed it.

You were so caught up in it, that you hadn’t noticed you were the only one smiling.

It wasn’t long before the both of you were interrupted by an electronic voice in the room.

“Miss Romanoff, Miss Y/L/N.” It was F.R.I.D.A.Y. “Mr Stark is asking for you both in the conference room.”

“Alright, thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y., we’re on our way.” Your girlfriend replied, rushing away from the kiss and leading you to the door.

Why was everyone in such a rush today?

_______________________

“So, I was messing around with some things in the lab, and I think I've found a solution to our suit issue. It’s still a work in progress because I'll need to tweak some things and then tailor them blah blah blah, but I thought I'd show you guys the latest. JARVIS?”

“Bringing up footage 182.”

While you waited for the video to be up and running, you took note of everyone sitting around you. For the most part, they looked tired, though you don’t blame them, it was pretty late.

Shuffling to your left, you held Natasha’s hand in yours, sending her a loving gaze before resting your head on her shoulder, just content that she was close by. She sat a little straighter at the action, careful not to push you off of her, but not entirely relaxing either.

The large tv screen lit up, a view from the corner of the lab came into sight where you could see Tony installing different wires and pieces of loose metal into the suit, watching it light up as he did so. He was in the middle of explaining what he was doing as the recording went on, when the screen suddenly turned to static, black and white lines taking over the screen.

“JARVIS?”

“Minor technical issue, working on it, Mr Stark.”

You caught Wanda’s eye across the table, a playful smirk plastered onto her face at the mishap, watching the billionaire get stressed over a television. You couldn’t help but laugh at the words flying from his mouth as he started hitting the remote, as if he was someone who didn’t understand technology.

It wasn’t long before an image appeared back on the screen, however, this wasn’t the same recording. This is from the gym. It focused on one of the square mats in the middle of the room where two people were sparring. One of which, you immediately recognised as Natasha.

The other person definitely wasn’t a girl, their hair was short and muscles so big you were worried that one slice would be the end. It zoomed in a little, and from the blonde hair and dark blue outfit, you pieced together who it was.

“Oooh, Black Widow and the SuperSoldier, one vs one. Now this should be interesting.” A previously tired looking Sam clapped his hands and leaned forward, now fully invested in the scene in front of him.

You turned to Nat, who now looked a little paler than she did before.

“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost, don’t tell me, you lost this spar?” You joked, expecting her to join in and tease you back. Instead, her face displayed an emotion you weren’t entirely sure of.

Before you could question it, you noticed the room fall silent. Not even a breath could be heard in the room. Your head turned slowly, meeting a mixture of shocked and sympathetic faces. And that was when you saw it.

Nat had kissed Steve, and he didn’t stop her.

If you weren't aware of your heartbeat before, you couldn’t be now, for it felt like it had completely stopped. Your jaw fell as your eyes filled with tears, only worsening the longer you saw the two of them on the screen. It was only turned off when a third person walked into view, not needing to ponder on who it could be, you immediately faced guilty stares. Three of them.

“You- you kissed-” You stuttered, incapable of forming a sentence towards your teammate. “And, you knew?” Your voice broke, tears now beginning to find their way down your cheeks for the second time as Bruce couldn’t bring himself to answer you.

You swiftly rose out of your seat, attempting to keep yourself composed until you could be alone.

“Baby-” Natasha murmured, trying to take hold of your hand, which you snatched back before she could lay a finger on it.

“Don’t.”

“Please-”

“Leave me alone.” You spat, speed walking out of what now felt like an overcrowded room.

You didn’t hear it, you’d left too early, but if you had stayed, you would’ve heard the team give Nat and Steve the scolding of their lives, mainly from Wanda and Tony, telling them how disappointed they were in them both. How they’d be lucky if you were to forgive them for what they did.

________________________

You don’t know how long you’d been sitting on your shared bed for. It could’ve been an hour, it could’ve been a couple of minutes. All you knew, was that you couldn’t stay in this room much longer, looking at the picture frames and the shared wardrobe, it just felt painful.

So, you walked over to your wardrobe and gathered every item of your clothing into your arms, lacking any care for if there were hangers or labels in the way, and chucked them on the bed and started to chuck it all into a suitcase intended for holidays but, you don’t see that happening anytime soon.

The sound of sniffles and rustling was all you could hear in the room, so much so that it was suffocating, and it didn’t help when you heard the door creak open.

“What are you doing?” A voice squeaked. Natasha stood beside the door, fidgeting with her fingers as she anxiously bounced from one foot to the other. You didn’t even bother to look up in her direction, focusing solely on getting out of there as soon as you could.

“Baby, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened, I didn’t mean it.” You scoffed at her attempt at an explanation. “I love you.”

That’s what made you whip your head to see her red and puffy eyes, if this was any other situation, you would’ve rushed over and engulfed her in a hug, tell her that everything would be okay and you’re there for her. Now? All you felt was anger.

“If you loved me, you wouldn’t have kissed him.”

“I didn’t know-”

You stood up straight, almost laughing at her choice of words. “You didn’t know? Bullshit. I’m pretty fucking sure everyone is aware when they kiss someone. Did you know when you were kissing me then? Or did you not know that either?”

“I wasn’t thinking.”

“I don’t think I care.”

She tries to step closer to you, only for you to take one back, holding your hand out, indicating for her to stop.

“No. no, you know what Nat, you don’t get to do this. You don’t get to treat me like a stranger for weeks, like I'm sharing a bed with someone I don’t know, for you to then kiss someone else and expect me to forgive you. You have no idea how I've felt these past weeks, blaming myself and thinking I was selfish for wanting your time. It’s funny, really.”

She looked away from you, regret taking over her features, both of you now having tear stains covering your rosy red cheeks.

You broke the silence once again. “Was that the first time?”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Y/N-” She pleaded

“Answer the question, Natasha.” You spoke through gritted teeth.

Silence returned to the four walls.

“Get out.”

“No, no, we-” She stepped forward, only to halt herself when she realised what she was doing.

“There is no ‘we’. We’re done. I’ll have my stuff moved back into my room by tonight, though I'm sure it won’t make much of a difference to you.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“Whatever.”

She walked out of the room, hesitating slightly, wondering if it’s worth staying and trying to figure out whatever this is. She shook her head to herself, knowing she’d fucked up. There wasn’t a fight anymore. It was done.

Collapsing on the bed, the feeling washed over you again as the finality of it all set in. You didn’t stop though. You packed your clothes, your perfumes, all of your loose hair ties and left the room with only one thought on your mind.

Natasha won’t even notice the difference.

Taglist: @natashas-favourite-knives @wandaromanova

[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.