#cor needs a break

[sparklecryptid]

Slightly silly reveal AU for Ace where Noctis got a vision from Ramuh showing him that someone was using magic, he had a brother and he wasn’t HERE wasnt home, and promptly left, leaving a note to explain that he’s looking for his brother.

(The citadel is in chaos. Ace is staring at the 15 year old prince who somehow found him and Cor and cheerfully called him brother. Cor is staring at Ace.)

Noctis is no stranger to dreams. He finds solace in them, in Carbuncle and the knowledge that nothing can hurt him in his dreams.

So Noctis dreams with a sense of safety wrapped around him even as he looks up at the looming figure of Ramuh above him.

The god shows Noctis scenes from the life of a different person. Of someone who looks just enough like Noctis that it makes Noctis wonder if there is someone out there who he could call brother.

Then the man uses magic to set someone on fire and Noctis knows that they're brothers. He knows it with a bone deep certainty that shakes him. He can feel the land beneath his waking body stir at the knowledge that Noctis knows this wayward Prince.

Find him, Lucis whispers in his ear, Findhimfindhimfindhim. Bring him home-

Noctis wakes up, leaves his father, Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto notes, and then he leaves.

-

Noctis finds Ace with Cor. The two are bloodied and dirty and they are surrounded by corpses of humans and MT's alike.

Below Noctis the magic in Lucis' soil begins to sing.

Bring him home, it asks, Make him stay.

Ace twitches like he's been struck by lightning and he spins around just as Noctis steps over a corpse to come closer. Noctis thinks he's been doing a good job of staying hidden, he knows he's done a good job when Cor turns to face the new threat and freezes when he sees Noctis instead.

"Hi Cor," Noctis greets, absurdly pleased that Cor found Ace before him, it made him think that Cor knew who Ace is already, "It's good that you found my brother."

Ace's face goes grey and he scowls at Noctis.

"I'm not-" Ace starts as if he's going to deny Noctis' claim but Noctis' expectant gaze and the way Noctis' magic latches onto Ace like a leech and refuses to let go has him stop.

Carefully Ace uncoils his own magic - something bright and terrible like a storm - and it unceremoniously shoves Noctis' magic away.

"Rude," Noctis says.

Ace glares.

Cor looks like he's debating whether or not to punch someone.

"You're a Lucis Caelum," Cor says, hard blue eyes staring at Ace who meets his gaze head on.

"Sadly," Ace agrees.

"Are you Noctis' brother?"

"Sadly," Ace says again.

Cor looks like he's aged three years in a day.

Noctis almost feels sorry for him.

[arty-e]

Alvis hot girl summer cause he deserves it

Picture that inspired this under cut

[iveremade]

shotgunshipping for the ship bingo ? :)

Literally fucking INSANE that I couldn’t make bingo with them, but I have to stand in my truth

[luveline]

Hi jadeeeee I have a request for coworker James! Another man whether it’s at work or somewhere else starts hitting on reader and James get jealous and realizes he hates seeing her with other guys

ty for requesting 💌 fem

It’s another sunny day at the office, but today is the day the vending machine men come in and fill them, so it’s not all bad. The doors and windows are wide open, the air is fresh and clean. 

“It’s too hot,” Remus complains without any real passion. 

“It’s not that bad,” Sirius says, though he raises his hand to begin fanning Remus anyhow. “It feels hotter than it is because of the humidity.” 

“I feel amazing,” James says. He gives you a nudge with his shoe, his hair tickling his neck as he leans back in his chair. “It’s not that hot, is it?” 

“It’s boiling,” you say. 

You were never going to agree with him. It could be sub zero and you’d tell him you were on fire. James rolls his eyes at you and continues a rather lavish existence of sun, breeze, and cold grapes, their crisp insides popping between his teeth. 

“Sorry,” you say. 

James lifts his head. 

“That’s okay,” Jordan says, to James’ immediate affront. There’s no need for the man in charge of maintaining the vending machine to be talking to you in that tone. It’s bordering too sweet. 

“I’m always in your way,” you laugh. 

“You? In my way? Never.” 

You turn to Remus with an obvious expression. Is he flirting with me? it says. 

Remus looks at James —what the fuck?— before he gives you a tentative back and forth of his head, weighing it up. He shrugs. 

James shakes his head resolutely. 

You give them both the silent version of I understand and settle down in your seat again. The vending machine guy (what’s his name again? James can’t remember) pops open the front cover of the machine and takes out the change box. Clearly, he doesn’t categorise you or the boys as a risk of burglary. 

“So,” Jordan says, “how was your weekend? Did you do much?” 

“In this weather?” you ask with light-humoured sarcasm. “I went on a couple of walks, nothing huge. How about you?” 

“Went to a couple of matches.” 

“Rugby or football?” 

“Rugby, always.” 

James feels the pressure of his teeth clenching at the back of his head. “Do you play, mate?” he asks. 

Jordan looks at him in surprise. “No, we just watch. It’s an excuse to have a pint before five.” 

You break two slices of your clementine away from each other. James doesn’t know why, but your gaze is on him, and that’s where he wants it. “Day drinker?” he asks sympathetically. 

“James,” Sirius says, laughing. “Grow up.” 

“Sometimes,” Jordan says. He finishes reinstalling the change holder and starts to push snacks and drinks onto the vending machine shelves. “Gotta have a little bit of fun every now and then, right?” 

He emphasises to you. 

You give a shy smile. “Right.” 

Jordan finishes his job and wishes everyone goodbye quickly after that. You chew your clementine, your finger looped under your bracelet, tugging slowly round and around. He fucked that up for you, didn’t he? You couldn’t get very far with him poking holes at poor Jordan, but… you’d been smiling at him nicely. You’re allowed to smile at whoever you want to, of course you are, so why did James act like that? 

“Sorry,” he says. 

You slide your thumb between slices of clementine. “To me?” you ask from the corner of your mouth. “For what?” 

Sirius and Remus laugh at the same time. 

James ignores them. “I was mean to him. How are you ever gonna get a date if I bully the vending machine guy?” 

“You think I can’t get a date?” you ask. 

“No.” He grimaces. “No, just, he’s a dickhead.” 

“As opposed to who? You?” you ask. 

James is pretty sure his vision goes white. He hates seeing you with other boys, but this isn’t where he wanted the conversation to go. He doesn’t wanna be your boyfriend. He just hates seeing you happy with other people. 

Oh, god, he thinks. That’s horrible. 

“I think you can do a whole lot better than Jacob the vending machine guy.” 

“Jordan,” you correct, laughing. You don’t bring him up on avoiding your real question, perhaps you don’t notice. You just laugh with Remus and pass James a piece of your clementine. “Vending machines are an honest living. Don’t be so classist.” 

“You’re classist,” he rebukes weakly. He ignores Sirius’ knowing gaze to offer you his punnet of grapes. “Horrible woman.” 

“Get it together, Potter.” 

James doesn’t know what to say to you after that, so he says nothing at all. Your clementine is sweet on his tongue. 

[tetsuskei]

lust for life - zhongli [nsfw]

synopsis: your first time with the geo archon leads to a riveting adventure that you never dreamed of, but also don’t regret

notes: this is the first time i’m writing for zhongli and genshin, so please be nice. i apologize for anything potentially ooc. i’m learning. :]

warnings: praise kink, dragon tendencies (?), unprotected sex, pet names, zhongli is called morax, lana del rey song title, body worship, liyue archon quest spoilers

word count: 2.4k

interactions and comments appreciated!

being in a relationship with zhongli is exhilarating. it is calm and a rush all at the same time. invigorating, perhaps.

liyue, the city of contracts, is always bustling with something new and exciting each day. the harbor specifically hails as a place that showcases the customs and traditions in the most beautiful ways.

the smell of freshly made grilled tiger-fish and chopped suey perfuming the air, and the shine of the beautifully crafted kites the nice old lady sells only make up a few traits the harbor carries. there’s also the bustle of the shops, selling different types of flowers and fruits and jewels ranging from jade to lapis.

as much as liyue is your home, there couldn’t be a better place of solace than in your boyfriend.

over the course of knowing him, he’s taught and shown you many things. and one of those things just happens to be the way of love. you have never been that involved before in a romantic relationship before he came along. but once he did, you could barely remember what life was like before him.

being that zhongli is now ‘mortal’, there are many things about him that still stand out from regular human beings. of course, this all makes sense when considering his reptilian nature at hand.

his eyes, a piercing aurelian color are a stark contrast to any other pair you’ve seen. they closely resemble two pieces of raw cor lapis.

the man is large—not necessarily very muscular, but lean and slender in all the right ways. he’s also a lot taller than the average person, having you crane your head up at times just to hold decent eye contact with him.

you often were bashful and easily embarrassed in front of zhongli, but he only ever has been very understanding and patient. a wise and well respected man with an eclectic taste for history and knowledge. there’s nothing about him that isn’t amazing.

“is this okay?”

zhongli’s voice breaks you from your thoughts. the gravel of it warms your tummy and sends shivers down your spine. his eyes seem to be looking through you in tantalizing yet understanding way.

“you seem conflicted over something. what’s troubling your mind, darling?” he inquires, tilting his head to the side. his obsidian locks, ends dipped in pure bronze, cascade down his back beautifully and you wonder if there’s ever anything this man does that could be deemed unattractive.

he asks these questions all while kneeling in front of your leaking cunt. like your nude body isn’t completely visible and vulnerable before him. but murmurs of your beauty and rarity cause you to relax and confess your thoughts.

“i just—“ you pause, apprehensive, “i’ve never done this before.”

there’s a look that flashes in his eyes, but only for a brief moment before changing to contemplation. “ah, i see.”

heart racing, you think that he’s about to pull out of the moment you two share. that he’d judge you for your lack of experience.

the feeling of a gloved hand on your cheek makes your heart skip a beat. “there’s nothing to be worried about. i will make extra sure to go at your pace. as long as you still trust me to lead, of course. i will make sure you’re comfortable, dearest.”

zhongli kisses the inside of your thigh, peering at you with subtle glee. to tell the truth, his mind can’t help but think of all the ways he’d tease and break you. but you don’t need to know that—at least not yet. when the time comes he’d explore that. for as long as he’s lived, waiting is something that doesn’t concern him. your wellbeing will always come first.

“okay…” you breathe, spreading your legs more for him at his request.

“always so precious and good for me, are you?” he hums with delight. your face blooms with heat but you nod meekly.

he continues, “you’ll tell me what you like, yes? while i eat this cunt out?”

your boyfriend’s blunt words strike your heart (and core) all at once.

zhongli squeezes your thighs in warning, “i need a verbal response, or i will stop.”

“yes, li.” you murmur, sending him a nervous grin.

“thank you, my love.” he smiles before moving over you. a ghostly sigh leaves you as his hands caress you hips, holding you in place with little effort.

his tongue, unusually long, sneaks out and swipes at your core. there’s a hum of satisfaction once your essence hits his buds. after tediously circling the outside of your leaking hole, it plunges forth within you.

even with it being the first time, you’re sure the wet muscle reaches places that no one besides him ever will, and you gasp, hands moving to grasp anything to ground yourself.

“z-zhongli—!” you stutter, words and lungs failing you all at once.

zhongli entwines your hands, squeezing gently to calm you. his free hand, however, only moves over your clit to rile you up further.

he hums again, satisfied with what you gift him when more of your juices evade his tongue.

“it’s been a long time since i’ve tasted something this sweet.” his lithe fingers continuing their motions as he attentively watches your reactions. “i think my tongue will always remember the way you taste.”

your hips have somehow found a way to ride his tongue and he assists by nearly having you fuck yourself on his face.

“i-i-!” you’re unable to warn zhongli of anything as you feel yourself succumbing to a realm of euphoric pleasure, seizing in place. your eyes roll back, and you find yourself facing a blinding light. you wonder if you’ve just died right now and then.

but as soothing hands caress your being and plant kisses on your cheeks, you realize you’re very much still on teyvat.

“ahh, so that’s what you look like cumming.” the archon’s eyes gleam and a hungry look flashes in them. “who knew how beautifully ravishing you’d look.”

not a moment passes before his fingers are on you again, and he slides in two digits.

“i’m sensitive, li! please!” you whine, hands grabbing his wrist.

“you’re doing so well though,” zhongli praises, his tone sweet like nectar. his normally stoic expression to no surprise, is nonexistent with you. the only visible look is love and adoration. “you can cum again, hmm? don’t you think you deserve it?”

tears slip down your face as you nod frantically, “yes!”

his eyes brighten at the way you squirm and try to conceal your whimpers. it’s only then does he realize he must toy with you even further.

the fingers that stilled themselves move again. the sound of lewd squelching filling the room. zhongli doesn’t know how much longer he can hold off before fucking you. the smell of your arousal is overwhelming, to say the least. and dark thoughts of wanting to breed you start to consume his mind.

regardless, you still needed to be prepared to take him. it would be no good if you were uncomfortable.

he works to bring you thus forth to another orgasm, his hand skilled and dexterous as it seeks to pleasure you.

“feels so good li! r-right there!” you gasp, arching up to follow his movements.

a hand soothes your hair and you feel his lips kiss your forehead. “relax dearest, you’re tightening up. just let go.”

it isn’t long before you’re cumming again. losing strength, you collapse fully on your back. you hear your boyfriend chuckle as he sucks the gloves of his fingers clean from your essence.

after giving you time to recover, zhongli gently runs his hands over you.

“darling, why don’t you help me undress. hmm?” he coaxes, moving back to begin to peel off his robes.

you sit up, wobbling as you kneel in front of him and he drags your hand up to his collar.

zhongli leans down, kissing you on the lips. he tastes of whatever tea he’s recently had. and of, well, you.

soon, your boyfriend is undressed, and archons (albeit, him himself) could only tell how it is possible for someone to be so beautiful and handsome, his figure lean and muscular in all the right ways.

it makes you feel weak in the knees how easy it is for zhongli to command attention and control. the way you’re pliant to his will because of how strong he is, allowing for him to hold your jaw in place as his tongue explores your mouth.

the feeling of something heavy and hard against your stomach makes your heart drop. there is no mistaking what it is.

as if sensing your distress, he pulls back from you. “what’s wrong, dear?” he grabs himself, stroking leisurely as he eyes you with quiet mischief.

you swallow, eyes having trouble leveling with his, “w-will it fit?”

you’re cute. too cute, for him. “of course darling,” he taps the head on your drenched clit, the tip catching easily onto your entrance.

“you were made to take me, after all.”

there isn’t anything else said once he sheathes himself fully inside of you.

shared moans fill the room as you both stare at each other for a moment. zhongli is hot and throbbing inside of you, and that alone has you cumming again.

“goodness,” he huffs, composing himself, “you are more sensitive than i thought.”

“ahh-sorry!”

“no need to apologize. it’s perfect. you’re perfect.” zhongli murmurs, kissing the corner of your mouth.

“i’m going to move now, love.” he warns, voice soft.

you nod solemnly, squeezing his hand as a sign of goodwill.

it’s all odd at first, with how full you are, but eventually the discomfort becomes more pleasure than anything else. the way his cock is stroking your walls, hitting every crevice with a kiss, soon has you keening.

grunts fill your ear as zhongli’s pace slowly picks up over time. you think you might be somewhere in the clouds above mt. tianheng.

your boyfriend’s frame cocoons your own. he fucks you like he’s yearned you for eternity. as if he’s been preparing for this moment. his hips move like flowing water, skilled all around.

zhongli’s sharp canines bite into your shoulder, a low growl leaving him as he marks you. he doesn’t mean to blemish your beautiful skin, but the primal part in him can’t help himself.

your moans are like a melody to him, and he thinks he may drown in them and the way that they sound. he starts to think that maybe you yourself are some deity or maybe a siren with the way you have him under your spell.

“li, please, go faster!” you beg, looking up at him with wet eyes, “i-i can take it, i promise!”

“are you sure that’s what you want? i won’t be able to fully hold back if you ask that of me.” he warns.

“yes, please!” you whine, “please, morax!”

before you know it, he’s kissing you again, the sweet taste of him elevating your focus away from the now ruthless snap of his hips.

he gifts you his fingers in your mouth once his lips move over your collarbones and breasts, tongue wrapping around the sensitive nub while his free hand twists the other.

“you must be a gift from celestial to feel this good.” zhongli moans. he’s holding you in his lap now, moving you up and down his shaft just how he likes.

“have you got one more for me, love?” he pants, “then i’ll take care of you and let you rest.”

you find yourself crying out for morax repeatedly, and it sendings an unknown exhilarating feeling down zhongli’s spine. maybe because it’s the thought that no other god could save you but him.

“m’cumming!” you cry, once again clamping down on the man with a vice like grip.

zhongli shudders, trying to keep his focus on you coming undone, “i don’t think i can hold back much longer myself. where—“

“inside. please cum inside me!” you wail, twisting your legs to lock around him.

“fuck,” he curses, not meaning the slip of his tongue. but that’s just what you do to him. “a-are you certain? do not say things based on what you think i wish—“

zhongli does not expect for you to pout up at him with big, wet eyes and say, “you don’t want to cum in me?”

frozen, he blinks slowly at you. then, there’s the sound of a dark chuckle, almost inhumane. “you don’t know, do you?”

“how i’ll give you anything you want? you can ask for the stars and they’re yours.” he groans, hips erratic again. he’s smothering you with his mouth again, moving everywhere to kiss every inch of you. your legs are folded up and placed over his shoulders, pressed tightly against yourself.

he swears, “i’ll cherish and love you till death. contract or not, i vow to never break that word.” even in the afterlife.”

“that being said, i’ll cum in you as many times as you want.”

you cum at his words, sobbing from the tsunami emotions and feelings that’s hit you.

it isn’t long before zhongli follows, an exceeding large warmth and throbbing as he spills himself into you.

he holds onto you tightly, refusing to move until he’s sure that his cum has settled within you.

slowly pulling out and putting your legs back down, he examines you fully. “are you alright?

the smile you give is hazy. “golden.”

“don’t leave.”

he frowns, tongue clicking, “darling, you must let me clean you up at least. i can’t bear to leave you—“

“just for a moment!” you pout, burying your face into his damp chest. “i promise.”

“a moment.” he repeats, chuckling. soothing your hair.

in all honesty, a part of you liked having him leak down your legs, and maybe he enjoyed it to. for him, in all the years of his life he’s never felt a love like this before. he just did his best to show appreciation.

if this is how he’d sing words into your ears, how his affection would wrap around, you would very well get used to this. to a routine.

but then again, a zhongli without surprises doesn’t seem fitting for you at all.

after all, ‘normal’ isn’t even as common as we think it is.

tagging my beloved @hwaitham. thank you for always supporting me and for being so loving and welcoming. <3

[crystalflygeo]

Surrogate eggs ft Zhongli + fem!reader

cw/tags: Egg-laying/Oviposition, semi-plublic sex, multiple orgasms, slight fingering, overstimulation, dirty talk, breeding kink, Zhongli has a dragon tongue, praise kink, sex toys??, improper use of geo (can you tell I love that tag?), pet names, some pain??, aftercare.

notes: I disappear for a week and come back with this absolute FILTH omg. It really is just almost 2k of egg-laying made sexy because I am a degenerate and want nothing more than Zhongli filling me up with eggs <3 sorry not sorry.

Having a 6000 years old dragon ex-god as a lover sure meant you were already more or less used to a certain… spice in your life.

But this, this was certainly new.

“Ah- Zhong- Hnnhg!”

Your legs tremble as a newborn fawn as you stray off the main path and lean against one of the golden ginkgo trees by the side, panting and whining softly.

“Are you alright dear? You look quite flustered.” Zhongli curiously trails after you, hands behind his back, perfectly poised. As if he wasn’t the one making the cor lapis eggs in your pussy vibrate and tease your insides. “Do you need to rest? We’ve barely reached the base of Qingyun peak.” He asks, an amused smile on his lips.

“B-bastard.” You huff out with a pout and immediately feel the vibrations intensify. “O-Oh… fuck-”

Three. Three small polished cor lapis pieces in the shape of eggs, warm and snug and deep inside you. They shift and rub against your sweet spots, pulsing at his will ever since you stepped foot in Jueyun Karst, at first it was an odd sensation but soon enough your panties were soaked, juices running down your legs as you struggled to keep standing, sweet noises coming out of your mouth that only made Zhongli’s gaze darken.

“Zhongli…” You cry out.

“Yes, darling?”

“S-stop… mmh”

“Oh? But you seem to be enjoying yourself so much.”

“Stop… playing dumb.” You grit your teeth, clinging to the tree for dear life. The vibrations calming down to a soft hum, a gentle fucking not unlike his cock. “Please I’m-” You whine again.

You feel his finger softly raise your chin and your hazy half-lidded eyes were met with glittering gold, his diamond pupils mesmerizing and his stare soft and affectionate but also domineering, commanding, and full of lust.

“What do you need, my dear? Tell me.”

You choke a moan at his authoritarian presence, shifting and rubbing your legs together as the pleasure robs you of your strength. “P-please��� Zhongli, make me come, please I n-need- It’s not… enough.”  

His eyes shift to the side as he seems to consider it for a moment and you almost mewl for his attention, eyebrows knitting together trying to steel yourself.

“Alright.” He concedes, and leans forward to kiss you softly.

Well, at first.

The geo eggs inside you start to shake and vibrate more intensely and you gasp at the sudden rush of stimulation, Zhongli holds you and pulls you closer, taking the chance to snake his long dragon tongue into your mouth, quickly deepening the kiss and set on devouring you.  

“Hmpnnng-” He swallows your moan as you kiss back the best way you can but it’s suddenly so much- too much- you’ve been teased and edged all the way and he’s- he’s just-

Your body shudders in his arms and you let out a high-pitched noise as you climax. Your insides squeezing and milking the toys inside you, dragging on the pleasure for longer and you cling onto him as your legs threaten to give up. Bliss, pure bliss. And he hasn’t even touched you proper yet.

“There we go…” His rough voice mumbles as he breaks apart the filthy kiss, his hands rub at your hips and you vaguely realize the geo eggs have stopped again. He carefully maneuvers your pliant body until you’re both sitting on the yellowed Liyue grass, his back resting against the tree while you sit between his legs, your back pressed to his chest.

He spreads your legs and holds them open with his own, you blush heavily as you realize his intentions, hiking up your skirt to reveal soft thighs and wet panties to the world. The flimsy fabric is soaked and clings uncomfortably against your pussy, more so as you feel the soft breeze.

“W-wait… right here?”

It is true that barely anyone ever enters Jueyun Karst but it was still risky. A lost adventurer, a lone merchant… you weren’t that far from the main dirt path, anyone could walk in and see you… exposed like this.

Your insides clenched, throbbing around nothing but the eggs inside of you.

Archons you really were depraved.

Zhongli rubs your inner thighs comfortingly before pulling your panties aside, his long gloved fingers skim your heated pussy lips and rub at your hole as it twitches wildly in response.

“Zhongli…” You moan weakly. “I’m so full.”

“I know, you look so pretty with my eggs inside you. Breathtaking.” His other hand rubs circles on your navel. The warmth within the geo energy sent through him spreading heat in a sensual way. “How about you push them out for me and we can be done. I’ll take you home so you can rest, my precious mate.” He nuzzles you.

“W-wha…” You mumble dumbly, but instinctively lean to his touch.

“They’ve been inside you long enough, and… we’ve had our fun.” He explains, kissing at your jaw. Two of his fingers easily sliding inside you, making you jump. “Don’t you think it’s time to let them out? I want to see you lay them.”

Pressure builds in your gut and you nod, biting your lip. Her works those sinful fingers in and out of your pussy slowly, scissoring them to stretch you a little and you moan. Not that you needed that much preparation with the recent orgasm and your… activities early that morning.

After all, those eggs had gotten in somehow, hadn’t they?

Only a few moments later and you feel ready, panting rapidly as if you truly were going into labor yet at the brink of another orgasm, you weakly pulled his hand away “H-Hold me…” You mutter heatedly. Zhongli kisses you softly and you take a deep breath.

And push.

The first egg slides down freely inside you, rapidly moving until it catches at your entrance, it burns a little but feels so good, lightning up pleasured nerves in a way that had you mewling before the stretch disappears, coming out alongside your spilling juices and onto the grass.   

Zhongli doesn’t hesitate to slip his fingers back into your heated core to soothe the sore muscles and play with your pussy a bit more, rubbing over your raw clit to make your hips stutter and your legs shake trying to close.

“That’s the first one, two more.” He says softly, his chin resting on your shoulder as he obviously stares between your legs entranced. You flush at his actions. “You can do it.” He encourages you, elegant fingers spreading your folds lewdly and soaking in your essences.

The whole experience is making you dizzy.

“I-I just… I just need a moment.” You pant, groaning and shifting your position a little so you’re less sitting and more lying against him, lifting your hips slightly and offering him an even better view from above.

“Just imagine the real thing. There will be more of them, slightly bigger and thrumming with elemental energy.” He growled softly against your ear. “Our children. Our clutch.”

It’s just dirty talk. It’s just dirty talk and it sets your blood on fire to hear it. You know his base draconic instincts are going haywire with the idea and archons you want that. You want that so badly.

Another egg stretches your hole and you can only imagine what it looks like as it slips and spreads you open. “Ah- Ah!” You toss your head back, let out a long moan and strain the muscles of your stomach before finally it slips out.

“Good girl.” Comes his smooth baritone in the form of a praise. You sigh in relief, rutting against his fingers as reward. You see slick threads of your juices all over on his gloves, the shiny eggs and your pussy, connecting everything together in a mess of a shiny cobweb. It’s obscene.

It’s so hot.

“Just one more, darling.” The ex-archon soothes you, possessively rubbing at your navel once again although you feel something’s different, like something shifts a little inside you. “Though, I feel this one is just a little bigger… closer to the real thing.”

Your eyes widen.

“No, no, no, you did it on purpose… just now… m-make it smaller again, please!” You shake your head frantically, digging your nails against his arms and squirming against the feeling of his fingertips dancing around your folds.

“Shhh, shhh” He cooed, kissing at your neck. “You can do it, I know you can. Consider it… practice.” You can practically feel the smirk Zhongli presses against your skin.

“I already came so much…” You whisper, tears in your eyes. “Zhongliiii…”

“You got this.” He kisses your temple. “Just one more. I want to see that sweet pussy stretch around my egg, please?”

You groan at his filthy words, hips snapping against phantom stimulation as your pussy quivers. You brace yourself and breathe in deeply before squeezing your eyes shut and doing your best to push against the overstimulation. Your hole stretches impossibly wide, widening against the grit of the egg and pressing against your clit making you keen. It rests there a few seconds, heavy, solid, before finally popping out with a wet squelch, dropping right by the other two, and you scream at the excruciating mix of pain and pleasure.

For a moment you can’t even breathe, much less speak as you rest a little. Black spots dance in your vision and your ears are ringing. When you come to again Zhongli is desperately peppering you with kisses, caresses and praise. Hugging you close and growling dark promises into your skin.

“-did so well. My little mate. My perfect mate. Want to breed you for real. Fill you up. You’d give me wonderful little half adepti. So good for me. Truly worthy to be a dragon’s mate. Should keep you in my nest. Love you so much-”      

Sluggish, you close your legs and pull down your skirt clumsily, ignoring the soreness and sticky feeling as your body sags against him in exhaustion.    

The dragon is practically purring, having mellowed down a little yet obviously pleased after having you bear his eggs, albeit fake ones. The intention is there… as well as the possibility for the future.

“We should go to the abode, you deserve a good rest. I’ll clean you up and get you something to eat and drink, hm?”

“Just a little more, Li.” You mumble tired. “It’s warm and cozy here…”

He chuckles and pets your hair. “Alright.”

[druidwolf21]

I've never made an ask (in this case a request) before on Tumblr, I'm pretty new. But I've been with Corax brainrot for the last couple of weeks and Idk if you could write something on the goth primarch + f!reader? In serious need of some inspo to start writing my own fics that come from those mind worms I've been having around Goth Big Bird. Smut, fluff, whatever is easier for you, I'm not here to inconvenience. If he isn't your forte either, feel free to ignore my curious ass and move on <3

@janothertrash

Firstly yes yes yes please write if you're comfortable! And if/when you do please tag me!

Secondly of course I would love to write for you! No inconvenience at all, always feel free to ask!

Here ya go, I hope you like it!

Corvus corax/ F reader

Content warning for sexy times

Pretty thing

"my lord, I have completed the weapons acquisition form 32d as you requested, it's being processed now"

Corvus looked from his work towards the voice.

You stood just before his desk, soft swathes of raven guard black fitted your figure a little too well, showing every curve. He drank in your figure, from your boots, eyes following the slender outline of your waist, your breasts, slowly rising and falling asleep you breathed, his gaze lingered for a moment, before finally rising to your face.

Such a delicate little thing. He thought

"good, that saves me a job" he waved a large hand towards a data slate "there is a further request for a munitions drop"

"Of course, my lord" you walked around to the slate and reached out to take it. Your fingers brushed across the back of his hand as you gathered up the information.

Corvus felt his breath hitch in his throat at the touch and he felt his pulse quicken, you'd been here a matter of days and since then his focus has been lost to the wind.

Every time you entered his office, every step down the corridor, your voice as you directed serfs and servitors, all of it echoes deep inside him, waking something primal.

"my lord?". You asked softly

His dark eye met yours as a look of soft concern creased your face.

"Are you well? Forgive me, but you have seemed distracted, can I get you anything?"

You tentatively reached out, touching his hand deliberately this time, delicate, as if scared to break him.

Corvus felt his heart hammer in his chest.

This is ridiculous, I have faced soldiers, monster, heretics, so why...why is my heart pounding?

"my lord corax?" You had lent closer to him, you were so so close. He could smell your perfume, smell the drying ink and parchment on your hands, feel your breath on his skin

The world spun and you squeaked in surprise, suddenly finding yourself set on the desk, paperwork and slates pushed to the floor with a loud clatter. Your thighs spread across the cool wood, a large hand placed either side of your legs as you stared up at the dark eyes of your Primark. Eyes like obsidian started into yours, unblinking as his black hair tumbled around his shoulders.

A moment of silence settled between you, punctuated only by heavy breathing.

"Lord cor.."

Your words were silenced as he lurched forward and pressed his lips to yours, his hand grasping the back of your head, pulling you to him.

You sat stunned as he finally pulled back. He blinked at you, as if suddenly realising what he'd done.

"my apologies, I don't know what came over me" he muttered, moving to step away from the desk.

You clutched at his arm and pulled him back to you, a hand wrapping into his raven hair as you kissed him, he stiffened, before relaxing into the touch, returning your gentle touch with a firm grip on your thigh. You felt his tongue trace across your lip and you moaned softly as he deepened the kiss.

"I am distracted" he muttered as he moved his lips to your neck, peppering soft kisses and bites along your exposed skin. "You have been nothing but a distraction" his hand kneaded your thigh before moving upwards.

He looked at you, and you stared back, eyes heavy and you sucked in air. You nodded slightly, chest heaving and you moaned as his fingers found their mark.

"so wet already" he muttered , gently circling his fingers "you wanted this all along didn't you"

He pressed a finger inside you, slowly moving in and out, as you arched into him, begging for more.

He felt his own arousal growing as he fingered in and out of you, you were so warm, so wet. Desperate for his attention.

You moaned as he sped up slightly, head throw back you feel warmth rising in your stomach, before you finally peak, legs shaking slightly and blood flushing your cheeks.

Corvus hummed low, pulling his fingers back and bringing them to his lips, gazing down at you hungrily. You lay flat against the desk, your face a gentle pink and body trembling slightly.

He ran his tongue over his fingers as you watched, before reaching for you and pulling your dress off roughly over your head.

He stepped away and reached for his own trousers and shirt pulling them off and throwing them to the side and standing before the desk.

You hungrily eyes his figure, eyes trailing down his broad scared chest, down his stomach, finally resting on his dick, twitch slightly as he prowled back towards you.

"I'm going to take you, make you mine, every single thing I've wanted to do to you.." he trailed off, pulling you to the edge of the desk

He rubbed the tip of his cock against your wet core, slowing dragging it back and forth and smiled as you groaned.

He leant over you, Arms either side of your head and he stared you down hungrily.

"say you want it"

"wh..what?"

"tell me you want me to fuck you, tell me you want me to ruin you"

'my lord, please, I need you inside me" you whispered, breathless as you feel him rubbing up against you.

"say my name"

"corvus"

You gasped as he finally entered you, stretching you to your limit as he slid in, inch by inch. You clawed at his arms and shoulders as he finally bottomed out.

Corvus gently stroked your face, checking you were ok, before he began thrusting in and out of you.

You thought you were going mad, his dick filled you up as he fucked you, over and over. His calused hands holding your thighs up as he pounded into you to stop you from sliding across the desk.

Your cried out his name as you came, corvus fucking you through it and moaning as he felt you tighten around him.

"throne, you were made for me" he growls, his hips slapping into your thighs as he fucks you silly. He grasps a breast and squeezes, toying with your nipple and you cry out again.

"c..corvus!" You grapple onto him like your drowning, nails dragging furrows across his shoulders.

He picks you up, hands gripping your ass as he bounces you in his cock, grunting as he feels you shuddering and twitching, his thrusts becoming erratic as he edges closer.

You press your head into his chest, panting "please" you beg 'i want it... Inside"

Corvus couldn't take it

He growled as he came inside you, pumping into you as he finished, breath shuddering in his chest and he clutched you to him, his dick still twitching inside you as you gulped for air.

He held you for a moment, before pulling out and setting you back on his desk, he struggled to hide a proud smile as he looked at you, flushed and panting, his cum dripping from you as you struggled to sit up.

You smiled up at him sweetly and his heart skipped a beat again, he stepped around the desk and picked up his black cloak, draping it around your shoulders it almost swallowed you.

He ran a hand through his black silken hair and sighed, taking seat in front of you. A million thoughts ran through his head.

Was this a mistake? Was this fair, did you even want this?

He looked away and spoke softly

"you do not need to stay, if this is not something you desire, I do not wish to"

You reached out from under the midnight cloth and gently cupped his face, bringing his gaze to yours

"my lord" you said, the voice as sweet as honey "if it pleases you, I would like to stay by your side"

Corvus smiled gently and pulled into into a gentle embrace, pressing his lips to the crown of your head

"it would please me... But maybe we should clothe you, before going anywhere else"

@cosmic-cryptid-from-beyond @lemon-russ @beckyninja

[whispereons]

Oracle!Reader Part 10

Masterlist - Part 1, Part 9, Part 11

This chapter has sensitive topics! This time it's less on the religious side and more on the general awful shit that happens. It's specifically about a child (and adults) so you are warned!

Sunlight streams through the flap in the tent waking you up. Crawling out of the tent a gift laid in front sparkling for your attention.

A rough and raw cut Cor Lapis innocently sat where the hatchling used to be. Fingertips gently caressed the object before you stashed it away. Another item to be sold if you came upon hard times.

After packing up everything and eating a light breakfast you began the trek to Liyue. Activating and using that teleport waypoint would be so much easier but the suspicion you would get from it was just not worth it.

Farmers, hikers, and the occasional adventurer passed by as you hiked and eventually got to the Guild. Katheryne spots you and smiles.

"Ad astra abyssosque! Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild. Ready to start your first set of commissions Y/N?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." You mutter as you take the paper from her hands. Moving to the side, more adventurers are welcomed and assigned commissions. Fingers crossed for easy commissions, you scanned the list and the corresponding map.

Straight to the Heart - Qingxin must be freshly picked to be made into effective medicine. Pick it off the mountain and get it to the caretaker within the time limit. Enemies may be in the area.

Full Speed Ahead - The path is needed for a transportation vehicle moving people. Make sure the path is clear within the time limit. Defeating enemies may be necessary.

Increasing Danger - Hilichurls are building towers in the circled area. Destroy these towers for the safety of the people.

That last one would be hard, you weren't comfortable at the thought of hurting the cursed people of Khaenri'ah as well as the other civilizations that Celestia bombed. Your characters were always strong enough to destroy the towers and leave but you aren't.

Perhaps you can lure them to a different area and destroy the towers once they were distracted? Do they count as creatures of Teyvat that could recognize you as the creator? Or is the corruption from Celestia too strong?

Spreading Evil - A abyssal mage is scheming something in the square area. Defeat it and it's hilichurl allies by preventing the completion of the ritual.

Nevermind, this one takes the cake on what you did not want to do. What will you do if the abyssal mage is electro? You're basically useless! Well, maybe not since you can light up a torch and burn it till the shield breaks but still. Your divine aura may be prominent to them and cause them to report back to the Abyssal Prince. You weren't eager to ever meet him.

You go back to Katheryne and show her the commission list.

"Just a question, is the abyssal mage in this a electro one?"

Katheryne opens a separate book and scans it for a second before nodding. "That's correct, it was reported to be a electro abyss mage with four hilichurl allies."

"I'm afraid I can't accept this commission. I can only control electro and the shield can't be broken by simply waiting for it to rain like I can with pyro mages."

Katheryne nods at your words and flips through the book as she speaks. "Understood, the only commissions left at this time are either in a rank above you or too far away. You can wait here or check back in a few days to see if we receive any more commissions."

Would it be worth it to try convincing her that as you have no rank, you can do any commissions? Probably not, arguing with a robot never goes well. Sighing you're about to move away when a man nearly bulldozes you as he tries to get to the counter.

"Please help me! I'll pay whatever I have to if a adventurer can accept my commission!"

Moving to stand at the side you look up at the man and narrow your eyes trying to figure out where you've seen him before. Katheryne takes the panicked state of the man in stride and asks what commission he is trying to request.

"My daughter Yiran was being babysat by a new nanny due to my regular one getting sick, and she was kidnapped! Treasure hoarders stormed the dock area, and the babysitter hid leaving Yiran in the open. I was working at the Blackcliff Forge when the Millelith approached me and told me what happened. The only thing that was retrieved was this."

In his hands is a child sized dirty dark teal shoe. You're only relieved that it isn't bloody. This man is the one who stands near the toy seller with his daughter. Manager Kuan if you remember correctly.

"Please, I'll pay whatever I have to for someone to accept my commission and find my daughter. The Millelith refuse to put more attention on my case due to the increase of monsters. But the more time passes the farther away Yiran gets."

Kuan speaks with urgency as Katheryne shakes her head sadly.

"I'm afraid we don't accept commissions like these. While the guild may rarely accept a lost pet commission, they are usually never completed. To protect our reputation the guild does not accept commissions that we aren't sure can be completed. Only if a adventurer or team personally accept it can we accept it."

This seems to break Kuan even further. Tears of frustration well up in his eyes making him rub them roughly pushing up his glasses. His grief and discouragement is visible on his face as he continues trying to convince Katheryne.

The wind rushing in your ears don't let you hear or make out his next words. The wrinkles in his face seem to deepen and his black hair turns grey. The once short fine hair grows into a shaggy mattered mess of silver. Facial hair grows and tangles together as his clothes are torn into ruin. The once middle-class looking outfit is covered in patches, holes, dirt, and dried blood. It's him.

Dad.

"I'll accept the commission." Your words come out quiet, but he hears them. Turning to you, you see your adoptive father's face flash for a second before it melts away to Kuan's face. The illusion is broken as your father's image is gone with Kuan shakily smiling at you.

"Really? Name your price, I'll pay whatever I have to, to find Yiran."

Closing your eyes in a look of contemplation hides the tears that threatened to build up.

"Let me make it clear. I cannot promise to find Yiran and I will not accept any money unless I manage to find her or her body. I will try my hardest to find her but if after a week, I cannot find her I will have to leave this commission undone. Mostly because she could be in another nation by that point and it would be impossible to find her then."

"I understand, I just want you to try while there is still a chance." Kuan speaks to you with a sad smile. It's uncomfortably too similar to your dad.

Katheryne begins to walk Kuan through the process of drafting a commission and Lan places a hand on your shoulder. The rugged sigh that leaves her as she speaks hint to what she wants to speak to you about.

"Y/N was it? Come and speak with me for a second." Silently you follow her around the building, a safe distance from Kuan.

"You may have talked big game while the funeral director was here but you're a beginner adventurer. Do you understand what kind of commission you just accepted? If you somehow manage to find Yiran, it won't be a little girl. It'll be a gruesome corpse."

"At least that way I can bring something back to bury. Something to remember his daughter by." You say with a sense of longing. Memories of you sobbing over the lack of items to remember your father by rise to the surface.

"Even still, you should have left this to the Millelith. It may be hard not to accept it but you'll regret it when you cannot find anything and come back empty handed. You gave him hope when it's better to just give up-"

Firmly you place your hands on her shoulders. Your grip turns bruising as you force her body closer to yours. Lan's brown bob brushes against your face as you whisper in her ears.

"How hypocritical of you Lan. Don't you realize? You take on any commission containing the word 'sword', no matter the difficulty, to give your brother a proper funeral. That man, that father, is willing to put up with the emotional pain of hope to make the best of his chance at finding his daughter before it really is too late. And I will do what I want, for who I want, for anyone that reminds me of my own motivation. If I have to come back to him and hand him his daughter beaten, bruised, bloody body, then I will."

You push yourself away from Lan as she steps back with fear in her eyes. Her expression changes into a mixture of fright and wariness. There's no doubt that she's wondering how you knew about her mission about her brother. And despite the consequences that can come from this, you can't be bothered to care.

Kuan was not your father but he reminded you so much of him. Your dad that took you in and cared for you how no one else ever bothered to. If helping Kuan gives you the same feeling as when you would help your dad, then you'll gladly do it.

Turning back you turn the corner and Kuan is already smiling tiredly at you. The ache in your heart grows as the swell of happiness refuses to stop.

"Again, thank you so much for accepting. The commission I filled out has all the information I got from the Millelith, it's very little I'm afraid. They are taking this very lightly." There's a bite to his words this time.

"It's okay, I'll make do with the information you gave in. I should get going now to make the most of the time. You can expect to hear from me by the end of the week."

Taking the commission from Katheryne titled 'Missing Treasure' Kuan gives a wave as you begin walking to the city's main entrance. Not wasting time, you start flipping the pages and skimming the pages.

Yiran, a few children, teens, and two adults were taken around the same time. The adults were homeless while the children and teens were either poor or orphans. It seems the treasure hoarders did their homework on their victims.

Kidnapping these vulnerable minorities is a commen tatic in human trafficking. Orphans have no one that would look for them and the government could care less about the homeless. Liyue is such a bustling and thriving market that these kinds of people are pushed out and ignored.

You've lived through that on Earth, you intentionally avoided the rich areas due to this reason. Living here as a homeless orphan would be even worse. People look past you like you don't exist while those that do acknowledge your existence tend to behave violently. The government doesn't fix the problem due the fear of homelessness fueling people to work even when it's not good for them.

Yiran was probably a mistake. Either they were targeting the babysitter, mistoke her for a different victim, or saw her as a lucky grab. If Yiran wasn't kidnapped, the Milelith would have done even less. You shouldn't have expected Liyue to be any better than other rich cities on Earth.

The walk past the glamorous streets feels almost taunting. The guards that doze off and leisurely chat make your blood boil. Scolding them now would do no one any good. It would only eat up the time you need to find Yiran's body. Your thoughts were better off solving this case.

Making a detour you go to the scene of the crime, the docks. It's damp, with little security and it's mostly children and the poor. Makes sense as the main docks are simalir to a tourist area, no one wants trash around.

The majority of the ships are gone meaning no sailors are around. The timing was perfect. For once the treasure hoarders pulled off a good plan. Did the traveler only meet the stupid bunch or were the smart hoarders avoid the traveler intentionally?

Either way you followed the rough path the hoarders took until they left the city entrance. A cart must have been driven due to the amount of people to carry and restrain is too much for a group. This helps you narrow it down that they had to follow the path shown on the map. Liyue's terrarin is filled with mountains and rocks that make it nearly impossible to go off track.

You cross the wooden bridge, pass the small pond, climb the stairs and begin trekking through the path. There's a teleport waypoint that makes you sigh in relief. You really didn't want to have to walk the whole way back, plus it's a quiet enough area that you don't have to worry about witnesses.

Climbing up the boulder, you touch the waypoint and begin climbing back down. You weren't eager to use your wind glider just yet. The hike is pleasant but you keep your eyes peeled for anything that can serve as a clue.

Eventually, you get to a small village-like area, it's nearly abandoned judging by the lack of, well, anyone. You do freeze at the sight of Morax's Statue of the Seven.

The only question that runs through your mind is should you touch it?

On one hand you would get the geo element and just more power in general. On the other hand that would basically summon Zhongli to your area and you weren't ready for round 2 with a Archon.

The conclusion you arrive at is that you'll wait till you're injuried to touch it. At least that way you can test if you're able to be healed by it.

Making sure to keep a safe distance from the statue to avoid triggering it, you're about to continue your journey when you notice something. A book on a flat rock with the title 'Tracking and Hunting - a guide for the new and experienced'.

Was this not the book you were trying to find yesterday? What luck, you could use this to track the treasure hoarders with more effiency! Grabbing it you flip to the first page but are startled by a yell.

"Hey! Apologies for the intrusion but that book is mine for the time being."

Xingqiu and Chongyun run up to you as you hold the book to your chest. The pale blue exorcist is too busy calming himself down from the jog to pay much attention to Xingqiu reaching for the book with a polite smile.

How fake.

"Is it really? I simply saw this book laying on this rock, all abandoned. If you can't respect a book then you definitely shouldn't have checked it out."

Xingqiu grits his teeth and his polite smile strains in his effort to keep his annoyance in check. "Thank you for the advise, I'll be sure to keep better track of my belongings."

It seems Xingqiu is putting up his act due to his reputation as the second son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild. You need him to break character so that you can recruit him to help you find Yiran. He's all about justice and chivalry after all.

"I'll be happy to return this book if you- wait what the hell is that?" Your tone goes from mocking to confusion as Xingqiu steps closer letting you view him. The change in your tone brings Xingqiu and Chongyuns attention to you.

You stare at Xingqiu's hair with increadibility that slowly morphs into laughter. Your laughter grows as Xingqiu inquires what you're laughing so hard about.

"What the hell is that haircut? It's more uneven than mountains, with more layers than an onion with some strands poking up like a porcupine. If you paid someone for this haircut then get your money back!"

You hold the book to your stomach as you double over in hysterics. Chongyun keeps a palm over his mouth as he struggles to contain his chuckles. Xingqiu's calm facade seems to crack with each ring of your laughter and your next words seem to break him.

"I don't know how much self-confidence you have to have, to go around with that hair, but I need some! Oh god, what are those bangs?!"

Chongyun turns away as he trembles with laughter that slips through his fingers. Xingqiu crosses his arms in annoyance as he begins his own tirade.

"What kind of person are you? Who begins to mock the person they are basically stealing from? Do you have no chivalry?! What gives you the confidence to give someone else shit for their style when you can't even choose one?! A Liyue style glider with Inazuma style clothing is terrible combination, only able to be worn by a simpleton like you!"

He pants harshly while pointing at you as the laughter dies down. Chongyun looks at his friend in some shock and seems to struggle in whether to intervine or not. You stand up with a smug grin and lean closer to the Guhua swordsman.

"Still not as bad as the bowlcut you're sporting."

Xingqiu groans loudly at your words and lays his palm open. "Let's just stop this stupid conversation. Return my book now."

"Like I said, I need it so either help me out or let me keep it."

"Return my book or else." Xingqiu's hands clench tightly and Chongyun places a hand on his shoulder. He ignores it.

"I'm not returning it unless you make a choice between the options I presented."

A sacrifical sword is quickly pointed at your neck as Xingqiu stares at you.

"Give it back or you'll know my sword." The familair line makes you smile happily as you place the book on his outstretched hand. "Sure!"

"It's just a shame that I'll have less resources to track down those treasure hoarders. I hope I can find them in time..." You speak outloud as you pass them making Chongyun glance back at you. Xingqiu is still gripping his sword without looking at you.

"Wait, please! Can you explain why you are tracking down the treasure hoarders?" Chongyun finally takes the initiative and calls out to you.

Smiling pleasantly you turn to Chongyun and speak while being well aware of Xingqiu resisting the urge to look at you.

"I'd be happy to. Last night treasure hoarders swept through the lower level docks in Liyue and kidnapped some people. That includes my commissioners daughter, Yiran. The cart they are driving must be following this path but I know it'll split at some point. That's why I wanted the book to help me track the hoarders down."

Chongyun's face returns to his usual frosty look. "I understand why you were in such dire need of the book. I would like to help you. My name is Chongyun and I'm a exorcist. I track down ghosts and evil spirits so perhaps my experience can help you."

"That would be a great, thank you so much! I'm Y/N and feel free to speak comfortably."

One acolyte joined, now you only need the other. But if Xingqiu is being too stubborn to help you then you're better off leaving him-

Your train of thought is cut off by the book being thrusted into your arms as Xingqiu walks toward the stairs leading further down the path. You and Chongyun send Xinqui a confused look at his sudden actions.

"What are you two doing gawking at me like that? We're wasting time standing around like this."

A huff of laughter leaves you at his words and you motion Chongyun to follow along as you begin to follow Xingqiu.

"Nice to see that his highness is willing to set aside time in his busy reading schedule to help out with this case."

"I'm a purser of chivalry and justice first and foremost. It seems you do know that I'm related to the Feiyun Commerce Guild. You've got guts to treat me in such a unabashed manner."

"What's the Feiyun Commerce Guild? Some small family business? You didn't really expect me to recognize you immediately right? I mean I'm just a traveler who recently arrived."

Xingqiu seems a bit embarrassed at how he psyched himself into revealing himself. The mockingly kind tone you use only enhances it.

"Can you two please stop arguing? The treasure hoarders will hear you both and run away before either of realize at this point."

Chongyun's calm demeanor and words remind you of your original mission. Now that you recruited the useful acolytes, it's best you don't get too distracted.

"Chongyun is right, why don't you tell me your name bowlcut?"

"My name is Xingqiu and I'm the second son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild. A great displeasure to meet you Y/N." He scowls as he speaks but there's no real bite to his words.

"Nice to meet you too bowlcut. While I read the important sections on your book, why don't I hand you the notes from the original comission? Are you intrested in reading it too Chongyun?"

"No, my main focus is on exorcisim. I'll just keep watch of you both while you read and walk."

Nodding you hand the notes to the curious Xingqiu and search through the book as Chongyun guides you both down the staircase. The treasure hoarders must have lost time going down this steep staircase without crashing the cart.

Finishing it rather quickly due to your previous knowledge on the subject, you spot two Milileth guards on the right. They might have seen something suspicious! Tapping Chongyun's shoulder you point at the soldiers.

"Let's ask them if they saw anything, a cart being driven must have caught some attention."

He nods and stops Xingqiu from walking off, Xingqiu only waves you both away as he stands in place. Being careful not to touch and trigger Chongyuns yang enegry you walk with him to the guards.

"Hello, we were wondering if you saw any carts passing by from the Harbor. If there was too many then were there any that looked particularly suspicious?"

Only one guard answers you as the second is too busy relaxing at the table. "We do a routine inspection on everyone that passes through. If any of them were suspicous we would have escorted them to the city."

"So who was watching over whenever you escorted a suspicous person/group back to the city?" You ask in slight disbelief.

The guard goes quiet as if contemplating on what to say... You aren't sure whether to laugh or sigh. The second guard is dragged over by the first guard.

"Oh are you both here for a face reading? The blue one has some striking eyes which indicates a strong spirit but the other one is a bit harder. That mask makes it difficult but I can tell that you have a, what's the nice way to say it? A rather plain but ordinary face, you can think of it as good thing if you think about how easy it is to change it to something more interesting."

Your expression drops in unison with Chongyuns at his words. You had a feeling Liyue's guards weren't the best but this was even more pathetic than you thought. It's clear this guy was slacking off during his whole shift.

"We don't want a face reading so don't expect us to pay for your crappy words. We just wanted to know if you saw any suspicous carts passing by."

"Oh well I kind of left for some tea at the Emerald Maple Inn on the left. A older lady passed by me and stayed by the roadside during that time so I suppose you're better off asking her."

Chongyun presses a palm to his face at the second-hand embarrassment. The only thing that's stopping you from slugging this incompetent soldier is Yiran and the fact it's a nice sunny day.

"Thanks for the doing less then the bare minimum. We'll be on our way now." You say in a polite voice and push Chongyun back to Xinqui while ignoring the offended man.

"That was so embarrassing. A traveler like you who is new to Liyue should not have had to see such a... lazy soldier." He puts the truth very kindly before holding a hand to his head as he steadies his breathing.

You get back to Xingqiu and explain what happened. He managed to look even more disappointed than Chongyun and the three of you climb the left hill to the Inn. Xingqiu had already finished reading and you swapped the reading material to their original owners.

Tables are set up outside the Inn and one of them has a elderly lady drinking tea at one of them. Walking up to her, you smile kindly as the guys hang back to question the owner of the Inn.

"Hello ma'am, around last night or early this morning, did you go down by the road? If so did you notice a strange cart passing by?"

"In fact I did, I told one of the guards when he came back but he didn't take it very seriously... Well a few people were driving a cart loudly talking about meeting a group at the fork in Guili Plains. I'm afraid that's all I know."

...Was the book even necessary now? What kind of cliche convient villain move is speaking about your evil plans out-loud? There goes all the compliments you gave them for making smart choices. But they did choose the one time when no guards were present. Does that cancel out their stupidity or show just how lucky they are?

"Thank you so much for the information. I'll get going now and use it wisely." The old woman nods at your polite dismissal and rejoin the disastified duo who brighten up at the information you obtained. Until a young boy comes out from the Inn asking.

"Is that the cough adventurer with the medicine? cough"

That sounded familiar, too familiar to be a coincidence. The old woman attends to the boy's coughing fit as you look through your handbook.

Straight to the Heart - Qingxin must be freshly picked to be made into effective medicine. Pick it off the mountain and get it to the caretaker within the time limit. Enemies may be in the area.

Yup, the area where the comission takes place is your exact location. This was your commission to deal with.

Turning back to Xingqiu and Chongyun who are patiently waiting for you, you explain the situation. They agree to seperate from you and continue the path to Guili Plains while you finish the commission. Promising to catch up with them soon you wave and Xingqiu shoots you one last remark.

"Oh and be careful when climbing! Geovishap hatchlings have a tendency to push off unlucky climbers!"

...He was joking right?

With a mental note to get him back for that, you turn back to the old woman and show her the commission paper.

"Hello again, before I leave to continue my journey I would like to get that pesky qingxin for you first."

She smiles relieved and brings you near the back of the Inn. Pointing upward to a mountain that was more of a rocky hill, she tells you of a qingxin that grows there.

After she leaves to prepare the rest of medicine, you begin climbing. Your climbing skills are rusty so you slide down at the worst times but you manage to pick up on your old skills relatively quickly.

So focused on climbing, the wind brushing against your cheek goes unnoticed until a leaf hits you. Moving it away leads you to looking at the gorgous scenary of Liyue.

The clear water of Luhua Pool. The mountains dotted with trees and grass. And even the areas with ruins make for a picturesque view. In the distance you can see the Wangshu Inn. You really hope Xiao never catches wind of you or else you'll constantly be monitored.

Finally arriving at the top, you sit down and rest your body. You aren't aching but you weren't about to pick the flower and jump off. Planning was still needed to avoid a broken bone.

Should you use the wind glider or speed climb down this hunk of rock?

The wind seems to pick up as the pebbles are thrown off the rock you're on. That was not a good sign for a beginner like you. Seems speed climbing it is!

Mapping out a route that would have you alternating between sliding and climbing you double checked it before standing up. The moment you pick the qingxin from it's place that you remember that the time limit for this comission is 30 seconds unless you defeat an enemy.

Scrambling you hurry down while mentally counting down the seconds. That's probably why you didn't notice the geo slime that you kicked off the mountain in your rush.

It's only after handing the qingxin just in time to the old woman that you notice how squishy your boot is.

You end up leaving back to the path with a bag of rewards from completing the commission and some slime concentrate in your bag. There's a clear crunch of the leaves as you walk the path quickly in hopes of catching up to the duo.

You pass by the wilderness and animals as you keep jogging. There's a small stone bridge and you spot the different shades of blue hair moving rather quickly. Getting closer you see the new third indivual.

A black figure with glowing red undertones dives between the sword and claymore clashing against the sacrifical knife. The pyro delusions and maroon mask makes it clear that the fatui agent isn't going to relent easily.

Summoning your sickle, you run into the fray as the agent dissapears leaving a red silloutte behind.

"I didn't arrive too late right?" Xingqiu blocks a strike and Chongyun uses his skill to apply cryo to the area.

"Right on time actually. Quite suprising for someone like you." Superconduct heightens your damage as your sickle slices the agent's arm with electro.

"Ha ha. On the other hand when is your other earing arriving? I believe it's long overdue." Xingqiu's raincutter is summoned making reactions fly around.

Frozen, superconduct, electro-charged, and some shatters keep the agent from barely moving.

"For the last time, will you both stop fighting and focus fully on the fight?" Chongyun's cold clear voice seems to momentarily redirect your attention to the fight. It's only now that you can actually look at the state of the Fatui agent.

A mask half frozen with chunks of it biting into his skin, the blood stains the ice red and the eye's flicker. His arm and legs seem to jerk at random times, most likely from the electro-charged reaction still running in his system. With multiple slash marks and grave wounds that breeched his suit into his skin. It's the hand barely hanging to his wrist that bleeds the most.

This was less of a fight and more of one sided beat down. Compared to when you and Heizou fought those Fatui skirmishers this was a breeze. Made sense but it still felt nice to see some progress in your own strength.

The bone is visble as the blood continues to spurt out of the wound as the agent staggers. None of you move as he sways before falling backword onto a huge chunk of leftover ice. It stabs his stomach letting you see the now pink tip of the ice that went through him.

The force also wretched the hand off his wrist making it land with a sickening splat. Lucky as always, it lands at your feet. Blood drips down from your sickle onto the decapitated hand making you sheathe it back into nothingness.

Looking back to the freeze team, their clothes have much more blood but they ignore it and walk past the body. With them as your guidance, you follow them and grip the agent's sacrificial knife in your hand before quickly stuffing it into your bag.

"So how did that fight even begin? I never saw any mention of the Fatui being involved with the kidnapping."

The way you easily move on to a conversation is comical. You had just committed a joint murder with a duo that you met a mere hour ago and yet you don't feel distraught. Not like the first time you killed in Teyvat. It seems you're starting to adapt to Teyvat's laws. Would you ever fully adapt to it's religious beliefs about the 'creator'?

"The agent jumped at us yelling something about paying back a debt due. But judging how suprised he was when he saw us, he must have believed we were someone else." Chongyun explains thoughtfully.

Xingqiu presses a hand over his mouth seeming to ponder something.

"Do you think the Fatui agent met with the treasure hoarders at the fork? Since the hoarders cart were the only suspicious people going through, it would make sense that they would be meeting the Fatui."

"Then if you're right, something must have gone wrong at the meetup. Damn I wish he didn't die, we could have questioned him."

Depending on the meetup, chasing after the treasure hoarders would be useless if they gave Yurin and the rest of the captives to the Fatui.

"We would have gone easier on the agent if we knew you could control electro. I don't see any vision on you so how do you control the elements? Are you similair to a cartain golden haired traveler?"

"Let's just say it's an ability I gained after an upgrade. It's not a delusion though so forget that kind of possibility."

Xingqiu shoots you a skeptical look at the nonchalant way you dismissed his questions. Chongyun, ever as guilable nods in understanding before asking his own question.

"Did that upgrade also give you your perfect spirit?"

Being careful not to trip on a abandoned wagon, you glance questionably at Chongyun.

"I have no idea what that means. I've heard of yin and yang energies but I'm not well versed in it."

He places a finger to his chin as he struggles to explain the concept to you.

"A perfect spirit is something of a legend. Everyone has a mix of yang and yin that can changes depending on the day, mood, constiution and other factors. I'm one of the few that has a pure yang spirit that I struggle everyday to control. But your spirit is perfectly balanced and even during the fight it didn't waver. It's not just perfect, it's also similair to a void. It feeds on the surrounding energies and stabilizes them. Usually I would spend half an hour after a battle to calm down but with you here I had no need to."

Was that a perk of being the creator? If so that can be pretty neat but on the other hand it also makes you terribly shady. Under a better circumstance you could use it as proof of you being the creator. It really is a shame.

"When I studied the books in my families library, it said that only the creator could have such a spirit..." Of course you had to be right.

The red scrapes that you earned from the fight seemed to grab the attention of both vision holders. To them, it's proof that you aren't the creator and to you, it's proof that no matter what kind of evidence you gather, your blood will always disprove it.

"All those little things about you don't seem to be adding up Y/N. The electro, the vague backstory, the strange aura that surronds you, the so-called perfect spirit and that mask aren't making you any less questionable."

Xingqiu's voice slips through the cracks created by Chongyun in your identity. The crushing of dirt stops as Chongyun and Xingqiu block your way.

"The creator is not one to be messed with or imitated. Evil spirits and demons are the only ones filthy enough to do so. There's a large chance you've been possessed by one. Allow us to purge you, I can promise that in death you'll be freed."

His prototype archaic claymore is summoned in his hands, he always had a one track mind when it came to exorcisim after all. Xingqiu stays behind but the sacrifial sword in his hands is clearly visible.

The day had been going so well too.

"I think you both are getting ahead of yourselves." The smooth words only make them freeze and glare at you.

"I mean neither of you even gave me a chance to speak! Chongyun do you really belive that the creator is only desecrated by evil spirits and demons? I mean just think of Xinyan's concerts, many of those people were just simply terrible."

His grip on his weapon is firm but he nods his head solemly.

"I'm well aware of that but I earnestly believe that you're possessed. Someone like you who accepted a comission to save a little girl isn't one who I would suspect to be a sacrilegious person."

"And even if you are simply a horrible person that finds enjoyment in mocking the creator in this fashion, I could deal with you instead." Xingqiu leers closer as he expertly twirls his sword.

"Defending chivalry and spreading justice is my passion after all." The kind smile on his face mocks you.

Taking out your weapon would only agrivate the situation and confirm their belief. Instead you bow to them and speak curteously.

"As the situation has degraded this badly, I may as well reintroduce myself truthfully. I'm Y/N, an oracle for the creator. My main purpose is to investigate acolytes and the citizens faith simultaneously. The creators spirit envelops me like this to protect me and help me protect others."

Your words catch them both off-guard. Xingqiu double downs on his stance as Chongyun takes a step back.

"I was ordered to be as vague as possible which makes me very suspicious but I have to be careful in what I say. The perfect spirit sitaution may be new to me but there's a very logical explanation."

"And what may that be? If it's not satisfactory I will purge you as soon as possible seeing as you must be possessed by a demon of unknown caliber."

"Think back to when the creater controlls you, does your yang enegry ever get out of control?"

"Of course not, the creators spirit inhibits us and allows us to access blessings that belong to them."

"Then why can't I, who is constantly connected to the creator access those blessings?"

"Thats-!" Chongyun bits his lip as he looks away clearly conflicted.

"The creator is all powerful! Do you think that their perfect spirit isn't strong enough to completely overpower mine?"

Chongyun loses his grip on his claymore and it's dissapears into the air. He's far too anguished between what he knows is a fact and what his own feelings tell him. Too easy, easy to the point where Xingqiu steps in.

"That's a nice runaround and although I can't comment on this perfect spirit conversation as I have not been allowed to read those books yet. I believe it's your identity as a oracle that is the most questionable."

"I know, a clever and eloquent man like yourself would not be so easily swayed by a charlatan like me."

"Cut the crap and show me whatever proof you have. Or is your hands as empty as your skull?"

Ignoring his words, you send a mental thank you to Ayato and display the fan. It would be useless to use in convincing Chongyun but Xingqiu would know due to his high-standing.

Just as you suspected Xingqiu's eyes widen for a second before he moves closer to examine the fan.

"It's the real deal... This texture is one only used in Inazuma for those close to the Electro Archon." His fingers brush against the fabric of the fan before he pulls away with a softening scowl. "I suppose you weren't lying if you managed to get this fan. The Kamisato Commissioner is said to be a elusive man."

Chongyun looks at the fan and Xingqiu in confusion before sighing and giving up on understanding the conversation.

"If that quells all remaining doubts then lets get going. We wasted a lot of precious time." Quickly you walk past them and smile at the sounds of their footsteps following you.

Putting the fan back into the safety of the bag you remember how thankful you are for meeting Ayato. At least with proving yourself to him, you managed to get such a useful tool. It's only fair to milk it for all it's worth.

The fork comes into view and your breath catches in your throat.

The lush grass was crushed under a mix of debris and blood. Crimson stained and dripped down the stone hedge as pieces of dirty clothing drifted in the area. The huge wreckage of a smashed up transportation vehicle was the main center piece.

Aside from the dead bodies littering the area.

Bodies of treasure hoarders with elemental wounds were the most abundant. A few Fatui skirmishers with makeshift reaction and weapon wounds laid in the clearing. The war-machines were deactivated as the bodies rot inside.

Taking steps forward to the middle of the wreckage, it's a single item that installs fear.

A pink flower pin lays innocently on the ground. The blood and dirt on it seems to glisten with malice as the sun reaches it's peak in the sky.

It's finally out!!! OMG it's been so long since I last posted. Work's been burying me, every weekend is a birthday/event/funeral, plus the fall semester is going to start soon. Not to mention Fontaine is almost here and I didn't even finish a single area of Sumeru. Someone stop time, I need sleep. I hope I gave reasonable explanations for the stories behind the commissions. You know the first commission completed with the Qingxin? If you climb the mountain I described, you will find a Qingxin. I know this chapter may be a bit boring since it focused on the kidnapping but I hope Xingqiu and Chongyun were written well enough. I don't think they have a romantic relationship like many fans describe. Then again, I don't like shipping in general. I gave Xingqiu a similair dynamic to Ayato but there is difference. Ayato is more of a 'pretend to be formal while insulting' meanwhile Xinqui is more juvinele with 'I feel annoyed by your presence and the fact I like it is even worse'. Both are fun but if something else works better with Xingqiu's personality please let me know! Time for me to actually finish exploring the summer event and go to even more activites I don't want to attend T-T. (I'll recheck it when I can on my PC) Taglist: @vvyeislazzy, @nikqi, @the-dumber-scaramouche, @etherisy, @yourlocalstranger123, @ra404, @iruiji, @goldenglow149, @haru-tofuu, @lsleepysimpl, @bebobeboben, @yuyuzi-ling, @amidst-the-tempest, @resident-cryptid, @mxd1zzy, @mochicurls21, @nervouseaglelover, @thedevioussmirk, @yumuramma, @kwqsla, @undecidingfate, @ehjane, @game-savvy, @akiramirae, @sielt, @fluffy-koalala, @formacoon, @sxftiebee, @khxii-i, @ursinaw, @chuuya-brainrot, @sweetbills, @kazuchaos, @snowfoxnix, @bluebelony, @conspicuous-mayonnaise, @pencil-of-ashes, @ghostlyintervention, @taiformaifoe, @sielt, @goaudduck, @carminerin, @maddysflowers, @zenith-of-all-zeniths, @crazydreamcat, @leafanonsforest, @grimreapersscythe, @leylanx, @undecidingfate, @sapphireknown, @help-whatdoimakemyusername, @zhonglisfruityass, @fluffy-koalala, @mer0n37, @victoria1676, @mochinessss, @sinnful-darling

[youzicha]

Some quick impressions of translations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

I fell in love with Marie Borroff's translation just from reading the preface, which is very insightful (definitely do read it, whatever other translation you pick!) and also unusually useful for the reader. We don't crucially need a translator's thoughts about what the themes of a story are because we can read it ourselves first, but Borroff talks about the tone (elevated, ironic, playful?) and that is really useful, since it is so easily obscured by time and translation.

Borroff's biography is extremely impressive: before even starting the translation, she spent a decade of her professional life reconstructing the pronunciation and meter of each line and the provenance of each word. Unsurprisingly, the translation is excellent; by the usual standards (accuracy, fluency, transparency/"invisibility") it seems hard to improve on.

Simon Armitage's translation seems to consciously reject fluency and transparency, creating "choppiness" as a deliberate aesthetic effect. Consider for example the use of modern colloquial English here:

and in the other hand held the mother of all axes, a cruel piece of kit I kid you not: the head was an ell in length at least and forged in green steel with a gilt finish

"Piece of kit" and "I kid you not" date the translation to the last few decades, while the "ell" unit has not been used for 400 years. By dragging the reader back and forth in time like this, the translation draws attention to itself. But it is not only a matter of choice of words, we get a similar effect from the ways Armitage breaks up or enjambs lines:

Gawain […] so bore that badge on both his shawl and shield alike. A prince who talked the truth. A notable. A knight.

This was a single sentence in the original, which got "chopped up" into four, including a full stop in the middle of a line.

George B. Pace's translation is the subject of a very charming story somebody posted on tumblr. It is abridged (12k words, versus 21k in the original), and translated into modern-sounding English prose, but if you are interested in the plot rather than the poetic devices it seems like a reasonable approach. I mostly didn't miss the parts he cut, although I do wonder about his focus when he e.g. omits lines of dialogue between Gawain and the Lady but leaves in the decorative filler about the zephyr warming the lands.

I have no particular thought about Burton Raffel's translation, except for one interesting pitfall. He translates most of the poem into prose (although it is kept divided in lines), but the four rhyming lines at the end of the stanzas are translated more loosely in order to make them rhyme. In theory this makes sense: for a modern reader the rhymes and iambs are very salient while we are not very attuned to alliterative verse, so translating just the bob-and-wheel into verse preserves most of the poetic effect.

But in practice it doesn't work so well. First, Raffel just isn't that good at it: Borroff and Tolkien manage to make their translations rhyme while sticking closer to the sense. But more interestingly, the rhyming couplets obviously draw the attention of the reader, and the author uses them to highlight the most load-bearing words, which are often chosen to be nicely ambiguous. The tale is written in 'lel' letters, which could mean that it's true, or only that it is composed in valid alliterative verse. King Arthur waits 'stif'ly to hear a tale or see a wonder, which (says Borroff) could be a heroic "resolute" or an ironic "stubborn". The lady enters Gawain's chamber and banteringly offers him 'my cors', which could mean "myself" but of course literally means body. And what were they doing to that deer? Actually these lines are the parts where you need to be most careful about the meaning.

J.R.R. Tolkien's translation is interesting because he seems to try something different. While Borroff and Armitage try to approximate the effect the poem would have on a 15th century reader by translating into current English, Tolkien uses archaic syntax ("him" for "himself", "we come not" for "we don't come" etc) and archaic vocabulary (the book includes a glossary, which you need to use to understand the translation at all). I think the idea is to capture what it is like for a modern reader who knows Middle English to read the Middle English original, with the particular pleasures of puzzling through a text as a non-native speaker.

Reading this (and even more his translation of Pearl in the same volume) I was surprised by how skilled Tolkien was at verse—he carries over a lot of the formal aspects, and I think his version sounds the best.

[jjelleefsh]

;; honey cherry and my lover’s sun sipped wine

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It was blasphemous almost, to see a visage as such on a mundane day like today. It should be considered sacrilegious really. The sunlight at the break of golden hour, filtering through the gaps between the curtains glazing his skin in the most nostalgic hue of yellow.

The back locks of his hair, still uncombed, draped over his shoulders, reminding you of aged ebony, falling like ribbons of water from ornamental rocks. The mirror he stood in front of, reflected the sunlight to his face, giving him the most sublime countenance. Deft hands shuffle closer to his face, as he leans into the mirror, lithe fingers focus on lining eyes of molten gold with a red eyeliner in hand. An amalgamation of all these observations coming together to make a scene that would make the romantic artists of Fontaine cry out in envy. 

“my god...”

Aureate eyes met yours and you just know their shade was the inspiration when a cor lapis decided to take on its colour. The slight crinkle of his eyes when he smiled, the gentle click of the brush as he set down the eyeliner. All about him, everything about him was so lovely, 

“You called, dearest?”

Zhongli, although his tone sounded curious, knew full well the meaning of the reverent gaze you were looking at him with.

“Mr. Zhongli, I think I might be in love with you.” 

“Well, I’d certainly hope so. It would be rather awkward if the person I chose to take my vows with did not reciprocate my affections.”

Vows. You repeated in your head, yes, this breathtaking man, with a face that would have had wars fought for his hand, was yours. Yours as in you married him, stood on the altar, took your vows, bowed to each other and you married him.

A giddy grin creeps its way up to your face, the kind that will not go away no matter how much effort you put into trying to stop it. Oh Celestia above, you are so terribly, infallibly in love with this man, it is sickening. 

A hopeless devotee you are; someone who simply had the luck of having their affections reciprocated by a man— by a god, but you’d argue, it is just as romantic, even if it was before you found outabout his divinity. 

“Well, you need not worry about that, I can assure you, your spouse returns your affections wholeheartedly. I was told so by them personally.”

“They said that now, did they? Very well, I hope you relay my gratitude to them.”

“ah, but it will take reimbursement, Mr. Zhongli.” you chirp out, fully intending on cashing out as much as you can out of this conversation.

“Is that so? Very well, what might your charges be?”

You didn’t know it was possible to smile wider, Wordlessly you pointed to your forehead. Zhongli takes your action in stride, walking over but instead resting his lips upon yours. Cradling his face, you have found home in a chaste kiss. As he pulls away, now standing upright again, you look up at him.

“A tip for your hardwork, yes? I hope my message reaches my lover soon.”

—

Zhongli looks at your smiling face, grinning with teeth and all. The mirror reflects the sunrays on your head, covering you in a heavenly halo-like lighting; a scene that would make heaven fall to its knees, to that he can attest.

Its mundane mornings like these, he thinks, that make him realise a god too, can turn devotee in the presence of his lover.

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dont ask me what this is bc idk either. "but esha didn't you write this?" yes and I blanked out and poof this appeared. also I kinda would not read this but like bleh. i don't like how it came out.

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12:41 pm ; 14/9/2024

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[the-roo-too]

lily jin morrow x reader x seol yoona; idol au

warnings: y/n is jini’s sister; leaving the group; little angst (i think); hurt/comfort

departures are never easy. being in a group with your sister wasn’t easy in the first place though. choi yunjin, your sister, was practically your guide through the whole idol thing. you joined jyp ent some time after her, so she felt obligated to help you around.

that’s why you knew she’d leave. you saw the signs—the way she was sleeping less, the way her eyes wouldn’t sparkle like that when she went on stage anymore.

you knew. and she knew you knew. so you were the only person she said goodbye to. with a last final hug she promised to keep in touch—you two were family in the end. it was around 2 am when she closed the doors after herself, having given you her key to the dorm.

departures are never easy, especially if you’re dating the member that left the group. lily was left in shambles after yunjin’s departure, and their eventual break-up. everyone saw her crumbling, yet no one knew how to help her.

that was until said girl approached you late at night. it might’ve been around 2 am—oh the irony. you felt her slim arms slowly sneak around your waist as she snuck into your bed. as you tried to turn in her embrace to see her, she stopped you with a small hum.

“i’m sorry… can we lay like this?” it felt wrong. your sister had her first. then again, she needed comfort too. you nodded softly in response and felt her arms around you tighten. there was no harm in being closer friends with the oldest of the group.

until being friends turned into stealing subtle kisses when no one was looking. somewhere along the way, you realised your heart rate picked up every time she was nearby.

with how the things were going, you could safely assume she liked you back.

yet fate likes to play with people. your little situationship has been going on for maybe a week, when you found yourself in another awkward position.

lily was sleeping on your shoulder, the group having just watched a movie. everyone slowly started disappearing into their rooms before you felt another weight on your other shoulder.

“it’s not fair.” sullyoon spoke quietly. you turned to look at her curiously.

“what isn’t fair?”

“you and lily unnie.” the oldest must’ve been deep asleep because she didn’t feel yoona gently pushing her away from you to lean on the couch. “choi y/n.. you’re blind. and i think it’s unfair.”

her face hovered over yours, lips just millimetres away from yours. she was looking into your eyes, asking for the permission. lily shifted on the side and you almost pulled away, hadn’t it been for her opening her eyes and chuckling quietly.

“don’t scare the poor girl like that.” the oldest sat up and leaned her hand on your shoulder. “we wanted to catch you alone… if you don’t want this, you can always say so.”

your breath hitched in your throat. just until now, you were kind of regularly making out with one of your band mates. did you think sullyoon would like you like you thought you liked lily? not really, but you weren’t against the idea.

when yoona’s lips gently landed on yours, you could feel lily leaning closer. “good girl…”

maybe departures could also bring the good things.

your sister promised to keep in touch, and keep in touch she did.

you were the first to know where her new apartment was, the first person to hear a snipped of her debut song. the first person to hear about how she was still kind of in love with lily jin morrow, her ex bandmate.

one of your two girlfriends.

she told you everything, yet you felt as if she was the last person you could tell about your relationship. she was still hung over the girl. always asking you about how the oldest was doing, did you think she missed her when you knew lily was busy missing you every minute you were away.

but how could you tell her that? that’s when the guilt started. the sneaking off from the rest of your members to peacefully make out a little in a corner with your girlfriends didn’t seem so thrilling anymore—it only fuelled the sinking feeling in your stomach.

why could you have what she couldn’t? why should you be happier when she worked longer, worked harder? why did you get lily and yoona when yunjin couldn’t even hold onto the oldest?

you didn’t know why or how, but you slowly stared distancing yourself from the two. they probably would be better off together. they probably wouldn’t even notice.

that’s what you thought, but not them.

they saw the signs. all of them actually. you didn’t seem as happy, haewon was the one to point that out. they thought the worst at first, but you were still happy when you were busy. dance practices, performances—you were always eager. so it wasn’t about that. they weren’t about to loose another member.

lily kept asking yoona if she had any ideas. yoona kept asking lily if they did something wrong. until they both were too tired to overthink it. and, just like back then, they caught you late at night when you thought they were both asleep.

you felt lily slowly hug you, pulling you back until you were flush against her body. yoona then sneaked in front of you, forcing you to wrap your arms around her back.

“hey there, baby…” the oldest’s nose was a little cold around your neck as she nuzzled into it, but the gesture still brought a small grin to your face.

“yeah?” you opened your eyes, meeting sullyoon’s brown ones. she wiggled a little in your embrace until she was as close to you as she could.

“we miss you.” she started quietly, as if afraid her words would scare you. “you’ve been avoiding us.”

you shook your head but before you could deny it verbally, lily lightly punched your arm. “don’t even try, babe. it’s a little obvious, you know?”

“we just want to know if we did something wrong, y/n.” your heart twisted at yoona’s words. of course they were blaming themselves instead of you.

“it’s not that. i promise. you’re both perfect.” you buried your face in sullyoon’s neck, appreciating her comforting embrace. “i’m sorry.”

“don’t apologise, baby. you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“i was avoiding you two.” you rightfully pointed out.

“but we know you wouldn’t do that without a reason.”

“it’s stupid.” you knew no matter how much you’d argue, they would coax it out of you. resisting was still worth a try.

“it’s not stupid, my love.” lily’s reassurance only made you feel more guilty. your sister’s sad face flashed in your mind and you were blabbing before you could stop yourself.

“yunjin unnie still loves you. a lot.” your throat felt dry all of a sudden, yet you continued while you still were brave enough to. “ she always asks me about you. if you miss her. and i don’t have the heart to tell her you and yoona are mine now.”

by the end of your little speech, your eyes were teary. you couldn’t help it, hugging sullyoon tighter as you awaited their response.

“oh baby…” lily gently kisses the back of your neck—her embrace never faltered. “it’s okay, love.”

“i’m sorry…”

“we’re not mad, cutie.” now it was sullyoon’s turn to press a small peck to the top of your head, her hand gently caressing your hair. “everything is okay. we’re okay. we’ll get all of this sorted out, all right?”

“i can talk to yunjin. she’ll probably be a little sad, but i can’t have my angel worrying over my past relationships.”

her words brought you a sense of comfort. you knew yunjin would probably be sad, maybe even mad at you for not telling her. but she’d get over it, right? lily was one thing, but you’re her sister. and she loves you more than anyone else.

as you laid there in their embrace, you realised it would be okay. there would be a rough patch with you sister, but you’d always have your two loving girlfriends by your side.

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

ouuugh the tags in your last post gave me an idea, childe filling in doll!reader's cracks with kintsugi!! (if you don't know, kintsugi is the art of repairing pottery using gold leaf, which accentuates the cracks and turns them into something beautiful rather than hiding them!)

*furious scribbling* people like doll reader,,,, got it,,, /lh

unfortunately, being made of fragile material means you tend to break. A LOT. at least once a week. luckily, they're usually small cracks that can be easily repaired and they don't hurt an awful lot, so you have a lot of tiny "scars" in your body even since before you met Childe. it's the bigger cracks you have to worry about, the ones that sting and spark and expose the inner cavity of your body- they need repairs from a specialist, leaving a large, jagged slash across your skin even after they're healed. you've generally made your peace with them, but even you occasionally wish you could get rid of them or spruce them up a bit- civilians tend to stare if you have a massive break on your body on display out in public, puppet nature notwithstanding

it's Foul Legacy who comes up with the idea, batting around a chunk of Cor Lapis. he likes shiny things, shiny things are pretty. you're pretty! he can use gold to line your cracks, just like Childe learned when he visited Inazuma once! well, the Harbinger is the one who actually does it, his fingers being smaller and nimbler than Legacy's claws, but the Abyssal monster supplies any gold or gemstone or rock or leaf or anything that you need. he chitters and chirps in delight when it's finished, circling you and observing you at all angles with glee. if you'll let him he'll run his talons gently over the lines of gold, purring and nuzzling his head under your chin before scooping you up, light as air. Legacy will try to make sure you don't get seriously injured- it hurts you and his heart. but he can't deny that he adores the way your cracks are lined with gold, running through your skin like gleaming sun kissed rivers

[notreallysurreal]

falsettos pet names woahh ?!?!?!?!?!?

(whizzvin is act two)

marvin calls whizzer baby (he called trina it when they were together and said it in marvin hits trina, and also called whizzer it in unlikely lovers) but it took him a good long while before he did. he also calls him whiz

whizzer calls marvin the "classics" (baby, babe, sweetheart). it started out as him taking the piss out of cringy straight couples, but just stuck. he calls him marv too, at first because marvin hated it because trina used to call him it (im breaking down shows she did), but he warmed up to it and whizzer just never stopped

mendel calls trina sweetheart, honey, and darling. no explanation is REALLY needed because he calls her them all in a day in falsettoland. he NEVER says trina, it's always either trins, or one of the pet names above ^-^

trina calls him the same as he calls her, but also love/my love. mendel sometimes inclues love/my love because she says it a lot. she calls him del sometimes, but only if she's in a rush

cordelia calls charlotte baby, honey, my love, lovely, and lottie

charlotte calls cordelia possibly every name under the sun: baby, honey, love, my love, sweetheart, babes, darling, princess, pretty girl, hon, love, sweetface, doll, ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. she also calls her cori (cor[del]i[a])

[formulapookie]

💛💛

Under the cut to read on tumblr, here to read on Ao3

chapter 1 ; chapter 2

Les fleurs du mal rosquez, 2.1k words

Next race is two weeks later, championship finale, and Marc has been feeling increasingly worse for these past days.

The coughing had gone on almost non-stop, sometimes accompanied by petals, sometimes just a bothersome feeling of suffocation.

He doesn’t precisely know when, but some of the petals have started coming out colored a deep blue now, the yellow still there, perfectly matching Vale’s color scheme.

He had a half thought of reaching out to Vale, telling him about his situation, and telling him how truly hurt he was.

But he ultimately didn’t, he couldn’t - after last time, when he tested on his skin what hate meant he couldn’t bear the thought of being close to Vale without breaking down.

It had only gone worse, from his visit to Vale’s motorhome, he could feel his lungs crush under the pressure of the roots around them.

His brother knew something was wrong but couldn’t say what, Marc hadn’t spoken to him about his problem at all, and much less to his father.

His mother, well she didn’t need any kind of words to know what was happening to him, not after he had yelled at her when he came back and found his room stripped of any kind of reference to Vale, the room who was supposed to be his sanctuary, the room he wanted to photograph and send to Vale to remind him.

Remind him he had been there, had seen it all, reminding him how they had shared his room for more than a night.

And it was all gone, as if it was never there, just a ghost in Marc’s heart.

Marc had yelled so much to her his throat closed, he had begun coughing and gasping for air, until a bunch of petals had come out his mouth, falling to the ground, next to the cardboard boxes where his mother had carefully put away all the collection bikes and the poster.

The cap and the framed picture on top of them, the helmet stored in another box, wrapped so as not to ruin it.

He had cried then, cried so much he barely could breathe, and his mother had just held him, trying to calm him down as more petals made their way out of his lungs.

“per què fa tant mal mare?  Vull que s'aturi, si us plau, necessito que s'aturi”  (Why does it hurt so much mom? I want it to stop, please, I need it to stop)

“perquè estimes amb tot el cor, i la gent no és tan amorosa com tu, Marc” (Because you love with all your heart, and people are not as loving as you, Marc)

“Em fa tant mal que no puc respirar, per què m'odia? Em va dir que m'estimava. Per què m'odia? L'estimo mare, l'estimo” (It hurts so much I can’t breathe, why does he hate me? He told me he loved me. Why does he hate me? I love him mom, I love him)

“Ho sé, ho sé, l'estimes tant que estàs disposat a no sotmetre's a l'operació perquè tens por d'oblidar-lo” (I know, I know, you love him so much you’re willing not to undergo the operation because you’re scared you’ll forget him)

“Només vull que em torni a estimar” (I just want him to love me back)

“Ho sé Marc, ho sé” (I know Marc I know)

He had passed out in his mother’s arms, tears all over his face and lungs burning.

He didn’t understand how Vale could hate him so much after all the promises he made, all the murmured “I love you”s between the sheets, all the sweet glances when he stayed over at Vale’s.

He's preparing for the press con now, quali gone, he had crashed a few minutes to the end, he had trouble getting up, but he had managed to get a few good laps in.

The crash had made him lose breath, the little one he still has.

For a game of sorts, he’s sat next to Vale at the press con, and he hates it.

He’ll see how pathetic he looks like this, how lonely and miserable he is without Vale in his life.

They don’t speak, Vale ignores him completely if not to bad mouth him to the press, who like flies on honey is eager to get the micro expressions on Marc’s unreadable face.

When the journalists turn to Lorenzo for some questions Vale strikes.

It’s calculated, cruel, made to hurt.

“You like helping him uh? You sucked his dick too? Did you go to him and let him fuck you as a thank you for letting him win? Did he fuck you well Marc? I bet you enjoyed his dick so much given how you ran to me immediately after to suck me off”

“Stop it Vale please”

“Ah stop what? I’m having fun here aren’t you? Does he know how you like to be treated like the whore you are?”

Marc can’t hold it anymore, not with the amount of cruelty Vale is throwing his way.

He starts to cough, turning towards Vale, and the petals fall from his lips, they’re of a dark deep blue.

He can’t stay here, he just can't, he has to get out this damn press con now.

Vale is staring at the petals, one of them has landed on his lap. The room has gone silent, one can only hear Marc‘s all-but- hidden coughs as he runs out the room.

The journalists are frozen, Vale rushes out the room.

He doesn’t make it too far before noticing Marc leaning over a bin coughing and puking those fucking yellow and blue petals.

Some of the people standing out of the press con room start to take out phones and cameras to record Marc.

Vale tries to get close to Marc, somehow shield him from the flashing of the phones and the fuckers taking pictures of him, but Marc just pushes him away.

Yells at him to go away.

And Vale is shocked because he never heard Marc yell, much less would he have expected Marc to yell at him.

He tries to get close again, understand if what’s happening is truly what he thinks is happening.

And Marc now just looks like a wounded animal, and he hates it; he hates it even more than being insulted by Vale. He's weak in front of who knows how many people, he’s weak in front of Vale.

He feels one of Vale’s hands on his arms and jerks away with force.

“Don’t touch me!”

He’s crying, face red and his whole body is shivering.

Vale doesn’t really make out what is going on, it’s all too confusing right now.

He only sees a flash of blue, speeding right next to him, and closing the distance to Marc as he’s frozen there.

“Marc let's go away I’m taking you to the medical center come on, let’s go” 

As he focuses back on reality he only understands Lorenzo has come to Marc’s rescue, somehow, and managed to drag him away.

He’s standing there, the flashing of phones disturbing, press con canceled, his mind racing.

He walks back to his motorhome, everyone saw the press con, he avoids talking to people.

Meanwhile Marc has been taken to the med center, he didn’t want to go, he tried to free himself from Jorge’s hold, but the older man just didn’t let go, he was stronger than him in this situation, Marc too debilitated by the illness.

When he arrives at the center he’s shivering, his body is burning, he’s coughed so many times he feels his whole throat scratch and tear at every breath he takes, his lungs feel caged in an intricate maze of roots.

He’s crying and sweating and shivering, he looks like he’s on the verge of a collapse from how much his body is out of his control.

“Marc you have to focus back on where you are I need you to focus on where you are”

The voice of the doctor seems far, as if he’s talking through a glass door.

He somehow manages to get back, resurface to reality.

The coughing stops, for now at least, but the fever is really high, and the tremors are only slightly better.

“Marc, were you aware you were suffering from Hanahaki?”

“Yes”

Marc’s voice sounds so feeble and thin he doesn’t think it’s him doing the talking.

“I need your consent and signature here to have you transported to the hospital for the surgery, we caught it in time luckily, you just need to sign here and I’ll-“ “No” “Marc don’t be stupid sign the damn form” “No” “Marc, you understand the risk you’re putting yourself through?”

“Yes. I can’t - I just can’t forget him, you get it? I know he’ll - with a bit more time he’ll love me back. He’ll love me again. I can’t have the surgery. I have to race tomorrow I have no time”

Jorge is just staring into the void, he can’t believe this kid is wiling to fucking risk his life for what? Valentino Rossi? 

Because no matter the fact Marc has not said his name, he’s got heart eyes for him since they met, and the two of them were all but subtle.

He is willing to sacrifice his health  for a man so egotistical he dares to blame this same kid for ruining his chance at a tenth title?

A kid who for fuck’s sake is willing to endure this inferno just because he can’t think of living without the knowledge of who Vale is?

The same Vale who’s now sitting in his motorhome, on his couch, silent, trying to elaborate what he just saw.

A feeling of guilt is gnawing at his guts, twisting them in a way he doesn’t like in the slightest.

He had been pushed away by Marc. First time in history he was the one who was pushed away, yelled at, distanced.

And it feels fucking horrible.

The door opens slightly, Uccio sneaks in, an ugly looking grin on his face.

“What the fuck did I do Uccio”

There’s silence, the man doesn’t answer, he waits for Vale to finish.

“I - that’s a kid I - he was puking petals fucking God, they were all blue and and yellow I - oh God”

“I don’t think those petals were for you Vale”

At this Vale gets up, he’s angry, and something else Uccio can’t quite figure out.

“Not for me? The fuck do you mean not for me? Yellow and blue remind you of something Uccio? Huh? Maybe I don’t know, MY fucking colours? The ones I’ve been wearing all the time? Why the fuck are you saying shit like this? Why - why did you come to me saying he - he would ruin my championship”

Uccio takes a step back, Vale is too close to him and a bit too angry for his liking.

Every word he speaks is like poison to Vale’s mind and heart, it takes over everything else, over every rational thought.

“There weren’t any yellow petals Vale. Just blue. Blue petals each time he coughed. And look, look how he pushes and yells you away and look how when Lorenzo comes close he melts in his arms. What does blue make you think of?”

“Me, Yamaha for fucks sake”

“Yamaha. But whose one? Look how the coughing stops here, when Lorenzo goes to drag him away”

The sequences playing on the ipad screen are undeniably those Uccio spoke about.

He was sure he had seen yellow petals, he was sure.

Like he was sure Marc wasn’t responsible for the losing of the tenth, until Uccio had shown him proof.

every cough two or three blue petals coming out his mouth, Marc pushing him away, Lorenzo being accepted as a savior.

“The petals are not for you Vale. They’re for Lorenzo. Why else would he have helped him win? Why else would the petals be blue? Why else would he trust only Lorenzo to be close?”

And the little poison Uccio is spreading with his words gets to Vale, it digs its way to his brain, to his heart. 

Marc truly helped Lorenzo win because of a more intricate and complicated relationship between the two.

Marc. Marc wasn’t suffering because of him. He didn’t play a part in it. 

He knows because he was shown evidence.

Like the telemetry. Yes. The telemetry it - it was clear from there.

Marc is not his. Marc can suffer on his own.

Because it’s not his fault after all, if Lorenzo doesn’t love him back.

[mosneakers]

Coni: Okay Cor— you're gonna break my ribs.

Coraleye: [Still hugging tightly] Well I I wouldn't have to squeeze you so hard if you didn't have to go and ghost us! We've all been so worried about you.

Tycho: You had Coraleye especially worried, Coni. Coni: I'm sorry for how I handled things. I just got overwhelmed and I needed space. I just didn't think anyone would want to see my face again after what went down between Sunglo and I.

Coraleye: [Grabs Coni’s hands] Are you kidding? Don't be silly. You’ll always have a place in our family, Con— no matter what happens between you and my brother. Coni: You're right. I should've known you'd be forgiving.

Coni shoots Tycho a subtle, almost undetectable glance, as Coraleye's attention is diverted by a text on her phone.

Coraleye: [Gasps] Oh my... It's Erwin. He says he's here. Coni and Tycho let out a synchronized sigh of relief.

Coraleye: He says he wants to talk to me... alone. Is it alright if I step away for a moment? Tycho: I don't know, what could he possibly have— Coni: Tycho. Relax, okay? Please, go ahead. He's fine. You're fine, aren't you Tycho. [Eyes shooting daggers] Tycho: [Deep contemplative breath] Yeah, she's right. I'll be fine. You go ahead. I... I love you.

═════════════════════════════════════════

Despite immediately picking up on his jittery demeanor, Coraleye greeted Erwin with her usual warmth as she made her way up the stairs. Coraleye: Hey you!

Erwin: [Eyes shifting nervously] Hey Eyelash! Over here— [motions closer] I tried to find a quiet place to meet but this place is buzzing with activity. Wow... you look fantastic.

Coraleye: Oh, ha, thanks! You look great too; I love the suit. So what'd you want to talk to me about? Is everything alright?

Erwin: This stays between just us, right?

Coraleye: Yes, of course, Erwin... this is me you're talking to. I won't tell a soul. Not even Tycho. Erwin: Especially not Tycho... [Concerned expression]

Coraleye: [Reflects expression] Yeah, Erwin. What is it? You're starting to freak me out...

Erwin: I don’t have all the pieces yet, but you can bet that's all changing tonight. Smith should not be president. Aliens are far more dangerous than the media’s letting on—think shapeshifting, mind control, memory manipulation—

Coraleye: Erwin— Erwin: And I have proof that Curious has been hiding things from you Cor, he knows a lot more about this than he's letting on.

Coraleye: What? What are you saying? Erwin: In about fifteen minutes, Jill Smith will be making her speech on the rooftop; either the concession or acceptance. The media will be covering it live. That’ll be my only chance to expose the truth about aliens. I have the evidence, but there's security everywhere, I need your magic to get away. We have to move quickly.

Coraleye: Well then... take me away.

[siderealscribblings]

Early access Games of Divinity Time: Timetheft Edition

The Chasm - Liyue

There were easier ways to break stone, but Zhongli found the rhythmic swing of a pick strangely therapeutic. The tinny tink-tink-tink of metal on rock mingled with the chatter from the other miners around him, all dressed in sweat-stained shirts and heavy work-boots the same as he was. Despite hauling and shattering entire mountains worth of rock, no one raised a complaint, even as the blistering sun began beating down on them. They were a good crew, even if they were unnerved by the soft-spoken young man that could splinter rocks the size of houses with a few well-placed strokes of his ax. 

Perhaps they smell the blood on me, Zhongli thought, taking a swig from the wineskin on his hip and wiping his brow. War gods without wars were irrelevant, and while the Qixing still relied on his wisdom (such as it was) Zhongli found himself with too much time on his hands. Time that would be spent brooding if he didn’t put his hands to work doing something useful. It would be a while before he needed to fake his death and vanish for a few decades so those in Liyue Harbor didn’t grow suspicious and if he was going to live as a man, he was going to work as one as well. 

“Hey, Z!” Zhongli craned his head up to see one of the other workers leaning over the edge of his pit some ten meters above him. “Chow-wagon is here; grab the Mora Meat before Lingyun runs off with the whole stack!” 

“Screw off!” Came Lingyun’s reply from somewhere above him. 

“Thank you; I’ll be up momentarily,” Zhongli sighed, waving his co-worker off. The sun was high in the sky; Cloud Retainer would no doubt be snacking on the finest food the Fontish could serve up while Zhongli was picking pebbles out of Mora Meat. It had been many years since he had been at another Archon’s banquet, but given that a rather prickly dragon shadowed the Hydro Archon, Zhongli thought better of attending in disguise. 

Has the morning gotten away from me already? Zhongli thought, leaning against the wall of his hole and closing his eyes for a moment of peace. He tugged one of his gloves off, pressing a bare, scaled palm against the stone and sending a pulse of Geo energy throughout the earth  beneath him. They were approaching a cave system with a rich vein of Cor Lapis; beneath that was remnants of the meteorite that had fallen ages ago. No good will come of that, Zhongli thought. Best to guide them away from the tunnels so they can-

Zhongli’s musing was interrupted by something brushing against his nose. He opened his eyes to see a large black and red butterfly flapping lazily on the tip of his nose, tiny feelers brushing against his forehead as he carefully pried it off his face. The smell of smoky, burning cherrywood hung in the air as it beat its wings, fluttering off Zhongli’s finger and landing on the handle of his pickaxe. 

“Tell me you’re not here for any of my co-workers,” Zhongli said, watching as the butterfly exploded in a snap of flames, leaving a young woman with flowing brown hair in its place. 

“Nah, I decided to come out and see how the God of Geo fares as a miner,” the adeptus said, brushing some ash off her coat. “But, you may want to let that guy stuffing eight Mora Meat in his mouth know that his life’s thread got a little bit shorter after the last one. I’m not a doctor—quite the opposite really—but he’s only like twenty five and dying that young from a heart-attack seems like a waste to me.” 

“Shall I tell him the Unbound Flame revealed herself to me and told me his days were numbered?” Zhongli chuckled, glancing up to make sure no one was listening in. The young woman was known to many as the 57th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor (a title she conveniently inherited from a mortal relative when it suited her) but how she had appeared out of thin air was not a conversation Zhongli wanted to entertain. 

“Tell him to eat a vegetable every once and a while or he’s going to be fitted for a pine box before he’s forty,” the Unbound Flame sighed. “How’s the side-gig treating you?” 

“Alright…I enjoy doing physical labor more than I thought I would,” Zhongli shrugged. “I’ve had enough of splitting skulls so I thought I’d give splitting stone a try.” 

“Shame; you’re good at splitting skulls,” the Unbound Flame said, hopping off the pick-ax. “Your skills might be needed sooner rather than later, in fact.” 

“I should hope not,” Zhongli said. “...is there something I should know?” 

“Besides the fact that you need a bath?” The Unbound Flame chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. “...that Miko lady was in town the other day.” 

“Ei’s girl?” Zhongli asked. “I imagine she’s heading up for Lady Furina’s birthday.” 

“She was…but she wanted to talk to someone in charge and since Cloudy and Xiao are in Fontaine and you’re playing in the mud, she had to talk to me,” the Unbound Flame sighed. “Barbados wants to talk.” 

“Yae Miko sent you to tell me that Barbados wants to talk?” Zhongli sniffed. “Why isn’t Barbados here to talk to me himself?” 

“He’s in Fontaine at the moment,” the Unbound Flame said. “And he wants you to join him.” 

“Of all the-” Zhongli shook his head. “That absurd little god needs to stay away from Fontaine; the last time I was there, I was run off by Focalors’ attack dragon.” 

“Like you couldn’t have dusted him if you wanted,” the Unbound Flame huffed, lightly jabbing Zhongli in the shoulder. “You might want to hear what he has to say first.” 

Zhongli’s brow furrowed as his companion fished a letter from her coat pocket and pressed it into Zhongli’s hands. Only one sentence was on the page, but Zhongli read it three times, his scowl deepening with each pass. 

“...how does he know?” Zhongli asked quietly. 

“I guess bards hear a lot of rumors,” the Unbound Flame said, her usual cheer muted as she watched him inspect the letter further. “Miko seems to think it’s legit.” 

“Does Neuvillette know about this?” Zhongli asked, rubbing his eyes as he tossed the paper aside. 

“If he did, the whole country would be up in arms,” the Unbound Flame said, folding her arms across her chest. “You know Barbados doesn’t pull his head out of a wine barrel unless things are serious.” 

“And Xiao and Cloud Retainer are in the middle of all this…nonsense,” Zhongli growled. “...there is a chance I may make this worse. Neuvillette will distrust me if I tell him the sky is blue by virtue of the fact that I’m an usurper.” 

“Well if he doesn’t trust at least one of us, he could have another dead Hydro Archon on his hands,” the Unbound Flame said. “And that’s not even the worst part; someone needs to go up there and swing his metaphorical spear around and since the Shogun isn’t up to the task-” 

“I suppose it falls to me,” Zhongli sighed, rubbing his eyes. “...we could start another war.” 

“Or prevent one,” the Unbound Flame reasoned. “Either way, should be a good time; I hear Fontish food is pretty good if you don’t mind snails and stinky cheese.” 

“Something tells me we’re not making it to the Archon’s dinner table this time,” Zhongli said. “You’ll come with me.” 

“Think you’ll need an undertaker?” 

“If we need to bury a goddess, I can think of no finer mortician than someone from the ‘Hu’ family,” Zhongli said, kicking a shovel at her and watching her catch it. The withered wooden handle crackled as flames danced across the woman’s fingertips, turning red as fire consumed it. In the hands of the Unbound Flame, any piece of wood could become her Staff and as the fire died down, the shovel was replaced by a long wooden stick capped with a pair of ornate wings and a crimson jewel. 

“I thought you were done being a war god,” the Unbound Flame teased, jabbing him in the side as Zhongli pulled his coat back on. 

“After this, I am done,” Zhongli said for what must have been the hundredth time as he turned to climb the rickety ladder out of the pit as the Unbound Flame rode her staff out to the surface. “Let me bathe and we’ll be off.” 

A distant boom followed by the sound of panicked screaming came from the far side of the chasm, a cloud of dust erupting from a nearby mine as men rushed out covered in dirt. 

“Take your time…I have some work to wrap up here,” the Unbound Flame sighed. “Tell your boss that she lost three…no, four men. I’ll see them off before we go.” 

Staff draped across her shoulders, she sauntered off, humming a cheerful funeral dirge to herself as she went to collect the souls of the fallen miners.