#cyno’s jokes? memorized

[electric-plants]

kaveh: cyno’s been talking to that guy over there for a while now….shouldn’t you be jealous or something?

alhaitham: i highly doubt that man is prepared to listen to cyno talk about tcg for six hours straight so no, i don’t think it’s anything to be concerned over

kaveh: ….six HOURS?

alhaitham: i can recite everything he said for you if you don’t believe me

kaveh: NO thank you

[h0neysp1ce]

❀˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹❀ Tιɠԋɳαɾι

⋆˚✿˖° Character Parings : Tighanri , Fem! Reader Constellation: Head canons / series Warnings: Spoilers for Sumeru Archon Quests (small mentions) Spoilers for Tighnari's Character and Personality? Tags: Fluff, Romance, Established Relationship, Relationship Dynamics A/N: Next Fontaine Men?? No specific pronouns for reader, But I started the head canons series, with it being fem! reader so that's why its labeled that way. ⋆˚✿˖° (proof read sorta ) (edited sorta)

Word count: 955

✧˖°🌷⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚✧˖°🌷⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚✧˖°🌷⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚✧˖°🌷⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚✧˖°🌷⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

Nicknames he gives you include: Marigold, My Marigold, Dear, Daffoldi, Dandelion, Buttercup.

As a Forest Ranger, he definitely takes you on his forest watches and duties sometimes.

Tighnari knows his herbs like the back of his hand (he probably has a whole book on them that he keeps with him at all times).

He drinks tea and brews herbal tea for the two of you, such as mint, ginger, or peppermint flavors.

He's all about safety 100%. He will give you a lecture beforehand and a review lecture during the outings you both go on.

His love languages are Words of Affirmation . He'll verbally express his love and show it in every way he can, every day. <3

He has a sarcastic side and a serious side, a mix similar to Cyno’s but distinct in its own way.

Tighnari is both a compliment giver and receiver. <3

Tighnari: "You look as beautiful as ever, my Marigold."

You:  "Thank you, Love."

He is a respectful gentleman, a sweetheart, and a total sweetie to you.

You listen to him ramble on and on; it's comforting and kind of funny when he goes off on his usual tangents.

Your boyfriend has a Mom/Bodyguard Mode (he only does it to protect his most beloved, which is you :3).

He remembers the smallest details about you—favorite foods, colors, everything. He's that dedicated to knowing you, memorizing it all with ease because you are that important to him.

You two share his place in Gandarvaville and live together. <3

Collei was the first person to know about your relationship.

Sometimes you help Collei with tasks or act as an alternative if Tighnari is out on his travels and wants you to stay put until he returns. It varies honestly.

You are allowed to pet/touch his ears with his permission (you're the only person he lets do this).

He knows how to make medicine and herbal remedies for just about everything.

He loves kissing your forehead, hands, nose (and sometimes your neck), and leaves behind marks here and there as a way of marking you (all with permission, of course).

You are bonded for life, as his species (fennec fox) mates for life, so you are paired forever. <3

Like Kaveh, Tighnari would definitely bring a banquet of flowers home to you from all the places he visits each time he goes on his travels. He’s also gotten you jewelry before, like necklaces, earrings, or bracelets (Sumeru style??).

Tighnari: "Daffoldi, could you come in for a moment? Yes, come here please."

(He gifts you a flower-shaped necklace that resembles the flower on his outfit, almost matching.)

"Name": "I love it so much, thank you, sweetheart!"

He trained you how to use a bow and arrows (with his bow) and also taught you self-defense and various other skills.

He acknowledges you every chance he gets, always impressed and proud of your achievements.

Like the other Sumeru men, he knows more than one language.

He teases you sometimes and makes lots of funny jokes that make you crack up.

He’ll be that shoulder to lean on if you fall asleep.

Nap time is a thing for you both whenever you get the chance.

Hand holding, kissing, cuddling—he’s all for it.

He’s clingy right before you two go to bed, when waking up in the morning, or when he's about to leave on a trip. He always clings to you and gives you lots of kisses and compliments before he leaves, assuring you he’ll be back soon.

Like Kaveh, he’s always glad when his duties as a forest ranger wrap up or pause so he can return to you because he tends to miss you.

He finds his work as a forest watcher/ranger very important but always makes time for you in between (dates, quality time, etc.).

He also gifted you a locket necklace with a picture of both of you inside it.

He definitely picks you up bridal style or gives you piggyback rides when your feet get tired on a trip.

"Name": "Tighnari, I’m fine, you can put me down."

Tighnari: "I’m just letting your legs rest for a while, silly. We’ve been walking for a bit, and I can clearly tell you need a break."

"Name" "But—"

Tighnari: "Ah, ah, no buts. I’ve got you." He gently pulls you closer to his chest while carrying you, placing a kiss on your forehead.

Passionate and soft kisser, trailing kisses on your face, neck, etc.

When you walk together, he likes wrapping one of his arms around you, placing it on your side.

As serious as this fennec fox can be, sometimes he can be a bit goofy and silly.

He’s dedicated to protecting you, and no one will ever try anything while he’s around. :)

That time he got struck by lightning was a real scare. You scolded him a lot for it.

"Name" "You could have seriously gotten hurt worse!"

Tighnari: "Buttercup, I’m fine—ow, ow."

"Name": "Don’t move."

Tighnari: "I’m  really sorry, Marigold."

He loves to cup your face with his hands from time to time, thinking you’re just cute and adorable up close with his hands cupping your face.

You have dinner together almost every night unless he’s away on his job as a forest ranger.

You two take walks when it’s raining (not thundering or lightning), just when it’s raining with a leaf umbrella (I know that doesn’t exist, just bear with me).

At some point, he got you a piece of jewelry like a promise ring or a matching bracelet for both of you, as a sign of your union and how important your relationship is.

He’ll eventually ask you to marry him. Don’t worry—this fox sees a future with you.

[mya-valentine]

You can try writhing this in fanfic if you can, Requesting S/o rarely laugh at Cyno's joke, she reacts just like other, but doesn't mean s/o doesn't like it, just doesn't find it funny enough. Cyno suddenly got an idea loophole on how to make them laugh, he would tell them more of his jokes while his hand would subtly poke/touch them, make them flinch before turning it into a full blown tickling, making them Laugh at his jokes, and continue telling his jokes and acted like he did nothing and says "Your laughing so hard, that means my jokes has improved hmn?" Something like that. A light hearted interaction<3

Tickle Tactics

A/N: Hope you like it 🩷

Cyno was never one to shy away from sharing his infamous jokes, especially when it came to you. You, unlike most others, tolerated his puns without much of a reaction—at least on the surface. While everyone else would groan or look away, you simply smiled politely, nodding at his clever wordplay, but rarely did you laugh.

He’d never let it show, but Cyno had been scheming. Not because he needed validation, but because he wanted to hear you laugh—genuinely, not just out of politeness. And today, he had just the idea.

You were sitting comfortably in the living area of your shared space, reading through a book while Cyno casually lingered nearby. He approached with his usual calm demeanor, his eyes glinting with a hint of mischief.

“Hey,” he started, his voice light. “Why don’t skeletons fight each other?”

You glanced up from your book, sensing another one of his jokes incoming. “I don’t know, why?”

“Because they don’t have the guts.”

You smiled, as you always did. “That’s a good one,” you said, though your tone lacked the hearty laughter most people gave when they found something funny.

Cyno hummed in mock thought, moving a bit closer to you. “I see. That one’s still not quite there.��� His hand, as casual as ever, found its way to your side, gently brushing against you.

You flinched, slightly surprised by the touch, but assumed it was accidental. Cyno noticed your small reaction but didn’t let on that he had anything planned. “Let me try another.”

You looked at him, curious about his next attempt. “Sure.”

“What do you call a fake noodle?”

You tilted your head, genuinely not knowing this one. “What?”

“An impasta,” he said, punctuating the punchline with another subtle poke to your side, this time lingering just a bit longer.

You flinched again, a giggle accidentally escaping your lips as you squirmed from the unexpected poke. Cyno raised an eyebrow, still acting casual.

“Oh? Was that a laugh?” he asked, pretending to be surprised.

“N-No, you poked me—” you started to say, but Cyno didn’t give you a chance to finish. His hands suddenly shot out, finding all the ticklish spots he had long since memorized. He moved swiftly, fingers dancing along your sides, causing you to break out into uncontrollable laughter.

“Cyno—! Hey, stop!” you squealed between giggles, trying to wriggle away, but he was relentless.

“All this laughing, it must mean my jokes have improved,” he mused, his tone completely deadpan, as though he hadn’t just turned your quiet afternoon into a tickle ambush. “I should tell you another one while I have your attention.”

“Cyno! No!” you protested through your laughter, but it was useless.

“What do you call cheese that isn’t yours?” he asked, barely pausing to give you a moment of reprieve.

You could barely breathe through the laughter, tears springing to your eyes as you desperately tried to escape his tickling grip. “I— I don’t know!”

“Nacho cheese,” he said, fingers still working their way across your sides, making sure you couldn’t escape the full brunt of the tickle attack.

You dissolved into more laughter, fully aware now that he was deliberately tormenting you for your usual lack of response to his jokes. “C-Cyno! You’re cheating!”

“Cheating?” he asked, feigning innocence. “I think I’ve just finally figured out how to deliver my punchlines in a way that resonates with you.”

Another poke, this time to your ribs, and you were a mess of laughter again, unable to stop yourself from wriggling and squirming under his touch. Cyno grinned, clearly enjoying himself.

Eventually, he slowed his tickling assault, giving you time to catch your breath. “I must admit,” he said, his voice smooth and calm as if nothing had happened, “you’re laughing more than I expected. Perhaps I’ve underestimated the power of physical comedy.”

You glared at him playfully, still panting from the tickle ambush. “That wasn’t fair,” you said between breaths. “You can’t just tickle me into laughing at your jokes.”

Cyno shrugged, his smirk widening. “I didn’t tickle you into laughing at my jokes. You’re laughing because you enjoy them.”

You shot him a look, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

“Absolutely,” he replied, his tone uncharacteristically playful. “I’ve finally cracked the code.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle again, shaking your head. Cyno leaned back, satisfied with his victory. He may have had to resort to underhanded tactics, but he’d gotten what he wanted: your laughter, pure and genuine.

And maybe, just maybe, you’d start appreciating his jokes a little more from now on—without the added tickling.

.

.

.

Masterlist

[idkfitememate]

🦌 anon here. A though just came to me. And it’s really FUDGING adorable.

Deer! Reader is in the middle of a VERY LARGE sleep pile with her ambush. All 10 of them in a lump together with deer! Reader. The ultimate cuddle/sleep session. Only their tiny deer head is visible from beneath the massive amount of rust and cream colored fur.

Tighnari, Collei and Cyno watch in both shock and awe.

“Do we… help them???-“

“If we so much as touch them the Rishboland Tigers will kill us.”

The trio stood outside the large sea of orange and red with a dot of brown in the center.

This was Cyno’s first time interacting with you - even if you were asleep - and he wanted to memorable in the only way he knew how.

“At least it’s not a DEER-ire situation.”

“Cyno no.”

“there ANTLER we can do.”

“Cyno stop.”

“I sup-DOEs we have to leave this situation alone.”

“Cyno please.”

“I got one of the tigers to chuff.”

“…”

“…”

“…I will shoot you myself. Don’t test me.”

“… Then I suppose I must RISH myself goodbye-“

*The sound of a man being beat with an arrow. Not shot with, BEAT with*

“… A little help? I’ve been sucked into the ambush and I can’t get out… it is warm though…”

If you didn’t get the jokes (I’m tired they probably suck) here we go:

Dee-ire is supposed to be “dire”

Antler is supposed to be read as if it is “ain’t more”

Sup-does is “suppose”

Rish is meant to be “wish”

I hope that makes sense okay bye ໒꒰ྀི ∩ ⸝⸝ ∩ ꒱ྀིა

[lenaariewrld]

C.14 — formal dinners (w)

ON THE AIR — childe x reader smau

| SYNOPSIS;; Teyvat University’s popular radio personality, Y/n L/n, has only one gripe with her life. Her classmate, neighbour, and all-around nuisance in her life, Tartaglia. Their rivalry extends just past academics and, to her horror, into her work. He becomes the music director and co-host for her radio show, working alongside her most nights and forcing himself even deeper into her life. But is he really trying to just be friends, or is there an ulterior motive to his actions?

| WC: 3.6k

previous! ~ masterlist ! ~ next!

———

The giggles and laughter of your group reverberated through the restaurant as you all settled into your chairs around the table, a semi-private location that Childe had arranged for days prior to this. The conversation flowed nicely as you all breezed through the far too decadent appetizers and sipped on your drinks. You found it easier to just sit back and relax, enjoying yourself, than you’d previously thought. Ganyu sat across from you, with Keqing to your right and Childe to your left. Cyno sat across from the other man, and the seat next to Ganyu was left open. You had invited Diluc along too in case he was free, but he never responded. A part of you was unsure if you wanted him to show up. You couldn’t place why.

You all shared stories about your trips on breaks, funny things that happened while you’d been attending the university, or even memorable times you’d shared with each other. Ganyu recalled the first trip she’d taken on vacation, one you’d invited her on and had planned for her. Keqing shared her own stories about interesting things she’d learned while assisting her professors through the years, and you and Cyno had your own fun stories to share about parties or crazy nights you’d had. Childe shared a funny story about when he’d first moved here and the miscommunications he’d had with an unfortunate grocery store clerk when he was trying to get some specific ingredient for food.

The dinner was delicious, and a relaxing time for you and your friends, splitting off into separate conversations on occasion. You and Childe even fell into your own little world, the two of you bantering and chatting casually. Nicely. It was probably the least stressful interaction you’d had with the ginger man in years.

As the night wore on and the time leaned later in the evening, the conversations naturally turned to what everyone at the table wanted to do after graduating. In a perfect world, what jobs they’d pursue and careers they’d lead.

Cyno went first, explaining he wanted to be a lawyer or a judge. That he wanted to help judge cases based not only on fairness, but on the circumstances and would would best help a situation resolve. Keqing spoke up next. She wanted to work for the Qixing, a multi-million-dollar commerce company and the most influential conglomerate corporation in the nation. You joked that if she ever got the job, she should be your sugar mommy and expand the company into the entertainment industry to give you your own show. “I’ll think about it,” She joked, nudging your arm with a slight quirk of her lips. Ganyu then admitted she didn’t have a lot of aspirations, and that she’d be perfectly happy as an accountant or an administrative assistant, something with responsibility but not as a leader, where she could make good money and live a relatively calm life. You respected her honesty about it.

When it was unofficially your turn, you told everyone that, unsurprisingly, you wanted to write interesting stories. That you wanted to not only be able to give an escape for people who were as stressed and busy as you found yourself in school and in work, but also to highlight other people’s stories. You wanted to do something impactful, and writing or speaking was how you did that. Whether you ended up being a journalist or not, you didn’t care, so long as you got to accomplish that goal.

Then Childe shared his wishes. He wanted to be a musician, to either be a soloist or lead his own band and express himself (and potentially the others in his band) through music. He wanted to let out everything he couldn’t normally or shouldn’t. Music was the one thing he could communicate in, without fail. Language barrier or not.

Everyone hummed thoughtfully, falling silent around the table and taking a minute to let the topic settle in their minds. Cyno clapped his hands together after a minute. “Okay, well–” He chuckled and brought up a story about some of his teachers and the classmates he’d witnessed doing dumb stuff.

Just like that, the dinner continued as normal. The drinks refilled before you even realise they’ve fallen low, and the plates of food switched out as soon as you’d had your fill.

Once everyone was finished and Childe had paid for the extravagant meal, you all collected your things and headed back to the cars you’d arrived in. You and Ganyu linked arms as youn walked together, your steps far bouncier than hers.

“Oooo, we should go dancing!” You exclaim suddenly, twirling on your feet to face the others as you said this. Your eyes sparkle with excitement. Maybe those glasses of wine were hitting you.

“Y/nnie, maybe we should–”

“Good idea!” Cyno tacks on before Keqing can finish her protest. “We should make a night out of it! “ His voice came out sort of squeaky as he jostled your shoulders playfully, causing you to giggle. Keqing sighs, shaking her head, though you can spot the smile trying to split on her face. She relents eventually, ushering your group towards her car. You cheer and throw your arms around Cyno and Ganyu’s shoulders.

You all pile into the car and debate which club to go to, eventually giving Keqing a name. She drives you all there and your group makes it inside unscathed and without too much fuss. Before anything else, your group trails towards a booth. Keqing and Ganyu make themselves comfortable– with Ganyu graciously agreeing to hold onto your purse– while you, Childe and Cyno head to the bar for a round of shots.

After clinking your glasses and downing the shots, you order a few drinks to sip on before rejoining your friends. You slide into the booth with Keqing and Childe, while Cyno slides in next to Ganyu. You mainly stay silent, waiting for a song you like to start playing before you get up, nursing your martini, while the others have their own conversations.

When a song you recognise starts, you gasp excitedly. Your white-haired friend recognises the song too, and without prompting, grabs your hand to pull you onto the dance floor. The both of you start singing along, your hands intertwined.

It was lively and close as you push further into the throng of dancing people. The both of you throw your arms up or around each other. You keep giggling as you serenade the man, keeping close to Cyno. The rest of the dancing crowd melts away as the fuzz in your brain makes itself a home, your body feeling a current of energy coursing through your veins. Your both disconnected and hyper-aware of your body.

Time seems to become meaningless in this crowd as you dance, only the sure beats of the songs and the feeling of Cyno’s hands on your arms or shoulders keeping you aware of any change around you. You knew you were a more provocative person when you were drunk (not that you intended to, it just happened to loosen you up enough for you to be comfortable), but you didn’t mind in moments like this. In times when the energy was matching the constant thrum in your head. It helped, in fact, especially when you were around people you trusted, grinding and dancing with Cyno with near reckless abandon.

You were both lost in the moment, claiming the lights for your own and having your main character moment. Your hips, your arms, your hands traveled wherever, chasing the feeling of careless dancing that the entire crowd also claimed for themselves.

You were having the time of your life, not even recognizing the songs any more, just vibing to whatever played and the vibes of the club. That is, until you twirl around and effectively lose your friend in the throng of jumping bodies, your hands having left Cyno’s sometime during the spinning. You stumble a little bit as you come to a stop. You look around.

Wasn’t he just here? He was behind you, right? Or on your left?

Turning your head every direction does little to help you see over all off the people jumping and dancing in order to spot your friend, even with how bright his hair looked in the club lights. Your heart starts to hammer in your chest, the ecstatic energy turning sour with worry. You feel a hand on your upper arm and turn quickly to face the owner, hoping its Cyno.

A strange man you’ve never met smiles at you, already too close for comfort in this crowd. “You doing okay, little lady?” He asks, his voice dropped to a husky whisper as his hand trails up to your shoulder.

You scowl and push his hand away. “‘M fine,”

“Aw don’t be like that~ I just want to dance,” He coos, pouting obnoxiously, his voice a condescending tone. He’s really not going to leave you alone. “I can be your dance partner–”

“She already has one,” A new voice speaks from behind you, but you recognize this one. Childe slides up to you casually (when did he even get here?) and stares down the man. You can only turn your head to stare at him in confusion, a strange feeling burrowing into your stomach as he places his hand on your lower back. A light touch, easy enough to shake off once the creep disappeared, but high enough to make him see.

The man scoffs, “She can speak for herself, can’t she?” He defends, clearly not getting the hint. You roll your eyes, shaking out of whatever silence had overcome you and grabbing Childe’s hand.

“Like he said, I already have a partner,” You lift your intertwined fingers and pull Childe with you deeper into the crowd. Only, you don’t stop, crossing the floor as you try to find the edge of the dance floor, far away from the creep. You’re no longer interested in the fun of the crowd and pulsating bass line, wanting to find your friend. As soon as the two of you escape the pulsating wall of dancing bodies, you let go of the ginger’s hand.

Where were you headed? You aren’t sure. You don’t realise Childe is still following behind you until he gently takes hold of your wrist and stops you. You look around. You were trying to find Ganyu and Keqing again, to regroup at their table, but… this is a hallway, not the table. And, pointedly, it’s on the second floor of the club, a railing on one side opening up to reveal the dance floor and more of the first floor below.

“Y/n, are you okay?” Childe asks, his voice quieter now that the music isn’t blasting in your ears. The sound is slightly muffled now, but you can still feel the bass under your feet.

“I’m drunk,” You admit. “But I didn’t need you to save me, or to follow me,” You take a deep breath, collecting yourself. Childe sighs.

“Well, I’m not leaving you alone here,” He says, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Why not? I can handle myself,”

“Oh, you were really handling yourself back there with that guy. I’m sure your sarcasm was a real deterrent when you actually spoke up,” He sounds exasperated, raising his brows at you. You roll your eyes.

“Well, I would’ve if you’d not stepped in,”

He scoffs, throwing his arms up. “Why are you so stubborn? I was trying to help you?”

“I didn’t ask you to!” You step closer to him, pressing your finger against his chest. “I’m not some damsel in distress, and you don’t need to come to my aid!” You seethe, unsure why you’re even this frustrated. Your head was swimming, and you were beyond annoyed with yourself. You lost track of Cyno and you hadn’t even been able to pull yourself together to reject that guy. Even worse, you felt relieved when Childe had come up behind you, had felt a warmth in your chest, a bubbling fire when his hand had found your back. You didn’t like that feeling.

“I’m not going to look the other way while someone makes you uncomfortable, Y/n, is that so hard to believe?” The man’s voice brings you back to the conversation and you huff at his words, your lips pursing slightly.

“Why?”

He blinks, his head tilting to the side just slightly. It reminds you of a puppy, and for a brief second you understand the charm or his looks, and why so many girls fawned over him. “What do you mean? You’re…” He clears his throat, looking away from you. “You’re my friend,” He admits.

You find yourself lost for words for a second, the both of you staring at each other as his words settled in. It wasn’t hard to believe, necessarily. You’d been working together for a few months now, and had been setting aside your rivalry and amending it for the past three weeks now. As much as you didn’t want to admit it to yourself, you’d been softened to him, and he had definitely softened to you. But the way he says it, and the way it settles in your mind through the haze of your drunken state makes you feel like there’s something more to it.

You’re still staring at his face, your eyes glancing over all of his features, and your hand still pointing at his chest, the contact buzzing on your skin. You smooth your hand against his shirt and a thought pops into your mind. One you would normally never have or would push aside as soon as it came up. That is, if you weren’t drunk right now.

“Y/n?” Childe spoke up quietly, a half-question in his tone as he reached up and brushed some hair away from your eyes. You leaned forward into his touch, your body moving on its own without your brain’s interference.

“I want to kiss you,” You told him, your other hand coming up to hold the collar of his jacket. Where you got the boldness to speak your mind all of a sudden, you aren’t sure (it’s got to be the warm liquor, you think) but you don’t mind when the man lifts his brows slightly and lets out a soft chuckle.

And you don’t mind when he leans down and kisses you, capturing your lips with his quickly. Greedily, you meet his lips to kiss him back. And you taste the vodka he’d drank earlier on his tongue, the saccharine of the dessert he’d eaten at dinner making you drunk all over again. You feel heady, desperate even as you pull on his collar and drag him closer, your lips slotting against his as you exchange breaths.

His hands come up to cup the back of your head, deepening the kiss as he dips his tongue into the kiss. It’s needy and messy and you lose any bearings on where you are, gasping as the cold of the wall melts through the material of your dress. Another breathy gasp escapes you as Childe presses himself closer, pulling your thighs against his hips. His kisses meet your heated skin, goosebumps raising where the cool air hits you once he’s done his task. The air around you both seems to send sparks across your nerves, your body arching against his. You feel even more breathless than before, your head spinning with every second that passes.

Childe kisses you with a need and a desire you had never experienced before, the groans he lets our vibrating on your skin, dripping into your chest and curling in your stomach. Your heart pounds. You can’t get enough of this, tugging on his hair as another shiver runs down your spine. “Fuh-ck,” His voice cracks slightly as he kisses up your jaw, his breath tickling the shell of your ear. “So fuckin’ annoying, so pretty,” He’s mumbling and you’re not sure if it’s for you or himself but you couldn’t really care as you grip his shoulders, your lips parted with heavy pants.

It’s like you’re becoming intoxicated all over again, the sensations more than anything you’ve ever felt before. Electrified. You turn your head and cup Childe’s cheek, meeting his lips in another kiss, too lost to care about the clack of his teeth against yours. You recover as he straightens slightly, a soft whine in his throat when you tug on his bottom lip with your teeth. You could get lost in this forever, could stay in this moment until the sun rises and your deeds were laid bare for you to witness.

Well, you could, that is until you feel your phone buzzing in your pocket, vibrating insistently against your hip. You recognize the ringtone– though it takes you a second to do so –as Ganyu’s contact. The chiming cuts through your haze instantly. “Shit,” You blink rapidly to clear your head as you fish around for the device, both your feet meeting the ground again as Childe lets your thigh go. You lean back against the wall, the both of you snapping out of the moment. Childe steps back, turning his head away from you, his ears a bright burning red that you can make out even in the low lighting.

Your own cheeks feel like they’re burning through, your head leaning back on the wall when you answer the call. As soon as the phone is against your ear, you hear Ganyu asking a million questions. “Where are you?? Cyno, Ke, and I have been looking for you for, like, thirty minutes!” She sounds both worried and relieved that you answered.

You cringe internally. “I’m sorry,” You unhale sharply, trying not to sound too out of breath. “I-uh..” You glance towards the red-haired man, who was running his hands over his face now, still turning away from you out of respect. “I got lost and.. I was looking for you guys, but I found Childe,” You tell her. The phone call continues for a minute or so more, ending with you promising to find her again. As soon as you tuck the device back into your pocket, you turn back to Childe. “I guess it’s time to.. Head home,” You tell him, clearing your throat and gesturing towards the direction the two of you had initially come from.

Before you walk off, though, he stops you and fixes the straps on your dress wordlessly. “Here…” he mumbles, fixing any of the mess-ups in your hair. You giggle softly, reaching up and swiping your smudged lipstick off of the corner of his mouth. Once the both of you are sufficiently cleaned up and unsuspecting, you head out.

It takes a couple more minutes of searching before you find and regroup with everyone, relief flooding your system again when they all greet you, not making any comments about you or Childe’s appearances. Cyno pretends to sob and hangs off of your frame. “I’m sorryyyyyy,” He dramatically wails, his head on your shoulder. A giggle escapes you again as you weaved your arms underneath his, rocking back and forth with the white-haired man. “It’s okay,” You soothe in just as playful tone as he was using. You then look to Keqing and Ganyu, filling them in on what happened. You pointedly leave out the details of your argument turned… whatever the hell that was with Childe, clearing your throat when you get to that part.

“I took her upstairs to see if we could spot you guys from there,” Childe steps in, easily covering up your quietness. He seemed to be even less eager to share what you two had got up to, his voice quiet and his hands shoved in the pockets of his slacks. Keqing hums, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Okay, you’re all sobering up and then we’re leaving,” She declares, sitting all of you down at the booth. She briefly departs before returning with waters, helping Cyno to sit up from where he was previously laying on your lap.

“I really am sorry for wandering off,” You tell her quietly, leaning your head against her shoulder. She pets the top of your head, holding your glass as you take a sip of the water.

“It’s okay,” She shrugs.

After sobering up a little more and enjoying some friendly conversation, mostly between the other two girls and Childe, Keqing leaves again to settle the tab. Childe kindly hands over his card for her to use, helping you and Cyno up out of the booth. Your white-haired friend seemed to get incredibly sleepy once everyone was together again, though he was able to hold himself up well with the two of you walking with him. You held his hand.

Your group then leaves and piles into the car. You slide into the back seat with the two men, sitting in between both of them. Ganyu and Keqing sit up front, talking quietly between them. Meanwhile, the three of you remain quiet in your drunken states, letting the night come to a quiet end for now. Your mind is still racing, and your heart is beating harshly, like you’re worried that your friends would be able to read your mind and see everything that happened.

Childe seems fine as the car starts, the slight bumpiness of the road doing little to jostle him as he sits upright, looking out the window with a glazed look in his eyes. You and Cyno lean against each other for support, practically cuddling as you fight to stay awake in the back seat. Cyno hums to the music Keqing has playing on the radio, his head resting on top of yours.

And somewhere, in your dozed and half-aware state, you find Childe’s hand, your pointer and middle finger hooked around his in the darkness of the back seat…

———

A/Ns: ehehehehe >:) likes/reblogs/comments are always appreciated, and don't forget to stay hydrated <33

TAGLIST: @popiizpops @scaradooche @yourfavoritefreakyhan @neversore

[pexchys]

"your dirty little secret" Al-Haitham x gn!Reader

cw: semi-nsfw, a little angst, secret relationships, lowk toxic reader, drunk mentions, somewhat unrequited love

Al-Haitham walks past you, his boots clicking against the grand Akademiya halls

He barely notices you, his face as stoic as ever

But you know he's frustrated

You know he's dying on the inside.

You've been avoiding him like the plague, until it's three in the morning, drunk at the tavern, stumbling away from Nilou, Cyno and Tighnari, making your way to his home

Just like you did last night

When you knocked on the door, your face flushed and your eyes wide as Al-Haitham greeted you before you gently grabbed his face and brought him close to you

He paused before wrapping his strong arms around your waist, kicking the door closed as he pushed you against the wall, desperate as he kissed your lips, before moving down to your neck

You gasped, arching your back to give him more access as he continued to press kisses down to your collarbone, before he led you into his bedroom

"You're drunk," he muttered in between kisses and soft bites, laying you down on your back

You stayed quiet, choosing to run your fingers through his gray locks and nudging him closer to you, wrapping your legs around his hips

And when the morning came, he was still asleep with evidence all over his chest of what you did hours before

And when you wanted nothing more than to sit there and study his face, memorizing the arch of his nose and his quiet breathing pattern,

The way he so many times tried to spend a wholesome night with you,

You grabbed your clothes and left.

Gone.

Like every time.

He was falling in love with you, you knew that.

You could see it in the way he stared at you when you laughed,

Or when his demeanor slightly shifted when you flirted with Dehya

Or joked with Kaveh.

You wanted to love him back.

But that would be impossible.

So for now, he'd be your dirty little secret.

Inspired by Artemas's "dirty little secret"

[spiriteddreams]

when he realizes he loves you (part 3)

Characters: Cyno, Al-Haitham, Tighnari, Kamisato Ayato, Shikanoin Heizou Warnings: none A/N: tbh i think i've written some of my fav lines in these little blurbs so i hope you all enjoy!! Part 1, Part 2

cyno // lupus aureus just the title, “general mahamatra” is enough to instill fear into the hearts of the many scholars that study within the akademiya. he has a reputation, one that he gladly upholds, by upholding justice on the scales of justice. he is the weigher of souls and you are the eternal sun, two ends of the spectrum fated to meet in the middle through a clash of weapon and words. and yet when he takes off his head piece and runs his hand through tangled white hair, you are there waiting for him at the end of the day with open arms. you are featherlight touches and bubbling laughter, indulging in his terrible jokes with a fond smile. in the confines of your shared him, behind closed doors he finds his mask slipping as a triumphant and cocky grin crosses his features.

“you’re a cheater.” you scowl at him behind the cards you hide from his sight “there’s no way you’re winning this many times in a row. genius invokation tcg cards lay out on the table that separates the two of you and you have the urge to lunge over the table to pluck the card cyno’s been thumbing since the beginning of the match. he can’t help but grin and he opens his mouth to declare his ultimate victory but stops short when he takes in the expression on your face. there is discontent and irritation but no hint of malice. and when you meet his gaze he stops. how can someone, who dances in the sun with a vision at your side, every move precise and calculated, so in love with someone as dark and mysterious as him? he isn’t quite sure of the answer to his internal crisis just yet, so instead, he places down a card and claims victory. he decides he wants to kiss you silly when you let out a cry of defeat.

al-haitham // vultur volans he is a man with little free time on his hands, or so he claims. but on certain nights, one can find the grand scribe strolling through the streets of sumeru city with you holding onto his arm. he’s quiet, nodding along as you fill the open air with chatter. but unlike if he were listening to the pleads of other scholars, al-haitham is attentive to your every word, hanging onto them as if they might be the last he may ever hear. he hums in agreement, scoffs at your jokes, and smiles gently when you look over at him. he prefers to spend his days like this, away from the dull chatter of akademiya research as he listens to your stories of wonder.

“haitham, are you listening?” you stop walking outside of his home, body turning fully to face his. he would be lying if he said he was, having been distracted the last couple minutes in favour of tracing his eyes along your features in an attempt to memorize every little piece of you. he wants to ask how you have come to love him so, when rumours are cruel and sometimes his words even more so. but the words die on his tongue when you captivate him with that smile. the one so gentle and warm, paired with such understanding eyes that he wants to fall into your embrace and never let go. for once, the words refuse to come forth, so he rests his forehead against yours instead and seals unsaid words with a kiss.

tighnari // vulpes zerda the dangers of the avidya forest are very much real, sumeru isn’t a fairytale, as tighnari likes to say sarcastically after he helps another reckless adventurer who had found themself in trouble. he is curt with his words, straight to the point and daresay bland when he scolds others. but his words lose all edge when he’s with you. you are just as sharp as he is, bold where he is gentle, understanding where he is harsh, his perfect equal in all the ways he can think of. he hates to admit it, but he can feel his ears perk up when he hears your voice, his tail swishing slightly as he eagerly anticipates your entrance to his room. then—

“how many times have i told you to stop eating mushrooms!” ah yes, there it is. you look furious, but tighnari knows you really aren’t. despite your hands in the air and exasperation in your tone, he sees it immediately, the concern in your eyes. guilt creeps in his chest because he knows of the fears you have for him. he knows the risks he will take on a day to day basis, the same ones that you try to hide away but the expression on your face betrays it all. you care for him, tend for him, like the prettiest padisarah and he bends to your touch, relishing in the warmth of your hands and eyes until finally, you let him off with a scold and a kiss to his knuckles. 

kamisato ayato // cypressus custos the yashiro commissioner is a busy man. there are tasks to be delegated, papers to be signed, and meetings to be held. his days are often spent sitting at his desk, hand cramping and mind wandering as he risks a quick glance towards the open doors. this is the inazuma he has fought for, for so long, and he refuses to let anything crumble while he remains commissioner. still, he wants to apologize for the time spent away from you, locked up in his office while you tend to other tasks around inazuma. he feels like he has a silly crush on you with the way he watches from a distance, only to have you to himself in those quiet moments shrouded beneath the moonlit sheets.

“i brought boba.” you stand in the doorway and ayato swears you are his saviour. you take in his tired eyes and drooping shoulders, and yet he still has such a warm smile on painted across his features. he beckons you to sit by him and it’s then that the facade drops and his weight rests against yours. your arms wrap around him as he relishes in the comfort that only you can provide. he wishes he could pause this moment and let the world fade away as your bodies press together and your hand cards through his hair. your caress is soft, but the kiss you leave to linger on his head is even more so, and ayato makes a mental note to try to clear his schedule the next day to spend it all with you instead.

shikanoin heizou // cervus minor he has been called many a thing by the people of inazuma: a genius detective, a caring friend, an absolute troublemaker. the last being a courtesy of kujou sara, of course. he's all flirtatious jokes and bright smiles when he walks around inazuma, hunting down the next clue to his investigation. he's never really cared about the names he's been given, in fact, he takes pride over them all, relishing in the reputation he's accumulated. but his favourite title of all is the one that only you hold for him. he adores the way it sounds falling from your lips, followed by that bright grin that always greets him. he doesn't think he'll ever tire of that word, not when it's associated with you.

"you insufferable idiot!" the door to his office slams open but heizou's not startled in the slightest. he could hear your footsteps storming through the hallway, distinct as always, a habit he's picked up after months of indulging in your visits to his office. his signature grin stretches across his face, the corners of his eyes crinkling with delight. you’re quite adorable, he thinks to himself, and while he isn’t quite sure which prank you’re upset over, he knows you mean well. he can see it in your eyes, the way they light up at the sight of him, just as he knows his do the same. he’ll toy with you for a moment, indulge in teasing before offering an apology in the form of loving touches and kisses, relishing in such an exciting yet comforting love that only you can offer.

reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated! <3

[seraphiism]

❀ ﾟ. ༄ ┊ 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 ( 𝐩𝐭. 𝐢𝐢 ) ;

( AT THE END AS AT THE START, & THROUGH ALL THE IN-BETWEENS, I LOVE YOU )

characters : kaveh / dehya / cyno / ayato / diluc fandom : genshin impact quote cr : amal el-mohtar and max gladstone a/n : part 2 of 4! each character is limited to 150 words.

pt. i

↬ kaveh ࿐ ࿔

"of all the creations i've made, none can compare to your beauty."

kaveh has always been a romantic, love language born from touch and fervor. you blink, disoriented expression meeting your lover's through the mirror. it is barely morning. you've just woken up, head out of sorts as you brush your teeth. you wouldn't say you're the epitome of beauty at this moment, but he thinks otherwise.

how can someone be so radiant in the most mundane of things? he leans against the doorway, watches as you get ready for the day. you toss a reluctant glance in his direction, but he simply smiles.

"already hitting on me, huh?"

he hums, beckons you closer.

"what can i say? i'm an honest man."

his hands rest on your hips as if that's where they have always belonged and he presses a gentle kiss to your temple in greeting.

"good morning, dearest."

↬ dehya ࿐ ࿔

"sunshine, you're not blushing, are you?"

dehya is not one to be trifled with, strength and skill in combat unmatched. she is not as intimidating as she lets on, altruism in her nature.

no, dehya isn't one to be messed with, but you do it anyway. with one hand in hers, the other pressed against her cheek, you grin, almost think it might have grown warmer after your words. she has yet to become accustomed to these nicknames, and in truth, she does not think she ever will.

"sunshine? you..."

she sighs, knows this is already defeat. she has fought many battles, none of them this difficult.

"not a fan? should i call you something else?"

she blinks furiously, tries to hide her flustered visage. she clears her throat, fails to maintain eye contact, but squeezes your hand all the more.

"i'll only let you call me that, you know."

↬ cyno ࿐ ࿔

the first time cyno made you laugh is the most memorable, he decides. his jokes, while quite humorous, often miss the mark, so he vividly recalls that moment, knows it to be one he cherishes ever so dearly.

the flow of time is one that cannot be changed, days gone by as he seeks out those who taunt justice. it is an arduous role, but one he carries with pride.

it's when he finally comes home to you that he feels at ease, heart lightened, and so he is once more reminded that the passage of time is not one to be taken for granted.

"did you know," cyno begins, "that your laughter is one of my favorite things to hear?"

"are you saying that because i laugh at your jokes?"

cyno grins, loves the way you naturally place your hand in his when he reaches out for you.

"maybe."

↬ ayato ࿐ ࿔

the role as the head of the kamisato clan is seldom easy, ayato's past filled with hardships paving the road to a masterful deception, fabricated smiles shown with ease despite a quiet suffering.

how warm you are, he thinks, so he relaxes in your hold, allows a rare vulnerability in the presence of the one he's sworn devotion to.

"what a special occasion." he comments, wavering between consciousness. "you're hardly this kind to me."

you've always been used to his banter, but there is something dispiriting in his teasing tone, so your fingertips lightly trace circles into his skin, your lips against his forehead in reverie.

"what can i do for you, ayato?"

he leans into your touch, and you know the smile that blossoms on his lips is one of genuine happiness.

"you've done enough. so long as you remain by my side, i could ask for nothing more."

↬ diluc ࿐ ࿔

diluc does not know when the right moment is for declarations of adoration; although you've already exchanged confessions, it has always been a challenge.

maybe it's the way you weave cecilias into crimson locks, tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear. maybe it's how you smile, look at him wordlessly yet announce your love for him. diluc is uncertain, but he recognizes this feeling that takes over and makes the echoes of a heartbeat terribly known.

it is instinct, the way he draws closer to you when your fingers trace his jawline with utmost reverence. you still at the little space that exists between two lovers, and perhaps the silence is louder than ever.

i love you is spoken in the way diluc kisses you, and in the way he pulls you closer, there is a i love you, i will gladly give all of myself to you.

[falconcoast]

university prompsss he definitely watches you from across the lecture hall until you make eye contact with him and he turns back to cyno or something

college au ii | tighnari x reader

a/n: tighnari is literally me in this scenario. i literally did this today with my crush.

warnings: none!

masterlist

it's not very often that tighnari is distracted.

in the language arts lecture hall, he stared at your figure from down below. you had moved down a few rows to work with another friend near the front of the room. he could hear your laugh, and watched as you threw your head back after a joke they made.

the document he had pulled up on his laptop went untouched and the mouse blinked periodically. cyno was droning on about how he would have to run to the campus bookstore to get another notebook after his had just filled up. but tighnari wasn’t really listening, focused only on the way you adjusted in your seat to get ready to write the paragraph that the lecturer assigned. 

he placed a hand on his cheek, a small smile coming on his face. your energy was infectious, and he felt it run through the course of his veins. subconsciously, his tail wagged back and forth. his ears even drooped into a calmed position. 

tighnari could go on and on about how much he admired you. since your first project together earlier that semester, he was charmed by your quick wits and never ceasing joy around him. lately, you’ve been attending study sessions in the library with him. your intelligence only bolstered his appreciation of you. when he can’t generate ideas for writing, you’ll be there to bounce ideas back and forth. you also happened to memorize his coffee order after only seeing him ask for it once. and you always send him the notes when he’s missing class for a field study out in the avidya forest, and--

cyno elbowed tighnari in the side, making him sit up straight. “what the hell was that for?!” he nearly exclaimed, rubbing over where he inflicted the pain. cyno only tilted his head to the side, motioning down below. 

to his horror, you were bashfully looking up at him. a rosy blush bloomed on his cheeks from embarrassment. scratching the back of your neck nervously, you spoke. “um, tighnari?” you asked politely. “would you mind tossing me a pencil down from my pencil case? i would get it, but, uh, it’s sort of a hassle to go through fifty-something seats.” 

“of course!” he nodded vigorously. gently, he cracked open your pencil case and got one out. standing up, he tossed it down into your open hands with ease and accuracy. 

“thank you!” you grinned with a brain-melting smile. quickly, you turned back to your work, eagerly diving into conversation with your friend. 

“you are painfully obvious,” cyno noted, to which tighnari flicked him. his vision continued to be trained on you. 

briefly, your eyes caught his. you held his gaze for a moment, offering a small wave and smile. an even more intense blush took over his cheeks, and he hastily turned back to his friend in order to compose himself.

“point proven,” cyno plainly said. “you’re terribly obvious.” 

“shut up,” tighnari whispered, before turning his gaze back to your figure.

“you’re really going to leave me to work on this whole synthesis paragraph all by myself? in favor of watching them?” 

tighnari’s silence said all that cyno needed to know. 

[rukkiya]

what I adore

( kaveh x reader, cyno x reader (separate)

tw: mentions of scars from fights, insecure reader in Cyno’s part, these boys just love you so much)

kaveh *ੈ✩‧₊˚

An architect like Kaveh has always had a keen eye for beauty, you being the one person he thinks of when he thinks of the word alone.

He can't seem to get enough of you and the beautiful ink that decorates your soft skin.

“We should get up.” You sleepily mumble into your pillow, your face squished against it as your eyes fight to stay open.

Your bare back was on display for kaveh, shirt scrunched a bit perfectly showing the intricate lines that cascade down your spine.

The sun sits just upon the curve of your back making it look all the more enticing.

“No harm done in another minute now is there.” He hums, hand ghosting over your back as he subconsciously leans closer.

“That doesn’t sound like something you’d say you nerd, aren’t you punctua-“ you feel a pair of lips meet your back and your words come to a halt, any thoughts or words being thrown out the window as his lips met your back, the most sensitive part if you was now being kissed.

“Kaveh?” Your head shoots up as you look back at your boyfriend who only hums, sending vibrations up your spine as his kisses travel upwards.

His lips follow the lines of your tattoos, memorizing each curve and pattern that decorates your skin.

“You make these tattoo’s all the more mesmerizing.” He breathes out as he kisses up your shoulder making you gasp, your drowsiness long gone as you feel his hands lay at your waist.

“I-I don’t think I specifically have anything to do with making them look any better than they would on anyone else.” You stutter, trying to crack a joke though his advances were getting more needy by the second.

His hand stills and his kisses stop, you slowly turn around to see his vermillion eyes staring at you with absolute adoration.

A soft smile graces his features and he quickly turns you around so you're fully facing him, now he can finally get a full view of your beautiful face.

“No darling,” He whispers, hand brushing your bed head hair from your face. “I know what I said, I’ve never seen the appeal in tattoos until I met you.” He leans closer, thumb tracing your bottom lip and you gulp at the proximity. You want to kiss him.

You open your mouth to say something but the small alarm on your bedside table goes off making you let out a small scream, head whipping to grab the small clock.

“Ah, now it's actually time to get up.” you chuckle, turning and showing Kaveh the time on the clock only for him to grab the small clock and throw it behind him making you gasp.

“Hey my clock! We actually have to get going or else we'll be late.” you laugh, throwing your pillow at him as you climb over him to get your clock he rudely tossed to the side.

“How dare you throw my cloc- HEY!”

Before you could reach down you feel his hands wrap around your waist once again and in second your back was met with the soft mattress below you as he propped himself over you, chest vibrating as he let out a chuckle at your reaction.

“Trying to leave me so soon?” He fake pouts.

“Kaveh we'll actually be late, don't you have a meeting today?” you laugh at his stupid pretty face, looking at the clock on the floor only to feel his lips meet your neck.

“Be patient love.” he kisses down to your shoulder making you gasp at his sudden action.

“The meeting can wait, we won't leave here unless I finish kissing the beautiful lines that decorate your skin.” you feel his lips smile against your skin and feel your heart flutter. You've never met someone who adores your tattoos as much as Kaveh does. You weren't used to getting much attention on them since they were mostly in areas you kept covered but kaveh made you feel better about having them, you felt comfortable around him to show them and he made sure to show you just how much he loved seeing them.

Cyno *ੈ✩‧₊˚

You catch a glimpse of your fresh new scar that littered your abdomen from your previous fight when you were on an expedition, frowning at the long gash it left behind, along with many others that littered not only your torso but arms and legs as well.

Cyno was packing his things for his meeting with Al Haitham and was looking for the files he was working on last night. He had misplaced them and now they were nowhere to be seen, with every passing second he spent looking the kore irritated he grew.

“Y/n, have you seen my-” He pushes the restroom door open seeing you turn around with wide eyes.

You quickly pull your shirt down your torso when you hear him open the restroom door, head whipping back as you send him a lopsided smile, hoping he didn't see the look of displeasure that was written all over your features.

“Cyno!” you jump a bit, a small laugh escaping your lips. Though he didn't miss the look on your face just a second ago. “Sorry, what were you asking for?” You ask, wrapping your arms around your torso feeling the need to hide yourself at the moment.

His eyes narrow as he takes a step in, frown deepening at the face your were making when he caught you looking at yourself in the mirror.

In a second he's right in front of you gently grabbing your arms and pulling them away from your stomach. His paperwork is now the last thing on his mind. Seeing you look at yourself that way because of the scars that are littered on your skin made him hurt. He doenst understand why you would look at yourself any other way than he does, he sees nothing wring with them at all.

“Cyno? What’re you-”

“Don’t hide yourself from me.” He cuts you off, making you look up at him in confusion. You notice how his eyes are much softer than usual.

“No it's- I'm not! I just didn't want you to see- ah I don't know, my scars, the cuts I have from battles they're not pretty to look at you know?” you admit, a small laugh escaping your lips as you felt embarrassed to admit it aloud.

“I just didn't want you to see them.” You look down at your arms that are still in his hold, thumbs softly tracing over old scars that are littered on your forearms.

“Don't be embarrassed of them, ever.” He brings one of your arms up, kissing the scar his thumb was carsessing seconds ago before doing the same to your other arm.

“Not in front of me, let me see you, every part of you.” his hands then reach for your face, making you meet his eyes again. “Don't hide yourself from me. Your scars are a part of you that I admire, that I love as well.” He leans closer, kissing at the scar that decorated your shoulder and collarbone. “These show your hardships, what you've been through, how many lives you've saved.” he kneels down, hands holding your waist as he looks up at you with assuring eyes.

You feel your eyes burn. Mouth opening to say otherwise but nothing comes out. Though you haven't voiced your thoughts, the scars that you have were bothering you more than normal, making you afraid to show yourself to Cyno thinking he'd dislike them too.

“Every scar or birthmark, no matter how big or small, is a part of you, just more to love about you.” he lifts up your shirt making you reach to pull it back down only to feel his hands stop yours before doing so.

“I love you, your scars, everything that decorates your skin. I want to memorize every part. Please don't hide them or feel ashamed of them.” His breath hits your abdomen making your breath get caught in your throat. “No matter how many you have or how many more you get, it won't make me love you any less.” you feel his lips gently press against your new scar and your eyes start to burn even more.

Cyno has always been gentle with you, always easing your racing thoughts and being there when you needed him most. Looking down at him as his lips trace your scars on your torso make your heart burst with even more love for him. You've been afraid he'd comment on how you had too many scars or how he didnt like them but he proved your thoughts wrong. His touch, his voice, his eyes held no lie as he made sure to kiss every scar that decorated our body. He wants to show you just how much of you, every single part of you, he adores.

_________________

author’s note: hello loves!! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ it feels like its been forever since I’ve last posted im sorry about that, schools been kicking my butt T^T BUT! ive finally written a piece for Kaveh and Cyno ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و and its not angst WHAT ?!?! a surprise truly LOL, I hope you all enjoy though! remember to stay safe and take care ok! ^~^<3 (also sorry for any errors or misspelled words, i didnt have time to revise!)

[genshinfanboy]

His Starlight

|Hello everyone that comes across this. This will be for a modern au. If you saw this when I accidentally posted it please forget that. Not much else I have to say. As I always say please feel free to change the pronouns to fit your own. I hope everyone as a lovely day or night. Please enjoy

Scenario: him and his s/o decided to stargaze as a date. While they are memorize by the stars he is memorize by them and their graceful features. He thinks the stars are nothing compared to He beloved's beauty.

Cyno, Tighnari, and Thoma (separately) x a Gender Neutral Reader.

Warnings: None.|

(Side note Collei will be referenced as Cyno's adopted daughter. )

Cyno:

The cool night air surrounded the two. Cyno had arranged for them to stargaze with him. He heard from some of his friends there was some sort of moon thing happening that night. Candace had told him it was a blood moon. He wanted to do something special for them as the rest of their dates have been a little less then ideal. Cyno wasn't exactly a romantic and they knew it. He was trying his best even if Tighnari called him lame for it. Though that was mainly because of his jokes. Tighnari helped him with the information he needed to make the star gazing special.

He set things up so they were in his backyard on a blanket. Cyno had turned off the lights to his house to reduce light pollution to make the stars more visible. He was a bit surprised to see they had brought some food for them to enjoy together. His face was tinted a slight pink. He was just going to order some take out. He wasn't the best at cooking. It also warmed his heart how they also made a portion for Collei. He had to inform them that she was currently at Amber's for a sleepover.

His love seemed a bit disappointed to find that fact out but accepted it. They seemed to perk up when he said he'd save it for Collei when she got home. The two went outside with their hand in his. They sat down next to one another looking up. Cyno heard them start talking about the stars and constellations. He looked over and was mesmerized by the awe in their eyes. He felt as the sight before him was far more beautiful then the stars would ever be.

Cyno looked at every detail of their face. From the way their eyes shined, to the way their face was illuminated from the light of the night sky. His heart was pounding in his chest. The moment their head made the slightest sign of movement he looked up at the sky. He didn't want to get caught staring. Cyno was so focused on their beauty that he completely missed their questions. They poke his cheek making him look over.

"Cyno I asked if you were enjoying the sight of the stars as much as I am." (Name) said with a soft smile. He blushed a little. "Sure the stars are pretty and all but none of them compare to you." He stated matter of factly. That comment seemed to make their cheeks flush a dark red. He tilted his head looking a bit concerned.

"Are you alright my love?" He asked reaching and hand out placing it gently on their cheek. Cyno found their response to this to be cute. He was staring at them fondly. They were mumbling something about how cheesy that was and that he was too cute. He gave them a a quick kiss. "I love you. " He said softly resting his forehead on their own. He'll have to ask his friends about other cool star events so he can be mesmerized by their wonderstruck expressions.

Tighnari:

Tighnari has been super busy with some of his research. His partner had dragged him away from his research. He had a sweater on because it was later. He didn't mind being with them and was happy to spend some time with them. They planned a date to an observatory. He was interested in how much his love seemed to in the stars and astrology.

They sat down to wait for the show. Their hands intertwined. Tighnari heard his love mumbling things about about the different stars. They were so quiet he was sure he was the only one able to hear. He listened intently with a smile. It became a bit smug as he glanced over at them. In the dim lighting he was able to see them and how enamored they looked at the projected stars. Their focus was as intense as his own when discovering a new species.

Their mumbling was like music to his ears. He leaned close to their ear. "You know we could go actually stargazing one day up on a hill. It'd be far better to hear your little tidbits out loud instead of quiet mumbles. Though I suppose I'm lucky in that regard cause I hear everything." He whispered with a tiny smirk. His tail lightly flicked in amusement when they turned to him with a dark red face. They were so adorable flustered like that. He couldn't get enough of it.

(Name) quickly covered their face. Tighnari pouted a bit. How dare they hide their cute face from him. Once the lights came back on he quickly grabbed their hands to uncover their face. "You know watching that show was nice and all but even the true stars could never compare. Why watch the stares when I can watch you and the lovely awestruck look? Really no need for all this." He said with a sly smile. His eyes analyzing this expressions.

He held their hands so they couldn't hide their face again. His tail flicking in amusement and his ears perked up. They were typically quiet he loved this trait about them they always enjoyed listening to him and whatever he may be studying. He adored them with all of his heart. Who could blame him for teasing them when their reactions were cute. "You know instead of mumbling your thoughts you can actually say them. Even those mumbles are rare. I enjoy listening to your voice." He said proudly as they blushed.

"I enjoy hearing your voice more. If I let you talk enough you'll have a long lecture worth of stuff to say. I love it especially if it's a new species of plants you found." They mumbled giving him a quick kiss on the cheek with a smile. It was now his turn to go red. His tail was wagging uncontrollably as they left. "I suppose we'll both have to talk more then." He muttered. "I love you Tighnari." They said with a smile. This wasn't a bad break he suppose before quickly stealing a kiss and running ahead. He was supposed to be the one to tease them

Thoma:

Thoma is a bit of a romantic at heart. He loves nice moments with his lover. It makes him a bit giddy thinking of the plans for the night. They were going to go for a walk then watch the stars upon a hilltop. He was planning on making dinner for the two before hand. He would've done the hotpot game but (Name) had told him to stop playing it. He listened because they said they were worried about how much weird stuff he constantly consumed.

They cared a lot for him and it made him feel warm and happy. When he met up with them Thoma was surprised seeing them holding a bouquet of Windmill Asters for him. Thoma immediately engulfed them into a hug. He picked them up and swung them around. "You didn't have to get me flowers from Mond." He said as they giggled holding onto him for support.

"If I didn't I would've missed this reaction. I know you've brought the blanket and sweaters. You're always busy with your job I figure it'd be a nice surprise." They said before getting their face peppered in kisses. The two then went to have a little picnic. When the stars came out it was nice. They were sitting in his lap with his arms wrapped around them.

Thoma love sitting with them like this he could hold them close and protect them from the cold. Some of the stray animals he's constantly taking care of came over and sat by the two. "You're like a real life snow White. It's kinda cute how you attract animals Thoma." They said holding one of his hands. They started pointing out stars and constellations. Thoma was staring down at them with a wide smile on his face.

Thoma was mesmerized by them. They were so lovely and he was super happy. Their moments and time together were always nice. It felt like his heart was set ablaze by them. The moonlight really complimented their everything. He kept staring giving quiet mhms whenever they spoke.

Eventually he was caught staring. "Why aren't you looking at the stars?" They asked with a small pout. They changed their pose so they can look at him. Thoma looked away rubbing the back of his neck. "Well why look at the stars when you're bright enough to shine tonight." Thoma said with a blush and a smile. They gave him a pat on the head and then a kiss. "I love you Thoma."

[narcoticwriter]

So this is how I break my Tumblr fast.

Dexerto: "This list has the speculative ages and heights for every Genshin Impact character so far based off of the canon storyline and respective character lore!"

Me: "You're joking."

Disclaimer: I take some creative liberties and personal interpretations into account as well as additional lore and speculation that wasn't taken into consideration in the initial list linked. I am not a canon authority nor should I be treated like one. And just in case, there will be spoilers concerning past limited events if you care about that.

Notes -

Before I start, I would like to say that I'm not slandering or clowning the person that came up with it nor do I feel the need to do so.

They likely don't have the same capacity to peruse the wiki as well as somewhat memorize a good chunk of it like me. They were probably just trying to write a fun, speculative article for a target audience and as such, I'm also having a bit of cheeky fun responding to it. It's all in good faith and fun, after all.

Feel free to share your opinions and thoughts on these as well, but like I said, it's not meant to be taken that seriously. I'm always down to consider other perspectives, but I'd appreciate it if I wasn't attacked for my own, thank you.

The List -

The following will cover every playable character up to 3.8, be in alphabetical order, and some will have little blurbs that explain why and how I came to those conclusions.

Aloy does not count as in Horizon: Zero Dawn, you'd likely find it in much more certain terms than Genshin Impact.

Also, we all know that the in-game models lie as we have Albedo's hair to prove it, so those will be ignored and I'll take from the story and basic anatomy instead.

Albedo -

Age: Presented as being in his mid-twenties, actually 300+ years old given his lore and the speculation about his master, etc.

Height: 5'7"-5'8"

Al-Haitham -

Age: Mid-to-late twenties, two years younger than Kaveh

Height: 6'1"

Amber -

Age: Late teens given the timing of the manga lore and definitive dates given, although manga lore being in tune with game lore could be questionable on occasion

Height: 5'5"-5'6"

Arataki Itto -

Age: Definitively in his mid-twenties

Height: 6'5" without the horns, 6'10" with them

Baizhu -

Age: Mid-to-late thirties, given his learned ways in medicine, how he carries himself, and the recent lore

Height: 5'9"-5'10"

Barbara -

Age: Early-to-mid teens

Height: 5'3"

Beidou -

Age: Mid-to-late thirties given chronology and lore, definitively younger than Ningguang

Height: 5'8"-5'10"

Bennett -

Age: Early-to-mid teens

Height: 5'6"

Candace -

Age: Late twenties to early thirties, seems to be older and less hotheaded given her character stories

Height: 5'9"

Chongyun -

Age: Late teens, a few months younger than Xingqiu

Height: 5'7"

Collei -

Age: Mid-teens, given the lore in the manga, but as with Amber's lore, it can be brought into some question considering other factors

Height: 5'3"

Cyno -

Age: Early-to-mid twenties, around the same age as Tighnari, but not definitively as the speculative lore can bring certain things into question

Height: 5'7"

Dehya -

Age: Mid-to-late twenties

Height: 5'10"

Diluc -

Age: Early-to-mid twenties, given manga lore and explanations for Amber & Collei respectively, six months older than Kaeya

Height: 5'11"-6'0"

Diona -

Age: Older child to barely a preteen, one or two years older than Klee

Height: 4'2"-4'7" (taking how one measures her feet with the height and different biology)

Dori -

Age: Anywhere from late teens to late thirties because being twelve and being this rich as well as having some good business sense? Nah.

Height: 4'6"-4'8" (she might not be twelve, but she's still short)

Eula -

Age: Early twenties, two years older than Amber

Height: 5'10"-6'0"

Faruzan -

Age: Presented as in her early-to-mid twenties, actually 100+ years old given lore and character stories

Height: 5'5"

Fischl -

Age: Early to mid-teens

Height: 5'6"

Ganyu -

Age: Presented as being in her mid-to-late twenties, actually 2000+ years old and possibly older

Height: 5'5"-5'7"

Gorou -

Age: Mid-twenties

Height: 5'6"-5'8"

Hu Tao -

Age: Late teens to early twenties, six months to a year older than Xingqiu

Height: 5'4"

Jean -

Age: Early-to-mid twenties given the respective comparisons to other characters in the manga lore, six months to one year older than Diluc

Height: 5'9"-5'10"

Kaeya -

Age: Early-to-mid twenties given manga lore, six months younger than Diluc

Height: 6'0"

Kamisato Ayaka -

Age: Late teens to early twenties, at least three to five years younger than Ayato

Height: 5'4"-5'5"

Kamisato Ayato -

Age: Mid-twenties, at least three to five years older than Ayaka

Height: 5'10"-6'0"

Kaveh -

Age: Mid-to-late twenties, two years older than Al-Haitham

Height: 5'10"-5'11"

Kaedehara Kazuha -

Age: Early-to-mid twenties, at least three years younger than his friend before his death

Height: 5'6"-5'7"

Keqing -

Age: Mid-twenties, at least a year younger than how Ganyu is presented as

Height: 5'4"

Kirara -

Age: Late teens given her unique circumstances

Height: 5'3"-5'7" given her biology concerning her feet

Klee -

Age: Younger child, one or two years younger than Diona (this can be disputed given her race and some lore)

Height: 3'6"-3'9"

Kujou Sara -

Age: Definitively in her mid-twenties, at least one year older than Itto

Height: 5'10"

Kuki Shinobu -

Age: Mid-twenties, at least six months older than Itto

Height: 5'4"-5'6"

Layla -

Age: Early twenties

Height: 5'3"-5'5"

Lisa -

Age: Early-to-mid thirties given the lore and speculation concerning her character stories

Height: 5'7"-5'9"

Mika -

Age: Early teens

Height: 5'0"-5'3"

Mona -

Age: Late teens to early twenties

Height: 5'3"

Nahida -

Age: Presented as a young child, actually 500+ years old

Height: 3'9"-4'0"

Nilou -

Age: Late teens to early twenties as I will choose to believe that the article's age is a typo

Height: 5'0"-5'2"

Ningguang -

Age: Late thirties to approaching forty given the chronology and lore, definitively older than Beidou

Height: 5'7"

Noelle -

Age: Early-to-mid teens

Height: 5'3"-5'4"

Qiqi -

Age: Presented as a young child, actually 1000+ years old given lore and chronology

Height: 3'6"-3'10"

Raiden Shogun (Ei) -

Age: Present as being in her mid-to-late twenties, actually 500+ years old

Height: 5'10"

Razor -

Age: Early-to-mid teens

Height: 5'7"

Rosaria -

Age: Mid-to-late twenties

Height: 5'9"

Sangonomiya Kokomi -

Age: Mid-to-late twenties, though some speculation might lend to her actual years being much more than that (100+)

Height: 5'1"-5'2"

Sayu -

Age: Preteen to early teens

Height: 4'5"-4'6"

Shenhe -

Age: Mid-twenties

Height: 5'11"-6'1"

Shikanoin Heizou -

Age: Early-to-mid twenties, at least one year older than Kazuha

Height: 5'7"-5'8"

Sucrose -

Age: Early twenties, at least a year younger than what Albedo is presented as

Height: 5'3"-5'5"

Tartaglia -

Age: Definitively in his early twenties

Height: 6'0"-6'3"

Thoma -

Age: Mid-twenties, one year younger than Ayato

Height: 5'10"-6'0"

Tighnari -

Age: Early-to-mid twenties, around the same age as Cyno

Height: 5'6" without the ears

Traveler -

Age: Presented as in their early twenties, actually incomprehensibly older than that

Height: 5'5" (Lumine) 5'6" (Aether)

Venti -

Age: Presented as in his late teens to early twenties, actually 2600+ years old

Height: 5'4"

Wanderer -

Age: Presented as in his early twenties, actually 500+ years old given the lore

Height: 5'5"

Xiangling -

Age: Mid-teens, at least two years younger than Chongyun

Height: 5'3"

Xiao -

Age: Presented as in his early twenties, actually 3000+ years old

Height: 5'1"

Xingqiu -

Age: Late teens, a few months older than Chongyun

Height: 5'6"

Xinyan -

Age: Mid-to-late teens, a few months younger than Yun Jin

Height: 5'7"

Yanfei -

Age: Late teens to early twenties

Height: 5'4"

Yaoyao -

Age: Younger child, at least six months older than Qiqi given the context of Qiqi's lore

Height: 3'8"-3'11"

Yae Miko -

Age: Presented as in her late twenties to mid-thirties, actually 500+ years old

Height: 5'9"

Yelan -

Age: Late twenties to early thirties

Height: 5'8"

Yoimiya -

Age: Late teens to early twenties

Height: 5'5"

Yun Jin -

Age: Mid-to-late teens, a few months older than Xinyan

Height: 4'9"-4'11"

Zhongli -

Age: Presents himself as in his late thirties to his mid-forties, possibly older than Teyvat as a landmass (6000+)

Height: 5'10"-6'0"

Final Thoughts -

If I missed a playable character (as of 3.8) somehow, I'll correct it when I get around to it. As characters from Fontaine come out, I'll consider doing this for them as well, but as of right now, this list is complete. The reason I compare certain characters to each other in terms of age is due to the closeness that they have in canon as well as the Genshin manga. Anything speculative is stated and should be treated as such.

Until then or whenever I'll see you when I see you.

[instantbreplay]

Note: I really wanted to post this, but I decided to make it into parts because there are a lot of characters to go through. Consider this part 1!

Recently, I’ve been listening to Twisted Wonderland English voice headcanons, and I agree with some but not others but that’s the point of headcanons. They’re always someone’s thoughts, and sometimes they fit perfectly! So, I wanted to give my headcanons for the Twisted Wonderland cast.

Part 1: Heartslabyul

Ace Trappola — Max Mittleman

Most known for:

Saitama in One Punch Man

Ryuji Sakamoto in Persona 5

Arataki Itto in Genshin Impact

I chose Max because I agreed with a few other headcanons! Max, during his performances as Itto and Ryuji, has a very playful and mischievous tone of voice and as Saitama, he can perfect a voice that’s nonchalant, a bit bored, and blunt which summarizes Ace as a whole. When thinking of Saitama, I remembered his scream when he punched Vaccine Man with one punch and got mad and when he told Genos to get to the point, and that could fit with Ace as he signed a contract with Azul and had a sea anemone growing out of his head and got crushed by a cauldron.

Deuce Spade — Johnny Yong Bosch

Most known for:

Vash the Stampede in TRIGUN (original from 1998) and TRIGUN: Stampede (2023 reboot)

Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass

Ichigo Kurosaki in Bleach

Personally, as a girl who loves both TRIGUN shows, I loved the way Johnny performed; as Vash in both versions, he maintained a kind and gentle voice while also being silly and giving out the best surprised shouts or nervous chuckles at the right moments. This would make Deuce very memorable as Deuce has a bit of Vash’s personality towards his friends but still maintains a little of his delinquency from his past and acts more of a tough guy when certain challenges arise such as when his opportunity to play in Spelldrive came, but after playing Ichigo, I doubt that would be an issue to give a rough voice.

Trey Clover — Alejandro Saab

Most known for:

Cyno in Genshin Impact

Izumi Miyamura in Horiyama

Yuri in Fire Emblem: Three Houses

This was another one I agreed with as Alejandro is the king of voice range! Trey is the calmest yet one of the firmest vice housewardens, and sometimes can go out of character a bit when it comes to brushing teeth. Alejandro fits this as I heard him play the most serious yet punniest Genshin Impact character, Cyno, who breaks character to break the tension in the room through jokes, but he is also capable of being a gentle soul who comforts like Miyamura or someone as calculating and diligent as Jing Yuan in Honkai Star Rail.

Cater Diamond — Kaiji Tang

Most known for:

Osamu Dazai in Bungo Stray Dogs

Satoru Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen

Gengo in Naruto Shippuden

I won’t lie; finding Cater’s voice actor was difficult until I stumbled upon Kaiji who voices Osamu and Gojo, two playful and supernaturally powerful men with quips and mischief. When Osamu said thanks to Chuuya after telling him to go into enemy fire to die, I knew this fit Cater too well as Osamu, like Cater, is depressed but keeps a smile on his face with a fun, joking tone with any situation, and like Gojo, Cater is a bit flirty (not womanizer flirty). Although he might have a little more of a feminine sounding voice because it is canon in the Japanese version that he is bisexual, I'm sure it would still be fitting to have Kaiji as his actor.

Riddle Rosehearts — Billy Kametz

Most known for:

Naofumi Iwatani in The Rising of the Shield Hero

Ferdinand von Aegir in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes

Josuke Higashikata in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable

Not only was Billy Kametz talented with line delivery, but he brings out the personality of his character that playing Riddle would have been magnificent. It is unfortunate that he passed on, but I still appreciate his work. What really made me choose him for Riddle was his performance as Anai in the Sanrio anime Aggretsuko because Anai was one to get easily sensitive over everything, feeling as if he was being personally attacked because he didn't like how one of his coworkers phrased their words to him. Because Billy played such a stickler, his voice would have suited Riddle in better ways than imagined with other voice actors, especially when he gets upset or angry or even overblots.

[yinses]

carpe diem [series] pt. i

when it came to your friend, you had little regard for anything, even yourself. what happened to abattouy should never have occurred, and you were determined to prove why.

cyno x gn!reader

rating: t

wc: 9k+

a/n:  this is nothing new! i just decided to split up this piece into smaller more friendly parts for tumblr. it's still up as a full installment.

[still available to read on ao3]

sumeru, a nation rooted in the growth of knowledge,  nurturing its most promising seeds under the observance of the akademiya. in pursuit of their own goals and by the faith of greater lord rukkhadevata, scholars pledged their souls to the never ending race in pursuit of the next revelation of information.

and frankly, it was a tiring venture.

most scholars sought out lost tombs of history, the understanding of ley lines or simply the wisdom of the gods.

you stumbled down a different path.

as a child, you’d grown up on foreign stories and toy machines from the lands of snezhnaya after a traveling merchant had placed it into your curious palms. you recall threading your small and nimble fingers into the grooves of the ancient renditions, memorizing the gear placements. your personal thirst for knowledge was deeply seated in the desire to learn how every individual part came together.

it was just when your seed began to sprout, that you learned why your beloved toys were only obtained through a small gesture of friendliness from far lands. the akademiya frowned on the very existence of mechanical beings, feeling that life had advanced beyond the need for sentience bound to whirling gears. the age of technology and innovation was the gift from the gods, present in the akasha device. what need was there for the past?

adaptiveness and the will of your mentor was what carried you through the final years of your scholarship; that and an obstinate botany student whom you befriended against the odds.

you became a respectable scholar of the kshahrewar (technology) where your workshop found home in the port of ormos. most of your days were dedicated to your own side projects and tinkering with customer complaints.

your employment through the akademiya was purely out of collaboration between the institution and the forest rangers as a joint effort to assist in the containment of the withering zones. the institution was eager to work with their twice-self removed star pupil and tighnari was always in need of additional resources.

and well, it was you.

the sidekick to his backstory though considered in a more favorable light by the fox himself.

but there was no doubting that it was through his merits that you remained relevant under speculation of the akademiya.

more importantly, it was through tighnari that you met him.

the great general mahamantra who once regarded your friend with distrust, for scholars who retained knowledge outside of akademiya supervision were those considered most dangerous.

in the same way tighnari shattered your walls of doubt, he tore down the barrier corralling cyno in solitude. proving that not all who sought out knowledge were limited by their threat levels.

but you.

you just laughed at his jokes.

and for him, that was the explanation enough.

     “hm, and you’re sure it can maintain the temperatures i input?”

dragging your wrist across your damp forehead, you lean back away from your work if only for the sake of catching a stray breeze. unfortunately, any opportunity was blocked by tighnari’s incessant hovering.

the ranger had managed to leave you on your own for fifteen to twenty minute intervals at best while you configured the terrarium device. what started off as a heartfelt idea to gift a friend on his birthday was becoming a thorn in your side.

“yes, tighnari. i even grew one of those sweet flowers in it to test for you.”

the man above scoffed, ears twitching as an afterthought, “you grew a weed? that’s hardly comforting. you can grow those in the trash.“

your brow pinched as the wrench flexed in your palm; a short pause away from launching it at his head. he was really beginning to strike your nerves, birthday boy or not. “why don’t i just throw this thing in there along with it?”

“no, no, it does look promising.”

his gaze darts down briefly and he catches your exasperated expression. his ears drop slightly at the implications of his spectacle. “sorry, i am grateful, truly. you just know how i am about plants.”

sighing, you rolled to your feet, eager to get off your knees after an hour of labour.

“yes, they’re your babies. i know. which is why i spent a lot of my free time developing this for you.” his ears flickered at the not so quiet jackass that left your lips.

“and i appreciate it very, very much.” the fox grinned sheepishly, guilty eyes seeking forgiveness. it was a losing battle attempting to hold out. the moment a hint of a returning smile curved at your lips he knew he’d won.

he was at least graceful enough not to laugh in the face of victory, though the mirth on his face was not lost. “sorry for eating up your shop time, especially when you have other projects to focus on.”

to that you wave off as you gathered your stray tools. it had been quite awhile since you’d had anything to call a proper ‘project’. most of your days had been busy work with customer orders repairing coffee machines or personal side quests like this.

tighnari helped keep the akademiya at bay by feeding you fresh knowledge on the withering zones allowing you to satisfy their interests while you attempted to refunction your purpose.

it … had been hard when your workshop that once housed two downsized.

abbatouy had been more than a fellow scholar after sharing your childhood love for ancient machines. in a society where just the mention of them was a plausible crime, it was nice to know someone still favored the legend beyond your favorite toy.

but abbatouy had done more than simply believed in the history, he made it his goal to revive the slumbering giants and employ their aid to further advance sumeru. determined but mindful of your proximity to his research, abattouy had done his best to keep you free of the consequences. but in a city where knowledge was power, the misuse of it rarely went unnoticed.

if only it had been your silence and not the opposite.  

upon being stripped of his scholarship, your friend had disappeared beyond the city limits undetectable by anyone. it had been nearly two years since that day, though you never stopped seeking out information.

biting your lip, you tentatively ask,”you still haven’t heard anyone of abattouy?”

the sound that leaves the ranger’s lips is aged yet still kind as he regards you with sympathy,” the forest has not been suitable for extended living for years. we haven’t seen anything more permanent than a few student research tents.” his brow furrows at the thought,” even then we urge them on if they linger more than a few days.”

you suspected as much, but beyond tighnari, there were few people you could ask. news of him settling in aaru village would have reached you by now.

“he just disappeared. not even a letter telling me where he was going.”

the last you’d seen of him was at a distance during his trial hearing. you’d been brought in to testify at the beginning but regardless of your words the sentence had already been passed the moment the matra were involved.  

he was worrying, thinking of him on his own like that. at some point he needed to find civilization for the sole purpose of obtaining his medications. hearing nothing of his visits from the bimarstan had only increased your concerns. due to his heart condition, it was tantamount that he stayed on top of it.

tighnari’s hand finds your shoulder with a reassuring squeeze,” it’s probably for the best. he didn’t want to bring you down with him.”

“yeah, that’s what cyno implied,” you muttered, unable to avoid the stale bitter taste of resentment.

few people envied your close relation to the general mahamantra, even less scholars who feared even the mention of his name. but to you, it had always been just cyno. a first then a lover as you grew to know the man behind the mask.

he was someone you always felt that you could confide in, which was a small pool given your proximity to the very man who could end the careers of any scholar at the akademiya. not that it bothered you, between him and tighnari, your hands were full as it was.

it had been a stretch of faith than had left more than one soul stranded.

the aftermath of abbatouy’s expulsion … had not been easy on the relationship. there was plenty of blame and fear permitting the household you shared with cyno. to escape, he spent more than the scheduled hours working and you escaped to the forest.

tighnari hated every day of it, torn between two stubborn individuals set in their morals.

“he knew what he was getting into with that research,” tighanri’s words were a rolling record of advice you’d never shake off. “Which was why he kept you out of it. it was inevitable. cyno just wants to keep you safe as well.”

the fox’s voice eases into something lighter, hopeful even, “besides we can’t afford for you to get kicked out. then you’d end up with me.”

recognizing the jest, you feed into the request for a transition out of whatever had come to hang over the pair. it was his birthday after all.

finding a grin wasn’t as hard as it felt,” that doesn’t sound too bad. we could be roommates.”

the scowl perched on his lips was expected, even as you laugh, thankful for the distraction. regardless of the akademiya’s reign, you would always find comfort in tighnari’s kingdom.

“anyway, don’t forget, you promised to join us for dinner this weekend.”

tighnari pretended not to notice the various amount of notes pinned against his wall that he most certainly did not leave. there was no denying that his frequent check ins were well intended. he shuddered to think what he’d find under his bed.

“i’ll be there.”

     the following days blended together like any other. you found little comfort in the hustle and bustle of the port side as you rummaged around in your workshop listlessly. to the best of your ability, you repurposed the free space to use it rather than be forced to acknowledge the emptiness.

in truth, it was a disorganized mess, an accumulation of abandoned projects and scattered tools. cyno liked to bring it up in passing whenever he stopped by. but you held on that it was a project in itself, something you’d focus on when the time was right.

which wasn’t exactly a form of avoidance. occasionally you’d dig into the mess just to shake it up a bit. at least when someone else observed it, they could note some kind of change.

lost in the idleness of your boredom, you decide to do just that as you near the clutter. if enough time was spent, there were a few designs that come back to the light and show some promise. the akademiya was all about exploration of new knowledge, but few things were obtained by one mind alone.

despite your innocence, few scholars willing chose to partner with you. though, that was a fact you faced well before abattouy. he’d been one of the few undeterred by your close relations with the matra. it said something for one to be so confident in their studies that not even the fear of being caught would sway them.

in another time, abatouuy’s story might have been different.

crouching near the apex of the rubble, you work free, a familiar construct. it had been a frivolous project, a mixology machine that had come to fruition after hearing tales from mondstat. abattouy loved to berate the lack of drinks present at the tavern, hailing that he could come up with his own creations to rival it.

safe to say neither of you had the slightest clue about the trade. in the end abbattouy had been too proud to bargain it off at the tavern. the memory brought a smile to your face.

tucking a stray hair behind your ear, you reach out to tug the device free—only to be given a brief warning before the the weight of its neighbors tumbled around it. it was a good thing that none of these had any owners, given the rubble of the aftermath was sure to leave a few dents and dings.

“well abattouy,” you tugged free a bent stick of metal. “there goes the sumpter scratcher. those poor beast…”

that idea had definitely come after a night of too many drinks. you recalled stumbling back into the workshop after being patiently escorted from the tavern to find yourselves back here with too many tools and imagination for miles.

it was how most of the best projects came about, with plenty of laughter to spare. it was a shame how the same sound resounded so hollow now.

the bottom of the bunch hadn’t been spared the brunt of the fall. with more consideration, you carefully extracted one of the crooked pieces of metal. whatever it had been, was now warped beyond its expectations.

curious you turned it over, interest peaked at the sound of something rattling inside. you didn’t recognize the design. it appeared to still be in the first stages of welding, nothing more than an unsuspecting tin box.

upon abattouy’s expulsion, you’d been barred from the workshop for the amount of days it took for them to clear out anything pertaining to forbidden knowledge. it had been a through dive that resulted in most of his inventions being confiscated. but it appeared not all was lost. before its demise, it was likely too unsuspecting to discern its purpose.

“I wonder what he planned for you?”

the trapped contents teased your peakes interest more as you wedged a tool between the split edge to force it open. after some effort in conjunction with the forces of physics, the box cracked revealing a single notebook.

one you definitely recognised.

it was abattouy’s.

a single comment of his collection of scattered thoughts and sketches. neither of you had been given any warning before his seizure, the matra rarely giving anyone time to prepare. the fact that this one had been tucked away in preparation was surprising.

a quick flip through the material gave an inkling of why. you hadn’t spent much time pursuing his research, partly by his insistence. but you knew enough to know this was filled with enough knowledge to prosecute you just for holding it.

'if he knew it was here, why did he never come for it?’

perhaps he considered that nothing was spared? but even then—

a sharp knock against the door was all the warning you got before it began to creep open. in a flurry of movement, you snapped the book close and snuck it back under the rubble. by the time you stumbled to your feet, you were greeted by haldr.

“hi!”, you winced at the squeak of your voice before recovering with a cough,”right, how can i help?”

“sorry, i know you’re busy.”

you waved off the speech. it was what most people liked to start with ever since abbatouy had left. the workshop had primarily functioned as a place of residence for the two of you to gain 'community hours’, backing your research through countless days of tinkering with differing projects brought to your doorstep. after graduating to the next stage, the two of you decided to keep it, both of you still holding on to the desire to give back to the area in a way.

you still had a lab space at the akademiya for your more sensitive projects that needed supervision, but for the most part you were allowed to remain.

“it’s fine, really. what do you have for me?”

the man stumbled over the threshold, balancing a coffee machine to his chest. haldr had a penchant for over explaining the cause of the issue before rounding to the actual problem. he was the owner of the respectable cafe stall here in port ortmos. prior, he had begun as an intern under enteka, the acting manager of pupsa cafe in sumeru city before branching out on his own.

you were patient throughout the entire ordeal, more so happy for the distraction as your mind wandered in the background.

when you took the device from him, his gaze wandered to the darker corners of the shop. haldr was a frequent customer, so like most, he knew what it had been.

“a lot of us were surprised that you stuck around. we’re grateful for all you do—both of you did. we didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

a soft smile pulls at your lips at the sentiment. “trust me, any distraction is a good one.” with a well executed twist of your wrench, you sealed the compartment back and handed it off. “just don’t tell my mentor.”

your disposition seemed to put him at ease as he clutched the device gratefully. "just hold out for a little longer, haldr. i will get the new upgrades to you soon." you’d given up fighting off the insistence as he forced a small pocket of coins into your palm.

“i promise to be more careful. as always, coffee is on the house. thank you!”

it was here that abattouy would wait for the door to close before giving you that look. the one that indicated that we would be seeing him sooner than later. haldr was a kind soul with an erratic forgetful mind. the two of you liked to joke about how different he had to have been before he was introduced to caffeine.

abattouy had been right to avoid introducing the man to anything more advanced.

unable to resist, your gaze darted back over to the pile you’d hastily tossed the book under. while you’d never stopped thinking of the man, there wasn’t much past speculation you could summarise on his whereabouts. upon concluding the trial, he’d just vanished. without a trace or final word.

you knew cyno had as much knowledge as you did. it was his resistance against tracking the man that led to the heart of much of your banter then. eventually you just had to settle that if abattouy wanted to be found, he knew where you were and that was that.

except now it wasn’t.

before you could think better of it, you tugged book free and returned to your desk.

abattouy had his moments, but he rarely did anything without reason. he must have had intentions of returning to get it but never had the opportunity. with every step scrutinized, you couldn’t blame him.

you cock your head to the side, distractedly twisting a wrench in one hand while your other flips idly through the notebook. the deeper you got into the text the more disbelief you felt about the entire situation.

you’d initially supported abattouy because he was your friend. in the heat of the moment, it didn’t matter if he was wrong or right. he was a single individual against an institution with your lover holding the banner. it had been almost instinctual to be in his courtyard.

but now you were realizing you weren’t cheering for a losing team at all, it was just an unfair playing field. this … these notes, the ideas and speculations. abattouy was something well above the fears that got the topic banned.

sure, the notations of ley line activity was sketchy but he was actively exploring all routes around it. the man just wanted to help. if these mechanical beings could make a single job more efficient he felt complete.

but he wasn’t just about the tasks, he wanted the machines to feel accomplished too.

he wanted to breathe new life. and there wasn’t a hint of cruelty anywhere in his methods. the sages had to have seen this and they still denied him the opportunity to try.

throwing your head back, you tested the balance of your chair as you stared up at the ceiling. for nearly two years you just sat around toying with the what ifs.

and now- what if you’d found this sooner.

what if you’d discovered this before he’d left.

what if you’d asked the right questions and gotten him to open up to you before it all went sideways.

well you had an answer to the last query.

you’d both likely have been expelled. but would that have been so bad? tighnari surely managed just fine. sure he still had the respect but that meant as much to him as the dirt he walked on.

and cyno-

you shook your head at the thought. things were settled between the two of you now. there was no need to shake up past deductions for the sake of assumptions. past you supported your friend. but the same individual wouldn’t have been able to give up the love of your life.

yes, cyno’s dedication to the job had been frustrating at the time. but you’d never forget seeing the fear staining those vermilion eyes when you’d first stepped between him and abattouy.

because of course, he’d been the one to retrieve the man for trial. in that moment, cyno dreaded the worst; uncertain if he’d be shackling more than one body that evening.

then abattouy had stepped around you, not sparing you a single glance as he offered his compliance.

he may have lost his tenure but he gained the gratitude of the mahamantra. though it did little in his favor.

biting into your bottom lip, your gaze flickered back down to the notebook. you hadn’t always been skeptical of the akademiya. the institute had trained you, equipped you with knowledge, skills and relationships that would span a lifetime.

but it wasn’t perfect.

setting the wrench aside, you focused your full attention on the text.

there wasn’t a chance that you could prove it, not with the worship surrounding the institution.

but maybe there was still a chance for you to find your friend.

the clues to abattouy’s disappearance had to be in his research. if you could just trace his path you’d eventually end up in the same spot right? you weren’t intending to actually attempt to develop sentient machines, you just needed to look into it a bit.

maybe locate resources, old workshop sites, anything that would have garnered his attention.

     you decide to close up shop early that day after your last scheduled customer. you were well ahead of the time limit on your other projects and opted to take a trip to the library instead. for the last three hours you hadn’t managed to do anything other than pour over the tattooed notebook anyway. it was best to at least decipher some of the information before attempting while there was enough daylight remaining for the trip.

the building wasn’t as busy as it could be. a few students lingered, faces you couldn’t place if you tried. and you were no tighnari, something he’d proudly second, so not many recognized you either. an auspicious advantage that kept you from under the lens of a camera.

“hey, yusef.”

there was one that you could identify without the assistance of your akasha device. the man turned at the sound of his name and offered a quiet smile. yusef had been a junior of yours by year or two but managed to climb in academic standing since you began distancing yourself from the akademiya.

upon graduation, you gravitated toward independent research rather than working towards a mentor route. you were fortunate enough to still be in contact with your advisor, though since the incident there was less to say. there were very few machine researches, both parts in lack of information and the inability to seek more. the few that did exist functioned as civil engineers at best, working to keep the city running.

yusef, you remembered, was seeking out an internship as a scribe. apparently facilitating the library services was a step towards it. snorting, you shook away the echoing snide comment that sounded a lot like tighnari bouncing around your head. it was for the best that he didn’t visit the institute often. it was rare that he had anything nice to say about it.

yusef returned your greeting but neither of you had enough history to hold a conversation. it was fine with you. the library wasn’t foreign to you so navigating wasn’t a struggle.

until it was.

you knew machine research was limited but not so severely. back in your student years, you recalled finding a small pocket of books on ancient anatomy of machines but now you could not even locate the index. surely that hasn’t removed all signs of mechanical life forms. the biggest enemy of restriction was curiosity. how else did history manage to repeat itself.

eventually, you rounded back to the beginning of the shelf. initially you’d moved on autopilot, waking the same aisles you had in the past. but apparently that wasn’t good enough.

reluctantly you tapped against the device at your ear.

'show me literature of ancient machines.’

you waited patiently for the response, gaze flickering around the remainder of the building. had it really been that long since the two of you sat huddled in the recesses? surely life couldn’t be moving that quickly.

though the answer to that was as glaring as the reason you were here remaining in the first place. the sudden shift in vision color disrupted your reflection as your gaze narrowed at the red words.

'restricted access. approval required’

“really,” you muttered dryly. as if that wouldn’t give someone ideas. they could have just said 'no information available’. but you supposed that would have been a lie. in sumeru, just about any amount of knowledge was accessible with the right resources.

and for this apparently you were just missing the key. that should be easily obtainable enough. you were no exemplary star by their standards but you pulled enough weight to have a say in the engineering department; the few times you bothered to show up at the meetings. but being invited was enough of a gesture of credentials for you.

you found yourself back at the desk staring down at a perplexed library attendant.

“restricted access?”

tighnari was truly a terrible influence if the first thing that came to the tip of your tongue was a comical mimicry of the same question thrown back at you. it was fortuitous that you were the most mannered of the two. an indisputable title when you were the only one here to defend it.

you bared a grin as you refrain from expressing your emotions by the drum of your fingertips against the countertop. “i’d like to look into some literature that i don’t recall having an issue having access to in the past. but now it’s unavailable. how do i remedy that?”

this was surely a question he must have gone through in his orientation. but you had a feeling he was more trained to explain to students why they couldn’t have access, not responding to seniors trying to gain it.

the poor boy seemed flustered by his lack of polished response,” you would need to request it. um- through the administrative office. they review it from there. i should have a form in the back for you to fill out. you would just need to list the books.”

nope too long. and likely would raise more questions that you were prepared to answer. at least until you got some explanations of your own.

looks like you were doing this … under the table.

you flashed him a smile with a courtesy tap of your palm against the desk. “you know what, no need. must not be for me.” visibly sagged in relief. apparently there was more to it than just presenting a form.

that was okay. you were blessed with advantages not many could boast. so why not utilise them.

      being in a relationship with the mahamantra wasn’t as luxurious as some made it appear— well that was a subjective opinion depending on the perspective.

students were reasonably intimidated by the very idea of ​​uttering your lover’s title. it hovered like the low hanging shadow of an old wives tale; as if mentioning it was enough to bring him to their doorsteps.

but others not restricted by the harsh rules of the akademiya, at least where their livelihood was intertwined, found it to be a respectable position. the matra was a symbol of integrity. where the corps of thirty protected the streets, the matra overlooks the blessing of the god herself, knowledge.

to you, the general was just a simple man who favored rice and meats. perhaps simple was unfair. cyno had traveled to mondstat in the span of three days in his youth to save a young girl. for some that would be enough to root the seeds of worship.

it helped that he was a little more than moderately attractive.

your ears perked at the sound of the door unlocking. a warmth of contentment overshadowed the relief of guessing his schedule right. years of being in a relationship could never dwindle of the glee of having him home. even when you had additional plans for him.

it was interesting adjusting to the life of a living with the general. he didn’t have a traditional schedule like most positions. he overlooked the entirety of academic integrity and appeared to have eyes everywhere. you remembered when he accepted the position, a title passed down but no less valuable.

idiots in love was an odd heading to hover over cyno’s head but in that moment it have been all too fitting. the way you���d aged into maturity has been respectable, without the loss of affection despite the bumps.

“smells good.”

you looked up as cyno tugged off the infamous jackal headpiece and shook out the slightly humid triggered frizz of silver locs underneath. you repressed a snort when he frowned as one got snagged. apparently the sound wasn’t as quiet as you imagined.

cyno’s gaze narrowed as you took him in appreciatively, but the soft concerns of his lips offset any concerns. he lay the uniform neatly over the back of the chair before sliding behind you. you were ready for the pressure of his hands against your sides but still managed to jump at the different temperature of his sun kissed heat and the cool chill of the house.

“hi,” you muttered softly as you leaned into the hold. your head titled enough to meet him in a kiss.

“hi,” he echoed, lips now traversing the curve of your jaw. well, safe to say it was a decent workday.

with the free hand not smoothing over the back of the hand holding your waist, you moved the food off the heat. “want to get changed? it’s about ready.”

cyno’s thumb circled your stomach through your shirt thrice before he nodded in agreement, no doubt ready to hang up the mahamatra for the night. it was truly an earlier night than usual for him. you’d taken a gamble with your expectations. some nights his greetings would rouse you from a light slumber hours after you’d settled in. it would follow with an apology before he relaxed against you only to be gone before you roused the next morning.

cyno took his job seriously and you respected that. but it was nice to see him take it easy every now and again.

he returned to a table set as you poured a glass of his favorite wine. a silver brow rose as he watched you fill the glass, no doubt reading into the implication. you only offered a grin as you settled in the chair next to him. for now you would enjoy a shared meal as few as they came of late.

it didn’t take much for you both to avoid tales of work. each of you experienced enough in the city to detail the less mundane parts of your days. cyno was retelling a brief discussion he’d had with tighnari’s father while crossing the desert into aaru village while you stored away the leftovers for him to take tomorrow.

“but i want to know what i did to deserve this?”

rolling your eyes playfully, you placed the packaged food in reach beyond the cabinet doors but safely out of range of ali. the said feline thief was happily scarfing down the leftovers you’d spared. no doubt adding to the plushness he’d picked up over the years, something you were both a culprit and a teaser of when stroking his furry belly.

passing by cyno, you dropped a kiss to the top of his head, narrowly avoiding his attempt to capture you as you stored away the corked bottle. “you always deserve it, you’re a wonderful partner.”

it was true. in your haste and vulnerable state the two of you had hashed out the worst of what his job could do to you. it has been the first time it had come between you and neither had been prepared for the downfall. with time, it has been a tumble you’d managed to recover from.

vermillion eyes followed you with a glint of amusement tinged with faint disbelief. so you were a bit of a favor counter. so what. it was a healthy system for couples when the time called for it.

found out, there was no longer a need to prolong it.

“cyno, what do you know about gaining clearances in the library?” surely he’d managed some cases by now of daring students attempting to seek forbidden research.

he frowned hesitantly, not expecting the inquiry. folding his arms against his chest, he relaxed in his seat.. “it goes through the administrative office. from there on the head scribes process the requests.”

upon the mention of the scribes, one name in particular came to mind. when yusef had mention the process, you had only thought of interns scurrying around filing away requests. you hadn’t considered it might end up on his desk in particular.

your nose curled at the thought of willingly seeking out the man. it wasn’t worth reliving the road of mementoes reflecting on your years knowing alhaitham. you knew him best through your fellow kshahrewar classmate, kaveh. since the two of them becoming housemates, you’d began seeing the man on more than one occasion. your acquaintanceship was an interesting set up.

part of it stemmed out of challenging one another, the other half genuine respect and interest. but as you grew into your respective roles, alhaitham began to draw away from the group. a sequence of events leading to his rejection of the position of general mahara in favor of grand scribe..

now you all just sort of breezed by. it wasn’t to say that you outright ignored him, there just wasn’t the same chemistry anymore. tighnari simply had nothing more to do with the akademiya. cyno preferred to keep in on a professional basis.

and you … you just didn’t see the point of trying to be amicable with the ass.

“really…alhaitham?”

cyno gave you a considering look but obliged. “he oversees a few administrative duties surrounding knowledge. he would only make sense that he would also be responsible for the security of more sensitive information.”

okay, that made sense. you hated to hear it, but you knew there was a reason why the man had turned down prosecution over administration. why enforce the rules when you can make them? it was certainly easier to bend them that way.

thumbing your chin, you regrettably came to the conclusion. “i suppose i should make an appointment with the grand scribe then.”

cyno stopped tinkering with his akasha to look at you with more scrutiny. you could tell he wanted to ask, the question was brewing at the tip of his tongue. yet he held it at bay with a nod. sometimes it was better if he didn’t know until he needed to. he trusted you to make smart choices.

raking together the rest of the courage you’d reserved for the night, you sided closure and leaned back against the matra’s thigh while your arm looped behind his neck.

“sure the infamous general matra can’t sway a bit of judgement?”

it wasn’t that you couldn’t follow the progression of things. as a member of the akademiya you had every right to request material. just like it had every opportunity to be denied. to be frank, neither of you were on highly cordial terms with the grand scribe. but you were mannerable in public.

but what cyno had that you didn’t was an elevated status that surely came with some perks. you were dating the general mahamantra after all.

“ i would much rather you go through the official process rather than seeking him out.” a flicker of something lights up his gaze like a flash of lightning before it’s gone. cyno taps your nose when you pout. he presses a kiss in turn, holding the gesture until you smile. “this …research isn’t sensitive, is it?”

your frown at the hesitant probing. there weren’t many things that you withheld from cyno, partly due to the reason that he was the one person who made that feat practically impossible. coming to live with him meant that boundaries were considered, however, he promised to not get over involved unless it was necessary.

“no, no. i can just put it in.”

it wouldn’t be enough to put you at the top of the priority list, but certainly they would review it eventually, right? you winced at the idea of ​​the kind of questions that would come from that. while you weren’t named in the trial, abu was known as a colleague of yours. there would be … some hesitation. maybe seeking out the great scribe wouldn’t be a bad idea?

you flinched surprised at the soft nip you received on your ear. “ow! what?”

“I’m glad you’re getting back into research again,” he shrugs nonchalantly. but it was kind of a big deal. you’d once been determined to challenge the akademiya’s smartest to develop fresh ideas in the technology industry. innovations to rival snezhnaya. but after the incident with abattouy, you began feeling as though institution only liked knowledge they could control.

“and that earns me a bite?”

cyno gives you an inquisitive look, eyes brimming with retrained mirth. it reminded you of the man beyond the title of general that most didn’t see. his position bore the weight of responsibility and had chiselled away at the curiosity that once burrowed his nose and books; encouraged him to spend time learning old languages, urged him to cross the lands to save a girl.

you didn’t understand at first, when tighnari gave up the life of a scholar for reclusiveness of the forest. in enough years, the man could have been one of the sages at his rate.

but now, the more you visit him in his forestry escape you realize how much he didn’t change. still he had had rather … concerning the level of snarky, sarcastic views on the akademiya with no fear … he was still tighnari.

cyno was—

cyno was still kind. he loved you and that was enough. it was. you just hated that sometimes it felt like a fact.

it was a true statement. a guideline he followed. students were to be monitored. you were to be loved. there was nothing in between. no allowances. sure the occasional jokes softened the edges but there was no denying what he was to the akademiya.

not even when you had pleaded, flushed and damp with tears for him to just listen to what abattouy had to say. to not follow instruction so blindly and consider that life wasn’t such a straight line.

but what weight did you have to throw around demanding that when you’d been so content to accept his love. abattouy had been wrong and yet.

with a shudder, you curl deeper into his arms. today’s revelation wasn’t about picking old wounds.

cyno buries his face in your neck with a hum and that was enough to warm your body.

“just be careful, okay?”

      it didn’t take much consideration as the night progressed for you to decide to go against the grain anyway. cyno’s advice was well intended but it posed more immediate risks than you were ready to face right now. at this stage, you just needed more information to ask questions. and you were too early into the development process of this research to provide a strong enough thesis for your intentions.

you couldn’t well enough just say you intended to prove that the akademiya was wrong in prosecuting your friend without allowing him a fair defence.

and as cyno helpfully mentioned, it was going to go through alhaitham regardless. so why not beat to the chase and avoid the fanfare?

you vaguely recall responding to cyno moving from bed at an earlier hour. it wasn’t often that him rousing woke you, but the occurrences weren’t unwelcomed as you accepted the brief affection before he departed for the day.

it wasn’t until it was nearing lunchtime that your body finally gave up on clinging to sleep. you decided to open the shop late today, confident that the flow of customers wouldn’t suffer from the decision.

there was no reason for you to know the grand scribe’s schedule so you didn’t bother trying to scout him out at the crack of dawn. from what you understood, unless he wanted to found he was rarely sought out. much like your own lover.

still the man had a penchant for appearing sporadically whenever you roamed the port. there was something about the water-side market that tended to attract his attention but that was a curiosity that was not your own. he would serve you better than seeking him out at his office.

but what you had that most didnt, or simply they just had no need for the knowledge, was the man’s favorite spot to brood. and it just happened to be nearing the end of the lunch period where everyone was returning to their respective assignments—also known as peak 'brooding’ time in alhaitham’s language.

you climbed the final row of steps to find eymen clearing away a few dishes.

“hey, has alhaithamn been by?”

the bartender seems more started by the actual question than the sharp interruption in his task. ever practised, however, he holds the plates and cups steady as he regards you. “just missed him actually.”

biting back a curse, you take the knowledge gratefully as you depart from which you came. there was only a short amount of time before he returned to his office and you did not want to have this conversation around inquisitive ears.

it was becoming apparent though, that something came with an appointment for a reason as you scoured the market to no end. either the man was on a mission or he truly did not wish to be found, either way he was unknowingly earning your ire with every wasted minute.

it was by chance that you caught sight of the silver head of hair right before it crossed the intersection. hastening your steps, you sidetracked into one of the adjacent alleys in preparation to cut him off.

you just managed to beat him, unable to resist expressing your exasperation by thrusting your foot into his path.

the grand scribe, either lost in thought or simply not expecting to be assaulted in public, barely manages to maintain his ground from sword training alone. his head whips back in pursuit of his assailant, anger flattening at the sight of you.

“and what honor have i been given to receive the lover of the general mahamantra?”

your lip curled at the title alhaitham loved to coin you as. no one else dared to try the same out of principle and something else called human decency. you were regretting your poor foot placement, perhaps a knuckle to the jaw would have been more effective.

somewhere across the plains, cyno was no doubt regretting sharing the tidbit of information that got you here.

nodding your head to the alley you emerged from, you silently requested that he followed. the man regarded you for a moment before his footsteps echoed as you led him away from the city traffic. however, as you began to slow, alhaimtahn urged you to continue before leading you to stop near the edges of the pier. with the port at your back, there was no concern of wandering ears beyond your gaze. with an incline of his head, you spoke.

“i need permission to access additional texts at the library.” you don’t bother sugarcoating your reason for being here, you would both appreciate your time more.

any of his annoyance sobers at the request. his brow flexes with interest,” what text?”

“old machines.”

there was a part in his lips, the sound smothered before it could become the laugh he so desperately wanted to get out. he seemed equally aware of how quickly you’d try to stomp it out in turn. “getting bold in his absence aren’t you?” he doesn’t use the title this time, and the implication is very clear.

your foot taps impatiently against the wooden planks as you look at anything but him. “nothing gets past him.” it was the truth, in a sense. he was aware that you were requesting access, just not the avenue you took.

alhaitham is unable to resist cracking a grin. your lips wobble in response. “something tells me he doesn’t know of the topic.”

any evidence of a grin washes from your face as your gaze narrows. “i didn’t realise it would be that much of a problem.”

“if it wasn’t it wouldn’t be restricted.”

the silence is filled with a coat of tension weaved from years of thread spanning your unconventional relations. it took effort to describe what alhaitham was to you. years ago, he was a colleague, a spirited mind among the incoming class of students. sometime after, he became a frequent acquaintance while you would seek out kaveh for studies. it was sometime before your graduation that his goals came in between what could have been a friendship as he veered away from something more stable.

now it was by chance if you were seen together at akademiya sponsored events.

alhaitham was the first to relent, a rare cop out as he raised his hands in complacene, “look, that’s between you and him, don’t put me between it. as for the access, i can get that granted.”

you blink in surprise, not expecting it to be given so easily without additional favors. alhaitham reads your surprise with a raised brow. “I just grant access, you know who deals with disciplinary.”

alhaitam crowds closer as you peer up at him suspiciously,”i didn’t realize the two of you were so keen on mixing business and pleasure.”

realization hits you and alhaimtan rolls back on his heels, narrowly missing the jab of your elbow.

“you’re such a dick.”

he laughs, an easy sound that could give the wrong impression of being something more.”yeah, whatever, give me a few hours and you’ll have your access.” he’s unable to resist knocking his shoulder into yours as he passes. “oh and next time, make an appointment,“

you swallow around the lump of the words but manage to get them out, “thank you.”

he shrugs, back already turned, “don’t thank me yet.”

      sure enough, alhaitham comes through as you’re finishing up at the shop for the day. you decide to save the trip to the library for tomorrow, however. that distance could easily eat up the rest of your day. a few more projects had been added to your work schedule and you’d spent most of the day after returning from the port tying off the ends of some of your older ones.

through infrequent breaks, your attention drifted towards the notebook stored away in the wall panels of the shop. whatever in the texts coulndt have been enough for abu if he still hadnt been able to complete his research. still the sages feared what the material could implant in the minds of ambitious individuals. for now you just needed a starting point, and recreating his steps was the best way.

upon closing the shop for the day, you were greeted with a quiet home. it was unlikely that you would get two early nights in a row with cyno. he didn’t mention anything permanent before he left this morning but you were well practiced enough to know.

you fell asleep that night curled against ali, thinking about tinkering cogs until it faded to black.

     you ended up returning to the library two days later than planned. while you would never turn away new projects, the unexpected swarm had cluttered your small workspace before you knew it. you were certainly far from the only engineer available in the port, but the name you made for yourself was something to be proud of. not ever accomplishment was measured by the akademiya.

you had a penchant for tinkering with everyday technology that could help ease the tasks of others. it’s how you fell into such an easy colleagueship with abattouy. you both chased similar goals, just across different avenues.

finally satisfied with your progress, packed away everything for a trip to the house of daena. upon you arrival, you found that yusef wasn’t manning the desk and you dont bother stopping for an unfamiliar face. the clearance alhaitham gave came with additional instructions leading you towards the center of the library.

your akasha triggered in response to the elevator, the mechanisms behind whirling to rise to the higher levels. the akasha alone could supply you with details. but you would need to know what to ask to even begin to leaf through the material. it was why hardcopies were still prevalent. by reading you would immerse yourself in knowledge you weren’t initially seeking and help fill in the inevitable blanks.

this part of the building had lower ceilings and fortunately lower shelf access. the terminal led you where you needed to go, putting you in front of a small but lucrative selection. the titles ranged from history to expedition research notes. you spent over an hour reading through the texts before you bagan running into a similar theme.

you were right to assume your sole knowledge through the akasha would be limited. the sharp black lines redacting sections of the material would not translate well through the terminal. the summary would have glossed over anything near the restriction zone in order to produce comprehensive data.

even then from what you could tell, these expeditions focused more on the area around the ruin machines rather than their direct purpose. anything more detailed wouldn’t be accessible to you regardless of what you knew.

you slide the last book back into its place. it was safe to assume anything that abattouy had managed to conjure had been destroyed. the same went for any resources he’d been able to glean from his own studies. the akademiya didn’t leave behind trails.

but abattouy had been so determined then. surely there was something more than his own will fueling his research.

you reasoned that he could have used a knowledge capsule but that would imply that kind of information had been passed round. typically those devices were destroyed after the information had been transferred. the sages were well aware of the illegal distribution of knowledge. something like this wouldn’t have been so carelessly stored. no, it had to be gone.

regardless, you couldn’t really risk gambling away money on a knowledge search. that kind of expense would draw attention at home that you didn’t have answers for yet.

your back hit the shelf behind as you slunk to the ground.

you’d hit a stone wall, one with no weak points that you could exploit. it had already been a risk telling allhaitham what you were looking into. by granting access you were already likely being monitored. it would be smart to just leave it here.

and yet.

abattouy wouldn’t have just stopped here—didn’t baulk under the pressure. you recall him going on research trips into the forests. once or twice you’d mentioned some tips from tighnari.

what he couldn’t find in the library he would have gone out to find for himself.

but where abattouy had been an aimless wanderer.

you had a guide.

continued in part ii

[aylabyu]

I hate, with all my life, school.

Cyno x F!Reader

Tags: SFW, studying! kinda...

"Ughhh, Cyno, the heat it killing me. Can we please, please turn back now?"

"We can't, this is for your thesis. And we're already halfway there. It'll be a shame if decided to head home now."

Cyno shook his head at your nth whine for the afternoon. The two of you were heading to a library to complete your thesis. With the heat outbreak, almost every house has its air conditioner on, and in turn, an electricity shortage. Your apartment is a poor victim of this so with no access to the internet, the library is your next solution.

"Can't I just tell my professor that we have no electricity and wifi? Surely he'll understand, right?" You said to Cyno, your friend, who offered his help when he heard of your predicament.

"No, he'll just make your life much harder the next time. Trust me, I took his class last semester and saw him make my classmate memorize a whole book in one day because he turned in his assignment a minute late. Though I don't know if he's still like that now, it's still better to be safe than sorry. Unless you want to experience something like that?"

"Uh, yeah no thanks," you sighed. "Does his mother not shower him with affection? Why is he like that? Did he has some trauma when he was still in college and he's dumping his rage on us students??"

Cyno laughed, "That's possible. He always had anger issues toward students. Anyway, we arrived. Come on, let's get this over with."

The two of you entered and were immediately saved by the cold air of the aircons in the library.

"Oh great Lord, thank you for making the people work here think that an air conditioner must be installed here."

Cyno shook his head and cackled, "You know, I have a joke about aircons. What do you call a-"

"EHEM, hello miss. May we know which aisle is this reference book?"

You ran to the librarian and showed her the picture of the book you needed. Cyno squinted his eyes at you, letting you know this would be brought up again later on. The librarian searched for it on her computer and told you its location.

"Here and oh, no funny business, hm? It's too hot today for me to deal with aftermaths of young couples," she stared at the both of you hard making you blush.

"Ah?! No, no. We're just friends!" You shook your head and waved her goodbye, unable to make eye contact with Cyno whose ears have a tinge of red.

You cleared your throat, "A, Anyway. Here's the book! Let's find a seat and start cracking!"

The two of you found a vacant table and started working. It was fortunate that there is wifi, cold air, and Cyno with you today. As he said earlier, he took a class with the same professor you have so he can share some information from his work with yours or if you didn't understand some information from the book or sites you're researching.

After an hour or two, you're at the last paragraph of your thesis.

"Ahhh! Finally, finally, I'm getting over this shit!" You stretched and said your curse in a quiet voice. You're near the light to heaven, wouldn't want to be kicked out by the librarian at this crucial moment.

Slightly smiling at you, Cyno stood up and said, "Finish up your work. I'll just buy some coffee since the last paragraph must be lengthy and comprehensive. A cold latte with caramel syrup?"

You blinked, "Ah, yeah. The conclusion is typically what I have the easiest time with. I'm surprised you know what I like."

It was Cyno's turn to blink, "Oh, uh, mhm. I'll get going."

He speed-walked to the exit of the library where you stared into space for a bit and them worked on your thesis until you felt someone tapping your shoulder.

"Yo~ Never thought I'll get to see you here in a library!"

Your classmate, Lisa, hugged your shoulders and greeted you.

"Lisa! My apartment has no electricity so we decided to go here. The bonus is there's wifi and air conditioning here. What about you? What are you doing here?"

She sat down next to you, "Ah, just picking up some books for Razor. Remember him? He's the child I'm currently tutoring."

"Oh, yeah! The one who you want to adopt in the future?"

Lisa hummed, "Things are quite vague right now with his parents but with the way they're treating him, I won't stand for it," she sighed. "Anyway, why weren't you mentioning your lovely Cyno?"

You fumbled, "What? Ah, yeah. He's with me, mhm."

She leaned in close to you, "You know, I saw the two of you floundering lile idiots in love when he stood up and left."

"Ah?! What, what do you mean?! He just sees me as a friend and-"

"You see him as a friend too? Or as a man?"

You stayed silent, "I-I don't know. Many girls in my class like him, and they're far prettier and better than me."

"Hm? So what?"

"What?" You looked at Lisa who raised her eyebrows at you.

"So what if you think they're prettier and better, you're your own person. Plus, this can't be the case in the eyes of Cyno, I'm sure."

"Why are you certain he thinks that way? I know you're majoring in Psychology but you can't be a mind reader."

She haughtily laughed, "Psychology hurts my brain, don't mention that word again. Anyway, don't you know he doesn't hang out with other girls unless for academic reasons? Heck, he doesn't even laugh in his circle of friends. And from what I saw, he was clearly spirited when he was with you."

You grow silent, thinking over her words.

"But, that could have meant other things. Like, maybe he sees me as a little sister or a junior in need of help? Either way, Cyno won't ever be interested in me-"

"Why shouldn't I?"

You gasped and turned around. You saw him standing there with the drinks he promised.

"Cyno! How long have you been there?"

"Ever since I sat down," Lisa put her hand on her chin and smirked at you.

"You!" You pointed your finger at her who just snickered at you.

"Here, Lisa. Thanks for your... intentional help. Can I speak with her in private for a bit?" Cyno handed his drink to Lisa who smilingly accepted.

"Oho, I like a man with manners," then she turned to you, "Keep him, ok?"

She stood up while cackling at your red face and waved her hand away.

Cyno cleared his throat and sat down in the seat across from you, "Can we talk about what you and Lisa were talking about?"

You put your head down, "S-Sure. Ehm, what do you want to know...?"

He grabbed your hands that were on the table and gripped them firmly.

"Do you like me?"

You looked up in a start. He didn't break eye contact with you and looked on with a hopeful gaze.

"I..." you sighed, "Yes, yes I do."

You looked down again and felt him grip your hands a bit tighter. He took in a sharp inhale and replied, "Likewise. I like you too."

Slowly looking up once more, you saw his face with a gentle smile and loving eyes.

"Oh, uhhh. Uhh??" You wanted to get your hands so you can hide your blushing face but Cyno still kept a tight clasp on your hands.

"Nuh-uh, don't hide your pretty face away from me."

You almost look horrified by how his personality changed right away. He chuckled with his teeth showing out at your mental state.

"Princess, you better get used to my jokes and character showed only to you and you 'cause we're gonna be together for a long, looong time."

A/N: tbh idk how libraries work LMAO BUT if there are some errors with the grammar or info, don't hesitate to call me out! (gently please xD) and was abt to like do a fic where the scene is stressful and all where Cyno will calm you down and everything but idk how theses work in the Akademiya soooo... (and idk too how to make titles so bear w me)

[abysstwins]

my take on sagau ... ♡

if you cant tell , my mental sillies make me a sucker for the obsessive cult aspect of sagau (burn me at the stake i guess) but idk the whole "imposter" thing feels weirdddddd i always prefer creator!reader to be like isekai'd into teyvat yk (can you tell i used to be obsessed with the kuroshitsuji time travel au .....) ?? anyways have this while i decide if i want this to be a full series or just a mini series

notes : gn!reader , creator!reader , r is not traveler , they them used , this - like most of my writing - is self indulgent hinted with some projection , bulleted list cause its 4am when im typing this and acrylic nails suck , i mainly refer to reader as either r or creator enjoy <3 i wrote this while listening to this playlist ♡

okay so i feel like the self awareness began longgggg before this takes place ok

starts out with traveler , then albedo , then kaeya , etc

it takes a while but albedo finally finds a way to bring r to teyvat

i imagine that the acolytes can hear r when they play (esp the traveler)

if you're like me and dote on all of the characters you have they eat that shit uppppp bro

anyways so now r is isekai'd into teyvat yayyyy

it takes them a whileeeee to get used to being an all-powerful being cause like .......... ??? social anxiety ?? inability to communicate with neurotypical people ? depressive and manic eps ?????? mood swings ?????

eventually they kinda fall in the swing of things

damn if i was stuck in teyvat id just deal with it. you got some other way out ???

i view the acolytes as being obsessive in nature once r is like ....... there with them ( with due respect , that is the "creator" n all .... )

immediately wanting you to find a suitor ( or multiple )

by like the second month of being in teyvat r is WORNNNNN OUTTTT

everyone basically walks on egg shells around them oHMY GODDDDD

r has to basically beg the acolytes to stop being WEIRDDDDDDDDD

they feel weird being treated like a god ( well ....... )

they do kinda like their dreamy palace tho <3 its nice n has really cozy beds to nap in

their acolytes are also more than eager to nap with them om gee

r is a big fan of hanging out with the twins ( i like to think they're reunited when the creator comes to teyvat <3 ) they've all been to so many diff worlds they have a lot to chat about ( and also the twins are really the only charas to be semi chill around r )

oh ok random but also

r is visiting mondstadt and plays minecraft songs on the lyre and everyone goes CRAZYYYY

"it's their divinity's holy songs!!!!" cue the inner giggling cause its literally just minecraft music you memorized in like middle school

r is lowkey a huge flirt too once they get comfortable in teyvat ( they most likely hope this is just a dream and when they return home if they return home ...... that it'll have no real consequence cause it's EMBARASSINGGGG )

this leads to

well

jealousy lol

the acolytes basically beg them to find a consort or suitor or whtvr ( or even multiple :thumbsup: )

r tries to be fair and choose like 3 from each nation but cmonnnn ,,,,, wom en fdjfheskrf.vja

genshin makes me [ cries in bisexuality ] i wanna make out with like half of the characters

anyways def lots of fights between the nations about where their aforementioned palace will go ( r decides to station in inazuma , preferably near kokomi's shrine place ) and since r can still use the teleport points , it's fine by them if they wanna visit venti for some dandelion wine or zhongli for tales and tea

overlooking the whole imposter or villain au's i like to think being isekai'd into teyvat would be pretty chill

oooo r def likes to hangout / help out in bakeries n stuff

they're also besties with hu tao ( they kiss sometimes probably )

r and cyno have so many inside jokes pls help

idk maybe i'll continue this later or add onto it but im sleepy night guys