#me: i hope this doesn't... awaken anything in me

[himasgod]

Xiao x Reader

Where you approach him in the Lantern Rite

The Lantern Rite covered the sky of Liyue in golden flashes, as if the stars had descended to greet the mortals. From the top of the Wangshu Inn, Xiao watched the spectacle in silence. His sharp eyes barely blinked as he followed the lanterns rising into the sky, each one containing a wish or blessing from the citizens he protected without expecting recognition.

For the rest of Liyue, this night meant celebration, joy, and hope. For Xiao, however, it was just another battle, a night in which would relentlessly strike down any threat that disturbed the peace. He knew that the remnants of hatred and resentment could awaken at any moment, and as soon as they did, he would be the first to fall upon them.

A few steps behind him, you stood, watching him in silence. In all the time you had spent at the Wangshu Inn, tending to daily chores and fulfilling errands, you had noticed Xiao’s sporadic presence. You knew who he was, and although his visits were always brief and solitary, you made a point of leaving a small plate of almond tofu on the terrace table before he arrived. Perhaps he didn’t notice, or perhaps he thought it was a simple courtesy. But to you, this gesture was a way of silently thanking him.

Tonight, you decided to take it a step further. You approached slowly, without making much noise, carrying with you a lantern that you had secretly prepared. When you were next to him, he didn’t look at you, but you knew he was aware of your presence.

“I thought you might like to throw a lantern,” you said quietly, extending the one you held in your hands to him.

Xiao didn't move, but his gaze shifted slightly to the object you offered, a mix of curiosity and bewilderment in his golden eyes. It wasn't usual for someone to approach him, much less to include him in something so common, so human.

"I have no wishes to grant myself," he replied coldly, his voice as sharp and distant as ever. But there was a slight tremor in his tone, a trace of doubt that he hadn't noticed until now.

"It doesn't have to be a wish for you," you replied softly. "You could ask for something for others, something you think Liyue needs."

There was a moment of silence between the two of you, so heavy that you could feel it as a barrier between you. Xiao looked down at the lantern, his thoughts seeming to fly away from the terrace, towards the countless battles, the karmic burdens and the fragmented hatred he had endured for centuries. Those burdens were nothing more than shadows to the inhabitants of Liyue, but to him they were real, heavy.

Finally, Xiao reached out a hand, taking the lantern delicately, as if it were something fragile and unknown to him. He examined it silently, his fingers brushing the soft fabric that held the flame. You could see the battle in his eyes, the tension on his face, as if he was both considering your proposal and rejecting it.

“I don’t know what I could ask for,” he finally murmured, his voice barely a whisper. “After so many years, I’ve grown accustomed to fighting, to carrying the shadows of others. I have no purpose beyond this.”

His words fell heavily on your chest, and in that moment, you understood the loneliness and weight Xiao carried. Without saying anything else, you placed a hand gently on his, the one holding the lantern, and he looked at you, surprised.

“It doesn’t matter what you wish for, Xiao. The important thing is that you are not alone tonight.”

His eyes softened slightly, and for the first time, you noticed a small crack in Xiao’s imperturbable facade. He took a breath, letting the lantern's flame reflect in his eyes before finally letting go.

The lantern floated away, taking with it a wish he might never get to say out loud.

Here is my masterlist, in case you are interested in any more of my work or want to send me a request <3

[licollisa]

In my cringe era

@gildedxpleasure gave me the idea for bi light skeleton. Background from here. Full image here.

[summertaters]

Pinning - or more like pining? 🤔

[wearerandomlyyours]

Cyclone, before The Mission: I'll never understand how a great man and Admiral like Iceman could possible see anything in a chronic fuckup like Maverick.

Cyclone, after The Mission: Ohhhhhhhh.

[hrodvitnon]

Headcanon That I Need To Draw: Replikas have extendable/retractable canine teeth. Specifically the combat-based ones like STARs, STCRs, LSTRs and FKLRs. For CQC "when in doubt, bite their throats out" reasons. But also other reasons. The other reason is that it's sexy.

[kastle-thrones]

._.

hey fictionkin? uh quick question

how did you find out about your kintypes? please boost this around i need answers

[fannyyann]

chuck daddy on the right || FLA @ NJD | 3.5.24

[puppetmaster13u]

What if Bruharvey but Batman is the eldritch half-human child of Gotham who gave up his humanity and has technically been missing for the last 10 or so years haha....

Don't have all the AU planned out but it literally came into being just because I want to write a scene of Harvey finding out this being who has lost everything was not only human, but his best friend. His best friend who gave up everything to Gotham, who is so far removed from human now they can barely mimic a humanoid shape.

I do think Bruce still lives in the Cave, but it's more like the whole tunnel system under Gotham, not just the one under the Manor. He's Gotham's Knight still, just with a more Gotham curse-approved form and a few blurry memories due to his mind no longer running like a human's.

Probably takes in the Robins still too, just differently. How that is I currently don't know and am up for ideas lol. Actually I am open to pretty much any ideas you guys have. Gimme anything you got lol

[coockie8]

roy finds his first gray hair has a full on nervous breakdown and doesnt talk to ed for like a week cause hes scared ed will think hes ugly now 😭😭😭

Ed literally doesn't even notice Roy has started going grey until there's almost no black left in his hair, and then, of course, rapidly discovers he has no idea what to do with himself now that Roy is a Silver Fox lmao

[player1064]

Footy RPF Fictober, day 2 - injury

also available on ao3

MINDLESS NONSENSE!!!! also side-note writing about Gary having tight muscles that need a massage is making me very aware of how tight MY muscles are. massage roller save me....

carraville, set vaguely while they're off on one of their little trips to film the overlap on tour

---

Jamie hauls a limping Gary out of the lift and into his hotel room, lets him put his weight on him as he gingerly lowers himself to sit down on the bed with a wince.

What a drama queen, honestly. They’d been spending their afternoon off of filming on the beach with Roy and Wrighty – a chance to relax, but of course Gary Neville’s not relaxed a day in his life and he’d started getting antsy after a few minutes on a sun lounger.

Jamie’s also not much for sunbathing, so he’d found them a frisbee and they’d been playing around with it when Gary had suddenly done a weird little hop mid run and gone ‘ooh, fuck, I’ve done me ‘amstring’ in that squeaky little voice of his.

So now: Jamie’s left Roy and Ian at the beach (not that they’d notice if he was there or not anyway) to bring Gary back to the hotel, tease him a bit about being an old man with a broken-down body, and then get back to enjoying his day.

But Gary just looks so miserable, like he feels guilty for not being a twenty-something anymore, like he’s just personally ruined their whole trip, and Jamie feels – well, he should try do something, shouldn’t he?

“D’you want me to—” he gestures vaguely at Gary’s leg, not sure if he should say it. If it’s allowed. “I mean, I do an alright massage, if yer –"

“Oh.” Gary blinks. “Oh, I – ha. Thought you were just gonna give me an ibuprofen and leave me to ‘ave a nap or something.”

“Oh,” Jamie echoes. “Yeah, no, that – makes more sense, doesn’t it? I’ll just –” he looks around the room, all of a sudden feeling slightly desperate. Does he even have any ibuprofen on him? Does Gary?

“Massage sounds nice, though.”

Gary isn’t looking at him as he says this, is fidgeting with the starched white sheets on the bed instead. Oh, Jamie thinks again. Oh, he’s not used to asking for help.

A memory hits him, unwelcomed, of a summer’s day a lot like this one. But instead of the warm sands of Italy he’s on the battered grass of Melwood, instead of Gary sitting awkwardly at the end of the bed like a child waiting for a telling-off it’s –

He shakes the thought off.

“Go on then,” he replies, nodding towards the bed. “On your front. And off with those shorts, eh Gaz?”

Jamie’s never felt right using that nickname for Gary, but it’s a necessary evil. ‘Cause otherwise he’d just be a man asking another man to strip for him. So: Gaz it is.

Gary rolls his eyes but he shifts his shorts off – he’s got black boxers on underneath, big fucking surprise. Jamie could’ve told you that without even needing to look; he’s pretty sure it’s the only kind of underwear he owns.

Jamie goes into the bathroom to fetch the hotel-brand body lotion trying to pass itself off as fancy, then he hovers awkwardly at the edge of the bed, kind of half-kneeling half-standing next to Gary as he tries to work out how to do this in the least questionable way possible.

“Where’s it worst?” he asks, cringing at the way his voice cracks, just a tiny bit. Probably not even noticeable.

Gary hums in thought. “Hamstring,” he says simply.

Well, duh.

He eventually realises that Jamie’s not making a move because he needs more information, so he takes another second then says, “uh, think it’s the centre muscle. Maybe six inches up from my knee.”

Jamie spreads his hand over the back of Gary’s thigh, runs a firm line over the muscle with his thumb. “Here?”

“Hmm, bit lower maybe.”

Every muscle in Gary’s thigh is tight, left unattended for god knows how long. But Jamie knows it when he’s got it, feels the hard knot of muscle that makes his whole leg twitch when he presses into it. Slowly, slowly, he starts working at it, tries to stay gentle so he doesn’t put Gary off when he’s just barely started.

“Mmph,” Gary says, his voice muffled by the pillow, “you’re not bad at this, y’know.”

Jamie digs his thumb into the muscle hard, just ‘cause he can. It twitches involuntarily under the pressure, and Gary lets out a displeased, squeaky sort of hum. Then, after a few seconds, he watches smugly as the tension holding Gary’s entire body rigid starts to fade, as he relaxes back into the mattress.

“I’m serious.” Gary tries to twist around and look at Jamie, moving to prop himself up on one elbow. Jamie pushes him in the shoulder so that he lies back down. “D’you take a class or  somethin’? Don’t think I’ve had a half-decent massage since before I retired.”

“Bloody cheapskate,” Jamie mutters. Because of course Gary would never go out and pay for a massage. Though to be fair to him that’s probably less because of the cost and more because it’s never occurred to him that he might need one. “No classes, no. What, you think I can’t just be naturally talented?”

He can practically hear Gary rolling his eyes. “Just tryin’ to make conversation, James. Makes it less like I’m just lying half naked in a hotel room while another man feels me up.”

“Steady on, lad. There’s a long list of people I’d rather be feelin’ up right now than you.”

“Mmm,” Gary says. He sounds softer than Jamie’s used to, less frantic. “You do this for Nicola? She’s into her running, right? Bet she appreciates havin’ a masseuse at her beck and call.”

Jamie freezes, just for a moment. The sun beaming through the windows is warm on his back, and if he closes his eyes he can almost convince himself that he’s some other place, some other time. In his memories it’s always summer, warm and hazy and sweet. God, Carra, no wonder the girls all like you so much.

He shakes himself back to reality, back to Gary and his troublesome hamstring – or rather now his calf, because as Jamie works his way down his leg he’s realising there’s not a single relaxed muscle in his body. Typical Gary, of course.

“Not for Nicola, no,” he says, all light and conversational like. “She’d rather go to a professional. No need to risk my meaty hands making things worse.”

“Oh, right.”

Who, then? Gary kindly doesn’t ask. After all, he’s the expert in half-truths, in talking his way neatly around a subject until you forget the question ever crossed your mind.

Gary’s still built like a defender. Solid, stocky. Thick thighs that were never going to make him a sprinter but could get him in the air, could win him his fair share of tackles. There’s a faded surgery scar on his knee, a few more scattered over his ankle, his foot. Jamie’s not sure he could name a single footballer that doesn’t have scars like that.

Is all this really worth it? he’d asked once, a few lifetimes ago. He’d got a call from Mo, late evening, and he’d gotten straight into his car and driven half an hour to find him home alone, lying on his plush carpet with his face twisted in agony. And the only person he’d tried to call was Jamie. He always used to call Jamie.

Don’t be stupid, Carra, he’d said. He’d been trying to sound confident, cocky, but it had been through gritted teeth as Jamie tried to ease his leg back to a useable state. Of course it’s worth it. He’d let out a cry of pain that shot right through Jamie, that made him want to fold in on himself, then he’d looked him straight in the eyes and said it again. Of course it’s worth it.

“Sometimes,” Gary says now, interrupting the scene in Jamie’s mind, “sometimes, when it’s really cold I still feel an ache in my foot.”

Jamie’s nowhere near his foot, so he’s not sure why he’s bringing it up at all, but then –

“Becks used to get the same. An’ it’s so stupid, isn’t it? The things that make us – but every time I feel it, I wonder if he’s feeling it too. And I wonder if he’s thinkin’ the same about me, d’youknowwhatImean?”

The Foot, the papers used to call it, and The Foot’s Best Friend. Jamie kneads his fingers into Gary’s calf, thinks about all the times he’s gone through the same motions a on slimmer pair of legs, wonders if Michael ever thinks about calling him again when he’s in pain. Feels a twinge of guilt that he doesn’t ever really think about Michael at all.

He clears his throat. “That any better?”

Gary shuffles to sit upright, stretches his leg out like he’s testing it still works after such a grievous injury as the minor hamstring pull he’s suffered. “You know what, I think it actually is. Thanks, Carra. Maybe I should keep you on retainer, eh?”

“Not enough money in the world, Gary, this was a one-time offer.”

[frankenbolt]

Joker Folie à Deux was really good and weird and camp and uncomfortable and I really wish I could stop thinking about it which is the sign of a good movie tbh.

[heartcasebullet]

enid: cayruh miya?

wednesday: i appreciate the flattery, but that pronunciation makes me want to gouge stakes into my eardrums.

wednesday: it's pronounced 'cara mia'

enid, blushing: ah wow ok um

enid: can you say it again? i don't think i have it down yet. or maybe a couple more times– or, y'know, maybe 100 more times–

[abyssalmermaiden]

(it’s the voice)

had a stupid idea in the middle of Eden’s Promise: Anamorphosis

[masquenoire]

"What is that? Wait, no... don't tell me, that's a fuckin' Sundance A25, isn't it?? We're going out on a big mission tonight and you had the bright idea to pick something like that as backup??? You know what that is, that's SHIT! Which is what you are! You are shit, dumbass!"

[eugeniedanglars]

shoutout to all the 911 blogs i just followed purely so i can experience this episode through your no-context liveblogging

[abyssarts]

lesbians who cosplay yaoi together 💛💙