#thinking about genshin college au once more

[merakiui]

KAZUHA WITH GLASSES?!?!?!?! oh, this entire outfit is so modern college au…… AND MISS BEIDOU!!!!!! (⸝⸝⸝• ω •⸝⸝⸝) ♡

[rene-darling]

WOULD- he send n00ds? And how?

...would these modern college AU genshin men send n00ds to you?...

...Xiao...wanderer...lyney...

Xiao

No.

Absolutely- not.

The very idea is preposterous and disgusting. And after all, he's heard wayyy too many stories of a person's nudes getting leaked, and he does not want his stuff all out there.

He trusts you, yes. But especially at the beginning of your relationship, there's not enough trust for him to do that.

Xiao doesn't usually go to frat parties, but his friend is the one throwing this one so he felt obliged to go. What could go wrong?

Xiao doesn't drink, nor does he party, but after chugging drink after drink and being sat in a circle playing truth or dare, his tipsy mind is feeling rather- ballsy.

So it goes as follows, he picks dare and gets dared into sending nudes to the last person he's messaged, Xiao's great at keeping secrets so no one knows that you're dating, truth be told- even in his drunken state if the last number he texted had been anyone else, he wouldn't have done it.

But it's you. So his drunken mind agrees. He takes a rather risky photo, some alcohol is dripping from his mouth, sweat runs down his forehead, his back is arched and he gives such a sultry look. Then, he presses sent. The rest of his night is spent partying and drinking more, so his memory of doing this fades into bliss- that is, until the next morning.

Accompanying his painful headache is a certain memory, that makes him physically gag in remembrance, he rushes to check his phone, hoping- praying that you didn't see it- he thinks he's gonna faint from embarrassment when he sees the little *seen* at the bottom of the text.

Fuck. You saw it. You didn't even respond- he shoves his head into the pillow screaming externally and internally- you fucking saw it! And-...you didn't even respond..does that mean you don't like it..? Wait. That's the least of his worries!!!

He's happy about the fact that he doesn't have to see you in his first few classes. But then, it's time for a class that you both have together.

He has half the mind just to skip, but eventually, he has to face you, better be it now than later right?

Whatever, it'll be fine, he'll just explain to you- that he didn't mean it, he was drunk n at a party he wasn't thinkin-

Suddenly Xiao hisses as he's pulled into the janitors closet on his way to class, he swiftly turns his head to glare at the person who did this- it's you.

"So, Xiao, about the pictures you sent. I called you at least 10 times after those, but..you didn't answer." He opens and closes his mouth like a fish, his whole plan goes out the window as he just meekly stares up at you. This wasn't what he expected, but it wasn't something he disliked-..perhaps...he should send some to you even when he has clarity of mind?

Wanderer

Far too skeptical to entertain such a thought.

If you mention it first he'll just scoff at you and give you a dirty glare "Do I look like one of your whores?" "But baby- you're my only whore not one of them-" expect to get a glare from him the whole lecture, in and out of the class. His stare is practically sending you a death threat

Later, if he catches himself thinking about what you asked of him he cringes at himself and the thought.

He's not one to trust people easily, he's been stabbed in the back, and betrayed far too much to be vulnerable enough and to trust you enough to send nudes.

His head runs wild, what if you didn't like what you saw? What if you decided he was so ugly you needed to share those photos with those around you? What if, what if what if.

It's only later on, deep into your relationship that the thought of sending pics crosses his mind once more.

He's tapping his foot harshly against the ground. He's sitting at his seat as students pour into the lecture hall, his eyes scan the room as he sees you walk in and wave at him, just like always. You sit next to him, but he just can't maintain eye contact.

He has his phone in his right hand, staring at the screen intently as the sound of the classroom processes as background noise for him. Should he? What if you don't like it? What if you just meant it as a joke and you'll actually get disgusted once you gaze upon the photos..?

He sighs resting his head on his desk in contemplation. 'I mean...I took some measures just in case, I'm sending it on snap so she can't save or look at it again..fuck-..it should be fine..right..?' his thoughts are jumbled but ultimately he- "fuck it." And he presses sent.

Now it's just a matter of waiting for you to check your phone, it's like the clock is ticking extra slowly and you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? You heard the ding so check the goddamn phone already- and then you picked up your phone, once you noticed it was your boyfriend who texted you, you glanced at him, a confused expression, he's sitting right next to you- so why would he- oh.

Almost immediately you duck your phone down under your desk, you don't want to share this sight with any eyes that aren't yours.

"..why now? Fuck- you look pretty..?" Your mumbling- he has you mumbling. That's a good thing right?

And- and you complimented him- that means you liked it right?

He's such a brat, sending you a photo of his back arched, his tongue sticking out as he was wearing a short skirt with thigh highs, you could catch a glimpse under it from the picture- in which you could tell he wasn't wearing anything.

Your boyfriend who loved baggy clothes and dark styles was wearing a pink flirry skirt!

Heats pooling in your pants as you glare at him,

He had a smug look on his face- looking oh so proud. Anyways- he thought you would wait and fuck him after class. But once he felt your hand creeping up his thigh his eyes widened in shock as he realized you had no plans to wait until after the lecture.

lyney

Agrees.

Well- he's definitely startled at your request, out of all things...this is what you desire most?

"mon amour- out of all things I- gulp didn't expect you to ask for n-...indecent photos." He's startled to say the least,

But he's not completely against the idea of it.

Your darling lyney is a magician, quick on his feet, he quite quickly puts that flustered face away to replace it for a rather cheeky one.

"Mon amour, I knew you missed me whenever I was busy practicing for my shows but to this extent! my-"

"forget it." His smug attitude is a turn off. At times.

Letting go of the idea you didn't really think he would go through with it anytime soon.

You don't expect anything unusual to happen today, like always you kiss lyney good luck for his show before heading to the audience to watch him perform from there.

Lyney's cheeky grin is noticed by you, but you just assume he's giddy for his show, heading into the audience to wait for your boyfriend,

you hear a ding. And as you open the message you drop your phone to the ground. It's a simple picture, it's of lyney, he sends you pictures of himself on the daily so what was so shocking about this one?

Well- for starters he's naked. Tied up with intricate red ropes, they look tight, especially around his thighs- wait. You recognize those ropes, they're the same ones he's gonna use for his performance today!-

And he does. Flaunting around those ropes in his performance, the same ones from the damn photos.

Lyney walks into his dressing room as usual- that is before he's pinned to the wall by none other than you.

"oh? Are you that excited to congratulate me on today's performance?" As your hand tightens around his wrist he starts to feel even more giddy

"what the fuck was that? " "Hm? Did you mind? It was a present." He's so smug.

"no- the ropes. You used the same ones from the performance didn't you- you cheeky fuck-"

"the ropes are over there, if you plan on doing something you should hurry, I have a fan meet n greet soon~" "oh I'll hurry alright."

You didn't hurry, for some reason unknown to his fans, the magician was unable to attend the meet n greet.

[yandere-daydreams]

Title: Insecure.

Written for a very lovely anonymous commissioner.

Pairing: Yandere!Toxic!Wanderer x Reader (Genshin).

Word Count: 5.0k.

TW: Modern AU, AFAB!Reader, Non///Con, Public Sex, Oral Sex, Possessive Behavior, Wildly Unhealthy Relationships, Unbalanced Power Dynamics, Intimidation, and Self-Oriented Victim Blaming From Reader. Dead Dove: Do Not Eat. No Seriously Dude Those Doves Are So Dead.

[Part One]

“This is boring.”

“Uh-huh.”

“It’s too hot to be outside. And this place reeks.”

“You’re wearing long sleeves in the middle of summer, and it’s a college campus. I don’t know what you expected.”

“You look hot.”

You let out a disgruntled groan, leaning back in your seat and bringing a hand up to your temple. Kunikuzushi seemed to drink in your agitation, crossing his arms, the corners of his lips pulling up into a smug grin. “How did you even know I was here?”

His answer was immediate, non-verbal. He held up his phone, the screen blatantly and proudlydisplaying a simple grid-map and, of course, a little blue dot settled into the grey backdrop. You felt something start to ache in the back of your skull. “You’re tracking my phone?”

“Yeah, right, your phone.”

You started to buckle into yourself, but stopped yourself. You were in public – tucked into the smallest corner of your campus’ most out-of-the-way common area, sure, but still in public. There was a group of students gathered around one of the bigger tables less than ten feet away, and another couple just behind them. You used to fight with Kunikuzushi so often. You’d never resorted to public screaming matches, but you’d never had to think twice before storming out of bars and cafes, never thought twice about blocking his number or throwing away his flowers or telling anyone who’d listen that you were absolutely, definitely, totally going to break up with him for good, this time. Now, you couldn’t find it into yourself to be so brash. You couldn’t stand the idea of being seen with him, let alone calling more attention to yourself. It felt like you were one slip-up, one arm draped around your waist, one ring of bruises wrapped around your neck before someone saw through you, guessed what kind of person Kunikuzushi was and confronted you about why you’d stay with someone like that. You were afraid of him, sure, but you were more afraid of what would happen if people realized just how scared you really ought to be.

Not that you wanted to be with him. You wanted to move across the country, to burn your clothes and cut your hair, to change your name and pretend he’d never so much as lookedat you, but your options were limited. He’d taken care of your internship the day you’d moved in with him, and he bought you out of your lease within the same week. The few friends you still had after Kunikuzushi sunk his teeth into your social life were pushed to a distance, and the thought of running back to the same people who’d told you to stay as far from Kunikuzushi as you could get was enough to make you feel dizzy and exhausted, light-headed and glued to the floor all at once.

Even that, the idea that you could go to someone for help, was delusional. He barely let you go to class, and even that was a tedious connection, a privilege that could be revoked with a phone call and a new deadbolt on the door to his apartment. He didn’t like it when you had things to think about that didn’t revolve around him, and while keeping him happy was in the best interest of your safety, dropping out wasn’t an option. You could find another place to live. You could find another internship. But, if flunked out, if you failed too many classes, you’d lose your scholarship. If you lost your scholarship, you wouldn’t be able to graduate. If you didn’t graduate…

You had to graduate. You had to.

You weren’t sure you’d ever be able to get away from Kunikuzushi, if you didn’t.

You heard a scoff, felt the table shake as Kunikuzushi drove his heel into one of its legs. “Y’know, it’s rude to ignore people. ‘specially after I came all this way just to spend time with you.”

You must’ve zoned out. You hadn’t meant to, you never wanted to give Kunikuzushi an excuse to shorten your leash even further, but it’d been happening more and more. On your best days, you could keep yourself grounded, stay in your own body long enough to make it seem like you were managing what has left of your life. On your worst days… well, you didn’t remember much of your worst days. You usually couldn’t bring yourself to get out of bed. Kunikuzushi loved your worst days. “Sorry,” you mumbled, more out of reflex than any genuine remorse. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“Like I said, I wanted to spend time with you.” He shrugged, still grinning. “You should drop out.”

Just like that, your heart dropped into your stomach. If you hadn’t been in public, if you weren’t so disconnected from what went on in your own mind, you might’ve cried.

Instead, you bowed your head. Your voice was quieter than you wanted it to be, but it was a small miracle you could force yourself to speak at all. “I… don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Since when do you think for yourself?” He wasn’t fazed. The question was accompanied by a slow, breathy laugh, a flash of teeth as he leaned forward, propping his head on his fist. “I mean, c’mon, it’s not like you’d actually use a degree. I’m already taking care of you.” He dropped lower, taking on a raspy lilt. “All you’ve gotta worry about is keeping me company and taking my—”

You cut him off with an indignant huff, already recoiling. You moved to stand, to get away from him, but felt a pair of hands cover your eyes before you could. There was a familiar laugh, the feeling of curly hair bruising against your cheek, and then a melodic voice playing just beside your ear. “Guess who.”

For the first time that day, you couldn’t help but smile. “I know it’s you, Ajax. You’re the only person lame enough for this.”

There was a hum before he let you go, bracing himself on the back of your chair and leaning over you. He was dressed like he always was – which was to say, like it was the middle of winter, his coat long enough to reach his ankles and thick enough to make you shudder with sympathy pains, your agony unaided by the scarf wrapped loosely around his neck. Maybe you shoulddrop out, or transfer, at least. Between him and Kunikuzushi, you were starting to think there was something in the air that made people want to get heatstroke. “Hey, I’m just trying to surprise my favorite study-buddy. You looked like you could use a little cheering up.” He glanced toward Kunikuzushi, then flashed you a knowing grin. “I know this guy tends to bring down the mood.”

Kunikuzushi sunk into his seat, his smugness immediately overshadowed by agitation. “Oh, you know each other?”

“We’re coworkers,” Kunikuzushi answered, glaring daggers toward Ajax.

“Wait, you have a job?”

He didn’t indulge you with a response, only scoffing and throwing his head to the side. Ajax took up the mantle. “Honestly, I’m more surprised to see him hanging out with someone outside of work. Always struck me as the ‘lone wolf’ type, if you know what I mean. If I knew you two were friends, I would’ve made more of an effort to drag him to our—"

As he spoke, his hand came to rest on your shoulder, but he’d barely touched you when Kunikuzushi pushed himself to his feet, already snarling. “Keep your fucking hands to yourself.” Reflexively, Ajax pulled back, holding his hands up defensively, and with a ragged breath and a half-hearted effort to calm himself down, Kunikuzushi went on. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to touch someone’s fiancé, idiot?”

This time, Ajax’s laugh was slightly more strained, his posture slightly more stiff. “Yeah, uh, right. My bad, dude.” He moved to ruffle your hair (his most common send-off, no matter how often you groaned and complained that you’d look like a mess for the rest of the day), but stopped himself quickly – rubbing the back of his neck. “I… didn’t realize you were engaged.” Despite his stiffness, he managed to offer you a small smile. “See you in class?”

“Save me a seat.” And then, letting your eyes fall to your feet, “Sorry about him, he’s…”

“Territorial, I get it. I’d be a little jealous too, if I managed to get a ring on your finger.”

He winked, and before you could roll your eyes, he’d turned on his heel and disappeared around the nearest corner, melting into the throng of milling students. Once he was gone, you turned back to Kunikuzushi, still seething. That was one of the worst things about being with Kunikuzushi. It wasn’t enough to make your life miserable, he had to make sure you didn’t have anything left to live for. “Why would you tell him we’re engaged?”

“I’ll get you a ring.” You opened your mouth, but he was talking before you had a chance to cut in. “This is why you shouldn’t bother with this shit. All you’re going to do is waste your time and get hit on by desperate losers trying to get their dicks wet.”

“As opposed to staying home with you, where I can get hit on by one desperate loser trying to get his dick wet.” You shook your head, but shut your mouth and stood up before he could pull you into a real argument. Throwing your bag over your shoulder, you turned away from him, starting in the direction of your lecture hall. “I have to get to class. We can talk about this later.”

Before he could protest, you made your way out of the common area. There was a beat of silence, a brief moment of respite. Then, you heard his footsteps pick-up behind you, settling into pace with your own. You glanced over your shoulder and, predictably, found Kunikuzushi walking behind you. “What do you want now?”

“You’re going to class,” he said, a smug grin already tugging at the corners of his lips. “I’m coming with you.”

You frowned. “It’s a general credit. You’ll be bored out of your mind.”

“I don’t care.” He took your hand in his, squeezing gently when you tried to pull away. Immediately, you stopped resisting, hyper-aware of the way his blunt nails scraped against your skin, of how intensely his eyes burnt into yours. “Is it a crime to want to spend as much as time as I can with my fiancé?”

You shuddered involuntarily. You couldn’t tell if jealously staking his claim to you during a minute-long conversation with your classmate and his coworker was genuinely his idea of a proposal, or if he just took joy in the way you flinched every time he threw that word around. Either way, you didn’t like it.

“Fine, whatever.” You shrugged open the door to one of the more rustic buildings on campus, dragging Kunikuzushi along with you. “Just don’t cause a scene, okay? I’m really not in the mood.”

He only smiled, letting his head lull to the side. You forced yourself to tear your eyes away from him, focusing on the crowded hallway in front of you instead. Your class was in one of the larger lecture halls on campus – stadium style, oppressively beige, the rows of desks curved around the raised stage at the front of the room. It was already mostly full, too, thanks to how long Kunikuzushi had held you up. You made a brief effort to find Ajax before deciding you didn’t want anyone you knew by name to see you latched onto your moody boyfriend and moved toward one of the middle rows, but he stopped you, digging his heels into the floor. “Sit in the front.” You sent him a look that said ‘what the fuck do you want now?’, and he grinned. “What? I’m trying to do you a favor.”

“You can do me a favor by letting me get through this with minimal psychic damage.” You dragged him to the back of the hall and slid into a relatively empty row, trying to stay as far away from the other students as you could. In spite of his stubbornness, his preference to control everything down to how often you blinked, he didn’t fight it, just slipping into the seat next to you, leaning back and watching on as you pulled out a half-mangled notebook and a couple pens. You knew you wouldn’t be able to focus, much less take notes with Kunikuzushi hovering over your shoulder, but you wanted to at least pretend you didn’t care about him and his leering for the next two hours. It wasn’t like he’d leave you alone once you got back into the confines of his stifling, barren apartment, so you had to take advantage of what little peace you’d be able to get, today.

By the time your class started, he was fully reclined, his arms crossed and his expression slack in boredom. The rows hadn’t been crammed as closely together as possible, he might’ve propped his feet on the desktop, shut his eyes, done everything he could to show just how disinterested he was in the lecture he’d demanded to sit through.

By the ten-minute mark, he’d pulled his chair next to yours, watching over your shoulder as you jotted down what little of the professor’s lecture you could hear over the sound of your race heart. You didn’t like it when Kunikuzushi got so close to you, anymore. It was hard to remember why you ever had.

Twenty minutes in, you felt his hand ghost over your leg, his fingertips grazing past your thigh. You tried to brush it off, to ignore him, but his hand settled onto your knee and you snapped up to glare at him. “What are you—”

He shushed you, leaning against your side. “Keep your voice down. We’re in class, remember?”

You frowned, but relented, turning your attention back to the front of the classroom. You resigned yourself to pointedly ignoring him, jotting down incoherent notes and attempting to drown out Kunikuzushi’s looming presence with the professor’s droning lecture. You’d almost blocked him out by the time he started moving, again, kneading the plush of your thigh gently, his dull nails burrowing into your skin just a little too deeply to ignore. Determined, you didn’t react, but that didn’t faze him. His hand only crept higher, catching the hem of your shorts and toying with the thin fabric, forcing you to acknowledge just how little you’d done to fend him off. If you’d known he was going to visit you on campus, you would’ve worn jeans, or made more of an effort to avoid him. If you’d known he was going follow you into class just to harass you, you would never have gotten up in the first place.

You jumped as his fingers slipped under the fabric, fanning out against your skin. With an airy sigh, you leaned back, already swatting away his hand. You spoke under your breath, trying to hide the way your voice shook. “Fine. If you’re going to be a brat about it, we can go home.”

“And ruin your attendance?” His tone was pleading, muted but dripping with something thick and saccharine. “I can’t let you do that, baby, not when your grades are so importantto you.”

You tried to get up, but he drew back, throwing an arm over your shoulders and pulling you back into your seat. “I tried to take you home, but no, you decided that sitting in a dusty room with that fucking redhead was more important to you than me.” He hauled you closer, holding his mouth next to your ear. “If you decide to go home now and waste more of my time, I promise, you’ll be in for something much worse than anything I can do to you here.”

For the second time that day, you froze, suddenly unable to move. Kunikuzushi took your silence as submission, kissing your cheek before his hand fell back to your thigh.

This time, he was kind enough (or cruel enough) not to play coy, not to try to hide what he was going to do. He squeezed your thigh with enough force to bruise before delving into the space between your legs – his middle finger tracing over the seam that ran over the length of your cunt, only pausing to rub circles into your clit through the material. You really, really should’ve worn something else, something thicker, something that would’ve put you at a distance from his invasive touch. You would’ve given anything not to feel that slow, painful friction, not to recognize the aching curl of arousal starting to form in the pit of your stomach. Kunikuzushi was an asshole – a possessive, controlling asshole – but he knew you. He knew your weak points. He’d held you down and exploited them until you knew that as well as he did.

With two fingers, he pressed into your clit, and you jolted into yourself. Reflexivity, you tried to clench your thighs shut, but Kunikuzushi caught you by the knee and spread your legs farther, making more room for him to work between them. “Play nice.” He was whispering, but you wished he wouldn’t talk at all. You wished he’d keep his mouth shut and let you suffer in silence. “You don’t want to make this into a show, do you?”

You didn’t. God, you didn’t. You couldn’t imagine anything worse than getting caught, than having someone notice and scream and draw attention to what Kunikuzushi was doing to you. In the best case scenario, he’d stop and you’d have plausible deniability, pretend that you believed you could say your overly affectionate boyfriend was just being touchy and someone would buy it. In the worst case scenario, in the most likely scenario, he wouldn’t, and you didn’t know how you be able to live with yourself if someone saw you like this. Would you have to appear in front of the dean to apologize that your boyfriend had fingered you in front of a captive audience? Would there be paperwork? Would any of the blame fall on Kunikuzushi, or would you be the one held responsible for what he couldn’t stop doing to you?

You shook your head frantically, clenching your eyes shut and balling your hands into fists. Kunikuzushi clicked his tongue, cooing in mock-disappointment. “That’s just mean, baby. First you don’t want to admit we’re in love, now you don’t even want to be seen with me. Next, you’ll want to forget I exist altogether.” He flicked his wrist, and you dug your teeth into the inside of your cheek. “And you remember how well it went for you last time you tried to ditch me, right?”

It was a labored effort, jerky and jolting, but you forced yourself to inhale, to straighten your back, to curl your hands around the corner of the desktop and make a passing effort to ground yourself, but Kunikuzushi wouldn’t let you have your peace for very long. You let out a small sigh as he pulled back, but your relief was short-lived – ripped away from you the moment his fingers found your waistband, slipping into your shorts before you could so much as delusionally hope he'd show you mercy. There was a breathy laugh, two fingers pressed into your clit. “Christ, you’re soaked,” he muttered, his delight audible. “I still can’t believe I turned you into such a fucking slut.”

You tried to shrink into yourself, to cross your arms over the desktop and hide your face, but Kunikuzushi caught you, keeping you upright and leaving you to bury your face in his shoulder. The desk would’ve been more soothing. He was moving too quickly, his arm shifting uncomfortably against your chest as he rubbed tight circles into the sensitive bundle of nerves, as he fell lower – his ring and middle fingers dipping into your drenched pussy in quick, shallow thrusts that only seemed to make you more aware of the slick starting to drip down the inside of your thighs. Your professor was still talking, but the lecture was incomprehensible, drowned out by the wet squelching of Kunikuzushi’s digits thrusting into you, somehow barely audible and skull-crushing deafening all at once. No one else could hear it. It just wasn’t an option; it wasn’t a possibility. You couldn’t let yourself start to think about what would happen if someone else heard it.  

He was merciless, grinding the heel of his palm into your clit as his slender fingers pumped into you. He didn’t pause, didn’t experiment, just held himself to the same monotonous, uniform thrusts, punishing you with a brutal pleasure you just couldn’t seem to escape. His fingertips scraped against something soft and needy inside of you and reflexively, your hands shot to his arm, your nails burrowing into his sleeves and biting into his skin. If he felt it, he didn’t seem hurt. Kunikuzushi only laughed, resting his head against yours and falling into a brutal, unfaltering tempo.

Distantly, you heard paper sliding against wood, pages turning, then a low whistle. “Why didn’t you tell me you could draw?” If you’d been able to think, you might’ve been angry. If you’d been able to do anything, you might’ve pulled your notebook away from him and made sure he couldn’t taint any part of you he hadn’t already ruined, but you couldn’t so much as imagine opening your eyes, much less trying to get away from him, again. “It’s cute. If you’re good, I’ll get you a real sketchbook – better than this cheap shit.”

It shouldn’t have felt as patronizing as it was. It shouldn’t have stung, just to know he was looking at something you’d never thought to keep away from him. It shouldn’t have hurt any more than anything he was already doing to you, and yet, you shrunk into yourself, something in your chest withering and dying off as he continued to flip through your notebook, to split you open on his fingers. A third digit was added, his touch now deep enough for you to feel the chill of his rings against your entrance. There was a pang of tension, a slight pain to accompany the stretch, but the buzzing in the back of your mind, the knot pulling tighter and tighter as he pulled his way deeper into you. You curled around him, something hot and piercing rising up from your core, creeping into your veins until—

Until Kunikuzushi pulled away without warning, only pausing momentarily to drag his hand over your thigh and smear your own slick across your skin. If you hadn’t known him so well, if you hadn’t been with him so long, relief might’ve softened your confusion, but you weren’t naïve enough to think that he’d suddenly found a pocket of kindness in his cold, stony heart. He didn’t try to tease you, either, to string you along and make you think that he’d let you go with an anti-climax and a few probing comments. He was cruel, but he didn’t like to waste his time. He didn’t have to pretend he didn’t want to play with his favorite toy.

With a small smile and a darkglint in his eye, he took your notebook and achinglyslowly, slid it off of the desk and watched passively as it toppled to the floor. Seconds after it landed, he sighed, shaking his head before pressing a fleeting kiss into the corner of your mouth. “You’re so clumsy, babe. I just don’t know what you’d do without me.”

Realization dawned on you like blood rising into the back of your throat. You hugged his arm closer to your chest, hoping beyond hope that he’d see your distress and for once, hold himself back from taking what he wanted. “Kuni, please don’t do—”

“Save it.” He didn’t even hesitate, tearing his arm out of your vice-grip without so much as a trace of strain. “You can thank me when we get home.”

You didn’t get another chance to protest before he dipped down, slipping out of his seat and below the desk. You spared a glance in either direction. You were in an aisle seat. Your row was mostly empty, and you could only hope that the people sitting behind you couldn’t see Kunikuzushi between your legs, his mouth already pressed into the inside of your thigh. Without someone to hold onto, you were left to cross your arms over your chest and try to school your own expression, to look like you hadn’t just had your orgasm torn away from you, like your ex-turned-overly-attached boyfriend wasn’t on his knees with his face buried between your legs. It was a small comfort, knowing he couldn’t do anything worse than this, not unless he wanted to bend you over the teacher’s desk and fuck you with an audience.

It was terrifying, knowing he couldn’t possibly do anything worse than this.

Your breath hitched as you felt his fingers curl underneath your shorts, dragging the flimsy material down your legs and letting it pool around your ankles. You were wearing an oversized shirt, and your jacket was long enough to obscure everything above your mid-thigh, but you still shuddered, still had to fight the temptation to snap your thighs shut as soon as you felt the cool air against your slick cunt. Kunikuzushi was quick to block that out, too. You felt the flat of his tongue lap over your entrance, a soundless moan reverberating against your pussy and up the length of your spine. This time, when you bit down on the inside of your cheek, you didn’t stop until you tasted blood.

Now, now, he decided to draw out your agony. You could feel his searing breath against your pussy as he chewed bruises into your thighs, painting love bites across your vulnerable skin that you could only hope wouldn’t be visible when you were finally able to shamble out of this lecture hall as a mangled, fucked-out wreck. When your legs twitched, his hands found their way to your ankles, pinning your feet to the ground as he latched onto your clit, dragging his tongue in loose, careless patterns as he sucked gently – giving you enough stimulation to leave you irritated and antsy but still withholding any anything real, anything satisfying. If you’d been in his bed, or on his kitchen counter, or laid across the backseat of the car he barely knew how to drive, you could’ve hidden your face in his sheets or clawed at his shoulders or screamed bloody murderer while he sucked and licked himself into a pussy-drunk stupor. You were never overly vocal – you couldn’t be, when you knew Kunikuzushi would take and abuse anything you said under the influence of his harsh affection– but now, you couldn’t afford to so much as tear-up, to rake your fingers through his hair, to whimper as his tongue thrust into you, just as awful as his fingers and twice as hot. You made the mistake of glancing towards him, of letting him catch your eye as a wide, arrogant smirk spread across his parted lips, a dark flush now painted across his pale cheeks. You looked away as quickly as you could, but it didn’t matter. His hands came up to your knees as he dragged your legs apart, giving himself more space to work between them. That had to be the worst thing about Kunikuzushi. No matter what you did, no matter how little you gave him, he’d always find a way to get off on it, to convince himself it was just your little way of retuning his fucked-up love.

Desperate for something to latch onto, you crossed your arms over the desktop and clawed at the polished wood. The bridge of Kunikuzushi’s nose ground against your clit and you buckled into yourself, burying your face in your arms and forgetting for just a fraction of a second to care whether or not you’d ever be able to show your face in public again. It took long, agonizing seconds to find the strength to raise your head, to frantically glance around the lecture hall for something, anything that would help you block out what he was doing to your body. Rather than a saving grace, you found a head of bright, ginger hair a few rows in front of you, the chair next to its owner vacant. Ajax, already staring over his shoulder, his piercing eyes wide and his expression blank with horror. As your gaze met his, as Kunikuzushi let out another throaty moan, the pressure mounted, that string of tension in your core snapping before you could attempt to hold yourself together. With your teeth grit and tears streaming down your cheeks, you came undone on Kunikuzushi’s tongue, a breathless whine forcing its way out of your throat as you collapsed back into your arms, completely limp.

Kunikuzushi nursed you through it, taking long moments to untangle himself from you, to press another kiss against your thigh, to pull your shorts back into place. You didn’t care. You were numb, your body humming with an awful sort of static, only interrupted by the weight of Kunikuzushi’s hand against the small of your back as he hauled himself back into his seat, pulling his sleeve across his mouth. Your notebook was still at your feet, splayed open and abandoned. You couldn’t seem to bring yourself to pick it up.

There was a kiss to your shoulder, then the top of your head. “Is it time to get out of here?”

You forced yourself to nod. You felt his arms wrap around you, one stringing under your knees and the other bracing against your back, keeping you pressed into his chest as he side-stepped back into the aisle and started for the door. A few students turned their heads, a couple stopping to ask if you were alright, but Kunikuzushi ignored them. Whatever. It wasn’t like you’d ever see any of these people again.

Kunikuzushi was taking you home, and as far as he seemed concerned, you’d never be leaving again.

[chrollogy]

𐙚 YUE’S MASTERLIST

notes: MDNI. this isn’t a complete list of my works, drabbles/thirsts can be found under my brainrot tag. divider: cafekitsune.

—this post includes writings for the following fandoms: Haikyuu!!, Genshin Impact, Hunter x Hunter, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Obey Me!

HAIKYUU!!

From Me To You Miya Atsumu (short series)

synopsis: A spontaneous winter break trip to Shizuoka with your friends strains your sanity as you try to keep your uncontrollable feelings for Miya Atsumu at bay.

tags: college au, requited unrequited love, mutual pining, fluff, angst, light smut

Limelight Miya Atsumu (short series)

synopsis: An inebriated one night stand in the City of Love with a mystery man loops you into the shackles of a chaotic scandal after finding out that he’s a professional volleyball player for the MSBY Black Jackals, and also a part of the men’s national olympic volleyball team. This wouldn’t be a huge problem if the tabloids didn’t stir up rumours about your relationship with a co-artist months prior. Now, the media thinks you’re a cheater.

With your reputation on the line as Japan’s treasured artist, you’re forced to navigate through the ropes of publicity stunts with Miya Atsumu—acting like a make-believe sugary couple under the watchful gaze of newshounds, and observant fans until the scandal dies down. It’s all strictly business until feelings get involved.

tags: fake dating au, pop artist!reader, requited unrequited love, mutual pining, fluff, angst, explicit smut

Signed: Lovesick Fool Iwaizumi Hajime (mini series)

synopsis: After a sudden realisation that you’re in love with your best friend, you use the university confessions page as an outlet for your feelings which draws the attention of the campus. But as you write more, Iwaizumi can’t help but connect the dots, soon coming to a conclusion that he’s the topic of the recent popular anonymous confessions.

OR, All it takes are three anonymous love confessions for Iwaizumi Hajime to figure out that they’re about him.

tags: college au, friends to lovers, mutual pining, fluff

Just A Little Longer Miya Atsumu

synopsis: The moment Atsumu asked you to come over, he knew he was hopelessly in love with you, especially after stupidly confessing his true feelings mid-orgasm. Though, he couldn’t help but lie about it just to keep you, even for a little longer.

tags: friends with benefits, unrequited feelings, hurt/no comfort, explicit smut, angst

Eighteen Thousand Kilometres Oikawa Tooru

synopsis: Your high school lover suddenly breaks up with you to chase his career in another continent. Ten years later, you unexpectedly bump into him, and feelings that were once buried with time resurface once again but you know better than to let it consume you.

tags: ex lover!oikawa, breakup, angst, hurt/no comfort, light smut

A Lover’s Unwritten Script Kuroo Tetsurou

synopsis: A-list actor, Kuroo Tetsurou—your ex lover—is still shamelessly in love with you. It doesn’t help how the intimate scenes you film together feels like a trip down to memory lane where you held each other’s hearts in the past. Despite Kuroo’s best efforts to keep the bubbling feelings at bay, he shamelessly bares the truth that lay inside his heart during a private rehearsal with you—in hopes to rekindle the once passionate relationship you two shared.

tags: actor au, ex-lover!kuroo, implied breakup, mutual pining, exes to lovers, light angst, explicit smut, fluff

Sunset Dreams Kageyama Tobio

synopsis: The tall, raven-haired surf instructor catches your attention during a private surfing lesson with your friends but due to circumstances, there was no space for small talk. Later that afternoon, you cross paths once again at a beach club—a sign from the universe to grab the opportunity, and get to know him better. This quickly leads to a turn of events where you both end up naked in bed, and eager to explore each other’s bodies but there’s just one thing though, he’s a virgin.

tags: beach au, surf instructor!/surfer!kageyama, alcohol use, beach romance, explicit smut, virginity loss (m)

—

GENSHIN IMPACT

Epitome of Sin Zhongli, Neuvillette

synopsis: Neuvillette doesn’t know why he agreed to such a brazen proposal from his lover—that is, to sit and watch while the ex-Geo Archon shamelessly takes you for his pleasure.

tags: cuckolding, explicit smut, masturbation (m)

—

HUNTER X HUNTER

My Turn Hisoka Morow

synopsis: Hisoka turns into a complete mess all because of a strap on.

tags: pegging/use of strap on, bottom!hisoka, top!reader, porn without plot, explicit smut

The Cost Of Devotion Chrollo Lucilfer

synopsis: When Chrollo Lucilfer is assigned to go undercover, and kill a billionaire’s daughter, he finds himself breaking the most sacred rule of the underworld—that there should be no feelings involved. The consequences of his actions backs Chrollo into a corner where he has to choose between fulfilling his job or following his heart at a risky price.

tags: undercover assassin!chrollo, bodyguard!chrollo, billionaire’s daughter!reader, dark content, angst, hurt/no comfort, major character death, soft smut

Seconds Away From Insanity Chrollo Lucilfer

synopsis: Cockwarming Chrollo, ‘nuff said.

tags: cockwarming, unprotected sex, creampie, porn without plot, explicit smut

Silken Web Chrollo Lucilfer, Hisoka Morow

synopsis: Hisoka’s ‘generosity’ allows Chrollo to fuck you in front of him after he’s seen the way the latter has looked at you. Though, the redhead cannot help but join in on the fun despite being the cuck—he has his ways, he always does.

tags: cuckolding (hisoka), voyeurism, threesome, unprotected sex, creampie, anal (f), edging, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, porn without plot, explicit smut

—

JUJUTSU KAISEN

Moon Tie Geto Suguru

synopsis: During a private session with your rigger—Suguru Getou—you tell him to tie you up naked, and it takes all his professionalism not to take you right then and there.

tags: rigger!geto, bottom!reader, exhibitionism, japanese bondage (shibari/kinbaku), semi-public sex, explicit smut

—

OBEY ME!

The Act of Spite Satan, Lucifer

synopsis: The Avatar of Wrath knows just what would infuriate the prideful demon the most—that is, fucking you against the door to Lucifer’s secret office, all while he’s inside it.

tags: exhibitionism, established relationship with Satan, semi-public sex, explicit smut, masturbation (m)

More, More, More Mammon

synopsis: One orgasm is never enough for Mammon, he’s greedy for it. Well, he’s the Avatar of Greed after all. He lives up to the name, of course, proudly so.

tags: explicit smut, unprotected sex, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, demon fucking, cum eating

—

© chrollogy | don’t repost/translate my works.

[kiryoutann]

𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐍 ☆。*。☆ [ALHAITHAM X FEM! READER]

Warning(s): suggestive content at the end (no smut, though).

Genre: romance, modern! au, university! au.

Word count: 5,5k.

Blurb:

It's not a secret that Alhaitham is the most competitive and has great pride. But, what happens when you start 'stealing' his precious first rank from him? Alhaitham comes up with a plan; he will approach you, make you helplessly in love with him, distract you and steal his first place. Who would have imagined, though, that it would backfire on him?

Inspired by this post.

The clear sky stretches over the campus buildings. Birds were singing in appreciation of the cloudless and perfect weather. On the green grass of the park, college students chat while carrying the drinks they bought at a nearby kiosk. Everything about today said it was going to be a good day.

But not for Alhaitham.

The man was infamous for never smiling (though he believed they were all exaggerating since he had smiled once—when Kaveh slipped and fell into a pool of rainwater). His eyes always convey the impression that he is better to everyone, as evidenced by him usually occupying the top positions on every weekend exam. Usually.

No one would have believed that those eyes could be sharper than before while his lips were in deep gloom staring at the board where the ranking results were presented.

(Y/N) (L/N)

Alhaitham

His tongue clicked in annoyance. He has long known you’re a threat, proven when his professor also mentioned your name and the title of your research as 'good and well organized work’ in front of the class. However, Alhaitham didn't think you would actually succeed. Maybe he's been underestimating you all along.

A voice that sounded like a crowd of people talking and approaching made Alhaitham step aside, guessing whoever those people were going to look at the wall board. At first, he was going to keep standing there—with all his annoyance while staring at his name next to number two—but, one of them said something and made him freeze before turning his head.

“Hey, (Y/N)! You’re in first place!”

Pretty good way to sprinkle salt on the wound.

“Really?”

Enthusiasm is lacking in your voice, as if you had expected this—as if you had expected that Alhaitham would be number two, right below you. He stares at you reading the ranking results, then you turn to look at him, not intimidated.

The wind blows, your hair dances in the breeze, and Alhaitham is preoccupied figuring out what the smile on your lips means. While his rational mind says you're just trying to be friendly, his petty mind believes you're making fun of him. Alhaitham wasn’t going to believe the latter until you opened your mouth to say,

"Well, so we're now rivals?"

Rivals. Ha.

A scoff left his lips. “Funny." he started. "The last time I checked, for two people to be rivals, they have to be on the same level."

Instead of irritating you, his remarks widen your smile. "You're right." You glance at the board, your name is still emblazoned at the top. "Obviously we're not like that."

It was obvious you were mocking him, and plus, did you just boomerang his own words? Alhaitham inhaled through his nostrils. If it weren't for your friends waiting for you two to finish exchanging 'conversations', he would have continued this until you gave up having the last say.

“Enjoy it while it lasts.” Alhaitham said.

"Totally. We're going to a sushi restaurant after this. Wanna join?” The smirk on your face widens, or is it just him?

“You’re shameless.”

"And you’re still second."

Alhaitham refrained from continuing. "Have the day you deserve, (L/N)." He said, then turned to leave. If you're thinking about giving him another 'smart' comment, he sincerely hopes that you'll literally bite your tongue.

“I’ll be having a good one then, thanks!”

It takes all the patience inside of him not to turn back and get back at you. Alhaitham clenched his fists. Next week will be different, this must all just be down to your luck or he didn't take yesterday's test seriously. Alhaitham vowed not to let that happen again and was confident he would regain first place.

Next week was much the same.

The first thing Alhaitham did when he arrived on campus was walk quickly to the information board, where last week's exam rankings were displayed with a group of students reading them. He made his way through them to get a better look. There it is, first place with your damn name on it. He's still second. He is. Still. Second.

Something is definitely wrong. A small difference in score separates your rankings which frustrates him even more. He has been in first place for two years, and he doesn't need anyone to break that.

"Two weeks in a row, (Y/N)." Someone behind him commented.

Someone—you, he guessed—chuckled. “That study group really paid off.” You said.

Study group? He thought. Alhaitham was about to make his way out of the scene quietly to avoid you but, when a gasp escaped you, he knew you had found him.

“Alhaitham, hi!”

That's the most sickening hello. Alhaitham turned his head to look at you, who were beaming at him. It must be satisfying for you, watching him stand here in the same glum after reading the ranking results. He is still second and you know it too.

You looked back at your friends. “We’re going for fast food this time. Wanna join?” Alhaitham did nothing but glare at you. ".. Or do you want to join next week?"

You're pretty confident to say you'll still be first. This luck lasts only two weeks, and if it turns out to be more than that, Alhaitham will find a way to ruin it—just like you did to his first ranking streak. He really likes challenges, loves competition. But, it was now at a point where it was an embarrassment.

He chose to turn around instead of responding to you. He'll reclaim his first rank.

Next week has come with everything that makes his patience dripping off.

When Alhaitham opened his messaging app and downloaded the PDF a classmate had sent him, his stomach churned in uneasiness. He watched the loading circle complete then pressed it quickly with his thumb. Turquoise eyes swept across the title—something he had never done before but now he did to buy time before lowering his gaze on number one and—

“Damn it!”

The entire bus turned their heads to the grey-haired. They looked at him with judgmental eyes, some thinking he had lost his mind (like most college students do because of their endless assigments). Alhaitham paid no attention to any of that. He was too busy swearing mentally while rereading your full name.

What the hell is going on?

Alhaitham is desperate. He was desperate for an explanation as to why the first place had slipped out of his hands. These two years, everything was fine; then what made him 'fail' like this? He closed his group chat and turned off his cell phone while preparing to get off at his stop. However, the question kept repeating itself in the back of his mind.

At lunch time, he walked into the architecture department cafeteria—four buildings away from Alhaitham's. He wouldn't have bothered to approach Kaveh—who was sitting at one of the cafeteria tables with the cheapest meal he was about to eat—if he hadn't needed a second opinion. The second those red eyes landed on him, Alhaitham watched his face change as if.. he had lost his appetite?

Regardless, Alhaitham kept walking and sat in the chair across from him. The crease between Kaveh's brows deepened.

"What do you want?" Kaveh asked, grumpily.

"I need your opinion."

The blonde crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. "What?" He gave Alhaitham a quick once-over before smirking. “Wow, never expected the day you would beg for my help."

“Opinion, not help. I'll decide if it's helpful or not later.”

Kaveh—not feeling like arguing today—still made sure to exhale loudly enough for him to hear. “Whatever that keeps you out of my face." He stuck his fork deep into his food hoping it was Alhaitham instead.

Alhaitham fell silent in his thoughts. He was stroking his imaginary beard while thinking of ways to say it without telling him straight that he was in despair. If Kaveh knew someone beat him in the rankings, he would make fun of this. He didn't need that added to his plate.

"Something was stolen from me." He said carefully.

Kaveh raised one eyebrow before digging back into his food. "That's your problem?" He watched Alhaitham nod. "Buy it again. Problem solved. Now get off my table.”

"This isn’t something that can be bought."

Kaveh rolled his eyes. “Aren't you supposed to be the smartest? You ruined my precious lunch time.” He held his tray before standing up, about to switch tables. “Just steal it back. Done! You're done, right? Don't bother me. I've a little time before dealing with that lovesick guy Childe."

Steal it back. Lovesick.

Alhaitham had heard how complicated love was—a blessing and a curse, say those who had. He doesn't really care about people, but he does meet a bunch of friends who don't show up for meetings because they're busy dating (he ends up crossing their names off assignments, don't worry).

Steal it back. Lovesick.. Something clicked in his brain. That's it!

A new determination ignited and burned. He stood up from the cafeteria table with a smile, a sharp contrast to the state he was in when he entered it. The birds were fluttering their wings under a clear sky. This time he would take that as a good sign.

Today will be the start of his grand plan to approach you, date you, and infatuate you to the point where you’re so distracted with him that you once again come in second, as it should be.

It started after the last class of the day.

Seconds after the professor picked up his laptop and documents stating that class was over, Alhaitham immediately moved to approach you (who luckily sat alone in the absence of your usual friends). He watched you tidy up your books, your notes and all the colorful highlighters. One rolls over to the edge of the table and he catches not only that but your attention.

“..Hey.” You say hello, giving him a skeptical look before looking back perhaps he's here for someone else. After confirming that it was just you, you proceeded to ask: "Can I help you?"

Right. You two aren't exactly on good terms, so his sudden approach will no doubt make you feel uneasy. Alhaitham took a silent breath, feeling the air fill his lungs before he opened his mouth to say, "We need to talk.”

What a wonderful choice of words. Your lips curved into a faint smile as you stuffed your books and notes into your bag.

“So demanding.” you comment. "Are you always like this?"

Alhaitham has always lived with the rational side of his brain, so it's not a problem for him to control his emotions even though he has many words to reply to your clever comments. He stares at you, having the chance to notice the color of the irises under those curled eyelashes this time; he probably would have liked the color if not for the rivalry between you two.

"The other day, I was rude to you." He started, his own words piercing his pride. "I'm here to apologize to you."

You hummed in response, "Hmm, then let me hear it.”

Alhaitham fumbled around in his pocket. You see him set a bar of chocolate down on the table. A wrinkle forms in the middle of your furrowed brow. Your eyes return to his turquoise one, it reminds you of the gemstone described in the textbook you read last night.

Even though it felt better to bite his lip than to say it, Alhaitham really had no choice but to speak it this time.

“I’m sorry.”

"What are you sorry for?"

Something flashed in his eyes before it disappeared. Alhaitham was making a best efforts to keep a straight face, but as soon as he noticed how your smile became wider, he realized you were using this as an opportunity to play him.

"For being rude."

You nodded, still looking dissatisfied. "And why were you being rude?" The laughter at the corner of your throat was harder to contain when you saw his lips starting to form a glum shape.

“Do you really need to ask that?” Alhaitham protested.

"I need to make sure you're sincere."

A sigh escaped his lips. "Haah.. fine," He then continued, "Perhaps I was irritated because I was one rank below you." His badly damaged dignity would require a lot of time to mend.

Luckily it’s enough for you. "So, is the chocolate for me?" You glanced at the table where the chocolate bar was still sitting. It's from a brand you love but, never had the chance to buy again because it's quite expensive. Either this is just a coincidence, or Alhaitham also likes it or he has done a background check on you.

“I'm just going to put it there. It's none of my business if you eat it or not." He said.

Alhaitham could have worded it more politely—more kindly. He regretted saying it in his way, thinking you would react negatively to that. However, when his ears catch the sound of someone's laughter—yours—his eyes widen as he stares at you taking the chocolate from the table.

"Has someone ever said you have a weird way of talking?"

Someone has. Kaveh.

You waved the chocolate bar in your hand. "Apology accepted, as well as the chocolate." When you smiled at him, he wasn't irritated by it this time.

"I'll see you around." You’re about to walk away.

“Wait.”

You stop walking. Turning to the gray-haired, you looked at him with curiosity. Alhaitham moved his gaze to you. From this angle, you can see why he's secretly loved by many. With sharp eyes, lips that never smile, and a defined jaw; you wonder why he never thought of becoming a model instead of coping with college life. Probably the same reason as you.

Alhaitham turned his back on you completely. "You haven't found a partner for Professor Aabid's observation assignment yet, have you?" he inquired.

You unconsciously nodded, "That's right." you said before reflecting about his question. “Why do you—“

"Be my partner."

“.. What?”

Alhaitham crossed his arms over his chest. "Is there a reason for you to refuse?" he asked.

"No, but why me?" You shake your head.

"Because I don't have one either." He answered casually before smiling faintly. "Besides, I think we'd be perfect pair, don't you think so?"

Perfect? You think 'hellish' is more appropriate. A few days ago, you two were at each other's throats fighting for the first place, and now what? You really can't believe Alhaitham labeled you both as ‘perfect’ partners. He's working on something under his sleeve you know.

Alhaitham saw your doubt. "Shouldn't that convince you?" He glanced at the chocolate bar.

You followed his gaze and chuckled. “So it turns out this is a bribe."

"It could be."

"Ha! You're up to something, I can feel it." For a second, you swear you saw his eyes widen and he turned pale, but it could have just been your imagination. "But whatever, I'm game."

Alhaitham had an arrogant grin on his face. “See you at Monday then.” He didn't even deny it, only then turned his shoes on walking towards the exit.

You didn't miss a single detail when you told this to your friends. See? It's not just you who feels weird about his sudden change in attitude. Your girls warned you to be careful with him, some told you to change partners—speculating that he might be trying to abduct or kill you, adding your tragedy to the long list of criminal cases that are made into documentaries on Netflix. You doubt it though.

Monday came like in the blink of an eye. Or maybe your weekend was so much fun that you forgot you partnered with Alhaitham.

The second he landed his eyes on you entering the room, Alhaitham cleared his throat. He had spent the weekend finishing ten romance books to find out what makes someone fall in love fast. Today was the day he put it all into practice. He will claim his first position soon.

Maintaining eye contact.

"Hey." You greet him, take a seat next to him, and place your bag at your feet. "How was your weekend?"

"It was fine." Alhaitham replied.

You give a brief nod. He's still looking at you, giving you a chance to take in more detail of his eyes. It not only had a turquoise color, an amber hue surrounded its pupils. College life has not left any traces on his flawless skin. You won't deny that he was given a gift in the form of handsome face.

Alhaitham was still staring at you, as if you were an alien. Feeling uncomfortable, you look straight ahead hoping he will do the same.

Fourteenth second and he's still at it, you're starting to think you have something in your face. You take out your phone, open the camera app and find nothing. Maybe he wanted to ask something? You return to Alhaitham to confirm.

"Do you have anything to say?" you ask.

Alhaitham blinked then replied, “Sure.”

Sure? You don't know how to respond to that. "What do you want to say?" You rest your cheek on your palm.

"Just.." Alhaitham tried to remember the next step.

2. Touch them more often.

Alhaitham stretched out his hand quickly. A second later you feel warmth slightly touching the skin of your ear. He just tucked a strand of your hair away from your face. Alhaitham just tucked a strand of your hair away from your face. Maybe he's a perfectionist, disliking messy things like your hair that you rush into ponytail for fear of missing the bus. But, you really didn't expect this at all.

"Uhh.. thanks." You force a smile, shifting slightly away from him.

Maybe it's true what your friends say about him planning to kidnap you.

Meanwhile in his mind, Alhaitham mistook your wary demeanor as shyness. He suppressed a smile. He had doubts about the usefulness of the romance books, yet they paid off. It won't take you long to slip into his trap.

Professor Aabid's classwork is more difficult than one might imagine. Fortunately, two weeks were given to complete it. You and Alhaitham often meet to discuss paper material, which later leads to visiting your house as a comfortable place to work on it. Weekends with your friends are replaced by being with him. Books and laptops are now preferred over late-night karaoke.

A pen was placed on the carpet. You take a deep breath before stretching, feeling relieved after relaxing the tense muscles caused by your sitting posture. Alhaitham approached the table and set two mugs on the floor table.

You smell the sweet scent. "What's this?" You take one.

"Hot chocolate." He replied, drinking his own.

One of your eyebrows is raised. "Not coffee? Are you sure this won't make us sleepier?” you ask.

Alhaitham put down his glass which is now half down. "The only way to get rid of exhaustion is to sleep. Just go to sleep if you're tired; I'll continue the next page.” He pulled the laptop closer to him.

 “Really? Are you saying that to sound nice or do you really mean it?”

"Stop asking stupid questions." He fixed his eyes on the laptop screen.

You straighten your sitting posture. “Oh, come on. Can't you just smile or laugh once?” you protest.

Alhaitham's fingers stopped typing. A line he remembered from one of those romance books flashed in his mind. The third step to make someone fall in love: smile more often.

You see him turn to you, lips curling into a smile. It complimented him well, really well. His hand stretched out. But this time he wasn't aiming for your strands or your ears. He placed his palm on the top of your head and ruffled it gently.

"Go to sleep. I’ll wake you up later.”

Yes, Alhaitham thought. This should be enough for her to fall—

His train of thought was interrupted when you took his hand and cupped it in front of your face. Thumb moved in a circular manner across his calloused fingertips. Compared to his, your skin is incredibly warm. Are you flirting with him? Before Alhaitham could have his answer, he watched as your lips curved into a smile wide enough to lift your cheeks.

"Okay." you answer. "Would you be fine alone?”

Alhaitham quickly and abruptly pulled his hand away. He immediately pretended to be focused on the laptop, his one free hand hiding his lips behind it and muttering: "I told you to stop asking stupid questions."

Another laugh from you and he doesn't like how his heart reacts to that. It was beating too fast, too different from normal. He knew he had no history of any illness, so why did his chest feel warm? He compared its warmth to your hands just now, and now he ends up thinking all about you.

You slept on the couch behind him. Alhaitham remained with his laptop and open book. Between you two is silence and a troubled heart.

The day before the deadline for submitting Professor Aabid's class assignments, the drizzling rain turned heavy. The usual clear sky was replaced with dark clouds that came in to block up the afternoon sun. Some students voiced their complaints, and others opened their umbrellas to flee. They concluded today would be a bad day.

Two people ran in an uneven pace beneath the man's black jacket. In the midst of the puddles that spread across the campus grounds, they no longer care if their shoes end up dirty later. You closely hold onto your freshly printed papers for fear that the rain will hit it and cause the ink to smear. Meanwhile, Alhaitham puts a hand on your shoulder guiding you to take shelter under the roof of one of the biology department buildings.

“Phew!” You let out a sigh of relief after checking your documents were safe.

Alhaitham glanced at you. "Are you alright?" He asked, worry was in his voice, but you failed to notice.

“Yeah,” You held up the brown envelope high. “the envelope got wet but, the rest was fine.”

"I asked about you, not the documents."

"Oh." After saying that, you let out a laugh—one that made Alhaitham hold his breath hoping it would stop the warmth that was seeping into his cheeks and chest. “It's just rain. The worst-case scenario is when I wash my shoes later."

Now that you mention it, those turquoise eyes can't help but steal a quick peek at your dirt-stained white shoes. He checked his and realized that it wasn't as awful as yours—possibly because the materials you two had were different. Not only that, he also realizes the size differences between your feet and his.

"We can always go to the shoe wash." Alhaitham suggested.

You seem interested in the idea. "And go for ice cream after?"

A smile automatically crawled onto his face after hearing that. He's been smiling a lot lately. "Sure." He replied, watching you squeal with joy.

The heavy raindrops were still falling onto the ground. Although the wind wasn't very strong, it was enough to cause shivers in people who had previously been drenched. Alhaitham noticed it in you. He swiftly wrung his black jacket and draped it over your shoulders.

"What about you?" you ask.

Alhaitham shook his head. "I can manage." The lie came out smooth. In reality, you catch him repeatedly rubbing his hands trying to keep himself warm.

So you took his hand, too suddenly and unexpectedly. He watched you bring it to your lips, felt the touch of your warm breath on his skin. His heart missed a beat. Something stirred in his stomach and Alhaitham didn't like one bit of it. He picks up a lot of details about you—from how your lips curl while you blow another warm air on his fingers to the strands of your wet hair tickling your cheeks.

The first step to make someone fall in love: maintain eye contact.

For some reason, he had a hard time doing it now. Every time he made an effort, his heart would continue to race and his hands would feel the need to have you beneath his touch—in his arms. His eyes will first go down your cheek, nose, and cupid's bow before settling on your lips. Shimmering lipgloss around your lips. Maybe one day he'll be able to taste it?

Alhaitham's thoughts stopped. What kind of desire just grew in his chest?

The smile that you’re now carving doesn't help the situation either. It came like a sea of roses, and Alhaitham didn't even like roses. But, if it looks like you—smells like you; then the thing he wanted to do was dive into it and never surface again.

Oh, now he understands.

Whole lines from the romance books he had read for his grand plan came back like boomerangs. Instead of making you fall in love, he fell in love. Instead of stealing back his ranking, he ended up being the one who got stolen.

This kind of feeling... he didn't know what to do with it.

Before Alhaitham could find the answer, the rain had died down. You turned around with a happy face, releasing his hand slowly (he wished he could still feel your skin on his). Your voice says about turning in assignments early, perhaps Professor Aabid will be kind enough to give you some extra credit. However, what Alhaitham can focus on is your figure stepping under the rays of the sun slowly coming out of the clouds that has finished its misery.

Alhaitham is conflicted about today. His feelings was left unspoken.

You did not show up to campus the next day. Alhaitham was at the front of the class when he received your message saying that you were sick and unable to attend class.

The old Alhaitham will take this opportunity to return to being the best in class and not give you any notes from the lecturer's explanation. The new Alhaitham has already started turning his shoes and sprinting towards the exit while he's fiddling with his cell phone sending you a message that he'll be here soon.

When he arrives at your apartment door, his index finger presses the bell button in agitation. Did you get sick from the rain?

When the door swings open, Alhaitham immediately scans you. Slightly messy hair, flushed face, hoarse voice as you call his name and ask why he’s here. It seems you were sleeping, so you didn't read his message. Regardless, Alhaitham made his way inside after closing the door.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I left."

Your ears are deceiving you, right? If not, then what is the reason that made you hear Alhaitham say that he left the class? You glance at the digital clock not far from the kitchen and find it's too early for class to end.

"Wait.. did you just skip class?"

Alhaitham stopped fiddling with the medicines he bought after hearing your question. Silence fell between you. You think he'll never answer until he opens his mouth to say, "Maybe."

You sneeze before asking, "Are you serious?"

"I heard you got sick. So here I am."

Alhaitham answered too briefly for you to think he did this for no reason. After placing the meds on the counter, he rushes into your kitchen (as if he owns it). You were still standing there in silence—still unable to believe what was happening. He comes up to you with a glass of water.

"I bought you soup, in case you haven't eaten."

"So you're saying that you ditched class just to come here?" you ask.

A sigh escaped his lips as he turned around like he was avoiding something. "Still talking about that? Isn't my answer enough?" He replies too softly requiring you to concentrate a little more to hear him; your plugged ear doesn't help either.

"Yeah, I'm bringing that up because the Alhaitham I know will take this opportunity to beat me." You walk quickly towards him. "And you're acting weird right now, you know."

Alhaitham turned to you, and you swear your heart skipped a beat when you found something different in those turquoise eyes of his. You're not really sure what, though. The height difference makes you slightly look up to stare at him back. You don't know since when you took every detail of him, but you can't miss how his Adam's apple bobs when he swallows out of... nervousness?

Alhaitham? Nervous?

Whatever it is, it's starting to affect you as well.

Alhaitham stares at you, pausing at your lips before returning to your eyes. “Are you going to make me say it?” His voice was soft, as if he was reading a secret love letter.

Now it's your turn to swallow. “.. Say what?”

"That I like you."

In that second, your breath caught. Your eyes burn from not blinking, but you're too frozen in place to do that. Your jaw is slack. His words have a way of warming your heart, or is it the gaze he still gives you? Beautiful turquoise color.. which is now only focused on you as if you were the only thing ever made in the universe.

“.. What?”

“I like you.” He repeated without complaining.

Now that he has said it more clearly, you can't help but stare at his flushed cheeks. You know exactly yours aren’t much different from his. Did Alhaitham really just make a love confession? To you, out of all the people? Confusion has taken over your mind. You blink a few times to make sure you really aren't dreaming. Alhaitham just made a love confession. To you, out of all the people.

In contrast to the flushed cheeks and the awkward silence he maintained, Alhaitham stood with his usual stoic face. Your lips opened without a word coming out.

Alhaitham took a breath. "It wasn't planned." He took the opportunity to add. "I.. didn't expect it either."

So what he's trying to tell you is that falling in love with you wasn't part of his plan? You swallowed again, your throat quickly drying. It's as if he's saying that whatever it was you did to make him fall in love, it was enough for him to become lost in his own ambitions. Your chest is warm—ten times warmer than when the warm chocolate he made flows sweetly.

"Maybe I should give you an explanation. I don't want to cause any misunderstanding—no, I don't want you to misunderstand me.” Alhaitham sighed before continuing, “You must have realized from the beginning that I didn't approach you by chance or simply to apologize. Now that I've said it, you should be able to figure out what my failed plan was."

You smiled awkwardly, “.. My guess is you plan to make me fall in love with you and distract me for first place, but maybe it's just me too—”

"That's right. How did you know?"

His turquoise eyes were even more beautiful when they enlarged, as he was doing right now. Your laugh caused his cheeks to turn redder. “Well, those sweet gestures doesn't exactly fit your personality. And I swear I heard a few lines  similar to those in this one romance book I read."

Alhaitham smiled faintly. "Guess I shouldn't waste my time on all of that, huh?"

Another laugh escaped your lips. "Do you regret it now?" you ask.

"Regret what?"

“Do you regret falling in love with me?”

Alhaitham blinks, two seconds later gives you a shake of the head. "Oddly enough, no, I don't regret it." He shook his head again. "I don't regret it at all."

You take two steps forward. “Good,” you said, tiptoeing up to his face. From this distance, those turquoise eyes looked more beautiful. "Because I wouldn't be helping you with your pick-up lines if it weren't for me."

One push and your lips were on his. He kisses back, placing his big hand behind your head to deepen the kiss. Your fingers find a way to crawl on his broad chest covered in his tight shirt. Without breaking the kiss, he moved closer to press you against the kitchen counter.

You're the first to let go for a breath and say, “W-wait, I have a cold. What if you—"

A quick kiss to silence you. "Don't worry, I bought us a lot of medicine." He said, voice deep and husky.

Alhaitham took off his denim jacket, threw it carelessly and kissed you again—this time more passionately. He directed his lips to the crook of your neck. Your legs hooked around his waist as you feel his breath on your skin.

He plans to steal, but instead ends up getting stolen. But, that's fine. He will gladly let you steal whatever from him, so go ahead and do it.

Check out more of my post: WRITING COMMISION. GENSHIN IMPACT MASTERLIST.

[dawndelion-winery]

I Like You! (Not)

Alhaitham × GN! Reader

College au! Academic Rivals to Lovers!

[5] - I Never Meant It!

So, Alhaitham seemed to be un-ickable once he set his mind - or heart - on you. You swore you tried everything: invading his personal space, stealing his food, pestering him to buy you things, etc. Somehow, nothing worked. Horrible, really. You'd never known his patience to be this boundless; it typically didn't take this much effort, if any at all, to bother him.

"Alhaitham, I'm cold," you complained as you tugged on the sleeve of his jacket.

"It's an air-conditioned lecture hall on a rainy day, which is why I told you to bring a jacket," he retorted.

"Yeah, but I didn't, and now I'm cold."

You were certain his eye twitched. Excellent. Until then he just sighed wistfully.

"What am I going to do with you, hmm?" he murmured as he pressed a kiss to your forehead. "My stubborn, spiteful darling."

If he noticed the way you blanched at his actions, he made no indication of it, merely scooting closer to you to bundle you in his jacket and embrace. "I don't suppose I need to make a habit of using oversized coats out to share with you?"

"I'm not cold anymore," you muttered as you tried to scoot away.

"Stay, it's comfortable like this."

His voice was soft. So were his eyes. Now that you thought of it, they had been for quite some time already. When was the last time you'd seen his cold, judgemental gaze? Moreover, when was that scornful stare last directed at you?

And so you stayed. Not knowing why or when everything seemed to have changed. Wondering just how much you ever actually knew about the man beside you, who so adoringly held you close to him.

The thought plagued you till the end of the lecture, and sitting beside him in the library for the nth time that month.

"Alhaitham?" You piped up.

Silence. A warm hand cradling your head, urging you to lean on him.

"Alhaitham. I hate you."

Another brief silence, and a barely audible "I know." It was neither upset nor offended, neither angry nor frustrated. Just a calm, factual, perhaps ever so melancholic "I know".

He knew? And he still acted this way?

"I also know you don't mean it."

"Alhaitham, if you think I like you because of that confession, it wasn't real. Alright? I lied. I wanted to distract you because you're infuriating, but I didn't think things would end up like this."

You'd expected your confession, the genuine one, to be met with anger, betrayal, anything of the sort. But all he gave was yet another almost apathetic "I know" as if none of it was important. The tense silence was begging to be broken, but your voice caught in you throat with every word you thought to speak. It ended being Alhaitham who spoke up first.

"And not even half of what you've ever said to me can be trusted. You don't mean it? I'm well aware. You almost never mean anything you say. I wouldn't know why - I couldn't - but I can only assume years of prattling fanciful sonnets and euphemisms have rendered words meaningless to you. Your words hold no weight."

Well, that sort of stung. But he wasn't done talking.

"Yet you never do anything you don't mean. When you were so one-sidedly absorbed in what little makeshift rivalry you'd come up with, you wouldn't so much as look at me for more than a few seconds. So I played along. You can't so much as force a smile for someone you dislike. So what am I to believe when you hiss that you can't stand me while cozying up in my lap?"

Ah. Curse him and his never wavering rationality.

Taglist: @vernith @bubblegum-angelquartz @ayanokomu @hannya-writes @oh-allie @sane-genshin-fan @makimakimi

[autisticclownfromhell]

A New Look?

Alternative title: What I would give genshin guys to wear

Basically Reverse isekai but now you gotta make normal outfits for the characters so they don't stick out like a sore thumb. It can also be read as modern AU outfits if you prefer

Characters in order:

Heizou, Xiao, Albedo, Zhongli, Wanderer, Kaeya, Venti, Ayato, Diluc, Kazuha

Honestly heizou would be an easy pick. Old fashioned British detective style. Sherlock Holmes, trench coats, shades of brown, all that jazz. Also, give him access to true crime podcasts, he'll never be bored again. 

I'd give xiao the ol' hot topic skater fit. Black, band tees, lots of rings and jewelry, fake pieces, ripped jeans, yeaa. It matches his personality too. Not with fashion but if you do get band t shirts tell him alot about said band just incase one of those "name five members or your not a true fan" people talk to him. 

Albedo gets the light academia scholar outfits. Kinda chill, collared shirts, lighter colors, shades of brown and blue. Some gold every once in a while. Loose fitting stuff. Flowy sleeves. Lots of rings. Maybe one or two gold necklaces that he wears every once in a while. The type of outfits you see those aesthetic college student wearing. Maybe a bit of cottagecore. Lots of white shirts. 

Zhongli would look like that one professor that everybody has a crush on tbh. Not as formal as what he wears in game but still, collared shirts, suits once in a while, always wears a tie, owns one dark brown trench coat that he wears everywhere at all costs. Lots of darker browns with gold accents here and there. Not a necklace kinda guy but wears a good amount of rings. Totally has reading glasses. Has alot of custom hair pins for some reason? Idk I just feel like he does. Has 100 pairs of dress shoes, and like one pair of black boots. Nothing else. Also If you give him his own closet it's so organized. Spotless, everything fits in the closet right, its honestly impressive. 

Wanderer would be alot like Xiao. Hot topic's no. 1 customer. He'd have more of a blue and purple color scheme than black though. Actually listens to all the bands he has shirts of. Big punk fan. Wears this one black beanie with a skull on it basically every day. His shoe game is good, like really good. Had alot of platform shoes so he can look taller. Lots of cropped shirts that looked ripped. No long sleeves, short sleeves and sleeveless tees. An absolute MASTER at makeup, specifically eyeliner. Lotsssss of turtlenecks. 

Ooohoho now Kaeya would be f u n to style. Has a more simple style. Those pinterest dudes?? Yeah, think of that. Plain colored shirts, turtlenecks alot, almost never sleeveless. Lots of long sleeves stuff.

Give him one of those black corsets that I always see, since he wears one on his original outfit. Wears necklaces, but doesnt layer them or anything. One simple necklace at a time. A TON of silver rings. Hes got those pinterest guy hands. Wears sheer black gloves. Has this one cropped blue jacket but it's more of a sweater and he always wears it when layering clothing. 

Hanging earrings are necessary for him. Has a belt with a snowflake design on it that he uses alot. Almost never wears sweaters. Wears blue, grey, and black almost religiously. 

Ahhh venti :) Think similar to albedos but more Victorian than college student vibes. Again, long sleeves, flowy, lotssss of ruffles, has a generous amount of green accents. Has this one emerald necklace that resembles a vision somewhat and he adores it. Never takes it off. Not a giant ring person, but has around a thousand hats. Paper boy hats in green, might own a bucket hat or two? Hes got the whole hat-universe. Always wear white socks that go just below his knees with EVERYTHING. Has multiple pairs and some are a bit more sheer than the others. Has a pair or two of white fingerless gloves to wear with long sleeves, and full, white and sheer gloves he wears when he isnt wearing long sleeves. White button ups are his life. Usually doesnt tuck said button ups in.   (Totally not a walking mitski reference) 

Ayato isnt THAT complex. And he's got similar style to Zhongli, but complety different color schemes. Wears suits often, and they follow a pattern. White shirt, black tie, light blue suit jacket. The icon of white pants, he basically never wears anything else. For smaller accessories they're usually dark blue or black in color. Not a ring person either, but wears one or two black rings occasionally. Has earrings but not dangly ones. Just black studs. Has alot of dark blue hair pins to keep his hair back. Theres no way his hair naturally just stays that way ok?? Every single boba place within 40 miles knows his name and face by memory. Wears the same looking black shoes all the time. 

Diluc is probably another trench coat kinda guy. Less suits, more trench coats for him. In the fancy looking suit and tie gang with Ayato and Zhongli. Usually wears black button ups instead of white ones, with a crimson red tie and a brown trench coat, or a white tie and a darker red coat. Totally not an accessories guy. No necklaces, earrings, and maybe just one single gold rings he wears once every century. Another black shoes only person. I feel like the coats he wear have some fur on them in places. Just a thought. Always carries around like 3 extra hair ties in his pocket just in case he need one. 

Kazuha is a comfy clothing icon. Not one for a thousand things on his outfits for aesthetic purposes, just wears what he likes and adds accessories if he feels like it.  And absolute king of the fall outfit aesthetic. Outfits usually consists of slightly baggy autumn colored shirts, always short sleeves. Sweatpants or just light colored/bleached cuffed jeans. (Yes I said CUFFED) And occasionally has a darker colored orange and red knit sweater over him. Probably has one or two necklaces on at a time. Always wears this one necklace with a gold chain and a maple leaf charm on it. A gold colored accessories person. Most of the rings he has are gold. Has his ears pierced and usually wears black or gold studs. Sonetimes he wears dangly earrings but nothing to crazy. Ties his hair back a lot less. 

(I wrote this on the train lmao)

[spoiled-milk]

genshin guys as people in your life (modern college au) [ft albedo, childe, alhaitham]

a/n: i’ve played papa’s freezeria more times than i’ve opened genshin in this past week lmao. went overboard with childe’s and alhaitham’s parts but oh well.

content warning : none other than probably ooc for everyone (i have not touched the game in months). gender neutral reader. not proof read

word count: ~1.06k words

you see tattoo artist albedo pretty often even though you don’t have a single tattoo on you. your close friend who has dozens of tattoos often calls you from there to pick them up from his shop. one time they ask you if you’d like to join their session (with albedo’s permission of course) since you’ve talked about getting a tattoo a few times. as albedo continues to work on their upper arms, you sit back in a chair next to your roommate and unconsciously gaze at albedo. he catches your stare and you turn your eyes away. you pull out a book from your british literature class and start to read. you can feel his eyes on you every now and then while you annotate your book. at the end of the appointment, your friend leaves to go use the bathroom before the two of you leave. as albedo cleans down his equipment he makes small talk with you. 

"whenever you’re ready, I’d be more than happy to be your first.” he hands you a business card with his name and email address on it. He gets super close to you as he whispers “I promise I’ll be gentle with you.” you feel your ears heat up at his comment. you thank him as you help your friend into your car. you flip over the back of the business card to see a phone number written in dark blue ink. 

whenever you come back to your hometown for the holidays or break, childe is a face you always see. you went to the same high school and you shared a class together, but he was in his social bubble and you stayed in yours. you did have  a small crush on him for a short period of time, but that has since faded since you’ve left for your studies and since he graduated. you did share a calculus class with him and you were assigned to be seated next to each other the entire year, but that was two years ago. he’s a year older than you and you both have different friend groups, but they all have a get together every once in a while at someone’s house. This brings you to your current situation where you and childe are locked in someone’s closet after being forced to play 7 minutes in heaven. the two of you awkwardly sit in the cramped closet. 

“you’ve gotten a lot cuter since high school.” childe breaks the silence. “is that so? I would like to think that I’ve put a lot more thought into my appearance than I did last time we spoke.” your high school wardrobe of sweatpants and oversized t-shirts come back to mind. “what’s a busy person like you up to now a days? I’ve hardly seen you around town.” you tell him that you’re at university for at least another year or two. “I heard that you’ve got a pretty good job, travelling all the time.” you fiddle with the hem of your clothes. childe moves closer to you and you don’t move away. “it has its drawbacks. like not being able to see you often.” you feel the tips of your ears blush as he moves closer and closer to you until he has his hand on the wall of the closet with you caged between him and the wall. he tilts his head and plants a kiss onto your left cheekbone. the closet door swings open and your friends’ faces appears in the doorway, some of them with teasing smiles and eyes. you shift your face away from them. you and childe exit the closet but childe stops you a moment before you sit back down. he hands you a piece of paper from his to yours. “i look forward to calling you tonight.”

when you work in the school library in the morning or in the evening, alhaitham is someone you quite often see no matter when you work. you open the library in the morning, he is checking out a stack of books when he arrives an hour after opening. you close the library and he leaves with a huge stack of books when you tell him y’all are closing. you try to think about what could he be majoring in to a) read that many books and b) have time to read that many books as a university student. you’ve thought he was an english major, but then you saw him read a thesis with some big physics words in the title. you then thought “ah physics major then. makes sense.” but then this mf pulls out a book on organic chemistry the size of your head and confuses you some more. you think he’s caught you staring at him, but you absolutely under no circumstances can you bring this up with him (if he notices, he’s not telling you). 

you’ve finally finished putting books away on the first floor and after a short break you start on putting away books on the second floor. you see alhaitham reading on the second floor seated at one of the tables under a large window. you can see the sunlight peer through and illuminate his muscular form. the sunlight highlights the sharp features on his face and the intensity of his stare at his textbooks. you don’t notice that he’s staring back until he talks to you. you apologize about staring and continue to shelve books back while trying not to blush (it doesn’t work). “is it normal for library assistants to stare at their guests?” you laugh nervously and tell him no it isn’t. “sorry, I’m not used to seeing really attractive” you think long and hard about what he could major in. “pre-med majors?” judging by the look on his face he was not in fact a pre-med major. “uhh you’re a mathematics major? biochem major?” alhaitham still gives you the same look. “English major minoring in linguistics.” damn well you were kinda right with your first guess. “either way, I am not used to seeing attractive men reading at the library. my apologies if my staring made you uncomfortable.” you take your empty cart and wheel it out of the second floor. you don’t notice the blush creeping on the tip of his ears as you pass him to the elevator.

[sl33py-day]

Isakied Reader but once again with a twist….God please help me.

So isakied reader, gets it with a truck? No! I haven’t thought about how they get into Tevyat but I just went with the most obvious one, Isakied while sleeping! Yay……

But this is where the twist comes in. My idea was ‘What if reader was in the Modern AU of genshin and got isakied into the original game?” If you don’t get what I’m saying. I’m sorry, I feel the same way.

Onto explaining! Y/n is from the universe where Tevyat isn’t a whole world but a college. Where each nation is its own building. Aether and Lumine did get separated at one time but they reunited after seeing each other on a bus….only thing I could think of. Paimon? Yeah she’s their adopted sister who goes to the Tevyat University daycare.

When Y/n goes to sleep one night after college finals they wake up by someone who looks and sounds like Aether, they’re confused to the max. Like did Aether break into my room again? It’s the third time this week!

“Aether, why are you in a crop top? What happened to your hoodie?” The Aether who’s in front of you looks confused. He saw you on the ground like you were dead and was concerned. But now this person knows his name? Also there’s nothing wrong with his outfit!

“I swear if Lumine was the one to put you in that. I don’t want to know what you did. Besides it’s probably because you stole her donuts again.” You’re just rambling on and on not noticing that your outside and the Aether beside you is now scared. You know his name AND his sisters name?! Who the fuck are you?!

“Paimons not so sure if you’re a crazy stalker or you’re insane……Paimon votes both.” Paimon called out as you turned to her with a deadpanned face.

“Xiao, Kazuha, Venti, Albedo, and Aether are the crazy ones and you know that Paimon. You’re the one who told me about Aether’s……..stash.” If you thought they looked scared now they definitely are. You know BOTH of their names AND most of their friends names?!

“Who the fuck are you?” Aether spoke up after a long time of silence. That was when you looked around to see a giant city behind you.

Blink. Blink. Blink

“WHAT THE FU-“

Que you freaking out about where you are and why there’s people who look like your friends. “Paimon think we should take them to the Knights of Favonius.” Aether nodded at the uncooked and unsalted flying steak. Now que you again having a mental breakdown when you see Jean, a student at Teyvat University, Lisa, the helper of the library of the mondstadt building, and Kaeya, one of the people you like to make fun of. Cause he reminds you of Jack Frost and also because you caught him in a maid dress, more then once.

“We brought a crazy person….they know who we are.” Paimon says as she’s floating around. You’re just confused and tired so you fell asleep.

Only to wake up in your dorm room with the Aether you know cuddled up beside you. Since you woke up so did Aether but he was still cuddling you.

“You know what Aether….” You spoke which made him look up at you. “You should wear a crop top. Imma go ask Lumine if she has any.” Throwing the blanket off you as you walk towards the door leaving a confused male behind.

“What?”

————————————

But on another note, Aether is gonna be a clingy, obsessive, separation anxiety type of person if he ever loves someone. Yandere or not he’s gonna be like that he has enough trauma as it is with his sister.

One moment you could disappear because you forgot something and then the next Aethers just clinging onto you.

Just saying Just saying.

[tranquilpetrichor]

iron sharpens iron

"as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." -proverbs 27:17

cast: san x rival gn!reader

genre: action, fantasy, rivals to friends (?), elemental powers!au, academy!au

wc: 744

warnings: use of weapons depicted, descriptions of mild pain

notes: so. this was definitely not inspired by the fact that i've watched some action scenes recently and have been fighting too many enemies in genshin. and i mean, the bible verse (but tbh i'm not that religious). i've hit an annoying writer's block as of recently, due to many circumstances (which mostly fall under college/school/studying for exams). but i figure i can write this much, and just try and to take things one day at a time.

as always, remember that reblog, likes and feedback are appreciated!

taglist: @restlessmaknae

you rushed towards san, spear aimed carefully towards him. this fight had been going on for too long, and it was time to end it, one way or another.

the side of your weapon clashed with his water blades. he moved elegantly, using his body control to try and gain the upper advantage against you. but you wouldn't allow that. with the help of your spear, you remained grounded, managing to support your core. you kicked three times in succession, forcing him to dodge out of the way.

on the sides, people watched in awe as the two of you fought. ignoring the fact that this was a battle, the way that you responded to him and vice versa made the combat seem more like a dance for two.

you stared at the camera and screens displaying your battle stats for a brief moment. at this school, (sanctioned) fights were actually encouraged, in order to improve a student’s strength in combat, and many people tuned in to watch sparring matches.

well, we might as well give everyone out there a show.

san’s movements modeled water, making him the perfect person to test your earth skills against. you of course, could never underestimate the deadly power of water and of the boy you’ve learned to call your rival since day one at kq academy.

he threw his dual blades, waiting for them to return. you barely dodged the attack in time, but once you regained your footing, you sent multiple rocks cascading across the arena, watching as he tripped over a particularly large one.

you walked over to san, pointing the spear at his chest. he was panting heavily, probably exhausted from using so much of his elemental power. you were too, but you summoned the strength to speak.

"are we going to continue?"

he grumbled and attempted to stand up, but found himself unable to do so. "not... now. i yield."

after he said those words, the screen changed.

[match ended]

victory: y/n l/n

loss: choi san

you extended a hand to him, grinning slightly. he stood slowly. the two of you shook hands and bowed, as was customary after battle.

the two of you sat down on a bench, recovering from your fight.

"better heal yourself well before we spar again,” you said with a teasing grin. “can’t be facing you while you’re so tired.”

he returned a calmer smile. “i look forward to another match with you, although i’ll definitely be more prepared. better watch out.”

chuckling to yourself, you couldn’t help but remember your previous interactions with him.

in your pursuit of worthy opponents, not many gave you as much of a challenge as choi san. he was always thinking on his feet, a fast learner, and a threat despite his innocent appearance.

you two were opponents in the arena, but you held a great respect for him regardless. it was through fighting him that you had learned valuable lessons about your own strength and how to recover from loss gracefully, something that he did well.

he held his left hand over his wrist. "ah, you've certainly improved from the last time. keep it up and i’ll probably have to heal more often.”

“of course. i have to improve constantly to beat somebody like you.”

you leaned back against the wall, glad there was a sound barrier between you and the people waiting. you needed a few more minutes to rest, and quite honestly, you were used to san's presence, having run into him in your fights and in class.

this was the foundation of your interesting relationship with him, the feeling of battling until your lungs gave out, shaking hands afterwards and doing it all over again.

you gulped down your water, glancing over at the boy who almost bested you in battle today. it was time to leave him alone to rest. besides, your friends were probably wondering when you were gong to come out.

walking up to the stands to go meet your friends, you paused and turned back to wave to san. “well, good luck trying to beat me again, mountain boy. i’ll be here if you need me.”

he waved back, a challenge hidden in his steady gaze. "i'll see you around."

as iron sharpens iron, your matches with san sharpened the two of you into the fighters that you were today, rivals that held a respect for one another and helped the other grow stronger.

[heiayen]

HELPPP

im so bad at playing games 😭😭 like,, awfully terribly bad– i only had like only one achievement in gaming and that was on Clash Royale ( i last played it 5 years ago ) i was at my best and got like 6k crowns. NOW I DOWNLOADED IT AGAIN AFTER AWHILE AND GUESS WHAT

I LOST 3K CROWNS IN JUST ONE HOUR BECAUSE I KEEP LOSING IN MATCHES- HELP IM SO STRESSED ☹️☹️☹️😭😭😭

can you like write a kaeya x reader & childe x reader comforting reader who's bad at playing games?? its upset as it seems like there's nothing im good at

[ if you write for only one character then let it be kaeya ]

i cant even play genshin 😞 i once tried playing it on my brother's pc back then,, i ran away from slimes and hilichurls when i was in mondstadt and i just can't defeat them- i could only keep up with genshin lores through tiktok vids

being bad at playing games - kaeya x gn!reader, childe x gn!reader

tags: headcanons, modern au, comfort very comfort and fluff, they are a little short but written with love <3

summary: you are bad at playing games but, worry not– your boyfriend is here to comfort and help you!

a/n: no inconvenience caused <3 got all your asks and decided to write for both and mention no pronouns of gender whatsoever, so you are free to interpret reader in any way you'd like. it would be finished earlier but i was too tired after classes to write 😭 have fun reading bye bye

Upon first seeing that you are bad at games, Kaeya would probably tease you lovingly, especially if you played against each other, but after noticing that your lose is actually upsetting for you and you are not laughing, he will drop the teasing and go to comfort you. A good laugh is good only when everyone's laughing after all and he doesn’t want to upset you even more.

For Kaeya, it doesn’t matter much if you are bad or good at games. If you are bad, then you can practice and he will gladly watch you play or even play with you, offering you words of comfort if you get upset! And if you make some progress, he will happily give you a small reward like, oh, your favorite dessert or a kiss, anything you'd like, because even if it isn't a big deal for him, he understands that it's big for you and he wants you happy and to enjoy small things in life.

Childe is probably a gamer, let's be honest. And he loves playing games with you or just watching you play but he absolutely dislikes seeing you sad because of your skills. It should bring you fun, not make you sad after you lose against him or fail to do a quest and he will going to change this, he really wants you see your smile after all.

I think, if he ever realizes that you feel like you are good at nothing, he would say that not only it's not true– and then he would proceed to subtly show you all the things you are good at– but also that it shouldn’t matter whether you are good at something or not, it doesn’t define your worth and you should never force yourself to meet people's exceptations. And remember, there's always room for improvement and he will gladly help you practice anything you want, as long as you are happy.

You name it, you get it. You want to play with him so you can practice? He will agree instantly, playing whatever game you want and always giving you tips. You want him to accompany you playing a game? He's here, if you need some advices or help with a quest or level, just ask him. And if you need a break from all those games, then he will give it to you too. Look, he will even play a new game he knows nothing about with you so you won't feel that bad with your poor skills. It's funnier being bad at something together!

And if you tell him that you feel like you're good at nothing, then Childe will try his hardest to show you all the things you are good at, because it doesn’t matter if the things you are good at are big or not. You don’t need to be good at things like school or college, you can be good at making this one dish you like, you can be a good listener, be good with pets or even at making people you love and care smile– and it will be enough. No need to be perfect or even good at something, if you are enjoying something then it is enough and, besides, you are already very good at making Childe feel loved so… he thinks it counts!

[aseplant]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers!

I was not tagged,,, but I felt like doing it anyway haha

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 12! I'm not sure when that happened, whoa.

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 55,540.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Primarily the Ember Knight, and probably Hand Jumper once it comes off hiatus. I'll branch out if/when the urge strikes, I think.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

the price of divinity - Genshin Impact, Jean & Venti (121 kudos)

walk these shorelines with me - The Ember Knight, Nagyunn & Najin (83 kudos)

Mind Games - The Ember Knight, Nagyunn & Zius (72 kudos)

heavenbound laughter, hellbound lies - the Ember Knight, Waron/Zius (57 kudos)

nagyunn’s treatise on scamming important people - the Ember Knight, ostensibly Nagyunn/Tyr; mostly, it's crack (55 kudos)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try my best to reply to every comment I get! It makes me really happy when authors take the time to respond, so I try to make an effort to reciprocate from the other end. Plus: I write primarily for obscure-ass fandoms, and I want it to feel like people can talk to me, not just consume from me, so.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I have been reliably informed that I am SHIT at gauging the angst levels in my own writing. Having said that, I'd vote for the price of divinity, since it's a combination of bittersweet ending + major character death + the cycle continues. (I like cycles, what can I say. That's probably how I ended up in the revenge cycle fandom.)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? morning dew is fluff all the way through!

8. Do you get hate on fics? I have not, probably because I inhabit my own cozy little corner of the internet. I'm glad the fandoms I'm in are so chill.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I used to write insane crack rpf smut fics of my friends in high school whenever they did something stupid (I distinctly recall writing something involving my friend climbing a ladder in heels in order to give another anal?? It was written in response to one of them going dumpster diving for an LED buttplug). I stopped doing this in college, but recently, I have met two idiots dear friends who have been eager to revive this old hobby of mine. Hence, blood red camellia. Among other things.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I do not. They've never really been my cup of tea, and also I'm lucky to have even one thought rattling around in my head at any given moment, never mind two.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of! It'd be extremely unlikely, all considered.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope. I might translate some on my own at some point for practice, but that's far down the backlog for now.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? If you know, you know.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? I'm not that pressed about ships in general tbh. I just like dissecting characters, and if someone dies in the process, all the better <3

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? Ember Knight high school AU... I actually have a pretty cohesive outline, but for various reasons it's been a difficult fic to write, and many of the main themes are no longer as dear to me as they once were. Still, I hold out hope that I'll get back around to it someday.

16. What are your writing strengths? I want to say characterization? And I guess grammar LOL. I had some stickler-ass teachers growing up, and this is probably the only thing I can thank them for.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Hnrhg plot. Thank god I can write all the character studies I want when it comes to fandom, so I'm sure no one has noticed this tiny little weakness yet.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I'd do it in a heartbeat if it was (1) in character and (2) I knew the language/had a friend who could translate for me, because there is nothing more embarrassing than having clearly machine-translated lines. But those conditions are so difficult to fulfill that it's never happened yet.

19. First fandom you wrote for? I wrote like... a chapter and a half of a Harry Potter fic when I was in, like, 4th grade? We don't talk about it. It's gone. I hope. I did not seriously try my hand at writing again until I got into Genshin Impact back in 2021, which is what I generally consider the first fandom I wrote for.

20. Favorite fic you've written? This one is hard... I think walk these shorelines with me is the best-executed, but I'm partial to Parallel Lines despite it not being executed quite as well as I would have liked.

It's late and I don't remember which of my mutuals write off the top of my head... I'm gonna tag @quiets-cradle, but if anyone else sees this and wants to join, feel free to! In fact, I am begging you to.

[deluluwonderland]

HI HELLO happy to hear that my presence is welcomed, you might see me often then ★

ILL DEFINITELY GET TO MY COLLEGE AU EVENTUALLY but its probably gonna be long sjjksk so when i figure out how to. Word stuff. ill definitely send an ask about it!!

SHAKING YOU ABOUT LEO AND LYNEY YOU GET IT!!!! ...i wanted to tell more about my thoughts on them but then i realized i just. Couldn't. Because whenever i think of them its just svi1bo1ojxpkpkc's

Life when you're a leo kinnie 😔✌️ (how the fuck do you express yourself words are so complicated)

BUT ANYWAYS ABOUT FONTAINE TWINS AND 2WINK!!! is the story you're talking about setsubun festival? Yeah that story was A Lot but fortunately hinata is doing better now! Idk if you're up on enstars news but we just got 2wink climax and hinata got a nice conclusion about how he just wanna make people happy and is trying to find his true self. So when you compare that and setsubun it just makes me go spjzpbbozojc!!!!! My babyyy he grew so much......meanwhile yuuta is Going Through It

I would elaborate but there is. So Much. Babyboy became a hater www

ANYWAYS YES. YES. Twins make me so miserable there is Always something wrong with them. I never saw a normal pair of twins in any media I've consumed. God bless

BUT OR ELSE YES THEY DEFINITELY DO THAT SJSKJ

FOR LYNEY AND KOKICHI YEAH LIKE....i think they would understand each other So well, too well, and that could easily create tension between them because they would probably also easily see through each other's act?? And like for the both of them who hate showing vulnerability it gotta be so, scary? To one day meet someone that is just...so much like you

YEAH I GET YOU LIARS IN FICTION ARE ALWAYS SO!!!! i am shaking them aggressively and wishing upon them the "i hope you eventually break down and show vulnerability" curse. especially lyney i need that twink to CRY. 4.1 was pretty good (wont say much in case you dont know about it yet) but not Enough. for me

And i thiiink the genshin character who shares a va with kiibo is scaramouche?? Lyney and scara would definitely make an interesting duo 🤔

AND I WOULD GLADLY RAMBLE ABOUT DRA YAMATO MY BELOVED!! His talent is ultimate inventor and like, as of why i think leo and yamato would be good friends/are similar i already got something typed out in discord so I'll just show that—

Something something, do you see the vision...

As for yamato and freminet, as i said yamato is the ultimate inventor so he's good with machine and all that...and i just think with his personality he would dote on freminet a lot!! Yamato is very social so i can just imagine him being very happy to find someone with a similar interest and all. He can be a Lot so freminet would probably get overwhelmed by his energy at first but yamato would be understanding and encouraging and i think after a bit more of time they could get along very well...building robots together and stuff...maybe yamato could teach freminet to create some stuff, idk i just think they would be very wholesome! Something something yamato being very encouraging to freminet and freminet looking up a lot to yamato, but also something something yamato can sometimes be overboard with inventing stuff to the point of neglecting his own safety/health so i can imagine freminet trying to pay attention to that and remind yamato to take care of himself.....

Anddd yeah that's pretty much it i think!! Wow this ask was as long as the other skjsk

But before leaving, just dropping another thought; what do you think enstars characters visions would be? :0 I've tried vision assigning a Lot but always end up stuck because it's always so difficult since we don't really have official traits for each vision and gotta analyze the characters to figure it out ourselves...so far with a few friends we've agreed on anemo kohaku www

ANYWAYS FINISHED FOR REAL THIS TIME!! have a nice day! :]

mhmm!! welcome, welcome!~ make yourself at home here hehee

cutting here for long ppoosssttt. once again enstars 2wink spoilers just in case!!

'' SHAKING YOU ABOUT LEO AND LYNEY YOU GET IT!!!! ...i wanted to tell more about my thoughts on them but then i realized i just. Couldn't. Because whenever i think of them its just svi1bo1ojxpkpkc's ''

DONT WORRY I GET HOW HARD IT IS TO PUT WORDS DOWN, I STRUGGLE WITH THAT SO MUCH TOO EVEN THO I WRITE HAHJSDHAJK.....

all i can really say is trying to say whats on your mind is better than not ;v; start writing something without intending of sending it, then you have something to work with and you can edit where feels lacking

'' BUT ANYWAYS ABOUT FONTAINE TWINS AND 2WINK!!! is the story you're talking about setsubun festival? ''

yep yep!! exactly that one!! i havent read it myself yet i just heard what others have said about it

since im a dfP and knightsP i try to focus on their stories first while simultaneously handling other games/hobbies, FORGIVE ME FOR ANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS!! im slowly but surely reading enstars stories, i love... everyone.... i personally dont really mind spoilers for stories i havent read, but the other mods might so hasdjkahsjkda yea just give warnings for those

'' Idk if you're up on enstars news but we just got 2wink climax and hinata got a nice conclusion about--- ''

WHAA?? NO WAY, HINATA MY BOY GOOD FOR YOU!!! me not knowing context but just hearing yuuta is a hater is so funny but im somehow not surprised, he always had the hater potential /affec /lh

tbf i dont think ive even seen normal twins irl (ive met only one pair) but i love to see them and i LOVE when theyre written so.. silly... like being twins is a huge part of their character but also not?? theyre still their own its hasjdhak yes yessyesYES

actually more on them i think maybe lyney might accidentally treat yuta the way he treats lynette, then and hinata with lynette?? vise versa stuff?? yknow??

an example coming to mind is smth like just lyney offering to speak for other people for yuta even tho he is a social person, he just, unconciously does that bc he would for lynette, that was one of his small ways of caring..

'' FOR LYNEY AND KOKICHI YEAH LIKE....i think they would understand each other So well, too well ''

OH OOHHHHH YEAH I CAN SEE WHERE YOURE GOING WITH THAT, YEAH YEAHH!!! its sorta like the tension of just, telling a straight up lie then someone who knows it was a lie looking you dead in the eye, and youre just nervous if theyre gonna call your shit out or ruin your plan

its like simultaneously being good at predicting the other person because they are like you, but at the same time bc you know theyre like you... its nerve racking they can also be purposefully unpredictable to throw you off

like playing chess with someone equally intelligent, you know what would be the smart move for them to do so you wanna make preparations against it, but you also know that they know you know.. so maybe they're trying to trick you?? you know??

i feel like they might have a complicated relationship because of this that others from outside cant tell, are they friends? enemies? rivals? who knows!! probably not even them as theyre both caught up in the web of lies and manipulation theyre confusing themselves

'' i am shaking them aggressively and wishing upon them the "i hope you eventually break down and show vulnerability" curse ''

PFFHASJKDHASJK I GET THAT THO, I TOO NEED PEOPLE WHO HAVE THEIR GUARDS UP IN GENERAL TO JUST BREAK DOWN, I NEED TO SEE THEM TRUSTING SOMEONE ENOUGH TO OPEN UP AND LET OUT THEIR BOTTLED FEELINGS OR ELSE I DIE

'' And i thiiink the genshin character who shares a va with kiibo is scaramouche?? Lyney and scara would definitely make an interesting duo ''

yep yep!! it was scara! you reminded me hehe!~ scara n lyney might meet sometime in the future (i manifest bro trust me) scara is someone whos considered 'brutally honest' but i still think he puts up a tough guy act since hes someone actually rlly sensitive in my eyes...

'' as of why i think leo and yamato would be good friends/are similar i already got something typed out in discord so I'll just show that— ''

OOOH!! OKAY YEAH I SEE!! CHRIST THINGS MUST GET LOUD WHEN THEY ARE TOGETHER HASJKDHASJKDHAJK

gosh i imagine like, them getting along so well one moment but then having stupid (lighthearted ofc) arguments about the silliest things, from who has a better sister to like... is ketchup a smoothie or not...

people who overhear their conversations are never the same again. ( they heard something so idiotic they couldn't process it. or some actual golden advice slipped through either of their mouths and the eavesdropper couldn't believe smth so good actually came from those eccentrics... )

'' As for yamato and freminet, as i said yamato is the ultimate inventor so he's good with machine and all that...and i just think with his personality he would dote on freminet a lot!! ''

AAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAHJKDSHDKJASHKFJHASDJKFHASDJKGHJSDH

EXPLODES

hey lyney get in here quickly, someone is threatening your position as big brother figure /lh

BUT YEAH I SEE WHERE YOURE GOING, ITS SO CUTE... tbh i think even fremmy might give his own insights, since he tinkers with machines, not anything big or anything but.. i still would think tinkering and inventing are two different things

so one day yamato is having trouble making something work and fremmy is just like "oh why not do this...?" just out of nowhere a rlly simple solution he found out on his own from repairing stuff and it ends up being the missing piece then yamato is like "Oh MY GOSH FREMMY YOURE SO CLEVER!!" to hype the kid up and give him some confidence bc we know DAMN WELL HE NEEDS IT, BRO'S SELF ESTEEM IS LOW LOWWW

makes me think... yamato might be a loud supportive person, that could embarress fremmy a loy, like you said, fremmy would be overwhelmed, but i think as long as hes not pushed too hard, he wouldn't?? hate it?? might find the energy different but still.. likable...

when they made something together, fremmy giving ideas and yamato actually doing the blueprinting, then putting parts togethher... bwaughghjkashdjk yamato showed it off to EVERYONEEE, THIS IS THEIR CREATION AND ITS THE BEST LOOK AT ITT!!!

'' what do you think enstars characters visions would be? :0 '' '' so far with a few friends we've agreed on anemo kohaku www ''

i would agree with the anemo vision tbh!! i at first felt cyro or geo (geo bc of his oukawa duties and how he tends to be very.. loyal to things??)

but like, anemo defo fits A LOT better, most anemo characters seemed to have had a burden before that they need 'freedom' from i do believe the anemo vision focuses on that mostly

so like... freedom from past holds on them, heizou with his family+friend trauma, scara with abandonment trauma, kazuha with family guilt and dead... friend... again..? oh oh sucrose also with her lost childhood friends, she misses them and her promise to them, she thinks making her own wonderland with alchemy would finally free her from that longing of wanting to reunite with them...

BUT YEAH, ill make a separate post about vision hcs sometime! itll be long so i have to stop myself here and now or else we are staying here for more hours

[myfairstarlight]

A Joyous Fair

AO3 Link.

Rating: G

Pairings: Susato Mikotoba/Haori Murasame (Rei Membami). Side Kazuma Asogi/Ryunosuke Naruhodo + mentioned Gina Lestrade/Maria Gorey

Written for Susahao Week 2022. Day 3: AU/Modern Day

Word count: 3k

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

Susato finds herself almost longing for the time when Kazuma was not very fond of parties or outings, too focused on his studies and her to even care about making friends. Then he went to college and started his internship at Wright Anything Agency where he met the boss’ younger cousin who, Susato has to assume, developed an instant crush and kept inviting Kazuma to various outings over the months.

Her brother is, like always, completely oblivious to the whole ordeal and Susato almost feels bad for Ryunosuke. But she mostly feels bad for herself because she finds herself to be the one person the guy decides to confide his unsuccessful attempts at dates to.

“I’ve tried every trick in the books!” Ryunosuke complains that day, once again, while Susato is trying to do her homework on the stairs leading towards the Asogi residence, waiting for Kazuma to show up. After starting university, Kazuma moved out to move into his parents’ old house that he still owned as per Genshin Asogi’s will, since the house was closer to Ivy University but also his internship and he wanted some independence, Susato supposes, even if he’s close enough that she and their father can visit often.

The Mikotoba house sure is much quieter now that Kazuma isn’t there every day, though.

“Crazy idea but have you considered telling him you’re taking him on dates?”

"You can give me lessons when you finally figure out what’s going on with you and Haori, alright?” Ryunosuke replies.

Susato’s pen slips, creating a hard line across a complicated equation she just figured out in her head and now everything has vanished from her mind. Haori may be her one weakness. She met the girl only at the beginning of the year since their lockers were next to each other, and Haori single-handedly put a dent in Susato’s study-focused mind with a simple smile and a gentle “hi”. Before she could understand it, Susato found herself drawn to her and slowly, but surely, she found her way into the friend group Haori already had, befriending Gina and then Gina’s girlfriend Maria with relative ease.

It took a few weeks and a lot of teasing from her family to realise that what she was feeling was a crush. She can’t be blamed, she thought she’d never meet anyone who could elicit the passionate feelings she reads in novels.

“That’s completely different!” she objects. “Pretty sure she’s straight anyway. My brother is not and he does not hide it.”

“Uh uh,” Ryunosuke says, thoroughly unconvinced.

Susato sighs. “Listen, there’s a fair next weekend. Go to the haunted house with him or the Ferris Wheel!”

“Susato, I am terrified of both.”

“Even more perfect, you’ll have an excuse to cling to him!” Susato counters and to her merit, Ryunosuke actually considers the option. “Or you can try to win him one of those giant stuffed animals, he loves those. Don’t tell him I told you that though.”

“They’re rigged though.”

“Well, you’re not wrong about that. It’s the effort that counts though?”

Ryunosuke doesn’t get to reply because Kazuma suddenly appears, his shadow looming over them as he looks over Susato’s homework.

“Your second answer is wrong,” her brother says and she promptly closes her notebook. One thing she didn’t miss is Kazuma monitoring her work, she has enough to catch up to when she intends on pursuing the same career as him, already.

“Took you long enough, Kazuma,” Ryunosuke says as he stands up.

“Lost my binder somewhere and all my other ones were in the wash,” Kazuma replies with a shrug. “So, what were you talking about?”

“The fair next weekend,” Susato promptly answers. “I was telling Ryunosuke it would be a nice break. It’s after your exams too, isn’t it? And it would be the beginning of my break.”

Kazuma hums. “You think I can manage to drag Barok to it? Dude really needs to loosen up but he’s allergic to parties.”

Susato catches Ryunosuke pouting at the mention of the TA in Kazuma’s criminal justice course. The man is a social recluse and yet apparently Kazuma has bothered him enough to become some sort of friends. From what Susato understands, Kazuma’s late father and Barok’s late brother used to know each other. Susato met him one afternoon as she visited Kazuma and Barok was there, helping her brother with an assignment. Never mind that the assignment was not about criminal justice whatsoever but she didn’t exactly dare make a remark under the intimidating gaze of the British man.

They’re not dating, as far as Susato is aware, and Barok seems too emotionally constipated for that anyway. She is rooting for Ryunosuke, but she struggles to understand if her brother is even interested in either of them.

“Should we invite Herlock too then?” Ryunosuke says, the TA in his English Literature class.

“No way! Then dad will want to come, I love him but I don’t need him over my shoulder the whole day,” Susato protests. “I can bring Gina, Maria and Haori though.”

“Wait no, we need to invite Herlock, so Iris will be there and she can convince Barok to come!” Kazuma counters. “He’d never miss the opportunity to see his niece.”

“But dad will embarrass us!” Susato does not whine. “And why are you so hellbent on bringing Barok anyway?”

“Have you seen him? He looks like a vampire, I want to drag him to the haunted house and see if he’d scare them. Or if anything fazes him. Really, I just want to get a reaction out of him outside of annoyance.”

“I— You know what, I’m curious too now.”

Ryunosuke sends her a betrayed look.

“I know! We must do this. Oh, and I’ve heard there will be a love tunnel this year…” Kazuma trails off suggestively. “I know who to trap in there.”

“You can’t really force people on rides though…” Ryunosuke comments. “Also Barok would kill you.”

“Who said he’s the one I wanna trap there?” Kazuma grins like the Cheshire Cat. “Come on partner, your deductions are usually better than that.”

“Um…”

Susato tunes them out for the rest of the way to the library as she texts Haori the plan for next weekend.

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

In the end, Kazuma drags both Barok and Ryunosuke to the haunted house first — he’s holding their hands for god’s sake — and Susato watches them with a bemused smile on her lips. It seems her brother’s obliviousness has reached such an absurd level, he isn’t even aware of how his actions look to the outsider and how both Ryunosuke and Barok follow him like docile puppies.

“Should we go to the haunted house too?” Susato asks Haori who stiffens. She chuckles. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“I’d hate to accidentally hurt an actor, you know my first instinct is to punch when I’m scared…” Haori says and yeah, Susato knows, she does that while watching scary movies too. She just punches the air before hiding behind her sleeves, which is greatly endearing. “And— wait, where are Gina and Maria?”

A look around gives them the answer. Maria is dragging a reluctant Gina towards the haunted house as well. Maria might as well have stars in her eyes as she stares up at the attraction before going in, Gina’s arm firmly in her hands.

“Guess everyone went in,” Susato comments and now she actually is curious to know if it is worth the hype. She hardly ever is scared herself.

“Your dad, Iris and Herlock decided on the Ferris Wheel instead, I’d rather go there.”

Susato looks at her sceptically. She knows Haori handles heights as much as Ryunosuke, which means not at all.

“Let’s go try to win some prizes,” Susato decides instead.

Haori frowns. “But they’re rigged.” Wow, she and Ryunosuke really would get on well if they spent more time together.

“And I’m determined.”

“Susato… don’t,” her friend sighs.

“Now I’m taking it as a challenge.”

Haori smiles, fond and exasperated. “In those moments I realise how much alike you and your brother are.���

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

So they go through every stand, Haori convincing Susato to only try each game once so they don’t waste too much money. Susato manages to win multiple small plushies from claw machines, a bubble-making thingy from the ring tosser game that Susato suspects won’t last more than a week, nothing from the basketball one — Haori had to physically drag her away — and by the time they reach the shooting range game, Kazuma and Ryunosuke have exited the haunted house and joined them.

“Where’s Barok?” Susato asks, deciding to ignore how pale Ryunosuke looks and how he’s clinging to Kazuma’s headband as if his life depended on it.

“With Iris. She and I may have pushed dad and Herlock into the queue for the love tunnel, so,” Kazuma answers, oh so that’s who he wanted to trap there. “I had promised her and Barok to find a way to get them out of the way for a bit.”

“Ryunosuke, are you okay…?” Haori eventually asks.

Ryunosuke shakily nods. “F-Fine.”

“He accidentally punched an actor in an attempt to protect me and he still feels bad about it,” Kazuma says, looking fond. “But anyway, have you managed to win anything interesting? I’ve been eyeing that huge teddy bear over there…”

“Hah! No way, I will be winning that one for Haori!” Susato exclaims.

Before Haori or Kazuma could respond to that, Ryunosuke suddenly seems to regain his senses and steps forward, facing Susato head-on. “Absolutely not, I will.”

“What?” Both Haori and Kazuma ask, thoroughly confused.

“This is a shooting range, Ryunosuke,” she reminds him. “We both know who has the advantage here with a gun.”

“But I have a better aim than you as an archer.”

“Guns and bows are very different weapons though,” Kazuma points out but Ryunosuke cuts him off with a hand on his mouth.

“Shush partner, I’m doing this for you.”

And Susato is momentarily distracted when she sees her brother falter and blush. She chances a glance at Haori who is equally stunned at the sight. Her eyes meet her friend’s and a silent conversation ensues.

You don’t mind if I let him win right?

Absolutely not.

I’ll win you another teddy bear later.

Oh, Susato you don’t need to.

I insist!

Ryunosuke clears his throat, handing her a rifle. “So?”

Susato smiles. “You’re on.”

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

“You think he noticed you purposely missed the targets?” Haori inquires later, now carrying a medium-sized teddy bear Susato ended up winning instead of the giant one.

Susato huffs as she tries to rearrange her hair without a mirror. A few rogue strands had fallen off during her friendly competition with Ryunosuke at the shooting range. Sure, she let him win but purposely missing targets was surprisingly difficult, ok?

“Probably not. Kazuma did, though.”

“Hey, let me…” Haori starts, handing her the teddy bear before standing behind her. Susato frowns, about to ask her what she is doing, when she feels careful fingers tread through her hair, undoing the knots and taking away her hair ties.

Soon enough, long bangs fall over her eyes and she blows on them to regain some kind of vision.

“I constantly forget your hair is longer than mine,” Haori muses.

“I probably should get a haircut soon…” Susato replies. Or ask Kazuma when he has the time.

“Are you ever gonna cut it short?”

Mm. Susato thought about it but she likes being able to try so many different hairstyles. “Don’t think so,” she settles for saying.

She feels a pin being secured at the back of her head as Haori continues to carefully comb her hair with idle fingers.

“Watching Ryunosuke and Kazuma… it made me wonder…” Susato starts tentatively, earning an inquisitive hum from her friend. “Have you ever thought of dating?”

The fingers pause in her hair. “Have you? You’ve always been so focused on school…”

“That’s not answering my question.”

A beat passes before Haori resumes putting Susato’s hair up, another pin being secured on the side of her head, carefully removing one big strand that was obscuring Susato’s view.

“I have,” Haori answers eventually. Yeah, Susato suspected as much, out of the two of them, Haori has always been the most vocal about the crushes she gets. “But it wouldn’t amount to anything.”

“How can you be sure?”

Haori doesn’t reply for a while, opting to focus instead on finishing Susato’s hair in silence. Susato indulges her, instinctively clutching the teddy bear in her arms a bit more strongly than needed. In the distance, she can still see their friends go about around the fair. The sun is starting to set and yet, no one seems preoccupied with it, or tired from a whole day running around.

Susato hasn’t felt this much bliss in a long time since Kazuma moved out.

Finally, the last pin is secured and Haori walks back in front of her, prying the teddy bear away from her arms with gentle, if not a little trembling hands. Susato takes a steady breath as she lifts her eyes to meet the grey of her friend’s.

“So… who is it?” Susato asks then.

Haori falters, smile a bit more uncertain as her cheeks turn pink. “Susato…” Susato nods and waits. A beat passes. Haori sighs. “… You’re as oblivious as your brother.”

“I—!”

“That was my answer, it’s you,” Haori confesses. “But, ah, I know it made you uncomfortable that one time I actually tried to be more straightforward and flirt with you so. Honestly, I’m just happy to be your friend.” Susato stares, the words not computing in her mind, apparently. “Uh… I broke you. I’m just gonna—”

“Wait!” Susato panics, grabbing Haori’s hand before she could walk away. “I just— needed to be sure I wasn’t dreaming. When was that?”

Haori frowns, now holding the teddy bear in one arm. “Uh, I don’t know, sometime last month? Oh! It was after our English class while we were reading from Romeo and Juliet.”

“Wait, really?” She remembers that day, she had decided to dress more masculine as an experiment after Kazuma had encouraged her and lent her some of his clothes that surprisingly fit — which made her feel giddy. It just happened that that day they also had to study Romeo and Juliet in class and she volunteered to read as Romeo while Haori joyfully volunteered for Juliet.

And she does remember Haori being a little more flirty after the class but she had wrongfully assumed it was because she decided to be more masculine that day and she was staying somewhat in character—

Haori clears her throat. “Listen I’m embarrassed enough—”

“Can I kiss you?” Susato blurts out.

Silence. They stare at each other, the two of them breathless, somehow, and Susato feels like her heart is about to burst.

“Alright I feel like we jumped a hundred steps here,” Haori chuckles, looking away and half-hiding behind the teddy bear.

She gotta stop being so cute.

“I’d like to think of it as catching up,” Susato counters, tightening her hold on her friend’s hand. “I thought you only liked guys.”

“Wow, you’ve really been oblivious, huh.”

“Hey!”

Haori laughs, this time more from a genuine feeling of joy than out of nervousness. “I guess I can’t fault you, I only talked about my silly boy crushes with you but every time I was actually talking about you. I thought you would have connected the dots eventually, but turns out that’s one subject where you don’t excel.”

There’s this guy… always has his nose in a book. We don’t share a lot of classes but he always makes sure to greet me and ask me if I’ve done all the work.

Oh, this other guy always holds the door for me and he bows when I thank him! I mean it’s a little much but it’s cute.

This boy is so smart but he never makes me feel like I’m dumb either, you know? He helps me with homework and stuff and it’s nice.

Maria and Gina are getting so tired of hearing me talk about this boy, but I can’t help it! He just has the sweetest smile and is always so confident, God, I wonder what it must feel like, to have his undivided attention. I’d feel like the luckiest girl on earth!

Haori was talking about her all these times?

“You could have told me…” she whispers, full of wonder and relief.

Haori smiles. “Well, you never showed any interest in any of this romance stuff and I didn’t want to impose, I don’t know. I did ask Kazuma for advice once and he just sighed. Like!” She huffs. “One question and he looked like he wanted to die from exasperation! Rude. Your brother is rude.”

“Yeah, that’s probably my fault,” Susato groans, fighting the urge to hide behind her hands now. “I’ve bothered him about my crush on you ever since I met you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh.”

A pause. Susato suddenly laughs. “We’re kind of idiots.”

Haori smiles, her hand turning in Susato’s so their fingers interlock. “I guess we are.”

“So… what now?”

“I’ve never seen you so unsure of yourself, it’s almost refreshing,” Haori teases gently. “Well now, let me thank you for today and all the gifts you won for me.”

And perhaps it is always meant to be this simple, Susato thinks idly, as she lets herself be pulled forward and gentle lips meet her own in a chaste kiss. Haori’s floral scent envelops her senses, wrapping around her heart like a luring spell. Susato smiles against her lips, bringing her free hand to the other girl’s cheek, cradling her face closer.

“Does this count as our first date, then?” Haori asks eventually when they pull away.

“If it is I definitely need to win you a real giant teddy bear now!” she replies.

“Susato…”

But Susato only grins, leading the both of them back to the shooting range stand.

In the end, this whole outing was kind of a quadruple date. Next time, I want us to be alone though.

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

[cynicalmusings]

WAAA I HAVEN'T INTERACTED IN SO LONG!!!

life just got so busy ;=; with exams, upcoming colleges i have to think about applying, my future – it's really held me back from breathing and interacting with what i like :( BUT I AM HERE TO INTERACT ONCE MORE!!! maybe i can finally draw again bwoah, it's been weeks since I've picked up that dusty ol tablet

anyways, that writer ask game heehoo o_o : 🌈 🍉 🤍

it’s good to see you again! hopefully things will calm down soon for you.

(don’t worry; i haven’t properly touched my genshin writing in ages, so you’re not the only one who’s let dust gather in some creative areas…)

now, onto the ask game:

🌈 - is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

cyno’s dark fairytale au is… pretty hard work. i love working on it, don’t get me wrong, but the elaborate writing style paired with actually having to follow a planned out storyline and make sure the plot is tight and makes sense etc. as opposed to winging funky little oneshots is quite difficult sometimes, considering i have the attention span of a hummingbird (do hummingbirds have short attention spans? they just came to mind for some reason.) i’ve also talked sometimes about how i pride myself on that 100 followers special fic, because it took time. i had to visualise the character designs and do some brief research on mask designs (primarily venetian masks), and it took me literal weeks to choose which waltz/ piece to assign to the characters that matched their personality and their scene best. then i also needed to write the whole thing up, and the level of detail in that is up there with my dark fairytale au. i’ll always be a tiny bit salty that it has below 100 notes whereas some random brainrots i slapped down on a whim get, like, five times as many, but hey, what can you do?

🍉 - in what ways has writing helped you process trauma and/or navigate through your own life?

i use writing (and reading) a lot as a sort of escape mechanism. when i’m stressed or going through a tough mental spot, it really helps to lose myself in fiction and especially in fictional characters that i like, and not have to worry about real life for a bit. call me painfully self-indulgent, but sometimes i imagine how certain characters might comfort me if i came to them with my troubles, and it actually helps me wind down a bit. i realise it’s… slightly worrying that i’m literally coming to fictional characters in my own brain for comfort instead of real people, but, uh… it’s nice, so… good for me….?

🤍 - what's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

oooh…. i don’t know, actually. i already sort of mentioned my 100 followers special, and i don’t want to repeat myself, so let me look through my masterlist quickly.

…funnily enough, this isn’t actually on my masterlist, but maybe that continuation of a the kazuha royalty au i originally got as an event request ages ago. i did a touch of worldbuilding here and there and it was pretty fun, and i remember being somewhat proud of the reader’s character development; something which maybe might not have been ‘gotten’, or at least registered that much, by the audience because of the reader meaning to be self-insertion-y instead of a full-fledged character, and i definitely leaned more heavily towards making them a character of their own for that. i don’t really regret it, though, because i enjoyed writing for them and treating them like a character rather than a blank slate— to be honest, i find writing a reader with a clear personality more satisfying than one without, even if it’s not really the point. basically, i’d rather be compelled by a character than see myself in their shoes 100%, even if it means sacrificing some of that self-insertion. to be honest, i could go into a full-fledged essay (ramble) about how i write reader inserts and why and some pet peeves i have with their characterisations (or lack thereof, in some cases), but i’ll spare you poor souls for now.

[genshinology]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓. zhongli

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ pairing : zhongli x gn!reader ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ genre : modern au, high school au (can be a college au if you want to), friends to maybe lovers au and fluff. ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ word count : 3.2k (reblogs are appreciated ^^) ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ summary : when you had a crush on a certain student council; the president at that. ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ content : reader is a simp for zhongli, mentions of various liyue characters, one kissing on the cheek and the usage of the word ‘asses’ once. ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ notes : idk what is this lmaoo it’s in my drafts for months and i actually planned to write “multiple” genshin men as the students’ representative council and already have diluc’s part drafted before deleting it, but the will to continue just disappeared into thin air HAH. even the format of this is so messy AJKDWHSKWDJ

☆ — a students’ representative council (SRC), also known as a students' administrative council, represents student interests in the government of a university, school or other educational institution.

it wasn't an underrated statement, to say that, zhongli from the front class was literally the most—if not, intelligent—famous guy throughout the entire year.

some said he was a prodigy of some sort, while others often looked up at him as their own role model. the way he often ranked one in any tasks or exams in the semester, there was no way he was never not the talk of the school.

with his strikingly slender and tall figure, plus his sharp features littered everywhere on his effortlessly charming face, always in a neat three-piece suit whenever he walked down the hallway, it was safe to say that almost everyone was head over heels for him, you included.

something about him reeked of wisdom, maturity and kindness. he was everything you wanted in a man. a perfect human if you had ever seen one.

the glances you stole during his weekly assembly speeches, the way you never really focused in class but only at him, you really needed to do something about this, because what started as a simple crush turned much more worse, especially when it was your last semester to land yourself on an excellent gpa.

he was everything that you weren't. this fact alone made you scrambled to talk properly at him, especially during that one time when you were somehow magically—or, your chemistry teacher randomly—paired up with him as his lab partner. it was a memory you wouldn't want to go back, because the way you were nothing next to him made you dumber and more often you were left speechless at the confidence and intelligence he exuded.

that time, you exactly knew why he was the most voted person to win the student election. the capability of a leader; to lead, to teach, to advise, to grow, to win, he did all of them to you, and you cursed mentally at your stupid heart for melting at his amazing aura.

though one thing you were forever grateful was, you scored a solid A+ in chemistry, all thanks to zhongli who unknowingly keeping up with your antics to not mess up the project and promised you that everything would go well if you understood the concept.

somehow, your feelings at him worsened after that, but matters of heart were never in one's full control anyway.. right?

"zhongli was really helpful, i am so glad that he was my partner."

"if i said that zhongli was a sweet person, you guys wouldn't believe me. the way his intimidating aura overshadowed that caring side of him.. he really helped me a lot on my understanding for that hellish carbon compound chapter."

"oh god, hu tao, have you seen zhongli today? wait, we're classmates, but whatever, he looks good as always."

"his speech yesterday was so inspiring. how come a man has so many advanced vocabularies in his head?"

hu tao eyed you with a something akin to a disgusted look and your face, "y/n, don't you really think that you, somehow, should get this feeling off your chest?"

"i know," you sighed, leaning against the chair and silently enjoying the breeze coming from the window beside you. for a fleeting moment, it was calming, and your mind seemed to relax, but hu tao and xiangling seemed to not wanting you get away from the current topic.

"for god's sake, you have been talking about him for the past thirty minutes," xiangling smiled cheekily at the way your face went in embarrassment, she gave you a wink whilst clapping unamusingly, "yes, we know he's perfect. yes, he's cool and all, but are you really going to live your life with regrets, and that 'oh i wish i confessed to him sooner' because we are almost done with high school and we both know perfectly that you actually love him," this time, she was the one sighing, clearly disappointed that you didn't take any step further to do something, anything, with your feelings.

"before you guys went mad at me or something," you puckered your lips, "zhongli is like a celebrity, have you guys even seen how busy he is? walking back and forth towards the school's office to settle our needs, blah blah blah. he's always not in class when we don't have classes. how should i even start to approach him?" the more you thought of it, it was a ridiculous idea.

maybe living in denial was better than embarrassing yourself for getting 'friendzoned'. but, hu tao and xiangling were right. you needed to do something about your crush towards zhongli, because it started to affect you as a whole.

"we've been classmates for more than a semester, are you telling me that he wouldn't look at you? at least we're friends, not some juniors who are delusional, thinking that they can sit beside him during lunch or something," hu tao interrupted your deep thoughts, same as xiangling, she could only give you a heavy sigh.

as someone who knew zhongli because of their part-time together outside of school, she once laughed hysterically when you told her the not-so-secret about you crushing on her co-worker.

"make the first move, y/n. you'll never know what's in store."

for most part, you often questioned yourself for being an actual idiot to do what they said. why did you even accept their challenge to confess at him before your final exam, you truly didn't know the real reason behind it. maybe you really had set yourself to really get it out. once again, what would it be for? simple. you just wanted to move on with your phase of having this stupid crush on everyone's sweetheart. there was so many people that wanted him, maybe more than you did, so the thought of him considering your feeling was never coming across your mind.

however, talking about it was way easier than verbally made actions for it.

the way your heart was beating so fast when he brushed your shoulder slightly and greeted you with a nod at the school's gate made you instantly knew that you would be heartbroken if he shrugged you off.

the way your stomach dropped when he once came back from the principal's office to settle down some paperwork about senior field day with another student council, asked you if your table was still vacant since he was rushing to eat lunch before heading out to meet the vice principals. he said something about your table was the closest to reach, and thanked you after stuffed himself with a mere egg sandwich. all in all, you were baffled and almost choked yourself on the soup xiangling brought. you finally gasped in realisation when the situation registered itself inside you; you had lunch with zhongli, although it was like under ten minutes, but still.

the whole cafeteria must've witnessed such scene, and for a second, you almost giggled at the way you felt like you had won against other zhongli's fans.

the way your fingers trembled when he helped you balanced yourself during one of the p.e. sessions inside the indoor court where you were tasked to do gymnastics. zhongli volunteered to help the teacher—you, and many, once again were ultimate whipped at his altruism—to look out for any minor errors while you guys were, at least, trying.

it was a miracle that zhongli decided to help you in the first place, the way his warmth seeped under your skin when he held you close for you not to fall while balancing on the beam, it was really hard to not getting swayed. safety comes first, you reminded yourself, you were a no gymnast too. but the way his cheek was almost pressed against your side to catch you when you slipped, his hold tightening, you swore you were in shambles.

it was the worst when you needed his approval of organising your club to help and visit an orphanage at the countryside, mainly for some extra marks for your club activities and this made you regretted why you were the club secretary in the first place. you didn't understand why you needed to seek zhongli's signature on your paperwork, but considering that the principal himself did say that he would approve whatever the president approved during one of the assemblies, it was way better, technically, than to wait and fidgeting with your fingers at the principal's office for hours, debating with him on why the school's fee should be lent for your club for travels and food and stuff.

"zhongli," your voice sounded small, and you mentally freaked out at how weak you sounded, totally not the you who casually once blurted out a curse word at hu tao at the science laboratory because she messed up with an experiment about insoluble salts, yet your group was doomed when the salts turned out soluble. something about hu tao accidentally used sodium instead of other options.

"oh, y/n," zhongli's eyes lightened up, he was only sitting at his desk, the blazer on him was never with a crease in sight, it just made him stood out even more, "what brings you here?"

you actually thanked the god that his desk wasn't crowded with people, or gifts, since it was still way before the first period.

for more than six months, you knew zhongli was the first one to enter the class, so you did what you had to do to meet him, came earlier than him, for the sake of the paperwork. your advisor said that the deadline would be by the end of this week, but you figured that the sooner this could be done, the sooner your heart would feel at ease.

only because of the charming man in front of you.

you were pathetic, you admitted that.

"uh, so, you see, my c-club, ah yes! my club, is going to help this one orphanage, b-but mr. tian said that i-it would be.. uh, easier, yes, for me to get your approval before anyone else.. or the principal. hm, yes," god, your social skills were never this bad, even the way zhongli was looking at you intently before shifting his eyes to the papers on your hand made your heart skipped a beat, "i.. i did the paperwork with ningguang, so the format must've been r-right. the details should be in there," it was indeed a miracle that you managed to voice out the lines you had been practicing since yesterday.

you vividly remembered that you were almost in the verge of breaking when you realised that you did the paperwork in the wrong way, and you didn't want to restart it again after spending hours and hours brainstorming on the ideas you should pour onto it. luckily, ningguang, the deputy president—bitter on your tongue to say this, but she was zhongli's partner in the council—helped you a lot when you decided to not be a coward and asked her for her advice. she did help you, and you knew that at least you wouldn't embarrass yourself in front of zhongli.

you handed the paperwork at him, sighed in relief when zhongli finally skimmed through it with a comforting smile.

"whose idea is this? it's a great initiative to obtain co-curricular marks with helping the orphans," he didn't look up at you, even when he sounded genuine and really went thoroughly the papers, "is it yours?"

"i, uhm, yes," you answered almost breathlessly, swallowing down the invisible lump in your throat when his eyes directly made in contact with yours, it was insane how much he affected you.

"is it so? that's endearing," zhongli chuckled lightly when he took a notice of the light red shades on your cheeks.

you weren't going to survive breathing the same air near him, the more you observed how attractive he was, the more your mind went blank, and all you could say was a small, "thank you."

though you didn't really know why you were thanking him for. maybe the slight hint of a compliment lacing under his last words made you felt like you were in cloud nine.

"you're welcome," zhongli didn't seem to mind the way you were flustered at his words and your response, as he delicately signed the paper with the black pen in his hand.

"may i.. go too?"

"what?!" you honestly should stop freaking out over simple things he said, please relax and stay calm for your own sanity. this was definitely getting out of hand.

"hm," he hummed, the silken, deep, sexy guttural tone underneath made you blinked at him multiple times for being stupidly gorgeous over little things such as this, and the way you responded to them questioningly, "i want to meet the children too," he stopped, reading your somewhat horrified face before continued on, "if it's alright with you, put my name in the list. once in a while, the children should believe in humanity, and us."

your mind went blank. did this mean zhongli would be going with you? like, literally...?

"y/n?" his tone changed, concerned look all over his face when you didn't budge to take back the papers on his desk but staring blankly at him.

"i, oh, yes—" you fixed your uniform, still didn't quite get it why you did so, presumably wanting to look presentable after all those stupid things you accidentally did in front of your own crush, "sure. i'll add you."

zhongli smiled at your words, before you bowed down at him, blabbering something about, "thank you for your approval," before you almost tripped yourself as you unknowingly kicked a chair in the way, bracing yourself to not fall down as your hands secured themselves on someone else's desk, mouthing, "i am fine," when zhongli's eyes almost widened at your clumsiness.

so when you finally reached your place, sitting down and pretending to be busy while shuffling through your things in your bag, zhongli's voice cut through the silence, "let's meet early again tomorrow, before everyone else is here. i would love to discuss the plan in details."

you didn't realise when, or how, but zhongli did turn himself fully to face you from a distant from his desk, while you, on the other hand, almost choked on thin air when you knew too well that you wouldn't be going to survive another day like this again.

but fate would always brought surprises in one's life, wouldn't it?

because the usual meetings an hour before class turned into a habit, and in some weird way, you found yourself more motivated to go to school early. even your mother was in shocked at how you woke up with a smile on your face, already in your uniform before heading out way too early when usually, around this time, you would groan at your mother that you needed five more minutes of sleep.

the activity at the orphanage went pretty smooth too, and you would consider that you were now friends with him—not like you didn't consider yourself as a friend to him initially, but all this time, you were, after all, only his classmate—because once again, your club advisor paired up you with him to distribute unwanted clothes and books to the kids. the smiles they gave back at you made your heart contented.

the habit of coming to school early made you realised that zhongli unknowingly brought the best version of you, and you were proud at how productive you had became.

it went on and on, until prom night was nearing.

it wasn't a thing before, but now, that you knew how to act properly in front of him, the only thing that was weighing inside you was should you ask him, or not?

sure, you weren't a special someone in his life, but xiangling's words haunted you more often than you liked. you didn't want to regret seeing zhongli with someone else in his arms, you wanted it to be with you. god, you sounded so selfish, when there was a long line in your year to be his prom date.

you would never stand a chance. maybe living in a blissful ignorance would be way better, although you were itching to not thinking of zhongli with someone else.

"this might seem out of context, or, generally speaking, this would, mayhaps, surprise you," zhongli started when both of you finally walked up outside of the stuffy class, decided that it was the best to get a fresh air early in the morning when no one was around. your mind would think this as a secret date, but of course, it wasn't.

"do you have a partner? for the prom night?"

you couldn't count how many times this man took your breath away with his unexpectedness, but it was bizarre that he found this thing intriguing in the first place, and to ask you that bizarre question.

because all things with zhongli were strictly business. that was what hu tao once said to you. he was a serious man, who took care of everything for the students, and didn't ponder over things such as.. this.

"n-no," you were caught off guard, but there was no way you would make a fool out of yourself again, he already seen worst, "why?" you couldn't help but to indulge in your own curiosity.

"nothing. i mean, i am just.. curious," zhongli blatantly lied and you cocked your head to the side slightly. spending your time with him made you realised that the perfect zhongli tended to avoid eye contacts when he tried to avoid something.

"really?"

"okay, no. i actually would like to spend the magical night, and wouldn't want to miss the chance to dance, with you," he was rather straightforward, not even his usual serious expression faltered when he just dropped the bomb out of nowhere and said that he wanted you to become his partner for the night.

"zhongli, i—" you took a deep breath, slightly pinching your face and yes, you weren't dreaming, zhongli was still there in front of you, waiting for your response, and right then and there, you ultimately decided to confess at him on that night, the outcome didn't matter, at least you could be with him for a night, "—yes, yes. of course, i would love to."

you didn't realise that you were almost in front of the school's beautiful courtyard, as zhongli smiled, sincerely smiled at you. he seemed loving, and the way his eyes told you a million stories behind them already told you much, that maybe, just maybe, zhongli did have a thing for you. there was no way his eyes would lie.

zhongli then mouthed a, "beautiful," before he planted a kiss at the corner of your lips. it was only for a moment, and if you weren't paying enough attention, you might not acknowledge him doing so. it was too short-lived. you were taken aback, and for the first time living in ignorance, you smiled at the little gesture.

you spotted hu tao and xiangling along the way, might need to kick their asses later when you saw hu tao handed over some cash at xiangling, before they giggled at your direction and ran away.

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