#this is how benny's adventure team is formed

[theashop]

resident Mondstadt extrovert adopts local introverts

[fuji-sen]

the 'evil imposter' just wants to be a baker!

Prologue: The Foodie turned Imposter?!

Part 9: Benny's Adventure Team! + Wolfhooks

[ part 8 ] || [ masterlist ] || [ part 10 ]

divider is made by @/saradika-graphics

"A shame I couldn't stay for long" you murmured, biting into the fluffy goodness that was mamon. It was another food that you learned from your Filipino Classmate, they had introduced it to you as a comfort food which was straight up facts ✨

You found yourself being able to easily slip out of the Ragnvindr estate, though the thought of not receiving your pay nearly made you hesitate. After all, how does one live without mora? the currency for everything in this place.

"I should visit the leylines later if I ever need money."

But then remembering how you were some sort of wanted mega criminal, you might not have many places to buy from. Right now you decided to head to wolvendom to harvest some wolfhooks as well as any other resources there. Since a lot of people were wary of the wolves, perhaps there are more natural resources there, laid untouched. At least, that's what you hope for.

Of course there is a chance to run into Razor. But you'll cross that bridge when you find it.

You turned to the map in your hands, given to you by Kaeya. You remembered your last moments with him before he had to distract Diluc.

"As much as I want to trust him. . I don't want to risk your safety. So for now you must leave, take my map I listed the locations where the knights are planning to patrol!" Kaeya said, taking your hand a forcing a map into your hold.

The man with deep blue hair placed both of his hands around yours, making it curl around the map securely. "Be safe [name]. Me or the traveler will try to find you when its safe but for now. ."

"Don't trust anyone carelessly."

You weren't stupid, despite the kindness showed to you by the hilichurls and the slime, despite Aether's honesty and Paimon's cheerfulness. . despite Adelinde and Kaeya giving you a chance. . despite all those kind people you cannot forget Jean. . Lisa or the knights, you could not forget the looks the Mondstadters had given you.

You know how precious trust is.

more so especially when your life is on the line.

Just because they were nice to you, doesn't mean the others would be too.

You closed the map, continuing your walk towards the Wolvendom, a bit more at ease when you saw that there would be no patrols in that area.

Wolvendom was different in-game, the forest was much larger, much thicker as it was filled with lots of trees much closer together, the canopy of leaves leaving abundant shade to protect you from the blazing sun. It had more resources that you could gather compared to the game as well.

You wiped the sweat off your face, your mask was untied, wrapped around one of your hand and kept away so you can breathe more easily. Finding Wolfhooks were easy, gathering them was not. You had to wince every now and then when the purple berries pricked you. Hence why you had to cover one hand with the mask to avoid any more injuries.

However you continued on, despite the irritation you managed to have enough wolfhooks for your journey, the berries also went straight to your inventory which was a nice touch and greatly boosted your quality of life.

Suddenly a branch had snapped and you turned to a bush that shook for a few moments, and from the shrubs a boy had emerged. A mop of ash-gray hair and scratches and scars that littered his much smaller form. .

Bennett.

Your hand gripped your bow, a part of you was ready to attack him and run, but remembering how he was simply a child made you stop, hesitating. Surely someone as kind and young as bennett. .

could you trust him?

"Ouch that hurts. ." he winced, still unaware of your presence as his gloved hand made its way to brush off the leaves and branches that was sprinkled around his hair, "Oh!"

His eyes finally made its way to you, and his hand fell limp on his side. You waited and observed how his eyes widened with recognition and surprise, would it morph to rage? or to hopefulness?

"You- you're the imposter!" a finger was thrust towards you.

"I have a name." You sighed, his eyes were still soft, there was no malice, at least. . none that you were aware of. "Have you come here in search of me?" you ask, finding it odd how formal you were being.

Bennett stammered, hand hovering near the handle of his blade. A beautiful skyward blade that glowed in his hands. . a sword you remembered equipping on him.

"Y-yes, you- it's a crime to impersonate the Creator!" he said, though despite the volume of his voice, you could still hear the hesitation and fear. .

he clearly didn't want to hurt you.

And so your heart ached for the young boy. "You are injured though. . why don't you try to kill me after I patch you up?" you offered with a pathetic attempt of a smile in hopes to assure him. "N-no!" he shook his head, you couldn't blame him. He'd probably be careless if he let someone branded as a criminal treat his scratches.

His stomach then grumbled and he flushed in embarrassment as he let you saw him in an even more vulnerable state. "Bennet." you frowned, the bow in you hands disappearing, "let me help you."

"I-"

"You're a kid. You're far too young to take another person's life."

"I'm an adventurer!" he argued as you walked closer to him, he still hesitated, even as you stood in front of him, vulnerable, he didn't unsheathe his blade to attack you.

"But you're no killer." you told him, and then you quickly acted. You grabbed his blade and put it in your inventory, effectively leaving him unarmed. "There" you smiled, yet he didn't feel scared.

Your smile was bright and warm, comforting not at all scary or threatening as he thought.

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦

Bennett didn't know how to feel about the current situation, he found himself inside a familiar hollowed trunk. One that he had visited with Razor, his other friend who was currently absent.

In his hand was a fluffy snack you, the imposter, had called a mammon.

Meanwhile, you, the object of nearly every person in Mondstadt's attention was kneeling beside him, wiping his legs clean, muttering something about having to disinfect it.

"You're nice. ." he muttered after a few silent minutes filled with observation on his part.

"Of course I am" you almost snorted, "I'm not heartless."

You pulled out an ointment, twisting the cap open as you smeared the contents on your fingers. The young adventurer shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. "It's not poisoned or anything." You told him.

You showed him your hands which had scratches littering your skin, and then you proceeded to apply the ointment to yourself. It started to tingle, did that meant it was working?

"See? I didn't die." You told him, and only then did he let you apply the ointment you had gotten from the Samachurl. "Why do they want to kill you. .?" Bennett suddenly asked as you finished and stood up.

"You. . you don't seem like an imposter."

Shrugging you turned away "But that doesn't make me your Creator either. I'm simply me. ." "How can that be possible?"

"I'm human Bennett. When we are born, we do not get to chose the face we were born with, or the situation we are born in. . it's how we are similar. You didn't chose to be born with bad luck, nor did I chose to be born with this face." You gestured to him, then to yourself.

Bennett pondered your words carefully, it made sense. . but. . "then why does Jean and the knights want to kill you? they wouldn't target you if you didn't do anything bad!"

"But I didn't" your voice was like a plead, 'please believe me' he could hear that small voice. "I just came inside the city, registering as an adventurer when I was immediately taken to their headquarters! They didn't ask me anything! They didn't let me explain, or even told me why I was arrested!"

Your sudden outburst had to stop though, as you noticed multiple presence approaching. You turned to the entrance of the hollowed trunk you were in, multiple sharp predatorial eyes were pointed at you. .

Razor and his lupical family had found you.

Perhaps they noticed your unfamiliar scent, or maybe benneth's and the iron scent from his wounds.

! You jumped back when Razor pounced forward quickly closing in the distance, swinging his claymore at you. You stared down at the wolf-boy, who lowered his claymore once you were away from Bennett who stared between the two of you in shock.

'This has just gotten troublesome.' The entrance was now blocked by Razor and his family, the only other exit was the one that would lead you to the weekly boss battle area for Andrius. You took a step back, eyes still on Razor who silently observed you like a predator.

"You. ."

His family snarled, and quickly moved. But instead of attacking you, they stood between you and Razor. Razor clearly didn't expect their actions as his red eyes widened in surprise. "Lupical. ."

The wolves growled and bark, communicating something to Razor who's mouth closed and opened a few times like a fish out of water. What did his lupical say exactly?

The claymore in his hands had disappeared, as he looked to be scolded. "Follow me. ." He said, walking pass you and jumping down to Andrius' area. The pack of wolves followed, as they passed you their heads would bob, a gesture reminiscent of that of a respectful bow.

Confused you turned to Bennett who stood up, a serious expression on his face.

"What exactly did they say about me?!"*

"They said. . that uh. ." his brows furrowed, perhaps still digesting what the wolves had said. "The lord of Wolvendom asks an audience with the person who shares the face of the creator."

You gulp, heart sinking. Andrius or Boreas was to judge you then?

"Come on, I don't think it's anything bad." Bennett tried to reassure you with an attempt of a smile, one that mirrored the same one you had given him. He was trying to comfort you?

Sighing you palmed your face as you tried to calm down, "okay." you muttered over and over again "okayokayokay-"

"Okay."

Bennett's warm hand had wrapped around your wrist, "don't worry, I'll make sure it's not going to end badly. Trust me as an Adventurer!" "Oh?" you blinked "and here I thought you were here to kill me since I'm an imposter. ."

He laughed awkwardly, "Well. . after listening to you, I guess I decided to just trust you. A real imposter wouldn't care about someone like me anyways."

"You think I care about you?"

"Well you did give me that tasty snack and dressed my wounds, doesn't that mean you care about me? you could have easily killed or left me anyways after taking my sword. ."

Chuckling your hand glowed, bringing out his weapon and handing it back to him. "Thanks Bennett, here." The boy beamed at you, taking his weapon once again, "where did you get that weapon anyways?"

"Oh, I received this as a blessing from the creator!" he chirped.

You hummed, standing at the exit, eyes casted downwards as you took a deep breath. Seeing Razor and the wolves from before, you wondered how you were going to land safely. . 'well if I'm going to die to Boreas, I guess it doesn't matter now.'

"I see, the creator must really like you then." you smiled at Bennett before plunging down.

"She. ." Bennett's eyes widened, running to the edge of the trunk in panic only to sigh in relief. "huh. . she knew my name. I don't think I ever told her." he scratched the back of his head, before unfortunately a rock flew towards him, hitting him at the back and being the one last push needed.

And so like you, Bennett fell.

Taglist:

@fantasyhopperhea @rhoswen-drake @cchiiwinkle @aman3kkun @coffee-or-hot-cocoa @bunniotomia @esthelily

@earth-to-name @fandomfan-102 @kh1ffy @jiyeons-closet @dragontammerz / @mercy-not-merci @aryuunachigiri @randomnatics @alexx197197 @keirennyx @vianitry @game-savvy @laviniadraws @altumsomnum @ghostlysyntaxed @kangyeonie @resident-cryptid @floofeh-purpi @allmightycucumber @wolfiafuntime @ofalexis @jiaoqiuthefoxian @is-it-night-or-day @lilacoaks @brainemptynothoughts

*Bennett understands a bit about the wolves' communication based on his voiceline about Razor.

NOTICE!

I will now be closing the participation time, now we will be having a poll to find out what's the name of our pyro buddy! Originally it was supposed to be till the end of the prologue arc but I'm beginning to think it'll be awhile till this ends.

Sorry for the quality too, I like Bennett but since it's been awhile I think he and Razor came out as 'ooc' in this chapter.

LINK!

Fuji_Sen has suggested! Lava Cake or "Java" based on the food / coffee" Fuji_Sen has suggested! Monsieur Creme Brulee or "Creme" based on the food. @Fantasyhopperhea has suggested! Soleil or "Sol" @Cactus4226 has suggested! Ruru (Py-ro, ro -> ru -> ruru) @bunniotomia has suggested! Helios or "Hel" @airyravenmaid has suggested! Cinnamon or "Cinna" @kindofscenic has suggested! Pyrex from the glass or "Pyruru" @shyentsmissingink has suggested! Pyri or "Pyrico" @dragontammerz has suggested! “Pepperoni” or “Pepper”

[holybananaoafshoe]

 ✨Team Dynamics✨

Tired Cyro Dads 4.5/8

🥛🍪

I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier when I wrote up the boxing lessons, but here's some last minute brain rot about Kayea teaching Wrio how to sword fight.

Honestly, it’s kinda the same with boxing BUT (big but) Kaeya is definitely the more flirtatious of the two and the best teacher

Wrio’s teaching is based on showing the fundamentals and once that’s done he throws you in the ring because “What’s better than learning on your feet?” 

That’s how he learned anyway

Kaeya on the other hand, he’s trained several knights and adventurers 

I personally headcanon that he has trained Benny and Noelle (at the very least) and helped train Razor and Fischl

You know what, while we’re here, let’s throw in a handful of greenhorn knights too 

WhIlE We’Re At iT I’m going to loosely throw in Mika and Klee.

 Klee because she hangs out with him, he’s basically a second big brother to her, so of course he and Albedo have taught her how to take care of herself. 

Mika because, come on, kid is anxious. I like to think Kaeya helps him when he can while Mika is in Mondstadt….Mika is definitely the little brother Kaeya never had.

Anyway, they definitely don’t use their visions because it could get very dangerous and Kaeya wants this to be a learning opportunity and not a future hospital visit (he’d rather not relive the night he was kicked out of the manor, thanks)

He’s carefully taking Wrio through all the moves and helping him correct his stances, it takes a long time before they move from practicing swings in the air with wooden swords to practicing the movements of a spar, to going through the movements with a real sword

Kaeya is a good teacher: gently correcting Wrio’s wrong moves and softly placing his hands over his to guide him through a swing Wrio just can’t seem to get right.

Everytime Kaeya is behind Wrio, his gentle voice in his ears and his hands on his, butterflies are bouncing in his stomach and the tips of his ears get red

He can barely hear what Kaeya is saying, but he’s making an effort to remember how movement feels 

For Wrio’s credit, he’s a good learner

He’s not one to get frustrated easily when Kaeya corrects his form for the nth time 

Instead he takes the correction in stride and tries to keep it in mind while he moves through the next set of exercises

When they switch to sparing, they take it slow to make sure Wrio gets used to the weight of a sword in his hand

Hey, Kaeya wasn’t about to make Wrio into a kebab, okay?

Wrio is incredibly awkward: super stiff movements and jerky with the sword

Almost takes Kaeya’s other eye out

Kaeya was just fast enough to tilt his head to avoid the worst of it, honestly it was truly just a scratch on his cheek, just below his eye

Wrio is a m e s  s

Absolutely falling over himself to apologize, whipping out the ointment he keeps on him to dab onto Kaeya’s cheek before placing a bandage over it

It takes a little while before they resume, Kaeya reassuring Wrio that he knows it was just an accident all the while

Soon enough, Wrio is kind of getting a hang of this sword fighting thing

Just good enough to start getting cocky

As the fights speed up, Wrio keeps taunting Kaeya 

“That all you got, Cap? I could take you in my sleep.”

“Not so fast with a sword in your hand, huh? I think I might best you yet.”

At one point he does knock Kaeya’s sword out of his hand

He wasn’t really expecting how hard Wrio can hit with a sword damn

He was a little impressed, not that he would tell Wrio that though because he was already starting to boast about the win

Kaeya smirks, shakes his hand a little, and picks up his sword. “Well, if you’re confident in your skills, perhaps we can take it up a notch?”

Wrio, full of confidence from his win, is bouncing on the balls of his feet and ready to go for a round two: “You sure I didn’t hurt your hand with that last round?”

Like, he knows Kaeya is going easy on him, but he’s just so giddy from winning that he can’t help himself

Kaeya is sooo used to the trainees doing this, and the next part is always his favorite

So, he shakes his head, something sharp in in his grin, and tightens his gloves before grabbing his sword: “Then let’s see how you hold up, Duke.”

Wow is Wrio in deep shit

He figured that out pretty fast lol

Like when Kaeya just stood there until he blocked the attack, fuck, it was like hitting a wall 

For someone who got their sword knocked out of their hand from an unexpected heavy hitting, arm-numbing, teeth-rattling, swing just a few minutes ago, Wrio was absolutely shocked to see that Kaeya didn’t budge a single inch when Wrio swung his sword down with all the force he could muster

Kaeya said he could take it after all and, well, he certainly did 

Kaeya tilts his head, a slightly unhinged air surrounding them, and deflects Wrio’s sword up, leaving his torso fully exposed

Kaeya sends Wrio stumbling with a kick and from there, Wrio is absolutely on the defensive

There goes Wrio’s strategy: just hitting Kaeya with full force attacks until he lost his grip again 

Now Wrio was barely keeping up with Kaeya’s relentless onslaught

At one point Kaeya deflects a blow and just disappears and reappears behind Wrio

Wrio did not screech, thank you

He only lasted like, five minutes before Kaeya swiftly knocked Wrio’s feet out from under him--Wrio’s sword slipped out of his hand as he fell--and pinned him to the ground, sword hovering above Wrio’s neck

They both stayed like that--Kaeya sitting on top of Wrio and Wrio laying on the ground--panting from the spar

Kaeya breaks the silence by setting his sword to the side and leaning on Wrio’s chest with his forearms, his blue hair dangling over his shoulder and tickling Wrio’s cheek

“I’m impressed, not many trainees last that long.”

“I’m not any other trainee,” Wrio breathlessly tells Kaeya. 

He’s freaking out internally, because Kaeya is so close right now

Keaye smiles gently, knocks their foreheads together, and whispers: “Well, if you win the next round you may just earn a prize.”

“And what’s that?”

Keaya just grins and slowly sits up, he boops Wrio’s nose and just tells him he’d have to win to find out

It takes maybe three days before Wrio finds out, he was determined damn it 

(he may have gotten Lynette to help him)

(and Freminate too. Claymore, sword, it’s all the same, right?)

Color Kaeya surprised? He wasn’t expecting that? Here he was, teasing Wrio and suddenly he was knocked on his ass and on the ground with Wrio pinning his arms above his head.

“How about that prize, Captain?”

Kaeya starts laughing softly, he wiggles a hand free and cups Wrio’s face: “If I knew you’d be this determined, I would have pinned you down sooner.”

“Oh?”

Kaeya doesn’t say anything after that, he’s looking a Wrio with such a soft, caring gaze that melts Wrio’s heart

Kaeya wiggles his other hand free, Wrio swears he doesn’t breath as Kaeya gently guides him down for a kiss

Their first kiss!!! (we made it!)

It was short, sweet, and wonderful

Wrio just rolls off Kaeya and they lay next to each other, looking at the sky and the sword lesson forgotten 

Both absolutely smitten

At one point they look over at each other and just smile

A strand of hair that had come loose from Kaeya’s low ponytail falls onto his face, landing just above his nose in front of his eye patch

Wrio, gently brushes it back behind Kaeya’s ear

They walk back home, hand in hand

[papermoonloveslucy]

TV on TV!

Part 2 ~ The TV Shows of the Lucyverse

Although it may seem redundant, the worlds created by Lucille Ball on radio and television frequently created and mentioned other TV shows!  Here are a few from “The Lucy Show” (1962-1968).

“Lucy Puts Up a TV Antenna” (1962)

When Lucy's TV set doesn't work, she discovers that the antenna has blown off the roof. Refusing to spend extra money to have one professionally installed, she talks Viv into helping her replace it. As the episode opens, Sherman and Jerry are excited that the All-American Football Team is going to be on TV. When the reception is poor, Lucy engages in the old practice of  banging on the side of the set, something she claims she learned from her late husband. 

LUCY: “What did we do before television?”  VIV: “We used to hit the radio.”

With Lucy on the roof, Viv yells up the chimney, “I got carried away watching Art Linkletter. Come on down Lucy. He's about to go through a lady's purse.”  “The Linkletter Show” (also known as “Art Linkletter's House Party”) was seen on CBS from 1952 to 1970. Lucille Ball appeared on the show in February 1965.

“Lucy and Viv Put in a Shower” (1963) 

“Where’s Lloyd Bridges when you need him?” ~ Lucy Carmichael    

Bridges starred “Sea Hunt” from 1958 to 1961, a series about a scuba diver which featured extensive underwater filming, so much so that his name become synonymous with underwater adventures. Bridges was seen in all 155 episodes of the CBS series. He was also mentioned in the same context in “Lucy Buys a Boat” (1963). Lucy says she bought the boat with the hull in the water so she didn’t notice the poor shape it was in. She adds that she didn’t have Lloyd Bridges with her at the time!  

“Lucy’s Sister Pays a Visit” (1963)

Lucy’s son’s lunchbox features images from the television western “Lawman,” which ran on ABC from 1958-1962.  A “Lawman” lunchbox is now part of the collection of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. The lunchbox shows up again in “Vivian Sues Lucy” (1963). 

“Lucy Gets Locked in the Vault” (1963)

Danfield TV is on the scene when Lucy and Mr. Mooney finally get out of the vault. 

“Lucy and the Safe Cracker” (1963)

Demonstrating how she got locked in the vault for Larry McAdoo (William Woodeson) of Danfield TV, Lucy accidentally locks Mr. Mooney back in the bank vault again!  Taking advantage of the air time, Lucy gets in a commercial for Grandma’s Candy Shop, owned by the safecracker (Jay Novello).   

“Lucy and the Plumber” (1964)

Lucy and her plumber (Jack Benny) appear on the television program “Talent Discoverer's Show”.

Hosted by Greg Gregory (Willard Waterman), the show is sponsored by Kiddie Cookies, baked beans, and varnish! 

Lucy was already on the show once, so this time she disguises herself as Lucretia Carmucci, the talent discoverer of the title, presenting her plumber Harry Tuttle, who plays an arrangement of Donizetti on the violin. 

“Lucy Meets Danny Kaye” (1964) 

Lucy writes away for tickets to “The Danny Kaye Show” but is turned down.

Kaye offers to give her a walk-on role in the telecast – but Lucy manages to steal the spotlight anyway. In 1962 and 1964 Lucille Ball guest-starred on Kaye’s CBS TV program “The Danny Kaye Show.”  

Kaye telephones Bill Paley to see if he has any spare tickets to give Lucy. William S. Paley (1901-90), was the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States.

“Lucy and the Beauty Doctor” (1965) 

When Lucy hears about a $25 beauty treatment, she tells Mr. Mooney the money is for a doctor. When the treatment turns out to be a hidden camera show named “Boiling Point”, Lucy must do whatever she can to stop it from airing and revealing her secret to Mr. Mooney.  

“Boiling Point” hosted by Dick Patterson is modeled loosely on “Candid Camera,” a TV show that started in 1948 and continues (in some form) to this day. Its heyday was from 1960 to 1967, when it was a ratings winner for CBS on Sundays at 10pm.  

“Lucy in the Music World” (1965)

When Lucy takes a job in a music producer's office, she wangles her new neighbor Mel Tinker (Mel Torme) into a gig on the musical variety television show “Wing Ding”.  

“Wing Ding” is hosted by Reb Foster and presents The Six Bare Feet, The Torch Bearers, The DDTs, and The Tear Ducts (Lucy and Mel) singing the plaintive ballad "My Trousseau Just Lies on the Shelf.”

“Lucy Helps Danny Thomas” (1965)

When Mr. Mooney hires Lucy to get some important papers signed at a TV studio, she finds herself dancing on Danny Thomas's TV special instead!   

Although this is not a real TV program, Thomas did host “The Danny Thomas Hour” for 22 episodes in 1967. Thomas was a Desilu regular, appearing in “Make Room for Daddy” (later “The Danny Thomas Show”) as well as doing a cross-over episode with “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”.

“Lucy and Art Linkletter” (1966)

Lucy is picked from Art Linkletter's studio audience and challenged not to utter a sound for 24 hours to win $200. In January 1966, CBS aired new episodes of “Art Linkletter’s House Party” daily at 2:30pm while “I Love Lucy” was in reruns at 10:30am.   

During the 24 hours, Linkletter arranges for a one-armed man to burst into Lucy's apartment waving a gun and say that a guy has been chasing him for three years. This is a reference to the hit ABC series “The Fugitive” (1963-67) on which David Janssen was on the trail of a one-armed man who killed his wife. Three weeks after this episode of “The Lucy Show” was filmed, Doris Singleton (Ruth Cosgrove on “Lucy and Art Linkletter”) guest-starred on “The Fugitive.” The series was a Quinn Martin Production. Quinn Martin was a producer at Desilu and also married Madelyn Pugh, one of Lucille Ball’s longest lasting writers.

“Lucy and the Soap Opera” (1966)

Lucy disguises herself in a number of outrageous get-ups to gain access to the reclusive writer of “Camden Cove,” her favorite soap opera, to learn how the show will turn out.  

Camden Cove is described at “the typical American town” so it was probably inspired by “Peyton Place,” a prime-time soap opera which aired on ABC from 1964 to 1969. Like “Camden Cove,” it aired three nights a week and dealt with the tangled relationships found in a small American town. Danfield was compared to Peyton Place in “Lucy and Joan” (1965).

“Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere” (1966)

LUCY (to Edwards): “Oh, doctor!  Oh, doctor!”

Lucy disguises herself as an usher to meet celebrities. On the reception line, she asks Vince Edwards for his autograph. Vincent Edwards (1928-96) was probably best known as the title character on ABC TV’s “Ben Casey” (1961-66) which was filmed on the Desilu lot. A new episode of “Ben Casey” aired on ABC at 10pm on the night this episode of “The Lucy Show” premiered. It was directed by Marc Daniels, one of the directors of “I Love Lucy” and Jesse Wayne was the stunt coordinator, as he was for “The Lucy Show.”  

“Lucy and Bob Crane” (1966)

Crane was best known as the clever Colonel Hogan in the CBS POW camp sitcom “Hogan's Heroes” (1965-1971), which was filmed at Desilu Studios.

In the episode, Crane is making a World War One film. A one-line gag features an appearance by John Banner, who played Sergeant Schultz on “Hogan’s Heroes”. He utters his famous catch-phrase from the sitcom. 

SCHULTZ: “I know nothing!”  CRANE: “Schultz! You're in the wrong war!”

Oscar Beregi plays Wolfgang Schmidt the director of the film. Beregi did two episodes of “Hogan's Heroes.” He was probably cast here for his resemblance to Werner Klemperer, who played Colonel Klink on “Hogan’s Heroes” who also wore a monocle.

“Lucy the Robot” (1966)

Jay North plays Mr. Mooney’s spoiled brat nephew Wendell. North was best known as the star of “Dennis the Menace” (1959-1963). During the show's final season, North played opposite Gale Gordon (Mr. Mooney) as John Wilson. 

“You will keep that MENACE subdued for the next eight days!” ~ Mr. Mooney to Lucy about Wendell

“Dennis the Menace” also included a character named Theodore Mooney! 

“Lucy the Gun Moll” (1966)

RUSTY: “So ya see, no one is really untouchable!” 

The episode is a parody of “The Untouchables” (one of Desilu’s biggest hits) starring most of the original cast. Lucy plays a gun moll named Rusty. Robert Stack (who originally played Elliott Ness), agreed to appear as long as the character names were not the same as the original. Stack was joined by Walter Winchell, Bruce Gordon, and Steve London. 

“The Untouchables” started out as a two-part pilot episode of “Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse” in April 1959. The show was introduced by Desi Arnaz and starred Robert Stack and the voice of Walter Winchell, both of whom were cast in the series, which began in October 1959 on CBS. The final episode was aired in May 1963.

“Lucy Puts Main Street on the Map” (1967)

To bring attention to the plight of the town of Bancroft, Lucy stages a spectacle on Main Street, calling all the television news programs to witness the event. 

Dan McGowan (Dan Rowan) is a TV reporter with the National News Service.

“Lucy Meets Sheldon Leonard” (1967)

Mr. Mooney allows TV producer Sheldon Leonard to film a hold-up scene at the bank. Lucy thinks he is really a gangster and is determined to foil his robbery.  

Over the telephone, Mr. Cheever tells Mr. Mooney that Sheldon Leonard produced “The Danny Thomas Show,” “Dick Van Dyke” and “I Spy.” Leonard himself adds “Andy Griffith” and “Gomer Pyle” to his credits. All of these shows were filmed at Desilu Studios. 

The end of the episode Leonard says:

“I suddenly got this idea for a new television series. It would be about this kooky red headed girl. She works in a bank and she gets into all sorts of impossible situations and... forget it.  Nobody would ever believe it.”

“Lucy Helps Ken Berry” (1968)

A dance instructor (Ken Berry) is about to default on his loan until Lucy arranges for him to be on “Ralph Story’s Los Angeles”, a local television show.  

Ralph Story was well known in the Los Angeles area as a local TV personality as host of “Ralph Story’s Los Angeles” from 1963 until the late 1970s. 

Ken and the his students perform “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” by Irving Berlin. For the finale, everyone sings “Pick Yourself Up” by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.

Stay Tuned for Part 3!  Same Time, Same Station!

[rebelsofshield]

Star Wars: The Bad Batch: “Retrieval” -  Review

The Bad Batch resolves last week’s cliffhanger in a decidedly passable, self-contained mission

Still trying to recover the Marauder, The Bad Batch track their would be thief to a massive underground Ipsum mine. The operation is run by the malicious and abusive overseer, Makko, who keeps an army of droid sentries and over stretched young miners under his mechanical fist. And one of these hapless workers just so happens to be Benni Barro, the ship thief in question.

After last week’s cliffhanger, it was hard not expect that this week’s episode would deliver some explosive consequences to the team and their current status quo. Sure, Tech and Omega may be on better terms now, but their ability to work without Echo still felt unresolved and the squad’s working relationship Cid appeared to be more perilous than ever. But, these plot threads are dropped in favor of another self contained adventure episode that introduces new side characters and a villain of the week to be thwarted.

It’s hard for this reason to judge “Retrieval” on its own merits. The Bad Batch’s second season has been sorely lacking in direction or purpose for pretty much its full run now. Even if the series’ freshman outing was still plagued by plenty of forgettable episodes or underdeveloped characters, there were at all times multiple ongoing plot threads that felt like they were creeping in on the Batch. There was Crosshair’s betrayal and his determination to catch his former teammates. Nala Se’s attempts to capture Omega. The threat of the inhibitor chips inside the clones themselves. And of course the overarching story of the destruction of Kamino and the slow eradication of the clone army. Sure, there have been standout episodes and even some big in universe developments, but everything about The Bad Batch’s second season has felt stop gap and sporadic. The one ongoing story thread that the season seemed to have, Admiral Rampart’s efforts to cover up Kamino’s destruction, was barely present and resolved itself midway through the season. And sure, Rebels also had plenty of stand alone episodes, but each season featured some form of end goal, multiple ongoing narratives, and some sort of villain for us to root against. It’s hard to find any of these in The Bad Batch right now.

It’s because of this that “Retrieval” focusing on a self contained story about mistreated youth workers in an explosive mine feels so frustrating. It’s yet another week of meandering storytelling.

And maybe some of this frustration is unfairly placed. For what it is, “Retrieval” is a competent episode of television. Makko makes for an effective and believable villain. Benni is a fun episodic character who undergoes a tidy but well constructed arc. And Omega experiences another example of galactic injustice. There’s also some interesting thematic work happening here regarding the sort of despots and opportunities that rise into power in the gaps leftover by wartime. We even explore how these abusive leaders instill loyalty and enthusiasm for their underlings. In a way, it makes for a less nuanced and well executed version of the prison arc from Andor. But few elements wow. There’s no signature standout set piece. No insightful interaction or growth for our main characters. Just a solid, in and out, mission.

“Retrieval” is fine. It accomplishes its goals competently and is as slickly animated as always, but it’s hard to see how anyone comes out of this season remembering much of anything about it. The Bad Batch better start wowing soon. The last few episodes of this season have the unfortunate task of sharing a release day with Disney+’s flagship Star Wars series, The Mandalorian. And if we keep getting episodes like “Retrieval,” it’s hard to imagine anyone even bothering to glimpse at this plucky show caught in the long shadow of Baby Yoda.

Score: B-

[esonetwork]

Timestamp #295: Orphan 55

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/timestamp-295-orphan-55/

Timestamp #295: Orphan 55

Doctor Who: Orphan 55 (1 episode, s12e03, 2020)

A monster tale armed with a messaging bludgeon.

Wrapping up another adventure we don’t get to see, the Doctor, Ryan, and Yaz are mopping the TARDIS floor after encountering a deep-space squid during mating season. Meanwhile, Graham has been collecting coupons from the Bandohzi Herald to win a free vacation. The coupons assemble into a transport cube and the team is teleported away to Tranquility Spa.

They are greeted by a furry humanoid named Hyph3n who insists they can return to their ship at any time, but should enjoy the perks of their two-week all-inclusive stay. As the team splits up, the teleport station shorts out. Because why not?

Below decks, a pair of staff members named Vorm and Kane react to a virus in the system. The same bug, a hopper virus, infects Ryan. The Doctor can treat him, and as Ryan swings at hallucinations in the form of bats, Yaz finds the pool and an elderly pair named Benni and Vilma.

While Vorm and Kane hunt the virus, the spa enters lockdown and Ryan meets a woman named Bella, a supposed hotel critic. The Doctor finds Hyph3n and enters the deadlock room while posing as a resort inspector. She meets Kane and discovers that the spa is guarded by a defensive ionic membrane. The hopper virus is in every system and Kane is attacked by a ferocious humanoid creature.

Graham finds Nevi and Sylas, the elder of whom is working on systems in the bar. The guests are scrambling for safety throughout the spa, and the Doctor tries to coordinate efforts from the lockdown room. The Doctor repairs the ionic membrane and forces the creatures to retreat.

Outside, Kane describes the creatures as Dregs, locals who have broken through the invisible walls surrounding the “fake-cation” resort. Unfortunately, Benni and his oxygen tank have been taken outside the walls, so a team of volunteers is assembled to rescue him. The resort is located on Orphan 55, and the outside atmosphere is inhospitable. Luckily, the radiation levels have died down.

What?

The team consists of pretty much everyone we’ve met so far, and they take a large armored vehicle into the outside area. The Doctor reasons that the Dregs have evolved to survive in the wasteland, even by adapting to weapons. Kane tries to call off the mission when she realizes that the Dregs have Benni, but Vilma and the Doctor convince her otherwise.

The truck eventually ends up stranded deep in Dreg territory after it hits a trap. The group can only survive for ten minutes on the surface, so Kane sets course for a nearby service tunnel. They are forced to retreat when the Dregs arrive and surround the truck. Benni’s voice sounds through the truck, pleading that someone shoot him. The Dregs attack the truck, everyone runs, and they make it to the tunnel. In the process, Hyph3n and Vorm are captured and Kane is injured.

Kane also reveals that she killed Benni. Vilma is horrified and Bella pulls Kane’s gun. In a twist, it turns out that Bella’s father is dead, she wants to burn the resort to the ground, and Kane is her mother. When a Dreg attacks, Bella and Ryan teleport back to the resort as the team continues their walk home.

Unfortunately, that path takes them right through a Dreg nest.

The Doctor finds evidence that Orphan 55 is Earth, a revelation that stuns Graham and Yaz. As the team’s oxygen supplies dwindle, Vilma sacrifices herself so that the others can run. The Doctor finds a dormant Dreg and discovers that they exhale oxygen. She also telepathically links with it and sees images of how they arrived on Earth. When it turns on the Doctor, Kane sacrifices herself to save the Time Lord.

Bella tells Ryan that she introduced the hopper virus into the resort. She also placed bombs throughout the place to destroy it. Ryan learns the truth about Orphan 55 when the group returns to the spa, linking the demise of their home to climate change and food chain collapse.

The survivors – the Doctor, Graham, Ryan, Yaz, Nevi, Sylas, and Bella – gather in the lockdown room. Sylas grows frustrated with Nevi and leaves, so the Doctor and Bella go after him while Nevi and Graham focus on the teleport, and Yaz and Ryan fight off the Dregs. The Doctor and Bella save Sylas and encounter the alpha Dreg. The Doctor traps the alpha and reasons with it, securing their escape.

As everyone reunites by the teleport (where Sylas has saved the day), Kane returns and joins forces with Bella to fight the Dregs. The teleport engages and sends everyone else home, including the travelers back to the TARDIS.

The companions are upset that their home is destroyed, but the Doctor reminds them that Orphan 55 is only one possible future, but humanity has the power to decide.

This is such a mixed bag. On one hand, the monster story was good, and if it had stuck with the simple monsters invading a resort, the episode would have been good. But, there’s the twist that one of the guests is trying to burn the place down because she has mommy issues. And if the plot wasn’t convoluted enough, we get a great message about climate change presented as a bonk-bonk-sledgehammer-to-the-head.

There’s subtlety and then there’s Orphan 55.

The production was also shoddy, probably due to the same budgeting issues that have plagued the Whittaker era. The monsters outside the dome were inconsistent, often disappearing from longer shots when we’re told they’re surrounding the survivors. Also, scientifically, fires shouldn’t burn in such oxygen-poor environments. Holes in a story can be compensated by good production (and vice-versa), but it is obvious when both are found lacking.

Also lacking in this story is the Doctor’s character. By the end credits, Kane and Bella are still on Orphan 55 fighting the monsters. The Doctor has control of a time machine, but does not immediately set a course to save them. What? Even if this is one possible future for Earth, the two women can still be saved with minimal contribution to the already messy timeline.

Writer Ed Hime forgot this fact while musing about climate activism. I sympathize with him and his views, but his story was lacking. Notably, this was his second and final story (to date) for Doctor Who, following after It Takes You Away.

Sadly, all of this combined means that the pace set by Spyfall slams to a halt as this season tries to get off the ground.

Rating: 2/5 – “Mm? What’s that, my boy?”

UP NEXT – Doctor Who: Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror

The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.

[anemorias]

Heya, I absolutely love your work, especially how well you write the characters! The characters really feel like themselves ( a little more so than what I've seen around).

Sooo, I'm here to request! c:

Could I get some fluffy hc's about a g/n reader asking Genshin character(s) out on their first date with eachother? As for which characters, anything works, but at least add Razor.

genshin headcanon  ╱ asking them out

genshin characters x gn!reader

characters include: bennett, razor, chongyun, gorou, venti

ratings: general audience

cw: none whatsoever, unless maybe second-hand embarrassment and tooth-rotting fluff

a/n: thank you so much anon that makes me so happy aaa :( i’m always scared to make mistakes with them but!! that’s good eep,, this one looks fun to write! i wanted to do something with the sweet short kings, so it’s a great opportunity! i turned it around for bennett because nervous benny is really cute, i hope you don’t mind! also, im very sorry it took me this long to finally post it, writer’s block was being a bitch-

° ｡ bennett

he’s nervous. god, he’s so nervous, he can’t even believe he’s about to do this. you went on an adventure — just the both of you, no team, and his bad luck has caused him to scrape his knee against a rock, right when he was about to ask you out.

now, the rain is pouring and you’ve taken shelter in a little cave, soaked and slightly shivering.

he’s used his pyro vision to light a fire and, although it implied accidentally setting his left glove on fire, it’s worth it because now you’re warm, and the tremors in his legs isn’t caused by the cold, but by his anxiety.

he tries to engage in conversation a few times:

“hey, uh—”

“so, you know—”

every time, the rumble of an angry sky prevents him from spilling his guts. the third time, you’re the one interrupting him, by accident; he’s bleeding, and you want to tend to the wound.

finally, it’s while you stinging him with antiseptic that he lets everything out, in a single breath:

“do you want to grab dinner with me tonight? as in— as in just you and me!”

and, well, you could’ve misunderstood, but his cheeks are flaming hot, and you’re quite sure there’s smoke rising from his reddened ears.

he’s scratching the back of his head when you stay silent, already accepting defeat; bennett has never been one to fight the odds, what with his constant streaks of bad luck.

just as he’s about to retract the offer, you grab his hands, your fingers slightly shaking. you give him a nod, frantic, and see the most beautiful smile blooming on his lips.

“hah! really? well, i think i might be lucky, after all!”

° ｡ razor

the problem with razor isn’t to ask him out, but to make him understand what you mean. he’s not used to humans in general, and most likely confuses the fluttering feeling in his chest as hunger; you need to be patient with him.

you ask him after a meal — his puppy-paw hash browns, so good it makes the both of you feel tingly. rather than liquid courage, you took the solid form, and now it’s his hand that you cradle.

razor is used to physical intimacy, cold nights spent curled up against his pack. but when you touch him, it’s different. it’s warm and familiar and, always drawn on instinct, he tends to lean into it.

which is why his hand in yours ends up with him half onto your lap, idly playing with your fingers while you’re talking to him.

he doesn’t quite understand it, but don’t get him wrong — he’s willing to learn.

“a… date, you say. you, and me, alone like now, but different. it’s difficult.”

he rubs his cheek against your stomach, pondering, and huffs a little; not understanding you always makes him a little bit upset, more so than when he can’t grasp lisa’s intent.

“okay. teach me.”

it’s a clumsy start and a bumpy road, but that doesn’t keep him from being weirdly impatient.

° ｡ chongyun

he’s far from a confident boy, and used to bury his feelings deep inside lest his positive energy gets out of control. as such, chongyun is prone to doubt — not necessarily you, of course, but most of the strokes of luck that come his way. it doesn’t help that xingqiu teases him on a daily basis.

so it comes as no surprise when you ask him out and he doesn’t understand; his brain can’t exactly fathom the concept of a date, especially if you’re the one asking him.

his first reflex is to laugh it off — “don’t tease me, that’s so mean!” but there’s something hollow behind it, his smile forced and lip bitten red.

however, you know him, you’re used to him. so the reassurance you gently whisper, hand ghosting over his, comes naturally.

“i’m being serious. you’re gonna hurt my feelings, you know?”

and, ah, it’s all in good fun, a sweet grin and the joke written all over your face; his warms up so quickly it almost makes him dizzy, and the hand he raises to cover it does nothing to help his case.

“ah.. in that case, i guess…”

you squeeze his wrist, full of patience and affection; he’ll give it all back at some point, and then some.

° ｡ gorou

although his instincts are good, sharp even — he doesn’t see it coming. his head has been full of the war and the loss of his friends, heart heavy and eyes distant.

you use that as an excuse, not brave enough to confess out of the blue. but you need to make your motive clear, lest he thinks you’re just distracting him from his duties.

you coax him out of his daze on a warm afternoon, the sun slowly setting but still heating your faces. your fingers are intertwined — he insisted on holding your hand because it “made him feel better”, and his thumb is slowly rubbing the back, absent-minded and comfortable.

you’re not as anxious as you thought you’d be, perhaps because his simple presence soothes your nerves. when the wind picks up, you breathe out the question, low and carried by the breeze.

surprisingly, he blushes; his tail wags, slow but unsteady, and the ghost of his thumb over your hand falters. he’s delighted, ears perked up — but he needs to confirm something.

“you mean… just the two of us, right? and, uh, not like friends.”

the nod is soft but clear, and he leaps in your arms to press the sweetest kiss on your cheek, followed by a small bite and a tender lick.

he kisses both your hands when you get up, and takes you on the beach on yashiori island.

° ｡ venti

he’s playing you a song when you ask him. the place is calm, comfortable and it all feels so peaceful that the words naturally spill from your lips.

even if he giggles, there’s a wicked glint in his eyes and he lets the wind carry him until he’s all up in your space, lips stretched on a teasing smirk.

“oh? you want to take me somewhere? what for, i wonder…”

he knows, probably has for the longest time. you’re not the most discreet person, and he tends to pick up on tell-tale signs; but he decided to keep quiet, give you the time to collect your thoughts and feelings.

even now, he can’t resist the need to taunt you, deft fingers ghosting over your arms, going up your face to squeeze your cheek.

“well, aren’t you adorable, all red and so, so warm?”

he’s a god, and this is where you feel it. wind slipping through your clothes, holding you so tenderly you can’t feel your own bones. he watches over you, not quite touching the ground.

his hand comes up your chin, two fingers holding it in place — you’re transfixed, the music still clear in your head.

he kisses you, and whispers tiny promises between your lips. “of course, my sweet warrior. anything for you.”

[fatuilady]

— 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐝𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 - 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠. (headcanons)

✦ word count : 2.6𝐤

✦ feat : 𝐆𝐍 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 , [𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭] 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐨, 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭, 𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐜, 𝐤𝐚𝐞𝐲𝐚, 𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐫, 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢

✦ context : 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐝𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 ~

✦ cw : 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲, 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 (kaeya lol)

✦ note : apologies this one took so long, work had been swamping me ;-; ! quite long, pretty wordy, almost oneshots, but i hope you all enjoy anyway :)

𝖆𝖑𝖇𝖊𝖉𝖔 :

✦ This particular chalk prince is all too enthralled with delicacy. His very mantra is all about the fragility of life and creation, surely, you're no exception. He has a unique fascination with life and death, yet seemed to focus little on the precious moments between the cradle and the grave.

✦ Albedo is always gentle, shy and chaste when he embraces you.

✦ At first, he was unfamiliar with the sentiment as social contact had never been his forte, since he was in fact a wall of stone (or chalk?). He'd declined your open offer from his own inexperience, he failed to consider that it may portray him as cold, distant or unwelcoming.

✦ Soon enough, Albedo would begin to ponder how such a simple interaction could bring strong emotion to humankind, yet the more he dwelled upon it, the more he found his arms feeling empty. It was as if his hypothesis was proving itself wrong.

✦ Eventually, he'd come to terms with his growing curiosity, always one to initiate an experiment, he'd offer himself to return the affections - he was very glad he did.

✦ Albedo's coy nature would let him drape one arm around your shoulder, the other taking your hand. He'd wrap his soft hands around your own, placing his head beside your own. His hair would smell soft, newborn and clean, the scent of fresh cotton, baby powder and angel feathers beside your nose as he buried into you.

✦ The chalk prince unfortunately would struggle to find the time for such intimacy on the regular, but when he did find the chance to embrace you, he'd make them last as long as he could.

✦ Perhaps this still lingered from his limited understanding of social cues, but he'd hold onto you for many minutes, more than you could count on one hand. Taking you in his arms, he would touch you as if you were a blooming Cecelia, tenderly and lovingly. You'd return his care, cuddling him and wrapping both arms around his back.

✦ During his hugs, he'd also sometimes find himself tracing over your body with inquisitive hands. Albedo had never had the chance to properly appreciate your anatomy in such a manner before, but he quickly fell in love with your form.

✦ Albedo soon began to realise the adoration behind hugs; his adoration for you also began to grow. Slowly but surely, he actively began to seek out your displays of affection, whether to feel your warmth, play with the fabric of your clothes or caress your shape, he wasn't sure.

'Thank you... deeply, for sharing this moment, you... resemble a statue, I couldn't think of anyone better suited for such an embrace.'

✦ What he was sure of was that he had appreciated the beauty of life in the same way ever before than he did when he was swaddled in your arms.

𝖇𝖊𝖓𝖓𝖊𝖙𝖙 :

✦ The young adventurer is notoriously unlucky, his clumsiness an infamous curse that seems to follow him wherever he goes. It's precisely the reason he's very hesitant to come too close to you, for fear his awful fortune will wipe off on you. No matter how careful he seems to be, there's always something the archons never seem to be on his side.

✦ Instead of his bad luck rubbing off on you, maybe your good luck would rub off on him, at least, that's what you believed.

✦ Bennett was more than surprised when you asked for a hug, your request catching him quite off guard. He'd think on it for a moment, face painted in light pink as he reached for an invisible itch on the back of his neck.

✦ As the leader of Benny's Adventure Team, he'd find it fitting to stand alongside you, carefully tossing one of his arms over your shoulder. He'd snatch you closer with a squeeze, the marigold colour bandana he wore knotted around his upper arm tickling your chin.

✦ The hug itself would be friendly, full of total and mutual trust as you too curled an arm around his front and back. You'd both sway, beaming as laughing as he flashed you an appreciative thumbs up, the sunkiss on his skin making the clumsy boy hold the same warmth as a summer beach.

'I think you're my favourite adventure buddy, I must have been lucky for once to meet someone like you, traveller!'

✦ Bennett would hope to keep moving through Mondstadt with his arm around you. The idea was short lived, to say the least.

✦ As ever, his curse would catch him at the worst moment, a measly loose stone in the plaza floor catching his foot. Bennett tumbled, and so, you tumbled as well.

✦ The active boy would try his best to manoeuvre himself to catch you before you scraped the ground. You'd end up likely crossed over his lap, a compromising position, but it was all in good fun. You loved Bennett's antics, he brought excitement to what could have easily been a mundane life.

✦ Caught up in giggles, Bennett kept his arms crossed over you as he drew his head around to press both yours and his cheeks together. The moment was another perfect instance for a scrapbook, even some of Mondstadt's more grouchier personas sparing a chuckle for you both.

𝖉𝖎𝖑𝖚𝖈 :

✦ For a pyro wielder, Diluc Ragnvindr doesn't present himself warmly. Seemingly tired, uninterested and slightly callous, he concerns himself with practical matters when he is alone: economist by day, vigilante by night. Stuck in his ways, he'd see no purpose in day to day public displays of affection.

✦ This doesn't mean he dislikes contact in private, however.

✦ The common misconception would leave one to believe Diluc was a stone gargoyle, incapable and unwilling to act in any other way. Alone with you, he couldn't be further from it, in fact, in most cases, he's the one to initiate the contact, sometimes without even asking.

✦ When, and only when, perfect conditions are met does Diluc lets go of his tough exterior and ultimately boils down to a lovesick puppy. However, he much prefers to be alone alongside you, of course, in these endeavours.

✦ With nobody else in sight, he would be quick to start loving, his stature still ever strong as he discarded his gloves. The dark side of dawn much preferred to hold you with his bare hands to further lift your caring skinship.

✦ Diluc would wear a sincere smile, one of patience and relief as he drew closer to you. He'd wait for you to signal him with your own charming grin, and only then would he leap into the biggest, most tender bear hug one could conjure.

✦ Strong arms suffocated you as one hand rested on the back of your head, savouring the softness of your hair. The other would cross behind you and after a few compassionate minutes, he'd concentrate his strength to lift you up, up and further into his arms.

✦ If you would like to be put down, he'd place you gentle back onto the floor, releasing you slowly. The flaming hero would notice the mess he had made of your hair, tussling it back to it's usual shape with his fingers.

✦ Otherwise, you could wrap your legs around him, and whilst supporting you, he'd spin around and hold you tightly. Head against his chest, you'd twirl stray strands of his strawberry coloured ponytail in your fingers, relishing in the lingering scent of warm booze, sweet flowers and flecks of ash.

'I apologise for the wait, I'm glad you're still here, you know how dearly I treasure your touch.'

✦ He almost seemed a natural, more so than his love driven brother when it came to private intimacy, but truthfully, he still held small amounts of insecurity. His worry would be holding you too roughly, but the more you insisted you loved his hugs, the more the people of Mondstadt would notice him acting much more chipper during his day shifts at Angel's Share.

𝖐𝖆𝖊𝖞𝖆 :

✦ Smooth talking, smooth moving, smooth loving, there's nothing about the Favonius Cavalry Captain that doesn't radiate utmost self confidence. He acts on his own accord, conducting how he pleases. Still one for manners, he'd clear the water with you far in advance before laying on the next level of his flirtatious affairs.

✦ Kaeya Alberich is incredibly touchy, his behaviour consistent in public, private, wherever he happens to be in the same space as you. His hugs are amatory; romanced laced in the most teasing way.

✦ You could be communing with citizens of Mondstadt, researching in the library, helping sweep away stray leaves at the cathedral on behalf of a desperate attendee. Kaeya makes a habit of catching a glimpse of you as he patrols the city, making a discreet beeline to catch up to you.

✦ Regardless of if you were courting or merely on mutual acquaintanced basis, he'd know exactly which places to stir up when he hugged you from behind.

✦ The frostbearing swordsman would care little about an outside audience, and would enjoy it in true deriding manner if you grew flustered at simply the thought of being intimate in public.

✦ Kaeya would snake his arms around your waist, hands smoothing over the angles or curves. Afterwards, he'd lean into the crook of your neck to place a gentle kiss on your skin.

'I simply couldn't wait another moment, you're heavenly~'

✦ His hair, much like is brothers, would flow over your shoulder like a rich waterfall, scented with rose oil, glistening jasmine and chai.

✦ In private, Kaeya would be even more adoring, favouring a gentler approach opposed to his more teasing public affections. He'd love for you to sit between his legs on the couch, back rested against his chest.

✦ A master of fine swordmanship, he'd be oh so gentle, his touches feather soft, sometimes even so gentle you wouldn't even notice they were there. Regardless, he loves more than life to make a fuss over you when you hug, he loves to play with your hair, he loves to spin circles into your skin with careful fingertips, he loves to whisper every word you'd like to hear all with the intent of making the moment stretch for as long as it could.

✦ Kaeya knew he was free to share his love with you at any moment, but that didn't keep him from making each hug count, after all, he simply just adores the way you fit perfectly into him.

𝖗𝖆𝖟𝖔𝖗 :

✦ Razor is a curious soul, one of primal roots. Human intimacy is worlds apart from the care he shared with his Lupical, so he craves the best of both worlds. The wolf boy wants to learn, who better to verse him in human affection than you?

✦ When you'd ask him if he would like a hug, he was unsure what it was. He'd tilt his head to the side, clueless, but eager nonetheless. If he had a tail like his canine brother and sisters, it would surely be swaying side to side by now

✦ You'd find it adorable how he'd mimic your movements like a puppet, you raised an arm and he'd do the same.

✦ As you brought yourself closer to him, he'd hesitate slightly, his feral nature urging him to step away, but his human mind knew he trusted you, so he stayed in place and allowed you to cuddle him.

✦ When wolves displayed the same behaviour, it was one of threatening origin, normally the kickstarter of an incoming fight, but with you, he felt no threat at all. Admittedly, he seemed a little stiff when you engulfed him, not quite sure what to do with his limbs, he marvelled in place for a moment.

✦ Razor felt a flurrying heat collect in his face as he gasped, gradually relaxing his shoulders as he melted away into your embrace. He also might have felt his eyes sting a little with joyful tears, it was something new, surely, but the half wolf didn't mind it.

✦ He tried to sneak a glance at how you were holding him so he could do his best to replicate it. Hesitantly, he placed his arms around you in return, though they almost seemed to lag as he moved them. Once they were securely around you, Razor felt himself click into place and squeeze tightly.

✦ Gentle wind breezed over you, catching his distinct scent of earth, fresh rain and crushed berries. He seemed a little cold from the touch, but this was expected from somebody who spent his life outside in the roaming scape of Wolvendom.

✦ His hair, though mildly knotted in some places, truly did feel plush like a wolf's pelt, ideal to pat and stroke.

'You are...warm... Razor likes it, I will... stay, for a while'

✦ Razor had discovered two things: He now loved hugs possibly more than hunting, but what he loved most was your hugs specifically.

✦ He'd be more subtle, yet increasingly obvious in the future. Whenever the overgrown puppy of a boy would crave some attention, he'd shuffle close to you, raising his arms in the same way you did when you introduced the concept to you. Moreover, he'd be seeking you out a lot-

𝖛𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎 :

✦ A carefree and free flowing spirit by design, Venti is true to his element when it comes to hugs. He's a very affectionate boy, but in a more innocent sense. Always full of mischievous laughter, he appreciates the silliness and fun behind the little things.

✦ The windborne bard would be very open about hugs and public affections, often asking both if he could receive and give. When accepting his proposal, you'd get to see him close his eyes in delight, cheering to himself in a childish manner.

✦ He'd be all about the performance, being a bard and all gives him this habit. Laughter, singing, general sounds of delight, whatever he can conjure, Venti would beam with happiness from even the smallest contact with you.

✦ Venti would run and spring into you through the long grass strewn across Starsnatch Cliff, gusts of anemo following his excited behaviour.

✦ What's most humouring is the rather short boy propping himself up on the tips of his toes in order to better the hug, draping both of his arms around your neck.

✦ The bard would love to look into your eyes, placing a cheeky kiss on the tip of your nose. Another common practice would be cupping your face with one hand, holding it in his palm with nothing but adoration.

✦ Another curious trick of his involves his elemental skill. Charging it, he'd hold onto you tightly, chirping as you'd both lock into each other.

'Ehe, hold on tightly, I don't want you to fall!'

✦ In one single burst, you'd be launched upwards by a powerful gust, high enough to see all of Mondstadt in the unexpectedly strong arms of your favourite Archon.

✦ Brushing stray hairs that came loose from your hairstyle during the departure, he was something freeing, a breath of fresh air as you drifted contentedly to the delicate grass below.

✦ Everything about the old young bard seemed peaceful as you'd stay warm, knitted together laying down amongst the dandelions.

© 𝖋𝖆𝖙𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖆𝖉𝖞 .

[the-purity-pen]

One Temptation

Pairing: Benny Miller x Will Miller x Santiago Garcia x Frankie Morales x Fem!Reader

gif is not my own. credit to the creator [ if you know who made this, please tell me so i can credit them, thanks! ]

Rating: EXPLICIT (18+ ONLY!) Warnings: Sex Pollen, Group sex, Double Penetration, Unprotected PIV (please be safe irl), cum eating, fingering, oral (f & m receiving), Anal, Shower sex, let me know if i missed anything! Word Count: 5,818 Notes: This has been in the works for MONTHS at this point and I finally feel okay releasing it to the hellsite. It’s filthy, it’s probably not perfectly canon but I love these boys and this was such an adventure to write. Please let me know what you think!

You were nervous as hell to walk into the conference room. The first day on any job is nerve wracking but even after a few weeks, you found yourself feeling like the outsider still. It wasn’t anyone’s direct fault, per say. Just a feeling you had from being the new one on the team.

The team you had been assigned to was a tight knit one. The four of them having been through all kinds of combat and missions together. Their previous team leader had gone off the rails and was forced to retire early. 

Your debriefing hadn't gone into a lot of details but the remaining men on the team seemed friendly enough. Benny and Will Miller, the brothers were such polar opposites that their interactions were always entertaining. And Frankie Morales seemed like a pretty sensible one, a lovable man with a mean streak when needed. 

And then there was Santiago Garcia. The man was generally more observant but when he spoke, he attracted the attention of an entire room. His personality was electric in a way. The way his scruff would sound as his hand ran over his jaw, deep in thought at whatever mission was being described as one that the team would be taking.

A new drug lord was suspected in Miami, carting drugs from Colombia and Bolivia. The trail had led to many dead ends but there was one loose end that your new team would be able to solve. A nightclub had been staked out and found to be smuggling drugs through some warehouse-like door in the basement. There wasn’t enough to get full intel and they needed a team to infiltrate and go undercover to gain more information.

Part of the plan was to have you, of course, dress up and play flirty with some of the bouncers and bodyguards of the club. You were extremely nervous and it apparently showed through because as much you knew these guys were good, you couldn’t help but feel like trusting them with an assignment like this was a big ask.

When the assigning officer heard your concerns, he offered up a serotonin-inducing serum. It was new on the market but was studied to have helped with team building. At least that’s what he told you. After having a short conversation with the team, you agree to all take the serum.

After taking the sticky sweet green drink, you were informed that it could take a full 24 hours for the full effect to take place. "Why don't we throw a party?" Benny chimed in with the boyish grin plastered on his face.

You stifled a laugh and shook your head. "I'm not exactly the party type," you admitted as your eyes scanned from Benny to Santi who spoke up next.

"What about just a night of beers and cheesy movies?" he offered to which all heads started nodding. "My place. Tomorrow night. Eight o clock," he added after the consensus was made.

***********

Walking up to Santiago's door had your heart thundering so loud in your ears, you were sure you wouldn't be able to hear him when he greeted you. Your hands twisted around the case of beers, hoping you had picked the right kind. You knew how these military types were picky about their booze.

"Hey! You made it!" Santi exclaimed as he opened the door and let you walk in. Your eyes took in the small apartment and noticed that you were the first to arrive.

"Am I early?" You turned around to face him as he closed the door. He shook his head with a chuckle as he moved closer to take the case of beer from you and move it to the fridge.

"Nah, they're just always late. Good choice by the way," he mentioned as he held up the case and nodded to it just before placing it in the fridge. Your arms weakly rubbed at each other, crossed over your chest.

When Santi turned back towards you, he chuckled. "You can take your jacket off, you know. I mean if you plan on staying," he cracked which made you smile. After your jacket slipped off and was placed on the back of a nearby chair, Santi held an open beer out to you.

"Thanks," you told him softly before there were more knocks on the door. The other three piled in, Will followed by Benny with Frankie bringing up the rear. Benny was already slurring and jolly, Will was just shaking his head at his brother as he greeted you. Frankie came up, adjusting the ball cap that he always seemed to wear and said hello.

***********

"Truth or Dare!" Benny cried out when a suggestion pool had started of what they should play.

Handfuls of beers had been consumed by this point and you were starting to feel more comfortable. It was also becoming apparent as you watched each of them how attractive they really were in this laid back setting.

The entire group groaned but Benny pushed forward on the couch so his elbows were on his knees. Santi had actually been oddly quiet, chewing on his lower lip as he was watching you interact.

"Alright Pope. You first," Benny held up a hand loosely gesturing at the man sitting across from him. Santi rolled his eyes and shook his head but grinned at the same time.

Will tapped Benny on the shoulder and whispered some idea into his brother's head that apparently made Benny very excited. "Ooh! Ooh! Okay okay," Benny adjusted his shoulders, shooting you a quick glance before looking back to Santi.

"Have you ever thought about-" 

"I didn't even choose which one asshole!" Santi replied with a loud laugh. Seeing his smile that wide was uncommon and you felt a small knot form in your chest at it but you stifled a snort in response.

Frankie and Will also broke out into laughter as Benny conceded. "Alright alright fine. Choose, motherfucker," he narrowed his eyes at Santi before cracking a grin himself.

"Truth cuz I'm too old and lazy to do any stupid stunts you could come up," Santi chided at his brother in arms before taking a long swig of his beer, one of the bottles of the kind that you had brought.

Benny rubbed his hands together like he was concocting some evil plan. "Alright then back to what I was asking before you so -rudely- interrupted. Have you," he paused to glance over at you, his gaze unashamedly running over your body, making you curl into yourself a bit more on the big armchair you were seated in. "Ever thought about fucking her?" He nodded his head in your direction when his gaze came back to Santi.

Your heart was back to racing in your chest as you turned your attention to Santi. Without missing a beat, Santi answered. "Abso-fucking-lutely."

You were ninety percent sure that you stopped breathing. Your eyes blinked only out of automation as your mouth became a small o shape. Your entire body felt like it was heating up in the few moments that passed.

Santi then looked at you and your entire body felt ablaze again. "Uh, what? What did I just say?" Santi seemed to have come-to from a small spell he was under. Your gaze was so focused on his face you didn't see the way the other three shifted in their seats or the way that Frankie palmed himself lightly to adjust his growing erection at the thought.

"Y-you…" Words were hard to come by and your face felt like fire and your heartbeat whooshed into your ears. Your chest heaved lightly at the sudden panting you seemed to be doing.

"Well fuck me!" Benny cried out as he laughed nervously. Will punched his brother in the arm and that's when your eyes shifted to the rest of the guys, noticing that their gazes were locked on you. It was as if you held some sort of magical answer to a question you didn't have any clue of.

Your mouth opened and closed a few times before you cleared your throat and took a nervous sip of your beer. There was only a drop. You huffed nervously. "Oh, look, I need another beer," you quickly and quietly said before pushing up out of the chair and practically running over to the kitchen.

You could hear their low murmurs, chattering amongst themselves as you rinsed the empty bottle in the sink. Your hands were a shaking mess as thoughts swirled in your mind. You squeezed your eyes shut for a second before bending to grab another beer from the fridge.

A presence against your backside made you gasp. Hands came to your hips as you slowly stood up, swallowing the large lump that had formed in your throat. You tried to clear it as you closed the fridge but the presence behind you kept their grip on your hips.

Your nose finally picked up the scent of the cologne. Santi. He leaned forward, pressing his chest to your back as one finger came up to trace a line down your neck. Instinctively your head rolled to the other side to open for his soft touch.

Your breathing was ragged and you immediately mewled when his lips took over for his hand against your neck. "I want you hermosa," his voice grumbled against your skin and you immediately felt weak. Your hands tried to focus on the beer bottle but you were slipping into euphoria.

"Santi," you heard Benny's voice come from across the kitchen. Both you and Santi turned to see all three of them moving closer. "We all want her," Benny admitted and you saw the way his tongue peeked out between his lips to wet then as his eyes seared into you.

"Guys." Your voice was weak and shaky. "I- I can't do this. It's-" your words were cut off by Santi's lips attaching to your neck again and the bottle you held was slammed down onto the counter as you gripped the edge to steady yourself.

One of his hands worked around to the front of your blouse and tugged at the buttons. You could feel the weight of him pressing against your ass and your entire body buzzed with lust. That familiar heat was starting to grow in the pit of your stomach and you knew the booze was partially to blame.

But only partially.

When your eyes fluttered open as Santi slowed his assault on your neck, you saw Benny standing so much closer. "Seriously," he said, his hand coming up to let a finger trace along your collarbone. "We want you," he told you in an uncharacteristically quiet voice before leaning in to capture your lips.

You moaned quietly against his lips, having not been kissed in far too long. You finally pushed against him and he pulled away from the kiss. "Seriously," you sloppily repeated back his words as you scooted to the side out of Santi's grasp.

A piece of paper was on the island counter that caught your attention. The red lettering at the bottom looked familiar. Your curiosity piqued and you moved closer to pick up the paper to read it.

Known side effects include but are not limited to: sudden panting, decreased morality judgement, increased appetite, increased sexual desire and libido…

You blinked as Santi rounded the corner of the counter to you. "Fuck," you muttered quietly to yourself as you noticed his movements and came around the other side to only be greeted by Frankie, who's tanned skin on his cheeks was flushing slightly.

"Did anyone read this?!" You asked, panicked and looked at all of them one by one.

"What is it?" Benny asked, not fully caring what it was.

You moved closer to Frankie to hold it up. His eyes tried hard to focus on the words as he took the paper from you. "It's the fucking side effects to the serum, man," Frankie spoke aloud as he too paused at the one about sexual desire. "Shit," he muttered as a hand came down to his crotch to adjust himself.

"Well what are they?" Benny asked impatiently as he eyed you walking across the floor to the living room. Santi moved over to Frankie to take the paper and read it over. Will was watching you along with his brother as your hips swayed as you paced the living room floor.

"Fuckin' increased sexual desire? What the shit is that? Why would they give this to us?!" Santi yelled but realized that all eyes were on you as you breathed heavily. Your arms were crossed over your chest and one hand was at your lips, tugging at them, trying everything in your power to keep yourself distracted from looking over at your team.

“Hey,” Santi called your name with furrowed brows. “You alright?” he questioned as he moved closer. Your mind was reeling but your body was convulsing with need, with want. It felt like a fire had been lit from deep within your belly and no amount of pacing or trying to think straight was going to smother it.

Santi’s hand on your shoulder made you jump, too wrapped up in your own body and thoughts to notice how close he had gotten. He was standing directly in front of you and your eyes were darting around his features. Your nose flaring with each pant of a breath you tried to take. His own eyes were trying to take in every movement of your face to see what was going on but he was far too distracted by the parting of your lips.

“Santi.” His name came out as a breathless whimper as you looked at him. Within a moment his hand was on the back of your head and his lips were pressing hungrily into yours.

You heard movement in the kitchen and into the living room but Santi’s lips had moved to your neck and all thoughts were gone. The burn in your body was glowing brighter, threatening to combust when he bit down on the conjunction of your neck and shoulder.

Suddenly another pair of hands were groping at the globes of your ass through your jeans. A groan in your ear that wasn’t Santi had your eyes fluttering. One of your hands was holding the back of Santi’s head, scratching his scalp lightly. Your other hand dipped behind your back and down, groping at what you found to be a very hard cock in someone’s jeans.

Benny’s groan came clear into your ears. “God, you’re so hot,” he muttered which made you release a small shuddering breath. Benny pressed against your back, his hands roaming over your body wherever Santi’s wasn’t.

Your body was already feeling on fire, like every touch was electric. The way Benny’s lips moved over the shell of your ear as Santi worked your clothes off. You were turned into Benny’s arms. He chuckled as he looked down at your wrecked face. “You look absolutely amazing,” he cooed softly, something you didn’t know he was capable of.

Your head turned as Benny kissed along your neck and you saw Will standing with his pants pulled down to his knees and cock in hand. You swallowed thickly as Santi kissed up your thighs and over your mound, his fingers tracing lines up your legs.

“Fuck I need to taste you,” Santi mumured as he pushed your hips a bit wider. You groaned and leaned back against Benny who held you up and slid his hands up under your shirt to grope at your breasts. You turned to see Will still stroking himself quietly at the sight before him. Watching you become totally undone was intoxicating.

Another pair of hands were on your body, taking over groping your breasts as Benny pulled your shirt up over your head. You could barely register that you were completely nude in front of your team as Santi’s tongue ran over your folds, groaning at the taste. When his lips wrapped around your bundle of nerves, the third pair of hands were gently caressing and rolling your nipples.

A blinding hot streak ran through your body, straight down to your toes. The way Santi licked into you causing your thighs to tremble. You managed to look down just in time to see Frankie’s head kissing at the swell of your breast.

The more their hands were on you, the faster their movements became, the needier they seemed. The burning ache in your body only seemed to grow as Benny gently guided you backward until you fell onto his lap. At some point he had released his erection. Santi crawled to try to reattach his lips to your core but Benny was quicker and slipped himself into your soaking folds with barely any hesitation.

You cried out as Benny filled you and started to thrust up into you, his hips snapping against your ass. Santi groaned. “Benny you fuckin’ cabron,” Santi muttered and Benny just chuckled in your ear as he nibbled on it. 

“Babygirl, what feels better, Santi’s mouth or my cock? Hm?” Benny asked as his eyes bore into Santi who glared at him but palmed his own length anyways. Frankie moved closer and tried to kiss the other side of your face.

Your mouth was flopping like a fish and you couldn’t create enough saliva to speak. Instead you whined as Santi kissed at the inside of your knee, his hand more furious on his cock now. Will was standing close by, just watching everything but focusing on how wrecked your face was as his brother pounded into you.

Frankie was gentle but groaning against your skin as he tried to capture your mouth into a heated kiss. You kissed him wantonly, your moans filling his mouth and he greedily swallowed every sound. “Hermosa, please take my cock,” Frankie moaned into your mouth and without opening your eyes you nodded.

Benny continued to thrust up into you in haste as Frankie climbed over the arm of the couch and stood so that he could line his cock up. He ran it along your bottom lip, soaking him in your saliva and waiting for you to open before thrusting into you tentatively. You swallowed around him and he groaned at the sensation of your warmth around him.

Benny kept at you, thrusting harder and faster until you were crying out around Frankie’s cock. Frankie and Benny released their loads into you at the same time and you were close to your own but Benny softened and you lost the peak that was building.

You whined and Santi slapped Benny’s thigh. “Let me at her,” he said while standing up. Benny gently lifted you off of him and you whined at the loss of contact. You let go of Frankie’s cock with your mouth after you had cleaned him of all of his cum. He leaned down and gave you a soft kiss, licking into your mouth slowly and groaning at the taste of himself before he was helping you lie down on the couch. Frankie moved himself off the couch as Santi moved to hover over you and plunged his cock right into you.

Your back arched off the couch as you reached up and grabbed at Santi’s shoulders. “Fuck!” you cried out as Santi fucked into you with reckless abandon. You were soaked between your arousal and Benny’s cum and it made Santi twitch hard as he fucked you mercilessly into the couch. The girth of him stretched you differently than Benny had and you mewled and moaned at the sensations, letting Santi’s name fall from your lips like a chant.

“Please! I need to cum!” you screamed as a burning heat grew in the pit of your stomach and threatened to overtake your entire body. Your begging encouraged Santi as the other three looked on. Benny was already hard and leaking again and when your eyes met his, his hand stroked so hard he came all over the floor with a loud moan. Santi leaned over and bit at your collarbone, causing you to cry out as you clenched down around him, hard.

Your entire body was writhing and pulsating as you came harder than you had in a long time around Santi. That put him over the edge and with a few more solid, hard thrusts into you, he stilled and pushed further into you to spill into you. Within moments you felt the dripping between your thighs and you moaned quietly.

Santi leaned down to capture your moan and his lips slid against yours as he thrusted carefully into you, the burn in his body already growing again. “Pope c’mon man,” Frankie said quietly as he moved to pull Santi off of you. “Gotta give someone else a turn,” Frankie patted Santi’s shoulder firmly as you tried to catch your breath. Santi leaned down for another soft kiss before pulling slowly out of you.

Your body jolted at the sudden loss and both men stopped to stare. “Fuck,” Frankie muttered, causing both Benny and Will to move around to see their view. The cum was dripping steadily from your still fluttering cunt and every pair of eyes was mesmerized by the sight.

“Baby you are making a mess,” Santi said, wanting to lean in and clean you up but you put your hand out as a gesture for all of them to give you a minute. Your breath finally calmed down enough for you to be able to respond.

“I…. did…. nothing,” you panted and chuckled but the laugh made the cum dribble out of you even more and you moaned quietly at the sensation of two of your teammates cum dripping from you. Will’s nose twitched as his hand continued to slowly work his cock. The burn inside him was growing but he was a patient man. Always had been.

You lifted your head to look at them and gave a weak smile. They all looked at you with lust-blown eyes but Santi and Frankie were the ones to give you a smile back. “You okay?” Santi asked, his hand gently grazing your ankle in a caressing motion.

You nodded and looked at him. “Yeah. I think. For now,” you chuckled but soon felt your body heat up again. It was a dull ache but you tried to sit up to quelch it. Santi and Frankie both reached out for your arms to help you sit up. “I think maybe I should go shower,” you mentioned and they both nodded before standing up. Their cocks were at eye level for a moment and you felt your mouth water and wanting them both in your mouth at the same time.

They helped you up and your legs definitely felt like jello. You nearly crumbled and Santi and Frankie looked at each other with worry then looked at you as they tried to hold you up. “I got her,” a stoic low voice came from beside you as Will moved closer. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around your waist and lifted you up with ease.

You giggled quietly but having his warm body pressed against your was making the fire within you grow again. You tucked your head into his neck and breathed in his scent. You couldn’t help the way your lips pouted and you kissed gently along the skin of his neck. He groaned low in his throat.

“Sweetheart, please,” his voice pleaded before he was in the hall and pressing your back up against the wall slowly. His hands grabbed at you to hold you better as his hips pressed into you.

“Will, please,” you whimpered when his teeth found the side of your neck and sank in. You felt the way he growled against your skin and the fire was spreading wildly through your veins again.

Will grunted as he pulled himself back just enough to stroke as his cock and line himself up. With a slow and steady push, he impaled you and filled you. The girth of him stretched you but the slight sting of pain gave way to even more pleasure as he started to thrust.

Each thrust earned him a soft moan from your lips and he couldn’t help but kiss you. His hands were pawing at your chest, twisting your nipples and he watched as your face contorted in pleasure and you cried out against him. “Fuck! Please! Harder!” you begged and didn’t care who heard you. Besides, it was high time it was Will’s turn. The man was the quiet type, strong and sturdy but with his lack of talking in many of the group settings, you weren’t sure of his opinion of you.

But as he pistoned in and out of him, faster and harder with each snap of his hips up into you, you were pretty sure you knew where he stood in his opinion on you. “Fuck, so tight,” he muttered against your lips as he kissed you bruisingly. A clash of teeth and tongues and lips. It was messy and needy but you wanted more.

Will grabbed at your back, his large hands splayed over your now hot skin as he pulled you away from the wall. He stood in the middle of the hall, his shoulders pulled back as his hands snuck down to try holding you under your legs. You held him around the neck until he had a good hold of you again and it was then that he rocked your world even harder.

He fucked up into you with a relentless pace, hitting that spot within you with ease, his cock moving along the shared juices of yours, his brother’s and Santi’s. But all he could focus on was how wrecked your face looked. Your jaw was slack, seemingly permanently so, your eyes rolling back as your head lolled back in pleasure.

Wanton cries were ripped from your chest as he grunted and held you up. Suddenly you felt a second pair of hands come to your ass and massage the flesh. A scratchy beard appeared at your back as sloppy kisses were given to the skin there. “Que linda,” Santi’s voice came in a growl as he watched you get fucked by Will.

“Santi,” you said breathlessly and Will fucked you harder to get your focus back on him. He captured your lips in a heavy kiss, one that forced your mouth into an “o” shape around his tongue as he greedily licked into you.

Santi was busy watching Will’s cock pump in and out of you, his hands still massaging at your ass. His thumb rimmed the hole of tight muscle, moving with each movement that Will was forcing on your body and you moaned a bit louder. Santi looked up at you. “Do you want to be filled, querida?” he asked and he waited until you nodded.

When you did, you mewled as his thumb pressed against the tight hole, slipping one knuckle in. You cried out even at the small intrusion, the way even just that little motion filled you even more. “More!” you cried out and you heard both men curse under their breaths.

Will fucked you relentlessly still as Santi pulled his thumb out, to which you whined in protest, just so he could spit all over his hand. He used his free hand to try to spread your ass cheeks a bit. “Will, man, stop for a second,” Santi commanded and Will obeyed, holding you down onto his cock.

Santi moved one finger into you and you couldn’t help the pained groan that came from you. “Good?” Santi checked in and when you nodded and bit your lip, he started moving his finger within you. He looked over your shoulder at Will and nodded and Will resumed moving.

You choked out a sound as your entire lower body started to clench up. “Oh, she’s close,” Santi praised, his smirk so evident just in the tone of his voice. He leaned down and bit at the soft flesh of your ass at the same that Will leaned into to bite at your collarbone. The dual biting did you in.

You cried out as they fucked you through your orgasm, both sets of muscles clenching down around them. Your lower stomach fluttered and your chest heaved as your mouth lay open in a pant, your eyes screwed shut. Will was close behind and fucked you through your high until he reached his own. When he pushed up into you, stilled with a groan, Santi stopped moving too.

You finally caught your breath and felt yourself come back to reality. Your body was spent, completely but also completely sated. Will carefully pulled you off of his softening cock and the moment your feet hit the ground, all you could feel was all of their cum slipping down your thighs.

Santi moved with you both and released his hand from you and saw you dripping. “Fuck, you’re a mess,” he muttered in a groan. You nodded, your arms still wrapped around Will’s shoulders. Will grunted and wrapped his arms around your waist, bringing you to your tiptoes so he could walk you back towards the bathroom.

Once in the room, Will and Santi worked together to strip you down, one moving and the other acting as your balancing stabilizer. Your eyes were heavy and your body felt like it was made of jello as you attempted coherent thoughts. You were naked, in a room with two men who you found extremely attractive. One of whom was leading you into the shower that had at some point been turned on.

“You got it?” Will asked softly as his hand lingered on your lower back as you held yourself up with your arm against the shower wall. You nodded slowly, your head feeling heavy. You let the warmth of the water just cascade over your back and tried to let it soothe you.

You tried to let your mind relax but there was a burning ache that felt it was far off in the distance. You could hear Santi and Will talking quietly but the roar of your heart in your ears combined with the water rushing over you made them also seem far away.

As you slowly started to wash up, your soapy hand brushing over your very sensitive clit, you yelped as a bright flame lit within you. “Fuck!”

Will and Santi immediately rushed up and opened the curtain to see you rubbing at your clit furiously. “What is it?! Are you okay?!” Santi asked in a hurried, worried tone.

“I need - fuck! - I need,” you whined as you squeezed your breast with your other soapy hand and felt your nipple immediately stiffen. Will was first to step into the shower behind you. His large hands came over your breasts as he held you against him.

“What do you need? Tell me. We’re here,” he spoke lowly in your ear, nibbling at the flesh as Santi pulled the curtain a bit on the opposite side to watch. 

“I need to cum!” you screamed as one of Will’s hands came down behind you and his thick fingers ran through your folds. The fire within you was burning brighter by the second and it was almost painful.

“How do you want to cum? On my fingers or my cock?” Will asked and Santi chewed his lip as he watched you writhe against Will.

“Your face. I need your tongue on me. Now!” With your command, Will turned you and dropped to his knees without hesitation. Santi reached out and put his arm up behind your back so you wouldn’t fall.

Will shoved his face against your cunt, licked a broad stripe through your folds before his mouth closed over your clit. You whined out and Santi quickly slipped himself into the shower behind you. His hands wrapped around your breasts and tweaked your nipples. Your head fell back against his shoulder as the warm water cascaded over your chest and stomach.

Your hips moved against Will’s face as his mouth attached to your clit, his tongue licking and flicking as if you were a hard candy. His hands remained on your hips and he used just his tongue to work you up and within a minute there was a gush coming from you and spilling all over his face.

Santi peeked over your shoulder. “Holy shit baby. You just soaked him and not from the shower water,” Santi told you and turned to kiss your cheek. He was oddly proud and smirked against your wet skin as he whispered more praises into your ear, letting your body come back.

Will stood up and let his face get wet from the shower before he held onto your hips and kissed your chest softly, letting the water run down his face. He stood up and wiped the water off with one hand before looking at your blissed out face. “Are you back?” he asked and when you nodded slowly, both men looked at each other and chuckled. “Are you good? Like do you need more or-?”

You shook your head with a blissed out smile on your face. “I think it’s gone,” you told him and you felt Santi kiss along your cheek and down to your neck. “Though if you keep doing that Santi, I might not ever want you to stop,” you laughed weakly and moved your head to the side to allow him more room.

“Who says I want to stop querida?” he mumbled against your skin and you hummed contentedly. Will took the opportunity to actually wash your body with soft, gentle touches. He washed his own face then looked at you and Santi together and felt a new kind of pull in his chest.

“We could do this again… right?” Will asked softly and both you and Santi opened your eyes and straightened up to look at him. You chewed your lower lip and your head turned to look between the two men as the shower continuously rained down on all of you.

When you didn’t speak, mostly from not being able to find the words, Santi spoke instead. “Yeah man. I mean, if she’s down for it, then I’m down for it. I like you Will, you know that. And you,” he turned to lean in to kiss your cheek again. “I don’t think I could get enough of you now that I’ve had you,” he told you and nuzzled into your neck as his arms wrapped around you again. Will stepped forward and wrapped his arms around both your and Santi’s shoulders together and the three of you sat like that until the water ran cold.

[terrytellyetales]

The Best Teacher Ever(?)

Just a bunch of short Genshin imagines. Imagine having [character name] as your teacher or supervisor.

Warnings: None. Just a bit of fluff and (mostly) humor.

Characters: Albedo, Amber, Bennett, Diona, Eula, Fischl, Jean, Kaeya, Lisa, Razor, Sucrose, Klee (some mentions of Aether/Lumine and Paimon)

Click this for the masterlist

==================================

Albedo

I think he'd be a pretty chill supervisor. Along with alchemy, you'd get a bit of art lessons on the side to. Your lab is chill too (literally). You must be quite fit being able to climb up and down Dragonspine almost every single day. Regardless how much you frequent that mountain, you still get lost every now and then. To address this issue, Albedo asks Sucrose to make some kind of glowing plant that would act like guiding lights for you.

Amber

Teaches you how to glide for scouting purposes from the cathedral. If you're a little scared about taking your first flight, don't worry! She'll be with you every step of the way. She'll cover all the basics like how to steer and make those sharp turns, how go faster, how to land without falling flat on your face, etc. Everything's going great until your attention was called by one of the other knights. Since it’s illegal to glide within the city, you BOTH get your gliding license confiscated.

Bennett

It’s your first day as an official adventurer and you’re a new member of Benny’s Adventure Team! Get ready to be chased by Hilichurls, ganged up on by slimes of different elements at the same time, get pooped on by pigeons, struck by lighting, lose one of your boots in the mud, and all kinds of other disasters! Please don’t blame the poor boy. At least you learn to prepare for whatever unfortunate events you might encounter, right?

Diona

Let’s say you’re a bartender in training at The Cat’s Tail. Margaret assigns Diona to teach you how to mix everything on the menu. You ask her to teach you some of her signature drinks. You follow her recipe to a tee, no matter how questionable it seemed. As one would expect, it tasted horrible! Around five or six drinks, the outcome was still the same. At this point, you were discouraged and wondering what you did wrong. On the other hand, Diona was just stunned. Wanting to learn your ways of making horrible drinks with her recipes, the teacher has now become  the student.

Eula

You want to learn Favonius Bladework? Oh boy, you can be sure she’ll teach you AFTER you pass her dance lessons. You'd think it's just some kind of warm up exercises, but seeing how it's literally been the only thing you've done for a week now, you think she's just messing with you. You tell her how completely useless this all is and she just lets you voice out your complaints. When you're done, she calls you over, making you perform specific moves and attempts to attack you each time. You're surprised how you just keep successfully blocking and dodging. "You dare think my training regimen was nothing more than a simple dance lesson? Mark my words, vengeance will be mine!"

Fischl

You’re the new recruit of the Adventurer’s Guild intelligence team. You were placed under the Prinzessin der Verurteilung's care. It was exciting! One of the best of the best supervising you? What an honor! The moment she introduces herself, you couldn’t understand a single thing! Was she talking in riddles? Is this some secret code among adventurers? Is this part of training?? Thank the Archons for Oz!

Jean

You feel really honored to be personally trained by the Acting Grand Master. The way she decides to start off with a little sparring to gague your skills, how she's patient and attentive when correcting your form, the way she praises you when you successfully counter her attacks. The best part, you might actually have the power to make this workaholic rest. Use the "good student card" and take her out to "celebrate" your growth.

Kaeya

Similar to Eula, he'd take an unconventional way of teaching you, or so you thought. The Cavalry Captain has a whole list of tasks for you to do, disguising it as “drills” or “learning through experience” but really, you're just doing his work for him. But hey, being his little errand boy/girl has taught you a thing or two about working smarter and not harder (maybe).

Lisa and Razor

Despite how good at “conserving energy” Lisa is, she’s a very dedicated (and strict) teacher. She’s really smart and makes it a point to explain everything in a less complicated and easier to digest way. Her words of endearment make you feel warm and fuzzy whenever she teaches you and Razor about the elements. Having said that though, fooling around during her lectures will make you feel fuzzy in a different way (misbehave at your own risk). 

Speaking of Razor, you guys are study buddies!! He’s better at combat while you’re good at the technical stuff. You make it a point to help him understand some difficult words as well as human behavior. In return, he teaches you to hunt and would gladly be your sparring partner whenever you need to exert a little more effort applying what Lisa taught you both when it comes to using your vision.

Sucrose

It’s always the quiet ones, eh? Have you heard of the Hilichurl she keeps in her lab? Yeah... you’re in for an... interesting surprise when you step foot into her lab. All kinds of samples both alive AND from (maybe) live specimens. Don’t worry though, she’s not gonna experiment on you, after all... you’re here to learn the ropes without knowing exactly what kind of alchemy she studies... gulp.

❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋

Bonus:

Klee

What brings you to solitary confinement? You froze the lake with your cryo vision so you could go ice skating. To pass the time, Klee teaches you how to make bombs! You even give her the idea to try making one that can freeze anything to the core without the need for hydro application! While tinkering with the bombs, one of them ends up rolling towards the door. At that moment, the traveler swung the door open and detonate the bomb. (He/she was just there to pay Klee a visit.) Good thing it didn’t make a big explosion, but of course, Jean immediately runs out of her office to assess the situation. She sees one Honorary Knight and Paimon lying on the floor, a broken door, and two children hiding behind the curtains. This calls for some drastic measures. She prepares a corner in her office for you two to sit in and think about what you’ve done. This way, she can keep an eye on both of you while she finishes her paperwork. Oh. Don’t worry about Paimon and Aether/Lumine. They were escorted to the cathedral to get healed.

===================================

This was actually fun to make. Maybe I’ll do more characters or make an actual narrative. Probably will make more since Mondstadt characters aren’t even complete here (if I can come up with something). I made more! Hehe. Here’s the rest of the Mondstadt characters! The Best Teacher Ever(?) II

Don’t be shy to leave a like and a comment if you have any suggestions or just wanna say something. Reblogs are also appreciated. It helps get this story out there for others to enjoy (and for my encouragement, ehe).

For those reading I Just Wanted to See You, don’t worry. I’m still working on that. Will definitely end it properly and not midway just because Childe’s story quest exists.

[ventisehe]

being in a relationship with bennett and razor / genshin impact

i main these boys and they make such a great team, i love them so much. i had a lot of fun writing this hehe. again, all characters are aged up, 21 or older unless stated otherwise. this includes chongyun and xingqiu.

requested by: pastelpeachyposts

includes: bennett, razor

warning: unedited, not proofread

You, Bennett, and Razor were an unusual trio, and many will attest to this statement. You differ in personalities and ambitions, even favoring completely contrasting delicacies, and yet there will never be a more lively and iconic dynamic than the three of you.

You and Bennett were the first one to meet when he rescued you from a group of vicious Electro Slimes. He was successful in his intent, but you had to escort him back to Mondstadt where he can be healed by the Deaconess.

You met Razor the next after you grew comfortable with your friendship with Bennett. The latter excitedly told you about another friend of his who resided in Wolvendom and was quite well acquainted with the wolves. Your first encounter with Razor was rather tense, and understandably so. He was wary of you, watching your every move as you strolled around Wolvendom with a gleeful Bennett who was oblivious to the atmosphere between the two of you. Most of his experience with humans are less than ideal but as Bennett unknowingly forced the two of you to spend time together, his walls slowly broke and he accepted you as one of his Lupicals.

As time passed and the three of you grow closer and closer together, a revelation descended upon you, and a startling one at that. You acquired feelings for both boys. It wasn't difficult for you to understand why you grew to like both of them. They were so easy to fall in love with. Bennett is an adventurous and motivated boy who, although had a streak of bad luck in him, has a positive spirit and is very generous and caring towards everyone. Razor is a strong yet gentle soul who is protective over those dear to him, and will always go out of his way to show his affection with his uncommon but innocent gifts.

Unbeknownst to you, the two share the same feelings for you. Bennett knew he liked you when you refused to leave after he saved you, even after he insisted this was a normal occurrence for him. Razor took a while to understand what was that hammering in his chest after you took the responsibility of caring for the wolf pups his Lupicals gave birth to.

It was an awkward situation for the three of you when Bennett and Razor decided to confess to you at the same. When the two of them professed their love for you and offered their gifts with bowed heads and tightly closed eyes, they slowly turned to look at each other with puzzlement, heads tilted and eyebrows furrowed. You, however, stood in front if them with redness coating your face and a thundering heartbeat.

"You like ( Your Name ) too, Razor?" Questioned Bennett, gaping at him.

Razor nodded once. "Like her, very."

Normally, when two people discover that the a close friend of theirs holds the same affection to their person of interest, a quarrel will ensue, and estrangement will follow. But Bennett and Razor were very unlike such an example and instead of compromising their close friendship, the two came to an agreement that whoever you should choose - if you indeed have feelings for one of them - they will remain friends and accept your decision.

Imagine the surprise on their faces when you leaned forward and gave each one of them a small peck on their nose, admitting shyly that you have feelings for both of them.

It took some time for the three of you to get used to your relationship. After all, none of you have ever been in a relationship before, not to mention there was the three of you in it. You carefully treaded through uncertainties and tribulations of inexperience, and it took a while but the you, Bennett, and Razor got the hang of how to make your relationship work.

Bennett is always the one dragging you and Razor to adventures. He will come knocking at your door with a wide grin, Razor lingering behind him and giving you a small smile and a shy wave.

"We're going to Windrise today! I heard some adventurers saying they spotted a weird looking Hilichurl with a briefcase! Wanna join us?" Asked Bennett excitedly, eyes shimmering.

Razor glanced at the other boy before returning his gaze at you with firmness. "I will protect you both. No worry."

You can't ever say no to them, especially when both of them look so happy and thrilled.

Razor is the protector of the relationship. With the dangerous enviroment he grew up in and the training he took under the supervision of a human, it was to be expected. He was always on the prowl, prepared to draw out his claymore and defend you and Bennett from any enemies with an evil intent.

You and Bennett are never worried of being attacked out of nowhere with Razor around you.

Razor takes his responsibility as your protector seriously. The rare times he and Bennett come over at your place, he will never allow himself to fall asleep and would sit by the window where he can oversee your residence. You and Bennett would have to drag him to your bed and convince him that you were in a safe enviroment to make him ease down and actually take a rest.

You three share the same bed, and it's always you in the middle. Bennett will cling on to your slumbering form and would snore from time to time, but when you stroke his hair or when Razor softly nudge his head against his, Bennett will quiet down for a while and continue snoring again after. Razor was quite a sight to see when sleeping. Being raised and cared for by wolves, it was to be expected he would mimic their position in sleeping. He would curl up beside you or Bennett, always nuzzling his face against the crook of your necks. You and Bennett will never say it but he looks so adorable when sleeping like that.

You and Razor know of Bennett's unluckiness. Unfortunately, because you're in a relationship, you two are more involved in his bad luck. Bennett is always guilty of putting the both of you in difficult situations and will apologize profusely, even when the two of you insist that it wasn't his fault.

"It kind of sucks that I'm also giving bad luck to the two of you. I mean, you're one of the few good things that ever happened in my life." He admitted in a gentle whisper, a pout forming on his visage as tears begin to appear at tbe corners of his eyes.

You and Razor felt like an arrow shot through your hearts at what he said and you spend your time cheering up Bennett. Although his unluckiness always seemed to hinder your attempts, Bennett appreciated and loved your efforts, which is enough to bring back his big smile.

When the rare times come when one of you are busy and cannot find time for the other two, the latter pair will frequently visit the missing member, often with gifts.

Bennett loves giving you kisses. Not just on the lips, but all over your face. When your relationship was still at the early stages, Bennett would lean forward towards your face and pull back after an awkward amount of time of hesitation. But when you told him that he is allowed to give you kisses and you would love to receive them, Bennett will take all the chances to shower you with kisses. He loves giving kisses more than receiving because he has so much love to give, but when you do the same to him, his cheeks will be painted in a rich scarlet color and his tongue will be tied, unable to anything except stammering.

"A-Ah, ( Your Name ), please, stop - " Stuttered Bennett as he covered his blushing face with his gloved hands, embarrassment palpable in his posture.

You let out a giggle as you took his hands and tried to pry them off. "Aww, don't be like that, Benny. Let me see your cute face. And I know you love my kisses."

Bennett splutteted.

Razor prefers to give you hugs over kisses. His hugs are big, warm, and welcoming. You'll always feel safe when you're in his arms. When you're in his embrace and you're both comfortable, you won't be leaving his arms for a while. Sometimes Bennett will wiggle himself into the embrace and the three of you just cuddle.

"You're so warm, Razor." You whispered as you nestled yourself on his chest.

Razor showed you a small smile. "I make you feel safe?"

You let out a laugh. "And loved."

More often than not, Bennett and Razor will convene and think of something to surprise you. These boys are filled with love for you that even if there's no occassion, they'll come together to buy you a gift they thought of together.

Bennett gives you trinkets from his solo adventures, but even if most of the time they're broken or burnt, you heartily accept them. Razor always gives you items that are found in the wild such as sweet flowers, mushrooms, pinecones, windwheel asters, sometimes wolfhooks, and if he was lucky, an abundant amount of fowls. You mentioned once how you needed ingredients to make food while you're out adventuring alone, or some things for this thing you call ascension. You love their gifts and always make good use of them or take good care of them.

Bennett had long introduced Razor to his dads (a group of adventurers who saved Bennett long ago). When he introduced you to them, you were immediately flocked and you regaled with tales of their adventures back when they were young, and Bennett was just a wee baby then. You stayed with them for hours, just listening. All the while, Bennett just enjoyed watching you get along with his family so well. Since the adventurers were old, you visit them often and help Bennett take care of them.

Some would think meeting Razor's family would be difficult. They are wolves, after all, and they were known for being vicious. But they couldn't be more wrong Anyone Razor trusted, the wolves trusted so they immeditely accepted you in their pack and treated you the way they treated Razor. They surround you whenever they sense danger, ready to pounce on whatever enemy emerges. The wolves would stay close by and let you snuggle into their fur when the weather is cold. Razor really likes it when you play with the wolf pups and help in hunting dinner for his family.

Bennett and Razor talk about you with their families. Bennett's dads approved of you the very second they saw a glimmer in his eyes when he mentions you, and even though the wolves cannot understand Razor's human speech, they can sense the love in his voice and the frequent drop of your name makes them understand it was directed to you.

" - she and Razor helped me fight an Abyss Mage earlier!" Bennett exclaimed, beaming. "If it weren't for them, I would've probably returned back here with more injuries, hehe."

"( Your Name ) made Bennett and me flower bracelets." Razor then proceeded to lift his arms to show the wolf pups the bracelet he mentioned. "Now, Razor need to take care of it, so me not moving around much."

The three of you always walk hand in hand together, you in the middle. You will swing your linked hands together and Bennett will follow your lead. You and Bennett will have to encourage Razor do the same and have to explain the process of it. Razor will be a little confused at first but then begin enjoy the hand swinging once he get used to it.

Dates are frequent, and it'll always be with the three of you. You all promised never to have a date with someone missing. There will be times where the boys will want a private date with you, but most of the time, it's always you three.

Bennett's dates are adventurous - of course - and unique. He'll find some place you haven't seen before or find an activity you three can try. You'll experience a lot of things in his dates, this includes being attacked out of nowhere and having to save Bennett from time to time. Nonetheless, his dates are always fun and will your heart palpitating.

Razor's dates are simple and peaceful. He'll find a nice and safe place with a beautiful view and the three of you have a picnic there. He's always the one preparing the food for you to eat, but you and Bennett will always bring desserts for Razor to try. Razor insisted that he wanted to learn more human dishes and he can find motivation in doing so by having you and Bennett eat them. His cookings at first were not up to standards - or consumption - but the more dates he arrange, the better he becomes. You mentioned once you liked his hash brown shaped as a puppy paw print and strived to perfect it. If you're lucky, he'll even bring a wolf pup or two.

In your dates, you always make sure you cater to your partners interests. You will do something Bennett likes to do, and then what Razor likes, and then something the three of you can bond over. With that, your dates are always chaotic (not as chaotic as Bennett's dates though) but extremely fun.

Bennett and Razor are suckers for your compliments. They always love getting them from you. Although the two have different ways of accepting them.

Bennett cannot easily accept compliments. It was rare for him to receive one with his bad luck and whenever he does get one, he malfunctions. What more if it comes from you?

Bennett will shake his head vigorously as redness painted his cheeks, waving his arms as though denying your compliment.

"( Your Name ), y-you can't mean that! I-I'm not that great!"

"But Benny," You cooed, as you leaned closer to him, smiling. "You're one of the best person I've ever met! You're kind, sweet and - "

As you continue praising him, Bennett will slowly, slowly accept your compliments, and you might not know, but your compliments are building his confidence in himself. Bennett is a happy and positive boy but his bad luck caused him so much troubles and backlash that his self esteem plummeted. Continue supporting and praising this boy, you're making him super happy.

"I guess I do have some good qualities . . . thanks ( Your Name ). You're really cool, too. And very pretty." Bennett admits as he rubbed the back of his head.

Razor's compliments to Bennett are simple and straightforward, and somehow Bennett accepts them easier than yours. Probably because it's simple and straightforward.

Unlike Bennett, Razor accepts your compliments with a smile and always returns your compliments with one of his own. He doesn't know why some people are embarrassed being complimented. It was a nice thing to do, after all.

"You're really strong, Razor!" You exclaimed after watching the Cryo Abyss Mage he was battlinng evaporate in thin air.

Razor faced you, a smile gracing his briks as he wiped a sweat from his brow. "Thank you. You strong too."

"I can fight Hilichurls, but I'll need some backup if it's Abyss Mages." You laughed. "But thanks, Razor!"

Razor and Bennett insisted that they help you train. You have seen how they fought and trained, and you were a bit reluctant because of its harshness, but after contemplating over its benefits like being able to defend yourself, helping more in adventures, and being able to finally properly protect Bennett and Razor, you accepted.

Bennett is very eager to teach you what he knows and has brought you and Razor to a nearby Hilichurl camp to showcase his abilities and give you pointers after. You and Razor end up carrying him back to the Mondstadt with his arms over your shoulders, the Hilichurl camp up in flames behind you two.

"Did I . . . defeat them?" Questioned Bennett. He couldn't lift his head from the exhaustion and pain.

"Yes, you definitely did." You answered.

Razor's training was a bit more proper but you haven't learned much because his training required claymore, and you were far from being a claymore user. Razor demonstrsted how to pick up a claymore but you couldn't even lift it off the ground.

You pouted as your hands lets go of the handle of the claymore. "I couldn't do it."

Razor approached you and patted your head. "Good effort. Maybe claymore not for you."

Bennett and Razor now always goes to you when they need patching up. Now, they could go and visit Barbara like they used to but they preferred that you tend to their wounds for two reasons. One, they love you and love spending time with you. Two, they get kisses on each wound you cover.

Bennett has a habit of running towards you and Razor at full speed and tackling you both down to the ground, hugging the two of you. You and Razor don't mind it and actually enjoy this sort of thing.

Razor named wolf pups after you and Bennett. This causes confusion when you visit him at Wolvendom.

"Bennett, sit." Ordered Razor.

Bennett and wolf pup Bennett both sat down at the same time.

"( Your Name ), stop playing with food." Razor reprimanded sternly.

You looked down at your plate of neatly cut steak strips while wolf pup ( Your Name ) who sat by your feet poking at the meat it was eating whimpered.

When a fight ensues between you three, it won't take long before you relent and make amends. You three have soft hearts and can never stay angry at each other for too long. You apologize and promise to be better and more understanding.

But if a fight arises between only a pair, the one who isn't part of the fight courts the other two to make up already. If you and Bennett have an argument, Razor will push Bennett to talk things out with you. If you and Razor are the ones in the argument, Bennett will panic and will have a hard time choosing who to approach first. You and Razor make up after the two of you try to comfort Bennett at the same time. If Bennett and Razor were the ones in an argument, you can easily talk to them individually and the two will approach the other and apologize.

Bennett and Razor never compete to be your favorite. They know you love both of them equally, and they love you just as much. You have never felt unloved when you're with them. You three are content and happy.

The most wholesome relationship ever.

"And you two got ambushed by a Geovishap - wait a minute - " Your eyelids curtained your retinas as your digits delicately massaged your temples, trying to ease the pressure in your head as Razor and Bennett averted their guilty gazes from you. Their skis were marred in cuts and bruises, their hair disheveled, and clothes torn from what you suspect were large and sharp claws from a humongous creature. " - how did you two even encounter . . . what was it again - a Geovishap? I know there isn't one in Mondstadt."

Bennett reached out to rub a his hand of his over his neck as he tried to dismiss the mystery at hand with a chuckle. "Uh, well, we kinda . . . " He trailed off, clearly not fond of the idea of continuing his sentence.

Your eye fluttered open and you lifted a brow at Bennett. "You what?"

Bennett opened his mouth to answer but right when you thought he was about to speak, he nudged Razor with his elbow and whispered, "You tell her."

Razor turned to you and looked at you with reluctant eyes, shoulders slackening. "Me and Bennett," He began, " - went to Liyue."

You let out a deep at their answer, your hands slipping from your hips. "I knew it. I heard the two of you talking about doing a commission there. I just didn't think you'd go through with it, and without mentioning it to me." You stated. "Do you know how worried I was when the two of you didn't visit me earlier? I had to learn from Katheryne you took on a commission."

Bennett and Razor casted their gazes away, guilt crowning their expression.

You heaved out a sigh. "At least you two are back safely. And alive."

You approached the two boys who have yet to return their sights on you and assessed their forms, scrutinizing each of them carefully. "You poor things. Those look painful." You murmured. "Need me to patch you up?"

Bennett's and Razor's eyes shimmered at your offer, and the two nodded eagerly in response. Any traces of shame vanquished for they know your disappointment has evaporated and they were forgiven. "Yes, please." The two answered in unison.

You permitted a small laugh to escape your lips. "Alright, alright," You tittered. "Follow me, then."

Before you can even move, Bennett interjected. "W-Will we still get kisses . . . " The white haired adventurer turned completely red as he realized how silly his words were. " . . . you know what I mean . . . "

Razor looked down, a shy expression encompassing his features, to which surprised you. "Razor wants kisses too . . . from ( Your Name )."

Your heart jumped in your chest at the sight of their hopeful and coy expressions. Even if you wanted to tease them a little for this as payback, your heart couldn't. You shook your head at them and clasped their cheeks, one hand on the other as you stared into their eyes.

"You two . . . " You whispered, breathing out. " . . . you make it so hard to be angry with you."

Their only response was a grin.

[mangolover]

Proud of Your Smile (Bennett X Reader)

Title: Proud of Your Smile

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Pairing: Bennett X gn!reader

Genre: Angst to fluff

Warnings: none

Spoilers: None I think

Word Count: 600+

Description: You and Bennett are stargazing and you notice that he has zoned out, noticing the frown insted of smile on his lips. You learn of his demons and comfort him, letting him know you love him and that you’re proud of him.

I actually really like this one, but my baby Benny doesn’t deserve all the pain.

I main Bennett and I find him extremely adorable! He doesn’t get enough love, prove me wrong.

Enjoy!

His one goal was to always make his dads, the men who adopted him and raised him, proud of him. He became an adventurer to make them proud when he finally brings them the biggest treasure they ever saw. But being born under an unlucky star wasn’t doing him any favor. He might’ve been smiling this whole time, staying positive, trying to fool both himself and others, but deep down, his failure was slowly eating him up inside. He never wanted much and he always approached everything with positive attitude, but nothing was ever good enough! He still didn’t have any luck. He still didn’t make anyone proud. He even questions himself how he got together with you sometimes?

Why did you stay with him and joined his team when everyone else was afraid of his curse? You had so many opportunities to walk away, you had many offers to join other adventure teams, but you stayed with him in Benny’s Adventure Team.

You became aware of his monsters when you first saw his smile fall. That would happen anytime you got hurt or affected by his misfortune, but it would recover in an instant. He would sincerely apologize and promise everything will be okay and you would suddenly find strength in that smile. So, when you two were gazing up at the stars on Starsnatch Cliff and you said something to him, but he didn’t respond, you were surprised a bit. You slowly propped yourself on your elbow and glanced at your boyfriend. His gaze was unfocused, his mind has wandered somewhere far in the distance, his brows were furrowed and there was a frown on his lips, his fists clenched tight on his stomach.

“Bennett?” You softly called out to him and waved your other hand in front of his face, “hey, do you hear me?”

Hearing his name brought him back to you and his eyes widened in surprise. He blinked a few times and sat up, you followed him and sat up as well, bending your knees under you, staring at him with concern clear in your eyes.

“Sorry, I kind of got lost in thought” he didn’t look you in the eyes, he continued staring straight ahead for a few moments before slowly closing his captivating, green eyes.

“It’s completely fine, but is everything okay?” You wanted to know what was bothering the guy you love.

“It’s… nothing. Forget about it, y/n.”

“You sure? I’m here to listen if you want to talk about it” You encouraged him to share his demons with you and after few minutes of silence he finally spoke.

“I just wondered how did I manage to get you as my partner with my luck?”

His question left speechless for a few moments, before you lightly shook your head and averted your gaze.

“Because you are amazing Benny. I don’t care about how unlucky you might be, it never bothered me. I always admired the way you stayed positive no matter what.” You took a little pause as you felt his eyes on you. Finally looking him in his eyes you continued “I’m proud of you Bennett. I’m proud of you that you still try no matter what awful thing fate throws at you. I’m proud of your smile. I admire your strength and I love you whole because without your bad luck, you wouldn’t be the Bennett you are now.”

Bennett cast his gaze on to the grass between you two, a soft, sincere smile full of affection forming on his lips.

“Thank you for loving me y/n” he whispered and you found yourself looking down at the same patch of grass as him, mirroring his smile.

“Always Benny, we’re a team forever and ever.”

You leaned closer and put your hands around him, pulling him in a tight embrace, he returned it after a moment of hesitation, burying his face in the crook of your neck while you dragged your hand up and down his back in soothing motion.

You could hear small ‘I love you’ and feel his hot breath on your neck, making your smile bigger and filling your chest with warmth.

[unkownknowledge]

Since I have yet to receive any request, I'm just gonna post fanfiction/headcanons for my current team

The team: Kaeya, Tartaglia, Bennett, and Diluc.

-the team formed because Aether had to hurry to Liyue, but only him and Fischl were really strong enough and could leave monstadt, so they had Diluc(as a favor for the darkknight hero quest) train Bennet so he could join them(with the plan to have Aether and Fischl go ahead).

-Kaeya joined in to annoy Diluc, and Bennett was to excited to have a real knight on the team for Diluc to say no.

-Tartaglia joined in because he was on some business, but decided to mess around for a bit, one encounter later and Bennett got Tartaglia on the team by using his puppy dog eyes to convince him(noone can say not to that face)

-Diluc and Kaeya both know Tartaglia is a fatui harbinger, but it's better to just let him have his fun and go than try and fight him and die, so they don't object when Bennet brings him to the winery for recruitment.

-Tartaglia is leaving for Liyue soon anyway, might as well have Bennett go with a harbinger rather than by himself.

-Diluc is not at all happy with the team, but he's a man of his word and he already agreed to this so he can't back out now.

-Kaeya is nervous of Tartaglia at first, but after them both sharing one brain cell to annoy Diluc he's quite happy about the current arrangement.

-Tartaglia is extremely happy about having some fun slaying monsters, but if he can annoy the darkknight hero AND get some strong comrades as well? He is absolutely estatic!

-Bennett often has to hold back his tears of joy, he's so happy to be in an adventure team, and with knights aswell!

-Bennett constantly calls the team "Benny's round table" because he is convinced that Tartaglia is a knight(Kaeya and Diluc did this to keep him from doing anything stupid out of a desire to be a hero, ie taking on a fatui harbinger), and he already knows Diluc is the darkknight hero because Kaeya being a jerk to Diluc.

-"Bennett, why do you call us your 'round table'?" "Because your all knights!" "But I'm not-" *cut to Diluc kicking down Kaeya's door*

-Diluc is the dad of the group, and he's starting to rethink his disdain of alchohol.

-Kaeya need to be reminded that, no, a wine cocktail is NOT the same as a grape salad. Nor is a grape salad a good breakfast anyway!

-he constantly asks Jean for help.

-"how the HELL do you deal with Kaeya all day!?" *jean slides Diluc an address to a cafe* "ask them for 'Jean's three bean soup', you'll need it."

-Diluc has to stop Tartaglia from bumrushing every enemy they see.

-"Childe no!" "But big monster!" "CHILDE-"

-Diluc has to rescue him because Tartaglia usually rushes ruin guards when he is severely hurt.

-and he has to do all this while training Bennett!

-one day Diluc brings Venti to the back of his bar and gets on his knees, "lord Barbados please give me patience." "You mean strength, right?" "Depends on whether or not you give bail money as well."

-Kaeya isn't all bad though, and Tartaglia treats his comrades well, so they both pitch in to train Bennett.

-Kaeya teaches Bennett fast movement and schemes, and if they can get a horse you bet your ass the cavalry captain is training him to be a cavalry master!

-meanwhile Tartaglia teaches Bennett combat strategies and how to deal with longer ranged targets, also teaches him financing because Bennett needs to learn how to manage his money.

-does not help that all three can't help but spoil the boy.

-Diluc teaches Bennett how to use his vision, how to fight certain enemies, and anything else he has from his time as the darkknight hero.

-Diluc is the embodiment of 'if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball, except for him it's: "if you can kill a Mitachurl you can kill a slime"

-many, many injuries are sustained until Kaeya points out that Bennett should be training to fight in a group.

-Bennett develops a crush on Diluc, it's inevitable. But I'll save those HCs for later.

-Kaeya and Diluc start showing signs of making up, but it takes a while.

-for now though, it's just a few small things here and there: Kaeya not insulting Diluc when he drinks grape juice, Diluc making Kaeya death afternoons and not purposely mess it up, Kaeya offering to help Diluc with his darkknight duties and Diluc not pushing him away.

-it will be a while, but their getting there.

-however: remember when I said Kaeya and Tartaglia share a brain cell?

-hoo boy.

-Diluc has to deal with Tartaglia's constant pranking, and thanks to Kaeya's scheming ability he can never see it coming.

-Diluc walks out a door? Bucket of water. Diluc goes to bed? Tartaglia uses his vision to make him wet himself. Diluc goes to the bathroom? Firecracker on the seat.

-Diluc cannot catch a break!

-despite being from different sides, Kaeya and Tartaglia become friends. Kaeya even learns his real name.

-might do some romantic HCs idk, but this is platonic.

-because they're friends, the pranks don't stop at Diluc: La Signora and Jean are about to feel the wrath of two tactical geniuses with the brains of 4 year olds.

-La Signiora's makeup gets replaced with the wrong colors and a mirror that shows it as right, so she ends up looking like a clown.

-Jean wakes up every day and has to deal with every wall in Monstadt graffitied on, and a Klee that has had four shots of espresso!

-Albedo likes it though, until he also has to deal with Klee.

-archons help them.

-and whatever is above them, please help scaramouche. He knows what he did to deserve this but, he's willing to repent if it saves him from this hell.

-as for Tartaglia and Bennett? Like brothers.

-Tartaglia has a soft spot for kids, and even though Bennett is sixteen he has the mind of a four year old.

-Tartaglia has considered adopting him.

-but Tartaglia also recognizes that Bennett wants to get stronger, and his brotherly love makes Tartaglia train Bennett until he DROPS.

-they spar all the time, Tartaglia even says they should stop when he beats Bennett, but Bennett keeps getting up and going at it again and again.

-Tartaglia might train Bennett till he drops, but Bennett keeps going until he is a bloody pulp, and then he gets up again.

-Tartaglia has never felt more pride in someone else before, he's going to cry!

-they're all one big happy adventure party.

[pollylynn]

Title: Diff Eq WC: 1100 Episode: Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind (3 x 09)

It’s always an adventure seeing which one of them gets the kids on any given case. Well, the kids, plus Lanie and the Captain. Sometimes it’s the criminal justice wing of their little family ganging up on him, and sometimes it goes the other way—it’s Come to the Dark Side, We Have The Best Snacks, and one or more of them will join forces with him to drive her absolutely bonkers by throwing in with his incisive and one-hundred-percent-plausible theories.

He’s interested in the math of it, every time. He tells himself it’s character work—it’s team dynamics and all that jazz, which counts as work on the books. And it is that. It does count. But he’s also just interested in the math of it, because the math of it has become a big part of his life. All of them have become a big part of his life, and honestly, for the last few months, he’s been interested in how many more hours of community service he might have left on the sentence they’ve collectively imposed on him for leaving—for going MIA for the whole summer.

He thinks there aren’t a lot left. He thinks he might get a reduced sentence because he’s been a model inmate who is not at all too proud to bribe, and even Lanie might be close to completely thawed by this point. She has, of late, even deigned to do the cute little arm-in-arm thing with him as they broke down Nurse McSchemey’s McScheme a few weeks ago.

Marie Subbarao’s gruesome—and amazing, but also gruesome—murder seems to be an interesting bellwether. It’s certainly interesting math, and he feels like he pulls out to an early lead. Lanie doesn’t have an or to counter the obvious conclusion that their vic was murdered in outer space. She even adds a sympathetic sweetie to soften the blow, and that’s before she finds what is obviously a textbook alien implant, so all of that is as good as Lanie openly declaring for House Castle on this one.

Esposito starts out on the wrong side of their recently formed local branch of the search for extraterrestrial life. He’s all about cigarettes at first, as though aliens can’t smoke, as though smoking isn’t an obvious indicator that this case sits right the intersection of Life on Mars and massive government conspiracy. But it’s not long before he’s begging—actually begging—for evidence that it’s aliens at work. Plus Esposito totally believes the two of them returned from their curiously probe-less abduction with matching hickeys, and if that isn’t a sign that he gets to count at least one of their boys as his very own on this case, he’s not sure what would be.

Ryan, the devious little waffler, is hard to pin down. He’s the man with all the deliciously space-related news from early on—Marie Subbarao was an astrophysicist with SETI grant. Beckett gives him the full-on smug when Ryan reveals Marie’s distaste for the work of Benny Stryker, and he gets to return the favor when the next tidbit he doles out is the news that, distaste or no, she’d also recently reached out to everyone’s favorite ET exposé specialist. Subtract out the story about his possibly hungover, possibly probed first cousin, once removed, and they may just have to go King Solomon on their second son this time around. That’s his thinking until Ryan turns out to be hickey agnostic—or worse still, hickey indifferent—and he’s grumpily happy to let her have that win.

The Captain is too outraged by their abduction to be amenable to an interview about where he stands on the possibility of Marie Subarrao having been chosen to pave the way for their coming grey brethren. He does seem to be taking the possibility of a massive government conspiracy seriously, so he’d like to pencil in another hashmark in his own column, but that feels like cheating. They’re doing the We Are Not Alone math here, not the Big Brother Is Watching math, so the Captain might be undeclared.

He’s ahead. Lanie plus Esposito plus at least half of Ryan means that he is definitely winning, and that does not at all diminish is magnanimity in letting her have the Captain on this one. Or at least benching the Captain for the duration on the grounds that he is on Team Vast and Insidious Government Conspiracy who might play the victor of this case in the next round.

He’s feeling more than satisfied with that math, even though her cognitive dissonance is off the charts when, at the last second, she veers off, just shy of admitting they have indisputable visual proof of alien life. He’s less satisfied, at least temporarily, that this cognitive dissonance places her frame of mind to simply hand over that visual proof to the agents of the VaIGC. He opens his mouth to say something, then remembers Marie Subbarao’s positively gruesome corpse. He thinks better of it, and virtue turns out to be its own reward. Or, rather, he gets a shiny reward indeed for his willingness to zip it for once.

He sits quietly and glowers at Agent Westfield while she negotiates the terms. When Westfield, seconds later, stands and turns toward the door, with every intention of freezing them out, he makes the conspiracy play. He summons the dark math energies of every conspiracy theorist blogger he knows and pads his Twitter numbers a little.

Half a beat later, she’s in on it with him. She is crying conspiracy every bit as loud as he is, and it’s exhilarating. They are reducing Agent Westfield to a quivering mass with no choice but to do as they say—and they’re pulling it off without recourse to antique—and probably unsanitary—injector guns.

It’s this math that he likes best—he two of them against every other soul on earth. And in the end—at the very end of the case—when Westfield is offering them heavily masked thanks to her for the assist, she turns and firmly adds his name to the list of people who’ll never get anything more official than this nod of approval on a Chinatown street corner. She says . . . and Castle, and he’d gladly send the boys and Lanie and the Captain off to see a nice, long movie, so it’s just the two of them, on the same side, which is where they should be.

She says . . . and Castle, and it’s the only math he needs.

A/N: Everyone knows that there's no morphousness at all in math.

images via homeofthenutty

[wherearemyglassesbro]

yes please ramble about genshin impact

I wanna talk about play style babes ❤️😭 so I WILL 🤪🤪

Disclaimer! Every character is amazing in their own way! Anyone can be a main dps or any play style is great!! This is just my opinion, which isn’t worth much lmao

Everyone shown will be written about from left to right!!!

Archers:

Fischl: annoying. I can’t stand her voice lines and she’ll stay at level 20 until everyone else is level 90 and I take pity on her and level her up like everyone else. Her charged attack confuses me and she’s just. Annoying. She’s been on my team ONE time! Her first and last time

Venti: This bitch...I’m blessed to have him. His ult attack is epic!! Once I get him artifacts to increase Anemo damage it’s all over for you assholes :) I typically don’t enjoy archers or catalysts because I like being up close and personal with whatever I’m fighting so I can SEE my sword hit it y’know? But Venti makes domains and fighting camps of enemies so easy!! Treasure hoarder camps? Obliterated. Though keep in mind, I really only have him on my team for his ult and charged attacks, everyone else deals the rest of the damage

Amber: She used to have a permanent spot on my team before I found out Venti was actually really good...Didn’t fully understand the game yet :) she’s good! Basic and easy to understand play style! Once I got Bennet though...She is no longer my go-to Pyro :’) sorry girlie...

Diona: I’m sorry but no ❤️ I personally can’t stand playing as the tiny characters. Her voice lines are cute and from what I’ve seen, she’s a great healer!! But I won’t use her, it’s just too much of a hassle since she’s so small. She can’t climb or run as fast as taller characters and it’s just annoying to be so much shorter than whatever I’m fighting :/

Childe: I don’t have him but I got to play as him in his story quest as his play style was??? Confusing??? The whole switching from bow to swords was confusing and hard to keep up with cause I’m just mashing buttons babey!!! If I’m being honest, if I had him I wouldn’t use him much. He’s cool and I love him as a character but he just wouldn’t fit in my team anywhere! That pains me to say...;-;

Ganyu: Regretting skipping her banner :/ I didn’t do her character trial either but I finished her story quest and uh...I missed out! That’s what I get for giving into the ‘cryo Amber’ mindset! Her play style is very fun! I love her ult attack...Damn...I missed out man she would have been awesome on my team for sure.

———————

Claymores:

Beidou: 100/10, she is SO useful!! She’s on my secondary team and even though she’s only a level 40, she’s a C6!! She’s my ONLY C6 character so I’ve been dumping all of my electro materials into her lately, she is SUCH a hard hitter I love her! I love electro and ice or fire reactions!! She’s the queen of them babe. Shes fast and strong...Pirate woman...

Razor: I’m conflicted cause he’s fun to play as but I have a lot of beef with him. The first problem is a problem I cause myself because one hit and he’s dead. If I don’t have a shield up, he’s a goner two seconds into any fight. My other gripe is that his ult doesn’t carry over to other characters. An example of that is Kaeya’s ice ring or Noelle’s shield! Those carry over between character switches but Razor’s does not. Annoyingggggg!!!

Chongyun: Admittedly, I kinda gave up on building him. There’s only room for one cryo character on my team and that’s Kaeya. His fighting style isn’t all that special but I feel like the game is trying to get me to level him up cause the last 4 domains I’ve done, I’ve been paired with level 80 Chongyun players and they were pretty awesome so...When I have the materials to spare, I might have to invest in this guy lmao

Xinyan: I JUST got her like last week or something so she isn’t leveled up a whole lot but oh man...Her ult is sick. I LOVE the rock and roll theme for her, she’s just awesome! I don’t see her becoming part of either of my main teams but I will definitely use her for domains once I can spare materials to level her up ;-;

Noelle: I used her alllllll the time until I got Zhongli. Her shield is fantastic, you really can’t go wrong with a shield! Other than that...I can’t really say anything else about her :’) her play style is similar to the other claymores which doesn’t really allow her to stand out much

Diluc: he’s an honorable mention. I don’t have him...But I want him so bad. My pity is at 50/50 so I’ll either get Hu Tao or him!! (Or Qiqi, Mona, Keqing or Jean but I don’t wanna talk about that). People make him so strong, even when he’s lower leveled he still hits hard! I’d love love love to have him on my team

—————

Catalysts:

Lisa: the og catalyst...I like her as a character but man oh man...She just doesn’t fit on any team! Her play style is fun! Her voice lines are flirty, she’s just a fun character uggghhh I’d love to actually play with her more! Beidou is just the better electro for my team so Lisa will sit on the sidelines for awhile :’)

Ningguang: I poured all of my geo resources I to Zhongli so she literally never got the chance to even be on a team. I leveled her up enough to get that free wish but...Yeah...I have only played as her during a character trial even though I have her! Idk, she just wouldn’t fit on my team. Some people make her super strong which I admire!!

Barbara: fantastic I love everything about her! She and Bennet swap places on my main team every hour or so but when she’s paired with Kaeya, she’s just awesome!! She just works well with others! And she sings :’) other than that her play style isn’t exactly anything special! She’s just a character I can swap out a lot and she just FITS in my main team?? Amazing

Mona: Still in the process of leveling her up, I really enjoy her play style! Not a fan of catalysts but... I did something the other day when I switched artifacts around and now she does pretty good damage?? Idk what I did but she’s more fun to play as now! My only gripe is when she sprints, she turns into a puddle! So when I want to dodge or do short bursts of sprinting she leaps in and out of the floor like STOP IT HAJSLSSK the splashing is SO LOUD for WHAT lmao I love her though! Solid spot on the secondary team

Sucrose: she is so underleveled but I made an all Anemo team just for giggles...And now I want to actually buff her up. It’ll take a lot of time and material farming but she has a lot of potential to work well with Pyro and hydro characters with her swirl effect!! :)

Klee: Again, not a fan of the kiddos. I don’t even remember when I played as her, it might have been her trial or in a story quest somewhere but I just didn’t enjoy her play style. She throws bombs which don’t always go off immediately so I’m sitting there like ???? Blow up??? And then they don’t? Confusing!!!

——————

Swords:

Kaeya: Oh yes my big sexy man hello sir 👀 he is never leaving my team!! Never! I’ve formed an emotional attachment to him and uh well he’s level 74 now and overpowers all of my 5 stars except Zhongli. When he’s paired up with Barbara and they both activate their water/ice swirls?? That’s my favorite thing in the whole world I LOVE freeze reactions! Ugh absolutely flawless! My only gripe about his play style is that sometimes he turns away when firing his ice and I’m like NO THE OTHER WAY it’s called auto aim or something idk, most characters do it at some point...It’s just ten times more annoying when he does it :)

Jean: I got Jean very recently so she isn’t at her best yet but WOW she is an amazing healer!! Like wow, she’s giving Bennet a run for his money. I have no complaints about her! Her play style is kinda basic. I do love how she can just blow enemies away though, that’s fun!! Especially in co op when I can blow my teammates off cliffs :) I don’t really use her though...She isn’t on my main or secondary team...rip

Bennet: Benny’s adventure team!!! He and Barbara swap spots on my main team a lot! He’s a great healer! Not as good as Barb but I’m still working on him!! He’s kinda just there for moral support, he’s too under leveled to really do any damage :’) he’s just...a cute lil guy :’) I like having him on my team :’) his play style is very basic which makes it easy to swap him in and out for other characters

Xingqiu: his ult and charged attacks take FOREVER to load!! I love him as a character but I have no patience for load times. Off to the sidelines he goes! He’s cool and fun but man!!! In the heat of battle I don’t have time to wait!! I need that hydro burst so I can get an elemental reaction!! I don’t have 30 seconds to wait, my liege!!

Aether: there’s a difference between Anemo traveler and Geo traveler!! Geo traveler is better BUT when he produces thise rock balls?? That’s beyond obnoxious especially in domains. STOP MAKING BALLS IN DOMAINS!!! You’re just raising enemies into the air and now your teammates can’t reach!! The geo ult is good though :) Anemo traveler is alright, I cant complain but geo is just superior :)

Albedo: I don’t have him but I tried him out during his character trial...He’s hot but I’m just not a huge fan of his play style. He summons an elevator...Eh. If I had him he would kinda just...sit on the sidelines

Keqing: oh wow she is just SO AWESOME!! If I got her instead of Diluc I honestly wouldn’t be mad. I’d have to frantically rearrange my teams for he to fit somewhere but it would be worth it. Her character trial showed me how fast she is and how fast her ult/charged attacks charge up! Her ult looks AMAZING and if I activated a shield around her and Kaeya’s ice thing I think she’d obliterated domains! I’d love to have her on my team golly jeez

Qiqi: Again, not a fan of the small characters :( people use her in domains all the time and she’s an awesome healer! But if I had her I probably would not use her :/ anti child

————————

Polearms:

Zhongli: I can’t imagine NOT using him on my team. Having a shield is a must because I’m a huge wimp!! And I’ve finally built him enough that he will occasionally do 10k damage...Only when he feels like it I guess. It’s happened like 4 times and I just scream every time it’s awesome!! His burst attack is awesome and I know I’ve said it already but I enjoy being up close when fighting, not standing and shooting from the side. When his shield is up, this man takes zero damage and just deals hits left and right!! He’s a staple for my team for sure

Xiao: I really loved his story quest and his fighting style is fun HOWEVER he is just....Annoying to fight with. He takes damage with his own ult attack???? That’s obnoxious! And then I have to make room on my team for a support when I play with him :/ it isn’t a huge deal, I enjoy playing with Barbara and Bennet but my dream team (Zhongli, Venti, Kaeya and Xiao) just can’t work out cause Xiao’s constantly on life support. Other than that, I like his dash attacks and even though his ult kills him, it deals a lot of damage! Still building him up to add him to the main team :)

Xiangling: I love her, she’s adorable and I love Gouba but I just poured all of my materials into Bennet and everyone else so I never got the chance to properly build her. She’s kinda just stuck at level 31....Waiting for her chance to be on a team. I used to use her often when I was like ar20! I’ve kinda grown away from her, I’m not even sure why I guess :’) her play style is fine! I just like...Other characters more ;-; I feel mean saying that lmao she’s very fun!! Just not what I’m looking for

Honorable polearm mentions:

Hu Tao: She literally comes out tomorrow but I’m not gonna wait to try her out before posting this. Her play style looks very fun! The way she phases through enemies is strange but very cool!!! I’m a bit confused about the way she moves but hey! I’ll get to do her character trial and see for myself! Very excited about her being introduced to the game

Rosaria: we haven’t gotten a preview of her fighting style but I feel bad about leaving her out! She’s close to being released! She deserves recognition!

My thumbs are cramping....remember that every character is awesome and they all have back stories and cool voice lines! This is all my opinion and my team builds! Nothing against these guys and gals! :)

[vedj-f-bekuesu]

2019 in Retrospect

2019 has been fairly quiet, so I decided to start off this year by looking back on it. I’ll be dividing it by main fandoms/characters/ships because this year there were actually some new ones. That hasn’t been the case since, like, 2013. 

Sonic the Hedgehog

It was an...alright year for Sonic. TSR was fine but too light on content, Mario and Sonic Tokyo felt like a step down from Mario and Sonic Rio but was still alright, and I have not played SEGA Heroes (and haven’t bothered with the Chao in Space short). Lowest spot for me was the IDW comic; the Zombot arc has had one interesting story so far, but the rest has had either bad writing (primarily aimed at Shadow’s turn) or it’s just been wallowing in its bleakness in a way even Shadow the Game didn’t. Then again, I find zombie stories uninteresting to begin with, so no duh I’m not interested in a Sonic take on it. 

Chaotix kind of mirror that. Vector’s managed to get a good showing in, batting 3 for 3 on the game front, and having a key role in two of them. And like I said before, the Chaotix have genuinely had the most interesting stories within the Zombot arc, although with Vector and Charmy turned this may become more limited. Speaking of though, Espio and Charmy have had weaker presences. Espio managed to get into all three games in some form but to a lesser extent (one just by name), and Charmy was really left behind. 

As for Vecpio, it’s been pretty bare for canon material stuff. Espio got mentioned in TSR as contributing the report that reveals Dodon Pa’s true role (with him and Vector being the key to making everyone shut up about him being suspicious, proving they’re best as a team). And Mario and Sonic Tokyo has something if you headcanon some stuff; when Vector talks about the medals, Espio is the first person you’re directed to. Nothing is said by Vector about Espio in text, but you can implicate that Espio was chosen first because of his strong link to Vector, being the first one Vector would trust to compete at a gold level. Other than that? Dry. And with no announcements for Sonic games in 2020, this may just continue. 

Crash Bandicoot

On the reverse side, we have Crash Bandicoot having a really strong year. CTR:NF came out (which is a remake of my favourite Crash game) and has been doing gangbusters. On top of this, it has been going out of its way to revive pretty much every dead character in the franchise, to the point that we have RIlla Roo back in the fold (something I genuinely didn’t think would happen 19 years beforehand). 

Skipping straight to the shipping for this, I wouldn’t have imagined it for Crash ever, but there’s actually some in-game material for me to latch onto for DingodileXKomodo Joe! Dingodile has been pushed into a more jovial character since N-Sane Trilogy, being even more doubled down on in CTR:NF. However, for the past 20 years Komodo Joe has managed to avoid being given traits closer to Espio. This game finally catches up to him, and does it hard. Seriously, his character took a hard turn for the stoic badass Espio did after Heroes, and when did Joe ever use Martial Arts magic ever? Aside from making that dynamic naturally more matching, Slide Coliseum joins in the fun with the visual upgrade. It has holographic projections of a trophy girl repping a couple of racers dancing each, and guess who the devs felt could be paired up for how they go together rhythmically? That’s right, my reptile boys. Man. 

Super Mario Bros

What a weak year for Mario for me. What Mario got for new games this year were Luigi’s Mansion 3 (which I’ve not played), Mario Maker 2 (which isn’t new story content and doesn’t interest me in the slightest), Yoshi’s Crafted World (which I forgot was a thing) and Mario Kart Tour/Dr Mario World (which...um). 

Because of this set-up, Bowser hardly got anything to do so he’s really been on the backburner. Considering how he’s been pushed in the rest of the decade that’s saying something. In fact, the most character stuff he got was in Mario and Sonic Tokyo, and even that was mostly just alright (I think Bowser Jr got the best deal out of that).

Spyro the Dragon

Spyro was alright, but this one’s more understandable. With 2018 being the big year for Spyro’s return, 2019 was a rest for the little guy. That being said it wasn’t completely quiet; Spyro Reignited Trilogy finally got its port on the Switch, and to tie in with that Spyro got an appearance in CTR:NF. 

Because of the latter point, Gnasty Gnorc got a surprisingly strong year. Not only having more people learn about his glow-up in SRT, but bringing over that petty and angry character to CTR:NF. Seriously, his bit in the grand prix intro video is great, and he has more lines in his racing quips than any other game. 

OK KO

I don’t think I made a post about OK KO on Tumblr (or maybe I did one, I can’t remember). But I did manage to get into this just before it got cancelled so there’s that. 

I maintain that the Sonic crossover (aka the first thing I really knew about OK KO) didn’t give me a good impression of the show.It just seemed like “here’s the Sonic and Eggman dynamic but with more cartoon shenanigans*” and it spent more time making endless Sonic references. While some were deeper cuts which actually were impressive, most were references I could see in pretty much any Sonic-referencing material. It wasn’t until I decided to look up more info on Lord Boxman sometime after because I wanted to check if N.Gin was an influence that I found out the plot of the actual show (crossover notwithstanding) was pretty nuts and way more up my alley. 

Speaking of, there’s Voxman. Whereas other ships on here I have to dig through material to construct nuggets from them, this was literally in the text. And why not, they have a good dynamic and are usually the most fun to watch bounce off each other. And I still like the fact that if KO and Lord Boxman were the Sonic and Eggman parallel, the story ends with Eggman becoming Sonic’s stepfather. Let’s see IDW tell a story like that, it’d be better than the Zombot stuff. 

*I think that was the point but still. 

LEGO

Man I wouldn’t have thought they would have remade LEGO Racers but the one they made this year was gre--

Okay no, this year basically reignited another flame that I thought was snuffed out like 16 years ago. For a brief history of me and LEGO, when I was six I had a freestyle box which I used to make an elemental superhero persona. I played with this until I was 11. Before then, my sister got some LEGO Harry Potter sets (which we still have in the loft), I played LEGO Racers a lot (and wasn’t very good at it), and I owned two random other LEGO sets (the trike from Life on Mars and Lava from RoboRIders). 

After that, I only dabbled in LEGO when there was a Sonic set done for LEGO Dimensions. I did try to play more into it, but it was really prone to crashing in certain worlds so I eventually got frustrated enough to stop playing it. Sometime in the interim though my sister started enjoying LEGO films without me knowing, so when February came around I was dragged to see LEGO Movie 2 when all I wanted to see in 2019 was Toy Story 4. Dad insisted on it since we rarely have family outings. In retrospect; 

LEGO Movie 2 hit me in a way a piece of media hasn’t for years, or even decades. It’s shot up to be my third-favourite film of all time. And it’s revealed to me that LEGO is shockingly good at making endearing characters. So much so that breaking it down (pun not intended) has to be done by theme.

LEGO Movie: Part of the reason why I didn’t get into LEGO earlier was because I did see LEGO Movie back in 2014 when my sister was given it on DVD (she wasn’t into LEGO then) and I wasn’t impressed with it. In retrospect, I can appreciate what it did more, and I bring it up because it’s what makes Unikitty, Benny and Metalbeard so endearing when combined with what happened in TLM2. Lucy’s okay (moreso in the sequel), Emmet’s cute, President Business is fun but the MVP is definitely Rex Dangervest, who’s this feral monster but with Emmet buried away deep inside ready to flesh him out. When I make LEGO stories, I just have Rex change his mind on rescuing himself after getting the dinosaurs, and instead wreaking havoc in the present. This kills Emmet off in any story I do but it’s a worthy sacrifice. 

LEGO City Undercover: As a video game person I’m kicking myself for not getting into this before. Frank Honey is the best; he’s adorable and weird yet still feeling very much human and basically the Emmet of his city. Rex Fury has grown on me lots since my initial assessment of him,it’s infectious how much fun he has with being a criminal (while Vinnie is more fun when not doing criminal stuff and Chan seems to be more focused on doing criminal stuff as a job. I also think his calmer side is criminally (no pun intended again) overlooked). Also Ellie is underrated, she is the best straight man you could ask for. 

LEGO City Adventures: As I’ve said before, pretty much everyone in LCA is adorable, especially Duke and Harl. Still hoping for more Daisy time in the second season, she could be a riot if played properly and not just a Fendrich stooge. 

Ninjago: Coming in with the hot take here; I prefer the movie version of Ninjago to the series. I think the problem with the series is that it has so much baggage from before the series started to iron out some of its issues and cliches that it’s kinda hard to get into as a new person, whereas movie Ninjago is a lot more approachable and written better off the bat (although I do see why it wouldn’t go down well with existing Ninjago fans). This all just makes me think of that moment in series 11 where Nya sees her worst fear of being normal in an artefact and it shows her movie self, almost as a take that. It just makes me think the show writers are salty about movie Nya kicking show Nya’s ass in being a better character. Also shout outs to Kai, Cole, Zane and Lloyd for being great characters as well (Jay is cute in the movie, his show self can be punted off a cliff for all I care). And I am with the movement to have Cole come out as gay (or at least bi if they want to keep Tournament of Elements I guess). 

Nexo Knights: This show is regarded as another Ninjago wannabe, but it feels very different to Ninjago to me. So much so, there’s not a single one of the heroes I don’t like and they all need to be cherished. Macy gets props for being the best female character to me, Aaron is probably my favourite now and this is a house of Clance for future reference. 

So, with all that being said, what do I think of the prospects for 2020? I think it’s going to be quieter than 2019 to be honest, since there’s a lot winding down, and on the game side there’s been zero announcements. Crash and Spyro having a rest is understandable, Sonic’s going to have to get past the movie before gearing up for 2021 probably (for the record I have no interest in the movie) and Mario just needs to try harder. And with OK KO dead, only LCA is holding the fort for guaranteed new content I want to engage in right now. 

You know what would be fun though? Series 20 of the minifigures theme is due at the end of this year. Wouldn’t it be awesome to use the occasion to give some phsical minifigures to characters who never got them before? LIke, Rex Fury somehow still has enough demand to be a persistent feature in the customs market, give him an official figure (especially since he’s the only character from LCU that’s not Chase that’s even appeared in merch outside the game). Or let Sky Lane get her LEGO Universe look in physical form to go with her LIXS look. Or heck, finally give Rocket Racer his original look, that’s how I discovered the minifigure world in the first place!