#we also very much love evil lumine

[venlurina-nation]

“Barbatos?… Or should I call you …[Redacted]”

[ganondoodle]

im pretty sure i mentioned all these things before but its too late to start drawing anything and each time i see someone talk about totk i just get sad and frustrated again

literally by FAR the biggest problem about totk is that it REFUSES to connect to botw in any way beyond reusing the same map and character models, and even taking the things botw had established and ruin them entirely

ancient hero? BAM weird sonau dog thing that remains completely unexplained and out of nowhere eight heroine myster- BAM just some guy long gone sonau peopl- BAM here they are and they have zero connection to the ones of botw mystical dragons gracing the skies with their presence- BAM probably some dude who ate a magic pebble once strange mystical nature god you could rarely encounter in one specific spot and the area was made to feel utteraly unsettling but also divine- BAM now hes everywhere and only serves you as a shorthand for man pointing at cave the strange energy all shiekah tech was powered with with certain locations being ones where alot of it was concentrated including beneath hyrule castle clearly stating that somethings up with that- welp theres evil guy donw there but he has zero connection to all that lol

the whole shiekah tech thing, i just- WHY???? LIKE THAT??? there was so much stuff in botw that seemed deliberately placed that there IS more to it and now it all vanished and nothing of that mattered??? i saw a video of someone comparing certain places directly and on some where towers literally broke away tons of debris where just like .. sanded back down like nothing ever happened???; the fuking mechanism of how the towers and shrines and the pillars around the castle worked AND WHAT THE BOTW BOSS ARENA WAS ACTUALLY FOR?? its all gone and replaced with dirt; tHE ANCIENT FUCKING FURNANCES UTTERLY GONE AND REPLACED WITH ROCKS HUH???? so nothing of all that talk about their mystery and mechanism mattered???? the luminous stoens and its connection to spirits and how concentrated spiritual energy might have been what powered the tech- like you could connect things, and they made SENSE, so much sense that that seemed like it was intentionally setting up- only for it all to be just GONE?? to literally say lol it all vanished and that we shouldnt worry about it- like what the FUCK (and it also AGAIN doesnt make sense in itself bc WE SEE GUARDIAN PARTS in the towers, and some parts of them too are made of clearly shiekah tech stuff so it cant all have vanished- all their mystery doesnt matter bc idk it just works i guess lol and its not even called shiekah tech at any point either its just there and also not lol-)

(and even the smaller things like .. where the fuck does link live if everyone treats him like a goddamn stranger in the town you had to buy a house in botw for it to not be demolished and now that house is there but its not yours and noone knows you??? sth i personalyl found strange too that dumsda, the guy you help build an entire town, taburasa, had a very specific talking quirk i loved, and its all just gone in totk too, he talks like any other person all of the sudden

also at the end of botw finally being reunited with zelda and giving you the taste of being in the game WITH her at the same time in the intro to totk- WOOP away she goes! shes your pretty prize at the end and nothing more, what a way to disrespect her and her character..)

imagine if majoras mask didnt have the opening like it has and it otherwise stayed the same and they tried to tell you that its a direct sequel happening exactly where ocarina of time happened in the same world, zelda who?? ganondorf who??? things seem weird and off? lol dont worry about that :)) that would be weird and not make any sense at all now would it??

... sorry going on another rant again, ill just never be able to accept everything from botw didnt actually matter, and despite what some people might say, its pretty hard to ignore totk bc i LOVE botw, and as much as i hate it, they are connected in canon, even if it makes no sense

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Dog Days of BL but July is Incoming

June 2023 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - I’m finding the time frames confusing. Still, a lovely crying kiss + a very high drama-lllama gay confession. Kitchen counter make out, my fav! The actor who plays Jeng kisses at MaxTul levels, which is to say = like a man who has actually done it before with genuine desire and is capable of portraying that on screen. (What makes MaxTul kings is that they BOTH do this.) Pat caught up, thank goodness. Also P’Jeng!!!! P’JENG!!! I love how intimate phi is when it’s been all khun prior. This is the Thai version of hyung slinging. Errotic linguistics, my fav. And ALL the work drama and homophobia fall out when you sleep with the boss. I really enjoy that the angst concerning their relationship has to do with the fact that this is an office romance. Lastly? I love Chot so much. Everyone needs a gay auntie. Also Bruce is SO DAMN GOOD. (I mean we knew he would be from Lovely Writer, but this... chef’s kiss.) 

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - There are enough meta-analysis on this one for me not to have to weigh in. Suffice it to say that I like what it’s trying to do, and I certainly appreciate the levels of consent and so forth but I’m not sure I actually like it as much now that we are swimming in high concept. Too much lying. I’m not sure I want my BL to make me think this hard. Also poly, boys = final answer. (Anyone else getting Color Rush flashbacks?) 

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 6 of 12 - I love Max now and forever, and I made some very bad puns in the Trash watch here. Otherwise I’m not super invested. 

Dinosaur Love (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 1 of 10 eps - from Ultimate Troop (The Yearbook people) so I shouldn’t watch this as it airs, after Remember Me? I swore never again. But there’s so little on right now, I’m falling on the pulp sword...  My initial thoughts? It’s an En of Love installment? What is going on? Why all this opening with the sides in a bar? Are we framing? Just move on to the 2 boys kissing! Don’t try to be clever, for fucks sake. Okay, good, the pulp has begun. I like soft wet-blanket Rak and his sad love life. I’m not wild about how aggressive Dino is plus insta-SINGING but I DO LIKE THAT HE’S OUT and knows what he wants which is refreshing. It’s trope filled nonsense (crash into me, instalove, sing feelings, floppy drunk, he’s in engineering, fast and bi-curious) also Dino used ter at first (how forward!) then he went to gu/mueng after rejection, while Rak uses khun & phi/pom. Love this for them. Despite my justified reservations with this production team imma stay watching. I need something on Sundays. * 

Luminous Solution (Sat Gaga) ep 6fin - That’s it? Bullsheiit. No seriously. That’s my review. 3/10 I DON'T KNOW WHAT I JUST WATCHED AND NEITHER DOES IT AND I’M MAD ABOUT IT.

* I got to say, you have only yourselves to blame for Dinosaur Love’s ranking. Once upon a time, I lived happily in ignorance of the Thai film industry. And then you all kept asking me extremely intelligent questions about it. And because I am a nosy little shit, I had to figure out what was going on. And now a BL like this, which ordinarily I would just love unconditionally, is a really scary place for me, because I know too much about the production house. The evils of too much information are all true. Remain happily in ignorance, I advise you, especially where BL is concerned. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love Tractor (Korea Weds iQIYI) eps 7-8fin - Yechan is such a frank character it confuses all who meet him, also a truly terrible flirt. This is such a puppy/cat relationship. It was cute but it went too far into cringe for a KBL (for me). I don’t think Kdramas are good at farce (sorry), better if they stick with more subtle humor. It was a sweet ending tho, not too cheesy. Nice kiss for KBL but pretty rather than sexy. Full review below.

Tokyo in April is... AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 3 of 8 - Oh, it’s GREAT. Damn it. There is a lot of subtext and things not being said. This is going to be one of those shows where it’s endlessly frustrating that they don’t just talk to each other. The crying first time was gut-wrenching. Ren is complicated & scarred & closed off. Kazuma is earnest & empathetic & thinks he’s unworthy - so will take whatever crumbs are handed to him. They are both giving parts of themselves away in a desperate attempt to shape themselves to the expectations they have of each other. These 2 are gonna fuck each other up while they fuck and fuck with our hearts. Japan is giving us the Bed Friends that Thailand can never even imagine. There is absolutely no guarantee this will end happily (it’s from the Eternal Yesterday people) but it is guaranteed to be painful and beautiful along the way. Oh Japan, must you? I guess you must. 

Stupid Genius (Vietnam Fri YouTube) ep 4 of 6 - I’m mostly confused by the catfishing & tarot side plots. But the mains sure act like bfs. To the point of our tiny jock idiot getting gay panicked by how much bfs they are. Surprise kiss! For everyone, it turns out. Yes I laughed. What? It was pat but also… FUNNY.

Tie The Knot (Pinoy YouTube) ep 3 of 8 - The main couple is adorable, but I’m not wild about the gay bashing blackmail side story. Still, it’s the best we’ve had from the Philippines in a while so I am keeping my fingers crossed. 

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) ep 9 of 12 - Seriously? Bah Vinh = chemistry with EVERYONE. 

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 12fin - So Souta just disappears off to Singapore and doesn’t say anything to his boyfriend about it? And then comes back with the perfect plan and life for both of them? Oh Japan, must you? Review below. 

It’s airing but ...

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.

Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - It’s mostly English & set in LA (shudder) so I’m not bothering.

Ever After (Pinoy YouTube) 12 eps - Spies reported that it's a real mess and not a hot one.

Stay With Me ... NO I WILL NOT! And you can’t make me. 

In case you missed it

BL Express reviewed The Egoest. Oh boy am I never going to watch that. 

One in a Hundred - Gaga dropped all 12 episodes (c.10 min ea) at once. This is a 2020 Chinese show. It’s not BL. And it has a laugh track. I watched the first & final eps and won’t bother with the rest. DNF

I finally watched the 2022 thing I should have. 

To Sir, With Love - REVIEW

This is a true lakorn with scenery chewing performances from an ensemble cast focused on family obligation and past sins, especially from the mother characters. It is a Thai tellenovella + Gone With the Wind but gay. That said? I loved it: A glorious central brother relationship (the best, made me cry), het romances, class divide + gay *gasp* main romance, the camp of it all! It’s like it was invented by drag queens. Arranged marriage, rebellion, cut sleeves, dramatic death with curses and regrets, beautiful if inaccurate costumes, secrets unraveling, cover ups, sparkle murder, sex herbs, coils within coils including snakes and death by glitter (is anything gayer on this earth?). It’s a WILD ride. It’s not BL. It’s not a romance, it’s a family drama Thorn Birds style but it does end happy for our gay boys. Like Manner of Death I’m struggling to rate something on a BL scale when it patently isn’t a BL. I think I have to give it exactly what I gave that show, 7/10 

I loved it, but not as a BL. 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS (over its BLness) 

Zenra Meshi - REVIEW

AKA Naked Dinner 

I have to be honest, I didn’t really like much about this show. The central premise was too odd and the main character too clumsy & slow on the uptake. I like the food, but there have been food-set BLs before that failed to meet expectations. Too many of them. This one joined that throng. Good ending tho. 7/10 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Love Tractor - REVIEW

Most of this country-set BL had me feral for the beautiful broken city boy and his hot young farmer. Hyung romance, puppy/cat pairing, open frankness meets jaded reserve, language play, water hose frolicking, only one bed, all my favorite tropes. This show was basically a light-weight Restart After Come Back Home and I’m not even slightly mad about that. 

But (and you knew there was a “but” coming) something about the cringe of the final 2 eps and the impermanence of the ending (both of which highlight the fact that ultimately these 2 are I’ll-suited: too different & too far apart) left me with the feeling that they probably won’t last as a couple. However, in this case, rare for me, I forgive it this finale for my love of the rest. 

I did dither a lot though, it’s not an 8 but not a 9 either. Better than Love Mate (8/10) not as good as The New Employee (9/10) but in the end I’m value adding up for the premise and the cast, giving it a 9/10. 

RECOMMENDED 

(Gotta say, because this is rare for me, that this had a great OST. Not the credit music but the refrain, Rainbow.) 

Next Week Looks Like This:

July 2023 Supposedly... 

7/3 Be Mine SuperStar (Thai Mon Viki) 12 eps - JaFirst whipping boy/spoiled prince, obsession, celebrity/mundane. Third-year film student Punn (Ja) gets an internship on the set of a drama. He’s come to learn, but "what lights his passion even more than the work" is leading man Achi, Thailand's sweetheart. Adapted from the novel “The Superstar and the Puppy on Set” (พี่พระเอกกับเด็กหมาในกอง) by Orpheus, cast includes Benjamin Brasier (2moons2), Bosston Suphadach (UWMA), Jo Kavinpat (War of Y), Kokliang (TharnType). Directed by David Bigander (Bite Me) which makes me nervous. Maybe he'll do better with an adaptation?

7/6 Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu ????) 12 eps - The story is a continuation of Minato & Shin's love story, and it picks up 10 years after the events of season 1 but the characters don't seemed to have grown at all. Very Japan of you, Japan.

7/7 Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) 10 eps -  Gu Bu-Xia has the ability to hear ghosts, except when he is around his new roommate Jiang Chi. So he starts to find ways to approach Jiang Chi. But is it  the ghosts or Jiang Chi’s charm?

7/8 Low Frequency (Thai Sat YouTube?) 8 eps - ghost boyfriend, celebrity/mundane - Mon's life as a spirit-seeing interior decorator is full of headaches. On good days, he helps settle problems for his relative, who is a star manager. But then he gets involved with the spirit of Thames, a famous young actor who is in a coma.

7/9 Hidden Agenda (Thai Sun GMMTV YouTube) 12 eps - JoonDunk are back. Zo, a college freshman whose never been in love, decides to change it by making the college’s star Nita as his gf. He approaches Joke, Nita’s ex, for dating advice. What he fails to realize is that Joke has had his eyes on him for a long time and uses this opportunity to approach Zo. TMS 2.0.

7/15 Laws of Attraction (Thai Sat ????)  Stars the pair from To Sir With Love and with the same production team, cryptic description, but it seems to be Manner of Death esk.

7/19 Wedding Plan (Thai Wed YouTube & iQIYI)  - It's Mame and she's coming for our GL. She's such a misogynist IMAGINE what we will get with a GL? It's going to be absolute carnage. To crane your neck as you drive by the car wreck or not... that is the question. Me? I'm wallowing in the guts.

7/20 Jun & Jun (Korea Thu Viki) - From 2022 (TutorYim rumored to cameo) this office romance features 2, yes 2! Bls. Seme looks aggressive, we in classic yaoi territory. There is an idol involved. Past failed flirts. I am very excited about this one.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

To Sir With Love

Best execution of the piggyback trope ever? I think so. 

Fucking GENIUS piece of acting. Bruce we LOVE you! 

All Step By Step 

It was stupid funny, okay? (Stupid Genius) 

Ridiculous man, you don’t have to eye fuck THAT hard. But we all appreciate it. (Vian) 

Dangerous thing to say in a show about identity in relationships. 

Brave boy.

I said this show was deep, not that I was. Although Patts seems to be going there. 

I’ll stop now.

All La Pluie. 

(Last week.)

[demonlordclayman]

Re chapter 28 of Clayman's Revenge

Have we ever seen an Elemental become a majin before??? I must admit that was not on my bingo cards for this chapter! At least not specifically. I did expect something special would happen but not that! Poor Clayman is going to get all his magicules tanked at this rate if he doesn't stop accidentally naming monsters. That cannot be good for his health (and like damn they really just hung out for 2 days while he laid there passed out huh fkadsjhfdjksa woof).

This really highlights the reason why Rimuru was so successful as compared to Clayman and others - his near infinite capacity for naming all manner of powerful majin and monsters, and his food chain capability which made him get stronger as a result of naming the other monsters. Clayman has neither of these things, so despite all of his hard work Rimuru still easily has the capacity to surpass him. Not that Clayman wants to have conflict with him anymore, anyway...as much as I recognize it's necessary for Clayman to name people to grow his overall strength, it feels pretty ridiculous for it to keep happening like this as well honestly khfdskjahjk

of course the most interesting thing to me is the fact that we had an Eastern Empire appearance - and it's none other than Kansis (the temptation to call him Kansas instead is so strong. It amuses me greatly), talking about capturing Kumara (I assume from context clues) and using her as leverage against Clayman, because Kansis himself has evil intentions towards Clayman and is mad the merchant failed to manipulate him. This is a fantastic tie in to plot points that have only been covered in the light novels.

I doubt there's much hope of the Mystic Village not going up in flames, given that Clayman isn't aware of the situation. But I assume that his treatment of Kumara will be very different. It's my hope that he will treat her as well as Ant and actually care about the fact that trafficking a monster like her is...cruel. He seems to frequently have realizations that things are cruel, so I think that's very within the realm of possibility.

That being said, while I would love to see him help Kumara get revenge or something, idk, fuck the Eastern Empire vibes, you get it, I don't think that's possible at all. I'm sure even if he were to be sympathetic (which he could be - Kazalim's home country was also obliterated) he isn't foolish enough to openly go against the Eastern Empire (...probably). But I would like to see him and Kumara actually have some sort of relationship and not just...what it was before.

Whatever happens, I am very eager to see this arc we're entering into!!! Both insight into the Mystic Village and what happened there as well as potential development of Kumara (or Nine-Head) and Clayman!

Oh it is also super interesting to see Clayman lending Viol power unintentionally, and Ramiris comparing that to Luminous, especially as the main manga just went and explained how Rimuru is able to do that now. It must not be the same thing given Rimuru had to learn how to do it, but I thought the timing was fun, though assumedly coincidental.

Open to thoughts and discussion!!! Especially if I've missed anything!!! Or just wanna gush about the chapter~

[mxlodyalice]

hi there! i’m alice, twenty one, and looking for new friends or roleplay partners! so please only interact if you’re older than eighteen. also, i would love to be long term. please don’t interact if you are the type to ghost after a few days! i’ll highlight my preferred characters i want to play.

i’m very friendly :-) i don’t bite. please message me first with what you’re interested in and about yourself!

some conditions i have are:

- i would like to talk mostly on discord, as i am pretty much inactive on tumblr. if we roleplay, i do so in servers and with tupperbox

- my time zone is EST

- i usually reply very quickly

- please don’t be a dry texter or ghost!

- i love fluff and angst! i’m open to canon or au’s

- i only do cc x cc

as for my interests!

- black butler/kuroshitsuji (no sebaciel) i think it would be so interesting and fun to do a rp where the twins meet each other! angst and fluff included because they deserve it. also loveeee joanne x ciel, doll x ciel! heck, i’m even down for vincent x rachel! let’s chat about the newest episodes :)

- omori (though i’m not sure about roleplaying this)

- demon slayer (tanzen, muinezu, shinogiyuu, obamitsu) (want to play zenitsu, nezuko, shinobu, mitsuri)

- persona (2,3,5) (ren amamiya, akechi, ryoji, minato, tatsuya, jun) - however, i have only completed persona 3.

- tokyo revengers (izana x kakucho, mikey x draken, maybe others)

- rpg horror games

- resident evil (leon x ashley)

- evangelion (love love love kaworu x shinji!)

- genshin impact (let’s play together!) (venti/xiao, lyney/lumine)

i am mostly interested in black butler, persona, and demon slayer!

again, i don’t care if we roleplay or just talk about these :) i just want someone to talk to who shares my interests! we can talk specifically in dms about my favorite ships and characters.

looking forward to being friends ♡

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #140 (part 2)

Okay! So I'm finally home!! We got back kinda late, and that's okay! We've got snacks on the way, and I've got so many pictures for you!! Some of them are from the sky, and some of them were taken on the way home in the car, and some of them are of the wonderful surprises that were waiting for me when I came home!! I can't wait to show you everything!!

While we were flying, we passed two hawks that got alarmingly close to us; I wasn't fast enough to get a picture. I'm sorry about that... But! I got a few nice pictures for you on the drive home, too...

...And when I came home, there was a cardinal in the tree next to our house:

...I hope the soul of the one that died in my hands is doing okay. If you see him, please tell him I said hello and that I love him, won't you? And if you see the song sparrow, will you tell her, too, that I said hello and that I love her? I'd really appreciate it if you could. 💖 When I got home, I found Hunter and Hoshi waiting for me! They seemed to miss me, and came to chill out right where I normally sit:

And also there was a box of things waiting for me! One of the things inside was the fancy sticker book I got! I wonder what @tinyfluffyshark will think of it!! 🥰

I can now be trusted with stickers!! And Hoshi seems to approve!

Two of the kites I bought also came in:

...I have PLANS for that eagle kite! But I'm not gonna tell ya what they are, even if you ask me with big huge pouty eyes!!! You'll have to wait and see, because I'm horrible and evil like that!! BWAHAHAHA!!! 🤪🤣💖

And in the end, I got to have all kinds of tasty snacks! I ended up not eating the leftover pizza; J ate half of what remained when we returned to the airport, so I'll have it for breakfast tomorrow! Instead I had a tornado potato and some bibimbap!

And you might be thinking, "But Lumine, what in the world is a "tornado potato"??? It sounds VERY dangerous!!" But no, my wonderful, beautiful friend - I promise you that it isn't dangerous at all!!! A tornado potato is when you take a small potato, cut it into a spiral, fry it until it's crispy, and dust it in cajun seasoning and parmesan cheese! They're DELICIOUS! I split mine with J:

...And here's the bibimbap! It's basically rice with all kinds of stuff on it; it's also really, really good:

...I could eat maybe only a third of this, haha! But that's okay!! All it means is that I'll have yummy pizza and bibimbap waiting for me tomorrow!! It's gonna be so good!!! 🤩🤤

...I wish I could share this with you. I wish I could share all of this with you. I wish you could be in the plane with us, or maybe flying alongside us. I wish you could take pictures, too; I bet you would have snagged up a picture of those hawks, easy-peasy! I wish you could try the tornado potato. I wish I could share some of my bibimbap with you. I wish you could have some pages in my sticker book all to yourself. I wish for so many things.

But when J and I returned to the airport we departed from, I went to the place where all the dandelion poofs were, and I scattered some seeds while wishing for the same thing I always wish for: your healing and freedom. I wished you could have a wholesome life full of tasty snacks, caring friends, and lots of fun and peaceful things to do. I wished for you to be happy and safe. I wished for so many good things upon you.

When I think about it, I wonder how many others are wishing upon dandelion poofs for good things to happen to you; I'm willing to bet that it's more than a few. 💖

Anyhoot, that's all I've got for today. I wonder what tomorrow will bring...

I love you. I don't know what sort of stuff you get up to over at the Edge of Creation, but... please stay safe out there, okay? Please come back to us; you have so much life to live still, and there are so many good things waiting for you.

I'll write again soon...

Your friend, Lumine

[sleepless-rants]

hiihii sleepless!!!!!!!!! any thoughts on the way the key concepts in mostly every (because i was. really not conscious during the inazuma) region's archon quests so far have had one or more of their key concepts encompass a KEY endgame-esc lore concept in one way or another>>??

hihihiii ok I love this question sm lets see (also so sorry for the long delay I've been really busy with stuff lately :'D )

Mondstadt: it WAS the first ever quest in game so I think we spent it learning about how the rest of genshin is gonna be more than anything. But if I had to point out a few 'hmmmm' moments:

1- wtf was the abyss order trying to do in controling a corrupted dvalin exactly? We're told they're trying to use him for their evil plans and then that they had plans to 'utilize him' in the trailer with lumine riding a ruin guard. I mean it all traces back to the loom of fate obv but I've been curious to know what that specific part of the plan was about. Anything to do with dvalin is suspicious to me bcz durin.

2- the entire conversation we had with venti at the end of the archon quest. The whole talk about allogenes and how they can acsend to godhood, the fact that venti and the cryo archon used to be on good terms but now havent spoken for centuries, etc etc honestly when in doubt just go watch that part again it gets the brain gears rolling.

3- the fact that an archon's power comes from the number of people believing in them.

Liyue: ngl the liyue quest was so boring to me I was half asleep while doing it so I might've missed some stuff BUT

1- the very end of the quest and the contract zhongli signed. I know that archons dont exactly love their gnoses and would probably trade it for a jolly rancher if given the chance BUT the trader was still a fatui harbinger and if zhongli's even a quarter as smart as nahida is he would ask for something beneficial in return. So yeah I rlly wanna know what the contents of that contract were I think it will be important going onward.

2- the fact that zhongli did ALL THAT just because he wanted to free his people from his reign retire and wanted to make sure they were ready for it is really telling. Time and time again we see how much archons themselves hate celestia and the system they've created. In the latest fontaine aq we even saw the lenghts some of them are willing to go to for destroying this system and I have no doubt this is going to mean something big in the future. (i mean keep in mind we have THREE godless nations now. Mond, liyue and fontaine archons all set their people free. As much as I love to meme abt archons vs khaenri'ah you have to give credit where credit is due.)

(It actually becomes key concepts from here instead of things I have questions about bear with me)

Inazuma:

1- VISION BEARERS LOSE THEIR MINDS WHEN YOU TAKE THEIR VISION!!!! the explanation inazuma aq offered was that its because visions are directly linked to a person's ambition, lose your vision = lose your ambition etc etc BUT DID ANYONE REALLY BUY THAT??? also if that's the case what about the few cases of people who lost their vision but were perfectly fine still????? Itto???? That one guy in the tea house who even says it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulder?????? The granny in wangshu inn???? Visions are getting more suspicious with every new aq.

2- delusions take away from their user's lifespan (not that It matters for any of the harbinger's other than childe and regular fatui soldiers so probably not as important as the vision thing but yk)

3- honestly the whole concept of eternity and time (which we got to explore more in ei's second sq) "eternity is the closest thing to the heavenly principles" what do you mean raiden. What did you mean by that. Dont even get me started on the whole pocket dimensions thing and how time flows diffrently in diffrent corners of teyvat. The fact that the future affects the past more than the past affects the future. Everything is litterally upside down.

Sumeru: every line that was said in the sumeru archon quest ever.

1- Descenders exist. And they are not affected by irminsul changes. Speaking of which,

2- I CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS AND HOW MANY THINGS IT MEANS FOR THE LORE!!! IRMINSUL CAN BE WIPED OF CERTAIN INFORMATION! AND THE ONLY WAY TO MAINTAIN THAT INFORMATION IS TO WRITE IT IN THE FORM OF A STORY! A FAIRYTALE! LOOK IN YOUR ARCHIVE PEOPLE! LOOK AT THE BOOKS! READ ANYTHING ANDERSDOTTIR HAS WRITTEN! READ THE PALE PRINCESS AND THE SIX PYGMIES!!!! READ THE FLOWERS FOR PRINCESS FISCHL!!! READ THE BOAR PRINCESS!!! READ THE MOONLIT BAMBOO FOREST!!!! GRARRAGAGAGGA

3- our twin is somehow native to teyvat (not a descender) while we are not. This is very much smelling of someone having messed with irminsul information. Either they wrote our twin into the irminsul files or they removed us. I used to lean towards the second one but after perinheri and learning khaenri'ahns welcomed people from outside teyvat im not so sure.

4- the entire forbidden knowledge and king deshret plotline. (King deshret/king irmin/nibelung parallels drive me insane on a daily basis. The fact that people affected by forbidden knowledge develop SCALES on their bodies literally do I need to say more.)

5- dreams are a seperate realm in teyvat. I dont see people talk about this enough despite how important the concept of dreams is in this game.

6- forget about information PEOPLE can be wiped off irminsul. Thats fucking terrifying. They cant wipe themselves but if a powerful enough person (ahem hexenzirkel ahem ahem dainsleif ahem) decides you shouldn't exist anymore you just...dont.

7- teyvat samsara cycle/ time loop confirmed. This is litterally a 500k word theory post of its own so imma just leave it there for now.

8- COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS!!! THE ENTIRE IRMINSUL COULD BE A COLLECTIVE CONCIOUSNESS!!! TEYVAT COULD BE A COLLECTIVE CONSIOUSNESS FOR ALL WE KNOW!!!

9- nahida wanted to get rid of the gnoses on her hands especially the electro one. Keep this in mind for the fontaine list.

10- sustainer of heavenly principles has been inactive since khaenri'ah. Hmmmmm

Fontaine: aka the only god khaenri'ahns pray to is focalors.

1- focalors my lovely lovely woman. We dont have a hydro archon anymore that is insane. Seven archons and only two of them are actively moving against celestia smh. (Also is it the six now instead of the seven?)

2- GNOSES ARE THE REMAINS OF THE THIRD DESCENDER!!!!! WDYM!!!!! CELESTIA REALLY STOLE A DESCENDERS CORPSE AND STOLE THE DRAGON'S POWERS AND MADE LITTLE BATTERIES FOR THEIR ARCHONS. WHO EVEN IS THE THIRD DESCENDERS

3- TWICE now gnoses have been said to "cause problems" if they remain where they are and so they are handed over to the fatui. The second time could've been excused as neuvillette not wanting a celestia device near him if it werent for the first time with nahida. What kind of problems are we talking abt here?

4- heavenly principles inactivity further proven by the fact that one of their archons TRICKED THEM FOR 500 YEARS, KILLED HERSELF, DESTROYED ONE OF THE SEVEN THRONES, HANDED THE POWER BACK TO A DRAGON SOVEREIGN and nothing happened. Are they dead? Like actually?

5- dragon sovereigns can be reborn/ have descenders. Nibelung/ irmi- *gunshot*

6- this was said in the sumeru interlude chapter also (or was it wanderer's sq I dont remember) the fact that you cant change fate, but CAN change how it affects the world.

Apologies if this is a bit incomprehensive I wrote this just at the top of my head (probably I should've re-read the aq voicelines akajskam) but there you go. The ultimate "archon quest things to keep in mind" list.

[ac-liveblogs]

penny for your thoughts regarding the fatui, how they're portrayed and how you'd adjust them?

thank u…. every penny counts…

I find the Fatui pretty frustrating, honestly. The Harbingers are difficult to get invested in - I find their lore overly complicated and tedious, their storylines don't use the characters effectively and lack punch, they're no fun as villains and - worst of all - their boss battles suuuuuck. I think Childe and Dottore get off the best of all of them, and when Dottore's Biggest Moment so far is when killed off all his clones off-screen when we barely got to see him utilise him that's… not… great.

(memorable boss battles are important for memorable antagonists, and action RPGs. HYV has very bad sense for when they should include bosses - or has crippled itself with its mat boss/trounce domain system - and relies on spectacle over fun and challenging boss fights.)

IMO, HYV dug it's own grave when it decided Genshin needed minimum 2 separate villain factions, the Celestia mystery AND all the regional lore… on top of also needing to seed several brand new characters that are all going to be likeable charming allies that are literally going to be products. That's a lot to cover and not a lot of time, especially when they're so averse to having characters be relevant to each other on-screen for extended periods of time. And you don't want loads of dialogue in a videogame anyway...

Anyway, not fun. I like kooky villain squads but the Harbingers just ain't it, chief.

As for my plans, assuming you meant the rewrite by 'adjust'...

I've been thinking a lot about how to manage the Fatui. My plans are loosely based around my expectations for how Genshin canon will handle the Harbingers going forward - I think there's going to be a civil war that will divide the 'sympathetic' well-intentioned extremists/playable Fatui (Tsaritsa) and the 'unsympathetic' irredeemable villains/non-playable Fatui (Jester/Pierrot), and the two sides will come to blows (the Traveler siding with the Tsaritsa in some capacity). Genshin loves its factions.

I plan to stick to the rough shape of that, though I want to cut as much bloat as possible;

Jester's Faction will be connected to/allied with the Abyss Order. Pierro wants to restore it, destroy the modern world and overthrow Celestia.

Tsaritsa's Faction also wants to rebel against Celestia to free humanity, but the ends justify the means as far as she's concerned. She will still be a villain, but she'll be the 'lesser evil' compared to the Abyss Order and Celestia. I imagine her gracefully entrusting the world to the Travelers once her plan is foiled.

I'm going to make the Harbingers from each region more relevant to the overarching plot, but I'm going to focus on some more than others. Some one-off bosses, some will be connected to the party.

I'm going to cull a lot of unnecessary lore, or reassign some elsewhere. I really only want to keep what's necessary. I might even merge some Harbingers with other characters to streamline things - e.g., I'm probably just going to upgrade Pierro's relevance by making him one of the 5 Sinners of Khaenri'ah, or merge Enjou with one of the Harbingers.

It's easier to plan for the Harbingers I've already seen than the ones I haven't, haha... I do have some specific plans in mind, though.

Childe is easiest to discuss; he's loyal to the Tsaritsa and is a sometimes-enemy-sometimes-ally to the Travelers + rival to Lumine. He's my tentative pick for the party member that joins in Snezhnaya, likely on the Tsaritsa's orders after she's defeated. I want him to get stronger alongside the party - like Lumine, who has to start caring about Teyvat/only cares about finding Aether and bouncing, Childe will also grow into a more responsible person and leader/only cares about FIGHTING. (@ the arlecchino stuff down below)

La Signora - she's vindictive, hates Mondstadt specifically and has an axe to grind with Venti. She'd be defeated in the second Mondstadt arc, not Inazuma. I think the idea of reversing time to redo the war against the surface/Celestia is very appealing to her, so she falls in with Jester. She doesn't give a shit about anyone else - she just wants to save Rostam.

Arlecchino - To cut down on redundancy, I'm going to merge Peruere with Crucabena as the cold and uncaring head of the House of the Hearth. Lyney would kill her during the events of the Fontaine AQ and take her place as Arlecchino. I'm a bit torn on Peruere's loyalties; on one hand, I'd like to use the Crimson Dynasty stuff re; the way she raises the kids in the House of the Hearth, on the other I think this is a great place to put the Tsaritsa's "ends justify the means" ideology to greatest use. Childe will probably end up stepping up quite a bit here.

Scaramouche - a piece of Kazuha's character arc; these two will be developing around each other quite a bit. The "become god" plan will stick around from canon, but I plan to end Sumeru with him going on the run from both the Fatui and Celestia with the Electro Gnosis in his possession. He'll show up (much) later as an ally, though he won't join the party.

Dottore - Team Jester. is just here because this entire venture sounds fascinating and he wants in. For science. I like the idea of being able to fight and kill him multiple times. I'll be positioning him more as an enemy to Collei and by extension Nahida than Scaramouche, bc when I said I was simplifying lore on GOD Scara is gonna be one of them. I have got to figure out what I'm doing with Irminsil...

I need a Harbinger aligned with the Abyss to swing a bat at Zhongli to kick off the "Zhongli Dies For Real" storyline later in the game that's going to seriously fuck up Xiao, and my current prospect is Pantalone. I'm seriously considering chopping up Enjou's narrative role between Childe and Pantalone. It'll either be Pantalone or Sandrone anyway, though I'm really not a fan of the "Sandrone is Guizhong!" theory.

At the very least, Kathryne will be Sandrone's eyes and ears.

Capitano - Tsaritsa Faction. I... don't have much, he's really uncompelling. I'm debating cutting him from Natlan and moving him somewhere else, I really gotta see 5.3 first. Might be cool if Dainsleif was his commanding officer back in the day?

Man, Mondstadt, Inazuma and Sumeru are the easy ones. Liyue, Fontaine and Natlan are gonna be.... ugh.

I have my own plans for Celestia if we don't get anything from HYV any time soon (or if I don't just like it), so the specifics regarding the Tsaritsa will have to wait...

[racecarcat]

intro ??! ˚❀༉‧₊

Hiiii!!! I’m racecarcat, if you want you call me kat for short.

I just kinda wanna post stuff because I think it’d be fun. I’m unfortunately very inconsistent and everything (read: my mood) fluctuates very fast. I also, am really bad with tech, and therefore know to format nothing. Consumerism. Anyhow, here are some fandoms I’m in (or rather, have been in that if given the opportunity to talk about I can rant abt for hours):

• Jujutsu Kaisen (JJK)

• Honkai Star Rail (HSR)

• Genshin Impact (GI)

• Bungo Stray Dogs (BSD)

• Project Sekai (PJSK)

• Chainsaw Man (CSM)

• Sakamoto Days (SD)

Here are my fav characters from each, not in a specific order:

JJK: RIKO AMANAIIIII (pls someone love her as much as I do), Aoi Todo, Mai Zenin, Maki Zenin, Hiromi Higuruma, Kento Nanami, Yuki Tsukumo, Iori Utahime, Yuko Ozawa, Mei Mei and Mahito (I like them ironically I swear)

HSR: Stelle/Caelus, Jing Yuan, Welt Yang, Robin, MISHA, YUKONGG, Fu Xuan, Huohuo, Tingyun, Bailu, Ruan Mei, Jing Liu, ARGENTI, BAI HENG

GI: NAVIA, Neuvillette, FURINA, Kokomi, Shenhe, CHIORI, Jean, Lumine/Aether, GANYU, KUJOU SARA, KAVEH, Itto, Nahida, Faruzan, Yanfei

BSD: PAUL VERLAINE, Rimbaud, FUKUZAWA, SIGMA, Kunikida, Chuuya, all the flags (I LOVE STORMBRINGER), HIGUCHI, Hirotsu, ODA SAKUNOSUKE ODA SAKUNOSUKE ODA SAKUNOSUKE, H.P Lovecraft, Louisa May Alcott, EDGAR ALLEN POE, Fukuchi, TERUKO

PJSK: ENA SHINOME, Mafuyu Asahina, Ichika Hoshino, Honami Mochizuki, Minori Hanasato, Shizuoka Hinomori, KOHANE AZUSAWA

CSM: Denji, ASA MITAKAAA, Aki Hayakawa, KISHIBE, QUANXI, Angel, Kobeni, Reze, Madoka, Nomo, Santa Claus, PINGSTI, NAYUTA, Himeno

SD: Taro Sakamoto, LU XIAOTANG, OSARAGI, Shin Asakura, Nagumo, GAKU, Rion Akao, AKIRA AKAO, Natsuki Seba, Nao Toramaru, Obiguro, Heisuke, SHISHIBE, AMANE

And for funsies, here are some ships I like! Fair warning, I LOVE rarepairs and multi shipping:

JJK: Satosugu, Itafushi, NobaMaki, Hakari/Kirara, Choso/Yuki, Yuji/Yuko, MECHAMIWA, Nanami/Bakery Lady, Yuta/Maki, Yuta/Inumaki

HSR: Stelle/March 7th, Caelus/Dan Heng, Gepard/Sampo, Blade/Kafka, DAN FENG/YINGXING, Jing Yuan/Blade, Pela/Lynx, Bronya/Seele, JING LIU/BAIHENG, Himeko/Kafka, Cocolia/Serval, ASTA/ARLAN, Jing Yuan/Fu Xuan, Tingyun/Jing Yuan

GI: Jean/Diluc, Qingxiu/Chongyun, Beidou/Nigguang, Neuvillette/Focalors, Ganyu/Xiao, Lumine/Amber, Arlecchino/Columbina, Yae/Layla, truly too many to count.

BSD: Kunizai, AtsuLucy, Fyozai, FukuFuku, Shin Soukoku, RIMLAINE, Chuuya/Albatross, KuniBram, OdaAngo, Ranpoe, Shirachuu, KuniChuu, Yosano/Koyou, Kyouka/Kenji, SIGZAI etc.

PJSK: Ena/Mafuyu, Toya/Kohane, Rui/Shizuku, RuiNene

CSM: Denji/Asa, AkiAngel, Aki/Himeno, Denji/Yoshida, Violence/Kobeni, Denji/Reze, Asa/Yuko, Quanxi/her gfs

SD: None, surprisingly!

I’m probably use this blog for writing, talking about said fandoms, obsessively thinking about my ocs for each said fandom, and making very politically(/j) incorrect analysis about characters. And, more! I’m sorry this is so long, really just ask me abt anything and it’ll eventually happen.

Last thing: I might post about my own stories that are… painfully unfinished, so here’s a brief intro about each (they’re all heavily inspired by my respective fandoms, we don’t talk abt that):

*Insert Dramatic Title* (IDT): A robot by the name of Edis is asked to save humanity from a prophecy stating that, from five years from now, the world will end.

Slaughterhouse (SH): A pair of twins live in a “Haven Town” where there outside world was shrouded into an apocalypse. They learn how to truly survive in such a restrictive environment and find out the subtle corruption of their system.

‘Vest of the ‘Usual (VOU): A young boy has unusual abilities that leads him to work in the government, which depicts him having to do the unthinkable: go to school. And, do his job, that too.

Act I (A1): Olesia Lexina has had one dream all her life: protect humanity from the evil that is godlyhood! This follows her journey through the ideal of becoming on of the top members of the “Guardians of Humanity”.

Project: New World (P:NW): The government has allowed a project and organization by the name of “New World” to attempt to “purify humanity of all of its wrongdoings” and it has taken the world by storm; unfortunately, Chara has absolutely no interest in any of it.

The Eight Tragedies (T8T): An Angel has come to earth to ultimately destroy everyone on it, in which a humanities major named Reminiscence gives the world (her two friends) a chance to fix their problems before it can do so—by going into the past eight times to fix mistakes that should’ve never happened.

Majic Girl: BOOM ★ (MG:★): this one is something I’ve been meaning to get motivation to work on properly. A young freshman girl watches her whole world turn upside down (close to literally) to as some sort of eldritch horror resurfaces the earth! And she is one of the few people making the attempt to kill it.

$1 Supermarket ($1): The economy as we know it had crashed after inflation has risen way too high to the point even the upper class finds it hard to buy anything. Thus, a brand new chain store by the name of $1 Supermarket has arisen! Where everything is exactly $1! And there’s like, a bunch of monsters everywhere, but that’s besides the point.

Okay, that’s it now I promise. Thank you for reading this far!

[mari-on-dragonspine]

~Happy Valentine's Day~

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! 💖 Hope all of you know that you're cherished and loved, even if you're single. There's many different kinds of love, and the love given by friends is not inferior to any other. If you're seing this, take it as a sign to tell your friends / moots how much you love them 😌

This fic is for my lovely friend @thelost-in-time!

I love you so much and hope you will enjoy this. It might not be the best piece, but I wrote it with the best intentions and love for you 💚

Inspos

🎵 What if we rewrite the stars?

🎶 And I last I see the light

and it's like the fog has lifted

🎵 We're bound to break and my hands are tied

Now that I see you

} Genshin Impact

} Traveler Lost (Lumine) x Xiao

} mostly fluff, slightly angsty, nothing too serious

} ⚠️CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR 2024 LANTERN RITE EVENT

} ❗characters might differ from the original game!

Lantern Rite was approaching. The streets of the cloud city are bursting with even more people than usual and everyone is excited for the beginning of the new year. Even though this event is quite successful both among humans and adepti, Xiao never really cared for such an event. As in Teyvat everything comes in a circle, good times are bound to end, as so do bad times. Praying the heavens for happiness was futile. Also because this merciless rule was set up by those very same heavens. Having experienced this truth directly, Xiao knew better than anyone else.. However, ever since that Traveler showed up, Xiao found himself changing his mind. He wasn't sure about what exactly or why at first, however, as time went by, he couldn't deny it anymore. Her name was Lost. She had eyes sparkling more than core lapis and golden hair more glistening than sunshine. With her kindness, strength and undying resolution, Xiao really thought that, if it was her, nothing could be impossible. Every time they met, Xiao felt that his burden wasn't as heavy to carry anymore. After some more, he found himself remembering the happy days together with his friends more than the sad ones and he would share those sweet memories with her, telling stories from a long gone past. There was pain, but also joy and laughter. And he wasn't alone. But in all honesty, was he still alone? Couldn't it be that the traveler, whose name was Lost, had found him?

Just like a moth by the light in the darkest night, Xiao was attracted to her, to the point that he would watch over Lost every time he sensed trouble. Although he knew better than anyone that she wouldn't need his help, he still couldn't hold himself from being there, watching from afar, just in case.

Just in case she was in danger.

Just in case she couldn't call his name.

Just in case she forgot about their promise.

Wait, she wouldn't forget it, would she?

But the more he was thinking about that, the more he was unable to shake that worry away. Just when was it the last time she called for him? And how much time has passed since she left Liyue? Of course, she was a traveler, bound to never stop wandering… But his destiny was to forever protect the land of Geo, to never forget and never leave.

What if she.. had found someone else?

That thought alone made his sight go red with anger, but also sent his heart plunging deeply in despair. Xiao sprinted into the night, vanquishing evil after evil while pondering every single possibility. He could only get going, since every single time he slept, he dreamt of her and every time he rested his eyes, they would immediately shoot up, for it seemed to him that Lost called his name.

Then, yet another night missing her, he suddenly saw it. A single lantern, floating into the starry sky. Following its direction, Xiao saw the harbor light up with colorful lights and kites of every shape and kind. A timid smile then appeared from his lips. It was that time of the year again..

She should be home soon.

“Useless”

A small mountain of scraps on fire was burning at Xiao’s feet, its foul smell spreading into the air. This was the 10th attempt of him making his own Xiao lantern. How come that those hands were so skilled in killing, but absolutely awful for crafting? And Lost even invited him to build a kite together with all these people…

The thought of him being humiliated in front of both mortals and a fellow adeptus sent a chill down his spine! Of course he wanted to join the traveler but… How could he, with that embarrassing skills of him?!

He simply could not face it!

That was why he invited her over Pervase’s temple after the rite.

Xiao sighted once more, swiftly subduing the fire to start over again. All the lanterns were already sold out for the celebration, but at least the lady had been kind enough to let him have some materials and a booklet of instructions…

If only he could manage to make at least one before dark…

The rite of lanterns was about to end. A simple and slightly crooked lantern stood motionless at his feet. Xiao had invited her over just like in the past. At that time, she happily accepted to light a lantern with him… BuBut what if she had better plans this year? Just as he was letting himself down again, he finally perceived something. The glistening aura of the stars and the scent of a thousand adventures. Lost stood behind him, slowly approaching with a steady pace. Xiao could feel her warning gaze upon his back, her soft lips parting to address him. She was alone.

Before he could hear her call his name, he turned to greet her.

“Lost. “

The Traveler shook her head, her hands resting on her hips.

“It's just as I thought! You stopped short of stepping into the city again.. “

She wasn't really scolding him, but she looked kind of disappointed. He couldn't know that she was secretly looking for him in the crowd…

“Being in the city is not the only way for me to appreciate the lights and beauty of lantern rite. “

He said in a low voice, pointing into the direction of the harbor.

“Look… Liyue Harbor lies beyond this mountain. As long as I stand at this vantage point, I may freely behold the sight of all Kites slowly ascending into the sky. “

As he was speaking, Lost quietly approached him, as if she could look better from the same position he was standing.

“For me… That is enough. “

His head turned slightly, in time to see her nod at his explanation. She looked somewhat satisfied with that answer.

“Alright. “

Xiao lowered his arm and didn't say anything for a while. Then, just before she could say something, he gathered his courage to ask her.

“I invited you here because there's something I would like to do. “

Lost’s face lit up in curiosity as he continued

“I want to release a Xiao Lantern… And I'd like you to be there for it. “

With a small gesture, a gust of wind pulled the lantern from the ground and elegantly placed it into Lost’s hands.

“Did you make it yourself?! “

She noticed. Xiao blushed vividly, turning away from her in embarrassment.

“Yes. I apologize for its crude appearance… II have little skill in that regard. “

Lost laughed a little and shook her head happily

“No! No.. It's amazing! “

As she seemed to admire the little lantern in her palms, Xiao couldn't help but let out a little sigh.

“...You are very kind, as usual. “

The moon shone brightly in the sky, as thousand of lanterns seemed ready to reach it.

Xiao made a few steps closer, then reached for the lantern. While doing so, he gently stroked Lost’s hands with his.

“Alright, it's time. “

He whispered into her ear, waiting for her to get ready. As if they were one body, they both raised their arms, letting the lantern float away in the wind. As it disappeared into the tranquil night sky, Xiao’s expression softened.

A swirling sea of lights reached for the clouds, conveying its people's hopes and desires to the heavens. It was known for a fact that gods could acknowledge one's ambitions with a blessing, but could it work for other feelings too? If that frail lantern of his could really make it up there, would the heavens finally hear him? Could it be that simple to rewrite his stars? And if that was the case.. Would he finally be free?

This thoughts made his heart flutter a little, just like the lights at the mercy of the wind. Slowly, he shifted his gaze from the sky into her golden eyes, only to meet hers. When it happened in the past, during the very same occasion, she would slowly look away, a slight veil of red covering her pale skin. However, this time she kept her eyes on him, smiling softly.

Their wishes might not have been the same, but what about their feelings? He could never ask her. The heavens might even hear him, but his karma could never disappear into thin air.

As he was about to turn away, Lost caught his attention again.

“Xiao? ”

She called in a slight whisper, her body getting closer. Their hands were still holding each other. She smiled again and gently pulled him towards her.

“Xiao. ”

She mumbled again, her face now only a whisper away from his own. Xiao wanted to say something, however he couldn't do it. Before he knew it, Lost covered his lips with hers and his own responded by tracing the borders of her mouth with a gentle kiss. Although it was their first, it felt natural as breathing air.

A long time passed before they pulled away, the warmth of their kiss still persisting as they reluctantly moved apart to stare into the beauty of the lantern rite’s sky once more.

“Lost..”

Xiao really wanted to tell her. He wanted her to know how much he loved her and admired her and thought of her, he wanted to sink into her embrace and to kiss the rest of the night away.. But he knew it could not last as of now.

They both still had a destiny to fulfill.

That warm, bright feeling of love that they kindled into their hearts could still not resist outside of it.

He took a deep breath before finishing the sentence that was left unfinished for too long already.

“... Thank you. “

Lost nodded, still smiling at him with her signature gentle smile, the one that Xiao grew to love so much. She knew that the time would come for them to convey their feelings out loud. But today, heads resting one on the other, being together was all they needed.

This is enough...

Xiao thought, his eyes finally closing peacefully beside her.

...after all… I'm bound to break and my wings are tied.

[fluffy-ami]

If you still doing HCs i’d like to humbly request headcannons for Hu tao and Yae Miko

A/N: YOOOOOO#+-$#@& of course I'm still writing them whenever I have time, friend! I can't even imagine how many times I'm gonna die while writing these, but anyways, I am now alive-

Yae Miko 🌸

Oh lord save me

Well, let's start with Yae as a ler (i am weak)

I think that we can all silently agree that, if she decides to tickle literally anyone, then it's just non-stop teasing-✋🏻

Ei, traveller, Gorou, Sara, literally anyone she's familiar with? Miko doesn't care who you are lmao, she will find your worst spots and you will be destroyed. But not before she's studied all the person's small reactions, the looks on their face at the mention of The Thing, so that she's sure that it doesn't make them scared or nervous in a bad sense. Once Yae makes sure that you don't mind this kind of physical contact, she strikes and after that she'll never let you live that down-

It doesn't matter who her travelling companions are, she's definitely the tickle monster in any group. You know, The Look™, the naiLSSSsss, the electro vision, it all just makes the perfect ler formula and I'm living for it

She's very laid back, both while chasing someone and while being chased, because in the end it's Yae who always decides how to end the chase, it depends on her mood if she's on the recieving end. If she trusts the person enough, she will let them catch her and have their fun for a little bit, but once they're done, Miko will retaliate immediately

“Hm? Where do you think you're going, honey? My little kitsune spirits are hungry for some adorable laughter, they're going to get you~”

But fr tho, the fact that she's electro makes it all so much worse (in a good sense). Using tiny electro shocks while tracing random shapes on your tummy with her nails... 💀

Also, that fluffy pink kitsune tail? If you're sensitive to fluffy things, it's an absolute death, and she would definitely use it to turn you into a giggly puddle-

Miko as a lee tho? She literally doesn't care on what end she's on, she will tease you back with her look and with her playful little threats until you're a blushy mess. And if she becomes “bored” and manages to get out, you better run honey, you better run as fast as you can 💀

As for her worst spots... I'd say Yae is most ticklish on her underarms and belly (ayo don't look at me i don't make the rules ok-), also I think that her fluffy fox ears are pretty ticklish. And her ankles. She just looks like she's ticklish there-

Hu Tao 👻

If the Funeral parlor director finds out you're ticklish... run for your life lol 💀

Hu Tao is definitely the type to dish out surprise tickle attacks or chase her poor victims down while teasing them playfully (“The evil spirit is gonna getcha!~”) in the process, it depends on the person she's planning to attack

Ah, yes, about that. Hu Tao tickles a lot of people. And by that I mean a lot. Zhongli, Xiao, Xiangling, Chongyun, Xingqiu, Xinyan, and Lumine/Aether are her most common victims (she also probably tried to get Qiqi at least once to find her tickle spots akhdjs-), but of course, if she starts travelling and meets new people, they better watch out bro ಠ⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ⁠ಠ"""

And you can't tell me that she doesn't ✨absolutely love✨ playing “Hide and Tickle”, and of course Tao uses her little ghost friend for the better effect! She just finds it very amusing when her friends' surprised shrieks quickly dissolve into sweet giggles once she attacks from behind <3

Also likes giving cheer-up tickles to her companions! She's very gentle while doing it, just a few giggles is enough for her, because Hu Tao doesn't want the tickles to become overwhelming.

“Awwwh, does our little grumpy pants not want to talk to others all of sudden? Alright then, let's use my special technique! Just so you know, I'll keep going until you tell me what happened~”

Worst spots? Bro, get the ✨thighs✨ bro. Like, you can't tell me they're not insanely tickish, especially the soft inner part. Also the sides of her knees (like, just sorta massage there with your fingers and she'll give you the sweetest giggles aah-💖) and maybe ribs!

She's definitely a kicker. Hu Tao doesn't squirm around all that much, but she kicks a lot to make the tickles less overwhelming! That's why going after her worst spots may result in an accidental injury to the attacker's poor beautiful face-

I think she snorts a lot when she's laughing too hard! Well, she finds it a little embarrassing, but it's actually adorable-

A/N: I guess that's all for now! Finally back to posting occasionally, so let's hope it's not the last thing I'll post in 2023 lmao 💀

Anyways, thanks for the request, and I hope you're having a great day! 🌸✨

[thetailofathought]

What became an antidote to the slowly bittering life 🌱

One of the saddest tendencies in our present culture is an indignant intolerance for the basic humanity of being human. People of the past are harshly judged by the standards of the present (which their own difficult lives helped establish), and people of the present are harshly judged by impossible (and hypocritical, in the full context of any judger’s life) standards of uniform perfection across all regions of private and public existence. And yet the eternal test of character — our great moral triumph — is the ability to face our own imperfections with composure, reflecting on them with lucid and luminous determination to do better — an essential form of moral courage all the more difficult, and all the more important, amid a cultural atmosphere that mistakes self-righteousness for morality and suffocates the basic impulse toward betterment with punitive intolerance for human foible.

Tolstoy began reckoning with his own imperfect life, punctuated by the human inevitability of having acted unwisely and unlovingly in moments too mentally and emotionally threadbare to act otherwise, and set out to find the wisdom he had lacked along the way.

Carl Sagan would come to echo in his lovely invitation to meet ignorance with kindness, Tolstoy writes:

You should respond with kindness toward evil done to you, and you will destroy in an evil person that pleasure which he derives from evil.

Across epochs and cultures, in his famous indictment “it has always been much easier (because it has always seemed much safer) to give a name to the evil without than to locate the terror within,” James Baldwin (August 2, 1924–December 1, 1987) shone his piercing beam of truth upon the fundamental fact beneath Tolstoy’s insight that we only see as much kindness as we ourselves possess: We are untender with each other because we cannot bear the terrifying difficulty of being human, vulnerable and perishable as we are.

And yet, like Tolstoy, Baldwin thought deeply about what saves us — from ourselves and, in consequence, from each other — and, like Tolstoy, he recognized that, in the end, only love does. In his lifeline for the hour of despair — which remains one of his most penetrating and most personal essays, and one of his least known — he observes:

I have always felt that a human being could only be saved by another human being. I am aware that we do not save each other very often. But I am also aware that we save each other some of the time.

In the final essay from the same forgotten treasure, Baldwin revisits the subject in what can best be described as a prose poem of eternal truth:

The earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have.

The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.

But to hold each other in the faith of love is no small triumph for our fear-frayed hearts. In one of his final interviews, echoing Rilke’s insistence that “for one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks,” Baldwin reflects:

Loving anybody and being loved by anybody is a tremendous danger, a tremendous responsibility.

And yet, as he told Margaret Mead in their historic conversation, it is a responsibility to our own humanity:

We’ve got to be as clear-headed about human beings as possible, because we are still each other’s only hope.

Accordingly, some things torment us more than they ought; some torment us before they ought; and some torment us when they ought not to torment us at all. We are in the habit of exaggerating, or imagining, or anticipating, sorrow. (Seneca)

Make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a river — small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past rocks and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. (Russel)

Candor and clarity go a long way in fertilizing the soil, but in the end there is always a degree of unpredictability in the climate of communication — even the warmest intention can be met with frost. Yet something impels us to hold these possibilities in both hands and go on surrendering to the beauty and terror of conversation, that ancient and abiding human gift. And the most magical thing, the most sacred thing, is that whichever the outcome, we end up having transformed one another in this vulnerable-making process of speaking and listening.

.

https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/10/21/telling-is-listening-ursula-k-le-guin-communication/

https://www.themarginalian.org/2017/08/14/james-baldwin-nothing-personal-evil/

https://www.themarginalian.org/2016/12/05/joan-didion-on-morality/

https://www.themarginalian.org/2021/12/24/feeling-knowing-damasio/

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

June 2023 Wk 3 

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 9 of 12 - There sure is a lot of drinking in this show (who am I to talk?). Omg so awkward: The not-break-up not-confession. I have heartburn. Also I could not watch Jeng break down. Just nope. Then time jump? If that was our DOOM episode the timing is off. Or next week is the final? Or we get 3 eps of domestic bliss and sexitimes? I’m confused. 

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 9 of 10 - I like how trope-subversive this show is - first soulmates, then love triangle, now the faen fatal. NO SINGING. Oh good. They didn’t! Yay! So yeah I still love it. But I am also still a touch scared of where it might go. This one can’t be trusted. 

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 5 of 12 - not a bad ep this week or was I too drunk to register nuance and damage? You decide. Trash watch here.

Luminous Solution (Sat Gaga) ep 5 of 6 - I always have to psyche myself up to watch this show, because I want to fast forward through most of it, but it’s on Gaga so that’s damn near impossible. At least this is the penultimate episode. I think after 3 BLs I can safely say Gun is just not a good actor. Speaking of... crying clothed in the shower? I haven’t seen that trope in years. But I LOVE the high school boys and their story so much. Love Sick level of earnest floppy goodness, I’m such a sucker for this kind of romance. I want them to be in a completely different BL. I’m so conflicted. I NEED this show to end so I can decide how I feel about it.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love Tractor (Korea Weds iQIYI) eps 5-6 of 8 - So much is happening, evil x-boyfriend shows up. We got flashbacks to coming-out drama + nasty dad (super unusual for a KBL). But baby’s first taste of desire is hilarious. This one is full of lovely contrasts, and contrasting life experiences. It’s all about support and neglect. 

Tokyo in April AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 2 of 8 - Very much full of hero worship and giving me My Beautiful Man vibes (only softer and office set). “Dazzling” = always an interesting word when it comes up in JBL subs. It’s clearly a Japanese word/concept like kawaii  that is more complex than the English word being used. Meanwhile, this being Japan we get lots of hints as to separation and dark past events. 

Tie The Knot (prev Under the Same Sky) (Pinoy YouTube) eps 1-2 of 8 - From OXIN Films (Rainbow Prince), based on a true story (?!), Briggs's family runs a bridal business but he has never fallen in love until he meets a groom to be in an arranged marriage. EXACTLY the same premise at Mame’s forthcoming Wedding Planner. There are so many characters and prospective couples (including a v bi girl with a female fuck buddy, not seen that in a BL before) that it is a little hard to keep straight (heh). I’m sure it will shake out. It’s intriguing so far, if a touch silly. I actually like the arranged marriage premise because the two rich kids involved in it are so weirdly kind & platonically sweet to each other, even if they’re both on the same page about it only being for show. 

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) ep 7 & 8 of 12 - Apparently there is very little difference between a cat and a demanding princess of a boyfriend. That clocks. Basically this was the dating times. 

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 11 of 12 - There is a lot more meat to this silly little BL then I thought there would be given the premise, but it’s Japan so that’s as it should be. But, as it’s Japan there’s also a little too much cringe for me. I do enjoy how generous Japan is with late bloomers and I would def like to host a kimchi party  but otherwise... meh. 

Stupid Genius (Vietnam Fri YouTube) ep 3 of 6 - Bi erasure still alive and well I see. This one remains fine for VBL but no more than that.

It’s airing but ...

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.

Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - It’s mostly in English and set in LA so I’m not bothering but the first one did drop.

Ever After (Pinoy YouTube) - I investigated but as spies reported it's a real mess (not a hot one). Don’t bother. 

About Us but Not About Us (Pinoy Prime?) - from 2022 supposed to be finally getting inter distribution, didn’t show in my territory. A professor grieving the loss of his partner meets an ambitious literature student. I’m not fussed. 

Stay With Me ... NO! 

In case you missed it

What Did You Eat Yesterday movie, BL Express posted a review. I’ve yet to get hold of it but if you enjoy Our Dining Table this is it’s grown up parent series & movie. 

Café in Love - I finally got around to watching this. And frankly it hits all the tropes but is so damn bad. The setting is cute, the central brotherly relationship is sweet, the side cast is v queer (baby gay has all these auntie queens catting about) and some complex bisexual awakenings but… but… everything else is a chemistry void. Some fun language wordplay and exploration of cultural tropes like cheek kissing does not save it from an unnecessary amount of punching  and a but ton of sexual harassment and statutory rape. No thank you. I had to rewatch Destiny Seeker to get over this. 3/10 

I gave up 

Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (Japan Sun ????) 10 eps - NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS and no, I have no idea where to get it, why would I? Apparently it finished. I still can’t find it but it’ll be off this list next week.

Why You (Khmer ????) - Billed as a horror romance, not sure if this is a movie or a series where it aired... nothing except that it exists.

Next Week Looks Like This:

3 BLs are finishing but nothing is starting up. We running lean these days. 

Just started today (Sunday): Dinosaur Love (Thai iQIYI) Trailer 10 eps - from Ultimate Troop about a uni student, Rak, whose partner cheats on him with Rak's best friend. This gives bad boy hazer Dino an opportunity to hit on Rak at last. From The Yearbook people so I shouldn’t watch this as it airs. After Remember Me? I swore never again with them. But there’s so little on right now, I might fall on the pulp sword. 

I’ll include it in next week’s summation. 

I’ll have the July 2023 upcoming for you next week too. 

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I love him, Your Honor. (Be My Favorite... HIM, he’s my favorite.) 

I love them, Your Honor. (Luminous Solution) 

Watch a tiny GL ship set sail across the seas of overly optimistic tumblrs... (La Pluie)

MY PRECIOUS! OMG I LOVE HER SO MUCH. (Tie the Knot) 

Incidentally, I would like a future as a dictatorial elder queer running a slightly shady business fleecing the straights via their dumb marriage traditions surrounded by nubile half-naked hotties.

And ya know what? I think this is achievable life goal for me. 

Gotta go, I have a future to plan. 

(Last week.)

[latimeria-fell-from-heaven]

The pyro abyss lector, I think his name was Enjou? Gives me major himbo vibes idk why😭 just the way he talks and is genuiely funny is just so precious to me

Plus i imagine he wouldn't know what to do with his big cock too, just letting you ride him and propably accidentaly overstimulating you💕

hi hi anon!

yep, his name is enjou! and yess, he does! the way he talked to the traveler ( lumine for me ) was just so funny bc he thought " hmm, they have lots of cabbage, mint and fowl, wonder what they doin'," and he straight was supposed to kill us but he didn't bc he likes us. and honestly, the feeling is mutually buddy. also he had a big brain moment bc he thought we had a book he needed and thought maybe he should kill us and then search us for said book. sir?? pls use your brain?? ask nicely?? you freaking himbo, you're lucky we love you so much,,,

nsfw below!

anyone who's had their ears open would have heard of the abyss and the creatures that housed them.

they were the very enemies of the gods themselves, the epitome of darkness and utter destruction. they brought nothing but chaos and harm to the outside world and were more than responsible for the many mishaps that plagued the people of teyvat. if any were spotted, it was common knowledge to put those monsters out of their misery and take them out for good before they caused any more harm.

they were evil, simply put.

monsters.

and yet-

here you were, sitting on the lap of one with its cock pressed against your quivering sex.

--

" f-fuck...it's huge," you breathed out, glancing at the huge erection that was pressed right up against your puckering hole. it was so bigー a mouthwateringly thick head that would twitch at random intervals, and leak out globs of thick cum that either stuck to the curve of your ass or trickled down the huge length. the entirety of the length was a dark red, except for bright red-orange markings that trailed up and down his length and back to where it met his crotch.

" i-is that so?" enjou huffed, his fiery orange fingers resting against your hip as his other hand was pressed flat against the ground beneath him. " i thought it was normal-sized," he continued, glowing eyes boring into yours and watching your every move," do all humans find this size huge, as you say?"

you felt yourself choke at his words - was he serious?! his cock was massive - hadn't he been around humans long enough to know that?! said lector tilted his head at your response, seemingly confused and not understanding what exactly he'd said.

" you moron, your dick is fucking huge in human standard!" you hissed, your face burning at your words. he lightly flinched at your loud tone - uncharacteristically for an abyss lector - which caused his cock to rub against your hole, making you whimper at the tingling sensation that shot up your spine.

" apologies ( name ).." enjou mumbled, his grip on your hip loosening ever so slightly. you faltered, eyes softening before you brought a hand to one of the horns on his head, stroking it as gently as possible. " it's fine, you freakin' himbo," you grumbled, shifting your hips ever so slightly, to which he merely chuckled, amused at your "adorable" reaction as he had so often put it.

" s-so," you started,

" can i put it in?" you breathily questioned, trembling as you began to grind against his huge cock. " ah, y-yes," he coughed, once, twice, before nodding, his voice as distorted as ever. " do what you must," he continued.

you silently nodded, reaching behind yourself and wrapping your fingers around the huge length, guiding it back to your puckering hole, enjou grunting all the while. when it finally aligned against your pretty hole, you took in a deep breath - in and out - before you began to slowly push yourself down-

before you shoved yourself down all the way.

" -hiiiii?!" you shrieked loudly as his huge cock was nestled within your walls - your eyes shot open and your mouth hung open. fuckfuckfuck, he was huge! the sensation of your tight walls having been wrenched open and something so monstrously thick pressed inside shot waves of intense electricity all throughout your body and made you jolt and your toes curl from the sheer intensity of it. you could feel tears welling up in the corner of your eyes as you tried to adjust to having his huge cock nestled inside your velvety walls.

when you peered down to see enjou's reaction, you could see an abnormal bulge formed under your stomach, to which you let out a garbled moan. you practically collapsed against the lector, tightly gripping his broad shoulders as you drooled and babbled like some kind of pervert. you knew he'd be huge, but you didn't think it'd feel like this!

" f-fuck e-enjou-" you moaned, deliriously mumbling his name like a prayer, to which he let out incredibly heavy groans and grunts, very clearly himself affected by the sheer tightness of your walls clamped around his huge cock. his fingers dug into your hip, nearly drawing blood, but your mind was too jumbled from the intensity to even care.

" s-so...tight..." he groaned, with the more fiery red parts of his body seemingly glowing - could they do that? you wondered that briefly, only breaking out of that thought from hearing his raspy voice hiss out. you merely took in deep breaths, focusing your vision enough to become stable. you then pressed your chin onto his shoulder - it was really warm - andー

" h-hey enjou, c-can i start moving now?"

--

" o-ooh-guhhhh-fuuuckkk!"

you moaned loudly, not caring about the stupid echo; no one was around in enkanomiya so you couldn't even be bothered to care. you threw your head back, tongue lolling out your mouth as you bounced up and down on enjou's huge cock, a lopsided grin stretched on your lips.

" oh gods yes! f-fuck, more!" you slammed your hips down repeatedly, enjoying the sensations of his cock being dragged out only to be shoved back in at the last second. you were grinning like some kind of sick madman, but you couldn't care lessーit felt so fucking good; his huge cock rubbing against your oversensitive walls, the constant stream of orgasms that his monster cock has wrenched out of you-

and the sheer amount of cum he'd pumped into you.

huge globs of cum had been poured into you and had filled you to the utter brim, even leaking out and dribbling out onto the faded grass below. you had felt each and every pump of the milky liquid, and it just forced even more orgasms out of your poor body. fuck-

you were starting to get addicted to this.

enjou himself had let you do so, having admitted that he had no idea what to do or how he should move, so he'd let you take the reigns yourself. a part of you had suspected he might've just wanted to see you fuck yourself stupid on his cock, but you digressed.

" oughhhh-guhhh-y-yes! oh, gods yes!" you near screamed, happily moaning as you fucked yourself stupid like a whore. you knew you shouldn't have enjoyed it this much, but fuck, it felt so damn good and enjou had done little to even hurt you, so you shoved that thought away.

you were a pervert, a complete and utter pervert. you were so lewd for enjoying this, enjoying getting stretched open by a monster cock and milking it for its worth.

" o-oughhh-e-enjou..g-gonna cum again-!" you moaned, wrapping your arms around his neck, continuing your lewd bounces as you desperately chased your oncoming orgasm. " -e too," he groaned, voice becoming distorted and cracked with each bounce and squeeze your walls made around him.

" h-hey, let's cum together, 'kay?" you groaned out, not caring if he hadn't heard you or not. you were far too overstimulated and enjoying yourself to even notice anyways. you made harsher slams against his cock, lewd squelching becoming more prominent with each bounce-

" nnuohhh - hngaaahh!"

with that -

you came.

and so did enjou, his hips having pushed upward and pushing his huge cock further into your body, assuring that each drop of his cum would be nestled deep inside your walls.

" haah - nh -!"

you weakly moaned as he gently gripped your hip, before he pulled his cock out of the confines of your cum-stained walls, and the rest of his cum began to ooze out. it felt so weird, feeling his cum leaking and spilling out so freely like that. enjou merely stroked your back, at least having the common sense to know you'd be utterly exhausted by this.

but yet you -

" hey enjou...?"

" mmhm?"

you shifted until you were staring him in the eyes, stupidly smiling at him, to which he flinched.

" let's go again-"

he gulped.

" okay♡? "

[apompkwrites]

in your arms || aether, bennett, chongyun

masterlist characters: aether, bennett, chongyun genre: fluff summary: in which their s/o is in desperately need of cuddles. notes: ah i miss cuddles :(( if you can't tell from how i write cuddling, i'm big on physical affection like hugs and stuff. can't do that now tho :( also, hun is a petname i use like... all the time. idk man, i just really like it :D

aether -

i feel like this boy gives some of the best cuddles.

i like to think he's the "older" twin out of the two.

on the coldest nights of their adventures, him and lumine would cuddle up next to each other next to a fire to keep warm (platonically of course).

if you're in teyvat after he's lost his sister, he'd put everything into those cuddles.

he misses her so much and he hates the idea that one day, you'll be gone too.

although he held high statuses in both mondstadt and liyue, aether still preferred to camp outside the city limits.

something about the calm and quiet outdoors brought peace to the otherworldy traveler.

and you never really minded it.

as long as you were able to be next to him, you were content with any living condition.

luckily, it never really affected your nightly cuddles with the blond :)

one day you both split up to handle separate commissions, right?

one brought him all the way to mondstadt while yours required you to head to liyue.

this commission, however, was one you didn't particularly enjoy.

it wasn't because you couldn't handle, because of course you could.

in fact, it was purely because of the neverending stress building on top of you.

so once your commission was complete, you definitely were in need of some good ol' aether cuddles.

you waited for him by your usual spot, the aching feeling in your chest growing more unbearable as time went on.

until eventually--

"(name)! sorry, did you wait long?"

"we brought you some food to make up for it!"

the familiar voices of of your beloved traveler and his emergency food companion called out to you from down the path.

aether was running over to you with paimon in tow.

and you, desperately wanting to wrap your arms around him, ran over to him and met him halfway down the path.

before he could talk again, you had already jumped into him and were squeezing him as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders.

"wh-whoa! (name)?"

instinctively, he'd wrap his arms around you.

he wouldn't need to ask about how your commission was, he could already tell by how tight your grip was around him.

"c'mere."

he'd pat his hands on your legs, signalling for you to jump up into his arms.

and, of course, you do.

he still needs to set up your tent and all, but he doesn't want to let you go either...

next best plan? just build the tent with you in his arms.

it'd take him longer than it normally would since he was busy holding you, but he'd get it done.

paimon definitely wants to tease the two of you, but she'll save that for tomorrow when you're feeling better :)

once paimon disappears to wherever she goes, it's just you and aether in your tent beneath the moonlight.

you're both accustomed to the hard floor beneath your tent, but that never mattered.

all that mattered was that the two of you were together.

if you're still awake, he'll whisper some stories of how his day was and what happened during his commission.

i like to think his go-to position for cuddling would be the honeymoon hug?

i mean, like i said before, cuddling is something that reassures him that you won't be leaving anytime soon.

so something like that type of cuddling where your both holding each other is his absolute favorite.

but if you're in need of comfort, he'd be laying on his back with you on top of him, his arms wrapped around your waist and hugging you close to him.

he likes to talk to you, surprisingly.

i mean, we've seen how quiet this boy is.

but with you, he'll talk to you even after you've fallen asleep.

"i know today's been kind of rough on you, hun... i hope just being here with me, holding you close to me, is enough to help comfort you."

bennett -

bennett... has absolutely no experience in cuddling whatsoever.

you'd have to be the one to help him out.

he's always afraid something will go wrong due to his bad luck that he's tried his best to stay away from intimate things like that.

plus, he's also very energetic and jittery so cuddling isn't something that's crossed his mind to begin with.

you'd be the one to show him all of the different positions you could do, include those where you're just sitting next to each other.

he's definitely touchy since he's never experienced this before.

still kinda hesitant though because of his luck ://

he needs a lot of reassurance from you before he even thinks about fully cuddling in his sleep.

in fact, a lot of the time it'd be you who's cuddling him after a bad day.

i think his favorite position before fully allowing himself to cuddle would be ones with lingering touches.

like a simple arm slung over the shoulder and your legs crossing each others' in your sleep.

those small gestures.

but once he's used to cuddling...

he loves the idea of having you hold onto him while sleeping.

kinda like the sweetheart cradle with you being the one to hold him.

he just needs that reassurance that you're okay with him and his luck won't do anything to change that.

but sometimes you need to be cuddled too.

you're day has been rough, what with the countless things you needed to do that day (be it because of procrastination, schedule mishaps, etc.)

you'll head towards the adventurer's guild in search of bennett.

his dads all know you, of course, so whoever meets up with you takes him to wherever he is.

you wouldn't need to say a lot to bennett for him to know something's up.

probably just a small hum or murmur would be enough to clue him in.

you'd drape yourself over his back, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and digging your nose into his neck.

he'd jump for a moment, thinking someone else knocked into him because of his luck.

but then he realizes you and he relaxes.

he'd bring his hands up to rub your arm, hearing your muffled whines as he does so.

his dads would already notice you're having a bad day, so they don't say anything that'll disturb you two.

honestly? bennett would probably want to cuddle with you right then and there.

he's not one to get embarrassed too quickly, so he wouldn't mind.

but his dads bring up a good point that you both should probably be resting in an appropriate bed instead of the floor or a bench.

so the two of you would head home as soon as you could!

bennett would talk your ear off about his adventures that day.

if you don't wanna talk, he can do enough for the both of you!

anyway, you'd both head home and jump into bed as soon as you can.

he'd instinctively go to your standard position but then he remembers that you're in need of some well deserved cuddles.

so instead, he'll be the one to hold you close.

he'd let you rest your head on his shoulder or chest.

you could trace the scars running up and down his arms.

he'd rub your back lightly while talking about his adventures again.

he'd tell you tales of the mare jivari he's heard.

and when you're off to sleep, the stress leaving your system, he'd continue to rub his hand along your back.

"how about tomorrow we go on an adventure? just me and you. we could do whatever we want to get your mind off of things..."

chongyun -

this poor boy doesn't cuddle a lot!!!

he's gotta stay cold, y'know?

as much as he'd love to just wrap his arms around you all night, he can't...

but he will try!

he'd definitely try to push himself near the beginning of the relationship.

i'm talking forcing himself to cuddle all night, no matter how hot it gets.

but, as the loving s/o you are, you tell him that it's okay he can't do the full body cuddles like other people.

but he still wants that touch, even if it's a little.

his cuddles are the ones where only a certain body part is touching the other.

like his arm is up against yours or your legs are touching.

those types.

he feels bad he can't do more though :((

he for sure owns those cooling blankets, even if it isn't for cuddling.

if you're under one of those, it's more likely for him to try and give you a hug as you both drift off.

he'd eventually separate from the hug if he's feeling too hot.

and as much as you're okay with those small cuddles with fleeting touches, there are times where you just need a good cuddle full of hugs.

he'd come home from another day of trying to exorcise evil spirits, wanting to simply fall into bed where he knows it's nice and cool.

he'd greet you once he walks into your bedroom but he'd notice...

you're wrapped up in your blanket and hugging your pillow tight, acknowledging his entrance with a simple nod.

he doesn't know what's causing you to feel upset or stressed, but that doesn't really matter anyway.

he'd hop into bed right next to you, slowly unwrapping your body from the blanket.

you're still clutching onto your pillow once the blanket is gone.

he'd have to turn you over for him to even be able to look at you.

you're resting your cheek on top of your pillow while looking up at him with tired eyes.

he'll cup your cheek with his hand, smiling softly when you nuzzle into his cold palm.

he would stay on top of the sheets while you're lower body is tucked underneath it.

he'll rub his thumb along your skin, watching as your eyelids flutter every now and then.

"have you been awake long?"

you shake your head.

"i see... come here."

he'd open up his arms, a gesture you hadn't seen for a long time.

this one, however, was different.

he didn't have a forced smile on his face and his arms weren't tense like before.

this time, he had that soft smile you'd always see when you two are enjoying popsicles together and his arms were relaxed.

you'd scooch over the bed, tossing your pillow behind you as you nuzzle into his chest.

he'd let out a quiet chuckle before pressing a quick kiss to your forehead.

"i'm sorry i don't do this often."

"...it's okay. i like our cuddles no matter what."

"but you deserve this every once and a while."

you'd just hum in response, smiling at the feeling of his thumb rubbing your skin.

he won't talk as much as the other two, opting to keep the calm silence in your room.

you could hear his quiet breaths and his heart beating in his chest.

and you fall asleep to it, the feeling of his arms around your body permanently marked on your skin.

"i normally... get too hot when we cuddle like this. but now... it's feels really nice."

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Lampling

Debut: Dragon Quest XI

I know absolutely nothing about Dragon Quest, I just know it has Slime, you know, Slime! Everyone knows Slime! 

So my logic was, if this series delivered such a wonderful creature, surely it has more to offer!

And I was right! I want everyone to meet Lampling! A lovable little dude I met while looking up the bestiary of Dragon Quest XI! 

Where to begin… It is such a wonderful creature design all around! We got one cute little eye, good start, then a cuter smile below it! Already phenomenal! But WAIT what’s this? They’re a living fire lamp?! Wow! Tentacle-like parts grow from the main body and wrap around the flame to keep it lit! It’s like a funny octopus is carrying it very carefully. They also have a little floppy bit from which to hang! Such a delightful little lamp creature! Lampling and Lampent would be really good friends I think.

And like Lampent, this is a ghooostlyyy spiiiirit~ Spooky! Lampling is said to be born after a lamp is left abandoned for a long time. It comes to life to search for the person who abandoned them. I think I’d want to leave lamps everywhere taking this into account, free friends! Well not free, however much a fire lamp costs I suppose. 

Like a lot of Dragon Quest creatures, Lampling comes with a lot of alternate colors! This is because they need to be ready for when they get in Smash Bros, and not for any asset recycling or anything like that. And even if it was because of the latter, that doesn’t matter! Because they all are so delightful!

Name: Luminous Lampling

Debut: Dragon Quest XI

Starting off REALLY strong, this is such a perfect alternate palette, the fire is now a ghostly bluish green! And the body is a pleasant milky white. This could’ve been more than enough, but they decided to go further and ADD a brand new feature! Blushes! Their cheeks are now blushed! Instantly making them cuter! All these alts also come with their own lore, and for Luminous Lampling, they are seen as a symbol of life’s evanescence, as they’re only alive for as long as their fire is lit.

Name: Leafy Lampling

Debut: Dragon Quest XI

The lore for these guys is very interesting: They're still cursed lamps that came to life, but they also have evolved for life in the forest. Does this mean that supernatural and otherworldly beings still go through biological processes? That is such a wonderful worldbuilding feature I think, everyone can become a part of nature! This guy gets the colors of an acorn, turning their little floppy hanging bit into a leafy stalk! I think they look like a funny tomato and I love them!

Name: Lurid Lampling

Debut: Dragon Quest XI

The blushing is back! And with a lot of fun and wacky new features as well! They are now yellow and covered in red stripes, very festive! I never thought I’d want to see my beloved lamp creature in clown colors but here we are! It works really well I think, and the lore makes it even better! I’m just gonna quote the entire thing cause it really is fantastic:

 “Jazzy little lights used as decorations for all the major monster festivals. Their contrasting colours can't fail to put one in the mood for fun.” 

Wow! Not only are they described as “Jazzy” but they’re also very correct! They did not fail in putting me in a mood for fun!

Name: Lava Lampling

Debut: Dragon Quest XI

“Heeheeheehe I’m evil!” - Lava Lampling probably

You KNOW this guy’s a rascal! They look like an evil little devil!  They had to make a completely red variant with tiny demon horns, they just had to! I understand. Apparently they were sent to hell for being jealous of the other colors of the rainbow (and proceed to devour them). Fun fact: Red is the lowest energy lightwave in the visible spectrum so maybe that’s a better reason to be jealous, regardless, it’s a really sick piece of lore for this funny little devil! It doesn’t stop there actually! The fire in its belly is also extremely hot, so if they aren’t constantly keeping it in check they could be engulfed by it, this makes Lava Lamplings very anxious creatures. Terrifying!

And this is it for the Lamplings! Delightful little creatures dear to my heart, I hope I was successful in making you fall in love with them as well. If I was, make sure to leave your used fire lamps in some dark cave, and eventually you will get your own little friends!

Maybe one day you’ll come home to the sight of them giving you a warm welcome.