#y'all are just jaded and stand for nothing

[ultramarine-spirit]

"y'all only care about Palestine now because it's a trend" speak for yourself, I was insulting the Israel embassy on twitter when I was 13

[hisui-dreamer]

Hihi Rinna! Saw the cool event and I would like to request a bouquet ⁠\⁠(⁠･⁠◡⁠･⁠)⁠/ daffodils, rhododendrons and a few cherry blossoms, please send it to Lilia, Jamil and Jade!

everlasting mementos

Characters: Lilia, Jamil and Jade

Synopsis: you've left twisted wonderland, leaving behind a simple bouquet of flowers for him as a parting gift

Tags: heavy angst (disco wants suffering y'all), no happy endings, bad vibes all around, farewells

Word count: 976

Notes: hooboy this one was depressing ヘ⁠（⁠。⁠□⁠°⁠）⁠ヘ hope you enjoy the pain!!

Masterlist

flowers of choice:

daffodils: please don't forget me

rhododendrons: red ones symbolise tremendous grief

cherry blossoms: scattering, fleeting moments

Lilia casts a spell on your flowers to make them everlasting, keeping them by his bedside table his gaze is always drawn to it every time he walks into his room, and he’s reminded of all the memories you’ve shared together

he’s become used to saying farewells, having gone through the pain of losing his dearest friends and countless comrades in the war

he’s long learned that life will always move on, and whether or not you move along with it isn't a choice you get to choose

tries to act as normal, but everyone can tell he’s not energetic as usual

silver and malleus offer to spend more time with him so he won’t feel too lonely, and sebek even watches his mouth to not accidentally upset him

he’s incredibly grateful to everyone for being so considerate, but there’s no stopping the dull ache in his heart

every time he’s in the kitchen, he hears your panicking voice echoing in his ears, scolding him for another misdemeanour

or your squeals of surprise when he pops down from the ceiling to give you a kiss

you've really left a mark on this old fae...

Lilia tenderly caressed the flowers, tears welled in his eyes, tracing silent paths down his cheeks. He knew his time with you was limited, that you would always go back to your world and never return. He knew that nothing would last forever, but he just hoped he could have spent a little more time without you.

"How foolish am I...," he murmured softly, his voice tinged with sorrow. "To dare to hope for a different ending. One without goodbyes."

Amidst the flickering candlelight, he found himself enveloped in memories of your presence. "The world feels so much dimmer without you," he confessed, his words laden with longing and regret.

Jamil wanted to throw out the flowers but he couldn't bear parting with the last thing you left behind for him

he ends up turning them into pressed flowers, making a tiny pendant with them so he can keep you close always

Jamil, like he's done most of his life, decides to bottle up his feelings and go about his day as usual

but everyone in scarabia can tell he's snappier and a lot more tense than usual

even kalim, who's been trying his best not to upset or trouble jamil

on late nights, when he's all alone with his thoughts, he pulls up your old voice recordings, unable to fight the urge to hear your voice

he replays them tirelessly until every sentence is etched into his memory

the comfort they once provided now only serves to amplify his frustration, a mere reminder of your absence

he had resigned himself to a life in the shadows, but then you came into his life and for the first time in forever he let himself hope for a brighter future but now...

he wants to be mad at you for giving him this false hope, but he can't even stand the thought of being mad at you, he's just mad that he let himself hope again

still, he doesn't regret a single second he spent with you

The sound of your voice from the recording dwindled into the hushed night, and with it, the floodgates of his emotions burst open, and he collapsed onto the floor, tears streaming down his face.

"It's not enough," he whispered between sobs, clutching the device tightly in his trembling hands. "Just hearing your voice... it's not enough."

He yearned to see your smile, to feel your warmth beside him once again. "You gave me so much hope," he choked out, his voice breaking with emotion. "That maybe, just maybe, we could have been happy."

Jade keeps the bouquet of flowers you gave him, propagating them so they'll always thrive by his side, making sure to care for them so he'll always have the last gift you give him

each time he tends to them, he talks to them as if they're you, telling them about his day, what shenanigans floyd has gotten into, how well his mushrooms have been growing...

he never leaves without wishing for your happiness, because that thought eases the ache in his heart slightly

on the outside, he acts unaffected and you really wouldn't be able to tell he's upset at all

but floyd and azul can tell, it's clear as day to them just how devastated he is

azul lets him have more free time, cutting his shifts shorter so he can go on hikes or take care of his terrariums, any activities to cheer him up

but even those activities fail to lighten his mood, because he's constantly reminded of his memories with you

him taking care of your wound after you'd tripped and injured your knee, you excited to show him the new mushroom dish you've been working on, the subtle stares and smiles the two of you exchanged at school...

there are traces of you littering every corner of his heart...

As Jade passed by a familiar hiking spot, the very place where countless moments were shared between the two of you, bittersweet memories flooded his mind. He sank to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks as he struggled to catch his breath.

How was it possible that you were only in his life for a short period, yet your absence felt unbearable? How had you managed to leave such a profound impact on him, with every little thing now serving as a painful reminder of your absence?

"I just... wish to see you again..." he whispered to the empty trail, his voice choked with sorrow. "What can I do... to make this feeling go away?"

Masterlist

if you liked this post, don't forget to reblog!

[catsukiiee]

I like that your version of Hispanic Sero isn't a druggie 😭 Can you write more of him? Both of them being equally toxic if you can

YES MA'AM! 😋

# NO CHILL. | SITUATIONSHIP SERIES.

౨ৎ sero hanta x fem!reader

start reading the messages from left to right!

"K" is the start of the first messages

writing the texts had me giggling so much, the way i gagged myself writing sero's response

wordcount ; 1k

paragraphs ; 54

sentences ; 94

songs used.

main song ; no chill by partynextdoor.

beginning of car ride scene ; jaded by drake

car scenes ; ballin' by partynextdoor

in this au there is no quirks.

sero is nineteen instead of his canon age of 24.

he's 6'1 instead of his canon height.

sero is hispanic & japanese

he's not obsessed with drugs or goes around selling drugs because i'm tired of that borderline racist stereotype! he's a hard working mf with a good apartment and a car 🗣️ but yes he does smoke weed here and there like any other person that smokes weed here and there 🤷‍♂️

content ; smut with plot, fingerfucking, car sex, messy situationship (both of you are TOXIC AF.)

reader and sero aren't in a official relationship, this is more of a messy situationship between them and possibly bakugo if i decide to make this into a series because making the texts is so fun y'all 💀

"This fucking asshole." You sat at the bar, glaring at your phone before shutting it off and slamming it down on the counter screen first.

Why was he being so wishy-washy? Everything was cool, then he goes off to hang with some girl you’d never even seen before. Just thinking about that picture Mina sent made your blood boil.

"What’s up with your face?" Bakugo grunted, leaning on the bar with his elbows, looking as grumpy as ever. "Nothing." You sighed, rubbing the bridge of your nose. Yep, a headache was definitely coming in.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Wait, is he serious?

You opened your eyes slowly and looked at Bakugo, your surprise clear as he rolled his eyes, his frown deepening. "Something’s bothering you, so spill it,"

Wow, he’s actually serious.

You couldn’t help but smile a little, leaning in closer as you watched him check you out, staying exactly where he stood, leaving just a bit of space between you two. "Is Katsuki Bakugo actually offering an ear?"

He scoffed and turned away, leaning back against the bar with his drink, obviously trying to act like he doesn't care. "Forget it."

Cute.

"Bakugo." You grabbed his arm and slid off your seat to stand in front of him. The height difference had you craning your neck to meet his gaze. "What." He huffed, his eyes lingering on your chest for a second before he looked away.

You were about to tease him, your hand sliding up his arm to squeeze his bicep, but then you noticed the annoyed look in his red eyes, directed at someone behind you.

"This bastard, why does he always have to show up?" Bakugo grumbled, lifting his drink to his lips, still glaring at whoever was behind you over the rim of his glass.

You didn’t even need to turn around to know who he was talking about.

"He can’t be serious right now." You sighed, letting go of Bakugo’s arm as you turned to face Sero, who was striding toward you with the same annoyed expression as Bakugo, dark eyes glued on the ash-blonde, like you weren't standing there at all. You could feel the tension between the two of them even before he reached you two.

"You." Sero ignored Bakugo completely and grabbed your arm. "We’re leaving, thanks for keeping her company." He shot Bakugo a fake smile and pulled you closer. All you heard was a scoff and the sound of a glass being slammed down on the bar, followed by a sudden heat on your back as Bakugo grabbed your other arm. "Stop acting like you're in charge of her, it's fucking annoying."

Ah shit.

Neither of them said another word; they just glared at each other over your head, their grips on your arms tightening a bit. You could feel the stares from some other clubgoers who were sober enough to realize something was going on.

"Okay, that’s enough, I’m done. Take me home." You yanked your arms free from both of them and stormed past, bumping your shoulder into Sero’s arm.

The chilly air outside hit your warm skin just as Sero called your name again, the muffled club music blaring for a second before the doors closed behind him, the gravel crunching under your heels and his shoes as he rushed after you.

The silence between you and Sero didn’t last long. He was right on your ass in no time. “Are you serious? Going out with Bakugo and his crew? To a club?”

His crew? Since when did he have problems with Mina, Kaminari, and Kirishima?

“Don’t even start, Sero. I really don’t want to hear it.” You shot back, spinning around so fast you almost bumped into him. “You do this all the time! We hang out, hook up, and then you run off to mess around with some other girl.”

You were practically nose to nose, both of you in each other’s space. “I didn’t hook up with her, so why are you acting like I did? I bet you were planning to fuck Bakugo just because of those dumb fucking assumptions that you love to leap to all the time.”

Oh, this bitch.

“I can’t deal with this right now. Just drive me home.” You turned away and headed for his car. “Whatever,” he muttered, falling silent.

The walk to the car was quiet, Sero opened the door for you, setting your purse and jacket at your feet then closed your door before getting in the driver’s seat. Even when he was mad, he was still a gentleman to you.

Still doesn't excuse his bullshit..

Neither of you said a word as the car started up and he pulled out of the parking spot, “Jaded” by Drake filling the silence, the city lights blurring by. But of course, Sero had to break the quiet. “Were you going to fuck Bakugo?”

"Oh my fucking God. Not now Sero."

“That pretty much answers it then, sorry to cockblock.” He scoffed, the car starting to pick up in speed.

You shot him a look like he was crazy—because he fucking was. “Can you just drive me home without pissing me off? Holy shit.”

Your outburst had him gripping the steering wheel tight, his jaw clenching and unclenching. “Okay.” He finally said, the car going silent once again, then right his hand slid off the wheel to rest on your thigh, something he always did when he drove you two around. You were far too pissed off for his shit though. Just as you were about to push his hand away, his fingers slipped right between your thighs, making your dress ride up in the process.

“Sero. I'm seriously not in the mood for this, sex won't fix that I'm pissed with you.” You warned, grabbing his wrist before he could go any further. “Okay.” He replied, his face and voice completely calm.

Silence from both of you.

You couldn’t think straight with his fingers rubbing slow circles so close to where you really wanted him. The smirk on his face told you he knew exactly what he was doing.

This smug rat.

“¿Por qué dijiste mi nombre, cariño?” His fingers moved your panties aside as soon as you spread your legs, and the soft gasps escaping you only made his grin wider. “Habla, princesa.”

translation ;

"¿Por qué dijiste mi nombre, cariño?" = "Why did you say my name, baby?"

"Habla princesa." = "Speak princess."

You turned your head away, biting your knuckles to keep quiet, focusing on the flashing city lights. Sero was quiet again, sliding two fingers deep inside you, making your back arch off the seat, the seatbelt holding you back just a bit.

“Sero…” You gasped, covering your mouth with your hand while your other hand grabbed at his wrists as he started pumping his fingers in and out at a slow pace, going knuckles deep each time his digits sunk back in, the wet squelches each time had you blushing and Sero chuckling softly.

The slow pace he had going didn’t last for long, impatient as ever to hear you get louder. Before you knew it, his fingers were hitting you hard, each thrust making your thighs shake. Your grip on his wrist was abandoned in a instant, moving to grab onto the back of your thighs to keep your left leg apart. “Fuck. Fuck. Oh Fuck,” you moaned out, breathless, the last “Fuck” turning into a high-pitched whimper.

Sero's driving was getting a little messy, sometimes speeding up out of nowhere, making you both jerk when he quickly slowed down. With one hand fingerfucking the soul from your body, he was a bit distracted, and the growing tightness in his jeans wasn’t helping either. “Fuck this, I’m pulling over.” He found a dark spot under the freeway bridge in no time, driving recklessly the whole way.

Once the car was parked and the lights were low, he had you both in the backseat. His hands were all over you, roughly grabbing at the small of your back, your hips and waist, and your ass, and your hands were tangled in his hair. He kissed you like he didn't have you hours ago. Your breathy moans being met with his and a wide grin.

Sero was the type who didn’t hold back on the moans, matching your sounds with his own. Hearing him moan with no shame drove you wild, and he knew it.

“Hold on, cariño, let me help you.” He chuckled against your lips as your hands fumbled with his belt and zipper. The kiss temporarily forgotten as you both leaned back, working together to unbutton his pants and push them down to his ankles, boxers included.

translation ; "cariño" = "babe" "baby" or "sweetheart"

“Estas tan mojado, quien te mojó as��, ¿eh?” He groaned into your neck, biting down on your collarbone hard enough to leave a mark while his hands grabbed at your ass. When you didn’t answer, he smacked your ass hard, making you jolt forward and tug at his hair with a whine. “You did,” you moaned, leaning down to kiss him again, both of you groaning into each other’s mouths as he lowered you onto his dick with ease. "Uh huh, I did that."

translation ; "Estas tan mojado, quien te mojó así, ¿eh?" = (roughly) "You're so wet, who got you this wet, huh?"

Holding onto the backseat, you started off slow, moving in little circles on his dick, your faces just inches apart, your breaths mingling. He had one hand on your ass, guiding you, while the other cupped the back of your neck, keeping your eyes locked.

But just like him, your patience was short, switching between grinding and bouncing on his dick, your moans rising, making him grip your neck tighter. "Ahí está, mi pequeño bebé, si tan solo supieras cómo comportarte," he groaned, lifting his hips to meet your bounces. "Nuh uh, baby. Keep those eyes on me."

translation ; "Ahí está, mi pequeño bebé, si tan solo supieras cómo comportarte." = "There she is, my little baby, if only you knew how to fucking behave."

Your moans almost sounded like a growl, fully bouncing on him now, his grip on your neck loosening until he moved both hands to your ass, helping you along as the car started to rock with your movements. "I hate you," you moaned out, the moan ending in a sharp gasp, sliding one hand off the seat to grab his throat. Sero grinned at that, giving your both your ass cheeks a couple of harsh smacks before he started pounding up into you, his hands grabbing at your hips to keep you pressed down on him, making you both moan loudly into each other's mouth. "Oh yeah?" he chuckled, breathless. "Show me how much you hate me then."

None of y'all understand how unhinged I am about Hispanic men 🌚 half the time they ain't shit but goddamn do I love those mfs. As much as I love them and messy shit, may this type of love NEVER find me ever again 😭🙏 y'all stay safe though!

If I were to make this a Sero series it would be called "The Situationship Series" and yes I would make it a messy love triangle between you, Sero, and Bakugo 😋 There is no happy ending! You just get two hot dudes fighting over, your feelings played with, and your back blown out by both of them on multiple occasions!

And if anyone is looking for updates on the Iida fic, y'all are gonna have to wait a bit longer 😭...

[crybaby-magic]

Our Past

sun wukong x daughter reader

based off of the song:The Horse and the Infant

Traveling with Macaque,Mk,and the Monkeys was not doing you any good.You can feel the raging headache waiting to tear your skull apart while yall travel through the semi fixed scroll to find Wukong.From Wukongs memories to the tears that randomly forming throughout the place.You really just want to hurry this up so they can defeat the overgrown lion and you can get your much needed sleep.

Honestly you kinda curse at Mk for finding the damn stick that soon lead to all this but at the same time you know it destiny.At the same time it could be jealousy that he hangs out with your dad more than you and you been with him for centuries.Signing out once more you travel on with white monkeys hanging off of you. “ What's with all the sighing girly”Macaque asked while slowing down to walk beside you.

“Nothing, just the whole situation sucks.And I might be slightly worried about the old man.”You muttered the last part slightly embarrassed.Macaque gruffly laughed at your antics while shaking his head.

You soon felt Mk jump onto your back making you slightly stumble. “Hey don’t worry we'll find him in no time then we can leave then we can beat up Azure lion then we can…umm we can do something i don't know what but we'll find out later.”He said in a reassuring cheeky voice. “A good side is weeee-” grabbing Macaque,you,and the monkeys in a hug “Get to see how Sun Wukong was through his memories”

Macaque shook his head “I really don’t care for relieving some of the memories” while heading ahead of the group.Mk pouted a bit while still hanging off of you before facing you.”What about you,aren’t you a little interested?” he said in a pouting voice.Smirking you nodded your head that got an ecstatic reaction from him.He hopped off of you and headed ahead.With a slight distant look you looked around in Wukongs memories shaking it off you head towards the two that were near a crack that a tiny monkey kept pointing at.

“Hey look, this little guy is pointing us somewhere i think he knows where Sun Wukong is at” Mk said.Nodding your head you wander through the crack hoping not to fall into another memory.

————————————☆————————

That damn monkey is going to get it when you see it.It didn’t lead you to wukong but to a village at night.From observation nobody was out it looked like a ghost town almost.Through another problem was that nobody could figure out where y'all are.Mk surprisingly had no knowledge seeing as he knew everything about his past and Mac really couldn’t tell you anything.

The group was going to leave till you heard noise standing behind some trees yall peek out at the village.Then it happened chaos ensued In the far distance(the front of the village) fire started to arise.Then the scream,clashing of weapons,crying too where the hell were you guys and what the hell did Wukong do in his past.

Still peeking from the tree yall soon saw Wukong in his battle gear covered in blood.His staff dripping though something seems odd looking closer it seem that he was lead by his golden vision.All the while he holding someone's dead body by their head,from the looks of it the guy looked like the villages leader or something of the sort.He dropped the body and walked over him into the house.

You soon tuned everything out and headed to a window ignoring Macaque’s and Mk’s voice.Something felt familiar or strange you couldn’t- didn’t want to find out but…why.Macaque and Mk with some monkeys came to the opened window too.Observing the situation it seemed to be a plan room with a few hand sewn teddy bears on the floor.In the center of the dark room was a bassinet being lit up by the full moon.You felt your heart dropped a babies room.You had the thought of oh great jade empire he wouldn't,couldn’t it's a literal kid.Then again the other thought of yeah he probably would the amount of times he nearly killed you as a kid is embarrassingly high.

“Hey the door opened.”Mk pointed out snapping you out of your thoughts.Wukong entered the room eyes illuminated by the moon his eyes looked so empty that it actually scared you.Wind brushed past you forcing the door opened wider making it slam into the wall startling the baby making it start crying.

His eyes sharpened at the noise coming from the bassinet.He walked very slowly to it before staring down at the baby.He seemed to be having an eternal battle with himself before he lifted his staff in the motion that he was going to hit the baby.Everyone in the group looked disturbed your eyes widened with tears and let out a squeak that Macaque covered when you saw him swinging down.You closed your eyes hard tears falling at this soon to be gruesome scene.You knew he had a fucked up past at times but this honestly scared you.

Suddling you heard his staff falling then the sound of a child giggling.Looking up you saw Wukong’s gripping the edge of the bassinet.Slowly he reached in picking up the baby.The baby was in a long night dress that fell over there feet.The baby had the shortest hair but on the back of its neck you saw a serpent mark.A snake that was in a circle eating it own tail kinda.Subconsciously you rubbed the back of your neck realizing why this seemed so familiar, you’re the baby.

It’s hard to believe when he told you ‘he found you randomly one day and decided to pity your mortal existence’.(that you did hit him across the head for his ignorant tone in the end)You must have mumbled it out loud cause you heard Mk’s dramatic gasp and if Macaque had any reaction it was well hidden behind a scowl.

Observing the scene before you,you saw how he interacted with you, bouncing you and smiling while you giggled and pressed your tiny hands on his nose.Tears must have been falling from your eyes when you felt Macaque mess up your hair as he walked away gruffly saying “ let's go find your idiot dad.” Mk and the tiny monkeys soon followed after him.Turning around to follow them you heard wukong speak up so you turned your head to listen.

“It's hard to believe that something as cute as you could be dangerous in the future,so why don’t you come with me little on.Wanna go see a pretty mountain with pretty flowers.”A trail of giggling babbles followed.A small smile formed on your mouth though you’ll never reveal that.

[plaidpajamallama]

(You scared me) RHEA RIPLEY X JEY USO

Chapter 17

_________________________________________________

Rhea was standing around with Iyo Naomi and Bayley talking about what happened to Jade

When Jey and Jimmy walked over Hey, we only had a minute. What happened to Jade? Jey said, putting his hand on the small of her back.

We don’t know Bianca hasn’t called yet. Naomi said, hugging Jimmy. Yeah, that car was fucked up. I hope she’s okay.

Hopefully we won’t have to find another member because we’re cutting it close. She said, looking at Naomi.

Jimmy looked at her; it looks like we’re all on the same boat, huh.

We’re figuring it out, and we’re finding somebody. Jey said in a frustrated tone.

Hey guys, Roman said Come on, Sami shouted for down the hall.

As soon as Jey heard Sami, he moved his hand away from her before looking back at him.

Alright, bye; see y'all later. Jimmy gave Naomi a kiss before both of them walked away.

After the show, Rhea was walking out. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She stopped pulling her phone out; it was Jey telling her that he was going to ride with Roman and he'd meet her at the hotel.

She said okay and put her phone back in her pocket. She put her bags in the car before getting in; at least now she can play her music as loud as she wants.

_________________________________________________

Jey was sitting on the bus at the table with Sami. Jimmy was sitting on the couch as Roman sat at the other end next to Paul.

They were talking about their plan, which was mostly just Roman bitching about Punk. He was happy his wiseman was back but not as pleased. With whom he brought with him

He didn’t care as much; he had no history with Punk, and Roman had a lot. It was nice sitting on the bus with all of them like old times talking and joking again like nothing changed.

Roman and Paul walked to the back of the bus, where Roman’s room was shutting the door behind them.

Maybe he’s finally taking his cranky ass to bed. He laughed.

He wasn’t even that happy when I came back. Jimmy said a gesture. At his self

It’s crazy you thought he would be

The opened Roman walked out, leaning on the door frame. Jey!

Yeah, what’s up, uce

Are you focused?

He sat up in his chair confused. Yeah, I’m focused.

I need you focused for war games. Jey I need to be focused. Can you be focused?

Yeah, I’m focused. I've been focused, he said, still confused.

You better be, he said, giving him a look before walking back in his room. He said something to Paul before closing the door behind him.

He pointed at the door. What the fuck was that?

Don’t look at me because I don’t know uce.

Me either you think it’s about

He cut Sami off before he could say it. Don't not on the bus. He ran a hand over his face. I do not miss riding on this bus.

After a while, they made it to the hotel. Jey got off of it like there was fire lit under him.

He walked into their room. Rhea’s bag was on the bed, and he could hear that the shower was on. He put his bag on the floor and moved her bag to the floor as well.

He laid down on the bed, thinking about what Roman said. He couldn’t stop what gave him the idea he wasn’t focused. He’s been working his ass off to help him this whole time, whether he liked it or not. He tried to get Seth to help. He tried to get a lot of people to help more than Sami and Jimmy, but he wasn’t focused pfffh.

The bathroom door opened. Rhea walked out. She had one of his shirts on and some sweatpants. She was drying her hair with a towel.

Hey baby, when did you get here?

Hi babygirl I just got here.

You could have come join me, you know, she said with a grin.

I’ll remember that come here he said hit the bed.

She laid down next to him with her head on his chest.

He kissed the top of her head. How’s Jade?

I don’t know Naomi said she was going to go see her, but we still don’t know what happened.

She's strong; she’ll be okay.

Yeah, I hope so. How are you?

What you mean I’m fine we won tonight.

I know I’m just asking. I know how you are.

He made a face; how am I? What do you mean, how am I!?

She turned to face him. I’m just saying I just know you can get in your head. I was just checking on you, baby. Calm down.

Sorry I’m just..sorry

She sat up. Jey, you want to talk about it.

He ran his hand over his face, sighing before sitting up. Rhea

We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, baby.

It’s just that I forgot how much I hate riding with Roman.

Why what happened? She said with a worried look.

You know Roman, he’s stubborn. Punk’s here to help because no one else wanted to help him, but all he can do is bitch and moan about Punk.

And I had to hear all about it tonight, and then he said my head was not in it!

My heads in the game! Minds are the only ones in the game! Sami doesn’t care; he’s only here for me, and Jimmy doesn’t care; he asked one person, and that was it! I tried to get someone to help us. I tried. I asked everybody I could! But somehow I still fucked up; I still couldn’t do it, and then Heyman comes out and just fixes everything, and I get chewed out like it’s my fault.

He felt a hand on his leg, calming him down a bit. He looked over at her. Sorry, I got carried away.

It’s fine; I get it, baby. You know how many times I have gotten carried away.

He chuckled That’s what happened when a crash out dates a crash out.

She sat up on her knees, kissing him. You feel better now?

He let out a deep breath. Yeah, I feel better.

Okay, come on, I’m tired, she said, lying down getting under the blanket.

Alright, he laid down beside her. She moved into his arms, nestling her head under his chin. The smell of her lavender shampoo filled his nose. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer.

He tried to sleep, but he kept hearing Roman’s words echoing through his head.

“I need to be focused." “Can you be focused?”

He didn’t know what gave him the impression he wasn’t focused. If anything, he was the most focused out of all of them. He hadn’t done anything to make Roman think he wasn’t right?

Rhea moved her hand under his shirt, letting her cold hand touch his back, sending goosebumps down his spine.

God, why was she always so damn cold? She's wrapped in his arms and in a blanket, and she’s still cold.

As he was there thinking about her, it hit him.

Did Roman know? Did he know about Rhea?

No, he couldn't, right? They were careful. He couldn’t know there was no way.

He was careful he didn’t mess with her when they were at SmackDown because of Roman.

He couldn’t know how he could have found out. He knew Roman didn’t watch the B show "Raw.”And he wasn’t online like that, so he wouldn’t have seen anything from the past months or so. So there was no way he could know.

Like Rhea said, he was probably just in his head about it. He just needs to go to bed. He’s tired and frustrated. He just needs to calm down and go to sleep.

_________________________________________________

So Roman and Punk’s going fight over Paul right? Also if one of those men’s ex’s ( Seth and Drew) don’t show up at War Games 🖤

[stellari-s]

HEY SO SAW THE POST ABT THE ITHAQUA HCS. kinda tame (not sure if this is a popular one tho) but i feel like ithaqua has some. troubles with looking at reflective surfaces without his mask since all it does is remind him of his twin brother and what happened to his mom

🪞

request; yes, and they're still open. anon here is referring to this post! i decided to just make it a permanent thing in the end. i wanna hear y'all's takes.

wc; 692.

tags; angst, maybe a bit of comfort, some flashbacks, some fantasy too, bai ze! qi shiyi is a secondary character. (what is her emoji? does anyone know??)

summary; ithaqua has lost his mask thanks to some "pests", and while looking for it, he comes across a calm lake that shows a perfect reflection...

i think it’s here somewhere.

ithaqua bites his lip, hard enough to turn it white but not enough to draw blood. he managed to get rid of those who got in his way, but somehow they managed to knock off his mask, and it was like it went poof from existence.

he looks around the area. nothing.

a flame of irritation threatening to spread from within, he clicks his tongue. things will become troublesome without it - he needs this mask, or otherwise he is not “ithaqua”. he will just be a normal boy: a child who cannot protect those close to him and so can only do nothing but watch them being taken from him.

he doesn’t want that, and so he needs his mask.

the fog is starting to gather around too, thickening into a white smoke-like blanket. ithaqua decides to continue walking along the path, noticing the fog clear up gradually as he ventures deeper into the heart of the forest.

in said heart is a clear lake where no impurity can reach, said to be almost like a paradise of some sort.

when ithaqua finds himself along the edge of the lake, he can’t help but look down: the water is so calm and clear that it almost makes him uncomfortable.

down below, a perfect reflection stared back at him.

it seems to mock him, imitating his every expression with alarming precision. when ithaqua widens his eyes, his reflection does as well. when his eyes narrow in disgust, so does his reflection.

no, it could hardly be considered a reflection.

it was a person whose face was his own - the very same person who made his mother suffer, and ithaqua as well. his breathing becomes more ragged by the moment and the sound of chains, screams, and wicked voices fill his ears like buzzing as he looks into those dull cerulean blue eyes, that pale skin, the silver hair...

suddenly, a ripple distorts the figure in the lake. even the slightest ripple spreads to make that detested face unrecognizable.

“you appear quite troubled.” when ithaqua looks up, the voices in his mind becoming more and more muted, he sees a boat - when did it get here? - with a girl standing atop holding a long bamboo; she must have used it to disturb the calm waters. she is clad in a white shirt with jade-colored accents and black skirt. parts of her long, flowing onyx hair, adorned with jade and gold, is braided. while her expression remains stoic and posture coldly elegant, her voice is gentle. “reflections speak to the soul to take it away. it would do you good to be more cautious.”

ithaqua chooses not to say anything, partly because he isn’t sure what to say, but also because he can’t bring himself to fully trust her even though she had helped him. he watches as the girl rows toward him before wordlessly, she holds out a familiar mask.

it’s the mask he had been looking for.

ithaqua breathes out in relief, feeling like letting out a breath he had been holding, as he snatches the mask from her hands and quickly puts it on. the anxiety slowly building up in his chest and threatening to burst breaks down, replaced with a feeling of security and peace.

where did she find it though? the question nags his mind, but he can’t bring himself to ask.

instead, she continues speaking. “mirrors know your true self, including your deepest fears, and they will try to chain you to your past,” she says, “but in the end, it is but a mirror.”

“...what are you trying to say?” ithaqua asks, enunciating each word carefully.

for the first time, he sees a small, wry smile play on the girl’s lips. “that what a shame it would be if you were taken over by someone who is no longer roaming this world.”

her smile is fleeting, as her expression returns to a stoic one.

“always remember who you are, ithaqua. if you do, then maybe looking in your reflection will become more bearable, even if only a little bit.”

[hummingbirdsinjune]

Okay I'm giving Bed Friend Ep 2 a chance but y'all I really didn't vibe with Ep. 1. It looks so good in the reblogs tho 😭

- leave a man alone to do his business smh King

- Uea really cannot use the bathroom in peace, can he?

- from pressed against a urinal wall to sitting on a desk my germ paranoia could never

- At least Uea knows how to apologize I suppose

- King is kinda a menace and I'm not sure if I mean it as a compliment yet lmao

- as we all know, big praise for talking about and showing the blood tests and how safe sex is more than just the day it happens

- King's confidence to con his way into free meals 👌

- Uea: "King." ; King: "👁️👄👁️"

- Uea being very suspicious being surprised about King having one night stands with people he doesn't love as if Uea could NEVER.

- nothing's wrong with King, Uea, he's just trying to seduce you

- Ah, Uea's just shy and doesn't know what he wants.

- At work too. In front of everyone and the coffee maker

- I'm actually only continuing this series to see more Jade

- that's right bestie, pretend you saw nothing

- lmao I forgot about th guy on the team they don't like

- Uea and his bags. An accessory boy.

- naw that green light change was very satisfying

[ch4tk4t]

Comics Fangirl n°6 - Fangirl SMASH!

Plot by Al Ewing

Art by Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose & Paul Mounts

This review is about Immortal Hulk issue 1/2018

Annnnd we're BACK! Who said "not again"?

Today, we talk about one of my favorite comics run EVER.

The Jade Giant was never a personal favorite. Contrary to Iron Man though (seriously, y'all really like this character that much???) I at least saw the appeal. I remember reading from the "Hulk encyclopedia" I had as a kid that Stan Lee based his interpretation of the character as a mix between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Frankenstein's monster, two book I had already read and enjoyed by then (I was a even bigger nerd back then). I always had a pretty good idea of what kind of stories where possible with this character.

Immortal Hulk still hit me pretty hard once I finally started reading it.

At this point in the Marvel universe, Bruce Banner was dead, killed by his friend Clint Barton, better known as (one of the) Hawkeye. I'd explain why, but, we'd still be there for about a month or two.

Aside from the fact that most Marvel heroes don't stay dead for long, this never stopped the Hulk before.

The comic starts at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. A girl enters the station to get something to drink. Inside, aside from the cashier, stands a man flipping through a magazine. His gaze follows her as she goes to get her drink. She notices and calls him a creep.

A third man enters the station, and the cashier doesn't even lift up his eyes from the magazine he's reading, asking the newcomer which pump he's here to pay for. Turns out it's a withdrawal, not a deposit that the masked man is looking for. He draws a gun on the cashier, and the little girl drops her drink out of surprise.

The masked man panics and shoots the other two occupants, then runs away, passing by the girl's mother who was waiting outside...

A policewoman is on the case, sharing what she knows with a journalist. All the while, the body of the mysterious man, who flashed green for a second before getting shot in the face, starts moving in the morgue...

The masked man is now in a gang hideout, explaining to the man he owes money to, what happened in the station. His creditor doesn't seem to be that torn up about his confession. He tells them he still owes him money, and sends him away, saying words that become instant ironic foreshadowing.

Everybody in the room falls silent as the loud sound of something landing somewhere nearby shakes the room. The gang members rush outside to understand what happened to the lights, only to find their generator crumpled up, as if it was made of paper.

The gang tries to keep it together and defend themselves, but as the masked man from the station runs out, he can hear the cries of every gang member in a mix of fear, pain and surprise. He rushes to his car dropping his keys in his panicked state.

He realizes the sounds of struggle have stopped. The night is silent. He looks behind him and sees nothing.

He turns back to his car...

The Hulk isn't violent at first, preferring to only force the man to face the consequences of his actions by citing the girl from the station's name.

The masked man, after trying to shoot down the Hulk, grovels at his feet, begging for his life, saying he has a DAUGHTER.

The comics ends with the policewoman on the case updating her journalist collaborator. The killer was hand delivered to them, not dead, albeit in a pitiful state. She makes it clear she as very little doubt about who the mysterious man who walked out of the morgue is.

Somewhere, Bruce Banner asks the same question the killer did when confronted with the Hulk

So starts the "Immortal Hulk". It's a really strong start in my opinion. The tone is just perfect, and the fact this Hulk speaks distinctly and eloquently makes him even more terrifying. The run went on for a while, and I loved every page. If you liked this, you're going to love the rest, and I'm not saying that because there's a cool trans woman scientist later on in the story :3

I give this issue a RickJones/10

Speak to you later, true believers!

Fangirl out.

[kutputli]

reblogging with some of y'all's tags since the whole point of the ask was that I'm not just a lone voice in the wilderness.

#i'veseen some posts complaining that jade doesn't have a personality or a character arc#and this is chalked up to sexism that is somehow laid at nathan's feet#but as a stand-in for white female fans#(as well as white writers who worked in the service industry)#her job is to be a blank white projection screen#nathan x jade is nathan x female reader#jade is y/n (by @benicebefunny)

#COMPLETELY AGREE with fans reblogging only the 'nicer' posts about racism#the ones that point fingers at no one and go 'that's how it is'#if you are not a violent nate hater#and/or a lover of bf nate with her racist gf#you're all on your own in this fandom#also instead of acknowledging this romance 🤢#i've created a (brown woman) oc#(who's played by tiya sircar)#and am making up sweet scenarios with her and nate lol (by @mrmalcolmslist)

#honestly I just hate Jade because she’s mean#and she’s not hot enough to be that mean#as a hot girl myself who’s been a mean bully a time or two in my life#I would know#and I also hate people who are unprofessional#which Jade absolutely is#like she’s in customer service and hospitality but I have never seen her do her job#and every scene we’ve had of her at the restaurant is her on the clock#I would not accept her behavior from someone taking my order at 1 am in the McDonald’s drive-thru#much less a place where I’m going to sit down and be expected to tip#I’m a light-skinned East Asian woman so my experience of racism and how I’m perceived is different than a darker-skinned Desi man#so for reasons beyond Nate’s own low self-esteem I understand why he hasn’t gone full-on stereotypical Karen on Jade the way he ought to#but like#if that bitch were mean to me#Taste of Athens would be trying to fire her before I got every ABC in town to leave a one-star review on multiple platforms#I’m also in the US and not in the UK so this is probably ignoring a lot of basic fundamental differences between the two nations#also from the class angle#I have worked service industry jobs#I have also worked a lot of receptionist jobs#if I can be nice and charming and helpful to adults who don’t know the difference between a walk-in and an appointment#then Jade can be nice and charming and helpful to someone who’s not even making completely unreasonable requests#like I have gotten people to leave with a smile and a return appointment#after getting them to pay $5000 more for a dental procedure than they expected#making people feel big and important and heard#and keeping things pleasant#while still getting what you want out of them#is pretty easy actually!!! (By @treesah)

#literally why do people ship this though??#she was horrible to him for absolutely no reason#and now it's cute because???#she made fun of him for saying baklava was divine or something???#is this woman allergic to sincerity btw?#and like even if you put aside the very uncomfortable and racially charged horribleness#she is the definition of 'go girl give us nothing'#it is A Running Joke that nathan has absolutely no idea how she feels about him#and why would he?#she makes no attempt to communicate with him or make him comfortable#she just... stands there looking like she's in a fucking hostage situation when he tries to ask her how she feels about things#and then finally gives brusque one word answers with no explanation or elaboration#also in b4: 'but what if she's autistic and has a flat affect and isn't trying to be rude?'#I am autistic and I do not get that impression from her at all#I think she is highly socially adept and uses this power for evil to make people she considers below her feel small (by @obstinatecondolement)

I feel like the ted lasso fans don't see why nate being with jade is disappointing (to say the least), are there other people like yourself who don't excuse/ignore racism in this relationship? or even other posts criticising jade? it's kinda lonely here

Yeah, I've been deeply amused by the readiness of the nice white fans who were on the redemption for nate train to embrace and adore Jade. (These are also mostly the fans who will reblog each other's gentle, polite commentaries about racism maybe, perhaps being a bit of a downer in the show's writing, but who blatantly ignore any of the angrier conversations that fans of colour are having about racism as a structural force in both the show and the fandom.) But I digress...

@benicebefunny has a bunch of posts under their This is A Taste of Athen Hate Blog that critique Jade.

@mrmalcolmslist has posted a bunch of great meta including this post about Jade

I know several of my mutuals share my views on the Jade/Nathan relationship, but since they haven't made any public posts that I can find, I'd rather not tag them unless they'd like to jump in.

Hey, friends! Reblog if you are on the anti-Jade parade with me.

[villainessxassassin]

Hello and how are y'all doing? If the requests are still open for me, I was hoping to ask for a similar request as a previously written one about Grim pushing an easygoing and patient fem s/o to the point of grounding him in front of Lilia, Riddle, Epel and Jade? Figured that'd be fine. If not, then that's okay too. I can only imagine Riddle being surprised because s/o is normally the calmest and most down-to-earth out of the two. Not today, Grim. Idk thought it'd be cute. Please and thank you :)

Seperate! Riddle, Lilia, Epel and jade x reader

Part 1 here -> ft Malleus, Ruggie, Kalim, Vil, Leona

warnings: none unless you count grim abuse, cough.

Riddle always saw you as the calm and collected one out of the group, so imagine his suprise when he saw grim almost cowering in a corner after he just witnessed your sweet smile disappear after what seemed to be the final straw for you.

You'd expect him to be disappointed that he saw you in such an indecent state, but what came was the opposite. If anything, he was nothing but impressed you were even able to hold out that long with such a troublemaker like grim as your companion.

Grim crossed the line resulting in you giving him the consequences of his actions so he had it coming, a very valid response in Riddle's eyes (his eyes are sparkling btw). He might also even take turns in giving grim some well needed discipline.

Will encourage you to show this side of you more but only when necessary because he doesn't want you too keep all that pent up frustration to yourself, no matter how easy going or calm you are.

And he'll surely collar grim the next time he makes your calm exterior break.

He'll be making the 😶☺️ face if he catches you breaking off from the calm y/n you portray infront of others.

You sound angry, so it's only reasonable he waits until you finish, but if he's feeling in the mood he might discreetly add more fuel to the fire just to see what more reactions he's able to pull out of you.

Curious, a word he finds himself associating with you often. What else are you hiding? Which emotions are how you truly feel? Have you been suppressing them all this time for it to all just finally break?

All he had to do was use his unique magic and he can get the answers directly from you if he wanted, but that wouldn't be fun, so why not poke you a few more times and see how you'll react to his different schemes.

Overall, he doesn't really mind that you have this side to you. As entertaining as it is he also knows when not to cross the line. He'll indulge himself whenever the time comes, just as much as he enjoys the sweet, sweet calm y/n that he knows and loves.

He's kinda scared but at the same time he really can't decide if he should interfere before things escalate more quickly or just stand there in awe while he applauds you a thousand times over in his head. (he actually did the latter first before going onto the former😭)

In fact he doesn't even know why he should be amazed at all when grim already looked like he was about to pass out.

He just thinks you look and sound so cool right now? The way you switched up from all gentle smiles to the fed up look you had on right now just has his blood pumping.

Has newfound respect for you. I mean he already respected you alot before but it's just more different, even more meaningful now you can say.

Epel is a very (in some cases it's not there but in most cases yes) gentle person too, so seeing you have this side to yourself eases his spirits since he atleast now knows he doesn't have to be all dainty and charming all the time.

Just watches the scene unfold, doesn't do anything, doesn't plan on doing anything, he just wants to watch honestly.

He'll feign a Suprise look at your sudden outburst when grim finally dropped your last cup of patience. I really just see him standing there trying to contain the small smile that's creeping up his face.

Whether he's smiling at grim's despair or this new side of you it all really depends, but you can be positive that he's happy your getting it off your chest instead of extending whatever's left of your spilled patience.

Humans really are quite the spectacle and fascination, so he will observe a little while longer before deciding when grim has had enough. He'll give little words of comfort to grim but they are nothing compared to the intense gaze you had, but it was the least he could do.

And now he shall indulge himself in teasing you for the rest of the day, mentioning how cute you looked akin to a little kid loosing it's temper.

✧

covering up for Guinevere until she finishes the request she's working on ehe- kishira

what I write is quite long guys that’s why its taking so long TT- Guinevere

[volturialice]

ok I wasn't gonna do this twilight advent thing because y'all know I'm Not Great at consistent participation but if it's Jasper's Hobbies Day I obviously have to weigh in so here goes

listen. the important thing to keep in mind about jasper is that he's boring. he's soooooooo boring. he has all the tastes and proclivities of a middle-aged dad. just utterly bland dadcore taste in everything. I have this little remix snippet of one of @goldeneyedgirl's human alice/vampire jasper stories where even in human!teen!alice's wildest, horniest fantasies she can't imagine him as a peer or cool fellow teen and instead casts him as a 45-year-old nerdy professor.

which is what makes SUCH a hilarious contrast with his anything-but-boring background of violence and drama. he's kind of a jon snow-esque character in that his skills do not at all line up with his desires. by age 25 or so his only real want is to be Left Alone and yet life will not stop putting him in Situations. even when he manages to escape the cycle of violence, he ends up brother to the Main Character and husband to the World's #1 Meddler And Architect of Situations. even if alice were not an irrepressibly active person who loves nothing more than Doing Things, she's so overpowered that she creates international political incidents just by existing. jasper will never truly know a moment's peace and that's so funny and delightful.

but when he does get a moment's peace, here's what he'd like to do with it:

I agree with the canon/fanon that he's into scholarly pursuits like philosophy and history. I think history-wise he often overlaps rosalie's interest in technological history, because he blinked and missed the entire industrial revolution. I mean, he went from being human during a time without indoor plumbing to rejoining society around the time of stuff like the Space Race and the development of nuclear weapons! that's bound to pique anybody's interest. the rate of technological development is so much faster now! I can see him spending long hours talking with rose about robotics and space exploration and the future of green energy. I think he likes the logistics side of engineering because of the emphasis on efficiency and elegant solutions.

he's also happy to take all the Crime hobbies from carlisle. a whole new area of strategy where he gets to pull out all the stops and use his intimidation skills but doesn't even have to kill anyone!! what a rollicking good time.

I also agree with the fanon that as a human, jasper was a total Horse Girl who liked animals. as a vampire I can see that manifesting as an interest in conservation and biodiversity, or sustainable agriculture.

also as a human, he's very into athletic pursuits. his natural talent is for team sports and even coaching, but his interests lie more in the direction of stuff like swimming and climbing and martial arts—anything with a big emphasis on self-discipline and improvement.

in terms of the cullen family dynamic, his extreme patience means he's also voted #1 Most Likely To End Up Helping Other People With Their Hobbies. esme needs a hand with construction or renovation? he's there. rosalie needs someone to stand around and act as a car jack for hours? that's a jasper task (emmett would be her first choice except that he always gets bored and ends up trying to distract and seduce her, which inevitably works.)

the only people who can ever really coax jasper out of the dadcore mold are alice and especially emmett. emmett is a veritable genius for tapping into jasper's secret petty side. he can transform that jaded ex-war criminal nerd into a stupid goofy teenage oaf in 3.5 seconds, usually by goading him into some kind of competition. whenever they invent new games like Emmett And Jasper Ultimate MegaChess together, jasper tries to focus on developing a complex system of rules and emmett provokes him to smash right through them and play. ditto when it comes to things like pranking edward (pranks involve a lot of strategy and skill ok. they're totally a mature grown-up activity!!)

I think when he and alice first joined the cullens, jasper had lowkey forgotten how to have hobbies and considered them frivolous. until he saw how much joy and fulfillment alice got out of her hobbies and realized he'd better find some of his own or he was gonna feel lost and clingy. luckily for him these megarich vampires who never sleep have nothing but time and resources on their hands, and were happy to help him find some!

[galatially]

𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 — 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 🫧

𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛

of the essence by @inklore — if y'all haven't read anything from lauren before, let this be your introduction; she's a fucking artist the way that she weaves her characters into existing universes and i can only hope to write half as well as she does

𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑙

lovelorn masterlist by @tomdutch — do you like pining? roommates to possible lovers? all set in a college au with peter parker, reader, and cindy moon? well, s had you covered; or, the masterlist stayed in my drafts to remind me to read the updates and my jobs have killed my brain cells so please read this brilliance and give it lots of love!

sunrise, sunset by @peachyteabuck — i don't need to gush about how much i need lukis to fucking produce epics, but i will lol. they've taken such a sensitive topic and beautifully drawn us a world where grief is complicated and new normals are harder when you love people. honestly, this story made me fucking cry and do all the fangirl feel things and i need them to just never stop writing

𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠

friction by @faeology — this is my first time seeing @faeology on my dash but thank fuck i did because this was hot and needy and i could fucking feel the tension across my own skin between eddie and reader. if you're looking for palpable angst and genuine chemistry, go to sav and you'll be in heaven

it happened one night in detention by @mypoisonedvine — let me tell y'all something! the chokehold this had on me and my drafts was fucking insane! i'm pretty sure i read this five times before reblogging this because i was in such awe; the descriptions, the world-building! i wanna write like j.d. when i grow up lol

i don't play with my pen (i mean what i write) by @edens-pen — as a connoisseur of thirst tweet videos, i wish that this episode was real because goddamn! i love a good cocky!eddie fic and this did not disappoint. something about artists that are hot, know they're hot, but are still fucking cool and shit? unmatched energy. not gon' hold y'all though, i'd have been loud and proud about wanting eddie to just ruin me on twitter dot com lol

june baby: one, two, three by @luveline — i fucking love this series and every day i get on, i'm hoping to see that jade's updated so i can follow the adventures of eddie, reader, and june bug! i'm so attached to these three like they're friends of mine and i love watching their relationship deepen and, as a fervent slow burn lover, i'm foaming at the mouth for them to finally kiss!

a little mean for me by @upsidedownwithsteve — firstly, i love steve harrington, right? like, he went from being this asshole who's only personality trait was his money and his status to being a real fucking person, you know? one of my favorite characters, hands down. secondly, just because of this story, i want him to affectionately bully and kiss the tears away

𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑔𝑢𝑛

my feet can't touch the bottom of you by @sunderlust — i know nothing about the top gun franchise other than tom cruise is in it and val kilmer used to be, lol. but the way people like laur and sol write about the characters, maybe i'll bite the bullet and watch them? even if i don't, sol's description of jake "hangman" seresin is perfectly arrogant and aloof and i wanted to grind his balls under my foot for hurting my bartender babe

veracious and coveted facade by @inklore — laur, at this point, this is my proposal for your hand in matrimony because why the fuck do you write such masterpieces for mere mortals like me to gaze upon? who told you?

lurk by @zstrn — tori, my love, i stand ten toes on what i said: bradley 'rooster' bradshaw can have his feet planted on my mattress to turn me into slime. UNTIL THE FOULEST OF STENCHES LEAVES THE ROOM OKAY

𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 — i didn't read much because of jobs and lack of time after them but i did read some real gems so please, please give the lovely people reads and keep them writing!

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

Soldier, Poet, King

Part 1

[AO3] [Masterpost]

Should I have started a whole-ass multichapter Pacific Rim/Iron Widow inspired 3zun fic when I have multiple writing event assignments I also need to be doing? I dunno, y'all tell me 😅

-/-

There will come a soldier who carries a mighty sword, he will tear your city down, o lei, o lai, o lord

There will come a poet whose weapon is his word, he will slay you with his tongue, o lei, o lai, o lord

There will come a ruler whose brow is laid in thorn, smeared with oil like David's boy, o lei, o lai, o lord

-/-

“Did you hear the broadcast this morning?”

“You know I can’t hear shit out on the bay floor, I’ve been working on repairs all damn day. What’s up?”

Jin Guangyao calmly eats his awful canteen food as he listens to the stream of gossip flow around him, one ear permanently listening out for anything he can use. Of course he knows what the latest gossip is bound to be about - it’s big news in the shatterdome to acquire new pilots at all at such an advanced stage in the war against the Kaiju, and this latest is no ordinary set. Naturally, Jin Guangyao had spearheaded the efforts to recruit them, though just as naturally all the credit for doing so will go to the shatterdome’s benefactor instead of him.

No matter. He has his eye on a bigger picture than simple recruitment, though he knows not to neglect this crucial first step, either.

“Oh fuck off,” the mechanic snorts in disbelief. Jin Guangyao turns his head enough to get a glimpse in time to see the man viciously stab at some indeterminate mushy vegetable on his tray. “There’s no way in hell they got the Jades to come here, you’re so full of shit!”

“They did!” the first person retorts loudly enough to be heard clearly over the clatter of cutlery and the rumbling of too many voices in the echoing space. “I swear, they announced it this morning! And not just the Jades but over half the crews from Tokyo - I’m talking pilots, researchers, ground crew, everybody. Jin Guangshan finally threw enough of his money at Wen Ruohan to get him to agree to it, I guess.”

“Hey, keep it down,” the mechanic hushes instantly. “I’d like to keep my job, if you don’t mind.” They lapse into silence and Jin Guangyao returns to eating his own meal in peace. “How in the hell did they get the Jades?!” the mechanic suddenly bursts out a scant few minutes later and Jin Guangyao sighs, resigning himself to getting involved. He stands and turns, the pair’s eyes immediately landing on him as he offers them his best, most dimpling customer service smile.

“I asked very nicely,” he tells them with a sickening honey-sweet tone, and then he turns to go without another word. The smile drops from his face the moment he’s in the hallways, relatively deserted at this hour, and he doesn’t bother worrying about word of his involvement spreading.

He spends the rest of the evening in his room preparing mentally for the plan finally stretching out ahead of him, the first move on the chessboard already made. It’s only a matter of time now until he can get what he wants, and he goes to sleep that night at lights out with satisfaction sitting comfortably heavy in his chest.

-/-

Lan Xichen has never truly been comfortable with the hero worship of Jaeger pilots. He understands it, naturally, and were he not a pilot he would likely be caught up in a little bit of it himself - he has never once claimed to be immune to dashing men who are good with their fists or their brains (fighting the Kaiju is about strategy as much as it is brute force, after all). But he is a pilot - one of the best in the world, according to numerous lists of such things - and so the glamor of it is long gone. There is nothing at all glamorous about ripping sentient beings limb from limb, or contributing to the destruction of millions of homes and jobs on the rare occasions their fights leave the safety of the ocean.

Still. He knows that the citizens protected by their newest shatterdome have their reasons for the awe they express when he and the rest arrive from the Tokyo ‘dome. They arrive in armor, as the easiest way to transport the Jaegers from one ‘dome to the next had been to pilot them, and Lan Xichen knows that he and his brother cut an intimidating figure in their snow-white Jaeger suits, hair long and unbound down their backs. It’s an unavoidable irritation for the both of them to be made a spectacle of, but Lan Xichen handles it better than Lan Wangji ever has.

He smiles, smiles, smiles into camera flashes and cheering crowds, Lan Wangji a serious, stone-faced pillar at his side, and neither of them breathe a word of Lan Wangji’s fast-approaching retirement when asked about their plans to help lift the Shanghai shatterdome out of its recent slew of lackluster battles.

Though they’re the stars of this latest news development, the attention eventually moves from them to their fellow pilots who have left Tokyo with them, and Lan Xichen can finally breathe a sigh of relief as Wei Wuxian grabs the attention with deft hands, his gregariousness and charming arrogance a finely honed tool for exactly this purpose. His siblings flank him, the three of them a novelty of their own in their matching purple and black armor, and as they stop for their own photo-ops Lan Xichen slips away with his brother in tow to get inside away from the crowds.

“Zewu-Jun, Hanguang-Jun,” a smooth voice greets as soon as they’re under the cover of the warehouse roof, and they turn in unison to find a young man standing in front of them in a pale yellow jumpsuit he somehow manages to make look as smart as a suit and tie. “My name is Jin Guangyao. Welcome to Shanghai.”

The name taps at something in the back of Lan Xichen’s mind, and after a moment of chasing the sensation he smiles more genuinely and folds into a shallow bow, Lan Wangji doing the same beside him. “Ah of course, I heard we have you to thank for our transfer orders. We appreciate your trust in our capabilities.” Jin Guangyao’s expression is openly surprised for less than the space of a heartbeat when they straighten again, but Lan Xichen has had a lifetime of reading his brother (both from outside and inside his head) - there likely aren’t many microexpressions he could miss.

“I assure you I had only a minimal hand in the effort, but your accomplishments speak for themselves, of course.” Jin Guangyao recovers smoothly. “As soon as the others join us I will show you to your new quarters and introduce you to the powers that be - Jin Guangshan’s duties would not permit him to greet you in person, he sends his apologies.”

Lan Xichen, who has heard nothing good about Jin Guangshan’s work ethic, merely smiles and nods his understanding. He’s fairly sure Jin Guangshan couldn’t give two shits about whether they were greeted or not, but he knows all about maintaining appearances. They don’t have to wait long before Wei Wuxian is ushering his siblings into the building ahead of himself, turning to say one final goodbye to the reporters before the doors shut and seal tightly - and all three Jiang siblings practically melt with relief.

“Good gods this place is insane,” Wei Wuxian laughs as he stretches his arms above his head and then behind his back, his attempt to touch his elbows together at his spine making his outdated suit creak ominously. “You’d think they’ve never seen a pilot before! Doesn’t the Peacock go swanning around town regularly enough to keep them all satisfied?”

“Fresh meat is always of interest,” Jin Guangyao reports, clipped and businesslike. Lan Xichen coughs gently to hide a chuckle that doesn’t hold much amusement anyway; ‘fresh meat’ is a very apt descriptor for how they’ve been treated in Tokyo under Wen Ruohan’s brutal hand, and he’s very much looking forward to feeling perhaps slightly less like convenient Kaiju bait. “Zi Zhizhu, Sandu Shengshou, Yiling Laozu. My name is Jin Guangyao, I will be your main point of contact while you settle in. Welcome to Shanghai.”

Lan Xichen blinks a few times as he watches Jin Guangyao turn smartly on one heel and begin marching off into the warren of dripping pipes and echoing clangs of the shatterdome, leaving them very little time to process what he’d said. He jerks into step quickly when he realizes Jin Guangyao doesn’t intend to wait for them. The others fall in behind him as they tend to do, and for the first time in his career Lan Xichen gets an inside look at the Shanghai shatterdome.

It’s obvious that it was once an ostentatious display of wealth. Were it five years ago, minimum, the tech they can see as they traipse through Jaeger bays and pass by various control rooms would be state of the art. As it is, everything is clearly in good repair and still more than usable, but it’s not at all the top of the line tech that Tokyo boasts. He says nothing, but the look he shares with Lan Wangji requires nothing to be said aloud. Lan Wangji turns his head to glance over their shoulders at Wei Wuxian walking between his siblings, and Lan Xichen can easily visualize his judgemental raised eyebrows that must accompany the low-pitched whistle their companion lets out at what they’re seeing.

If Jin Guangyao is aware of their opinions he doesn’t let on, he merely points out various items of interest as they pass through the ‘dome with (thankfully) minimal gawking from the people they pass.

“This is the main communications tower,” Jin Guangyao says when they’re all standing in an elevator that ascends in jerky jumps that would make the average stomach swoop (it’s got nothing on the sensation of their drops into the ocean, but Lan Xichen knows that’s not exactly a normal comparison to make). “You will report here for all Kaiju calls, whether you’re on deck or not. The current pilot rotation is exhausting, it is likely you will be called upon for emergency backup until the new roster is established and it’s best to receive orders and deploy from here rather than someone attempting to hunt you down wherever you might be. Questions?”

Jin Guangyao fixes them all with a piercing stare that leaves Lan Xichen a little winded, but he seems to be the only one so affected.

“Can I be candid?” Wei Wuxian asks and Lan Xichen’s entire mouth goes dry when Jin Guangyao gives the man a crooked smirk.

“I understand you typically are, don’t be modest. What’s your question, Wei-gongzi?”

“Jin Guangshan is richer than the gods - why is everything in this shatterdome fucking ancient?”

“Wei Wuxian!” Jiang Wanyin hisses in warning with a sharp clang of his elbow guard hitting Wei Wuxian, most likely somewhere around his armored ribcage.

“I invite you to attempt to negotiate a more appropriate distribution of resources with Jin Guangshan when you meet him. For now, financial concerns can be tabled in favor of dealing with the Kaiju attacks you are here to assist with. Any further questions?”

Lan Xichen finds himself fighting back a genuine smile the likes of which Lan Wangji would be all-too-easily able to interpret if he were to notice; Jin Guangyao’s tone hadn’t slipped anywhere close to rude, but his less-than-favorable opinions on that matter couldn’t have been more obvious. Lan Xichen himself has never had the ability to manage such a thing - he’s always polite to a fault, with no hints of his displeasures visible like that - and he can’t deny that he’s..intrigued.

“Will we be meeting with Jin Guangshan now?” Jiang Yanli asks with understandable trepidation (Jin Guangshan’s stomach turning reputation is infamous and Lan Xichen doesn’t blame her at all for her nerves, world respected Jaeger pilot or not).

“No,” Jin Guangyao reassures, which just serves to make Lan Xichen wonder just who the ‘powers that be’ are, then, if not Jin Guangshan. Shanghai Shatterdome is notoriously tight-lipped about their inner workings, even amongst the other ‘domes, and Lan Xichen’s curiosity just keeps rising higher and higher the more he sees of it.

Any further questions are cut off by a loud clang as the elevator comes to a stop and the gates clatter open to spit them out into the top room of the control tower, the two largest Jaeger bays spread out beneath them. Immediately visible through the windows over the bays is the famous peony-engraved golden breastplate of Sparks Amidst Snow, gleaming and spitting arcs of pure warm light as mechanics suspended in front of it work on repairing enormous gashes in the plate from her last Kaiju fight, only a week or so ago. In the other bay is the silent, hulking form of -

“Oh my god,” Wei Wuxian breathes, he and Lan Wangji stepping forward in the same instant with reverence clearly etched into every line of their faces despite how differently they wear their expressions. “Bright moon and gentle breeze.”

“Distant snow, cold frost,” Lan Wangji finishes for him, the pair of them suddenly so wistful Lan Xichen nearly can’t bear to look at them.

“She is currently without pilots,” Jin Guangyao tells them with a shrewd look in his eyes. “But Jaeger assignments will be discussed at a more appropriate time. For now, allow me to introduce the martial leader of Shanghai Shatterdome - Chifeng-zun, Nie Mingjue.”

Lan Xichen’s gaze swings sharply from the abandoned Mach 1 Jaeger in the darkened bay to their more immediate surroundings. It can’t be -

But it is. Nie Mingjue, a living legend ostensibly long-retired with the rest of the few (very few) surviving Mach 1 pilots, stands straight and proud, towering over everyone around him and exuding an air of leadership that Lan Xichen can only admire.

“This everyone?” he asks Jin Guangyao and the man nods as he strides forward only to turn and settle at Nie Mingjue’s right hand as easily as breathing.

“From Tokyo Shatterdome, Twin Jades Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji, pilots of the Mach 5 Jaeger named 'Jade Dragon'; and their peers, Yunmeng Heroes Jiang Yanli, Jiang Wanyin, and Wei Wuxian, pilots of the Mach 4 Jaeger 'Lotus Spider'.”

“Well. Welcome to Shanghai, then. Come in and pay attention, I don’t have time for pleasantries.”

Lan Xichen glances at his companions and then turns forward again resolutely to join his new commanders with a shiver of something curiously close to excitement slipping down his spine.

-/-

Nie Mingjue goes through their latest reports automatically, the information too deeply burned into his brain to require him to pay too much attention to what he’s saying. He’s much more interested in studying his new pilots - he’s seen his fair share of pilots in the years he’s been at the front of this war, and he’s pretty damn good at getting a read on them these days.

The dynamics they present are favorable enough...on the surface.

Two brothers near enough in age and looks to practically be twins, their temperaments both steady and their fighting grounded in martial arts and spiritual development they’ve clearly been practicing rigorously since they were children.

Three siblings, two blood one adopted, all of them close enough that no one would know their family situation without the different names - and the scandal Yu Ziyuan had whipped up into an international frenzy when Wei Wuxian had joined his martial siblings in a triple-pilot Jaeger he’d altered himself for purpose by using scraps of older abandoned machines dumped in the Yiling scrapyard. Their fighting is wild and unpredictable, inventive, favoring both surprise and strength over the elegance exhibited by the Jades.

But it’s clear almost immediately to Nie Mingjue that there are fault lines everywhere, in danger of very quickly becoming fractures. He doesn’t miss the way Lan Wangji looks first to Wei Wuxian for his thoughts before he looks to his own brother and copilot, or the way Jiang Wanyin glares at the pair of them whenever he catches sight of it. Jiang Yanli focuses more on her brothers' tension than the intelligence Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao are presenting them with, and Lan Xichen seems determined to act as if nothing is out of the ordinary at all.

He’d known as soon as they’d made the deal with Tokyo that Wen Ruohan wasn’t doing this out of any goodness in his heart, he hadn’t been foolish enough to think he’d be getting the best Tokyo has to offer, so the high-performing pilots had been a nice surprise. He just hadn’t expected that he’d be getting not one but two world-class pilot teams on the verge of falling apart.

Well, he supposes, it’s not like everything else in this damn shatterdome isn’t falling apart as well. They might as well make the best of it until they can’t go any further.

“You have one free day to recover from your traveling,” Nie Mingjue tells them when Jin Guangyao has finished explaining the general layout of the shatterdome for their convenience. “You’ll report for combat training with the rest of the pilots the following morning immediately after breakfast - of course should a Kaiju pop its ugly head up in the meantime you’re to report here and receive assignment no matter what else you’re doing. All clear?”

Satisfied with the affirmatives he receives in response, Nie Mingjue dismisses them all with a wave and turns back to the supply reports he’d been reading when they’d come in. He finishes one and begins on the next despite the ache starting up behind his eyes, and he’s still trying to slog his way through it when Jin Guangyao returns from showing the pilots to their quarters nearby.

“You’re all dismissed, go get something to eat,” Nie Mingjue tells the few technicians still hanging around tinkering with their dying comms system, and once the room is silent save for the two of them Jin Guangyao steps forward to begin unpicking Nie Mingjue’s braids to try to help his headache.

“You should take your own advice sometime,” Jin Guangyao muses. Nie Mingjue just grunts and waves him off, still squinting down at his reports though the numbers have started to swim nauseatingly.

“What’s your take on the Tokyo group?” Nie Mingjue asks to distract himself.

“They’re awfully…shiny,” he says, and it’s not a compliment. Nie Mingjue snorts a laugh and flips to the next page of the folder, though this one’s just as badly covered in cramped handwriting making the most economical use of the limited space. “On the one hand I think they’ll all be fine piloting Jaegers other than their own if need be - they’ve all been in the field long enough to be familiar with older tech...”

“But?”

“The second we try to split them up they’ll fall apart.”

Nie Mingjue sighs and nods, unbends enough to rub at his forehead tiredly. “My thoughts exactly. Has to be done, though. I need more teams than we’ve got and we can’t be spared for anything that’s not the literal fucking end-of-the-world apocalypse. They’ll have to get flexible fast if they’re going to last here.”

“We can talk about it in the morning. You need to go lay down before this turns into a migraine.”

Nie Mingjue ignores the admonishment in favor of relaxing backwards into the chair and tipping his head forward a bit to get Jin Guangyao’s hands where he needs them more. “Any chance Jin Guangshan is planning another ‘business trip’ that’ll keep him away long enough for us to Drift again?”

“With new faces to show off in front of?” Jin Guangyao retorts with a bit of acid in his ever-pleasant voice. “He won’t leave for anyone but Wen Ruohan for the next six months at least, and Wen Ruohan won’t send for him now that he’s offloaded all his problem children on us. He’s probably going to focus on training up all the Wen reserve pilots now that they’ve got free reign of their ‘dome, we’re stuck with Jin Guangshan for a while.”

“Don’t forget that I know you,” Nie Mingjue reminds Jin Guangyao, his voice low. Jin Guangyao’s hands go still in his hair for a moment before he continues his slow untangling. “I know you’ve got something up your sleeve - I’ve been in your head, A-Yao. There’s no way in hell you’re about to let your chicken-shit father get in the way of becoming a pilot.”

Jin Guangyao stays quiet for a few long moments before he leans over the back of the chair and tips Nie Mingjue’s head back far enough to force him to look up at him.

“It’s not just my father - nothing is going to stand between me and becoming a pilot,” Jin Guangyao corrects him. “But I’m extremely good at playing the long game. Just be patient and help me babysit the new disasters, and when the timing’s right we’ll get back in a Jaeger. Alright? I miss being in your head, too.”

Nie Mingjue sighs long and slow but has to admit defeat; he concedes the point with a hand curled around the back of Jin Guangyao’s neck to pull him down into a languid kiss unfortunately cut short by a pained grimace as his headache spikes. 

“Bed. Now.”

Nie Mingjue knows better than to ignore the suggestion a second time so he lets Jin Guangyao pull him to his feet for the pair of them to leave the tower and retreat to their ‘separate’ quarters a few hallways over, on the same corridor as the pilots. Nie Mingjue dresses down for bed by taking off his boots and collapses onto his mattress just in time for Jin Guangyao to open the hidden door that connects their rooms.

“Can’t you at least strip down to your t-shirt?” he grumbles as he clambers into bed beside him but Nie Mingjue says nothing, he just makes room for the smaller man against his side under his arm, and then hits the light switch to plunge them into darkness. He lies awake for a few long minutes listening to Jin Guangyao’s breathing and the distant clanging of the shatterdome that never fully sleeps, and then he’s tugged into unconsciousness full of dreams that are their usual mix of his memories and Jin Guangyao’s.

[eyebagsbutglam]

Meet the Parent(s)

A/N: This is a quirkless AU, lets pretend the Todoroki's are a happy functional family. My apologies to @myheelsdontmatchmysweatpants thank you for beta reading this exceptionally traumatic piece of comedy. Get ready to bleach your eyeballs y'all.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW, taboo themes, vanilla sex, fluff, alcoholic mother.. I mean its pretty tame

Pairing: Touya x F!Reader

Word Count: 3983

“NEVER trust men.” You rolled your eyes as your mom went on another one of her man-bashing tangents.

“I’m serious Y/N. They’re always amazing at first, wining and dining you, promising you the world. Then when shit gets real- BAM! They’re gone, leaving you in the dust.” She shot back her last sip of wine and wiggled the glass in front of you asking for a refill.

“Mom please. Touya’s different. He’s dependable and considerate. I promise if you just give him a chance you’re gonna love him.” You walked into the kitchen and instead of grabbing the wine you poured her a glass of grape juice. She was sloshed enough to not notice the difference, you were experienced enough to recognize the signs of when she needed to be cut off.

“I know he is baby I’m just saying -hic- keep an eye on him. I know I will be tomorrow night!” She slumped over setting her elbow on the table, clumsily resting her chin in her palm. Her eyes were already at half mass.

“Yeah about tomorrow night. Could you maybe hold off on the drinking? At least keep it to one glass..” You wanted to add instead of one bottle, but you knew where that would lead the conversation and you’d rather not get in an argument tonight.

“Oh yes of course sweetie. You know I would never want to do anything to -hic- embarrass you.”Even her smile was crooked.

“Okay well maybe we should call it an early night. I want to make sure we’re nice and fresh for meeting Touya’s family tomorrow.”You helped her out of her chair and walked her to her bedroom, tucking her in.

Your mother was stressed. And when she’s stressed, she drinks. You couldn’t blame her. All in one night you revealed things are getting pretty serious with the boy you’ve been talkng to, and told her the following night you’ll be bringing her to dinner to meet him and his family.

She never did well with you having boyfriends, always so worried they were going to do you wrong like your father did her. You knew very little about the man, only the bits and pieces she shared about him. He was a regular at the bar your mom worked at, always flirting with her. They started dating and six weeks in she got pregnant. When she told him he flipped. He offered her a very large sum of money to disappear and she agreed, leaving town with a broken heart and swollen belly.

You felt bad for your mom, knowing the experience really jaded her. She never dated again, throwing herself into a new career all while being a full time mom. You hoped that seeing how amazing Touya was and how good you two were together, she would change her mind about love and get back out on the dating scene.

On the drive back to your place you called your boyfriend. You were beginning to feel nervous for the upcoming event.

“Hello dollface.” His deep voice was hypnotic, instantly soothing you.

“Hi handsome. How did it go telling your family about dinner tomorrow night?”You absentmindedly chewed on your bottom lip, a terrible habit you developed when anxious.

“Fine. Natsuo and Fuyumi won’t be able to make it. Shouto’s still doing his internship with dad’s company so he’ll be late along with my mom since they carpool to work. My dad however insisted on driving with me. He’s very interested to size up the woman who might give him grandchildren one day. Has to make sure you’re up to his standards.”His lighthearted chuckle did nothing to calm the nerves caused by his terrible joke.

When you didn’t respond he continued, “Oh come on Y/N I’m only kidding. I know they’re going to fall in love the moment they make eye contact, just like I did.”

“God I hope so.” You sighed, “Although its not just me I’m worried about.”

As you were getting ready for bed there was a knock on your door. Looking through the peephole you spotted a beautiful set of cerulean eyes and your heart leaped. You opened the door, forgetting you were in a skimpy set of silk pajamas.

You practically jumped into him, bouncing on your tippy toes so you could snake your arms around his neck. He held you close, splaying his palms across your lower back before reaching down further to grab a handful of buttcheek.

“What are you doing here handsome? Shouldn’t you be at home? We have a big night tomorrow.” You leaned back so you could see his face but stayed in his grasp.

“I wanted to surprise you. When we were on the phone earlier you sounded like you were stressing out about dinner tomorrow. I thought I’d come by and.. distract you.”He held you at arms length and let his eyes wander down to your lips, then chest, legs, and back up to your face, taking his time to enjoy the view. “But it looks like you were already expecting me?” A cheeky grin split his face.

Just then, the realization that you were standing in the hallway in basically underwear hit and you turned, wiggling your booty at the man behind you before pulling him inside. The latch clicked into place and he used your hold on his hand to spin you so your back was against the door, placing his hand behind your head to cushion it from hitting the hard surface.

Your lips parted and a small yelp escaped. Touya pressed his body into yours, sliding his hand to the back of your neck, his other hand untangling from yours to join. He nipped at your bottom lip and then slowly traced his tongue across it before enveloping your mouth with his own. You closed your eyes and kissed him back, arching your body into his.  His kisses started migrating to your jaw, and then down the side of your neck. You hummed, tilting your head to the side to give him better access. When his kisses went from feather light to opened mouthed your eyes shot open. You grabbed a handful of his hair at the nape and pulled his head away from your neck. A growl rumbled in his chest and the feral look he gave you sent a shiver down your spine.

“No marks! Dinner tomorrow.. remember?”Although you could kick yourself for stopping him, you knew you’d thank yourself in the morning. He rolled his eyes at you, letting out an exaggerated sigh and rolling his neck to add effect.

“Okay okay fine. I’ll just have to leave my mark in other ways then..” And with that he bent down and tossed you over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, heading straight to the bedroom. He unceremoniously dropped you onto the bed and began to take off his clothes. You leaned back on your elbows and laid there watching his movements. The way his muscles flexed as he pulled his shirt over his head. His strong hands undoing the buckle on his belt to then pull down his pants so he was in nothing but boxer briefs. You pulled your lip between your teeth while you enjoyed the show.

With a cocky smile on his face he leaned over you on the bed, moving so his lips barely grazed your ear. “Are you going to undress or do you need me to do it for you?” The baritone of his voice vibrated down to your core, causing your panties to dampen.

You began to undress but he grabbed your wrists and pinned them above your head against the bed. “It’s okay dollface. Let me do it for you.” He slid his hands down the length of your arms and down your sides stopping at the hem of your shirt. He pulled the fabric up over your head, your body lifting to assist the motion. He took a moment to admire you, slowly tracing your areola with his fingertips, one at a time, and watching them harden into perfect peaks. The action made goosebumps raise across your skin.

Once he was satisfied he moved to your lower half, hooking his fingers into the waistband of both your shorts and panties. Leaning in close to your body he began to pull the fabric down your legs, immediately noticing the string of your juices attached to your panties.

“Damn baby girl, is that all for me?”You recognized a hint of pride in his voice.

Smiling you nodded and squirmed a bit on the bed underneath him. “Mmm yes Touya. Its all for you.” There was no point in hiding the lust in your voice, It was useless to pretend you didn’t need him right now.

Once you were fully naked he grabbed you by the back of your knees and pushed your legs up, settling himself between them. He rested the side of his face on your inner thigh and examined you, grazing his fingers down towards your slit and the back again, never touching where you want him to. You felt so vulnerable in this position, everything splayed out for him to see, but he made you feel safe.

His eyes met yours as he continued his teasing touches. “You are so beautiful.”

His pupils were blown, just as you imagined yours were. Finally his index finger skimmed over your opening, gathering your juices, and found purchase on your clit, rubbing small circles into the little bundle of nerves.

You let out a moan, closing your eyes and throwing your head back against the pillows. He turn his palm and slid his middle finger inside you rubbing his rough pads along your favorite spot. A heat began to collect in your core. “Eyes on me babygirl.”

You struggled to keep your eyes open as he continued his ministrations on your g-spot, adding another finger. Your hips bucked again and you began to whimper, you were getting close. He brought his face to your pussy, keeping his eyes on yours. You could feel the heat of his breath on your sensitive skin as his tongue slipped out to trace circles around your clit. Your hips started to wriggle vigorously until you were nearly riding his face. He pumped his fingers in and out of you, every so often to rubbing at the spot that he knew would have you seeing stars.

The heat grew, turning into a volcano about to errupt. Your hands grabbed at the sheets, balling into fists. “Touya.. Fuck- I’m gunnA-” But your words were cut off with a moan as you came undone. Your hips rose off the mattress and you squeezed your legs around his head. He ceased his movements, letting you ride out the wave of your climax.

Lost in a cloud of ecstasy. The release did wonders to calm your nerves. You opened your eyes trying to bring them back in focus. Suddenly you felt a tap tap on your leg and looked down. There sat Touya, head trapped in the fleshy prison of your thighs. You gasped and released him, sobering up from the orgasm he just gave you. “Oh my gosh Touya I’m so sorry!”

He chuckled, rubbing his jaw. “That’s quite alright dollface. If I died between those beautiful legs of yours I would die a happy man.” He placed a quick peck on your lips. “Besides, I know how you can make it up to me.”

Before you could register what was happening you were flipped onto your stomach and your ass was being lifted into the air. He started to rub his length along your slit, smearing your juices on the underside of his shaft. The sensation of his veiny cock rubbing your already sensitive pussy sends jolts of electricity through your body. You groan, grinding yourself back onto him.

“Mmm that feel good baby girl?” He smacks your hip, using his other hand to line himself up with your entrance. A hiss leaves his lips when he pushes himself into you, savoring the way you feel around him. He bottoms out and stills, rubbing tiny circles on your lower back. The stretch feels incredible. He fills you up perfectly, reaching to your deepest erogenous zone. His inaction starts to drive you crazy and you begin to bounce yourself on his cock.

He grabs your hips and leans over your body. “So impatient. Alright then, do you want me to start moving?”You try to grind against him but his grip is firm holding you in place.

“Use your words dollface. What is it you want me to do?”Even though you can’t see him you can hear the shit eating grin on his face.

You let out a whine. “Ple-ease Touya.. p-please move! Need to f-feeel you.”

He starts with shallow thrusts, barely enough to cause friction. You whimper burying your face into the comforter.

“Is this what you want baby girl? Huh?”His grip tightens, so much for no marks. At least its somewhere you can cover with clothes.

Tears of frustration collect at the corners of your eyes and you shake your head no. Another smack lads on your hip. “I said use your words.” This time the command came out in a growl. His thrusts, though still shallow, began to snap harder against you. You needed more.

“Harder please! Ple-ease go harder!” Your pleas were granted when he pulled almost all the way out and thrust into you hard. Once, twice, then sets a brutal pace, pounding into you. He reached forward and hooked his fingers into your mouth, causing droll to spill down your chin. You were a whimpering mess. Moans and grunts filled the apartment, volume raising as you both reached your peaks.

“Fuck- I’m close. Where do you want it baby?”His thrusts turned erratic. You were almost there too.

“Inside! Cum inside me!”Arousal had completely taken over your thoughts, your pussy was the one making the decisions now.

His hand left your mouth to find purchase around your neck, pulling you up so your back was flush against his chest. His other arm wrapped around your body, grabbing your opposite shoulder and pulling you into his thrusts. He released himself inside you moaning in your ear, the pressure sending you into climax once more.

The both of you sat there a moment, steadying your breathing.

“That was..”He began.

“Necessary.”You finished.

You’re the first one to arrive at the restaurant. It was a local place, family owned, making for an intimate setting. The host seats you and you wait for the others, pulling out your phone to check for any notifications. As you look up you spot your mom walking in, she looks anxious. She notices you and smiles, almost walking into someone on her way to your reserved table.

“Hi mom.” You say with a sympathetic smile, “You good?”You rub her back in an attempt to soothe her, thinking to yourself which one is the child again?

“Oh I’ll be fine, as soon as i get a drink.” She flags a server over and orders a cocktail. You drop your hand and sigh, hoping she sticks to her promise of only one.

When her drink arrives she takes a sip, “Aahh much better.” She sighs, smacking her lips.

“They should be here soon, if you wanted to save your one drink for when we get our food..”You watched her take another sip, or more like a gulp.

“Mmm yes, yes. You’re right.”A sense of relief washed over you as you watched her put the drink down.

Your server walked up to the table. “Hello I’m Sou, and I’ll be your server for the evening. Is there anything I can get started for you? Some bread?”

“Yes we’d love some bread, and can we have water for six please? We’re waiting for some more people to arrive.” You smiled at the man.

“Actually, could you point me in the direction of the little girls room?” Your mother asked rising out of her chair. He directed her to a hallway to the right of the table and your mom was off with a quick “Be right back!”

She disappeared into the hallway right as a man with bright red hair and very large in stature entered the restaurant. You knew who he was immediately, him having the same cerulean eyes as your boyfriend. Confirming your suspicion Touya walked in behind him. You stood up and waved them over to the table, not being able to control the smile beaming on your face.

Touya got to you first “Hey babe, you look stunning.” He reached a hand around your waist and kissed you on the cheek. Then he stepped back, giving his father room to approach you. Your stomach did a somersault.

“Dad, this is Y/N.”He kept his hand resting on the small of your back to help calm your nerves a bit.

“Hello Mr. Todoroki. Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” You held out your hand and it was soon engulfed by his much larger one.

“The pleasure is all mine Y/N I assure you.”He smiled, which somehow made him look more intimidating. “Touya, you didn’t mention how stunningly beautiful Y/N is.” You grinned, glancing at Touya who looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel trying not to roll his eyes.

“Lets sit. Y/N is your mom here yet?”Touya quickly changed the subject.

“Yes she’s here. Shes just in the ladies room, she should be out any minute.” Sou the server returns with a basket of bread and some waters.

“So Y/N, what do you do for a living?”Mr. Todoroki asks taking a sip of his water. You give Touya the side eye. This was a subject you were hoping to avoid, unsure if his father would approve of your line of work.

“I actually own my own business.” You feel Touya’s hand squeeze your knee under the table, encouraging you to continue. “I’m a salon owner. I have a shop on the other side of town. I started off behind the chair but with the salon as busy as it is now I only do hair one day a week. The rest of the time I’m running the business.”

Mr. Todoroki eyes you from across the table and your heart starts to palpitate. Shit. Is he disappointed?

“Ah! An entrepreneur. I’m always telling Touya in life a person needs to take risks, do what makes them happy. See Touya, you could learn a thing or two from this one.” You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Touya gives your hand another squeeze before letting go.

You begin sharing the ins and outs of the salon world when someone clears their throat to the right of you.

You look up to see your mom, frozen in place, all the blood drained from her face. “Mom?”You start to stand.

Touya and his father turn to greet her, but upon doing so Mr. Todoroki’s face drops and he can’t seem to find the words he was about to say.

“Is this some sort of joke?” Her words were like venom, and seemed to be directed toward the large man in front of her.

“Mom what are you talking about?”You try to laugh off your moms behavior, “This is Touya and his father Mr.-”

“Enji Todoroki.”She sounded furious. You looked to your boyfriend, relieved to see he was just as confused as you were.

“Do.. you two know each other?”Touya asked hesitantly.

Mr. Todoroki finally spoke. “Mira, I-”He looked at you, studied your face, then over to his son, and back to you.

“Oh.. oh no.”

“Can someone please tell us what the hell is going on?”Touya’s volume was raising in irritation.

“This..is all my fault.”You mother said before grabbing her purse and running out of the restaurant.

“Mom!” You called after her, but she was gone.

Anger and confusion rose inside you. The evening started off perfectly, of course your mom would be the one to ruin it. But how did she know Touya’s dad? You weren’t even sure if you wanted to know the answer to that question.

“I..” Mr. Todoroki looked at you, his face unreadable. “I can’t be here.”He too got up and left the restaurant with haste.

“Dad!” Touya called after him, then looked at you. “Do you know what all that was about?”

“I have no idea, but I’m going to find out.”You grabbed your phone out of your purse to call your mom, but just as you unlocked the screen a text message came in, and then another.

Mom<3: I know you’re probably confused, I’m so sorry you had to find out this way..

Mom<3: I don’t know how else to tell you, so I’ll just show you. I only have one picture of your father, and it was taken the night before I found out I was pregnant.

An attachment followed the texts and when you opened it you felt your heart fall out of your butt.

It was a picture of your mom in a skin tight dress with a drink in her hand, she was laughing and leaning into the arms of a much larger man with fiery red hair and cerulean eyes. Your father. Enji Todoroki.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bonus Scene (that no one asked for):

Slowly you turned to see the same look of trauma on your boyfriends face. He had been reading her texts over your shoulder, and he already knew the story of your father.

Nausea overtook you. You couldn’t speak.  You dropped your phone on the table with the picture still open and the two of you sat there staring at each other.

“Touya?”A young man with split colored hair broke the silence. You both turned to look at him.

“Shou..”Touya addressed his youngest brother in a daze.

“What’s wrong?”Shouto asked, then glancing at the phone on the table he added, “Is that dad?”

[sassassassins]

Companion piece to this meta about Zhou Zishu

When Wen Kexing leaves the Ghost Valley, he encounters a curious concept: a philanthropist, someone whose sole occupation is being good and grand and bestowing money on those less fortunate.

There were no good people in the Ghost Valley. For one thing, there were no people in the Ghost Valley, only their twisted, sunless reflections. Loyalty and power were the only things that mattered in the hierarchy of that ravenous underworld. If a good person happened to wander in, they'd be eaten alive in ten minutes flat.

Wen Kexing quite likes the idea of being a good person. It appeals to him in the same way that fine silk robes and elegant jade pendants appeal to him, as a pretty thing to try on and discard as necessary.

So he fashions himself as Philanthropist Wen, strolling through the streets with a benevolent smile and the lazy wave of his fan. Perhaps he hasn't endowed any orphanages or gifted food to any beggars, Gu Xiang aside, but it's the spirit of the occupation that matters. He wears it with style. It's a fine mask as he waltzes his way into the circles of the traitorous leaders of the jianghu, working to get close enough to plant the seeds of discord and watch them destroy each other.

He doesn't really start to think about what it might mean to be good until he meets his A-Xu. At first, he's simply startled to see the Swift-Moving Steps of Siji Pavilion, then intrigued by the mystery of this man and his fine shoulderblades. But as he gets closer, he finds that his A-Xu is both a peerless beauty and a good man at his core, someone he didn't think could exist in the corrupt human realm. As he watches, A-Xu saves Zhang Chengling to repay a paltry debt, even though it would be easier to flee. He holds a piece of Glazed Armor in his hands and throws it to Wen Kexing without a hint of greed in his eyes. He openly reveals his identity and his bloody history as an assassin, and makes a commitment to start a new life. Zhou Zishu is undoubtedly a good man, perhaps the best he has ever known.

Watching his A-Xu move through the world starts to give Wen Kexing a slithering uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. When he watches his schemes lead to the unintended deaths of innocents, he knows he does not deserve to stand next to his A-Xu in the light. Am I a good person? he asks as a flirtation, but he knows that his mask is slipping to reveal the cracks beneath, exposing the shatter pattern where the child Zhen Yan broke beneath the cruelty of the previous Ghost Valley master.

It's a strange feeling, shame. Highly inconvenient. For years, he had always been resolute and self-assured in one purpose: revenge. Self-doubt is dangerous in a place like the Ghost Valley, where the inhabitants can smell fear and corner the vulnerable. But now that he's spent so much time with Zhou Zishu, putting on the persona of the Ghost Valley Master is starting to feel like a chore. He likes being Philanthropist Wen. He likes standing next to A-Xu, even if he doesn't deserve to claim the human world as his own.

The shame becomes a pulsing, throbbing point of pain with the revelation of his parentage at Longyuan Cabinet. It hounds him constantly once they return to Siji Pavilion. He knows that his rotten identity will break their hard-won peace, perhaps irreparably. He dreads his exposure with every conversation, and screams his frustration and confused grief at the grave of his would-be master. Everything that once seemed so simple has become hopelessly tangled.

Except - Zhou Zishu defends him from Ye Baiyi with an arm thrown across his chest to protect him. He knew already of Wen Kexing's identity as the Ghost Valley Master, somehow. He knew, but had not rejected him. He still calls him shidi. Which means that either Wen Kexing is a good person after all, worthy of being defended, or he has somehow misunderstood his A-Xu.

He doesn't truly understand until he lets the persona of the Ghost Valley Master fall to his death off a cliff. Standing over the pitiful body of Zhao Jing, he feels righteous in his violence. But more importantly, he feels the last of his masks slip away. He can put on red robes and speak in a commanding voice if necessary, but he has nothing to hide-- not from Zhou Zishu or Zhang Chengling or Gu Xiang. Not from his family, the ones who know the truth of him and stand beside him anyway. He might not be a good person, but he is a person, and finally, an honest one. Someone his parents might be proud of calling their son. Someone who might be able to call A-Xiang his sister, as she deserves. A human once more.

His A-Xu is the same, he thinks. Leaving Tian Chuang has not absolved him of his past, but it has allowed him to step into the light, not to seek to be good, but to find a chance at peace. Of course his A-Xu is beautiful, but Kexing does not need to change to be worthy of him. They are the same in so many ways. For the first time he can remember, Wen Kexing wants nothing more than to live, to rest, and to see A-Xiang married.

The temporary relief of a moment of peace makes what happens next even more painful. A-Xu pulls away from him just as he's ready to truly begin their life together. Gu Xiang dies a cruel death, after only just accepting him as her brother. His regrets begin to pile up again. Mo Huaiyang dies too slowly, and even in this new life, he can't control the cruel turn of fate.

He knows it might be selfish to save Zhou Zishu's life at the cost of his own. A good man would have explained the risks and given him a choice. But in this new life, he does not have to pretend to be a benevolent philanthropist or an evil ghost. He is a man in love, and right or wrong, he cannot bear any more loss.

Fortunately, Zhou Zishu also refuses to allow him to die. He should have expected nothing less: they are zhiji, and their souls are the same. They have lied to each other and hurt each other, but in this too, they are equals. Perhaps neither of them are good people. But they deserve each other, and after all that has happened, they have earned their peace.

A/N whew this got long!! Wen Kexing has a lot to say, apparently. I'm still trying to get a handle on these characters and their voices, but this was fun to write. I feel like I have a better grasp on Zhou Zishu's voice and character, so I'd be interested to hear what y'all think of this version of Wen Kexing!!

Also, I take gif-making requests and (short) writing prompts 😊

[archonanqi]

fragile as dust | 5 - culmination

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🔖 a/n - aaah some stuff finally starts going down in this chapter, thanks y'all for staying patient through the last four chapters. please let me know if you’d like to be tagged for updates! enjoy!

—

  “Admittedly,” Zhongli sighed, “I may have gone a little overboard with the food.”

   You both peered at the carnage leftover from your feast, the table strewn with at least half of the meal left.

   “Are you full?” Zhongli inquired. He wasn’t smiling, but there was unmistakeable amusement in his voice. You nodded — a few minutes ago, you’d felt like you could have eaten everything on the table, but the physical limits of your stomach betrayed you. “Very well. Let’s clean up, then I will show you around the house. How does that sound?”

   It still took you by surprise, each time he asked you for your opinion. “It sounds good, Mr. Zhongli.”

—

   The first time you touched him was as he handed you one of the plates, as you thumbed over the intricate blue-white markings and felt your fingers brush.  You didn’t know it then, but it would not be the last.

   He was wearing his gloves, and so it was really leather that you’d touched, but it was electrifying all the same. You winced, searching his features for any displeasure. It was not your place to so much as gaze upon a noble of  half his status without permission, let alone touch — you’d been taught that lesson, quickly and very early on.

   “Please take this to the kitchen,” he requested, as though nothing had happened. You obeyed with slow, deliberate steps, squashing even any thoughts of dropping the fine china. Gingerly — how in Celestia was even the inside of his fridge elegant? — you set it down, closed the door and almost jumped out of your skin. He was standing right behind you, arms crossed as he studied you, features unreadable.

   “Tell me a little about yourself, Hansi.”

   Small talk? Or a test? Surely, certainly, he wasn’t genuinely curious? You felt naked under his probing gaze, still clad in that plain white dress. Had it really only been a day since you’d met Zhongli? Every second with him seemed to stretch over the length of a millennia. Instinctively, your hands wandered to your chest, feeling for your Vision. Wasn’t there. Wouldn’t help you even if it was.

   I grew up in a shithole with a dozen other people. I stole, robbed, dredged myself through life, you imagined yourself saying to him, just to get sold to a nobleman who thinks I’m too stupid to understand his intentions. 

   By the way, three nights ago, Rex Lapis smoked up something real good and gave me a Geo Vision I don’t know how to use.

   “There is nothing to know about me,” you said, instead, “save that I am bound to you in loyal servitude, and that I will do as you please, Mr. Zhongli.“

   “Hm.” Zhongli hummed, a low echo. His golden gaze rend you through Then, rather abruptly, he said, “Let’s begin the house tour, shall we?”

   Somehow, his curtness stung. Had you said something wrong? What you’d said — that was the textbook response you were meant to give, no? Regardless, you nodded your obedience, swallowing the fear you felt, as always, at his displeasure.

—

   You almost expected there to be a dungeon of some sort hidden behind one of the doors, some skulls, maybe a poor chained up Hilichurl or two.

   What you didn’t expect was so many rocks. 

   And paintings. And scrolls, and trinkets, and jewelry, arranged carefully upon display stands in each room. You remembered how cluttered the drawers were that you hid your Vision in. In the daylight, now that your mind wasn’t clouded with as much fear and fatigue, you were realizing just how much stuff Zhongli owned.

    (Vaguely, it brought to mind images of dragons — the billowing, fire-breathing, treasure-hoarding creatures you’d read about in one of the many storybooks you’d stolen. You shook that image out of your head. Zhongli was plenty intimidating, even without a set of horns and fangs.)

   “—and this is the bathroom,” Zhongli said, pushing open the door. The bathroom, on its own, was bigger than the shack you’d shared with four other families growing up. In the middle of the room, the dark marble floor gave way to a large, circular bathtub — it looked a little like a pool. “You are free to use it, and anything in it, whenever you’d like.”

   The idea of a hot bath was heaven, but you were a hundred percent certain that your current state — dirt-caked fingernails and unkempt hair and all — was all that was keeping you safe. If you got nice and clean, who was to say what he would decide to do to you?

   No, you would avoid taking a bath as long as you could.

   Zhongli closed the door, and hesitated. “Hmm. There is less than I thought to show you,” he admitted. “These other rooms are simply full of items I’ve collected over the years, and I’m sure they would bore you.“

   “It would be my pleasure to hear more about them,” you said, quickly. You wanted to keep him talking; as long as he was talking, he was doing nothing else. Besides, you found yourself growing more and more intrigued about Zhongli — only so that you could read him better, you promised yourself.

   “Well, then far be it from me to deny you your pleasure,” he said. “What would you like to know more about?”

   You glanced around, gaze landing on a small, glass standing display case. Two gemstones sat side by side in it, both a rich, translucent gold — like his eyes, you thought. “What are those?”

   “Cor Lapis,” he said, and you heard a hint of something in his voice. Pride? “They were a gift, from someone close to me.”

   “Are they worth a lot? They’re so pretty.” You bit your lip. They were probably worth more than the average Liyue merchant would ever earn. Pretty? Really?

   “In terms of Mora, yes, they are worth no small amount,” Zhongli replied. “However, their value far surpasses material currency, for these are prime Cor Lapis samples from Mount Hulao.”

   “Hulao... in Jueyun Karst?” You’d heard the rumors that floated between drunk fishermen and merchants, of the dangers of the mountain, of those who entered and came back changed. You had never put much stock in them — drunk men would say just about anything.

   “Yes. And as I’m sure you know, Jueyun Karst is a dangerous place to venture into, without the proper precautions.”

   “Dangerous… even for you?” You glanced at the Vision hanging off his waist. You couldn’t imagine a situation where Zhongli would ever be forced to break that collected facade of his.

   “For any human.”

   You found yourself enjoying the light conversation — you couldn’t remember the last time you’d spoken to another person like this. “Who gave you these?” You tried to smile, and it came easier than you expected. “They must have been really nice, to give away something so expensive.”

   Immediately, you regret opening your mouth. Zhongli’s eyes darkened, and his face fell visibly.

   “Yes. She… was certainly very kind,” he said, quietly. He looked as though he wanted to say something else, but didn't. Couldn’t.

   Was? You wanted to kick yourself. Of course you’d manage to bring up his dead friend in your first real conversation with him. The next seconds of silence were almost unbearable. Finally, you spoke up with the first thing that popped into your head. “So, you like rocks?”

   By the Archon, weren’t you on a roll today.

   You were pleasantly baffled to hear him chuckle, a deep, throaty rumble from the depths of his chest. “Yes, one could say that I am fond of them.” He said, amidst soft laughter. “And you?”

   “I don’t know much about them,” you admitted, “but the ones you have are beautiful, Mr. Zhongli.” So was his laugh.

   “Is that so?” He asked, the previous conversation seemingly forgotten, as he strode over to a case across the room, “perhaps you will find these to your fancy as well — these pieces of Noctilucuous Jade were mined from the deepest mines of the Mingyun...“

—

   By the time Zhongli had finished regaling you about his rock collection, the sky outside had become a smear of pink and orange, the sun drifting barely over the horizon. You hadn’t even noticed the time — Zhongli simply had the kind of voice that demanded wholehearted attention.

   “I seem to have gotten carried away again,” Zhongli smiled. Was it just you, or were his smiles coming more frequently? “Thank you for being such a good listener, Hansi.”

   You nodded in response, not quite sure what to say to that. The praise had a strange, warm feeling spreading through your chest.

   “All that’s left of the house is the library upstairs,” he paused, the tacit question clear on his lips.

   You froze. Ever since you started stealing to survive, you’d made a point to sell everything that couldn’t be eaten. Jewelry, hairpins, no matter how pretty, no matter how much your heart ached to put them on, went straight to the pawn store. But you could never sell books. You couldn’t bear to give up the worlds within them, the promises that one day you would be able to live as freely as the heroes of those stories.

   So you stole. First from Wanwen bookstore, then when the owner learned to watch for your grubby hands, from bags and pockets and homes. You devoured them like hot meals, kept them under the floorboards of your corner, read them out loud to the kids who lived with you, read them till the dirt from your fingers had smeared the words to unrecognition.

   You wanted to see Zhongli’s library, so badly that it hurt.

   But to tell him this would be to admit to him that you’d stolen those books, that you taught yourself a skill that someone of your social class didn’t deserve to learn. Something you weren’t worthy of.

   “I can’t read anyway,” you lied.

   “I see,” Zhongli said. “Then, shall we go and get some dinner? Are you feeling well enough to make a trip to Liyue Harbor? I know the most splendid restaurant.”

—

   You thought that things were going relatively well, that you were doing a fine job of squashing the unease and distrust of Zhongli that still gnawed at the corners of your mind. You were giddily excited, even, to be going to a restaurant for the first time.

   So, as you two arrived at the outskirts of Liyue, close enough to hear the bustle of nightlife, you certainly weren’t expecting the sudden wave of emotions that knocked you clean off your feet.

   It had started small — the unrelenting reminder of how out of place you would look at the restaurant. How out of place you would look in public, next to Zhongli in all his regality. Then: how out of place you truly were — how absurd of you to have started warming up to Zhongli when you knew, with every fiber of your being, what all men like him wanted; when you knew that one day he would grow impatient of waiting for you to offer it.

   If you took his dinner, his food, his kindness, what would you begin to owe him?

    Suddenly, you couldn’t breathe. The bile that rose through your throat was hot and bitter, and you doubled over and retched noisily into the nearest bush. Vaguely, you could hear Zhongli’s exclamation and his footsteps approaching, but you couldn’t stop until your stomach was empty once again.

   You flinched violently at his light touch on your shoulder. “Hansi,” he said, and you were baffled at how genuine his concern sounded, “what happened? What’s wrong?”

   “I don’t know,” you whispered, and it was true. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry—“

   “Please don’t apologize. Can you stand?” Zhongli asked, voice low and soothing. “Let’s get you home.”

   You nodded. “I’m sorry I ruined dinner.”

   “Nonsense, your health is infinitely more important.” He said. “Do you think that you can walk?”

   Once again, you nodded. You let him lead you home.

—

   When you reached the front door of the house, Zhongli’s hand on your shoulder firm and gentle, something had begun — deep in your heart — to fester. The fear, the confusion, the things that had fallen into place but didn’t quite fit together — it had all been boiling too long, too hot. 

   “Mr. Zhongli.” You said, as you stepped through the door, once again greeted by a warm gust of air. 

   “Yes, Hansi?” He asked, close behind. His hand on your shoulder was suddenly heavy, and hot. You shrugged it off, whipping around to stare him in the eyes.

   “Please, just— do whatever you’re planning to do to me.” You said, knowing that if you lost your momentum now you would never get it back.

   “I beg your pardon?”

   “I’m not a child. We both know what I'm here for. When I lived on the streets, two pieces Mora would have earned any nobleman a night -- let alone... however much you’ve spent.” You were vaguely aware of how many lines you were crossing with each word, but there was no stopping the words flowing from your lips now. You could feel your heart thrashing against your chest, anger warming your bones. 

   “We both know that I have nowhere to run, no way to defend myself, so just DO it already. Be cruel, hit me, whatever, do your thing so that I can stop holding my Archon-damned breath and waiting for the inevitable. What exactly are your intentions with me, sir?”

   You paused to catch your breath, and the horror set in suddenly. Your temper had always been the bane of your well-being — you just had to let it get the best of you, every time, didn’t you? Why couldn’t you have just bided your time and waited for his patience to run out later rather than sooner?

   Zhongli stayed silent, face pulled into a frown as though he was pondering over your words. Time seemed to slow into a viscous fluid, drowning you in its wake. You glanced down the hallway at your room.

   If he raised his hand against you, would you be able to make it to your room? Would you be able to grab your Geo Vision before he caught you, and would you even be able to use it against him, against the years of experience he’s had with his? You knew the answer to all of those questions: a resounding no.

   Would he let you live if you apologized? You opened your mouth to beg.

   “My intentions with you...” he said, brow pulled down over heavy lids. “Hm. It seems that I must apologize.”

   You let go of a breath you didn’t know you were holding. For the umpteenth time since your meeting with Zhongli, you wondered: What?

   “I have been trying to let you acclimate to your new life at your own pace, whilst moving on from your old.” Zhongli’s pursed lips were the only sign of discomfort in his composed features. “I did not know that such concerns were going through your head, though I should have seen that your seeming lack of fear was but a facade from your incredibly strong character.”

   In the corner of your eye, you saw your hands trembling. You tried to get them to stop. They would not.

   Zhongli swept on. “The circumstances of our meeting are... unfortunate. In time, you will understand my intentions in orchestrating our meeting, but for now -- you have been put in a very uncomfortable situation. I am remiss for not having acknowledged this much earlier.”

   What?

   Zhongli cleared his throat. “Hansi, please listen to me. While you are under my roof, I will never lift a finger to cause you any harm, physically or otherwise. And for as long as you are a part of my household, I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are never again touched by hunger, frost, hardship. That you will never be subject to the kind of fear that’s making you tremble,” he reached out slowly and took your hand, “like this.” 

   He had done all the speaking, but it was you who had lost the breath from your lungs. Each of his words was a low rumble, earthquakes in their own right. You didn’t know if you believed him, but you so badly, badly wanted to, with every inch of your shaking body.

   “I do not expect you to believe me, right now,” he said, as though reading your mind. He let go of your hand, and it fell back to your side, still shaking. “However, you will soon come to learn that I never break my word.”

   You were beginning to see why Rex Lapis had chosen to grace this man with a Vision. He commanded — no, demanded — your attention, your respect, your trust, your entire being. There was more to him than the rich, lonely nobleman he seemed to be; in that moment, you had never been more sure of it.

   “Is there anything else you would like to ask me, Hansi?” Zhongli asked.

   You shook your head, mutely. There were a lot of things you wanted to say to that, but the swollen words stuck in your throat. “Thank you, Mr. Zhongli,” you said, and hoped he heard everything behind it. 

  Tomorrow morning, you supposed, it’d be alright if you had that bath.