Imagine Being A Kamisato And Trying To Elope With Scaramouche. 

So I was listening to the prince of Egypt soundtrack when I got an idea, imposter au (the one where there’s a legit imposter that’s posing as you) x the prince of Egypt, specifically the Plagues song.

I know it sounds crazy and like it wouldn’t fit, BUT think about it, God darling sending messages to the imposter telling them to knock it off or else, the imposter decides to be a lil shit and wants to see what this “or else” is.

Immediately, reader starts off plaguing the nations like in the prince of Egypt. Cursing their crops and whatnot and sparing and protecting those who they seek innocent in this and the believers who don’t believe the imposter. On the last night of the plagues, instead of killing the first borne or whatever, instead reader raises the characters most loved dead person to shame them for their actions while the people who looked like reader who have been murdered drag out the imposter to face the real god, reader

Oh, anon I love this idea!

I will confess I've never seen the prince of egypt, haha, but I'll do my best to answer this!

Fyi, I love a morally grey reader so...

Darling already knew who they were - the Creator.

So when they heard of an imposter posing as them, they were furious.

Residing in the Abyss, they had been talking out negotiations for the Prince to hopefully not destroy Teyvat - after all, it was your beloved creation.

As Darling sees the Archons of Liyue and Mondstadt bowing down to the imposter, practically tripping over themselves to please them.

How dare they?

After all, a heretic using darling's name to command the archons was against the Creator themselves.

So Darling decides to take is slowly.

They send visions - dreams - to the imposter. They slowly ruin the silk flowers that the silk clothing the imposter comes from - the farmers are not spared. They were the ones to willingly provide the silk, after all. Many starve to death.

The imposter doesn't heed their words.

However, Zhongli has started to have doubts. Whenever he mentions bringing a gift to his god, the sources of the gift start to vanish. He had doubts about his god's personality - after all, it didn't match what the scriptures said about their kindness and generosity. But he didn't act on them, as it would be absolute treason.

As the imposter learns of what has been happening, they see Zhongli hesitate to serve them on his knees, and they throw a fit of rage.

"How dare you! I am the Creator!"

And Zhongli leaves their side.

Venti hesitates to leave however, having already spent too much time with the... imposter? Creator? to have so easily abandoned them. After all, they'd visited Mondstadt first.

Darling is furious at this.

They send a wave of plague to Mondstadt, only sparing the innocent.

Jean struggles to deal with the outbreak, running straight to the imposter to beg for a miracle.

The imposter cannot do anything.

However, the children are miraculously spared. Those who were too young to fully understand that the imposter was someone supposedly 'important', who didn't bow down to them...

Parts of Teyvat start to flee to the only Creator's temple, begging for protection.

This satisfies Darling, somewhat.

After all, less and less people are running to the imposter - who resides elsewhere.

As people start to die in droves, those who reside in the temple seeking your protection - those who never prostrated themselves at the imposters feet - are safe. None show any symptoms of the diseases, and they are all granted great kindness in the face of your wrath.

The imposter refuses to move, but their great mass of followers has dwindled.

You listen to the stories of those who sought refuge - apparently, the imposter has been killing off those with any resemblance to you. You shake in rage.

How dare they exert their power, pretending they are you?

You raise a hand, summoning those recently dead, and pick out those who were murdered by the fanatics who followed the imposter's teachings.

And with them, you teleport into the home of the imposter - which has been almost entirely abandoned.

The only one who remain are Venti, Jean, Kazuha, Diluc, Kujou Sara, and Ei.

Eyes cold and stormy, you summon another wave of dead.

Venti crumples to his knees, eyes wide, as a look-alike of him appears. He sobs for forgiveness, but his twin only shakes his head, turning away coldly.

Jean feels like a little kid again when she sees her family - the ones she sought so desperately to please - look at her in disgust. What did she do wrong?

Kazuha feels his blood go cold when Tomo appears again. Tomo's usually bright smile is sinister. Tomo grabs his shoulder, nails pressing in, as he hisses, "I am so, so disappointed in you. I hate to have to call you friend." He can't bear to try and remove the hand from his shoulder.

Diluc's mask cracks as he sees his father standing in front of him. Like he was never killed. But his father only scowls at him. "I have no words for you. A Khaenri'an traitor was a better son then you." And he weeps.

Ei sees her twin appear again, and she steps forward in shock as her twin stares at her. A sad frown appears on her twin's face, and she turns away. "I thought I could trust you with our creator. I was wrong."

Sara has none that she attached herself to easily - the life of a general was not a social one. But her devotion to her Archon causes her to watch in shock as the mirror to Ei gives her a cold stare as well.

As those killed in the imposters name move forward, the imposter is dragged out of their home, screeching.

Their words are empty now, face bone white.

They know who they've angered.

They are executed on the steps of your temple, as a warning to those who actually try to impersonate you. As for the rest of the imposter's remaining followers? They are left to endless drown in their own sorrow - day after day, they are trapped in a cycle of misery and pain.

You easily replace Barbatos and Ei with a flick of your hand. Teyvat listens to your will. Morax is spared, but just barely. He now carries a scar you inflicted upon his face - a reminder of what happens when one forsakes the Creator.

You return to the Abyss, and smirk.

Next time, they should've worshipped you. Imposters are not tolerated in Teyvat. And no matter how many you must kill and drown in sorrow, you will get the awe and worship you deserve.

---

A/n: Hello this is the Halloween special that organised by @saekogun Thanks a lot for organising this and it's been a lot of fun and sorry that this is a bit late. (Sorry if it’s bad I’ll get around to editing it eventually) Minors: DNI with this TW: Death, Human Experimentation, Cannibalism, Fem reader

"Please allow us to offer our deepest condolences, Tartaglia was one of the best and he will be missed." A fatui member offered emptily while you shoot him a harsh glare at the name of your now late husband. "Our thoughts are with you in this difficult time so please let us know if there's anything we can do for you." his comrade offers and having given their obligatory condolences they make themselves scarce leaving you alone with your thoughts.

Never had you expected that your time together would have been cut so short, that the kiss he gave you that morning would have been his last. You can still remember that cheeky grin of his as he reassured you that he would finish his mission and return to you soon, how could either of you have known what was to come. But if you had known could you have stopped him? Urged him to stay in bed for a bit longer by your side and ensure that he missed his ship to Liyue. If you had would he still be by your side now instead of laying lifeless in a casket in front of you now? Such thoughts continued to plague your mind even as they lowered him into the ground while his family wept, their anguished screams nothing but static in the background as you could only watch in disbelief. Your beloved Ajax was gone, leaving you alone in this bleak wasteland.

For days after the funeral people continued to stop by and offer you their sympathies and useless sentiments that would do nothing to bring your love back to you. Days gradually bled into weeks with time becoming a blur leaving you to suffer in your home which had once been a warm place full of life now empty while you continued to regret everything. You regretted all those stupid fights and began to resent yourself for wasting your precious time with him. You would give anything to see him just once more and apologise for failing him but mostly you wanted to thank him for all the love he showed you.

Still, you remained distant with his family even though his mother and siblings stopped by frequently to check in on you only to receive a curt response or silence. You just couldn't bear to be around them especially with Teucer growing more every day and slowly beginning to resemble his late brother. If Ajax saw you now there's no doubt that he would be disappointed with the way you shunned his family, betraying the very thing he valued the most. But you couldn't bring yourself to face them, praying that Ajax would forgive you for this. Eventually, they stopped coming altogether, preferring to leave you to wallow in your grief and you almost preferred it that way. But you often found yourself reminiscing over the good times where you would all gather around their fireplace as you and Ajax would watch the kids play and plan your future together.

Then one day you received an unexpected visitor, blinking owlishly you can only stare at the man who stood at your door with annoyed glares. "Are you going to let me in before I freeze out here?" the man you recognised as Dottore hissed in annoyance as you stepped aside wordlessly allowing them into your abode. Upon entering he grimaces seeing at the sight of your home, with dirty dishes stacked up at the sink with crumpled tissues scattered across your wooden floors. "What do you want?" You ask bluntly fully aware that this man could easily kill you with little to no consequences or turn you into his next project. “Straight to the point huh, Tartaglia always said he liked that about you.” He huffs pulling out an empty chair taking a place at your table. “How would you like to see your husband again?” He asks with a smirk as you glare coldly at his suggestion. “I hope you’re not suggesting that you dig him up, I will burn you to a crisp if you dare try!” You hiss as the pyro vision at your side began to flare up in warning while the scientist across from you only huffed in response.

"But what if there was a way to bring him back, would you be willing to try it?” “That’s impossible not even the archons could bring him back.” You murmur fiddling with your wedding ring anxiously, the sapphire glinting in the light. “It's not impossible anymore thanks to this.” Dottore grins pulling out a piece of paper placing it in front of you. In front of you was a rectangular sheet with strange characters inscribed on it in crimson ink. “What is this?” You ask reaching out only for the doctor to snatch it back placing it safely in his coat pocket. “It’s a talisman that a skirmisher recovered from Jueyun Karst during the raid.” He explains with an excited gleam in his eyes. “The gnosis wasn’t the only thing that the Tsarita sought.” He explains.

“I’ll save the boring details but this thing was created by the Adepti and will resurrect its wearer." He says as you can only look up at him in horror. "No...this is wrong, Ajax wouldn't want this." You start only for Dottore to sigh looking at you in irritation. "And here I was hoping you'd be more understanding, it's the Tsaritsa's will so it's going to happen no matter what you said." He explains as you stare at him in horror as he gives you an excited smirk "This was just a formality plus we don't know how Tartaglia will react once he wakes up." Standing up he walks towards the door turning to look at you once more with a grin visible from behind that mask of his. "Wouldn't you rather be there when he wakes up?" He asks as you grit your teeth mulling it over in your head. "You have one week to reconsider otherwise we'll just take him from you by force."

You continued to contemplate his offer as you begin to weigh up the pros and cons of this decision. But eventually, the desire to have him in your arms again overwhelmed your moral concerns and you found yourself contacting the shady doctor once more. "We'll get started right away then." Soon you found yourself stood by his side watching as fatui grunts stabbed their shovels into the snow covered earth and eventually pulled up a familiar black box. Upon seeing his coffin once again your stomach lurched and you turned away as they carted him off to some horrid lab. "Leave the rest to us and we'll contact you once it's done," Dottore said departing from the cemetery leaving you alone as the full weight of your actions crashed down on you. There was no way that his family would forgive you once they learned of your choice and your neighbours would surely resent you for playing god like this. But none of it mattered if you could see him once more.

So you waited and waited spending your days cleaning up the home not wanting him to see it in such a state, as you buried yourself in your work you couldn't get rid of the heaviness inside. Surely if the Tsaritsa said it was fine you'd have nothing to fear, right?

Eventually, the fateful day arrived and you found yourself standing in Dottore's lab with tears in your eyes at the sight of the man in front of you. Laying lifelessly on the operation table was your husband dressed in a modest white shirt and black trousers. "Now I suggest you stand back, there's no telling how he'll react after all," Dottore suggests as he began to chant strange words in a language you didn't recognise as a sigil began to glow brightly from under Ajax's shirt before a bright flash erupted forcing you to close your eyes. Blinking bearing you rush over to the table scanning his face for any signs of success only for your heart to sink as his eyes remained closed. Grabbing his cold hand in yours you squeeze it as tears cascade down your cheeks, you should have known it was a long sh-

"W-Where am I?" A voice croaks out as you stare with wide eyes as your husband blinks blearily looking around the lab. "Ah nice of you to wake up Tartaglia." Dottore grins excitedly as he frantically scribbles messy notes onto a sheet of paper. "How are you feeling, does anything hurt?"

"Just my head now can you please tell me why my wife and I are here?" He questions as you wrap your arms around his form, just happy to have him with you again. "You agreed to participate in an experiment for the Tsarista and your wife is here to pick you up." Dottore lies giving you a predatory smile. "Isn't that right?" Nodding hesitantly you give Ajax a warm smile ignoring the guilt. "I've just got to perform some basic checks and then you should be good to go." He says before beckoning you to follow him. "Can I please speak to you for a moment?" He asks as you hesitantly follow him glancing back at Ajax to find him giving you a reassuring smile calming your worries.

"I think this goes without saying but you cannot tell Tartaglia the truth under any circumstances." Dottore hisses as you shrink back under his glare. "This is an important project for the Fatui and we can't risk you messing this up." He explains handing you a sheet of paper. "Just make sure to bring him by every few days for us to run some tests.” Dottore says before walking off briskly leaving you alone in the hallway staring at the paper in your hands. Rushing back to the room you find Ajax stretching looking at you with a grin.

It was true bliss for you two as you spent hours cuddling by the fire with you reading to him as he leaned on your shoulder, taking long walks in the beautiful snowy forests outside you had never been happier. You had thought you'd gotten away with it but the visits to that odious lab served as a grim reminder of your sins. But you would gladly bear the weight of that knowledge as long as you could keep him by your side.

However, you had a feeling Ajax was growing suspicious of your actions. He seemed confused by your reluctance to venture to town with him and your reluctance to speak about his family but you quickly excused it all telling him his family had decided to take a trip and would return soon. You weren't sure if he bought it but he stopped bringing it up much to your relief. Then one day as you were rushing Ajax to his appointment he stopped you with a grin.

"Ah he says he got what he wanted and I don't need to keep going." Childe grinned and you smiled in return, believing that all your days would be nothing but blissful from here on out.

How foolish you were

Things continued like this until one day Ajax suggested moving much to your surprise. "Well, it's just that we could do with a fresh start." He explains much to your delight and you agreed wholeheartedly resulting in the two of you packing up and boarding the next ship to Liyue. While you were somewhat anxious about what the future would hold you couldn’t shake the excitement that came with moving. Maybe this was the chance for things to return to normal, you wouldn’t have to hide your husband from your neighbours or make excuses when his family tried to check in on you. This was a chance to make a new life for yourselves and you weren’t about to let it slip through your fingers.

The town was nice with friendly neighbours who often invited you to join them for festivals and the children of the village adored Ajax, even spending hours playing with him while you watched on fondly. It would be if it could continue this way forever. But soon people began to disappear leaving the town in a state of shock as they consulted various shamans and posted millelith everywhere around the town in hopes of warding off any stray animals.

Yet despite the towns best efforts, people continued to disappear leaving nothing behind except a puddle of blood for some poor bystander to find. All this left you with a sense of unease leaving you wanting nothing more than to leave this town and start all over again with Ajax. Yet every time you brought it up to him he merely smiled and reassured you that you were overreacting, it was probably just a wild animal. "If anything happens you have me to protect you right?" He would smile and you would allow yourself to become distracted again until the next disappearance which started the cycle of fear all over again.

One night you awake to hear a crash and turn to find Ajax missing from beside you, panicking you stumble to your feet with your thoughts racing. 'What if the town's people found out the truth.' or worst 'what if the monsters here?'. Creeping towards the basement you nudge open the door wincing at the slight creaking sound yet after a few seconds nothing happens and you continue to creep down the stairs. As you drew closer to the basement a strong iron smell filled the air as you resisted the urge to gag coming to the bottom of the stairs.

Peaking out from the stairs you resist the urge to scream seeing Ajax ripping into a body and taking huge chunks out of it with a joyful grin. At that moment you no longer recognised the man before you as your husband and instead saw him for the monster he truly was. Backing up slowly you creep back up the stairs before shutting it and barricading it with a chair as you rushed to grab your sword only to pause hearing something coming up the stairs. "Honey is everything alright?" Ajax called out cheerfully as you scrambled more frantically towards the door, if you could just get to the town surely you'd be safe.

"Darling I don't appreciate being trapped in here, let me out so we can talk?" He called again banging against the door as you ran out the door locking it behind you. "So you want to play?" He called out as you heard a loud bang but continued to push forward not daring to look back. "Fine with me~" He called out as your heart continued to pound loudly in your ears.

Ignoring the branches that clung to your clothes you continued to push through the forest until you spotted the bright lights of the town in distance. Just a bit further and you'd be safe from this monster. Right as you finished that thought you felt something crash into you sending you sprawling to the ground, sitting up your heart sinks as you see the creature coming closer towards you with a sadistic grin. "It looks like I win." He grins pinning you to the ground and leaning in closer to you as you back up seeing the blood still dripping down his chin staining the ground below him.

At that moment he looked like the fearsome warrior Tartaglia rather than your loving husband Ajax. "What's wrong I thought you wanted me back yet here you are continuing to run." He smiled pulling you closer as you resist the urge to gag at the stench of blood that clung to him. "I-If I knew you'd become a monster, I'd rather you stayed dead." You spat at him expecting for him to show some sort of hurt only for him to chuckle at your words. "That's not very nice to say to your husband darling, besides I'm not human any more thanks to you." Hearing this your eyes widened as he chuckled seeing your horrified expression. "You and that pesky doctor made sure of that but hey it's not all bad." He grins "I'm much faster now and this way we can be together forever." Hearing this you begin to desperately thrash underneath him. "I'd rather die than be with a monster like you!" You hiss as he chuckles wrapping his hand around your neck choking you with a grin. "You'll change your tune when you see things my way." He says reeling his hand back only to thrust it forward making a white-hot pain flash through you as you let out a gargled scream coughing up blood as he pulled his hand back smiling at the organ in his hands. "Sleep well honey, I'll see you again real soon~" He smirked and as your vision faded you watched as he pulled out a blood-stained talisman with a smirk. After all, you were the one who made him into a monster and now you had to pay the price.

---

sincerely,

yours truly (part one). / sincerely (part two).

premise: your diligent efforts to uncover the identity of your secret admirer had ultimately amounted to nothing. in fact, your investigations only raised more questions — your companions' strange behaviors and shifty-eyed gazes hadn't completely escaped from your awareness, not to mention you've become... privy to some of their affections...

and what is the last thing you need while trying to search for one person who liked you? more people to like you, of course!

but that is exactly what you receive. (goddamn it all.)

includes: zhongli, kaeya, scaramouche, itto & the real secret admirer !

note: oh god i have done it. it's even longer than the other one but since this is the 10k celebration fic, it's only rightfully so! i hope you enjoy this... likes and reblogs are appreciated <33 please read the first part if you haven't already!

zhongli:

all things considered, zhongli is an unrelated figure to your personal issues, not particularly concerned with such trifling matters. you lived worlds apart, and he's generally preoccupied by his own studies anyway, too absorbed in his thesis to mind who has a crush on who and whatnot.

yet it seems as if fate is intent on pulling you two together whether you like it or not.

you belong in different majors, your lecture halls on opposite sides of campus, and he's an upperclassman. not to mention the upperclassman everyone looks up to, the senior equivalent of albedo. though he holds an air of benevolence and warmth, he's unapproachable in the way nobody would dare impose themselves in fear of bothering him with their presence.

professors only speak of his name in accordance with endless words of praise, and legend has it that any paper he proofreads is guaranteed to receive a high grade... not that anyone could confirm it, since nobody has been gifted that luxury.

except for you, of course, living the y/n life — you'd been slaving away on your assignments per usual at diluc's cafe when, in a moment of misfortune, zhongli had crashed into a waiter and spilled his coffee on your papers, soaking pale sheets in brown splatters and smudging the inked sentences you'd painstakingly written for the past hour.

if only your laptop hadn't run out of battery, you wouldn't have resorted to drafting with pen and paper. or you could have done your work in a later date instead of being productive for nothing. fuck.

witnessing your expression crumpled to disbelief and misery, zhongli apologized through offering his assistance in doing your assignment with you. and oh boy, he did it well. it was better than what you could've ever done, the insight he provided beyond profound. he was humble even as you showered him with compliments, still looking quite apologetic for the fiasco he caused.

and. right. it could've ended there. after that occasion, you would wave at him if you passed by each other at the hallways, but that's where the extent of your relationship ended, a pair of underclassman and upperclassman who'd known each other once.

but of course it's never that easy.

he pops up when you least expect it, running into you frequently even though the rumors articulated “you'd hardly get a glimpse of him since he's busy all the time” clearly. and he's acquainted with people you know well, just that you never paid attention to it; keqing seems to respect him a lot, so does xiao, ganyu perks up whenever he's brought up in conversations, and childe sticks to him when given the opportunity. perhaps it was only a matter of time that you begin a friendship with him as well...

but what's up with these horribly timed drama tropes you keep experiencing with him?!

bumping into him and dropping your books to the floor so he offers to walk you to the library, locked into a room when a professor asks you to collect materials for class with him and the door has a faulty knob, getting photographed by a student while you study in the same table and everyone assumes you're dating,,

you've been seeing far too much of him.

everyone's patience has been wearing thin. xiao tries his best to keep his annoyance at bay but fails. childe has resorted to bribing zhongli for free lunch to lead him away from you. albedo straight up drags you to the opposite direction whenever he spots zhongli within vicinity.

but it's like there's a force of nature compelling you to stick right back to him.

hosting events for college fests had never been your kind of thing, but attention follows you if you're acquainted with famous people, and keqing was unwilling to be an emcee if she didn't have a friend alongside her to act as a second host. of course, that meant everyone was deadset on dragging you with her.

you're not very keen on standing on a stage to face the whole school like a kid participating in a talent show, but you've never been good at saying “no” to your friends.

hence why you find yourself clutching on a microphone now, blinded by bright stage lights. you would much prefer if you were part of the audience. or if you were in ayaka's place instead, holding up cue cards behind the curtains.

there's some kind of beauty pageant going on, a popularity contest for the prettiest people in uni. votes are collected via online polls, and you're tasked to reveal the top 10. you don't doubt for a second your friends will all join you on stage eventually, and you've already asked ganyu to drag xiao up the platform if he tries to escape. sweeping off a piece of confetti by your shoulder, you flip open the folden paper in your hand and announce the winning names.

zhongli steps up as one of the candidates for first place and you faintly hear gasps of awe and high pitched squeals.

you nod at him in acknowledgement, and he returns the gesture in kind. you head on over to hand him a mic of his own, keqing busying herself by doing the same job for other contestants, and...

in your carelessness, distracted by fumbling with the paper in your hand to hide it back inside your pocket, you trip over an electrical cord.

you've been waiting the entire night for the time where you'll eventually embarrass yourself in front of a crowd. perhaps a voice crack in what's supposed to be a tense situation, a stutter in your words, falling off a stage even, but here it is, even more horrifying than what you could've imagined.

squeezing your eyes shut instinctively, you brace yourself for the hard surface to tumble onto. instead, what meets you is something squishy, someone's hands gripping around your shoulders, and-

FUCK. you banged your knees on the ground.

the first thing to pop in your mind is a myriad of swears that could stun a sailor.

the second is the oddly plush surface your lips had landed on.

the third is the sight of widened golden eyes. they look very familiar. but you'd rather not think about who they belong to.

the ugly screech of the microphone dropping to the floor is drowned out by gasps, yelling, and the scandalized choke of keqing behind you. xiao — who did end up being a contender for the stupid popularity contest and is standing only a few meters away, makes an alarming noise that could trigger a person's fight or flight reaction.

you hastily attempt to rise to your feet, but the floor is slippery what the actual fuck, and zhongli, oh for fuck's sake, innocent and oblivious zhongli grabs your hips to keep you steady.

.....of course the accidental kiss and caught in a compromising position tropes were going to happen eventually.

kaeya:

“it's from me.”

your gaze travels from the fresh, new bouquet of flowers emitting a sweet fragrance lying in your arms, and the face of the man currently standing before you, lips curled in what seems to be a supposedly reassuring smile.

“you mean... this and the carnations last time?”

his lips are still firmly quirking upwards, admirably patient in spite of reiterating the same phrase over and over again whenever probed with your repetitive questions.

still, he doesn't quite give off the impression of someone deeply infatuated.

and okay, not to be narcissistic, but you expected a secret admirer to... well, admire you more, yet this person looks as nonchalant as ever.

and he doesn't look like the type to profess love through subtle means. at all.

you'll be blunt. you've heard of kaeya. who hasn't? whether it be of mischief, or something more scandalous in nature, he's more or less always involved with trouble, gossip about him traveling fast. it may be an insane prank in the boys' dormitory or someone he bedded (who's supposedly out of everyone's league, yet fell for his charms so easily), you hear of his name quite often.

it's just that you didn't expect you'd associate yourself with him...

and if you have at least two brain cells to rub together, you can easily piece together the conclusion: this guy is definitely talking out of his ass.

nobody has ever heard of kaeya pining over someone so badly that he personally sent bouquets and other small gifts to appease them, admiring them from the shadows. it's so clearly not his style. if he likes someone, he'd flirt with them a bit and cleverly worm his way into their heart, and absolutely not give away presents expecting nothing in return.

but if he's not your secret admirer, then for what reason is he pretending like he is?

you want to seek the truth, and playing along for the meantime sounds like the best option. and this may draw out the real secret admirer, the sly part of you voices internally.

thinking it'll be rude to turn him down publicly (since of course he initiated this exchange in the middle of a crowd, and that only gives you more reason to doubt him), you decide to see how things go first.

if anything, this whole “wooing” business with kaeya seems like it's done out of spite. does he have a bone to pick with you? or he made one of those stupid “it'll only take a week for you to fall for me” bets with his friends? hopefully not, because that's terribly out of trend.

your indifferent responses do nothing to deter him from sticking to you like glue though, doing this and that to earn your favor. he's... not doing anything wrong, actually. if you didn't know any better, you'd think he's like any other eager guy who wants to receive your love.

he does a great job of remembering what things you like and dislike, making a habit of inviting you out for a meal in your favorite restaurants every now and then or taking note of what movies you're looking forward to so you could watch it in the cinema together.

... it feels more like hanging out with normal friends now.

kaeya eases into the idea of that notion, too, insisting on meeting you outside of his shady “i'm your secret admirer” business. it doesn't take too long until you begin to reach out to him as well, inviting him to go shopping with you to look at jewelry together (and dear lord, does kaeya know how to accessorize) or giving him a ticket to the amusement park when kokomi bails on you. (“so i' m just a rebound? a back-up plan?” kaeya arches a questioning brow, acting deeply hurt to provoke a reaction. you smack his shoulder and he laughs in mirth.)

(he definitely tries for the “let's go to the haunted house so you can cling to me when you're scared” cliche but fails. why does he feel disappointed though...)

if given more time, maybe the time would come where you'll both just shrug off the secret admirer thing and continue on normally as friends. it'll be the last thing on your minds, a joke that never had a punchline. just some prank kaeya didn't see through the end.

but then it resurfaces when kaeya had already given you your daily dose of coffee — yes, he somehow knows the secret recipe you like, something you plan to ask him about later — but another cup is waiting at your desk, its once warm temperature turning lukewarm.

you inspect it, judging for yourself, and you confirm it's the same recipe you like.

so this one is from the real secret admirer then, the one who's still hiding in the shadows. that, or this recipe is just popular.

the people residing in the same room as you observe the scene with interest, because apparently your romance drama became a spectator sport, stares pinned in kaeya's direction.

you knew he was a fraud from the very start, but others do not, and he's not sure what to say.

someone else makes the excuse for him. “do you have another person who likes you, [name]?” amber asks innocently, essentially saving kaeya's ass without her realizing it. you let your gaze shift from her to kaeya.

“...maybe.” you place the two cups of coffee side-by-side, feigning nonchalance.

if the real secret admirer found out that someone's pretending to be him, this must be his way of saying kaeya's a fraud in front of everyone. after all, if he was actually the secret admirer, there'd be no need for kaeya to give you another cup when he'd already placed one on top of your desk.

and a couple of people already know who the real one is, anyway. xiao just doesn't want to tell you.

kaeya sends what seems to be a longing gaze your way but ends up turning away to head to his own classroom. he'd only offered to walk you towards yours, and you didn't share classes. it gives you more time to ponder how to confront him.

you didn't have to. he explained things himself.

it comes in the time you least expect, a peaceful lunch like any other. he suddenly arrived at your table, tray in hand, and sat opposite of you. “it's not me,” is the first thing he says, no context at all. he admits the obvious truth and you shovel more food in your mouth in your hopes of hiding how curious you are for what else he has to say.

“but i know who's been giving you flowers... and the coffee. also the chocolate the other day. i helped him pick out the presents, actually.” and that's where you choke because that's not what you were expecting at all.

“he was considering sending a love letter, but i told him you'd recognize his handwriting because you know him very well. and he refused to give a printed letter because he thought it was 'lacking' and you deserved better than that.” he scoffed at the thought. “and that's cute of him. endearing, if you will. but he seriously pissed me off last month and i wanted to mess with him a bit.”

“so you... tried to date the person he likes?” your expression sours. that's a dick move. he immediately shakes his head, as if to say perish the thought.

“not that. i knew for a fact you wouldn't like me anyway. i was just teasing him,” kaeya huffs. “and he got angry at me. well, it's a justified reaction. but i didn't plan on keeping up the charade for long. i only wanted to fool around for a few days.”

“and then?”

“...i missed the timing to pass it off as a joke. then we started to hang out like friends. but i assured him that you didn't actually think i was the real secret admirer, so he forgave me as long as i... do some work for him.”

oh. he's right about that though. and that also explains why kaeya looked so tired recently, helping out a friend with his project as a sincere apology.

“does he plan on revealing his identity anytime soon?” you can't help but ask, your eager eyes betraying the nonchalance in your voice. kaeya sighs at that, leaning back on his chair and crossing his arms.

“i've been trying to convince him to. it's exhausting to look at him flailing about like an idiot. he talks about you all the time.” he frowns at the way your cheeks color. “you should try luring him out.”

you tilt your head in question. to show his point, he reaches out his arm, grabbing your hand. you let him do as he pleases, even as he brings the spoonful of your meal to his lips, and takes a bite out of it.

distantly, you hear a metal clatter against the floor and a voice cry out in surprise. you turn your head towards the noise, and you see—

the hell. it's just bennett tripping.

... but it's not like bennett dropped a metal utensil or anything. he is the one who cried out, though.

“wrong direction, sweetheart. you were supposed to look at the right. what a shame, you didn't see him picking up his fork like a fool.” kaeya laughs, releasing your hand from his grip.

he seems strangely reluctant in doing so, but you decide not to look further into it.

scaramouche:

at best, he is an unwilling spectator.

emphasis on “unwilling” because he truly does not wish to see you. like at all. you're pretty sure he hates your guts, but he'd amassed a lifetime's worth of misfortune and keeps seeing you... and the guys around you.

it's safe to say if your love life was turned into a k-drama, he'd probably seen the entire series.

he'd walked in on you when childe confessed he likes you, purple eyes narrowed into a sharp glare before he turned on his heel and left the room. he'd seen the way xiao looks at you, starstruck and excruciatingly fond, because of course scaramouche sat beside him in class (long, long ago they settled a mutual agreement to not speak to each other unless necessary, even if they hadn't verbally discussed it). he'd seen you at diluc's cafe, too, when diluc poured coffee at the angry customer. scaramouche's clothes were stained, as he was the customer sitting beside your table.

he'd seen you with kazuha when kazuha came to pick you up in the rain. he'd seen albedo draw sketches of you in the corner of his notes. he'd seen thoma with you while out for grocery shopping. he'd seen gorou follow after you not unlike a loyal puppy.

he's, reasonably, tired of seeing your stupid face and your stupid harem and he hates you.

by the looks of it, none of your friends like him. especially mona. she had a few arguments with him already. they didn't mix well, and scaramouche liked poking fun of the astrology she loved, a firm disbeliever of such things. “how is my birthday supposed to dictate my personality? or my relationship status? is this fortune-telling? tell me, then. what's my lucky color for the day-” and he only shut up when mona landed a clean kick to his shin.

...yeah. he's kind of an asshole. the type to scowl 24/7, glare at you for no reason, and bump into you without apologizing. then when you do try to make small talk to alleviate the awkward atmosphere, he scoffs and pointedly ignores you.

but you can't blame him for finding you and... the guys following you irritating. you imagine it must be an eyesore for outsiders. there's already quite a bit of rumors about you going around seducing men (and women, you add, because apparently you can't be friends with pretty girls without having those kinds of intentions... and yoimiya and ayaka could be somewhat touchy) and rumors are almost always wildly changed with each pass of gossip from one person to another.

of course your friends don't believe it one bit and are ready 24/7 to defend your honor, but scaramouche is very obviously not your friend, and he may regard you with something less than pleasing.

it's only understandable you're caught by surprise when you chance upon him picking a fight with people badmouthing you, shoving a boy to the wall with brute force you wouldn't expect from someone his size. (you berate yourself for making fun of his height in this kind of situation.)

“shut the fuck up,” scaramouche drawls out, fisting the boy's shirt collar. “your voice is grating to the ears. surely, you have better things to do than yap nonsensical bullshit out in the open?”

“what's your fucking problem?!” the guy responds, panicking within his grip. “it's not like we were talking about you! don't think so highly of yourself!”

that prompts a scoff from him, and he tightens his hold on the boy's collar. he immediately shuts his mouth, thinking it better not to retaliate. scaramouche's glare promises something beyond simple violence if he continued to act prideful.

somwhat satisfied by the fear glistening in the guy's eyes, scaramouche finally releases him. “scram.”

the group runs off, and you quickly duck behind a wall to hide from his sight as he walks away. you're not sure what to feel, conflicted by his usual prick demeanor and shockingly kind(?) actions behind the scenes.

unfortunately, your confusion reflects directly on your face. after a handful of times catching you staring at him, he finally snaps, “what do you want.”

your expression twists into something complex, and scaramouche's frown deepens. “uh... no, it's nothing, really...”

“you've been looking at me all day. do you take me for a fool?”

your face sours. so much for planning to thank him. maybe he didn't stand up for you and actually just found the noisy gossiping annoying enough to choke a guy and pin him to the wall. if it's scaramouche, it isn't too far-fetched at all.

and what were you going to say to him, anyway? it's not like he explicitly stated he did it for you. it would be beyond mortifying if you thanked him for it and he clarified that little detail, thinking you were stuck-up enough to assume the world revolves around you.

... no, that's too much overthinking, isn't it...

“well?” scaramouche impatiently taps his foot, raising an eyebrow expectantly. you hold back a defeated sigh and decide to stay put.

“sorry if i made you uncomfortable. i was, um, looking at...” who does he sit with again? “xiao!” you mentally apologize to your friend, using his name as an excuse.

impossibly, he becomes more irate than before, his taps ceasing into a calm quiet. the silence pierces more than the tense conversation prior.

without another word, he walks away.

...well. okay. that was safely evaded.

life continues on per usual. you don't interact for the next week, and you want to leave it at that.

except your life is a joke. a romantic comedy you never wanted to be a part of.

...you're assigned to a group project. with him. with childe too, no less. the childe who confessed his love to you not too long ago and you still have problems wrapping your head around it, not sure how to talk with him like you did before.

amidst this drama, scaramouche is stuck smack dab between you. he's unquestionably furious.

he's present when childe looks at you in the same excruciating way xiao does. he's present when childe tries to make jokes to ease off the tension, and it doesn't work in the slightest. he's present in the lingering gazes, awkward pauses when you graze fingers as you hand materials to each other, and reluctant conversations that never last any longer than seven clipped sentences.

scaramouche feels wronged. had he committed a war crime in his past life to deserve this despair?

and you. you just want to get this over with. collect information, make a powerpoint, and present in front of the whole class. easier said than done.

the three of you together doesn't sit right with you, but left with only two isn't any better either. childe and scaramouche don't get along if you leave them long enough for an argument to brew. scaramouche hates you and doesn't fill the silence when childe leaves for a bathroom break. childe tries too hard to talk when scaramouche leaves for a coffee break.

when the first day of working together ends, you nearly cry tears of joy.

“i can walk you home,” childe offers out of goodwill. it's certainly not because he has other intentions in mind, he's just concerned since it is pretty late.

“we take the same bus,” scaramouche speaks, for the first time joining your conversation. “we can go together.”

childe smiles in relief, lifting a hand to ruffle your hair. then he stills. old habits die hard. damn.

for his sake, you don't comment on it. you walk out of the library, scaramouche in tow.

the stroll to the empty bus stop isn't a comfortable one, but at the very least, you're accompanied by an acquaintance and you don't have to feel anxious being alone. you take a seat as you wait but scaramouche chooses to remain standing, placing a fair amount of distance between you.

“...you haven't made up?”

his voice is small, almost swallowed by the howling winds. you're surprised he wants to talk about it, but you laugh. “we didn't fight or anything.”

“fighting would've been better,” he replies. “an apology could still repair your relationship. but there's nothing you can do if you don't see him that way, and he can't see you as a friend.”

you look down at your feet, heels resting firmly against the pavement. “yes... it's tricky. i don't know how to act around him. i don't want to hurt him, but... maybe not rejecting him is painful, too.”

“then turn him down properly.”

“it's not that easy...”

“would you rather him still have hopes for a chance with you and eventually get disappointed instead of dealing with it once and for all?”

he makes an excellent point. it's reasonable enough... but you don't know how to bring it up with childe. not now. not yet. you'll have to think about it properly, the way to reject him with the least amount of discomfort from his side.

“receiving relationship advice from you... if someone told me this would happen today, i'd think they've gone mad.” you chuckle. “do you deal with friends whining about hardships like these often?”

“apparently, they think of me — someone who has no interest in dating — as the perfect person to consult for relationship problems.”

“hm? you don't date? do you like anyone, at least?”

he gives you a look. it's perfectly blank, devoid of his usual arrogance or irritation. you blink at him, the pause in the conversation stretching too long to be comfortable.

“you could say that. but i don't... try things i know won't work out.”

“...like?”

he rolls his eyes. “think about it this way.” he removes his hands from his pockets, approaching your seated figure. he comes startlingly close, mere centimeters away, and his fingers curl around your wrist. your lips part and close, and you wonder if he's trying to kiss your knuckles-

“if i told you now that i like you, with this many people who like you too, there's no way i'd win, is there?”

it's an example, you tell yourself. you asked him a question and he answered it.

“...so the one you like is popular...”

but his gaze looking directly into your eyes is too earnest, too honest. sincere. light reflects against the violet pools, a turbulent storm clouding within.

you neither nod nor shake your head. the bus arrives and you scramble to get on it.

scaramouche pulls you by the wrist when you nearly trip over the small set of stairs, leading you to a pair of seats. if you have something to be grateful for, it's that he doesn't try to talk anymore, using the pair of headphones resting by his neck for the rest of the ride.

itto:

itto barges into your life in a whirlwind of chaos.

it comes in the form of a stray volleyball plummeting towards your back, and the sheer force behind it knocks the wind out of your lungs. your knees buckle and you kneel on the floor, heaving violent gasps of air. the searing pain makes you wonder if you broke your spine.

distantly, a screech bellows from the court. a figure almost flies past the gymnasium's doors to check on your condition. “are you okay?!” it's gorou, you realize, his eyes blown wide with panic.

you don't want to worry him and say you feel as if you've permanently shattered a bone, but your back hurts like a bitch and you tell him so, “fuck me with a hammer, did a bowling ball crash into me or something?”

he ignores your interesting choice of words and answers, “my friends and i were playing volleyball, i'm so sorry! we didn't see you there at all!”

you steer your sight to the gymnasium entrance and oh my god. the doors aren't especially massive, and one of them is even closed, so what are the chances you walk past the small space and precisely get slammed by a stray ball? it's gotta be lower than a five star drop in gacha.

“can you stand?” gorou holds up a hand for you to take but you really can't move away from your fetal position without an explosion of ache jolting through your body. he's three seconds away from offering to carry you when someone else beats him to it.

“did you get hurt?!” a blur of white hair passes through your eyes, and you blink up at an unfamiliar man. gorou's friend, you're guessing, most likely the one who injured you too — that powerful force from the volleyball could only come from someone like him. tall, athletic, muscular. he's ripped. shredded. probably tore your muscle fibers too.

you don't let the pain cloud your mind. he didn't mean to kill you, you remind yourself. you stretch your lips into a smile, but it may just look like a grimace.

however, with a gentleness you didn't expect from him, he carefully hoists you on his back. oh. he's strong. and really warm.

...sticky with sweat too, but you'll try not to mind it too much...

“i'll carry you to the infirmary!”

your brain clears up from the haze of agony. “...wait, you don't have to-” before you get another word in, he rushes to the clinic, and you bypass many, many people. you settle for hiding your face as best as you can.

after proper treatment, he gives you a serious apology. you learn his name is itto, and you instantly recognize him. you've heard of the name itto before, that one popular student on a sports scholarship for basketball, but he's known more for goofing off with other sports teams. he's broken a lot of windows when he played baseball... and probably also broke bones of other people when he roughhoused too much on the soccer field. it's just that he's insanely talented, enough for most people to overlook his troublesome tendencies.

anyhow, famous or infamous, you can't tell yet. but he's very much willing to make up for your injury.

a free meal would honestly suffice just fine, but even after that, he insists on following you around, offering his assistance whenever needed. and, well. you have no problems with having an extra hand to help when you need to carry heavy equipment.

then he learns about the whole secret admirer thing and he proposes he'll help you lure him out.

“and how do you intend to do that...?” you inquire just as you enter the lecture hall, itto trailing after you and setting your bag on the table. his face splits into a grin and you have a vague idea of what he plans on doing.

he wraps an arm around your shoulders and tugs you close to his chest.

several things happen at once. a huff leaves xiao's mouth involuntarily. the crack of pencil lead breaking into pieces sounds from beside him, scaramouche holding the pen in his hand with too much force. the laughter ringing seconds prior comes to a halt, childe's face no longer displaying a bright smile.

itto blinks, retracting his arm. he didn't expect this outcome. “you have really overprotective friends, [name].”

as one would expect, you never got the results you want because too much people react to his provocations. it's tricky to pinpoint which one of them exactly is your secret admirer when they all like you the same. (this whole situation is truly absurd. it's not that you fed all these guys love potions by accident, right?)

itto doesn't dare upsetting gorou with this though, but with anyone else, it's free game. he begins calling you the most ridiculous pet names he could come up with, in the wrong place and in the wrong time.

my precious cupcake. my sweetest honeybun. little ducky. snugglepuff. they send shivers down your spine. (albedo is noted to be most affected when itto does this. it's not hard to imagine his brain cells frying when itto shamelessly calls you by such awful names.)

but then it becomes a habit. he's not doing it ironically anymore. his mouth had become accustomed to addressing you in manners only lovers do. more often than not, your friends would be caught by surprise when he wholeheartedly calls out “babe” to earn your attention and you turn towards him as if it's like the most natural thing in the world.

the cherry on top is when you attend one of his games for the basketball team.

it's not like you wore his varsity jacket to rub into everyone's faces the fact that you're dating. nor did you wear a cheerleader outfit of some sorts to show your passionate support as his significant other. you'd only come with gorou and kokomi, waving the banner the three of you made into the air as you were seated in the stands along the sides of the court.

when they won the finals, people on your side all rejoiced, flocking over to the team to praise them and offer their congratulations. thinking it would be better to stand by instead of joining the sweaty crowd, you stood aside with kokomi while gorou insisted on diving headfirst to the sea of people.

then a tall head approaches from afar. white hair, bright eyes, and a similarly blinding smile. “[name]!”

you didn't expect him to come to you. well. spares you the effort then. you throw a towel around his neck. “you're drenched in sweat. please don't touch me.”

he frowns. “not even a congratulatory hug?”

“not when you're this gross.”

at least that wasn't a stern no. itto grins. “wasn't i great out there?” he cards his fingers into his hair, fishing for compliments. you thought he had enough of those from the crowd currently swarming him. “i did a ton of 3 pointers. you saw me, right?”

“would you be disappointed if i said i was on my phone the whole time?”

immediately, his face twists into an offended look. of course that was a lie. you laugh and lean on the tips of your toes to reach his hair, ruffling it into a mess. “kidding. you were amazing, babe.”

that moment, you hadn't seen his expression clearly, occupied with patting his head. perhaps you hadn't even realized what you called him.

but to everyone around you, they could see it, plain to the eye — the shock in his gaze, the small twitch of his lips, the rise of his brows. then his cheeks flush a lovely color as he stares at you under his lashes with a hesitance as one would look at the sun, longing to admire its radiance yet afraid to be scorched by its brilliant rays.

he takes the leap anyways, staring at you as long as he wanted.

a lovestruck fool, keen to your touch.

your secret admirer.

relatively speaking, it's an ordinary day so far.

or as ordinary as it can be with a life as silly as yours. the past few weeks didn't feel real. you wish they weren't. everything has become too complicated. everyone kept on acting suspiciously and skirting around you, avoiding eye contact only to observe you from behind.

your day starts out seeing thoma when you open your front door, both of you telling each other good morning. you pass by kazuha having breakfast at a fast food joint. then you run into itto first thing in the morning, where he gladly helps in carrying a 3d model of your project into class. kaeya swings by to bring you coffee since you didn't get a chance to visit diluc's cafe, not having the extra hand to carry among the pile you already have. you make your daily greetings, saying hi to your friends and annoying xiao, as you always do. you nod towards scaramouche, and you even had enough courage to say hi first to childe too. when walking to another lecture hall, you happen to meet albedo, gorou and zhongli in separate times.

then at lunch time, when you briefly leave your belongings alone for a moment, someone leaves a packet of candies stuffed into your bag.

a sticky note is stuck on the surface, “please meet me at the physics classroom at 6 p.m.” scrawled in black ink.

the penmanship is good. it twists in elegant curls at the edges, brush strokes light and even.

you're able to recognize it at first glance, just as kaeya has told you.

you've seen it enough times to burn it in your brain. you've rigorously studied notes with that same handwriting, after all.

at 5:56, you stand in front of the classroom doors. in different circumstances, you'd have second thoughts before blindly following somebody's orders but you know who it's from, and it is decidedly not a murderer out to get you.

you collect an intake of breath, and twist the doorknob.

the last traces of sunlight bathe the room in a heavenly glow, a haze of aureate like shimmering flecks of gold. the billowing curtains hide the figure standing by the windowsill, the gentle breeze caressing your cheeks as you squint in its direction.

the figure moves of their accord, the sound of a book snapping shut following their actions.

albedo walks out, a serene smile displaying on his sun-kissed face.

“...hey.”

your heartbeat pounds in your ears. though you expected his appearance, it does nothing to dull your surprise.

“it's you.”

albedo had always admired you in quiet adoration.

he can't provide a clear explanation why his gaze is naturally drawn to you, turquoise eyes sweeping by your countenance before he realizes it. but it started out simple, as everything does: a curiosity piqued, when he heard of a person tagging along the supposedly unapproachable girls in school.

gossip comes and goes every season, and albedo knew it will pass soon. it's only a matter of time before they cling to another topic to babble about. most likely something kaeya did again, because he chases after trouble like a dog with a bone.

rumors are nasty. they paint you in malicious light, a person seeking attention among the most eye-catching lot. you wished you were on the same league as them, they said. you were only after the benefits of acquainting with those girls, they said.

but you were special on your own.

the way you carried yourself with confidence, against the judgmental stares and muddled opinions. the way you hadn't cared about what other people said, because you knew best about the situation and you were different from what they made you out to be. the way you genuinely loved your friends, sincerely wishing them happiness and doing everything you can to put a smile on their faces.

you were dazzling.

your laughter rang like bells in his ears, your grin a delight to see. your voice was melodious as you prattled on about the latest film you watched, or as you hummed a song with headphones covering your ears. your colorful expressions were amusing, a reflection of the feelings in your heart.

as the professor drones out during lessons, albedo finds himself distracted by his daydreams. what if he stood beside you? what if he could partake in conversations, not only able to hear your voice but you'd also hear his? what if he was the one faced with your smile, the reason of your smile, the one who made you feel such joy?

what if you permitted him to go further? to brush hands with you, to intertwine your fingers in simple intimacy, to curl his arms around your waist in a loose embrace, to press a kiss on the corner of your lips-

his ears burned in humiliation. what on earth was he thinking?

but forget “seeking attention from others,” it didn't even seem like you were interested in dating.

you showed indifference towards the idea, avoiding mixers and drinking parties. you also turned down quite a few dates. not to mention albedo wasn't even friends with you. he wasn't even sure if you knew of his name.

then you showed up at the library, and for the first time, albedo was thankful for the privilege nobody bothered his table, so you could sit alone together.

you became friends after his (despairingly embarrassing) insistent attempts to acquaint himself with you.

and he files away the little details, storing the small things about you in the corner of his mind. what you like, what you dislike. what days were you free, what things you prefer over the other.

it's a happiness he relishes in, the comfort of your friendship. but his greedy little heart yearns for more, for what you cannot give.

he tries anyway.

he's running out of time. you're always surrounded by people, whether you realize it or not. but he considers himself a selfish person. he doesn't want you to be taken away.

he may lose you entirely if he does it wrong.

but you're already here, eyes gleaming, lips pressed in a nervous tight line. the red dusting your cheeks leaves some hope for him, so he musters up his courage and simplifies the storm of feelings that eats away his heart each day:

“i like you, [name].”

---

crawling fighting bleeding losing fighting bleeding losing rn sjdbshsvsb I JUST LOVE ITTO SO...SO MUCH??? PLS HE'S MY COMFORT CHARACTER SO HERE'S SOME SAGAU BRAINROT W HIM ALDHSJDBSB Itto is so baby, that I literally made him baby here jsdkfhsdj

tagging @nicebonescomrade cause she said she would love some itto content :>

in terms of warnings, there's a bit of discrimination against Oni at the very start, so please take note! But regardless, i can only write fluff so I won't be going too deep into it

also, i wanna take this time to say asks are open and everyone can send any reqs or brain rots !! however, i still have a life outside of tumblr so if i get bombarded, asks will be closed. I'll also be making an intro post soon sdhfkdf

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

"Nuh-uh! I was just trying to help the fox! Its leg got caught under a big rock!"

"Yeah, mom! Itto was just helping the poor fox!"

The little boy's mother huffed in frustration, grabbing her son's wrist and pulling him along with her, "Onis are onis, no matter what! Stay away from them, young man!"

The young oni could only pout as his newfound friend was taken away. He resented being an oni sometimes, the horns that weighed heavy on his head serving as a reminder that he was not human, he does not fit in, he does not belong.

Vision becoming cloudy with tears, the young oni bit his lip.

"I don't want to cry, crying's for nerds...!"

The young Arataki states, his tiny form shaking as the tears started to stream down. Wiping them off, the cry of the fox he saved caught his attention.

"Huh? What is it, little guy? Need some water?"

Itto carefully picks up the fox carrying it to the river for a drink. The fox eagerly drank from the river, Itto patting its little head as he stared into his own reflection on the water.

His white hair was muddied, knots and tangles everywhere as well as a few twigs and leaves. His face covered in dirt from falling down while running away from humans who wanted nothing to do with him.

And to top it off, his auburn gaze turned to his reflection's horns.

Arataki Itto hated his horns.

Arataki Itto didn't like being an Oni.

'If I didn't have my horns, then my friend's parents would let me play with them!'

'I didn't mean to push Renren too hard, I didn't think I could be that strong! I'll be careful from now on, please let me keep playing with Renren!'

'I'm not scary! I just want to play with all of you...'

The fox that was drifting off to sleep next to Itto was startled when the young oni slapped his reflection on the water again and again, getting both himself and the fox wet. Itto continued until he wasn't sure if his face was wet from his incessant attack at his reflection in the river, or from the tears that never seemed to cease their flow.

In a moment of impulse, the little oni wrapped his hands around one of his horns, pulling as hard as he could to get rid of them.

"Come...on...! I don't...need...my horns...! Get off...of me...! AH—"

Losing his balance, the young Arataki fell face-first into the ground. Groaning, he let go of his horns in defeat before feeling a warmth against his skin. Curious, he lifted himself off of the ground, dusting off most of the dirt and soil that got on his face. Following the source of the warmth, his eyes turned to you.

You were beautiful— holy, even. Itto had never seen such a divine being such as yourself. He watches as your hand gently floats over the injured fox he saved, its wound healing instantly. His gaze reaches behind you, you had the most beautiful wings he had ever seen.

Scratch that, you were the only person he's seen with wings! Itto was ecstatic, he called out to you without thinking. After all, no one else had wings like you do, much like how he had horns no one else had. Maybe you two shared similar sentiments.

"Hey! Are those wings of yours the same pain as mine!?"

Your attention was immediately caught, such a joyful voice saying such heartbreaking words. His eyes were glowing with curiousity, yet they also looked hollow. Scanning his small frame, your heart sinks as you think about what the young oni has been through.

You motion for him to come towards you, inviting him to sit next to you on the grass. He does so eagerly, wanting to hear your answer. You dip your hands into the river's cold water and gently clean his face, Itto let you.

"Well little one, they're not..."

Itto pouted, his mood sinking once more.

"Of course they're not...everyone probably thinks you're really cool! You can grab the biggest onikabuto on top of trees, right? Man, I wanna do that too!! All I have are these stupid horns..."

You clicked your tongue, who would dare to say such rude words to a child? Oni or not, Itto was still a kid, trying to get by with his day to day life by himself.

"Now who told you that? Your horns look beautiful, they fit you very well."

Itto was confused, he had never heard anyone tell him that.

"Hey, uh...you're not like, blind, are you?"

You chuckle, carefully removing the leaves and twigs stuck in the young oni's hair.

"I'm not, it's the truth. I'm sure you'll be a very handsome oni when you grow up."

He huffs at you, "I don't wanna be an oni! Humans don't play with oni! You're not human, right? You can play with me!"

"I'm afraid I'm very busy, little one. But one day, I'll make it up to you. We'll fly around high places, run around and help people, and we'll eat all kinds of delicious foods!"

The stars were in Itto's eyes, he failed to notice your wet hands trying to detangle through the bird's nest he called hair— that or he didn't mind you accidentally tugging at his hair while you tried to comb through it.

"Really!? You promise!?"

"Well, only in one condition."

Itto pouted but waited for your deal.

"I want you to take care of yourself while I'm gone, and don't try to pull out your horns, okay?"

"But I hate my horns! People say they're ugly and that I'm a monster! It's not like they're wrong...stupid, ugly horns..."

Itto looks down at his clenched fists, tears pricking at his eyes once more. But this time, he feels your gentle touch under his chin, making him look up at you.

"Listen here, little one."

Itto bit his lip, not used to such intense eye contact, despite your eyes holding nothing but a warmth that felt like home to him, even if he's never really had one.

"I don't know what they said to you, but you're brilliant the way you are. I don't see those ugly horns you're talking about, I see a beautiful crimson crown. A symbol of pride, a testament to what you are; the one and oni."

"...Was that a pun?"

You laugh lightly, Itto pouted once more before laughing with you.

Once laughter died down, you lead Itto to the river, encouraging him to look at his reflection.

Clean and fresh, hair neatly brushed and horns at full display. Itto takes in how different he looked, how his horns seemed to shine proudly against his white locks of hair.

"See? And I'm sure you're a wonderful person too, little one. Horns and all."

For once, Itto was quiet.

Thoughts went through his head, comprehending everything that had just happened. He used his brain so much, he fell asleep.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

You carry the little sleeping oni in your arms, taking him to a nearby village where one of your most dedicated followers lived, she was peculiar woman, and you were certain she'd take the little oni in and raise him with the love and care he deserved.

You knock on her door.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Itto wakes up in an unfamiliar room with an unfamiliar woman offering him a bowl of porridge, it took a little bit of back and forth before Itto gave in. Looking around, he sees something on the desk next to the bed.

It was a comb, and a note.

"Take care of yourself, my one and oni. We can play together when time allows it.

~ Your Winged Friend"

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

"And after that, Granny Oni told me all about our creator, and that's when I decided I'd make sure my hair's always perfect!"

Itto's boisterous laugh fills the teapot as Aether hums.

"Wow...Teyvat's creator really is something, huh?" Paimon comments, but Itto disappeared. Looks like their creator has logged in.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Itto looks down at the ground below him, soon feeling the warmth that told him his creator was ready to go exploring with him once more. Jumping off, the wind glider opens.

Flying in the skies, helping people, and eating good food. He owed it all to you.

Arataki Itto loves being an oni.

Arataki Itto loves his horns.

Arataki Itto loves you.

---

Of Gods and Stars

Brain went brr at work and while thinking about lovely Dainsleif (sir, please come back soon I miss you-) so Khaenri’an Reader. God!Darling is a Khaenri’an.

That’s it. Everything else in this story is pure improvisation from whatever dramatic story I can come up with through the power of memes (that’s really just how my brain functions at this point haha I’msofuckinghopeless).

@nicebonescomrade wanted something like this so I’ve tagged the creacher of skeletons that has some of my bones right now (not that I mind since I don’t make optimal uses for them).

Huge divergence in plot, I guess? Uhh… I apologize, but I’m dogshit at warnings as you might’ve witnessed. Still, hope you like this. Am going on a posting spree because I gotta make up the time span from last post.

Might also be super messy and short because it’s just brainrot I need to clear my head out of.

Keep reading

---

Part two of this hehehehe yknow i actually planned and had written something for xiao as part two bust decided to make that one part three instead hehe fair warning this is shit but it's all that i could do at this point

Each step you take is light; you remain careful as you walk over green grass and even greener leaves, the occasional twig snapping quietly. Birds chirp among the trees and finches fly around, a truly serene sight— 

If only you didn't hate it all. 

You can feel them watching you, gazes unwavering and unrelenting, digging deep into your skin. You almost feel like a prey, despite knowing exactly why they're so focused on you.

They're guilty.

You scoff to yourself, a glare on your face. They still have the audacity to feel guilty, to kneel and beg for forgiveness as if a little sorry can just make you forget months of beings hunted, of beings hated and attacked and hurt and nearly killed—

The deep wound on your stomach, covered by thick bandages, pulses as if it can still feel the way Xiao's spear had— it had—

No. No. You didn't, you don't want to remember how—

Desperately, you press your hand against your mouth and close your eyes. Like this, you can pretend it never happened. Like this, your world can get quiet and still and silent and you can pretend you're elsewhere, maybe the park near your home, maybe your mother's gardens, anywhere but here surrounded by your murderers and killers.

At least you haven't seen hair or hide of that monster. You had not dared ask about them and the monsters here did not mention them at all.

"Your grace?"

Klee is tugging on your hand, worried eyes peering up at you. She has a frown on her face, an unusual and unnatural expression to see on her and despite everything you feel your heart lurch in concern for her. "Why," she begins, voice hushed and lips trembling. "Why are you crying, your grace?"

Oh, you're crying.

You blink at her, roughly wiping your tears away. They still continue to fall, and your hands still shake when you cup her face and why can't you find it in yourself to smile to soothe her—

"Please don't— don't cry," you stumble on your words, voice hoarse and quiet because your nightmares of that day have you screaming and tearing at your own body every night and you haven't been exactly quiet when dealing with the horrid people that have placed you in this suffocating teapot, even if it is to help you heal better. "Don't cry, Klee, please,"

"But you're sad. Klee hates seeing you so sad," Klee sniffs, wide eyes welling with tears. You know that had it not been for almost all of the adults telling the kids not to hug you because of your injury, she would've by now thrown herself in your arms.

"I'm not sad, Klee," you say but it's a lie and you both know it. "I—"

"Klee!" Jean calls for the girl as she jogs over. She kneels immediately, not looking in your eyes. "I am so sorry, your grace, I told her not to bother you but she must've—"

You don't listen to her. You can't listen to her because you can still remember how she'd once pointed her sword at you, hatred swimming in her eyes.

You turn your back to her and leave.

There are more people in the teapot's mansion than you remember, than you feel comfortable with, and they all try to reach out to you but you brush past them shoulders tense and hands shaking.

You want to be alone.

"Your grace, wait! Your injury—" someone's hand, gloved and yet coldcoldcold clasps around your wrist before you could bump against the door handle to your room.

You glare at Zhongli even as you tremble, barely able to hold back a horrified sob, a scared scream because you can still remember all too well how your windpipe gave way under his cruel hold.

"Don't touch me." You say, voice as hallow as your monstrous twin's eyes had been. They must be happy, you think. They must be beyond happy at my state.

"Don't touch me, Zhongli. Don't ever touch me."

And not even his tears soothe the aches in your heart nor the bleeding of your wounds.

---

imagine a bunch of readers from the different sagau aus finding themselves to be in a white void with a table that's big enough for all of them to sit at

and then they just start to talk about the things that happen in their aus and just kinda

chill, i guess?

my brain has dubbed this idea "a council of gods"

A COUNCIL OF GODS!!!!!

soft au + imposter au + fatui au + puppet au

!!!To lessen confusion I have given them temporary names: Soft au- Emi (Demiurge. I went on a long google search for that name), Imposter au - Imp (short for imposter, also little Imp), Fatui au - Arte (Commedia dell'Arte), Puppet au - Mari (short for Mariposa, also Mother Mary)!!!

*~A/n: I know I say "I got out of hand with this" but this has to be one of the most out of hand i've ever out of handed. I wrote this all in one night with a headache on a school night. I make bad decisions but it's done there will probably be a part two because i love this very much.

Warnings: Mentions of mal-treatment, malnourishment, wounds, scars, other than that fluff :D

2,790 words

this but instead of a white void, one day, Soft au -Emi-, Imposter au - Imp -, and Fatui au - Arte - find a stray fox.

-Emi has no problem following it, wandering away from their acolytes easily.

-Imp and the fox run away together desperately, sneaking around. Their hand digs into the soft fur of the fox, searching for comfort. They're breathing heavily as their heart is ready to beat out of their chest.

-Arte finds the fox in the snow of Snezhnaya. They run outside of the palace to follow it, the agents too afraid to stop you and the harbingers nowhere around to stop you. Not like you'd let them stop you, you haven't seen a fox in a long time, especially one so close to the palace!

When the three find the fox in their separate worlds, the fox leads the gods to an odd object. The fox circles it as they pick it up.

A realm dispatch?

The three narrow their eyes, confused. There was a different symbol on it, similar to Enkanomiya's symbol but different...

The fox placed her paw on the center of the object, right where the symbol was, and stared at her god expectantly. Hesitantly, the three touched the symbol.

For a moment, nothing happened, until a void overtook their senses and all they could see was the stars.

The three were teleporting.

The void dissipated and the three stood side-by-side in a grand throne room

-Emi had the most docile reaction, drinking in everything around them calmly. When their eyes landed on the people beside them, they waved with a confused smile.

-Arte raised a brow at the wave, their limbs freezing up though they had a reasonable grip on their powers. If push came to shove they could hold their own in a fight. Though they didn't have to worry about Emi, and the other one...

-Imp stumbled back, they had saw the other two and their heart rate spiked. Then their eyes landed on the throne with a person on it. They fell to the floor, a screech ripping through their throat as tears fell from their eyes in waves. This was it. They and two other poor souls were going to be executed by the merciless god.

"Are you okay?" Emi kneeled beside Imp. They flinched back harshly.

"Child," The voice from the throne was warm, nothing like the voice of the false god that Imp was scared of, "What's wrong?" They stood from their throne and came before the three in a billow of expensive silks and jewelry.

Emi and Arte looked similar in regards to clothing, the only one that looked different was Imp. Their clothes were dirty and hung off of them. They were nothing but shivering bones littered with bruises and scars. A broken body and mind.

The god that was on the throne, Mari, kneeled next to their shivering figure as well.

"Why are you crying so?" They cupped their face, Imp's eyes closed tightly, bracing themselves for a hit.

"Hey!" Emi poked their arm, "Are you okay? You're crying so much." They frowned and felt their heart clench. Imp just... looked so pathetic and panicked.

Arte sighed and knelt next to Imp as well, "Hey, buddy? You're fine, nobody's gonna hurt you now, okay?" They rubbed soft and comforting circles on their arm, recalling the words that the Fatui had told them when they had first arrived in the Zapolyarny Palace a sobbing mess. "You're safe now. You've been hurt but never again, okay?" They smiled comfortingly as Imp cracked open their eyes.

They hiccupped but their tears slowed a bit, "Wh-where... am I?" They whispered.

Mari smiled, and the sight was a beautiful one that seemed to radiate warmth, "You're in my abode. The item you found was an invitation to my world. I believe... you three know it as co-op mode?"

"Oh! Co-op?" Emi grinned, "Yeah! I know that! Wait so we're in a different world right now?"

"Yes," Mari nodded, "You're in my world now, where I'm recognized as the god. Of course, you three will be treated as the gods you are. Although, the three of you are significantly younger than I. I'm sorry your previous incarnations met an early grave."

Arte and Emi merely nodded while Imp curled in on themself and glanced around at the other three, "Uhm.. w-what?" their voice was practically a whisper.

"Hm? Do you not know?" Mari tilted their head slightly.

"Ah," Arte frowned, "You don't have to say anything you don't want to but... do you know anything about your godhood?"

Imp froze for a moment and shook their head, "I'm not a god."

"Yes you are dear." Mari said, "I can feel it, and do you not cry the tears of the stars? Or bleed the blood of the gods? Nobody but the gods of different worlds were able to use the dispatch I gave the three of you. Therefor, you are a god." Their eyes turned dark and grave, "Whoever told you otherwise is a fool and a heretic."

Imp lowered their head and didn't say anything more.

Mari frowned and cupped Imp's face, "I see you're tired, child. I shall have my acolytes prepare a bath and a room for you."

They raised their hand but Imp yelped, "Wait! A-acolytes..?"

"Yes? My followers."

"Who..." Imp gulped, "Who are they?"

Mari blinked and paused, "The one's on standby right now are Zhongli, Venti-"

"I don't want to see them." Imp's voice was firm, their eyes wide and haunted. They left no room for argument.

"Ah, alright then, dear." Mari hummed, "There's also Yae Miko on standby..?"

"...she's fine..." Imp muttered.

Mari smiled caringly and called Yae Miko into the room. She bowed with a smile and a, "Your graces."

The title didn't bother three of them, but made Imp's stomach crawl.

Mari stood up gracefully and Arte did the same. Emi helped Imp up with a friendly grin.

"Please help them," They gestured towards Imp, "bathe and bring them to the dining room once they're done. I believe the chefs are already preparing dinner?"

"Yes, your highness." Yae Miko bowed her head with a grin, "They are preparing dinner, and I will gladly help them." She turned to Imp and bowed, "Please follow me, your grace."

They frowned, "...Imp is fine..." They muttered.

"Nonsense." Mari frowned, "You deserve respect and you shall be granted it. You may tell us of what happened in your world whenever you're ready but no matter what it was you shall be treated the same as I and the other two here."

Imp didn’t say anything, merely hummed and nodded. Mari frowned, was their tone too harsh?

Either way, Imp was taken to have a bath, while the other two were shown their rooms.

Yae Miko prepared the bath for them and didn't look as they got undressed. When Imp sunk into the bath they swore their entire body unwound. Who knows how many months of stress and running left in a moment.

They sighed with a relieved smile.

Yae Miko's hand gently grabbed a cup to wet your hair and body (which Imp was very embarrassed about but Yae Miko would tease them about it when they got a little more comfortable in the palace).

Washing Imp's body was a hard job, not physically but mentally. Their skin was bruised and rough, scars littered their skin both small and big, shallow and deep, their hair feel out in clumps, and their ribs were pretty much protruding.

Yae Miko's stomach churned uncomfortably but persevered to finish the task and take as much care of them as she could. Their body told a million stories from how stiff they felt when she touched them, the obvious maltreatment of your body, the way they sunk into the warm bath like it'd disappear if they weren't careful, the way they never went off alert.

It was painful for Yae Miko to watch them scared to be taken care of.

When the bath was over Yae Miko handed them a towel (she had offered to dry them off but they declined. It took all of her willpower to not tease them).

"Um... Yae Miko..." Their voice was a troubled whine, "Could you help me put the outfit on?"

She nodded with a gentle smile, "Of course, your grace."

The outfit was admittedly complex but it wasn't anything Yae Miko wasn't used to. She put it on swiftly and respectfully, attempting to make Imp as comfortable as possible.

When she was finished, she lightly combed her fingers through Imp's hair. It fell out due to malnourishment and her heart clenched. She merely left their hair down muttering, "We need to get you to see a doctor."

"I'm fine." Imp muttered, "I've felt worse."

Yae Miko's lips tugged down into a frown, "That doesn't mean we shouldn't get you taken care of, dear." She sighed, "Come, dinner will start soon. I will ask their highness about you seeing a doctor. Is that alright?"

Imp nodded.

"Good." Yae Miko smiled softly, "Follow me, please, your grace."

-

With the other three gods, they had gotten a small tour of where there rooms were. Their rooms were right next to Mari's room and another room that didn't belong to any of them.

The mini tour hadn't lasted long as they headed to the dining room to wait for Imp. There, they ran into Zhongli and Venti.

-Emi grinned and waved, "Hey there Peepaw, Diaper boy!" They sent a little heart to the two startled archons.

-Arte had frozen, their hands turned cold with ice. The Gnosis hidden in their shirt pulsated as it sensed its love's panic. Though, Arte almost snorted as they heard Emi's nicknames for them.

"Your graces." They had bowed despite their disbelief.

Mari turned to Arte, "Do you also have a bad experience with the archons?" They hummed.

Arte paused and turned to them. They nodded with a frown.

"Also?" Venti frowned, "They both have bad experiences with their archons?" He pouted, and his eyes looked like they had tears in them.

"Not me," Emi said, "There's another one, they're... really scared of you guys..." They frowned.

They could see Zhongli and Venti's hearts break through their eyes. "Well," Zhongli sighed, "I will make sure to give them a better experience than what they had of my counterpart."

Venti nodded as well, determined, "I will as well! You," He nodded at Arte, "And the other god shall be given a much better impression of the archons!"

"Haha," Arte smiled softly, subtly touching the Gnosis under their shirt, right where their heart is, "Thank you."

"Mom! Mom!" A voice called out.

"Ah," Mari turned around towards the voice and rapid footsteps approaching, "Welcome home, child."

A figure, identical to Mari, ran to their side with wide and excited eyes.

...There were now five nearly identical people in one palace.

Emi and Arte blinked at the child (though they were around the size of a teenager).

Mari put their hand on the small of their back, "These are two of my three guests, the other will be here soon." They looked down at their child with a soft glint in their eyes.

The child grinned and bowed their head, "It's nice to meet you both! I'm their grace's child or puppet."

"Puppet?" Arte furrowed their brows.

"Kind of like Ei and the Raiden Shogun." Mari explained with a wave of their hand, "But we'll speak more when the other comes back."

-

The three gods, puppet, archons, and a few other acolytes joined for dinner, including Ei (who had rushed to the palace as soon as she heard of the arrival of three other gods).

It didn't take long for Imp and Yae Miko to enter the room. Imp refreshed and looked a million times better than they did before. Though their clothes were baggy and it was obvious they hadn't been well taken care of.

Imp had frozen in the dinning room as all eyes turned to them. Yae Miko gently took their hand (small and frail) and led them to their seat. She set them down and pushed their chair in, sitting next to them.

Mari clapped and the food came out. A flood of servants placed them down expertly on the table.

"Now," They smiled, "I'd like to talk about our experiences as gods. I am very interested to hear as I was acquainted with your past incarnations."

"You were?" Emi tilted their head, "So our four worlds have been in contact before?"

"Of course." Mari nodded, their eyes reflecting galaxies of knowledge, "Traveling between worlds is normal for us."

"Uh..." Imp mumbled, "What... what do you mean by past incarnations?"

The Puppet, who was sat to Imp's left, smiled gently at them, "Teyvat cannot survive without its god, so if the god were to ever die, another will take their place. You had a previous incarnation, and so did the other two. Their highness - my mom - has never died, so they've gained a wealth of knowledge and power. They knew when you three were reincarnated and wished to meet you three, hear your stores, and give advice."

Imp nodded mutely.

"Thank you, child." Mari reached over to ruffle their child's hair. To which they grinned. "My story is what my child said. I am old and powerful. There's not much more to it, I'm the Unparalleled Monarch in this world."

"Same with me," Emi shrugged, "Though I've only been in Teyvat for less than a year."

Arte glanced at Imp from across the table, they didn't meet their eyes.

"From what I understand, me and Imp were in a similar situation." Arte said, "I was believed to be an imposter and was hunted by the archons and others. The Fatui took me in and took care of me." They touched the Gnosis in their shirt and pulled it out, "This is the Tsaritsa's Gnosis. She uh..." They looked to the side and smiled, "She gave it to me."

"Huh," Emi giggled, "Seems you two are close. I didn't know she was that nice, I haven't been around her much."

Mari hummed, "Does the rest of your Teyvat know you're their god?"

Arte nodded, "They do now, though I don't care to interact much with them. They treated me like shit- ah, sorry." They chuckled, "Anyways, Imp, do you want to tell your story? Only if you want to of course."

"Ah, mine's uh..." They frowned, "My story isn't really nice..."

"I'd like to hear it still." Mari said with a gentle and parental smile, "I want you to be treated well. We already understand you're not being treated well in your world so you only have to divulge information you want to."

Imp fiddled with their hands and looked down at their lap, "I, uh... there's..." They gulped, "There's a god already in my Teyvat. They..." Imp's breathing turned shaky, "They proclaimed me an imposter without hearing me out and... and they... they,"

"Hey, hey," The Puppet gently lifted Imp's head with their hand, wiping their tears away, "It's okay. You don't have to say more, we understand. It's okay, you're okay. Hey," They smiled softly, turning Imp's head towards them, cupping their face, "Do you wanna know what happened when I first came here?"

Imp hummed, silently asking for them to continue.

They smiled sadly, "I was deemed an imposter attempting to impersonate Mom. I have long forgiven those that have attempted to hurt me but I understand how hard it is. So I can guarantee you that it will be okay. It hurts, physically and mentally, but you'll survive this. Okay? I survived it and you will too. I can promise you that." They wiped Imp's tears away, smiling caringly.

While the Puppet was caring, Mari was a different story. They were seething in silent rage, their smile barely containing it, "Those heretics." They grit their teeth, "I should go to your world and show them how much of a god that imposter of their's is-"

"Mom," Puppet said, holding Imp's hands, "Not now, please. It's not a good time for them."

"Ah, I'm sorry, Imp." Mari frowned, "But I assure you everything will be better from here on out. You may stay here for as long as you wish, all of you are free to do so." They sighed, "But for now, let's eat and enjoy ourselves. None of you will suffer here and I will see to it you're all respected and cared for." Mari smiled gently at the three of them, "You are old friends after all."

---

Stealing Kisses From A Harbinger!

Pairings: husband!Scaramouche x gn!reader (They/them)

Warnings: none, just fluff and flustered scaramouche

Prompt: Reader steals kisses from scaramouche every chance they get and he loves hates it

First of all, life as a harbinger and a full-time husband is extremely busy for Scaramouche. He has to do paperwork, lecture the new recruits, and give you attention. Second of all, you've recently been getting a great surge to give him kisses everywhere on his face!

Scaramouche thought that life as both of those things would be easy, but not when it's all happening at the same time.

You'd usually use an excuse to go into his office just to kiss him up by getting him hot and fresh tea or tell him you forgot your sweater in there but you didnt.

Every single time you walk in there though, he wouldn't be in his leisure time doodling away in his paperwork, instead, he would be signing documents and letters of agreement which was always such a shame.

So you always take the opportunity to spend every single second coddling him, even if it means he'll be interrupted in his work.

"Did you drink the tea I made for you earlier? It's getting cold." You asked, staring at the unmoved teacup you placed over fifteen minutes ago as you sat on the desk, legs crossed.

He simply replied with a mere 'mmm', continuing to do his paperwork, not sparing a glance at you.

And now was the moment to strike, you leaned over to him whilst sitting on the desk, grabbed his head gently, and gave him a big, sloppy kiss, releasing with a 'mwah' sound. Him, hair a mess and profusely blushing, was obviously flabbergasted by the wet kiss.

Although you both have been married for decades, it is always such a new feeling for him to receive affection.

"Are you doing that thing again-" He was cut off when you started pressing kisses all along his neck up to his face, then a long and final kiss on his lips.

You pulled back, expecting his usual expression, trying to look angry when disturbed from work but also really flustered.

Although his eyebrows were furrowed and had a forced frown, he also had a furious blush dusted on his cheeks fighting to make him smile.

He turned away on his office chair and looked away from you, trying to fix his face and hair before he could look at you again. Meanwhile, you just chuckled as you watched him struggle to pull off his big bad harbinger persona again.

a/n I hope u guys enjoyed this (୨୧•͈ᴗ•͈) it is one of my first works so please be nice. reblogs and likes appreciated. come join my genshin based discord server!

---

Strangers (Chapter Five)

Strangers from Hell AU

Series Masterlist

pairing: ot7 x reader

genre: yandere, horror/thriller

warnings: murder, mature themes, obsessive/possessive behavior, emotional manipulation, stalking, violence, blood and injuries (will update as needed)

word count: 4.5k words

The next morning was a Saturday and your body could surely feel it. You blinked your groggy eyes open, wondering if you should sleep in a bit more. The bright sunlight cascading through the window told you it was probably getting a bit late, even if it was the weekend. Rolling over to check the time on your phone, your eyes widened when you saw it was almost noon.

“Shit,” you grumbled, mustering up the energy to sit up with your feet on the floor. Blinking hazily, you tried to make sense of your worn out body. Sure, you had a long week but was it normal to feel this tired? It was probably just the alcohol you drank the night before.

Figuring a shower should help you wake up a bit, you grabbed a towel and a change of clothes and made your way up to the upper floor. You couldn’t help your gaze drifting to the plastic curtain hiding the rest of the upstairs hallway as you passed by it. The memory of Yoongi catching you that night replayed in your mind, feeding into your curious nature even more. You knew you would eventually have to see what was behind that curtain, whether Jimin liked it or not.

The water cascading down your face and body seemed to do the trick, your senses coming more alert with each passing second. Your eyes closed as you rinsed the shampoo out of your hair, fingers working through the strands. The sound of the shower was loud in your ears but calming, distracting you from your surroundings. So much so that when you heard a muffled thump from behind you, your peaceful bubble burst.

“Hello?” You called out, peeking behind the curtain to look out at the empty communal bathroom. The one that was supposed to only be for you as you were currently the only female tenant in the building. Heart thrumming in your chest, you quickly finished your shower and turned the water off. Your mind felt frozen as you began drying off and dressing, trying to make sense of what you heard.

Peering out into the hallway, you felt a mix of relief and confusion wash over you to see it was empty. You knew you heard something, you were so certain it sounded like a person was in the room. 

Keep reading

---

Strangers (Chapter Four)

Strangers from Hell AU

Series Masterlist

pairing: ot7 x reader

genre: yandere, horror/thriller

warnings: murder, mature themes, obsessive/possessive behavior, emotional manipulation, stalking, violence, allusion to torture, blood and injuries (will update as needed)

word count: 4.3k words

The sun beat down on you as you walked along the beach, the sand between your toes as a tidal wave came in and washed them. You gasped as you spotted a ghost crab hole appearing.

“Dad, look! Another one!” You exclaimed, pointing at it and turning around to look at your father. He came up beside you, kneeling closer to your height.

“Good catch, kiddo.” His voice echoed in your ears. You had lost count of how many of these burrows you had found, but your dad seemed to never get tired of you pointing them out. If he regretted teaching you about them while you were still so young and excitable, he never showed it.

You knelt down and started scooping some of the wet sand to build something - you weren’t sure what yet. Your father stood up, patting your head affectionately as you worked. “I’m gonna go for a dip. I’ll be right back.”

You huffed angrily as a wave destroyed your sandcastle a third time in a row. Abandoning the impossible project, you turned around to look back at the water. You spotted your dad pretty far out, much further than you would ever dare to go. He was bobbing along the big waves and when he caught you looking at him, he smiled widely and waved.

You watched him for a while before you noticed a giant wave approaching him. It was bigger than any wave you’ve ever seen before. Even from where you sat safe on the sand, it scared you. You begin waving your arms and screaming for your dad’s attention and when you finally got it, he just gave you another clueless grin.

It all happened so quickly. The huge wave washed over and took your father with it, completely catching him by surprise. You watched helplessly from the shore, waiting for him to resurface but he never did. You were numb to the tears falling down your cheeks as wave after wave washed over your feet, burying them deeper into the sand as if trying to drag you in as well.

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