#this post dedicated to all the people in the last post who said it would be nice to see how the rankings fluctuate over the years | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

putellasawfc · 3 months

Text

exposed !

jen beattie x arsenal!reader

( a/n: omgggg this has been in the works FOREVER, before jen announced leaving arsenal which i am still not over tbh. but it’s finally here! especially dedicated to @mccabeswife since she requested it ! i hope you enjoy ! )

another media day at the arsenal training grounds meant a lot of bored footballers sat around waiting for their turn in front of the camera, the current youtube video being filmed was for three pairs only, another one of those ‘guess what the person is saying whilst you wear sound cancelling headphones’ videos that people went crazy over. the lucky girls who had been paired together for said video had been chosen at random, and you had ended up with leah with frida, manu with katie and viv with lotte which meant the rest of you were trying to entertain yourselves elsewhere.

which wasn’t really an issue when you were all shoved into a recreational room with an assortment of snacks, gossip and phones in hand. beth, the self proclaimed quidnunc of the group had been sat in between you and alessia for the last ten minutes, and had yet to stop telling you about the ongoing drama in the west ham team that she had found out about at an event over the weekend. you paid attention for as long as you could, sharing looks with alessia as you both struggled to keep up with the fast paced ramblings coming from the yorkshire woman but beth was none the wiser.

you felt a dip in the sofa to the left of you, the last bit of space being occupied by someone who threw an arm around your shoulder and when you got a whiff of the familiar perfume she sprayed on every morning, you knew exactly who it was.

you turned your head and smiled at the culprit, jen sat sporting her usual messy bun on top of her head and cheeky smile on her face. she pulled you further into her side and gently squeezed your upper arm, “she still talking your ear off?”

you huffed a laugh at that, looking to see if beth had heard but she was still too busy ranting and raving, now focusing her attention on alessia since you were now occupied elsewhere, poor girl.

“something like that.” you hummed, snuggling up to your taller girlfriend who was happy to let you lean on her. “you finished your influencer activities?” you teased, referring to the number of tiktok’s she had forced some of the girls to take part in since they all arrived.

“aye, i get a lot of love and appreciation from the fans for providing them with five star, behind the scenes content i’ll have you know.” she told you, “but yeah. letting steph take over for now, think she’s really getting into those football murder mystery filters.”

you glanced over to where she nodded towards, indeed seeing steph with her phone in her hand obviously recording herself, with kyra and vic sat either side of her laughing at the story that was unfolding on the filter.

“what happens when she steals your tiktok crown?” you asked with a sly smirk, knowing the older woman would have a meltdown if steph’s content starting getting more love than hers.

“don’t jinx it.” she shoved you lightly, “i’d have to post something outrageous to get me my title back. know i have some mugshots of you deep in my camera roll, i’m sure they’d come in handy.”

“you wouldn’t!” you gasped, sitting up slightly in your seat and the scottish woman laughed at your reaction.

you knew she had accumulated a hefty amount of embarrassing pictures of you over the year that you’d been together, ranging from you asleep with your mouth open to you pulling the ugliest faces whilst you awaited the impact of the ball to hit you during games.

“then you better hope steph gets bored quickly.” she shrugged.

you playfully rolled your eyes at that, finally relaxing back down beside her, grabbing ahold of her hand that was hanging over your shoulder, interlocking your fingers as you did.

“you’re so mean to me, sometimes i don’t know why i agreed to be your girlfriend.” you shook your head as if you were disappointed with yourself, trying your best to hold back the smile that was itching to come out.

that didn’t last long though, as only a moment later the defender jumped up from her spot on the sofa and leaned most of her body weight on you, her hands flew to grab either side of your face so she could get a good view of it as she began to lather every inch of your skin in kisses, her lips not leaving one patch of your face untouched. your squealed and thrashed wildly beneath her, your shoulder knocking into beth’s who finally halted in her gossiping at the interruption.

she kept going, stopping for a second to grin at your flushed state. “you fancied me too much to say no to being my girlfriend you goon.” and with that she continued her loving attack on you.

you wriggled around, laughing as you fought for breath and attempted to push her from you but she wasn’t budging.

“jen! stop, i can’t breathe.” you shrieked between giggles, hands gripping at her red jumper, “you’re right! you’re right, please let me go!”

finally deciding you’d had enough, jen let go of you and you caught your breath as you sagged against beth with a hand on your chest. “you could’ve killed me then, i hope you know.”

“so dramatic you are.” she tutted, pulling gently on your arm so that you were sat upright once again. “now gimme a proper one.”

you grinned, and gladly leaned in towards your girlfriend, giving her exactly what she wanted as your lips met halfway and you sunk into the display of affection almost immediately, your lips moving together in unison before you felt a harsh nudge in your side.

you yelped and pulled back, glaring at beth who only looked proud of what she’d done.

“not in front of the children please.”

the next day you arrived back at the training grounds, this time with a full day of practice ahead of you rather than a day in front of the cameras which you were very much looking forward to. media day was always fun, especially when you were partnered up with the right person and yesterday you were lucky enough to have gotten cloe as your pal for the day, so you had no complaints.

but you were excited to get back to doing what you loved, especially with an important match ahead of you. you wanted to get your head in the game and make sure you were one hundred percent ready to face the opposing team on sunday.

everything was normal for all of five minutes, you walked in and greeted some of the staff lingering near the entrance before you headed off to the changing rooms so you could change into your training kit, but before you even had chance to push the door open, a body came barrelling into yours, making you stumble on your feet and your arm fly out to steady yourself against the wall.

you looked to the person with furrowed brows, your jaw dropped in shock at the scare you’d just gotten. “christ steph, what’s up with you?”

she looked worried, as her hands gripped onto both of your arms and the aussie looked behind her where leah and lia were approaching, with much calmer demeanours. “i have to tell you something before you find out from someone else, but you have to promise you won’t be mad at me.”

you eyed her warily, your head cocking to the side before you looked over to the two other girls with narrowed eyes. “what is it?”

“no! you have to promise first.”

you rolled your eyes at that, beginning to panic a little as your mind ran wild with possibilities of what information steph could be withholding from you.

“fine, i promise. now tell me.” you told her, not really meaning it, you just needed her to spill the beans before you tired yourself out from overthinking.

“i kind of, may have, accidentally posted a tiktok that had you and jen kissing in the background of it.” she winced, waiting a beat to carry on. “but i promise it was a genuine mistake! if i had known it was in there i would’ve never, ever posted it i know you guys didn’t want your relationship to be public yet, and i am so sorry please don’t be mad at me.”

“what?”

a stupid question, most definitely but it was the only thing that you could manage to say at this moment in time. you didn’t know how to feel or what to say as you processed the information just given to you by steph who was still watching you carefully, as if she was awaiting some kind of wild outburst.

an array of different emotions passed through you simultaneously, you were annoyed at steph for outing your relationship on a platform that spread content like wildfire. no doubt screenshots and recordings of the tiktok had already been shared to the likes of twitter and instagram, posts made that couldn’t be taken back now. how could steph have let that happen? why did she not spot it before she pressed post?

you were also panicking. did jen know? would she be annoyed? would this change things between you? you’d both agreed when you first began dating, after months of mutual pining, that when you got together you would keep your relationship as private as you could, for as long as you could.

something that was unfortunately common amongst women’s football, was how invasive some fans could be in the players lives. you had seen how they could overstep boundaries and pry too deep into stuff they didn’t need to know about many times, which would then jump to them spreading their opinions without a care about who was on the other side of their sometimes vicious comments. you’d been witness to it ruining some of your friends relationships, and you didn’t want that to happen to you and jen. jen who you loved, who loved you back, jen who you could see yourself marrying one day in the future. so you had come to the smart, unanimous decision to keep it hush for as long as you could. but now, it was out there.

“does jen know?” you asked next, deciding that was the priority for you right now.

steph shook her head, “no. i was gonna tell her but she’s been talking to jonas since she got in.”

jen had set off an hour prior to you, with fans sometimes lingering outside the training grounds in hopes of getting a photo with some of you before you came in, you didn’t want to risk them seeing you and jen showing up together a few times too many and start to put two and two together, so more often than not you took separate cars and showed up at different times.

you nodded at that, and took in a deep breathe as you tried to think of what to do next. seeing as it was already out, there was no way you’d be able to backtrack or deny that you were in a relationship with jen, so the only real option you had left was to come clean to the fans about it all. you just weren’t sure how to.

“are you still my friend?” you were brought back into the present by steph’s quiet voice, her eyes were still scanning you warily and you probably would’ve laughed at how silly she sounded if you weren’t the person on the other end.

“course i’m still your mate steph.” you told her, and the blonde visibly deflated in front of you. “just wish you had the common sense to check what’s going on in your tiktok’s before you posted them.”

you were half joking, half serious. but when steph tutted and shoved you playfully, you didn’t have the heart to be upset with her anymore. it’s not as if she had posted it on purpose, and with how she reacted when she approached you, you were sure she’d been beating herself up over it since she’d realised what she’d done.

“see! told you she wouldn’t be mad, got yourself all worked up over nothing.” leah spoke up, and then you remembered her and lia were still lingering in the back.

“yeah well, i wouldn’t have blamed her if she was.” steph said, and you pulled the aussie in for a side hug.

“it’s okay steph, just gotta find jen now and spill the beans.”

it was only twenty minutes later when jen joined you all in the changing rooms, already clad in her arsenal training kit and with her water bottle in hand, she spotted you almost instantly and her face brightened when she realised you had arrived whilst she’d been busy.

“when did you get here?” she asked, pulling you into a hug which you gladly reciprocated.

“not too long ago.” you told her, rubbing your hands up and down her back. “got something i need to tell you though.”

she pulled back a little at that, looking down at you with a raised brow. “should i be worried?”

you shrugged, “i mean, it’s not anything to panic about but … i don’t know if you’re going to like it.”

you nodded your head towards the door, gesturing to the empty hallway on the other side where you could both have the conversation privately with nobody there to eavesdrop. jen nodded in agreement, retracting from your embrace and pulling on your hand to tug you in the direction you had just motioned towards.

now standing in the vacant corridor, you leaned your back against the grey wall and watched jen as she stood in front of you with her hands on her hips as she waited for you to speak, which you did after a sigh.

“steph practically ambushed me this morning, she um, did something stupid.” you began, scratching your head as you thought about how to put what happened into words. “you know all those tiktoks she was messing around with yesterday?”

you waited for jen to nod, which she did a second later so then you continued. “well she posted some of them and in one of them, it has you and i kissing in it, in the background. and it’s definitely too late for us to do anything about it.”

you stood with baited breath, similar to how steph had been when she was breaking the news to you, all of a sudden wishing you had the power to read minds as jen’s poker face came out in full force, the brunette not hinting to how she was feeling at all. at least she wasn’t tugging at her loose strands of hair, or biting at her nails, two big tell tale signs that she was stressing which you’d picked up over the months you’d spent together, which was a small win you were willing to take.

“well i guess the secrets out then.” jen shrugged, her hands remaining on her hips as you looked at her slightly puzzled.

“you’re not bothered?” you asked, half expecting a bigger reaction from the woman who was always so careful with how you interacted in public.

“i mean, it’s not great is it?” she asked, “but honestly, a part of me is kind of glad its out there now. i love our little bubble, not having to deal with people we don’t even know deciding whether we’re a good fit or not and all that stuff. but at least now, we don’t have to stress over the littlest things everytime we go out together.”

you listened to the points she made, nodding along with pursed lips in agreement with what she was saying. one of the most annoying things about have a relationship that wasn’t public, was having to be on guard everytime you both wanted to spend time with eachother out of the house, leading to the two of you just ending up having most of your date nights at home instead, not having the energy to make sure there were no prying eyes wherever you went.

“and we don’t have to watch what we post on social media. no more making sure our stories don’t give away that we’re at the same place, or triple checking that none of our stuff’s in the background.” she added on, and your lips quirked up in amusement at the amount of times you’d had to quickly delete a story or instagram post when you realised there was a beattie shirt in the background, or anything else that gave away who you were with.

“so this is kind of like a blessing in disguise?”

she grinned, “yeah something like that. but don’t tell steph i said anything, she’ll be gloating for weeks.”

you laughed at that, finally being able to relax properly for the first time since steph had practically jumped you whilst you were on your way to get changed. jen approached you, clearing the few steps that kept her away from you and pulling you into her warm embrace, pressing a kiss to your forehead as she did. “at least now we don’t have to do any big, relationship reveal post. you know how much i’ve been dreading that.”

you hummed, “think we should get steph to do a big post for us? i’m sure her drafts are stacked with videos of us.”

“we can ask. but not yet, wanna pretend i’m really mad at her for a bit so i can bribe her into pampering me for a bit.”

you scoffed at that, giving the scottish woman a faux disgusted look. “you’re evil beattie.”

“you love me.”

#jen beattie #jen beattie x reader #jen beattie one shot #jean beattie imagine #woso #woso community #woso x reader #awfc x reader #awfc one shot #awfc imagine #woso imagine #woso one shot

398 notes · View notes

simp-ly-writes · 5 months

Text

Lasting Pictures: Up and Under (pt.2)

Pairing: Poly!Task Force 141 x Photographer!Reader

Summary: Signing the papers was one thing, actually going back and doing the work was another. Memories come hurling back at you as you try and navigate this new lifestyle while getting to know the members of your new task force- some warm up quicker to you than others but are your trials all for nothing? Or maybe, just maybe this new start has other possibilities for you as well....

Warnings: 4952 words, Slow burn, heavy imagery of anxiety attack and PTSD, descriptions of blood and swearing.

A/N: Hey ya'll thank you all so much for all the love on the first post, weird to see so many people liking my shitty writing. Anyways! todays chapter is dedicated to my fellow stranger @cosychick who made this chapter possible (TYSM again, seriously). On another note... I may have written a lot again... and have an outline for many more chapters... hope you guys enjoy this next part! let me know what you think~

Masterlist | Taglist | edited.

Lasting Pictures Series Masterlist

The cheers surrounding the room are soon put to an end as the boys soon get ordered to return back to their duties on base as you and Gabby stay behind with Laswell. She opens your file on the table, flipping towards the back as she comments on your years of leave from the military. Your task force had all been promoted within the ranks and some were found less on field and more in strategy. You smiled at this newfound information, as it slightly fell when Laswell said how poorly they took your leave and lack of communication afterwards while tailing off on a few names that have you blinking your eyes quickly.

The room falling quiet once more, Gabby grasps your hand in her own- rubbing small circles into the back of it in an effort to comfort you. You squeeze it twice in response; awaiting Laswell to continue her commentary as a knock can be heard coming from the door, Price enters then closes it behind himself as he takes his seat back beside Laswell with his own paperwork in hand and places it on the table. He motions with a flick of his wrist for you guys to continue as he grabs for a pair of glasses and takes the lid of a pen off; beginning to flip through the sheets, signing every few pages while referencing others. Laswell continues to speak while opening a second file with your polaroid clipped to the front.

“Has your body fully healed from the incident?”

“Yes, ma’am”

“Do you still take medication for it or any other symptoms you have experienced as a result?”

“Yes I do”

Laswell hums in response, flickering to the next page as you lightly sigh in relief and Gabby comments, “May I speak freely?”

“You may”

“They have made a full recovery, I made sure of it before contacting them…” Gabby looks over at you, happiness is found in her squished cheeks from smiling so brightly as she drops your hand to reach over the table for your papers, “...I recommend still going through with the fitness regulation test for formal qualities- but they would pass easily nonetheless.”

Price decides to lift his head and joins the conversation once more, “some practice missions with 141 before sending directly to the field would be of value to us all as well. Time is limited- I know-”

You smile slightly at his addition, nodding your head in agreement before finishing his sentence, “but a little team building never hurt nobody” you tease lightly back as John matches your smile before returning back to the work at hand. Gabby leans over, clearing her throat loudly to whisper in your ear, “So what type of team building do you have planned~?”

Swatting her away while covering your cheeks from your blush, John chuckles to himself as you shrink into your sweater, cursing Gabby mentally as Laswell gives you all a tisk with a small smile gracing its way across her features; her tone lightening.

“You will get along great with the team, Dice, from what I read and see here today. 0-700 tomorrow for your assessment and I want you to move on to base with the rest of the team temporarily to redevelop your skills for the imminent future. Deployment is set for two weeks from now. That is all, thank you both” Laswell finishes, collecting her belongings before tapping Price on the shoulder on her way out.

Stacking the papers into a neat pile; he looks between you and Gabby before sliding an unsigned document, tapping his finger to where he wants you to sign and handing you his pen. Glancing down at it, its weight is surprisingly heavy and the small engraving of 141 on the lid has you smiling, you look over the page- reading through each clause before signing your name at the bottom and sliding it back with a sigh.

Gabby slaps your shoulder with yet another cheer as she calls for drinks tonight that has you shaking your head at the idea. “I have my assessment in the morning scales, can’t be going out and doing that just yet.”

“Lame” Gabby states back childishly before asking if you wanted a drive back, you smile thankfully at this as you begin to stand from your seat. Knees a bit weak from staying in the same position for too long. Yet as your hand hovers over the door handle, a small call out from the table has you turning back to face your new captain.

“Welcome to the team Y/N”

“Thank you Captain”

Keys swing around Gabbys finger as you both make your way towards the parking lot at the back of the base. Walking through the halls and across the pavement; viewing all the helicopters and equipment tucked nearly away has memories sending goosebumps across your skin, nerves and excitement mixing together in your anxiety driven cocktail as you follow in Fish’s shadow.

Gabby clicks the small device twice as the car flashes its lights with a small honk. Yet as you begin to enter the vehicle a calling out of your name from another car has you smacking your head against the roof of the car and eliciting a loud groan as you rub the spot gently, turning to face whomever got you into this state.

Gaz smiles apologetically from the rolled-down window as he asks if you want help tomorrow moving your stuff on to base, he mentioned that your new captain already sent a message to the infamous groupchat you had yet to be added to. Smiling at the man's kindness you accept as he asks for your number. Walking up to his car, exchanging phones; you place your name alone in his as Gaz places a petrol symbol for himself that has you giggling when you read it. Tapping the top of his car in a sign of goodbye, he drives through the gates and away.

Turning back you see Gabby leaned against the car with a cheeky grin, “do I need to report anything to the council already, lieutenant?”

“Yet?! Do you honestly think I am getting with any of them, or that they would have any interest in all of this shit?” You reply while flinging your hands up and down your body, emphasising your statement.

“Well.. you and Soap looked to be getting cosy…”

“I needed physical comfort, you know this”

“Mmhmm”

“Gabby! I swear to god-”

“Mmhmm”

“Even with my last team, we almost never did any of that shit”

“Almost?” She teases back.

“Not like that Gabs! ugh!”

Gabby does not bother to listen to anymore of your protests as she hops backs into the vehicle, the engine roaring to life as you sit yourself into the passengers side with a huff, buckling your seatbelt before helping her to check the blindspots and give directions back to your place.

The drive back is peaceful after the hellish day you have had. Gabby flipped you off while driving away as your neighbour complained about hearing your cat moving about your apartment too loudly. Apologising you turned the key in the hole and entered, the space was dark with a small candle coming from the kitchen. Cursing to yourself for leaving it unattended, blowing it out you called for Spoons to make sure he didn’t hurt himself from it.

Checking the cat over in your arms and sighing out in relief, you hunched down slightly so they could move to your shoulders and motioned to get their medication before you started the debate of ordering in or cooking dinner for yourself. Opening the fridge you cursed to find it empty, resting your forehead against its metal door to cool your head, you felt for your phone the jean pocket as Spoons meows loudly in your ear.

Placing him on the counter and closing the door with your foot, you order delivery and feel for your wallet; walking yourself back into the living and falling onto the cushioned seat, feet pressed atop the coffee table as you threw a weighted blanket over yourself and turned the television on. Doctor Who played across the screen as you chucked at their antics and companions' poorly timed jokes, the doorbell ringing and a tip being served before you switched to the VOD for the football game.

Your team was losing severely as you whisper-yelled at the screen, afraid of getting a thorough beating from your elderly neighbour. You flicked it off before it finished and noticed that your plate was empty. Placing the containers in the fridge and washing your dishes in the sink, you see Spoons sleeping on the half-wall separating your kitchen from the dining room. Their belly turned upwards as light snores exited their body. Snapping a quick picture to show Ghost in the morning, you began your nightly routine.

Showering, brushing and flossing your teeth, alongside applying your moisturizers. You shuffled underneath the covers while doing some last minute scrolling through your phone. Rolling your eyes when you saw the endless stream of reels being sent from Gabbys personal account that had you switching your ringer off and placing it on to charge. Setting your alarm clock to sound you closed your eyes as your body jerked throughout the night, awaking in a cold sweat as only a few hours had passed before doing your best at returning back to sleep.

The loud sound of ringing gradually made its way across your ears as you groaned and blindly reached over to turn it off; you ended up swatting it off the nightstand, the loud crash had you sitting upright from the sound of it smacking against the hardwood floors. Being stubborn to get out of bed just yet, you reach across the room to pick it up and shut it up. Falling back into the covers you reach for your phone and smile seeing your parents’ name in the notifications, they wish you a strong return back with a string of emojis that has you shaking your head while replying, slightly regretting for introducing them to that submenu on the keyboard.

Stretching and rolling out your yoga mat, you do our daily exercises before setting the kettle to boil and heading for a quick shower. The mirror clouds over as you draw a small heart across its surface while scrolling for just the right song to start getting ready to.

Coming back out- refreshed you dig through the back of your closet to find parts of your old uniform that you didn’t have the heart to send down to the storage rooms. Placing it across your frame and looking at yourself in the foyer mirror. A tear slides itself down your cheek as you swiftly wipe it away. Spoons soon comes between your legs pawing to be fed as you lightly smile down at them.

Apologizing to your furry friend, you give them their daily medication and head out the door, to your car in the underground parkade. 06:10 reads on the dash as you drive back to the base from memory. While at a light you start a call with Gabby, hoping that she would fess up to what types of testing you will go through today, yet she gave you nothing much to your dismay other than some teasing as usual.

“Did you end up talking to Gaz more last night when you exchanged numbers?”

“No, I talked to my parent though.”

“Oh! I miss them, are they still single?”

“Gabs I swear-”

“Hey! Just an honest question…”

“Sure, sure.”

“Are you here yet?”

“Almost, about a block away”

“Okay good.”

“Everything al’right?”

“Oh yeah, Soap just keeps telling me I'm no fun now that he’s met you, butthurt honestly.”

“Well I have always been the funnier one.”

“Thanks, just what I needed to hear.”

“You know me- social skills, simply perfection…” you end with a giggle in your voice, “...okay im at the gate now, see you in a few.”

Pulling the car into an empty parking spot, you ended the call while hauling your work bag with your camera inside over your shoulder from the passenger's seat and take your metal water bottle with you. Locking the car with a click you walked towards the main building and picked yourself up a new badge. Wincing at your picture, you hide it in your jacket pocket as you make your way down the hall and towards the locker rooms to put your stuff down.

Taking in a deep breath, you made your way out to the fields and saw everyone standing in a circle, speaking in hushed tones before halting at the sounds of your footsteps nearning. Giving the group a small wave, Gabby came over and wished you luck with a large hug and kiss against your cheek before returning back to her duties. Laswell stood to the side, clipboard in hand as she began to look at her watch, anxious to begin and return to her stack of files as well.

Soap speedily walks his way over to you, clapping a hand on your shoulder and pulling you in to his side, he wishes you good luck and a few other words told in his native tongue that you didn’t quite catch before Ghost is shouting across the field, in what would appear an aggressive tone to any new listener.

“English, Jonny”

“Fuckin’ Britts you lot”

“Hey you! Don't assume my nationality you prick”

Soap looks at you wide-eyed and apologetically as words and curses fall out of his mouth like a waterfall. Gaz can he heard chucking off to the side as you pat Soaps shoulder and tell him that you were just pulling his leg. He nods his head and sighs out in relief while looking up towards the grey skies. Making your way over to greet the Captain and Ghost, they both offer you a firm handshake once more as you provide a wide smile back before heading towards Gaz sitting on a nearby bench beside Laswell.

Sitting beside him, he starts making small talk and eventually asks what you are doing directly after this. Looking towards Laswell she shrugs and reminds you of the team-building you promised to do before calling you to the starting line. Gaz makes a quick note for you to continue your conversation later as he shouts you a good luck as you make your way away. He sits up from the bench and moves to stand beside Simon and the others in line to the side.

Nearing the starting line, you notice a series of vertical obstacles ranging from a rope climb, an outstanding rock wall and a fence hop. Leaning your body to the side, you look further down to see a tire you will need to push alongside a series of pylons lining a large section of the tarmac. A long run, how great after all of that.

Shaking your head of the negativity, you closed your eyes and evened your breathing before sending Laswell a nod of your head, ready to tackle this course to the best of your ability. The sound of a shout coming from the Station Chief has your body moving faster than your mind as you hoist yourself up the rope and jump down to the other side.

Your body wavers slightly upon impact yet as soon as your knees steady once more you are running up the rock wall to boost yourself up, skipping half of it as you hear Gaz praising your technique while waiting running to wait for you on the other side. Using your feet and hands, you slip slightly from the lack of gloves or chalk before running down the ramp on the other side. Next you are sprinting over to hop over three sizes of fences as Soap claps loudly at the end telling you how many obstacles you have left.

Smiling to yourself in a layer of sweat, you side-hop the last small fence before whipping your forehead with the backside of your arm and collapse yourself to the floor in low crawl under the wire frames above. The mud finds its way into your boots and underneath your fingernails as you sigh happily at its cool texture on your skin.

Nearing the end you look ahead of yourself to see the long awaited large tire sitting flush against the ground. Picking yourself up to stand and shaking your hands violently while running over, you heave it up with a large grunt and push it to fall. Completing these repetitive actions tenfold before showing the tire over the designated cones. The long awaited run now awaited you as Price praised you with a large smile, yours matching his own as your feet began to pick up pace once more, now desperately trying to reach the end of the course in time.

The soon becomes in view as you see Laswell standing there, stopwatch in hand as Gabby appears beside her, jumping enthusiastically and pointing at your approaching frame. This momentarily distracts you from the pain you are feeling throughout your body as it takes everything in you to run the last quarter mile.

Yet as you near, the shouting of all your awaiting squad members, the sound of your blood pumping through your ears and your laboured breaths has you faltering slightly as your world spins and the finish line is closer than ever before.

Memories cloud over your senses as you can feel the sweat dripping off your neck and down your back. The feeling of cold metal combing itself against your skin has you shivering in your overheated state as your stomach begins to turn itself outwards.

You don’t notice yourself running across the finish line and slightly pass before a pair of arms wrap themselves around your frame and hold you steady as they shake your shoulders in an effort to make you become present.

You can feel a distant hand running circles on to your lower back as they brush the hair out of your eyes and behind your ears before resting their hand against your forehead, checking your temperature while making a hand motion in the other as the sounds of multiple boots rushing over have you swaying in their hold and holding your stomach as you kneel over. Knees falling to the pavement as you collapse on to your side. Eyes blurry as you see the rough contours of faces shaking your legs and holding your chin before they push you into recovery position as you throw up your guts on to someone's boots.

Apologising subconsciously in a gravel filled tone. The sounds of cries over power your being as you shrink into yourself, tears falling. But soon enough you feel laying down beside you as they tug you over and point to the clouds in the sky while you rub your eyes. The multiple pairs of eyes on you have fallen significantly as you take in a large breath and whip your eyes and cheeks with the back of your hand.

Looking over to your left you see Gabby staring at you smiling, remenist to what you would do as kids in your backyard, making stories out of all the clouds above and promises of your futures together. How times have changed as the pavement burned itself against the back of your head that still felt a bit fuzzy and your hands shook slightly against your sides.

As Gabby directs you to copy her breathing and calls for your bag to be brought over while searching for your medication side, she asks softly if you remember to take some yesterday. Eyes going wide you shake your head and groan to yourself while placing the back side of your hand to rest against your forehead, shielding your eyes from the sun beginning to poke its way through the clouds.

Doing your best to hoist yourself to a sitting position, your frame wobbles slightly as Gabby rapidly turns her body around and her face turns into horror. Her hands are filled as she watches you sway and almost crash your head against the tarmac once more yet thankfully an arm had you hoisted up against their side as they joined you on the floor.

Smiling over to Gaz thankfully he rubbed your shoulder and Gabby kneeled down to hand you a cup of water and a few pills. Looking at them in your hand, shuffling them slightly in your palm you threw them into your mouth, tipping your head back consciously as the water made its way down your system.

Gaz then handed you a pack of crackers that were obviously from an MRE. You winched in reaction that had Gaz giggling at your face before it fell when Fish just about punched him to remove it. Shaking your head slightly at the two and telling Gaz you know he meant nothing poor of it, you begin to take small bites out of the cracker while looking around to find where everyone else went.

As you stare down the field, you see Laswell and Price in a heated argument as the boys stand to his side, a few grand hand gestures are made as Soap flings his arms around wildly, almost hitting Ghost in the face that has him holding his limbs still so the Captain can focus.

Looking towards Gaz once more you ask simply, “Hey Gaz…” He hums to you in reply while his focus is on making sure that you continue to eat, “...Shouldn’t you be down there listening to what Laswell and Price have to say?”

“I think something more important came up that held my attention”

As you move to apologise, Gaz holds his other hand up slightly as you pause your next words. His eyes crinkle slightly as he stares eye level into your own, your mouth opens slightly at the sight of his smile so close to your face, yet you shake your head blaming it on all the anxiety still coursing its way through your system.

“Sometimes all we need is to sit down with someone so that the world can figure itself out.”

You humm in reply as clears her throat softly as you both jerk your bodies in reaction, forgetting her presence in front of you. She shakes her head and chuckles lightly at both of your reactions before saying, “what about some words of wisdom for yours truly, Garrick?” While fluttering her eyelashes.

Rolling your eyes you can’t help but chuckle at your best friends seemingly never ending sass as you ask, “Garrick?” While tilting your head to the side, staring at Gaz’s profile as he simply explains that it's his last name and you nod to this newfound information.

“My full name is actually Kyle “Gaz” Garrick”

“Kyle Garrick” You test the name out upon your lips as he gives you once of his famous smiles once more while squeezing your shoulder.

“My name sounds a whole lot better while coming out from between your lips”

Gasping at his comment, you blush widely in response while holding your cheeks with the palms of your hand in an effort to hide your growing embarrassment. Groaning while leaning forward, your head falls into Gabbys lap as she laughs once more at you while combing her fingers through your hair as Gaz slides his hand to rest against your back.

Mumbling in Gabbys secure hold about his touch not helping your state. You hear a loud laugh as he reacts with his hand apologising. The lack of his touch as you question the equally relieved and disappointed emotions flashes across your brain. Yet this bubble of a moment would soon be broken as the rest of the team returned around you.

Everyone eventually sat down on the pavement that had you mentally giggling to yourself, the ghost of a smile makes its way across your features as you notice the formation you all have made is reminiscent of the duck, duck, goose game.

Soap soon leans over to whisper in your ear, “tag, you’re it” while poking your shoulder jokingly. Wincing in an exaggerated manner has Soap quickly asking if you alright as you smile kindly in response, “I’m feeling a lot better now, thank you Soap”

He nods back in response before shifting his focus to Gaz, eyeing how close he is sitting against you now all the more obvious as Gabby moved herself to sit between Laswell and Ghost. Yet making no comments on his observations that has relief spreading across your skin. You did not need anymore teasing.

Looking back around the circle yourself, you notice as the Captain does a quick look over of you before nodding his head in approval and turning his attention towards Laswell who appears to be choosing their next words carefully as you feel Ghosts gaze settling hot against your profile.

Tilting your head slightly, you notice how he plays with his gloves and how soft his eyes appear behind the mask as if asking you a simple question to your state. Offering a small smile and nod in recognition you watch out of the corner of your eye as his fidgeting stops and he too eyes Laswells next words.

Clearing her throat, her eyes make their way around the circle and stop at you, “you have done well today Y/L/N, flying colours for the obstacle course and impressive return I must add. Yet after today…” Her sentence drifts off as she lacks the words necessary to continue, looking over to Price for help.

The Captain holds your eyes softly in his own as he finishes for Laswell, “from discussions earlier and your best interests in mind, Laswell and the team have decided that we won’t be putting you on attack for now.” A large sigh escapes your mouth as you feel conflicted on how to feel about not fully coming back.

Price continues, “until then you come with us on missions to gather intelligence for Fish under our watch.”

“I understand sir” you respond back, doing the best to hide your emotion in your voice as you see Soap shift himself closer to your side in noticing your slight change in tone. Your eyes are still being held by the captains as you see his eyes wince slightly at your response before his face returns to its professional state.

Slapping his hands against his knees with a throat clearing he stands up from the sitting circle and dismisses the meeting, turning around and walking his way back inside the main building. Laswell follows suit, dragging Gabby alongside her while they both compare paper-workloads.

Gabby turns around mouthing an apology for leaving so soon as you look back and see Ghost is now a bit further away with Soap as they appear to be chatting seriously over something together before Ghost locks him into a headlock. Shaking your lead and looking away all you hear are the sounds of them scraping one another in the background as you find Kyle waiting to ask you something.

“Do you want me to come over tonight?” Kyle questions softly while tilting his head, awaiting your response.

“To come over?”

“Oh ah-apologies, I meant to move your things temporarily on base”

“Oh,” You laugh lightly while shaking your head of the drifting thoughts you were having, “...yeah some help would be great Kyle! Thank you so much for the offer once more.”

“It's really nothing Y/N.”

“Still…”

“Well, how about after you treat me to some coffee together the day after?”

“I like the sound of that,” You say while doing your best to hide the ever growing smile spreading its way across your rosy cheeks as you notice Gaz smiling back at your adorable self.

“Why do you get to call Gaz by their first name and not me?! I thought I was your favorite based upon yesterday, what has this British man done to your head beauty?” Soap cries out while quickly walking back over to you as Ghost is nowhere to be seen.

Your head throws back in laughter as your shoulders rise and fall in swift motions. Gaz shakes his head at his squad member, shoving his shoulder lightly from around your frame with the hint of a smile tugging at the ends of his lips. While Soap remains completely serious in the matter, grabbing your shoulders lightly to make sure you are facing him when you respond.

“Okay then Soap…” Your voice deepens teasingly at the mention of his callsign “...so what would you like me to call you?”

You watch as his eyebrows raise and a smirk slides its way across his features that has you already groaning, predicting what he is going to say as you can hear Kyle laughing behind you at the interaction.

“Mhmm, well there are a number of things I would love you to call me…” You roll your eyes at this comment, “...Yet for now let's stick to Johnny.”

“Johnny?”

“You got it, Johnny.”

“Can’t promise I can say it with a scottish accent like you do”

“Humor me”

“Please don’t make me.”

“Just once, c'mon, promise not to record this one…”

“This one!”

“Oh shit.”

“Oh shit is right, Johnny” You respond in a horrible Scottish accent that has Soap reeling with laughter as he grips your shoulder and pulls you into a hug as Gaz laughs harder in the background. The flash of a camera can be heard as you call pause to face the sound to see Ghost pocketing his phone inside his black hoodie.

╰┈➤ A/N: so... what did you guys think? Have a favorite member so far? Thank you serious for reading all of this lol.

Lasting Pictures Series Masterlist

399 notes · View notes

hvlplvss · 6 months

Text

| LIGHT SHOWER

colby brock x singer!reader

summary: in which, colby brock is watching the opening show of his girlfriends tour, PORTALS, and he comes to realise a song is dedicated purely to him.

warnings: pure fluff. that’s all i have to say at this point. small mention of previous bad relationships

authors note: inspired by the song LIGHT SHOWER by melanie martinez. ur baso melanie martinez in this lmao. absolutely love her so i had to. but please just search on tiktok or smth ‘melanie martinez portals’ so you have an idea!!!

y/n has released her fourth album ever this year. PORTALS. something completely different from the rest of her albums.

a new era, most would call it. after creating the K-12 film, it took deep consideration and thought of the next steps in her career. which is when she came up with the idea of the fairy/nymph creature her music persona would become.

exploring this route, changed her entire aesthetic and when she disappeared off of social media for ages people began to speculate.

she’d even stopped appearing in her boyfriends youtube videos. y/n use to frequently take part in sam and colby’s ghost hunting videos, but after finishing her K-12 tour, she disappeared.

there was rare occurrences where colby would post her on instagram, only because y/n had agreed. but other than that, no one knew what was going on.

but here she was now with her fairy outfit on. the mask with four eyes, and the big fairy ears that stopped near her neck. the wig and the costume which were all purely based on the aesthetic of the album.

denver, colorado. the first show of the PORTALS tour. no one knew what to expect.

even colby didn’t know what to expect. he wasn’t even allowed to listen to the songs yet. y/n wanted to surprise him with all the music when he first watched the tour.

so he had no clue what to expect either. but to say he was excited was an understatement.

the boy was in awe of what his girlfriend had created. her imagination being the biggest ever. and no one seemed to be able to surpass her alternative, yet insanely creative ways.

sam and colby had agreed on taking a small break, while y/n made this huge leap. sam would of course go to the first concert with colby, accompanying his best friend, and supporting his other close friend.

the boys had brought a camcorder, so they could capture little things from y/n’s show on a cute little vhs film, which colby knew y/n would adore. and he was right.

colby and y/n walked slightly in front of sam backstage, holding hands, while sam secretly recorded the couple on the vhs.

the two swung their hands back and forth, colby being careful of the gloves which y/n wore to add to the look.

“it’s crazy, y’know?” colby said.

y/n looked up at him, “what’d you mean?”

“just, you. like i remember watching you at the last shows of crybaby and now you’re here. and i get to experience all of this with you. i just feel so lucky to have someone as smart and creative as you,” he explained.

y/n smiled, squeezing colby’s hand as they approached the wings of the stage, “you gonna go stand in front of the barricade?” y/n asked. colby nodded, “try to not to get taken down by crazy people,” y/n joked.

colby laughed, looking down at his girlfriend. “i am so so lucky,” he repeated. he gently pressed a kiss to her hair, careful of the mask, which was hand-painted to perfection. “i love you y/n, truly,”

y/n smiled, “i love you colby,” she was handed her microphone, as he began walking away, sending her a little cute wave as he disappeared.

now this song just meant even more for her to be able to perform.

sam had stuck in the wings, while colby had disappeared in front of the stage, waving at the few fans who managed to secure spaces at barricade. he held the camcorder in one hand, getting ready to record the first snippet as soon as he could.

“hello earthlings. it’s me, crybaby. i know you can’t see me. but i’m still here. wanna know a secret? there’s still a piece of me trying to become an angel. look into the light and repeat after me. our energy can’t be destroyed, we find our light within the void. we’ve been here before, we can do it again. the evolution will never end. we are protected, we are immortal. and tonight, we step into the portal,”

a note began and y/n stepped onto stage in her fairy form. “death is life, is death, is life, is death, is life, is,” drum beats.

colby picked up the camcorder as his girlfriend stepped forward, closer to the edge of the stage.

he looked in awe of the girl, taking in every little bit about her and how far she had come. the people she was able to bring together.

she was nearing the end of the fourth song on the album, ‘faerie soiree’. quite an upbeat song, which then faded into a slow ending, so far colby’s favourite song out the four he had heard.

watching his girlfriend dance across the stage, feeling her music so dearly. as the song ended, y/n’s four dancers walked off of the stage, leaving her alone.

new music started, the intro beginning to play. the girl walked forward to the edge of the stage, going down to her knees, sitting on her feet.

she sat in the centre of the stage, reaching out for colby’s hand, who gladly held on. y/n moved the microphone updward towards her lips. she looked at the boy in front of her.

“you are the light I've been searchin' for forever. feels like, man, i’ve really never felt the rain. buried in the desert, didn't think i’d push through the dirt. you just cleansed me like a waterfall, you came”

colby had then realised, there was a song written for him. y/n never fully wrote songs for someone. she always wrote them based on a broader subject.

however colby, didn’t want to jump to conclusions immediately, so he just continued to stare directly at his girlfriend, who didn’t take her eyes off of him.

“i’m screamin' like a kettle on a stove. you cranked the heat up, i was cold. my past grew mold around my heart. and all my anger, sadness, regret disappeared. it’s madness, i’m not used to all this water, love, it's true,”

this was what confirmed it for colby. as cocky as it sounds. y/n was singing for him. she was singing to him and only him.

he knew all about her past and how she was treated previously. and he’d promised to give her everything he could, treat her with the upmost respect and love. and that’s what he did.

“but you made me want to. plan out my last days on earth, eating you. ooh-ooh-ooh. the tips of your teeth fit perfect in me. you’re a shower of light i’d devour, anyday of the week. baby, cleanse me,”

the song had finished, and if colby was lying, he’d say he didn’t cry. but that boy had tears in his eyes and people who were standing off to the side behind him, could tell.

y/n let go off his hand, blew a kiss and ran off stage, preparing for her next song. colby wiped his left eye, to stop the tear that was so close to running down his face.

as the dancers came back on, dancing while y/n prepared to come on for her next song, colby picked up the camcorder and pretend like he didn’t just fall further in love with the girl.

colby assumed it was nearing the end of the show, as y/n was now finishing her 15th song, so he left from the barricade and walked back to the wings of the stage, meeting sam, who stood with his phone out, recording her from the sides.

sam noticed colby’s oncoming presence, “you alright there, colby?” sam asked, putting his phone down and turning to his friend.

“yeah, just you know, taking everything in,” he nodded.

“saw you shed a couple of tears down there, bro,” sam patted colby on the back, but he shoved his arm off.

“shut up,” he said in embarrassment.

sam rolled his eyes, “it’s fine colby. when y/n came off stage, she was crying. not in a bad way or anything. i think she just can’t believe everything, and having you here after everything she went through,” sam explained.

colby smiled slightly, looking down to the ground, “i really love her you know,” colby spoke, his eyes darting to the stage watching y/n finish her final song.

“and she loves you, so much,” sam replied, “she called you her light shower or whatever,”

#colby brock #colby brock imagine #colby brock smut #colby brock x reader #sam and colby #sam golbach x reader #smut #sam and colby smut #melanie martinez #portals #crybaby #k 12 #singer #Spotify

509 notes · View notes

rntoshi · 1 year

Text

— isagi yoichi (n): the unintentional fuck boy.

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏/ • yoichi is pro, all characters are adults.

no one would ever think to associate the term “fuck boy” to the heart of gold that is isagi yoichi. the blue eyed ravenette comes across as such a sweetheart when people first meet him. a bit hardheaded if you really know him, but a sweetheart, nonetheless. there's so much passion and drive behind his eyes that it's charming— alluring to the hopeless romantic type for the fact that they like to daydream about what could be. anyone could get lost in a fantasy about being swept off their feet by a pretty face like isagi, he makes it effortless really. golden retriever energy is what you would call it. it's why he's so popular with women, he comes across as this boy next door who’s so willing to do anything to achieve a goal he has set in his heart. that's the image he's painted for himself in the public eye, and not that it's inaccurate: it just simply doesn't translate well into his love life.

one of his issues is... isagi doesn't realize just how attractive he is. as it's been said before, he's himbo adjacent. the attention he gets... he sums it up as getting “lucky.” his friendliness can be perceived as flirting, even more so that he doesn't take into account that he's one of the hottest players in the blue lock program. his gorgeous face and his athletic but lean physique make him physically attractive but it's also the mannerisms he possesses as well. little things like being the type to place a gentle hand on the small of your back if he's trying to walk past you in a crowded area. a polite “excuse me, I'm sorry.” leave his lips and the prettiest smile when you two make eye contact lingers just a second too long. or the crease between his brows when he's frustrated or tired— running both hands through his hair which exposes his forehead. it.

he never intends to, but he can't help but to well... get cold feet after the climax of one of his newfound “flings.” once the initial excitement has passed, it's not as appealing for him anymore but there's a reason for this. it's his post nut clarity that gets him every time. that immediate clear mindedness or soberness a guy gains after blowing his load. lying in bed with a girl as she talks about their future— the pillow talk goes well until the plans she proposes clash with his career. isagi has a tendency to equate entertaining the thought of a relationship as him putting priority towards just that, and not his real passion. it's just that isagi is at a point in his career where... nothing will ever amount to how important his job is to him. he's dedicated so much time and effort to get to the point where he is now. its time consuming and mind plaguing, it's the long-lasting effects that blue lock has had on him throughout the years. it's built an insane work ethic and need to crave more. nothing can or will get in the way of him and his vision. it's a curse all athletes have and unfortunately isagi yoichi, our sweet mc, is not an exception. it probably affects him the worse, really.

these girls he gets involved with always seem to have a trend of leaving feminine items in his gym bag. thongs, bras, hair scrunchies and even jewelry in hopes of isagi returning them. some girls do it for his attention and others do it because they want to plant this seed that isagi is “seeing” them. the paparazzi can catch anything and will often seek for certain shots if they're tipped off.

it's kind of funny because out of everyone, raichi is the one who discovers isagi is a bit of a whore. it's a regular day at practice when all the boys were in the locker room getting themselves situated before hitting the field. isagi is sitting on the bench when he pulls out his cleats, and in the process a hot pink thong falls on the floor beside raichi's feet where he foot only a couple feet away. of course, blondie gives isagi a hard time about it.

“tch, you still seein' that one brunette, huh? she your girl yet?” raichi picks up the pair of panties, leaning against the locker with a smug smile twirling the skimpy garment around his pointer finger before sling shotting it back to isagi.

“hah.. no.” isagi lets out a small, breathy chuckle as he catches the underwear. he's a little embarrassed but it's nothing he's not used to. “i met someone else. she's a sweet girl though.”

“the hell are you talkin' about? you were just screwing this other chick last monday.” raichi raises a brow as he straightens his posture, only now realizing why isagi never said a specific name. it's because they were all different girls. ha, that's rich.

“ah.. well yeah.” isagi gives a shy smile, scratching the back of his neck before he shoves the panties back into his bag, in a smaller and more discreet pocket. raichi only shakes his head before turning around back to his locker.

“it's always the humble ones.” raichi mumbles to himself.

yoichi finds himself puzzled at how often these kinds of things end up in his possession at the most inconvenient times but he never thinks too deeply about it. his indifference to the situation makes them want to chase him even harder. do even more outlandish things to get his attention when his tunnel vision is impossible to break.

he routinely goes to the gym after these one-night stands. it’s like a detox but for his mind, cleansing it of all the diluted thoughts that fogged his vision. it's almost like his own form of meditation.

there’s something so hot about isagi working out after a hookup. it's the post sex glow he has, the thin layer of sweat on his body, the determined look in his eye as he pushes himself past his usual limits. his cock is semi hard in his sweats from his endorphins, creating a prominent print under the gym's harsh lighting. he feels like a brand-new man after. refreshed and ready for the next fight on the field.

isagi is sweet! he really is! he doesn't like making girls cry. but he can't help that he's awful at texting back or returning calls. yoichi just forgets, getting too caught up in practice, games and press conferences.

it's not all isagi's fault though, because he is such sweetheart and can come across as a little manipulative, women often think they can take advantage of securing a marriage with a professional athlete. most are in for a rude awakening when their plans fall short while others simply pick up on the behavior and more onto the next team with the next player.

it won't be like this forever though. i believe this version of isagi is the kind of guy to realize he's fallen in love with his childhood best friend. isagi is known to be extremely loyal so any relationships that have already been established are taken quite seriously by him. you were that sweet girl who lived next door to him for years. you always had cute band aids for when he scraped his knees and yummy snack to share after school. you weren't very athletic, but you always cheered for him even during his loses. you were also one of his biggest support systems when he was going through the blue lock programs. you've always been an anchor in his life and it's something he doesn't realize until you two lose contact for a couple years.

it's funny how things work out too because it just so happens that you two visit home around the same time. when he sees you in your mother's flower garden you had only gotten prettier. you're wearing a flowy sundress and a sunhat; he thinks it's so cute— refreshing to see in contrast to the girls that usually approach him. there's a moment where you finally lock eyes with him, and it makes his tummy drop.

and he realizes he's in love.

2K notes · View notes

vibingvoices · 2 months

Text

A speech made at the Academy Awards by Jonathan Glazer, along with the subsequent reactions, sheds light on how people tend to distort others' words to portray themselves as victims and, more concerning, their willingness to reside in a dystopian bubble as long as it doesn't affect them directly.

Rather than idolising Hollywood, I've previously posted about the complexities of my evolving parasocial relationships. But to disregard the influence wielded by these elites would be naive. It's frustrating to witness those in power facing backlash when they attempt to bring attention to pertinent issues.

While the Oscars' prominence in Western pop culture is waning, the ceremony and the fervour surrounding the nominees and winners, especially in the major acting categories, still hold significant sway in film culture and the broader world.

So when such a speech is delivered at the Oscars, it's bound to garner attention:

All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present — not to say, “Look what they did then,” rather, “Look what we do now.” Our film shows where dehumanization leads, at its worst. It shaped all of our past and present. Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation, which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October the — [Applause.] Whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist? [Applause.] Aleksandra Bystroń-Kołodziejczyk, the girl who glows in the film, as she did in life, chose to. I dedicate this to her memory and her resistance. Thank you.

Glazer highlighted in his speech that victims of the ongoing situation and the last 75 years, whether Palestinian and Israeli, all stem from the occupation and are casualties of entrenched ideologies like Zionism. But when he said this on stage and was immediately misquoted online on social media and by reputable news sources, alleging that he simply renounced his Jewish identity.

He also faced considerable backlash from those indicating a persistent conflation of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. It really parallels previous speeches of resistance at the Oscars. Boos rang loud and clear during Michael Moore's opposition to the Iraq war (which we know was a colossal failure by Geroge Bush and the US Government who perpetuated and pardoned multiple war crimes in the region after lying to their own people about evidence of weapons of mass destruction).

youtube

There was also Sacheen Littlefeather's advocacy for Native American representation and the direct of attention to the Wounded Knee Occupation, a speech that had bodyguards having to restrain people from getting on the stage and attacking her.

youtube

And, of course, Vanessa Redgrave's aim at “a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums whose behaviour is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world and to their great and heroic record of struggle against fascism and oppression”, which still feels relevant today.

youtube

Turning to Glazer's film, I am baffled at those who vehemently objected to it: Did they actually watch it? Because if they had any negative feelings towards Glazer's speech, especially after watching his film, it suggests, to me, a deficiency in critical thinking.

Glazer's film portrays a chilling atmosphere where genocide becomes normalised, echoing real-world situations like the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The film serves as a stark reminder of humanity's ability to coexist with atrocities, often turning a blind eye for the sake of comfort.

The horrors adjacent to the characters' lives evoke contemporary parallels, particularly in regions like Gaza. With over five months of relentless violence, Israel's defiance of international court orders, and Western governments passively reprimanding while fueling the conflict with arms shipments, the spectre of genocide looms ominously. It risks becoming a mundane backdrop to daily existence. It is a stark portrayal of how affluent lifestyles can be linked to neighbouring atrocities, challenging the notion of denial and complicity.

The film doesn't centre around the Holocaust (Glazer's own words), with its specific historical context. Instead, it delves into a more universal theme: humanity's ability to coexist with atrocities and even derive some form of reconciliation or gain from them. The discomforting reflections are on purpose. It prompts us to acknowledge that the threat of annihilation of any people is always closer than we might imagine.

One of the most poignant moments in the film occurs when a package filled with clothing and lingerie pilfered from the prisoners of the camp arrives at the Höss household. The commandant's wife decides that everyone, including the servants, can select one item. She claims a coat for herself and trys on makeup discovered in one of its pockets.

How can the people who are so staunch against Glazer not draw parallels with Israeli soldiers who have recorded themselves rummaging through the lingerie of Palestinian women and slut shaming them? (Why are Israeli soldiers obsessed with Gaza women's underwear?) Or proudly displaying stolen shoes and jewellery for their partners back home (Israeli soldier loots Palestinian homes for his engagement party). Or celebrating International Women's Day with a photo of women soldiers posing for selfies against the backdrop of destruction (How an AP photographer made this image of Israeli soldiers taking a selfie at the Gaza border).

The film is rife with these parallels that it feels like a documentary. It is a grim reality: the potential emergence of the first live-streamed genocide, captured by its very architects.

Gaza doesn't mirror the systematic mass murder machinery of Auschwitz, nor does it approach the scale of Nazi atrocities. However, the entire purpose behind establishing the postwar framework of international humanitarian law was to equip us with the means to collectively recognise practices before history repeats itself on a large scale. And disturbingly, some of these practices – such as the construction of walls, creation of ghettos, mass killings, openly stated intentions of elimination, widespread starvation, plundering, gleeful dehumanisation, and deliberate humiliation – are recurring. And have been long before October 7th.

How do we disrupt the cycle of trivialisation and normalisation? What actions can we take? There are persistent protests and acts of civil disobedience to "uncommitted" votes, disrupting events, organising aid convoys, fundraising for refugees, and creating radical works of art.

And as genocide fades further into the background of our culture, some people grow too desperate for any of these efforts. I am certainly one of them.

Yet, these efforts seem insufficient, particularly when those in positions of power remain indifferent. It's insufficient when I watch a video of a little girl saying that the violence has made her feel less beautiful before she talks about her father being kidnapped by Israeli soldiers or of the orphans visiting their mother's burial spot in the street. It is insufficient when the death toll rises to exceed the daily death toll of any other major conflict of the 21st century.

Perhaps it's unfair of me to prioritise one tragedy over another, given the multitude of suffering in the world – the ones that are in the news cycle and the ones that are not. Yet, my connection to Palestine and its plight feels as personal as it can be without me actually being Palestinian, fostered from childhood teachings and further enriched through my own research. I have loved ones directly impacted by this conflict: friends in the diaspora grappling with survivor's guilt, friends in the West Bank enduring the daily hardships of occupation. And my friends in Gaza are all either dead, dying or being pushed straight into the arms of death.

The realisation that my efforts to help them are insufficient fills me with frustration. I'm angered by the indifference of those in power and by the hostility encountered by those attempting to bring the truth to the forefront.

#palestine #free palestine #gaza #anti zionisim #academy awards #oscars #jonathan glazer #the zone of interest #geopolitics #politics #i hate doing tags #Youtube

168 notes · View notes

darkcircles4lyfe · 4 months

Text

Behind the locked door

In honor of Izuku’s mask disintegrating into rubble, I think it’s finally time for me to really dig deep into his character. I’ve been keeping this one in my back pocket for a while. Amid all the talk about Izuku’s fading narration, the “control your heart” subplot, I’ve been trying to find the words to articulate how I know exactly where this is going, at least on a certain level. Most recently, I read this meta from pika who brings up how the word “control” alone can be misconstrued (by us). And then I thought about how a while back I made a similar point, although I said Izuku was the one who got it wrong. At that time, I was holding back a huge piece of evidence because it was external to the story and I wasn’t sure it would be received well. As a result, my argument fell a little flat. Well, now—after 411, right before leaks for 412—it might be my last chance to play this card.

So about that external evidence. I struggle to bring it up because it’s gonna sound an awful lot like I’m projecting onto Izuku if I don’t do it justice. But… I look at the way his storyline has been going lately and I see a pattern emerging that I’m very familiar with. Fortunately, I don’t have to dump a bunch of personal junk on you in order to illustrate this pattern, because a certain personality typing system already has it all figured out: the Enneagram.

Now, hang on. I’m not one to put people in boxes. My trans ass? I managed to get a different result every time I retook the P0ttermore quiz. MBTI, zodiacs—not my thing. But the Enneagram comes the closest I’ve ever seen to covering all the bases and revealing actually meaningful insight, at least for myself. On top of that, I find it extremely useful for fleshing out fictional characters, hence this post will be taking advantage of that.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, here’s a quick overview: The Enneagram consists of 9 individual personality types, each arranged carefully in a sequential, circular manner. They are also simply named 1 through 9. While this might seem kinda basic, there is actually a surprising amount of nuance and fluidity involved. Typing is done largely through personal introspection (you don’t really have to take a test). Adjacent numbers share some core themes with each other, and according to a web of arrows between them, one type can take on either positive or negative traits associated with other types depending on how emotionally ‘healthy’ they are, causing a lengthy spectrum of different ways each type can manifest. That part gets kinda complicated to explain here, so for more info, the Enneagram Institute website is a decent place to start. I also highly recommend the Enneagram album by Sleeping At Last (and if you really want to dedicate some time, the accompanying podcast) to really get inside the heads of the types on a deeper level.

My interest in applying the Enneagram to Izuku comes from observing how differently one can interpret his character based on whether you read him as a 2 or a 9. And even though no one uses this language to talk about him, the distinction accounts for a bunch of different rifts in the fandom: whether you appreciate bkdk’s relationship, whether you can acknowledge Izuku’s flaws and weaknesses, the severity of his vigilante/rogue phase, and most importantly the gravity of his concealed heart, his rage, and what it all means—what he needs in order to grow and triumph.

Discussion of Enneagram types in the fandom is pretty scarce, but where it exists, I have only seen him labeled as a 2. Type 9 and type 2 can be similar at a glance in a lot of ways (actually, 9s can be mistaken for any type because they are like all of them combined). It’s easy to see Izuku as a 2 because he is the helping hero archetype. He puts others’ needs above his own and he is always ready and eager to help. If you listen to Sleeping At Last’s song for 2, you’ll notice that it’s all about care and noble sacrifice with the underlying theme of neglecting or even harming oneself: “I just want to build you up, until your good as new, and maybe one day I will get around to fixing myself too.” Sounds pretty obvious, right? Well, here’s the thing. You really get to know what your type is by how it hits you where it hurts, so I like to focus on each type’s basic fear and basic desire, first and foremost, as a tell. A 2′s basic fear is of being worthless and unloved. Consequently, their most basic desire is to be loved. And 2s have been taught through their negative experiences that love is conditional, something they have to earn from others. They need to be needed. So let’s say you think Izuku is a 2. This means you consider his heroic, self-sacrificing tendencies to be a result of his growing up quirkless and being told he is worthless and powerless because of it. Through this lens, he is trying to prove himself to the world by being useful. Along these lines, you may also assume he is trying to prove himself to Katsuki. Taking this train of thought even further, you may interpret Izuku’s relationship with Katsuki as an obsession of his, where he is either blind to Katsuki’s more negative traits in favor of gaining his love and praise, or else bitterly determined to prove him wrong. This is how a 2 might behave in an unhealthy relationship with an 8, which, yes, I do think Katsuki is an 8. That’s a tangent for another time, though.

But does Izuku ever “need to be needed?” It’s worth noting that while 2s’ search for validation might seem insincere, it is actually motivated by a deep, heartbreaking insecurity. They think they don’t even deserve love unless they are useful to someone, so they do everything they can to be worthy. Does Izuku show signs of this motivation?

If I stop to think about it, I can’t exactly see this in Izuku’s character. Yeah, his dream is to be a hero, and in his childhood, he was denied that dream. However I think we need to take a step back from that for a second if we want to dig deep. I mean, a lot of the other characters also behave heroically, act selflessly, and strive to help. Does that mean all of them are 2s as well? Of course not. So let’s instead turn to observe how Izuku acts with his loved ones, friends, and peers in other/adjacent contexts:

Inko: He is committed to protecting his mother from fearing for his safety. He wants to be good enough to not cause her to worry, rather than good enough to make her proud or make her love him. Idk about his father but at this point I think it’s safe to assume he is deeply unimportant.

All Might: I would describe their relationship as one of mutual responsibility. Izuku feels a responsibility to uphold All Might’s legacy, All Might feels a responsibility to teach him well. Because of this mutuality, I don’t think it quite makes sense to say Izuku deliberately seeks approval for its own sake. You know what I mean? They may be a mentor and a pupil but in practice they are almost more like co-conspirators. They don’t really have a power dynamic going on.

Shouto, Tenya, other friends: Izuku seems to take an interest in what makes his friends tick, and he sets himself aside in order to both analytically and intuitively determine what’s wrong and how to solve it. Examples include his fight against Shouto in the sports festival, and his stubborn concern for Tenya’s reaction to his brother’s forced retirement. He will put himself in the line of fire specifically when confronted with another person’s inner demons. This is not a labor that is asked of professional heroes, it’s just who Izuku is. You can also extend this observation to how he sees through Tomura to Tenko, but I’ll get to that later. Basically, while 2s seek to help in all kinds of ways, a 9’s strategy is always centered on the realm of the mind.

Kota: Adjacent to the paragraph above, before Izuku literally gets into a position where he needs to save Kota, he becomes interested in the boy’s point of view out of genuine curiosity. He doesn’t go “oh no, this kid doesn’t like heroes, I better get him to like heroes.” Instead he seeks out information as to why he thinks that way, and patiently listens. He’s sorry about what happened to Kota, and he understands. Twice (ch 71 and 72), he recognizes the fact that everyone has their own point of view on quirks, and he can’t really do anything about that.

Mirio: This might be one of the most telling examples. Mirio is the platonic ideal of an All Might successor. He’s “perfect.” He even looks the part. While this initially makes Izuku uncomfortable, he doesn’t become insecure and defensive over it. On the contrary, he easily comes to the conclusion that actually, Mirio should have One for All. Just like that (ch 172). If Mirio hadn’t dismissed the “hypothetical,” he probably would have gone through with giving it to him. That’s not how a 2 would respond. A 2 would double down and aim to be better than Mirio by trying to establish some relationship of need, fueled by the insecurity. Their shared subplot with Eri would have looked pretty different, I think.

Katsuki: I’ve mentioned before that I believe their rivalry only exists because Katsuki put it there. First of all, we can see that after the sludge villain incident, Izuku weirdly takes Katsuki’s dismissal of Izuku’s help as practical advice. Like, “oh yeah, I guess what I did was pretty stupid and dangerous, and I’m not cut out for this hero stuff. Now I can move on and find a realistic career.” Hello?? He accepted that so easily. So Izuku clearly isn’t motivated by a desire to prove himself to Katsuki. Even when he proclaims he’s going to surpass him, it’s like he’s happily mimicking Katsuki, not reacting based on insecurity or pride. Izuku is content to meet Katsuki wherever he is, and he’s satisfied with whatever kind of relationship they are able to have, including a rivalry, so he isn’t vying for his affection either. We can observe this when he gives up the role of reaching out a hand to save Katsuki to Kirishima, and also when he thinks about how “blessed” he is to even have a normal conversation with Katsuki. He doesn’t push things. It’s also stated in Deku vs. Kacchan 2 that Izuku doesn’t excuse or overlook Katsuki’s “bad side” but still admires him for his other traits. This is not at all characteristic of a toxic 2x8 relationship.

When 2s are at their very worst or pushed into unhealthy situations, they tend to become more needy and self-centered, even downright manipulative. But at Izuku’s worst, when he went rogue, he pushed everyone away to avoid being a burden. When the refugees at UA tried to prevent him from returning, he was like, “you’re right” and would have turned back immediately if not for his friends, loved ones, and other people who care about him telling him it was all okay. Meanwhile, Katsuki, in true 8 fashion, was pissed off at being rejected and having to deal with Izuku’s stubborn and evasive side (oh yeah, have I mentioned 9s are actually stubborn as hell?), but he made sure to establish that they are (he is) here to step in when Izuku can’t handle things by himself. Katsuki even opened up and admitted to his own weaknesses to show why mutual support is so important. Tbh, a lot of the above can be construed as just super healthy type 2 behavior, but not this. The way Izuku acts at his lowest, and his dynamic with Katsuki? Totally different. Dead giveaway for a 9.

Let’s get into the type 9 itself in more detail to show how it applies to Izuku more deeply—seriously, it’s beat for beat. One of the key differences is, while 2s seek validation, 9s are actually resigned to the belief that they aren’t important. Similar to 2s, a 9′s basic fear is of separation, but their basic desire is actually just peace or harmony rather than love. Notice how these motivations are just like a 2’s, except they have the “self” part taken out. With that in mind, they “achieve” their basic desire through selflessness in and of itself, without the need for recognition. That’s not to say that 9s are better than 2s. In fact, a 9 can be worse, in a way. If unhealthy, they will seek peace at almost any cost to themselves. In other words, they can be more self-destructive while still under the impression that they are doing just fine. “Peace” may refer to the expression of empathy, fulfilling the needs of others, sheltering someone, or mediating a fight—but also to repressing their own opinions and needs, not “rocking the boat,” ignoring negative emotions, or becoming a vessel for someone else to vent to.

What about inner peace? 9s value serenity, and thus they have a complicated relationship with the most tumultuous of emotions: anger. On the surface, 9s look like the type that is extremely slow to anger and highly tolerant. However, as much as they would like to believe this about themselves too, deep down, 9s are afraid of what might happen if they lose control. My phrase for it is this: I feel like a bottled tornado. Personally, I also think of anger as a basic desire to make others feel your pain—not necessarily sadistically, but in an effort to be known, to be understood. The difficult thing to grasp, especially for a 9, is that this is NOT inherently a bad thing. It isn’t wrong to seek sympathy. On the contrary, it is harmful to tell yourself that getting angry is wrong, because it’s like telling yourself that your pain is wrong, your pain doesn’t matter.

The problem is it doesn’t stop there. A 9, in shutting down their anger, ends up with such a low opinion of their own heart, their other emotions dull along with it. They cry less, laugh less, love less. It’s often said that they “fall asleep” to themselves. It all starts with anger. It’s interesting to note how different this whole mindset is from toxic masculinity—where men only feel allowed/able to express emotions through anger. This is sorta like the opposite. Anger becomes the dam rather than the river. For Izuku, I want us to consider that his suppression of anger carries with it the implication that he is hiding other things, too. It’s a given. There’s a whole sea of feelings out there, and we can only see the waves hitting the shore. This brings me to the whole “control your heart” thing. I do think it is worth mentioning that Banjou didn’t just tell Izuku to exercise control. He also told him that his anger could be useful if it is harnessed. With this added context, “control” here means “to master.” And Izuku seemed to grasp this concept… sorta. I think that if Izuku is like a 9, we can assume he has trouble understanding how anger could be a worthy source of strength. His emotions in relation to Katsuki feel more like a weakness to him, a character flaw in a hero, who is supposed to be detached and selfless. But he’s trying to understand, even though he’s afraid of it. He essentially applied the same strategy he used for mastering OFA itself: incremental strength training. Which, okay. Take a moment to absorb how odd that is, in relation to emotions, specifically. Does one learn to cry incrementally? Does one learn to use anger by bottling a fucking tornado?? Like, what, you think you’re gonna be able to let out juuust the right amount of air to avoid an explosion??? No, man… if you want to be the master of your emotions you have to be willing to sit with them. Confront them. Listen to them. Take them in completely and accept them as a part of yourself.

For someone like Izuku, though, it is very difficult to imagine how this is even possible. Tomura, as with every villain, can be used to reflect his hero counterpart’s greatest fear about himself. Tomura literally touches everyone and everything with his rage, and as a physical manifestation of that desire to pass his own pain onto others, destruction radiates from his fingertips. Thus, losing control in this manner must be Izuku’s worst nightmare, as if he would be completely unable to stop the collateral damage like an infinite line of dominoes. But his anger is not something he can overcome, as such.

An overarching theme in this heroes vs. villains conflict is that the villains are not merely obstacles to be overcome. Just think back to Himiko’s bitter rejection of the heroic sense of superiority. She demanded not to be pitied, condescended to, or lied to. Likewise, the answer cannot be that Izuku needs to restrain himself where Tomura doesn’t. What purpose would it serve to show that Izuku is better than him? Certainly not saving Tomura. If this was a battle against AFO, it might have been a different story. In that case, Izuku would have to overcome his emotional manipulation tactics. Tomura, on the other hand, is not so strategic. With his strangely childlike tendencies, he must relish making Izuku mad because it brings them closer to the same wavelength. It’s his own twisted way or seeking sympathy, or at least, the closest thing to sympathy he can get anymore, because he believes he is beyond saving. With that in mind, Izuku isn’t going to get anywhere unless he rises to meet him. Izuku has to match Tomura’s hatred with equally strong emotions of his own, whatever they may be, or else face the loss of OFA (as established in 305). This is not an easy thing to ask of a 9, once they have started to pull the blood from their extremities, become cold and numb. Bringing back circulation is painful and makes the skin crawl.

In case you’re worried about the focus on anger here, I want to reiterate that concealed anger in a 9 is just one sign of so much more. Back when everyone started fretting about Izuku’s habit of self-sacrifice, which would have been the only thing we need to worry about if he were a 2, I was freaking out because Izuku was also starting to look like a person who has too many secrets. You don’t even have to acknowledge the possibility that he lied about what triggered blackwhip. It’s written all over his face all the time these days. It’s especially noticeable when you contrast him with Katsuki after all his own growth. Katsuki confides in people. He acknowledges his weaknesses. He enjoys being himself. He asserts his place. He thinks about Izuku all the damn time and now he even lets himself be soft about it. All this warmth while Izuku is distant, muted, and blank. I know all too well what this state of mind is like. Man, I hate secrets. You get to the point where you don’t know how to talk about even the simplest most inconsequential shit. And the bigger things? They’re like a growing snowball of words in your throat that cannot possibly fit out of your mouth. The “easiest” way to cope is to simply fade into the rhythm of life. Go with the flow.

Since 9s have a natural curiosity about the interiority of other people, they may choose to focus on that in order to divert their own attention away from themselves. Taken to the extreme, they will lose track of their sense of self. Like I said, you can see Izuku doing this as he fights, analyzing the psyche of his opponent, and his match against Shouto in the sports festival was a fantastic early example. They became friends because of how observant Izuku is. His emotional intelligence and intuition are very strong, but gradually, as he has taken on greater responsibilities and experienced more trauma, he has gotten worse at applying these skills to himself. You know, we go on and on about how his narration has been reduced to nearly nothing, and it’s not just an absence of introspection, it’s an absence of self. It creates a lack of ownership over the narrative—what should be his narrative.

Right now, he’s focusing on trying to see Tomura as a person, figuring him out. I think it would be really satisfyingly ironic if in the process, he ends up uncovering insights about himself instead. It’s about time we learn what Izuku’s secrets are. I don’t actually think that Izuku mastering anger will constitute the emotion that is strong enough to keep Tomura from taking OFA. Moreover, he can’t expect to reach Tomura’s core, Tenko, unless he exposes his own. Rather, anger is the conduit for Izuku to unlock something else. Think of the way he described how Katsuki is his image of victory. The feeling manifests when he asserts a stronger sense of self (the urge to win) and he becomes more free with his words. I have no doubt that Tomura has the power to make unfiltered honesty spill out of him. He knows how to bring out his selfish needs, his pain, his pressure points, his fears, his insecurities. Hell, maybe Mt. Fuji erupting is a metaphor. I want to see Izuku explode while Tomura watches with mad glee. But then I want Izuku to Realize Things such that it finally sets him free. Then, instead of Tomura witnessing yet another person he touches fall apart, he gets to see someone become whole.

"I let the scale tip, feel all of it. It's uncomfortable but right. And we were born to try to see each other through. To know and love ourselves and others well is the most difficult and meaningful work we'll ever do." --Sleeping At Last, 'Nine'

#you are very much welcome to send me asks about this and the enneagram etc because it's very fun to talk about!#bnha meta #bnha manga #bnha 411 #bnha 412 #mha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #character analysis #midoriya izuku #shigaraki tomura #bakudeku #bkdk #dekubaku #dkbk #lin speaks

284 notes · View notes

mariacallous · 6 months

Text

(JTA) — Vivian Silver, a Canadian-Israeli peace activist who had been presumed kidnapped by Hamas, was declared dead after her remains were found at her home.

Her death was confirmed to JTA by multiple activists who said they were in touch with Silver’s family. Shifra Bronznick, a prominent Jewish social justice activist and lifelong friend of Silver’s, learned from Silver’s son that her remains were identified via her DNA.

“Vivian was always persistent in the pursuit of peace and justice,” Bronznick told JTA on Monday evening. “She was a lifelong feminist, a committed activist, a fearless leader, an exceptional friend and a loving mother, wife and grandmother.”

Until Monday, Silver, 74, was assumed to be among the more than 200 people held captive by Hamas. She is now among the approximately 1,200 people murdered by the terror group in its Oct. 7 attack. Hamas terrorists killed more than 100 people at Silver’s home community, Kibbutz Be’eri, in one of the day’s worst massacres.

She is one of several peace activists to have been killed or captured by Hamas on Oct. 7. Hayim Katsman, 32, who worked with Palestinians in the southern West Bank, was killed in his home in another community on the Gaza border. Yocheved Lifschitz, who helped ferry Palestinians from Gaza to medical care in Israel, was taken captive by Hamas and released in late October; her husband Oded, also involved in peace work, remains missing.

“A woman of infinite, deep, ongoing compassion, humanity and dedication to Arab-Jewish partnership and peace. Yes. Peace,” Anat Saragusti, an Israeli writer and feminist activist, wrote on social media in a post announcing Silver’s death. John Lyndon, the executive director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, wrote that “she wanted to be free & at peace. Rest in power, Vivian.”

Silver’s sons, like the family members of many of those presumed hostage, lobbied extensively for her release, traveling the country and speaking to journalists around the world to call attention to her story. One son, Yonatan Zeigen, stood out for his calls for a ceasefire, an unusual position in Israel. He said he had learned from his mother to seek peace above all else.

“I would tell her, ‘Israel is dead. It’s hopeless,’ and she would say, ‘Peace could come tomorrow,’” Yonatan, a social worker in Tel Aviv told the Washington Post in a story published last week.

Chen Zeigen, her other son, is a doctoral student in archaeology at the University of Connecticut. She is also survived by four grandchildren.

On the day of the massacre, according to the Washington Post story, Silver took a call with a radio station where she pushed back against the idea that the Palestinians were “insane.” In messages with Yonatan, she expressed fear, frustration and love. “I’m with you,” he wrote to her. Her last message back to him was, “I feel you.”

Born in Winnipeg, Canada, she was the longtime director of the Arab Jewish Center For Empowerment, Equality, and Cooperation, which organized projects joining communities in Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In 2014, after the last major war between Israel and Hamas, she helped found Women Wage Peace, which promotes peace-building actions among women from all communities and across the political spectrum.

Speaking to Forbes in 2021 for a series on women who assist the vulnerable, Silver said she remembered feeling relief after the government built bomb shelters in Kibbutz Be’eri, which had been subject to rocket fire from Gaza for more than a decade.

“In 2009, the [Israeli] government only built shelters for communities that were four kilometers from the border. The community I live in is four and a half kilometers from the border, so we didn’t have shelters then,” Silver told Forbes. “Now we do, so psychologically we feel better, and we feel safer, and in fact, we are safer, we’re a lot safer than the people in Gaza.”

At a 2018 Women Wage Peace event on the Gaza border in 2018, she said that the Israeli government needed to change its approach in order to bring peace to the area. “Show the required courage that will bring changes of policy that will bring us quiet and security,” she said then, addressing the government. “Returning to the routine is not an option.”

Appealing to women across the border, she said, “Terror does not make anything better for anyone, you too deserve quiet and peace.”

Bronznick first met Silver in the early 1970s when both were involved in organizing a national conference of Jewish women. They remained friends and, for a period of six years, took an annual trip together — the last one was to Santa Fe, New Mexico. When Silver would stay at Bronznick’s home, she would prepare an Israeli breakfast, Bronznick recalled.

“She would be passionately advocating for peace right now,” Bronznick said, referring to Israel’s war against Hamas, launched following the Oct. 7 attack. “She never gave up on bridge-building. She never gave up on making change. She never gave up on people… She always focused on people, children, what motivated them, what meant something to them.”

Before Oct. 7, Silver was due for another stay at Bronznick’s home in New York City in early December. On top of each of the days in Bronznick’s calendar, she had written “Viv.”

268 notes · View notes

thedensworld · 6 months

Text

Welcome to Densworld🌼

Masterlist

His wife suddenly went missing. There are two possibilities, his best friend has hid her from him or she literally left him.

1. Found You | Choi Seungcheol

2. Lover Series | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu's love life has became more interesting since you came

3. On Scene | Yoon Jeonghan

Yoon Jeonghan, once a dedicated police officer, finds himself embroiled in a web of corruption and is subsequently transferred to a unit that is shunned by his colleagues. Just when he thought his life couldn't get any more complicated, a murder case emerges, and it appears to be connected to his ex-girlfriend.

4. Healing Hues | Jeon Wonwoo

Exhausted by the monotony of his life as a celebrity, Wonwoo makes a pivotal decision to return to his childhood hometown and embark on a heartwarming project: building a small library named 'Healing Hues.' Little does he know, this journey will lead to a series of unexpected and transformative events.

5. To The Rescue | Jeon Wonwoo

Eight years had passed since you and Wonwoo last worked together, but fate had other plans. The case you thought was behind you resurfaced, pulling you back into the world you thought you'd left behind.

6. Doesn't Mind At All | Hong Jisoo

Joshua willingly agrees to pick up his boss's daughter from school, not realizing that this simple task would lead to an unexpected encounter with his longtime crush.

7. Sweet Macaroons | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol was far from pleased when a food critic posted a negative review that started to impact your sales. He couldn't stand to see you upset.

8. Mind Date | Hong Jisoo

Joshua has the power of mind control, enabling him to get anything he wants by influencing people's minds. Suddenly, he meets you, someone he can't control at all.

9. Even When We're Drown, We're Still Breathing | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu was missing the spotlight he used to have, so he decided to accept the offer to shoot a reality show about marriage life and parenting. However, his wife was in a different situation.

10. Don't Touch Mine | Yoon Jeonghan

Jeonghan had hid his feelings for you, but he had been in denial. Then, an unexpected event occurred, and everything changed.

11. Post-Magazine | Kim Mingyu

It was an honor for Mingyu to collaborate with a well-known magazine. But this job made him realize that love at first sight is real.

12. Where to Sign? | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol is about to sign the pre when you said this thing to him

13. Guilty Flower | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol accepted his mother offer to meet you, his potential future wife said his mother, without knowing what kind of person you are.

14. Naming is Fun | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu knows that you are his laugh button, but he can't believe your suggestion over the baby name.

15. Now You're Safe With Me | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol received several missed calls from you, and he knew they weren't just regular phone calls.

16. Forever His | Choi Seungcheol

You found out that Seungcheol was marrying you for your property and wealth while you're pregnant with his child. What would you do? Let him go or play a fool?

17. Piece of Origami | Kim Mingyu

you have no idea that you're this untalented in making a paper fold—origami until your kid ask you to make one

18. What A Fate | Yoon Jeonghan

Who would have thought your next meeting after having a one-night stand would be this unexpected?

19. Perfect Pairing | Choi Seungcheol

Mafia Seungcheol has to face a fact that he found his bestfriend's long-searched sister. However she is a NIS agent who was ordered to terminate him.

20. What a Sweep | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol brimmed with excitement as he prepared to teach you some Jiu-Jitsu moves, little did he knows, you would nearly send him into a heart attack.

21. Ten Years | Jeon Wonwoo

In hospital Wonwoo is a doctor, and back to house he is your husband. However, your sudden conditions make him choose.

22. Everything | Choi Seungcheol

You come to him in the middle of the night, plan to end him immediately. However everything change.

23. What A Revenge | Yoon Jeonghan (Part 2 of What A Fate)

After an unexpected rendezvous after a one night stand, Jeonghan asked Mingyu to set him up with you. However you had a different situation and it's getting complicated.

24. Falling Flower | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu never thought that he would find Y/n, his friend's secretary, attractive. What's started from eyes, physical, has fallen to his heart. As he tries to get to know you, he realizes he knew nothing about you.

25. Rewind Button | Jeon Wonwoo

If Wonwoo had a time machine, he would definitely go to crash your wedding.

26. Flower Bloomed | Kim Mingyu (Part 2 of Falling Flower)

It's been a year since Mingyu and you were married. Once united by a good feeling, has started to scatter, both you and Mingyu couldn't find reason to stay together.

27. Your Best Man | Jeon Wonwoo

Wonwoo has tried his best to become the best man you've ever met. At the end, he is the best man.

28. Stupid Cupid | Kim Mingyu

You must be the reason why he's been nervous for tonight's event. There must be something that Cupid has been doing.

30. Hold On Tight | Yoon Jeonghan (Part 3 of What a Fate)

What's started for a revenge and status has developed into something Jeonghan couldn't comprehend. He unconsciously were willing to do anything and it was only for you.

31. Alone At Night | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu has no idea until he had to sleepover in your house because of the rain. In fact, it hurts him.

To be continued ;)

e n j o y, joy! -dk

#densworld🌼#seventeen fanfic #seventeen imagines #seventeen angst #seventeen imagine #seventeen scenarios #seventeen series #seventeen fic #seventeen #seventeen carat #seventeen au #seventeen drabbles #seventeen fanfiction #seventeen fluff #seventeen headcanons #seventeen reactions #seventeen x reader #seventeen x you

282 notes · View notes

historicallyaccuratecheese · 3 months

Text

I know this isn’t very in line with the usual “haha magnus archives worm lady” posts I usually make, but this is very important to me and I want to spread as much awareness as possible.

One of my favorite games of all time is Dead Cells, a fantastic indie roguelike developed by Evil Empire. Recently, it was announced that it’s upcoming 35th update would be the last one for the game. Now, let me start off by saying that on its own, this isn’t what I’m upset about. The fact that Dead Cells has gotten as much support as it has over the years is quite frankly incredible, and 35 updates, most of which have been free and very high quality, is an amazing amount of support. Rather, I am more concerned about the circumstances behind this announcement.

The announcement was…off, for a number of reasons. For one, Update 35 has been in Alpha and Beta on Steam for a while now, and it’s not exactly an update you’d expect the entire game to end on. Still quality, but not exactly a “grand finale.” Also strange was how long it’s been in alpha and beta, as it seems to have been in development hell for over six months. And finally, it’s clear that there was so much more planned for the game. For example, 2023 was said to be the biggest year for the game, and yet we only got two updates. Granted, one of those updates was very big, but not nearly big enough to really live up to the title of “biggest year so far.” By all accounts, it definitely seemed like there was some sort of internal issue that cut the planned lifespan of the game short. If so, that would be very unfortunate, but I would have been willing to accept there was probably nothing that could be done. However, recently some information about what actually happened has shown up, and….yeah I’m pissed.

For those who didn’t know, Dead Cells was originally made by a team named Motion Twin, but after the fourth update, most of the people working on the game left to form their own team, Evil Empire. Evil Empire has developed every update for the game since that split, and yet, they are rarely credited as the makers. Motion Twin is the company that promotes all of the new updates, as if they made them, and unfortunately very few people know which company actually makes the game. Recently, Motion Twin announced a new game called Windblown (proclaiming it was made by the same team as Dead Cells, when it certainly wasn’t), and based on recent interviews with Evil Empire, we learn that Motion Twin pulled the plug on Dead Cells against Evil Empire’s wishes. Evil Empire loved making the game, and planned to continue updating into 2025, expanding the gameplay and lore, yet Motion Twin decided to pull the plug, either to promote Windblown (which if so…why? You can have two games?), or simply out of spite towards Evil Empire, which seems unfortunately possible due to the fact that the devs do not seem to have the best relationship. And to add insult to insult to injury, Motion Twin straight up lied by saying that Dead Cells stopped development because they “don’t want the game to feel bloated”. ….THEY DON’T EVEN MAKE THE GAME WHAT THE HELL?!

So yeah…this is a really terrible situation. Dead Cells is a game that means a lot to me, it’s helped me through some very tough times and there are many other people who hold the game dear to their heart. So please, anything from a simple reblog to making your own posts about the matter goes a long way. Spread awareness about what’s going on. Tell people about how Evil Empire has put so much hard work, love and dedication into the game, and wishes to continue. Tell people about the lies that Motion Twin have been telling. Pressure the two teams into splitting away from each other entirely, so that Dead Cells might get a chance at continuing development. (Be respectful about it though, don’t commit any forms of serious harassment.) It would seriously mean a lot to me and many others, and I would greatly appreciate it :).

#dead cells #indie games #evil empire

182 notes · View notes

genshinluvr · 1 year

Text

The Lonely God

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader/Creator!Reader

Summary: You're the creator of all things! Everyone in Teyvat worships you; even their ancestors worship you! You answer prayers and make miracles happen. But you know what's ironic, though? Despite you being worshipped by many, you couldn't help but feel lonely. You yearn for friendship and attempt to bond with the twenty-five men who are tasked to protect you while you're in Teyvat. Oh, and you're also not the best at expressing your feelings.

Note: This is most likely the first and last time I'll make a creator/God!Reader AU because this is not my thing 💀 I have no idea how this idea popped up in my head, so I might as well type it and get it out. This isn't the typical God!reader/Creator!reader fanfics you see on Tumblr; they're amazing! I ended up realizing that it was not my thing and switched to my style of writing. So instead of the gut-wrenching angst you all see for SAGAU fics, you're just going to get my typical Isekai'd!reader interaction. Kind of. Please keep in mind that I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: None that I know of, other than it being somewhat religious-themed?

Word Count: 10.9k

Want to read another SAGAU fic? Read Our Dear Creator!

The day you have descended to Teyvat is the day people of Teyvat throw a huge celebration to welcome you to earth. All seven regions of Teyvat celebrated for two weeks. The first week consists of feasts, game stalls that are related to your divine presence, a performance dedicated to you, your creation, and your impact on Teyvat. You would visit the nations and witness how each of the seven regions and its people celebrate you and all of the things you have done for Teyvat and the inhabitants of Teyvat. Your visitation is a huge deal, and it's highly anticipated. Who doesn’t want to witness a higher power visiting their nation? Someone who has more power than a government entity and an archon that rules the country.

When you step foot in each nation, everyone can feel the immense power oozing from you. Dressed in beautiful, expensive, and exotic clothing from each region that is tailored just for you, people are almost intimidated by your mere presence. While you have high-leveled military personnel escorting you around the city while you visit, it doesn’t stop your most loyal followers from approaching you and proclaiming their love and admiration for you. I mean, how could they not? You have done so much for their nations and for the people of Teyvat. You have answered prayers and have performed so many miracles.

The second you step foot into the seven nations, silence will fall over the mass crowd of people who are anticipating your appearance. You are the epitome of beauty and grace. Everyone’s breath is taken away when you look in their direction. You have this glowing presence that catches everyone’s attention wherever you go— literally. Wherever you go, you have this warm gold glow, no matter what the lighting is. Some might even claim to see specks of stars and glitter shining in the said warm glow.

After the first week of celebrating your presence on Teyvat, the second week consists of people from all over the region visiting you and the shrine that is dedicated to you. At the grand shrine, people leave offerings to you in hopes of a great year, successful marriage, business, wealth, fertility, good health, and many more. While people are offering fruits, food, Mora, flowers, fragrances, incense, and alcohol at your shrine, you are sitting on a throne in the next building over, speaking to your followers. At the same time, your most loyal acolytes stand guard in the same room as you and the line of your worshippers.

“Thank you for answering my prayers, your grace. With your blessings, my husband and I have conceived seven children. We are currently expecting baby number eight,” the tearful woman says, kneeling in front of you while holding your hand.

Itto and Childe’s eyes widen as they look over at each other.

“Seven?!” Itto mouths to Childe.

“I know, right?!” Childe mouths back.

You smile at the woman and wipe her tears away, helping her up from the ground. The heavily pregnant woman clutches onto your arms and continues to thank you for blessing her and her husband with many children.

Diluc sighs and takes a step forward. “I believe we should cut the meeting for today. Today has been a long day for them, and I believe they would like some privacy now,” Diluc says.

“What?! I-I’m not finished speaking,” the pregnant woman gasps, holding onto you tightly.

You smile at the woman and gently rub her back. “It has been a long day, Xinyi. I do not know how long you have been waiting in line to be able to speak to me, but we can continue our conversation tomorrow. After all, you are pregnant. You need to rest. I believe your husband has been watching you from afar worriedly. You wouldn’t want to make your husband worry even more now, would you?” You ask softly.

The tearful woman looks behind her and locks gazes with her husband, who is watching her like a hawk. Xinyi looks at you and nods her head sadly, wiping the tears from her cheeks. The people around you grumble under their breath and comply. You give Xinyi a light squeeze on the shoulders before she turns around and exits the throne room with the others. From there on, Dainsleif escorts the line of people out of the building, and you sit down on the throne, letting out a quiet sigh. Today was a long day, and you’re glad that Diluc has stepped in to end the meeting with your worshippers.

“How are you feeling, your grace? Are you hungry? We can get you something to eat if you’d like for us to do that,” Thoma speaks up, standing in front of you.

You sigh and give Thoma a smile. “I am feeling a little bit famished. Perhaps go fetch me a small snack and a drink?” You suggest.

Thoma bows and turns to leave, but Thoma stops in his tracks when you call his name. Thoma turns around and looks at you curiously. “Yes, your grace?” Thoma asks.

“Please, just call me [Y/N],” you plead. You look at the other men in the room and gesture to everyone. “All of you, please, just call me [Y/N]. You can call me ‘your grace’ when other people are present, but when it’s just us, you can call me [Y/N],” you said.

Aether’s eyes light up, and he nudges Xiao and Heizou. “Does that mean we get special treatment from the deity?!” Aether whispers loudly, shaking both men beside him by their arms.

“Uh….” you laugh nervously, scratching the back of your neck. “Sorry to interrupt, but please treat me like how you all would treat other people. I know I’m a God, and I’m widely worshipped by the people of Teyvat, but I don’t know how to act like a God,” You said, scratching your cheek awkwardly.

“What are your thoughts, Venti and Mister Zhongli?” Kaeya asks, turning to look at the two archons.

Venti shrugs his shoulders. “There are no specific rules on how a God is supposed to act and speak to others,” Venti says, giving you a big smile.

“If that is what [Y/N] wishes, then it shall be granted. After all, it is their decision on how they want others to view them and how they want to interact with those around them,” Zhongli replies.

“So, we can speak informally to them, right? Someone won’t smite me if I give [Y/N] a nickname and crack jokes with them?” Itto asks excitedly. Itto’s eyes shine almost as bright as the sun, and a big smile stretches across his face.

“I don’t know, Itto. Do you want to test it out?” Dainsleif asks, entering the throne room with his arms over his chest. Itto laughs nervously and shakes his head, backing away the closer Dainsleif gets.

Itto hides behind you, both of his hands on your shoulders as he cowers away from the blond man. Dainsleif stands in front of you, staring down at Itto behind you. Itto lightly pushes you towards Dainsleif, making you stumble into his chest. Dainsleif places his right hand on your lower back and glares daggers at Itto for lightly shoving you in his direction.

“Did you just push [Y/N]?!” Xiao demands, his polearm materializing in his hands as he marches in Itto’s direction.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let’s calm down now! Itto didn’t mean to push me,” you said, grabbing onto Xiao’s bicep to stop him from smiting Itto for pushing you into Dainsleif’s arms.

Xiao freezes in his spot when he feels your hand grabbing his bare bicep. You notice his reaction and slowly retract your hand. You clear your throat and give Xiao a small smile and look at the others in the room, making sure that they’re not as tense as Dainsleif, Itto, and Xiao. Luckily, they weren’t tense; they seemed entertained.

“It’s okay, Xiao. I’m sure Itto didn’t mean to do it. As grateful as I am for you and your readiness to protect me, let’s calm down. I’m okay; I’m not hurt,” you reassure the Yaksha.

Xiao lets out a huff of breath and glares at Itto. Xiao looks at you, and his gaze softens. He nods his head and lets his polearm evaporate in the air. You smile at Xiao and pat his back as he goes back to where he was previously standing.

Without another word, the men give you a bow before exiting the throne room, leaving you alone. You watch everyone go before walking back to the throne. You collapse on the seat and slump down in your chair, propping your head up on your elbow, and stare at absolutely nothing. With the number of people in Teyvat worshipping you, you have never felt so lonely. Yes, you get endless gifts and offerings, and you listen to people’s prayers and perform miracles. But that still doesn’t cure your loneliness.

You did not want any of your acolytes, er the men, to be formal with you because you wanted to form a friendship with them. Yes, they are your most loyal followers who will not hesitate to kill for you if they have to, but you don’t want that at the same time. You want them to treat you like you’re not a God; you want them to see you as a person instead of a divine being. Just like how they view Zhongli and Venti.

You see how they interact with each other when they’re not on duty to protect you and make sure that people don’t step out of line. The way they bicker with each other, laugh at each other’s lame jokes, or act like typical men, makes you yearn to form a friendship with them. The door to the throne room opens about thirty minutes later, and the men file into the throne room.

“Your grace— I mean [Y/N]— lunch is ready! I hope you’re hungry because there’s a lot of food out there,” Gorou says, approaching your throne.

You look at the men with wide eyes and slowly get up from the throne. Their eyes follow your every move as you walk down the steps.

“A lot, you say?” You murmur, approaching Gorou while stroking your chin. “I’m sure it’s enough to fill my stomach up! Please, lead the way,” you said, gesturing for the men to show you the way to the dining room.

The building is filled with staff; from cooking staff to cleaning staff, they all stop what they’re doing when you walk by them with the men surrounding you in a circle. They all bow to you as you’re passing by, and you smile and wave at them when you get the chance. Upon entering the dining room, there is a large dining table in the center of the room with multiple chairs pushed underneath the table.

Your eyes widen when you see the kitchen staff bring in more food and set them on the table with so much food lined up with it. You turn to look at the men, who are watching you with amusement. You point at the table, speechless. Your hand falls to your side, and you clear your throat.

“You weren’t kidding when you said there’s a lot of food,” you laugh lightly.

Scaramouche crosses his arms over his chest and sighs. “We told the kitchen staff not to make too much food because we don’t know how hungry you are, but at the same time, we don’t know what you want to eat,” Scaramouche says.

“Do you think you’ll be able to finish all of this? It would be a waste if you’re not able to finish the rest,” Ayato says, looking at each dish on the table.

You shake your head. “I will not be able to finish all of these on my own,” you said. You approach the table and turn to the men. “If you all would like, would any of you want to join me for dinner?” You ask.

Heizou smiles brightly and raises his right hand in the air. “I would love to join you for dinner, your grace! The food looks delicious, and just smelling the food makes my stomach growl!” Heizou says, rubbing his stomach.

Tighnari nudges Heizou. “Didn’t [Y/N] tell you to call them by their name? Why are you calling them by their title?” Tighnari mutters to Heizou.

“That’s because there are kitchen staff entering and exiting the dining room. We wouldn’t want anyone to hear us call [Y/N] by their name other than their title. It can stir something,” Cyno whispers, popping up between Tighnari and Heizou.

Al Haitham sighs. “Let’s not keep them waiting any longer, shall we?” Al Haitham says, walking towards where you’re standing and begin conversing with you.

Everyone begins to sit at a random chair at the dining table. You sit at the end of the dining table, picking the food you want to eat while the others do the same. The kitchen staff emerges from the entrance and places teacups in front of each person, pouring hot tea into the ceramic teacup for each person.

“The food smells amazing,” Kaveh says, almost letting out a moan when the food touches his tongue.

Kazuha nods his head. “If this is the food a divine being gets every day, then sign me up,” Kazuha smiles, taking a bite out of his onigiri while talking to the men beside him.

The dining room is filled with laughter and joyous chatter; the sound of cutlery clanking against the porcelain plates and bowls fills the dining room. Then there’s you, eating food while occasionally looking up from your food to watch how they communicate with each other. You’re in a dining room filled with almost thirty other people, and yet you still feel alone. You’re on your second plate of food, but you’re starting to lose your appetite.

They didn’t seem to notice it, but you’re glad they weren’t paying close attention to you and your lack of appetite. You wish you could form a bond with them and speak to them easily without feeling like you’re interrupting something or butting into a conversation. Plus, what’s there to talk about when you’re a divine being above all, and they’re all your loyal acolytes? They know everything about you, but you know so little about them other than what regions they’re from and what visions they have.

“Maybe it was a mistake to invite them to join me. I thought inviting them to join me would make me feel less lonely, but I feel even lonelier in a room with twenty-five people.” You think to yourself. You let out a silent sigh, resting your chin in the palm of your hands, propping your head on your arm while twirling the noodles with your fork.

“Your grace?” A soft voice calls out to you.

You look up from your plate and make eye contact with Baizhu. You give him a small smile. “Yes, Baizhu?” You murmur.

“Are you alright? You’ve been quiet since the beginning of dinner,” Baizhu says.

You clear your throat and nod your head. “Yes, Baizhu. I’m fine, just feeling drained from today. After all, I did speak to about two hundred people. It was a long day today,” you said, fixing your posture and continuing to give Baizhu a fake smile.

“It has been a long day. I can’t imagine having to sit in one spot while listening to two hundred people praise you and the miracles you have performed and prayers you have answered,” Pantalone says, gazing at you with interest.

You laugh softly and tuck your hair behind your ear. “It’s new to me. I’m shocked to see that there are people who still believe in me despite my vague presence,” you confessed.

“Your stories have been told throughout Teyvat. Everyone worships you, and even their ancestors worship you. I have yet to come across a nonbeliever,” Pierro says, dabbing his lips with the cloth napkin.

You slightly shrunk in your seat. “It’s weird having people worship me, especially when it’s the entirety of Teyvat,” you said. You let out a humorless laugh and begin messing with the fabric of your expensive attire. “It’s weird how I’m worshipped by many, and yet I still feel lonely,” you mutter to yourself.

Albedo leans in your direction, looking at you quizzically. “Pardon?” He asks.

You shake your head and wave him off. “It’s nothing. I was talking about how I should finish my food before going to bed. It’s starting to get late,” you said, looking over at the grandfather clock, ticking away.

Dottore tilts his head to the side, pressing his lips into a thin line, contemplating whether he should ask you the question or not. After debating for some time, Dottore decides to ask, “Do gods sleep?”

You shrug your shoulders. “That is usually up to the god. I’m not sure about Zhongli and Venti, but I sleep even though it’s not needed. I sleep to regenerate my energy like every person on Teyvat, even though I do not need to do that. Whenever I feel stressed, I go to sleep in hopes that it will clear and ease my thoughts. I go to sleep to pass the time if there’s nothing for me to do, but as a God of all beings, I’m always busy,” you said.

“Since you are a God worshipped by the entirety of Teyvat, how do you find the time to sleep?” Capitano asks.

“I don’t. As I’ve stated earlier, Gods don’t need sleep like mortals need sleep. I’m always working around the clock, but it’s what I do, and it’s something that I’m used to. It’s not a foreign concept for me,” you reply.

Venti hums and leans back in his seat. “Your grace, have you ever had a vacation before?” Venti asks, leaning forward and propping his arms on the table in front of him.

You blink at Venti. “A vacation? How does one go on a vacation when there are many things that need attention?” You ask, crossing your arms over your chest. “I don’t think I have time for a vacation. After all, a lot of people are relying on me for many, many things. I don’t want to let them down,” you said.

Childe lets out a long sigh and leans in his seat, resting his head on the chair’s top rail, and turns his head to look in your direction. “You know, it’s not a bad thing to take a break from your God duties. You’re a God, yes, but you still need to take a break once in a while,” Childe says.

“And where do you think I should be vacationing then? I hear that mortals like to travel far for vacations or stay home and sleep in,” You said.

Aether smiles at you and shrugs his shoulders. “Your choice of vacation is up to you, your grace. Do you have a place in mind?” Aether asks.

You shake your head. “Not that I know of, Aether,” you sigh.

Aether’s eyes widen, and his cheeks flush pink when he hears you say his name. The color pink slowly travels up to Aether’s ears as he tries to act like it didn’t faze him at all. Aether looks over at the person next to him and smirks triumphantly, his smile so wide that it hurts his cheeks. The men around Aether grumble to themselves and roll their eyes at Aether’s reaction.

“Although, I do want to visit an island and check up on one of my creations….” you trailed off, bringing the fork up to your lips and eating the spaghetti.

Tighnari’s ears perk up. “Oh? And what island would that be?” Tighnari asks.

You look over at the clock and shake your head. “I would like to go to the island tomorrow. As much as I would love to visit it right now, it’s getting late, and we all need to rest,” you said, grabbing your teacup and taking a sip of the warm herbal tea.

Heizou’s eyes light up, and he leans forward. “Are you having a vacation day tomorrow?!” Heizou asks with excitement.

You think for a moment. You’re planning on going to an island tomorrow to visit (well, check up) one of your creations tomorrow. You wouldn’t call it a vacation, technically. But it can be viewed as a vacation since you’re not going to be talking with the people that worship you. Plus, you don’t think the visitation is going to take long; it should take less than an hour or two before you head back to the mainland and continue your duties as a God of all.

“I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to call it. Perhaps maybe call it a reunion rather than a vacation,” you murmur, stroking your chin while in deep thought.

Al Haitham raises his eyebrows at you. “A reunion, you say?” Al Haitham mutters, turning to look at the others quizzically, who shrug their shoulders in response.

“Well, whatever is planned tomorrow, we look forward to keeping you company while you reunite with your creations,” Cyno says, nodding his head.

Dinner continued like how it previously was, everyone conversing with one another while you were deep in your thoughts. You’re nervous about reuniting with your creation and the reactions of the men when they see the creation you want to reunite with. You have created it and released it onto this island, letting it roam around and serve its purpose. You know that people hunt the said creatures for the materials they drop, but the creatures that you create also harm the people that go near them.

Once dinner had ended, everyone went to their designated temporary homes, leaving you alone in your temporary home until the celebration ended. You walk to the bathroom and open the doors, revealing an expansive bathroom with a large skylight. You strip yourself of your robes and step into the bathtub filled with warm water, glaze lilies floating on top, and lit scented candles surrounding the porcelain bathtub.

You scrubbed your body, shampooed, and conditioned your hair. You rinsed your hair with warm water before sinking into the water up to your neck. You close your eyes and lean your head against the rim of the bathtub, taking deep breaths. It’s too quiet, and it feels unnerving to you. Before descending onto Teyvat, you enjoyed the quiet. Although, whenever you look down on Teyvat, the sound of bustling crowds from each region comforts you.

Before the creation of Teyvat, you were lonely. You didn’t have a companion or a romantic partner; no one else existed except for you, and you didn’t want to feel lonely ever again. So, that’s how Teyvat came to be. You created the archons to rule their respective nations and citizens. You created land, the sea, and the creatures that roam Teyvat for the people to hunt. You give the people of Teyvat plenty of resources that will help them live and thrive on their own without depending on you.

While they thrived on their own, they still rely on you for many things. You weren’t upset that they prayed to you every night at shrines and dinner tables, praying for a better day and better health. You love answering prayers and performing miracles; you want everyone to be happy, but some things are just out of your control despite you being a God. And now here you are, hoping that someone or something would keep you company.

After you get out of the bath, dry your body, and change into your nightwear, you lay in your bed and stare up at the ceiling. You feel tired from the events that have been going on for almost two weeks now, and yet you can barely get yourself to fall asleep in the comfort of your (temporary) bed. You sit up and rub your temples, begging your body to let you fall asleep so time can go by fast. You lay back down on your bed and close your eyes, hoping that you’ll fall asleep a few minutes or an hour later.

Nothing. You still can’t get yourself to fall asleep. Letting out a frustrated sigh, you toss the blanket off your body and get off your bed. You walk to the balcony of your bedroom, open the doors and step out into the night. You close the balcony door behind you and lean on the wooden railing that lets you gaze out at the beautiful scenery before you. The warm summer night air engulfs you in its arms; you close your eyes when you feel a gentle breeze caress your face.

“The night is beautiful,” you whisper to yourself, slowly opening your eyes.

A face pops in front of yours from above. “The night is beautiful, isn’t it?” Venti asks, looking down at you with a big smile.

You let out a strained shriek and backed up against the balcony door, looking at Venti with wide eyes. “Venti! Why are you still up!?” You whisper, clutching your heart with your hand, feeling your heart race against your chest.

“Yeah, Venti! Why are you awake at a time like this?!” Kaeya exclaims from a distance.

You hear an annoyed voice calling from afar. “Why are you awake at a time like this, Kaeya?” You look over the balcony only to see Diluc standing beside a bush, glaring at his brother from a distance.

The more you look at your surrounding, the more you realize that every single man is awake and not asleep in their designated temporary home. You sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose, questioning yourself why these men are still awake when it’s almost midnight. Venti sits on the wooden railing of the balcony and smiles at you innocently while watching you intently. You prop your hands on your hips and press your lips into a thin line.

“Oh no. Why does [Y/N] look like a mother that’s about to give us a good scolding?” Kaveh asks.

You exhale through your nose slowly and shake your head. “Boys, it’s getting late out. Aren’t you all supposed to be asleep by now?” You ask, raising your eyebrows at the men.

Scaramouche lets out a scoff before interjecting, “Some of us don’t need sleep. In case you have forgotten, I am a puppet. Eating and sleeping isn’t a necessity for me like how it is for these feeble mortals around me.”

“No offense, little man, but you sound like those defiant children when it’s past their bedtime, and your parents are trying to get you to go to bed,” you hear Itto say.

“Well, if you’re not willing to go to bed, all of you might as well keep me company,” you said. You turn around without saying anything else and walk back into your bedroom, closing the door behind you.

“Wait, keep you company where?” Gorou asks, his ears drooping when the balcony door closes shut.

A few minutes later, the front door of your “home” opens, and you step out into the night. You have on a thin silk robe. The color is bright red, with gold embellishments lining the hem of the robe. You close the door behind you and approach the men that are slowly making their way toward you.

Once everyone is standing around you, you gesture for them to follow you. “I discovered this lake in the forest the other day. Sometimes when I’m not able to rest, I go there to clear my mind and decompress,” you said, guiding the men to the lake deep in the woods.

“Your grace, you shouldn’t be wandering off into the woods on your own. What if something happened to you, and we’re not able to protect you?” Zhongli asks, walking beside you.

You giggle softly and shake your head. “Oh, Zhongli. Did you forget that I’m a God myself? I’m sure nothing can harm me,” you said, thinking about the creation that you’ll meet in the morning the next day.

“Just because you’re a God, that doesn’t mean there are malicious people out there willing to hunt you down and hurt you,” Xiao huffs, walking on your left, sandwiching you between him and Zhongli as you continue to guide everyone into the woods.

You hum and nod your head. “You’re not wrong about that, but so far, nothing has happened,” you said.

About ten minutes later, you all arrive in the middle of the woods. In the center is a lake surrounded by little daisies and forget-me-nots. The moon is high in the sky, shining down on the lake. You walk to the giant slab of rock next to the lake and sit down, motioning for the others to come closer.

“What made you discover this place?” Albedo asks, standing beside the slab of rock you’re sitting on.

You snort. “Well, I did create Teyvat. I’m bound to forget what I made and what I didn’t make. This lake, in particular, is something I cannot recall making,” you said. You pull your knees to your chest and wrap your arms around your legs, resting your knees on your chin. “I accidentally discovered this lake while on a walk the other day. There was a lot on my mind, and I was feeling….” you trailed off.

“Feeling?” Ayato tilts his head to the side, his arms over his chest as he waits for you to finish your sentence.

Lonely. You were feeling lonely, but would it even matter if you told the men about how you’ve been feeling for quite some time now? You’re surrounded by people, but that doesn’t make you feel any less lonely. You have no one to turn to when you want to talk to someone; you have a hard time building friendships with those around you because you don’t know what to say to strengthen these bonds.

Not only that, people will continue to see you as a divine being instead of viewing you like you’re one of them. How can you form a friendship with people when you’re a God in their eyes, even though you tell them to look at you as if you’re human and to call you by your real name instead of your title?

You shake your head. “Never mind about that. Anyway! I ended up stumbling across this artificial lake, and I like how peaceful it is here. If any of you need a place to clear your mind or to relax and be away from people for a short amount of time, I recommend going here,” you said, patting the slab of rock you’re sitting on.

“It’s a beautiful place, [Y/N]. I’m happy that you feel comfortable enough to show us this place,” Kazuha says, sitting down beside you and gazing at the moonlit lake.

Silence falls over you and the men; the sounds filling the silence are crickets and the sound of water splashing after a frog hops into the moonlit lake. You close your eyes and take a deep breath, letting your body unwind from the events that took place hours ago. You slowly doze off and lean to the left, your head landing on Kazuha’s shoulders. Your head landing on Kazuha’s shoulders startles you awake, making you sit up suddenly and rub your eyes.

“If you’re tired, we can take you back to the house,” Dainsleif offers.

You shake your head stubbornly. “I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep in bed. For some reason, it’s easier for me to sleep out here than it is in the room,” you reply.

You let go of your knees and stretch your legs and arms, letting out a yawn while doing so. You get off of the rock slab and walk over to the lake. The lake is full of life; frogs and tadpoles swimming around in the lake, fishes swimming by the tadpoles, and turtles floating idly by in the water.

“Perhaps it's the ambiance and sound of crickets that are helping you fall asleep. Some people can’t sleep in silent bedrooms; they need some kind of noise to lull them to sleep,” Dottore says, approaching you from behind.

You slip your shoes off your feet and step into the lake; goosebumps appear on your arms when your feet are submerged in the cold water. You sit on the grass, continuing to let your feet soak in the water. The tadpoles, fishes, and turtles slowly make their way toward you. You dip your finger into the water and let the fishes gently nibble on your fingers; a smile ghosts over your lips.

Even though they’re merely animals, they still recognize you as their creator, and it’s fascinating to you. Capitano stands over you, watching you interact with the animals in the lake while you’re in your little world, completely unaware of how the men are watching you. The gentle breeze blows through your hair, making them flutter and twirl around you, and the goosebumps on your arms remain present.

A giant coat is draped over your shoulders, bringing you out of your thoughts. You blink and turn to look at the jacket around your shoulders. You look up and see Capitano not wearing his coat and look at him curiously.

You give Capitano a small smile. “You didn’t have to lend me your jacket, Capitano. I’ll be okay; gods can’t get sick,” you reassure the tall Harbinger as you get ready to take the coat off and hand it back to him.

Capitano stops you by shaking his head and raising his hand. “Keep the jacket on. Despite gods not being able to get sick, they still get cold, no?” Capitano asks.

You can almost hear him raise his eyebrows at you after asking his question. You pursed your lips and sighed in defeat, letting your hand fall into your lap and nod your head at his question. You turn back to the lake and continue playing around with the tiny creatures in the lake, lightly petting a turtle’s head if it lets you do so (it almost bit your finger, causing Diluc to give you a lecture on touching animals that don’t want to be petted).

“Oh, Diluc, there’s nothing to worry about,” you laugh softly, patting Diluc’s head with your left hand while your right hand is caressed in Diluc’s grasp. He looks at your hand closely, making sure that you didn’t get bitten anywhere.

Kaeya chuckles and shakes his head, propping his arm on Diluc’s shoulder with a smirk on his face. “Oh, Diluc. Acting like a mother hen to a God that has created everything in our universe?” Kaeya asks, raising an eyebrow at Diluc with a teasing smile on his face.

Diluc releases your hand from his grasp, smacks Kaeya’s arm off his shoulders, and shoots a glare over in Kaeya’s direction. “Am I not allowed to worry over [Y/N]’s safety? What if they got hurt?” Diluc asks.

You pout and cup Diluc’s face in both of your hands. Diluc freezes and looks at you with wide eyes. Your pout quickly turns into a smile, and you squish his cheeks together. “You don’t need to worry about me, Diluc! I’ll be fine! Although I do appreciate that you care about my safety,” you said. Diluc continues to stare at you with wide eyes, his cheeks a faint pink under the moonlight. You slowly pull your hands away from his face and give him an awkward smile.

“Hey, [Y/N]! Check this out!” You hear Childe holler from a distance.

You turn your head and see him gesture for you to come over. You give Kaeya and Diluc a brief smile before excusing yourself to walk over to where Childe is standing. After you walk off, Kaeya turns to look at Diluc with a teasing smile on his face. Diluc bristles at Kaeya’s teasing smile before storming off to where the other men are standing, muttering under his breath about Kaeya being annoying and wanting to smack the smile off of Kaeya’s face. Kaeya chuckles and follows after Diluc, his hands propped on his hips, occasionally glancing over in your direction to see what you and Childe are up to.

“What do you want to show me, Childe?” You ask, stopping beside him.

Childe gets on one knee and thrusts a bouquet of forget-me-nots and daisies in your direction with his head bowed down. “For you, my dear creator!” Childe announces dramatically.

You giggle and take the bouquet from Childe’s hands. “Thank you, Ajax,” you said, bowing back to him dramatically.

Childe’s eyes widen, and he looks up at you, his mouth agape, reminding you of a fish out of water. You snort softly and hold the flowers up to your face, shielding the bottom half of your face from his view. Childe begins to stutter as he stands up, his cheeks flushing to a bright pink that travels up to the tip of his ears.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” You tease, poking him lightly in the chest.

Dainsleif and Zhongli approach you and Childe, looking at Childe with amusement. You smile at Dainsleif and Zhongli, waving at them before marveling at the flowers in your hands.

Zhongli looks at Childe and tilts his head. “Why do you have that look on your face, Childe?” Zhongli asks, a faint smile appearing on his face.

“By that expression on his face, I’m assuming Childe may have a crush on our dear creator,” Dainsleif whispers to Zhongli, smirking when Childe snaps out of his thoughts and glares at the blond man with a beet-red face.

You perk up and look at the three men curiously. “A crush, you say?” You ask, lightly rubbing the petals between your fingers.

Childe sputters for ten seconds before running off without saying another word. You, Dainsleif, and Zhongli watch him run off to where Ayato and Itto are talking, making sure to avoid eye contact and act as if nothing has happened.

You chuckle and lightly nudge Dainsleif and Zhongli. “Don’t tease him, you two! I’m sure you two would do the same if Childe were to tease any of you for having a crush on someone,” you chide the two men beside you, clicking your tongue.

Albedo approaches you and shows you the time. You blink and look down at the small watch in his hands. “It’s getting late out. Are you sure you don’t want to get a few hours of sleep before going to the island you wanted to visit?” Albedo asks.

You sigh in defeat. As much as you want to stay up longer, which you can, the men around you are mortal (some are an exception and don’t need sleep as much as mortals do), and they need to get as much sleep as possible or else they’ll be exhausted when you all visit the island.

“We should all go to bed now,” you announce, grabbing everyone’s attention.

Kazuha looks at you quizzically. “Are you sure? You did mention that you’re not able to fall asleep,” Kazuha says, crossing his arms over his chest and letting the leaf in his hand fly away.

You brush Kazuha’s worries away. “I’ll fall asleep eventually. The ones that need sleep the most are the ones that aren’t immortals. Although I can’t speak on Dainsleif,” you reply, stroking your chin.

“You better get some sleep. We wouldn’t want to see you all exhausted because you chose to stay up and not go to sleep,” Scaramouche says, narrowing his eyes at you.

Ayato chuckles, shaking his head. “I don’t think you’re in the position to tell the creator of all things to get some sleep, Scaramouche,” Ayato says cooly.

Baizhu chuckles and looks over at Ayato and then at Scaramouche. “I believe that Scaramouche is trying to show the creator that he cares about their health and doesn’t want them to feel tired when we go to the island in a few hours,” Baizhu says.

Thoma’s eyes widen. “A few hours?! What time is it?!” Thoma asks, walking over to Albedo and looking down at the watch in Albedo’s hands.

When Thoma didn’t know what time it was, Thoma felt fine. He didn’t feel sleepy, and he felt like he could be awake for the next few hours. The minute Thoma looks at the watch in Albedo’s hand to see what time it is, exhaustion suddenly hits him like a sumpter beast. By the look on Thoma’s face, you can already tell that the blond man is on the verge of falling asleep after seeing what time it is.

You clap your hands to grab everyone’s attention. “Let’s all head back and get some rest before our trip in a few hours. Please make sure to get some sleep,” you said, guiding the men out of the woods with them following closely behind.

“I don’t know about you guys, but that place that [Y/N] showed us would be a nice place to take a nap,” Aether says, pointing to the lake behind them as you all stray farther and farther away from the area.

Heizou nods his head. “I agree! Hence why [Y/N] nearly fell asleep after we arrived there,” Heizou says, gazing at the back of your head while you converse with the others.

“Maybe that’s where they slept a few days ago after discovering the lake. After all, when Al Haitham tried to wake them up at their temporary home, Al Haitham discovered that they weren’t there and nearly went into a cardiac arrest,” Tighnari says casually.

Kaveh snickers behind his hand. “I have never seen him so freaked out before. Al Haitham looked like he was going to cry,” Kaveh whispers loudly to the other men around him.

Al Haitham scoffs and glares at Kaveh. Al Haitham reaches over, grabs Kaveh by the ears, and pulls hard until Kaveh’s ears are a deep red and throbbing from the pain. Kaveh hisses and bats Al Haitham’s hands away from his ears.

“I was not going to cry! Of course, I would be worried if our creator just up and disappeared from the face of Teyvat! Wouldn’t you be worried?!” Al Haitham asks, crossing his arms over his chest after Kaveh successfully removes Al Haitham’s hand from his ear.

Cyno scoffs and rolls his eyes at Al Haitham’s question. “Of course, we would be worried about [Y/N] if they suddenly disappeared. We wouldn’t burst into tears like you,” Cyno shrugs.

Kaveh and Cyno immediately start to snicker with each other, running to where you’re at to avoid Al Haitham’s wrath. Al Haitham sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, tempted to run after them to give those two a piece of his mind. Because Kaveh and Cyno are sticking by your side to avoid Al Haitham’s wrath, Al Haitham refrains himself from marching to them and smacking them with the keys to his and Kaveh’s shared apartment.

“You know, it’s okay to cry sometimes. It’s good for the soul, and it’s a great way to release some stress,” Gorou says casually, walking beside Al Haitham.

Xiao sighs and closes his eyes. “Not everyone is good at expressing their emotions, Gorou,” Xiao mutters.

“Some might even think that showing emotions makes you weak,” Pantalone interjects, looking over at Pierro from the corner of his eyes. The two lock gazes for a second before Pantalone looks away with a little smile on his face.

Pierro narrows his eyes at Pantalone. “Why did you look at me when you said that?” Pierro asks, poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue.

Pantalone shakes his head and continues walking with his arms behind his back. The smile remains on his face. Pierro sighs and rolls his eyes at Pantalone, and continues to walk beside Pantalone. You all soon arrive at where your and everyone’s temporary homes are. Itto stretches his arms in the air and lets out a loud yawn, covering his mouth with his left hand and rubbing his eyes with the other.

“Man! I cannot wait to get some sleep! I just know I’m going to get an amazing sleep when my head hits the pillow,” Itto says, letting out a loud grunt.

Capitano sighs. “Please keep your voices down. You don’t want to wake up the nearest village by being loud,” Capitano says.

Itto grumbles and sticks his tongue out at Capitano when Capitano has his back turned toward Itto’s direction. You look down at your feet and cover your face with both hands after realizing that you completely forgot to put your shoes back on after dipping your feet into the lake. Great, just great! At least you have extra shoes in the temporary house.

“What’s wrong, [Y/N]?” Kazuha asks, placing his hand on your shoulders.

You laugh nervously and rub the back of your neck with a sheepish smile on your face. “I just realized that I left my shoes back at the lake, but it’s fine since I have extra shoes in the house,” you said.

“Do you want us to go and get it for you? We’ll make it quick,” Diluc offers.

You shake your head. “No, it’s okay. As I said a second ago, I have extra shoes inside the house,” you said.

Diluc opens his mouth to protest, but Ayato places his hand on Diluc’s shoulder and shakes his head when the two of them make eye contact. Diluc sighs silently and drops the subject when he sees you cover your mouth while yawning. You rub the tears away and grumble under your breath.

“Alright! I will see you all in the morning, and we can take a trip down to the island together,” you said, giving the men a smile.

Dainsleif raises his hand. “You never specified what island we’re going to, [Y/N]. Do you want to tell us where we’re going in the morning, or are you going to keep it a secret until we arrive?” Dainsleif asks.

“Do you want me to tell you the name of the island, or do you want it to be a surprise?” You ask.

“Yes,” they all respond in unison, nodding their heads at your question.

You blink at the men in confusion and scratch your head. “You boys did not answer my question at all,” you deadpan. “Are you answering yes to the first question or my second question?” You ask, pursing your lips while waiting for one of the men to answer your question.

“I am assuming that some of them are saying yes to the first question while others are saying yes to your second question,” Baizhu says.

You let out a sharp sigh, prop your hands on your hips, and tap your right foot on the ground like a parent that is impatient with their indecisive children. “Well, since all of you can’t answer my question, I’ll make the decision for all of you,” you said.

“What?! I wanted to know what island we’ll be going to in the morning!” Itto exclaims, looking at you with disbelief.

Al Haitham huffs, crossing his arms in front of him and looking away. “Well, I wanted the island to be a surprise. I am not impatient like the others and can wait to see where we’ll be going in a few hours,” Al Haitham says.

Childe makes a face at Al Haitham. “No offense, Al Haitham, is it? But why do you act like you have a stick up your ass?” Childe smirks, raising an eyebrow at Al Haitham.

Al Haitham glares at Childe while Kaveh howls with laughter, hunched over with his hands on his knees while cackling at Childe’s question and Al Haitham’s reaction.

Zhongli releases a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Please don’t start anything, Childe. Especially in front of [Y/N],” Zhongli mutters, glaring at Childe from the corner of his eyes.

You crack a smile and shake your head. You don’t think you’ll get tired of these men bickering with one another. You and the men bid each other goodnights before retreating to your respective temporary homes for the night. You collapse onto your bed and close your eyes, feeling yourself drift off to sleep.

You wake up to the sound of something hitting the balcony window. You sit up on your bed and stare at the window with bleary eyes. You hear the clank again and something falling on the wooden balcony, clattering on the wood. You remove the blanket and walk to the patio, not thinking much of what’s hitting the glass. You assume the noise was an acorn or pinecone that fell from somewhere and landed on the balcony—no big deal.

You unlock the balcony doors and step outside. You look around, searching for the item that hit the balcony window, only to find nothing. You furrow your eyebrows and rub the sleep from your eyes with the heel of your hands. While trying to get yourself to wake up, you suddenly feel something hard hit your forehead, causing you to stumble back, and your hands fly up to touch the area that was hit. The object that hit your head clatters on the ground loudly after making contact with your forehead.

“Ow,” you hiss. “What was that?” You grumble, eyes scanning the balcony floor for the object that hit your forehead.

“You idiot! You just hit [Y/N] in the head with the rock!” Kaveh hisses, smacking Itto upside of his head.

Itto grumbles and rubs the spot where Kaveh has struck him. You walk to the railing and lean on it, looking down at the men who are looking up at you. You sigh and lay your head on the wooden railing. You certainly did not expect to get hit in the forehead by a rock that is thrown by Itto, but you shouldn’t be surprised.

You prop your head up with your hand and look down at them from where you’re standing. “What a lovely way to wake me up, boys,” you snort.

“We didn’t know how to wake you up, so we went with this decision because it’s fun and romantic!” Venti says, smiling up at you innocently.

You raise your eyebrows at the men teasingly. As much as you wanted to tease them about the romantic gesture, you pointed at the door and chuckled. “So, instead of knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell, you guys chose to throw pebbles at the balcony window?” you ask.

“We told them to knock on the door, but they insisted on throwing pebbles at your balcony window. I’m not sure why other than it being a romantic gesture,” Cyno mutters, looking over at Venti and Itto, who smiles at him innocently.

“You look like you just woke up,” Kaveh comments, looking at your bedhead with an amused look on his face.

You mumble and run your fingers through your hair to fix your hair. “That’s because I did! I was exhausted, but the pebble hitting me in the forehead definitely woke me up,” you reply.

“You should get ready! It’s almost nine in the morning, and we’re debating whether everyone should eat breakfast before going to the island or bring something with us to eat while we’re there,” said Tighnari.

You hum to yourself and tap on your chin. Since you’re going on an island devoid of human life, you think it's best to stop by somewhere to have breakfast before going to the island. “Let’s stop by Inazuma City for breakfast, then we’ll visit the island after,” you suggest.

“Alright, sounds good to me! We’ll wait for you to get ready, and then we’ll head off to Inazuma City for breakfast,” Aether smiles up at you.

You give Aether a smile before walking back into your bedroom, closing the balcony door behind you. You quickly got dressed, brushed your teeth, combed your hair, and walked down the stairs to the front door, where the men were waiting for you. You put on your shoes and walk out of the door, making sure that you don’t look like you are rushing (even though you are).

“Ready for breakfast in Inazuma City?” Ayato asks.

You nod your head, trying to act like you aren’t breathless at all. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” you said, smiling at Ayato and the men around him. “So, any hints on where we’ll be having dinner?” You ask.

Heizou pokes you in the ribs lightly, making you jolt at the feeling. “That will be a surprise since you won’t tell us where what island we’re going to today,” Heizou says, smiling at you.

You scrunch your nose up and sigh. “Alright, fair enough,” you huff, ruffling Heizou’s hair and earning a laugh from Heizou.

At Inazuma City, the minute you step foot into the nation of eternity, you’re almost hounded by the citizens of Inazuma. Before the citizens could hound you, the men were quick to form a barrier around you to prevent the citizens of Inazuma from surrounding you and gazing at you like a child in a candy store. You smile at them shyly and wave at them while the men escort you to the restaurant where all of you will be having breakfast. Upon entering the small restaurant, you all sit at the back of the restaurant for privacy.

“I completely forgot that [Y/N] is a God that is worshipped by all,” Gorou says, slightly smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand.

Venti laughs and shakes his head. “Don’t worry, Gorou. You’re not the only one that forgot about that, too,” Venti reassures Gorou.

“I think we should eat our breakfasts quickly and then leave, or else the people of Inazuma will spread the word that [Y/N] is here, and it’ll make it harder for us to leave the restaurant and city,” said Thoma.

Breakfast went by fast, which you’re not surprised at all because while eating breakfast, the commotion outside of the restaurant was getting loud. You end up requesting a to-go box to pack the unfinished breakfast and take it to the island you and the men are about to visit. At first, the restaurant owner informed you that they typically don’t let customers take home the leftovers, but you’re able to convince the restaurant owners to let you take them.

“Are you ready to go to the island? I would show the way, but I’m not sure what island we’re going to,” Kaeya says, walking beside you as you all walk to the nearest waypoint while trying not to be spotted by the citizens of Inazuma.

You sigh dramatically. “Alright, I’ll tell you all what island we’re going to,” you said.

The men around you cheer, making you snort. You’re not entirely sure why they’re cheering, but it’s adorable! Although you’re not prepared to see the reactions on their faces when you tell them the name of the island you’re all going to visit once you reach the nearest waypoint.

“We’re going to visit Tsurumi Island for a few hours, then we’ll head back to the mainland to continue the day,” you said, turning your back to the men, not wanting to see the reactions on their faces.

Xiao stares at the back of your head. “Tsurumi Island?” Xiao mutters, looking over at the Inazuman men and Aether.

Aether looked like he was going to faint at any given moment. Aether has explored Tsurumi Island before, and he sure as hell did not want to return to that island ever again. But since it’s the island that you’re planning on visiting, Aether is mentally praying that nothing goes wrong and that everything is fine and dandy.

You turn to Aether and poke him lightly on the forehead. “You know I can hear your prayers, right?” You ask, smiling at Aether.

Scaramouche leans to Aether. “How could you forget about that?” Scaramouche whispers, snickering when Aether elbows him in the stomach.

“Something tells me that we might need to bring an emergency first aid kit, just in case,” Albedo says.

Baizhu chuckles and pulls out a large first aid kit. “I’m already ahead of you,” says Baizhu.

When you all arrive at Tsurumi Island, everyone expects to see an island full of fog and spirits; what they do not expect is to be taken to the lower part of Tsurumi Island. Itto’s eyes widen, and he looks around; the site is suddenly familiar to him other than Aether.

“Oh no,” Itto laughs nervously, his eyes darting around to look for the familiar creature that resides on the island.

“Why are you saying ‘oh no’ like that?” Al Haitham asks, narrowing his eyes at the oni, who continues to survey his surroundings nervously.

Aether makes a face and lets out a sharp exhale. “You’ll see,” Aether says, bobbing his head in your direction.

The men stop on the side and watch you approach the center, unsure whether they should stop you from walking any further or not. You’re a God, the creator of all things, and you’re untouchable! But are you really untouchable? You step closer to the strange black-yellow rift in the air; your heart is punching you in the ribs while your mind is racing. Would he still recognize you?

“[Y/N], I don’t think you should be walking any closer,” Cyno says, his polearm materializing in his hands.

Your eyes remain on the rift. “I’ll be fine, Cyno. He’s not going to hurt me,” you said.

“But how do you know that he won’t hurt you?” Dainsleif demands.

You reach your hand out to touch the rift, but before the tip of your fingers can touch the rift, the rift immediately opens in front of you. You slowly backed away and gazed at the Golden Wolflord emerging from the rift, your hair whipping around your face the more the Golden Wolflord flew around you.

“Why does [Y/N] want to see that thing in the first place? That thing almost killed me many times!” Aether exclaims, covering his ears as the wind howls around them.

Heizou laughs nervously. “Shouldn’t we warn them not to touch the Golden Wolflord?” Heizou asks, looking over at the others nervously.

“I think it’s too late for that,” Pierro mutters.

Heizou slowly turns around and sees you petting the Golden Wolflord and nuzzling your face against its snout. Heizou and the men blinked at what they were seeing in front of them. The way you’re treating the monstrous beast in front of you as if it’s some puppy was mind-boggling. Your hands caress the Golden Wolflord’s face, nuzzling your cheek against his face while talking to it like it’s a baby.

“I haven’t seen you in so long! Look how much you’ve grown! Oh, I’ve missed you so much!” You said.

The Golden Wolflord whimpers softly and licks your face. That is something you don’t see a Golden Wolflord do to those who dare to step foot in its territory. You laugh and hug his face, petting his head and running your fingers through his fur.

“You’re still as cute as ever! I’m sorry I couldn’t visit you sooner; I was busy,” you said softly. You cup its face in your hands and look at it in the eyes with a small frown on your face. “I’ll try to visit you more often, okay? Maybe once a week; how does that sound?” You ask, smiling at the Golden Wolflord.

The Golden Wolflord rumbles and nuzzles his face against yours, closing its eyes in contentment. You smile and kiss the Golden Wolflord’s forehead. You turn around and gesture for the men to come closer, only for them to shake their heads in response and take another step back. You chuckle to yourself and continue to shower the beast’s head. While you did claim to have created the Golden Wolflord, you technically did, but at the same time, you didn’t. The Golden Wolflord is Gold’s creation, but you created Gold, and Gold created the Golden Wolflord. Therefore you had some kind of contribution to the Golden Wolflord’s existence.

You sigh and rest the side of your head on its head. “You must have been so lonely without me, huh? I know how you feel. I was alone before I created Teyvat, and I continue to be alone. While I have people that worship me from all over Teyvat, I still feel lonely,” you whisper.

“Do you think that thing understands what [Y/N]’s saying?” Kaveh whispers to the others.

Tighnari nods his head. “Oh, he understands [Y/N],” Tighnari says.

Remember how you convinced the restaurant owner in Inazuma to let you take the leftovers? Well, you and the men ate the breakfast with the Golden Wolflord, keeping you all company. Well, they ate from a safe distance while you and the Golden Wolflord kept each other company. After the visitation with the Golden Wolflord, you and the men return to the mainland. When you all returned to the mainland, you couldn’t help but feel sad and lonelier than you did before.

You didn’t realize that you had stopped in your tracks when you heard Albedo call out to you.

Albedo walks up to you and stops in front of you, gazing at you worriedly. “Are you alright?” Albedo asks. You watch the men slowly approach you and Albedo, unsure whether they should join in or not.

You hesitate for a moment and purse your lips. Should you tell them what’s wrong? You’re a God, the creator of Teyvat, and everything in its existence. You should be strong and not like how you are right now. Would they shame you for feeling this way? For not being the God that they have been worshipping since the beginning of time? After all, you did want to form a friendship with everyone, and you didn’t like feeling lonely. It’s one of the reasons why you created Teyvat and everything that resides on it.

“You’re overthinking again,” you think to yourself.

Zhongli walks to you and places a hand on your shoulder. “You can tell us whatever is bothering you; there’s nothing to be afraid of or be ashamed of,” Zhongli says.

“You all may be wondering why I have decided to visit the Golden Wolflord,” you said. “I didn’t create the Golden Wolflord, but I did have some kind of contribution to its existence. He has been on that island for who knows how long, and it must’ve been really lonely for him, and I can relate to him,” you said.

“What are you trying to say exactly?” Pantalone asks, cocking his head to the side.

You let out a frustrated and embarrassed huff of breath. “Long story short: I am lonely like the Golden Wolflord. I am trying my best to form friendships with you all, and I feel like I am failing because every time I try to form a connection, I fail miserably,” you said.

“A God bad with words and feelings….” Venti says, stroking his chin.

You hunch over and place your hands on your knees. “It’s so embarrassing! I created you all and everything around us, and here I am, struggling with expressing my emotions and inner thoughts,” you cover your hot face with your hands.

“It’s okay to struggle with that. I mean, have you seen Diluc? I think he’s way worst than you,” Kaeya says, smiling at you.

Diluc slowly turns to look at Kaeya, his eyebrows narrowing. You let out a weak laugh and sigh, rubbing your temples. For the past few days, you have been trying (and struggling) to form a friendship with these twenty-five men because of how bad you are when it comes to talking about your feelings and what’s going on in your mind.

“Hey, if you want to be friends with us, you don’t need to ask! The minute you told us to call you by your real name instead of ‘your grace,’ consider us as best friends!” Itto says, throwing his arms around your shoulders and hugging you.

Childe pushes Itto from you and gives you a suave smile. “Or, we can be more than that,” Childe wiggles his eyebrows at you. Zhongli, Venti, and Dainsleif deadpan at Childe’s suggestion. You stare at Childe cluelessly and look at the other men and back at Childe.

“Super best friends?” You ask.

Diluc rolls his eyes, grabs Childe by the back of his head, and shoves him out of the way. Childe stumbles and shoots a glare in Diluc’s direction, steam coming from his ears.

“Let’s start as friends first, then we can decide on the rest. Therefore, please ignore whatever the ginger idiot was implying,” Diluc says, giving you a small smile.

You smile at Diluc and tackle him into a hug, catching the redhead off guard. Diluc looks down at you with wide eyes before awkwardly hugging you back. A soft smile appears on Diluc’s face while he rubs your back. You sigh in Diluc’s grasp, letting yourself relax in his arms. You finally won't feel alone for the first time in thousands of years.

Note: It's funny how I said that I don't know how I feel about writing this fic, and this story ends up being almost 11k words long. I don't count the words myself; I always type out my fanfics in Google Docs and transfer them over to Tumblr and AO3 (apparently, some people thought I counted the words myself 😭). My winter quarter starts on Monday, the 9th of January, and I have no idea how that'll affect my posting schedule. I hope it doesn't negatively impact it 🥲 For those who want to be on my new taglist, here is the link to the taglist [Genshinluvr Updated Taglist Form]! Please make sure that you allow people to mention you/tag you in posts, or else I won't be able to tag you in any future fanfics! Anyway, for those who are new here or are returning readers, I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Taglist for my Isekai'd!Reader one-shot series and my overall taglist: @alhaitham-scribe, @xyji, @kazuhasmuse, @chirikoheina, @yoru-trash, @kaoyamamegami, @kwelibeeery, @yumakj, @deartoru, @luminarymoonlight, @toobytub, @ins4nebish, @bokuto-kinnie, @honeybedo, @exhaustedcommunist, @jadedist, @mompt2, @@living-my-best-life5, @chalksdreams, @rinswriting, @thelost-in-time, @mxn14, @ventisweetheart, @unwantedsleep, @kattythesimp, @hispasian-otaku, @Orah-s, @juuuuuj101010, @nxns3nse (If your name has been crossed out, it means that your account did not show up when I try to tag your account. Please make sure to allow people to mention you and tag you in posts and make sure the spelling, symbols and numbers are correct)

Read more of my works on my Masterlist | Maybe support me by tipping me on Ko-Fi or by reblogging my fanfics! ^^ I will also be posting exclusive fanfics on Ko-Fi as well very soon! You can also tip me on Tumblr if you'd like as a way to show support! ^^

2K notes · View notes

infraaa · 10 months

Text

KOSA 101

Let’s talk about this. This is something I haven’t seen a lot of in my end, and this new bill may be troubling to not just us as a whole, but content creators. So, this isn’t just exclusive to AO3 anymore. This can go as far as places like Wattpad, Quotev, DeviantArt, and here.

So, to put it bluntly, if you give a fuck, listen.

What is KOSA?

KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act,) is a bill within the United States that was initially created last year with the aim of protecting youth (considerably age 16 and under,) from viewing harmful content online. It has since been updated and reintroduced by Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN.) Now, on surface level, it may seem like this has a good outlook, right? Not in the slightest. This bill, while it may not be passed yet rather introduced, may take an extreme to protect youth and monitor all. Yes, I said monitor.

Not only is NSFW content bound to be flagged, which may totally censor a lot of creators not just on this platform but others, a wider band that is under this new bill is LGBT+ content. According to Senator Blackburn of Tennessee, who is KOSA’s co-author, even education on race discrimination was viewed as “dangerous to kids,” and this soon branches out to race, gender, and sexuality discrimination. This also extends out to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, etc. The bill puts itself in the hands of State Attorney Generals in order for them to use tools of censorship against our rights and safety— not just for the youth, but for adults too, as we may face (giving an example,) hurdles trying to obtain things like legal documents.

How does KOSA work?

KOSA works by acting as a censor and self filter for the internet. By the hands of Attorney State Generals, they ultimately decide what is harmful to kids online. Though, this is a dual edged sword. This would also present the loss of access to information that a large sum of people may not deem dangerous. This again extends outward towards things like depression, substance abuse, etc— complex topics without a clear agreement on causes or solutions. This means that it could also filter, and possibly censor medical information, extending outward to trans medical care as well, which may lead on to silence the transgender community further. This is a very bad thing.

There would still be features like Age Verification, but it also filters legal speech. What I mean by “there will still be features,” to give an example, Tumblr has a tab in settings where you can add your birthday, which in turn verifies how old you are. Tiktok has this feature as well. About filtering legal speech, any kind of media or information that has to do with societal ills that is held on a platform, for example, Tumblr, will enable that platform to be held liable for holding that information. But… it may seem like I’m getting off topic, aren’t I?

So let’s swing back around…

KOSA has the ability to hurt creators on several different platforms. This gives the United States Government unlimited range of control over the internet.

This linktree has at least four different petitions open for you to take action against the bill, and to contact your congressmen and women. There’s also a discord server that’s dedicated to stopping KOSA from passing.

By doing this, you are spreading your voice. You are helping millions of people nationally— creators, artists, writers, everyone.

And finally, don’t just like this post. Reblog it— it helps it spread and gain exposure.

Let’s put an end to KOSA.

#infrawrites #infraspeaks #kosa bill #kosa act #kosa #stop kosa #kids online safety act #lgbtq community #lgbtqiia+#wattpad #a03 down #a03 #writers on tumblr #artists on tumblr #I’m sorry for the tag overload and the cookie run tags are irrelevant but that’s the community I’m in #cookie run kingdom #cookie run #cookie run overbreak #crob

650 notes · View notes

zhongliologist · 1 year

Text

Research Hazards | 30 Nights Series

Pairing: Alhaitham x afab!reader x Kaveh

Genre: SMUT

Content Warning: threesome, double penetration, blowjob, cunnilingus, anal, creampie, trapped

Words: 5.7k

A/N: Happy Holidays! This is my present to y'all who're still here lmao Anyways, this is part of a series that I barely started, so I won't promise I'll post regularly. Consider this an advance ksksksks Also please ignore genshin lore stuff in this fic, i took all the liberties i had so it's not accurate lmaooo

Tagging: @yostresswritinggirl i know you've been waiting for this lmaooo

Warning: THIS IS AN 18+ FIC, SO MINORS OUT THERE, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

There are three types of people in the world when faced with a life or death situation.

The first one tends to be a little too overdramatic.

“This can’t be the end! I have so many projects to do, so many masterpieces to make! Al-haitham, you take responsibility for this! If you didn’t insist that we take this route, we could have been out by now!”

The second prefers to be more logical; the problem solver.

“Don’t be so pathetic, Kaveh. How about you use that brain of yours to find a way out instead? Out of us three here, you’re the most knowledgeable with machinery. You should know at least one loophole.”

And the last one is what people would call an “opportunist”.

“Take your flirting somewhere else, you two. I’m in the cusp of an academic breakthrough. This room is like no other! Completely unique from all the ruins attributed to the god of time! So exciting!”

“We are not flirting!” “Your imagination knows no boundaries, YN.”

You shrugged, crouching near an impression on the wall. “Hm. Whatever you say.”

This unique arrangement, or whatever it was, simply formed out of necessity.

As students of the Akademiya, it was required to submit a final research paper before graduating—a cumulative opus of all the learnings and skills one has acquired through their time as a student. You never had any trouble in writing your own paper, but the subject you chose was a behemoth, a wide gap in the tree of knowledge that has yet to be studied thoroughly. Despite your brilliance however, you only had one brain and that was hardly enough to tackle the mystery of the god of time. Besides, you needed the expertise from the other Darshans to make full sense of any discovery, and they probably need your expertise as well—a win-win situation, in your honest opinion.

And that was how you ended up with Al-haitham and Kaveh—geniuses, yes, but probably the most insufferable pair in the entire Akademiya.

“Al-haitham, Kaveh,” you called out as you stood up from your position and walked towards the two with notebook in hand. Al-haitham was standing front of a wall, trying to decipher what was written, while Kaveh was busy studying the walls of the room.

“Have you figured it out?” Al-haitham asked, looking up. He was always the sensible one between the two, but only when it comes to intellectual pursuits.

“No, not yet, but I do need a sounding board,” you replied, standing beside him. “An alternative assessment, if you will.”

“Fine by me. We’ll listen to your ideas first before we share our own thoughts,” Kaveh said as he stood before the both of you.

“So our current predicament is that we’re trapped in this room, which was triggered when we stepped on that platform, causing the walls to cave in on us. If we want to get out, we have to at least understand what had trapped us and why.”

Both men nodded at you. Al-haitham glanced at you, his stare a little too long than normal.

“Makes sense. Go on.”

You cleared your throat to divert your attention to the subject at hand. “Well, here’s the thing. Previous research claim that these ruins are dedicated to the god of time, yet now that I’m here seeing it with my own two eyes, touching it with my two hands, I have to disagree. And I believe the both of you think the same way.”

Kaveh and Al-haitham exchanged glances, yet it was Kaveh who first spoke. “While it is important not to jump into conclusions right away, I do agree with YN. The architectural style, the motifs…they do look similar to Istaroth-attributed ruins yet not quite. The flower motifs on the wall could easily be mistaken as triquetras. If we reexamine previous papers and note our recent findings, a trove of new discoveries is possible.”

Nodding in agreement, you listened to what Kaveh had to say, until you were distracted by how his lips moved. Soft, pink and plump…would it feel as delectable as it appeared to be, you wondered. Wait. This is not what you should be thinking in this situation YN!

“We should be careful here,” Al-haitham interrupted your thoughts. “Refuting previously recognized research is already an endeavor in and of itself. While it is disappointing that these ruins are not related to the ruins of Dahri, we can get enough data here to write an additional paper, alongside our main research subject. With that said, figuring out who this place is for should be the first and foremost priority, for the paper and for our safety as well.”

“I’ve seen you look through the writings on the wall earlier. Did it leave any clues?” you asked, gazing up at him. For some reason you felt hot and uncomfortable all of the sudden. Perhaps it was just the jungle humidity finally getting to you.

“Ah yes. It was also the reason why I had to agree with your assessment. The writings sing of praises for the goddess of flowers, as well as of hopes and wishes for ‘new seed’ to sprout and ‘new buds’ to bloom. It was also in a language which emerged at the same time as scripts from King Deshret’s empire and from ancient Sumeru. If these were ruins attributed to the god of time, Khaenri'ahn script should have been used and there should be no mention of the goddess of flowers.”

“How interesting,” you exclaimed, trying to rid of unnecessary thoughts forming in your head. “What you both have noted all points to the goddess of flowers. I assumed the same case as well. Yet there are no records of buildings dedicated to the goddess, so what makes this one different? What does the writings on the wall allude to? What is this place for? Why are we trapped here?”

“Alright!” Kaveh exclaimed, making you yelp when he suddenly placed his hands on your shoulders. They were heavy and big. “Let’s take a break for a while. I, for one, would like to rest on a comfortable place.”

The ‘comfortable place’ Kaveh was referring to was of course, another invention of his. Both you and Al-haitham watched the blond unfurl his portable chaise lounge with jaded eyes, all too familiar with Kaveh’s tactic of showing off. If he wasn’t a master craftsman and architect, you would’ve deemed him a simple man.

“Of course, the both of you are free to take a seat. Don’t be shy now,” he smirked, and at that point you understood why Al-haitham was ceaselessly cruel to him.

“Al-haitham if you’re not going to punch him sooner or later, I will do it.”

The Haravatat scholar simply shrugged at you; indicating that you should get used to it. “If I were you, just humor him to keep the peace and quiet. The archons know we need some silence to think in this situation.”

“Fine,” you retorted back and marched towards Kaveh. In a huff, you ungracefully plopped yourself on the chaise, surprising even Kaveh himself.

“You’re…” sitting so close to me, was what he wanted to say yet it was suddenly so difficult to get the words out of his throat.

“What is it?” you asked, wondering why Kaveh covered half of his face with his hand all of a sudden.

“No, I just…” he couldn’t say it. There was no way he could tell you that you smelled so sweet and delectable, enough to remind him of baklavas drizzled with honey. Drizzled with honey…he could lick it off of you—

“What’s gotten into you, Kaveh? You wouldn’t be thinking of anything inappropriate, would you?” you asked in the midst of a laughing fit. You just couldn’t help but giggle at the way his face morphed into an expression of horror.

“O-of course not! I…” he stammered but eventually composed himself. “Don’t you think it’s a bit warm in this room?”

“Well, there are no windows. It could also be the combined body heat of us three,” you shrugged. “I’m more concerned if we’re gonna run out of air before we can get out of here.”

“Oh, about that. There is a draft coming from the gaps on the walls, so there’s no chance of suffocation.”

“Well, at least we have that. But I do agree, it’s been warm for a while now, it’s making my skin stick to my clothes. I should at least remove one layer.”

“What…?”

Kaveh stared at you in panic, wide-eyed and flushed. He was already having inappropriate thoughts of you; your bare skin would do massive damage to his self-control.

“Wait…!” he reached out to you, hand on your arm. You gazed at him curiously, mulling over at the weird mood the both of you were in. If you were a little more honest, you could feel a haze creeping around you and Kaveh. You were just too scared to acknowledge it.

“Oh, come on! I’m just removing a jacket, no big deal!” You shrugged him off, finally getting rid of the stuffy outerwear required of students while on field, and went back to your place beside the blond man.

Kaveh had to train his eyes somewhere else to avoid looking at your shoulders and neck. Yet even if his eyes found purchase on a nearby rock, his imagination was betraying him with images of you flushed and ready underneath him, calling out his name in sweet and illicit whispers. There is no way he wouldn’t get hard right now. Get a hold of yourself, Kaveh!

Unbeknownst to the blond beside you, you weren’t in the best of shape either. It took all your mental prowess not to get overwhelmed by lewd thoughts—thoughts which involved the blond and the ash-haired scholar. All the intellectual talk from earlier had you weak and bothered, weirdly turned on from how Al-haitham discussed his thoughts while Kaveh shared his. For some reason, the desire to be pressed between both men was clawing at you. You wanted to feel their bodies against yours, touching and caressing all your sensitive spots until the three of you were one incoherent mess.

“What are you two even doing?”

The sound of Al-haitham’s stern voice brought you back down to Teyvat. You were thankful he was still sane, otherwise you might’ve not been able to come back. Kaveh, on the other hand, was still stubbornly looking at the distant wall.

“YN, scoot over,” Al-haitham ordered. He didn’t wait for you to move however, instead, you were forced to make room for him on the now crowded chaise, making you bump against Kaveh, who was definitely not pleased.

“You could at least wait, you know?” you remarked irately. “It’s already so hot and humid as it is…”

Removing his beret, Al-haitham kept his gaze on the wall in front of him much like Kaveh. “It’s not my fault this chaise lounge could barely fit three people.”

“Do you have a problem with it Al-haitham?” Kaveh interrupted, a lilt of frustration present in his voice which wasn’t there before. “You should be thankful you’re not sitting on the stone floor.”

In your position, the two of them looked rather silly bickering at the walls they were facing, as they avoided getting a glimpse of you and of each other. It wasn’t hard to guess that Al-haitham was feeling the same way both you and Kaveh did, and he was trying his best not to succumb to it.

“Did this room smelled particularly sweet when we went in?” you asked, interrupting the both of them.

“Hm? Oh no, I don’t think so. It was just like any other ruins we previously visited,” Kaveh replied, instinctively looking at you. That proved to be quite a mistake however, as his eyes began to ogle at your bare shoulders, neck and arms. The temptation to touch you was all too real and difficult to resist. Any time now, the tightly-wound thread holding his self-control would eventually snap.

“I’ve noticed it as well…the room does smell faintly of sweet flowers and padisarahs.” Al-haitham added as he glanced down at you, imagining all the things your mouth can do for him. Like slow-moving poison, illicit thoughts were invading his mind, pillaging all that is logical and reasonable until all he could think about is you. You being violated by him and Kaveh; you crying out their names as they fill both your holes; you laying on the chaise stuffed to the brim with their seed.

You watched Al-haitham as his mind wandered. You could tell he was losing his own battles, overcome by intrusive thoughts. If Al-haitham himself had succumbed to these thoughts, then forget about finding a way out. Your minds were too preoccupied to do any analysis at that point. The question now became clear to you—for how long are you three able to maintain self-control? If that wasn’t possible, what will happen to the three of you?

“A conclusion seemed to have crossed your mind, YN.”

It was Al-haitham, who had met your eyes directly. Peridot orbs on yours, you noticed the ferocity of his gaze, as if a fire was smoldering deep within him which he could barely contain. He was at his limit, and you were nearing yours too. You could only withstand so much mental battles, especially not against old leyline energy.

“This was a miscalculation in our part. Who would have thought we’d encounter something like this deep in the forest?” you replied, voice becoming low, body becoming pliant. “The flower motifs, the inscription on the wall, all the scattered decorations. It makes sense for this place to have that kind of purpose.”

“So what now?” Kaveh asked, leaning against the back rest of the chaise. “I don’t think I have the energy to resist whatever is happening.”

“Let’s just see where it goes,” you shrugged, allowing Al-haitham’s hands to cup your cheeks and Kaveh’s arms to wrap around your waist. “We are already too far gone.”

The next few moments were difficult for you to follow. After allowing your carnal urges to took hold of your actions, all you could remember was how everything felt so good.

The two men slowly ravished your body. You remember Al-haitham pressing his lips against yours, nibbling your lower lip until you allowed him to explore your mouth and play with your tongue. Kaveh, on the other hand, had monopoly over your body, lazily embracing your waist with one arm as he fondled your chest with his hand. He liked to bury his nose on the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent and leaving his marks all over your skin. Suffice to say, their ministrations left you bare and naked.

There were no words exchanged at that moment, just pure and unbridled lust.

You delighted at the sensation of having both men caressing you, making you feel good. In the haste of it all, the blond had you sitting on his lap, his hands cupping your breasts and rubbing your nipples, while Al-haitham’s lips travelled down from collarbones to your stomach; leaving nips and splotches of color in his wake. Your hands could only do so much; wrapped around Al-haitham’s shoulders as you accepted it all.

Kaveh couldn’t believe he finally had a taste of you—his deepest desires finally coming into fruition after years of longing. Although he had to share with Al-haitham, there was no other opportunity like this. He could finally touch you, caress you, tease you as he pleased. There were no eyes to stop him, no boorish ego to tell him he was being unprofessional for liking you as your senior. Maybe this was what he needed after all.

“…Kaveh…” you moaned, looking up to him for a kiss which he easily obliged. He went immediately for a French kiss, sliding his tongue against yours in a soft and needy kiss. Kaveh groaned into your lips as you pressed your butt against the tent in his pants, reminding him to remove his clothes as soon as possible.

Al-haitham watched the exchange with half-lidded eyes and lips ajar. It was turning him on in all the right ways. As a man of rationality, he had never thought he’d enjoy a voyeuristic view of you making out with another man, much less Kaveh. But the sight only made his dick harder, prompting him to bite hard on your inner thigh.

“—!!”

“Come on now, YN. Don’t tell me you forgot about me,” he growled as he lapped on the bite mark he had just left on your skin. “Let’s hear you moan.”

With those words, the man completely ravished your thighs—leaving nips and bites but altogether avoiding the place where you needed him the most. You were trembling, keening in pleasure, mind numbed by the sensations both men had put you through. With hands tightly digging into Al-haitham’s hair, you collapsed against Kaveh’s chest as you begged the other for more.

Annoyed at the attention you gave to Al-haitham, Kaveh had his hand under your chin and turned your head to face him. Meeting his scarlet eyes, you melted under his gaze—once again joining lips in one sloppy kiss. He easily drowned out your moans with his tongue, delving deeper into your mouth until all you could feel were his soft plump lips.

Aware of how quiet you had been, Al-haitham pushed your legs up and dove right at your center; sucking your sensitive nub without any warning. Your body shook immediately, pulling away from Kaveh’s lips as you reveled at the way Al-haitham was lapping your juices which had been spilling out since earlier.

“…Al-haitham…! Wait—!”

All your pleading went to deaf ears as he continued eating you out, even to the point of inserting his tongue into your hole. It didn’t help when Kaveh suddenly pinched your nipples, flicking them until they were raw and sensitive. He was back on marking your shoulders and neck; his bites now more intense and feral. You could only grasp on thin air as both men drove you to your climax. Tears welled up on the sides of your eyes as the pleasure became so unbearable, with no choice but to take it all in.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck….! I’m…!”

As Al-haitham sucked hard on your clit; as Kaveh bit hard on your shoulder, you instantly fell to your climax—body shaking and trembling as the pain and pleasure mixed into something indescribably intense and rendering your mind completely blank. You screamed at the overwhelming stimulation, squirting juices into Al-haitham’s mouth which he gladly licked.

The two men gently laid you down on the chaise as they stood in front of you, breathless and horny with cocks painfully hard. Silently, they undressed as you watched—your eyes tracing the contours of their muscles and biceps, their beautiful skin riddled with beads of sweat and bodily fluids. Desire bubbles up from the pits of your stomach once again.

Finally, you saw a glimpse of their erect members, both glistening with pre-cum. Head overridden with lust, you almost salivate at the sight—Kaveh’s was pretty, pink and rather long and slightly girthy, while Al-haitham was thick and veiny; almost as muscular as his toned body. Both men smirked at how you were ogling at them.

“Seems like you want more, YN,” Kaveh remarked as he sat at the end of the chaise, spreading your legs apart. “Surely, we can give you more. Isn’t that right, Al-haitham?”

Normally, this would prompt more bickering from the two, yet they have different priorities right now, and they can set aside their differences for later.

Al-haitham scoffed, hands giving his cock a few pumps before placing it near your lips.

“How about we start with a blowjob? I’m sure you know how to do it, don’t you YN?” There was a mocking lilt to his tone that normally irritated you, yet at that situation, it turned you on for some fucking reason.

At first, you gave the head tentative licks, lapping at the beads of pre-cum spilling from the tip. You then began swirling your tongue around the head and sucking it. Eventually, you licked the underside of his cock, thoroughly covering his member with saliva and pre-cum which earned a deep growl from the man. Locking gazes with Al-haitham, you finally took him in, mouth stretching at his girth. If you weren’t drowning in lust, you would’ve complained at the pain, but at that point, all you could think about was how you were sucking his large cock while Kaveh was rubbing his on your drenched slit.

And speaking of Kaveh, he was busy pleasuring himself—pressing your thighs together around his dick which was brushing against your sensitive clit. If you hadn’t had Al-haitham’s cock in your mouth, you would’ve moaned every time Kaveh would rub on your sensitive bud; yet you could only roll your eyes to the back of your head; seeing stars on the process. It was a delightful distraction, and both men seemed to have made it somewhat of a contest of who could maintain your attention.

All of the sudden, Al-haitham shoved his dick into your throat, making you gag. Holding your head, he was effectively fucking your mouth, as you took it all in. It was painful, but fortunately Kaveh was there to distract you, pressing his thumb on your clit as he continued sliding his cock on your wet cunt. You could no longer tell which was which, allowing your body to feel everything.

“Fuck, YN….I’m going to come in your mouth…” Al-haitham muttered through gritted teeth.

“Wouldn’t you like that, YN?” Kaveh cooed, face flushed as he continued to fuck your thighs. “We’re gonna cover you with our cum…”

With a few strokes, Al-haitham stilled in your mouth and pumped his cum into your throat, while Kaveh spilled his seed on your stomach, almost reaching your breasts. Not able to swallow of Al-haitham’s essence, you allowed the mess to drip from your lips and down to your body. The image of you covered with their seed was enough to keep both men hard even outside the influence of the room. Even after coming once, it wasn’t enough. They had to have you.

Lifting your chin up, Kaveh captured your lips for the nth time, tasting Al-haitham on your tongue. The thought seemed to drive him crazy, as he probed deeper into your mouth, groaning, sucking your tongue and biting your lips. Lifting you up, Kaveh met eye to eye with Al-haitham, both seemingly agreeing on something.

Smirking as he devoured your lips, Kaveh had you on his lap again, his cock now lined up on your cunt. Without saying anything, the blond lowered you to his dick, grunting at the novel sensation of your walls wrapped around him. His lips kept any of your moans from escaping, as he allowed you to feel the shape of his cock in your pussy.

All you could think of at that moment was how good Kaveh filled you up. He was prodding you at the right places, his size making you stop to adjust to him before he can plow into your cunt. The way he was kissing you didn’t help either. The constant stimulation had made your body so sensitive that even a brush of Al-haitham’s hand on your neck or Kaveh’s low growls was enough to make your body spasm.

“…Kaveh…more…”

You begged for him to move, but the blond could only smirk at you as he laid the both of you flat on the chaise with you above him.

“Oh no, we’re not done here, YN. Al-haitham has to prepare you.”

With those words, you suddenly felt cold wet fingers prodding your other hole, prompting you to turn around. You were greeted by a grinning Al-haitham who pressed a few kisses on your back.

“We don’t have any lube right now, but I’ll make sure you’re ready for the both of us.”

As Al-haitham kneeled down, you could feel his tongue rimming your hole, licking and prodding until you were crying out at the strange sensations.

“Wait…no…! That’s…!”

“Relax, YN,” Kaveh assured you as he nipped on your ear. “It’ll feel good later on. Just let Al-haitham pleasure you.”

You could no longer tell how long Al-haitham took to make you feel good, but you could tell that your rigid body was gradually becoming pliant to his touch. Perhaps you already came several times, you weren’t sure as the pleasure seemed to have overlapped each other with no end in sight. By the time you noticed, he already had four digits pumping in and out of you as he lapped on your juices, while you moaned against Kaveh’s shoulders.

“Look how well you can take my fingers, YN,” Al-haitham whispered to your ear as he continued to pound his fingers into your ass. “You think you can take my cock now?”

“A-Al-haitham…please…I—!”

As the ash-haired man flicked a particular spot inside, you could only cling to Kaveh for support, yet the blond himself was also struggling, trying his best not to come even after your walls keep tightening around him.

“Al-haitham…” Kaveh grunted, beads of sweat falling from his temples. “Hurry up…I don’t think I can last much longer…”

Al-haitham clicked his tongue as he shoved his fingers deep into you, making both you and Kaveh groan. “So impatient…perhaps you both need a lesson or two.”

“Well, how about we switch places instead?” the older man asked, his irritation evident.

Yet the other man only smirked, “Maybe later then.”

Finally pulling out his fingers, Al-haitham coated his member with your essence, rubbing it against your hole until he lined it up. Noticing what he was about to do, Kaveh pulled your now swollen lips once more for a kiss, effectively distracting you.

Gradually, Al-haitham pushed his fat cock into your ass, stretching you out in proportions you had never considered before. Having both Al-haitham and Kaveh inside of you had your eyes rolling to the bank of your head, the intensity enough to make you faint. But you were intoxicated with whatever energy was in the room, so instead of actually fainting, you were flooded with pain that was so good that it had your body shaking uncontrollably.

“Breathe slowly, love. Take it easy,” Kaveh whispered sweetly to you, noticing your heavy breaths. He made carefully placed kisses on your jaw and down to the crook of your neck to soothe you. He knew Al-haitham would definitely abuse your hole, and he had to at least make sure that you’d come out sane after this. His ministrations seemed to have worked though, as you collapsed into his embrace, whimpering while taking in both cocks in you.

It didn’t take a while for both men to begin moving. The contrast of Al-haitham’s sharp and harsh thrusts to Kaveh’s slow but long-drawn pace left you an incoherent mess, no longer able to perceive everything that was happening to you. You felt as if you were one big bundle of nerves, drooling and screaming every time their cocks pushed against a particularly sweet spot in you.

Yet you were not the only one on the brink of losing their sanity. Both Al-haitham and Kaveh were acting on complete impulse and desire—with their hands on your waist, plunging into you as deep as they could, relentlessly chasing after their high. They wanted to fuck you over and over again and spill into you, marking you as theirs inside and out. Then rinse and repeat.

“Hey, can you feel it?” Al-haitham asked Kaveh in a breathy voice, grinning as he continued to pound into you.

“Feel what?”

“My dick—“

In one huff, Al-haitham shoved deep and hard into you, which made your walls contract around Kaveh’s.

“Oh fuck…!” The other groaned out, gripping your waist tight as he threw his head up. That was incredible, if he was being honest.

“You liked that, didn’t you?” the younger man smirked as he bent over your back and took a handful of your hair. “YN seemed to have liked it as well.”

“Shut up,” the other simply glared even though his face was completely flushed.

“You should learn from YN, Kaveh. At least, they’re being honest.”

Al-haitham only chuckled as he continued to drive into you, completely mesmerized at how you were clamping around him, how your hips would bounce every time he would thrust sharply, how you were moaning his name on Kaveh’s lips. In normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have imagined himself desiring you so intensely like this. Unlike Kaveh who obviously had a crush on you, you were more like a like-minded individual to Al-haitham; someone who he could match wavelengths with. He could spend the whole day everyday with you without worrying about anything, and he would feel rather lonely if you weren’t there. Was it different from what Kaveh was feeling about you? He thought it was, but now he wasn’t sure anymore.

Al-haitham felt you tighten around him once more, probably prompted by Kaveh playing with your chest. He could feel himself slowly climbing into his climax, his dick twitching inside of you.

“I can’t…no more…I’m…” you managed to croak out, voice hoarse and dry from all the screaming.

“It’s okay...” Kaveh cooed as he pressed a kiss on your forehead, “we’re cutting it close too…”

“Cum with us, YN,” Al-haitham encouraged.

This was the moment you waited for, feeling both their dicks plunging in and out of you. You reveled at how full you felt, at how you were drowning in so much pleasure that your mind just turned off on its own. This moment where you were all in the brink of your climax was something you chased after—it was the height of all anticipation, of all the build-up. Soon, it will spill over into waves of ecstasy; devouring the three of you whole.

With their erratic paces and their ragged breaths, both men ravished both your holes as they try to reach their peak. You yourself was feeling the brunt of their thrusts, with knuckles white from gripping tightly on Kaveh’s shoulders and eyes rolling to the back of your head. A single hard thrust from both men had you collapsing on your orgasm, walls tightening as your body shook intensely. Following after you, Kaveh painted your walls white, spilling his seed deep into you with a loud growl. Al-haitham finished last, pumping his cum into your ass until it spilt over your hole.

Losing strength, Al-haitham slumped beside you and Kaveh as he tried to catch his breath. You could’ve passed out at the moment, if only the both of them weren’t still hard and ready to go. You yourself weren’t as satisfied as you ought to be, now beginning to miss their deep and sharp thrusts.

“Seems like we’ll have to satisfy this place before it would let us stop,” Al-haitham remarked, pulling out from you with his cum spilling out.

Helping you sit up, Kaveh also pulled out from you, groaning in the process. He wouldn’t want to admit it but he was as eager as you started; evident from how hard he still was despite coming twice.

“You can still take more, can’t you YN?”

“We’ll help you, so don’t worry about anything.”

Climbing back on the chaise, Kaveh pulled you to his lap while Al-haitham captured your lips with a grunt escaping his mouth. That all led you to Kaveh pounding your ass this time while Al-haitham shoved his cock into your pussy—your juices mixing and staining your skin. Imprisoned in the room, the three of you had no perception of time, thus it felt like you were fucking for eternity with no chance of calming down.

The three of you tried every position possible in order to satiate the brewing desire ever-present in the pits of your stomachs. One time you were riding Kaveh while you had Al-haitham on your mouth. Another time you were held by Al-haitham, wrapping your legs around his waist as he fucked your sore cunt raw, while Kaveh was pressed behind you, cock plunging deep in your ass. Both your two holes were full of their cum, spilling out on your thighs and legs.

At that point, the three of you were unbothered where this was going. If this was where you meet your end, you could just imagine Al-haitham’s look of disappointment and disgust. That was hilarious in and of itself, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care anymore. You just wanted to have them both by your side, filling you with their seed over and over again.

By the time you came to notice, you had already awoken yourself from sleep. Both men were lying close, bodies splayed over you as if you three had passed out from fucking too much.

But there, on the periphery of your vision, you saw a door, which wasn’t there before. You rubbed your eyes to check if you weren’t imagining things, but fortunately enough, you weren’t. It was there.

“Kaveh! Al-haitham! Wake up!” you exclaimed, pinching their noses to wake them up.

“Wha…? What happened…?” Kaveh asked, groaning at how heavy both you and Al-haitham were.

“Could you tone it down please?” the younger man scolded, still planning to go back to resting.

But as you were about to move, all the activity you did came crashing on you.

“Oww my fucking back!”

EPILOGUE

“And so, that is the conclusion of our research on Ruin No. 255b. While our paper is far from conclusive, we would like to take another look at it for more study.”

Al-haitham ended your presentation with a resounding applause from the panel of sages. They were more or less satisfied, saying how the three of you always produced great research which definitely warranted high honors upon graduation.

“But still, I’m curious,” the sage from the Amurta Darshan began. “This section here…on how leyline energy affects an individual’s libido. It’s so incredibly detailed that I have to ask how you were able to get this data.”

You smiled nervously, as you exchanged looks with the two men. “Well, we just had a few volunteers…”

#genshin impact #alhaitham #kaveh #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact smut #alhaitham smut #kaveh smut

2K notes · View notes