This is a little drabble/blurb/whatever of a really old brainrot where instead of the imposter you, your acolytes are smitten with you cause they think you're a blessing 👌🏻
"I am not. . . this Creator that you speak of," your voice is a quiet, anxious thing, mirrored in your nervous smile. Around you stands the Adepti of Liyue Harbor and the Qixing, eyes bright and watching every little move you make. "I'm sorry, I think there might be some sort of misunderstanding. . ."
You are still confused over how you got into this strange situation; just a few days ago, you'd been in your own room playing Genshin Impact to waste your time and deal with your boredom. In between those days, the last thing you'd ever expected to happen was to find yourself awakening in the middle of the newly-rebuilt Jade Chamber, tucked warmly in a bed that probably cost more than your entire house/apartment and Ningguang, someone you'd only thought of as a pretty game character, patiently sitting beside you.
Her eyes were watching you, waiting and glittering in the dim lights filtering throughand casting a warm glow over the room.
". . . You're finally awake," she had breathed out, her hand coming to trace over your jaw. You were still so sleepy, so convinced that this was merely a really strange dream, that all you did was give her a confused smile before your eyes closed once more, relaxing against the bedding to slip off once more into the land of dreams.
If you'd been awake for a few moments more, you would have heard her surprised chuckle.
Later, once you'd woken up again, you'd realized you were not, in fact, dreaming. You truly were in Genshin Impact, in Teyvat, in Liyue—
And the characters acted more strangely than you thought possible. And it wasn't just them; there were certain things you were one hundred perect sure weren't ever mentioned in the game.
For example: this All-Creator everyone seemed to worship, whose statues' likeness to you was so eerily matched down to the tiniest bump along your skin it made you uncomfortable beyond words. Who are they, and why are they an exact replica of you? Questions, questions, yet no answers.
The strangeness did not end there: everyone was overpeotective of you to an extent it made your skin crawl.
Ningguang adorns you in riches and jewellery with prices unimaginable and loveliness unmatched; Zhongli, ever at your beck and call, personally escorts wherever you want, holding you close and answering whatever question you may have; whenever he is not available the rest of the adepti are there, all willing to keep you company even if you wished to be left alone. You were kept sheltered, as though every step you took without their help and protection would hurt you.
And this was just Liyue. Thinking of the other nations gave you a terrible headache and made your stomach churn in a feeling you did not like to think about enough to discern.
They did not call you by your name, of course, not even after you insisted. No, they called you a handful of nicknames instead of your name; Liyue's Jewel, their Jewel, their Gem, and most confusing of all— the All-Creator's Beloved.
And so here you are now, trying to set the record straight. Emphasis on trying.
"We know, little Gem," it's Zhongli who speaks, staring at you with the same patient look in his eyes. He's gentle as he ushers you to sit on a plush and comfortable chair, the silks you're wearing barely whispering as they drag against the marble floors. He takes your hand, eyes burning like amber. "We know you are not them."
You blink at him, confused. Ganyu is by your other side, the tips of her fingers barely caressing against your skin. "While you may look like Them, you really aren't Them— it's easy to tell you and Their Majesty apart."
Your voice next comes out quiet, unable to keep looking at Zhongli or Ningguang or even Keqing, so you instead stare at Xiao, the Yaksha solemn and silent yet not protesting their words. What is going on, what is going on?
"You are Their Blessing to us," Zhongli's voice has also gone quiet, reverent and excited, yet to you it feels as though he is shouting these awful words. "Why else would you look like Them so much if They do not favor you? Dear Jewel, They've sent you to us and we shall keep you happy and safe, just as They must have wanted."
He drops to a smooth kneel, taking both your hands to kiss your palms, the back of your hands. Something in you feels like it's getting squeezed, scared and stunned at his words, at what they believe in.
"Therefore, it's our duty to take care of you. Worry not, dearest Jewel, no harm will come to you with us. You will be kept safe and treasured."
OMG this is giving me 'let us adore you' vibes from Steven Universe.
Come live with us in the palace, there's a room waiting for you. Come on, come on, come on, just let us adore you.
They showered you with love and affection. You should be embracing all of the adoration, accepting it with gratitude. But why does it feel suffocating? When did love become so tiresome? Why does it not feel as fulfilling as you thought it should?
Come live with us in the palace, there's a room waiting for you.
Why does it feel foreign even though you're exposed to their love every second you draw your breath? Why is it hard to understand such a basic form of emotion radiating from them when you yourself should understand that feeling better, as a person who adores people out of your reach between a screen, why do you not grasp their love? Their devotion?
Come on, come on, come on, just let us adore you.
Is it because you were not what they worship you to be? But you already have the answer, under layers and layers of denial. You knew too well after succumbing to your thoughts in the dead of night, why their love is hard to breathe through your nose, how their affection is stuck in your throat when you try to swallow. No matter how many times you try to down it with the most crisp of water, or with the finest of drinks, you are unable to swallow their affection,
because they're not yours.
No matter how many times you try to expand your lungs to breathe, or how many times you try to close your eyes to pick up the scent, you are stuck to hold your breath like head under water, for you are unable to breathe in their love,
because they're not for you.
Yes, we know that you're not her but you were hers.
They only love you because of their god, you believe that they love you, but no, they love you because you remind them of someone else... Who is not you.
What are you but an image of their god? What are you but a monument for their devotion towards someone else? Who are you if not just a temple to present their love to a person who is not you?
Your existence in this world is nothing but bridge to their god, a form of connection to the true person they worship and love.
You cannot swallow something that is not yours, you cannot breath the air that is not for your lungs.
You knew what it meant to love her,
They claim that they love you dearly, but you're unable to consume their love, you can feel it, but your heart cannot accept it. You feel their devotion, and you should submit yourself to it, but why should you accept affection that makes you feel less like a person,
...Communication is within reach! That's a good thing, right?
Reader is Gender Neutral!
The light from the window across from you woke you up, your eyes opening in alarm before squinting closed due to the sudden sting.
You turned over, away from the window, snuggling closer to the pillow below your head.
Wait a minute, huh?
Your eyes snapped open this time, now more accustomed with the bright light inside the room. You leaned up, looking around to see where you were.
The last thing you remember is talking to Scaramouche in the garden… how did you end up back in your bedroom? Did he carry you up here? That was awfully nice of him, a bit too nice of him in fact. He’s definitely going to rub that in your face later.
Hold on, doesn’t that mean he entered your room!? What’s the point in trying to keep the Harbingers out of your bedroom if they’re going to waltz in the second you’re not awake?
Ugh, nevermind. Think happy thoughts. The PC’s safety shouldn’t be too much of a problem yet, after all, they can only hear you on this side - you can’t hear them. Besides, you made sure to turn the volume off and put an overlay on the screen just in case something like this happened.
You stretched, a pleasant hum escaping your lips from a restful sleep.
“You seem in better spirits this morning~”
“WHAT THE F-”
You fell off your bed in shock, your back hitting the carpet and head facing towards the ceiling. Columbina, with a teasing smile, peered from the side of the bed - comically appearing in your line of sight.
“What are you doing here!? More importantly, what are you doing in my bed!?” You whispered harshly, not bothering to sit up.
“Did you forget our little secret already?”
…
Oh right. She’s ‘allowed’ to come into this room whenever she wants now.
“Of course not…”
She clapped with a happier expression. “Wonderful! I’m so glad you remembered, and I’m glad I thought to sneak in once the Balladeer left. Your bed is much more comfortable than the other one you tried to give me instead.”
“That ‘other bed’ was to be shared with all the other female Harbingers, and ‘that bed’ is just as comfortable as this one… And besides, you were assigned that bed yesterday, you didn’t even give it a chance.”
“No, I can already tell this one is better.” She giggled. “Not only does this room get the sun - unlike the majority of the other rooms, but I also have you to wake up to to amuse me first thing!”
I’m sorry,” You interrupted her. “When did you say you snuck in again?”
“Last night, I thought that much would be obvious.”
“YOU SLEPT HERE WITH ME ALL NIGHT!?”
“Of course I did.” She shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I see nothing wrong with it - I don’t suppose you do, do you?”
“Of course I do! You didn’t ask for my consent at all!”
“I don’t understand, you’re making it out as if I assaulted you.” Her nose scrunched up in disgust. “Please be rest assured, I didn’t touch you if that’s what you’re worried about. I only wanted to spend more time with you.”
“That excuse would only make sense if I was awake, and we weren’t in bed together!”
She simply tilted her head in response to that, her happy smile turning dark. It seems she doesn’t want to talk about this anymore, and you don’t feel like pushing her any further.
Well… she looks to be telling the truth, you’ll have to believe her for now. That doesn’t mean you trust this though, considering the fact that Columbina now thinks this bed belongs to her. This is terrible, now you can’t feel safe in your own room anymore! Are you really going to have to sleep on the floor now? You refuse to voluntarily share this bed with her.
“Any..way…” You coughed into your hand, lifting yourself up from your fallen position. “I’ll be heading for a shower now, please leave.”
“Mmmm… No thank you. I want to continue sleeping whilst the sunlight is shining on the bed.”
Is she a cat or something?
“Fine. It’s not like I can stop you after all.”
“You’re right, you can’t.” She stuck her tongue out before grabbing the pillow you were previously leaning on and hugging it close to her body.
“Goodnight.”
It’s not even nighttime, weirdo. You deadpanned, grabbing new clothes from your wardrobe and glancing back with a scowl. Did she actually…? Yup, she’s out cold.
You’re getting out of here, this whole situation is cringing you out severely, and the more you look at her the more itchy your skin feels. You closed your bedroom door behind you, walking to the bathroom and putting your clean clothes on the windowsill beside the shower.
Making sure the door was locked, you grabbed all the soap you needed from the cupboard and turned the shower on, flinching when the water was cold.
Shouting from downstairs interrupted your humming.
You stopped rinsing your hair and turned off the shower in confusion, trying to verify whether the noise was what you thought it was.
“Fuck, what do we do!? Where’s The Decider?” You could barely make out the shout from downstairs, sighing in annoyance at your shower being cut off.
Oh well, you were practically finished anyway. It looks like you won’t be able to finish your little concert and will have to take care of the children, again.
You dried yourself and got changed in the new clothes as fast as you could, your hair still dripping when you rushed down the stairs to see what the commotion was.
Before you could push to the front of the semicircle the Harbingers had formed themselves in, they turned to you with disturbed faces, some more than others.
“Decider, you’re here at last. What took you so long?” Dottore whispered harshly.
“What’s with the whispering? Someone was shouting very loudly earlier.” You raised an eyebrow, the Harbinger’s shushing you in reply.
“There’s someone behind the front door.”
“Okay, and?”
“What do we do?” Childe asked you straightforwardly.
“Answer it, I dunno.” You shrugged. “What does the person look like?”
“An old woman with blonde hair,” Arlecchino commented. “She was carrying a circular red tin covered in a sprinkle design.”
There’s only one person you know with the delusional need to dye her hair dark blonde despite her wrinkles becoming clearer by the day. She also happens to be the only person you can think of who’d own such a hideous tin.
“Mrs Langley?” You questioned out loud.
“You know this person?”
“Yeah. She’s one of the only neighbours who speaks to us, my mother would often send me to the pharmacy on her behalf to get her medicine. The things I’ve seen in her house… you’d think it was a bad set design for a film.”
“Well, now this woman is outside and waiting behind the door for someone to greet her. We can’t even pretend someone isn’t home, because of Childe.” Scaramouche quickly brought the conversation back to its original topic, giving a side eye to the other Harbinger in question.
“I’ll answer it for you then.” You smiled a bit too enthusiastically. This could be your chance to get someone who knows you, and just so happens to follow the news, to know of your location so the police can locate you!
“Absolutely not.” Your smile dropped when you saw Pierro glaring at you from the sidelines. “Tell me, why do you think we called you down here, knowing you could use this as a chance to escape?”
“To give me false hope?” You sighed into your hand, scolding yourself for thinking there was a chance.
“We’re not that evil.” Childe muttered.
“Yes you are, you hypocrite.” Sandrone glared at him, amused by the current situation.
“Alright, alright, maybe you are then.”
“Enough!” Pierro shouted. “What did you do?” His eyes narrowed.
“I didn’t do anything!” You argued back. “I woke up this morning and immediately got in the shower. If you don’t believe me, ask Columbina. She was with me all night!”
You flinched as you said that, recoiling from the connotations of saying such a thing.
“She… what?” Scaramouche tilted his head in anger.
“Nevermind! Nevermind, I didn’t say anything. But I really didn’t do anything this time!”
“No, please, continue what you were saying. I insist.” He gritted his teeth.
Fuck. You didn’t think it would affect him this much. Sure, you knew it might anger a few of the Harbinger’s because you let her in your bedroom when nobody else is supposed to go in there, but still! You’re praying they didn’t take it the wrong way and think that the two of you did something indecent last night.
“There isn’t enough time for such arguments, we’ll discuss this later.” Pulcinella angrily stared at you before walking closer to the door.
“Could we hurry this up? I have work I need to walk to.” Arlecchino glared at his movement, Sandrone nodding after her.
“Yes, I also have business outside of the estate to attend to.”
“So, why did you call me down here then?” You ignored the others complaining, turning back to Pierro.
“...”
“Fine, so nothing right? Can I continue drying my hair then?”
“No. We still need you to sort out this mess.” He shook his head with a scornful frown.
“But you just said I couldn’t open the door?”
“Give us more information so we can create a plausible story.”
“I’m not helping you trick poor Mrs Langley, nor am I helping you out of this mess. Nothing will change my mind, so leave me out of this.”
“Even if it means endangering her life?” Capitano’s voice echoed through the room, his questioning tone ironically leaving no room for an answer.
They’re lying, they don’t mean… not again.
“You wouldn’t.”
“We could, if you plan to push our patience once again at the cost of other’s suffering.” Pulcinella said.
They must be bluffing, anything but what happened when you first met them, anything other than that. Think Y/N, think. How can you prevent Mrs Langley from facing the same fate as others?
“No… It’s not that you don’t want to, it’s that you shouldn’t.” Your eyes widened in realisation. “You can’t, even if you wanted to. You’re already being searched for by the police in this world, and causing another commotion nearby could reveal your location - endangering peace whilst you figure out your next move to return to Teyvat and potentially take me away from you.”
Did you actually just think of something smart?
“Clever.” Capitano coughed into his hand awkwardly.
“It would be clever if it weren’t for the fact that moving locations would be an easy feat.” Dottore mentioned slyly. “Disposing of this woman would be the most intelligent thing to do.”
“I disagree.” Capitano shook his head. “The woman could have extended family that would notice her disappearance.”
“They wouldn’t suspect we were the cause.”
“I will still not allow this to happen. We have already shed enough innocent blood in this world, I refuse to participate in this mess any further.”
The rest of the Harbingers looked at each other with a mix of expressions, almost having a silent debate.
“Take them upstairs and make sure they don’t do anything stupid. I hope your mercy won’t cause trouble in the future.” Pierro’s eyes were glued to the two of you, narrowed into thin threatening slits with a blue glow pouring out.
“Should trouble arrive I will deal with it myself.”
“Very well. Now go, before I change my mind.”
Capitano led you upstairs, eyeing your every movement in case you turn around. You decided to walk back into the bathroom to grab a towel for your hair, the room still steamy from your previous shower.
“Urgh..”
“What’s wrong?” You turned around, before stifling a laugh at his fogged up helmet. “Can’t see?”
“It will be fine.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Give me the towel, I will dry your hair for you.” He added whilst walking up to the window and opening it to let the steam leave the room.
Why would he want to do that? Has he really got nothing better to do? Watching over you can’t be THAT boring.
“Why do you want to dry my hair for me? Do you think I’m incapable of doing so?” You raised an eyebrow, snatching the towel away from his outstretched hand.
“It was a genuine question.”
“And I’m genuinely telling you I can do it myself. Also that wasn’t a question.”
You couldn’t see his expression, but you’re almost sure he rolled his eyes to your reply. “At least let me brush your hair for you.”
This man… You don’t know whether to gush and say yes or cautiously say no. The more you say no, the more things he’ll suggest. Ugh, fine. He can brush your hair.
“Do what you want, but if you get tired just give me the brush.”
“That won’t happen.” He took the brush out of your hand, partitioning your hair and beginning to brush it in sections.
“Hey! My hair’s not dry yet!” You complained.
“I would rather brush it whilst it’s wet for an easier comb through. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”
‘That’s… actually really considerate!’
“My hair isn’t even that long…” You sighed, sitting there as he continued to brush your hair in silence.
When the two of you stayed silent, you gradually heard voices from downstairs communicating happily growing in volume. The voices sounded happy, in fact, you think you can hear Mrs Langley’s voice chiming away like usual.
Yeah, you can’t figure out what’s happening down there. It doesn’t sound aggressive though, so thank goodness Mrs Langley sounds to be safe. Did she bring her homemade biscuits!? Damn, if the Harbinger’s accept them from her you’re definitely swiping those from the kitchen Dora the Explorer style.
“Lately I have noticed your resolve weakening.” Capitano disturbed the string of words coming from downstairs that didn’t match in your head.
You stayed quiet, trying to tune him out in an attempt to listen to more of the conversation. What’s really stopping you from charging down there though? Mrs Langley’s life would be in danger, yes, but couldn’t you run out the door whilst the majority of the Harbinger’s are distracted?
…no, that wouldn’t be a good idea. Capitano would catch up to you before you leave the front garden’s gate.
“Would you… like to talk about it?”
You turned to him with an annoyed expression, hinting at the fact that he should be quiet. He doesn’t, tilting his head in confusion. “What do you think?”
“Are you worried I’ll tell the others? I swear to you that I will keep my lips seale–”
“Capitano, just… for the love of everything that’s holding my patience, be quiet. We can do this later.” You scoffed at him.
“I don’t like your tone with me, what have I done to upset you? Actually, nevermind, don’t answer that.” He coughed into his hand. “You want to listen to the conversation downstairs, don’t you?”
He stood up, holding your hair low until you also stood up so he doesn’t accidentally yank your hair. He inched closer to the closed door, opening it wider than before, gesturing you to step closer to the edge of the stairs.
“Listen, but don’t move.” He whispered to you.
‘Is he? No… this must be some kind of trick. A trick to gain my trust! What reason would he have to disobey the other Harbingers like this, how does listening to me benefit him?’
Questioning him right now would cause the others downstairs to hear the two of you, maybe that was his intention in the first place. Either way, there’s no harm in playing along for now. Listen carefully, closely, maybe you can learn something from this!
“We appreciate your efforts in caring for the current situation.” You heard Arlecchino’s voice echo through the room downstairs, a (mortifyingly) happy tone in her voice.
“It’s no trouble at all, dear.” Mrs Langley. “Ah, thank you.” You heard shuffling.
“Arlette, put her coat on the bannister, would you?” Pulcinella asked her, footsteps growing closer to the point you and Capitano were hiding.
You shrunk to the ground, peering over the tallest step to see Arlecchino’s heels indented in the carpet. She seemed to smoothen out the coat with a serious expression before calling out she was going to work.
She opened the front door, looking around before her eyes slightly widened when they connected with your shaking ones. She looked at you up and down in judgement before putting a finger to her lips and closing the door behind her after she left the house.
Did Arlecchino really just stay quiet for you? That’s… nice of her. Too nice. Does she find this amusing or something?
A plate rattling against a hard surface downstairs cut you out of your thoughts, a tin opening and crumbling bits from what was inside hitting the plate.
They’re eating her homemade biscuits without you! How dare they!
“So, I’m sorry, how did you say you were related to Y/N again?”
“I’m an old and trusted friend of their mothers. After hearing of the incident, I became concerned for Y/N and held out hope that maybe they’d know to run back here if they ever escaped from wherever they could be right now.” Pierro explained with a sorrowful voice.
“I’m sorry for being suspicious of you…” Mrs Langley apologised profusely. “I too thought the same, it’s why I came over actually.”
“Once I heard voices in the garden, I prayed that maybe… just maybe it was Y/N. That poor child, I can’t imagine what they’re going through at the moment.”
“We’re all wishing them the best during these times.” Pulcinella’s voice interrupted her woes. “Speaking of which, you must be curious about our friends here.”
“Yes, I am indeed a bit curious. What are such young and handsome gentlemen doing on this side of the city? Are you friends of Y/N’s too?”
“Aha! You flatter us,” Scaramouche laughed cheerfully. “Unfortunately not, we’re the children of his cousins who answered his plea for help in managing this house. In the beginning, it was just uncle-monocle and long-beard over there.”
“Oh my!” She laughed out loud at the nicknames.
“It was no issue coming here, we all live rather close by.” Signora pitched in. “We’re a very closely tied family, it was no problem.” You could feel her wicked grin.
That’s it, you’re done listening. You feel like you’re going to scream if you listen to any more of their lies affecting gullible Mrs Langley.
How dare they… You knew they would lie to get rid of her, but to this extent? And even inviting her in your house as if they also own it!? You’re so disgusted. Signora should be lucky that all footage of her ice attacks were destroyed back when you first met the Harbingers. ‘A closely tied family’? You don’t know whether to laugh or spit.
“You don’t wish to listen anymore?” Capitano watched you close the door gently, walking over to the chair with an annoyed expression.
“Who would want to listen to that bullshit?”
“...Fair point. I tried to keep you away from it for this very reason.”
“How much longer do you think it’ll take for them to say goodbye to her?” You sneered at the wall. “I mean, telling her lies such as that, they won’t be able to keep up their act forever.”
“It depends.” He shrugged, putting down the brush when finishing your hair. “I’m finished.”
You looked at your hair in the mirror, impressed with how silky it looked. He really did a good job! Which is surprising, for a soldier. Sure, he has hair of his own, which is noticeably long, but it doesn’t look well kept. His hair looks greasy, he probably hasn’t had the time to wash it in ages.
“Thank you. I didn’t expect you to do such a good job.”
“It was nothing,” He shook his head. “I used to take care of my hair often, until I was…” He stopped himself suddenly.
“Until you were…?”
“Nevermind.” He coughed. “I’m sure you already know.”
Do you really though?
“Well. Anyway.” You coughed in embarrassment. “Do you want me to do your hair in return? I’ll wash it while I’m at it.”
“That won’t be necessary. My hair is perfe–”
“Let me do it please.” You cringed from the smell. “One, I’m bored and have nothing else to do. Two, no offense but your hair looks terrible. Three, it looks fun to play with and honestly it would be the right thing to do since you helped me first.”
He stayed silent for a while, thinking about it before giving a shrug. “...Fine, then.” He turned around, giving you full access with his straight locks.
“Oh, no no no no.” You wagged your finger at him playfully. “I’m not touching your greasy hair with my hands until you wash it.”
“I believe my hair is perfectly clean.”
“Yes, it’s clean. But the amount of oil in your hair? Sheesh, it’s a no from me.” You gestured to the bath behind him.
“Bend over, would you?”
“Excuse me?” He stepped back in horror.
“No! Not like… pfft… I just realised what that sounded like. I mean sit down and put your head in the bath, I’ll wash it for you.”
“I don’t want to do that.”
“Do you really have a choice?” You mused, grabbing a plastic stool and putting it inside the bath for you to sit on. “Face the wrath of my boredom.”
“Very well, just don’t make a mess.” He sighed, following your instructions.
He heaved on the floor, back to the wall of the bath with his hair draped over. His hair was practically touching your bent knees, making you shiver in disgust at the closer look of grime.
“I know you don’t like taking off your helmet, but I can’t wash your hair properly if it’s on.” You tapped the helmet, a shining reflection from the light above him giving you a blank stare.
“I don’t wish to take it off.”
“I know you don’t, and I won’t force you to. Just so you know, I do know what’s under there if that’s what’s stopping you. That poor curse of immortality is treating you rough, huh?” You tried to reason with him.
“Not as rough as in Teyvat.” He replied. “My curse hasn’t been alleviated, but I have noticed the symptoms of decay have lessened. Would you happen to know the reason why?”
“I may have an inkling…” You trailed off, thinking of a genius idea that may or may not screw your advantage over the Harbingers later. “Tell you what, I’ll tell you what the reason may be if you take your helmet off.”
“You strike a hard deal to agree with.” He sighed once more, arms crossed. “May I use the towel to cover my face if I agree?”
Yes!! You felt your smile widen further.
“Of course, do whatever you feel comfortable with.” You couldn’t contain your excitement, swiping the clean towel next to you and throwing it on his lap.
“Please turn around and close your eyes.” He told you, turning back and making sure you did so.
You closed your eyes as he told you to, hands over them to show him you were being truthful in not looking. You heard a deep breath and clicking sound, followed by a thud that might have been his helmet dropping to the tile floor.
“You can look now.”
You opened your eyes, witnessing more of his rancid hair. You stared at his visible scalp in pity, the skin a charred black which gave off a decaying odour. The skin looked strangely soft, but you resisted the urge to touch it in light disgust.
“I knew it, the smell is too repulsive. Please close your eyes once more, I will put my helmet back on.” He noticed your silence.
“No!” You accidentally said a bit too loud. “It’s not too bad, I’ve smelt worse.”
“You think so?” He struggled to muffle his laugh with his hand. “I doubt that. Death is a smell many aren’t used to.”
You snickered, turning on the shower and testing the temperature. “You’d be surprised. Mrs Langley wasn’t the best with smells, she could barely smell her pie burning in the oven the last time I saw her.”
“Your poor nose.” He commented sarcastically. “Losing any of the five senses is a pitiful way to lose yourself.”
You began to rinse his hair with water, satisfied with the hair looking healthier already despite not adding shampoo yet. The Captain let out a sigh of satisfaction, somehow leaning back further into the warm water.
“Is it too hot?”
“No.” He said quickly. “Now tell me about your theory, I did not take my helmet off for nothing.”
“Well,” You put the shower head down to grab shampoo. “This world is very different from Teyvat. No ley lines, no Irminsul, no direct control from Gods or Archons in affairs. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
“You mean to suggest my curse is being held back by my disappearance?” He thought to himself out loud. “It sounds plausible.”
“Of course, Irminsul is only a collection of memories and what is considered ‘truths’. That doesn’t mean if something is erased it hasn’t happened, so that could be why your curse is still active despite no longer being in Teyvat.”
What you’re saying sounds pretty correct… Scaramouche removing memories of his existence in Irminsul didn’t actually erase him after all.
“This sounds very interesting, I’m sure Dottore would have loved to hear this theory of yours for himself.” Capitano mused.
“Oh no, I’m only telling you this because you’re one of the more… decent Harbingers.” You corrected him. “Everyone else is either a monster, a psychopath, or just too guarded to get along with.”
“I understand what you mean.” He lied. “I suppose this means you’d like for this to be kept amongst ourselves?”
“If possible.” You nodded. “I think you’re a noble person. Your morals are something I envy, actually. Watching your journey in Natlan together with the Traveller was inspiring.”
“I finally go to Natlan?”
“Yeah, it’s quite far in the future though. Considering the fact that…” You paused, deciding mentioning Signora’s death wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do. “Nevermind.”
“What were you going to say?”
“Nothing important.”
You paused your action in rubbing in the shampoo, hands hovering over the scalp you were staring at earlier. You don’t think you can do that, but the scalp is one of the oiliest places…
“Is your scalp sensitive? Maybe it would be best if you rubbed the soap in instead of me.”
“I don’t understand you.” He took his gloves off, taking the shampoo bottle from your hands and rubbing it in his wet scalp.
“I’m a Harbinger like the others. I aided them in the action of kidnapping you, I was specifically the one holding you in place when running from those officers. Yet you claim I’m not like the others, which I am nothing but.”
“Okay, yeah sure,” You interrupted him. “From your point of view, you’re nothing different. But from my point of view, I’ve seen the kindness you do share with others.”
“You’re strange.” He chuckled with an airy voice. “And not mentally healthy. You might want to go see a doctor.”
“The only doctor around here is old Dottie, and I’d rather eat my own shit than have a check-up with that crazy bitch.”
“Fair point, the majority of us feel the same way.” He chuckled once more. “My point was, I’m slightly worried about you. I’ve been watching your sanity for a while, and I must say, it’s almost amusing to see it go up and down so sporadically.”
“Whilst I appreciate the concern.” You forced the urge to be snarky down your throat with a swallow. “There’s nothing you can really do to help me. So please don’t show such worry again.”
Especially considering it’ll make me feel as if he actually cares. You thought to yourself at the end.
He’s holding you hostage, Y/N. Remember that. Don’t form any positive connections with any of the Harbingers. It doesn’t matter how nice they treat you, it’s all a trick to gain your trust and take advantage of you. You’re the one who’s supposed to be tricking them, not the other way around.
You finished rinsing off the shampoo, considering putting conditioner then deciding against it. You were being nice with using your own shampoo, but he’s not getting the conditioner as well. It’s expensive, and you’d never use it on someone else.
“Pass me the towel.” You asked him.
“I can’t see.”
“Oh! Right.” You laughed awkwardly, reaching over to the clean towel in front of him. You rubbed his hair dry with the towel, standing up and putting the plastic stool back to its original place.
“Stand up, I need to brush your hair then I’m done. Hopefully the others will be finished by then.”
He did as you asked, however instead of standing he knelt. It seems he realised if he stood up straight you wouldn’t be able to reach. Before you could start brushing his hair, the door burst open.
“She’s gone!” Childe emerged, a happy expression on his face. His expression slumped slightly, before resuming its brightness. “What are you doing? And– Did you take your helmet off!?”
“Y/N felt it was necessary. There was no need to deny their wants.” Capitano explained, shrinking under his towel.
“But Captain, your face! I want to see what it looks like, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you take that mask off before!”
“Childe, leave the room.” You continued your brushing. “We’ll leave when we’re finished - and you’re being insensitive right now.”
“...” He stared at you for a few minutes, before smiling brighter. “Of course, my mistake! Forgive me Captain, I’ll wait outside.”
“You’re even stranger than I previously mentioned.” Capitano said after the ginger closed the door behind him. “That one is not to be spoken to that way. Especially from… well, you.”
“He seems harmless enough in this state.” You shrugged. “And anyway, it’s Childe. I’ve made fun of him for years, so I don’t see why I’d stop now. Actually…”
Your eyes widened slightly in understanding. If your theory you shared with Capitano is correct, then wouldn’t that mean the Abyss within Childe will also apply to such a rule? Maybe he’s right, you should be cautious. Just because Capitano’s immortality is being nullified in its after effects doesn’t mean the same will happen for Childe’s with his curse.
Will the Abyss within him wear him down like in Fontaine? Or will the symptoms also nullify and make him a gentler person?
You’re not looking forward to finding out if the answer is the former.
“You’re taking too long.” Dottore burst through the door, Childe peeking behind his shoulder.
“I tried to tell him.” He sighed, turning around and walking away whilst shaking his head in disappointment.
“What’s the problem? I’ve seen Cappie without his helmet before. I’m the one who worked on it to remove the leaking odour he has.” The Doctor shrugged with a mischievous face.
“It’s called boundaries.”
“Bounda..ries? What’s that?” He joked. “Oh well, nothing important to me. Anyway, come along Decider, I have a job for you. We’re going out!”
In a flash, somehow, Dottore had snatched your wrist and ran out of the house with you. Not before disguising you in heaps of clothes unfit for the current weather of course, unfortunately he would never forget that detail when you’re allowed outside the house.
He ran down the street, dragging you behind him. He had an excited smile on his face, showing the act had no effect on him. You though… you were panting heavily, clearly struggling to keep up with his pace.
“Slow… Slow down…”
“Hm?” He turned behind him, eyeing your messy expression before turning back. “Fine.”
The two of you stopped at a bench, the Doctor pushing your slumped form onto it to allow you to rest.
“Why would you… run like that!?” You panted. “Do you see the clothes I’m in!?”
“Apologies.” He rolled his eyes under his mask. “But we’re behind schedule. That woman took way too long with her sob story.”
“Sob story??”
“She went on about her failed marriages for longer than expected.”
“Ahh, yeah she tends to do that.” You looked away from him, looking around to see where the two of you were.
Hold on a minute, we’re back in the place I first saw the Harbingers in the car! Wow, this really came full circle. Unless… that was his intention and he wants to experiment on you here? Ohhhh no, you are not letting that happen!
“Relax, I’m not doing anything to you.” He laughed evilly, noticing your horrified expression. “Too risky, and strict orders from The Jester.”
“That’s your only reason!?”
“The reason I brought you out here was to aid me in my endeavour to learn this world's scriptures.”
“...Just call it writing you weirdo.” You rolled your eyes. “And why would you want to learn how to read anyway? You’re not planning to stay in this world for much longer.”
“My dear, you truly are slow.” He tutted. “With my current knowledge not finding itself useful as this world is fundamentally different from Teyvat, I am practically useless with my centuries old brain. If I could learn the nature of this world first hand, using this world’s resources, I can find a way home much sooner than recorded.”
What are you supposed to say in response to that? ‘Oh sure! I’ll help you plan my death by helping you out!’ …Yeah, no. But you can’t just say no either, so how are you going to get out of this? Let’s just follow along for now.
“Okay.” You nodded. “Where did you want to go that’ll help you?”
“Yesterday I was musing to myself, and realised, where else would be better to find books than a library? I found one in the end, of course, so that will be where we’ll be heading.”
“When on Earth did you find the time to explore the city?”
“...Yesterday?” He looked at you as if you were stupid. “I can’t believe Sandrone actually sees potential in you.”
“Anyway,” You interrupted him with narrowed eyes. “Why didn’t you just take a book out and bring it home? Not like I’m hating being outside or anything.”
“That was my intention when I was last in the building, however, they demanded to see a library card and refused to let me take the stack of books I was carrying.”
“I wonder why!” You sarcastically rolled your eyes. “A strange man in foreign clothing wearing a suspicious mask trying to take out a suspicious amount of books in one go? Wow! How dare they not trust you to return them!”
“I don’t appreciate your jokes.” He groaned, shaking his head in frustration. “A library card… I’ve never been so insulted.”
“First time for everything… although I don’t think this is the first time…”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing.” You shook your head with a sigh. “I have a library card, but it’s very old and most likely won’t work. Not only that, but I have no idea where it is. The last time I saw it my mother snatched it out of my hands over ten years ago.”
“You underestimate me.” He dug his fingers in his breast pocket, pulling out the familiar card with its lamination peeling off.
“How and why do you have this!?”
“I found it in one of the many coat’s pockets in the landing cupboard.” He shrugged, allowing you to take the card from his hands and look over it.
“Of course…” You whispered to yourself, tracing the colourful drawings on the card with your fingers. “No wonder I couldn’t find it.”
“We can use this, right?” He lazily asked you, eyeing your fond expression for the card in slight disgust.
“Yes and no. It will most likely be accepted by the people, but because it’s so old, they’ll force me to change it for a newer one which is no problem at all. The actual problem is my library card can be used as a form of ID. Meaning if I were to use this…they’d know my identity.” You lied.
“Nice try,” He caught on, grinning from ear to ear. “But that won’t work on me. It’s funny you mention that in particular, as a very useful old woman told me that once a library card is bought they can be used by anyone who has it. Whether they were the ones who bought it or not, which is why I ought to be careful when I buy my own.”
“Uh…”
“So tell me, why would there be a possibility of being able to do such a thing if there is indeed a form of ID on it?”
“Fine, you caught me.” You spluttered in embarrassment, the Harbinger patting your head aggressively.
“It was a cute try, but it won’t be as cute if you attempt to lie again.”
“Just… lead me to the library before I stop being as cooperative as I’m forcing myself to be now.”
...
..
.
The two of you walked into the library, books lining the walls you passed by.
"So many books, where do we find the time to read them all?" Dottore abandoned your side, walking up to a shelf and opening the first book in his line of sight.
"What you're looking for won't be here. Unless you want to read romance stories targeted to 50 year old women."
"Any literature is still literature." Dottore shrugged as he threw the book behind him without care. "It will take multiple visits to find the good stuff it appears."
"Yeah, no." You grimaced and picked up the book he threw. "I have better things to do than help you with reading. Besides, from the way you're acting, you'll be kicked out in less than 10 minutes."
"These books aren't worth my time." He reasoned.
"Manners from Teyvat to here, funnily enough, haven't changed. Stop acting like this and maybe I'll help you willingly. Didn’t you say you’ve already come here? How have you not been kicked out yet?"
"Fine." He grumbled. "If you weren't my only source of literacy, I would have killed you for speaking to me in this way."
"You're not the first to think that." Your mind drifted to Sandrone, before shaking your head to get rid of your growing fear. "Anyway, what exactly did you want to look for? Unless you are looking for Gen X literature, we should probably leave this shelf."
"Very amusing." You could somehow hear his eyes rolling behind his mask. "It would amuse me more if I knew what Gen X meant."
"It refers to a specific set year people were born in."
"I see... How pointless."
"You could at least pretend to find it interesting!"
He shrugged, walking past you and beckoning you to follow him with a wagging finger.
"Come along then," He announced without turning around. "I have work to do."
You have a feeling today won't be as fun as yesterday.
The two of you found a table to sit at, Dottore picking up books along the way. You questioned why, considering he can’t read the titles in the first place. All he did was shrug at your question, claiming the covers looked interesting.
“Right. Now that we’re settled. What do you need me for?” You asked him, dread slowly creeping in your body.
“Haven’t I said it already? You’re teaching me how to read.”
“Obviously!” You let out an outburst. “But how am I supposed to do such a thing? I’m not reading out every single word for you to study in a 400 page book.”
“That was my first intention, but I realised that would be too long for a quick-witted brain such as yours. Instead, I would like you to write each letter of your alphabet and instruct me which is which so I can fill in mine beside it.”
“Okay, that sou– hold on a minute,”
"So, let me get this straight, you dragged me out of the house to write a transcript of my alphabet for you?" You sighed into your hands, forehead flat on the table the two of you sat at.
"Exactly. Good to see you can still listen." He nodded, flicking through a few pages and cringing at the font.
"I could have just done that at home on a piece of paper!"
"We both know you would have weaved your way out of that order, making excuses and squeezing yourself somewhere I can’t reach you." He tutted. "You're very secretive with the affairs of your world, not reliable in any sense."
"I've literally never disobeyed one of your orders ever. You scare the shit out of me."
"That's not what dear old Sandrone warned me of last night. I was rather disappointed in you when she told me of the news of your disobedience."
"I told her what she wanted to hear!" You argued. "It's not my fault I just so happen to not be a chemical scientist with experience of warfare. How is that my problem!?"
"The problem was you were useless." He scolded you, throwing a pen at your head.
"Ow!"
"What is the point of keeping you alive if you don't tell us what we want to know?"
You picked up the pen and began writing to stop yourself from arguing further. As he told you to, you listed half of the Roman alphabet until your head clicked.
Wait a minute... there could be a way around this! Perhaps your skill of having bad handwriting could work out for you here?
You crossed out your previous letters, the scribbling noise attracting the attention of the Doctor.
"What do you think you're doing?" He raised an eyebrow with a flash of his sharp teeth.
"I have bad handwriting, I'm rewriting it for you." You lied, turning over the paper with an awkward smile.
There's no doubt that Dottore won't let you leave until you write the transcript for him. So, what if you purposefully write it badly so he can’t compare it to any book no matter the font? You’ve already told him you have bad handwriting, which isn’t entirely a lie, so you can just use that if he complains!
You wrote out the whole alphabet a second time, the lines purposefully squiggly and spaces close together, almost indecipherable. You slid the paper to him with an uneasy smile, waiting to see his reaction.
He looked from the paper to the open book, from the paper to the open book, and once again from the paper to the book. He groaned in annoyance, sliding the paper back to you.
“Write it again.”
“Hm? What’s wrong with it? I can read from it fine. I even worked hard on every letter to make sure it isn’t as cursive as usual!” You smiled wider, sliding the paper back to him.
“You clearly worked on it too hard. Write. it. again.”
“Fine.” You swiped the paper, rewriting the letters even worse. This is actually fun, messing with him like this. Let’s not push it too far though.
“Better, still not good enough, but better. I will make do.” He sighed in frustration when looking at the paper again.
“Now tell me which letter is which.”
The two of you began the long process of translating each letter to the equivalent of the Teyvatian alphabet. Dottore looked to be enjoying himself, a small almost unnoticeable calm smile on his face during the translation.
He leaned back in his wooden chair, looking at the paper from afar. “This is good enough for now. Now leave me, go spend some time collecting books.”
“Huh?”
“Yes, you heard me correctly. Go wander the library, I trust you not to leave the facility without my eyes on you.”
Is he… Is he letting you do what you want for a change!? You can use this to your advantage! You sat up from your chair with an excited expression, walking away from the table brimming with the feeling.
This is your chance to go on Genshin again and see if Venti sent anything new! You couldn’t check this morning, thanks to Columbina, and you don’t think you’ll ever be able to check on your PC again due to her presence.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t check on your phone, which you luckily keep on you at all times! It’s a miracle you remembered to put it in your pocket before Dottore dragged you out the house.
Now, where should you go… You need to go somewhere quiet, but also loud so when you speak it won’t attract attention. You refuse to go to the toilets, the last time you went in there on Genshin… it wasn’t great. So where else could you go?
Hmm.. Oh, the cafe! There’s a cafe upstairs which could work perfectly! Although you haven’t been there in years, the last time you were there you remember it being the kind of quiet you’re looking for now. And it technically doesn’t count as you leaving the building, it’s the perfect place!
You walked up the stairs, grabbing your phone and making sure the volume was on zero before opening the app, finding a seat with not many people around you.
“Ah, sorry love, but the food bar is currently closed.” A waitress walked up to the table you were sitting at.
“That’s fine, I only wanted a place to sit.” You looked up at her with a desperate smile. “Is that okay?”
“Of course, I just wanted to let you know.” She nodded with a polite smile, walking away after with dirty plates in her hands.
“Thank you!”
Could this situation be any more perfect? That guarantees there’ll be less people! The one thing that could make this even better would be if you remembered to bring your headphones with you! …You didn’t, but it’s wishful thinking.
You looked back at your phone screen, watching Venti’s back loading in. It was him alongside Aether in your party, which you thought was quite strange.
It’s funny, because you never put him in the party when you last left, Aether being the only character. What’s even funnier is you don’t even have Venti as a character! You missed all his banners for other characters! How did he do this? Whelp, it doesn’t matter.
You went to the mail icon, and saw new messages.
— — — — — — — — —
Update of current situation and developments:
Inazuman scholars have joined efforts under the Archon’s leadership, and contributed useful information since their arrival in Mondstadt three days ago. Their history of corrupted ley lines within their own nation has allowed us to further understand the situation of Irminsul in its current predicament.
Natlan has not responded or sent word of willingness to be involved.
Snezhnaya continues to vehemently deny any damaging activity which has created the current predicament, and refuses to aid our endeavours in restoring Irminsul back to its former state - reason is unknown but theories are kept confidential under Archon decree.
No further communication with Decider has been reached, Traveller of countless worlds has identified their entrapment under the missing Harbingers of Snezhnaya.
Barbatos, Archon of Mondstadt, has advised to be sensitive of the issue and not push for further contact until The Decider themselves receives and replies to these messages. This is due to the fear of Harbingers becoming knownst to our Teyvatian contact with them.
Progress with communication machine has been steady, trials with Decider are ready to be acted upon when they next reach out for contact. First few trials have failed, under the pretense of code ‘Hoyoverse’, hopes for contact with Decider have therefore been undermined by the public who have become aware of the current challenge.
Daily Update has been recorded by Albedo, ##/##/####.
— — — — — — — — —
Yeah, this is a bunch of nonsense to you. You don’t understand a single bit of this fancy speech, so thanks for that Albedo.
What really caught your eye was the ‘code Hoyoverse’ mentioned. So they do know about the company who made their game. Does this mean they are actually self-aware like you previously thought?
Anyway, it seems more of Teyvat is getting involved, so that’s good for them. Not good for you though, all it’s doing is making you feel more guilty. You’re just one person, they’re putting so much effort in for you. It doesn’t matter that they think your involvement will save them from Irminsul’s corruption, that’s still almost the entire country trying to help one person!
— — — — — — — — —
Decider? It’s been… awhile, are you alright? It’s been two months since we last heard from you. Do you not want our help?
— — — — — — — — —
TWO MONTHS!? WHAT DO THEY MEAN TWO MONTHS!? IT’S BEEN JUST OVER A DAY! Are they being paranoid right now, overdramatic even? Why on Earth would they think it’s been that long!?
Is that why the previous message sounded so academic? Because they think you’re dead!? Shit, you have no idea what’s happening. But you need to set things straight, and fast!
“What do you mean by two months?” You asked the phone outloud, looking around you to make sure Dottore hadn’t somehow teleported nearby to listen in.
“I’ve been gone for a day, a few hours over that actually. Why do you think it’s been two months?”
Ding!
— — — — — — — — —
Thank Archons! You’re alright! You have no idea how glad I am to hear your voice, I thought we lost our lead, and you too!
— — — — — — — — —
“I’m glad to see you’re happy.” You grumbled. “But still, why two months?”
You had to wait a few minutes for the next message to appear, it seems the next one’s going to be a long one.
— — — — — — — — —
The flow of time must be different between our two worlds. That’s the only explanation Albedo can think of at this moment in time whilst we’re still talking to you. Anyway, the machine seems to be working more smoothly than before, have you changed something on your side?
— — — — — — — — —
“Actually, yeah. I can’t use my PC right now because Columbina, the third Harbinger, has decided it’s a good idea to sleep in my bed. Kicking her out isn’t something I can tell her to do unfortunately.”
“I’m sorry, who am I speaking to at the moment?”
— — — — — — — — —
This is the Traveller speaking with Albedo next to me. He wants to ask what a ‘PC’ is.
— — — — — — — — —
How do you explain this to them?
“It stands for personal computer. Umm… the best way I can describe it is it’s a machine which allows you to access lots of information in under a few seconds. You can also do other stuff on it such as communicate with other people.”
— — — — — — — — —
So it’s like the Akasha’s previously found in Sumeru?
— — — — — — — — —
“Yes! That’s a perfect example! It’s not a gadget you can carry around with you though, it stays on your desk at home. The Akasha is more like the machine I’m using to talk to you now, a phone.” You mused out loud.
This is going more smoothly than you thought it would. It’s times like these your glad Teyvat takes inspiration from existing things in your world and not the other way around.
— — — — — — — — —
Are you currently in a safe place? I’m guessing you read the data log from a few weeks ago already as we sent it to you.
— — — — — — — — —
“Yes and no…” You sighed to yourself.
“The Doctor is nearby, he forced me to come out to the library with him to teach him how to read my world’s alphabet. At any moment he could come up those stairs and drag me away.”
Also, you don’t feel comfortable speaking louder in a public place like this. If there’s any hope of communicating properly, it’s not here. Ugh! But it’s not at home either, since some of the Harbingers have good hearing! It’s a miracle they haven’t found out about your first contact.
— — — — — — — — —
Do you have somewhere safe to go to?
— — — — — — — — —
“No, not that I–” Wait a minute… Could Rora’s shop work? Maybe it could… You’d only have Arlecchino to worry about, but she’d be working the entire time you would be there!
Ah… But, you’d need her consent to go with her. You’re sure Rora would love to have you around again, as she seems like a nice person, but Arlecchino? Yeah, you’re not too sure about her enthusiasm matching her boss’s.
Well, it’s not a concrete idea. But it’s one that could work if you catch the Harbinger when she’s in a good mood.
“I might have one idea. We’d have to be quiet though.”
— — — — — — — — —
That’s alright with us. Anything new you’ve learnt since our last conversation? We’ve told you our developments, we’re waiting for you to be ready to begin testing the modified machine.
— — — — — — — — —
“Sorry…” You apologise sincerely. “I’ll try to get to the place tomorrow, I won’t be able to go anywhere else today since Dottore already took me outside. You’ll have to wait another two months I’m afraid. Is that… Is that a problem?”
You fiddled your fingers in awkwardness, waiting for the next message to come through in anticipation for their anger. They have a right to be angry. After all, it must be torture waiting for that long. If they agree, it’ll have taken four months to finally reach you.
“I know, I know… It’s a really long time for you.” You anxiously spoke. “I’m sorry, that it has to be this way. If it were up to me, I–”
— — — — — — — — —
It can’t be helped then. Albedo and I also agree that this is the best course of action, we’re aware that angering the second Fatui Harbinger isn’t a wise move. We’re prepared to wait for you, however long it takes.
— — — — — — — — —
They’re being… understanding?
“You’re not mad at me?” Your eyes were wide in amazement, a smile on your face instead of the shaking frown from earlier.
“Really?”
— — — — — — — — —
Why would we be? Is everything okay?
— — — — — — — — —
“Yeah, it is.” You nodded in thanks. “Everything is a lot better than this morning, all this good news is making me feel… normal again. Even in a situation like this.”
— — — — — — — — —
That’s good to hear. I need to go, Albedo is demanding to check the machine after its sudden usage again. And the Archons will be demanding a table of results after this conversation… again.
Please, be careful. Between you and me, I really hope I’ll be the first voice you hear on this side. You’ve guided me in this world for years, there’s so much I want to say to you… So much I want to thank you for. You’ve saved me in my worst moments, so let me save you now in yours.
— — — — — — — — —
“Thank you, the same goes for everyone on your side too. Tell them I wish them well, and I hope everything works out tomorrow. I’ll–”
“There you are.” You heard a familiar deep voice announce itself, growing closer to your location.
‘Shit, that’s Dottore!’ You thought with a grimace, slamming your phone face first on the table to stop him from seeing the contents.
“I’ve been looking for you for awhile, I began to think you tried to escape.” He put a heavy hand on your shoulder, peering over it to look at your expression. “What do you think you’re doing over here? I gave you an order.”
You shuffled in discomfort, looking around to see people eyeing the situation warily. You took a deep breath, before looking him in the eyes.
“Sorry, I wanted to spend some time up here to clear my head. I’ve been thinking a lot, thinking about things you told me downstairs. How did your reading go?”
“It was a nightmare.” He shook his head, taking the chair across from you and sitting on it. “All your books are printed incorrectly. Every single one I picked up had a different look from the last.”
“Ah, you must be talking about the font used.”
“Either way…” He trailed off, clenched fist shaking on the table. “It was of no help to me. I went from book to book and learned nothing. Each book gave me a stronger induced headache than the last, even pondering about it is turning the nuisance to a migraine. It’s all so… pathetic.”
“I’m sorry to hear that…” You said in fake pity. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help.”
“You should be feeling apologetic.” He grumbled, voice getting louder. “Thanks to you… and the nature of this world, I feel as if I’m trying to find stapedes in straw. This is all so… frustrating, and you haven’t helped me at all.”
“I-I…”
“You should be thankful Pierro told me to practice mercy on you… That I’m not allowed to touch you. If it were up to me, I’d have ripped your carcass in two already.”
What are you supposed to say in reply to that!? He’s having a meltdown, and you’re on the verge of having another panic attack! The more he speaks, the louder he’s getting. Not only that, but people around you are starting to take notice of what’s going on. At this rate he’s not just going to hurt you, but also everyone else in the building! You can’t let that happen, you won’t let that happen.
“Dottore, I understand that you’re upset. But please…” You gestured around the two of you. “We can sort this out at home, don’t do something you’ll regret later.”
He followed your eyes, grumbling as more and more people crowded round the situation.
“You really know how to…” He looked around, following the movement of your eyes carefully. “Oh, nevermind… I don’t think you’re ready to hear that yet.”
Without another word, he stood up from his chair, the force causing the chair to tumble a few metres behind him. He grabbed your arm roughly, squeezing tightly as he stomped away with you stumbling behind him.
Despite hearing your complaints, he never replied or acknowledged you were in pain as he continued to drag you along. Silently, he slammed his chosen books on the reception desk next to the scanner for your library card.
Swiping it with an apologetic expression to the disturbed receptionist, Dottore pushed the heavy stack of books in your direction. You clutched the heavy stack with a grimace, being yanked out the double doors after.
“We’re leaving, now.”
Columbina peered from the column she was hiding behind, eyes open with jealousy shrouding within them. She glared at Dottore, clearly angered by his treatment of you.
She didn’t know why, but after hearing Scaramouche’s verbal claim on you, she felt a feeling she hasn’t felt in awhile - jealousy. She never thought she’d feel such a thing in her heart again, but here she is, making sure that scoundrel hadn’t gotten the same idea as her.
It’s ridiculous, she never should have allowed herself to come out. Not in an unpredictable mood such as this, under Pierro’s command of course. If she were anywhere else, she’d allow this emotion to run free. But unfortunately since arriving in this world, The Jester had become more stingy with each Harbinger’s behaviour and freedoms to act as they wish. To say it’s annoying her would be an understatement.
She skulked behind silently, dainty feet making no sound as she waltzed the pavement cheerfully to hide her stress.
Oh well, it isn’t any cause for concern. She can tell from the two of you's dynamic that things clearly hadn’t gone well, and that you haven’t grown to like him more from today. It’s only a small success, she’d hoped you would have hated him more, but your feelings haven’t gone in the opposite direction of what she wanted.
Still though… It was a good idea she decided to come in the end. After all, she’d learned of something important you were hiding from the others! And now only the two of you knew? It could be another little secret she could bond over with you!
She didn’t think you’d be so careless though… talking to yourself with that thing you like to carry around with you. Just what were you talking about? And who were you talking to? Is it really important, something the others should know? The possibilities are getting her all fluttery at the branching thoughts!
Hmm… Maybe she should invite you to a cafe and ask you about it? It could be like a date! That sounds perfect, she knows you’ll agree the second you hear the suggestion!
Kyeheheh... I might make a little mindmap of all the rivalries and potential alliances as a final little adeu until I return. We'll see ^o^
Anyway, that was that. If anyone has any questions about the lore with what's going on in Teyvat, I'm not going to answer them! Feel free to still ask though - everything is planned and makes sense in my notes!
From this point onwards, as I think most of you noticed in the last View near the end, this is where the yandere behaviour will begin to creep in. Thank goodness, it took a long time to get here. 😭
Alongside the mindmap, I might write small yandere profiles to show what type of yandere each harbinger is as something fun :)
Quick Reminder Here! If you no longer want to be on the taglist that's completely fine; I take no offence whatsoever so please don't hesitate to tell me. ^^
thank you for the tag kyoi!! im stealing your lollipop <3
i got jumpscared by the results LMAO i thought i was getting called out.. this lwk awakened some forgotten memories though bc people in class used to come up to me randomly and say shii like "i ship you with __" and then run off I KID YOU NOT this happened at least 3 times (they were always with the worst people ever btw)
anyway I've only been crushed on twice in my life so idk maybe im doing something wrong explodes 💥💥💥
🏷️ tags (no pressure!!) :
@pythonpastel, @falors, @auroratumbles, @alexisomnias, @camvrin, @wonkierideul, @soleillunne, @ryuryuryuyurboat, @rrozeta, @suntoru, @the-white-void, @lume-nosity + anyone else who wants to join !!
I debated just posting these and not making a statement but I can’t, I never look away from injustice but I’m always afraid I can make it worse by saying the wrong thing. Stop paying attention to the Met Gala. Eyes on Rafah. Be a voice for those that are oppressed. And to anyone that might complain about this or say it’s antisemitism: people are dying, CHILDREN are dying. I love my Palestinian followers and friends, I had these queued from a request but I didn’t want to put a target on the requester’s back since it wasn’t anonymous. Genuinely my heart breaks for all those suffering. That’s all there is to it. Free Palestine.
Edit 6/11/24: this is officially one of my most shared sets and I’m so glad it is. That being said I have a proposition:
Get this to 1.5k and I’ll post a picture of my dogs
The goal is to keep spreading the information and links I added to the top ❤️ good luck!
Hiiuuu cutie! I know it’s like a major ask but I was wondering if it would be possible to create dividers based on each month? They’d be so so so cute!!! ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡
I've been resource gathering for YEARS so now I am going to share my dragons hoard
Floorplanner. Design and furnish a house for you to use for having a consistent background in your comic or anything! Free, you need an account, easy to use, and you can save multiple houses.
Comparing Heights. Input the heights of characters to see what the different is between them. Great for keeping consistency. Free.
Magma. Draw online with friends in real time. Great for practice or hanging out. Free, paid plan available, account preferred.
Smithsonian Open Access. Loads of free images. Free.
SketchDaily. Lots of pose references, massive library, is set on a timer so you can practice quick figure drawing. Free.
SculptGL. A sculpting tool which I am yet to master, but you should be able to make whatever 3d object you like with it. free.
Pexels. Free stock images. And the search engine is actually pretty good at pulling up what you want.
Figurosity. Great pose references, diverse body types, lots of "how to draw" videos directly on the site, the models are 3d and you can rotate the angle, but you can't make custom poses or edit body proportions. Free, account option, paid plans available.
Line of Action. More drawing references, this one also has a focus on expressions, hands/feet, animals, landscapes. Free.
Animal Photo. You pose a 3d skull model and select an animal species, and they give you a bunch of photo references for that animal at that angle. Super handy. Free.
Height Weight Chart. You ever see an OC listed as having a certain weight but then they look Wildly different than the number suggests? Well here's a site to avoid that! It shows real people at different weights and heights to give you a better idea of what these abstract numbers all look like. Free to use.
MapCrunch. Environment artists rejoice. Random locations, filter by indoor or outdoor, rural or urban, specific country. Great for realistic/authentic building ref.
With all these on-field DPSs on the same team, it's hard to figure out how to make it cohesive...but we can make it work! This guide will focus on Scara as hypercarry with Childe, La Signora, and Dottore in support.
I hope this guide helps you in building your own H4RBINGER TEAM as optimally as possible.
Enjoy taking your Harbingers to Abyss and to the palace to take on the Tsaritsa! hoyo.link/cruhFRAL
~Sypnosis: During a match, Michiko matched a survivor she wasn’t well acquainted with had a new companion running along her side, one that looks strikingly similar to her.
~Note: this is self-indulgent and I barely know anything about IDV so please bear in mind.
Another day had come when a match was arranged, the survivors had to decode the ciphers and the hunters would hunt them down before they could escape, out of the many hunters chosen for this round the popular Geisha had been chosen; she was most often friendly with matches unless she really had to win the round.
And in this particular match, she was against one of the survivors she was not well acquainted with nor matched often with you. She was underprepared since she needed to win this match, and if not, she might get demoted in the ranks"Oh dear, hopefully, it’ll be easy to deal with them".
While waiting in the lobby, she went to visit them for a little while to see who she needed to deal with, aside from (name) she wasn’t bothered that much with the team, aside from the enchantress, it was enough for her to get a draw “Maybe this match won’t be so bad”.
Whilst out to look for at least two survivors she spotted (name) very easily, with her butterfly she was quick to dash over to you, your attempt at kiting was quite feeble, to say the least, and you were slow at climbing over windows and running wasn’t your strong suit either, which might have pointed her that you were a decoder, so it was easy to knock you down.
As she was about to grab you off the floor she felt a strong movement from her kimono, she turned to see what was causing it and saw a mini version of herself swinging her fan at her causing the mini to fall over itself and hit the floor. Michiko couldn’t help but giggle at the scene “haha, your attempt is admirable but futile so maybe you’ll stay with (name)”, noticing you were slowly crawling away, she scooped you up along with your doll to a nearby chair and locked you in “You should bring your doll more often when we match” she said before leaving to go hunt other survivors.
The coordinator was hiding nearby waiting for an opportunity to rescue you, as it finally came, she took the chance and healed you when you both got far enough “I know this isn’t the time to say this but we should really get the photographer to catch that scene” she whispered to you.
You were flushed when she said, as you start to recollect the scene that she was recalling “so you saw the whole thing?!!” you yowled at her, “please don’t, she might get nervous when someone brings it up” you sighed.
“You know about that?” the coordinator asked while she still healed you “no, I just assumed since I always see her covering her face” you replied but you were then interrupted by a red light shining your way, Geisha in her Prajna form left you both in shambles, running in the opposite direction where Martha did most of pallet dropping.
Luckily, in the end, it was a draw with you and Martha being the ones to tie the match and the enchantress and lawyer being sent back to the manor.
The blood stain floor is my Ballroom @red-stained-virtues - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
