#h✧˖— asphodelus

[arlecchno]

asphodelus [ scaramouche x reader ]

1. prologue.

masterlist next

the truth is always worse than a lie.

warnings: violence, guns, bombs, abductions, death mentions, a bit of angst

a/n: starting off 2023 with a new fic! i'm pretty proud of this new series i'm making so i am really looking forward to continue on with the detective!kuni legacy hehe. do remember that this series is filled with so much angst so um, yeah. happy reading!

extra note: words that are in red are lies.

lies.

the word isn't uncommon for the people in teyvat.

lying is never a good trait, and is deemed as a sin.

telling the truth has always been a good thing, and everyone was taught to do so.

yet in teyvat, such cowards would still lie for their own greed.

of course, everyone can't see through the lies, not even the greatest and smartest people ever known would've seen through each and every lie that were told.

however, scaramouche can.

he had always been able to read through them.

it wasn't something he had learnt to do, no.

it's an ability he had already gotten from such an early age, and thus has always been able to tell if someone was lying ever since then.

at times, this ability of his had served great purpose. being a detective to protect the city that is snezhnaya, taught him that this eccentric power of his can help the people in need.

this ability was something that people wished they had.

and yet, there were times where scaramouche just wished he never knew.

because sometimes, the truth is always worse than a lie.

“drop your weapons and show your hands where we can see them!”

the criminal stopped a few feet away from scaramouche and his subordinates. turning back, he morphed out a sly smirk, raising the gun towards scaramouche's direction instead.

“come closer, and i am shooting each and every one of you here.”

scaramouche scoffed, yet the people beside him slightly trembled in fear, cocking their guns with wobbly feet.

he took a step forward, his feet crunching over the heavy snows of snezhnaya. the man ahead of him shouted.

“i am gonna shoot you if you come any closer! i have ammo in here!”

another step.

the person cocked his gun now, aiming for scaramouche's head.

the ravenette paid no mind as he strode closer towards the criminal, causing his subordinates to shake in fear.

“d–detective! stay back!” one of them shouted. “he has a gun pointed at you!” they continued.

scaramouche suddenly charged at him, which caused the criminal to panic before pulling the trigger.

click.

scaramouche swiftly knocked him to the ground, leaping over the criminal as he harshly knocked the empty gun away.

his subordinates paused, looking at one another. “the gun was empty?”

“how did detective balladeer know that?”

the criminal beneath scaramouche coughed from the impact as he was forcefully pushed down further. scaramouche made him turn around on the snowy ground, kneeling over the taller male.

his indigo eyes peered over his movements as he made quick work by cuffing the criminal's hands to his back, before tilting his head towards him.

“where is it.”

he spat. “what– what are you talking about!?”

“those kids. where are they?”

“i– i don't know!”

scaramouche tightened his grip on the criminal's head as he forcefully pushed him down to the rough surface of the road, his face smothered in the mixture of snow and dirt. “tell me where you fucking hid those kids you kidnapped, or else i won't show you mercy.”

“i told you– fuck– i don't know!” he lied once again, voice muffled.

“are they in the basement of your old restaurant?”

the criminal widened his eyes for a moment, twisting his head to look at scaramouche again before sputtering into a wreck. “n–no! do you think i'd be that stupid!?” he yelped as scaramouche tightened the handcuffs on him.

scaramouche merely sighed as he reached for the walkie-talkie on his duty belt. bringing it up to the front of his mouth, he spoke.

“balladeer speaking. barge into the restaurant, now.” he said as he looked down at the criminal.

a small smile suddenly creeped up his face.

scaramouche frowned.

“capitano speaking.” the other line replied soon after.

“...one of the kids’ got a bomb wrapped around their body.”

eyes wide, scaramouche stared at the walkie-talkie as the background of the other line slowly faded, the last he had heard was capitano shouting to call for the bomb squad.

he clicked his tongue in frustration. so that's why this fucker was grinning from cheek to cheek.

scaramouche stood up, dragging the criminal with him. “you're coming with me.”

“there are two wires.”

scaramouche averted his gaze to the criminal, who had his hands cuffed to his back as he sat on the dirty ground, forced by the ravenette.

his indigo eyes glared down to him. “which one is it?”

“what?”

“to defuse the bomb. which wire is it?”

“heh, to hell i'd tell you.”

scaramouche crouched down, grabbing onto the criminal's collar harshly. “red or blue. which one is it.” it wasn't a question, more so a demand.

“r–red.”

scaramouche let go of his collar. he reached for his walkie-talkie once again. “balladeer speaking.”

“cut the blue wire.”

the criminal widened his eyes at scaramouche's answer, speechless.

his underlings from behind quickly spoke. “h–hey! didn't he say it was red!?” one of them said.

“you're gonna activate the bomb!”

“do you have any idea how many lives you're risking here!?”

scaramouche snapped his head to look at them, eyes narrowing. “i know exactly what i'm doing.” he said, turning back to stare down to his walkie-talkie. his subordinates slightly flinched at the harsh tone of his voice.

“bomb unit speaking.” the other line replied. “are you sure it's blue?”

scaramouche took a few seconds to reply back, sighing. “...yes.”

his subordinates continued on shouting and scrambling about, scared of the possibilities of the bomb to explode as their detective had just told it was the opposite wire.

after a moment, the bomb squad came back to line. “bomb unit here... the bomb's been defused.”

the police officers shared a weird look, before twisting their heads to scaramouche.

the criminal beneath him still had his eyes wide in shock, sweating profusely.

“how… how did you…”

“you're simply the worst liar i've ever encountered.” was the only thing that scaramouche said before he stood up and away from the man on the ground, ordering his underlings to bring the criminal back to the station.

the precinct was, empty, to say the least.

it's past his shift now, yet scaramouche was busy finishing up his paperwork on the criminal he had just captured earlier. he thought everyone had left since it was well past six in the evening now, but the thought quickly dissipated when his colleague approached him.

well, he wouldn't call him a colleague, per se.

“and scaramouche has saved the day once again!” the person exclaimed, causing scaramouche to look up to the culprit who had just disturbed him from his work.

scaramouche quickly looked back to his desk, ignoring how the other person flailed their arms in the air at the lack of response.

“you're no fun.”

scaramouche groaned, pen scribbling on the paper. “go away, childe. i'm busy.”

the man, childe, clicked his tongue, before he slammed his hands on scaramouche's desk, causing the objects that were placed there to tumble down from the impact.

including scaramouche's cup of sugar free tea.

“you–!” scaramouche stopped himself from writing as he swiftly stood up, the drink already spilled all over his desk.

he was relieved that the beverage hadn't gotten to his paperwork, was what scaramouche had thought as he quickly tried cleaning everything up. if it had spilled on his piles of paper, archons knows what he'd do to childe.

childe merely brushed a hand over the skin of his neck. “whoops.”

scaramouche snapped his head to the taller male, eyes staring daggers. “what the fuck do you want!?” he asked with his usual cold tone, turning as he strode forward to grab something from the storage room to clean his desk, not far from where he stood.

childe trailed behind him, until he was at the same pace as scaramouche.

“just wanted to check up on my best friend.”

scaramouche opened the door to the storage room, rummaging through the small place as he tried finding for a clean cloth. “i wouldn't consider ‘trying to ruin my precious work’ as a way for you to check up on me.”

“i'm fine anyways. stop acting like you care.”

childe then pouted, which went unperceived by scaramouche as he finally found a cloth, making his way back to his desk.

“the criminal just now. he lied to you about the bomb, didn't he?”

at this, scaramouche halted in his tracks.

he took a few seconds to reply to the ginger. “innocent people don't deserve to go through hell because of that fucker.” he muttered, too busy to look back at childe as he continued on with his walk towards his desk.

“these innocent people, you say, they're kids, right?”

scaramouche suddenly slammed the cloth on his desk, the sound reverberating around the empty office. “you ask too many questions.” he mumbled, not even bothering to answer childe's question as he cleaned his drink that had spilled all over the desk, grimacing at how he'd have to clean it further to avoid his precious desk get ruined.

“those children reminded you of him again.” childe came to a quick conclusion, causing scaramouche to hastily look back at him.

scaramouche had an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at the taller male, before he scoffed, both in annoyance and, well, annoyance. nothing wrong with being annoyed twice at the same time. “if you think every kid in this nation reminds me of him, then you're one hell of a fucking idiot.”

“hey, i know it's not easy for you to get over it, but–”

“childe–” scaramouche cut him off sharply, groaning as he shut his eyes, turning back to his work. “i don't want to talk about this.” he harshly spoke.

childe looked at him worryingly. “...you'll find him, one day.”

thr truth in his words made scaramouche still in his movements. the ravenette waited for childe to continue, his hands slightly trembling from the mention of the person he had been looking for all this time.

“i know others don't believe that he's still alive, but i do. and i'll help you in any way to find him, even if it takes me to the grave.”

scaramouche tried letting out an offended chuckle, that only turned to be a quick hitch of his breath. “i don't need your help.” he stood up properly after that, sauntering away from his colleague.

he hated that each and every word childe had spoken weren't lies. not even an ounce of lie came out of the taller male's mouth.

the ginger couldn't help but stayed there, staring at the ravenette's back as he walked away, this time not bothering to follow along.

he sighed, bringing up a hand to rake through his hair.

it's nearly been... what? fifteen years now?

it has been a decade and a half since the abduction tragedy, yet the case remains unsolved.

scaramouche was only a kid when he had lost one of his only friends to a kidnap, and ever since then, he had never seen him. it was as if he had completely vanished from scaramouche's life, without a single trace left behind.

childe and scaramouche had long been friends, even way back from when they were children. and as people would say, they were... childhood friends. he had always been with the most insufferable guy that is scaramouche, for archons know how long since then. they basically grew up with each other.

so ultimately, it was only natural for childe to know of scaramouche's friend. and soon enough after knowing him, childe had already become friends with the said friend, along with scaramouche, of course, and gradually, all three of them became close to one another.

the tragedy still felt recent to him, even if time had passed, so long ago.

the abduction grew to become one of the biggest tragedies that has ever happened in teyvat, and it was done by the one and only.

the fantomatique.

it's deemed to be a filthy criminal organization filled with deadly assassins. the fantomatique was built roughly a few months before the abduction occurred, and the tragedy was their first ever move to destroy teyvat.

worst of all, no one knows who the leader is.

the royal palace of snezhnaya had tried their very best to unveil who is behind everything that had happened in the tragedy, yet not a single clue can be found. not even a trace of evidence behind every move they made during the tragedy.

the only thing they knew is the one behind it was the fantomatique, as they had left a special message for the citizens of snezhnaya to read, signing it off with the intricate calligraphy of their newly found organisation name.

which abruptly caused the abduction to lead to a dead-end case, not even a year after the incident had occurred.

ever since then, no one was able to detect the fantomatique's next move, nor who these people in this organization were. the organisation became big, with assassins and messengers filling up left and right.

at this rate, scaramouche was sure there were more than 20% of the population in snezhnaya that are apart of the fantomatique now.

yet, no one knows who they are.

in fact, it could be anyone in this city.

they could be lurking anywhere without anyone knowing, except for the members of the fantomatique themselves.

scaramouche stopped in the empty hallway, leaning back against a wall as he tried recollecting himself.

the back of his head hit the wall as he stared at the white ceiling, before closing his eyes shut.

it's okay, he thought to himself. you've saved those kids, they're not gone. not like him.

scaramouche heaved out a sigh, slightly cracking as his lips quivered.

the tragedy is... a deep topic for him. sure, he thinks about it all the time. sure, he openly talks about it with childe as soon as he thinks he's got a lead. hell, he has a whole fucking board dedicated to the tragedy, with papers and red strings attached to the corkboard he had carefully hidden in his humble abode, far away from prying eyes.

scaramouche was always determined to find the leader, and overall end the organization, once and for all. they pose nothing but a threat to teyvat, and they won't stop until they're the ones to rule the world.

he desperately needed to see his friend again. and no matter what it takes, scaramouche would do anything to see him, at least for one last time. scaramouche was willing to go so far for this.

you could say this mission of his was his main priority, even. which was why he decided to become a detective in the first place, both to find his dear friend— and to also find the unknown leader and end them, ultimately. the cruel leader deserve nothing but a bloodbath of their own blood, and scaramouche won't stop until he's got what he's wanted.

the only thing is,

he never thought he'd have to team up with you to find the truth behind it all.

hope you're prepared for a series full of angst with very little fluff

taglist; @cxpidsrevolution @sxjlx320 @asukahiriko @vvrie @tcfffff @maroon32 @thatpersonnooneknows @kunikame @kaoyamamegami @kunikuzushiit @percyval-archives @romyoia @Tynan404 @albedonwanderer @ghosted-fr @yuuki4646 @beriiov @scarammouch @supperrsecrwt @talledale @lez-zuha @vivinsoul

(couldn't tag those that are in a smaller font, sorry!)

come and join the taglist!

#h✧˖— asphodelus #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche fluff #genshin scaramouche #genshin x you #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact reader insert #kunikuzushi x reader #wanderer x reader #scaramouche

[thundermilch]

I was tagged by my muffin @thepatterof-rain ily bye Name: Elena Nickname: usually Elh Height: 170 cm (5′7 i think??) Orientation: Straight but in a strong “fuck men imma live with my cat” phase Nationality: Italian Favourite fruit: p e a c h e s  Favourite season: Autumn Favourite flower: Hibiscus and ASPHODELUS MAN HAVE YOU SEEN THOSE BEAUTIES Favourite scent: too many. Some are books, coffee, mint, the smell before rain and the winter air. Favourite colour: teal green and bORDEAUX Favourite animal: white tigers Coffee, tea or hot chocolate: tea Average hours of sleep: AHAHAHAHHA like??? 5??? Dog or cat person: cat person all the way (but i love dogs) Favourite fictional character: TOO MANY I’D RATHER GET STABBED THAN CHOOSE BETWEEN MY CHILDREN but on the top we have Mr Sirius Black and Mr Jem Carstairs the ultimate loves of my life who must be protected at all costs. Number of blankets you sleep with: usually 2 Dream trip:I C E L A N D Number of followers: 388 uh lame Random fact: When I was like 1 year old I drank bleach and my parents thought I was going to die. I was 1 and already causing trouble. 

I tag @somewhere-in-tacoland and @hopelessdorky if they feel like it ♥ peace, Elh out

#tmi #i guess #about me #elena babbles #?? #ily thank you #have this information about me that nobody cares about

[arlecchno]

asphodelus [ scaramouche x reader]

4. sparrings and duels.

prev masterlist next

first look of the dendrobrium's secret lair down in to the dark forest, and there, scaramouche comes to realize how much of a great asset you actually are for this deal.

warnings: allusions to murder, suicide, abduction, death mentions, not 100% proofread

a/n: look at the end for a/n since it'd be too long here :P 4k+ words

“so.” scaramouche started, scanning his eyes over the area. “is this where you live?”

you let out an offended gasp, turning to look at him. “how low do you think of me?” you asked, which earned a shrug from the violet haired male.

the cave was dark, except for the couple of torches planted by the walls. there were some old furnitures— a tall cupboard, a table and a chair, there was even a bed, though it looked like it had been centuries old.

if it weren't you showing him this place, he would've thought an old geezer lived here instead.

he wasn't sure why you had brought him here in the first place, but nevertheless, the two of you needed some privacy for this operation, so it'd be best to be out of the public eye, he figured.

you brought him to a secluded cave far away from the city and into the dark forest, a secret cave concealed by a dazzling waterfall. judging by the area, he had already assumed this was your lair.

“i have an apartment of my own in the city. we get paid loads for each of our target, and i'm not the dendrobrium for nothing.” you said, walking further into the cave with your hands shoved in your pockets.

the way you talked about murder and death so nonchalantly made scaramouche sick to the stomach.

you strode over to an old table, and scaramouche followed along. there, you reached for a box full of matches, and took one out. you sauntered over to the other side of the cave, lighting up the match and throwing it in a dead fireplace.

watching the fire burn embers, you turned your head to look at scaramouche. “nice place, wouldn't you agree?”

“mine is far better than this.”

“oh? and where do you live, balladeer?” you challenged.

“in a manor.”

your jaw dropped for a split second before you recollected yourself. “oh, i've forgotten. you're one of those people.”

scaramouche crossed his arms. “what people?” he pressed. he wasn't sure why you didn't sound too surprised.

“you know.” you walked over to the corner of the cave. there laid a small area full of weapons, scaramouche noted. though, they only consisted of various versions of daggers and knives.

and if scaramouche could add, there were even swords and rapiers standing idly by the weapon rack you had.

just how many weapons do you have?

“those snobby rich people, the ones that never cease to look down on people like me.” you explained, stopping in front of your weapon rack.

scaramouche didn't need you to explain further to understand what you meant. the nobles of snezhnaya are a bunch of prudes, people like them never bat an eye on the poor, let alone dare go near them.

and even though his aunt nahida was a part of those said nobles, she was absolutely nothing like them. nahida has a mind of her own, and only plays by the rules. her wisdom and knowledge of all things was what made her stand out from the crowd, earning her a position to serve the royals in urgent matters.

you picked up a new dagger from the rack, steel glinting underneath the light in each turn. “i've always hated the nobles.”

suddenly, you threw the sharp weapon in scaramouche's direction after having said that.

with its speed, you thought that scaramouche wouldn't have enough time to react. but out of nowhere, the ravenette caught the hilt with his fingers.

if it weren't for his fast reflexes, he would've been long gone by now.

you smiled. “nice catch, balladeer.” you praised, reaching for another weapon.

“i'm not part of the nobles.” scaramouche said. “well, as far as i'm aware, i guess.”

“but you're lord kusanali's foster child, aren't you?”

scaramouche gripped the hilt of the dagger in his hand as his eyes widened. “...how'd you know?” he asked, and you let out a scoff as you played with yours.

“i've seen your face in the newspaper some time ago.” you explained, looking at your vague reflection on the steel of your weapon. “lord kusanali is one of the only trusted allies of the royals. it's no surprise that you'd have quite the name yourself, balladeer.”

scaramouche took a moment to think. if he could recall correctly, the only time he's ever been in the newspapers was when he was promoted for a position as detective in the department, and the only reason he even appeared in the newspapers was due to the royals fancying him and his caretaker for dinner at the palace as celebration.

and scaramouche got that promotion well over two years ago.

have you been eyeing him all this time?

he thought that you might have a strong memory and have probably seen him when the newspapers were out at first, but as he thinks again, he had an inkling there was more to it.

“focus, balladeer.” your voice pulled him out of his thoughts. once again, out of nowhere, you threw the dagger in hand at him.

it barely grazed his cheek as it swept through beside him, its abnormal speed not giving him enough time to react this time.

the sharp edge of the steel met with the head of a training dummy far behind scaramouche, slashing through the wood.

scaramouche widened his eyes, looking back and forth from the training dummy to you.

“if you want to be on this team, you've got to show me what you got.”

“...why do you get to decide if i'm worthy of an ally or not?” scaramouche asked after recollecting himself from the previous scene, crossing his arms. “why don't i get to value you as well?”

you chuckled. “you're talking to the dendrobrium here, balladeer. we both know who's above who.” you said confidently, shrugging as you turned your back to him and tended to your weapons.

without giving it a second thought, scaramouche came up behind you in a swift motion, the dagger you've thrown at him from earlier grazing at the skin of your throat.

“do you assassins always have the tendency to be cocky?”

“maybe.” you replied, not flinching even an inch from his actions. to be fair, you did purposely act defenseless while riling him up just now. and you honestly loved the thrill of it.

scaramouche's breath fanned against your ear. “hope you won't be too confident now after this.”

“oh please.” you rolled your eyes. “as if a fatui officer could ever scare me.” you emphasized the word, as though the fatui are a bunch of lowly idiots.

and in your eyes, they are.

in a split second, you gripped his arm that held the dagger and forcefully pushed him away, stealing the weapon in the process as you turned around. knocking him to the ground, you hovered above him, pinning both of his wrists above his head with one hand as you straddled his waist.

“again with the cockiness.” scaramouche gritted his teeth in annoyance, making an unamused face as you smirked deviously. “do you even have a plan to take down the leader?”

you shrugged. “maybe i do, maybe i don't. who knows?” scaramouche was visibly even more frustrated by your answer, given his harsh actions on attempting to get out of your tight grip.

“you can't be fucking with me, dendrobrium. why even strike a deal if you don't have anything planned?”

your eye twitched. “that was obviously a joke, you oaf.” your grip on him tightened. “of course i have a plan. and if you're gonna keep up with that attitude.” the tip of the dagger that you were currently holding hovered just above his tuft of violet hair.

“then say goodbye to your luxurious purple hair.”

scaramouche never thought anyone would go that far as to threaten his precious hair.

his face contorted into one that can't be described, but to you, it looked as hideous as an ogre.

“save that stupid face for later.” you rolled your eyes, retracting both of your hands from him as you stood up. “torturing you now won't be fun.” you left him on the ground as you dusted yourself off.

scaramouche sat up, hair all tangled. “what do you even mean by that?”

his question was left unanswered.

he tried standing up, but abruptly stopped halfway when you suddenly threw the dagger your were holding earlier to the other side of the cave. it went by so swiftly that scaramouche didn't have enough time to process everything.

his indigo eyes darted everywhere to find where you had aimed for, and when he finally found it, his eyes landed on a board, a few feet away from the both of you.

he tried focusing on the exact spot that the dagger had landed at, but couldn't as it was too far away from his view.

“are you seriously that blind?”

well, not for you, it seems.

scaramouche stopped squinting his eyes, standing up properly as he glared at you irritatingly. “why'd you have to be such a show off!? we know you're the dendrobrium, just let that go already!” he retorted.

“you buffon!” you jutted out your index finger to the direction of the board. “i did such a badass opening and you can't even act like you can see for the sake of the grand entrance to my master plan!?”

you stomped your way over to the board, scaramouche reluctantly trailing behind. “how would i know you were trying to do that? and for pete's sake, that's exactly what a show off would do!” you only took a second to stop and send a death glare towards him before continuing your walk.

the both of you stopped in front of the board, and scaramouche had to do a double take to look at the whole thing.

the board was filled with loads of information regarding the fantomatique, including newspapers, dealings, written letters, and whatnot. it seemed like you've been doing this for quite some time now, way before he was even in the picture.

“these are all of the things i've been gathering since the moment i started working in this organization, long before i met you.” you folded your arms as you glanced at your work. “six, seven years, maybe.”

scaramouche traced his gloved fingers over the papers pinned to the board. “you look rather… young, to be working for so long under such a scummy leader.” he noted, in which you chuckled at.

“my, a compliment from you? that's a first.” you raised a brow in amusement, earning a grumble from the male beside you.

you heed no mind as you skimmed your eyes throughout the many papers.

but you didn't directly answer his comment.

were you… avoiding personal talk?

scaramouche finally saw the dagger you had in your hand earlier, slashed through the wood of the board. there, the weapon was directly pinned on a paper, with a hand drawn picture of a woman. it seemed like the tip of the sharp dagger had landed just exactly at the tip of their head.

“who's that?”

“viktoria novikova.” you said, glancing at the drawing. “what do you know about the fantomatique and its leader?” you turned to look at him next.

scaramouche huffed before replying. “...the fantomatique is a criminal organization that was introduced over fifteen years ago during the reury orphanage tragedy. at first, it was only the leader and their most trusted allies.” he flickered his indigo eyes to you.

“but each passing day another new member joins the organization, and thus became the biggest criminal group it is today.”

you arched an eyebrow. “come on, the fatui couldn't possibly only know that useless information.” you replied.

“the leader's one and only goal is to take over the palace and be the future of snezhnaya.” scaramouche continued, glaring at you. “every criminal in the organization are assigned to take down every ally of the royals, and you, are especially one of them.”

“that's all?”

“...unfortunately.”

you raised a brow. “fifteen years and the fatui haven't even gotten past a lead that quite literally everyone knows?” scaramouche scoffed at your question, as if deceiving the deadliest criminal organization was as easy as how you made it sound like.

“can't be knowing everything when half of the people here are a part of the devil.” he countered, causing you to purse your lips.

the ravenette wasn't wrong, the fantomatique recruits almost everyone in the city, and there is barely anyone who can be trustworthy. as of now, only the fatui and a couple of nobles were on the royals' side, apart from the citizens.

“why… the dendrobrium? why did you decide to use that flower as your m.o?” he asked out of the blue, leaving you dumbstruck for a moment. the sudden question as to why you've branded yourself the dendrobrium was left hanging for a while before you answered.

you walked away from the board. “people like to associate everything related to death and betrayal with the dendrobrium.” you bluntly said. “don't you think that's enough reason for me to brand myself that name? i am the person who is most feared in snezhnaya, after all.”

“but why go out of your way to name yourself a flower that isn't even from this nation, yet one that is far away from ours?”

you turned around to face him with a cold look. “the dendrobrium is the most loathsome and deadliest flower there is. everyone fears being associated with it, given its meaning and purpose. it goes the same for me with my work of assassinating targets each passing night. isn't that good enough reason for you to understand why i'd go for that stupid flower?”

“besides.” you continued, not sparing him a second to butt in. “a rich snob like you wouldn't understand nor care to know what the dendrobrium thinks, so i'd advise you keep your pretty lips shut and cease from asking such useless questions to a lowly commoner like me.”

scaramouche didn't dare to fight back your statement.

you shrugged before walking away. “aside from that, the dendrobrium is just a really pretty flower in general. well at least in my eyes, that is.” your conclusion caused scaramouche to give you a dirty look.

“you could've just went with that instead of spouting out bullshit.”

“i enjoy seeing you contort your face into weird expressions as i talk.” you pulled out a chair by the table before sitting down with your arms crossed. “you're quite the eccentric one, balladeer.”

scaramouche groaned in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed before snapping them to you. “what do you even plan on doing with this viktoria woman?” he asked rather impatiently.

“i'd have to elaborate everything i know regarding the fantomatique for you to understand why she's our first target.”

“target? are you trying to rope me into your filthy assassination schemes?”

you looked over your shoulder from the table to glare at him. “why would i want you to interfere with my job?” you scoffed, rolling your eyes as you do so. “i only kill when i am ordered to by the leader, or if i didn't have any other choice.”

scaramouche merely hummed as a reply before you continued.

“the unknown leader's sole goal is to make snezhnaya a better place.” you pointed to the board. “they've made it well known from the very start.” a piece of paper caught scaramouche's eyes, and he took a good look at it before widening his eyes.

it was a newspaper, with its other pages torn, except one. the edges of the paper were dirty and seemed like it was years old, and when scaramouche finally focused on the main picture of the newspaper, his heart dropped.

the reury orphanage tragedy.

scaramouche knew he was going to come across this one way or another, but looking at it now made him nauseous.

the newspaper talked about how the tragedy had impacted a lot of people to the point that it gained the royals' attention.

in the newspaper, it wrote that the fantomatique had left a short message for the people, a message that scaramouche knew so well he didn't need to read the next line to know what it said.

this is just the beginning.

those five words were the thing that almost made scaramouche lose his mind when he had his hands on the investigation many years later.

you looked at him, confused, as if there was something about the tragedy that plagued his mind for him to be so quiet suddenly. a bit of worry flashed your eyes before you shook it off, huffing as you do so.

right. he's your supposed enemy. you two have agreed to not interfere in each other's personal business, so there's no reason for you to have even the slightest of sympathy or concern, especially for someone like him.

scaramouche snapped out of his deep thoughts when you spoke. “when the fantomatique was formed, the leader recruited twelve people to be their most trusted allies, they're called the crusaders.”

“although, over the years, one by one wind up dead. now, there are only five crusaders remaining.” you informed, absentmindedly playing with the box of matches on the table as you focused on the object.

scaramouche arched an eyebrow as he turned to look at you. “what do you mean by 'wind up dead'?”

“they were either assassinated or killed themselves due to corruption and betrayal.” you heaved out a breath. “...if you must know, there's no turning back once you're a part of the fantomatique.”

you flicked your eyes to him. “it's either kill or be killed. if the leader knows you've betrayed them, they will hunt you down until your last breath.” you emphasized the word.

“wait.” scaramouche stopped you. “so, does this mean…”

nodding your head, you sighed. “if the leader finds out about this deal, i'll be done for. which is why i am hoping we could cooperate and end the organization as fast and as precisely as we could.”

“but aren't you considered the leader's favorite pet? you're the most powerful assassin in the city, if the leader kills you then they're just going to lose their greatest asset to their organization.” he asked, rather confused.

you snorted. “'pet' would be a bit of an exaggeration, balladeer. i just follow whatever order i am told. and if anything, the leader loathes me the most.”

“what?”

it was your turn to be confused by his reaction. “just because i'm the greatest assassin alive doesn't mean that the leader respects me.”

and then you were silent.

scaramouche waited for you to continue whatever you had in mind, but it seemed as though you had brushed it off to avoid personal talk. once again.

the ravenette returned his focus to the picture in front of him instead. “so, what about viktoria again?”

“oh.” you snapped out of thoughts immediately, standing up and walking over towards scaramouche. “both the crusaders and the leader are hard to track down, nor do we know each of their identities. but the leader had given the crusaders separate forces to take care of.”

“and that includes?”

“well, as far as i am aware, there's weaponry, which is led by the third crusader. although the crusaders' identities are unknown, they're relatively easier to track down than the leader. i've heard that most of them are in the hierarchy of the nobles, even.” you informed further, stopping in front of the board as you stood next to him.

scaramouche nodded in understanding. “so, is this viktoria one of the crusaders?” he inquired, in which you shook your head.

“i wish it was that easy.” you sighed, bringing up a hand to point out to a piece of paper besides the picture of viktoria. “weaponry is one of the most important assets for the fantomatique to rise up in both status and strength, so import of weapons have always been operated illegally in order to get the best ones across the seven nations.”

the paper you've pointed at was a letter with an intricate handwriting. it wrote about information of new stocks of imported weapons to be docked by the shore soon. at the bottom right, it signed off with a red stamp drawing of a ghost.

after careful inspection, scaramouche realized it was the official stamp of the fantomatique.

scaramouche wondered how you managed to get a confidential letter out of someone's hands.

“viktoria here, albeit not being a crusader, is in charge of an incoming stock. she's not exactly someone of importance to the fantomatique, though she is rather… egotistical. she's under the third crusader, so if we could just get under her skin, then it'd be easier to track down the third crusader.”

scaramouche looked at you skeptically. “how do we know she would lead us to the third crusader? you did say that their identities are unknown.”

“yes, unknown to most, i'd say. of course almost every member of the fantomatique aren't aware of the identities of the higher ups, but there's a slim chance that some do.” you explained, causing scaramouche to furrow his brows further.

“so you'd rather take that risk and target this woman?”

“sweetheart, i'd take as many risks as i can to destroy the leader, even if death awaits me in the end. i'm taking this chance while i still can.” you patted his shoulder.

scaramouche clicked his tongue before shoving your hand away. “don't call me that.”

“call you what?”

he snapped his head to look at you. “that hideous name.” said scaramouche.

“sweetheart?”

“yes…?” scaramouche replied rather hesitantly, as if that wasn't the obvious answer.

you grinned, walking away as you stretched your arms in the air. you didn't comment on his answer, which left scaramouche completely bamboozled.

he wasn't sure why you would just smile deviously and walk away without giving him any snarky remarks back.

scaramouche darted his eyes to the dagger stuck in the wooden board, and his indigo ones shifted into something else, determined to take that weapon out.

the ravenette took ahold of the hilt before pulling it out, using his strength. it was jammed for a few seconds, but scaramouche managed to fully take it out without any complications.

he played with it for a few seconds before twisting his head to look at you, back turned to him.

scaramouche took a moment to think.

if this was the dendrobrium, the most deadliest assassin in snezhnaya, then this is his chance. even though he's had a duel with you, both during your first meeting and from earlier, scaramouche needed to see how it'd look like if you were the one being striked this time.

angling the dagger to your direction, scaramouche made sure to do it as precisely as he could. then, without sparing a second, he threw the weapon, and the sharp end headed towards you.

it was swiftly flying through the air, and scaramouche thought he would be successful with his attempt before the weapon stopped midway. the ravenette frowned before looking at the familiar gloved hand holding the hilt.

you looked over your shoulder, back still turned as you held the dagger in your hand, the weapon just exactly beside your head.

you had just caught it effortlessly.

and scaramouche was sure that that was just child's play to you.

“how'd you do that?”

you fully turned around, smirking as you played with the dagger in hand. “a decade of… practice, brings you a long way.” you hesitated. “instinct is simply one of the things i must learn in order to become the person i am today.”

scaramouche folded his arms. “you sure have been in this field for a long time. how old are you even?”

“hm, i don't know. how old do you think i look?”

“thirty.”

you gasped, fully offended. “i'm not that old! your view of me is truly atrocious!” you fought, but scaramouche still looked at you blankly.

“so, how old are you?”

“there's no fun if i'm telling you straight away, is it not?”

scaramouche arched a brow. “thirty-four.”

you gasped once again.

“thirty-eight.” he raised the numbers higher, and your gasp sounded even more higher than before.

scaramouche smirked devilishly this time. “forty?”

“twenty-five!” you immediately cut him off after he had said that, eyes staring daggers at him as you gripped the said dagger tightly in your hand. “i'm twenty-five.” you said again.

it was scaramouche's turn to look confused. he tried connecting the dots, and shortly after, he stared at you, almost speechless. “you've been assassinating since you were fifteen?”

“well, i officially joined the fantomatique when i was seventeen, so i wouldn't say i exactly started brutally killing people at that age.” you shrugged. “oh! i did kill someone with my bare hands, though.” you finished, and scaramouche looked mortified as he received that information.

after a few seconds, he sighed, bringing up a hand to cover his face. “how are you so unbothered with saying all of this…” he mumbled lowly.

it seemed like you didn't hear him, as you were still fiddling with your dagger, twirling it around with your fingers as if you were playing with one of your prized possessions.

“so.” you flickered your eyes to him, changing the subject. “shall we get started?”

this was only his second meeting with you. he was still unsure of many things about you. but if there's one thing scaramouche could describe you for the duration he's spent time with you, he'd say you were… quite the eccentric one, with a tinge of fatuousness.

he won't deny that your intelligence and strength makes up for most of it, but he thinks your boastful and slightly barbarous personality is what ticks him off the most.

however, he thinks that's exactly the type of person he needed in order for him to destroy the monstrous organization.

and maybe, you might just be the right person for it.

scaramouche turned to look back at the board in front of him. “...yeah. let's get this over with.”

you didn't dare comment on the way he smiled as he said those words.

m.o = modus operandi

hello hello everyone!! i'm truly sorry for the huge delay on this chapter. i've been heavily unmotivated to write lately, and i'm suuuuper busy irl right now. writing this chapter took me all my might and mental capability, so i apologize if there were any mistakes on my part. hopefully after this i can start uploading new chapters weekly, and i hope you're still here for the ride. see you in the next update!

taglist; @cxpidsrevolution @sxjlx320 @asukahiriko @vvrie @tcfffff @maroon32 @thatpersonnooneknows @kunikame @kaoyamamegami @kunikuzushiit @percyval-archives @romyoia @albedonwanderer @ghosted-fr @yuuki4646 @beriiov @scarammouch @supperrsecrwt @talledale @lez-zuha @vivinsoul @asterifiic @raideneiari @alatusorrow @shadowmist0706 @myspacekuni @kn1zu @zukaniscr @peregrinus0301 @tynan-cries @honeycapped @averagehuman-notsuspicious @hito_furi

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#h✧˖— asphodelus #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche x you #scaramouche fanfic #scara x reader #genshin x you #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact reader insert #genshin imagines #genshin x reader #scaramouche fluff #kunikuzushi x reader #wanderer x reader #genshin impact imagines #this chapter killed me

[arlecchno]

asphodelus [ scaramouche x reader ]

5. you're on your own, kid.

prev masterlist next

is being lonely a normal thing? or is it just due to your upbringing?

warnings: mentions of suicide? not a bunch but scaramouche has joked about k/lling himself lmao, allusions to murder like always, a bit of fighting and blood, more to be added once i'm free

a/n: lol despite the title and summary i basically said nothing about being drowned in loneliness except for a paragraph or two but i'm too lazy to find a new one so bare with me pls

extra a/n in the end!!!

scaramouche felt like he just came out of hell.

well, technically, he did.

he had stayed at your lair longer than he intended to last night, and right now, he is currently sipping the most bitter coffee known to man at seven in the morning, in hopes of cutting down his need for sleep.

(it doesn't help, by the way. his eyelids are on the verge of closing.)

one look at him and you could just tell he's sleep deprived— not that he wasn't for the past few years he has worked in this department.

maybe he should just quit this stupid job.

“what in the world happened to you?”

scaramouche swiftly whipped his head towards the owner of the voice, and lo and behold, the last person he wanted to see in the first hour of his working hours, the man of the hour— tartaglia.

the ravenette clicked his tongue as he stepped away from the office kitchen, heading straight back to his desk with his mug in hand. he was not about to deal with someone so insufferable this early in the morning.

but it doesn't make it any better when the aforementioned ginger eagerly follows him from behind, insistent on getting an answer. scaramouche's not surprised, honestly. that's just how childe has always been, never backing down until he gets what he wants.

scaramouche's reply was curt. “leave me alone.”

but that doesn't stop childe from following him.

it wasn't until they finally arrive at scaramouche's desk that childe asks another question. “that case still keeping you up?”

right— if there's one thing about childe, it's that he has been by scaramouche's side since childhood. so, basically, he knows everything. from up to his darkest secrets and down to his traumatic experiences.

“no.” scaramouche half-lied.

to be fair, scaramouche wasn't entirely lying— he was confined in your base for pretty much most of the night, busy with the whole fantomatique ordeal, but that didn't mean it didn't remind him of those days; not when the fantomatique, the organization you're in, was the sole reason he lost what he had back then.

“well what has got you so uptight then?”

scaramouche didn't have time to sit in his chair when childe shoots that question. suddenly deep in thought, he just had half the mind to actually break it down to him and explain what he's been up to, but a flashback from last night flooded his mind.

“if you ever dare say a word about our partnership, you'll know who's throat i'm going for next.”

yeah, that's definitely not happening.

he may have joked about ending himself a few times, maybe a little too much, but never in his life would he ever want his blood to end up in your hands.

childe irked a brow at the ravenette's silence. before he could comment on it, another voice interrupted him instead.

“balladeer! captain's calling for ya!” someone shouted from across the room, and both of the detectives turned their heads towards the source of the voice. they didn't need to look at the person to know who it was anyways— it was the tsaritsa's assistant, katlin.

with an audible, and clearly loud sigh, scaramouche placed his mug down on his desk harshly, before brushing past childe's taller frame.

it's not like scaramouche wanted to meet his captain. hell, meeting the tsaritsa wouldn't even be the last thing he'd want to do– he'd rather explode than to ever have to face her. yet he needed an opportunity to squeeze out of the stupid personal conversation childe had decided to have this early in the morning, and this was his only resort.

childe's voice fell on deaf ears by the time he reached the tsaritsa's office.

he stopped for a moment, hand on the doorknob. scaramouche knocked three times on the wooden door, and a muffled come in can be heard from the other side. he inhaled deeply before pushing the door open, and he was greeted by the sight of the tsaritsa working on a pile of paperwork on her desk quietly.

scaramouche approached slowly, and stopped once he was just a few steps away from her desk. he stood there for a few beats, and when the tsaritsa didn't bother to bat an eye at him, he almost wanted to roll his eyes.

an asshole, as always.

“did you call for me, captain?”

after a hot second, she finally tilted her head up from the pile, staring at him with a deadpan look, one that never fails to be scaramouche's reason to end it all.

“oh.” was the first word that came out of her mouth, and she continued. “i did.” she said it as though it was a question, which prompted scaramouche to dig his nails into the palm of his hand that was shaped into a fist. he's glad that he could at least hide it from her prying eyes— save it for the high desk she currently occupies.

“right. i wanted to let you know that you are in charge of patrolling the city today.” she cleared her throat, flicking her eyes back to her work. “that's all.”

scaramouche frowned, confused. “but i'm handling that case from the other night–”

“not anymore.” she cut him off before he could even finish his sentence, and scaramouche gritted his teeth.

“what? why?” oh, he knew why, he didn't need an explanation to know exactly why she wouldn't give him a big case. there's no reason for him to be handling major cases when he's still under the fuckery of the tsaritsa's supervision. it's not like he hasn't been doing the same old patrol shit for the past year. this wasn't a surprise to him at all.

the tsaritsa sighed, looking at him once again with that same blank expression. “i've handed it over to the people who are far better for it, balladeer.” well, that definitely stings. “i don't expect you to be ready for such a task, not after that stunt you pulled last year.”

“...and how long do you plan on keeping me in the shadows? am i not a detective?” scaramouche pressed, although he already knew the answer to his question.

maybe when you finally deserve that detective title you live up to.

and those same exact words rolled off her tongue, which made scaramouche dig his nails into his palm deeper. right, it has always been that answer. what was he even expecting from the likes of her?

without replying to the tsaritsa, scaramouche turned on his heels and left the confines of her office at the speed of lightning, making sure to slam the door shut. if the captain was going to keep making him do such lousy jobs that even the lowest scums of the fatui could do without supervision, then he might as well break a few furniture or so in return. it was only fair.

the streets were anything but peaceful, scaramouche thinks.

it was roughly around ten in the morning, and the city was as busy as ever. folks were out and about, and he could vaguely recognise the same twenty people or so by the fountain doing their weekly protest against the fantomatique, as if that could make any changes in snezhnaya.

scaramouche sighed as he continued on patrolling, with a few of his subordinates trailing behind.

the ravenette was just about to leave the city and head on over to his next patrolling area when a sudden fight broke down at the same spot people were crowding at by the fountain he saw earlier, and that made scaramouche tsk in annoyance.

i'm not getting paid enough to deal with shit like this. his second insight of the day.

as his team hurriedly jogged over to the scene, the two men that were fighting already had each other's fists in the other's faces, and scaramouche grimaced as he witnessed the tall and bulky man successfully knocked the shorter man down, leaving a trail of blood running down the man's nostrils.

gasps and whispers were exchanged between the small crowd as they watched the scene before them. what was supposed to be a peaceful protest to fight against the deadliest organization had swiftly turned into a local fight you'd typically see in rowdy bars. scums.

“what the fuck?!” the man on the ground yelled, before quickly standing up to continue on with the fight. the shorter man was seconds away from landing a punch towards the taller man's stomach when scaramouche finally interfered. the show was amusing to him, but he had to put a stop to this, lest he prefers a full-on lecture by the jester later on.

“that's enough fighting, you two.”

the two men suddenly glared down at scaramouche, who was way shorter than both of them. amusing, really. they quickly shared a glance, and as though the tables had turned, they ganged up with one another against the shorter male, looking down at scaramouche with eyes full of mischief.

scaramouche only looked at them with nothing but boredom, hands shoved in his pockets like he has no care in the world. of course, who was he kidding? he was confident that he could take the two down in mere seconds, despite the fact that they both looked like they had a much bigger build than him. after all, the ravenette was put through rigorous training for him to be accepted into the fatui, no less that he's one of the higher figures in the said academy.

one of the two men scoffed, and scaramouche raised a brow as he stared up at the man with tanned skin. “who does this midget think he is? aren't people like you supposed to be running your legs and fighting for the safety of this city? and yet another person was killed last night. have you no shame, standing here, yet contributing nothing to the city?”

“the fatui do not deserve such praise from the kingdom when all you people do is patrol and run around like the weaklings you all are.” the other man said, already stalking up towards scaramouche.

scaramouche paid no heed to their insults. who do they think they are, trying to pick a fight with him?

the crowd could only nod their heads and whisper between one another, agreeing with what the two men were saying.

scaramouche could not blame them, truly. the people of snezhnaya had lost hope with the fatui. fifteen years had passed and the citizens are still forced to live in fear, in their own homes, in their own country. the fatui have barely done anything to keep the city safe, not when there was no way the fatui could have done anything to take down the fantomatique without getting their heads sliced off the second they look into the fantomatique's plans.

the fatui used to be the organization that the citizens of snezhnaya look up to and seek help from, but now they only serve as merely a name with zero contribution.

but even so, it didn't mean that the fatui haven't tried. the people do not need to know the struggles the fatui had to endure during times like this. hell, they don't even know the amount of members who had died trying to keep the city safe.

scaramouche only had a bit of pity towards these citizens. there was no point in doing so when the only thing he gets in return is this sort of treatment.

“if you boast so much about us being useless, then why don't you try being one yourself?” scaramouche had said in return, and the two men scowled.

then, scaramouche continued. “oh, pardon me. you both are already one yourself.” the slight jab of insult made the two men clench their fists, resisting the urge to jump at the short male. “tell me, what is the point of you being here, protesting, when you are too cowardly to even do half of the things the fatui do on a daily basis?”

“you–”

“might i also remind you that you are within the vicinity of the city, therefore the violences and ruckus you have caused here could get you arrested?”

the two men pursed their lips into a thin line, as if they had their mouths zipped the second that sentence rolled off the ravenette's tongue.

“if you think that you can pick a fight with me then be my guest.” scaramouche shrugged, knowing fully well that he could take both of the men down in a heartbeat.

when scaramouche finally decided to look around the crowd, eyes trailing over each person present there, he somehow saw you. you who was already staring right back at him, making scaramouche slightly falter at the sight.

what were you doing here? in the middle of a protest against an organization you are in?

as if you could read his expression, you shrugged your shoulders, exactly like what he just did a second ago, and scaramouche frowned.

the two men in front of him stared at scaramouche weirdly, confused as to why the ravenette was suddenly paying attention to the crowd.

just as scaramouche wanted to go after you, you vanished into the said crowd, and that made him even more sour than he already was.

damn you and your stupid assassin skills.

“uh, sir? what do we do about them?” one of his subordinates had asked from behind, and that finally made scaramouche snap back to reality.

scaramouche looked over his shoulder, and back to the two taller men. he sighed, bringing a hand over his face. “just… make sure they don't make a scene again.”

his subordinates could only nod as they took care of the two men, whilst scaramouche took the liberty to walk out of the crowd to search for you. that is if he manages to find you, archons know where you had decided to disappear to.

just as he passed by an alleyway, he was quickly dragged into the darkness by his fatui coat, causing him to whip his head around to the perpetrator, hand holding his gun on his duty belt.

and when he pulled out his gun and had it pointed to the person who had dragged him in, he was instead greeted by your figure looking right back at him, eyebrows raised and hands in the air, feigning innocence.

“woah there, officer. no need to get violent.” you waved your hands, albeit a little too excitedly. “it's me.”

“it's detective to you.” scaramouche corrected you, slowly putting his gun back. “what the hell are you doing here?”

“excuse me?” you scoffed involuntarily. “i live around here. do you really think i live in my base all day long? what kind of psycho do you think i am?”

scaramouche rolled his eyes. “you're a maniac. cramping up in your lair all the time wouldn't surprise me.”

“you wound me, balladeer.”

he ignored your comment. “what were you even doing in the crowds?”

“i could ask you the same thing, detective.” you enunciated his title. “aren't you quite the hotshot yourself in your department? why are you out here doing a weakling's job? patrolling the city?”

scaramouche had half a mind to tell you about his temporary demotion, yet he zipped his mouth shut instead, ignoring you once again as he observed his surroundings, making sure there was no one else here but you two.

you sighed when he didn't reply, pulling out something from your cloak, piquing scaramouche's interest. “what's that?” he asked.

instead of vocalizing your reply, you simply waved the item in front of his face. two tickets to a… fair? festival? whatever it is, what are you even planning on doing with them?

“what the hell is this? a date?”

you gagged. “what? god, no. as if i would ever go out with the likes of you. not even over my dead body would i ever disrespect myself like that.”

scaramouche rolled his eyes at your harsh words, and you didn't wait for him to snap back as you got to the point. “viktoria is going to be hosting a festival by the end of the week, it might be our best chance on getting the information we need from her.”

“and what do you plan on doing once we've got her in our hands?” he asked.

“we drill her until she's nothing but a blabbermouth.” scaramouche raised a brow at this, as though he's not fully convinced by your words. “what? she might be a tough nut to crack, but she's never shutting that big mouth of hers once she starts talking.” you grinned.

“should i be concerned on what you might have committed in order to get these tickets?”

“oh wow, again, what the hell do you take me for?”

scaramouche leaned on a wall beside him. “a psychopath, that's for sure.”

frowning, you slapped one of the tickets to his chest, keeping the other back to where it was in your cloak. “if you ever won an award for being the biggest douche in snezhnaya, i, for one, would not be surprised.” you retorted, and scaramouche shrugged his shoulders in return as he slipped the ticket into his pocket.

“do you have any more intel that i should know of? or is that all?” scaramouche queried, and you took a moment to think.

after a hot second, you simply patted his shoulder, walking past him to exit the alley. “i'd say… try to dress citizen-like.” you looked over your shoulder to eye at the ravenette's clothing, and scaramouche gritted his teeth, knowing fully well that you were judging his outfit. so much for calling him a douche earlier.

you seriously cannot be looking at him up and down when you're currently donning the same exact outfit as his, the only difference being the stark contrast between his fatui themed colors and your… dull ones.

“do you have a problem with the way i dress?”

you didn't bother to reply to his question directly. “maybe i have forgotten to tell you. viktoria knows the fatui like the back of her hand. it wouldn't be nice if you were caught red handed this early into the game, no?”

and just like back then at the fountain, you were gone in the blink of an eye.

damn you and your stupid dendrobium shenanigans, he thought once again.

and what the hell did you mean by dress citizen-like? was there something wrong with his sense of fashion? scaramouche looked down at his outfit, the usual white button up shirt with a simple black tie and black pants, completing it with his fatui coat that goes down to his ankles.

what could possibly be wrong with his choice of clothes?

after your little rendezvous around snezhnaya city, you finally decided to head back to the comfort of your home.

the corridor to your apartment was dark, a stark contrast to the winterly yet bright day in the city— despite the fact that the sun is close to setting. it didn't take long for you to reach your doorstep, unlocking the wooden door with the single key you were holding.

you apartment looked just like any other ordinary apartment you'd typically see in snezhnaya. you had only made minimal changes to the interior when you had purchased the place, fearing that you might have to move out yet again for the umpteenth time.

as much as you loved the luxury you get from each mission you were sent to, being the dendrobium truly has its individual cons.

the shift of your foot in the quiet atmosphere made a soft crinkle, as though you had stepped on something. a piece of paper, maybe. looking down, you eyed a piece of letter on the carpet by the door, and after a bit of squinting, you eventually recognized the familiar bloody stamp on the top right corner of the letter.

sighing, you bent down to pick up the letter and rip the cover open, not caring if it damaged the letter in the process. your eyes darted over to the handwritten letter, barely reading through its contents. there was no need of doing so, it's bound to be the same stupid content either way.

dendrobium,

a new target awaits. retrieve the documents needed from a merchant named alexis nikova. finish your work within twenty-four hours. your reward will be waiting for you at the usual place.

messenger VI.

groaning frustratedly, you tossed the letter on a desk near the living room. i just got home, for god's sake, you thought as you discarded your coat before flopping onto your couch, head leaning back.

you stared at the ceiling, and the ceiling stared right back at you. maybe if you stared at it long enough, you would think that it was straight up mocking you for the amount of risks you're taking in order to live.

“must be nice being a ceiling, huh.” maybe you've gone just a tad bit insane for saying this.

sighing once again, you readjusted your position on the couch with your back to the cushioned seats.

this was routine. you close your eyes, you try to calm your mind and rest before doing your nightly dendrobium duties, just like how you've always been doing for almost a decade.

and before you knew it, you were already entering dreamland.

except for the fact that it wasn't quite dreamland at all.

with a short and shaky gasp, you jolted awake, shooting up from your lying position on the couch. beads of sweat rolled down your face as you tried to calm your heavy breathing and shivering body.

you're not certain what time it was, but one thing's for sure; it was well past midnight. the moon that was shining brightly in the sky and the eerily quiet street downstairs gave it away.

great, you passed out for the whole evening.

you stared at the starry night as you calmed yourself down, serving it as a way of comfort... or some sort. you weren't sure if it helped in any way.

after a moment of nothing-ness, you finally decide to grab yourself a cup of water, ignoring the way your head throbs from your recent nightmare.

nightmares— you're definitely not a stranger to it. if anything, nightmares are your best friend. the kind of best friend who won't stop bugging you, leaving you no personal space. yeah, that kind of friend.

you're not even sure when was the last time you had a positive and enjoyable dream.

as the warm water fills your dry throat, you sighed in contempt. you looked at the ominously large clock by your counter, and you groaned when you saw the time.

2:08. way past midnight.

you would've been out finishing that stupid task at this time around, but instead you had just woken up to yet another gruesome nightmare. great, just great.

despite the fact that you have well over 15 hours until your mission is due, you have no intention of dragging it any longer. you're not a fan of doing things last minute— contrary to what people your age have the tendency to do.

maybe it's the fact that you've been brought up differently than other kids, or the fact that you practically had no one to look up to when you were a child yourself. well not anymore, for that matter. you've always been dependent on only yourself.

dwelling on the past isn't what you do— definitely not during nights where you're supposed to be finishing your tasks; yet here you are.

if not for the fact that you were from the streets, or for the fact that you were taken into this organization— you probably would've become a perfectly normal kid.

you could probably imagine yourself owning a small bakery down the street; like the one you'd always stop by every saturday morning with the kind lady serving you. the owner there would always insist on giving you extra pastry, excusing it as what she'd say: “you remind me of my own daughter.” maybe she's too kind for her own good— dully because she's serving a murderer every weekend.

nevertheless, if it weren't for your upbringing, you would've been a normal person, dealing with life normally, instead of having to fish out hearts and blood every night; all for the sake of your own living.

your apartment is too quiet. the place is nothing but despair. you feel like the wooden floors are eating you up, and your knees are at the brink of giving up— just like your whole being.

and yet you have no one to lean on to for help.

you're all alone. and you may think that's okay, but it's not. but what is there to do than to just suck it up and not dwell on it?

so you down your cup of water and swallow up your miserable self— and instead go out for your nightly duties as though it'd help rid your deteriorating mental state.

and maybe the relief in finishing up your next target might just give you a bit of color in your life— well, at least for tonight the color will be red.

scaramouche thinks he's gone nuts.

it's been a full week, and he's done nothing but patrolling. no cases under his lead, no crime scenes he needs to overlook, not even three sheets of paperwork on his desk that is due soon.

it's not like he's expecting anything less, nor anything more for that matter, but god forbid the tsaritsa lets him have at least a bit of fun in his gray colored life as a detective. correction— revoked detective title, but admitting that would hurt his pride and ego.

and it doesn't make it any better that he has nothing to do but sit in his desk all day after patrolling in the snowy city— and having to witness people like childe and signora experiencing the most fun in their jobs, leaving him in such a crestfallen state he might as well just break both his desk and chair in two.

good for them, he'd thought one time. leave it to the most miserable people to get the most exciting cases to work on. (he likes to think he is not miserable himself)

there was basically nothing for him to look forward to the following the weekend.

so that quite explains the reason why he's currently standing over the golden bridge— the place where he had met you for the very first time, professionally. not that whimsical and silly showdown or whatever he had put up to whilst chasing you down that one night.

you're late, five minutes late to be exact.

scaramouche's not the time of person to be so calculating (he is), but he couldn't help but glance over the giant clock on the highest building in the middle of the city every few minutes, save it for the fact that his week has been nothing but depressing. this was the only thing he might have looked forward to, albeit his very displeased face.

after two minutes or so— you finally arrived; in all your out-of-breath glory. and maybe a bit sweaty yourself, but scaramouche won't point that out to spare your embarrassment.

5:07 in the evening.

“you're late.” is the first thing he says as you finally calmed yourself down from all of that running.

you glared at him. “good evening to you as well, balladeer.” you enunciated his name with just a tad bit of annoyance, but he ignores it.

“what has caused the dendrobium to be so…” you raised a brow, a signal for him to continue and finish that sentence. or maybe a warning, he thinks. “unpunctual.” he settled on the least insult he could think of, but the way you're currently looking at him with those murderous eyes tells him that he's not safe either way, insulting or not.

“i had some errands i had to run at the last minute.” you replied, wiping off the bit of sweat on your forehead with your sleeve— despite the chilly weather.

the ravenette doesn't reply, instead opted to glance at your outfit. well, there isn't much difference from your usual choice of clothing, but at least you looked... decent, to say the least.

“i see that you've actually taken my advice, balladeer.” you said after a moment, and when scaramouche flickered his eyes to yours, you were already looking up and down his outfit. “well aren't you quite dressed for the occasion!” you beamed as you clasped your hands together.

scaramouche rolled his eyes and turned around, not giving you a second to relax from your high. “stop wasting my time and get going. i don't have all day.”

he walks first, leaving you behind. he needn't worry anyway, because not even ten seconds later, you were already on the same pace as him.

what a show off, he thinks. (you're not. it's just your average agility and strength; one that he could definitely never outdo. and not that he would ever admit that to you).

“can't you be a little more enthusiastic?”

“can't you be a little more quiet?” he shoots back.

you groaned. he's definitely not going to hesitate bursting your bubble every time you say something positive.

it was silent for a moment, with only your footsteps to accompany the both of you to your destination as the sun starts to set.

“so,” you tried striking up a conversation when you felt that it was too quiet and too awkward, looking at him beside you as you both walked down a path. “got any plans for the evening?”

scaramouche side-eyed you from your left. “don't we have a job to do? like getting that viktoria woman on her knees?”

you gasped dramatically. “oh, you seriously cannot think that would be the only thing we will be doing for the whole evening? that would only take around... a quarter to an hour, or maybe less, depending on how long she is willing to blabber that big mouth of hers, but that's besides the point.” you threw your hands up into the air a little too excitedly, looking up at the sky. “we practically have all night to enjoy ourselves!”

“that is a quarter to an hour less of my time, then. would that not be good for the both of us? these kinds of festivals are a bane to my existence— to anyone, really. there are so many things that i can actually put my effort and time to than waste it on an unenjoyable event.”

you snorted at his reply, finding amusement in his words. “oh balladeer, has anyone ever told you that you're sad and miserable?”

“yes.” he said. “quite a lot, actually. maybe a little too much for my liking.” he ends his sentence with yet another sarcastic tone.

and again, you stifled a laugh. “how do you even see a joyous festival and immediately think ‘oh, this is not worth my time, i shall better go back to my sad life to continue doing my sad job like the sad person i am.’” you tried mimicking his voice, but it came out a little bit restrained and whiny. he's too unbothered to comment on that.

“there is nothing joyous about festivals. only boring people like you would find solace in such stupid events.”

you laughed, only this time you couldn't hold it in any longer. for someone so dull and boring, he is quite the epitome of amusing. and a little bit of funny, if you have to admit.

and maybe— this might have just made scaramouche have the slightest bit of interest in this festival you look forward to so much.

taking down the most dangerous organization with you will be quite the roller coaster, he thinks. but that's what makes this whole mission better.

he's still not sure of your motive and why you want to take down your own kind, but maybe along this ride he might be able to learn a thing or two about you.

well, one thing's for sure is that you have such horrendous taste in fashion. and you're too cheerful for someone who is tasked to commit murders every few nights.

and it's kind of weird that for the second time since he's known you, scaramouche looks forward to working with you. despite your quirks and questionable sense in style.

the reason behind scaramouche's deep hatred towards the tsaritsa needs to be studied.

a/n: woah h finally posts a new chapter after a two month hiatus???? this is not her. she's currently drowning in a pile of books and on the verge of ending her life. (it is me)

anyways yeah i'm back from my slump i hope you guys are still here 😞 i'll try to update more frequently i promise!!! as always i hope you enjoyed this chapter i made a ton of changes to my writing over my hiatus so i hope this makes up for my absence LMAO i'm trying to improve more if that's not obvious haha anyways i guess i'll see you all in the next update :P

taglist; @cxpidsrevolution @sxjlx320 @asukahiriko @vvrie @tcfffff @maroon32 @thatpersonnooneknows @kunikame @kaoyamamegami @kunikuzushiit @percyval-archives @romyoia @albedonwanderer @ghosted-fr @yuuki4646 @beriiov @scarammouch @supperrsecrwt @talledale @lez-zuha @vivinsoul @asterifiic @raideneiari @alatusorrow @shadowmist0706 @myspacekuni @kn1zu @zukaniscr @peregrinus0301 @tylan-cries @honeycapped @averagehuman-notsuspicious @hito_furi @bleedingwhiteroses222 @lisiastak021 (pleasw telk me half of yall are still here 😕🙏)

come and join the taglist!

#h✧˖— asphodelus #scaramouche x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact reader insert #genshin x you #scaramouche #scaramouche fanfic #genshin scaramouche #scara x you #wanderer x reader #kunikuzushi x reader #I FINALLY GOT THIS DONE #I AM FREE FROM THE SHACKLES #watch me disappear again

[arlecchno]

asphodelus

scaramouche x fem!reader, a purple hyacinth au.

masterpost

full masterlist of my works.

being an exceptional detective isn't always an ideal job— yet scaramouche's ability to read through lies has made him the person he is today. an unfortunate event of a showdown with him while on the run have arisen a very promising deal that could benefit the both of you. with everything happening in teyvat, his only plan right now is to fight evil and avenge the people he loved— even if it means teaming up with you, the deadliest assassin from the most feared organization of all.

wanna join the taglist?

enemies to lovers, slow burn, detective!scara x assassin!reader

warnings: graphic violence, lots of murder & suicide mentions, blood, guns, reader uses a dagger, alcohol consumption, very slow burn, death mentions, assassination, mostly scara's pov, abduction, tragedies, bombs, angst, angst, angst. will add more in the future.

status: ongoing (hiatus)

extra note: most povs will be in scaramouche's perspective.

1. prologue.

2. the dendrobrium.

3. a dreadful deal.

4. sparrings and duels.

5. you're on your own, kid.

6. tba

other chapters will be announced soon.

a/n: couldn't resist myself from letting this rot in my drafts. i just had to post this now or else this will eat me up terribly. crime and murder are my forte now no one can change my mind... i won't start this series until mid january as my finals will end on the 11th and i need time to adjust with a new fic lmao. while waiting, maybe reading my other work, mission accomplished, will kill you some time 🤫 and maybe your next target too.

extra note: this series is highly inspired by the webtoon purple hyacinth, therefore its settings and themes will be influenced by the webtoon itself. i do recommend on giving purple hyacinth a read, it's a really good webtoon!!!! with so much angst

© arlecchno do not repost or plagiarize any of my works.

#scaramouche x reader #genshin impact scaramouche #genshin scaramouche #scaramouche fluff #scaramouche #genshin impact #genshin x you #genshin #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact reader insert #h✧˖— asphodelus

[arlecchno]

asphodelus [ scaramouche x reader ]

3. a dreadful deal.

prev masterlist next

midnight at the golden bridge, there formed a new partnership, a match made in hell bound to stick together till death.

warnings: blood, cuts, allusions to murder, violence etc.

a/n: sorry for the delay i'm going a bit insane as each day passes

“here are the documents the leader wanted me to retrieve.” your voice boomed in the dark room, with only one light bulb to spare the brightness.

after your little unexpected rendezvous with a police officer from the fatui department, you headed straight for the supposed meeting with one of the messengers for the leader, which was this… filthy abandoned store by the shore.

it reeked of muddy waters, and if one may assume, the awful stench came from dead fishes.

the messenger really has to find a better place.

“did you finish off the job?” the messenger asked, their face concealed by an unappealing mask. they reached out to take the documents from your hands.

you scoffed, rolling your eyes. “of course i did. i never leave a target alive.” sighing, you crossed your arms. “is there anything else? this place stinks. you better find a better place next time for our next meeting.”

“the leader expects you to keep up with your work, you seem to be… slacking off lately.” the messenger ignored your previous comment, glancing at your slightly slouched form instead, brief cuts on both your clothes and skin. you paid no mind to their prying eyes.

you turned around, shoes clicking on the floor. “what's important is that i always get the job done, is it not? whether i am distracted or not is none of your business, neither is it the leader's.”

“just because you're the most feared assassin in the city doesn't mean that you're not under the leader's every watch, dendrobrium.” the messenger's voice stopped you in your tracks. “might i remind you that you are way beneath the leader and their trusted allies.”

you stayed silent for a second, hand absentmindedly hanging onto the rusty doorknob. “...i am well aware. never in my life would i ever go against the leader.” you replied after a moment, opening the door.

“i'll see you when the leader has a new order for me.” the door slammed close after your words, leaving the messenger behind in the musty room.

the walk back to the house that scaramouche had left roughly twenty minutes ago was brutal. the ravenette kept cursing on how he'd deal with the assassin he met earlier for this torture.

it wasn't any better that halfway through his walk, it started snowing. the chilly winter season is ultimately killing him.

after what felt like forever, he arrived at the house that someone had called an emergency floor, which was now filled to the brim with police officers and yellow tapes surrounding the area.

the sight of signora and childe by the front door made scaramouche curse under his breath.

i don't want them to see me like this, he thought to himself, gripping his right arm as it dripped blood. as if the archons had betrayed him, the two aforementioned people flickered their eyes to scaramouche, eyes full of worry.

damn it.

“scara!” childe shouted, running towards him. he stopped in front of the violet haired male, signora trailing behind until she too, was face to face with the ravenette.

scaramouche turned his head sideways, avoiding their lingering gaze. “i'm fine.”

childe checked him out for any major injuries but the most scaramouche has gotten were a couple of scratches, cuts, and bruises. this made childe raise an eyebrow, snapping his head back to scaramouche.

“i should really be thanking god for this, but… how are you still alive?”

it was scaramouche's turn to look confused. “...what do you mean?”

“the criminal from earlier.” signora approached him closer. “did you get her?” she asked.

scaramouche took a second to answer. should he tell the truth, or make up a lie?

should he even trust this criminal?

“i… got to her, but she managed to get away.” scaramouche decided with a lie. then, scaramouche popped a question. “how did you even know it's a woman anyway?”

childe and signora shared a look, which raised an even more confused expression on scaramouche's face. childe sighed, pointing out to the house. with a silent signal, all three of them headed towards it.

when scaramouche arrived at the crime scene, he stared blankly at the victim.

why did they bring him here? why not just tell him how they know who this criminal is?

if scaramouche could recall, he was the only one who had seen her face, let alone get close to her that night.

“can't you just tell me who the criminal is? it seems like you two already knew her identity.”

“just see it for yourself.” childe said, arms crossed as he glanced between the many crime scene investigators.

someone approached childe, bringing up something in their hand. “detectives.”

“the criminal you encountered tonight was none other than…” they shoved the ziploc bag further towards the three, and scaramouche's eyes widened as he finally saw what was placed inside the transparent bag.

no way, his voice echoed in his head.

“the dendrobrium.” scaramouche was the one to finish their words.

the one he encountered tonight… the one that proposed a deal with him… you… you're the dendrobrium.

i could've gotten killed.

the dendrobrium, the most fearful assassin in the city. everyone's aware of the dendrobrium, and they're the reason every single people are afraid to sleep at night.

you're known for leaving your targets in the most gruesome deaths anyone has ever seen, and the reason you've grown to be known as the dendrobrium was due to the flowers you'd leave by your targets, drowning in their blood; dendrobriums.

dendrobriums are a species of flowers that, surprisingly, bloomed more enchantingly when soaked in blood. it was said that the more brutal the killing, the more healthily it will grow. it's been heavily known to be the flower of death.

the flower isn't well known around here, nor does it hail from snezhnaya. it grows in the battlefields of inazuma, another nation far away from this snowy one. the question as to how the dendrobrium was able to retrieve those flowers was never known.

and no one knows who the dendrobrium is.

except for scaramouche.

i've seen her face, he thought. she's the most deadliest and wanted assassin, the bounty on her head offers a hella good amount that could serve off for the rest of his life.

he has every chance to turn you in, and save the city from your future assassinations.

this was the perfect opportunity to get the tsaritsa to trust him again.

“did you manage to get a look of her face, balladeer?” another officer in the room asked.

it took scaramouche a moment to reply. “i… didn't.” he lied. “she got away the second she stopped me.”

he's not even sure why he did just that.

was he really considering that deal?

no, impossible.

he's definitely not about to make a deal with the devil.

scaramouche had approximately twelve hours left before he meets you at the golden bridge tonight.

and he couldn't be more stressed.

“do you think it'd be fine if we approach him right now?” arlecchino, another lieutenant at the precinct asked, looking at scaramouche from afar.

it was currently midday, and the department was busy with loads of paperwork, so it wasn't a surprise when mostly everyone was present on the third floor.

childe squinted his eyes at scaramouche, sipping on his coffee as he leaned half his weight against the side of his desk. “he looks like he's about to pop a vessel, or have terrible constipation, or maybe both.”

scaramouche furrowed his brows even further as he stared intensely at the papers on his desk, pen almost breaking as he gripped it like it was his last meal.

“what is he even so focused on?”

“i still think he's constipated.”

“what are you two doing?” a gruff voice said from behind them, causing both childe and arlecchino to jolt from their positions, snapping their heads back to look at the owner of the voice.

childe placed his mug on his desk before crossing his arms. “archons, don't scare us like that, lieutenant.” childe looked at the man.

“if i could recall, you have that report about last night's case to do. it seems like you've definitely finished it, given how you're ogling your eyes at other police officers in your free time.” the man said, and childe sweated in slight fear.

arlecchino scoffed from beside the ginger. “give him a break, pierro. it's not like you don't have piles of paper up on your desk too.” she defended childe. and to make things worse, she pointed towards pierro's desk, and lo and behold, mountains of papers were placed right there.

pierro was silent. then, he walked away, as if nothing happened.

“saved your ass.”

childe glared at arlecchino. “please do me a favour and get your ass going. you're supposed to go train those newbies for patrol.”

“i am?” arlecchino asked, looking at him with a confused expression, which caused childe to blink at her.

“how are you even a lieutenant?” childe face-palmed, retracting himself from his desk to head towards scaramouche, leaving arlecchino to ponder on her assigned work.

the ginger suddenly placed his hands on scaramouche's desk once he got to him, yet the ravenette was still in dreamland.

childe brought up a hand to pinch his pale cheek, and it quickly earned a reaction from scaramouche. he swatted childe's hand away, scowling at him.

“what the hell?”

“you've been zoning out since forever, dude.” childe replied, and scaramouche rolled his eyes, switching between papers to write up his latest work. “what's gotten you so worked up up there?”

scaramouche frowned, looking up at childe with bored eyes. “nothing. go scram.”

childe groaned, sitting at an empty chair beside scaramouche's desk, which was usually reserved for witnesses or criminals scaramouche needed to interrogate. “come on, you never keep things from me. you've been quiet since last night.” the taller male pointed out.

i chased a criminal all the way down to the fifth district, almost got myself killed, got a knife shoved right before my throat, then a whole assassin proposed a deal, who actually turned out to be the deadliest one in existence, so yeah, it was only natural for me to be quiet since then, thank you for asking.

scaramouche wished he could just outwardly say that.

“did something happen while you were chasing the dendrobrium?”

well i'll be damned.

scaramouche stared at him for a few seconds, before resuming his work. “no. go finish up that report you have before the tsaritsa scolds you again.”

childe looked at him skeptically, before sighing. he knew that scaramouche was a hard nut to crack, but he thought that since he was closest to the ravenette, it'd only take a little pestering for him to give in.

the ginger turned around, about to walk away when scaramouche's next words stopped him.

“if you were given the chance to save the world by working with the enemy... would you do it?”

childe looked back at scaramouche, who stared right back at him. childe furrowed his brows in confusion, crossing his arms. “that's out of the blue.” he noted, walking back to scaramouche's desk. “well, would you?” he asked the question back, leaving scaramouche dumbfounded.

“um, uh... i–”

“personally, i would.” childe cut him off. “i mean, if it's to save the world, then i'd do it in a heartbeat. i could care less if the enemy ends up killing me, or i end up betrayed, as long as i am doing it for a good cause, it wouldn't hurt to try. besides, snezhnaya is dying, i don't want to see this nation ending due to a stupid criminal organization.”

scaramouche looked at him, mouth agape from his answer. childe waved him off, talking about how random it was for the ravenette to bring up such a weird question as he walked away, and scaramouche couldn't help but ponder on childe's answer.

would he do the same as childe? would he sacrifice his life for the truth?

he had no answer to that.

the weather was way colder than last night.

i'm the definitely not dressed for the weather, you thought to yourself as you leaned against the brick railing of the golden bridge, eyes darting up to the dark sky.

stars glittered in the midnight sky, and the moon shone brightly. the wind nips at your bare skin and you sighed, your warm breath clashing against the cold atmosphere.

you turned to look at a giant clock in the middle of the city, its building higher than the rest. 11:58, it read. you were a couple minutes early.

when you proposed a deal to the police officer you met the other day, you weren't sure if he would even come here, given the circumstances of his refusals earlier on. you're not even sure if he'd come by himself tonight.

i'll be damned if he brings out a whole army.

it wasn't that you were afraid of these measly fatui officers. hell, you could finish them all off before it would even strike 12:01. you were very much confident in your assassination skills.

it was due to the fact that this cop was… different. in the years of your existence as the dendrobrium, no one has ever been able to catch up with you, let alone seize you. yet this… fatui officer, did.

this means that he is at least on par with you.

but you're slightly better, you boasted yourself. no one can keep up with the dendrobrium.

a clicking sound of a gun was what snapped you back to reality.

“you should've told me that you were the dendrobrium before even proposing this deal.”

you chuckled, twisting your head to look at the owner of the voice. there, the same police officer from last night stood, gun in hand as it was aimed in your direction.

you took a fleeting second to glance at the giant clock in the city, 11:59 it showed, then, 12:00, and the clock made a loud sound to indicate that it was yet another new day to start.

looking back at the man a few feet away from you, you finally spoke. “so much for refusing all my offers last night. since you're just on time, i take that you'd be willing to work with me?” you asked, earning a scoff from the ravenette, his piercing indigo eyes glaring at you with disgust.

“why didn't you tell me you were the dendrobrium?” he pressed, stepping closer to you, gun shoved further.

you rolled your eyes. “oh, you can't be serious. do you really think that if i were to reveal that i am the most fearful assassin in the city first thing in our little encounter, you would even listen to what i'd have to say next?”

scaramouche frowned, and you didn't spare him a second to reply as you continued. “you fatui would've gotten me in handcuffs the second i revealed myself.” you sighed, one hand pressed to your chest dramatically.

“though, i would have gotten out of them easily, and would've slit your pretty little throats after, so that's out of the question.” you smiled a little, and it earned yet another look of disgust from the male.

you turned to look at him. “so? you've got yourself a deal?”

“how do i know you're not going to kill me in this… whatever this is.”

“i am a woman of my words. if i killed you, it wouldn't benefit me in any way. there's no point in working with you if i was planning on killing you in the process, that'd just make me instantly lose in this twisted game we're playing.” you explained.

the police officer slowly put down his gun, placing it back by his duty belt. “why me? there's a ton of other officers in the department, why choose and trust me, when you don't even know the slightest thing about me?”

“so many questions.” you complained. “look, no one has ever gotten the chance to catch up with me during my nights of assassinating, let alone touch me. yet, miraculously, you did just that the other night.” you stepped closer to him.

“and behind that real nuthead of yours… you seem to have the knack of seeing through lies, which was proven yesterday in our little chat. there is no better ally than you.” you stopped in front of him, looking through his vengeful eyes.

his eyes closed shut for a moment, before he opened them, looking right at you. “why are you after the leader?” he asked, leaning in closer. “you're the dendrobrium. the most fearsome assassin in the fantomatique. the leader's most trusted member. why do you want to destroy them?”

“you and your endless questions.” you groaned, stepping away to lean against the bridge railings once again, looking at the full moon. “i have my own motives. just because i follow the leader's orders doesn't mean i don't have the smallest desire to end their life. it's not like you're going after the leader for no reason either, no?”

you glanced at him. “so? are you in this or not?”

the male stared at you for a few seconds, before he sighed, bringing up a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “what are your conditions?”

“simple. provide me with every information you know from your fatui department, and i'll provide you with every information on the operations the fantomatique are planning. no withholding any, or else.” you didn't bother finishing your sentence, as you and him both know how that would end.

“...is there any room to negotiate my own conditions?”

you raised a brow at his question. “well, if it wouldn't harm me, then feel free to do so.” you said.

“everything that we do... stays between us. i don't want you involved in my personal life, and i don't want to be twisted up with your evil fantomatique operations.”

you took a moment to think, before you turned around fully, walking towards him until you were face to face. “okay, i can deal with that.” you finally said, and the short male rolled his eyes, as if that wasn't basic boundaries. “so, i suppose we have a deal?”

the ravenette seemed like he was deep in thought, furrowing his brows as his gaze was planted to the ground. then, he looked up, finally looking at you. he heaved out a breath, as though he had made up his mind.

“yes.”

you smiled, fiddling with your cloak. “how splendid, welcome to the team!” you clasped your hands together. “i'm y/n l/n, pleased to work with you.”

“...balladeer.” he muttered, and you arched a brow, a bit confused with his name. is that his real name?

you've heard from the streets that these fatui officers had their own fatui names, and would rarely call themselves with their real ones in the department. so that must be his codename, or something.

you suppose it's not that much of a big deal, you yourself have your own alias in the fantomatique. it's not the first time you see someone have their own made up name.

shaking your head, you pulled yourself out of those thoughts. you reached under your cloak. “well then, balladeer. it's nice meeting you.” you pulled out your dagger out of nowhere, causing the balladeer to stumble back with wide eyes, reaching for his gun to defend himself.

but then, just when the balladeer thought you were going to kill him, instead sliced your dagger across your palm, in a sharp and clean cut. your blood dripped off the steel, yet you made no reaction as you extended your hand to him in the freezing dead of the night.

you held out your dagger with your free hand, shoving it towards him, as though you wanted him to do the same.

“your turn, balladeer.”

“...what a dramatic way of a handshake.” he complained, but took your dagger nonetheless, slashing his palm too, blood seeping out from his hand.

he, too, extended his hand to shake yours that was already held out for him, your blood mixing with his. “we have a deal.”

a smile creeped up your face as you leaned in closer towards him, your breath fanning against his cold and pale skin.

“so it begins, partner.”

neither you nor the balladeer have the slightest idea what you've gotten yourselves into.

after that they both got admitted to the hospital because of that deadly handshake

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#h✧˖— asphodelus #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche #genshin impact imagines #genshin x you #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #scaramouche fluff #genshin scaramouche #kunikuzushi x reader #wanderer x reader #FUCK I'M FINALLY DONE WITH THIS CHAPTER #it's a bit short i'm sorry guys i can't squeeze my brain anymore

[arlecchno]

asphodelus [ scaramouche x reader ]

2. the dendrobrium.

prev masterlist next

an unfortunate showdown with the most feared assassin in the city arose a promising deal.

warnings: use of dagger, death and killing mentions, dead body, blood, homicide, violence

a/n; haha... i had not intended for their first encounter to be a bit flirtatious, but i like it so i'm leaving it at that lmao. 4k+ words.

extra note: words in red are lies.

“you're home late.” a voice echoed in the dark living room as scaramouche entered the manor. “again.”

scaramouche all but sigh as he hung his work coat on the rack before slipping off his shoes. “busy at work today, aunt nahida.” he said, unbuttoning his sleeves to roll them up to his elbows.

“i heard you caught yet another fantomatique member, is that correct?” she, nahida, asked. scaramouche nodded, already heading off to the hallway.

as it turns out, the criminal from earlier was apart of the criminal organization that had been plaguing his mind since the earliest of days, the fantomatique. it was no surprise that he was in such a filthy group when the crimes he did were as close as the tragedy from fifteen years ago.

“wait there, young man.”

if it were anyone else, the ravenette would've thrown out indescribable lines of insults towards the person while on his way to leave, but this was nahida, his aunt, no less. even though they are not related by blood, she was the only family member left that was willing to take him in.

so, scaramouche did what any other kid would do with their parents. silently obey.

faint footsteps can be heard, and before he knew it, nahida was already standing in front of him. she was significantly way smaller and shorter than him, so scaramouche had to tilt his head down to look at her.

“you know fully well what you're supposed to do every time you come back from work.”

scaramouche sighed once again, loosening up the tie wrapped around the collar of his shirt. “just because i'm under your custody doesn't mean you can boss me around.”

“you're free loading by living in my manor, i have every right to boss you around if i so please.”

“i wanted my own apartment, you were the one adamant about living here instead.”

nahida paid no mind as she looked at him expectantly, causing scaramouche to groan. “work was fine. i didn't cause any trouble.” he finally said, and nahida stared up at him for a few seconds before she spoke.

“the traritsa didn't scold you today?”

scaramouche shook his head. “she wasn't at the office. went to the royal palace, i think. that woman's been there a lot lately.”

nahida hummed, and reached out a hand out of the blue. scaramouche arched a brow, but nahida merely shrugged as she reached out her hand further.

his indigo eyes scanned over her small hand for a moment, hesitantly bringing up his own. he reluctantly brought his hand to her, slowly bending down so that he was at her level.

for an aunt, nahida sure was… little. well, scaramouche wasn't that much taller than an average person in snezhnaya, but his aunt sure is one of the few that weren't as tall as others.

“anything else?”

scaramouche looked at her. “...no.”

nahida had a skeptical look on her face before she sighed, giving up. “i'll see you at breakfast.” she merely said as she retracted her hold on his hand, skipping back to the living room. “sleep well, kunikuzushi.” her voice slowly faded, and scaramouche couldn't help but stare at her until she was out of view.

shaking his head, scaramouche walked through the empty hallway.

scaramouche's room was fairly dark, with only the moonlight and his desk lamp to accompany him throughout the lazy night.

it was well past 10, yet scaramouche didn't feel like sleeping. instead, he had decided to finish up some work to kill some time.

he had left one of his windows open, the wind of the chilly air breezing through the area of his room, curtains slightly wavered in tandem.

a gust of wind came crashing through once, causing his skin to feel slight goosebumps. sheets rustled in the night, causing scaramouche to twist his head to look ahead of him.

a corkboard on his wall greeted him, covered by a sheer cloth. the wind caused it to wander around in the air, occasionally brushing through the many papers pinned on the board.

he stared at it for a moment, before clicking his tongue, focusing back on his work.

this is not the time, he thought to himself.

he lifted his head up to once again look at the corkboard laid out on the wall. his focused went to an old picture of someone, red strings all connected and pinned at it.

scaramouche squinted his eyes before flickering them back to the paper in front of him. as his pen scribbled on it, he continued on with the paperwork.

that is, until he was interrupted by the ringing of his telephone.

groaning, he reached out for the handle, picking it up.

“detective balladeer. who's speaking?”

a cough from the other line. then, a voice. “ah, yes, balladeer.” by the tone of this voice, this must be the jester. “can you go on patrol right now? it's an emergency.”

“emergency?” scaramouche asked. it was late at night, so if there was an emergency, then it'd be none other than…

“you're near the 8th district, so it'd be more convenient if you go. i've also sent out others that are close.” he explained further.

standing up, scaramouche spoke before putting down the telephone. “i'll be there in an instant.”

the ravenette hurriedly walked towards his closet and got ready. he rid off his night clothes and put on his usual work ones instead, and headed towards his desk.

he pulled out his gun and badge from a drawer, as well as his walkie-talkie, and put them on his duty belt.

and off into the night he went.

“childe.” scaramouche wasn't all that surprised. “and signora.” neither was he surprised with her presence too.

they lived just a couple blocks away from him, so it was natural for them to be called for back-up too. since this was an emergency, they had to be ready for anything.

“if it isn't my favourite person in the world!” childe was about to get close to scaramouche before he gave childe a dirty look, flipping him off in the most insulting way possible.

signora sighed at the childish banter that her so-called colleagues were currently having, instead focusing on the main reason they were needed in the first place.

“did pierro tell you which house called for an emergency?”

childe and scaramouche stopped with their antics, snapping their heads to signora. “ah!” childe chirped, clasping his hands before bringing one up to point it at a house. “i'm pretty sure it was–”

one of the windows of the house suddenly broke into pieces, and a scream came.

“yeah, definitely that.” scaramouche remarked sarcastically, before readying himself as he pulled out his gun.

the three of them quickly headed towards the house, gun in hand. they stopped at the front door, signora and childe on either side of it as scaramouche was right in front of the wooden door.

after a couple of silent signals between the three, scaramouche nodded, and forcefully kicked down the door with his dominant leg.

before he could even enter, a sound of something landing on the snowy road came to his ears, and he snapped his head back, causing his colleagues to do the same.

the ravenette let out a string of curses, and turned around fully, his back facing signora and childe. someone had escaped through the broken window, now using the opportunity to run away from their crimes. “you guys go ahead. i'm gonna chase that criminal.”

“balladeer, we know you have strong legs, but–”

signora cut herself off before she could even finish her sentence, brows furrowing at the sight of scaramouche already on his way to catch up with the criminal.

she sighed, looking back at childe, tilting her head to the side as a signal for them to continue with their job.

there was no way on stopping scaramouche from doing what he wants, that was something signora had learnt last year. she wouldn't dare trigger him like the captain did, even more so when they were currently in a situation like this.

so, she let him chase after the criminal.

scaramouche was not sure how much strength this criminal had.

he'd been chasing the stranger for almost three minutes now, yet the criminal didn't even stop running. scaramouche was determined that this person either had the strength comparable to him, or that they were way stronger than he'll ever be.

nevertheless, he was sure that he'll catch the criminal, no matter what.

he's trained countless of times in the past five years of his job. surely chasing a criminal like he always does on a daily basis wasn't that challenging, he had thought.

scaramouche was totally wrong.

the criminal— scaramouche didn't see what they looked like much, definitely not with the almost full-on clothes that fit around their body. a cloak hung around their figure, the hood of it snuck nicely on their head, preventing scaramouche to identify the person.

he had caught glimpse of a portion of their face, once when they were looking back at him before focusing ahead. the criminal had a cloth wrapped around half of their face, concealing the bottom half of it.

the chilly wind nips at his bare skin, and he silently cursed the cold weather in the dead of the night, putting all his might to catch the criminal.

the house that the supposed criminal had broken into was awfully quiet, and painfully dark.

childe pulled out his flashlight as he and signora continued further into the house, careful not to startle anyone, or anything, at that. god knows what the criminal had done in here.

they both checked downstairs, and given how it was empty and wasn't occupied by anyone, they decided to head off upstairs, where the criminal had escaped using the window.

once they got up the stairs, signora silently signaled for childe to check out the master bedroom, while she's headed off to the home office.

childe nodded, and off he went.

it wasn't even a minute later when signora shouted for childe to come, and once he did, the sight of a lifeless body in the middle of the office greeted him.

the ginger had his fair share of crime scenes he had been to and investigated, so the sight of a bloody murder didn't surprise him much.

“oh, the good ol' homicide.” he said nonchalantly, as though he was already used to the crime. (he absolutely was).

signora was silent for a few, which caused childe to glance at her, eyebrow raised. “why do you look spooked? it's just a murder, you've seen this plenty of–”

“childe.” she called out to him, voice barely a whisper. she pointed out the pools of blood surrounding the dead body, and one thing stood out from it all.

startled, childe backed away in shock, baffled by the very thing that keeps people awake in the cold nights of snezhnaya.

a red flower sits beside the body, the moonlight from the broken window illuminating the fiery blaze of the flower, as it was blooming healthily, and rather enchantingly, in the pool of blood.

“it's… the dendrobrium.” childe whispered, and signora nodded in response.

the ginger slowly tilted his head to signora, ocean eyes staring at her. “we need to get scaramouche, right now.”

scaramouche was getting closer now— he thinks. he was definitely just a few meters away from this criminal now, a bit closer than he was before.

out of the blue, the said criminal turned to an alleyway, and scaramouche heaved out a breath before following along, feet padding through the snowy road.

does this criminal even know this alley leads to a dead end? scaramouche had thought while chasing them through the long alleyway.

he had been here a couple of times. he was in charge of patrol around this area, so the ravenette was familiar with every part of this district.

before he knew it, the alleyway was close to a dead end, and the criminal stopped running abruptly, giving scaramouche the chance to chase after them.

the criminal twisted their body back to scaramouche, and he furrowed his brows at the sight, confusion plastered on his face. he halted in his tracks as the person ahead of him continued staring right at his direction.

suddenly, the criminal charged towards him, causing scaramouche to widen his indigo eyes. given their ability to run as fast as lightning, which was proven earlier, there was no chance for scaramouche to take action.

this caused him to be met with a forceful kick to his stomach, causing him to stumble down to the ground as he groaned in pain, lying flat.

the criminal hovered above him, hand raised into a fist to knock him out. before they could even finish their action, scaramouche made quick work by pushing them off of him, and they landed beside him on the filthy ground.

he tried standing up, but was stopped when the person next to him grabbed his leg, causing scaramouche to fall down once again.

he cursed under his breath.

on instinct, the ravenette raised a leg to kick them in the head as they were trying to gain dominance, and they fell down, back hitting a brick wall in the process.

scaramouche scoffed, standing up as he approached the criminal. they were panting for air, hand touching their head to the spot scaramouche had just kicked at.

once he was in front of them, scaramouche crouched down to grab their collar. the person beneath him glared up with a deadly gaze.

the ravenette reached out his free hand to take off the cloth surrounding the criminal's bottom half of their face, but before he could even do that, his wrist was harshly grabbed by the criminal, catching scaramouche off guard.

this gave the criminal an opportunity to grab their dagger from its scabbard, and they had once again, kicked him in the stomach, causing him to lay flat on the ground.

but in the midst of their ministrations, scaramouche had managed to take both the cloth from their face and their hood off, and when the criminal pinned him down, dagger a centimeter away from his throat as they leaned in close, scaramouche's breath hitched.

it was the same for the criminal, as they stopped from going further, eyes blown wide as they stared into his midnight eyes.

the first thing that came to mind for scaramouche was the fact that the criminal was…

a woman.

he furrowed his brows.

why is she hesitating? he thought to himself.

scaramouche had thought it was the end for him when the criminal had pulled out her dagger, but now it seemed like he was given a chance to live.

before he knew it, the ravenette had spoken the words he hadn't intended to say aloud.

“why the fuck are you not killing me?”

the criminal above him was still panting from the heated battle from earlier. after a moment, she spoke. “do you want me to?” she threatened, dagger itching at his throat. the cold steel slightly made him shiver.

“well, for one, you've got a fucking dagger at my throat, might as well finish off your job and skedaddle away like you did earlier. in which, i'd say, was a pretty bad job. there are many other ways you could escape from your crime, but instead you went on with breaking a window.”

the criminal clicked her tongue in annoyance. “the streets didn't lie when they said cops always spew out the most excruciating words.” she replied, boredom laced her voice.

now, the dagger was slightly grazing the skin of scaramouche's neck, and his adam's apple bobbed in slight fear.

“for your great strength and agility… i'd say you're from the fantomatique.”

“great observation, purple head. i, in fact, am.”

scaramouche scoffed at the insulting nickname he was called. well, sure, he had striking violet hair… but as it came from a lousy criminal, he thinks it's the most insulting name he's ever been called.

he shoved away the dagger from his throat, and the criminal didn't make any attempt to move it back to where it was. the skin that had been grazed by the sharp weapon slightly bled, and scaramouche reminded himself that he should patch that up once he gets home.

if he comes home alive, that is. he wasn't sure if he's gonna make it out alive when he's met with a criminal this strong.

“you're from the fatui police department.”

scaramouche raised a brow, as if it wasn't clear enough from the signature fatui coat he was currently wearing.

suddenly, the criminal smiled, slipping her dagger back into its sheath. “then i've found the right person.” she declared, causing scaramouche to blink in confusion.

“what the hell do you even mean by that?” he asked. “if you're gonna kill me, then just do it right now. i've got nothing to lose anyway.”

she arched a brow, sliding off of him as she stood up. “given how you're a cop, you'll most likely report on me, even if i have given you another chance to live. so, i'd like to propose a deal.”

“i'm not dealing with an assassin.”

“how do you even know i am one?” she asked suddenly.

scaramouche rolled his eyes, slowly sitting up, until finally, he stood, leveling her gaze. “oh, please. it's painfully obvious, especially when i can quite literally see it from the look on your face. and your outfit just screams assassin, even with that agonizingly sharp dagger you have there.” he pointed out to the weapon sitting by her hip.

“hm.” she hummed. “well then, if i am an assassin–”

“you are.”

“–then you should know that it's better to just kill me right now, no?”

scaramouche stood there for a second, and he shrugged his shoulders after that. then, he pulled out his gun from his duty belt, aiming it at the criminal. “well, then.”

“w–wait! i didn't mean that literally!”

“what other meaning could it possibly even be besides that?” he asked, and the criminal in front of him merely sighed, bringing up a hand to cover her face in frustration. as it looks, it seemed like she was annoyed by his blunt words.

“okay, look. fine, i admit. i'm an assassin and i'm from the fantomatique. but that's all you need to know about me.”

scaramouche hesitantly put back his gun, eyes focused on her. “why were you in that house?” he referred to the place the criminal, now assassin, had broken into, and also had escaped from through the window.

“i was ordered to kill a double agent that was working for the royal palace.”

he ran a hand through his hair. “who ordered you? the leader?” scaramouche asked, in which she nodded. “then you must know who the leader is.”

“not precisely.” she said, sighing as she dusted off the dirt on her cloak. “i only receive orders from the leader, who passes them down to the messenger, which then the messenger would pass them down to me.” she explained, and scaramouche had a perplexed look as he stared at her in confusion.

at this, the assassin sighed even more audibly, turning around. “believe what you will, purple head. i'm only here to kill, nothing more.”

“and i have tons of fun doing it.”

scaramouche widened his eyes at the lie. why was she lying at that part?

“you filthy scumbags really have a way with words, your love for assassinating the people of snezhnaya... you have no shame. the fantomatique will go down once i find the leader and destroy them to the core.” he spat.

the assassin turned back around, facing him again. “oh? what's this?” she asked, amused. “such deep hatred for the fantomatique… i'll assume that this is personal.” scaramouche flinched, and the criminal smirked, as if she had gotten him right in the spot.

“well, then, looks like we share the same goal.”

“what do you mean?”

“i too, am on a quest to find the leader.” she announced, raising up her hands as though she was gesturing something. “do you seriously think everyone in this criminal organization adores the leader? i would gladly kill the leader with my beloved dagger if i could.” she complained, and scaramouche wasn't sure if he should trust her words or not.

she's not lying, he thought. except for that one sentence she said earlier.

“see, sweetheart, no one in the fantomatique knows who the leader is, not even the greatest assassins known to mankind. it'd be a real deal if we work together, kind of like, partners in crime, yeah?” she tried convincing him, though it was met with a slap to the face with the fact that scaramouche was not on board with this.

scaramouche tried giving it a thought. would this… deal, benefit him in any way? scaramouche's intent on finding the leader was as clear as day, and he for sure would want to end the organization himself, but to team up with this person is surely…

“i would rather drown myself in the winter lakes than associate with someone from the fantomatique.” he coldly said, grabbing his gun. “you people have killed innocent people, there's no way i would–”

“you know.” she cut him off before he could even finish his sentence. “i could kill you with my bare hands right this second without hesitation, but i decided not to, in hopes of proposing a deal.” she stepped closer, and scaramouche backed away.

his back hit the wall at the end of the alley, and the criminal in front of him strode even closer, until her face was merely inches away from him. grabbing his chin with her gloved hand, the assassin spoke.

“i have no regrets about killing each and every one of my targets.” she glared at him. “and i won't hesitate to do the same with you.”

“we both know you're lying.” he spoke before he could even stop himself, in which he silently cursed himself for, and she raised a brow, confused.

then, she smiled, as if she's figured out something. “how lovely, it looks like our purple head is a little lie detector too. that'd be a really great asset if we work together.”

he frowned. so cocky, he thinks. are all assassins like this?

“i just propose one thing: we work together and find the leader. after that, you're free to do whatever you want to with them, as so do i.” a solid plan, scaramouche had thought at first. she leaned back a little to give him space.

“...like i said earlier, i'm not dealing with filthy assassins like you. you're all inhumane, monsters, even.”

she suddenly widened her eyes for one second, as if scaramouche had triggered her, before they went back to normal. “look, i'm an assassin, you're a cop. this is the perfect match i could ever come up with. i'll use my connections in the fantomatique and provide you information about their operations, and vice versa that you'll do the same with your department.”

does she really think this would work? what kind of idiotic plan is this?

scaramouche brought up his gun, until the front came in contact with the assassin's forehead, cold steel freezing up her skin.

“i never let a criminal roam freely, and i definitely won't make this an exception. there's no convincing me out of this.” he said.

in a split second, scaramouche's gun was briefly thrown to the ground, and he was met with the same dagger from before, resting just under his chin. the sharp end grazed his pale skin, and he hissed in pain.

he made eye contact with the assassin in front of him, and her expression was different from earlier. her eyes were half-lidded, in a way that they were staring daggers right into his soul. lips pursed, and nose slightly flared as she looked down at him.

“did you really think a lousy gun could stop me?” she asked, though it was a rhetorical question, scaramouche figured. this was an assassin, of course she'd not be feared of a simple gun.

she chuckled, dagger leaning in more closer to the base of his neck, inching closer towards his pulse. “one thing's for sure, i am a monster, and i kill without any regrets.” her words dripped like venom as it slipped from her lips.

“i won't hesitate to slice you up real nice if you ever betray me, and you're free to do the same if i ever sabotage this plan, archons forbid i do.” scaramouche grunted as she shoved him even further onto the brick wall. “but that's only if you're interested in working with me.”

she retracted her dagger from his throat, and scaramouche sighed in relief as he panted for air. he wasn't even sure when he had held his breath.

putting the sharp weapon back into its scabbard, the assassin turned around, walking away. “i'll give you a day to think it through. if you're willing to give this plan a go, meet me at the golden bridge at midnight tomorrow.”

as she was halfway through the alleyway, she looked over her shoulder, smiling mischievously at scaramouche. “i'll see you there.” said the assassin, and before he knew it, she was gone. the sentence made it as though she was confident scaramouche would even agree to this idiotic plan.

he definitely wouldn't, he thinks. not in a million years.

scaramouche took a moment to recollect the events he had gone through just now, and he sighed afterwards, leaning his head back on the wall.

what has he gotten himself into?

taglist; @cxpidsrevolution @sxjlx320 @asukahiriko @vvrie @tcfffff @maroon32 @thatpersonnooneknows @kunikame @kaoyamamegami @kunikuzushiit @percyval-archives @romyoia @albedonwanderer @ghosted-fr @yuuki4646 @beriiov @scarammouch @supperrsecrwt @talledale @lez-zuha @vivinsoul @asterifiic @raideneiari @alatusorrow @shadowmist0706 @myspacekuni @kn1zu @zukaniscr @peregrinus0301 @tynan-cries @honeycapped @averagehuman-notsuspicious

(couldn't tag those that are in a smaller font, sorry!)

come and join the taglist!

#h✧˖— asphodelus #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche #genshin scaramouche #genshin x you #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact reader insert #kunikuzushi x reader #wanderer x reader

[arlecchno]

this is so funny to me actually

#h shenanigans #like wdym i wrote more abt the new alhaitham fic i'm working on instead of asphodelus #asphodelus has been sitting like that for weeks guys #the slump is insane

[arlecchno]

it's been over a year since i started asphodelus and it's not even close to finish ☹️☹️ in fact the climax hasn't even started yet

#h shenanigans #i miss writing asphodelus man #i'm sorry for abandoning you for half of a year

[arlecchno]

“h what's your new year's resolution?”

writing more detective!kuni aus and making them the most heart wrenching and mind blowing fics you've ever read

#h shenanigans #just kidding! #maybe.... #this is a spoiler for asphodelus #because it's full of angst!

[arlecchno]

are my eyes deceiving me. why are they leaning in a little too close for their very first face-to-face battle

#h shenanigans #yes i'm talking about asphodelus #asphodelus updates #help their convo is kinda funny too

[arlecchno]

i've been thinking on how to introduce y/n in the next asphodelus chapter and have recently decided to just straight up write a fighting scene between y/n and kuni

#h shenanigans #asphodelus updates #it's so sexy actually #spoilers// #because after that y/n's got a dagger right at kuni's throat

[arlecchno]

missing ma hours </3

#h shenanigans #should i write up a new special episode???? #like post-ma where you get to see a glimpse into their relationship #i feel like that'd be a nice break from asphodelus #since i'm currently struggling with writing #the new chapters

[arlecchno]

apparently the new chapter i had scheduled didn't get posted yesterday.... i was thinking why i haven't gotten any notifications and thought everyone just dropped asphodelus LMAO i'm sorry everyone 😭😭 i'm not that active anymore so hopefully this time it gets posted at the scheduled time before i disappear into thin air again

#h shenanigans #asphodelus updates

[arlecchno]

i've really got to start posting because these sexy bots won't stop following me

#h shenanigans #i cannot do this anymore #i swear i'll finish up the next chapter of asphodelus guys

[arlecchno]

in a real writing slump rn i need to fix this

#h shenanigans #i hate having writer's block #i haven't even written anything #for the next chapter of asphodelus