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aspiring-holistic-otaku · 1 year

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Season 2 Ramble 2 - "romance" lol ver. 2

Greetings greetings greetings and welcome to another episode of MM..MANGA, the podcast about getting more people into more manga.

Not completely surprised but very thankful I held out doing the podcast long enough to do a part 2 of something. The format is a little different this time, instead of ordering my reads this month from awww to w-t-f??? I made 3 distinct categories of romance and give my top 3 reads of each

Before getting into all that though I thought I should give a light follow up on some titles I mentioned last episode:

I finished killer in love, fucked up all the way but with a surprisingly flat ending,, realistic ig but i thought they'd keep the drama going to the end idk idk

Caught up with bakemonogatari, art never off point as you would expect from the artist Oh! Great looking at their work on things like air gear and death note. The story continues to increasingly excel despite the seemingly repetitive nature of relationships, people just go off and save themselves yk? definitely have to continue the anime since it's ahead.

Caught up with insomniacs after school, not that much progression but still the cutest thing ever, very very aesthetic and my top cutesy romance read last year and I still highly recommend it.

Finished Wake Up Deadman, finally, not worth it, not gonna lie that manhwa had a special little place in my heart that I can't rationalize rn but it's over, can't believe it went out that bad..

Caught up on boy's abyss which is still fucked up all the way round but still pretty up there if you're in for some good ol emotional drama and trauma,, can't believe it keeps getting more fucked tho tbh…

Caught up with dandadan, still ridiculous, sort of feels like brain off stunting with the art but things are moving along so I'll continue to stay tuned…

Anyways getting to the actual lists

Top 3

category 1 - that's fucked up dude:

#3 - I love you so I kill you by Sousou Sakakibara on story and Majuro Kaname on art (complete with 35 chapters)

The premise is that there's some disease going around that makes you want to kill the object of your desire.

Honestly I had seen a few panels of it floating around and was really excited to get to this one plus seeing the more fringe faces of love tends to be enlightening but it was kind of just a well drawn disappointment.

The progression was pretty erratic, characters didn't really feel rooted in anything and a little bit of a spoiler here but they ended up getting supernatural powers which was like… why?? The premise was already set for a great psychological thriller which doesn't need any supernatural elements as alluring as they may be.

Anyways as you can tell by the name it's definitely fucked up, even if it ended up just being an edgelord jerk off the art was still a decent plus. Also it's pretty short so if you kinda just wanna see gore or people with powers doing the occasional neat thing and so on then forget what I said n go check it out.

#2 Believers by Naoki Yamamoto (complete with 22 chapters)

Here the story follows three cult members, two men and one woman, who live on a small deserted island somewhere near Japan. They have devoted themselves to the "Deserted lsland Program" assigned to them by their superiors so they can throw off the corrupt influence of modern society and "purify" themselves. But as time passes two of the members begin to give into human desire..

Nothing too earth shattering, just a good ol' classic descent into madness but that's usually a nice treat anyway you slice it.

22 chapters so it's really short but it's paced really well for what they had and even expecting madness it still threw me a few times like really??? sure that's technically a course of action one could take but really???

#1 Dead Tube by Kitakawa Touta and Yamaguchi Mikoto (ongoing 86 chapters)

As part of the film club, the MC is asked by the main heroine to videotape her non stop for the next 48 hours. It's a simple enough task and she's pretty so he agrees. Her activities start off pretty mellow but at the end of the two days she murders someone on camera. As the days pass and the girl walks free, our mc confronts her about how this is possible and why she did it in the first place?

Enter dead tube, a video sharing site where the top views get millions in payout no matter what but those with the lowest views are punished by being made to pay for the fees and crimes of other video makers.

Grain of salt here, I'm only at chapter 28 but it's definitely fucked up, started fucked up and has only gotten increasingly fucked up the more I read but it was engaging, if not really on the survival game type beat but a little more on the mystery like why did bro get roped in, why is she making these videos? will they ever relax? etc

Fair warning again, pretty brutal from the get go and I'd suggest putting away any sensibilities you may have before reading this.

category 2 - isn't this just soft core porn?:

#3 how heavy are the dumbbells you lift? by Yabako Sandrovich on art and Maam on art (ongoing with 179 chapters)

Very simple story, the main character wants to lose weight to look cute so she checks out a local gym and it turns out they have a hot trainer so she sticks around.

This is the same guy who does the story for the kengan series which he even references a few times so I can't help but think this piece is just to blow off steam. But in any case I've only read 29 chapters so far so huge grain of salt with whatever I'm saying.

So far it's been a pretty standard episodic gag but the dash of ecchi is the reason it's on this list. These basically come every episode in the form of serious informative workout guides that end up in "steamy" pinup type illustrations.

As I said, I've only read 29 chapters, but so far those chapters have been pretty enjoyable, Usually get a good laugh every chapter, actually helpful workout tips and all it's just that as a standard gag manga I guess I feel like I already have a pretty good idea of what to expect and there were so many other more engaging reads in sight so I didn't read that much of it this month but it's definitely something to keep up with.

#2 Tales of the Corporate Slave Succubus by Gentsuki (23 chapters)

This one was pretty funny. Our heroine is a succubus tasked with finding men every day, taking control of their dreams and stealing their vitality, and in return, fulfill any desires they have, no matter how perverted they are. As the succubi population rate decreases our heroine finds herself more and more overworked in order to reach her rising quota. One day, she meets an exhausted corporate wage slave and she's surprised at what he asks for.

I'll leave what he asks for as a surprise, it's only 23 chapters so not much I can say just it's a succubus and romance so… yh… I will say the story is a bit cute tho…

#1 please go home akutsu san by Taichi Nagaoka (ongoing 133 chapters, read all of them)

Another simple story, though definitively cuter than the other two. It was so cute I kind of wanted to include it in the next category but i had to be fr.

Anyways basically the mc is a live alone high school student who has his home taken over by a delinquent gyaru girl looking for a place to crash after school.

Over time they develop feelings but due to how their relationship started, she teasing him and he trying to get her out of his room, neither can be honest.

Each chapter is pretty short and since the whole thing is pretty episodic so it all flies by and never overstays its welcome or take itself too seriously, especially as it's an ecchi… always weird to me when ecchi tries to be serious like be fr…

honourable mentions: 67% inertia and gyaru stuff in general…

category 3

awww:

#3 Tsurezure Biyori by Kei Hamuro (72 chapters)

On the first day of highschool, the main character finds herself awestruck by the beautiful transfer student, who also happens to be a returning childhood friend.

Very short. Very sweet.

Not much time passes in story so them just focusing on the main cast, and characterizing them as much as they did was neat, but I think that has more to do with the simplicity of the characters and really the entire story than any above average writing or anything..

That said, a simple thing is no more or less difficult to execute than any other thing so I do respect that they pulled it off and mad props for their execution of what felt like a consistent warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Side note, The main cast really felt like a nod to Yotsuba's creator Kiyohiko Azuma, for their work on another manga of his called azumanga daioh,, there wasn't really any shortage of cute stuff read this month but I think that may have given it the edge to actually make it in this list idk idk

#2 Nisekoi by Naoshi Komi (240 chapters)

Nisekoi is one of those manga that have sort of always floated in the periphery. It's been a long time coming, I tried last year but the main character's hair clip reminded me of serial experiments lain and I blacked out,, I wasn't ready then,, old Twitter pal of mine had also been recommending it for a while actually,, I'm sorry it took so long but thank you.

The story goes that to prevent a gang war from bubbling over onto innocent civilians, the heirs of both gangs are persuaded by their fathers to pretend to date through highschool for the next three years…

From the jump you can tell there's a lot to work with and a lot of directions they could go. What I was really thankful for throughout was that the whole "oh no the gang's gonna find out and start fighting what do we do now???" scenario didn't get ground into dust. like I was really scared of that being some infinitei loop gag and I'm just so glad it wasn't.

It's one of those very cutesy romances so the bits can be limited like guys come on how long can someone blush before you get a clue yk but it was kept interesting through a staggered introduction of the main cast who each brought new flavour and nuance to the story.

Now you may be thinking… wait a minute… this sounds like you're trying to sell me a harem… are you trying to sell me a harem? Let me tell you. I honestly thought it was just gonna be a simple love triangle, maybe with a few quadrangle quandaries for the laughs and was honestly surprised that it turned into some sort of harem looking thing. Again I was thankful that the usual "oh no we seem to have fallen into a provocative position" bit that usually accompanies harems was far out of sight. Hence it's on the awwww list.

Of course there were some repetition of gags and a few things I would be a little stern in calling erotic here and there but the story direction and quality was really driven by steady build up of the characters through their interactions with each other and their world over time.

Very solid. pretty cute. pretty comical. never really appreciated the diversity a well done harem could bring to a story before now so there's that.. they really made use of the passage of time in showing how their identities and bonds developed throughout their entire highschool lives… Consistently great art and the whole thing really just oozed ideal high school love drama vibes… to be clear I say that as an observer seeing as I don't really think there's any such thing as an ideal high school love drama

#1 Hi Score Girl by Rensuke Oshikiri (70 chapters)

The story really begins when the mc, a bit of an outcast, encounters the heroine top student in an arcade, who then proceeds to easily kick his ass.

I'll start by saying the art isn't anything special, maybe even below average, and if I look within in myself that might even be the reason it took me so long to get around to it, but in the end I did and I'm really really glad I did.

The story is set in the early 90s and progresses along with the rise of arcade games that was happening at the time. We see the main hero and heroine duke it out through a number of games and tech advancements, their bond deepening through their mutual love for gaming.

Definitely a slow burn as the mc doesn't really see himself or others in a romantic sense. Like his sexual and romantic orientation is literally just gamer™ and the heroine is what Google says is a dandere,, meaning too shy to talk, like think early days Hinata from Naruto. The payoff is all the more sweet though as they grow closer despite themselves.

Great cast, really great dialogue, pretty dope aesthetic with the games and everything. A story that didn't take itself too seriously in a way that gave the feeling that the author was well aware of its position as a fictional piece of work and so more effectively used the tool of fiction through the medium of manga in a way that I don't think would be possible without that awarenesses.

I really loved how well they integrated games, as in they weren't just some to the side thing the characters did from time to time, it was clear to see from early out how important games were to the main character and to the story on a whole.

I really didn't expect to love it as much as I did, like it almost feels like one of those definitive before and after reads. Maybe it was the amount of impact in the short amount of chapters but in any case it was definitely the best read this month overall hands down.

honourable mentions: you and I are complete opposites, the guy she was interested in wasn't a guy at all and a story about smoking at the back of a supermarket

(I have to say some of these were probably cuter than the ones I actually listed but definitely not better and all incomplete in any case so I am less inclined to list them but they were honestly just too cute not to mention)

that's it for stuff this month, not gonna get too into old stuff this episode but to note the top 1 reads for each category before this month.

that's fucked up dude: Flowers of evil been a long time champ but I have to mention drifting net cafe by the same mangaka which I read last year. Gave it a good little run for its money. You wouldn't hear it mentioned in the last episode tho because I read it after the episode was put out. but yeah.

isn't this just soft core porn?: my balls definitely.

awww: good ending

Grateful for the new reads as always this month, really hope you can find something you like and thanks for listening, there's a little bit of a ramble after this but if you're heading out now, all the best until next time.

#just another day #mm..manga #writeup #romance lol #i love you so i kill you #believers #dead tube #how heavy are the dumbbells you lift?#tales of the corporate slave succubus #please go home akutsu san!#tsurezure biyori #nisekoi #hi score girl

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kustas · 2 years

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ok, without spoilers if possible but i'm EXTREMELY curious about your "this is how fights work in hxh" tag under the recent post, could you explain?

(the post, for reference)

HxH, like many battle shonen, has its own unique power system, called Nen. It stands out for several things, among which being extremely complex with an at-times mathematical precision, and for the creativity of the powers it create. This is because, in essence, the superpowers it creates are designed by their users, and strength essentially comes from training, unlike a system like Jojo's stands where characters are born with their superpower. Following this, said abilities tend to reflect who each character is like as a person, the same way that say, you could guess a bit about a scholar based on what they are doing their master's thesis about: it's something you are dedicating years of your life into digging into, it usually means something personal! In the world of HxH, skilled artisans end up using that magic even if they don't know about its existence (the training method used by the heroes is a gatekept secret), because their concentration and dedication to their craft helps inherently develop it.

How this ties into battles is that superpowers wielded by the characters are rarely directly related to combat - unless your character has a reason to dedicate years of their life into being the best fighter, it's unlikely they'll have created their abilities around this. Instead, you get more indirect and creative things. I won't give examples because I wish to respect your request for no spoilers! So we will stay in theory only.

With this, fights pit out OP anime characters but who's OP anime abilities are not "hit hard", so combats immediately go to strategy planning. Unless you already know your opponent by heart, which isn't always the case, you cannot know what extremely niche thing they've achieved (and boy does it get niche) so the classic "mid fight description of strategy" monologues of HxH are famously long and ridiculous! Let's use OP as an example: assuming we read their bragging on Tumblr and therefore know everything about their ability, we can make a profile. First, their ability revolves around killing, and they compare it to death note, we can infer they're someone with muddy morals and a sense of superiority: Light of the show kills because he's got his god complex of knowing better than the rest of the world. Drawing skill also plays into this ability, so OP must be an artist and a confident one too, why else would you link the aim of your ability (killing things) to drawing skill level?

The other thing this post features that is shared by HxH and perhaps my favorite aspect are the limitations. At it's core Nen works by "I have decided I wish to do this thing and will concentrate hard enough to willpower it into existence" (tying in to your passions, personality, and skills), but just as artists can reach heights by limiting their tools, you can reach higher power levels by limiting what you can do. It's a self given vow: I will not let myself do X, and in return I'll do what I want to do more powerfully. Here, the limitation is about the intelligence level of the target, and the art you have to draw to kill them. These limitations are brought up mid fight as part of the strategy planning, often from the POV character of the moment about their own ability, as they have to judge the terrain before they strike!

This makes for a text heavy manga at times, which has been memed a whole lot, and laughably long fight blabla. Given that post immediately starts by describing a niche anime magic attack and took up my entire phone screen, the comparison sprung fast to mind...

#ask #HXH

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thepetitepiper · 2 years

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Bakugo in BNHA chapter 362

BEWARE: Spoilers under the cut!! If you have not read chapter 362, do not keep reading!

I want to take a moment to discuss Bakugo’s death in chapter 362 of the BNHA manga. Specifically, I wanted to analyze the irony of his death and how it highlights that, despite the character growth he's experienced in the series, he still never fully overcomes his biggest character flaw and toxic attitude which is ultimately what gets him killed.

Bakugo bullied Izuku due to his own inferiority/superiority complex, but also claimed that Izuku’s attitude and need to be a hero despite being quirkless would get him killed. Also, like Izuku, Bakugo wants to be a hero and to “go beyond” like All Might. Essentially, what Bakugo claimed would get Izuku killed, is how Bakugo dies. In my view, not only is this ironic, but it further reinforces the motif of Bakugo projecting his own issues and insecurities onto others.

Throughout the series Bakugo learns from his past mistakes and improves his ability to work with others. For example, rather than breaking others down to feel superior, he turns his need to be the best into a motivation for self-growth. He works to elevate himself rather than cutting others down. Unfortunately, his inability to let go of this need to be the best is the character flaw that leads to his downfall (unless/until he is brought back).

For example, during the battle, Shigraki’s taunts get to him. In fact, just before his death, AFO (through Shigaraki) describes the heroes they’re fighting as “extras” (this would include Bakugo), the same word Bakugo uses. Bakugo is being reduced to the same level as those he has bullied in the past, an “extra”. So, although Bakugo can’t hear AFO’s thoughts, he is certainly feels like an extra. Even while the pro heroes are struggling just as much fighting Shigaraki, Bakugo’s sense of inferiority kicks in. In fact, before Bakugo makes his final attack, he notes that he may never be able to surpass Izuku.

Bakugo: “This is the path you had to walk, yeah? So Izuku...Can I still catch up to you?”

Bakugo is about t die and his answer to this question is clearly ‘no’. The same fear of inferiority he has held since childhood when comparing himself to Izuku is still possessing his thoughts and actions. He is STILL unable, if not unwilling, to accept not being number one and/or superior to Izuku. Thus, he throws himself into a kamikaze mission, certain to fail, because...why? Because he can’t surpass his childhood friend? Because he might as well go out as a hero in a blaze of “glory”? Because he wants to buy Izuku time? Bakugo is smart. He should know that no attack he can deliver will wound Shigaraki enough to be substantially successful or buy Izuku a significant amount of time, and he certainly seems to accept that this final attack will get him killed.

No doubt that this is one of the most painful ways that his character could have died, especially for Bakugo fans. Not only did his death seem useless in the grand scheme of defeating Shigaraki or aiding Izuku, but his death achieves exactly what Shigaraki wanted: Bakugo's death in order to provoke and/or break Izuku in the fight. Also, Bakugo’s death happens before his arc feels truly complete. In fact, this is one reason his death bothered me despite my reservations towards his character’s development. By dying now in this manner, Bakugo never fully comprehends the problem with his toxic mentality and he never faces consequences for his previous actions.

I apologize if this seemed like a bit of a rant or somewhat unfocused, but this is what crossed my mind while reading the chapter.

#bnha #my hero manga #my hero academia #bakugo #izuku #izuku mydoria #chapter 362 #boku no hero academia #mha spoilers #spoilers #bakugo x consequences #anti bakugo katsuki #bakugo death #bakugou katsuki #mha bakugou #bnha manga spoilers

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cupidthingz · 2 years

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I mayhaps dropped it (　˙-˙　) cause my mental health said nope and smacked me in the head (-_-;) the story didn’t have the vibe I thought it was going to have instead it just turned darker in a way like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, which is what you would expect with the literal tragedy tag stuck on there （╹◡╹）

Tw: SPOILERS! Themes of suicide, emotional abuse, statutory grape, pedophilia i think, forbidden relationships

Note: This is more like my not so live commentary but yeah.. you could take it as my review of each chapter? But I don’t specify which chapter what’s happening and all that it’s just what I feel as i go along.

Manga: Shounen Abyss/ Boy’s Abyss

It has been what 7 chapters and I’m already fucking sighing

Wow I wish I had that much enthusiasm when it comes to death

Throw a middle finger while you’re at it bro you gon die anyways

I don’t have a reason to die, I don’t have the reason to live. That’s deeply moving for some reason.

Bro said the last thing I wanna see is tiddies… and let me suckle them while I’m at it. What a great way to go! I would also love some tits in my face right before I die. If I’m gonna die atleast let me die turned on

Bro let him die in peace wtf-

Idk why but I feel this overwhelming feeling of apathy from the characters. Like of course the teacher saving kurose is obviously not being apathetic yet it feels like she saved him because of her own agenda. Like the more you get the feel the environment from the story you feel this sense of pity but also you also feel the need to dislike them deep down. Maybe it’s because of their hidden reasons behind their kind or gross actions. There isn’t anything genuine about the character so you feel a pit in your stomach.

I relate to kurose tbh but also I don’t

I like the teacher but I feel like she’s going to abandon him— anddddd I take it back

So I think the teacher has some kind of savior complex but it’s a wrong diagnosis. But it feels like something sinister but like I can’t describe it well rn.

Idk I feel like she wants to be a “great” teacher

Oh my god wtf why’d she just do THAT??? Like you know you having arguing and then boom!! You kiss the guy???

Wtf is happening??????

This is like oh my god levels of you fucked up.

I get the teacher but like damn bro she’s like the wanna be dead poet society teacher. Like she idealizes the teaching in a very unrealistic way and like that she wants to help but ig “save” her student.

It’s like weirdly cathartic seeing characters who seem like they have it together see their world fall apart as they slowly contemplate death.

And we said fuck it am i right

It’s weird that I’m right. It’s like the feeling of “I know what’s happening and I’m hoping I’m wrong.” But I do enjoy how uncomfortable I feel.

Wow the dad is shit. Am I surprised? No. Not really. You get used to it.

I do enjoy the fact everyone is terrible and everyone is a victim. So you don’t really root for anyone so you’re just seeing how worse a decision a person can make, how worse can they fall into this abyss. See what I did there!

So like I like the Aizawa look alike he looks like my husbando but like he’s giving me the wrong vibes. But he’s hot tho. But he’s giving me the wrong vibes.

The teacher doesn’t love him. Nobody loves him. But yeah it feels like she trying to get the high of helping someone.

Addressing her as his teacher feels like she’s drawing a line. Like this isn’t a relationship I’m superior over you. But I’m also trying to help you. But I’m also trying to use you.

So she’s a pedo.

I think I’m right. You thrive off the control you have over him but under the guise of helping. You know it’s wrong but you’re “helping” him so it’s not wrong.

Note: I would read more but then i felt this gross icky feeling so I stopped like i felt like i needed adult supervision

#Cupidtalks #Cupidreads #Shounen Abyss #Boy’s Abyss

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eldritch-queern-magicat · 1 year

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So there are things that happened since childhood with our system shenanigans that help explain things, like why my mind seems so warped. I introject from every story I get attached to. I'm not sure how to even turn it off at this point. So with all the media on our Dish Network plan, well. Oh, here we go...

See, when I got a little bit older, my parents decided it was ok for me to watch other anime that was a bit more mature. I got attached to the protagonists, and sometimes the antagonists. I deeply loved anime. Well, generally, I loved cartoons, as long as they weren't like extra brain-rottingly stupid. I did love wacky hijinks from a young age, though, thank you, Boomerang. I had started on Pokémon at about age six. It was grand.

During middle school, as I finally caved some to peer pressure, I started really watching Disney sitcoms. I sort of made myself like them, though in a certain way, Hannah Montana actually did appeal to me. Plus there was music and Billy Ray Cyrus. Prior to that, I only really enjoyed sci-fi, fantasy, or mystery shows.

The chaos of combining those all together in my head is something even I'm struggling to comprehend. It was complete and utter chaos. Charles helped by inadvertently teaching me to embrace my inner weird and inner nerd in middle school. He also actively encouraged my own love of video games. We met in my sixth grade year, and he just so happened to live on the other side of the same community I was in.

And I didn't have anyone around until high school to tell me I was being immature for doing stuff like playing make-believe as a teenager. Blame my youngest aunt, she has this whole superiority complex about her and really looks down on my dad. Not that I let her totally stop me, I just got even better at doing it in secret. I had to tone down playing with my younger cousins some over time, but my personal shenanigans were almost ramped up as a consequence. We still had a big yard to play and run around in. It was flat, but still fun (I really missed the mountains).

Other parts have mentioned reading a good part of Death Note at that time. And having read much of the manga in the library, or at least giving it a shot. I have bought manga from my school's book fair. I became obsessed with manga, and even watched anime in subtitles online. It wasn't all dark like Death Note, of course. There were lighter ones like Fruits Basket.

All of that going on, when I began learning to channel my ideas into stories and teaching myself how to draw. My favorite media had so much impact on plot and character ideas, because of the specific impact they had on me as a person. Those characters were the many ways my parts came out to express themselves. Even now, most prominent characters were self-inserts.

For one Christmas, I got Kingdom Hearts 365/2 Days. That became a very deep love of mine, and the dissociation explains perfectly why I identified actually pretty hard with the Nobodies. Then Charles let me borrow Final Fantasy VII Advent Children to watch.

From there, specifically because of those two fandoms I still love, I met the person I later thought was my ‘twin flame’ over Quizilla. Our general friendship goes back over eleven years. We met in person once, in 2017. It was fun, but we had built up a whole fantasy around each other before the end of the delusions. My mind was always geared towards fantasy as an escape. She was in a similar situation, but her parents were the awful ones most of the time.

My life has been nothing but chaos and it's reflected in my headspace. It feels like living in constant liminality. Unless you have a map, it's even easy to get lost. It's like I have a whole little universe in myself. Like. A miniverse. There is a miniverse in my head.

(Started by Elo, and worked on by Thyme.)

-Bryan 💀😺

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ihatetaxes99 · 4 years

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Death Note: The Glorious Manga Ending (And the anime that failed to deliver)

Well, this is certainly something a tad different from my usual affairs. Yes, I'm delighted to bear the news that I am taking a break from writing sub-par fanfiction and selling weapons to Middle Eastern terrorists in order to follow something a little less creative, but more immediately interesting to me in my current time of writing. I mean, hell, there's probably a 60% chance that no one will ever read this, since I'll likely drop it halfway through and go back to my black market dealings. But, in that small 40% chance that I do get this out the door, or indeed any further than this very sentence before I forget about it for all eternity, then I want to have a little discussion, a fun little analysis. And of course, I'm going to analyse everyone's favourite slice of life fluff comedy, Death Note. Specifically the ending and how I think the manga surpasses the anime in many, many ways.

If you haven't yet read or watched Death Note, then you won't be reading this anyway, so it would be rather pointless at best and an insult to your intelligence at worst to give a recap of how the series works. If you must have a layman's explanation, big murder book gets dropped into the human world, shenanigans ensue. There, now go watch or read it for yourself. Preferably read, as I am about to discuss. The manga is far better, entirely because of the second half. It's no secret that the Death Note anime handled the second half poorly. Content was cut, elements were skipped, scenes were changed entirely and Near, my favourite character from the manga, was done so dirty that he generally ranks as many people's least favourite, for some understandable reasons and others that I consider rather weak. But the main part of the second half aside, I want to talk about the final showdown, the confrontation in the Yellow Box warehouse, and how I feel the anime adaptation butchered a near-perfect ending for the sake of either time, or budget, or maybe to appease Light fangirls (because that definitely has a factor in why I don't like the anime's ending as much.)

So, to recap, most of the confrontation at the warehouse between the SPK and Kira plays out very much the same. Mikami writes the names down, Light reveals himself, the notebook is revealed to be a fake and Yagami has his famous mental breakdown, followed by one of the most powerful lines in the series:

(Note: I condensed the speech to fit neatly into two boxes)

I love this speech. I think it's one of the best in the series, for reasons that very much tie into why the ending in the manga works better. I want you all to think for a moment; I've seen a lot of people say Death Note is a series that doesn't take sides on the conflict. No, that is bullshit. In the early series, maybe, but from the moment Light Yagami killed Naomi Misora, and arguably even earlier than that with Raye Pembre, he was consistently portrayed as being more and more callous, more evil, more of a scumbag. Let's look over what he did, especially in the later stages of the series.

He:

Murdered the FBI agents tailing him.

Only expressed regret over Utika's death because it may negatively affect Kira's reputation.

Watched with no emotion as his father died and indeed, encouraged him to use the Death Note moments before he died.

Mocked Matsuda for mourning his father's death.

Manipulated two seperate women into doing his bidding (albeit, one was unintentional) and killed one himself, with plans to kill the other had he not been killed.

Instigated a riot in New York with the intent of killing Near and the SPK.

Killed FBI agents who were tailing him.

Only cared about Utika's death because it compromised Kira's strong public image and not because he was actually a good man.

Manipulated two seperate women into falling for him (albeit one was accidental) and promptly killed off one with no hesitation, with plans of killing the other had he not met his end first.

Watched emotionless as his own father died and even tried to get him to use the Death Note in his last moments.

Mocked Matsuda for mourning the death of his father and used it in a last ditch effort to distract the detective and escape.

Staged a riot with the intent of killing Near and the rest of the SPK.

And these are just some of them. By the end of Death Note, Light was not a good person. I personally never agreed with him, but he went from a disillusioned kid with a minor saviour complex to A full-blown, sadistic, perverted image of what he used to be, utterly unfeeling and cold-hearted, with a major God complex, a complete lunatic. As Near said, a mass murderer and nothing more. After everything Yagami's done over the course of the series, it was just too satisfying to read this for the first time, and I will concede, the anime did a great job adapting it. I feel a lot of Light fangirls agreed with him because his ideals sounded good on paper, but in reality, they're completely childish and self-serving. I am not one to moral grandstand, I believe those who take any excuse to give lectures about morality are annoying and often hypocritical scum, but my point here is that this is not a man any reasonable person could agree with if he were a real person. So, this teardown of his ego was perfect.

Now, the first big difference is the ultimate fate of Teru Mikami. In the anime, he kills himself in the warehouse, in a scene that makes me laugh every time due to the comically large quantities of blood spewing from him. He dies defending Kira's ideals, believing in his God. Or, if you choose to interpret it another way, he has accepted that Light is not God, and he has nothing else to live for. Either way, the anime lacks a key scene, after Light is shot by Matsuda and begging for help:

This is extremely important, as it continues what Near did with his speech and sets in motion the following trend for what is to come. Light is humiliated, his second most faithful pawn has turned against him, called him scum, seen him for what he truly is, and worse still, he's done it in front of everyone else. Teru Mikami has denounced his God, and this is just the stepping stone for the humiliation Kira is about to suffer. Also, it's worth noting that just before Mikami denounces Kira, there's a scene of Light crawling on the ground, bleeding, calling out for Misa and Takada to help him, seeming to have gone totally delusional, forgetting that Takada was already dead. This may have been excluded from the anime, or it may have been the fault of the subs I was using. It still serves as a vital part of the theme that the final few chapters hammer in, over and over again, that being the complete and total humiliation of Light Yagami. And the worst for our criminal-killing protagonist is still to come.

Finally, we reach the fate of the original Kira, the end of Light Yagami. In the anime, he uses Mikami's suicide as a distraction to escape, wherein he runs off, seeing visions of his past self, and dies out in the middle of a staircase, from a heart attack delivered by Ryuuk, calmly and quietly. This is all very nice and emotional, we see for a moment, Light contemplates what he became and wondering how it could have ended differently, and him dying in the middle of the staircase, as many people have stated before, is oh so very symbolic of how he finds himself unable to reach Heaven or Hell. However, this does not hold a candle to the manga.

This is what Light is like upon his death there:

Yeah, there's no real doubting it, he's going out like a complete bitch. Like the anime was thoughtful and silent, with an underlying sombre soundtrack, in this the once great Kira is reduced to a blubbering mess, throwing a tantrum because he refuses to accept his time is up. It was made very clear to him at the beginning that he was to die at Ryuuk's hand one day and now that it's here, he can't take it. He tries to cheat death, the one thing no human nor Shinigami can do. I mean, just look at the panels. He's a mess. A privileged, pampered brat who isn't getting his way. That is why I consider the Death Note manga ending to be superior to the anime in almost every way. While the anime gives us symbolism and a sense of calm, the manga goes all the way in tearing down this character, who has been a piece of human garbage for years at this point. I find it so satisfying to watch him get what he deserves, not only the death but the shame.

Light's own hubris and mental instability stole from him the honourable death he received in the anime. And that is everything I believe he needed, far more than the mere reality check he was given in the anime.

Phew, damn this was a ride and a half to write. I always appreciate feedback, if anyone wants to share their own thoughts on the ending. Please do feel free to do so, and I'll hopefully be back soon with your regularly scheduled shitty fanfics.

#death note #analysis #anime #manga #light yagami #near #teru mikami #manga vs anime #why the death note manga is superior #short #rambling

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sage-nebula · 4 years

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Can’t believe we got new Death Note content in 2020 and it was actually very good. This is definitely a weird timeline to be in.

#just goes to show why the manga was always the superior form of DN tho #the mangaka still know what's up #death note

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fischltao · 2 years

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┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

Heavenly Principles

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

pairing: higuruma hiromi x f!reader

warnings: spoilers for the jujutsu kaisen manga, angst, swearing, fighting, death penalty, accusation of cheating, mentions of smut, unprotected sex, fluff

notes: i havent written anything for a while, i missed it. also i fucking love hiromi like how fucking cool is he. cant wait to read more fics for him.

"so? do you recognize her?" itadori questioned the tired out shadow of a man that sat opposite him on his wooden chair "did you know my sensei?"

higuruma gulped, watching closely the teenager across him. teenagers. he thought. always so loud

"i did know her. is she- was she also one of the casualties"

"she's alive, although she's not doing too well. a curse user hit her with their technique and she's not able to communicate with us. we don't know how to bring her back... i don't know what to do anymore" at that he let the breath he thought he was holding in for years. she's alive.

he did know her. once upon a time when she walked in that bar in shibuya like she owned the place. he was having his own drink when he noticed her walking in like a godess. she was magnificent, elegant and superior to any other creature he had ever seen. what intrigued him even more was when walked towards him and took a seat in the stool right next to his.

"what kind of whiskey do you like"

"excuse me?"

"i asked you what kind of whiskey do you like." he looked at her puzzled, not quite taking in the intentions behind her question.

"yamazaki, why do you ask?"

"you sure have expensive taste" she admired, smiling at the man in front of her "keisuke-san, two yamazaki's with ice please" she spoke softly as the bartender, keisuke-san, as he nodded at the woman.

"i never said i drink it with ice"

"well time you start doing so" who even was she anyway? "y/n gojou" well maybe she might be actually owning the place. she was from the one of the wealthiest clans after all.

"hiruguma hiromi" he murmured looking at the round glass placed in front of him, swirling it around with his hand. "i work as-"

"a lawyer i already know that. i also knew your name actually"

"what do you want from me?" he questioned looking back at her e/c eyes, holding on for dear life not to gaze down at her decolte. "surely you don't want to just share drinks with a stranger. you came prepared"

"ah- you caught me there mr higuruma. i need your help"

"my help how?"

"i need a lawyer."

and this is how he met gojou y/n. a special grade sorcerer like her brother and a teacher at the tokyo metropolitan jujutsu college. a peculiar yet warming presence. an undeniably enticing woman with looks that could pass her as a heavenly principle. in higuruma's eyes she was higher than that and the more she entrusted about herself to him the more infatuated he had become.

yet again she was his client and her case was far more important at the moment than his feelings for her, even if she made it harder for him to focus.

"with how cold and distant you are you certainly remind me of a certain someone" she mused, eyeing the dark hair man from her place in the couch "don't you think you can let loose a bit?im tired and trial could wait"

"well im just trying to not get you in jail, or worse have you take the death penalty. i think we should-"

"im innocent, we're going to prove it whether they like it or not. that doesn't mean we should waste all of our energy in that"

"and what do you wanna waste your energy on, y/n" he asked, her eyes dark as she walked towards his desk office. slowly she lifted her hand to caress his cheek and lowered it down to rest on his shoulder. using her hand as leverage she hopped on his lap, with her legs on either side of his body. she was so close, drawing hiromi even closer with her magnitizing scent"

"you, hiromi"

he remembered how he took her right then and there, indulging into the mystery y/n was. how good she was for him as she moved up and down from his cock. how he became drunk to her every little moan, gasp and whisper of his name. how her lips felt on his neck and how she would gasp and move her hips faster every time he would smack her ass. how he pushed away every file of her case down on the floor so he could fuck her harder against his desk and claim her by pushing his seed deep into her womb after she practically begged him to do so.

"im not gonna let them do anything to you y/n" he had whispered in-between thrusts. "i won't let them take you away from me-" another sharp thrust "let the world be damned, im not letting them touch a single hair of your head" higuruma had noticed the tears slipping down her pretty face. he knew that those words meant so much for her as behind her strong persona she hid a fragile heart that had been corrupted one too many times for the sake of being a jujutsu sorcerer and for the whole year he had been working as her attorney he wanted nothing more than to ease her pain. he was desperate to prove her innocence. he really was.

the day before the final trial he had found her crying on her apartment, the whole place had been a mess and she was screaming as she pushed another one of her expensive vases to her marbled floors. running to her, she had tried pushing him away, telling him to get out. yet again he stayed. he held her in his arms and let her let it all out as she sobbed into his arms. she was scared. scared that they were going to kill her and that she would never see her brother, her students or hiromi again.

he let her cry it out and then kissed her softly, reassuring her that he would not let them, once more. that was his promise from him to her. afterwards, she had fallen asleep in his arms, on the marbled floors as he whispered sweet nothings into her ear.

he had told her, just how much he loved her.

and a day after he felt like he could fly. he had smiled as she cried while the judge claimed her as not guilty. she hugged him so tight, and he didn't even mind how everyone in the room was watching them. her older brother had thanked him, not missing the way his sister would look at hiromi, obviously using it as a way to tease them both. she could not stop smiling. all her friends were there too. he joined them for dinner right after court and he felt as if he could finally show his love for her in public, without fearing of losing his professionalism.

and after dinner he took her to his apartment and made love to her all night long, never leaving an inch of her skin unkissed and never letting her rest until he had given her as many orgasms as he could pull out of her body. he could never get enough of her anyways.

he knew that he would marry her one day, there was no doubt. however, life can change pretty fast and you see, the success y/n's case had meant that more and more people would opt for him as their attorney too. which meant that hiruguma's job as a lawyer would only keep getting more and more hectic.

without even realizing he had distanced himself from y/n who had also been pretty busy with her position as a jujutsu sorcerer. they rarely saw each other and when they did they were both just too tired to spend time as a couple.

that or they would just fight the stress off, taking their pain out on each other until they became sick of each other's presence.

you're never here for me.

you're always away

go fuck your other clients if you're bored

like you'd fuck your colleagues, i know you would

lies, lies, lies.

such meaningless fights. and then one day, right after she had gotten back from a month long mission in ōita prefecture, he just could not take the fights any longer.

"i want to break up with you. i-" he had told her the minute she was about to start another fight while they spoke in his office. y/n felt betrayed and infuriated. however she did not have the energy to fix it, no matter how badly she just wanted to stay. to be with him for the rest of her life.

"i hope i never fucking see you again, higuruma" she had said before slamming the door of his office, leaving as fast as she could before he could see the tears cloud her eyes. she left just as fast as she came in his life, leaving him sitting in his chair, with his head hidden in his hands. he had hoped she would fight on more, he wanted to be as stubborn as she had always been and not let him break up with her. yet why did he even care, if he was the one to suggest the break up?

that was the last time he eversaw her. exactly a year before all hell broke loose in shibuya. not a single minute had he thought about anyone else other than her during this whole entire year. she had been his first thought as he woke up and the last before he went to sleep. he loved her just as much as ever and he wished that maybe, somehow, their souls would cross paths again.

"sir? are you listening to me?"

"my apologies itadori-kun. repeat your question if you might"

"higuruma-san, will you help me bring gojou y/n? back?"

#jjk higuruma #higuruma #higuruma hiromi #hiromi #higuruma x reader #higuruma smut #jjk #jjk spoiler #jujutsu kaisen #hiromi x reader #higuruma hiromi x reader #jjk smut

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hanafubukki · 3 years

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Just Desserts

Summary: Sherlock Holmes and William James Moriarty might have been forced into a corner by Milverton, but no one was expecting you.

Characters: William James Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes, and (Female) Reader.

Note: I really despise Milverton and believe he deserved a worse death than what he got. So this is the result of that basically, I have taken a few liberties with the situations and characters. Have not read the manga yet, so any extra details in there will not reflect here.

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· Sherlock Holmes and William James Moriarty were facing off against Milverton.

· Both of their guns were pointing at him, while he was trying not to panic in the face of death.

· “Now boys, no need to give him the satisfaction of falling for his tricks though he will be dead already.”

· The three men in the room swerved to look at you. Having two guns pointed at you was daunting, but you ignored it as much as you can as you bowed your head slightly to William and Sherlock.

· “You wouldn’t kill someone in front of a lady! You wouldn’t make her an accomplice-”

· “Oh, shut up Milverton.” You sharply cut in. “I would gladly allow these two men to kill you. You deserve it a hundred times over that’s for sure.”

· You turned towards him and smirked.

· “I didn’t come here to be your scapegoat.” Your eyes narrowed, “I came here for you to taste the full sense of defeat before your death.”

· You could feel the burning stares of William and Sherlock as they tried to solve the puzzle that was you.

· “You mentioned that you had made that if you were to die, it would be released to the world that Lord Moriarty was the Lord of Crime.” You pulled out a piece of paper from your pocket. “As of today, Milverton, the newspaper company that you run is hereby owned by me.”

· Milverton looked like he was about to rip into you, “What the hell-“

· Your laughter cut him off, “It seems you were not informed. Bit by bit, I have bought your company and wheeled out your lackeys. Maybe you should have paid more attention to your work rather than play with people’s lives.”

· You folded your arms, “Now, without your company, you will not be able to publish that story. As for your informant with that info, I have people in place that will capture him and hand him over to Lord Moriarty.” You smiled in William’s direction. He still had that calculating gaze, but it did not matter. Let him come to his own conclusions.

· “I believe your other plan dealt with Ms. Mary. If your house were to be burned down, I am sure that will deal with whatever blackmail you had on her.”

· “Liam, is she one of yours?”

· Sherlock was astounded. Who was this woman, and where did she come from?

· Why was she helping them, and from the slight head shake from Liam, he had no idea who you were either.

· “As for your death, it will not be caused by either Mr. Holmes, Lord Moriarty, or me.”

· “I doubt either one of them would want blood on their hands, let alone yours.” You turned towards the door, “No, your death shall be brought by her. The one who suffered the most from your damning play with people’s lives.”

· You gestured to the side, and a woman came in; a gun in her grasp.

· Milverton’s eyes widened as he recognized the face.

· “This is the wife of Mr. Sturidge. The wife of the man who was forced to kill a family to save his wife and child because of your superiority complex.”

· Everyone in the room could feel the murderous intent the woman gave off.

· You turned to Lord Moriarty and Sherlock. “I hope neither of you will deny her?”

· Sherlock and William lowered their weapons but were at the ready in case Milverton tried anything.

· You nodded and turned back to face Milverton. The man looked ready to pass out.

· Good.

· “Milverton, your body will be conveniently thrown over the balcony, and with no witness or evidence, everything is hearsay. Wouldn’t you say?”

· “Why? Why are you doing this? What have I done to you?” Milverton shouted.

· “You made me angry. You hurt people close to me and that is all I will say. Mrs. Sturidge, if you will?”

· Milverton could only run towards the balcony as Mrs. Sturidge shot him several times in the back causing him to fall over the railing.

· The Lord of Crime and the Great Detective could only watch as you comforted Mrs. Sturidge and took the gun away from her. You threw it over the balcony.

· “My sister is waiting outside for you, go wait with her. I’ll be there in a moment after I have a talk with these gentlemen.”

· You could tell she was nervous to leave you with these two men, but you reassured her you would be fine.

· After she left, you went looking through the nearby desk for a box of matches.

· “Who are you?” Lord Moriarty had finally chosen this moment to speak.

· “Can I answer this question another day?” You turned towards them with a tired smile. “It’s been a long week and night for me. I’ll answer all your questions another day, preferably after sleeping for a while.”

· You leaned against the desk, taking a deep breath and examining them as they did you. They were still tensed; you could tell. “Mr. Holmes, I hope you will attend your best friend’s wedding.”

· Sherlock tensed as you predicted.

· “Ms. Mary is a friend of mine, so please do not make either of them sad by not attending.” You walked to Sherlock and flicked him on the forehead.

· “Ack!”

· “Stop smoking! It’s bad for you and your lungs! As I am sure you know, and Lord Moriarty can back me up.”

· You then turned toward William James Moriarty and pointed at him, causing him to tense up. “You! You need sleep! Go home and get some sleep.”

· You chose that moment to strike a match until the flame burned brightly and threw it in the corner.

· You sighed, “I really am sorry for the abrupt introduction, but I really think all of this was for the best, don’t you?”

· You turned and bowed once more to the two men. You introduced your full name.

· You could tell they did not fully recognize your name.

· That’s good. That’s what I want.

· “Mr. Holmes, I will be seeing you in a few days. Lord Moriarty, please expect a invitation from me soon as well, so I can return whatever Milverton had on you. Though I’m sure you both will have checked into my background by then, but you're more than welcome to do so.”

· Then, you left.

· You had left the Lord of Crime and the Great Detective speechless.

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As always, hope you enjoyed 🌸

I really wanted Milverton to suffer more; I thought his death was way to quick. I wanted his empire brought down before he died. So, this is the result of that.

These men think they have taken account of everything, but they have not taken you into account 🧐😁

This is the longest fic I have posted to Tumblr as of the date. Also, the wordiest and with the most dialogue. Gah, I am nervous. How do you do dialogue??? I definitely don’t know and that is why most of my works only have bits and pieces of it. 😂😂😂😅😅

#the reader is bad ass #these men have brains #but they never considered you #and that was their mistake #yuukuko no moriarty #Moriarty of the patriots #moriarty the patriot #yuukoku no moriarty #william james moriarty #William James Moriarty x reader #sherlock holmes #Moriarty the patriot Sherlock holmes #Sherlock Holmes x reader #platonic or romantic #your choice #Moriarty the patriot x reader #yuukuko no Moriarty x reader #yuukoku No Moriarty x reader #female reader

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watevermelon · 4 years

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Just Enough | Diluc (Genshin) x Traveler!Reader

✧ Summary: Between freeing Dvalin and pursuing the Geo Archon, you were constantly moving forward to find your brother with hardly a second to look back. You were in a rush to find your lost sibling, not realizing how your heart had stopped in Mondstadt. Visiting the city while waiting for things to die down after Rex Lapis’ death, you return to a… jealous Diluc?

➳ Spoilers for the Dark Knight Hero quest and some of the manga background ➳ Notes: lots of fluff, slight angst and jealousy, character development, mutual pining at one point, a long one-shot that covers the (1.0) beginning of the Liyue story ➳ Navigation

---xXxXxXxXxXx---

If he had only asked you to stay.

To say that these past few weeks were a blur would be a severe understatement. For months you were simply a lost wanderer, traveling from world to world for any sort of clue that could lead you to your brother.

And in just a matter of weeks you were suddenly Mondstadt’s hero.

From bringing peace to Dvalin’s heart to meeting Mondstadt’s infamous Dark-knight hero, you were familiarizing yourself with a people and a place for a world you knew you did not belong to. Learning of the history of the Seven Archons, the Gods’ of contracts or of freedoms, suddenly you were being thrust into it all at once.

You shared the burden of knowledge with a few of Mondstadt’s elite, the true God of Freedom walking in plain sight to the citizens of his nation. And with him, were the quick allies you found side-by-side when fighting a dragon.

It was all happening so suddenly and Lord Barbatos himself was giving you directions to the next country over, to continue on your journey in meeting all seven Archons to Liyue.

To this day, you could fondly recall your final celebration in Mondstadt.

“To think that despite his small stature he can drink so much.” Kaeya commented from his seat at the table, eyes slid in the direction of Venti at the bar next to you. You could see the impatient stare behind Diluc’s eyes, not at all happy that their God was indulging himself so freely.

“Honorary Knight, Mondstadt thanks you for your service.” Jean formally stated, for the nth time since Dvalin had been freed.

“I’m just glad I was at the right place at the right time.” You answered back, offering a placating smile in return.

“Humility doesn’t pay for dinner!” Paimon hmphed next to you.

“But aren’t we at a feast now?” You countered, gesturing to the table.

She sighed again before moving to get a taste of some of the honey roasted ham. “Fine, don’t blame me when we have to settle into that poor excuse of a tent!”

“Please, do not feel you are in any rush to leave.” Jean offered, “You are welcome lodgings at our Favonius Headquarters.”

“With the other Knights of Favonius?” Diluc asked, face completely blank if not for the small upward tilt of his left brow.

Kaeya flirted with you from across the room, uncaring of the other partygoers, “You could always stay with me.”

You laughed lightly and responded, “That’s a hard pass.”

The Cavalry Captain simply shrugged, offering it to you again if you changed your mind before grabbing another glass of wine and walking with Jean toward the busy table.

Barbara was trying different dishes and offering some to her older sister, spouting descriptions with medicinal purposes and flavors that compliment one another. Lisa was no better as Amber egged both of them on, completely sober as she continued to feast on the food laid before her. Other Knights of Favonius that you recognized were scattered about, enjoying the first truly peaceful night in the past few weeks.

“You are welcome to stay at the Dawn Winery, while you look for your brother.”

He relished in the sight of your smile.

“Thank you, Diluc.”

That was three months ago.

And since then you had been thrown into more of not your business but suddenly IS your business, business.

You remembered your last day before setting off from Mondstadt. The Knights of Favonius would surely call on you again and so you had quick goodbyes with Jean and Kaeya the day before. Venti was saved for last, a somewhat light-hearted and yet somber goodbye as he was the first and last person for you to see in Mondstadt.

But Diluc… How could you even start that conversation?

He was the lone wolf with a prickly reputation and an even worse sense of patience. You remembered the first time you even spoke to him, clipped words meant to get straight to the point. Not to mention that he was the first person to antagonize Kaeya, who was one of the few people you kinda trusted in the beginning.

It was not until the side adventures, the little quests you did one-on-one that you realized how much more there was to the edgelord that was Diluc.

Of course, he was still the strict type to focus solely on the mission.

But you realized more about why Diluc had come to be this way.

‘The uncrowned king of Mondstadt.’

As you worked together against the possible abyss invasion of Mondstadt, you poured over strategies and testing of his slime potion. And while slimes were not the hardest enemies to fight, he still complimented you on your form and appreciated your quick style with the sword.

You had a unique style, unlike Kaeya or anyone else of this world.

“Elegant, but deadly.”

You took that as a compliment.

And little by little Diluc opened up to you, cluing you into his personal history.

He and Kaeya were step-brothers, growing up together at the Dawn Winery. How he knew Jean since he was child and once served as her superior in the very organization he now despised. How he still has things to protect, to avenge. And while his description about what happened to his father was nothing more than a quiet stare, you were still grateful that he was entrusting you into his world.

You remembered Kaeya’s words as he discovered Diluc’s nighttime secret:

“I’m glad you’re working with an assistant.”

Kaeya’s tone may have come out scathing, but you knew better. Kaeya and Diluc used to be close, close enough to entrust their lives with one another. There was no doubt that Kaeya still cared about his brother, but with Diluc pushing everyone away….

Again, you were so appreciative that he chose to let you in.

When Kaeya finally left the bar, you turned to Diluc with a smile. “I think my work tonight earned me at least one glass of wine?”

That broke a small smile on his face, not the slight tilt on the sides or the wistful, far off look he got when he recalled something beyond your knowledge.

“Alright.” He waved over a nearby waitress, all of the customers tonight employees of the Dawn Winery. “Let’s take this up to the balcony, I’m going to close up anyway.”

“Oh?” Paimon’s squeaky tone somehow went up another octave in curiosity, “I just remembered I have to ask Venti something! Why don’t you two enjoy your date alone.”

She flew away before you could swat at her for her teasing words, blush apparent on your face. Diluc kept his flat face as he maneuvered things behind the bar, wiping at something before putting something in the below cabinet.

To your surprise, he handed you a bottle and two glasses, motioning with his head toward the second floor. Charles was among some of the ‘customers’ tonight, taking his usual spot behind the bar as Diluc stepped out.

You followed him wordlessly, walking up the steps and out the second-floor door closely behind him. He pulled out a wooden chair next to the table outside, you taking the seat underneath the stars as he plopped down alongside you.

“I thought the stars here in the city would get overcrowded by the lights.” You admitted, “But they’re beautiful even here.”

“Yeah, they are.” Diluc agreed, making you smile before turning to him.

“You’re not even looking at the stars.”

The pyro-user simply smirked, before looking up at the starry sky with you. You relished in the moment, glad to have some time alone with Diluc. Many had commented that the winery owner was so elusive, missing from the bar weeks at a time and unseen within the city walls. And yet here he was, enjoying the crisp air and a glass of wine with you.

“Thank you.” You started.

“Shouldn’t you be demanding thanks from me?” Diluc asked.

You laughed lightly, “Yeah, cause I’m sure that the abyss mage would have totally kicked your ass without me.”

Diluc had that slightly amused expression on, looking a bit more light-hearted as he turned to you with a slight tilt at the corner of his lips.

You continued, “I mean, thanks for entrusting me with your secret.”

Diluc paused, looking you straight in the eyes, probably to gauge your honesty. And he would concede that there was nothing else there. You wanted to be his friend, the first in a long time to have approached him without your own agenda regarding either the winery or his fortune.

In return, he poured you a glass of wine and replied, “You’ve long earned it.”

“Thank you, Diluc.” You took the glass and felt your heart flutter at the brush of his fingers. “I’m glad I got to know you.”

“I’m glad you’re in my life too.”

He shot you another one of his genuine, millisecond smiles before pouring some from the bottle for himself.

“Wine and not grape juice today?”

But he did not answer, instead eyes latching onto the rise of goosebumps on your arms. You could not help it against the crisp Mondstadt air, naturally feeling a chill at this time of night. Without a word, he shrugged off his outer coat, the thick black one he wore at almost all times of day, and rested it casually on your shoulders.

You muttered a small thanks as you snuggled into it. Diluc’s iconic dark coat, a complete contrast to yourself. While you wore a white dress with open sleeves and plenty of skin, Diluc wore black covering most of his body with the exception of his neck and face. Seeing it on your shoulders only reminded you of that fact.

“Don’t need you getting sick anytime soon.” Diluc stated plainly, as he returned to his seat.

You huddled into it more and replied, “Aw, Diluc cares.” Again, you were rewarded with another flat expression. “Or rather, if the events of today are to show anything, you’ve always cared. Just in your own, protective way.”

He slung an arm across the back of your seat, leaning closer before stating in a low voice. “Don’t forget that.”

Your eyes snapped to his, the both of you basically sharing the same breath in your close proximity. His scarlet eyes, usually a searing color when on the battlefield, looked surprisingly tender only inches from yours.

“You mean so much to me, Diluc.” You whispered back, afraid that anything above a whisper would punctuate this amorous atmosphere.

He slowly dragged his face alongside yours, stopping beside your ear and continuing in his low voice. “So do you.”

There was no stopping the shiver of anticipation that crawled up your spine.

You could feel the small smirk grow against your skin before he pulled off and grazed his lips against your forehead.

The expression on your face was practically begging him to kiss you. From the small lean in your side against his arm slung around you to the way your eyes slowly fluttered closed, it took all of his self-control to stop himself before he pulled you closer. He wanted nothing more than to grasp you by the back of your neck, relish in the way you melt against him. To kiss you now and tomorrow and maybe even the morning after at the winery.

Diluc had to remind himself that in less than a week you were going to be long gone.

He did not want to ruin this memory a week from now, asking what if and why. And so he settled on a simple kiss above your brow before leaning back in his seat, enjoying the moment he had with you tonight.

You were disappointed, but actually not surprised. It was a feat in itself that you were so close to Diluc in this short amount of time, it would do no good in pressuring him into anything else. But also, another more rational part of you, had to remind yourself that getting attached to the people of this world would only make it hurt more when you had to return home.

This was for the better.

But no matter how much rational thought Diluc used to push you away, you were sure that you had already fallen for him. From the small interactions with Diluc, you could barely recognize the moment that you were completely enamored with him. It was not during the first time you saw him fight or even the night he leant you his jacket. No, you feared it was much before then.

To think you had gotten attached to Diluc in such a short amount of time.

But then you had to say goodbye.

“Safe travels.” Diluc stated from behind the bar when he saw you enter on your last day.

You were not sure what you expected, a drawn out goodbye or a fore longed hug, but Diluc was still, well. He was still Diluc. And to see him re-erecting his walls before you left for your journey was a sad thought, but needed while the two of you were hundreds of miles away from one another.

But you would regret it if you didn’t say anything.

Instead you settled on, “I’ll miss you.”

The hopeful look in your eyes spelled out exactly what you wanted to hear back.

Diluc instead replied, “You fight good.”

“Oh. Um.” The hesitation was clear in your voice.

Was this really how you were going to leave things?

But with Diluc turning his attention back to the wine glass he was previously wiping, yes. It seemed that this was exactly how he wanted to leave it. Paimon scoffed, but said her own goodbyes before flying away.

“Goodbye, Diluc.”

Outside the tavern, you let your frown grow at that interaction. After everything you had been through together, Diluc complimented you on your fighting? Then said peace out?

“That was really lame.” Paimon commented aloud as she floated alongside you. You could not help but internally agree, but you had a whole journey ahead of you. At least the busyness of Liyue would keep you busy from dwelling on that conversation.

But as you said goodbye to Venti, the both of you stood in silence under the giant tree staring at the city. You thought about going back three times, to get a proper goodbye out of Diluc. But doing so would do neither of you any good, since it would only open more issues.

“No more questions about the other Archons?” Venti asked, voice surprisingly serious.

“Can’t think of anything.”

“None even of a certain… winery owner?” You could almost hear the smile in his voice.

You rolled your eyes and responded, “You’re such a little shit.”

“Hehe.”

You both continued to stare at the city, the marvels of its people and history within its high walls. To think Barbatos and Dvalin were finally free, because of your otherworldly intervention. Venti was truly thankful for you, and while he knew his words were on the more mischievous side, he knew that you understood.

Venti’s voice permeated the air. “Be safe in Liyue.”

You smiled back and offered him a tight hug, replying. “As always.”

To think that the same day that you stepped into Liyue, Rex Lapis was murdered before your very eyes. It was like the Gods actually hated you, having to rely on a Fatui to run away from the government officials hot on your trail.

Since then you had been working with Zhongli to prepare for a parting ceremony. From running around for certain types of Jade materials to singing to flowers, you were happy to take a second to yourself at all. You were afraid that trouncing around Liyue with a bounty on your head would do you no good and often stayed in the wild areas. Visits to the city were for necessities only, which often left you relying on the ever so truthful Childe or the mora-averse Zhongli.

More than three months after your initial departure to Liyue, you stepped back into the walls of Mondstadt’s bustling city, a commission nearby and you figured you were safe simply due to your reputation under the Knights of Favonius.

Venti was the last face you saw and the first face that greeted you, beckoning to join him for lunch. With your final commission of the day finished, you joined him with a smile and ordered some honey roasted ham.

You recounted some of the news to Venti, meeting many of the adeptus and how out of touch they seemed with the region. You described Zhongli from the funeral parlor who always felt like he knew more and played a higher part in Liyue (and you inwardly noted how Venti’s eyes lit up in recognition at the name). And also, Childe the Fatui Harbinger that had you on edge.

“You’re hanging out with a harbinger?” Venti asked.

“Uh oh.” Paimon reacted.

“Well.” You remembered your last encounter with Signora. “It’s complicated.”

Venti paused before sighing, “Is he cute?”

“That’s not why!” You huffed back instantly.

“So he is cute!”

“And rich!” Paimon added, joining in on the teasing.

“Not the issue here.” You stated, “He saved me from the Millelith and helped me get into contact with the adepti.”

Venti’s mischievous smile from the earlier teasing turned blank, as if he was fully ingesting your words. “... Why would he do that?”

“Huh?”

But Venti quickly recovered, waving away the question and urging you to move past it. “Just thinking out loud, continue. What happened after?”

And so you recalled everything from then. How the soldiers followed you all the way up the mountain and how you had to defend yourself from people that were supposed to be on the same side as you.

How there was someone out there with the strength to take down a God.

Venti laughed at you for like, twenty minutes.

After his laughter subsided, he held a hand over his stomach and asked. “They think you killed Rex Lapis?”

He took another look at your pouting face and laughed again.

It only made you scowl further. “I’m glad you think my supposed war crimes are so funny.”

“I think I’m missing the punchline again.” Paimon added.

“Hehe. You’ll be fine.” Venti shot back his mischievous smile, “Besides, I’m sure you’re looking forward to laying low here with a certain… someone here.”

You paused and put your fork back down, “What are you trying to say?”

“Well, the Dawn Winery is throwing a festival tonight.” Venti stated clearly, “Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“Wait, really?”

The mischievous light was back in Venti’s eyes, “I’m sure the winds of fate have brought you here purely on coincidence.”

You sighed and turned to him fully. “You trying to fight, old man?”

“Hehe.” His signature giggle, one you found almost endearing, was undoubtedly mocking you. “We should go together later.”

And true to his word, somehow you found yourself with the Anemo Archon heading over to the bar. To think that it was Venti who introduced you here and now he was bringing you along again.

That is, if you even had a chance to make it inside at this rate.

The area was packed to the brim, all the seats outside in front and on the side of the building already taken. There was a line out the door, many hopeful young women with gleaming eyes trying to get a one-on-one conversation with the current barkeep and owner.

You peered into the open door and saw Diluc and Charles behind the bar, the red-head adorned with his usual flat-expression. It was the first time in months since you had seen him, but he looked exactly as the day you had left. Still the same colored wardrobe and prickly atmosphere, Diluc was still, Diluc.

What did not help was the ever growing line of flirty men and women trying to vye for his attention.

It only seemed to further nail the pit in your stomach.

Was this… jealousy?

You didn’t dwell on the thought for long.

Instead, you considered for a single-second if you should just turn tail now, but Venti must have seen your hesitation and grabbed you by the arm to walk inside. Dozens of eyes followed you on the way in, many people recognizing you as the young hero of Mondstadt and honorary knight of Favonius.

The crowd was surprisingly less inside, but knowing Diluc he probably would have tried to corral everyone to the outdoor areas. Venti continued to lead you towards a table in the back and you saw a familiar red-bowed Outrider.

“I didn’t even know you were going to be here today!” She greeted you excitedly.

“Tone-Deaf Bard here convinced us to stay the night.” Paimon replied.

“Oh?” Her voice lifted in a tone that only spelled trouble, “No matter, I’m glad to see you in one piece.”

“I’m assuming you’ve heard.”

Amber stretched in her seat and lowered her voice, smile turning to a smirk. “Well, I won’t confirm anything. But my suspicions are that the blonde person the Knights were pursuing for stealing the Holy Lyre may be the same blonde person running from the Millelith.”

“What a crazy theory.” Paimon responded as she cleared her throat.

“At least it’s just a theory, right?” Amber replied. “Anyway, we’ll hold the seats. Do you mind going up to the bar to order?”

Paimon chimed up as she floated down into the wooden seat, “Yeah, you should go.”

You barely had a second to object before Venti agreed and was motioning for you to go back to the bar. If not for their eager stares at you, you would have rolled your eyes at how obvious they were being.

“Fine, fine. I’m going.” You stated aloud, getting up from the seat you inhabited for at most ten minutes.

Turning towards the bar, you took in a deep breath to collect your thoughts. To think you fought the Wolf of the North and Oceanid with more courage - it was just Diluc.

“Long time no see.” You greeted, trying to sound extremely casual. “Bottle of wine for one of your favorite people?”

Diluc looked at you for a quick second, then back down to the bar, then rapidly snapping back up to you in surprise. “Hey. Of course.”

Unsure what to say, you responded back with a simple, “Thank you.”

“Didn’t know you’d be in town today.”

“It was all coincidence. Venti told me about your event tonight.” You mentioned, motioning behind you to the table where the three of them were waiting. Amber waggled her eyebrows in response and you turned back to Diluc in embarrassment.

But he was looking at you the entire time. “For a war criminal, you look well.”

“Ugh, not you too.”

“Ironic how you delinquents always return here while hiding it out.” Diluc did not answer, instead openly teasing you.

Honestly, it was a little ironic that you and Venti ran here after stealing the Holy Lyre, just to end up back here while the Millelith were on the hunt for you.

Instead you replied, “They didn’t release any names.”

“Right, it’s probably some other sword-wielding blonde with white clothes and access to the Anemo vision.”

“Obviously.”

To think you were so involved in Teyvat's politics. An otherworldly being with no prior connections to the people or nations was somehow involved with the highest ranking people of every country you’ve stumbled into.

Everyone from the Dvalin team knew about your primary objectives: to find your brother and regain your full power through the seven Archons. And when news of Rex Lapis’ death reached Mondstadt, Diluc could almost physically feel the dread in his heart that something had happened to you. And when the Millelith released their man-hunt of your exact profile, there was no doubt that you were involved.

To see you standing before him, in association with an Archon of all people, it was like a breath of fresh air on his heart. You were here in the tavern, fine and even enjoying the night.

A large part of him wanted to ask about your journey, what was it that had you on the run again? But with the growing line out the door, he knew he barely had time to keep this conversation going.

So instead, Diluc grabbed glasses and a bottle of wine from beneath the bar and asked, “Spare a few minutes for me later?”

You nodded quietly, handing him the necessary Mora before returning back to the table.

Amber did not pull her punches, “So, you guys dating yet?”

You almost dropped the bottle, but Venti was quick even through his laughter.

“Yeah and I’m the Archon of Snezhnaya.” Paimon replied sarcastically.

“Shut up.” You pouted, “It was just nice to see each other after all this time.”

“Oh so you had a good conversation? Did he ask you to stay after? Are you going to stay the night? Did he offer for you to stay at the Dawn Winery?” Amber spit out question after question, not a sense of patience or tact in her words.

Venti was still laughing like the Archon of assholes he was.

While they prodded through their multiple questions, you tried to wave them away to another conversation topic. If Amber was prodding you like this, you could only imagine that the other Knights, such as Kaeya and Jean, were also aware of your strange relationship.

Amber tried to push it a bit more, but you were able to spin the conversation to ask what the others were up to. It was interesting to hear about the little tasks in Mondstadt, small commissions that the Knights take care of in the city as well as guarding the areas further out into the country.

And while you hated to drift off with them sitting right in front of you, your mind often wandered toward the red-head behind the bar. Diluc had personally asked you to stay back later, undoubtedly to speak to you about something one-on-one. Would it be cowardly if you left early? Would the others notice if you tried to make a break for it at one point?

Again, it seemed as if Venti was capable of reading your mind, lightly calling you to attention and putting a casual hand on the back of your chair.

He was not letting you get away from this.

Venti even shifted the conversation to you, asking about Liyue and the local adventures you had while in the city. Unable to ignore the direct questions, you told them about the stories of the people you met so far and the strange events you seemed to be dragged into.

“Wait, start over.” Amber cut into your most recent story about a ship just outside of the Liyue city. ”You just glided down onto the Pearl Galley?”

You paused then replied, “Well. I mean the ship was just sitting there outside the harbor and I was curious.”

“And so you boarded a luxury ship without an invitation?”

“Yeah, so?” Paimon answered with a question, genuinely confused.

“And yet you wonder how you keep getting involved in all these crazy schemes.” Amber answered ambiguously.

“Well, eventually I did get an invitation.”

“But after you were already on the ship.” Amber pointed out. “How did you even glide that far out?”

“I climbed to the top of the nearby mountain and then just dropped down.”

“Wow.”

“Is it really a surprise?” Venti commented, “She doesn’t even follow the proper stairs here in the city. Don’t think we don’t see you climbing over every wall here in Mondstadt.”

“You’re such a weirdo.” Amber sighed with a smile, “You’re lucky we love you so much.”

You continued on with your stories, some in the city and others within hidden temples deep in the wilderness, puzzles and timed traps masking treasures you sought to find. Amber and Venti listened on in rapt attention, asking questions here and there and even teasing you about your constant climbing.

You hadn’t even noticed how the bar patrons were starting to slowly thin out.

The night with Venti and Amber was such a refreshing feeling compared to the nights you spent staring up silently at the night sky, only Paimon at your side. It was nice to hear and speak to other people, to not be on the run and always looking over your shoulder.

Feeling a light tap on the side, you turned to see Diluc standing at attention.

“Hey.” He greeted you again.

“We were just on our way out!” Amber exclaimed, standing instantly with Venti not far behind her. “Mondstadt’s star Outrider has to be up bright and early tomorrow.”

“Which is why you’re both leaving…?” You asked.

“It’s my duty to ensure the safety of the city and we said we were going to discuss something.” Venti answered ambiguously.

You crossed your arms, “Discuss what?”

“The— !” Amber paused, “The thing. You know, with the stuff at the Seven Winds Temple.”

“Right! Let’s get going.” Venti turned to Paimon at the last second, “I think this will interest you.”

Paimon winked at you before turning to Diluc, ”Right, the stuff!”

Diluc motioned you to follow him and so, once again, you found yourself following behind the Pyro-user out the second-floor balcony. However, instead of sitting at the table, you learned against the railing while Diluc stood to the side.

“Wasn't expecting you to be gone for so long.” Diluc started with a flat voice.

You turned to him with a slight grimace. “I’m sorry, I ended up getting caught in something important back in Liyue.”

More important than him.

The implication was quiet in the back of Diluc’s mind.

But that would always be the case. To think that the first person in years to open up his shell was someone who could only be in his life temporarily. You intrigued him to the high heavens - the strange mix of both pride and humility as you fought and carried yourself. You were strong, but merciful. Kind, but a purveyor of your own brand of justice.

It had been a while since he met someone with such genuine reservations as you.

But your time together was already ticking down, from your time in Mondstadt to your time in his world. You were looking for your brother and who knew if he was even in Tyvat currently? It would be unfair to be bitter towards you. And so he resolved long ago to simply cherish the moments you had together.

So instead of snapping back, Diluc teased you.

“I’m sure. I’ve heard of your extensive… wanted days.”

You sighed aloud, “How did the news travel here so fast?”

Diluc smirked, “First Barbatos and now Rex Lapis? What kind of luck do you have?”

“The worst kind.”

Of course, there was something he wanted to learn more about. After he had caught wind from Katheryn in Liyue, Diluc still wanted to be informed about your current situation. To think that you were in close association with one of the high Fatui Harbingers after Signora personally attacked you, it was almost like you were openly inviting trouble.

It also did not help that many of the gossip mills included how attractive this particular Fatui was.

He goes by the alias of ‘Childe.’ Young, but deadly!

A Fatui, but doesn’t wear his mask - for good reason! He’s quite the looker.

I wouldn’t mind if he impaled me somewhere. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Needless to say, his sources did not alleviate his worries.

Of all people? A Fatui was one of your close associates in Liyue? A party of him wanted to snarl, the thought a worse downgrade from the Knights of Favonius. At least he knew Kaeya would do you no harm; he doubted the same could be said about Childe.

Archons, why did he care so much?

Diluc told himself multiple times that your abrupt parting was necessary to keep himself from getting too attached to you. But it hardly mattered when he was worrying this much anyway in spite of that.

Fuck, why did he just let you walk away like that?

Diluc was not going to make the same mistake.

He turned to you and asked, “Like the Fatui kind?”

You sighed, “Believe me, I don’t like it either.”

“And yet somehow here we are.”

“It’s complicated, okay?”

“When is it not with you?” Diluc asked, more hypothetically. And while from anyone else, it may have felt offensive, you could tell from his tone that it was just a tired sigh.

“Tell me about your journey.” He continued.

“What?” You answered with a question, genuinely surprised. “It’s a long story, not all that interesting.”

Diluc took a step forward, taking the spot next to you against the rail as your shoulders touched. “I want to hear it from you.”

You couldn’t help but smile, “Okay.”

And so you recounted your journey to find the Geo Archon, how the adepti set up strange puzzles and at some point you swore you were pulled into a teacup that somehow contained a full domain.

There were also other missions on the side, other things you would do to collect Mora or materials if you were going to get any stronger. Some of them made sense — doing deliveries, clearing abyss camps, and other mercenary like duties. Other instances, not so much.

“Only you would accept a commission from a ghost.” Diluc teased as you recounted the treasure in the mines.

“In my defense, I didn’t think he was a ghost at first.”

“Right. Nothing suspicious at all about a transparent old man in the middle of an abandoned village.”

“I was reading the poster he was showing!”

“And when did you realize he was a ghost?”

“... After I met three other ghosts.”

Diluc cracked a smile at that, only making you pout more. You had adjusted your postures overtime, standing against with rails to your backs as you faced the tavern.

“He paid me good Mora!”

“How…?” Diluc thought about it before waving it off, “Forget it. I don’t want to know.”

You laughed back before you saw the lights inside the tavern switch off, complete darkness in the windows as the remaining employees packed up and went home.

“Oh wow, I hadn’t even realized how long we were out here.” You admitted, “I’m sorry I took up so much of your time.”

“Don’t apologize. I wanted to spend this time with you.”

“Still, it’s already late.”

“You’re right. Where were you and Paimon going to spend the night?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” You admitted, “Venti convinced us to stay, but I don’t even know where he is.”

Diluc pushed off the railing to stand facing you, “You could stay the night at the winery. We can retrieve Paimon tomorrow.”

What game was he playing? Your disappointing departure with Diluc cutting you off and now he was asking for your time and space back into his life? You hated that he pushed you away just to pull you back in at his convenience. And while you understood his personality tended to keep people at a distance, you had your own limits as to what you could withstand.

“... Diluc, what are you doing?”

“You’ll have to be more clear.”

You closed your eyes, trying to gather your thoughts and hamper down on your rising temper. “Come on, why are you being so nice to me?”

He stared at you expectedly, blank eyes urging you to continue.

It only served to make you more angry.

“Diluc, when I left you hardly blinked. And now that I’m here, after months of us not talking, you want me to spend the night?”

“I told you before how much you meant to Mondstadt.”

To Mondstadt? Not even to himself personally?

You decided it was better to confront him cleanly asking, “Why didn’t you kiss me that night we were drinking here?”

Diluc paused, not a single hint of surprise on his face as you addressed the situation head-on. “Why should I have?”

“Don’t act like you didn’t feel it. There was something between us.” You scoffed.

He noticed your use of past tense.

“Does it honestly matter? You would’ve left anyway, I saved us both the trouble.”

You visibly recoiled in response. “Is that what this is about? I have to go to Liyue and the other counties, Diluc. I have to find my brother.”

“I know that.” Diluc cut in, before you got the wrong idea. “You don’t think I’m acutely aware of that fact? The fact that this is my home and not yours. That one day you’ll find your brother and I’ll never see you again?”

“Wait.”

“Believe me, I know better than anyone that you’re off to find your brother. And I’ll help you in any way that I can.” Diluc continued, not heeding your confused attempts to stop him. “But let’s not pretend like I was anything more than a stepping stone in your journey.”

“That’s not true!”

“Oh?” Diluc’s tone was almost challenging, “It’s not? So once the dust is settled, if I asked you to stay here with me, would I be enough?”

You stuttered over your words, “I --”

“I don’t want to hear your excuse because we both know the answer.” He cut you off, “I was trying to save myself from that before it happened.”

“Will you let me speak, you idiot!?” Your voice cut through the silent evening air.

Diluc paused, standing a good ten feet away from you and looking angrier than you’d ever seen. But he did, thankfully, stop talking.

“Is it crazy to think that I feel the same way about you?”

“What?”

“Diluc, I’m just me!” You answered, “I have nothing to my name but an objective to find my brother — if he’s even alive at this point. I need to try and I need to continue on this path…”

He crossed his arms, but stayed quiet as he listened.

“But just because I have so much ahead of me, that doesn’t I don’t care about where I’ve already seen.” You took a few steps toward Diluc as you spoke, “You mean so much to me and I wouldn’t ever want to throw that away.”

“You won’t have a choice if you have to leave this world.”

“If!” You pointed out, “Diluc you’re so worried about the future, about me walking away from you forever, but it doesn’t have to be this way.”

“And suddenly there’s an alternative?”

“There’s always been one, you idiot! You just never bothered to actually talk to me.” You put your hands on his chest, the light material of his dark clothes underneath your palms. “I would’ve tried. If you asked me to make this work, to come back to you at the winery back then, I would’ve done it.”

Diluc closed his eyes, taking in your words as his hands snaked down to your wrists.

“Don’t give me empty promises.”

“I mean it!” You defended, “You aren’t just another person, Diluc. I—“

He opened his eyes then, reflecting back to you as hopeful and curious. “You…?”

“I care about you more than you know.” You settled on, still unsure about the extent of your feelings. “Why are you giving up on us before even starting?”

You stared right back at Diluc, his silence paramount to the inner turmoil you were sure he was going through. From his late father to the betrayal from the Knights, there were plenty of reasons why Diluc was so hesitant to connect with other people.

But you’d be damned if you didn’t try.

Your hands felt heavy against his chest. Despite your small demeanor and even smaller palms, the weight of your hands seemed to play seesaw between his heart and mind. He had logical reasons to keep you at a distance, but here you were trying to carve your way through back to him.

It had been a long time since he cared about anyone like this. And Diluc could not even recall the last time he wanted to sorely kiss someone at all. But how could he not want to now? You stared up at him, eyes blazing with determination as you tried to convey your feelings.

“You mean so much to me.” Diluc stated after a few silent minutes, “Let’s make this work.”

The smile you shot him was wide and radiant, a private blessing that only he was gifted tonight. He wrapped his arms around your waist, eager to feel more of you — to envelop you in his arms and keep you within them tonight.

One hand strayed upward, carding itself in your hair and pulling you closer until both your eyes fluttered closed. The soft skin of your lips slotted against his, an endearing frenzy to give one another tender pecks. You could not help the happy mewl that escaped your lips as Diluc licked against the crease of your skin.

Moaning aloud to his tender touch, Diluc was eager to explore every inch of your wet cavern. There was no battle of tongues, simply moving in tandem as Diluc dominated the kiss. You tried to maneuver to give him more access, but with your height difference it was the best you could do.

Diluc lifted one of your legs, wrapping it around his waist and lightly tapping the other to do the same. Eyes clouded with lust, you did as instructed and quickly felt the soft thump behind you, the wall of the tavern helping hold you upright.

You fell more and more into the passionate lip lock, pushing to match his intensity as Diluc connected you in one of the most intimate ways possible. One hand was still in your hair while the other continued its scandalized trail downward.

You prayed to Barbatos that nobody heard you outside the tavern.

The both of you would later attribute this impassioned frenzy due to the prolonged time apart and mutual pining (culminating in a mistake outside on the balcony, twice inside the bar, and the rest of the night back at the winery).

For the first time, you enjoyed the morning sun streaming in through the windows, a lazy arm strung across your waist as you snuggled in the chest of the man you were growing to love.

Diluc woke long before you, hand threading through your hair silently as he resolved to remember this moment. You kissed at the naked skin of his chest twice before nuzzling him, feeling the light arm pull you closer.

“Good morning.” You started, voice muffled against his skin.

But you would have never expected Diluc to be so affectionate.

He kissed the top of your head, murmuring in a low tone. “Good morning, my love.”

Nothing about your relationship was perfect. You still fought and cried like every other couple. But you both knew that what you had was real, willing to fight for it no matter the obstacles that came with the future.

It did not matter that Tyvat was not your home.

Wherever Diluc was, that was where you’d return.

---xXxXxXxXxXx---

Extra: “What if they end up fighting?” Amber asked the other two as they walked down a side-street of the city.

“Then we’ll find out the moment it breaks out. Trust me.” Paimon replied. After all, your Anemo power would only serve to make any fire larger.

“They’ve both been in that pining puppy phase for so long, I doubt it’ll come down to that.” Venti added.

“500 Mora says they’ll be dating by the end of this week.” Amber bet.

“1,000 that they’ll be together by tonight!” Paimon countered.

“10,000 that they’ll be joined in every way by tonight.” Venti added, the mischievous tone not missed by either woman.

“You tone-deaf bard!” Paimon exclaimed as she slapped her hands over her red cheeks. “The traveler is more dignified than that!”

Amber had a hand on her chin, “Dating? Probably. But more than that…?”

Venti held out a hand to both, vying for both to shake one and accept the bet.

Nothing, but a couple of suckers.

Amber grumbled once when she heard the news, but otherwise excitedly congratulated you two on finally accepting your feelings. Paimon’s whine could probably be heard in a fifteen mile radius and Venti’s proud smile didn’t help either — accepting the easiest twenty thousand Mora he ever made.

And, just to gode the tiny guide a little more, Venti turned to Paimon in the middle of her complaining rant.

“Hehe.”

---xXxXxXxXxXx---

A/N:

The festival idea comes from Diluc’s story 1: “The winery holds festivities from time to time. These events are routinely attended by enthusiastic fathers, eager to introduce their wonderful daughters to the young and single winery master.”

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