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*sips tea in true hsr himeko fashion* yk what im here for bae

53, comfort, xiao teehee 🤭

i told u i was prob gonna req one of the prompts i made so hERE IT IS !!

⤷ pairing: xiao x gn!reader

⤷ prompt: 53. “the only thing that makes every ounce of pain worth enduring is you.”

⤷ warnings: mentions of xiao suffering thru the prompt, xiao watches reader sleep (in a non weird way, he's whipped for u okay)

⤷ note from author: bon appétit lili :) its so short im so sorry dvhfjkghn

The moon bathed the city of Liyue in a soft, silvery glow as Xiao made his way back to Wangshu Inn. The night had been long, filled with the clashing of blades and the haunting cries of monsters that threatened the peace of the land. But now, as he ascended the stone steps to the inn, his steps became lighter, for he knew that waiting for him was the one person who made every battle worthwhile.

Upon entering the quiet room, Xiao's keen eyes immediately found your figure lying peacefully on the bed. His heart softened at the sight, your chest rising and falling in a rhythm that matched the serenity of the night. The dim light from the lanterns outside played gently on your features, casting a warm glow on your face.

With silent steps, Xiao approached the bed, his gaze never leaving the one who held his heart. He couldn't help but smile softly as he observed the tranquil expression on your face. The worries and fears that had haunted him during the night dissipated in the presence of the one he fought to protect.

Gently, Xiao reached out to fix the blanket that had shifted during the night, tucking it snugly around your form. He then lowered himself to sit on the edge of the bed, his hand caressing your cheek with a tenderness that was reserved only for you.

"The only thing that makes every ounce of pain worth enduring is you," Xiao whispered, his voice a mere breath in the stillness of the room. He marveled at the profound truth behind those words, for his battles were not just fought for the people of Liyue but for the one who brought light to the shadows of his heart.

Leaning down, Xiao pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, a silent promise of his unwavering devotion. In that quiet moment, with the moon as your witness, Xiao found solace in the arms of the one who understood the depths of his soul. The night may have been filled with battles and chaos, but in the arms of his lover, Xiao discovered a sanctuary that made every hardship worthwhile.

# 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇! - 𝐗𝐈𝐀𝐎 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

i JUST realised i have never written for xiao before?? hes literally one of my favs wtf??

𐐪 warning: dead dove do not eat [please reblog to support my work!!]

🦢 cw: cum-flation, rough sex, choking, overstimulation, mdom, slight size kink, femsub, raw sex, no protection

Xiao's stamina seemed never ending as you came again and again, each time his cock pounding into your sensitive cunt and your name slipping from his lips. Your body was spent, having just finished another mind shattering orgasm. Round after round, it was an infinite cycle of sex. Xiao's fingers were wrapped around your throat, keeping you from falling over as he fucked into your abused hole, his cock reaching deeper than any human ever could.

Your eyes rolled back, tongue hanging out, drool slipping down your chin as your stomach swelled from all the seed he had pumped inside you. Each time he finished, the cum would seep out and trickle down your thighs, only for Xiao to pump more into you and make you swell up once again.

Xiao was in a trance, his eyes glazed over with pure need and desire. He was lost in the pleasure, having forgotten his duty to the Adepti, forgotten the pain and suffering he had endured for years. All he knew was the way your pussy felt, the way it tightened around his length and brought him to completion, the way your skin felt against his, the way your mouth moaned his name so perfectly, and the way your eyes looked at him.

Your arms were wrapped around his neck, nails digging into his skin, and you were whispering to him, calling out his name over and over and begging him for more. You were such a good girl, a perfect partner for him, his perfect little pet. Xiao's lips pressed against yours and his tongue shoved its way into your mouth, his cock twitching at the taste of you.

You whimpered when his cock hit your g-spot, his tip kissing your cervix with every thrust. You couldn't form words anymore, all that could come out were pathetic mewls and moans as he fucked you. You were like a doll in his arms, so limp and obedient, but your tightening walls proved otherwise.

Xiao pulled out of you and dropped you to the floor. You whimpered, your body too tired to move. Xiao took his length into his hand and began to jerk off, his eyes locked on your body. Your thighs were spread, allowing him to see your swollen and abused cunt.

Cum dripped out of you, your skin was covered in hickeys and bite marks, and your face was contorted into an expression of pure pleasure.

You looked at him with lidded eyes, begging him to finish on you. Xiao grunted, his balls tightening as he approached his climax. You reached a hand between your thighs and spread your folds for him, moaning his name.

His hot cum splattered across your body, decorating your skin. Xiao pumped his cock, making sure to cover every inch of you. The last of his seed shot into your waiting mouth.

He collapsed beside you and pulled you into his arms. His cock slipped inside you, plugging his cum deep within your tight hole.

You let out a small noise, a quiet protest, but your body was already moving against his.

You were addicted to him, just as he was to you.

And it would take more than a few rounds to satiate your appetite.

general taglist: @ciarchivez@m0uchie @franaby @chiyoso@wanderingconstellations@serenitiiy @yzashaven @adeptuscharm@trxshhsstufftatsumimiko@bredbyscara @qqingque @bxbblenajimi @v3lv3tf0x @missunstxble @sleepycoffeecups @scarsevermore @bestliarr @just-simping-over-genshin @kabukipookie @ruanais

he acts a little silly it’s called he acts a little silly

original:

Day 4 | Bad Ending and Video Games

Was inspired by a fic I read from another fandom where the character kept investing their time to one character just to get their happy ending. After a number of times, they got an achievement called "A Determined Heart" and an email where the reward is they get transported into the game.

Idk if they ever got to finish or continue the fic but it was a cool idea.

Heyya, there's a second part to this

old ass art but i still think this is funny

Super weird shuake comic without Joker (except in voice).

Since I drew plenty of happy(?) shuake comics, I guess Goro gets to be miserable again.

I wanted to draw Akechi losing grip on reality after coming back from doing his job in Mementos because I think it’s pretty reasonable to experience reality blur after years of doing that line of work. He basically uses Joker as an anchor to reality and asks random questions to ground himself. They seem like they do knowledge battles/debates pretty often during their meetups hence such questions.

I was thinking a lot about one of my favorite song from Cowboy Bebop Knocking on Heaven’s Door. The comic’s inspired by the song.

akechi + doggo

ideal spinoff post canon interaction

ryuji: joker may be your “esteemed rival”, whatever the hell that means, but you know what we have that you and him don’t have?

goro: what would that be?

ryuji: shitty fathers who left our mothers, and mothers who did their damn hardest to raise us to where we we would do anything for them.

goro: sakamoto, you do recall that my choice in that was to become a supernatural hitman for my father in an inane plan of justice.

ryuji: don’t know what inane is, but i do remember your stupid decision. zero percent on the method, but a hundred percent on the spirit behind it.

goro: 

ryuji: 

goro:

ryuij: so you want to get some ramen before these ‘shadow ops’ people come collect you? can’t believe i’m saying it, but it’ll be my treat.

goro: that’s fine by me.

yusuke ruins valentines day

boo ! super long p5t comic

i drew this b4 i knew the dlc was taking palace during sae’s palace,,, so i drew it with an au where joker enters a little palace area that makes it so whoever the palace ruler touches or something they’re mentally in the happiest moment of their life. akechi happiest moment is when hes running around w the phantom thieves ^_^ and sumire is when she is in kasumi’s place living out the life sumire wanted for her ! also akechi is not fake :3c joker just thinks he is

royal trio vs shujin trio

Jesus Christ man

a ghost amongst the living (consequences of a cognitive death.)

It’s not a love language 😔

(Guess what movie I watched 🥲)

raison d’etre + sushi = profit

goros

“xiao?”

he appears in a show of gale and turquoise almost before you finish saying his name.

“you came,” he says, lilting at the end, more question than statement.

“of course,” you reply, fixing him with a grin. “you called.”

you can feel the weight of his letter in your pocket.

let us meet at the usual spot if you are able to.

the first few strokes are blotted with ink, ever so slightly shaky, as if xiao had hesitated for a long, long time. perhaps he had. still, plain as day, he had written those very words. this was the first time he’s ever been so direct. and, well, who were you to deny him?

‘the usual spot’ was simply the lake near a small waterfall at cuijue slope. it was where you had first met xiao, and where the both of you had confessed. your business had you leaving liyue for bouts of time, and you had taken to exchanging letters with him during those days… apparantly you had been gone for longer than you’d expected.

“how could i not come?” you add on, before he can speak. it’s almost too easy how you pull him down to sit with you, resting your forehead on his back. you can’t help but tease him a little. “especially after you begged so nicely.”

huffing, he averts his gaze. they almost sound shameful to admit, the next words he utters. “you… are often busy.”

“i’ll always make time for you, you know that.” your voice is but a murmur now, muffled into his skin.

he hums. it’s ticklish on your cheek. “you need not. if it’s you, i can wait.”

you fall into his lap, and his fingers wind their way into your hair. there’s a woozy smile on your face now, and the amber in his eyes are as warm as the gentle sun. “you’re impossible. just don’t let me keep you waiting for too long, yea?”

he smiles, just the slightest, but a smile all the same. “you speak as if you would allow yourself to.”

totally normal about how @/narutoss_ramen draws xiao

Yandere Profile - Goro Akechi (Persona 5)

Move aside Genshin boys, now we’re on Mommy Issues Supreme™ .

AHHHH TY TY TY I love you anon! This one has been sitting since January so thanks for patience. This is the longest profile yet, by word count. I have a lot to say about my boi.

Also quick note – originally I made the taglist for fics (which I haven’t even posted any yet lol), but I realized the people who signed up to be on the taglist probably wanted to be included on profiles too, so I’ll tag y'all at the bottom. If you prefer to NOT be on the taglist for profiles and ONLY for future fics, let me know, just feel free to shoot me an ask or dm or reply to this post or whatever. Same goes for if you only want to be included on genshin content, just lmk.

===================

TWs: fem reader, yandere, deals with effects of traumas/mental instability, mother-related psychology issues/mother complex, murder, brief discussion of suicide, amputation/mutilation, bone breaking, drugging, stalking, manipulation, brief discussions of Goro being slightly sociopathic/lacking empathy.

TWs (below cut): noncon, pain elements, orgasm control, overstimulation, no age is stated but a high schooler status for both Akechi and reader is mentioned, so it could be interpreted as under//age

Other warnings: major spoilers for Persona 5. Also it’s been like 4 years since I played P5 and I probably got some shit wrong about the metaverse tbh.

I’m also going with the idea here that y/n is like, his friend/acquaintance prior to joining the thieves or simultaneously, and not just a stranger.

===================

Severity Scale

Intelligence/Perceptiveness: 9.5 Brutality: 9 Physical capability: 5 Mental/emotional instability: 8 Restrictiveness: 7 Sexual sadism: 6 Stubbornness: 8

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

One of the most well-hidden, initially. You would never know - you probably wouldn’t even know he likes you. He’s nothing if not a superb actor through and through and can keep himself perfectly composed.

If he’s willing to show he likes you, though, it’s very precious and seems normal and mild at first. He’s literally the sweetest, buying you things, taking you out to nice places, checking in on you, sending good morning and good night texts. You really would never know anything was really wrong. He’s the perfect friend, and, if you allow it, the most perfect, sweetest boyfriend in the world. Always spending loads of money on you too. He’s a sweetheart and so gentle and soft, regardless of your relationship status, really. At first. As long as he can maintain it.

A darker side starts to slip through though, every now and then. The occasional change in facial expression to something dark and cold. The way he seems to get rude to your friends, which he claims was just accidental slips of the tongue or the like. The insistent questioning of where you are and what you’re doing that seems maybe just a bit more off and more intense than usual. The crookedness and slight twitch to his smile that looks just a little bit forced sometimes. It builds. It’s like a frog boiling in water, as they say. It increases just little by little, gradually heating up, and before long you’re in all-consuming boiling water and you can’t even remember when it started getting hot, when the change happened, at what point escape became impossible.

He tends to be a bit emotionally unstable even on his best days. It’s not obvious because he’s learned to mask it really well, but internally he bounces between self-hatred, beating himself down, telling himself he’ll never have what he wants, and then quickly alternates to a more narcissistic, angry mood, where he feels better than everyone else and feels like he deserves the things he wants. He spends more time in the former, but the latter comes out at times, nonetheless, he tries his best to mask both states with his pleasant little smile and gentle demeanor, and for most people, he succeeds. The more time you spend around him, the more you catch on to the subtle mood swings.

Goro is… Lonely. He’s so, so, so very lonely. He’s never really had a friend, he’s never really felt like anyone loves him, and he feels sorta responsible for his own mother’s death. His heart is very empty and filled with a lot of hurt and bitterness towards the world. His only love comes from the adoration of fans, and he feels it’s not genuine, not the way he wants to be loved. He’s likely to fall for someone who has no idea who he is - a tourist to Japan, an exchange student, someone who just doesn’t keep up with celebrities and popular culture. If he can make someone who doesn’t know who he is like him, he considers that genuine, and he’ll latch onto them hard.

Now… the crippling Mommy complex. He’s got it bad. He’d grow attached to someone sweet and doting, soft and gentle, warm and considerate, or if you ever just act that way towards him. Little gestures like hugs, making him food, showing you’re proud of him for anything, that gets his complex going, and he just falls deeper. It becomes very obvious that, perhaps oddly vulnerable for him, he really seeks praise and approval. And while he tries to do so subtly, sometimes when he gets desperate for the sweet sweet validation he’s become addicted to from you, it gets rather obvious that he’s fishing for praise or positive comments. Honestly, outside of his yan side, it can be rather cute, he’ll parade his recent accomplishments to you in a very bad attempt to be subtle, like “accidentally” leaving the TV to a channel where he’s being interviewed or “accidentally” very blatantly scrolling a page with said accomplishment in a bold headline while you sit next to him, but pretend to be humble as if he didn’t intend for you to see it. It’s like a little kid desperate for his mom to hang his picture up on the fridge, really. If you don’t give him the validation he’s looking for, he can get depressed and into a self-loathing episode.

And the deeper he falls, the more unstable he becomes, the more paranoid he becomes. Nothing good in his life lasts. You’re going to be taken away from him just like her, he knows it, and he can’t let that happen. He becomes increasingly paranoid, but he’s still highly lucid, he knows that if you knew his thoughts, you’d be driven away. He is excellent at controlling himself, so he resorts to unseen methods. Cameras in your home. A bug on your phone that lets him hear everything around you, that tracks your location. Hacking into your phone to see all your texts, your calls, your emails. All without you ever suspecting a thing.

He balances keeping an eye on you and watching the Phantom Thieves... and then. Then, as he’s watching his favorite little thieves run around, watching them fall right into his own plans, he catches a familiar face.

And oh boy, if that doesn’t make him a wreck. He nearly blows up at you the next time he sees you in person, just barely managing to only come off as annoyed. He’s mad at them, he’s mad at that Joker bastard who undoubtedly played a role in this, and really, he’s a bit mad at you, how could you be so foolish and naive to join them? How could you betray him like that? The fact that you don’t even tell him, that you would keep such a thing secret, that you know how much he hates them and you still joined them, infuriates him. And he’ll probably try to bait you into revealing that secret, just so that you have to confront the situation.

As time passes and the anger settles, he realizes no, it’s not your fault. It’s their fault. Those phantom thieves have deceived you, they manipulated you, they’re taking advantage of a poor naive, innocent little girl and using her as a playing piece, how awful. Maybe they know how much he loves you, and they plan to use you against him. His anger becomes redirected towards the Phantom Thieves, especially Joker. Although he still remains irritated at you, he copes by just a bit of self-delusion (even if deep down he can’t bring himself to truly believe it), infantilizing you in his mind to some degree, thinking of you as just incredibly naive and easily misled, which Joker and the others clearly took advantage of.

And now, he understands, he has to save you from them.

The interesting thing about how this changes things is that it would affect the canonical events itself.  With a darling involved in the Phantom Thieves, he’s sure to manipulate enough information out of them, and with bugs implanted in their phone, overhear conversations and eventually uncover and combat Joker’s own plan to fool him. Essentially, having his darling causes a divergence of events that would allow Akechi to “win.” Which is good for him… not so much for darling, or everyone else.

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

It’s certain, he plans it from the beginning (as opposed to how some yans decide on doing so spontaneously). He has no guilt about doing so. However, he bides his time. Circumstantially speaking, he can’t afford to do so right away, it wouldn’t exactly line up with all of the plans he has.

He would wait until things have reached a point of stability for him. Wait until Shido is dealt with, once all of his plans have settled and everything is perfect. Really, this gives him more motivation to strive towards his goals – he gets to have his sweet darling at the end of it all, like a little reward for all his hard work, and it will make all that suffering worth it! Of course, he’ll still keep a watchful eye on you in the meantime.

Now, once he finds out about your alignment with the Phantom Thieves, though? That changes things. No longer can he simply wait until his plans come to fruition, because now you’re wrapped up in it all, and he curses the Thieves and Joker for that. In the end he settles on simply an extension of his initial plan – in addition to apprehending Joker, while the Phantom Thieves are distracted with watching what’s happening to him, Goro will simply use that window of opportunity to lure you away and take you himself. If all else fails, we’ve seen that he can literally gain authority to barge into someone’s home to arrest them, so, he has no difficulty when it comes to finding a way to make you come with him.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

Ideally, he’ll take you to the metaverse, a palace of his own, built from his obsessive desire, and there’s pretty much no getting out. Hypothetically, with your devices taken and not being familiar with the layout of his palace, you have no real way of leaving the metaverse on your own. His palace would be extremely well guarded, and those guards would specifically be trained to watch over you. They’re technically the figments of his mind, so they will be present 24/7, and you’d have very little means of stopping them. Goro is unique in that he is so self aware of everything, including the metaverse, and of his own self, that essentially there is no separate cognition and metaverse user. Unlike users like Futaba who enter their own palaces to find their own self-cognitions, he essentially is the cognition – that meaning, there isn’t two of him in that universe. (For convenience, here, honestly. But really, it’s an interesting concept.)

He’d inevitably find some way to strip you of your persona, likely through a deal with the false Igor. You’d have no powers left, no persona, no metaverse power whatsoever. So, really? If you reach the point of captivity, it’s, unironically, game over.

He’d be upset if you attempt, but for the most part it won’t be too severe because any attempts will be so quickly thwarted and pathetic that it’s more amusing to him than anything. He’d still be hurt by it, though, hurt is his primary emotion for most of your outbursts or disobedience. The first few times, he just smiles and says it’s ok, you’re learning to adjust, he gets it, but you have to accept that this is your home now. He’s not a delusional, he knows you aren’t going to be happy about it at first, so he’s easy on your attempts in the beginning. As time goes on, he expects you to become more obedient, and will become more visibly, verbally, and physically upset over these attempts, although he isn’t too fearful about you ever actually getting out to the real world, which has become nearly impossible.

If all else fails, or we go for more realistic choices, he might just keep you in a very high security tech apartment. He can certainly afford it, given his fame, but he’ll be a bit more paranoid of your escapes here, and likewise treat each attempt with more immediate physical consequences and harsher restraints.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

I mean, come on. This boy is hyper intelligent, incredibly perceptive, and a master of deception and acting himself. You stand almost no chance.

He’s also not one whom you can hope to win over with time, feigning being sweet and obedient in hopes of getting him to let his guard down. No, even if you do succumb to Stockholm syndrome or otherwise genuinely accept your fate - in other words, even if your acceptance is real - he still won’t buy it. He’s paranoid, and he’s always got a doubt inside of him, will never fully allow himself to believe you’ve truly accepted him. He will forever have his guard up, always be watching, never fully believing anything you say.

The ONLY thing keeping him from a 10 rating on intelligence is that he does, canonically, make one little slip of the tongue that ultimately ends up screwing him over, so it’s not impossible for him to fuck up on something and subsequently be fooled about it. Additionally, you might might might just be able to manipulate him if you’re willing to take advantage of his weakest, most vulnerable emotional moments. Although this could also backfire and make him go into one of his more intense rages. It’s overall just very, very difficult, likely more so for a darling since he knows you well.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

He falls into the classic yandere trope of complete and total isolation from anything other than him. Definitely no going outside, no matter how much you beg. As much as he hates it, ultimately, even if you regress to a “hollow shell” state, he’d still rather have that than let you have basic freedoms.

That being said, he does truly want you to be happy, and he tries his absolute best to do that through the things he can get you, and spending time with you. He wants to go back to normal. To how you used to be. Happy and sweet and lively. Sure, you can’t go to that little coffee shop anymore, but he’ll stop by there and bring things back for you. You may not be able to go to school and finish up your last year, but he’ll give you a little graduation ceremony if you want. You can’t talk to your family, but he can give you proof that they’re alive and well. You may never go to college, but if there’s anything you want to learn, he’ll get you all the materials he can, he probably finds out what you intended to do for a living or major in and gives you lots of materials related to it, not realizing it makes you hurt even worse more than it helps.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

Goro quickly discovers he likes control.

It’s likely not a rule from day one, but really, once he has another person under his thumb, once he’s no longer just the one following orders for Shido or Niijima, once he realizes he can give orders and make you obey them, it gives him a new rush he’s never really experienced: absolute power over another person. And it feels fucking great. He becomes obsessed with control and power, it does wonders for his fragile ego and self-esteem, and he loves having a weak little thing that so easily can be controlled.

As a result, he starts off simple – no fighting or leaving, the usual – and quickly starts churning out new rules or enforced practices on a daily basis. He likes having a domesticated sort of darling, so he’ll end up likely having you do little things around the place. It keeps your mind occupied and gives you a sense of accomplishment. He’ll also continue your education since you didn’t get to finish, giving you assignments, even mock entrance exams, and is rather pushy about you giving it your all. Can’t be slacking, he says, just pretend it’s the real deal.

He has to balance a newfound love of control and the desire for his darling to love him, so, a lot of it is based on your behavior. If he feels like you’re still rowdier and moderately defiant, he goes lax on rules and focuses on dumping love and gifts onto you. If you go either direction though, he gets more strict. If you’re adapting and seem to become docile and complacent, he takes that as a sign you’ve accepted him, and you’re ready to move on to becoming more… domesticated and submissive for him, because it would make him happy, and you want him to be happy, right?

Likewise, if you become excessively defiant or simply don’t show signs of progressing towards docileness, he sees it as his fault for being too soft, and thinks he needs to switch up his approach. Clearly being too lax and lenient was the wrong decision, what you needed was a firm hand, to have your defiance and your spirit broken so that he can put you back together and make you whole again, mold you into the perfect angel he knows you are deep down.

In either of these cases, one of which will inevitably eventually be reached, he becomes firmer. Sets a wake-up time and bed time. Gives you some device to communicate to him with and makes you give him hourly updates. Becomes strict on the chores and schoolwork. Will implement a few rules like meeting him at the door when he returns, making him food (just… fill his mom complex, please, please), giving him a detailed account of your day each day when he returns.

Surprisingly, one thing he won’t do is demand sweetness. He will expect you to not talk back or be mean to him, and curb any brattiness, but unlike a lot of yans he’s not gonna subtly force or pressure a smile and sweet words out of you. He desperately wants you to be sweet and happy and adore him, but really, if you’re sad, frustrated, or even angry, he would prefer you be honest and show it (within limits, of course, being angry doesn’t mean you get to be a brat). He doesn’t want you to be forced into pleasantness all the time, he feels like he’s being lied to if you act sweet 24/7. He wants to know how you genuinely feel, even if he’d prefer you feel differently. He’s masterfully perceptive, too, as aforementioned, so you likely won’t be able to fool him on how  you’re feeling anyway.

Speaking of, he’s big on not lying to him at all. It’s the thing he hates the absolute most. He’d honestly be the type to steal a lie detector from the police/Niijima and keep it for personal use, and he’d use it fairly frequently.

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

His specialty. Killing without a trace.

Of course, he has to be selective about this - if all of a sudden, only people close to you started dying under mysterious circumstances, he knows that’s a bad move and would draw attention. The Phantom Thieves already distrust him, so any suspicious behavior and they’d zero in on him quickly. So he can only kill those who have other connections to other reasons that would seem non-suspicious towards him, those who don’t have a well-known connection to you, or, he’ll save kills for the worst of his competitors and enemies. For the rest, as much as he detests letting them live, he’ll settle for a change of heart, letting them out themselves to the world for any of their past sins, making sure their life is ruined permanently.

He tells himself that, once this whole Phantom Thieves thing blows over and they’re out of the way, he’ll go back and take care of each of those who get to live for now and get rid of them then.

It’s worth noting that he’s incredibly easily made jealous and is highly possessive - it’s one of the yandere traits he has the most difficulty concealing, and it’s the one that may rear its head and come out unintentionally in moments where he loses a bit of his control, which is a rather difficult thing to achieve for him. He manages to keep his cool, he doesn’t have outbursts or anything, but he glares at people, behaves coldly to the people you introduce him to, gets confrontational over demanding to know where you were at any given time. It’s an issue in the beginning when he’s trying to, you know, hide the fact that he’s just a liiiittle bit on the severely unstable side.

Now, for a Phantom Thief darling, it’s likely that after everything goes down, she’ll have some loyalty to them, which, while it disgusts him, he doesn’t blame you. Likely you were picked up from some sort of trial in your life like most of the Thieves – you were in a dilemma and saved, and while he’s not certain why you didn’t tell him, he could have just as easily helped you out, he understands you’re only human and are likely to feel some loyalty to the people who “saved” you (even though, of course, they did so only to use you). So, he simply has to work to slander them in your eyes. He finds (read: creates) “evidence” that proves that they were, say, intending to use you as a scapegoat and get you arrested so they could all get away, that they only saw you as a tool. That they all hated you. Or, the one he strongly goes for if he can craft the evidence to support it, that they only targeted you to get to him. That they were planning to use you against him, and that what he really did was save you from the people that tried to get in between you. After all, you used to be his friend (or girlfriend), right? You at least liked him a little bit. And he loved you. He still does, despite your betrayal. You really ought to be grateful for that.

He paints a picture in which you were some dumb and unrestrained little thing that was easily swayed, led from the person who truly loved you into the clutches of someone else because they managed to fool you. And that he, in his benevolence, understands that, that he’ll forgive you for it. And honestly, he’s good at crafting fake evidence. If you believe it, you’ll undoubtedly feel crushing guilt and shame, and he likes that, along with your begging for forgiveness, quite a bit.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

There are three levels to Akechi’s anger. It depends on the day, somewhat. He’s moody, once he has no reason to uphold the mask (literal and figurative) anymore. His true, completely unmasked person is actually rather immature, childish even. He grumbles and complains, he’s a sore loser, he’s unbelievably stubborn and insanely petty. He can’t stand things not going his way.

As for the first level, on his best days, he’s pretty patient when it comes to mild irritations from you. He’s a smile-angry type on a low-to-moderate level anger, tries to hide it, just smiles and gives you a soft warning that you’ll quickly learn to take very seriously.

On bad days, when he’s in a bad mood, for milder things, he essentially pouts, kind of gives you the cold shoulder. On better days, he gets that aforementioned smiling anger and tends to make passive-aggressive comments. He has a very good control on his temper, keeping himself calm and collected for the most part, and even his anger can be infuriating for his darling because even if you’re mad and yelling and bratty he’ll most likely have that same smile and calm demeanor, telling you to stop being childish and calm yourself down. As if he’s one to talk - really, it’s infuriating because while he can be incredibly immature himself, at times when you’re angry he adopts the “mature, collected adult” image and tries to make it seem like you’re the one who’s childish, when in reality it can frequently be the other way around.

However, when Goro snaps, he really, really snaps. If you continuously push things, or the offense is a higher degree, you’ll trigger said snap, and it gets ugly. However, even then, he has remarkable composure, his rage is  cold, calculated, and vicious. His smile gets wider, twitchy, so wide his eyes nearly close, and he slowly walks over to you – he savors the fear coming onto your face when he sees you recognize how badly you’ve fucked up. Slowly, softly talking in a saccharine voice, grabbing you with a crushing grip on your wrist or a hand in your hair, and only then does he let the smile drop, and he’ll coldly throw you down to the ground, snarling in a low voice about what an ungrateful, nasty little brat you’ve been, how he does everything for you and the least you can do is show some respect and gratitude.

After his outbursts, he may or may not become apologetic, depending on his level of insecurity versus pride that day. If he’s high insecurity and his pride can take it, he’ll even let it show, trying to get reassurance you’re not mad and don’t hate him (it’s wise to answer the way you can tell he wants you to at these times).

The third level is difficult to achieve, but we’ve seen it in canon – hysterical, unhinged, and unbridled rage. However, it’s unlikely that his darling can ever really achieve this level of anger with him. This is the anger in which he feels threatened, and his sanity slips. It’s unlikely to occur with her, because even when she’s a brat, even when he’s mad at her, she is ultimately the thing that he projects his personhood and worth onto - that is, she becomes his grounding in reality and serves to prevent said slips. In order to achieve this, you’d have to persistently, repeatedly violate his commands, and it’s unlikely darling will still have the will to fight after everything he’ll do to deter it along the way. It would take a darling with extreme resolve and incredible cunning to reach this point.

It’s also worth noting a very very touchy subject for him - suicide attempts. If he were to come home and discover you’d tried something and narrowly avoided death… as you can imagine, this is one way to absolutely make him snap unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s a different anger entirely from anything else. It’s silent, cold, his whole body trembles in a mix of fury, fear, and images flashing through his mind that he wants nothing more than to forget.  He won’t let you end up like his mom. You don’t get to leave him like that. It starts off as panic of course, but realizing it was intentional, realizing you would do that to him, especially if you knew about her, will absolutely make him lose it. It’s terrifyingly silent, he just trembles and hold you by the arms, and his grip gets tighter and tighter and tighter until he hears a snap. He will do whatever he deems necessary to prevent this, and even one attempt is enough to ensure you’ll never get that trust of being left alone back. He’ll refrain from the worst just once, give you one more chance. Keeping you out of your mind on sedatives every moment he can’t keep a close eye on you. Leaving you bound hand and foot for hours every day in an empty room. But if you try again? He’ll make sure you can’t ever again. If that means taking off your arms and legs, lobotomizing you, anything… so be it.

So they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

As with his somewhat unstable nature, he tends to bounce back and forth. He has some very low, low times, depressive episodes where his self esteem is completely demolished and he talks like - might even literally say - you’re some kind of angel sent for him that he doesn’t deserve. That he’s a horrible person, and you’re so pure and sweet, that he’s tainted you.

Other times, he’ll bounce into one of his more narcissistic episodes. Say you should be grateful you got his forgiveness, that he likes you so much. What do you have to offer besides your body and your kindness? So really, you ought to be more loving. He could have just as easily left you to rot with the others, since in this timeline they did capture all the Phantom Thieves, and you were the only one that got away. Shouldn’t you appreciate that? What have you ever done that gives you the right to be so arrogant?

The biggest way to trigger the second state is to fight him in the first one. If he’s in that low state of emotions, it’s better to try and soothe him, tell him it’s ok and that you don’t think those bad things, that you love him, that you’re happy and proud of him, which is what he wants to hear. Otherwise, you’ll just agitate him into the second state, which he can switch to in the blink of an eye if provoked.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

Ultimately will settle for having you, but it’s not quite that simple. It’s not that he doesn’t care, it’s more that he accepts it because he’s one of a few whose hopes of you loving him was very low to begin with.

Most yanderes either are delusional and believe you do love them, think they can make you love them, or at the very least hope to foster Stockholm syndrome and create a dependency. Deep down, Goro’s self esteem is so low, his traumas run so deep, that he chastises himself for even dreaming of the former. But for a while, even though he knows it’s stupid and pointless, even though he knows it won’t work, even though he thinks he’s unlovable - he still allows himself to cling to some hope that you might love him, that maybe it’s possible, that he could achieve that.

Over time, if you repeatedly reject his kindness - and he really, really is sweet to you, he tries very hard to show you kindness and love even if he can be moody and bitter sometimes - if you reject it over and over, if you constantly are cruel to him, say you hate him… well, it doesn’t faze him. He’s almost the inverse of a delusional – he’s always paranoid that deep down you hate him even if you act like you love him. And so if you act like you do… it just confirms his insecurities. That he doesn’t deserve you, that he doesn’t deserve your love, that he’s a selfish, irredeemable monster for locking you away, that nothing - nothing - in life ever really works out for him or goes his way, this is no different. That he was an idiot to allow himself to think maybe things would work out according to the happy little fantasy in his head.

But hey, he’s used to that, and he’s accepted that he will never have the things he wants the most. It was foolish of him to think he could ever have the happy life he envisioned… so if he has to settle for having you, even though you hate him… he will settle for that pretty easily. You loving him is too much to ask for, he can accept that, but hey, at least he has one good thing in his life – that being that he has you at all, so you can bet he won’t ever let you go. You’re the one good thing that has ever happened to him, the only person who ever actually liked him for him, even if it was a lie, you still gave that illusion… he definitely can never, ever, let you go, even if you’re nothing but a hollow shell.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

One, his degree of honesty to both you and himself. Two, his paranoia that you don’t love him and hate him – ultimately, it makes it hard even for a darling who fully accepts him. Three, a lack of justification in even the slightest, or any need for one.

What I mean by this is, really, Goro is a defeated man, lost to his own self-image and the harshness of his life, and he has no energy or will left to maintain a delusion (sometimes paranoia about losing you, maybe making you out to be stupid and naive, but no significant wishful thinking delusion) even if he tried. He will tell you openly, bluntly, with a rather transparently fake smile, that he’s a lonely person, discarded by his family and never having found real love from anyone in his life, and that you are there to substitute all the things he’s never had. That he knows you probably really hate him now and don’t love him, maybe that you never really did (if you had said so in the past). That maybe you just loved him because he was popular and semi-famous after all. That (based on your behavior, if you’ve been good) you’re only obedient and pretending to love him because you’re scared (even if this is untrue).

He’s incredibly self aware - he is entirely aware that his behaviors are psychologically unsound, result from his deep seeded issues, that they’re socially reprehensible, and unjustifiable. See, even non-delusional yanderes often justify things to themselves in some way. They say, well I could be worse, at least I’m not doing this or that, it’s ok because of this, etc. Most people do this because they have to - natural human empathy or guilt makes them feel bad otherwise unless they can convince themselves hey, they’re not that awful.

Goro… doesn’t do that, nor feel a need to. It’s a two-part issue stemming from a lack of empathy and guilt as well as his crippling self-image and bouncing between inferiority and superiority. Goro Akechi is, really, somewhat sociopathic, he lacks empathy except for a selective few, and can essentially turn that capacity for empathy on and off at will. He’s somewhat a narcissist and the fact that he’s getting what he wants usually eliminates any guilt he might feel – for him, getting what he wants is the right thing. His self image is already often at rock bottom, yet in a way this fuels the narcissistic tendencies. He doesn’t feel guilt because, well, so what if he’s a monster? He’s already an unwanted, unlovable bastard child that fucked over and even killed countless people to get his way. He so readily accepts the idea of being, well, a monster, that basically there isn’t any guilt left to be felt, if he ever had any at all. The duality of it all is confusing, how he can think so highly and so lowly of himself, but ultimately that is, in fact, a uniqueness. Why justify anything he’s done to you? It’s not justifiable. He’s a terrible person. So what? He’s accepted that long ago and doesn’t believe himself capable of changing.

He knows all his insecurities are just that. He knows what things in life fucked him up, he knows that he is in fact fucked up, and he knows you’ve realized he’s fucked up. And that’s ok. You can be honest, he can take it, he says. It won’t change your circumstances and it won’t make him ever let you go, so, no need to lie to him. Even if you love him and accept him, hell, even for a darling that’s fully on board with some of his psycho shit, he still presents difficulty because he refuses to believe you love him.

Much like that, he talks himself down a lot in general, too. As I said before, he allows himself to be a bit weak around you, just a little bit, and will occasionally say bizarrely self-deprecating things because one, he just has a need to express that bitterness out to someone, and two, he really, really deep down wants you to say something nice back, tell him he’s wrong, that he’s wonderful and smart and you’re proud of him. He bounces back and forth from “I know you think this about me, don’t lie to me,” to “here’s a statement implicating I desperately obviously am looking for you to tell me you DON’T think this about me, please lie to me.” You have to kind of learn his moods and speech patterns.

Seguir leyendo

Yandere Profile - Goro Akechi (Persona 5)

Move aside Genshin boys, now we’re on Mommy Issues Supreme™ .

AHHHH TY TY TY I love you anon! This one has been sitting since January so thanks for patience. This is the longest profile yet, by word count. I have a lot to say about my boi.

Also quick note – originally I made the taglist for fics (which I haven’t even posted any yet lol), but I realized the people who signed up to be on the taglist probably wanted to be included on profiles too, so I’ll tag y'all at the bottom. If you prefer to NOT be on the taglist for profiles and ONLY for future fics, let me know, just feel free to shoot me an ask or dm or reply to this post or whatever. Same goes for if you only want to be included on genshin content, just lmk.

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TWs: fem reader, yandere, deals with effects of traumas/mental instability, mother-related psychology issues/mother complex, murder, brief discussion of suicide, amputation/mutilation, bone breaking, drugging, stalking, manipulation, brief discussions of Goro being slightly sociopathic/lacking empathy.

TWs (below cut): noncon, pain elements, orgasm control, overstimulation, no age is stated but a high schooler status for both Akechi and reader is mentioned, so it could be interpreted as under//age

Other warnings: major spoilers for Persona 5. Also it’s been like 4 years since I played P5 and I probably got some shit wrong about the metaverse tbh.

I’m also going with the idea here that y/n is like, his friend/acquaintance prior to joining the thieves or simultaneously, and not just a stranger.

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Severity Scale

Intelligence/Perceptiveness: 9.5 Brutality: 9 Physical capability: 5 Mental/emotional instability: 8 Restrictiveness: 7 Sexual sadism: 6 Stubbornness: 8

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

One of the most well-hidden, initially. You would never know - you probably wouldn’t even know he likes you. He’s nothing if not a superb actor through and through and can keep himself perfectly composed.

If he’s willing to show he likes you, though, it’s very precious and seems normal and mild at first. He’s literally the sweetest, buying you things, taking you out to nice places, checking in on you, sending good morning and good night texts. You really would never know anything was really wrong. He’s the perfect friend, and, if you allow it, the most perfect, sweetest boyfriend in the world. Always spending loads of money on you too. He’s a sweetheart and so gentle and soft, regardless of your relationship status, really. At first. As long as he can maintain it.

A darker side starts to slip through though, every now and then. The occasional change in facial expression to something dark and cold. The way he seems to get rude to your friends, which he claims was just accidental slips of the tongue or the like. The insistent questioning of where you are and what you’re doing that seems maybe just a bit more off and more intense than usual. The crookedness and slight twitch to his smile that looks just a little bit forced sometimes. It builds. It’s like a frog boiling in water, as they say. It increases just little by little, gradually heating up, and before long you’re in all-consuming boiling water and you can’t even remember when it started getting hot, when the change happened, at what point escape became impossible.

He tends to be a bit emotionally unstable even on his best days. It’s not obvious because he’s learned to mask it really well, but internally he bounces between self-hatred, beating himself down, telling himself he’ll never have what he wants, and then quickly alternates to a more narcissistic, angry mood, where he feels better than everyone else and feels like he deserves the things he wants. He spends more time in the former, but the latter comes out at times, nonetheless, he tries his best to mask both states with his pleasant little smile and gentle demeanor, and for most people, he succeeds. The more time you spend around him, the more you catch on to the subtle mood swings.

Goro is… Lonely. He’s so, so, so very lonely. He’s never really had a friend, he’s never really felt like anyone loves him, and he feels sorta responsible for his own mother’s death. His heart is very empty and filled with a lot of hurt and bitterness towards the world. His only love comes from the adoration of fans, and he feels it’s not genuine, not the way he wants to be loved. He’s likely to fall for someone who has no idea who he is - a tourist to Japan, an exchange student, someone who just doesn’t keep up with celebrities and popular culture. If he can make someone who doesn’t know who he is like him, he considers that genuine, and he’ll latch onto them hard.

Now… the crippling Mommy complex. He’s got it bad. He’d grow attached to someone sweet and doting, soft and gentle, warm and considerate, or if you ever just act that way towards him. Little gestures like hugs, making him food, showing you’re proud of him for anything, that gets his complex going, and he just falls deeper. It becomes very obvious that, perhaps oddly vulnerable for him, he really seeks praise and approval. And while he tries to do so subtly, sometimes when he gets desperate for the sweet sweet validation he’s become addicted to from you, it gets rather obvious that he’s fishing for praise or positive comments. Honestly, outside of his yan side, it can be rather cute, he’ll parade his recent accomplishments to you in a very bad attempt to be subtle, like “accidentally” leaving the TV to a channel where he’s being interviewed or “accidentally” very blatantly scrolling a page with said accomplishment in a bold headline while you sit next to him, but pretend to be humble as if he didn’t intend for you to see it. It’s like a little kid desperate for his mom to hang his picture up on the fridge, really. If you don’t give him the validation he’s looking for, he can get depressed and into a self-loathing episode.

And the deeper he falls, the more unstable he becomes, the more paranoid he becomes. Nothing good in his life lasts. You’re going to be taken away from him just like her, he knows it, and he can’t let that happen. He becomes increasingly paranoid, but he’s still highly lucid, he knows that if you knew his thoughts, you’d be driven away. He is excellent at controlling himself, so he resorts to unseen methods. Cameras in your home. A bug on your phone that lets him hear everything around you, that tracks your location. Hacking into your phone to see all your texts, your calls, your emails. All without you ever suspecting a thing.

He balances keeping an eye on you and watching the Phantom Thieves... and then. Then, as he’s watching his favorite little thieves run around, watching them fall right into his own plans, he catches a familiar face.

And oh boy, if that doesn’t make him a wreck. He nearly blows up at you the next time he sees you in person, just barely managing to only come off as annoyed. He’s mad at them, he’s mad at that Joker bastard who undoubtedly played a role in this, and really, he’s a bit mad at you, how could you be so foolish and naive to join them? How could you betray him like that? The fact that you don’t even tell him, that you would keep such a thing secret, that you know how much he hates them and you still joined them, infuriates him. And he’ll probably try to bait you into revealing that secret, just so that you have to confront the situation.

As time passes and the anger settles, he realizes no, it’s not your fault. It’s their fault. Those phantom thieves have deceived you, they manipulated you, they’re taking advantage of a poor naive, innocent little girl and using her as a playing piece, how awful. Maybe they know how much he loves you, and they plan to use you against him. His anger becomes redirected towards the Phantom Thieves, especially Joker. Although he still remains irritated at you, he copes by just a bit of self-delusion (even if deep down he can’t bring himself to truly believe it), infantilizing you in his mind to some degree, thinking of you as just incredibly naive and easily misled, which Joker and the others clearly took advantage of.

And now, he understands, he has to save you from them.

The interesting thing about how this changes things is that it would affect the canonical events itself.  With a darling involved in the Phantom Thieves, he’s sure to manipulate enough information out of them, and with bugs implanted in their phone, overhear conversations and eventually uncover and combat Joker’s own plan to fool him. Essentially, having his darling causes a divergence of events that would allow Akechi to “win.” Which is good for him… not so much for darling, or everyone else.

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

It’s certain, he plans it from the beginning (as opposed to how some yans decide on doing so spontaneously). He has no guilt about doing so. However, he bides his time. Circumstantially speaking, he can’t afford to do so right away, it wouldn’t exactly line up with all of the plans he has.

He would wait until things have reached a point of stability for him. Wait until Shido is dealt with, once all of his plans have settled and everything is perfect. Really, this gives him more motivation to strive towards his goals – he gets to have his sweet darling at the end of it all, like a little reward for all his hard work, and it will make all that suffering worth it! Of course, he’ll still keep a watchful eye on you in the meantime.

Now, once he finds out about your alignment with the Phantom Thieves, though? That changes things. No longer can he simply wait until his plans come to fruition, because now you’re wrapped up in it all, and he curses the Thieves and Joker for that. In the end he settles on simply an extension of his initial plan – in addition to apprehending Joker, while the Phantom Thieves are distracted with watching what’s happening to him, Goro will simply use that window of opportunity to lure you away and take you himself. If all else fails, we’ve seen that he can literally gain authority to barge into someone’s home to arrest them, so, he has no difficulty when it comes to finding a way to make you come with him.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

Ideally, he’ll take you to the metaverse, a palace of his own, built from his obsessive desire, and there’s pretty much no getting out. Hypothetically, with your devices taken and not being familiar with the layout of his palace, you have no real way of leaving the metaverse on your own. His palace would be extremely well guarded, and those guards would specifically be trained to watch over you. They’re technically the figments of his mind, so they will be present 24/7, and you’d have very little means of stopping them. Goro is unique in that he is so self aware of everything, including the metaverse, and of his own self, that essentially there is no separate cognition and metaverse user. Unlike users like Futaba who enter their own palaces to find their own self-cognitions, he essentially is the cognition – that meaning, there isn’t two of him in that universe. (For convenience, here, honestly. But really, it’s an interesting concept.)

He’d inevitably find some way to strip you of your persona, likely through a deal with the false Igor. You’d have no powers left, no persona, no metaverse power whatsoever. So, really? If you reach the point of captivity, it’s, unironically, game over.

He’d be upset if you attempt, but for the most part it won’t be too severe because any attempts will be so quickly thwarted and pathetic that it’s more amusing to him than anything. He’d still be hurt by it, though, hurt is his primary emotion for most of your outbursts or disobedience. The first few times, he just smiles and says it’s ok, you’re learning to adjust, he gets it, but you have to accept that this is your home now. He’s not a delusional, he knows you aren’t going to be happy about it at first, so he’s easy on your attempts in the beginning. As time goes on, he expects you to become more obedient, and will become more visibly, verbally, and physically upset over these attempts, although he isn’t too fearful about you ever actually getting out to the real world, which has become nearly impossible.

If all else fails, or we go for more realistic choices, he might just keep you in a very high security tech apartment. He can certainly afford it, given his fame, but he’ll be a bit more paranoid of your escapes here, and likewise treat each attempt with more immediate physical consequences and harsher restraints.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

I mean, come on. This boy is hyper intelligent, incredibly perceptive, and a master of deception and acting himself. You stand almost no chance.

He’s also not one whom you can hope to win over with time, feigning being sweet and obedient in hopes of getting him to let his guard down. No, even if you do succumb to Stockholm syndrome or otherwise genuinely accept your fate - in other words, even if your acceptance is real - he still won’t buy it. He’s paranoid, and he’s always got a doubt inside of him, will never fully allow himself to believe you’ve truly accepted him. He will forever have his guard up, always be watching, never fully believing anything you say.

The ONLY thing keeping him from a 10 rating on intelligence is that he does, canonically, make one little slip of the tongue that ultimately ends up screwing him over, so it’s not impossible for him to fuck up on something and subsequently be fooled about it. Additionally, you might might might just be able to manipulate him if you’re willing to take advantage of his weakest, most vulnerable emotional moments. Although this could also backfire and make him go into one of his more intense rages. It’s overall just very, very difficult, likely more so for a darling since he knows you well.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

He falls into the classic yandere trope of complete and total isolation from anything other than him. Definitely no going outside, no matter how much you beg. As much as he hates it, ultimately, even if you regress to a “hollow shell” state, he’d still rather have that than let you have basic freedoms.

That being said, he does truly want you to be happy, and he tries his absolute best to do that through the things he can get you, and spending time with you. He wants to go back to normal. To how you used to be. Happy and sweet and lively. Sure, you can’t go to that little coffee shop anymore, but he’ll stop by there and bring things back for you. You may not be able to go to school and finish up your last year, but he’ll give you a little graduation ceremony if you want. You can’t talk to your family, but he can give you proof that they’re alive and well. You may never go to college, but if there’s anything you want to learn, he’ll get you all the materials he can, he probably finds out what you intended to do for a living or major in and gives you lots of materials related to it, not realizing it makes you hurt even worse more than it helps.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

Goro quickly discovers he likes control.

It’s likely not a rule from day one, but really, once he has another person under his thumb, once he’s no longer just the one following orders for Shido or Niijima, once he realizes he can give orders and make you obey them, it gives him a new rush he’s never really experienced: absolute power over another person. And it feels fucking great. He becomes obsessed with control and power, it does wonders for his fragile ego and self-esteem, and he loves having a weak little thing that so easily can be controlled.

As a result, he starts off simple – no fighting or leaving, the usual – and quickly starts churning out new rules or enforced practices on a daily basis. He likes having a domesticated sort of darling, so he’ll end up likely having you do little things around the place. It keeps your mind occupied and gives you a sense of accomplishment. He’ll also continue your education since you didn’t get to finish, giving you assignments, even mock entrance exams, and is rather pushy about you giving it your all. Can’t be slacking, he says, just pretend it’s the real deal.

He has to balance a newfound love of control and the desire for his darling to love him, so, a lot of it is based on your behavior. If he feels like you’re still rowdier and moderately defiant, he goes lax on rules and focuses on dumping love and gifts onto you. If you go either direction though, he gets more strict. If you’re adapting and seem to become docile and complacent, he takes that as a sign you’ve accepted him, and you’re ready to move on to becoming more… domesticated and submissive for him, because it would make him happy, and you want him to be happy, right?

Likewise, if you become excessively defiant or simply don’t show signs of progressing towards docileness, he sees it as his fault for being too soft, and thinks he needs to switch up his approach. Clearly being too lax and lenient was the wrong decision, what you needed was a firm hand, to have your defiance and your spirit broken so that he can put you back together and make you whole again, mold you into the perfect angel he knows you are deep down.

In either of these cases, one of which will inevitably eventually be reached, he becomes firmer. Sets a wake-up time and bed time. Gives you some device to communicate to him with and makes you give him hourly updates. Becomes strict on the chores and schoolwork. Will implement a few rules like meeting him at the door when he returns, making him food (just… fill his mom complex, please, please), giving him a detailed account of your day each day when he returns.

Surprisingly, one thing he won’t do is demand sweetness. He will expect you to not talk back or be mean to him, and curb any brattiness, but unlike a lot of yans he’s not gonna subtly force or pressure a smile and sweet words out of you. He desperately wants you to be sweet and happy and adore him, but really, if you’re sad, frustrated, or even angry, he would prefer you be honest and show it (within limits, of course, being angry doesn’t mean you get to be a brat). He doesn’t want you to be forced into pleasantness all the time, he feels like he’s being lied to if you act sweet 24/7. He wants to know how you genuinely feel, even if he’d prefer you feel differently. He’s masterfully perceptive, too, as aforementioned, so you likely won’t be able to fool him on how  you’re feeling anyway.

Speaking of, he’s big on not lying to him at all. It’s the thing he hates the absolute most. He’d honestly be the type to steal a lie detector from the police/Niijima and keep it for personal use, and he’d use it fairly frequently.

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

His specialty. Killing without a trace.

Of course, he has to be selective about this - if all of a sudden, only people close to you started dying under mysterious circumstances, he knows that’s a bad move and would draw attention. The Phantom Thieves already distrust him, so any suspicious behavior and they’d zero in on him quickly. So he can only kill those who have other connections to other reasons that would seem non-suspicious towards him, those who don’t have a well-known connection to you, or, he’ll save kills for the worst of his competitors and enemies. For the rest, as much as he detests letting them live, he’ll settle for a change of heart, letting them out themselves to the world for any of their past sins, making sure their life is ruined permanently.

He tells himself that, once this whole Phantom Thieves thing blows over and they’re out of the way, he’ll go back and take care of each of those who get to live for now and get rid of them then.

It’s worth noting that he’s incredibly easily made jealous and is highly possessive - it’s one of the yandere traits he has the most difficulty concealing, and it’s the one that may rear its head and come out unintentionally in moments where he loses a bit of his control, which is a rather difficult thing to achieve for him. He manages to keep his cool, he doesn’t have outbursts or anything, but he glares at people, behaves coldly to the people you introduce him to, gets confrontational over demanding to know where you were at any given time. It’s an issue in the beginning when he’s trying to, you know, hide the fact that he’s just a liiiittle bit on the severely unstable side.

Now, for a Phantom Thief darling, it’s likely that after everything goes down, she’ll have some loyalty to them, which, while it disgusts him, he doesn’t blame you. Likely you were picked up from some sort of trial in your life like most of the Thieves – you were in a dilemma and saved, and while he’s not certain why you didn’t tell him, he could have just as easily helped you out, he understands you’re only human and are likely to feel some loyalty to the people who “saved” you (even though, of course, they did so only to use you). So, he simply has to work to slander them in your eyes. He finds (read: creates) “evidence” that proves that they were, say, intending to use you as a scapegoat and get you arrested so they could all get away, that they only saw you as a tool. That they all hated you. Or, the one he strongly goes for if he can craft the evidence to support it, that they only targeted you to get to him. That they were planning to use you against him, and that what he really did was save you from the people that tried to get in between you. After all, you used to be his friend (or girlfriend), right? You at least liked him a little bit. And he loved you. He still does, despite your betrayal. You really ought to be grateful for that.

He paints a picture in which you were some dumb and unrestrained little thing that was easily swayed, led from the person who truly loved you into the clutches of someone else because they managed to fool you. And that he, in his benevolence, understands that, that he’ll forgive you for it. And honestly, he’s good at crafting fake evidence. If you believe it, you’ll undoubtedly feel crushing guilt and shame, and he likes that, along with your begging for forgiveness, quite a bit.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

There are three levels to Akechi’s anger. It depends on the day, somewhat. He’s moody, once he has no reason to uphold the mask (literal and figurative) anymore. His true, completely unmasked person is actually rather immature, childish even. He grumbles and complains, he’s a sore loser, he’s unbelievably stubborn and insanely petty. He can’t stand things not going his way.

As for the first level, on his best days, he’s pretty patient when it comes to mild irritations from you. He’s a smile-angry type on a low-to-moderate level anger, tries to hide it, just smiles and gives you a soft warning that you’ll quickly learn to take very seriously.

On bad days, when he’s in a bad mood, for milder things, he essentially pouts, kind of gives you the cold shoulder. On better days, he gets that aforementioned smiling anger and tends to make passive-aggressive comments. He has a very good control on his temper, keeping himself calm and collected for the most part, and even his anger can be infuriating for his darling because even if you’re mad and yelling and bratty he’ll most likely have that same smile and calm demeanor, telling you to stop being childish and calm yourself down. As if he’s one to talk - really, it’s infuriating because while he can be incredibly immature himself, at times when you’re angry he adopts the “mature, collected adult” image and tries to make it seem like you’re the one who’s childish, when in reality it can frequently be the other way around.

However, when Goro snaps, he really, really snaps. If you continuously push things, or the offense is a higher degree, you’ll trigger said snap, and it gets ugly. However, even then, he has remarkable composure, his rage is  cold, calculated, and vicious. His smile gets wider, twitchy, so wide his eyes nearly close, and he slowly walks over to you – he savors the fear coming onto your face when he sees you recognize how badly you’ve fucked up. Slowly, softly talking in a saccharine voice, grabbing you with a crushing grip on your wrist or a hand in your hair, and only then does he let the smile drop, and he’ll coldly throw you down to the ground, snarling in a low voice about what an ungrateful, nasty little brat you’ve been, how he does everything for you and the least you can do is show some respect and gratitude.

After his outbursts, he may or may not become apologetic, depending on his level of insecurity versus pride that day. If he’s high insecurity and his pride can take it, he’ll even let it show, trying to get reassurance you’re not mad and don’t hate him (it’s wise to answer the way you can tell he wants you to at these times).

The third level is difficult to achieve, but we’ve seen it in canon – hysterical, unhinged, and unbridled rage. However, it’s unlikely that his darling can ever really achieve this level of anger with him. This is the anger in which he feels threatened, and his sanity slips. It’s unlikely to occur with her, because even when she’s a brat, even when he’s mad at her, she is ultimately the thing that he projects his personhood and worth onto - that is, she becomes his grounding in reality and serves to prevent said slips. In order to achieve this, you’d have to persistently, repeatedly violate his commands, and it’s unlikely darling will still have the will to fight after everything he’ll do to deter it along the way. It would take a darling with extreme resolve and incredible cunning to reach this point.

It’s also worth noting a very very touchy subject for him - suicide attempts. If he were to come home and discover you’d tried something and narrowly avoided death… as you can imagine, this is one way to absolutely make him snap unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s a different anger entirely from anything else. It’s silent, cold, his whole body trembles in a mix of fury, fear, and images flashing through his mind that he wants nothing more than to forget.  He won’t let you end up like his mom. You don’t get to leave him like that. It starts off as panic of course, but realizing it was intentional, realizing you would do that to him, especially if you knew about her, will absolutely make him lose it. It’s terrifyingly silent, he just trembles and hold you by the arms, and his grip gets tighter and tighter and tighter until he hears a snap. He will do whatever he deems necessary to prevent this, and even one attempt is enough to ensure you’ll never get that trust of being left alone back. He’ll refrain from the worst just once, give you one more chance. Keeping you out of your mind on sedatives every moment he can’t keep a close eye on you. Leaving you bound hand and foot for hours every day in an empty room. But if you try again? He’ll make sure you can’t ever again. If that means taking off your arms and legs, lobotomizing you, anything… so be it.

So they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

As with his somewhat unstable nature, he tends to bounce back and forth. He has some very low, low times, depressive episodes where his self esteem is completely demolished and he talks like - might even literally say - you’re some kind of angel sent for him that he doesn’t deserve. That he’s a horrible person, and you’re so pure and sweet, that he’s tainted you.

Other times, he’ll bounce into one of his more narcissistic episodes. Say you should be grateful you got his forgiveness, that he likes you so much. What do you have to offer besides your body and your kindness? So really, you ought to be more loving. He could have just as easily left you to rot with the others, since in this timeline they did capture all the Phantom Thieves, and you were the only one that got away. Shouldn’t you appreciate that? What have you ever done that gives you the right to be so arrogant?

The biggest way to trigger the second state is to fight him in the first one. If he’s in that low state of emotions, it’s better to try and soothe him, tell him it’s ok and that you don’t think those bad things, that you love him, that you’re happy and proud of him, which is what he wants to hear. Otherwise, you’ll just agitate him into the second state, which he can switch to in the blink of an eye if provoked.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

Ultimately will settle for having you, but it’s not quite that simple. It’s not that he doesn’t care, it’s more that he accepts it because he’s one of a few whose hopes of you loving him was very low to begin with.

Most yanderes either are delusional and believe you do love them, think they can make you love them, or at the very least hope to foster Stockholm syndrome and create a dependency. Deep down, Goro’s self esteem is so low, his traumas run so deep, that he chastises himself for even dreaming of the former. But for a while, even though he knows it’s stupid and pointless, even though he knows it won’t work, even though he thinks he’s unlovable - he still allows himself to cling to some hope that you might love him, that maybe it’s possible, that he could achieve that.

Over time, if you repeatedly reject his kindness - and he really, really is sweet to you, he tries very hard to show you kindness and love even if he can be moody and bitter sometimes - if you reject it over and over, if you constantly are cruel to him, say you hate him… well, it doesn’t faze him. He’s almost the inverse of a delusional – he’s always paranoid that deep down you hate him even if you act like you love him. And so if you act like you do… it just confirms his insecurities. That he doesn’t deserve you, that he doesn’t deserve your love, that he’s a selfish, irredeemable monster for locking you away, that nothing - nothing - in life ever really works out for him or goes his way, this is no different. That he was an idiot to allow himself to think maybe things would work out according to the happy little fantasy in his head.

But hey, he’s used to that, and he’s accepted that he will never have the things he wants the most. It was foolish of him to think he could ever have the happy life he envisioned… so if he has to settle for having you, even though you hate him… he will settle for that pretty easily. You loving him is too much to ask for, he can accept that, but hey, at least he has one good thing in his life – that being that he has you at all, so you can bet he won’t ever let you go. You’re the one good thing that has ever happened to him, the only person who ever actually liked him for him, even if it was a lie, you still gave that illusion… he definitely can never, ever, let you go, even if you’re nothing but a hollow shell.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

One, his degree of honesty to both you and himself. Two, his paranoia that you don’t love him and hate him – ultimately, it makes it hard even for a darling who fully accepts him. Three, a lack of justification in even the slightest, or any need for one.

What I mean by this is, really, Goro is a defeated man, lost to his own self-image and the harshness of his life, and he has no energy or will left to maintain a delusion (sometimes paranoia about losing you, maybe making you out to be stupid and naive, but no significant wishful thinking delusion) even if he tried. He will tell you openly, bluntly, with a rather transparently fake smile, that he’s a lonely person, discarded by his family and never having found real love from anyone in his life, and that you are there to substitute all the things he’s never had. That he knows you probably really hate him now and don’t love him, maybe that you never really did (if you had said so in the past). That maybe you just loved him because he was popular and semi-famous after all. That (based on your behavior, if you’ve been good) you’re only obedient and pretending to love him because you’re scared (even if this is untrue).

He’s incredibly self aware - he is entirely aware that his behaviors are psychologically unsound, result from his deep seeded issues, that they’re socially reprehensible, and unjustifiable. See, even non-delusional yanderes often justify things to themselves in some way. They say, well I could be worse, at least I’m not doing this or that, it’s ok because of this, etc. Most people do this because they have to - natural human empathy or guilt makes them feel bad otherwise unless they can convince themselves hey, they’re not that awful.

Goro… doesn’t do that, nor feel a need to. It’s a two-part issue stemming from a lack of empathy and guilt as well as his crippling self-image and bouncing between inferiority and superiority. Goro Akechi is, really, somewhat sociopathic, he lacks empathy except for a selective few, and can essentially turn that capacity for empathy on and off at will. He’s somewhat a narcissist and the fact that he’s getting what he wants usually eliminates any guilt he might feel – for him, getting what he wants is the right thing. His self image is already often at rock bottom, yet in a way this fuels the narcissistic tendencies. He doesn’t feel guilt because, well, so what if he’s a monster? He’s already an unwanted, unlovable bastard child that fucked over and even killed countless people to get his way. He so readily accepts the idea of being, well, a monster, that basically there isn’t any guilt left to be felt, if he ever had any at all. The duality of it all is confusing, how he can think so highly and so lowly of himself, but ultimately that is, in fact, a uniqueness. Why justify anything he’s done to you? It’s not justifiable. He’s a terrible person. So what? He’s accepted that long ago and doesn’t believe himself capable of changing.

He knows all his insecurities are just that. He knows what things in life fucked him up, he knows that he is in fact fucked up, and he knows you’ve realized he’s fucked up. And that’s ok. You can be honest, he can take it, he says. It won’t change your circumstances and it won’t make him ever let you go, so, no need to lie to him. Even if you love him and accept him, hell, even for a darling that’s fully on board with some of his psycho shit, he still presents difficulty because he refuses to believe you love him.

Much like that, he talks himself down a lot in general, too. As I said before, he allows himself to be a bit weak around you, just a little bit, and will occasionally say bizarrely self-deprecating things because one, he just has a need to express that bitterness out to someone, and two, he really, really deep down wants you to say something nice back, tell him he’s wrong, that he’s wonderful and smart and you’re proud of him. He bounces back and forth from “I know you think this about me, don’t lie to me,” to “here’s a statement implicating I desperately obviously am looking for you to tell me you DON’T think this about me, please lie to me.” You have to kind of learn his moods and speech patterns.

Seguir leyendo

When you're together, Xiao is oddly silent. Though he usually is of little word, you don't think you've ever heard a single peep from him when you're around—and yet others have mentioned how roundabout he can be, so much so that he's nearly blunt.

But truly, he's quietly basking.

He cannot help the way that his mind calms in your presence, a cool salve on the constant strain of his past and present. Your voice seems to echo in his mind and your eyes shine brighter than he thinks that eyes should shine. In a way, he's afraid. If he were to break that silence himself? If he were to interrupt that echo, would you be just as fragile?

That nagging thought eats at him.

In all his selflessness, he continues to take. No harm can come if he were to stand here. You will continue to shine if he were to sully this one spot with his presence. His chest will feel tight, pleasantly so, knowing your arrival upon each week.

Is it still sparing you if he deliberately takes your time?

So, he stays silent.

After all, he has to uphold all that he holds dear—Liyue, the memory of his fallen brothers and sisters, the people and their little lanterns—and you, unwittingly, unknowingly, have become one of those precious things.

After the battle against Osial and urged on by Paimon, Lumine tracks Xiao down to confess her feelings, only to find him on a family outing with you, his wife and your son.

Xiao ♡⊹˚  Couldn’t have known [SFW]

fem. reader (3rd person) ; don't know whether to tag this as angst, or fluff, or both??? It just depends on the perspective I suppose. Xiao and reader are married. Cw. for unrequited feelings of a third party.

5k words.

notes. Poor Lulu, it's okay babygirl I'll try to do you justice on another drabble in the future <\3. But at the same time I got to give Xiao some semblance of peace with wholesome family time so I suppose I can take the heartbreak. Hope you enjoy ✧˖°.

The wounds within the nation were still fresh. The Harbor was on edge, its people doing the best they could to return to everyday life as part of the destroyed homes had already begun reconstruction. If before the battle with Osial the fatui were at the very least viewed as neutral, they were now deeply hated by every Liyue citizen, the organization being completely shut off from the outside as some people even resorted to physical violence as a response for their involvement with the tragedy. 

Suffice to say, Liyue was still shaky. Their God was gone as far as most knew, and the Qixing was the top of the food chain now. And despite having averted the crisis fairly well, most couldn't help but wonder, would they be able to protect them as well as Rex Lapis had? Some were hesitant, whilst others clung with the hope that it would be smooth sailing from there. After all, even if their God was gone, his adepti still remained, as well as the now hailed Hero of Liyue. They would be safe. 

Lumine hadn't quite gotten used to the flair of being hailed a hero still - after all, her primary reason for being there was to look for her brother, simply having stumbled upon more chaos that she was shoved into without her being fully aware. Even still, she knew better than to have turned her back on an entire nation on the verge of crisis, and so she had stayed and stuck around far longer than what she would've initially liked. It wasn't all for naught, though - she met new wonderful people, got to know more of the world of Teyvat and its customs and cultures. She got to hone her skills and become stronger, as well as, as her gut told her, take a step forward towards the truth. 

Among the many she had met, one had seemingly stuck around in her mind - Xiao, the lonesome Conqueror of Demons that would mostly stick around Wangshu Inn. Admittedly he'd been rather curt at first, yet it soon became obvious he carried more on his shoulders than what he would admit. And on that, as well as other things, Lumine found herself relating to him. It was slow progress, but Xiao had begun to open up as well, leaving her small cracks from which she could peek into. It was as though he was testing the waters, seeing if she would find him repulsive or unapproachable. He wasn't, not to her. 

He had been there for her, during the confrontation with Osial. It had been perhaps one of the only times thus far on her journey where Lumine had truly felt like she wouldn't make it, were it not for the aid of her allies. It had been a day filled with raw emotions, amplifying them beneath the surface and under the obvious threat from which they had lived through. And it was only after the fact, when she had taken some time to rest and ponder, that the emotions began to set, carving themselves into stone.

"I think it's quite obvious what needs to be done." Paimon had placed her hands on her hips, hovering close to her face as she gazed upon her with narrowed eyes.

"Oh? What are you talking about, Paimon?" Lumine feigned ignorance, an eyebrow being raised as she made a last ditch effort to avoid the topic.

"Don't play dumb with me, missy! I know you very well, you know?" The fair haired fairy pointed her finger to her, before shaking her head. "It's obvious you're head over heels over the lonesome adeptus Xiao. And the last thing I wanna see, is my companion regret not confessing her true feelings."

Well, she had to give it to Paimon. She could be simply and only driven by food, sure, but she had a more keen eye than what Lumine had really thought. 

The traveler huffed with a weak laugh, her head shaking. "No no, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?!" She seemed utterly flabbergasted. "Wait, you're not even denying it-"

"What if I make him uncomfortable?" She thought aloud, eyebrows furrowing. "Or, let's say that I do manage to confess. What then? I can't expect him to leave Liyue behind."

"No one has to leave anything behind. We can always periodically return to Liyue Harbor while we travel!" Her flying companion suggested, her head nodding at her own proposal. 

She watched as Lumine seemed to consider that idea, a small sigh leaving her lips as she pondered over her options. As a seasoned adventurer, she had to, along her journey, learn to always consider the less favored outcomes an option. Were she to be rejected, she and Paimon would simply have to haste their move to their next nation… Yet, the idea of it not ending like that… It alone seemed to be enchanting enough for her to, in the end, decide to go forward with Paimon’s proposal.  

“It’ll go well, trust Paimon on this one!” She kicked her smaller feet in the air, her eyes sparkling with great hope for her companion. She helped Lumine pack before they were to head off to Wangshu Inn, the hailed Hero of Liyue feeling nervous for the first time in a little while. “There’s no way it won’t end well, Lumine! After all, you’re downright perfect!”

She couldn’t have known. Paimon couldn’t have known, either. It honestly was something even most adepti didn’t know of - it was something Xiao kept close to his chest, only a select few knowing about that side of him. He cared naught for finding a partner, never had in the eons he’d existed for. He saw no need. 

That was, until he had met [F/N]. A mere mortal, yet one he loved with his whole being.

It had been rough to come to terms with his emotions. It had been rocky, a steep climb for  [F/N] to be allowed in; yet somehow, she had managed to reach the peak, finding at the end of her journey a side Xiao would only reveal to her - it was always present, in the way he gazed upon her, his golden eyes reflecting the warm sunset that would bathe them each dusk that she visited him in Wangshu Inn. It was always present, in the way his gloved hand would hold her own, delicately, almost afraid to break her as if she were made of porcelain. He wasn’t one to outwardly express his emotions, yet the silence with him had felt comforting. It felt like a safe haven, Xiao finally finding a semblance of peace each time [F/N] would bless him with her presence. 

He was very well aware of the fleeting existence mortals led. It broke him each time he thought about it, yet, as [F/N] had asked him of, he’d always tried to think instead of the present. Even still, it was always something that had been at the back of his mind, ever since he’d finally accepted his emotions, and allowed her into his life. It gave him all the more reason to ensure she was safe, that only those who he could truly trust knew of her existence - for, when he couldn’t be there, they would ensure she wasn’t in danger. 

And this worry only doubled when [F/N] had confided in him that she, indeed, was carrying his child. Well, it had certainly been a surprise, and Xiao… He at first panicked. He had never thought about ever loving someone, let alone creating a little one alongside another. It took a lot of talking, a lot of gentle touches and hugging. But in the end, like everything else with his [F/N], Xiao knew it would be okay. 

On that lovely day, [F/N] and their youngling had waited for him by the Inn, their usual room ready and waiting for them. By that point, the boy was only two, yet he already showed so much life and personality that it never failed to knock the wind out of his father. As per usual, Smiley Yanxiao would, exclusively, allow [F/N] access to his kitchen so she could cook food for her little boy, as well as her husband who would be arriving later as he’d promised - why? Her almond tofu was simply the best, and whenever Xiao could, he’d rather eat hers than any other chef’s. And who was she to deny her diligent beloved, who worked tirelessly to defend their land? When compared to all the terrifying work and responsibilities Xiao held, a simple dish felt like child’s play. Yet he always, always cherished such an act so deeply, it felt like it was the other way around.  

[F/N] had already fed their son before Xiao had arrived, gently holding him in her arms as they walked calmly across the Inn’s upper balcony. Patting his back with rhythm, her eyes peered out into the distance, the wind blowing ever so gently across her face, eyes shimmering with the light of the sun as all was peaceful. She hadn’t even heard Xiao arrive, his figure simply appearing on the wooden rails near her, his body perfectly balanced on the small surface as his mask dissipated before either of them could see him. His face, previously scowling with the horrors he regularly faced, immediately softened upon landing on the two people he loved the most, spear neatly placed away as his feet finally touched the balcony.

“Qingxin…” He called out his beloved, watching as she turned around with the same amount of love and excitement she would always display whenever he arrived. It never failed to melt his heart.

“Xiao, you’re back!” [F/N] sighed in relief, eyes softening as she hastily made her way to him. Meeting halfway, he carefully embraced her, foreheads touching as he felt his weary body finally relax. “Welcome home, my love.”

“...Thank you.” He murmured, his lips brushing against the top of her head as his hand rested on her lower back. His words felt heavier than a simple sign of gratitude, one that ran deeper and meant far more. One that [F/N] understood far too well, but didn’t dwell on. Instead, she smiled his way, her arms still carrying their bundle of joy with care. 

“Papa!” Their young boy chirped out, his attention clearly gravitating towards his father. His little arms were already stretching out, yearning for Xiao to hold him after being apart for a long while. And while Xiao always showed hesitancy to, he never found the strength to deny his little son.

Carefully the adeptus picked his son up, the softest smile making its way to his pale face as his golden eyes gazed at his son’s. [F/N] had always stated how his son was a mirroring image of himself, and with each passing day, Xiao could deny that reality less and less. His hair color was the same deep dark green, streaks of a lighter tone along his tiny locks. His cheeks, chubby, hid away the smallest little pointed teeth that resembled his own. His eyebrows, never furrowed like his father’s, displayed the same shape and sharpness. The only thing he seemed to have picked from his mother had been the color of his eyes, the same beautiful shade Xiao could drown himself in - and even still, the eye shape had been taken from him, the same little diamond pupils staring back at him with the wonder and adoration of a pure child. His child. He still could hardly believe it. 

“It’s okay, love. Here, just like this…” [F/N] gently coaxed him, noticing how his arms trembled the slightest - mostly due to exhaustion, but always partially to anxiety. After all, what if he tainted his little boy? What of his karmic debt? Everyday he prayed such a thing would never happen, hoping he would develop some kind of resistance due to his bloodline; yet even still, it was always a possibility.

His little arms flailed around, practically leaping for Xiao’s embrace as he hugged his neck. Xiao couldn’t help but let out the quietest of laughs, holding him with more confidence under his wife’s guidance. His eyes landed on the vajra necklace he would always have around his neck, one of the many religious items he’d given the two of them in order to ward off evil when he himself wasn’t around. In truth, [F/N] did it more to ease her husband’s mind than anything, but that was something she’d take to the grave - she knew she was safe even when he didn’t stand next to them, but then again, she would never be one to go against his wishes; they were never many, anyway. 

“You must be tired. Here, come sit. I made you your favorite.” [F/N] smiled his way, signaling for him to sit at the table they would usually take. Without hesitation he followed suit, his eyes following his wife’s movements as she presented him his dish. 

“Thank you, qingxin.” Xiao murmured, his eyes softening at the sight as he could finally feel his heavy soul at ease. He took his seat, carefully shifting his son to sit on his lap whilst securing him with one arm around him - more of a precaution than anything, for the simple fact his little one did behave wonderfully most of the time.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to hold him while you eat?” [F/N] smiled, humored by the absolutely endearing sight of her husband holding their little one. The way his cheeks gained the faintest hint of color didn’t escape her gaze, yet she knew better than to embarrass her poor little adeptus. 

“No need, I can eat like this just fine.” He responded.

Or in other words, No thank you, I really want to hold our little boy like this. [F/N] already knew her lover very well despite his attempts at keeping himself at arms length for the longest time, so reading in between the lines wasn’t difficult. All she could do was nod her head, a delightful smile across her lips as she sat with them, pleasant conversation filling the air. How had their day been, where they had gone, who they’d been with… Xiao listened to it all, his leg bouncing gently, up and down, up and down, his child content with the rhythmic movement as his tiny hands rested against his arm. 

The sky was still painted in the loveliest strokes of oranges and blues upon the pair arriving at their final destination. The journey had been otherwise uneventful, only further filling Lumine with the slightest creeping anxiety as the tall Inn was seen in the distance. Surely, she had figured, Xiao would be there. It was the only place she knew he’d have any sort of roots in, and given the fact she dared not abuse her permission for calling upon him, she figured paying a visit was the next best option. 

“Come on, that’s the Wangshu Inn in the distance!” Paimon pointed, her smaller body flying across the air as her friend picked up the pace as well. Her stomach already rumbled after their trip, and truth be told, the little fairy already planned to grab herself a few plates whilst watching from the distance the scene unfold. 

“Hey, wait up Paimon!” The young woman sighed, her scarf blowing against the wind as they hastily came closer and closer to the structure. 

There were very few guests aside from the regulars, of which the owners could count with their fingers. Verr Goldet was finishing up taking care of a few details at the front desk before she heard a set of steps rushing up her stairs, her eyes gluing to the entrance of their Inn before she finally spotted a familiar figure. 

“Ah, Lumine, Paimon! What a surprise to see you once more.” She smiled kindly, her hands resting in front of her figure as the blonde woman caught her breath. “And what brings you to the Wangshu Inn tonight? Seeking to book a room?”

“Hi miss Verr-” Lumine smiled amidst the heavy breathing, both her and Verr being cut off with Paimon who happily interjected.

“Hi boss lady! Is Xiao back yet?”

“For the last time, I am not ‘boss lady’.” Verr shot her a look, to which Paimon silently apologized for. “And… May I inquire as to why you’d like to see him at such a time?”

Usually, Verr Goldet wouldn’t be one to deny them the knowledge of the Conqueror of Demons’ whereabouts; after all, they were friends and allies. However, given the company he currently had, the woman couldn’t help but wish to avert any unwanted visitors to their family time. Not to mention, she herself, as well as her husband, had gotten quite protective of [F/N] and their little one - as if, by some strange mortal bond Xiao couldn’t quite understand, they had considered them their extended family. 

“Oh… Are we intruding on something?” Paimon asked, her voice growing softer.

“Well, it’s just that, as you know, the Conqueror of Demons is a very busy adeptus.” That much wasn’t a lie. “He’s expressed his wish for visits to be limited for the time being, lest something be really urgent.” …That however, was something he himself hadn’t requested of her. 

“Oh, if that’s the case-” Lumine, being understanding as she was, attempted to avert the situation. After all, they could always ask for some of his time the following day.

“It kind of is.” Paimon however, once more, chimed in. “After all, we came all the way from Liyue Harbor for this!” She was now planting her hands on her hips once more. “Besides, we won’t take long.”

Verr Goldet’s expression didn’t falter, though she was rather ticked over how they seemed to not catch the hint. “Well, even still-”

“He’s probably upstairs, isn’t he? If not we can always call on his name. Come on Lumine, up we go!”

“Hey, I’m talking to you!” The owner was practically left to speak to the wall as they were already up the flight of stairs, her eyes widened as she sighed in frustration. Hopefully, she prayed, it wouldn’t be a big ruckus; not that [F/N] would mind, ever. More so from Xiao’s end. 

Being practically dragged up to the balcony by the suddenly overtly strong Paimon, Lumine nearly trampled on her own feet as she could feel her heart palpitate stronger and louder. The heat that rose to her face couldn’t be hidden for any longer, and all she could hope was that Xiao was there, and that all would go well. Why was she so… Nervous? She’d fought against many monsters, defeated abyss mages, aided in the saving of Dvalin and the defeat of Osial, yet how was a simple opening of her own heart causing such a ruckus within her?

The husky voice of Xiao was unmistakable as they finally reached the balcony, her head turning to her right as she took a deep breath. He seemed… To be calmer, at peace. His voice softer while still speaking in the usual tone she had grown used to. Paimon let go of her hand as she flew ahead, silent for long enough until the adventurer was able to pick up another voice - an unknown one, being a soft and female giggle. 

“Xiao! Xiao, you in here?” Paimon called out, rounding up the balcony in search of the adeptus.

In the table in which they stood, the Conqueror of Demons seemingly froze, his eyebrows immediately lowering as a smallest scowl reappeared on his face. He held his child a little tighter, his head turning to gaze to where the known voice had come from. [F/N] followed suit, her head turning before landing on her husband once more, curious over anything else whilst silently inquiring him who it could be - after all, he seemed to know who the voice belonged to. And in most other circumstances, he wouldn’t exactly mind to hear the talkative pixie nor her friend, yet when it came to such sacred time with his family… He couldn’t help but feel his mood grow sour. 

“Oh, there you are-!” Paimon chirped whilst Lumine came right behind her. However, she stopped in place, no longer approaching him. The voice died on her throat before she gazed around, her colorful eyes skipping through the two unknown people.

“...You two.” Xiao called out, his body having already turned in his chair while remaining sat still. His hands were holding his son in his lap, who too eyed them still, though his carefree expression deeply differed from the seemingly annoyance Xiao displayed. “What’s the matter? Is everything alright?”

“Ah, you’re… Accompanied…” The white haired guide seemed to have suddenly grown embarrassed, her eyebrows furrowing softly as she felt even smaller under the intense gaze the Conqueror of Demons sent their way. “...S-Sorry, we didn’t know-”

“Didn’t Verr Goldet tell you?” Xiao had let out without thinking much, his wife to his side softly muttering his name he cleared his throat. It was only then his face seemingly relaxed, gazing back at her for a mere moment.

“Are they your friends?” [F/N] smiled kindly, her hands extending briefly before taking their little boy into her arms once more. 

“...Yes.” Xiao nodded his head. The way his beloved’s face lit up was enough to melt him away, finding it outright adorable how she seemed to always… Be happy, whenever he spoke of others he held in high regard. To him it was strange, how she apparently thought it was such a big deal. 

“It’s alright, go and talk to them! We have the whole night ahead of us,” [F/N] warmly reassured him, while Xiao attempted to keep the pout from forming on his face. The last thing he wanted to do during his family time was have guests over, but since they probably had gone out of their way to get there… He didn’t want to cause a bad impression to [F/N], anyway. “We’ll stay here, since we don’t know if it’s something private. If not, just look our way and we’ll join you straight away!”

His boy seemed to agree with his mother’s statement, babbling on as they both watched Xiao hesitantly get up from his seat. The Adeptus calmly walked their way, his gaze somewhat sharper than what Lumine would’ve liked. Unlike Paimon, who was still somewhat oblivious, she had already begun to piece the puzzle together - the way he had glanced at that young woman, the way they had been sitting together, the way the little child looked so similar to him… It was difficult to think of any other possibilities. 

It was difficult to keep oneself from breaking down at the realization. 

“...Yes, Paimon, Lumine?” The traveler had been shaken out of her thoughts as his eyes bore into hers, patiently waiting for them to speak up.

“Hi Xiao,” Paimon took the lead upon Lumine taking longer to talk than what she would’ve guessed. “We didn’t know you had company, haha… So… Who are they?”

“...” It wasn’t as though Xiao himself was exactly bothered with Paimon’s general nosiness, more so he was annoyed they had been interrupted for seemingly meaningless banter. Here he was, thinking there was something wrong and his assistance was needed, actually getting up from the table where his family stood to greet them for nothing happening after the fact. 

His head turned around to gaze back at his wife, who bounced her leg up and down slightly to amuse their son as he would usually like. Their eyes met, and with the softening way in which he looked at her, [F/N] understood everything was alright. It relieved her to know so, taking the moment to get up and hold their son before approaching them with a kind and sunny smile. Paimon and Lumine watched as they approached, the little youngling’s eyes scanning them before landing on the adeptus once more, refusing to look anywhere else after the fact. Up close, it was even more undeniable who exactly the little boy was, his hair color and shape exactly the same as Xiao’s, as well as his little brows who sported a much more relaxed expression. 

“Hi! I’m [F/N]. Pleased to meet any friends of Xiao.” [F/N] spoke softly, introducing herself to the pair before her baby was wriggling in a vain attempt to jump out of her arms.

“Papa…” He shyly mumbled, his arms stretching in his direction as he seemingly didn’t give up in his pursuit of remaining in daddy’s arms. 

Lumine couldn’t help but smile weakly, even as her heart wilted. The image before her was… Adorable, she couldn’t deny that. The way Xiao’s face gained color, embarrassed by the display of affection to a crowd as his significant other attempted hushing their son from interrupting them. And despite the utter shock she felt from not only realizing Xiao had a lover but also had already formed a family, she couldn’t help but glance at them still.

“It’s alright love.” Xiao murmured, the last word barely above a whisper as his cheeks were by that point the same shade of the jueyun chili. “Here, let me hold him.”

“Ah… Sorry. He really wants daddy time, huh.” [F/N] laughed softly, carefully letting go of the boy before his arms were wrapped tightly around his father’s neck, his face nuzzling against him as he hid his gaze from the strangers. The young woman turned to the pair, who remained quiet, an apologetic smile on her face. “I apologize, he can get quite shy around new people.”

“No, don’t worry about it…” Paimon let out in struggle, the cogs inside her head nearly visible as she was rather late to the party when it came to figuring out what exactly the relation was here. 

“So,” Xiao broke the chit chat short, clearing his throat before attempting to be… More courteous. Not for himself, but for his wife. “Is there anything I can help you with? After all, you did call out my name.”

“Ah,” Suddenly Paimon remembered what the exact initial plan was, panicking inwardly as she floated rather awkwardly around Lumine. The adventurer, on the other hand, seemed outwardly calm, the forced smile on her face remaining. “Well, about that-”

“We just thought of passing by to bid our goodbyes,” Lumine finished it for her, leaving her companion quiet and Xiao somewhat surprised. “Since Liyue is stable now, we’re thinking of continuing our journey towards Inazuma.”

“...Oh, I see.” Xiao responded, tone quiet as he nodded his head gently. “Are you sure you’re ready to leave?”

“Yeah, it was… About time, anyway.” Lumine awkwardly laughed, her hand rubbing the back of her neck as she averted her gaze for a solid second. “We still have a lot of questions that need answering.”

[F/N]’s expression shifted to worry and sorrow, somewhat bummed that they wouldn’t join them for a little longer, or she wouldn’t exactly get to know personally those friends of her husband’s. More so, the concern on her face also extended further to Lumine, something in her gut telling her the young woman before her was hurting deeper than what appeared to be. Call it a woman's intuition. 

“I see. Inazuma… You’ll be far away.” Xiao thought aloud, his arms shifting gently to ensure the comfort of his son as he seemed to calm down in his embrace, lulled to sleep by his husky voice. “Still, if you ever return and need any help, you know how to seek me out.”

“Please be safe out there.” [F/N] added, a soft smile ever present on her face before her gaze jumped between them. “Still, it’s getting late for you to begin your journey back… Won’t it be best to stay the night and leave in the morning?”

“No, we’ll be fine.” Lumine shook her head, the bitterness in her tongue being swallowed as she smiled [F/N]’s way. She couldn’t hold anything against the woman in front of her - she was being nothing but kind to them. “If we get to the Harbor by dawn, all the better.”

“Ah… Alright…” [F/N] understood, still thinking of ways to help them however she could. “Would you like for me to pack you some food, though? It’s a long way back.”

Xiao couldn’t help but glance his wife’s way, his gaze softening as the smallest smile rose on his lips. He simply couldn’t have enough of her, not ever, especially when she displayed the same caring nature that had broken down his walls in the first place.

Lumine however, only wanted to leave as soon as possible. “No, it’s alright thank you. We’ll be going now, yes Paimon? Goodbye Xiao, [F/N]. Stay safe.”

And before the floating pixie could even have a word on the matter, they were already descending the stairs, the young woman’s legs sending her flying as her mind blurred to a shapeless stain. Before she even realized they were already far from the Inn, Paimon’s soft tone of voice attempting to call her back as she nervously tried to apologize, try to cheer her up, try to distract her…

It wasn’t Paimon’s fault. Neither of them could’ve known, really. She’d suggested their visit in high hopes after all, it was alright. She would be alright. After all… 

The way Xiao smiled so softly. The way he glanced at [F/N] in such a matter, the way he held the young boy with such care. He looked happy. He was happy. And even if it wasn’t with her… Lumine was sure one day, the sorrow would subside and substitute itself with happiness for him. 

He deserved it all and more.

"have you ever thought about dying?"

....

"excuse me?" xiao asks after a beat of silence.

"have you ever thought about dying?"

the adeptus goes quiet for so long, you almost think that he hadn't heard you, but the familiar little twitch of his lips and the way he furrows his brow shows he must have.

"i am immortal... why should i concern myself with thoughts of death?"

you shrug and look out, over the balcony of wangshu inn.

"i dont know... surely you've wondered what happens when adepti die, right?"

"why are you so fixated on the topic of death?" he turns to look at yo sharply, suspicion crossing his face. you shrug and sigh, staring down far below at the ground.

"i just... wondered is all. you'll live much longer than i will and.... i guess i'll just miss you in the afterlife... i just wanted to be able to see you again."

you gasp in surprise as he suddenly places his hands on your shoulders, forcing you to look at him. theres a bit of panic in his eyes as he searches your face intensely.

"are you sick? injured? why do you think you're dying?"

"w-what? xiao- no... no... i just meant, when i do die. i'm not dying right now... i think," you offer him a weak smile and he gives you a stern look in response.

"do not joke about your life like that."

you grimance and swallow thickly, gently placing your hands on top of his, which are still gripping your shoulders.

"right, sorry."

"i do not know what happens to adepti after their death..." he admits with a sigh, his fingers digging into your skin a little harder, "but know this, mortal, when you are gone i will still love you. i will be yours for eternity, an infinite number of life times... even if you are not here with me."