Sharing A Jacket - Drabble

begging for scaramouche brainrot crumbs 🙏🙏

Each strike of your blade is accompanied by the toll of bells, forming a dissonant threnody. 

The barrage never connects. Your intended target weaves back and forth, fluid as a river, evading each swipe. Scaramouche is but a blur of black, purple, and red. Your eyes struggle to discern his figure amidst the haze. Eventually, you jump back, hoping to create distance while you reevaluate. He mirrors your decision. Unlike you, however, his composure is impeccable. He examines his nails, appearing bored with your effort. 

“Are you finished?” He asks. “Or will you draw this out until you faint from exhaustion?” 

This taunt makes you bristle. “I’m not…!” 

“Let me finish that sentence for you,” his voice, once several yards ahead, now purrs behind your ear. “You’re not capable of besting me.” 

Scaramouche’s hand curls around your wrist. He applies pressure until your grasp on the blade’s hilt grows weaker. You grimace. The pain isn’t anywhere near what he could inflict, but your attempts to pull free make it worse. Noticing this, he clicks his tongue, relaxing his grip before your antics dislocate it. 

“Stubborn.” 

He accompanies this comment with a surge of electro. Not at you, no — your sword. You gawk in disbelief as the blade disintegrates. All that electricity and your skin barely tingled. The precision necessary to pull that off without harming you is astonishing. Inconceivable. 

“Satisfied?” Scaramouche hums, resting his chin on your shoulder. He only needs one hand to restrain both of yours. “Compared to me, you’re weak. What more proof do you require?” 

“I’ll… get stronger,” you pant. “You’ll see.” 

“Hm.” 

In an instant, he twirls you around, his hand holding your jaw. The ring adorning his middle finger is cool against your feverish skin. Much to your chagrin, he squishes your cheeks, chuckling at the resulting expression. You doubt your glare intimidates him any. Not when the pleased gleam in his eyes is so prevalent. 

“You know, I’m in a good mood,” he declares. From this perspective, you can see the flush lining his cheeks. He must not be immune to the adrenaline from battle. “Get creative with your apologies and perhaps… perhaps I’ll have mercy.” 

Ajax’s children are scared of him, Diluc’s daughter loves him, what about Scaramouche? You did write a scenario where his darling had a miscarriage, if it’s in the same universe what type of a father would he be if his child was born? He did seem excited about the baby so I’m curious how he would treat the baby if it was alive.

Quite honestly, I touched on it, but Scaramouche is definitely the hardest father to write for!! But girl dad Scaramouche is what we're going for!

Yandere! Scaramouche x Fem! Reader

Forced Marriage AU

TW: mentions of forced pregnancy

Purple. The color of his hair. The color of his clothes. And apparently, her favorite color as well. She never wanted the yellow spring kimono or the girlish pink one, but always a deep purple. She'd twirl in the mirror in awe of herself, watching intently as you put the many pins and ornaments in her hair.

She inherited his face. You hated Scaramouche more than you could ever express, but you didn't mind the fact that little Momo got his face, even down to his expressions. Her large eyes were sharp, and if it weren't for her wide smile she always had, people would think she was angry. When she was lost in thought, she looked the same way he did when he pondered in silence. And when she ate, she held her chopsticks the exact same way as well. A little mimic of him, only cuter and sweeter, with rounder cheeks and a bigger heart. 

“Will you wear the same color as me today, mommy?” Momo tilted her head back to look up at you, her beaming smile still on her lips.

You nodded. You couldn't say no to her. Not while she was being so sweet and asking as politely as she could. You had a soft spot on your heart for her. More than a soft spot. You loved her more than you could ever imagine, especially something that came from Scaramouche himself. Partially because of the guilt. The disgust you felt with her in your stomach. You remembered wanting to ride your body of her. 

You can't remember what changed in you. Maybe it was that maternal instinct finally kicking in, or maybe it was the loneliness. Laying beside Scaramouche at night still left you with a crippling, crushing feeling of isolation. Until you felt her little foot kicking inside your belly. You'd rest your hand on your tummy and she'd kick again, almost as if telling you that she was with you.

“And father will be wearing the same as well?” She smiled in the mirror as she spoke. So innocent. So naive. In her eyes, you, her and Scaramouche were the perfect family. He was a loving father and husband and you were a doting wife and mother, just like the books she read or the puppet plays she'd watched. There was no way you could bring yourself to tell her otherwise. Not when she herself was too sweet to understand the truth.

“Of course. He loves to match with us,” you'd say with a gleeful smile. And love it he did. He loves anything that meant being closer to you and closer to her as well.

Almost as if he knew he was being spoken of, he entered the room. His face, which would be frightening to anyone else with a deep snarl and furrowed eyebrows, was comforting to little Momo. She beamed up at him, practically bouncing and down and she twirled to show him her kimono with her long flowing sleeves and the many pins in her hair.

“Well aren't you lovely,” he said, kneeling to gently pet her head in the way she loved. His eyes then turned to you, also dressed in that same rich purple, less ornaments adorned your hair, but many bracelets decorated your wrists instead, “And you are breathtaking.” 

Mentally you grimaced at the compliment from him, but physically, you smiled.  He knew how to push your buttons, Momo was his daughter after all and despite her young age, she was rather perceptive. She'd notice immediately if you didn't act like a character in her books, like the loving mother and the caring father. 

With his signature smirk, Scaramouche pressed a kiss against your lips, his other hand on your waist. Just like the characters in Momo’s stories, a romantic kiss between lovers, and for Momo's sake alone, you'd allow it. 

YANDERE FATUI/HARBINGER SCARA>>>>>>>

The way he would kill anyone who would even look at you, if their someone in the fatui or Harbingers he will try and make their life hell (and he would succeed) wether you know his actions or not

Perhaps it’s fear, admiration, love, it doesn’t matter it’s the way you look at him the way he knows your calling to him, your his

I LOVE THE WHOLE HARBINGER, AND YANDERE AESTHETIC FOR SCARA

From aree: hard agree with you, anon. Harbinger Scara as a Yandere just hits all the right boxes. Hope you don't mind me writing a short lil bit right here. I sort of hyperfixated on the staring thing.

tw for implied human experimentation and slight body horror

always watching// yandere!scaramouche

Scaramouche seems to get lost in his own thoughts a lot, staring off into the distance.

The Fatui grunts know better than to approach him when he's stuck in his own head. None of them can exactly tell whether he's simply bored at the moment or he's planning another murder that would change the course of history, but either way, getting close while he's thinking does not bode anyone well.

Currently, they've taken to noticing that his eyes always seem to find their way to you when he's deep in thought. His eyes are a burning glare, almost willing with focus alone for your very body to combust into a flurry of flames on the spot.

But of course, you stay safely intact, Scaramouche is left to stew in his self-imposed hatred for you and anyone bearing witness to all this tries their best to steer clear of the angered Harbinger whilst wondering what you did to earn such negative emotions. However, there are those who notice that his anger is not exactly aimed at you, but more so what you're doing.

Because once your attention is on Scaramouche, it's as if all the anger fizzles out - his face could be carefully blank or a smirk or a cruel laugh. The anger only comes back full force when you're looking away. Some of the grunts have taken to wondering: is he pretending to be cordial with you, while sending you hateful looks when your back is turned? He must hate you, right? But that didn't make sense, Scaramouche didn't even bother to hide his disdain for the other Harbingers, so why make the effort for you?

Why is he glaring at you like that?

Scaramouche hates it when your attention is on someone else. Thankfully, none have made the connection. But even if they did, they'd sooner use the knowledge to their advantage before saying it to his face. So for now, as far as he knows, you and the Fatui are none the wiser.

He hates it. Why? Just why? Surely, you can tell he wants to keep talking to you, even when he spits insult after insult, telling you your very presence was annoying, how you keep wasting his time with small talk when you can just get to the point. But you don't. There's a limit to how much of his disdain you can take, and when you walk away from him to continue your other duties, only then does he realize he has spread too much of himself to leave some room for you. But it's too late. And he does it again and again. You'll come back to him again, he'll insult you again, and you'll leave… again.

If there's anything he's thankful for it's that you still keep coming back, so surely, you feel an ounce of whatever he feels for you as well? Why else would you come back to him only to be ridiculed to hell and back? Yes, surely you love him. Even if it's just a fraction, it's a fragment Scaramouche is willing to guard with his life until he can take more of it.

So when he notices that some people have started occupying your time more and more, well, he's not thrilled, at the very least.

He thought he made peace with that fact a long time ago. Of course you need to talk to other people. Humans are social creatures that thrive off of the interactions they make day by day. It was annoying, but he could let it go. Until he realized the more time you spent with them, the less he got with you.

The realization kicked in when he approached you while you were talking to a Fatui skirmisher. You nod at him and he opens his mouth to say something before you immediately turn back to continue your previous conversation. He gapes for a second, for the first time caught off-guard by your actions, before he's gritting his teeth and snapping at you. The Fatui skirmisher makes an escape for it the moment they find an opening - Scaramouche will be sure to give them a fitting punishment later - before he turns to you and all the fire is put out once more. Your expression is confused and he'd be lying if he said the small fear he sees in your eyes makes him uneasy.

He staves off from seeing you for a while as he cools his head, but that idea backfired hard when he all but ran around Zapolyarny Palace looking for you. When you greet him again, like nothing was ever wrong, Scaramouche makes a promise to himself. It's not like you were the problem. He sees the way you smile at others and he's sure against all doubt that it's emptier compared to when you talk to him. It's everyone else. Everyone else was the problem.

Besides, it's not like he can stop you from whatever you were doing. If he did, you'd start acting differently toward him, too. Your smile would drop whenever he was in the area. You'd wear simpler clothes when you were with him. You'd lose your voice whenever he was in your line of sight. So no, making you stop was not part of the solution.

He just had to make everyone else stop.

Scaramouche thinks they are underestimating how he watches. He has his eyes on you, yes, but that doesn't mean he is no longer aware to what happens around the two of you. He's not all that concerned, however, not anymore. Years of patience has taught him well how to deal with humans. He is well prepared for small little hiccups such as this. He won't hurt them, oh no, not yet. The Fatui needs as many of its people in tip top shape as much as possible, so he can't lay a hand on them.

All is fair outside the organization, however.

Whoever has found themselves under his watchful gaze will discover a lovely little package waiting back home for them. Inside, they will find two perfectly preserved eye balls bobbling up and down in a glass case of unidentified liquid. Scaramouche thinks its a fun game for the offender - how long will it take for them to find out which loved one the eyes belong to? (He should thank the Doctor for extracting the eyes from the host so flawlessly. He just hopes the mad man kept his promise and returned the person where they were last found, and not confined them into another experiment table. Then again, he couldn't care less what comes after. He wipes his hands clean from that.)

It's a threat and a warning all rolled into one gift, tied together tightly with a bow not unlike Scaramouche's love for you. The message is clear.

Keep your eyes to yourself.

Pretty soon, almost any and every grunt notices Scaramouche's eyes on you. But in the rare chance that the anger is not there, and there is only you, his eyes seem to say only one thing.

Look at me.

 ＝＝✿＝＝｜✧••❀••✧｜＝＝✿＝＝

✨ Masterlist ✨

Taglist: 💛@wonpielle 💜@shikanosn

🌙 Disclaimer: Characters are not mine and belong to their respective creators. Their portrayal is merely my own interpretation of them and may not be accurate to their intended characterization. I stake no claim to the original works, only to the ideas and plot of the fictitious stories I’ve written them into.

Yan Genshin Boys / Regretful Mornings.

Warnings: Fem Reader, not SFW themes, unhealthy relationships, yandere themes, past dubcon, alcohol mention, dark humor, Scaramouche being himself, it’s mentioned in passing that darling stabbed some poor sod while 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️-ing away. 

In which darling is intimate with the genshin boys, only to be in for a rude awakening the next morning. 

Keep reading

๑・GENSHIN SIBLING VOICELINES 2

── you being their sibling and their voicelines about you (gn reader)

── featuring : zhongli , raiden shogun , scaramouche , signora

# ZHONGLI

" hm..? ah yes, you must be speaking of (name).. they are my sibling. "

# RAIDEN SHOGUN

" yes, i know what to d- huh? (name)? why are you here? "

# SCARAMOUCHE

" of course their my sibling! are you blind? "

# SIGNORA

" yes yes, old (name) is my sibling. nothing special.. "

🌴 © celestiac 2022 ♡ do not translate, plagiarize, or steal

How do the different yanderes "love" you? (plus some tropes(??) i feel like would fit them)

this was honeslty just practice, and it ended up turning into smt kinda decent, i dont love what ive written but i just needed to get our smt

i blame @fatuismooches for being lovely and having such good harbinger thoughts that they've taken over my mind (fuck you[said with affection])

Yandere! Childe, Scaramouche, Dottore(separate) x gn reader

Childe ("soft and sweet" x unloving and hates touch)

He just spoils you left and right, he feels a little bad when he sees the uncomfortable look in your eyes when he kisses you all over, or when he touches you too much. so he has chosen to spoil you rotten until you finally fall for him, or at least see the way he can take care of you and finally kiss him back.

[He loves you, and that should be known by now, so why do you force his hands to do this, "why cant you just love him like he is", those were the last words you heard before he brought something to your lips and made you drink something unknown]

You are incredibly lucky that the 11th Harbinger is this patient with you, but dont push it too much, he can go to more bloody measures of getting you to fall for him if he sees it's needed. dont worry he wont hurt you too much, he loves you too much to do that, but love is complicated and you cant always control whom you fall in love with, so just love him will you, darling?

after all he knows the aphrodisiac he gave you wont last forever, so it would be better to just fall for him manually, right?

Scaramouche (manipulative, powerful x easily manipulated, weak[...i didnt know what to do here lol])

He might seem like he doesn't love at all, but when you aren't being dragged around to missions and meetings, and all alone with him in your shared chambers, he loves to just hug you, maybe litter kisses on your neck and collarbone. you hated it at first, and you still kind of do, but you've long since gotten used to it all.

He show his love for you when he has his hands all over your body as you dress into the clothes he picked out for you. he cant keep himself off of your lovely body, but would kill if anyone even touch a strand of your hair.

But oh how could you try 'nd leave when this weak little puppet is crying in your arms every night, when he has nightmares about you leaving him, dying when he can't be there to protect you... oh how foolish you are, how stupid you must be to fall for such things, as he has long since abandoned the idea of ever letting go of you.

And he'll make sure you dont let go of him either, because you need him. after all he was the one to save you from danger when you were stupid enough to walk too far into a hilichurl camp. you need protection, and he's rgith here willing to give it for "free".

Dottore (crazy scientist and his crazy lover[aka yandere x yandere but worse])

You lvoe each other in ways normal human minds wouldn't dream of ever understanding. he smiled when you gave him a dead body for experimenting, and the worst part? you had the biggest grin on your face, and a massive amount of blood on your hands and clothes, much to the dismay of many onlookers.

And then there's the fact that neither of you even spare a glance at the amount of blood on the others' clothes, or at least it looks like you don't. but when you are in the privacy of your shared bedroom (though filled with dead onlookers in the closet) you reward each other for getting rid of anyone who dares to interrupt, or archons forbid break, the love you two have.

It has been made a daily occurrence for you both to randomly disappear from the building with a fatui agent, who had taken too much attention from the other, and then come back alone with bloodied hands, and being greeted by a two-minute-long kiss when opening the lap doors again.

just two crazy maniacs in love, awwww (if they arent wanted in at least 6 nations they need to be)

thx for reading whatever this is, luv ya -Masterlist

You are welcome to reblog and like any of my posts, but you CAN NOT translate, copy or hate on anybody for liking my posts

but what if its the other way around and we're the one's carressing scaras hair 😩

maybe in the shared bed, running fingerd through his hair and pressing a soft kiss to his head because you think he's asleep

i know i would develop mad stockholm for yandere scaramouche

I think deep down he would love it because he craves your affection. But he wouldn't admit it. And the idea that (he assumes) you think that he needs or craves this sort of touch is infuriating. He'd probably feign sleep for a bit, then suddenly grap your wrist and snap out: do you think he's some kind of weak child who needs your kisses? Mind your place. In fact, he might just tie your hands to the bed post at night to teach you a lesson.

But y'know, for now. Don't stop.

On the flip side, if you weren't openly affectionate and he knew the thought of being so made you squirm, he'd probably force you to do little things like this just to see your reaction.

each version of yan scaramouche throughout the years is ridiculously clinging in their own strange way. 

as kabukimono, the others at tatarasuna often joke that he follows you around like a duckling. there are practically stars in his eyes whenever you’re so much as mentioned, he’s absolutely smitten. his way of getting closer to you — and staying there — had a rather innocent origin. he just so happened to notice that you dote on him even more whenever he makes a mistake or seems to be struggling with ‘simple’ human tasks. at first, he really was having difficulty with things such as getting dressed and brushing his hair, but over time, he learned to conceal his progress so you would take the time to help him. 

the unknown feeling that blossomed in his chest whenever your fingers brushed or he was close enough to smell the incense on your clothes was divine. he’d come up with any excuse to remain by your side, leaning into his harmless image a little too much, albeit subconsciously. after all, you may not have been so willing to allow a man in your bed just because he claimed his nightmares were making it difficult for him to sleep… but because you think he’s so sweet and lacking any ulterior motive, you don’t even bat an eyelash, gladly opening up the futon for him to lay beside you. he just can’t help himself. there’s nowhere he’d rather be than with you. 

as scaramouche, he has a simple and ineffective formula. keep the doors locked + be the only person you can have verbal interaction with = profit? (there is no profit to be had). you’re so sick of him but he’s there anyway. what makes matters worse is his audacity to act like he’s doing you a favor, spending a few hours of his busy day entertaining someone such as yourself. he says it that way too. word for word. with his nose in the air. you really can’t stand him. this method is what he prefers to utilize by far. sure, there might be some sour feelings on your side, yet it eliminates the risk of you leaving him altogether. he can withstand anything — your glares, the frequent cold shoulder treatment you give him — because it means you’re still there. 

for a person who comes off as greedy as he does, he’s surprisingly content with very little. the slivers of mostly negative attention you give are enough to sustain him, the same way a cactus can survive on very little water. if the balladeer had it his way, he’d always be in your vicinity, but unfortunately, he has constant work as a harbinger. which is why he leaves reminders of his existence on and around you to compensate for his absence. even if he can’t physically be with you, the lingering touches you feel and the marks you see make him impossible to forget. 

as the wanderer, he’s essentially jobless, allowing him twenty-four hours in the day to stick by your side. to make matters worse, the dendro archon herself came to you to ask for your cooperation. lesser lord kusanali has seen how taken with you he is, and after some observation, decides you’d be a good influence on the ‘reformed’ wanderer. lucky you. instead of following you around like a cute duckling, he’s more of a feral stray cat. you’ll ask him if he has anything better to do and he’ll shrug and say not really. trying to throw him off your trail is impossible as well, his ability to track you down is uncanny. he claims that he has a sixth sense for ‘sensing idiots’ every time he catches you. 

in his humble opinion, there’s just nothing more thrilling than seeing every side of you there is to see. he doesn’t want to miss a second. if he isn’t in the mood to chase after you and you try to run away, you’ll end up facing a gust strong enough to knock you off your feet. should he be in a good mood, he’ll catch you. if he isn’t, however… he’ll let you fall over and snicker over your misfortune. his antics to keep you close are mostly bearable, since he doesn’t freeload and offers a decent amount of help in your journeys, whether it be fighting off hoards of monsters or cooking meals. it becomes far more sinister if anyone tries to intrude on what he perceives to be your special relationship, though. 

Requesting again because why not. If your okay with it. but first. YOUVE GROWN SO MUCH AAAA. If you're okay with doing angst maybe a xiao x reader angst. Reader dies on him after a argument on how he don't spend time with the reader. And xiao gets mad and starts saying that there Annoyong and stuff. If your comfortable of course! Thank youu

Too late.

• xiao x reader

Contents ; angst absolutely no comfort because I’m angry, Xiao being kinda mean, i refuse to write uwu smol reader and make them cry from a little yelling but i did make them tear up a little, descriptions of gore, throwing up mentioned,

Notes ; I really love writing strong reader (emotionally) and thank u Lunar! You were my first ask and certainly not the last, if anyone is reading this and planning to request anything, please remember to specify of you'd like yandere or normal (sorry I only write sub yans)

When has it come to this? When did he become so.. distant? Every time you try to spend time with him, he straight up refuses. You know he’s a Yaksha, but certainly he’s got to have some time for himself? The thought of confronting him crosses your mind after he refuses yet another one of the many dinner dates you’ve been planning.

“Xiao.” You quickly grab onto his hand before he could disappear into smoke again, off to do his thing. He jolts a bit when your skin makes contact with his. “Could you listen to me for a second?” You ask gently.

“Make this quick [name]. I have other things to attend to.” One might think he’s irritated from the way his tone sounds, but you’ve grown accustomed to it. His brows furrow and he crosses his arms.

"Lately you’ve been a little too focused on your duties. I understand that it’s part of your life as a Yaksha, but could you maybe hold it off for two or three hours? To spend time with me?" You asked him with a soft smile. Hoping your small smile could maybe trick him into spending more time with you. He looks at you like you've lost your mind for a second and returns to his neutral expression.

"[name], you knew I always protect Liyue day and night, yet you still insisted on forming a relationship with me. You're asking too much from someone like me." He states with an almost annoyed look.

'Too much?' the word repeats in your head. It somehow makes your heart ache. You prepare yourself so your voice doesn't get wobbly.

"Xiao, 'too much'? It's been almost two months since you've actually got some time to spend with me. I'm only asking for two hours of your time. Is that too much for you?" You try to reason with him. But if anything, he looks more annoyed than he already looked. It's clear that he looks like he wants nothing more than to just leave. He sighs heavily.

"If I knew how tiresome you'd be to deal with, I wouldn't have picked you as my partner." He mutters while looking away. He doesn't give you time to react before spitting out something you wished he hadn't said.

"If you keep up this kind of attitude, It's better if you leave me alone." Your eyes start to sting. So that's how he thinks of you? How naive of you to think you might've changed him. You feel stupid.

"Fine then, I won't bother you anymore." You turn away and leave quickly before he can see your teary eyes. Like hell you'll ever let someone see you so vulnerable.

It's not long after you left Wangshuu Inn before you got yourself in trouble.

'Seriously, can nothing go right for me?' You should probably check your fortune now and then to see how your luck's doing.

A ruin hunter. Great.

It's eye lights up and you know you messed up by going in the wrong direction this time.

⋘══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════⋙

After you left not long ago, Xiao got a bad feeling sturring in his stomach. It makes him feel like throwing up. Deciding to look for you, he searced near the Wangshuu Inn. Just in case you were hiding somewhere.

Passing by a small forest, the familiar iron smell of blood hit his nose. Summoning his polearm, he quickly dashes towards the forest. His mind flooding with possibilities of you getting hurt.

What if you called his name but he didn't hear it? What if those pesky treasure horders were threatening you? Why didn't you call-

There you were, with a gaping hole in your stomach. Blood was everywhere, it makes him sick to the bone. Ruin parts were scattered like you were tearing it apart. He wants to throw up. He feels as though a part of him left him as he takes a closer look at your unmoving body. Your vision no longer giving the pulse it usually had. Your bright eyes had no colour and they were so dull. His voice wavers and his hand shakes as he reaches out to you. "[name].. I-I'm here now, nothing can hurt.. you.." Your chest isn't moving the way is used to. Something aches in him. It's all your fault your fault your fault your fault your fault- For the first time in years, he lets a tear roll down his cheeks as his cries were carried by the winds.

Notes and reblogs are very much appreciated <3

don't mind how I went on a hiatus for like 2 months <3

ARCHON QUEST SPOILERS!

Your older brother isn’t a good person. Fatui Harbingers don’t tend to be. As the Sixth—well, what do you expect?

You may be a century or so younger than him, your mother’s second failure, the true eternity she’d been searching for trapped in a child’s body, but that doesn’t mean you lack a brain, or a nose, or a set of ears. When they scream, you hear them. When he snaps, you hear him. When he calls you into his office so you can tell him about your day, you pick up on the tang of blood. It hits your nose every time. So does the residue electricity, dancing across your skin and making your hair stand on end. You know, every time.

(Whether he’s aware of this, you’re not sure. Maybe he is. Maybe he isn’t. You don’t ask, only clutch the stuffed animal tighter in your arms and ignore how your older brother smells like the dead every time you meet him.)

But look, now: Kunikuzushi may not be a good person, but he’s the best brother.

He presses your face into his side when you’ve run into trouble and he’s had to cause a scene. A hat that wobbles atop your head, a veil that’s pulled across your eyes. Two hands that cover your own, these gestures warm with familiarity. Kunikuzushi snaps, “Are you stupid, getting yourself into trouble like that? Can you not keep your mouth shut for the one moment I’m gone? You’re the one who wanted to come with me, so behave yourself.” You don’t take the sharpness of his tongue to heart, nor the scowl as he berates you. It had hurt at first, but not for long. Now, these make you smile.

He takes you from the shrine maiden with sly eyes and two pink, swishing tails, when he hears of your birth—your creation. Back then he’d been like you: too sweet, too kind, too sensitive to the uncertainties of life’s transcience. He too had been fragile in nature and wide-eyed at the wonders of humanity, quick to cry in the face of betrayal.

Well, betrayals. Three.

You hadn’t been there for the first two, when he had lost his mother and his friend in the span of a century. But the last one, you’d witnessed. Kunikuzushi’s third; your second. The boy’s death had been the last string.

(Yes, you think. He falls before you. This is one of the few things we have left in common.

Of course, out of all things, it is this: The three betrayals it takes for Eternity’s puppets to snap.)

You didn’t mean to see it. Him. Your brother. The Balladeer.

Kunikuzushi, reaching for your mother’s gnosis.

It’s been centuries since you’ve seen him so vulnerable. If not for the Fatui, maybe you would’ve seen him like so more, but the Snezhnayan organization had hardened him. Turned him bitter, cunning. Not towards you, of course (never you, his precious little sibling) but you saw when he spoke down to others. So condescending, holding his position over their heads. So demanding.

You get the feeling that if they saw him now, they would laugh.

He’s hanging from the tubes of the robot The Doctor built for him and he looks so desperate. (He looks like the puppet he always tells you he’s not, but this time, the strings are Dottore’s, not your mother’s.)

It’s useless to strain for it now—even you know that. Even if it’s not yet in her hands, Sumeru’s god has already won. You can tell that much by how hoarse his voice has become.

Your older brother has been reduced to cries once more.

“That’s mine!” Kunikuzushi roars. You startle, stumble back. He hasn’t noticed you yet. “Don’t even try—!”

“A kid?” you hear from your right, and you see—yes. The Traveller. “What’s a kid doing here?”

You look over, open your mouth to answer, but then you hear him quiet. Your brother has gone silent. Your eyes shoot up.

His strings have snapped.

“Kun—” You catch yourself as you stumble forward. “Scaramouche! Brother!”

He is falling.

Just this once, you plead, help him. Help him. She made him, but she made you too. She made you, you’re her eternity, so surely—

Something gloved latches ’round your arm and you’re pulled back. Stop, you think to cry, but don’t. Why are you stopping me? Don’t do that!

You don’t turn though, only fight against its hold, claw at the fabric and the hand it’s slipped over—Please!

In your frustration, you give one last lunge forward.

And finally, he sees you. (But look, on his face—has it twisted in regret?)

You cry, “Broth—!”

And—too late. The crash is unbearably loud.

The fall has already ended.