#🔎 Xenia

[solitaireships]

❓️ for the prompt meme (one of my favorite emojis tbh) - effiesaude

Emoji prompts: ❓ - “is this what you want?”

This prompt is now officially the longest thing I've written for on here, so thank you for the suggestion @orlz! I ended up going with Alexander for this, tho I did consider using Bruce for a bit bcs I associate that emoji with him a lot lol

Rating: G

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 2033 words

Content warning: Mentions of plagues/epidemics

Divider by newlips (who apparently deactivated, but I have the link to the post with the dividers)

The sound of a bell ringing draw’s Xenia’s attention away from the monotony of reviewing shipping details at the counter of her bookshop. The work day is drawing to an end, and with that there always seems to be fewer people stopping by the bookshop. She doesn’t mind the break— there are always plenty of customers around lunch. But as her shift draws closer and closer to ending, a final push to keep herself from getting too tired is appreciated.

And it’s even more appreciated when she sees none other than Alexander walking in.

“General,” Xenia greets with a nod.

“Detective,” he replies. 

“Give me just ten more minutes.”

“Take all the time you need.”

He says that, but Xenia knows that time is a precious commodity. For the two of them, she would argue that it’s even more precious.

Xenia had thought that Alexander and his troops would leave after the Polyhedron fell. They had only come here to help deal with the Sand Pest. She had expected that they would leave after it had been dealt with, going off towards another military campaign. Especially with the commander at their head— everyone knows about Alexander Block, how he rose through the ranks to become a general younger than anyone had before. Big things were supposed to be ahead of him.

And yet he got sent to a dying town. He was sent to a village ravaged by a plague, with no medical team sent along with him to lend a hand. Sent with troops who planned a mutiny against him, left to solve a problem with no clear solution. It feels like too much of an oversight to have been an actual mistake, but as much as Xenia loves to pull at the threads of a mystery, trying to prove some grand conspiracy is beyond the scope of her amateur detective work.

Regardless, Alexander’s time in the Town-on-Gorkhon is far from what anyone could have expected it to be. With it already being outside of what’s expected, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the general decided to stay in town after the Polyhedron came down.

He’s kinder than Xenia would have expected from a man nicknamed General Ashes. He didn’t want to leave the town to heal on its own, left to pick up the pieces after an unimaginable tragedy. Not all of his troops were happy about the decision to stay in town, and neither were all of the town’s citizens. 

But at the end of the day, Xenia thinks that this will be for the best. When someone’s recovering from a sickness, others can help with the healing process. She doesn’t see a reason why things should be different for a town recovering from an illness. 

Though she might be biased in wanting Alexander to stay here. That was another surprising thing that came from him staying in town these past couple of months. 

Xenia had expected a lot of things from Alexander, but the last thing that she had expected was that she would start dating him. And for once not being able to predict things isn’t terrifying. Caring for him is one surprise she doesn’t dislike. 

Xenia finishes putting the store’s earnings away for the day, locking it up in a vault built into the floor behind her counter. When she gets back up, Alexander is standing by the shop’s door like he’s keeping guard, making sure that no one can come in to interrupt the closing process.

He’s affectionate in his own way. Xenia can appreciate that. She knows she doesn’t show she cares in the most traditional ways either. 

“I should be ready to go when you are,” Xenia says.

“You’re getting faster at that,” Alexander notes as she makes her way over to join him by the door.

“I’m trying to make the best of my time,” she says. 

After all, her time with Alexander is limited. The Powers That Be will always demand more of him, and the Capital will always find a way to keep him busy. He can’t be the town’s guardian forever.

Xenia and Alexander have about a month left together. Twenty-seven days including today— Xenia has been keeping track. She has to make sure she savors every moment she has with him. 

Xenia has never had much experience with relationships. She’s not the best with people in general. She’s good at studying them— figuring out how they work from a distance. But when it comes to getting close to them, she’s always struggled. 

And yet she managed to grow close to Alexander over the course of these last few months. Closer than she has been with anyone, really. She’s dated people twice before, but it wasn’t like this. She’s never fallen this hard or fast before.  

Xenia hates that she finally found someone she could see herself spending the rest of her life with, and things between them could end so soon. Maybe they can try to make things work even while he’s away. She’s always been a problem solver first and foremost, and she’s come up with a couple of ideas for how they could keep their relationship alive while they’re apart. 

But she’ll make the time she has left with Alexander last. 

Xenia will miss getting to go on walks with him like this though. Usually they talk, but today they’re quiet. Still they match steps with each other, the cold winter air from the steppe making Xenia wish she still had a face mask on her. But without that to provide any warmth she inches closer to Alexander so their arms brush against each other. 

Neither of them usually like public displays of affection. It feels awkward to know people could see them being close like this. The town knowing that they’re in a relationship is different from being able to see it, so they try not to do any more than hold hands in public. 

But Alexander doesn’t shy away from Xenia now. He wraps his arm around her shoulder, keeping her close. It’s sweet, something that’s usually reserved for private moments between the two of them.

“You’re warm,” Xenia compliments.

“Thank you,” Alexander says.

They keep going in silence for a while. The streets of the town are confusing to most, but Xenia’s memorized the flow of them. They’re curving and uneven, cutting odd paths more like something you’d see in biology than city planning. But there’s something about them that helps Xenia to think.

Mainly she tends to think about the future. The things she thinks of now aren’t as bleak as they used to be. But she keeps having thoughts of Alexander being there with her— maybe one day moving in, staying with her and being there for her like no one has before. Through birthdays and holidays and all of the unpleasant things that inevitably come with the passage of time. 

Things won’t work out that well. They don’t usually for her. But Xenia can’t stop thinking about staying with Alexander, about him staying a part of her life for as long as possible.

They need to talk about things. Xenia hates doing that. But they need to.

“You leave at the end of the month,” Xenia says. It sounds too sudden, but it’s a good enough start to the conversation.

Alexander nods. “I do.”

“We should talk about that.” 

Xenia doesn’t like the thought of looking at Alexander right now, so she focuses on the streets ahead of her. They’re winding with uneven cobblestones, and along the path she sees some twyre growing, somehow persisting despite it being out of season.

“What do you want to do?” she asks.

“What I’d like would be to continue dating you. But the distance makes things complicated. I don’t want to subject you to that,” Alexander says. 

“Right.”

At least it’s nice to know that he wishes they could stay together too. It doesn’t stop the ache in Xenia’s chest at the thought that this conversation may lead to them breaking up. 

Maybe she should give up. But she’s never been good at doing that. She’s always been desperate to find a way to make things work with everything. 

“But maybe first we could see how things go while you’re away,” Xenia says, glancing towards Alexander out of the corner of her eyes. 

“As in?” he questions. 

“As in we don’t break things off and try to make things work from a long distance,” she says. 

Alexander frowns. It’s hard to tell if he thinks the idea is bad or if he’s worried that Xenia’s just saying that because it’s what he’d want to hear. She’s pretty sure it’s the latter. 

“Is this what you want?” Alexander asks after a moment. “I’ll be away for months.”

“I know.” 

And that’s a thought that Xenia hates. She wishes that she could keep him here with her. The town is safer than any battlefield would be, and she’d be able to see his pretty face everyday. 

Alexander has responsibilities. Xenia knows that. She can’t be selfish and demand he stay. But she wishes she didn’t have to lose him. Not when she’s finally found a relationship that she thinks could last. 

“But I still want to be with you,” Xenia says. “We can write letters until you’re able to visit on leave. If you want to come here anyway.”

“I would like that. Though I’m not sure that I’m as gifted as you are with letter writing,” Alexander says. 

“You can’t be that bad. And either way, I’ll like hearing from you.” 

And, most importantly, getting letters from him will reassure her that he’s safe and alive. 

“I’ll like hearing from you too,” Alexander says. “I like you a lot, angel.”

It takes Xenia a second to process that he said the last part in English. His words are a little awkward and stilted— he’s clearly still getting the hang of the language.

“You— that was English,” Xenia manages to force out when she remembers she should speak. 

“It needs some work,” Alexander admits. “But you’ve always spoken to me in my native tongue. I thought you’d appreciate it if someone learned yours.”

Xenia struggles to find her words more now than she did when she thought they were going to break up. This might be the kindest thing someone has ever done for her, and she doesn’t think that Alexander even realizes how important this is. They haven’t said I love you to each other yet, but this conveys the idea just with different words. It feels like a commitment, like he’s saying he’s here for the long haul. Like maybe the thoughts Xenia had of settling down together in the future might be possible. 

“Thank you,” Xenia says. “I— how much have you learned?”

“Not much. I’ve been practicing for a week. Mostly more, ah, romantic phrases. I hoped to surprise you,” Alexander says. 

Xenia rests her hand on his back. “It was a really good surprise. Would you understand me if I said, you’re the handsomest man I’ve ever met?”

“I… understood the end.”

Xenia supposes she should have guessed he was more focused on learning ways to compliment her than to respond to her own flirtations. 

“How about you’re very pretty?” she tries. 

Alexander’s cheeks redden and Xenia’s pretty sure it’s not just from the cold. “Thank you.”

“You have a cute accent,” Xenia says with a laugh, leaning closer into him. 

“Your accent speaking Russian is very cute,” he replies, quick as ever to try to turn the compliment back on to her. 

“Thank you. I could help teach you more English if you wanted. Maybe I can give you some lessons in our letters.”

“I would appreciate it,” Alexander says. He holds her even closer with his arm as they turn down a narrower street, like he's trying to keep her fused to his side. “I really do like you a lot.”

“I like you a lot too,” Xenia promises. It’s not quite an I love you, but it’s close enough. And for once it’s easy to think that she could stay like this, feeling happy and loved, forever.

[solitaireships]

And we finish the collection of ship charts with assorted masc f/os!

Piera and Courier were drawn by me, Sonia and Xenia were made with this picrew

[solitaireships]

Within the Pa.tho lore, Xenia was a doll gifted to the children from America. She was supposed to be a detective, but they decided to instead make her the town’s book shop owner

[solitaireships]

i'm sorry i forgot if i even sent one but here's some more alsdkjfh 🫶🌙🕊️for alexander block? (@eveningshards)

No worries, you sent one before! It's here if you still haven't seen it

🫶: Who ended up falling first? Which of them actually realized that they’d fallen in love first?

Xenia fell first, but she didn't reealize that was what was going on since she's not very in touch with her emotions. Alexander fell a little bit after her, but he quickly realized that he had feelings for her. Despite this, Xenia was the one who ended up actually asking him out bcs he didn't want to be the one to suggest starting things knowing that he would have to leave her

🌙: Who has to force the other into having healthy sleeping habits? How well does that go for em?

Alexander does, mainly in terms of helping Xenia sleep through the night. It's not that he necessarily does anything, but having him in bed with her helps her to sleep better and without as many interruptions. And when she does wake up, she just can snuggle up to him and that helps her go back to sleep

🕊️: Give just a general domestic tidbit for em (things they like about each other, routines, habits, and just overall sweet stuff)

It came up in the fic I wrote for them, but Alexander learns English for Xenia! With her being in the town, she pretty much always speaks Russian even tho she's from the US and English is her first language. He appreciated that she was always talking to him in a language that wasn't technically her own, so he wanted to be able to talk to her in her first language. It takes him a while for him to get conversational in it, but he starts with learning ways to compliment her in English and a couple of terms of endearment. She helps teach him English when they're together too, so that's a fun little couple bonding thing they get to do

[solitaireships]

4 6 12 for whoever you like ! maybe someone you dont usually talk about? - mocuish1e

Answering for Xenia! I should really finish designing her so I can make that little Path/osona sheet with her

4. would you be considered a main character, side character, villain, or something else?

Supporting character, she’s one of the citizens of the Town. She’d be more relevant in the Bachelor route than others tho since she’s a Utopian. I could see Clara taking an interest in her tho, at least after Alexander comes to town. Xenia also has some lockpicks and food she can give to the player, so I feel like they’d appreciate that (especially since she takes coffee and scrap names in exchange for them)

6. does your self insert have any pets?

No, but she had a pet cat growing up

12. how would the fandom view your character?

I’m out of touch from the Path/ologic fandom since it’s been kinda dead since we’re still waiting for the Bachelor route. I feel like she wouldn’t be super popular, but she’d be reasonably well liked. There would probably be a cool analysis about her and how she differs from the other Utopians, with her disliking most of the rest of them, as well as how her being an immigrant to the Town effects her perspective and approach to things like the Sand Pest and the Polyhedron

[solitaireships]

And the final bunch of ship charts! This is for all of the ones that have personalized self inserts to go with them

Xenia was made with this picrew, Shepard with this one, and Renata with this

[solitaireships]

4,6, 11 and 17 for alexander! (@eveningshards)

Hi Haze!

4) spooning or one person laying their head on the other’s chest?

It kind depends. I think they do slightly prefer spooning tho, Xenia loves to get to hold Alexander

6) “pancake” or “waffle” hand-holding?

I had to look up what this was bcs I had no idea lol. I think waffles tho

11) calling each other by their names, plain and simple, or calling each other really flowery pet names?

I’m gonna go with names here, though they like to use each other’s titles (detective and general) for each other terms of endearment fairly often. Alexander also likes to call Xenia angel

17) love at first sight or slow burn?

Slow burn is more accurate. There was definitely attraction at first sight, but they didn’t really fall for each other until a bit later

[solitaireships]

99! - @selfrinsert

Your Best American Girl - Mitski

So this one is actually really difficult to apply to a selfship bcs of the meaning behind the song. Basically it’s about loving someone, but the differing backgrounds of the two people (specifically that one is Asian and one is white) gets in the way of the relationship so that it can’t last. And part of the reason it can’t last is bcs the Asian woman is trying to erase that part of her to conform to the idea of what an American girl should be, with that not being sustainable bcs it’s erasing part of who you are. This is a messy explanation tho, so I’d recommend anyone who wants to know more check out the Genius page for this song to see some deeper analysis of it and quotes from Mitski on it

But with all of that, this one is hard for me bcs I’m Asian (Korean specifically), but I’m also mixed and was raised without a ton of connection to my culture bcs my grandmother never passed that down. So I feel kinda weird claiming this song as something for me, even if it’s a thing I can relate to on some levels, but with that erasure of identity to conform to white American standards having further down my family tree and making it so that as an adult I’m working on trying to connect with my culture more

Anyway, I know I technically have more of a claim so to speak to this song than the countless completely white people who use it for ship stuff. I’m just kinda over explaining bcs of how often this song being about that is forgotten/ignored, and I want the approach I’m taking to talking about it here to be clear. If I’m assigning this to a ship, I’d give it to Xenia and Alexander. Alexander’s white, and he spent his whole life in Russia, while Xenia’s an American immigrant who shares my background of being 1/4 Korean and 3/4 white. They have very different backgrounds bcs of those cultural difference, but a key difference from the song is that they’re able to make things work by acknowledging these differences and trying to understand each other’s view based on them. I also like to think that Alexander would be happy to help Xenia explore her identity and reclaim parts of it that she’s lost down her family tree

send me a number 1-100 and i will tell you what that song is from my spotify wrapped and which selfship it applies to

[solitaireships]

On the subject of Xenia. A ship chart for her and Block

Picrew for Xenia from here!

[solitaireships]

✨️ for xenia! (@eid0lons)

Xenia moved to the town a couple of years before the Sand Pest happened, with her being an American immigrant. A lot of the people in the town had trouble pronouncing her name (or just didn't feel like getting it right) so she earned the nickname around town of Detective. She's not actually a detective- she rusn a bookshop- but she does like to poke around and investigate mysteries around the town

Also with the different Bound in the game, she's a Utopian (despite the fact she dislikes most of the other Utopians)

Send me a ✨ for a random thing about one of my OCs! (Optional: You can specify one!)

[solitaireships]

Xenia art! The template I used was made by someone on here, but they deleted the original :( I also accidentally merged the mask layer with everything and bcs of that had to redraw the lower half of her face so. Whoops

Taglist

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