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kumeko · 3 months

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A/N: For the Golden Rule @yanfeizine! Beidou is always really fun to write, I love slipping her in everywhere.

…

The sea was calm. Yanfei preferred it that way, especially whenever she was ferried over to Captain Beidou’s ship. The tiny rowboat rocked enough as it was. While she wasn’t sure if an adeptus could get seasick, she didn’t really want to push her luck and find out. Especially since this journey was for work.

It wouldn’t be professional to vomit all over the captain’s—her client’s—quarters.

Yanfei glanced behind her, at the slowly shrinking dock. It was strange to see the city without the familiar Jade Chamber hovering over it; perhaps it was a miracle that it was the only thing destroyed by Osial’s attack. While she’d never made a contract to protect Liyue, that didn’t mean the desire wasn’t there.

That also didn’t mean the ability was there. Yanfei flexed her hand and sighed. Her fighting prowess was far lower than her adepti kin; an adeptus born to a world at peace didn’t need battle skills, after all. Even now, her fingers trembled at the memory of the fight. At the power of the ocean, trying to swallow everything whole. Her father had been fearless as he fought off wave after wave. Even Ganyu had lost her secretary persona, her focus razor-sharp as she drew her bow.

Not for the last time, Yanfei remembered the difference in the eras they were born in, in the experiences they’d lived through.

“Do you want the ladder?”

A gruff voice broke through her thoughts and Yanfei turned around to find they were already at the Alcor. Beside her, the wiry crewmate who’d rowed the boat slowly stretched his arms above him, the only sign of discomfort from his hard work. If he didn’t like ferrying people back and forth, he didn’t show it. With a roguish smile, the man added, “I can call up for it.”

Yanfei shook her head as she crouched. “It’s quicker to jump.”

Without wasting another minute—time was a lawyer’s most precious commodity—Yanfei pushed off. The boat rocked slightly as she sprang high in the air, catapulting herself over the railing and onto the deck. As she landed, she heard a whistle.

“Damn, that never gets old,” a familiar boisterous voice called out. Yanfei pivoted to find Beidou behind her, her hands on her hips as she grinned brightly. Her long hair curled over her shoulders like a cape. “You sure you don’t want to change jobs?”

Yanfei chuckled as she smoothened the creases in her shirt. While Beidou didn’t care for decorum, Yanfei was a professional, and a professional couldn’t look anything less than impeccable. Even if her clients were a bunch of rough, rugged pirates who often dripped blood on the carpet whenever they came for advice.

There was a reason she preferred to meet them on the ship.

Around her, various crewmates waved as they bustled back and forth, preparing the Alcor for a prolonged stay in the harbour. She had heard they’d just rolled in this morning, mere hours before they’d sent a messenger to her office. Yanfei rested a hand on her hip, mirroring her client’s pose as she returned her attention to the captain. “I prefer taking advantage of the business you bring.”

“Taking what you want, eh?” Beidou guffawed, not the least bothered by the usual rejection. “That’s a pirate’s attitude, alright.”

“Perhaps I’ve spent too much time with you.” Pulling out her law book, Yanfei rolled back her shoulders and braced herself for her next job. The best part of Beidou’s cases was that they were always interesting. The worst part was that she’d have to spend hours delving into the most minutia of laws to find a loophole. “You’ve only returned to town for a few hours—are you in trouble with unloading your shipment or has the Tianquan finally tired of you?”

Beidou wrinkled her nose and scowled. “I don’t sail for her.”

“Right.” Yanfei resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the usual story. There was a strange push-and-pull between the captain and the Tianquan. Then again, it wasn’t like she was one to talk—she played a cat-and-mouse game these days with the overly sharp Ningguang, trying to find loopholes before they got filled.

Begrudgingly, Yanfei had to admit Ningguang was a worthy opponent. If only the woman didn’t make her job harder with each duel.

“Nah, my problem has to do with this scallywag.” Beidou leaned back, cupped her mouth, and shouted up, “Hey, Kazuha, get your scrawny ass down here.”

And to think that was the cleaned-up version of Beidou’s talk. Yanfei chuckled wryly. There were few who could curse as colourfully as a sailor. “So this Kazuha—”

A soft thump interrupted her as a man leaped down from the crow’s nest, his feet barely making a sound as he landed next to Beidou. Yanfei stepped back, surprised at the daring feat. Despite his grey-white hair, he looked young. His melancholic red eyes met hers briefly before he turned to the captain. “Yes?”

“You’re always so damn quiet.” Unfazed, Beidou slung her arm around his shoulder and pointed at him. “Kazuha.” She pointed at Yanfei. “Yanfei.”

Yanfei stared blankly for a moment before realizing that was the introduction. One that did little to explain the situation. She closed her book and bowed slightly. “Nice to meet you. Judging by your clothing, I assume you’re from Inazuma?”

Kazuha glanced at Beidou one last time before turning his attention to her. He gave a slight bow back, as much as he could do while Beidou kept a hold of him. Wistfully, he nodded. “Yes, I come from that lightning, that thunder.”

Poetic. When he didn’t add anything else, Yanfei peeked up at Beidou. The captain merely snickered, clearly used to the cryptic response. Well, that was just fine. This wasn’t the first Inazuma escapee to knock on Yanfei’s door. And with Inazuma the way it was, it wouldn’t be the last. She could easily guess what the request was. “Is this an immigration case? Or a refugee? It’s a little harder to claim that status, depending on the prosecution you face. There are a few other status types we could explore, if you need something that fits your needs better.”

Kazuha stared at her for a moment. She wondered just how much of that he understood. People often told her she spoke too fast. Couple that with confusing dialogue and it was the perfect recipe for misunderstandings.

Beidou snorted, breaking the ice as usual. “Why do you always make things sound so complicated?” She thumped Kazuha’s back. “It’s simple. He’s moving to Liyue.”

Well, at least she could count on Beidou to speak honestly. Yanfei smiled. “Well, I suppose I should say thank you for choosing our country as your new home.”

“Anyplace would have been fine,” Kazuha admitted, his voice soft. She could only imagine what led him to escape Inazuma. Between the Geo and Anemo Archons, it was easy to forget the other gods weren’t quite so benevolent and easy-going. “Beidou brought me here.”

“Oh, so now you’re talking plainly?” Beidou bumped her shoulder against his. Or rather, with their height difference, she bumped his head. “Maybe you should do that instead of your poetry.”

He looked used to this response, his expression relaxing as he replied dryly, “The poetry gets rid of you.”

“Damn right it does. So does paperwork.” Beidou laughed one last time. She turned to Yanfei. “I’ll cover his costs. You should come to our feast tonight; we can catch up then.”

And like a hurricane, she spun on her heel and disappeared below deck.

The deck felt strangely quiet with her gone, even though the rest of the crew was still bustling about. Yanfei sighed. “She really does whatever she wants.”

“That’s her charm.” Kazuha smiled genially as he stepped closer to her now. Despite his thin clothing, he didn’t rub his arms as a cold breeze ruffled his hair. He appeared oddly tranquil, like a still lake or a clear sky. Even with the sword on his hip, it felt like it wouldn’t take much to blow him away. “Thank you for the help.”

“It’s not so much help as it is work.” Yanfei regarded her new client. He was in good spirits for an escapee. “So you’re a poet?”

His smile grew brighter. ��Would you care to hear some?”

She could feel a headache forming. “Maybe later. She wasn’t kidding about the paperwork. We’ll have a lot.” Yanfei scowled, glaring across the ocean in the direction of Inazuma. It was the second most annoying country to deal with. “Especially these days.”

“Especially these days?” he asked, cocking his head slightly as he followed her gaze. Seeing only the open sea, he glanced back at her, confused.

“Inazuma has a lot of paperwork.” She rubbed her forehead. If Fontaine’s judicial procedures were the most complicated, Inazuma’s were the most convoluted. “It’s a time thing. Inazuma took ‘eternity’ literally with the red tape.”

“A mountain of it?” Kazuha guessed, not looking the least bit afraid or worried. That would change once he saw everything he had to sign.

“A whole range.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping as she envisioned the work ahead of her. Yanfei had done menial jobs before; she knew how to handle a boring case. That didn’t make it any better.

Still, if the others fought monsters, Yanfei fought in court. Her own battles were just as tiring, even if the stakes were lower. There was no point in worrying over the work ahead; she’d face it as it came. “Everything has to go through every administration, every pair of hands—I think it was easier before your borders closed, but I never really dealt with Inazuma back then. Perhaps Ganyu might know better.”

Kazuha stared at her blankly.

He certainly had no idea what she was talking about. Briefly, she missed the company of the Feiyun Commerce Guild’s second son. “Either way, a lot of paperwork. Maybe we should start tomorrow—it’ll be slow no matter when we do it.”

“That’s fine.” Kazuha leaned against the railing, his stance relaxed. He smiled pleasantly. “The people of Liyue are as kind and helpful as Lumine said.”

“Oh, did she say that—” Yanfei froze. A sense of dread filled her. “Lumine? You met?”

“Yes.” Kazuha nodded, not noticing her stiffening posture. “Before she entered Inazuma.”

The dread grew stronger. There was a pit in her stomach. Slowly, she grabbed Kazuha’s shoulders. Ignoring his surprised gasp, Yanfei carefully asked, “Lumine is in Inazuma?”

He glanced at her hands, more startled than scared, and nodded.

“Fuck.” Yanfei wasn’t one to curse, but today required it. Immediately, she withdrew, pulling out her law book and flipping through it quickly to find the relevant clauses.

Kazuha stayed where he was, his eyes following her as she paced. Quietly, he asked, “That’s bad?”

“For Inazuma? No. For us? Yes.” Yanfei worried her lip as she thumbed through the immigration section. She should have realized it earlier, when Lumine said she’d be leaving the country. Hell, she should have asked her where she was going. “The country will be turned upside down.”

Kazuha frowned, perplexed. “That’s a good thing.”

“The laws will change.” She looked up at him, making sure to lock eyes. “Any paperwork we send now could either miraculously make it through before that or get lost in paperwork limbo. In which case we’ll have to wait until a restructuring, where I will have to learn the new laws.”

It took him a moment. Kazuha paled. “That’s bad.”

“More tiring than bad.” Yanfei took a deep breath before pulling out a quill and piece of paper. “Come on, let’s get started. State your name and occupation.”

#yanfei #genshin impact #kazuha kaedehara #beidou #liyue #fanfic

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csial · 1 year

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THE HYDRO ARCHON OF LIYUE.

Victory was supposed to taste sweet, and yet there is a bitterness that sits in Osial's throat, tightening his chest, as he cradles the gnosis on his palm. The ground quakes, rumblings of something confined deep in abyssal depths, held at bay until their business can be finished. A contract of ancient creatures determined to deny death now lies in tatters before the final victor, the blood stained pages his reminder of his betrayal.

This is the verse where Osial wins, but the victory is not as sweet as he thought it might be. It begins at Havria's death, when the loss of the one he calls friend churns the seas and coerces this ancient god to give into his worst instincts. What follows is a more aggressive front, a cruel offence to ensure he is not swallowed into Morax's victories. And it ends with the summoning of those left, who are too weak to face Morax alone, putting a proposal before them. Why should we give way to the land when the sea will always consume it in the end? Let us unite and drown the earth he stands upon, swallow his cities and nations in our tides, ensure that the rage of the sea is known?

And enough agree to form an alliance to defeat Morax, waiting for the opportune moment. Though Osial knows not one of them will survive, for they are his fodder to weary his foe until he can seal him away.

On a battlefield of their blood and anguished cries he does as much, luck or fortune giving him but a brief moment when continuous battle has wearied Morax enough to catch him offguard. A prison beneath the waves, where even the greatest quakes will be consumed by the current becomes the home of Morax, and though his losses are great Osial is undettered, finishing the last who oppose to claim Celestia's crown.

A pity the weight of the crown is not one he was meant to bear. A pity it be ill suited to his disposition.

Liyue grows, as civilisation does, but its people are different. A nation of seafarers and pirates, those who follow the old ways of Morax and Guizhong seeking harbour where Osial's waters cannot touch with ease, though he does bring the floods in his struggles to manage their defiance. The people of Osial are not prosperous but seaworn and tough, wary of outsiders, and holding respect for the sea above all others. Eventually trade grows, the need for more settlements takes them inland, but there is no Liyue Harbour as we know it.

And all the while Osial resents the fact he cannot feel pride in his victory. No matter how many battles he wins, how powerful he grows with the belief of his power, there is something fundamentally wrong. Something that draws him back to the one he keeps beneath the waves, visiting in search of the answer as to why this is wrong, without asking the question.

In the modern day Osial walks among the people in his human form, and appears before them in his god vessel. He does not make the deal with The Tsaritsa for the gnosis, for he will not part with the thing that he fought to claim. It would make things certainly interesting on how that all plays out.

INFO:

Osial is the archon, he defeated Morax by setting aside his pride and allying with others who also wanted to resist Morax. What he did not tell them was he intended to use them all as fodder to see the other fall.

Osial does not kill Morax, for he knows that killing a god is dangerous. He uses an old seal instead to keep him imprisoned within his realm. Morax has freedom within the space he is confined to but the only one who can visit is Osial.

Beisht was a casualty of Osial's campaign. He gave up everything to get the gnosis.

Carrying the weight of being the archon sits ill with Osial. It's an itch beneath the skin he cannot settle, a heavy burden that weighs on his shoulders. He will not admit to it, because to admit to it would mean he gave up everything for nothing. Unfortunately that means the brunt of his feelings is taken by either the humans or Morax is he visits him.

Osial suffers from the even when I have him imprisoned and sealed he's laughing at me attitude towards Morax. It makes his interactions cruel at times, though he can also be entirely despondant sitting for times without saying a word.

As power grows with belief, he is much stronger in this verse, for even those who choose to still follow Morax fear him and think of him.

I would imagine Xiao, in this verse, acts as the protector of the people of Morax (though of course it is up to those who rp Xiao). The adepti were given the choice to bow to Osial or see their lands consumed by the sea. Most chose neutrality out of practicality.

In my head this means that Fontaine has a geo archon instead (Navia? dsfhdskj ) but there could be possibilities for various shuffles elsewhere. I'd be happy to plot out connections.

#ic. the sea does not like to be restrained / hcs.#v. you must be scared and you're right to fear; your mind is racing seeking escape / au i.#ooc. the overlord speaks / verses info.#( me: i need to write it this week; also me: word vomits on a page to throw this together )#( there's so much i want to think about but i give him to the dash and shake the concept to interested parties )#long post /

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coloredincrayon · 11 months

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Edit: I forgot to add warnings sry, —> depictions of violence, blood, mentions of death, swearing

Based on a glitch that caused a geovishap-hatchling to send Wriothesley flying

Neuvillette - vii

Wriothesley - wrio

Self indulgent (found) family stuff

Not reread or proofread whatsoever, so expect typos.

Wriothesley trusted Aether. Dispite being a criminal n fontaine, Aether was one of the few people Wrio knew he could trust. So, when Aether invited him to go on an adventure in lyiue, he ignored his urge to stay doing work and agreed, Aether convincing him that relaxing in a new environment may help to ease the stress that had been buildning on him the past couple of days.

Wrio sent in his request for temporary leave, and was shocked when it was none other than monsieur Neuvillette himself there to send him of. Wrio was long since past listening in on vii and aether talking, so he didn’t hear when vii reluctantly asked “be sure to take care of our duke, Aether.” Followed by a giggle and reasurrment.

The trip to lyiue was a surprisingly peaceful one, and it only took around two days before the bustle of the city was in earshot. Wrio had never really paid attention to the city In the past, only taking slight interest during the passing of rex-lapis. Needless to say, he knew nothing about where he was.

“Hey, hero!” Called a voice from behind the group of three “Aether, it’s been a while how have you been.” Some pedestrians had recognized the renowned traveler, seems the tour of the city would need to wait a bit longer. After some time aether brings the drawn out conversation to a hold, and quickly picks up the pace he was at before “sorry wrio, i haven’t been back in a while and some people may want to chat some.” “It’s fine, really.” Wrio refastens the belted bag on his shoulder and continues “though i will admit, i knew you were famous, but i didn’t think a hero would wind up with a sentence in the fortrace of meripede.” Aether stares at him quizzically before responding to the blatant teasing “it’s fine, i don’t think myself much of a hero anyways. Just helped out some during the osial crisis.” Aether thinks back to that fight, but before he can even begin to reminisce, paimon butts in “helped ‘some’ during the osial crisis? I think you mean a lot mister!” Paimon is now floating somewhat less lazily than before “ you took on the power of four adepti and lived long enough to talk about it! That seems like more than ‘some’ to paimon.”

Wrio knew aether was oblivious, but during their time in lyiue, he came to terms with the fact that aether may just be downright stupid when it came to social status. From downplaying him defeting a god, to chatting with lady ningguang like old friends, aether didn’t seem to know (or care) about someone’s fearful reputation, maybe that’s why wrio warmed up to him so quickly. People always seemed to be afraid of the well-known ‘duke of meripede’ but aether talked with him like you would anyone else, ignoring the stares and rumors and stories, aether was one of the few that actually saw wrio. So, it only made sense that after learning about aether’s real story, he began to worry somewhat. Not anything drastic, or overbearing, just checking in, making sure aether was eating, getting enough water and sleep. Wrio never fancied himself the caring type, now here he was, worrying and watching over this kid like anyone would do for their family.

“Family” wrio thought to himself, he never had much of that, and from what he heard of aether, neither did he anymore.

It was about a week into the ‘grand lyiue adventure’ as paimon and aether called it. Aether had taken commission to deal with some geovishap hatchlings near the dunyu ruins. As they approached the destination wrio questioned aether “so, what is a geovishap hatchling, exactly?” “A nuisance at best, deadly at worst. You can find them almost anywhere in lyiue if you look hard enough.” Wrio nodded along to aether’s description of them as they went.

An hour and a couple of dead hatchlings in and it looked like the commission was coming to a close. after defeating a final hatchling, wrio and aether both visibly relaxed aether had knocked the last one off the edge of the cliff they were standing on, cheering as he had apparently been wanting to kill one like that for a while.

Wrio only had a moment to process before he was hurdling himself at aether, shoving him out of the way as a hatchling popped out of the ground right under where aether was standing. The hatchling popped from the ground in an ungraceful fashion and latched itself onto the nearest object, being wriothesley. From bother knocking aether out of the way, and this newly attached monster clawing at him, wrio lost his balance, and fell.

“Wriothesley!” He heard aether scream as he plummeted to the ground, losing contact with the floor and the hatchling, wrio only thought one thing before he landed “atleast…I could protect..him…”

Aether is scrambling down the side of the cliff, Paimon close behind, both panicked beyond help. The fall itself wouldn’t have been lethal to someone like wriothseley, leaving a broken limb at most, but they had just been in battle, aether could see the fatigue on his companion as he took out that last hatchling, and the ground below was littered with rocks. Aether’s breath hitches and his blood runs cold when he sees wrio’s limp body surrounded by blood. Granted, surrounded not being the right word. Most of wrio’s fall seemed to have been interrupted by a plethora foliage, for better or worse. Though, the initial impact had been made on the rock his body was slouched under, the bright smear of blood falling from a pool above being the only indication needed.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Aether’s mind was running, he ran to and clutched wrio’s body in his own, trying desperately to wake him “shit…” he curses to himself “paimon! Lyiue harbor isn’t far, go find someone to help, i-I’ll stay here and see what i can do with what we have!” Paimon was hesitent but quickly agreed when aether shot them a worried glance.

It feels like hours have gone by the time paimon returns, millileth soldiers in tow. Aether full on sobbing at this point, holding wrio as close as he can without causing any further harm, muttering to himself (or wrio) “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, I’m sorry.”

Minutes, to hours, to days, aether knew baizou, knew he was the best, knew not to worry, but even still. Aether blamed himself, he learned that wrio would be fine, yet he still mourned from the death that never happend. He blamed himself, if he had been a little more perceptive or a little quicker, this all could have been avoided, only remembered as story told at social gatherings once they returned to fontaine. Oh archons, how could aether go back like this, he had caused harm to the one he swore to monsieur neuvillette he would protect. He couldn’t return, not for a while, he couldn’t see them, he couldn’t see wrio. He knew what they would say he knew how these things go, they’d say it’s “not your fault” and “everything worked out in the end” he just couldn’t face it.

“Aether?” Came a soft voice “doctor baizou! Uhm, i-is..” aether trails off, unable to form the words “wriothesley is doing better, he is awake now.” Aether turns, the light slowly returning to his face “he is asking to see you.” Oh archons “me, are you sure. Shouldn’t he be resting, or-or having checkups or-“ baizou holds up a hand “the patient specifically requested to see you.”

Aether is afraid to see wrio, hands shaking as he stands in front of the door to their room. After hearing what happened, keqing was quick o offer them a place to stay “just think of it as compensation for all you’ve done for us.” Aether usually would have declined, he hated using his status as ‘hero’ to get what he wanted, but he accepted for wrio.

He knocked on the door, paimon is the one to answer, both small hands on the doorknob to get it open “aether!” She shrieks with delight, engulfing him in a hug (barley able to wrap both arms around him) she drags him in and ushers him to wrio. Aether can feel as time stops, seeing wrio covered in bandages and wounds that still looked fresh. Once they made eye-contact wrio was instantly trying to sit up, groaning in pain as he did “you shouldn’t-“ “fuck what i should or shouldn’t do, I’m just glad to see you. I’m glad you’re okay.” Wrio was worried, about him? Not himself after that fall, but wrio was worried about aether. Tears begin to form in aether’s eyes and he darts them around trying to look anywhere but wrio. He holds his head low and slouches down, nothing like the confident sunshine adventurer people knew him as. “Hey, c’mere.” Wrio says as he grabs aether’s arm and pulls him in. even while in so much pain, wrio was worried about aether, his aether, the aether he learned to care about, the aether that infamous ‘duke of meripede’ came to see as his brother. The tears are flowing freely now, aether is in bed next to wrio, holding onto him for dear life and sobbing uncontrollably, all while wrio is holding him gently and whispering “it’s fine, I’m fine, you’re fine.” “But it’s because of me you got hurt!” “You could never hurt me, brother.” With that Paimon has left the room, and fallen fast asleep on the couch (which she is about one-third of the size of, like, seriously, why is she so small 🥺)

@mother---fucker I know you don’t really know these characters but I think I did good after having art/writers block for like two months

#genshin impact #genshin wriothesley #genshin neuvillette #genshin traveler #genshin aether

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genshrineimpact · 2 years

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Can you imagine during archon war we were like the most scariest, powerful god in it?

The Harbinger of Death, goddess of lost war, brutalz bloody battles, plaques and hunger (anything to do with war basically that happens during and after that's not glorified) so the archon war is causing them to become even more powerful.

Being known as merciless God who kills anyone in their way causes weaker god's to be terrified but at the same, some brave souls seek protection. And surprisingly they get it, because reader is a softie.

Morax in turn is desperate for some allies. Due to him gaining the geo gnosis, he put a massive cross on his back. He has guizhong and osail, but it's not enough to protect his people.

So he comes up with a plan to court the worst possible option - the most powerful bloody god that celestia was considering to become the god of death (because with amount of death in the war, death domain needed someone to look over it)

It doesn't help that he had a massive crush after meeting us on the battlefield and seeing how we help our wounded soldiers and being good leader and deity.

So starts the awkward tries of more rough around the edges, young and hormonal Morax to court us, while ozial and guizhong are trying to change his mind.

slfkslfks holy shit i- never thought about this concept but hhhhhhh

help this turned into a fic before i realized-

ps. not proofread, this is literally word vomit and i haven't reread it yet cause my lunch break's over lsdjflskd

⬙⤠ masterlist ⤝⬙

you're the god of war, known for your merciless nature and prowess in battle. you're offered the finest wine, battle armors of the fallen, the biggest livestock. each year a hunting competition is celebrated across your nation, with many people joining in to prove themselves to you, a chance for them to show their loyalty and perhaps be granted your blessings in return.

you feed from the hopelessness in your enemies' eyes, the tear of their battle wills, the blood spilled upon your people's weapons. you are the definition of fear and morbid, and your people hold an equal amount of respect and fear towards you. the gods fear you and scorn you but they're afraid to cross your path because they know you're perfectly capable to crush them under your feet if you so desire.

but what most fail to realize is that although you are the personification of ruin itself, you're secretly drawn to everything that's on the opposite spectrum of your nature, but you're so afraid to indulge yourself because what can your battle-scarred hands do besides destroying everything they touch? they don't realize that your fierceness stems from your wish to protect your people. they don't realize that you wish for a company, someone strong enough to stand by your side, someone who wouldn't crumble from your fierceness yet treasures your weaknesses, someone whom you can trust wholeheartedly without fearing that you might get stabbed on your back the moment you let your guard down. they don't realize that you despise having to enjoy the offerings alone....

enter rex lapis, god of contracts, whose prowess falls just a little short below you. but what rex lapis misses, he makes up with his wit and the companions who support him from behind the scenes. rex lapis, like the other gods, fear you and see you as a threat to their people, because in his eyes you're just this thirsty warmonger who thrives upon the deaths of the innocents.... or, well, that is, until he sees you personally mourning over the deaths of your people. immediately, he's intrigued. but he dares not to intrude on your moment of solitude, afraid that he would provoke you if you discover him seeing you in your most vulnerable state. the image stays at the back of his mind, and both guizhong and osial notice how he always fall silent whenever your name comes up.

it isn't until the archon war that he proposes an idea to make an alliance with you. obviously guizhong disagrees and starts listing off the cons of doing so, being his trusted strategist. osial thinks he's gone crazy, and he departs with a snarl and a disbelieving shake of head when the god of contracts tries to explain his reasons. guizhong tries to persuade him otherwise, because there are millions of ways that this could go wrong, and because she has tried to reach out to you in the past but was turned away. you clearly do not want to associate yourself with anyone in the first place. and rex lapis knows that his friend is, as always, correct - but his rational side wavers when he remembers the pained sobs that left your lips and the tears falling down your cheeks.

"nonetheless, we should still try. i have a hunch they will turn out to be different than the rumors."

guizhong starts re-explaining again from the top, and for once rex lapis does not listen.

the next time he dives into battle, the thought plagues his mind, alongside osial's betrayal. maybe that's why he was unable to realize that guizhong was in danger. why he was unable to react in time when his mind's eye connects the trajectory of the blade with the positions of his people. by the time he realizes what was going on, guizhong is already plummeting towards the ground, straight towards your troops' formation.

he's moving on pure instinct when he speeds over towards his friend, he knows it's utter foolishness to appear before the enemy's territory, especially in his frazzled state. he braces for enraged yells and blades sinking upon his skin, he prepares to retreat- and yet everything is silent with the exception of the sound of war in the background. he looks up and sees you, looking down at them with a stoic expression on your face, so different from his memory. the nefarious nicknames flash beyond his eyes, and he grips guizhong's body protectively, draconic eyes glaring up at you, a silent warning.

to his utter shock, your eyes soften. or perhaps it was just his imagination? because you've closed them before he could examine it further, and when you turn towards your generals, your voice is as authoritative and cold as ever, sending shivers down his spine.

but no, it must have not been a fever dream, because you're telling your troops to march forward and conduct themselves along with his troops. you tell them to protect his people and to fully assist his soldiers.

"why?" he asks, and his voice is soft and cracked against the deafening song of the battlegrounds, but still you turn towards him and watch as your gaze falls to the goddess of dust.

"she gave me a flower, once."

it's thousands of years later that rex lapis realizes, as he gazes upon you admiring the first glaze lily that your people managed to cultivate - perhaps it was that single sentence that finally broke the walls he's set around his heart. he casts a forlorn look towards the sea stretching beyond the harbor and the dust dancing in the air under the bright sun.

if only they could see him now. if only they could see you now.

"i told you they would be different from the rumors."

he winces when a speck of dust enters his eyes and chuckles when you start fussing over him, your touch gentle as you examine his teary eyes.

yes, very different indeed.

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #zhongli #zhongli x reader #guizhong #osial #when the brainrot got you so inspired you wrote a fic without meaning to #rip my lunch break but this was fun to write hehe #luke blessing us again with their genius ideas #everyone say thank you #rin writes #lukerycyja #god of war! reader au

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pokemonispain · 3 years

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An order is an order-Zhongli & Xiao

Summary: In which Xiao is asked by Zhongli to keep a watchful eye over Childe during a planned trip to Jueyun Karst. It ends up being one of the worst most embarrassing days in Xiao's recent memory.

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Xiao had served Rex Lapis for decades, centuries even always at the god’s beck and call, although Rex Lapis gave Xiao the freedom to live his life as he wished. Xiao only wished to serve him, if Rex Lapis told him to jump it was not a question of when but how high.

Xiao would be eternally grateful for the new lease on life his master had given him, although admittedly there were times he did disagree with him. This...was one of those times.

“Sir...forgive my forwardness but wouldn’t Ganyu be a better fit for this?” Xiao asked slowly.

Rex Lapis, or as he was now known as Zhongli, gave him a small smile. “Perhaps, however, Ganyu is busy at the moment helping Lady Ningguang in the process of rebuilding the jade chamber. I do not know if she may even be able to find time to go to Jueyun Karst of her own volition.”

Xiao merely nodded slowly. They stood outside of the city of Liyue Harbor, and the sun was just setting in the distance, painting the familiar land in orange hues. Xiao had not imagined that this was what his Master would call his name for after all these years truthfully.

Still, it wouldn’t be Xiao’s first time going to Jueyun Karst, although admittedly he hadn’t visited the area for a few weeks.

“I understand, keep a close eye on your human companion, and see that he does not get himself into trouble,” he sighed, closing his eyes for a moment.

Zhongli nodded, a small smile on his face. “I will be there as well, so this is just a precaution. I am aware that you and Childe do not get along, so if it was not a serious matter I would not ask this of you.”

Not getting along was a big understatement, Xiao despised Childe for his attempts to not only drown Liyue harbor by awakening Osial, but also because he’d been so foolish as to believe he’d be able to take Morax’s gnosis by force.

In Xiao’s eyes, the human lacked respect for his elders, was a nuisance and a very danger to Liyue itself. He still could not fathom the reason that Rex Lapis seemed to love Childe either.

Xiao gave a soft sigh as he closed his eyes for a moment, just thinking about Childe was giving him a headache.

Xiao eventually nodded again, his expression remaining neutral. If the human made his master happy then that was what mattered, not Xiao’s personal feelings.

“I will do my best to serve you,” Xiao told him softly.

“Thank you, I knew asking you would be best, while Childe has been excited to see Jueyun Karst I found it best to air on the side of caution,” Zhongli chuckled.

His words probably meant that neither Moon Carver, Cloud Retainer, or Mountain Shaper had been informed that a human would be visiting their domains. This meant that Xiao would essentially be babysitting the man to make sure that he one, did not awaken another sealed god or anything of that sort, and two make sure that he did not anger any of the other three Adeptus living in Jueyun Karst so that maybe he wouldn’t be encased in a prison of amber and cor lapis.

“Understood, may I be dismissed?” Xiao asked with a scowl.

This whole situation left a bad taste in his mouth, smothering much of the enthusiasm and joy he felt at his master actually being alive.

When Zhongli nodded, Xiao gave a small bow before disappearing in an instant immediately returning to Wangshu inn.

He felt strangely exhausted or perhaps emotionally drained by the whole ordeal, which brought with it a dull ache at the base of his skull. Instead of appearing on the balcony of the inn as he usually did, he appeared in the room that Verr Goldet had given him.

For once Xiao legitimately decided to use it, knowing that he’d most likely never get a moment of peace tomorrow during the trip.

From what Aether had told Xiao, combined with the few things he’d seen of Childe, the man was a nuisance in every sense of the word. Loud, talkative, overly friendly, and abnormally stubborn especially for a human.

Xiao had met him only once, in passing through Aether, and during that moment he also released something else, Childe had the scent of the abyss on him. Xiao did not know how or why, but if what Aether had told him about his encounter with Childe at the Golden House was true then Childe was not an ordinary human.

With a sigh, Xiao ran a hand over his face, the exhaustion weighing heavily on his shoulders as the dull ache at the base of his skull spreads upward threatening to evolve into a full-blown migraine.

He sets down on the bed placing his polearm to the side within arms reach as he begins to get ready to sleep for what was probably the first time in decades. After all, he would need the energy for tomorrow without question.

After Xiao takes his bath he returns to the bedroom to find a plate of almond tofu placed on the nightstand, along with a spoon. He’d heard Verr come into the room earlier, easily recognizing her footsteps, but had just assumed she was checking on him due to the fact that Xiao very rarely used the bedroom she’d given him.

The almond tofu is a small comfort truth be told, being one of the few foods that don’t make him feel sick to his stomach upon eating it and because he genuinely enjoys the bitter creamy taste it carried. It never failed to invoke a small sense of warm, almost soothing nostalgia whenever he ate it.

Xiao is quiet as he eats, the scowl on his face relaxes slightly, it feels like the exhaustion weighing down his shoulders and the dull ache spreading through his head slowly eases up ever so slightly, and although they do not completely disappear it admittedly does lift Xiao’s mood for a moment or two.

He finishes eating, savoring the small moment of peace before he went into the inn’s kitchen, invisible to human eyes as he placed the plate down on the table before returning to his room once more.

Turning off the light, Xiao climbs into bed and closes his eyes. Xiao can count the number of times he has willingly gone to sleep on one hand, and now he has one more to add to the list.

~~~

When Xiao wakes up he feels noticeably off, not particularly bad per se but definitely a change in his usual condition Despite having just gotten a pretty good night’s rest exhaustion still weighs heavily on his body, making him feel as though he’d been up all night fighting rather than laying in a relatively comfortable bed.

That dull ache still exists at the base of his skull, nagging at him and refusing to leave him alone more of a nuisance than an actual hindrance.

It is earlier in Liyue, the sun has yet to even rise beyond the horizon, the sky still black although with fewer stars insight.

Taking a deep breath Xiao rises from the bed and begins to get dressed. He knows that Rex Lapis is more than likely awake as well, however, he does not know about Childe.

In fact, Xiao tries very hard not to think about Childe at all right now, the dull ache at the base of his skull only growing and spreading whenever he does.

As Xiao goes onto the inn’s balcony once he was dressed he sees Verr Goldet placing a plate of almond tofu for him in the usual spot on the balcony railing. Unable to see him she gives a small wave in the direction of the balcony before returning inside.

Sighing softly Xiao walks over to the plate of food with a scowl, he doesn’t feel hungry which isn’t surprising since he doesn’t exactly truly need food but along with his lack of appetite, there’s also a slight queasiness in the pit of his stomach.

To Xiao this isn’t surprising either, there were often times his body just decided to not want food which it had normally enjoyed. Xiao just assumes that this was one of those times, even so, he picks up the plate of almond tofu and begins eating, chasing that warm, soothing nostalgia he could desperately use right now.

After placing the now empty plate in the inn’s kitchen Xiao leaves Wangshu Inn, heading for the outskirts of Liyue harbor for Zhongli to arrive.

“Are you sure he’s not going to stab me the moment he sees me?” Childe asked Zhongli as they made their way through Liyue harbor.

They had both woken up early, as usual, to prepare for their trip to Jueyun Karst. Childe had almost been too excited to sleep, that excitement not dying down in the least when he found out that Xiao would be tagging along for their trip.

Truthfully Childe didn’t have much of a personal opinion of Xiao, outside of what he’d heard from Aether and Zhongli he didn’t know too much about the Adeptus, well other than the fact that he was pretty sure Aether and Xiao were dating. And that Xiao did not like Childe one bit, but Childe was used to people not liking him after all it came with the job so what else was new.

Still, he’d like to know if he was going to get surprised attacked, just in case. While he welcomed any chance to fight a strong opponent he also wanted to be prepared.

“I assure you despite how he may act, Xiao would not harm you,” Zhongli told him with a small smile.

Childe merely gave a small snort, a smile on his face as he grabbed Zhongli’s hand.

“I can’t wait to see Jueyun Karst though, I’ve always seen it in the distance while walking around Liyue but hadn’t found the time to go yet,” Childe said as he gave Zhongli’s hand a slight squeeze.

“I am glad that I can show you around then, it is quite beautiful this time of year and I have always wanted to take you,” he told Childe, his smile growing a bit.

Childe paused as they approached the outskirts of Liyue harbor. He could sense a pair of eyes on him but when he looked around he saw no one else but Zhongli and himself.

Childe was always aware of his surroundings, he trusted his own sense after all they had never steered him wrong before.

“I think...someone’s following us. Or at the very least watching us,” Childe informed Zhongli as he slowly almost lazily scanned the area. There’s a gentle buzzing in his veins as his attention focuses almost instantly.

Beside him, Zhongli gives a soft hum, although he doesn’t seem surprised.

“Xiao,” Zhongli said softly.

And Childe jumps slightly as Xiao instantly appears, seemingly out of nowhere, just a few steps ahead of them.

“Sir?” Xiao said, tilting his head to the side as he looked up at Zhongli. As if waiting for orders.

Childe merely blinks as he stares down at the Adeptus, he has never actually seen Xiao only knowing what he looks like based on Aether and Zhongli’s descriptions.

“Small,” Childe said softly as he stared at Xiao. Noting that he was slightly shorter than Aether and thin as well. Childe hadn’t known what exactly to expect but this hadn’t been it.

Xiao’s eyes briefly shift to him before going back to Zhongli and Childe does not miss the way Xiao’s eyes seem to narrow a bit as his grip on his spear tightens ever so slightly.

“This is Childe,” Zhongli told him with a small smile.

“You’re human companion,” Xiao muttered with a small nod.

Childe grinned waving at Xiao. “Tartaglia works as well, but that can be a mouthful for some so Childe works,” he said cheerfully.

Xiao does not spare him a glance, his eyes instead remaining focused on Zhongli.

“Aether’s told me quite a bit about you, if you’d ever like a sparring session please let me know,” Childe continued and his grin grows ever so slightly when Xiao’s eyes flick over to him for a brief moment.

And Childe can see the annoyance and frustration burning there despite the neutral expression on his face.

The dull ache that had been nagging at Xiao almost relentlessly since last night, has now grown into a constant piercing throb that makes him feel as though his eyes are attempting to squeeze themselves out of his skull.

Along with the slight queasiness, there is now a strange heaviness in his stomach that brings a noticeable ache with it. Xiao does not know what is causing this and he doesn’t like it one bit but he does know that Childe’s presence is only making things worse for him. His body so tightly coiled with tension that an ache begins to form in his muscles.

Xiao however does not say anything about it, today is going to be a long day and he has a job to do so he saw no use in complaining anyway.

As they set off for Jueyun Karst Childe continues his attempt to talk to Xiao despite Xiao not acknowledging these attempts because one, he’s not much for conversation in the first place so even if he did not hate Childe as much as he did Xiao would not speak to him at all anyway and two because he knows that Childe is just waiting for a reaction.

Xiao does give a soft sigh, closing his eyes for a moment when they stop briefly to rest on their journey. He already feels exhausted, even more so than when he woke up this morning, his condition having only gotten worse as time went on.

His head feels as if it’s splitting open, Childe’s constant talking grating on Xiao’s ears practically snapping his already frayed nerves. It’s a headache from stress most likely and the fact that he’s been dealing with and watching over Childe for the better half of the day by this point.

This was fine, Xiao could handle that. There is another issue however that is actually causing Xiao a bit of worry. And that issue was a strong ache in his stomach, that brought with it waves of nausea and sensitivity.

The normally form-fitting clothing he wore felt uncomfortably tight against his stomach, the cloth feeling as though it were digging into his skin. His stomach was churning angrily as well, his breakfast sitting in his stomach like a rock just refusing to digest, the uncomfortable heaviness it brought only adding to the pain he felt in his stomach at the moment.

The waves of nausea crashing over him are almost unbearable, leaving Xiao feeling light-headed and sickeningly dizzy, the world seemingly swaying around him despite the fact that he was standing perfectly still.

He opens one eye looking over at Childe although he quickly looks away, slightly startled when he sees that Childe is giving Zhongli a quick kiss. This was another thing Xiao had trouble with, he was incredibly grateful that Rex Lapis entrusted this job to him but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel like he was intruding on a private moment between the two that he was not supposed to see.

Xiao’s hand goes to his stomach when it makes a soft gurgling noise, his face flushing slightly with embarrassment as he stares at the ground and hopes that neither Childe nor Zhongli heard that. That’s when he notices something that has his eyes widening slightly, his stomach is bloated, and taut his fingers sinking slightly into the abnormally soft skin there.

He can feel his stomach churning as well, the mass of food shifting around in his stomach. Xiao swallows hard trying to clear away the excessive saliva building up in his mouth before crossing his arms once more with a soft sigh, a scowl on his face.

Xiao has no clue why this is happening or what is causing it but he needs it to stop. It is becoming a distraction, one that he does not need right now while he’s trying to focus on his task.

As they resume their trip Xiao’s focus returns to Childe once more, as he pushes away the slight amount of worry and panic that had begun to crop up in the back of his mind.

He could do this, this was nothing compared to what he usually endured. He would get this to stop somehow, by any means necessary.

~~~

“I will be back momentarily Childe, please wait here a moment,” Zhongli told him, glancing back towards Hulao mountain.

He could sense Mountain Shaper there, clearly awake and waiting for him. Mountain Shaper had a great disdain for humanity, often trapping the humans who traveled into his domain on Jueyun Karst in the large amber-like stones known as karst crawlers. Viewing humans who would dare disturb his domain as little more than thieves. Usually resulting in Zhongli having to free some of the humans without Mountain Shaper’s knowledge.

Zhongli was very sure that the Adeptus had many questions for him, the number one being why he brought a human to Jueyun Karst. Which meant that it would be best to go see him now before Mountain Shaper decided to come down from Hulao mountain and deal with Childe in a manner he saw fit.

Childe sighed seeing the serious look on Zhongli’s face. “Alright, go I’ll just wait here until you get back. Besides, the other Adeptus probably wouldn’t be happy to see me walking around.”

As Zhongli leaves, Childe turns to Xiao who is leaning against a tree, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He’s been quiet, only speaking one or two words to Zhongli when needed, well mostly quiet anyway since Childe could hear his stomach growling loudly.

“If you’re hungry, you could’ve just said something you know,” Childe told him with a grin.

Xiao sighed, opening his eyes, they flicked over to Childe before going to the ground and Childe didn’t miss the slight pink blush that appeared on his face. Xiao doesn’t say anything, however, although he feels absolutely mortified.

Despite his headache easing up, ever so slightly his stomach is killing him, disrupting his attempts to actually focus. That and the ever-increasing nausea that leaves him feeling light-headed. As if to make this situation worse, his stomach will not shut up, growling and gurgling loudly as if yelling at him, filling the silence between him and Childe, where Xiao will not.

Xiao swallows thickly, trying to clear away the near river of saliva building up in his mouth; it tastes salty and vaguely sour which Xiao dislikes greatly.

“You don’t talk much do you, but Aether already told me that after one of our sparring sessions earlier this week,” Childe said with a shrug.

Although he pauses when he notices Xiao glaring up at him.

“What?” He asked with a slight frown.

Xiao says nothing, his lips pressed into a thin line as his stomach gives a low sickly growl and practically flips inside of him. He can taste bile burning into the back of his throat, disgustingly bitter and sour. He’s fighting a losing battle against his body and he needs to leave, he can’t let Childe see him like this because he just knows the moment he lets his guard down around Childe is the moment he’ll strike.

Childe’s eyes widen in surprise as Xiao pushes away from the tree, and in the next second vanishes before his eyes.

Xiao leaves but he does not go too far, or rather he isn’t able to. The moment he reappears behind the large tree in Nantianmen he crouches down, nearly falling to his knees as he wraps his arms around his stomach panting as he allows the near river of saliva that had been building up in his mouth to drip onto the ground.

He groans, his grip on his stomach tightening slightly as he gives a loud gurgling burp. The pressure and pain in his stomach don’t ease up, however, not even slightly.

Xiao grits his teeth, tears in his eyes as his body begins trembling, a cold sweat prickling at his skin. It hurts . It hurts so, so much he can barely breathe around the pain and nausea making his stomach slosh, and Xiao just wants this to end.

Then he hears footsteps, familiar ones and an almost visceral fear grips him.

“Here you are, I was wondering where you ran off too,” Childe sighed.

But Xiao doesn’t look at him, he feels as if shame and embarrassment are etched into his very skin and it doesn’t help matters when another loud burp leaves his mouth.

“Woah, are you okay?” Childe asked as he stopped in front of Xiao. But Xiao still doesn’t look at him or say anything, hoping that if he doesn’t acknowledge him maybe just maybe Childe would go away.

Xiao should know better than anyone that the universe is not that kind. Childe reaches down his hands gripping Xiao’s arms as he begins moving him, practically picking him up off the ground with ease.

And Xiao absolutely hates it, his body and frayed nerves already sensitive to sound and touch practically begin screaming at him. Xiao hates it even more though when the motion makes his stomach flip inside of him a sharp cramp stabbing at it, his eyes widening in horror as sour and metallic tasting saliva rapidly begins filling his mouth.

“Would you stop,” Childe huffed as Xiao began struggling almost frantically in his grip. “I know you hate me but I’m trying to help you okay? Why are you even-”

Childe froze, his eyes going wide as Xiao gave a loud guttural retch, bringing up a large, thick wave of pale slightly watery vomit splattering onto the ground between them.

“Oh...that’s why,” Childe said slowly, merely blinking at Xiao for a moment.

Xiao doesn’t answer him or rather he can’t even if he wanted to, tears in his eyes, as a loud, wet gurgling burp has him choking up another wave of slimy pale mush, adding to the sick slurry of a puddle at their feet.

Sighing softly, Childe reaches out, moving the longer strands of hair away from Xiao’s face, as he lurches forward with another retch, threads of saliva hanging from his mouth. His other hand holds onto Xiao making sure that he doesn’t end up falling into his own vomit with how violently his small body was lurching forward with each heave.

Xiao wraps his arms around his stomach as he pants, getting that single moment to breathe before he hiccups then he lurches forward again, another as another sickly gurgling burp leaves his mouth bringing up another thick wave.

“Do you think you’re done for now?” Childe asked as Xiao’s retching began to taper off.

Xiao doesn’t say anything, however, his arms wrapped around his still aching stomach. It still hurts so much. Xiao thought that if he threw up things would get better but the pain is still there twisting like a knife in his gut. Too focused on the pain and even a little delirious from it at this point Xiao doesn’t even try to stop the soft whimper that leaves his mouth.

“H-hey, it’s alright. Don’t cry you’ll be okay,” Childe tries to reassure him, but from the soft groan, Xiao gives Childe doubts that he even heard him.

Xiao has his eyes squeezed shut but that doesn’t stop the tears from rolling down his pale face.

Childe bit his lip as he lifted Xiao up and into his arms, grimacing as Xiao practically curled up into a ball, his hands practically clawing at his stomach. Childe can see that Xiao’s stomach is obviously what’s bothering him, but he has no clue as to why.

Was he just sick? Could Adepti even get sick like normal people or was he sick with something that only Adepti could catch? Hell, was it just something he ate?

Childe does not know and that worries him. While he knows that Xiao clearly hates him, Childe knows that he means a lot to Zhongli and so he doesn’t want to see him suffering like this. Plus he admittedly has a slight soft spot for Xiao considering the Adeptus’s standoffish behavior reminded him all too much of his younger brother Anthon.

“Childe?”

Childe looks up giving a sigh of relief when he sees Zhongli approaching. Good, now he wouldn’t have to go looking for him and risk getting mauled to death by one of the three Adepti living in Jueyun Karst.

Zhongli froze for a moment, his eyes instantly going to the trembling whimpering form in Childe’s arms. “Childe, what happened?” He asked desperately hoping that Childe had not attempted to fight Xiao in Zhongli’s brief absence.

Childe shakes his head. “I-I don’t know, he seemed fine when you left, and then he just vanished back here and I found him crying and crouched on the ground,” Childe informed him.

Frowning, Zhongli approaches the pair, reaching out he feels Xiao’s forehead sending a soft pulse of his power through him. “He does not have a fever,” Zhongli said, sounding surprised.

Xiao groans curling further in on himself, his stomach giving a soft gurgling noise right before he retches, the noise strangled and wet as he brings up a wave of pale vomit that splashes down the front of both his and Childe’s clothes.

Childe grimaces, it’s disgusting yes and he tries not to think about the fact that the sticky mess feels almost searingly hot against his skin as it soaks into his clothes. Childe knows Xiao’s sick and he can’t help it besides considering the fact that he’s grown up with quite a few siblings it wouldn’t be the first time someone’s thrown up on him.

“We’ll return to Liyue harbor,” Zhongli said as he brushed Xiao’s hair out of his face.

Considering Xiao was technically not sick, taking him to see Cloud retainer would do no good, so all Zhongli could do was take him back to his home in Liyue harbor to rest, and tend to him while he waited for his pain to stop.

~~~

Xiao is pretty sure he must've passed out at some point from the pain because he awakens in an unfamiliar bedroom, in unfamiliar clothing his stomach still aching violently. And Xiao groans softly wrapping his arms around his stomach as it churns violently beneath his touch. His mouth is coated in a disgustingly stale, bitter, and sour taste.

“Xiao?”

Opening his eyes Xiao turned his head to see Zhongli sitting in a chair at his bedside, a book in hand and no longer wearing the long coat he’d had on earlier.

“Sir?” Xiao manages to rasp flinching as a sharp cramp twisted in his stomach, bringing a wave of nausea with it.

“How do you feel?” Zhongli asked placing the book on the nearby nightstand.

Xiao is quiet for a moment trying to breathe around the pain and nausea swirling in his stomach, then he feels something a slight gurgling in his stomach although it's lower than before.

“S-Sir I need...to use the bathroom, ” Xiao said, glancing away, his face burning with a mixture of shame and embarrassment.

He feels as though he can’t look the man in the eye, especially when Zhongli lifts him carefully out of bed and into his arms since Xiao clearly can’t walk to the bathroom in his condition.

This is probably one of the worst days in Xiao’s life, at least it feels like it at the moment which is saying something and Xiao still feels as if he can't meet Zhongli’s eyes once the man returns him to bed.

“Where...is he?” Xiao asked, panting as he rubbed his stomach trying to desperately find some relief.

“Childe? He returned home briefly to bathe and change clothes, ” Zhongli informed him.

“Oh, ” Xiao whispers desperately wishing that he could go back to being unconscious both to escape the pain and the sheer amount of shame consuming.

At least he now knew why he was wearing a loose nightgown rather than his own clothes.

“Here, allow me, ” Zhongli said as he reached out, his hand replacing Xiao’s own on his stomach. It seemed like Xiao’s own attempts weren’t working after all.

Zhongli gave a soft hiss noting that the skin was taut and bloated beneath his fingers.

Xiao bit his lip glancing away, his eyes looking everywhere but Zhongli. What exactly had he done to deserve this? Was it because he didn't do his job correctly?

“Did you eat something odd?” Zhongli asked as he rubbed Xiao’s stomach.

He was well aware that there weren’t too many foods Xiao could actually tolerate. And despite his history of being an incredibly picky eater, it seemed like the only reasonable answer for his current predicament.

Xiao nodded slowly looking embarrassed. “Aether brought food with him from Mondstadt the other day, ” he muttered softly.

Then he flinched away from Zhongli’s hand when a particularly sensitive spot was touched, a loud burp leaving his mouth. Xiao freezes as his eyes wide as he wonders if he had enough energy to vanish but also knows it wouldn’t do him any good considering Zhongli would still easily be able to see him.

Besides, Xiao doesn't think he has the energy anyway, at least not in his current condition.

Zhongli merely nodded before he continued rubbing Xiao’s stomach after a moment. It was just as he thought.

Xiao groaned softly, swallowing thickly when he felt bile burning at the back of his throat. No, just no, he’d already been through enough pain today hadn’t he? He really didn't need to add throwing up in front of the man he valued and respected above all else on top of that.

“It’s alright, Xiao, ” Zhongli told him gently as he picked up the trash can he’d set by the bed.

He can practically see what little color Xiao has left in his face drain out, as he gave a sick-sounding hiccup.

“Just let it out, hopefully, the pain will stop once you get everything up, ” Zhongli tried to reassure him.

That doesn't make Xiao feel any better however but at the same time, he can’t really protest against his body as he lurches forward.

A gurgling retch leaves his mouth, bringing with it an enormous, thick wave of lumpy beige vomit.

And admittedly Zhongli can’t help but be slightly surprised, faintly questioning how someone so small could bring up so much.

Xiao coughs, not getting a single moment to breathe as a deep gurgling burp brings another wave of vomit with it.

Zhongli scowled as his other hand reached up, tucking Xiao’s hair back behind his ear, before going to rub his back.

Xiao feels absolutely miserable as he retches again, bringing up a smaller thinner wave of vomit. A sharp bitter and sour almost taste coats his mouth leaving behind a slimy disgusting texture as the remnants of his barely digested breakfast and dinner forming a rancid tasting mixture as he chokes it up.

But there is one saving grace, the fact that that unbearable ache and pressure in his stomach is starting to ease up.

Xiao leans back panting, not even bothering to clear away the threads of drool from his mouth. An almost euphoric wave of relief washing over him as he merely sits there rubbing at his stomach, a slightly dazed look in his eyes as soft hiccups continue to leave his mouth.

Zhongli gives a small smile as he sets the almost filled trash can down, ignoring the noticeable weight it now held as the sickening slurry sloshed inside of it. “There we are, do you feel any better?” He asked.

Xiao merely nodded, still staring into space for a moment or two. He's still embarrassed without a doubt, in fact, he doesn't think he’ll ever be able to live this down, and he just knows he’s gonna have to apologize to Childe as well, but at the moment he just feels relieved.

Relieved that finally, the pain had stopped, and that was all he wanted.

#emetophilia #emeto fic #Genshin emeto #sickfic #genshin sickfic #My writing #caretaking #implied scat #not descriptive #hurt/comfort #Minor Aether/Xiao #zhongli genshin impact #xiao genshin impact #childe genshin impact #genshin impact #genshin fanfic

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autumn-foxfire · 2 years

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Nothing takes me out of a fic faster than having Childe really broken up and angry about the "betrayal".

Honestly I don't even like calling it a betrayal because Zhongli didn't betray him, he just didn't tell the thief who clearly wanted his gnosis that he was the target he was after.

Did he use him for his plans? Yes. The same way Childe used Zhongli for his.

However Childe's actions are just NEVER discussed. Him trying to drown Liyue is just brushed over because Zhongli's plan has taken it into account but what many people ignore is that Childe didn't know Zhongli was planning for this. He was very gungho about drowning the nation he had been staying in and the contacts/friends he had made in order to lure out Rex Lapis. Sure he didn't want to have to hurt civilians but that doesn't mean he wasn't willing to do so (and there was never a guarantee that Rex Lapis would have been able to save everyone if the worst came to worst and Childe probably knew that but accepted the fact and did his plan anyway).

Zhongli's loyalty to the nation he created and looked after for 1000s of years is always used to shame him too but Childe's loyalty to the Tsaritsa never is, even though it led him to almost drown a nation and a lot of innocents just to draw out it's god.

It's annoying how it's painted that Zhongli made Childe into the villain of Liyue but he did that himself when he summoned Osial to draw out Zhongli and the fact that he had the sigils of permission created proved that was his original plan from the start (he just jumped at the opportunity of Rex Lapis' "death" to see if he could get the gnosis that way). Just as Childe used the cards given to him to complete his mission, Zhongli did the same to complete his contract.

And yet one of them is still penalized for this while the other gets the poor little meow meow treatment and it's infuriating.

I'm saying this as someone who loves Childe and loves exploring him feeling slighted by what happened in Liyue but I hate how he's given a free pass from what he did just because he ended up being the fool instead of successful.

#genshin impact #childe #zhongli

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helianyx · 2 years

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Genshin Impact Ask Game - Answered!

1. How long have you been playing?

Right around launch, like, I think a couple days after? I've definitely taken a few breaks though. (Most of which I regret because- please rerun your damn events MHY.)

2. Why did you start playing?

K-Kaeya... Several months earlier my nephew told me about it and we were checking out the website and I went big ol' heart eyes and whoo my interest was piqued.

3. What is your AR?

I just hit 57 recently.

4. Who is your best character (build wise)?

Oof that's hard, because I am Not Smart when it comes to building. Zhongli and Kokomi are decently solid, so is Yae, but Xiao (newest) really got lucky with artifacts so I feel like he's got the most "concise", ‘doesn’t need a lot more tweaking’, build so far?

5. Who is your worst character (build wise)?

Zhongli also exists here. His crit rate to dmg ratio is awful. But otherwise, so many 4*’s that are just straight up neglected. Pretty much all of them except Alloy and Yun Jin are fully uncapped though. We'll go with Alloy.

6. Who is your highest leveled character?

Uhh... Zhongli, Albedo, Kokomi, Tartaglia, Xiao, Kazuha, Yae Miko, Yoimiya, Traveler, and Qiqi are all 90.

7. What character do you main?

Maining a single character is such a foreign concept to me. Probably? I imagine? because I don't really do a whole lot of coop beyond just playing with my bff and we're always rotating our teams around however we please/need. But the above listed characters are most likely to get picked + Ayato (who I'm working on and is at 80 rn).

8. What is your main team?

Same as above, it changes a lot. Zhongli, Kazuha, Albedo, and Kokomi is 'one' of my main teams, but right now I'm playing around with Xiao, Ayato, Yae Miko, and Qiqi - or I swap around any of those eight however I need.

9. What are your spiral abyss teams?

People actually do that? /j (I don’t do that /nj)

10. Who is your favorite character?

Impossible! Gosh so many... Zhongli, Albedo, Xiao, Kaeya, Yae Miko, Kokomi, Lumine are up there, and Kazuha is like... the definition of a 'comfort character' to me, he's just so soothing. If I'm idling around, it's him, or Albedo out on screen. That said, Zhongli's aesthetics, his looks, everything about him is just so charming... 😩 Yeah, him, Kazu, Xiao and Albedo are definitely at the top. (For not playable characters though, I love Dain! And I have a stupid amount of love for Xavier and Enjou.)

11. Who is your least favorite character?

Hm... From [current] playable characters, I really can't say. There are some I find a little annoying here or there, but it's usually something small like, I don't like their voice acting (RazorRazorRazorRazor). I can't stand Alice though. A lot of the concepts around her and snippets we’ve got so far bother me, but I'll try reserving judgment until she's actually in game.

12. What's your favorite part of the gameplay?

Exploration and everything that comes with it! Puzzles, treasure, staring off into the distance and going "gosh I can see [landmark from another country] from here!" Zigzagging between 'ooh what's that!' and 'ooh treasure!' and 'ooh challenge!' is so much fun exploring new areas. I also do enjoy like, 'new mechanics' that come with new areas...

13. What's your least favorite part of the gameplay?

But also 'new mechanics' that come with new areas. Even if I pretty much always get used to it and have fun, sometimes it's just A Lot. Also, Spiral Abyss can go die in a fire. Sick of so many cool events that could be added as extra permanent game modes being temporary.

14. What is your favorite cutscene?

They're all so good???? Right now the most recent one [2.7 with Xiao] lives rent free in my brain. But the post-Osial Liyue cutscene had me in such awe it’s unforgettable. Also that time Raiden Shogun almost cut Traveler's head off and Kazuha activated a second vision to save us? AUGH SO GOOD SO GOOD.

15. Who is a character you don't have but want?

EULA. I just realized now with Xiao she's the only character I REALLY want but don't have now. (I'd like Venti and Raiden but not as much as I NEED Miss Eula.)

16. Have you ever won a 50/50?

; ; yes! For a long time, the only 50/50 I won was Zhongli on his original banner and every time I lost after that I was just like "welp, I won ZHONGLI on 50/50 so I can't be too dissatisfied" (spoiler: i was, i worked my ass off for so many of these bitches 😩). But recently Ayato and Xiao both came on 50/50 too. 🥺<3<3<3

17. Who was the first character you pulled?

Other than the "promoted" Noelle, Ningguang <3

18. Who was your first 5 star character?

Diluc!

19. If you're currently saving to pull for someone, who?

The rumored Su-inspired character... Or Baizhu... Characters that are very far off. I'm suffering from gambling addiction want-to-use-my-primos-itis.

20. Do you prefer Mondstadt, Liyue, or Inazuma?

I think about this (amusingly) quite a lot when playing. They're all charming in their different ways... Mondstadt was where the adventure first began, and it's so idyllic and peaceful. It's PROBABLY my most preferred just on account of it being where I always go for this and that, or just to idle around at times. But Liyue isn't slouching here: I remember when traveling in Liyue, when something pulled us back to Mondstadt, I'd be like "Home<3<3<3" but just the same, when traveling in Inazuma, when something pulled us back to Liyue, I'd also be like "Home<3<3<3" X'D

On the other hand, Inazuma... is beautiful, but it doesn't invoke those kinds of feelings for me (we'll have to see how I feel once Sumeru drops XD). Instead there's just so much depth and SADNESS everywhere, which I appreciate a lot in it's own right. I'd say of the three, Inazuma is possibly the most "memorable"? At least in terms of like... pretty much everywhere I go there, all of these bittersweet memories from the questlines bubble up.

#stuff about me!#answered prompts

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kyogre-blue · 3 years

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Chapter 3 prologue

I’ll just go ahead and say it. It was BAD.

For me, the absolute worst was the endless shilling of the Traveler. It was already kinda questionable when Beidou said Ningguang claimed we have great insight, because we have 100% never shown anything of the sort. But it just kept getting worse.

The brainless fanboying of every person we meet is incredibly off putting. But it’s actually getting to the point where they’re actively retconning stuff. We DEFEATED Osial?? WHEN! HOW! We never fought Osial at all! We fought some Fatui mooks while the Adepti fired the Ballistas at him and then Ningguang dropped the Jade Chamber on him. Attributing defeating Osial to us is outright insane. And we don’t just accept this silently, we outright agree and brag!

This stuff is annoying alone, but it’s especially bad because it really warps the rest of the story too.

For example, the way the tournament lineup is handled. It’s made very clear that all the more skilled fighters came after they heard about our “””fame””” so the only ones Beidou could draw in were a bunch of jokes. Like, total amateurs. But keep in mind, Beidou has been insistently painted as the greatest human badass in Liyue. She’s the hottest shit. People should lining up all twice around the island to show their skills in front of her. Making her able to draw in only useless joke characters without the MC’s fame makes HER into a joke too. My opinion of her actually dropped somewhat after this.

And while this wasn’t quite as outrageous as the Osial thing, claiming we defeated Childe is also... My impression was that we basically held him off until he cooled his head and remembered that fighting us didn’t benefit his mission. If you say we outright beat him, the strongest combat Harbinger, when he pulled a three stage boss fight and showed two different trump cards... How are they going to make the other Harbingers even slightly credible as threats? Childe is seriously outright the best in fighting and even says that the two of us could take them all.

Other stuff:

I think it’s a bit funny that Liyue has the Qixing and the Eight Trades, Inazuma has this Tri-Commission, but Mond is like... well, the Knights handle everything, and half of are gone somewhere anyway, so...

Going to Atsuko is fine for me, but she’s introduced during Lantern Rite, so I wonder how this will feel for anyone who didn’t have the chance to play that. Genshin has a lot of “oh, you remember, this person you never met” cases. It’s not good, tbh.

Beidou knows about the Fatui being involved with Osial, but I’m still not clear if this is like... publicly known.

Here’s Beidou clearly wearing just a leotard or else just her panties, you pick:

Beidou basically flat out says that people with Visions are too powerful for people without Visions to take on (it would be too “one-sided”). This is a bit weird because didn’t she only receive her own Vision AFTER taking on the Haishan? She was confident taking on a monster without a Vision, but thinks the gap is too much to bridge in PVP...? The semi-finals guy even outright says that he’s beaten allogenes. I don’t understand why they didn’t just say it’s a requirement because the prize is a dead Vision.

For that matter, why is the Vision being used as the prize? You could easily end up with someone winning the tournament but NOT lighting the Vision, and then Kazuha will have given away his friend’s Vision for nothing. Like, it’s just being treated as the first place prize, there is no requirement to activate the thing.

Kazuha is like Zhongli. He always uses at minimum ten works when you could two. I skip his dialogue very aggressively because having it all spoken out takes waaaaay too long. I like how Beidou ouright says, “sometimes he opens his mouth and flowers come out instead of words.”

Kazuha also thinks that Archons directly grant Visions, but I still have doubts.

Raiden Shogun surrounding her island with a storm sounds like a Decarabian ripoff. Decarabian did it better.

I also have general complaints about the gameplay, but those are secondary for me, lol

#playing genshin

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letterstomilen · 4 years

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the death of rex lapis (hopefully)

Zhongli, Vampire Alternative Universe (warning: this is mainly expositional bc ive had fun playing around w the idea of how zhongli would be if he was a vampire so idk where this’ll go! there is some childe/zhongli but not much!! anyways happy birthday zhongli i love you :) Zhongli does not make a good vampire.

Immortality is meant to make you smart.

But what people forget is that you don’t live that long because of wits. Immortality does not mean you are capable; it means that you were foolish enough to get bitten and didn’t think much of it later.

He wasn’t clever when he was held by Guizhong, who smiled sweetly at him as she looked at him, her hair brushing against his skin and cold hands curling the ends of his hair. And certainly not sharp when he failed to notice that her heart wasn’t beating and she seemed to look more at his neck— ”You have a very fine neck,” she informed him when he asked, and he nodded, assuming that it was one of those things sculptors just happened to notice—than his eyes for the majority of the night.

Whether it was out of guilt or disinterest, he doesn’t know. Zhongli would like to think that it was out of guilt, because prior to the night, they were friends. And after she bit his neck, she held him in her arms, whispering story after story as he stuck by fever.

The pain was unimaginable. First—there was shock. And then minutes later, while he wondered why the room smelled more like sweat and blood than incense, he realized that he was still held down.

This must be what quarry feels like, he thought then. But now he knows otherwise; prey would never be held so gently and lay there limply if they could help it. He, while being drained every bit of life, was a willing, sitting duck.

That was before the pain, of course. When she finally let go of him to wash her face—he recalls this clearly: her wiping her face, then licking the blood off her hands with the relish of a child on her birthday, before leaving to the bathroom—he laid there paralyzed. It was, he’s discovered, a bit like being drunk.

Only that the alcohol left his insides in unimaginable pain for days on end. He stumbled when he tried to stand; babbled as he struggled to speak. Even now he only remembers brief flashes of it, when he tore the skin on his arm with his newly grown canines, or hours of rejecting food that he could not quite stomach.

In reality, he was a child—a baby, really, if you were being blunt about it. The weeks that followed were horrendous and perhaps it’s a blessing that he spent the majority of them inhibited, the metamorphosis shedding every part of him that he was comfortable with. But as the days went on, the pain gave way to numbness and numbness gave away to strength.

And when he finally regained enough consciousness to form a coherent sentence, he asked Guizhong why she did it. She, with the certainty of somebody that’s lived for longer than he had, answered, “Well, you’ve always been interested in how the world would change after you were gone. Isn’t this now your chance to witness it?”

Fanaticism with history and predictions could only get you so far. To witness it—wasn’t that just a dream? And because he assumed that rocks were eternal and could not erode back then, he nodded in agreement.

It was a mistake.

Six hundred years ago, Zhongli underestimated the length of his lifetime. One day he’d be talking to somebody about their newborn and it would only be a blink later where their newborn was six feet under, hailed for having a long and blessed life. (What made a blessed life? It couldn’t have been the years –he concluded that every year he was more cursed than before.) Relationships were scarce because he forgot that not everybody experienced time the same way he did.

Days, contrary to his belief, were not fleeting seconds but rather twenty-four hours long. They composed of both the night and day, waking and sleeping hours instead of mindless walks that ended with him apologizing profusely before his fangs were embedded deep into somebody’s throat.

Somebody suggested for him to just do it in an alley and leave them there to be found at morning. But that was too disrespectful—uncouth even. He preferred to invite them into his home, graciously taking their coat and ushering them inside to a table filled with food. Venti always commented on how polite he was to the very end, taking extra care to cook food that he knew they liked—“Last meal before execution, huh?” he’d comment. “Very romantic.”—and making them comfortable until the very end.

That’s not how it started of course.

He tried starving himself at first—much to Osial’s amusement. On a night out, where Zhongli was more attuned to the heat and beating hearts of the people around him than the delicacies laid out, Osial took it a step further by passing him a cup with a thick, maroon liquid that sloshed around in it.

It smelled finer than the silk flowers that littered the gardens, and when he took the cup, he felt one step closer to the damnation Guizhong always spoke of. The worst part was that it didn’t churn his stomach—instinctually, he felt more delighted than he ever felt, a smile cracking his worn face as he inspected the goblet. Only when did he take note of Osial’s smug expression, the glint in his eyes that reminded him of an elusive professor, and the way he watched him carefully the way a parent would watch a child take its first steps, did he hesitate.

It wasn’t benign; it was as if he expected him to trip and fall over after attempting to take his first steps, taking pleasure in both the failure and success. Because both would end with Zhongli crossing the line one way or another, wouldn’t it? And there was nothing more enjoyable than sadism to somebody that’s seen it all already.

Right now he is fighting a losing battle. But he would rather starve than lose it here, so he hands the cup back to him, feeling a little more of his willpower crack.

Animal blood, by all accounts, is disgusting. It’s oily and sometimes he’d get sick, ending the night more ravenous than ever as if his skin were tightening around itself. You couldn’t just drink it—especially if you didn’t know where the animal has been. First you had to kill it neatly—a quick breaking of the neck would suffice, as strangulations were often drawn out—and then you had to clean it.

There was something almost humane in the process. Countless butchers have done it before, so he felt comfortable doing it himself.

It was only when he sunk his teeth into the carcass that he felt more like a vulture than anything else. The blood only staved off his hunger for short periods, so it was more of a painkiller than a sufficient meal.

And Osial found the whole thing to be hilarious.

“How unfortunate. If only Guizhong didn’t choose somebody that insisted on drinking animal blood, then it’d be more enjoyable. You know—if you open your mouth a little wider, you’ll look a bit more like the starving beast you are.” Then he dipped a finger in the cup and licked it as if it were chocolate, sweet and rich.

“Yes… Perhaps I should move onto better things. Do you think vampire blood is like wine? Or would age spoil its taste? I imagine that to a starving beast, there would be no difference—no matter how rotten your blood is, it’s still blood after all.”

Osial laughed and spit the blood out. “Well, you’re not wrong. This animal blood may be disgusting, but to you, what’s the difference?”

He wore his cruelty like a well-fitting suit, the creases shaped like ill-natured grins. Zhongli wondered if that will be him hundreds of years from now, but maybe Osial was always this unpleasant. Guizhong spoke of him the way somebody would talk about their ill-tempered cousin—sure, he’s awful to be around but he’s been a part of the family for so long already.

At the very least, he can provide a good meal. The question will always be for who, and his appetite is insatiable concerning all matters. Some vampires preferred a more barbaric approach of finding somebody, killing them, and then throwing the body away. Others—like Osial—treated it more like a game, drawing it out.

Sometimes he’d target entire families and call it a “feast” inviting others to join him. They were gruesome affairs that ended with many drunk on blood for weeks at a time, and even though he never went to them, he always heard about them.

Directly from Osial of course. Who seems intent on highlighting every small detail, every bloody death or desperate guest that was less than willing in the end but, Osial would say with delight, weren’t they all? As a matter of fact—and here was when he’d bring Guizhong into it, dragging her out of her room with her blueprints and models—Zhongli was very willing, wasn’t he?

“Up until he realized that he had to drink blood,” he’d say, as if he finally reached the punchline for a joke—then Osial would throw his head back with laughter.

And it’s not as if he hadn’t before. Sometimes, if he hurt himself, he would’ve licked the blood. But that tasted metallic—it was nothing like the delicacies that other vampires would set out, naming the meals by age, defining trait (sexual activity, lifestyle, etc.), and gender.

It took him fifty years for his willpower to break down. And he did it in front of Barbatos, who simply watched as he drank, not speaking of the way Zhongli drunkenly rambled for hours on end nor the way blood trickled down his neck and stained his clothing.

The deaths after that were easier. It was almost disappointing how he managed to replicate what Guizhong did with such ease. When he set the serviette over their chest before sinking his teeth into their jugular, he felt just like her.

Only when did he clean them up before burying them did he truly feel at rest. At the time it felt like appropriate compensation—a substitute for the promise he failed to keep for himself. The whole ordeal of washing the blood out of their matted hair and drying it out as he laid them down alleviated the sense of unease.

Guizhong would often watch him while he did it, pointing out certain anatomical features as she did. Her hands would trace over their veins, pressing down on the blue as she spoke. Osial joined them once, but he was so perturbed by the attention Zhongli dedicated to the process that he left immediately.

That was centuries ago.

He, sometime down the line, traded in these rituals for slaughter and abandoned that for mimicking the human lifestyle.

Barbatos would say that it’s been badly done, of course.

“You make the worst human,” he once said, as he watched Zhongli struggle to stomach garlic bread that he offered him.

Which could be why he’s now cornered by a vampire hunter.

The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is often frequented by vampires all around Teyvat—there are rumors of blood dealings with underground groups but the Milileth has never investigated it—and Zhongli, with no danger signals, happens to be one of them.

It doesn’t help that he works there too. The irony that all these years later he never quite rid himself of dealing with dead bodies isn’t lost on him.

And he did hear about the Fatui, because word about people hunting vampires travels fast in a country as busy as Liyue.

“Sir,” the vampire hunter informs him kindly, “you do know that this is a hub for vampires, right?”

The voice isn’t what shocks Zhongli. Neither is the maroon mask that’s hanging by the side of his head—one told to be notorious among only the most vicious of hunters—or the thin outlines of weapons in his clothes.

It’s his eyes. They’re a bright blue, usually associated with the sea on bright days, but they’re more akin to the vampires that Zhongli has seen before with the wild glint in his eyes. It’s jarring with the smile that he adopts as he asks, and he imagines opening his mouth to a pair of fangs.

He knows that he won’t find them though. If the rumors he hears are any indications, the Fatui are above recruiting any vampires that’ll threaten their operation.

“Ah. Yes. I do. I’m the consultant here, you see,” he explains politely.

And shouldn’t that be an indication that he’s a vampire? Hu Tao is notorious for her strange tastes. And he must know of the deals she makes with underground groups, the money and blood that’s traded between them.

“Oh!” the hunter’s expression brightens as he clasps his hands together. “I heard about you! I got to say—when they told me that the consultant was knowledgeable on all things Rex Lapis, I was expecting an old man.”

He doesn’t wait to explain who Rex Lapis is. This, of course, is a given seeing that Rex Lapis has become a household name, infamous for his butchery of both vampires and humans alike. But a hundred years later, Zhongli hoped, people would forget about him—or maybe get rid of the fanaticism in their voices when they spoke about him.

It’s quite discomforting, really.

“Well, I am old.”

He laughs, “Yeah, yeah. You hardly look older than me. Call me Childe—I was hoping that you could, ah, answer a few questions I have on Rex Lapis. The 77th Master said that you’d be available and more than willing. She.. actually, here you go!”

Zhongli takes the paper he offers him, which says If you ask him anything, he’d be more than willing to spend the rest of the day answering it! in her rough cursive that he’s grown to dislike. Of course—the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is not beneath fraternizing with vampires or the Fatui.

But he prefers this much more than the vampires that stare at him as they struggle to place him in their ancient hierarchy. And this does work in his favor, he thinks. A vampire hunter wants to know more about him, Rex Lapis—wouldn’t this aid him in finally meeting his end?

So he politely smiles and gives him back the note, not missing how warm Childe’s skin is in comparison to his own. It’s been years since he’s touched a human without the intention of killing them, hasn’t it?

More than suitable then.

“Of course. What would you like to know?”

#this is completely self indulgent my bad #osial #guizhong #zhongli #genshin impact #vampire zhongli

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