#a lot of this is just like. tsaritsa posting again though

[lovesickeros]

☆ you sow; & thus you shall reap what you are owed

{☆} characters tsaritsa {☆} notes cult au, imposter au, drabble, gender neutral reader {☆} warnings blood, violence {☆} word count 0.8k

You are dying.

Gold melts into the dirt, bleeds into the very earth that you'd molded by your own hands – a familiarity you do not understand the source of – you know it to be true, yet you do not remember it as Teyvat does. It weeps, in turn, for the way you bleed upon it, the way your lungs strain for breath.

It is fury and sorrow and fear and hatred so raw that your mind buckles.

You will die.

"A dying godling and its judge, it's jury – it's executioners," The voice is hollow and cold, sweeps across your broken body like the first chill of winter, "Archons who saw themselves Gods, now brought to heel by their own hubris."

A cold hand upon your cheek, the brush of a thumb across your lip, the gentle caress of cold across your skin. You know her – you don't remember, you shouldn't recognize her but you do – and she knows you. The cold beckons and you follow, let her kindness settle in the hollow space of your chest. You want to speak, to cry and scream and rage, let the world burn around you in a fit of flames so hot even she cannot contain it – but she silences you, quiets the anger seeping into your blood, quiets Teyvat itself.

"Do not speak, little godling. Guide my hand," She is cold; her hands are not gentle, yet it is bliss compared to the callous, cruel hands that have shattered you. She is cruel and cold and brutal but she is love in the way she kisses the crown of your head. She is love in the way she is the bulwark between you and the world that has scorned you – she is fury in the way she brings them to their knees. "And I shall enact judgement most divine."

They will pray for forgiveness, and they shall find themselves wanting.

"It wasn't our fault!" They cry, but you cannot recognize the voice – it breaks and cracks like glass. "They were too human. How were we meant to know? We– we thought they were.."

Silence.

You watch your judge – the executioner, the blade that shall carve their sins into the very marrow of Teyvat, stand above you like death. As cold as winter and just as brutal. Your temple has been painted in the gold of your divine blood, and she shall complete the masterpiece with their own. The Archons shall become the grandest art in the world – this temple the canvas, their blood the paint and their bodies the palette. The cold that cuts sinew cradles you – it sings to you, whispers sweetly in your ear and carves bone from body in the same breath. The cold presses it's lips to your wrist and it cradles a heart within it's palm – judges them and finds them guilty.

It is her spear that rests between their ribs, her sword that dissects and her dagger that carves – the cold devours.

In the breadth of this divine sanctuary, the Archons dwindle. They become the pieces of a divine work of art, they bleed and bend and break upon her hands. She shakes the heavens and carves mortality into the bones of the divine – your word is Law, and you weave their deaths into the roots of Teyvat itself.

They shall know of their grand folly in every moment henceforth and longer still and they shall weep.

And as the curtain falls, as the world crumbles beneath fist and blade, she cradles your face between hands too cold – as gentle as a shard of ice between your ribs, as brutal as the kiss of gentle snowfall. The world buckles at the loss of six, but she alone does not allow it to break – you will have to mend the wounds of the world when you are well, but today you weep and Teyvat weeps with you.

And alone, the cold remains.

Stone has eroded, the wind has ceased, the flames have been extinguished, the storm has been silenced, the forests have gone quiet and the seas go still.

But the cold remains, bathed in gold.

It wraps you in thick furs, cradles you against the winter storm that brews beneath a veneer of composure. It brings you home – lets the world settle into a stillness and silence that inspires only dread and still she presses a kiss to your brow.

It is cold, but there has never been something so warm.

Where hands have broken you, she drapes you in furs, wipes away the thick gold that clings to your skin. She pieces you back together where you have been shattered, reshapes you where you have been bent – makes of you something new. Not a god and not a mortal but something wedged between them.

But you are yourself.

And you are where you belong.

They shall put you back together and you shall know only the worship worthy of the divine. They shall carve this world into your image, tear out and burn away the rot that festers.

All you need to do is say the word and they shall be your tools to make this world your own.

One word and those who wronged you shall burn, too.

Just one word. That's all it takes, and they shall take away your pain.

[avocad1s]

Note: This has been in my drafts for a while, so while I’m finishing Part Seven, I’ll post this.

Character Included: Zhongli, Venti, Ei, Tsaritsa, Xiao, Ganyu, Diluc, Ningguang, Childe, Scaramouche, Dottore

This is long so everyone else is utc! :>

As the Creator, suitors will seek to win your attention. Your inherent beauty is unparalleled, many could only imagine to be graced with your physical or verbal affections. So when word gets out that you want to be with someone romantically, everyone will jump at the opportunity.

If you pick one of the ARCHONS, no one in Teyvat would be surprised. It was obvious you valued them the most out of everyone in Teyvat, they had the strongest connection to you.

If you pick is Zhongli, that is when his identity as the former Geo Archon is officially revealed. Many were surprised to see that their Archon never died, and others questioned why he wanted to take a mortal form in the first place. However none of those things mattered when he was the one you held dear.

Liyue as a whole held a ton of pride it was their Archon you wanted to be with. That means you’ll want to stay in their nation permanently, no? For Zhongli, this is a moment he has waited millennia’s for. He always knew he was your most devoted, everything he’s done was for the betterment of Teyvat and you. When it comes to your relationship, He will do anything to make you happy. If it’s as small as getting you your own Serenitea Pot? Consider it done. If it’s something as major as becoming the Geo Archon again? He’ll do it in a heartbeat.

As much as he cares for you, Zhongli knows that you still have matters to attend to in the other nations. He would be glad to go with you if you wanted but he also has no problem staying in Liyue until you return. He’s waited this long and now that he has you, being apart for a little bit won’t hurt (at least that’s what he tells himself after you’re gone for two weeks).

-

Considered to be the weakest of the seven, Venti is ecstatic that he is the one you want to be with. He has a carefree and playful nature that bleeds into his nation naturally, but even if he doesn’t show his devotion as strongly as Zhongli, it’s still present.

He enjoys doing any activity with you, do you enjoy wine? Well let him take you to Diluc’s Tavern for the best wine you can drink. Naturally he always offers to pay, but unknown to you he’ll just put it on his never ending tab. (not that anyone would ever charge you for anything, you’re their God!). Do you enjoy his singing? He’s absolutely flattered! Let him sing you all the songs he knows, and eventually you’ll two will be able to perform duets of the songs you enjoy the most.

Just like in Liyue, Venti’s true identity will be revealed once your relationship is announced. Mondstadt will be overjoyed, not only has Lord Barbatos returned but he has secured the love of the Creator themselves. You should do expect lots of songs made about you two. You both will be a symbol of love in the nation of Freedom. Not only that, Mondstadt will plan many festivals throughout the year dedicated to the two of you. (Perhaps even a marriage?)

Just like his nation, Venti values freedom above all else. He would never want to hold you back from doing anything you love, so if you wish to visit other nations he has no problem with it. Of course there will be times he’d want to go with you, especially if the nation you’re going to is having some event in your name but Mondstadt is his home and that’s where he likes to stay. Don’t worry though, he will always be waiting for your return and he will have more songs to sing and stories to recite while you both relax in Windrise.

-

This could go one of two ways with Ei.

If you choose her during the vision hunt decree, it would solidify in her head that what she’s doing is right and that even her Creator supports it. She would be way more harsh in pursuing her view of eternity, the fight with the rebellious army would end quickly once the Shogun joins the battlefield. Now they aren’t just disrespecting her, they are disrespecting you. She will not allow that.

The citizens of Teyvat would be conflicted. Should they get rid of their visions? Do you not like them? Maybe you’ll show them they same value if they didn’t have them anymore. It would certainly be a mess for you to clean.

Also in this scenario leaving Inazuma would be… difficult. Ei doesn’t understand why you want to leave, what can those nations offer you that she can’t. She’s doing this all for you and her sister, can’t you see that?

Now if you choose her after the Traveler’s involvement in Inazuma, she would be different. Now she’s trying to find another way to pursue eternity and having you there to support and help her definitely makes her feel better about the situation. She wants to have a better relationship with her nation but she doesn’t know how to go about that, but everyone adores you so being with you should help! At least she hopes.

On the rare occasion she decides to walk around Inazuma city she would be happy if you go with her. She can be a bit awkward at times since she doesn’t believe she should indulge herself but if you tell her she can have all the dango and dango milk she desires she’ll come around to the idea. Especially if you’re indulging with her.

-

“Oh… You’re picking the Tsaritsa? Oh no! There’s no problem with that, you can pick whoever you like Your Grace.”

That is a line you’d hear all the time after announcing your affections for the ice queen. Not many people can think of Snezhnaya without thinking of the Fatui and all of the… things they’ve done in each nation.

Although to the rest of the world, the groups motives are unknown it must be something you support if you harbor affection for the founder of the Fatui, right?

No matter, even if people would have their objections to the union, no one would dare say anything. The Fatui’s power would only grow stronger, many would believe that going against them now means that they go against you. (They might even use that to their advantage)

The Tsaritsa cares deeply for you. As if you are a flame, her cold persona melts immediately when she’s in the presence of you. She’d do absolutely anything for you, and I mean anything. She’s already forsaken her relationships with her fellow Archons so if you make any requests about your distaste of other nations she will waste no time taking care of it.

Unlike the other Archons, she’s is open to killing for you, even if she doesn’t do it herself, she has a lot of powerful people who can take care of it for her.

When it comes to you leaving the nation, she’ll be reluctant. Snezhnaya has everything you need, why would you want to go anywhere else? Are you cold? She can easily get you some warmer clothes or warm you up herself. She’ll come up with any excuse to keep you to here. Don’t get it wrong though, she still has lots of respect for you and your word is still law. If you stay stubborn about leaving the snowy nation, she’ll give up and let you leave. But she will always have an eye on you so don’t worry :)

-

If you pick one of the ADEPTI Liyue feels honored, you may not have feelings for their Archon but the Adepti are the next best thing, right? The rest of Teyvat are a bit confused, what’s so special about these illuminated beasts that caught your attention?

The tactful Ganyu is conflicted if she can only pick one of her two lives. Humanity or the Adepti. Is she capable of doing both? She’ll try her hardest, her contract with Rex Lapis and her position as the secretary to the Liyue Qixing makes her schedule impossibly full. However she will always make time for you.

You mean everything to her, when she fought in the Archon War by Rex Lapis’ side it was for you. Being with you is a dream come true, it was something she always fantasized about. Although she never thought she’d actually catch your eye.

Anytime you’re in Liyue she’ll attach herself to your side catering to your every need. For once she doesn’t mind putting off her work if it means she can spend more time with you. She’ll take you to best places to eat in Liyue, bring you to drink tea with the rest of the Adepti, and if you wish to watch her spar with the Conquerors Of Demons. Well don’t blame her is she shows off a bit.

Once your stay in Liyue comes to an end, Ganyu will drown herself in her work. She has so much catching up to do and even though she regrets it now, she knows she’ll do it again once you come back to her.

-

Oh Xiao… he believes he doesn’t deserves the value you give him. As much as he cares and loves you, he came to terms that he’d only watch you from afar. He will protect Liyue for you so you can enjoy the greatest things this world has to offer. So why? He wants to ask. All of the blood he has shed over the centuries, how can you feel this way about him?

It’s obvious that Xiao has a good amount of self- depreciation, he feels as if he has to push everyone he cares about away. All of his fellow Yaksha has fallen and Xiao doesn’t want to drag anyone down with him.

Yet staying away from you is hard for him, when all you want is to be with him how can he refuse a request from his God? He fears that getting to close to you would makes his worst nightmare come true, but eating Almond Tofu with you won’t hurt anything… and maybe looking at the stars on top of Wangshuu Inn?

You are a double edged sword for Xiao, being with you makes him fear you may get hurt. However when you two are apart, he feels his karmic debt downing him.

But if you don’t show affections for him until after his time in the Chasm with Yelan and the others, he would be drastically different. He now realizes that his life, like everyone else’s, has meaning. He doesn’t have to push the ones he cares for away and he doesn’t have to constantly sacrifice himself for others.

In this instance Xiao would try way harder when it comes to being with you, he doesn’t know much about relationships or any type of customs that comes with it, but he will try for you. He doesn’t want to disappoint.

-

So it’s not the Archons nor the Adepti you desire? Well that’s completely fine! There are many other influential people that live in Teyvat. Some might even call them the LEADERS of the nation they reside in. Or maybe they are just very dependable and have gained everyone’s trust and respect.

Oh so it’s Master Diluc that you desire? Well no one in Mondstadt can blame you. He is the most desired bachelor in the nation of freedom after all. Although many are disappointed that they won’t have a chance with the tavern owner anymore, they also can’t help but feel a bit relieved that it’s you he’s with.

And my oh my, Diluc is just as surprised that you want him too, but it’s a welcome surprise. After his father died and his relationship with his brother became… strained you were all he had left. He would pray to you daily about his wine business, his tavern, or even his secret identity as the Darknight Hero.

Once you descend, his devotion to you becomes stronger.

He doesn’t trust the Knights with your safety, we all know he believes they are incompetent so once you step into Mondstadt, expect Diluc to basically be glued to your side. You want anything from the shops? Let him buy it! He has more than enough Mora to buy anything you desire. Do you want some wine? Please allow him to escort you to Dawn Winery for the finest wine he has.

Speaking of Dawn Winery, Diluc would prefer if you’d stay there. The Fatui bought out the nicest inn Mondstadt has to offer, and even though they explicitly stated they had no problem with their Crestor staying there, Diluc doesn’t want you to. He has a big issue with the Fatui and as long as you are in Mondstadt, they have no chance getting near you.

Diluc doesn’t mind when you depart Mondstadt, he knows how busy you are and he has important work to get done himself. Unless you are leaving for Snezhnaya, he will try to convince you to go somewhere else. If that doesn’t work, he will worry constantly worry about your safety in the claws of the Fatui. His prayers to you would increase until you’re back in his arms again.

-

There is no such thing as a secret in Liyue, so when you show affections Ningguang. Everyone in Liyue will find out fast. Not much is known about Ningguang and all of the things she does for Liyue, people will scramble to catch even a spec of knowledge that falls from the Jade Chamber.

But one thing everyone knows about the woman is how much she loves you. Before you descended, her daily routine would consist of praying to you as soon as she wakes, working, and praying again before she lays to rest. When Liyue throws celebrations in your name, she would give you the most lavish offerings. Not one person in Teyvat would be able to match anything she gives you.

Anytime you’re in Liyue she will force insist that you stay in her home. Have you seen a better place in Teyvat? She doubts it! Don’t forget about the amazing view she has up there too. Ningguang will also handle all of the expenses for anything you desire, she’s arguably the richest woman in Teyvat there is not one thing you’d want that would be out of her budget. If her God wants it, you will have it

She’d treat you to the most luxurious meals you will ever have, making sure everything is adjusted to your tastes. Even if the spices you like don’t originate from Liyue, she will send people to go get whatever you need. All that matters to her is to see you happy.

-

Erm, Your Grace? The one you desire is a FATUI HARBINGER? You should stay away from the likes of them. They have no good intentions, all they do is exploit innocent people and gain power over the other nations. The Fatui has no respect for…

There are only four things Childe cares for, his family, the Tsaritsa, fighting, and you. As he grew up, his family told him how amazing you were and all he dreamed about was meeting you face to face, and when he became a Fatui Harbinger he knew that would be possible.

However he got more than he would’ve ever imagined. He got to call you his.

Childe has no issue killing anyone for you, if anyone goes against you, he will take care of it.

Unlike anyone before, Childe will want to go everywhere with you, he’s already a Harbinger so he’s used to traveling to all of the nations and not only that, he has the money to go anywhere too (thank Pantalone for that smh)

He will rub this in the faces of his comrades, he’s the youngest Harbinger, the lowest ranked but he still managed to snag your attention? Yeah, they’re not living this down.

When it’s just the two of you though he’s soft, he’d love for you to meet his family. They mean so much to him just like you do, to have you all in the same room would make him so happy.

-

Where should I start with the Balladeer? He‘s a puppet and doesn’t have a heart, but these feeling he has for you is strong.

At first he tries to push you away, his… mother cares so much for you and as he tries to distance himself from her, he thought that meant he had to hate you. But he couldn’t…

As he tried to find meaning within himself, everyone kept telling him to turn to you. Even his own friend that tragically died had told him that your divine light would guide him in the right direction. He didn’t want to listen.

Once he had joined the Fatui he figured he wouldn’t hear about you again, but oh boy was he wrong. He hadn’t met anyone more devoted to you than this group, everything they do is for you. All of the killing, exploiting, experimenting, and lying was done in your name and honor.

Scaramouche needed something to latch on to, his mother thought he was useless, and unbeknownst to him at the time, his attachment to the Fatui was a complete lie.

He will try to be useful in any way he can. The Fatui wouldn’t matter to him anymore, getting his hands on the Electro Gnosis doesn’t matter, all that matters is what you want.

With you around, he finally has something to fill his heart with, he will do anything and everything not to upset you. The last thing he wants is for you to throw him away like everyone else.

-

So it’s the Doctor that you want? Can’t say that I blame you…

On the surface, it would seem that Dottore doesn’t worship you. He won’t deny your existence if asked but if he’s asked if he worships you, he’s closed off about it.

Even in his days in the Akademiya he would always pray to you for luck before his studies or exams (not that he needed it). When he was interested in ancient machines and wanted to know more, he would pray to you for a breakthrough to prove to the Akademiya scholars and sages that this is what they should be studying. However he was chased out before that could happen.

He didn’t blame you for it, in fact, leaving Sumeru had given him a better opportunity, the Fatui. They actually funded any experiment he desired, whether it was about the ancient machines, the Archons, or the secrets of Teyvat, he would know it all.

However once you arrived, you took all his attention.

It’s not that he wanted to experiment on your per say, it’s just… he wanted to know more about you! You’re the God of Gods, you have power people on Teyvat could only imagine having. Being able to take a closer look at you would mean everything.

Once the two of you become close, Sumeru are the first to regret it, the one you favor is someone they had thrown out of their nation not just once, but twice. They feel absolutely foolish.

Since you’re a God, Dottore definitely believes your have greater intelligence than the God of Wisdom herself and he would love to “poke at your brain” if you allow him, he would ask you questions about wherever you were before coming to Teyvat and how Teyvat was many centuries ago.

If this is before his time in Sumeru and creating his own God, he would still have his Segments from previous times in his life. Yeah… they’re all devoted to you too. So if you like Dottore, that means them too right?

I think it’s clear that he and his Segments do not get along, they’d all be fighting for your attention lmao (obviously he wins all the time) but if Dottore is too busy with his Harbinger duties he doesn’t mind if you want to spend time with them. It’s better than you running to someone else for attention.

Note: I am also working on a masterlist atm so that should be out once part seven comes out! 🫡

© avocad1s please do not plagiarize or post to any other website

[eluxcastar]

hello hello greetings! could i request a vampire reader x harbingers who offers to turn them into a vampire as well (how romantic to offer the concept of *forever* to their lover), its got the whole package of night vision/ immortality/ super strength/ speed/ etc etc but they'd lose the ability to use visions/delusions cause they're technically gonna be "dead" would the harbingers except or decline 👀👀 (excluding pulcinella and pierro)

Harbingers with a Vampire s/o

── ୨୧：harbingers x reader

୨୧﹑synopsis :: just me being absolutely off my head again talking about the harbingers' opinions on vampirehood

୨୧﹑content :: gn reader, vampire reader

୨୧﹑words :: I shit you not this post is 666 words long what in the My Immortal

anon baby you found my weak spot I'm so normal about this subject (it's my special interest) (sorry) ANYWAY this has been chilling in my inbox for ages, so it's time I finally write it. I started it a while ago but then I got busy and didn't post for a month and now I am suddenly two followers away from 400 so hi hello thank you

anyway back to the request I question the visions and delusions part because Qiqi is a Zombie an uses a cryo vision BUT I'M GONNA GLOSS OVER THAT BECAUSE YEs

Let's go lowest to highest in ranking like I usually do and start with Childe who, imo, would accept on the grounds that it is power and he will take anything to become more powerful even at a detriment to his health and physical condition. Though there is a price, he has accepted prices before and assuming that the pay off is good enough the use of a vision or delusion would be obsolete anyway. That, coupled with his love for you as his motivation is more than enough to sway him in your favour as he can see more to gain than lose from spending eternity by your side.

Arlecchino is a tough one because I can totally see it and it's really hot but Idk if she would. I wanna say yes, but I can also see reasons for no. The Vampire Arlecchino energy wins though because tbh I can see her being willing to make that sacrifice for her lover. I don't see her as fully whipped per se but like she's definitely loyal yk, probably pick you over the Tsaritsa and would want to spend an eternity with you at your behest.

Next is Pantalone. Cool vampire vibes. Someone gave me this wonderful headcanon that he is obsessed with his delusion, and I now love it to death so much that I based a character on it. So tbh yeah, there's benefits in this for him. He gets to be with you and have a little more power at a far lesser detriment. Plus like, you can't convince me this man wouldn't be lowkey into it.

Signora, I'm not sure. She has already lived a long time, and she has a lot of natural power already. Her delusion is what balances her, so I honestly think I'd have to say no. I WANNA SAY YES REALLY BAD BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THERE'S OPPORTUNITY THERE, but I also just don't think so, but like she'll still be with you for a long time.

Sandrone, I honestly don't know either, because I don't know much from the two words she's spoken. If I remember, she doesn't care for other people, though, so she's likely very in love with anyone who managed to break through that and may be willing to make sacrifices for you.

For Scaramouche- well, bro is an artificial human, so tbh, I don't even think he would be affected by that. I'll skip him too.

Next would be Pulcinella, but I was told no Pulcinella, so Capitano (I almost forgot him send help). I like the abyssal creature Capitano headcanon, but even if he was just, a guy. I think the answer is no. HE'S WHIPPED AND WOULD DO ANYTHING BUT NOT THIS 😭 at least not at first, but give it a while and I can see it. It'll take time, though.

Columbina is also tricky because she has such entity vibes, but like also, seraph/vampire pairing would be so hot I can't even deny that. I should write that. Anyway, I feel like she's already immortal, so that doesn't matter, and she is indifferent to the power you offer. It's a matter of it not holding value. She has everything she could get out of it already.

Finally, we come to Dottore. Dottore is into it, don't lie, you know he is; this man is freaky. He'd enjoy the prospect of being a Vampire more than the perks of it, and that's enough to convince him. Besides it's 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓬𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮 so he gets to excuse it. He couldn't turn it down even if it was just one of his segments because he's got to know what it's like and all the differences. He collects knowledge.

This was way more chaotic than usual 💀 Idk if I will write more like this but I did enjoy it so maybe, depends if y'all like this or my other styles more. I just like the chilled out casual chaos sometimes so lmk

[bluewaltz]

🐋 — [ Tartaglia. ] 👤 — [ gender neutral reader. ] 🏷️ — [ enemies to lovers, good ending, fluff. ] 📜 — [ fic. ]

You had a mission. Kill the Eleventh Harbinger, through any means necessary.

You had heard the tales. He's a monster, a killing machine that brought with him devastation and ruin. The Vanguard of the Tsaritsa, and someone who crawled out of the Abyss.

It was insanity. Your higher ups must have known that sending one person to kill Tartaglia was a death sentence. But you would carry it out, regardless.

You didn't know what you expected, but it certainly wasn't this lanky, awkward young man, talking with the confidence of a Harbinger. Your organisation had managed to sneak you into the Fatui as a new recruit, and you had been posted to Liyue, which was apparently under his jurisdiction.

"I wish you all glory; glory to the Tsaritsa, glory to our motherland, and glory to yourselves. Dismissed. Your captains will tell you what you will be doing, and Y/N? A word, please?"

You pushed past the crowds, uncaring of how all eyes were on you. Tartaglia was waiting for you, a small smile on his lips. Again, you wondered how he could seem so young.

"You weren't listening at all, were you? Did I bore you?" Tartaglia leaned forward, his tone one of mild curiosity.

You fought the urge to reach for your weapon, instead focusing on keeping your breathing even.

"No sir. Sorry sir, it won't happen again." You replied crisply.

To your surprise, Tartaglia threw his head back and laughed like he'd heard the joke of the century.

"Sir? Why so formal, recruit? Call me Childe; everyone here calls me that." Tar- Childe said, his eyes dancing with mirth.

"Understood, Lord Childe." You said carefully, testing the word out on your tongue.

Childe clicked his tongue, looking pleased. "Okay, that's a start. I know exactly where you'll be working. Katya!"

A Fatuus hurried over, turning to Childe.

He turned to you with a conspiratorial grin and whispered loudly, "Ekaterina here takes care of the shady side of things at the bank, so I can go out and play Harbinger without the metaphorical blood on my hands."

"Need I remind you of the times you appeared in the bank with blood all over you, sir?" Ekaterina replied drily, and you noticed that she didn't seem to use that reverent tone of respect most recruits did.

"It's just blood, and it wasn't mine."

"Blood doesn't wash out of carpets easily, and you're lucky it was closing time then." She turns to you, and despite how her face was obscured by the mask, you got the feeling that she was sizing you up.

"Is this who you want, sir?"

"Give them an office at the bank, okay? I'll be going now, I just came back from Inazuma!"

The two of you watched Childe hurry away, his figure shrinking into the distance.

"Good luck."

"What?"

Ekaterina turned to you, her voice dripping with pity.

"Childe isn't an easy boss. Come with me."

-

Your days at the bank were long and dreary. It wasn't so bad, but there was a lot of work to be done. Mostly it was just the Qixing nitpicking some small detail or other, and your days were filled with passive aggressive letters insisting that the other party was far too kind, and that you would remember this.

All well and fine, until Childe crashed into your office like a dust devil.

"Y/N, can you fight?"

Your first thought was that the bank was under attack. Your second thought was that your cover had been blown, and your hand twitched towards the polearm that always remained just out of arm's reach.

"A little. I'm not too good at it, though." Technically not a lie, since you specialized more in subterfuge and assassination.

Childe seemed appeased by this response, gesturing for you to follow him.

He left the bank at an easy pace, exchanging greetings and words with people on the street. Vendors seemed particularly enthused to see him, and some even asked him where their "source of income was", whatever that meant.

He always replied with a sunny smile, and more than a few times you had to remind yourself that this was a bloodthirsty creature you were dealing with.

He brought you to a wide, empty field, and you suddenly remembered something.

Being the secretary of the Eleventh Harbinger, you heard things.

Things like how he would wheedle his way into spars with recruits, and he would always leave the field looking refreshed while the recruits all looked haggard.

To be picked for a spar with Childe was to have all the flaws of your technique pointed out with a smile. But it was also a good way to see how he fought.

So you let him tug you into position, and you watched as he pulled his bow into existence, seemingly giving you the first move. Not one to let go of an opportunity, you dashed forward, drawing your sword and aiming for his chest.

You longed for your polearm, but it was unwise to show your hand so early. The sword was shorter than what you were used to, but it would be fine.

Childe sidestepped, using his bow to send quick flickers of water at you, throwing you off. All the while, he was watching you intently.

You kept attacking, and he kept dodging. This frustrating game kept up until his face lit up. Then, with a casual gesture, your sword went flying out of your hands.

"You've got a strange style," Childe commented, catching your sword and inspecting it. "I think you would be more suited to a polearm, not a sword. Or, you were trained with a polearm, anyway."

"You barely fought me." You gritted out, glaring at Childe.

He shrugged and passed your sword back. "I didn't have to."

-

And just like that, another event was added to your repetitive routine. Paperwork, think of a way to murder Childe, and occasionally, indulge him with a spar.

When you took out your polearm and fell into a familiar stance, Childe's eyes lit up, and he actually did trade blows with you this time, though you could tell he was barely using his strength. But he disarmed you easily enough, which put an end to your plans of facing him in head on combat.

You wondered if he checked his food for poison, but then you dismissed it. Too risky, and if he didn't die, he would know who you were, and the mission would be ruined.

As you plotted in circles, you became aware of Childe's tells. How he lied, how he smiled when he never meant it. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and you wondered how anyone could fail to kill this bumbling man.

Childe's behaviour was becoming erratic and strange. Some days, he would be cheerful and bubbly, always chatting incessantly and overly generous. Those were his most common moods.

But recently, he had been moodier of late. More volatile, easier to provoke. He lost more of his spars like that, but he didn't seem to really mind. In fact, he seemed happier after those defeats, often treating you to a meal.

It happened during lunch. The two of you were at Wanmin, and Childe was regaling you with a particularly tall tale about a sea snake and a fishing rod when suddenly, his hand shot out.

Your head was snapped down, and Childe let out a hiss of pain. You scrambled out of your seat, looking down at the neat round hole burned into his arm and the smoking bullet bobbing in your soup.

Childe stood up, ignoring how his arm hung limply. His eyes were cold and dead now, scanning the rooftops and balconies.

"Lord Harbinger-"

"There." Childe hummed, and in the blink of an eye, something zipped past you. You only survived because he wasn't focused on you, but you felt the touch of electro-charged water against your cheek.

Electro? But how did he…

"Y/N, we have to go."

This was your chance. He was injured and distracted, you could easily plunge a fork or your knife into his chest and shock his heart to a standstill.

You grabbed his bleeding arm, ignoring the startled hiss. Of course he'd forgotten about the wound.

"Lord Harbinger, you're injured. Perhaps you should recuperate before tracking them down." You murmured. "People are looking."

"Fine." He snarled, summoning some Hydro to wipe up the blood and pick up the bullet.

He didn't let you touch him all throughout the walk back to the bank, and when he reached the bank, his murderous expression kept people from asking after his arm.

You retreated to your office to get a medical kit and returned to Childe surveying the bullet, turning it this way and that in its watery prison.

"Interesting build." Childe's voice was conversational, and you pulled up a chair to him and started working on the wound.

"What is, sir?"

Childe made a dismissive noise. "Just call me Childe. And I was talking about this bullet. It has been imbued with pyro energy, so touching it would burn very badly."

You tried to school your expression. That sounded like the work of your organisation. Bullets that cauterized the wound as it went, with a dense knot of pyro energy that would dissipate after a while.

But why would they steal your kill? You were promised Tartaglia. This didn't make any sense, so you just made an affirmative hum and continued to bandage his arm.

-

"Is that all you got?" Even pinned under your weapon, Childe still had that cocky light in his eyes, and he pressed his throat closer to the tip of your spear. A spar. that was all it was supposed to be, until he let slip that he knew your intentions and all of a sudden, it had become far more dangerous.

"Come on," he cooed. "You can kill me right here, right now. Unless you like seeing me helpless like this?"

"Shut up, Harbinger."

Childe sighed heavily, sounding very put upon. "I thought we were getting along swimmingly. What's with the sudden change in attitude?"

"Don't play dumb."

Childe snickered. "But it makes you so mad."

"You're not scared?"

"Why would I be afraid of you?" He cocked his head, sounding genuinely confused. "You were a spy sent by an organisation to do an impossible task. But you still tried anyway. Isn't that enough?"

"I-"

"There's no use arguing." Childe pushed your spear away from his throat and sat up. "I did my research; the organisation simply wanted an easy way to get rid of you."

You gritted your teeth. You had long suspected it, but hearing it laid out so simply… it stung. Discarded like an old tool in order to make way for others.

"So? Are you going to kill me now?" You asked.

Childe burst out laughing. "Ha! I'm not letting myself get used like some attack dog for an enemy organisation. My loyalty belongs to the Tsaritsa alone. Of course I'm not going to kill you."

"What?" You were baffled. Was he really going to let an enemy live like that? But Childe didn't seem to sense your disbelief, his brow scrunched in an adorable furrow.

"I don't see why I need to kill you. Ekaterina already spent so much time training you to be my secretary, and it'd be a shame to put all her hard work to waste."

"I…"

Childe grinned. "Of course, you can still try to kill me. But I will try my best to continue thwarting your efforts."

Well. Who were you to look a gift horse in the mouth?

[chilapis]

hi again almandine !! i hope uve been taking care of urself too and eating well ; ur most recent post reminded me that i wanted to ask, what does a sparring session between u and ajax usually look like ? does he use his foul legacy form ? id love to hear abt the specifics on ur hcs for ur s/is powers 🙇‍♀️🫶 wishing u well !!

HIIII, hi, Clara! It’s such a delight to see you again, I hope you’ve been well! <33

I feel like playfighting is, a fairly popular pastime for us together? And by playfighting I mean “we’re leaving this interaction with water in our lungs and scorched skin that hurts to to the touch.”

I’m still slightly unsure which direction I want to take the Genshin self-insert in but having a comfort + universal s/i that is quite literally “just me does” somewhat allow me more freedom and creative liberty with with the former so I’m making little changes here and there pretty actively.

I know in yesterday’s post I was like Genshin Lapis “has killed millions & will do so again” but I think I’m more inclined to take her into a different direction of “has killed millions & now just wants to settle down peacefully” — meaning that I think GI Lapis would be on the same power level as his foul legacy form, but definitely goes easier on him on purpose during sparring. It’s not because he thinks of Ajax as weak (she’s lovestruck & probably regularly tells him he’s the strongest warrior she’s ever seen in the many years that she has roamed the planet) but rather because all things considered, GI lapis is still… you know, the pyro dragon sovereign? And despite harnessing the power of the abyss and utilising foul legacy, Ajax is still only human.

I should mention that I’m not a huge fan of mortal/immortal dynamics personally but I hardly doubt that Tartaglia subscribes to “mortality” as we know it; if he did, the use of his delusion and foul legacy would have destroyed and terminated him by now, so I view him as human but not… mortal per se? That said, Ajax would be insistent on going all out, both of them, but she scolds him because she knows how using his foul legacy affects his health and it worries her. They still spar a lot! Lapis isn’t into fighting that much anymore but she is absolutely invested in improving Ajax’s skills. Just because she is against using her own full power and adamantly against him using foul legacy in their sparring sessions (unless it’s a special occasion) does not mean she won’t literally make it rain fire on him. They are both utterly infatuated though so no matter who wins in the end, it still ends with the two giggling & telling each other throw well they did while cuddling into each other (despite being uh, soaking wet with water and sweat combined). Technically both are victors every round; one wins through combat skill, the other wins by getting pinned to the floor. Godspeed

You know that one dialogue Ajax has about even taking on the Harbingers? Yeah, she supports that idea 100%; she LOATHES the fatui and the tsaritsa (+ her harbingers) (lapis finds them pretentious) and her personal pride doesn’t find the idea of being on the absolute top of the food chain not too bad either, so, he needs to be used to breaking a few bones here and there. Plus, Lapis doesn’t engage in her previous aggressions anymore so, it’s good to get some exercise in, she supposes. It’s a win-win.

As for specifics on her powers! I’m going to be talking from a gameplay perspective here. First of all? I’m pulling the same stunt MiHoYo pulled with the Tartaglia boss fight; the atmosphere during it, the intense music, the panic when you first fight him as one of the first ever bosses (though he becomes literally the easiest one after, whoops), his foul legacy attacks, the way he dashes so fast, the magnificent creature he summons from hydro — it’s intense, it’s gorgeous. And then uh, there’s the playable Tartaglia — who is, you know, not bad! I love him even though I always have terrible luck on his banners despite the fact that I started playing in 2021. But he is still just a tad… underwhelming compared to the grandness of the version of him that we fought.

Anyway, you’re getting the same thing with GI Lapis. He isn’t fast like Ajax but she is, um, like twice the size of foul legacy in her dragon form if not even bigger so that isn’t necessary anyhow. I actually want her to be fairly tall and domineering in her dragon/boss battle form, just like… slightly smaller than Azhdaha? She doesn’t change elements or such however; she remains bound to pyro. I do however want her boss battle to be in a really shallow water body so that the player is almost constantly experiencing reverse vapourise unless they pull some fuckass geo structure bullshit. I want the boss battle music to be quite similar to the Bloodborne soundtrack OSTs but with some Doom themes. Something cathartic and visceral, you know? And then there’s… her as a playable character.

Best support character/sub-DPS for Childe you can imagine. First of all? Pyro and Hydro = vapourise, which is arguably one of the best — if not the best — reactions in the game. Secondly… I want to somehow add energy recharge to her kit (preferably through one of the active skills) so that it enhances Tartaglia’s riptide the way Raiden does. I may make her either a catalyst or a sword (or claymore!) user depending on how I feel, that part is still undecided. As for her passive skill, I think it’d be so much funnier if MiHoYo made it specific like “Increases full team’s ATK by 10% if Tartaglia is in the team, with an additional 10% ATK bonus if vapourise is performed using both character’s skills” Imagine literally requiring another character to fully be able to utilise one character’s kit? Can you imagine the profit they’d make? I could be the perfect cashcow. Non-game play powers also include knife throwing, skill with blades in general and oh! She naturally runs cold and craves warmth so she is constantly using a little bit of her pyro powers to keep herself pleasantly warm.

I also think all of this would tie in nicely with the fact that GI Lapis is no longer the fearmongering dragon warlord that she once was? He, like the other dragons we’ve seen so far, is… more or less just enjoying retirement and works in the legal field almost entirely for fun (and mora); so her being on the battlefield or fighting will literally always 100% be because Ajax is involved somehow and she would do Anything to protect this man, no matter how stupid the thing may be. Plus she likes having a “justified” excuse to be a menace from time to time anyway. To summarise the lore I have for her: war lord dragon sovereign who used to consider international peace a mere suggestion suddenly decides on giving up violence and settling down with some random anime-european man. So. You know.

[viatrixia]

in convivialities and revelries

pairing: childe x lumine words: 2, 340 genre: tooth-rotting fluff, mutual pining note: cross posted on ao3

Childe catches wind of Lumine being in Liyue during the festivities of the Lantern Rite and proceeds to follow her around until she seeks (calls) him out.

Lumine is painstakingly aware of the presence of a certain Fatui Harbinger following her around whilst she’s out and about helping the Yuheng and the Secretary of the Qixing with preparations for the Lantern Rite Festival.

If he wanted to, he could charm his way into people’s hearts with his boisterous laughter and outgoing personality but for some reason the so-called weapon of destruction belonging to the Tsaritsa has opted to lurk in the shadows rather than let his presence known

So after the musical performance from Dvorak, followed by Hu Tao and Xinyan, Lumine pulls Yun Jin to the side.

The young opera singer blinks in wonderment but soon recovers and lets a graceful smile curl on her lips, it’s not always that the ever capable Traveler asks for help.

“Yun Jin, do you mind keeping an eye on Paimon? I need to go somewhere and it might take awhile.”

“Rest assured, your adorable companion is safe with me, Traveler.” Yun Jin pats Lumine’s hand gently.

Lumine nods a second later, returning her smile. She throws one last glance at the silver haired creature before disappearing into the crowd. 

It takes several minutes of walking before she reaches a dark alley, far enough for there to be close to no one, especially since most would be at the harbor where the performance is held.

In a matter of seconds, she spots a shadow leaned up on the other end of the alleyway as though he’s been expecting her. But the slight rise and fall of his shoulders tell her that he ran all the way here when he saw her heading this way.

“We meet again, Traveler.” Childe says, a slight pant in his greeting.

“Indeed… it is an unexpected coincidence.” Lumine humors him but crosses her arms over her chest. “To what do the people of Liyue owe this pleasure? You’re not here to cause trouble, are you?”

“I’m hurt, Lumine. After all that we’ve been through… Am I still just a troublemaker in your eyes?”

The way her name rolls off his tongue makes Lumine’s skin tingle. All of a sudden, she’s too aware of what they’re doing–a rendezvous with a public enemy and a secret friend far away from the eye of others, underneath the moonlight.

Lumine clears her throat, ridding herself of unnecessary thoughts.

“Your records aren’t the cleanest, Childe… Keqing, Ganyu, Dvorak and a lot of people worked hard to make the Lantern Rite Festival enjoyable for everyone. So if you’re here to use the festival as a distraction to whatever you’re planning…”

“You’re not going to stand still and let that happen, yeah?” Childe pushes himself off the wall of the alleyway he’s been leaning against.

A smile tugs on the corners of his lips as he approaches the wary Traveler with idle strides.

Lumine bites her bottom lip. Each time they meet, she never knows if they stand as the people’s Traveler and the Harbinger that threatens world peace; or as comrades who’ve fought with each other to keep little Teucer safe.

Childe stops inches away from her, his gloved hand cupping her cheek whilst the other pushes her hair to the back of her ear.

“I missed you.” He whispers.

And other times the lines get blurred into obscurity. 

“I… wish you weren’t so honest at times.” Her eyebrows furrow.

“One of us has to be.” 

There are strains in this world. They bind people and pull them down with the weight of their duties and responsibilities. 

For Lumine, it’s her brother. The Abyssal Prince poses a threat on all of existence. And though no one told her to, Lumine took it upon herself to stop her brother’s vices. 

And Childe knows this too. 

As he knows a plenty of many things; like how her cheeks would turn red at the brush of his fingers on her skin, how she’d avoid eye contact when he gets close enough for his musky woody scent to permeate her senses and how when he manages to tear up her wall, she builds a new one in an instant. Because the Viatrix cannot afford any hindrances in her pursuit for her rogued Viator.

And the Snezhnayan fighter also knows that he’s an impediment she can’t ignore.

So his index finger curls under her chin, tilting her face up to make her look at him and traps her luminescent golden eyes so she’s looking at him and only him. He leans closer, their breaths mingling together, lips brushing against the other but not enough to kiss.

“Lumine! Oh, Lumine! Where are you?” Paimon’s adenoidal voice cuts through the air.

The Traveler gasps, hands going up to the Harbinger’s chest and pushing him away but his hand that’s managed to wrap around her wrist–tightens. His hollow eyes darken like the bottomless pit of the ocean.

“Chillax, Paimon, I’m sure the Traveler’s just sneaking in a drink or two since she couldn’t do that while on babysitting duty!” The hoarse yet energetic assurance sounds like Xinyan’s.

“Babysitting? Hey, who are you calling a baby?! Paimon sure hopes it’s not Paimon!”

“Oops.”

“Now, now you two. It seems the Traveler isn’t here, why don’t we head back to Heyu Tea House and wait for her there? When separated with a friend on a busy street, always go back to the place where you know they can find you.” The voice of reason must be Yun Jin.

“Or, we can wait for the Traveler at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor! There’s a new coffin that I think might interest you lot! Hehe.” And the morbid suggestion sounds like Hutao’s.

As the voices begin to fade with distance, Lumine turns to Childe. She notices the warmth of the hand holding onto her wrist as though pleading her not to leave.

“I should go. Paimon’s looking for me and from the looks of it, Hutao is trying to sell her a fancy miniature coffin… Ajax, are you listening?”

“...air..” Childe murmurs underneath his breath, head hung low.

“Hm? What was that?” Lumine blinks, head tilting to the side as she peeks at his expression.

“It’s unfair. It’s unfair that you’re alright with parting after five minutes of meeting and each day that goes by without you feels like fucking years. The last time was also fleeting, it was in–”

Childe finally meets her eyes, a pout on his lips as his eyebrows furrow in a dissatisfied fashion.

“Inazuma. You were picking out onikabutos for Teucer. I remember. And I agree, it’s been long. Too long.”

“There’s a ‘but.’” Childe sighs.

“There’s a ‘but.’” Lumine nods.

“Then I guess you leave me no choice but to do this.” The ginger haired Harbinger announces in a melodramatic manner, the hand that’s been holding Lumine’s wrist finally releases her but instead, he bends down, picking Lumine off her feet and starts carrying her in his arms.

“A-Ajax! What are you doing? And what’s with that villainous statement? Put me down this instant!”

In her frightened and surprised state, her arms unconsciously circle around Childe’s shoulders as though she doesn’t trust him not to drop her a second after picking her up. He catches a whiff of her perfume; a hint of midnight in a lavender field. 

Childe tries to resist the urge to smile as adrenaline fills his veins. He leaps upwards, landing on one of the roofs of the shop lots in the deserted street.

“No can do, princess. Hold on tight if you don’t want to fall face first to your death.”

Lumine scoffs.

“You’re aware I have a Glider License, yes?”

“I’m confiscating it.” He flashes the white card with her picture and identity on it with the hand that’s not holding Lumine.

“How did you–I’m sure I put it in my–”

“Left side of your seam pocket. I know.”

When she attempts to swipe it off his hands, Childe easily evades Lumine’s grasp and slips the white card into the back pocket of his pants.

That earns an incredulous look from Lumine.

“A scheming diplomat, gnosis stealer and now a petty thief? Child “Ajax” Tartaglia, what have become of you?”

“Uh, you’re aware that they’re all my first names? As in, none of it is my middle or last name so they don’t go together like that…”

“Dummy.” Is the Lumine’s final insult which feels more endearing than hostile.

And that’s how Childe knows that Lumine doesn’t mind being whisked away in the middle of an empty street and being taken to Archon-knows-where by her occasional nemesis. 

They continue to bound from one rooftop to another, Lumine’s arms now loosely wrapped around Childe’s shoulders, her head resting in the juncture between his neck and shoulder. The winds caress their cheeks yet they’ve already been blushing long before.

“Me too… I miss you too.” Lumine whispers underneath her breath, half-hoping the winds would mute it out and another part of her hoping that he would hear her.

“Then give me a kiss.” 

The Harbinger whispers back, eyes curved into crescent moons as grins. Lumine’s heart leaps into her throat as she stares back in awe at the sight in front of her. The silver moon casts an enigmatic glow to his skin. Almost treacherous even.

Lumine figures she wouldn’t be surprised if he carried her to a boat and locked her up in one of the brigs as it set sail to whichever land it plans to go. 

And for some reason, at this moment, she wouldn’t mind being kidnapped by this handsome Harbinger.

“Okay.”

“Hold on, wha–”

Childe misses a step as he lands on the stage of the second floor connected to the Northland Bank where Liyuens gather for Liu Su’s storytelling. 

They crash into one of the table and chair sets with a clamorous thud but before that, Childe manages to wrap his arms around Lumine’s body, his hand on her head, pressing her head into his chest to protect her from the slightest bruising or cuts.

“Ajax! Are you hurt?” Lumine pushes herself up, her hands pressed flat on his chest and her thighs cradling his waist yet all she thinks about is to examine if there’s any wounds on the groaning Harbinger’s body.

All the whilst, her eyes aren’t the only thing doing the inspection. Her hands roam around Childe’s body–the best way to find out internal bleeding or bruises is lightly pat the areas where you think they’d be.

“Seems like you’ll be alright except for some bruising and soreness come morning.” She finally announces, still remaining seated on what would be Childe’s lap if he were cross legged and sitting up.

“Am I right to assume I’ll be waking up with you in my arms in the morning too?”

The growing heat on her cheeks begins to spread to her ears and neck but she manages to keep her calm. 

“It looks like everything’s fine except your head. You must have hit it hard.”

She starts to stand on her knees to rise up from her sitting place, still blissfully unaware of how precarious their positions are… only if someone were to walk in on them.

And whilst Lumine was feeling up every ridge and curve on Childe’s body, he’d distracted himself by scanning the area with his elemental sight.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

The Harbinger grins, he’d twined their fingers together when she wasn’t paying attention and tugs on her hand lightly, as though to say  ‘don’t go, I haven’t had enough of you yet’.

“I recall a promise made before I was sent tumbling down in shock.”

Lumine freezes in place. She didn’t think he’d remember–to be frank, she forgot about it herself when they crashed into the ground. In her mind, she wanted to make sure that Childe was alright, without a bruise nor a cut but that in itself is impossible because he broke the fall for the both of them.

And part of this, Lumine realizes, is her fault.

“I’m sorry, I should have waited for a better time to say it.” She murmurs, eyes downcasted.

But before he manages to say anything–to deny her apology, to tell her that she shouldn’t be sorry for anything for she is his Goddess, his saving grace–and that Goddess is leaning down on her own accord, eyelids fluttering over the top of her cheeks as her eyes gently close.

Then that Goddess presents him heaven with her soft, lush lips.

Except there’s one thing. 

Her kiss is too tender, too gentle as if she’s afraid he’d break like fine porcelain if she applied any more force than that. So Childe lets his free hand that isn’t holding Lumine’s hand to travel up her back and pull her by her neck as he kisses her back like a man deprived of water for an entire summer.

He draws his tongue past her lips  in fervid ecstasy and swallows her gasp. It takes less than a heartbeat for her to wholly and deliriously accept him as she tastes him and he devours the dizzying sensation of her skin on his, the overpowering tingles shooting down his spine.

Seconds draw to minutes and minutes draw to a halt. 

The only way they could tell that time is passing, is the shooting light in the air before it bursts and illuminates the darkened skies. Surprised, Lumine draws away, golden eyes painted amber underneath the explosion of colors from orange, to magenta, to green and then blue. 

Yet underneath it all, is the natural rosiness of her cheeks and swollen lips. The tender sight tugs on his heartstrings.

Childe grins.

“Happy Lantern Rite, Lumine.”

Lumine blinks, as though realizing how much of a mess she must look. So she buries her face in the Harbinger’s broad chest. In no time, she feels the strong, sturdy arms of said Harbinger around her.

“Happy Lantern Rite, Ajax.” Her belated wish is muffled against his shirt but Childe gets it all the same.

[ipcearn]

So I finished the most recent Archon quest a week and a half ago, as well as Furina's (first) story quest and I had some time to process and get my thoughts in order

Beware a long, rambly post beneath the cut

I knew what the ultimate twist of the Archon quest would be concerning Furina and Focalors, though not the details of how and why before I played it since I procrastinated on it so long and I didn't evade spoilers, but I wanted to play it before I dug into the meat of the Film Festival event

But damn, that was pulled of very well, with the shifting perspectives (but also ooof, the guilt everyone had to feel when the verdict came down when they made the plan to get Furina on trial, even if it was all planned by Focalors, that would and should haunt people for a while, particularly Furina)

The thing with the narwhal whale was a bit left field, but damn did Childe eat during that cutscene, I do have thoughts on Skirk and her design that I am going to stew over for a while longer

I know people have been talking about this since the trailer had dropped and we got that first look at her, but yeah, for a character with her build up, I kinda expected to be a bit more wow'ed which is all I am going to say for now

Her lore drops though, damn, the revelation about the gnoses and how much more important the Hexenzirkel is becoming - suddenly it tracks very much why Mona is randomly in this quest

Maybe we will finally get that Mondstadt expansion soon I can dream right

But on the topic of the gnoses, I am gonna admit how confused I was that Neuvillette gave that to Arlecchino because I honestly thought that the trick Focalor pulled was essentially destroying the gnosis

I need to look over the earlier quest dialogues again because my understanding had been that the gnoses were given out by Celestia to a god/person which made them an Archon (though a dying/dead Archon can also pass their gnosis to their replacement apparently, I assume Makoto did this with Ei as well, but we get the confirmation that Egeryia did that with Focalors), and god does not need to equal Archon as we get in Liyue's lore regularly; now we know the gnoses are made of the remains of the third descender as revealed by Skirk, because like the Traveler the third descender could channel multiple elemental energies, but those elemental energies that elevated a god/person to an Archon were taken from the Ancient Dragon Authorities by Celestia (as revealed by Neuvillette)

To me that meant that the gnoses were the focal point for that power and we know once those get taken away from an Archon, they still retain enough of a charge of elemental power to pass as vision holders - see literally every Archon we encountered so far, it's either Venti or Zhongli that first explains that, coincidentally also the two Archons with fake visions - so I thought the trick Focalors pulled was by killing the Hydro Archon, she was destroying the gnosis to return the power to Neuvillette permanently

Because couldn't Celestia very easily now just decree the Hydro gnosis to a new person??? Which would create a new Hydro Archon??? We know the Heavenly Principles are not challenged lightly

Or is the Hydro gnosis now essentially powerless? Which would imply the Tsaritsa either isn't aware that is a possibility or that she was never interested in the elemental powers they hold and more in that they are made from the remains of the third descender since we do know the Fatui and by extension the Tsaritsa are aware of the Descenders

Also, very, very intrigued and admittedly worried how much more important the term 'planet' became in this quest, both used by Skirk and Neuvillette, since before it was always 'world'

I genuinely hope the storytellers know what they are doing and are not overloading the lore because planet is a word that comes with a lot of implications, particularly with "the sky is fake" as we heard in Sumeru from Dottore, if it was just Skirk, I could excuse that maybe (I need to look into Mona's story dialogue again because she I could also see using the word which would have strengthened the connection to the Hexenzirkel) but Neuvillette throwing the word around without question is what gave me pause

Plenty of questions, plenty of theories, plenty of concerns

Now to Furina's story quest

I thought they really did an amazing job in it with her dealing with the emotional trauma she suffered from having to play an Archon for 500 years... until the very end of the quest came around

Her setting her boundaries so very firmly really made me applaud her and the writing, and I personally thought where that quest would leave her would be her realizing a joy in running the behind the scenes of a theater troupe and play writing, finding her place in something that made her suffer but rediscovering the joys of it without having to retread what hurt her

And her emphasis that she would never act on a stage again felt so very important and in line with that, and even though a number of characters kept repeating how great she is on stage, her being adamant on her choices felt very important to her healing

And then the quest forces her to do it at the end anyway

Now obviously the art was beautiful and I was bawling during that cutscene, but it cheapened what I thought made the quest great before that

Though at least in the Film Festival event we get to have that director Furina running the behind the scenes instead of acting herself

(Edit after this post sat in my drafts for a few days: I saw that one of Neuvillette's profile stories digs into how the Ancient Dragon Authorities are linked to the gnoses, it doesn't really dispute my understanding, but also doesn't quite match it, though it does say that Neuvillette is now the one responsible for new Hydro visions; I'll need to reread that one a couple times before my brain computes it fully, so maybe I will make additions to this post at a later date)

[bluexiao]

can I request a little something with jealous scaramouche? can be anything you want! I'm not picky lmao

Jealous Scaramouche Headcanons

Note/s: i thought this would be a short drabble or so but noooo my mind literally said I have to make scenarios and headcanons and voila~ can you tell im in a scara brainrot yes? oh well. anyway thank you for the request and i hope you like this one! i think i wrote a lot but i hope you enjoy reading this hehe. i’m really interested in scara’s character a lot and i’m feeding on the reqs that are sent to me hehe~ not at me supposedly posting a request with my mains but instead prioritized scara oops

as a fatui harbinger, SCARAMOUCHE rarely ever gets jealous—he doesn’t need to get jealous. he dedicated his life for the tsaritsa and since he never really lacked in anything else; in his missions and whatnot, jealousy is very unlikely for him.

if there was ever a time, he merely forgot about it. maybe a few huff and scoff if ever a specific someone shows off in front of the tsaritsa, but is that even called as jealousy? he highly doubts it.

although when it came to you though, things may be a little bit different

it’s a little bit close to jealousy... maybe. when it comes to his lackeys and others outside of fatui, he acts kind of indifferent. he likes showing you off and such.

that’s why one time when he caught a new fatui member hitting on you, others were already shivering in the thought of it. everybody knew you were the harbinger’s, and he himself knew that his lackeys wouldn’t even so much as try to look you directly on the eye.

Everyone turned silent as they all turned to the scene with you and a certain newcomer, your eyes wide as you failed to even realize he was flirting with you due to how you already thought about the grave consequences that he might suffer even if your boyfriend wasn’t there. Unfortunately for this person, Scaramouche was.

You felt his footsteps, more than the breath of the man in front of you. You felt his gaze already, even if he might not even be looking directly at you.

He was by your side within the second, his presence daunting, heavy, frightening even. Yet despite all of these, his voice remained with its light tone.

“You must be new here, aren’t you? Then you surely wouldn’t have known the rules yet, right? Or maybe, you are just plain stupid and blind.”

you actually never saw that person looking you on the eye again. apparently, he was “reprimanded for his actions…” that’s what they said but you doubt it was merely just that.

it’s very different when it comes to other harbingers though, especially a certain 11th harbinger.

“I really don’t know how he got someone like you. You know, you could have done better, Y/n.” you knew the man was merely teasing and riling up your boyfriend, and the said boyfriend does too. However, it was not the issue here.

“Oh really? And you’d do better than me?” Scaramouche scoffs, placing—more like forcing himself in between you and Childe, swatting away the boy’s figure with merely a shrug.

“Well then, why don’t we test it out? Let’s see if I can make Y/n flustered. Surely you trust them that much.” Childe’s smile was taunting him, you were sure of that.

Scaramouche scoffs, an evident look of absurdity in his face that tells you how much he disapproves of such a suggestion. “Trust is merely a feeling. Has it ever crossed your mind that what we have is not something that the likes of you could have?” he suddenly smirks, and his chin raises, as if looking down at Childe who was inches taller than him. “Piss off, brat.”

he may be harsh to others but he’s never harsh to you, actually. he may sound possessive but he’s not actually the kind who was the border type one.

like I said before, he’s good at reading people, part of living through the harsh environment. he knows when people have an actual intention or not. the higher the risk of you getting uncomfortable with others, the higher his attitude is.

scaramouche being jealous? psh. he would never admit to that. heck we don’t even know if he’s actually jealous or not. what we do know is that he’s not letting anyone else to have any sort of ill intention towards you

and that he may get slightly touchy afterwards… just slight… maybe a little…

“Hey Scara, I thought you don’t like holding hands while-”

“Shut up, you’d get lost if I don’t hold your hand. You don’t want that do you?”

“Yeah but-”

“What? Don’t want to hold my hand? Fine, but that doesn’t mean I’m letting it go.”

maybe he is jealous… but shhh you better not tease him about it

[fatuispolaris-archive]

misc headcanons (mostly regarding childe’s family + some abyss/post-abyss stuff). under the cut because it’s pretty long ( and also has some cw for violence/blood/animal death etc.)

- childe grew up poor, and helped his dad and older brothers with fishing duties. since he’s a harbinger now though, he sends most of the money home so his family never has to struggle or go hungry again.

- childe has 6 siblings (3 older, 3 younger) plus both of his parents. he also has a large extended family, but none of them talk to him at all anymore. his grandparents do interact with him a bit, but only because he is their grandson. the rest of his family (and most of the people of morepesok, for that matter) avoid him like the plague because of everything he did after returning from the abyss. 

- childe’s siblings (from youngest to oldest): teucer [7], anthon [14], tonia [16], anatoli [23]*, anya [24], and aleksei [26]*  

- his young siblings all adore him, anya is sympathetic but distant (she was the one that found him along with their mom), and anatoli and aleksei just straight up hate him. aleksei will at least act nice with him though when their whole family is gathered, but he has not yet let childe meet his wife and kids. anatoli literally wants to murder him (childe gouged his eye out upon returning from the abyss) and fights with him every time he sees him. 

- his older siblings, parents and the rest of his family are distant because they know he’s not the same kid. his mother and anya have hope that maybe one day they’ll get their sweet little ajax again, but his older brothers, father, and the rest of his family consider that boy long gone

- since childe was only gone for 3 days in regular teyvat time, a lot of the villagers think he got possessed by some sort of demon/evil spirit that made him go crazy, which is not that far off from the truth. the abyss had devastating effects on him, and it’s definitely corrupted his psyche. in addition to this, he feels a bit more of his humanity slip away every time he uses his foul legacy transformation, so he refrains from using it because of that (on top of the strain it puts on his body). 

- following childe’s return, he started off “small” by killing other family’s pets to sate his bloodlust. no one knew it was him at first because he’d do it in the dead of night, but one day his neighbors found him in their backyard eating their freshly-slaughtered horse raw. this is when the accusations about him being possessed started rolling about. all of his old friends stayed away from him, and people in the village openly whispered and ran away from him. he got mad and kept gettiing into fights with people, almost killing quite a few of them. he almost severed the hand of some man that threw a rock at him. he was gone for days at a time and would return home covered in blood, and it absolutely devastated his mother. when he got into a fight with anatoli and cut out his eye, that’s when childe’s dad decided enough was enough and shipped him off to the fatui. 

childe’s fathers words still plague his mind.

“you’re no son of mine. you’re a monster that killed him and took my boy’s place.”

- when he first enrolled in that fatui’s bootcamp, he told them he didn’t have a name. they called him kid/that child. he was the youngest of the group he enlisted with, but he was at the top of his class. he’d almost beat some of his commanding officers to death, and it was then that pulcinella realized his potential. in a year, he’d become a harbinger receiving the codename tartaglia. he is also often called childe as the youngest of the harbingers, and he finds it fitting since he was called “kid” for a long time. 

- no one calls him ajax anymore, save for the tsaritsa on occasion. he’s pretty much dropped the name entirely, because he doesn’t view himself as the person he used to be, either. his older family members don’t refer to him by name, and the younger ones all call him big brother. 

- despite how his family most of his family has shunned him, he still loves them all. he stays away because he is ashamed, but he hopes they know that he’s sorry. he doesn’t think he has the capacity to love much at all anymore, but he knows he loves them.  ** anatoli and aleksei are names/ideas i got from the artist msnz_04 on twitter. 

[velvetyshu]

“CHILDE HEADCANONS.”

Synopsis — Tartaglia/Childe x Gender! Neutral reader.

Post type — Headcanons!

Warnings — Slight spoilers about his childhood.

A/N — it’s been a while since I’ve done any headcanons, so here I am again!! I love Tartaglia, he’s all about the METS LOVE THE METS BABY GET A HOME RUN OOOO YEAH LOVE THE METS LOVE THE METS LETS GO METS

First of all, this young lad describes himself as the bad guy; he’s self-confident, brash, anything that matches the same category. Though, after meeting you-- that completely changes his entire perspective of himself.

Sure, he has a passion for fighting since he thinks that it’s the good thrill of it, but deep down his heart is badly damaged due to the trauma he suffered when he fell into the abyss at age 14.

When Childe began dating you, he was a cheerful-handsome guy, one who was quite mysterious but was truly a kind person. He considered you as his soulmate-- his lover who will stay by his side forever. If you ever liked the thought of sparring with him, he’d happily oblige. How could he ever reject such a thing that involves fighting; including his lover?

As his s/o, Childe loves to introduce you to his younger brother, Teucer! Seeing you getting along with him makes his heart flutter, and likes it when his brother asks if he can ever come and visit you again.

He likes to cook and clean for you, as he is the definition of a housewife. Or .. house-husband?? His cooking is perfect, you could even have more than just one entree!! It’s very heartwarming whenever you compliment his cooking or anything in general as he confidently replies with “I know right? Haha, Life can be extremely beautiful, at times.”

Childe is very mysterious at times whenever you ask him about his past, or what occupation he’s on. He’d laugh it off like always and says “oh, I’m just a .. toy salesman from s-snezhnaya! That’s all.”

He’s afraid that your perspective might change if you find out that he’s an actual harbinger, the 11th fatui harbinger. Similar to Teucer, he covers his involvement in the fatui to keep you safe. He considers you someone very close to him, and wouldn’t want you to end up exactly like him.

Not too fond of PDA, as he is more of a giver than a receiver. He has a lot of mora so some of the times he’d express his undying love for you through luxurious gifts.

On some rare occasions when he’s desperately touch-starved, I’m sure he would love to feel your sensational touch. Sometimes as you ruffle his ginger-like hair, kiss his forehead, or whisper a bunch of praises, it reminds him of home. He’s momma’s boy, please 😭

As much as Childe dedicates himself to the Tsaritsa; it won’t match how much he is loyal to you wholeheartedly. He trusts you so much, as he is willing to lie and even put himself in mortal danger. So as long as you’re safe, that will make him happy.

When it comes to getting jealous, I don’t think Childe is the one to get jealous quite easily. He sees you as someone trustworthy, someone valuable to him, but sometimes his overthinking gets in the way of things.

Whenever he sees you having a conversation and getting quite ‘touchy’ he would either hesitate to do something or just watch from afar. He wouldn’t want to create any problems for you.

HE’S SUCH A TOTAL TEASER. He looooves to make fun of you over the smallest, clumsiest things you do, pinching your cheeks or pecking your lips non-stop. “Oh my dear Золотце, you’re too nice I would corrupt you.”

Unfortunately, you and Childe don’t get to spend time together as much because he’s always far away, all because of his ‘duties’ in Snezhnaya. Though whenever he gets the chance to make it up to you, he doesn’t directly tell you-- instead, he surprises you with written letters that were sent straight to you. He has quite neat handwriting, and along with sharing his experiences in Snezhnaya, he sends you photos!

He’s a huge fanatic about fishing and spending time with his siblings in the cold winter breeze from that exact nation. In his letters, He makes sure to always write on the bottom “I can’t wait to bring you here so that we can be together, pinky-promise. See you soon, doll-face. <3”

Yes, Childe has nicknames for you. Some might be like Pumpkin, Love, or Золотце (darling).

Don’t ask him about his childhood, he doesn’t want to talk about it. Although it affected him so much, he still talks about how great was his master, who taught him how to combat at a young age.

Childe gets a little serious if you ask more questions, yet he tries to maintain his patience. In the end, he brushes it off and rather wants you to give him some time. “I’m sorry but, can we talk about this another time? When I’m ready? Right now, I want you to at least .. lay down with me for a while. Can you at least do that?”

He won’t ask you to apologize but instead, make it up to him by giving him affection. He needs it a lot. Childe might have nightmares about it, so when he wakes up in the middle of the night, be sure to be right there to support him. Honestly, the more you care about him, the more he falls in love with you. He’s amazed at how caring you are, like “Wow, my s/o is so amazing, I love them so much.”

He’s so innocent that if you ever ask him something jokingly, he won’t even get it. It may cause him to be completely confused and rather thinks about what it meant. Childe isn’t dumbfounded, he just doesn’t understand the joke-

If you ever have a bad day, or if someone hurt you physically or mentally, they’re asking for a death wish from Tartaglia himself. He might seem calm in your eyes, but when he leaves, he confronts the person without you knowing what happened to them the next day.

[jade-parcels]

If I may kindly ask for an extension to Childe's "dirty secret" where he fights for dominance with us, literally 👀

👀 ask and you shall receive

Extension to this post

- NOTSFW!! Minors don’t interact with this post! -

———————————————

Fighting for dominance with Ajax can go one of two ways. One, it’s a playful fight where there isn’t actually much violence at all. Two…You guys literally fight. It’s consensual fighting and no blows are actually meant to cause extreme harm so you’ve been warned

Playful fighting will usually just be him throwing you on the bed and pinning you down. He’ll allow you to shove him off and rough him up a little as you try to get him to submit

Usually play fights end in him topping, or at least him getting you in whatever position he wanted in the first place. There’s laughing, jokes and playful smacks on the ass. “Now I’ve gotcha~” a deep chuckle followed by loving kisses being pressed all over your face

He will let you win though just to see you smile :) but then he’ll whine when you take your time with it “Aw c’mon baby! Don’t be a tease, you already won! You’re so mean to little old me~” he can’t take anything seriously lmao

Couples play fight a lot, this is pretty much the same thing. If he actually hurt you while doing this, he’s quick to apologize and kiss whatever injury it was. Like if he pushed you a bit too hard and you hit your head on the headboard, he’d be quick to give you kisses and make sure you’re okay

When it comes to actually fighting (again, it’s a scene not him actually ab*sing you)…Most maneuvers are fair game ***If hitting, biting, spitting or name calling is a squick for you, I recommend you stop reading here!!***

A rough day of being scrutinized by the other harbingers, dealing with idiots all day or just not getting to fully unleash his animalistic side on the battlefield, any of these will lead to him wanting to fight you

It’ll always start with you two sparring, working up a sweat, getting some bruises here and there. Ajax loves when you’re sweaty and grimy from a fight. He loves trapping you against the wall and licking the salty sweat off your cheek, whispering obscenities in your ear

Now that he’s all riled up fromt his fight, it’s hard to get him to settle down

When he gets like this he wants to be on top. Of course, you have every right to be on top of him too. Let the hands begin

You can knee him in the gut, taking advantage of how he loosens his grip for just a second to flip him over

He’ll retaliate, shoving at you, shaking you, twisting your arm until you let go. It truly is all fair game unless it’s…well, stabbing or something

One thing Ajax will never do is hit you in the face. That’s off limits even for him. You can hit him in the face if you want, he doesn’t care! But he will never ever hit you in the face….on purpose.

Of course theres 2 outcomes to these fights for dominance. He wins or you do

He’ll snarl at you when he finally ‘wins’, grinning at you animalistically. Blood drips from his split lip, landing on your chest “Finally~ Damn, you put up a good fight baby. Now it’s time for my reward, huh? Lay back and be good for me, maybe I’ll even let you cum”

He won’t be very gentle either, he’ll take you hard and fast, bruising your hips and leaving dark purple hickies all over your neck. Jeez, you can even see teeth marks in some of them

When he’s worn you and himself out he’ll visibly deflate a little, his shoulders will sag and you’ll know he got it out of his system

He’ll be super attentive and cuddly, telling you how good you were for him and that he’s sorry for getting carried away. You don’t mind much but you’ll make him make you breakfast in bed in the morning.

^^ Ajax will have his fair share of marks too, your scratches down his back and arms, his split lip and bites all over his neck and shoulders. These kinds of nights aren’t as common as the playful ones but damn 👀

When you win, he’ll put up a big fight verbally but not so much physically.

Once you beat him, he won’t try to retaliate, he’ll lay there obediently but he’ll talk a big game. He doesn’t know when to shut up

“You may have beaten me this time but I’ll tell you right now, I’m NOT gonna beg. If anything, I’ll have you begging for me within the next twenty minutes, you just wait!”

That, in fact, does not happen. Instead, you’re smiling sweetly down at him as he yanks at his restraints “Please! Oh please babe, you gotta let me cum this time!” How the tables have turned

Tease him as long as you want, put him in his place! He’s gotten a bit too cocky lately hasn’t he? He’s won too much, beaten too many people in fights to the point where he hasn’t lost in awhile. You better make him rememeber that he can’t always win

Tell him how weak he is. A harbinger? Being taken down by a normal person? You just have a vision! No delusion, no Fatui military training. Hell, you don’t even have your vision in your hand and you still beat him! “Tartaglia~ Imagine what the Tsaritsa would say if she saw her strongest harbinger like this~ Whining like a bitch for me” spit in his face, yank his hair “How pathetic~”

Either way…Y’all know how to have fun 👀

[knightofameris]

genshin men as studio ghibli films

✎ gender. neutral. femme in childe's! ✎ contains. headcanons + kinda long scenario, use of childe's real name, combining genshin lore with studio ghibli story, unwanted advances (childe's), spoilers for studio ghibli movies, not beta read, lmk if there's anything else!

✎ summary. genshin men as studio ghibli films with you

✎ characters. tartaglia, diluc, thoma

✎ ameris’ notes. lmfao i'm not dead, but i am. probably gonna be the only thing i'm posting for now :p see you all again in a year or something. haven't written something in a long while so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ changed up some things from how it goes in the movies just to make it a teensy bit more original. enjoy!

☾ tartaglia — howl's moving castle ☽

✎ wc. 0.7k

okay this was maybe obvious and also expected? maybe a bit of favoritism too was definitely stuck between this or princess Mononoke for him though

I just feel like childe and howl are similar in the fact that what they do is actually for something different than what those in charge of them want them to do

and that they both come off as superficial in certain areas but they actually do care a lot

i also think that these two need someone who's strong, not necessarily physically but like sophie is with howl

ajax dislikes the methods the tsaritsa uses in the war so he plays off as childe and tartaglia to pretend to follow the tsaritsa's will

but as ajax he does his best to save towns and other fellow vision wielders

often at the cost of his own health

much to the dislike of his apprentice, and younger brother, teucer

but upon meeting you once more, he begins to think maybe there's another way he could go against the tsaritsa's will

you back away from the fatui skirmishers in front of you, anxiety building up in the back of your throat but your face remains stern. they continue to make comments about you being "as cute as a mouse" and "just as lovely when mad" despite the obvious fact that you are not interested.

"I asked you to let me through, my sister is expecting me!" you say once more.

"sorry to keep you waiting so long sweetheart, these guys aren't bothering you, are they?" a hand lightly grasps you over your shoulder, careful to not scare you but also to ensure the skirmishers that you are with him. except, who was he?

when you glance up, you can't deny that his features are attractive. from his ocean blue eyes that easily complement his copper hair. he simply smiles at you and you feel at ease beside him.

the pyro skirmisher scoffed, "we were having a conversation here."

"were you really?" he asked, an eyebrow raised. "it looked to me like the two of you were just leaving." with a raise and a flick of his free hand, water seemed to envelop the fatui skirmishers in front of you, sending them down and through the alleyway without harming anyone or the buildings.

"I hope you weren't too uncomfortable, can I ask you where you're heading?" the man's voice you notice is youthful and the little glint behind his eyes show that he can very well be quite a handful.

"ah, to, um, my sister's at the bakery," you point forward in the direction of the shop.

"perfect, then I'll be your escort this evening," he leans down and you feel his breath against your ear, "don't be alarmed but I'm being followed. just follow my lead." he wraps your hand around his arm and begins to walk casually.

you notice ghoulish beings leave the walls and the man beside you apologizes for getting you involved as he rushes to leave the scene with you only to meet a dead end.

"wait, it's a—"

a rush of wind passes by you and your held in the arms of you once again savior. you can't help but let a small yelp escape your mouth.

"don't worry comrade, you'll be safe with me. now straighten your legs," he lets you down from his arms as you follow his instructions, "and start walking."

you look down at the parade going on, awe and fear going through you at once. unknowingly to you, the man helping you walk through the air stares at you with something more than a stranger should. he laughs lightly as he compliments your skills on walking on air and before you know it, the bakery comes into sight.

slowly he sets you down on the balcony and a wistful sight leaves your mouth.

"I'll be sure to take care of the creatures," he says with a confident smirk squeezing your hand that's still in his, "but be sure to wait a while before heading back out."

you nod your head slowly in response, "okay."

"that's my girl." and with that, he sets off and you can't help but stare at the space he once occupied, your heart fluttering at his words.

☾ diluc — from up on poppy hill ☽

✎ wc. 0.8k

he was just a classmate that you'd see on occasion

all you really knew about him was that he was in charge of the newspaper club along with his brother kaeya

also with the fact that girls would swoon over them? but also not because they are party of that old ratty clubhouse... full of boys just being boys

but of course after the stunt he pulled, since he begrudgingly made and lost a bet with kaeya the fangirls went wild

of course, venti as the newspaper's club photographer captured every single moment

including the moment where you rushed over to diluc to make sure he was okay after jumping into the water from the top of the clubhouse

and venti being venti thought of a way to bring in more money for the club: sell the photos of diluc to the fangirls

which of course included your sister

"please come with me to the Latin Quarter Clubhouse," your younger sister stares up at you with big puppy eyes, "I need his autograph!"

"no way, you know I have to make dinner when we get back home." you let out a sigh walking away and out of the school entrance despite your sister's pleas as she follows after you.

***

after an oddly adventure filled walk through the clubhouse entrance and interacting with all the other clubs reciting poetry, doing experiments, you and your sister finally make it to the newspaper's club room.

"the things you make me do," you shake your head and go to open the door. she simply giggles with a small singy-song thank you. the first two people you see are diluc at the desk and kaeya leaning against a separate table.

"ah, welcome to the lit club or archaeology club, however you want to see it," kaeya greets you two, his eyes flitting over to someone you recognize as kun jun and azdaha discussing how to make their club popular again.

"knock it off kaeya, let them in and close the door. we still have— oh," diluc pauses when he looks over his shoulder at the two of you. he raises his brow at the two of you. with many stutters, your sister finally asks for his autograph.

diluc sends a glare immediately to kaeya before he can say anything about his growing popularity but softens when he looks back at your sister then to you. a small flush makes it's way to your face

"well, if you two were free enough to stop by, you wouldn't happen to be able to help us with stencils, would you?" kaeya asked. diluc speaks to protest until your sister nods excitedly.

"actually, they're much better at stenciling," your sister motions to you. you stare at your sister appalled that she would just volunteer you but before diluc and you can say anything, kaeya's already escorting her out of the room.

you and diluc stare at each other for a second and he lets out a sigh, "you don't have to help if you don't have the time, I'm sorry about kaeya."

you laugh and shake your head, "no no, it's alright. I don't have to be back until 5:30. might as well help." with that being said, diluc stands up from his chair and offers you to sit and the two of you work in comfortable silence for the next few hours.

"the two of you are still working?" kaeya asks, breaking the silence, "it's already six o'clock." you jolt up from your seat. you'll never be able to stop by the farmer's market and make it home in time to cook.

"oh archons, I'm so sorry," you scramble to grab all your things in a hurry, "I have to go or else i'll never make it back to cook in time!"

"wait, where do you have to go?" diluc asks, grabbing your arm just before you rush out the room, "let me take you. it's the least I can do." you stare at his ruby red eyes with pursed lips, unsure of what to do then at kaeya who merely shrugs.

"okay," you nod your head. you and diluc quickly rush out of the clubhouse, almost get stopped by the philosophy club until diluc quickly brushes past them with your hand in his. once you both make it outside where the sun is already setting, he hops onto his bike and looks at you expectantly.

"it's not much," he looks away from you, pink dusting his cheeks but you can't really tell if it's the sun and the pink clouds, "but it'll be better than walking, right?"

you nod your head and hop on the back, thanking diluc. your arms warap around his torso hesitantly until he readjusts you.

"you'll want to hold on tight." you can't help but admire his hair flowing through the wind with the colors of the sunset on his visage. but diluc can only think about your warmth and can only hope you don't feel the beating of his heart.

☾ thoma — kiki's delivery service ☽

✎ wc. 0.7k

poor thoma, he just wanted to greet the new kid in town! especially one that's a witch? it's been so long since this town's had one!

but of course the two of you get off the wrong foot

or well at least you to him

thoma of course does what he can to get on your good side

he helps with your deliveries

tries to invite you to his party

he even waits for you for an hour after the planned meeting time!

not that you knew of course, you thought he just left you (even if he thinks you left him)

again, the poor boy just wants you to feel included, he knows how it is to be the new kid in town.

so when he sees you struggling to take off on your broom he does what he thinks he would've liked if he was in your shoes

invite you on a bike ride around town!

specifically on a bike he and both ayato and ayaka were trying to make: a flying bike

frustration bubbles up in your chest, tears gather in the corner of your eyes as you feel just how much of your power has started to disappear. first you couldn't talk to your familiar paimon anymore and now you can't even fly on your broom? the very thing you need to do your delivery service?

what kind of witch were you?

you fall down to the grass in frustration.

"hey! you've got a delivery, it's in walking distance, think you can do it?" xiangling calls out to you from inside her restaurant. she was kind enough to let you stay in the room above when you first moved to this city, offering whatever help she can.

as much as you want to wallow in your own self pity, you know deep down walking around the city can help.

with a dramatic sigh, you begrudgingly stand back up. xiangling's face beams at your resilience and holds up a little brown bag.

"it's just a few blocks down next to the komore teahouse!"

you don't think much of it, just wanting to get the delivery over with.

admittedly, not focusing on trying to fly on your broom and not flying on your broom for this delivery made you stop and smell the roses. literally and figuratively. the ocean breeze felt nice against your skin, the sun rays weren't beating down too hard on you, and saying hi to the people of this town.

it's not until you're just outside the door next to the komore teahouse do you realize this was thoma's place. you curse under you breath, xiangling must have put you up to this. and you're right.

when thoma see's you just outside his place from his room, he dashes down. he knows you've been struggling taking off on your broom so he had to make an excuse to get you to come see him. he wanted to make things up. but once he opens up the door, you shove the delivery bag into his arms and march off.

"huh? wa-wait up! i didn't even pay you back yet!" thoma calls out to you, placing the bag down. he grabbed his pair of shoes, hopping after you.

"it's free, i don't want to see you," you reply.

"wait no, i do want to see you, why else would i wait in the rain outside of xiangling's restaurant?" you stop walking and turn around to face him. his hopeful face stares back at you. you wonder if he knows he has a resting puppy face. it's cute.

you shake your head of your thoughts, "what do you mean you never showed up!" you cross your arms and look the other way.

"well, to me you didn't show up..." thoma scratches the back of his neck. there's a beat of silence. "hey, why don't we start new, it seems like we both got off the wrong foot. i'm thoma." he sticks his hand out with a smile. you stare at it then back at his emerald eyes and hesitantly shake it, introducing yourself to him.

"oh hey, why don't you come by the garage of my place? ayato, ayaka and i are trying to make this new invention, we can try it out together if you'd like?"

you think for a moment and purse your lips, "hmm, sure. i've got nothing better to do."

thoma's smiles at you and you swear you're looking at the sun with how bright it is. as much as you hate him you don't you want to continue to see him smile. unbeknownst to you, after flying through the town with his flying bike, he vowed to protect your own smile.

✎ ameris’ notes. i'm looking at all my drafts and wow i have a lot unfinished works, including a lot of genshin impact works LOL. forced myself to write this because maybe it'll get me back into writing, and if not maybe it'll at least help me feel better who knows LOL it's been ROUGH. anyway all these movies slap and if there's one that's underrated, it's from up on poppy hill. one of my top 3 favorite ghibli movies. (soundtrack definitely slaps too) i have an idea for zhongli and kaeya, but im a little lazy so just these three. maybe another time.

[genshingarbage]

I’m so happy I found this blog! Can say with confidence I’ve enjoyed reading all the post I’ve seen ♪ ~ ƪ(˘▽˘ƪ)

I was wondering if anyone could do Hcs of the boys seeing the reader beginning to side with the Tsaritsa or the abyss twin ( either works lol) On their plans against the devine? Maybe they found out while helping the traveler. Could be as bad as them being betrayed by us joining the enemy or somewhere inbetween

Hello beehbeeh!! I'm sorry if you wanted Mod Diluc to join in on this one but I've taken the helm for this ask~ Feel free to ask or request something specifically from them though if you want. Thank you for enjoying all our posts so avidly! It's been a lot of fun seeing your name pop up so much hahah. Buckle in for some angst, there will be tears unfortunately my dear Traveler. - Mod Kaeya

!!! Reccomending this song for these oneshots but I have included songs specifically for each character if you’re interested just click on their names!!!

Diluc

It had begun with a small comment from you after Signora had left Mondstat, Everyone was on edge and concerned about Stormterror and the battles to come and yet admist it all there's a mutter from you

The words weren't enough to warrant a confrontation but unfortunately his haywire mind began to become suspicious of one of the only people he found close

Jean had confided in him after work hours she suspected a mole was in their ranks

It was too horrible to be true but he relented to his instincts in the end when he woke up one early morning and saw your figure treading away in the brush of the forests

He keeps on pretending of course, pretending it’s not you and that everything was okay

“Once I catch that mole they will pay their just due.”

I don’t think he’ll ever truly accept the fact you’ve bretrayed them

He finds himself reaching for impossible, implausible excuses trying to cover for you, begging and pleading mentally that somehow someway that it wasn’t you

You’ve lied to his face so many times without knowing it now

Every lie is like a tear in the paper thin barrier around his fragile existence

And yet…everything fell into place so easily

Even as he stares you down, molten gaze scalding into your soul as you stand on opposite sides of the battle field all he feels is agony

it's like watching a hazy dream just out of reach, forever a couple feet ahead but never quite falling out of view

Why

Why had someone so close to him left him behind again

Had he done something wrong? Something that prompted the line of thought that lead you to this?

The churning in his stomach, the tight feeling in his chest like his ribs were beginning to strangle his heart

You may not have been able to tell from his tempered expression but as he rose his sword he died

How could still he care for someone who turned on them on a dime

Every moment after you side with the Abyssal Traveler is agony

He begins to loose himself, he begins to question what he’s fighting for

Waking up every morning and not seeing your face smiling at him to bid him a good day made him realize how much he’d had maybe even how good he’d had it

Diluc will never be quite the same after this

He can’t really ever quite figure out how to cope except for isolate himself even more than before, it’s startling to see him not even bother to so much as see anyone eve more

His voice begins to get Hoarse from lack of and there begin to be rumors of him starting to fall ill

Not even Kaeya finds the will to keep on teasing him

Archons forbid if he kills you himself…he may loose himself completely and utterly.

Kaeya

He'd suspected as such when Childe introduced himself to the traveler and you immediately lent in on it as much as you could, defending him at every turn and even giving the Fatui a pass at some point for shady things they'd done

The captain assumed he'd lost his edge at first, he trusted those around him too much and he won't make that mistake again

Little gestures here and there, putting himself between you and the traveler when you all were bunking down for the night or preventing you from having a say on if we go to sketchy areas

You make another move to get closer to the Abyss Order and more alarm bells go off inside his head. His heart freezes over ever more.

Every step with you now is like a grim conspiracy theory

Every glance from him feels like a blizzard, every conversation with him is an interrogation in the middle of an icy lake that’s about to crack open

He turns that little voice in his head off, that little one still caring for you

Kaeya doesn’t have time for betrayal as heartless and ironic as it is. His hands are full protecting Mondstat for his own reasons.

It still keeps him up at night, mostly for him to turn the idea inside out and mull it over a pint of Death After Noon

Was he paranoid? Why would you support them?

He goes over every and all excuse, outcome much like Diluc, even at some point going to Diluc with a “hypothetical” disguised as misguided drunk rambling

After he does…after too many things keep adding up about you he gets slightly hostile

It reminds him too much of himself and he refuses to be hurt by you

He refuses to care anymore

Seeing Dainsleif even briefly he looses all sympathy for you and buries the hurt under a snarling smile and scathing comments

The Abyss Traveler can shove it as far as he’s concerned, what they’re doing is fucked up and seeing the consequences (mentally or otherwise) it has on the Traveler makes his mind up

If you were going to be cruel and throwaway their trust, throwaway the memories you made with your adventuring party and the love and care for them then fine

But don’t come weeping into his arms because of how cruel he treats you

Kaeya will pay back every ounce of pain and confusion, anger and sense of loss you cause to your party by joining them. He takes it on himself to drown you in every tear shed for you.

He naively thought he’d left every heartless bastard in the world beyond the doors of the Dawn Winery years ago when he’d been adopted and he wasn’t about to humor another

When you look up into his eyes, all you see is the frigid wastes left in the wake of your choice

Albedo

When you confide in him about sympathizing with the Fatui and La Signora he takes it from a scientific perspective

Yes, he supposed supporting what you thought was the winning side was smart at least in the survival sense. Mondstat hardly had enough warriors to fill the ranks of The Knights Of Favonious on a good day and the Fatui and The Abyss Order were so extensive they could spread their influence even into the depths of societies far beyond their borders

It made sense in that regard

He defaulted to seeing it this method, especially when socially he didn’t know what to do

And this was a very serious discussion given the topic at hand

But he couldn’t agree

He didn’t see for example, if the abyss order won why Klee had to suffer, he couldn’t see why his aunt Alice should have to stop adventuring and return home to defend their great city from their tyranny

He tries to be neutral on the surface to you, at the very least but it’s obvious he doesn’t know what to think

The scientist is likely to come back to you a couple days down the line suggesting, albeit in very hushed tones that you don’t mention this to anyone else

For awhile your words are in the back of his mind constantly and he’s just picking them apart, analyzing them, studying then

He finds that…it makes him sad

When he finally talks to you about it in the dead of the night the atmosphere is strange, vibrating with a sense of conflict

This is the first emotional conflict in his life that begins tearing him apart from the inside so to him, it’s so hard to breathe he feels like he’s going to die just from this alone

He doesn’t like this situation, it’s too new, it’s too strange, too heart wrenching

He’s overwhelmed

He’s used to questioning existence, himself and his work

He’s not used to feeling like the person he’s trusted his heart with might leave and only return to fight them in the name of a cruel god

Albedo hates the Fatui, the Abyss Order and Tsaritsa, he decides as you pack your things and leave them

He despises them with all his being

Xiao

Rage, the demons within him whisper sweetly to him

Rage, rage, rage like the dying light

Make all those who have wronged Rex Lapis pay in blood and suffering

Rage like gales ripping the land of boulder and tree

And yet once his aurelian eyes meet your shadowed, focused ones he finds that rage falter

He feels…hesitancy

It’s almost laughable that the care he holds for you is so great it makes even those spirits whirling quiet for hut a moment to observe, pacing like tigers in cages

The yaksha is quiet at your words

“I can’t force you to see how stupid you are. But I will warn you that if we meet each other on the battlefield, I won’t hold back.”

Your…sympathies for them

He can’t agree with their sentiments ever, the fact mere mortals want to steal the powers of gods and make it their own disgusts him and that damn traitorous Tsarista makes his claws itch

The only thing that angers him more is Khaenri'ah and the godless mortals that live within it’s borders

He hates that now when he looks at you, even if you never even intended to join their side, all he can see is the betrayal that could’ve been

All he can see is another threat to his savior

He’s going to begin distancing himself from you, let him

It’s for the best

Differences in opinion haven’t mattered up to this point but this is something far too important to debate over, it effects far too much of your relationship

If the war going on inside him before was anything but violent, the one happening inside him now is a cataclysm

He’s hurt honestly

Just doesn’t understand

He’s hurt, so he responds with anger and biting remarks if he sees you again

“Come to steal my gnosis have you? I’ll have your pathetic soul first.”

Honestly the innocent memories with you sting the most now, he feels a deep sense of corruption to them now

Might berate himself for being weak

And if you join Tsaritsa and her little minions…you’ll know the wrath of war and the sorrow that aches deep within the soul buried in Xiao

Childe

Staring into Childe’s after you share your sentiments is like drowning in tar and the inky black pressure that is the deep sea

He has a smile on his face, bidding you welcome to the Fatui but it feels incredibly fake

The Harbringer says something alone the lines of being thankful someone outside of Sneznaya being so understanding was refreshing though he didn’t really understand why you were

There’s something unreadable about him now

Regret? Mania? Maybe you’re not sure

It’s just foreboding

Even as you visit him in his room in the dead of the night in Liyue Harbor to report your findings to him he’s…off

When you finally make the ranks of the Fatui or the Abyss Order you begin to understand

He’s with you everyday somehow, vouching gor you or somehow protecting you in battle, like a shadow slowly waxing on your life until it’s pitch black

it’s eerie…sometimes you feel like he’s not even the same person

The Ajax you knew, the cocky mischievous soul who’d captured your eye was sometimes buried under a stranger who’d often terrify and drive you away

Once he muttered something about protecting you but you’re not sure

You suppose an accurate comparison to your situation would be a frog sitting in water until it’s temperature had been slowly raised and it cooked to death

Because as soon as you began progressing well into the ranks, moving further and further away from your old comrades the lonelier it felt

Was it worth it?

Ajax seemed to think so, he loves spending so much time with you

And at first you’re inclined to agree at least…until you see the darkness swimming beneath the surface of that lake like scrutiny

Venti

The guy is usually accepting of a lot of things, it’s no different here unfortunately

Or maybe fortunately if you’re one to dream about pigs flying

This can only go terribly

Because Venti will probably carry on as if nothing has changed, whilst dark thoughts continue building up within him about it, they'll swirl and swirl out of control and run him into the ground but he'll keep grinning and sipping his wine

Ultimately he thinks it’s his fault you’ve turned to them somehow, I mean they are hunting the archons, though he doesn’t think you know he’s one

Even so despite his appearances he’s a clever little man hence he never gives any sort of information or hint about archons or dragons or anything celestial of the sort

His eyes are so sad now

Try as he might to hide it, they’re sad. They’re always just a little too wet or a little too adverse to meeting yours

You wandered over to his tree and he greeted you not with emerald joy but with an old soul, a somber, wise look that spoke of complete forgiveness and understanding

The days after his gnosis is taken from him and Dvalin is freed aren’t tense

He just sits quietly with you chatting about some topic that is utterly inescapable and horrifically contrasting the feelings he's suffering inside

It’s painful because he doesn’t respond with anger at what you’ve done, he doesn’t respond with fear he only responds by pulling you into his arms and talks as if nothing has changed

He can't help it though

The little archon can't help viciously defending you when the other question you, he can't help covering up your dirty work and throwing the other archons off some of the Fatui and the Abyss Order's scent in order to protect you

Can't help the corruption seeping in

He couldn't bear you thinking he doesn't care for you anymore because he does

Venti truly, truly does still care for you but he rues the day you'll inevitably have to tear each other apart now

So he's going to prevent that

If it's the last thing he does

Zhongli

Both he and Venti probably take this the hardest even if they won't admit it

He honestly will probably start to distance himself right off the bat unless you and him are immensely close and even then he will act a little colder

The guy won't be outright rude of course because that's just not inherently in his nature

Kind, gentlemanly and genuinely someone with good will has always been the thoughts that come up when Zhongli was in question

But if you reveal to him that like Childe you are apart of the Fatui…you will wake up one morning with the bed cold, the house empty and not so much as a letter as to why he’s gone

You should know why

The old god can’t find it in him to be comfortable or feel safe around you anymore

As much as it hurts the both of you he has to leave and he will never return. In his mind it simply wasn't meant to be, he's not going to humor any attempts at a secret whirl wind romance

You two made a promise between each other

You two were to tell the truth to one another and you've broken that promise

Not only that but you're sort of apart of the association trying to kill him and his buddies so yeah no

He’s given everything to the human race, he has nothing more to give but his sanity and he can’t see anything that mortals can offer in exchange that is worth that

The others won’t tell you where he’s gone, some of them don’t even know and others simply give you a dirty look for even asking

Your adventuring party doesn't like to bring it up because of how tense it gets, you suppose at least one of them has come in contact with him in some shape or form and simply won't take sides

The adepti won’t even show themselves to you and you’re smart enough to not ever visit Wangshu Inn again

It’s been centuries for him since the last betrayal from a human and it still stings just as vividly

Gods it stings it hurts

He doesn't know what to do about it really so he buries himself in tomes and scriptures about the old days, about Guizhong, about anything that can just take him away and keeps adventuring until he's physically forced to take a rest

But that's almost worse because he's trapped with his thoughts now

Did he ever feel pain this vivid the last time he was mortal?

After ages of not seeing him you finally catch a glimpse on the battlefield

Just a glimpse

And he doesn’t even look your way

[sohcah-toa]

— THANK YOU FOR 300 FOLLOWERS (special)

I appreciate you all so much! For my 300-follower special, here's a short Childe fluff (because he's my fave obv)! About the requests, don't worry I see them and I will get to them after I finish my Genshin High series!! ☆

Synopsis: You're writing stories and Childe is your number one fan! ♡

note: I'm imagining Childe as my bf lmao 😌 ♡ Also, I'm taking a different approach in my writing format.

☆

"Darling! Look look look! I've started to write again and I post it here on this app!" You were so excited while explaining to your boyfriend

You've always been wiriting but you just keep it in your notes because: 1. you're shy 2. there's no platform that satisfies you

"What's the name of the app again? I'll install it so I could support you" He said so you told him and he immediately created an account and followed you

☆

"Someone said my writing is good!!" You jumped up and down slighty from the excitement "Omg darling this is it!"

Childe giggled "You're so cute! Let me see it!"

You let him see the comment "See?!"

"Darling that's me!!" He pointed, you looked closely and he's right, it's just his account with a different profile picture from before

"Oh you, damn it!!" You slapped him playfully then you both laugh loudly

☆

Every time you have free time, you post stories there. Having fun and glad that people appreciates what you make

"Someone requested a story, it's in anonymous though!" You kiss Childe from excitement and he looked to see what the request was

He celebrated with you as you both squeal. He was the one who requested a story from you to raise your confidence

"You make good stories, baby!" He hugged you "Be sure to let me read it first before you post it, okay?! I'm your number one fan!!"

You nodded "Of course!!"

☆

"Darling, you've been on your laptop making stories all day.." He walked near you and hugged you with a pout

You look at him "Oh, I'm sorry" you kiss him on the cheek "Let's go grab dinner outside, what do you say?"

Like a little kid his face lights up as he grabbed your hand to go outside "Oh thank God, I've been craving sweets"

"No doy, same here!" You exclaimed

☆

He stares at you as you sit there beside him, making your stories. He was watching in the television while he cuddles with you on the sofa.

From time to time he would sneak a peak on what you're writing and he would smile to himself. While you're so absorbed in writing, he grabbed his phone, careful not to move too much. He opened the camera and took a pic of both you with only him smiling.

He giggled and that took your attention so you looked at him "Hey! Are you taking photos?! I was ugly there!"

"No! You aren't!" He argued back, moving his phome far from you so you wouldn't be able to snatch it and kept pressing the shutter so there was tons of pics of the both of you with ugly faces because you kept talking and laughing.

"Childe!" You pouted and he stopped moving "Ha! Tricked you, what a loser!" You immediately took his phone and he was the one who tried snatching it

"No fair! You played tricks!" He exclaimed and tried his hardest to get his phone back "You were soooo cute!"

You laughed and accidentally fell on the sofa. He kissed you multiple times then took his phone "Gotcha"

You sat right back up again "Thank Tsaritsa you're an adorable and charming boyfriend"

"I'm making this my wallpaper" He giggled and you hugged him as he changes and edits your photos together. He's so cute.

☆

"Holyyyy crap!!" You stood up and danced aggressively

Childe looked at you while he was cooking "That's your happy dance, did something good happen?"

You nodded as you continue dancing "Yes! My post just got a lot of notes, I'm so happy!"

He turned the stove off and danced with you "I'm so proud of you! I'm joining you in your happy dance"

"I got 500 notes already!!" You said, jumping up and down slightly. He held your hand and jumped with you as you both scream in happiness

"This calls for a celebration!" Childe said, still doing what you're both doing "Let's go to your favorite cake shop!"

"Really?!" You asked and hugged him. He's so thoughtful and supportive. It's just a small thing about the post, 500 isn't even that much but it makes you feel appreciated.

Your love towards Childe just keeps on growing and growing with his little antics. It's never boring with him. You always feel validated and valued. He helps you deal with things. He never leaves your side.

"I love you.. so so much" You say to him in the most sincere way as possible. He needed to know and you needed to tell him. You're so thankful for him "Don't leave me, Childe"

"I love you so much more. I won't leave, alright?" He hugged you then kissed your forehead, you felt safe in his arms like nothing bad is ever going to happen or if there were any, it'd be alright.

☆

You sighed "I'm so stressed out, why did I post this series?"

You were feeling pressured in posting and writing stories.

"Because you have tons of ideas. Take a rest for a while, you want to relax for a bit?" He asked and held your hand

You nodded "Yeah, that'd be nice. I feel like my mind is blocked"

"That's because you haven't got time to rest with your job and all. Remember, writing should be fun for you, you told me that"

You nodded with a deep breath "You're right. I just have to relax for a bit and all my ideas will come back again"

He stared at you "I know what to do to make you feel better"

You looked at him with curiosity. With the look he's giving you, you knew what it was going to be. You smirked.

"Oh, how did you know?" You said with a seductive smile. He clenched his teeth and pulled you towards the bedroom

"Alright, that's it, let's go. It'll make me feel much better too" He ran fast

"H-hey! You pervert! All it took was a smile?" You asked, running while he's pulling you

He laughed "Of course, it's you!"

☆

You checked your phone and saw that you were nearing 300 followers. Just two more people and it's already 300. There were also requests in your inbox. You felt so giddy and excited.

"Almost there, baby" Childe was checking with you, his arm on your waist as you both wait it out on the sofa

You refreshed and you've just hit 300 followers. It was a small thing but 300 people? That's already a lot for you. You screamed in happiness.

"Darling!" You hug him and kissed him a lot of times

"Congratulations!! You're the best!" He hugged you back, he looked so proud and happy for you "This is a big deal, darling"

"Is it really?" You look at him with a pout "It's a small thing but I feel happy"

"It's not a small thing. That's 300 people right there! And not to mention, others who read your stories and give you feedback as well" He said with a smile "I'm proud of you and I love you so much more, alright?"

You nodded, you felt happy about the followers, readers and requests (even if it was a few and some of them are Childe's) but happier now because of Childe. He was the best bestfriend/boyfriend you ever had. Every day with him feels like a romantic movie.

☆

The End

note: This was so cute for me! I imagine Childe being this kind of boyfriend and honestly I want him lmao. Time to start manifesting ig 😂

[steamed-rice-enjoyer]

The undead sure are lively today ; barely concealing a nasty thought, what hearsay!

a/n: i had a dream some days ago that was just so good. source? trust me, bro. ~0.7k words. this is the prologue! part one! this will be a proper series! the tag is : veil of life or death cw: gn reader, as usual, description of death(reader plus that one random guy who gets killed off for plot development), mentions and some description of a dead body(reader's), i am making stuff up about how the afterlife works, i'll figure it out. (rice trying to find synonyms to the word 'body' challenge!) not proofread. it will be il dottore x reader! platonic or romantic? who knows! dottore gets mentioned at the last paragraph, yay, the plot thickens! im categorizing this, as dark content. this is my first nsfw post! apologies, i know it's not softcore porn :/

--

Deep inside the lush and icy Snezhnayan forest, there is a domain. A domain so old, so well hidden, that no human could ever come across it. Maybe someone banished from Sneznaya could hear the chatter of spirits and ghosts, but they would freeze to death soon after. No one would believe them, since that's just nonsense. No one would be able to listen to them, anyway, perishing soon after that realisation.

Croaky and cold voices muttering what a disgrace they are to the nation, to the Tsaritsa herself for betraying her. Mocking laughter can be heard, but it's just particularly windy over this poor fella's now frozen parts. The veil between the living world and the in-between, and the very much dead lifts sometimes, making little interactions like these happen constantly, but you'll have to have a special type of...attentiveness to catch it. Only those can decipher the talk of the undead who are close to their end or just a little mad. Spirits lurk from the door of the domain, slightly open. If there isn't a body to return to, they can't exit. Doesn't really matter if it's their own or not, it just has to be weak-minded and somewhat functional. They all slowly close the door, returning to a huge table with all sorts of chairs. On it is a tea set, with cups filled to the brim with piping hot beverages. Gossip and laughter, they, including you, can't move on, not when the company of your friends who you've known for ages is this great.

"Well, at least you have a body." One of them made a remark. "An original?!" Gasps and surprised expressions can be heard and seen. "A human one?!" Jealous voices chime in, overwhelming you a little. That's just how they are, your remains are a common topic. They are decades, centuries, some even millennia older than you. They ogle and gape at the thought of having a functioning body again. Their reason for staying here, rather than moving on varies a lot. Your actions are quite similar though. Assassins, shady merchants, spies, and criminals, no one would welcome you back with open arms, rather, a lengthy prison sentence at best, execution at worst. "The things I'd do if I had access to a body..." Another one of your friends sighs dramatically.

Your laugh is a bit smug and sarcastic. It would leave a sour aftertaste in a live person's mouth. "It has been sealed in ice, well...For almost 2 decades." You are the youngest of them all, if one of you could inhabit a body, you were the only one fit for such a task. You wouldn't cause too much havoc or great destruction. Plus, you still vaguely remember how to walk, the feeling of having weight on your legs, unlike your feather-light state of being currently. "I honestly don't believe it can be found or even recovered. Unless it's somehow..." You get lost in thought, remembering how you were when you were alive. You weren't liked, but you got the jobs assigned to you done quickly and reliably, a jack of all trades, master of none. One tiny slip-up, trusting the wrong comrade, you know you didn't just happen to fall into a frozen lake. Your body descends into the deep depths, nobody can hear your screams as you leave the mortal realm painfully. And here you are, in a welcoming community of warriors and loyal servants of the Tsaritsa. Undead, yet so full of life...

As you continue to chat like you do; for all eternity - you think naively - your body, that was long thought to be gone, is being examined very carefully by a pair of gloved hands, through chunks of ice. You do feel a tad bit off, but it's probably the ice melting, you reckon. Ah, well, you aren't entirely wrong. Your body is being moved in a carriage, guarded so strictly, that a passerby would think they are transporting gold. You, alongside a few other frozen warriors, lost to time are being analyzed, but there is just something so strikingly different about your remains. The others don't seem to be worth the effort, it would be a fruitless study. They get discarded rather quickly. Some parts broke off within the thick ice, and you have a few fingers missing, but it's in pristine condition. Nothing a few tiny alterations couldn't fix. A new surge of possibilities. A new magnum opus to tinker with. To perfect, to make the dead walk, to reanimate a new... subject.

[wesimpforxiao]

Say My Name and I’ll Be There:  7.4

Author’s Note:  I believe I’ll be doing a LIVE pulling for Xiao tonight around 7:45 PST.  Join me if you want to see me cry from happiness or from not pulling him LOL.  The link is in one of my previous posts.  Before, during, or after this chapter, listen to this song to get a feel of what’s happening!  https://youtu.be/ifQ3JRS4gqc

.....................

The voices never truly left you alone after that.  You were practically becoming unhinged by the endless whispers that plagued your ears, and the quiet of night only seemed to egg them on further.  When you were blessed with their silence, you were plagued the physical pains of the karmic debt and your depression from joining the harbingers.  Childe was obviously growing more and more concerned with each passing day; you were beginning to freak him out.  The Tsaritsa and the other harbingers, however, found great amusement in your...condition.  It was a blessing in disguise; they were manipulating you much easier now that you were exhausted from the sleepless nights.

And it wasn't like you were constantly needing medical care, though you wished they would give you some heavy pain killers.  No; whatever damage your body was burdened with would be repaired by morning thanks to Xiao's blood.  The pain wasn't nearly as dramatic as the first wave, but it was a constant dull aching that ate away at your bones.  Slowly but surely, the pains grew over time.

Xiao made his presence known to you only twice more; he showed himself in the late evenings for brief periods of time to quell your aching heart and mind.  At least when he was able to be with you, the dreadful screams would disperse if only temporarily.  At least when he was with you, you were granted sleep.  Small waves of peace would reclaim you as Xiao watched over your sleeping figure.  

But once Liyue's festivities were underway, Xiao's visits became nonexistent and your mind was once again thrown into deeper chaos while he fought off more demons.  It was the busiest time of the year for both the inhabitants and the demonic presences of Liyue; it was Xiao's task to fend the latter off since the festivities attracted their attention and strengthened their presence.  He felt you slowly shattering, and it hurt him to know he couldn't be with you as often as he wanted to.

One day out of the blue, over a month after you joined the Fatui, Childe approached you with a grand smile across his face.  "Ojou-chan!  Why don't I show you around Snezhnaya?  It's much better than sitting in your room all day."

"...Aren't you always saying we could freeze to death?"  Your unamused expression failed to hinder Childe's enthusiasm.  "Why would I want to go outside?"  The bags under your eyes spoke volumes about your continuous sleepless nights.

"Come on, Mezzetin, it'll be good for you.  You could use the exercise."

"Are you implying something?" You're eyes narrowed dangerously, but Childe's grin only widened when your normal quips shone through your broken character.

"Well, if you ever feel the need to put me in my place, I'm more than willing to oblige to a fight," he watched your expression lighten for a moment before urging you.  "Come on, I'll show you around."

Sheer cold wasn't an issue for this winter wasteland like it was on Dragonspine, but it had to be at least five times colder here.  Childe made sure you were bundled up in a large furry coat before guiding you out of the castle and leading you to a town square that was surprisingly bustling with people despite the frigid temperatures.  Stalls lined the streets.  People gathered around to buy the freshest local food that included some incredibly large seafood varieties.  Others were in line to buy trinkets, house decor, and a variety of other items.

"...A farmer's market?"  Your cold breath of a remark caught Childe's attention, and he turned to you.

"Of course!  Go ahead and look around.  If there's anything you want, I'll buy it for you."

He's trying to cheer me up?  You examined Childe's earnest demeanor as he eyed the fish stall with stars in his eyes.  Can he just pick a side already?!  You rolled your eyes.  Still, might as well bankrupt him if he insists.  You broke away from him and continued down the rows of stalls for awhile, unaware that the harbinger had rejoined you.  

You were busy examining a few intriguing necklaces made of materials you haven't heard of when the whispers of the damned regained their voices.  You staggered a bit only to be steadied by Childe's hand on your shoulder.

Childe noted your glowing eyes.  "Happening again?"  His genuine concern made you relieved that he wasn't a complete monster like the other harbingers.  "If you need a break, there's a café over there that we can sit in."  Your strained nod prompted him to guide you with a hand at the back of your shoulders.

"Hm?"  A strange sound reached your ears, and this time it wasn't from inside your head.  Your feet came to a halt before the two of you reached the building, and you tilted your head towards the sound.  

It was a light and effortless tune that floated through the open air from yet another building.  The melody was slow to build, yet you hung onto its every note.  It took you a moment to realize that it calmed the demonic voices from screams to hushed murmurs.  You followed the path of the sounds until you found yourself in an extremely outdated music shop.

"Mezzetin?"  Childe attempted to regain your attention as he followed after you.  He caught onto the childlike wonder glistening in your teary eyes.  "Care to explain?"

"The pain..." a tear fell.  "It's subsiding."  You continued to stare at the harpist that played her tune at the back of the shop, eyes never leaving the fingers that plucked the strings. The voices were gone, and now you were only overwhelmed with a sense of peace.  

Childe watched you silently listen to the music for a long while.  An idea struck him.  "Have you ever played?"

"Huh?"  You snapped out of your daze and wiped the tears away.  "Um...Granny used to play a lot when I was little.  I know a couple tunes, but--"  Childe walked to the shop owner without letting you finish, pulling out a large sack of mora while he was at it. "H-hey! What're you doing?"

"If it brings you happiness, then I don't see the problem in buying it," Childe argued back after he had purchased the most expensive harp in the shop and left a considerate tip.  The two of you were walking back to the palace now.  He had ordered for his subordinates to take the instrument back with them.

"But I haven't played in years! And I said I only knew a few simple tunes--"

"--Then I will ensure you receive lessons."  He was not going to budge on this, and he made it obvious with his firm gaze.  "The rest of the harbingers made it clear that they do not care for your wellbeing, but I do.  Think of this as a gift and a type of therapy.  You've been down ever since Xiao left you--"

"I left him," you corrected.  And I so regret my decision.

"I'm just trying to prove that you aren't in a prison anymore.  If you want to see it as that, then by all means, continue to be depressed.  But something tells me you want to see Xiao again and find a way with him, no?"

"...Right."

"Then at the very least accept my apology gift to you."

"Huh? Apology?"  You gave him a questioning look, but he either didn't hear you or elected to ignore you.

......................................

Xiao was being as antisocial as ever, but it's not like he would ever turn down an invitation for tea from Rex Lapis himself.  Here he was, sitting just outside of Wangshu Inn with his master in the bright of day.  Aether probably put the archon up to the task considering how Xiao pushed him away what felt like ages ago, but the yaksha decided to give Zhongli the time of day only because of his deep respect for his savior.

"I've also brought more pain killers," Zhongli handed the yaksha a small jar of other-worldly medicines as he continued to fill him in on the upcoming Lantern Rite.  He had yet to bring you into the conversation, most likely to avoid irritating the throbbing wound in Xiao's chest.

"Mm."  Xiao gladly accepted the medication and set it aside.  This ensured yet another lull in their conversations.

"Will you go this year?"  Zhongli sipped at his tea.  "To the Lantern Rite?"

"My presence would only hinder the festival.  Besides, I'm not great with crowds."  The yaksha had yet to meet the archon's eyes, and kept his gaze firm on the teacup in front of him.  Truth be told, he would have gone this year...with you, since it was you who had asked him.  But now that these circumstances have come to pass, why should he go?  "It's just another excuse for humans to discard their trash into the ocean."  Why should he go when it would only remind him of his failure to keep you at his side?

Zhongli narrowed his eyes as he pondered whether words of comfort would aid his yaksha.  "It would be good for you to experience something new after all your years of living."

"I already have," Xiao clenched his jaw, signaling that the topic was beginning to walk on thin ice.  "She--"

"--Is not dead," Zhongli reminded. "Do not mourn for a loss that has not occurred."

"But she's dying," he argued back, finally releasing the emotions he's pent up ever since they left you.  Zhongli's look of confusion prompted him to continue.  "She can feel the karmic debt bestowed upon me."

"When did this begin?"  The archon's usual reserved composure faltered slightly while his eyes widened.  

"A month ago.  I visited her; she can hear the voices of the damned.  She's been in physical and mental pain ever since."

"The bond..." Zhongli set his teacup down a bit abruptly as he thought to himself.  "It appears these side effects grow stronger in the other's absence.  How intriguing..."

"How do we discard them?  Is there a way?"

"Have you not interpreted my words in Qingce Village all along?  Or my words at the Dawn Winery?  I've already given you the means to act, Xiao."

--Can feel your emotions...emotions cannot be permanently ignored...fall on deaf ears...early grave...  Xiao scoffed and downed the rest of his tea before forcefully setting the cup back down onto the table.  "You think admitting my alleged feelings for a mortal human would solve the problem?"

"She's done her part, now it is your turn," he straightened.  "If you fail to do so, I fear she will perish from your karmic debt in no time at all.  If what you say is true, it's a miracle she's still alive.  Your admittance would seal the bond, as it would eliminate the side effects altogether."

Xiao's head whipped in the direction of the playing of an instrument note, but was only greeted with the joyful screams of children running around nearby.  "Tch.  How annoying," he played his mishearing off and returned to his normal sitting position.  Another sound reached his ears, but he neglected to react to it.  The notes are off.

Zhongli didn't question Xiao's sudden alertness, but that didn't take away from the fact that yet another side effect has revealed itself to the archon.  It appeared as though the yaksha was already aware of this side effect.

And man, did this one annoy Xiao the most.  He heard the most random of tunes and chords at the most random of times.  It would even jolt him awake when he managed to fall asleep on rare nights.  It wasn't all unpleasant though; there were times in which the melody struck all the right notes and the result was a beautiful thirty second song before it was gloriously ruined by the musician's hesitance or embarrassment.

He knew it was you.  Your constant need to practice was as pestering as your old daily prayers before he revealed to you that he could hear them.  At least he only sometimes heard the plucking of strings.  As pesky and invasive as it was, your insistence upon playing what Xiao only assumed was a lyre somehow brought a bit of joy to his heart.  It meant that you were doing better than the last time he saw you.

He just wished he could hear the end result and not your sloppy practice sessions.

........................

Only on the eve of the Lantern Rite, several days before the celebration, did he come to appreciate the hours of hard work you were putting into practicing the music.

You had locked yourself in your room again after watching the failed experiments Dottore had forced you to witness.  How many did you see die today? Fifty?  He clearly needed to adjust the ratio of your blood to whatever else he had in that serum he developed.  What was worse was that you were beginning to become desensitized to the loss of human life; amused by it, even. Just as the Tsaritsa wanted. Sometime into the fortieth treatment, your pains grew stronger as did the voices of the slain daemons.

You retreated to your room, relieved that Childe had for once allowed you to be without his presence.  You sat yourself next to the window and allowed for the evening light to illuminate the music sheets the harbinger had bought for you.  Your fingers grazed lightly over the strings as the voices continued to grow louder, absently plucking one of them to ensure that you still had full control over your slightly twitching limbs.  You had nearly snapped the strings last time the voices overwhelmed you--

There's no time nor need to reminisce those incidents.  You pulled yourself out of your thoughts and began to play, the smooth vibrations of the harp humming against your chest and shoulder as the strings were struck.  Unlike your practice sessions, your hands glided over the strings from one position to the next like you had played for a thousand years.  No hesitation could be felt from the chords.  Finally, it seemed as though you mastered this song.

Xiao.  I miss you...your warmth...your embrace... Your infested thoughts soon cleared as your mind drifted to an image of him.  I wonder if he too finds comfort in music when the voices overwhelm him?  For you knew that when the voices grew louder, he too, was subject to them.  The music overcame the screaming daemons, and you were relieved with a sense of peace.  Your fingers continued to play through the music and repeated the song for as many times as you felt fit.  Your aching limbs continued to throb, but you didn't let that stop you from playing.  Your mind now clear as water, you poured your longing for Xiao into your music. You hummed the melody as you played.

One day you'll find your way back to him, or him to you.  Was it okay to allow yourself to believe in the possibility that he held the same feelings for you?  Did he love you? No--Could he?  It was already naïve enough to think he was capable of harboring such intimate feelings after living through hell for over two thousand years.  And even if he did, it's not like you'd live as long as he has.  Would he push me away again?  You shoved that thought out of your mind with another series of chords.

You wouldn't be able to put an end to your feelings no matter what he did.  He was too admirable, too strong, too strict, too beautiful.  He was too kind, even if he put up a front.  You loved him too much; perhaps that would end in your own downfall just as Childe predicted and beat into your head every day, but that was alright with you.  If the voices were to eat away at you until all that remained were ashes, you were okay with being true to yourself until the very end.  Even if he never thought of you as something more than a companion.  And as you thought of him, the longing to be reunited swelled within your chest and overflowed into your fingers.

Your song was your unspoken prayer, your love and dedication were your offerings.