#half of the anemo men

[lume-nosity]

i did one of those kinnie quizzes and i now kin kazuha. i'm going to cry -still with you anon (you do remember why we first interacted right)

omg we’re twinning!

(god that was so long ago but i got a glimpse of it, it was when i commented on one of myst’s posts about your kinlist or something i think that’s when it started)

[https-furina]

harvest for the ask game !!

aaaa thank u for asking sweetheart !! <3

harvest — what fictional character do you must identify with? why?

uh oh so the most obvious one to people who know me irl is scaramouche/wanderer… for reasons including ✨trauma✨ but also compared to online i have a very similar personality to him pfft and also heizou (i chose the right husband help) for yet again ✨trauma✨ and personality reasons but also i used to work for the police so i was even in the same line of work as him 🥹 when i started playing genshin again this year i was like “damn this dude is like me…” and then i found hella comfort in him and now he’s my husband <3 mwah

[whoistartaglia]

can genshin men cook?

after a long day of work, what do you come home to: the aroma of dinner cooking in the oven or the smoke detector blaring and a kitchen on fire…?

diluc is so house husband that you would ideally come home to a warm meal set on the dining room table, except for the occasions when he overcooks the food. it’s not his fault, really. blame the pyro god who gave diluc his vision, that may or may not flare up when he’s trying to slowly roast some chicken and vegetables over an open flame. one second everything is fine, the next the chicken is blackened and some of the vegetables have been reduced to ash.

if childe is cooking you a family recipe or a traditional snezhayan dish, then you know you’re coming home to a delicious smelling kitchen and fresh flowers set on the table. childe considers it an act of appreciation and love, cooking his home favorites for you. he puts care in his cooking, and has practice from from feeding his younger siblings growing up. the dishes always turn out amazing and you’ll get him blushing from head to toe if you ask him to show you how to make it.

kaeya is more of a takeout kind of guy. that’s not to say he won’t cook for you if you ask—there are at least a handful of dishes and recipes he knows how to make, and pretty damn well, too. but if he’s also coming home from a long day at work, he’ll probably order something from a local tavern or restaurant, and bring it home. kaeya always remembers to order your favorite, and the takeout food is always set out on the table when you get home. and of course, he always takes care to order your favorite meal, which he knows like the back of his own hand.

xiao won’t burn down the kitchen, but he might get close. he doesn’t have a whole lot of mortal food he enjoys, and so doesn’t have much experience in cooking human food. xiao does try his best for you, though, because he wants you to come home to a nice dinner and relaxing evening. so if xiao happens to start a kitchen fire or set off the smoke alarms, he makes sure to handle it before you get home. you won’t even smell the remnants of the fire in the air, thanks to xiao’s anemo powers.

itto is also very house husband, but when it comes to other things, like building or renovating or practicing fighting moves in the backyard. while he can cook, it’s always a gamble whether you’re coming home to a kitchen half-burnt or an actual living fire. he swears he has it under control. he reassures you everything is fine, and to his credit, he does manage to put out the fire(s) and get something edible on the table. itto will also be very proud of his work, and you agree with his “raw, sheer talent” even as your fork is covered in ash and the burnt remains of some poor grocery store food.

ayato has personal chefs and the meals you come home to are always perfect. how could they not be, when crafted by the finest cooks in inazuma? if you actually request ayato himself to cook for you, he’ll do so happily. he’s a very meticulous, methodical cook—chopping vegetables precisely, using measuring cups and spoons for amounts people usually eyeball, and waiting until the stove or oven is at the perfect temperature before use. his meals turn out amazing—more than the private chefs, because this one is homecooked from the heart.

zhongli definitely has extensive knowledge of cooking and old recipes from liyue, and makes warm, delicious homecooked meals for you… but you still come home to a messy, smoking kitchen once in a while. you’re kind of relieved at that, since it shows that, for all his godly powers and extensive wisdom, zhongli still has his moments. so you laugh as you extinguish the fire even as zhongli is apologizing profusely. though if you suggest to go to your favorite restaurant, zhongli will refuse—he’s gonna start again from scratch, because a meal is what you requested of him, and a meal is what he will deliever.

wriothesley will set the kitchen on fire and say it’s on purpose—and most of the time, it is. his cool calculations melt away when he’s in the kitchen, as once pristine counters become rather messy, and the organized pantry and fridge, disorganized. wriothesley claims it’s because this is how he works best on the kitchen, and you suppose that’s true given his cooking style, which is picking out ingredients, throwing them together, and hoping for something tasty. it’s unfair, really, how good he is at cooking without trying. the kitchen is an embodiment of a hot mess.

[genshinluvr]

Sick Days

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader

Summary: Eighteen out of twenty-five men are sick, and you (and the other seven men who aren't sick) try to take care of the sick men who have fallen ill. Just when you thought they were already needier, they're even needier when they're sick.

Note: Just a mini-fic of the majority of the Genshin men being sick. I typed this at 2-3 AM, and I don't know how I feel about this. This was an answer to someone's ask, so that's why it's a minier mini-fic. Since I typed this out in the middle of the night, don't expect it to be half decent since I'm tired and want to go to bed before I have to get up early morning 🥲 I don't think I'll be tagging people in this mini-fic 🤔I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: Some of the Genshin men are sick

Word Count: 2.4k

Read Part 2 of Sick Days [HERE].

Almost everyone at the estate is sick except for Zhongli, Venti, Xiao, Scaramouche, Albedo, Baizhu, and Dainsleif. Oh, and yourself, of course. Which is a shocker because you’re usually the one that gets sick often out of everyone in the abode, but now it’s the other way around. Baizhu and Albedo are the ones that do the check-ups and prescribe medication for the men who are sick, while you and the others are the ones that try to nurse them back to health.

Childe rings his bell from his bedroom upstairs. “Snookums!” Childe hollers from the top of his lungs before having a coughing fit.

You peek your head into Childe’s room. “Yes, what do you need? And don’t shout! You’re going to make it worse for yourself, and you’re going to wake the others up,” you say, walking into his room.

Baizhu pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head. “I was able to get him to take his medication, but he refuses to go to sleep because he wants to cuddle with you,” says Baizhu, turning to look at you with a look of defeat.

You look at Childe, propping your hands on your hips. “Is that true, Childe?” You ask.

Childe nods glumly and holds his arms out, making grabby motions with his hands. You chuckle and sigh. You nearly forgot that Childe is even clingier when he’s sick, which is unfortunate because it makes it harder for you to care for the other sick men. 

Venti knocks on the door, pops his head into the room, and sighs, giving you a sympathetic smile. “[Y/N], the others are calling for you.”

“Which others are we talking about? The ones that aren’t sick, or the ones that are sick?” You ask, raising your eyebrows at the anemo archon. 

Venti purses his lips and clears his throat. “What would you do if I said both?” asks Venti, tapping his fingers on the doorframe while leaning against it.

Childe’s eyes widen, and he shakes his head, kneeling on his bed as if he’s prepared to get off it to convince you to stay. “No! Don’t leave me! You know I can’t go to sleep without you cuddling me!” Childe whines, giving you puppy dog eyes before coughing and sneezing into his elbows.

Baizhu gives Childe a fake smile before handing the eleventh Harbinger a face mask while keeping a safe distance between the two of them. “Please wear this face mask while you’re sick. You don’t want to get other people sick now, do you?” Baizhu says.

Childe lets out a huff, grabs the face mask from Baizhu’s hands, and puts it over his mouth and nose. You walk over to Childe and gently push him to make him lie on his back. Even though Childe has a mask over his nose and mouth, you know he’s pouting. You tuck Childe into bed and kiss his forehead.

“Get some rest, alright? I have to check up on the others,” you say, stroking Childe’s soft hair.

Childe huffs and nods before turning over to his side and closing his eyes. You, Baizhu, and Venti walk out of Childe’s room.

The minute you and the two men step out of Childe’s bedroom, you realize how much chaos the estate actually has. You hear occasional coughing, sniffling, and people calling your name for your attention from each person's room.

You walk to the room beside Childe’s room and knock on the door before peeking in. Diluc stares at you with bleary eyes with tissues stuck up his nose. You give the redhead a sympathetic smile before entering his room.

Diluc sniffles. “Don’t come any closer. I don’t want you to get sick,” Diluc says.

You can’t help but giggle at Diluc’s nasally voice and continue to walk to his bed. Diluc frowns at you before taking the tissues out from his nose and tossing them into the trash bin beside his bed. Diluc reaches for another tissue and stares at you while you sit across from him on his bed.

You give his leg a squeeze. “How are you feeling right now? You took your medication, right?” You ask, looking at Diluc worriedly.

Diluc nods while wiping his nose. “I did take my medication. I’m waiting for it to kick in. I hate being sick. It prevents me from getting my job done at the winery.” Diluc frowns, sniffling again.

“I understand your frustration, Diluc. But please take this time to rest. You won’t recover from your illness if you don’t get plenty of rest,” you say.

Diluc frowns and lets his hands fall onto his lap. You get up from Diluc’s bed and walk closer to him. Diluc looks at you with wide eyes while you lean down to kiss the top of his head. Diluc mumbles something under his breath before lying on his bed and closing his eyes. You press the back of your hand on Diluc’s forehead, nearly sighing in relief. Diluc’s temperature is going down, thankfully. 

You leave Diluc’s bedroom to let him rest, closing the door behind you. Venti and Baizhu went somewhere you’re not sure— probably to check up on the other men in the estate. Zhongli steps out from one of the men’s rooms, carrying a tray of food in his hands. Zhongli sighs and gives you a look, shaking his head.

“It’s strange how they got ill simultaneously,” Zhongli comments, gesturing for you to follow him as he starts making his way toward the staircase.

“Oh, uh, I’m about to check up on the others! I’ll join you downstairs after I finish checking up on all of them. Is that okay?” You ask, getting ready to enter the room Zhongli had left not long ago.

Zhongli smiles. “You’re not obligated to join me, [Y/N]. I heard everyone has been asking for you,” he chuckles, shaking his head.

You give Zhongli a weak smile, nodding. “Yeah, they are, and I’m going to check on each of them to make sure they’re okay. Childe wanted to cuddle with me, but I can’t join him this time since, you know, he’s sick, and he could get me sick as well,” you reply. 

Zhongli nods before bidding you goodbye and walking down the stairs. You walk into the room to see Dainsleif pinning Itto down while Xiao tries to shove a pill down Itto’s mouth. You stand at the door, unsure of what to do other than watch.

You clear your throat. “What in the world are you guys doing?” You ask, grabbing the three men’s attention.

“[Y/N]! Help me! They won’t let me go!” Itto screams, thrashing under Dainsleif’s grasp. “Is this how you treat a sick person!?” Itto exclaims, glaring at Dainsleif and Xiao.

Dainsleif rolls his eyes and tightens his grip on Itto’s wrists. “You need to take your medication. I don’t care if you’re an Oni, Itto. You need to take your medication because it’s prescribed to you by Doctor Baizhu,” Dainsleif replies.

Xiao lightly smacks Itto’s head. “This wouldn’t have happened if you complied and took your medication without a fight,” Xiao says, glaring at Itto.

You walk over to the three men and pull Xiao and Dainsleif away from Itto. Itto gives you a grateful look before sitting up and fixing his hair and clothes with a huff. You hold your hand out to Xiao. Xiao gives you a look before placing the pill in your hand.

“Good luck trying to get him to take his medication,” Xiao mutters.

You sit on the edge of the bed and hand Itto the pills. Itto stares at the large pills with horror, then back at you. Judging by the look on his face, Itto was asking if you’re insane for wanting him to swallow a pill that’s almost the size of his entire pinky.

You purse your lips. “If you take them, you’ll feel better after! Plus, it’s not fun being sick, is it?” You ask.

Itto frowns and shakes his head.

“If you don’t want to take medicine that’s this big, I recommend taking these right now, and you should be feeling a little bit better after a few hours.” You suggest.

Dainsleif hands Itto a cup of water. “Unless you want us to pin you down and force you to take your medicine, I recommend you take your medication like an adult.”

Itto glares at Dainsleif and tosses the pills into his mouth before downing the water. You give Itto a pat on the back before kissing the side of his head. Itto smiles and places the cup on the nightstand before he pulls you onto his bed.

“Itto, I can’t stay long! I have to check up on the others, too, you know?” You mutter, trying to squirm out from his grasp.

Itto ignores your comment and continues to snuggle into you with a wide smile. You look at Xiao and Dainsleif. The two men pinch the bridge of their noses, mentally cursing at the Oni. 

You sigh in defeat and pat Itto’s arms. “Alright, I guess I’ll be staying here for a little bit, alright?” You ask, glancing up at Itto.

Itto smiles and nods wordlessly. You look at Xiao and Dainsleif, gesturing for them to give you and Itto some privacy. You continue to let Itto hug you to his chest, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. You close your eyes and slowly drift off to sleep without even realizing it. Time passes by, and you wake up to the sound of whispering around you.

“Dammit, Itto! You decide to hoard [Y/N] for yourself and not let them check up on the rest of us?” You hear Aether whisper.

Heizou sighs. “Poor thing must be exhausted. Everyone wants their attention, and for them to check up on us must’ve worn them out,” says Heizou.

You crack your eyes open to see the men sitting around you. You blink at them and look at Itto, who’s staring down at you while combing his fingers through your hair. You rub your eyes and sit, blinking at everyone.

Kazuha chuckles, coughing into his elbows. “It looks like [Y/N] slept really well,” Kazuha smiles at you.

“Sorry for not being able to check up on all of you. As you can see, I fell asleep. Unintentionally, of course,” you say sheepishly. 

Ayato sighs and walks over to the bed, sitting beside you. “There’s no need to apologize. You tried your best to care for those who are sick and didn’t get to rest because people were pulling you left and right.”

“We decided to make it easier for you by coming here after we heard Dainsleif and Xiao say something about Itto hoarding you for himself,” Thoma says, putting on his face mask and sitting at the edge of the bed across from you and Itto.

You blink at the men before you and at Itto. Itto seems content with the situation. Itto presses his back against the wooden headboard of his bed and reaches for the cup of water. You plop over on your side and close your eyes. Dear Archons, dealing with sick men with the help of seven men was not easy. Zhongli, Xiao, Venti, Dainsleif, Albedo, Scaramouche, and Baizhu did everything to help the men that are sick, and you’re eternally grateful for their assistance. Despite their trying to help, it didn’t stop the others from wanting you and only you. You crack your eyes open and pat the bed.

“You guys might as well join us in bed then. You all wanted to be near me or be in the same room as me,” You say.

Al Haitham stares at you. “We’ll get you sick, you know that, right?” asks Al Haitham.

“And? I’ve gotten sick many times since my arrival at Teyvat. It’s nothing new!” You reply, brushing Al Haitham’s worry to the side.

Kaveh stares at you and tosses a pillow at you. “That’s the point! You’ve fallen ill so many times in Teyvat already. We don’t want you to get sick again because of us,” Kaveh replies, letting out a huff of breath before having a short coughing fit.

“Remember how a lot of you would tell me to rest up?” You ask, closing your eyes.

“Yes, we tell you that because you do need to rest. You push yourself to the point where you get sick,” Tighnari replies, clearing his throat. 

You sputter and rub your face. “Yeah, well, you all need to rest! And since you’re all in here already, you might as well make yourselves home for now until we’re all rest up!” You say, patting the bed.

“But you’ll get sick,” Cyno states, frowning at you.

“Hand me a face mask, then! You know that one part of a wedding vow? Something about in sickness and in health?” You ask, reaching out toward Baizhu while he hands you a mask to wear.

Kaeya snorts, sitting on Itto’s bed and lying across from you. “You really are stubborn.”

“Wait, are we all going to just lay on Itto’s bed? I don’t think we’ll fit,” Gorou says, counting the number of people in Itto’s room.

You wave Gorou’s worries away. “We’ll probably Tetris it, don’t worry! If that doesn’t work, then we’ll figure it out somehow,” you say, scooting over to make room for the others. 

Scaramouche asks, “What if I don’t want to be near any of these losers and only with you?” Scaramouche smacks Childe upside of his head as he walks by the eleventh Harbinger.

You stare at Scaramouche. “Then we can do that later! Just you and me!” You reply.

“And chaos begins,” Albedo chuckles, shaking his head as everyone starts pushing and shoving each other, trying to get to you. 

Surprisingly, no one has fallen over yet. You made sure everyone wore a mask because you didn’t want them to get each other even more sick than they already were. You’re in the middle of the bed while people are scrambling to lay beside you or at least close enough to you. At this point, it’s a cuddle pile, and you’re all for it because imagine being sandwiched between many men.

In the end, you had to give up your spot because they didn’t want to crush you. So, they have you lay on top of everyone because they want you to feel comfortable and not claustrophobic. That and because they want to be able to pass you around so the other person can get their turn cuddling you. Just when you thought you were needy when you’re sick, you’re wrong because these men are needier than you are and constantly crave your attention. Not that you’re complaining, of course. They’re just clingier when they’re sick, and it’s something you’re going to have to get used to if you ever get married to them.

Note: Not tagging people for this mini-fic since this was supposed to be a response to someone's ask. Plus, it's also nearing 4 AM, and tagging people can take a while. This is just a mini-fic/response to an ask. It's short, it's not the best. But this is what I imagined would go down if the reader were to take care of the sick Genshin men. Some of them aren't sick because they're immortal, so yeah! To my new and/or returning readers, please keep in mind that I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Read more of my works on my Masterlist | Maybe support me by tipping me on Ko-Fi or by reblogging my fanfics! ^^ I will also be posting exclusive fanfics on Ko-Fi as well very soon! I might post all of my stories on there too, but who knows. You can also tip me on Tumblr if you'd like as a way to show support! ^^

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Can I please request Sara, Lumine, and Noelle watching their S/O run through a hoard ot monsters(with a noticeable straight tunnel through a mountain behind them) to give them the lunch they packed for the girl, tears in their eyes at the thought of them going hungry?

(Genshin Impact) Sara, Lumine, and Noelle's S/O bringing them a packed lunch

Me omw to get stabbed by 400 treasure hoarders just to bring Sara a bowl of rice:

Sara hears rapid footsteps approaching her, which she responds by readying her bow, about to let loose an arrow to whatever dumb monster thought they could ambush her-

(S/O) "SARA!"

Sara falters when she realizes its S/O's footsteps they heard.

Many of the soldiers under her command raise their weapons on instinct, but quickly lowering it once they see who it is.

(Soldier) "Halt! What business do you have with the general?"

(S/O) "S-Sorry, I forgot to give her food for the road!"

Many of the soldiers looked at each other in confusion, and Sara could not resist doing the same.

They had departed the city nearly an hour ago.

In fact, they had taken a path through a mountain that was previously crawling with monsters not a moment ago before their arrival.

There were still some monsters crawling around. How the hell did they get here?

Sara awkwardly clears her throat, trying to not blush in front of her own men as she accepts the bento box, filled with cutely shaped rice balls in the form of small animals.

(Sara) "T-Thank you, S/O. This was not needed, but it is appreciated nevertheless."

Now she was absolutely failing to contain the blush as they smiled, wiping away a singular tear.

(S/O) "Thank goodness I managed to catch you in time! Stay safe, Sara. Everyone else too!"

(Soldier) "Thanks...?"

(Sara) "Wait, there's monsters crawling around back there! You can't just-"

S/O dashed back through the tunnel, every monster just seemingly ignoring them on the way back, despite the fact Sara and the other soldiers were ready to jump back in at a moment's notice.

They just...ignored them.

(Sara) "...We continue our march. And no one will utter a word about this incident. Understood?"

The soldiers immediately straightened their backs.

(Soldiers) "Yes, general!"

Lumine's hand readies itself to knock back the attacker with Anemo before hearing a familiar voice.

(S/O) "Lumine, wait!"

(Paimon) "The heck, S/O!?"

Lumine and Paimon turn around and find S/O nearly out of breath, holding a bag.

(S/O) "I forgot to give you this before you left!"

(Lumine) "...Oh, our lunch! Thanks S/O-...Wait a dang second, how the heck did you pass by the...?-"

The two looked at the tunnel behind them.

Yup, still absolutely crawling in slimes. Did they just dodge all that?

(S/O) "I thought you'd be hungry out there and I couldn't bear the thought!"

Lumine noticed they wiped away a tear, which softened her heart a little.

(Lumine) "Hah, you're a sweetheart, you know that?"

(Paimon) "And also crazy! We were dogpiled in there, don't tell Paimon you were following us the entire time!"

(S/O) "Alright, I'll see you at home!"

(Lumine) "WAIT!-"

S/O gracefully dodged every slime that leapt at them without even batting an eye, taking a light jog back to their home, leaving the two speechless.

(Lumine) "...I think we need to take dodging lessons from them."

(Noelle) "An attacker?"

Noelle's greatsword materializes into her hands and just as she's about to spin around and split them in half-

(S/O) "Noelle, you forgot your lunch!"

Noelle's eyes widen in surprise and she stops herself mid swing, tumbling over and catching herself by stabbing the blade suddenly into the ground.

(Noelle) "S/O?! How in the world did you get here?!"

Noelle was handed a cutely wrapped box in green cloth by a smiling S/O.

(S/O) "I just ran and caught up! You're really fast, you know that?"

Noelle leaned to her left, seeing the tunnel she had exited.

There were Ruin Guard in there! The only reason Noelle got through unscathed was because she was built different her vision protected her!

Why and how did S/O get through that without getting hurt?!

(Noelle) "Dear, thank you for giving me this, but-"

(S/O) "I don't think I could've gone through the rest of the day if I knew you were gonna be starving."

They wiped away a tear before nodding in content.

(S/O) "I'll see you back at home, dinner will be ready by then!"

S/O waved goodbye cheerfully and ran straight back.

Noelle's heart dropped and she dashed after them.

(Noelle) "Goodness me, S/O! PLEASE WAIT!"

[flyingwargle]

freminet never thought of himself as a valuable hostage, but here he is, ankles and wrists tied behind his back, covered in dust from being manhandled by treasure hoarders.

he sits at the edge of their campsite, guarded by two holding crossbows. a fire illuminates the half dozen shadows responsible for his capture, drunk from stolen alcohol and singing shanties off-key and off-rhythm. their crooked voices and indiscernible words echo through the air.

energy swirls around him, but without his vision, he can only observe them, can barely coalesce the cryo threads into anything tangible. they’d taken his claymore too, right after he was ambushed. only his mechanical penguin was left at the scene, so hopefully, someone would pick it up and bring attention to it.

hopefully, that someone would be one of his siblings. it seems unlikely, however, because they have a show tonight, and it's routine for freminet to wait for them at home. based on the moon’s angle, it should’ve passed the midpoint by now.

"what'll we do with him, boss?" an inquiry aimed in his direction snaps him out of his thoughts. the shadows face him. he keeps his head low, eyes hidden behind his bangs.

"a scrawny kid like him isn't gonna fetch a lot of money," another comments.

"don't let looks deceive ya. this kid is part of the royal court. they'll pay a pretty penny for him." their leader takes a swig from his silver flask and belches. the scent of alcohol surrounds them. "so don't rough him up that badly. if you bruise him, who's to say they won't toss him out?"

laughter rises after him. freminet closes his eyes to lessen the sting, but there's truth in such words. the royal court is often compared to a painting – it depicts a snapshot of bourgeoisie dressed in petticoats and silk hats, but the layers underneath are rough and muddled. only a trained eye can identify a replica from the original.

he only tolerates it because of it’s the only avenue that utilizes his oceanographic skills. without the court, he has nowhere else to go.

the men return to their drunken rambles. freminet closes his eyes, becomes enveloped by the energy around him. anemo threads weave a patchwork through the sky, and geo pulses beneath him. electro crystals spark further along the trail, wreathed by dendro. hydro runs as a smooth curtain just out of earshot, and aside from the treasure hoarders' fire, there is no other trace of pyro.

...but what is that spark of flame blazing through the trees?

"what's that?"

freminet's eyes snap open. cards are falling from the sky. he recognizes the card backs anywhere, all with his brother's cat motif.

a few of the treasure hoarders catch them to inspect. their brows are furrowed, eyes narrowed. "what are these supposed to be?"

"your demise."

such a voice sends a shiver down freminet's spine, low with malice. the cards explode into smoke and the campfire flares. a powerful gust of wind sends smog across the clearing. a shadow approaches him as the guards dash into the fray.

"big sis?"

lynette materializes with a finger to her lips. with a snap of her wrist, she produces a pocketknife to slice through his ropes. "are you hurt?"

he shakes his head. the barest smile touches her lips. "good. do you know where they put your vision?"

"no."

"okay. i'll find it. keep still."

ahead of them, chaos has broken out. flame-tipped arrows fly in all directions, embedding into the ground and nearby trees. the treasure hoarders retaliate, from elemental bombs, shovels, and crossbows. there are shouts, grunts, cries. his brother is relentless.

the ropes fall slack. freminet rubs his chaffed wrists and takes lynette's hand to pull himself up. she manifests her sword and raises a hand to dispel the smoke. the fire is snuffed out, but lyney remains illuminated by his pyro.

it isn't common for freminet to see him fight. he knows his brother is adept with a bow, but it's frightening to see the extent of it.

cards fly in the air, snatching the treasure hoarders’ attention. a split second is all lyney needs to kick down his enemies and disarm them. he knocks them unconscious with a blow to the head, avoids all attacks that come his way. his top hat never wavers, just like the fire in his eyes. the moon serves as his spotlight.

lynette takes the rope and starts binding the unconscious treasure hoarders together. as the last one crumples to the ground, lyney dusts his hands off. "the curtain has fallen over another failure. enjoy your time in the cell block."

"they can't hear you," lynette comments mildly.

"it's stage commentary, my dear." lyney dismisses his bow and turns to freminet, scrutinizing him under a watchful eye. "you're not hurt?"

"no."

"bruises? cuts? elemental exhaustion?"

he shakes his head. lynette calls out, "one of the hoarders took his vision."

"you mean this?" lyney snaps his fingers and produces a cryo vision in his palm. "your claymore is over there. best to take that back before the police does.”

freminet fumbles to catch his vision. he fastens it back to his pant leg, stiffening when a hand rests on his shoulder, followed by a low murmur. “i’m sorry this happened in the first place.”

“oh…it just happened. it couldn’t have been predicted.” freminet shakes him off, raising his arm to clutch the opposite elbow. “i thought…i thought you wouldn’t come since you had a show…”

"we canceled it. how could we perform knowing our little brother is in danger? no matter where you are, if you're in trouble, we'll come." lyney smiles at him. "promise."

once the criminals are bound together, the siblings depart, already sensing the police's arrival. freminet walks between his older siblings, flanked by either side. no matter what awaits them, he knows that they'll always have one another.

[kyogre-blue]

Whew, back from a work trip and took a day off to catch up on my gachas lol (and also sleep). So, a recap.

Genshin main: Not much going on here. I've reached 280 wishes, so I should have 300 by 5.3. That's roughly what I was aiming for to feel confident about getting the three characters I want before Snezhnaya: Arlecchino, Xianyun, and Childe C4. Arlecchino is supposed to rerun in 5.3, so it'll be great to finally get rid of my pity (50 into a guarantee).

I'm almost hoping they'll put Xianyun on some special Lantern Rite banner just so that I can get that out of the way, but they'll probably save her for when they release Madame Ping as our yearly Liyue 5 star (whom I will skip because she'll use Natlan materials, and I'm refusing to enter there on my main because reasons). Aside from that, I guess I'll get Yaoyao C2 from the selector. What else is there?

Mostly, I'm just waiting for Snezhnaya. I wonder what weird gimmick they'll come with up for its characters.

Genshin alt: An hour before heading to the airport, I got Newville Neuvillete C2. Finally cleared the high guarantee on this account. I had to skip Ororon because of that (tried a ten pull, didn't get him, didn't dare to keep going), and it's looking like Ifa will also be a 4 star. And that'll be the two mandated tall men of Natlan. I have 250 wishes saved now, and if we assume only two more men in Snezhnaya (which I'm assuming, given the trend toward more waifus in Natlan), then by end of 6.x, I might actually catch up on all tall men in Genshin. Nice.

Incidentally, the Natlan leaks are currently forecasting like this: 5.3 is Lantern Rite, the last Natlan AQ act, banners Mavuika/Clorinde and Arlecchino/Citlali. 5.4 seems like it'll be a low key patch with an Inazuma 5 star ("Mizuki") who is going into Standard, currently said to be Anemo. It should also be the Venti rerun, and I think if we're getting the supposed Dragonspine/Wanderer event, it would probably be here? 5.5 will probably be the last Natlan clan, with "Varesa" as the 5 star and Iansan as the 4 star. And then Ifa should be after that, as well as a 5 star who is not from Natlan (I assume Madame Ping). That'll leave 5.7-5.8 as big unknowns.

Wuwa: I got Stringmaster for Encore, though I ran out of credits, so it's still level 88 for now, haha. Fortunately, this is the last 5 star weapon I wanted to get, so I'm done pulling until Brant. I also managed to finish almost everything in Illusive Realm, just need a couple more runs to max out the bonus tree and clear out the last parts of the shop. Now, I'm just farming mats to max out everyone's skills, but actually doing so is gated by weekly boss drops anyway. Basically just in the Rinascita waiting room. 2.0 banners will be a skip, but there will be new map, hopefully Baizhi S3 in the shop, and also Sanhua skin.

HSR: Since my pulls panned out, I'm just farming trace mats. Once I hit 55 world level, I'll go back to relics (urgh). Not really much going on, though once the second half banners start, I'll fish for Gallagher and farm his stuff, since it should be on early access for Firefly. I did try doing the higher threshold levels in Unknowable Domain (total fail) and DU (passed threshold 2, failed 3). Eh...

tbh HSR is kinda... I dunno about it. It's quite a hassle to play and there doesn't seem to be much going on most of the time. Fortunately, I can finally auto-play at least some of the grinding, but... not sure how much I'll keep playing in the long term.

[fuckingloginwall]

✎ Death Granted Breaths

✴ Kazuha & Tomo Akio-Centric Isekai AU

—☵☵☰☰☰☵☵—

The nameless electro-anemo duo—they learned—had summoned their souls due to their desire for adventure and freedom.

"Despite passing onto the afterlife our bodies continue to remain pristine, and you clearly need them more than us now."

—☵☵☰☰☰☵☵—

⌡ 🔏 Beware beware Faraway Reader, this tale speaks of terminal illness, character death, and waking up buried alive. ⌠

⌡ 🔏 Have I failed to warn thee of anything else? Let me know so . . . ⌠

—☵☵☰☰☰☵☵—

Two nameless samurai. A duo dead long before the anthology they lived within began. The graves of the Allogenes were stumbled upon by the main cast, given respects, and then seldom brought up again.

One of few serious moments within the whimsical fairytale-like stories of The Crux of Daring Escapades.

In a world of myths and legend, Captain Beidou and the rest of her crew went through all sorts of exploits ranging from saving the world against all odds to sales and trades faced with mere cavill that spiralled into humorously convoluted detours and misadventures.

Enter Akabane Kazuha and Shiraishi Akio. Two young men indefinitely hospitalized since childhood due to terminal illness.

One day the author had donated dozens of copies of the first book to the hospital they were admitted in: The Alcor And The Adepti.

With the enchanting watercolor illustrations, tantalizing fantasies of diverse unexplored waters and lands, the never ending adventure the cast—and readers too—had been promised, and best of all: charming characters anyone would want to be friends with, how were the two not to be enthralled by the unfeasible idea of joining Beidou's crew and taking part in each and every one of her adventures?

It came as no surprise then when the two children became joined to the hip not just thanks to their shared love for the series, but the shared yearning for a life where they didn't need medication, weren't stuck in hospitals, and could pursue whatever they wished.

As they grew, and their conditions worsened, culminating to the certainty that they were going to die in the next few years—they were frightened, but also assured that one of them would also be by the other's side when they finally passed. Just as their friendship never wavered, neither did their love for the chronology that united them all those years ago. Each and every physical copy was owned between the two of them. Inevitably reread again and again. Often together.

Thus was the world until death did them part and united them once again.

It came as a surprise when they both woke up in an otherworldly plane, with two unfamiliar men looking like they belonged in their most favorite book series.

The nameless electro-anemo duo—they learned—had summoned their souls due to their desire for adventure and freedom.

"Despite passing onto the afterlife our bodies continue to remain pristine, and you clearly need them more than us now."

Instead of taking this second chance for themselves, Akabane and Shiraishi can live out their fantasy: Have healthy, abled bodies.

Maybe even join The Crux.

So of course the friends would take up the opportunity in a heartbeat!

But if they had stopped to think for a moment, they would've realized that their first moments of their second life would be six feet underground, clawing away at the dirt, visions out of reach above the surface.

After such a laborious task, they'd see just how filthy and bloody they were after crawling out their predesecor's graves.

"No fucking way did the genre of this land change already . . ."

—☵☵☰☰☰☵☵—

Extra notes

Spoiler Alert: It didn't. False alarm people

So yeah, AU-modern versions of Kazuha and Tomo-who-we-call-Akio-here transmigrate into the bodies of versions of them more akin to their canon counterparts

Anyways, The Crux of Daring Escapades, was a children's book series with loads of pictures, loads of them to the point it could be considered half comic book if the pictures had sound effects or dialog added in.

There were shitloads of installments, you know how animorphs had 54 books in there? Consider TCODE having either that much or so much more.

I originally planned for Akabane to be the only transmigrator, but I decided to add Akio to the party as well. Originally going to be a transmigration with neither party consenting, as far as Aka knew. Angst in the idea of accidentally taking someone's identity right after they died. Identity crisis, etc., etc.. Being alone in this, but they've got each other so it's fluff now! :D (lord knows we need it)

Fuck we need more crack in this shitshow instead of the existential dreadful grim dark horror angst I keep conjuring up (you'll learn eventually, you'll learn eventually...)

Apparently there's a book series called Zorro and one book is called Zorro: The Daring Escapades. Accidental reference lol

Also, the main duo (previously just Akabane) was meant to isekai into their new bodies right after the OGs died but that changed.

Also instead of them knowing the whole storyline front and center, it's instead still ongoing and they were transported into the middle of the series. They dont fucking know whats ahead of them and boy does it excite them.

Fukui's kitty cat joins along from the very start! They will be spoiled as they deserve

Akabane and Shiraishi change their hairstyle and clothes from how Kaedehara Kazuha and Fukui Akio looked. They don't want any misidentification and identity theft afterall.

Considering they now have healthy bodies, powers, AND are in their favorite book series and favorite crew, they're gonna need to be restrained with child leashes the two of them.

"Oh god there's THREE of them!"

They're going buckwild with their newfound freedom and abilities.

Muscle memory helps them speedrun being menaces

Next time Beidou docks at Inazuma, the two are sonic-speeding-running over to the Alcor to convince her to let them join the crew.

They do this by claiming to be yōkai or something else who abandoned their supernatural form to adopt human bodies they copied "With explicit consent!" Why? Because they witnessed Beidou and the Crux's exploits from the very beginning, starting off by naming common knowledge only to that stuff only Beidou herself would know

"Let's keep this between just the two of us." -Beidou in book # whatever.

"We wanted to live as humans, and join you, so we gave up some of our powers for that, but we've still got sword fighting skills and visions!" "Are they fake?"

They say more than enough to join, thus begins their Daring Escapades With The Crux

Again, they don't steal Kaedehara and Fukui's identities, they make it very clear they only look nigh-identical to two men and both share the same first names, but aren't the same people as them. They don't say who they look like though.

They're very experimental with their Visions, Very experimental even when logic says otherwise and that This Could Kill Them

Akabane may at first seem like he can reign in Shiraishi and listens to his common sense more, which is true

but he also is just as bad, giving or listening to ideas, trying out stupid tricks, etc., etc.. people just stupidly think he always knows better no he's as chaotic as Shiraishi

Also Heizou gets on their trail, manhunting them because the two were a wee-bit sloppy making it look like they never dug out the graves.

"The hell did you do to get Heizou on your ass kids?" "Uh—"

Moments like these when Akabane's ability to hear the wind helps a fuckton.

"Akio, it's Heizou we've gotta run." "Shit—"

They left some evidence around the resting site, and others reported the reanimation of corpses and yeah, he instantly calls BS on the two copying the deceased's appearance. The fact they share the exact same first names doesn't help.

When other Inazumans who knew Kaedehara and Fukui catch wind of our isekai protags? Ho boy. That could be quite the mindfuck given they're (or rather their bodies) are supposed to be dead.

"Didn't you get killed during the Vision Hunt?" "You're thinking of Fukuo and Kaedehara. We're not them, we just look similar."

The duo is staying away from Yae Miko as much as possible, they don't want her to reveal their secret.

When the detective manages to squeeze out the fact that these two are transmigrators from a different world, blah blah blah, this info gets shared amongst the Crux as well.

She's watching this hunt chase between the detective and transmigrators, has an idea of what is going on and is eating popcorn to this whole drama

Maybe taking down notes for a new light novel

So the entire crew learns they have otherworldy people in the squad

Maybe this arc is also a R2L, R2F or E2F or E2L arc with Heizou and Kazu and or Akio?

Hu Tao the cat to the duo's mice. They're supposed to be double dead in the forever box BUT THEY'RE NOT!

Them being isekai protags comes in clutch since the Alcor or the whole fleet somehow pulls a Captain Hook as in it and everyone aboard gets isekaied to Earth where the two first lived and died.

Akio with modern knowledge (/j): Look at me, look at me. I'm the captain now.

Beidou and Kazu: .—.

Anyways, the two have to take the lead in helping the fleet adjust to modern times as they try to find a way back home to Teyvat.

"Kazuha we're not vaccinated any more, none of the fleet is— infections! What do we do?" "Oh shit—"

The crew meets at the transmigrator's graves here, parallels to paying respect to Kadaehara and Fukui's graves in the books.

The crew learns how to live on Earth for a time, shenanigans, and

The duo introduces them to the books and catches up on the new books they missed, including of the series they live in now only to find that the one after the latest they ever read has them as secondary protagonists to Beidou, they're in the story now and it talks of them being transmigratiors and everything in perfect detail and suddenly the books feel less like fairytales now . . .

WAIT WAIT WAIT!

There's a barrier between the world of TCODE and Earth broken or cracked just enough that whoever the F is stalking the Crux and detailing all their stories can sell their books to Earth for some fucking reason!

And this barrier being in less than stellar condition allows for Kaedehara and Fukui to give their somehow perfectly preserved yet dead bodies to the MCs!

Please let me know if I fucked up in writing any sensitive topics here and please tell me how I can avoid mishandling said topics in the future.

[starryknight-tarot]

https://www.tumblr.com/starryknight-tarot/741617107011272704/not-you-using-genshin-impact-for-reading?source=share

Uh-oh you did? Guess I didn't pay more attention to see the tags🥲

I would not recommend to tag genshin impact because there's a lot of countless possibilities in a negative path ways... Sure there will be memorable and good ways to praise you about the fs when they saw it and want to know more about it.

When time passes and at the same time they will start to think is a good idea to read about genshin 2D mens to the person asked to read em then it will start to demand and give more and more about it because "they're curious" how will they treat this persona asked you in your askbox and vise versa...

Like for example similar to BTS/K-pop.

I just only know about girls started bombing a lot of tarot readers like "who's junkook fs?", "does junkook fs know him?" "What does junkook fs vibe?" "Kinks about junkook fs", etc.

And it was hella heavy for me to stay here tbf... I just wanted peace instead of this gossip drama... But ey, I respect you what will you do so :)👍🏻

I may be pessimistic or realistic but at the same time I know the future how will they react, etc. Tho lol

Changing the topic, hahah Ikr? For some reason I'm attracted to anemo boys too LOL I need a tall anemo boy...😔 Man.

I even have HRS jsjsj I'm just playing little more or less xd

Also no worries, about the picture you're picking. Now that I think about it. May I ask why did you chosen or picked the anemo boys picture? I got a lil but hard time to choose between which pile but in the end I got 2 pile xd

The pile I chosen it resonated me well... Half I think? Let's see how it will change, especially me ofc. And the other one I chose too, the half of the last part resonates me so well xd. Except the upper half part didn't hahah.

Last question, which anemo boys do you love the most?💕👀

Damn I didn't know about this! The tarot community can be quite tricky here. I definitely want to stay away from the part of the community that doesn't really have any respect for idols, I see it all the time and it just puts a bad taste in my mouth. Some people on here need to start putting themselves in the idol's shoes, how would they like it if people looked into all of their deepest darkest secrets, all their fears and shames. Tarot can be really revealing and really invasive. Anyway yes! We do need a tall anemo boy! We need more tall men in Genshin in general. Hoyoverse needs to realize that the fans love the tall hot guys lol. They have lot more tall guys in Star Rail and people are always simping for them (including me lol). I also play Star Rail pretty lightly but with this new version I am so excited cause everything looks so nice (and I can't avoid the ads lol). With the anemo boys, originally I just wanted to do a pac for genshin men but it was actually really hard to find pictures that all matched! But I came across the anemo boy pictures and it was like a lightbulb went off for me lol. My favorite anemo boy would have to be Kazuha and Scara. Both have baby girl energy lol. Also I can't respond to your ask in messages since you don't follow me is what is says so 🤷‍♀️

[inavagrant-a]

@ayahimes / continued from here.

Perhaps it is rather bold of him to linger so close around the estate, but nobody would know any better. If and when he is approached about his presence he can simply say that he's around for Chinju forest and how he simply gets sucked into its wanderlust at night. It would not be an outright lie, but he also would not be telling the truth, but again... none would know any better. Tetsuya lingers upon these parts for reasons only he knows for now and he believed himself subtle enough to where none within the Kamisato estate would take notice of him, but it has been years since he's properly dealt with a Kamisato and it seems like he's sorely underestimated them.

However, aside from the young heiress to this prestigious clan, there's other uninvited guests in the fray. Surely she knows right? That she's been followed here? It's what makes the wanderer tell her to keep the peace. She's a Kamisato, he believes her capable of feeling the threat that looms over her head, unless her curiosity of him is blinding that sense of vigilance. She does however, and it spares him the need to open his mouth and needlessly speak. She's at the ready, his eyes looking at how they rest upon her trusty blade. The wanderer's eyes soon leave her and his attention turns to those who have made this heiress their boon in vision.

"You stupid idiot, how do you lose track of the Shirasagi Himegimi?" One grumbles, blade already drawn, hawk-like eyes scanning the general space of Chinju forest for the prey.

"I lost track of her?" The other nobushi asks, disbelief in his tone. "You lost her you useless meat stick with legs!" He shoves his fellow comrade causing the other to stumble forward a couple of steps. "I told you lets get more men first but no, you just rushed right in here when you saw her walk into the forest!"

Their bickering is a truly unbecoming sight and truly the wanderer has no patience so as they continue to bicker amongst themselves of their shortcomings and multiple failures in life he descends slowly from behind them, his body already infused with anemo, the glow in his eyes mimicking almost perfectly the luminescent glow of the forest, almost like he too belongs here. The wanderer makes certain that his presence looms behind them enough to where they can feel a chill up their spine.

"You two are far too loud, you'll disturb the forest." Tetsuya accuses, earning their attention. If they're trailing someone silence is a must as well. Before their instincts kick in properly and they get any bright ideas, the wanderer commands his angry gales of wind to lift up the men from where they stand, waving his hands forward and unleashing two wind blades that cut neatly through the proud material of that which forged their swords. "Hmph," Tetsuya huffs at the sight of both blades snapping in half in seconds. How pathetic... the blades of Inazuma are surely nothing like they used to be. But... he has himself to blame for that, he supposes. He shoves one of the men towards one of the many proud trees within the forest, letting the wind carry the collision, the severity of the impact causing the man to go unconscious, while the other he still keeps up in the air with him.

"W-Wait please, we'll go, we don't want any trouble with you!" Whoever this little guy was!

Truth be told and in his cold gaze one could tell, but if it were up to him he'd rip him in half, but that is not his call, so instead he keeps him in the air with him, his gaze then turning to Ayaka, silently asking her if she wanted to do anything with him or both... she was their prey after all. "Well?" The wanderer asks, expectantly, he did not like to be kept waiting either.

[astershere]

A very good bad thing (part 1)

I have arrived with an angst offering. This was supposed to be a short songfic but here we are.

This fic was inspired by Very Good Bad Thing by Mother Mother

Summary: A beautiful day took a turn for the worse in Mondstadt when a couple of knights decided to take action on their plans of avenging their nation so cruelly taken away by the Archons all those years ago.

TW: Major character death (kind of), Massacre

Mondstadt was in shambles. The once-familiar scenery was engulfed by flames that left nothing behind. The knights of Favonius’ lifeless bodies covered the streets. The civilians were all dead. Some had attempted to flee, run to Liyue to get help, but none made it further than the edge of Dragonspine before falling victim to the attackers’ bloodlust.

The scene before the two aggressors was completely devoid of life. Animals had fled, plants had been destroyed, and all humans had been killed. Even the four winds had been slain in their attempts to defend their nation and god.

The men watched their former Archon draw his last, ragged breaths underneath the very tree he so loved. Barbatos had fought tirelessly with his people, watching them fall one by one. Some were devoured by exhaustion after the fierce fight, some murdered in cold blood in the name of the long gone nation of Khaenri'ah.

Kaeya kicked the limp body of the Anemo Archon and laughed. "And he called himself an Archon?" Next to him, Albedo shook his shoulders after dropping the Festering Desire to the ground:

"He was nothing more than your average Vision holder, couldn't even hold out for half a day"

“What do you think we should do next, Albedo dearest? We’ll have the world on its knees before us, no god or mortal can stop us now!” Kaeya laughed, a wicked smile adorning his face.

Albedo opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by rustling followed by a tiny voice:

“Albedo…? What are you doing? What’s going on?” The two men’s heads snapped toward the sound. Albedo’s face softened slightly upon seeing the little girl before them.

“Klee…”, Albedo’s voice trailed off.

“Klee, you need to go, Mondstadt is too dangerous”, Kaeya said coldly. “And Albedo”, he turned to stare at his companion “Snap out of it, don’t forget what we’re here for”

Albedo blinked a few times before lifting his gaze to meet that of the taller male, “Right”

Klee looked at the two with teary eyes, “Klee, go. Now.” Albedo ordered the child.

”N- no… No! Klee won’t leave without you! You said it’s dangerous, I’ll stay and help you!”

Albedo snapped at the girl’s resistance: “KLEE! YOU LISTEN TO ME NOW YOUNG LADY! YOU WILL GO STRAIGHT TO LIYUE AND STAY THERE!”

The child flinched back from her brother’s outburst, “There’s nothing left here, you’ll die if you stay” the blonde continued coldly. “We’re not the Kaeya and Albedo you once knew. Leave now, before it’s too late for you too”

Klee stared wordlessly at her brothers before lunging at them. “No! Klee won’t leave you here!” Albedo froze at the action, memories of his sister flooding back into his mind. Kaeya noticed this and slapped the blonde’s cheek

“FOCUS, ALBEDO!” He was successful in getting the blonde back to the present, making him instantly stop Klee using geo.

Albedo spoke again: “Klee, listen to me. You have to leave. If you don’t… We’ll have no choice but to kill you”

The young girl let out a gasp, unable to say anything. Her brother watched the tears flow from her eyes without a single trace of emotion on his face. “Go”

With that, the crying girl ran away.

Lumine and Diluc were sprinting through Stone Gate as fast as their legs allowed them to, when Diluc suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Diluc? What’s wrong?”

“The wind”

“What?”

“Look. The air is completely still”

Lumine took a moment to observe her surroundings. The remnants of the plant life around Dawn Winery were still like statues, the only movement being the roaring fire of the burning buildings.

“Venti…” Lumine breathed. .

.

“VENTI!”

Nothing.

Diluc turned to face the girl, “You don’t think he’s-”

“I’m afraid he is…” The two stayed silent for a moment, paying respects to the now late Anemo Archon.

After a minute, Lumine raised her gaze towards the sky and cried out a name: “XIAO!”

The adeptus appeared in front of them in a flash, spear in hand. “Xiao!”, the blonde girl cried out, stumbling towards him.

“Barbatos is dead and Mondstadt is under attack! I know you’re Liyue’s protector, but our last hope is getting help from other nations”

Xiao felt his heart sink, “What-”

Diluc spoke up: “We don’t know what happened. All we know is that the Anemo Archon is most likely dead, so it can’t be good”

The Adeptus’ gaze sharpened. “What do I need to do?”

“You can travel the fastest. I need you to go to Liyue Harbor and find Ningguang, tell her that Mondstadt is facing a likely international threat, and the Knights of Favonius are requesting the Millelith’s immediate backup. We’ll wait for you here”

“Understood” With that, Xiao was gone.

Lumine had never been this close to her breaking point after being separated from her brother.

“Diluc…”

The redhead crouched down next to his friend.

“I know, Lumine. I’m scared too”

He had never seen the traveler in such a state. It seemed that she had finally reached her limit.

“Wh- what are we going to do? Whatever this is is stronger than anything I’ve ever seen”

“If it is capable of this level of destruction I’m afraid we won’t stand a chance even with all the backup we could ever get in this damn world! It killed an Archon for fuck’s sake!”

Diluc sighed. “I know, but we have to try, for Venti”

“Let’s try to get some rest while we wait for the Adeptus’ return”

Xiao teleported into the middle of the Jade Chamber. “Where is Ningguang?”

The startled servants stumbled over their words, some awkwardly bowing upon realizing they were in the presence of a Yaksha

“Uh- Lady Ningguang is currently in a meeting, sir. P-perhaps we could deliver your message to her. O-or we can send someone to fetch her-”

“I don’t have time for that, where is she?”

“She’s at the Feiyun Commerce Guild, sir”

Before anyone had time to react, the adeptus was gone.

“Yes, as things currently stand, we will have plenty of opportunities for-”

The man’s sentence was interrupted by a sudden gust of wind blowing between the two. Xiao appeared next to the table, immediately turning to Ningguang.

“I have an urgent message from Lumine”

“Wh- Please go on, Illuminated Adeptus”

“The Knights of Favonius are requesting backup. Mondstadt is facing a likely international threat and their archon is dead”

Ningguang’s expression fell serious. “Do you know anything else?”

“At least the area surrounding Dawn Winery is completely destroyed” Xiao hesitated “The power feels foreign to what the humans of today know”

“Thank you, I will handle this immediately” she turned to look at her companion, “My apologies, I must cut this meeting short”

“Of course, lady Ningguang, this is quite a pressing matter”

Lumine was awakened from her sleep by a child’s voice.

“Miss Honorary Knight! Miss Honorary Knight! Please wake up, Miss Honorary Knight!”

“Mmh- Klee?” She rubbed her eyes as she slowly sat up. “Klee! What are you doing here?”

The little girl threw herself into the traveler's arms. “Miss Honorary Knight! You have to help Klee! Something is wrong with big brother Albedo and Kaeya!”

Lumine wrapped her arms around Klee, glancing at Diluc worriedly. The redhead had clearly made the same connection in his head.

“Lumine, we have to go now. If we’re dealing with what I think we are, they must be stopped before they leave Mondstadt”

“I know, Diluc, but we can’t leave Klee alone, especially not in this state” Lumine motioned to the terrified little girl weeping in her arms.

“You’re right… But we can’t bring her with us either…”

As the two were trying to come up with a solution, Xiao returned.

“I have delivered your message, they’ll take a couple days to arrive”

“Thank you, Xiao. Say, you wouldn’t happen to know if Tartaglia is still in Liyue?”

Xiao grumbled “...Yes, he’s still in Liyue”

Lumine’s face lit up slightly “Could you do one more thing for me?”

Xiao nodded. “Could you take little Klee here to him and ask him to take care of her. Tell him she’s witnessed her brother in a… less than desirable state”

“Are you insane Lumine?!” Diluc yelled. “You’re suggesting we leave her in the care of a Fatui harbinger? The one behind the ordeal in Liyue no less! We can’t do that!”

The girl sighed, “I know you’re wary of him Diluc, and I don’t blame you but please trust me on this. He’s my friend and quite frankly the only person in Liyue I would trust with caring for Klee right now. If it makes you feel better, I can request that Zhongli joins them”

“I-” Diluc let out a heavy sigh “I want to trust you but... a harbinger?”

After a moment of silence, Diluc gave up. “Fine, but at least tell me who this Zhongli is. It should give me at least some reassurance that she’s in good hands”

“Thank you, Diluc. Let’s just say that Zhongli is an old friend of Venti’s” The blonde girl emphasised the unspoken meaning with a pointed look. Diluc simply nodded.

Lumine pulled the little girl away from her chest enough to be able to look at her properly. “Hey Klee, do you see that man standing there? He’s going to take you to my friend who will take good care of you, okay?”

“Miss Honorary Knight, please don’t leave Klee!”, the child whimpered, making Lumine frown in worry.

“It’ll be okay Klee, my friend will take good care of you while Diluc and I go see your brothers. I’ll come back to get you as soon as I can”, she wiped the girl’s tears. “Do you wanna know a secret about my friend, Klee?”

Klee nodded, starting to visibly calm down.

“This friend is actually the greatest toy salesman in all of Snezhnaya! I just know he’d love to meet Dodoco and see your Jumpy Dumpties!”

Klee’s face lit up with excitement, “Really? Maybe he can help Klee make Jumpy Dumpty even jumpier!”

Lumine chuckled, “I know he can, or if he can’t, he’ll surely know someone who can! So how about it? Will you go with Xiao here to see him?”

“Mhm!” the girl nodded her head eagerly.

“Alright, travelling with Xiao is super fast! You’ll just have to hold on to him tight and you’ll be there in one woosh of the wind!”

Klee was now giggling in excitement as the two walked up to Xiao. The adeptus picked up Klee and held her close to his body “Just hold on tight like Lumine said”

“Klee will hold on super tight! Bye Miss Honorary Knight, bye sir Diluc!”

Diluc smiled fondly, “Bye Klee, be good now”

“Oh yeah, Xiao, before you go, we’ll be going further into the area already, we have an idea of what’s going on”

“Got it”, Xiao nodded before teleporting away.

[yostresswritinggirl]

Antinomy

Part 2; things are brewing. VIBE

“Do you know the spiritual meaning of 11? What about in numerology? You’ll find it quite intriguing, funny even… until it starts making sense.” You’ve witnessed and harnessed the way and days he had grown to be; this fic enumerates the trials of the 11th before he became a Harbinger under your care. From strangers to mentor to friends to love- Childe made a grave mistake, now you’re once again strangers.

Pairing -> Childe x Harbinger!Fem!Reader

Word Count -> 5217

Themes -> Friends to admirers, mentor, fluffy, suddenly ANGST

Series -> #Sojourner Specials (600 Followers Event) Part 1

Warning -> Blood and injury

Maybe it was stubbornness, his unhinged desire for the thrill of a fight, or you mistaken misguidance. Many possibilities, really, but Childe knows it had nothing to do with all of those. You're not to blame for his mistakes, but he sure as hell would have to pay for the mess he just created.

vi. fontaine

The show felt like a dance made to lure and trance such audience, and despite his resolve and difference in agendas, the strong Harbinger had been victim to the beauty of the show. Of swaying thin clothes and alluring flicks of the hips.

“We’re not co-workers, we don’t know each other, remember that.”

Tambourines and lyres synced through the performance as men and women alike cheered and stumbled to the songs. The Snezhnayan dancers set the bar high in terms of beauty as the Fatui disguised as performers indulged the crowd in symphony and dance, as if the whole nation was under a mania, no one saw and no one heard. They just followed lead as the agents lulled their own targets into a sense of security and joy.

In the middle of the crowd you lead the choreography as the main dancer, distinguished by the colors of your garb and its grandiosity, yet still respectably covered compared to the other performers. Your main objective was to catch the havoc of a man that left the headquarters of your organization in flames at his wake; and yet, it was instead Childe that was allured to your spell.

An intoxicated man had been eyeing your behind with drooling eyes for a while now, and with the assistance of liquid courage, he reached his hand out to get a feel- when it landed on gray pants of firmness. “Oh my, I didn’t know you swing that way, citizen,” you whipped around to see Childe directly behind you, who was also has his head angled to look behind him where a Fontaine man stumbled back in disgust. His hand clutched to his chest as if it were burned. “Sad news tho, I’m off the table, try someone else maybe.”

Before you can register the edge in his voice, he was already guiding you by the hand back to your dancing stride. You were momentarily stunned but devolved into a glare at his current recklessness, “Come now, Lady Viscaria.” He addressed you by your dancer name. “The whole world is high in the clouds around us, this would be a moment no one will remember.” You didn’t even need to look to know he was right, and you succumbed with a sigh.

Childe didn’t realize just how small your hands are compare to his, the softness of it in contrast to the rough texture of his gloves. If he knew, if only he knew, he would have removed them before you had entertained the idea. Your steps were lithe and your turns were grace manifested, eyes closed yet a gentle smile equipped on your face, the ones you had been wearing ever since you started the performance. “So this is how you fight.” He mumbled with his own grin when he had spun you back against his form, your feet glides against the pavement yet barely touching it as you seemingly floated to place. If he hadn’t known better he would have thought you were an Anemo Vision wielder.

Soon enough the square dissipated to give way to the ferocious dance you two had eased into. Steps became more pointed, arms tensed and strong, and the turns was almost reminiscent of martial arts as you seemingly evade each other’s swings. Suddenly a kick aimed to hit his chest forced him to jump back, and at the other side you dropped your foot, a taunting smirk and a condescending gaze set upon him. His blue eyes widened.

And the elegance of the tango from earlier turned into a vicious round of capoeira, powerful kicks and jumps yet not made to touch each other. Your figure leaped into a crescent kick when he had made a sweep to hit your ankles, him immediately rolling to the side to evade the blow. Dropping to the ground with your ankles and knees bent, a leg outstretched you gasped, and went into a running start towards him, “Lift!” A single command yet he knew what he needed to do.

Gripping your hips upon your leap his strong arms easily eased you high up, your legs were kicked high up and one bent farther back and you steadied yourself by gripping on to his shoulders. The atmosphere turned tense and the only sound you can hear were the ragged breaths you heave up close. And the crowd around then explodes into a round of applause.

Childe seemed to have snapped out of a trance from the foreign noise, breaking the eye contact you both held as he slowly placed you down. There was a sudden bashfulness to him then. But was once again pulled away from his reverie when you quite literally pulled him out of the square into a dark alley, eyes glinting dangerously as a toothy smirk donned your lips, “I saw him, the redhead.”

...

The chains felt sentient. As it flies forward to try and capture him, Childe conjured a wave to sweep it away only for it to change angles to strike at him again. It pierced through the pavement he was once on before it moved to retract back to the owner. At the other side, Childe had a glimpse of your more successful fight with the fugitive as your polearm easily deflected the advances of the chains, even if it gets caught sometimes. Your Cryo Vision would always make quick work of freezing and breaking the chains.

None of you expected a non-elemental fight, and this seemed more complicated of a battle than you would have thought. The man carried with him the aura you feel when you use your delusion, you grimly thought as you ducked out of another barrage, sensing the frustration and desperation of the enemy. You were barely breaking a sweat, you’d see his red eyes take notice, and you weren’t even using both of your hands to fight. With another smirk, your Vision then glowed by your side as you raised your arm. The hooded man braced for impact, but instead he felt a force hit his lower half- water current from Childe, and suddenly it solidified to ice upon your avalanche. His hand where the strange device were also covered to render him useless.

An arrow and a spear’s tip was now aimed to his heart. “Well, well, that was a nice fight, Ragnvindr,” you leaned down close enough to see the finer details of his hawk mask, you saw his eyes squint into a glare. He knows he lost. By your side Childe relaxed his arms and dematerialized his bow, the next part should be yours to work on. “Thank you for your dedication, but this atrocity ends now.” You straightened your back and took a step back, angling your spear to his throat. As his eyes close to succumb to death, your head would angle itself slightly to see Childe’s reaction

when a golden flicker appeared past his shoulder.

“CHILDE!” The devil himself felt the air leave his lungs at the force that punched at his chest, enough to immobilize him as he was punted to the ground. Before he could even recover, the pavement around shifted and crumbled to create a wall between him and the frozen Diluc. He heard the ice breaking and two pairs of feet scrambling away. “Fuck, he had an accomplice,” he breathed as he took his stand, about to give chase to the escapees. That is until he registered his mentor-

barely standing with a stalagmite pierced through her stomach.

“Chi...lde.” You gripped the pointed tip of the structure to keep yourself up as your legs started to lose feeling. He was there hovering over you, unsure where to touch or how to assist. Fuck. Fuck. This was his fault. “Go... chase, I’ll be- I’ll be fine...”

And then you blacked out.

vii. seven correspondence

There were multiple parchment of the same color littering his office desk filled with different lengths of paragraphs. Childe's quarters in the palace was cozy and wide, and nothing could be heard but the sound of his fountain pen scratching the surface of the paper with ease.

"Letters are important in Snezhnaya," you perked up from your unfocused gaze from his window, where you silently watched the brewing blizzard manifesting outside. Your eyes made contact with his genuinely gentle ones that still lingered at the task at hand, "why not write one?"

"Letters are commonplace in Snezhnaya," you corrected as you made your way to his side to snoop in his letters. He did not seem to mind. After all you'd pretty much already the whole of his family that one awkward encounter. He was working on the seventh letter and your eyes lingered around the six finished ones: there was one for each younger siblings, one meant for the two older brothers, another for the older sister, and one for his parents. "It's not necessary for me to write, I don't have an address in mind to begin with."

Is that so, he mumbled under his breath before the conversation died down once again to little scratches. A lot of his words had tales to tell about his stay in Fontaine, you realized the most details were poured into the contents for his parents. At the mention of this nation, your hand ghosts over your stomach.

The bandages from long ago had already been dispatched. And yet the stiffness of it has still affected your composure as well as the weird pull of the skin from the stitches. Only a nasty scar was left in its wake to remind you of the failed encounter and it forced you to make drastic wardrobe changes to your performing attire.

You saw Childe's shoulders slightly tense at your action.

"Childe," his grip on the pen tightened yet he kept his head down. You didn't mind. His mind was going overdrive again, probably. "Who are you writing that last letter for?"

He felt like he'd dodged an arrow over the way he had relaxed, slumped down even when he met eyes with better resolution within it. "It's for a special someone," his signature smile was back, "I've met her long ago and I've always made sure to send her a letter yearly as thanks."

Thanks? "Thanks?" The letter (it was short, you realized) was already folded before you could peek at the words within. You knew Childe was good-looking, but for him to have a girlfriend waiting for years as he drowns in his work, quite irrational and yet painful. Painful... to you?

"I've met a girl back when I was 14," he was suddenly up and bustling as he bundled up his letters. Urgent you followed to listen to his tale as best as you can with his long legs. "I never knew her name or her face, but she saved me from the wolves back in Morepesok. I never properly gave her my thanks, so yearly I would leave letters at the woods where she'd gone, and hope that she'll be able to read them and know that I lived because of her." You already halted your advances to chase after him as you stood before the doors of the Palace. He didn't seem to mind, he kept going until he was gone.

...Morepesok was a seaside fishing village with a vast white forest by the edges in which ferocious wolves and bears usually haunt. After your promotion to the Palace, you had never once set foot in the village, much less the woodland. Where you are right now.

You held a steady hand against your stomach as you retraced the familiar route you'd gone, something so far away you would have expected to forget it by now. That was six years ago, you counted as you reached the clearing in horror of its emptiness, there should be six letters here by now.

A snapping twig had you whirling to look behind you. "So, it really was you." His gentle blue orbs had met your widened ones, breathless you both were, but for different reasons.

"So you lied about the letters," the mocking pout on your lips had made him laugh. A sprinkle of red dusts his cheeks, and he was quick to hide it with the familiar letter on his hand.

"I didn't lie about this one," your upturned palms received the crispy envelope, carefully opening the seal and unfolding its contents, "I wanted to make sure I was right."

'Your sacrifice had given me a new chance, a new life, a new beginning. I wish I was there to thank you for protecting me, but this time, I will get stronger and make sure-'

"I'll be the one protecting you from now on." He finished, and the red dust over your own cheeks felt like torches made to melt the mightiest icicles.

viii. fleeting glances

Signora had always been the type of person to only make appearances when necessary, but most of her dirty work were done by her subordinates, her own little army. She's the coordinator and observer at the back as things were weaved into place for her. Like a flower on the wall, the Fair Lady knows and notices details.

The first one was by the entrance, the second was by the veranda. The third, fourth and fifth were by the hallways. The sixth was by the throne room. The seventh was outside. And the eight was that in front of her—

Childe disliked being in the same area or even breathing space as her, this much Signora knew. He was a kid still under training over the ways of the Fatui, but there was nothing more he hated than the way the Fair Lady handles her work, her soldiers. But it came with the aesthetic, and he had no other means to pry until he had finally grasped the way the cogs turn in this organization known as the Fatui.

The youngest Harbinger never looked her directly in the eye or even dare spare her the glance when it was not needed. And in all honesty, it was quite bothersome the first few times. After all, Tartaglia carried with him a certain charm.

His eyes would either narrow or be guarded for any other Harbinger that comes his way, respectful or dismissive, the options fleet through those whenever. But there was one humane and warm look he gives at special occasions, for a special someone, and Signora finally witnessed it in full view and detail—

The crease between his eyebrows would immediately ease as his eyes break free from its squinted, slanted form. The dark depths at the middle would dilate as his expression quirks up, teeth usually visible through parted lips as he dons an easy smile. And Signora would be taken aback by the immediate change as she follows the trail of his stare.

The gold was the first to strike with the way the trinkets hang by the waist, and the warm and mellow colors so contrary to the Fatui colors draws away the unease of onlookers. It was to make sure that no association with the Fatui would be made, that was your calculated explanation was upon your choice of 'uniform.' You've just came from a short trip to Natlan to gather all data to be reported to the Tsaritsa, and during that time the 11th had been under no one's particular care.

You passed by their forms (pass is a strong word, they were off to the far side, honestly) with your report in hand, humming to yourself as you continued your way to the throne room. That demeanor only means that you had good news to tell, good news for everyone.

The glance was gone fast as the moment ended, and his hard look came albeit much lighter this time. But the way Signora smirked signified she'd noticed, and his look only grew stiffer.

"Come now, pretty boy, show that look often."

The Fair Lady's laugh echoed inside the Palace walls as Tartaglia stomps off to where you had gone, to wait after the dusk convention respectfully.

ix. years of employment

Of the many milestones that could have been celebrated, it was done in an odd number at the most peculiar time. Yes, it is no surprise for everyone to know that you had been working for the Fatui for nine whole years now. And honestly, you shouldn't have been surprised that your younger colleague with the weird ways of his Abyss-induced brains, decided that it was time your anniversary be celebrated instead of waiting another year for the double digits mark.

"Please tell me we're not going to your house again," you softly pleaded as Childe continued to guide you through the paths in the main city of Snezhnaya. "As much as I appreciate their caring atmosphere, I'm not too keen on the idea of pretending to be the head honcho of the toy-selling company of Snezhnaya."

To this, Childe guffawed to a boisterous laugh, pulling his hand away from your back to clutch at his convulsing stomach. You pursed your lips in distaste of his reaction, but then it would loosen up to a smile as you watched him still try to catch his breathe.

After that, the trip had continued with only small chatter in between as you descended further to the edges of the city. You haven't been to this area, simply because of the fact that there were no patrols needed around the cityless wasteland where you are headed, and the glint of surprise had fixed a knot at Childe's back. Relief painted his face.

And you found yourself in front of a frozen lake, with hanging lights decorating the leafless trees by it, and a small table filled to the brim with food. "Lady toyseller!" You shot a glare at your student who averted his gaze away easily to focus on his other siblings. This heretic lied—

"Big brother said it's a special occasion! To commemorate your anniversaries for being in the toyselling business!" Your glare died down to a look of confusion, and the family gathered back into a homely atmosphere. So it seems that Childe coincidentally joined the Fatui the same day as you, two years apart. And he said nothing about it.

"We've been celebrating since the last three years, if we had known, you could have been with us!" And with that you were pulled in by Tonia to the table where her mother was, congratulating you for your hardwork and patience as she offers you to taste some of the food they had brought for the picnic.

"I know you've been helping my son ever since he became a Harbinger," you looked up to Childe's mother in wonder as your mouth was currently stuffed with her delicious homemade Pelmeni. She gave a light laugh at the sight of your wide, curious eyes paired with stuffed cheeks. "Childe mentioned how you saved him when he ran away from him..." and the mother continued to spill the details you were never given the chance to hear from the man himself.

You suppose this was the cause of your perfectly crafted aura of trust, to lure in your targets and make them spill to their heart's contents as you indulge them. In the end, Childe's mother's true intention was to thank you for all that you had done for her son, and to help him cultivate into the best person he could be among the ranks of the Harbinger. You gulped the last bits of the dumpling, a shy smile placated on your cheek, "It is my honor to take him under my wing."

"Hey, master, I sure hope mum didn't say anything embarrassing about me while I was gone!" A hand holding a tissue softly wiped the cream at the edge of your lips as Childe- Ajax finally made his way over to your table.

"It's okay, really, it's normal for children to pee their bed." You mused as Childe's mother laughed at the way her son choked over his own spit. Ah, you were right.

The rest of the day was filled with ice-skating, something you have forgotten, clumsily held up by the three younger siblings as they expertly excelled in the field. And right after was a session of ice fishing with their father, who was greatly impressed by your strength upon reeling the 50-centimeter long tuna. Flopping on to the ice platform as if to chase the children on land.

"Don't want to stay? There's a spare room here, you can borrow my big sister's clothes for the night. It's a long way back to the Palace," he stood next to you outside the entrance of his home while you face the other direction.

You sighed. "Tartaglia, I'm your mentor. And as the 10th Harbinger, your ascension should be my priority." You didn't see the way his jaw clenched at the intonations of your words. "If it were a different circumstance-"

"Next week," the snow caught on to your lashes as you closed your eyes, basking at the cold that bites at your cheeks. "Will be my last try. And after that, please see me as your equal."

"Alright." Your hands trembled.

x. final spar

Fatuus lined the veranda surrounding the quadrangle in quiet anticipation, skirmishers and agents alike that had yet to be assigned under Harbinger supervision and even those who just had nothing better to do.

Childe had anticipated the spotlight, but it was a greater scale he was not comfortable on. He was lucky a Harbinger had yet to watch the spar, the last spar as he had promised, and it seemed the gossip had spread enough to alert the whole organization. The Delusion mask sat by the side of his hair as he watched you at the other end of the field.

Your eyes held no emotion as they stared through his soul. A different kind of emotion he'd have wanted to see. He thinks to himself at the thought of you once being in the same predicament as him, did you feel the same fear and worry as he did? Did it take you ten tries? Maybe more, maybe less?

Tartaglia said this will be the last spar, and the final chance for both sides to make it a fair fight (to give it their all). But when you suddenly disappeared and materialized above him with your spear ready to strike, he thought, maybe not this time either.

The spear collided with the dirt floor as blades of winds seem to have exploded from it, a series of gasps resounding through the crowd as they stepped away from the edge. Tartaglia softly landed back on his feet after the successful somersault, materializing his water polearm to strike his elemental slash from the distance. But you stood still, unscathed as the wave that was meant to slice you turned into ice before it could come any closer. Fuck, Tartaglia knew his Vision was weak to yours.

You charged at him once again with the boost of your Anemo delusion, your polearms clashing painfully as you both tried to get hits on each other. There was a nick at this cheek to draw the first blood, your dominant hand twirling the spear easily Tartaglia retreats back to avoid the wildly spinning blade.

Soon enough he dons his own mask and the real fight begins. Electric currents ran through the field as an icy fog starts to envelop the floor, superconduct reaction running the parameter of the field as the Fatuus back away further. The next time your blades meet, a crackle of lightning resounded through the whole palace. Smacking his blades upward, your spear quickly sweeps down to swipe at this ankles, forcing him to leap as the fog obscures the reach of your polearm. Mid-air, he was kicked on the chest as your acrobatic arms held you up and over.

Soon enough his hunger for victory begins to manifest, and his biggest advantage comes into play: overwhelming strength.

Tartaglia felt huge triumph when you finally used both of your hands to parry his blows, your feet sometimes sinking into the dirt floor under the pressure of his attack. For the first time in the fight, your facade cracked with a grimace as you held your polearm up against his dual blades. Quickly leaning away, you brought your foot up and pushed at the spear's shaft, enough to force him back as you leaped out of his range. There was sweat trickling at the back of your neck now, feeling the sizzle of the current on the slight moisture. You swiped your spear in a crescent motion as a snow avalanche bombarded Tartaglia's side when he tried to approach, giving you just enough time to breathe as he tries to free himself under the snow.

By the time he's set himself free, you were already running forwards with your hands gripping your spear at your right for a swiping motion. He fashions his dual blades as he too sprinted in the middle to clash, weapons encased with frost and electricity. In a split second, his arms raised to your left, knowing this was your non-dominant side would make it easy to send you flying at the angle of approach. A powerful blow against another was about to shake the whole Palace—

"Columbina!" The vagrant's voice pierced through the crackle of elements, and Tartaglia's eyes widened when he had noticed your foot slip at the distraction. The inertia of his arms unable to stop the course of action; superconduct and electro-charged reactions creating a powerful explosion as the iced fog seem to have imploded from the force.

Childe's moist hands trembled as his vision tries to refocus. There's a ringing in his ears as he tries to grip at his hands, the electricity coursing through his nerves to make it numb. He desperately closed and opened his fists, and when he finally settled his sights straight, the dripping red liquid had splattered all the way to his mask and arms. With hesitation his sights followed the trail of blood and frost splayed across the field barely visible as the mist still covered the floor with a thin veil, his steps halted at the sound of glass crunching underneath his shoes, and he didn't need to look to know what it was.

"GET THE MEDIC NOW, PREPARE THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT!" Pedrelino's voice reverbed through the field as the few agents that finally recovered from the shock went into emergency actions, some running off and some running to the direction of where the blood trail ends.

There was an obvious pool of blood forming under you, as your whole torso was littered with the same redness. Your left ribcage was angled inwards in an anomalous way as the dual blades had logged itself in between the ribs. You were already unconscious as blood dripped from the side of your lips;

how unfortunate, Childe collapsed to his knees in front of you. You didn't get to congratulate him.

xi. eleventh of the fatui harbinger

His mission had been explained to him concisely and accurately alongside Signora's assignment right after he had been acknowledged as officially part of the Fatui. The throne room had itself full of the Harbingers (with a glaring absence of one) as the Tsaritsa empowered him with her will and concise plan, the gravity of the law and order of the universe and its incoming divine war finally weighing on his shoulders. It was, after all, his wish to end the ministrations of being under someone's supervision and finally walk his path of conquering.

A month after the fight had him standing by the piers of the Snezhnayan ocean. Here he will finally depart to Liyue where his true mission lays, as well as the franchise of the Northland Bank he'd have to oversee. The influx of information for both his and the other's works had his head reeling, pleading silently at the hope that you'd be there to reassure and clarify what exactly he needs to do.

But you're not. In fact, Childe hasn't seen you in the whole month after that fight. He was prohibited from approaching your ward as you were still unstable and fragile to risk; no, everyone was not allowed to enter, he assured himself. He had not seen nor heard you throughout the grieving process of a moment he should have been proud to boast.

During that time, Childe had also adamantly avoided Scaramouche.

He heaved a tired sigh as the consequences weighed his resolve once again, were you still unconscious? Are you still in critical condition or are you recovering? If things ended ever so differently, would you be there next to him to wave him off to his first major assignment? "Liyue, huh, that's a pretty nice nation."

Childe produced a strangled noise when he turned to his right, where you stood, watching the ocean horizon. Your hair was slightly disheveled yet framed your face naturally. There were bandages wrapped all over your torso, peeking out from the sleeves of your unusually covered attire, and your left arm settled on a sling meant to lessen the constraints of your side instead of sporting an actual broken limb. When Childe's calculating gaze settled on your face, you had a calm expression.

"Congratulations, you're finally on your way to your first mission."

"Thank you, although I heard it's quite different from what I'm used to. Besides seafood, too many new customs."

You produced a soft gasp as your eyes widened slightly. Childe stood guard, waiting for you to tell him what was wrong. "I'm a failure of a mentor," what. His eyes watched as you turned to face him (as he did) with an amused glint in your eyes paired by a light smirk. "I didn't get to teach you how to use chopsticks."

His face dropped into a deadpan, before you two harmonized into bouts of varying laughter. Your other hand placed itself on your chest to minimize the vibrations of your giggles, not wanting to put pain into yourself. A flash of hurt recognition passed through his eyes.

"Master, I'm so-"

"(Y/N)." You immediately interjected as you gazed at him past your eyelashes. His breath hitches.

"Ah, (Y/N)," you nodded at his experimental taste of your name and urged him to continue. He opens his mouth before closing it again, a silent debate within the depths of his brain, before his lips parted with a different thought. "Teach me when I come back, please?"

Your eyes widen in surprise and amusement, "I'm sure you'd pick it up easily."

You're not wrong, but he's adamant. "Nah, I'm sure I wouldn't, I heard they're really a handful. I'd rather wait for you."

Giggling again, you raised your mobile hand as he did own, exchanging the most genuine smile. "Okay, pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

I wrote this for two hours straight to the point that my left arm doesn't work anymore....

@moaa @kookieyachi @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @dandelion-dreams @snackgod @rxsalinee

[multi-maker]

I’m here! I don’t see this a lot so! How about a platonic (scenario or hcs whichever you like) with Qiqi and a fem!reader. Where she’s really attached to the reader and always follows the reader around! She calls the reader auntie and everything 🥺 that just sounds so cute 😭😭 thank you! Ilysm💖💖

I loved writing this piece! I really think that there should be more platonic fics for Genshin Impact, not that I mind the romance. But platonic is what I need sometimes haha

ILY too Pocket!

Please do remember to rest sometimes! Your health is more important than our thirst for the men of Teyvat! :))

I do hope that it wasn’t too short and bad haha It’s really the first reader insert that I have written in a long time. I need more practice.

There will be a banner for each character at some point, Dawn is currently asleep and I am sleep deprived right now haha

- Mod Anemo

SUMMARY: Every time Qiqi has a nightmare, she knows just who to go to.

Word Count: 432

Qiqi is a curious case. She was not dead, but she was not alive either. She was what most would call a ‘zombie’. She is unique even for a zombie because she does not need orders from her master to move, unlike the other zombies that are said to exist.

Qiqi was quite attached to her ‘auntie’ who had taken care of her ever since Qiqi had been found by the owner of the pharmacy, Baizhu. And while Qiqi did love the green-haired like he was her father, there was something special about having a womanly caretaker.

There would always be things that a man couldn’t teach a child, even if it was a zombie child that was older than the man himself.

Staring up at the ceiling after a few hours of not being able to sleep because of nightmares, Qiqi finally decides to go into her Auntie’s room to sleep, as she has done for the past few years.

The door to Auntie’s room is never locked during the night, Baizhu often worries but Auntie’s dismisses his worries by bringing Qiqi up: “What if Qiqi has a nightmare and isn’t able to unlock the door?” Baizhu merely shakes his head as he mutters about how naive she is being.

Tip-toeing down the hallway and to the left, Qiqi finally finds the room where her target is. Her auntie is laying, sleeping peacefully on her side on the outer side of the bed, almost as if she knew that Qiqi would come. Auntie never wants Qiqi to sleep on the outer side in worry of Qiqi falling off the bed. Auntie just worries like that.

Qiqi shakes the adult awake who lifts the blanket groggily, still half asleep. Qiqi silently slips into the inner side of the bed before she snuggles into her auntie, the plushie tight in her grasp. It had been a gift from auntie when Qiqi first had been found.

No words need to be exchanged. Auntie knows that Qiqi doesn’t like talking about her nightmares and never pushes unless it’s really bad. Auntie knows that all Qiqi needs is the comfort of feeling someone close to her as she fears being left alone in amber as she had once before.

“Sleep well my little one. May Alatus guide your dreams,” Auntie says tiredly to the purple-haired zombie who already has fallen asleep, as she too follows into a peaceful slumber, feeling content with knowing that Qiqi is safe.

Because in the end, Qiqi knows that Auntie (Y/N) always will love and protect her, no matter what.

[slimepuparibaba]

ChiLumi | The Battle of Golden House

Golden House was what screwed my feelings over the most, if I'm being completely honest here. It hurts so damn much.

I don't wanna get into too much of the nitty-gritty before we start but here are some FYIs.

Childe temporarily joined Lumine's team after their little outing in Liyue. His reasoning to the Fatui was that it was to squeeze out information--in reality, he just wanted to spend time with Lumine.

The team was compromised of most of the characters, except for Venti, Klee, Bennett, Mona, Keqing, Qiqi, Jean, Diluc, Ningguang, Zhongli, and Xinyan. This took place BEFORE the 1.2 update happened!

Kaeya, Chongyun, Xiangling, and Barbara were the least suspicious of Childe as they spent more time around him and knew of his feelings towards Lumine--they are also the main team members in this fight.

All this is based off of my gameplay in Genshin!

Leading Up to the Battle

Childe and Lumine were very close. Weeks had passed and Childe had gotten to the point where he would use "Lumine" more often instead of "Traveler" or "ojou-chan". Childe would also call Lumine "Aster" due to her favorite flower being a Windwheel Aster

Kaeya was also the closest to the two of them and gave advice to both Lumine and Childe on how they should court each other

However, Childe was eventually reminded that the good times can't last forever. After he hard that Lumine visited the Jade Chamber that floated above Liyue, he remembered that he wasn't here to chat. His initial goal was to bring back the gnosis.

The night before the fight, as the team rested at an inn on the way to Liyue, Childe, cloakee by the darkness of night, left the group. He ditched the weapons that Lumine gave to him as well as his artifacts. If he held onto them during their destined battle, he knew he wouldn't be able to fulfill his duty.

Childe hesitated to leave, and yet, with a heavy heart, he left the Inn behind and stationed the Fatui to mobilize in Liyue.

The next morning, Lumine was shattered to see that Childe was gone.

Confrontation

The group heard of the Fatui being mobilized as well as the Adepti and the Qixing about to throw down, and Zhongli gave Lumine the tip that Childe was behind it. She really wanted to be able to talk it out with Childe and convince him he didn't need to go this far, but Zhongli himself stated that "sometimes, they won't understand that until everything is said and done."

Lumine was ready to confront Childe, but her heart was shaking and she felt uneasy. The uneasiness began to settle in though when she and the rest of the group approched the Exuvia and heard Childe's chilling laughter echo throughout the empty hall.

Lumine, hoping to resolve this without fighting, tried to talk to him.

"Childe, you don't have to do this! Don't you remember all the fun times we had? All of us? You're one of us, Childe! You don't have to be their pawn!"

Deep inside, Childe agreed. He knew full well that Lumine had a point--that he was merely being used as a pawn and he could easily discarded. He wanted to join Lumine, but...

"Monsters like the Fatui cannot be saved."

That was all that ran through his mind.

He wanted to agree; god knows he did. What he wouldn't give to leave the Fatui, resign as a Harbinger, and join everyone on that team on their adventures and protect everyone that he ever loved.

But he just couldn't do that.

Childe knew that Lumine wouldn't give up, no matter what, and he kept battling within himself. Sadly, though, his "loyalty" to the Tsaritsa got the better of him.

"Shut up!"

Lumine fell silent, and the entire group watched as Childe began to call her out. It pained him to do so, but his loyalty to the Tsaritsa practically demanded that he continue with this farce.

He said many things he truly wished he didn't say, many things he wanted to take back. But he was too far in. He stopped calling Lumine by her name, instead only calling her "Traveler", trying to distance himself. He mocked Lumine, as well as everyone else, calling them naïve for trusting a Fatui, of all people. Deep down, he was happy they trusted him. He wasn't upset with them, but himself for doing this.

Childe was waiting for Lumine to retort--to fight back and say something, and it looked like she was about to...

...until he said he was simply toying with Lumine's feelings.

Lumine didn't want to take that at face value, and Childe didn't want her to either. But, as soon as he said that, even though he may not have meant it, she shed a single tear.

Kaeya intervened, stating that Childe went too far. The Harbinger knew that... he knew that all too well. But, time could not rewind. He had already done enough damage.

He convinced himself that there was no turning back. If he was to fulfill his duty as a vassal of the Tsaritsa, he needed Lumine to hate him. He needed to crush all the lingering feelings that were held between the two of them. He needed to be the villain.

With that, he challenged Lumine to a battle. And thus, the Battle of Golden House was set in motion.

Phase 1 and 2: Childe Unleashed

He was completely ready for Lumine to throw everything at him, but instead, she stood still, not moving. Her eyes were devoid of the hatred he was hoping to see. It was... empty.

Instead, Kaeya, Chongyun, Xiangling, and Barbara hopped in. Noelle shielded the rest of the party, Lisa and Amber comforting Lumine, who was silently weeping in heartbreak. Everyone looked upon Childe with hatred, wondering why he would do such a thing.

Xiangling would crash into Childe, crossing blades and questioning why he was doing this. She believed he was happy with them, so why did they have to fight?

Chongyun, too, was upset. He may have come late to the party, but he saw how easily Childe fit in. In fact, while Chongyun was trying to train to get on par with the rest of the team, Childe would help out.

Barbara was one of the only rational ones, and she sensed there was more to the story. She tried to talk it out with Childe, saying that he didn't have to do this and there was no real reason they had to fight. She knew that Childe wasn't happy with this either.

But it was Kaeya that completely lost it.

People say that Kaeya is one of the chiller, cooler people in all of Teyvat. But, make no mistake... Kaeya is scary when he gets angered. When you push the wrong buttons, he will show absolutely no mercy.

While the three main fighters were throwing questions at him, trying to persuade him to stop it, Kaeya threw himself into the battle without second thought. He asked no questions--he only snarled at the one he once saw Lumine happy with.

Kaeya was supportive of Childe and Lumine when he saw how happy she was with him and how Childe seemed to be the same way. Kaeya understood Lumine didn't have her brother there like she used to, and he understood that same feeling, so he swore to try and be the brother that the both of them didn't have at the moment. Lumine was practically his little sister.

So when Childe betrayed her, when he broke her heart, Kaeya was ready to go absolutely apeshit.

Throughout the battle, even when Childe reached Phase 2, Kaeya would be the one throwing blow after blow at the Harbinger. It wasn't just physical hits, either. It included emotional daggers.

The two men would argue constantly, Kaeya threatening Childe and Childe laughing in response, mocking him.

"She trusted you--no, WE trusted you! I let the fact that you're a Fatui go because I thought you had some piece of humanity in you!"

"Then that was YOUR mistake! You just had to believe a Fatui all because, what? Your "surrogate sister" fell in love? Haha, don't make me laugh! Just because you didn't have a brother for half your life doesn't mean you need to project yourself onto the Traveler and become hers!"

The more their blades crossed, the more enraged Kaeya became. However, a third blade came into play and threw Kaeya's sword out of his hands.

It was Lumine.

Phase 3: Tartaglia's Foul Legacy

Lumine was standing still, her sword at her side. She stared at Childe with no emotion showing on her face. This was it, Childe thought. She finally hates me.

Childe held up his weapon, but before he could strike Kaeya and Lumine, she blocked it with her anemo skill, her feet digging into the floor as her geo skill kept her in place. Kaeya lept away, and all that was left on the battlefield was Childe and Lumine.

A large explosion of light occurred, but Childe simply appeared on the Exuvia, ready to grab the Gnosis. But when he discovered it wasn't there, he didn't know what to think.

Lumine stood still, and Childe wanted to end it there. But part of him delusionally screamed "No!", and instead pinned the blame on her.

It felt like Childe was slowly being torn apart on the inside. He wanted to stop it, apologize to Lumine and run away with her and their friends, but he needed to fulfill his duties.

In the end, Childe listened to his head. He unleashed his Foul Legacy transformation and destroyed the flooring below everyone, sending them to the lower platform.

Kaeya was going to step in, but Lumine game him a look. It was as if to say "This is between me and him." So, Kaeya backed off and retreated to the rest of the group.

Lumine and Tartaglia simply stared at each other. Tartaglia expected for Lumine to say something, but no words were spoken. Instead, she immediately rushed towards him.

Tartaglia expected to block it, ready to stop her in her tracks. He was ready to take her head-on and see her full power...

...then she drew two blades made of water.

Tartaglia was in shock. Lumine pulled a surprising move... she was using his weapon! It stunned him, even amazed him, but for some reason, it also broke his heart. He left behind the weapons he used when with Lumine's team, not wanting to use them in fear that it would stop him from using his full potential, but here they were... being used against them.

It was after she pulled those weapons out that Tartaglia's moves grew slower.

Many speculated this was because Tartaglia's armor was heavier and using up most of his power. However, Barbara understood. She saw the look in Childe's eyes when Lumine entered the arena. He seemed prideful, but his eyes said different. He, just like Lumine, didn't want to do this.

Tartaglia was holding back.

Tartaglia and Lumine kept clashing. Their powers were equal to each other, and Lumine kept switching between using her blade and the weapons once used by Childe himself. Even still, no words were exchanged. There was no expression on Lumine's face. Within the Golden House, all that could be heard was the sounds of blades clashing, lightning striking, wind howling, and water crashing.

The two of them fought hard. In the end, both were one hit away from being knocked out and losing. Tartaglia had one charged attack he had been storing up and was ready to unleash it.

"If I use it, she will obviously dodge it... and then she can beat me. Then, she will hate me like she was destined to."

Tartaglia lifted his blade into the air and, using his Delusion, summoned a large amount of Electro energy. It wasn't undodgable--in fact, Lumine could just jump back and strike him and the fight would end there.

Just as he was about to strike, however, Lumine instead rushed towards Tartaglia, rushing right past him. Instead of dodging, she ran straight into the attack. Tartaglia was shocked, staring at the Traveler being pierced by the lightning. Just as she was struck, she whispered softly the only words she had spoken throughout the entire fiasco...

"...if I knew it would've come to this, I wish I never fell in love with you."

Lumine, at last, fell.

Fallen

Childe dropped his weapon, staring at Lumine's body as it hit the ground. She was knocked out cold. He reached out his arm, only for Barbara to rush in and throw her arms out to her side, as if forbidding Childe to touch her.

Memories of the times that they spent together flowed through his mind. He couldn't move. He felt paralyzed. He wanted to pick up Lumine and apologize, say it was all a joke and he just wanted to test her strength, but he couldn't do that. He glabced at her body, lying on the cold floor, and understood.

He did this to her.

This was all his fault.

The words that Lumine said kept repeating in his head, echoing and resounding, practically taunting him. Just as he was caught in a trance, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.

Kaeya stabbed him through his armor.

Childe, his Foul Legacy transformation fading, then collapsed on the ground, returning back to normal.

Paimon and Kaeya confronted Childe, who expected Lumine to be the one to get upset with him instead of the Calvary Knight. The Fatui Harbinger looked at Lumine, who was being healed by both Diona and Barbara. He felt like saying sorry, but the angry looks from everyone told him one thing, and one thing only.

"You're a liar. You never could've been saved in the first place."

"Monsters can never be saved."

Childe, feeling he had nothing left, lifelessly continued forth with the plan that he had formulated weeks before he had joined Lumine. He was still waiting for her to wake up and hug him, beg him not to, or at least just try and stop him. He wanted someone to tell him that he could change.

But no one did.

With a heavy heart and a false smile on his face, he summoned Osial and escaped from the Golden House. He felt no reason to stay there...

He was now a lost cause.

Kaeya, still angered by Childe, wanted to chase after him, but a weary Lumine told him to worry about Liyue instead. Kaeya protested, saying they should nip the issue in the bud, but Barbara agreed.

Not only that, but she knew that Childe wanted them to stop Osial. She could tell... she saw it in the saddened look on his face.

Departure

The group, after fully healing, ventured to the Golden Chamber and fought against Osial alongside the adepti and the Qixing. They succeeded, naturally, with the Golden Chamber sadly sacrificed. The Qixing became the ruling power of Liyue, with the Adepti stepping down.

In the end, however, the mystery of the Gnosis and it's whereabouts still remained. Thus, the team ventured to the Northland Bank.

It was there that they saw Zhongli, Signora, and Childe.

Childe saw Lumine and was about to congratulate her, but Kaeya stood in the way, and Signora gave Childe a dirty look. He realized that, truly, what was done couldn't be undone. He had to continue lying through his teeth, just as he always did.

Childe made a false apology, saying that he truly was just a pawn and just doing his job. But, truth was that he meant to say that he didn't want to do it, and that he wanted Lumine to scold him and steal him away from the Fatui. Even then, though, Lumine didn't look him in the eye and fell silent.

The answers to the entire "Rex Lapis murder mystery" were solved, and Signora gained the Geo Archon's Gnosis. With that out of the way, Signora commanded Childe to head back to Snezhnaya with her. Reluctantly, he followed.

But, just before he could leave, he waited at the door and for Signora to keep walking just out of hearing distance. When she did, Childe turned around and looked Lumine in the eye. He gave a sad smile, and said one last sentence to her.

"...Lumine... I... really hope you didn't mean what you said back there..."

Lumine, taken aback, had no words to say. He responded to what she said back at the Golden House... did that mean that he...?

Before she could try and ask, Childe left, walking out of her sight, never looking back.

From then on, Childe and Lumine weren't reunited. All that remained with the both of them was the memories of the time they spent together before the fateful battle that tore them apart.

...that is, until Childe's Story Mission.

may i just say that this entire thing broke me

bruh. childe. Why did u do that

;;;

also the blows he made to kaeya's pride

like

"i know you and diluc aint close, dont go projecting on lumine"

fucking christ dude you needed LUMINE to hate you, not the fake pirate dude!

[clouds-rambles]

Hi, I’m really nervous to be requesting but I see that you have them open rn and I’m gonna. Try and request something. Maybe I’ll come off anon if I request again!! But for now I’m on anon and I wanna say I really love your writing :O

So!! As for my request, maybe like,, headcanons? (potentially something more if you can take this idea and run, but no pressure!) For Kaeya x a male reader, where the reader meets Diluc and notices that he’s kind of mean to Kaeya, and the reader kinda makes it his new project to try and get the two to get along. I personally like to call Diluc a meanie so if you’d like to incorporate that you totally can!

Feel free to incorporate other ideas if you’d like to!! Like if you get a random idea that can go into this but I haven’t mentioned it, I won’t mind seeing it!! Thank you very much if you do this request :D

Aaa tysm bb I’m glad you like what I write! <3

And of course! I love bullying both Kaeya and Diluc equally so it’s about time I bully Diluc a little bit

Also gonna finish updating my masterlist in a day or so so I don’t keep spamming the dash lol 

Also guys I hit my 100th post! (give like 10 extra posts bc I forgot)

And as I write this we hit 700 followers! Holy cow! Tysm!

Pairings; Kaeya x male!reader

Warning(s); Diluc and Kaeya backstory spoilers

Keep reading under the cut!

The tension between the brothers isn’t hard to notice. Glory could see clearly the tension and she’s blind.

Though the first time you really saw Dilucs backhanded comments kind of shocked you. 

Even though you had been dating Kaeya for about a year this is only your first time sat at the bar with him, most of the time the two of you are making out in the back of the bar so you’ve never really directly dealt with the winemaster

“That’s uncalled for” you announce after Diluc makes a comment. Diluc raises a brow at your backtalk and Kaeya goes to stop you from saying anything more but he’s curious for how the interaction is going to pan out

“What is?” Diluc asks with a testing tone, you scoff and roll your eyes

“Really?” you ask in annoyance “You just insulted my boyfriend and now you’re sulking off pretending it didn’t happen?” you make a clicking sound with your mouth “It was uncalled for”

Yeah as first proper introduction it probably wasn’t the best but who’s to really complain? He was being rude and insufferable so you were more than in the right place to be annoyed

 Though Kaeya explains the whole situation in the most vague way possible to help you understand

As Kaeya speaks in metaphors and vaugities you can’t help but see that he misses the relationship with his brother. As much as he doesn’t say it you can deduce he felt like he lost both his brother and his father the day Crepus died

So from that point you try and subtly bring the two together again. The way that you see how Kaeya misses his brother, Diluc must feel the same right?

So with a hint here and there you try to get the two to make up

It takes almost a year for them to. And if you had to be honest it probably had nothing to do with you maybe apart from the fact you had opened the conversation with Kaeya about it

It’s raining, as it always seems to be on this day of the year. Diluc stands in front of his fathers grave, a bunch of cecelia’s grasped in his hand ready to put down for his father. 

Kaeya had mentioned in passing that the anniversary of their father was coming up soon, and you had managed to convince him to pay respects to his father, telling him that even visiting the grave once can make him feel better. So here you are in the rain. You use your anemo to keep both you and your boyfriend as dry as possible, but as soon as Kaeya steps out of the confines of your anemo he starts getting wet.

“I’m going in by myself” he tells you with a calm, sombre tone. A very unusual one for him to have, but one very suited for the situation

“Of course babe” you nod “I’ll be right here if you need me” you console watching him walk away with a small bunch of windwheel asters in his hand.

Kaeya almost turns back around the second he sees his brother stood at the gravestone.

“What are you doing here?” he half heartedly snaps at Kaeya. The cryo user raises his hands

“I’m paying my respects” he responds “I thought it’s about time I stop avoiding the truth” he adds with a much quieter tone

“Why don’t yo-”

“Please Diluc, he was my father to” Kaeya interrupts Diluc with a plead “I know I wasn’t a great son but, but he took me in when my birthgivers abandoned me” he adds with a weak tone “Please let us get on, even if it is for this day” he adds

Diluc half huffs half agrees. While he may outwardly say he hates his brother but in reality he misses him and hides that anguish with anger and a offense. Kaeya doesn’t blame him as he did admit to basically being an archon traitor thanks to his ancestry and maybe future traitor too

“You know your timing for telling me your secrets was horrific” Diluc announces after a few moments of both men deep in thought. Kaeya nods and sighs

“Hm, that is true.” Kaeya pauses articulating his words “But, I think if I never said it then I don’t think I would have told anyone” he adds

“Have you told [name]?” Diluc asks with a soft tone. Kaeya sighs again

“He knows somethings. [name] mainly reads between the lines so it’s hard to really lie to him” he responds and smiles “I like that about him. Sees through my bullshit” Kaeya chuckles “But right now? I don’t think I can tell him about it just yet”

“I see” Diluc trails off with a nod 

A few moments pass as Diluc turns to Kaeya with an outstretched hand “Brothers?” he asks “No matter how dysfunctional?”

Kaeya nods with a grin and takes his brothers hand “With the hopes one day everything will reach a normality” he smiles with a nod

“I like that”

“Me too Diluc, me too”

[kyogre-blue]

hello. if i remember correctly, on your alt genshin account you only use tall males, right? so i was wondering what kind of team combos do you use? which one is your favourite so far? and which tall male character is your favourite from a gameplay pov?

Yes, that's right. It's tall men, Traveler (harem master), and Qiqi (for who am I to separate a man and his child).

The team combos question is a very problematic one, honestly. I'll give the simpler answer at the start, since then I will go on for a very long time (as always).

Currently, the way I deal with Abyss is C1R1 Neuvillette on one side with Zhongli for defense, Anemo traveler for dealing with any strays, and one flex for just some kind of element that can be both swirled and used for Neuvillette's third stack. I do intend to eventually put Childe in the last slot, for his +1 NA passive, Hydro resonance and energy from Fav. Then I'll probably rotate as Zhongli > Childe burst > Traveler swirl with VV > Neuvillette goes to town, and then repeat.

The other side is Burgeon with Ayato on-field driver, Thoma, C2 Baizhu, and Kaveh flex whose job is to use 4 piece Exile and R5 Fav greatsword for energy management. Because both Baizhu and Ayato have rather wonky elemental application, it's not a great team, but it's generally workable and the rotation is surprisingly doable for me (Baizhu skill > Ayato burst > Thoma skill/burst > Baizhu skill/burst/skill > Kaveh skill/burst > Ayato skill for six seconds > restart).

Before getting Neuvillette, I used a temporary team of Diluc + Kaeya melt. But the damage was underwhelming for a variety of reasons, and it was very easy to mess up. Diluc melt really expects you to use Bennett and a second cryo to work.

Of the characters I don't have yet, probably the only untapped viable team options would be with Wriothesley. He might be able to freeze with Ayato burst off field or to do some kind of burn melt, but I am really iffy about the elemental application side and would need to actually try it to see.

Talking about this more generally, tall male characters make team building extremely difficult.

On the men currently in the game, literally more than half are purely on-field DPS, with 0 off-field or support capability. That's Diluc, Childe, Itto, Alhaitham, Kaveh, Neuvillette, and Wriothesley, 7 out of 12.

Of the remaining five, Zhongli and Baizhu are almost entirely defensive, with very little buffing or personal damage. Thoma is similar except if used for Burgeon. Ayato's burst has spotty elemental application and low damage, and Kaeya's burst has ICD and extremely limited range. (It's an actual problem if used with Ayato in freeze, for example, or with Neuvillette.)

Genshin's team building generally works via 3-4 team members being support or off-field dps, so you can imagine this is a massive problem, since the men just flat out do not have two teams' worth of off field anything. Even in my intended two teams, Childe and Kaveh are basically just using their weapon/artifact effects and ignoring their actual kits.

And there is also the issue that tall men have literally 0 electro or anemo options, outside Traveler being slotted in. I find switching traveler's element to be massively annoying, so I want to stick with just one, and that one happens to be Anemo because her grouping ability is actually really useful for small mobs in overworld and some domains, plus VV is a generically useful set in most cases. Additionally, Electro Traveler was a nightmare the one time I tried it.

This means that I both lose out on Dendro Traveler (who is basically the game's second best off-field dendro option), and also that Quicken, Hyperbloom, or Physical are just not available. This immediately undercuts Alhaitham's potential, since he's designed to play with electro reactions. Itto is in the same boat, since he's designed to play with Gorou and mono geo. Childe is basically a Xiangling enabler, Diluc needs to be carried by top tier supports to be viable, and Wriothesley is... well, he's possible, but I don't like fisticuffs characters in Genshin.

This is all a long way to say that Neuvillette was a god-sent for this account because he is such a one man solution to a massive amount of problems. Since this man can solo things, his team doesn't even matter. It's perfect. This is why I went so hard on him. I plan to get C2 eventually as well.

That said, I don't find Newville particularly interesting to actually play as. He's just convenient.

My favorite... is hard to say. On my alt, I generally play as Traveler. I like the grouping on the Anemo skill, it's actually pretty fun. On my main, I play mostly as Childe in overworld (though never Abyss). I like the flexibility of a bow but also having the melee stance. And in overworld, things tend to die fast enough that the cooldown on skill is not a big concern. So it would probably be one of those two.