#i loved this lantern rite liyue never disappoints

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

Thoughts on the lantern rite quest now its finished?

It also made me think, what are the traveller twins in JG? From what little we’ve heard it doesn’t seem like either of them have anything to do with the Abyss. Are they just regular people, or do they still have their “special constitution”?

given we still know so little abt the traveler twins in-game, whenever i make an au i like to just treat them as average people for the sake of my sanity lmao;,, so yes, they're regular people, born in khaenri'ah, they've spent most of their lives sort of traveling around without really settling. aether will probably end up coming to liyue at some point in the future (post fic events) for xiao bc i'm xiaoether trash and lumine will go to sumeru for jeht. something like that. idk they're barely relevant to the plot if i'm gonna be honest

as for lantern rite- god. liyue never disappoints, i can always trust the minigames and the events and the story and the characters and their dynamics and everything. it's such a breath of fresh air next to the other nations where they all have at least one character or character dynamic i'm whatever about. i love everyone in liyue it's not funny anymore. the only thing abt lantern rite is that since it's such a massive event they do often bring in characters from other regions? so there's always the risk i'm gonna bump into faces i'd rather not, but thankfully they're usually relegated to the sidelines, so it's fine 👍

as for the actual story, at the risk of spoilers, i have to say they should've probably known better than to hold the entire 'x character might die' plot on an event. like- we know that's not gonna happen. it's an event. how would that work. still- that did mean i spent a good chunk of the story trying to figure out how x character was going to get out of it alive, so. proud to say i had thought of zhongli's solution before he brought it up, so when he did i was like my man 😌 thank you for saying it aloud lmao the traveler is so slow sometimes like wym you keep forgetting you're not A Normal Person??????? hilarious

main story aside, xiao was so fucking funny the entire time. he was so WORRIED. it's not even funny anymore. bro was stressing. straight up told yelan she should've gone and risked her life so the traveler would be only slightly safer. BRO. i love him. i love the xiao traveler ship it's of the few (traveler ships) that make sense to me and i love that the story keeps bringing it up like this it's so fucking funny hahah

[goldensunsetchild]

To Answer The Call | SAGAU one-shot|

A/N: I wrote this one-shot because I wanted to celebrate that I won the 50/50 even though I didn't have it guaranteed so now grandma is home. I also decided to use the Lantern Rite invitation to invite Ga Ming because he's such a sunshine I love him so much. So, I hope you like this.

CW: fem!reader, a little (cough*highly*cough) self indulgent, Zhongli mentioned to be the creator's favorite.

Word count: 899 words

Featuring: Xianyun and Ga Ming

It was no secret that the thing the vision holders wanted the most was to receive the call, from their creator. Aside from the ones that were chosen as starting companions, there were only a few lucky ones that got the chance to receive said calling as it seemed that Her Grace was someone really picky when it came to choosing those that were going to be called to her side. Among all the Liyue vision holders, it seemed that the favorite of Her Grace was none other than the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor Consultant; Mr. Zhongli.

Most believed that it was because of his extensive knowledge of Liyue's history, perhaps Her Grace liked knowledgeable people the most. However, people like the adepti knew that the reason was... something else; Morax was the god of contracts and as such Her Grace found suitable to made a contract with him in order to guarantee that he would answer the call when the time came. Of course, he answered her call half because of the contract and half because he would never dream to ignore his creator.

Some time after that news arrived that the next in answering the call was Miss Keqing, the Yuheng from the Qixing. Almost at the same time news from Fontaine said that the Chief of Justice, Mr. Neuvillette also answered Her Grace's call and even from Mondstadt an astrologist named Mona Megistus also answered said calling. Of course there was more than just them who had already the privilege of answering her call, including the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing Miss Ningguang and the famous opera performer Miss Yun Jin.

As member of the adepti Cloud Retainer also had the secret wish that maybe some day her creator would call for her, after moving to live among humans and making a new identity she awaited every day. And when the time finally came, she saw it and heard it... the call from her creator so of course she answered immediately and next time she knew she was in front of the Traveler. Though it would be more appropriate to say that she was in front of her, there was no way of mistaking that right golden eye that shined with ancient power. But why was her expression so... surprised? Disappointed? The adeptus couldn't really tell at all.

"Xianyun? Wow... I mean, thank you so much for answering my call. I... I'm actually surprised because I thought that you might have not wanted to answer my call."

How could she not? Nothing could ever be more important than being at her creator's service, she glanced at her and noticed that after saying those words Her Grace smiled at her, it seemed that after all she was pleased with her answering to her call. Of course, as soon as she got within Her Grace's grasp she immediately showered the adeptus with a lot of gifts and also bestowed her with more power. Just like she had done with all of the other acolytes that answered her calling, Her Grace really loved them so deeply. So, the news that Miss Xianyun from Qiaoying Village got called by Her Grace spread out until it reached Yilong Wharf where a certain young man was also wishing that her creator called for him.

Everyone knew his name, Gaming, one of the guards for the Sword and Strongbox Secure Transport Agency. A lively and passionate boy who also loved Wushou Dances, of course as everyone else he wanted to get the chance to be called by Her Grace but he never thought that he would have more than what he expected because he also got to meet her in person. It was no secret that the blond traveler better known as the Hero of Liyue was the creator's vessel, so when he met with them at Liyue Harbor he thought of himself as a really lucky person.

And to his surprise he not only met Her Grace but also she helped him to reconcile with his father, could he be more lucky? Of course he could, because he felt so special when she extend him a letter and it happened it was no ordinary letter because it was actually an invitation to join her. He was so worried that she would never call for him but it turned out that she prepared an invitation for him and only him. He opened the letter and of course, soon he received tons of gifts and even more power.

"Since you weren't answering for my calls I thought that maybe it would be better to give you an invitation in person. That way you wouldn't be able to reject me right?"

She said, her right golden eye shining as bright as the sun. Gaming felt his heart racing like crazy, he wanted to tell her that it was not that he was ignoring her calls but it seemed that they got lost and never reached him but now... Now he was by her side and not only that, he was not going to forget so easily how excited she seemed upon meeting him for the first time or when she said such things like he was "her precious sunny boy", he didn't have any clue what that meant but for some reason it sounded special and it made him feel that way: special.

[aticklishpercivalwriter]

Small Xiaoether

Finished the Lantern Rite event last night and just wrote this little something today. It's happy in the end, I promise. *Little spoiler in the beginning for the event. You can skip the yelling part if you haven't played the event yet.* It's not tickling but I'll write a little tickling between them post-relationship (in my timeline) when I get the chance. This fic isn't apart of the timeline of Aether's lovers fyi.

A/N: Not proofread and not much descriptions, just dialogue. Wanted to get the idea down before I forget it. Maybe I'll go back and improve it, not sure. Nonetheless, hope you enjoy! :)

---

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, AETHER? GOING INTO DANGER LIKE THAT.”

“IT WAS AN EMERGENCY!”

“YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST TOLD ME WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO DO!”

“AND WHAT WERE YOU GOING TO DO? PROTECT ME?”

“YES, PROTECT YOU!”

“HOW? WE BOTH KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO YOU.”

“AT LEAST, I COULD LEND YOU SOME OF MY POWER AGAIN! YOU COULD HAVE EVEN PASSED BY MY GATE WHEN YOU WENT TO HU TAO’S. DID YOU AVOID ME?”

“YEAH, I AVOIDED YOU. WHY ARE YOU SO PROTECTIVE OVER ME, XIAO? I TOLD YOU I CAN HANDLE MY OWN PROBLEMS. MAYBE YOU SHOULD HANDLE YOUR OWN.”

“YOU ARE MY PROBLEM, AETHER! YOU MAKE ME WORRY A LOT.”

“WELL, STOP WORRYING ABOUT ME. IT’S NOT LIKE YOU’LL REMEMBER ME ANYWAY.”

Xiao slammed his hand against the wall beside Aether’s head making him flinch.

“How can you say that?” Xiao whispered. “You buried yourself deep into my heart. I can never forget you. How you changed me. Don’t you…have memories of me…in your heart?”

Xiao’s heart felt like it was going to burst into a million pieces as he saw Aether look away.

“Okay,” Xiao spoke hollowly, pulling away and turning around. “I will forget about you. Goodbye, Aether.”

Xiao started walking away, each step feeling heavy as the distance between him and Aether increased.

How I wish you loved me back.

His first tears in millennia fell from his eyes. Making a move to wipe his brow, he instead felt himself being yanked backwards into a tight embrace and soft lips touching his own. He jerked in surprise causing the other to pull away and he looked to find Aether standing there before him with a sad look in his eyes.

“Xiao. I always had memories of you in my heart,” he held his hands, thumb rubbing his skin. “Though, it was mixed in with these feelings I had for you.”

Xiao looked at him, silent shock written across his face.

“You have a duty to the people of Liyue, so I didn’t act on these feelings. Besides, I know you don’t love me the same way.”

He let his hands go, tears falling from his eyes now.

“It’s been great Xiao, to be with you but this is goodbye. I—”

“Shut up.”

Before Aether can say anything, Xiao practically leapt at him, pulling him in and kissing him…hard.

“X-Xiao, you aren’t t-thinking straight,” Aether managed to get out in between kisses.

Xiao pulled back at that comment, seeing Aether’s lips swollen from his kisses and bites.

“You are incredibly stupid, Aether, to not know how long I had these feelings for you.”

“Y-You love me back?”

Xiao rolled his eyes and just went and kissed him again. This time, Aether returned it with equal fervor. The feelings they held back for so long now pouring out.

“I love you, Aether. For a long time now.”

“I love you too, Xiao. For a long time too.”

They both stared into each other’s eyes, both soft with love for one another.

“Sorry for yelling at you earlier.”

“It’s okay, I deserved it.”

Xiao snorted at that.

“You’re still going to be reckless?”

“…Maybe.”

Aether scratched the back of his head as Xiao just sighed in amusement rather than disappointment.

“Just let me know when you are going to do something like that again. At least I can be prepared and ready anytime.”

“I will, I promise.”

“Good. Happy Lantern Rite, Aether.”

“Happy Lantern Rite, Xiao.”

“…”

“…”

“Did you want more kisses?”

Aether nodded in response, grinning sheepishly.

Xiao gladly gave them, not holding back as they solidified their love for each other with the Xiao lanterns floating above them.

[nicotachi]

(i was inspired by the prev reblog but i figure my tags were quickly devolving into a "make your own post" moment)

the thing about ganyu is that i REALLY like the lore they've provided us with, enough to construct a complex and nuanced character that goes beyond the few glimpses we see of her in the liyue archon quest.

my hot take is i actually, don't really care whether or not those things are explicitly shown in the main storyline. i ship gq for god's sake, and i've never wanted more than a nod for either (i feel like i always have to clarify: i don't particularly expect or even want them to become canon), because i love when the audience is trusted to connect the dots themselves. i know that in fanwork, there's a fine line between assembling the puzzle pieces deliberately left by the creators and making a sandwich out of discarded bread, but i like to think of it as the former.

but what i don't appreciate is yeah, why are they filling her precious screentime with fat jokes and being sleepy or timid?? chenyu vale already showed that they cannot be normal about a woman without injecting weight insecurities. the sleepy girl thing has also been done so many times that i could name like five female characters who have it as a core personality trait. i just don't understand the logic. hbomberguy once pointed out in his "why r*by is disappointing" video essay that it was almost like two opposing forces were writing the same characters and i see that here a little bit.

ganyu in the side materials (story quest, world quest mentions, body language in the CINEMATICS, etc) comes off as a very firm and wise person, while ganyu in the most recent lantern rite is in a constant state of fatigue or discomfort. neither of those are emotions or personality traits!! she's treated as a placeholder at times when they could easily call back to the other, more interesting things they've written about her in the game.

but as an aside: i don't actually agree with any sentiments that favor her soldier past over her secretary role. i believe both are important parts to her just as she is half qilin and human. to box her into one thing or another kind of misses the point of her character imo, that people contain multitudes, and can drastically change over a long enough stretch of time and circumstances.

[axibani]

i wanna slow dance with you - tartali

(a rough draft of a tartali fic i’ve been working on for a while— this is NOT the complete story and the ending differs from what is written here. this is a ROUGH OUTLINE on how the story goes)

LOW CAPS INTENDED

tags:

• major character death

• heavy angst

• hurt no comfort (ok there’s some comfort)

———————

childe asks zhongli during a lantern rite festival if he wants to dance with him

zhongli confessed he doesn't know how

childe takes him by the hand and guides his feet to the rhythm

“1 ... 2 ... 3 ... that's it you're getting it, xiansheng!”

he barely is

actually zhongli is pretty clumsy and steps on childe's foot every 4 steps

but childe laughs and lets him be

“zhongli xiansheng is cute like this”

blushing, shy, flustered, and embarrassed every time he makes the wrong move

but they're both happy, they're both in love, and they're having fun with the moment they’re having

... but that was over a hundred years ago

a century ago

and like how the time passes, so did childe

time stops for no one and unfortunately, it never did for them

after their first (and last) dance together, childe was called to return to snezhnaya by the will of the tsaritsa for another mission

childe promised for his return to liyue after his obligations but his delusion got the better of him, taking a toll with his life as the price

zhongli has never moved on from that news and sometimes immortality is the curse he carries in his never ending lifetime

childe wasn't the only one who passed though

like the mortals that they were, hu tao did too, taking in her last breath 30 years ago

“mr. zhongli ... you look just as young as you ever were”

with that, of course, the parlor had to be entrusted onto someone else

he was a lad far different from who hu tao ever was. he's calm, sometimes serious, but he always gives a warm smile whenever he could

he never nudged at zhongli's life and zhongli wasn't one to share either

but what the new director does know is that every lantern rite, zhongli takes the initiative to be alone during these times. he never sees zhongli with a companion, never seen him smile during the festivities, but he was always constant on his whereabout, always standing alone by the cliff near the harbor where you can still see the lanterns at a distance

“childe, it's that time of the year once again”

and like a hung over romantic still holding onto the high that a lover once given him, zhongli hums a small tune, moving in an attempt to solo the waltz as his heart began to sink and pulsate gradually in his chest

“i'm still not very good at it. a century later and it's still the same”

he smiles bitterly at the lantern lit night sky, but his smile immediately fell as his eyes go grim with tears. it's the same as every year. another festival, another dance where childe isn't there with him

he misses him

and so the director was surprised to see zhongli kneeling right in front of him, heart in his hands and a favor to plead

“can you let me see the spirit of my beloved? at least just this once?”

the new director didn't know what to say. this was nothing from what he expected of zhongli. he never knew that his consultant would have a burden in his heart and it's with someone who is no longer walking the ground of the earth

he wanted to decline, give him the facts that once the spirit passes through the spirit realm, there is no turning back. but seeing zhongli in this state, almost helpless and borderline begging, he accepted it with great pity even if the chances of fulfilling it was next to impossible

so the director spent sleepless nights looking for some sort of way, an edge that would help him have an idea on how he could grant what is being asked of him

he was close to giving up, chest growing heavier as he was so close to drop the disappointing news to zhongli, but like a miracle, he found a way

“where do you want to meet your beloved?”

zhongli smiles at the words

“i want to meet him ... by the cliff near the harbor”

and so he did

after performing the ritual needed, burning the chopsticks the archon had gifted the harbinger previously as a catalyst, zhongli felt his entire being shake as the flames of the blue fire let its smoke glow luminescent, finally taking form of a familiar someone

“childe ...”

the spirit becomes surprised of what he sees

“x-xiansheng ... ?”

zhongli couldn't contain himself from crying— scratch that, he's full on breaking down

he tries to reach him, to touch him, but his hand goes through childe's soul, breaking zhongli inside

he wants to hold him

“childe .. how have you been? have you been fine up there?”

childe tries to caress the archon's cheek

“i've been missing you, xiansheng”

zhongli's emotions were all over the place. childe is right there, right in front of him, but he's also so far away. the lack of the warmth that he's been craving is still there but the presence of his lover hugs his heart as if he could hold him

“i miss you too, my love”

and then they were silent, letting themselves drown in the presence of each other. zhongli hasn't seen him in over a century. he still can't believe, even if it's just his spiritual form, that the one he longs for is right in front of him.

“would you dance with me, ajax?”

childe was taken back

“dance?”

zhongli wipes his eyes and lets out a sad smile

“you swept me off my feet before you left, my love... before you passed. in the centuries that have passed by, i longed for nothing else but to share another one with you”

although touchless— contact being just as light as the air— they shared a dance together, zhongli finally smiling in a long time as he cherished this moment with childe's soul

it felt like a dream. felt so unreal

for over a century, zhongli yearned for nothing more but to see his beloved one more time. he felt his heart soar free, the weight finally coming off of him from his hundred year grief

he's free

he felt like he finally had a proper closure with him

he feels relieved

on the day i cease immortality, i hope the heavens bring me right next to you.

childe's form start to shake and grow translucent, catching both of them off guard and in panic

zhongli the chopsticks are about to completely burn! there's not much time!

they never had enough time

zhongli looks at childe one last time, keeping his hand at where his lover's face is

he takes a deep breath, looks him in the eyes and watch as childe slowly fades in his hands

right before childe could glow completely transparent, zhongli pushes a kiss into the smoke, it being the last thing they were able to share before childe’s form disappears and the smoke disperses into nothing but the chopsticks’ ashes

and like that, childe goes back into his rest, as if he was never there. zhongli was only able to spend time with him in an incense stick’s time’s worth. barely 10 minutes to have his moment with the man he loves. but that incense time was worth it. he was brought back to a century ago when he felt genuine happiness, one that never failed to make him happy

[themoon-saturn]

"Say it again."

Xiao x gn reader

Prompt: Xiao telling you he loves you for the first time at lantern rite :')

an: Hello and welcome back for a shorter one! I got a tiktok that said "write about someone confessing their love to your character for the first time" and I was in the middle of the lantern rite quest so this came from that. Again definitely not proof read so ignore may grammar mistakes pls! Anyways thank you for reading and I hope y'all like it :)

More under the cut

“Come on Xiao… We won't even have to go into the city. We can watch from where ever you want.” you begged. Xiao crossed his arms and looked to the floor, “Demons and monsters are more active right now. Something could happen and I have to be ready.” He glanced up and wished he didn’t, you were giving him a look of pure disappointment. “Okay. I understand then. I’ll see you later.” You start to walk away as Xiao grabs your arm to stop you, “Wait! We can watch the lanterns together… if that’s what you wish. We can watch from the outskirts of the city.” He said avoiding your eyes. “Xiao you promise?! It will be fun, I swear! Thank you!” You smile excitedly, hugging Xiao. He tenses up slightly and before he can do anything you pull away, “I’m sorry… I know you’re not one for hugs, I just was excited. I will meet you this evening outside the city. I’ll call for you.” You thank him again before taking your leave. Xiao watched you go and once you were out of sight he cursed to himself for caving so easily when it came to you. Your touch made him feel like his brain stopped working and the look of joy on your face when he agreed to join you for lantern rite caused his chest to tighten. He wasn’t sure what to make of these emotions at first but deep down he knew… he was in love with you and he had slowly been coming to terms with that fact. Despite his protests, you chiseled away his walls and became one of his closest companions. Someone he trusts and cares for. Someone he wants to protect and cherish for as long as you will allow. He leaned against the railing of Wangshu Inn and turned to the sky, he knew he was closer to a monster than a human but you still stayed by his side and he didn’t get why. Xiao might never understand you but he will spend eternity trying to comprehend how someone as bright and kindhearted as you could stand to be around him.

The sun began to set over Liyue Harbor and you were excited to finally spend lantern rite with Xiao, you went shopping for a new outfit for the festivities and even got a lantern for the two of you to release. “Xiao? Are you there?” you called. Xiao arrived swiftly and looked too stunned to speak, “Xiao are you okay?” you laugh waving your hand in front of his face. “Um- sorry. You just- You look-“ he stutters out. “You like it? I was worried it might be too much.”, “Yes… you look… very pretty.” he finally gets his words out, trying hard not to stare too much at you. “Well thank you… I got this for us! I haven’t released one before so I thought we could do it together.” You hold up the lantern to hide your face. Xiao nods and you both take a seat next to one another as you wait for the show to start. He sits quietly and you try to make small talk to cut the silence just as the harbor lights up. “Oh, it’s time! Are you ready to wish?” You smile brightly. Xiao nods and takes a hold of the lantern with you, you both close your eyes and let it fly into the air. When you open them the lanterns fly over the water casting a beautiful glow and you look at Xiao who is mesmerized. You smile to yourself and you both watch the lights in silence. Xiao looks at you and lets the words tumble out of his mouth before he can stop them, “I love you…” You turn to him in shock and he puts his hand over his mouth, "Xiao what did you say?” you grab his arm so he doesn’t teleport away. He messed up. He messed up bad. His mind is telling him to run but before he can do anything you place your hand on his face breaking him free from his thoughts, “Did you… just say you love me?” Xiao doesn’t want to look at you but he can help it, the way the glow of the city reflects in your eyes is almost hypnotizing. “I- forget I said anything! I’m sorry-“ he starts only for you to cut him off with a kiss. His eyes widen in shock but he slowly relaxes, moving his hands to your waist to pull you closer. “I love you too Xiao…” you say softly. He feels at peace like his karmic debt had dissipated from his body with just a few simple words. “Say it again.” He says kissing you once more. “I love you.” you repeat. “Again.” you repeat yourself once more. “I want to learn more about you… I want to protect you and give you the peace and comfort you give me.” Xiao says still holding you close to him. “Oh, my dear Xiao… I will always stay by your side. As long as you would allow me to.” He didn’t deserve this kindness and love from you but yet you still saw the good in him even if he didn’t. Looking into your eyes he knew that you weren’t lying. "I have to ask... what did you wish for?" Xiao asked you in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "Well, I wished for you to have a good year." He gave you soft smile, "You used your wish on me? You are difficult too comprehend.", " Well, then what about you? What did you wish for 'Oh great Adeptus' Xiao?" you tease while poking his arm. "If i tell you it won’t come true so there is no need to mention it." Xiao ignored your protests and questions, just admiring you. 'I just want to be the reason you smile, I want to hear you say those words again every chance I can' Xiao thinks to himself. He had once lost everything dear to him and felt trapped, a slave to his karmic debt but you… you made him feel human. You brought out the best in him and he did the same for you. He may never be fully free from his binds but at least with you, he feels his burden will be easier to carry. 

[chainelunaire]

"sometimes i feel really guilty”

“why?”

“because i left. even though i love liyue, i don’t... i don’t think our archont would appreciate that”

“well, i may assure you, he would definitely forgive you” you look at zhongli, very unimpressed, because who is he, exactly, to tell you, what your archont would do. 

in your defense, you rarely feel that way now, but when you do, it almost suffocates you in it’s intensity. you weren’t a priest, you weren’t even religious. you were just a dancer, born in qingce village and later in life traveling around teyvat, doing perfomances here, there and everywhere. you’ve been in so many places, you met so many people, you could find a piece of yourself almost everywhere. 

except here.

you never did great in liyue. you never knew who’s fault was that, but it always felt like your god didn’t like you very much. you grew up watching everyone succeding with seemingly no stress or doubt, you started to wonder if your god even knew about your existence. you heard people saying morax knew everything that happened in his land. you felt like you were the only one left unseen.

it was like he was watching over everyone except you, no matter how hard you tried. so one day you grew tired of that. you finally stopped trying.

and you left liyue so long ago, sometimes it feels like you never belonged there. like this place, which is very sacred to your heart, hates you for your betrayal. you never felt at home in your, well, home. 

if you think of people belonging to liyue, you immidiately think of zhongli. you know him well enough to say that he’s an actual embodiment of a harbor, metaphorically, but sometimes you think quite literally. he’s just as stoic and calm and strong as the city you left years ago. when you change as quickly as the water adapts it’s form, zhongli stays the same. he even looks exactly like he did when you left - you remember him, even though you never dared to talk to him back then. he was staying in the crowd and watching you dance with those piercing eyes of his, small girl hiding under his coat. hu tao was so shy when she was a child, sometimes you don’t believe it, even though you saw it with your eyes.

when you think of liyue, you think of him. he looks like he’s at home there.

you don’t.

“what’s on your mind?” he asks, gently pulling a strand of your hair, curling it on his finger. he becomes a lot softer and quieter after sex, and you actually like that. you like him speaking, of course, but you enjoy those peaceful moments when he listens to your ramblings, his patience almost godly.

but somehow you’re a bit ashamed to tell him that you don’t feel at peace here, in liyue. you just know, he- he would be disappointed.

“tell me” he insists, “i can’t help you, dear, if i don’t know, what’s the deal”

“all about deals here” that you hate too, and you see, even though he hides it well, that he’s a bit offended of your remark. 

“you spent too much time in natlan, i must say. i would love to see you there more often” yeah right, because you only find the willpower to comeback when it’s lantern rite. 

because there’s nothing more beautiful in the world than the lantern rite. you’ve seen the world, you know what you’re talking about.

“miss me dancing on the streets?”

“that too” he comfirms with a gentle smile. you - well, you don’t miss those times. you wouldn’t want to bring it back. you don’t want to dance on a harbor’s streets because there was nothing else for you to do there. you had nothing to offer. “i heard you were doing well in fontaine”

you did. strangely, the only place which really felt like home was the place where the law was above anything. and you hated the rules, you had a lot to hide, yet, it felt like you finally found your justice there. 

and that’s where your guilt found you, actually. right after getting a gnosis. because it was fontaine, and it was all about being guilty or not. you were not guilty for feeling betrayed.

and yet, you were guilty of not being loyal. 

“tell me” you say suddenly, he almost shievers, but then he puts an hand on your shoulder to calm you and himself down. somehow it always worked for both of you. “am i a bad person because i love not only liyue, but natlan too? and mondstadt, and sumeru, and fontaine?” 

“no” he says immidiately “you deserve seeing more than just a harbor. it’s okay for people your age. any age, i assume.”

“but you love harbor” he does. he loves it so much as if it was his child. he knows a lot, and he often talks about things you don’t understand, to be frank, yet you just feel it. “this means morax can see you. and you’re strong and faithful, so that’s why he gave you the gnosis. you stay here, so that’s why morax may love you.” zhongli chuckles quietely, which you find almost offending. “what?”

“that’s an interesting logic, for sure.”

“what’d i miss?”

“you have a gnosis too.” that you do. that was your justice.

“and i don’t”

“what?” you can’t believe it. “where’s it?”

“i gave it to someone.” he answers, stroking your cheek lazily “see, that’s the main misconception, dear. archons do not give people gnosis, it’s not up to them. and even if it was, what’s bothering you so much? you wanted to have a geo elemental so badly?”

you did.

you wanted to feel see by morax. just once. you wanted to know, why he resented you so much, even when you did nothing to make him angry.

“i wanted my archon to love me” you hear yourself saying, and zhongli’s face is really strange to you, it’s almost like he’s in pain “i never wanted to leave liyue, but what else could i do, when morax didn’t want me there?”

you feel strangely uneasy, saying that to zhongli of all people. but you never connected to anyone but him here, even yunjin rarely stopped to really hear what you were saying. you always felt at peace with him, it was like he was the home liyue failed to provide you with. even if it promised to do so.

“do i sound ungrateful to you?”

“not exactly” he says after a long pause “i’m afraid, i just can’t fully understand, why it’s hurting you so much”

you look at him, something don’t sit well with you.

“have you slept with anyone while i was away?” you were never exceptional and you too had slept with people other than him. you didn’t feel jealous, just interested.

“i have” you feel a spark of interest.

“was it a woman or a man?”

“a man. he’s from snezhnaya.” he sighs quietly, while you pat him on a head “he returned home recently. haven’t seen him in a while”

“i see you prefer your hook ups to be away from you” you actually giggle a bit. he on the other hand looks serious, still.

“maybe you’re right” he says after thinking “i am selfish, dear. i too don’t want to be hurt any more than i already am. i’ve lost too much.”

“have you actually ever loved someone?” because you can’t imagine him being in love. you know you’re not in love with him, and he doesn’t exactly love you. even though sometimes it feels like he does, with how much he cares about you. you like to think he’s your reward for being neglected.

“i did, once. it was a very long time ago.” he looks so sad saying that, you feel your heart clenching. “i don’t even remember her face anymore”

“you could love me, if you want. i can take it”

“oh really?” his small smile doesn’t make him look any happier. it’s like he’s too used to it.

you don’t really want to hear the answer, and yet you can’t help yourself, you should ask him.

“will you remember me? after i leave?”

for a few very long seconds you feel small and miserable again, like when you did when you were standing against the statue, begging for morax to see you, to guide you, yet your pleadings were never met. you were left with nothing but cold emptiness.

“no” and even when zhongli looks directly at you, you feel like he sees through you, not seeing you at all. his eyes are glowing in the dark, burning your soul away without any mercy, almost like a god’s punishment for your existence. “i’m afraid not.”

[angelicspaceprince]

From Qingce Village, With Love

Author: Toby

Title: From Qingce Village, With Love

Pairing: Zhongli/Reader

Character/s: Zhongli, Reader

Word Count: 1, 245 words

Warnings: Yadere themes, false imprisonment/kidnapping, implied suicidal themes (brief)

Tags: N/A

Prompt: After numerous attempts to leave his side over the last year, Zhongli can't help but feel slightly bad that his love was missing out on this year's Lantern Rite. So, he tries to make it up to them in the only way he knows how.

Notes: This is the result of 90 minutes procrastination, and a fleeting thought that turned into a sort of fic. Uh. I hope you enjoy I guess?

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From Qingce Village, With Love

Lantern Rite was always a special time in Zhongli’s eyes, one that should be shared with loved ones, simply not an event to be missed.

Unfortunately for his darling, this year they had to miss out. He simply couldn’t trust them - not after they attempted to flee from their loving home whilst he was completing the Contract to End All Contracts. He had caught them as he was returning from his morning walk and was headed towards the Rite of Parting, having to take a little detour to escort them from the bridge leaving Liyue Harbour back to their home, making sure everything was locked up tight before returning to Yujing Terrace. Yes, that had been around year ago now, but his trust was broken. And it wasn’t like they had made any effort to show him that they were sorry for their act of rebellion.

Still. He tried his best this Lantern Rite for them, he told them about the new displays the people of Liyue had to offer, told them about his time with the traveller and their floating friend, bought them snacks and gifts from the various stalls - but all his attempts to sway their annoyance had been for naught.

His travel around Liyue to explore his home was for several reasons - he wished to see the way his land had grown under his previous rule as well as remember all those he had lost along the way. But he also wished to give his darling the space they had apparently craved as well as find a suitable way to…. well, apologise was a strong word, but at the very least he would like his darling to know how he was sorry that his actions had hurt them, even if he wasn’t sorry for the actions themself.

It’s not until he reaches Qingce Village that it finally hits him. It had been a while since he made his infamous bamboo shoot soup, and he knows for a fact that the love of his life loved it when he poured the hours into making them the dish. Well. At least they used to. It was kind of hard these days to know what they appreciated and what they didn’t. If only they could see everything he does is out of his love for them and because he wishes to protect them from the harsh land Liyue - and really, the whole of Teyvat - had to offer. Yes, they had a cyro vision that was currently sitting heavy in his pocket but even Vision bearers die daily due to what nature threw at them. Zhongli has lost so much. He can’t, he won’t , lose you too.

With a steadying sigh, he opens up the front door and makes his way in, scanning the main living areas for his love. It’s not until he reaches the kitchen that he sees you peak your head out from your shared bedroom. “Oh. It’s you.” Your voice is as monotone as ever, disappointed that he had returned, no doubt.

“Indeed.” His voice rumbles down the hallway as he takes his time drinking your visage in. Even when annoyed, you were perfect, near ethereal in Zhongli’s eyes. “Did you have a good day?”

You scoff, keeping as much distance between him and yourself as possible. “As good as any.” You finally answer.

The silence that stretches out between you is tense, as it often is nowadays. “I’ve brought home ingredients to make dinner with. I believe it’s my turn, yes?”

You blink before reluctantly shuffling down the hall, your gaze never avoiding his as you prepare for him to grab you just for some semblance of your life before you were trapped within your once home now prison cell. Thankfully, he does no such thing and allows you to slowly make your way to the kitchen, where you eye his luxury finds on the bench, quickly piecing together what he was attempting to do.

“You’re making soup.”

A pause.

“Is that agreeable?” He sounds hesitant, like he was walking in unknown territory. “I can prepare something else if you would prefer.”

“I’d prefer for you to fall off the tallest cliff in Liyue.”

“Ah.” You suppress a shudder when you feel his hands find their way to your hips as he slowly makes his way into your personal space, his unyielding self pressed firmly against your back as he takes your harsh words and all but discards them. “I’m afraid that is one request I cannot provide. Afterall, if I was gone, who would protect you?”

“If I had my Vision back, I would be the one to protect me.” Your words start off cold and biting, only to quickly become defensive as you feel Zhongli’s face bury itself into the crook of your neck. “Zhongli-”

Your warning doesn’t come through to the ex-archon the way you had hoped. Instead, an all too familiar, once comforting chuckle vibrates against your pulse, the warmth of his breath uncomfortably ghosting across your skin. “But isn’t this nicer?” He asks. “You needn’t worry about a thing, beloved. Not when I have you here, safe and sound.”

You swear you can cut through the tension with a knife as Zhongli waits for your response. You didn’t want to be here. What started as a very loving relationship where you were both seen as equals had slowly but surely turned into a nightmare. And with each new attempt of escape you tried, the more terrifying the dream had become. You didn’t dare admit to your attempts of escape during this year’s Lantern Rite as he was away helping his friends’ with their seemingly meaningless mission - you’d seen him angry one too many times to know it wasn’t worth it. And you didn’t want to admit that your will to continue attempting to free yourself was slowly dwindling to the point that you could only see one way out for yourself.

Would he mourn you? Or would he try to find a way to bring you back? Perhaps there truly was no way to escape Zhongli, even in death you are positive he would come and find you to drag you back to the realm of the living so you can continue your endless time locked away like a pet for his own personal amusement.

“Dearest?” His voice sounds concerned as he brings you back to the present. “What are you thinking?”

You take a deep breath to try and steady yourself, deciding to put on a more relaxed smile in an attempt to hide your darker thoughts from your supposed lover. “Just that soup sounds good.” You finally say.

You swear you can feel Zhongli purring against your back as his lips leave a kiss that burns like acid against your forehead. “I’ll get started. It’ll take some time, so please feel free to find a way to entertain yourself until it’s ready.”

You are already ten steps ahead of him, ready to retreat back to the couch to continue to fantasize a life without the Lord of Geo forever hovering over your shoulder, one where he was dead or you simply were able to escape, you didn’t care.

In the distance, you can see the final lanterns raise into the air as another Lantern Rite has passed. Next year, you tell yourself, you’ll be free to enjoy it amongst the citizens of Liyue without Zhongli’s so-called protection.

All you need to do is wait.

[aetheternity]

Sorry can I rant about lantern rite in your inbox? It was just so… disappointing, I came away feeling like I had wasted my time. First of all, it was nothing like the first trailer showed it would be. That line about “it’s good to take off the mask once in a while,” I was so excited for Venti and Xiao to be able to to put down their facades for a night and just be authentic but that’s not what happened in the slightest. Hoyo layered Venti’s obnoxious mortal bard act on thicker than it normally is. Literally none of that was the thoughtful authentic Venti I love, it almost felt like a whole different character. And then there’s Xiao. The trailer made it seem like he’d be battling his karma debt so he could be around people and finally enjoy lantern rite and it’d be a really serious storyline. Nope. Xiao showed up because Hu Tao mentioned her ancestors worked with the yakshas and Xiao was like “welp I guess I have to come then” ?? Xiao hates being around people, the traveler has been trying to get him to join in for two lantern rites and he refused each time because he doesn’t want to hurt people but Hu Tao shows up and suddenly he’s game? And when he was there it was so awkward. He seemed incredibly uncomfortable and it made it hard to enjoy the cutscenes. Honestly, I don’t blame him. I thought this was going to continue the storyline of helping Xiao get used to modern Liyue and come out of his shell a bit. It was a milestone, his first lantern rite with people. But if I were Xiao, after that I’d never want to be in a room with more than two people ever again.

That whole thing was one big game of “don’t let the others know we know each other” between Venti Zhongli Xiao and also Xingqiu apparently. At first Venti and Zhongli’s dynamic of passive aggressively complimenting each other so it sounds like insults was pretty funny, but it just kept going and quickly became stale. Not to mention, knowing that it made Xiao uncomfortable took all the humor out of it. That was our first in game archon interaction and it fell flat.

And Hu Tao, she was worse than both the archons, asking Xiao on his opinions on Zhongli being an adeptus. Not entirely out of character, but annoying nonetheless. Also, Hu Tao is like the Kaeya of Liyue. It’s never been revealed in canon that she knows the archon’s identities, but we still know that she knows somehow anyway.

Back to Venti though, again, he seemed out of character. I could se Hu Tao doing what she did. I can’t see Zhongli being that petty, but I don’t care about him enough to be mad at his mischaracterization. Venti however was treated like a joke. He was so damn inconsiderate of Xiao. Traveler was right, it was his fault (among others) that Xiao had such a bad time. He kept being petty with Zhongli with no regard for the other guests and how much tension and awkwardness he was creating. Venti would never upset someone he knew was an introvert. Venti would be the best person to have with you at large social gathering because he would be considerate. Again, I just feel so bad for Xiao, it’s like half the people at that table don’t give a shit about him.

On the subject of Venti, why was he even there? He didn’t do anything important, his appearance was not serious and comforting like it was portrayed in the trailer. If anything, his appearance actively made things worse, which is something I thought I’d never say. It breaks my heart to see him portrayed in that way. He’s a bit of a harmless menace sometimes, but he’s not a straight up asshole. He mentioned he was there for the music festival and the traveler thought to themself about how the festival was a last minute thing so how did he know, implying that Venti was there for a different reason- but they just never elaborate on it. Why create suspicion like that if it doesn’t matter? And anyway, he wasn’t even at the music festival. Frankly, I think he should have been in it. He deserved better than to be shoehorned into the epilogue as comic relief. He’s a bard, he should have had the spotlight. Erika killed it at Weinlesefest with her impromptu singing, imagine how well she’d do with a backing track. At least it’d be loads better than whatever happened with Hu Tao and Xinyan. Honestly, I think Hoyo was only trying to copy Erika’s Weinlesefest success with that. Bad move, can’t top the original, should have just let Venti do it. (For the record even though I was not impressed with the performance, I don’t think it was the VAs fault, and I definitely don’t appreciate seeing them harassed over a game.)

Gotta say, my favorite part has to be Venti’s interactions with Xingqiu, an unlikely duo, but I found their shared appreciation of writing to be cute and endearing. I liked watching them nerd out together. And Hu Tao also had some good interactions with Venti (when she wasn’t bullying Xiao) I kind of want to see the three of them in a poetry club together just talking about literature and whatnot. I just really like their dynamic, my weird little poetry nerds deserve some time to themselves. <3

The interactions between Xingqiu Xianling and Chongyun were also pretty good. They felt like just a nice authentic conversation between friends. Xingqiu being a baby and giving away his carrots then getting scolded for it, I love him sm.

Back to the criticism, the cutscenes as a whole were really awkward aside from a few nice moments. Thanks to certain people there was a layer of tension in the air the entire time. And what even was that second half? We were fighting over who was going to light the incense before settling on Paimon? Why? What was the point of that? It wasn’t funny or entertaining aside from some of the expressions. It just confused me more than anything. Overall, we talked a lot, but it still feels like nothing happened you know? I was like “the first archon meet up and Xiao’s first real lantern rite, obviously there will be a plot to this, something really interesting is going to happen.” Nope. Venti mentioned he and Xiao had a conversation recently, and while I’m not a Xiaoven shipper in any way, I bet it was more interesting than what we saw. What could prompt an archon from another nation and an adeptus to talk? Is this their first time seeing each other since that time in Xiao’s story quest lore? Or do they meet up every once in a while? We should’ve gotten lore.

Even after the cutscene, the part where we went around and talked to the characters was weird. Why was Yanfai who had 50 seconds of screentime before being literally dragged offscreen by Ganyu there but Shenhe wasn’t, and more importantly, why did we hardly get to talk to anyone at all. We only spoke to Zhongli Yaoyao and Xiao (who only said like three lines). With everyone else it was like we were eavesdropping on their conversations which just felt awkward. I know I’ve said awkward some 15 times now, but if I had to choose one word to sum up the lantern rite epilogue, that would be it. It might be nitpicking but the eavesdropping thing made me a bit uncomfortable, I don’t see why we couldn’t just talk directly to everyone and have an actual personal conversation like we did after gaa and Weinlesefest. I only enjoyed the chat between Xingqiu Hu Tao Chongyun and Xianling because I really like the dynamic those characters have. Venti at the end of the cutscenes was like “bye traveler, come talk to me later on the crux” when what he really meant was “bye traveler, come watch me complain to Kazuha about how Beidou won’t indulge my alcoholism later on the crux.” Although credit where credit is due, Erika did really well in that interaction. The voice acting and expressions for the epilogue were pretty good.

I’ll admit that when I first heard leaks of windblume coming in 3.5 I was like great for Venti lovers, but I kind of feel bad for the people that don’t. Having to see him appear back to back when their fav probably hasn’t shown up in forever doesn’t seem fair. Now I think that it wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t get windblume. Venti’s appearance here and everything surrounding it was just so disappointing that I think we’re owed an event with Venti that’s actually good. I enjoyed the first windblume and Weinlesefest (they’re not Venti’s story quest levels of amazing but I liked them) so I have high hopes for this if it turns out to be true, all I can say is it better be.

Wow, I feel a lot better now. Sorry again. You don’t have to read all that, I just had a lot of thoughts. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the epilogue as well if you’d like.

You had a field day in my inbox, Anon. More power to you because without this ask I probably wouldn't have been able to construct my own post with my own thoughts on the LR this year.

Let me just start off by saying this LR sucked. Like not just the epilogue the entire thing was bad. It felt like it was written by an intern that started work at Hoyoverse three weeks ago. The first two stories feel completely disjointed from the epilogue like the idea for the epilogue came last and they HAD to put it in there. Too many characters got too much screen time: Ganyu's boring ass and Zhongli. While others did not get enough: YANFEI, Shenhe, I'll say Yelan as well actually, BEIDOU, fucking Kazuha (Like seriously why is Kazuha never at the LR if any character from another nation deserves to attend one of these it's fucking Kazuha. Like he was on the ship?? Why didn't he head into the city with Beidou?? What is he grounded or something?, Qiqi never gets time to shine and it sucks they clearly don't know what the fuck to do with her. Ningguang also didn't get enough screen time.

It felt like they put all the characters on a check list and go ok who do we need to be in the story now? Him alright just put him in there I guess, oh yeah she needs screentime too uh uh throw her into this scene. There are too many Liyue characters now.

You know the best part of the Weinlesifest? The fact that every character even if not utilized well feels like they had a place in the story. Everyone had some kind of part to play and it felt good to run into any character at any time but they cannot do it well when it comes to Liyue. It clearly can't work anymore.

I do want to talk about the things I enjoyed though because despite it all the LR did have somethings that weren't awful. I loved Xinyan showing up again I really like her character and I wish she could've gotten a reunion with Venti too. I was so incredibly happy to see Shenhe even though she did basically nothing and if you took her out of the story nothing would change. (She's my wife though 🥺) Guizhong is so so hot and I'm mad that she's dead because I want her to be playable more than any other character we've gotten so far. I'm normally not into short women but omg. Chongyun was so freaking cute and I loved watching him Xiangling and Xingqiu all being together the less Xingyun (singular) the better. I love how awkward the scene of Traveler walking up to the funeral parlor was. Hu Tao is just badly rapping and Xinyan is playing on the guitar and Traveler was like: 😶😬 now that's how you utilize cringe correctly! I'm a huge Xiaother shipper as you already know seeing as your on my page so ANY interaction between Xiao and Aether are some of my favorite things ever! I really enjoyed seeing Venti geek over the Crux Fleet and his friendship with Kazuha is so freaking cute!! If I wasn't scared of that ship getting a bigger following I would hope that we could get more of them in the future. And last but not least despite how genuinely awful Venti was in this event over all and how unneeded he was he is still my favorite bard and he is so cute. His expressions were precious and I cannot begin to explain how happy I was that they didn't reset and just have Venti forget Xingqiu. Thank all the archons that they still know each other it was nice to watch them interact again. And of course I like that the brought back Hu Tao's love of poetry in the form of her interactions with Venti. It felt so unbelievably sweet how well those two get along. I'm always happy to see Venti making a new friend.

Gonna speed run the things I hated because all of this is super long and everyone is gonna hate me for how much they'll have to scroll to get through this answer on my blog. (I'll put a read more later)

I slightly disagree with the thing you said about Xiao showing up because of Hu Tao talking about her ancestors working with the Yakasha's. I feel like Xiao was already moving in the direction of being willing to interact with other's as it was and after Perilous Trails he realized that he could be a little more lenient with his interactions so long as the people around him possess elemental power. He also slightly suggest that hearing Hu Tao talk about the guests possessing such power meant Traveler would be among them and that was also a reason for him to join as well. Though I do agree that if anyone should've been able to convince Xiao it should've been Traveler one hundred percent. They did all the work in breaking down Xiao's walls and Hu Tao gets the credit???? Fuck off 🙄

Xiao being awkward was both cute and sad. Cute because he's so jittery and restless that he looks like a lost puppy. But sad because I know exactly what that feeling is like. I wouldn't say he hates being around people so much as he just isn't used to it. He's always playing keep away because he's worried about his karma and doesn't want the people around him to be affected by it. Hu Tao was being so weirdly prying towards him and I know she was joking but I wish she would've just left him be. Felt more like an interrogation than jokey joke poking fun between friends. Plus Venti was so full of energy and high strung that Xiao seemed to be poorly taking in that energy while not being able to give the same back. He clearly doesn't know how to communicate with Venti (more reasons why xiaoven is fucking dumb). I'm pretty sure the conversation Venti refers to though is the one in the Trailer however. I felt pretty bad for Xiao too his first proper interaction with humans should've been at a dinner between the Perilous Trails cast not these guys.

Tiny little paragraph to say that almost the entire dinner made me feel uncomfortable. Especially the way everyone was praising each other for doing their normal jobs?? It didn't feel like they were doing it genuinely (except for a couple interactions) it felt like being forced to go to a family reunion where everyone's trying to be polite and not bring up the recent family controversy. Bad cringe. Plus the way everyone started praising Paimon at one point?? Shut all the fucks up! That bitch is about as useful as bubble wrap on a dog. It was so fucking forced and the way they made Venti compliment her the most?? Eat a bag of dicks Venti stop being a fake ass hoe you know damn well you called her annoying in one of your voicelines. 😒 He has basically no reason to like her! Outside of her being Traveler's friend she calls him tone deaf bard every single time they meet up. She's an immature, inconsiderate like roach and I wish she'd get run over by a cart.

Little ramble within a rant. Can't stand YaoYao I said it before and I'll say it again she's just Liyue Nahida to me. What a lackluster character. Adorable design however.

The cutscene felt so thrown in. I found very little to enjoy about it. I love that Xinyan finally got to sing but why should I care when it was this.. awful. It isn't the VA's fault of course. Direction matters and obviously every song that's amazing in Chinese when directly translated with a limited amount of time is going to sound far worse in the new language then it did in the old. Yeah the song sounds way better in the original language but no fucking shit. Anyone who makes it the VA's fault is a huge dick head and I hate them. There's so much more to it and the VA's did they best they could with the direction and limited time they were given.

Now onto Venti, OOOO VENTI I SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST. I spent all that time weeks in advance wishing he would just not show up. I was like please no please no and while his interactions with the characters weren't as bad as I thought they'd be they were horrible in new ways. I need Hoyo to stop writing fanon Venti so bad. Hoyo stop writing fanon Venti challenge. His interactions with Zhongli were so uncomfortable and while I don't feel like they were being passive aggressive I just hate how fucking bland these two were. THIS IS THE FIRST ARCHON - ARCHON INTERACTION WE GOT. I hate Zhongven but you're telling me these two are old friends?? Be so fucking for real. They talked for a couple minutes inside then Venti just fucks off to go hang out with Kazuha. You haven't seen your friend in some years Venti what the actual fuck. I completely agree that Venti added nothing to the story and he shouldn't have been there. They should've just let Kazuha come to the LR for once. I hate the stupid, "Uh oh can't let the humans know we know each other and that we're all super old so lets pretend we've heard of each other but just properly talked today." It was atrociously hard to watch omg. Like everyone at the table was hiding some kind of secret from everyone else except for maybe two characters?? How am I supposed to buy them all becoming friends when some of their first interactions with each other are "oop can't let my true identity slip." It was so fucking painful. They ruined my poor angel Venti so much in this, he was literally fanon Venti in every way shape and form aside from possibly bringing up alcohol every five seconds. At this rate he's going to be sucking Diluc's dick for wine and watching Albedo destroy Mondstadt from a tree while strumming his lyre.

I remember NPC Venti from the Weinlesifest and how soft and sweet he was. The way he talked about Razor and referred to himself as an old grandpa. The like joke about him almost going blue while trying to get the winds of the past up and his little antidote about wanting Traveler to be happy because Traveler's happiness is important to him. God he was great there. I need that Venti back dammit. Throw this new Venti away he sucks. (I wanna sing that song so bad in this little section, the one that's like: I miss the old Kanye set on his goals Kanye but I think it'll ruin my argument so I'll leave it out.)

If we truly are getting a Windblume festival next patch I am so sorry for the people who haven't seen their fav in forever. Special shout out to people whose favorite characters are: Yanfei, Sucrose, Noelle, Amber, Farzun, Kokomi, Shenhe, Qiqj, Beidou, Childe and Yomiya because Hoyo doesn't like your fav and I am so sorry that Venti is currently hogging the screen time.

Though I really really hope that they give us back the Venti we love sometime soon because this new Venti has to go. He sucks and I hate him and I don't like hating my favorite character. But that's not Venti!

I'm glad you could piece together your thoughts like that anon. After all it gave me the opportunity to indulge in my feelings. Glad you feel better too. 😊

[genshin-impact-writings]

For the 700 followers i wanna submit Xiao with fluff dialogue 15 (what a surprise) and general scenario uuuuuuuh 7 because 700 followers

Congrats on the milestone!!!

Hehe, thank you! <3 Ngl, the combination of prompts left me a bit at a loss when I first looked at them but I hope I managed to combine them in a way that makes sense. Anyway, have fun reading! <3

Prompts: fluff, 15: “There’s something missing when you’re not by my side.” + general, 7: jealousy (700 followers event: Mystery Prompts)

Happy Lantern Rite – Xiao x gn!reader (fluff)

The Lantern Rite had always been your highlight of the year. But this time, it was even more amazing. The whole city seemed to be engulfed in this soft, golden light, illuminating the various food stalls and different activities the Ministry of Civil Affairs had organized. Children were playing around with the Shadow Lanterns while their parents indulged in delicious foods and drinks. Everyone around you was smiling and laughing, enjoying the festivities and the buzzing atmosphere. But your favorite part, the actual highlight of this year’s Lantern Rite, was yet to come – and you still hadn’t found the perfect spot to watch the fireworks that everyone had been talking about since the festival had started.

Originally, you had planned to go to Yujing Terrace but you knew that it would be way too crowded for your liking once the show started, so it definitely wasn’t your favorite option, no matter how nice the view would be from there.

With a sigh, you leaned against the railing. Surely the fireworks would look really pretty from here too, when they would reflect in the water of the ocean that seemed to be particularly clear today, a deep, twinkling blue that would be the perfect backdrop for the bright lights of the firecrackers. But you still weren’t completely satisfied with your choice. Maybe it was because the area surrounding the stars that led up to the Ministry of Civil Affairs was beginning to get crowded as well or because the smell of the various dishes people were enjoying started to overwhelm your senses or-

You sighed again. Who were you trying to fool? You knew exactly why you were feeling like that, and there wasn’t a point in denying it. You were still upset because Xiao, that stubborn adeptus you fell so hopelessly in love with, had outright refused to accompany you on your trip to Liyue Harbour. Too many people, he had said when you had asked him for a reason, disappointment written all over your face.

You knew that he preferred to keep to himself, and usually, you didn’t mind it too much but today, it really bothered you. Even more so when you had to see everyone around you gathering in groups of two, three, sometimes more to watch the firework show together. They all were laughing and joking around, enjoying their time together while you slowly started to feel like the loneliest person in the whole city. Of course, you weren’t the only one who was here alone, and it also hadn’t bothered you the whole day, but now you wished you could share that special moment when the fireworks would illuminate the night sky with Xiao.

And especially in moments like this, you couldn’t help but be deeply jealous of the solitude he surrounded himself with. He never thought twice about being alone, gladly choosing it over any other option while you always had to persuade him for what felt like an eternity to go somewhere with you. There were no doubts that he loved you and enjoyed to be with you, but sometimes you wished that he was a bit less hesitant about accompanying you. But then again, you respected his decisions and his boundaries and would never ask him to change anything about himself – especially not when he’d feel uncomfortable with it. It was just that you felt almost incomplete when he wasn’t with you. Like you were desperately trying to find something you lost, knowing very well that you’d never be able to figure out where it was. It was pathetic to miss him like that, and yet there was nothing you could do about it.

You stared down into the water, lost in your own thoughts as you tried to fight back that awful mixture of utter disappointment and jealousy that threatened to overwhelm you. It only got worse when you heard the giggles and sweet words from a pair of lovers nearby, no matter how hard you tried to just ignore them. It was unfair to grudge them their happiness simply because your boyfriend wasn’t here, and you really shouldn’t get annoyed by them so easily – but just the sight of them made you feel so damn lonely that you wanted to scream.

And then, all of a sudden, a pair of arms wrapped around your waist and the ground beneath your feet disappeared. Startled, you closed your eyes, your breath hitching in your throat, your heart skipping a beat. Only a few seconds later, you were set back down.

When you opened your eyes again, the hustle and bustle of Liyue Harbour around you had disappeared, as well as the cheerful voices of the other festival-goers. Instead, you found yourself high above the city, at the top of Mount Tianheng where one had the most stunning view over Liyue Harbour and the adjacent ocean.

“I figured we could see the fireworks better from up here,” someone behind you said quietly, slowly releasing you from their embrace, only to tumble a few steps backwards when you threw your arms around them in an impetuous hug. “Xiao!” you exclaimed. “You’re here!”

He huffed, awkwardly patting your back. “Obviously.”

“What made you change your mind? I thought you wanted to spend the day alone.”

“I never said that. I just said that I didn’t want to go to the city today,” he replied, holding you at arm’s length as an unusually soft smile flashed over his face. “I could sense that you were feeling upset and – I thought it wouldn’t be too bad to watch the fireworks together. Um – if you still want my company, of course.”

You couldn’t help but smile back at him. Gone was the disappointment that had been on your mind almost the whole day. “You came here because you sensed that I was upset? I didn’t even know that was possible.”

He turned his head away to avoid your gaze but you could still see the rose-tinted blush that crept up his cheeks. “To be completely honest, I always keep an eye on you when you’re out alone. I noticed you looked awfully sad earlier, so I – I thought it would make you happy if you didn’t have to be alone for the rest of the day.”

“Oh.” You were pretty sure you had hearts in your eyes at this point. It was rare that Xiao said something like this because sweet-talking didn’t make much sense to him but that only made moments like this more precious. “Thank you.”

He nodded, allowing you to pull him into a tight hug once again. “I have to admit that I, too, feel a lot better now that you’re here with me.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Xiao said, hesitatingly locking his gaze with yours. His golden eyes were filled with so much devotion that it sent a shiver down your spine but you could also see a hint of insecurity as he looked back at you. Reassuringly, you cupped his cheek, your heart skipping a beat when he leaned into your touch ever so slightly. “Try it,” you replied softly. “I’ll listen.”

A sigh escaped his slightly parted lips. “Fine. You know that I don’t like Lantern Rite – that’s why I didn’t want to do go Liyue with you, and in that moment, it felt right to make that decision. But as soon as you had left – well, let’s say I wasn’t so sure about that anymore. It’s like – it’s like there’s something missing when you’re not by my side. I feel lonely when you’re not with me.”

The blush on his cheeks had deepened with every word but this time, Xiao made no effort to hide it. It would have been pointless anyway because your hand was still resting on his cheek, your thumb softly caressing your skin. “I feel the same way, you know,” you admitted. “The festival was beautiful today and I really enjoyed it but it would have been even better with you by my side. I missed you.”

He didn’t reply, at least not verbally. Instead, he brushed his lips against yours in an almost chaste kiss, only to let out a quiet, surprised gasp when you pulled him closer, carefully deepening the kiss, right as the sky over Liyue Harbour exploded into bright colors and all kinds of shapes. The firework show had started.

You leaned your forehead against Xiao’s, smiling softly back at him. “Happy Lantern Rite.”

He rolled his eyes but wrapped his arm around your waist as you turned around to watch the fireworks in silence. Maybe mortals had been right all along, Xiao thought to himself. Perhaps fireworks could indeed fight off evil. Or maybe he was just feeling this way because you were here, snuggled up against him as you watched the colorful explosions with bright eyes. In any case, he hadn’t felt so much at ease in a long time.

“Happy Lantern Rite, (Y/N).”

Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed it please consider reblogging and/or leaving feedback. I'd really appreciate the support. <3

Taglist: @the-gayest-sky-kid @shanmie @somemothgoingferal @the-fifteen

[wesimpforxiao]

Say My Name and I’ll Be There:  8.4; Lantern Rite 3

X-Xiao...kissed me...?  You still couldn't wrap your head around what just happened, even after he seemed to move on from the topic and sit back down on the viewing rock, his eyes casting a wonderous gaze at the lights that floated above the two of you.  You were unaware that his and your eyes had flashed their signature glow when he placed a kiss between your brows, signaling the official sealing of your bond with the adeptus.

So it's sealed, Xiao made the conscious effort to keep his eyes on the lanterns while he thought to himself.  Her pain should subside now.  He could still hear the faint bustling of Liyue Harbor to the right of the cliff, and his lips twitched into a miniscule frown for a split second.  I won't be able to hear her play music anymore.  His gaze flit to you, still recuperating from his touch and a deep shade of crimson.

"Aren't you going to sit?"  His words sliced through the silent air much like his blade.  

"U-uh, yes!"  You squeaked, putting a bit of space between your bodies in the process, mostly because of embarrassment.  "So, um...the lanterns...do you like them?"  Your fidgeted with the hem of your shirt.

"They...are not half-bad," he begrudgingly admitted.  When you sent him a glance, you noted the pink that painted the tips of his ears as he avoided looking your way.  

"I'm glad I got to see you today," you smiled and returned your gaze to the sky.  A comfortable silence befell you two, while the crickets began to sing and the fireflies assisted in lighting the hill alongside the lanterns.  It was peaceful.  Even after the lights of the lanterns dimmed and could no longer be seen in the air, the two of you sat overlooking the harbor.  

"When will you be leaving?"

"At the end of the week, at the latest.  We might be leaving tomorrow--er, I guess it's technically today now--but Childe hasn't said anything yet."  You caught a glimpse of what you assumed to be dejection in his eyes, and tussled his hair.

"What are you doing? I'm not a child," he dodged you before your hand could mess his hair up even more.  His eyes narrowed at you with suspicion, not quite knowing what you were getting at.

"You looked sad, so I thought I should cheer you up," you answered cheekily, much to his bemusement.

"I do not understand how patronizing me is supposed to 'cheer' me up," he watched your hand come up and run through his hair much gentler this time.

"I'd rather get you to banter with me than look like that."  You had thought he would pull away again, but much to your surprise he held still--and even seemed to lean in slightly as if he enjoyed the gesture.  "Can I play with your hair, Xiao?"

"Why bother asking when you're already doing it?" He half-complained before getting up and sitting in front of you so his back leaned against your shins and his head lay onto the spots above your knees.  He made a show of false disinterest as per usual, but he ended his little charade with a slim smile as he looked up at your embarrassed expression.

He's never been this open, you struggled to comprehend his gestures while your hands re-embedded themselves in his locks.  I’m blessed to see his smile.  He watched you closely, observing the small waves of happiness, excitement, shock and embarrassment wash over your face.  He observed the gentle nature in your eyes, and the content smile you'd return to him when you occasionally worked up the courage to meet his gaze halfway.  

Eventually, you felt his shoulders relax and he allowed himself to put his full weight against you, his eyes hesitantly fluttering closed soon after.  If a kiss to the eyelids was a sign of placing trust in one another, this had to be the ultimate display of trust coming from the adeptus.  He never slept when you were adventuring with Aether--or at least, you never caught him batting an eye.  Always said something like 'You have no respect for the ways of the adepti,' or 'Sleep is for mortals.'

And yet here you were, stuck between him and the rock you sat on, as his breathing turned slow and shallow, his face relaxing to that of a rare vulnerability of a long-lost innocence both of you thought he no longer had.  It was clear he reveled in your touch as you traced circles along his scalp and lulled him to sleep with the soft familiar hum of your moonsong.  Even after the lights of the stars were the only ones illuminating your dark surroundings, you continued to hold him.

The yaksha's dreams were light and fleeting, much like his natural agility in combat.  Dreaming was rare, but when it happened, it seldom excluded the voices of bygone gods and wraiths.  What was once an image of the human he came to love was now a void of indescribable darkness that loomed ever closer to his restrained soul.  Threats of instilling terror, misfortune, and death upon you reached his ears, and the tension around his chest tightened until he found it difficult to breathe.  

When he felt like he was drowning, being swallowed by the fear of losing you, hurting you, causing you pain--

You felt Xiao tense against you and peered down at him to find his eyebrows furrowed together and the corner of his lips twitching.  Is he having a nightmare?  You observed him for a moment, nearly jumping out of your skin when he--quite literally--began to growl much like an agitated animal.  His eyes were still squeezed shut, albeit tighter than before, and his nails dug themselves into his skin like he was struggling to ground himself.  The feral look on his face made your jaw tighten.

Once you recovered from having the daylights scared out of you, one of your hands left his hair and traced his temple in a circular motion.  "It's okay, I'm here."

Xiao jolted awake, one of his hands shooting up to grab your wrist in a tight grip as if he had thought he was about to be attacked.  His eyelids flew open just as quickly, his breathing an unsteady pant and his blurry vision finally coming to focus on the shadow of the concerned human that loomed over his body.  His grip loosened when he realized it was you, and his thumb rubbed the spot where his nails had broken skin with a guilty look in his eyes.

"Are you okay?"  He had moved so quickly, you weren't even aware that he had scratched you.  You rotated your hand so that you could hold his, giving him a reassuring smile when he squeezed back.  His gaze hardened as he lifted his head and broke eye contact.

"It was nothing." He was wide awake now, not being able to bear another one of those stupid dreams.  He didn't need that right now; he just wanted to bask in your presence and forget about his worries.  But that intense fear of his selfishness bringing harm to you loomed at the back of his mind as he glanced over to you.

Can I really indulge in such humanistic behaviors and put you in danger?  

"Xiao?  What's wrong?"  There was that look again; it wasn't his usual indifferent expression, but one that revealed a heavy burden of anxiety in the depths of his pupils.

Can I allow myself to be vulnerable with you, without a guilty conscience?  Zhongli even said himself that you would be in danger of his karma even after the bond is sealed...So why did he do it?  Why did he admit his feelings while knowing it would cause you pain in the long run?  Did human emotions cause him to think irrationally and make a brash decision?  Is that what they do?

"...Xiao?"

"Rise."  The adeptus swallowed the heavy lump in his throat and wrapped an arm around you until the surrounding world warped unsteadily.  The feeling nearly made you vomit, but just as quickly as the world spun, it stopped and your feet were on steady ground again.  

"Huh?"  You caught your bearings and took a moment to recognize your surroundings.  The two of you were in a small bedroom, with the moonlight falling through the window.  "Is this Wangshu Inn?  I-I can't...Childe said I can't be here--"

"Humans need sleep to function properly.  You can't sleep outside."  He shot you a stern look when you opened your mouth to protest further, and you couldn't help but think he was trying to push you away again.

This time, he was doing it a bit differently.  

"Where will you sleep?"  You gestured around the small room that had only one bed.

"I have business to attend to.  I'll be back by sunrise."

You took a deep breath and took the plunge.  "You can't run away from your fears, Xiao."  The yaksha froze, one of his eyebrows twitching in response.  "That's what you're doing right now, isn't it?"

"Mortals do not understand the burdens adepti--"  A raised brow got the words stuck in his throat.  The bond is sealed, is it not?  How can she see right through me?

"I asked you to trust me, Xiao.  Don't burden yourself so much.  I can take some of the weight off your shoulders; all you have to do is let me."

A human helping an adeptus with his burden? It shouldn't be that way.  What could you even do for me?  The weight on my shoulders would crush you.  He wanted to mutter the words, but it was clear they would fall on deaf ears at the moment.  He desperately wanted to disappear from the room for your own protection against his karmic debt, and he would've, but...I don't want to leave just yet.

The yaksha positioned himself so that he leaned against the door while you got under the fluffy covers that lay on the bed.  It had to be two in the morning by now, surely, your human mind must be exhausted.  He could go without sleep after that awful dream earlier...

"Xiao?"  Your half-whisper travelled through the dark room.  "Can you, um...Will you...Could you maybe lay next to me?"

It took a moment for your words to be processed.  Join her in bed?  Why?  "I'm naturally inclined to stand watch.  Go to sleep." A meek and disappointed 'okay' from the bed drew a reluctant sigh from his lips, but you had already drifted off.  It didn’t take long for the air in the room to grow unusually cold, and the familiar groans accompanying your nightmares to be heard.

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

"I won't let you take him!"  Your cry dropped the temperature of the throne room below zero, and your captor laughed at the pitiful display of power.  Despite your show of bravado, you were trembling before her.

"I know what you've been thinking," the archon's lips spread into a thin, daring smile.  "Heed my words, Mezzetin, you are still and always will be under my control."  The amusement didn't reach her eyes.

"Stay away!"  A warning shot of solid ice grazed the Tsaritsa's cheek, to which her eyes narrowed after recovering from what you assumed was shock.  Shock that you actually touched her.  "If you dare to touch him, I'll--"

"You'll what?"  She tested with a raised brow, motioning for Scaramouche to bring out the messy gift of a bloodied, unconscious--or dead--yaksha.  He threw him at your feet.

"No!"

Your eyelids shot open, nose inhaling a deep, slow breath when your consciousness returned to the room in Wangshu Inn.  Light flooded through the windows and illuminated your surroundings, and you could hear the local wildlife singing in the tree branches directly outside the window.

It seems like you also had an unconscious fear eating away at you, just like Xiao.  But something about that nightmare was off...why did she look at you like that?  The shock on her face...Was that your unconscious view of her, or was it something more?  Surely she couldn't have actually been in your dream.  The mere idea of it sent a chill down your spine.

And what was with this qingxin flower-scented pillow? It was nice and toasty, and--Oh my gods, why is it moving?!

"X-Xiao?!"  Your gaze dropped to your arms, which were wrapped tightly around his abdomen.  Your head shot up only to hit his lower jaw, drawing groans from both of you.  I'm cuddling him?! What the hell?!

"You wanted me here," he muttered shyly while rubbing the spot you had just collided with.  "You weren't sleeping well."

"But...But I thought you declined!"  Despite your obvious distress, your grip around him didn't loosen, and he didn't make it a goal to move, either.  He tensed when you returned to your original spot with your face buried at the crook of his neck.  Your disturbing dream was long-forgotten now that you had this to worry about.

"You're telling me you don't remember dragging me under the covers?"

"EH?!"  Your face burned hot with embarrassment and you raised your head to look at him in horror.  This time, your grip around him loosened.  I sleep walk?  I don’t remember ever having that habit.  What else have I done?!  "Did I really do that?"

"Hmph."  The slightest twitch at the corner of his lips.  He was laughing at you.  Foolish.  Of course you didn't.

"You're so mean!" You gawked and reburied your face once you caught onto his amusement, his arm hesitantly slinking across you in response.  You'd never been so close to him before.  It was difficult to calm yourself from being so up-close and personal with him so early in the morning; the way his toned stomach rose and fell as he breathed, his breath tickling your ear; how muscular his arm felt on top of you...Ooooh, this was too much to deal with after just waking up--Archons, what're you even thinking this early in the morning?!

Xiao thought it was odd how often your ears turned a bright shade of red, but he never brought it up.  He had a feeling if he pointed it out you would just turn a deeper shade and evade giving a straight answer.  Maybe Zhongli or Aether could help him understand this weird human display...

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

"Good morning, Zhongli! Aether! Paimon!"  Your excited wave to the trio grabbed their attention as they walked through the main street of Liyue.  "Sorry about, er, running away last night!"  

"You're looking better," Paimon commented while a relieved Aether returned your greeting.  "What's got your spirit up?"

"Hm?"  Your fingers twitched.  "Oh, uh, well..."  You looked to Xiao for an easy getaway.  "I found him, so..."

"I found you," the adeptus corrected, arms crossing across his chest as he avoided your gaze.  

"Did you see the Mingxiao lantern?  It exploded! It was so cool!"  When you shook your head 'no,' Aether busily filled you in with graphic details of the largest plaustrite lantern in twenty years.

Xiao's avoiding eye contact, and you are brimming with happiness while sneaking glances at him...Zhongli observed you two extra carefully, taking note of every minute movement you were making.  I see.  The bond may or may not have sealed, but I am almost certain another event came to pass last night.  These are the symptoms humans call 'afterglow,' are they not?

Zhongli cleared his throat and interrupted the animated conversation.  "It is not a Liyue specialty, but why don't I treat you all to a meal of red bean rice?"

"Red bean rice? What's that?"  Aether scrunched his eyebrows together when he didn’t recognize the name of the dish.  It was a given he would be the one to pay for it all, so he was conditioned into automatically accepting the matter.  It no longer surprised him that Zhongli would offer to pay despite lacking mora.

"Oh! Paimon knows this one!" The floating mascot hurriedly whirled around with stars in her eyes at the thought of food.  "It's traditionally an Inazuman dish, but it is served on special occasions like weddings, birthdays, and--"

"What's the occasion?" It was your turn to send Zhongli a quizzical look, but Xiao looked disinterested in the conversation.  "I don't remember any of our birthdays coming up, and we definitely don't have any weddings, either."

Zhongli thought it was the most obvious thing in the world, and he faced you with a straight expression.  "In honor of your consummation, of course."

"WHAT?!"  You nearly choked on nothing, while Aether and Paimon's jaws practically dropped to the floor.  Today's morning air seemed to heat up quite a bit, aha...

"W-wait, Zhongli! You can't just blurt that out!" Paimon frantically waved her hands out in front of her.  "People don't talk about that in public! It's inappro--"

"Wow, um," Aether awkwardly scratched the back of his head and released a nervous laugh.  "This isn't really something I thought I'd have to hear about."  He shyly averted his eyes to avoid your flabbergasted gawking.

"Wait! That's not...That didn't...!"  You failed to blurt the words out as your cheeks heated up more and more.  Oh boy, it was getting especially hot in the sun, wasn't it?  "We didn't!"  Your head whipped to Xiao, and you urged him on.  "Say something!"

"I-is this true, Xiao?"  Despite Aether's awkwardness, it was clear as day that he and Paimon just had to have confirmation to quell their disbelief and recover from the shock of Zhongli's bluntness.  "Did you guys...?"

"We slept together, yes."

"XIAO!"  Your shriek of horror caught the attention and annoyance of the strangers walking past the group as they were cleaning up from the Lantern Rite.  Feeling all eyes on you, your shrunk in on yourself, face burning with even more embarrassment.  The way he said it! Without so much as a smidge of hesitation!  This humiliation was too much; honestly, you’d prefer if you could crawl into a hole and hide right now.  "He didn't mean it like that!" You whisper-yelled at the trio, who all held smug, knowing expressions that weren’t too far off from that Albedo-fellow you met.  "Will you stop?! We just slept next to each other, that's it! I swear!"  You sent a slight glare in Xiao's direction.

"Oh-ho?" The all-too familiar sneer of a harbinger brought you a small sense of relief now that the attention shifted away from you.  "That's it, ojou-chan?"  Childe's cocky grin prompted you to roll your eyes.  Finally, some color's returned to your cheeks.  And that constant grimace of pain is absent, too...So their bond must be sealed; her Majesty will be pleased.

"Stay away from her!  Aether!"  Paimon gestured for the boy to pull his sword, and he did.  Xiao simultaneously sidestepped ahead of you, his face distorting into a scowl.  Zhongli, on the other hand remained still, his eyes the coldest you've ever seen.

"Relax.  I'm not here to fight," Childe chided. He remained as relaxed and unconcerned as ever despite Aether pointing the edge of the blade at his throat.  This man faced death with a smile-

"That's what you said last time, and you proceeded to attack us anyway," the traveler growled.  

"That's in the past."  Childe's eyes flit to Zhongli for a moment.  Ah, so he still hasn't told them?  Does the yaksha know, then?  He caught the uneasy side glance Xiao gave his master.  He does.  This’ll be interesting.  His gaze shifted to you.  "You disobeyed orders last night, Mezzetin."

"Mezzetin?"  Paimon's face twisted unhappily.  "What kind of dumb pet name is that?"

"Step closer, and I'll use force," warned the yaksha, who didn't conjure his weapon to avoid the prying eyes of Liyue's citizens.  Not that it would make a difference, anyway; people were already casting side glances at Aether's sword.

"No, you wouldn't.  Not here," the harbinger called his bluff, and didn't remove his gaze from you.  "So, I take it your time here was well-spent?  Good.  We'll be leaving tomorrow."

You took a half-step forward.  "Tomorrow? But--"

"I'm afraid I have business to discuss with you," Zhongli finally broke his silence, and the atmosphere grew tense when Childe's gaze sharpened in response.  "It may delay your leave."

"Oh?  Whatever do you want to discuss with me, Mr. Zhongli?"  The atmosphere grew heavier until it felt like the entire group was suffocating, Childe's icy smile sending chills down your spine.  He wore his usual friendly façade, but that just made it all the more worrisome as his eyes were vacant and calculating.  

"Uh-oh," Paimon squeaked, and disappeared.

"I'm sorry, dear friends, but I will have to take a rain check on our little celebration."

"We weren't even celebrating anything!"  Heat rose to your cheeks until the archon sent you an admonishing look that told you it really wasn't the time for your chirps.  He was practically emanating anger, hot and boiling to the point where you couldn't bear to stand there any longer.  It was like being in a boiling pot of water.

"Come."  Xiao snapped you out of your daze and encouraged you and Aether to follow him.  "They have matters to discuss."

[fleurissimoo]

Free Day [#XiaovenWeek2023 Day 7]

—Because without you, there’s no me.— Best of Me by BTS

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

The awkwardness filled the air as they continued their supper after the Lantern Rite festival. At least, that was Xiao felt. He had no idea that Venti, who he just met several days ago, would actually come and hang out with both mortals and adepti. The way Venti and Zhongli just pretended like they didn't know about each others surely made Xiao and the traveler a little uneasy.

Venti said that he would go to the Alcor, talking with his other mortal friend. Zhongli enjoyed taking a stroll in the harbor, a place that he had protected for thousands of years, so he did just that.

After bidding his farewell with the Traveler, Xiao went back to Wangshu Inn, to (presumably) take a break. These days, he felt more tired than before. The words from the traveler and a certain bard that we already knew who surely lived rent free on his mind.

"Happy Lantern Rite, Adeptus Xiao." Verr Goldet greeted from behind the counter, just like she did years ago.

"Happy Lantern Rite too." He answered and it surely shook her, because Xiao always replied with a "hmm" or "you too", not bothered saying the festival name.

Verr Goldet smiled, "I'll ask the chef to prepare the best Almond Tofu tomorrow morning."

"You don't ha-- uh, ... thank you."

Swiftly, Xiao made his way to his room, located on the very top of Wangshu Inn. He put his spear back to the assigned place and went to his bed. A sigh escaped his mouth, a mixed of relief, disappointment, happiness, and a hint of sadness.

"Knock, knock! Can I come in?"

The familiar voiced of a certain bard came to his ears. Jolting, Xiao sat straight on the bed and replied. "Yeah, you can."

The door opened and a twin-braided man popped out from behind it. "Are you gonna sleep, Xiao?"

"Just now, I want to."

"Good! When did you have this kind of thoughts? To rest, I mean. Do you remember the Traveler's words or ... my words too?"

"Both, actually."

"You surely fond of the Traveler, don't you?" Venti asked and sat down besides the Conqueror of Demons, before continuing, "I'm kinda jealous!"

"W-Why are you jealous? I—" Xiao was at loss of words.

"I mean, you took their advice seriously, but when I said it, at least 70%, I think that you ignore me all the time!" The Anemo Archon pouted.

"N-No!" Xiao replied, panic could be heard, "Don't ..., don't ever said that again, Barbatos!"

"Why did you say that?"

"You may think that your contribution in ... "changing" me, that word surely feels a little weird ..., was small. I just want to say that it was not true."

Xiao, who was captivated before by Venti's gaze, diverted his eyes from Venti. He couldn't bring himself to look at the older's.

"Because without you, there's no me."

"Xiao ...."

"You are the one who truly ... makes me better each day. Your melody saved me from my karmic debt, letting me to live longer and protect Liyue. You are the remedy that I need."

Venti was left speechless by Xiao's sudden words. Slowly, Venti could see Xiao's cheeks were getting more and more red each second. The tone-deaf bard, as Paimon called him, cupped Xiao's face into his palm and their eyes met.

"Thank you so much, Xiao. The wind will always bless you, no matter where you are."

"And please remember, that it was not just my tune that saved you, but you still had the power inside you and you never gave up on the first place."

An embrace was given and Xiao could not stop thinking that the figure in front of him was indeed his savior and his ultimate remedy.

And definitely someone that he respected, cared and loved for the rest of his life.

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨ END ୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

[bl00dgutsgl0ry]

I Don’t Lose.

Pairing - Tartaglia/Childe/Ajax x Reader

Warnings - VERY mild angst, so much so that I wasn’t even going to tag it at first.

Other Comments - I promise I am working on asks! I just kinda wanted to post this little drabble, since I was working on it before I went on hiatus! Anyway be prepared for my garabgo posts to come back up on your pages >:^))

      Childe’s work schedule was horrendous; and calling it a schedule is an overstatement if anything. Now (Y/n) knew that Childe’s time out for work was going to be long, but it seemed as though recently the guy just couldn’t catch a break. He’s been gone for about three months now, with the only contact being a couple of hastily written letters.

      (Y/n) and Childe were never officially dating each other, but they had gotten pretty close over the time that they’d known each other in Liyue. Though he’s not the only person the young traveler had gotten close to. (Y/n) was extremely sociable and charismatic, which is what drew Childe to them, but it also attracted a certain ex Geo Archon.

      Zhongli seemed to always be asking for (Y/n) to accompany him every where or vice versa, borderline addicted to their presence with him. He had grown used to it when they were trying to set up the Lantern Rite a couple months back. Childe was still in Liyue at that point in time so the Geo Archon knew to keep his distance, but now with the Harbinger out of the picture he didn’t have to worry about him anymore.

      Zhongli was aware of how Childe felt about (Y/n) even if Childe himself wasn’t fully aware of his feelings, and in addition to that he was also Childe’s friend too. So there was a small voice in the back of his mind telling him that it was wrong to try to steal (Y/n) while Childe was off on a mission. He couldn’t help but think though, that he would be a better match for the traveler. He wasn’t going to be gone in a different part of Teyvat for months at a time, and if they permitted him to he could even accompany them on THEIR travels; something Childe was unable to do.

      Everyday Zhongli made it his mission to get (Y/n) tea to help start of their day, and much to his ignorance the traveler had started to expect the small cup of professionally brewed tea at their doorstep with a soft smiling Zhongli gently holding it out to them, before being invited inside the small apartment in the middle of the busy harbor.

      And today was no different, at least not to Zhongli or (Y/n). The traveler smoothly opened their door, being greeted by the ex Archon before opening the door a little wider for him to walk in and set the cup down.

      On a completely different side of Teyvat, it was Childe’s last day in Inazuma for the mission he was sent on, yearning to see the young traveler who had captured his heart. He had sent out a letter to them about a week before to give it enough time to reach them, telling them that he was going to be Liyue for a while after this mission which he was excited for, before quickly jotting down the place he wanted to meet (Y/n) and the estimated time he would be getting there; 13:00 sharp.

      It was now 15:03 and (Y/n) and Zhongli had set out on a daily commission which he had offered to help them with. It was always fun when Zhongli came along with (Y/n) on their mission, as it got lonely traveling through this unknown place with no one but Paimon by their side; so the company and help was greatly appreciated.

      Childe on the other hand, was not having as great of a time, as he had waited around in the previously mentioned spot for about an hour before giving up and deciding to go straight to their apartment. There had to be a logical explanation as to why they never came, maybe they didn’t get the letter? Childe had a habit of letting himself into (Y/n)’s apartment and today was no exception. As he quickly picked the doors lock and let himself in, he once again was let down, as his expectations were not met and (Y/n) was no where to be found in their cramped apartment.

      He couldn’t help but search around their home, looking for the one thing that would have notified them of his arrival; half heartedly hoping that it wasn’t going to be their wanting them to have a good reason as to why they never came. But after a couple minutes of searching, he found the familiar envelope with his name written across the corner in fancy calligraphy. It was sat atop the small side table next to the young travelers bed; irritating Childe even more. Not only had (Y/n) not even bothered to open the envelope, but they went through the length of setting it next to their bed, giving them another chance to open it this morning.

      Meanwhile Zhongli and (Y/n) had just finished up the rest of the commissions they needed to get done, but (Y/n) couldn’t help but feel as though they were forgetting about something. Zhongli was in Heaven right now, he loves spending the entirety of his day with them, nothing brought him more joy than seeing the way (Y/n) would celebrate to themselves a little when finishing off a couple treasure hoarders, or an angry hoard of hillichurls. The day was coming to an end though, and it was starting to get dark so the idea of getting food then going home really resonated with the two.

      As usual once they got into the harbor again they went straight to Wanmin Restaurant, as much as they liked the other expensive restaurants that Liyue Harbor was full of, nothing could compare to to homestyle meals of Wanmin. As the pair was finishing up their meals, Zhongli had placed a large hand atop (Y/n)’s.

      “(Y/n) it has been a pleasure spending the day with you as always. I thoroughly enjoyed fighting the ruin guard with you, and I am disappointed that our day is coming to an end. I was wondering if you would let me accompany you again tomorrow?” Zhongli’s hand had began to gently hold (Y/n) and their face was dusted a light shade of rose. Zhongli sat their waiting for what felt like an eternity for their answer; he spent this time memorizing every detail on their face as to never forget it. 

      (Y/n) smiled shyly and nodded before giving Zhongli’s hand a subtle squeeze and finishing off their meal.  Zhongli could feel a sense of dread forming in his heart. He new Childe was back in Liyue, which he knew because he had spotted him staring at the back of (Y/n)’s back for the entirety of their meal; How the traveler didn’t notice this he would never know.

      (Y/n) noticed the small change in Zhongli’s demeanor and the way his eyes stayed fixated on something, causing (Y/n) to turn around and see what the ex Archon was staying at so intensely. When their eyes met with Childe’s cerulean ones, they gasped quickly getting up and rushing over to him. Zhongli sighed, before quickly footing the bill and going to follow (Y/n).

      “Childe I didn’t realize you were coming back today! When did you get here?” There was something odd in Childe’s eyes, as the way he was staring at Zhongli with such malice made (Y/n)’s blood chill a little.

      “Yeah, no wonder you didn’t know (Y/n). You disregarded my letter like trash. I got here a little after noon, and waited for you at Wangshu in for almost an hour.” Childe’s voice was serious and deep, something the traveler had rarely heard come from Childe. (Y/n) pulse was racing, the look in Childe’s eye was never a good thing. 

      “And you. I had a thought of you doing this but I brushed it off cause I never thought you would. Clearly I was wrong. But here’s something you don’t know Zhongli. I. Don’t. Lose. So your advances on (Y/n) aren’t going to do anything. I am willing to do anything to anyone who tried to take away my world, you are not an exception just because we’re friends.”

      Zhongli rolled his eyes before chuckling to himself, only further infuriating Childe; and before anyone could stop him the Harbinger pushed Zhongli to the ground, quickly materializing his hydro blades and pointing them at the ex Archons throat, his amber eyes widening with shock.

      “Like I said Rex. I don’t lose. Don’t ever touch what’s mine again, no matter how long I’m out of Liyue for.” Childe’s arm wrapped tightly around (Y/n)’s should, roughly pulling them against his side; before walking off and leaving Zhongli on the ground. The walk back to (Y/n)’s was filled with tense silence. Once they had gotten back into their home, Childe unloaded everything.

      “Why (Y/n)? Why would you not even try to open my letter? Have you gotten tired of me? I know my work is crazy and hectic but you have to be mine. I’ll go crazy if I see you with anyone else.” 

      “I never got a letter from you Ajax! Zhongli had been bringing my mail to me so I only ever saw what he had given me. I need you to trust me! Doing that to Zhongli in the middle of the harbor was uncalled for and you know it.” Childe’s eyes were staring into (Y/n).

      “Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll apologize to Zhongli later, but tonight it’s just gonna be you and me. I need to make up for all the time I’ve been gone. Who knows what Zhongli has done to you.” Childe’s signature smirk was back on his face, bringing (Y/n) an odd sense of comfort before nodding in agreement. (Y/n) giggled in response before lightly punching Childe’s arm.

      “So does this mean we’re official?” Childe barked out a laugh before pressing a soft kiss to (Y/n)’s lips.

      “What do you think?”

[monocaelia]

zolotse ii.

Words cannot describe the way he feels about you, so he shows it in a multitude of other ways. Whether or not they’re genuinely romantic gestures is up to you to decide.

[childe x gn!reader]

warnings : none

The streets of Liyue that were usually empty were bustling with life and laughter as citizens and tourists from far and wide wandered the streets. Booths for small toys and lanterns littered the sidewalks and the sweet aroma of food lured people here and there. Children laughed and ran around with each other, mirth filling their eyes as they excitedly ran to and fro to see what the Liyue Lantern Rite Festival had to offer. 

You smiled to yourself, leaning against a pillar as you watched the excited Liyuens walking among the streets. You spotted a small concert happening in the corner and wanted to check it out, but the crowd of people prevented you from doing so. It was a shame really, you were intrigued by the sound of rock music blasting and a pretty sick guitar solo but you were perfectly fine with avoiding the crowd here and watching everything unfold instead. 

Honestly, you did want to enjoy the festival just as everyone else did. You wanted to explore the streets, buy some street food and small toys and gadgets before sitting down to watch the lanterns fly up for the new year. But, well, the bustling crowd kind of intimidated you and you’d rather stand here than be pushed around.

That and celebrating a festival alone is kind of… sad.

You could’ve asked Xiangling to celebrate the festival with you, but she was busy with the restaurant and the huge influx of people coming in for food and you really didn’t want to intrude on that. And Zhongli… you couldn’t find him to ask if he wanted to spend the evening with you roaming around Liyue Harbor. Besides, he probably had others he was spending the festival with right? You recalled rumors of a traveller coming from Mondstadt that had visited him a couple weeks ago who had willingly (or unwillingly) accompanied Zhongli on his errands regarding Rex Lapis. 

“Hm? And what’s someone like you doing standing alone during tonight of all nights?” A voice came from beside you. You jumped slightly, startled from the sudden presence beside you. Childe smiled, boyish and cute, when you finally noticed him. “Festivals aren’t meant to be celebrated alone, you know.”

You took a moment to compose yourself after being startled. “Yeah I know but… I don’t really know a lot of people here in Liyue.” You averted your eyes away from the Snezhnayan. “I was going to ask Zhongli from the funeral parlor, but he wasn’t there when I went to ask.”

You didn’t notice the way his smile fell slightly or the way his fists clenched when you mentioned Zhongli, but it disappeared as quickly as it happened. “Well, why not spend it with me? I have nothing to do tonight anyways.” Childe’s eyes glimmered in mischief as you looked back up at him. “I promise, it’ll be the most fun you’ll have. More fun than if you had spent it with Zhongli.”

“Well, as long as you aren’t lying to me or dragging me out to commit your dirty crimes with you, then I would love to enjoy this festival with you,” you teased, playfully smiling right back at him. He laughed before offering his hand out to you. You placed your hand in his and he gripped it gently, leading you into the crowd of people. 

As much as you hated to admit it… Childe did not disappoint when he told you that you would be having the most fun tonight. You could barely hold in your joy being surrounded by the warm glow of the lanterns and city lights of Liyue Harbor. Music and excited chatter filled your ears as the two of you browsed and visited the many booths that lined the streets. 

You made the mistake of glancing at a booth selling mora meat for a second too long which caught the attention of your Snezhnayan companion. You tried to convince him that you weren’t that hungry and that you could pay it for yourself later, but your attempts were futile as Childe handed the vendor some more and placed the sandwich into your hands. You glared at him, but took the meat filled pastry and mumbled a small ‘thank you’ to him.

You promised yourself that you would pay him back, even if you had to force your money into his hands and run for your life.

The night passed by quickly and pretty soon people were quieting down and looking up expectantly at the sky. You had always wanted to witness the lanterns float up into the sky in person after hearing about it from travellers that passed by your hometown. Beautiful, they had called it, as if you’re surrounded by gold and warmth. 

Your name slipped past Childe’s lips, attracting your attention. His eyes gleamed with something, smile small yet playful. “I have a surprise for you. Do you trust me?”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “Hm… I’m not sure. You’re a Fatui Harbinger and have caused havoc to Liyue Harbor more than just once.” You crossed your arms, the corner of your mouth quirking up. “Promise you aren’t leading me somewhere to kill me?”

“Snezhnayan promise, [Name],” he said back and offered his hand to you once again. Just like before, you placed your complete trust in him and placed your hand in his, letting him lead you somewhere.

Childe led you up a tall hill, the two of you climbing up higher and higher above and away from Liyue Harbor. You were confused, unsure of how this surprise had anything to do with the Lantern Rite Festival considering it was so far away from the harbor. Your brows furrowed, about to question what Childe was pulling when you saw it.

Out on the horizon, small golden lights began floating into the midnight sky. You gasped in amazement, inching towards the edge of the hill the two of you were perched on as more and more lanterns began to float up and above the harbor. You were scared you weren’t going to see much from here, but this view was so much more beautiful than it would have been if you were on the harbor itself. A smile grew onto your lips as the lanterns glided up and above, over the oceans and boats that littered the sea. 

“Isn’t it beautiful?” you whispered out, eyes glued onto the sky. Childe chuckled beside you, his eyes never once left your form the moment the two of you settled down on this hilltop. He smiled, warm and genuine, at the sight of you; beautiful and ethereal under the glow of the moon and lanterns than filled the sky above you. 

“Yeah, you’re beautiful indeed.”

[iiasha-archived]

genshin anon! LOL yeah the violetgrass is an ascension material for xinyan! i would know... i spent forever hunting for it all the time :/ you can buy 5 from... the pharmacy in liyue harbor i think? you can buy 5 somewhere. also i saw you say you have her c5 lol. she's pretty good! her shield is pretty nice. got a long cooldown though, so i have her use the sacrificial claymore. lol yes plz put everyone back in i missed all the fun characters and i want to (try to) get them! (1/5)

<3

(2/5) ah okay haha. i always have the english voices on for when i space out i still know what's going on lol. albedo's though.. so nice. want to replay his story mission just so i can listen to him ): yeah, they do say like chapter 1 or whatever so that really makes it seem like there will be more. oo bennett is nice. he's pretty versatile. you can have him just be a healer or set him up more to fight, which is nice. i tried using him a bit as a healer but idk it just wasn't meshing well for me

(3/5) ahh congrats on the lvl 10 friendship with chongyun lol. yeah im excited to get xiao there but like.. it'll be so disappointing haha. yayyy ill have his namecard woooo... and yeah so many of the new things look super cool! yeah i didnt watch the full video but i watch other people cover it oops lol. did you enjoy the theater mechanics thing from the lantern rite? it was kind of fun. it was fun when i played with my sister, but by myself was a bit boring lol.

(4/5) YES. there's never an incentive to pull on the weapons banner. i dont want to waste my primos on something im probably not going to get. like i'd love to try to get staff of homa for hu tao but i dont want to just keep getting crappy catalysts instead :/ itll take too long to hit pity and im not wasting that many wishes on that. i feel like standard banner could be free wish a day, and maybe weapon/character, one a week? or something. just anything to help a bit. its not like 1 wish

(5/5) is going to hurt anything. yeah it does force them to come on daily. the higher level things need SO MUCH stuff, it can take a few days to get everything. but yeah it does keep people coming back everyday to get things done. yeah having good artifacts is a big thing. ive been trying to work on my artifacts for my mains. its fun doing those with people in coop haha. and ooh nice! im almost at 45! rip world lvl going up soon.

god all the more reason i like........ don’t wanna level xinyan up even if i have her at c5 LMAOOO yeah i think i used her for a little bit but i’m not a big fan of long cooldowns :(

this conversation actually convinced me to put on other voice languages so i can get used to the other voices lmaooo so i have it on chinese now just to get a feel also it feels more authentic in a way i guess since the original is chinese and all voicelines/translations basically stem from that lmao. albedo’s is so nice to listen to i feel like i could fall asleep to it its like a damn lullaby lmao. 

yeah it’s crazy how for the overall story we’re STILL on chapter 1 like.... it’s been ages lmao. yeah i hear a LOT of praise for bennet, as soon as jean gets to 10 friendship (since she’s almost there) i’m probably gonna use him as a healer/attack booster for xiao unless i miraculously pull qiqi or something.

lmaoo whoo namecards... it’s not a particular trophy either unless you actually use it either like nobody knows unless you tell them or use it as your namecard.

for1.4 i actually just watched the brief trailer which (hopefully this isn’t spoilers or anything??? BE WARNED RIGHT NOW) but omgggg when it’s hinted that that big water boss is like lumine/your other twin BROOOO ARE WE ACTUALLY GONNA GET STORY DEVELOPMENT like. HOW long have we been searching for our sibling at this point ajkfslajd and ahhh at first i wasn’t that excited about rosaria but the trailer also made her look extra cool hehe

personally i didn’t really like it although i did play completely by myself. it was just boring to sit through lmao i think i only did a couple levels so i couldn’t buy all the things in the xiao market or whatever but i was like sitting through all this is NOT worth it for me lmao. it looks like there are some more mini games coming up in 1.4 hopefully they’ll be more fun

EXACTLY. i kinda wanted the jade spear for xiao because it fits his aesthetic so nicely but i wasn’t gonna waste primogems just for that lmao. yeah, something like that would definitely be nice to have lmaooo @ any mihoyo employees reading through my blog right now... *wink wink*

the higher level things are impossible i’m not even gonna bother trying to get things to level 90 lmao i’m treating the level 80 as the 100% at this point with leveling up fjdlakfds. after my embarrassing time in my last co-op i’m probably gonna start looking at more artifacts which is just like... sigh another thing to worry about lmao. i’m having enough trouble with the talents jafkldjda

at first i didn’t like the world level up bc i was worried i wouldn’t be able to keep up with it but honestly it’s been okay. especially once you get a 5 star on your team or a really developed 4 star its like. fine lmao. and it definitely helps maintain the game’s difficulty bc it would be no fun if things were too easy hahaha and then also + incentive to level everything up again