#if this is what happens when i sit down and go “hey zhongli would be interesting to write about” then i am GONE

[bl-inkstone]

traveler, wait! it's dangerous to go alone, so have some zhongli thoughts for company!

i think life with zhongli as your significant other would be best described as the love behind every little action and gesture the two of you make. even with all the years you've spent at each other's side (either married or just simply together), the romance never dies. but it shifts and goes through changes, like stone giving way to the gentle embrace of time.

one such example is when the love shared between you calms into something that can blend in with the walls of your home. it matches the color of your curtains, the painted flowers on cups left on your tea table, the clothbound books and scrolls tucked away into the red cedar scroll shelf you had diligently sought after and haggled for when your lover had mentioned it once in passing. it's in the crinkle of your eyes in the morning when you sit at your table together and eat. it's in the shape of his smile when he returns from his work in the funeral parlor to you and the home you've made together.

when you grind ink for him while he works beside you, or comb and tie his hair for him in the morning when sleep still clings to the edges of his eyes. when he combs and washes your hair for you in soothing baths, or leans down to massage the stress of the day away from your tense shoulders when you come back home to him.

acts of service that don't really feel like acts of service — not to zhongli or you. gestures of devotion seem like a more apt term, now, when love is so ingrained in your lives that the word can no longer be used to describe it. you've turned the word from noun to adjective, from adjective to action. love is such a small word for such a boundless concept, but you manage to fit it in every word, every action, and every day leaves zhongli helpless and wondering in the dead of night of what to do with all the love he holds in his hands, specially made just for you.

it's a song and dance he can never quite stray from. even when his heart calms in the daytime and he can look at you with all the assuredness of a lover that loves and knows he is loved in return, all five thousand years of wisdom leaves him when night comes and you're asleep in his arms. he has loved plenty in his long lifetime. friends, family, even past lovers that he can only maybe recall when he can recognize a quirk or quality present in you. but it's in your presence that zhongli remembers that even an archon can become just a man weak to the war between heart and mind. what good is five thousand years of wisdom when it can't tell him what to do with all the love he has for you? how can he show it without scaring you away? you know who he is and you've said time and time before that it doesn't scare you, that you love him no matter what form or identity he takes but what if —

you shift in your sleep and all thoughts cease as he swiftly readjusts his hold as to not disturb you any further. in the dark of your room, zhongli counts each breath and beat of your heart and wills his own to match the tempo of yours. in the morning, he'll reprimand himself for entertaining such foolish thoughts while you hum and converse in front of your shared vanity. he'll share these thoughts with you as he always has, and you'll put down your comb and grace his face with crystalfly kisses as you always have in return. your routine shifts to make room for assurance during the times when he needs it, and the same goes for him when you speak your own fears and doubts as well.

it's part of the comfort of your life together, as strange as it may sound, that you live with all the joys and lows your love brings. sometimes, he wishes he can give you more and do away with all his mortal doubts completely, but a moment of contemplation reveals that it is exactly these doubts that make the softer aspects your lives shine all the more brighter. is this why you allow yourself to feel all your emotions, rather than push back and try to reason them away? is this why you've always placed so much importance in letting him know that should he ever need it, your shoulder is his to lean on? zhongli understands the rationale behind it and has given similar advice to mortals he's met before, of course, but it seems that even he is not immune to the irrationality of the heart. there is much wisdom to still be learned, he concedes. five thousand years is no match for an emotion that has existed since the dawn of teyvat, after all.

time doesn't completely erase all the insecurities of a man who has loved and lost so many in his long lifetime, but zhongli finds that he doesn't entirely mind. come trials and tribulations, he'll stand firm and weather it so long as he can keep holding your hand through it all.

[areislol]

The morning after

►— pairings. genshin men x gn! creator! reader

►— warnings. some of the characters get clingy really quickly.

►— synopsis. albedo created a machine where it would bring back their creator, who was stuck in another world, back to where they belong. but instead of bringing you here to them, it brought them to where you were.

►— a/n. RAGGHH i was having so much trouble just trying to figure out the title 😭 i hope you guys enjoy this 🩷 I’m very sorry for the lack of action or if it’s simple.. next chapter will be more fun for you guys I hope 🙏🏻

►— wordcount. 4.2k

✧ part one | ✧ part two | ✧ part three | ✧ part four | ✧ part five | more tba.. NAVIGATION

recommended to listen to: needy - ariana grande or circles - post malone

The next morning, you awoke to Childe’s hand slapped over the side of your face, snoring quite loudly. Groaning, you pushed his hand away and yawned, opening your eyes groggily.

You managed to sit up on the bed and rubbed your eyes, looking around you could see multiple men standing around in your room, Thoma and Kazuha looking out your window, admiring the view, while the others were looking around your room and pointing at the unfamiliar objects lying about your floor and talking amongst one another about what it could be.

“Hey.. see that thing right there on the floor? Do you think that could be used to whack a Hilichurl?”

“… Itto I doubt something as small, petite and cute looking would be used to hit a Hilichurl..” Zhongli heaved a great sigh from Itto’s stupidity (he couldn’t say that though) and pinched his nose bridge from disappointment.

It was a pink, light wand with a red lollipop at the top with a lid covering it. It was candy… not a weapon you can use against Hilichurls.

You could feel your heart skip a beat because ?! Why were all of these guys in your room?! But after remembering what had happened last night, you calmed down.

Right.. that happened.

Suddenly, you felt Childe cling to your side, burying his head into your abdomen as his arms wrapped around your waist. “Mmm..”

You were too tired to even fuss about why he was being so close to you so you decided to just ignore him and his actions. While stretching your arms and yawning, everybody turned their head to look at you.

“Oh, uh.. good morning everybody?” You said, stopping mid-stretch, almost subconsciously shrinking from their gazes.

A collective “good morning” could be heard from everyone as Neuvillette and Cyno walked towards the edge of your bed and started to question if you slept well or not (you did because it was warm), complaining about how when they woke up they found Childe snuggling close to your side and being so clingy towards you.

(Why were they complaining? Easy answer, they were jealous is what. They would rather bury their heads in the sand than ever admit it.)

Nodding your head slowly, you smiled sheepishly and waved your hand at them. “It’s all good, don’t worry about Childe he’s just.. maybe he just likes to hug people?”

Cyno glared at Childe and let out a sigh before nodding his head. “Sure..”

Neuvillette offered his hand for you to take—giving you a gentle smile. “I’m glad you slept well, Y/n. Shall we prepare you breakfast?”

You took his hands and thought about his offer before nodding, offering him a grateful smile. “That would be nice.. but maybe once I’m done getting ready because I’m not sure if you guys are familiar with how things work.”

Neuvillette gave you a simple nod and once you hopped off the bed and let go of his hands you made your way to the bathroom, slipping on your slippers as Kaveh and Xiao with a few others followed you into your bathroom.

It wasn’t so different to theirs but it looked more.. modern for sure. “It looks so.. white and grey. Oh wow! What is this stuff on the wall..?”

Kaveh pointed to the strange object stuck on the wall. It was a toothbrush holder.

“Oh, that? That’s a toothbrush holder, it holds toothbrushes... I mainly use it for my friends if they ever come over.”

Kaveh and Gorou nod their head. “Strange, but unique. I like it!” You smiled at them before turning around and began to brush your teeth before washing your face, all the while they (Kaveh, Xiao, Kazuha and Kaeya) watched you do your thing.

It was a bit awkward, to tell the truth. While you were doing your morning routine they were either watching you or looking around your bathroom.

After finishing everything you needed to do in the bathroom, you bent down in front of the sink and opened the cabinet, grabbing a few packs of toothbrushes and ripping them open before handing them to Kaveh, Xiao, Kazuha and Kaeya.

“Here, use these. I’ll have to go out and buy the rest as well..” you sighed, thinking about how much it would cost.

Making sure they grabbed one, you helped him apply toothpaste on their toothbrush and left them to do their thing while you stepped out of the bathroom and groaned.

Sleeping with Childe and Xiao wasn’t a bad idea but they squeezed you tight through the night. Especially Childe, he just kept on clinging onto you and your arm was sort of sore.

As you stepped foot into your room, you realised that everybody was gone, they probably were in your living room, and you also realised that Thoma was making your bed. When he saw you just standing there eyeing him he smiled shyly.

“Y/n! I decided to make your bed.. as you noticed. How do you like it?” Thoma questioned, patting your pillow down before standing beside there looking like.. a maid.

You smiled at him nervously and thanked him, “well, you didn’t have to do that but thank you, it actually looks pretty nice and neat!”

There was no reason to lie, the bed looked nice and clean. Your sheets were tucked under your pillows and everything looked so smooth and clean.. he even put your plushies aside on the wall!!

You couldn’t help but smile even more as you noticed him leaving your plushies on your bed. But you were snapped out of your thoughts when Thoma then spoke.

“Would you like breakfast now?” You hummed and nodded your head and walked out of your room with Thoma trailing right behind you. And as you moved closer to your living room you could hear the chattering of everyone.

You didn’t know why but just hearing everybody talking and chuckling in your room made your body relax for some odd reason. It made you feel good, it felt as though the burdens were lifted from your shoulders, how weird.

As you made your way through your living room and into the kitchen, the others started to notice you and Thoma following behind you.

“Oh, Y/n! You’re finally here.” Heizou smiled, waving hello at you. You waved back at him and also included the others (even though they didn’t wave first.), smiling so tenderly and waving at them made their hearts flutter—feeling heat rushing to their cheeks.

“Mhm, I’ll make breakfast for you guys.. if there’s enough that is.” Everybody’s hearts nearly burst at your hospitality. Their creator.. offering to make them breakfast? Oh someone please catch them they might faint!

Aether jumped up from the couch and walked towards you and Thoma. “I’ll help!” He chirped, giving you and Thoma a warm smile to which you two returned. “Sure, thanks!”

As you three rummaged through the cabinets, trying to find anything to make breakfast—you eventually settled on pancakes (how did you have so many ingredients for 28 people? No clue.)

It was oddly comforting that you had people in your house let alone help you out with cooking. It felt nice nonetheless, to have company over, even if it was unexpected.

You let the others stare at your TV in awe, wondering what it was. “See that remote thing on the table? Yes, the one that’s black and has multiple colours on it, yup, press on the red one at the top left—yes! Good job, now uh watch whatever you want?”

You could hear the “oohs”��� and “aaahs” s of the men to which you chuckled softly. They acted like toddlers who just found something new in their life. It was adorable.

Breakfast was finally served after an hour or so, the voices of Itto and Childe could be heard thanking for breakfast being served now as they were starving.

“Oh finally!! I’ve been waiting for years for breakfast!” Childe groaned, almost drooling at the sight of the pancakes. “My stomach was growling so loudly..” Itto agreed.

“We could hear.” Could be heard from Dainsleif, Ayato and Capitano. They seemed to be fed up with him and his antics (so was everybody else.)

Everybody began to sit down in the most random spots, well, anywhere they could sit. Your table could only accompany only 8 people so the rest sat down near your coffee table in front of the TV and some eating at your desk.

They also made sure to sit away from people they didn’t want to sit next to. Diluc with the fatui (Capitano, Childe, Dottore and Pierro.), Wanderer from literally everyone else (he sat himself down in the corner like a little child), and Dainsleif from the archons—Zhongli and Venti.

It was a funny sight, to say the least, but, they had to do what they had to do, in this case—eat your pancakes.

As you and Thoma set down the plates and drizzled maple syrup on them, everybody said their thanks and picked up their utensils before digging in, some even moaning from how amazing it tasted.

“Enjoy your pancakes!” You happily said before standing behind the kitchen counter munching on your own pancakes beside Thoma. “Mhm.. it tastes so good! You and Aether are such good cooks!”

For Thoma hear you praise him and Aether made his cheeks flush red. He mumbled that it was “no problem” and quickly stuffed more pancakes into his mouth to hide his embarrassment, unbeknownst to the jealous glares coming from different directions of the room at him.

While you were still chewing and eating your pancakes, you were unaware of Ayato walking towards you and setting himself beside you.

“Y/n-“ Ayato began before you cut him off with a horrified yell. Turning to face Ayato you placed your hand on your chest and let out a sigh, everybody turned to look at you, their pancakes still half in their mouth as they stopped mid-eating.

“Ayato! You scared me..” you breathed, Ayato frowned and held his hand over his heart. “I didn’t mean to scare you, dear.. are you okay?”

You nodded your head and sighed. “It’s all good Ayato, I know you didn’t mean to.” You replied, giving him a reassuring smile to make sure he doesn’t feel bad, but he was already so.

“Did you need anything though? You must’ve come here for a reason..” Ayato nodded before averting eye contact with you, a noticeable pink blush appearing on his cheek.

He held his fist to his lips and cleared his throat. “Well.. this is embarrassing.. but I wanted to..” he stopped mid-sentence and looked back at you with a flustered face.

“Feed you.”

You stared at Ayato blankly, confused about whether or not you should be feeling happy or creeped out.. “wai- feed me?” Ayato nods. “Must I reiterate?”

Shaking your head “no” you looked down at your plate with pancakes, there was only a few left. Wanderer, Cyno, Dottore and Childe could feel their eyes twitching.

The sound of your fork clinking down onto the plate was heard and then your voice. “W-well.. I guess i don’t mind? I mean it’s a bit odd yes but why not? I haven’t been fed since I was a toddler.” You hummed.

Ayato’s lips curve upwards into a soft smile as he happily picked up your fork and stuck it in the cut pancake before placing his palm under your chin.

“Say aaaah~” You opened your mouth and said “aaaah” before chewing on the pancake, humming happily. Ayato slid the fork out of your mouth and smiled fondly at you. You were so adorable.

Thoma peeked his head out to look at Ayato feeding you, he was jealous. Why hadn’t he thought of feeling you before? It was too late now. The others stared at he fed you, suddenly a horde of men came running behind Ayato and chiming in, saying that they wanted to feed you too.

Goodness.. but it was fun to see them all fight to feed you, you had never gotten so much attention before so this was something and, to your shame, you enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, they could not take turns to feed you as that would be time consuming. They all went back to their spots and finished eating their food while sulking. After everyone had finished their food they set it inside your sink, Thoma offered to clean them and you thanked him.

You felt bad for Thoma just cleaning the dishes by himself but even when you offered to help him he shushed you with his finger pressed against your lips and told you it would be okay.

To even lay a finger on their grace without their consent was simply unforgiving. But for some reason being by your side made them so comfortable, as if you had been their friends since childhood. Was this the many affects you had on them?

After all of the dishes were washed and Thoma joined you all in the living room, you were sitting down on the couch sandwiched between Cyno and Al-haitham. Thoma noticed how majority of them looked tense and irritated, he eyed them down before seating himself down on the floor beside the others.

What Thoma had missed (somewhat as he could still hear the commotion from the other side) was everyone fighting to sit next to you. They were threatening each other and the taller and stronger men would be holding the smaller men, laughing at them.

Like how Capitano was holding Wanderer in his hand, chuckling as he found Wanderer spitting insults and threats at his face, funny. Which he did not like at all.

And in all honestly they could’ve started a war and use their powers if not for the fact that Childe had pointed out that Cyno and Al-haitham had sat themselves down by your side without them noticing.

Before anyone could’ve gotten hurt or broke anything in your house you calmed them down, telling them in a stern voice that if they broke anything you would never talk to them ever again, and it worked because they were all scared of that happening so they sat down obediently.

Wanderer and Lyney sat beside your legs and somewhat hugged them, almost scared that if they did you would scold them or find them creepy (they just wanted to be by your side).

“Hm.. what should we watch? Is there anything in particular you guys enjoy?” You hummed, skimming through Netflix, trying to find a movie for you guys to enjoy and bond over.

But there was a problem. Everybody had their preferences, some wanted horror while the others furiously shake their heads no. Some wanted rom-com but the others immediately shook their heads no.

“Oooh how about some action and adventure? Like Ant-man?” You said, pressing on the Ant-man movies as they read out the summary.

Everybody agreed on that movie and you weren’t sure if they agreed because you chose it or what.. they did choose it because you wanted it.

Not only that but it also sounded interesting. “Ant-man.. that sounds interesting! Why does he have to be an ant..? Why not a tiger or something?” Gorou questioned, looking up at you as he cocked his head to the side.

God.. he was so adorable!! Even if he didn’t mean to do the puppy-dog eyes, he still did them and he looked so squishable!

“Well I have no clue, but it sounds interesting doesn’t it? That’s why we should watch it!” The others surrounding you hummed in agreement. Standing up you walked towards the wall.

“Where are you going?”

“Turning off the lights to get into the mood.”

After turning off the lights Itto ooh’ed and got all giddy, to which wanderer gave the stank eye to him. You plopped down beside Cyno and Al-haitham and pressed the play button on the remote and set it down on the table in front of you.

During the movie there were tons of reactions, some were laughing from the comedic lines, some were nonchalant and unbothered by everything but they would sit up and lean forward a bit whenever the action would come on.

Some even teared up or straight out sobbed during the sad scenes (ahem you and Kaveh were crying and he just wanted to cling onto you crying but he was so far apart, Cyno and Al-haitham were unsure whether or not to comfort you but you weren’t in your sad feels just.. very emotional over the mother and daughter scene but they still pat you on your head and offered you tissues ahem ahem) while Xiao teared up a little bit but swiftly wiped it away before Zhongli could tease him.

Al-haitham, Dainsleif, Capitano, Pantalone and Diluc were nonchalant during the movie, only moving to get up to get more snacks. Lyney, Childe, Itto and Gorou were somewhat commenting on the movie and only got a smack from Dainsleif when they got loud.

Ayato, Kaeya, Kazuha and Freminet were all very invested in the story, plot and action. Even wincing and laughing when the characters did so too.

Baizhu was coughing every now and then with Neuvillette offering him water to drink to soothe his throat. Unfortunately many did not like how the dialogue would be interrupted by Baizhu’s coughing but before they could yell at him to shush, you would tell them to be quiet and that it wasn’t his fault—Baizhu was grateful for you and almost started to cough even more loudly from gratitude.

Aether, Heizou and Albedo were super into the action and fighting scenes. Occasionally scolding the characters in their head and planning what they would’ve done.

Venti asked you if you had any wine to offer him, you shook your head no telling him that you didn’t drink. Zhongli and Neuvillette’s urge to slap Venti was large but they thankfully restrained themselves.

Wriothesley was the only one that was watching everything going down, and always missing the part that was big in the plot. Reason why? He was watching you in awe of course, as your eyes widened and your mouth formed an “O” at an intense fighting scene or how you gasp or yelp at a jump scare.

But to tell the truth everybody was watching you like how Wriothesley was watching you.

And after one movie after another, you grabbed your phone and looked at the time, thinking you were going to see maybe 1 pm or somewhere in the afternoon, it read 8 pm.

“Already? How quick..” you mumbled under your breath, Cyno sneaked in a glance at your phone and realised it was already 8.

“Should we end the movies now? I mean I think everybody is getting a little tired now..” Cyno states, you peep your head forward and look at everybody on the floor and around you, they did seem sleepy.

“Mhm, okay, I’ll go get the guest bedroom ready and more mattresses.” You got up from the couch and began to get everything. “I’ll put everything away!” Thoma chimed in, standing up as well before putting everybody’s snacks and drinks away.

Cyno and Al-haitham got up, followed by Wanderer and Kaveh, and soon everybody got up, stretching their arms and yawning. “Geez, we watched for so long..” Childe mumbled, blinking his eyes tiredly at the TV.

Soon, Al-haitham began to walk towards your room hoping to find you there to which he did. “Y/n. Do you need any help?”

You turned around and smiled at Al-haitham sleepily. “Sure, I think I need a little help..” you mutter, holding the matter but higher to indicate you needed help with settling everything down.

Al-haitham nodded and walked towards you, grabbing the mattress and setting it down before grabbing the pillows and blanket, placing them on the mattress before glancing at you.

You seemed so tired after watching so many movies in the dark, it’s a wonder how you didn’t manage to fall asleep. Al-haitham sighs.

“Here, let me do everything okay? You get ready for bed and rest, alright?”

You glance up at him as he was much taller than you, you blink at him before furrowing your brows. “You sure? You don’t need any help at all?” Al-haitham shakes his head.

“Well alright then, thank you!” Smiling, you move towards your bathroom and as you stepped foot inside you closed the door shut.

While you were getting ready for bed, Al-haitham was making sure there were enough mattresses for everybody while keeping sure in mind that there was a guest bedroom as well.

You finished getting ready and opened the door, leaving the bathroom and found two mattresses down on the floor that could at least have two people on them. Al-haitham was truly kind and you wanted to reward him for doing something he didn’t have to do.

“You’re done? Well I finished everything so I’ll go call them to come inside. I’ll make sure they don’t make a fuss over who sleeps with you and sleeps on the floor.”

As Al-haitham was about to leave you grab ahold of his muscular arm. You didn’t expect it to be so muscular despite your eyes ogling at it since his release and arrival at your place.

“U-uhm, if you want.. since you’ve helped me how about you sleep in my bed? You don’t have to say yes! I just want to do something in return for you helping me.. I mean you really didn’t have to.”

Al-haitham stared down at you as you continued to hold onto his arm only to release your grip when you realise he wasn’t responding. “Oh, whoops my bad.”

You almost take his silence as a no when he speaks abruptly. “I.. thank you, I’ll take the offer, thank you again.” He replied softly, his eyes focused on you before averting eye contact and clearing his throat.

“I-I’ll Go get them now.” He mumbles, walking off into the living room to go grab them. You sighed and flopped down onto your neatly made bed.

All you were wearing was a tank top and shorts, it was what you normally wore and now that you were sharing a house with men it made you feel somewhat insecure, but still, the best thing in the world was feeling your bare skin touching the cold sheets.

You soon covered yourself with the covers and made yourself comfortable, grabbing one of your plushies and cuddling it, waiting for the men to come flooding in your room.

When are they going to com..

Just as you thought about them, they came through the door like a horde, all fighting over who was going to sleep next to you before Al-haitham stopped them from trampling over the mattresses with his hands like it was nothing.

“One at a time. And Y/n already said I was going to be sleeping next to her.” He said, almost in a smug tone like he was proud of you choosing him and decided to show it off.

“Okay and? There’s still one more slot!” Childe scoffed before Wanderer groaned. “Childe you literally slept with Y/n yesterday you ginger-“ “watch your mouth you purple mushroom head-“

Al-haitham sighed deeply and walked towards your bed, watching as you peeped your head to the side to see Childe and Wanderer yell insults at one another.

“Don’t mind those idiots.” Al-haitham states bluntly, sitting on the edge of the bed. Kazuha, Aether, Heizou and Ayato makes their way around everybody and begins to make themselves comfortable and take off a few of their article of clothings before lying down on the mattresses.

Finally, everybody sorted themselves out and figured out where they would sleep. With you blind choosing whoever would be the other people to sleep next to you which was Dainsleif.

Kaveh, Baizhu, Itto, Wanderer and the rest would be sleeping in the guest room much to their sadness. While Kazuha, Aether, Heizou, Ayato, Zhongli, and all that weren’t sleeping in the guest bedroom made their way to each mattress.

Everybody settled themselves on the mattresses and some even turned on the fan as they complained about it being too “hot”.

Dainsleif climbed onto the bed and took off his cape and a few other things. Al-haitham removed the covers and covered himself with the blanket.

You glanced over at Dainsleif and raised your brows. “I don’t want to be rude but aren’t you going to take off your mask?”

Dainsleif looks over at you before smiling softly, “well of course, I’ll remove it later on don’t worry. Just try and get some rest okay?” You hummed and sank down into the bed, sighing in content from being surrounded by the warmth of two very handsome men.

It’s silent and dark with only the sound of the softly humming fan. Everybody was awake and you knew it. You could hear the soft breathing of Al-haitham and Dainsleif coming from both sides of you. Soon, a thought and realisation pops in your mind.

“Wait, you guys didn’t go shower yet.. right?”

“…. Yeah..”

You sighed, knowing that you would probably have to go shopping tomorrow for clothes and sanitary products aaaand probably go broke.

> ✧ part three

note: THIS TOOK ME LIKE A COUPLE HOURS TO WRITE?? ALSO SPARE ME WITH ANYTHING RELATED TO GRAMMAR AND SPELLING I PROOF READ IT BUT AT THE SAME TIME I WAS TIRED SO.. ALSO. Im glad that you guys are enjoying this series so much 😭😭 honestly didn’t expect so many liking this so thank you guys so much!! I hope I continue to reach your expectations.

(also guys drop some suggestions or scenarios in my inbox that I could possibly add to the next chapters!)

taglist: @tomansimp @one-offmind @miitchijii @dainsleif-when-playable @momoewn @stygianoir @irethepotato @v4an @imetsk @fiannee @sunnyf4lls @goldenglow149 @rhwm @urlocalheizousimp @hex-vx @saltylovetale @backintomykpopphaseagain @toramune @oreo-ren @serenity-loves-red @flooofity @minteasketches @amaizverydum @lovelive-animequeen1029 @roseapov @yuraasia @chellazhef @fulldoves @kateybuggi @wanderingconstellations (if the usernames aren’t highlighted that’s because I can’t tag you so I’ll dm you when I post a new chapter!)

if im missing anyone please tell me because i have an inkling feeling i missed a few

liking + following + reblogs are greatly appreciated!!!

[anenbylittlepotato]

Tears of Love

Includes: Zhongli, Furina, Neuvillette, Kaveh, Itto, Ei

Warnings: Furina's is post-Fontaine archon quest bc I doubt she would be in any relationship pre-archon quest. Both Neuvillette and Furina contain vague spoilers

How Genshin character would react to you hugging them while crying and then saying "I just love you so muuuucch..."

Also, uhhh hey guys, I know I haven't written anything in 5 million years haha, sorry... I have been died dw about it. To make up for it I'm going crazy go stupid with this one. Gonna try and make a part 2 and maybe part 3 but idk when or if it’ll even happen

Zhongli

When he sees you crying, he is instantly concerned.

And then, when you run up and hug him, he's even more concerned as he hugs back, gently placing his hand on your head and rubbing your back comfortingly.

"My love? What is the matter, dear?

He gently moves his hand from the back of your head to cup your cheek when you look at him with them big ol wet eyes.

"I just love you so muuuuccch!"

He looks taken aback for a moment, surprised by that response.

Then he chuckles warmly and looks at you with all the love and adoration in the world

"My beloved, you and your love mean the world to me. Your brilliant radiance is more than enough to light up even the darkest corners of my mind. I cannot dream of spending my days without you, but if such a day were to ever occur, I would carry your memory with me at all times with all the warmth and love in my soul."

This makes you cry even more

"Aaaaaa I love you so much...."

He gently presses his forehead to yours.

"I love you too, my dearest."

And then he kisses you softly.

Afterward, he sits down with you, holding you gently.

Furina

When you come up to her crying, she's instantly panicking.

Oh no did she do something wrong? Did she say something that upset you??? Has she been neglecting you??? Did she forget something important? Oh no oh no oh no-

And then you hug her and she's like. Okay. Did someone else do something to upset you? She's not sure what she can do now that she's no long on the archon throne, but she'll try whatever she has to! Or maybe something else happened, maybe something that has nothing to do with other people, maybe some horrible thing happened to you like what happened to her.

"S-S/O? Are you okay?? What happened, what's wrong?"

Then you look at her with those big ol wet eyes and she turns to mush inside.

"I just love you muuuuuccccchhh..."

For several moments she just stares at you, not knowing how to respond.

And then she also starts getting emotional

"Oh."

She hugs you back really tightly, burying her face against you.

"I... I love you tooooo...."

And now you're both crying and telling each other how much you love each other.

Neuvillette

The moment he sees you crying, the beginning of rain can be heard outside.

He absolutely hates seeing you upset in any way and he immediately wants to just hold you in his arms and take all your stress and pain.

He immediately walks over and sits next to you.

"S/O? Are you alright? What's happened?"

He is a little surprised when you hug him, but not entirely, and he hugs back, gently rubbing your back.

"It's alright, dear, take your time."

"I just- I just- I love you so muuuuuuuucccchhhh..."

Well he certainly was not expecting that.

It starts raining outside even heavier.

"Ah... Is that... Not a good thing...? I am uncertain as to why this would make you sad..."

You uh... You'll have to explain to him that crying doesn't necessarily only happen when you're sad, but just when you're overwhelmed by An Emotion. Any emotion. Even positive ones.

He won't really understand all that well but he's trying 🥺 He'll definitely be thinking about it for the rest of the week and might even do some research about it if he manages to find the time.

In the moment, though, he just holds you and tells you how much he loves you as well. He is a little confused when this makes you cry more, but he doesn't say anything.

Kaveh

Like Furina, he also panics instantly the moment he sees you crying.

He's much more frantic and open about it though.

"Oh no, darling, sweetheart, are you okay?! What's wrong?! Did I do something wrong, what happened?!"

Then you hug him and he's surprised.

"S/O...?"

"I just- I love you so muuuuccchh!"

Kaveh.exe has stopped working

"Wha- You- I-"

My poor boy instantly melts into a puddle, becoming a complete emotional wreck.

This man is so fragile he just shatters like glass and the dam breaks and out come the tears, and now he's crying harder than you.

He somewhat incoherently babbles about how much he loves you and hugs you so tightly, just completely falling apart.

... He may have also been drinking a bit before this.

Okay, not a bit. A lot.

And now, even though you were the one who was crying initially, you're gonna have to sit down with him and try to calm him down

This poor pathetic little man... he's such a mess... I love him...

Itto

Also one of the panickers. Except he's stupid about it.

He actually has absolutely no idea how to deal with someone who's sad. He doesn't get sad often himself and his gang aren't the type to get sad often either.

So the MOMENT you hug him crying, he is freaking the fuck out

"Oh, nononono, baby, don't cry, don't cry! Hey it's okay, it's alright, don't cry!"

When he can't get you to calm down right away, he's immediately thinking of other solutions.

"Hey, ya wanna go see Granny Oni? She always knows exactly what to do to cheer me up when I'm sad!"

You have to stop him from picking you up and running off with you to take you to Granny Oni.

"No- Itto. I'm not sad, it's just.... I love you so muuuuch..."

He blinks a couple times.

"What"

For once, the man is speechless.

But only for a couple moments.

"Wait, but if you're not sad, then why are you crying???"

You'll have to explain it like with Neuvillette, except Itto's dumb so it'll take a lot longer for him to pick it up.

You end up spending so long trying to explain it that you end up not crying anymore and just laughing at him

And that just makes him more confused

"You were just crying a minute ago why are you laughing???"

Himbo <3

Ei

When she sees you crying she is surprisingly sweet about it.

She walks over and gently cups your cheeks, tilting your head to look up at her.

"What's the matter, dear? Are you alright?"

Her voice is so soft and gentle.

She isn't too surprised when you hug her and she hugs back, gently rubbing your back.

“I just- I love you so muuuucccchhh….”

She’s a little surprised by that response for a moment.

But once she processes it, she is just so endeared by it.

She looks at you with such a lovesick smile.

Like she feels like her heart is about to burst with love omg

She chuckles gently and pats your head.

“I love you too, dear.”

Afterward, she kisses you on the forehead, and then on the lips.

All she wants to do after that is hold you gentle in her arms

And she’s going to do exactly that

She takes you to your bed and gently holds you so that your head is on her chest

Doesn’t matter if you’re bigger than her. Your face? On the booba

I had to tag Neuvillette so many times bc apparently no one knows how to spell it 😭 Two Ls and two Ts people

If you like my writing, consider buying me a coffee! It really helps me out and helps me keep doing this!

[mitsvriii]

"Nothing's New"

In which your partner is never going to pay attention to you, because they’re too focused on their dead lover

Bell’s notes: “writer bell goes too far with this fic-” im /j no ones gonna say that, angst powers pls work tho, like im asdlkfjawel;fjsd;jf;lska, i cant write dude, let me like, plan this out in my head before writing nonsense, LIKE BRO, feral over angst LORD, 100k likes and you get part 2 /jjjj, growling i love angst, MWHAHAHA, sorry ely, yuka, mhie, snob, and zee if you read this 😔😔😔, i listened to “IT Girl” while writing this 😋, got carried away with Ayato’s part oopsies, i believe Guizhong for the ladies but whatever 😔😔😔, cut out Wanderer & Childe in the end because i’m TIRED, not proofread

Story details: Ayato lowkey a bitch, scratch that highkey, reader has self-doubt, Neuvilette doesn’t mean to be mean he just ISSS, GUIZHONG DID NOTHING STOP MAKING HER THE ONE IN BLAME IN THESE ZHONGLI SCENARIOS, oh and I couldn’t be bothered with Xiao’s part like a quarter through he’s such a flexible yet straight character, it’s the way you can tell when I got lazy with each part, chance Xiao & Zhongli are gonna be ooc as i’ve never written anything but short headcanons for them before

Characters & Triggers: Ayato, Neuvilette, Xiao, & Zhongli;  reader has self-doubt, mention of death, mention of martial neglect

Reader details: female reader in Ayato’s part is explicit. female reader in Neuvilette’s part can be interpreted with the way you read it. the other parts, however, shouldn’t have a specified reader type. reader’s personality, race/ethnicity, height, physical descriptions, or anything of the sort is not mentioned. if anything is let me know and i’ll edit it. 

Ayato: No surprise the Yashiro Commissioner doesn’t pay attention to his new wife, the one that he didn’t marry first. You knew that he didn’t love you, and most likely never would because you were, in fact, the second pick. Actually, it was probably in the hundreds based on the amount of marriage arrangement offers Ayato had gotten considering he was one of the biggest figures in Inazuma. It didn’t matter, but he most likely picked you because your clan was a small one to put it lightly, so he most likely chose it, and you, because it wouldn’t be a hassle with the press. But of course, he would choose the person and clan that seemed, “easy”. It hurt seeing some of the people’s sympathetic stares, such as Ayaka’s, Thoma’s, and a few of the older women working in the estate. You got used to the lack of greeting from Ayato when he got off work, the lack of warmth beside you at night. You found it hilarious, although you were hysteric at the time as you had just found out that Ayato was off that day and neglected to see you, that he never, ever laid down in the same bed as you. It doesn’t matter no matter how hard you work around the estate, how long you sit up doing his work, which you soon quit once he yelled at you like a homeless dog, or even the distinct flower you made out of one of Ayato’s favorite sweets that he ignored. Not even a glance at your general direction, either. After a while, you decided to do some digging on his past wife, only to find out that she was in fact near perfect. Perfect reputation, perfect everything, to put it shortly. Shortly after asking Ayaka what happened to her, by pulling the sad, guilty wife card, you found out she was a victim of an assassination attempt that turned into a success. Of course, Ayato and his perfect wife would only be torn apart by death. It was poetic, and it made you sick. So what were you to do but endure the slow torture that you and Ayato’s marriage was? After all, nothing you could do could change how he felt about you. 

Neuvillette: The famous hydro dragon, at least to those who knew his ‘secret’. His past lover, unfortunately, died before him, no doubt to his immortality. Of course, you would soon die, maybe in a few decades but, hey, it wasn’t like he would miss you. You could only wait awake at night as Neuvillette went to fix himself his own meal, despite you staying up to cook him one and await for his return from work. It’s not that was the only time he never paid attention to you, after all the man had most likely been grieving his wife for centuries at this point in time. So what were you to do besides stay and watch this man be emotionally constipated around you? Why did he even marry you in the first place, then? It couldn’t be because his past wife resembled you, and it certainly wasn’t because you both acted the same. Was it because he needed someone to cling to? I mean, you weren’t exactly someone who seemed to not fit the criteria of a compassionate co-worker who would comfort Neuvillette in his times of distress. Did Neuvilette only come to you because you were his way of grieving? It would make partial sense, to cling to the nearest piece of comfort to help with the pain of loss. It made you feel like nothing but an object meant for his emotional wants, but in reality, that’s all you ever are and will ever be to him. 

Xiao: The famous adeptus long ago, had someone close to him. Shame they fell to waste during the archon wars, along with the other adepti. It was no surprise that everyone familiar with Liyue stories knew about the two of them together, which unfortunately included you. It didn’t pain you that much until your oh-so-loveable boyfriend got distracted by two kids playing with a Xiao lantern and one of her. After that, it only devolved into more. The lack of visits to your room in the inn, the lack of responses whenever you left your little notes for him near your meet-up place, and the extreme lack of thank-you-notes whenever you left Xiao almond tofu. It didn’t matter that you started to skip and completely ignore doing all of these things just to see if he would notice because the adeptus failed to appear in your room just to check in to see if you were okay. This behavior was unlike him, at least in the sense of him completely ignoring you. The only answer you could think of, that logically made sense, of course, was that he was reminded of his past loved one because of the run-in with the lanterns you two had while out in Liyue. So in terms, he seemed to disconnect with you because of the memories of his past significant other? You knew the adepti didn’t die peacefully, you could tell that much from the stories, so it wouldn’t be surprising if that also applied to Xiao’s past lover. There was nothing you could do about it though, because if you knew Xiao, he wouldn’t talk about her to you nor push her aside for you.

Zhongli: Guizhong. Of course, you were familiar with the name, everyone in Liyue was. Everyone might be a stretch considering the visitors and children, but the point’s been made. Morax and Guizhong were close. Close in a sense of possibly having relationship affairs but that was only explicit to you because of the way your lover would glace at glaze lilies. You couldn’t call him your lover, could you? Not with the way he would hum to the glaze lilies, the way his eyes would also drift away from you whenever you talked as you took strolls through Guilu Plains, and the way he would opt to tell stories of specific tales of his time as Morax, ones that included Guizhong in some way. It got to the point where you had to make up tasks that you had to do daily just to get away from the walks you two took, not to hear the different-yet-similar stories of Morax and totally not Guizhong. It was childish of you to be doing so, you had yourself convinced, as you couldn’t blame Guizhong for any of it. She had no part of this besides well, besides being your number one stressor for the past few weeks. It was tiring yet somehow for the sake of not wanting a glare or side-eye from Zhongli about his stories, which you never thought you’d get that tired of hearing, you kept your mouth shut, despite how hard it was. You knew it would only take so much more, though, before you said something about it. 

[actiniumwrites]

hiya! if your requests are still open could i request a scenario any of the “immortal” characters (e.x: the archons & adepti) with a mortal!reader who exchanges a part of them to become immortal so that they don’t have to worry about leaving the character? the reader’s gender is up to you!

𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 (𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄)

synopsis: in which you exchange your vision for immortality, determined to live an eternity with your lover

characters: venti, zhongli, scaramouche, and dainsleif x gn!reader

warnings: angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, crying, mentions of death and mortality, fear of death, mentions of morbid conversations, scaramouche might be a little ooc here, purposefully inaccurate depictions of how celestia and visions work

notes: um so this request was sent to me back in november of 2022, so, anon, i am very sorry it took me so long to write this. i loved the idea a lot so i hope you enjoy this. also i’m not 100% sure scaramouche is immortal, but he’s been around for centuries and isn’t human so we’re just going to assume he is 👍

Venti:

The wind was blowing softly as you walked up to the giant tree, Vennessa’s Tree. You could hear the faint sounds of a lyre playing an alluring tune among it. If your boyfriend was anywhere, it was here…or the bar.

An off key note made your eyes snap up from where you were watching the ground, not expecting him to have heard you so easily.

“Hello, my love!” Venti cheered.

“Hi, Venti,” you lovingly spoke softly, moving to sit down next to him. Your head carefully moved to rest upon his shoulder and he continued to play softly, although this time around, it was a different song — one of your favorites.

A smile pulled at the sides of your lips. It was the first one since you’d gotten back from your journey. The very same journey your boyfriend was unaware of.

When he finished playing it, Venti set the lyre down next to him against a tree root. His face turned serious, “Something’s wrong.”

“Is there?” you played dumb, unsure of how to bring up the topic at hand. Venti didn’t fall for it. He never did.

He began to scan over your body for any sign of injuries, afraid something bad happened. When he saw there was nothing there, his hands gently placed themselves on the sides of your cheeks so he could rotate your head. He smiled the whole time, but you knew he was just masking his concern.

“I can feel it,” he said slowly, eyes squinting as he looked far off into the distance, “something’s different.”

You tried to hold it back, but tears sprung to your eyes. There was no hiding it now, “Venti, I…”

“Hey, hey, hey,” he hurriedly wiped your tears as you looked up at him, “it’s okay, I swear! You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s just,” you sniffled. The tears weren’t from injuries or hurt feelings, but simply because you were overwhelmed. The entirety of your future was now uncertain aside from the fact that you could no longer face death. You had centuries ahead of you, and it wasn’t something you had before, “my vision. I traded it.”

“What? Why would you…” he mumbled, mind racing back and forth. You loved your vision. It was something you had worked so hard for as a child, a representation of your dedication. It wasn’t like you needed money or anything, so why would you get rid of it?

Through your tear filled eyes, you smiled, “You don’t have to worry anymore, Ven. All those years ahead, we can spend them together.”

“You…you’re…?” he breathed out heavily, realization hitting him all at once. A smile broke through his lips, happy tears of his own were beginning to form, “you did that for me?”

You nodded and he threw himself against you, embracing you tightly. In all the years he had been alive, Venti was sure he would be alone forever. But in life and death, you were with him forever.

Zhongli:

Zhongli hadn’t noticed right away.

He was perceptive, yes, but there didn’t seem to be anything amiss with you at first. You often hid things very well. It was one of the only things he didn’t like about you. If something were to go wrong because he wasn’t observant enough with you, Zhongli would feel perpetually guilty.

It wasn’t until weeks after your journey that he had finally realized something had changed.

You seemed normal for the past few weeks. There were a few moments where you were oddly fidgety or anxious, but he chalked it up to the fact that you had just gotten back from a work trip. Perhaps you were tired out from it. Plenty of people came back a little on edge from trips, he had seen it first hand.

When it became continuous, worries began to whisper in his ear. No, he hadn’t thought you cheated or did something bad. Zhongli knew you well enough to know you weren’t that kind of person. If anything, he was worried that something bad had happened to you. That maybe someone hurt you or there was something you couldn’t tell him.

So, he brought it up at dinner one day.

His hand reached across the table, warmly cupping it around yours. His thumb gently traced over the back of it, a soothing action he knew you loved. He inhaled and pursed his lips before bluntly asking, “Did someone hurt you? Because if they did, I want you to know you can tell me and I will take care of it.”

Your face morphed into confusion, awkwardly laughing at his wild assumptions, “I’m sorry, what? Where’d you get that idea?”

Zhongli retracted his hand from yours slowly. His face was now equally as confused as yours, “I apologize, my love. You have been acting rather off since your trip. I thought maybe something bad had happened or someone may have hurt you. Am I incorrect?”

Another awkward laugh fell from your lips before you sighed and averted your eyes to look out the window of the restaurant, “Yes, but nothing bad happened. I’ve just been a little…down about something.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head a bit to the side, “If you were feeling upset, you could have come to me. You know I hate to see you like that.”

“I know, I just,” you started hesitantly, “I wasn’t ready to tell you yet.”

“Tell me…what?”

The whirlwind of emotions you had been feeling over the past few weeks began to hit you harshly and you couldn’t stop the tears from forming in your eyes, “I traded my vision, Zhongli.”

He took a few seconds to process, but his hand grabbed yours again. He wasn’t sure what you were talking about, but the fact that you were crying was enough to scare him, “I…I am afraid I do not understand.”

“I made a deal with Celestia…to be come immortal. In exchange for immortality, they took my vision,” you explained slowly, staring down at the table.

Zhongli rose from his seat slowly before walking to your side of the table. He kneeled down beside you, a few tears springing at his own eyes as he looked directly into yours, “Why would you do that?”

“For you,” you breathed out happily, cupping his face as the tears fell from your eyes “I want to be with you forever, Zhongli.”

Zhongli rose a bit from his place on the floor. Cupping your face with his hands, he kissed you softly, yet eagerly. You could feel the love and passion with in it. All the sadness melted away in an instant.

He had witnessed so many of his friends and past lovers parish before him. Victims to time and mortality. But here you were, willing to sacrifice something you cared for so much to spend an eternity with him.

And in that moment, Zhongli realized he’s never loved someone as much as he’s loved you.

Scaramouche:

You were used to Scaramouche pushing you away when things got rough. Not because he was angry with you or tired of you, but because his emotions were too much to handle. The sadness was too much to bear.

The conversation of immortality had come up very often. A worry of his that he just couldn’t seem to shake.

What would happen when you were gone?

How was he supposed to move on?

Love someone else?

If Scaramouche was being honest, he knew there was no way he could love another. Not after you, the one person he’s ever truly loved and the only one he hasn’t lost. You understood and cared for him in a way that no one else ever had or ever could. Despite not having a real heart, his love for you was so strong enough to make him feel like he did.

When you left for some sort of trip, Scaramouche hadn’t been suspicious of anything. You claimed it was for your job — just a week long trip out of Sumeru to take care of some business. It seemed urgent, according to you at least. He understood and didn’t question any part of your story, even if it did have holes in it.

Although he didn’t show it outwardly, the week without you was rather miserable for him. Anytime you were gone, everything seemed to remind him of the centuries that he had been alone. The people he had watched die or turn on him and how weak he felt. It made him wonder, once again, how he could ever live without you.

When you returned days later, it was late at night. The lights to your shared home were turned off and everything was silent. You dropped your things inside, but before you could head to your room, you caught a glimpse of your boyfriend through the window. His hat was cast aside on the grass next to him where he was lying down. The wind was blowing his hair softly across his face as he gazed up at the stars, something you frequently did together.

Coincidentally, it was during those times that the topic of immortality would come up. The stars made Scaramouche sad when he peered up at them. Despite not believing in their genuine existence, he would hate to look up one day and find you among them. Far away from him. Mortality permanently holding you in its grasp.

You silently walked outside to where he was lying down, careful not to disturb him. You laid down next to him, gently taking his hand in yours. His fingers interlocked themselves with yours, but he didn’t bother to turn and look at you, already knowing who it was. When you looked to him, however, his eyes were glistening with small tears, the stars reflecting in them. He looked ethereal, but you hated how sad he looked — eyebrows furrowed, a frown pulling his lips downward.

“I’m not ready for you to leave,” he whispered painfully, voice cracking a bit as his eyes finally met yours.

You send him a fond smile, eyebrows turning upwards, “I’m not leaving anytime soon. You don’t have to worry.”

“But you will,” he started, a hint of anger laced his voice, directed at those who dared to take away the one thing he loved, “You’ll leave eventually. Just like everyone I’ve ever known. It’s only a matter of time.”

You sat up slowly, reaching into the pocket of your pants and grabbing something out. A flash of metal caught Scaramouche’s eye. He sat up instantly, recognizing what the mysterious object was.

It was your vision. The bright shining blue light it normally had was entirely gone, drained of power. Wordlessly, you handed it to him. He grabbed it, but looked up into your eyes with confusion. When he did, he finally noticed the exhaustion and dried tears all over your face.

“What is this?” He angrily inspected the grayed vision in his hands, “What happened to you? If someone hurt you, I swear to you, I’m going to kill them.”

“No!” you quickly exclaimed, interrupting his oncoming burst of anger, “No one hurt me. I did this myself.”

“Start explaining,” he demanded. Although he looked angry, you could see the worry and fear in his eyes.

“I’m tired of these conversations,” you hesitantly started, averting your eyes to a tree in the distance. You could feel your own sad frown pulling at your lips as you fidgeted with the vision he had returned to you. Inhaling, you continued, “If I’m being honest, I’m not okay with leaving you either. It tears me apart to see you like this, Scaramouche. It sounds selfish, but I…I don’t want to think of your life without me. Not when it’s already hurting you this much and I’m not even dead yet.”

You paused to wipe the tears that had unknowingly began to fall from your eyes. Gesturing to the vision, you explained, “The trip I went on wasn’t for work, and I’m sorry for lying to you about it. It was to make an exchange. By trading this with Celestia, I’m no longer mortal.”

Scaramouche’s eyes flickered back and forth between yours and the lifeless vision rested in your hands. A mix of anger, sadness, and relief hit him all at once. Years of memories flashed in his head from all the mistreatment in Inazuma, the Harbingers, and to his newfound life in Sumeru. But most importantly, he saw you and all the ways you’ve loved him ever since you found each other. His voice wobbled a bit, dancing between the lines of neutrality and sadness, “Why would you do that for me?”

You tossed the vision to the side and held his hand again, “My vision may have meant a lot to me, but nothing will ever mean as much to me as you do. I would trade everything I’ve ever owned to be with you forever if that’s how it had to be.”

The two of you laid back down together against the cool grass, staring back up at the stars. This time, however, his arms embraced you tightly. The stars seemed to shine a little more brightly, a little more beautifully. There was no chance for them to take you away from him anymore, and Scaramouche was forever grateful for that.

Dainsleif:

The burden of immortality sat heavily on Dainsleif’s shoulders. It was a curse he bore, but not one he would wish onto anyone else. It was painful, unkind, and often struck those who deserved it the least.

When you had found him, you were not originally aware of the fact that he had been among those who were affected by it. You knew he originated from Khaenri’ah, but you supposed he was like your old friend Kaeya, who was also from there, but was not a bearer of the curse.

Admittedly, it was difficult to be in relationship with Dainsleif at times because of it. He trusted you wholeheartedly, but there was always this lingering sense of doom in his eyes. There were times when he would get close with you, share his past and his deepest desires, but then he would pull away. It was a constant game of back and forth with him.

You were aware it was because he was scared, terrified even. Dainsleif had lived a long life of loss and sadness. He had failed in his duties as the Twilight Sword and, because of that, he was forced to witness the death and destruction of everyone and everything he loved around him. Anyone he had ever loved he had lost, and he couldn’t stand to watch that happen to you too.

You couldn’t bear it equally as much. Dainsleif was the best person to ever have come into your life. Someone you knew could never hurt you. Someone who showed you more love than anyone else ever had. Your love for each other was like no other. The only thing that could truly separate you from him would be death, and he would love you until that day came.

As painfully beautiful as that was, it saddened you to a degree that nothing else could. You did not want to lose him as much as he did not want to lose you. And so, you decided to lessen his punishment. Immortality was supposed to curse him with loneliness and suffering, but that loneliness wouldn’t exist if you were by his side for the rest of time.

You left as soon as possible, vision stored away in your satchel and a notebook in hand. It was your notebook that held your recipes. As a chef, there were all sorts of ingredients across Teyvat that you had to often import or travel to obtain. It was the perfect excuse to leave without him raising suspicion. Because, although Dainlsleif detested the Gods and Celestia, he would never let you do what you were about to do. Not for him, and not for anyone else. Not even for yourself.

It took you about a week to return.

Dainsleif noticed instantly something was different when you returned. It was a little past midnight. He was sitting at the table of your home, window open to his left to let the cool breeze sift through the house. He had been scribbling away at a map when the door walked open, and in walked you.

There were dark circles around your eyes, a conflicting look swirling within them. Part of you looked relieved, while the other part looked saddened. His eyebrows furrowed as you stumbled in through the doorway, whispering a small greeting to him. Quickly, he was by your side and hugging you dearly.

“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly, voice just barely above a whisper. You leaned against him, head tucked gently into his shoulder as you wrapped your arms around his abdomen. Silently, you nodded.

Dainsleif carefully brought you to the couch in the living room, sitting you down gently and setting your belongings on the small table in front of you. The breeze from the window drafted through again, strong enough to make you shiver. In an instant, Dainsleif was up and moving to shut it quickly so you could be warm and comfortable.

“Something’s wrong,” he started, hand moving to cup your face as you gazed into his eyes tiredly, “I know you aren’t just tired. So please, tell me what happened on your trip.”

You crumbled in an instant, unable to lie to his face, “I traded my vision. I’m sorry, I wasn’t actually going to get ingredients.”

Confusion settled even deeper into his blood as he stared at you, unable to comprehend what you were talking about, “Trade your vision for…what? Why would you need to trade your…oh.”

When he realized, you nodded carefully. The silence that followed suit scared you. You often had a hard time reading him, especially now.

His next reaction shocked you, however. Tiny traces of tears sprung to his eyes, threatening to pour over at any second. Your eyebrows furrowed, but before you could say anything, Dainsleif quickly leaned in and kissed you. Your eyes closed and you returned it, feeling the sadness, desperation, and love behind it. When he pulled away, you could see two or three tears had fallen from his eyes.

Gently, you wiped them away and hugged him tightly. He held you tightly in return, and silently, you both laid back against the couch. Exhaustion hit the two of you at once, knocking you out as you slept within each other’s arms. You had been exhausted from your trip and all the emotions you had felt from it. As for Dainsleif, his exhaustion from being cursed had eased up a bit on him. It him all at once, the realization and the lack of loneliness or worries he would have to deal with from now on. There was no more till death due you part, because finally, Dainsleif had you for forever and you had him.

[avocad1s]

Bring Back What Once Was Mine

Summary: It’s been five hundred years since the people of Teyvat celebrated the return of their Creator. Oh what a joyous day that was! However there was something off with the Divine One, had they always acted like this? Not only that, being in their presence didn’t bring the same warmth it did all those centuries ago, but to go against their creator is the highest form of treason they could commit. So when another shows up sharing the exact face as the one on the throne, many are conflicted on who to follow.

Characters Featured: Multiple Characters Mentioned

Note: Reader is the true creator of Teyvat. GN! Reader

Content Warning: Cult and Religious themes ahead! You’ve been warned.

Part one (You are here!) Part Two

This is not beta read. So I apologize for any mistakes.

For the first time in decades, six of the archons stood in the same room.

It was an odd occurrence, most of them preferred to stay in their respective nations, the only time they would all meet up like this is if something dire was occurring.

One of these occasions was when the Divine One descended down to Teyvat, it was a day to remember for everyone. Celebrations went on for weeks, many hoping that the Creator would acknowledge them with a vision, mora, or even a simple glance. However, blinded by their own excitement, the people of Teyvat didn’t notice how… off the Creator was. Well, besides the ones who are considered to be the closest to them.

…

“We’ve all noticed that Their Grace has been acting a bit different ever since they returned,”

“Well they have been away for a while, maybe they need time to adjust?”

“That can’t be it, they’ve already been here for centuries. They would’ve adjusted by now.”

“Even though I never met them personally before they returned, anytime they are in Sumeru they are nothing like the scriptures say.”

“Maybe the Divine One is acting off due to what happened to…”

The room falls silent.

“Was there any response from the Cryo archon?”

“No she had locked down her nation years ago, nothing goes in and nothing comes out. Except for the Fatui… Mor- Zhongli, do you think that she knew something before the rest of us?”

“It is possible, but we cannot say for certain. Yet, we cannot act without knowing the truth.”

“I agree, acting with only suspicion rather than proof would be foolish.”

“So what do we do?”

“For now we do nothing, eventually something will come to light.”

Present Day

The heat in the desert of Sumeru was unforgiving, you could get caught in a sandstorm or if you do not bring enough supplies that could also be the end for you. So it was only natural that when the Traveler and her floating companion noticed someone passed out in the sand, they would rush over to help.

“Hey Traveler…” Paimon begins, “look at their clothes, it’s not like anything we’ve seen before.”

The girl looks down at the unconscious person. Paimon was right, they weren’t wearing any type of clothing that indicated that they were from any nation in Teyvat.

Not to mention the sudden comforting feeling the girl had gotten once she had approached them. It was a feeling she hadn’t experienced since her and her brother were still traveling worlds together.

“Let’s wake them up.”

It took more shakes and taps than the Traveler was expecting but soon their eyes open and they sit up slowly, sand falling off of their body with every movement.

“Are you okay?” The Traveler asks.

They let out a soft groan turning to look at the girl and her companion.

“Where am I?” Were the first words to leave their mouth.

“Sumeru’s desert!” Paimon says, “erm, do you not remember how you got here? Traveler, maybe we should bring this person to Tighnari, they seem to be a bit disoriented.”

Without realizing it, the Traveler ignores Paimon keeping all of her attention on the mysterious person still sitting in the warm sand. She holds her hand out, “here let me help you up.” They take the Travelers hand standing up on their feet, dusting the leftover sand off their clothing.

The Traveler continues to keep their gaze locked on them while they dust off their clothing. Noticing her friends odd behavior, Paimon clears her throat and begins talking.

“Well this is Lumine, but everyone just calls her the Traveler. Paimon is Paimon.” The fairy gestures to her friend then to herself. “What’s your name?”

They hesitate for a moment before saying their name, “thank you Paimon and Lumine for waking me, there’s no telling what could’ve happened if you didn’t.”

Lumine feels a warmth bloom in her chest at their kind words.

“It’s not problem, the Traveler is always happy to help!” Paimon says happily, “but Paimon has to ask, why are you unconscious in the desert anyway?”

“I don’t… I can’t remember. The last thing I remember seeing was a blinding light.”

Paimon and Lumine exchange glances.

“Well if you want, you can tag along with us to Sumeru city, we have some really smart friends who may be able to help you there.” Lumine offers.

They smile, “thanks but I don’t want to intrude on your journey.”

“Oh you’re not intruding! The Traveler and Paimon we’re already heading to the city to meet the Creator!”

Lumine shoots the fairy a dirty look causing her to shrink back apologizing while also whispering something about how she wasn’t supposed to say that.

However they had already perked up at the mention of the Divine. “The Creator?”

Lumine lets out a defeated breath, “we weren’t supposed to say anything…” she glances at her companion, “but the Creator has finally granted me an audience.”

“Yeah the Travelers been asking for ages to meet them but the creator has always refused until she helped the Dendro Archon.”

Paimon gets another, less noticeable glare thrown her way.

“I see…” They began, “you must be something pretty special to meet someone like them.”

There was a small silence.

“Well we should probably get a move on, we shouldn’t keep someone this important waiting!”

———

The walk back to Sumeru City was awkward to say the least. It seems that ever since the Creator was brought up in the conversation, Lumine and Paimons new friends seemed to be more closed off than before. Maybe they were apart of the few that didn’t blindly worship the Creator? Or maybe they’re using this tactic to hold back their jealousy? Lumine wasn’t sure but she’d rather not know.

Soon enough the city was visible from where they were standing, it would only be another twenty minute hike until they reached the entrance.

“I hope that walk wasn’t too bad for you considering your condit-“

Lumine pauses mid-sentence, they were gone? Just a minute ago they were behind them and now they were nowhere to be seen.

“Paimon didn’t even hear them wander off, I hope they’re okay…” The fairy says worriedly. Lumine nods but continues forward, if they had left on their own then it was clear they could handle themselves. The Traveler just hopes that nothing bad happens to them and she hopes to see them again.

You didn’t feel bad ditching the two girls.

After all that wasn’t the worse thing you did to them today.

You lied to them multiple times, maybe the only true thing you told the two was your name, but it didn’t matter.

As soon as you laid eyes on the girl, you knew she wasn’t from this world. Maybe that’s why you didn’t feel that bad lying to her? Or maybe you’re just lying to yourself.

Truthfully, you only followed them after they had brought up the Creator.

Ah yes, the “Creator”

The was the main reason why you returned after all this time in the first place.

You were aware that they had crowned another as the Creator when it first happened five hundred years ago, and you would’ve returned then and extinguished them, but you were still mourning the loss of one of your nations. Then it simply slipped your mind. Until now, when Teyvat has cried out to you once more.

You can’t keep neglecting your creation, especially since you care about it deeply.

Now of course you could’ve just bursted in the room that the usurper was in and defeated them right then and there but you wanted more information.

How did they pass off as you so easily? More importantly, how did anyone believe it?

Sure there’s a chance they may look like you but there’s no way they could replicate your power or your connection to the world itself.

You huff hiding behind a tree watching the two girls look around for you before eventually giving up heading towards the city.

This was going to take more effort than you thought.

The first thing Lumine noticed when she entered the dark room was the sheer coldness. She couldn’t see them at the top of the stairs but the presence of being in the room with them was already overwhelming.

She was in the room with the Creator.

Despite all the questions she had, her throat felt dry, like she couldn’t talk or rather, she didn’t have permission yet.

The girl kneels before them locking her gaze on the ground, she was slightly disappointed that she wasn’t the only one in the room. There were many Sages in the room and even Nahida was off to the side giving her a welcome smile.

“Traveler…” a voice brakes through the silence causing Lumine to tense, “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”

“I’m honored to be before you,” she stutters. Why did she feel like this? She met four Gods already, but why did she feel so tense around them? Like she had to watch her words carefully or something bad may happen.

“Please come here,” their voice calls out.

Lumine stands up shakily walking slowly towards the stairs, she keeps her gaze lowered as she walks up slowly. Soon enough she was right in front of the Creator. The girl goes to kneel once more but she stops when another order comes instead.

“Will you look at me?”

A audible gasp leaves the Travelers mouth as she stares out their face. This was the first time the Traveler had ever been face-to-face with them ever, although their elegance was undeniable their face was unmistakably the same as the person in the desert.

Without realizing Lumine mutters out the name of the person she had met just a few hours before.

Now it was time for everyone else to gasp.

A plethora of snide remarks and comments were thrown at the girl, many yelling out how dare she calls the creator by their true name or how she needs to show more respect.

The creator holds out a hands and the room immediately goes silent.

“Traveler,” their voice sickly sweet. “How are you aware of my true name?”

The blonde fiddles with her fingers for a moment, “Someone in the desert had told me that was their name. They had the same face as you.”

Their eyes widen but quickly relax as they uncross their legs to stand and approach the outlander.

“Are you telling me you saw someone running around with my face and my name?”

Lumine nods.

They rest a hand on the blonde girls shoulder giving her a soft smile.

“Where is this person now?”

Lumine shakes her head, “I’m not sure, they disappeared before I got to the city.”

They nod, “don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong. I just want you to find this person for me and bring them here, okay?”

Words fail her and she nods at their request.

“Great. You may leave.”

———

Lumine lets out a deep breath once she was out of the room. Just being in that room made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

“Traveler!” Paimon floats over to her friend, “how did it go? Do they know anything about the unknown God you’re looking for?”

“They had the same face.”

“Huh?”

“The Divine One and the person in the desert.” Lumine clarifies, “they had the same face and name.”

“How’s that possible?”

The Traveler decides to stay silent, she didn’t know either and now she was tasked on finding this person and bringing them here.

“Lumine!” A voice calls out.

She turns around relaxing visibly once she meets their gaze. It was Nahida.

“Oh Nahida! It’s been a while, how’s the Wanderer?”

The Dendro Archon smiles, “he’s perfectly fine but that’s not why I approached you.”

Lumine was completely aware why the Archon decided to approach her, she was in the room when she had her ‘outburst’ with the Creator.

“You had said you saw someone who looked exactly like Their Grace, right? I was wondering if I could tag along with you in finding them.”

Lumine raises a brow, “really? You want to tag along?”

“Let’s just say I have my own suspicions…” Nahida says. “Now, where was the last place you had seen them?”

-

-

-

Note: Well if you made it this far that means you must’ve read all that way to the end, so thanks for that! I apologize for any spelling and grammar mistakes, my english is :P but I’m trying!

I know that everyone has written something for the imposter au of sagau but this has been in my head for weeks and i finally decided I wanted to put it into words and post it. I’m not sure how well it will do, or how good it even is… but yeah… :>

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

[ixiot-ghostrebel]

Sagau but the reader gets reallyangry evry time when someone insults sucrose,venti,nahida and fischil...... so the former sages of academia are now seeing the reader riding on azdaha screaming how they will wrath of the rock, or anyone who badmouths sucrose and fischil feels like reader screaming that they will sufere while zhongli and ei holds them back, but when someone try to insult reader.......reader just gets bored and gose to sleep and acolaytes have wtf face

When Someone Insults Sucrose, Venti, & Nahida... Vs When Someone Insults Reader

Anon, you know for a fact things are about to go down when Reader hears the insults directed at these characters. For all we know—if reader wasn't be held back they probably would actually murder some people.

OH, and this one's going to be VERY LONG, so be prepared! This was also the reason why I had to get rid of Fischl—that and it was also because my motivation decided to die on me—

(Disclaimers: Might be OOC, (perhaps) Mentions of Violence, & Quest Spoilers!)

Sucrose

The moment she gets insulted for how shy and unusual her experiments were, you can literally tell her confidence breaking. You can see it in the way her ears began to droop more and how she starts fumbling with her stuff.

And, you treasure Sucrose A LOT. What are you going to do, sit there on the side lines? NOT do anything?

"Hey, you lot!" You march up to the insulters out of your hiding place. "What do you think you're doing, insulting one of my acolytes?"

This gets the gossipers to shut up immediately. They are shivering as they hear your voice, flaring with anger and hatred to the bone.

"Y-Your Grace! We were just...uhm—just...commenting! Yes, just commenting on, uh—"

"Shut up. This. INSTANT!" Your voice rings out through the street of Mondstadt. Sucrose's eyes were wide as she sees you, the Almighty Creator, stand up for her. "DO THIS AGAIN, AND I WILL SLIT YOUR THROAT OUT, YOU HEAR ME?"

Yeah, the gossipers are getting absolute PSTD from this. They are never recovering from this incident. Sucrose, upon hearing the threat, quickly runs up to you, to hold you back from actually hurting them.

Yes, you were raising your fists. Who wouldn't want to punch them? They were acting ignorant!

"P-please, Your Grace! Let's not get violent!" Sucrose tries to persuade you from not doing anything murderous—she doesn't want to have to report to the Knights of Favonius that the Creator themself has committed first-degree murder on the streets right before her eyes.

You sigh, relenting. You won't do it if Sucrose won't like it, but if anyone asked you, they absolutely deserved losing their vocal cords.

"Fine." You turn back to the gossipers, who were cowering on the table they were at. "You both, get out of here. If this happens again, I will do what I threatened to do. Or worse."

That's what gets the moving. After several panicked confirmations ("Yes, Your Grace!" "Understood, Your Grace!" "This won't happen again, Your Grace!"), they leave.

But if you were the one that got insulted? Sucrose would be so horrified of the audacity of these people! How could they say such things about the Creator?

She would be even more horrified to realize that you were there, hearing it all. So, instead of telling off the gossipers, she runs up to you to make sure you were okay. Your feelings matter more than those idiots!

"Your Grace, are you okay? I'm so sorry for what they're saying! Please know that they're not true!" She would say gently, and Sucrose would be ultimately surprised to see you actually pretty chill about the entire incident.

"Hm? Yeah, why wouldn't I be okay?—Oh, are you talking about those people over there?" You point at the gossipers, still insulting and calling you names. "Yeah, they're actually pretty amusing."

Shookth. That's what Sucrose's expression is. Absolute shock. You would expect someone like the Almighty Creator to be enraged or upset by this kind of behavior from your own people, but no, you're just sitting there, at a table near the Good Hunter, listening to some dudes piling up random trash on the table like it's some Live Soap Opera.

"U-uhm, pardon me, Your Grace...but are you not affected by what they're saying?" Sucrose can't help but be puzzled at your reaction. It's not exactly...what people would expect, you know?

"Nope, none. Anyways, I'm feeling up for a mushroom pizza—wanna come join me? It'll be on me~"

Sucrose blushes, her mind going frantic. Pizza, with the CREATOR THEMSELF?! But, if the creator wants her to join, she can't refuse!

"O-of course, Your Grace!"

"Alright then. SARA! YOU MIND IF YOU MAKE US A MUSHROOM PIZZA, PLEASE?" The moment you shout from your table, the gossipers turned pale. They look over at you and Sucrose.

That was the next gossip going on throughout the streets for the next few weeks. And you found that entire episode even more amusing.

Venti

This guy is honestly pretty used to insults, so hearing one of his own people call him names and insulting his skills as a bard, he just ignores them and goes on with his day.

However, today was different. He was inside the tavern when you stormed to the table where the insults were being piled up on.

"Ahem." Just by the sound of your voice, you can see the dudes trembling. You were that much of a scary character when you wanted to be. "What is the meaning of this?"

"A-ah! Your Grace, we were just placing opinions on a certain bard's skill in their music—"

"And how does insulting the bard himself have to do anything with their music taste?" you ask, voice ringing with anger. The bad mouthers were turning pale just by the tone you were using. If emotions could kill, your glare would have them drop dead in a heartbeat. Venti found that a little amusing, honestly.

"U-uhm, Your Grace, we can explain!" one of them quickly exclaims, trying to save their own skins. You glare down at them, not even budging in expression or movement.

"Perhaps I should call StormTerror and have your discarded bodies thrown into the ocean." Ayo, hold up! Venti nearly sweats his pants off. The Creator calling in his dear friend, Dvalin, just to kill like, 3 people that were badmouthing him?

As much as he wanted to see his buddy again, he does not like the situation as to why he was even here in Mondstadt again. And besides, these three were still children of Mondstadt! It's better if he steps in and saves them all.

"Yahoo! Your Grace!~ Come join me with for a lovely glass of wine!" He uses his cheekiness to get your attention, knowing the favoritism he'll get over the trio in their little corner.

You sigh. You were so close of letting loose your rage on these idiots, but alas, having fun with Venti outweighed dealing with smack talkers.

So, despite your urge to continue to scream bloody murder from the skies above, you joined Venti at his usual spot in front of the bartender. Venti can only smile as he manages to defuse the situation without making a bigger scene.

"So, Your Grace~ Care to hear this bard's next ballad dedicated to the Almighty Creator themself?" Purely distracts you before you can think more about the frustrating topic.

But when Venti hears someone smack talking about the Creator? Oh, it's really about to go down. Someone was really asking for a death wish. He can suddenly sympathize how much anger you could've felt when you heard other talking crap about him.

Until he sees you, chilling in the corner, listening in on the crap and looking like you would fall asleep at any given time. Venti was puzzled—has the Creator heard insults such as these before? He had to know.

So, disregarding the stupid and semi-drunk idiots, he runs up to you. The moment you see him, you were suddenly very much awake.

"Your Grace! I apologize for what those morons are saying—please, allow this humble bard to deal with them—" You wave him off, telling him to not bother. You tell him that it was actually pretty amusing, and sometimes really good background noise to help you sleep.

Now this dude is even more confused. How could insults be good background noise? How could the Creator themself be using that as a source to doze off to dreamland? It didn't make sense, but he suppose it'll be better for himself if he just left the question alone, never to be answered.

"Well, anyways, I'm up for a walk—you wanna come with?" Venti grins at the request. Spending time with the Creator? Of course he would join! He can brag about it all to the old block head in Liyue and the grumpy royal in Inazuma.

"Ehe, lead the way, Your Grace!" He says it loud enough to have the gossipers freeze and look over. They watch as you both leave the tavern to go on a walk.

Mission accomplished! Venti can live with that kind of revenge on the plate. It served them right to be scared.

Nahida

Okay, to make it more convenient for myself, let's have this take place before the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was erased from Irmunsil. The traveler has managed to save Nahida from the sanctuary of Surasthana, and now we're basically at the part where Cyno meets Azar face to face.

You, quite literally, begged Cyno to let you join him—you were sick and tired of that old man that proclaimed himself to be he Grand Sage anyways.

Even without all the begging, Cyno would've let you follow him anyways. If Azar didn't think that the Dendro Archon could ever lay judgement on him, then let the Almighty Creator reign justice on him themself.

The moment you step into the sanctuary, however, you felt your blood boil. You remember playing through this darn quest and listened to all the crap this son of a dirt bag threw at the wholesome bean that is the Dendro Archon.

You knew what would happen, since you played through the entire quest. For some reason, Teyvat hasn't gone through this change, but you knew. In the end, Nahida was too merciful to the sages. And, let's be honest, who wouldn't want to throw a darn punch at this guy?

You let Cyno do most of the talking with Azar, enjoying how he was looking uneasy as you silently glared at him from the shadows. You can tell Nahida saw you, her eyes wide with awe and shock.

The moment Cyno slams down his polearm, you took it as your cue to come out of your hiding spot.

"And if you think you're leaving this place unharmed, you better think twice! I will claw off that smug face of yours if you think you would get away insulting that precious child!" You point at Nahida to make your statement very clear of who said-child was, in case Azar was stupid enough to think it was someone else.

The moment the (ex)Grand Sage saw you, you can see the literal fear dawning his very figure and eyes. Cyno had to hold you back with an arm on your shoulder because you were looking wayy too murderous than he thought you would be.

"Your Grace, please calm down!" As much as she hates what the sages and the Fatui did to the people of Sumeru, she didn't exactly want Azar dead.

Nahida is smart enough to speculate that if she interfered, maybe Cyno would be able to do his job for both she and the Almighty Creator before things escalate too quickly by Their Grace's divine hand.

As much as she loves you standing up to her, she really doesn't want things to get too bloody than it needs to be.

You glare at Azar one more time. Fine, if you can't have this son of a crap dead as a corpse, you would take some satisfaction in driving fear into him.

"You do this again, little old man, and I'll make sure you actually lose all that self-pride you have and oh-so cherish. Got it?" Even with confirmation, you wouldn't let this guy off the hook. You were that enraged with him.

But at least Nahida was out of her cage, so that's all that mattered.

"Don't worry, Your Grace! I won't let others do this again to me, I promise!" She reassures you that she will not have anyone trample all over her again, and you just couldn't help yourself but smile gently down at her. You know very well she wouldn't.

Alright, post-sumeru archon quest, Nahida is pretty much free to roam wherever she wants. She's pretty happy, until she hears a group of people huddling together talking bad about the Almighty Creator...

At first, she was surprised. Then she got upset and a little angry. Why would her people speak so ill of the Creator?

She literally nearly breaks when she sees you chilling at a different table at Puspa Cafe. She ran up to you, surprisingly, undetected by almost everyone she ran past.

You notice Nahida approaching, and welcome her with a warm smile and a wave, but dies away when she sees the sadness on her face.

"Your Grace! Please forgive my people for talking such false things about you!" She would exclaim, her eyes close to watering tears. While she doesn't like what she hears about you, she doesn't want her people hurt for such things they say.

"Oh—that's what you were concerned about?" you said, dumbly. You look over at the table that were still gossiping about you. "Nah, don't worry, Nahida—they're actually pretty funny."

That immediately gets Nahida spiraling down in confusion. Huh? How could such hurtful things be funny? Was the Almighty Creator very used to this kind of thing, or was it simply because they truly did find it amusing somehow?

"I'm sorry, Your Grace...but I don't really get what you mean." You shrug it off, telling her that's just how you roll. Besides, this was like a free, live time drama show! They were that amusing.

"Say, since we're sitting here in Puspa Cafe, how 'bout I treat you to some Padisarah Pudding and Candied Ajilenakh Nuts? It's all on me!" Yeah, you're pretty okay with spoiling Nahida with treats. Besides, cute bean was sad—you wanted to cheer her up!

When she agrees, you shout, "BOSS! MIND IF YOU GET ME TWO PADISARAH PUDDINGS AND A PLATE OF AJILENAKH NUTS?" And, much like what happened with Sucrose and the pizza, the gossipers freeze, turn pale, and look over.

They become even paler when they see the Dendro Archon herself sitting with the Almighty Creator, casually talking about random things.

"Your Grace, did you really fall from the sky as a shooting star to our world?" You and Nahida would continue talking about your origins and how you brought Teyvat to life from the storybook version, not knowing that the bad mouthers were having a existential crisis at their table.

AND THAT'S IT! I'M SORRY FISCHL, BUT I AM VERY TIRED—

I hope you guys enjoyed it though! See you around! :)

Ghost Rebel Side Note: This was WAYY longer than I thought it would be, holy cow- but at least it turned out okay? :') Boy, I am so tired lol- this took far too much energy than I thought it would. My motivation legit started plummeting when I got to Nahida—You can legit tell I had to reuse the cafe/restaurant scene from Sucrose into hers because my brain just died on me- But I do hope you guys still liked it! Especially you, Anon! I hope it was up to your standards :)

Check Out The Ghost Rebel's Blog Description to See if Their Mailbox is Open!

[zweetpea]

The Hatchling and The Cursed Princess

For @liuaneee

Once upon a time there was a princess-

“Hold on hold on! That’s so cliche!” Scara had the audacity to interrupt me. Anyway so it all started a long time ago-

“Audacity? This is my love story!”

Excuse you? Boy sit down before I make you sleep on the couch!

Anyway… where was I?

“Not so long ago?” He reminded.

Fine (¬_¬) it wasn’t so long ago. An old witch had been snubbed- really? Not gonna say anything?

“Nah, you’re spitting facts.”

Okay so the old hag had not been invited to the baby shower of the princess. 6 other Mages and their familiars were invited. They all gave the princess lovely gifts.

Venti and the dragon of the Winds gave the princess a beautiful voice. Zhongli and the drake of the Earth gave the princess the gift of loyalty. Nahida and the Aranara of the Flora gave the princess an exceptional mind (both brilliant and wise). Furina and the dragon of the Waters gave her beauty both inside and out. Murata and her dragon of flames gave her strength of will. And The Tsarista and her jester gave her true love.

Everyone was- boy what are you smirking at?

“nothing.” Scara barely tried to hid his smirk. “Hey! Don’t call me out.” He chuckled.

Anyway everyone was laughing and cheering and just when all the gifts had been handed out the Witch of the land far far away had appeared in a cloud of purple mist.

“A party? Without me?” She glared at the king and queen.

“We were very frightened.” Thanks mom. Note the sarcasm.

So the old ugly witch walked over to the king and queen who held their baby. Her familiar the Kitsune of lightning sat on her shoulder. She held out her hand and recited a spell.

“On the girl’s 20th birthday she will prick herself on an Electrograna thorn and die!”

Everyone cried out in horror as she summoned a strike of lightning and disappeared. The king and queen were devastated. They resolved not to loose their baby so they burned all the electrograna in the land and kept their baby under 24 hour surveillance at the castle.

“Because seriously, who decides “oh yeah let’s keep her safe by sending her away where we can’t look after her”?” Scara spitting facts there.

So the princess grew up surrounded by love and protection. One day she met an adorable cat, his fur the color of midnight. “Hello little kitty.” She said and in response the kitty nuzzled his face into her hand. “I’m gonna keep you.” She picks him up and walks into her room. She named the cat midnight after its beautiful black fur.

She’d sneak him lots of fish but after a few days the cat revealed his true form as a young boy around the same age as her.

“please no more fish.” He whined. “No I didn’t!”

Yes you did!

“I do not whine.”

Fine you begged. “I don’t do that either!”

Do you want to tell the story?

“gladly. She fell in love at first sight with me and my awesome powers-”

Okay that’s enough! The cat boy asked for something other than fish.

“acceptable.”

So the princess and the boy snuck through the castle to get the boy some bread and eggs. “Midnight. Why are you human.”

“Mine name isn’t Midnight. It’s… Scaramouche.”

“Nice to meet your Scara.” She shook his hand.

“Nice for you to meet me too princess.” They smiled at each other.

Over the years the two of them became the closest of friends. She watched him study magic. And he would do tricks for her.

Around her 20th birthday-

“Wait wait wait! You’re going to skip 15 years?! But so much happened in that time! The time I almost died falling out of a tree and you caught me. The time I transformed into a black leopard and mauled a guy for kissing you. Your 18th birthday-”

We are not going to mention my 18th birthday.

“You looked pretty in pink lace though.”

Scara! Do not be a perv right now! Anyway it was around the princess’s 20th birthday-

“Okay skip the best part of that day but tell the rest of that story at least!”

The- the best part!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE BEST PART!!

“just saying.”

Stop being a perv or get out!

“Okay I’ll stop but tell the rest of the story!”

Okay, okay. “My dear scara comes back today!” The princess cheered as she ran through the halls. He had left three years before to go to this magic academy.

After the “incident” with him-

“the third greatest moment in my life.”

The princess and- third!?

“First is a three way tie between our wedding and the kids births”

So what’s the second?

“Our wedding night.”

Wipe that smirk off your face! Anyway the princess came to properly greet her friend after three years of being apart. Only to find another girl snuggling up to him, he however didn’t look all that pleased to be there.

“Scara? Who’s this?” Her smile was strained.

“I’m Mona. I’m courting him.” She said with a smirk.

“No she’s not!” “Well she wasn’t doing a very good job. I didn’t want her to.”

I know Scara. Anyway the princess smiled at her. “It’s nice to meet you Mona. I didn’t know women could court me.”

“It’s probably not something you need to think about considering you’ll have an arranged marriage. Who’s the viscount you’ll be marrying?” She asked insincerely.

“It’s me- “considering what happened this morning.”

Hey! I’m trying to tell the story.

“Well I remember what I said that day.”

Stop interrupting me! Anyway Scara assured the princess Mona was just a classmate. Barely an acquaintance of his.

Anyway on the-

“You’re not going to talk about how you beat the crap out of Mona when she kissed me?”

I did that to avenge you after her assault.

“It was just a kiss.”

That happened without your consent! That’s assault! Anyway So on the princess’s 20th birthday her parents held a party for her.

“My dear Scara. I do hope you’ll accompany me to my Party tonight.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He looked away ashamed. “Shut up.”

You did. Anyway the princess responded, “But, I really want to share this moment with you. Mother and Father said that after Tonight I could roam the world as I please. Tonight is my last night in the palace for a while. Plus I want the first face of the night to go to you. Please?”

“Fine.” He said against his better judgment.

“I thought it was worth it when she gave me a hug right after.” Cut it out you cheese ball.

It was later that night and the princess had dressed up in a beautiful purple dress to match Scaramouche’s purple suit. He took her hand in the ball room as many of the older nobles gasped and glared. She didn’t care, she was having the time of her life in his arms. Stop smirking Scara. Anyway after the dance the monarchs tore their daughter away from him.

“Get away from her you monster!” The King yelled.

“Father what are you doing?!”

“Sweetheart you don’t know what you’re doing. This is Kunikuzushi. He’s the son of The Witch Raiden! His mother cursed you to die today!” The king explained.

“Well he’s not her! He didn’t curse me!” She exclaimed. “I want him here!”

“WHY?!” The king exclaimed in terror.

“Because I love him!” The ballroom fell silent upon her declaration.

“I- I should go.” Scara looked down and walked away curling in on himself.

“Scara wait!” The princess called to him but it was too late. She started to run after him, but the guards kept her in place. “Let me go father!”

“You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“I do! I love him! I can’t live without him!” She shouted.

“You said that?” Shut up.

She slipped away from the guards and ran out to look for him. “Scara! Scaramouche! Come back please!” But it was too late. He was gone and she was taken back to her room by the guards.

After a while of the princess crying a woman appeared on her balcony. “My my. What a cute little pet my son has.” She came over to the princess.

“Stay away!” She scooted to the back of her bed.

“tsk tsk tsk. Silly girl I’m here to help. Your father slighted me 20 years ago and when I called him out for it he made up lies about me. Why do you think you’ve never heard anyone tell you about a curse before?”

“I… I don’t know?”

“You said you love my baby, right?”

“I do! I love Scara- Kuni more than anything. More than my own life.”

The witch grinned at this. “Then give me your hand and I shall take you to him.” Without a second thought the princess reached out and took the witch’s hand.

“ow!” She shrieked as the witch revealed a small Electrograna thorn in her hand. The world became dark. The witch cackled as she ran everyone else out of the castle.

A few hours later Scara showed up to save the princess! It wasn’t easy and (he had to kill his mom who’d turned herself into a dragon) but it was worth it in the end.

Until he got to the tower and saw her lying on the ground. He tried an assortment of different spells to revive her. He hadn’t known one had worked and so he held her in his arms and placed one kiss on her lips. A final farewell to his love.

“That’s weak for a first kiss. How about you come over here and give me a proper one?”

“You’re alive!” He exclaimed and hugged her.

“All thanks to you.” She kissed him again.

“Okay why is what I did fine but what Mona did is Assault?” I told you I loved you a few hours beforehand, you had my consent. You always have my consent to kiss me.

Anyway so the King and Queen came back and accepted Scaramouche as one of their own citizens. Then a few months later the two got married.

“And that is how your father and I got together.”

Bonus:

“Happy birthday Mama!” The children cheered in unison. Their mother opened up the box to find a Lolita style pink lacy dress. They had the idea because of what their dad said in the story. However he was referring to different garments at the time, though they’d have no way of knowing that.

Needless to say she was not pleased.

[prettypei]

“SOMETHING HAPPENS AND IM HEAD OVER HEELS.”

plot: things they do that make you fall for them even more; fluff!

reader: gn! Reader

pairings: zhongli, childe, kaeya, itto, kaveh

warnings: none

(a/n): inspired by the lyrics of Head Over Heels by Tears for Fears!!!!!

✰You and ZHONGLI were at a small cafe in Liyue, both listening to a storyteller telling tales about “the two brothers who buried their pet dog” and “the girl who didn’t cry”. The audience mostly consisted of small children, but you and your boyfriend didn’t mind. He’s sipping on a cup of oolong tea as he listens intently to the story, smiling in a peaceful manner, and you’re amazed at how calm he can be when he’s drinking his tea. He raises an eyebrow at you, noticing you staring at him. “Is something wrong, love?” “No, nothing at all.”

✰CHILDE’s smiling at his mother while he scrubs the plates for her. “No, really ma, it’s fine I’ll do the dishes for you.” You had just finished a meal with childe’s family in Snezhnaya, and Childe was offering to clean the plates. His mother smiles and pats his head. “What did I ever do to deserve a son like you?” She jokes, chuckling while going up the stairs and into her bedroom. Soon, there’s only the two of you in the kitchen. “I can feel you staring.” Childe says, his back facing you. “What? Is your hot boyfriend too much to handle?” “Nah. I think it’s cute you’re a mama's boy.” You grin. His ears turn red at your words.

✰You were out admiring the view of Mondstadt from starsnatch cliff when you feel someone cover your eyes. You shriek and tumble in the grass, while your mysterious attacker laughed as you brought them down too. “KAEYA????” You exclaimed. “Who else?” KAEYA chuckles, uncovering your eyes. “B-but I thought you were on a mission?!” “Ah, fuck that. You’re more important to me.” “You snuck out to see me?! Jean is gonna be so mad.” “Worth it though. I’ve been too busy lately, haven’t even see your face today, cutie.” “Well… thanks, cheesy.” You sit up from the grass and smile at him. “That’s so Kaeya of you, babe.” “I know, I know.”

✰it was another day in Inazuma with ITTO battling younger kids for beetles, but this time, surprisingly, he won. "HAH! Take THAT you little-oh god you're crying." Itto immediately rushes over to comfort the kid who'd he'd won against, assuring that he would bring him lots and lots of candy and lots and lots of toys while you watched in the distance with amusement on your face. "Hey-hey look, don't cry! I-it's just a beetle fight, not worth crying over." The kid keeps on crying. "U-ugh fine! I'll give you my beetle...." The child's eyes lighten up by the mention of this. "R-really?!" "I guess..." You see an elderly lady watch on in the distance, smiling. Itto then jogs to you who's sitting under a tree. "Ready to go baby? I've already lost another beetle to the kids due to pity..." He groans. You chuckle and get up, wrapping your arm around his waist. "That was nice of you to do that though." "What do you mean?! I'm ALWAYS nice!"

✰You were walking in Sumeru, searching for your boyfriend, KAVEH, only to find him arguing with a client. You wanted to surprise him with some books about architecture that you got for his birthday, but he seemed a little...busy at the moment. "I'm TELLING you that the door is designed to be like this! It creates a perfect symmetry with the roof!" "But, well, don't you think it's a little too...flashy?" "FLASHY???!" Kaveh exclaims with an incredulous look on his face. "Y-Y-You hire ME and-" "W-wait, isn't that your lover, (name)?" The client then points at you who was about to go. And Kaveh...boy, Kaveh eyes light up, and his demeanor does a one-eighty. "(name)!" He shouts, rushing over to you and engulfing you in a hug. "Hup! Oh-uh-Kaveh!" "Did you want to see me? That's so sweet of you!" "Actually, I wanted to surprise you with these gifts I got for you-" "Y-you did?" He's over the moon now, scanning through the books you got him. "T-these were the ones I told you about! I-You-I-" Kaveh is blabbering now, smiling and grinning at you. "I like your smile." You say. "what?" "Your special smile! The one you save for me." He then goes on to smile that smile again. "Hello? Guys? Still building my house?" The client says in the distance.

[shadowcatzone]

-reader x venti who temporarily turns into a wisp after using too much power-

You're out collecting materials, for a cake. Or a pie, depending on how many apples you find. You're in the middle of picking one when suddenly, a bird hits you square in the face, landing in the basket with apples. You check for it- apparently, it wasn't a bird. You set down the basket. "Oh no... you poor thing, are you okay?" You gently pick up the wisp, but it wriggles off your hands and back into the basket. You leave it, instead rubbing your face where the wisp hit you. "Am i okay? That hurt." Glancing down at the basket, you see the wisp eating an apple. In three bites. You panic a bit, holding the wisp firmly before lifting it out. "You can't eat those! I'm gonna make a cake with these... for Barbatos! That's your, uh, ...basically your boss right?" The wisp looks at you with big eyes. Looks down at itself... and seems to have realised something. Now it starts chirping, you recognize the melody, you've heard it on lyre before. You sit down, relaxing your hold a little, "venti?" He nods. With his entire body. It's cute. Breathing a sigh of relief, you let go of him. "What in the world happened? No actually, don't tell me. Are you alright? You were helping the traveler with commissions, weren't you?" He shakes his head, chirps loudly and bumps into your head. "Okay, okay, i know, you can't answer me like that..." You place a kiss on his tiny face. That seems to do the trick, he just sinks back into the basket. You sigh, deciding to collect more apples, lest you come home without any in your basket.

_____

You enter your home, place the basket on the kitchen table and start unpacking. On the way you had bought a few more things you would need, now you'd only need to put them away. You take flour, eggs, salt, wisp- ...you completely forgot about him. So you leave the basket with everything else on the table. You move to the bedroom and place venti, who is still a wisp, on a small pillow. He chirps, you giggle in response. "I'll be right back." You get up and move back to the kitchen and try to put away a few things. As you turn from a cabinet to the basket, wisp!venti is just. Floating in front of your face. You groan, "not now venti, please." Well, the bard is a menace, it follows that the wisp requires your immediate and uninterrupted attention. You decide to comply, if only because his chirping is getting louder and you want him to stop. So you take a bottle of wine, a tiny cup and some grapes, before moving back to the bedroom. You lay down on the bed, and wonder: "i wonder if the traveler will come by later to tell me they're sorry for losing my lover." In response, wisp!venti throws a grape at you. "Oh, is zhongli with them? Haha, then i'm sure they'll figure it out." You pour him some wine, into the small cup (which you only have for decorative purposes actually), then feed him a grape. You start telling him about your day, even though you know he can't answer, though he chirps every now and then. Once you're done, and have nothing to talk about anymore, you start kissing him all over. Then you put your forehead against him, but eventually, you just fall asleep. When you wake, your head is lying in the bards lap. "Slept well? My windblume?"

The traveler actually did show up, crying, although dumbstruck when they saw venti. "I thought you died."

_____

Me: hey hey, you have to write one or two words for me

Venti: sure, what should i write?

Me: *pointing before hiding* i need you to write k- i- s- s-

Venti: you can write that yourself

Me: *BLUSHING* do i look like i can-

it took a while because my sleep schedule is wreaking havoc again. Sorry.

[silentmoths]

As Fragile as a brick wall

Masterlist||First||Previous||Next

hey hey it's me kinda sorta back from my social media pause. kinda because I'm still likely to be very quiet for a while.

Ch 5: Zhongli attempts to locate his renegade princess to ask a question.

Ganyu wins a bet.

Zhongli x Afab (fem pronoun) Reader

little death/gore in this one? just a wee bit.

NSFW elements in later chapters

Multi-chapter, Royal AU, angst, mentions of death, eventual fluff, eventual smut, idk more tags when they happen ig? (Wonderful header image made by the wonderful @ainescribe)

Zhongli was a king, he had won the throne by strategy and wit. His new people adored him, his allied kingdoms were warm and welcoming to the changes he had brought about.

So why?

Why was an unassuming wooden door simply too much for him?

All he had to do was knock, and yet every time he turned down the hallway towards her room he just… froze.

Princes he could capture.

Kings? He could kill those, take their place, and overhaul their battered kingdoms.

The princess however, was a hurdle he could not jump, no matter how many attempts he made.

Obviously he needed to speak with her.

He needed to clear the air, talk plainly.

(perhaps apologise for attempting such an underhanded tactic as forcing her to marry him? Yeah, definitely.)

It takes him three more days, of deliberating and debating with just his own mind, of Xiao’s confused stare, and Ganyu’s tired, but knowing smile before he finally relents and marches to her room. 

The lack of guards at the door should have been the first hint, but Zhongli is so focused on doing this one thing that he does not notice. 

“Princess?” He calls as he knocks “I need to speak with you.”

There is no answer, as expected, she was still ignoring him.

He knocks again.

“Do you intend to hole up in here forever?” He asks, still no response.

Now, surely she was making a fool of him.

“I’ve given you plenty of warning.” He sighs, gripping the door handle “I’m coming in-”

Oh, well no wonder she wasn’t answering.

She wasn't even here.

Zhongli blinks, staring around the room, in a way it was good to see some things never changed. While the decoration of her chambers had grown and matured with her, he could still see small touches of…her, about the room. Worn down and damaged from time under tyranny, but still distinctly what he remembered.

The glaze lilies, in a vase he remembers her mother once owning, sit beside the open window, swaying softly in the breeze, and his heart squeezes just a little…they had always been his favorite.

“M’lord.” Ganyu’s quiet call very nearly makes him jump, turning to find her standing in the doorway. “Her highness has a tendency to leave quite early in the mornings, and not return until nearly dusk.” she informs him.

“And why, pray tell, has it taken you this long to inform me of this?” He asks, shooting her a less-than-impressed look, only to have her smile knowingly.

“To be honest with you, it was a bet between us attendants, to see how long it would take until you finally worked up the nerve to enter her room….so thank you for making me slightly richer.” She giggles, turning and vanishing down the hall to let her king stew in his flustered state.

But now a new question floats to the forefront of his mind.

Where exactly was she going?

—

“Oh princess, you really don’t have to-”

“It’s quite alright, Siqin. Your horse has taken Ill, Azhdaha is more than capable of towing the plough, even at his age.” You’re quick to wave off the farmer's concern “Isn't that right, old boy?”

Beside you, your dutiful horse snorts, ears pricking forward as if offended that the farmer was insinuating he was unable to perform a task. Siqin gnaws his lip for a moment before sighing. 

“Very well, your highness.”

“Oh, please there’s no need to call me that. Technically I’m no longer a princess-” you attempt to reason with him, but are quickly shot down by Granny Chu, shooting you a venomous look.

“Nonsense!” She shouts “Just because your father no longer rules does not mean this kingdom no longer recognizes you as royalty, dear.” she huffs as she turns her gaze to Siqin, the man scrambling to attach the plough to your horse. “Besides, you have more than earned the title in the village’s eyes.” She continues “you come out here every day to help with the smallest of things.”

“Your horse falling Ill isn’t small, Granny.” You retort, taking a seat beside her to help husk the most recent harvest of corn, your hands far slower, softer and less skilled than the elder, but something to do, anything to help is what put your mind at ease. “Azhdaha, be good for him, or no sugar cube tonight.” You warn the stallion; watching his ears pin back in frustration before he finally hauls off, a very frightened Siqin saddled on his back. “If you can’t plough the fields, you can’t sow the crop, without the crop there will be no harvest.”

“Oh I’m sure we would have figured something out.” Granny Chu mutters, a fond shine in her eyes as she leans over, gently grasping your hands and physically helping you through the motions “Like that..”

“Thank you.” you mumble, getting the right technique down after a few more tries, keeping a watchful eye on your temperamental steed as he effortlessly trots along the field, tilling the soil. “Do you know of anyone else who may need assistance?”

“Hmm, I do believe Miss Bai would appreciate you paying a visit to the schoolhouse.” She muses “A visit from the princess would definitely spark the children’s interest.” “Not a princess anymore-”

“Hush.”

You both fall silent for a moment before an unmistakable giggle slips from your lips, only to be followed by granny chu’s own snicker. Soon enough you’re both laughing, and you find yourself at peace.

In all your years, it had been doing things like this that had brought you the most joy, helping your people and seeing them grow, watching their happiness bloom. This is what you wanted.

—

After a rather interesting story time with the local school children (in which they all demanded stories from other kingdom’s you’d visited), a commotion outside pulls everyone’s attention. 

Unfortunately what you find outside only makes your smile drop.

Zhongli, slowly walking down the path, soft, warm smile on his face.

What’s worse? The moment he sees you, it only seems to widen, and now you had nowhere to hide, delightful.

At least until a devious idea floats to the surface.

Zhongli had always had a soft spot for children…and you just happened to have a small army of them gathered around you.

“Well, would you look at that.” You lilt in a sing-song tone, one you knew would get the children excited. “The king himself has some to see you all as well! What a lucky day it is~” 

A dozen pairs of eyes look up at you and then to the approaching king, hope and excitement abound. Jackpot. 

“I know you all must have so many questions for the new king, don’t you?” 

All at once, the children scramble, bolting away from you and crowding around his feet instead. At first, Zhongli blinks in shock, his gaze quickly flitting to you, but then back down to the children and- goddamn it.

You had somewhat hoped that this new diversion would at least annoy the man a little, but the warm smile and soft look is back. How dare he have the gall to look so…content. Oh well, at least it gave you a few moments to scamper away; surely Siqin would be done with Azhdaha by now.

Siqin is more than happy to hand the reins of your ornery stallion back to you, fields freshly tilled and ready to be planted, and you waste no time making yourself scarce. The less you had to see of him and his stupid smile and handsome face and pretty eyes, the better. Azhdaha, usually a steed of routine, doesn’t even question when you don’t head back towards the castle immediately, instead making for somewhere quiet to be with your thoughts.

A small grove of sunsettia trees upon a hill seemed like a nice enough place. You can’t help but giggle as you note the carvings upon the wood; seems this is where the youths of the village used to come here with their sweethearts to carve their names into the tree trunks, how novel.

A nicker and a nudge by an impatient horse snout pulls you from your thoughts, Azhdaha looking up into the branches and stomping a hoof, ah, of course. A hard day’s work deserved a few treats. A swift climb up and soon you find yourself situated comfortably upon a branch, reaching up to pluck fresh, ripened fruit from above to feed them to your demanding horse below, occasionally biting into one yourself as you look out over the small hamlet.

Since your little…intervention, the village had really come together…listening to your suggestions and helping one another. You would never admit to anyone but…god you’d been so afraid that the idea would fail…you’d never had the chance to do anything when it came to guiding the kingdom and even then, it was only because Zhongli was flailing that you even had the nerve to intercept…but looking at all the once broken down, dilapidated houses and buildings slowly, but surely being restored, people helping instead of fighting, things could not have possibly gone any better.

Minutes slowly meld together as you simply enjoy being… doing nothing in particular. Azhdaha, now having had his fill takes a rare opportunity to roll in the grass. Old and noble he may be, but even your old, grizzled warhorse still had his moments.

The view from atop the hill truly was lovely. If you’d had a knack for painting, you’d almost consider coming up here to paint the village as it is now, and then perhaps returning the next winter to paint it again, just to see how things had changed. 

And you also wonder what the view was like from the top of the tree...Glancing up, the branches looked sturdy enough…

By the time Azhdaha notices your ascent, you’re already halfway up, a soft laugh bubbling in your  chest. This reminded you of childhood, when your mother used to take you out to the orchards proper and you got to run and play amongst the trees, chase, hide and seek, simply picking and snacking on whatever fruit you could reach… fond memories indeed.

Finally, your head emerges from the foliage and oh- you were right about the view being even more gorgeous from up here. At this vantage, you could just see over the tops of the cobbled rooves of the bakery and the smithy and out into the rolling farmland behind, the slowly waning sun bathing the fields rich golds and oranges, a kind of warmth you’d not seen in your own kingdom in years.

You’re so mesmerised by the sight that you don't hear the call of your name, or even the crow cawing nearby, until the winged creature swoops just that little bit too close, startling and causing you to jolt, fingers unable to grasp the trunk in time as the sudden movement snaps the thin branch you’d been standing upon; and then you’re falling and you silently curse yourself.

Dead via sunsettia tree, what a headline that would make.

But a shout, a strong pair of arms and a warm, firm chest meet you before the ground does, and another body goes tumbling down the hill a ways with you, cushioning your fall and likely saving you from much worse damage as you both come to a stop at the bottom of the hill, Azhdaha trotting after you.

“Are you alright?” A familiar voice asks, you look up to meet the gaze of your rescuer and find none other than those damningly beautiful eyes.

Zhongli.

His hand gently comes up to caress your cheek with his thumb, fingers softly brushing hair from your face as the panic in his gaze slowly fades, not seeing any immediate injuries. 

“Are you alright?” he asks again, calmer this time, and you nod, still trying to find your voice.

“I- um…y-yes, I’m fine.” you finally manage to choke out, internally chiding yourself for such a weak response, even more so when you realise your leaning into his hand, which has simply come to rest cupping your cheek in a way that was much too tender for your liking. 

Only then do you truly realise your…compromising position, both laid out on the ground with you sprawled across the kings chest like some…harlot. 

He has the gall to chuckle when you gasp and quickly sit up, shifting off and away from him and back to your horse, who’s massive nose is quick to sniff at your hair and clothes to ensure you were actually alright. Some of your muscles protest, your leg and torso especially, having hit a branch on the way down, you can feel the bruise already blooming across the back of your thigh and the dull ache just above your hip, but that was nothing you couldn’t handle.

“What…what are you doing here?” you finally manage to ask as Zhongli sits up, smiling…always smiling at you, you hated it. “Well…” he hums “I had initially come to speak to you in your chambers…only to discover you absent…so I thought I might take a walk in the village to see how the plan you’d made to prepare for the winter had been faring-”

“I mean-” you interject with a frustrated sigh “why are you here?” you reiterate. If there was one thing you remember about Zhongli being somewhat prolific for back in his days as a knight, it was constantly over-explaining.

“Oh! Well, I was hoping you would join me for dinner tonight…” he states as plainly as a commoner would state their name, the casual nature of it all leaving you blinking and caught entirely off guard, something the king at least seems to take into account.

“I…went to the garden.” he slowly admits, rising to stand “I…saw the statue…I feel like there is much I need to explain to you…about why I left and why I have done the things I have… allow me that…and then if you still wish to have nothing to do with me…well…we’ll sort something out.” 

“What do you mean by that, exactly?” you retort, narrowing your eyes at him “‘sort something out?’”

“Simple really…it’s unfair on you to have to continue skulking and slinking about the castle…so if my explanation is not to your tastes…whatever you need to live happily…I will provide…but we can speak more on it later…perhaps at dinner, no?” and that smile is back as he turns, looking over his shoulder at you for a moment longer before he departs “I’ve already asked the kitchens to prepare a few old favourites… but know I won’t hold it against you if you do not attend.”

And then like that, he simply continues on his way, like he hadn’t likely just saved your life. You stare after his retreating frame for a long while, long enough that eventually, Azhdaha begins lipping at your ear and pulling your attention back from whatever dimension it had faded off to. 

You shouldn’t.

But you had to know. 

Why he’d left, what he’d been doing, why he’d come back, why he had attempted to leverage your hand…questions that burned too brightly to simply be extinguished, no matter how hard you tried.

With a sigh,you finally mount your horse once more, wincing in pain as you settle into the saddle. Usually, before returning to the palace, you would take Azhdaha on a good, hearty gallop, get him good and lathered up before returning to the stables for the eve, but even your crotchety old steed can sense your body is simply not up for it today. He had always been gentle with you, but today even more than usual as he walks you back to the castle. 

Seems you had a dinner to attend.

Taglist: @stygianoir @meimeimeirin @ainescribe @dustofthedailylife @theheartshaker @rjssierjrie Want to be added to the list? shoot me an ask~

[insertsomthinawesome]

*pokes head out of the great expanse of information that is the internet* DID I HEAR YOU SAY KAEYA ZHONGLI BESTIES AGENDA do elaborate because I am. I am. in need.

AHAHAAHAHAHAHAH YES YOU DID HEAR CORRECTLY. Look They have so much inherent angst based on Kaeya's origins and Zhongli's orgins. And I'm definitely going to get into some fanon/headcanon territory here. But like- I headcanon that whatever part Zhongli played in destroying Khaenri'ah he feels horrible about it. Meeting Kaeya would be a grenade of emotions for him. Like on one hand: Hey! This guy is a living Khaenri'ahn, maybe i can do small things to pay him for what I've done Not that I could ever total repay it ON the other: OH SHOOT I MESSED UP SO BAD BY HIM I SHOULD JUST NEVER SPEAK TO HIM EVER AND IF HE WANTS ME TO PAY FOR MY CRIMES I WILL. Initially Zhongli would probably just be a good ole formal acquaintance. Being pretty normal about everything (he's good at compartmentalizing and burying pain) except in weird instances where he'd get really intensely invested in Helping Kaeya. Kaeya is like "Okay this dude is strange. Nice! But strange." Eventually the truth would come to light and that would be a mess, not exactly sure how it would go down? I usually play with the idea of Kaeya being pretty angry with Zhongli and softening when he realizes how much Zhongli regrets and how human he is. The start of their actual friendship would be climbing over the hurdle of Zhongli.... well being overly gracious essentially?

Kaeya would have to slap him being like "Dude you need to not bend to my every request for star's sake." Like, kaeya can understand given how much he feels like he messed up, but at this point he genuinely wants to be friends with Zhongli, not have Zhongli be his dutiful archon butler. It'd take a bit for Zhongli to shake the behavior because the guilt complex runs DEEP. Also Kaeya would have to open a lot. Zhongli is old as dirt (ha) So he can probably see through Kaeya waaaay more than he's comfortable with. Zhongli is thankfully not horribly heavy handed? But I can see him being somewhat petty or poking at Kaeya before he's ready.

Kaeya would have the bonus of Zhongli already knowing his Origins! But he would still have to contest with worrying about him flipping out over the spy thing (not to mention Zhongli was the Contracts lord.) Zhongli would also not be super cool with kaeya's more reckless and under-explained stunts. Its probably already somewhat nervewracking for him that most of his friends are mortal. Them making ill-advised decisions would not sit well with him. but with time I think they'd have a beautiful friendship! They're both protectors and have Older Family member vibes (grandpa and older brother) Zhongli would be invested in seeing Kaeya grow past his trauma and the horrible things that happened to him and his people. And Kaeya would be invested in seeing Zhongli live a happy unburdened life (he understands too well holding what feels like the weight of the world.)

And just in general I think the way they can play off of each other is really fun? Just personality wise. They're both really smart but also feel like they'd have a great time discussing stuff over tea, Really random or inane stuff. I imagine they're both kinda fed up with the Anime Plot they're born into xD

I feel like they're both little things people. LIke zhongli going on and on about the flowers being beautiful this morning and Kaeya would just be sitting there like "yeah :]" They realize how much that stuff matters.

Somebody save Zhongli if Hu Tao and Kaeya are in the same room tho. SFDLSDIHGDFIGLDHFGLASIDGHDFG Also they'd both be doing "Woe, therapy be upon ye" at each other SADLFIHSDGLIDFHGDFGHFG

Also both of them adore kids. ;;v;; The capacity they have for understanding each other's pain. Just being the "stop being strong, I know, you can't hide it from me." and "i'm sorry you have this burden, you should've never had it." and "i'm so afraid of what I am harming the people I love." THere could be so much solidarity and comfort and understanding. And conflict and frustration too! I can see them easily being very hypocritical with each other without intending too xD

So yeah! Just their whole deal can be so fascinating and fun, both of them would have so much baggage to work through with each other. And I can see every step of that journey being delightfully fun to dig into and play out in different ways!

[avgvst-h]

Quickie

Xiaoaether

occurred during Lantern Rite

smut

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aether sits down in the restaurant after the exciting events of Lantern Rite. Hu tao hosted dinner. As he sat down, people he knew entered ; Xinqiu, Chongyun, Zhongli, Venti, and Xiangling. He picks at his food as people around him talk. Then, a familiar face walks in.

"Xiao, good to see you." Zhongli announced. Aether immediately lifts his head, making eye contact with the amber eyed adeptus.

"I heard that the Conquerer of Demons and the Traveler are pretty close, no?" Hu tao teases.

Xiao and Aether's faces go red, remembering the events the night before...

17 hours before

"Nghh-Ah, Xiao, please..." Aether pleads. The two fuck on a cliff watching the fireworks. Xiao thrusts into Aether at an ungodly speed. Xiao moans above him, digging his teeth into his shoulder. Aether whines at the pleasuring pain...

Back to present

"Hey, X-Xiao," Aether Stammered.

He nods his head in a greeting, "Traveler." His eyes softened. Aether's stomach fluttered.

Everyone sits down as conversations start up again.

Hu tao announces, "So where did you and Aether go after the bar last night?"

'Ah, that's what happened last night, I got drunk, and Xiao offered to take me to his Inn. That's when we stopped and I kissed him then... things went too far. I can't remember what happened after that.' Aether thought, Recollecting the events.

"I took Aether home." Xiao looks over at Aether, smirking at him. Aether chokes on his food. Chongyun, Xinqiu, and Xiangling look at each other and giggle. Just looking at Xiao made him nervous and a little excited, a heartbeat formed in his member. He quickly covered his problem with a napkin. He could deal with it later... or...

"Xiao? Are you done eating? Would you care for a walk." He asks the man sitting beside him.

"Sure." Xiao smiles, taking Aether's hand leading him out of the restaurant.

As they leave, everyone chuckles to themselves.

"Are you alright?" Xiao asks, then glancing at Aethers... problem, "Oh, Traveler..." He steps forward, gripping Aether's hips, "Let's go somewhere more private?" He whispered in Aether's ear. Xiao grabs Aether's hand, taking him behind the building.

"Xiao? Don't you think this is a little too out in the open?" Aether panicked.

Xiao pushes Aether against the wall and immediately begins making out with him. All of Aether's worries disappear. Xiao slides his tongue along Aether's bottom lip, Aether parts his lips, and Xiao urgently slips his tongue inside. Aether melts, resting his hands on his chest, messing with the folds of his slightly transparent shirt.

Xiao slides his hand down to Aethers bulging member. Aether gasps at the suddenness. Xiao begins palming him through his pants, Aether disconnects the kiss to moan quietly. Xiao covers his mouth,

"Shh, Aether... You have to be quiet for me, okay?" Xiao then kisses the corner of his mouth, to his jawline, down to his neck. He plants soft, passionate kisses on his neck and then starts sucking on the surface. Aether's eyes roll back at the pure pleasure. Xiao stuck two fingers in Aether's mouth, Aether sucked on the gloved fingers, tongue twirling around the ring and middle finger.

"Mfhh ssshh phhh mph," Aether tries to say, Xiao removes his fingers,

"What are you trying to say, Traveler?" Xiao asks, as he stops palming and kissing Aether.

Aether pleads, "Please, Xiao fuck me." Xiaos eyes widen.

"Aether..." Xiao whines, staring Aether in his golden eyes. He slowly pulls his pants down just below his ass, unzips his fly, his dick jumping out, then picks his legs up so Aether is straddling Xiaos waist. Xiaos Dick lines up with Aether's hole.

"Please, I'm begging you. Fuck me into another dimension." Aether pleads, digging at his shoulders. Xiao smiles, slowly lowering Aether on his dick. Aether winces slightly, already used to the size from the night before.

Xiao thrusts into Aether quicker and harder, Aethers eyes roll back, tougue lolling out of his mouth. Xiao gazed at the scene in front of him, getting closer just by the sight. Xiao begins thrusting at the same speed as the night before, maybe even faster. Aether becomes a horny mess, his legs trembling, moaning, and grunting as if he were in pain. On the other hand, Xiao's eyes squeeze shut as he edges on climax. Aether cums in his pants, causing an even worse problem. Xiao then cums into Aethers stretched out asshole. After they both finish their orgasm, they pant complating what just happened.

"Fuck, I'm a mess..." Aether sighed, looking up at Xiao whose staring at the blonde infront of him. Aether feels something stiffen in his ass.

"Xiao, you're not... hard again, are you?" Aether gasps.

Xiao smirks, "How about we head home and finish this off, hm?"

[xiaowhore]

playing hard to get [pt. 1]

as you were a person of bubbly character, he'd gotten used to your bright and cheerful nature, and the ridiculous shenanigans that came along with it. that included your numerous tries to woo him into dating you, with each attempt ending in failure. you weren't too depressed by it, returning to your usual jovial personality even after rejections... and he'd taken that for granted. he didn't expect you to do the “push-and-pull” tactic on him, and neither did he expect it'd work so well.

includes: diluc, xiao & childe

pt. 2 - zhongli, albedo & kazuha

pt. 3 - ayato & heizou

DILUC wasn't too pleased to see you at angel's share so often at the beginning, but he eventually got used to your presence — begrudgingly, of course. there would be no way he was anticipating your visits, that's plain absurd. he just so happened to be the bartender that time, and you were the one coming to see him, not the other way around. that said, you don't approach him the moment you step foot inside; you made it a habit to converse with other customers first before taking a seat on a bar stool, showering DILUC with the usual compliments and idle chatter. it never seems like he listened properly to whatever you were saying, too busy mixing drinks and wiping glasses, but you knew he was. on what basis? a hunch. which wasn't all that trustworthy, but you wholeheartedly believe in it.

this night didn't start out differently from the rest. the door swung open, and his eyes flickered to the newcomer. ah, it was you, strolling up toward a table with your acquaintances. nothing out of the ordinary. but time passed: half an hour had gone by, then another, and then... huh, it's awfully late. it was right about the time you usually left- hey, wait, you're already leaving? DILUC was nearly startled into dropping a glass, and it wasn't his proudest moment. why were you going when you haven't said a single word to him?

“you're leaving?”

you knew you'd won the second he uttered those words. you spun on your heel, looking almost smug, and DILUC had never felt so defeated before. “yes, i have an early start tomorrow, so i'm afraid i don't have the time to chat right now.” he wanted to argue that you had enough time to chat with the other patrons, he really did, but he'd only look like an immature fool.

he placed down the wine glass in his hands, sighing. “would you allow me to accompany you home?”

oh, you've won, alright.

XIAO was often the receiving end of your pointless chatter, ranging from complaints from an exhausting day at work to trivial matters like what you were planning to have for dinner that evening. it was an arrangement XIAO never signed up for — somehow, you'd gotten a hold of his usual spot at wangshu inn and made it a habit to sit next to him whenever you were free and proceed to fill his ears with useless blabbering. he thought of it as a mild inconvenience, and told you as such: “your presence is irritating.”

you seemed a little shaken then, frozen in shock for a split second. but your expression warmed into a sheepish smile, and it looked somewhat stiff, but XIAO made no move to comment on it. “is that what you really think?” he didn't feel inclined to nod, nor did he deny it.

perhaps he should've.

you didn't visit the next day, or the next, or even the next after that. XIAO thought nothing of it at first, since it wasn't odd for you to miss visits on consecutive days. but you didn't come for a week, and then another, and-

he was tired of turning around to look behind him each time he heard footsteps padding against the floor, only to be devasted to not see the person he was expecting. it was certainly strange... how come you never paid him a visit? you've never gone for so long without seeing him, which obviously meant the same for him, and he'd been feeling antsy without the assurance you were alive and well. verr goldet had told him you were only busy with your job, but he needed to confirm it with his own eyes.

he was just about ready to give up waiting for you that day and head off to his own room when his ears picked up on the sound of creaking from the stairs. he glanced at its direction, mentally prepared to be disappointed, only to see... you, hesitant to step closer. oh. it was actually you.

his heart fluttered in glee and you nervously laughed, “oh, sorry, i didn't think you were still here... yanxiao asked me to fetch a couple of things for him and it was late so i didn't assume you'd still be around.”

your words were deaf to his ears as XIAO himself approached you with his own feet. and, well, if he'd walked with hurried strides or accidentally slipped a smile or two, then nobody could blame him.

CHILDE could be described as mean. not a total douchebag, but pretty close to it — even scaramouche had dubbed him as such, and it wasn't just because he disliked the fellow harbinger.

CHILDE was fully aware of his own charm, and though he wasn't one to boast about it, he knew how attractive he was: physical features aside, he was good at fighting, and he knew how to cook, not to mention he had an overwhelming wealth to brag for. it wasn't unusual for people to flock over him to curry his favor, and he'd be lying if he said he disliked it.

he had a terrible hobby, you see. CHILDE would set his eyes on a particular person that piqued his interest, shower them with attention, gift them with whatever they could ever ask for, and treat them with nothing but kindness. but then he'd act distant the next moment, indifferent to their advances, until that person would become impatient and take the initiative themself. he found satisfaction in the way someone would beg for his affection, the way they clung to him so desperately... and yet he'd grow tired of them once the fun was over, and he'd repeat the process again. a heartbreaker at his core.

at the beginning, you were just that — another pitiful victim to CHILDE's whims. you were so, so gullible, so easy to please. you smiled at every insincere compliment, gasped at even the cheapest of presents. “thank you,” you'd say each time, genuine gratitude plastered all over your expression, and CHILDE would feel the tiniest twinge of guilt squeezing his heart. his conscience was screaming at him to stop.

but more than anything, he wondered what you would do if he ignored you altogether.

he thought you'd be adorable, shyly grasping the back of his shirt to ask him out on a date yourself. he wanted to see that, to tease you for being so straightforward. and maybe he'd even take you seriously, something he'd never done before. you were a special case, after all; the idea of dating you was... nice. he'd treat you even better than before, treasure you to the best of his abilities. he'd give you anything you asked for.

but you didn't seek him out. no, you never paid him any mind, batted an eyelash at his sudden absence. you weren't bothered by his disappearance at all, just as cheerful as you've always been, and he didn't like that. he didn't like that at all. he didn't want to see you being fine without him, when he'd been aching from distancing himself from you. it was unfair. he wanted you to long for him the same way he longed for you.

and at his wit's end when he knocked on your door at late evening, coming face to face with your knowing smile, he knew he got a taste of his own medicine.

[tofu-loverx]

Summary: Genshin Impact characters when they meet your friend in Teyvat. Fandom: Genshin Impact Characters: Zhongli \ Kaedehara kazuha. Warnings: fluff \litter yandere. Type: HCs Note: English is not my mother language, sorry for any spelling errors.

Since you were officially declared the Creator, you have lived a life of extreme wealth.

It was just that if you accidentally glanced at a product, you would find that Zhongli had already purchased it.

Even though Morax is loyal to you, you're tired of the privileged treatment, it's like getting a VIP card for life.

One day, you walked with Morax and ganyu in the quiet mountains, and then your eyes widened at that familiar appearance of yours.

You ran as hard as you could in spite of the many silks and accessories that hindered your running, and left your loyal followers behind you.

But you stumbled and fell on your face, the two rushed to you and supported you to stand up and inquire about the reason for your rush.

As soon as you raised your head and lost track of who you were chasing, you began to shout and cry hard.

You made your followers confused.

Morax: "Your grace!? Did we do something wrong?"

Ganyu: "Your grace, are you hurting somewhere?"

You tried to form an understandable sentence in the bout of crying:"There was…I saw her\his.. (F/N)…"

Morax wondered to himself who was this person who made his maker in this case, so he returned to your house your palace with Ganyu and went to Ningguang.

Ningguang searched all her papers that belonged to the residents for this name, while keqing and the guards searched for it in the mountains.

Days later, there was a knock on your room door and Ganyu opened the door while you were drinking tea at the window.

Ganyu with a smile: "Your grace, you'd love to see this~"

You turned around in astonishment, then Morax entered, accompanied by someone familiar to you.

The cup fell out of your hands and you jumped out of your chair, embracing your best friend.

Youu happily : "I was sure you were here"

Yor friend:" Is that really you?"

You: "Yes!!"

Morax approached you kneeling: "your grace, sorry to interrupt your reunion, but who is this?"

u held your friend's hand and laughed to Zhongli:" My best best friend…"

Morax whispered: "Does that mean he is a creator too?"

Morax's heart tore when he saw his place being stolen from him, though he also felt very happy because your frown was replaced by laughter that lit up the room.

He was so happy that you liked hanging out with him and he left Raiden Shogun's kind treatment of you.

You were sitting in Inazuma after u acquitted him of his alleged crimes.

He bought you your favorite dango and gave you the chance to enjoy the most beautiful sunset ever from a cliff.

Until he enjoyed contemplating the carved and blessed features of his creator up close.

Notice that your gaze changed from the setting sun down the slope, he looked at what you were looking at and it turned out to be just a girl running.

But on closer look she was running away from Riftwolf.

You didn't stay in place until you jumped off the top of the cliff, leaving poor Kazuha screaming in horror: "Your grace!!."

Of course, the credit goes to the Archons who taught you to use your powers until you excelled in them.

Kazuha followed right behind and saw you ordering Riftwolf to back off, Kazuha ran after you: "grace!!, don't jump like that again."

Kazuha noticed your lack of reaction to his complaining, so he came closer and saw you frozen and shocked, Kazuha: "Your grace?"

You:" Kazuha…"

Kazuha quickly: "yes! your grace?"

You:" Go back to Raiden and ask her to prepare a clean room, a hot bath and clothes too."

Kazuha: "Yes?"

You jumped into the arms of the girl in front of you happily and she started screaming too.

You:"I miss you so much!!"

Your friend:" Me too!!… You disappeared suddenly… Hey, is this really Teyvat!?"

Your smile widened:" Yes!!, we are at Genshin Impact"

Kazuha didn't understand anything about what was happening and the vague conversation they were having.

Your friend looked at Kazuha and approached him: "Is this really Kazuha??"

"Yes, he's my sweet and cute Kazuha," you replied, placing your hand on Kazuha's shoulder.

The boy's cheeks blushed slightly at your words, and he deduced from what was happening that this girl was from the same world as you came from, sharing the precious world of his Creator, the girl who spent more time with you than he did, the girl who knew you more than he did.

Kazuha finally said:" How do you know my name?"

Your friend:" Of course I know you, (y/n) and I have been talking about you a lot and how (y/n)'s room is full of your pictures."

You hastened to close your friend's mouth at the end of her words, as your cheeks turned red a lot: "Shut up"

Your friend:" What's the problem?"

Noticing the aura between the two of you, she said with a mischievous smile, "Hmm~…so, then."

You:" I know you're obsessed with Ayato too…"

Your friend:" I didn't mind that the handsome young man realized mylove for him."

Kazuha interrupted:" Your grace, we have to go back, and take care of your friend."

Kazuha realizes at this moment that your friend is not a threat to him, yet it will prove to him that you belong to him and that your time is his, everything is his and every hair on you is his.

[teyvatdreams]

If it wouldn't be too much of a bother, can we have some angst with Zhongli, Childe, Kaeya, and Diluc (separately), where the reader gets so beaten up in a battle to where they were fatally wounded? Whether they get out alive or not can be up to you!! (I'm weirdly a sucker for angst hehebhrh)

them when you get severely injured

includes: zhongli, kaeya, childe, and diluc

a/n: i kinda turned this into a Them Thinking You’re Fatally Injured But You Actually Survive prompt so i hope u don’t mind anon ;;

warnings: mentions of blood and injuries

zhongli

after zhongli found you severely injured, you were in his arms in no time. he ran as fast as he could, holding on to you as tight as he could. your eyes eventually fluttered shut — you were too weak and in too much pain to tell him that it hurt to be in his arms.

your head was spinning. you could hear voices surrounding you, but you couldn’t understand what they were saying. your eyelids were too heavy to open as well. and as you drifted off, you were struck with fear for just a moment: scared that you would never open your eyes again.

but you did.

a few days later, your eyes finally opened again. zhongli stayed by your side every second he could. he was often sent home by baizhu or childe whenever he visited.

“zhongli?”

the sound of your hoarse voice pulls zhongli out of his thoughts. “you’re awake,” he comes closer, kneeling next to the bed you were in and stroking your hair. “you’re awake.” he repeats, as if it finally sunk in.

“how long have i been out?” you ask, a weak smile creeping into your face. you instantly felt comforted in zhongli’s presence.

“only a few days. but you’ll have to stay here a bit longer as you heal… do you even remember what happened?” he asks.

you sigh. “yes. but barely… almost as if i was having an out of body experience, watching it from afar…” you explain. “all i can remember is the pain.”

zhongli sighs, and squeezes his eyes shut as if he was the one in pain. “i’m so sorry, my love. i can’t begin to wonder what would’ve happened if i hadn’t found you.” he intertwines his fingers with yours.

“don’t think about that,” you say softly. “you did. and i’m okay.”

he leans in and kisses your forehead. “you’re okay.”

kaeya

you and kaeya had gone adventuring when you had a run in with some monsters after splitting up. usually they were no problem, but somehow you had managed to run into a larger group of them than you had ever gone up against. you were completely overpowered, eventually having to take a run for it before collapsing to the ground. you had escaped the monsters, but you were badly injured.

you had no idea where kaeya had gone. you had no idea where he was, especially since you had run so far from the monsters. he was the only one who knew you were out in the wilderness.

kaeya wasn’t nervous when he couldn’t find you. he knew you were a skilled adventurer. it wasn’t until he found the blood stained grass that he got a pit in his stomach. he was running around the area screaming your name, desperately trying to find you.

and when he did, he was terrified. you were sitting against a wall, covered in blood. he didn’t even know if you were still alive. he panicked and grabbed onto your shoulders, shaking you. you were still passed out, but kaeya knew you were still alive from the small groan you let out when he grabbed you.

he carried you all the way back to mondstadt, pure adrenaline pumping through his veins. you couldn’t die, not like this.

you finally awoke a few hours later, and pain instantly flooded into every part of your body. your pressed a hand against your forehead, trying to soothe the horrible ache in your head.

“(y/n)?”

you turn your head to see kaeya walking to the bed you were laid in. “kaeya,” you breathe, happy to see a familiar face. “what happened?”

“you were attacked… i think. and you were hurt very badly, but i’m sure you can feel that.” he sighs, chuckling. “but barbara patched you all up.”

you try to laugh, but the pain in your ribs stops you. “ah… it hurts.”

“i know,” he whispers. he strokes your arm. “just go back to sleep, okay? i’ll be here when you wake up.”

childe

childe looked in horror at the deep gash on your body, his entire body trembling. he had only looked away for a moment. why did they attack you? why did they want to hurt you?

he defeats the remaining treasure hoarders in a few slashes before helping you stand up, warm blood instantly staining his grey clothing. “come on, (y/n), you can do it.”

“childe,” you say softly, barely able to stand on your own two legs. “childe, it hurts,” you sob. you try to keep your eyes on the ground ahead of you — looking at your wound would only intensify your panic.

“i know it does, i’m sorry,” his voice trembles as he stops to pick you up, slinging you over your shoulder. you let him. you were so dizzy.

you lose consciousness at some point. you woke up later, bandaged up. but the pain was still strong, and you groan in pain moments after opening your eyes. you squeeze them shut again, trying to steady your breathing.

when you open them, childe is by your side, gently grabbing onto your hand. “hey, hey, breathe…” he says softly.

the softness of his voice and gaze was something you had never seen. but it made you feel safe.

“i’ll go get some more medicine for you… it should help with the pain. just rest up,” he tells you. he stands up to leave when you grab onto his arm.

“when you get back… please don’t leave my side…” you whisper.

he gives you a small smile, nodding. “i won’t. i promise i won’t.”

diluc

usually, diluc did his business with the abyss order by himself. he only let you tag along if he was 100% sure you’d both be safe, but for somehow, you had convinced him to let you join him on what he thought would be a more dangerous mission.

and as he sprinted out of the abyss stronghold he had been informed of with you in his arms, he regretted being so easily persuaded by you.

it only took a second for you to get hurt. he didn’t know how badly you were injured, but he could feel his sleeves getting soaked in blood. all he knew is that he had to get you out of there. the mission didn’t matter anymore.

once he felt like he had gotten a safe distance away, he set you down. you had gone completely limp, and diluc felt panic rising in his chest. you had gotten wounded on your back. luckily, the bleeding had slowed, but it still needed attention.

“god,” diluc mumbles, picking you up again. “i’m so sorry. i’m so sorry, my angel.” he holds onto you tightly and starts walking, praying that you’d make it back alive. all he could do was look after the bleeding and try to keep your wound clean.

for the first time in a long time, diluc is scared. he’s absolutely terrified. a tear escapes his eye. he nearly jumps out of his skin when he feels your thumb wipe it away.

“(y/n)?” he can barely keep a good grip on you, but he keeps walking forward.

you give him a weak smile. “don’t cry, diluc. it’s just a little scratch, right?” you grunt in pain.

“don’t move. i’m gonna get you back to mondstadt as fast as i can.”