#neuvillette fic coming soon maybe

[jhuzen]

so. neuvillette being a crybaby old man… huh. never thought i’d be this turned on.

[asilentsongbird]

For you, I think I would learn how to love

For my lovely anon who asked for husband Neuvillette, I bring you a whole fic. This man has me in a chokehold and I need everyone to know how much I love him.

Pairing: Neuvillette x fem! Reader Word Count: ~7k

Summary: Tired of waiting for you to find a husband, your parents find one for you. One who happens to be the Chief Justice of Fontaine. A new city, a new life, a new husband. So much new, and you could only hope, deep in your heart, that you would find happiness and love in Fontaine.

The first time you meet him, it's rather formal.

It's not as though you have much of an option. Though you certainly couldn't say you expected when you woke up to be told that your parents had found a husband for you, and that you'd be married in a week.

They had been pushing marriage lately, saying you were the right age, but the thought had been far from your mind. You thought you still had time, and the next thing you knew, you were being brought to Fontaine.

It's certainly different from Liyue. The hills and mountains are different from the Stone Forrest. The air feels different, there's water heavy in it.

You wait, in an ornate room that feels much too fancy. You've been left alone for a brief moment, the most your parents have allowed since you were told the news.

Part of you wonders if you could escape if you jumped out the window. A quick glance told you that it was much too high to entertain that idea. You'd end up breaking a leg before you got out of this marriage.

The door opens. A man appears, with long white hair with blue streaks in it. Simply from his appearance, you can tell that this is someone important. Your spine straightens as sharp eyes land on you, zeroing in on you.

You felt small, for a moment. As though he was judging you for simply existing in a space you'd rather not be in. Though your parents didn't care if you had plans or wished to find a husband on your own.

The man doesn't say anything. He closes the door behind him with a click, and makes his way over to you. Despite the desire to shrink back, you stand your ground, until he finally stands before you.

Up close you can see more details. He towers over you in height, but you suppose most people would feel short compared to him. His eyes capture your attention the most, the pupils such a strange shape, but gorgeous nevertheless.

"I apologize for leaving you waiting," he starts, almost looking as lost as you on how to start.

You wave your hands frantically in front of you. "It's fine! I didn't expect anyone to come in. I was told I would be meeting-"

Saying future husband felt much too strange. The man in front of you notices your pause, and arches a single silver brow. You frantically try to remember the name of the man who is meant to be your fiance.

"Ah, sorry, I was meant to meet a Mister Neuvillette?" your voice stumbles awkwardly over the new word, still struggling with the accent.

On the trip to Fontaine, your parents had tried to give you lessons on the language, as though you would become fluent in the few hours it took to travel.

The man blinks. And then he blinks again, as though he's trying to figure out what you just said.

Apparently the lessons hadn't worked.

"Sorry, my accent needs work," you apologize. "I hear he's the Chief Justice?"

The man nods, slowly. "That is correct."

You hum, non-committal, waiting to see if your company decides to keep the conversation going. When he doesn't, you find yourself unable to think of words.

Well, this felt awkward. And from the way the man still seemed at a loss for words, he also felt the same.

The tension could almost cut a knife.

He clears his throat after a moment, the sound almost makes you jump.

"Yes, well..." he pauses, gesturing towards the couch. "I am sure monsieur Neuvillette will be here soon."

You take a seat near him. Not close enough to be inappropriate, but close enough that it would be clear that you were talking.  Maybe "monsieur Neuvillette" will see the two of you and decide that this marriage wasn't something he wanted a part of.

"Congratulations on your engagement," your new friend tells you after a moment. You give him a tight lipped smile.

"Thanks."

Once again, silence descends over you two. You fidget with your skirt, smoothing out the wrinkles from travel. Hopefully, it wasn't something your new husband would be upset about.

At least the silence didn't feel as oppressive this time. You let yourself relax, taking a deep, steadying breath.

"Can I ask you something?"

The man beside you nods. You still haven't gotten his name yet, you realize. You'd have to ask later, after some other questions. Who knows when your parents and future husband will be coming.

"Um...how is Neuvillette?" you tentatively ask, to which you only receive a rather blank, if not curious look.

You suppose you'll have to be more direct. Though it almost pains you.

But at least, if he's not kind, you would like a warning. Some way to prepare yourself for what the rest of your life is going to be like. Some women, they don't even get that. They were woken up on the day of their wedding, and the rest of their lives was at the whims of their husbands.

You steel yourself, and fully turn your attention to your friend.

"Is he kind?"

Something in him softens at that. He looks at you with an emotion that you can't recognize in that moment. Pity, maybe?

He opens his mouth, but before you can get your answer, the door opens.

Your parents lean in for a moment, see you sitting on the couch, talking to a stranger, but strangely have nothing bad to say about that. In fact, they look delighted.

"Are you two getting along well?" your mother asks you, somewhat reminding you of a cat just having caught a bird.

The satisfaction on her face made you uneasy, like there was a secret you were missing.

"Fine, thank you," your friend replied for you when you couldn't manage words. "Your daughter is very polite."

Your parents beam at that. The uneasy feeling in your stomach gets worse.

"Thank you, monsieur Neuvillette."

Somehow, it hadn't dawned on you. Your stomach feels like it falls into the floor, but Neuvillette doesn't seem to have any other reaction, looking at your parents. They don't even wither under his stare.

You never wanted to shrink into the floor more. You had just asked your future husband about himself. And more than that, you asked him if he was kind.

Your parents talk with Neuvillette, allowing you a moment to feel invisible and wallow in your self-pity and embarrassment.

At least, until you feel a small tug on the sleeve of your blouse.

It's one of the melusines, you had found them to be very cute upon first seeing them. Your parents hadn't explained much about them, so you found yourself blinking down at the small melusine.

"He is," she says to you, nodding.

You tilt your head to the side. Briefly, you feel eyes on you, but when you look at your parents, they're still talking to Neuvillette, and taking his attention.

"He's what?"

She hands you a long ribbon. It's a deep, ocean blue, the same color that Neuvillette is wearing.

"He is kind," she explains, patiently, as though you were a child. "I heard you ask."

Your cheeks felt like they were on fire, especially as she climbed up next to you, weaving the ribbon through your hair, and both your parents and Neuvillette turned to stare.

"Y/N, that is very rude to ask," your mother scolds, because that is the lot of women in life, only to worry about when men think of you and what might make you undesirable. You resist the urge to roll your eyes.

"Nonsense, it is a very reasonable question to ask. Why wouldn't someone want to know who they're marrying?" Neuvillette cuts in, before your mother can scold you any more.

Your parents fall silent, nodding their heads in agreement as though they hadn't been about to lecture you like a child. You would have laughed if it wasn't for the Melusine finishing with your hair.

"There," she says, with her self imposed job done. "Will you be having a wedding?"

You weren't sure your heart could take any more surprises today. Your cheeks hadn't even lost their blush from the first moment, at this point you didn't think they'd ever go back to their normal color.

"We'll have to see," you murmur, because you weren't completely sure yourself.

She nods, taking in your word and opinion as though it was law. Neuvillette didn't contradict you either, but did finally turn back to your parents.

You don't get too much of a chance to participate in most of the conversation. The Melusine, Sedene, as you learned the name of, asks you more questions that keep you occupied.

It's a welcome distraction. It's better than awkwardly listening to a conversation about your future where at least two of the three people here wouldn't even care for your input.

The jury was still out on Neuvillette.

Eventually though, it grew late, late enough that Sedene was sleeping with her head on your lap. It seemed that finally the other three were tired of negotiating over your life.

Before you knew it, you looked up from your lap just in time to see Neuvillette leave without even a goodbye, the door clicking behind him. Your parents look much too pleased with themselves, which you somehow didn't think was possible.

"I told you, the match would be a good one," your mother tells your father, pride seeping into her voice.

You're not so sure. You can't be sure. At least not yet.

"Yes," your father agrees, with the same fond voice he always had when he didn't want to argue with your mother, and it's easier just to agree.

It seems, just like the foundation of Liyue, that your future is set in stone.

You hope Fontaine will be kind to you.

-x-x-x-x-

You do not have a wedding.

It's actually fine with you. More than fine, really. Apparently as Chief Justice of Fontaine, Neuvillette is well liked and popular. The amount of people you'd have to invite to the wedding would be too many for you.

So you simply don't. You sign a document and in the eyes of the law, and of Neuvillette, that is enough.

Though a part of you aches that you will never have the traditional Liyuen wedding you dreamed of as a child. But you suppose that dreams of childhood should stay there.

You move into Neuvillette's home. Fontaine comes as a culture shock, almost.

The amount of times you get absolutely lost in this fish-bowl of a city manages to astound even you.

It's not your fault, really. Liyue Harbor is easy to navigate, warm and welcoming. In Fontaine, the streets all somehow manage to look the same, though the shops sell things you never even thought of. At some point, you're pretty sure you even see a woman standing outside of a building with a mechanical bird.

You end up seeing other Melusines more than your new husband. You don't really blame him for this, his job is important and needed, so each day he bids you a single "good morning" along with a look you couldn't decipher, as he heads to the Opera House.

That's a whole other thing about Fontaine that you still haven't investigated.

It's not as though you're upset that you don't see Neuvillette often. But he is one of the few people that you know here, and it doesn't take long for you to be lonely in the new city, without any of your friends.

Though you find the Meluine's to be kind. They help you when you get lost, and press small gifts into your palms as they take your hands to lead you around.

They tell you to tell Neuvillette to take some time off work. To spend some time with you. You nod and agree that you'll tell him the next time you see him.

But when the man quickly leaves in the morning and doesn't return until late, you never really get a chance to.

If you didn't know any better, you would have thought he'd been avoiding you.

It's like that for almost a month. He says good morning, disappears, and you wander the city to familiarize yourself with it. He never comes home until the sun has almost set, and night is almost there, while you wander until the rain finally starts for the day.

You asked the Melusine's about it once, commenting that there wasn't so much rain in Liyue. They tell you of the hydro dragon and the tears it cries. You hope that someday you will get to meet this dragon and see what makes them so sad.

At least, it stays like that until it doesn't, as most things tend to do.

You were lost, which wasn't too much of a surprise, but unlike the times before, there were no Melusine's to bring you back home or to a place you knew. The rain had started earlier today, earlier than anyone seemed to expect, and before you knew it, you were huddled in an alley, your clothing absolutely soaked and shivers running down your spine from the wet and the cold.

You missed Liyue. You missed your friends, your parents, you missed the smells and sounds of the harbor. Tears burned in your eyes and mixed with the rain on your cheeks.

Standing there simply isn't going to fix things though, so you eventually left your small, but dry, protection, and decided to finally figure out this city.

Your confidence fades the longer you walk around.

It takes almost two hours of wandering around in the rain until you finally recognize something. Not the path home, but to the first place you ever meet Neuvillette, despite not knowing at the time.

You push open the door. It's late, though that doesn't seem to mean the place is devoid of life. Wrapping shaking arms around yourself, you spot a sliver of light coming from Neuvillette's office.

It felt much too late to be working, but perhaps it was Sedene, fixing up things. Tentatively, you knock on the door, and the faint scratching of a pen against paper suddenly stopped.

Suddenly, this felt like a mistake. You took a single step back, but before you could change your mind and leave, the door swung open and Neuvillette stood there, a look of mild concern on his face.

Neither of you spoke. Neuvillette looks you up and down, brows furrowing, and you realize all at once that you must look like a sight, absolutely soaked and dripping water on the floor. If you weren't so cold, your cheeks would be flushed.

"Why are you here?" he asks, glancing around as though that would provide him with the answer.

Your shoulders slump. You can't really explain why. Maybe it's the disappointment  at the sight of you, or the lack of a warm welcome. Not 'what happened to you' or 'why are you soaking wet' but instead a question that felt almost like he questioning your presence in general.

"I-um," you stutter through chattering teeth, "I got lost and didn't know where to go."

That felt like an understatement of what happened, but you weren't sure how else to answer the question.

Neuvillette didn't seem to know either.

When he didn't say anything more, you shifted from foot to foot, wincing at the cold and the squish of wetness. You'd be lucky if you didn't get sick, after this.

"You got lost?" he finally asks, as though the concept was foreign to him.

You don't know what to say, so you shrug, peering around him. It seemed Sedene had already left for today, and there went your hope for an escort home.

"The streets all look the same to me," you manage, shivering again. "Uh-you can just tell me which way to go, and I'll get out of your hair. I didn't mean to be a bother."

"And why didn't you ask anyone for help? Anyone could have told you where I live."

The question almost comes out cold, for how logical it is. You huff, a small noise of frustration. All you wanted at the moment was to get out of these wet clothes and to be warm again. But it seems that isn't going to happen any time soon.

"Never mind," you murmur, suddenly so tired. Of course he wouldn't understand why you wouldn't want to ask for help. Your Fontainian was still in it's learning stage, and while you could ask a couple of questions with a thick accent, you had no idea how to ask someone to lead you home.

Plus, wouldn't it reflect badly on him, to have a wife who didn't even know how to return home? But you supposed, if it didn't matter to him, then it shouldn't matter to you.

"I'll see you at home, then," you murmur, turning on your heel to leave.

It was the last thing you wanted to do at the moment. The rain seemed to be coming down even harder, you could hear the thunderous roar of rain against the roof as you went to the main door.

A little more rain wouldn't hurt, and you were pretty sure you knew the way home from here.

You step out into the rain, but surprisingly, you don't get any wetter than before. The rain hits something above you, and you glance up to see an umbrella.

Neuvillette stands slightly behind you, umbrella extended over you. You still hadn't stopped shivering, teeth clattering together. Neuvillette almost looks pained as he looks down at you.

"You'll catch your death out here," he says, as though that explains everything.

And then, in true Fontaine fashion, he extends his arm out to you to link your own through, a true and proper escort.

You take it, if only for the stability. And maybe the warmth. And also the umbrella is hardly big enough for two, if you don't stand close, then Neuvillette would get wet as well.

That's the only reason.

He makes quick work of the walk home, and you were almost dismayed by how close you had been the entire time. By the time you walk up the steps, still shivering from  the cold, the rain had finally stopped, the sky clearing to reveal the stars.

"I shall make you something to eat while you dry off," he says, as though it is the law of the land.

You wonder if that is how he sounds in court, when he's trying the cases. You almost want to argue just for the sake of it.

But being dry and having a warm meal sounds much too good to ignore, so you only nod, and go to change your clothes. You debate on taking a bath, the call of the warm water ends up being much too tempting for you.

You emerge feeling like a new person. The water washes away the feelings of the day, and the coldness in your bones. You emerge feeling like a new person, if not a bit more tired and ready for bed than before.

Neuvillette is true to his words. Your hair drips with water as you peek into the kitchen, only to find him sitting at the table, waiting, with two bowls of soup in front of him.

"Come," he says when you don't move forward. You do as asked, sitting beside him and inhaling the rich aroma of the soup.

You had found here that the food varied greatly from what you were used to in Liyue. It certainly wasn't bad, but it was an adjustment. Even the soup was a bit creamier than you were used to, but you ate it eagerly, allowing it to chase away whatever lingering chills the bath hadn't rid you of.

"I'd like to apologize," Neuvillette starts, his own food barely touched, like it's an afterthought for him.

You tilt your head, exhaustion falling over you from the soup and warmth. "For what?"

He looks embarrassed. It's a rather cute look on the normally stoic man. Neuvillette struggles for words, almost seeming to give the words spoken to you the same value that he gives to the court.

"I was not aware that you were struggling to adjust here, I should have foreseen such an event occurring."

He almost looks upset, suddenly. You understand, at least you think you understand. It must be hard having a wife who couldn't even navigate the city of your home.

"It's okay, I'll do better in the future," you reassure, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder as you stand.

It's the first bit of contact you've had since you were married and he placed a kiss upon your cheek at your parents badgering. He looks a bit annoyed though, so you retract your hand to not make him more uncomfortable.

"That's not what I meant. I meant that I should have been here to help you adjust."

"Oh," you say, honestly confused. "it's alright. You're very important here, I don't want to be a bother when you're so busy."

Your words seem to have the opposite of your intended desire. If anything, he looks more upset, leaving you with a rather sour taste in your mouth.

You seemed to be more of an inconvenience than you had even considered.

You hoped this wouldn't turn into an argument. You were tired from wandering and walking for hours, from being caught out in the rain. You rested your head on your hand, trying to think of something to say.

Before your tired mind could think of anything, Neuvillette sighed, a long suffering thing that sounded much older than he must be.

"You should go to bed."

You don't need to be told twice. You take your dish to the sink, leaving it there to be washed by you in the morning. Neuvillette rises, though it seems more to see you off than to actually leave.

"Good night, y/n," he says quietly, still as upset as before.

"Good night, monsieur Neuvillette."

You fall asleep as soon as you're tucked underneath the covers of your bed. You wonder if it's the bed that you're meant to share with your husband, but he never joins you.

And that's fine with you.

-x-x-x-x-

He's still there, in the morning.

It's a sight that makes you freeze coming out of your bedroom, just able enough to peek down the hall and see him in the same place as last night, at the kitchen table. He holds the paper in his hands, the same one that you've seen just about everyone in Fontaine obsessed with.

Did you wake up early? A quick glance at the time told you no, that in fact you had woken up later than normal. Neuvillette was meant to be long gone by now, off to court.

As though sensing your stare, the paper falls, and startling purple eyes lock onto you.

"Ah, you're awake."

You nod, because what else are you going to do? Neuvillette folds the paper back into its  original shape.

"Let me know when you are ready to leave."

Well, you couldn't say you expected that to happen. You nod after a second, before disappearing to get yourself ready.

While you don't look your best, at least you aren't soaked and shaking. Really, the amount of time that you've spent with Neuvillette could be counted on one hand, and you did not like the thought of one of those times being when you were in such a sorry state.

A little bit later, you were back by Neuvillette, looking at him with nothing short of confusion as he prepares to leave.

Oh, the disappointment aches for a moment. Like a child being promised a treat only to have it taken away.

"Well? Come along then."

His voice snaps you out of your thoughts. You take a few, tentative steps forward, until he offers you his hand.

You take it, after a moment, brows furrowed with confusion.

"Don't you have court to attend to?" you ask, as he leads you outside.

"I have sent notice that I will be taking today off. I have recently become aware that my wife needs a tour of Fontaine, and I consider that a much more pressing item on my agenda."

Your cheeks color. You can't tell if it's at being called Neuvillette's wife, or from how he doesn't let go of your hand even when you walk outside.

Before you can ask him if he's sure, if he can really take time off, Neuvillette gestures down the street, and begins what has to be one of the most in depth tours of Fontaine to exist.

This time, getting lost in the sights and sounds is fun. Neuvillette explains every building you pass, the history behind it, and what is happening there now. He lets you pull him in random directions when something catches your eye, and answers every question that you can even think of.

It's fun. Neuvillette is well liked by the people, and suddenly that seems to mean you're well liked as well. The food vendors give you free samples, pressing them into your palm and insisting that you take it despite your protests.

Even the Melusine's stop, chatting with you more than Neuvilllette, much to his surprise. He even comments that you know their names, and seems very ashamed when you point out that you've spent more  time with them instead of him.

You feel like you can actually navigate the city, by the time the sun is setting. Your bones ache from the exhaustion that the excitement has left you with. When Neuvillette notices, he starts herding you home, despite your protests.

The last thing you want is for the day to end. Going back to how it was before seems unbearable now that you know how it could be. If Neuvillette knows of your plight, he says nothing of it.

He simply wishes you a good night, and lets you head to bed.

If it's a dream, you hope that you will remember every detail of it.

-x-x-x-x-

Things don't change after that, much to your relief.

Neuvillette stays in the morning, talking with you sometimes. Most of the time he reads, while you make coffee for yourself, and subsequently him. He likes it with two sugars, no milk.

The information feels nice to have. Especially when, on the very, very rare occasions you wake up before him, you can have a hot cup of coffee waiting for him.

The little things before you grow before anything else. Conversations in the morning. Coffee. Neuvillette bringing you home treats that you love, especially the conch madeleines.

There are other things, as well. When you mention missing a certain dish from Liyue, Neuvillette goes out of his way to procure it for you. You're not sure how he manages to do it, but if it means you can get slow cooked bamboo shoot soup whenever you like, then you're happy not to know.

He comes home earlier, as well. As soon as the case is done for the day, it feels like he's on his way to find you. You're happy to do just that, telling him of everything you managed to do during the day, or whatever else is going on in your head that you want to share.

Neuvillette always listens. And he remembers. You mention once, in an off handed comment, about how beautiful you thought the rainbow roses of Fontaine were.

The next day, you woke up to a bouquet of them at your bedside.

You do your best to return the favor, going to collect him at the Opera house when his day is finished.

When you were younger, you read stories of people falling in love instantly, with a single look and it was easy from there.

You think now, as a married woman, that the stories are wrong. Love comes in the small gestures, in the moments spent together.

-x-x-x-x-

It's pouring rain outside. A heavy downpour that has been going on for the last hour.

It's also the time Neuvillette normally comes home, but it doesn't seem that way today. The change in routine throws you off more than you'd like to admit.

You wait another half hour before you grab your cloak, a heavy thing that Neuvillette insisted on buying you so you wouldn't get soaked in the rain any longer, and head out to the Opera House.

You're not too fond of the aquabuses here. They're faster than walking, but something about them feels so awkwardly slow. But with a bit of tension in your shoulders, you bite down the complaints and make small talk with the Melusine piloting the aquabus as you arrive.

Neuvillette only took you over here once, to show you the Fountain of Lucine. You suppose, on another level, it was also to make sure that you knew where the Opera House was in case you needed him and didn't want to get lost.

You're thankful for his planning.

Everyone else has already left, except for a very dedicated couple by the fountain, praying for blessings upon their child. You wonder if someday that will be you, but dismiss the thought with a blush.

It takes you much too long to find Neuvillette. For a man who cuts such an imposing figure, you wander around in the rain looking for him for much longer than needed. Eventually though, you find him at the back of the Opera House, standing in the rain as though he doesn't notice it.

"Neuvillette?" you call, quiet, as to not startle him. It seems you do so anyways, from how he jumps. "Are you alright?"

He nods, but doesn't speak. You reach out to take a gloved hand, everything about him feels cold.

You lead him back home, and he follows you as though he has no mind for anything else. It takes too long to get home but also not enough time. You hold his hand the entire way.

"Was court today rough?" you finally ask, when you're in the security of your shared home. Neuvillette lets out a hum, not agreeing but not disagreeing either.

You usher him to the bathroom to clean himself up, and go to make something warm, when the irony of the situation hits you all at once, because it must have only been a few months ago that Neuvillette did the same thing for you.

It felt nice to have the roles  switched.

 Neuvillette doesn't seem hungry, so you usher him into your own bed, since truthfully you've been suspicious that he's been sleeping on the couch or at his desk in his office to prevent you from feeling uncomfortable.

You sit down, and urge him to lay his head in your lap. You brush your fingers through his slightly damp hair, and you hum a Liyuen lullaby your mother used to sing to you.

Neuvillette never talks about court. You asked him once and only once about it, curious since everyone in Fontaine seemed to think that the cases were some kind of show. But Neuvillette had simply said that it was very usual, and not worth discussing.

At the time, you took him at his word. Now though, you wonder if it's something more.

"I believe an innocent man was sentenced today," Neuvillette says, after a moment. His voice is so soft, you almost can't hear it under the pouring rain outside.

"Is that so?" you ask, a silent prompt. Does he want to continue? Or leave it there?

He sighs after only a second, pressing further against your hand in his hair. Like a cat seeing attention.

"I'm sure it will be resolved soon, I simply need to investigate things more."

You nod, remaining silent. Neuvillette doesn't explain more, but eventually, as his breathing evens out, the rain comes to a stop outside.

You can't bring yourself to move. It would no doubt wake up Neuvillette, and that seemed like the last thing anyone needed. So you settled amongst the pillows, and close your eyes.

If you wake up tomorrow, still close to another and sleepy limbs tangled together, you said nothing of it. Neither does Neuvillette.

After that though, your bed becomes just the bed, and you're not opposed to that at all.

-x-x-x-x-

The Fountain of Lucine ends up being one of your favorite places in Fontaine. Not for any particular reason, you tell yourself, it's simply pretty to look at.

And that's not a lie. It is pretty to look at, and it's fun to visit and listen to expecting parents wish for good things for their children. It was nice to see the sights and sounds without the hustle and bustle of the city.

The first time you end up going out though, you can't say you had the most pleasant experience.

You had gotten the idea in your head, perhaps you were too bored lately, that you should visit Neuvillette at work and bring him lunch. So you packed a small bag, and made the journey.

Only to be stopped at the entrance of the Opera House by one of the gardes.

"Court is in session, no one is allowed in, miss, without a ticket."

Your head tilts to the side, truly puzzled. A ticket? People bought tickets to court, as though it was a show?

"I'm not going to see the court, I came to drop something off for Neuvillette," you explain to the man, holding up the small box.

The man eyes it with a bit of suspicion, and part of you almost wants to ask if he really thinks you've poisoned it. Another part of you is sure that if you ask, you will absolutely get accused of that.

"That's nice, miss, but you still can't go in. I'm sure you know monsieur Neuvillette has many admirers, and we can't stop court simply because you wish to give him a gift."

Wow. You weren't even sure how to unpack that. You crossed your arms over your chest, not budging.

"I am his wife, here to bring him lunch. Do you want to explain to Neuvillette tomorrow about how you banned his wife from visiting him.?"

The man, you still haven't even gotten his name yet, isn't looking at you any more. He's looking behind you, a look of mild panic on his face.

Oh, this was going to be just like one of those soap operas back in Liyue, wasn't it? You knew without looking who was going to be there.

"Monsieur Neuvillette!" he said, giving the salute of Fontaine. "I was just telling this young woman that we do not allow visitors during court."

"That is true," Neuvillette says, you can almost hear a bit of smile in his voice. "However, I think I can make an exception for my wife. Thank you though, I will handle it from here."

The man scurries away before you can say anything. If he had a tail, it would have been between his legs.

"I think you scared him," you said, turning to your husband.

You ignore your racing heart at hearing Neuvillette call you his wife for the first time. You couldn't stop the smile from spreading on your face though.

"I think if anyone scared him between the two of us, my dear, it was you," he muses, and yes, it is amusement you can hear in his voice.

You two stand there, smiling at each other for a moment before you remember just why you made the journey out here.

"Oh, I brought you lunch." You place the small package in his hand. "I'm sure you're busy here and I wanted to make sure you were eating. I didn't know I needed a ticket to get inside. How did you know I was here?"

"Ah, Aeife told me you had arrive, and I suspected that you would encounter a problem."

He gestures to the side, and sure enough, the small Melusine is there. She gives you a wave before going back to skipping and offering help to those who need it

"She's sweet."

"She is," Neuvillette agrees. "I think most of them like you more than me."

"Who wouldn't like me?"

The smile Neuvillette gives you almost makes you blush, but you barely manage to get a hold of yourself.

"Yes, they'd be fools not to like you."

And now you were blushing. You gently swatted Neuvillette's arm, and only received a chuckle for your antics.

"Thank you," Neuvillette says, genuinely. "I must return now, but I appreciate the thought."

A tiny sliver of disappointment ran through you, but you pushed it down, nodding your head. "Of course, of course. Don't let me keep you. Off you go now."

You made a little shooing motion, the smile on your face letting him know you were simply teasing. But he didn't leave.

"Any time you wish to come and see me, there will always be a ticket waiting for you at the booth." He gestures to the sales booth, which very much looked closed, but you didn't say that. "I'll be sure to tell you the next time Lyney and Lynette do their show."

You visibly perked up, which gained you a small chuckle. You hadn't been shy about saying you wanted to see the show, though apparently it was impossible to find tickets to it.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to take you up on that."

You stood up on your tip toes, pressing a brief kiss to his cheek. He seems surprised at the touch, but after a moment manages to compose himself, saying a quick goodbye before returning to work.

Aefie tugged at your skirt, a gentle motion almost as soft as a breeze. You knelt down to her level, allowing her to whisper in your ear.

"Thank you for making Neuvillette so happy."

-x-x-x-x-

You fell a lot, as a child, as all children do.

Scraped knees and bruised elbows. What is childhood without a few injuries? Without those precious moments that make them realize oh, sometimes life has pain.

The first time you heard of the concept of "falling in love" you had thought it was like that. Falling on the ground and bruising your knees.

Now though, you think it is something else. Like the feeling of falling into a warm bed at the end of a long day.

Neuvillette is already in bed tonight, laying on his side facing where you normally lay. You tip toe over to the bed, just in case he's already fallen asleep.

He hasn't though, and your eyes meet his vivid purple ones as you lay down, facing him as well.

"I thought you were asleep," you murmur. Tentatively, you reached for him, only to have him meet you halfway. Your fingers laced together with his.

"I was waiting for you."

Such a simple declaration is enough to make you blush. A year of marriage and he still managed to make you blush.

"I'm here now."

Something changes in his eyes, and he looks at you, so, so, fond. "You are here."

You both lay there, either unwilling or unable to fall asleep, feeling so close but somehow still so far away. It's one of the nights when the rain isn't falling. When you first came to Fontaine, it felt as though the rain never stopped, but now it's only occasionally.

"You never answered my question, you know."

Neuvillette frowns for a moment, thinking. You take pity on him before he can worry if he made you upset.

"I asked if you were kind," you murmur, gentle.

It felt like ages ago, talking to a stranger without knowing who they were. Neuvillette looks at you, waiting, knowing you weren't finished.

You had been so worried about everything. And though Sedene had told you, you didn't know if you could believe it or not.

"And what have you found?" Neuvillette asks. His voice is small, as though he's actually afraid of how you might answer.

You don't hesitate.

"You are," you whisper. You inch closer, knees brushing against his own. "You are so, so kind."

He kisses you. Lips sliding against your own, slotting there as though they were meant to be there. And desperately, with almost a full year of longing in you, you kiss back.

You're breathless by the time that he pulls back. He looks the same, and for the first time you see a small blush on his cheeks.

"I love you," he whispers, a reverent noise just for you.

You smile, leaning in to kiss him again.

"I love you too."

[genshinluvr]

Masterlist 2

🔞 = Contains Smut, suggestive themes

❗ = Contains triggering content

🫧 = Self-indulgent (will make a separate masterlist for it soon)

🧋 = Author's favorites

🌸 = Requests

✨ = Mini-fics

🧧 = AUs

[All contents listed/linked down below are also posted on my AO3]

Imagines/One-Shots:

• [ Coming Soon ]

-

Series:

- GENSHIN IMPACT -

Not What You'd Expect [Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader] (One-shot series):

Summary of Not What You'd Expect [Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader]: Who knew that getting Isekai'd into Genshin Impact would get you into many situations that you've never thought you'd get yourself into! Whether the situation is life-threatening or just one of those soft and fluffy moments, you don't think you'd want to leave the game any time soon! And it seems like they don't want you to leave any time soon either! So, you might as well enjoy your stay while you're at it!

• Weaseling in (Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader, Neuvillette x Isekai'd!Reader x Wriothesley) [Published on July 23, 2023] ✨

Summary of "Weaseling in": The men left to grab some food while you stay back and wait for them to return. When they return, they see that you're not alone. The two strangers from Fontaine are chatting you up— only they recognize the two strangers with familiar faces from the last time you got lost in Fontaine.

• Sick Days 2 (Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on July 30, 2023] ✨

Summary of "Sick Days 2": The men are sick, and it's your duty to nurse them back to their healthy selves. Yes, the men are sick— all twenty-seven of them are ill, and you're the only one who's taking care of them. Some of them made it easier for you, but others made it complicated for you. It's a good thing you don't have emetophobia.

• Where I Truly Belong (Various Genshin Men x Villain!Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on August 6, 2023] ❗

Summary of "Where I Truly Belong": Your arrival at Teyvat was sudden and you thought you'd be welcome with open arms and new friendship. However, you were terribly wrong. You were ignored, threatened, and chased out of the regions in Teyvat. One day, on the heart island outside of Liyue, a portal opens and an opportunity is given to you. An opportunity where you have power and control over fate. Perhaps this is where you truly belong.

• Mr. Sweet Talker (Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader, Lyney x Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on August 20, 2023] ✨

Summary of "Mr. Sweet Talker": Aether and Paimon managed to snag free tickets to the magic show in Fontaine! It's all thanks to a certain famous Fontianian magician. Who knew he could be such a sweet talker?

• Happily Ever After? (Various Princes!Genshin Men x Royal!Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on August 27, 2023] 🧧

Summary of "Happily Ever After?": There was a small kingdom on Teyvat where a king and queen kept their child locked in a tower for over two decades— the public and other kingdoms do not know what this royal Highness looks like, nor do they know much of this person. However, twenty-seven princes set off to free their royal Highness from their high-rise prison. Maybe you will finally get your happily ever after by finally getting your freedom.

• Burning Desire 4 [Al Haitham's Route] (Various Genshin Men x Iskeai'd!Reader, Al Haitham x Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on September 3, 2023] 🔞

Summary of "Burning Desire 4 [Al Haitham's Route]": Awaken from your slumber due to the burning pit in your stomach, you decide to take a shower early morning, hoping it will cool you off. After your shower, you leave your bedroom to see a shirtless Al Haitham reading a book at your desk. You weren't sure why Al Haitham is in your bedroom, but he has his reasons for visiting you.

• Watch the World Burn (Various Genshin Men x Villain!Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on September 17, 2023] ❗

Summary of "Watch the World Burn": [This is part 2 of Where I Truly Belong] Those who have wronged you, chased you out of the region, and ostracized you will all go down with Teyvat. You will watch the world burn as bodies around you fall to the ground one by one.

• Where's the Update? (Genshin Filler Chapter) [April 1, 2024]

Summary of "Where's The Update?": You and the men go and visit the person who writes the script for every project you all do.

• Territorial (Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader, Zhongli x Isekai'd!Reader x Neuvillette) [September 8, 2024]

Summary of "Territorial": Things seem to be going well when the men from Fontaine moved into the abode. Or at least that's what the others thought. You, however, can sense some tension between Zhongli and Neuvillette.

[ Coming Soon ]

- HONKAI STAR RAIL -

Brightest Star in the Universe [Various Honkai Star Rail Men x Isekai'd!Reader] (One-shot series):

Summary of "Brightest Star in the Universe [Various Honkai Star Rail Men x Isekai'd!Reader]": You were thrust into the world of Honkai Star Rail without warning and any recollection of your memory. Blade and Kafka refer to you as the fallen star. You don't know what it means, and you think it sounds ridiculous. After meeting the men from the Honkai Star Rail universe, these men can't help but feel drawn to you. As if there's this invisible line that's pulling them closer to you. Just when you thought your stay in the Honkai Star Rail universe couldn't get any weirder, the universe keeps proving you wrong.

• Anything for the Star (Various Honkai Star Rail Men x Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on July 22, 2023/July 23, 2023] ✨

Summary of "Anything for the Star": March has a theory that the men would do anything for their precious shining star. However, you thought it was ridiculous. Due to you being skeptical about March's theory, March decides to put it to the test because those men would do anything for the star, right?

• Final Moments (Various Honkai Star Rail Men x Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on July 30, 2023] ✨, ❗

Summary of "Final Moments": You're somewhere alone, bleeding, and on the verge of death. Everyone is scrambling to reach out to you, but you're not picking up your phone, and no one knows where you are. Not even Nanook knows your whereabouts. You didn't think you could die in a universe you didn't belong to, but you were wrong. At least you were able to hear their voices in your final moments, right?

• Seeing Stars (Various Honkai Star Rail Men x Isekai'd!Reader, Nanook x Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on August 6, 2023] 🔞

Summary of "Seeing Stars": Your and Nanook's intimate moment was interrupted by your Astral Express traveling companions. Caelus spots a hickey on your neck, you make a poor excuse regarding that hickey, and all of a sudden, you find Nanook balls deep inside you. Needless to say, Nanook is called the Aeon of Destruction for a reason. And that reason isn't because of destroying the universe, but because he's going to be destroying your insides.

• Anything for the Star 2 (Various Honkai Star Rail Men x Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on August 20, 2023] ✨

Summary of "Anything for the Star 2": After being sandwiched between Gepard and Sampo's chest due to March claiming you wanted to be sandwiched between the two men from Jarilo-VI, you fainted. You soon regained consciousness and now have to deal with the aftermath, and you're also on the hunt for March around the Astral Express.

• Trouble in Paradise (Various Honkai Star Rail Men x Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on August 27, 2023]

Summary of "Trouble in Paradise": Nanook has always communicated with you through your dreams because both you and Nanook are connected with each other. But now that Nanook has taken a human form, there's no need to communicate through your dreams! You were certain that it was just Nanook who could communicate with you through your dreams until Phantylia showed up.

• To be Reborn (Various Honkai Star Rail Men x Vidyadhara!Isekai'd!Reader) 🧧 [Published on September 3, 2023]

Summary of "To be Reborn": Waking up in Scalegorge Waterscape, you have no recollection of your past life. You are reborn— you are a Vidyadhara— hatched from an egg. A young blond boy awaits your rebirth, the same boy who volunteers to be your protector. Your past life remains a mystery. Your relationship with three particular men remains a mystery as they gaze at you longingly from a distance. Sometimes, it's a curse to be reborn.

• Well, Shit. (Various Honkai Star Rail Men x Toddler!Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on September 17, 2023]

Summary of "Well, Shit.": Well, Shit. This isn't supposed to happen. How did this even happen in the first place? Yanqing was tasked to watch over you while General Jing Yuan and your traveling companions were out on a mission. Who knew it would end up with you turning into a toddler?

• Where Are the Updates? (HSR Filler Chapter) [Published on April 1, 2024]

Summary of "Where Are the Updates?": The person who writes the script for your and the men's future project is visiting the Astral Express. Everyone is wondering what is their future role in the projects (and Sampo is being Sampo)

• Disaster in Penacony (Various Honkai Star Rail Men x Isekai'd!Reader) [Published on September 15, 2024]

Summary of "Disaster in Penacony": You and the Astral Crew (minus Nanook) go to Penacony! Things end up not going well on your end and a mysterious blond man (who works for the IPC) oh so generously offers you his hotel room! Little did you know, you won't have the best experience in Penacony as a newcomer.

[ Coming Soon ]

-

Asks w/ Mini-fics:

• [ Coming Soon ]

[odyssean-flower]

The Winding Path of Fate Chapter 14 - The Art of Pretending

Masterpost

Pairing: Neuvillette x Female Reader Summary: You and Neuvillette prepare for the meeting with F

Note: If you want to be on the taglist for this fic, please make a reply to this post, send a message or send a private ask

Have a pic of Neuvillette standing on ichor

Previous | Next

By the next day, your ankle was mostly healed, although it still felt a little tender when you placed too much pressure on it. You spent most of the day sitting at home, brooding over the impending meeting.

One big issue kept popping up over and over again: the very likely possibility that Furina would see your marriage for the sham it was.

Neuvillette had assured you that it would be quite difficult for her to force a divorce, but you doubted that she would be pleased either way. Suppose she decides to reveal our marriage to the whole world…I don’t think I can handle that.

You were not one to take interest in celebrity gossip, but whenever a scandal occurred, even you found it difficult to avoid the bold headlines on the front pages and the endless discussions around you. You could only imagine how much worse it would get when the news came out that the aloof Chief Justice was in a secret marriage.

You tried not to think of such things, but these pessimistic thoughts kept buzzing around your head like annoying mosquitoes. You found yourself slowly counting down the hours until Neuvillette returned. You needed his calming presence right about now.

And, there was another reason why you were eagerly waiting for him...

“So, how do I look?”

You stood before Neuvillette in the new outfit you were going to wear for tomorrow’s meeting. He was once again sitting in your room, his legs crossed and his hands clasped in his lap. He had seemed oddly enthusiastic when you asked him to come to your room so you could model the outfit for him, but there was no trace of that excitement now as he surveyed you from top to bottom.

When he didn’t say anything after a few moments, you began to get nervous. It occurred to you just then that you ought to have done a twirl or something, but your legs seemed to be transfixed in place by his scrutinizing gaze. You could almost feel his gaze physically, like a gentle breeze, as it traveled from the delicate lace at your collar to the white sash that encircled your waist to the flared lavender skirt that reached all the way to your knees. The dress had caught your eye as soon as you entered the shop, and the others immediately agreed that it looked perfect on you (though they also seemed under the impression that you had chosen it because the color was the same shade as Neuvillette’s eyes, which had only occurred to you as a fleeting thought, no more than that). It was the kind of dress you’d wear to a tea party—not too formal, but nothing overly casual either.

Oh…does he not like it? You inspected his expression, but detected no trace of dislike there. At least, you didn’t think there was. You had lived with Neuvillette for a few months now and thought you were becoming quite adept at reading his face, but it was still difficult at times. Maybe I should change into something else…no, wait. Why does it matter if he likes it or not? It’s a meeting, not a date or anything like that. And even if it was a date, why should I care if he doesn’t like my dress? Gah…

Oblivious to your internal turmoil and your sweaty palms, Neuvillette crossed his legs again and tilted his head to the side. His gaze was now resting on your face. You felt heat creep up your neck and willed it to stay out of your cheeks.

“My apologies for not saying anything right away. I was simply caught off guard by how different you look. Not in a bad way, I assure you. Far from it.” he added the last part quickly, and then smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. It lit up his whole face and made him look different somehow. More approachable…more human. It sent a nervous flutter through your stomach. But it was nothing compared to what his next words did to you. “You look like a Pluie Lotus come to life.”

Now you definitely felt the heat in your face, and you awkwardly looked down to hide it. Your hair hid him from view, but you could have sworn you heard a sharp exhale from him, sounding almost like a laugh. You quickly looked up, ready to glare at him, but his face was as impassive as ever, except for the mirthful light dancing in his eyes. Hmph. He’s quick.

“…Pluie Lotuses, huh. They’re very pretty flowers,” you said.

“Indeed they are. As are you.”

You stared at him, and he looked back at you with a steady gaze. Your fingers twitched a little.

“Thank you. That’s very kind of you,” you said at last, because you weren’t sure what to say or do. It was rare for you to get compliments on your appearance. You decided to stare at the wall behind Neuvillette.

“Why thank me? It is the truth. Besides, I am only reciprocating your words to me back on our date.”

“Oh…that.” Thinking back on it now, you could only cringe at your behavior from that time. Something must have been in the air on that boat ride. “I suppose we’re even, then.”

Neuvillette simply made a “Hmm” sound and sipped from his cup, his eyes lingering on you over the rim of his cup. Do I really look that different? You wondered.

You sat down on the chair facing Neuvillette, ready to get down to business. “Neuvillette, we should think of what to say to Lady Furina tomorrow. Has she given you any hints as to what she will ask us?”

Perhaps you should have prepared a notebook or flashcards.

“No, she has not.”

“What about for your past relationships, then? What did she ask before?”

Neuvillette blinked at you in confusion. “What do you mean, Madame?”

“Haven’t you ever brought your past lovers to meet her?”

As Neuvillette continued to stare at you as though you had just spoken an incomprehensible language, you began to wonder if you had overstepped your bounds. You probably had. But just as you opened your mouth to tell him to forget about it, he spoke.

“I have not. You’re the first person I’ve done this with,” he said flatly.

Now it was your turn to blink in surprise. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Huh…” you were taken aback, but thinking about it a bit more, why would Neuvillette bring his past paramours to meet the Archon? It wasn’t as though he needed her permission to date anyone, and a lover was on a different level than a spouse. “I see,” you nodded to yourself, convinced and completely oblivious to the frown tugging at the corners of Neuvillette’s lips.

“Are you worried about tomorrow? There is no need to be. As I’ve said before, there is very little Furina can do to interfere with our marriage, and besides,” he paused here and glanced down at your hands, which you only realized just then were tightly clenched into fists. He reached out and covered them with his own hands, his fingers gently prying yours loose. “You will not be alone. I will be with you. Furina may seem intimidating in front of a large crowd, but you’ll find that she is quite different in more intimate settings.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re used to dealing with her,” you muttered, but you did feel your heart lighten a little bit by the steady weight of Neuvillette’s hands. It was difficult to feel too worried when you were with him. All the troubles in the world seemed to dissipate in his presence. “But still…”

“What is it, Madame? Tell me your worries.”

“It’s just…wouldn’t Lady Furina take issue with the fact that you got married so quickly and secretly, and to someone like me who’s barely known in society? You aren’t exactly known for making hasty decisions like that. She might have questions about that.”

It was possible that Furina didn’t know you and Neuvillette had only known each other for a month before marrying, but it was better to not assume.

“I am under the impression that it is not unusual for people to marry after a short period of courting. That is what I observed, at least. And you may not know this, Madame, but secret marriages are not as uncommon as you might think, particularly among the nobility.”

“Mm, I suppose you do have a point…” Maybe you were overthinking this. A marriage was a marriage, no matter how suddenly occurred. Neuvillette was asked to find a spouse, which he had properly accomplished. Furina might have her complaints about the way it happened, but she couldn’t deny the legitimacy of the marriage.

“It is not something for you to worry about. Leave all the explanations to me. After all, it was I who proposed to you. I was the one who dragged you into this situation in the first place.” Neuvillette’s hands did not leave yours, and you made no move to pull your hands away. “I do not believe it would be a long meeting, so we should have ample time for shopping afterward.”

“Mm…I hope you’re right,” you fidgeted a little in your chair. Everything Neuvillette said was logical and correct. You couldn’t find any holes in his argument. But then there was the elephant in the room…

“There is something else bothering you.” Neuvillette’s tone wasn’t a questioning one. “Tell me.”

“Would we not have to…pretend to be in love in front of Lady Furina?”

Neuvillette stared at you for a long moment. Oh, so it hasn’t occurred to him at all.

“Could you…elaborate on that?” he said at last.

“Well…” you inwardly cursed yourself for bringing it up. “Lady Furina knows that we’re married, so she probably expects us to have some degree of romantic feelings for each other. And also, it is generally believed that people who have a quick wedding in secret have, um, an excess of such feelings, so I was thinking that it would be more convincing if we displayed affection for each other.”

“I do not understand why we must convince anyone of our marriage. It was officially registered, witnessed, and known to everyone who needed to know. In my opinion, that is enough, is it not?”

“On paper, yes, but if we act too distant, it would raise suspicion and lead to more prying into our lives. Maybe…maybe she would even assume something scandalous occurred.”

You realized how ridiculous the idea was as soon as it left your lips. Neuvillette being forced to marry someone because he got them pregnant. It had about as much likelihood of happening as all the water draining out of Fontaine.

Neuvillette blinked rapidly at your words. He seemed to understand what you were implying. He took a sip of water, looked at you, then raised his cup to his lips again. No doubt he was insulted by the mere suggestion of it. You had to apologize. But he spoke before you could.

“Affection… yes, I haven’t considered that. Perhaps that is why she…” he murmured, almost to himself, then shook his head as though clearing whatever thoughts occupied it. He then raised his gaze to you. “How shall we display it, then?”

“You’re asking me?” you were stunned. Shouldn’t Neuvillette, with his doubtless abundant experience in such things, know? Or maybe he found it too dishonest to feign affection for a woman he had no feelings for. “I’m not sure either. You know I’m woefully inexperienced when it comes to romance.”

“So am I.” Neuvillette said. “Perhaps we could follow the examples of others.”

You resisted the urge to gape at him. Does that mean his relationships were all… No, wait, I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Maybe he just means that he acts very reserved with his partners. Yes, that must be it.

“That’s a good idea,” you quickly said, then racked your brain for examples. Your parents came up first in your mind, but you quickly dismissed them. Theirs was an arranged marriage, and even as a child you noticed the difference between how they acted with each other and how your friends’ parents acted. At the very least, they never cheated on each other and got along quite well. I don’t think I should emulate them in this case, though.

You then thought of your friend Anne, who recently got married and gave birth. Her husband was a port official who worked at Lumidouce Harbor, so she moved there about a year ago, but still exchanged letters with you regularly. You never met her husband, but he seemed to be a kind, loving man judging from Anne’s letters. I’ve never seen their interactions, so copying them is also out of the question.

You scoured your mind for all the couples you’ve seen in your life. The elderly couples in your hometown, the young lovers walking hand-in-hand on the city streets, even the fictional romances you read in novels—you analyzed them all. There were a few things they had in common: physical contact, fond smiles, petnames.

You told all of this to Neuvillette, who stroked his chin in thought. Then, he stood up. “Madame, let me try something,” he held out his hand to you, and you took it. He drew you out of your chair and, without warning, wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you close to his chest. You were frozen, unsure of what to do. His other hand moved to your chin, tilting it up. You realized then that you were holding your breath and standing on your tiptoes, your face so close to his that you could see every detail in his face in sharp focus. His slitted violet eyes, fringed by long lashes; his high cheekbones; the white locks brushing against his cheeks; his full mouth, slightly parted—

You hastily put a stop to those thoughts. I have to calm down and focus! Focus on…um…what do I need to focus on again? You were sure that Neuvillette could feel your heart pounding under your clothes. He was staring at you so intently. You couldn’t look away even if you wanted to, for he still had your chin between his fingers.

“My precious little dove,” he whispered, lowering his face to yours. A silver lock brushed against your cheek, and the crisp smell of his cologne assailed your nostrils. As if by instinct, your arms rose to encircle his body. “Won’t you seek solace in my arms?”

If only you had the calmness of mind or wit to respond with something equally passionate! Unfortunately, the first thing that came out of your mouth was, “Didn’t that line come from The Lochknight’s Passion?”

The Lochknight’s Passion was a historical romance novel popular for its compelling combination of the flowery writing characteristic of historical novels and almost embarrassingly direct love scenes. What you didn’t mention was that the line in question was said by the titular Lochknight right before he “fell into the throes of passion” with his lady love, to put it politely. Neuvillette’s tastes in literature are quite unexpected… the romance novels in his study came to mind.

You saw a pale flush bloom across his cheeks and his jaw tightening as he pursed his lips. He let go of you and stepped back. Shades of embarrassment and shock flickered in his eyes. “Y-Yes. I mean, indeed, that is where the line came from.” There was a stutter in his words, which was quite rare.

Oh no, I ruined the moment and embarrassed him! You had to fix this somehow.

You cleared your throat and closed the space between you two, then stepped on your tiptoes and twined your arms around his neck, then cupped his cheek in your hand. You heard his breath catch his throat. “Take me in your embrace, my shining knight,” you recited the words of the Lochknight’s lady in that same scene. “And let our enflamed souls mingle as one!”

The words fell with a thud in your silent room, which suddenly felt too small and stifling.

A polite “ahem” came from the direction of the door. The two of you jumped away from each other as though you were on fire.

“Pardon me, Monsieur and Madame, but I’ve brought snacks,” Marie was standing at the door with a bowl of blueberries. Her eyebrows were raised, and the corners of her lips were twitching. “But if I’m interrupting something, I can come back later.”

You fervently wished a hole opened up beneath you right then and there. You could hear fabric rustling behind you and imagined that Neuvillette felt similarly mortified.

“We were practicing displaying affection, Marie. I apologize if we caused any misunderstandings,” he explained in a composed tone. You were impressed; you couldn’t even manage so much as a squeak right now. He’s the Chief Justice for a reason. I should learn from him.

“Practicing affection?” Marie’s eyebrows remained raised, so Neuvillette explained the situation. As he spoke, rationality made its belated return to your mind. What were the two of you thinking? Showing affection didn’t mean embracing passionately in front of Furina!

You were quite proud of yourself for not burying your head in a pillow and screaming your lungs out.

“Ah, I understand the problem you’re dealing with now,” Marie nodded after Neuvillette finished his explanation. To her credit, she managed to keep a straight face despite being confronted with the absurdity of her employers. “Then, may I give my opinion as a woman who has been married for four decades?”

Gah, we should have done that from the start!

Neuvillette nodded, and Marie went on ahead. “Firstly, Monsieur and Madame, I’m unsure as to why you feel the need to pretend affection in the first place. To my eyes, you two look quite close.”

“Yes, but is it a ‘married couple’ kind of ‘close’?” you said.

“I’ve known plenty of couples, and I’d say the two of you show more fondness and respect for each other than most of them, even the ones who’ve been married for decades. You simply need to act as you always do.”

“But it’s more like the fondness between friends,” you insisted. “Would a stranger think we’re married if they saw us together?”

“Hmm…” Marie tilted her head in thought. “Well, Madame, if you’re so worried, then how about wearing matching accessories with Monsieur? It lends an impression of closeness, I’d say.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” you looked at Neuvillette. “How about it?”

“A visual indicator… yes, it does seem like a good idea,” he nodded. Then, his face suddenly brightened. “I have something in my mind. Come with me, Madame, to my room. And thank you, Marie, for your good suggestion.”

“Yes, thank you, Marie,” you echoed. “Also, sorry again for asking something so odd. And, um, about what you just saw...”

“No need to worry, Madame, you will hear no mention of tonight from me. And don’t apologize for asking questions. There’s a first time for everything.” Marie said, her eyes twinkling.

As you followed Neuvillette to the double doors at the other wing of the house, you were overcome with embarrassment all over again, so you decided to concentrate your eyes on the swaying bow at the end of his white locks. My goodness, how does he maintain all that hair? There’s so much of it…

Neuvillette opened the wooden doors of his room and gestured for you to enter. You had never been in his room before and felt sparks of nervous anticipation in your stomach. Was this what adventurers felt when they were about to step foot into an undiscovered ruin?

His bedroom wasn’t as exciting as all that. It was twice as large as your room. A large canopied bed dominated the room (you tried not to stare at it), and thick blue curtains hung over the windows. A white stone fireplace, unlit, occupied another wall, with a stuffed armchair in front of it. Even with the lights turned on, it was rather dim in the room.

There were two other doors, and you supposed the one Neuvillette led you towards was his dressing room. Your feet sank into the soft carpet as you followed him.

The dressing room was spacious, with floor-length mirrors and a cushioned bench in the middle of the room. Everywhere you looked, you were met with blue, black, and white. You could almost imagine that you were standing at the bottom of the sea. Neuvillette is nothing if not a stickler to a theme, you thought in amusement.

Neuvillette pulled out a drawer. It contained brooches of all shapes and sizes nestled within white silk. They glittered like sea glass on a white sandy beach.

“Madame, please pick one for me,” he said. It wasn’t until that moment that you realized he hadn’t said anything since you left your room. He gestured towards the drawer and proceeded to sit on the bench. Though you could still feel his gaze on your back.

You, for your part, busied yourself with the brooches. They came in all shapes and sizes, all colors and makes. Even you, who had long outgrown your fascination with shiny gems, found yourself enthralled by each brooch you came across. These are all so beautiful! Why doesn’t Neuvillette wear them more often?

At last, your eye alighted on a purple gem tucked all the way in the back of the drawer. You took it out and held it up to the light. It was oval-shaped and appeared more of a pale lilac in the light than deep purple. It was the exact color of Neuvillette’s eyes.

I wonder if this was a gift from a lover? It didn’t seem like the kind of thing you would buy for yourself.

You turned to Neuvillette and held it out to him. “I think this one will do. It matches your eyes and my dress.”

He took the brooch from you and examined it. “It does. I hardly remembered that I had this brooch in the first place,” he turned a weak smile towards you. “You have a good eye, Madame.”

“Try it on,” you urged, and he complied, inspecting himself in the mirror. You stood beside him and looked as well. Marie had a point about the matching. Somehow, you and Neuvillette now looked like you had something to do with each other, rather than just a man and woman standing together.

“I’ll wear a black ribbon like yours in my hair tomorrow as well,” you whispered without knowing why. It wasn’t as though wearing more matching accessories would make the two of you look more like a couple.

“I think you would look lovely in anything you choose,” he murmured back, his eyes fixed on the mirror. You had the feeling that he was staring at your reflection instead of himself.

You turned to look at him. His profile was sharp and defined, his right eye obscured by his bangs so you couldn’t glean his expression. But even so, you could tell…

“Neuvillette, is something wrong? Is it about what happened earlier? There’s no shame in reading racy romance novels, you know. I think shaming someone for reading is an awful thing to do. Someone who only reads serious literature isn’t better than someone who only reads Inazuman light novels in any way. In fact, people should be encouraged to read a wide variety—”

“Madame, I appreciate the sentiment, but that is not what is preoccupying my mind right now,” Neuvillette interrupted. Melancholy continued to emanate from him in waves.

“Oh. Then, what is it?” you moved to sit on the bench and patted the seat next to you. He sat down and glanced at you. “Please tell me.”

“I do not wish to burden you with even more stress.”

“Haven’t we been over this already? We promised to stop keeping our worries from each other, particularly when it involves one of us, remember?”

“We have, but…” Neuvillette hesitated. “I am not sure how to verbalize these feelings in my heart.”

“I see.” You nodded. Your mind raced as you thought of a way to help him open up. An idea came to mind. It was a method used with the students back in your hometown when they had trouble expressing their feelings. Words came out much easier when your hands were occupied with an activity. You could adapt it to this situation. “Neuvillette, I’m going to go get my hairbrush. I’ll be right back.”

“Your hairbrush?” he repeated, confused, as you ran to your room to fetch the brush. The bowl of blueberries was there, and you took it along with you on a whim.

“Neuvillette, brush my hair for me,” you said when you returned to the dressing room and handed him your hairbrush. “Take your time to put together what you want to say.”

“Are…are you sure?” he looked at your hair brush dubiously.

“I am. I brush my hair right before I go to bed every night anyways, so you’re doing me a favor either way.”

“…If you insist, Madame. I shall do my best.” He brought the bristles of the brush to the top of your scalp and gently ran them down the strands of your hair. You popped a few blueberries in your mouth as he did so. After a while, the sensation of the brush carefully being worked through your hair became hypnotic, almost lulling you to sleep. You felt your eyelids drooping down when Neuvillette finally spoke.

“I want to apologize to you first, Madame. What happened in your room should never have occurred in the first place. It was untoward. I do not know what came over me when I did so.”

“We were both trying to find a way to show affection. I did the same to you as well.” You have already resolved to completely bury that memory and never let it see the light of day ever again.

“But it was only in response to my actions.” A pause. “I felt your heart beating rapidly, and you tensed up under my arms. You were scared of me in that moment.”

“I was certainly taken by surprise…” you recalled your emotions back then. “But, um, I didn’t, ah, dislike it.” You stuffed a handful of blueberries into your mouth.

You felt the brushing pause for a second before it restarted with renewed vigor. “…I see.” Neuvillette’s tone was unreadable. “I’m very glad to hear that, although I wouldn’t like to catch you by surprise. I will inform you beforehand and ask for your permission when I do such things from now on.”

“Oh? Does that mean you’re going to take me into your arms again in the future?”

“I try not to make promises that I am unsure I’ll be able to keep.”

You weren’t sure what to say to that, so you stuffed another handful of blueberries into your mouth, focusing on their juicy sweetness.

“There is another thing I want to apologize for.” Neuvillette said after another minute of silence. “I am ashamed that even though I was the one who involved you into this situation in the first place, I find myself completely clueless as to what to do. I should be the one guiding you, and yet…our positions always seem to be reversed. It seems that I am always following your lead.”

“Neuvillette, remember what I said before? We’re partners—we’re a team. We should be walking together side by side, instead of one leading the other. If one of us is lacking in something, the other one should make up for it, and if we both can’t come up with a solution, we’ll consult a third party.”

There was a pause, and then you heard an exhale. It sounded like a mix of a sigh and a laugh. “I find myself envious of your levelheadedness sometimes,” he said. “You’re rarely swayed by emotion.”

I wouldn’t say that, you thought to yourself. “That’s high praise coming from the ever-impartial and reasonable Iudex. I would say I’m the one who has much to learn from you in that aspect.”

“No. You should not emulate me, Madame.” You nearly looked back in surprise at his suddenly clipped tone. He said nothing more afterward, and for a while the room was filled only with the sounds of breathing and the quiet rustling of hair being brushed. It felt like the calm before the storm, somehow.

“Sometimes, I feel as though I’m trying to navigate a maze without a map.” His breath ruffled the little hairs near your temple. You shivered unconsciously. “It’s quite frustrating.”

“I feel the same way,” you tried to sound as reassuring as you could. “This kind of relationship is new for the both of us. You’re not alone in this.”

“Is that so…” Neuvillette trailed off. You stole a glance at the mirror and saw a muscle twitching in his jaw. “I do not believe we are talking about the same thing.”

“Then, what do you mean?”

Neuvillette was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. “My apologies, Madame, but I cannot quite describe it. I should not have vented such matters before our meeting tomorrow.”

“No, don’t apologize for that,” you turned to face Neuvillette. “Venting is good. It’s much better than bottling it all in. It’s a bad habit of mine as well, you know.”

“I can tell,” he murmured, causing you to raise your eyebrows at him. He cleared his throat and looked away. “I meant no offense by that, Madame.”

“I’m not offended. I’m actually surprised. You’re one of the rare people who can see through me. You should feel honored, you know.”

You tried to sound lighthearted, but Neuvillette just continued to fix you with a grave look. Maybe I should work on this more.

“Neuvillette, don’t worry. You’ve always been nothing but kind and considerate—I can’t imagine you doing anything malicious on purpose. You should just keep being yourself.”

“…I suppose you’re right, Madame,” he said at long last, but the heavy air around him didn’t dissipate. You held in a sigh. I’m terrible at this.

It was getting late. You needed to wake up early tomorrow to get ready, so you excused yourself and returned to your room.

As you laid in bed and stared up at your dark ceiling, you heard the gentle murmuring of rain outside. You hoped that signified good luck for tomorrow.

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[yandere-wishes]

⋆  ⋆ ℕ𝕖𝕨 𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥 ⋆  ⋆

Masterlist for newer, more polished stories. You can look up older stories/fics HERE. There’s a wider selection there 

💜Honkai Star Rail

▹▹Blade

ɴᴇᴏɴ ɴɪɢʜᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ɴɪɢʜᴛᴍᴀʀᴇꜱ

It's late and you're tired. Trapped within a dreamlike trance trying to figure out if you're sick or just in love. Although to Blade you're just confused and need a little more persuading of how much he loves you.  

▹▹Boothill

Doc-Ringo

˚ʚ��ɞ˚ Plot: There's a slick black-clad little gal who's been missing with his bounties recently. Boothill's been dying to rustle her up and take a bite

💜Genshin impact

Racing Au (Wriothesley, Neuvillette, kamisato Ayato)

Some racing snippets from the tracks w/ our fav genshin men.

▹▹Dottore 

1:00 am 

Dottore isn't the best at words, especially when it's past midnight and you both have an assignment due first thing in the morning. Yet as the clock tics onwards, he grows a bit bolder.

Comedic Tragedy

Dottore is lovesick and desperate. Reader just wants a life away from from the Akademiya. Neither get what they expected. 

▹▹Childe 

2:00 am 

The Tsaritsa sends two of her finest assassins to take out the head of the Kamisato clan. It's funny how repressed emotions and forgotten memories resurface at the worst times.

▹▹Neuvillette

Do Not Weep Hydro Dragon

There's a crack in Neuvillette's heart that bares your name. He sheds a tear for you each day. Yet once you return to Fontaine with your fiance. The cracks and tears begin to grow. 

▹▹Freminet

Sinking into the Depths

Freminet is desperate to take you diving with him. You are rather reluctant. 

▹▹ Baizhu

Yandere Headcanons

Just some headcanons setting up a longer story.~💜

Sweet like morning-glory

There's a melody humming within your bones. A tune Baizhu strums with his needles and drugs. The ballade sings of a love more deadly than any toxin.

▹▹ Rosaria

TBA

▹▹ Lynette

Yandere Headcanons

Yandere Lynette is such a conniving sweetheart!!

▹▹ Wriothesley

WereWolf

Heritage pricks Wriothesley like a valley of thrones, it's unnerving to find someone with the same pains. 

Yadere!Werewolf! Headcanons

Wriothesley has a secret...it's a pleasant surprise to find someone who harbors the same burden.

▹▹ Capitano

Ice on Ice

He's carved you into his perfect weapon.

princess of flame/captain of ice

He's the ice bearer, the monster sent to snuff out the flames of your homeland. But isn't that just love? To kill with such passion. Wouldn't anything else just be a lie?

💜 Obey me 

▹▹ Leviathan

Self-loathing

Levi’s caught in a trance, tempted and bewitched by the devildom’s new resident. Someone who’s self hatred rivals his own. Someone who might just comprehend his pain...

💜 Twisted wonderland 

▹▹ Leona Kingscholar

My Queen My Prey

You and Leona are opposites that keep getting in each other's ways. And yet there isn't a single damn thing Leona wouldn't do for you.

▹▹Idia Shroud

Dr.Frankenstein

Idia wants to prove the world wrong. To show that there is more to life than good and bad, villains and heroes. But somewhere along the way, he falls in love with what he is trying to prove.

Just Like The Gods

Idia falls in love, death and destruction soon follow. He can’t really help it, it’s in his blood.

▹▹General 

How To Be A Villain In Seven easy Steps (Riddle, Leona, Azul)

It’s easy to be the villain when life has already casted you for the role from the day you were born...

💜Record Of Ragnarok 

▹▹ Nikola Tesla 

Sleepless  

Tesla doesn't sleep, can't sleep. He has something he needs to finish, something to fulfill. Maybe for once in his miserable existence, his inventions can be acknowledged for what they truly are. You're trying to prove yourself before the world comes to an end. And if that means absorbing every form of toxicity your childhood crush has to offer then so be it.

💜Jujutsu Kaisen

▹▹Sukuna 

MONSTERS

Monsters aren’t born they’re made, but Sukuna stumbles across the rare exception…

💜Marvel

▹▹General

Love of my life (Yandere x-men 97)

Why is it so hard to say I love you?

Alice in Marvel-land (Yandere! Deadpool x Reader x Yandere Wolverine)

In some worlds, you were Logan's little darling. In others, you were Wade's starry-eyed lover. But here in the void, there is only one of you and two of them.

▹▹ Miles Morales 

Imposter Syndrome

Miles is the villain. You are the hero. You two shouldn't be in love...

The Perfect Girl

Somewhere along the line the villain won and the hero lost. Now your life is nothing more than a cautionary tale.

The Spider's Web

You are a hero, you feel it within your bones. Calamity may strike and villains may rise. But you are still a hero, it's time to start acting like one. 

▹▹ Miguel O’hara

Comic Book Love

You finally realize that you and Miguel are stuck inside a comic book romance.

Spider Love Bite

Miguel loves you, this you know. But neither the story nor the hero ever stops long enough to wonder if you love him too.

▹▹Michael Morbius

Late Night Calls

Sometimes Morbius is lucid enough to remember your name...

💜Barbie

▹▹Ken

He's Just Ken

You're just Barbie, perfect on the outside, dead on the inside. He's just Ken, neither perfect on the outside nor on the inside. 

💜Moriarty The Patriot

▹▹William James

Anomaly

Reader is an anomaly. A noblewoman of foreign descent. She doesn't belong here. But oh how she wishes to burn the world down just like William.

💜Star Wars

▹▹General 

Our Pretty Little Girl (Yandere!Anakin Skywalker x Reader x Yandere! Darth Maul)

You try to escape from two fearsome Sith Lords. Surprisingly they take it rather well.

Didn't Mean To Say I Love You

Love letters between lyrics

▹▹Darth Maul

Yandere! Darth Maul Headcanons

What's Darth Maul like as a yandere? How does he treat his darling?

Yandere Darth Maul Headcanons (Ft. Darth Talon)

You're Maul's little doll. Trapped between two scary sith lords.

▹▹Anakin Skywalker

TBA

▹▹Qimir

Strawberries

Why does the new apothecary remind you of old starfruits?

Acolyte

Your loneliness is suffocating, engulfing. Qimir is the only one who seems to subdue the pain. But every forbidden fruit has its price.

Cookies

Just a sweet moment between a bloodthirsty sith lord and his precious little acolyte

Dark Vacay

He steals you in summer. Castaway on a planet with no name. But the way his eyes shine under the hot sun has your heart beating out of your chest.

▹▹Master Sol

TBA

💜Dune

▹▹General

I love you, It's ruining my life

When they realize they love

Desert Rose (Yandere! Paul Atreides x reader x Yandere! Feyd Rautha Harkonnen)

You miss the desert. Miss the sun and the sand and the place where they buried your heart. So you run and pray that they won't catch you. 

💜Wuthering Waves

▹▹General

I might just be in love

Wuthering waves men and how they treat their darling

💜Miscellaneous

Superstar AU

He's the hottest new talent and he's only got eyes for you. Based on the movie Priscilla.

▹▹Dracula

A Confession letter

Dear Dracula...

▹▹ Monster High

Yandere! Monster High Ghouls

There's something ancient within you. Lost and forgotten. You're an eldritch creature living amongst monsters. A piece of you lives within each of them. And a piece of each of them lives inside you...

Yandere! Knight x Princess! Reader

Conquer, Conquer, Conquer

[remimibanana]

A bit about Paradox

So, I wrote a massive story with Furina and Neuvillette, which you can find here!

I didn’t want to make the notes section too long with all my thoughts regarding the story, and so I decided to write all here in this one post!

If you’d like to learn a bit about my thought process behind writing the story, then you’ve come to the right place.

All below the cut!

First of all, this story wasn’t meant to be as long as it is.

I originally wanted to beat my record of 17k for a story, so I aimed for about 20k. Maybe 22k? Like…25k at the most?

That sounded feasible, right?

And then it became longer. And longer. And longer the more I wrote…

I thought I’d never reach the end. It just kept going, aha.

I kept writing until it felt all complete to me. I wanted to tell a cohesive story, which requires a lot of words!

This is why this story took so long to write! Apparently, it took me over a month to write this….

I made the document on the same day 4.2 came out. But I think I started writing a few days later.

I was meant to write one more fic before the end of the year, but I think this might be final one for the year!

It took longer than I expected to write it. But I’m very proud of what I’ve written!

But let’s start from the beginning. What made me write this story in the first place?

I started writing this story after I finished playing Act V and Furina’s Story Quest.

I knew I wanted to write something as soon as I finished the quests, because that’s what I do lol

For example, that’s what I did when I played Neuvillette’s Story Quest. I get really inspired after playing!

I love Genshin's Archon Quests and Story Quests so much.

I always want to play everything first to learn more about the characters before jumping right into writing.

I don’t want to butcher their characterizations. I always try my best to stay as close to canon as possible, but add my own headcanons as well about things like powers because well…I can!

I knew this time around, I wanted to write in Furina’s POV!

Since I wrote in Neuvillette’s POV for Resolution of Water’s Complexity. I thought it would be cool.

And after the events of Act V and Furina’s Story Quest, I knew that I wanted this story to be sad. I surprised myself at how sad this story can get.

Sorry. I break hearts aha.

But it also has its funny moments too! I love humor, and I try to add into my stories in the hopes I can make you all laugh.

This is why I set it after Furina’s Story Quest in particular. I wanted Furina to have her vision since it does play a part in the story!

When I started writing this, I had a very, very basic idea. You know the summary for Paradox?

That’s all I had.

Along with this one thought of Furina dancing on the stage.

Nothing else was planned. I just wrote and it became what it is now!

It’s how I usually write.

I wanted dreams to be a major aspect of the story. I love the concept of dreams, and how they can feel so real.

It's like what they said in Thelxie's Fantastic Adventures.

Perhaps fantasy is not just fantasy after all.

A decent of the fairytale world into the real world. It temporarily became reality, and influenced real things in our world.

I think that's how I'd describe my story, although it was a total coincidence that the event sort of has the same ideas as my story lol

Let's talk about the dream Furina has at the beginning of the story.

As you can tell, it plays an important part throughout it all. It’s referenced explicitly multiple times.

It was the first thing I wrote, which basically set the trajectory for the rest of the story.

I wanted to catch your attention from the very start, which I hope I managed to do!

The dream goes deeply into Furina’s thoughts while she is dancing for her people, which are rather dark as you can see.

On the outside, she's being what her people want her to be. On the inside is another story.

I based this off the things we see in Act V, and what I thought Furina would think about her role.

She mainly didn’t want to fail Fontaine. She received an important role from Mirror-Me, as we know as Focalors to play as the Hydro Archon.

It’s why she worked so hard to keep up her act. Even if she suffers, she would suffer for all of Fontaine.

Everything and anything to protect them from the prophecy. But in the dream, she fails. They realise she’s not the Archon.

Even though she didn’t fail in reality.

It’s what she keeps dreaming about, even if she doesn’t want to keep dreaming of such scenarios.

It’s hard to let go of the past, especially after 500 years.

You feel really bad for Furina in the dream, right? I felt bad writing it aha

As you may have noticed, it’s sort of a parallel with what happened in Furina’s trial!

Particularly the end where everyone looks away from Furina. There are a lot of parallels within this story, which I hope you were all able to get!

It sounds like I planned all this extensively beforehand but I really didn’t lol

Let’s talk about Fillian!

Just like in Resolution of Water's Complexity, we have a character I made up for the story. I hope you liked Fillian!

They/Them pronouns because yes. We support our non-binary friends here.

Honestly, I started writing with those pronouns and it sort of stuck so I kept it that way. I hope I didn’t mess up the pronouns anywhere!

They are a producer and a pretty good actor that plays a huge part in the story.

Pretty much, I wanted a character that was genuinely nice to Furina.

Furina deserves to have at least one person she could truly consider as a friend.

They weren't initially going to have such a huge part, but just like I did in Resolution of Water's Complexity, I wanted to make everything connect.

The name Fillian just came to me while I was trying to work out what name to give them. It's a bit strange, but I feel like it's something you would see in game.

Fillian was the one who danced with Furina at the Fountain of Lucine at the beginning of the story.

Even from the beginning, they were so kind to her. That’s just how they are.

It looks like that they like her, but not in a romantic sense! Although people seem to take it the wrong way, as seen lol

They truly care for Furina. The kindness of them is something Furina can’t truly understand at times.

The interaction when they meet again near her house was so fun to write. It sounds bad what Fillian tells her, and just kept getting worse and worse for her…

It made me laugh. I hope it made you laugh too!

My favourite part is when Fillian gave her the dress she wore in the second act.

I saw that so vividly in my head. The way they would hand it to her, and the way Furina took it...

The fact that they said the same words they did back at the Fountain of Lucine…they truly are something.

Fillian was so fun to write!

Let’s talk about the play next!

This idea came about when I was writing Fillian and Furina's first interaction after the Fountain.

I needed a reason as to why Fillian came up to her. It was the only thing I could think of, so I made them a producer who was also an actor who wanted Furina to act in it.

As you can obviously tell, Filia is Furina and Neuron is Neuvillette. I wanted it to be obvious lol

The initial plot of the play took over 1000 words to explain as I tried to make the plot.

I wanted the plot to loosely resemble Furina’s life. Only if you knew Furina, you would notice.

Particularly, the fact that Filia was playing a role as her older sister who was named Flora.

The name Filia came about because I wanted it to sound like Furina somehow. I couldn’t think of a better name that wasn't too obvious.

Flora was a name I chose because it starts with F and it alludes to Focalors in a way. Even though we already have an NPC named Flora in game lol

Even though Furina played as Filia, I still wrote Furina as you may have noticed. It might be a weird choice, but I felt like it made more sense since Furina was pretty much playing as herself.

I mentioned how Furina has different hairstyles and outfits for the play. This all came about from the concept designs for her!

When I saw these, I fell in love with them. They’re all so good! I had to add them into the story somehow.

Luckily for me, I had the whole play idea!

So Furina can change her appearance drastically because of her vision. I mean, it’s not that far-fetched since she can change between her Ousia and Pneuma forms.

This was the only way I could think of justifying how Furina changed her hairstyle.

For Act 1 and 2, Furina has this hairstyle and this is the outfit that I described!

For Act 3, Furina has this hairstyle and outfit.

That's what I hoped I conveyed!

At the beginning of the play, Furina freaks out because it reminds her of her dream. See what I meant by parallels? There's another one right there!

It affects her so much so, that she breaks down in the middle of the second act.

That was painful to write, the fact that she thought she ruined the whole play too?

Fillian was the true MVP here. The way they comforted her, and didn't belittle her for anything. They even wanted to shut down everything in the middle of it!

But Furina couldn't do that. She wouldn't. Even if she was all hurt, she would finish waht she started.

And then it only makes things harder for her at the end of it all when she sees Neuvillette up there.

He was truly up there, by the way. He only left because he couldn’t handle the intense emotions he was feeling at the sight of Furina crying.

Unfortunately, Furina didn’t know that. And that was the final straw for her.

Furina running out of the Opera Epiclese was something that I wanted to make as emotional as I could.

I used a lot of mirror imagery and ideas in this story, and it is quite evident with when she goes to see herself in the Fountain of Lucine's waters.

Hands drag Furina into the Fountain. I chose hands because I feel like hands are pretty scary?

Let’s talk about what the hell happened at the Fountain of Lucine. I’m sure you are all wondering.

I’m going to refer it as a crazy dream here.

Neuvillette explained it as an overflow of the Hydro energies within the Fountain of Lucine. It reacted to Furina’s emotions, and caused manifestations within the waters based upon past memories, and Furina’s own ones.

I hope that made sense! I literally just made up the explanation because uh…I had to justify why that all happened!

Pretty much, Neuvillette’s emotions were in such turmoil that it affected the Fountain of Lucine, since it was in close proximity to him.

He can control the whole Hydro Element now, after all.

If it was just the skies before, why not something as powerful as the Fountain?

It was shown before in Neuvillette’s Story Quest that he could look through the memories there.

Since it’s where all the waters converge, the Hydro energies within it became unstable.

Furina’s deep emotional pain resonated with the unstable energies when she was next to it, which caused this crazy dream to occur.

Yet this dream truly could hurt her.

It was so unstable that it made her memories come into reality with the past.

It’s like how Vacher saw the people he killed with the Primordial Seawater.

This part was heavily inspired by two things:

Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi and ENA by Joel G!

A bit of a strange combination, but let me explain.

I got really into ENA around the time the video Power of Potluck released. I love how strange but interesting it is. It’s really good, I recommend all the videos!

That’s where this whole part came to be after I watched said video.

I stole the whole act idea from it, and wanted to make it as weird and crazy as I could.

It’s so strange but interesting at the same time, right? Just like ENA. Or it’s just weird and you question why I wrote it at all aha

The acts were named after each of the Archon Quest names.

Prelude of Blancheur and Noirceur

As Light Rain Falls Without Reason

To the Stars Shining in the Depths

Cataclysm’s Quickening

Masquerade of the Guilty

I suppose it would be best if I went through each of the acts one by one and explained a bit about them!

1. Prelude

This one is practically a parallel to the first act in Power of Potluck, it was my major inspiration.

ENA is sort of floating through this place full of pipes. And in my story, Furina is floating within water.

Neuvillette appears as a voice! I wanted to bring Neuvillette in somehow, and I thought that would work the best.

A voice Furina can listen to and follow, even if she didn’t recognize it was him in the first place.

The reason his voice was cutting off was because his own powers going out of control in his haste to save Furina.

As Neuvillette explained at the end of the story, the light was a memory he accessed for Furina to go into, although it was rather random.

2. Rain

Since this act is called Rain, I wanted to relate it somehow to the idea of it.

And that’s when I thought Furina could go back in time to when Neuvillette’s predecessor, the Hydro Dragon was alive.

I made her assume Egeria’s form, because that’s what the memory was.

Egeria meeting the Hydro Dragon in Fontaine somewhere.

I made up everything here by the way, who knows if Egeria was even close to the Hydro Dragon back then?

The reason the Hydro Dragon's form became Neuvillette was when he entered the memory, he took over the Hydro Dragon in the memory.

When did he take over it? Around the time Furina reached out her hand towards the Hydro Dragon, probably.

So Neuvillette heard all her thoughts and feelings. I assume he has full control of the memory, but even so...those hands never stop do they?

I hope it was interesting to read!

3. Stars

This one was heavily inspired by Sailor Moon. I stole the whole hooded figure and River of Forgetfulness idea from it.

I was trying to think of what I could do for this part, and I was reading Volume 12 when it came to me.

In this volume, Sailor Moon and her companions go to a river of sand in order to reach their destination. They meet a hooded figure in a boat.

Sailor Moon and her companions go on the boat, and the sand turns into water and drowns them all in the River of Forgetfulness, doomed to forget everything about themselves.

I made the hooded figure Focalors, since I did say that she could be seen within Furina’s reflection.

I also foreshadowed it when Furina thought “You’re here, aren’t you?” before those hands took her into the Fountain.

Her role was to be cruel and crush Furina down until she was all broken.

I had a lot of fun writing the conversation between Focalors and Furina.

Once Furina sinks down to the bottom of the river, Neuvillette comes to rescue her. Furina has forgotten herself pretty much, but comments in her head about what she hears.

I used this as a chance to hear Neuvillette's side of the story. All this time, I made you think that Neuvillette wasn't truly there any of the times before.

But he was! And we find out his true feelings about everything, including his love for Furina.

He tells her his true name, and it makes her remember! She wakes up, and then Focalors appears again.

Neuvillette here finds out that he did hurt Furina. We don't get to see his reaction to it until later on, but it was the catalyst.

Surprise, surprise! Focalors is actually an Oceanid! And every single fragment of Furina you've been hearing about.

Uh, I'm not sure how much sense it makes, but I was trying to make it sound like each of these fragments were one of the people lost in the Poisson incident.

Or uh...I don't really know lol

The ending of this was abrupt because Furina was forced into another memory.

Even though Neuvillette tried to protect her, everything is still too unstable.

4. Cataclysm

This one, uh...I don't really know why I wrote what I wrote lol

I wanted to reference the first dream again, but decided to bring in Filia and Flora? And the Guillotine that ended Focalors?

It's probably the strangest one out of all the acts, but I like it!

The Personified Fear and Fearful Harmony Filia and Flora talk about are references to the PS1 errors. I love console errors, and these two are some of the coolest ones.

The ending was also pretty much cut (get it) short by the Guillotine shooting down.

Who knows what really happened at the end?

5. Masquerade

This one was just an excuse for Furina and Neuvillette to dance. I really like dancing!

I was imagining something like this for Furina's look for this act, but I couldn't be bothered describing it all lol

Furina dreamt about this whole scenario before. I thought it would be something she would dream of lol

It also sells the fact that this was all real and that it was based on memories, as Neuvillette explains later on.

It also foreshadows the future kiss if you know what I mean 👀

Here, Neuvillette asks the same question regarding love.

Was it love that made him hurt her?

Of course, it all ends before Furina could actually give her the answer. I like to make things painful.

And that's the end of all the acts! I hope they were cool to you!

I really like them.

Let’s talk about what happened when Furina “woke up” from the crazy dream.

This is the most emotional part of the entire story, it hurt to write it.

I made Furina think it was all a dream. And this was the final straw for her. She breaks down completely.

She goes to the mirror once again, and tries her absolute hardest to smile. She thinks that smiling would help, but she couldn't do it.

I had the idea of Furina pounding against the glass very vividly, and had the idea of making it actually shatter but I thought that would be too much.

Still hurt to write it.

I did have a bit of trouble working out how to bring Neuvillette in. So, I made him a wall.

Furina did say he was like a stone wall, right?

The reason Neuvillette hugged Furina right away is because he was basing off what he saw in the play.

When Furina was crying there, she hugged Fillian tightly. So it was the same idea here!

When he says to lie down, it made me laugh for some reason. It just sounds out of place, so much that it was perfect.

I feel like the rest is pretty self-explanatory! I hope it was a fitting end to it all. It hurt me to write the part where Furina basically tells him to go away.

THE KISS. TWO KISSES ACTUALLY. THE WAY HE GOES BACK IN FOR ANOTHER KISS YEAHHHHHHHHHHH

Ahem.

I made them kiss because yes I needed kissing.

When Neuvillette mentioned how it looked like Furina would disappear, and the whole star in his chest comment and Furina;s explanation...that I stole from Sailor Moon too lol

The disappear part was from Volume 4, when Usagi is with Mamoru in his place after Chibi-Usa wanted to stay there. Mamoru hugs her from behind, thinking how it looked like Usagi was about to disappear.

And the star in his chest was from the very end of Volume 10, where Mamoru put a hand to his heart and wondered why his chest was so warm, as if there was a star inside of it. And Usagi explains how everyone has a star in their heart.

That was sort of the end to this saga!

Let’s talk about the very end.

I wanted to write something a bit more lighthearted as an epilogue.

Here, Furina is finally getting that cake Fillian said they would save a few slices for her.

She's wearing the dress she wore in Act 2 of the play, with her vision attached as well!

But of course, we have Neuvillette appear, who looks like he's a scary dog from afar lol

I wanted them to dance again. I like dancing, and I feel like it's a good parallel to what they did in Act 5 of the crazy dream, and what she did with Fillian.

I keep doing the whole "Neuvillette is a wall" thing, sorry. I just really like the idea.

I wanted Furina to know that it was him who gave her vision to her. I mention the vision multiple times, so I thought it was a good way to end it all off.

My favourite part of all this is when she says 'I love you" to him, and the waters shoot up. It's so darn adorable!

And with that...the story is complete. Basically 43k words later.

After all this time, I managed to finish this story. It took me forever!

Thank you for reading all of this, I hope you enjoyed learning about my thought process behind it all!

I love these two to bits.

[shanieveh]

hanie's masterlist !

— i write mostly various because i can never be loyal to one man for too long

— they all/almost include my faves except for part twos: kaveh, scaramouche, kaeya, alhaitham

— uhm me subcategory them or saying the men involved in these fics... is for another day im tired

— all of them are sfw please i repeat DONT request nsfw works i see you on asks even if anonymous. yes there's profanity or suggestive innuendos in my first smau but PLEASE i do not write those stuff and im VERY MUCH uncomfortable with people requesting them thankssss <3

works (genshin impact)—

rosemary dreams and sweet lullabies

— the comfort of sleep when he is beside you, the moment when you cared more about the reality of the moment rather than the dreams that come along with it

how you love the genshin men

— how you love them depending on their personality and if they liked you back (some didnt angst ensues but there is fluff i promise)

the day... the music died

— you died, their reaction (some gore? idk)

i like you so much, you'll know it pt. 1

—the things they do for love

im in love with you, and know you know pt. 2

— the things they do for love also just different characters i dont really care about.... but they are kinda cool so its OKAY

call me, "lover boy"

— courting you and what made you like them back

being the genshin men's first priority

— they forget everything and anything when you're in the picture. you are all that matters (did i write this during a mental breakdown when i realize how unimportant i am to everyone? yes)

dangerously yours

— wdym this is based on anakin skywalker?! it is. enemies to lovers, you're the hero and he is the villain

salut d'amour

— based on the love of elgar (the creator of salut d'amour) to his wife though not the same plot just that love and affection you feel during the piece

genshin men crushing on you

— self-explanatory. grown adult men pining over you, should be just kaveh but i got carried away and added them all because why not?

10 things i hate about you

— red flags of genshin men based on the poem from the same name (pls watch it) and how ur blind from all the signs (or u just pretend)

i was enchanted to meet you

— first meetings with them cute and wholesome i guess

haunted by the ghost of you

— all alone they still can't help but feel another presence, as memories barely buried resurfaced his mind, of a quieter time, of a simpler life.

karma is my boyfriend

— more crack than fluff fic about how the genshin men will obliterate those that dare hurt you like who would???

when im no longer young and beautiful

— growing old with them (personal fave)

crying in the genshin men' arms

— you cry, they comfort, fluff ensues

"who did this to you?"

— you're hurt and for some reason enemy!genshin men are concerned and doing everything to make you feel better

"forget me not" (neuvillette)

—fontaine is experiencing heavy typhoons and severe floods, and you might just be the reason why

please don't take my sunshine away...

—can't sleep? maybe a lullaby can help :)

to all the boys i've loved before

— you made a letter to your crush, he likes you back, chaos ensues in how he responsed

when you know, you know

— soulmates are a fantasy made by hopeless romantics, but as soon as he saw you he started to doubt that. he was in love.

"what letters?"

— he ghosted your letters is a sign he never loved you, and as you move on your life he comes back, only to tell you a shocking revelation.

"hey are you still there?" "good."

— only needed when everything goes wrong, when he's no longer in her arms. you felt used. but do you stop? never, he was worth it. (inspo by NIKI's song: backburner)

works (honkai star rail) —

the best thing that's ever been mine

— capturing the mind, the heart, the body and the soul of honkai star rail men

when you know, you know

— soulmates are a fantasy made by hopeless romantics, but as soon as he saw you he started to doubt that. he was in love.

[noellefan101]

Alex-Masterlist

(my acc for reblogging)

If you want to request anything or get to know me a little you can in my introduction. and now i also have all my rules here, yay!

Genshin Impact:

Streamer Au-Xiao, Childe, Venti, Scaramouche, Aether

Lyney headcanons (before Fontaine)

Baker au-Tighnari, Albedo, Kazuha, Cyno, Nilou, Xiao

Kissing Them-Boys Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Kissing Them-Girls Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

Weird/cute nicknames (idk i did smt, and it should be here)

Stealing their hoodie-Genshin

They steal your hoodie-Genshin

Missing Your Warmth Already-Xiao fic-Angst

First Date-Genshin Headcanons Part 1

First Date-Genshin Headcanons Part 2

First Date-Genshin Headcanons Part 3

Albedo One-shot

S/O Who Cooks For Them-Sumeru+Albedo

Regret and Jealousy : Scaramouche (Kazuha)

Regret and Jealousy : Part 2(you chose scara) : request by Anon

Arranged Marriage : Genshin One-Shot (multiple genshin men)

Neuvillette fluff : request by @ayoharuko

Babysitting Is Not Always Easy-Klee, Qiqi, Sayu

Scaramouche Learning About You From Your Friends

Nick-Names Genshin Men Part 1

Too Scared To Let Go(To Lose You)

Yandere Yoimiya Headcanons : request by @krowlovesreading

Would They save the world, or let in burn?

Quiet Love

Alhaitham Weighted Blanket One-Shot

Child!reader Living Their New Parent

Gamer!reader With a Partner Who Doesnt Play Video Games

Honkai Star Rail:

Kissing Them-Mixed Part 1 Part 2

Streamer au-Kafka, Silver wolf, Seele, Bronya

Streamer au-Fu Xuan, Topaz, Aventurine, Blade pt 2

Florist au-Natasha : request by @hedgehog666

Current Poll(s)

...Come Back Later...

Coming soon/someday:

More Of Kissing Them Series-Genshin(maybe Star Rail)

Some Streamer AU-Genshin (Can Do HSR If Requested)

-:- Streaming au (kissing them on camera) pt 1 & 2

Better system for finding stuff in my blog (prob in a few months TOT)

Also Working On "Secret" Fic(s)...

...pls, request...

You are welcome to reblog and like any of my posts, but you CAN NOT translate, copy or hate on anybody for liking my posts

[zhongrin]

Popped real quick out of indefinite hiatus just because I saw the change from "neutral about Neuvillette" to "am i aCTUALLY GETTING BRAINWASHED ABOUT LIKING HIM NAUUUUGHH??" and let me tell you Miss Rin, it's only a matter of time before you could accept that fact 😔 but really, what's another doting husband among your protective and possibly possessive harem? (You now have to make sure Monsieur Neuvillette and Zhongli won't be hostile towards each other 👁️)

Plus, not surprisingly, Neuvillette does fit a lot of your criteria (basing this on the type of men you're into). He's gorgeous, not a loner but has that solemn-like, beautifully mysterious vibe, a dragon, a person of power (have you noticed your harem consists of men with power), no doubt gentle with children or those of child-like innocence...

It's not so bad with the Monsieur, give him a chance 🙏🏻🙏🏻 Maybe you could even get with a slowburn, 200k fic love story with him because have you seen the potential he has .. gosh, don't get me started HAGDHSH I'm a little bit insane on how much potential Focalors and Neuvillette had (in both romantic and platonic sense, BOTH suits them!!!)

crying sobbing es PLEASE NOT YOU TOO (˚ TT⌓TT )

"what's another doting husband among your protective and possibly possessive harem?" -> you almost got me with this one. i almost caved. shame on me. i. i mean. yes but. but. but. i dunno I FEEL GUILTY FOR SOME REASON orz (i am not confident i can do that hauhsdlfjskd what can a mortal girl do when two dragons are hissing and snarling at each other and doing their own equivalent of frillnecks raising their frills to intimidate its enemies??????)

i cackled at the 'dragon' part lmaooooo but yes, i know... i am aware... i do tend to go 🥺 when i see men with those traits in position of power... like. i mean. come on. the charisma and skills someone must have to manage to triumph others to be in that position? and despite that, they're not flaunting it around or misusing it? hot.

plus, i'm a follower through and through (i think i've had enough of being in the 'leader' position when i was younger). i like being led. i like having clear guidelines. i like following instructions. i like getting the approval stamp of someone who's more experienced in the field. i can gush and froth about this for hours on end hsdljfksldjf

and hhhhh yes men who are gentle with children and animals.... i don't think this needs any explanation, it's just so <3 <3 <3

es i've been having thoughts™️ since last year it's already a 300k slowburn fic at this rate, it's ridiculous orz i've held back for so long thinking 'eh it'll pass' but his banner is rerunning soon and the thoughts™️ are slowly coming back and people are fueling it i am weAK sobsob

[zhonyua]

birthday

neuvillette birthday fic.

context: there is something wrong with everyone today. neuvillette wonders what's happening.

content: my pookie's birthday, he needs some love. spoilers for fontaine archon quest. very small fic.

neuvillette was busy as always. he went to work earlier than normal, since he was in need of some distraction after everything that happened.

he sighed softly, reviewing some documents another time, to make sure they were correctly signed and read.

suddenly, a hurried knock on the door made him look up.

"come in." his voice sounded too loud to his ears, but he tried to ignore that.

a melusine opened the door and peeked at him, taking a deep breath before entering the place and walking - the fastest that her little legs could walk - towards his desk.

"monsieur neuvillette, pardon my intrusion but there's something happening outside!" she looked nervous and that made neuvillette furrow his eyebrows.

"something happening? what do you mean by that, sedene?" he asked the little melusine who cleared her throat and pointed to the door.

"i can't explain by words, you need to see it!" her little hands moved frenetically in front of her.

"alright, please calm down, sedene." neuvillette got up, walking towards the melusine and patting her head with his hands, trying to calm her down.

she rushed to grab his hand and pull him outside of palais mermonia. he seemed even more confused and concerned, following the melusine around.

it was a sunny day, i mean, before neuvillette got worried. now it was more like a cloudy day, the sun being hidden by the clouds.

when they both left palais mermonia, neuvillette's eyes met the traveler and paimon, who were waiting for him with an impatient look on their faces.

"monsieur, finally you're here." the traveler, lumine, hurried to meet him.

"traveler, what seems to be the problem?" neuvillette looked at her with concern in his eyes, before looking around to check his surroundings. everything looked perfectly fine.

"oh, it's terrible! it's horrible!" paimon flew in circles around them, her little hands on her head.

"i'm sorry, monsieur, but you need to see it with your own eyes." lumine said and ran towards the opposite side, paimon flying behind her. neuvillette blinked a few times before following her.

something terrible must have happened. the sky was already changing to a darker color, matching the worries in neuvillette's mind.

when he finally reached lumine, everyone was there. furina, wriothesley, siggewine, navia, clorinde, lumine and paimon. even some melusines too.

before he could even ask what was the matter, everyone shouted at the same time.

"surprise!"

lots of confetti flew in the air, falling on his hair and clothes. his eyes widened. he felt even more confused than before.

"w-what?" it was all that he could say.

"did you really think we would forget about your birthday?" furina laughed, patting his shoulder and smiling brightly.

birthday?

oh right, it was his birthday.

his eyes softened in understanding.

"oh." he whispered, making furina laugh even more.

"oh, poor neuvillette! he really thought something bad had happened!" she covered her mouth while mocking him and lumine shook her head, smiling.

"sorry, monsieur. but we knew that you wouldn't leave palais mermonia unless something really serious had happened." she said, giving a little box to him.

"i couldn't miss your birthday for nothing, so of course i managed to come too!" siggewine said, giving him a gift too.

"happy birthday, neuvillette. fontaine wouldn't be the same without you." wriothesley said, his usually serious face warming up in a small smile.

soon, everyone talked to him, giving him gifts and pats in his shoulder.

the sky was already clean again. the sun shining brightly and happily up there.

neuvillette looked at everyone, his friends, having fun, laughing and talking.

maybe it wasn't so bad to create bonds among mortals. maybe it wasn't so bad to have friends.

a small smile perked up on his lips.

[primojade]

𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎

Hello, dreamerーthis is a place where thousands of stories were born, yet none are forgotten ! My name is Jade, and i'm a wandering auteur and artist! in any case, its a pleasure to meet you :>

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒

rules | masterlist | carrd | moots and anons

𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐄

Requests and brainrots (including interactions): OPEN

all follows and reblogs are from my main: @araranas

currently listening to: 🎶 go the distance, cover by samantha barks 🎶

currently reading: the da vinci code by dan brown

currently craving: takoyaki 🐙

saving and farming/pulling for: focalors and neuvillette (eu), c2 wanderer (na), kokomi (asia)

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐉𝐀𝐃𝐄: 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒

Some important things to consider before following and interacting:

Gender is an important and sensitive topic for me, so please do be mindful that my pronouns are they/them, and I am agender/nonbinary ace.

I am a suffering university student (with a pursuing degree in business management!) so updates may be sporadic.

I'm also 21 years old, an adult, so if that bothers you, you may choose not to interact with me at all :> though this blog will remain, and will always be, sfw. Some of my works may contain suggestive themes, but nothing that borders n.sfw and dark content so minors are free to browse around here safely!

I can generally speak in four languages so feel free to message me via themーFilipino, English (my second language), Italian (my childhood lingua) and Japanese (a minor subject of mine). Though I can speak and understand Italian, my skills are now rusty and I'm not confident with it 💦 so if you don't want to suffer from my almost non-existent Italian, better talk to me in English xD

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐉𝐀𝐃𝐄: 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒

#jaded momentsー! for personal writings and art.

#jaded musingsー! for important blog links and announcements.

#just jadeー! for idle musings, ramblings, spams, screeching, simping...

#jaded verses—! for brainrots too short to be a proper fic. Or maybe leftover ideas that I have no plans of turning into a fic.

#letters for jadeー! for answers to possible asks.

#jaded oathー! for fic/blog/art recs and personal favourites.

#jade simps for albedo/tighnari—! bc I know I wouldn't be able to help myself not to 💀

#jade clowning moments - for my crack-ish, idiotic misadventures in the real world🤡

#jade rated not pg—! smut and nsf-w stuff. Please block this minors or those uncomfy for ur own safety!

#jade reruns—! for my personal reblogs of writings and art.

#dear comrade: (name)—! interactions with lovely moots

#tw: (trigger name) , #genshin spoilers

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐉𝐀𝐃𝐄: 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒

I love a certain fictional alchemist and a botanist a normal amount :3

I'm AR60 on Europe server, AR59 on Asia server and AR58 on America server, but I'm afraid I'm not currently open to co-op rn since I have a very...personal reasons as to why heh. I won't be able to give you my UID in public as well (unless ur a moot! If so, feel free to ask me!) because my family plays Genshin with me and they certainly know what's my account 😂 I'd rather not have them know I write fanfics afー

I main Albedo (he's C4 now! and planning to c6 him soon!), but I usually switch to my C6 Diluc 💀. My team mostly consists/rotates between Xiao, Tighnari, Ayato, Kazuha, Hu Tao, Venti, Raiden and Zhongli. Not so proud of their builds though and I'm dumb when it comes to meta stuff so I won't be able to help you much if you ask me xD

Not so fun fact: I benched my Ayaka and C2 Keqing because they're poorly built 💦 did I mention that the rascal ginger dude didn't come home to me in ALL of his banners? 🙂

Pulling for wanderer cons!!

[odyssean-flower]

The Winding Path of Fate Chapter 7 - Summer: Paintings and Sunflowers

Masterpost

Pairing: Neuvillette x Female Reader Summary: Your relationship with Neuvillette continues to develop. Warnings: None except for restrictive gender roles, also for some reason Fontaine’s regency england (sort of) now?. Also someone walks in on someone coming out from the bath Note: I update this story on AO3 first so please subscribe to the fic there if you’d like to read it faster Note 2: If you want to be on the taglist for this fic, please make a reply to this post, send a message or send a private ask

Have a pic of Neuvillette hanging out in front of his fellow dragon apep's house

Previous | Next

“This isn’t working...” you sighed as you stared at your watercolor painting, which was more water than color due to the fact that your paints were heavily watered down to make them last longer. 

You were currently trying to update your art portfolio, which was woefully inadequate. You had heard that governesses who could teach art were in high demand these days, so you decided to concentrate on art recently. 

However, the blobby mess that meant to be the view of the sea from the garden was highly unlikely to impress anyone. 

The sun was beaming down on you heavily. Even your old straw hat was having a hard time doing its job. You took a sip of Snezhnayan water. Seriously, what is the difference between this and water from Fontaine? Maybe I’m just too unenlightened to understand. 

Ever since you and Neuvillette decided to be friends, things had been...quite different. The two of you talked about everything and nothing. Neuvillette liked talking about water and the Melusines, while you would talk about the books you had read. After a while, you sensed that he was learning more about you than you about him, as he always steered the subject away from himself and towards you. It was odd to have someone be interested in your opinions about things...but you found that you really liked that feeling. 

You could ask Neuvillette for money to buy new paints, a voice said in your mind, but you shook your head. You couldn’t ask that favor of a friend, and besides, it was better that you didn’t rely on him too much, or you would get used to it in the future. 

Maybe I'll go check out the art supplies store again and see if they have anything on sale, you thought. Standing out here wasn’t going to do anything.  

Deciding to do just that, you went up to your room to change and spotted your sister’s letter on your desk. That reminded you that you had to buy her a birthday present soon. Since you didn’t have to worry about money as much these days, maybe you could buy her something nice this year.  

“Marie, I’m going out!” you called out to the parlor where she was dusting.  

“Okay, Madame,” Marie said, poking her head out from the door. Her eyes widened upon seeing your long-sleeved dress. “Are you truly going to wear that dress in this weather?” 

“Yes. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. It’s in solidarity,” you said, thinking of Neuvillette’s heavy, multilayered getup that he wore every day. You idly wondered if he sweated.  

“Solidarity?” Marie repeated in confusion, but you were already out the door.  

“Ugh...” 

You were quickly regretting your choice to wear this particular dress. Your hair was already matted to your forehead with sweat.  

It was late afternoon, but the temperature showed no sign of dropping. Looking at the cold drinks held by pedestrians, you decided to stop by the Café to get some iced Fonta first. Ah, just the thought of it made your water. 

As you approached the establishment, you stopped in your tracks. Sitting in the corner table, far out of sight (but not far enough to not attract stares from other patrons) was Neuvillette and Menthe. Both of them reminded you of wilted flowers. 

“What kind of water do you serve here?” you asked the manager, Arouet.  

“...Just regular water, Miss?” the manager looked confused. You couldn’t blame him. 

“Alright, please get me a glass of cold water, an iced Fonta, and an iced coffee, please,” you said.  

After you got your orders, you walked over to the table. “You two look like you could use a pick-me-up.” 

“Ah, Madame,” Neuvillette said and attempted to straighten up in his chair. He looked as impassive as ever, but you had observed him long enough to know that he was in quite a lot of misery right now. “Such pleasant weather we’re having today, perfect for a walk in the city. I see that you have the same idea as well.” 

You stared at him. Is he being serious right now? “Please don’t force yourself, sir. We both know you can’t stand this weather,” you placed the drinks down on the table and sat down. “Here, water for Monsieur Neuvillette, and an iced coffee for Menthe.” 

“Thank you, Madame,” Menthe said with a yawn. “I needed this.” 

“What are you doing here?” you asked Neuvillette. “You know better to than to be out and about, dressed as you are.” 

“I was out for a quick shopping trip, and then I saw Menthe looking a bit dispirited, so I thought I would take her into the shade to rest.” 

I think you’re the one in need of rest here, you thought as you watched Neuvillette wipe at his forehead with a handkerchief. So he does sweat after all. 

“You were shopping? Why didn’t you just get someone to do it for you?” 

Neuvillette cleared his throat and looked away. It was only then that you noticed something wrapped in parchment paper in his lap. “I didn’t wish to entrust this to someone else. I was shopping for a present for someone important.” 

“Oh, I see,” you nodded. Was it a Melusine’s birthday today or something? “What a coincidence, I’m out shopping as well. For paints, and if I’m lucky, a birthday present for my sister.” 

“Paints?” Menthe looked at Neuvillette. “Oh, Monsieur—” 

“Ahem, Menthe,” Neuvillette cleared his throat.  

“Oh, um, I mean, Monsieur Neuvillette told me that you paint really beautifully, Madame! He really likes your paintings of the sunflowers back in your hometown.” 

“Her sketches are wonderful as well,” Neuvillette said, sounding oddly proud. “You should show the Melusines your sketchbook some time, Madame.” 

“Ooh, may I?” Menthe looked at you with big eyes.  

He’s making too much of me, you thought, hiding your embarrassment by chugging down your Fonta. “Alright,” you said. 

“Yay!” Menthe clapped her hands together. Just then, the great clock in front of the café let out a chime, signalling the end of the hour. “Oh, I must get back to work. Goodbye, Monsieur, Madame!” 

“Goodbye, Menthe. Please take care of yourself,” Neuvillette patted the Melusine on the head, who giggled and skipped away. You found yourself feeling oddly jealous. 

Now it was just the two of you. You looked at Neuvillette, who was sipping his water. He looked back at you.  

“Um, I hope the water is to your liking,” you said. “I know it’s not the fancy imported stuff you enjoy.” 

“It’s perfect,” he said. “Just what one needs on a day like this.” 

You looked at his outfit. His cravat was tightly tied around his neck, and his cuffs were buttoned neatly, showing not a bit of skin. He must be dying on the inside right now, but he still managed to look put together. You felt very shabby next to him. 

“I know you said that you always dress according to your standing, and I respect that. But I feel like you could at least take off your gloves, or loosen your cravat a little when you’re on break. I doubt anyone would mind.” In fact, they might go crazy over it.  

“Very well,” Neuvillette said, then proceeded to take off his gloves. The silver ring on his finger glinted even in the shade. 

“You're still wearing the ring!” you blurted out in surprise. 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Neuvillette raised an eyebrow.  

You didn’t know how to answer that. 

“And you’re wearing yours as well,” Neuvillette said, indicating your right hand, which was mostly covered by your sleeve. To be honest, you put it on every morning without even thinking about it anymore. It was a reminder to yourself that as easy and comfortable as this “marriage” was, it was still a marriage, and one that was a means to an end. That was what you told yourself, anyways. 

Neuvillette continued to sip his water. He seemed to be enjoying it, which pleased and baffled you at the same time. You still couldn’t quite wrap your head around the idea of water from different places having distinct flavors, but Neuvillette swore up and down that the difference was real and that anyone could taste it if they savored the water patiently enough. Even now, you still wondered if he was secretly testing you or something.  

Still, what a shame it is that he doesn’t enjoy Fonta, you thought. He’s missing out.  

Back in your hometown, only the basic, original flavor was available. But once you moved to the Court of Fontaine, you were introduced to a veritable rainbow of Fonta flavors. You had even spent a week drinking nothing but Fonta. You suspected Neuvillette might have a heart attack if he heard about it. 

Neuvillette finished his water, and then stood up with the box tucked under his arm. “I must return to work. I shall see you at home, in the evening.” 

You nodded. “Make sure to stay cool, sir.” 

Neuvillette was about to walk away when he suddenly turned around. “Ah, Madame. Are you still going to visit the art supplies shop?” 

“Yes. Why?” 

He looked like he was about to say something, but then shook his head. Was he...smiling? Before you could look closer, he turned away. “It’s nothing. Please, enjoy your day.” 

You watched him until he was just a blue speck in the distance. 

Afterwards, you headed to the store. Unfortunately, none of the good quality paints were on sale. Maybe I should just make my own, you thought glumly. The owner, on the other hand, seemed to be in a very good mood. 

By the time you got home, it was already evening. You decided to take a nice long bath to wash away all the sweat. Ah, baths are the best, you thought as you soaked in the bubbles. Back at the boarding house, you had to share two bathrooms with twenty other girls. This was heaven. 

Just then, you heard a knock on the door. That was probably Marie. You wrapped yourself in a towel and went to the door. “Coming!” you shouted and opened the door. “Marie, what—” 

Your words got stuck in your throat as your eyes took in the tall figure standing in front of your room. He was holding the wrapped package from earlier in his hands.  

For a few agonizing seconds, the two of you simply stared at each other. You saw his hands start to shake, and redness creeping to his cheeks. 

You slammed the door in his face and hurriedly put on your bathrobe. Your thick, fluffy bathrobe with a sturdy tie that could be fastened tightly, leaving nothing to the imagination.  

Taking a few deep breaths to control your pounding heart, you flung open the door, catching your bright red face in the vanity mirror in the process.  

Neuvillette was still standing there. You were pretty sure that he hadn’t moved a single inch. His face was now visibly red. As soon as he caught sight of you, he closed his eyes and turned his head away from you.  

“M-My deepest, sincerest apologies to you, Madame,” he said. His voice sounded as though it was being uttered from the deepest trenches of the sea. “I have committed a disgraceful act—” 

“Let’s just forget about it,” you interrupted him. “We’ll both pretend that it never happened. And besides, um, I wasn’t completely naked or anything, I was wearing a towel, and we’re technically married, so...” 

What in Archons’ name are you talking about? Your mind screamed. Neuvillette seemed as though he might never look at you in the eye again. 

“So, anyways, that present is for me?” you said. Does that make me the important person? Despite the situation, your heart grew warm. 

Neuvillette nodded and held it out to you. It looked like he wasn’t going to speak to you again either. 

You carefully accepted the box and tore open the packaging. You let out a gasp when you saw a rosewood box with a carving of roses on the lid. 

It was the watercolor set from the art store you had always admired from a distance. It was too expensive for you to even dream of owning it, of course. 

But now, it was in your hands. 

You opened the box and was met with robes of paints, brushes, and an even a small palette.  

“Y-You got this for me?” you said, looking up at him. He still wasn’t looking at you. “Why? H-How did you even...?” 

“I-I did say that I wanted to help you achieve your goals, and I...I noticed that you were in need,” Neuvillette said. “And, do friends not give presents to each other?” 

“Yes, but...not anything so expensive!” you stroked the lid. “I cannot possibly repay you.” 

It was then that Neuvillette finally turned his head and fixed his gaze on you. “There is no need for repayment. I bought this because I wished to. Just seeing you content is enough for me.” 

His words struck something deep within you. You were so used to receiving hand-me-downs, of stretching things to their limits, that you had no idea what to do in this situation. Your hands felt like they should be doing something, but what? 

“Thank you,” you whispered, and before you knew what you were doing, your hands reached out and clasped his hand tightly. You could feel its warmth even through the glove, and the contours of his ring. You shook his hand vigorously. “I will treasure this gift for the rest of my life.”  

Neuvillette stared at you for a few moments, and then he turned around and walked away. It might have been a dramatic moment, if his brisk pace didn’t cause him to step on his coat tails and almost trip. 

For the third time in the hour, Neuvillette glanced at the clock. He was currently attending a banquet hosted by an important government official, which meant he had to attend. 

He forced another bite of the dry steak into his mouth. He reached for his glass to wash it down with wine. Wine wasn't his first choice of beverage, but it was better than nothing. 

The other dignitaries sitting near him engaged him in conversation about politics and other related topics, and he did his best to respond in kind. But perhaps because his mind was unfocused, his answers came out short and curt. The others seemed to take this as annoyance at being bothered and excused themselves. 

He held back a sigh. Even though social events like these weren’t his strong suit nor even his hobby, he generally tried his best to perform his role and to fit in. But tonight, he was suddenly feeling very impatient to go home. He had been feeling this feeling a lot recently.  

Neuvillette absentmindedly stroked his ring. I wonder what she is doing right now... 

For the past few days, his wife had been working on something and had promised that it would be finished by today. She had refused to let him see it until it was ready. All he knew was that it had something to do with painting.  

Neuvillette glanced at the clock again. There were still hours before this banquet was supposed to end. He closed his eyes and took another sip of wine, imagining calming things in order to quell the restlessness he was feeling. A perfectly flat water surface at night, a cool sea breeze, the smiles of the Melusines, his wife’s smile when he gave her the watercolor set, the feel of her hands around his... 

“Ah, Monsieur Neuvillette, thank you for coming,” a voice interrupted his thoughts. He opened his eyes to see the host of the banquet standing before him. There was a young woman standing next to him. “May I introduce you to my daughter?” 

The young lady curtsied gracefully. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Monsieur.”  

“Likewise,” Neuvillette nodded.  

The young lady stepped closer, and he caught a whiff of her perfume. He couldn’t help but compare it to his wife’s scent when she came out of the bath that day— 

“Oh, dear, Monsieur, are you okay?” the young lady and her father looked at Neuvillette with worry as he coughed violently, having choked on his wine. 

“P-Please excuse me,” he said after the fit subsided, and then proceeded to walk out to the balcony to catch his breath. There was no view of the sea from here. It was going to be a long day. 

The sky was dark by the time Neuvillette arrived home, but even from the front door, he could tell that his house was uncharacteristically noisy. 

There seemed to be a crowd of people in the parlor. Neuvillette paused at the door, listening to the snatches of conversation. 

“Madame, are you almost done with Rhemia?” 

“Blathine, don’t rush her. She has been sketching for hours now.” 

“Madame, could you teach me how to sketch too?” 

“Sure. It’ll be good practice, anyways.” 

Neuvillette opened the door. A group of Melusines were sitting on the couches and floor of the parlor. Even Marie was there. They were all holding sketches in their hands, and watercolor paintings were scattered on the floor. In the center of it all, his wife was sitting in his chair, sketching a posing Rhemia.  

“Monsieur Neuvillette, you’re home!” Sedene was the first to notice him.  

His wife turned her head towards him, and the corners of her lips turned up slightly. Neuvillette felt all the restlessness and fatigue he felt earlier drain away.  

“Welcome back,” she said and stood up, giving him back his chair. “How was the banquet?” 

“It was fine,” he said. “What are you all doing?” 

“Well, the Melusines all came over and asked me to show them my paintings. Then, they wanted me to sketch them, so I did.” 

“I see,” Neuvillette said, peering at the sketch of Rhemia. “They are wonderful.” 

“Thank you.” His wife seemed to be putting the finishing touches on the sketch. Neuvillette studied her profile. She looked completely focused on her work. 

“It’s done,” she announced, and handed the sketch to Rhemia.  

“I’m next,” Blathine said and stepped forward. 

"I think Madame Neuvillette needs to rest her hands a little bit,” Marie clapped her hands and gave Neuvillette a knowing look. “Why don’t we go into the kitchen for cakes?” 

The Melusines followed her outside, leaving Neuvillette and his wife alone in the parlor. 

“I apologize for their rowdiness,” Neuvillette said as he watched her gather the scattered paintings in her arms. “Please feel free to decline their requests if they inconvenience you.” 

“It’s no problem,” she said. “It was nice having so many people here. It reminds me of the old days. And I’ve never drawn Melusines before, so it was a fun challenge.” 

Neuvillette also stooped down to help her. He didn’t have the discerning eye for art, so he couldn’t make any comments as to technique, but he found that his wife’s paintings had a quality to them that made him yearn for something unidentifiable, which was what made them so fascinating to look at. 

“By the way, I finished your surprise,” she said. “Would you like to see it?” 

Neuvillette nodded, and she led him upstairs to her room. 

“It took me some time to work on it, because I had to use my imagination instead of drawing something I see,” she said, speaking a bit quickly. “And I wanted to use the paints you gave me carefully.” 

“Are they to your liking?” 

“Yes. The colors are so vibrant, and the brushes are so smooth, that I’m afraid that they are a bit wasted on me, since I don’t really paint because it’s my passion, so...” 

“But they are useful to you, are they not?” Neuvillette said. “Isn’t that enough?” 

“...I suppose so,” his wife said after a few moments of silence. She then cleared her throat and turned towards the covered easel near the window. “Here it is.” 

She lifted off the blanket, revealing a small canvas. At first, Neuvillette didn’t know what he was looking at. Then, his eyes recognized the amorphous blobs, the blurry line of blue in the distance. 

“This is a painting of the garden in rain,” he said, looking to her for confirmation. She nodded. 

“It hasn’t been raining at all recently, so I had to try hard to picture the scene in my mind.” 

“What made you choose this subject?” 

“Well...before, I’ve never really paid attention to the rain. It was just an excuse to stay home for me. But...then I would see you standing out in the rain, and I would suddenly notice all these things I haven’t seen before...so...” her voice trailed off, and she looked down. “I just wanted my first painting with your gift to be something you like.” 

Neuvillette felt an unfamiliar feeling in his heart. If he had to compare it to something, it would be feeling the heat of a warm current all around you after ages of swimming in the cold ocean.  

“Do you like it?” his wife asked, looking up at him. 

Neuvillette had to think about how to answer that. “...Yes, I do,” he said at last. “It’s my favorite of your works.” 

His hand reached out towards her head, his fingers running over her hair, gliding over her cheek, and rested on her shoulder. His wife stared at him quizzically. “Sir?” 

“...It’s nothing,” Neuvillette said. He wasn’t sure what came over him. 

“Monsieur Neuvillette!” Sedene’s voice sounded from downstairs. “We have a request for you!” 

“Sounds serious,” his wife quipped. 

The two went downstairs to the kitchen, where the Melusines were looking at paintings of houses with sunflowers standing in front of them. 

“Monsieur Neuvillette, what do you think of planting sunflowers in front of the front door, just like in Madame’s hometown?” Sedene asked. 

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Neuvillette said. “One rarely sees sunflowers in the city.” 

“I can ask my family to send us some seeds,” his wife said. “But one thing I’m worried about is the lack of rain lately, since sunflowers need a lot of water to grow.” 

“I’ll see what I can do,” Neuvillette said, drawing a confused look from her. 

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Taglist:@just-simping-over-genshin, @xalphafox, @jqnehr, @favficdump, @thetwinkims

[odyssean-flower]

Fjgjgj. So many thoughts after his teaser and official info—

Him refraining from ever forming personal relationships yet offering to travel with us bc we are not from Fontaine (or Teyvat)??? This info has me in a chokehold!!

Smiling with the Melusines???? Aaahhhhh fjfjgjkg

Also, his last name being Neuvillette??? Hehe imagine we’re the only ones privy to first name privilege.

So many thoughts with all this info for writing purposes~

God 4.1 cant come soon enough i need to know his full loreeeeeeeeee

The not having personal relationships with people in fontaine reminds of a fic i scrapped where the reader is a traveler from another nation. maybe i could work on it again

imagine if he falls in love with someone fontainian but has to deal with the overwhelming guilt and knowledge that they will inevitably be swallowed up by the waters just like everyone else!!!!!!!! the drama!

Although poor neuvillette must be feeling so lonely! It doesnt seem like he and furina hang out outside of work so he's got no one to confide in about his worries :(

His smile!!! I melted when he smiled at that melusine! siri how do i become a melusine

and yeah i've been wondering if neuvillette is actually his surname instead of first name for a while now. it's kind of funny imagining him with a first and last name. Did he choose to have a surname to fit in with humans? imagine his first name being a generic french name like jean or henri or something. Ooh boy if only we have first name privileges...heh heh...