#sorry for the venty post

[emraev1212]

Okay so, I relate a lot to Astarion, specifically with how he acts and how his trauma has formed him.

And like, I’m just kinda sad that I rarely find any fics that I can relate to.

There’s just some things that (in my opinion) people overlook when writing Astarion and characters like him.

Like his trust issues. I feel like it’s always acknowledged because everyone knows he has them, but no one ever shows what that feels like. When it’s just acknowledged and then he immediately starts trusting someone to show I don’t know, how special Tav is or something, or how great their bond is, it always feels so unearned. Because that isn’t true healing. That isn’t the point. You don’t just start trusting someone because you care about them. That fear of vulnerability is a personal demon that can’t just be loved away. No healing has been done. Like he didn’t not trust you before because you were untrustworthy, he didn’t trust you because he doesn’t trust anyone.

I’ve touched on it a bit before in tags, but another thing that I’ve noticed is that… no one really gives Astarion any agency. People do this in a lot of ways, but the one that bothers me the most is when people turn him into this scared little thing. Like yeah he is, but that fear is what is driving him to do all these things. I think a lot of people think of fear as curl up and cry, which, yeah that’s me too, but Astarion’s fear drives him forward. It’s why the first thing he does is try to seduce you to get an advantage. He’s always doing something, always trying his best to survive. Because that’s what kept him avoiding pain, being proactive, always thinking, always doing, always having a plan. If he stopped for even a moment, horrible things would happen to him. And that energy just doesn’t show up in a lot of fics.

I just really hate this idea that you can fix all his problems just by being kind. It’ll be a big help, yeah! But that’s not actually doing the healing. By being kind to him, you’re giving him a safe space to start working on healing.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Me: hey sis, I'm sick

Sis: omg I will help you. Whatever you need, just let me know.

Me: Cool, can you get some toilet paper, and chicken noodle soup, maybe some waffles too.

Sis: UGHHHHH Why are you asking me to do things?!

Me: ...you said anything I nee-

Sis: FINE!!! (buys chicken rice soup, which is too herbal and makes me vomit... and takes a shower for the second day in a row knowing I've been throwing up and having explosive diarrhea all day... also buys me valentines day chocolate I can't eat and covid tests that have to be mailed into the lab instead of the fast home tests)

Me: ......bro. Pleas.

[qiinamii]

"Xiao does things" (and friends) twitter log part 2

-- UPDATE: removed some of the arts to make its own individual post since I am bad at organizing, sorry! (but the last one is new lol) xD

[fissile-materialism]

Robot that was defective from the factory but you still love them despite the fact that they can't function nearly as well as every other robot and needed a lot of repairs to even get to this point and that sometimes they can barely move away from her charger but you still love it. Despite the logical choice being to get rid of it and being fully free to do so you still love her.

[emaiiyaru]

scribbles

[m1d-45]

if my favorite characters wanted to kill me i would simply let them. my only request would be that they do it from up close so that their pretty faces get to be the last thing i see <3<3<3

on broken bones

a/n: you…. you are my target audience.

(P.S: please note that the full fic was too long for tumblr! this will be in 3-4 parts, but dw, they’re all already mostly written!)

word count: ~2.5k

-> warnings: minor spoilers for liyue archon quest, the most minor of spoilers for mondstat’s archon quest, you are literally about to die, and do so but it’s ok i get revived, uhh blood mention but no gore, imposter au things yk? reader is Down Bad for zhongli at one point

-> lowercase intended!

taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3

< masterlist > || next part >>

you never had the highest level of self-preservation.

when you’d come to teyvat, the world seemed so kind, so you never learned to fear it. bugs never stung, any allergies you had never really acted up besides a sniffly nose, and the sun never burned. if you tripped, you landed softly, in the hands of grass that would never dare to harm you, and a breeze swept by the soothe the sting of your palms. the wind carried you down from high places, the water always keeping you afloat, the entirety of the natural world at your side.

or, rather, nearly the entirety.

despite wandering constantly, it took a few months to actually run into anybody. in fact, the only way you knew you were in teyvat at first were the sunsettias, and the hilichurls when you finally came across one of their camps. you have a feeling the dense forests and overgrown paths knew something you didn’t, looking back on it.

maybe you should have listened.

you stopped in the middle of a well-worn path of yours, stilling the sweet flower you were twirling in your hand. a few feet ahead, a stunned amber mirrored your look of shock, though her recognition was tinged with something more… bitter.

“amber?”

the bowstring in her hands doesn’t lose its tension. “greetings.”

that’s not the knights’ prescribed greeting, your mind says. you tell your mind to shut up, because that’s not what you should be thinking about when you’re looking at amber.

you wave, trying for a smile, and emotions you can’t catch flash over her face in rapid succession.

“how do you know my name?”

whoops. “who hasn’t heard of the knights of favonius?”

“those from other lands.” for being so young, her voice is so tired. she sounds like she’s barely 18, yet she’s so worn out… nobody this young should be so exhausted.

after a moment’s thought, you step forward, extending your flower-

her arm moves faster than you ever could, raising, aiming, and letting the arrow fly before you can blink. her shoulders are tense, her chest barely moving despite how harshly she breathes, arms still posed around her bow.

it’s only then that you’re aware of the white-hot pain in your throat, the sting of icy numbness swiftly taking its place.

the sweet flower falls to the ground, your body soon following.

when you wake up, the first thing you do is press a hand over your throat, but all you feel is the chill of your own skin. no arrow. no blood. you check your shirt, but there’s no blood there either.

it’s like it never happened. but you know it did.

still keeping a hand to the area, you sit up, ignoring how your body protests. you’re in another field, unsurprisingly, green grass and blue skies and red birds all around. it’s hard to believe that your run-in with amber wasn’t a dream.

even if you know it wasn’t.

you rise shakily, feeling very much so like you’re relearning your body. how to stand, how to dig your fingers between the sections of bark on a tree so you don’t fall, how to breathe when it feels like all the air in your lungs was in a race to get out. still, you breathe.

still, you stand.

still, you move on.

the earth seems angry.

looking out from the jade chamber, this is clear. the skies are an irritated gray, billowing clouds heavy with rain. they had come from nowhere, suddenly washing in from the north in with no warning, but a single drop has yet to fall. the ground occasionally shakes, enough to make leaves quiver, but no earthquake has come. it’s odd, like the very rock is holding in its breath, waiting for the trigger to let loose what is certainly disaster upon the land above it.

even the tianquan’s gems, normally large, sterling rocks swirling around her fingertips, refuse to answer her call. as she flips over a small coin of amber, the most she’s been able to summon, she wonders why.

one of ningguang’s many assistants comes out of the chamber, telling her that keqing has a report for her, and she tells them to send her out with a wave of a clawed finger. normally, she’d come inside—normally she wouldn’t be out here to begin with—but this… oddity in the landscape has her attention.

the door behind her silently slides open and shut, the clicks of the yuheng’s shoes the only indication of her presence.

“it’s odd to see you outside at such an hour, my lady.”

it’s midday.

“what is it, keqing?”

“this letter came in for you.”

an envelope enters her periphery and she takes it, careful not to damage the paper as she inspects the wax seal. it bears the insignia of the favonian knights.

“that’s hardly a rare occurrence.”

“indeed, but this one carries significant importance.” she takes a breath, an explanation on her tongue, but it dies. she knows she shouldn’t let her biases get in the way of the tianquan’s work, but this situation feels so wrong. her vision burns at the back of her neck despite her attacks doing less damage, the electro that dances across her skin hurts more than it should. it’s wrong, horribly so, but she needs to-

“keqing?”

she meets the tianquan’s eyes. ruby red dissecting her every move, and keqing is quick to look away.

“apologies, my lady. as i was saying…”

the dead refuse to rest.

they have always been unruly, leaving behind legacies and lingering feelings, leaving the living and letting them deal with it. what would be known as the wangsheng funeral parlor was established to battle these lingering debts, and it seems that even after 77 generations, the current director still has to pick up that mantle.

she’s felt it all day. the rowdiness of the undead, the spirits dancing and twirling around where they shouldn’t be. her soul told her there was one too many around, and so she had set her mind on going.

the director adjusted the flowers in her hat, watching in annoyance as her consultant thought over her words. she thought the answer was quite simple, and had rushed to fix the problem, but he was adamant that she explain herself first.

“and you’re certain?”

hu tao groaned, squeezing her eyes shut so they wouldn’t roll. “yes, i’m certain! surely youve noticed too, or is that vision for nothing?”

a glimmer of irritation crossed zhongli’s calm eyes. “this is a matter of utmost importance, director. the dead refusing to die is a serious issue.”

“you think i don’t know that? i run a funeral parlor-“

“director-“

“no. i’m going to wuwang hill, and all i need you to do is take care of the parlor while i’m gone. that’s it.”

“director, please. you cannot throw yourself into dangerous situations and expect me to sit by idly.”

“what are you, my dad?”

“i would hope not, as your father is currently deceased.”

in the gaping silence that followed, hu tao couldn’t decide if she was more shocked at the fact that he brought up her father’s passing, or that he had borderline joked about it.

zhongli cleared his throat, the only sign of apology she would receive. “i will go alone if i must.”

“you want to go-“

“indeed. i cannot allow you to venture into such an unsafe area on your own, and i myself wish to find the answer to this. if you cannot find anybody to run the parlor in your stead, then i will simply go alone.”

names and faces of employees ran through her head, options brought up and discarded quicker than any decision she’s ever made before. something in her soul demanded she go to wuwang hill, her pyro vision an insistent press between her shoulder blades, urging her to leave zhongli and just go. it was illogical, irrational, and she knew that if he saw he’d be worried and when all she needed was to simply leave-

a name emerged from the clutter.

“ferrylady.”

though his jaw ticked, zhongli nodded.

wuwang hill itself is uneasy.

zhongli has seen many things during his lifetime, but few of his memories could compare to this. the ground quivered underneath his feet, only truly steadying where he, as the lord of geo, stepped.

in truth, he had felt the same disturbance as hu tao, but had wanted to preserve his reputation as zhongli, ignoring the cold sting in his soul from where his gnosis used to be. his plan was to go after hours, when the dark could shadow his form, but now that he was here he was glad he didn’t.

the forest’s canopy was denser than usual, it seemed, barely any light filtering through the leaves. the will-o’-the-wisps shone brighter and more frequently than normal, and not a hilichurl was in sight. it was strange, unnerving to walk the familiar path, and he found himself prepared to summon a stele at any moment. the air itself felt tense, his element not resonating right.

how can stone feel hollow?

hu tao stepped closer to him, eyes uncharacteristically wide as she looked around. “why does it feel so… empty?”

he moved a hand to her back, urging her on faster. “i don’t know, ms. hu. please, do hurry.”

her fingers play with the tassels on her shirt as she walks, speeding up at his side. she’s always been fond of the macabre, but this… this isn’t that. this isn’t slow and sticky, raw honey made of skeleton bees that drips through bones and pulls at the hair atop skin, this isn’t the abrupt hit of symbolism or the stop of a heart as you’re face to face with a corpse, the smell of rotting flesh mixing with the bile climbing up your throat.

this is sharp. angular. a spike with every step she takes on the familiar dirt, thorns clinging to the lining of her lungs and digging in to hide from the chilling air. the sense that she doesn’t belong here, that she should leave, is steadily growing in response to the drive to keep walking, and she wonders if and when it’ll balance before tipping over. regardless, she keeps walking, steeling her spine and forcing assuredness into her walk.

besides her, zhongli isn’t doing much better. the air reeks of the sweetness of the divine, and the thundering in his heart matches, but here? of all places? he knew his god—he prided himself on it—and knew that they didn’t like places like this. and the feeling of wrongness, the stone beneath him seeming to slip under his feet and forcing him to walk quicker to make up for it, the claws of tree branches and roots of bushes somehow larger than before. as they approached the stone steps, he didn’t know what to expect, for once. he was unsure whether to be on edge, or to scold himself for being tense over nothing.

surely, he thought, rounding the corner, it couldn’t be nothing?

you watched the water ripple from your safe spot on the edge of the stone path cutting through it, smiling at the way the fish followed your hand when you hovered it over the surface. they were beautiful, some kind of koi by the looks of it, and certainly not what you expected.

when you recognized the wisps of wuwang hill, you had initially been afraid. it was dark, even during the day, and filled with monsters. not to mention it held the barrier between life and death, something you were not keen on ever getting close to. but as the shouts of the qingce villagers echoed in your ears, you decided it was the safest option, at least for the moment.

and it was. there were no hilichurls, no cicin mages, and the wisps seemed to float alongside you, lighting the way for a while before another came up and took over. they’d guided you to the domain, whose stone was shockingly warm. it was the crimson witch domain from what you remember, so that checked out, but for it to physically affect the stone…

you wondered what the archaic petra domain would feel like if that were the case. could stone feel more stone-like? if you were to somehow break off a chunk, would it do more damage than a regular rock? would that even count as geo damage?

you let your hand trail across the water, feeling scales bump against the pads on your fingertips with another smile. you wondered where they got their food, as the pond seemed both shallow and fairly barren, but there seems to be more and more greenery as you look. were your eyes adjusting to the light better, or were they the kinds of plants that only bloomed under certain conditions? but no, that would be for flowers, not-

“who are you?”

the harsh voice makes you jump, the fish jerking back before crowding the water near where you’ve fallen over. your surprise nearly made you fall in, but as you see who’s approaching you, you think that might have been better.

boots stomp over the stone that’s been your tentative camp, not stopping until they land toe to toe with yours. eyes carved from cor lapis glare down at you, cutting any argument you may have had to shreds.

yes, partly because zhongli is intimidating, but…

lighter shoes click and draw your attention, but you don’t get to turn your head far before you’re met with the pulsing black and gold point of vortex vanquisher.

“do not interest yourself in that which is out of your reach.”

oh.

you swallow in attempt to remedy the sudden dryness in your throat, following the handle of the polearm up to meet his eyes once more. his eyeliner looks sharper than on his in-game model, you note, and he has an earring, the golden jewel on it a perfect complement.

his eyes narrow, the set of his jaw making you think he’d sneer if he were anybody else. he rips his polearm from the stone besides you, “what could you possibly be looking at?”

you know this is it. you know exactly why he hasn’t spun his weapon back around, you knew it from the moment his sunset gaze fell upon you. so.. why lie?

“you’re beautiful,” you whisper.

and for the second time that week, you die.

[lightly-toastedd]

found out we share a birthday so i felt legally obligated to draw him

[the-gayest-sky-kid]

venti birthday art captions ranked by how gay they make him and the traveler sound

2024

The morning sun is pretty pleasant, isn't it? Ehe, you can barely keep your eyes open. Here, come sit with me and enjoy the scent of Cecilias! They'll perk you up. Ah, I lost track of time just chatting with you... Wait just a moment, I'm almost done! You haven't eaten apple pie in a long time, have you? Then I'll make us breakfast today~

2021

Oh, is this apple for me? Haha, that won't do, come share this apple with me. Split it open like this...and you will feel the breeze from the apple core. In some fairy tales, it is written that there is a whole tiny world hidden inside an apple core, and this breeze is a gift from the tiny world. Here, this half is for you. Once you're done eating, let's take a stroll in the tiny little world. But remember to keep it a secret and don't tell anyone else. That's because... you're the only one I want to bring there.

2022

Yahoo~ Look up, I'm here! It's been a long time, my warrior, ready to tell me your new story? Haha, you want to know if it's for my verses? Oh, don't make that face. I just want to hear about your adventures, isn't that reason enough? I want to know more about what you saw on your travels or the lives of others. The most important thing for me is to hear you talk about your own experiences and what you think about them. Come on, come sit next to me. This bottle of aged cider will be enough for us to chat from first dawn of the morning light until the stars cover the sky.

2022 (Web Event)

Paimon: Look, it's the Tone-Deaf Bard! / Venti: Heh, I was just wondering when you two would get here. / Traveler: Venti, it's your birthday today. / Traveler: Do you have any birthday wishes or anything you want to do? / Venti: Mmm... Then stay with me to chat and walk around. If we could go for a drink after, that would be great. / Paimon: These are all pretty normal... I would've thought a god's birthday wishes would have more of that "boom shaka-laka." / Venti: Hehe, that "boom shaka-laka" isn't from what you're doing, but who you're doing it with. / Venti: Right, Traveler?

2023 (Birthday Short)

"Together with you, even apples taste sweeter. But something isn't quite right, it feels like... I'm gonna s—sneeze."

2023

Caught you~! The farther your journey takes you, the less time we have to spend together in Mondstadt. But... I knew I'd run into you today. Quick, just sit down, right here! It's a rare chance, so allow me to croon you a dulcet tune, accompanied by the melody of the water's revelry.

2021 (Birthday Short)

"Paimon's back! Paimon picked a lot of big, fresh apples! Hey, where did the Traveler and Tone-Deaf Bard go?"

2022 (Birthday Short)

"Hey, Tone-Deaf Bard, we've been looking for you! Didn't expect you to be here!" / "Haha, Traveler and Paimon! You guys came just in time. Here, special apple juice made just for you. Try it~" / "Hey! Where's the special apple juice for Paimon!?"

2023 (Web Event)

Traveler: Happy birthday, Venti! / Paimon: Tada— Paimon and the Traveler made this apple cake for you! / Venti: Wow, thank you both! As the greatest bard in the whole world, allow me to put on a special performance for you. / Paimon: Yay! You're the best, Venti! / Venti: I'm just returning the favor. I've been waiting for a chance to perform this ever since the both of you told me all those new stories. Now then, shall we begin? / (Venti begins to perform the new ballad he's written. Paimon lets loose a party popper. The confetti flutters in the air, before gently settling on the floor.) / Venti: Wow, we even have stage effects for the song. / Paimon: Hehe, Paimon prepared this in advance. / Paimon: Wait... Is Paimon going to have to pick up the confetti pieces one by one before we leave? / Venti: Oh, that'll be a breeze. A little gust of wind will make quick work of that. / Traveler: ...So this is the sort of stuff the Anemo Archon uses his elemental powers for, huh? / Venti: Ehe.

2020

The tune you just hummed away, is it one that I oft play? Ah, so it's "Happy Birthday" you were just humming? Then please, continue, and I shall keep strumming! Eh-he!

2024 (Birthday Short) & 2024 (Birthday Calendar)

"Eh, olah! Mosi mita!"

The wind here is mixed with the scent of Cecilias... It feels quite pleasant! Oh, don't be afraid, little one. I've got you. Listen, there seems to be singing coming from a distance...

[vv-ispy]

Venti Week Day 1: Old Friends // Memories

What if Venti could see glimpses into the future even before he became the anemo archon

[riskyalt]

It's strange to feel this empty sometimes.

To turn off my phone and stare at the ceiling as it approaches two in the morning, and feel nothing if not the dread building in my stomach. There's only one lingering thought that fills my nights when there's nothing to distract me, and it's the genocide occuring in my country perpetrated by Russia.

I have to lie here, in bed, attempt to get sleep as I fear the news of a bomb strike occuring near my grandfather's home, who is nearing 76 and lives on the sixth floor. Ever day, I have to revisit photos of my childhood home and pray it stays intact till the end of the week.

It's painful, to feel sick to my stomach as I hear of strikes in the area my aunt and my 7 year old cousin live. It's hard to remember to breathe when my grandmother's audio call cuts off as she has to go into a shelter.

My family lives there. People I've called friends, places I've called home, a country I've always called my own.

It's difficult, after seeing people on the internet being so ignorant about the constant threat and erasure my people are facing, to wake up another day and pretend nothing's changed.

I myself currently don't live in Ukraine anymore, but that doesn't mean I connect with my own people any less. I live in so much anxiety and fear from abroad - can you even imagine what it's like living in the strike range right now?

I cannot see how it computes to see the purposeful bombing of a children's hospital full of cancer patients and still call Ukrainians 'deserving' or 'Nazis'. In what fucking universe is it okay to see the POWs liberated from literal torture camps in such dire condition their limbs are found rotting, and still call Ukraine the aggressor.

In what crooked, twisted dystopia is it okay to downplay what happened to Mariupol in some shitty twitter meme to get likes.

In what generation do I live where my people's pain is met with stone cold apathy and ignorance.

Why must we suffer for things we didn't do, why must we fight without necessary arms, why must we not be allowed to fire beyond Ukraine's borders in answering strikes on military bases?

Why must Ukraine continue to suffer at Russia's hand? ---------------

-Ohmatdyt Foundation Donation Link -National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide -War Stories from Ukraine -Hospitallers Medical Battalion -Translated Electronic Books -Kyiv Region Museum of War Memory -Mariupol Before and After War (subtitled) -Kyiv Independent (articles & news) -United 24 (twitter account, news)

[dukeofthomas]

I'm so mad that so far the only good robin!jason content i've ever found is his original run. Everything i've seen since has just been making him out to be the Angry Bad Problem Child and victim blaming him for dying. How is it that the only fucking good characterization of him is 20 issues from the 1980s

[bigboobyhalo]

god I wish I could just shut my brain off and keep watching bad’s streams like so many people seem to be able to but now that some of the eggs are back it’s so difficult for me not to get miserable about dapper and pomme’s absence. I hate this. I hate this so much

[honorary-fool]

impulse control is in the negatives right now

(source post)

and second version because I wanted one with Venti in it

[bbloveseevees]

Did my mom just ban me from ever getting a BlueSky account because it’s “ToO SiMiLaR To tWiTtEr”?????

[azuresky-agere]

Little!Venti and Little!Aether - Sick Headcannons!

Did anybody ask for this? No.

Did I write these because I'm 99% sure I'm sick? Yes.

- Aether is a stubborn little guy, and at first he'd keep his worries to himself. After all, people depend on him to do stuff, and he is dependant on them to get paid! It's not like he can just...stop working! A little cold never hurt anybody, right?

- Aether while sick is rather fussy, as one would be. his usual headspace is around 2-3, so he's already quite tiny, but when he's sick? No, sorry. That's not a toddler, that's a baby.

- Aether would usually attempt to nap his way through whatever is hurting him. Headache, stomach-ache, muscle-ache, and he would whine to Paimon whenever these attempts just ended up getting worse.

- It would take so long for Paimon to convince the little guy to stay in bed and rest for more than a few hours. Being an adventurer, Aether is always needing to be up and about- and when he's told he needs to stay in bed? It's upsetting for him.

-Paimon often has to distract a sick Aether with warm soups, bottles of tea (herbal tea, Zhongli recommends it greatly for illness and bodily pain) and Aether's favourite stuffed animals. (I mean...all of them are his favourite, so...)

Aether, despite him meant to be bedridden, will constantly find himself trying to clean up after himself and others. One of his caregivers always stops him, and brings him a sippy cup full of tea for him, claiming that he's 'too sick' and 'too little' to do anything like that.

-Aether is regressed for the entire duration of his sickness, and Paimon is there for him all the way.

Sick!Venti the Bard

- Venti DOES NOT like falling ill. As an archon, Venti's immune system is way more stronger than a human's - but even he's not fully immune to sickness.

- Him being sick is horrible. He quite literally sneezes wind.

- Venti will often fluctuate between regressed and not regressed. His normal headspace is around a few months old, seeing as Venti's regression is a way to experience a mortal childhood.

- Venti, being the god of freedom, hates being sick. Like, really hates being sick. He can't do much without his caregiver scooping him up and giving him the classic 'you're too small to do that, little wisp.'

- A part of Venti loves being told that he's 'too little', but another part of him is annoyed by it. That's certainly due to the fact that he's the God of Freedom.

- Venti doesn't mind taking medicine, and he certainly doesn't mind taking naps, so he doesn't have a real issue with falling ill - it just happens so rarely that his plans for his life kind of fall apart for a few days.

- His diet usually consists of simple meals. Plain pasta, steamed and cooked vegetables, soups and tea. His caregiver often feeds him his meals, because of how young he regresses to.

[tommybishoppe]

He's mine