#the Genshin Lantern Rite started so my attention went there

[pyrokiinetic-kindflower]

I swear i'm still alive.

[alatuslvr]

Genshin event

Character - Xiao/reader, traveler[aether or Lumine], Paimon, madame ping.

Note - Since you all like my prev writing, this one is for valentine,I'm late but whatvr. May make on for albudi. Also, heads up, this might me long. I have another draft that have been sitting long enough in here, dedicated to scaramouce, and I don't think it will be out as soon as possible knowing that I'm lazy af

Tags - not proof-read, playable reader au, gn reader!, a completely made up event just to fed up my satisfaction lol, mentioned war, self sacrifices, dead bodies, blood, dying, basically archon wars spoilers

Xiao

Genshin event: may light bring us back. [Lantern rite]

Starting off with a secret event that HoYoverse set up, if players want to get to the event banner, they have to meet certain someone to unlock the event. It also trigger character banner to unlock- featuring you. Reader. As the new 5*. In this case, the reader is electro and polearm user [and is using signature weapon when in burst mode, which is a scythe.]

Act Ⅰ

Quest starting with a rumors going around Liyue that caught Paimon attention, she suggested to dig further more information in this topic about an adepti that grants insanely amount of luck. At first, traveler was decline the idea, but their companion insisted on it.

And thus, traveler was forced to agree and made a snarky comment about how greedy Paimon is! This moment set a meme on the community, the second one after emergency food. Traveler and their companion went to search for this adeptus, and ask madame ping about it. She was... Surprised, and look sad, confused at the same time!

Madame ping told them about the adepti.

The cutscenes was beautiful, the soundtrack and everything. Madame ping said: "they were once the assistant of the lord of geo archon, helping him on growing a civilization. Managing everyone needs, helping everyone with anything they could." In this part of the cutscenes, showing the reader handling all the paperwork, helping the locals, and checking everything, building through building.

The narration goes on. "The ancient assistant consider the weakest of lack energy when it comes to battle, this lead to many conflict between them, and the vigilant yaksha." Cutscenes continue with showing the ancient assistant alone, being away from other adepti's.

"when the archons war happens, the war it's almost ended, the yaksha's couldn't handle more karmatic debt, leading them dying on the battle, leaving the vigilant yaksha completely alone in the battle field. The lord of geo was about to win the battle, but the lack of soldiers, and the yaksha's dying, at that point, they were about to lose the battle.

And thus, the ancient assistant sacrifices themselves to end the war by using all the energy that they've been saving from the starts." The assistant in the middle of battle field, with many enemy serounding them, the vigilant yaksha can only watch from distance afar and extend his right hand, look like screaming for their name in horror.

The final cutscenes was the vigilant yaksha holding the ancient assistant in his arms, serounded by pool of dead bodies and blood of allies and enemy, "theirs and others sacrifices will be remembered by everyone of Liyue." Ended with black teal streaks haired yaksha pulling [h/c] with purple streaks assistant closer and the view goes up into the golden red sky.

Back to madame ping, traveler, and Paimon.

"that just made Paimon feel guilty..." Paimon said with sad voice, "but, Paimon doesn't get it why this will lead us to the adepti.. plus! It doesn't sound so connect to the rumors." "This story will lead you to them, though... I don't know if.. *sigh* nevermind mind that, you both should seek for the vigilant yaksha in wangshu inn."

"of all the people mention in the story, Xiao is the one we are going to? How about Zhongli?" Paimon crossed her arms, "you didn't really pay attention, aren't you?" Traveler said with half eyes lid open and frown. "W-what? I'm toottallly pay attention!" Traveler just keep staring Paimon, madame ping laugh, "one must go continue their adventure, one is expecting for your arrival. Go now, I'm sure he expected to see you two."

Traveler and Paimon goes to wangshu inn with a plate of almond tofu in hands, hoping to summon the vigilant yaksha in the balcony. Turns out he was already there, with his arms crossed, looking into the distance, "hey there almighty Xiao!" "Hello Xiao."

"... What schemes you're plotting.." he sigh, "nevermind. Speak. what businesses make you go to seek for my presence."

Traveler told Xiao everything

He look distrub, "This is none of your business. I suggest you to stop and never look for this so called 'adeptus'." "But-" Paimon try to convince him but Xiao already teleport somewhere else. "Ugh!! we should've looking for Zhongli and not him!" She pouted and sigh, "should we go to Zhongli Or..?" "Maybe we should give up..."

"what! Come on, don't be a such party-pooper! We should get the luck blessings from them and searching for a clue where your sibling are will be easy!" Trying to convince traveler. Traveler just sigh and pinch the bridge of the nose, "let's go!" Paimon drag traveler with her to the Forest.

Act Ⅱ

"are you sure this is the right place? It looked like a normal forest, but with more flowers." Traveler comments on the progress of founding the assistant adeptus, "oh shush you! Of course it look normal! If it look some kind of magical forest, it would give it all away! Now let's not get distracted and keep searching!" Paimon look around, "I'll go to the right, you can go to the middle or the left one!"

And she left traveler alone, the traveler decided to choose right, as [he/she] removing branches and bushes away to grain access better to walk, traveler find an odd spot. It was a bald spot of the forest, a small hill with a lonely tree on top, many flowers were grown, but doesn't look like a wild one. Someone have been planting them.

Traveler got carried away by the beautiful scenery infront of [him/her], and immediately shocked after seeing a person laying on the ground! The person was peacefully asleep, it almost like they were dead.

The person has [h/l] [h/c] hairs with purple streaks, wearing a tight white top with no shoulder, a black armor inside the white top with a golden like that separate the two. Two purple long sleeve with white cloud design with a strings to hold it in place, the right strings have an electro vision holder on top.

Wearing a lossen white pants with two purple and cloud design side clothes, a belt that secured in place, a purple like demon mask, a single geo crystal flies core as a hair ornament. A dark purple diamond star marking under left eye, and a red eyeliners.

"excuse me...?" Traveler blurred out without thinking, the [h/c] suddenly twitched their fingers making traveler jump, "hello..! Are you alright?" The [h/c] let out a groan, and let their eyes open half, "where..." The person whispered, "you're in Liyue, more specificly, in jueyun karst forest." "Liyue..."

The [h/c] eyes immediately open wide and got up looking around, "it's over...?" The person relaxed once again, their eyes is almost dull [e/c], with a star diamond shaped pupils. "Are you..." "Traveler!! Where are youuu??" Paimon yelled from a distance, [he/she] sigh, "I'm right here!" The pixie immediately goes to the sources of sound, "oh? You already found the person!" She grins.

"huh?" "Wait, you already forgot?" Traveler look away with a small pink dust on [his/her] cheeks, "a-anyway..! Paimon, how can you sure this is the right person?" "Use your eyes dummy! The purple streaks hairs give it all away!" "I suppose you're right..."

The [h/c] frowned, "I'm going to guess that you two are here for luck blessings, yes?" Paimon nodded, "I apologies, I don't do that anymore. Not after that happens to everyone." The [h/c] said with sad eyes, "w-what?!" "I... Need time, if that's okay?"

Paimon sigh, "I guess we can wait.." "thank you, your patience is highly appreciated." They smiled, "hey! We should introduce ourselves! This is [username] and Paimon is Paimon! Traveler bestest—" "–emergency food." "Hey! I thought we're already done with that joke!" "Who said it was a joke?" Paimon screamed.

The adepti laugh, "it must be great to have someone to company you. My name is [y/n], or Yún as in Morax assistant." "Nice to meet you [y/n]!" They nodded, "we should go to Liyue harbor and stop at wanmin restaurant! Paimon is hungry..."

[Y/n] got up and follow the two "Say. You two seem to know more about Liyue. By any chance... Do you know an adepti named cloud retainer?" [Y/n] said while holding their chin "Oh her! Yeah we know her!" Paimon put her hands on her hips "Do you think you can give me the directions to her? I need to tell her someone..." Paimon look at traveler with troubled looks, "uhh, I guess so? But Paimon is hungry!" "In that case, I can cook you something!" [Y/n] placed their [dominated hand] infront of their chest.

"free food?! Yes please!" "That was fast..." Traveler sweatdropped, "sorry about Paimon." "It's fine! I can't really handle to see someone is hungry." [Y/n] look at traveler smiling, "we should find a hilicurls camp and use their pot!"

[player have to defeat a hillicurls, and find ingredients to cook.]

"phew! All done! now we should start a fire and cook!" Paimon said with glee, [y/n] laugh, "I will do the cooking, you two can rest while waiting for the food to cook."

After [y/n] finished cooking

"hmm ... We should get to know each other while eating, how does that sound traveler?" Traveler nodded, "great! Tell me more about yourself, like what the reason you started go out on an adventure if that's alright with you." "..." Traveler look down on [his/her] food.

"oh, I see." [Y/n] immediately pick up the situation, "you don't have to tell me, it's written on your face. Well then, I suppose we should drop this topic and moving on." [Y/n] softly said, "this food is amazing! You should join us on our adventures [y/n]!" They chuckled and smile, "thank you, Paimon. We should head to cloud retainer abode after this, let's go." Paimon and traveler nodded.

[notice: main event still unlock, the player must complete the third act of the event.]

[player receive 200 primogems, 30 hero wit, 20.000 exp after completing two act]

Note - I will be splitting this genshin event into two parts, if I finish everything in one go, it would be too long for you to read :') anyway, thank you for reading!

Part two > [still on progress]

[genshin-impact-updates]

Developer Insight #4: Character Stories (I) - "Vigilant Yaksha" Xiao (Part I)

Greetings, Travelers!

It's been almost five whole months since Genshin Impact went live, and the time seems to have flown by! We do hope you're all enjoying a smooth journey through Teyvat. Since the game's release, we have received a great deal of feedback and suggestions from Travelers and we've systematically recorded each one for the developers. We deeply appreciate all the time, energy, and passion everyone puts in to these suggestions.

In the midst of this, many of you have expressed an interest in learning more about how some of Genshin Impact's characters are created. As it happens, one character who has received an especially high amount of attention is Xiao, who has now entered the live game with the release of Version 1.3, "All That Glitters." So, for this issue, we've invited colleagues from the Creative Concept & Writing, Concept Art, and Animation departments to explain a bit about the thought process behind everyone's favorite Vigilant Yaksha.

1. The Vigilant Yaksha Is Born: A Character Woven From Cultural Symbolism

Hello everyone, my name is Zhongyuan from the Creative Concept & Writing department of miHoYo.

The first part of the process when designing characters for Genshin Impact is to pin down who the character is at their core. In this step, we need to establish the features that set this character apart from other characters. Besides ensuring that this character will make a strong impression on people, these features are used to evaluate what this character's position in the world of Genshin Impact will be. Characters are not just lumps of rock that we can place anywhere we want in the environment; they are autonomous individuals, each one with a complex set of past, present, and future interactions with the world of Teyvat. Their core features, then, represent their initial points of contact with the world. They are the guiding principles behind all the character's actions and how they live their life.

Xiao was one of the first Liyue characters we came up with. He began with our colleague CiCi's proposal for a young warrior character, which everyone involved in the character evaluation process approved of. The Art team envisaged him as a young man of great beauty, while colleagues in Creative Concept & Writing hoped to position him as a beautiful adeptus. Both sides were on the same page, and thus Xiao became our very first character planned with the identity of "mighty and illuminated adeptus."

Although this is somewhat tangential, I'd like to take a moment here to give a little more detail on the adepti in the Genshin Impact universe, given that so many players have expressed an interest in this topic. The adepti are based on the idea of demigod-like "immortals" (仙人 xianren) in Daoism, and are referred to by the honorific title "sanyan wuxian" (三眼五显), literally "three eyes and five manifestations" (but localized in English as "mighty and illuminated"). The adepti are classed as non-human, based on the notion that "All who have nine orifices can achieve immortality through self-discipline," a line uttered by the "Monkey King" Sun Wukong in the Ming-dynasty novel Journey to the West. This means that animals are also capable of achieving adeptus status. However, humans have a higher purpose than adepti in the world of Teyvat, so for this reason, only those of non-human status can be referred to as "adepti" in Liyue. The "three eyes" part of the adepti's title refers to the "third eye" possessed by those with the ability to manipulate elemental energy, which for humans takes the form of a Vision. For adepti such as Cloud Retainer and Mountain Shaper, the human understanding is that they must have an "inner eye" that serves the same purpose as a Vision. Xiao, however, typically appears in a human form, so he dutifully wears a Vision to comply with the expected norm.

After the character's fundamentals are established, the next step is to design their Constellation and refine their cultural background.

Outside of Genshin Impact, the term "sanyan wuxian" can be traced back to ancient Chinese texts and also appears in supernatural fiction from the Late Imperial period (c. 1368–1911 CE). In both cases, it typically describes the Daoist deity Huaguang Tianwang (华光天王, "Heavenly King of Radiant Light"), also known as Ma Lingguan (马灵官, "Numinous Official Ma"). Huaguang Tianwang is a well-known guardian deity, who appears in the Ming-dynasty novel Journey to the South, in which he has an altercation with Sun Wukong. Research into folk culture also shows there is precedent to connect deities known as Wuxian (五显, "Five manifestations" or "Five Named Xian") with a group of malevolent deities known as Wutong (五通, "Five Powers" or "Five Named Tong"), which includes the one-legged, people-eating, mountain-dwelling demons known as Shanxiao (山魈, "mountain demon").

So, at the most hidden but fundamental level of this character's core, we decided on the name Xiao (魈) and the identity of a guardian-adeptus. The name Xiao is used to hide his past, but also embodies this character at the innermost part of his soul. It is the starting point for all further character development and cultural embellishments.

Another dimension of Xiao's design was that he wields an Anemo Vision and has a fleet-footed and agile combat style that includes the unique ability to propel himself through the air. To stay true to this, we decided to design his Constellation and skills around the idea of the yaksha in Buddhism. This meant we were conflating ideas from different sources; nevertheless, the yaksha had become a well-established figure in Chinese folk legends by at least the end of the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE). The yaksha element ended up being a crucial part of Xiao's design that really helped us flesh him out in terms of his image.

The two archetypal stories of "guardian yaksha" and "numinous official's redemption" both involve a malevolent spirit on a path towards goodness, which was consistent with the general direction of Xiao's character core. Furthermore, his physical agility matched very well with another term for yaksha in Chinese, "Swift and nimble spirit" (捷疾鬼 jieji gui). Through further development of the yaksha concept, we arrived at the decision that the other fundamental aspect of Xiao's identity would be his role as a guardian yaksha in service of a monarch, or in this case, an archon.

One detail is particularly worth mentioning here. There is a well-known group of guardian yakshas in some Buddhist denominations known as the Twelve Heavenly Generals. All but one of them correspond to different animals in the Chinese zodiac, while Mekhila, who would otherwise correspond to the rooster, is instead associated with a bird deity, the golden-winged Garuda, a figure from various Indian religions. The story goes that this golden-winged bird deity was a fearsome predator who ate only evil dragons, until one day the dragon poison he had consumed became too much for him to bear, and he burned to death, leaving only a crystal heart behind. This story seemed to resonate with aspects of Xiao's character. Furthermore, the Chinese name Jinchi Peng Wang Niao (金翅鹏王鸟, "Golden Winged Great Peng") embodies a history of evolution — it represents a convergence between Garuda and the Peng, a Chinese mythological bird, showing that some adaptation occurred in the process of his adoption into Chinese religion. After much consideration, we decided to use the Golden Winged Great Peng as the basis for Xiao's Constellation. In English, Xiao's Constellation has been localized as "Alatus Nemeseos," in reference to the bird deity and Xiao's role as the nemesis of evil.

Finally, we conducted an overall review of Xiao's character profile. During this process, we noticed that Xiao's origins were very complex: Some aspects of his identity were based on folk legends while others drew on religious stories. From mountain demon, to Daoist deity, to guardian yaksha, to mythological bird, this was a uniquely rich character formed from the convergence and refashioning of many ideas in one place. More importantly, all these elements were consistent with each other at the narrative layer, creating a strong and cohesive impression of who this character is and adding clear, nuanced substance to his story. This degree of complexity gave Xiao just the depth and appeal that we were hoping for with this character: we hoped to create something entirely new through the convergence and fusion of various cultural elements, and we hope that the end result, Xiao, possesses the power, aesthetic value, and maturity to become a true cultural icon.

The next step was shaping the character's personality and behavior.

After close consultation with Concept Art colleagues, Creative Concept & Writing further fine-tuned the details of this character's content. To pick one example, we all felt that the distinctive image of a young warrior was an important one that we wanted to keep. This begged the question: if Xiao is a warrior, who or what is he waging war against? We quickly got to thinking about a war between the gods. (See section 2 of this article for how Concept Art developed the mask design based on this idea.) One of the basic rules of the Genshin Impact world is that gods cannot be completely destroyed — even if a god's physical form is destroyed, its will and power live on. The remnants and the wrath of the defeated god will remain in the world, waiting for opportunities to cause chaos. To keep Liyue safe from this threat, somebody has to go and keep them at bay.

The decision to release Xiao at Lantern Rite was to tie in with the Chinese custom of driving away evil spirits at the new year, since Xiao's role in Liyue is that of a protector in precisely this capacity.

During festivals, people offer up incense and pray to the adepti for their protection.

But they do not pray to Xiao.

For Xiao is no lucky star that promises fame and fortune — he is a demon-hunting yaksha.

After the lantern lights of Liyue have faded, the thankless battle to protect the city goes on unseen. It is an endless battle, and there can be no victor.

The Traveler's first impression of Xiao is most likely to be of a silent and brooding individual, a courageous and competent fighter, and someone who harbors great suffering. This suffering comes from within Xiao himself. One aspect is that the years of intense, never-ending battle against the remnants of defeated gods have led to him resigning himself to the fact that fighting is all he is good at. The other aspect is that the remnants have a negative effect on him, while the constant killing places a karmic burden on him, causing him mental and spiritual anguish.

This inner suffering is present in the design of his skills: when Xiao uses "Bane of All Evil," he dons his mask, which continually enhances his combat abilities but also continually drains his health. This demonstrates the great suffering he must endure as a consequence of using this power.

After the Traveler has spent some time with Xiao, perhaps they can sense that deep down, Xiao has a gentler side. Xiao is by no means a cruel and callous individual, he is simply reticent to show his emotions to others.

Xiao always keeps his distance from the hustle and bustle of human society. This is not because he doesn't care about humanity, but is due to his role as a protector. He must wage war against dark forces out of sight of humans, and endure a suffering that is incomprehensible to them. Despite this, he does not despise humanity. Humans are the foundation of his millennia-old contract with Rex Lapis, and the reason he silently fights to protect every living soul in Liyue.

The player's first offer to Xiao is to go to the Lantern Rite together to experience the atmosphere. Xiao instinctively refuses requests of this nature— not because he dislikes the idea, but out of avoidance. For Xiao, who has lived for millennia, the human world is a brilliant but fleeting flash of light; a wisp of cloud floating by; a firework on the horizon. And as the one tasked with defending this flurry of activity, he is like a caged beast circling the fire of a stove: fearful, but also full of curiosity. Having watched from a distance for so long, he would not know how to join in with the crowd even if he tried.

The lanterns rise up into the night sky, as if to shine along with the stars. Xiao watches this beautiful sight alone from a mountaintop, and just like anyone else, he senses the sentiment behind them, and he understands that the reason people craft these beautiful things is to remember those who fought alongside him in the past. As one who lived through the events of the past and remembers it all, he is, of course, able to appreciate the well-wishes that the lanterns represent. He understands kindness and gratitude, but doesn't know how to interact with ordinary people, nor does he know what his place is among all the excitement and noise. This lonely state of existence is the source of his melancholy. It has caused time to stand still, leading to him still having a very young mentality even to this day.

During the main Liyue questline, Xiao came to the Traveler's rescue in their moment of peril. In Version 1.3 "All That Glitters," we invite Travelers once again to experience a story that provides a glimpse into Xiao's seldom-shown gentle nature, as well as the trust, hidden deep within his heart, that he places in you.

2. A Young Adeptus: Detail-Based Design

Hello everyone, this is D and SS from the Genshin Impact Art team. We worked on the concept art for Xiao.

After the initial brief, we produced a first draft of Xiao's design based on the young warrior concept. As you can see, Xiao's expression in this version is far from the stern one he wears today. He has a gentler temperament and he is smiling. In this sense, he captures a more traditional notion of what a Daoist immortal (or in Genshin Impact terms, an adeptus) might look like. After more discussion with Creative Concept & Writing colleagues and taking more of his back story into account, we decided on the green version.

Xiao is an adeptus who protects Liyue, and in the course of his long battle against the remnants of defeated gods all over Liyue, he has become poisoned by their nefarious energy. Based on this background, Xiao's upper body uses white and green, which represent the adepti and correlate to his Anemo Vision. For his lower body, we used darker colors to represent the dark, malevolent power that exists inside him.

Based on these same principles, we gave him dark hair with highlights, and also created some interplay between light and dark in his attack animations. The darkness represents the destructive power of fierce battle, while the fragments and orbs of light that he gives off come from the fact that he is an adeptus.

Xiao may have the appearance of a young man, but his true age is something over two thousand years.

Fortunately, people do not tend to underestimate him on the basis of his appearance — one only needs to spend a short time with Xiao to recognize that he is not someone to be trifled with.

Xiao is a man of few words. He is highly dangerous, and has the most piercing gaze you've ever seen.

Given Xiao's true age and his identity as an adeptus, we decided to give him some jade jewelry to bring a sense of longevity and mystery. Accordingly, his legs, wrists, and shoulders feature decorative jade as well as various other objects bearing simple motifs. Meanwhile, to match his young appearance with striking good looks, we tailored his clothing (especially on the upper body) using a more modern design, displaying his vibrancy and agility.

On the one hand, Xiao is an immortal adeptus, while on the other hand, he is a young warrior. This is a great variance in image, and it posed a significant challenge for us from an art perspective. Traditionally, an immortal is imagined as a scholarly figure dressed in long, flowing robes with wide sleeves, who is fairly reserved in the movements of their hands and feet. But Xiao, as a master of the dance-like art of polearm combat and a fleet-footed yaksha, required clothing that offers both protection and freedom of movement. Furthermore, we also knew that there were strict limits on any flowing parts of his outfit due to the risk of clipping they would create after 3D modeling.

So we made Xiao's garments close-fitting and short-sleeved, put some light gauntlets on his wrists, and added some religious paraphernalia such as a censer and a vajra. Meanwhile, his streamers and the breechcloths around his waist are decorated with a cloud motif to add a sense of antiquity. In this way, we achieved a union between practicality and ethereality.

"Bane of All Evil" — the four words that sum up what Xiao has experienced over the past millennia, according to Liyue's rulers who know the truth about him.

In the design of Xiao's mask, we referenced aspects of the masks traditionally used in exorcism rituals as part of Nuo (傩) folk religion.

The main colors used in these masks are black, blue, and gold, the eyes are bright but not flamboyant, and in general the masks look solemn but also mysterious. The sinister-looking bulging eyes, fangs, and horns instill fear in the viewer. The eye in the center of the forehead represents omniscience and the flame motifs make it all the more imposing, the intent being to cause all onlookers to cower in fear.

Xiao's release coincides with the ancient festival of Lantern Rite. We would like to use this historic occasion as a chance to send our best wishes to everyone — here's to deliverance from the ills that plague the real world as well as those that face us in the world of Teyvat. To fans of Xiao reading this, we hope you feel that learning a little about the design ethos gave you the chance to better understand and connect with this character.

(Continued in Part 2)

[cinnamonest]

Under the Lanterns

Notes:Ahahaha excuse me for spamming in your inbox again, but Genshin lantern rite had made me a bit nostalgic, so my brain just went straight to creepy hours to cope. Too lazy to write fics and just want to spam Lena’s inbox with creep ideas? More than likely!

Tw Childe being a jerk, implied minor character death i guess?? Just to be on the safe side.

You are a clerk at the Liyue branch of the Northland bank. Secretly you even hate the fact that you are working for their cause since you are not from Snezhnaya, but this job pays well and you need the mora. You did swear an oath to the Tsarista, but that is about it, you are not some loyal follower of the archon who would go out of your way just to please her. Therefore you do not regard the harbingers as national heroes like most of your colleagues.

Then there’s Master Tartaglia, whenever he comes by the northland bank he would always have the ladie’s attention. As someone so handsome and powerful that is to be expected, what can Childe say he is just too good. And then there’s you, a Liyue girl who treats him like any other. Sure he is your supervisor you would fetch him files per request, but never fangirling over him like the others.

How you kept a monotone voice and took his flirtatious words in stride makes him...baffled, and interested, to say the least. Your colleges are somewhat jealous that master Tartaglia seems to always make sure to give you some extra attention every visit, but you couldn’t care less and just identified that as a flirt being a flirt.

He thought it was just a harmless little fling too. How does one get you to open up?

Then, one day he got curious about the lantern festival. How you seem to be looking forward to it, judging by how you would take a different route on your way home to look at the lanterns.

“Master Childe. How can I help you today?” You smiled at him, a professional one though, that would need to be changed.

“Since you are local here, how about you enlighten me on this lantern festival?”

Speaking of something you have been anticipating is definitely a way to get you to drop that cold act. Your eyes lit up, just like the lanterns in recent evenings when you start to explain how you would eat special dishes, make lanterns, and guess the riddles in the lanterns. Childe might have just asked just to loosen you up, but when he learns how it used to be considered as one of the two days Liyue maidens is free to roam the streets and would usually confess their love. (considering Liyue is a lot less restrictive to Women compared to real medieval China, I’ll say it was more of a tradition)

Well, that sounds sparked Childe’s interest. You seem to be looking forward to it, do you have someone in mind already?

“You want me to accompany you to the rite Sir? I must apologize, but I have plans for that night already. One of my coworkers would love to be of service, I’m sure.”

After bidding him good day, you just went back to your duties thinking nothing of that exchange. Everything seems to be normal, you got dressed up and went on a search for the one you love. You know what they like, and you want to run into them without prior arrangement.

“Master Childe! Enjoying yourself?”

“The warm lights remind me of a festival in my country. Maybe you’ll like to see it sometimes?”

Gosh, does he ever stop with the suggestive words? You laughed it off, not wanting to think deeply into those things.

You continue to search for your love, but you cannot even catch a glimpse of them beside their favorite food stall. And with Childe trailing behind you like a lost puppy, insisting that you be his guide, you are growing more and more frustrated every minute.

“You got anything to say to me tonight, (y/n)? You said you have plans, but I see no date.”

“The one I’m looking for seems to have gone MIA.” Could it be possible that they had noticed your intentions and decided to stay in?

Oh, of course they have. Or he’ll have to punish his subordinates for being inefficient, right?

It was when he pushed you against a pillar against a pillar,just when you wanted to slip into the crowd to get away, Childe whisper to you how he got a confession for you tonight. He knows you are just working for the Fatui for the mora, and he can offer you so much more than that clerk salary.

“How about you come and work for me? Not as one of my soldiers of course, you won’t have to fight.” Of course, that tough attitude has to be replaced by a softer, more submissive one. But the two of you can work on that later.

You look so cute in this dress, how it puts your jewels on display. It’s a shame the one you like cannot bask in your beauty. But hey, that’s not his problem.

“Or you would like to be discharged from the Fatui?”

(Hhhh this is such a mess I’m trying destroy writer’s block with a claymore😅😅😅)

NEVER APOLOGIZE BB I love dis

!!!!!!

He's such a manipulative egotistical bastard and how dare he use that to make me attracted to him

[kozumedenki]

I heard you write for Genshin Impact😳

Sparring with Childe and getting a cramp in the middle of the fight and he takes care of you and gives you a massage>>>>>>

Having a drink with Kaeya and he takes you home because he doesn’t want to leave you all alone in the tavern>>>>>>>>

Singing with Venti under the Windrise tree>>>>>>>>>>>

Learning about the past from Zhongli while you both have tea>>>>>>>>>>

🥺 i just wanna❤️

+ never a silent moment ⮯

i’m just gonna do one of these for now, might go back to this and do more in the future. this also took a different turn than your request because zhongli’s english voice is too smooth to genuinely pay attention to his words

(name) couldn’t help the stupid smile on his face, cheek resting on the heel of his palm while his idle thumb traced edge of his cup. he wasn’t sure how long it’s been since zhongli had started on his ramble of lantern rite but the (color) haired traveler couldn’t care less. he could listen to the taller male for the rest of his life if he was entirely honest. 

the geo archon always found moments to share his vast memory and knowledge of liyue and it’s traditions. it’s was actually kind of cute if you ignore that deep voice of his. the voice changed it all and pulled the traveler into whatever he was talking about. words went in one ear and out the other but, god, his voice was like honey.

“(name)? is everything alright?”

the traveler in question almost jumped out of his seat, snapping out of whatever daze he had been in. “oh? me? yeah, yeah. just listening as always,” he laughed nervously, cheeks glowing red as he rubbed the back of his neck.

zhongli let out a soft sigh, a fond smile gracing his lips. “you’re one of the few that truly enjoy my talking and while i appreciate it, genuinely, i feel...” he set his cup down, interlacing his fingers to give his chin a resting place, “that you don’t listen to the words i say.”

(name)’s gaze dropped down to look at his tea, his face burning brightly. he couldn’t even look at the other male. he didn’t expect zhongli to ever notice, he knew he wasn’t discreet but he had hoped the other had been to absorbed in whatever he had been talking about.

“i, uh... well, i like the sound of your voice. a lot, actually.”

the fond smile grew wider and warmer as he gently took the (color) haired traveler’s hand in his own. “and i, my dearest traveler, enjoy your company was well as that smile you give me when you think i don’t notice.”

(name) let out an embarrassed groan, hiding his face in his free hand as his face gained an almost supernova level of heat. “i looked so stupid, i can’t believe you were paying attention to that.”

the geo archon let out a soft chuckle, running his thumb over the other’s knuckles. “i find it a very enamoring quality. it lets me know you enjoy our shared time as much as i do.”

“of course i enjoy time spent with you,” (name) mumbled through his hand, his hand tightening around zhongli’s gloved one. “it’s a place where i feel most comfortable.”

the dark haired male brought his cup up to his smiling lips, pausing for a moment. “i share the same sentiment, dear traveler.”