#【☆】 zhongli : character studies.

[whispereons]

Oracle!Reader Part 23

Masterlist - Part 1, Part 22, Part 24

Warning! This is a SAGAU imposter au so this is pretty gory and not happy all the time. Plus yandere but that's the expected for SAGAU.

Xingqiu and Chongyun both showed muddled emotions at your words of leaving Liyue.

“That may be best for you…” Chongyun says first as he keeps his gaze on the floorboards.

“Yes, I agree. Although I never expected that you would have to leave Liyue so soon, it's clear that you aren't safe here.” 

Xingqiu’s words that were full of understanding still had disappointment sprinkled in.

“We can't do much to help you when it comes to Ningguang, but Mondstadt is a different story. Do you have the talisman on you right now?”

Chongyun takes a few steps closer as you lift the amulet for him to see. He rubs one finger on it, examining the symbol that appears at the action.

“It's still at full charge, good. The road to Mondstadt can either be empty or full of demons depending on the day. But once you get to Wangshu Inn, it becomes much safer.”

“Because of Xiao, right? Despite how the situation looked when I first met the Adepti, I'm on relatively good terms with them now.”

It was a bit risky telling them this, but they both deserved to know at this point.

“When are you planning on leaving? Is your meeting with Ningguang today?” Switching the topic, Xingqiu brings the focus back to the most pressing issue.

Nodding, you answer. “My meeting is with her today, but I'll probably have to leave either at midnight or early tomorrow morning. The sooner, the better.”

“Then I can offer you some help that should make staying in Mondstadt a bit easier.” Xingqiu grins as he takes out paper and some ink. “I happen to know someone-”

“Albedo, right?” Cutting off Xingqiu as you think back to his connection, you continue. “Together you made the book, uh what was the name again? A Legend of a Sword? It got pretty popular in Inazuma. I remember there was a whole festival on light novels that you both attended too.”

Once you stop, you notice Xingqiu squinting his eyes at you before replying. “That's really creepy, you know? If I didn't know you were the Oracle, then I would have believed you to be some stalker.”

“If I was, then I wouldn't be stalking you of all people.” You snapped back as he grins while shaking his head.

“But yes, I'll send Albedo a letter in advance so that he can arrange for you to be settled nicely over there. I won't mention the Oracle situation as the Creator didn't want you to be known widely like that.”

It's been so long since you last heard the title ‘Creator’ be mentioned despite the fact that all of your problems come from their supposed existence.

Only goes to show just how ingrained the Creator is in this world.

“Thanks Xingqiu. Albedo is the chief alchemist and well respected among the community, so I should be in safe hands.”

Xingqiu merely hums in response as Chongyun tugs the amulet closer to him.

“Just trying to apply a better talisman on it.” He mumbles in accordance with your stare as he settles himself closer to you.

He's basically pressed against your side, but you strangely don't feel uncomfortable to have him close.

As the pair focus on their own activities, your mind wanders off to Albedo.

Albedo, the chief alchemist and homunculus created by Gold, the famous Khaenri'an scientist. Khaenri'ah, which also held so much information that could be connected to Celestia…

It was a long shot, but you could try digging for information about Celestia from him. The deal that Celestia made with Teyvat still bothers you to no end. With the age of this deal unknown, you might even have to look into the primordial dragons if it's even older than the Archon war.

A light shining brought you back to the present and your eyes flickered down to where the amulet shined in Chongyun’s hands.

Once it died down to reveal a more intricate symbol than before, Chongyun nodded, satisfied with the final product.

“This one is a lot stronger and should last longer now. I know you can fight well, but the demonic energy in Bishui Plain and Qiongji Estuary has shown to rise around this time of the year.”

Carefully taking the amulet from him, you thumbed the symbol with curious eyes. “I get it, thank you. Does it activate on its own, or do I have to activate it with something?”

“It'll work on its own. Depending on the amount and degree of demonic energy around it, the workings will change.”

Motioning with his hands, Chongyun’s calm voice explains the working to you. At the end of the rather lengthy explanation, you nod and condense the information in your mind.

“And now that Instructor Chongyun is done teaching you, I'm happy to say that I'm done with the letter. Have been for a while, but I saw no need to interrupt the oh so fascinating lecture.”

Raising the letter, Xingqiu lazily waved it as Chongyun bristled but ultimately said nothing.

“I can send this once I get home. Unfortunately, neither me nor Chongyun will be available to accompany you through your journey.”

Xingqiu tsk’d at his own words while Chongyun turned his head away, visibly sulking.

“My family was just hired to check out Wuwang Hill and my attendance for this is mandatory. Xingqiu’s father is forcing him to stay and attend meetings with his brother for the week as well.”

All you could do was smile sadly in response.

Before long they were both forced to leave by Baizhu who insisted on total privacy for the reviewing of your medication and discharge.

Watching them climb down the stairs from the window in your room, you listen absentmindedly to Baizhu.

Changsheng still refused to see you. Something Tevyat was clearly displeased with, as the once sunny weather quickly turned cloudy. The cold-blooded creature must be huffing in annoyance by now.

“And this is the overview of medication and supplements to take, with the doses and dates to take them.”

Casually looking over the paper received from the shady snake bastard, you hummed for a moment before stuffing it into your bag.

“All of it is paid for by your special benefactor. And the drug you requested has already been paid with by your body, as we both know.”

‘Must he phrase it like that?’ You internally questioned as you snatch the medication and shove it into your bag.

“I'm glad for it. Maybe even more so if she didn't pin so many babysitters onto me.”

At your grumble, Baizhu’s smile wavered at the edges. Either he truly hadn't known why there was extra ‘security’ or he was a great liar. You suspect it's a bit of both.

“Then if everything has been covered, I’m happy to say that you're officially discharged as of-” He merely glanced at the sun still high in the sky before finishing. “1300. I sincerely hope that the next time we meet you'll be in a better physical state.”

“And I sincerely wish we never have to meet again.” The words you utter are full of sarcasm, something Baizhu simply chuckles at.

“Now what could I have possibly done to deserve your ire, dear Oracle?”

“It's what you haven't done. A little heads up about all the guards would have been nice.”

“Oh, but I did!” His smile seems a little sharper as he leans toward you, his glasses sliding down to the bridge of his nose. “Didn't I let you know early on that there were quite a lot of guards?”

With an annoyed scoff, you snap back. “You said it was due to the two temples nearby, not cause Ningguang wanted to keep an eye on me.”

Raising his hands with wide eyes, Baizhu tried to placate you. “I'm not part of the Millelith, how on earth could a physician like me know the true reasoning?”

Holding his gaze, you tried to discern what he was truly thinking at this moment. Malice? Amusement? Mocking kindness?

But at that moment, all you could see was genuine surprise in his eyes. It only served to confuse you further.

Was Baizhu truly innocent in this? Your instincts in situations like these were usually correct. Besides, what would Baizhu even gain from deceiving you?

Still, that didn't explain why Baizhu was always so damn shady, but maybe you should chalk it up to an unfortunate side effect of being contracted with a snake.

“Well, then let me reiterate my earlier words. While I still hope we won't have to meet again. I do wish for us to want to meet again.”

Baizhu lowers his arms while fixing his glasses to laugh, the sound is surprisingly tender. “And how do you expect me to tell when that would be? I’m no mind reader.”

Standing up, you stay silent as you slip your bag over your shoulders and move past him. The door opens with a creak as you tilt your head slightly to meet his eyes.

“To put it simply, I’ll want to see you when you discover whatever is hidden in my culture sample.”

The door clicks shut as you leave Bubu’s Pharmacy for good.

----------------------------

After a brief but firm pat to Qiqi’s head, you walk down the stairs casually. The slight rustling of the leaves, the fabric of curtains drawn, and the quieting of chatter are all brought to your attention.

Ningguang’s spies and the Millelith guards are all watching you like rabid dogs, waiting for you to slip up and give them an excuse to arrest you right now. 

Smiling without hesitation, you get to the last step and pretend that the forced conversations around you aren't scripted, and that the eyes locked on you are of a curious bystander and not the ones of detectives.

Bringing your attention back to the list you have clenched in your hand, you read the first errand on the list.

Return books to library.

Easy enough, and it's even easier when people seem to automatically avoid being in your path.

Is this what a day in Xinyan's life feels like? It's honestly not that bad.

At least you thought so until you got to the counter and waited for the receptionist to return.

Five minutes pass. Then ten minutes, which quickly turn into fifteen in a blink of an eye. You can feel your mood worsening.

Deciding to test something, you walk away from the library and turn the corner. Peeking around the corner, you watch as the ‘customer’ that was standing in the corner all those minutes gets to the counter. Almost immediately, a swarm of people return to it.

Sighing heavily, you ignore the weight of suspicious stares and turn the corner back into the library. Getting back into line feels humiliating, but it's just a quick errand, you tell yourself.

No one moves out of the way, but the quick glances they send you make them pale with each minute.

Not a soul dares to stand behind you.

It's finally your turn, and you place your books on the table with the last bit of patience you had. She doesn't meet your eyes and mumbles something.

“I'm sorry, what did you say?” Leaning closer, you try to catch her words, only for her to yell.

“It's lunchtime now so I can't accept any more returns or purchases. H-Have a good-d da-ay!”

Flabbergasted at the sheer audacity, you watch her flip a sign on the table and flee the area.

“Fuck this shit.” Colorful curses leave you as you drop all the books haphazardly on the table and storm away.

Crossing it off the list, you follow the main path to the next errand.

Collect reward from Guild

That commission should have given you one hell of a paycheck the last time you checked. Primogems may be worthless now, but you could use the Mora the commission provides.

Plus, you needed to let them know to change it to the Mondstadt region.

Lost in thought of all the technicalities and paperwork you would have to fill out, you weren't focusing on the fleeting whispers around you.

“Is that them?”

“Who else could it be?”

“What a monster…”

“-as long as we get paid.”

“Who cares about-”

“It's me or them.”

“As long as it's them and not me.”

Your experience at the guild was a much kinder one. Katheryne was the epitome of professionalism, just as you remembered her to be. Not that you expected much else from a robot.

After handing all the written work to her, you finally noticed the absence of a certain person.

“Where’s that grouchy Lan? She's usually here, isn't she?” Checking the vicinity, you try to spot the brown recognizable bob.

“The Branch Master Lan is currently undertaking a commission at this time.”

“About the unseen razor, right?”

“That can not be disclosed to unauthorized-”

“It's fine. I’ll see you later, Katheryne.” Turning around, you leave without another thought. Lan wasn't anywhere near the ‘threatening’ list you've created since you last saw her.

Pick up plushie

Crossing out the previous task, you look at the present one with mixed emotions. On one hand, you were happy to get a chance to see something related to Earth, to your world. But at the same time, you couldn't help but wonder if it would serve more as a distraction than anything else. The memories it brought up never failed to leave your heart troubled…

Remembering the money you spent commissioning it ultimately tipped the scales, and so you dragged your feet to the little old lady’s toy shop.

It was empty just as the first time you were there as she hummed. If she was a vision holder you'd guess Hydro judging by the tranquility she radiated.

Her eyes meet yours and a happy smile slips onto your face without much thought.

“Here to pick up the toy, dearie?”

“Yup.” Popping the ‘p’, you watched as she gathered a delicately wrapped box from under the other boxes and presented it to you.

“Enjoy the nostalgic memories a toy can bring.”

You politely thank her before taking the present and walking away. The weight of the box is heavy with dread, and you can only find solace in the fact she didn't refer to it as ‘happy’ memories.

Once sufficiently out of sight, you take to grasping the lid. But you couldn't bring yourself to remove it.

Too many memories. All of them are rushing in and filled with conflicting feelings that would surely crush you. The fear and selfishness of the broken promises and unfulfilled desires would throw you off your game.

With a little too much enthusiasm, you stuff the box of the cat plushie into your bag.

Most likely to stay forgotten and distant from the present you're facing.

Scratching it off harder than the rest, you get to the last errand.

Refill supplies

A smart and mature move considering how you used the whole Medkit during the chase. The soggy bandages and washed away ointment really hurt your heart and wallet.

Revisiting the same shops you went to the first time proved to be ineffective. Either they were completely sold out or no longer supplying them.

Forced to visit more stores, you had to walk around the city a lot more than you cared to. Each store had one of the two situations, and the skittish actions of everyone around you were just the cherry on top.

At one point you even tried to buy the individual items separately, and even that failed.

It's not like you could just wait till next week for the first shipment. You weren't even sure you would live till then.

Eventually, you found yourself sulking on the lower docks, turning the situation around in your head.

If only you lived in Liyue for a little longer, maybe you could have found some of the hidden shops. Befriend a store owner and get a hidden one.

Just who the hell would even go out of their way to get every medical first aid part when it's such a crucial item for so many people in this era?

A name finally comes to mind and your expression sours at the thought. Not that you’d let it show, Celestia knows how many guards are watching you at this moment-

A sudden, rapid series of taps on your shoulder has you spinning around in surprise.

A young boy stands before you. The clothes he wears has visible wear and tear as the fabric frays from the edges. Yet you can't help but think you might have seen him before.

Placing a finger on his lips, he uses his other hand to grab hold of your elbow and tug you along.

Surprised but not suspicious of the kid, you let him lead you deeper into the docks. The dark red of his eyes seem to glow within the shadows as his dirty blond hair acts as your beacon of light.

The smell of fresh fish turns rotten, and the dirt caked under his fingernails stains your clothes. The complete and straight planks become jagged and creaky as you follow him farther.

But you stayed silent.

You recognized a path to the seedy part of the city when you see it.

Instead, you examine the younger boy with a critical eye and finally connect the dots. He must be one of the kids you saved with Yiran.

A smirk creeps up your face. It seems you managed to use your time wisely in making connections after all.

Following along the twists and turns, you don't worry too much about the Millelith. Most of the guards probably couldn't even get this far. If you had to guess, it would only be the detectives who could keep up.

It's not like the hidden underworld of cities as popular as Liyue Harbor are any big secret to them.

Stalls and various shops fill the area as flickering lanterns and other extra lighting give you a wider view.

Multiple people call out to the boy as he silently waves to them. The gaze of the homeless and shady people around aren't warm, but aren't hostile either.

Not that you were exactly expecting a warm welcome, but at least you didn't have to worry about sudden personality changes.

Money could buy you information, but it wouldn't buy you trust in these parts.

He finally stops at a little nook in the corner of the area. The door is worn down with scratches and marks yet the light you can see under it is warm.

Silent as before, he points at you, then to the rows of shops in a sweeping motion before stopping at the door.

Pinching your brows in slight confusion, you chew on the gestures to understand it. High-pitched laughter that suspiciously sounds like children eases into your ears as the boy squirms in place.

“Did you want me to knock on the door when I'm done shopping? That you'll lead me back to the surface?”

It was the only thing that you can think of. And despite your hesitation, the boy nods, clearly relieved that you understood the message.

He must truly be mute, no doubt from whatever horrors he must have faced that lead to the scars poorly hidden by mud on his arms.

You were thankful either way. Just leading you here was great but getting an exit too was even better. Now you could avoid getting mugged and/or murdered on your way back.

“Thanks man, I'll be quick.” With that, you walk away, already following the invisible path to the shops that caught your eye.

As much as you would have liked to explore the various items and weapons they had, you didn't want to keep the kid waiting.

After having to buy a rather expensive medical kit, a minor downside to finding the first medical anything since you left Bubu’s pharmacy, you pick up a minor stitching case.

You could have really used one during your latest and probably not last chase. Stuffing it into your bag, as people eye the magical item with desire, you quickly find the home.

Getting to the door, you step closer than before and take note of the older voice. A woman that's chuckling, and a lingering sense of guilt invades your mind.

Quickly rapping your knuckles on the wood, you step away as the home goes dead quiet.

Multiple little eyes peer at you from windows below you as you lazily grin and wave. They all scatter as giggling resumes and the sound of playing returns.

But not the woman’s voice. You didn't expect it to. It's hard to face the only person you've poured your raw wounds from a child's death to.

The kid finally steps out with multiple clicks of locks echoing around the small space. Smiling, you take no offense to the action. You weren't here for trust, and they weren't helping you out of it either.

His crimson eyes glisten with interest at your bag. He wants his pay, and you're more than happy to oblige.

Stuffing your hand into the bag, you feel the familiar clink of Mora gathering in your hand. Pulling it out, you place an appropriate amount into the pouch he already has prepared.

When you drop it all, he takes it closer to him and picks up a piece. The first thing he does is try to bite it, and the familiar memory of you testing coins the same way makes you smile sadly.

Counting the Mora, he frowns, clearly displeased with the amount. He holds his hand out, and you can feel the other children’s stares digging into you.

“I'm going to give you two things that aren't Mora, okay? But you have to keep it a secret.”

He narrows his eyes, no doubt suspecting you of being a shady person. That's probably why he brought you here first and demanded payment before returning you.

Like this, he has back up and cornered you further into payment of his choosing.

“Do you have a cooking pot?”

He frowns in confusion before nodding slowly. Lifting one finger in a pause motion, before heading back inside his home.

He returns while holding a clean cooking pot. It doesn’t take long before he places it over the open fire you already started.

Small eyes follow your every step as you dig out ingredients from your bag. Mentally going over the ingredients you had originally prepared for your celebration feast if you survived tonight, you drop them into the pot.

4 ham, 3 crabs, 3 shrimp meat, and 3 matsutake potatoes are dropped in.

Turning around, you count to five as the boy gives you a confused stare. But you only wink at him before turning around to look at the pot, as his eyes widen at the sight.

Adeptus’ Temptation sits innocently in the pot as the rich aroma wafts around the area, drawing curious hungry eyes.

Leaning down, you whisper to the boy.

“Get your friends and bring the pot back into your house quickly. This food is blessed and safe as you watched the whole process. I suggest you let the sickly and injured children eat first.”

He looks between you and the pot with conflicting emotions. On one hand, he can't trust you too much, but even the smell of the food was clearly tempting him.

It's the shuffling of feet getting closer that makes him bang on the door, signalling for the other children to come out and help him bring it inside.

By the time the shabby adults come into view, it's just you and the boy ‘talking’ as they grumble and turn around.

The kid still looks displeased. You don't blame him completely, since how can he trust that the food you cook isn't spiked with anything nefarious.

You're not even sure if it can heal people that aren't acolytes. It doesn't work on you after all.

At least they'll all enjoy a hot meal, even if it doesn't work.

Sighing, you take out your last resort from your bag, sadly selecting it and pulling it out. The secret weapon you've been saving since your time in Inazuma.

The colorful assortment of candy wrappers makes the kid’s eyes sparkle with the childlike glee that was absent since you met him. Probably long before you met him.

“It's not just Liyue candy, some are even from Inazuma.” The thought of giving up your hard-earned candy hurt you, but you let it go. 

The candy you squirreled away during the Inazuma festival, and the discount ones you bought at cheap prices at Liyue’s markets, were both never going to be eaten anyway.

His hands reach out to snatch the candy greedily from you but you raise it out of reach at the last second. He stomps his foot in childish indignation as you chuckle.

“Sorry, but I need you to bring me back to the outside before you scam me out of any more goodies.”

Finally giving up, he grabs your elbow again and leads you back through the streets. You enjoy the sights as he leads you zigzagging through the stalls.

You can't help but wonder if any detectives are still watching your boring little interactions. Admittedly, you played into the kid's desires more then you had to.

But you couldn't stop yourself from doing so when all you could see in him was yourself when you were that height.

The sun comes into light as the dim lanterns fade away. Like this, you can see his features once more as the stomping of soldiers return.

His eyes scan the area at the sound, but he keeps his hands open for the sweet treats. Smiling, you drop the candy into his open palms before he rushes off with a beaming boyish grin.

Stretching as you walk up the planks to the surface, you finally cross off the last item and drop it into the nearby trash can.

You try to ignore how it disappears when you turn the corner.

------------------------------------

Time ticks down slowly, and you aren't looking forward to seeing Madam Ping just yet. Besides, you made a long-overdue promise to someone else beforehand.

Starting up at the somewhat hidden Funeral Parlor, you push the door open with a casual; “Hey, I'm here to meet up with the Director of this fine and totally not macabre establishment.”

The receptionist blinks at your sudden words before a cheery voice responds from behind her.

“You sure took your time, Y/N. I almost wondered if you up and died before I got a chance to have you purchase one of our very convenient and practical deals!”

Yet again, Hu Tao was right on the money about you being close to death. Idly, you wonder if you look half as dead as you feel.

The receptionist is more than happy to slip away as her boss bounds up to you with that elemental ghost hovering around her.

Flower pupils stare into your eyes, giving you a vague sense of unease as Hu Tao examines you from various angles. 

“Yup, yup! Just as I suspected. You are in desperate need of escape, and it seems the only way you'll be getting it is in death. My honest suggestion is that you buy a coffin from us and lead a hedonist lifestyle to enjoy the few years you have left.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” You dryly respond as she nods approvingly. 

“A business needs to be honest for it to succeed in the long-term. Trust of the customers is one of the biggest key factors.”

Not willing to argue on a topic you were admittedly clueless on, you follow her deeper into the Parlor.

“Then you got any good deals for a traveling adventurer like me who could be dead halfway across the world?”

She sighs, exaggerating it to the utmost while circling you. “I thought deeply on the topic and while the Wangshsng Funeral Parlor has grown enough to reach all of Liyue and a good amount of Mondstadt and Sumeru, we still haven't grown enough to pair up with each region.”

Passing by multiple doors, your eyes scan for a clue on where she was leading you.

“But considering you're the most eager customer I've had concerning their own death, I decided to present you with a special deal.”

“Wouldn't suicidal people also be enthusiastic in this topic?”

“They're usually more focused on the moment and their own afterlife, instead of the corpse they leave behind. Besides-!”

Whipping around to look at you with a knowing grin, she lays a hand decorated in rings on the handle.

“You aren't that far from being called a suicidal person yourself, Y/N!”

Before you can question her on those words, she swings the door open to show multiple rows of various coffins.

“The special offer I'm giving you is to purchase a coffin and I will personally escort your wandering soul to the border for proper peace.”

Tearing your eyes from the admittedly impressive collection of varying caskets, you have the sense to ask her a question. “So, what's the point in me buying a coffin if my body ends up in the waters of Fontaine? And how could I even trust that you have the ability to escort souls?”

From what you remember, Hu Tao should have no clue about your oracle status, so logically you should act oblivious to her connection with the border. Would you even be able to cross the border? It’s not like you were born on Teyvat like her other customers.

Unless Zhongli told her, but that would require more of an explanation on his behalf that he wouldn't want to do. 

“Very good question, dear customer!” She spins around to face you once more, her long twin tails swinging during the motion.

“Even if your body is irretrievable for whatever reason, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor will deem your casket full after I guide your soul.”

The atmosphere visibly shifts after she speaks. The room darkens as the lanterns flicker, her back lowers in a familiar position as a cold phantom touch caresses your hand.

“You of all people should know why and how I'm able to guide souls. After all, I wouldn't expect anything less from an Oracle of the Creator.”

A crooked grin makes its way to your face as goosebumps raise on your skin. Hu Tao’s ‘threatening’ words of knowing your identity were like the sweetest song to your ears.

Finally, all your hard work in creating connections and stabilizing your identity has paid off. Acolytes you've barely begun conversing with already see you as an Oracle.

“Should I applaud you or something, Director? Or should I just accept the deal and make us both happy?”

Hu Tao laughs at your words as you take confident strides to stand by her side.

“I would appreciate the second option much more!” Signature flower pupils drink your smiling visage in with delight before her hand grasps yours in a tight hold.

“Now, if you will, I'll introduce all these amazing coffin and casket types for you to ask about and choose between.”

There's no time to protest, not that you would as she pulls you along excitedly as butterflies made of Pyro brush against your cheek.

------------------------------

Somehow you and Hu Tao had managed to look at every single coffin type in existence. A style, color and even additional design to it has already been decided.

You're just left with choosing the best wood for it.

Hu Tao wanted to stay with you throughout the whole process, but an important matter came up again, making her complain loudly as she left.

But before she did, she insisted on sending one of her employees to help you in choosing, as ‘the wood is a vital part of the process!’. 

So now you're left waiting in the absolutely quiet room, with only the sound of your own breathing accompanying you.

Looking down at the two coffins made of different wood, you waited for this employee. A small smirk played on your lips as you heard the door audibly click shut.

The thumping of shoes coming closer was silent, but the slight hitch of breath gave away how close your new consultant was.

“White cedar wood and Teck wood are both very fine choices. Though I would consider the Catalpa wood two rows down to be the best choices considering your position.”

Hot air fans your skin as the knowledgeable words spoken in that low timber light your nerves aflame.

Turning around, you look into amber eyes that remain steadfast on your face. His outfit is pristine and there's not a single evidence of the battle he was left to fight on him.

“If that answers your last question for the coffin customization, then would you mind stepping outside with me?”

Waving your hand, you dismiss his words without hesitation. “We can do so after I check out the Catalpa wood you recommended.”

Your head angles to the side to look at him with a teasing grin. “I know it's your retirement, but you of all people should know that rushing a job is never good.”

A long-suffering sigh leaves Zhongli as you walk away to the Catalpa coffin, before he follows you. 

More than happy to kill time like this, you feel the wood under your fingertips in a smooth stripe.

“Catalpa wood was and is still often used as an outer coffin for the jade inner coffin that Liyue officials were buried in. Not only can it be carved fluidly, but it is also very resistant to decay, unlike other ornamental wood. Its stability is quite underrated, with only the drying to be a tad problematic. And even that will be for us to deal with.”

Vaguely you wonder if this information was inserted into the game based off China’s own history or if Teyvat really did age throughout many years to build its own history.

“That’s why I recommended this type of wood to you. While you’re not officially a member of the Qixing or other affairs, your position of oracle is enough to warrant such a valued coffin.”

“Are you trying to convince me to buy it for your job, or are you trying to flatter me for your proposal?”

“You may see it as both, neither, or one of the two. I'm simply here as the consultant. I am to assist you with all of your decision-making inside this building.”

A huff of laughter leaves you before you tap on the casket. “Then I'll go along with what you want and take this wood.”

Zhongli nods, not bothering to write it down as his memory must be far greater than you care to imagine. 

His gloved hand is displayed to you in a silent question, but before you can move, he removes the glove.

Quizzically, you raise an eyebrow before placing your hand on his now bare one. Peering at his face from your place you note the slightest blush on his otherwise composed expression.

Smiling to yourself, you allow his fingers to intertwine with your own as he guides you out of the side door. Following him blindly up the staircase, past a set of rooms, another staircase till you finally arrive at the roof.

Zhongli squeezes your hand one last time, clearly relishing in the touch of your calloused fingertips before letting you go.

“I've waited patiently for you, Y/N. What is your answer to my marriage proposal?”

His eyes stare at yours with unshakable firmness. In a sense, it's endearing, and you make it clear by smiling widely.

“It's a no from me.” That resolute expression cracks and his mouth drops open before it's slammed shut at your bright laughter.

But even his poorly concealed embarrassed expression can't smother the blood rushing to his cheeks as his ears hang onto every addictive note that leaves your lips.

This has taken a long time. Like super long. I haven't dropped this series, just have lots of school work to complete and exams to study for. Like I literally have one tomorrow. My editor did me a solid and highlighted the parts that I had to fill in after I gave the mostly completed document for editing. When I have to write the next chapter, it'll take a bit as I gotta reread for recalibration. Taglist is open as always!

@vvyeislazzy, @nikqi, @the-dumber-scaramouche, @etherisy, @yourlocalstranger123, @ra404, @iruiji, @goldenglow149, @haru-tofuu, @lsleepysimpl, @bebobeboben, @yuyuzi-ling, @amidst-the-tempest, @resident-cryptid, @mxd1zzy, @mochicurls21, @nervouseaglelover, @thedevioussmirk, @yumuramma, @kwqsla, @undecidingfate, @ehjane, @game-savvy, @akiramirae, @liansh3ng, @fluffy-koalala, @formacoon, @sxftiebee, @khxii-i, @ursinaw, @chuuya-brainrot, @sweetbills, @kazuchaos, @snowfoxnix, @bluebelony, @shellofthewell, @pencil-of-ashes, @ghostlyintervention, @taiformaifoe, @goaudduck, @carminerin, @maddysflowers, @zenith-of-all-zenith, @crazydreamcat, @leafanonsforest, @grimreapersscythe, @leylanx, @sapphireknown, @help-whatdoimakemyusername

@zhonglisfruityass, @mer0n37, @victoria1676, @mochinessss, @sinnful-darling, @emilymikado, @pix-stuff, @esthelily, @luxie963, @emmbny, @starsofabundance, @kbar1013, @xxblackroses623xx, @chxrlxtteee, @aludicpoet, @yandematic, @atrcclovsxoxo, @0lshadyl0, @esthelily, @t-rex-red, @ck123, @steadybreadbluebird, @118gremlin, @stratonia, @time-shardz, @farelady-fate, @valeriele3, @francisnyx, @byakuren100, @waveto-earth, @flyingpansaurus, @silverstarred, @iamapotatoe, @ghosthii, @beloveddroplet, @uchihaeirin, @ibelieveinsleep, @idk098, @thefirstonetoeverlikemeback, @toramune, @haaaaaades, @horologiumwise, @melovaaaa, @alittletiredcry, @aphxdea, @atsukawolfcat, @desirabletravel, @pinkpainc, @eccedentesiast-sapphic, @yuyuzi-ling, @hyperfixationwhore

@juuuuuj101010, @avalordream, @kurayamioterasu, @tottybear, @koiikuno, @lynx-of-skies, @quacking-simp, @synthe4u, @kascar-chronicle, @hug4helios, @hug4helios, @silverstarred, @koiikuno, @ithoughtthinks, @remiivx, @lemonade7255

[wanderpawn]

I'm going to get a little brainrotty with my Zhongli Psychoanalysis here

I feel like it's a long shot to even make this post because I still don't understand this website very well.... but I truly hope someone out there will enjoy reading my perspective!

I want to elaborate more specifically on the "Zhongli has Dissociative Identity Disorder" fanfic drabble thing I wrote last week, now that I'm more coherent (with lines from the game as evidence) 👍

^ my little headcanon of what they look like..... for headcanon consistency's sake (´-ω-`)

Basically, my headcanon is that Zhongli has DID. Their parts are Zhongli, Rex Lapis, Morax, and quite a few more.

"But being diagnosed with a dissociative disorder requires you to have a spotty memory/blackouts, and Zhongli has a really good one," is what you might be thinking... but I have Answers.

(screenshot from the OSDD/other specified dissociative disorder wikipedia page)

The fact that Zhongli has had so many identities in their life... as far as I know, they're the only current archon who's had so many. Certainly makes you wonder 😐 (Not to mention all the stress and inner turmoil that probably comes with it... *cough.* and they're known for being "existential," too.)

Another thing I wanted to point out was this:

Lack of an ability to plan the future.... it could be their autism (which is a whole other can of worms), but it could also be related to emotional amnesia (possibly speaking from experience....)

And these two lines specifically prove that they exist as multiple separate identities, but in one body.

So, here's where the.... the Brainrot expands.... into MEGA Brainrot..... (you can skip to the ＊ if you don't want to read my overly-specific-totally-not-projecting headcanons.)

Their parts.... I was looking through my drawings yesterday.... and I'd realized I'd already drawn all three of their main parts 🥲

Morax (left), Rex Lapis (right),

and Zhongli, their host (above)

Zhongli is the average everyday life haver. They're basically everything we know about them through the game. Their physical stature is short, and they're very awkward, bad at socializing, and infodump frequently.

Rex Lapis is very polite and good at talking to people, they know how to entertain a group, and they do best in social situations. They have a sort of "aversion" to thoughts spiraling out of control, and a more "laid-back"/relaxed demeanor.

Morax is the "flat affect" and "resting b*tch face" part. They have a more "adult-like" personality, and they've probably got something more going on underneath the surface (like serious depression and repressed memories....)

＊Aaaaaanywaayyyyyy.........

Like I said, there's many more parts to Zhongli, I'm just too exhausted to think about it that hard right now. I had to share this because my brain won't stop thinking about it and I needed to get it off my chest (；ω；)

Thank you for reading my cringe infodump..... thank you...... 🥺

(This is probably the longest post I've ever made on tumblr. Haha.)

[ironunderstands]

Tbh when I say I ship zhongchi I don’t meant romantically or sexually, but in a platonic soulmates kind of sense bc I can’t see them liking one another in that way and the age difference is a bit icky to me. However I fucking love them platonically, and I think zhongli would be a great person to help Childe figure out his issues (and his first real friend), and zhongli would appreciate Childe’s company, for lack of a better phrase, his wacky hijinks (this man is a magnet for random shit) and his genuine friendship because Childe does not revere him like the majority of Liyue. Also demonic creature/divine being will never not be an interesting pairing. And they can hate on Celestia together. It also kind of bothers me that the only time either of their characters are really examined is in the context of a relationship, this is fairly common for most characters in any media I would say but it still bothers me as I find the exploration and analysis to be the only part I really like (besides the plot if there is one) in those fics.

[stardustdiiving]

My friend today was like you know fern I think your genshin favs are really funny because to me they’re all very tame green flags that have good vibes and then there’s zhongxiao which everyone hates. And I was like. WELL…..YES….SNUCHFJFJCNC

[genshinlearnfrench]

Spécialités culinaires - Liyue

Here we have: names of Liyue characters' special dishes in French and English; full lore description in French; translation of selected words after each description. Bon appétit!

🥢

Poisson bouilli du Restaurant Wanmin

Wanmin Restaurant's Boiled Fish

Spécialité culinaire de Xiangling. Le plat signature du Restaurant Wanmin revisité à la sauce Xiangling. Ceux qui auront la chance de le goûter apprécieront l'abondance de saveurs qui caractérise la haute gastronomie liyuéenne.

revisité - restyled, redesigned

bouillir - to boil

une abondance - abundance

🍽️

Délices des rivages

All-Delicacy Parcels

Spécialité culinaire de Xingqiu. On n'oserait presque ne pas vouloir toucher à ce plat bien présenté, mais après la première bouchée, il est difficile de s'arrêter de manger... Hum, ne me dites pas qu'il a enlevé les carottes ?

oser - to dare

❄️

Nouilles froides aux délices de la montagne

Cold Noodles with Mountain Delicacies

Spécialité culinaire de Chongyun. Ces nouilles seraient rafraichissantes en été, mais l'exorciste insiste également pour les manger en hiver. Quel courage...

la nouille - noodle

🌟

Viande-mora façon Caesor

Qiankun Mora Meat

Spécialité culinaire de Ningguang. La pâte est parfaitement moelleuse et la viande qu'elle renferme est juteuse. Quand est-ce que Dame Megrez des Sept Étoiles de Liyue a-t-elle appris à cuisiner un tel plat ?

renfermer - to contain

juteux - juicy, succulent

☁️

Sansespoir

No Tomorrow

Spécialité culinaire de Qiqi. Les ingrédients de ce plat ont été soigneusement arrangés. D'après Baizhu, Qiqi a mis beaucoup de temps à le préparer, mais une fois que l'on connaît les goûts de la jeune fille, il est difficile de vouloir en manger.

soigneusement - carefully

⚓️

Tranches de viande sautées

Flash-Fried Filet

Spécialité culinaire de Beidou. Cette dernière à appris une ou deux choses de Xiangling pour améliorer le gout de ce plat. Elle sera impressionnée si vous arrivez à le terminer d'une traite.

tranches de viande - slices of meat

terminer d'une traite - to end smth in one sitting

🎣

Poisson grillé du survivant

Survival Grilled Fish

Spécialité culinaire de Keqing. Ce poisson n'a pas été grillé à la flamme, mais frit de l'intérieur grâce à de l'énergie Électro. Vous succomberez à sa saveur exquise dès que vous mordrez sa peau croustillante. C'est donc grâce à ce genre de repas que Keqing survit dans la nature ? On aurait du mal à le croire...

succomber - to succumb

une peau croustillante - crispy skin

avoir du mal à croire - find it hard to believe

🎋

Soupe mijotée au bambou

Slow-Cooked Bamboo Shoot Soup

Spécialité culinaire de Zhongli. Le jambon a été sélectionné selon les normes gastronomiques du Pavillon Yuehai. La viande est de la poitrine de porc, fraîchement chassé à Deauclaire, tandis que les pousses de bambou sont les plus denses que vous trouverez dans le village de Qingce. Le tout est ensuite laissé à mijoter lentement... Un tel goût « particulier » ne peut être partagé qu'avec ceux qui savent l'apprécier.

mijoter - to simmer, to brew

la poitrine - brisket, chest

fraîchement chassé - freshly hunted

le pousse - green shoot

🎸

Poulet rock 'n' roll

Rockin' Riffin' Chicken!

Spécialité culinaire de Xinyan. Ce plat cache un piquant redoutable. Le manger vous fait pleurer mais vous ne pouvez pas vous arrêter ! Seul le diable aurait pu inventer un plat pareil !

le piquant - spiciness

redoutable - formidable, fearsome

🐋

Prise suprême

A Prize Catch

Spécialité culinaire de Tartaglia. On dirait une bête piégée dans une mare de sang, émettant des cris d'agonie inaudibles... Ce à quoi Tartaglia répond que ce n'est rien d'autre que ce qu'il a attrapé en mer et quelques spécialités locales de sa ville natale.

la mare - puddle, pool

émettre - to transmit

ce n’est rien d’autre que - it is nothing other than

❄️

Paix prospère

Prosperous Peace

Spécialité culinaire de Ganyu. L'image d'un Qilin au repos suffit à elle seule à calmer les esprits. Ganyu a cuisiné ce plat avec ses meilleures intentions et a également mis de côté l'une de ses fleurs de Qingxin préférées, rien que pour vous.

au repos - at rest

avec ses meilleures intentions - with the best of intentions

rien que pour vous - only for you

🔮

Beau songe

“Sweet Dream”

Spécialité culinaire de Xiao. Les rêves de Xiao sont simples et beaux.

simple - simple

👻

Parade des esprits

Ghostly March

Spécialité culinaire de Hu Tao. Les têtes rondes des goules donnent un aspect mignon à ce plat. Mais si vous veniez à goûter l'une d'entre elles, vous le regretteriez pendant longtemps... Cette assiette est remplie d'ingrédients aux saveurs intenses si bien qu'au final, on ne sait plus ce que l'on mange...

la goule - ghoul

intense - strong

⚖️

« À ma façon »

“My Way”

Spécialité culinaire de Yanfei. Du tofu aux œufs de crabe préparé avec une incroyable régularité dans la présentation. Les proportions et les saveurs suivent à la lettre les « lois du tofu aux œufs de crabe » citées dans la recette, sans la moindre omission.

œufs de crabe - crab eggs

régularité - consistency

suivre à la lettre - strictly follow

sans la moindre omission - without any omission

💌

Nouilles du cœur

Heartstring Noodles

Spécialité culinaire de Shenhe. Cela vient peut-être de son désir de recréer une saveur qui n'existe que dans ses souvenirs, mais Shenhe a consacré beaucoup de temps et d'efforts à la préparation de ce plat. Les nouilles onctueuses et la soupe délicieuse font certes grande impression, mais l'aspect le plus marquant de ce plat est le dévouement et le cœur mis à l'ouvrage...

onctueux - smooth

le dévouement - dedication

🎶

Jade de nuages

Cloud-Shrouded Jade

Spécialité culinaire de Yun Jin. Cette collation sucrée et collante n'affectera pas votre gorge, c'est la raison pour laquelle c'est la préférée de Yun Jin. L'arrière-goût est des plus raffinés, pas quelque chose dont on se lasse facilement. À bien y réfléchir, il y en a plus qu'elle n'en ferait pour elle-même, mais vous n'allez quand même pas vous plaindre de sa gentillesse...

collant - sticky

un arrière-goût - aftertaste

se lasse - to get tired, to get bored

à bien y réfléchir - on second thought

se plaindre de qch - to complain about

🍤

Crevettes à la rosée

Dew-Dipped Shrimp

Spécialité culinaire de Yelan. On trouve parmi les ingrédients du nouveau thé de rosée livré directement du Village de Qiaoying à la maison de thé, qu'on utilise pour frire rapidement des crevettes de rivière fraîchement pêchées. À la vue, il est d'une couleur élégante ; à l'odeur, on sent le parfum d'un thé lointain ; au goût, il est à la fois tendre et a une consistance élastique... Une petite minute, pourquoi est-elle en train d'apporter une assiette de piment ?

thé de rosée - dew tea

frire - to fry

une consistance élastique - elastic consistency

le piment - pepper, chili

🪴

Plat maison de Qingce

Qingce Household Dish

Spécialité culinaire de Yaoyao. Ne possédant pas le dressage élégant d’un grand restaurant, son apparence peut sembler assez sommaire, mais une seule bouchée est suffisante pour laisser un délicieux sentiment d’intimité et de chaleur qui reste inscrit dans la mémoire. Ce goût voyage du bout de la langue à la tête. Le secret de cette saveur se trouve sans doute dans l’affection de Yaoyao.

le dressage - dressing, taming

sommaire - basic

inscrit dans la mémoire - inscribed in the memory

🍲

Soupe apaisante

Heat-Quelling Soup

Spécialité culinaire de Baizhu. « Ce n'est pas vraiment un médicament, simplement quelque chose qui peut soulager une gorge sèche. »... Alors que la voix inquiète de Baizhu résonne dans vos oreilles, un bol de soupe aux fruits accueille votre regard. « Ce plat ne contient pas de sucre, mais il craignait que tu ne sois pas habitué(habituée) au goût amer, alors il en a ajouté un peu », ajoute Changsheng.

soulager - relieve, alleviate

une gorge sèche - a dry throat

Check out other posts about Mondstadt | Inazuma specialty dishes

[tummymoth]

Memoriam Amantis [1]

Chapter 1: Tears of an Archon (read on Ao3 here)

Chapter Summary: Fresh from the end of a bloody war, Rex Lapis finds himself frequenting a certain spot in Liyue to be alone with his thoughts. Here, he's free to reflect on past happenings and ponder the future. Here, he's free to grieve in total privacy. Well, maybe not total.

Additional Info: Angst, mentions of the Archon war, depictions of death and injury, sad!Zhongli, Zhongli is referred to as Rex Lapis in this

Word Count: 3525

<Previous

Liyue, some 2,000 years ago

There are many forms of worship, as Rex Lapis has observed from the thousands of years since his descension upon Teyvat. His personal favorite was prayer. Young or old, rich or poor, as long as there was intention for such a request to reach his ears, he would hear it. He had a contract to serve and guide this city, and his people’s prayers were an excellent means to ascertain what was needed of him to fulfill it.  

Worshippers left offerings at his statues scattered throughout Liyue in hopes of being granted protection as they ventured out into her untamed plains and mountains. Citizens of Liyue established certain rituals to venerate the Lord of Geo. In a way, Rex Lapis had begun some rituals of his own. 

When the bustling activity of Liyue Harbor reached a lull and there was nothing anyone required of him for the day, he found himself visiting Luhua Pool more often than not. 

On one such day, Rex Lapis trudged wearily to the shore and willed his legs to allow him at least some semblance of grace as he removed his robes and carefully set them on a nearby rock before lowering himself into one of the tiered pools of Luhua. 

A relieved sigh escaped him as he allowed the water’s heat to sink into fatigued muscle and sinew. He was a god, but that wasn’t to say he was immune to pain. 

Defending a territory against various gods and demons was not physically demanding work, not for an Archon of his strength. One thousand years of being entrapped in a fight-or-flight response and having little choice but to choose “fight” each and every time left him with an exhaustion that elixirs and medicinal teas would be hard-pressed to correct, but it was manageable. Drafting battle plans amidst the whirlwind of bureaucracy that comes with establishing a nation, however, was so mentally taxing that it left him with aching bones at the end of the day.

Seven Archons have taken seven seats of sovereignty. Seven nations have been born and between those seven nations, diplomacy was more important now than ever. 

The copper tang of bloodshed was still fresh in everyone’s minds. Hell, it tainted Rex Lapis’ very marrow at this point. Plans of rebuilding and establishing an era of peace occupied the minds of these new world leaders and left little room for much else. 

But once the scars of war fade into a distant legend in the people’s recollection and the comforts of peace lull them into complacency, what was stopping someone from starting the cycle of war all over again? The success of a nation rode on continued growth and expansion, and the easiest way to achieve that was to take land that belonged to another.

Treaties needed to be written. Contingency plans and considerations of the worst-case scenarios had to be brought to attention without offending the other party. Diplomatic relations and trade policies were just as crucial as the internal affairs of Liyue, especially when the main city was a port paramount to travel and commerce with other nations.

Rex Lapis’ head swam with logistics and the peace talks that were to come. The Seven often congregated in Liyue Harbor, but that was for pleasure rather than business. 

After the war, many sought to forget about its horrors by celebrating and making merry with those who survived. While there was sure to be a festival to welcome the six Archons who would be making their way here, there would be little opportunity to actually enjoy the festivities; much of that time was to be spent negotiating peace treaties and outlining expectations from these alliances via contract. 

As the God of Contracts, Rex Lapis knew it was his duty to commit each one to memory and be an upholder of fairness for everyone involved. He even looked forward to the drafting portion of the process. But the subtleties of diplomacy were never his forte. He loathed having to bite his tongue and pretend he didn’t quite comprehend icy jabs and deceivingly playful insults disguised as banter.

The sun began to cast an ochroid glow across Liyue’s horizon, and a sardonic smile made its way onto his face. 

“You would have been much more suited to this than I, my dear,” he said as he absentmindedly dug his fingers into the soft bottom of the pool. Silt unearthed itself and swirled about in the otherwise pristine water, temporarily clouding it. “I fear I’ve grown accustomed to bludgeoning my problems to death in your absence.” 

No one answered. He didn’t expect anyone to. 

Few have had the chance to hear the Archon’s innermost thoughts, and fewer still had the wherewithal to offer counsel. Being a leader in a bloody war left no room for showing weakness, both for the sake of his people’s morale and for his own well-being. 

There was only one who was able to wrestle with his brute force and hone it into a fearsome weapon with her razor-sharp intellect; she sat with him in his doubts and joys and shared her own in turn. There was only one with whom he entrusted everything. 

She made him useful. 

Perhaps he loved her.

She was long gone.

Rex Lapis let out a slow breath and closed his eyes. He told himself the wetness on his face was steam from the pool, and nothing else. It was a moment before he opened his eyes again. Flecks of liquid gold clung to his lashes and aside from blinking rapidly to clear his vision, he did little else to acknowledge them.  

Tension from the day’s work seeped from his limbs. It was tempting to sit here and let the world pass by him. Perhaps if enough years elapsed, the earth would allow his remains to sink into its depths and join the rock he so easily produced with nothing but his two bloodied, war-stricken hands. It would be almost poetic to fade into obscurity this way. Peaceful.

But he didn’t deserve peace. 

It wasn’t part of the agreement he codified with the people of Liyue. A city coming into its own in the wake of a chaotic power struggle needed guidance. They needed a reliable god to lead them into an age of stability, prosperity, and—hopefully—innovation. It was not his time to be at ease, not when there were so many obligations to fulfill. Not when he still has this restless energy thrumming in his veins.

Come nightfall, he was to meet with the yakshas and go about refining Liyue’s defenses as per their contract. He didn’t have time to languish about, caught in old rememberings when the bitterness of dead gods leeched into the ground and threatened to poison the land he’d lost so much to safeguard. 

After allowing himself a few more precious minutes of rest, Rex Lapis emerged from the pool and waved a hand to summon his robes. He pulled his hood over his head and granted himself one last indulgence by taking a moment to enjoy the softness of clay beneath his feet. 

Before long, he was off to return to Liyue Harbor. 

There was no one there to witness the stray glimmering tears dripping from his eyes into the water. No one saw the hairline cracks in his carefully constructed image of an unflappable and resolute Archon. But the springs of Luhua bubbled over that night from profound grief that could only be divine in origin. Cor lapis nodes and noctilucous jade emerged from the surrounding ground in clusters as if the gems themselves wanted to reach up and comfort their god.

Luhua Pool wept. 

Upon his next visit to the area, Rex Lapis was in no better spirits. Two yakshas had become afflicted with madness. Bonanus and Menogias were their names, and they were two of his five most trusted generals.

They had ripped each other to shreds.

When he received the report, he almost didn’t believe it. Or rather, he didn’t want to. What he wanted to do was deny the inevitable. He arrived at the scene to confirm it with his own two eyes, and the only sight that greeted him was bodies and blood.

One was gutted to the point of being unrecognizable—the only way he knew it was Menogias was the brilliant, bloodstained tatters of clothing barely covering his corpse. When Rex Lapis had ventured closer to examine the scraps of clothing, his fingers came away with blood. It was still warm.

Menogias was the more artistic one out of the five. When he wasn’t tasked with slaughtering the monsters infesting Liyue’s landscape, the same hands that emitted powerful blasts of Geo delicately held a needle and thread between their fingers. He had an eye that was good for both hunting down demons and design.

The other was calcified. What was previously flesh and blood had hardened to cold, unyielding stone. The remains of her face were forever twisted into a snarl, and half of her body had been blown to bits of stone scattered throughout the field. Rex Lapis had ordered that every fragment be collected for her burial. He held one in his hand and accidentally smeared blood on it. He had gotten blood on Bonanus.

Sweet, gentle Bonanus. With a voice clearer than the purest spring water. He could’ve sworn he felt a fissure forming in his chest at the thought of her. Her hands ended in fearsome claws, but she always tried to handle whatever was in them with the utmost care. Even with Rex Lapis, who was more durable than most, she took care to not accidentally graze his skin during their sparring lessons. Had it not been for him witnessing 4,000 years or so of peculiarities, the stark contrast between her benign disposition and relentless ferocity in battle would have unnerved him.

They knew this would happen eventually. Killing accrued karmic debt, even if it was for a noble cause. Spilling the blood of hundreds of thousands of monsters over the course of millennia exacted a heavy toll. This hindrance was outlined in their agreement, and it was one every yaksha—not just the foremost five—gladly took on for the sake of Liyue’s people. They vowed to maintain order through carnage and throw away their very lives if need be. 

This contract may as well have been penned with crimson. 

He sat on a cliff overlooking Luhua Pool and stared ahead bitterly. He was the eldest of The Seven. He lived through the rise and fall of empires and the wars that came with such change. Loss was no stranger to him. At the end of the day, seething hatred from the demons that plagued his yakshas overtook their humanity. This was what they agreed upon. All parties involved understood the ramifications of such an oath. Death was an inherent part of war, and the protection of peace demanded violence. Their deaths were for a cause with merit. Noble, even. In spite of this logic, the Archon still struggled to find justification for what he had witnessed today. 

By Celestia, the blood was still warm.

His generals had forged bonds with each other in the crucible of warfare and terror. They had become something of a family, trusting in each other and sometimes even coming to Rex Lapis for council. It started as queries about strategy and gradually evolved into some kind of mentorship. The Lord of Geo had become less of a commander and more of a… a caring figure to them. 

“My dear, I believe I may be ill-suited for peace.” His voice resounded in the quiet of Luhua Pool, hoarse as it was from unshed tears. As always, there was only the soft rustling of the tree beside him to answer. “I’m afraid the very idea will remain tainted with the blood of those who sought to accomplish it.”

It felt like an admission of guilt, but he pressed on.

“I have—had. I had five generals. As of today, only three remain. But they would have been endeared with you, and you with them. The two deceased were called Bonanus and Menogias.” 

Even now, his voice had a note of pride as he spoke of them. 

“All of them have come to excel in combat; they take instruction so well. But their creations are quite exquisite. I really do wish you were present to see them. 

“Bonanus would have been a songbird in another life. She led many a chorus when the nights grew long. I have heard from Millelith soldiers that her voice soothed the ache of homesickness, and I’m inclined to agree with them. Your flowers blossom when they hear her, did you know that? She loved them, but could never bear to hold them in fear of how delicate they are.” His voice wavered the slightest bit.

Rex Lapis found himself recounting stories of the two fallen yakshas to ears that would never hear them. As his lips moved around words of praise he had for his fallen generals, fond memories of their time under his command flashed in his mind’s eye. Over the years, his yakshas had grown comfortable enough to confide in him. Then they laughed with him. They cried to him. And in the end, they died at his behest.

“And Menogias,” he managed to press past the lump in his throat, “is such a clever one. He was making the most exquisite robes out of mere rags when I first met him. When he was supplied with proper silks and threads his pieces became more dazzling, still. So much talent for one so young.” 

Rex Lapis had been in Teyvat for thousands of years at this point; of course Menogias would have been considered young. In comparison to the Archon, wasn’t everyone but a blip in time? He shook the thought from his head.

“He depicted adepti and mythical creatures cast in golden light, and his skill in embroidering ceremonial wear is nothing short of exemplary. I have quite a few of his works in a personal collection. They’re all gifts he insisted I have. I suspect his work will have a lasting influence over Liyue’s weavers and designers. You would have cherished them just the same.” He paused a moment before sighing. 

“The yakshas are a group with the sole objective of destroying evil, this much everyone knows. But I worry that in having them partake in this crusade, I robbed them of their potential to participate in acts of creation. I’m not like you, Guizhong.” Oh, how he wished he was. “I’m a brute who specializes in waging war and imposing my will, so that’s the knowledge I passed on to them.”

He knew Guizhong had moved on after her death, though he knew not where, but it was cathartic to confide in her like he did centuries before. If he closed his eyes and focused enough, he could almost fool himself into thinking that she was hardly a meter away from him, listening intently to his verbosities so she could contribute her two cents at the end of it. However, this was no time to indulge in impossibilities. He wouldn’t permit himself to when such heavy loss weighed on himself and those under his charge. 

The thermal pools were too far away for the steam to reach him, but he didn’t consider any other explanations as to why his face was damp. 

Before his composure cracked, the archon released a breath with only the faintest of tremors and took in the scene before him. Impossibly clear tiered pools gave way to a lake with crystalline blue waters. At the bottom of the thermal pools sat precious minerals that glimmered whenever the rippling water allowed the sun to hit them just right. The shore was unmarred by the war and strife that previously ravaged Teyvat. All this sat against the backdrop of distant mountains and trees. It was picturesque. Were it not for the events of days past, perhaps he would have found it in himself to smile.

“The Guili plains are no more, my dear. But I’m sure you would love what Liyue is becoming.” She had an affinity for beautiful things, after all. 

Cr—aCK.

He snapped to attention. Senses on high alert, Rex Lapis sprung to his feet and summoned a spear of Geo, willing to run it through the chest of any threat that dared to eavesdrop. He had killed for lesser offenses.

“You will find that any attempt to ambush a warrior god is unwise,” he cautioned the unseen encroacher. His features were set in a mask of impassive stone as he surveyed his surroundings for any signs of the intruder. Amber eyes flashed with lethal purpose. “Reveal yourself now, and I will consider granting you permission to depart with your life.” 

There was a pregnant pause as he lingered with his body poised to strike. Five heartbeats passed with no answer before he slowly sat back down on the cliff’s edge. Even seated, his ears strained for any indication of activity in his surroundings. 

A faint rustling to his right, too deliberate to be unassuming. 

Spear in hand, his arm swung in a sweeping arc until it connected with the trunk of the tree next to him with a decisive thunk! The Lord of Geo whirled on the source of the noise, ready to prove just how foolish of an endeavor it was to hide from him, only to see—

Nothing. 

His spear had bitten into the wood of the tree until it cut through almost three-quarters of it. With a wave of his hand it was dispersed, leaving some bark to splinter off and fall to the ground. Aside from the gash that now disfigured the tree, nothing else was to be discovered. 

That couldn’t be right. He still sensed the presence of another as clear as day. They were close, right under his nose. He was certain of it. He whipped his head about in pursuit of the missing suspect. His physical vision grew unfocused as he tuned into elemental sight. Surely he would encounter traces of whoever that was. He zeroed in on the tree again. 

Much to his surprise, Rex Lapis was met with a long, lithe creature comprised entirely of Geo energy. Its features couldn’t be discerned aside from the flickering golden light emanating from its body but looked to be about the length from the tip of his fingers to his elbow. At least, it would have been that long if it hadn’t been bisected by his spear. One half clung onto bark for everything it was worth with two limbs while the other was in a useless, coiled heap at the base of the tree. When he didn’t move, the creature paused in its scrabbling to chirp at him in vexation.

The sight was comical enough to dissipate his anger entirely. Were it not for the fact that this creature wasn’t made of flesh and blood, he would have felt some level of guilt. As he approached, the creature’s form fizzed and spiked with what he could only interpret as ire. He hardly blamed it. It wasn’t difficult to imagine the discomfort of being sliced in half and pinned to a tree in fear. 

Against its protests and squirming—the latter of which provoked unpleasant memories of tentacles and nasty slime—Rex Lapis grasped the plucky creature and gently set it on the grass next to its lower half. 

It took some time for it to realize that, aside from the initial attack that nearly resulted in a tree as collateral damage, the Archon wasn’t a threat. The Geo creature regarded him with what seemed to be curiosity before it nudged at its other half and fused with it in the same manner that water droplets combine when surface tension is broken. 

Now that it was less excitable, the Archon was able to fully process what kind of being was before him. Without the aid of elemental sight, it was little more than a ripple in the air, entirely invisible save for a slight distortion. He was no stranger to Geo spirits and their idiosyncrasies, but to say he had encountered a spirit such as this would be a lie. 

Rex Lapis leaned in closer to examine it.

The little spirit stared back, its face little more than two glowing bits of energy and what looked to be a mouth.

“What are you called, háizi?” 

It blinked twice before opening its mouth. Each movement caused ripples to spread out toward the rest of its body as if it were one huge dewdrop two seconds away from collapsing. 

“A… Ah…” 

Rex Lapis leaned closer still, interested in what it had to say.  

“Ah—QIAN!” Bits of pure Geo energy sprayed onto his face, leaving him to look at the spirit with thinly veiled astonishment. Had it just—

He cleared his throat before using the collar of his robes to wipe it away. “Perhaps we will revisit that query at a subsequent date.” 

An interesting spirit, indeed.

<Previous

Translations háizi: "little one" in Mandarin ah-qian: a transliteration of how one would write "ah-choo" in Mandarin

A/N: This was based on a 600-word drabble that got away from me. I was watching tiktoks with those yixing clay teapot makers at three a.m. (as you do) and was enamored with the gentle treatment and caresses they gave the clay and thought, "Well,,,, Zhongli can control geo and he's a god,,, geo is stone which is found in dirt, which is similar to clay,,, and gods create,,, what... what if...?" and then it progressed from there ( ´∀｀)

I put the drabble (and Genshin) on the back burner for about a year before going through my documents and finding it. Thus began a deep dive of Liyuean lore in an attempt to give this story some substance.

Hope you enjoy this indulgent fic ! I'd love to hear your thoughts !

[morax-lapis]

- CHARACTER OUTLINE !

Flaws

moody | short-tempered | emotionally unstable | whiny | controlling | conceited | possessive | paranoid | liar | impatient | cowardly | bitter | selfish | power-hungry | greedy | lazy | judgmental | forgetful | impulsive | spiteful | stubborn | sadistic | petty | unlucky | absent-minded | abusive | addict | aggressive | childish | callous | clingy | delusional | cocky | competitive | corrupt | cynical | cruel | depressed | deranged | egotistical | envious | insecure | insensitive | lustful | delinquent | overthinker | guilt complex | reclusive | reckless | nervous | oversensitive | perfectionist | pessimistic | naive

Strengths

honest | trustworthy | thoughtful | caring | brave | patient | selfless | ambitious | tolerant | lucky | intelligent | confident | humble | generous | merciful | observant | wise | clever | charming | cheerful | optimistic | decisive | adaptive | calm | protective | proud | diligent | considerate | compassionate | good sportsmanship | friendly | empathetic | passionate | reliable | resourceful | sensible | sincere | witty | funny

Skills & Hobbies

art | acting | astronomy | animals | archery | sports | belly dancing | bird watching | blacksmithing | boating | calligraphy | camping | candle making | casino gambling | ceramics | racing | chess | music | cooking | crochet | weaving | exercise | swordplay | fishing | gardening | ghost hunting | ice skating | magic | engineering | building | inventing | leather-working | martial arts | meditation | origami | parkour | people watching | swimming | puppetry | pyrotechnics | sewing | reading | collecting | shopping | socializing | storytelling | writing | traveling | exotic dancing | singing | yoga | gaming | surfing

Tagged by: @nameaprice

Tagging: @lunaetis , @captainofthecruxcrew , @seventhdecrees , @fireshot , @luckuki , and everyone else who wants to !

[amourem]

angelica :   where does your muse draw inspiration in life ?what motivates them ? [ zhongli ]

begonia :   how cautious is your muse ?are they prone to noticing red flags ,   or paranoid to the point of untrusting most everyone ?why or why not ? [ robin ]

belladonna :   how does your muse respond to silence ? do they take comfort in soundlessness ,   or seek to fill the void with noise ? [ rover ]

angelica :   where does your muse draw inspiration in life ? what motivates them ? -- ZHONGLI.

when zhongli first descended to teyvat - his goal was something akin to both conquer and understand. though he took his time - for each war is but a blip in the lifespan of someone truly immortal - zhongli found that the humans beneath his dominion left him wanting to shape better lives from their bedrock. it was only over time - after meeting guizhong, after living thousands of years, that the archon himself knew exactly where to look for what he wanted: humanity.

when he was an archon - maintaining peace and comfort for people of liyue was his motivation. their well-being and protection was what he valued most. as he aged, that inspiration continued to draw from them, until zhongli watched - before his eyes - the civilization he had protected grow to a place that no longer needed him as a leader. some, perhaps, would have been filled with ire at such things - but not zhongli. he is inspired by the resolute steadfastness of teyvat's people, their strengths in the faces of adversity, and it is what made him step down in the first place - to relinquish his title and gnosis to the tsarista. zhongli finds the humans of teyvat more powerful beings than he, for their strength with power in a different form is enough to move a heart of stone.

begonia :   how cautious is your muse ? are they prone to noticing red flags ,   or paranoid to the point of untrusting most everyone ? why or why not ? -- ROBIN.

to be honest - robin wasn't initially a particularly cautious person. sunday and the dreammaster both seemed to cocoon her from a lot of negativity of the outside world, and it was pretty much when she rocketed to stardom that her naivete had to be shed at a rapid pace. robin, however, still has the pitfall of being idealistic enough to try to see the good in everything - and despite her status as a starlet - almost always sees the good intentions behind an action. this causes her i think to unintentionally overlook 'grey' areas in things though and can make her seem to misunderstand the nuance of situations - which is not the case. she is simply resolute. she sees the best in people, and will extend a piece of herself to them no matter what, including if they are covered in red flags. it's a problem.

belladonna :   how does your muse respond to silence ? do they take comfort in soundlessness ,   or seek to fill the void with noise ? -- ROVER.

rover does not... do silence well. from the second he re-awakened on sol-3, his life has been filled with sound. there is no quiet to him, only sound, sound, sound. to be frank, rover can barely sleep if it's silent - and usually requires some sort of background noise. it has something to do with being alone with this thoughts, and the hungry thing that roils beneath his skin. in a world like sol-3, where sound and frequencies are everything, he is constantly listening.

[macabretcles]

Tag Dump 4 - Zhongli

[endursent]

My Partner Turned Into A Cat And I Don't Know How To Fix It (2)

【 content; established relationship , fluff , humour , slight shenanigans , gn!reader 】

【 characters; alhaitham , arataki itto , baizhu , cyno , dainsleif , diluc , kaedehara kazuha , kaeya , kamisato ayato , kaveh , neuvillette , tartaglia , thoma , venti , wanderer , wriothesley , xiao , zhongli 】

【 premise; " Your partner has been struck with a curse of some sort which has turned him into a cat, you have no idea how to fix it nor how long it might take. Yet you also cannot help but be rather amused by the situation despite the uncertainty…" 】

【 note; made the genshin version... no reason for this to be like 19 pages 😭 】

【 word count; 8.723 | read on ao3 | hsr ver | hsr reader ver | gi reader ver 】

Alhaitham ;

Kaveh gaped at you when you brought a cat into the house, one that… looked eerily similar to a certain blockhead. “I can explain,” you say as you set the cat down on the floor, he doesn’t enter the house further than you do, instead sitting down by your feet and observing the interaction with… interest? Amusement…? 

  Kaveh didn’t need much to be convinced, and immediately he thanked the Archons for giving him a few days of respite. Even just a few days of Alhaitham being unable to comment on what he does or nag him is a blessing.

  For you, it’s a bit of a hassle… because he keeps disappearing! Not in an alarming way, because you find him again in the most secluded, quiet spots you would never even think of. Under your laundry, in an empty box that Kaveh hadn’t put away after getting a delivery, and even under the desk in the study—Kaveh accidentally kicked him and got a feisty scratch on his ankle. He learned his lesson. 

  He follows you around and—though he let you pick him up the first time—doesn’t let you carry him around, preferring to walk on his own… and wander off to explore nooks and crannies he has never been able to see, but he always shows up again before you reach your destination. 

  He has also claimed your pillow as his own and refuses to let you use it, loafing on top of it exactly when you thought you could get there before him. Which… in hindsight is fine, you’re not opposed to using his pillow, it smells like him after all. 

  You decided to test how much of a cat he really is, whether it’s appearance alone or instinctual as well and bought a cat toy with a whisker on the end as well as a small bell below it. You expected him to perk up and try to whack or catch it as soon as you wriggled it beside him… but his grey furred ears just lowered in annoyance and he hopped off the kitchen counter, it seems like having even more sensitive ears in this state makes his dislike for uncomfortable noises more intense. 

  He forgave you when you spent ten minutes scratching the itchy spot behind his ears after tracking him down. A small, rumbling purr left his chest as you moved your hand to scratch under his chin—he was, however, more curious about this instinctual reaction and demanded you continue after you drew your hand back.     Despite it being very much an unspoken rule between the two of you that neither of you should be disturbed ‘needlessly’ when reading or working at home, when you borrowed a few books from the Akademiya to try and figure out how to turn your partner back to normal, Alhaitham decided it would be very reasonable for him to lay down over your book… which you are very much trying to read.

  But when you ask him what he needs, he just blinks at you three times, very slowly. You’ll likely never be able to crack that brain of his, even in a form that is somehow far more expressive.

Arataki Itto ;

It’s difficult enough to keep track of him—and keep him out of trouble—on a normal day… now? You took your eyes off him for a second, and he’s gone. Shinobu split up with you to cover more ground while the rest of the gang scoured the streets of Inazuma City, at least as much as they could.

  You peek between baskets, crates and stalls, walk through tight alleys and even squint into a few windows… nothing!

  You had been very close to giving up and returning back to the meeting point by the bridge… until you heard a very distressed, very loud meowing. Following the sound, you come to a tree stretching over the gardens of a teahouse. What looks to be the owner of it stands below the tree with a basket, trying to ask Itto—stuck up on a wobbling branch—to jump into it.

  Exasperation is one way to describe what you feel as you approach the old lady, you put your hands on your hips and Itto notices you immediately. His meowing turns from frantic and panicked… to a sheepish pleading. Every movement he makes causes the branch to sway and wobble, and it looks like it could easily bend and break—and you don’t want to cause any trouble for the teahouse owner. “Itto, come on, hop down.”

  He meows and shakes his head, white fur swishing dramatically. 

  A sigh leaves you as you step closer and hold your arms open. “I’ll catch you, trust me,” you encourage him… and he finally relents, with wobbling paws, he leaps from the branch—fur shining in the sun as he practically flies in the air towards your open arms… and lands on your head. He panics and tries to adjust and not fall off, and you try to pry him away from your face as his belly nearly suffocates you—it’s a scene from a comedic play.

  Shinobu is glad for her mask, because when you return with Itto under your arm you have scratches on your face and forehead, and Itto is whining and meowing sorrowfully. 

  He spends the entire evening licking your ‘wounds’, dragging his coarse cat tongue over every spot so often that the licking starts to become more painful than the scratches themselves. But you let him, it makes him feel much better than you—and you don’t particularly need comfort, but if he doesn’t get it, he will whine all night. 

  So you let him knead your thighs and stomach even as his claws prick through your clothes and you make sure to pet him and stroke his fur when he snuggles against you… and then you wake up in the middle of the night, suffocating with his furred belly against your face when the lies on top of you.

Baizhu ;

You’re very happy that Baizhu is catching a break—something you often try to convince him to do—despite the strange way of being forced into it… however, it’s very difficult to focus on running the pharmacy in his place by yourself while also trying to make sure he doesn’t roll off the shelf he’s napping on… especially because Changsheng wriggles in her sleep and keeps nudging him closer to the edge.

  You decide it’s easier if you have them sleeping on separate surfaces and reach up to pick up your pliant partner-turned-cat. He effectively falls into your arms and blinks lazily, slightly confused by the sudden transport. “Just moving you so you don’t hit your head,” you dodge around Qiqi as she runs past you with an armful of jars and set Baizhu down on the counter, his tail sways lazily and he immediately flops on his side as a beam of sunlight sneaks through the window and directly onto his fur.

  Every time a customer comes by—with approval—they give Baizhu a small pet or scratch before leaving, as if paying tribute to the good doctor. He doesn’t seem to mind.

  Unfortunately, you’re not fit to take Baizhu’s place for consultations, and thus they all get delayed—which was a hell of a lot of work to contact everyone and change scheduling—until Baizhu is back to normal. The usual hours of consultation in the morning are therefore replaced with longer opening hours of the pharmacy and by pulling some strings, an increased stock of rarer products at a discounted price. 

  Changsheng does not let poor Baizhu catch a break, she wiggles her tail and swipes it in front of his paws, and unable to control the feline instincts harbouring his body—Baizhu chases after her tail like a kitten playing with a toy. He whacks at it and tries to capture it, but the white snake is far quicker than even you expected her to be as a sudden game of cat and mouse (snake) takes over your living room.

 The feline form, however, doesn’t come with free stamina—and Baizhu is not in good shape. He flops down on the carpet, exhausted from the play even as only seven minutes have passed. You feel a bit bad and scoop him up for some cuddling, which seems to be just the remedy he needed. 

  Baizhu is very careful around the clinic, he doesn’t knock anything over—even though he REALLY wants to sometimes, and is mindful of not getting fur or saliva on anything that could potentially be consumed by anyone with allergies. Changsheng has taken to wrapping herself around your shoulders instead, and though you’re used to her, it’s a little annoying to get a comment on every little thing you do. 

  But at the end of the day, Baizhu curls up next to you and you wake with him lying over your chest, belly to the skies and paws in the air, comfortable and content. Though you will always prefer him in his normal state, he is very cute like this.

Cyno ;

You look around the large front hall of the House of Daena, panting slightly as you try to catch your breath… that damn Cyno! Making you chase him across the entire city! 

  You spot some pawprints and squint as you look around… he’s not bringing all that dirt into the house—you were just going to rinse him a bit, but he’s run off! You finally spot dark and creamy coloured fur… perched up high on a massive decorative piece of the wall. He looks down at you with a swaying tail, completely at ease knowing that you won’t be able to catch him all the way up there.

  You almost consider inquiring about one of those massive ladders the library has to reach the high shelves, it might be long enough…

  But very well, he wins this round. 

  Once he turned into a cat, you were very excited about petting him, rubbing his ears and stroking his tail—but he’s not having any of it. Sometimes, you wonder if someone stuck a firework in his ass and lit it up, because the bouts of zoomies he gets is so frequent you wondered if there was something wrong—but you couldn’t catch him to take to a vet either! 

  After the first few days, Cyno seems to calm down… a little. He still prefers to survey the area (your living room) from above (your bookshelf) and watch you go about your day. It’s quite cute how his perked ears twitch every time you make a noise, as if he’s completely focused on what you’re doing.

  You soon find out after stepping a bit too close to the bookshelf that he might have just been waiting to strike, because he leaps onto your head as soon as you’re in range. 

  The only reason you know he’s fully conscious in that furred head is because while you were cleaning up after dinner, you spotted him sitting next to a cup of tea that was half-filled. You tense as you watch his paw raise to knock it off. “Cyno! Don’t,” you try to sound scolding.

  He looks up at you, he lowers his paw… then raises it again, making you glare at him. He lowers it again, turns away… you turn back to wiping the dishes and look over your shoulders after a few seconds—his paw is raised again!

  This back and forth continued until he finally knocked it over.

  And then he has the audacity during the next day’s dinner to sound like he has never been fed in his life while you’re trying to eat in peace. Meowing at you so loudly one would think he was terribly injured, eyes wide and mouth open. You hope your neighbours don’t think you’re trying to starve him, or treat him horribly.

Dainsleif ;

He’s not happy about it, he has things to do—places to be and investigations to make. Thankfully you’re familiar with where you were going next… but Dainsleif is very limited in what he can do. You decide to give him the task of scouting and sneaking around, something he’s used to doing anyway… but he finds that it’s much more effective to do so as a cat. His footsteps are completely silent and his senses are much sharper.

  Though, he had an instinctual need to swat at a glowing orb that you found in a strange vault half-buried in a cave in Fontaine before he could stop himself—which closed the two of you inside the vault. Thankfully he is now small enough that he could slip out between the bars and unlock it from the other side.

  It is quite cute how his ears flattened as you walked out, as if he was sorry. Though he seemed okay after you scratched behind his ears and assured him it was okay, he was here to help you out after all! His tail swayed in satisfaction to your assurance.

  You start to set down camp for the night, having just one pair of hands makes it a bit more of a lengthy process, and Dainsleif can only sit and watch as you put it together. He’s usually quite distant, even in a relationship—but as you straighten from squatting to fit something down, you feel something press against your leg and see him rubbing his furry cheek against you, then walking around your legs, tail trailing behind.

  He’s usually quite wary and alert, even during the night when you try and convince him to sleep—and it’s no different now. He sits poised and ready… for what? He’s a cat. But you appreciate the effort. 

  Surprisingly, he’s very active at grooming himself, the two of you usually have to bathe often anyway as you frequent dusty caves and muddy backwaters, but every time you make a stop, he sits down and starts licking his fur—at first you wondered if he was frustrated by something or had hurt himself, but as you picked him up to examine for any injuries or strange patches, he just blinked at you, tongue still half-hanging out.

  Dainsleif is rather laid-back when it comes to your relationship, there are times where you want to stay in a larger city for a few days or weeks in between travels, to have a soft bed and four walls around you—which Dainsleif doesn’t mind, there are places he wants to look into where he’d prefer you are safe elsewhere. He knows where you will be and will stop by to ask if you’re ready to continue days or even sometimes a few weeks later, to which you—recharged and rejuvenated—jump at the chance to follow him out of the city.

  But now, as a cat, he doesn’t leave your side for a minute—not even when you need to use nature’s bathroom. You went into a small village in Sumeru when passing through and a vendor was particularly pressing about selling you some type of perfume that you had shown brief interest in—Dainsleif had enough of you being pestered and whacked his paw at the man’s leg, hissing. He would usually be more subtle about guiding you away, but he doesn’t have the presence he usually does as he is now, so he must utilise the aggressiveness given to him in feline form. You take the chance to scoop him up and hurry away before the vendor can get upset, petting between his ears and thanking him for the help—he rubs his cheek against yours. He’s surprisingly more affectionate like this as well.

Diluc ;

Your nose itches… you try to hold back—achoo!!

  Diluc jumps, claws scuttling against the ground and he leaps from his resting spot and hops down to the floor. You sniffle and shake your head. “Sorry, it’s not your fault,” you stand from his chair and round the table to squat down next to him, reaching a hand out. “Did I startle you?”

  He makes a ‘hmph’ sound, fur red as freshly bloomed roses. Diluc bumps his snout into your palm and huffs into it, you turn your hand and pet along his back. “Aaah… you’re so cute~ so soft,” you near coo as you scratch behind his ears—

  Diluc shakes himself and ducks under your hand to walk past you—how dare you baby-talk him?! He’s not an actual cat! The scritches felt too nice, and his ears flicked when you cooed at him—it’s embarrassing…

  He sits down by the door, tail swaying lazily as a small meow leaves him. Let me out. 

  You pout, how can you not convey how cute he is? You want to rub his cheeks. But fine, you  walk over and open the door for him to slip out of. 

  Diluc likes the lounge around the fireplace in the estate, there’s not much work he can do  while you try to figure out how to turn him back—preferably without alerting his brother or any of the knights… or just anyone in general. Unfortunately, he can’t hide it from the staff of the Winery as he is a spitting image of himself in cat form, and you’ve caught more than three people trying to feed him expensive cheeses. 

  It’s only in the recent days that you’ve convinced him to settle down and use the time to rest and nap as much as he can, but Diluc was extremely restless at first, you had to trap him inside a room and trick him into lying down with you.

  One day, Jean came by looking for him, and you had to think fast to come up with an excuse while he had just leapt under the sofa to hide. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to need him urgently, so she just left a message behind and went back to her day.

  You fell asleep in Diluc’s study, trying to keep up with his paperwork—Adeline offered to help you, she’s very familiar with his work, and it’s not like it’s been a long time since he wasn’t there to do it… but you wanted to help, and as the sun sank below the horizon, you laid down on the sofa in his study next to a tall bookcase—only closing your eyes was enough to pull you into deep sleep.

  Diluc hops onto the sofa next to you, he carefully walks over your thighs and settles on the armrest where your head is. His fluffy tail sways and strokes your chin and nose—nearly waking you as you almost sneeze, you don’t have to work so hard for him, he knows you want to help. He wishes he could tell you, and he will, when he’s back to normal. For now, he rests alongside you, head leaning against the top of yours and tail tucked against your neck.

Kaedehara Kazuha ;

Kazuha is a very chill cat, he doesn’t get into trouble, he doesn’t cough hairballs on the floor and he doesn’t knock things over.

  (Instead of coughing hairballs on the floor he swats them off-deck with his paws, Beidou caught him doing it once).

  There’s not much trouble to get into on the ocean, and he’s rather good at keeping out of trouble overall on land, sticking by his side is a sureway to a boring day of exploration or lounging around—which is your perfect type of day.

  You help him into your bag as the Crux ‘boards’ by Liyue Harbour (it stops a bit away and tucked by a cliffside to avoid attention) and you make sure he doesn’t accidentally fall into the ocean as a few crewmates row to land. You’re stopping for a few days, so you make sure to use the time to relax and take in landside air and wander around the expansive Harbour. 

  Kazuha likes to take life at a slower pace, and thus your walk to the Harbour took longer than you expected… as you thought Kazuha was doing his normal meditation on a warm, sun-kissed rock along the road…

  But he was asleep, sitting up and enjoying the sun. It took you thirty minutes to realise—a sitting cat with its eyes closed and a sleeping cat in a sitting position is the exact same.

  He very much likes to people-watch, but in this cat form, he seems even more engaged—he can hear sounds more clearly and he seems even more perceptive than usual. Watching a tea maker brew a cup on a teahouse table you had sat by to rest and ordered some snacks. He sniffs at the tea as it’s placed in front of you—he’s perched comfortably on your lap, you’re surprised the teahouse even allows him inside—and seems to appreciate the detail he gets from this new perspective, af if it smells different in this form.

  He tries to taste it and your food, but you have to block his snout with your hand, you’re not sure if the food you were having would give him a stomach ache or not. 

On a walk on the outskirts of the city, you look back and see Kazuha carrying a stick in his mouth…?

  He’s not a dog, so you’re not entirely sure why he’s doing it, maybe cats do that too? The dogs that hang around the bridge leading to the southeast outside of Liyue Harbour try to approach him with the stick, thinking he was playing, but he hops into a tree to keep it to himself. You’re not entirely sure what’s happening, but he seems to be having fun.

  Kazuha wanders off oftentimes, just in his normal, usual body… so you’re not sure why you’re surprised when you suddenly find him missing from your side—perhaps it’s because he’s a cat and you’re unsure if he can defend himself as well in that form, but you hurry to look for him.

  You practically run in circles until you find him pressing his paw to a brown, crusty leaf… again and again, as if listening to the crunch of it in a rhythm. You sigh and scoop him up into your arms. “Don’t wander off like this,” you scold and poke his nose. Kazuha sneezes from the poke, but blinks up at you and nods his little furry head.

Kaeya ;

Unbothered, in his element. Kaeya sleeps in your windowsill and bathes in the sunlight all day while you scratch your head over how this could’ve happened. You try to leave for work and he practically screeches at the door, likely pleading you not to leave—he does that normally as well, except without the loud meowing. 

  Kaeya finds appreciation in the flexibility and grace that comes with this new body, he easily leaps up on shelves and dives under the sofa, he chases flakes of dust and seems to be having quite a good time—perhaps it’s because he has no responsibilities in this form, he can’t go to work like this and has no control over it. And the loss of control is strangely freeing. 

  You scoop him up into your arms and his tail swishes happily, he grabs his claws into your shirt and purrs as you rub his ears, happy and content with the additional affection. He loves all affection he gets from you no matter what form it takes, and being a cat has given him the opportunity to be pampered in ways he never could experience as a human. 

  He does need his free time as well and he uses it well while you’re out of the house—though you were very optimistic to think that closing the windows would keep him contained, Kaeya easily flips the handles and slips out of your home. He enjoys the attention he gets from any passersby, but is careful not to be too affectionate and get picked up by someone who thinks he’s a stray. 

  His usual guarded front lowers in this form, he feels like he could slip out of any situation—and he doesn’t have to be careful with his words or actions. No one expects a cat to have alternative intentions. 

  He jumps up in surprise as he hears footsteps rapidly approaching—he had fallen asleep on a ledge and the sun was already down. Kaeya blinks as you pick him up, breath heaving. “There you are, I’ve looked everywhere for you! I thought something happened when I couldn’t find you around the plaza,” you sigh a breath of relief and practically crush him to your chest. Kaeya wriggles a little but gives up and nuzzles into you, pushing his forehead into your cheek. 

  After a number of days, Kaeya gets bored, as fun as lounging around and being pampered it… he misses real food, and dragging you away from your work to have lunch—and holding you properly, he can only lay on top of you like this, which doesn’t exactly feel like holding.

  And Kaeya being restless… he gets whiny. 

  He would usually be more subtle, but now that he feels the rush of freedom his feline form gives him, he uses it to protest by loafing on your clothes after you fold them to put away, laying over your lap when you need to get up—even though he’s not really a cat… kind of, you still get the same feeling of not wanting to move him off no matter how much space he’s taking.

  But that’s okay, because he just has to slow blink at you and nuzzle into your hand and you forgive him, how could you not?

Kamisato Ayato ;

Ayato is an unreasonably pretty cat. His fur is soft and silky, he has this… smug kitty-smile at all times, and it makes you want to pinch his ears. He sits on your lap and peeks onto the low table inside his study as you go through paperwork. Just because he’s become a cat doesn’t mean his workload just miraculously lessens. 

  Thankfully, after a few days of trying to juggle his work—how does he do it?!—even with him by your side, albeit in a form that can’t properly communicate… Ayaka decides to lend a hand, she takes it upon herself to attend meetings and represent the clan and Commission in Ayato’s stead. Thankfully no one has questioned where he is yet.

  Or why there is a suspiciously similar cat trotting around the estate in his place. 

  You fish into a bush in the courtyard gardens, hand feeling around—until you find fur and yoink it up. Ayato blinks at you, tail swishing as he has a piece of grilled fish in his mouth that he stole from the kitchens. “You know… you can have all the fish you want—you don’t have to steal it,” you say as you lift him into your arms.

  His ears flick as you talk, but he eats the fish happily regardless. You shake your head in mild exasperation. Looks like he’s using the opportunity to engage in… more mischief than usual. Perhaps a different kind. 

  Ayato likes to use his newfound stealth and agility to his advantage… to torment you.

  You put away some laundry and turned to a shelf to fetch something—only to come face to face with Ayato’s cat-face, making you jump as he meows happily—as if happy to see you! He knows he’s just trying to startle you!

  He winds around your feet when you walk around the estate and purrs happily when you squint at him.

  Ayato knows the limits, he stops before you can lock him inside a room for the remainder of the day. His fur is so soft as you pet him and a rumbling purr leaves him, he knows it’s silly—he’s not really a cat, at least, hopefully not for long. But you keep petting and stroking him while he does. 

  He takes good care of himself on normal days, and as a cat, it’s no different—he grooms himself meticulously, though finds it rather embarrassing if you’re looking, so he tries to do it out of sight… it's very instinctual, but he also likes to feel clean and groomed. 

  You once passed the great hall and saw Thoma wriggling a toy with a bundle of feathers on it while Ayato chased it… it was pretty cute to watch, but you hurried along before either of them could notice you. 

  He hogs the futon, you don’t want to push him to the side and get pushed to the edge of the mattress yourself. Ayato doesn’t even realise he’s doing it. 

Kaveh ;

Distressed, not having fun, he wants to go home.

  A series of meows in varying states of distress and confusion follow behind you as you walk, you stop and turn around, peering down at the strange cat that’s been following you around since you left the Akademiya. You were about to ask what he wants… but as you squint at the cat… doesn’t it look familiar?

  Kaveh doesn’t stop when you do, he raises on his hind legs by your feet and sinks his claws into your pants, a shrill, distressed meow leaves him.

  You reach down and pick him up, holding under his front legs as you inspect him… hm, golden fur with tints of a darker, sandy brown… those big red eyes.

  “... Kaveh?” you must be crazy, there’s no way your partner is a cat, and followed you around without you realising, but you know those eyes very well. It’s him.

  Alhaitham just stares at you like you grew three additional heads, he looks at Kaveh in your arms and then back at you. “... it looks like him, but that’s not proof enough—have you asked him to write his name?”

  You look at Kaveh and he tilts his small head to look up at you. Write his name…? He doesn’t exactly have thumbs… but Alhaitham has a good point. What if it’s just a very persistent cat? 

  Then again… where would Kaveh be? He’s usually home by this time.

  Alhaitham fetches a pen and some parchment and you put Kaveh down on the table. He tries to use his paws at first but just spills ink all over the place—but as he grabs the pen with his mouth and clumsily scribbles his signature, Alhaitham just hums while you scoop Kaveh up again, holding him up. “It is you! What happened to you, Kaveh?”

  Of course, he can’t give a proper answer, he wriggles his paws around and meows in a long dialogue—but it’s entirely incomprehensible. 

  While you and Alhaitham try to figure out how to get him back, Kaveh tries to adjust to his… predicament. He doesn’t do it with any grace, though… his leaps and jumps across furniture are miscalculated and he falls to the ground or hits his head more often than you can count.

  But your worried petting and rubbing the aching area makes him purr and nuzzle into your arms.

  He does hate the heightened senses, he jumps at the smallest noise and scuttles across the room if anything startles him—and he gets startled very easily like this.

Neuvillette ;

You call his name, looking around his office… you scratch your head, he can’t have gone far, you just left to fetch some tea for a few minutes. It’s not like he can open the door or window and slip out—why would he anyway?

  You hear a very… pathetic meow, from next to you—but there’s nothing there, just a sofa. You hear it again—under the sofa…?

  Ducking down, you see that Neuvillette is stuck, he seems to have been trying to squeeze himself under the sofa, and rounding the furniture, you see his hind legs and tail flat on the floor… it’s a bit amusing. “There, I got you,” you say soothingly as you lift the sofa up a little so he can back out. Neuvillette stands up and shakes his body.

  You squat down and smile. “How’d you get stuck under there?” you hold out your hand and he presses his head into your palm, nuzzling against your skin for comfort as you turn your hand to scratch and pet him.

  He’s not very good at resisting the instincts and temptations that come with this form—you’re unsure why he seems to struggle so much, but you try to help him as much as you can, and not laugh.

  You saw him chase a shadow, there is an ornament on the raised blinds that hang above the large window in his office. It's attached to the strings that lower and raise them and it sways slightly—casting a shadow across the floor.

  Another time he was grooming his fur and struggling, he has a thick, long coat and had to lean far back to reach the end of his fur as his tongue dragged along the hairs… causing him to roll backwards off the arm of the couch and into the pile of pillows.

  Innocent, small things that make you smile, but you’re careful that he doesn’t see it.

  He loafs over a stack of court documents as you organise his desk—might as well use the opportunity to clean up while he won’t be making a mess. He doesn’t seem satisfied with his place on the desk and stands… and spots a box on the ground, it’s stacked halfway with old documents to be taken to storage… but it also looks like the perfect spot to rest. He hops down from the desk and circles a few times on the papers to get comfortable. He wriggles a little before sitting down.

  It takes him a minute to realise that he was kneading into the paper when he hears the sound of it tearing under his claws in an instinctual need to make the bottom of the box comfortable. 

  Safe to say, he was mortified to have destroyed the top four documents, but thankfully they weren’t shredded and you managed to salvage them with some memory of what had occurred as well as piecing them together.

Tartaglia ;

You look towards the window above the kitchen counter, cold air brushes into the house as Childe enters through it—with a mouse in his mouth.

  You leap up and push the book in your hand against his face and push him straight back outside. “No! Absolutely not! Leave it outside, not in the house!!” You close the window behind him and sigh in relief, brushing stray snow into the sink. When you look up again, He’s sitting there, big eyes and ears flat against his head… but no mouse.

  Sighing, you open the window a smidge so that he can step inside, where he shakes himself and tosses flakes of melting snow all over. 

  Childe sits down, tail swaying—as if waiting for something.

  You set your haps on your hips. “What?”

  “Mrrow…” he wriggles his head, he wants a pat. 

  … fine, just because he took the mouse outside because you ‘asked’, you raise your hand to stroke his head and he tilts it to lick your palm—but you pull back. “No, you just had a wild animal in your mouth, wash your mouth!”

  What is this?? He feels like a criminal, all he did was bring you a prize… to be fair, he realised how silly it was to bring you a dead animal when you leapt up to push him back out, but it felt completely natural up until that point!

  He whines and meows for forgiveness for the rest of the night, and you do eventually ‘forgive’ him and let Chile lounge around on your lap while you pet him and continue reading.

  He picks fights with swaying curtains, chases your broom when you’re cleaning and even whacked your cup of coffee off the dinner table—spilling it everywhere. He’s a nightmare in this form, because no matter the scolding, he just stares at you with excited, large eyes and a swaying tail.

  Nothing you say gets through his head. In one ear and out the other. 

  He does not give up either, if he wants affection, he will get it one way or the other, even if he has to whine and meow endlessly, follow you around—fake a limp! You shake him a bit after he worried you and you almost went out in the middle of the evening through the snow to take him to a vet when he just wanted scritches. 

  In all fairness… this is just typical behaviour, but now he has the kitten eyes to break your self control and composure within seconds. 

Thoma ;

He tries to do his job even in cat form, using his tail to sweep, he even takes his duster into his mouth and tries to sweep on surfaces he’d usually need ladders to reach, and now he can just leap to them.

  But he also has a problem…

  He has an instinctual need to create a mess, knock things over or sit on things—when he catches himself in an act of pushing Ayaka’s discarded tea off a table, he nearly leaps away to stop himself. 

  Thankfully, everyone around him doesn't mind—and it’s a bit relieving to see that Thoma retains a sense of himself. He finds time where he would usually go into town to instead nap—and the Kamisato estate has perfect napping spots. He lies sprawled across the engawa surrounding the eastern part of the estate near the back gardens, and lets the warm beams of the sun warm his belly—only to shoot up in surprise when he hears footsteps, embarrassed to be caught lounging around. 

  Ayato sometimes plucks him away to keep on his lap for hours while he sorts through paperwork, petting and scratching behind his ears while his other hand signs documents. Thoma gets a bit restless just loafing on his lord’s lap and meows in relief when you come along to fetch him. 

  Ayaka leapt at the opportunity to sew a few accessories for him, guised under the excuse of “practise for smaller bodies” and Thoma ends up with half a wardrobe by the end of the week. 

  But he prefers to be around you, you don’t trap him on your lap (even though Ayato gives very good scritches) or make him model for three hours (even though Ayaka gave him snacks). As you work around the estate, he gets tired—curse this cat body and it’s perpetual need for napping!—and you tuck him gently into your eri*. Thoma lays nestled against your chest warmly, his body light and still as you continue your work. 

  The gardens of the Kamisato estate is a disaster zone, and after the first few days, thoma knows to avoid it. 

  He had strolled past, early in his transformation—and been startled by his own reflection in the pond he passed by, the fish swimming away in a hurry as he ran across the gardens in surprise. A second time, he had spent twelve minutes chasing a butterfly while Ayato watched with a signature smile… he will likely not let him forget it. 

  Thankfully, he’s not needed much in the gardens, and he sits perched atop a high shelf in the kitchens, his tail sways as he leans forward… very much ready to leap and steal some food—before you pluck him up and raise an eyebrow.

  His ears flatten in realisation, but you rub his cheeks and tuck him back into your clothes—grabbing some leftover pears from the dessert the kitchens were making, letting him munch on it while you get back to work. 

Venti  ;

You didn’t think Venti could become even more of an airhead on a typical day as he does when he becomes a cat. He gets distracted by the smallest things and wanders off—leading to a wild goose chase where you have to ask around for a small darkly coloured cat with blue highlights on its ears and tail—a very distinct cat!—and being pointed in every direction possible.

  Only to discover him napping in a crate full of apples in an alley you walked past at least six times just in the last fifteen minutes. 

  He is also very vocal, Venti says anything that comes to his mind… which is unfortunately nothing but meowing nonsense to your ears, but you nod along as if you understand, having a halfway conversation with the lively cat. 

  Somehow, he very much likes to play and nap like he’s being paid to do it at the same time. In one moment, he’s swatting at your clothes and trying to get to play with your fingers—which he accidentally bites and scratches in his excitement, quickly rectifying it with some licks and nuzzles—and the next, he’s passed out cold in a box or on a shelf for five hours.

  He doesn’t seem embarrassed by these new catlike instincts, such as the need to groom himself—he even starts grooming you halfway through his coat, you’re sure your skin is very much clean by the time he finally turns back to himself. 

  Unlike normal cats, who move and settle down elsewhere when the person under them gets up… Venti is not happy about being disturbed nor that you’re trying to get up, he whines and kneads on your clothes to try and get you to stay a little bit longer, giving you the best big kitten eyes he can muster.

  And damn him, it works. He knows what he’s doing. 

  You had been looking for him one morning, thinking he just wandered off again and you’d find him napping in some corner of the city… when Diluc approaches you with a sheepish looking Venti-cat, holding him by the scruff of his neck. “This yours?”

  Diluc doesn’t even seem surprised that the bard is a cat. At least he isn’t an allergy risk when he’s human-like and trying to get into his wares. 

Wanderer ;

He is very aware of himself, he knows he looks stupid (cute) and that everything he does will be looked at through the lens of a typical cat and not someone stuck in its body.

  And thus, he does all he can to be as eerie and unnatural a cat as he can be.

  He doesn’t make a single sound, no meowing, no purring, nothing. He doesn’t walk like a cat—thankfully he doesn’t walk on two legs—nor does he exhibit any of their typical behaviours.

  At least, that was the plan. 

  Every single time Wanderer catches himself doing anything that could be considered “cat-like”, such as grooming himself, chasing a loose string, or gods forbid… kneading—he will immediately stop and compose himself again.

  As opposed to some others, he absolutely hates the loss of control that follows becoming a cat. 

  He can’t write properly, he can’t communicate—and if he tries, no one but you and perhaps Nahida takes him seriously—he’s always sleepy and aware at strange times… he hates it! 

  And once when he was just trying to have some grapes for snacks—you suddenly leapt towards him to stop him, taking the bowl off the table with a relieved huff when you noticed he hadn’t swallowed any of it… after you pried the grape out of his mouth. At his hissing, you explained that cats can’t have grapes. 

  He gave you the cold fur-shoulder for at least two days. 

  You brought him out one time to get some fresh air—since he’s fully aware of himself, he shouldn’t run off and get lost, or into a dangerous situation like an indoor cat might. But when you gave some other cats around the streets of Sumeru attention, he quickly meowed in protest and whacked the other cats away. 

  It’s a bit cute… he doesn’t normally act so forthcoming, and as he bumps his head into your knee afterwards, you rub his cheeks and pinch his ears despite further protest. How cute!

Wriothesley ;

At first, you weren’t even sure if Wriothesley was just a “cat”. He’s huge*. 

  You put a bowl in front of him, filled with foods that are okay for cats to eat but also not… gross, as Wriothesley is very much aware in that cat-head of his. “C’mon, there’s nothing wrong with this, I even tasted it—it’s a bit bland ‘cause we can’t put any seasoning, but it’s food.”

  He leans down, and for a second you think that he’s going to eat it—but as his whiskers brush against the sides of the bowl, he lifts his head abruptly and swats at the bowl, clattering it to the ground—he didn’t mean to hit it at all, but also not this hard. 

  You scratch your head, you just can’t figure out why he won’t eat—you’ve tried everything!

  It took you several hours of back and forth questions and meowing to realise that it was the shape of the bowl that was the problem and not the food itself.

  On another day, you reach down to pet his soft, thick fur—only to get a static shock, it zaps your fingers and both of you jump back. You always have to be careful with petting him, as there’s always a risk of getting zapped at any time. Worst part is, it’s not even every time! It catches you off guard!

  He likes to climb and jump on the pipes that web around the fortress, getting into places he’s never even considered before—and sometimes you look around for him for hours before giving up… only to suddenly be leapt on from above by a nine kilogram heavy cat half your size, knocking you over.

  Siegwinne noticed that he had been brooding lately, he had been stuck as a cat for five days now and it was beginning to frustrate him. So she decided to soak a small blanket in tea mixed with catnip—after it was dry and she rubbed some more on it, she laid it out in his office…

  You watched him for a good long while as he rubbed against it, meowed and rolled on the blanket. It was unbearably adorable, but you eventually pulled him away after a while—worrying it might be too much.

  He’s so large that it’s almost like sleeping with a person, just a very furry one. He lies halfway over you and as you wake in the morning—he refuses to get up. You give in and relax in bed for a while… until he starts kneading your cheeks, leaving small scratches with his big paws and claws. You don’t stop him—it doesn’t hurt, he looks so focused, like he’s trying to squeeze something out of your cheeks. 

Xiao ;

He meows and wriggles in your arms, but you try your best to hold him until you reach the top of the inn—he swats at you and you finally let him go when you enter his usual reserved room. Despite being paws up when you let go of him, Xiao lands perfectly and immediately hops up to the highest vantage point in the room he could reach. 

  You don’t get him down by yourself, he only comes down willingly after a few hours when he’s calmed down and adjusted a bit to this form. You’re not entirely sure what happened, you had just been exploring a cave that was strangely entwined with a temple of sorts, when a bright light appeared behind you, and Xiao—who had been accompanying you—was suddenly a cat. A very small cat. 

  He loafs on the windowsill in the night, his tail wrapped around his paws as he peers towards the sky—at the slightest noise, his ears flicker towards it and he squints at the roads below that pass and surround the large inn. 

  He is unbothered. Firm. Stoic.

  … after getting wet under a pouring rain that persisted all day, he pretends not to be bothered by his wet fur and the uncomfortable existence he leads under this blanket of wet fur…

  But he can only pretend for so long. You turn away and pretend to busy yourself to allow him some privacy to reluctantly lick along his fur and smooth it down, trying to clean or groom it in a way that makes it less sloppy. 

  He hates it, this weird satisfaction that comes with this very primal instinct, and yet, he does still feel the satisfaction.

  Xiao is difficult to read on an average day, he’s very used to controlling his emotions and maintaining a front that’s difficult to get past.

  But as a cat… he’s an open book, he approaches you with a curled tail, he slow blinks at you when you drag your fingers through his fur as he loafs on the windowsill. 

  But he does. Not. Meow. 

  Except for that time you hauled his ass back to the inn… and when Zhongli makes a sudden appearance, he hops from his perched position and snakes around the former Archon’s legs, purring and meowing as he’s being petted and spoken to. He doesn’t notice his own behaviour…

  Not until the following night after Zhongli leaves, and Xiao is mortified that he behaved like an affection-depraved cat in front of Morax.

  Thankfully you sliding a comb through his fur and untangling some knots from the day distracts and calms him down in the evening.

Zhongli ;

At first, you weren’t even sure if Zhongli was actually aware he was a cat, he follows you around, sits on a bench and licks his paw to clean it while you shop for groceries… he chases anything shiny that you come across and swats at it with his paws, leaps at it and tries to capture it—usually rocks or mora people drop. Maybe he likes the mineral, maybe it’s the shine. You can’t really know.

  You try to give him some nice food, cut down nicely so he won’t accidentally choke on it… but he won’t eat it, not unless you plate it properly…? At least, when you rearranged it better and separated the meats from the greens, he seemed to like it more. Maybe he thought you were treating him a bit too much like a pet rather than a partner that’s unfortunately become a cat for a (hopefully) limited time.

  After a long day of… not doing much, Zhongli realised he had left scratches on the sides of some furniture and he tries to hide or cover them up for the time being, dragging a blanket over the arm of a divan in the living room… hopefully you won’t discover them and he can fix it after he’s back to normal before you notice.

  You do notice that he very much prefers specific textures, he doesn’t like walking on the hardwood floor of your home and instead prefers to lie down or sit on blankets or the silken sheets in your shared bedroom. 

  Despite the strange predicament, Zhongli is very calm, he’s both patient and has a good sense—if this was a dangerous curse or spell that was difficult to reverse, he would likely sense it. Instead, he considers using this time to show and receive affection in a way you haven’t been able to before. 

  He often sits by your legs or thighs, he winds around them and rubs his furry cheeks along your clothes and pretty much anywhere he can reach. Your legs when he’s winding around them, your hand when you reach out to pet him, your cheek when he stands on your chest when you’re trying to read in bed before sleeping. 

  He purrs and cuddles with you, laying in your arms or over your lap—he even hid in your bag once when you went out for the day, and you discovered it too late to take him back home (you did wonder why your bag felt heavier than usual) and thus, he has the pleasure of accompanying you to your work—something he doesn’t often get the excuse or time to do. 

  Thankfully, Hu Tao didn’t question it when you came to her and said that Zhongli couldn’t come to work for a few days (hopefully just a few days). If anything, she sighed in relief and said something about him finally using his paid time off and sick days. Then thanks you for taking him out of commission??? 

  You pour over some scrolls and papers to try and figure out how to turn Zhongli back, and he hops onto the desk in the study, nuzzling against your arm before sitting down, tail swaying as he joins you in searching for ways to bring him back to you in a more familiar form. Despite how cute he is like this. 

* eri is the collar-flap on the front of a kimono/yukata that crosses over the chest, he's tucked into it and lying on his back. if you know about the nioh cat clock scene, yeah.

* wriothesley is supposed to be a maine coon type of cat, just huge and heavy. but not wild cat huge.

[akimiiyo]

-> JEALOUSY

⌗synopsis : genshin men when they’re jealous.

⌗characters : diluc, kaeya, albedo, zhongli, childe, baizhu, xiao, thoma, ayato, heizou, wanderer, kazuha, tighnari, cyno, alhaitham, kaveh, neuvillette, lyney, dainsleif, dottore, pantalone, capitano, pierro.

⌗cw : gn!reader, not proofread, lowercase intended, probably ooc.

he’s a gentleman, he doesn’t get jealous often because he knows for a fact that he has nothing to worry about. you’ve never done anything that made him feel as if he had to watch out and he’s certain that you never will. although he can still get annoyed at the sight of another man flirting with you. it was his insisting even after you turned him down that angered him the most. nonetheless, he doesn’t let such people interfere with his composure. he’ll act mature and take you somewhere else once he sees that the man has no intentions of leaving you alone. as soon as you both get a moment alone together, however, he won’t hesitate to plant a few more kisses than usual. just in case, y’know?

diluc, zhongli, alhaitham, neuvillette, dainsleif, capitano.

he won’t admit it, but he gets jealous often. he doesn’t want to confront you about it because he believes it’s embarrassing and silly to feel that way. i mean, you’re his and he’s yours. you love him so much, there’s no need to worry, right? yet, he still can’t help but fume at the sight of strangers complimenting you. he can’t blame them, but he still would rather for people to be blind if that meant that they’d leave you alone. he’s aware of how unfair that would be, so he just stays quiet, either sulking or glaring at those people as you offer them a kind smile until you’re both alone where he’ll be needing your utmost attention.

xiao, albedo, thoma, kazuha, kaveh, baizhu.

he’s jealous and he’ll show it. hit on his partner? right in front of him? absolutely not. he might try to keep his calm at first, but as time passes and this scumbag is still around, he won’t hold back. not to worry, he won’t do anything extreme (unless he’s forced to do so), he just wants to make things clear to this guy. he’ll keep it simple at first, simply making subtle comments until he actually starts going straight to the point. after a while, he’ll take your arm and walk away with you, now being angrier than before. the way that guy was talking to him, but especially you, has him furious. be prepared to listen to his angry rant about that random dude. be also prepared to shut him up, you know how.

kaeya, childe, heizou, tighnari, cyno, wanderer, lyney.

this guy almost sees you as his property, his jealousy is unmatched. he won’t take anything lightly. if you’re trying to make advantages on his partner, then you’re asking for it. simple as that! he won’t let anyone think they might have a chance with you because you’re destined to be with him and only him. so obviously, he must make it clear to everybody to not even try. if someone is bold enough though, he’ll just stand beside you, piercing through this man’s soul with his icy gaze. thankfully, nothing ever escalated from that. not that he wouldn’t be capable of doing that, these poor souls simply knew better than to get against someone of that status and reputation.

ayato, dottore, pantalone, pierro.

⌗a/n : im not really proud of this, i might edit it once i have time. it’s 4am and i was supposed to be studying, but i ended up writing this instead. talk about procrastination 😪 let me know if i made any mistakes pls

want to read more? take a look at my masterlist!

©2024 akimiiyo. do not repost, translate, plagiarise, or modify in any way, shape or form.

[devinevirtue]

Tag Dump - Zhongli, Pantalone, Il Drago

╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Zhongli : visage / aesthetic. ╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Zhongli : ic / responses. ╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Zhongli : musings / isms. ╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Zhongli : character studies

╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Pantalone : visage / aesthetic. ╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Pantalone : ic / responses. ╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Pantalone : musings / isms. ╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Pantalone : character studies

╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Il Drago : visage / aesthetic. ╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Il Drago : ic / responses. ╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Il Drago : musings / isms. ╰  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 【☆】 Il Drago : character studies

[chericos]

BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS!

your faves as vampires— multifandom headcanons

fandom list— vnc (the case study of Vanitas), bsd, jjk, mha, one piece, aot, kny, csm, genshin impact (brings back memories…), haikyuu, soul eater, hxh + more!

cws: nsfw?, blood, biting, possessive/yandere themes, dark themes, bites can be used as a sort of aphrodisiac, overstim themes, mentions of bruising, chasing, “hunting”, mentions of being tied/chained up, some are darker than others due to the characters being more inherently “evil”, unedited, you can tell who my favs are, sorry if some are short... tell me if I missed anything!

MDNI

He’s so sweet and kind with you, always ensuring you’re fully prepared to take him. His big rough hands toying and prodding in such a gentle manner that you can’t help but cry out for more. Tears prick the corner of your eyes at his slow pace, you’re not sure how much longer you could keep going like this. His hands trail up and down leaving goosebumps across your skin. His eyes sharpen as he peers down at the junction of your neck. He tilts his head down, inhaling deeply as he drags his tongue up your collarbone. He hovers over your pulse point, sharp fangs grazing the sensitive spot and you shiver at the feeling.

“May I?”

His voice is thick and laced with lust. you feebly nod your head, letting out a small whimper. He hesitates slightly before biting down. It is weak, and only just pierces the skin enough for it to bleed. But what did you expect your hunk of a vampire is just soft.

Maybe a little too soft.

— Izuku, Tamaki, All might, Nighteye, Nanami, Higuruma, Ino, Rengoku, Gyomei, Kunikida, Fukuzawa, Jouno, Atsushi, Roland, Zack Fair, Armin, Shiro, Kunigami, Reo, Kurapika, Cyno, Aether, Gepard, Hinata, Sugawara, Yamaguchi + your fav

Your skin is already littered with bruises and teeth marks. Small beads of blood trickle down your chest and he carefully laps at them. He's been at it for hours, marking you up, making sure whoever dares to look at you knows you belong to him. But who could blame him

Your flesh is so soft and tender between his teeth he can’t help but want to take a bite. It's like you've put him in a trance. His gorgeous girlfriend, who's so eager and pliable to his touch. You were practically made for him. And the sweet sounds you make when he pushes deeper inside of you, it's not his fault your moans are so hypnotizing.

He doesn't normally get so worked up, but you've been riling him up all day. Teasing him with your touches, whispering dirty words into his ear, it's only natural he would break at some point.

He didn’t mean to get rough, but you just tasted so good he couldn’t resist. You won’t blame him… right?

— Xiao, Ayato, Zhongli, Diluc, Alhaitham, Aizawa, Shoto, Shinso, Bakugo, Gojo, Noritoshi, Vanitas, Uzui, Giyuu, Zoro, Akutagawa, Chuuya, Aki, Rin, Isagi, Shidou, Sae, Tobio, Suna, Oikawa, Reno, Leon, Eren, Jean, Levi, Dan Heng, Jing Yuan + your fav

He's so messy.

Spending hours in between your thighs, kissing the supple skin, and also leaving his claim in their place. he's basically eating you alive, bite marks indented in the flesh, and he hasn't even touched you yet. You're whining for him to stop teasing, pleading for him to give you what you want. And who is he to deny?

Arms hooked under your thighs, keeping you in place from thrashing around. He buries his face into you, his nose nudging up against your clit, and the sensation has you jolting. He gives a tentative lick, eyes shooting up to look at your reaction. Your hands nestle into his hair, tugging at the roots as a moan slips out from your lips. And after that, he's ruthless, eating you out like you're a 5-star meal (you are). He's kissing and licking and sucking, and god, whatever the hell he's doing it's making your mind blank.

You don't have it in you to care about how loud you're being, and he doesn't seem to care either. In fact, they seem to encourage him to rip those pretty pretty sounds from you.

“So sweet f’me baby,”

Slick is practically covering the lower half of his face, but he doesn't seem to care. His eyes are blown wide, giving you a dazed out stare as he continues to lap at your core.

This was going to be a long night.

— Noè, Choso, Connie, Luffy, Tighnari, Kazuha, Itto, Kaeya, Leorio, Ranpo, Techou, Tachihara, Cloud, Bachira, Chigiri, Nagi, Kaiser, Aiku, Kuroo, Tanaka, Miya twins, Hizashi, Mirio, Jin, Hawks, Tamaki, Sero, Denki, Kirishima, Sampo, Jiaoqui + your fav

You're such a brat.

You're lucky he still puts up with you after everything you've pulled. He glares down at you, the eye contact making you uneasy. Your mewling and whimpering did nothing to sway him. Your hands are still tied behind your back as his thighs continue to spread your legs open. His hands as roaming your body, squealing and pinching in places that make you jump, before he leaves them to play with your nipples.

His touch is light and teasing, driving you insane. Your nipples harden under his touch, embarrassing sounds escaping your throat as he continues to toy with them. You shove your face into the pillows next to you to muffle them. One of his hands leaves your chest to grip your chin, tilting your head back to stare directly at him. He wants to see every expression you make.

The tension between your legs becomes too much to ignore and you begin to discreetly hump his thigh, desperate for any kind of friction to relieve you. At least you thought you were discreet. You don't far before his hands are off you and he's shoving you away. With teary eyes you stare at him confused, why did he stop you?

You're needy and sensitive and you want him to touch you again. You beg for him to continue, but all he does is let out a low chuckle. He doesn't plan on letting you off the hook so easily. He wants to make sure this stays ingrained in your head so that you'll never make the same mistake again.

Because you're his, and he'll spend every second reminding you of that fact.

— August Ruthven, Sanemi, Iguro, Akaza, Geto, Dazai, Mori, Fukuchi, Shigiraki, Overhaul, Blade, Reiner, (s4) Eren, Feitan, Chrollo + your fav

He doesn't know why you keep trying, why you continue to run away. He doesn't understand whatever false sense of freedom you feel when he lets you out. Did you really think you could outrun him? Oh, how idiotic. If he had it in him he would pity you, so dumb and naive. It seems like you still haven't learned your lesson.

Your wrists and ankles are bound together, chained up to the wall. Tears prick your eyes but you know he won't care. He's leaning over you, peering down at your small form as you keep yanking at the restraints in hopes of being set free. You and he both know it's futile, so why keep fighting?

He grips your arms, sharp claws pinching the skin. Without warning he hastily leans down to sink his teeth into your neck. You scream out and thrash at the pain but he holds you still, makes you take it.

It doesn't take long for the venom to enter your systems, an intoxicating feeling clouding your mind and a strange but familiar heat coursing through your body. Your body tensed, heart-beat picking up as you tried to deny what was happening.

He licked the wound closed before stepping back. his eyes never leaving yours as he watched you squirm as the aphrodisiac set in. You scream at him, curses getting mixed in with small yelps as your body becomes sensitive to your clothes. But he isn't too worried about that. He'll break you one way or another.

And then you'll see that there is no way of escaping him.

— Sukuna, Kenjaku, Muzan, Douma, Fyodor, Dabi + your fav

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FREAKS!

Anyway just another disclaimer: I don't romanticize the actions performed in the last one, idk it just doesn't do anything for me, I also (personally) think it's unhealthy but wtv floats your boat ig!! (I say this like it isn't the longest section) IDK, it was just kinda fun to write, I've been meaning to get into darker themes(I have a Douma fic I've been meaning to write) so I wanted to go all out and see how it felt.

I love writing heacanons, ahhhhhhhh, I probably won't edit these so hopefully they aren't too bad!

@ CHERICOS 2024 all rights reserved do not repost, edit, copy, translate or plagiarise my works

[zhongrin]

drawing series idea titled "smitten" where it's just a series of 'your pov' where a character is staring at you in different day-to-day situations/routines with lovestruck eyes and mayhaps an equally soft smile on their lips.

zhongli smiling at you from across the table while you're both eating out at wanmin; multiple dishes fill the furniture's surface and steam is rising from the hot pot in the center of your table, but the love in his amber eyes are as clear as ever.

al haitham peeking subtly behind his book as you're reading your own choice of literature, his eyebrows relaxed and the corners of his eyes crinkling - it's such a shame that you'll never see him smile behind that academic journal he borrowed from the house of daena just the other day.

jing yuan sleepily looking up at you with that signature grin of his, while his head rests comfortably on your lap, his red ribbon wrapped around your wrist as you play with the white mane of a hair splayed across your thighs.

blade looking down at you from the corner of your eyes as you bandage his arm, half-lidded crimson eyes soft and studying. his expression is as stoic as ever... and yet his ears are slightly reddened behind his bloodstained navy locks.

[tummymoth]

Memoriam Amantis [0]

Chapter 0: Prologue (read on Ao3 here)

Chapter Summary: An introduction to Liyue and the importance of stories. One story in particular has been lost to time, the one about a creature known as háizi, and no one knows why Rex Lapis decided to make her. However, the distant memory of her is still one of comfort and calm.

Additional Info: The dive into Liyue lore is DEEP my friends, the alternative title to this would have been An Old Man and his Pet, Zhongli is referred to as Rex Lapis in this, some angst ahead, slightly post-Archon war

Word Count: 689

Next>

Liyue is a nation of words. 

Contracts are forged between people. The jet-black ink inscribed onto parchment acts as the stitching that binds one to an agreement. Ancient stories of supernatural creatures and yakshas abound. They are brought to life through the written word and flowing prose of her world-renowned storytellers. Everyone knows of golden rivers overflowing with uttered sentences and a history that’s almost as rich as the harbor herself. 

Everyone—at the very least, everyone who proudly calls Liyue home—knows the power and weight of words. Just as they are the thread of each agreement to take place in this nation of commerce, Liyue’s stories are ingrained and sewn into everyday culture and belief. The agony of karmic debt suffered by the yaksha is as sharp as any knife, just as the rumbling rage of being forsaken is felt in every earthquake and landslide.

So many stories to keep alive, and so many lessons to take into life. Despite oh-so meticulous record-keeping and impassioned retellings, it is simply not possible to preserve them all. If the hardest of rock inevitably crumbles under the weight of time, how much faster will word of mouth fade into nonexistence—carried by the wind until it can only be heard in the faint rustling of glaze lilies? 

Perhaps this natural occurrence—the death of delicate things coming much sooner—is why the story of Azhdaha is well-known throughout Liyue and some parts of Teyvat; so much so that the dragon is thought to be Rex Lapis’ sole creation. 

Azhdaha, his body carved by nothing but the chisel in Rex Lapis’ own hands and a craftsmanship born of patience and skill accumulated over millennia. Azhdaha, who was gifted sight by Liyue’s revered Archon. Azhdaha, whose distant bellows shake every tree in Liyue by the root as he rages underground. The dragon’s story is nearly as large as he is, inhabiting space in the minds of many and leaving little room for the tales of other creatures. 

Similarly, Rex Lapis is known for his great feats of strength. Proof of this is in the existence of Guyun Stone Forest—formed by the mighty rock spears he hurled at those who dared to threaten his people and the order he sought to achieve—and in the ruthless tenacity of the yakshas at his command. Stories of a warmongering, brute of a god had spread throughout Teyvat. The name “Godkiller'' overshadowed the praises his people sang about the profound care he held for Liyue that drove him to such actions in the first place. 

Once the dust had settled and the blood spilled during the Archon war had finally seeped into the weeping, scarred soil of Teyvat, it was with this gentle, reverent care of those in his charge that Rex Lapis formed a creature known by an exceedingly minute number in Liyue—and by the rest of Teyvat, even less. Its name lies dormant beneath layers of dust, days, and nights long past, so the little few who know of its existence simply call it Háizi—a name also used as a term of endearment from mother to child through the generations.

None know why Rex Lapis decided to make another creature, but if Azhdaha was a showcase of Rex Lapis’ ability to make a space for life through brute force, Háizi’s was a demonstration of his capacity to notice the smallest of details and fine-tune them as he saw fit.

The common consensus is that this act of creation occurred at Luhua Pool. Malleable clay from the bottom of one of the thermal pools was coaxed into form by hands possessing a firm and gentle patience not even the most skilled potter in Teyvat could ever hope to have. 

The faint memory of such a creature evokes a calm that starts from the chest, not unlike the comforts of freshly brewed tea or bathing in the rising sun after a cold Liyuean night. 

All but one have forgotten its true name and its origins. According to rumor, the holder of this memory goes by Zhongli nowadays. 

Next>

Translations háizi: "little one" in Mandarin

[ollieolliewrld]

Genshin Men in Bed (NSFW)(afab!reader)

What the men of Genshin would be like during sex~ Characters: Alhaitham, Arataki Itto, Neuvillette, Tartaglia, Wriothesley, Zhongli

*CONTAINS SEXUAL CONTENT 18+*

1.8k words

Alhaitham

♡Behind closed doors, this man will use you until you break

♡He loves you very dearly but you have given yourself to him and he will take advantage of that

♡ Tieing you up so that your arms and legs are restrained just so he can toy with your body for hours

♡ He starts with his hands touching and grabbing every part of you avoiding the heat that is growing in between your legs

♡ Teasing you until you are begging for him

♡ Alhaitham drinks in the image of you completely powerless underneath him, begging for his mercy

♡ Slowly he brings his hand to where you need it and slowly beings to play with you

♡ Eye contact is big for him, he is very observant and wants to study the look in your eyes as you feel him enter inside you

♡ He will not let you cum unless you are looking into his eyes

♡ He likes it rough, leaving marks and bruises along your body

♡ They serve as reminders that you belong to him 

♡ Big fan of having mirrors in the bedroom so you can make you watch as he fucks you

♡ Will pull your head back to make eye contact with him in the mirror 

♡ “Look at what a mess you are for me”

♡ You get so flustered and embarrassed it's such a turn-on for him

♡ He loves to whisper things into your ear whether it is in public or in your home the blush that forms on your cheeks sends him into a frenzy

♡ Every reaction he has is calculated and planned, seeing you react so organically is intriguing

♡ He tests you to see your reactions, the gasp when he grabs you from behind, the look in your eyes as he places his hand around your neck, how you lay there intoxicated by pleasure after being played with for hours

Arataki Itto

♡ This man is very eager to please, wanting to make sure you are satisfied at all times

♡ He is a giant puppy ready to do whatever you tell him 

♡ Arataki doesn’t have a preference for who’s in charge

♡ Having you on top of him, your hand on his throat as you ride him

♡ Watching as he struggles to still his hips from thrusting up into you

♡ Hearing him beg you to let him fuck you and making him wait as you slowly roll your hips on top of his

♡ The whines he lets out are music to your ears

♡ When you do let him be in charge he will make sure you have trouble walking the next day

♡ Not even bothering to flip you over he simply lifts you up and thrusts up into you

♡ His strength keeps you stable on your knees as he chases his high

♡ Absolutely loves to go down on you

♡ Gets drunk on having you in his mouth

♡ Addicted to the way you taste, the way to say his name, the feeling of your fingers in his hair

♡ He loves having your juices all over his face making him a glistening mess

♡ Gets turned on when you start to buck your hips against him, using him to get yourself off

♡ He gets off to the thought of you using him for your own pleasure 

♡ You make him watch as you grind on his thigh not letting him touch you 

♡ His length growing hard as he watches your face contort in pleasure

♡ Just wants you to tell him he’s a good boy

♡ He is so eager to fuck you and make you proud of him

Neuvillette 

♡ He wants to have control in the relationship 

♡ Neuvillette wants to keep his work and his personal life separate and does his best to limit how often you visit him at work

♡ He becomes suspicious when you arrive in his office as he has told you coming here was for emergencies only

♡ You tell him that you were lonely and missed him and just wanted to be in his company

♡ All protests he held were dropped when you gave him a pleading look slightly tilting your head 

♡ Doing his best to ignore you he goes back to his work as you wander around looking at the books and papers neatly placed around you

♡ You walk up behind him and start to massage his shoulders and he scolds you for distracting him

♡ Pouting at him and stating that you were just worried he was overworking himself, you go to turn away but he stops you grabbing your wrist and bringing you to sit on his lap 

♡ With your back against his, Neuvillette takes your hips and moves your ass over his crotch making you feel his hardening length

♡ “If you act like a slut, you will be treated like one”

♡ He stands you up and bends you over his desk pulling your pants down and pulling your shirt up to expose your breasts 

♡ He begins to thrust into you letting the stress of his work be lost in the sound of your hips meeting

♡ Grabbing at your chest he brings you to lean against him as he bites the skin of your neck 

♡ Loves the pained moan you let out as his teeth sink into his skin

♡ After this, he begins to invite to his office more regularly 

♡ Gets off on the idea of ravaging you on his desk

♡ Making a mess of something that is supposed to be so professional 

Tartaglia 

♡ Tartaglia loves to ruin you

♡ Make you beg for him, cry for him

♡ Having you under him unable to say anything besides his name

♡ Likes to see how many times he can make you cum before you give up 

♡ Nothing is off limits with him but he heavily prefers to be the one in charge

♡ There’s just something about you being fucked stupid that draws him in 

♡ Fantasies about what he wants to do with you every second he is away from you

♡ Very big on foreplay, wants to have you dripping before he fucks you

♡ He lays you on the bed with his thumb circling your clit as he kisses down your neck

♡ Such a sweet start to a night filled with his using your body until he is satisfied

♡ He can last for hours having you on his cock not letting up in pace as you writhe beneath him

♡ Messes turn him on

♡ If your mascara started to run while you were gagging on his cock or if your hair really got messed up after fucking you this man would lose all senses

♡ It awakens a primal urge in him

♡ Loves to coat you in his cum

♡ On your face, your chest, your ass, your stomach 

♡ Cream pies

♡ Seeing his cum dripping out of you fuels the fire in his chest

♡ He sees it dripping out and uses his fingers to fuck it back into you

♡ “That’s it take it like a good girl”

♡ Having you cum while his cum is inside of you is a wet dream come true for him

♡ Imaging you carrying his child making a family of your own 

♡ Completely understands if you do not want children

♡ But would fuck you like he wanted to fill you every time 

Wriothesley

♡ It goes without saying that you will be wearing his handcuffs at some point

♡ He likes to have them on you as he fucks you from behind holding onto them and using them to move your body with him

♡ Loves to have them on you when he eats you out, knowing that you are somewhat restricted as he sucks on your clit is a turn-on for him

♡ Into roleplaying, you being a criminal who has done some pretty bad things and Wriothesley being… himself… and punishing you by fucking you over his desk

♡ Much like Neuvillette, is turned on by the idea of ruining something that is supposed to be professional 

♡ You have stopped wearing underwear when you go to visit him at work because you will be sitting on his desk with his face between your thighs within the first 10 minutes of being there

♡ Sometimes when he really has to get things done he will have you cockwarm him

♡ Simply sitting on his lap with his cock inside of you as he does his work, scolding you if you try to move your hips

♡ If you behave yourself he will reward you by letting you ride him during a break

♡ He loves to watch you get off on his cock, his gaze falling to where your bodies meet, seeing his cock be enveloped by your tight walls 

♡ At home he likes to take his time with you, sex being a lot more caring and slow

♡ Likes to fall asleep after fucking you with his cock still in you 

♡ He craves physical touch, so much of his life is violence that the loving touches he shares with you mean a lot to him

♡ Having you constantly on him is addicting to him

Zhongli

♡ Loves to tease you

♡ He finds you cooking in the kitchen and comes up behind you wrapping his arms around your waist

♡ You think he is being cute until you feel his hand at the waistband of your shorts

♡ You freeze waiting for his next move 

♡ “Don’t stop my love, pretend I am not here”

♡ As you go back to your dish his hand dips down to between your legs

♡ Slowly he begins to play with your clit as he places soft kisses along your neck and shoulder 

♡ You keep your focus as you add in ingredients trying your best to ignore his actions but the heat between your legs is growing and he feels it

♡ He slips two fingers inside of you with ease taking pride in the gasp you let out as he curls his finger to rub against your g spot

♡ Zhongli begins a brutal pace watching as your knuckles turn white around the spoon

♡ It takes everything in you to stir everything together but when he brings his hand to play with your nipple you can't help but drop the spoon and throw your head back to his chest giving in to the pleasure

♡ He laughs as he reaches in front of you to turn off the flame and then sits you up on the counter

♡ Bringing your legs to wrap around him he lines himself up with your entrance

♡ “You couldn’t handle it? Hmm I suppose you don't get to cum then, pity”

♡ He brings you right to the edge and stops

♡ Seeing the look on your face as you try to move your hips against his brings his satisfaction 

♡ Simply placing a kiss on your lips as he pulls out of you and fixes his clothing

♡ Leaving you to finish what you were doing