Kaeya thoughts part a lot: This is stream of consciousness, not really thought out at all, but I’m making it the tag’s problem anyway because I Can. So. Apologies in advance, this is messy and ridiculous.
Side effect of writing fic about characters with very inconsistent canon personalities, possibly, but I find myself thinking about the choice to have Kaeya’s constellation be the peacock. Especially as I’ve discovered the way I tend to write him is… specific.
From what little I know of birds, (which is very little. I grew up in a kennel, y’all, not a bird run, I can talk Great Danes for days, but I know jack shit about birds besides Pretty and Loud) the eyespots are meant for attracting a mate. This isn’t necessarily relevent, but I do tend to always have shipper lenses on, so it is also…not not-relevant? …moving on.
My silly rabbit hole is more about symbols.
Peacocks are stunning. Bright colors, lots of contrast, a fan of glorious feathers much larger than their bodies, utterly covered in false eyes. They’re meant to be flashy and attention-getting.
But it’s not actually the peacock you’re looking at, is it?
The tail, those false eyes, that’s what you’re looking at when you marvel at a peacock. Not the bird itself. I mean, sure, you might drop your eyes for a moment and coo over the brilliant sapphire feathers on the body, the little fluffy bits around the head, maybe the delicate curve of their neck, or just how tiny their head seems in comparison. But it’s the damn tail that you’re centered on, that you’re supposed to be staring at.
I know it’s hardly revolutionary, but every now and then I just have to sit with the realization that this is exactly what Kaeya, what little we’ve been given, is.
He’s beautiful, he’s bright, he’s carefully cultivated his appearance to be eye-catching. He seems to modify his behaviors and even his voice to keep whoever’s attention he’s after, and then he shifts that attention to exactly where he wants it.
Kaeya as he presents himself is his own tail, his own false, misleading eye. And since you’re looking there, you’re not looking at the smaller parts of him that are Real Kaeya. You’re missing his actual goals or intentions.
Add in the fact that he’s got an eye-patch, the possibility of an otherworldly eye hidden beneath it, add in the various godly Oculus— the god’s eyes scattered throughout Teyvat, the way the visions themselves are also sometimes referred to as gods’ eyes, and it just makes it a little more interesting to me that Kaeya’s ‘destiny’ is represented by an animal known for being covered in gorgeous, attention funneling fake eyes.
Then, of course, there’s other things, like how supposedly peacocks are surprisingly delicate needy idiots, and well. How could he have ever been anything else?
In all fifty billion of my wips, I can’t seem to escape the fact that Kaeya is both the lure and the trap. He’s turned himself into the target, the siren’s call, but in such a way where *his* target never notices the teeth they’ve walked right into. How could they? They’re too busy being lost in beautiful blue eyes that aren’t there.
But, Archons, he wishes someone would find the real one. Just once, and maybe, if he plays his cards right, they’ll keep him close.
11 notes
·
View notes
Sinner's Sacrifice
A/N: Here's part 2 of Bloodied Bonds , i'm going for alliteration in the title hahah. it's a lot shorter than the first part i wish i made it longer but i feel like i was stretching it out i know i know it sucks to wait for parts i really wanted it to only be two parts long but i really had a "my story has it's own ideas" moment T^T. I'm so so sorry towards anyone who thought this would be the last part I can assure you I thought that too. I hope you enjoy <3
Summary: As Azriel struggles to navigate a situation where he could lose you no matter what he chooses, take a look into his own heart.
Pairing: Azriel x Reader, Rhysand x Sister!Reader
Warnings: Elain slander, dying, self-sacrificing thoughts
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
Azriel had lost count of how many hours it had been since he had threatened to eventually murder Elain.
And he was losing damned mind.
Every single day he had sat in the chair beside your sleeping form….you were breathing, which was an improvement from the heaving and choking in your sleep that alarmed Madja enough to order the inner circle to start taking turns watching over you. Madja believed that your condition improved because he was finally turning away from Elain, but that was what the bond sensed. Without your mind, your own belief to ensure your heart, your condition was bound to deteriorate again.
And yet you could not wake up so he could explain.
So he could apologise.
So he could beg for your forgiveness.
Everyday without making the decision to let Madja just remove the roots of the flowers seemed like a gamble, but after what had been discovered, what Cassian had caught Elain doing, the entire inner circle was not sure if it would be better to let your relationship go, or let you go.
Both scenarios, Azriel would lose.
In both situations, Azriel would lose you forever and a part of him felt like maybe he deserved it. If you ever woke up, ever wanted revenge to make him feel guilty for what had been done, regardless the fact that it had been out of his control, you would have gotten it in spades when he realised that his ignorance, his belief that he could help just one more person, his blindness to the Elain’s darkness, had caused him a situation that would cost him no matter what he did.
And in that, all he could do daily was hold your hand, and weep.
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
“Go shower Azriel. It’s been three days,” Cassian said softly. The shadowsinger merely moved his head to gaze at his friend who leaned against the door frame. Not out of habit but because he genuinely needed the support. Azriel saw the eyebags under Cassian’s eyes, his tired exhausted expression not far from the one Azriel wore.
When Azriel simply shook his head, bringing his gaze back to his mate, not wanting to move another muscle, Cassian groaned.
“Azriel she won’t die within the time it takes you to take a quick bath, please, you need it,” However, Azriel once again did not move, this time not even deigning Cassian a response. The latter simply sighed before making his way towards Rhys’s office, pushing the door open to see Rhysand surrounded by various books, piles of them in the corner, some of them discarded with pages torn out.
“Rhys…?” Cassian knocked on the slightly ajar door.
Violet eyes met Cassian’s hazel ones and Rhys simply let out a breath before standing, checking the time by glancing at the window behind him, “Ah…it’s dark….I did not notice,” He simply stated awkwardly, moving to gather up some of the books from his desk, no doubt to bring it with him to his and Feyre’s room to further study until the waking hours of the next morning.
It broke Cassian’s heart to see his brothers in such a state.
Broke his own heart to see you lying there completely unconscious, every few days needing Madja to extract flowers from your throat.
The women of the house had isolated themselves to their own rooms. Mor came to your room every few hours to check on you however she stayed in her room surrounded by a similar book pile as Rhys, trying to consult her own oracles of truth to see if they had any answers. Amren had gone over to the summer court with Varian to see if they had any records that the Night Court did not, Nesta looked through the libraries with the priestesses, passing anything she found that may be useful to Feyre who scanned through them.
All this and nothing.
They had come up short.
Contacting Thesan, Helion, even Tamlin to see if there was any connections of the disease to the spring court, had come to nothing. No answers. No solutions.
Finally, as Cassian rounded the corner of the house he entered the room they had been keeping Elain in. There she was chained to the ground staring at the wall. For a moment Cassian would have felt bad for how hollow she looked, however his guilt was quickly swallowed by the anger he felt for what she had done to cause your current state.
“I see how you can help her…” Elain suddenly said, her eyes flitting to Cassian, “When minds connect, when you travel through souls,” She hummed before continuing to fiddle with the hem of her dress. Her cheeks were sunken in and hollow, her eyes now held a sharp and piercing stare instead of the soft glint. For once, Elain Archeron’s true colours were on full display.
At her words however, Cassian froze, his tone dropping to a dangerous timbre, “Do you know how to save Y/N,” Elain hummed, “I’ll tell you….for a price.”
“Do you really think that you are in a position to bargain?”
“She’s running out of time isn’t she?”
Cassian bit down on his tongue, hard. Storming out of the room he slammed the door shut, letting out a pained and frustrated roar.
Elain knew. Or at least there was a possibility that she knew. However, her calm demeanour and unflinching attitude showed Cassian no signs of lies. She knew how to save you but she wanted something out of it.
With a silent prayer, Cassian swore to himself he’d find the way to save you even if he had to pry it out of the memories in Elain’s dead body.
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
“So she knows how to save my sister,” Rhys confirmed, Cassian nodded, “That’s what she claims. If she’s lying then she’s damned good at it, however she’s suggesting a bargain, I didn’t pry into the details she was thinking of.”
Not without Rhysand himself present.
Not without Azriel.
The three brothers looked at each other, Azriel’s hand was holding yours, had been holding yours since Rhysand and Cassian had come into the room saying that they had something to discuss.
“We should ask her what she wants,” Azriel muttered softly, his voice hoarse and raspy from not using it for a while.
“And if she asks for your hand?” Cassian challenged, “Then we’ll find a way to break the bargain like how Feyre and Rhysand did, but for now our focus is to save her.”
It was then Rhysand recognised his brother for once after all this time, the shadow singer who would do anything to keep you safe, the self-sacrificing spy master who would sacrifice himself, his choices just to save you.
“Let’s go then,” Rhysand concluded, standing from his stool, Cassian pushed off the wall he had been leaning against and Azriel graced the back of your hand with a soft kiss before standing, casting you one last glance before following his brothers out. Nesta replaced Azriel’s position on the stool, promising the shadow singer to keep watch of you until he returned.
Following his brothers down the hallway, Azriel’s mind flooded with memories of sneaking down these halls to get away with you, memories of coming home and seeing you in the hallway, collapsing into your loving arms. Thoughts of your love and you consumed him and he shuddered under the weight of his own grief.
He could not lose you.
He would not lose you.
And so as Azriel stepped into the room of Elain’s captivity, levelling her with a glare, inside Azriel knew that he would sacrifice anything just to hold you.
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
A/N: please reply if you want to be tagged in part 3 people tagged in part 2 will not be tagged again in part 3 unless they ask in replies. Thank you <3
Azriel taglist: @kemillyfreitas @going-through-shit @chessebookgirl @helloworlditsmesblo (please ask if you want to be added to AZRIEL'S taglist - this is NOT the same as part 3 taglist)
571 notes
·
View notes