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#and xiao jumps into action at once because he thinks it’s an assassin
merakiui · 3 years
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Hi Meraki! Orchid here. Last night I was in a fantasy mood and had this reader idea with Albedo. Imagine reader finding an abandoned castle and going to explore it. After getting inside and walking around, she finds the ballroom and starts dancing to a melody in her head. For a while she was alone until a gloved hand gently takes hers and she turns to see Albedo joining in. As they danced, she's thinking "who is he? A human? A phantom? I was sure I was alone." not yan, purely fairytale setting.
Omg I love this idea!! What if he was trapped in that castle somehow? Or maybe he lives there and the castle only looks shiny and new when night falls! To outsiders it appears like an old, eroded structure that has crumbled under the wear of time and the weather. But as soon as the sun sets, the castle becomes beautiful and its residents are free to dance in the sparkling ballroom and enjoy the glorious night. You just happen to have a penchant for stumbling upon unique sites and Albedo is in need of some company (and a dance partner, of course)!
I would also like to share a fantasy idea that randomly came to me one day. Imagine you’re royalty and are engaged to the Wind Prince (Venti). The two of you are always getting into trouble and finding new ways to have fun inside the palace walls. You’re not too worried about what will happen after Venti is crowned king and you’ll have to focus on the boring and political aspects that come with being a ruler. You choose to live in the present and everything seems to be going swell. You’re happy with Venti!
But then the Wind Prince vanishes without a trace one evening and it throws the palace into utter chaos. No one knows where he disappeared to. Is he safe? Did he run away? Was he kidnapped? Are you going to receive a letter demanding ransom for the safe return of your prince? It’s very stressful. The knights are sent to scour the kingdom for the missing prince and are told to keep the search under wraps as to not alarm the citizens.
Yet there’s no sign of Venti. You might be engaged to him, but you’re also his closest friend. So it’s only normal that you’d be distraught with worry. As the days pass and Venti has yet to be found, it becomes harder to hide the fact that he’s missing. The last thing the royals need is widespread panic among the common folk. So in order to keep face and snuff any rumors that might’ve formed, a stand-in prince is selected. And who might that be?
Xiao, the diligent knight who has been loyal to the royal family ever since he was freed from his rough life on the streets. He bears some resemblance to Venti, mainly his height and hair color. Other than that, he’s a completely different person. And unlike Venti, who is well-versed in royalty, Xiao is not. He’s solely accustomed to the tough life of a knight who has fought in battles and has garnered countless wounds and scars. Xiao does not know how to act like a prince. He can be dressed in the finest of clothes and his hair can be styled to mimic Venti’s, but that doesn’t make him a true prince.
Of course he’s irritated when he’s forced to halt his duties as a knight and learn the ways of a prince. He’s never known what it’s like to be at the top of the social pyramid, where he isn’t looked down upon by aristocrats and is instead treated like an equal. Xiao makes for an awkward prince. He’s skilled in combat, but he has no clue how to be social at extravagant events or put on a convincing princely act.
But you’re there to help him! When he fails to adhere to royal customs and is always on edge, ready to defend you should danger arise, you easily come to his aid. He’s not to be seen by the public eye and is only meant to stand at your side while you take care of the rest. His appearance is hidden so that no one will get suspicious. Xiao won’t verbalize it, but he’s relieved that you’re so understanding and kind. Despite his standoffish and serious nature, which often comes off as intimidating, you aren’t bothered by it and are more than happy to assist him.
He claims he doesn’t need any help, but it’s painfully obvious that he’s struggling to understand the effort that goes into being a prince.
And the more time he spends with you as the fake Wind Prince the more he gets to know the true you—not the royal who forces a smile just to please the others. He’s not sure what he’s feeling when you open up to him about your fears for the future and whether or not Venti will ever come back. Maybe it’s just his instincts as a knight, which compel him to keep you safe even as he acts as Prince Venti. Nevertheless, he softens up when he’s around you and it allows you to see a new side of the usually cold and distant Knight Xiao.
Somehow you’ve found a new friend despite this undesirable situation and it makes things a little less scary. But the fact still remains that Venti is missing and you and Xiao have no idea where he could be.
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yellowcanna · 3 years
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Promise of a Lifetime
Summary:
“Where have you been, Xiao?! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Hu Tao shouted, grabbing Xiao’s hand and dragging him into the parlour where Zhongli was waiting.
“Master,” Xiao dipped his head towards Zhongli who was standing there looking at him…apologetically?
Xiao instantly had a bad feeling, and that feeling came true when Hu Tao went on a ramble about how they received a huge sum of mora. The green-haired youth gritted his teeth and took a deep breath in an attempt to stay calm.
“Young master,” he stopped the girl who wasn’t getting anywhere other than mora. “These mora you mentioned…were they by chance given by Tartaglia?”
“Yep!” Hu Tao answered cheerfully, not the slightest bit ashamed in admitting that she had once again sold Xiao to the bastard.
The corner of Xiao’s lips twitched, but he controlled himself as to not show any form of disrespect towards Hu Tao and Zhongli.
“May I ask what is requested of me this time?”
“Simple! You just have to attend a party as his lady partner!”
Xiao was going to kill Tartaglia.
[AU where the gods and adepti are humans in Teyvat and Xiao was a former assassin of the Abyss Order]
Genre: Fluff, Canon Divergence, hurt/comfort, touched-starved, Enemies to friends to lovers, shounen-ai
Rating: T
Pairing: Childe/Xiao
Author: Canna / Yellow Canna
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Available on AO3!!
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It was a bright sunny day in Liyue Harbour.
The green-haired youth sat on the open windowsill with one leg propped up and his elbow resting upon his knee. His bright, cobalt yellow eyes gazed out to the endless blue sky without a speck of cloud.
He closed his eyes when a warm breeze blew by, carrying the scent that was exclusive to Liyue. Feeling something settling down onto his elbow, he opened his eyes and was greeted by a little brown sparrow. The tiny bird chirped and hopped around his arm. Xiao didn’t move. He quietly observed the bird jumping all over him. And then, the serenity was ruined by the sound of footsteps before the door was rudely opened without any knocks.
The sparrow squawked and flew away while the youth heaved out an irritated breath.
“I figured you’d be here, Xiao!” A cheerful voice greeted, but the youth on the windowsill didn’t move.
He stared at the sky, determined to ignore the nuisance behind him.
The intruder didn’t mind the silent treatment. He sat down by the table at the center of the room where there was a teapot and a cup of half-drunken tea that had already gone cold. He picked up the ceramic cup and drank the remaining content.
That earned some reaction from the youth who glanced over his shoulder, eyes narrowing.
“The master is away,” Xiao finally spoke. Although he tried to keep his voice indifferent like he usually does, there was a mild irritation which the other man was keenly able to pick up.
“I know,” the man smiled around the rim of the cup before setting it back onto the table. He reached for the teapot and poured himself some more tea. “I’m not here for Mr. Zhongli.”
“Young master Hu is away as well.”
“I’m not here for your young master either,” the brunet took a small sip on the hot tea and frown. “I don’t get why the people of Liyue prefer hot drinks when their climate is so warm. Wouldn’t cold tea be more convenient?”
Xiao didn’t respond and turned his attention back to the outside. Instead of looking at the sky, he was now eyeing the street below.
“Hey now, don’t be so eager to leave!” The man chuckled, easily seeing through what Xiao was thinking. “Aren’t you at least curious what I came here for?”
“No.”
“You’re no fun,” the man lamented with a soft sigh. “Someone is after my life.”
“I see,” Xiao turned around to fully face the man. “The Wangsheng Funeral Parlour will accept to host your funeral. Come back once you've brought the necessary funds.”
“Hahaha!” The man laughed. “Looks like staying in this old place has rubbed off on you! I didn’t think I would ever hear you crack a joke!”
Xiao just stared at the man impassively.
“Fine, I’ll get to the point. I need your help.”
“I refuse.”
“Aw, don’t be like that!” He pleaded. “Help a friend out.”
“I don’t recall ever being friends with you.”
“How could you say that after all of our bonding time?”
Xiao’s brow twitched upon remembering what this man viewed as bonding time. This man would keep pestering him, keep pushing his buttons, keep crossing the boundaries until Xiao couldn’t take it anymore and in the end, they would always clash with their blades.
Xiao could still clearly recall his first meeting with the man around this time last year.
As an envoy from Snezhnaya and one of the Eleven Harbingers—Queen Tsaritsa’s Royal Knights, this man known as Tartaglia was a formidable opponent.
The first time Xiao met this man was through his saviour and master, Zhongli. Xiao knew little about the world of business, so Zhongli brought him outside to see the world.
When Xiao first laid his eyes on the Harbinger with ochre brown hair, he knew he wouldn’t get along with him and he was right. The next time they met, this man came up to him and brought up his past.
This envoy from another nation had dug his claws deep into Liyue and pulled out a secret that was meant to be buried, and that was the Yaksha.
For as long as Xiao could remember, he was already walking within the darkness—chained and broken. Perhaps there had been a time when he was freed, but it was a time he couldn’t remember anymore. With a slave mark engraved into his soul, Xiao was powerless against the creature he was forced to acknowledge as master. Without his master's command, he couldn't even take his own life.
The Abyss Order was the name of the organization and Xiao was one of their few human slaves that survived. Since young, Xiao was trained to become an assassin and spy so that the Abyss Order can keep their eyes on each nation. Because he was originally from Liyue, that was where they assigned him to. Due to the demon mask he wore whenever in a battle or assassination, he was given the name of the Yaksha by the citizens of Liyue as a symbol of their fears and hatred.
Xiao could no longer remember how many people he had killed. All he knew was that two years ago, all seven nations combined their powers to finally rid Teyvat of the Abyss Order. During that battle, Xiao was naturally called upon the battlefield where he met Zhongli.
Though the man claimed to be a councillor from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, he was in reality part of the Qixing. Zhongli was the only person who saw through the slave mark binding Xiao and freed him from the chains that had bound him for so long instead of slaughtering him like the rest of the Abyss Order.
The name Xiao was the new identity given to him and since then, Xiao had settled within the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour.
Xiao never understood why Zhongli would go through so much trouble when it was easier to kill him. Even though Xiao may not want to be saved, he was nevertheless grateful for the man’s kindness—as well as Hu Tao’s for giving him a place to stay. Xiao was never one to take anything for granted. Since they extended their kindness to him, he must repay them.
It was as simple as that.
A year following that battle, he tried to live putting the past behind him, yet talks of the Yaksha would still be heard from time to time. There were still people investigating the origin of the Yaksha, for that the demon mask in Xiao’s possession oddly resembled the mask of an ancient clan of exorcists that was annihilated twenty years ago.
Though Xiao heard the rumours, he never bothered to investigate the truths behind it because it did not matter anymore. That clan was no more and even if there were survivors, Xiao doubted they would accept him—especially when he was the one who had killed so many of these exorcists during his time in the Abyss Order.
For a whole year, Xiao’s real identity was only known to Zhongli. Not even the other Qixing or Hu Tao knew about his identity.
No one had ever linked the Yaksha to Xiao.
No one but the Eleventh Harbinger, Tartaglia.
Tartaglia had found out about Xiao’s identity as the Yaksha and confronted him at Tianqiu Valley when Xiao was sent there on a task. He even used his identity to provoke Xiao. Enraged by the man’s action, Xiao drew his spear for the first since the battle that ended the Abyss Order.
Xiao had gone all out, even donning the mask Zhongli had specifically told him not to bring out. Tartaglia had put on a mask of his own, wielding both Vision and Delusion. The whirlwind summoned by Xiao’s power mixed with the violent rain and lightning from Tartaglia created a storm Liyue had never seen before.
Had Zhongli not arrived in time to stop their fight, one of them would surely die that night.
The third time they met was two days after when the man waltzed into his room as though nothing had ever happened. Needless to say, another fight broke out between them and half of the parlour was blown apart.
Hu Tao was hysterical when she returned to find the second floor of the parlour completely gone. However, that matter was swiftly settled when the Fatui shamelessly offered to reconstruct the entire building and even expanding it as compensation.
Since then, whenever Tartaglia dropped by, the young master would look at Xiao with stars in her eyes, desperately hoping for the two to start another fight.
As much as Xiao tried not to, he was still provoked into stabbing the man on multiple occasions. Each time something within the parlour was destroyed, Tartaglia would pay for it. Eventually, this became a pattern and Xiao’s fight became the highest source of income for Wangsheng Funeral Parlour.
“Leave, I have no interest in fighting with you.”
“I’m not here for a fight this time.” The brunet rested his chin into his palm. “I need your help, Xiao Xiao~”
“Do not call me that,” Xiao gritted.
“But you let the young master call you that—Ah! Wait, wait!” He called when Xiao had already gotten up, crouching on the windowsill and preparing to jump out any moment. “I got information that someone is plotting against me and there’s a high chance of assassination. Unfortunately, the mastermind’s identity is covered up pretty well so my men are having trouble locating them. I want to hire your help as a former assassin.”
“I reject.” With that, Xiao leaped out the window and was gone in a gust of wind.
Knowing how persistent that man could be, Xiao took his time strolling around the outskirt of the city. It wasn’t until the sky became completely dark and the lanterns on the street lighting up that he returned to the parlour.
“Xiao Xiao!”
What greeted him when he stepped through the front door was the excited young master of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour—Hu Tao. The raven-haired girl ran up to him, eyes sparkling in a way that Xiao long learned to be wary of.
“Young master Hu,” he greeted politely with a bow.
“Where have you been, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” She gasped, grabbing Xiao’s hand and dragging him into the lobby.
“Master,” Xiao dipped his head towards Zhongli when he spotted him standing there looking at him…apologetically?
Xiao immediately had a bad feeling, and that feeling came true when Hu Tao went on a ramble about how they received a huge sum of mora. The green-haired youth gritted his teeth and took a deep breath in an attempt to stay calm.
“Young master,” he stopped the girl who wasn’t getting anywhere other than mora. “These mora you mentioned…were they given by Tartaglia?”
“Yep!” Hu Tao answered proudly, not even the slightest bit ashamed in admitting that she had once again sold Xiao to the Fatui.
The corner of Xiao’s lips twitched, but he controlled himself as to not show any form of disrespect towards Hu Tao and Zhongli.
“May I ask what is requested of me?”
“Oh, that’s easy! You just have to attend a party as his lady partner!”
Xiao was going to kill Tartaglia.
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Xiao sat in front of the mirror and stared at his own reflection. He fixed the Glazed Lily ornaments on the left side of his hair before picking up a piece of red Silk Flower paper and smeared the colour onto his lips.
He put on the pair of emerald earrings, slipping them through the earholes which he had not used for a long time. He then picked up the pair of black satin gloves on the table and slipped them on. The long gloves reached to his elbows, leaving his upper arms bare.
Xiao skillfully wrapped a piece of thin red string around his Vision before tying the string around his neck, creating a necklace. He tucked the necklace under his cloth with his vision hidden under the fake chest he made.
He buttoned up his top and closed the collar over his throat to conceal the budge on his throat that woman would not have. Once he was done, he stood up and headed for the door. His elaborate green and black qipao with Ameno pattern flowed down to his ankles and each time he took a step, the qipao would flutter, splitting at his hip showing off his long, milk-white legs.
“Eeeh? Why can’t I go in?” Xiao heard the familiar whine of Hu Tao from outside his door.
“Xiao said he can dress on his own, young master Hu,” the deep voice of Zhongli’s explained.
“But what is he needs help? And do you really think he would put it on? For all we know, he could have already shredded it and—”
Xiao opened the door. The raven-haired girl who was facing Zhongli spun around on her heels, mouth already open to say something, but her voice never came out. She stood there, her eyes as wide as her open mouth as she gawked at Xiao.
“Xiao Xiao?!”
Xiao heaved out a sigh and let the girl inspected him. He looked over to Zhongli and bowed respectfully. “Master.”
“You look beautiful, Xiao,” Zhongli complimented with Hu Tao hurriedly nodding in agreement before her eyes fell to the B-cup swell around the man’s chest.
If possible, her eyes widened even more and she reached out both hands to start groping them.
“T-they feel so real…!” She gasped in awe as she squeezed and kneaded the softness on Xiao’s chest. “Don’t tell me…Xiao Xiao you’re actually a—”
“It’s made with condensed slime,” Xiao deadpanned, not even wanting to hear the rest of that sentence. He took a step back and angled his body away so he could save his fake chest from her devilish hands.
“Ahem…young master Hu,” Zhongli coughed into his hand. “I believe Childe has been waiting long enough.”
“Huh? Oh! That’s right!” Hu Tao clapped her hands together. “That guy’s already waiting for you in the lobby and—oh, shoes! Let me get your shoes!”
The girl rushed off and came back with a pair of black heels with the same Ameno pattern that matched the qipao. Xiao slipped his feet into the shoes, finding it odd how well it fitted, just like this dress. At first, he thought these clothes were something Hu Tao prepared, but considering her personality, that now seemed highly unlikely.
Zhongli couldn’t have prepared these for him either, since if it was Zhongli, he would have bought all the clothes the store had to offer and piled them into Xiao’s room.
“Young master Hu, may I ask where you got these garments?”
“Oh, Childe gave them to me!” Hu Tao said happily and immediately veins started to stick out from beneath Xiao’s pale skin.
To the side, Zhongli lightly shook his head.  
With another bow to the two, Xiao headed for the lobby, his heels clicking as he went.
As he was descending the stairs, he spotted Tartaglia in the lobby, dressed in the same clothes as usual. Hearing the sounds of heels, Tartaglia looked up and froze. For a split second, the man was taken back, looking completely stunned, but he recovered the next moment with a weirdly serious look on his face.
That made Xiao’s step slowed just a little. He had expected the man to come up to him and tease him, but not eye him with such stoic expression. Xiao kept his face blank and finally arrived in front of the taller man.
He crossed his arms, waiting for the other to speak.
He waited for five long seconds and Tartaglia still didn’t say anything. Instead, the man turned to the attendant that was beside him.
“Bring the good.”
The attendant looked a bit dumbfounded at first, but when he realized what his master was asking for, he hesitated.
“But Master, that’s the gift for—”
“Do I need to repeat myself?” Azure blue eyes narrowed dangerously. In an instant, the attendant bowed down and hastily excused himself.
Xiao watched the man ran out and came back only seconds later with a beautiful ice blue box. From the unusual design on the box as well as the material, the green-haired youth knew it was a box crafted from Snezhnaya.
The attendant presented the box to Tartaglia who opened it up to reveal snow-white fur within.
“This is made by the pelts of the snow foxes that dwell within the mountain of Snezhnaya,” Tartaglia explained, pulling out the long white fur with great care. The pelt sparkled under the lighting and even looked as though it was emitting breathes of coldness from its origin.
Tartaglia ran his fingers over the pelt before he walked up to Xiao and wrapped the pelt around his shoulders and over his forearms. The rest of the pelt flowed down his side, the soft fur tickling his exposed hips and stopping just a couple inches below his knees.
Xiao was stunned by the man’s act. His previous anger was forgotten the moment the fur touched his skin. Never in his life had he ever felt something as soft as this. He looked down at the pelt hung around his arms, able to feel the strange coolness seeping into his skin despite how fur was known to do the opposite.
From how stiff the attendant was standing behind Tartaglia plus his previous behaviour, Xiao could tell that this pelt was meant to be for someone else.
“Master, then the gift…” the attendant began meekly.  
Tartaglia spared the man a sideways glance and waved him off. “Just replace it with something else in the treasury.”
Tartaglia looked over Xiao up and down as his hands reached for Xiao’s face. Xiao stood still, watching the man warily as those hands disappeared from his vision and he felt his earrings being removed. The brunet didn’t say anything. He took off the right earring first, then the left one.
After that, he tossed the two earrings to the attendant and reached up to remove his red earring hanging off his left earlobe. Xiao was quiet the entire time, even when the man leaned over him and slipped his earring through Xiao’s ear.
“Does it hurt?” Tartaglia suddenly asked.
“…No,” Xiao replied, feeling the weight of the new earring before looking up at Tartaglia. How odd of the man to question him such a thing considering how many times they left each other injured after a fight.
“Good!” Tartaglia wrapped his arm around Xiao’s elbow and pulled him outside where the carriage was waiting. “Then let us depart!”
The ride in the carriage was quiet.
Xiao was always one to enjoy the silence, yet silence with Tartaglia was never a normal thing. He glanced over to Tartaglia who was blatantly staring at him which made Xiao shift in self-consciousness.
“If you have something to say, just say it.” Xiao finally said after a long while.
“Hm…” Tartaglia hummed, eye drifting down Xiao’s form then shifting back up to meet the other's irritated gaze. “I thought you would at least try to punch me by now.”
“Because you made me dress as a woman?” Xiao huffed, turning his head away and stared out the window. “I am not unfamiliar with such disguises.”
“Past experience?”
“…Due to my build and face, I was required to dress as a woman many times to approach my targets.”
“I see…” Tartaglia’s voice was quiet and distant, yet there was no form of pity or sadness in that voice. It was the one reason why Xiao always found himself comfortable with talking to this man about his past.
That and the fact that even if he didn’t say anything, this man will dig it out anyway.
“What did they do?”
“Surely you don’t need me to answer that,” Xiao said dryly.
The Snezhnayan did not try to pry anymore, because he knew the answer. While it was obvious these people could never get far because Xiao wasn’t a real girl, some level of intimacies were still inevitable.
“You look gorgeous.”
Xiao glanced back at the man with narrowed eyes. The distrust in those golden orbs was as clear as day.
“I’m serious,” Tartaglia chuckled before his smile fell again. “More than I ever thought you’d be. I’m just disappointed. These clothes don’t fit you at all.”
“What do you mean?” Xiao bristled lightly at what he assumed was an insult.
“For one thing, they pale compared to your beauty,” Tartaglia lamented. He reached out and pinched his fingers around the tail of the fur. “Even the finest fur of Snezhnaya failed to match up to you.”
“Enough with your empty flattery.” Xiao shot the man a sharp glare. “How did you know my size for the dress and shoes?”
“How many times do you think we’ve fought?” The man laughed. “I’m a keen observer! I’ve memorized how your body moves in order to predict your next attack. Knowing your size is hardly anything special.”
Xiao didn’t believe that kind of explanation, but he didn’t bother trying to find out the real answer and instead got down to business. “I assume the one after your life will be attending the party?”
“Yeah, most likely.” Tartaglia nodded. “I have a few suspicions, but I can’t be certain yet. As an assassin, I like to hear your input.”
“You’ve hardly given me any information for me to have opinions.” Xiao crossed his arms and looked back out the windows. “But…I can think of some methods they may use. Halfway through the party, find an excuse to leave me alone and I will identify the perpetrator for you.”
“How dependable!” Tartaglia clapped. “But if you’re alone, you’ll need to talk. Can you take up that task?”
Xiao’s brow twitched, but he softly cleared his voice and spoke in a higher-pitched voice, “naturally.”
It was a beautiful sound with no signs of forced or strained as fake voices generally have. If Tartaglia hadn’t heard this voice coming out of the apathetic man before him, he would have believed the voice to be a real woman’s. He laughed, looking thrilled and extremely interested at how Xiao was able to change his voice like that, but the former assassin was done humouring him.
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the dock where Xiao saw people dressed in fancy clothes being escorted onto a ship. So the party will be in the sea…
Xiao was now a hundred percent certain the assassins would come for Tartaglia after they return to land. With this, Xiao was now certain what kind of method they would use to take Tartaglia down, but decided to keep that to himself. Tartaglia hired him for protection, so he will fulfil it to the contract.
The door to the carriage opened. Tartaglia stepped out first before turning to Xiao and offered his hand. Xiao didn’t hesitate to reach for his hand. He placed his hand upon the larger one like a woman would and allowed himself to be guided out. Once standing side to side, he wrapped both of his hands around Tartaglia’s arm and pressed his body close to the man.
Tartaglia’s attendant was already waiting there. At the sight of his boss, he hurried over and presented the same fancy box that once contained the fox pelt. The Harbinger opened the box a little, taking a quick glimpse inside and snapped it shut.
“It will do,” he said, putting on his smile and led Xiao towards the boat.
At the appearance of the young handsome man with a beautiful female companion, eyes were automatically drawn towards them and whispers of the pair began to travel. Neither of the two at the center of this attention cared as they boarded the ship after Tartaglia showed the guards his invitation.
With the sun long set into the sea, the ship was lit with large lanterns, brightening the dock with waiters walking around carrying beverages. When Tartaglia made his appearance, these people swarmed towards him like bees to honey. As the Harbinger who oversaw all the Snezhnaya banks across the nations and establishes trades, Tartaglia has made quite a name for himself in the business world.
Every merchant in Liyue knew about him and was all too eager to establish a relationship with him. That and there was also the fact that the female companion he brought was simply breathtaking. Many men ogled Xiao, though none dared to look too long in fear of being discovered.
With Xiao latched onto Tartaglia’s side and Tartaglia taking control of any conversations that came their way, the green-haired youth didn’t need to participate in any of the interactions. While pretending to not care about everything around him, Xiao was cautiously eyeing their surroundings and checking on all the people that came up to talk to Tartaglia.
The boat has now set off into the sea and the host of the party was making a long speech on the stage.
Xiao was staring at a group of people talking not far from then when a glass of wine came into his vision.
“I don’t drink,” Xiao said quietly, keeping his voice low so no one would overhear.
“Try it, you’ll like it.”
Xiao frowned but knew this man would probably keep pestering him if he didn’t. He took the glass by the stem, swirling the fluid inside around to release the aroma. He took a small whiff before putting the glass against his lips and tilted his head back to take in the fluid.
There was a very unusual taste in the wine—one that was foreign to Xiao.
“I told you you’ll like it,” Tartaglia said with a knowing grin. “It’s Dandelion wine from Mondstadt.”
“…I prefer not to drink, especially during work.” Xiao handed the glass back to the man.
Tartaglia chuckled, bringing the glass to his lips—exactly over where Xiao’s mouth had touched—and took an elegant sip.
Once the speech was over, the guests started to go up one by one to hand their gifts to the host of the party. It was then that Xiao—having not paid any attention to the speech, realized that this was a birthday event.
“Come now,” Tartaglia wrapped his arms around his waist and guided Xiao up the stage where he had his attendant offer their present. “A small gift from Snezhnaya, for the beautiful Madame Zhang.”
The attendant opened the box to reveal a large green gemstone that Xiao had never seen before.
“Oh my!” The woman who Xiao assumed was Madame Zhang gasped at the sight of the gemstone. “Such beautiful emerald! This is the first time I’ve seen one in such quality!”
“We offer you only the best, for you are the star of tonight,” Tartaglia replied smoothly. 
“That is very thoughtful of you, master Childe,” Madame Zhang giggled while her servant took the box and set it aside with the other ones. “Though I believe that there is a lady that shines brighter than any stars or emeralds I’ve seen. What is your name, young miss?”
“I am Xiao, Madame Zhang.” Xiao dipped his head and spoke in his fake voice. “It is an honour of mine to be invited to your party.”
“You two sure make a lovely couple.” Madame Zhang hid her smile behind her paper fan. “Reminds me of when I was in my youth!”
“What are you talking about, Madame? You’re still in your youth.” Tartaglia commented, earning another round of giggles from the old Madame.
They left the stage soon after, making room for others to step up.
After all the guests had their turns presenting their gifts, the party resumed.
More people came to speak with Tartaglia and Tartaglia politely spoke back while making lighthearted jokes. When one man came up to the Harbinger and requested on speaking to him about business ideas and proposal for the bank, Xiao knew this was a chance.
Just as he thought, Tartaglia smoothly accepted the man’s request to talk privately.
After telling Xiao to wait here for him, he walked away with the man to discuss the matter somewhere more private and away from the rest of the people. He didn’t go too far on the deck, but far enough where the light of the lantern did not reach. Many people took notice of the two men’s distance, but the people that gathered here are high in social status. They all knew better than to walk in or interrupt a private conversation.
Xiao stood by the banquet table with his arms crossed and eyes closed, acting disinterested in everything that was happening around him—which was not so much of an act.
With Tartaglia gone from his side, men around began to openly stare at him. Many had the desire to approach him, but the cold aura Xiao was emitting created a barrier that only few dared to cross.
Those who managed to gather enough courage to speak to Xiao always ended up walking away seconds later, discouraged by the lack of conversation yet they dared not to bad mouth him due to him being Tartaglia’s companion.  
“Miss, I couldn’t help but notice you are alone,” another man said, walking up to Xiao as though he did not notice all the other men that were sent away. “If I may have the pleasure—”
Xiao just turned his head and tune the man out. After a long minute of not receiving any response and being ignored, the man walked away defeated like many others.
Just as Xiao was getting tired of these useless people trying to approach him, a glass of wine came into his vision. It was a familiar sight, except the glass of wine was held by an unfamiliar hand.
Xiao stared at the wine for a long moment before his bright Aureolin eyes shifted to meet the man standing in front of him. He was dressed in foreign attire, but Xiao had little knowledge of anything outside of Liyue so he didn’t know which nation those clothes were from.
“Pardon me, my lady.” The man bowed, taking off his hat and placing it over his chest. “I couldn’t help but noticed you seem to enjoy Dandelion wine.”
Xiao’s eyes dropped back to the wine held towards him. He reached out and took the glass, their gloved hands brushing as he did so. This was not the first time a man came up to him with drinks. Some of the men that Xiao brushed off earlier had as well, though all of them offered him women’s cocktails instead of actual wine.
He swirled the cup around under his nose and took a whiff of the aroma. There was a very light and bitter scent coming from the wine that Xiao was quite familiar with. His lashes fluttered lightly, yet his face betrayed nothing.
“I don’t dislike it,” he said, lifting his eyes to meet the man’s. “How did you know I enjoy this wine?”
“You were so beautiful I could not help but stare,” the man admitted bashfully.
Xiao softened his gaze and for the first time that night, he smiled. It was a fake smile that didn’t reach his eye, yet that was enough to cause those who saw his smile blush—including the man in front of him.
Xiao pressed the rim of the cold glass against his lips. Just as he was about to drink the content inside, a gloved hand came in and took his glass away. The former assassin was immediately alarmed, but he couldn’t show it with so many eyes on him. He just pretended to look annoyed and turned to glare at Tartaglia who appeared behind him with an arm around Xiao’s waist.
“My apologies, my partner here isn’t good with alcohol, so allow me.”
Xiao placed a hand over Tartaglia’s chest and pressed his body into his side. In the eyes of other people, it was a very seductive and affectionate move, but in reality, Xiao was pressing his palm hard into Tartaglia’s chest.
The Fatui’s smile didn’t even falter as he drank the entire glass in one smooth motion.
He didn’t even leave a drop behind.
“Master Childe can certainly hold his alcohol!” The man complimented, raising his glass and also downing the wine inside. 
The two happily chatted for a short while before the man walked away.
Xiao on the other hand already couldn’t be bothered with that man anymore. He tightened his grip over Tartaglia, only to feel a hand overlapping his in a reassuring gesture. Tartaglia didn’t say anything and continued greeting other people.
As time slowly passed, Xiao began to see sweats forming over the man’s forehead. Tartaglia’s face was becoming even more flushed and the grip around Xiao’s waist tightened. Eventually, some of the guests noticed Tartaglia not looking well and asked if he was alright, but Tartaglia just laughed and brushed it off as being a little drunk.
Tartaglia managed to keep up his appearance to the very end as the ship returned to the dock.
The moment they got back into their carriage and closed the curtain on the windows, he collapsed into the seat.
“You fool!” Xiao hissed, face distorted with rage. “You should have let me drink that, my body is capable of withstanding poison!”
“They wouldn’t use poison. They’re not so stupid to kill me with so many witnesses,” Tartaglia laughed as though this was something he could joke about. “Though…ngh…this is some potent stuff.”
“Which was why you should have let me drink it,” Xiao retorted and looked down to see the noticeable bulge in the man’s pants. It was impressive of the man to hold his hard-on back for so long. “Shall I drop you off at a brothel?”
“You’d abandon me?” Tartaglia groaned, cracking open one eye to look up at him. “How cruel...”
“I’m trying to help you.” Xiao clicked his teeth, not sure why this man was being so difficult. “If you had let me drink it, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Your body might be able to stand poison, but not aphrodisiacs, am I right?”
Xiao paused a bit before he let out a small huff. “I would have been fine. I’ve endured through it plenty of times.”
Now, both of those blue eyes were open and staring at Xiao. Xiao knew the man wanted to hear more. If this was normal circumstances, he would have ignored him, but…
“Events that required me to dress as a woman were always messy. Uses of drugs were not unusual. We were all trained to fight while enduring the effects of strong aphrodisiacs to see if we would succumb to pleasure.”
Xiao paused when Tartaglia let out a quiet, barely suppressed groan.
“You’re going to a brothel.”
“What if the assassins are waiting there to finish me off?”
Xiao pressed his lips together, unable to deny such a possibility as he had done something similar in the past. Finally, he let out a deep sigh before he ordered the carriage to bring them to a secluded alleyway where there won’t be any civilians or Millelith passing by.
Xiao took in a deep breath and glanced down at the person lying on the seat. “If you ever speak of what I am about to do, I will peel your fingernails off and shove them down your stomach along with your tongue, am I clear?”
“Hmm…then let’s do a pinkie promise," Tartaglia suggested, not the slightest bit fazed by the threat.
“…A what?” Xiao blinked at the man, wondering if the drug was getting to his brain.
“Pinkie promise.” Tartaglia raised a pinkie at him. “I do it with my siblings all the time. Come on, hook your pinkie around mine.”
Xiao was skeptical but did as he was told and resisted the urge to pull his hand away when the man hooked his pinkie around his.
“You make a pinkie promise, you keep it all your life.” He began, lightly swaying their hands back and forth. His voice was quiet and calm, but Xiao could hear a strange tenderness within it. “You break a pinkie promise, I throw you on the ice. The cold will kill the pinkie that once betrayed your friend, the frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again.”
Xiao stared at their linked fingers until Tartaglia finished the strange vow and pulled away.
“Is that a custom of your home?”
“You could say that,” Tartaglia smiled wearily before gritting his teeth to swallow back another noise threatening to come out.
With the man giving him such a vow, Xiao felt a little more at ease and undid the collar of his qipao to free the restrain around his neck.
Once the carriage arrived at its destination, the coachmen scurried away with his face flushed in embarrassment. The carriage was rocking lightly despite not moving anymore. Inside the carriage, moans and huffs of two people echoed softly, accompanied by the sound of rustling clothes.
Dark figures crept along the shadows and surrounded the carriage. With the curtains on both sides of the carriage down, the inside couldn’t see what was happening outside.
“Haah!” A woman’s voice cried, followed by an indecent wet sound. “Ahn!”
The men edged closer and closer to the carriage. The moment they were within range, the ground beneath their feet shook with green spears made from condensed Ameno power shot out from the ground below them.
The spears pierced through their flesh and shattered their bones. In a blink of an eye, half of the assassins were slaughtered on the spot. Those who evaded the attack instantly realized they had fallen into a trap. They pulled out their weapons and aimed for the carriage, but all they saw was a flicker of green light before their heads flew off into the air by a strong current of wind. Flying up along with the detached heads was the top of the carriage that was sliced clean from the body.
The blast of wind swirling around the carriage vanished, revealing Xiao who stood with one foot on the seat of the carriage and his Jade Winged-Spear glowing eerily within the darkness.
On the floor of the carriage behind him…was Tartaglia.
The Harbinger was shaking all over and curled up like a shrimp in boiling water. He was red in the face, but Xiao knew it wasn’t due to the man being under the influence of the drug…but that he was trying to hold his laughter in.
The former assassin felt his veins throbbed and clutched onto his spear even tighter. Thanked to the man’s reaction, his cheeks were slightly red from embarrassment—which he had never felt until now. He briefly pondered the possibility of silencing this man and dumping him amongst these corpses but knew that even if he was drugged, Tartaglia could still put up a fight.
“Since you now know who the mastermind is, my job is done.” Xiao was about to leap out of the carriage and go home when his hand was grabbed.
“W-wait, wait—pfft…ahahahaha!” Tartaglia was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down his eyes. “That was the best! Hahaha! I didn’t know you could put on a show like that all by yourself! And those sound effects were—”
“Enough!” Xiao stabbed his spear into the carriage floor, missing the man's head by half an inch “Another word and I will make sure you won’t have a mouth to laugh with!”
“D-don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me,” Tartaglia let out another good laugh before finally sobering up.
He snapped his fingers and a man dressed in black and red cloak appeared. With just a simple glance, Xiao knew this man was also an assassin, one that worked for Tartaglia.
“I’ll leave you to deal with the bodies,” Tartaglia ordered before he stepped out of the carriage and pulled Xiao into the dark alley.
“Let go,” Xiao said after a while of being pulled around. He finally had enough and jerked his hand out of the other’s grip. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the droplet of sweats rolling down the brunet’s face. “If you have subordinates around, you should let them take care of you.”
Tartaglia turned and gave Xiao a small, tired smile. “Tell me, Xiao. When was the last time you were able to sleep peacefully, knowing that the world around you is safe?”
Xiao stiffened at that. He looked up at Tartaglia who was looking down at him seriously. Xiao understood the meaning behind the man’s word. Despite those being his subordinates, Tartaglia didn’t trust any of them. At least, not enough to allow them to witness or be near him during his moment of weakness.
Xiao let out a quiet sigh. “What do you want?”
“Let me crash at your place for a bit.”
“And you trust me?”
“Yes.”
Xiao was taken back. He didn’t expect Tartaglia to answer that without even giving a second of thought.  
“You think I won’t stab you in the back?”
“I think if you were to stab me, you’ll do it when I’m awake so I would know who stabbed me,” Tartaglia pointed out.
Xiao couldn’t argue with that. Despite his many dislike of this man, he also couldn’t leave him here like this when he was so vulnerable. In the end, Xiao reluctantly brought him back to his room. He used his Ameno power to carry them there while avoiding the eyes of the people in the streets. He didn’t inform anyone within the parlour and slipped inside through his room’s open window.
Xiao laid Tartaglia onto his bed before locking the windows and door.
Tartaglia’s condition was worsening by the seconds. Large beads of sweat were coming down his face and soaking through his clothes. His face was red and his breathing was harsh. He was even grunting in pain due to the tightness of his clothes—pants especially.
A normal man would have lost it long ago. They would have long thrown away their clothes and rubbed on anything that could provide them with relief, but Tartaglia didn’t do that. As someone who had periodically undergone those pain, Xiao could sympathize with what Tartaglia was going through.
He thought back to those long and cold memories, the burning pain of needs and wants…but most of all, it was the fear and loneliness that broke him. The fear and horror was something he remembered clearly even to this day.
Xiao lowered his eyes and sat down on the edge of his bed. He leaned over Tartaglia and reached a hand towards the brunet’s pants when a larger hand seized him by the wrist in an iron grip. In an instant, Xiao was thrown onto the soft mattress of his bed with Tartaglia hovering over him, pinning both of his hands over his head.
“What were you trying to do?” Tartaglia demanded, his blue eyes darkened and lips pulled into a thin line. At this moment, he was every bit as expressionless as Xiao. Beads of sweat dripped from the tip of his nose and splashed onto the youth’s pale’s cheek.
“You’ll feel better once you get enough relief,” Xiao stated the obvious.
Tartaglia’s expression turned even colder and Xiao felt the hands on his wrists tightened. “So you thought to offer yourself to me? How selfless of you.”
“It’s nothing I have not done before.”
That made Tartaglia stilled and the coldness in those eyes gradually melted away. He leaned down until their noses were an inch apart.
“Had you done a lot of such things?”
“Only with my mouth and hands,” Xiao replied in a tone as though they were talking about the weather, not his sexual experiences. “I have no knowledge other than that.”
“…I see.”
Xiao let out a quiet gasp when the man lowered his entire body onto him, pushing him into the mattress.
“What are you doing?” He inquired, looking down to see the Fatui rubbing his cheek against his fake chest with his arms wrapped tightly around his back.
“Hm…these things are in the way. What are they anyway?” Tartaglia complained, unwrapping one arm to poke at the jiggly object. Xiao slapped the man’s hand away. He undid the top of his qipao, reaching inside to pull out the slime essence paddings and tossed them across the room. He also pulled out his Vision that was hidden there and set it onto the nightstand.
Tartaglia hummed happily and rubbed his face against his now flattened chest. “Much better.”
“What are you doing?” Xiao asked again. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought the man was going to…
“I’m going to sleep this off, what does it look like?” Tartaglia mumbled tiredly. “But of course, if you offer to spar with me, it might let me work off this drug’s effect even faster!”
“Exercising will do nothing but make your condition worsen,” Xiao stated dryly. He stared at the man on top of him. In this short moment, he could already feel the man’s sweat soaking onto his skin and clothes.
Feeling extremely uncomfortable lying down like this, Xiao used his elbows to push himself up. The brunet was latched onto him like some sort of boneless animal, refusing to even budge. At this, Xiao created a gust of wind that swirled around his room. His pillow and blankets that were neatly folded on the corner of his bed were picked up by the wind and placed against his back to prop him up.
Xiao then looked across his room to see there was a pot of tea sitting in the middle of the table. He used the wind to bring the teapot into his waiting hands.
“Open your mouth.”
Tartaglia opened his eye to look at the teapot and did as he was told. Xiao carefully poured the cold tea into the man’s open mouth little by little. It was a good thing that the tea Xiao usually drink was made with Qingxin flower that replenishes the body’s moisture.
Once the man drank every last drop of the tea, Xiao let the wind pick up the teapot once more and placed it back onto the table.
“You’re asking for needless pain.”
“If suffering through this means I get the infamous Yaksha to take care of me, I think I'm getting a pretty good return.”
Xiao frowned but didn’t say anything as he stared down at the man.
“Xiao…” Tartaglia muttered against him. “Did you know that when you accepted that glass of wine, you had a particular look on your face?”
“…Look?” Xiao frowned. Had he made any expression when he noticed the wine was spiked? No, he shouldn’t have. He always had a good grasp over his expressions.
“Your eyes became hollowed, like a child who can no longer cry.”
Xiao’s eyes flew wide and flinched upon the feeling of something touching his cheek. When he looked down, he realized that was Tartaglia's hand which was raised halfway in midair. There was a small smile on the man's lips as his hand moved again.
This time, Xiao didn’t flinch away and allowed the hand to cup his cheek. Through the thin layer of the man’s glove, Xiao could feel his unnaturally high body heat.
“So you pity me?” Xiao questioned, yellow eyes carefully searching the blue ones for any signs of lies.
“Of course not,” Tartaglia chuckled, brows furrowed with pain from the effect of the drugs. “You’re strong. You’re the last person I would ever pity, Xiao.”
Then why…?
Xiao opened his mouth, but instead of asking the question on his mind, he asked something else.
“When was the last time you were able to sleep peacefully, knowing that the world around you is safe?” It was the very same question Tartaglia had asked him in the alley, and now Xiao threw it back at him.
“When I was fourteen,” Tartaglia replied.
Xiao stared into those eyes that held so much darkness and secrets, yet he was unable to hate it because his own eyes were the same.
Xiao lifted his hands. He hesitated for a moment before he wrapped his arms and clasped his pale legs around his hips. Tartaglia froze, obviously not expecting the former assassin to suddenly embrace him like this.
He tightened his right arm around Tartaglia’s shoulder while his other hand was behind Tartaglia’s head, pushing him into his chest with Xiao dipping his head down until his soft cheek was pressed against the brunet’s forehead.
It was a very protective embrace rather than intimacy. It was as though Xiao was trying to wrap himself around the man so no outside danger could ever reach him. For someone in a vulnerable state like Tartaglia, it was a very comforting gesture.
The Harbinger felt like he was going to melt within this warmth…
“I will watch over you, I won’t let any harm befall upon you, so sleep for that I will be here to protect you.” Xiao softly spoke out his promises with his warm breath tickling Tartaglia’s face. “May you fall into a dreamless slumber, yet should you dream of nightmares, call my name.”
Xiao tightened the hold onto the man, using his action to prove that he wasn’t going to go anywhere. He didn’t know what expression Tartaglia was making, nor did he look. He raked his fingers through the ochre brown lock and waited.
None of them spoke again that night. The only thing that could be heard within the silence was the man’s laboured breathing. Xiao understood all of his pain, yet this was the only thing he was able to offer, but Xiao knew this small gesture was what Tartaglia needed. Because this was what Xiao always wanted when he still lived within that nightmare.
All he wanted was simply for someone to hold him…that was all he wanted.
So now, he will give that to Tartaglia.
At some point in the night, Xiao found himself beginning to hum a soft tune. Because of Xiao’s limited use within the parlour, most of his tasks were to go around gathering the items for the funeral. Wild Glazed Lily would be one of the traditional items needed. Due to the…unique requirement when picking these lilies, Zhongli taught Xiao a song to sing before picking them. It was the only song Xiao knew. Of course, Hu Tao taught him some songs too, but they were songs Xiao swore to never sing and threw them into the back of his mind to be forever sealed away.
Xiao hummed this song to the Snezhnayan while occasionally conjuring some wind to provide him with a bit of comfort. He didn’t know how long he had been humming that same tune for, but it must have been a long time, for that the sunlight was shining through the rice paper covering his window, brightening the room.
The body in his arms had gone completely quiet sometime in the night. The only sound Xiao could hear from the man was his soft breathing. He never let go of the body in his arms. He kept a secure hold onto the man, his face still pressed against the Fatui’s forehead.
The brunet’s hair was now stuck together in clumps from his dried-up sweat. Some of that brown hair was sticking onto Xiao’s skin, but Xiao didn’t mind the itchiness on his skin or the stench. He had smelled way worse than sweat back in his days in the Abyss Order.
Xiao looked down at the man’s closed eyelids and the way his lips were neither curving upward or down. He threaded his fingers through the messy brown hair and wondered which side of this man was real.
The one who was always smiling and making jokes, or the one that was every bit as expressionless as Xiao?
Xiao only thought over that question for a brief second before deciding that it didn’t matter at all. Whichever side was this man’s real side, they were equally as annoying.
He continued to hold the man as the sun rose to the highest point in the sky before dropping back down.
Throughout the day, Xiao would sense people coming towards his room, trying to see if he was there but a small gust of wind would always send these people away. No one thought it was weird, for that Xiao had always been like this when he didn’t want to see anyone. The only one who would barge into his room other than the man in his arms would be Hu Tao, but the lack of the young master's voice told him that she most likely went out somewhere to play and wouldn't be back any time soon.
Xiao didn’t drink.
He didn’t eat or sleep either.
He kept holding the man until night came once more and the rowdiness from the street quiet down.
It was late into the night when the city was asleep did Tartaglia finally stirred.
Cobalt yellow eyes shifted down to the man in his arms. Xiao brought a hand to the man’s face, brushing aside those brown bangs and was greeted by the sight of those azure blue eyes.
“Hey there…” Tartaglia grinned, voice raspy from his long sleep. He turned around in Xiao’s arms and reached up a hand to touch Xiao’s cheek. “Were you with me this entire time?”
“I do not go back on my words,” Xiao replied.
“Yeah…” Tartaglia whispered and soon noticed something was off. He brought his hand down and took a sniff of his sleeve before breaking out into laughter. “I can’t believe you were able to hold me like this when I smell so bad!”
“If you realized, then get off.”
Tartaglia finally sat up. He stretched his arms over his head until he got some satisfying pops from his joints. “Aah, I haven’t had a sleep like that in ages.”
He hopped off the bed, taking Xiao’s hand and pulling him along.
“Come on!”
“What are you doing?” Xiao frowned, but still followed him.
“Bath. I think you and I both need one. And I’m sure you’d want to change out of those clothes?” He said, making a show of looking over Xiao who was still dressed like a woman.
Xiao huffed but was unable to argue with that. The two of them went into the parlour’s bath that night. Since it was in the middle of the night, everyone was asleep so both baths they had were unoccupied.
Tartaglia insisted on sharing one bath, but Xiao ignored him and went into his own before locking the door shut. Once he rid himself of the Snezhnayan’s scent and dressed into his usual clothes, Xiao walked out to see Tartaglia already standing there waiting for him.
“Where did get those clothes?”
“The guest rooms.” Tartaglia smiled cockily. “Since I crash here so often, I left some of my clothes behind.” He replied as though leaving his clothes in other people’s homes was the most natural thing to do.
Xiao made a mental note to speak with the young master the next time he sees her. He tossed the red earring back to the man and walked past him. "Since your business is done and the culprit identified, leave. I will inform young master Hu that my duty is over.”
“Always so eager to leave,” Tartaglia said with a light smile. “You’ve stayed with me all this time so you didn’t eat or drink anything, right? At least let me treat you to a meal.”
Xiao paused and it was then he became aware of how empty his stomach felt.
Reluctantly, he agreed and followed the beaming man out the parlour. They arrived at the Liuli Pavilion where Tartaglia booked a private room for them and ordered an entire table of food. Xiao was dumbfounded by all these food considering there were only the two of them, but since it wasn’t his mora they were spending he had no complaints. During the entire meal, Xiao ate quietly with Tartaglia chattering next to him and introducing him to the dishes he picked. Though Xiao didn’t want to admit it, Tartaglia had good tastes in his choice of menu. If there was any fault Xiao was to comment on, it would be the fork in the Snezhnayan's hand.
After eating a hearty meal with Tartaglia paying out of his wallet, they were back on the street, heading towards the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour. The entire journey, neither of them spoke. They just enjoyed the silence and each other’s presence.
When they arrived at the main door of the parlour, Xiao was about to go inside when Tartaglia said something unexpected.
“I will be returning to Snezhnaya very soon.”
Xiao turned to the man who was gazing back at him as though he was expecting him to say…something.
The green-haired youth opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what he could say to that. He had almost forgotten that this man was a diplomat, that his stay in Liyue was temporary. The fact that he had stayed for a whole year was already surprising enough.
Liyue would never be home to someone like him.
His place will always be in Snezhnaya.
“I see…” Xiao’s gaze unconsciously shifted away from the man. “I wish you a pleasant journey.”
Tartaglia laughed weakly at the expected response. “So cold…and here I thought we have something special.”
Xiao stiffened at that last part. Before he could figure out what Tartaglia meant by special, the man took his hand into his and pulled him inside. As a frequent guest at the parlour, he knew his way around the building—especially Xiao’s room which he frequently intruded upon.
Once they were back in the room, Tartaglia sat down on Xiao’s bed and pulled the smaller man into his arms. Xiao hastily put out his hands onto the mattress to stop himself from falling against Tartaglia, yet he couldn’t pull away with the man’s arms wrapped around his waist.
“You—”
“I’m just returning a favour.” Tartaglia’s fingers brushed over the tender skin beneath the mesmerizing golden eye. “You should get some sleep. It’d be a pity if such beautiful skin gets ruined.”
There was hesitance in Xiao’s eyes, but the warmth being emitted from the brunet’s body and the weight of the arm over his back was extremely tempting. A longing Xiao hadn’t felt for a long time burned him from the inside and he found that he was too exhausted to fight against it.
Xiao knew he wasn’t thinking straight, but he couldn’t help but cave in. He hesitantly lowered himself against the man, like a cat testing the water.
Tartaglia waited for him patiently, watching him with a gentle look on his face. It was only when most of Xiao’s weight was put against him that he moved. He wrapped Xiao up in his arms and pulled the blanket over them. He leaned his back against the wall next to the windowsill and held onto the smaller body protectively.
Xiao closed his eyes and let out a small breath at the warmth and comfort surrounding him. Pressed up against the man’s chest, he could hear and feel the heart that was beating beneath the other’s ribcage was strangely calming.
“Xiao.”
Xiao didn’t respond, but Tartaglia knew he was listening.
“Come with me to Snezhnaya.”
Aureolin eyes snapped open in surprise. The body in Tartaglia’s arms shifted, but the man held the other tighter and continued.
“The Wangsheng Funeral Parlour gave you a home, but you and I both know this isn’t where you belong. Blades are meant to be sharpened and used on the battlefield, not to be locked away in the shed to rust, don’t you agree?”
Xiao dropped his gaze. He knew that for a long time, but he was saved by Zhongli who gave him a place here. Both Zhongli and Hu Tao were important people to him and leaving them would feel like he was betraying them.
“I…cannot answer you at this time.”
“But you’ll think about it?”
Xiao hesitated before answering with a small nod.
“Good.” Tartaglia smiled and buried his face into the silky green hair. He rubbed his hand up and down the curve of Xiao’s back while his other hand gently rubbed his nape.
“Rest, Xiao. In the name of her majesty, the Tsaritsa, I promise I will always protect you.”
Xiao felt something inside him trembled at such promise. He knew Tartaglia well enough to know that this man always kept his promises no matter how ridiculous that promise may be. But even so, this was the first time he heard the man use his Queen’s name when making a promise. Moreover, Xiao keenly caught how Tartaglia said always protect, and not just for tonight.
Xiao parted his lips but quickly close them again. He knew there was nothing he could say at this moment—not when he didn’t know what his own feelings were. He wasn’t so cruel as to give the man a half-hearted answer.
So Xiao closed his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep.
Xiao didn’t actually think he would fall asleep, given the heavy promise Tartaglia gave him, but he did. He fell asleep listening to Tartaglia’s voice that was softly singing a lullaby to him.
For the first time since he could remember, Xiao fell asleep feeling warm and safe.
When Xiao woke up, he was still bathed in the warmth of another living being. Even though his mind was still muddled by the sleep, every part of his instincts was screaming to him that something was wrong.
The first thing Xiao noticed was the weird rocking feeling and the second thing was the smell.
Being in the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, there was always the smell of incense and because Xiao’s room was always so dull and empty, Hu Tao took it upon herself to always fill his room up with flowers. Right now, there was no scent of flowers or incense anywhere, only the smell of old wood and the saltiness of the sea.
In a split second, Xiao was up, eyes snapping open with the thick quill slipping off his body from the movement, causing his exposed arms to come into contact with the chilly air.
“Careful now,” the Harbinger’s voice came from the darkness before the Xiao was pulled back against the body with the blanket wrapped around his back once more.
“Tartaglia? What is this?” Xiao demanded, looking around the unfamiliar that was most definitely not his. It was a luxurious room, but the style of the room and furniture was not the style of Liyue.
There were no windows in the room, but the constant rocking motion gave Xiao an idea as to where he was. He leaped out of the man’s arms and in a flash of green light, he was across the room, tearing the door open and running out. He sped down the narrow hallway and up the staircase.
In a matter of seconds, Xiao was standing outside on the deck with the bright afternoon sun beaming down at him. He winced at the brightness and had to bring a hand up to shield his eyes from the unusually strong sunlight.
The cold assaulted his body, but Xiao could barely feel it when he saw all these people walking around him, moving the cargo of the ship. These people were all dressed in Snezhnaya clothes with some members of the Fatui as well.
Xiao’s breath came out of his open lips in a visible puff of white. His eyes scanned over the sea before stopping at the land in the far distant—covered by a sheet of white.
“Underestimate the cold and you’ll die in Snezhnaya,” Tartaglia said, coming up from behind Xiao to wrap a thick layer of white fur coat around the fragile-looking youth. Unfortunately for him, his gesture wasn’t welcome when Xiao whirled around and seized him by his collar, pulling him down until they were eye to eye.
“What is the meaning of this?” Xiao snarled, his eyes nearly dilated in his rage.
“Well, you’ll have to ask your young master Hu about that.”
“Young master Hu?” Xiao was taken back, not expecting such an answer.
Tartaglia held out a letter to him with Xiao’s name written at the top. Xiao snatched the letter from his hand and unfold it to see Hu Tao’s familiar handwriting.
He read through the long letter which basically came down to one thing.
Hu Tao had sold Xiao to Tartaglia for ten billion mora.
To be precise, Hu Tao has sent Xiao to Snezhnaya to work with their business partner as a diplomat at the contract agreement of ten billion mora.
Xiao ripped apart the letter. As though that wasn’t enough, he even used his Ameno power to shred papers until it was nothing but dust that was blown away by the ocean wind.
Where in Teyvat had anyone heard of a funeral parlour needing diplomats?!
“You!” Xiao glared at the man who had the audacity to look amused. “I did not agree to come with you to Snezhnaya!”
“Didn’t you say you’ll think about it?”
“That did not mean I agreed!”
“But if I don’t bring you here, how will you think about it?” Tartaglia laughed before he pulled Xiao into a tight embrace. The green-haired youth was mulling over whether or not to toss this man overboard when he heard the following words. “You’re not a prisoner, Xiao. You’re free to leave any time.”
Xiao frowned, trying to figure out if this was another trick.
“The contract I made with Hu Tao only says for you to help me out. As for when this help ends, that is up to you. If you want, you can end it right now and return to Liyue. The money has already been paid in full and by the rules of the contract, I won’t be able to ask the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour to give it back.” Tartaglia slowly released him and took a small step back.
Xiao stared at the man, his anger of being lied to had already faded into nothingness. Despite having pulled him here without asking him, the man was now presenting him a choice to leave.
“What’s your purpose of bringing me to your nation?”
“…I guess I just really wanted to show you my family,” Tartaglia laughed. “They’re the most precious people to me, so I wanted you to meet them.”
“Why?”
“Do I have to spell it out?” Tartaglia tilted his head and smiled at Xiao.
Xiao shook his head and looked back to the land of white the ship was heading towards.
“…Three months,” he finally said after a long time.
Xiao suddenly realized that when it came to this man, he was surprisingly lenient. Had it been anyone else that had kidnapped him into another nation, he would have killed that person already. “You have three months to convince me to stay. Otherwise, I will go back to Liyue.”
“That’s more than enough.” Tartaglia smiled before he held up his hand. Xiao watched as his fingers curled up, leaving only his pinkie behind.
“There is no need for a promise,” Xiao stated.
“Give me your finger.” Tartaglia waved his hand to urge Xiao to do the same.
The green-haired youth slowly held out his hand, raising his pinkie and hooked it around the man’s. Xiao only felt the pinkie around his tightening before Tartaglia pulled him into his arms through their linked fingers.
“I promise that I won’t make you regret this choice you made today, Xiao.”  
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syncogon · 4 years
Text
[QZGS meta] what’s in an OP? dawning glory (pt 2)
(a continuation of part 1 here) (part 3 here)
{The King’s Avatar Season 2 premieres in less than 12 hours!}
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Last time we covered just up to around the halfway point of this OP. We’re picking up again right at the start of the second verse, where a new singing voice kicks in.
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After reminiscing on the past, we come to Ye Xiu again as he puts on his headphones - he’s smiling, he’s doing what he loves, he’s ready to go forward. His smile here is an act of defiance against those who tell him that he should be stopping in his tracks.
The change of singer here is very noticeable, as they have very different-sounding voices. However, this is something we’ll talk about more later. 
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In this section, we cut smoothly between the real and the virtual worlds. Lord Grim, too, faces forward resolutely, despite the naysayers referenced in the lyrics - “they say I shouldn’t go forward, they say I should just say goodbye, they say there’s no tomorrow, only night.”
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Again, we focus on his hands - his left hand positioning on the keyboard in the real world, his right hand in the game world hoisting his weapon. They both extend from the upper left side of the screen, which allows our brains to follow the visual connection easily without being too overt about the parallel. Ye Xiu’s preparations for his comeback help to build our anticipation for the action that’s to come.
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The red palette used for these in-game shots in this segment is an interesting stylistic choice. It’s a more nuanced version of the red-palette style used for the entirety of the OVA OP. Red is the color most commonly associated with Ye Xiu, it’s the color of both Team Happy and Team Excellent Era, it’s Lord Grim’s main color due to his scarf, and of course it’s associated with things like passion, fire, blood, etc. The red is also a nice contrast to the darkened, navy-blue setting of the real-world internet cafe - the lighting makes it seem like it’s nighttime again - and the red of Ye Xiu’s hoodie serves as a nice visual bridge between worlds.
Because this segment of the OP cuts between the game and real worlds so quickly, I think it’s good that they distinguish the game world here with these colors, as it makes the jumps easier to follow and understand. 
“They say there is no tomorrow, only night,” as reflected light flashes across the umbrella. Maybe it’s night in the internet cafe right now, but certainly not for long. And even if it’s night for Su Muqiu, his creation will see the light of day.
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“Crossing the frozen finish line” - Lord Grim steps out in a wide, battle-ready stance, emphasizing the sense of motion inherent to the word “crossing.” In the background of the music, you can hear the growing sound of what sounds like rushing wind, in time with the wind whipping Lord Grim’s scarf about, and it continues to build up the energy of this scene.
The “frozen finish line” here refers to his unwilling retirement on that snowy night; it’s an ending that he was forced into, not the goal that he was striving for. But the point that the lyrics make here is that this unwilling end merely becomes the new starting point for his dream. 
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The animators are really milking his windswept bangs, but honestly the animation looks good, so I can’t complain.
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As Lord Grim narrows his (vibrantly red) eyes and tenses in preparation, we fade to Ye Xiu making the same motion, once again emphasizing the real-virtual parallel. Just this small motion is enough to make us, too, brace ourselves in anticipation. And as we mentioned earlier, you can really see here how the red hood of his sweatshirt is a nice connection to Lord Grim’s scarf, standing out against the colors of the rest of the image. 
The music feels like it’s going to crest at its peak here, but it’s actually a fakeout - accompanied by a key change in the music, the intensity suddenly backs off. Instead of the climax we’re expecting, we’re instead shown a montage of mostly-still images.
This is actually a good demonstration of how this OP follows the effective “interest curve” fairly well. You can’t continuously build hype throughout a piece, because that quickly becomes exhausting and boring for the audience. Instead, you have to have your peaks and valleys. At the very beginning of the OP, we started off with a crescendo to the first peak where the beat kicks in. We had a fairly upbeat instrumental section, then we dropped off as we entered verse 1. The Happy player segment is relatively chill overall, with its own small ebbs and flows. Then when we enter verse 2 with the second voice, the excitement level is a step up from what it was before. The second half of this segment gradually builds up in intensity until suddenly, here, we drop off. We’ll come back to this curve later to see the fuller picture. 
So we have this montage of the major pros, Ye Xiu’s closest friends and toughest opponents (note the first half of the lyric here is “even if it’s dangerous”). Although these are just still images, they still efficiently reveal information about the characters and teams in question - both when you consider them individually, and when you look at the patterns as a whole. Let’s take a look.
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In all of these shots, the captain is the largest figure, and always on the center-right side of the screen. Even the last shot of Ye Xiu’s face before this montage places him at the center-right, giving us the exact starting-off point we need. This means that our eyes don’t have to do much work - we naturally trace a path to follow the most prominent figure in every image. 
Tyranny’s Han Wenqing, of course, strikes the most intimidating pose. Just from how they’re positioned, you can get a sense of how the two of them work together as partners - Han Wenqing in front, aggressive, Zhang Xinjie only a step behind, more defensive. They appear to be the pair that’s second-closest to each other in terms of physical distance, as they have a fairly balanced partnership. They’re angled toward each other, implicitly acknowledging each other without actually overlapping. 
Blue Rain is famed for their dual-core, and this image makes it abundantly clear, with captain and vice-captain featured equally prominently, standing right next to each other, back to back, almost the same size on screen. Looking closely, you can see that the two of them are moving together in the same direction as a unit. This is in contrast to the other teams’ characters, who are all sliding across the screen at slightly different speeds and directions from each other. Yu Wenzhou holds his clipboard, an instant clue toward his tactician style. Huang Shaotian is at a side profile, reflecting his unconventional, opportunistic, assassin-like style. And with his casual gesture and a wide grin, you can immediately get a sense of his personality. 
In Tiny Herb, Wang Jiexi is king (pun intended). Out of all the team pictures, he is the largest figure. This reflects how he is the sole pillar of Tiny Herb as of now, and it hints at just how (unsustainably) deep the team’s reliance upon him runs. Behind Wang Jiexi, we see his successor Gao Yingjie. Although Gao Yingjie is smaller for now, the angle of the shot makes it seem as though he is rising above Wang Jiexi - and this, of course, is exactly what the captain is trying to make happen. 
Behind these two is a third figure. At first I’d assumed it was Liu Xiaobie, but he doesn’t have the trademark headphones, so I think it makes more sense that this is actually Qiao Yifan, still in the team. With how he’s half-hidden in Gao Yingjie’s shadow and not even looking at the camera, you get the sense that even in this little picture, he doesn’t quite have a place here.
Samsara features Zhou Zekai and Jiang Botao. When these images were initially previewed during the live ED performance, there was a lot of backlash because a) Jiang Botao’s design had changed, b) their jackets spelled “samsaea”, and c) there was a coloring error on the collar of Zhou Zekai’s shirt. Fortunately, it seems all of these flaws were addressed. 
Zhou Zekai is the second-largest out of all the featured characters, reflecting how Glory’s number one player always dominates the battlefield. Jiang Botao’s design here sweeps more hair out of his eyes, which suits his character well by giving him a more open, friendly, approachable appearance. Although he’s positioned far back from the camera relative to Zhou Zekai, he seems content where he is - he has a perfectly fine view of the camera and surroundings, and here he can serve as the tether connecting the powerful Zhou Zekai to the unseen rest of the team. 
Next we see Thunderclap - I was actually somewhat surprised to see them featured now, but I suppose we need to establish Xiao Shiqin early on. I’m also surprised that they have four members here… I don’t think I could name four Season 8 Thunderclap members off the top of my head, I’m sorry ahaha. We have Xiao Shiqin and Dai Yanqi obviously, I assume the third is Fang Xuecai, but I don’t know who the player with his back turned is supposed to be. Maybe they included a lot of team members to emphasize how, more so than any other team, Thunderclap’s strength is when they’re playing together as a team. You can also see this in how, unlike all the other teams except Blue Rain, all four of the characters are sliding across the screen in the same direction (right), although the parallax makes their speeds appear slightly different. 
That being said, with the hand adjusting his glasses and his thoughtful look to the side, Xiao Shiqin very much gives off the studious tactician vibe. Still, his smile is warm, not cold and calculating. Behind him, Dai Yanqi is just adorable.
Finally, we have Hundred Blossoms. Coming off of Xiao Shiqin’s smile, Zhang Jiale’s shadowed half-frown stands in sharp contrast, even though the viewer has only a fraction of a second to take it in. Angled at a full 90 degrees from the camera, Zhang Jiale stares at his right hand, a sort of frozen sadness on his face. What could he be thinking about? Reflecting on his continued inability to take the final step to the championship? Reflecting on the hand injury that tore his closest friend and partner away from him, leaving him to shoulder the burden alone? In this image, it seems as though it’s the Hundred Blossoms’ shining logo itself that is casting his face into shadow. He undoubtedly has many conflicted feelings about the team he gave six years of his life to, and ultimately abandoned. 
Visually, Zhang Jiale appears to be facing a deep blackness; the design places no decorative accents on that corner of the screen. Perhaps he sees no way forward. Perhaps he sees the way forward, through to the team with black as its color, and the betrayal that choice would mean. 
Behind him is Sun Zheping. Interestingly, he’s fully illuminated by the light of the Hundred Blossoms logo. In Zhang Jiale’s mind, perhaps he still is that light, a light now lost to him. Although Sun Zheping is also looking away, his body is angled more forward toward the camera, reflecting how he has a better sense than Zhang Jiale does of what it means to cast off doubts and charge forward into the future. 
In a sharp contrast to every other team picture, note that neither person in this image is looking at the camera. Whereas the other teams are unified and focused in their pursuit of the championship, both Zhang Jiale and Sun Zheping are lost. In fact, neither is even currently a member of this team that they founded together. And, of course, there’s a distance between them, as they look off in opposite directions, and this distance only grows as Zhang Jiale slides toward the right and Sun Zheping toward the left. Overall, the mood this final team image conveys is drastically different from the rest.
I also found it interesting to note here that, although all of the teams’ uniforms got redesigned in the donghua (for instance, official novel art always portrayed them with collared polos, not t-shirts), the Hundred Blossoms uniform here appears to be unchanged from the original.  
As a final thought, I do love the background designs in each of these shots, working in the team colors and the motifs of the logos. I wish they’d release these as desktop wallpapers, they’re really nice. 
So that’s enough words about these three seconds of the opening. Let’s (finally) keep going.
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This is a good place in the OP to insert a reminder of the final goal we’re working toward - the championship. “As always we charge forward, we’ll ultimately be crowned,” here at the summit of glory. 
Something about the faded filter over these two shots gives it an almost mystical, imaginative quality. Or maybe it’s the feeling of a memory long past. This stage, this place of legends, it’s still a ways off for our protagonists for now. But they’ll find their way here in the end.
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Team Happy! When it comes to illustrating Happy’s in-game characters in an action group picture, this sort of composition - side view, all of them leaping into action toward one direction - is fairly common, even just in official art. Still, it never gets old, and it’s nice to see it here, especially as the music crests. The lyric “we’ll be crowned,” which bridges us from verse 2 to the chorus, is timed with the very first large group picture we get in this OP. It’s a proud and triumphant declaration as we see our protagonists finally united for the first time, arrayed for battle.
With that, just before we enter the chorus section, we’ll pause here for now. Part 3, which will cover the last 20 seconds or so, will probably go up after the episode premieres. I’m also interested to see how they’ll work the credits into this OP; hopefully they do something interesting, or at least make it look nice. 
Thanks for reading! 
(part 1) (part 3)
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