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stemwriter · 8 months

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Pursuit of Knowledge - Chapter 3

Hey, I know I said I was gonna be delayed, and I was, but thankfully, only by about 18 hours. Anyway, it's done now, here it is!

And again, I am on Ao3 under the username StemWriter, link to the fic in the masterlist!

Word count: ~6.7k

You’d been doing some thinking since you last entered the mystical world of Teyvat. A lot had happened yesterday. For these past four months, you had been obsessed with everything related to the story of Genshin Impact. You could put together a full timeline of Teyvat’s history, and could probably guess what would happen in the future. You knew more about the world than most people of Teyvat knew. You thought it was just a game.

Now, you knew it was much more than that. What were you going to do now, with all of this precious knowledge in your hands? Did you know too much? Should you cut yourself off from any Genshin media, stopping yourself from finding out any more than the too much you already know? Or should you continue on your endless pursuit of knowledge?

You didn’t tell them the whole truth. Probably because the ‘whole truth’ would have mentally shattered them, and you didn’t even know if it was the truth. You hated lying, but you knew you had to here. If they were ever close to finding out the real truth, would you let them? Or would you try your hardest to keep it from them?

And who even is them? Is it just the Ragnvindr brothers? Or were there more? If there were more, you would have to choose what to tell each person carefully. You may let someone you trust, like those two, know nearly everything, but you may keep nearly everything from, say, a Fatui member.

You still had so, so many questions that you just couldn’t answer quite yet. You were going to meet an archon soon. Should you let him know that you know he’s the archon? Regardless of what you end up deciding, you should probably see what he thinks of your situation and some of the questions you had. After a while of sitting on your bed, thinking and staring at your controller, you decide that it’s time to come back to Teyvat, and turn on your console.

The loading finishes after what feels like forever, revealing your avatar, Aether, standing just outside the walls of Mondstadt. Now, should you continue the story alone, sticking to the ‘script’, or have Kaeya and Diluc with you, and risk starting a major domino effect, if you hadn’t already? You checked your quests to see what you could do to hit AR 10. Secret Pirate Treasure - Pavo Ocellus Chapter: Act I

…Kaeya’s story quest? That’s strange to see after what happened yesterday. Maybe the whole confrontation didn’t have as much of an impact on the timeline you remember after all. Wait, does that mean he’s in the Knights HQ, waiting for you right now? You teleported to the building, not wanting to keep him waiting for much longer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaeya was doubtful of [Y/N]’s strange… prophecy powers. He didn’t want to wait until the Stormterror crisis to see if any of their predictions were true. He decided to run an experiment of sorts. He was going to test them. He had a plan to tell them about the Arcadian Ruins, a domain here in Mondstadt that held an incredibly powerful sword. Just one thing, though; there’s no such thing as the Arcadian Ruins in Mondstadt. He had talked to some people and set a whole operation up. If they really could see the future, they’d know exactly what he was planning, and hopefully go along with it. If they couldn’t, he’d probably have a hard time convincing them that his story is true. As of now, he was standing in the lobby of the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, wondering how he was going to grab their attention in the first place.

Suddenly, he snapped back to reality, and somehow he just knew that [Y/N] had returned. Not long after, they walk in the headquarters, making a beeline towards him. Time to put his experiment into action.

“This is bad… Such a hassle… What am I going to do…”

He pretended to not notice them in front of him. [Y/N] hadn’t said anything yet. Like they said, robotic movement meant it was them, so this wasn’t Aether coming to find him. However, now Paimon had appeared, and the Traveler’s movement became more fluid, meaning that now Aether was the one talking to him here, so he couldn’t start asking [Y/N] questions immediately.

‘You don’t usually lose your chill.’ Aether replied.

He had thought about what he would say for this next part.

“Oh, thank the Thousand Winds! Aether, your arrival must be the grace of the gods! If I may ask – envoy sent by the Anemo God to save this mere mortal – could you spare a moment?” “Ewwww, cut it out!”

“Paimon, shush. Do you want treasure or not?” [Y/N] joked, finally speaking up. They said ‘treasure’, did they know what he was about to say, or was that just guesswork?

‘Tell me what happened.’

He continued with his mildly rehearsed spiel. “I cannot let my peers hear about this! I cannot seek help from anyone else but you. Please, let us move to somewhere more fit for such conversations… Let's talk in the courtyard just outside the headquarters. Come with me.” He began to leave the building, and heard Paimon being cut off by [Y/N].

“What’s wi-”

“Hey, woah woah woah, wait up! It’s just me now. Can we go into the library for a second? I need to talk to you for a second before we go outside, and I don’t want it to look like you’re talking to yourself in front of the other Knights.” [Y/N] said, almost whispering.

He almost replied to that, before taking the last part of what they said into consideration. He nodded, trying to make it seem like he remembered something, and headed into the library, [Y/N] soon following.

“So,” [Y/N] began, “let me guess; you want to tell them about a powerful sword that was used by your pirate grandfather, located in the Arcadian Ruins, which ends up not even existing because you made it the fuck up to catch some Treasure Hoarders. Is that right?”

“It is indeed. It seems you really can see the future. I suppose I won’t have to tell you what the plan is then, correct?” They really knew a lot. They reminded him of a certain astrologer he saw from time to time, though they were a bit more… vulgar. She was able to tell the future using her Vision somehow. That got him thinking; is one’s fate set in stone from the moment they were born?

“Yep, I remember this pretty well. So the courtyard outside the headquarters, right? I’ll do my best to go along with this, and it should work out.” He snapped out of his slightly existential thoughts. They both left the building, and went to the agreed meeting spot.

He began to talk to Aether and Paimon, mentioning how his grandfather was a pirate, and how he recently found out that he left behind a treasure…

“Treasure!?” Paimon’s eyes lit up. He had her hooked already. He continued to speak.

“According to his notes, the treasure is buried in the ‘Lost Arcadian Ruins.’”

“Treasure…” This time, both Paimon and [Y/N] said that, in the exact same tone. Were they mocking her?

“But the location of the ruins is currently unknown. I've tried searching for clues…” He had a feeling he knew what would be said after that sentence.

“Treasure!” They both said, in the same tone, again. Was this how [Y/N] felt with everything?

He continued on, revealing that the treasure was a magic sword that fell from Celestia, and was used by his grandfather to slay very formidable enemies. For some reason, [Y/N] seemed to be holding back a laugh when he listed said enemies. What did they know here that he didn’t? He told them that he was afraid bandits would get to the sword before they did, and sent them on a mission to gather intel to help find it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You saw someone point out sometime that the enemies that Kaeya’s grandfather supposedly defeated just so happened to match up to the major enemies the Traveler faces. “Eight-headed hydra”? Osial. “Silver-haired banshee”? La Signora. (This one was a bit rude, but it kind of made sense.) “Wicked abyss dragon”? Dvalin. You knew that theory likely didn’t mean anything, but it still made you laugh when you thought about it. This story he’s telling is supposedly an obvious lie, right? Yet the theory-makers in the Genshin fandom were wondering if it actually had some truth to it. You thought about asking about it, but realized that there’s no way he would tell you.

As you talked to Cyrus, you wondered; in this version of events, did Kaeya set this up just to see if you could really see the future? It wouldn’t be too surprising if he did. Who would expect Kaeya, of all people, to try to stick to the script? Was this how his story was going to go in the “canon” version? Was he going to try to defy his pre-determined fate only to end up running straight into it?

You stuck to the current plan, seeking Kaeya’s informant and looking for clues, starting with the chest on the windmill. (Though, you already knew where the dang ruins were…) The whole time, you were just thinking about how his story would go. Could you help him with your knowledge? Before you were thinking you knew too much, and maybe you do, but now, you felt like you were clueless. Even though Kaeya’s backstory was written in great detail, it still felt like it told you nothing. …That’s honestly not too out of character for him, isn’t it? You were worried about knowing too much about people, but now that you’re thinking about it, those stories you read about them aren’t too far off from things they may have told the Traveler themselves.

It was too early for you to know such things about people, though. You decided that from now on, you would stay away from looking at things that reveal the backstories of people. Anything you’ve already seen, you decided to let yourself look at again, to jog your memory. You would still look at new Archon Quests and Story Quests, to an extent, too, to gain more information about what’s to happen in the future. But any other new content involving the pasts of people, you decided to stay away from. Maybe you should take every single form of content in the game and make a list on whether you’ll let yourself look at it or not.

You managed to find the windmill without getting a hint from Kaeya, and the next clue couldn’t be more obvious. It was a map leading to Springvale. You teleported there and began to climb the cliff, thankful of your avatar’s abilities to scale smooth vertical surfaces.

Cryo monuments. Great. How were you going to- Oh! Cryo slimes. That made things easier. You just needed to lure the slime to the monument, and… Wind Blade! You repeated that two more times, and you got through it like it was nothing. That made you think, the whole story could be completed using the Traveler, and you wouldn’t have to resort to potentially puppeteering someone again, right?

Finally, you made it to the ruins. You entered, walked past some Pyro hilichurls, weaved around Pyro torches, and defeated several Pyro slimes. The system really wanted you to use Kaeya here, huh? Well screw you, system! You can’t be forced to use anyone!

You could, in fact, be forced to use someone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He had been waiting for this. Finally, his plan was coming into action. They had found the “Arcadian Ruins” and successfully led a group of Treasure Hoarders there with them. He already had some of the Knights he brought with him to arrest most of the Treasure Hoarders, and now there was just one more, their leader, that he needed to take care of. As the group of Knights entered the “ruins”, Kaeya noticed that [Y/N] had seemingly just walked through it all, paying no mind to the enemies and the torches. The door to the last room was open, though, so they must have made it through.

The lone Treasure Hoarder made his way out of the shadows, confronting Aether and Paimon. It was time.

“I'm sorry to rain on your parade…” He says, walking into the large room. [Y/N] started cheering and clapping, telling him to “get his ass”. “But your gang won't be participating in your current plan. If you'd like to ask why, you can go see them... in Mondstadt Prison. Or perhaps you'd prefer to join them permanently?”

He broke the news to the three that there was no treasure to be found in the first place. For some reason, Paimon seemed more irritated about that than the Treasure Hoarder. Paimon began to throw a temper tantrum while the Treasure Hoarder merely said, “Hah. You got me good. Didn't think the Knights would resort to such tactics.”

A criminal had the gall to question the Knights on their strategies? “A thief has no right to criticize the methods of the Knights of Fav- Wait, what are you-!” He started running away, saying, “You're not gonna get me!” He made it to a door, which opened, revealing a Ruin Guard behind it. “Okay... Oh god... Wh—What is this? I didn't mean it!” Not so tough now, are you? Kaeya loved seeing the fear in his enemies eyes as they faced off against him, or in this case, a Ruin Guard. The Ruin Guard wasn’t exactly on his side, but it wasn’t on the side of the Treasure Hoarder either, so it might as well have been on his.

Alright, time to take care of this- He felt a strange chill down his spine. He couldn’t move. No. Not again. How could they? He was just standing still as the Ruin Guard walked towards him, preparing to attack. He had trusted them, he thought their apology was genuine! Was this their plan all along? Build his trust only so they could control him again? Were they going to have him killed at the mechanical hands of this Ruin Guard?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your screen faded to black, and now you were in a fight with the Ruin Guard, with Kaeya as your active character. Wait. Kaeya. As your active character. You let out a yelp. No. You looked to the right side of your screen, and saw the pink “Trial” tag over Kaeya’s icon. Why would the system have a trial for a character you already have?!

You panicked, quickly sprinting away from the Ruin Guard as it slowly hobbled towards him. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why this is happening, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you cry, hoping that you won’t hurt him in this fight. You moved the camera to show his face. His single light blue eye darted around, before focusing right where the camera was. He knew where the camera was? He stared at you with a look of desperation and confusion on his face. It surprised you just how much emotion could be conveyed with just an eye. “I’m sorry,” you say again, ready to go back into the fight.

You stood far enough away from the Ruin Guard now to cause it to turn around and shoot tracking missiles at you. You tried to run, but at the last second, you realized you couldn’t, and switched to Aether to take the hit. You switched back to Kaeya and sprinted back to the machine. You used his Elemental Skill to apply Cryo to it, then switched to Aether to swirl that. The Ruin Guard stomps. You dodged to the right, then got a couple of hits in. Switch to Kaeya. The Ruin Guard punches at him, you dodged its arms. It jumped, you waited until it hit the ground, and hit it with Kaeya’s skill, which managed to hit its weak point. Switch to Aether, use his skill, swirl the Cryo. Rinse and repeat. You haven’t made a sound, being too focused on the fight to think of anything to say. The Ruin Guard starts spinning. You switched to Aether to take the hits as you tried to get away.

“Maybe… I wasn’t meant for this world…”

Shit. Aether’s down, that leaves only Kaeya for you to use. No more punching bag to take the hits. Luckily, the Ruin Guard was almost down, so you just needed to get a couple more hits in. It jumped up in the air again, and when it came down, you hit its weak spot with Kaeya’s skill again. That weakness strike was just enough to finish it off.

“Take that you weird-looking farm equipment!” You yell in exhaustion. Wait, should you have said that?

“How embarrassing... Having my life saved by a knight…” that Treasure Hoarder named Izzard said. Kaeya hesitated to respond, still looking a bit shaken from the fight. You decided to say something to him first.

“Hey, it’s over now, you’re alright.” You tried to comfort him a bit. We need to talk in a minute when it’s just you and me, but for now, just try to pretend like everything’s normal.”

And so he did, for the most part. He spoke slowly at first, but Paimon’s whining seemed to make him take his mind off of what had just happened. It almost made you forget, as well. You hated seeing people sad, but something about seeing Paimon crying about not getting treasure just made you crack up. He gave you the "Triumphant Harbinger of Dawn That Points Towards Victory". It was just an ordinary Harbinger of Dawn like the ones you already had, but with a long, fancy name. Still, you wanted to keep this one.

“What a wonderful day. Now, I have to go interrogate some people… Please excuse me. Do come speak to me when you have the chance.” The screen faded to black again, and you got a notification saying you’d reached AR 10. When you could see your surroundings, Kaeya wasn’t in your party anymore, and Aether had been revived.. It was just you two in the domain now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What’s happening? Kaeya thought [Y/N] had purposely taken control of him here, but with the way they were almost sobbing trying to apologize to him made him think. Were they not in control of who they were controlling? Just how deep was this? He looked around in a panic, and focused on a single point. There was nothing there, but he felt like he was making direct eye contact with something.

“I’m sorry,” [Y/N] choked out, and didn’t say another word after that.

Not too long after, he was nearly struck by the missiles of the Ruin Guard. He’d almost forgotten it was there. [Y/N] fought it, quickly swapping between using him and Aether. Every time he came close to getting hit, they would make Aether take the hit. Until the very end, though. Aether collapsed into a pile of glowing ashes, much like Amber did on that first day. Again, he panicked, wondering what would happen now that [Y/N]’s main vessel was gone, but remembered that Amber had been revived right after, so Aether likely would be as well.

“Take that you weird-looking farm equipment!” [Y/N] said, the Ruin Guard collapsing to the ground. While the seemingly mindless avatar of Aether had fallen, Kaeya had remained untouched, thankfully.

Wait.

What had they just called it?

He tried his best to carry on like normal, ignoring his heart pounding right out of his chest from the anxiety caused by the fight. It turns out that fights were a lot more terrifying when you lacked confidence. Aether was, in fact, still alive, and unless he was a master at pretending he hadn’t just died, he really wasn’t aware of what was happening to him. Paimon really wanted that treasure, huh? Well, too bad. Maybe next time he’ll make a real treasure hunt for them. He gave the two their prize, and prepared for an interrogation. With whom, though; that Treasure Hoarder, or [Y/N]?

That question was answered rather quickly, as everyone else but him and [Y/N]... disappeared from the domain completely. For a split second, he could swear he saw some weird, yellow, rectangular outline where he felt he was making eye contact earlier, but it immediately disappeared. Kaeya looked around in confusion for a moment before turning towards [Y/N].

They walked up to him before saying, “Are you alright? Seriously, again, I’m so sorry. The system must’ve forced you into my team, I- I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear.”

“I’m fine.” He crossed his arms. “Now, the system, forced me into your team? How exactly does that happen?” They had explained what they meant when they said things like “team” or “party” in this context, but what they meant by that mildly confused him.

“I don’t really know. When I was going in, I noticed a lot of Pyro things. It felt like the system really wanted me to use you to get through it, and then next thing I know, there you were, as my avatar.”

“So even if you’re only intending to use Aether’s avatar, your system… can force people into your control?” How much control did they have over this?

“Yep. I know it happens to more people in the future, but I was not expecting it this time. See, normally, the system would do this to let me try out new abilities; new avatars. I thought that since I could already use your abilities whenever I wanted, or at least in theory, I could, that the system wouldn’t need to do the stupid ‘Trial’ thing. But, of course, it did.”

This would happen to more people? This was something he needed to tell Diluc about. Who knows, maybe he would be next… “Interesting…” He began. “Do you mind if I… inform Diluc about this?”

“Please do, actually. I have some other things to do, so I’m not too sure when I’ll see him again.”

“‘Other things’? Like what?”

“Oh, uh, I guess continuing the story of the Traveler. The system says I have to return to Mondstadt now, and I’m pretty sure that means that Aether’s about to be given the title of Honorary Knight.” At this point, he shouldn’t be surprised they know about that. He had heard Jean discussing it with Lisa while he was planning this operation, so he already knew they were right.

“You’re going to the Knights Headquarters, then? Mind if I join you? Talking with Diluc can wait for a bit.” All that really mattered is that he told Diluc before [Y/N]’s system got to him, too.

“Sure, you can come with me. Though I was going to teleport there…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were glad he understood that you didn’t do that on purpose. You weren’t sure if he was comfortable with the idea of you being able to take control of him at any given moment, sometimes without even your intention to, but it seemed like he mostly forgave you.

You needed to get to the outside of the Goth Grand Hotel to continue the story, and now you needed to bring Kaeya with you. Either you walk all the way from Falcon Coast to Mondstadt, or you find a way to teleport both of you.

But wait, you needed to ask him about how he looked at you in the ruins. Could he…

“Hey Kaeya?” He turned towards you. You moved your camera around a bit, and he looked at it. “Can you… can you see me?” You moved your camera a bit more, to see if he followed it. He mostly looked at your avatar, but he kept glancing at the camera.

“Is that what… this is?” He looked back at the camera. “I don’t see anything there, but I feel as if I’m being… watched from that point. You said you were viewing this world from your own, yes? Is this where you’re viewing it from?”

“Yes, actually, I’m surprised you can, uh, sense it or whatever.” What he said made so much, yet so little sense. From what he told you, it felt like that weird sixth sense that tells you when you’re being watched, but how could he tell, and why only now? “...And you didn’t notice anything before?”

“I believe I noticed something similar before, but only now do I know what it is. I’m afraid I don’t know why this is happening, all I know is that… it is.” So they could see your camera… Wait, could everyone? Or just Kaeya? Another question to find the answer to.

Anyway, now’s not the time to be wondering about things like that. You needed to figure out if he could use the Teleport Waypoints or not, so you could get to the city. “Have you noticed certain waypoints around Teyvat? The ones made of stone, that kind of look like a torch.”

“I have, but I wasn’t aware they had any kind of actual function until you came along, and started using them to teleport from place to place. Is that one of your… powers, as well?” It looked like he had picked up on how you were using the waypoints. That’s good, you won’t have to do as much explaining.

“So you do know what they can be used for, that’s good. I’m not exactly sure if using them to teleport is specific to me, though. As far as I know, there isn’t anything stopping people from using them, but no one else seems to even acknowledge their existence. I don’t know if others can use them, and that’s why I brought this up.”

To quote the Wiki: “The canonicity of Teleport Waypoints is unclear.” Maybe it was only you, the player. Maybe it was just the Traveler. Maybe it was just people who could manipulate elements. Whatever it was, you were about to find out if Kaeya could use them.

“...Are you wanting me to try to teleport to one of these waypoints?”

“Yep.”

“How exactly am I going to go about doing this? I don’t have a map like you, where I can just… pick and choose right where I want to go.”

“I think I might have an idea. Do you have the surroundings of a particular waypoint memorized?” Hopefully this worked. If it didn’t you had another idea, but this would allow him to do it on his own, whenever he wanted to.

“…I recall there being one in the middle of the lake in Springvale. I know that area fairly well, so I suppose I’ve memorized the surroundings of that waypoint. Now, what exactly am I supposed to do with that?”

“Okay, good.” You began to speak slowly. “Just visualize that area, imagine that you’re there. Close your eyes if you need to.” Eyes? Eye? Whatever, you just needed him to try that.

“Alright…” He said. You saw him close his eye, take a deep breath, and- Gone. No fancy effects, just poof! Vanished! It actually worked. Now you just needed to go there yourself. You opened your map, selected the waypoint, and followed right after him. You startled him a bit when you suddenly appeared beside him again. It looked like even he was surprised by the lack of any over the top effects.

“So, how’d that feel?” You asked. Hopefully in the future he could get quicker at it, and be able to make a swift escape from something.

“It felt… as if my soul was ripped from my body for a moment. But, it didn’t hurt or anything like that, just a little… out of body experience.”

‘Oh my god,’ you thought. That sounded horrifying, but apparently he was okay with it. “Are you willing to do it more?” You asked, wanting to make sure that he was, in fact, okay with it.

“If this allows me to travel around Teyvat nearly instantly, then I suppose so. A little discomfort is no big deal.” Having your soul ripped from your body is “a little discomfort”, and “no big deal”. Okay.

“Alright, just let me know if you start feeling bad because of it. Let’s try to go to the waypoint on top of the Knights headquarters; it’s the closest one to where I need to go.” You had a feeling he would not let you know if it did something to him, but you felt you should still say it.

You two made it to the HQ, and Kaeya was planning to follow you, but as soon as he heard Jean was going to be involved, he wanted to stay behind. He wasn’t in the mood to answer questions from her, and for all she knew, he was still on patrol. You told him you would be at the Cathedral plaza after you talked with Jean, and he decided he was going to meet you there.

After he left, things went just as you remembered them. Jean told you about the Fatui, you went to the HQ, showed her and Lisa the crystal, received the title of Honorary Knight, and began to follow Venti’s footsteps. Did you even have to do this? You knew where he was. You tried heading straight to the plaza, and lo and behold, there he was, along with Kaeya as an audience member.

You listened to his story, the Tale of Two Dragons. It was far more beautiful than the one you’d heard. The emotions his performance gave made you feel as if you were really there, witnessing the events being told. You saw, or rather, heard exactly why he’s the most popular bard in Mondstadt. You couldn’t help but clap afterwards. If he could hear you, you wanted to wait until you were alone with him at Windrise to reveal yourself, so you hoped he didn’t notice. You went on with the conversation as normal, not saying a word. You could see Kaeya in the background, listening, but none of them seemed to notice.

“Hey! Where are you running off to!?”

“To the ‘Symbol of Mondstadt’s Hero.’ Bye-bye~”

Aaaand he was gone. After the Traveler and the pixie were done talking to each other, you walked up to Kaeya, making sure there’s no one around to see him talking to himself. You were eager to see what he thought about all of that.

“I have to say, seeing people suddenly disappear like that is going to take some getting used to. Ignoring that for now, just what’s the deal with that crystal?”

“I found it in the woods before I came to Mondstadt for the first time. It was red when I found it, and it’s been purified, so now it’s blue. It’s apparently a tear from Stormterror.”

“Oh? That sounds… interesting. Is there anything else I should know about from before you came to Mondstadt?”

“I mean, I can tell you what I know of the Traveler’s backstory another time, but now, I should probably go meet up with Venti. I guess this is bye for now, then.” You kind of wanted him to go with you, but you knew Venti probably wasn’t planning to see you, let alone you and a plus one.

“Already? Well, I suppose I do have things to do. I should probably talk to Diluc, and I can’t hide from Master Jean forever. I’ll see you around.”

“See you around!”

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

And so you went to the massive tree, and approached Venti. Aether brought up the God of Anemo, and Venti began to talk about how the God of Anemo had been absent from Mondstadt for a very long time. You responded to that by simply saying, “Oh, really?” over and over again, and “It’s a shame I’ll never get to meet this Archon of the Wind,” in the most sarcastic tone you could muster.

After that last remark, he looked straight at the camera with a deadpan expression. To little surprise, he could hear you. He could also “see” the camera too? Aether looked in the direction of the camera for a second, probably wondering what Venti was looking at, but just looked back at him in confusion. You tried to stop yourself from laughing, but you couldn’t, bursting out into a cackle. Things are always ten times funnier when you’re not supposed to laugh.

And then you were fighting an Eye of the Storm using only Anemo Traveler. Great! You started calling out, “Venti help me!” repeatedly, and he started helping you. It wasn’t much, considering he too, was Anemo, but he was at least able to shoot it down when it flew up into the air.

You finally defeated it, and Venti spoke up. “If there’s anyone else who would like to reveal themselves, now would be a good time!” He knew very well of your existence at this point. There was no point trying to hide, even if you didn’t want to let him know.

You simply said, “Hi.” He seemed to be trying to avoid talking directly to you. He might’ve noticed that the Traveler and Paimon seemed unaware of you. “You don’t have to worry about confusing the other two. At least, not until you see Paimon- or, the pixie, fairy thing again.” You forgot he (probably) didn’t know who Paimon was yet.

“Oh? And who might you be, then? I’ve never encountered anything like you. Perhaps one day you too, may be written into a bard’s tale.”

“Call me [Y/N]. I want you to know now that I wasn’t put in this… situation by choice.” Venti looked a bit concerned. “I’ll explain later. We should get back to what we were talking about earlier, before we were… interrupted by that thing.”

“Alright [Y/N], if you say so… Seems the dragon wasn't the only thing affected by this change in the wind…” Your screen faded to black, and you were back in a cutscene. “Now then, you were saying someone had told you about the dragon?”

You stayed silent for most of the conversation, only reacting with:

“Oh.”

“Yay!”

“Woo-hoo!”

Next thing you knew, you were at the Cathedral, listening to Venti’s futile attempt to convince the nun to give him the Holy Lyre.

“Shocked, aren't you? Don't you just want to cry out and rejoice? How does it feel to finally meet the god you've been serving?”

“If there's nothing else, I'll be going back to handle the Cathedral's paperwork now.”

“Wait-”

“I don’t think that worked.” You said, trying to show as little emotion as possible.

“Oh…” He sighed, pouting, glaring at the camera. “You're the hotshot of the Knights of Favonius, why don’t you give it a shot?” You just stared at him, hoping he could sense that.

And what do you know? It still didn’t work. What a surprise. Even when you said Paimon ate the papers, it didn’t work! You thought that would change things!

Venti commented on how it was unfair the best warrior did not receive the best sword; another tale fit for a ballad. You discussed stealing it, and now Aether was finally questioning Venti about what he had said.

“Your point being?” Venti seemed very nonchalant about his “secret identity” being revealed. Out of all of the archons so far, he was your favorite.

You had a plan, and now you had to wait until “nightfall”, a.k.a. 6 in the evening! This was the part where you were meant to use the time skip feature you had been missing, right? You’d noticed the past two days that the time in Teyvat synced to your timezone, and there was no option to fast-forward. You didn’t have to wait a terribly long time, and thankfully, you had something to do to spend the time.

“Hey, wanna go to the Angel’s Share tavern for a bit? I think that I want to do some explaining there.” You asked Venti. You hoped Diluc was bartending, or at least in the building doing something.

“Ohoho, do I?” Oh no, what have you started? “I could never deny a visit to a tavern! The Dawn Winery’s wine truly is exquisite! Ah- wait, do you happen to have any Mora on you?”

You sighed. “I do, but I’m not going to be paying for alcohol. I have things to talk about, and I want you to remember them.”

“Oh, fine, fair enough. Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go! Hehe~”

That laugh. That goddamn laugh.

Diluc wasn’t bartending, but you saw him come down from the third floor, unlocking the door to the stairwell so he could leave. You made your avatar jump up and down, saying “Hi!” to him. You hadn’t seen him since yesterday. He opened the door, and stopped at the base of the stairwell. Kaeya soon followed him, going down the stairs only to stop when he saw you. What were they doing up there?

“Ah. Hello.” Diluc looked around your avatar, probably checking for Paimon, and noticed Venti standing behind you. “Is there a reason why you’re here with this bard?”

“I do. I was hoping I’d find you here, and luckily, I did. I offered to take him here because I wanted to- you know what? Venti, you just tell them.”

“[Y/N] here said they wanted to do some explaining, right here in this most wonderful tavern, over a couple of drinks.”

Kaeya and Diluc looked at you two for a moment, wide-eyed, surprised that Venti could hear you.

“Well, Diluc and I did just finish discussing things upstairs. I suppose we can go back up there to… fill your new friend here in.” Kaeya says, gesturing to the stairwell.

You tell him that sounds good, and the four of you headed upstairs, into a room full of wine barrels. It looked like it was their storage area.

Venti looked around in excitement, while you and the two brothers found a place to stand. “Don’t even think about touching anything. And don’t try to sneak a sip of anything without me knowing. All of these barrels are unopened, I’ll be able to tell if you’ve tampered with it.” Diluc definitely knew just how much Venti liked alcohol.

“So, what exactly are we talking about here? Everything we know, or shall we leave some details out?” Diluc asked.

“I at least want him to know who I am, and the very basics of what I’m doing, but yeah, everything. As much as possible.” You responded.

“Are you sure you trust him with this? You haven’t known him for very long, no? How can you be sure that he’s truly someone who should know this?” Kaeya seemed skeptical of Venti. Did he not want him to know for some reason?

“Yes, Kaeya, I trust him with this. Hey, come over here with me for a second.” You went to the corner of the room with him, and began to whisper to him. “Remember, I can see a bit of the future. I know who he is, and I trust him.” If anything, you trusted him more than Kaeya or Diluc. You thought the distrust some people had in the archons was reasonable, but you felt that you could trust Venti. You went back to the others. “Alright, where should we start?”

You discussed everything with them. It went very similarly to the conversation you had with just Kaeya and Diluc the other day, but this time, there was no panic, no anxiety. Everyone gave their thoughts about it, and any misunderstandings anyone had at this point were cleared up. You weren’t sure if they completely trusted you yet, especially considering what had happened with Kaeya earlier, but it seemed like they did trust you at least a little bit.

Now, as your avatar stood in the tavern, you were wondering;

“How much will my actions here affect things? Just when will that domino effect start?”

#genshin fanfic #sagau #genshin sentience au #baby’s first fanfic #ao3 #fanfic #pursuit of knowledge

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sodobabe · 3 months

Text

The Beginning of our Hotheaded Loverboy PT. 1

MINORS DNI 18+ ONLY

A/N: I’ve been wanting to write more Dew fics. This one is a work in progress so consider this chapter one. Dew is very whiny in this part as he’s a new ghoul and is going through it. Let’s cut the ghoul a break. The ultimate goal for this is for it to be a Dew x Aether x GN reader. Please see warnings below as some of the stuff written is very heavy.

Trigger Warnings: suicide, mention of physical and sexual abuse of a minor, warning for readers who have Emetophobia (it’s not detailed but the action is mentioned).

Smut Warnings: slight humiliation, praise, ever so slight choking, Dew coming in his pants because he’s needy.

Enjoy, and please tell me if I missed warnings so I can add them!

Dewdrop was the ghoul that nobody wanted to mess with. He was hot headed and severely misunderstood. He had a troubled human life. Nobody knew his life story except for Aether.

He grew up an orphan, in and out of foster care. He had to put up a tough act from the very beginning. He never knew his father and lived with his drug abusing mother until she OD’d one day. The memory of finding his mom unconscious after coming home from picture day in the third grade is one that never leaves his mind and often results in nightmares. He was the one who had to call 911. At the age eight, he was always making sure his mom was laid on her side after she shot up whatever drug she could get her hands on. He knew how to cook for himself. He had to do everything for himself from then on out.

When he was placed in his first foster home, he thought he was in heaven. His foster parents spoiled him and made sure he was comfortable. He never had to cook for or fend for himself. Unfortunately, they could not keep him due to his foster mom being pregnant with twins so he went to another foster family. This family would be his own personal hell. The foster mom would beat him for not saying please or thank you. This actually sent him to the hospital multiple times for stitches. When asked what happened, he was conditioned to say he was clumsy. The foster father would groom him, often times resulting in sodomy of a minor or sexual assault if Dew said no. He was stuck with this family. He endured this torture for years until one night he had enough. He found an old belt that his foster mom would hit him with and went to his closet where he would inevitably end his own life. While nobody really grieved his death, his soul found comfort in the pits of hell. He felt like he belonged.

He had been an outsider his whole life. Always interested in things other people weren’t. One thing he loved to do was play guitar. Sometimes after school, he would go to the local music shop and play to his heart’s content. Well, now that he was in Hell, he was able to enjoy all of the things he secretly did in his human life.

He had heard about certain people being summoned to the ‘top side’ by a man often known as Copia. He heard rumors that this Copia figure was looking for musicians for his band. Dew didn’t know much about being summoned or what even being topside meant, he just knew that he would be content with whatever was thrown his way.

As luck would have it, Dew’s faithful day arrived. Satan himself approached the guitarist and told him he was being summoned. Dew wasn’t sure what that entailed but he was eager to find out if it meant he got to play guitar and show off his skills in the human world without actually being human. Before he knew it, he found himself in a dark dungeon-like room, his body aching.

“Fuck me, what the hell happened,” he muttered to himself.

“Oh, good. You’re awake,” Aether, a fellow ghoul called out from the corner.

”Wh-where am I?” Dew spoke with confusion in his voice.

“Welcome to the abbey. You’ve been out cold for a while, that’s not uncommon with new ghouls right after summoning. You’re going to be sore, that’s why I’m here. Consider me your death coach. Kinda like a life couch but since we aren’t humans, make it death,” Aether said with a chuckle. He thought he was the funny one.

“I’m Aether, by the way. I play, or played rhythmic guitar in the band. Now I’m the touring nurse and head nurse at the infirmary. I’m a quintessence ghoul. You’ll learn more about your ghoul quality as you regain your strength. For now, let’s get you to your room so you can rest on something a little bit more comfortable than this awful concrete floor,” Aether continued.

With that, Aether scooped up Dew and carried him back to the den. Dew’s eyes were taking in the surroundings. Once they went through the doors of the den, he felt other eyes on him. He looked around and noticed four other ghouls staring at him from the couch in the common area.

“Who are they?” He whispered to Aether.

”Oh, those are the other ghouls. We can do introductions tomorrow. Right now, my main goal is to make sure you gain your strength back after a harsh summoning,” Aether said as he carried the new fire/water ghoul through the door to his room.

“This is your room. You can decorate it however you want. We just ask that you try not to dirty it up as Copia’s rats will find their way in here and get lost,” Aether said as he placed Dew down in his nest.

“Are you going to stay with me?” Dew asked, curling up into a ball.

”Would you like me to?” Aether replied.

Dew nodded his head and Aether crawled into the nest and brought Dew to his chest, holding him tight. Aether knew how rough a summoning was. He knew what the process could do to one’s body. He wasn’t about to let the new ghoul go through the process alone. Dew relaxed against the warmth of Aether’s body, breathing a sigh of relief as some of the pain went away thanks to Aether’s quintessence. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep, his body preparing for a brand new life starting tomorrow.

Dew started to stir from a nightmare. Even in his human life, he was riddled with anxiety while he slept. His troubling past never left his mind. Aether woke up to the sound of Dew whimpering. He pulled the new ghoul close to him and gently rocked him.

”Shhh, Dew, you’re okay. You’re safe,” Aether whispered to the still asleep Dew.

Dew grew more antsy, now kicking his legs. Aether had no choice but to wake him.

”Dew, wake up,” he spoke softly. Nothing.

”Dewdrop, hey, wake up buddy,” he said, a little louder.

This caught Dew’s attention, startling him awake. He was now holding his chest as he tried to fill his aching lungs with air.

”Hey, it’s okay. I’ve got you,” Aether cooed as he ran his fingers through Dew’s hair.

Dew started sobbing into Aether’s chest.

”Dew, hey, it’s okay. It was just a dream. You are safe. Nothing is going to happen to you,” Aether said as he held Dew close and gently rocked him.

Once Dew’s breathing was manageable, Aether sat up with the new ghoul in his lap.

”Care to tell me what that was about so I know how to help?” Aether softly asked.

“You can’t tell anyone. You have to swear you won’t tell anyone,” Dew begged.

”Hey, whatever you tell me Dew, stays between us. I swear to Satan on that promise,” Aether reassured.

“It’s my foster dad. He-“ Dew suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe again.

”Dew, just breathe. Take your time. You’ve got this. You are in control right now. You lead the conversation,” Aether said as he tucked Dew’s long blonde hair behind his ear.

Dew took a large deep breath and relaxed against the quintessent ghoul.

”My foster dad. He would abuse me. He would do sexual things to me. I have these nightmares that are just never ending memories of what he did to me. I don’t know how to stop them,” Dew muttered out as tears became more evident in his eyes again.

“Oh, Dewy, I’m so sorry that happened to you. Is there anything I can do to help you with these memories?” Aether question, tears now forming in his eyes as he felt like his heart was shattering for the new ghoul.

“I- I don’t know. Everyone always told me to go to therapy but I was too scared to go alone,” Dew replied.

”I’ll go with you, Dew. I go to therapy to help with my troubles. Not only is Copia a great leader, he is also a wonderful and sympathetic therapist. He will know exactly how to help in this situation,” Aether said as he laid back down on the bed with Dew curled up on his chest.

The two of them fell back asleep and woke up a few hours later. Dew woke up feeling like his skin was on fire. He was sweating profusely. He didn’t know what was happening so he decided to wake Aether up.

“Aether?” Dew asked quietly as he nudged the sleeping quint.

“Hmmm?” Aether mumbled as he rolled over to face the panicked ghoul.

”I think I’m sick. Something is wrong. I’m burning up,” Dew muttered out.

Aether sat up and let out a yawn before a stretch. He placed his hand on Dew and jumped back due to the burning sensation on the back of his hand.

“Ah, that was fast. Your powers are setting in. You’re a Fire and Water ghoul hybrid so you are going to feel hot and sweaty,” Aether said as he got out of bed.

”I’m going to go get Copia and a bottle of water for you,” he continued as he left the room.

Dew was miserable. He laid back down against the pillows but he felt like he was going to overheat and die. He didn’t want any of his clothes on. He stripped down to his boxers and just laid there, waiting for Aether to get back with water. He wasn’t sure what exactly meant to be a Fire and Water ghoul hybrid but he figured he would find out soon enough.

”Dew? Are you decent?” Aether asked through the door.

”Yeah, just in my boxers,” Dew mumbled in agony.

Aether came in, followed by Copia. Dew sat up and looked eagerly at the multiple water bottles in Aether’s arms.

”Here, but drink it slowly,” Aether instructed as he sat down with the water ghoul, pulling him against his cool body.

Dew let out a sigh of relief at the contact. He was able to feel some comfort as he chugged the water.

”Dew, I said to drink it sl-“ Aether started to say before he was cut off by Dew throwing the water up all over the bed.

”Slowly,” Aether continued as he got up.

Dew started crying at the loss of contact from Aether’s cool body and due to the fact he just ruined the blankets and sheets on the bed.

“My ghoul, it is okay. Accidents happen,” Copia soothed the agonized Dew.

”Aether tells me that you have nightmares and that your new powers are settling in?” Copia asks as he brushes the ghoul’s hair behind his ear.

“Aeth, you swore not to tell,” Dew said with anger and betrayal in his voice.

”Dew, relax, I didn’t tell him what the nightmares were about. I wouldn’t let you down that fast,” Aether said as he went to put the bedding in the laundry.

“Would you care to tell me about them? Maybe I can be of assistance?” Copia asked, drawing Dew’s attention back to him.

“I don’t want to talk unless Aether is here,” he said as he laid his ears back.

“I understand. We can wait for him to get back,” Copia reassured the clearly stressed out ghoul.

It didn’t take long for Aether to get back. He laid back down on the bed and pulled the hot ghoul against his chest once more. Dew let out another sigh of relief as he was getting comfortable and slowly sipped the next bottle of water.

”Alright, are you ready to tell me?” Copia asked as he sat down on the bed.

”In my past life, I was in foster care. My last foster parents abused me. My foster mom would beat me for any reason. My foster dad would sexually abuse me. They were the reason I died. I took my own life with the belt my foster mother would beat me with. I was hoping the nightmares that I had when I was a human would stay in the past life, but I guess that was not the case,” Dew babbled out.

”Oh, I am so sorry you went through that, my poor little ghoul,” Copia said.

”This is why I don’t like to be alone. I fear they will find me. I know that is impossible but I can’t help the paranoia,” Dew continued.

”That is okay, may I suggest something to the two of you?” Copia asked.

Aether and Dew both nodded.

“Aeth, why don’t you move into Dew’s room or vice versa. That way Dew never has to be in a room alone with his thoughts?” Copia suggested.

”I’d be more than happy to do that. Dew, is that okay with you?” Aether asked.

”Yes, please. I don’t want to be alone. Aether is my only friend I’ve ever had,” Dew muttered out.

’Very well. You two get that figured out, and I want to start a weekly therapy meeting for you, Dew. And don’t worry, Aether can come with you,” Copia said as he got up off the bed to leave.

Dew was still relaxing against Aether when Aether tried to reposition the ghoul. He let out a hiss, and Aether, a chuckle.

“Dew, relax, I’m just repositioning myself,” Aether said as he reached between him and Dew, adjusting his growing cock in his boxers.

Dew felt Aether’s cock pressing against his back and felt his body getting hotter. He was getting flustered with himself for not being able to control whatever it was he was feeling.

“Fucking damnit. I can’t fucking do this,” Dew said as he pushed off of Aether and stood up.

”Dew, just take a breather,” Aether tried to calm him.

”I can’t. I feel like my skin is melting off of my body. I am having these thoughts I have never had before and it’s all just too fucking much,” Dew spat out.

Aether knew exactly what thoughts Dew was talking about. Being a ghoul meant that you had a higher sex drive, for some ghouls, even for members of the same gender. Aeth knew all about this but he could sense that even his own sexual needs became needier since Dew came around. Was Dew the mate Aether had always heard about? Ghoul’s couldn’t choose their mates. They were summoned for the ghouls when Copia thought they were ready. For instance, Copia summoned Rain as a mate for Swiss but Rain is also a contributing member of the band.

Dew started to ramble on a bit more about how he felt. Aether was trying to think of ways to get the fired up (pun intended) ghoul to calm down. That’s when he just let his hormones get the best of him. He got up off the bed, walked over to Dew, grabbed him by the throat and passionately kissed him. This caught Dew off guard but he gave in and relaxed against the much larger ghoul. Aether picked him up and carried him over to the bed, never breaking the kiss. Dew was holding onto Aether’s back devouring the kiss. This caused Aether to ever so slightly grind his hips against Dew’s abdomen, drawing a moan from the hybrid’s lips.

”Dew, we need to talk,” Aether said as he came up for air.

Dew was panting after the loss of contact but was coherent enough to nod his head to acknowledge that he was listening.

”I think, I love you,” Aether said, avoiding eye contact with Dew.

Dew was now a bright red and left speechless.

“Wha- what do you mean you love me? I’m not lovable. That’s impossible. You only just met me,” Dew finally babbled out after slowing his breathing.

“Dew, there are things that you don’t know yet. I’m about to explain a big one to you. Some of these things may explain the way you feel,” Aether said as he sat down next to Dew.

”As ghouls, we have mates. Copia has files from Satan and he has a power that can tell who is who’s mate and he summons them. Two of the ghouls here are mates, Swiss and Rain. What I am feeling right now is the way Swiss said he felt when Rain was summoned for him. I feel like I cannot leave you alone. I feel like I have known you for my entire lives, both human and in death. I have been rock fucking hard since you got here, which is uncommon for me because I am the least sexually motivated ghoul that is currently here. I literally feel like I am on the brink of orgasm standing here. Another aspect of this feeling is being irritable. Swiss said that your emotions for your mate are all over the place and are so high that it makes you want to crawl out of your skin. We, as ghouls, cannot control who our mate is. It is someone that our souls have a bond with and that bond cannot be broken unless we were to die,” Aether explained.

”Is that why I’m angry? I have all of these emotions surging through me and I just thought it was from the summoning. I feel like I need to cum but it’s almost as if I can’t. I also feel like I’ve known you forever and I was hoping the feeling would go away because I know I am unlovable, but part of me wants to be shown the love,” Dew explained.

”Dew, you are not unlovable. You just never had your soulmate in your lifetime. I’m here now. We have each other now. If you want to take some time to process all of this new information, I under-“ Aether explained before he was cut off by Dew.

”Don’t leave me, Aeth. I just got you, I can’t lose you already. Don’t go, I- I need you. So fucking bad,” Dew growled out.

”Okay, I won’t leave. I’m right here,” Aether said as he hugged the little ghoul.

“Does this mean we are dating?” Dew asked, shyly.

”Only if you want it to mean that. For Swiss and Rain, that’s how they view it,” Aether suggested.

Dew nodded his head and resumed kissing Aether. He wasn’t sure what overcame him. Before he knew it, he had his hands in Aether’s pants, slowly stroking the quintessence ghoul’s dick, pulling sweet, soft moans from his lips. This got Dew all worked up, he felt like he was going to cum in his own pants.

”Fuck, Aeth, I think I’m gonna cu-“ Dew said before his own body cut him off.

Thick ropes of cum coated the material of his boxers over his crotch, leaving a pattern of wet spots from the stick secretment.

“Fuck, such a good boy for me, that’s so hot. Love watching you lose control in your pants before you could even pull your dick out,” Aether praised as he nibbled on Dew’s ear.

Dew moaned as his body dealt with the big release. He was limp in Aether’s lap now. Aether got up and pulled Dew’s boxers off, wiping up any remnants of his seed, and threw them in the dirty clothes basket. Aether went into the bathroom to release his own loud, moaning for Dew in the process, before returning and tucking the sleepy ghoul into the nest with a back up blanket from the hall closet.

“Dew, baby, I’m going to go get us some food and something to drink. Are you okay staying here or do you want me to get one of the ghoul’s to bring us something?” Aether asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“Can someone bring us something? I don’t want to get up but I also don’t want you to leave quite yet,” Dew said as he held onto Aether’s arm.

“Sure thing, baby boy,” Aether said and winked at Dew, causing his dick to twitch.

Aether picked up his phone and texted Rain:

TO Waterboy: Hey, sweet thing, think you can do me a favor and bring some Gatorade, nuggets, and Mac n Cheese to Dew’s room. He’s spent but doesn’t want me to leave yet.

Dew questioned the use of the term ‘sweet thing’ from Aether to Rain.

“You will soon find out that we all flirt with each other. We also all fuck each other. Swiss shares his mate. I personally, don’t want to share you quite yet. The flirting is just a friendly ghoul thing. You will get used to it,” Aether explained as he chuckled and laid down with the sleepy hybrid.

FROM Waterboy: Sure thing, big daddy.

Aether set his phone down and pulled the sleeping ghoul into his side, allowing Dew’s head to rest on his chest. He dozed off for a bit until he heard a soft knock on the door. This startled Dew, causing him to cling to Aether and flip his ears up to attention.

“It’s okay, Dew, it’s just Rain with our food and drinks,” Aether says as he rubs Dew’s back.

“Come in, Rainy boy,” Aether instructed.

Swiss opened the door for Rain and the two of them entered the dark bedroom. Dew laid his ears back and tightened his grip on Aether.

“Dew, they’re not taking me from you. It is okay. They just want to meet you,” Aether said, grabbing Dew’s hand and giving it a squeeze.

Dew relaxed a bit as Rain handed him and Aether the food and drinks.

“Can we sit?” Swiss asked.

”Yeah, go ahead. I figured we could do introductions slowly today since he’s still pretty timid and clinging to me,” Aether explained.

Swiss and rain pulled up bean bags and sat on the floor next to the bed.

”So, you’re Dew, the new hybrid that Copia has been talking about. We’ve heard you are a great guitar player as well as a lil hot headed,” Swiss chuckled.

”I wouldn’t say I’m a great guitarist but the hot headed portion is right,” Dew snarked back with a smile.

”Well, I’m Swiss, this is Rain. I’m a multi ghoul meaning I have more than two powers. Rainy baby here is a water ghoul so you and him could talk about some of your powers,” Swiss suggested.

”I see you’re clinging to our beloved Aether here. Aeth did Copia finally treat you?” Swiss continued.

”Yes. About fucking time. I’ve been proving to him I’ve been ready for my mate. Now I have the love of my life with me all the time,” Aether said before giving Dew a kiss, causing him to relax a bit.

“Congrats, man. And Dew, treat our favorite ghoul well, please,” Rain chimed in.

“Thanks, Rainy baby, can you send Mountain to us in a couple of hours. We are going to eat and take a nap so Dew baby here can gain some strength and help settle the emotional chaos that is his brain right now,” Aether suggested.

Swiss and Rain both nodded. Swiss got up from the bean bag and yanked Rain up with him before slapping the water ghoul’s ass and telling him to go to their room.

”He’s kinda scary,” Dew said as he dipped his nugget in ketchup.

”Who? Swiss?” Aether said with a giggle.

”He’s really nice once you get to know him. He just tries to be tough guy because of his past, kind of like you,” Aether reassured the ghoul.

“What’s your story?” Dew asked in between bites of his food.

”Dew, my love. That is a story for another time. Right now, let’s just relax and enjoy each other’s company. What would you like to watch on TV?” Aether asked as he turned the tv on.

”Can we watch Grey’s Anatomy?” Dew asked as he continued eating.

Aether nodded his head as his mouth was full of food. He turned on the tv and they ate their food while just silently enjoying each other’s company. Aether had noticed that Dew had finished his food and went to ask if the hybrid wanted more. As he turned his head to ask, he realized that Dew was leaning back in the pillows, fast asleep. He smiled to himself and put both of their plates on the nightstand next to the nest. Aether turned the tv down and laid down with his mate, pulling him to his chest, resulting in a low pur coming from the little sleeping ghoul. Aether was content. He figured he would be perfectly happy just working around the abbey and for the band but now he had someone to spend his time with whom he loved dearly. All of these happy thoughts made it easier for him to fall asleep. Before he knew it, he was back into his dreamland which all seemed like reality now that he had his mate with him.

#the band ghost #aether ghoul #aether fluff #nameless ghouls #dewdrop ghoul #dewdrop angst #dewdrop x aether

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woltourney · 1 year

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ROUND 1 / SIDE A / POLL 4

Eleutherios (@trans-estinien) v. Katarh Mest (@katarh-mest)

Eleutherios:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Eleutherios, He/Him

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Unsundered Ancient

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. Currently (as of 5.3 onwards) Eleutherios' main job is Dark Knight

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. Eleutherios Azem on Sargatanas, Aether!

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. Have you ever thought "Huh, I wonder how the story of Final Fantasy XIV would change if Azem was never sundered?" WELL DO I HAVE THE WARRIOR OF LIGHT FOR YOU! Introducing Eleutherios! The lovable Azem who spent his days travelling Etheirys, caring for its people, and annoying the Convocation. Until everything fell apart, of course. On the eve of the Sundering, he denounced both the Convocation and Venat, choosing to find his own path to end the Final Days. Paths that didn't involve summoning gods or killing half of the star's population and then some. But Venat and the others had chosen their courses, and fate had been set. Now, Eleutherios should have died when Hydaelyn broke the world. But he did not. Why? Well, because of the timeline splitting in two. When? When a traveller from the future arrived in Elpis to learn the truth of the Final Days, of course. This traveller? Eleutherios himself. Hydaelyn had spared him from Her spell, making him Her chosen, in the same vein as the Unsundered Ascians being chosen to carry out Zodiark's will. Eleutherios believed the Ascians' plan to restore the world to what it once was foolish. Their people were dead. Nothing can fix that. They just have to push forward and make the best of the future they've been given. But his fellow Unsundered couldn't see this, trapped in their ideals of what the star should be. They needed to see it for what it is. But how could he expect the Convocation to do that, when the only one of them who ever seemed to care about the individual lives of the people was him? So someone has to fight for the new life springing up across the star. And thus began his great work. He's risen up to be the Warrior of Light countless times, over and over, for eons. With each Rejoining marking another failure. Time and time again he had to watch as everything he fought for was reduced to ash. Once, twice, seventh. It seemingly never ended. But what choice did he have? If he didn't fight against the Ascians, he was practically working for them by letting them get away with these atrocities. And so he carries onward as he's always done. But unbeknownst to him, this time was different. This time he meets the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. This time he travels to another Shard and manages to prevent a Rejoining. This time he isn't alone to face the second Final Days. This time, everything will finally be ok.

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. "Well, I'll be honest with you, I don't mind if I win or not. I just like participating and getting to know everyone! Oh, and I'll promise I'll hold back, for their sake. Though if they're Warriors of Light I'm sure they'll all hold up just fine! But if you want a serious answer about why I specifically should win, then…" [Eleutherios takes a moment to think.] "I should win based off of the fact that I have eons more experience in this whole 'Warrior of Light' business than the rest of them do. I've been at it since the Sundering! Not to say that my many, many years of experience is needed to be a Warrior of Light, or that I'm better than the rest, which couldn't be further from the truth. I think we all stand equal, sundered or not."

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. I have so much more lore for Eleutherios and I had to cut down this introductory essay by a LOT. I'm currently working on an extended version which covers ALL of his lore. If you want more Eleutherios content just send me an ask on tumblr, or scroll through the [#eleutherios (azem)] and [#unsundered azem au] tags! I'm always happy to talk about him!!

Katarh Mest:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Katarh Mest, She/Her

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Highlander Hyur

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. Summoner/Scholar

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. Lamia

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. Katarh grew up in Ala Mihgo, and left to study at the conjurer's guild when she was about fifteen. She lived there happily until the city fell, and her parents were killed. All her sisters survived because they too were in other city states. She served in the battle of Cartenau for Gridania as a healer, but disappeared until one day she found herself right back outside the city gates. No one remembered her. And she had no memory of the last five years. Still, there's always someone in need of healing, and she quickly found herself back at the conjurer's guild, starting over from scratch. She didn't mean to become a hero. Not the first time, and not later on. She discovered the art of summoning after visiting one of her sisters in Limsa (who DID remember her, but had no clue where she had been for the last few years) and switched from being a conjurer to an arcanist full time. Sometimes heroes are just in the right place at the right time, or so she thought. She does it because it's the right thing to do, although she wishes that she could have a bit more time to herself some days. She's middle aged, tired, and cranky. She swears like a sailor (too much time in Limsa.) In her free time, she likes to fish.

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. "I've seen some shit. And I'm probably old enough to be your mom. Of course I should win. Have you ever seen the size of the Nepto Dragon I hauled in two years ago?"

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. A WoL can be 45 and still be young at heart

#💎 round one #💎 shout #shadowbringers spoilers #endwalker spoilers

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calxide · 2 years

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⋆⁺ [ 043 ] deeper than the abyss

warning/s: drinking, mentions of someone making out, fluff fluff fluff, kiss, apologies if you hate ThomaTo & AyaMiya, lmk if there's more

w/c: 2.1k words + sns

read story utc!

Childe's house was big— scratch calling it a house, it's a mansion. You wondered if his house is just a few streets away from Teyvat University, why bother living in a school dorm? But you did not let yourself linger in that thought any longer.

You entered; flashing lights crossed your eyes, making you wince at the dreadful scene that welcomed you. You undoubtedly did not expect the party to be wilder than expected. But of course, you should've anticipated this after Childe had informed you all about the change of location and that he would be throwing a party for the whole school, not just your circles. You assumed Scaramouche disagreed with throwing a small party at their dorm, thus, leading to this big, chaotic party.

People were shouting, and you could hear indistinctive chatters here and there. Red cups were scattered around; most people were either drinking or dancing on the dance floor; rave music echoed through your ears — it was deafening. And that's when you realize that this was your first college party. You had turned down every offer that anyone invited you for the sake of studying.

In a corner, you heard a voice that sounded familiar yet different, for the owner of the voice seemed extremely drunk.

"Aetherrrr, I'm so sorry," you could hear him whimper. He was slurring each and every word he said; he's drunk, that's for sure.

"What?! Get off me, Kazuha," Aether responded as he rolled his eyes at the boy who was clinging to him. Aether was trying his very best to get Kazuha's hands off him.

"But I thought you wuv me…"

You shook your head and decided not to listen to their conversation any longer. You still don't know what's up with the two best friends – its best not to inquire about it right now.

You continue strolling around the area, mouthing sorry and excuse me every now and then when you accidentally bump into someone. The whole place was packed with sweaty, drunk individuals — luckily, no one had offered you a drink yet or asked you to dance with them on the dancefloor because you were sure that you'll look like a fish on land while dancing.

"Ayaka! Yoimiya! There you are. Where's Ayato?" You've heard yet another familiar voice — one that belonged to a certain blond-haired man.

"Nii-sama went to get more drinks. Patience, Thoma," Ayaka answered as she elicited a soft giggle.

You heard Ayaka's girlfriend, Yoimiya, laugh alongside her, "You should've gone with him instead of staying here to guard our belongings. I'm sure you'd like to give him a ki— Hey, that hurts!"

"Yoimiya! Do you ever shut up?" Yoimiya and Ayaka only laughed at Thoma's dismay. Their lovely interaction made your heart swell; they reminded you of your friends a lot.

You sighed; you weren't much of a party person, but when Childe had to plead with you earlier because he wanted to celebrate, you had no choice but to say yes to your good friend.

"Y/N!" A familiar voice called your name caught your attention amidst the loud noise.

"Venti. Drunk already?" You teased your friend, who seemed to be intoxicated already. He was clinging dearly to his boyfriend, Xiao, who gave you a quick nod to acknowledge your presence — to which you nodded back.

"Oh, come on, Y/N," Venti whined. "It's not a college party if you don't get drunk! Besides, Childe bought a lot of alcohol for this," he giggled as he struggled to speak through the hiccups.

He opened the alcohol bottle —that you have no idea where it came from— in his hand swiftly. Grabbing a red cup on the corner, he filled it and handed it to you. "Here~"

You raised an eyebrow at him but took the cup nonetheless. "Well~ It's completely up to you if you want to drink or not!"

Venti leaned closer, still holding onto Xiao for support, "But let me tell you this, things get more interesting when you're intoxicated. Especially once Scaramouche arrives." He lightly giggled and gestured for Xiao to accompany him somewhere else as soon as he finished saying that to you.

Things get more interesting when drunk, he says? You needed some thrill — therefore, you gathered all your courage and took a deep breath before drinking the alcohol. You felt a burn in your throat as soon as you gulp the liquor down, immediately regretting your decision. It wasn't your first time drinking, but you were sure that your alcohol tolerance wasn't that great.

You grunted as you went to the nearest stool and made yourself comfortable there. You wonder whether your other friends are having fun at the party or are yet to arrive. You decided not to look for your other friends as this party is absolutely packed.

You took out your phone to ask your friends whether or not they already were at the party — to which you didn't really expect a response if they were already here. Surprisingly, Xingqiu responded that he was on his way with Chongyun, while Hu Tao said that she's been here in a while already with his girlfriend, Yanfei.

Knowing Kaeya, he's probably out there flirting with every person he sees since Albedo isn't going as he is not a party person. As for Mona, you weren't entirely sure — either she's using her skills in hydromancy to earn some mora or getting wasted to enjoy this party. You were confident that it wasn't the former because you know how much respect she has for the crafts she harnessed.

You quickly put your phone back, only to take it out again when it started buzzing.

my idiot 💜: i'm here

my idiot 💜: where are you?

my idiot 💜: i'm on the balcony on the second floor

You wondered why he was on the balcony; you shook your head. He probably wanted some fresh air away from the chaotic atmosphere.

You hissed as your head ached when you stood up. Nonetheless, you forced yourself to walk upstairs. Goddamit, you cursed under your breath. Why did he have to be on the second floor? You think you'd pass out the second you take a single step on the stairs.

Luckily, you made it to the second floor safely. But unfortunately, there were too many rooms. Why the fuck did Childe's house need to have so many rooms, and for what? You grunted, totally agitated with the situation you're in. And you curse Scaramouche for not specifying which room he exactly is in.

You took a wild guess and opened the first door on the right. And oh holy fucking hell was that sight that almost washed the inebriation from your body. Your body froze; you don't know why.

"S-Sorry," you mumbled and closed the door immediately. That was so hella awkward, you thought. Barging into a couple doing... something? Really? You groaned, wanting to get your eyes washed with Holy water at this very moment. Fate was toying with you today.

You walked around with a pout on your face. Contemplating whether you should take any more risks and open each and every door in this damn big mansion.

You hissed as you felt that you had bumped into someone.

"Woah, slow down there, Y/N. You okay?" You looked up only to see the owner of this house you oh so hated.

"Oh, fuck you, Childe. No, I am not okay. Your house is so damn massive that I even barged into someone doing... something! Ugh, why do you need to have so many rooms?" Your words slurred a little, but you didn't care.

Childe was a bit taken aback by the sudden outburst, but he only laughed at your drunken state. "Ah! So you are an aggressive type of drunk— Ouch! Hey! Don't hit me," he winced.

"Fuck you, really."

"Aw, fuck you too, princess— Ow, I'm just kidding, sorry!" To his dismay, you kept hitting him with your purse.

"Geez, calm down, will you? Your lover dear is in the third room on the left. At the left, you hear me?" You nodded at his words and muttered a small thanks.

"I hope she's still sensible enough to understand what I said," you heard Childe mumble to himself, to which you snicker.

You followed what he said. Standing in front of the third room on the left, you held onto the doorknob. As soon as you opened the door, you saw a familiar silhouette.

Scaramouche was standing behind the curtain—he was on the balcony like he said. You made your way beside him, and you made sure to hit him with your purse, like you did with Childe.

"I— what the hell was that for?" Scaramouche grunted.

You said nothing; instead, you hugged him tightly. "You're a fucking idiot. There were so many rooms, I wouldn't have gotten to you if it wasn't for Childe."

You heard him chuckle, "It wouldn't be fun if there wasn't a thrill, right?"

You scoffed, leaning onto his chest, letting his scent engulf you.

"You're stupid," you mocked.

"And you are too. Quite a powerful couple, we are, aren't we?" He teased back, making you laugh. "Scaramouche, you are so ridiculous."

"But you love me."

"Sure."

The two of you stayed like that for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the cold but comforting breeze that brushed through your skin. You looked up to Scaramouche, the moonlight lighting up his porcelain skin and making his indigo eyes shine—you noticed the bold red eyeliner above his eyes.

You parted his bangs and brushed your hand in his face. "Hm?" He hummed as if asking you if you needed something.

"Did you always have that red eyeliner?" You asked innocently, still in his arms.

He smirked, "Why? You like it?"

You narrowed your eyes with his cockiness. "No."

He laughed at your simple response; he knew you liked it. He leaned in, making your forehead touch, noses brushing. "I know you like it. I know you love me."

His breath fanned your skin, making blood rush to your cheeks. He was about to step back when you grabbed him harshly, smashing your lips into his. He was taken aback by the bold action that you have made but responded quickly.

He let go to catch his breath, "Needy brat—"

You didn't let him speak another word, once again pressing your lips together—although you did it gentler this time.

"Y/N, I—" and another kiss from you shut him up for the second time.

He muffled between your kisses, trying to satisfy your hunger for his touch. But your kiss didn't last long as he felt tears in his hands. Tears were streaming down your cheeks, making him panic.

"Hey, Y/N. You okay, babe?"

You snuggled your head on the crook of his neck and mumbled, "I love you."

Scaramouche was baffled over the fact that you were crying because you love him. "Yeah, so? Why are you crying?"

He made him look up to you, and cupped your cheeks. He planted a kiss on your nose, "I love you too."

You sniffed, "I love you so much you don't understand."

Scaramouche chuckled, "You're drunk, hm?"

"I love you a lot. I love you deeply. It's like the abyss." Scaramouche hummed, signaling you to continue.

"What a rollercoaster ride we had, I thought. Yet, even with all the obstacles that we have encountered, my love for you never faltered," you said softly. His gaze also turned softer every second passed.

"At first, I thought love was such a stupid concept. But I met you, liked you, fell in love with you." He hummed once again as his eyes bore into you longer. "You were there for me, cared for me, loved me."

"So, I wondered, what should we call this stupid game of love?" You held his right hand that was still on your cheek.

He smiled at your words, quite uncharacteristic of him, one might think — but to you, it always gave you a sense of comfort and love. Scaramouche listened intently to you, and now was his turn to speak, "And you did the same. So, if our love was deep like the abyss, why don't we call it... Abyssal Love?"

"Abyssal Love... I like it," you smiled sheepishly to him—a smile he swore to protect forever.

"I'm glad you do." He planted a kiss on your forehead and continued, "Never thought I'd hear a drunk person say such a thing; you're really a clever one, aren't you?" He teased.

You snorted, "You know what, I'm taking those back. I hate you."

"Oh, sure you do, darling. The more you hate, the more you love."

With one last peck on the lips, he held your hand. "But for now, let's go home, shall we?"

Multiple words were exchanged with the glances you shared at that moment. And you were sure of one thing— your love for each other is as deep as the abyss—one might say that it is even deeper than that.

This time, I finally managed to catch you. We both fell in love with each other, truly, and deeply. My love for you is deeper than the abyss. And I'd love to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you.

ABYSSAL LOVE ✰ previous ♡ masterlist ♡ next

a/n: crying bleeding losing ! i honestly dk what to say rn but yes stream _world by svt ig epilogue should be released around 3 hours after this chapter's release. see you there!

⋆⁺ synopsis — Scaramouche, the person who tripped you on purpose just to see your despair expression on your face, hates how you always appear so happy in front of other people. He hated the fact that you find life enjoyable, unlike him. You, of course, hated him back. You don't understand why he goes to the extent to see your face crinkle in pure dismay. But what if you realize that the person who always laughs at your misery isn't so insufferable after you get to know him?

💌 @r-0-tt-3-n-m-1-lk @kanaqwqbear @berryqueue @nejibot @wrrapedroundmyfingerlikearing @cafescara @ferumie @zannivrs @kazuhasmaid @mxrossweisse @thenightsflower @deimmortales99 @senjuchii @dollpoetwriting @yumixxn @plinkuro @w9vyy @lacy-lady @hanniejji @fluffimemes @ifelloutofbed @lunaflvms @aeulia @fluffloversmutavoider @aeriether @rizakari @c0nn0rv8 @llghtsnoww @moonxma @fiorische-san @whats-humanity-lol @twistedrxses @saltishima-rex @veralioz @scarakitty @rinneamagisluv

#genshin imagines #genshin x reader #genshin smau #genshin x y/n #genshin fluff #genshin x you #genshin x female reader #scaramouche x you #scaramouche imagines #scaramouche x y/n #scaramouche x reader #◇ーsmau: abyssal love #◇ーcalx's collection

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ramblingoak · 1 year

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Copia is Terrible at Telling Scary Stories: Terzo Edition

Papa III tries to tell Copia’s ghouls a scary story

(gen, sfw, this is just silly)

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“And to this day the beautiful sister can never look at her reflection. Even if it’s in a window…even if it’s in a puddle of water. If she ever sees her own eyes looking back at her the demon will take possession of her body. She will be forced to spend eternity trapped inside her own mind, feeling nothing but fear and pain,” Copia watched as Terzo rested his hands behind his back and let his audience absorb the ending.

The stupid smug bastard.

“Yes my little ghoul, do you have a question?” Copia whipped his head around and glared as Dewdrop lowered his hand. The little gremlin had sat perfectly still the entire time, never interrupting Papa once. The ghoul didn’t even touch any of the s’mores that were being made while Papa spoke. Terzo had brought two sisters out with him and they had quietly made them while he told his tale, passing them out to Copia’s ghouls with little smug smiles on their faces.

“Can she look at pictures of herself?” Copia scoffed and rolled his eyes. Of course she could look at pictures of herself! A picture was not the same as a reflection. He crossed his arms over his chest and began to shake his head but he stopped and turned when he heard a growling sound. Aether’s head was turned his way and Copia could see the glow of his purple irises through the lenses. Alright, fine.

“Thank you Dewdrop that’s actually an excellent question,” Even through his mask it was easy to see that Dew was preening under the praise. Sunshine leaned over and knocked her shoulder against him. A quick grin full of fangs flashing in the opening of her mask. What in the fuck was happening? Did Terzo drug his ghouls?

“You see, the poor sister can technically look at pictures of herself. She can even have her picture taken! But everytime she looks at them she only sees the demon staring back at her. It only appears to her, but it’s there no matter how old it is. It could be a picture of her as a baby or one someone just took of her today.” Copia heard Swiss mutter about how horrible that was and honestly what the fuck? He was about to grab one of the sticks the sisters used to roast marshmallows with and stab himself in the face.

“Alright, well I hope everyone had fun! Tummies full of chocolate and marshmallows yeah?” Terzo stood up and gently cupped Cumulus’s chin. When he let go she leaned into Cirrus and they giggled together. Maybe Copia should just summon a whole batch of new ghouls. Really mean ones. Terzo motioned to the sisters he brought with him and they started to gather up their supplies.

“Wait, don’t worry Papa, we’ll clean up!” Rain chirped from his place between Aether and Mountain. Lucifer even Rain had been enthralled. Like Papa was some sort of warlock. Honestly that made sense. What else would’ve made his ghouls sit there and listen to that story without interrupting? No one even stole food or bit each other!

“Thank you, sweet Rain. You are always so helpful, actually all of you are. I’m sure our Cardinal knows how lucky he is, eh?” Copia gritted his teeth at the sight of Mountain shaking his head ‘no’. All. New. Ghouls. “Alright ladies, let’s go back to my room and uh, clean up a bit yeah?” The sisters giggled as they each held onto an arm and made their way from the fire and back towards the abbey. Dewdrop even waved at them as they passed.

Copia watched as his soon to be unemployed ghouls began to pick up after Papa. They were talking with each other excitedly. Probably fawning over Papa and how good his story was. How delicious the s’mores were. His stupid handsome face.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a throat clear. Terzo and his companions had stopped right next to Copia and were whispering to each other. The sisters smiled and let go of Terzo to keep walking towards the abbey. Papa lightly slapped their asses as they left his side and their giggles echoed around the campfire.

Copia remained perfectly still as Terzo’s attention switched to him. Copia looked at him warily, unsure of what was going through the man’s head. Papa stepped up close to Copia and then leaned in next to his ear, “Well that wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Papa stepped back and gave Copia a wink and then went to jog after the sisters.

Smug fucking asshole.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

my masterlist

my ao3

#my writing #my fics #cardinal copia fanfiction #copia fanfiction #papa emeritus iii fanfiction #terzo fanfiction #the band ghost fanfiction #nameless ghoul fanfiction #cardinal copia #copia #papa emeritus iii #terzo #the band ghost #ghost #dewdrop ghoul #nameless ghouls

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ecosystem-administrator · 2 years

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Tepid

Timeline: mid-6.0, somewhere right around Returning Home

CW character experiencing mild depersonalization

Mayhem and Ardbert have a chat about identity. Because I missed my friendly ghost this expansion and I insist on continuing to take him with me everywhere.

“Are you all right?”

Ardbert’s voice didn’t seem to come from anywhere, but the scenario - left alone to recuperate in their room, this time in Old Sharlayan rather than the Crystarium - was so familiar that Mayhem turned immediately to look for him, a little disappointed not to see the familiar shade striding into the room from nowhere in particular.

“Sorry, I can’t really…do that anymore. I’m surprised I’m still myself enough to do this much. But we can still talk, if you don’t mind looking half-mad.” A trace of amusement flickered through his voice, and through Mayhem’s mind. “If anyone hears you, just say you’re rehearsing for a play, right?”

Mayhem nodded, and sighed a little. “I don’t know. It’s all…it’s all happened so fast. And I still keep remembering…were you there, for what Zenos did?”

“Of course I was. Who do you think was steadying your sword arm?” A wash of affection rippled over their shared soul, and Mayhem felt themself clinging to it like a lifeline. “Not like you were ever any good with a bladed weapon.”

“I should learn,” they said distantly, raising up a hand before their face and flexing the fingers. “Probably. I don’t know. I keep catching sight of my reflection and being afraid of my own face, like it won’t be me in the mirror. Seeing myself from the outside was just… I don’t even know how to describe it. I haven’t felt like myself since it happened. I can push it aside when I’m doing something, but it keeps creeping back in. Like Zenos left a part of himself behind, or took a part of me with him.”

“Y’shtola looked you over, and she didn’t see any damage,” Ardbert pointed out. “So it’s not something in your soul. You’re as much yourself as you’ve ever been as far as I can tell, too.”

“Maybe that’s the problem.” Mayhem settled onto the bed and pulled their knees up to their chest, wrapping their arms and tail around them, ears lying flat against their head. “Who even am I? I feel like it changes constantly… my whole life, I’ve been different things to different people. For a while I was starting to feel like I’d settled into someone I want to be, but…maybe I’ve just been fooling myself. Putting on another act for attention. The grand hero, the savior of Eorzea, the Warrior of Light… is it all just a show for the people whose affections I value?”

There was a long silence, so long that Mayhem started to wonder if they’d actually been conversing with Ardbert at all. Finally he spoke up again, slow and thoughtful. “You love stories,” he said. “I’ve been through your memories - you’ve always loved stories and showmanship. That’s real, that’s something that’s just you. You love stories and you’re afraid of silence. You want to be free and happy, and seeing other people happy makes you happy too. Isn’t that how you got your start on this path? Just trying to do what you could do make others smile… that says something about who you really are at heart.” Another pause, and this time Mayhem could feel their own aether pulsing gently, like a heartbeat pressed close or a wash of gentle healing magic. “…I think we all choose what we want to show others, in one way or another. And what you think is important and valuable for a person to become, that determines what you choose to act out. No one’s choices are going to be exactly the same.”

“So even if it’s an act, it’s an act I chose…” Mayhem shivered, but the weight of dread settling into their limbs seemed to have lightened a little. “And the person doing that choosing…that’s my real self. Underneath all the masks and costumes, there’s someone there that only I can be.” Their eyes stung, and they lifted a hand to wipe away sudden tears. “Thank you,” they whispered, throat closing around the words before they could finish getting them out.

“Anytime.” The warmth pulsing across their soul felt like an embrace. “Any of the others would have said the same, I’m sure.”

“No,” Mayhem shook their head emphatically, and closed their eyes, ignoring that it made a few more tears splash down their cheeks. They envisioned the white void that was the last place they’d ever seen Ardbert, returning the embrace that had finally melded their souls into one, and for that moment they could almost feel the physical touch of it. “Because you’re the only you, too. …I am going to learn to swing a blade, when all this is over. So that you can keep steadying my arm.”

#ffxiv #ffxivwrite2022 #mayhem #ardbert #endwalker spoilers #cw depersonalization #also this is my in-universe explanation for why Mayhem picks up tanking later

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silentsthoughts · 1 year

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My Thoughts On: Prologue Chapter

Hello everyone, welcome to this week's topic discussion on Genshin Impact!!! Originally, I was gonna wait till next week but I got too excited so that's why we're here. This week's thoughts I want to share will be about the Prologue Chapter! I know, we're going way WAAY back here but here me out, I wanted to share my thoughts about the recent chapter while it's still fresh in memory but where would be the fun in that, really? For my senior citizen/OG Genshin players out there, ya'll really know how it was back then. Times were great when we had to pick up each individual loot from every boss fights to trying to visit Diluc and/or Kaeya at their respective places (I see you Diluc and Kaeya simps out there, don't hide now). Anyways, without further ado, let's jump right into it, shall we? Before I really get into it, please don't come for me if I said something that wasn't aligned with the Prologue Chapter, it's been so long. Alright back to it.

If I have to be brutally honest, I do have a lot of regrets on not paying attention to the Prologue Chapter. I really tried, I really did guys but I don't know what happened, something did lmao. My attention span to the chapter was so bad that I had already forgotten how Aether (since I play as Lumine) looked like and I thought that Venti was my long lost sibling. And yes, I do give you guys permission to come for me about that cause that was some wack ass logic of mine, I honestly had no idea why and how I came up with that conclusion. Every now and then, I do think about starting up a new game but I've worked too hard to get to where I am now (AR 59 BABYY!!) so all I can really do now is to just listen to the audio of the Prologue Chapter. I honestly was SUCH a big noob during the entirety of that chapter ya'll, it's near cringey when I think back to it *cringes in AR 59*, but now that I've been properly paying attention on the main story line lore, everything is starting to make sense to me. It was very hard for me to hide my amusement and ooh's and ah's during that chapter cause think about it: a mobile game that is super high quality without needing to pay for continuing the storyline, fluid animations, BEAUTIFUL soundtracks!?!? Oh hell yea, SIGN. ME. UP! Cringey and weird as this sounds but it was at that moment that I knew Genshin was gonna be my forever game, my comfort game and it still is two years later.

Again, my memories on this chapter is kinda fuzzy so please spare me on that but all I ever remembered doing during those times was just going to domains left and right and following Venti around as if he was a mad sus man (to which he kinda is, if you think it). I also remembered when we had to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel, it was very much giving Thief/Assassin's Creed kind of and I hated doing that cause I am the WORST at stealth but I was able to complete it anyway. If I remembered correctly, I think you were able to play as Diluc in one of the domains unless I'm thinking of his story quest, but regardless I did not for the life of me, know how to play as him (and I still don't now that I have him). Regardless, I just remembered that there was a lot of fighting and going back and forth. Towards the end of the chapter when we start fighting Dvalin, I was lowkey freaking out cause I didn't know how to fight him along with not knowing how to utilize Venti lol.

Just right when the chapter was coming to an end, I remember when Signora came in and I was like,"Who the fu--oh.. *lowkey blushes*" Like, please tell me everyone had the same thought, it can't just be me right? Right? And of course, at the end of every Archon Quest, we get to ask questions about our life and it did take me awhile what Allogene and Gnosis meant until I had to do further research and do the whole coming-back-to-listen-to-the-audio to finally have a good grasp on what they are and their purposes. Also, does anyone remember when Diluc was talking about the Fatui and he was like,"If I have to choose between eating a slime and (something else, forgot what he said), I would rather be crushed by a meteorite." Something along those lines but I just found it so funny cause my guy rather choose death than do any of those things lmao.

Overall, I give the Prologue Chapter 7/10. The missing three points has nothing to do with Genshin or Hoyoverse, it's more towards my lack of attention during that chapter so I would give myself -10/10. But next week, I'll be discussing about the next chapter which will be the Liyue chapter! I'm so excited to give my input on that chapter because it's still pretty fresh in memory, but it's probably simply because I DID pay attention to the story line that time. See you all next week!!

A/N: Hi everyone, I just want to say thank you for taking your time reading this sucky review/thought of mine on the Prologue Chapter. It's been a long week at work for me, so some things probably sounded repetitive or just didn't make sense at all so I would like to apologize for that. Besides the fact that I've been kinda brain dead, I couldn't really say much because I really don't remember the Prologue Chapter at all lolol. But again, thank you all so much for reading this and hopefully I won't be too tired and dead next week cause I really want to let you guys know my enthusiasm through each chapters and whatnot. Have a beautiful day/night everyone and I'll see ya'll next week!!

P.S. My posting days might be a little inconsistent, I'm trying to get into groove of this so until I figure things out for myself, you guys will be seeing me post up on random days each week.

#genshin impact #prologue chapter #sorry guys i will do better #genshin discussion #genshinblog #silentsthoughts #my thoughts on...#this week's thought is...#genshin impact jean #genshin impact diluc #genshin impact barbara #genshin impact venti #genshin impact kaeya #genshin impact lisa #genshin impact amber #genshin impact lumine #genshin impact la signora #genshin impact thoughts #mondstadt

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astaroth1357 · 3 years

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More undateables with a demigod hades mc???

By request, have yourself a part two!!

Demigod MC Series: Hades Pt. 2 (Un)Dateables Edition!

I will ask that y’all please don't ask for continuations of other gods unless I say it’s okay to do again. This series already fills my inbox something fierce and this is a one-off that I allowed for during the request window. If I have to make ideas for new gods while continuing a bunch of old MCs, it'll burn me out fast...

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena, Hades Pt. 2

Diavolo

Oh, he has no problem at all hosting a child of the Underworld, hell he even throws them a welcome banquet when he finds out! Hades is a dear friend - and practically a parental figure to him growing up - so he's more than happy to take in one of his children for a year.

Diavolo is actually one of the few people that the MC can talk to about their home with any kind of fondness. Usually when they bring up things like the comforting wailing of the River Coctyus, the brothers will give them weird looks... but Diavolo knows where they're coming from!

He spent numerous summers in the Underworld growing up doing things like pestering Charon on the River Styx or playing games with Cerberus (the other one) in the Asphodel Meadows... His beach house is actually modeled after his childhood summer home in the Isles of Paradise! Really, it can be a lovely place if the gloom doesn't bother you!

So in the spirit of his fond memories, Diavolo really tried to make their time in the Devildom a fun one!... in his maybe trying a little too hard way…

Poor MC found themselves offered pretty much everything under the moon… Tickets or exclusive passes to different cultural events/festivals, invitations to gala events, and tours of nearly every inch of Hell by the Prince himself - it was… it was a lot for the poor introverted thing…

It didn’t help that Diavolo would have a hard time gauging if they were having any fun due to their naturally melancholic nature, which only pushed him to try harder… He means well, he does. He’s just not the most in touch with what would make an anti-social doom child happy...

It took Barbatos and Lucifer stepping in for the mortal to actually start getting some much needed space and that improved their experience significantly. Sometimes less is more, Dia… Less is more. But they appreciate his efforts anyway.

Barbatos

Also has a pretty amicable relationship with the Ruler of the Underworld, though his is much more professional compared to Diavolo’s. He actually has a good deal of appreciation for the man for taking good care of the Prince during his visits, so he sees this as an opportunity to return the favor.

Like Diavolo, he’s rather focused on making sure the MC is having a good stay in the Devildom, but he’s much more subtle about it. He’ll come by the House often to check up on them and make sure everything is to their liking...

Even the brothers notice that he treats them like anothering visiting Lord/Lady in that way, which he would argue they very much are and should be respected as one. It’s the least the Devildom can offer their father at this point.

His visits may also be an excuse for keeping an eye on the brothers to make sure they don’t do anything to inconvenience their “young guest…” To be honest, the entire House is a little paranoid about that… Nobody wants to know the punishment for hurting MC if Barbs is the one dishing it out...

Apart from watching out for them, Barbatos tries to encourage the MC to accept the Young Lord’s gifts (while also actively advising Diavolo to go easier on them at the same time). It would be so disheartening to him if his Prince feels like he hasn’t offered them the best experience that he could… He’s sure they understand.

Any time that he invites the MC to tea, they usually end up talking about their father in some way. Barbs knows a surprising amount about the god… He’s been around about as long as Chronos - preceding the birth of Aether and Chaos themselves - so he has some stories to tell.

The MC did once ask him why he doesn’t just run everything if he’s really been around for so long... his answer was: “Kings and their kingdoms will rise and fall… Worlds upon worlds are born, then cease to be. But time is what brings about all changes… So, I think I’m perfectly content with the power I possess. Wouldn’t you be?”

Annnd they never asked Barbs another question like that again… and people think death is scary…

Simeon

He was honestly a little worried for their new companion for quite a while… It’s not like there’s never any sadness in the Celestial Realm or anything, but they seem to have something else entirely…

He’s heard stories about the Underworld. He’s never been himself, that’s usually a job for the Seraphim due to the… dreary nature of the place - but he’s heard it would make the Devildom look downright festive…

If he were being honest, he had half expected the MC to be obsessed with skeletons, ghosts, and other elements of darkness but that wasn’t the case. They certainly knew a lot about those things, but they appeared to have a healthy interest in the afterlife in general, so they asked him a lot of questions about the Celestial Realm, angels, and how the souls of the blessed are treated up there… It was surprising to say the least.

Of course he did the same and, frankly, Simeon found it incredibly wasteful that so many Greek followers find themselves just wasting away in a field of nothing for so long… but that’s neither here nor there.

He was also surprised by how gentle of an influence the MC ended up being on Luke as well. He had always suspected that the little angel just needed a bridge between him and Devildom to start finding appreciation for it, and the MC fit that bill perfectly - nothing he was used to, but still approachable enough to make everything less frightening. He thanks them a great deal for that… but...

It’s just that… Well they’re just so… depressing sometimes…! He doesn’t want to blame them because it hardly seems like their fault! They’re a very kind person, it’s just an atmosphere around them… It brings him to tears if he isn’t careful…

He’s invited the MC to Purgatory Hall on multiple occasions to chat and try to make them smile… When they do, the gloom is dispelled - even just a little - and they’re a truly beautiful creature regardless. It’s just so unfortunate that their life brings so much sadness...

Even so, he actually likes the MC enough to consider basing a character on them if he ever wrote another book. Something about a gloomy but sweet protagonist at home in a world of darkness sounds appealing… doesn’t it?

Luke

He didn’t know how to feel about the MC when they met. At first, he actually thought they were just as unhappy as he was to be there due to how depressed they looked but when they told him that wasn't true, he was really confused...

The Devildom is a dark, brutish, and dangerous place. Why would anyone feel at home down here??

But… well… He would spend time with them at RAD between breaks (partially to help scare off their many, many demonic suitors) and it might be weird to say, but they really made the Devildom look beautiful… literally.

The world just looks better when they’re around! It’s really hard to describe because it’s not something you notice much until they leave, but when the MC is around everything looks more vibrant and inviting! The grass gets greener, flowers grow bigger, and butterflies/birds hover around wherever they are like they have their own gravity - the realm loves them!

It started getting hard for Luke to hang onto his disdain for the place when they made it look so appealing… And then they started talking to him about the Underworld and the creatures they’d befriended there… creatures a lot worse than any demons he’d seen there...

Like. If the MC can be good friends with a bunch of rude walking corpses, then he could probably make friends with a demon right? There’s nice ones… kind of…

Beel. He can make friends with Beel.

Like Simeon, he does feel bad that they seem so sad all the time… but unlike the older angel, he’s a bit more understanding that this is just how they are and enjoys his time with them regardless. (It helps a lot that just being around this little bean of a boy can lift their spirits anyway).

And you know what’s even better for him? When Lord Diavolo gives the MC tickets to things that they don’t want to go to, sometimes they’ll invite him along or give them to him instead!

He’s gone to the Devil’s Coast with MC and Simeon sooo many times by now and he loves it!! Maybe the Devildom isn’t so bad after all, I mean, it can be a lot of fun when you go to the right places, anyway.

Solomon

Oh, he finds them both deeply fascinating and utterly terrifying - so just his sort of test sub-er, person!

He kids (somewhat), Solomon isn’t that dumb/lacking in self-preservation instinct. Experimenting on a child of death in a land of the dead (even if it’s not their “home turf”) would be asking for trouble. They’d have more than enough ammunition to fight him off and if their father found out? Immortality wouldn’t even begin to save him...

That being said, questions aren’t necessarily experiments… and oh boy, does he have a lot of them.

If the MC isn’t being pestered by Diavolo or the brothers, then they’re probably having to put up with Solomon nipping at their heels trying to get them to use their powers or answer all sorts of “innocent” scientific questions…

“MC, reanimation of Greek dead requires a blood offering, correct? Do you have to sacrifice animals for that process or do you allow them to feast on your own?”

“MC, when you’re controlling a skeleton do you move the body as a whole or do you have to animate each individual bone due to their lack of ligaments?”

“Think fast!! Oh look, you just caught the skull of my good friend, Richard! Could you bring him back from that, or should I fetch the rest of him?” 🙂

They put up with it because, believe it or not, he’s not nearly the weirdest person they’ve ever met (a lot of crazy people drift in and out of the land of the dead…) and well… they’re a pretty lonely person too so it’s not like they have a lot of standards when it comes to friendships anyway.

But the second they breathe a word of this to Barbs or Diavolo, this boy is on his way to a royal restraining order… Where does he even get those skulls…?

#obey me #obey me shall we date #shall-we-date-obey-me #obey me undateables #obey me datables #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me simeon #obey me luke #obey me solomon #obey me demigods #obey me requests

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restlessfandoming · 3 years

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“family holiday” (pt. 2) (chilumi fic)

[SPOILERS FROM 1.1 STORY QUESTS]

Lumine finally arrives in Snezhnaya and takes Childe’s offer of visiting his home (mansion).

(EVEN MORE DOMESTIC FLUFF OWO)

[part one here]

so it’s come to my attention that childe has older siblings too so OOPS MY BAD LOL

ill just finish up this story with the headcannon that he’s he oldest and prob incorporate the older siblings in future works :p

thank you all for your patience!

[Fic Masterlist]

“family holiday” (pt. 2)

Lumine stood speechless as Childe spoke to the old toyseller about their “family.” The children were too preoccupied with their new toys to even pay attention to what their older brother was saying. Soon enough, the transaction was done, and he was walking away from the counter.

The old woman waved goodbye cheerfully. “What a wonderful husband you have,” she said.

AH? She couldn’t find the words to answer her.

“Sweetheart? We’d better go—the children are already in the street,” Childe called to her from the doorway. The old woman nodded enthusiastically, and Lumine gave her an awkward smile as she turned away.

Lumine practically stomped her way to Childe, and would’ve grabbed him by the collar if Teucer hadn’t fallen asleep in her arms. “So care to explain what you were doing back there?” she whispered aggressively.

“Tonia! Anthon! Stay close!” he called after the children who were showing off their toys to each other down the street. He turned to Lumine. “What was that?”

She glared at him. “Telling that old woman that we’re,” she took in a sharp breath, “a family?” Heat crawled into her cheeks. She hoped Childe wouldn’t notice.

He shrugged. “It was just easier to avoid explaining the whole situation; I’m not a fan of dragging an innocent old woman into our business.”

Ahg...he’s not wrong… “You didn’t have to be so enthusiastic about it,” she mumbled. She buried her face in Teucer’s hair, embarrassed as she recalled his words about her as his wife and mother of his children. Him agreeing that she was so beautiful.

She shuffled away from Childe as quickly as she could with Teucer in her arms. Her whole body was rolling with heat. At this point, I won’t need a coat…

“Something the matter, Lumine?” Childe’s voice rang out next to her. She nearly jumped out of her own skin. Damn him and his long legs.

“Absolutely not,” she lied. “Just cold.”

“Your face looks quite warm.” She could hear the beginnings of a smirk in his voice. “Do you have a problem with us being a couple?”

She stopped in her tracks, and faced him. “We are not a c-couple.”

He took a step in, closer, towering over her. He leaned down. “Do you want to be?”

...

Is he serious?!

His ocean eyes held a steady, intense gaze with her, and Lumine didn’t find herself saying no.

...Do I?!

She hadn’t ever thought of it—them, together—save for a few fleeting thoughts when they spent a lot of time together, ones she didn’t ever take seriously. But did Childe actually like her?

Do I actually like him?

Lumine blinked. “I—”

“Brother! Lumine! Hurry up!” Tonia shouted from down the road.

Childe let out the smallest of sighs. He gave Lumine a strained smile before taking Teucer from her. “Thank you for carrying him.” Then he walked past her, towards his siblings.

Lumine stood there, frozen by their exchange.

What was she going to say? She had started speaking before her mind had even come up with an answer. She glanced down the road, at Childe lovingly taking care of his brothers and sister.

Was I going to say yes?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Big brother always makes the yummiest food!” Tonia said with a mouthful of chocolate cake.

The family was all sat around the dining table, eating the cake Chlide promised Tonia.

Paimon nodded, wiping the corners of her mouth. “You have lots of money, you can make really good food...Paimon might be warming up to you, Childe.”

Yes, he does cook really well surprisingly… Lumine thought while chewing through her own cake slice. He just keeps surprising me today… She shoveled more cake in her mouth when she remembered what he had asked her earlier.

“I’m glad you like it,” Childe said, then stood up. “Looks like everyone is almost done; let’s start cleaning up, okay?”

The children nodded, beginning to pile their plates and utensils in the sink, and wiping down the table.

“Thank you.” He pointed to the mess of supplies they had used to make the cake earlier. “Can you guys clean this up too?” There was a unanimous ‘yes’ as Childe started washing the dishes.

Watching all the siblings made her heart ache for Aether even more. She wished he could be there, in the kitchen with her. They didn’t even have to be travelling worlds anymore; she wished he was there for something as mundane as baking a cake together.

She walked up next to Childe at the sink. “I’ll clean up everything. You should spend time with your siblings.”

He scoffed while continuing to clean the dishes. “I’m not going to let you do all that work.” He looked around the room. “Plus they’re cleaning up with me anyway.”

She frowned. You’re missing precious time with your family. “But—”

He held out a washcloth. “Or how about you help me and it’ll go twice as fast?”

Lumine sighed and took the cloth, starting to wash the plates next to Childe. Their elbows bumped into each other every so often.

Soon, the children were done with their tasks, all chatting while waiting for Childe and Lumine to finish the dishes.

“Lumine?” Teucer asked shyly.

“Yes?” she answered while wiping a glass cup.

“Do you think you and Big Brother could give us another sibling?”

CRACK. The glass in Lumine’s hand shattered.

Childe froze, then let out a nervous laugh. “Teucer...why are you asking that?”

“Well...I don’t want to be the youngest anymore. I always get babied!” he whined innocently.

Tonia jumped up. “I want a younger sister too! I’m tired of being the only girl!”

“Yea!” Teucer jumped up with his sister. “And Anthon said that babies only come from a grown-up boy and a grown-up girl!”

Anthon put his head in his hands. “When you asked me, I didn’t think you’d ask big brother…”

“Teucer, we don’t go around asking random adults to give us siblings, right?” Childe said.

“And, I’m not your mom, Teucer,” Lumine explained. “Even if we had a kid, it would be your niece or nephew.”

“Oh,” Teucer said, thinking. “Well, can we have one of those?”

Childe and Lumine looked at each other—briefly, accidentally—and quickly broke their shared gaze. Lumine turned her attention to the ceiling while Childe looked down into the sink.

“You’re bleeding,” he said. Huh? Lumine looked down to see her ring finger had been cut from breaking the glass cup.

“Bleeding?” Teucer and Tonia gasped.

“Bandages! We have to find bandages!” Paimon shouted, flying out of the room. Anthon stood up, dashing out of the room as well with Teucer and Tonia following; all four were soon screaming around the house for bandages.

Lumine held her hand up. “It’s not too bad.” She looked at the shattered glass pieces. “Sorry about the cup.”

“Don’t worry about the cup,” he said. He gently took her hand to examine the cut. “Hm. You’re right it’s not too bad.” The blood started trickling down her finger. “Ah—”

Before she knew it, Childe had her finger in his mouth, sucking the blood away.

“What are you doing?!” Lumine asked, panicked, lightly pulling her hand away from him.

His hand still gripped hers. “What?”

“I—” She had a flashback to earlier. Do you want to be?

“About earlier,” he said, his voice dropped. Lumine felt his grip tighten.

“Did you mean it?” she interrupted. A look between the two.

“That depends on your answer.”

Down the hallway, they heard the rumble of the children’s footsteps approaching. Both Lumine and Childe grimaced slightly in annoyance; Childe’s eye twitched. Interrupted once again.

“Bandages! We have bandages!” Teucer announced, running into the room.

“I have bandages,” Anthon corrected, coming in after him. “They all just yelled and screamed while I actually found them.” The two other children and Paimon smiled sheepishly.

“Thank you, Anthon,” Childe said, patting him on the head. He took the bandages, and began wrapping it around Lumine’s finger. Lumine hoped the children wouldn’t question why her face was so red.

Then, Tonia came close, and kissed her bandage. “Big brother always does that to my bandages; he says it helps!”

Lumine smiled softly at her. “Yes, thank you, Tonia—it feels much better.”

“Okay, well, I think it’s time for bed, everyone,” Childe said, rather quickly.

“Bedtime? But it’s so early…,” Teucer said.

“It’s been a long day,” Childe countered. He started hurdling the children upstairs. “Bedtime!”

“Paimon would rather fight a gang of hilichurls than look after them all the time,” Paimon said, sighing heavily. “They’re so much work!”

Lumine raised a brow. “You didn’t do anything except eat.”

“That’s still tiring!” She yawned. “Speaking of which, that chocolate cake really made Paimon sleepy...Goodnight, Lumine!” She disappeared into her world in a blink.

Lumine let out a small chuckle. She could always rely on Paimon to lighten her mood. She then went up the stairs to find Childe.

She found him in Teucer’s room, saying goodnight and tucking in the youngest brother.

“Goodnight, Lumine!” Teucer called to the doorway. Lumine waved in response. Soon, Childe came out and shut the door behind him.

“I’d better head out and find a nearby Inn or something,” Lumine said.

“You’re not serious, are you?” Childe asked. “You think I’d invite you to my home and not even offer you a place to stay?”

“You’ve already done so much.”

He gestured around the large hallway. “We have plenty of room. Save yourself a trip out into the cold, and some Mora.”

Lumine bit her lip. “Okay, fine.”

“Good,” he said, before heading into Tonia’s room. Lumine followed, watching him say his goodnights to his sister and tucking her in for the night.

“Noo, please don’t go yet!” Tonia whined under the blankets when he started to leave.

“Okay, okay,” Childe conceded. He turned to Lumine standing in the doorway. “Sorry, could I ask you to check on Anthon and make sure he’s getting ready for bed as well?”

Lumine nodded. She walked down the hallway and entered Anthon’s room. He was sitting up in his bed, playing with his new Lawachurl action figure.

“Hey, Anthon,” Lumine said. “You ready for bed?”

Anthon nodded, then put his toy on his bedside table. He sat near his pillows, then looked at Lumine, waiting.

Oh. She walked over to the side of the bed, and helped Anthon get under the blankets, then awkwardly tucked him in, remembering how Childe did to Tonia and Teucer.

“Hey Lumine?” Anthon asked.

“Hmm?”

“Are you and my brother going to get married?”

Lumine choked on her spit. What? “Why—why do you say that?” she asked, attempting to maintain her composure.

He tilted his head innocently, confused. “Well he’s never brought someone home before. So that means you’re special, right?”

She thought for a second. Everything that had happened today. “I don’t know. But I am glad I got to come here, and meet you and Tonia.” She smiled at him.

Anthon smiled back. “I’m glad I got to meet you too. I hope you stay with my brother.”

“Me too,” she found herself saying. Staying with Childe...wouldn’t be so bad…

“Goodnight, Lumine,” Anthon said, closing his eyes.

“Goodnight, Anthon,” she said back to him, then left his room, closing his door quietly.

...

“You are,” Childe said behind her.

She jumped slightly, turning. “You have to stop sneaking up on me like that.”

He chuckled. “Sorry, a habit of mine.” He locked eyes with her. “But you are. You are special.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “So what you asked me earlier? You meant it?”

“Did you mean what you said to Anthon? That you hope to stay with me?”

“Stop answering my questions with more questions.”

“How about we both say our answers on the count of three?”

“Why are you always so weird?”

A small smile from Childe. “One.”

“...Two,” Lumine murmured.

“Three.”

…

“Yes,” they both said.

A pause. A breath.

Then, Childe grinned. “What’s this? The traveler has fallen for me?” he teased.

Her cheeks burned. “I could say the same thing to you.”

“Seeing you get flustered so easily...It’s hard to believe you’re the strongest person I’ve ever faced.”

“Shut up,” Lumine said, grabbing his collar.

He smirked. “Or what? You’ll fight me—?”

She stood up on her tip toes and kissed him.

Then, she pulled back, and saw his eyes were wide, his face flushed. Her turn to smirk. “Hm. Nice to see you’re the one who’s flustered now.”

“Uh-oh, you’re making this into a competition,” he said. “And you know I always have to win.” He cupped her face in his hands, kissing Lumine until she was weak in the knees.

And for the first time in forever, Lumine felt a warm happiness—true happiness—radiate from her soul.

Yes, I want to stay with Childe.

#genshin impact #genshin childe #genshin lumine #genshin tartaglia #childe #lumine #tartaglia #childe x lumine #lumine x childe #chilumi #lumichilde #fanfic #me

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mapleleafssss · 3 years

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A Second Chance

Chapter 4: Your Glare(Kazuha x F!Reader)

Summary: During the voyage to Inazuma, you told Aether some information about Inazuma and what to stay aware of.

Warnings: indirect kiss ig??, Kazuha and reader share the same sake bottle

Notes: reader dozes off a lot, and I mean A LOT. Also I know this is random but I tend to add random things throughout the chapters😭 also there's a bit of foreshadowing

Previous: Chapter 3

Aether and Paimon wandered around the ship. It's been about two hours since the ship had set sail, and there were many left to go.

Paimon smiled as a familiar figure was in her sight. "It's Y/n! Let's go talk to her." She pointed.

Aether nodded and followed Paimon, who was really excited to talk to you. After multiple calls of your name, Paimon took a deep breath.

"Y/n!" She yelped, making you jump.

You looked around yourself, seeing Paimon and Aether.

"Oh, hello. Sorry, I've been dozing off a lot lately. I don't know why." You apologized.

Paimon nodded in forgiveness. "Eh, It's alright. At first, Paimon thought you were feeling homesick." She said before pausing. "Speaking of homesickness, how often to you miss Inazuma? If you don't mind us asking, of course."

You fought the sudden sadness in your head. "Well... Lately I've been having that feeling more than usual." Your expression shifted into a worried one. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong. But whatever it is, I don't like it."

"Also, if you can't tell; I'm a Jonin from a noble clan back in Inazuma. My sensei was pretty strict with me, but I guess it's a way to get me going."

Paimon let out a groan. "You're a Jonin? But you don't look like someone who's used to waving a weapon around."

Aether pinched the bridge of his nose. "Paimon, you said the exact same thing to Kazuha..." He groaned.

"It's not bad to speak my mind... Mph!" Paimon whined with her arms crossed and head turned away from Aether in a pouty manner.

A smile made its way to your face. "It's fine. It isn't the first time someone's doubt my abilities because of my form." You said.

"But anyway," You paused with a sigh. "If you ever meet one of the generals, please..."

You paused.

Paimon gave a concerned look at you, and so did Aether. "What's wrong?" Aether asked you.

Letting out a heavy exhale, you finally replied. "If you meet any of the Shogunate generals for any reason, do not tell them you met me. Heck, she may even ask you..."

"Ask what, exactly?" Paimon asked with her hands behind her back.

You offered to tell them...

"Before I got rescued by the Crux Fleet, I was on a run from someone I had a 'thing' with. She switched over to the Raiden Shogun's army like nothing after leaving, making a deal with the Kujou clan. To this day, I still don't know her reasons and I intend to find out. Whatever it takes. With that knowledge, I'll be able to see from her perspective."

...and you meant every single one of those words.

Paimon and Aether stayed silent after the pause. "...and there you have it. That's how I ended up here. Perhaps, I'll tell you the whole story someday if I get the chance."

"Y/n..." Paimon said with pity in her voice.

You let out a slightly forced chuckle. "No pity, please. I just don't want to get hunted down again. Though, I probably will whenever it happens..."

"I'll keep your promise with all my heart. No doubt." Aether said in a genuine tone.

With a little nod, you turned towards the rising moon. "If you're planning to face off the Raiden Shogun, all I can say is just be safe, okay?"

Aether gave you a hesitant nod. "Yes, I will."

"Good. Then good luck."

Silently, you left the both of them as you walked down the stairs. You wanted to talk to Kazuha for a bit, but he was most likely having some sake.

You were right, as Kazuha was found sitting at the edge of the boat with a bottle of sake.

"Hello there, Y/n." You hear the samurai greet before taking a sip.

"Hey, Kazuha." You said back. Silently, you sat next to him on the edge. "Do you know if Beidou is for sure going to take us to Ritou?"

Kazuha swallowed the sake in his mouth with a gulp. "Hm... I don't know. Maybe we'll meet up with the resistance there."

You let out a disappointed groan. "Yeah... maybe."

After a while of silence, Kazuha let out a soft exhale. He glanced over to you, holding the bottle towards you. "Here, you can have the rest. I've had my share already."

You snatched it out of his hands, observing how much sake was left. "You drank nearly half of it... Isn't that-"

"It was one of last smallest bottles that I could get. Just be thankful you aren't at the drinking bar right now unless you want to get into a drinking contest." He said with a smile.

You shook your head with a smile. "Yeah, I suppose that's true..." You said, followed by taking a small sip before realizing that he put his lips on the same bottle.

After you gulped it down, you felt Kazuha's stare piercing at you with a small and innocent grin.

"Get that grin off your face, Kazuha..." You pouted.

His smile never went away. "I was just waiting how long it took for you to realize." He said with a small chuckle.

After a while, it was finally time to drop Aether off at Inazuma. Kazuha and you went back inside the ship since you were both fugitives. Beidou dropped Aether off at the port with Thoma, the housekeeper of the Kamisato estate.

After Beidou instructed what the plan is to go to Fujikabuto Fort, she entered the room while both you and Kazuha were playing some cards.

"Alright. Here's the plan." Beidou said, walking to the table. "We're going to be helping out the resistance. I've got message from Kokomi, saying she'll be waiting at the shores."

You both nodded. "Also, try not to get yourselves taken away or killed, alright you two? You guys can be quite reckless when it comes to this."

After talking it out, the ship headed out for a while and came back to Ritou. You then heard of Aether's bounty he got just recently, which made you chuckle as you knew that guy was a hard person to beat.

Near the shores, you saw a pink-haired girl with a ocean blue theme with her clothes. Beidou, Kazuha, and you went on a small boat to shore.

"We meet again Beidou, Kazuha, and... Y/n Yukimiya?" A shocked expression went on Kokomi's face. "This was certainly unexpected."

You let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, that's me..."

Kokomi gave you a warm smile. "This is actually great news. We could really use someone with your fighting abilities right now. The situation is: the Sangonomiya army and the Shogunate army are having a conflict at Nazuchi beach. The other soldiers are all ready, we were waiting for your arrival."

Kokomi led the charge towards Nazuchi beach. When you arrived, you couldn't believe who you saw.

Gorou and Akuji, both on their sides of the battle field, fighting for their stands.

You wanted to hug him right then and there, but not right now. For now, you were waiting for Kokomi's order.

She floated down from the sky like a divine figure. "The wait is over, my comrades! Now is our moment!"

Adrenaline ran through your veins as you ran towards the battlefield, weapon in hand.

Kazuha was already in the battle field, fighting the samurais. Behind Gorou, you saw a samurai heading towards him that was out of his sight.

From Gorou's side, you flipped in the air over him. His eyes looked up at you in awe as you took down the samurai.

"Y/n! Kazuha!" He shouted in shock.

"We meet again, old friend." Kazuha grinned.

Gorou nodded at Kazuha with a smile and turned to you. You both nodded at eachother with confident smile and went your own ways.

As you finished piercing through one samurai and another, you met the eyes of the one and only; Akuji Tajou. You looked at her with this glare. A glare that she didn't recognize. She looked at you with bitterness, but at the same time, regret.

She nodded at someone, who was the general; Kujou Sara.

"Soldiers, retreat!" The daughter of the Kujou Clan shouted as all the leftover samurais ran the other way.

Kokomi said she wanted to talk to traveler at Sangonomiya Island and that you and the others should stay put here.

"Y/n, it's so relieving to see you safe and well again." You heard behind you. You turned around, seeing Gorou walking towards you.

You gave him a smile. "You too, Gorou. I heard that you're a general now?"

He gave you a nod with his ears perked up. "Yup, you're correct." He replied. "I became a general after we all got seperated. You know me, I dedicate to things a lot."

Kazuha watched the two of you happily socialize. No, he didn't feel jealous. In fact, he was quite happy he could help two people reunite. He missed seeing that smile on your face from someone other than him.

Oh, how he loved that smile of yours. It tugged at his heart oh so hard.

Next: Chapter 5

#kazuha x reader #genshin kazuha #kaedehara kazuha #genshin impact #kazuha #genshin x reader #genshin

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just-dreaming-marvel · 3 years

Text

I’m From Brooklyn, Too ~ 142

OUT OF TIME MASTERLIST

I’M FROM BROOKLYN, TOO MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 2,065ish

Summary: Y/N tells Tony the truth, after all this time. The Team learns about the Stones.

Notes: You must read Out Of Time in order to understand this. The chapter numbers continue from Out Of Time. (Gifs are not mine.)

Previous on Out Of Time…

“Tony…” She tried to turn away, but Tony grabbed onto her arms, keeping her facing him.

“No, you don’t get to run away right now. I need an answer. If we’re going to do this, bring everyone back. I need to know the truth, once and for all. That I wasn’t the second choice, that I wasn’t just the only option so you went for it… So, tell me, would you have chosen me if Barnes was still here?”

Y/N pursed her lips and looked away, staying silent. But that was enough of an answer for Tony. Tony scoffed softly and shook his head.

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Tony said. “In some twisted up way, I’ve always seen this coming.”

“Tony,” emotions were building in her throat and eyes as she said his name. “I’m so very sorry.”

“That day you were trying to tell me something and i was rambling on about my dream about Morgan… you were trying to end this… Weren’t you?”

“Yes,” she cried. “I’m so sorry. You have to believe me when I say that I love you so much too. It’s just… he’s—“

“Your first.” Tony sighed as he ran his hand down his face. “I don’t know how I thought I could even compare to what you two have… a love that transcends time.”

“I’m so sorry, Tony.” She grasped onto his hand, scared to lose him even still. “I really am… And I really do love you.”

“I know, cause you wouldn’t have stuck around if you didn’t.” Tony pulled away from her and started to walk away.

“Where are you going?”

“I need a moment.” He turned and quickly have her head a kiss. “Go to bed. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

Then he left without another word, shutting the door to their bedroom behind him. Y/N burst into sobs. Yes, she loved Bucky and he was the one she wanted. But she loved Tony and had grown used to the life they had made together.

And if this plan didn’t work, Y/N knew she had just destroyed her daughter’s family.

~~~

Morning came and it was clear to everyone that there was something wrong with Y/N and Tony. Everyone was just too afraid or preoccupied to say anything. They ate breakfast in different rooms and when it came time for them to gather with the team to talk about the Stones, they placed themselves on opposite ends of the room.

“What’s going on?” Natasha whispered to Y/N.

Y/N bit her lip as she answered with a shake of her head, unable to look at Natasha. Taking a hint, Nat reached over and held Y/N’s hand as Steve began.

“Okay, so the how works,” Steve said. “Now we gotta figure out the when and the where. Almost all of us has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones.”

“Well I'd substitute the word encounter for damn well near been killed by one of the six Infinity Stones,” Tony said. “Or is connected with them.”

Y/N took in a harsh breath as she felt the stares of everyone in the room. Natasha gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Glancing towards Tony, she met his gaze. He looked heartbroken, which was breaking Y/N.

“I haven’t,” Scott cut in. “I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about.”

“Regardless, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each,” Bruce stated. “And these Stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history.”

“Our history,” Tony corrected. “So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in.”

“Which means we have to pick our targets,” Clint said.

“Correct.”

“Let’s start with the Aether,” Steve suggested. “Thor, what do you know?”

Everyone turned to look back at Thor. He was sitting on a chair, beer in hand and sunglasses on. Unmoving.

“Is he asleep?” Natasha questioned.

“No,” Rhodey responded. “I’m pretty sure he’s dead.”

Tony gently woke up Thor and helped him stand in front of the group.

“Where to start?” Thor asked himself, clearly still out of it. “Umm... The Aether, first, is not a stone, someone called it a stone before. It's more of a... an angry sludge thing, so... someones gonna need to amend that. Here's an interesting story though, many years ago... My grandfather had to hide the stones from the Dark Elves…” He wiggled his fingers. “Woooooh, scary beings. So Jane,” an image of Jane Foster popped up on the screen. “Oh, there she is. That’s Jane… She’s… an old flame of mine… she… she stuck her hand inside a rock this one time… and then the Aether stuck itself inside her... And, she became very, very sick.”

“So I had to take her to Asgard, which is where I'm from,” Thor continued. “And we had to try and fix her. We were dating at the time, you see. I got to introduce her to my Mother... who's dead,” everyone was trying to give their full attention to Thor as he began to look broken and rambled on, “and oh you know, Jane and I aren't even dating anymore, these things happen though you know, nothing last forever,” Tony went up to him, guiding him back to his chair. “I'm not done yet, the only thing permanent in life is impermanence.”

“Awesome,” Tony responded, keeping a hold of him. “Eggs? Breakfast?”

“I’d like a Bloody Mary, thank you.”

“Alright, maybe we stop for breakfast,” Steve cut in. “We’ll reconvene later.”

Y/N was the first person out of the room, with Natasha hot on her tail.

“Y/N! Y/N, stop!” Y/N ignored her friends call. “Y/N.” Natasha grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a side room, locking the door. “Talk.” She stood in front of the door, blocking Y/N’s only way out.

“I screwed up my marriage,” Y/N whispered, unable to meet Nat’s gaze.

“What? How?”

Y/N gasped for air, trying to keep the tears at bay. “Because I’m still in love with Bucky… and Tony asked, and I couldn’t lie. Not to him, not anymore.”

“But you love Tony too.”

“I do. It’s just not the same… And no matter the outcome of this plan, I’ve now ruined my child’s family.” Y/N’s arm trembled as it went up to cover her mouth. “I did that… I will be the one to cause my own child pain. How—how could I do that to her? How could I fail another one of my children?” “You didn’t fail—“

“But I did! I failed AJ and now I have failed Morgan. If… If this works, and we all make it, I wouldn’t blame Tony for wanting to take her away from me. And I think I’d let him.”

“I would never do that to Morgan,” Tony’s voice cut in, making Y/N jump in surprise.

He had been listening through the door and decided he couldn’t standby and listen anymore. Tony slipped into the room and Natasha quickly took her leave, shutting the door behind her.

“I would never do that to you either,” Tony continued. “Because, damn-it Y/N, I love you more than anything. Even after finding out the truth last night. You will always be it for me. No matter what. And because of that, I would never do anything to hurt you, including taking Morgan away from you.” Tony sighed. “I was up all night thinking about how to react to this. And just me, I wanted to freak. But I couldn’t get myself to, because I still love you.”

“What do you want to do?” Y/N meekly asked.

“I want to go through with the plan and then figure it out. Worry about one thing at a time.” Tony carefully walked up and took Y/N’s hands. He looked down at them, running his fingers across hers. “I… If… If this all works out, and we get everyone back, I want you to know that I’ll let you go.”

“Tony—“

“Let me finish. I’m trying to be the good man for once, okay? Just let me have this moment. Though I really want to be selfish with you… cause it’s you.” Y/N nodded, allowing him to continue without interruption. “I… I will let you go, if that’s what you want. If that is what will make you happy. I can live with that… I’ve only ever wanted your happiness. And I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I stepped in the way of that.”

“I’m so sorry, Tony. I need you to know that I really am.”

“I know…” Tony pulled her into his chest, cradling her head close. Y/N latched onto him. “I know…”

“We’re going to make it through this, right?” She whispered after a few minutes of silence, just holding onto each other.

He pressed a kiss to her head. “Always.”

~~~

The rest of the day was focused on making the quantum suits for everyone and gathering more information on the Stones. They gathered together once again for dinner, where Rocket was answering questions about the Power Stone.

“Quill said he stole the Power Stone from Morag,” Rocket told everyone.

“Is that a person?” Scott asked.

“Morag’s a planet. Quill was a person.”

“A planet? Like in outer space?”

“Oh, look. It's like a little puppy, all happy and everything.” Rocket changed his tone to one that he was use when talking to a puppy. “Do you wanna go to space? You wanna go to space, puppy? I'll get you to space.”

“Alright, Rocket,” Steve said, stopping the raccoon from making Scott feel worse. “Explain to us how the Power Stone works.”

“It has the ability to destroy whole planets.”

“It is the most destructive of all the Stones,” Y/N spoke up quietly, causing everyone to look at her. “The power is… tremendous, in the most terrifying of ways. I’ve felt it.”

“Right. You’re connected to the Stones.”

“I was, until Thanos destroyed them.” Y/N focused on her food, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. Tony set a hand on her knee, trying to be supportive.

“How much do you know about the Stones?” Steve asked.

“A lot, yet nothing. They’re so complex and they are each their own being, and each the same being. I know more about their powers and capabilities than anything else.”

She finally looked up to look at Steve. He was clearly unhappy with her. Probably feeling like she purposefully kept everything about the Stones from him, which wouldn’t exactly be a lie. But Y/N felt that she was doing what she had to, to protect the people she cares about.

“How about we wrap it up for the night and talk about this more in the morning?” Tony suggested, trying to help Y/N out of this mess.

That only made Y/N feel more guilty. She knew that she had basically crushed Tony's heart, yet he was still protecting her. She awkwardly looked down at her lap, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

“I think we need answers,” Steve retorted, angry eyes never leaving Y/N.

“And I think we all need to sleep on it for a night,” Tony argued, glaring at Steve. He stood up, pulling Y/N will him. “Come on, honey. We’re going to bed.”

Tony guided Y/N out of the room and to their bedroom. As he shut the door, Y/N struggled to hold back the tears.

“I-I’m so sor-ry,” she stuttered. She was shaking. Tony quickly came over and guided her to set on the edge of the bed, with him kneeling in front of her. “I’m… s-s-o…sorry.”

“Hey, shhh,” he cupped her check, catching the tears. “Stop apologizing.”

“B-but I should h-ha-ve been… more o-open with ev-everyone… I should have told everyone everything about the Stones.”

She hid her head in her hands as she broke down. Tony stayed kneeling in front of her, hands on her knees to comfort her. He knew there was nothing that he could say to make her feel better. Y/N needed to let it all out, feel all the emotions running through her.

next chapter >

I’M SO EXCITED TO SHOW YOU ALL WHAT I HAVE PLANNED! I hope that this chapter didn’t disappoint. I was really nervous to post it.

I appreciate all likes, comments, asks, and reblogs! Thank you for all the positive support!

If you want to be added to the tag list, please dm me or send in an ask.

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123 notes · View notes

philliamwrites · 3 years

Text

sunkissed

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Pairing: Albedo / Aether

Tags: #kissing, #morning softness, #fluff

Words: 1.6k

Summary: “Don’t,” Aether laughed, rising his shoulders to hide his skin from Albedo’s hungry mouth. “I’m stinky after yesterday’s battle.”

“No.” The tip of Albedo’s nose grazed his sensitive skin. “You smell like the sun. Always warm. As if the sun loves you. As if it wants to cling to you as long as possible.”

Notes: A birthday present for my lovely friend. This pairing just butters my biscuits, fam.

Also I'm still taking commissions for anyone interested! Just write me a dm!

Masterlist

sunkissed

»’cause you’re so lovely, you’re so lovely, i can’t help but fall for you, love when you love me, it’s so lovely loving you

When Aether awoke, he was all alone.

He opened his eyes in a sleepy daze, and as his hand reached out to his left, he found the crumbled sleeping roll empty and cold. Immediately, he startled fully awake as if struck by lightning, his mind clearing from sleep and dreams that tasted like ashes on his tongue.

“Lumine?” he said out loud—the first name he remembered ever speaking, and the last he wanted to be his dying breath. But when usually his sister would come to his aid, trained to respond to the sound of his voice from childhood, to rise from bed when Aether cried, to run to help him when he fell down, now he was all alone inside the tiny tent.

No. Not quite alone.

It’s his first day in Teyvat all over again after he’d regained consciousness and called out for her, and had found Paimon in her stead, drifting in the ocean stretching before Starsnatch Cliff. Now, her little snores filled the suffocating quiet and coated his throbbing heart in a soothing balm labelled companionship.

Aether thought that with time, missing Lumine would become easier to bear. That he’d simply grow dull and time numbed his feelings. Clearly, he was wrong, and Father Time was not that kind.

He crawled outside the tent, quietly so he wouldn’t disturb Paimon, and emerged into the early sunlight winking through the tree crowns. Their little campfire from yesterday night had lost its battle and died hours ago, and Aether shuddered when a light breeze stirred its ashes into the air.

That was when he spotted Albedo sitting at the top of a slope. He hadn’t noticed Aether waking up, his eyes fixed on the horizon where clouds had gathered in the east, and the rising sun lit them in brilliant shades of reds and corals and violets. His hand, holding a fine brush, danced across a canvas, trying to capture that ephemeral beauty with lithe fingers Aether knew were capable of much more than painting. His chest tightened when he thought of yesterday night. Their quiet voices and hushed whispers as they tried not to wake up Paimon even though all Aether had wanted to do was scream Albedo’s name when he finally came as Albedo’s rough thumb had grazed the tip of his member. Thankfully, Albedo was kind enough to swallow all of Aether’s moans and gasps, leaving his mind completely fogged and drunk on his kisses.

Aether tried not to think too much of it as he went up the slope where Albedo sat, overlooking the vast valley stretching out under them.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Aether asked. He stretched in the morning’s light, delighted by the early warmth and slight breeze on his skin. “I wanted to see the sunrise with you.”

Albedo’s eyes drew lazily from his canvas to Aether’s waist, watching how his shirt rode up and revealed more of his skin without allowing his hand to stop once as the brush mixed reds and blues. “I tried. But you just drooled.”

“That’s a lie.”

A smile crept up Albedo’s face. “True. But you looked too lovely to wake up. Like you had a good dream,” he said so seriously, Aether felt heat rise to his cheeks. His arms dropped back to his side. He couldn’t handle Albedo’s honesty first thing in the morning.

Albedo rose an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?”

Aether did have a dream. A dream about Mondstadt’s Windblume Festival where all his friends had gathered around a table in Angel’s Share, and in the centre, like the sun holding its own universe, sat Lumine, beaming at him.

“Happy birthday, brother,” she’d said, intertwining their fingers just like on the day they were born.

“Happy birthday, sister,” he’d said, touching his forehead to hers just like during their days spent inside their mother’s womb.

How much he longed to be with her again.

Aether exhaled. He hadn’t realised he’d been holding his breath until that moment. Albedo must have heard him, for he raised his head and his gaze met Aether’s, and he wondered how much of the endless black hole that his grief cut into his heart Albedo could see.

The corner of his mouth pulled up into a rueful smile. “No, you’re right,” Aether said. “I had a dream. A good dream, indeed.”

Albedo stopped painting. His eyes were the colour of the ocean after a storm, clear and bright and deep enough for Aether to drown in them. He wanted it. Aether wanted to be swallowed whole. Become tiny, pocket-sized, perfectly fitting in Albedos’ palm and be devoured. Be completely consumed until nothing was left, and all of him belonged to Albedo only. What a wonderful mess that would be.

Quickly turning his eyes away before he dropped to his knees and begged Albedo to take him right here and now in the open, Aether tried to douse his desire by gazing out at the sublime scenery. A flock of birds took flight from a nearby tree, their song echoing through the valley. Clouds drifted over their heads on their lazy journey over fields and rivers, taking unrecognisable shapes as they told stories about every place they’d seen. Aether envied them.

“You know, in the world where I’m from, it’s always night,” he said. “Sure, it’s beautiful, we have so many more stars than you guys. And moons. But it’s the same. Wherever I looked, it was always the same. But this—” He waved his hand at the sky above them. “Your sky changes every day. It’s always different, the colours, the clouds. Dawn, dusk. I didn’t know words like that existed when I first came here. It’s beautiful.”

Albedo followed Aether’s gaze, considering the landscape in front of them. But his eyes—suddenly ablaze, a roaring fire—drew back on Aether as he said, “It truly is beautiful.”

Aether didn’t feel beautiful. He’s pretty sure his bed-hair was still sticking to all sides and his clothes were rumpled. But Albedo never failed in making him feel wanted, desired. Be that in the early morning hours without having his face washed or teeth brushed, or on the battle field with blood and grime spattered all over him.

Just like now, Albedo was able to make Aether come undone with a single gaze of those piercing, ocean eyes.

“Let’s go back before Paimon wakes up and throws a fit because she thinks we’ve left her,” he said and turned around before this would turn into an unholy, filthy ceremony out in the open not even the Archons should witness.

Aether didn’t come very far. Halfway down, Albedo caught up to him and in a flash, seized Aether’s wrist. He pulled him to a nearby tree, and a second later, Aether felt rough bark against his back. Albedo closed the distance between them in one step. His hands cupped the back of Aether’s head, his mouth slanting down over his, hot and sweet as tea with honey. Aether ran his teeth lightly across Albedo’s bottom lip, and he made a guttural sound that raised the hairs along Aether’s arms. He pressed his body hard against Aether’s, lowering his head to kiss his throat, to lick and suck at the pulse point where he could feel the beating of his heart.

“Don’t,” Aether laughed, rising his shoulders to hide his skin from Albedo’s hungry mouth. “I’m stinky after yesterday’s battle.”

“No.” The tip of Albedo’s nose grazed his sensitive skin. “You smell like the sun. Always warm. As if the sun loves you. As if it wants to cling to you as long as possible.”

Aether’s knees buckled. How could simple words like that make him forget his own name. In Albedo’s hands, he turned to clay, left at Albedo’s mercy for he was the potter and Aether would become anything to please him. Albedo’s fingers traced his curves, the dips and hollows of his body as if he were describing a painting in gilt and ivory with each rush of his hands. Aether raked his hands over Albedo’s body, trying to find purchase before he completely turned into a puddle and dissolved between Albedo’s fingers. His hands caught on the belt strung across Albedo’s chest, and they both halted for a second as they waited for a heartbeat that didn’t come.

Albedo exhaled softly as he lowered his forehead to Aether’s. “If I had a heart, it would hurt for your burden.”

“It’s fine,” Aether said. He took Albedo’s hand and put it over his own heart. “Mine is enough for both of us.”

Albedo smiled. He pressed Aether’s knuckles to his lips, and murmured against his skin, “And what a magnificent heart it is.”

Aether held onto Albedo so much, just a little more and they’d become one. It felt like they were the only two people on this earth, just the two of them off to see the world and all its wonders. Aether wouldn’t mind. He wouldn’t mind if tomorrow came and all of Teyvat’s people fell into an endless slumber, and eventually completely disappear. Until recently, Aether hadn’t know it was possible to love someone this much. That if the world were to end tomorrow—if Aether were to have just one wish before it would all end in darkness, it’d be to wake up to Albedo’s sunkissed face in a quiet place they called home, built with their own hands. If that wasn’t love in its truest form, then every fairy tale Lumine used to tell him was a lie, and it was up to Aether to write his own story in which he’d make sure to burn so bright by Albedo’s side that even stars envied them whenever they come together to create a whole new universe.

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