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m1d-45 · 10 months

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the rule of threes

summary: “subject two” was created in the image of a god he could never fulfill. how does that turn out for him? (spoilers, not well.)

word count: 3.4k

-> warnings: major spoilers for albedo lore, rhine is Not A Good Person, uh ig allusions to gore but nothing bad, incoherency in General

-> gn reader (you/yours)

taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3 || @shizunxie || @boba-is-a-soup || @yuus3n || @esthelily || @turningfrogsgay || @cupandtea24 || @genshin-impacts-me || @chaoticfivesworld || @raaawwwr

< masterlist >

“have you ever tried to create life from nothing?”

for a woman of science, rhinedottir was acting rather scatterbrained, frantically pulling bottles from shelves. each of them was twisted, and eventually returned to their place, the small plate above them marked with red.

“to sprout a seed with no water, to make a flower bloom within your hand?” it was a wonder she was still talking to him, crazed eyes always searching for his. did she think he’d run off? it wasn’t as if he could, with the doors bolted shut. “impossible. impossible. the slightest of changes in the ley lines ruins everything- have not one of these survived?”

that was new. he’d thought the lab was low enough no elements flowed, or at the very least the rest of the city blocked it. that’s what he’d always believed, as it was the only solution for his failure.

or was it him that was the problem? he didn’t know. he may have been her first success, but he was also her first failure.

bottles stopped returning to shelves, glass shattering on the floor and sending thick sludge all over the floor. fragile bones cracked on impact, half formed bodies crumpling with splats that made him cringe.

it wasn’t rare to see her so angry, but it was rare for her to take it out on her work. still, he did his best to ignore her, bringing his legs onto his chair and twiddling a pen between his fingers. it didn’t make it easier to block out the sound, but he did feel better when he could focus on tracing a square over and over, trying to keep the lines as thin as possible.

“stupid, stupid stupid stupid! i told them this would be revolutionary, but all they think about is their god-“ their what? “-and they don’t even try to listen to me! of course they didn’t, because what do i know? i’m only the-… the…”

he did look up, then, seeing her staring at a bright bottle. at least a hundred shattered bottles lay at her feet, yet she didn’t seem to notice, transfixed by the single flask in her hand.

“the greatest alchemist in the world,” she whispered.

all at once, she turned to him, boots crunching over flesh and bone as if it were nothing. he winced back slightly when the squish of her boot made some of the sludge splash up, landing halfway up the leg of his chair.

“look.” he didn’t want to. her eyes were wide and crazed and he was terrified. the bottle itself was harmless, the organism inside curled underneath and far from consciousness, but she.. “he lived.”

he gripped his pen tightly, forcing a nod.

“he’ll be perfect.” that’s unrealistic. “i just know it. look at him.” you’re being irrational. “he needs a name.” you don’t even know if he’ll survive.

she walked away and began to pace, seemingly not noticing the tens of half-formed corpses beneath her feet. “a name, a name…”

what a sight. for someone so set on creating life, she disrespected so many.

he looked back down to his paper, continuing his exercises. around the square, then the other way, then the hexagon. the lines grew thicker as the amount of sides increased, his pen slipping on the page. still, he kept his hand as steady as possible, breathing slowly. he could just ignore her. it’s not like she’d ask for his input, so he can just focus on the shapes, keeping each angle as sharp-

“hey!” his pen slipped as his shoulders jumped, dark ink soaking through the page. he turned, and found her frowning at him, bottle clutched in her hand. “pay attention. this could be groundbreaking; whatever you’re doing doesn’t matter in the face of perfect alchemy.”

he was doing as he was told. practicing his lines, slowly taming the tremors in his hands, stopping every half hour to train with the ball she’d given him for that exact purpose. ten squeezes with one hand, ten with the other, ten between the palms, and a quick massage of the muscles. as he was asked.

“i’ve decided on a name, if you care.” she turned back to the bottle, all traces of anger dissipating. she smiled at the bottle, carefully twisting it in her hands. “he will be nigredo.. the first stage of my magnum opus.”

his eyes flicked to the bottle, a small ember of resentment burning in his chest.

“as you wish, master.”

‘nigredo’ didn’t last long. within a month or so, his bottle blackened, eventually cracking altogether. he was there when she came back, finding the bottle leaking on her desk. she’d panicked, frightened, her concern eventually bubbling into anger.

the bottle had hit the wall just beside his head. something soft trickled down his cheek, landing on his paper. he lifted his hand, feeling dust fall from a small slit in his skin. he looked over to rhinedottir in shock, but she wasn’t looking. she was pacing angrily, glaring at the paperwork on the desks around her like it would be the next thing thrown. he didn’t want to bother her, he didn’t, but whatever sand was pouring through his skin was making him panic.

a breath in, a breath out. she didn’t seem any less upset than the last time he looked.

“..master?”

his hands flinched tighter when she whipped to look at him, his pen skidding across the page again.

“what?”

“my.. my cheek.” he took his hand away from it, but the dust continued to fall. “the bottle hit me.”

she stared, confused. “what bottle?”

“nigredo’s.” his chest burned, bitter, but he pushed aside his feelings. “i.. don’t believe this is normal, is it?”

another stretch of silence, her eyes flicking between his and the wound on his cheek.

“why would i do that?”

“i’m not suggesting you’d hit me on purpose-“

“why would i throw him? no, i.. i was going to fix him. i wouldn’t do that.”

it was his turn to stare, shocked. “but… you did.”

the dust hitting his page was the only sound in the room, neither of them moving.

“don’t be ridiculous,” she eventually said. “i wouldn’t hurt him like that. i have no reason. why would i waste so much of my time like that? all my effort into imitating the div-….”

“…you were angry. people say and do uninthings when they’re-“

“and what would you know about people?”

that was cruel.

his synthetic heart beat in his ribs like it wanted to flee, the dust continuing to pour from his skin in a stark reminder of his inhumanity.

“…master-“

“i’m leaving. i expect this place to be clean when i come back.”

he didn’t even flinch when she slammed the door. such things were regular occurrences.

“…what’s this, master?”

“he has a name. durin.”

another one with a name. when would he earn his?

“i see. my apologies.”

“whatever. go say hello.”

“pardon?”

“you heard me.”

sand was still trickling from his cheek, a brief wave coming quicker when he frowned. “master, i don’t think-“

“he doesn’t bite, it’s fine.”

and to her credit, he hadn’t.

(“rhinedottir! what have you done?”)

(“i’ve done many things. could you clarify?”)

(“w-what’s this?” his body was dead, but he still felt the way durin grumbled and hissed. “what have you made? we’re willing to look past a lot of your experiments, but this-!”

(“watch your tone. he’s perfect.”)

(“rhine-“)

(“why can’t you all just trust me? you act like i’m touting myself around like a god-“)

(“you are. your hubris will get you killed-“)

(“by who? what? who’ll dare to touch me? …nobody. exactly. nobody, not even that thing in the sky that calls itself the creator.”)

(“rhine-!”)

(“no. get out. you’re disrupting my work.”)

(“you know how celestia is, they’ve already started approaching the gates-“)

(“then let them come. you’ve seen my work. we’ll survive the battle.”)

(“what of the innocents? what of the kids and the elderly, those that did nothing wrong? do they deserve to die for you?”)

(“…if i deserve to die, then nobody deserves to live.”)

in his opinion, there’s only one thing worse than dying: figuring out you hadn’t.

the constant beat of a dragon’s heart had finally dulled, and with it his uncertain stasis ended. he was brought back to life, surrounded by bones that weren’t his, unsure which way was up.

the bones were tough to break, but a small sliver off the end made it easier to cut through flesh. he didn’t know why he was alive, or how, all he knew was the red blood oozing around his hands and a drive in his chest that told him to survive. his skin was hot, his clothes clinging to him and adding to the feeling of being trapped, the sludge around him unrelenting in its quest to keep him there, inside, stuck in the chest of this beast-

the air was cold. his heart was colder. the ground was hard where he fell, humming with energy from the core he just escaped. he looked up at the heart, his own beating frantically, and watched the space that he had carved for himself seal up, as if he was never there to begin with. the blood and flesh left on his clothes—he was still wearing the same thing from that day, torn and flimsy—soaked into the ground, making the earth burn a vibrant red.

durin had died too, just as nigredo had. he was the only one left. the only one left of rhinedottir’s creations, accused of killing the first and nearly dying to the second.

or…

well, he certainly wouldn’t be surprised if she’d kept her other projects quiet. he was hardly allowed to leave the lab, let alone the palace, so who knew what she was up to? it could be any number of things, knowing her.

he pushed himself up on shaky limbs, uncharacteristic anger fueling his thoughts. he never hated rhinedottir before, but now that he was betrayed, what point did he have to try and care for her? she never gave him her love, so why did she deserve his?

with a hand on the wall—flesh melded into stone, he didn’t think about how long durin had been sitting here lest he be paralyzed by time—he began to stumble toward the exit of the cave, his legs stiff. he felt like when he was first created, shaking and confused, except now he knew that he was weak due to muscle atrophy and not his nerves struggling to fire.

(“there you are,” she had smiled. “let me help you down, i’m sure it’ll be hard on your own.”)

(it was. he clung to her as his lifeline, hands shaking and knees wobbling. the room was bright, loud, his mind pinging from object to object as he reached for anything he recognized. how strange, to be formed fully conscious and yet without any knowledge of the world around you. no words to describe the softness of the cot she sat him on, no name for her eyes as she gently picked up his hand, tracing the tremors.)

(“are you scared?” he didn’t know what that was. the lab was confusing, emotions he didn’t know how to handle bubbling and overflowing. “i’ll take care of you, it’s okay.” a hand to her chest, a soft call of her name, the first word he ever knew one that belonged to her.)

(he’d done his best to learn to say it, but he was imperfect. his hands quaked, his tongue was stiff, and by the time he’d managed to say it in full she had corrected him to ‘master.’ he only learned the concept of time when he was told he was using too much of hers, sequestered to a corner of the room where she didn’t have to look at him.)

(maybe that was why he wasn’t given a name. why would he have one when he couldn’t even recite it?)

with a shake of his head the memory was cleared, mind once again centered on the cave. perhaps he should sit, try to clear the fog over his head… the air was getting colder the further he went from the heart, white dust flickering in the air. ash? no, too bright…

he lowered himself to the ground carefully, leaning against stone. already he was tired, and he’d barely made it halfway out. how long was he… not asleep, perhaps unconscious? he didn’t know.

something was—howling? calling? what was the word? was all that time spent with a dictionary was for naught?—loud, crying out and filling the whole cave. maybe whatever was moving the white… what was it? it looked soft where it piled on the ground, yet to survive in the cold air… all of it melted before it reached him, but he wanted to know what it was.

(curiosity.)

the ground was rocky, but he had plenty of practice in pulling himself where his legs could not take him. across the lab, into a chair, to the shelf when his master was too busy to get it herself. he guided himself around a sharp stone, stopping a few inches away from the substance. already some of it was beginning to land on his clothes, settling into the creases as he pulled his legs up to his side to sit more comfortably. he lifted his hand, watching as a few of the particles landed in his palm. they were small, details too fine for him to fully pick out. they melted slowly in his hand, fading away, but many more soon took their place. they were cold, but he hardly felt the chill anymore, transfixed by the sight. they had to have a name, right? something soft, to adequately describe the gentle fall when they weren’t whipped around by whatever force lay outside the cave, had to…

“have you never seen snow before?”

snow. snow. ah, that was a nice word for it.

“i haven’t.”

he looks up, finally, and sees another man standing there. he has light hair and a blue shirt, a white lab coat overtop. an odd orange crystal sits at his collar, just below a diamond shaped mark on his skin in the same color.

“who are you?”

they both ask the question at the same time, and he’s surprised by how hollow he feels when asked. he doesn’t have a name, not even a designation or title. anger began to spark in him again, but was cut short by the other man putting a hand to his chest.

“i am the chief alchemist of the knights of favonius, here to determine any changes resulting from the uncharacteristic ley line activity recently.” an alchemist… his master was an alchemist, wasn’t she? was she still alive? maybe she knew this man- could he see her again? would she remember? maybe him being eaten by durin was a fluke, maybe she’d say sorry and maybe his survival was enough proof of his worth that he’d get what he’d longed for for so long.

“my name is albedo. what is yours?”

the world stopped turning. the snow stopped falling. everything froze, his world sharpening to a pin, his breath pausing as he looked into the eyes of the man with a name.

the creation with a name. albedo.

“…her magnum opus.”

albedo blinked, but didn’t seem all that surprised. “so you are another of master’s students.”

‘student.’ he was lucky she afforded him a spare pen, but he was taught?

(what did he know? he wanted to know too. what did his master do? what else was there to learn? how many books of knowledge existed beyond the four walls he’d grown to hate? could he finally put the sights to the names? what was the sun and how did it rise, what was a day and how did it end, what was the world and how did it work?)

(curiosity.)

“how interesting. she told me of a few trials before me, but i didn’t expect you to be-“

“were you created too?”

say no. say no and tell him he wasn’t the only one. say no and say it wasn’t his fault. say no and say he wasn’t a failure.

“…yes. i was.”

anger was bubbling and beginning to rise, irrational and yet uncontrollable. he shouldn’t be angry at albedo, he’d done nothing wrong, but his heart refused to obey.

“did she speak of me?”

“i don’t know. she spoke about durin, sometimes, and mentioned one of my predecessors. are you nigredo?”

nigredo died. nigredo died, and yet he was worth more of her time.

how?

what made him so imperfect? what was wrong with him being a first attempt? that didn’t mean failed. first didn’t mean failed, it meant first.

he was the first. had she not completed what she set out to do? synthetic life, an abiotic creation, proof of her knowledge and ability, proof it could be done at all. what part of him made him so inherently worthless? why did she want perfection? why couldn’t he be perfection?

albedo walked closer, more details coming into focus. the buckles on his coat—not a lab coat, then, or perhaps an altered one?—and the lines on his boots clear enough he could see them. when he crouched in front of him, he could see the gem on his collar sway slightly, the spikes on its inlay now visible. he leaned away, one hand tightening into a fist where he’d set it in the snow, the cold sinking into his palm. it rushed up his arm and into his chest, settling right next to the burn of his anger.

“when did you get your name?”

“when i was first able to ask for it.” albedo took his hand despite how he tried to pull it away, easily overpowering him. “interesting. you don’t appear to have any body heat of your own, and yet are shivering.”

(anger.)

“are you scared?”

(rage.)

“has she sent you? is that why you’re here?”

“not at all.” he let his hand fall, idly swiping a bit of snow from his shirt. his hand was warm. “i came here to inspect durin’s heart. did you come from there?”

(righteous fury.)

the snow in his hand packed together, the swirl of flaming anger and frigid resentment making his chest heaven as he took in air he didn’t need.

“i was eaten by him.”

“you survived being eaten by a dragon? a commendable feat. did you dig your way out?”

with hands that shook and eyes that couldn’t cry, supported on weakened legs and with bones barely able to keep me up. were you fed as often as i was? you look much less wiry.

“is that why your hands are shaky? perhaps i should take you to my lab…”

yes, the lab, take me there and fix everything that’s wrong with me, give me writing exercises and assure me it’ll pass, that i’m something broken, that you know better, that i was never and would never be what you wanted or strived for. tell me often enough and i’ll believe it, i’ll believe you when you say i’m wrong, believe you when you say it won’t hurt, believe you when you promised it would be okay, for you were the master and i were the slave-

a string that wasn’t his snapped, another’s anger channeled through him. all he could see was red, a chalk heart in his ears demanding he hit before it was returned. who, he didn’t know, nor why, a torrent of thoughts released through him, years of anger melting the ice around them.

albedo didn’t deserve his anger, not really. but his master did, and he was the closest thing.

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mxi-88 · 8 months

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two of them :)

#.log #genshin impact #genshin #albedo #subject two #fakebedo #goofy ass tags #fanart #S

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ursas-arts · 4 months

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ill make a video format at some point when i can withstand the pain and suffering that is sony vegas pro (I actually made twice as many pictures cos they each have a version with just the top text and slightly different poses or variations teehee)

#genshin impact #albedo #rhinedottir #subject two #fellflower #elynas #durin

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mimi-cee-genshin · 1 year

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Until You're Convinced - Subject Two x f!reader

Summary: Albedo is struck on Dragonspine and asks Subject Two to get help. But when he runs into you, your warmth causes him to fall for you. He knows your relationship can't last; you've mistaken him for Albedo. Yet, he continues to desire to be by your side, even if the one you long for isn't him.

Other Info: Subject Two/Fake Albedo/ Rubedo x f!reader, Albedo x reader (one-sided); fluff and angst with happy ending; 1.0k; lightly edited

Notes: Felt like sharing what's basically the outline of my Subject Two idea here. I don't think I have time to write this one even those I love this idea. Maybe one day.

*****

You have a crush on Albedo and you see him frantically running around Mondstadt looking for someone. You wonder what's wrong with him. He's actually Subject Two and he's looking for Lumine for help because Albedo is in trouble. He's currently in a sort of hibernation mode in Dragonspine so he won't lose control and destroy Mondstadt in the process.

When Subject Two comes back after finding Lumine, you offer him a meal and a rest after his long search. He's touched by your smile and the care that you give him – before he remembers he needs to pretend to be Albedo.

Your insecurities eat away at your insides. You think that Albedo is in love with Lumine because of how much he sought after her, and with a heavy heart, you admit to (Fake) Albedo that you're in love with him.

After that day, Subject Two runs into you often at the restaurant while he's working with Lumine and some of the Knights to help Albedo. You're still kind and friendly with him, but despite his aloof and slightly cynical personality, he can empathize with your unrequited love for Albedo because of his own unrequited familial love.

He often wants to see you because you radiate a warmth that he never experienced. Yet he knows you treat him this way because you think he's Albedo. As a result, he continues to act kind and friendly like Albedo would.

One day, you tell him you're going on vacation and plan to take a trip to Liyue. Surprisingly, Subject Two asks to come with you. (He tells himself it's not out of character for Albedo to ask this.)

You chat with him as you stroll through the streets of Liyue and you buy little souvenirs for people back in Mondstadt. You ask him when is his birthday, and he tells you he doesn't know, forgetting that he's supposed to be Albedo. You decide you can celebrate his birthday today and buy him a red scarf.

He's surprised you thought to give him a present. But because you misinterpret of his reaction, you ask if you shouldn't give it to him because he likes Lumine. Subject Two recalls how much Albedo talked about you and wouldn't be surprised if Albedo did love you back. He tells you that he likes you too.

From that day on, your relationship with each other grows. He gives you a necklace on your birthday in return for the scarf and you bring him along on your days off to wherever your feet would take you.

But Subject Two continues to deny the fact that he isn't really Albedo. He had pretended to be Albedo before, so why take his identity like he did before?

However, it had been years since he created that cryo whopper flower and he began to have a good relationship with Albedo after that. In fact, Albedo was the one who told Subject Two to pretend to be him while he was locked away on Dragonspine. He didn't want people like Klee to worry. Yet, Subject Two wanted to continue to be by your side, causing the turmoil inside his heart.

Lumine comes to Subject Two, telling him they've found a solution for Albedo. Knowing he can't continue with his relationship with you, he tells you that he needs to break up with you because soon he's going to forget everything that happened with you. You urge him to explain himself but he can't bear to tell you the truth that he wasn't Albedo. You were in love with Albedo, not him.

He disappears on you, telling you to forget him and you are left in despair. When Albedo returns to Mondstadt, he really doesn't know anything that happened between the two of you. But it's too hard for you to pretend as if those times together never existed.

Several months later, Subject Two is at Albedo's camp in Dragonspine. He's been hiding out in the mountain ever since. It's where he always lived anyway.

He opens the trunk full of his belongings, sees the red scarf you gave him and wraps it around his neck. You walk up from behind him and he stuffs the scarf in the trunk and closes it.

You say you recognize him and he admits it's true. He has met you once as Subject Two but he didn't really talk to you.

You say you wanted to see him, but he says you barely knew him. In a sense, it was true you never knew him. He pretended to be Albedo the whole time without showing his true personality. You tell him that you can start to get to know him now. He brushes you off and tells you to do whatever you want.

Little by little, you come to visit him on Dragonspine. And little by little, Subject Two would slip up on things he's not supposed to know about you until you finally tell him, "Albedo, never lost his memory, did he?"

He snaps at you and pretends he doesn't know what you're talking about. But he sees that you're wearing the necklace he gave you, hoping the Albedo you knew would come back. You ask him again if it was him, if he was the one you spent all that time with.

You tell him of all the things you missed about him and it dawns on him that you listed things related to his personality and not Albedo's. More and more of his personality slipped through the more he spent time with you and he didn't even notice.

At this point, Subject Two is still in denial that you'd still choose him over Albedo. "Then why is it that, after only meeting you a few times, I only think about you? You won't leave my mind," you tell him.

He finally gives up and tells you all about who he is. That he was a failed experiment. That he had tried to kill Albedo before. That Albedo was stuck in Mondstadt and asked him to take on his identity.

He doesn't know how to take all of this in. He doesn't understand why you'd want him over Albedo. So you tell him you'll stay by his side until he's convinced that you really do love him.

*****

I hope you liked this even if it's not a full fic like I usually do. Please check out my other fics if you enjoyed this one. :)

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dustyskies747 · 3 months

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It is time for more DELULU HOURS!!

todays subject (haha): this isn’t Albedo

Exhibit a: his eyes!! Here we see our beautiful baby boys eyes on the left/top (idk how this’ll be formatted)

Beautiful eyes and NOW for the new official CN art:

He’s got these weird yellow iris’ which while pretty are definitely not his usually eyes(they remind me of an anemo slime), and I dont think it’s the fires reflection bc ambers eyes are normal:

Exhibit b: the star!!

Albedo usually has a star on his neck

Subject two doesn’t

And where’s the star?? GONE.

Could they have forgotten it?? Yes but you didn’t come here for reasonable hours you came here for delulu hours! In conclusion subject two/ nigredo I miss you very much please come home I promise I’ll love you just the way you are even with you’re weird anemo slime eyes

#genshin #genshin impact #hoyoverse #albedo #albedo genshin impact #subject two #nigredo #ruebedo #i am delulu #delulu #i miss him #please come home #i’m begging #the kids miss you #it’s me I’m kids

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pixiltalks · 6 days

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Can't sleep. Post Dorian.

#genshin impact #susbedo #subject two #dorian genshin #rhinedottir

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popsigills · 5 months

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yummers

#genshin impact #albedo #subject two #susbedo #artists on tumblr #art #i think albedo would try to bond with subj2 by sharing his spiders with him #its very normal of him #fix ur sibling issues with some scrumdiliumcious spiders

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why-am-i-here-someone-save-me · 2 years

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Imperfections

aka Luci is a Rubedo enthusiast and is making it your problem. You’re welcome. :)

Mistake. Failure. Accident.

He knew these words well. They had come to define him in her eyes. Her eyes that watched intently as he followed instruction, catching every slip up, every misstep. He longed for her eyes to look at him with anything, anything, other than dissatisfaction, but no matter how hard he strove, they never did.

Discardable. Replaceable. Disposable.

Three words that she had thought of him. He was not valuable to her, he was merely a project. One which she began to see less and less reason to keep around. A project that she grew closer and closer to casting aside with every mistake he made.

Abandoned. Forsaken. Alone.

Her betrayal had branded the words upon his nonexistent heart like a hot iron. What did he do to be deserted like this? He tried his best, he gave his all in everything she had him do. So why did she leave him by himself in this dark place? It wasn’t fair, he didn’t want to be alone!

Dark. Cold. Isolated.

He hadn’t noticed in the beginning. He wasn’t aware of the corrosive energies that surrounded him, that ate away at his defenses. He paid no mind when the darkness that surrounded him sunk its teeth into him. He took no notice of how the corrupting fangs tainting his essence, causing the same darkness that surrounded him to grow and fester within him. It didn’t occur to him that his own mind had been stained black with hatred and resentment, nor that his very thoughts had shifted from despairing to spiteful.

Ice. Fury. Jealousy.

No words could properly convey his disbelief when he learned the truth. His face, his voice, his eyes, but not him. Not him. Why did this replacement receive such blessings? Was he not the first?! Even if she did not favor him, he was the first: he was the original! It should be him! He should be the one standing there! Not some copy!

Albedo.

His name. That was his name. How dare this substitute use his name! How dare this replacement use his name, his face, his identity as though it was theirs!

Observing. Learning. Plotting.

He won’t stand for this. He won’t stand and watch this copy have what should be his. He will not be forgotten. He was the first! He was the original! He won’t let himself be replaced!

Discovery. Battle. Defeat.

The fellflower failed him. His plans to take back his name had failed. He had failed. But he refused to give up. The darkness that dwelt in him blossomed further as it greedily prospered off of his rage. The name that was stolen from him only served to fuel his unquenchable thirst for vengeance. He was not Albedo; no that name had been stolen from him. He will reclaim it. But who is he now? Who is he now while he bides his time?

Wandering. Running. Encounter.

He had spent several months on the ever-frozen mountain, observing his counterpart, learning for his next scheme. But then he’d found you. You had been collapsed under the canopy of trees, unable to go on. If you had been awake, he wouldn’t have approached you, he couldn’t risk it, but seeing that you were unconscious he neared your fallen form. It didn’t take him but a second to take in your condition. Frail and bruised, you were visibly malnourished, not to mention the air of exhaustion that surrounded you like a fog. It surprised him when the sight caused a faint ache in his chest. He’d never experienced that before, and he was intrigued to say the least. He’d carefully picked your collapsed body, shedding his coat and wrapping it around you instead. The shivering of your form as he had carried you back to his hidden away camp had sparked something inside of him. If he recalled correctly, she had described a feeling similar to this one, calling it ‘concern’.

Awake. Warmth. Recover.

He’d been confused when the first thing you did upon waking and seeing him was start to tremble in fear with a panicked expression. But why? You had never seen him before, so were you afraid of his replacement? Did you know that he wasn’t the same person? His internal question was answered when your eyes focused on his neck. Your eyes expression relaxes, much to his confusion. “Y-You’re not him… Are you going to kill me..?” The words you spoke left him even more puzzled. “Kill you? Why would I kill you? If I wanted you dead I would have simply left you where I found you to freeze.” Had it been under normal circumstances, his lack of emotion while discussing your demise would have left you shaken, but these were far from normal circumstances.

You were exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally. The novelty of Teyvat had quickly waned when the characters you thought you knew so well called you an ‘imposter of the divine creator’. You had tried using your knowledge of them and their world to prove that you really weren’t from Teyvat, but they’d called it some sort of arcane spell and that you were merely a fake that was bluffing about the origin of the information you knew. That logic was absurd, and even a few of the characters themselves silently agreed that the argument made little sense. It had been those characters that had been the only way you escaped Mondstandt with your life. You’d briefly considered running to Liyue, but that would be a death sentence considering that the adepti would be after you. So you had fled to Dragonspine. At least if you perish, it will have been on your own terms, you’d thought. When you had collapsed, you were certain that it was the end for you, and that you’d never wake up from the unconscious realm. Yet you’d awoken, not only warm, but with your more severe injuries treated. And then you’d seen Albedo and your blood ran cold. You vividly remember the uncanny sight of anger on the composed researchers face as you’d seen him in Monstandt. You were sure he’d treated you just to ensure that your death could be dragged out. That is, until you noticed something on his neck. Or rather, the lack of something on his neck. This was not Albedo, you’d realized.

Confusion. Companion. Identity.

You told him of your experience so far, uncaring that you were confiding in a stranger. After you finally finish your story, he looks to you with what you could almost swear was amusement. “So then, you are also branded an imposter, no? Well then, I propose we work together. Seeing as how you have my replacement,” you note how he spits the word out with venom in his voice, “-rather perturbed is quite enjoyable.” You looked to him in surprise before nodding a small bit. A chance at survival is a chance, even if it did come from one of the ‘antagonists’. Though you already know the answer to the question, you ask it regardless. “Um, what is your name?” A bitter chuckle comes from him as he stares at the fire. “…I do not have one. Not at the moment. But I will take back my name.” Taking a deep breath, you steeled yourself for your next words. “So then can I call you Rubedo?” His eyes immediately snapped over to you, a mix or surprise and oddly enough, happiness, flashing through his real optics. “Rubedo..? Hm… Well, you have to call me something I suppose. That said,” you were certain this time that you saw the happiness in his face, “-I quite like it.”

Rubedo.

His new name.

Taglist: @nicebonescomrade @bamboowritess @numwoon44 @nookiesposts @rizakari @emperatris-rinaka @eccedentesiast-sapphic

(Also tagging my fellow Rubedo simp @rea-can-yeet)

I many consider making a follow up to this if enough people are interested. Or if I go full Rubedo simp mode again, which, given, is a valid possibility

#luci writes #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin rubedo #rubedo #rubedo x reader #primordial albedo #subject two #shadows amidst snowstorms #sagau #sagau impostor au #genshin sagau #reader is just exhausted on all levels #big mood tbh

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