Well Look At That! I Finally Drew That Adorable Prompt @moonfang182-magic Gave Me When They Commented

Jinshi is not fucking around. In one episode alone, he scares someone so badly she poisons herself:

And the next woman he interrogates pisses herself in fear:

THE APOTHECARY DIARIES SEASON 2 (EP. 17)

// spoilers below

OH one more thing about the luomen scenes:

luomen going "i can't let this interfere with my duties" vs. jinshi thinking "my duty is to find maomao" just hits for me. like, i know luomen was referring to his literal and official duties in the medical office, which are largely to care for the pregnant consorts, but like. he also makes this choice because he believes this is the path that will lead to the most good (this is not the same as the greater good btw). so if this is the intentional parallel i think it is, then jinshi calling finding maomao a duty, making it a priority above all his other official duties, feels like him saying that to him, that's the path that leads to the most good ^^ (i'm aware this is me overanalyzing the lines okay but *waves at the blob on the floor* jinmao!!)

I love this scene, Hanako playing along with Nene's fantasies about the play, while also depicting his true desires to make her feel like the princess she always wished she was.

hEY ITS YA GIRL SAM BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH ANOTHER REQUEST DJDJJDD

so uh uhm im simping (whats new) and hnng im feeling very soft for xiao, beidou, zhongli and diluc hnng (is that too much?? FEEL FREE TO DO LESS CHARACTERS IF ITS TOO MUCH DONT WORRY DJEJE) may i have some uhh blanket fort headcanons?? Pillow forts?? God i just wanna goof around and cuddle em and make em smile aaaaaa 💖💖💖💖

(Also ps hi!! Hope youve been doin good and reminder to drink water!! Remeber that ur also so fricken cool and talented ily mwah have a lovely day 💝💝)

thank you for the request!! i literally love this idea sm <33 sorry these are taking so long to get out, school’s being a real ass.

tumblr stopped working and kept deleting this im in so much pain

Pillow Forts!

Characters included: Xiao, Beidou, Zhongli, Diluc

Warnings: Language, suggestive themes??? not really but like… mention of vaginas. shhh dont ask i swear its not bad

Xiao

“You want to what?”

He had no idea what a pillow fort was

“Build a pillow fort???”

“The fuck is a pillow fort.”

You gasped because OH MY GOD???

Xiao was slightly taken aback when you looked at him with shock and… despair? He felt kinda bad. Should he have known what a pillow fort was? Did you bring it up before? His expression turned to one more sorrowful. He knew he wouldn’t be good at romance, he never should have-

You grabbed his hand and smiled at him, puling him out of his thoughts

“Then let’s go, I’ll teach you!” You dragged him.

“Wait, hold on-!”

The Vigilant Yaksha wouldn’t let himself be dragged by just anyone… Be glad he didn’t rip your arm off 😅

After explaining to him what it was, he was deadpanning at you, holding a fluffy pillow in his unusually soft hands

no seriously what the fuck why were they so soft

“Are you a child?”

“Mentally, yes. Physically?”

You winked at him, “You should know~”

“…So you are.”

You gasped at him in mock offense, “Xiao!”

“What?! I-” Oh, the little shit definitely knew what he did. You could tell he was trying to hide it, but there was a shit-eating grin growing on his handsome face.

He was cut off by the smack of a pillow to his face, and Verr Goldet was greeted with the mighty adeptus chasing a young woman with a pillow

Well, now you two were tired.

You slightly glared at him while holding your arm because the pillow smacked the living shit out of you there, obviously motioning your head towards the piles of pillows and blankets.

As much as he wanted to ignore you, he lov- no, he cared too much for you, so he acknowledged you and, although reluctantly, began to help you set up a pillow fort.

He was surprisingly good at it! I guess you start to catch onto things quickly when you live for so long.

Finishing it did not take long (you’re pretty sure he speedran through that to get it over with) and he dragged you down next to him on the pillows before you could move to the extra decorations, causing you to wiggle around like a little worm in his grasp.

“Xiao, I want to finish decorating-”

“No.” He tightened his hold on you, pulling you closer into his chest, “Don’t you have to work tomorrow anyways?”

You pouted at him, although he couldn’t see it. but, your face was right in his tiddies, so I mean

“It’s late, sleep now. There is always tomorrow to finish.”

You sighed and turned yourself onto your right side while in his grasp and hugged his frame, wrapping your left leg around him, attempting to pull him as close to you as possible.

He stiffened, then relaxed into you, and wrapped his left arm around your back, accepting the embrace.

Burying his face into your hair, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Your face was shoved right into his chest, and you breathing was light, but he knew you weren’t asleep yet, because he could feel a grin growing on your face.

“Shhh, don’t say anything-” He tried to stop you.

“I just realized, Xiao…” You whispered to him, a mischievous giggle coming out of your mouth.

“Hm?” He hummed.

“I’m dating a grandpa! An old man! How old are you, gramps?”

He groaned, “Oh my god-”

“Should I send you to the nursing home? Do you need me to- ow!”

“Shut up! Go to sleep!”

Beidou

“A pillow fort, huh? You never fail to amaze me, babe.”

SHE CALLED YOU BABE>>>DJGDH(UDSUGDUhfdUFGFG

“Can you?”

“I’m sure the crew would like a day off.” She grinned at you

Your smile brightened the room

“I love you!”

“Mm, I love you too.” Your arms were wrapped tightly around her

You both stayed in the embrace until she tapped your side, making you squeal and laugh.

“I don’t think the pillow fort is going to build itself, sweets. I mean, unless you have some kind of odd vision I don’t know about-”

You pulled away from her with a shout, “Let’s go! Right now!”

She chased followed you through Liyue Harbor, occasionally getting a greeting such as, “Hey Captain!” or “Glad to see you back safely, Cap’n!”

She tried to greet them back, but your eagerness was leading you to yank her past the citizens before she could say anything except, “Sorry!”

That is, until you stopped in your tracks.

Since you wanted to pull your own weight in the relationship, you decided to continue with your job as a waitress and bring in a little extra money, as well as care for the house while Beidou was gone, as long as you weren’t with her. You would never want her to stop sailing, it was what she loved! And you didn’t want to sail with her as your job, you didn’t think it was fair and you wanted to go through your job all by yourself, even if she promised no special treatment. You also wanted others who felt more at home in the sea to have a chance to go and experience it!

However, work had been… very tough this week, and the house really felt the aftermath of your stress.

We won’t go into detail…

“So you’re just neglected our poor house? Oh, (Y/n), how could you?” Your partner teased.

You had tried to stop her from going into your shared home, saying “we could do this on the boat!” But her curiousness knows no bounds

I suppose that’s why she’s an amazing adventurer!

But back to what’s happening, she walked in, gasped, and looked at you incredulously (of course, she didn’t truly mean it)

“I know, I’m sorry, it’s just… work’s been so, so busy this week due to the Lantern Rite, and I-”

“I’m messing with you, babe. Let’s clean this up, then we can build the pillow fort. That sound good?”

“Yeah, thank you.”

Cleaning took a while. Like… a really long time. No room was left untouched!

This also led to extreme fatigue, causing you to crash on each other

“Hm… maybe we should get to building the fort now?”

Her lazy smile was a sight to behold

“Yes, yes…”

You heaved yourself up and both of you got to work

She was very efficient, actually!

Minus points for laughing at you because you put a pillow in the wrong place and made the whole thing fall down >:(

But eventually, you two ended up sitting together, her in your lap, while you read a journal entry she had written on her last voyage.

It was extremely comfortable, and you loved hearing about her adventures. Her passion for exploration was unending and extremely admirable, and you-

“Really? A ‘pussy plant’?”

“Hey! That’s what it looked like! It was under the water, so it was wet too-”

“Beidou!”

Zhongli

“You… wish for me to build you a fort? Very well, then. I can do so.”

“Yeah, Zhongli, can we do- PILLOW FORT, ZHONGLI-! WAIT!”

He has heard of mortals and their odd ways of passing (already short) time… but pillow forts?

Why would you create something so odd?

Overall, he is just very confused.

He is amazing with architecture, though!

Expect him to get really into it once you both begin

“Ah, this pillow should rest… here…”

“Sweetheart, this is just going to be for us to cuddle in.”

You were glad he was enjoying this!

He had a childlike spark of wonder surrounding his being, and you believed you would never see anything like that again in correlation with the former archon.

You wondered if he ever got to experience such simple things when he was still young…

And so, you asked about it!

“My… childhood? That is quite long ago… It is hard to remember what I did back when I was not yet ruling Liyue, but I do not believe I often indulged in such playful activities. It was a time of war and heartbreak, and I do not look back at those days fondly.”

You gave him a bone-crushing hug, one he returned more… carefully.

He does not wish to hurt you, after all.

The finishing product was a sight to behold!

It was symmetrical and sturdy, and quite well decorated.

“Zhongli… did you cut the pillows?”

“I wanted it to look nice for you, dear.”

Cue you tackling him onto the pillows, yelling a playful “You weirdo!”

This started a tickling war, one that he dominated.

Somehow, the two of you flipped over, to where he was on top of you (”No mercy!”) and then you flipped again (”You said it yourself, ‘No mercy!’”)

The both of you let out boisterous laughter, and you stared into his golden eyes, twinkling with joy.

You settled on his chest as the both of you calmed, listening to his heartbeat.

You always found your moments with Zhongli to be relaxing and endearing, always comfortable with the vision-holder.

As you two drifted into a comfortable rest within the fort you had both made, you hoped that he had been able to feel a bit younger again.

Diluc

“If that is what you wish to do for our date, we can do so…”

“Do you not like the idea?”

“It’s not that, I just have not done something so… for lack of a better word, childish, in quite a while.”

“Well, everyone needs to be a kid again at some point! Let’s go, old man!”

And so the whole of Monstadt saw you drag the most esteemed businessman through the city, and all the way to Dawn Winery.

“So! Where do you wanna star— Diluc?”

He was

so

fucking

excited

THIS MAN WAS TRYING TO HIDE IT BUT HIS CHILDHOOD WAS TAKEN FROM HIM…. HES SO EXCITED TK BUILD A PILLOW FORT

you could practically see his eyes glimmer and shine

now you’re grinning like a mad man.

“how big can we make it?”

“huge”

and you guys made a whole CASTLE

diluc even got the maids to help out

although diluc was excited, he was ass at making the fort

he can sell wine in two minutes flat, but he couldn’t build a house properly in 10 years

that’s okay!! you were there to help

after finishing (with a few errors— the castle fell twice 😭) you two made some tea to relax together in your little castle

you ended up cuddling and talking quietly with one another, you sitting on his lap and leaning back, bringing you hands up to play with his long hair

as you drifted off into sleep, diluc kissed your forehead, muttering a small declaration of love.

he, unfortunately, would have to leave in an hour or two to deal with his duties as “The Darknight Hero”

but for now, he wanted to spend his time with his loved one

once again i apologize for this being forever. school has been so extremely tough and i haven’t had any motivation to write at all. i hope i can get back into it!!

I GOT TICKETS IM LITERALLY SCREAMING ASKSKFKSKAMGNSKAKGKSKDKBKSKZKBKRKALVKFKSKSKALA

AND THEYRE IN THE FRONT ROW OMG 😭😭😭😭

A Guide on How to Locate Old VODs!

Hello, everyone! 

As you all know, Twitch has a cap on VOD availability where, after two months, a VOD on a channel will be deleted. 

Given that Dream SMP has lasted for longer than two months, with the bulk of the plot now missing, this means that finding old footage can be somewhat of a challenge if you aren’t yet familiar with how to do so!

I get a lot of asks asking me where certain old VODs are, and while I don’t mind these asks at all, I also figured it would be helpful to make a guide post on my methods for locating them so that people can attempt to locate things for themselves too!

There are plenty of ways to go about it, but this is just what I do.

Without further ado, here’s a step-by-step process. 

—

Before you go searching for anything, there’s some information that you’ll need to decide on.

What are you looking for?

This one’s a bit obvious, but you need to figure out what exactly you’ll be seeking out. For this guide, I’ll be using the first Dreamon Hunters VOD as an example, as that’s one that people have asked for a lot in the past.

When did it happen?

As a general question, you’ll want to know the basic context of around what time this event took place. We’ll get into specifics later, but it helps to have context. Think: what else was happening at the time?

Well, for Dreamon Hunters, we know that Fundy was wearing his Dreamon Hunters outfit at the Manberg Festival, October 16. Therefore, that event took place not too long before then.

From whose POV?

You’ll need to know which streamers to search under. The first Dreamon Hunters stream was streamed by Fundy and Tubbo. 

Tubbo’s official VODs channel does not include the first Dreamon Hunters VOD, and the oldest VOD on Archive is Festival preparation on October 13. Unfortunately, this means that Tubbo’s POV is lost, so we will be seeking out Fundy’s.

—

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, onto the next steps.

STEP ONE: Figure out the exact date.

There are a few ways to achieve this. If you’re lucky, you’ll know the date already – November 16th, January 6th, other big ones like that. Sometimes you can look at recap posts if they exist for that day. 

But the most reliable one I’ve found, especially for Season One, is actually to use Twitter’s advanced search.

(Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re thinking. But it genuinely works pretty well)

Type in keywords that you think would end up in livetweets of the stream. If something specific was trending that day because of the event, that helps as well. For this example, we’ll use “DreamXD,” as that was trending.

Scroll down to the bottom and select a date range. This is where knowing the general time that the event happened helps. We’ll do October 1 - October 16.

There! We’ve found the livetweets! How nostalgic. 

Figure out the earliest date. 

For our example, it appears to be October 7. Note that VOD dates might be a day later due to different timezones.

STEP TWO [Optional]: Figure out the stream title.

You don’t necessarily need this step, but it can often be helpful when scrolling through a large selection of VODs, and since sometimes the VOD dates can be a day off, having the title will give you the most accuracy.

Go to Twitchtracker.com/ [insert streamer name] /streams and click on the date you just found.

From here, we can see that Fundy’s stream on October 7 was titled “THE NEW MANBERG.”

STEP THREE: Find the VOD on a VODs channel or on Archive.

I will be linking a bunch of unofficial VODs channels that I’d recommend at the end. Here we will be using Fundy Stream Archive.

And there we go! We have successfully located the first Dreamon Hunters VOD!

—

Now, that was an easy example. Things can get a bit more difficult than that.

For our next example: what if you wanted to find the original Captain Puffy “duckling Dream” VOD? 

When did it happen?

If you remember, this stream happened when Captain Puffy hadn’t yet chosen her alliances between Dream SMP and L’manburg. Therefore, it would have been November or early December, soon after she joined the server.

Using the Twitter search method, we’ll search for “duckling Dream” in the date range November 16 - December 20.

The earliest date appears to be November 29.

Using Twitchtracker, we know that Captain Puffy’s stream on November 29 was titled “Nightime vibing on the Dream SMP!”

Next, since Captain Puffy’s VODs from this early on haven’t been archived to a channel on YouTube, we’ll visit Archive.org instead. Search up “Captain Puffy” 

Be sure to sort by date. This will display the date below, but I’d still recommend you have the stream title on hand as well.

Aaaand

There it is! 

There you have it! A step-by-step guide on how to locate old VODs yourselves!

—

What can’t you locate?

Unfortunately, there is content that can’t be found this way.

Tubbo’s August and September VODs, Eret and Jack Manifold’s August VODs, a couple Tommy streams, HBomb’s Doomsday stream, etc., are all missing.

Notably, every so often Sapnap’s Storytime Stream VOD will be rediscovered and passed around as a Google Drive link or uploaded to YouTube before inevitably being taken down again. Keep your eyes peeled and you might see it pop up again.

—

Hope this helped! If you can’t locate something yourself, again, feel free to ask me and I can try my best to find it.

Otherwise, happy searching!

—

Below is a list of channels and resources I’d recommend.

There is more to be found out there that you can look for yourself, but these are the ones I use most regularly!

Keep reading

Booping His Nose 『Xiao, Kaeya, Venti』

Wow look, I'm writing headcanons lmao. I might do more if they're wanted :D

⌾ Probably occurred after being with him for a while

⌾ Mans is always on high alert kinda like a guard dog lmao

⌾ Flinched back and glared before going back to whatever he was doing before you touched him

⌾ The type to appear to hate it but after a few times it's done gets immune to it but will never admit it

The small balcony atop Wangshu Inn was yours and Xiao's hangout whenever he wasn't busy with his duties, as he likes to call them. He usually starts his patrol before you show up and finishes after you fall asleep. However, this knowledge never stopped you from trying to wait for him. And yet you'd always wake up in your room after passing out on the upper balcony. Luckily, you didn't have to go that far, as Xiao appeared way earlier than expected.

"You must stop staying out here so late. I refuse to take care of you if you were to come down sick." That was an obvious lie. The only other person he fully trusted was Verr, and she was too busy to take care of you if you were to get sick. "Here," he muttered, holding out a bowl of Cream Stew as he settled down next to you with a plate of Almond Tofu. You informed him of your day, Xiao stopping you from time to time to eat before it gets cold.

The flinch he made caused you to flinch as well, the shock from his sudden jerk making your eyes widen. Your hand was still in the air, your hand sitting there limply from your wrist. His glared moved from it to your face, "Why'd you do that?" The smile you sent Xiao made him scoff but go back to looking at the sky. "Well? Aren't you going to continue your story about the ruin hunter?"

⌾ He's so MEAN ok

⌾ It's all laughs and smiles until he pinches your nose in retaliation

⌾ And won't let go until he either has to do something or feels as though you've had enough

⌾ So essentially a long time lmao

⌾ Then he'd just??? Pretend he didn't crush your nose???? Sir own up please

Angel's Share was less busy when Kaeya was off duty and hanging out with you. Of course, there were the ones who barely ever left, like Nimrod for example. Speaking of him, he was currently drunkenly chatting up a storm with Kaeya, you trying to keep up with the conversation but giving up and distracting yourself by swirling your drink.

Once it was clear that Nimrod was too drunk to even remember his thoughts Kaeya turned to you once again. Seeing a small chance, you lifted a finger that's coating in condensation from your glass. Looking him straight in the eyes, you pressed it against his nose. An amused smile formed quickly, "Oh? Is that what we're doing now? Alright."

Your nose was then pressed against Kaeya's index finger by his thumb, him squeezing occasionally while taking a sip of his beverage. It didn't help that his fingers were cold due to his vision. He reveled in your whines, grumbles, and pleads for him to let go, not even after your nose became red. "Now, now, calm down. I didn't do anything harmful to you."

⌾ The one to enjoy it the most, I'd say

⌾ Attention from his s/o? Sign him up!

⌾ Would definitely do it back to you no hesitation

⌾ And do it multiple times after that during the day

The time you did it was when you met with Venti in the morning at Windrise. He liked to play the lyre to you and you only under the tree as Crystalflies flutter around you. He was just so cute in his element. Plus, the big grin and crinkled eyes he bared after feeling the pressure on his nose was a sight to behold.

The first time he did it to you was right before he was about to play for the people of Mondstadt in front of his statue. You had a commission to do, so he decided to busy himself while you were away. He did it swiftly so he didn't hold you any longer, placing a kiss right where he touched, shooing you away with a heartfelt "Be safe, my lovely!"

In the evening, Diluc was unnerved at the quiet, soft bard who wasn't nagging for dandelion wine every two minutes. One glance to the right of Venti answered all of the questions the noble had. There you were, left hand clasped in Venti's right, your face being home for Venti's loving gaze. If Diluc blinked, he would've missed the fast passing of nose boops you each gave each other before going back to your respective drinks. "You're too cute, my lovely."

❝ ## — 4UR4 0F TH3 ST4RS !! ❞

-> in which you attend a royal ball hosted by the ragnvindr family, and you dance with seven very odd men

-> full fic

-> female! reader, royal au

i’m going to blame the howl’s moving castle theme for the ungodly inspiration it gave me..anyways you can listen to it while you read for that visualization :D and female reader !! (no it’s not just because i wanted childe to say ‘hey girlie’ what are u talking about..) also does this even count as a royal au idk

— “diluc, of mondstadt,” he had said, bringing your hand up to his face to brush a kiss to your knuckles. “may i have a dance with you?”

“i know who you are, prince diluc,” you answered. while some may have found it arrogant that he even bothered to introduce himself at his ball, you found it endearing. it proved he wasn’t the stuck up heir that you read about in the news, it showed that being born into royalty hadn’t corrupted his basic manners.

diluc had given you the gift of a small smile, gently guiding you in towards the center of the ballroom as the orchestra began another piece, his hair swaying in time with his footsteps. you felt the harsh pricks of the whole room staring at you, wondering why you of all people had been asked to a dance by the future king. it felt like barely any time had passed since king crepus died, yet plans were already being made for prince diluc’s coronation.

his gloved hands placed themselves on your shoulder and waist, the dark burgundy and red of his suit contrasting the ivory tile beneath him. it was clear he’d been trained and coached on how to formally dance his whole life. though his eyes were warm, his stance was stiff. it was sure and firm, but lacked the carefree buoyancy the rest of the guests had.

the piano’s keys echoed, and you could feel the music hanging loosely in the air all around you. diluc started a slow waltz, simply stepping the designated steps and lightly spinning you every so often. each time you saw a photograph of him, it became obvious as to why he was being offered so many women from other nations. he was striking in every way, from his dark attire to his fiery hair.

“prince diluc, are you alright?” you asked. it wasn’t a secret that diluc wasn’t the most sociable of the royal family, but he seemed lost, in a way. he navigated the dance floor with ease, knowing where and when to turn, but he looked unfocused and dazed.

“i’m alright, thank you,” he replied, short and to the point.

king crepus’ passing must have made quite the impact on the prince. ‘well, it’s not like he had any time to grieve,’ you thought. ‘he wasn’t prepared to take on all of this. he just woke up one day and found out he’d be king in less than a year.’

“your highne—“

“you may refer to me as just diluc, if that’s okay. there’s no need to be so formal,”

‘no need to be so formal.’ it was starting to seem like diluc wanted to be anything but formal, from his simple suit jacket to his mannerisms similar to those of a commoner. from his slow waltz to the way he purposely stepped too far back to accommodate your incredibly large dress.

‘who ever thought diluc ragnvindr wouldn’t want to be so formal? being the sole heir to a monarchy must’ve humbled him instead of doing the opposite,’ you wondered, so lost in thought that you didn’t even notice diluc picking up your hands and placing them back at your sides.

“i’m afraid our break must come to an end. i should be choosing a wife right now, as much as i’d rather stay and dance with you. you’re thoughtful. it can be hard to find that these days,”

stunned, you looked up at his gloves as he pulled them down to meet his wrists, your eyes flicking over almost all the guests watching you. “oh. i suppose even princes don’t have all the time in the world, do they?”

the ends of his lips curved, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. “no, i suppose they don’t,”

“my, my. don’t tell me you’re leaving this poor girl out to dry in the middle of a ball, diluc. surely you were taught better,”

prince diluc didn’t even tilt his head to check to see who had spoken. you stayed standing where you where, feeling like you were in the middle of something while watching the stranger as he approached you two.

“i am not leaving her, kaeya. you’d better confirm your facts before waltzing in other people’s space,” the redhead snapped.

kaeya laughed. “weren’t you supposed to be finding a wife? or have you just been stalling because you know grand master jean isn’t among the selected candidates?”

diluc didn’t flinch or flush at kaeya’s words. instead, he turned and dropped down his head, sliding whispers into the other man’s ear before stepping towards you. “i did enjoy our dance, y/n. i do hope i’ll see you again,” he murmured, promptly walking off the dance floor, leaving you with the blue haired stranger and questions as to how he knew your name when you couldn’t remember ever telling him.

— “that was awfully rude of you,” you told him, seeing a flash of an eyepatch under his bangs as he let out a laugh again, taking one of your hands and placing it on his shoulder as the music picked up, the once somber waltz turning into a charming one.

“my brother has always been so uptight. princes do have all the time in the world. in fact, i think we all do, don’t you?”

“you haven’t even told me your name yet,” you pointed out.

“kaeya alberich, cavalry captain of the knights of favonius. already interested in me, aren’t you? well, do i get a name?” confidence and charm seemed to radiate off of him, the way his dress shirt was mostly unbuttoned and the patterns on his coat only adding to it. you quickly scanned the room, noticing just as many other women staring at you as before. you knew this kaeya was apart of the knights of favonius, but was he really that important?

“y/n l/n. i have to ask, what’s a knight doing inside the ball? shouldn’t you be patrolling outside?”

“the knights are patrolling outside. the royal family is inside, entertaining the guests,”

“do you always speak in puzzles?” you asked, irritated that you weren’t given a proper answer.

kaeya smriked with stars in his eyes, obviously enjoying the mysterious façade he had put up. “i understand it’s not common knowledge, but i am in fact part of the royal family, miss y/n. i can see how being a step brother might not count as being royalty, though. fine lines, and all that,”

the pieces of the puzzle kaeya had made clicked into place. you had seen photos of the royal family with kaeya in it, but normally he had been standing off to the side or just looking so out of place that you never considered he was a part of it. king crepus and diluc had fair skin and brightly colored hair, their eyes drooping lazily but their posture tall and regal. kaeya was tanned and his hair was the same shade as the dusky sky in the background of most of the pictures. he didn’t stand like he was born to be in the photographs, he stood like he deserved to be in them.

now that you think about it, he was in almost all of the photos you’d seen of the ragnvindr’s. “how did you come into the family, anyways?” you knew you were being nosy, but kaeya didn’t seem like the type to reprimand you for that. he was whimsical in every way—he was probably just as nosy himself.

the cavalry captain kept up his quick pace of dancing, lifting you up in a twirl and gently setting you back down. “that’s a topic for another day. i don’t think we’ll be able to cover the entire history of a lost kingdom in the next couple seconds. it’s about time to switch partners,”

he really did know how to intrigue someone, how to get them roped in to where they were tied to the mysteries he held. what happened to his right eye? where was the lost kingdom was he referring to? how did he manage to steal the attention of almost everyone in the room?

"may i dance with you again?” you rushed, desperate for answers, both of you stepping away in tune with the music.

“of course,” he confirmed. “i would never push you away like diluc did, y/n. and i’m not one to break my word,”

with that, kaeya was gone—probably twirling other girls in the air—and your hands were being taken by a blonde with intricate braids in his hair, his gloves rougher and more worn down than kaeya and diluc’s were. they were casual gloves; ones made for working in.

— “hello,” he said simply.

“oh—hello,”

“sorry, i’m afraid i haven’t been to a ball in ages; it seems i’ve forgotten how strange it is when we switch partners. i am albedo, i work with the knights of favonius,”

“y/n,” you told him, not bothering with a last name since he didn’t. “does everyone here work in the knights of favonius?” you joked.

albedo had smiled a little, obviously not one for jokes but appreciating it all the same. “i don’t actually work on the front lines. i’m just the chief alchemist. i prefer to study life rather than take it from people.” he swiftly sidestepped to avoid stepping on you, not even realizing he’d done it. he seemed very spacey, like his head was beyond the clouds.

but he was graceful. the chains adorned on his coat looked like they were floating, stray pieces of hair passed over his eyes, his boots glided over the tile. it was hard to believe he was even human.

“i think that’s a lovely way of looking at it,” you said.

“life is lovely, isn’t it? it’s unbelievable, really, some of the things that exist,”

“is that why you practice alchemy?”

“no, not necessarily. i practice alchemy so i can study how life is made—similar to drawing or painting or creating something. i wish to know how everything in this world was created. being so high up in teyvat’s ranks help too, of course,”

‘he has a beautiful way of looking at things.’

“what about you?” he asked.

“me? your life is much more interesting than mine, albedo. working in the wine business isn’t very original in mondstadt,”

“it’s not exactly an easy business to get into, though. besides...you have the aura of the stars. i would love to hear more about you,”

the aura of the stars? was albedo talking about the stars that seemed to shine in kaeya’s eyes, or the stars that burned bright just above the palace?

it seemed you wouldn’t get to find out though, not with the orchestra slowing their music and you and albedo having to tear away to keep up with the other guests.

“thank you for dancing with me, y/n,” he said. always so polite, wasn’t he? “if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, i think i would like to draw you someday,”

“i’d like that. thank you albedo,”

too busy watching him whisk away, you didn’t realize the man behind you, startling yourself when you ran into him.

— “my apologies for not moving out of the way, i’m afraid i was distracted.” if albedo said that you have the aura of the stars, this man must have had the aura of royalty. he stood regally, his hair long and pulled back neatly; his tie knotted perfectly.

“no, that was my fault. don’t apologize, please. i’m y/n,” you introduced.

“i tend to go by zhongli. it’s a pleasure to meet you, y/n,” he nodded in acknowledgement.

“tend to?” you wondered aloud. a pattern was starting to arise at this ball—one that hinted that almost every guest had a secret to hide.

zhongli was an excellent dancer. he stood tall and firm, as if he’d been invited to every royal ball in teyvat. maybe he’d even held his own. “as of right now, yes. exposing my other names might cause some...conflict,”

“there isn’t much conflict in mondstadt. we’ve learned to flow in whichever direction the wind chooses to,”

the man simply smiled, one that said he’d seen and heard that statement many times. “i don’t get the chance to visit mondstadt very often. a shame, really, since it’s so close to liyue. i must learn to make time to travel here. it’s quite peaceful,”

‘he must have lived in liyue all his life, to be so decided and sure of everything. here, we change our minds whenever we please; they keep the contacts they make for generations,’

zhongli did bring the reminiscence of liyue itself. he moved with such certainty, his eyes brightly lined with the same color as the festival lights you saw when you participated in the lantern rite years ago.

“what work do you do in liyue?” you asked.

he thought for a moment, deciding what exactly he ought to say. “i’m not as involved in the economics as i used to be. i worked very closely with the royal family, but was disposed of when i wasn’t of use anymore. now i simply make and sign off contracts. still an incredibly important job in the nation,”

“disposed of? that’s very cruel. i’m so sorry,”

“nothing to be sorry for. i still respect queen ningguang, very much. she had her goals set, and she sacrificed many valuable assets in order to reach them. it’s embarrassing to say i would’ve done the same,”

“at least you can admit that. i know some that wouldn’t.” the thought of a certain blue haired, faux prince crossed your mind.

zhongli nodded, considering your opinion while letting a silence fall between you two. you hated how quick partner changes were, even if the orchestra migrated to a slower tempo. you were still very curious. it was clear you’d leave the palace tonight with many more questions than when you’d come in.

“would you mind showing me around mondstadt, if you ever have the time?” zhongli proposed. “i’ve already seen many sights around here but...times do change, don’t they? people can look at the same sea and find different sights to admire,”

“may you walk me around liyue, too? i’ve only visited a handful of times for the festivals. i have a feeling you’ve seen just about all of it,”

his coat flipped up as he stepped to another young woman, his eyes still focused on you. “i don’t see why not, y/n,”

you followed suite and skipped into position with a bright eyed redhead, dressed in an odd combination of heavy layers and chains. his hair was ruffled, as if the wind had purposely played with it to look like that.

— “hey girlie, hold still—let me do all the work,” he grinned, gripping your waist and lifting you to the other side of him. did the orchestra plan their musical number this way? to take all the energy lost from the somber sections of their song and put it all into this one? the ginger was certainly taking advantage of that, his earring swaying with him as he spun, obviously here for a good time.

“oh—hi?” you gasped, almost tripping over the hem of your dress.

he smiled, a genuine one that told you he probably wasn’t formally invited to this ball. it was hard to stay stunned when he seemed to float in the air. “did i startle you? my bad. i got a little too caught up in that, didn’t i? my name’s childe,”

“child?”

“c-h-i-l-d-e. it’s just an alias, don’t worry about it,”

it sounded like he was giving out information he shouldn’t be. was it just to entice you, like how kaeya purposely drew you in with mysteries? or was it simply because he talked too much?

“i’m not sure you’re meant to be telling me that, childe,” you told him.

his hands dropped from your waist. his gloves were different than the other ones you’d seen that night. they were an odd design; nothing you’d seen before in mondstadt, or even liyue. perhaps inazuma? you’d never visited the icy region, but you’d heard of the strange customs from there. “it’s not like you can do anything; if you don’t know my real name then what good is knowing i use an alias?” childe said.

you supposed he was right. it was hard to keep your mind on that topic when he kept up with the quick pace of the music so well. he was quite swift.

“where did you learn to dance like this?”

“i don’t get to dance much where i’m from. my work isn’t exactly as free spirited as this, either,”

you found yourself missing albedo. he had given you straight answers to your questions. but he was all the way across the dance floor now, playfully spinning a small girl in red. a family member, maybe?

childe stopped again, crossing his arms as he studied you, the rest of the guests continuing to dance away. it’d been barely thirty seconds and you were already tired of his games.

“you intrigue me, y/n,” he admitted. had you told him your name yet? “not many women dance with royalty and pass it off as not a big deal,”

“prince diluc’s a person, too. i’m sure he doesn’t like to only be seen as the future king of mondstadt,”

“oh, diluc? i wasn’t even talking about him, but i like your viewpoint.” he set his hands on your waist again, continuing to dance to get out of the way of others.

not diluc? was he mentioning kaeya? zhongli? surely not albedo—he was the chief alchemist, he told you himself. childe definitely knew much more than he was letting on.

“humor me, childe,” you began. “what work do you do? is it in inazuma?”

“my work takes me all across teyvat, actually. it’s something i quite enjoy, travel. of course, working with the fatui wasn’t my top choice—i wanted to work in toy crafting, believe it or not,” he laughed, throwing his head back, the light from the chandelier turning his grey suit golden.

“fatui?” you panted. you were dancing with someone of the fatui! childe wasn’t from inazuma—he was from snezhnaya. and you weren’t supposed to be entertaining two-faced fatui from snezhnaya. “why are you telling me all this? shouldn’t i go and report you?”

he pondered for a moment, humoring you. “you could. i was invited here through someone quite powerful, though, so they’d probably just kick you out. it’s not a secret i’m with the fatui. i don’t plan on just killing everyone in here, either. why can’t a man waltz in peace?” he sidestepped and spun, enchantingly charming. it’d be so easy to fall for him if he hadn’t told you what he did.

they all were. every dance you’d had that night had been nothing short of magical.

“as for why i’m telling you, y/n,” he continued. “i’ve already told you that. you intrigue me. i do hope you’ll continue to. i trust i’ve intrigued you, as well,”

‘he has.’

“you have,” you agreed. “a fatui who’s just here to waltz...i have a hard time believing that,”

childe gave you another grin, twirling you to the right and into someone else’s grasp. it was certainly hard to hold a grudge against someone that danced like that, even if it gave you an awkward encounter with your next partner.

— “if he comes knocking at your door, don’t be afraid to call me. damn fatui...always in other people’s business, aren’t they?”

“it seems so.” you quickly adjusted your stance, realizing the music had slowed back down. looking at the man standing across from you, you noticed he was much different than the other men you had danced with that night.

his suit was loosely fitting, the purple and green accents bright against the white of his jacket. he watched you through heavy eyes, his expression unreadable.

"i’m y/n l/n,” you introduced, trying to start conversation.

“xiao,” he returned simply.

“xiao? what an interesting name. are you from here?”

“no. i come from liyue. i’m simply here to aid an accomplice.” you trailed his eyes to the left. was he motioning towards zhongli? he was certainly to the point.

it was clear he wasn’t here to dance like childe was. all of his footsteps felt unsure, like they were heavily thought out before hand. it was endearing, seeing him put so much effort into such a little act.

“i guess almost everybody is here for work-related purposes. it’s so sad, seeing everyone have an underlying motive. it’s a ball, for archons sake,” you admitted.

xiao sighed, the dark hair hanging near his face flying up with his breath. “it’s nice to find somebody who thinks that way, too. i’ve been called a...work driven person, but even i don’t deceive others for a little more mora or power. another reason why i dislike the fatui. i’m sure the ginger had a deeper reason for being here other than throwing you up in the air,”

to the point. to the point and harsh. it was obvious he wasn’t very social. you sensed there was quite a bit of backstory to his viewpoints.

you weren’t used to the orchestra playing this slowly. kaeya was probably throwing a fit somewhere because of it. every movement you made seemed like it took eons. it was peaceful, but starting to drag. too busy trying not to waltz too quickly, you caught yourself on the hem of your dress, sending yourself falling backwards and in the direction of harsh tile.

wincing your eyes shut in reflex, you didn’t see xiao dashing forward to catch you, his hand supporting your back and his hair falling down into your face, exposing the light blue hidden underneath the top layers.

with the light surrounding him, he looked immortal. immortal and experienced—but different in the way zhongli had looked. zhongli was wise because of everything he’d done; xiao was wise because of everything he’d seen.

xiao didn’t seem to realize grabbing you before you fell could be taken as romantic. instead, he quickly got you back on your feet and absentmindedly fiddled with the buttons on his jacket. he really was here just to aid an accomplice.

“thank you for catching me. that tile wouldn’t have been the best landing,” you said.

“part of the price i must pay. don’t take it personally—it seems i’m used to catching people. there aren’t many people like me nowadays here to do that,”

‘like you? who does he mean? what price is he paying? he’s so vague.’

“xiao, what exactly do you do? what do you mean, ‘like me’? i don’t mean to intrude—i really don’t, i’m used to abnormality in mondstadt—but it’s—“

— “partner switch! sorry, adeptus xiao, but you have to keep up with the music, you know? fancy an evening dance?”

xiao was thrust out of your grasp and into someone else’s, leaving you trying to match the pace of the quick moving stranger who’d taken your hands.

he had elfish features; two short braids the color of a lake hung close to his face, and the top of his hair was ruffled beyond fix, as if he’d quickly thrown a hat on and decided not to wear it at the last minute. his attire might as well have been for a child. rather than dress pants, he had shorts and tights. instead of formal gloves, he had long sleeves.

who was this guy? and why’d he call xiao an adeptus? from what little you knew about liyue’s culture, you thought the adepti had passed long ago.

“i hope you don’t mind my being rude,” you promoted, matching the stranger’s mischievous attitude. “but who are you?”

he laughed a bubbly, genuine laugh. “you can just call me venti. what brings you here tonight, y/n?”

‘this is the third person tonight to know my name without me telling them,’

“how’d you know my name, venti?” he spun you in loose, intricate turns, obviously having no care for the odd stares he was attracting.

“it’s a bards responsibility to know his audience, don’t you think? i also have...other intel, you could say. but alas! you never answered my question. what brings you to the ragnvindr’s palace?”

you gave him the grace of a smile. his was so contagious it was difficult to not return it. “the ball, of course. what about you?”

venti nodded his head and hummed along to the piano. “i’d have to say the same! i suppose i came here to meet up with old friends and discuss some important matters, but i stayed for the music. the orchestra turned me down when i offered to play the lyre with them, though. seems they don’t know talent when they see it.” he sighed like he was thinking the moment over again.

“old friends?”

“yep! you probably danced with at least one of them earlier. mr. zhongli, prince diluc, xiao. oh, and that one alchemy guy! albert? albedo! yes, that’s it,”

you’d danced with all of them...who were these people? diluc was royalty—but how important were zhongli, xiao, albedo, and this bard that they had a meeting with him? on the night he was choosing his wife, no less. “what’s happened that involves the prince in all of this?”

“oh, just some silly fatui disturbing the stone gate. it’s a border issue, really. but we gotta have some archons present in case it all spirals out of control. it usually does. i mean, the city of freedom and the city of contracts trying to work together? you can believe that has some disputes!”

you were lightheaded from all the dancing, you must be. “archons? what do the archons have to do with anything?”

venti’s braids seemed to glow, the little cape on the back of his coat flipping up with the way he danced. he gave you a wink. “well, tonight has been magical, hasn’t it? surely you didn’t think it felt like that just because of the atmosphere,”

he was right. the cool touch of kaeya’s charm, the warm way diluc introduced himself. the free-spirited attitude venti and xiao shared. the steadiness of albedo and zhongli’s perspectives and the flexible, challenging aura childe presented himself with. most of them weren’t commoners, but that couldn’t be the only reason why they felt different from anybody you’d ever met before.

in disbelief, you tried again for confirmation. “are you saying that their are archons here? at this ball?”

venti shrugged offhandedly, the hint of playful smile ghosting his face. “only they themselves and the land of teyvat will know, right?”

THIS WAS SO LONG ??1&.&-)!:1@26/?>]<.>_£ FOR WHAT ???? KATE WHO DO U THINK IS GONNA READ THIS FAR DOWN ????🤨🤨

Jinshi and Maomao in LN 13/14 in a nutshell:

Jinshi, freaking out: we can't have sex right now because if we do, that means Maomao has the burden of birth control by herself and will be even more involved in politics 😱😱😱😱

Maomao:..Damn, I sorta wanted to have sex with him.