Please read my carrd & pronouns page before interacting! This is a safe place for everyone!
This is a SFW blog for my (mainly) Genshin Impact drabbles, headcanons, imagines, and more! (But I write for other fandoms, too! Don’t be afraid to ask.) Most of them will be ‘x reader’s, but sometimes I write ‘character x character’s, too!
networks: interwoven fates
MASTERLIST!
Requests open! Send me an ask! (or just say something!) ☆
If you decide to send one anonymously, you may sign off with an emoji, symbol, or character so I can recognize you if you send another one later! (You don't have to, it just means I can add u to my little anon family down there. :D)
Basic Do Not Request List: non-canon-typical violence, horror, gore, etc., blatantly NSFW prompts (some suggestive stuff is ok), the romanticization of mental illness and/or self-harm, etc.
As long as your ask is generally SFW, then it's OK! Don't hesitate to ask if something you want to request isn't listed.
Current # of asks: a lot
Ask Status List! (In the Works!) (last update, January 2022)
The reader fools around and flirt a lot with Xiao. When they get one deathly glare from Xiao they just smile wide or giggle and pretended to be a fool again.
👉🏻💕 Sending loves to writer *wink*
Only a Fool for You
A/N: THANK U FOR THE LOVE ANON I RLLY APPRECIATE IT HEHEHE!! sorry for taking so long to write this...I'll try to make it extra good just for u
TTBH this is kind of OOC i rlly like writing stubborn pouty xiao tho i guess he would probably act this way seeing as the reader isn't rlly sentimental or serious like he is LOL
Pairing: Xiao x GN!Reader
Genre: Fluff!!!
Word Count: 607
Warnings: xiao x almond tofu
Requests r open duhh
The infamous Adeptus Xiao. Cold and stoic, strong and virtuous. Kind wasn't at the top of very many people's lists when it came to describing him. But to you, he's a worrywart that doesn't like to show it. He cares for the people of Liyue and even mulls over the health of the elderly at night when he's supposed to be resting. He's the cutest, you think.
After clearing out some demons, he feels your overbearing presence behind him and turns around, eyes wide. He sees you running towards him with a wide smile on your face and holding something out in front of you and becomes slightly frightened at the thought of having to deal with your antics out in the open. Don't get him wrong, he doesn't mind being seen with you. However, he does mind having others see his resolve being broken down by a singular person so easily. His face remains cold, and he's gone in a flash, leaving you to pause your excited stride, a plate of almond tofu in hand.
Your shoulders drop in disappointment, and you sigh, turning around to head back to the Wangshu Inn. You should just have waited for him there.
Your heavy, pouting footsteps quickly turn back into the light and excited ones as you near the inn.
"Xiao!" You called, bursting into the room. It was weird how there were no doors in this place, you'd assume he'd like some privacy. But at the same time, the people here know him and understand to keep their distance.
He was already looking out of the balcony, waiting for you with his arms crossed. You smiled mischievously and set down the plate of almond tofu on a table.
"Hungry?" You asked, creeping over to him slowly. You craned your neck from side to side to try and get a better view as you moved closer.
He said nothing. You inched closer and leaned forward to look at his face. It was bright red, and he was having a terrible time trying to keep a straight face. Weird, you hadn't done anything yet.
"Xiaoooo~?" You asked, drawing out his name as you poked him in the arm. He glanced at you and then looked away, pretending like his face wasn't currently the prettiest shade of pink you'd ever seen. You didn't push it further; you knew he'd probably give you the cold shoulder if you teased him too much.
"Won't you eat the food? It's gonna get warm..." You mumbled, glancing over to the table you'd set it on. The way the light poured in through the balcony made this place feel rather homely.
You watch as he stubbornly drags himself over to the table, like it's the hardest thing he's ever done, and sits down. He sighs. The sigh holds no weight. No disappointment, no heavy emotions, like it usually would. You smile as he starts to shovel the food into his mouth.
When he's around others, he acts cold and disconnected. It makes you happy that at least around you he can act childish, get annoyed, and sometimes smile. Despite still trying to pretend to be some emotionless pillar, he can't seem to hold up the facade around you.
"I love you, Xiao." You say, not having moved from your spot on the balcony. He pauses his eating to glare up at you, and you simply flash him a smile.
When you go out, he will hide. But when it's just the two of you, he wears his own face. His emotions were on display, with no mask in sight.
Sorry for my lack of posting…I’ll update my request list today or tomorrow with all the new ones/ones in progress!! I am super sick atm and idek why cus I never really get sick but I’ll get to posting again as soon as I feel better!! blehhh (it is not the 19…dwdw)
In the meantime, send in some requests for hcs and I might post a few short things while I’m stuck in bed!!!!aagagahhhhgggg help I’m melting (*´-`)
hi! i'm planning a genshin writing network called the "teyvat travel guide" with a bunch of my fellow authors! it will officially launch at the beginning of next month with a shiny new side blog, pretty graphics, and more. however, today marks the start of our soft launch of the network!
what does this mean? this just means the discord server is up and running and we're starting a community first before rolling out all the fancy stuff on tumblr.
who should join?: authors for genshin impact! we primarily focus on reader-inserts, but we have discussion channels for other genshin writing as well! if you're an author, whether you actively post at the moment or not, you are welcome! it's just a place for the discussion of ideas and promotion of your stories.
what is it?: it's a discord server at the moment, but we'll eventually have a designated tag to track works of others in the network, a sideblog to support our members, and collaborative events later on.
is it exclusive?: NO, everyone is welcome and will be auto-accepted as long as you fit our joining criteria (listed below, very simple).
how active do i need to be?: no activity requirement!
what are the joining criteria?: you will be auto accepted as long as you are between the ages of 16 and 30 (+16/-30). nsfw blogs are welcome as long as you tag your nsfw works! however, this server is only for discussion of sfw works. please, no dark content / dead dove do not eat authors.
fit these criteria and interested in joining?: reblog or reply to this post and say that you are interested in joining in the tags/reply! i'll send you the discord link asap if you fit the criteria! please be following me so i can dm you the link through tumblr <3
our lovely mod team involves the following authors: @favoniuscodex @rqnvindr @stellumi @kaeya-kisser @spiriteddreams @rulaineyu @amatxs !!
reblogs are always appreciated to spread the word!
A/N: GUESS WHOS BUIRTHDAY IT IS? ITS THE GOODEST BOY EVER'S (besides chongyun)..IT'S VENTIIIII MY BAABY ITS HIS BIRTHDAY HES 3001 THEY GROW U SO FAST...
Edit: This is based on some TikTok I saw abt Venti just picking a random day to be his birthday so he could get free drinks from Diluc and then having to stick with that day.
Half the time, he forgets about his "birthday"
The concept didn't even exist when he came into existence, so its not that important to him.
But it is important when it's other people's! He knows how important it is to humans.
He's super happy when you remember the date he told you was to be his 'birthday'.
And he's also super happy to have someone to spend his birthday with other than the men who happen to be at the bar on his special day!
Really, he's been super lonely all these, years.
He's not one to cry, but he does get super sappy when he talks about it.
For once, he doesn't drink until he drops.
Instead, you bring him a cake!
It's an apple cake; a family recipe.
You take him to Windrise to eat it by his statue and he's pretty sure he just fell in love all over again.
He talks to you about how he usually spends his days while you're busy with work.
This usually just consists of him playing his lyre underneath the statue of the glorious statue of Lord Barbatos for some mora.
You roll your eyes, and you wonder why he doesn't just get a job or something.
But he'd rather listen to you talk about things, instead of reminding himself of how lonely he is with his stories.
He looks at you in awe as you talk about anything and everything, which you think is so adorable.
He's really cute, and you can't help but want to squish his face in your hands.
But it's his birthday, so you spare him the embarrassment (despite being virtually isolated from most Monstadt citizens).
You ask him how old he is.
He has no idea! It's not like he's keeping track of this stuff.
You laugh, telling him you're glad you got to be the first to celebrate with him wholeheartedly.
He sort of understands why humans find them so important now.
"Nobody's ever made me a cake before. You really my warrior~" His loving nickname for you rolls off his tongue with a purr. Every time he takes a bite he sort of squeals to express his joy whilst kicking his legs. "Especially in the kitchen..."
You were so glad he liked it, not very confident in your cooking skills, especially when it came to cooking for other people, so hearing that from the person you loved the most was wonderful.
You grabbed his hand which gripped a fork and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips.
i just discovered ur blog today and i just needed you to know that i love the way you write sm! <33 especially ur recent Gorou HC, i’ve been re-reading it about it 3 times already aaa
i’d love to request a gorou x gn reader wherein he falls in love at first sight but acts all tsundere about it but then , comes to terms with his feelings in the end and we get a cute confession? thank you so much! i’m always looking forward to ur posts <33 have the loveliest of days!
– 🩰
Won't Say I'm in Love!
A/N: HEHE HI ANON 🩰!! WElcome to the anon club...very late. YOUR REQUEST GOT LOST IN MY DRAFTS AFTER I STARTED WRITING BC I FORGOT ABOUT IT IM SO SORRY!!!! ILL TRY MY BEST TO MAKE THIS VERY GOOD JUST FOR U <3 TY FOR REQUESTING ILY
This one might seem rather rushed, there's kind of a time skip to a few weeks later at an awkward spot, and it might be hard to miss..hehe sorry..
I hope his tsundere isn't too subtle. It kind of turned into a shield for the self-doubt he was having... sorry I kind of went astray!!!
Pairing: Tsundere!Gorou x GN!Reader
Genre: Fluff!!!?!?!? ANGST?!? IDK it's mostly him just pining over you without knowing it.
Word Count: 1475
Warnings: Lots of self doubt from Gorou ummm yah nothing too unusual from my regular fics. I just can't help going there all. the. time
The army general. For the High Priestess, Kokomi Sangonomiya, no less. The "pointy-eared-general". He was someone a lot of his comrades looked up to, though sometimes he couldn't really figure out why.
He always thought his life would be simple. When it came to love, he didn't think something like that would benefit him. Not that benefit was something he was after all the time. He just didn't want something like that to weigh him down. He had far too many responsibilities.
And then he saw you.
All you were doing was speaking with the High Priestess Kokomi, but it felt like you were doing so much more. Your face was focused and you were discussing strategies for battle. He had never seen you before, but you seemed well-versed in the particular art of war. Someone scarred by the effects of it in one way or another.
He supposed that everyone in this region of Teyvat was. It would be selfish to wallow in self-pity over something like that, though. He stopped gawking as soon as he caught himself and straightened himself up again, entering his lady's camp with the feigned stupor of being completely calm and collected.
Though standing next to his lady now, with you looking at him with such curious eyes, he couldn't keep still. He felt like a child with a crush. Jittery and unable to keep his eyes off you. Though when yours met his, they would flit away instantly.
Embarrassed and confused, every day that he accompanies the two of you in his lady's tent, he tries to remain composed. And though eventually, you start to warm up to him, you were ignorant to the fact that he'd already warmed up to you long before.
Slowly but surely, the two of you ended up with each other more often than not. Running errands for kokomi- though it was much unbecoming of an army general like himself- he didn't mind if he was with you.
It seemed the two of you could talk for hours if it didn't get in the way of both your duties. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to get closer to you.
Then one day, he sat down to write answers for his advice column, and a question stood out to him.
"I met someone recently. He's very cute and seems to like me a lot. His tail wags whenever he sees me! He seems rather nervous, though, and I wouldn't want to drive him away with my feelings. However, I do like him a lot. How should I go about letting him know, Miss Hina?"
Recently. Wagging tail. He was thinking of you again.
Thump, thump, thump, thump-
He looked in the direction of the sudden noise. His tail. It really was wagging. He didn't know what else to do now. Was this question really from you?
It was extremely embarrassing and improper for someone in as high a position as him to be daydreaming about someone. He had far more important responsibilities to attend to, but still, he found you always at the top of his list.
He thought back to when the traveler had assisted Kokomi with some of her work so that she may rest and indulge herself in some of her personal hobbies for a little while.
The wind blew through his hair as he sat under the sakura tree. Not many people were out, and he enjoyed the tranquility at times like these.
He went to work writing a thoughtful response. It took up most of the column in the end. And though he prayed day and night until the next issue was released that the inquiry really was from you and that you were speaking about him.
But as the release date became closer, he started to regret the things he'd written. No, regret wasn't the word. He'd mulled over it for too long. He really did feel something for you, but could it really be love?
He lay in bed, unable to put his mind at ease as these thoughts seemed to conjure themselves.
Maybe he just admired you or looked up to you. No.
He thought about the way the light sometimes hit your eyes and how you always greeted him with a smile and his face felt hot. There was no mistaking the pounding of his heart and the beating of his tail against his bedding as he lay there alongside the rest of his comrades.
'As per your inquiry, they seem to like you a lot, don't they? Maybe you should decide first whether or not they simply admire you or maybe something more. If they act that way around you though, you probably have no doubt in your mind about the answer. Just say what you want to say to him. If they're so dedicated to being around you, something like that probably wouldn't drive them away so easily-"
As stated before, the answer continues. It took up more than half the column. He could only answer two questions this week. Yae Miko had no inquiries about his decision, so he didn't think about how much he'd written.
Somewhere in the tent, he heard shuffling, and he quickly stopped his movements and shut his eyes. The morning came.
Rumors unfolded quickly on Inazuma's main islands about the unfolding love story in Miss Hina's most recent advice column. Those that whispered of love confessions were overjoyed. He didn't really understand how people could be so infatuated with the lives of others, wouldn't they rather focus on their own?
But then again, he was the one who didn't think his "love story" was worth being interested in.
"Gorou!" He heard you call for him, and the wind whipped at his hair the way it had that night as he wrote his reply to, who he was certain now, was you. You were impossibly beautiful when he turned around to see you and your eyes met his bright ones.
"The High Priestess would like us to meet with her later today. I spoke to her earlier this morning. I was hoping I'd catch you here, let's go look at the sakura blossoms afterward, okay?" Time seemed to slow down. Even the beauty of the newly-bloomed sakura couldn't compare to you at that moment.
It was then that he became ashamed of his arrogance.
"Okay, let's have fun." Gorou smiled, though it could never be on par with your bright one, it seemed that he felt happiest by your side as always.
"Let's go get something to eat first." You hummed, letting out a small laugh before you reached out to grab his hand. He went stiff and you pulled him along. The heat he'd felt so many times before returned to his face, and people turned to look.
He became extremely aware of their whisperings from before, and even continuing now once again. What were they saying?
He glanced around.
"Y/N!" He exclaimed before he could even think about it. More heads turned now. You turned to look at him curiously, the two of you still connected where your hand grasped his wrist. He slipped his hand in to yours all the way and held it tightly.
"Right now." The tone of his voice was much softer, "You look beautiful."
Your eyes widened in surprise, and your mouth opened as if to say something, but he cut you off and continued.
"You're quite a determined person, and- having you by my side gives me so much confidence and self-doubt at the same time. But, despite that, I've come to realize that I'm happiest when I'm around you!" The confidence returned to his voice as he continued to speak.
"I think that. I lo- like you. A lot. So isn't it normal for me to doubt myself then...?" The last part was mostly to himself. Trying to justify his feelings. Though it was hard to admit to you, especially with so many eyes on the two of you, it felt right.
You simply smiled at him and continued to pull him along.
"I feel the same way. I even wrote to Miss Hina about it. You plagued my mind so much, I had to do something about it." You hummed, not looking back at him as you spoke. However, he could feel the way your hand trembled in his. You, no doubt, felt the same familiar heat that stretched up to your face and down your neck whenever he thought of you.
Except, you were thinking about him. Someone was worked up. Over him.
"Tell me again after we look at the cherry blossoms, please. When nobody is looking." You said, your voice quivering with your unusually quiet tone.
"O-Okay..." He said, smiling softly as he looked down at where your hands were linked together.
WHDJDJJ SO THIS WAS IN MY MIND FOR SOME TIME AND I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD DO AN IMAGINE WHERE AFTER EVERYONE IN THE 2.3 EVENT SAYS GOODNIGHT AFTER DINNER, THE READER IS FEELING NEEDY AND SO THEY SNEAK UP BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT TIRED AND ALL THEY CAN THINK ABOUT IS ALBEDO SO THEY CRAWL TOWARDS HIS SLEEPING SPOT AND JUST INSERT THEMSELF CLOSE TO HIM AND NESTLE THEIR HEAD UNDER HIS CHIN, HE'S SURPRISED AND CAUGHT OFF GUARD BUT THE READER SHUSHES HIM BEFORE GIVING HIM A FEW KISSES ON THE LIPS AND THEN THEY JUST FALL ASLEEP CUDDLING?
A/N: TYSM FOR THE ASK ANON!!! You totally spelled out the entire fic for me so I didn't have to do much thinking. This is wonderful bc my brain is fried from school. On that note, sorry for taking so long to write this, anon!!! My curriculum was a lot more demanding in ways I wasn't expecting recently, so even during breaks I'm too exhausted to write, even if I say I'm going to...
Sorry for dumping that on you, unsuspecting Albedo lover... onto the fanfic!!!
ASKS ARE OPEN AS ALWAYS!! I will get to all of them eventually...
Pairing: Albedo x GN!Reader **Not written with a pre-established relationship, I'm not sure if that's what you wanted or not, SORRY ANONNN
Word Count: 663
Genre: Angst?? (It's rather one-sided), sort of brief fluff
Warnings: lots of self-doubt & far too many adjectives...
"I'm finished," He said suddenly, standing up. You glanced at him and away from the fire you were staring at just moments ago, his words pulling your attention away from what you were doing the way they always did.
The air is silent, save for the crackling of the aforementioned fire, which cast sharp shadows on his face as it flickered. If you looked too long, it became creepy the way they danced in such a lively way. Like they were living and breathing just as the two of you were.
You expected him to say something else, but he proceeded to silently walk over to the area where the two of you, along with the occasional company of others, slept to prepare to settle down for the night.
Ah, but there was one more thing.
"Goodnight," He said quietly, pausing his stride to turn back to you. It's deafeningly quiet.
"Goodnight, Albedo." You say, lifting your hand to give him a small wave, accompanied by a smile. He didn't notice and turned away from you again to continue what he was doing.
Sometimes Albedo was warm and nice. He was always nice. But sometimes he turned stony and cold like he'd taken on the personality of the mountain itself. You think for a moment, that he's the kind of person that's dead to the world the moment that the sun has set. Someone so determined, you wonder what he thinks about before he falls asleep with the rest of the mountaintop. Whether he wallowed or thought about tomorrow, you'd never be able to tell just by looking at him.
You turn your head to look at where he lay, presumably asleep. He made no movement, nor sound, but you could see his chest move with the gentle coercion of his breathing. It was moments like these that you longed for him to look at you the most. When his back was turned towards you.
"Albedo," You called, softly. Nothing.
Your legs seemed to move on their own as you moved from your spot by the fire, shivering as a sudden gust of wind tore through your camp. You lifted his cozy bedding and shoved yourself in where you wondered if you were even welcome.
His eyes snapped open, but there was no alarm in his gaze. Surprise, perhaps. Maybe you can tell a lot just from looking at him. You broke the intense eye contact by tucking yourself against his chest so that his chin rested on the top of your head.
Your hands gripped his clothing warily. If he kicked you out now, you don't think you could ever continue to chase him the way you did now.
"Y/N..." He started, hand hovering over your shoulder. You ripped yourself away from him, staring into his eyes once again. The shadows from the fire were softer since it was farther away.
You couldn't tell the emotion in his eyes now, not that he was ever so easy to read. Like he was indecisive about how he wanted to display his emotions. Perhaps you'd just caught him off guard during the moments you locked eyes and you could tell.
"Can I kiss you?" You asked, without thinking. The surprised look in his eyes returned once again. He said nothing, but he nodded slowly. He didn't trust his voice right now.
The kiss wasn't anything special. You pecked him on the lips once, twice, then returned to tucking yourself away from the wind against his side.
His arms mimicked the way you'd wrapped yours around him. Wherever the two of you could reach. But there was nothing awkward about it, the situation felt natural. Though you don't know if he felt the same longing about you that you did for him. Perhaps he simply liked you. Maybe just the idea of you. Nonetheless, you smiled against his shoulder.
"Y/N..." He said again, and you shushed him, pushing yourself shamefully and impossible closer to him.
omg the lonely encounter is soooo goood. i've been craving for more huhu pls can you do a part 2? tysm <33
A Lonely Encounter - Part 2. (1)
A/N: Hi guys. i am back. did you miss me. i missed me. i love u guys i have exactly 222 followers. i have a lot of birthday hcs to write bc i am very late and i want to at least write bday hcs for every character this year :3. just a little productive thing for me to do. ganyu is the first~~ then everyone else who's had a birthday so far this year...if i missed anyone else.
Edit: This is also probably where I'll be ending this little short series thingie since I'm working on a full-fledged impostalbedo x reader comic hehehe the first part is in the works. I was having a horrid time coming up with a plot.
Edit 2: Okay... i may need to turn this into a full-blown series. Also I did the second half of this fc in one go and it only took 4 hours. Why didn't I do this sooner...
Sorry impostalbedo brainrotters. Have this food.
Pairing: Albedo x GN!Reader (Barely there bc tbh I've strayed rlly far from the original prompt), Imposter!Albedo x GN!Reader????
Genre: ??????Idk still man, angst, fluff
Word Count: 3551
Warnings: none!! a little bit of cussing... i dunno man
Taglist: (Dm to be put on!) @cursedgenshin
GENDER-NEUTRAL READER!! ALWASY!! yassss(sorry)
- Requests are kind of open... by kind of I mean it may or may not take me 65 years to get to yours. ehe~
It had been a few weeks since your near-deadly encounter with Albedo's double, and part of you wishes you'd died in that moment.
Cold bit your fingers and your nose as you leaned against a snow-covered rock to take a much-needed breath. The condensation from your heavy breathing was clearly visible from how cold it was. The wind was blowing cold, and the snow was nearly blinding. You'd been on your way back up the mountain from your trip to Monstadt, but an unexpected snowstorm had overtaken you before you'd even realized what was going on.
And now you were slumped against a rock, cradling your shaking hands close to your chest, but it didn't do much against the biting cold.
You knew you had to get up and keep moving, but you suddenly felt so exhausted. You knew what was happening, hypothermia. But still, you couldn't move. Funny how these things worked.
"Albedo..." You mumbled, your eyes opening and closing slowly as you fought to keep yourself awake. "Albedo..."
You weren't sure which you were calling out to. Your perfect 'knight in shining armor', or the one who wasted no time showing you what damage he could so-easily cause to you.
You weren't sure whose arms you felt wrapping underneath your legs and across your back as your consciousness slipped further away, despite your best efforts.
"I thought you were smart enough not to let something like this happen... after all, you figured me out pretty quickly back on the mountain-top, didn't you?" You head a voice say. Albedo's. But based on his words, it wasn't the Knights of Fevonious' beloved Chief Alchemist.
You were in a limbo. You didn't know what to do. This... 'Albedo' had become aggressive at a moment's notice the first time you'd met him. You weren't sure what to think. Had he taken you here to kill you? Dispose of you and anyone else who knew he existed?
You were glad now that you hadn't told the 'real' Albedo that you'd encountered him. You'd kept it to yourself this whole time, watching every shadow, whipping your gaze towards every little noise. To make sure he hadn't come back.
In truth, you weren't afraid of the fact he could hurt you. You were afraid of what would happen if the two of them were to come across each other. Albedo didn't seem to know of the existence of the other version of him, otherwise there would be many more precautions.
He was very protective over his coworkers, especially you, despite you being able to hold your own pretty easily.
You'd been thinking about it for a moment before you realized- you were conscious again, and your eyes snapped open. You were met by a pair of blue eyes and a mop of blond hair.
"'Bedo...?" You slurred, and the eyes moved away. You winced in pain as you sat up from your place against a rock. You were inside of a cave. He could've at least put you somewhere more comfortable, damn.
"So you lived." You hear the voice say again. You're wondering what you should even call him. He's not Albedo.
But he is, though...? Maybe its his twin that Albedo himself doesn't know about. Or maybe he does and just didn't have the hindsight to tell you about it. No, he wouldn't do that. But you can't help but wonder the origins of this man as you watch him tend to a fire, which provided very little warmth to you from so far away.
He turned his head toward you and kind of, beckoned you over with a jerk of his head. You took the invitation immediately, attempting to get up.
"F-Fuck," You shuddered as you shakily stood up, "It's cold." Your body was sore and stiff from being on the ground for as long as you were. Which, you're thinking at this point, you've been out for hours. You took a breath and dragged yourself over to the fire, dropping down onto the ice almost immediately.
You felt his icy eyes on you as you held your hands out to the fire.
"Well, we are surrounded by ice and snow." You heard him mumble. "Though the temperature in this cave is much higher than it is out in the open, I suppose your human body is still easily susceptible to the extreme temperature."
You exhaled. He may not be Albedo, but he's similar to him in the pretentious vocabulary department.
"S-So you're not cold?" You ask, looking over at him. When your eyes meet, he looks away.
"No. I am a synthetic human, as is the one you call 'Chief Alchemist'." He mumbles. God this was creepy, has he been watching you?
"Though I only know this information because I took his place for a short time in Monstadt a couple weeks ago." He continued. Oh. Okay, good.
He stood up suddenly and shed his coat. You'd always assumed that despite Albedo being synthetic, his clothes weren't and were tailored by someone out of fabric, but now you're questioning. These encounters had you questioning everything.
You felt the weight of his coat over your shoulders and would have half the mind to rip it off if you weren't shivering.
"Um... Albedo," You started, your tone quiet, echoing off the icy cave walls around you. "I met you on the mountaintop that day, right?"
His eyes flitted towards you before looking away once again.
"Yes, I apologize for my rash behavior." He said, looking down at the ground from his position sitting on a rock.
“After observing you and my successor for some time, I realized that sort of demeanor was unnecessary.” He mumbled. He was tending to a pot sitting over the fire. You stood up stiffly and walked closer to the fire. There was only one rock.
He glanced at you and then looked away again. He wasn’t nearly as threatening in a situation like this, even if you were the only one freezing your ass off.
“Move over.” You said after approaching him. “Sitting on the ice is cold.”
He looked at you for a few moments before scooting over. You sat down next to him. It was just big enough to fit the both of you if you sat right next to him. His body became rigid, but he didn’t seem entirely uncomfortable.
“What are you making?” You asked. It smelled like it wouldn’t kill you, at least. That is, if he let you have any.
“Food.” He mumbled. You tried not to think about the fact that he probably didn’t know any monetary dishes or their names, even if he was making something similar. You leaned against him slightly.
“You don’t even feel warm.” You mumbled into his shoulder, and he let you. He didn’t say anything, though. Unlike Albedo, he didn’t seem like the type to drone on for no reason. You were kind of glad.
He reaches out to tend to the pot again and once he returned to his position from before, you leaned more of your weight on him. Still, he didn’t budge. At least his jacket was helping a little.
The silence, besides the few animals scittering and the wind blowing, seemed more torturous at that moment than Albedo’s endless talking.
"About the painting..." You said finally, your side pressed fully into his with your arm wrapped around his begrudgingly still one. You didn't want to make him uncomfortable, but the both of you knew that you had warmed up a long time ago. Less with his help and more with the help of the fire.
He cleared his throat uncomfortably and side-eyed you. Your head was on his shoulder now and you were staring at the fire.
"I said earlier that you do not need to bring up our earlier conversations. That interaction is one I'd rather we both forget about." He said, shrugging you off of him and standing up. "It was not the most conveying of my true character."
He took the pot off the fire and set it on the rock next to you. Watching him work on pouring the soup, you realized that, among the domesticity of the scene before you, he was the one that had stolen several appliances from Albedo's camp. You huffed out a small laugh before getting back to the topic at hand.
"You know that's not what I want to talk about. You know..." You mumbled, looking into the bowl of soup he'd handed you. Up close now, it looked less like soup and more like simple Goulash. An old but delicious recipe.
"I'm sure Albedo would really love another person to teach them how to paint in his spare time, anyway." You hummed, content, for now, to use the bowl to keep your hands warm, as the fire wasn't doing that very efficiently. "I can't imagine there's much for him to do up here all alone in his leisure."
Albedo had never talked about it, but you could see that lonely look in your eyes whenever it was time for you to take your leave from Dragonspine.
The both of you had your own lives and responsibilities to attend to, but you would feel a lot better if there was someone just like him (maybe a little bit too much like him) around to keep him company. That is if he could get past the uncanny appearance of his long-lost twin is to himself.
Albedo stands looking into his own dish for a long time. He doesn't really know what to say. The words hang in the air. There was a reason nobody knew of his presence on this mountain until now. He didn't hold himself in a high enough regard to even consider trying to make friends.
"Or... I could teach you. Albedo taught me the basics... we could learn together." He glanced at you once those words left your mouth.
"I'm afraid not. You would grow tired of me rather quickly." He said. He said it so matter of factly that there was no way this could be some ploy for your pity. His tone left no room for an argument, so you just sat there helplessly.
"You can't know that for sure," You sigh, looking back at him and he looks away. Though he's a great deal farther away from you now than he was before. You shovel a couple of bites of food into your mouth before it grew cold
"Ido know, however, that your cooking is much better than Albedo's." You set your bowl down on the rock next to you before standing up. "You wouldn't happen to be partial to eating uh... spiders, would you?"
He makes a face at you and turns away, crossing his arms.
"Of course not. That sounds horrible." He mutters. You let out a laugh before stretching out your limbs, sore from the cold, and walking the few strides separating the two of you over to him.
"What is with you and being near me?" He asked, sounding breathless. You quirk your eyebrows at him before letting out a small laugh once again.
"What's with you and wanting to be lonely all the time?"
His eyes widen slightly at you. It was meant to be a simple joke. You really hoped you hadn't struck a nerve. He reached his arm out to grab you. The action startled you, but there was no malice in his eyes.
"Just because I'm alone doesn't mean I'm lonely." He said., quietly. His face was close to yours like he was suddenly the one who had no ideas about personal space. You leaned forward the tiniest bit and leaned your forehead against his. For a moment, his expression faltered, but his sharp glare returned shortly.
"Says the one without an inkling of interacting with others. He attacks me on the mountain, but he just wants to learn to paint." You say, the quietness of your tone almost being lost against the billowing winds just outside the cave.
"Though, after knowing your true intentions, it's quite endearing, don't worry." He grits his teeth and pulled away, but it was you who grabbed his arm this time.
"Sorry- I'm sorry. I don't mean to tease you." You say, your voice still steady. You put your hands on both of his upper arms and smiled at him. "I really do think it's sweet that you want to learn. And there are plenty of people who would like to teach you, not just me or Albedo. There are lots of other things that people can teach you, too."
The Albedo that Monstadt had come to know and love was known to be a smooth talker. But here, in a situation like this, you can't help but feel that you've picked up a thing or two from him along the way as the young man's face in front of you flourished into hues of pink and red as he seemingly realized the gravity of this little thing you'd got going on. Surely he knew about romance. You just laughed.
Once his initial embarrassment was over, he didn't attempt to full away, to your amusement.
"So. I suppose you've been around longer than Albedo? What's that like." You ask. He tells you quietly about where he came from, and how he was cast away by his maker simply for not meeting her expectations.
That doesn't sound like his fault at all, but his maker's. Yet he was left to deal with the consequences as he wound himself in the belly of a dragon and then on a snowy, cold, lonely mountaintop. Both are made of chalk, neither more nor lesser than the other. If Albedo was the prince of chalk, he might as well be the prince of this mountain. The ice, the snow, and the deafening silence that came with it.
You couldn't help but sympathize. With the way that you carried yourself, it was hard to keep many people close to you. Albedo was one of very few.
"You know, the people of Monstadt would really love you. They love Albedo and all the other 'outsiders' who come. Whether you stay for just a little while or for a long time, you'll find your place easily." You smile again. His eyes look hopeful, but he tries not to show it on his face.
"Plus, you could find some other things you like, too. Flora could d teach you about flowers, there aren't many of those up here... um... Katheryne could assign you commissions! We could go exploring!" You say. You're getting too excited now, you don't want to scare him away. You decide to tone it down a bit, just until you can get him off this cold-ass mountain, at least...
"Please come with me." You say, your hands sliding from his upper arms to his gloved hands. "I'll take you to meet Albedo, then a special bard that I know. He can see the future, so he'll be able to tell you where you'll be happy... if you really want to be sure you're not wasting your time."
You hold his hands up in front of you, begging him with your eyes.
"You can join my adventuring team, too. We can-" He cut you off with words of his own.
"Unlike you, I'm not on the human life-span time-crunch." He said, no bite to his words. Just the facts. "I'll be the one deciding if the decisions I'm making are a waste of time or not. Plus, I'm rather interested in flowers. As you said, there are very few here."
He watched as your eyes sparkled with joy. Your words of comfort and reassurance had paid off, but he still felt a little bit off-put about suddenly shoving himself into the lives of the people who'd seemed so content with their routine. He wonders if maybe there is a chance they won't accept him. A contrast to the lovely picture of the romantic Monstadt lifestyle you'd painted in his head, but a highly likely one.
He returned your bright smile with a small, wry one. He didn't really want to get his hopes up yet. But now you were blabbing about finishing the food before it gets cold and packing up these things so you can go to see Albedo.
And suddenly he was back on the rock in front of the fire and you were pushing his bowl of food back into his hands. He ate as you said to without protest. you could tell he was rather giddy to get out of here. Humonculus or not, nobody would want to be in here for long all by themselves.
The two of you finished eating and packed up your things before putting out the fire. You had to assure him several times that the cave would remain exactly as he left it as it had been for the last hundred years. You understood the anxieties of home changing when you're away, but he'd find a new home soon, you hoped. A brighter, warmer, livelier one where he wouldn't be alone.
"Albedo!" You called, running up the snowy path. The other trailed behind you. Albedo turned away from his wor and looked to you with happiness in his eyes.
"Oh! Y/N. I was rather worried when you didn't arrive before the blizzard earlier. I'm glad you're okay. I was about to set out to Monstadt to search for you." He says. The bag of supplies he sets down proves that his words are not lies.
"Um. There's someone I'd like for you to meet. He has an interest in painting, just like you." You say. Albedo looks at you inquisitively, his head tilting slightly. He kind of reminded you of a stoic dog at times. Curious, yet uninterested in showing it to anyone more often than not.
"Ah-" Albedo salet out a noise, suddenly. He didn't sound surprised, but rather... happy. "It's you!"
"I was wondering when we'd meet face-to-face. Your sneaking abilities could use some work." He said, giving a close-eyed smile to the young man behind you. He fidgeted nervously, before taking a step forward toward him.
"My name's Albedo. You probably already know that, though. So I hear you like to paint?" You were surprised. You didn't expect Albedo to already know about the mysterious man who had been shadowing you for weeks. Though, you had to agree. Recently, you'd been catching glimpses of him in the corner of your eye. Though scary at first, it seemed silly now and you couldn't help but smile at the endearing scene in front of you.
Albedo hadn't been this freely talkative around anyone but you or Sucrose for some time now. You hoped that they could confide in each other as much as they'd confided in you for the short time you'd known them both.
You tuned out there talking as you thought about earlier's events. The two of you had gotten quite close today, and you hoped this was the start of something interesting. You really wanted to know more about both of them.
"Ah, right-" You say, interrupting their talk with your quiet realization. "Flowers."
You walk over to one of the alchemy tables and rummage through a bag you'd brought here last time.
"Windwheel Asters. Freshly picked for alchemy shenanigans... uh... I guess- a couple of days ago, now." Your voice became nervous as you realized this probably wasn't the greatest example of the beauty of Monstadt's flowers. You walked towards the two of them and presented the slightly wilted flower to him. He smiled slightly and took the flower from you.
"It's quite beautiful. I hope to see more." His smile became slightly larger at the thought.
"There are plenty of species of flowers in Monstadt. Sometimes Flora even has flowers imported from other regions of Teyvat, like Liyue. I'm sure you'll enjoy them." Albedo said, fondly.IT seemed he was just as relieved as you were to have brought the young man out of his shell.
"So- um... what's your name?" You asked. They both looked at you stunned. Albedo's shocked face stemmed from the disbelief that you'd gotten this far with him without asking his name, and the other's was... well... because he didn't have one. There was no one around to call his name, so he'd never really thought about it. His creator hadn't given him one either.
He simply stood there for a moment with his mouth open slightly.
"Well- um. I don't-"
"It's fine," Albedo said, saving the day, as per usual. "You can think about it. Pick one you like."
"Yeah! Maybe you can name yourself after a flower... that would be super cool." You smiled, taking both of their hands in yours.
You explained your plan to Albedo about taking the other to Monstadt and he made a few preparations before the three of you set off down the mountain. The wind blew cold, but you knew that making this trip for the nth time would always be worth it. You hoed that this was the introduction into the world with open arms that he'd been hoping for.
And though he probably wouldn't tell you anytime soon, it was.
I just discovered your blog and I was wondering where part 1 to “Lonely Encounter” is? Ik the one you posted for “part 2” was an April fools joke but I was lost in finding part one…
sorryy!! Ik my masterlist is kind of buried on my navigation post thingie idk what to call it here's a link!! :3 https://rushipedia.tumblr.com/post/669439929578881024/hellu-spoilers-for-the-new-event-if-you SORRY AGAIN :<
ᨳ rushipedia ⸝⸝ @rushipedia - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
