statecraft

[statescraft]

incidence; reflection

abridged tags: jean & diluc, jean gunnhildr, diluc ragnvindr, character study, one shot, missing scene, canon compliant status: 1455w, complete, ao3 link summary:

Diluc didn't particularly enjoy tending to the bar. It was apparent by the way that he treated customers, always on this side of coolly polite, even to someone like Jean: and he disliked the smell of alcohol, and the crowd, and the hustle and bustle, and he was impatient when dealing with unruly or impolite customers, high-handedly banning people from the premises as he'd liked: such a temper, Kaeya had said of Diluc once after his return, half-fond, half-unknown, as he'd leaned the side of his neck against the top of the high-backed chair next to Jean's in her office, and she'd only learned the day after that Diluc had told him to get out of his bar and go home that night. He didn't enjoy the rote memorization of the movements, the way that it barely required him to do anything else but move his hands here and there, and he disliked the wet, the clinging damp of the melting ice-frost against the glass against his gloves, the red of the wine when it spilled against his shirt, staining black blacker, and he didn't enjoy the way that people came to talk to him when he was there.

[statescraft]

cicoria

abridged tags: jean/rosaria, jean & rosaria, knights of favonius ensemble, mondstadt ensemble, character study, missing scene, jarch 2025 status: 2084w, complete, ao3 link summary:

She spotted Kaeya talking to Vile near the entrance of the church, half-hidden beneath a pillar, his arms crossed, and he spotted her mid-conversation back, turned and smiled, tilted his head as if in hello, and when she'd set the flowers down outside the grand doors she'd looked back in search of him, about to ask him to assist, only to find that he'd conspicuously vanished. Lisa had come by, and glanced at the flowers in Jean's arms, humming to herself, and plucked a Cecilia blossom out from its sisters to tuck behind Jean's ear despite her own protestations, and then left with a twinkling laugh and a wave of her hand, don't overwork yourself, darling, and even Eula came past, her own unit temporarily reassigned to operations and logistics duties, to wrinkle her nose faintly in disdain when she saw the orange flowers that Jean had in hand. It was clear that she thought they were tacky, and then, when she looked at Jean at first, that she'd thought Jean had better taste, and then, on her second take, that she'd reconsidered, but she'd thought that someone close to Jean had better taste, maybe Kaeya, or Lisa, or even Amber, whose taste did not often align with Eula's.

[statescraft]

exemplum

abridged tags: jean & barbara, jean gunnhildr, barbara pegg, rosaria, character study, canon compliant status: 1802w, complete, ao3 link summary:

Back when they lived together — and on a few occasions after they stopped — Jean would be tasked on occasion to take Barbara to church instead of their father, who had a habit of overindulging when he was invited to partake in drink at this party or at that event. It was always expected for Jean to be in attendance at the service, which she always was, injury or sickness notwithstanding, and she would have accompanied her family there even if her father was less — afflicted, only she would be charged, these times, to take Barbara alone, which was a departure from their normal routine, but not a significant one.

[statescraft]

wedgwood

abridged tags: jean & barbara, jean & her family, jean gunnhildr, barbara pegg, seamus pegg, frederica gunnhildr, character study, canon compliant, drabble status: 736w, complete(?), ao3 link summary:

Her mother had no particular preferences for tea, although in Mondstadt the flavors tended to run mild. Tea was a child's drink, or a daytime drink, or a working drink, but the people would always prefer wine, when it came down to it — so it was made sweet for children, and made refreshing for working adults, something to cleanse the palate and take the edge out of hunger before lunch came. Certainly her mother never made it for herself to drink without some sort of prompting: so Jean would know, watching their maid bustle around the serving-room, beginning to take out the tea-trays and the delicate porcelain, that they were to have guests, and by counting the cups, she would know, roughly, who they were to expect. Crepus, Kaeya, and Diluc made five, Barbara and her father only four, her mother would sometimes receive Grand Master Varka in their estate, very rarely, with two twin teacups as proof.

[statescraft]

award; reward

abridged tags: jean & diluc, jean/diluc (implied), jean gunnhildr, diluc ragnvindr, character study, one shot, canon compliant, not beta read, missing scene status: 1500w, completed, ao3 link summary:

She rarely ever saw him in the city at night. There would be glimmers of him here and there — the faintest flicker of heat on the breeze, the pulse of red flame in the corner of her vision, contrarily glowing against the backdrop of Mondstadt painted blue — but he'd been long gone whenever she thought to seek him out. It was only places like this: here, on the bridge, on the fringes of the city, the birds long-gone before she'd crossed the arch of it above the water, that she saw Diluc in full, him unmoving, though she knew that he'd sensed her coming long before. He didn't look surprised to see her, after all. Then again — she didn't look surprised to see him, either, she was sure. "Master Jean," he said. The edge of his hood was down, the fabric placidly sitting in layers over his shoulders. She could make out the jagged hilt of his greatsword next to him, leaning on the side of the bridge, although from this angle the body of the blade was concealed. His hair was slipping loose out of his ponytail, but he didn't seem to mind.

[statescraft]

law and order

abridged tags: jean & kaeya & diluc, jean/eula (implied), jean gunnhildr, kaeya alberich, diluc ragnvindr, eula lawrence, canon divergence, knight of favonius diluc, missing scene, one shot status: 1220w, completed, ao3 link summary:

"What urgent business do you think the sender must have had, sending a letter to Master Jean's workplace, not even her estate?" "Official affairs?" hazards Jean, scrawling her signature over the latest expense report from Albedo (which, while very large, can only be excused; Mondstadt's recent alchemical prowess is one of its few economic strengths). Kaeya looks at her, almost disappointed, too amused to be cutting; a test not deliberately designed for her to fail, but one where success is — not imminent by any measure. She's never been very good at this. Persevering: "Or — a letter from the Grand Master?" "It looks like an invitation," Diluc says flatly. More thoughtful, now that he's pushed his chair back, giving up on paying attention to the records with only the requisite amount of scruple: "From the Lawrences?"

[statescraft]

tria prima

abridged tags: jean & kaeya & diluc, jean & kaeya, jean & kaeya, kaeya & diluc, jean, diluc, kaeya, canon divergence, fatui, knights of favonius, one shot, not beta read, character study, jarch 2025 status: 5073w, completed, ao3 link / author commentary [potentially tba] summary:

Kaeya entered her office dripping wet, flicking droplets of rain off of his eyepatch with a sweep of his long fingers. The edge of his leather boots was still muddy, the cloak that he'd thrown over his shoulders haphazardly askew. They were the first indicators that something was wrong, clearer than the muffled, faintly ragged edge to his breathing, or the harried, urgent way he threw the door open without any of his characteristic grace. "Acting Grandmaster," he said. His Vision was a searing blue, his leathered palms slick with water as he crossed the length of the room to meet her. "We have to leave."

In the aftermath of a Fatui conspiracy, an Acting Grandmaster vacates the walls of Mondstadt.

[statescraft]

reversible figures

abridged tags: jean & knights of favonius [+ various], jean, diluc, kaeya, eula, lisa, amber, canon compliant, non-chronological, dreams, memories, one shot, not beta read, character study, pre-canon, alternate universe - pre-canon, past relationships, flashbacks, jarch 2025 status: 3743w, completed, ao3 link / author's commentary summary:

Summer in Mondstadt: The wind trickled through the open window, brushing strands of hair against the side of Jean's neck. She touched it with the back of her gloved hand absently, her focus pinned to the papers in front of her. Kaeya was lounging in the seat adjacent, his legs crossed, one arm slung over the back of the chair; half-faced towards her, still enough to be deferent, too close to hide a vague sense of familiarity. "Master Jean?"

It begins, of course, with Diluc.