I still feel mocked that it came to this btw. But I also feel bad for putting it away for so long.
"Everyone loves Lesser lord Kusanali!"
Reader here is: Gender neutral and is an academia scholar from Vahumana
You were trying to find something interesting to run a study on, but you had troubles figuring out where to start. Fortunately, you got an idea that turned out more wholesome than you expected.
Recently you've been bored of your usual subjects. You always feel like you don't exactly tackle or learn anything new. At first, you wanted to just drive into other Darshan topics- but soon you realized that wasn't what you were looking for either (especially since you didn't want to disrespect your colleagues by assuming you could think of a better topic than them). So in the end you decided to do something very simple, help out a junior of your Darshan while you're at it too. It wasn't going to poke your brain but it was better than waiting for something interesting to knock on your doorstep.
Your topic of research was trust, just to study who the average person trusts and why would that be. The junior you're working with would be doing all the conclusions but breaking them apart and even just fixing the writing style would be something to get your brain busy while you look for something that actually interests you.
“You’re doing a survey?” Lesser lord Kusanali asked curiously. As weird as it sounded you grew rather close with the Archon, it started with her giving you riddles to solve and by this point you actually managed to become friends- so discussing study topics was something you did sometimes.
“Yes, well, not exactly. I’m only helping a fellow scholar” you corrected her while looking through your notes “I helped with the questions and I'm also looking for people to answer them” explaining that you avoid mentioning how people don't really seem to be eager to fill the survey but it was expected. Most people are too busy for this kind of thing.
“Then can I participate too?”
“Oh- if you want to I don't see a reason why not” you pass her a sheet to answer. She took her time answering the questions, she took it rather seriously to make sure her answers were thought through. Once she returns the survey you put it away and mix it with others so it won't tempt you to check. It was anonymous so you were going to respect it… even if you recognized her handwriting. But hey, guessing it's her is better than knowing for sure.
It's been a few days, by no means did you have enough filled surveys to write the paper but you're already seeing a small pattern. It seems like all questions in regards to trust in authority are ones Nahida is dominating. While you expected open questions where people want to explain their choice to be left empty, here it looks like most people used that space to praise the archon as much as they could- almost as if she'd be given these answers to read herself. Which she won't - at least as long as you have a say in it.
But you were absolutely allowed to read them. It made you quite happy for your friend. To see that after all she went through she got the recognition she deserved.
You reviewed your junior's notes. So far so good they noticed the same patterns as you did. While you were working you saw Nahida in the distance. That made you want to take a break and talk to her.
But you weren't going to neglect your paper. Although annoyed by the aspect of not spending time with Nahida you continue your review and small corrections.
By next week you've made a lot of progress. Turns out Nahida told a few people she passed about the survey and they were sure to make their way to you or your junior.
“How is the survey going?” You were so focused on your work you didn't even notice Nahida approached you.
“It's coming along smoothly” smiling you turn to face her, noticing her good mood “but enough about my work for a second, how are you?”
“I was observing people around the city” she looked around but didn't get distracted from your conversation “Though, it's hard to stop thinking about your study. I'm curious about it”
You ponder for a moment “Hm, there's not much to say about it. It's nearly over”
“You're wrapping up the survey?”
“Yes, looks like you're a favorite” you pause for a moment “From authority figures at least - people seem to trust you the most.”
“I see.” She had a sweet smile on her face, certainly happy that people relied on her “But should you be telling me this?”
“You'd know anyways, the paper will be public after all”
“I'll be sure to read it then” looking over at you she asked “Did you have fun?”
“Huh? What?” You were confused by the question. Academically this bored you. The study didn't really reveal anything new- maybe besides people favoring the Archon- but everything else was done over and over again. Your good mood wasn't in any case related to work, but rather appreciation of your good friend.
“I see… you're happy about the results then” your thoughts probably visiting her own mind or she guessed by herself, you can never truly be certain.
“Perhaps, but I'm also glad this is over” with a laugh, you look at your notes “This little project gave me some ideas for my next study topic”
Seeing that determination in your eyes Nahida’s curiosity followed “In that case, I hope you won't be keeping to yourself”
“How could I hide anything from the most trustworthy person in the city?” you glance at the work of your junior “But that'll have to wait until next time. I'm still not done with my review and I would rather not stretch it until the deadline.”
Description: Hello I'm sorry if I'm bothering you but I wanted to request an idea I just got that's based on the Sumeru archon quest, okay so what if the reader, who posses a vision, has dreams with Nahida ever since she was a child until she became a teenager, they'd play and do all kinds of things together in a beautiful flower field and the reader even started to view Nahida as a younger sister despite Nahida being hundreds of years older, but one day when the reader just became a teenager Nahida tells the reader what was happening with the sages and how she was basically imprisoned on the Sanctuary of Surasthana, just as the traveler and Paimon arrive in Sumeru, which infuriates the reader especially since she couldn't stand the sage's arrogance especially since she was friends with a lot of people in Sumeru including Nilou and it would take almost everything in her power to not lose her temper.
Notes: This work was recovered in conjunction with an anonymous researcher, we thank them for their contributions. Reader's like, 19 here, and I image people get their akasha terminals at 8. Anyways, Reader isn't really hot headed like the request kind of implied, she's more just impulsive. Also this ended up being super long. Finally, it starts in first person but 90% of this is third person.
Word count: 2 333
Back to directory
When I woke up, I was riding in a flower carriage. There was a girl my age with white hair and skin as pale as moonlight. Her eyes were so green they looked like they were glowing. She told me her name was Nahida, I told her my name was Y/n. We talked for hours, and hours until I woke up.
When I woke up, I was riding in a flower carriage. Nahida looked the same, but I was taller now. She cupped my face and said she had to look up at me now. I braided her hair as we talked, and talked, until I woke up.
When I woke up, I was… Nahida was crying. She looked the same as ever, but I could barely lay down in the flower carriage now. I cupped her face in my hands and brushed the tears off her cheeks.
“Why are you crying?”
“I-I want to meet you,” Nahida sobbed, holding onto my hands. “I want to meet you before…”
When I woke up, I was in my room, with a hydro vision clutched in my hand and tears soaking my pillow.
---
“Good morning Nilou,” Y/n beamed as she set a box down backstage.
“Good morning,” Nilou laughed.
The dancer was busy stretching while everyone else set up for the Sabzeruz Festival. Y/n sat down across from Nilou and began to join in on her stretches.
“You seem to be in a good mood today.”
“Ya well, I have a feeling I’ll get to meet a friend of mine soon,” Y/n hummed. Nilou finished stretching and helped her up. The two made their way to the edge of the stage and looked out over the Grand Bazaar.
“Your pen pal? Is she planning on visiting Sumeru soon?”
“Something like that…”
Nilou turned to Y/n, brows furrowed in confusion, when she finally saw it.
“You have a vision!” Nilou squealed, causing Y/n to break out into a wide grin.
“I know, isn’t it cool? And it’s hydro, like yours!”
The sound of the Bazaar doors opening caught both of their attention, and they turned to see Dunyarzad waving from the far end. Both girls waved back, and Y/n jumped down from the stage earning herself a scolding from some of the other stage hands while Nilou rushed down the stairs. Dunyarzad and Dehya introduced the two to Lumine and Paimon, travelers who were hoping to meet Lesser Lord Kusanali.
Y/n’s fingers tightened around her sleeve at the mention of the archon.
Meanwhile the mention of the Lesser Lord sent Nilou on an explanation about the Sabzeruz Festival. Nilou somehow ended up on a lament about the Padisarahs being different from the ones found in the time of the Goddess of Flowers.
“She dreams of being able to dance among ‘real’,” Y/n put air quotes around the word real, “Pardisarahs.”
“Don’t tell me you don’t wonder what they look like in comparison,” Nilou huffed.
I’ve seen them.
“Well, take a look around,” Nilou urges, “and be sure to come check out the Festival!”
“We will!” Paimon assures her before she and the Traveler wander off.
“Hey, Nilou?”
“Yes?”
“I’m gonna take off for the day, if that’s okay. I promise I’ll come by extra early tomorrow to help with last minute setup, there’s just something I want to handle before tomorrow.”
Nilou frowned, and Y/n found herself silently praying for the girl’s unwavering trust to extend to this one request. The dancer knew how much the festival meant to Y/n, so for her to dip out of set up it must have been important.
“Alright,” Nilou sighed, clearly reluctant. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Absolutely.”
Y/n pulled her friend into a tight hug.
“See you!”
“Bye!”
Y/n quickly ascended the streets that wrapped around the massive tree. She kept an eye out for some kind of hidden path that led higher into the tree where she could barely see a building, the Sanctuary of Surasthana, but she ended up on the path to the Academia. As naturally as possible, she tried to look around the building to see if there was another path off to the side but found nothing.
Seeing as she wasn’t a scholar, she couldn’t very well waltz into the building so see if there was a door that let out closer to the building she was aiming for. She’d climb this damn tree if she had too, but even then she needed to get closer to the Sanctuary.
She watched a student enter the building with someone else, the student was explaining something about an old language and her companion was interjecting with information from a recent excavation-
Y/n runs back down the path towards Puspa cafe. It was around lunch time so hopefully he would be there.
Upon her arrival, she made a B-line for Enteka.
“Enteka, hey,” she greeted the acting manager.
“Oh, Y/n, want the usual?”
“Actually I’ll just take some candied Ajilenakh nuts to go please, I’m on a mission.”
“Of course,” she passed on the order. “So, what can I do for you?”
“Have you seen Cyno today?”
The woman frowned and looked pensive for a moment.
“No, it’s actually been a few days since I last saw him.”
“Damn,” Y/n sighed. “Thanks.”
Y/n headed up to the counter to grab her bag of candied nuts and pay before leaving. Munching on the nuts, she headed to the corps of thirty to ask around some more about the General Mahamatra.
The corps of thirty didn’t know anything, but they suggested checking in with Cyrus to see if he’d heard from him, so that’s where she went next. Of course no visit with Cyrus could be short as the man offered her some coffee and insisted she looked stressed.
“Thank you Master Cyrus,” Y/n smiled as she stepped out of his house.
“Next time you come by, bring Cyno with you!”
“I will!”
Y/n sighed as soon as the door closed and looked out at the horizon. The sun was setting and she was no closer to finding Cyno to get into the Academia. A part of her hoped she could free Nahida and bring her to the festival tomorrow, it would only be right after all, but it seemed like that wouldn’t be happening.
She stopped walking suddenly, watching the ground carefully. A moment after her, the person behind her stopped walking; their shadow was almost completely melded with the growing darkness, and she’d only caught sight of them thanks to the street lights.
Taking a deep breath, she started walking a little faster. Her pursuer kept pace, staying at a slight distance.
Instead of heading to her home, Y/n redirected herself to Nilou’s– something her pursuer must have known, somehow, because suddenly she was pulled back and a hand was clamped over her mouth. Y/n thrashed about, trying to scream. In the back of her mind she recognized the sleeves of her captor, but before she could make a get away she felt a sharp pinch in her neck. After a few moments, her body felt heavy and everything went dark.
For the first time in her life, Y/n entered a dreamless sleep.
When she came to, she was restrained to a bed in what she guessed was the Academia. She opened her mouth to speak, but quickly bit her tongue as she considered the consequences of being awake. Not that anything would change, as a voice spoke up addressing her.
“One result, can ruin an entire experiment worth of data. Somehow, your dreams were never uploaded to the Akasha.”
A man with blue hair and a pointy black mask sat beside her. Y/n felt like he was watching her, but she could see his eyes. He was holding a clipboard with a page folded over like he was in the middle of looking it over.
“Eleven years… and those fools couldn’t tell they were completely missing someone. So tell me, how did you do it?”
He was definitely staring at her now.
“Who are you?”
“Answer the question.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
The corners of the man’s mouth turned down before he let out an exhausted sigh and got up.
“What business do you have with the General Mahamatra?”
“Why do you want to know?”
She could see the man flex his empty hand in annoyance as he looked over something on a nearby table. Y/n tried to wiggle her hands out of the restraints, to no avail.
“I don’t have time for this,” the man snapped, storming out of the room.
The sudden outburst startled her, causing her to yank a little too hard on her restraints and hurt herself. As she whined in pain, two eremites came in, cautiously releasing her from her restraints to escort her away.
They started with her wrists. In the moment between her right wrist being freed and the erimite taking hold of her again, she jabbed the heel of her palm into his face. She hit his nose, stunning him, giving herself a chance to grab his scabbard which she swung at the other erimite.
Unfortunately, in the time it took her to turn back to the first erimite, the man had recovered and began wrestling her for his scabbard. He managed to take it back, and the other man stopped Y/n from hitting either of them.
It took a while, but they wrestled her into the confinement room in the Academia and left.
Night after dreamless night passed her by as she wandered around the cell. There was no obvious way to escape and her vision, which she hadn’t even used yet, had been confiscated upon her initial capture. Y/n had taken to meditating to try and make contact with Nahida since they must have been close to each other, but she had no luck.
Anxiety started to creep up in her mind. How long would she be kept here? Where had Cyno gone? Was Nilou worried about her? How long had she been here?
A sudden commotion outside cut through her spiral.
“Let us go!” A familiar high pitched voice whined, accompanied by the sound of heels on the stone floor.
Y/n scrambled to her feet and stood in front of the door as it opened, and the blonde traveler and her floating companion were tossed it. They seemed surprised to see here, but the floating companion quickly turned around and started banging on the door.
“ Aargh, don’t lock us up! Let us out! Waah!”
“They’re probably gone by now,” Y/n sighed.
“Oh yeah, hehe… Paimon got a bit carried away there.” She floated up to the traveler. “How was Paimon’s acting just now? Great, huh?”
“Acting?”
Lumine nodded. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself and seemed to consider her words for a moment.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been here for ages. I was looking for a friend and then I got kidnapped, I’ve been here ever since. Apparently there was something about the Academia not collecting my dreams?”
Paimon and Lumine shared a conspiratory glance before filling Y/n in everything that had happened since her disappearance.
“I want to help.”
“But-”
“Please, Nahida, she’s my friend. That’s… that’s what I was doing when I got captured. I mean it sounds stupid now, I woke up with a vision after she told me that the Sage’s had her trapped here, and my first thought was to break her out so she could see the Sabzeruz Festival.”
“Maybe that’s why the Akasha couldn’t collect your dreams,” Lumine mumbled. She seemed hesitant, but she agreed to let Y/n help. “We need to find the place with the best signal in the room to talk to Nahida. Any suggestions?”
“Um,” Y/n looked at the sky and turned around a few times as she tried to picture where she was, “over here is probably the closest to the Sanctuary,” she said as she walked over toa corner.
“Thanks.”
“Eh, is this the right spot? Are you getting anything?”
“It’s faint, but… I have a signal.”
“Aah, please work.”
Paimona dn Y/n went silent as Lumine entered the realm of consciousness through the akasha. Once they were sure she was through, Paimon turned to Y/n.
“So, what was your plan?”
“I uh… I was looking for a friend to help me get into the Academia so I could try to find a way to get to the Sanctuary. Then I was sort of just going too… walk in.”
“No offense, but I think our plan is better,” Paimon said.
It was a better plan, and before Y/n knew it they were out of the confinement room. Once Dehya left, Y/n led Paimon and Lumine up to the Sanctuary of Surasthana. The three stopped at the door.
“I think you should go in first,” Lumine said, hand hovering just in front of the door.
“Wha-huh? But, this is your plan, you’re the ones saving her.”
“Paimon thinks Lumine is right. You’re her friend, you should be the first one she sees.”
Hesitantly, Y/n pushed open the door and led the three inside. She’d hoped to make it here on her own merit, but that didn’t matter. Not now, as she watched the glowing ball that served as Nahida’s cage disperse. Not as she watched her friend, her sister, float down to the ground.
“Nahida…” Paimon whispered, and Lumine nudged Y/n forward.
Y/n’s steps were slow as she approached the archon.
“Hello,” Nahida smiled, looking up at Y/n. “Should I say ‘it’s nice to meet you’?”
Y/n crouched down to the archon’s level, returning her sweet smile.
“I would say, it’s good to see you again,” Y/n laughed before pulling Nahida into a hug.
🪷 T/W: None, but wanted to reiterate Nahida is platonic cuddling only.
✧ Venti
Venti is someone who doesn’t have any preference for cuddling. He doesn’t mind if you want to be the big spoon, or if you want to lay on him. He’s ecstatic to have his arms around you morning, afternoon and in the evenings. He will cover your face in kisses. That said his favorite place to cuddle is in the tree in Windrise. He helps you get to high up in the branches and then sings and tells you stories of his life.
✧ Zhongli
He does not move. He does not need to adjust anything. He is a man who gets settled into one position and doesn’t move. He likes pulling you on top of him and having your head on his chest. He holds you around the shoulders and waist. Another one that will also tell you stories of his life if asked of him. He prefers trying to talk to you about lighter subjects before bed though. He saves cuddles right before sleep. He loves laying in bed with you as you talk about your day. He falls asleep so easily in your arms. He doesn’t snore, but his deep breaths are calming.
✧ Raiden
She is awkward about it. She prefers being the big spoon, it helps ease the embarrassment she feels. Don’t take this as she’s embarrassed to care for you, she’s just embarrassed because this is still so new for her. She is another Archon who enjoys cuddling before bed. She will rub up and down your arms, or play with your hair. Her hands must be constantly moving, just feeling that you're real and you’re here. She will lightly kiss the top of your head. If asked about it she will deny it though. She doesn’t sleep much, but will spend all night holding you.
✧ Nahida
Nahida isn’t used to being touched. She spent her whole life locked away separated from everyone. Being near someone in dreams or in Kathryne’s body isn’t the same. She enjoys getting hugs from you, it’s soothing for her. She tends to initiate cuddles when you’re sitting on a seat. It doesn’t matter if you’re reading or playing TGC, or what have you, she will crawl into your lap and hug you. She doesn’t weigh much so it’s easy to just let her be there. When you do need to get up she is more than happy to let you go, making sure to thank you profusely for spending time with her.
