Hello! I'm Wolkenhimmel (she/they), but you can call me Wolkie or Himmel. I'm a 20+ year old college student and hobbyist writer. English is not my native language. I enjoy learning about new cultures, daydreaming, and writing silly little musings and rambles of my favorite characters. I also occasionally reblog fanart <3
I also have an AO3 where I post my longer fics <3
I'm really into Genshin Impact right now despite having never played it (my potato phone and laptop will combust if I ever download such a huge game </3). My favorite characters are Diluc and Kaeya, and I love the Mondstadt cast in general. I usually just watch Genshin lore Youtubers to keep up with the story so far.
Other than that I also love Attack on Titan and The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. HxH, Vinland Saga, and Magi the Labyrinth of Magic are also shows I enjoy. And while not a fandom per say, I also enjoy yandere/dark romance content.
Long fanfics:
I Found. [Diluc x fem Reader] | Tumblr | AO3
Rambles/oneshots/drabbles:
Coming soon once I have enough content on here <3
Feel free to send me any requests or questions you have and I'll get to them as soon as possible <3 Just to preface, I'm most familiar with the Mondstadt cast since they are my favorite. But I know the other characters as well, just not with the same level of detail.
Nothing much to say here except please follow the standard internet etiquette when interacting with me and other fans <3
This is not a ship account, however, I respect everyone no matter who they ship, and I kindly request that you do the same with me <3
If this banner is used on a post, minors please do not interact with it. This blog is mostly SFW though, so I doubt I will use it often.
જ⁀➴ In which a victim of Dottore's cruelty returns to a homeland she barely remembers, trying to carve out a life for the child under her care. But freedom is not easily given to those with blood on their hands.
please check ao3 for more detailed tags and notes <3
Boots dangling a few centimetres above the floorboards, (Name) looked up to face the counsellor. Scrawny fingers tugged and pecked at the frayed hem of her oversized, scratchy tunic as she squinted her tiny eyes at the piece of parchment on the table. “M-Ma’am… It’s too hard…” the little girl whispered, hanging her head in shame.
To her left, her mother sat perfectly upright. A sharp breath hissed between her teeth as she fidgeted nervously in her seat. “(Name), don’t say that! You know perfectly well how to read!” Scratched fingers with chipped fingernails clutched her worn-out purse tightly as a faint blush of embarrassment crept up her neck. “Madame Rothschild, my daughter knows this at home, she really does. I would know because I always sit with her textbooks after supper.”
“She knew these yesterday evening. We have been helping her as much as we can.” (Name’s) father had his hands resting on his knees, covering the faint mud stains that refused to be washed out of his trousers after a long day of hunting. Between the two of them, the parents looked exactly like people who belonged in a proper Mondstadt office. So long as no one looked too closely at the thin fabric of their clothes, that is.
Madame Rothschild, a middle-aged woman with greying hairs at her temple and round glasses, paid no heed to the other two adults in the room. All she focused on was the little girl in front of her. “No worries, sweetheart. Just take your time.” Her voice was soft and soothing, a far cry from the annoyed scowls of the teachers (Name) was used to. She tapped a finger against a line of basic text on the page. “Just the first few words. Take your time.”
(Name’s) finger trembled. “The cat.”
“Go on.”
“The cat…” The little girl breathed through her mouth. “The cat catches… ummm… the… ummm…” Her eyes burned, and she blinked hard because she had promised herself in front of the counsellor’s doorway that she would not cry in front of this woman. Her mother had brushed her hair so nicely. Her father had told her she was a brave girl. Brave girls did not sit in warm rooms in the schoolhouse and cry because of five letters. In fact, brave girls did not cry at all. “The cat… catches the mouse.”
An encouraging nod met her, the counsellor’s smile widening. “Yes. That is correct, sweetheart. I can see that you have been working hard on your studies.”
However, her lips turned downward as she turned to address the parents. “I completely understand that school can be overwhelming at this age. But looking at these assessment sheets from the past term, it seems basic letters and numbers are still giving your daughter quite a bit of trouble. We want to make sure she doesn’t fall too far behind her peers.”
(Name’s) father squirmed in his seat and crossed his arms, straightening his back against the chair. “Madame Rothschild, we know that. We’ve been reinforcing the lessons at home whenever we can.” He didn’t mention the way his voice would crack with exhaustion after coming back home from another unsuccessful hunt, trying to explain fractions and phonetics to an eight-year-old girl while his own stomach rumbled.
The counsellor nodded in understanding, her gaze flicking back and forth between the two parents. “(Name’s) improvements in her studies are noticeable, and that is certainly something she can be proud of. However, the curriculum is moving at a swift pace. Your daughter won’t be able to keep up with it if she still struggles with reading basic sentences. I worry for her future.”
(Name’s) mother placed one hand on her daughter’s shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. It was a gesture of maternal affection, yes, but also a not-so-subtle gesture to ground herself at the prospect of her daughter not having a stable future. “Is there anything the school can do to help? Any extra classes? Tuition?” she asked, attempting to mask how her voice trembled with uncertainty.
The question was met with a nod of agreement. “I was just about to tell you. I can refer you to a specialised program which takes place during the summer break,” the counsellor explained, pulling a pamphlet from a drawer.
No emblem of the Knights of Favonius marked its cover.
“It is for children who need… a bit more guidance before the next school term. They have instructors who specialise in core literacy and arithmetic. It isn’t subsidised by the Knights of Favonius, unfortunately, so there is an enrollment fee, but the success rate for children who complete the term is remarkably high.” Madame Rothschild continued, eyeing (Name) first before her gaze flicked to the adults. “The program is held in a quiet location away from the city, allowing the children to focus entirely on improving their studies. It’s an excellent opportunity for your daughter.”
The father cocked up an eyebrow, entertaining the idea but not entirely convinced. “How much?”
From the drawer came another page, turned so the numbers faced the parents. (Name’s) mother leaned closer, squinting her eyes to see the numbers more clearly. A soft gasp escaped her lips.
Nobody spoke for a while. In the silence, the little girl heard the clock on the wall ticking, heard her own heartbeat drumming near her ears, and could hear absolutely everything. Except for an answer.
(Name) could not understand the full extent of the amount, but she saw her father’s jaw move once as if he had bitten the inside of his cheek. She reached out a tiny hand, patting her father’s thigh, too scared to speak but still wanting to remain close to him.
The man didn’t even flinch. “This… summer program. It includes lodging?” he asked, looking at the counsellor with a wary expression.
“Yes. Meals, lodging, lessons, materials, and transport from Mondstadt. The children are supervised throughout the program. Your daughter would greatly benefit from the tutelage of the experienced staff.”
“And it will help her?” her mother asked, pulling her daughter’s hand away from the man’s thigh and holding it in her own hand.
“It can help her,” came the counsellor’s swift reply. “I will not sell you miracles. She may still need support after the program ends. She may always need to learn some things differently from other children. But I assure you, it is not shameful, especially given her… circumstances.” Madame Rothschild glanced at the clock in the room before pushing her glasses higher up the bridge of her nose, signalling the end of the session. “You may take as much time as you need. The carriage will arrive in a month.”
₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚
The month came and went. On the morning the carriage left, the sky was the colour of murky dishwater, drab and clouded.
Other children waited near the city gate with bundles, bags, and parents who fussed over their little angels. (Name) stood between her mother and father, holding the strap of her bag, which was clearly far too big for her little frame. Looking around, she noticed many children in the same position as herself, hauling oversized jute bags nearly as large as they were. Some hadn’t even the luxury of a bag, personal belongings stuffed instead into coat pockets and waistbands.
The carriage was larger than the ones she usually saw near the market. Its sides were dark wood, polished enough to reflect the movement of people passing by, and there was a crest painted near the door that she did not recognise.
Kneeling down to meet her daughter’s gaze, (Name’s) mother patted her hair with a trembling hand, a hopeful, yet pained smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “(Name), my dear… Do write mama and papa many, many letters about your lessons, alright? We’d love to read all about your time at the camp.”
As her mother spoke, the little girl only looked down at her feet, shaking her head. “But… But they will be filled with mistakes. You can’t read them.”
Her father followed his wife’s actions, kneeling down and putting his hand in (Name’s), giving it a firm squeeze. “Then make mistakes. Ten, twenty, even a hundred. We still want the letters.” Pulling something out of the pocket of his coat, he placed it in the palm of (Name’s) hand, rasping out two words. “For luck.”
When she opened her hand, the little girl went still. The object in question was soft, round, and slightly chipped. It was a small clay whistle, shaped roughly like a bird, its paint long since worn off, exposing the terracotta underneath the remnants of dull scarlet. She recognised it at once: it usually sat on the windowsill above the kitchen sink, watching the little family from its makeshift perch.
“Papa, this is yours,” (Name) gasped, curling her small fingers around it as though it might slip away, looking at her father with wide eyes. “Won’t you miss it?”
“Was.” With two fingers, he nudged her closed fist, his touch lingering for just a moment longer than a mere playful touch usually would. “Now it’s yours. Just… hold onto it a while, alright? Until you come back in two months’ time.” He reached out his burly hand and ruffled his daughter’s hair. “And when you’re back, your mother’s going to make you the best roasted boar you’ve ever had, okay?”
(Name) closed her fingers around the whistle, holding it the way she imagined a knight might hold a sword. Like something worth protecting. She nodded, unable to trust her voice just yet.
Around them, the crowd had begun to shift, parents giving their farewells to their children before an attendant called for the little ones to enter the carriage. Somewhere behind (Name), a smaller child began to cry in earnest, and no amount of hushing seemed able to stop it. (Name) felt her mother’s arms wrap around her one final time, tight enough to leave the impression of buttons pressed into her cheek, before she was gently, and reluctantly, released. The little girl walked backward for as long as she could manage, watching her parents grow smaller against the pale grey sky, the whistle clutched so tightly in her fist that the worn clay bit into her palm. Only when an older boy nudged her forward, muttering something about the steps, did she finally turn to face the carriage and enter it, eyes brimming with tears as her parents dwindled into two tiny figures.
Before disappearing altogether, swallowed by the grassy plains of Mondstadt.
₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚
“—Hey! Hello? Hey!”
Soft fingers poked (Name’s) cheek, startling her and pulling her from her thoughts. She blinked, realising she’d been absentmindedly rolling the little clay whistle between her fingers. “Y-Yes?” she sputtered, clutching the clay bird close to her chest.
The girl poking her had wavy black hair that seemed to have declared war on every ribbon and pin sent to tame it. Her knees were drawn up onto the carriage bench, chin resting atop them, and an expression that could only be described as utterly bored.
“You’ve been staring at that thing ever since we left,” the girl stated plainly, the way children state facts without any filter. “What’s it for? Are you gonna use it or just look at it?”
(Name) shrank a little further into the corner of the bench, tucking the whistle into her coat pocket. “It’s… It’s for luck,” she mumbled, eyes dropping to the floorboards. Though she wasn’t sure how long it had been since the carriage had left, she had not spoken to a single other child. It was easier that way. Talking meant someone might ask her something, and then she might get the response wrong, and she was already carrying quite enough wrongness for one carriage ride. That was why she was sent to the summer program, after all.
“Huh. Okay.” The other girl seemed satisfied with this answer and stuck out a hand that was not entirely clean. “I’m Fien. What’s your name?”
“…(Name).”
“Nice. At least that’s easy to remember. Not like those long, boring names of ancient Mondstadian kings and queens.” Fien grinned. She dropped back against the bench, swinging her legs, heels knocking rhythmically against the wood. “You’re quiet. Are you shy? Or do you just not like me? What’s the deal with your little birdie?”
“I—no! I don’t— I mean—” (Name) fumbled over the words, looking down at the floorboards even harder. “I’m just… quiet.”
“That’s fine. I talk enough for two people anyway, my old man always says so.” Fien grinned widely, showing a gap where one of her milk teeth had recently given up its post. “Are you going to the summer thing ’cause you’re bad at school too?”
(Name)’s stomach dropped instantaneously. She opened her mouth, ready to lie, ready to say something about how she was actually quite good at school, it was just a streak of bad luck that she failed all her tests in a row, it was just—
Before (Name) managed to utter a single syllable, Fien announced first, “I can’t read at all. The letters go all funny and squiggly. My teacher said I wasn’t trying hard enough, but I was trying so hard my head hurt. She’s nuts, I tell you.” She shrugged, both shoulders rising and falling.
(Name) stared at the girl with the bird’s nest for hair. It had genuinely, truly not occurred to her that somewhere out there existed another child who struggled with the same things she did. The shame she’d been carrying in her heart loosened just enough that she could breathe around it. “…Me too,” she admitted, so quietly it was nearly lost beneath the rattle of the wheels. “I can’t read well either.”
“Well,” Fien said matter-of-factly, “guess we’ll both learn together, then. That’s what the camp’s for, right?”
Right, (Name) thought. That’s what the camp’s for. And after two months, I’ll be back home.
The two girls decided, wordlessly and immediately, that they were now friends. Fien scooted closer on the bench until their shoulders touched, and together they turned to look out of the carriage window.
It was (Name) who noticed it first.
Frost had begun to creep up the corners of the glass, delicate as lace, spreading like thin vines across the pane. It hadn’t been there that morning, or the day before. Certainly not in Mondstadt. Is this… frost? (Name) chewed on her lower lip and pressed her own finger to the window, and the cold bit at her skin sharply enough that she yanked it back with a small gasp.
“Fien,” she whispered. “It’s… It’s like the stories! Of Dragonspine!”
Fien squinted at the frost, tilting her head the way a bird might at something curious. “Huh.” She didn’t seem particularly bothered by it, which somehow made (Name) feel a little less bothered, too. “Maybe we really are going somewhere snowy. Like Dragonspine. Or Snezhnaya! Ooh! Do you think we can build snowmen at the camp? I’ve never built a ginormous one before.” She giggled, blowing air onto the glass and drawing a snowman in the condensation, giving it a comically long carrot-nose.
“…Maybe. But… But if the madams and sirs allow it, we can… build a snowman together,” (Name) said, though the frost was climbing faster now, and something about the way it moved made the small hairs on her arms stand up. I don’t like this. It’s not… It’s not the gentle snow. It’s like it’s alive. Like… Spindly fingers.
The carriage jolted.
It wasn’t the usual rattle-and-sway of wheels over an uneven road the girls had gotten used to over the past few days. With a sudden thump, both girls fell sideways into one another, clinging on to each other for dear life. Somewhere up front, the horses screamed. It was a sound (Name) had never heard a horse make before and hoped never to hear again, and then the carriage screeched to an immediate halt.
For a moment, the only sound was the ragged breathing of the children inside the carriage. Nobody dared to move a muscle.
Then the door was wrenched open.
Instantly, the carriage exploded into chaos.
Uniformed men reached into the wooden cage with gloved hands, their faces hidden behind masks. There was nothing to tell one from another. They spoke nothing, didn’t need to. One by one, children were seized by their wrists, collars, braids, whatever the gloved hands reached first, and were hauled out into the unpainted daylight. Screams of terror and fear pierced through the snowy landscape, but the uniformed men paid no attention to their pleas.
“H-Hey! Let go of me! (Name)!” Fien’s voice cracked as a gloved hand dug into her arm, dragging her toward the door. “(Name), help! Don’t leave me!”
The whistle slipped.
At first, (Name) didn’t even register it—one second it was there, then it escaped through a hole in her pocket, and the next it was rolling across the polished floor, disappearing out the open carriage door, past the chaos of heavy boots and gloved hands. Without thinking, the little girl scrambled after it, pushing past the masked men, driven by the singular purpose to retrieve the clay bird.
“Papa’s whistle! I need—”
A hand yanked her hair backward so hard that a primal scream ripped through her throat as she was hauled roughly out of the carriage and shoved into a line of sobbing, stumbling children, none of whom she recognised, all of whom looked exactly as terrified as she felt. She snapped her neck left and right, searching wildly for black wavy hair, her parents—although she knew they were far away—for anyone she knew, but there were only masks, and the frost-white ground reaching up to her knees.
They were herded toward a door set flat into the ground, like the sheep (Name) had sometimes seen in Mondstadt’s countryside. A great iron trapdoor lay propped open, revealing a stairwell that led down into darkness.
One by one, the children were pushed through it, swallowed by the abyss, their cries growing muffled and warbled as they descended.
“Mama! Papa!”
“Help! Please!”
“I’ll be good! Promise! I’ll be good!”
It was no different when it came to (Name)’s turn. The guard behind her tossed her down the stairs as if she were nothing more than baggage. Letting out a loud wail of pain, she struggled to maintain her balance, tumbling into a few other children at the bottom of the stairs. My legs… My knees… Everything hurts! Swallowing a pained groan, (Name’s) breath died in her throat as she glimpsed what stood before her.
For one dizzying moment (Name) thought she had been dropped straight into the belly of a star. The juxtaposition of the previous darkness and the current sterility of the light nearly blinded her. She rubbed her eyes, blinking multiple times as she attempted to take in the surroundings.
White. Everything was white. So white that it was borderline sickly. The walls, the floor, strange tables bolted to them. Some of them were bare, empty. Others had cuffs. Small ones, sized for wrists no bigger than a child’s.
(Name) averted her gaze, her ears ringing with panic. Bile rose up her throat as her tiny hands flew to cover her mouth. The other children had begun to huddle around her, cheeks streaked with tears, eyes all red and puffy. Some of them even hid their faces in the coats of others, not even caring whether they knew the child in question or not.
Along the far wall stretched a long pane of frosted glass, taller than the Favonius Cathedral and twice as wide. Though she could not see exact movements through the glass, she could see silhouettes, arm movements, the faint clinking and tapping of some unknown material, followed by soft murmurs. Grown-ups… There are grown-ups on the other side… (Name) realised, taking a tiny, brave step forward and pressing her ear against the pane.
“—Subject intake at eleven, confirmed. No suspicion of contamination,” one of them murmured, close enough to the pane that (Name) could feel the vibrations of his voice, “cross-reference with batch four before we move on to the resonance calibration—”
“Batch four didn’t survive calibration,” a second voice cut in. “We lost three of five. The other two are compromised. At this rate, we’ll run out of usable stock. Adjust the parameters before we lose another cohort.”
“Doesn’t matter. The Doctor wants the full eleven processed by tonight.”
A brief pause. “And if they don’t stabilise?”
“Then we document the failures, dispose of them, and requisition more stock. Standard procedure.”
(Name) didn’t understand what everything meant exactly. She only understood, instinctually, that she did not want to be there. That if she stayed here, she would never see her parents, Fien, the stupid teachers, or her home—Mondstadt, ever again.
“The whistle,” she gasped, snapping out of her panic for one precious second, “I have to go back, I can use Papa’s whistle to call for help!”
She bolted for the stairwell, for the small sliver of daylight still visible at the top, close enough that she could almost taste the cold, crisp air of it, mixed with the wood of the carriage and manes of the horses. Bruised hands reached out, sunlight kissing her skin.
The trapdoor slammed shut.
Darkness consumed what little light remained. And somewhere in the void, a little girl who had promised her mother many, many letters began, for the first time since leaving Mondstadt, to cry.
Something I like to ponder about is gentlemanly and gallant Kaeya. Like yeah sure, people know that Diluc is the chivalrous wine tycoon. But it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume Kaeya learned the etiquette of high society as well, given that he grew up with the Ragnvindrs.
Plus, Kaeya is famously popular with the elderly. So I think he also learned some old-school etiquette from the Ragnvindrs. I also like to imagine that Kaeya genuinely and consistently makes people feel cared for and listened to, despite how he may brush it off with casual deflection.
While he projects the image of an easygoing Cavalry Captain, I like to think the Ragnvindr upbringing shows itself in many ways. Like the way he holds a wine glass precisely by the stem with the exact finger placement taught to him by his childhood tutors. Or when he adjusts his posture and speech to match his company, whether he is speaking to a diplomat or a local merchant. Or when he takes the street-side of the pavement when escorting a lady, and kissing the back of her hand with just the right amount of distance to remain respectful.
Kaeya probably knows exactly how to flatter someone and stroke their ego in the most polite way possible, which he learned through hours of etiquette classes and navigating high-society balls. Most citizens of Mondstadt simply chalk it up to his usual charisma, completely missing the fact that they are catching fleeting glimpses of a perfectly raised young master.
And perhaps the saddest part is that those lessons may have become even more important after Diluc left Mondstadt. With Diluc suddenly leaving Mondstadt and the city still reeling from Crepus' death, Kaeya was suddenly one of the few familiar figures from the Ragnvindr clan people could rely on, despite not being an "official" Ragnvindr family member.
I can imagine him consciously making the effort to stand all straight and poised, speaking a little more carefully, and offering reassurance with the same confidence his tutors instilled in him, despite him being a rather shy kid. Maybe there were moments when Kaeya thought, if I behave like a true gentleman, then people will trust me just like they trust the Ragnvindr clan. And they won’t think that I will also abandon Mondstadt in its darkest hour.
And I firmly believe that during that time, few people ever stopped to wonder how Kaeya was feeling while he was busy being a pillar of stability for everyone else. The thought of poor Kaeya in that state, under so much pressure to uncover the bureaucratic conspiracy behind his father figure's demise, is enough to make my heart crack </3 And over time, he eventually learned how to build walls, which is why he is so secretive and deflects so often, carving out an identity for himself separate from the Ragnvindrs </3
Listen, I'm not saying that Diluc chasing after me in the pouring rain to stop me from leaving his estate and taking me by the hand to declare he loves me "most ardently" will fix all my problems.
Thinking about writing a Diluc x Reader fic where Reader is a discarded experiment of Dottore who seeks refuge in Mondstadt alongside a kid she takes on an older sibling role for. However, Diluc is really suspicious of her, while the Knights try to handle the newcomers through proper legal and diplomatic channels.
Having been brainwashed by Dottore, Reader is morally grey, and her past+upbringing causes major headaches for the people of Mondstadt. Like, Reader is deeply flawed and makes mistakes and isn’t perfect in the slightest. On top of that, everyone’s worried that she’ll negatively influence her adopted younger sibling.
I’m thinking of making it a story about reconciling with the past and starting a new life with found family. It’ll have a mix of hurt/comfort, angst, and some fluff to lighten the mood from time to time. I also want to draw some parallels between the Reader and various members of the Mondstadt cast. Overall, it’ll be a slow-burn, character-focused story.
Is that something y’all would be interested in? If yes let me know, I’ll add you to a tag list <3 It’ll probably be updated both here and on AO3 <3
Kaeya "I loved you for so long i forgot when it started" Alberich
٠࣪⭑ childhood friends to lovers .ᐟ ⋆ MASTERLIST ˎˊ˗
The young version of you smiled brightly as Crepus introduced his sons in front of you and your parents. The blue haired kid was Kaeya and the red haired kid was Diluc who were around the same age as you as well.
That was when Kaeya first met you, and that was when you met the boy who just arrived in Mondstadt carrying secrets that were too large for a child.
You were fascinated in his diamond-shaped pupil.
He was fascinated in how you would trip on your feet when you try to look at his eye a little too closely.
Kaeya is clever, observant, and careful.
Then there is you who ignored all of that.
Kaeya spends days constructing the perfect mysterious image and then there is you who spends on the same days trying to convince the blue haired child to climb trees.
"Kaeya!" You called out, sitting on the thick branch with a smile on your face. "Come up here already!"
"No." He replied, no so amused.
"Why not?"
"It's childish." The child, Kaeya said.
"You're ten." You said, looking at the child below you.
"And?"
You were immune to Kaeya's charms as the two of you continued to hang out together. You were immune to his smiles, his dramatic sighs because you remembered the boy who scarpped his knees, the boy who got angry when he lost games, and the boy who secretly liked sweet things.
In one of those days where time passes by slowly, you and Kaeya were hanging out. Nothing out of the ordinary, it was quiet at first and then laughter entered his ears.
Your laughter.
Kaeya looked to his side and saw you with that usual bright smile on your face and your eyes softened, laughing as the crystalfly decided to perch itself on your nose. He stopped and stared and oh— you look lovely.
Very lovely.
Now every childhood memory becomes a problem, how could Kaeya Alberich flirt normally when he remembers you chasing chickens through Mondstadt? How was he, Kaeya Alberich, supposed to act cool when he remembers you eating half of his lunch? It was impossible.
He discovered jealousy first before he discovered love. You were the friendly type, almost all the people in Mondstadt were your friends, after all. Kaeya simply finds it irritating when people talk to you. Quite suspicious, no?
"Who was that?" Kaeya asked, letting out an easy smirk.
"A friend?" You replied, turning to him.
"Mm." Suddenly you were looking at him, puzzled.
There was many things Kaeya expected to happen but he didn't expect you to trip on your own feet while walking down the last steps of the stairs in front of the Favonius Cathedral.
You fell on your face.
Seeing you fall, Kaeya immediately went to your side. He didn't visibly show it but he was panicking internally, his hands shaking slightly while he helped you up on your feet. You noticed it, of course you do.
"Why were you so worried?" You asked him and Kaeya opened his mouth and slowly closed it again. He suddenly realized that there was no friendly explanation to your question. None. There was not even one.
Years later, you continued to stay beside Kaeya. Even if he didn't show it, you knew deep inside he needed someone. So you stayed and Kaeya quietly cherished it everytime.
The evening was cold, the sort of evening that the both of you had shared a hundred of times. Sitting together, peaceful, comfortable, familiar. Kaeya looked at his hands and suddenly whispered,
"I think I've been in love with you for a very long time now."
And suddenly your heart stuttered. You looked at the person beside you and saw that he was already staring back at you. "..How long?"
Kaeya couldn't help but let out a groan and then smile a little fondly, a little annoyed at your question because it wasn't really? or are you serious? He thought about it for a moment and remembered the moment his heart started reaching for yours— he wanted to say it was from the moment you were laughing and there was a crystalfly on your nose.
But he wanted to save a little face.
"Probably when you punched a boy for making fun of me."
"I was thirteen."
"Then probably around then."
You rolled your eyes but you tried to suppress the smile threatening to bloom on your face, "You know.. you're not bad looking, Cavalry Captain." You teased.
"You wound me, is my looks only not bad looking? I 'm surely the most handsome man you know."
"Well, I like everything about you, looks included."
Very little changed between the two of you.
The difference is that now Kaeya doesn't have to pretend he isn't looking at you. He doesn't have to pretend he doesn't care. He doesn't have to pretend that you aren't the first person he searches for in every room.
I’d really love it if we someday got a Dawn Winery Simulator Event/game. Preferably during the time where Crepus was alive (even though Hoyoverse would never do that ;-;).
It’d be fun to help out with the harvest and winemaking, finding more about Crepus, Varka, and Eroch before the Tragedy™ and seeing the Mondstadt cast as kids! I can already imagine young Diluc dragging Kaeya into all his pranks and schemes.
And maybe some cameos from young Jean and Barbara as well? Maybe even Amber with her grandfather? That would be so cute <3
Being a Diluc simp fan is so funny because what do you mean this beautiful man:
Is an international menace who committed war crimes and is banned from the Genshin equivalent of Russia???
(He’s still babygirl I want to squish his cheeks and braid his gorgeous hair and kiss the top of his head and tuck him into bed and give him all the love in the world)
I need to know Diluc and Kaeya’s workout routines because how the hell can they swing around heavy claymores and swords while their waists are the same width as an A4 sheet of paper???
At least Varka makes somewhat sense design-wise. But Diluc and Kaeya??? They have the proportions of supermodels and the upper-body strength of forklifts. Body is TEA but still HOW????
Forgot the mysteries of the upside down Statue of the Seven, or the theory that Mondstadt has the entryway to Celestia. The real question is how those two men built like bookmarks can swing a 50+ kilo mass of steel around like it’s nothing. The only reasonable conclusion is that every cubic millimetre of muscle in their bodies contains the mass of a small moon.
I don’t play Genshin Impact but I found this trend fun so I thought I’d give it a go. This is only based off lore + personality since I’ve never played Genshin before.
Diluc and Kaeya are both tied for my favourite character but I could only choose one </3
Five years ago in May was the first time Diluc showed up in my wishes, lending a helping hand since I had just started the game back then. I'm glad he did.
Little Diluc and Durin interaction I find insanely cute
Like helloooooo that's so sweet of him to do???? And he looks so cute and proud when he hands the drink over to him???? Probably saw a lot of himself in the little dragon boy when he saw Durin struggling with alcohol.
Headcanon that the interaction went something like this:
Durin: "Blegh... Master Diluc… Why does my tongue feel like it's on fire?"
Diluc: "Because you are not used to alcohol."
Durin: "It was only one sip…"
Diluc: "One sip is enough when it is your first. Here."
Durin: "Lemonade?"
Diluc: "Yes. Drink it slowly. Try to focus on the sweetness of the juice."
Durin: "It's sweet… and mildly tangy. It... It's delicious!"
Diluc: "Good. I'm glad it is to your liking."
Durin: "...Are you mad?"
Diluc: "If that were the case, you'd be out the door by now." Pauses for a few moments. "...Next time, don't let the others pressure you into trying something unfamiliar. There's nothing wrong with going at your own pace."
Durin: "...Thank you, Master Diluc." Looks around. "Do you have any other juices I could try, please?"
Diluc: Gestures to the shelf. "I keep apple, grape, berry, and various other fruit juices in stock. You may try those as well."
Durin: "Hehe… A tavern master with a sweet tooth."
Diluc: "Sweet tooth? ...Heh."
Durin: "Master Diluc, I also heard about something called Fire Water—"
Diluc: "Finish your lemonade. Let me know if you need anything else, everything's on the house tonight."
I wish we could see more sweet interactions between Diluc and the other Mondstadt cast in the game <3 Because it's such a shame for such cute interactions to only be found in media that most fans won't even know exists </3 It would also be adorable if an "About: Durin" voiceline got added in the future.
Okay so this might be super weird but I had this dream where most of the Mondstadt cast got sent to India. So I thought it would be fun to imagine what roles they would play in one of my favourite Bollywood movies: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (roughly translates to Something Something Happens). Super niche concept I know, but I just had to get it out of my system.
Also to clarify: This is not a ship post! This is just my take on which characters would fit the movie’s roles the best.
Brief plot recap of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for context (contains spoilers, read your own risk!)
The movie follows Anjali (I’m going to call her Anjali Jr. going forward), the 8-year-old daughter of Rahul and Tina. Tina dies shortly after childbirth, but she leaves Anjali Jr. various letters, one for each birthday. On her eighth birthday, Anjali Jr. receives the final letter, in which Tina tells her about Rahul’s college days with his best friend, another girl named Anjali (I’m going to call her Anjali Sr. going forward).
In college, Rahul and Anjali Sr. are best friends. Anjali Sr. is a tomboy whereas Rahul is the local flirt with a heart of gold. Tina is a popular and fashionable foreign-return student and the daughter of the dean. The three of them become friends and a love triangle forms (in classic Bollywood fashion).
Although Anjali Sr. secretly loves Rahul, she realizes that his feelings lie with Tina. Heartbroken, she leaves college and cuts ties with him for around a decade. Tina later realises that she came into the way of their love unintentionally, but by then it is too late. Rahul and Tina later marry, but she dies after giving birth to their daughter, the aforementioned Anjali Jr.
After learning the truth from her mother’s letters, and to fulfil Tina’s last wish of bringing the two friends back together, Anjali Jr. hatches a plan. She discovers that Anjali Sr. has moved on with her life and is an instructor at a summer camp. Through a clever ruse, Anjali Jr. manages to trick her father into traveling to said camp. Rahul and Anjali Sr. meet again and gradually rekindle their bond.
However unbeknownst to Rahul, Anjali Sr. is engaged to Aman, a kind and utterly smitten businessman (I swear in the movie he is SUCH a green flag). She is torn between marrying Aman and her true love, Rahul. During the wedding ceremony, Aman selflessly steps aside, allowing Anjali Sr. to follow her heart. The movie ends with Rahul and Anjali marrying, fulfilling Tina’s final wish for their family. And poor Aman watches as his fiancée marries Rahul lol
So yeah, that’s the brief plot summary. I condensed a 3 hour long movie into around 5-ish paragraphs. I honestly can’t do the movie justice in such a short summary, the full movie is way more complex. It’s a classic movie and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a taste of 90s Indian cinema.
Anyway, now on to the Mondstadt Cast and the roles they would play!
Rahul — Kaeya
Pretty obvious choice for me. I personally don't think that Kaeya would have flirted as much as Rahul did in college. However, both Rahul and Kaeya have many similarities. They're both confident, effortlessly cool, charismatic, and don't express their true emotions until it's too late.
Especially Kaeya. I love Kaeya to bits but man that guy can't verbalize his emotions to save his life.
On a more positive note, both Rahul and Kaeya deeply committed to those they love. Througout the movie, Rahul is shown to be a caring father, whereas Kaeya is fiercely protective of Mondstadt.
Anjali Sr. — Amber
Both names start with A, that's why I chose them.
Jokes aside, I think they share that same "girl-next-door" sort of vibe. Anjali is Rahul’s best friend for a huge part of the movie, and Amber is genuinely one of the sweetest, friendliest girls in Mondstadt (and maybe in all of Genshin for that matter). They’re both fun-loving and playful, but they also have a lot of heart underneath all that energy.
For example, Amber and Anjali are deeply loyal. Anjali loves very intensely, even when she doesn’t say it directly, and Amber is determined to keep the Outriders in commission to honor her missing grandfather's legacy. I personally think that their loyalty and optimism is what makes such great characters (John Hoyoverse please give Amber more screen time she deserves better).
Tina — Jean
Divas. Icons. Queens. 👑
Honestly, Jean and Tina make so much sense to me. They are both graceful, gentle and super mature people. It would have been so easy to make Tina the villain in the movie or Jean to be a no-nonsense, strict Acting Grandmaster, but I'm glad that's not the case. Their empathy is one of their biggest strengths, and I love that for them.
I really like how kind and selfless both women are. Tina’s love for Rahul and her daughter plays such a huge part of the movie, even after she’s dead, and Jean is constantly putting Mondstadt and everyone else’s needs before her own. I love them both, but wow, these women really do not know how to catch a break. Like, Tina literally dies in the first five minutes of the movie, and Jean is so overworked with paperwork that I'm genuinely surprised how she is still alive, surviving off liters of caffeine.
Anjali Jr. — Klee
Not quite sure about this take, but since Mondstadt only has two child characters (Diona and Klee), I figured Klee would be the best pick, since she is a tad more mischievous than Diona.
Regardless, both girls are so endearing and adorable. They are genuinely so cute without falling into the "annoying kid" trope. I wish we could have more Klee-centered events in the future.
Aman — Diluc
Okay I myself will admit, this is a bit of a stretch. However, hear me out:
At their core, both gents are gentlemen.
Aman loves Anjali, but he still lets her go in the end because he knows where her heart truly is. He literally doesn't want her to stay married to him if she's going to be miserable. That's how much he loves her, despite Anjali being his first love. Absolute green flag, Aman deserved better </3.
Diluc is such a polite person, especially in his birthday mail and official birthday art. He always encourages Aether/Lumine to do their best in various events (such as the bartending event a few years ago, and he literally creates a drink after them). I really hope Hoyoverse lets him shine more, he’s such a sweet guy underneath all that seriousness.
Both men embody the "I'll-suffer-alone-if-it-means-you'll-be-okay" sort of vibe. My two lovable dorks. Go spread your wings and find true happiness.
So that would be it for my silly little ramblings. I hope it was an enjoyable read. I highly recommend watching Kuch Kuch Hota Hai if you want a "feel good" type of movie, pretty sure it’s on Netflix unless they removed it. It's a 90s classic and still is iconic in the Indian subcontinent. Plus, the comedy is also pretty funny and holds up well to this day. And the songs are insanely catchy.
Thank you for reading so far, and have a nice day/night <3
Bonus!
Here are some of my personal favourite songs and scenes from the movie in no particular order:
