#╰ ––––––– ✦ ⧽ 𝖟𝖍𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖑𝖎 › ic post ❨ ᵇᵘᵗ ʷʰᵉʳᵉ ᵃʳᵉ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ʷʰᵒ ˢʰᵃʳᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᵐᵉᵐᵒʳʸ ˀ ❩

[gnosticreign]

@visionlcss asked: Shizuko had woken up early to make Zhongli’s favourite meal. She had his gift wrapped up and placed on the table for him to open. She had spent the mora she saved up to make a bracelet that matched their rings. It was truly difficult to decide what to give him since he had everything.

She cursed herself for thinking too long and almost burned the food. Could she salvage it? Or should they in the end go out to eat……

"What a day…." she sighed. "I still hope he likes it."

in the past days, zhongli had seen shizuko struggling to think of a gift for him ---- and while he reassured her that she didn't have to stress over him, he had a feeling that she would have worked long and hard to come up with something. she was stubborn when it came to things like that, but that was one of the reasons why shizuko was so endearing to him.

this morning, though, he barely shifted when she left the bed, but his eyes were open soon after she had left their room. instead of also climbing out of bed, though, he waited until he could smell food from the kitchen.

as he approached, zhongli could see that she seemed to have run into a problem. the scent seemed like she had cooked for a little longer than intended, but avoided burning the food.

it made him a bit nostalgic.

"it's certainly a lot better than my first attempts at that dish." he didn't realize that he was probably going to startle poor shizuko, just focused on at least assuring her that it would be fine. "my old friends...had some interesting dinners in those days."

[gnosticreign]

@artificeheart asked: you look tired. (aether for zhongli)

RANDOM ACTION-THEMED PROMPTS | accepting!

"ah, do i? forgive me for that, then, aether."

the former archon sipped at his tea, pondering if he simply hadn't slept as well as he'd thought. only one event from the previous night came to mind, which made him nod.

"yun jin had held the premiere of her newest opera last night, which i had attended. it seems that the exuberance of the audience, including myself, had stuck with me throughout the night. it was quite contagious."

[gnosticreign]

divitaclara asked: Above the docks of Liyue the sun traced along its pathway ingrained in the sky, reaching out for the horizon line like a grasping hand that left the rest of itself in light behind in its own wake. Behind docked ships the docile waves of the sea of clouds peaked in its everlasting continuous motion, with the crests of each wave catching the departing sunlight in golden sparkles. The young Harbinger’s boots fell along wooden planks, down the gangway of the ship that sailed him far and wide and onto the harbor docks. « Here at last… » His words rode across a long and deep sigh, one that caused his chest to dip within itself. Amidst a bustling crowd of men laboring away to unload and ships and families waiting to reunite with their loved ones that were homebound, Childe’s eyes combed through them all in search for the one face that was most stalwart to him in this nation. It wouldn’t take much searching nor much meandering through the people to reach him, and Childe’s smile was just as radiant as the evening sun that bedazzled the sky when he found his way over. Childe’s simmering delight bubbled into a laugh that blushed the apples of his cheeks. « There you are, Гора! Forgive me for my tardiness. I had hoped that my boat would arrive earlier in the day. I didn’t want to today be squandered, yet to my displeasure, it was. » The corners of his lips, gaze, and lilt all dipped low for a moment, abating to a solem halt. His silence bear a remorseful weight, but one that he cast away in a moment’s notice. « But shall we make up for that lost time? Today is not yet over, my friend. Let’s hit the town for a little while! I’ll have a subordinate of mine take my belongings to our home in the meantime. With such few hours left of this special day—let’s not meditate on the year that has passed. » Childe’s gloved hand outstretched itself to take Zhongli’s hand into his own, gently squeezing to satiate the longing that had been with him since the moment he departed from Liyue to Inazuma. « Let us celebrate you. » [ Childe just wants Zhongli to actually celebrate himself for his birthday 💓 Happy New Year, Ri’ah! ]

hey it's zhongli's birthday y'all | accepting!

the element of geo was one of patience, of the everlasting, of the constant. its former archon was almost exactly the same as it, although with his retirement ---- zhongli had tried to at least become more spontaneous. still, on days like this, where he was anticipating the return of his dear friend, these traits were heavily leaned upon.

the seas were always quite unpredictable. while the ships were later than expected, though, everything and everyone seemed to be quite all right. it was a huge relief to him.

the familiar tousled ginger of childe's hair was soon spotted, and it didn't take long for the harbinger to soon find him in return. zhongli would have attributed it to a practical sixth sense, but knew it was likely because he stood out from most others in the other man's eyes.

when childe apologized, zhongli opened his mouth to reassure him that no apologies were needed -- it wasn't as if he could control the weather. beidou, for the power she held in defeating haishan, couldn't do that either! but childe's tone quickly shifted.

how he missed this. how he'd missed childe, for all of his eagerness and playfulness.

"老铁...your persuasiveness never fails, does it?" he returned the squeeze to childe's hand, the smile easing onto his features a blossoming one. like the glaze lily coaxed to open by the sunlight, so zhongli found himself so easily drawn to smile and laugh by this snezhnayan. "from the sound of it, you've been thinking quite a bit about this day. i'm sure it'll be a birthday to remember."

and tomorrow...he'd have to surprise childe as well. after all, he wanted to celebrate childe's safe arrival to liyue as well.

tonight, though? he wasn't going to refuse celebrating his birthday in the way that mortals would, especially not with childe seeming to already have a plan.

[gnosticreign]

@visionlcss asked: "happy birthday, dear." shizuko holds his hand near her lips to kiss before grasping at his collar. pulling him down so that she would kiss his lips. then leading him to the kitchen where she had bought a cake for him. intricate designs decorated it and she hoped t would taste delicious. "for you, dear. allow me to cut the first slice for you." (for zhongli bday uwu)

hey it's zhongli's birthday y'all | accepting!

it was that time of year, when the end of another year of the modern calendar adopted by teyvat would pass, and yet another year on his already-long life would end. soon, it would be lantern rite again, and zhongli had certainly been wondering if those traditions would be similar to those he had known all this time ago.

but he had no time to worry about that. shizuko had him captured in her kisses, and then led him to the kitchen. the cake present was definitely one that looked as if it had been selected with a steady eye, artistic in its presentation.

( or, perhaps, shizuko figured that it was appropriate, considering who he had once been a long time ago. )

"what a lovely surprise, shizuko...and the cake is wonderful as well." the impish declaration was accompanied by a kiss to shizuko's forehead, before he moved to sit down. "to celebrate this occasion with you again is certainly the best thing to happen this year."