#I know they aren’t canonically brothers like kaeya and diluc

[creamecream]

Kaveh and Alhaitham have a big Kaeya and Diluc vibe

I live for the familial distaste and disgust in this game for some reason.

[zweetpea]

Kaeya Prince of Khaenri’ah 

Happy birthday baby 😚

(Listen if he doesn’t end up canonically being the prince then just consider this an AU. It already kinda is but… um… I suck at wording.) 

“The prince of Khaenri’ah will be arriving in Mondstadt tomorrow for trade negotiations.” Grand Master Varka explains to Jean, Lisa, Amber, Diluc, Eula, Albedo, Noelle, Klee, and you. “I want all of you to be on your best behavior.” 

“He means you and Klee.” Diluc looks over to you. 

“Hey! That’s not entirely fair. I’ve been keeping Klee out of trouble for months.” 

“Yeah! Miss Knight and I have been very good! I haven’t bothered big brother Albedo, I haven’t blown up any fish, and no one’s got mad at me and dodoco.” 

Varka kneels down to Klee. “We’re all very proud of you for that Klee but you need to be extra good okay? Mondstadt needs Khaenri’ah to help us out.” 

“Okay, Master Varka! Can me and miss Knight go fishing now?” 

Varka sighs and and smiles at her. “Okay, just be careful and don’t blow up anything.” 

“Come on you little pyromaniac. Let’s go get some fish.” 

“Yay!” Klee cheers and pulls you out of the Knights HQ. 

You two make your way down the street towards the front entrance of the city. On you walk you see a stranger at good Hunter. He had blue hair; tan skin; pants, boots, fingerless gloves, and a corset (all black); a short blue vest; a white shirt; and a fur collar with a cape attached. 

“Hmm, what should I get? Excuse me, I don’t mean to bother a beautiful woman but do you perhaps have any wine?” He asks Sara. 

“Oh, no, I’m sorry. We don’t serve wine here.” 

“Oh that’s unfortunate. I suppose it’s made up for by the fact that a stunning, kind, woman works here.” 

“Well aren’t you a charmer.” Sara smiles at him. 

“I just try to make people’s day.” 

“Excuse me!” You and Klee walked over to the man. He turns around and he has a beautiful blue left eye and his right eye is covered by his bangs. His face over all is ethereal. “Um, I, Angel’s Share is known for its immaculate wine. The Cat’s Tail also has some great choices of Alcohol apparently, I don’t usually drink but Crepus does enjoy their drinks.” You blush as this gorgeous man smiles at you. 

“Crepus? The owner of Angel’s Share and the Dawn Winery?” 

“Yeah, I helped him escape a Fatui Ambush a few years ago at his son’s birthday party.” 

“Interesting, so you know the Ragvindrs?” 

“Kinda, Diluc and I trained together to become knights. He’s very strong and incredibly and Crepus is so proud. I’ve only met the older Ragvindr a handful of times but he’s been like a father to me.” 

“Hm, you and this Diluc must be a very happy couple.” 

“Ew! Miss Knight would never be with that weirdo!” 

“Klee! Sorry about her. I try to teach her to be nice to the other knights. Diluc and I have a friendly rivalry so we send jabs back and forth and Klee can sometimes be defensive of me.” You smile politely at the cute stranger. 

“She’s very cute. Though she looks bit old to be your daughter.” Klee starts tugging on your sleeve. 

“Oh no, she’s not mine. I’m more of a nanny. I’m sorry to cut this short but Klee and I were heading to starfell lake.” 

“That sounds like a good time.” 

“Yeah, she likes catching fish and I sit and watch her to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself. Maybe you’d like to join us.” 

“I would actually, thank you. It would be my pleasure to entertain a woman as radiant and stunning as you. For all the stars beauty could never compare to the shining light of your eyes.” He takes your hand and kisses your knuckles. Your heart is thumping wildly in your chest. 

During the afternoon you three play at the shore of starfell lake. Well Klee and dodoco play, you and this stranger (who you learn is named Kaeya) talk about life and your interests. He is an incredible charming man. 

“Wait so this Diluc guy got his vision on his 18th birthday?”

“Yep, because he helped saved his dad. I don’t want to brag but I did get my vision before him.” 

“So you mentioned before that you’re a knight. What’s that like?” 

“Well I’m the cavalry captain so I manage funds for the horses. I could take you to meet my horse Marshal. How long do you plan to stay in Mondstadt for? I’ll be busy this week because the prince of Khaenri’ah is visiting but maybe on my lunch break I could introduce you to be noble steed.” 

“I’d love to meet Marshal. Oh wow it’s getting late. I should head back. I’ll see you tomorrow miss Cavalry Captain.” He kisses your knuckles again and walks off. 

“I call dibs on being the flower girl!” Klee shouts and you blush fiercely at the implication. 

——

The next morning you get up and clean your, get on a professional but still combat oriented dress, and made breakfast then rushed off to work. 

As you got to the front hall where the other knights were waiting, you joined Diluc and Lisa in the corner. 

“Attention! Knights, I’d like to introduce to you all Kaeya Alberich, the prince of Khaenri’ah and his personal guard Dainsleif.” Varka announces.

You look over in shock and see the man from yesterday. He was dressed head to toe in whites and blues. White pants and shoes, a dark blue vest, light blue shirt and jacket with white fur on the bottom trim. He was decked out in sapphires, and his right eye was showing. It was a dazzling glowing gold. He’s so pretty. 

Oh yeah and there was a blue eyed blondie in black and blue armor next to him. 

— 

During lunch he came to your office and knocked on your door. “Hey cute stuff.” 

“Hey stranger, or would you like me to call you ‘your highness’?” 

(A/n: you guys don’t even know how tempted I am to have Kaeya say “I’d rather you call me your boyfriend.”)

“Kaeya is fine. Varka told me that you were on lunch break so I thought that we could go see Marshal. If you’re not busy, I understand if you are.” 

“I’d love to entertain a handsome charming man.” You smirk as you turn his words from yesterday on him. You pull him along and he starts idle conversation with you. 

“You have no idea how many times Dain had to stop me from mentioning you.” 

“I’m flattered.” 

“Well it’s not every day that I see someone who can rival the Archons beauty.” 

“You flatter me too much.”

You bring him to meet a white horse with brown spots around one eye and more sporadically around his back. “Hi Marshal!” You pet him. 

“He’s adorable.” Kaeya smiles. “Can I ask you something crazy?” 

“Go ahead.” 

“Will you be my girlfriend? Or at least let me take you out for dinner?” 

“I’d love to go on a date with my new boyfriend.” You say as you grab his hands and pull him into a short but intimate peck on the lips which he returns. 

[chengfagshi]

speaking of antis making ships familial, they did this with Kaeya and Diluc from Genshin. The funniest thing is that in the CN Genshin fandom, it’s still the number 1 m/m ship (or it is second behind Childe x zhongli, but it’s definitely high up the list)

Anyway, I started to block most people who see them as family because they mischaracterize Kaeya. They completely remove his last name, history and ties to his former homeland in favor of calling him Diluc’s brother. Like for example, in game Diluc and Kaeya have a complicated relationship, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine but I wouldn’t say they hate each other either.

But people who see them as familial change this to them getting along just fine, they have a brotherly relationship and this is totally canon. Heck they even forget to call Kaeya by his own last name. And then they ironically enough come up with even more romantic hc and plots that I would have expected from shippers lmao

but yeah, I block that side of the fandom or pretend it doesn’t exist. These people can have their hc and some of them are fine with shippers, these people are not the problem. But the majority are racist cunts who either listen to a self proclaimed 34 year old Mexican “hag” who LEARNED Chinese through duolingo and gets their info from diaspora, so people who aren’t living in countries where Chinese is being spoken, and pretend because she knows Chinese and contacted the CN customer support of Genshin that she proved us (Chinese) incest freaks right

and you know the funny thing is she got sussed for suicide baiting and when she got her account back she pretended none of that happened. This person is older than me but acts like she is 20 years younger

Oh yeah, the Diluc/Kaeya are brothere antis are the worst. They're the type to see a fictional man go "You're like a brother to me" and then act like proshippers are disgusting for shipping the characters. Like...you realize they're not actually brothers? Saw the other day someone QRTed art of Beidou x Kazuha (which I don't ship tbh) and went "shipping a literal mom and son". Antis should be banned from using the word literal because none of them know what it means.

[kass-storycorner]

Mentally I’m getting worse again (tho I try to do all the stuff I learned from two years in therapy to … prevent it from getting bad bad ), so I’ve only been thinking about how some of the Genshin characters would comfort me? So here have this, whatever this is, that I wrote at 2am on a night before I have 11am shift at work. Using you in all of this but honestly this is 100% self indulgent. I just want someone to cuddle with. Pretty sure most of this isn’t really in character and every point is vastly different from the others but hey, it is what it is. As long as I’m in my current mindset my stuff won’t be any better than this

Genre: fluff, a bit of angst I guess idk man, comfort i hope

Content warnings: depression (?) I don’t go too much into detail, don’t want to write out those negative thoughts HA but you know you are just not in a good spot in these, absolutely inconsistent writing, every character has to deal with a different stage of feeling depressed and yeah

Characters: Diluc, Childe, Albedo, Yoimiya

Fun fact: my app crashed while writing this so thank the tumblr admins that you can restore posts you wrote after the app crashes one of the few good features of the app

Diluc:

Would definitely notice the first small changes in your behaviour, but wouldn’t think much of it in the beginning.

Maybe you are just tired? And even if not Diluc knows best that no one can always be chipper.

Still he doesn’t know how to act around you when you are sad / heading towards a depressive episode.

He would offer you his help, you just need to say what you need and he’ll give it to you.

Ah, but Diluc didn’t really consider at first that you would be too afraid to ask, even when he offered it to you.

One day he will directly ask you in the privates of your home if you are okay. At first you would try to brush it off, not wanting to be a burden on Diluc. You know how much he’s been through and that he also has his emotional scars… would be a bit selfish to dump it all onto him, wouldn’t it?

But oh, you’ve been dying to talk with someone about your feelings, craving a warm hug and words of comfort… so when Diluc doesn’t drop the topic you just let it all out.

He will take you in his arms and hug you, cuddle you, as long as you want. He’ll stroke your hair, quietly listening to your words, only small “mmmhs” and “it’s okay” leaving him, to reassure you that it’s fine for sharing it all.

When none of you talks all you can hear is his steady breath and oh, it’s so soothing.

Maybe you end up crying, while sharing all of it with him. All he does is to pull you closer into his chest, saying that it’s okay and tell you to let it all out.

Diluc hides his softer side from the people of Mondstadt, always hiding behind the more grumpy image some of him have, but he knows that it’s not good to run away from your own feelings. What you need to do is to feel them, do not try to push them aside because you are uncomfortable with them.

Generally he would be soft, kind and understanding. At first he might give you too much room, afraid he might be overstepping a boundary when he keeps pushing you in the beginning. Ends up in you isolating yourself / pulling away more, but once Diluc sees the pattern he will be more attentive to your needs and learn to differentiate between you needing space and you isolating.

Though please communicate with him better, he’s busy and if him having less time for you causes you distress you need to tell him, he might only notice it after the feelings festered.

Childe:

Oh boy - he hasn’t seen you in a while, Fatui duties you know, so when he knocks on your door one day he notices immediately that you are not in a good place.

This man - he cooks, he cleans, we all joke about him being the perfect husband but seriously. He sees the state of you, the state of your apartment and immediately helps.

Having spend the last week or two in a depressive state caused you to neglect your housework - the dirty dishes are everywhere and laundry keeps piling up. Not to talk about how you look.

Childe will make you a bath and while you’re in it he cleans. An immense help!!! Taking away a good chunk of thinks that made you feel just so overwhelmed and helpless.

The whole time he wouldn’t breach the topic of why it has come to that point, but now after you finished the bath and the apartment looks liveable again he asks you what’s wrong.

Honestly you don’t know yourself, you’ve been just lacking more and more energy to do the basic tasks and suddenly everything was a mess.

Will wipe away your tears and tell you “don’t cry, I’m here”, taking you in a hug.

When he’s around more, will he notice it when it slowly gets worse? Mmh, yeah!! He definitely notice when you are feeling more down, seeing how your interactions change and how your laughs become more forced.

In the beginning he will just try to make you feel all the “positive” feelings, not wanting you to feel any “negative” emotions at all

this man definitely represses his own trauma a lot and has a horrible way of coping with it so I doubt he would be the most emotionally intellectual person to help you through it

Though when you show that you don’t feel like showing your sadness aside and you just want someone to share it with / need some comfort he will adjust to your needs

Albedo:

Boy as impeccable observation skills, he will notice immediately when something is off.

However - he somehow struggles to understand your feelings. Like. At all.

When he asks you what’s wrong and you tell him that there is not a reason for your feelings, you just feel a bit depressed that’s all, he will not get it.

How do you feel a certain emotions without something causing it? There must be a reason for it.

And honestly he’s right there is always a reason for a certain feeling to arise, but sometimes they aren’t easy to understand for yourself or to spot, sometimes it’s just that your inner child needs a hug and it takes you three weeks and a metal breakdown to understand that this is all you needed… plus a good cry

He’s gonna be so awkward at trying to comfort you, making you feel better, at first. Trying everything out to cheer you up, he really doesn’t want you to feel bad. Asks around for advice what helps others when they are sad.

Honestly? The things he does, the small presents he gifts you - they are nice and make you feel loved, but it doesn’t make the bad feelings go away. Even worse it somehow builts up this immense pressure for you to get better quick because look! Albedo does nice things, he tries to help. He tries to figure it out. Why can’t you give him the results he hopes to get???

Only when someone (Timadeus for sure) finally tells Albedo that it’s not a special dish or flower or even place that helps with sad feelings - it’s that they remind them of something that’s comforting. Klee told him Dodoco helps when she’s sad, because Dodoco reminds her how much her mum loves her. So when people told him about certain foods or flowers - it was more because those were valuable for those individuals, doesn’t mean it has value to you. Most importantly is that he’s just there for you.

With that new bits of information he will try to adjust to your needs more, to learn what you need and to understand it.

He will be so upfront about it too, coming into your room and telling you that he’s been trying to make you feel better the past couple of weeks and noticing how your mood has not improved at all. Finally asks you what you need opposed to him only having asked why you feel that way

Will definitely make you cry with how he approaches the topic. When he apologises for making you cry you cry even harder at how soft he says it.

Albedo will remember what he was told, that it’s important to just be there for someone, so he will stay at your side, his hand on your back rubbing it while you are just sobbing.

After the tears have calmed down you can just be honest with him, tell him that you sometimes don’t know yourself what will make it better, that sometimes you just have to life with the feelings and accept them - but that his attempts really didn’t help.

He will apologise for putting more pressure on you, asking if you need a hug (something a lot of people have told him helps them but he was just to shy to actually try it out). After saying yes you both stay for a long time in the hug, the first thing in a long time to make you feel better.

Yoimiya:

My love, the light of my life, my future main - she would be SO good at helping you through an episode.

Notices the way you act towards her changes and immediately confronts you about it, afraid that something in the relationship is amiss until you tell her the truth that you are a bit depressed.

Canonically the one with the best communication skills, if you were to put her, Diluc and Kaeya in a room I’m 1000% sure those two would leave it as brothers again.

That said she can sometimes be a bit too overwhelming - she can talk a lot, but she’s a good listener too, but in her attempt to fix the issue she goes a bit overboard.

She’ll want you to talk it all out which isn’t a bad thing per se, but sometimes you just don’t feel like talking or that talking would help.

However the way Yoimiya is it will make you communicate with her more about how you feel and what you need - she kinda just seems to be more approachable and the kind of person you can pour my heart out to after meeting her on the toilets of a bar.

Will cuddle you as long as you need.

And honestly? 100% sure she would even make you a firework to cheer you up that you both watch from her favourite spot on a blanket while doing so (the cuddling!)

or you know maybe it’s just what I would really want to do with her when I’m depressed aka RIGHT NOW MAN

[cryptkillo]

~Diluc x Reader~

Contents: Diluc being an absolute mess, GN reader, Kaeya being a jerk and teasing you both

AN//: This was meant to only be a small head canon thing.... like Xiao's in my last post but... gosh here you all go with a whole fanfic. Please understand that I haven't done anything like this since oh Goodness..... 7th grade? *coughs in college freshman* Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this <3

God, this man is so in love with you, but you both were so oblivious to the fact

It was funny to watch the flustered Diluc dance around any questions that were asked about you

He’d try his best to change the subject after giving short and disinterested answers

He was so interested

His face would get red if pestered too much about it

Kaeya teased him so much once he caught on, which was pretty quickly

“I don’t see why you don’t just admit it, you are so into Y/n.” Kaeya’s gloved hand swirled the wine glass in his hand, the divine crimson liquid inside following the motion.  If looks could kill, the Calvary Captain would be more than dead.  “And I don’t see why you don’t just mind your own business, Kaeya.”  His breathy chuckle only made the wine tycoon even more furious.  “Mnn,” sapphire eyes closed as he took a sip of the dandelion wine, lowering it to the counter with a soft clink, “You aren’t denying that you do have feelings.”

You were much more subtle with your feelings, so much more so than Diluc was

Kaeya Alberich is a very observant man, so he noticed you after just a few interactions between the two of you that he witnessed

Picking on you whenever he finds you at Good Hunter

Or when Jean needed assistance, he’s coax you into helping him with something just so he could bully you

You would usually shrug him off

He’ll invite you to the tavern with him but-??

“Oh, now would you look at that… It’s about time for me to get going.” You look over at Kaeya, confused.  Diluc had his back facing the two of you, angry with his brother for inviting you of all people to go drinking with him.  “Kaeya, we just got here?” Peering over his shoulder slightly, Diluc’s grip on the glass he had been cleaning nearly shattered it.  “Well, my dear,” a knowing smirk graced his lips as cupped your cheek with his cold hands, “I’m sure Master Diluc would love your company.~  Ta-taa!~” With a swirl of blue, the Knight sauntered out of the tavern.

His hands were shaking.  Archons, why were they shaking?  Was he angry with his brother for abandoning you? Or maybe it was because Kaeya put his hands on you knowing damn well how he felt about you.  Diluc sucked in a breath and then exhaled slowly.  He had this time with you now, and he was letting it slip by.

Sitting in your seat quietly, you swallowed thickly and broke the silence that settled between Diluc and yourself.  “Is there anything I can do to help you?”  He turned to look at you with a gentle look on his face, causing your heart to flutter.  How could somebody as stoic as him look so soft? “Well, you are in my tavern, isn't it me who should be helping you?” The giggle that came from you caught him off guard, was what he said funny?  Well, whatever the reason, he knew he wanted to hear more.

“I guess you do have a point.” The way you hid your smile behind your hand, they way your gaze dropped to the counter…. It was too much.  “Well, what can I get started for you?  Perhaps a fine grape juice or… ah, actually… Take a sip of this. It's an alcohol-free beverage based on a long-standing family recipe. But I put my own spin on it.  What do you think, Y/n?”  Without hesitation, you brought the cool glass that Diluc handed you to your lips and took a small drink.  Despite the chill of the drink, you melted at the wonderful taste.  “Diluc, this is wonderful!”

“I’m glad you think so.  I need help naming it, care to help me?” Your eyes widen in shock.  There it is again, that angelic laugh that the bartender just loved to hear.  “Me, name the drink?  Why would you want me to name it?”  He could have passed away right on the spot, the way you looked up at him through your lashes as you leaned against the counter and closer to him.  “Well- well it was made to fit your tastes, so it’s only fitting that you name it..”

In that moment, he allowed a sliver of confidence take over.  Diluc propped himself on the counter with his elbows and leaned into you.  “Or perhaps… I should name it after you?” Heart hammering, you gave a shy snicker and averted your gaze.  “Well.. I would be flattered.”

You ended up staying until the bar closed, deciding to stay a little after to help Diluc clean around, which he gladly accepted.

Diluc was behind the counter and you pushed yourself up on the counter and crossed your legs, the rustling of your clothes caught his attention

What exactly were you doing sitting up on the counter?

Maybe it was because your back was facing him and he couldn’t see how red your face truly was, but you sucked in a breath and decided to rip the metaphorical band aid off.  “Diluc, can.. Can we talk?”  Now he was worried, had his bold actions upset you earlier? "Of course, what is it, Y/n?" He sat the glass he had in his hand onto the counter. "How do you feel about me?" It took Diluc a moment to process the question, was this really happening? "Well..." He swallowed thickly and leaned against the counter, pressing his back to yours. "You coming around me makes my day so much more beautiful. So much brighter.... Even if Kaeya is with you, you being around makes life so much... better?" He stared at his hands, was what he was saying make sense? "The way you hide your smile behind your hands, or when you offer to help clean up after closing hours... there are just so many things that make me want... you." "You want me?" "Of course I want you!" He was starting to get frustrated, was this just one of Kaeya's cruel set ups? Diluc was already spilling his guts to you, so he might as well continue. "Kaeya's incessant badgering has only made me realize how much I am in love with you!" Your eyes widen a fraction and you turn around. "Diluc... Diluc look at me, please." The softness of your gentle hands took Diluc by surprise. He stood between your thighs, leaning into your touch. "I thought Kaeya was just bothering me about you liking me since... well I liked you." You run a thumb over his cheek and his gloved hand cups yours. "I want to hear you say it, please." You could hear the desperation in the hushed tone he spoke to you with. After the months of yearning for one another, you leaned in and mumbled against his quivering lips, "I love you."

[aconfusedkitten]

hello there fellow idiots, my last genshin essay has been filling up my notes the last few days, so!

kaeya and diluc parallels go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

kaeya and diluc are obviously very different people, and i’d almost go as far as to call them opposites. diluc is brutally honest, kaeya blurs the lines in every word he says, diluc has a pyro vision while kaeya has a cryo one, and well, i could go on. 

kaeya and diluc aren’t lacking in ways they mirror each other, and no matter how you view them, i’d say that’s the major reason their relationship is so popular in the fandom. 

starting off, let’s talk about dawn winery! there’s no need to speculate with how they meet, not like the other essays i plan on writing, because we already know how it starts. from what i’ve seen in the fandom, a lot of people sort of swap their personalities while they were kids. diluc is usually the talkative trouble maker, while kaeya is on the quieter side, more often than not.

which is sort of interesting! not necessarily canon, but hey, who cares?

then we also have the fact that they’ve both held the title of calvary captain. however, they held the title during very different times of their lives. diluc was the youngest to be appointed it, and it was a source of pride. kaeya on the other hand, got became calvary captain at the lowest moment of his life, right after receiving his vision and losing what little family he had left. 

moving on to the present, its obvious from their first scene together that their personalities are opposite of each other. even just talking about how they interact with the abyss mage, there’s a clear difference between the way they handle things. kaeya immediately realizes that something is wrong, as starts talking to it, while diluc is introduced by taking down the mage, no questions asked.

their personalities are so contrary that it’s honestly hard to list similarities between them. kaeya is scheming, diluc is straightforward. kaeya teases the traveller, diluc is respectful to them. kaeya is secretive and keeps to himself, diluc is brutally honest, and while i won’t say he’s up front about his past, more likely to say something instead of go around it. kaeya and diluc don’t have much common, and yet, they have one of the most interesting dynamics in the game.

interestingly enough, their fighting styles work well together, even if they’re entirely different! diluc is slower, though, he often tends to hit a lot harder than kaeya does, and uses a claymore. kaeya is quick on his feet and his fighting style tends to be? sharper i guess? very sophisticated where diluc’s is mostly brute force. 

and well, there’s no need to go much into their visions. diluc gets his younger than most, and, if i remember correctly, pyro visions tend to go to those who are passionate about something in their lives. kaeya, on the other hand, gets his when he’s eighteen, and on the night diluc almost kills him, and for the most part, cryo visions seem to go to those who are lonely in some way.

honestly, i don't care if people read this as a shipping thing, or if people read this as them being brothers, because drama aside, kaeya and diluc are well written characters who mirror each other in so many ways and give us such an interesting dynamic, and i can't wait to see more of them.

[falconcoast]

reputation | diluc x reader | one.

one. under a mondstadt moon

a canon, fake dating au, diluc x k.o.f.!reader

(for the love of god, please let me know if this is showing up on the main tag. reposted for a third time. first because formatting was weird and now because it didn’t show in the main tags. please work T-T.) 

masterlist!

he’s getting marriage proposals left and right, and you’re getting marriage proposals left and right. you’re a high-standing knight of favonius, he’s the king of mondstadt. the solution? go back to what you did when you were seven; play pretend, and marry one another for all of mondstadt to see. 

a/n: some things to note! kaeya and diluc aren’t estranged brothers! the reader is a gunnhildr knight (aka related to jean and barbara!) and the reader, kaeya, and diluc were all childhood best friends. the taglist is open. 

once upon a time, under a mondstadt moon, you evaded jean’s distant calls of “it’s time to come home!” in favor of chasing after a redheaded boy. he wore one of his fancy suits that only ever matched with his father and brother when they went to social events. his bowtie was a little lopsided but he shyly stood under one of the grand willow trees, rolling on his feet. diluc ragnvindr was no older than seven, and he was going to marry you. 

childishly, you peeked from one of the vineyards’ vines. “is it time yet?” you called, nervously brushing at your hair. 

“not yet!” screamed his younger brother, kaeya. “i have to rip out your flowers!”  

“hurry up! these rings are really wriggly!” the older of the two responded back, staring at what you assumed to be a worm. on any other day, you would’ve been disgusted. but it was diluc, and you were playing pretend, so you paid no mind. 

“here you go!” kaeya said, presenting you a bouquet of cecilia flowers and shoving it in your hands before running to diluc. “it’s time! you’re, like, supposed to go to diluc now.” 

bashfully, you walked out slowly. the willow tree swayed, tickling at your cheek. “am i doing it right?” you asked as you finally reached him, tucking your hands behind your back.

diluc did not respond, instead staring at your glittery eyes that shone under the moon. “i-i…yes, and you look pretty. like, really pretty.”

“o-oh,” you replied, hiding your face behind your bundle of flowers. kaeya cleared his throat, standing proudly in between you.

“dear beloved, we have gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of diluc ragnvindr and y/n gunnhildr. they have decided to come into a...what’s the word again?”

“a union.”

“a union! they have decided to come into a union for the rest of their lives. and so now they say things that they like about the other.”

“i’ll go first!” you said, smiling at diluc. you giggled when his face went a bright red. “i like diluc because he’s so pretty, he’s so smart, and he’s so nice to me! i want him to be with me forever! i love him so much.”

grinning, diluc leaned in close, taking your hand and placing the makeshift worm ring on your tiny finger. though his cheeks were bright red, his voice was soft, like a gust of barbatos’ breeze. “i like y/n because they’re kind to me, they’re so good at sparring, and because they’re beautiful inside and out. i would like them to be my spouse for forever.” 

“those are really big words, diluc,” kaeya whispered before bouncing up and down. “okay, okay! i think that it’s time! you’re supposed to kiss now!”

“kiss?!” diluc and you said in sync, pulling back in disgust. shaking off the worm ring, you squealed, hiding your face behind your hands. “do we have to?!” “don’t look at me! that’s what the book said! and besides, you two were the ones who wanted to get married in the first place.”

“well,” diluc said, tucking back his hair timidly. he leaned in close, taking your hands in his. “we don’t have if you don’t want to, but if it’s okay with you…” 

“well...” you whispered back, trying to ignore your flaring cheeks. shyly, your gaze strayed from his, looking instead to the overarching moon. “i--”

“y/n gunnhildr, there you are! i thought i had lost you!” jean suddenly called, face furrowed into a frown. you and your (almost) pretend husband broke apart, covering your faces in embarrassment. she was only a year older than you, and a year younger than diluc, but she was already pulling at your ear like your mother would. 

“i...i was playing pretend with diluc and kaeya,” you said. 

“playing with diluc and kaeya? i thought that--” she said with a raise of her brow before looking at the scene around her. the silk of diluc and kaeya’s suit, your bouquet of cecilias, the worms on the ground. “you and diluc were trying to get married?! it really must be time to go home. who knows what mother will say!” 

“at least let me say goodbye!” you wailed, slipping out of jean’s grasp. softly, you reached for diluc, who pulled you into a tight hug. “bye, diluc. i hope one day we can really be together!” 

“we will,” diluc replied distantly as you let jean drag you off, talking about how worried she was and what you could have done if you had only complied to go home earlier. “we most certainly will, y/n.” 

under a mondstadt moon, a seven year old diluc ragnvindr sighed next to kaeya who was pouting over not finishing the ceremony. one day, he really would get married to you, for real. 

or, so he thought.

under a mondstadt moon, the old ragnvindr mansion was alight. the windows were wide open as the summer breeze carried itself through the sprawling halls. wine was freely poured, with bottles with the ragnvindr label. truly, it seemed that the anemo archon had favored the dawn winery.

nobles and heirs and business people from everywhere were on the grand ballroom’s floor. they talked eagerly among themselves, and they would do the same for the rest of the summer. the social season was upon the richest of mondstadt. 

diluc, as the city of freedom’s uncrowned king, was at the center of it all. he was dressed up more formally than usual, donned in a red tie and sharp black suit. as the networking began, he floated between groups, sipping on the wine he hated so much. 

“master diluc, brilliant party as ever,” said a noble that he did not care for. “an excellent opportunity to celebrate the beginning of summer.”

“agreed. barbatos has blessed us once more with a bountiful harvest,” he hummed absentmindedly. 

“speaking of the summer season, it’s also wedding season, isn’t it?” barbatos, help me, diluc bit his cheek. “i do suppose.”

“so, do you have a lover? you’re a fine, young man, master.”

“i wouldn’t say it’s anything of the sort.”

“if that’s the case, why don’t you meet my daughter? she--”

“oh dear, is that master freya i see? i must go greet her. please, enjoy the party,” diluc abruptly cut off, walking away with a perfect smile. when he turned away, he rolled his eyes. 

“master diluc! are you available to dance?” a heiress that the winery owner recognized. her father was one of his exporters to liyue. 

“i suppose, but--”

“great!” she said, eagerly sweeping him into her arms. the music was calming amongst the chatter. he danced, just as his etiquette classes from years ago taught him to. “you know, i have never met a finer man than you, master diluc.”

“you flatter me so,” he warily smiled. “you are quite pleasant to me as well.” “really now? would you care for a dinner with--”

snapping his head around and letting go of her hand with a start, he said, “that must be the new shipments of wine. i must oversee it.”

with a sigh, he headed to a more secluded part of the ballroom, but not without fragments of conversation from other nobles. “master diluc, would you be interested in--”

“i really must see to those bottles of wine.”

“diluc, will you mar--” 

“there’s something i need to do.” 

“are you interested in--”

“please let go of my arm.” 

“barbatos, bless you, diluc,” kaeya laughed as he spotted his brother brush off his suit in a panicked state. he sipped on a glass of death after noon, leaning against the wall and blue eyes shiny with amusement. he donned a white suit and blue silk tie. “these people really just love you, huh, diluc? they all want a piece of the wine king.”

“what are you even doing here, brother?” he huffed, crossing his arms. 

“elzer asked that we have backup for security reason. the other adventurers were too busy with their commissions, so katheryne sent for us. y/n and their sister, jean, and a few members of their squadron are here as well.” 

“insufferable. i should pay more attention to the winery’s affairs when it comes to these grand balls.”

“hey, it’s not half bad to the start of the summer,” kaeya said as he drank the rest of his alcohol. “pretty people, lots and lots of wine.”

“it’s exhausting is what it is. you see it as a personal vacation since you don’t do this all season long anymore.” 

“maybe so,” the knight shrugged. “anyways, when are you ever going to accept one of those marriage proposals?”

“what?” diluc seethed as he looked at the rest of the guests. “what do you mean marriage proposals?”

“you’ve gotten three so far today. hillie and moco were gossiping about it on my way in here, when are you ever going to accept one?”

“i’m not ready for--”

“you’re in your prime! before you know it, you’re going to be old and gray and you’ll be single! imagine if dad were here, he would be saying the same thing!” “that doesn’t mean i have to get married right now!” 

“but you really should! wouldn’t it be easy? then nobody’s clinging to your arm, asking you if you’re available for a dinner date.”

“what are you boys arguing about?” you suddenly said, striding up to the two of them. “i can hear you all the way from across the ballroom.” 

“hey, y/n. diluc here is refusing to get married, which i think is stupid,” kaeya grunted to which diluc whacked him on the head. 

“i never said i wasn’t going to get married! i just said now is not a good time when everyone else is throwing themselves on me!”

“ah, you’re in the same predicament i am in, huh?” you huffed, crossing your arms. “everyone wants a piece of the grand officer so they can rise in status. it’d be so much better if i could just find someone to settle down and marry already. but love doesn’t work that way, does it? it doesn’t start with a marriage proposal, it starts with a date or two. i’ve gotten four marriage proposals from just being here. the last two summers have been the same way.”

“you know what? it’d be so much better if you two just, i don’t know, do what you did when you were kids.” said kaeya, passing off his champagne glasse to one of the passing butlers. 

“what’d we do when we were kids?” diluc asked with a raise of his eyebrow. “you two got married with a worm ring in the garden of the mansion,” kaeya sighed wistfully. “it was in august, and we were, like, seven. you made me be the flower boy and officiator and it was real funny. dad got so mad when he saw your shirt got mud on it.” 

“hah! that would make everything so much easier, wouldn’t it?” you laughed. “then, nobody would come knocking at my door to see if i’m free for tonight. that’d be great, wouldn’t it, diluc?” 

diluc only stared back at your glimmering eyes, contemplating on the old memory.  

“i w-want,” kaeya began before hiccupping once, then twice. “i wanna another glass of death after noon, diluc!” 

“you are far too drunk to be saying such things,” diluc huffed out as he wiped down the shiny, mahogany counters of angel’s share. it was the middle of the week, and also the middle of the night. kaeya’s blue hair was splayed across the glossy oak, hand lazily on his glass. 

“oh, dear. so this is where our cavalry captain went,” you said, opening up the door to the bar. you walked forward, leaning against the bar. “fix up my usual, would you, diluc?”

“of course, grand officer gunnhildr,” he hummed while fixing you up a glass. as he prepared your drink, you poked at kaeya’s cheek. 

“kaeya. kaeeeeya. kaeya alberich, if you don’t wake up right now, i’m calling albedo and telling him to make those gross green shakes that sober you up.”

“noooooo,” he cried. “i hate them. he makes them taste like rotten eggs!” “that’s the point, kae.” 

“your drink,” diluc said while sliding the glass over. he glanced over at his brother with a grimace, and began preparing a glass of water. “he’s been drunk out of his mind for the last two hours.”

“not true,” kaeya slurred, pointing a finger. “i’m perfectly fineeee.” 

“so, what’d you two talk about?” you said, taking a seat at the bar before your began drinking your wine. 

“marriages, the social season, the state of mondstadt as a whole,” he hummed as he gave kaeya a glass of water, who did not touch it. “the usual shenanigans.”

“oh, marriage again, huh, diluc? it seems like you can never truly catch a break during the social season. i mean, who would blame anyone for at least trying? you’re mysterious, handsome, and absolutely loaded.” his face flushed at your comment, face going bright red in embarrassment. he turned away from the two of you, suddenly interested in the deep red bottles behind him. 

“care-careful, y/n. your crush on diluc is showing,” the cavalry captain mumbled, pointing at you with his face still flat against the oak counter.

“a crush? you’re preposterous. what are we, 10?” 

“you seemed to say otherwise at the cat’s tail on sunday.”

“shut up.”

“marriage would be an easy way out, like you both said the other day,” diluc stated bluntly while staring out the window. he watched as a few cats passed by, white fur shining in the moonlight. “so, i’ve been thinking about having a fake relationship to quell these proposals and invitations.”

“really? you’ve never been one to be so serious about these things, but i guess you have been dealing with this stuff for the last two years,” you said in response. “but everyone in mondstadt talks. is it really possible to have a fake relationship?”

“i can use the fact that everyone in town gossips to my advantage. if i’m with someone, then everyone knows. we’ll be untouchable.”

“huh, never thought about it. i should do that myself, actually. i’m tired of people leaving bouquets at my office door.” 

“i have a solution!” kaeya suddenly announced, sitting straight on his stool. “kill two birds with one stone!” 

diluc paused to soak in his words, and then his eyes widened. placing a hand under his chin, he stared at him. “i hate that you can be actually smart sometimes. it could be a genius plan, for once.”

“i’m smart all the time, thank you very much!” 

“what is it? you two seem like you’re communicating without me,” you said before staring at the canary yellow color of your alcohol. diluc took a breath in, laid his palms flat on the counter, and then looked you dead in the eyes.

“y/n, be my partner.”

you blinked once, then twice. “sorry, you want me to what?”

“it makes sense to me,” kaeya piped up. “he’s getting thrown proposals left and right, you’re getting proposals left and right. plus, you don’t even have to worry about whether or not you can trust one another. you’ve known each other for years. what’s a little fake dating gonna do, huh?” 

“when you put it like that…” you thought carefully, before the cavalry captain hiccuped. 

“i’ll give you a few minutes to think about it. i’ve gotta close up the tavern. mind helping kaeya to the door?” 

as you lugged kaeya up from his seat, you thought about it carefully. what could go wrong, really? at the door, as diluc extinguished all the candles, you looked at him carefully. diluc was a handsome, handsome young man. and certainly, you knew you could trust him with everything. you had since you were children. 

when diluc finished cleaning and met you at the door, he looked at you expectantly. “you know what? screw it. let’s fake date,” you said, nearly dropping a sputtering kaeya.

“what?! already?!” said the cavalry captain. “sheesh. you must really be whipped for diluc, y/n.” 

“you’re that quick to take up my offer?” diluc said, raising an eyebrow. his cheeks were on fire, but he wasn’t quite sure why; it was just you. 

“we’ve known each other for years.  we’re having the same problem. there’s only one solution. it makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“i see. logical as ever,” diluc nodded. he took your hand, coarse leather of his glove thumbing over your own hands. slowly, he lifted your hand to place his lips on the back of it. “my beloved. yes, that sounds very nice to call to you.  we’ll talk more in the morning. get kaeya home safe, would you?” 

your cheeks lit aflame as he let go of your hand gently. “i will. good night, my darling. is it alright if i call you that?” 

his own cheeks turned as red as his hair under the soft, golden light of the tavern’s lanterns. “yes. it’s more than alright, y/n.”  

under a mondstadt moon, you took diluc’s hand in a relationship. 

like kaeya had said, what would a little fake dating do to your relationship? 

taglist (open); @rxsalinee​

[hematomes]

I saw your post about ppl losing their shiz about Kaeya fanart being “whitewashed” when it’s literally darker than he is in canon. I agree btw I love like basically all Kaeya art out there I love one eyepatch man.

anyhoo, I have a story. I once saw a tiktok about a kaeya art. it was specifically labeled “IN PROGRESS” or whatever so you knew the artist wasn’t done. it was a gorgeous piece of art btw. So far, the only thing that had been colored was his hair and some of his clothes.

pretty much everyone in the comments started harrasing her about how he was whitewashed and the artist had to be a white supremacist and i think someone said “see I knew everyone who played genshin was racist just delete the game at this point.”

i was just like 😳 wow jeez it’s literally IN PROGRESS the artist legit said so.

the artist eventually posted the final version (after having to delete the first video and deal with several threats) it did turn out beautiful, but on the comments there and on every post of theirs after people are lurkign in the comments bad-mouthing them.

as much as I definitely am for characters not being whitewashed (especially Kaeya bc I love him your honor) I think some people take it way too far when the person they’re yelling at literally just wanted to get people excited about their WIP.

hi! sorry im so late this issue became quite sensitive lol i had to work up the courage to come back to it. it's gonna be a bit long, but i really need to say all this

if there's one thing i noticed about the genshin community on tiktok and twitter, it's that there is a whole, whole lot of social justice warriors and overall it's extremely toxic. it's something that surprised me because the people i interact with on tumblr are all super sweet and not one bit toxic so? idk, tumblr is just a different breed i guess

your story is extremely saddening. everytime there's a kaeya fanart, people forget about the color theory and the artists' style and claim it's whitewashed and i genuinely don't understand why. if someone could explain it to me, am i missing something? im not an artist so perhaps im mistaken, idk, but i've never seen a fanart where kaeya was whitewashed.

the thing that pisses me off the most is that most of the time it's white ppl calling something whitewashed. i'm not saying you shouldn't call out racism if you see it just bc you're white, just that these people aren't even right - and often you see poc coming into the debate and explaining it's not whitewashed/saying it doesn't bother them. moreover, i've literally seen fanart of beidou as a black girl, which isn't representation in my opinion - beidou is already a poc, and asian people need at least as much representation as black people, so it's plain racism. same thing with kaeya, i've seen edits of him with stereotypical african features, and it's really sad that no one is calling this out but yelling about whitewashing as soon as he isn't the exact same color as the official arts. hell, someone even said "so what if it's darker? it's still whitewashing" and i??? am flabbergasted. whitewashing is absolutely disgusting, but ppl keep misunderstanding what it means and just using it to gratuitously harass artists.

now, don't get me wrong. i believe that you can draw whatever you want. but the thing is - if you get mad when someone draws kaeya white (if they really do, i mean), you can't just applaud someone else's that draws another character black. racism goes both ways, and it's bordering on fetishism. i, as a poc (mixed-race, caucasian + african), am extremely uncomfortable everytime i see this double-standard.

but anyway, the fact remains that sjw have plagued the genshin fandom. and it's not just about kaeya's skin color (we don't even know if he's really a poc - we know he's tan according to paimon, and i believe she called him "exotic"? so idk) but also about the ships. everytime i see a shippy tiktok, there's plenty of ppl out here saying it's wrong, claiming their own ship is the most canon. if i'm not mistaken, kaeluc is the one that gets the most hate, and i genuinely, once again, don't understand why.

i talked about them before and explained how it's not incest bc they really aren't brothers, but i swear every now and then i see people throwing death threats and slurs anytime someone hints at them. idk if you are familiar with the eng va's fandom, but sometimes they play among us together, aether's va does some livestreams where he invites different voice actors. but diluc's va is never there, and i was wondering why - recently i learned that it's because he retweet a fanart of kaeya and diluc fighting alongside each other (not even a shippy fanart, apparently) and people harassed him and excluded him from the fandom. and now the same thing is happening to griffin burns, childe's va, bc he retweeted (or liked, idk) a fanart of lumine and childe fighting or something and people called it pedophilia bc lumine would be a minor. i'm not even gonna dive into this bc the travelers are canonically like 30 times childe's age, but what i mean is - people are so full of hate and i can't fathom living like this?

the point is, i totally respect anyone who doesn't ship something i ship. i myself don't like certain ships - like zhongli/xiao, jean/diluc - but im not gonna harass ppl who do just because i can? that's messed up, i just don't get it. i wish the fandom wasn't that bad bc i really enjoy this game

anyway, im really disappointed but still grateful, bc my followers & people i've interacted with here have been nothing but sweet and respectful. i hope none of y'all come across the toxic side of the genshin fandom. stay safe y'all!

[prettyistic]

i may have deleted the game but i still love all my children 😿 here are some headcanons! (going of this for heights and ages except i changed some things) https://www.esportstales.com/genshin-impact/characters-ages-and-heights (also ik aether is the canon protag but LUNIME IS FOR ME.)

༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

-everyone thinks lisa’s in her 20’s and she doesn’t bother correcting them

-bennett’s the only person to know of fischl’s history and her real name and calls her it in private

-razor can smell out archons , he says venti smells weird and not sweaty like a human

-kaeya wants a tattoo on his chest

-when fischl and bennett first met, bennett thought she was a dark princess and instantly liked her (and told her too) she said she would take him seriously when he grew taller than her and he did fischl won’t admit this though

-albedo truly considers sucrose paimon and lumime his friends

-barbara and xinyan are idol gf’s AND ILL DIE ON THIS HILL!!

-lumime hates whales.

-fischl razor and bennett read fairy tales together and benny considers them his adventure team (crying so hard rn) and razor wants to act out fairy tales with lumine wink wink

-chongyun has a crush on his bestie, xingqiu, and is determined to become taller than him and hates the fact he’s taller despite being younger only by a month anyway

-sucrose is a blushy freckled mess and pretty slender and is insecure about it

-as guizhong’s reincarnation, ningguang often sees a ‘familar face’ 6 ft babe zhongli in her dreams

-xiangling had a crush on chongyun when she first saw him but when she saw how he acts around xingqiu and because shes 14, she decided to cheer icy boi on

-albedo teases sucrose a lot specifically by touching her ears and complimenting them she doesn’t mind

-xingqiu cannot tell if he likes icy boi more than a friend or not but doesn’t care much bc he likes him around either way

-mona believes virgos are the best sign bc she is one

-jean and diluc aren’t exactly ex’s but he stopped talking to her after he quit the knights bc he feels that he’s not good enough for her

-lumine and amber r besties 👯‍♀️

-klee thinks of razor as her big brother n everyone in mondstat loves him lol

-venti likes to braid everyones hair

[kukuandkookie]

Sometimes I forget people aren’t used to consuming Chinese media like I am so they expect any bl to be explicit.

Like today someone referred to Childe and Zhongli as potential “queerbaiting” to me and I had to pause for a moment and consider this. I always take things in stride when it comes to what is called “queerbaiting” in Chinese media because we don’t know how strict censors are (sometimes bl seems mostly okay, sometimes it seems a little less okay, sometimes it seems okay as long as it’s not “anti-gov”... Oh, and the topic of censorship is a whole ‘nother complex discussion due to it happening because China rebuilt itself with all-new policies and was also westernized after suffering under colonization...).

Like I can’t objectively tell you if some of these series with bl are queerbaiting because it arguably challenges censors and in many ways, is entirely meant to be taken as canon—so is it really queerbaiting then?

Take Childe and Zhongli and their fenghuang chopsticks. That seems entirely intentional. A Chinese game using a traditional Chinese theme for an object exchanged between two men that represents unity, harmony, and marriage? That’s pretty much intentionally gay if you ask me, but maybe that is just me. 😆

But we all remember The Untamed and how Wangxian exchanged loving glances, touched each other constantly, basically got married (through symbolism of the forehead ribbon and the exchanging of chickens), calling each other a term that could mean either “life-long confidant” or “soulmate” and so on.

We never got a canonical scene where they kissed or said “I love you,” but we can see the intent there. We know what they’re saying. The same applies for the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua. The manhua is more obvious about it, but they still cut a kiss scene... But since it appears it was still drawn, we can take that as it having still happened. And Mo Dao Zu Shi Q takes this further than the regular donghua too because the censors are more lax on them.

And yes. They are based on a bl novel, so it’s a little different from Genshin Impact, but if you consume as much Chinese media as me, you can usually tell when a team/author is intentionally using symbolism to suggest a canon couple, often with a traditional Chinese theme. Like why use the fenghuang theme? They really didn’t have to do that, but they did it. 👀

The animated movie Jiang Ziya used language that suggested Shen Gongbao and Jiang Ziya could be a couple, but it was never explicit. But hell, they basically adopt a daughter! I interpreted them as a couple but didn’t see it as fully intentional or canon until talking to a good friend of mine whose Chinese is better than mine. There were more hints and reasons to believe they cared about each other in that way, so we concluded it was way more obvious than we would’ve thought at first glance. And that’s kind of how China does it when the main focus of a story isn’t bl but there’s a potentially bl couple.

And even when there are censors, there have been a variety of ways Chinese media has skirted censors in the past. Like in Beryl and Sapphire, we get the “survivor’s cut” where things are censored and the “director’s cut” where things aren’t censored (so characters can hug, kiss, confess, cuddle, and so on). And Beryl and Sapphire, while originally designed by the author as two males, are designed so they can be in any story (bl or not) and were originally drawn in the comic as stick figures so you could imagine their gender as whatever you want (so they could even be girls’ love if you so desire!).

Or how in Spirit Pact the male leads kiss to give each other power or exchange vows but the manhua’s creator said it’s “not necessarily because they’re in love.” There was debate this is queerbaiting, but could the creator just be avoiding trouble with censors? The very fact the male leads kiss so much and care so much about one another suggests intent.

Now contrast that to Hualian from the Tian Guan Ci Fu donghua, where things are so obvious and it’s even gayer than the novel in some areas. People keep questioning how they got it past censors, and that makes me rethink how I view Chinese censors. However strict they truly are, Chinese media is very purposeful in how they depict bl couples.

So I don’t really think about whether something is queerbaiting or explicitly canon in Chinese media. I basically see something that can be read as bl through symbolism/language/metaphor and I see that as intentional. The creators are letting you choose how you want to read it, and you may never get the kiss you want, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t “canon.” There’s often intent behind it, and because of varying levels of censorship, I take the idea of “queerbaiting” in Chinese media with a grain of salt.

For example, Kaeya and Diluc use a term in Chinese very similar to sworn brothers, which can be romantic in Chinese. With modern day China, creators often use “sworn brotherhood” as a way to depict romance and skirt censors. And yes, I know the English translation labels them as two adopted brothers, which is also okay! But as I’ve confirmed with multiple native Chinese speakers, the original Chinese language used is not exactly family-oriented, and that can be viewed as intentional (that’s why you see some Chinese fans ship Diluc and Kaeya while the western fandom views it as incest). Language is complex! There’s no clean, clear-cut answer.

Bl is popular in China, but it’s not always the main focus of every series (you know, sometimes bl is the side couple). We could say You Shou Yan features an intentional bl couple with Sibuxiang x Tony/Tuye or Fei Ren Zai and All Saints Street feature the intent of potential bl with Yangjian x Guanyin and Nick x Lynn respectively; or Are You OK is bl even if the story doesn’t focus entirely on that but it does feature more than one bl couple; or Wo Jia Dashixiong Naozi You Keng is bl because it features guys crushing on other guys and sharing moments, even though the manhua isn’t about that bl romance explicitly; or see Nezha as having bl potential because of how it interprets the Nezha and Ao Bing relationship (to the point of even changing the depiction of the relationship between Ao Bing and Nezha from the 1979 animated movie to be more domestic rather than as enemies); or even say mihoyo’s other game, Honkai Impact, arguably intentionally features some girls’ love too.

https://youtu.be/vw-nx26xUQI

Maybe it’s just because I identify as ace and I don’t mind if there’s no signs of sex scenes and I’ve even grown accustomed to not seeing kisses. I love seeing other signs of love—like protecting your partner, being their sugar daddy, hanging out with them a lot, and all that jazz. If there’s a kiss, great! If not, that’s fine too because there are other things to suggest they’re canon.

So is Zhongli and Childe queerbaiting? I don’t personally think so. Those fenghuang chopsticks suggest marriage or at least harmony in unity, and marriage or “being together” can be seen as quite canon. Will they say it out loud? I guess not, but we have to acknowledge the context that it’s still from China and there are censors for them to deal with.

But if you don’t want Childe and Zhongli to be canon, that’s totally okay too! I mean...it is also a game, and games even more than media can be interpreted differently since every user’s experience differs.

Love is love—and that includes whether there’s a kiss or not, when the author/team intends it and lets you interpret it any which way, you can interpret their symbols as signs of how canon your two favourite characters are!

Oh, and as a finishing thought, here’s a list of donghua recommendations for anyone who wants to check some of these out! I include a lot of good donghua with pictures, descriptions, and links to where to watch. 🥰

[aminiatureworld]

HI! Quick note: write this whenever you want and be sure to take care of your health first! Your works are amazing and masterpieces take time, I can be patient <3 Hope you have a lovely day! (also, 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: trigger themes like attempts of suicide, probable hints to dissociative amnesia? I was inspired by it at least and some... Limb being bitten off as well as latest archon quest spoilers so readers be cautious!)

Anyway, I'd like to request for Xiao, Albedo, Zhongli, Kaeya and Diluc (if the number is too much you can cut off whoever from the list) with Traveller! s/o that like has no memory of their past but have clues through these... "Visions/Dreams".

It started out a little simple; every once in a while, Y/N would see these little figures floating around their environment. Shadowy wisps, sometimes ghosts talking to them. But in real life, people can't see them and only sees them talking by themselves (and some are a little weirded out). But then one day, while they were out adventuring in the ruins slimes or seelies... Whatever small cute creatures can exist in Teyvat suddenly gathered in Stormterror's lair and they grew curious cuz they heard... Music? Playing? It was echo-y and creepy but then they heard a very familiar tune that they KNOW is linked to their past so they followed and went into the vicinity

(As reference, or for some idea: https://youtu.be/JZ6buLNIgs8)

The moment they stepped inside and pinpointed where the music is coming from they bolted up the stairs (if there are any, which probs not but in reader's case there is) and suddenly the stairs lead them to a hallway from a tower/palace, and walking further, there were two huge doors that lead to a ballroom with more than dozens of ghosts waltzing and singing with the music

(No they did not question why would stormterror's lair have a hallway or how it even has a ballroom inside, nor why creatures would gather in said lair. Questions that break away from dreams are nonexistent)

So obviously they were happy at the wondrous sight and began waltzing along with everyone from strangers to... Unrecognizable but familiar faces? Until They danced with this boy their age. The more they looked the more they were enamored and the world around them was but a hazy dream (as vague and hazy the environment in their head can get) but the boy became more and more vivid and so did the music until they practically sang together. But then as the music stopped and s/o turned their back for a second; the boy sang: "And a song someone sings..." And wisps suddenly flew out of him and towards Reader, making them fall unconscious into their arms as the Prince of the Abyss sang in their ear. "Once upon a december..." Before Aether disappeared and he was but a dream.

And then all of a sudden Reader was yanked away from their dream; almost literally. They turned to see their lover holding onto their arm with concern all over their face and explained to them they were so close to the edge dancing away they could've fallen off of the third floor (which was already high!).

And that's when things get a turn to the worse.

Every dream gets worse than the last; anything that involved the abyss, or seeing these star pendants like what Paimon has on her hair or Kaeya's little decor on his clothes or involving Khaenriah or whatever Albedo's research is rn lure them into a dream vivid than the last and it gets even harder and harder to break them off their dreams. One night of going to bed they suddenly had a dream of their old family/friends swimming in the ocean and telling them to join them, and they wouldve if their lover didnt sweep them off their feet and broke away from another dream they didnt realize was 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 a dream. And the realization that if they jumped off, their bones wouldve broken cuz a bunch of boulders and rocks on a steep cliff would make a nice floor for landing right?

But still, Aether and the abyss (which in their dreams were ghosts and just... this blond guy you knew but never realized it was your brother and the abyss) are recurring themes. Coming across any of the factors instantly puts them in a dream and reader cant tell whats reality and what isnt. Everything is too vivid they didnt see a bubble coming their way or an attack coming towards them and they were about to be thrown off. It got to the point Reader was getting claustrophic from the rooms suddenly shrinking as they were cornered by these ghosts that turned frightening and whenever they fight back they end up nearly murdering someone of mindlessly attempting to destroy one of The Seven statues.

It lead Reader to be.. Kinda suicidal. Not just because they hate themselves and their situation its cuz its the 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑦 they knew how to escape the dream and wake up in a bed in their lovers arms. And because reader cant distinguish reality from dreams sometimes even if their lover is present they see these ghosts and think 'this must be a dream I have to wake up from!' cuz in the long run theyve learned fighting back meant hurting someone so they.. Redirected the pain to themselves so theyre very confused to see their lover throw their dagger across the room and they end up breaking down no matter where they are (or in worse cases in the middle of battle). Reader grew dependant on them and panic attacks after these dreams became more frequent until they cant even trust their surroundings whether its a dream or not.

(I'm very sorry with how long this is and I rambled in grotesque detail you may polish it however you want :"DD)

This can be in any format you'd like! But I mostly prefer headcanons + scenarios? like the bullets then comes scenario etc. But ye write however you want sorry for rambling hope you have a nice day thank you

As a Romanov history enthusiast this request was both very interesting and very difficult. Mostly because I found myself veering off into “lore dumping” for lack of a better term. Still I hope the general feeling of your request was captured well.

I spread various aspects of your request around as best I could, depending on character, outline, fic structure, etc. The only thing I didn’t keep in was the suicidal ideation. This is for various reasons, some personal, but in a more general term I think that it can be very difficult to portray something like that in a way that isn’t excessively triggering and is worthwhile to read for a variety of people. The way one person would process through such emotions and put them to paper could be harmful to another. Overall I thought it best to steer clear from such a topic, with the knowledge that I didn’t find it necessary to the story and thought it would be an imperfect addition on my part. Not that I find never addressing such topics necessarily the right path either, only I think that in this case better not to. I hope I explained why adequately. 

I know that wanting to read and write about such topics does not directly correlate to being in such a mental state but I do hope you also take care of your own mental health. Though getting out of such crises can be difficult I want to tell you this at least. You aren’t alone in feeling this way, even if others in your direct vicinity cannot understand. And also sometimes finding a direct reason for continuing on comes later. Sometimes surviving is enough. And even if you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, that doesn’t mean you should take a step which you will never be able to reverse, the only step you will never be able to reverse in your existence.

I also leaned into the Romanov family dynamic, rather into that of the traveler siblings. Whether the reader is the traveler is kept vague on purpose, as I generally as a rule don’t write the siblings. I also found that in keeping them specifically canon compliant to the traveler siblings I’d have to cut back on the more historical illusions. Being a total history nerd I chose the latter option. 

Otherwise my fics varied in complete accuracy to the prompt, though I hope you find it enjoyable to read nonetheless.

Here they are in order of Albedo, Diluc, Kaeya, Xiao, and Zhongli. I hope you find them a worthwhile read and thank you for your request. I hope you have a lovely week.

[abysslarchiving]

a random mix of meta and headcanons that are left behind from when i was finishing kaeya’s dossier.

i tend to be a very? instinctive roleplayer? i don’t know to explain it, but when it comes to aspects of canon that are up in the air, i don’t really hesitate to stray away from it if it suits my vision. i’ve been known to stray from hard facts as well as if i don’t like them. anyway, kaeya’s going to be no different apparently.

it’s of my belief that the only reason kaeya is a knight is because of diluc. i cannot express how important diluc still is to kaeya despite the fact that they’re estranged. immediately after being abandoned by his father, of course he’s going to latch onto the first two people to take care of him.

everything that i’ve learned about kaeya leads me to believe that he didn’t go into the knights because he shows a lot of knightly virtues, but because he wanted to remain close to dliuc. kaeya very much idolised him, and saw him as an older brother of sorts, someone with the actual protectiveness and virtues of a knight, while kaeya was just playing pretend.

so when diluc left the knights, kaeya might have stayed behind but it was never the same after that. kaeya’s idolisation of diluc, as well as being in a household that he felt he never belonged in, not truly, left him with an inferiority complex and some level of imposter syndrome ( this might have actually worsened by ascending to the role of cavalry captain. ) i really believe that he did that out of some level of spite, where trying to grow out of his brother’s shadow just made him step back into it.

ergo, kaeya ... doesn’t really like his job. he’s incredibly good! at the tracking-down-criminals part. not so good at the rest of it. it’s revealed in the manga in a thought bubble when kaeya is meant to be escorting fussy merchants as per a knights duty. he quite literally thinks “i hate my job”, but i think there was definitely more to it than him having a rough day.

kaeya is incredibly reckless with his job. he’s a thrill seeker, he likes puzzles, he only likes his job when it’s interesting. i think one of the reasons that he doesn’t always tell jean and amber what exactly he’s doing is because he has questionable methods of gathering his intel. he’s been known for fraternise with the enemy constantly, which i think is an integral part of his character considering that he is a khaenri’ahn spy. but besides that, whether out of boredom or what ? sometimes he intentionally puts his men in danger, sometimes he lets criminals go if they’re interesting enough.

it amazes me sometimes that kaeya still has a job because of these traits. they’re not knightly at all. by letting criminals go he’s endangering more people and i find it hard to believe that knights haven’t quit because of the leadership he puts them under. now, situations like activating ruined guards are probably a rarity, but they’re frequent enough. and kaeya’s methods of leadership aren’t uncontroversial. but he’s still captain, many people have questioned this: amber, paimon - and many other characters find kaeya suspicious.

i believe that kaeya was chosen as cavalry captain primarily because of diluc. kaeya managing to stay cavalry captain despite the questionable way he works is a mix of nepotism, his charismatic / charming / manipulative personality, wealth, and power. were it not for those things, i think that someone would have removed him from the position a while ago. more than that though, i don’t think kaeya would mind losing his job ? i really don’t.

he regarded a young knight with a mocking smile when pointing out that there’s a correlation between kaeya’s favourite drink and a high crime rate. when kaeya said he was going to look into it, i surmise that he absolutely didn’t. kaeya strikes me as very selfish, seeing people as game pieces, wanting to win at all costs, kind of guy. while kaeya is excellent at his job, he’s a very “ the ends justify the means ” kind of person, which has included deceiving allies, putting his own men in danger, using people as pawns, spreading propaganda, etc. those that do follow him are put through a kind of hazing, to see if they’re willing to follow him in these reckless decisions that seem to be both impulsive and planned.

kaeya’s mask has become so integral to his character because he has come to associate the act of being honest with loss. diluc is the only person who knows the full extent of kaeya’s past, and because of the timing, because of how long kaeya kept that a secret he lost the two most important people in his life in the span of twenty four hours. it wasn’t the right lesson he learned, but the events of that night reenforced the idea that kaeya cannot be genuine to be liked. many people adore him as he is, a chronic liar.

diluc is one of the only people that have been able to see past kaeya’s charm and mask ( oh, jean too maybe, actually. ) ah but he’s definitely the only one to know that kaeya was supposed to be a khaenri’ahn spy. he sees through it easiest because he was the one who grew up with kaeya before that mask was put into place. this is probably one of the reasons that kaeya is so passive aggressive with diluc, despite how much he misses his brother, because he’s one of the ones willing to call kaeya out on his bullshit. it really hurts kaeya that diluc doesn’t want much to do with him anymore unless it involves protecting mondstadt, even going so far as calling him “sir kaeya” to further that separation between them, which is why kaeya tends to hide that behind a veil of arrogance and smugness.