#mentions of Xiaoven

[lucishell]

spent my silly little day making this about my silly little modern au i've spoken about once like a year ago

[dansconcepts]

GI Roleswap AU - Meeting Venti

"I am the last one." The yaksha- who's actually Venti, who knew?- admits. 

You seem pretty lighthearted about it was Aether’s immediate thought, but he noticed the tenseness he doesn’t often see in the bard/yaksha’s eyes, the unnatural glint of a smile that doesn’t match. His tease dies on his tongue.

However, in unsurprising Paimon fashion, she holds no such reservations as she goes, “You don’t seem the least bit upset about that!”

Venti's eyes immediately narrow, but his smile grows even wider, if that were possible. “Don’t tell me how I feel.” He hisses out, words dipped in honeyed poison.

“EEP!” Paimon screeches. The fairy’s head frantically bobs up and down. “Got it! Loud and clear!” 

Yet under her breath, she murmurs, “to think the bard can be so scary like that… what a terrifying change!” 

Venti’s eyes glare impassively at the small being, and she immediately freezes, wondering if he heard. 

The yaksha turns away. He has a more settled gaze, with an actual frown. She lets out a sigh of relief. Aether watches them, calculating. 

“If that’s all you needed, I best take my leave! Oh, to depart from you is quite the relief!"

"HEY! WHAT DO YOU MEAN RELIEF?!"

"Ehe~! Bye-bye Traveler and your little pet!" The bard waves in lieu of answering. Almost like an afterthought, he adds, "You're pretty decent for a human!"

And he disappears with a sudden breeze of the wind.

[Some angsty Venti in the form of the flute scene because Xiaoven under the cut]

Is this how he dies? 

The silence blares louder than his pained gasps of breath. Each sharp intake bleeds out of him like the gashes he's taken. His head pounds to a jarring rhythm, lyrics growled and snarled at him as they take delight in his pathetic attempts to stand up and find his lyre. 

He'd honestly cry out, if his throat was able to. Yet it feels like even that, too, is torn apart, and his tears flow more freely than he'll ever be able to feel. 

It certainly flows better than his rhymes. He snorts.

He honestly could use the rest, eternal as it’ll be. So many of his friends have done so already.  Vennessa… Dvalin… 

He wonders if there will be anyone who would tell the tale of the death of the final, and last, Yaksha. The one who sung lullabies to entrap monsters into eternal slumber. The one who used the winds to carry a voice razor sharp in both wit and piercing with wordplay. The one only seen by a few and trapped by the contract he had signed, dying on the same soil he vowed to protect. 

Voices grow louder with their resentment. Crescendos, really, until everything means nothing. All of it.

He is so tired.

This is what he deserves. He aches to close his eyes.

Yet he doesn't.

A soft melody calls to his soul. To his role. To the body that lays still, so unlike himself who never stops dancing to a phantom beat.

He is certain it belongs to a flute. 

Yet what flute's songs can drown out screams? What flute was a serenade, coaxing the burning of the wounds to soothe, the thoughts in his head to rest, letting himself focus on the forefront of his mind?

A stunning clarity did the flute bring. Even with his... talents, he cannot produce such a sound. Its playing coos at him, reaching out a metaphorical hand from its composer. 

It was unlike any song he's heard before, and he knows so many over the years from purely seeking it out. 

He wants to stand and cry and laugh and cry again.

So unlike his music.

Music acting to save, not to kill. 

He knows not of anyone, either archon, mortal, or adeptus, that plays an instrument like this flute.

However, he's presented the answer when the song reaches a bridge of calm, of promise, and of a cool caress against his cheek. Wind! 

He's taken, higher and higher, and he laughs. He laughs, even with the blood drying on his skin. He laughs, because he is weightless, and has heard the most beautiful thing in his whole lifetime. He doesn't want to let it go. 

The beauty of this world rushes through him, and suddenly he wants nothing more than to experience more of it. To remember it. The now and the then. Maybe even the potential of a future just as beautiful.

And, as if praising him, he feels the wind slowly die down around him, gently setting him back on the ground. 

It spins around him. His braids float with it. His hand trails after the winds with a giggle, before it drops something in his hand.

A Vision.

An Anemo Vision.

He recalls the name from his Lord Tartaglia, mentioned offhandedly with an indifferent shrug, slightly terse on his lips.

"Alatus." He breathes. The name of his saviour. 

And the music stops. Yet the wind- or perhaps it was himself, really- keeps the melody stuck in his head. 

It hasn't ceased. He doesn't want it to.

He doesn't ever try to replicate it. 

[purrfectlycontent]

the yell i let out when i saw venti in xiao’s trailer

[sincerelyandyourstruly]

the otp dissertation

this essay is a copy of a free-response question i submitted to some youtuber's genshin shipping survey, and is itself edited from discord dms sent to a girl i met via genshin, who asked what the appeal of xiaoven was.

-

personally, i like to use xiaoven to explore the tensions btwn duty n freedom, as well as how one's culture shapes one's character, and especially within genshin, how that interacts with the home culture of the element of a character's vision.

like for example, with liyue, their nation's ideal is technically "contracts", that's more a symbol of fairness and equal treatment, though i tend to interpret it as mostly fairness. being based very heavily upon chinese culture, there's also a very huge emphasis on duty towards one's community and caring for it; xiao definitely exemplifies these kinds of cultural traits in how devoted he is to his own duty, wherein he slays demons at the cost of his own well-being. geo is also a very grounded element, and he was raised in that kind of very grounded, down-to-earth culture. however, his vision, a representation of his greatest desire, is that of anemo, of freedom, and while xiao is a very duteous character, his vision betrays his true desires.

venti is obviously the anemo archon, the purest form of that ideal of freedom; venti also saved xiao's life in dihua marsh by playing his flute for xiao when he was dying due to the burdens of his karmic debts. that was like, a whole thing.

while at first, it might also seem that venti doesn't get anything out of the relationship aside from, like, a cute boyfriend, that's not actually the case if one explores venti's character a bit more deeply. venti is a character who hides a lot of sadness in him, as well as loneliness and fear of people leaving. as an archon, he's obviously immortal, but he also cares greatly about human beings and is, to our knowledge, the closest to them in general.

but being immortal means he outlives them by a lot, and so he can't get close to them bc he's obviously got A Lot of Feelings, and we Know that he grieves a lot for his friends bc he's still affected deeply by the loss of his other human friends in history, like the nameless bard, whose form he still takes, as well as vannessa, one of the characters in the genshin manga.

and so venti has a lot of abandonment issues, and yet he can't really bring himself to ask anyone to stay with him bc he is the god of freedom, and "what is freedom when demanded of you by a god?" he refuses to ask anything of anyone as a god, which is why he runs around pretending to be a mortal bard.

but xiao knows venti is a god, and the way xiao behaves around gods is like, the opposite of how venti would wanna be treated-- y'know, like, very devoted to the point where he'd die over it sort of thing. n so venti can't ask him to stay or anything, even if he'd like that.

ANYWAY, so, like, assuming character development happens n stuff as xiao learns to let go of his duty n stuff, i think that xiao's stability would be really good for venti, as like, something steady he could return to time and time again after his adventures, since xiao obviously can't die from old age like most mortals, and venti can also help keep him alive in general.

and like, venti's also had to have done some questionable things in the past. like he was one of the major players in the archon war, he has to have some war crimes, and he carries a heavy burden of guilt over a lot of things that have happened to mondstadt in the past, so another aspect of it is the fact that these are two deeply guilty characters who would probably see the other as a better person than themselves.

like it's pretty obvious from xiao's perspective, but in terms of venti → xiao, it might not be so clear. however, underneath xiao's "don't touch me i'm an evil tainted monster" thing, xiao is actually a very gentle character who wants so badly to be good, yet thinks he is incapable of such things bc past trauma n stuff, and i think a character like venti, who is very good at reading people, would be able to see that, and how despite his past, xiao still tries to be good.

at the end of the day, their dynamic just compels me, and tbh i actually don't really care all that much whether it's portrayed as romantic or platonic so long as they find meaning and importance in their relationship to each other. the way xiao's vision literally betrays his heart's desire and the way venti represents the purest, most ideal form of that desire makes me froth at the mouth. it's two deeply lonely, incredibly guilt-ridden people finding solace and stability in one another, who learn to love themselves bc someone else, whom they judge to be a better person than they themselves are, has shown them that it is possible for them to be loved, to be worthy of love.

simply distilled they are two people who think they are in a monster x monsterfucker relationship, and that the other person is the monsterfucker. and i am obsessed with that.

[bluemoonfantasiesiii]

For Now Just Kiss Me (KazuScara Idol AU)

Wanderer had always been an elusive figure, refusing to even tell anyone his real name. Honestly, Kazuha had been shocked to learn that there was someone in the world with more bite than Xiao. But at least Xiao had humility. Heizou’s deductive skills had yielded no results on the newest member of 5WIRL. Not even Venti, who despite his lax nature seemed to know everything, could figure out what Wanderer’s name was.

But Kazuha had always been drawn to the unknown and mysterious, for he too was a drifter. He blamed that for his continued attempts to get close to his indigo-haired bandmate, despite the other’s repeated attempts to push him away, to keep the rest of the world shut out. In his quiet observations, Kazuha had discovered that Wanderer was a bit more open immediately after a show. He was tired, leaving his defenses weakened and his walls just the slightest bit translucent. It was these moments in which Kazuha was able to pry little things out of him. He knew that Wanderer hated sweets and that he loved bitter tea and black coffee. He knew Wanderer had grown up in a foster home, but he didn’t know any details.

The most intimate details he’d gotten Wanderer to open up about was his relationship with his previous manager when he was working small gigs as a solo artist. A horrid man who’d referred to himself as Dottore picked up a young Wanderer, freshly 18 and with no place to go after aging out of the foster system, and took advantage of his naivety in more ways than one. Wanderer was absolutely exhausted that night, his voice uncharacteristically soft, and it could have been a scene out of a romance film if the words that fell from his lips didn’t have Kazuha feeling sick to his stomach.

The next morning, when Wanderer had been hit with the realization of what he’d revealed to Kazuha, he was nastier to the albino than usual for about a week, almost as if he was trying to counteract the vulnerability he’d shown in that moment.

But learning about his previous manager told Kazuha everything he needed to know about how to approach him. He exercised more patience, something he thankfully already had in abundance. He backed off when Wanderer told him to. He listened.

And although he could tell Wanderer was infuriated by it, Kazuha could tell it was working. Wanderer would slip up and say too much with more regularity, blushing and stumbling to backtrack every time. He really was adorable. As much as he tried to fight it, Wanderer was falling for Kazuha, and while Heizou and Venti had half-jokingly offered to help speed things along, Kazuha fought back. This wasn’t something that could be rushed, especially when he was so close.

Kazuha was no stranger to relationships. He’d had a brief fling with all of his bandmates and then some, but Xiao and Venti were now happily dating each other, and Heizou was eyeing some blonde-haired, blue-eyed artist who happened to be having fidelity issues with a member of a rival band. Kazuha wasn’t about to touch that mess. If Heizou got into a fistfight with Kaeya Alberich, well, that was Kaeya’s funeral.

Besides, Wanderer seemed like he needed someone with him tonight. It was normal for Wanderer to lock himself in one of the rooms of whatever suite they were staying in the night after a performance. What wasn’t normal was for him to do so silently. This time, he’d skipped the part where he cursed the others out and told them not to need him before slamming the door. This time, they’d been back at the hotel for about half an hour before anyone even realized he was missing from the afterparty of wine and weed.

“Hey…” Kazuha said, standing up from where he, Venti, and Heizou were sat together on the floor, Xiao having retreated to his and Venti’s room to listen to music in relative peace. “I’m gonna go check on Wanderer. He’s been uncharacteristically quiet tonight.”

“Finally gonna make a move?” Venti teased, red cup sloshing with his favorite dandelion wine. Kazuha briefly wondered how many drinks he’d had already before aiming a soft glare at him.

“I would never take advantage of someone’s vulnerability like that,” he said. “Who do you take me for? Heizou?”

“Oof, low blow,” said the auburn-haired man in question, tone of voice betraying that he wasn’t really offended. “I’m not gonna pursue anything further with Albedo until he and Kaeya actually break up.”

Kazuha rolled his eyes. “I just want to make sure Wanderer’s okay,” he clarified. “He didn’t throw his usual theatrics before going to bed. Lend me a hairpin? He probably locked the door.”

Heizou fished a pin out of his hair and plopped it into Kazuha’s waiting hand. The albino approached the door of the room Wanderer had taken over and knocked gently. “Wanderer? Are you still awake?”

“Fuck off, Kaedehara,” came the eloquent response through the door.

“Are you alright?” Kazuha pushed.

“Am I ever? Leave me alone.”

Kazuha’s mind flashed back to the immediate aftermath of his best friend’s death years ago. He’d spent some time lashing out just like Wanderer was now, locking himself away and finding creative ways to harm himself behind closed doors. The bandages that adorned his right hand were a permanent reminder to never let himself reach that point again. Yes, Wanderer was telling him to piss off, but he was also outright telling Kazuha that he wasn’t okay, and Kazuha couldn’t just leave him in that state. He needed to make sure Wanderer wasn’t hurting himself the way Kazuha had back then. Kazuha tried the door. As expected, it was locked. He straightened out the hairpin and stuck it into the lock, listening carefully for the telltale click and opening the door. The lights were off, and Wanderer was laying on the bed closest to the window, his back to the door, still half dressed in his blue, white, and black stage costume.

“I thought I told you to fuck off,” he muttered, making no move to look at Kazuha.

Kazuha closed the door, blocking out the ruckus Venti and Heizou were causing in the common area. “I’ll keep my mouth shut if you want me to, but I can’t just leave you alone when something is clearly wrong.”

“What’s wrong is that you’re the last person I want to see right now,” Wanderer spat.

“Did I do something to upset you?” Kazuha asked softly, taking a seat on the other bed.

“No, it’s not you, it’s just— Ugh! Why am I telling you this shit? I must be getting some secondhand high from your goddamn pot.”

“Wanderer… I’ll let you in on a secret. I went to therapy when I was younger. One thing the therapist told me that stuck is that keeping everything to yourself isn’t healthy. A person can only bottle everything up for so long until there’s no more room and the bottle explodes in a shower of broken glass. I swear that anything you say right now will stay between us, but I think it’s time you let it out to someone.”

Wanderer was silent for a long while, and Kazuha began to wonder if he’d fallen asleep, or at least pretended to fall asleep. Just as he considered leaving the room, Wanderer shifted to sit up on his bed, back still to the other.

“I saw my ex in the crowd tonight,” he said quietly.

Red eyes widened. “Dottore?”

“No! Gods, no. I would never call that bastard an ex. He was never my boyfriend, no matter how much he might have deluded himself otherwise. No, it was…” A humorless chuckle left his lips. “I don’t know why I’m calling him my ex. We never went anywhere…”

“But you wanted to,” Kazuha pieced together.

The albino watched Wanderer hug himself before he continued, voice softer than it had any right to be. “He and I grew up in Tatarasuna together. We were close. He was the one who encouraged me to pursue a music career in the first place. He aged out of the system a couple months after I did, and he found a place for both of us to stay. It was filthy and run down, and we couldn’t afford repairs, but none of that mattered to me because he was there. I wanted us to be something more. I was ready to take that next step. But then I started taking off as a musician… When that piece of shit Dottore found me, I wasn’t allowed to date, and just like that, my old friend was a thing of the past. I saw him in the crowd tonight. And I couldn’t help but wonder…has he been showing up to all of our shows?” Wanderer sighed. “You remind me so much of him. Every time I look at you, I see him, and it hurts. It hurts to remember what we could’ve been…”

Kazuha heard a small sniffle, and his arms were around Wanderer in the next second, consequences be damned. He knew he’d made the right choice when Wanderer didn’t attempt to claw his eyes out but instead buried his face in the crook of Kazuha’s shoulder, black painted nails digging into the back of his white and red hoodie as he allowed himself to cry, likely for the first time in years.

“You still could,” Kazuha said, ignoring the pang in his chest at the thought of Wanderer being with someone else. This wasn’t about him. Wanderer deserved to be happy, and if that happiness wasn’t with him, then he would accept that. “Dottore isn’t here anymore.”

“But I don’t--” Wanderer struggled for the right words, hands loosening their grip on Kazuha’s clothes. “I do miss him, but I’m not the same person he grew up with anymore. The part of me that wanted to be more than friends has moved on because…”

“Because…?” Kazuha urged.

Wanderer lifted his head, violet eyes shining in the moonlight as he aimed his gaze at the other. “Because I have you now.”

Kazuha’s eyes went wide. He must have been higher than he thought. There was no way Wanderer just said what he thought he said. Snippy, arrogant, guarded Wanderer, admitting that he was in love with Kazuha? This had to be a dream. The albino was snapped out of his shock by a scoff.

“Pick your damn jaw up off the floor,” he chided, his tone much more in character now. “I don’t know how the hell you did it, but you wormed your grimy little pothead way into my heart. You grew on me like a fucking fungus.” Even in the dark, Kazuha could see a blush forming on the other’s face. “So, congratulations. Whatever your scheme was to win me over worked. What will you do now?”

Shaking his head clear, Kazuha cupped Wanderer’s face, wiping away the tear tracks with his thumbs, expression softening as red met violet. “What would you like me to do?” he asked. “I don’t want to push any boundaries with you. This will all be your call.”

“Tch. Your kindness is sickening. Spare me the pity.”

“It’s not pity,” Kazuha said. “I simply pride myself on my impulse control.”

“So you’re saying if I allowed it, you would shove me onto the bed right now?”

“Are you inviting me to do so?” Kazuha’s voice lowered to something that had a pleasant shiver running down Wanderer’s spine.

“Some other time,” Wanderer said. “For now, just kiss me.”

“Gladly,” Kazuha said with a chuckle before leaning in to press his lips to Wanderer’s. The softness was a sharp contrast to Wanderer’s personality. Hands wound into white locks, undoing the ponytail sloppily tied at the back of Kazuha’s head. A careful brush of tongue against lip had Wanderer opening his mouth to Kazuha, inviting him in physically now that he’d been allowed in emotionally. A small whimper left Wanderer’s throat, and Kazuha found himself taking the other’s hands and shoving his back onto the mattress, fingers interlocked on either side of Wanderer’s head.

Finally pulling away when he was more desperate for air than he was for Wanderer, Kazuha was ensnared by the flushed, half-lidded expression on his bandmate’s face as they both panted. Realizing the position he had Wanderer in, hands trapped in his own and hovering over him, he began to fret again.

“Is this okay, Wanderer?” Kazuha asked.

“Kabuki,” said Wanderer.

Kazuha tilted his head like a confused puppy, earning a soft chuckle from the man under him that had his heart skipping a beat with how...innocent it sounded.

“I keep telling you the weed is making you stupid,” said Wanderer. “My name. It’s Kabuki.”

“Like Kabuki theatre?” Kazuha asked.

Wanderer- Kabuki heaved a sigh. “Yeah, my mom never bothered to give me a name, and my foster parents weren’t the best with naming. Now do you see why I just go by Wanderer?”

Kazuha couldn’t help but laugh. “I would argue that Wanderer is an even stranger name.”

“If you tell anyone, I’ll kill you,” Kabuki threatened.

“Didn’t I say in the beginning, everything that happens tonight stays between us? Your secret is safe with me, Kabuki.” Kazuha fell into another fit of giggles saying the name out loud.

“Just shut up and kiss me again,” Kabuki demanded. He was back to himself. Feeling relief wash over him, Kazuha leaned down for another kiss.

Ready to call it a night, Heizou opened the door to invite Kazuha to share the second bed in Venti and Xiao’s room with him, but before he could utter a single syllable, he registered what was happening. With a smirk, he silently shut the door, the new couple none the wiser that they’d been caught.

“Looks like it’s just going to be me third-wheeling you two tonight,” the redhead said to Venti.

Venti fell back onto the carpet with a dramatic sigh. “Finally,” he said. “Think Wanderer will mellow out now?”

“Kazuha’s a poet, not a miracle worker,” Heizou said.

“Well, at the very least, we can all rest easy tonight. Perhaps we should go out for drinks to celebrate tomorrow. On your tab, of course~” Venti laughed as he dodged a pillow that was thrown from the couch with frightening accuracy and strength.

Yes, everything would be just fine.

[gemsmrt]

The Fated Duo

This is a continuation of the Weinlesefest fic form a few weeks ago. It ended up a lot longer than that bc I have been writing over the course of several days. Also I apologize if not everything is lore strict. I did try to tie the lore in as best I could, but I did not write the previous part of this story with lore in mind LOL.

I wrote this with each section intending to be a few days/weeks apart from each other, no specific dates, but I do try to mention that time has passed between each cut.

---------------

"I understand I am not indebted to Liyue anymore, however; I would like to stay to protect it. At least for now. I have never known anything else, and while I try to understand this new way of life, I would like to respect the place I have guarded and called home for so long." Xiao takes a deep breath.

He knows Venti does not need to know all of this, but if he intends to travel with him for the time, he believes that Venti deserves full honesty.

Venti stares at Xiao where they have made camp for the night, sitting across each other, a bonfire in between the two. "I see, well, I am not one to stay in Mondsadt for long periods. I don't mind staying in Liyue with you for as long as you may need. I do have one request, however." Xiao stares at Venti, a look of confusion, "I will, of course, assist in purging evil and protecting your land. I would like to take some time of leisure while we are here together."

"This seems fair..." Xiao can feel another request coming.

"As well," He knew it, "I would like to know of your history in Liyue."

This... Well, he should have seen it coming, but was still distraught by the request, "I'm sorry? I'm sure you already know much of Liyue's history, being a travelling bard."

"I don't mean Liyue's history, I mean yours." Xiao is not sure how to take this, there's only a handful of people that really knew who Xiao was. Was he really ready to give that all away to what was practically a stranger to him? "It doesn't have to be all at once, it can be snippets over a long time. I just wish to get to know you, the real one. Outside of the silly novels that are sold at the Wanwen Bookhouse."

Xiao sits, fingers curled around his chin, contemplating for a few moments, "Very well." He looks up to see the giddiest grin on Venti's face, "But-"

"Oh?" Venti intrudes, quickly cut off.

"These are two requests, and you had originally stated you only had one request." Xiao can't help but feel sad at the way Venti's smile is torn from him. "Therefore, I would like to ask a question in return for the second request."

Venti giggles, the bright smile coming back, "Very well. Ask away, and I shall try not to lead you astray." The rhyming again... Will Xiao ever get used to it?

"You stated earlier you wanted to travel with me in order to get to know me better. I don't understand this. It is not that I do not want you here, please don't misread this. I would just like more clarification as to what it is that piques your interest in me?" Xiao doesn't think that the Archon has ill intentions, especially since he is a long friend of Zhongli, but he would rather be careful in such situations.

"Oh? Is that all? Very well, I shall try to enlighten you on some of the meaning in my interest." Venti sighs, takes a deep breath, and looks to the ground, "When I had met you in Guyun all that time ago, the sorrow from your soul felt irreparable. I never thought the tune I had played that night would have done as much as it has. I just... played in hopes that something, anything could have eased that pain."

Venti takes another deep breath and looks to the stars, Xiao's gaze never falters from him, "When I saw you again, in my own nation no less, I could not help but feel our meeting was-" a short pause, as Venti looks deep into Xiao's soul, "fate. I don't know how else to describe what I felt after seeing you again. It was as though the stars themselves heard me screaming, to know if you were okay, if you were alive."

"Venti..." Xiao had felt the strings of fate pull him there. Hearing Venti explain it in this way felt like a relief to him.

"I know it may seem silly, but it feels as though our lives are intertwined in more than just this one. I feel we may be fated to meet each other in every life we have ever lived, and every one we may live again. That's why I want to spend my time travelling with you. I want to understand what this connection truly is. I want to know if we are meant to be travelling companions, if we are meant for something more, or if what happened was just pure coincidence. I promise, I do not mean to harm you in this accompaniment. I hope that, even in knowing my reasoning, you would still let me travel with you for the time being. However, I understand if after hearing all of that you never want to hear from me again." Venti says with a small, fake chuckle. Eyes looking back up to the stars, hands planted behind him.

Before Xiao realizes, he has moved to the other side of the fire, sat next to Venti, closed his eyes, and leaned his head on Venti's shoulder, "Yea, I think I get what you mean. Not in as many words, but I want to understand our fate as well." He notices the way Venti has tensed up at the sudden closeness, he still does not understand why it feels so comfortable, but he pulls his head up and opens his eyes towards Venti, "I would not like one of us to accompany the other, I would like to travel together. As a duo, of sorts." A small smile brims from his face.

"Sure, a duo, I like it." Venti gives a small smile back at him, and then continues to look up at the stars. Xiao gets comfortable back in his position on Venti's shoulder, noticing he does not stiffen up this time. The two relax into the night together.

-----------------

"Wanshu Inn?" Venti questions, "This seems awfully casual for a vigilant yaksha."

Xiao sighs, "Yes, well, while I reside at the Inn, the top of the Inn is a good vantage point to see where the most evil appears. And..."

"And?" Venti puts up a questioning eyebrow and playful smirk.

"They... have a really good almond tofu." Xiao looked away from Venti to hide his blush. Venti chuckles, though Xiao can sense it is not to be demeaning.

"I didn't know the Vigilant Yaksha allowed himself such human indulgences." Venti says, looking at Xiao as they walked on to the elevator together.

Xiao, finally able to compose himself, "It... has a texture to it." One of few things that Xiao allows himself to enjoy is eating, and he has found out he is quite particular to texture in food.

"I see, you'll have to order some for me while we're here, then." Venti smiles up at Xiao, cheeks flushing pink.

Xiao can't help but think its cute.

As the elevator reaches the top, Xiao sees a familiar face. "Xiao! What a surprise, it's been a while since you've take the elevator, let alone since we've seen you."

"I didn't mean to worry. I took a last minute, uh, vacation, I suppose." Xiao puts his hand behind his head, not able to look at her.

"I see, I didn't expect you to be the type, but I'm glad. You look refreshed." He finally looks up and sees Verr smiling up at him, "Well, are you going to introduce me?"

He knows his cheeks are red, but between Verr and Venti on either side of him he has nowhere to hide it. "Right, Verr, this is Venti, a travelling bard from Mondsadt. Venti, this is Verr Goldet. She's the boss here at the Inn."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Venti says extending a hand out.

Verr meets his hand, shaking briefly, "The pleasure is mine, I assure you."

"We'll be needing a room." Xiao interrupts.

"Xiao." Verr says, smile quickly fading, "You know you always have a room here, no matter what."

Xiao realizes he should have clarified what he meant, "I am aware, Venti will need his own room for the night."

"Oh, will he?" Verr says, eyes pointing to Venti, who has shrunken into himself. Xiao pulls him away from Verr and the other Inn patrons.

"It's just... I may not have enough to stay here for a long period. Since this is where you normally stay, I assume this would be more of a permanent residence." Venti's voice is soft, letting out a small sigh Xiao is sure he wasn't aware came out.

Xiao rarely dealt with others emotions, and he did not want to hurt Venti being overtly blunt. He takes a moment to think about the options, "You are free to stay with me in my room. If this arrangement is uncomfortable for you, though, we could continue camping as we have been the last few nights."

Venti looks up, the twinkle back in his eyes, "I just- I don't want to intrude on you. Would your room be big enough for both of us?"

"Don't worry about that. I'm usually perched at the top of the room anyways, plus..." Xiao looks away, the amount he is willing to admit for Venti's sake, he almost can't handle it, "I've always thought to room was meant for more than one person."

"Well, I'm glad I can help fill the space, then." Xiao looks back to Venti, smile bright and big as if he was never sad in the first place.

Verr seemed to have taken the hint, and left to go take care of the Inn. Xiao takes some time to show Venti around the Inn, and how to get to his secluded room at the top of the Inn. Before he shows Venti the room they will be sharing, he places an order for two almond tofu up to the room. Finally, he shows Venti the door, where they will be staying for the unforeseen future. He definitely felt nervous, as he hadn't been in this room for several weeks, and did not know what state he had left it in. Not that Xiao was untidy, but he had never properly shown the place he lived before. In this scenario, he gave himself allowance to feel the nerves he was feeling.

He turns the knob, allowing himself in first so as to lead the way. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, some loose notes on a desk. It seemed fairly dusty, but that was to be expected. Everything else seemed like his normal. "Please excuse the dust, I've been away for several weeks."

"Of course." Venti says as he enters the room, "Woah-"

"Is something the matter?" Xiao's eyes scan the room, looking for anything that may be abnormal.

"Oh no, nothing! I just.." Venti starts to dust with anemo around Xiao's things, "I guess, I didn't expect you to be such a collector. Not that there's anything wrong with it! It's just a, surprise, from you. That's all."

Xiao shouldn't be surprised at Venti's ability to manipulate the wind, and while he is referenced as the weakest Archon, he was still an Archon after all. Xiao knew he was powerful, he just didn't know how he has so much control over the wind in this small space, not moving a thing out of place. He just stood there, mouth agape, in awe of Venti.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" Venti dusts his hands off, removing the last of the dust in the room, as if he had touched any of the dust, which he had not.

"No, absolutely not. I just can't believe how well you manipulate the winds." Xiao finally says, closing his mouth.

Venti has that mischievous grin on his face, "Well, I am the Anemo Archon after all, did you not expect me to have full control of the wind?"

"I am more impressed with the small, fluid motions you have with the wind. I have never been able to control it like that." Xiao says, looking down at his hand, balling it in a fist.

"You have only used it as a weapon, it is to be expected." Venti says, grabbing Xiao's balled up hand, releasing it. He didn't realize Venti had gotten so close. "If you would allow for it, I can teach you how beautiful the wind truly is." He looks up to Xiao, not more than two inches apart. Xiao sees the way Venti is smiling at him, and he can't help but smile back.

"I think I would like that, to fully understand the winds and my abilities." The peace he's felt since he met Venti, it's starting to become more absent minded to him, more familiar.

Venti breaks his gaze from Xiao, pulling their hands apart, and plops down onto the bed, "That will have to be a project for another day. For now, I want to just relax, all the travel and stress of finding a room has me beat." Xiao giggles at how quickly Venti seems to be ready for sleep, but he can't blame him. The day had been a stressful one for both of them, a lot of new things happening. Even so, Xiao couldn't be happier with the circumstances that brought them together. Suddenly there's a knock at the door.

"Before you completely pass out, I want you to have my favorite dish." Xiao opens the door and greets the server, "Thank you, you can set them on the table there." The server promptly sets the dishes on the table and walks out of the room. "And if you can still stand, I'd like to eat with you."

Venti dramatically sighs, standing up and walking over to the small dining table in the room. The table has always had two chairs at it, but Xiao has never shared a meal with anyone in here. He's sat with Verr plenty of times in the dining hall to eat, but never in his room. Venti's the first person who's spent more than a few mere moments in the room with him, and now he's going to be there to share more memories together. It's strange, how quickly his circumstances have changed, and how quickly he is adapting to such changes.

Venti sits across from Xiao, pulling the first bite to his mouth. Once he bites down and swallows, he can see the glitter in Venti's eyes, "Wow, you weren't kidding about that texture. That's amazing!"

"See? I told you. While it is not the only reason I've stayed, it has made the experience more bearable." Xiao says as he goes to take his first bite, letting the bite melt into his mouth. The only way he can describe the flavor is like a sweet dream.

"Did you choose to stay in this area? I'm quite curious, if you don't mind telling." Venti asks between bites.

"I did, like I said, the top of the building is optimal to see the locations where most evil needs to be purged, not to mention..." Is Xiao about to admit this? The pause grabs Venti's attention, Xiao continues before he can intrude, "I thought I may get to see you, or rather hear you again." It sounds desperate, but it was honest. He wanted to be fully honest with Venti.

Venti looks at him, almost as though he was punched in the stomach. "I- But- Were you- looking for me?"

"Not directly. My duty swore me to Liyue, so I was never able to leave the nation. It was more so a hope, that I would hear that flute one more time, at least once more." He looked up to see Venti crying. He moved his chair to the other side of the table, and held Venti's head in his lap, setting his hat on the table, combing through his hair. He wasn't sure what came over him in that moment, but he continued without thought, "I don't feel any resentment. I knew not what you looked like, and you never knew what that meeting meant to me. You couldn't have, with how brief it was. More than anything I am grateful to not have met you sooner. I feel as though you would not have liked me over the last several hundred years, and meeting you before now would have been in vain."

"Please don't speak of yourself that way. I could see the kindness in your soul, even then. If I had not been so selfish then, if I had stayed a moment longer, maybe I could have lifted your burdens then." Venti sits back up to look at Xiao.

"Even if you had relieved the karmic debt at that time, I still held a contract with Morax. I would have still been in Liyue fighting in the Archon war, and I'm not sure I would have survived the war without the weight of karmic debt on me." Xiao takes a pause, he holds Venti by the shoulders, looking him in the eyes, "You said yourself the other day that our meeting was fated, and I believe that as well. The day that I met you, Venti, in Springvale, that's where I believe our fates meant us to meet."

Venti shakes Xiao's hands from his arms, wrapping Xiao's hands in his, eyes looking down, "I just wish I could've been there for you before.." He stops shortly to look back into Xiao's eyes, "But I suppose there's a lot of things we wish for with hindsight. I'm sorry for worrying you, Xiao, I will try not to look at it with this mindset. I am glad we met, truly met, when we did as well."

Almost absentmindedly, Xiao pulls a hand away from Venti, bringing it up to one of his braids, twirling it through his fingers, "And I am sure, with time, we will come to understand exactly why we met when we did. However, for once in my life, I would like to live in this current moment, with you."

"Sure, I can do that." They sit there like that for a moment before Venti gets up to go lay down on the bed. Xiao moves the chairs back where they were and sets the dishes in the sink not too far. He will bring them down to the kitchen later. He grabs his spear to head out and keep watch when, "Could you... Stay here? At least until I fall asleep. I know you'll be right outside, but could you just stay in here for a bit longer?"

"Of course, Venti." Xiao goes to his desk to clean up some of the scattered notes, and opens on book to write. Xiao starts to write of his fated meeting until Venti falls to sleep, where he then goes to sit just atop their room, viewing the beautiful scenery in the dead of night. Ah, yes, peace. Maybe he could get used to it, after all.

-------------

"Behind you!" Venti says, Xiao ducks while Venti shoots his direction, a gust of wind follows and pulling all of the enemies to one spot directly in front of Xiao. Xiao suddenly feels a burst of air pull him up. He leaps from it and plunges down on to the enemies, eliminating them all in one fell swoop.

Xiao could get used to this kind of ease in battle, "Not bad." He doesn't mean for it to come out condescending, but it does anyways.

"Not so bad yourself." Venti winks, Xiao looks away, feeling flustered, "Glad you caught on to the wind lift."

"Your fighting style is very... different, but very easy to catch on to." Xiao is honestly surprised with how easily their fighting styles meld together during battle. They are both anemo users, so he shouldn't be surprised, "Watch out." Xiao swiftly moves around Venti to stab the enemy behind him.

Venti's anemo arrows glide gracefully around Xiao, pulling many more enemies together. Xiao darts to the enemies, now all floating in each others air. Xiao darts up and down, defeating all of the enemies, clearing the domain.

"That seems to be the last of the demonic energy in this area, we can head back now." Xiao and Venti exit the domain, heading back to Wangshu Inn.

Venti suddenly stops in the middle of the road, "Actually, I was wondering if you would accompany me to Mt. Aocang."

Xiao turns, expression confused, "What business do you have there?" Xiao knows Cloud Retainer does not like to be disturbed by mortal needs. While Venti is no mortal, Cloud Retainer may easily mistake him for one. He's not sure he is ready to explain whatever relationship he has with Venti to the people he cares for quite yet.

"None in particular, I just quite like the scenery atop the mountain." Venti pauses to look at the sky, "And I was hoping to see an old friend."

"You know Cloud Retainer?" Xiao is quite startled by this, Cloud Retainer knows the Anemo Archon?

"Yes, she was one of the first Adepti I met when I gained this mortal body. She actually helped me figure out how to use my power in this body. Funny, isn't it?" Venti Chuckles.

Xiao can't help but let out a little laugh, "A bit. I can't guarantee Cloud Retainer will see you. We should bring some Jewelry Soup with us, as it's her favorite. She may be more favorable to see someone with an offering."

"Do they have to-go containers for soup at the Inn?" Venti ponders as they continue.

"I believe so. We will head there to ask." Xiao and Venti make their way back to the Inn. Fortunately there are in fact to-go containers for soup, which they already had prepared in a big stock pot. They are able to quickly grab the offering and head to Mt. Aocang.

As the mountain starts to come into view, the gleam in Venti's smile brightens, "Woah, it's so much prettier than I remember!"

"Cloud Retainer has worked hard to make the area around her abode presentable for the passer-by that are allowed near it." Xiao explains without question.

"I can't wait to see what it looks like at the top, come on!" And just like that he's skipping and jumping up the mountain. Xiao rolls his eyes, but smiles as he follows along carefully with the soup.

Suddenly a wind brushes them. Xiao can tell it's not from Venti, as it feels like it's trying to push them off the edge of the cliff, "Who dares to enter this land without jurisdiction?" The bird lands to look at the two, now protected from the wind by Venti's own control of it. "Oh, hello Xiao. You should have warned one you were coming." Cloud Retainer comes to meet the two, winds subsiding.

"It was a last minute stop, I apologize." Xiao bows, offering the soup to Cloud Retainer.

"Apologies are not necessary." Cloud Retainer gladly accepts the offering.

"Hello, my name is Venti, formerly Barbatos. I was- am the Anemo Archon. I am not sure if you remember our meeting, as it was when I was freshly an Archon." Venti abruptly realizes he should bow as Xiao is, and quickly gets to bowing position.

"How could one forget that fresh face. Venti, one is glad to see you are still in good health. Zhongli explained some of what happened to you." Cloud Retainer's face twinges, "If you two would like, you are welcome to visit one's abode."

"While I appreciate the offer, I would request permission to just enjoy the view from the top of Mt. Aocang, Cloud Retainer." Venti raising his head with a kind smile towards Cloud Retainer.

Cloud Retainer returns the smile, "Of course, take all the time you would like atop the mountain. And both of you are always free to come visit one's abode any time." Cloud retainer looks to Xiao.

He knows it's been a while since he has visited Cloud Retainer, while he would like to say he has been busy, he's more so been nervous about his karmic debt affecting his long friend. While Cloud Retainer was an adeptus, Xiao was still wary as he processed the new anger he felt at the news of Bosacious. "Of course. We will come back to visit another time."

He can't help but look at Venti as Cloud Retainer leaves., who starts to stare at the scenery around them, "It's amazing, this view, isn't it?"

Xiao, who doesn't break his gaze, "Yea, it is."

--------------

"Hey." Venti said, appearing right behind Xiao at the top of the Inn. Venti had actually caught him by surprise.

"What are you doing up here so late, aren't you usually out cold by now?" While neither of them needed to sleep, Venti liked to indulge in it still, if only for a few hours. He said he likes the feeling of dreaming.

Venti sat down right next to Xiao, thighs touching, "I thought I could take patrol today, and let you rest up for once!"

Xiao was a little caught by surprise, he rarely ever slept, "The adepti don't require sleep, I will be fine."

"Right, the gods don't require it either, but you still tuck me in to bed without complaint." Venti looks up with a light blush, "I just figure since you've been a little grumpy the last few days, I could return the favor for once."

Xiao furrows his eyebrows, "I have not been grumpy." He knows he has, but he doesn't think it has anything to do with sleep. He's never needed it before, so why now?

"Yea, sure. That's definitely not how a not grumpy person would say that." Was his tone really that mean? "Listen, if you let me tuck you in to bed, I'll play your song." That perked his ears up, he can hear the soft giggles coming from Venti.

"On the flute?" Venti's played the song again a handful of times on the lyre, but not again on the flute.

"Why, of course!" Venti materializes the flute immediately upon request.

Xiao grabs his chin to think for a moment, "Very well…" And the way Venti perks up, how could he say no?

Xiao gets settled into the bed and Venti sets his flute down to tuck him in. "I could teach you, you know, how to play the flute."

Xiao can't help but feel so safe tucked in this warm cocoon he's been wrapped in, "I would have to think about it. Perhaps in the future I would be willing to learn."

As Venti finishes tucking in all the corners, he leans up to Xiao's forehead and gives him a sweet kiss, "Sure, it doesn't have to be soon by any means. Just a suggestion." Xiao can feel how warm he gets from the small gesture, but Venti doesn't seem to notice. He picks up his flute and starts to play the tune he knows and loves. Of course, it doesn't give him quite as visceral a reaction as it did when he played it that fateful day, it still brings him so much warmth and joy. When it's played on the flute as it is now he can't help the way it makes him feel so loved.

He doesn't think Venti loves him, not at all. He still has a hard time understanding why Venti wants to spend time with him at all. He understands that it's the music that makes him feel this way, not the artist playing it. Before he realizes Xiao slowly starts fade in and out of consciousness, before he fully fades out. He starts to dream.

He and Venti are sitting on a cloud, spinning around hand in hand. That's right, they're dancing. Dancing in a cloud, away from all of the troubles of the world. They are laughing and smiling together, beginning to do more intricate moves. Xiao feels lighter than air, lighter than life itself. He dips Venti and goes in for a kiss when-

He wakes from his dream, slowly opening his eyes back into the real world. He feels so groggy, like when he had slept for several weeks. He darts up.

"Good morning, sleepy head." Venti says, biting into an apple, "Don't worry, you were only asleep for around six hours, I think. It's more than I thought you would sleep."

As he realizes that it has not in fact been several weeks, he yawns and moves to the side of the bed, "Well, good morning." He gets up to go to the small table Venti is sitting at, noticing the plate of his favorite dish sitting there with a cup of dark liquid.

"I thought you may want something to eat once you woke up. And I got you some coffee, in case you needed a quick perk up." Venti gets more nervous as he continues, "I've never seen you drink it before, so I'm sorry if you don't want it. It's not my preferred drink, but I know a lot of people like it in the morning, so-"

"Venti." He sees how nervous Venti gets, thinking he's made a mistake, "It's fine, don't worry. I actually don't mind coffee with a little bit of.." He grabs the spoon by his almond tofu, grabbing some of the syrup collected at the bottom of the plate. He stirs the bit of syrup into his coffee cup, setting the spoon back on the plate.

Venti seems quite perplexed, "I've never even thought of that! Do you mind if I try it?" The glitter comes back into his eyes.

"Sure, knock yourself out." Venti takes the cup and has the smallest sip Xiao has ever seen someone take.

"I can't believe it. It's delicious. You know, Xiao, you may just turn me into a coffee lover." Xiao grabs the cup back and takes a sip. This makes Venti startle a bit and blush. After Xiao looks at him confused, Venti says, "You know, since we both drank from the same spot, it's almost like a contactless kiss."

Xiao almost chokes on the hot liquid in his throat. Why… would he says that? Sometimes Xiao thinks this whole accompaniment is just a ploy for him to kill Xiao, slowly and painfully. He knows that isn't true of course, but it makes him laugh to think about. "You're ridiculous, you know that?"

Xiao finally goes to take a bite of the almond tofu in from of him. "Yea, but sometimes you're even more so than I." Venti giggles, Xiao just eats up his dish and finishes his coffee. They have an otherwise silent, but happy morning.

-------------

It's finally the day they agreed to start Xiao's anemo training. He will admit to being nervous, stepping into an uncharted territory. It's something he has done quite a bit over the last several weeks, but it still makes him nervous every time. Venti had asked to meet at Mt. Tianheng in the afternoon that day. Something about having to make preparations for their training beforehand. Xiao figured Venti was probably just as nervous as he was, and needed the time to put himself together.

When Xiao had made it to the top of Mt. Tianheng the first thing he noticed was the fact that Venti was shirtless. Now seeing the tattoo on his chest, Xiao wondered if his attire was chosen intentionally to cover it, and if there were any other tattoos he had. He sees a large strip of fabric around his waist holding up a loose pair of pants, similar in style to the ones Xiao wears, but completely white. Elastic held the bottom of the pants just below his knees, and he wore no shoes.

It takes him a moment to realize Venti is also floating, legs crossed, palms on his knees, facing upward. Venti's eyes are closed. He's meditating, floating in the air. There is so much Xiao has to learn about the wind. Up until now, he has really only used the wind to assist in his speed, making his attacks all the more powerful. Seeing the way Venti is using it now, seems so much more graceful. It acts like an extension of his being, as if they are one in the same. The Anemo Archon is truly a sight to behold.

"Just on time, as one would expect from the Vigilant Yaksha." Venti says, releasing his position, and slowly making his way to the ground with the wind. "Are you ready to get started?"

"Yes, I am." Xiao tries to speak confidently through his nerves, and cannot tell how those words come out in the process.

"Good. Now, to start, I need you to take everything off but your pants, and belt, of course." Venti notices Xiao is unable to hide his confusion and mild embarrassment, but continues, "I didn't mean for that to sound so forward. This training is easier with minimal clothing to disrupt the flow of the wind. Now, please, if you would. I can look away as well, while you get undressed."

Xiao finally manages to calm himself, "No, that won't be necessary." Xiao removes everything but his gloves.

"I'm sorry, but you will need to remove your gloves as well. You will need, and eventually want, to feel the wind through your fingertips." Venti says, weaving the wind through his fingers, "If you're worried that I'm going to judge your finger being calloused or beat up, fear not! Mine are quite calloused on their own from playing instruments for as long as I have, see?" Venti points to the tips of his fingers, which were quite calloused, but not gross looking in any way.

Xiao sighs, "No, that's not quite the reason." It's almost the opposite. He has how dainty and delicate his hands looks. As he pulls his gloves off he sees the way Venti looks at them, with glitter in his eyes.

Venti pulls Xiao's hand into his own. Looking at them as if he's never seen anything like it, "Your hands they're..." Here it comes, people would always refer to them as small, delicate, like a porcelain dolls, and laugh at Xiao, but, "Beautiful, just so absolutely lovely. The wind will love your hands." Venti's smile is wide and bright, "Nevermind that, let's start your training."

Xiao just knows he's blushing, "O-okay." He pulls his hand down to his side.

Venti grabs two leaves off of the nearby tree, placing one of them in Xiao's palm, "I want you to hover your other hand over top and have the leaf float between your two hands, like so," Venti puts the leaf between his hands and hovers the leaf between them, as he had instructed, "Do you think you can do that?"

"Yes, I believe so." Xiao promptly places his other hand just above the one holding the leaf. He concentrates to try and flow the anemo particles between his hands, but it just sends the leaf flying.

Venti quickly picks it up with his control of the wind and places it back in Xiao's hand, looking at him with a small smile, "Don't try to force it. You're not trying to use the wind as a tool in this practice, you are simply guiding the wind through you." Xiao takes a breath, and nods his head at Venti. He closes his eyes, focusing on the winds direction. It's almost like he's asking the wind to help him, rather than trying to pierce through as he normally would. "Yes, just like that!" Xiao opens his eyes and sees his leaf floating. While it may be a bit wobbly, and he doesn't have full control over it, the leaf is floating. "Amazing progress already. Now, I want you to continue this until you can hold the leaf still with the wind, no turning or tipping, just like this." Venti goes to demonstrate just how still he is holding the leaf.

"Alright, I can try." Xiao says, he doesn't actually think he can, but he has to start somewhere.

"Do or do not, there is no try," Venti lets out a soft little giggle, "I don't expect you to be able to do it right away, and you should not either. Just continue with the practice, eventually you will find more ease in it. I will be meditating over on the other side here, so as to not disturb you. Please send a whisper my way when you think you've got it, and I will evaluate." Xiao agrees with a nod, and Venti moves to the other side of the mountain, back to floating in grace as he was before.

Xiao continues to focus on the leaf and wind, noticing the subtleties of the wind through his hands. He feels the way the wind shifts through his fingers, using his anemo abilities, he asks the wind to steady between his hands. The leaf suddenly stops wiggling back and forth, steady around him. He can see the current of wind around the leaf spinning it, but its only spinning, no other movement is happening around it. Xiao smiles a bit to himself, then refocuses his anemo energy, requesting the current to stop the spinning leaf. Within only a moment, the leaf is completely still within his hands, floating, not moving in the slightest. Xiao then lets out the smallest whisper, "Venti, I'm doing it." And Venti is next to him within an instant. Xiao tries not to react to this, so as to not interrupt the practice.

"Oh wow, I'm impressed. This has only taken you about 10 minutes to learn this comprehensively." Venti says while observing.

"This training has been quite different form anything I've ever experienced, but it still is, at the essence, learning abilities I already had available to me." Xiao can't help but smirk at Venti's words.

"I suppose you are not called vigilant for nothing," Venti whisks the leaf out of his stance, "But, my dear Yaksha, you still have much to learn." Venti guides the leaf down the mountain, into Liyue harbor. "So, do you think you're ready for the next challenge?"

Xiao nods before Venti turns to walk away, "I think I understand well enough to move on to the next practice."

Venti grabs Xiao's spear and his own bow, "Good, but the practice isn't necessarily changing, it's just getting a bit more difficult." Venti tosses the spear towards Xiao, who grabs it, "I want you to do the same practice with your weapon."

"Excuse me?" Sure, he had mastered it on a leaf, but a leaf is practically weightless. His weapon on the other hand, quite heavy, "How do you expect me to hold up my weapon with just the wind? That's ridiculous."

"So your telling me you don't use any amount of anemo power to make your weapon easier to use?" Venti starts to walk towards Xiao.

"Sure, to make it faster, but what does that have to do with this?" Xiao is honestly perplexed.

Venti grabs on to Xiao's weapon with one hand, noticing with it all of the wind surrounding it has vanished, plunging it into the ground, "And to make it faster, you make it lighter, and you do that with anemo power, clearly." Xiao's eyes narrow, he's never been so angry to be proven wrong, "I don't mean to upset you, Xiao, honest. It's as you said earlier, this ability is one you've always had at your disposal. You just need to realize how you already use it."

"I... see your point. Still, there is no grace period between this and the leaf. Is there nothing in between that I can train with?" Xiao hates to question the method, but it seems like a drastic difference with this ability.

"Very well, I suppose you could start with my weapon," Venti hands Xiao his bow, "and in the meantime, I can show you how to do this with your weapon. It does change a bit, as I don't want you to do this with your weapon flat to the ground."

Xiao nods, exchanging his weapon for Venti's, ready to follow along with Venti's movement. Venti, never letting the weapon touch the ground, lets go of the weapon, moving his hands slowly away. Xiao can see the wind current swirling around it for a moment while Venti settles into place with the weapon. Xiao begins to copy the movements, asking the current to flow between his hands again. The bow floats for a moment, only to spin off and hit the ground a few feet away just a second later. "Sorry..."

"Don't worry, it's a durable weapon," Venti picks it up with the wind and puts it in Xiao's hand again, "Try not to flow the wind current around your hands, but rather around the bow. Does that make sense?" Xiao nods, refocusing his senses, this time, as he lets go of the bow, he asks the wind to keep the bow in place in front of him, and the wind obliges. The wind flows through Xiao's hand and around the bow. He notices the current of wind is stronger around the bow than it was when Venti did this with his spear, "Wonderful! I was right, the wind just loves you. Now, see if you can get the current to dissipate just a little, while still holding the bow up."

"Alright." Xiao asks the winds to lighten, and the wind does in an instant. His requests to the wind seem to come through faster now. The bow is still perfectly still in the air, and the wind around it is very light, "I... can't believe how easy that was."

"I think your ready to start with your own weapon now, dear Yaksha." Venti says, with that sparkle in his eyes.

Xiao is still hesitant, "But your weapon is still much lighter than mine is. Do you really think I can do it?"

"You didn't realize you used the same ability form your own weapon on mine, did you?" Venti says, grabbing his weapon and putting it back into Xiao's hand. This time it's so much heavier. Did Xiao really do this without realizing?

"I... didn't." Venti hands Xiao his weapon, and once again they swap. Xiao is now holding his own spear. He focuses his anemo energy around the weapon, and barely has to think about his request this time before the wind follows him. The wind flows around his spears just as it did around the bow. "It really seems weightless like this."

Venti giggles, "Yes it does, and you've been using something like this around your weapon for a very long time. Now I'd like you to try this with just one hand, wrapping around the polearm, but not touching. I don't expect you to get this as quickly, so take your ti-" Xiao was executing the moves as Venti was speaking them. With his spear, the wind seems to understand exactly what to do around him. "Good gods, you are an easy student to teach."

"It's just more natural with my spear. It's an extension of me, and I think the winds understand that." Xiao looks up to the tip of his spear, higher in the air than normal. He's had his polearm since long before his fellow Yaksha passed. He feels it is one of few pieces left of them.

"Then this next part of training may be easier than I anticipated. We may just finish before sundown." Venti grabs Xiao's spear and places it off to the side with his bow, "The last technique I want you to learn is levitation, like you saw me doing while meditating."

This stuns Xiao quite a bit, "You think I can do that before sundown?" There's already been a lot of new today, he certainly could not levitate like that, not today.

Venti chuckles, "No, not quite like that, the amount of stillness I have will take time. We will start much lower to the ground, as well with something much simpler. Although, you make think it looks more difficult at first."

"I suppose there is no harm in attempting, but I make no promises." Xiao is very reluctant, but Venti seems to have a lot of confidence in him. He wonders how many other students Venti's had before him.

"That's the spirit! I promise, I won't push you after this. Now, I assume you know Vrksasana(Tree pose)?" Venti comes face to face with Xiao.

"We're... Doing yoga?" Is now really the time?

Venti hides just how much he wants to laugh, "No, no. It's just a good pose to start this training exercise. It creates the least amount of surface area and a good amount of balance for you to levitate on."

"I see, yes I know Vrksasana well." Xiao was well versed in yoga poses, so this won't be difficult for him.

"Good, get into that position and then follow my instructions." Xiao nods, putting his hands together by his chest, fingers pointing to the sky, left foot going up his right thigh, toes pointed to the ground. "Now, I want you to remember the feeling of the wind that went through your fingers as you were levitating the leaf and weapons, and transfer that wind to the bottom of your foot, and push that wind down." Xiao focuses on the feeling of his anemo power, and requests the wind to go to his right foot, and push down as instructed. It takes a moment for the wind to build up, but he feels the wind tangle around his toes and foot, and the push into the ground pulls him into the air. He gets a little wobbly, almost falling out of position, but quickly corrects himself. "Very good! See, I knew you could learn this before sundown."

Xiao is still a bit wobbly in his pose, but is able to keep himself upright, "It feels very different than I was anticipating. Almost like I'm wearing a wind shoe."

And that apparently broke Venti because he burst out laughing, "I'm sorry, the analogy is just funny. It's kind of right, though, for starting out. Eventually you'll want to turn it into more of a wind carpet, then you can move currents under the 'carpet' so to say."

"Oh, well then," Xiao focuses back to the winds under his foot, requesting the wind to make a carpet under him as he releases his pose. Once he feels the wind release his right foot, he sets his left foot and sets it down, in the air. "Yes, this feels a bit better."

"Impressive, but Xiao, you may want to lower a bit." It's not until Venti says something that Xiao realizes how high above the mountain he was. The wind under Xiao falters and he starts falling, "Xiao!" Venti exclaims as he speedily makes his way up to Xiao to grab him in the air, floating the two of them down back to the mountain. "Are you okay?"

Xiao, seeing Venti was holding him with both legs in one hand and shoulder blades in the other. He unconsciously wrapped his arms around Venti's neck in the process, and realizes how close the two were, "Yea, fine. You, uh, didn't have to do that, but thanks." He just knows he's blushing, but it's okay because he sees Venti is as well.

"S-sorry, I didn't think. You're my student right now. I didn't want to see you hurt." Venti's looking in his eyes, not letting go. Xiao isn't breaking that gaze. "I know you can protect yourself, but I guess I wanted to protect you for once."

"You've been protecting me since the moment we met, Venti. All the way back then, up until this very moment." Venti perks a small smile from the corner of his lip. He notices Venti slowly leaning towards him, and he can't help but reciprocate and lean into him as well.

Now, only inches between them, "And I will continue protecting you, for as long as you let me." Venti presses his forehead against Xiao's, and Xiao can't help but want more. He can't say why or when it started happening, but he's longing for more of Venti. Even in the short weeks since that fated meeting, since they came back to Liyue together, he's felt so much for one being in this short time. The short touches they've shared, he can't help but want more of it. Maybe it's too soon, maybe he should sit with his feelings for longer. Regardless, now doesn't seem like the time to discuss this.

"And I will be here to protect you, Venti, for as long as you'll have me-" He nearly chokes the words back, that is not what he meant to come out. Oh well, he thinks, the words are out there. He separates their foreheads to look back into Venti's eyes, which seem slightly distraught, surely by Xiao's words, "I will be yours, Venti, for anything- everything, as long as you will have me." He's surprised with how easily the words slip from his tongue.

Venti looks surprised, almost terrified, Xiao tries not to jump to conclusions, "Oh Xiao, I- Wow. I was not expecting this, not so soon at least, I-" Venti draws in a deep breath, "I just want to be very clear with this, are you saying you would like to be more than travelling companions?"

Xiao nods, "I guess what I'm saying, if it's what you want as well, that I want to be your boyfriend." He has picked up enough from his encounters with humans to understand romantic relationships. He's never truly understood why the humans participated in them, at least not until now.

Venti's mouth agape, he quickly gains composure, "I just didn't expect you to be so straight forward." Venti chuckles, "I would be honored to be your boyfriend, my dear Xiao."

"And I, Yours." Xiao pulls one of his hands from Venti's neck up to his cheek and pulls his face to Xiao's for a kiss. It was short, but filled with more love, more happiness than Xiao's ever held.

"Who knew you'd be such a romantic." Venti smiles, "Although now that we are here confessing to one another, I can't help but realize how, uh, exposed we both are?" Venti set Xiao down.

He didn't think about it until now, his bare chest was just touching Venti's, and he professed his feelings. He was physically and emotionally exposed. He has to be bright red at this point, "I- uh, I assume you brought your regular clothes with to change?" He feels dizzy.

"Afraid not. Just the shoes, I did bring a blouse with, so I'll be fine until we get to the Inn." Venti smiles at Xiao, still red as an apple, he assumes.

"A-alright. I'll just, um, go change. Over here. There's a cavern just below. You can, um, change down there, you know, if you want privacy." Suddenly Xiao is a complete mess with words. He can't stop thinking about their chests, touching. Oh Gods, will he ever get over this?

Venti just chuckles, "It's fine, I'll just change by the tree."

"R-right." Xiao turns to go grab his clothes when-

"Xiao?" Venti grabs his arm, Xiao looks back to him, "Don't, uh, worry so much about everything, okay?" Was he that easy to read? Xiao just nods and turns back. They each change on opposite sides of the mountain. "Ready to head back?"

Xiao's head had finally cleared a bit, while he's still thinking about everything, he's much less embarrassed at this point. He grabs Venti's hand, interlacing their fingers, "Yea, ready." As they headed down the mountain it started downpouring.

While this worried Xiao, Venti did not have the same sentiment, "Actually, do you wanna go jumping in puddles?"

Xiao's realizes they never discussed when they would train next, but right now, looking at Venti smiling at him, he didn't mind not knowing, "Yea, why not."

-----------------

I meant for this to be more angsty but then I got really sad and said you know what? Kiss. And it made me feel better so its staying. Sorry if pure unadulterated fluff isn't your thing, but if it wasn't you wouldn't be at the bottom of this post reading this, now would you?

I have been having big kazuscara feelings and with the scara splash art coming out this morning and the new archon quest coming out like tomorrow, I may be writing a kazuscara fic sooooon hehehehehe

annnyways, i did one proofread over this but let me know if there are any other areas, and give me your thoughts on this!

[pryntery-moved]

Xiaoven piece I ended up not liking very much. One of those instances when experimenting doesn't work out.

Inspired by Witch Hat Atelier's art style and the song Bitter Water by The Oh Hellos (The same band that made Soldier, Poet, King. Have I ever mentioned I'm a BIG fan of them? A part of me laughed when Soldier, Poet, King blew up on Tiktok it's my favorite song since 2016 and their songs have had a chokehold on me since)

I made a Venti x The Oh Hellos playlist on spotify a while back and thought maybe I could use this as the cover but no :')

[byizoyas]

© byizoyas.

4:44; a social media au written by byizoyas.

!! CONTENT WARNING | suggestive at times, obsessive behavior (not in the reader x diluc relationship tho), mentions of alcohol, sex and drugs.

chapters that can be triggering will be marked on top of the concerned post ty!

➵ pairing: diluc x f!reader ➵ characters: reader, diluc (obviously), jean, kaeya, childe, xiao, zhongli, venti, donna

➵ modern/band au | y/n always loved music and started singing a long time ago, but when that one song from the band she’s in starts blowing up causing the e&a (y/n’s band) to go viral all of a sudden, she finds herself struggling to handle celebrity and the dramas going with it. little did she know things were about to get worse when she’d meet diluc, the annoying yet extremely attractive bass player, leader of a much more popular band and also a fan favorite. xiaoven & zhongchi mentions!

profiles. e&a | electrons

⁰¹ chaotic ⁰² late ⁰³ old friends ⁰⁴ midnight scandal ⁰⁵ band fusion ⁰⁶ late night talks ⁰⁷ ascending to heaven ⁰⁸ out of league ⁰⁹ second date

taglist is open.

[thelunaticghost]

xvn fic recs !!

i have been meaning to do this for a while : mostly because fic recs are fun to compile and also thee seems to be a BIG shortage of any fic rec posts!! so here are some fics i have enjoyed over the years!! ofc this list is non exhaustive please note the ratings of each fic and heed the tags before reading! sorry, that i am putting in the shorter summary

anyway!! feel free to put in more fic recs too!! :D

End OTW Racism | over the edge of all our knowings by merthurlin [ G, 10,146 words , 1/1 ]

Years down the line, after the whole business with Lumine and her brother has been concluded, Venti decides to go on a world tour. He sends Xiao letters.

merthurlin got me into xiaoven so ofc my list starts with her fic! this is just so so sweet and even if its not necessarily fluffy there is a warmth to the writing it is a comfort read for me! i recommend every work by her (regardless of fandom). though in xvn End OTW racism | never dreamed of nobody like you is another excellent fic!

nocturne by yanrans [ T, 34,540 words, 4/4 ]

In which Venti sells magical music boxes, Xiao is his unwitting customer, and there is absolutely, definitely nothing more to it at all.

modern au where venti is - a scammer? - i mean a music box seller and xiao is just a regular guy and and. its funny and delightful and absolutely breath taking. i wouldnt elaborate more so as not to spoil anything further but the fic has many unexpected surprises in it! yanrans is another writer i definitely recommend to check out more! their writing style is very flamboyant and poetic.

what hides in neon shadow by morii_tea [ T, 7,547 words, 1/1 ]

In which Xiao is a cyborg, Venti is a thief, and the glittering city of Teyvat hides more secrets than they’re prepared to find out.

its so rare to see morally grey venti is potrayed (even though he isnt v morally grey but still. xiao having to remembering that venti isnt as honourable as he appears is yesssss wohoo). this fic has some thrilling action and a v fun cyberpunk world!! i wish it was longer but it is v exciting nevertheless

every morning in the dark by magicites [ M, 77,124 words, 34/34 ]

Stuck in a time loop where he succumbs to his karmic debt, Xiao struggles to see the point in moving forward. Venti struggles to save him.

READ THE TAGS!!! character death and suicidal thoughts are two major warnings. but DAMN this fic it's just so. SO FULL of everything WRONG with xiao!! and venti too but such a GREAT angst fic!! it gets everything so Right. magicites also happened to have written one of my most favourite genshin fic too :] and if you havent read her other works!! you are missing out!!

the half-life of the yaksha is absolute by GStK [ G, 1,000 words, 1/1 ]

Venti digs his thumbs in to keep open the wound but it is too late His gaze snaps over to the teal essence dancing over Xiao’s fingers. Now all those words will belong to him And Venti will belong to him, only.

READ THE TAGS!! now that i have went into the time loop fic ofc i have to mention the beautiful corrupt xiao prose. the imagery is flowery and grotesque!

foreigner's god by smallghosts [ T, 3,818 words, 1/1 ]

Lord Barbatos falls asleep for a few hundred years. Xiao copes with his absence in strange ways.

a pre-canon fic where xiao becomes - in a way - a worshipper? it's SO GOOD. its about the yearning!!!!!!!!! SCREAMS i dont think i have to explain further

love me like you do by Limerancy [ T, 3,000 words, 1/1 ]

They aren’t the kind of friends that touch.

TOUCH STARVED AND TOUCH AVERSE XIAO!!!!!! this fic makes me a lil bit feral. a little unhinged. i absolutely enjoy reading about the yearning , the desire JUST!!!! AAAA. this writer also writes v fluffy modern au one shots!!! so be sure to check them out too :)

The Kissing Tree by Princeliest [ G, 7,581 words, 2/2 ]

Venti kisses Xiao, and Xiao does not understand why.

VENTI COMMITMENT ISSUES!!!!! as much as i adore reading xiao angst, venti angst is still something i love seeking out and its a tragedy that its not explored enough in this ship :c but anyway!!! such amazing characterization and exploration!! princeliest is one of fav genshin writers and this fic delivers!

wishing on dandelions all of the time by OedipusOctopus [ T, 8,270 words, 1/1 ]

When Venti first catches sight of the swords artfully hung on the wall of his new roommate's bedroom, he regrets putting up the sublease on Craigslist. Firmly believing this guy is a total weirdo, Venti is more surprised than anyone when he realizes the total weirdo is actually adorable. It's not against some invisible Roommate Code to dream about kissing your roommate, right?

ofc there is a classic roommate au fic!! this was one of my most favourite fic from last years xvn week: its hilarious and silly and just a perfect relaxing read!! the characterization and their banter is so entertaining i admit i have read this multiple times!

Where Words Fail by kavvueh [ T, 27,926 words, 11/12 ]

"You're Barbatos," Xiao repeats breathlessly. The young man in front of him nods. "Yep." "But..." Xiao cuts himself off and tries again. "You're the God of songs and poetry." The Anemo Archon nods his head sagely. "More or less." Xiao fixes Lord Barbatos with the most incredulous look he can manage. "... You're failing Music Theory."

this fic is such a delight!! it has some light background lore, some silly shenanigans, miscommunications, pinning - a truly fun mixture! the fic is v light hearted but written with a lot of tenderness. i am v excited to see its conclusion!

what queer sins stain thy soul by Anonymous [ M, 3,232 words, 1/1 ]

In which Xiao, long-established asexual, learns that identity is not as stable as he’d like to believe.

there is some explicit things in it (in non explicit way) i believe religious guilt is one of the best flavouring to xvn. it is an under-explored area in this ship imo and this fic not only has that but also!!! asexuality !!!!!! this fic so so personal and its exploration of desire that gets to me a lot

unholy virtues by morphasia [ E, 17,065 words, 6/6 ]

In exchange for his body in more ways than one, Venti summons a demon to reclaim something that has been stolen from him. It's a just contract. That's all it's supposed to be. That's all it was ever supposed to be.

READ THE TAGS!!! this fic truly went creature/creature. this au is just so fascinating and funny in a twisted way (but not bad). this fic isnt for everyone though but it is definitely worth the shot.

[genericwizard]

Venti :3

Ehe... under the read more for space

How I feel about this character Venti makes me unwell, he also makes me want to live so it all works out. He was my first love in Genshin and also my strongest. He is my forever favorite, even if I accept other characters may do more, be more, he is my one and only clown husband. I cried when I had to leave Mondstadt without him (and rejoiced that we'd never be apart once I rolled for him three months later). He inspired me to leave my shitty job. Character of all time to me.

All the people I ship romantically with this character I am the KaeVen CEO for a reason....... this is the only ship for the character that matters to me because I see so much intrigue. There's the mortal/immortal aspects of it but also because they are very similar characters IMO. They're both "outsiders" in their own home. People don't trust them because they're hiding behind their smile. Neither like taking credit for their good deeds or that their reputation precedes them, etc. I like the drama of "how could they ever forgive me for what I've done?" "am I worthy of being loved/ allowing myself to fall in love?" "I didn't think you of all people would understand me". And they've had more substantial moments in canon together than frankly any other Venti ship, but who's counting?

When I don't have brain worms I actually like exes zhongven a lot, I think they had a longstanding relationship that doesn't work out for various reasons, and they probably know each other quite well, or at least they used to. I also like RosaVen in a genderweird way, Rosaria realizing she thinks he's annoyingly cute and doesn't know what to do about it is fun. I also like one-sided Venlumi and Venti/Vanessa, because I know he longs for powerful women who don't reciprocate in that way... sigh.

My non-romantic OTP for this character One no one will mention- Miko + Venti friendship is S tier, I love that he gossips with her over drinks. I also prefer platonic XiaoVen, they're close but not in that way to me. As mentioned I also like Venlumi, and I'll take platonic KaeVen too since I eat crumbs. Historically I care about his relationships with Vanessa and NB but I am fixated on Venti in the current timeline so I don't think about them much.

My unpopular opinion (s) about this character Hoo boy. Well for one I actually don't like his archon design very much. I kind of dislike some of the elements that I think don't make sense on his body and also were only shown in the comic depiction, like his glowing anemo tattoos or w/e, I don't really get the point of those so I omit them in my writing. His archon design and all the discussion around it bleeds into my dislike of people who label him a tr*p or something similar/worse. Despite this, very pro Venti as a sex-haver, I don't think there's anything wrong with sexualizing him, I just have my own icks. Also pro Venti having weird gender, even if I still prefer he/him pronouns for him.

I guess I dislike that people distrust him so much. It's like, sure, he's withholding info from us, but to assume that means he has ulterior, evil motives makes 0 sense to me. I also don't like corrupted Venti for the same reason. He's fine. He just has the usual kinds of despair, from the existential crisis of his existence, perception of time, and all the loss he's faced that drive him to sleep for hundreds of years at a time. Far more tangible reasons to be "corrupted" to me than "ooooh the abyss made him Evilllll" Besides, Celestia made all that is forbidden evil, even if he is full of abyssal knowledge/power that's not a good metric of someone's morality when Celestia is our main antagonist!

I guess thinking Kaeya is his best ship is unpopular, but that's redundant ATP.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Carmen Dei: Chapter II. Or really any new story/event appearance where he's allowed to be more than a glorified emcee / convenient plot starter.

[lilithuriel]

Hello, everyone! The Xiao*Venti doujin I made is finally here and I've put it on Kofi. You can buy it for $5 only.

✮ Summary: The story unfolds in the year 20xx, during Venti and Xiao's fifth year together. Xiao grapples with profound depression following the loss of his family members, significantly impacting their relationship. After some careful consideration, Venti concluded that maybe it would be better for them to end their relationship.

✮ Pages: 42 pages including the front and back covers. Color: Black and white/monochrome

✮ Other important info or tags: R15 (due to profanity, mention of substance abuse, and depictions of self-harm), Modern AU, reincarnation, past-lives lovers.

Personal story/notes (you don't have to read it):

I can't deny that I have significant insecurities about my own creation, but I'm relieved to have completed this unofficial Xiaoven book. To be honest, I grapple not only with low self-esteem... The past few months, dedicated to preparing for the convention I participated in, have been exceptionally challenging for me. Some vendors mishandled my orders, resulting in refunds. Additionally, others tampered with the trimming and layout of my book, leaving me dissatisfied with the final product. I also suffered a substantial financial loss due to a scam involving someone posing as the courier for my local merchandise package, which had not arrived after more than two weeks (it usually only takes a week or less). Despite these setbacks, I remain hopeful that 2024 will bring better circumstances for both myself and everyone else.

[dansconcepts]

Rise of the "Archons" + One Adeptus + Two Other Immortals

Aka an introductory excerpt of a Rise of the Guardians-inspired Genshin Impact AU from my archives.

Roles to Note:

E. Aster Bunnymund: Xiao (guardian of safety; protector of purity)

Jack Frost: Venti (guardian of fun; protector of freedom)

Sandman: Morax (guardian of duty; protector of responsibility)

Toothiana: Lumine (guardian of memory; protector of growth)

North: Aether (guardian of ambition; protector of dreams)

Pitch Black: Childe

"...Tartaglia?" Lumine hisses. She averts her gaze, landing on the closest figure to her. Her eyes trail to Morax, whose lips are pressed in a thin line with a hand tightly clasped around his tea cup. His eyes reflect exactly how she feels- that tinge of disbelief, with the added aggravation of a lingering foreboding. 

She can't help but attempt to swallow the dread slowly rising within her. With a hardened gaze, she asks, "He was here?"

Aether nods. "I saw water creatures made of black. There was black water everywhere, actually-"

"What?" Xiao interjects. "What do you mean by water? I thought you said you saw Tartaglia?"

The Abyss leader frowns, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh. "Well… Not exactly."

Xiao scoffs. "Tch. We've all gathered here for something you aren't even certain about. This is pathetic!" 

"Oh, c'mon Xiao! Give me a break."

"Rex Lapis. Is what he's saying truthful? I feel I need a more verifiable source."

"Hey!"

The surprise from such a childish argument occurring has Lumine giggling slightly at their antics. 

"Paimon was there! It really was Tartaglia!" A small fairy chimes, stomping a tiny foot into the air. She whines loudly, scolding, "Aether, you big dummy! You forgot to talk about how the water literally formed a silhouette of Tartaglia!"

"Oh yeah, that's right! Whoops." He chuckles sheepishly. "Oh-ow!-Paimon!-stop-OW!-hitting-me!... just why does your tiny fists pack such a punch…!" 

In the midst of it all, Morax hums. It causes everyone to trail off, and even Paimon ceases in her hits. 

"And… are you able to confidently swear that, within this very establishment, you saw Tartaglia?"

The blond nods, any ounce of a smile ripped completely off his face. 

"I understand it sounds like speculation, but I- and Paimon too- are confident in what we saw. The water was too familiar. The darkness? Equally so. And the figure forming into the man himself was just as telling."

He breathes. "Tartaglia is back, and he's up to something."

Morax hums once more before going back to his tea in silence.

Xiao rolls his eyes. "Rex Lapis may be satisfied, but I am not. You dragged me away to provide, what, a half-assed warning that you could've sent, I don't know, your fairy to deliver?"

"I'm not some carrier pigeon!" Paimon feebly protests. 

Paimon is easily ignored.

"Well, I'm sorry I thought it was of grave enough importance that we all meet up here or you wouldn't believe me otherwise!"

"I'm here and I still don't believe you!" Xiao spat. "Do you have evidence?"

"Are two people's words not enough for you? We're being serious!" He shakes his head at the adeptus, turning toward his sister in solace to cool his head. "Lumine, you've been quiet. What do you think?"

"Ah, well… you know I trust you Aether. It's just unsettling to think that Ch-Tartaglia would be back after all these centuries…"

It grants a nod from Aether, where he turns to his fellow guardian with a smirk. Xiao snarls, low and feral, igniting a battle of wits between the two. As their heated words fill the otherwise gnawing silence, a distinct brightness shines through the fairly already illuminated building. It reflects harshly off the fake purple neon lighting. The movement ceases and settles right in front of Morax, soothing and gentle. 

Yet he is the only one to notice, as Lumine's eyes are downcast while Xiao and Aether bicker like children.

How did he get here? He wonders to himself solemnly.

"Everyone." He speaks. They ignore him. He raises his voice, repeating the same word. They're too off in their own little worlds to notice. The absolute gall of these children.

Fine then. 

The floor beneath them begins to shake and it rumbles an affronted roar. Lumine is the first to gasp in surprise. She nearly stumbles and instinctively shoots out her arms, stamping her feet to the ground as a way to keep herself upright. Xiao and Aether, on the other hand, repeat the action when the floor starts to make them sway. 

Their heads immediately snap to the source of it all, who stands in the chaos with not even a hair out of place. 

"Done?" He chastises. "Do look up now."

Altogether, their eyes spot the natural beams of light. 

Lumine's eyes sparkle. "Oh! The Welkin Moon! Zhongli, why didn't you say anything?"

"I clearly did."

"No, all you did was shake the ground. You could've just shouted 'moon', you know."

"...Why, yes, I suppose I could've…"

"Well, moon, what did you want to say?"

A silhouette of a cloaked figure with a staff waves excitedly before it's whisked away, revealing the familiar profile of-

"Tartaglia. It really is him." Xiao spits out. "Oh, when I get my hands on that Fatui scum-"

Aether shoots him a pointed look, before turning back to the moon. "Okay then moon, what do we do?"

The cloaked figure points to Lumine.

"Huh? Me? Why-" Her eyes cloud shut. They flutter open just as quickly. 

"Ah." 

She nods, before beginning to form constellations from her hands, letting the moon's whispers guide her. A small pedestal is created, and she lets the stars fly out from the top in a wonderful light show. They use her subconscious memory as a base, beginning to create the form of-

"A new guardian? Ah, we could use the help." Aether concedes with an amiable nod.

"As long as it isn't that popsicle or another annoying pest, I won't complain."

They slowly take in the formation of clogs… legs… shorts… corset…? ...a… lyre?

Before them was none other than Venti, the wind spirit.

"Venti." 

The stars twinkling around the image droop in a mock faint. 

"Huh. I didn't know there could be a horrible answer. I see I was wrong."

"Wha- guys!" Lumine scolds. "C'mon! As long as he helps out, it's no big deal, right?"

"Venti? Helping? All he's ever done was prolong danger and nearly makes me lose it every. single. time. He blows the demons away from me and laughs a storm about it. He isn't trustworthy."

"Well, now he's a guardian."

[cryingisnecessaryfanfics]

Reverse comfort ft. Venti <3

So I always liked the idea of Venti smoking because to me smoking is so attractive and well Venti probably would in a modern world. so creds to this art post for inspiring a venti reverse comfort. (I love xiaoven but I don't really write ship fics so an x reader it is lolol)

CW: fluffy for the most part, slight hint towards Venti's dead friend, no pronouns or gender mentioned for reader, almost crying, smoking duh, cringe comfort dialog.

sorry if there are any mistakes (I wrote this on a whim in my personal comforts and decided it had post potential)

~~

Venti doesn't smoke as much as he drinks. Still, it's not rare to find him sitting under a tree with a cigarette between his two fingers. He takes drags in slow deep breaths and holds the smoke in his lungs for a drawn-out moment. And then his lips part and the smoke flows out and away, curls around him as if to caress his face, and disperses.

The scene is somehow breathtaking. Venti is not usually so calm, his hyper-cheerful personality radiant and glowing. But when he's alone with a cigarette he lets it all go for a moment. Just sits with the smell of smoke and the taste of nicotine. And it's somehow beautiful and angelic. Somehow it takes your breath away every time.

You take a seat next to Venti and he smiles at your descent. He holds up the cigarette in question and you grab it to take a drag of your own in response.

"Feeling down?" You ask when you pass it back. And his hand pauses for a moment before he takes the cigarette from your fingers.

"It's been a long day." He says with a quiet voice. You nod in understanding, silently taking his free hand into yours. You give it a reassuring squeeze and Venti starts to hum a melody, something moody and unrecognizable, lined with grief and undertones of hurt.

You knew Venti wasn't always happy no matter how hard he tried to appear so. Hell, there was a soft smile on his face even now.

"They would be so proud of all the things you've done for Mondstat." You whisper and his humming falters and fades away.

His smile slips from his lips slowly, his eyes dropping closed with the sharp intake of a breath. When he finally opens his eyes and you can see those blue-green irises glazed over with tears, you move your hand behind his frame and place his head on your shoulder.

"Thank you," Venti whispers and it's clear how much the statement impacted him. His eyes don't leak but stay glassy and full, he takes shallow drags of the cigarette, occasionally lifting it up for you to take your own. He doesn't look at you for a while. What felt like hours passed. Sucking on cigarette after cigarette, staring into the distance to watch nature and the trees.

Eventually, with a hesitant face, Venti finally lifts his head from your shoulder and puts out a half-smoked cigarette in the damp dirt.

You don't need words to know what he wants from you, so you lean forward without asking and he follows your lead. Your lips meet gently, a sweet and reassuring kiss.

When you part from each other Venti stands and extends a hand to help you up. Your hands remain intertwined the whole way home.

[sincerelyandyourstruly]

on duty, sin, & recompense

what is a sin is defined by that religion’s scriptures, which are ostensibly the Word of God. therefore, it follows that what is and isn’t a sin is flexible depending on the context and religion, and technically, if your god tells you you have not sinned, then you have not sinned by the Word of God.

it is rather human, then, to arrogate oneself to reject the Word of God and insist upon one’s alleged sin, for humans are, by their nature, imperfect.

xiao is not a sinner, not in venti’s eyes. even in his youth of stealing dreams, he was himself a victim and not a violator, as he lacked the freedom, the autonomy, to choose.

i think xiao likes contracts because they gave his life structure and direction. he came out of a very overwhelming situation when he signed his contract — how does he live with himself now that it’s in his hands? there is so much he needs to atone for — i think he might have killed himself (or at the very least let himself die) had zhongli basically not said, “here’s what you can do to improve this shitty world you helped make.”

and that’s why he struggles to give up his duty to this day in canon— he’s served for over 2,000 years, but that’s a mere two hundred lifetimes out of the presumably hundreds or even thousands more he stole. it’s not until he feels like he’s paid enough back that he can put down his spear and have his life be his own again. debt forgiveness is simply not a thing to him.

as the last remaining yaksha, xiao feels like he must carry on and honor the legacy of his elder siblings. in order to do that, he must act in a way that would make them look good? competent? while compensating for their absence at the same time. but their absence also gives him this sense of futility. he will meet his end sooner or later, but his desire to maintain their legacy, as someone who fought until the end, motivates him to both live and die. live to his death, i suppose.

he feels trapped by his own life, a butterfly fluttering helplessly inside a glass jar.

or perhaps it’s less that his life is the butterfly, but his duty, the butterfly; his life, the jar. his life is not enough for what his duty demands, for his sins to be paid fairly, but he will hold on to what he has until he collapses because it’s all he believes he can do.

why do we fight for things to be fair, for debts to be paid? how do we justify our own cultural values? xiao fights for the safety, protection, and prosperity of liyue and its people, because he doesn’t want them to suffer under his hand again, suffer as he had before he had them to take care of. because he feels he is not enough, for his past actions have made him lesser.

there's a particular imagery i like to imagine liyue characters feel very strongly as a result of their cultural upbringing around "contracts". in it, one's heart is placed on one end of a brass scale, while every action of worth one has done is placed on another. ideally, these things will at the very least balance out, and you will have lived a good life, one that made you worth keeping around.

xiao feels as if his sins (time under the evil god → contract w/zhongli) are on the heavy side of a literally broken scale, so that no matter how much he tries to tithe, the other pan never rises. to have something nice would simply be adding to the wrong side, for relief is the opposite of what he owes, and he will simply have to pay that back twice over later as a result.

venti relates to the struggle of legacy, obviously, and sees xiao’s futile struggle against his fate motivated by that, and is reminded of why he refuses to give in to the powers of celestia, even though he knows that, like xiao, he will either die holding on to his values/ideals or be forced to accept unfair actions to keep going. the difference btwn them, ofc, is that venti thinks xiao to be a man more sinned against than sinner himself.

[kavvueh]

Where Words Fail

Chapter 12: Coda

♫ It's over, folks. Now for the real question - do they kiss?? (Spoiler: yes they do~!) ♫

Click here for the newest chapter. Click this to start from Chapter 1!

Chapters: 12/12 Fandom: 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Venti/Xiao | Alatus (Genshin Impact), Venti & Xiao | Alatus (Genshin Impact) Characters: Xiao | Alatus (Genshin Impact), Venti (Genshin Impact), Zhongli (Genshin Impact) Additional Tags: Eventual Romance, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Reincarnation, Venti remembers but Xiao does not, No beta we die like Rex Lapis, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, This is a very light-hearted fic, Alternate Universe - Music, music school, Xiao and Venti are university music students, Minor Tartaglia | Childe/Zhongli (Genshin Impact), and by minor that means background it's mentioned maybe three times, Ganyu Hu Tao and the Traveler twins appear in the final chapter, Barbara is there once or twice also Summary:

"You're Barbatos," Xiao repeats breathlessly. The young man in front of him nods. "Yep." "But..." Xiao cuts himself off and tries again. "You're the God of songs and poetry." The Anemo Archon nods his head sagely. "More or less." Xiao fixes Lord Barbatos with the most incredulous look he can manage. "... You're failing Music Theory."

A XiaoVen story.

[spumonibones]

Chasing Wings: Ch. 05 Lore/Story

AO3 Chapter 05 | Chapter 05 (Tumblr) NOTE: Content Warning this chapter - Being held against will; obsessive/possessive treatment (flashbacks). Implication of stalking behavior.

Chapter One

Lore/Notes under cut

***

LORE/STORY:

• Albert → Just... Albert. Between the Monstadt Daily in which he literally refuses to leave unless you "sweep" for him to "help Barbara," and the way he basically stalks after her into Wolvendom during her Hangout Event... To the very first Windblume in 1.4 when his letter to Barbara (link takes straight to the letter, but you can watch the full Windblume if you want!) sounded like a threat. Because the man has zero chill, and for some weird reason the game keeps excusing it.

• Deaconess Erne → Originally I was using Deaconess Dahlia, since she was mentioned but never seen. However, there are rumblings that she will actually become a playable character in the future. To avoid issues, I created an entirely new Deaconess to fit the needs of the story.

INSTRUMENTS:

Guzheng - Lover's Oath Cover by Lyra on a Stand Lute - Despacito Cover by Ahmed Alshaiba* Dizi - Liyue Battle BGM Cover by Jae There isn't any special, greater meaning behind any of these instruments being mentioned. Just sound good to the ears.

*If you look up, "Genshin lute covers," it is literally nothing but Flute covers. Almost used bardcore, but that felt too distracting from the purpose of providing examples.

LORE:

• "My girlfriend turned into the moon." "That's rough buddy." • On an actual, serious note... The moon. The moon. I would be remiss to not give the proper nod to the importance of the moon within Teyvat at least a few times throughout this exceedingly long fic. The amount of lore that could be mentioned is... A lot. And you are not here for The Moon. You are here for XiaoVen hand-holding, and any relevant story/lore to that.

• Venti/Barbatos' Voice. Six-Fingered José has a voiceline about a mysterious bard, "But I think even I would be seduced by his beautiful voice..." That probably could have been safely assumed, but. Uh. Taadaa?

STORY:

• Both Xiao and Venti need a hug. They should hug each other. Who's writing this and NOT making them hug? I demand a refund!

• In game, Xiao does NOT have pointed ears. They are very round and very human. This is a crime. Throughout the fic it will be inconsistent just to what extend his ears are long. That is because I am locked in an eternal battle if smol point or big point.

Chapter 05 Song/Lyrics: I Think We Are the Same

Today by Halou This song has always struck me as being about having the first good day in a long time, and connecting with someone who understands that experience. This was the best I could find for this chapter, and as always appreciate all suggestions for songs. (And always corrections with lore errors!)