Ducky hi I hope this isn’t a bother but I have an oddly specific emergency request??
I’ve been struggling with atypical anorexia for years. I keep gaslighting myself that it’s not that bad because I’m not skinny enough to look sick. I feel like it’s no big deal because it wouldn’t hurt for a fat girl like me to stop eating right? Hah sorry. Bad joke…
anyways, I saw that you write for Genshin and I was wondering if I can have Cyno and/or Tighnari comfort me? It can be separate or together but maybe can you make it that we’re classmates and he/they notice us?
thank you for even taking the time to read this and I hope you have a really good day 🥲
Oh my god anon hi
It’s like my brain was fucking cloned and copied into yours.
Fear not my liege, I’ll do both of them bc I’m infatuated with them both.
This is EXACTLY what I face on the daily.
I hope this isn’t too triggering because I really projected into these. I kinda just emptied my mind into the doc
(Oh no, Cyno’s got long)
I want you to know that you are deserving of food. No matter your size, food is fuel and you NEED to eat.
CW BELOW THE CUT: Reader has An0r3xia, Symptoms of An0r3xia, Self-hatred and Self-depreciation Ducky is essentially venting in this post
ALL REQUESTS ARE CLOSED!! THIS IS AN OLD REQUEST
𝑇𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑖
The course of your life changed long ago, and you can’t exactly remember what “inspired” you to take the path that you did. However, you’d been plagued with negative thoughts for years, and decided to take action.
What you didn’t take into account was the people that you would hurt in the process…
Tighnari wasn’t expecting you to enter his life. You were a Haravatat student, and he was an Amurta student. Your paths were not technically supposed to cross. But, somehow you both ended up in the same required arithmetic class.
The first day went as always, your professor would explain the outline of the course, you’d introduce yourself to your seat-mate, and that would be it.
Little did you know, your seat-mate would be the one to save you from yourself…
The fennec leaned over to you, and in a whispered voice said, “If he doesn’t stop talking about his cat, I might just walk out.”
You giggled a little, to his delight, replying, “Walking? Man, you’re calm. I’m ready to drop out entirely.”
You earned a snort in reply. You watched the student next to you try not to erupt into laughter. “Tighnari.” He managed through his scattered breaths.
“(Y/N).” You replied with a smile. “Need any water? You’re looking a little…”
“Mm mmnh, fine, fine. I’m fine…” He blew an exhale through his lips as he gently fanned himself with his hand. “No laughing here.”
From that moment on, the two of you became friends. Your torturous arithmetic class became your favorite part of the day, and you looked forward to seeing Tighnari every time you went.
Eventually, all good things must come to an end. Your disorder had caught up with you, and you started to behave differently.
You started to slowly deteriorate. You became more reserved, nauseous and irritable. Your daily caloric intake sunk drastically, and you did not feel good whatsoever. Every time you stood, gravity was begging for you to go back down.
Ideally, this was not what a human should face, but this is what you greatly desired deep down. The pain in your stomach, head, knees, chest, it all meant that you were doing what you thought you needed to do.
One day during arithmetic, you were completely spaced out. You couldn’t focus on anything aside from your pounding head and starving stomach. A loud growl emitted from your abdomen, but you could scarcely hear it over the ringing in your ears.
Tighnari looked upon you worriedly, noticing you gag while your professor talked about the breakfast he had. When class was dismissed, you practically jumped to your feet to leave, promptly causing you to stumble and brace yourself on him for support.
“(Y/N)-“
“I’m… I’m fine.” And with that, you quickly left the room and rushed to the top floor of the library, in a spot that only you and your best friend knew about. After climbing the stairs, you fell onto the beanbag chair, panting heavily and holding your throbbing head. What was wrong?
You didn’t have much time to focus on why you were feeling so feeble, due to hearing frantic footsteps climbing the stairs behind you.
“Please, go away,” you whimpered as you tried to calm yourself. “I don’t want anyone to see me. Please just leave me alone.”
“I’d be a fool to leave you like this.” The person sat down next to you, looking at you with sympathetic eyes.
You looked to your left to meet aquamarine colored irises, blaring holes through you. “Tighnari…” With a wobbling lip, your tears started to bubble up again.
“I’m here… I’m here… it’s okay,” he soothed, moving to kneel in front of you. “What’s going on?”
“I… I-“ you wanted nothing more to explain, but would he believe you? You didn’t look sick enough, so who were you to claim you had an eating disorder. “I’m j-just not fee-feeling well.” You lied
“(N/N), please don’t lie to me…” he begged. “I may be reaching way too far out of proportion, but-“ his face screwed into one of sympathy as he looked at your terrified eyes, securing his fears. “With everything I’ve been noticing-“ he sighed. “If… If you’re having problems eating, you can tell me.”
You froze, breath stopping completely. “I-I don’t have-“ you scoff in disbelief at him. How did he figure that out from just your symptoms? “Look at me, Tighnari. I’m too fat to have an eating disorder.”
“Anyone of any size can have an eating disorder.”
“Not someone like me.” You shook your head as pitiful laughter bubbled out of you. “Someone like me doesn’t have an eating disorder. It doesn’t matter how hard I try, I never make any progress. That’s kinda how it works, and I can’t manage to make it work.”
“I’m obsessed with what I eat and how much I eat, and no one fucking believes me. Archons, it wouldn’t matter to the public if I just completely stopped eating. It would honestly be better knowing that I wasn’t stuffing my face all of the time. Maybe I’d actually drop a few pounds if I-“
“(Y/N).” The archer’s heart sank to the ground as he heard what you thought of yourself.
“What?”
“Can I please give you a hug?”
You paused, taking in his face. Tighnari looked absolutely distressed, almost as if he was about to cry. “Y-Yes please.” You whimpered.
Without further need for conversation, you slumped your head against his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around your waist, and another around your shoulders as his hand cradled the side of your head. His padded thumb gently stroked your cheek.
“You, (N/N),” he began. “Are absolutely beautiful.”
The words made your breath catch in your lungs.
“I think you’re stunning atop of being your size. You don’t need to be a certain weight to be beautiful, you just need to be yourself. There will never not be someone trying to get under your skin, but it’s important that you stay positive. It’s like my mother always said: not everyone will want to be your friend, and that’s okay.”
The fennec sniffled, using his thumb to wipe his eyes. “What I’m saying is: you don’t have to change yourself for someone else to think you’re worthy. You brighten my life just by being alive, please don’t try to change who you are.”
“It absolutely breaks my heart to hear what you think about yourself.” Guilt washed over you as you heard his voice start to break with sniffles and tears. “A-And I don’t know h-how I’d manage if I-I lost you… (Y/N), I can’t b-bear to have to think of burying my b-best friend.”
You closed your eyes as your lip wobbled. It wasn’t long before a sob ripped from your throat and you broke down in loud lamentations.
He held you tighter, eyes closed, hot tears running down his cheeks, as he allowed you to finally release all of the woes and feelings that you had been holding in for so long.
“I’ve got you…” he whispered. “Don’t worry about a thing…”
It took a while for you to calm down, but ultimately, you did. You laid still in Tighnari’s embrace, playing with a few locks of his hair that hung loosely in front of you. “I’m sorry to cause you so much trouble…”
“Don’t be.” He replied with a patient grin, eyes focused on the people outside. “I’m just glad that you told me. To be honest, I was missing your usual quips in arithmetic.”
You snorted in amusement. “You’re only saying that to make me feel better.”
He cocked a brow and pursed his lips. “(N/N), my only other source of “comedy” is Cy-“
“Nevermind.” You interrupted.
The fennec snorted and burst out into boisterous laughter. You couldn’t help but mirror his action, giggling over the lack of hesitation in your answer.
As seconds passed, and the two of you laughed, the tears that were in your eyes were replaced by ones of mirth. When the laughter subsided, you laid lax against his torso, sighing in contentment.
Maybe Tighnari would be right after all…
𝐶𝑦𝑛𝑜
Cyno has always been a very detail oriented person. He’s keen at catching tiny things that others may overlook.
It was the end of the academic year and final examinations were coming around. The Kshahrewar students decided to host a huge party, and your dearest friend was begging you to go with him.
You wanted nothing more than to deny, for you knew your ED would ruin the night. You had been caught in a pretty bad relapse lately, and you dared not to tell Cyno.
Regardless, you swallowed your fears and agreed with a patient smile.
“Great.” His lips upturned into a gentle grin. “I can’t wait.”
That evening, you spent hours looking for something to wear. Every outfit had some sort of issue, and you never found yourself satisfied with what you had on.
Eventually, you decided on the outfit that you hated the least, texted Cyno to alert him of your departure, and left your dorm feeling uneasy.
When you arrived at the party, you found your best friend analyzing the refreshment table, plate in hand. You made your way over to him, taking in his simple, yet fashionable, clothing choice.
“Hey.” He smiled as he looked at you. He caught glimpse of your outfit and whistled, “You look hot, (N/N).”
You couldn’t help but giggle a bit at his flattery. “You’ve been waiting a while to pull that card, havent’cha?”
A simple shrug of amusement answered your question. “Im going to go say hello to Al-Haitham and Tighnari, wanna grab a plate and meet me outside?”
Your stomach dropped, but you never lost your smile. “Sure. I’ll see you out there.”
As Cyno retreated to say hello to his friends, you eyeballed the table. It was a beautiful array of food, but looking at it made you nauseous.
Your pupils flickered between sweet treats and savory snacks, the music drowning under the growing static in your ear. Your hands shook in protest as you went to grab a plate.
Having finished a, rather curt, exchange with Al Haitham, Cyno was deep in conversation with Tighnari. After a while, his eyes traveled back to the table, brows knit in confusion as he took in your demeanor. His face fell upon noticing…
You looked dazed. Your eyes absentmindedly pooled with tears as your quivering hand hovered back and forth between foods and back at your side. Eventually, you sighed in defeat and put the plate down with a loud groan, grabbing a bottle of water and retreating outside.
Words caught in his throat as he pointed to the door and attempted to stutter out an excuse to leave. Unbeknownst to him, Tighnari had seen the same thing and ushered the white-haired male after you.
When he went outside, Cyno couldn’t find you. You were nowhere to be seen in the backyard. It wasn’t until he heard gentle sniffling from above that it had dawned on him.
You were hiding out in a tiny treehouse that had been built by the Kshahrewar students as a final project. Those damn architects and their spare time…
He pushed aside his worries of cleanliness and began to scale the large tree. He carefully climbed up the ladder and silently entered the small, wooden house.
When your best friend’s eyes fell on you, his face dropped instantly. You had thrown on an oversized hoodie over your outfit, and were hugging your knees to your chest.
Cyno sat down next to you wordlessly, settling onto the dusty floor. He looked through the wooden window, eyes fixated on the twinkling stars.
“I’m sorry.” You murmured, not daring to look at him. “I ruined your fun.”
The white-haired male scoffed with amusement. “The only “fun” to be had was listening to Tighnari talk about a beetle that he found today. I love the guy, but sometimes I can only smile and nod and pretend to know what’s coming out of his mouth.”
His comment got a chuckle out of you, then an uncomfortable silence followed. “You feelin’ okay?” He asked gently.
“Not really, I’m not big into parties and I’m feeling sick.” You rest your head between your knees.
“Oh dear…” he mumbled. “Do you have water with you? Anything to snack on to get your levels regulated?”
You held up the bottle you had brought with you, not daring to speak.
“Good on the water part, but you need to eat something.”
“I’m not hungry.” Your stomach suddenly cried out for food, betraying you as you managed to curl in on yourself more.
The white-haired male sighed as he turned his head to look at you. “Do you wanna tell me what’s going on? Or do I have to force you?”
“Threatening me is not the way to get me to talk to you, Cyno.” You grumbled in reply, sneering a bit as you don’t move your head from its previous position.
“If that’s what it takes for you to tell me what’s wrong, I don’t care how it happens.” He said sternly. “Please, just tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s fine, I’m okay. Go have fun at the party.”
“(Y/N)-“
“I said I’m fine!”
Your head shoots up to reveal hot tears running down your cheeks, you lock eyes with Cyno and instantly feel guilty for yelling.
The white-haired male takes hold of both of your shoulders, gazing into your eyes. “You. Are. Not. Fine.” His fiery gaze is baring holes into you. “After what I saw a few minutes ago, I can’t believe you when you say that you’re fine. I just can’t-”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I know the signs, (Y/N). Please, tell me I’m wrong in what I’m thinking is going on, please... I care about you way too much for you to hurt yourself like this.”
His thumb comes up to wipe your tears, but it’s all in vain as you hang your head low and start to sob. Cyno is taken aback at the sudden outburst, but doesn’t fail to turn to comfort. “Oh honey… c’mere, it’s alright… it’s alright...” He soothed as he shifted to a kneeling position, wrapping his arms around you.
Through your sobs, you explained how you had been feeling lately. You explained your relapse, your self-hatred, the things you believed were true (when in reality they were not). Your best friend listened intently to every word, giving you his undivided attention.
When you were finished, Cyno did not reply, he only hugged you for a moment longer. When you broke free to wipe your eyes, that is when he finally spoke…
“I want to preface by apologizing. I didn’t even notice, and you’re one of my dearest friends… I’m so sorry.”
“S’okay.” You replied, resting your head on his shoulder.
He rested his head atop of yours, bringing a hand up to gently trace shapes on the small of your back. “I can’t entirely understand what you’re going through, but I do know what you’re feeling all too well…” he murmured. “I’m so sorry that you felt that you had to resort to this. You’re an incredible person, and I’m so lucky to call you my best friend… I couldn’t care less what you look like, or what you eat. I just wish that you felt that way too.”
“I just wanna be me again,” you whimpered. “I hate all of this. I’m tired all of the time, in pain, dizzy, everything just hurts and I’m starving but I can’t bring myself to eat anything. It’s- It’s crippling.”
“I know…” he soothed. “I wish that people understood how awful it is to have a calculator running in your head constantly. They see someone who looks like me and they think “he’s sick”. They see someone who might be on the heavier side and think “they’re an inspiration.” It’s unfair, and it’s repulsive. Anyone of any size can go through this.” He rambled,
Your eyes widened when you realized what his words meant. “Someone like you…? Wait, you? You’re-“
“For years, yes. I finally managed to get it under control when I entered the Akademiya. However, sometimes I still have moments like you’re in right now.”
“How did you recover?” You asked with hope in your voice.
Cyno gently held out his hand for you to take, which, to his delight, you did. “I met Tighnari,” he answered truthfully. “He helped me learn to love who I am… every inch of me. And I want to see if he can help you too. Do you think you’d be okay with that?”
You closed your eyes with a smile as you nodded tearfully. “Yes, please do so.”
A solemn silence was left in the treehouse until Tighnari had climbed his way up. He promptly said what everyone had been thinking: “Aw man, now my pants are all dirty.”
As you and Cyno laughed at his similar fate, you thought, for the first time in a while, that things might just be okay.
—————♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎—————
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