#grandfather: stone stands steadfast (zhongli) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

void-kissed · 1 year

Text

maeror viventi

Following the relinquishing of the Geo Archon’s Gnosis per the terms of his ultimate contract, Signora and Alectra are set to return to Snezhnaya in order to present their acquisition to the Tsaritsa. However, Alectra is unwilling to leave without checking on someone she had somehow grown attached to in Liyue - namely, of all people, the archon himself. Takes place shortly after the third objective of The Fond Farewell. (1389 words) This piece focuses on my familial selfship with Zhongli. Content warning for discussion of death and grief.

A piece written to commemorate this date, and make concrete the solace brought to me by this character on this day, both last year and this year. This piece of writing is of great significance to me because of what it represents, but I still wanted to share it after having written it out, if that's alright.

Comments on and reblogs of my work are always okay, and appreciated, but they are never required.

(Tag list and document transcript under the readmore:)

Document transcript:

The silver light of the moon shone down over the harbour, reflecting a dozen times in the lazily-lapping waves of the ocean. In the city of commerce itself, however, the lights that glowed were golden, softly shining outside buildings to illuminate the work of the evening. The night was somewhat livelier than usual, owing to the aftermath of the recent troubles afflicting Liyue that still needed to be fully sorted out, and the imminent Rite of Parting that was on the horizon and in many people’s thoughts. However, there were always serene spaces of quiet to be found if you knew where to look, even at times like these.

On one of the paved paths that wound up towards Yujing Terrace, a lone man was staring out over the sea and the city, arms crossed and resting on the barrier.

“Ah, so this is where you went, Mr. Zhongli.”

The voice caused the man to turn his head, looking down at the young woman standing before him. She normally gave off a threatening aura despite her small stature, with her once-corrupting sword in her hand and the blood-red feathers adorning her shoulders and the butterfly-wing mask that covered the left side of her face in ornate gold details - but on this quiet harbourside evening, she appeared decidedly subdued despite all this. Pearlescent teal-green eyes stared up towards his amber ones with an expression that was altogether both soft and sharp; he couldn’t help but feel that she was trying to hold something back.

“Miss Alectra?” he asked her, turning his body to address her with his eyebrows raised in mild surprise. “I must say, I would have expected you to have been on your way out of Liyue already.”

“There are still a few preparations that need to be made before the ship can set sail. And, even if there aren’t- they will wait for me.” she explained.

He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Most courteous of your fellows.” Then he stopped. “In that case, then.. what brings you here, to have sought me out at this moment?”

She trailed off and looked away somewhat, as if she felt her reason was too trivial. Saying it out loud did not alleviate this feeling, either.

“I just.. wanted to make sure you were alright.” she finally admitted.

“Oh?”

“It’s just-“ She repeated herself, and then stopped, regaining some of her usual even composure to continue with. “For an archon to give up their Gnosis is.. almost inconceivable to most onlookers. After all, as the oldest of the Seven, you have borne its weight for thousands of years. Regardless of what you are, to lose anything that had been so integral would surely be felt by anyone with such an item.”

At her words, the man now known as Zhongli paused - his previous light demeanour had shifted into something more contemplative as he considered her words. Thankfully, both he and Alectra were confident that no other individual was in their vicinity, and so despite the open space, they could both speak freely of their identities; both had known neither was an ordinary human since their first few encounters, after all.

“..You are correct that it was not a decision I made lightly.” he said finally. “However, having witnessed all that has befallen Liyue in recent days.. I am confident that both the Qixing and the adepti will adroitly continue to carry the nation into its new age, in their own individual ways.”

“That.. isn’t what I was concerned for.” Alectra responded, carefully studying his expression. “Although, it is good that you can have faith in this nation’s future. What I meant was - on a personal level - how will you fare in yourself?”

“Ah, so that’s what you were trying to say.” he said with a nod. “Well, I can certainly tell you that things have felt adequate for me thus far. Although it may only have been a short while, I don’t feel as though there’s anything worrying occurring.”

“That’s a relief.” Her words came quickly and loudly, and she visibly seemed to have some tension dissolve from her at his statement. “You.. deserve to get to see what happens next, even if you’ve taken yourself out of the equation. You should get to live your life the way that you want to now.”

“Why, that’s most kind of you to say, my dear.” he replied, understanding the kindness in her words despite the words themselves perhaps not sounding too affectionate. A smile had crept its way onto his face by now, holding both tiredness and gratitude.

She smiled in thanks in return. “I mean it. Besides, if I may touch on this..”

A short silence fell, but she sensed that he was content for her to continue; when she did so, her voice was quiet once again.

“You’re twelve times older than I am, and I am already six times older than what most humans reach. I.. can only imagine the number of friends you must have lost in the time that you have spent here, although I don’t suppose that that alone makes the experience any easier each time. And yet.. well, it must be somewhat surreal for you, to see your city mourning you while you still walk through it freely.”

Then, as she turned her body away to lean over the balcony as he had been doing, he heard another admission that was even quieter still.

“..It’s an awful feeling, being mourned.”

There was a long silence, but then a hand came down onto her shoulder, firmly yet gently.

“If mourning is the expression of one’s grief.. Surely, it would not be wrong to say that such grief is an expression of the love held for those who have passed on. Though no part of this world can truly last for all of time.. This.. is the reason we must treasure the time spent with those that we care for. Even after many years have run their course, it is normal for the feelings to retain the same intensity as they had when the event first occurred. So, for as sad as it may be.. There is nothing wrong with expresssing that sadness, whenever it should happen to rise."

Something in her softened, like a feather melting into snow - and that single feather’s fall was enough to cause a rush of bursting tears from behind the crumbling dam she had tried to maintain since before she had even approached him on this lonely evening.

For all-too-bitter words exchanged between a brother weak from battle and a sister sharp with worry..

For the blameless lives so often torn apart and thrown aside, like pieces on a game board, at the whims of the divine..

For even that original pain, not of death, but of sorrow and anguish screamed through the flames as the nightingale sang to never leave her feeling this way ever again..

Despite how many years it had been, she had never before let herself mourn her own death, and that grief was now swallowing her whole.

Everything was wailing.

And yet, despite it all, he stayed there, as steadfast as stone. In fact, he did more than be some mere unmoving statue - he brought her forwards into a hug, placing his left hand on top of her head.

“This- isn’t right,” she tried to say through her tears, turning her head so that her mask would not dig into his suit as she returned the hold. “I came out here to offer you some solace, not the other way around-“

“That doesn’t mean I cannot be here for you, young nightingale.”

Despite what status he had held as a deity, despite whatever care he may have held or never had for the humans and the smaller little creatures of his own nation - let alone any other ones - the fact remained unchanged that Zhongli was someone Alectra had come to view as something like a father figure, even through the relatively short time they had spent together.

..She held her tongue before the words admitting such could leave it, but the sentiment carried across to him nevertheless.

His eyes glittered as he grieved, and hers flooded as she mourned, and they spent what felt even to them like an eternity holding each other.

#a call from the void #creations from the void #genshin impact selfshipping #(though this is entirely focused on a familial selfship rather than any of my romantic ones)#this post is okay for anyone to reblog as long as my DNI is respected #my writing #grandfather: stone stands steadfast (zhongli)#familial F/Os #self‑insert: ashen nightingale (alectra)#these are the main focuses but there were also allusions to #brother: abyss‑forged warrior (tartaglia)#love: my fair lady (signora)#quite subtly but still #death mention #please let me know if this should be tagged with anything else #delayed echoes #since.. I set this to be posted at what should hopefully be the actual specific time. ten past one on the 23rd of january.#to anyone curious - the title translates as something along the lines of ''grief for the living''#which.. I suppose fits the writing itself more than why it was written. but that's alright.#of wishes and visions (genshin impact)

7 notes · View notes

void-kissed · 1 year

Note

oh i LOVED reading about how alectra would fit into the genshin plotline... if she were an NPC id be visiting her during every major plot beat to see what shes up to. she sounds like a very fun easter egg, kinda like those fatui guys who hang out near the mondstadt city waypoint

aaah thank you so much!!!! yeah I got way too attached to the concept of her foreshadowing stuff going wrong, ‘cause like - the first time you see her is during Ending Note, and you can only see her right at the start of that specific quest; she’s waiting outside the cathedral, looking up at the Barbatos statue, and she won’t give any dialogue when spoken to by the Traveller (or, if she did, it’d be something short, like.. “Isn’t there somewhere else you’re supposed to be going at the moment?”). However, her being there means she’s then right there to be in the cutscene where Signora first appears and then gets Venti’s Gnosis, so if you noticed her waiting outside beforehand, that’d clue you into who she was without actually telling you much of anything about her. But she only appears in a very short interval, so she’d be easy to miss.

The next time she could be spotted would be during the part of the Liyue archon quests where you’re going around buying things with Tartaglia’s money, and the idea is that she’s sitting high up on the rooftops, so that if you wanted to go to try and talk to her it’d be a massive hassle (and she’s not very easy to spot). If you actually went out of your way to do it though, she’d maybe say something like.. “Ah, so you actually managed to make it up here? I must say, you’ve quite the keen eye to have sighted me. Even so.. you’re still setting the stage at the moment. So, please, carry on as you were. I wonder how ready you think you should be for the show.” This is foreshadowing the upcoming (though not as immediately upcoming) boss fight with Tartaglia himself - he’s her brother, or as close as she has to one anyway, so it’s no wonder she’s keeping an eye on what he’s up to.

I don’t quite know if there’s an opportunity for her to show up again in the game itself here, but one thing that I do know happens is that she has a bit of a confrontation with Tartaglia some time after the boss fight, because she didn’t realise he wasn’t in on the same things that she was regarding everyone’s plans. She then also runs into Zhongli again after the cutscene where he gives up his Gnosis to Signora, and she manages to get a lot of comfort - and a hug - that she needed from that interaction (since.. well, I associate Zhongli quite strongly with my grandad. for some reason. so I wanted to have him and Alectra (and Lamia because she visits Liyue with Yoimiya during Lantern Rite) be close, even if it makes little to no sense, because of that.)

When it then comes to Inazuma, Alectra has the first act of her story quest - “Luscinia Cineris Chapter - Act I: To Be Fooled By A Familiar Face” - slotted in to try and space out the pacing of that nation’s archon quests somewhat. Her story quest revolves around the Traveller being mistaken for Alectra by some guards, and subsequently having to clear their name by figuring out what was really going on (since all they saw was someone “fairly short, wielding a sword, with blonde hair” wearing either “dark clothes” if playing as Aether or “a sleeveless dress” if playing as Lumine). In the process they would probably find out more about Alectra by overhearing some Fatui working for her or something. The section of this quest where you get to play as Alectra comes right at the end, when everyone goes “okay so we’ve established it definitely wasn’t the Traveller who’s been causing the problem. But then.. who was it?” and then you switch to Alectra successfully breaking into some official building or other, taking care of all the guards there, and stealing some important documents. Something, something, be gay do crime? =P

..oh crumbs I’ve been writing for nearly an hour. Help. This was supposed to be a quick reply. I hope it was alright ;w;

#a call from the void #heart of the void #the main focus was #self‑insert: ashen nightingale (alectra)#but I also mentioned #love: my fair lady (signora)#brother: abyss‑forged warrior (tartaglia)#grandfather: stone stands steadfast (zhongli)#it’s.. kind of a superficial association but it persists nonetheless #his character came to mind as a source of helping last year when I realised the anniversary had came around #..I feel awful that I can’t actually remember the date again. it’ll have been seven years.. sometime in late january.#that’s not to be dwelled on right now though #long post #out of the inbox #selfship asks #sol tag!#love how I didn’t actually get to the most directly selfship-related psrt #which is that after the first phase of the duel before the throne alectra runs in to try and tell signora the electro gnosis isn’t there #and she subsequently joins signora in the second phase of that boss fight before then fleeing after defeat #selfshipping

7 notes · View notes

void-kissed · 11 months

Note

how about 🌈 for any of your platonics or familials that you choose !!

Oh! I can definitely do that! Thank you for this opportunity!!

(source: this post by bewearships)

send me a 🌈 + one of my F/Os for my sexuality/gender headcanons for them! - Let's see what I can think of, shall we? This won't be everyone, but it'll be a good scattering!

I think my three dads (Vandham, Dedede, and Nader) and my three grandads (Greygnarl, Paarthunax, and Zhongli) all like men in some way or another. That's just the vibes I'm getting from all of them. Shoutout to all three of my grandads being dragons in some form or another, incidentally.

Today (the 5th of June) is actually Katya's birthday, so it'd be remiss of me to not talk about her! That's my little sister!! Ferry (her creator) has semi-canonically said that she likes girls, so I personally headcanon her to be a lesbian. I also headcanon her to be nonbinary!

Actually, since I've mentioned Katya I shall also mention Dima, given that they're both from the same series and they're both my little siblings. Ferry has, again, semi-canonically said that he's straight, and I'm fine with sticking with that. In terms of his gender, I headcanon him to be a trans boy.

For some platonic F/Os.. you cannot tell me Nia isn't a trans girl. I also headcanon her to be pansexual. Following the XC2 theme, I headcanon Crossette to be a lesbian, Roc is canonically nonbinary (literally, his gender in the code is 4 where 1/2/3 are for male/female/animal Blades) and I also think he likes men, I like the idea of aroace Haze, and Mòrag and Brighid are definitely both sapphic and also very likely to be in love with each other.

Okay, now for some who aren't from XC2 specifically; I headcanon Taka to be bisexual and Cain to be trans and also bisexual, I headcanon Xion to be nonbinary and sapphic and Strelitzia to be bisexual (because of the flower pun). I'm not sure if you could say these count as headcanons if they're about my own OCs, but none of my Dragon Quest IX OCs cishet - Iris is a cis lesbian, Kana is a trans girl and is pansexual, and Jasper is bigender and aroace.

Hopefully this scattering of assorted headcanons is alright! Thank you once again for this opportunity to give so many ^-^

#a call from the void #heart of the void #selfshipping #ooookay tags time. I am probably going to run out of tags #familial F/Os #father: the dad from down under (vandham)#father: penguin dad (king dedede)#father: undefeated general (nader)#grandfather: dragon of might and light (greygnarl)#grandfather: elder knowledge (paarthurnax)#grandfather: stone stands steadfast (zhongli)#there we go. no i don't know why two of my grandads are dragons and the other one can look a lot like a dragon #sister: ready to meet the world! (katya)#we're ignoring the fact it's nearly midnight! happy birthday katya!!#brother: jaded asset (dima)#friend: catgirl solidarity (nia)#friend: firecracker of a gal (crossette)#friend: bird in vermillion (roc)#friend: windfall memories (haze)#friend: special inquisitor (mòrag)#friend: jewel of the empire (brighid)#friend: broken‑winged scion (taka)#friend: poisonous pretty boy (cain)#friend: unforgotten tide (xion)#friend: flower cut too soon (strelitzia)#friend: rainbow luminary (iris)#friend: danse macabre (kana)#friend: dazzling swordsman (jasper)#out of the inbox #selfship asks

0 notes