"i'm Sure Wherever We Go Will Leave Me Satisfied. I Don't Get Out Much, So I'll Trust Your Judgement.

"i'm sure wherever we go will leave me satisfied. i don't get out much, so i'll trust your judgement. as long as the drinks taste good and leave me feeling even better by the end of it, i'll be happy."

he KNOWS that while this is an actual date, it doesn't actually mean anything beyond surface level. kami's okay with that. being smooth talked into forgetting about the ice cubes is always a plus, in his opinion.

plus, the drinks are a HUGE bonus.

"cozy and private sounds even more enticing. i'm ready whenever you are."

　―That was quite fast, indeed. He's not complaining at this opportunity to make an acquaintance while dodging getting iced. Two birds in one stone.

　"There are a couple places that suit my fancies, though I intend to have you satisfied by the end of this arrangement. There is one in mind I can wager you will like, if you're into something a little more cozy and private."

this is why i say kami thinks of nahida as his warden. yes, they have a decent relationship. yes, he's happy doing things for her if/when she requests it. but kami is FULLY AWARE that he's in sumeru to make up for past misdeeds.

he has a hard time separating genuine relationships and life in general from a give-and-take mindset. for a lot of people, he's trying to manage percieved debts and erase them little by little so he can move on and do something else. since people in sumeru keep doing favors for him, he's still there, seeing himself as a prisoner because he feels like he owes them. nahida even acknowledges this.

kaminari is still learning, slowly, how to leave that 'prisoner' mindset behind. and PART of it is him refusing to acknowledge that he genuinely cares about other people and it's okay to let them in. he's SCARED to do that, and when his emotions get overwhelming enough, he'll default back to that "i owe you for this" mindset and throw up walls so as to not let people in.

he's coming around slowly, but he'll see himself as a prisoner long after the other walls come down. because nahida did him a massive favor that he can't ever fully repay her for. she gave him a new chance, a new life, among several other little things. she gave him an actual purpose, something to do. a brand new chance at life from someone who should (in his mind) hate him -- how do you even begin repaying that?

he's so conflicted, and will forever see nahida as his warden, and he, her prisoner. it's a self imposed sentence, but it's still the relationship he'll see with her, no matter how friendly their bond is.

@windsfavored | because we can never have enough threads

going to mt. tianheng from liyue harbor isn't a long walk, and while there are ruins nearby, it's still away enough from people that chongyun deems it relatively safe. there are a number of people chongyun could have asked for this, various people he knows from both liyue and from different nations, but he'd come to ren for one specific purpose:

chongyun wants to test the nature of sheer elemental energy in his own training. that is, chongyun wants to see how he can handle anemo against his own abilities, limiting the use of physical weapons. there is another twist to this particular training plan that he hadn't told ren about.

it's revealed with the blindfold chongyun is pulling out of their pocket. they stare at it for a moment, running their thumb along the grey cloth, almost uncertain with what they're about to do.

"i want you to attack me," chongyun says, that uncertainty coming across in their voice. "using your vision. i want to cut off my sight so i can use my own abilities, both elemental and innate, to try and block the attacks." he COULD back out of this, and they could just do a normal training session. that's the thing though, chongyun's DONE all that before. his eyes are already very sharp and can spot danger. his weakness lies in the fact that he hasn't honed his other senses very well ― how is he supposed to get better if he relies solely on what he knows forever?

slowly, they raise the blindfold up and begin tying it around their eyes. "i don't care what methods you use. don't give me warnings, just do what... comes naturally, i guess."

"ah, the teahouse!" chongyun's head lifts up with widened eyes. he LOVES the teahouse ― how he'd completely forgotten about it in his state is beyond him. the atmosphere is infinitely more calming than most other locations in liyue. while still bustling with activity, chongyun still enjoys the stories; they distract him from everything happening elsewhere in the city. plus, the staff there had always taken care to cater to his needs by often serving him lukewarm at best tea. "the teahouse is a good idea. maybe we'll hear a story while we're there."

"i also like the thought of grilled tiger fish." chongyun nods, the thought of food doing more to perk them up than anything else had previously. the nap is still on the table, but hu tao is doing an excellent job of reminding chongyun about all their options. how is it that they've lived here all their life and still struggle to remember even the most basic commodities? too much time outside the harbor, that's for certain.

"and for the record―" chongyun lifts a finger, tilting his head at hu tao. "my yang energy isn't taking control right now. i'm too tired for that." he stops advancing when he sees the expression on her face. the blush. part of chongyun feels bad, like maybe he'd overdone it a touch, but then again, maybe she's not used to receiving such compliments. especially from him.

chongyun really should be nicer to his friends, shouldn't he?

"i meant what i said," chongyun says, feeling awkward now. they're rubbing at the back of their neck, glancing downward briefly. but movement catches their eye, and chongyun is glancing back up in her direction. hu tao is smiling and reaching her own hand out. "oh!" the grin is back on their face, and they clasp her hand.

"i meant what i said," they repeat. "you are a good friend to me. but uh. ah ― i'm hungry. we should get going."

"Melted??"  Oh  she  was  indeed  perplexed  at  this  outcome.  She  leaned  over  examining  the  contents  of  his  pouch.  Or  rather  what  was  left  but  the  watery  remnants  of  a  few  popsicle  sticks.  "And  here  I  was  thinking  you  used  some  of  your  cryo  vision  to  keep  them  cool  somehow."  That  was  totally  how  it  was  done,  right?  Unless  there  was  another  way..

The  funeral  director  made  a  thoughtful  hum  to  herself.  "Actually  when  we  needed  to  keep  things  cool  at  the  funeral  parlor  we  often  used  mistflowers."  It  wasn't  much  of  a  suggestion  but  it  was  better  than  none  at  all.  Regardless,  Chongyun  was  certainly  being  successful  in  garnishing  sympathy  points  from  her.

"Ah!  Are  you  sure  you  can  walk?"  she  asked  once  he  had  made  the  offer  to  tag  along.  Sure  he  claimed  he  wasn't  'too  far  gone',  but  in  a  profession  such  as  hers  it  was  always  a  habit  to  not  take  any  slight  ailment  too  lightly.

"I  think  it  would  be  best  to  find  something  nearby,"  she  paused  placing  her  hand  under  her  chin  as  she  tried  to  recall  the  various  restaurants  as  well  as  keeping  in  mind  of  the  exorcist's  favorites.

"There's  that  place  over  by  Second  Life  that  does  sell  grilled  tiger  fish.  Not  much  places  to  sit  nearby.  Sooo  the  next  bet  would  be  Heyu  Teahouse.  Their  food  is  still  the  warmer  side  but  it  won't  be  spicy  like  at  Wanmin.  I  admit  I  like  going  there  cause  I  can  always  catch  one  of  Yunjin's  performances  from  time  to  time  .  What  do  you  think?~"

Just  near  the  end  of  her  informative  ramble  about  food  she  had  noticed  Chongyun  had  moved  closer  to  her.  This  was  pleasantly  different  than  what  she  was  use  to.  Most  would  have  done  the  opposite  and  edged  away  from  the  funeral  director.  There  was  an  attempt  to  hide  to  pink  shade  that  cascaded  over  her  cheeks.

"Aiyaaa.  I  don't  know  if  that's  just  the  over  abundance  of  yang  energy  talking  or  not...but  really  it's  the  least  I  can  do,"  she  remarked  with  a  returned  smile.  With  that  she  slowly  stood  up  more  extending  out  her  hand  toward  Chongyun.

"Hey! What's that on your hand?" And thisnwolf boy decides to just appear out of the blue, bear the young exorcist.

chongyun nearly jumps back, started by the appearance of this wolf boy. their hand is on their claymore before they can regain their composure, but chongyun is already fixing their behavior and letting go of the weapon. "oh, my apologies!"

they give razor a hasty but polite bow. "you startled me." even now, chongyun's gaze is darting around, as if expecting more danger. though, given that they're in slightly dangerous territory within mondstadt, chongyun should expect it anyway.

i might

might

tentatively open up the idea of exploring more nsfw topics on this blog.

People in the past have gotten really weird about it before to the point it wasn't fun anymore, especially in the case of chongyun. i always felt like i was walking some line where i would either get weird anons/asks about what exactly chongyun can do vs a crowd of people who refused to respect my portrayal in any capacity and acted like i was committing some grievous sin by writing nsfw headcanons about chongyun.

i might try again with both my muses here. I have a lot of thoughts and ideas i would like to share, and while I'm not sure if I'm comfortable writing out smut yet, I'm not above making a sideblog for those purposes either, if people are willing to engage.

idk man i don't want to push my own boundaries before im ready but i need people to know what my 2 idiots can do with their mouths.