apocryphis

apoc·​ry·​phal - implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate.

a mutuals-only genshin impact && honkai star rail && wuthering waves && zenless zone zero multimuse, written by ventium (she/her, 30+yo). est. January 19 2023, re-made January 1st 2026. slow activity both ic and ooc due to full-time job. please read my rules before interacting!

rules & muses · prompts · thread tracker · other shenanigans i'll think of eventually

credit: @avaere (dash and pinned post graphics), @sweetmelodygraphics (pinned post dividers), @aedearly (icon borders and post dividers) up-to-date muses list under the read more at the end of this post! (carrd is slightly outdated)

aventurine's personal finances and his status is a more complicated matter than is apparent on the surface. yes, he has amassed a great wealth, yes, he is one of the most influential men under the ipc's umbrella and economic zone, and yes he is technically a free man. jade did not take him from one literal cage and put him in another - the cage is more metaphorical and less tied to him still being a verbatim slave, than it is to being an avgin in the hsr universe.

hoyo has aptly skirted around the issue with most of the playable characters who have met aventurine (because the astral express crew can never do or say anything wrong), but sparkle (and to a different extent, ratio, who was playing a role but was using these prejudices in order to do so) makes a clear point that the avgins' reputation and the racism and xenophobia they faced is still very relevant today. aventurine's character stories also emphasise how difficult his earlier days in the ipc were because people could tell he was an avgin, and immediately were on the defensive at best. his status as a stoneheart now protects him. it's a shield, an identity that supplants his identity as an avgin: he is a stoneheart first, director aventurine first, an avgin second.

his trial was not a big deal because the ipc would literally kill him if he lost his job: it was a big deal because without his job and the status that comes with it, it is likely a matter of time before someone somewhere decides he does not deserve to live. i don't think the ipc would send him back to the gallows to pay for the con that got him in their clutches in the first place, because i don't think they would need to. the minute aventurine loses his status, he goes right back to being a target for the universe's prejudice and hatred. he is the last avgin alive, and the universe would rejoice if there were none left at all.

(and if you think i'm exaggerating because your fave would never, please do go read his character stories and the descriptions of the sigonia relics set)

body — what is their favorite body part of theirs? of their partner(s)'? are there any specific body parts they like to pay special attention to (ex. feet, hands, ass, etc)? where are their erogenous zones? where are they most sensitive?

praise — do they like being praised? is there anything specific they like being praised for? do they like praising their partner(s)?

body — i will call him out just a little bit and make him admit that he enjoys having his hair tugged on. it's very long, it's very soft, it's easy to grab and hold - he doesn't want it to be yanked violently or torn off his scalp thank you very much, but something about his partner combing their fingers through his hair and pulling his head back by tugging on it? he's gone. goodbye.

praise — i have answered this question here before, but i'll add something that applies to long-term partners and relationships. jiyan in any relationship is still quite new to intimacy - not entirely inexperienced, but certainly not what he or anyone in their right mind would call experience. he is very much learning, and in a relationship, does so with his partner, by learning what they like, how they like to be touched, how they want him to pleasure them; and if there comes a point where he does something better than the first time he attempted it... maybe, just maybe, he would very much like to hear it. he wants to be a better lover to his partner, and there is always relief (and a little bit of pride, shh) if they notice his efforts and they are paying off.

for thrain:

afterwards — what kind(s) of aftercare do they like being given? do they like giving their partner aftercare? do they fall asleep quickly after sex? body — what is their favorite body part of theirs? of their partner(s)'? are there any specific body parts they like to pay special attention to (ex. feet, hands, ass, etc)? where are their erogenous zones? where are they most sensitive? dynamic — are they dominant? do they like to be dominated? how do they show their dominance? how do they show their partner(s) they want to be dominated? are they more versatile or does it depend on the context/their partner(s)? marks — do they like being marked? do they like marking their partners?

(a certain doctor would like to know... for scientific research purposes only, of course)

afterwards — unhurried. thrain isn't overly affectionate or clingy after intimacy, but he's not the type to immediately get up and go back to his day either. he prefers to take his time for both he and his partner to catch their breath, come down from the high, compose themselves; he will be more prone to offer his arm or chest to rest upon, or his hand to hold, or seek to hook his leg with theirs, rather than full on cuddle. he enjoys contact, but some time and distance to ride down the overstimulation from the moments prior. what happens after really depends on his partner and the time of day - he is just as likely to get up to wash up (and offer them to help them with it) or wait to fall asleep for the night, or to go for another round if the mood and want are still there.

body — thrain can hardly say there is something he likes about his body - 500 years of watching it rot away will do that to you, even after re-gaining a perfectly fine vessel. there is a long process of re-adjustment he is going through, he is still learning to even see this vessel as his body, considering the real body is still on that throne in ochkanatlan. but to be fair, even pre-cataclysm thrain did not exactly think of himself in those terms and would be hard pressed to answer that question in other terms than an awkward "i've been told people [read: his then wife probably] find my eyes appealing". in his partners though... he does have a bit of a weakness for necks and for chests (regardless of gender or presentation or shape or size). a bare neck or a bare chest, and his partner has his whole and undivided attention, i'm afraid. he doesn't have a particular erogenous zone... but the feeling of nails on his skin can get him going like little else.

dynamic — this is the captain we're talking about. taking charge and taking the lead is engrained in his nature, and it naturally extends into the bedroom as well. it's second nature, not something he really questions, he just does it - he initiates, he leads, he carries to the bed... but again, mostly because that is his default behaviour in most aspects of his life. should a partner show signs or tell him that want to take charge, he will happily comply. in fact, he would quite like to put himself in another person's hands, every once in a while - it happens so rarely in his every day life, intimacy might just be the one place that allows him to do so. thrain is a good listener, if he is anything, he is attentive and he values his partner's pleasure as much as, if not more than, his own. if this happens by having them 'dominate' him? he will happily comply.

marks — well. he would say he has enough scars already, but really, if he were to sport a hickey on his neck or a couple of nail lines on his back... maybe he will not complain. i will say he is not into pain or heavy biting/bruising - he just enjoys the thought of carrying (or his partner carrying) a light reminder of the night they spent together.

body - call him corny or a gym bro, but without speaking of a favourite body part, phainon is a little proud of his physique. he has always been considered tall and strong, but it is rigorous and strenuous training that has allowed him to develop the muscles and the strength he possesses now. it's less about the aesthetics, and more about his body being the result of a lot of hard work, and a tool that is good enough to protect the people he cares about. so, yes - compliments on his physique, errand hands tracing his arms or his shoulders (when it comes from someone he likes, of course) are always a good way of flustering him a little and getting his poor little heart beating a little faster. as for his partners... he likes to hold his partners. touch, a firm touch, is something he finds grounding, something that feels real to someone with way too many years worth of memories blending together in his head. he is a little (very) partial to legs, thighs, ass and waists because there is something for his hands to hold onto and not let go.

afterwards - phainon is nothing if not affectionate in his aftercare, no matter if it's a partner of 10 years or a partner of one night. he is very attentive to whoever he just shared a moment with, will fetch them towels and water and fruit if they want something to eat, offer to hold them while they come down from their shared high, ask if they're okay, if they need anything, if they just want him to shut up -- to him, aftercare is part of intimacy as much as the rest and is absolutely not to be neglected. he loves to talk after intimacy, as much as he loves watching his partner sleep if they fall into slumber soon after. he doesn't tend to fall asleep immediately after himself, and so, he prefers to bask in the glow of the aftermath of pleasure... unless they are wanting for a second round of course-

@avaere said: " now now ," brant would interrupt the brewing commentary from the commissioner there they sat together in a garden far too elegant for the humble sailor in question. in hand, a lavender melon finding itself peeled by a knife, one that brant would have held out to make a point had it not been for potential eyes that would've seen it as a threat. " before the lord gets a say in this particular story-confession, please let the humble sailor state that he had no intentions of disturbing the peace of the nun's sunday ceremony back in mondstadt, he was simply chasing a slime that had ... found it's own way inside the walls. it certainly had nothing to do with a young boy who wished to see if he could slingshot it off the cathedral's roof." but of course it did, and with a new carve of his knife, brant cut out a slice of lavender melon that he held out for the commissioner to take. knife was left in the fruit itself, the piece held out in between his fingers. assuring the other that his hands was washed, brant waited for ayato to accept the fruity treat. " surely even the respectable ayato kamisato has had his rowdy adventures as a child?" brant smiled warmly, canting his head slightly with a small tease in his glance. " i refuse to believe that someone gave birth to a forty-something old baby that was ready to tackle diplomacy and politics ; share a story with me ? try to impress a former brat of the wind, my dear lord."

"Why so defensive, captain? Far from me the thought to harshly judge the whims of youth... I'm quite sure the nuns of the Church of Favonius gave you more than an earful already back then, did they not?" He would hate to add to the trauma of this memory, of course - but he refuses not to indulge in the amusement that Brant most certainly intended from telling the story anyway. What a charming thought. A carefree little boy, meaning not one bit of harm and unleashing mischief anyway. What he wouldn't give to take a peek into memory lane and catch a glimpse of that little boy, bright-eyed and smiling and completely oblivious to the possible disaster he was about to unleash. Oh yes, Ayato has no trouble picturing it at all. In fact, he would not be all too surprised if the grown up man sitting next to him would try the same slingshot trick again, just to see if he's still got it.

And he finds the thought rather endearing, too.

But of course, Brant will not let him get away with sitting back and enjoying his stories without offering something in return, will he? A brow arches up, eyes first stopping on the piece of lavender melon offered, then on the fuchsia irises challenging him with a twinkle. "Fourty-something old baby, huh? I am beginning to sympathise with the nuns who suffered your insolence, young man." If this is how Brant wants to play his cards, very well. Carefully, with measured gestures worthy of the fourty-something old lord Kamisato and his standing, slender fingers close around the captain's wrist and gently pull his hand toward him, until he can delicately pluck the piece of fruit from his tormentor's hand and between his teeth. And his his bottom lip briefly graze Brant's fingertips? That is only coincidental, of course.

Ayato sits back with a satisfied smile, eyes trained on the captain as he takes the time to enjoy his little treat and hum; a story, huh? "Hm - as loathe as I am to prove you right, I'm afraid I am forced to admit that there was nothing rowdy about my childhood or my younger years. Diplomacy and politics only came later, that is true, but in a house such as ours, duties and expectations come knocking at an early age." Ayato crosses one leg over the other and rests his elbow upon his knee, and his chin in the palm of his hand. It is not often he finds the time to think back on those earlier, simpler, perhaps in some aspects happier days. A story... what could possibly amuse the captain enough?

"Well, I was not what anyone would call a rebellious or even mischievous child, but I do seem to remember an amusing incident." He reminisces, a small smile at the corner of his lips. "As you know, my sister and I started learning the art of the blade almost as soon as we knew how to walk. Of course, as young children, we would be training with wooden practice swords, not real blades. I was content with this state of affairs, of course, until our father took us to visit distant relatives, who had a son just a little older than I was. We ended up sparring, and... he defeated me so thoroughly, I felt as though my whole body was just a puppet filled with sand. And to add insult to injury, he said his father was already letting him train with a real sword. Naturally, I was quite wounded in my pride... and determined to show him up the next time we would meet. We went home, and as soon as no one was looking, I took my father's sword to practice right here in this garden... and what was bound to happen, happened. The blade slipped from my hand and landed on my foot. Thankfully nothing too bad, but I did look rather pitiful, walking back into the mansion and dragging blood behind me with the housemaid screaming bloody murder... I still have a small scar to this day. Needless to say, I was consigned to my studies alone with no sword practice for a very long time..."

okay before i really go back to writing, a few more notes on jingran's marketing material and some lore we're aware of:

his description mentions that a remnant creature resides in his eye - remnant creatures are beings made up entirely of remnant energy, aka pure frequencies. they are different from tacet discords: remnant energy can evolve into tacet discords because of the influence of the lament, but jingran's forte connects him extremely intricately with the stage before that - remnant energy and frequencies in their purest form.

does that mean the remnant creature he houses in his eye could turn into a tacet discord one day? how fun!

his drip marketing also mentions that "when his resonance power reaches a critical threshold" (namely, probably when he is close to overclocking), "he can raise an isolation barrier in real space, forcing every concealed frequency into the open" - i've seen people joke that his ult is him creating a domain, but really, the 'domains' we know of with high concentration of remnant energy in wuwa have another name: sonoro spheres.

to support this, baizhi wrote this about remnant creatures: "She proposed that Remnant creatures are energy bodies derived from "empty shells." They may be able to resonate with humans (note: in this case, the creature residing in jingran's eye) and be formed in a form beyond the band. By mastering the principle, humans may be able to develop artificial Sonoro Spheres and more Remnant creatures." which would certainly align with jingran's ability to 'create an isolation barrier' and the little ghost creatures we saw with him in the mengzhou characters trailer.