#fatui!xiao

So basically, Xiao knows that his god is in Teyvat the moment they arrive. He knows it’s them when he’s brought to his knees by the warmth of his god suddenly increasing tenfold. From there, he sets out to find you. He ignores all other duties and focuses solely on that.

In the imposter au specifically, it’s more difficult for him to find you because the winds won’t tell him where you are. When you first arrived, Teyvat kept quiet about you because it wanted you to look around on your own for a bit, but now it keeps quiet about you to protect you from those who would use its tells to harm you. Unfortunately, this means it takes Xiao longer to get to you, and by the time he does, the damage has been done.

Xiao manages to catch onto your trail, but he’s just not fast enough. He’s always one step behind, and he’s getting more and more frantic because every time he thinks he’s found you, all he finds are empty campsites. And what really sends him into a frenzy are the droplets of liquid gold that he finds. Droplets that eventually turn into alarmingly large stains and puddles as the days go on.

Now, he’s frantic and he’s practically on the verge of losing his mind. What kind of monster would have harmed his god like this? The thought of the kindest being in Teyvat being harmed fills him with enough rage to slaughter any demon that may have gotten to you.

And so, when Morax calls for him and tells him about an imposter, he’s furious. Was this disgusting imposter the one who hurt his god? Xiao is a merciful being despite everything, but the only thoughts that fill his mind at the moment are thoughts of skinning them alive and tearing them apart limb by limb for not only hurting his god, but claiming to be them as well. He knows that his god wouldn’t approve of that though, so he quickly shakes the thought away and decides that he’ll give them a quick death when he finds them.

So now, following rumors of the imposter being sighted along with the trails of golden blood, he finds you a lot faster. And when he does, the breath all but leaves his body as he stares in shock.

You’re curled up on the ground. He’s caught you in an empty field, and there’s nowhere to run, not when you’re in his element. So you beg him for mercy, and all he can do is stand there and watch.

Watch as the blood from your wounds pours onto the ground and stains the grass gold. Watch as you cower before him, terrified and yet still radiating the warmth that he had always known.

He knows.

He knew the moment that he laid eyes on you that you’re his god. And how foolish was he for not realizing sooner? The imposter who just so happens to show up the moment his god arrives?

He falls to his knees and reaches out to you. But you flinch. And that’s when he feels it. The only thing he feels is a cold rage that washes over him. He’s furious. Not at you, of course, but at the ungrateful idiots that have done this to you. And he’s suddenly glad that he didn’t make a contract with Morax at that moment. Even if he did have a contract, he wouldn’t attack you. You’re more important than that, of course. He’s just glad he didn’t make a contract with someone so stupid that they didn’t recognize their own god. Especially when that someone claims to be the most devoted.

Anyway, when you flinch, he pulls back immediately and starts talking to you, trying to convince you that he’s not here to hurt you. He sets his weapon on the ground, and once he sees you looking at it, he throws it as far away as he can. He promises you that he won’t hurt you. If you still don’t believe him, he takes it a step further. He’ll take off every piece of armor and anything on his body that could be considered a weapon and lay it down in front of you before bowing, his forehead to the ground as he swears that he’ll protect you. He’s willing to take it a step further as well, if you still don’t believe it. He’ll tear himself apart if it means you trust him.

Luckily, since Xiao was your favorite character (my favorite character >:) ) you trust him quickly enough that it doesn’t get to that point.

OKAY, SO HERE’S THE FUN PART.

I’m so glad you mentioned the whole darling joining the fatui thing because I have been thinking about that so much recently lmao.

So basically, once Xiao gets darling to trust him, he lets them heal up and takes care of them, and he’s the one who gets food and stuff for them. One day, while he’s out, Childe finds them and they call for Xiao, who drops everything to come fight him off. However, Childe turns into Foul Legacy, who then recognizes darling as usual, and immediately starts apologizing. And you know how it goes, they forgive him and we get big ol cat Foul Legacy yeah yeah.

Now here’s the kicker! This time, when he asks them to join the Fatui and come with him to Snezhnaya, they say no at first, as usual. But when he finally manages to convince them (after he sends his findings to the Tsaritsa, who has already spread the word within the nation that the "imposter" is actually the real god) they agree to go, BUT only if they can bring Xiao with them. And ofc no one’s happy with this arrangement except darling and Xiao, but basically, now we get not only darling joining the fatui, but Xiao with them!!

This could also be what snaps everyone into realizing that darling isn’t an imposter. It would definitely help the archons and adepti. Xiao isn’t known by mortals, but he is known by other deities, and by the archons. He’s Liyue’s protector, the only one still active in his protection, unlike the other adepti who have holed themselves away in their abodes. And all of them know that he was the last one to carry the god’s light. How could they not when envy filled their hearts just at the sight of his markings? Glowing marks given to him by the creator themselves? And all of them, and I mean ALL of them, know that despite what others may claim, Xiao is the true most devoted acolyte. They know that if anyone were to recognize the creator, it would be him. And they remember the rage seeping from him when he was initially told there was an imposter. They remember the mountains that he tore apart trying to get to them. So for him to be siding with darling? They all realize, a bit too late, what it means.

As I said before, Xiao is not loyal to Morax, or Liyue, or Teyvat itself, he’s only loyal to you, and he’ll go wherever you want him to and do anything you want. Even if that thing is joining the fatui with you

Anyway, basically imagine you joining the fatui and Xiao following to be your perpetually angry brooding bodyguard. Also imagine getting, like, a special insignia, since we know they all get those, and asking for Xiao to get a matching one :)

All the characters are also wildly jealous of him since it’s obvious how much he’s favored.

Fatui!Xiao doesn’t change much from the regular Xiao. The only difference now is that he doesn’t do anything for anyone other than himself and darling anymore. Like, you know how he tells the traveller to call and he’ll be there? Yeah, that’s not a thing anymore for anyone except darling.

At first, he does cover up from the cold, but he finds that all the layers of the bulky clothing you’ve asked him to wear makes him a bit slower. It’s barely noticeable; only a fraction of his speed has decreased, but he notices it and he doesn’t like it. So he goes back to wearing his regular clothes and finds that the cold really has no effect on him. He figures it’s because of your sheer desire for him to stay warm, and once again he thanks you for your divine presence.

So he’s not cold anymore, but he sticks close to you. As time goes on, he eventually shows you the markings that he was born with but have been damaged by his past. Instead of reacting with anger or disgust, though, you ask him if he’s okay and comfort him. And he starts to hate himself a bit less. It’s around this time that you two get your custom fatui outfits commissioned, and he chooses to get his looking like that. It combines aspects of both his old outfit and the Fatui uniforms.

Him showing off his markings isn't just about him looking cooler. It's also that his markings aren't what they used to look like. Before, they were clear and crisp and vibrant, almost like works of art across his skin.

After his time with Osial, though, the marks have changed. Osial hated the fact that Xiao was blessed with divine marks and would tear them off over and over again until they were unrecognizable once the skin and flesh finally grew back. They're warped and faded, and you can't tell what they used to look like.

His marks are also damaged by all the scars he has covering his body, so the reason he always covered his arms (why he always wore his old gloves) is because he was ashamed of the way they looked now. He thought his ruined markings were a sign of his god abandoning him. Why would anyone want something so damaged and ugly? He's grown to hate his own body and the way it's been ruined, so he covers it all up. It gets to a point where people have forgotten he even has them. Even Morax has forgotten that he has them.

So him showing them now isn't just about looking hot (although that's definitely part of my reasoning tho lmao), it's also a show of devotion to his god, and his way of learning to love (or at least not hate) his own body again.

Xiao in the fatui is a horrifying concept for everyone involved, except maybe Xiao and darling. Xiao’s not known by mortals; none know either of his names, and no one really knows who he is, but everyone knows about the legends of the last light of the god. And now that Xiao is here, markings and scars and light on display, there’s no denying who he is. And all the markings on his body, cut through and warped by scars, go to show how powerful he is, to have been through as much as he has and to still come out alive.

The thing about Xiao is that, as stated many times before, he is loyal to no archon or nation, only to darling. So the real difference would be determined by you and how you choose to treat him.If you want him to be a ruthless murderer, he’ll do it. But if you want him to be the somewhat soft boyfriend that he’s depicted as in some fics? It’ll be hard, but he’ll definitely try.

He does hold somewhat of a level of respect for the harbingers and Tsaritsa. Of course, considering he pretty much hates everyone else in Teyvat right now, it’s not that big of an achievement.

He and Childe get along better now than they did before. They’re still not friends or anything, but they do have a sense of mutual respect. Also, now that they’re getting along somewhat, Xiao occasionally entertains Childe’s demands to fight. Of course, he doesn’t have to put that much effort into it (given by how I destroy Childe in minutes lmao) but it’s still a satisfying fight for both of them. Especially when their wonderful God is cheering them on from the sidelines.

He’s allowed to attend meetings with the Tsaritsa and the harbingers. They’ve been plotting ways to make the other nations pay for what they’ve done to you. He stays in the meetings and gives them ideas from time to time or tells them when one of their plans is something you wouldn’t like. They listen to him because, despite how much they envy him, they know that he’s your favorite and he knows you better than anyone else in Teyvat.

Xiao’s angry. He’s furious. But he understands. He’s suffered abuse in the past and had gotten so used to it that he was sure that if it weren’t for Morax’s intervention and him remembering you, his creator, he would’ve gone crawling back to Osial. So he gets it. He knows how hard it can be to stand up for yourself when you feel like you don’t deserve to, or when you’ve gotten so used to the bad things that they just feel normal. And that’s why he’s here. He sticks closer to you than before, glaring at the others over your shoulder, making sure they don’t forget what they’ve done.

Whenever someone corners him in hopes of having him pass on an apology to you, he’s quick to tell them that they don’t deserve your forgiveness, and that the only reason you’re forgiving them is because they’ve hurt you so badly that you’re shocked they’ve even bothered to apologize. He makes sure that they know you’ll be scarred for the rest of your life because of them. That your first experience in Teyvat was full of hatred from the people who should’ve accepted you. People who claim to be followers but turn around and ignore all your ideals. People who cursed and spit on their god and then sent prayers to them under the same breath. They’re lucky you’re so forgiving, he tells them, because if it were up to him, they wouldn’t be anything more than a smear on the ground.

Of course, his anger is directed only at the others. Never at you. For you, he’ll silently sit by your side for comfort while you think about everything that’s happened. He’ll listen as you rant about how conflicted you are. How you forgive them because you’re used to it, so it’s not a big deal.

And that’s the other thing. It’s not a big deal to you, but it is to him. You’re his god and he loves you. The thought of you having suffered so much that you don’t take it as seriously as you should hurts him. He feels like he’s failed you. That he wasn’t able to protect you when you needed him. But he’s here now, and he makes sure you know that.

Every time you talk to him about forgiving the others, he tries to remind you that you don’t have to forgive them just because they apologized. You shouldn’t forgive them. He reminds you that they’re not sorry about attacking you and trying to murder you. They’re sorry that it’s you. If you were just some innocent human, they wouldn’t have felt bad in the slightest. They don’t care about your forgiveness, they care about their god’s forgiveness. It just so happens that it’s you. They had no problems attacking you when you were just some random, confused human, begging them for forgiveness for a crime you didn’t even know you were committing. They don’t feel sorry about what they’ve done, they’re just sorry they’ve done it to the wrong person.

Ultimately, he respects your decision and will quiet down about his opinion if you ask him to, but that won’t stop him from glaring at others when you’re not looking. And it won’t stop him from "accidentally" leading you away from the archons and others who hurt you most when the wind tells him they’re coming close.