#liyuen

LIGHT ARE BOOTED STEPS , yet cover is blown when a door shuts audibly behind her. royal is her demeanor, as if expectations beseech her words. fingers gloss over the bar & she sighs quite the audible sigh. it seems as though understanding will not get through to those who do not bother at an attempt to read the room. 

                     ❝  parched is the voice that has been strained by duties unearthly. 

        “  if you are so interested,  i suppose you can tag along to see so long as you don’t touch anything or speak to them directly.  it  complicates  things if you do if you understand.  ”

@liyuen​​ :     cover from zhongli 🥺                   /  prompt.      ─ accepting!

        from above the clouds,  she has watched the vapor rise,  build in clouds that blanket much softer than what falls when winter comes.  she expects storms and winds and ice.  when cotton settles over the brush instead,  guizhong makes quick work of her tools,  leaves fragile relics scattered on the table with uncharacteristic haphazard disregard.  it is delicate in a way that she has yet to witness firsthand;  descent has brought with it an ache but perhaps she should be thankful for this newfound freedom.  rather than stowed away inside her workshop,  listening to prayers,  granting miracles when they present themselves viable as she had thousands of years before,  she is untethered.  and the wangsheng funeral parlor comes to mind first:  its high balconies and sweeping roofs prove to be perfect shelter.  not enough to others,  it seems,  startling her out of her stupor when she’s engulfed by...  a blanket?

the pounding in her head was now a constant throb ,     a dull ache pushing in behind her eyes ,     &.     yet jean still continued to power through her work as though it was no more than an annoying itch .     she couldn’t afford to take a break now ,     not with so much paperwork still demanding her attention     &.     the sudden increase in work commissions flooding in after the fiasco dvalin had caused .     only when her work was complete could the knight rest easy ,     such was her devotion to her beloved city .     unfortunately with all the work piling up ,     jean was oblivious to the flow of time     &.     how late it had become .  

it’s only when she glances up from the most recent report on the hilichurls movements ,     spying diluc’s familiar face ,     that she finally notices the late hour .          “     master diluc .  .  .     what are you  ———     ”          realisation hits     &.     she shoots up ,     almost knocking her chair over behind her ,     as she remembers their promise to meet .     how could she forget something so important ?          “     diluc   ———   i’m so sorry !     i’ve just been so busy i lost track of time !     ”     

@liyuen​     /     s.c for diluc !

𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 ' 𝗶 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 '     /     accepting .

@liyuen​ said :      ‘you have a cute laugh.’ / yinghua 🥺

the cheeks of the artist are a flame with colour ;     skin as white as porcelain painted in hues of scarlet as she flounders to receive such a compliment   ———   &.     especially from chunhua ,     who held her heart within her hands .     yingyue has never thought of herself as cute ,     not in any capacity     &.     especially not when she compared herself to the poet who was the embodiment of a spring time flower .     but she has never considered her laugh before ,     as it was rarely heard outside her small circle of companions ,     the only time she ever felt comfortable enough to feel such joy ,     &.     in such moments it’s never herself she’s thinking of but the woman she so dearly cherished .

“     it  -  it’s not that cute .  .  .     ”          quick to deny the poet’s claim ,     she covers her reddened cheeks with her hands     &.     feels the startling warmth beneath her fingertips .     she’s embarrassed     &.     the need to hide away is almost too compelling to ignore ,     but instead she leans in a little closer     &.     rests her forehead upon chunhua’s shoulder .     in a voice so quiet it was only just audible ,     yingyue whispers into the small space between them .

@liyuen :    ningguang blows a kiss to beidou :*      /   unprompted.       ─ accepting!

        “  how  cruel  of tiānquán fūren to tease me so openly;  does she not fear the backlash she may receive from the advisors of the jade palace should she be seen with such a brazen scoundrel as the captain of the crux?  ”     ───  it’s said with furrowed brows,  bottom lip jut gently to paint the perfect picture of a  DOE  wrought with worry,  sheepskin to the wolfish eye she knows only her company can see.  tucking scripts and seals from mondstat and fontaine into a bag slung around her shoulder,  she pats where it bulges from the sheer amount of papers and miscellaneous trinkets.  the mask is dropped  easily  when it’s replaced instead by a rapacious grin as she draws nearer.

        but she is  CAREFUL.  thunderous storms and unforgiving lightning as she has been forged in,  beidou is careful.  her claymore digs deep into stone pavement to shield where she has a hand wrapped around ningguang’s waist,  touch  featherlight  just below her fierce front of snarled lips,  tousled hair,  furrowed brows.  there’s not a soul to be seen nor would any dare to approach the two most renowned figures of all of liyue;  their reputation and history are enough to deter onlookers from the scene to seek cover should a  fight  break between them.  beidou’s temper is a fickle thing,  after all.  but rather than anger,  she gleans a hint of  MISCHIEF  somewhere between the turning tides of veneers that come and go.  it’s evident when her gaze flickers from ningguang’s lips,  to her eyes,  then back again.  oh how easily distracted she is.

        “  i keep grudges.  play  nice  or this won’t be forgotten.  ”     ───  she crowds further into her space then,  hip to hip when her and tightens its grip just a fraction to dig into the fabric of her dress.  it’s to be expected that the city’s overseer be so well decorated in the finest silks,  the clearest jewels.  perhaps beidou should offer her an accessory of her own.  nose touches close to ningguang’s cheek when she whispers  ‘ right? ’  before quickly biting the patch of skin beneath her ear.  she’s certain the teeth marks will fade.  it should be easily concealed by makeup,  by hair,  by clothes if not,  but it still makes her just a bit smug.