Can you believe that we go up to that balcony and we’re just “Aw man he ain’t here” so we’re checking out the view instead and then he suddenly pops up with this kind of line and that kind of bgm like dude who even are you my dating sim love interest?????? where’s my cg????????

personality swap xiaother with a more openly curious, cheerful, and maybe even mischievous xiao (kinda how xiao would be had he not had the lifetimes worth of trauma that he has) and a more closed off and jaded aether (due to seeing wayy too much in traveling worlds, losing his sister, trying to find her, etc). i have no idea how their personalities would develop this way but i think it would be kinda funny and sweet

like imagine aether traveling around the continent efficiently completing commissions and quests, looking for any clues that he can abt how to find his sister, not letting anyone too close, but he somehow~ always runs into a certain yaksha who’s like “oh! fancy seeing you here ;))))))))”

YES this is a very good idea.... approved...!! When I think about cheery Xiao, it’s gotta be that, right? The Red Xiao design? I mean, most people characterize him as a smug, flirty all-of-Xiao’s-repressed-desires kind of guy, but maybe we could just... make him a happier dude...? Consider it.

As for Aether’s opposite, as I was thinking about it, I sort of realized, “Wait, isn’t that just Lumine?” So here’s Aether with a Lumine-based outfit to go with Red Xiao!

Aether doesn’t have Paimon, and probably landed in Liyue first, where Xiao found him. Then Xiao kept worrying about that spacey-looking traveler and continued to pop up everywhere to help Aether out, and after the Liyue arc was done, they headed to Mondstadt together! (Read: Aether left on his own and Xiao pursued him.)

Xiao’s backstory and character settings are mostly the same, (save for his personality/design changes), but I think in this AU all his other Yaksha buddies are still around! So they’ve spread the workload between eachother and pushed Xiao to court help Aether by accompanying him on his travels around Teyvat. Like, “There’s enough of us here to keep Liyue safe, so stop making excuses and just ask the traveler out!”

As for differences in Aether, well, he’s quiet. He minds his own business and more often then not, gets dragged into trouble by just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Still likes to help people, though usually requests are just dumped on him. Then once everything’s resolved, he moves on like nothing happened. Not one for chatting (as in, he doesn’t say anything at all if he can get away with it), but he opens up to Xiao as they continue traveling together. Xiao thinks his laughs are the cutest!

Also, Aether’s probably the younger brother here. His more subdued nature is most likely due to him conforming to his more outgoing older sister’s whims all the time...

Shippy stuff... Xiao’s definitely the touchy one. After confirming that Aether doesn’t mind/care about being touched, he just. can’t stop. If there’s not a fight happening, then Xiao’s 100% touching Aether somehow. Holding hands, an arm around the shoulders, straight-up carrying Aether around (look at picture above), you name it! On the other hand, he’ll slap away anyone else’s hands if they reach out to Aether. Says that Aether doesn’t like being touched. Yeah ok Xiao whatever you say.