I’m listening to the Magnus Archives and well, how about some unsettling stuff in Teyvat? --- Venti isn’t perfect

I’m listening to the Magnus Archives and well, how about some unsettling stuff in Teyvat?

—

Venti isn’t perfect at maintaining his human form. Sure, he passes for his performances and most people aren’t around him enough to notice the subtle little things.

The way he forgets to breathe or blink as he watches you with wide eyes. Too focused on you to do the little things that tie together his human guise. Desperately taking in all that you are. Venti knows you in ways you would be deeply uncomfortable with if you were aware.

He is the wind. The breeze cooling you down. The hot air in summer. The force guiding rain here and there on their downward path. Venti has felt your whole body as the wind. And well, he is starting to wonder how it might feel if you were aware it was him. Using his physical, human hands to touch you. The trace all the curves and planes of your body that he has already caressed as the wind. How would you react to being touched the same way with his human hands?

You can’t get away from Venti. Compared to some of his… peers, he’s quite gentle. Just incredibly creepy with how much he already knows you. And well, if you are unreceptive to his wooing, how about he steal the literal air from your lungs?

—

If you’re lucky, you’ll be aware that you’ve caught Zhongli’s attention, but sadly, you’re unlikely to realize the ramifications of catching Zhongli’s attention. You’ll probably write him off as an almost absent minded gentleman, well educated as well regarding antiques and various other topics. Nothing really happens, but I hope for your sake, you don’t make careless promises. Or give your word about something. Zhongli is the ears that walls have. Quite frankly, Zhongli hears and remembers all, especially regarding contracts. It won’t be a problem if you fulfill your side. And hopefully the other person, or people, does as well.

Otherwise, Zhongli won’t be happy about the broken contract. Zhongli is quite fair, he doesn’t particularly care about the contents of a contract, only that it’s kept. You might find your friends who failed to meet up with you as promised tragically get caught in freak accidents such as unexpected sinkholes or landslides where they had never occur before. Now, if you’re the one that failed, Zhongli doesn’t want to hurt you. Perhaps he’ll take something of yours. Or maybe he’ll give you something you can’t take off.

He is incredibly patient. Whereas some of his associates might be eager to make you theirs, Zhongli knows you’ll be his soon enough. Everything returns to the earth eventually. Even you will.

—

Childe was human for what it’s worth. He was an excellent hunter. Capable of hunting well enough to feed both his family and neighbors. He still is.

In the beginning, he wasn’t harmful. Quite the opposite really. Childe likes to hunt and he likes to care for people. And well, during those times, it wasn’t uncommon for children to get lost in the mountains. Extremely common for the orphans. Not many keep track of orphans. If not for Childe, they would have died. He only really took the ones that got lost in winter. Usually, search parties were sent out when there wasn’t snow on the ground. The ones that were lost among the snow though, those ones he took. He was never mean to them. Nor cruel. If anything, he spoiled them rotten with the land’s bounty, having long memorized where to find fruit and game. Childe also has the patience to carve toys out of wood and the creativity to come up with games to entertain all of them.

Childe was benevolent, until children stopped getting lost in the winter. Times changed. Families stayed together for longer. More people to watch over children. So as the ones he took before grew older and began to die, he found himself in a bit of a pickle. There wasn’t a point in hunting for himself when he didn’t need to eat.

So he took children from their homes. He tried to be careful though. Usually staking out the house to watch the family. To make sure the kid would be happier with him than their house. And occasionally, there would be a kid lost enough in winter for him to take.

One such child was your younger relative and you made the decision to go looking for them despite the approaching blizzard.

It wasn’t the wrong choice to make, but it was undoubtedly the worst mistake you made.

Because Childe took you too.

He doesn’t mind children leaving at some point. Best ask in spring when he’s in a good mood, but never winter.

You got your relative home, but for you?

You found yourself with Childe again after falling asleep in your bed.