Oh my goodness I can't believe I didn't see this for TWO MONTHS- I'm so sorry!! Thank you so much for the ask!! Ugh, I love this idea, especially after doing Xianyun's story quest which has wrecked me for days....

To answer, yes, the grannies of Liyue would absolutely spoil A-Qing, even more so, the adepti grannies of Liyue. I imagine Xianyun would be in the poor habit of being easily roped into buying the latest toys and gadgets for him (we've seen how she's unable to resist a shopping deal) and A-Qing would be endlessly spoiled with far too many gifts from her. I think all the adepti would dote on him so much because it's been a while since there's been a "young one" amongst them. Xiao already indulges Yanqing enough so they really need to be careful or he's going to be spoiled rotten... I love this though and I'd love to include more Xianyun in tbal now that she's released, thank you for sending this in!

Sorry this reply is a bit late but LMAO HAHAH I LOVE THIS 😂 okay, normally I'd be like "hmm who knows, let's leave it up to reader interpretation teehee" but I do feel like I have to clarify that no, unfortunately they did NOT get married while drunk on the night of the baby shower because if they did, as a writer I would have been morally obligated to have provided every juicy detail of their supposed shotgun wedding. I would never leave that out! And there's no way Xiao would have been Normal about it afterwards. But I love that people have wondered this LOL.

I just kinda went wild with the rumors in the public because Xiao is a literal mythical figure in Liyue and Aether is pretty damn close to one, so I felt like the speculations and curiosity that everyone would have would be very much real. Also, I just love the headcanon that everyone's a little in love with the traveler so the public would go CRAZY hearing he had a kid, hence the recurring theme of the wild rumors.

As for what else happened that night? Hm, well, in sum, Aether realized his feelings, got drunk, sang on stage, vomited all over Venti's slip on loafers and tried to paraglide off the Jade Chamber. From Xiao's perspective, Xiao was (lovingly) staring at Aether singing on stage, unconsciously admiring his voice and noticing how Aether seemed to capture attention so easily, as if he was meant to be seen. Horror slowly dawned on him when he saw Aether wobble on stage and then throw up on the Anemo Archon (everyone gasped) and then Xiao frantically ran after him and wrestled him away from the edge of the Jade Chamber. Aether might've been dramatically half-yelling something like "I just can't live like this!" Aether also lightly smacked Xiao across the face a couple times. Exasperated, Xiao restrained both of his arms and said something like "You're being difficult," to which Aether drunkenly replied, "What, am I too much to handle for you? Am I making your life difficult, oh Vigilant Yaksha?" and Xiao pinned him to the ground and answered, very closely to his face, "Yes. You are incredibly worrying. I can't seem to leave you alone for one second. Now, stop resisting and let me carry you to bed," and Aether might have internally malfunctioned upon hearing that, all of his limbs going pliant as he said "Oh. Okay. Sorry," and let himself be tucked into Xiao's arms. Xiao then gently set him on a couch and Aether almost immediately passed out, leaving Xiao to think that drunk Aether somewhat reminded him of A-Qing when he's being fussy. The thought was incredibly endearing to him. He tucked some of Aether's hair behind his ear and gently shifted him so that he wouldn't be sleeping in an uncomfortable position. Everyone saw, but Xiao didn't notice. He sat next to the sleeping Aether like a protective hawk and spent the rest of the baby shower in that position until it was time to go home and, to no one's surprise, he wouldn't let anyone else touch Aether and volunteered to carry him all the way back to the Wangshu Inn on foot. Yeah. That's pretty much it. (Sorry, I might've gotten a bit carried away)

Hey, thanks so much! I'm also really excited about the outline and I have to resist sharing more hahah, but it is kinda wild to finally be able to envision the ending for tbal after I've been writing it for so long.... I used to think this fic would just last forever tbh.

And I can't believe it was tbal that got you into the xiaoaether rabbit hole, wow!! That's crazy. It has certainly been fun (and mind-boggling) for me to see how much the fic has grown (in terms of readers) too- I used to think it was just a fluke but people really do seem to love it.... I still get shocked by that idk! It was never supposed to be a multi-chaptered longfic in the first place but now it's become something so much bigger.

Honestly... you and me both LOL. I might've mentioned this before but my writing process is generally quite all over the place. I would say I write by coming up with scenes & bits of dialogue first and rarely ever think things through in chronological order, so my drafts generally look like a bunch of various different scenes that I jump back and forth between and, in the end, try to tie together in a cohesive way. I would not generally advise this.

But for multi-chaptered fics, I am actually working on a few right now that I'd like to finish this year and I've found that outlining really does help (surprise surprise). And outlining can look different for everyone, for me it just means I'll jot down a general idea or a dialogue or a feeling that will be expressed like "character says this here" or "i'll use this phrase/feeling here" because I find that if I outline every event down to a T, it takes out some of the spontaneity for me and I personally really enjoy the creative mystery of what can end up happening when I dive into writing a scene. I hope that makes sense? Different things work for different people. But I realized I'm not a very structured writer, so I just try and let myself lean into my strengths instead of forcing myself to write in a way that I think is "right."

Also, I'm a huge music person so mood based playlists help me SO much in writing scenes. I am always listening to music when writing. And, if I'm struggling with a scene, I find that just writing the dialogue for it can be helpful and I can go back later and build off of that or maybe I'll realize, I don't want to include that scene at all. Thanks for asking and good luck with your own writing!! <3

"Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you've written and explain why you're proud of it."

Hmm, there's quite a fair bit of dialogue in my clorivia fic, "the still waters run deep" that I'm pretty proud of but it's all different lines interspersed throughout the story. So I can share this specific one from, "the language of a wound":

“I wanted to do better,” Xiao chokes, “I wanted to get it right this time.”
Aether’s face cracks.
Then Aether’s shaking his head insistently, sliding a hand in through his hair. Xiao shivers, arching towards the touch in spite of himself.
“You don’t have to get anything right.”
“You don’t understand―”

“No, Xiao. You don’t understand,” Aether slides his hands towards Xiao’s face, seeking him. “People care about you. I care about you. Whether or not you get it wrong or right.”

It's not that I'm proud of the writing in this one exactly, but just more so what this dialogue meant for Xiao in the context of this scene. Before I even wrote out this whole section, I wrote Xiao's line first, with all of his emotional turmoil and guilt and self-hatred culminating in just: "I wanted to do better. I wanted to get it right this time." And I felt really satisfied by those words coming from him because it felt like it encapsulated exactly how I wanted to characterize him in that fic (and, maybe, because Aether's response were words that I myself needed to hear as someone who struggles with crippling perfectionism...).

"Do you write out your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?"

Ah, I think it might be clear from my previous answer that I definitely write scenes out of order hahah, I have never written anything precisely from start to finish. I will often write a scene idea, come up with another scene idea or bit of dialogue, then maybe a line of exposition, and then just bounce back and forth until I ultimately try to tie it all together cohesively. I will say I do a slightly better job of writing chronologically with "to build a life" though because I usually have certain scenes outlined for each chapter before writing, but I still bounce around.

Thanks so much for the asks! :)

"Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?"

Yes, actually. In some sense I believe there are parts of me scattered in every fic I write. But more specifically, I think I tend to draw from personal experience a lot more in modern AU fics. For example, in the "make me your muse" series, the initial idea for "carved in stone" came from directly my own college experience taking a figure drawing class with life models. The art party as well, with the jazz and the wine and the cheese, is lifted from my memory. As well as Aether's experience working part time as a barista and walking dogs. There's more but I don't want to reveal too much haha. I would say that instead of being inspired by specific experiences, it's more that I write myself and my experiences/past feelings into my characters sometimes, if the shoe fits.

Oh wow, I did NOT expect such a long and thorough message in my askbox this morning but thank you so so much - it was an absolute DELIGHT to read this on my break!!

I will attempt to respond to a few of these and vaguely gloss over some (in fear of spoiling my own fic) but yes, I did make it apparent in Chapter 11 that Zhongli and Venti are definitely... gossiping about Xiao and Aether's love life. I adore the trope of them being old peepaws with far too much time on their hands nowadays so you are free to interpret their "bets" however you wish! (Since this isn't exactly plot relevant, I will say that if they do have a bet, Venti 100% started it).

Your theories on Xiao's wings and Yanqing's past were very interesting to read! The crumbs I dropped were hopefully meant point readers in a certain direction but I'm happy it's keeping you interested and all will be revealed in due time because that is one of the major plot points after all.

Your thoughts about wanting to see Aether move into Xiao's room and/or picturing them "house hunting" together is so endearing omg- I have to admit I am also partial to the idea of them staying at the Inn too, especially given their established relationship with Verr and all the staff. All I can say is that especially for these two new fathers, it takes a village to raise a kid and the Wangshu Inn is that village for them. :') It likely won't be an issue for now, but once Yanqing starts to grow, perhaps they'll find themselves needing more space... Though they already have a lot on their hands at the moment.

As for your other predictions and/or headcanons, thank you so much for sending them in! One of them (though I won't say which one) feels eerily similar to my drafts and it's as if you've read my mind somehow... It's like you have access to my outline! But my lips are sealed and I hope you will come to enjoy more of the fluffy, family shenanigans I plan to write for this series. I look forward to you reading the future updates and going "AH! I predicted this!!" hahah- thank you again for such a great message and for reading! <3

Ohhhh man this is a hilarious scenario to imagine LOL this is like a tbal spin-off episode. First off I can see Aether & Xiao passing A-Qing off to Venti for a day (as they already did). He would have a very fun time with Venti (maybe a little too much fun) but Venti would make sure all his needs were met, talk to him constantly, make him laugh and sing him a lullaby, the whole 9 yards. Venti's got a soft spot for orphans. Gentle parenting Venti!

Zhongli.... oh boy. I think he would be a well-intentioned parent but as I mentioned, I could see him briefly forgetting about A-Qing while he goes off to brew 6 hour tea and take a long stroll through the harbor. The man has no sense of urgency. He would forget the immediate and constant needs that babies have and be like "Ah yes... I hadn't considered I needed to change his diaper." Forgetful as he is, he would know how to do all of those things. I can also see him taking A-Qing with him in a stroller to listen to a story at Third Round Knockout and giving A-Qing a complex explanation of historical events. Beneath the tough love (and maybe strictness!), he would dote on him a bit in a grandfatherly way.

Now I would not leave any baby with Ei, period LOL. I feel like Ei would be very uncomfortable and unsure of how to behave in front of a small child, I can imagine her speaking to A-Qing in full formal sentences as if expecting him to respond like a full fledged adult and ultimately being baffled when remembering he's a literal BABY. A-Qing would be afraid of her and she would panic immediately upon seeing him cry. I don't think she even knows what a diaper is. I give her 5 minutes tops before she's calling Miko for help and asking her to take him off her hands.

Nahida would have all the knowledge of how to care for a child, but perhaps none of the practical experience since the world is still so new to her and she's technically a young god herself. Nevertheless I think A-Qing would have a very calm and magical day with Nahida, she would play games with him, introduce him to the Aranara, and observe him meticulously with fascination. I'm picturing them sitting on the floor and coloring together in the forest with their aranara friends.

Now, all of the Archons taking care of A-Qing together? That would be a disaster. They'd all have different opinions of his needs, Venti and Ei would be passive aggressively bickering, Zhongli would be trying to make them all come to an agreement to resolve the situation, a mountain range would go flying at some point, and Nahida would probably sneak off with A-Qing before they all realized he was even missing.

This was such a long reply but I had fun thinking about it, thanks for asking & for reading the fic!

Ah, this is now making me consider writing something on baby Xiao..... The thing is I have so many separate headcanons about young Xiao too- I love the idea of him as a small fledgling bird but also the idea of him as a pure elemental, nature spirit just as much! Regardless, I personally think he was on the shy side as a child- his character story suggests he was naive back then which leads me to believe he was curious, quiet, keen, and possessing a deep, gentle kindness that was unfortunately easily taken advantage of. I imagine him when he's little observing everything with rapt interest, from the slithering movements of earthworms to the beauty of winter's first snow. To Xiao, everything in the world must have felt beautiful and fascinating- nothing was beneath his attention. I imagine that despite being an introspective kid, he was much more expressive back then and smiled, laughed, and cried much more freely. He was just born with a heart too big for his body. I personally do really love characterizations that emphasize Xiao's childlike curiosity and how although it was something he somewhat lost during his time in enslavement, it's something that present Xiao is learning to let himself feel again.