Anonymous Adeptus · 9mo
hihi this is sort of a mishmash of predictions/headcanons/thoughts/etc. abt to build a life?? apologies in advance for how ramble-y this is i wrote this while on a road trip with nothing but 3 hours of sleep and a prayer.
venti and zhongli have an ongoing bet about aether and xiao’s relationship. i’m not sure what the specifics of it are, but they are 100% running a bet. if zhongli happens to lose the bet he will absolutely be asking to borrow the mora needed from aether
i can’t decide if xiao’s lost his wings (whether because they were physically removed, he’s simply unable to form them anymore, or what have you) or if they’re just damaged to the point of being unusable and he simply chooses to keep them hidden away. either way is so delightfully angsty.
also, i 100% have speculations about yanqing’s past and how it’s connected to xiao’s past but it’s all very vague, half-formed thoughts so for now i simply squint and wait for more lore crumbs.
aether’s going to move into xiao’s room at some point. i am almost certain verr and aether are at an impasse about how much aether pays for his room - verr’s probably insisting on nothing or a heavily discounted price and aether insists on paying her because he absolutely would not take up a room for as long as he has and not pay. xiao, being ever so practical, would probably offer his room as a solution because he most likely barely uses it anyways. side note: as much as i would love to see them house hunting in the future, i can’t imagine them not at the inn, and there’s something so endearingly intimate about xiao choosing to share his own private space with someone else.
holiday special fluff - aether freaking out bc ‘omg it’s a-qing’s first (insert holiday - probably lantern rite) it has to be absolutely perfect’. and xiao does not get the hype for celebrating the holiday but ykw if aether says it has to be perfect for yanqing then it has to be perfect for yanqing. decorating, cooking, bickering and whatever else domestic holiday silliness to come.
yanqing gets sick. it’s getting colder, it’s flu season, he’s a baby, he’s gonna get sick. cue panicked parents bc ‘omg our baby has a cold what do we do is he going to die??’ bonus points if yanqing manages to infect one of said parents. bonus bonus points if said parent is xiao bc yanqing is half adeptus and probably gets weird adeptus colds and i just know xiao has never taken a sick day in his life.
hu tao is going to be to xiao what kazuha was to aether in terms of navigating whatever feelings are swirling around in there. idk i just love their dynamic and she would absolutely have a blast trying to give xiao dating advice.
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
