what does freedom really mean, when demanded of you by a god?

i want money

emotions are for losers!! real baddies solve their problems with alcohol, but venti had run out of his pocket money... and there was a new bitch in town who was stealing all of his fans... her name was barbara

what was it about christian girl idols that the people of mondstadt loved so dearly? they were worshipping barbara as if she was the second coming of barbatos himself. they'd probably tear down that statue just to carve it into barbara's likeness instead of his...

well, people weren't that into bards anymore. but it was the rich culture of mondstadt!! sigh, well it can't be helped, can it? it's the city of freedom. if they want to devote their little incel lives to barbara then so be it.

but nobody was tipping him for his performances. and that was where venti drew the line. if he couldn't get people to enjoy his folk songs.. maybe he'd have to adapt to the masses. that would mean... becoming an idol?

oh barbatos, that's embarrassing. zhongli would laugh at him, venti thought, although zhongli would definitely do the same if he was in the same situation, which doesn't seem too far away– if it weren't for that fatui.

ugh!! he had two options.

become an idol and surpass christian girl idol..
or, one way or another, acquire himself a sugar daddy

both would be utterly humiliating.

if venti can't make the choice on his own, he'll consult his furry friends to help him out.

he wanders into wolvendom without a care in the world. that's a lie. that furry boy is a very big care. he's dirty and venti has caught him multiple times shitting like a dog in a bush. it's just.. not want venti wants to see, okay?

"oi furry" venti strides up to andrius' ?? house?? arena??

"for fucks sake barbatos leave me alone." andrius growls

"i thought you grew out of your emo phase 1000 years ago. why is it back??" he's relapsing?

"i know what that look on your face means and i'm not going to make a decision for you, so stick it right back up ur ass, turn around and leave."

my barbatos. what a meany. there's always dvalin?

he heads to dvalins lair. this place always brings back bad memories. but seeing dvalin trying to fit into that tower like a cat trying to fit into a vase is a sight that could wash away any regrets of coming here in an instant.

"DVALINNNNNN" venti has to shriek just so he can be heard. dvalin just looks at him and turns and goes back to sleep. bitch!! "HELP YOUR BOY OUT FOR A SECOND WOULD YOUUU?"

dvalin sighs. "what."

"your mighty god is in a dire need of mora" venti declared, putting on his best morax impression. "either tell me how i can be an idol, or point me in the direction of the nearest sugar daddy. pretty pleeeease??🥺🥺🥺🥺"

dvalin lets out another sigh, this time its longer and perfectly encapsulates his unbridled frustration. "go and get morax to make you some idk."

"no silly we're not on speaking terms at the moment" venti rolled his eyes.

"you fight like a married couple. just go and beg him for money you pussy" dvalin said coldly.
FINE.

oh god, liyue. liyue makes venti feel like something's gonna go wrong like it has in liyue in the last few chapters. and he definitely didn't want to run into that blockhead, even though he was there to see him. maybe if he just hung around morax's statues of the seven, he could snatch up a few offerings that were carefully left. he found an old beat up shrine near liyue harbour.

the sign said something, but venti was actually drawn in by the intoxicating scent of grilled tiger fish and.. alcohol.

it's probably an offering of some kind, but nobody will notice!! and if they get mad, he can just pull the "i wwas🥺just a little hungry😢😢😢" act and he'd get out of it easy peasy lemon squeezy

he hasn't eaten in days!! this is like heaven!! a nice shelter, food, and some alcohol. what else could a simple bard like venti want?

"YOU." oh god. he's been caught.

"HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT PERVASES." oh, never mind, it was just that emo freak from wangshu inn. what's he gonna do?? hit him over the head with a mop?

that's.. exactly what he looks like he's going to do...

"WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT" venti pleads "who's pervasive." never heard that name before, lol! probably xiao's emo ass oc. venti just carried on eating.

"STOP IT." xiao looks very distressed. "STOP I'LL TELL REX LAPIS😡😡😡😡😡😡😠😠😠😠😠😖😖"

oh no.. 🙈🙈🙈 Oh No.

"WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT calm down emo boy." venti's going to strike a deal. "you keep your emo mouth ZIPPED. if morax finds out you're in a 50 mile radius of me we're both going to get killed. let me eat my yummy scrummy food in PEACE."

wow, he felt so masculine!! he's so alpha rn.

emo xiao huffs. "i'll let this SLIDE because you have some critical thinking skills." ooh, how nice. spared by the hygiene archon. so perf. "wait did rex lapis find out about the tinder messages ☹️☹️☹️??"

zhongli appears behind xiao. well, emo boy, today is the day we both feel the wrath of the lord of geo.