&͟. 𝗲𝗵𝗲.

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @unlucksters
            
            [   venti’s thoughtful expression shifts into a joyous one when his gaze lands on the blond,  and his eyes glitter with happiness.  ]   what?  really?  [  he hops down from the wall,  and lands with the wind cushioning his feet,  cape billowing as he beams.  ]   how lovely!  alright,  then,  give it here and i’ll fulfill my part of the deal.  what’s that problem you had? 

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @glacialwaltz
            
            venti can hold a ridiculous amount of liquor.  it takes around forty glasses to get him drunk,  but thankfully,  nobody pays attention to the unreal amount the god downs.  therefore,  nobody really notices that the bard isn’t a mere bard at all,  and besides,  everyone else here  —  except the annoying kaeya,  apparently  —  is drunk anyways.  they don’t care.  unfortunately for everyone nearby,  venti has had fifty-two cups.  he didn’t drink this much in  …  centuries.  but then again,  he’s never had to cope this much.  you only lose your gnosis once,  after all.  there’s no getting it back.  venti doesn’t mourn the loss of his powers.  he mourns a handful of other things he knows he’ll no longer have when he fades away,  eventually.  but he’s drinking to forget about them.  “charles?”  he slurs,  hitting his own head with his palm.  who’s charles?
            
            \    FACTS

in this moment , kaeya for once wished that his brother had been here in his stead to regulate the bard's behaviour .  perhaps it had been a mistake to encourage him to drink more , the understanding of the consequences only coming to him once he was close to getting knocked out by a wine bottle to his head twice that evening .  ❛⠀⠀ah , i'm sure you are .  but you don't want to leave an even bigger mess for charles , do you ?⠀⠀❜
            
            ╱╱ ⠀⠀  ⠀⠀liver must be tired of constantly working 

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @glacialwaltz
            
            eagerly,  and sloppily,  venti twirls the bottle in his hands,  half empty,  but unfortunately not his first one,  and giggles loudly  —  wine sloshes inside the bottle as he sways,  and ends up stumbling,  nearly dropping his precious goods.  “but i’m alright!”  
            
            \    venti is about to have some sort of godly alcohol poisoning please

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @pyrowines
            
            nooo—nononono,  [  venti complains,  legs kicking fruitlessly as he’s picked up like he weighs nothing.  quickly,  his attempts to get out of diluc’s grasp falter.  ]   ugh.  you’re no fun.  [   he harrumphs when diluc puts him down again,  and immediately makes himself comfortable,  sprawling out like this is his room.  in fact,  it’s been a  …  WHILE  since he last laid in a real bed.  ]  and now what?  you expect me to sober up magically?  

៸៸ㅤㅤ﹝ rolling his eyes at the attempt  ,  he stepped out from behind the bar  .  moving venti to the side and picking up him up as he made his way upstairs .﹞ㅤㅤ you're an idiot  .  why did i even let you keep drinking  .ㅤㅤ﹝ kicking the door open , he let out a frustrated sigh and placed the bard on the bed . ﹞

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @pyrowines
            
            o-ho?  you’re offering me a high five?  [  venti giggles,  and offers his own hand,  aiming to smack diluc’s with his own  —  yes,  well.  he did not have ten cups.  he is not tipsy.  he’s drunk,  very much so,  and completely misses diluc’s hand,  slapping the air instead.  he frowns down at his palm.  ]  why didn’t it work?  [  the bard puzzles,  and then sighs,  looking back up.  his gaze is hazy.  clouded.  he’s definitely not quite himself.  ]   buh.  master diluc,  i’m fine!

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @pyrowines
            
            \    EXACTLY 

*      ennis too powerful for work

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @pyrowines
            
            \    work cant stop me 

/*   mine def won't be that long i apologize <33 lmao
            
            exactly!  *  a gloved hand lifted and kaeya placed it flat against his chest,  giving the young  [in appearance,  of course]  bard his most charming smile.  *  see?  you understand me.  *  then,  his lips parted to let out a low but genuine laugh.  after his arm dropped back down to his side,  he fixed his gaze on venti.  there was a moment of silence that passed between them both.  the look on the young man's face seemed thoughtful.  what was he thinking about,  kaeya wondered.  then he turned his back towards the bard and made his way down the steps a lot slower.  there was no hurry or rush,  so why not take his time?  shrugging,  he gave his friend a light,  teasing smirk.  *  isn't that part of the fun?  the destination isn't the important part.  it's the /journey/.  surely you've heard of such a thing.  *  then he started off ahead of him,  walking out of the main gate before venti.  *

\    WHSHDJDJF WHOOPS THATS LONG

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @frostswind
            
            [   if venti were any less relaxed around his people,  he may have reacted differently to kaeya’s head pat.  he thinks of what that blockhead a nation over would do,  and giggles at the mere imagination of anyone patting morax’s head.  he thinks the only one who ever did that was guizhong,  if he remembers correctly.  ]   of course not!  someone here has to be confident enough to lift the entire city’s spirits,  [  teases the bard,  and grins up at kaeya brightly.  sure,  kaeya’s presence is usually a casual one.  but venti has heard of a handful of stories in which kaeya’s company wasn’t so appreciated  —  he does have his ways of making others a little uneasy.  perhaps in order to investigate.  the only way to make venti uneasy is by talking about barbatos so highly  —  he does feel a little guilty,  sometimes,  for not being there as an archon.  he does his little deeds subtly.  a blessing here,  occasionally.  a vision there.  only when he feels like it’s necessary,  though.  as for kaeya  …  well.  he can be grateful that venti saw when he chose mondstadt over khaenri’ah.  perhaps that sounds ominous,  but venti,  despite his easygoing appearance,  has killed countless people.  and he would do it again if he needs to.  so,  when kaeya chose to dedicate himself to mondstadt,  venti was glad he wouldn’t have more blood on his hands.  ]  sure.  where are we going?  [  graciously ignoring the bad nickname,  venti makes his lyre disappear in a flash of green light,  and skips down the stairs from the fountain to the main gate.  ]

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @tempusfug
            
            huh?  oh!  —  /  darling  /  ?   now hold on a minute,  pretty lady,  but respectfully,  i’m  —   ohh,  never mind.  [  a sheepish grin shows on the bard’s lips,  and he turns to face the librarian fully,  revealing his lyre with a flourish.  ]  i suppose i am!  do you have any business with me?
            
            \    STOP THEY GOTTA BE BESTIES

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @strangertopeace
            
            \    you lil flirt you

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @strangertopeace
            
            \    keep it in a locket bestie

↳˳⸙  @ALIFER0US  ;;
            //  it  worked  so  dw  :0
            
            [  he’s  only  just  realised  his  mistake  .  well…  how  stupid  of  him  for  forgetting  .  he  internally  kicks  himself  for  forgetting  they  were  in  public  and  he  should  address  the  other  by  his  mortal  name  .  ]  i  apologise  ,  venti  .  slip  of  the  tongue  .  [  it’s  been  so  long  since  those  days  when  they’d  go  out  for  a  drink  together  that  he’s  accidentally  reverted  to  how  he’d  act  before  .  and  now  he  stares  with  slight  annoyance  at  the  bard  who’s  well  and  truly  drunk  ,  judging  by  the  deep  flush  to  his  cheeks  and  the  slurring  of  his  words  .  the  wine  bottle  swings  towards  him  again  and  he  ducks  neatly  ,  it  whistles  harmlessly  over  his  head  ,  nearly  smashing  into  a  wall  much  to  the  horror  of  the  red  haired  bartender  (  master  diluc  ,  if  he  remembers  correctly  )  .  sighing  ,  he  reaches  over  to  tug  the  bottle  out  of  his  fellow  ex  -  archon’s  hand  .  ]  /venti/  .  how  about  you  start  drinking  only  water  from  now  on  .  and  you  know  as  well  as  i  do  that  i  can’t  pay  for  all  this  wine  you’ve  consumed  as  of  now  .

⌗  ⋄  ➥ ₊  °  ▐  ː   @R3X_LAP1S  \    god i hope the tag will work i have no idea why watty didnt do it last time  ):< 
            
            [   considering that venti is an archon,  his alcohol tolerance is very high.  he needs around thirty cups to get drunk,  an amount no mortal would get to without passing out,  but venti’s party just starts when he hits the twenty-cups mark.  alright,  rewind.  venti had been on his way to angel’s share when—  much to his delight  AND  shock,  he recognized morax among the people of mondstadt.  and of course he immediately latched onto his oldest friend,  pulling him along with himself to the tavern.  and this is where they are now,  with venti twenty-two cups into the day.  he’d abandoned the cups recently,  in favor of drinking straight from the bottle.  he’s waving the bottle of dandelion wine around,  swaying dangerously.  his coordination is severely affected by his drunkenness,  but in response to zhongli’s deadpan question,  he sits up swiftly and stares at him with wide,  shocked eyes.  thankfully,  nobody seems to have heard that—  but still.  he tips himself forward,  and clumsily ends up with his forehead hitting zhongli’s shoulder.  “don’t call me that!”  he hisses out,  “did you —  f…   forget i don’t go by that name here?”  he swivels back around,  and slouches over to sprawl over the counter.  his feet don’t reach the ground on his chair,  he’s swaying his legs back and forth like a toddler,  and then continues to babble cheerfully about wine,  comparing mondstadt’s dandelion wine to fontaine’s specialties.