The Autumn Winds Are Sighing

Fanfiction
Title:	The Autumn Winds Are Sighing
Author(s):	Bgtea
Date(s):	November 18, 2020-March 3, 2021
Length:	138k Words, Complete
Genre(s):	Slow Burn, Canon Divergence, Sickfic, Fluff and Angst
Fandom(s):	Genshin Impact
Relationship(s):
External Links:	AO3
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

The Autumn Winds Are Sighing is a popular Childe/Zhongli fanfic in the Genshin Impact fandom and can be considered a fandom classic. As of August 12, 2023 there are translations into Russian, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese. The author also ran four rounds of preorders for a printed copy of the work.

Summary

It’s been two months since the storm, and Childe hasn’t seen Zhongli not even once, not since that fateful meeting with the Signora where the truth is finally unveiled.

And what a fun little kick to the gut that is, the realization that not only had he been played by all sides, but he's also being tossed aside like trash now that his use had run its course.

It’s not that Childe doesn’t get it. He’s a Harbinger. He knows first-hand what it means to do his duty, to put the mission first and his personal feelings far, far away, preferably locked up in a box, where it wouldn’t interfere with his job. He knows what it’s like working with vipers, to scheme and plot and lie in wait for the opportune moment to stab his opponent in the back.

But this time, this time Childe can’t help but feel a little (a lot) gutted.

Stupid. He’s gotten himself stupidly attached.

--

A story about Childe trying to move on after the events of 1.1 Update, but some of his actions have consequences, and those consequences have followed him back to Snezhnaya.

NOTE: THIS FIC WAS DRAFTED BEFORE 1.1 UPDATE CAME OUT. MIND THE CANON-DIVERGENT TAG FOR THIS REASON.

AO3 Summary

Tropes and genres

• Battlesexual Childe

Fan Reviews and Responses

Archive of Our Own

This was utterly wonderful. Your writing was so engaging and brilliant and beautiful and so incredibly masterful. Congratulations on finishing this, and thank you so much for sharing this. This had me hooked from the very beginning, and you tried everything up so well!! You made everything fall into place and did it so masterfully that your writing sent me on rollercoaster after rollercoaster of emotion. Your fight scenes were so vivid and well-written that it just popped off the screen! I love how you wrote Childe and Scaramouche's interactions!! The letters from Keqing, Signora, and Xiao had me laughing out loud. Your characterization for the Tsaritsa!! The scene of her and Ajax in his dream and her talking about her job as the goddes of love and oh that was so lovely to read!! And Ajax and Zhongli's characters and relationship together!!!! AAAAA!!! Their PAIN of Zhongli drawing out the parasite and then the relief of them being safely and happily together at the end! I am so in love with how you wrote their characters and how you dove into Ajax and Childe and Tartaglia and how you connected them to his family, the Fatui, and Zhongli. The dynamics between Ajax and his siblings and his agents and Zhongli were all so, so, so well-written and I really wish I could describe this is better words so I could praise you more, but I'm at a loss for words because everything was just so very wonderful. I love your plotting, your world-building, the obvious care put into every single detail, and I love everything about your work. Amazing work!!!!!!! I really wish I could praise you more; this was really, really lovely.

Comment by wheelspokes

AHH...... I have no idea how I'm going to fully sum up my feelings about this fic especially while I'm overwhelmed by the ending but I'm going to try. First of all, thank you so so so much for writing it, this fic is like... everything I love about this ship and pretty much everything I ever wanted to see with them. I can confidently just rec this fic to friends getting into Genshin and it's everything I want them to see.

I adore the way you wrote Zhongli and how he speaks to Childe; it's so full of love and happiness you can just feel how charmed he is to be around him in everything he says. Zhongli taking care of a sick Childe is one of my favorite things, and you delivered SO. MUCH. I feel so blessed to be able to read this at all. Every new chapter you beautifully executed something that just felt so gratifying to experience.

Childe is such a difficult character to write and get into the head of but I loved every second of his POVs here. You write both of them with such energy and wit, and everything feels so fluid and comfortable without being overly fluffed or out of character. There's so much you made us feel watching him realize his love for Zhongli, the way he wrung his hands over his pining (which was DELICIOUS, thank you), and then the sweet love they had in their relationship. There's literally nothing more I could want from a fic for these two.

Your side characters are also all a delight to read, and full of character without feelings like caricatures. Uncle and Auntie were SUCH a good addition to the cast at home, and I have to say your Scaramouche characterization is my favorite I've read. I honestly never felt much for him, but he's so funny here in his interactions with Childe that I looked forward to hearing what he had to say about things all the time. If he's not a vaguely antagonistic but mostly bitchy not-friend to Childe in anything else I read in the future I'm just going to be sad.

I've said it before but I'm really so emotional that Autumn Winds has ended now, even though the journey was amazing ;__; I can't imagine the last few months of loving Zhongzi being the same without this fic. Ever since you mentioned the fic was ending, my friends and I have just been like "oh god what will we do when autumn winds is over". I DON'T KNOW YET... reread it 10 times I guess... ahhhHHHHHh

Thank you again for giving us such an amazing read with such regular updates as well! Please rest well... though I have to ask if you're planning on writing more for these two, whether in this universe or others! (Maybe the Liyue trip...?) If you are I'd be so delighted to see it. I feel like I haven't been able to fully convey all of my feelings about this fic in this comment but my head empty brain mush eyes wet so, again thank you so much, it was amazing!!!

Comment by damaskino

Recursive Fanworks

Fanart

• fanart for autumn winds are sighing!, ^{Archived version} by waterbottlqueen
• Small manga page that I drew for dear Bgtea, ^{Archived version} by oftenalinicia

The author has compiled an extensive list of fanart for the fic in a special final chapter of the fic here.