animedimension - Tumblr blog

animedimension · 2 years ago

Note

sagau with the language barrier issue except... the creator is sick and tired of trying to ask for things so they do everything themself.

and it gives their followers mass anxiety bc they can't even ask what you're doing... bc they know they won't understand anything...

SUCH A GENIUS NARVI 10/10 GOOD WORK SORRY IM SUPER LATE BUT THIS IS *chefs kiss*

Like, that's literally how I feel like I first played Genshin LMAO

Also this has a cont. Part 2 at the bottom bc tumblr fucking hates me UPDATE I FIXED IT THANK FUCK

Paimon was like "and then we go to Mondstadt- ! NO, not Wolvendom, to Mondstadt! NOT THE THOUSAND WIND TEMPLE WITH ENEMIES OUT OF UR LEAGUE, ENTER MONDSTADT FOR THE FIRST TIME BEFORE U EXPLORE THE REST OF THE MAP!! >:("

SO MANY IDEAS YET SO LITTLE WRITING SKILL GUYS HELP-

Also warning this is ROUGH in terms of spelling and editing and im so sorry abt that! I have my art show today so you're welcome to come back if you want to see it a little more readable tomorrow lmao

Edit Update 4/6/23:

Revised and fixed all the bad spelling and grammar (hopefully) so make sure to give another read if you havent read the cleaned up version lol

I dont have a beta reader so its just me trying my best ok-

♤

Everything was like kinda chaos tbh at first

Like u wake up under the Irminsul, and u think ur hallucinating a goddamn gacha game for like a solid 5 minutes, or ur lucid dreaming,

but once u actually took what felt like hours to process that u might actually be in fucking Genshin Impact-

Nahida came running from, somewhere?? Its kinda just very floaty dreamy in here so, unclear, she’s beaming with a giddy little smile (💘)

It’s… so much more than what her game model could manage.

I mean, you knew that, of course you did, but- to see the tiny goddess smiling in person, her cute chubby arms waving in the air, her cheeks all plump with baby fat from her excited smile, pretty green eyes that sparkle only in the way excited toddlers do-

It was just…wow. 🥺

You can’t help it, her sheer carefree excitement, exactly like a child but you know that she must be really overwhelmed with joy if shes letting herself act like that so blatantly, you feel ur muscles tug gently into a smile, you try to muffle it but ur happiness leaks out anyway

She's panting as she stumbles on short chubby legs to reach you.

After just staring at you with those big green clover eyes for a few seconds, she physically shakes her head to knock herself out of it,

Nahida places her hand over her heart, and bows elegantly, going back to looking at you with a small but bright smile, her voice is kind of quiet, muffled in a soft way, much like her game depiction,

“Hzozn! R'ev yvvm dzrgrmt gl nvvg blf! R wrwm'g gsrmp blf dlfow wvhxvmw fmgro R dzh zg ovzhg z uvd gslfhzmw bvzih low!” *

…Nahida begins to look a little concerned… her eyes get impossibly bigger.

…Oh no.

♧

Nahida had apparently quickly spread the news that you can’t understand them, but luckily it seems like all the characters still know you!

Alhaitham is pretty much a constant by your side, you knew he was vaguely studying linguistics in the akademiya… but that knowledge still didn’t prepare you to be intensely stared at with his diamond pupils for hours. 💀

Then he’d tap your shoulder or something, and you quickly picked up that he wanted you to just try and say something.

Then he would scribble for hours.

Turns out they can understand you about as much as you understand Teyvat language (s? You can’t even tell if there are multiple languages, that’s how unrecognizable this language is, damn)

The more extroverted or friendly people, like Venti, Yoimiya, Kazuha, Jean, Noelle, Amber, Xingqiu, Hu Tao, Zhongli, Ganyu, Barbara, Beidou, Collei, Ayaka, Gorou, Nilou

At least attempt to talk to you, and try very hard to watch what you gesture with your hands or body language

They're pretty much ready to play charades at all times for you lol

Interestingly enough, they only ever understood you when you typed in the chat (with other ppl)

But even then not immediately,

Sumeru scholars basically had to make a whole new department (regardless of how much you play with others) to decipher your ancient language (to them) like those old clay tablets with cuneiform we’re still translating?

Like that, your words appear in elemental magic heavy places (so like that abyss lang. It’ll appear on walls or structures, so like Andrius’ stone colosseum? in Wolvendom gained some of your chat replies inscribed and glowing a rainbow of colors on the top edges of the walls)

Much like the abyss language you see throughout genshin, most Teyvat scholars (across nations/internationally) agreed your language is the oldest form of language known!

It’s like modern languages having roots in older ones, like English with Latin, greek, or German roots, or Sanskrit and the Prakrit for Hindi language today

…so of course no one really speaks the root languages anymore, because they’re so old, so those ancestors who spoke those languages would have little to no understanding of their modern counterparts…

◇

Occasionally if you turned your mic on for whatever reason there would be a gentle whisper on the winds in Mondstadt of your voice,

or your laugh in the waves washing ashore in Inazuma and Fontaine,

your startled noises or screams from battling bosses mixed with the landslides in the mountains of Liyue

So they know what you sound like, but that doesn’t mean they understood your language :/

Nahida had been hoping that you’re actual physical form being here would help improve the language barrier

But unfortunately, those things remained the same, but at least you were physically here to talk to now and give more content for the scholars to study rather than them having to make do with your snippets of language from chats

…so needless to say, it took you a long time to realize they viewed you as a god of sorts.

You kind of knew something was up when at least two allogenes were by your sides at all times, or eremites would replace them if they really couldn’t stick around

You figured they knew you weren’t nearly as combatant-ready as they were at all times, hell you obviously didn’t have a vision hanging off you somewhere, and you only really had a knife strapped to a belt, courtesy of the Thirty Corps

You are still kind of convinced that the people of Teyvat, or Sumeru at least, are just pretty polite (and in the allogenes case, very kind or friendly, even people like Alhaitham or Cyno, resting bitch faces they have, seem to soften a little when they’re walking around with you… maybe you’re just imagining it…)

And as much as you would love to wait until they understand you to do something more fun, as you can see the frustration on Tighnari’s face (and his ears try to flatten back hehe) as he looked like he was debating heatedly with some of the Sumeru sages who insist you stay in the city

…so why not go?

It’s not like they’re going to get it anytime soon, and it’s still too frustrating for yourself to charade things or draw things for them because you can’t even hear their guesses 💀

You can totally handle being like the traveler too,

You still have access to your inventory afterall! Plus, lucky for you, you still find a pass for the Serenitea Pot in your little pocket dimension!

So now you have somewhere to sleep at night, and while most of your stuff went to the traveler’s pack, the things like Primogems

(which.. Okay now you really want primogems bc theyre so pretty and shiny irl)✨️

And other high-level things, or just objects of no use for the traveler (so basically all your hoarded level up stuff and infinite amount of weapons lol) came along with you

So you did have to wander the first week or so around the city and even commission the Adventurer’s Guild to grab you food supplies to cook with

Filling up, along with a few big waterskins, you’re off!

...and everyone collectively has a heart attack!

◇

When you show up in Ghandaraville essentially all “✨️💖☺️✨️” on Tighnari’s doorstep-

He chokes on the tea he’d been sipping on before he opened the door lol

◇

He looks a little frazzled so you try to just gesture with “calm yourself small animal” energy with your hands

“Tivzgvhg Oliw! R'n- R- sld wrw blf-?! Mvevinrmw, xlnv rm, xlnv rm, ivhg! ...R mvvw gl hvmw z nroorlm ovggvih mld gl ylgs gsv vmgriv xrgb lu Hfnvif, gsv Zxgrmt Tizmw Hztv, zmw gsv Nzgiz nlhg orpvob…” he began out looking at you and talking and gesturing to his small dining table (the game sucks, his house looks great and has lots of cool rooms filled with interesting plants… oooo…so pretty...)

But then he kinda just devolved into rambling, no need to understand, you can read the vibes and just know that's what he's doing lol

Collei eventually ducks in, and she looks a little panicked?

She’s quickly followed by Cyno, pushing past her to call out into the house,

His voice seems hard and stressed, looking at Tighnari, “Grtsmzir, szev blf hvvm gsv Tivzgvhg Oliw zmbdsviv, gsvb dviv hvvm xlnrmt gl Tszmwziezeroov ozhg-”

Cyno stops and blinks.

Collei’s mouth is slightly dropped open, she also just, blinks.

You blink.

Tighnari blinks tiredly, he looks like he’d rather be done for the day, you think.

The doctor sighs, and moves his head to nod towards the other dining seats.

◇

Sumeru foods are so much better looking in real life, and they’re so good too, your practically bloated by the end of dinner,

As a thank you, bc u cant say it obv, you just gesture for Tighnari to stay sitting, and he gives you a raised eyebrow and a suspicious ear twitch

But stays still, and you reach out to finally hit the eight-pointed star hovering over his, and all playable characters chests at all times.

Like you suspected, it brings up a holographic character menu, but rather than his full model, it kind of hovers in front of Tighnari’s face, replacing his old 3D model self with framing the real thing for a portrait just in front of his face

The poor Denro user nearly jumps a foot out of his chair as he looks in shock at your screen, you do the same “chillll boy” gesture with your hands and press his shoulders for a second to remind him to not run off or panic

Cyno and Collei had done the dishes and put up leftovers, and are now standing behind Tighnari, watching with equally wide eyes,

“...Dszg ziv gsvb wlrmt gl blf?

Cyno’s voice is even deeper and quieter than usual, you feel goosebumps run up your spine

“Ziv blf tvggrmt yovhhvw, Nzhgvi Grtsmzir?!” Collei’s sweet voice is also hushed like she’s witnessing something sacred, Tighnari gently shakes his head negatively in response, his shoulders shrugging,

“Nzbyv? R uvvo... z orggov hgilmtvi, zmw nb Erhrlm rh zxgrmt fk zh dvoo…”

Though he’s replying, Tighnari’s eyes haven’t once left your ancient magic? technology device? hovering in front of him,

and as he crosses his arms and squints to try and look closer at everything floating in front of him, you can see the childlike gleam of awe in his green eyes, (so cute) in fact, now that you glance up and look, both Collei and Cyno have the same quietly excited and fascinated sparkle in their eyes too

With a displeased sneer, you chuck his old level one bow into the material grinding spots, hope he wasn’t attached to that…

Oh well, he’ll like the new one better, afterall, with no characters, all your best weapons and artifacts are ready to use!

With a small smile of reassurance, you finally finish gearing Tighnari up, tap a miniature version of that 8-point star in the corner like an “X” button, and it retreats like a classic TV set📺 turning off into his chest, he startles but then carefully stands

You decide to just start making decisions bc its worked out so far ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And grab his hand and haul him out into the forest, Collei letting out a surprised squeak, her and Cyno hurrying after

You reach the nearest clearing, and gesture at Tighnari like a bow and arrow firing, he gets it, and your glad he already trusts you, because he doesn’t take long to summon his bow

He takes aim at a smaller tree about two cars length away

You can feel them all holding their breathe, as Tighnari charges it with Dendro, the arrowhead glowing, (it looks so cool and badass irl god you feel envious even tho ur already here-)

The ranger lets it fly, it streaks neon green, whistling through the air, it hits the tree-

and it fucking explodes.

Vines and leaves and the trees roots all rapidly swell like theyre filled with water, like it literally got hit by a superhero with plant powers, which, not that far off actually.

The green floating Dendro seeds make a ring around the tree its so full of elemental energy-

You give a wild grin, you still got it, hell yeah. >:)

Your grin widens as you look over at Tighnari, Collei, and Cyno

Cyno has a smirk lighting up his face, eyes eager, Collei’s jaw has dropped and she’s just frozen staring as the tree finally settles from the burst of the dendro powered arrow

…Tighnari has lowered his bow, and his mouth is only slightly open, his ears perked straight up into the air, shaking with excitement? Happiness? Interest? You don’t know how peopl-animal-hybrid ears work,

and you STILL cant talk to any of them to ask what they thought, so looks will have to do >:/

Tighnari is the first to move, his head snapping over to look at you, the brightest, kinda feral tbh, smile taking over his face-

“Blf pmld, dv xzm'g fmwvihgzmw blf, zmw blf fh, bvg R xzm'g dzrg gl hvv dszg rm gsv dliow blf'iv tlrmt gl wl mvcg. Blf'iv znzarmt."

… and you just 🙂? Cool!

And give a thumbs up👍LMAO

☆

Bonus:

Alhaitham was literally running around Sumeru City trying to find you when you left, tho you did try and leave a translatable-in-3-to-5-business days-note, he didn’t have time to translate that because you were gone.

Or worse, lost in the city, and he would never forgive himself if he lost you, esp as Acting Grand Sage-

Kaveh got a letter a day and a half later from Tighnari letting them know you were having a sleepover in Ghandarvaville lol

Kaveh also had to hunt down Alhaitham to give him said news, then force his roommate to go sit or lay down for the rest of the day to recover lmao

(Haitham honestly kinda freaked Kaveh out bc he’s never seen him that... desperate, it was like seeing a statue emote lol)

♡

ARE YOU KIDDING WE ALMOST HIT LIMIT AGAIN?!

Bro has anyone else had this problem???

I literally had to switch from PC to mobile and copy and paste it there to get all my shit in and tumblr not throw a hissy fit???!!!

FUCKING TUMBLR- SUCK MY BIG FAT- 👹👹 UGH

ANYWAYYYY SO I FINALLY CAVED

And started doing ciphers for when you dont get teyvat’s language! I meant to do something fun like this for awhile but I wasn’t sure if that would be kind of annoying, but if you’re interested in learning what they actually say (which the whole point of this is that dw it doesnt rlly matter lol) here’s a hint:

*hint = Atbash

:> good luck!

Wish me luck on my art exhibition today!! Then I’ll be homefreeeee 😭

Safe Travels,

💀♒

♡ the beloveds ♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

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animedimension · 2 years ago

Text

Read my lips

Regardless of what people say the worst thing about being Isekai in genshin isn't the lack of technology or how many monsters there are, it's about how you can't read anything that is written

Notes: i know this concept is overdone and everything but i just wanted to see an Spanish speaking reader jsjsjjs

Wc: 2,1k

Landing on teyvat there were many things you had to get used to quickly to not get attention. Getting used to seeing children with natural pink hair. Blue being a more common hair color than brown for vision bearers.

But one thing you never got used to is reading in their alphabet. Even if the way they speak sounds like English the symbols that represent each one are so different to any type of alphabet you ever saw that at one point you gave up trying, opting for asking questions or leading people to suggest things so that you don't have to read. As you are doing now.

Looking to the blackboard with what you guessed was the menu you ask her as smoothly as you could "Say Sara, what do you recommend for me on this sunny day" you smile widely.

Sara, already used to this antic simply answers " well, there are chicken skewers and if you pay 500 extra we add a drink. But if you are specially frugal today I can give you a few tasks and the house covers it all, what do you think?"

" I just got paid so I'm going to pay" pulling out 1500 worth of moras you lean over the counter " is it me or has it gotten hotter"

Sara scribbles the order and grabs a chicken from behind the counter, cutting it so she can skewer the pieces " I think it's because it's been raining lots, whenever it's this humid my hair is a mess and my clothes stick so much because of the sweat"

A voice joins in " is it really so hot for you two? I would say it's rather mild" the owner of the voice being an old novelty, an animal hybrid.

He walks towards the counter followed by a girl and a man dressed up as a knock off Anubis, even if they looked slightly different than in game you could guess they were collei and cyno.

" Yes, summer is coming so i guess we have to get prepared for a heatwave" As collei gets closer you can see some familiar words written on collei's arm " do you have dirt in your arm? Here, let me clean it for you" taking a piece of fabric you use as a handkerchief and dampening it slightly with saliva you try to erase the supposed dirt

Collei takes her arm away whining " noo, please. It took me so long to write this words I doubt I can remember how to do them again without the book"

Tighnari looks at yours and Sara's confused faces and briefly explains "in sumeru people write whatever they feel they need the most of in certain moments as a way to feel closer to the creator"

Looking closer you see it reads 'seguridad en mi mismo' " oh, then you must be ready shy if what you need is confidence in yourself"

Tighnari's ears stand upright, surprised meanwhile collei looks at you starstruck " are you so knowledgeable about the holy language that you can read it without a guide?It's so cool! Even the scholars and scribes need a dictionary!"

Surprised you try to brush off her excitement " oh, i just know a little, bit too much. I do know that you gendered 'mismo' wrong, if you are a girl you would refer to yourself as 'misma'" getting the handkerchief closer to erase the o " can I erase it and write an a?"

Collei nods before taking the handkerchief and erasing the o, taking a pen out of her bag she stops for a second before looking at you sheepishly " I… forgot how the a looks. Can you?" You grab the pen, gliding smoothly over her soft skin " woah! You calligraphy is sooo neat! I can feel more confident already. Cyno look" she shows the mismatched calligraphy on her arm "doesn't it look so nice!"

" I guess you can say it's 'callineathy'"

" Why do you think it's a gendered language?" Tighnari looks at you, eyebrows furrowed " it's just a theory that started taking rise a few days ago…"

Looking at him a bit confused you answer " When talking about someone else you use

'él' and 'ella', each job or title or other things changing accordingly? Like 'hijo' is masculine and used for 'él' and 'hija' is feminine and used for 'ella'? That is just one example that it's heavily gendered."

Cyno scratches his chin " I never thought mondstrat had an expert on holy language. If you don't mind, would you come with us to sumeru after the windblume festival? I'm sure the akademia would find you the most helpful"

" Oh, i have never been the scholar type. I will pass, but thanks either way" the last thing you need is people getting amazed about your abilities to read Spanish even as your first language, what you need even less is people trying to find something about you only for your history here to have started three months ago at best

" Who would have said, my client to refuses to read the menu and asks me for suggestions is actually well versed in holy language" Sara laughs

" Why don't you three come here and we share a meal together?"

After a week the windblume festival comes to an end as does the three foreigners travel back home, not without another offer to show you they Homeland (or more specifically their akademia and old manuscripts that needed to be translated)

" Are you sure that you don't want to visit sumeru? There is beautiful greenery throughout"

" Oh, I'm sorry, I truly like forests in theory but I can't stand mosquitoes"

" There are almost no mosquitoes in the desert, i could take you to aaru village, it's a beautiful place"

" I would love to but I can't stand such high heat! I'm prone to overheating. Sorry"

After a few days of that over and over they greet you goodbye and hope to see you soon, sighing tiredly you rest your back against the wall as you watch them leave " they were so nice but so insistent. I almost gave up and went"

A few months went by, summer had already passed its hardest peak and you were getting ready for autumn even if it was many weeks away, almost like a lover you yearn for after years of not seeing each other. Only to later start yearning for winter after you get tired of the leaves, and then spring when you can't stand the cold any longer, and then summer again after getting bad pollen allergies and the endless cycle continues

" It's been so long since I could write in my language" you start running a stick you found on the floor through the ground, slowly making out various words. Patos, caracol, flores, calor. You would have kept going had someone not stood up behind you covering the sun. His green eyes scanning the words before meeting your own

" So you must be (Y/N)"

"Ay, pero la repu-"

It seems that they snitched on you, after something that you would consider a kidnapping had the knights at least done something when al-haitham dismissed them saying something along the lines of the future of how we understand the holy language you are dragged to the akademia.

Finally reaching the palace like building after hours of being held like a potato sack al-haitham drops you. That would be a good chance of running away had you a) had a glider, and b) not being literally between al-haitham and the door

" Enter. It was difficult enough tracking down the rumors and getting you here for you to behave like a mule"

" I remind you I was very happy living in mondstrat until I was dragged here"

" At least you didn't have to walk. You aren't specifically light, you know?"

Now giving up on keeping a façade you start cursing him out " ay pero que gracioso el hijo de mil p-"

A child comes out of the door, her hair white and her big eyes bright green. " oh, you must be that expert the rumors talked about. Come in, let's talk, you too al-haitham"

You are basically pushed forward by al-haitham's chest intro a room with two couches and a coffee table

You are sat between al-haitham and the wall, both of you looking at nahida

" So this is the person who shows great use of the archaic language?" She asks al-haitham who only nods

" When I found them they were writing in it" nahida seems surprised

" Writing?"

" Those seemed like loose words but it's still at least a bare minimum of three years of intensive study to write without guides"

" Where did you learn it?" The question now seems directed to you " i have yet to hear of someone in Mondstrat who teaches it "

Now it's your time to lie. Should you go with the classic 'I don't know. It comes naturally' or a simpler ' i used to know an old man who taught me, he said it was a fake language' but that will almost certainly discredit you, it seems like you could milk the akademia for some mora or at least a semi luxurious treatment as a guest. it's a promising future even if it wouldn't last that long

" When I was a child I went into a coma" the typical 'I woke up knowing it' will work, or so you hope " I remember dreaming of someone talking to me in a strange language and it stuck with me and somehow when I woke up I could speak it." Nice it seems like they semi believe it, now just the finishing touch and it should be flawless "I didn't find out it was the holy language after years, when I was speaking with a girl named collei who came for the windblume"

That girl only muttered a small 'interesting' "then you are able to read and write it?"

You shake your head " i can also speak it"

" Al-haitham" he looks up as he is named " please translate those texts with them and rewrite them in the common tongue" and he nods as an answer, is he capable of muttering more than three words consecutively or does he need a time to cool down?

" Hey, I kind of never agreed to this. I work doing commissions from dawn to dusk and hardly can make ends meet. I can't afford to take time off" please for god's sake bite the bait and let you live comfortably

" Is that so?" She thinks for a bit " i guess the akademia can take care of your stay and food for as long as you agree to work with us" she extended her hand and you don't even stutter to grab it

" Deal!"

Now a few days later you start to dislike your own choice

" Al-haitham, i already told you. You have to mark your ñ's!"

" Islenio" he says confidently

" Don't act so smug when you are wrong!" You throw your head back, almost hitting the back " follow after me"

"Is"

"Le"

"Ño"

"Nio"

" Give me your hand, i saw someone do this to teach their child" you grab his hand and put it on your neck so he can feel the vibrations " look closely to my lips"

You start repeating that word repeatedly, his hand snug against your neck, almost pressing on your pulse. His deep green eyes fixed on your lips as he mouthed the syllables alongside you. This was one of the most calming times with al-haitham that you could remember had it not been for-

"Hyaa!?" Kaveh's shriek scares the living shit out of you "I know it's your apartment and all but next time tell me you have someone over!" His face is mostly blush by this point

" Why would I? You have never been bothered by visits before"

" Well, because you didn't bang them! If you want to have some over it is fine but if you want to be intimate at least let me know! I don't want to be here when you fuck someone!"

"Oh" Al-haitham focuses on his hand wrapped around your throat and how intensely he was looking at your lips but doesn't care enough about making things clear " if you are bothered you can leave"

You don't get a chance at explaining before kaveh is out the door " couldn't you just tell him this is for our job?"

" I don't see why he should know. Plus we are both grown consenting adults, whatever our relationship is it's between us"

" You are dense as a rock, ain't you?"

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animedimension · 2 years ago

Text

with you...

◇ characters ◇ zhongli, al haitham, childe, tighnari, wanderer

◇ tags ◇ fluff, slight angst in zhongli’s i’m sorry i couldn’t resist, childe’s is a little suggestive

◇ a/n ◇ i am so down bad for zhongli (but yall probably know this already huh)

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ⬙ 𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡

…. zhongli knows he could dress in rags and you’d still call him handsome. you’ve called him a variety of names and titles - sweet and silly ones, sensual and sultry ones - and he adores them all, adopts them as part of his identity as the mortal being that is zhongli, and refers back to you with the utmost reverence. he knows he need not resent his former names nor his more brutish appearances, for you’ve seen them past their monstrosity and still sees something beautiful in all of them. you’ve shown him how you’ve embraced him in his entirety; his past and his present, and his future.

with you, he can’t wait to experience your life together.

(- yet he knows every journey has its end, and so he promises himself that he’ll appreciate you every step of the way)

…. al haitham knows he doesn’t need to sugarcoat his words. you already know that he’s straightforward and blunt with his remarks and intentions, yet still, you choose to be with him. it’s not that he can’t “read the room” or “be a little more attentive”; he just doesn’t think he’s fit for the job if praises and reassurances that can barely hold any water are what people want in those situations. he also knows that you understand the nature of his job without him having to spell it out for you; he likes that he can talk or grumble about all the darkest secrets of the akademiya along with all of its forbidden secrets, and you would store it in your memory in a drawer where only he has the key to unlocking them.

with you, he doesn’t need to hold back - be it his words, his secrets, or his love, he knows you’ll accept them all and treasure them gently within your arms.

…. childe knows he can trust you with ajax. the lonely, repressed, forced-to-grow-up-far-too-soon ajax. gone is the fearsome and bloodthirsty eleventh harbinger; every time he sees you, he feels like he’s a child all over again, seeing his favorite toy and snuggling into the comfiest blanket that smells like home. he knows you would indulge his every request, from a head pat to a full-on embrace that lasts for the whole day. from a bite of the cake you’re having to a whole ten-course meal. from a little peck to a make-out session that turns into something more… you continue to spoil him despite your nagging and little exasperated huffs. he thinks it’s very very cute and endearing. sometimes tartaglia thinks he doesn’t deserve you, but ajax has already forgotten a world without you and firmly refuses to let you go with that childish mentality of his.

with you, his haven, childe knows he could be in touch with his child self and be as selfish as he wants in reveling within your love, because it seems like you’ve already long since made your home in his heart and won’t be leaving anytime soon, much to his delight.

…. tighnari knows he can fully indulge in his baser instincts and you’ll let him. you might complain, but your words won’t have any bites on them and your body will support him to let him take as much as he needed. his nesting behaviors should be an oddity in normal humans’ eyes (he can’t help stealing your clothes because the smell of his mate comforts him and helps him sleep, okay, get your mind off the gutter), yet you tell him he’s adorable and ask him if you can join in. the little fangs in his mouth should be something people are wary of (they’re made for rip and tear upon intimidation, a tool made to fight against danger), yet you tap on them whenever he bares his teeth and tells him his ‘little fangies’ are cute. you’re such a weird lummox. and tighnari loves this weird lummox so, so much.

with you, he sees a mate and a partner for life, and while fennec foxes don’t normally enjoy cuddles, he supposes he can make an exception.

….. wanderer knows he can trust you to pull him back to where he needs to be whenever he’s lost. you’ve always been meddlesome and kinder than you should be with scaramouche, and even with his new identity you’re just as nosy, and he’s grateful for it. you know not to take him seriously when he’s just acting like he doesn’t want you around, but you know to put your foot down when he tries to push you away because he’s starting to doubt himself all over again. he knows he’s not the best lover out there - hell, he’s pretty convinced that he's the worst lover in all of teyvat. but you... you stick with him regardless. you pinch his cheeks and kiss his forehead and do all the things that somehow manage to make him blush. he might not be the best lover on teyvat, but he knows that you are. so he’ll keep trying his best, just for you.

with you, his captivating dancing doll, maybe the soldier doll has managed to form a heart before it could burn to ashes after all.

— with you, i know i am where i belong, and i know that i am safe and loved.

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animedimension · 2 years ago

Text

honestly, this is a great story. It made my whole heart melt. It was kinda funny to.

— oh and by the way im married (zhongli) .

synopsis !! zhongli neglects to inform his friends that he's married.

contains !! they/them reader but referred to as wife, comedic dialogue

Z H O N G L I

Perhaps it's the fact that you've been married for centuries that informing others didn't seem to be a priority for Zhongli.

It wasn't obvious either. He had his day job and you had yours. To regular couples, the amount of distance you two spend would be a little strange, but time is something you have in abundance so it didn't really matter when you spend a few days apart doing your day jobs.

It was Hutao who brought it up the on the evening's Lantern Rite dinner.

"Aiyaya, it seems like everybody alive and dead has a date for this year's lantern rite."

"Hahaha! And here we are celebrating a feast with new and old friends. It doesn't sound like much of a loss to me." Venti laugjs, pouring himself a drink that threatens to overflow from his hand.

"I'm not saying it's a loss, I'm simply wondering wouldn't some of you want to spend the night with a special someone?" She smirks, eyes scanning the group. Chongyun coughs into his cup as Xiao averts his gaze from the troublemaker.

"If you're asking for my opinion, I'd say everyone here is quite special to me," Lumine smiles warmly before glancing at the two archons and yaksha, "I'm sure there's still time for dating in the future. We're not that old."

"Well. . ." Hutao turns to Zhongli. He raises a brow, placing down his cup.

"May I ask why you're staring at me, Director Hu?"

"No reason~ It's just, as your boss, of course I'm a little bit concerned. Aren't you wasting your youth by not going out on dates, mister Zhongli? I'm sure there's a line of Liyuens who would love to–"

A burst of laughter comes from the green bard. "Oh, him? On a Lantern Rite date with someone else? (Name) would surely kill him."

"(Name)?" Everyone questions.

"Huh? He didn't tell you?" Venti tilts his head.

Zhongli coughs, "Ah. . . Please don't be concerned about my dating life, Director Hu. After all, I am already married."

Silence.

A cup drops.

Tea spills (literally).

Then,

"Married?!" The restaurant shakes as Hutao and Lumine jolt upright, hands slamming the table.

"Married." Zhongli confirms.

"What! For how long? When? What's their name? Why have you never–"

Zhongli hushes, trying to calm his boss from jumping over the table. His face dusts a light pink, perhaps embarrassed by the whole ordeal.

"For a few. . . years now. As you know, they're (Name). And as for why I never mentioned my wife. . ." He glances at the crowd, ". . . I simply forgot."

"You. . . forgot," Xingqiu slowly repeats.

"Yes, it seems I've forgotten to inform everyone. Then again, is it not obvious that I'm a married man?"

Chongyun covers his face in his hands, processing the whole ordeal, "Thinking back. . . mister Zhongli always had a domestic kind of aura. It seems so obvious now."

"Wait, wait, wait! How come I didn't know about this? We work together almost everyday! And why does Venti know! Didn't you two just met! Do you even have a ring?" Hutao interjects, flabbergasted as Zhongli and Venti freezes.

In truth, he does have a ring. One he carved himself made of only the most precious of jade and metal. It has rested under his glove for centuries—

Under his glove also hides his draconic arms, golden veins against dark brown, almost scale-like skin. Proof of a entity greater than human.

"Ehe. . . about that," Venti nervously looks away, "I've actually. . . met his wife before!" He covers up, voice laced with enthusiasm.

"Yes, yes, my wife is quite fond of Mondstadt's songs. They've frequently visited the nation before."

"And you don't come along?" Xiangling asks.

"I don't."

The group blinks.

"And what about the ring? I never see you wear a wedding ring." Hutao narrows her eyes.

"That's because I don't wear it." He answers bluntly.

". . . and you never introduced them to us because. . .?" Lumine questions.

"Because . . . I haven't had the time to?"

Hutao rests back on her chair, her eyes glazed in judgment, "No offense mister Zhongli, but you seem like a terrible husband. If you don't get your act straight, I'd say your marriage won't last."

His jaw drops. Venti laughs.

|| ko-fi support / character m.list ||

~ bonus ~

"Darling, am I a terrible husband?"

"No? What makes you think that?"

"No reason. Although I believe we should try dating publicly."

tumblr has been deleting my last paragraphs why

//for some reason tumblr has been deleting my last lines in drafts so i have to type this so my last sentences wont get deleted

"No reason. But perhaps it's about time I show you off to the public more."

ko-fi support | character m.list

ko-fi support / character m.list

character m.list / ko-fi support

#Zhongli #Zhongli x reader #Marriage #Morax

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animedimension · 2 years ago

Note

The ending that's available made me cry so much.

Dunno why I felt compelled to do this, but-

Here's some dialogue I just thought up regarding that angsty af Zhongli oneshot that a certain someone requested (who could it be I wonder 👀👀)

The ones talking are Ganyu and the Reader.

"Do you regret it?"

"Regret what?"

"Your love."

"..."

"I regret not being born earlier."

"I regret not being a goddess."

"I regret not being the first."

"I regret not having the long straight hair he so misses."

"But most of all, I regret not being her."

"But you had no control over any of those! It's not your fault!"

"...That's exactly why it hurts."

We love angst 😩💅💅👍✨

- Ever so sadly yours, 👹✨ Jae (also hi Lia :D been a while since I been in your inbox huehue)

— 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭.

a continuation to do you love me? choose a decision at the end! only 1/2 endings available as of now.

summary: a cracked heart is like a cracked jar; it can only hold so much within before it shatters — what if you've come to terms that you cannot take the pain of the truth any longer? (1.2k+ words)

genre: angst, "loves you but not most" trope, lovers to ???? (open-ended / cliffhanger i'm sorry.) + read the alt text on the header for extra summary!

characters: ganyu, zhongli, guizhong (implied).

cw: descriptions of crying, one pet name.

thoughts: you came into my inbox after a while and you brought pain with you. i'm not particularly proud of this but here you go, i cannot be blamed for these buckets of tears any longer. (/j)

✰ main masterlist. // series masterlist.

The night was young in Liyue, the breeze was gentle as it swept across the lands — but oh, how you wished the wind could also blow the sadness in your heart.

Blurry sight, soaked cheeks, sheer and pure numbness. For how long had you been like this? Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours, and hours felt like days. Whatever perception of time you had left just seemed to crumble to dust.

You couldn't help but wonder why? Ha, what irony when you knew very well why.

Wasn't it the truth that was relayed to you some time ago? Wasn't that why you decided to sneak away whilst your lover was sleeping, why you were crying in the company of a concerned friend, why you were here right now?

"I'm so sorry—" you choked out an apology to Ganyu through bated breath.

Your friend was out for a midnight stroll when she saw you and upon seeing how red your eyes were, she didn't leave your side out of worry ever since. You tried to reassure her that you'd be fine alone, really — but she looked so devastated, equally as sorrowful as you were like the very sadness in your heart was her own.

But you felt pathetic; so pathetic and so pitiful.

Nothing had been the same after that day, as much as you wished to deny it. Curiosity did kill the cat, after all; in your case, curiosity was what condemned your soul to a void of nothingness.

They said love was what filled a human's soul and if that were true, then you would be nothing but a shell of a soul. Zhongli gave you a love that you wished to cradle with your all forever — but he was never yours, never completely yours. Yet, how could you blame him? How could you ever blame him for experiencing a love so great he wasn't able to forget it?

"I'm not her. I could never be her," you finally forced the words out, clutching onto the railing of Liyue Harbor until a stinging pain greeted your hands. It had been the simplest conclusion, yet the hardest pill to swallow. A fate you couldn't change even if you wished you could so bad, someone unrivaled you could only imagine holding a candle to. Bitter and self-deprecating were the quiet laughter you let out at the realization.

Never was, never will.

"[Y/N], you don't have to apologize," was all Ganyu could afford to utter. She knew she should've said more, but the words escaped her barren mind; perhaps, it would be better to listen instead of saying something that could make matters worse. You could tell that Ganyu was disappointed in herself for not being able to provide you with profound wisdom or the right words of comfort.

Truthfully, you couldn't help but feel terrible for putting her in this situation, for possibly ruining her night with your mood. But when the Adeptus placed her hand on the crook of your elbow as a physical reminder that she was here for you, you smiled. Then, you turned your head towards the ocean and closed your eyes.

Finally, the pain of crying finally caught up to you, hoping that the blowing night breeze could somewhat soothe the stinging dryness and heavy bags underneath your eyes. As you did so, in the corner of your mind, a single thought passed by and you caught it by its tail.

Was it a thought meant to be voiced or buried? Either way, you brought it to life and wondered out loud.

"...Would it be better if I broke things off instead?"

Your question seemed to take Ganyu by complete surprise.

You knew why so; before your relationship with Zhongli came to be, Ganyu was one of the listening ears to your constant rambles about him. How much you admired him, how flustered you were when he smiled at you, or how you felt like you could float to the skies whenever he spared you a single glance. You recalled the surprised look on Ganyu's face when you first told her about your feelings for her Lord, but she was supportive towards your endeavor.

Now, here was where both of you stood. Oh, how time flew.

"Do you remember when he accepted my confession?" Even with your eyes closed, you could almost feel Ganyu nodding at your words. You were the same, you felt as if you could recall it like it had only been yesterday too. "I was so happy I felt like I could float to the clouds and never return. The man of my dreams is finally mine! I thought," you laughed, but there was no hint of mirth evident in your tone.

"What was it like? Being loved by him?" That sort of question sounded foreign to Ganyu but still, she asked, a willingness on her part to indulge in your nostalgia.

"Warm like having someone wrap a blanket around you and comforting like feeling the steam from a cup with your favorite tea on your face after a long day," you hummed. If loving Zhongli and being loved by him were a feeling, it would've been one that you'd never let go of... but you knew this feeling was no longer the same after the truth.

"I am not his greatest love, yet he is mine," it was something you stated solemnly, having come to terms with that fact yet not being able to fully withstand the ache that came with it yet.

When you continued, your voice broke and you frowned, "Why does it have to hurt so much? I want to stay with him, I want to pretend I didn't hear anything that day, I want to go back to the time where I knew nothing about her — but I couldn't."

The corner of your eyes began to sting once more, welling up with tears at a possibility of euphoria which you could never go to. "If only I could, then I wouldn't spend all my nights awake, wondering why I wasn't her or thinking of ways I could somehow be better than her in his eyes. If I could, I'd be sleeping happily in his arms right now and... I wouldn't feel this pain anymore."

There was no stopping the waterfall running down your cheeks now and you could feel that stinging pain again as a result. "But that's a fantasy," you breathed out. You were just so tired and your knees were beginning to feel weak — but still, you looked at Ganyu through your blurred vision.

"...What should I do? Should I save myself or dwell in blissful ignorance?" You whispered with a smile that was unbefitting of your melancholic question. Ganyu hesitated but before she could formulate an answer, a familiar spoke from behind the two of you.

"...My love," a voice that was all too familiar and a nickname that caused all that was going on in your brain to halt.

You froze, veins running cold.

"R-Rex Lapis?"

Ganyu's shocked yelp confirmed it all.

There Zhongli was, standing there. A few strands of his hair looked amiss as if licked by the wind from a fast-paced trip, as if he had just gone places, as if he just went everywhere searching after waking up with you nowhere to be found in his arms. Maybe, that was exactly what he did.

His amber eyes were downcast and the way he was standing so fixedly instead of looking like he had just arrived instantly made your heart clench — because that could only mean one thing.

He heard everything.

[ WHAT IS YOUR NEXT DECISION? ]

↪ Stay quiet and dwell on your thoughts of breaking up with Zhongli. (Midnight Farewell Ending)

↪ Wipe away your tears and put on a smile as if Zhongli didn't hear anything. (Eyes Closed, Heart Blinded Ending) — COMING SOON!

─ ⊹ ⊱ ・・・・・・☆・・・・・・・⊰ ⊹ ─

#Genshin #Zhongli #Zhongli x reader #Angst

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animedimension · 2 years ago

Text

Freedom's Protection: The Two Imposters

Summary: Our beloved protagonist had finally met the Anemo Archon himself. Is he really one of your allies in surviving in this world where people wanted to kill you for 'stealing' the face of the Divine Creator or is he one of them?

This is the first part of Mondstadt's storyline for the Reader Protection Squad SAGAU series.

Note: There are instances of grammatical errors, please bear with me. Also, the entire layout was now changed and I placed a title on them so I could not be confused while I write the next chapters. It's still the same story though.

Chapters: 1 (current), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

"You're the imposter, aren't you?"

Your eyes widened as you stared at the young windborne bard beside you in fear. You knew from your experience in playing Genshin Impact that Venti is the Anemo Archon, you may say that he is one of your favorites... but according to what you had heard from the gossip of people in the city and your past experiences, the Archons and whole Teyvat are currently hunting for the Imposter who allegedly copies the face of the Creator, who was never seen in Teyvat for hundreds of years, who happens to look like you.

Venti had sensed the distress on your face, so he just waved his hands sheepishly as if in surrender and he quickly spoke, "Don't worry, (Y/N), I won't hurt you, in fact, I will help you in proving your innocence."

"How ...would you know that I was the one you all been looking for? And why would you help me when you already assumed that I'm the imposter? Aren't you also an Archon, Lord Barbatos?" you blurted out, but you realized that you never told Venti you knew about his real identity before this talk. You covered your mouth as you looked at the surprised Archon in fear once again.

Venti then composed himself as he sheepishly rubbed his neck, "You knew that I'm Barbatos all this time, isn't it? You really are perceptive, let me tell you that, ehe."

You just muttered things about him, his resemblance to his statue, and his people's idiocy for not recognizing the bard as their Archon, but the green-cloaked bard had heard that due to his enhanced hearing and blushed in embarrassment.

Then he lowered his hands to his lap as his aqua-green eyes stared at your own. To you, they resemble the sky and the grass, like the lush scenery of his home domain, Mondstadt. "To answer your question, I am more perceptive than anyone could assume I was. I even have suspicions that you are more than just an Imposter..."

"...I think that you may be the actual Divine Grace."

You scowled at the thought, "I'm not a god, I'm just an unlucky player thrown into your world, just a normal human being with a normal life. But what if I am really the imposter? I may be born with this face, but I bore resemblance to your god. And if you tried to help me, what about you? You will be branded as a traitor by everyone and executed with treason, Archon or not. Your people would bring you down once they knew about this, like they did with Lord Decarabian."

The Anemo Archon smiled sadly as he replied, staring at the skies above and at the birds flying graciously without a care in the world, "I have been thinking about the consequences of helping you, but I will stand my ground no matter what, just to prove your innocence to my people and to my fellow Archons, even Celestia themselves."

"You may be an imposter to the Divine Grace, but if I joined the hunt with the others, that would be a hypocrite of me. After all, I'm also an imposter for also stealing the face of my only friend."

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animedimension · 2 years ago

Note

Hello! Idk if your requests are open but I just wanted to get this off my head before I forget it😅

I was thinking a sagau with a creator reader who’s secretly a super-genius( iq of a gods level) who sees everything like it’s a hologram?( stuff like math, science, medical, mechanical, strategies, etc…) how do you thing they would react if they got to see from the creators perspective? Who would find it useful? Who would find it more annoying? Who would be impressed about it? How would take advantage of it in battle?

Ah, my requests are indeed open as of right now! when I first read this I thought of that one woman and the random ass math equations meme :sobs: also childe's is short 'cause idk what to do for him...

anyways, this is a cool idea!! chars. used are : Al-Haitham, Childe, and Kaveh. i love Kaveh sm :((<3

start below cut

AL-HAITHAM

Oh, when Al-Haitham first saw you randomly fiddling with seemingly the air, he thought maybe something might be wrong with you. Maybe you were sleep deprived? Sick? Tired? Slightly delusional? You, of course, noticed he was staring at you and sighed.

"Stop staring at me like I'm crazy and just come over here and look." He quickly nodded and obeyed. He would never even think of taking another moment to stop. He quickly approached next to you, and then out of nowhere, suddenly a bunch of light [color] words, symbols, and numbers appeared infront of you two. He looked at them, hen back at you, and then back at them. What were these? So many equations he'd never seen before... You glanced at his confused face and suppressed a laugh.

How cute he is when he is confused, you thought, smiling to yourself. He was trying pretty hard to understand them, though it was all something only you really knew.

He slowly gained the courage to ask, "What... are these..?"

"Well, my lovely little scribe, these are all problems and formulas from which I've learned. I haven't implemented them into Teyvat at all, of course though."

'Lovely little scribe..?' He thought, his face heating up a bit. "I-if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you..?" 'Archons, did I really just stutter.. how embarrassing...'

"Well, there really isn't a reason for anyone here to learn it. I merely use it so could help me control the events of Teyvat easier. There is no need for anyone on Teyvat to learn such a thing, if they do not possess the power I do." You said, smiling at his reaction to his new nickname.

"I.. see.. That is very.. interesting." He said, trying to process it all as he glanced at you, just to see you smiling at him, and quickly looked back at the hologram. He couldn't handle it-- you were just too much for him to handle. [positively, of course. he loved the creator in a lot of ways.]

"Not as interesting as you, love."

"!!!"

Oh archons, you've broke him!

end : 1/3

KAVEH

you have no idea how down bad I am for this man istg

"I'm surprised you've gotten the hang of this already! N-Not that I doubted you of course, but most people don't learn so quickly! N-No that I mean to say you're most people, you aren't!! B-But I don't mean to try and single you out, nor do I mean to mean to say you're the same--" Kaveh tripped over all his words, trying to make sure they weren't going to offend you at all, but he just kept poking holes in each until he heard you let out a light laugh.

"It's alright Kaveh. I know what you're trying to say, thank you. I've just got a nifty little trick up my sleeve."

...Archons, he loved your laugh. It made him feel so giddy.

"Do you mind telling me? I-I just want to se if I could use it to hurry and finish my work faster, not that I mean to use you or anything, but--"

You could sense he was about to go on another trail of thoughts, so you simply smiled and said, "It is not a trick that can be learned, it's more of a power I possess." He nodded, and internally sighed.

"...Come here, let me show you. I'll let you decided whether it's useful or not." You said, motioning for him to stand next to you.

What an honor it is, to be invited next to the Divine Creator, and how important it is... and how I get too! Ah, happy day! He thought, as he happily sped walked his way next to you. What happened next, made him feel as if he was ascending.

You carefully grabbed Kaveh's hand and guided up into the air, and as he tilted his head in confusion as a blush appeared on his cheeks, suddenly words, numbers, problems, and more appeared on thin air! They all had solutions and such, and he could understand most of them because they were the ones you two were just working on, but others had unfamiliar letters and language, with different numbers and much different ways of solving them.

"So? What do you think?" You inquired, looking at him to see his reaction. He was completely astonished. You did all of this in one day?! Not say he was doubting you or anything, but he'd never seen it before! Such complex things that took him and others so long took you merely a minute or two!

"...woah." Was all he could mutter as he stared up at the hologram.

You chuckled, and said, "There's one more thing I'd like to show you..." And you guided his hand to another part of the hologram, as if you were swiping. Suddenly, a bunch of blueprints and diagrams appeared, and he quickly recognized them. They were his future projects he had planned on! He stared at them, then at you, and then just turned red. Both because he was flustered, and because he was blown away.

You'd been thinking about.. me..? And from the looks of it.. you've been trying to.. help me?!

You smiled and squeezed his hand, and he had to muffle a little 'eep!'

...He did not do very well muffling it. You chuckled and whispered in his ear, "You're so cute Kaveh, you know that?"

God, he loved the way his named rolled off of your tounge.

[i love kaveh to a normal amount i swear..]

end : 2/3

CHILDE / TARTAGLIA

"What're you doing?"

"Solving formulas to see which artifacts are best for this fight." You answered, continuing to move and use your hologram.

"A fight is a fight! What're artifacts really needed for?" He groaned, dramatically.

"For you? To do more damage. Some others do better support, off-field, healing--"

"Yeah but isn't doing so much math boringgg?" He drawed out, he just wanted to fight this [boss] already!

"Do you want to win this fight?"

"..Well, yeah..!"

"Then let me check these artifacts."

He whined, dramatically. He didn't really see why you needed that stupid hologram, it was quite annoying... taking up all your attention when he's right there! Sure he can't read half of those equations, but he can entertain you more than that 'floating screen' can! That's for sure!

Though, Childe wouldn't push anymore. You're the creator, whatever you say goes.

"Aand... done! Now use these artifacts and--" You handed him the artifacts before he eagerly put them on and grabbed your hand before you could get caught up in those stupid little symbols again.

"Let's go, Your Grace!!! I don't wanna wait any longer!!" He semi-shouted enthusiastically, holding onto you gently. You smiled, and shook your head lightly, but silently laughed.

...maybe you could let it slide this time.

end : 3/3

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animedimension · 2 years ago

Text

This story is amazing, heartbreaking and wholesome all at the same time.

❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑. reborn au

feat. Zhongli x Reincarnated!GN!Reader | PART I | wc. 4.6K

Based on 'See You In My 19th Life' | overview. this webtoon follows the story of a woman who can somehow remember all her past lives.

sum. after a sweet hello, your lips never found its way to say the bittersweet goodbye. because you knew you would always find your way back to him even if he won't recognize you in your renewable lives.

note. some scenes are purposely inaccurate to the canon lore

main.mlist genshin.mlist

You first met him as Morax, a little child dragon you grew up discreetly meeting at a very convenient time of your day, never knowing what's stored for the two of you.

He first met you as Y/N who resides at the countryside near Mt. Tianheng in hopes to find new things to discover across the vast lands of Teyvat. And he did. He found you.

Young Morax found you crouched under an oak tree, the wind flowing with your otherworldly voice, enrapturing him in blissful comfort.

Perched in the tree branch, he listens intently and let himself melt in your grace. It wasn't the first time he finds you warbling a melodic tune, and each time he comes back to hear more from you, it's always a different song and it wouldn't cease to amaze him how much ditty you know.

He lost count on how often he'd fall asleep with your voice lulling him and wakes up feeling empty as the epilogue of his day is always spent without your presence.

Sometimes he wonders if you know he has been watching you, and if you do, why aren't you approaching him? No matter, young Morax doesn't intend to befriend with you.

But then one day...

"Hello! You must be the boy who likes to hear me sing by the tree."

He was caught red handed, perhaps he became distracted that he didn't realize he's been shamelessly stalking you. He couldn't stop his curiosity to follow you in your way home.

Not only he's been spying on you, now he sounds like a stalker. But you didn't suspect, there wasn't anything to be suspicious of anyway.

"H-Huh? H-How did you know?" He gotta commend you for your keen senses. He's the Dragon between the two of you, which means he's supposed to be the one who has sharper senses.

"You must be good at anything but hiding. I have known you've been following me, but I never get to see you up close, you're really majestic looking, by the way." You chuckled as his poor attempt of masking his flushed face at your compliment.

"I don't mind your company, in fact, I want to be friends with you."

Friends. What a foreign concept for young Morax.

He has heard of that term, it's common among mortals, but he's not a mortal. Does this 'friend' term stretches to immortals like him as well? If so, then he has no reason to refuse.

Says the person who one minute ago thought of every alternative ways to stay out of your way.

He was skeptical at your optimism, most mortals would be astounded at his appearance and try to persuade him to spill whatever secrets he has, but as he got to know you better, he was a bit guilty to categorize you as one of them.

His horns and inhumane features? Young Morax found out you're only fascinated by his unique physical looks. And never doubted it.

"Cool! You have horns just like our boars, where did you get those? Can I touch them?"

"Did you just compare my horns to a pig? Pigs don't even have horns! How disgraceful!"

The sparkle in your eyes quickly died down as it came, and the young Morax feels tight in his chest just seeing your smile turns into a frown. You insulted his pride though!

You mumbled a meek apology but still kept your sheepish smile, a glimmer of hope that one day he'd let you do it.

The next days were spent by you sneaking out your house every midnight to meet up with the dragon, Morax. He's slightly skittish, oddly resembling him that of a cat, which is cute.

You probably shouldn't be calling a literal Dragon cute, legends depicted them as tyrannical creatures who seek treasures.

Ah! Classic children's story to scare the kids away at night, it did affect you in some way.

But you can't help it when he would eagerly look at you whenever he asks you to sing him a song.

You'd sit side by side under the tree, you have to admit he'd either falls asleep amidst your song or asks you for the lyrics so he can sing it to himself too.

You even dedicated a song that lets a certain flower bloom.

"Glaze Lily? What's that?" Young Morax asked with tilted head.

A smile outstretched your lips, "Beautiful, right? It transforms the memories of the land into its fragrance during florescence."

"Really?! Is that why you're always out in the dark?" You chuckled sheepishly, feigning ignorance, "Don't know what you're talking."

You got to know each other, held hands like innocent children, share what little knowledge your pea sized brain can, hug whenever one seeks comfort, eat under the glistening sun.

Morax is... a sensitive individual, albeit rough around the edges, but he's young and still learning, and you're unbelievably patient with his attitude— a quirk from you that he greatly appreciates.

From that, young Morax grew fond of you and it isn't one sided.

He flies by the same tree and gives you random things he finds magnificent, whether it could be a rock he found by the lake or a rare item that no one has ever discovered before.

Well, the legend wasn't lying about Dragons and treasure, for sure

You'd laugh at the strangest things he discovers but accepted them nonetheless. Every object he gives you is worth something.

This has been part of your routine for days, weeks, months, even years maybe. You don't know how much time has gone by whenever you're with him and you never bothered to count.

Before you know it, the two of you are almost in young adulthood, he grew up to be a fine man, much unlike you were expecting. Nothing changed from your friendship, until now.

You were taken by surprise when he suddenly blurted out one day

"I want to show you what I see from up there one day, Y/N."

He gazes at you much differently when he looks at you when you were younger. There's a glint of promise in his eyes that you can't pinpoint, it sent shivers all over your nerves.

"You can just fly me up there, Morax. I'm sure I'm not heavy." You muster a smile in an attempt to ease your quickening heartbeats.

He never gave a reply, he only stared at you so intensely that it feels like he's poking your deepest and innermost thoughts.

The way he stares at you never fails to summon the tickling butterflies in your stomach and the blood on your cheeks. You merely regarded that as your hormones, anyone would be flustered if someone they're close to stare at them like that.

You should've known better that nothing in your world stays permanent. The only thing you remember after that day was his twisted look of desperation to keep you alive and tear stained amber dyes trying to get the last image of you in his memories.

"N-No... Y/N please stay with me. D-Don't leave m-me just yet." It hurts you more than the numbing pain in your abdomen to see him broke down like a cornered prey. So helpless and vulnerable.

"I-I'll always be w-with you, Morax..."

So cruel, just when you've begun to realize the burgeoning feelings you have for the Dragon, fate took you away before you have the chance to confess.

Should you be selfish to confess your feelings to him? If you do, it seems like you'll be punishing him an endless torture ahead, and you would never wish Morax to suffer for eternity.

You only smiled and caressed his horns, even in your deathbed you're glad you died in the arms of the man you ever loved.

At the last moment, you heard the anguished wail erupts from his throat as he clutches your form closer, begging and crying for you to come back, to not leave him like this, that he needed you, that he loves you. His pleas fell on deaf ears, for you weren’t there to hear him anymore.

But it became clear to you that he reciprocated your love.

It came a shocking twist when you opened your eyes you can hear multiple cooing sounds from around you. Didn't I die in his arms? Where am I? Turns out, you were reborn. But not as Y/N anymore and you were given a surname.

Unfortunately, the Celestia isn't so forgiving. You were suffering from an unknown illness that took away your second life at such a young age.

You trained hard and learned martial arts in your third life as you were born from a family whose tradition is to produce well-trained warriors in the future.

Fourth to eight life came by like a blur, there were times when you get to lived as an innocent child only for it to be ripped away a few years later with your past memories resurfacing.

You stopped counting after it hits a dozen, born in different class, society and unnamed nation. There's no point of it.

All you want is to look for Morax, but will he remember you? Will he even recognize you as Y/N? You're no longer the kid he grew fond of. No, you're much different than before.

What about him? Decades have past, does he still know of your name? You could've been a fragment of his childhood that he dare not talk about with his new friends.

Will I make your life more difficult by trying to reconnect with you, Morax?

Those thoughts haunted you for nights, often occuring in your dreams.

But what can you do, you're so far away from Mt. Tianheng, you don't even know if the village you lived in still exists nor do you know if Morax still visits the tree you first met.

Even if you did meet him in your new life, you ought to stay as acquaintances.

Aiding him in the shadows and lessening his burdens within your power.

In your hundredth life, all of your training in your third life is proven useful at the moment. You're known as the infamous warrior with no name that took down the monsters around Teyvat, you were revered to the people in the Guili Assembly.

War is threatening to wage amongst Gods and mortals alike.

When it came, no one is safe in and out of the battlefield. To survive they must fight tooth and nail, paint the lands in sea of red and play the game of thrones.

It was gratuitously morbid, gruesome and unjust. A macabre of series of deaths surrounded your every wake, your hundredth life is the epitome of a living nightmare. Horrifyingly memorable.

You were at the sidelines, watching as the war unfold, keeping tabs on Morax's allies and eradicating whatever threat they face.

That's when you came across the stunning Goddess Guizhong, the Ruler of Clouds, Goddess of Dust. A very close companion of Morax whom he met at the Guili Assembly along with the others.

She's capable and quick-witted, a type of peculiar person Morax wouldn't hesitate to be friends with.

As of the moment, a claymore is alarmingly closing its gap towards her, ready to slice her open.

Then you heard him scream, a cry of a man who's about to lose everything he has gained of.

That cry sent flashbacks of his tear-stained cheeks. No, you don't want to see him like that again! You'd do anything to chase away that vulnerable image of Morax, he deserves happiness and love.

Your feet went autopilot and swept away the Goddess out of the way, severing your lower limbs in the process and instantly killing you. Your eyes opened and you have started your new life.

Was Morax relieve that Guizhong lived? Did he wonder why a stranger would save her? Did he ever ask who you were? Did he... recognize you at the very least?

Your new parents panicked as they tried to appease the crying infant in their arms. Unbeknownst to your pained heart.

You saw for a brief moment before your demise how Guizhong's plausible absence will affect him. He will mourn her death as much as he lamented yours. For decades or centuries, you know he has been scarred by your passing.

You don't want him to go through that again. It's a different pain you feel when you see him tearing up, you rather get minced by a claymore than to watch him break down.

He garnered the reputation of a tyrant— but you knew better that Morax grew up with compassionate heart, he appreciates anyone no matter how insignificant they think they are.

Which is why you hold yourself from meeting him. He may not remember you, but he will certainly get attached to you once you had your way to his heart.

And a dragon who can outlive you in any lives will only suffer more from your death.

You dedicated your lives in living peacefully, learning history and new things as humanity evolves.

You vow to never fall in love if it isn't Morax you'll spend your mortal life with.

Even if he has someone he can fall in love with.

"Have you heard about the land Lord Morax and Lady Guizhong are building in Mt. Tianheng?" Gossips are everywhere about the infamous partners who survived the Archon War, there's no mouth that has not utter their names, and you're no exception.

A grin spreads over your lips as you sip your tea with elegance, "I've heard, I haven't seen them in person but the rumors about them guaranteed they're ambitious people with good hearts."

This has been a hobby you never knew; praising Morax to elate people's opinion about him. It's your small contribution to his flourishing nation.

You want people to love and respect Morax dearly just as you loved him in your childhood.

You prayed to the new Archons for Morax to find someone he can love and lean on. Someone that can be his source of strength to keep living. Someone much better than leaving him with death.

Now that he found someone he can be with, your goal in your next lives is to protect Liyue's history.

From the names of ancient relics and objects, war waged by the Gods, Nations that were built underneath the once blood soaked lands, fallen heroes who are forgotten— you know all of them. You're openly willing to offer tutelage to the inquisitive.

You sighed at the thought, it certainly will be lonely in your part. Immortal gods can still die— a death in which they'd leave their memories behind and start anew. Morax will eventually cease to existence with lovable Nation and Guizhong to remember him.

And you? Countless past lives yet you never found true happiness, and none of them was worth to remember for anyone.

Part of you feels happy for Morax finally moving on from your death eons ago, but you're still human so you're susceptible to those horrible impulses of bitterness at a basic level.

But you don't want to be a person who looks at Guizhong with jaundiced eyes just because you couldn't have Morax, so you suck it up and move on the fact Morax is in love with another.

At least my sacrifice isn't a total waste.

"Aren't they? I've met Lady Guizhong, she's such a beautiful and soft spoken woman. She and the Lord of Geo are a perfect match. I wish the two of them eternal blessings."

A tug at your heart left an unpleasant feeling, your brain tried to reason that at least he's with someone that'll love him more than you did. That can appease your bitter aching heart a bit.

How ironic. You built a nation where you first met me.

And showed her what you can see up there like you promised me.

Is that how you honor my death, Morax?

"Wow! You sure do know many things, Y/N!" The floating emergency food expressed her awe in your display of knowledge and the traveller couldn't agree more with her, "She's right, you never cease to surprise us."

Their exclaims were followed by your enchanting laugh, "I'm glad I can be at your service, Honory Knight."

You were simply ethereal to look at, you maybe a mortal like the traveller but the Blondie thinks otherwise.

Paimon and her travelling buddy met you by the Starnach Cliff when they were attempting to subdue Dvalin. Jean and Diluc already know you're part of the Adventurer's Guild as you often visit Mondstadt from time to time.

They didn't expect you to join them in their excursion in Stormterror's Lair, it turns out you're a great addition to the team.

You befriended with the traveller after the whole Stormterror fiasco and catch up with Kaeya.

You don't stand out the most in the crowd, you can blend in with everyone and no one would acknowledge your existence. But the traveller can sense the weight of the wisdom you withhold.

It almost feels like you're one of the Seven...

"Is there something else I can help you with, Traveller?"

"Huh?! Oh... I— Uhh... You've been telling us stories and fun facts about Mondstadt. If you don't mind, can you tell us about Liyue?"

For an ephemeral moment, the traveller saw your facade crumbles and slowly morphed into a nostalgic expression.

"Hmm. I'll tell you a quick introduction. Liyue is built in Mt. Tianheng after the Lord of Geo attained one of seven seats, unlike the Anemo Archon who's known to not show himself, he descends down once a year to give blessings to the people of Liyue."

"Exactly how Venti told us, but more detailed."

"He sounds a lot more of a decent God than Tone-Deaf Bard."

Her statement elicited a quiet snicker from you, "I'll be off then, I'll see you around soon." Paimon's expression deflated, "You're not coming with us?"

You shake your head, "I'll visit you when I can, until then I hope for your safe travels."

You forced a smile and took a different path from the traveller, as their figures disappear in the horizon, you felt your smile slip up as the sun whisks past the mountains turning to dusk.

Solitude in the dark has been part of your daily routine, you come and go whenever you feel like it, not knowing when to return.

The excuse you told to Paimon isn't entirely a lie, you couldn't bring yourself to go in Liyue when there's active Fatui agents scattered around the vicinity.

Let's just say you're not in good terms with the Fatui. Who isn't?

Nevertheless, whatever curse you have continued to persist in your thousandth life. You roamed around Teyvat and tell stories that even historians don't know.

Repeated lives were lived by just you traversing in each corners of Teyvat that even Archons never knew it existed.

Along the way, you've come terms with your feelings and settled it down like a dormant volcano. Morax is your first love, you enjoyed reminiscing the memories you made with him, you keep those memories locked up in the depths of your mind and often recount them in particular leisure time of the day.

You still love him, and you'll always be by his side whenever he needs a helping hand, but enough is enough, you've suffered enough to your own idiocy and fears. It's time to move on.

Morax continued to strive forward because he has changed, for the better of course. If you want to continue living the next lives of yours then you need to change too.

You met new friends and companions that you begin to trust and have fun with, the traveller and the emergency food included. It wasn't lonely as you thought it would be.

Sometimes you wonder why do you have such curse bestowed upon you. Did the Celestia punish you for a crime? Did you touch a forbidden relic in your first life? Is there a way to get rid of it?

You stopped in your tracks and you gaze up in the sky.

Am I the only one with such curse?

Damn, you really need to get your priorities straight when you have so many unanswered questions.

Basking the remnants of the ever glowing star, you turn around to walk the path that leads you to the Land of Eternity.

A new journey awaits you as you skid through the mycelium path.

Rex Lapis has died.

What a year starting with the news of a tragic death of an Archon.

Fret not Liyue citizens, Rex Lapis assumed the form of Zhongli as a consultant in the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. In all honesty, he thinks you would facepalm on how poorly delivered that news was.

Zhongli now blends in with the mortals, often strolling to acknowledge the accomplishments he has done as an Archon.

There were too many sacrifices he made just to achieve such title and godly powers. It's uncountable.

Whenever he strolls down the streets of Liyue, there's never a day that he is not reminded of the fact Mt. Tianheng is the very foundation of Liyue. It serves as a reminder that you are his pillar when intrusive thoughts start to linger in his mind.

Oftentimes, your face is only a blur in his memory, no matter what he does he can't seem to remember your face, but your name has been engraved on his mind for eons.

He misses hearing the sound of your name leaving his lips. He misses how ignorant you both were to the world's suffering. He misses your mesmerizing voice that lulls him to sleep.

Whoever fellow Archon listening to his complex thoughts must have heard him and granted his not-so-impossible wish.

"Hey look. Doesn't that sound like a story Y/N has told us before?" A child(e)— no, a floating fae pointed at the storyteller.

But Zhongli couldn't care less about whoever she was pointing. Did he hear her right? Was it just his ears deceiving him?

Y/N... that's your name.

That's the name he longed to hear again.

Why in the seven nations of Teyvat would they mention your name? Is it just a coincidence that someone has the same name as you? No, that couldn't be it.

Something flared inside him, it's been awhile since he felt this excitement, it's not far fetched when he became your friend.

With no recollection, he became friends with the traveller and the emergency food floating companion.

When he asks them about you, an array of hope filled his entire being and he swore his Dragon feature almost burst into existence

Y/N L/N, a member of the Adventurer's Guild, he's certain you've been in Liyue if you know about its rich culture.

But where are you? He wants to go find you. Hug you like when you were kids. Sing him songs. Bring you random things he can find. Speak the words that were left unspoken when you died.

So many questions brooding his mind; are you really Y/N? If so, were you reincarnated? Does that mean you don't remember him?

The elation he felt dropped. Right... he shouldn't be disappointed if it turns out his hunch is wrong. Even if you're not the Y/N he was expecting, he wants to know you as who you are and not compare the similarities and differences you have with the Y/N he knows.

"Oh yeah, Y/N mentioned they'll be visiting Liyue soon, Mr. Zhongli." The Traveler quipped, assessing the abrupt change of emotions on the consultant's face at the mention of your name.

Paimon and her travelling buddy can't help to wonder if you two are acquaintances, or perhaps something more than that. Zhongli seems to be expecting your arrival from now on.

"Is that so? Thank you for informing me, Traveler. I shall see to it that their stay will be comfortable." He smiled.

Stay in what? In the Funeral Parlor? The Traveler sweat drop while Paimon is tempted to point out that's Verr Goldet's job. Good thing their companion put a hand on her mouth and excuse themselves

There's no time to stall! He thought.

He's determined to check it himself, it can go two ways and Zhongli won't be petulant of the result.

Archons forbid if he ever finds you, because he will not let you go.

>> PART 2

©OTAKUWORKS | 2022

5K notes · View notes

animedimension · 2 years ago

Text

Drawn to You

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader

Summary: You are Lumine, Aether, and Paimon's new traveling companion! Your existence is unknown and the four of you have been journeying around Teyvat, searching for who you are. Unfortunately, there are no records of you existing in any regions of Teyvat. Lumine, Aether, and Paimon introduce you to many new people, who cannot help but be drawn to you.

Note: This is a different version of "how" the reader got Isekai'd into Genshin Impact. I had this idea pop up in my mind two weeks ago and I wanted to get type it out and get it posted ASAP. If you haven't read the other version yet, it's called Crash Landing in Teyvat (linked below). Only this version won't have an entire backstory of the before and aftermath of the reader being Isekai'd into Genshin like the first post. This fic is longer than last week's fic, so, buckle up! To those who are new readers or not, please remember that I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: None that I know of... does the reader getting an allergic reaction to fish count? 🤔

Word Count: 12.8k

Want to read another version of how the reader gets isekai'd into Genshin Impact? Read Crash Landing in Teyvat!

You don’t have any recollection of your memories before you were woken up by two blonde twins towering over you with their floating companion peering down at you worriedly. The only thing you remember is your name, and that’s it. At first, the twins (who later introduce themselves as Aether and Lumine) and their floating companion (she introduced herself as Paimon and in the third person) were a little suspicious of you because of your lack of memory. But the more the twins and Paimon spent time with you, the more they’re starting to trust you. Because they discovered you floating in the ocean between Liyue Harbor and Mondstadt, Aether, and Lumine made it their goal to find out who you are.

You became Aether and Lumine’s other travel companion that isn’t floating! So, their friend, pretty much. Since you didn’t possess a vision, you’re sitting on the sidelines watching Aether and Lumine destroy monsters that stand in the way of your exploration. And now here you are, laying in the middle of the field, five hundred feet from Mondstadt.

“Come on, [Y/N]! Get up! I know you’re tired, but you need to get up so we can get to Mondstadt before the sunset!” Lumine says, nudging your foot with hers.

You groan and roll over to lie on your stomach. “But Lumineeee! It’s hot outside, and I’m tired!” You exclaim, shutting your eyes and shielding your eyes from the blinding sun rays.

“Tired from what?! You didn’t fight any hilichurls or mitachurls like Lumine, and I did!” Aether huffs, plopping down on the ground before laying on top of you.

You groan and bat at Aether. “Aether, get off of me! You’re heavy!”

Lumine rolls her eyes and shakes her head, her hands propped on her hips. “Come on. I know you’re tired, but we can rest up when we make it to Mondstadt. Plus, aren’t you getting a little bit hungry? Cause I’m starting to get hungry,” said Lumine.

On cue, your stomach starts to rumble. You grumble and push Aether off you before getting up from the ground. You dust the dirt and grass off your clothes and turn to the twins. As much as you don’t want to walk, the sound of food is too enticing to give up on.

“Alright, you got me. Let’s go to Mondstadt now,” you said, smiling sheepishly at the two blondes in front of you.

“Oh, finally! Let’s go now before Good Hunter closes!” Paimon exclaims, appearing out of thin air and stomping her feet in the air with excitement.

You, Aether, Lumine, and Paimon walk to the closest waypoint (which isn’t close at all) and teleport to Mondstadt. Today will be the first time you visit Mondstadt or any city in the world since your sudden arrival in Teyvat. While you have been traveling with the twins and exploring many locations, you have never stepped foot in any area that is occupied by the people of that region.

Most of the time, when you need to eat and drink, sleep, or shower, you would go into Aether and Lumine’s shared teapot to do those tasks. After all, that’s what their teapots are for, no? It’s their floating teapot that has a house inside where they can stay and relax during their travels. When the four of you step foot into Mondstadt (technically, it was you, Aether, and Lumine that step foot in Mondstadt. Paimon’s floating), you’re in awe of the architecture of the city around you.

“Wow, Mondstadt is beautiful,” you whisper.

The aroma of food wafts into your nose, making your stomach growl even louder than it did. Your eyes widen, and you cover your stomach with both hands, your cheeks feeling hot from how loud the growl was. Aether and Lumine snicker at your growling stomach before pulling you to Good Hunter by your arms. You nearly trip over the last step on the stairs, but luckily Aether and Lumine are there to catch you. Paimon is floating in front of Good Hunter, idly chatting with Sara and pointing out what she wants on the menu. You fix your clothes and continue to survey your surroundings.

Paimon pokes you at the back of your head. You blink and turn around, looking at Paimon quizzically. Paimon points at the menu.

“Do you know what you want to eat?” Paimon asks, handing the menu over to you.

You grab the menu and flip through it, trying to find something that appeals to you. Aether and Lumine trade looks with each other, the corner of their lips curving up.

“Paimon, how can [Y/N] know what they want to eat when they haven’t looked at the menu yet?” Lumine asks, propping her hands on her hips.

Paimon scoffs. “Hey, Paimon thinks that [Y/N] knows the basic things on Good Hunter’s menu! After all, they have tried a few things from the menu before!” Paimon exclaims, stomping her feet in the air like a petulant child.

“I think I’ll have the uh….” you trail off, staring down at the words in front of you, “chicken-mushroom skewer!” you say, closing the menu and handing it back to Sara.

Paimon, Aether, and Lumine stare at you blankly. You stare back at them, unsure why they’re giving you that look after saying what you wanted to eat. You blink, look back at the menu, then at the twins and Paimon.

“Is chicken-mushroom skewer the only thing you’re going to eat? Why not have something that will fill up your stomach?” Paimon asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sara hands the menu to you after Lumine gestures for her to give you the menu. You blink at Paimon and look down at the menu.

“Am I not allowed to eat chicken mushroom skewer? I don’t want the two of you to pay a lot of money on food because of me,” you said.

Lumine brushes your comment to the side. “Oh, don’t worry about Mora, [Y/N]! We would rather have you eat a lot of food than force yourself to eat a little bit because of Mora. Plus, we have plenty of Mora,” Lumine says, patting your shoulder.

“Alright, but I still want to eat chicken mushroom skewers! Don’t take that off my order,” you said.

“Chicken-mushroom skewers, you say? My, don’t you have great taste,” a suave voice coming from behind you interjects.

You freeze in your spot and slowly turn around to face the person that snuck up behind you while you were occupied with the menu.

“Oh, Captain Kaeya and Master Diluc! It’s good to see you two!” Paimon exclaims, waving at the two men standing behind you.

“What are you two doing here at Good Hunter?” Lumine asks, propping her hands on her hips while she and her brother trade looks with each other.

The redhead sighs and crosses his arms over his chest. “We’re here to meet up with the Chief Alchemist and the bard for lunch. Lunch is on me, as usual,” the redhead rolls his eyes.

Aether pokes you and points at the menu. “You still haven’t picked your other option,” said Aether.

You turn to look at the menu and pucker your lips, eyes scanning the menu once more. You have tried almost everything on the menu, and yet you’re not sure what you want to eat other than the chicken mushroom skewer. You know that one skewer isn’t going to satiate your hunger, but what else are you going to order? The number of eyes you feel on you is making you nervous. You can feel the heat rush to your face the longer the eyes bore into your soul.

You laugh nervously and fumble with your hands. “I’m not sure what else to pick to eat, you guys. There’s a lot on the menu that I’ve tried already, but I don’t know what to choose,” You said, turning to look at Aether with a defeated look.

“Why not pick everything on the menu?” Paimon asks, patting your head.

You clear your throat and whisper to Paimon, “Remember how I tried doing that last time? And how I ended up puking for the next five hours.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t do that,” a soft voice interrupts.

Paimon waves at the two approaching figures. “Albedo and Tone-Deaf Bard!” Paimon exclaims.

“That’s not a nice way to introduce me to your new friend, Paimon!” The anemo vision wielder says, turning to you with a sweet smile. “I am Venti, the bard! I’m not sure if these two lads have introduced themselves to you yet, but the grumpy redhead over there goes by Master Diluc. The dark blue-haired man with the eyepatch beside Master Diluc is Captain Kaeya,” Venti says, pointing at the people he’s introducing.

“I am assuming that the man standing next to you is the Chief Alchemist named Albedo?” You ask, looking over at Albedo.

Albedo nods, not saying a word.

“We can introduce ourselves to the Travelers’ new friend over lunch,” Kaeya says, shaking his head with a faint smile.

You look at the four men with surprise. “Oh! The four of you will be joining us for lunch?” You ask, looking at Aether and Lumine for confirmation.

“That wasn’t the original plan, but I don’t mind joining the four of you for lunch,” said Diluc.

“Do you not wish for us to join?” Albedo asks, tilting his head to the side while looking at you curiously.

Your eyes widen, and you quickly shake your head. “No, no, no, no! It’s not like that! I wanted to see if Aether, Lumine, and Paimon would be okay with us having lunch together! After all, the meeting was sudden, and it’d be nice to have someone join us for lunch!” You sputter, rubbing the back of your neck nervously.

“Alright, then let us all have lunch together then. You can leave the rest of the orders up to us. When the food arrives at the table, you can choose whatever you want to eat,” Diluc says, looking over at you.

You nod and walk to the table next to the food stall, sitting between Aether and Lumine. While Diluc, Kaeya, Venti, and Albedo are ordering food to eat, you rest your chin on the wooden table and close your eyes. You suddenly feel drained. You didn’t expect to be interacting with more people other than Sara from Good Hunter. Let alone four handsome men from Mondstadt, who are also friends with your friends.

“You never introduced yourself,” Kaeya says, sitting across from you.

You open your eyes and sit up with your back pressing against the chair. “I’m [Y/N],” you introduce yourself.

Venti looks at you curiously. “Judging by your outfit, you don’t look like you’re from here,” Venti says, crossing his legs under the table.

You shake your head. “And you’re correct, Venti. I’m not from here,” you said.

Now you’re starting to get a tiny bit nervous. What are you supposed to say when they ask you where you’re from? It’s not like you can make up an excuse and tell them you’re from another region. Your clothes don’t look like it's from any of the seven nations of Teyvat.

“If you don’t mind me asking, where are you from?” Albedo asks, propping both of his arms on the table while gazing at you curiously.

You clear your throat awkwardly and look over at Aether and Lumine, who shrug their shoulders, unsure of how else to answer Albedo’s question. Paimon laughs nervously before disappearing into thin air. Aether, Lumine, and Paimon’s reaction made Diluc, Kaeya, Albedo, and Venti raise their eyebrows.

“I’m not sure where I’m from. In fact, I don’t have any memories before waking up to Aether and Lumine giving me CPR,” you reply.

Lumine nods. “We found them floating in the waters outside of Liyue and Mondstadt. They were unconscious, and we tried searching for their records throughout Teyvat, but we came to a dead end,” Lumine explains.

“That’s strange…. So are you implying that there aren’t any records of their existence in Teyvat?” Diluc asks, raising his eyebrows at you, Aether, and Lumine.

Aether nods and looks over at you anxiously. “There aren’t any records of an [Y/N]’s in any regions of Teyat,” Aether breathes.

“Are you sure [Y/N]’s not lying about their name? What if they changed it, or they lied about their name?” Kaeya questions.

Aether points at Kaeya. “That’s the thing. Lumine and I assumed that at first, but there are no missing person cases in any region. Even if there were a missing person case in Teyvat, none of those people look like [Y/N] in the missing person posters,” Aether explains.

“Could they be another outlander?” Albedo asks.

You stare at the men blankly. “Possibly! But I don’t have any memory of what happened before waking up on the seashore. It’s frustrating not knowing much about myself other than my name,” you mutter, hunching forward and resting your forehead on the wooden table. “Do you know how much of a struggle it is for me to wake up every day not knowing who I am?”

“Oh, cheer up, [Y/N]! I’m sure all of your memories will come back to you soon!” Paimon says, hugging the back of your head while rubbing the top of your head with her left hand.

“Yeah! I’m sure you’ll get your memories back! It takes some time for you to recover your memories,” Venti says.

Venti gets up from his seat and walks to where you’re sitting. He leans down and engulfs you in his arms, rubbing your back. You let yourself melt in Venti’s comforting hug, resting your head on his shoulders, close to his neck, and closing your eyes. The sound of someone clearing their throat pulls you out of your thoughts. You open your eyes and pull from Venti’s hug, rubbing the back of your neck with a sheepish smile on your face.

About ten minutes later, the food arrives, and you all begin eating while conversing with each other. You ate your chicken mushroom skewer, still undecided about what you wanted to eat other than the food you ordered. Whichever food Kaeya, Diluc, Aether, Venti, and Albedo recommend for you to try, you would take one small piece of the food and try it out. Since you have tried the food these men have suggested, you end up sticking to the chicken mushroom skewers.

“Thank you all for the suggestions, but I’ll stick to what I have ordered. Plus, there were a lot of recommendations, and I don’t know what I want to eat,” you said.

Technically you were lying because you didn’t want to hurt any of their feelings if you were to choose one person’s recommendation over the other. Not only that, if you ate what every person had recommended, you would end up overeating and give yourself indigestion. Which has happened before, and you don’t want it to happen again.

“It’s nice meeting all four of you! I hope to see you all again in the future!” You said, smiling at the four men in front of you while preparing your leave for the next region.

You stretch your arms in the air and yawn, covering your mouth and rubbing the tears that formed in your eyes. To you, you probably look like an exhausted mess, but to the four men in front of you (counting Aether, so five), you look cute. There’s something about you that draws you to them, and they can’t put their fingers on it.

“Oh no, are you getting sleepy?” Lumine teases, poking you lightly in the stomach.

You squawked and batted Lumine’s hands away from your stomach with a flustered look on your face. The men stifled their laugh and quickly looked away when you heard someone snort. You blink at them and look over at Lumine.

You rub your eyes and sigh. “I always get sleepy after I’m done eating, but since I didn’t eat as much as I did last time, I’m not entirely sure why I’m sleepy,” you mutter.

“You can’t be sleepy now! We’re heading off to Liyue soon! Don’t you want to watch the opera in Liyue Harbor or listen to the Storyteller?” Paimon asks, lightly tugging on your hair.

“I do! But at least let me take a nap first!” You grumble, leaning on the closest person and closing your eyes.

Lumine gives Kaeya an apologetic smile before pulling you off him. “We should be heading off to Liyue Harbor now. It’s a good thing you bought a souvenir earlier before lunch,” Lumine says, patting your cheeks to make sure you’re awake.

Before Lumine and Aether pull you away from the group, you turn to them and give them a sleepy smile, and wave goodbye to them.

“Thank you for joining us for lunch! It was nice meeting all of you! I hope to see you all again soon!” You said, stumbling after Aether and Lumine.

Diluc, Kaeya, Albedo, and Venti watch you and the twins walk out of the city. While they kind of got to know you within almost two hours, they want to continue to get to know who you are and help you recover your memories if it was possible. After seeing you leave, the four men couldn’t help but feel empty. Maybe someday, fate will bring you back to them. And by fate, they meant the two blonde twins and Paimon.

At Liyue Harbor, you’re leaning against the wooden railing of the Harbor, taking in a deep breath with your eyes closed. When you, Aether, Lumine, and Paimon step foot into Liyue Harbor, they’re almost immediately whisked away by Ying’er for a short commission. While Aether and Lumine are hesitant to leave you alone in Liyue Harbor, Paimon volunteers to be your babysitter while the two are out helping Ying’er with her commission.

“I’m bored! Let’s go get something to eat while we wait for Aether and Lumine to return from their commission with Ying’er!” Paimon says, floating beside you.

You look over at Paimon with wide eyes. “We ate not too long ago! How are you hungry right now?!” You squeak.

“Paimon is always hungry, [Y/N]! Plus, we can always listen to the Storyteller while we eat!” Paimon says, grabbing onto your shirt's sleeve and tugging it. “Now, come on! We can’t be late!” Paimon exclaims.

You hold Paimon’s hand and shake your head. “Paimon, I think you forgot that we don’t have any Mora on us,” you frown.

“So? We don’t have to eat! We can just sit at an empty table and listen to the Storyteller!” Paimon gives you a pleading look.

You hesitate. “I don’t know, Paimon. What if Aether and Lumine finish Ying’er’s commission early and search for us?” You ask.

Paimon lets out an exasperated sigh. “Ying’er’s shop is close to where the Storyteller is! Don’t be a worry wart, [Y/N]!”

“Alright, Paimon. But we’re not eating anything because we ate less than an hour ago, and we don’t have any Mora on us.” You let out a sigh of defeat.

“Deal!” Paimon nods happily.

You let Paimon drag you to Third-Round Knockout in Liyue Harbor while trying to dodge the civilians without bumping into them. When you and Paimon arrive at Third-Round Knockout, you notice that all of the tables are taken and that there’s nowhere for you and Paimon to sit. Well, mainly you since Paimon floats in the air most of the time.

“Aw! There’s nowhere to sit!” Paimon exclaims, looking around with disappointment.

You smile at Paimon and pat her head. “It’s okay, Paimon! We can stand to the side and listen to the Storyteller,” you suggest.

Paimon shakes her head stubbornly. “No way! It’s unfair if we stand to the side and listen to the Storyteller because you have nowhere to sit, and your feet are going to hurt from standing for a long time!” Paimon says.

“I don’t think we’ll be listening to the Storyteller for that long, Paimon,” You say. “Again, it’s okay if we stand to the side and listen to the Storyteller! Maybe we can grab a table when someone leaves.”

Paimon scans the table at Third-Round Knockout when she sees familiar faces sitting at a table close to the stairs. Paimon perks up and waves her hand in the air to grab the table’s attention.

“Zhongli and Childe!” Paimon grabs onto the sleeves of your shirt and pulls you in their direction.

Zhongli and Childe look up from their meals and sees you and Paimon making your way to their table. You can’t help but feel like a child being dragged around by their parent while going out grocery shopping. The way Paimon pulls you over to these Zhongli and Childe people reminds you of when a mother sees an old friend and ends up having a long conversation with them while the child stands to the side for over five minutes while the adults interact.

“Oh, Paimon! It’s good to see you again! Where are Aether and Lumine?” Childe asks, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

Paimon sighs. “Aether and Lumine are helping Ying’er with her commission right now. I am tasked to babysit [Y/N] here since it is their first time visiting Liyue!” Paimon pats your head.

“Why did you have to put it that way? Why can’t it be two friends hanging out?” You mutter to Paimon while avoiding two pairs of curious eyes.

“Paimon, care to introduce your and the two Travelers’ new friend?” Zhongli speaks up, taking a sip of his tea without taking his eyes off you.

“This is [Y/N]! Aether, Lumine, and I fished [Y/N] out of the ocean,” Paimon pats your head with a smile on her face.

Childe raises his eyebrow at Paimon’s comment. “Fished [Y/N] out of the water? What, are they a mermaid?” Childe asks sarcastically.

“I wish! But unfortunately, I’m an amnesiac,” you reply humorlessly. “Anyway! It’s nice to meet you two! Aether and Lumine have mentioned you two a couple of times to me before. I didn’t expect to run into you two so soon,” you said.

Zhongli sets his chopsticks down on the ceramic plate. “Care to clarify what you mean when you said that you’re an amnesiac?”

You turn to look at Paimon. “Should I?”

Paimon shrugs her shoulders. “That’s up to you!” Replies Paimon.

You and Paimon sit across Zhongli and Childe, explaining your situation and how you end up being Aether, Lumine, and Paimon’s traveling partner. When you mentioned going from region to region to search for your identity and to see if you might be a missing person from the region, it piqued Childe and Zhongli’s curiosity.

“I never popped up in any system. Mondstadt, Sumeru, Inazuma, Liyue, Snezhnaya, Natlan, and Fontaine. None. My name is [Y/N], and I am sure that I did not change my name, and without a doubt, I am certain that [Y/N] is my name,” you said, rubbing the napkin between your thumb and index finger.

“Strange, huh?” Paimon asks, looking over at the two men sitting across from you and Paimon. “[Y/N], you should try this food! It’s delicious!” Paimon changes the subject, pushing the plate of fish in your direction.

You give Paimon a look. “Paimon, this is their food. I’m not going to eat another person’s food, plus I’m still full from earlier,” you said, rubbing your stomach.

“It’s alright. You two can have some of our food. I think we ordered too much anyway,” Childe says, letting his chopsticks clatter on the plate.

You sigh and grab an unused chopstick, breaking off a piece of fish before taking a bite out of it. You chew and swallow the fish, placing the chopstick on the plate. Paimon looks at you with anticipation.

“So? What do you think?” Paimon asks excitedly.

You lick your lips and look around you, smacking your lips lightly. “You know how I have no memory of who I am?” You suddenly ask.

Paimon, Childe, and Zhongli look at you quizzically. “Uh, yes?” Paimon replies in an unsure tone.

“I don’t think I was a fan of seafood or fish, to be more specific,” you said, scrunching your face and rubbing your neck with your right hand.

“What?! What kind of person isn’t a fan of seafood or fish!?” Paimon exclaims.

After hearing Paimon’s exclamation, Childe slowly turns to look at the Liyuen man next to him. Zhongli ignores the look Childe is giving him and quietly takes a sip of his tea. Your mouth is starting to tingle and feel weird, making you furrow your eyebrows and silently smack your lips, deep in your thoughts.

“People who have eaten too many fish and seafood, apparently,” you reply, attempting to ignore the strange sensation in your mouth.

The inside of your throat begins to itch, making you shift around in your seat and clear your throat softly. Ever since you arrived in Teyvat, you have never had such a reaction after eating something. Could you be allergic to the dish?

You cough and rub your throat, eyebrows knitting together with discomfort. Zhongli looks up from his teacup and looks at you worriedly.

Paimon taps your shoulders. “Are you okay, [Y/N]? You’re coughing a lot, and it’s starting to make Paimon worried,” Paimon says.

You give Paimon a weak smile and swallow the saliva, almost visibly wincing when you feel the walls in your throat rub against each other uncomfortably. “My throat is feeling dry and a bit itchy,” you said.

“Do you, perhaps, want some tea to quench your dry throat?” Zhongli asks.

You look at Zhongli and nod your head eagerly. “Ah, a drink! Yes, please, that would be nice.” You croak.

You clear your throat again while Zhongli calls the waiter over to order you some tea to quench your dry throat. While the waiter went to fetch you something to drink, you continued to rub your neck with your hand, occasionally swallowing to feel the strange sensation in your throat. You look down at the fish and grab your chopsticks, poking it lightly and dissecting it apart to see what is inside of the food. The fish tastes decent; you’re only saying that because you’re not a massive fan of anything seafood or any food with fish.

When the waiter comes back with your teacup, you give him a thankful smile before lifting the cup to your lips and blowing on it to cool the tea down and take a sip of it. When you drink the tea, you can’t help but wince at the feeling when it goes down your throat. You scratch your neck and cough lightly into your elbow. When you pull your arm away from your face, you notice small bumps forming on your arms.

“Oh no,” you squeak, looking around nervously. “Hey, uh, does anyone know where I can go to the nearest doctor? Or some physician?” You ask, tapping your fingers on the table anxiously.

“Why? Is something wrong?” Paimon asks.

You continue to scratch your neck; you fear that the more your neck itches, the more you will tear your neck up with your nails. “I just found out that I’m allergic to fish,” you sigh.

The sound of chopsticks clattering loudly on the fine china; Childe and Zhongli look at you worriedly, getting up from their seats.

“How allergic are you?” Childe asks, walking over to you.

You shrug your shoulders. “I don’t know how severely allergic I am, but my mouth feels tingly, my throat is itching, and there are bumps forming on my arms,” You ramble, trying to soothe the irritations.

“Get [Y/N] to Bubu Pharmacy immediately,” Zhongli orders.

Childe lifts you up, carries you bridal style, and sprints to the nearest waypoint, with Zhongli and Paimon following close behind. When teleported to the waypoint that is closest to Bubu Pharmacy, Childe rushes up the stairs toward the building. You feel your throat beginning to close up, making it hard for you to breathe. Childe bursts through the entrance, startling the receptionist and other customers.

A green-haired man with a snake around his neck walks out of the back room, looking at Childe, Zhongli, Paimon, and you with confusion. When his eyes lands on you, he looks horrified. You don’t know what you look like, and quite frankly, you don’t want to see what you look like.

“Qiqi, please treat to the Yaksha while I treat the new visitors,” The green-haired man instructs. The little girl nods and walks over to the Yaksha off to the side. The green-haired man rushes over to you and checks up on you and the bumps forming on your arms.

“They’re having a severe allergic reaction. Did they happen to eat something they’re allergic to?” The green-haired physician asks, walking behind the counter and scrambling to find medicine to treat your allergic reaction.

Paimon laughs nervously. “They ate fish, but that was it! Doctor Baizhu, we didn’t know they’re allergic to fish, and neither did they!” Paimon exclaims.

Baizhu walks over to you and jabs your thigh with a long syringe, injecting you with the medicine to treat your allergic reaction. You feel yourself go limp in Childe’s arms, exhaustion coming over you. The swelling in your throat gradually goes away, finally letting you breathe.

Baizhu retracts the syringe from your thighs and tosses it into the trash bin. “You’re lucky to get them here just in time before it gets worse,” Baizhu sighs, looking over at you worriedly.

“Yeah, very lucky,” you mutter, your head resting against Childe’s chest, gazing at the green-haired physician with bleary eyes. “I didn’t even know that I was allergic to fish until moments ago,” you said.

“Humans are fragile,” Someone interjects.

You peek your head from Childe’s shoulder, only to see a shorter male stand beside Zhongli with his arms over his chest. You notice a bandage wrapped around his arms and torso, his eyebrows slightly furrowing. You couldn’t tell if he was glaring at you or if it was because he was in pain. Either way, he did not look too happy.

Baizhu looks over at Xiao with a surprised look on his face. “Oh, Xiao! You have recovered quicker than I thought,” Baizhu says thoughtfully.

Xiao grunts in response and nods. “It’s all thanks to your medicine and Qiqi’s help,” Xiao says, looking over at the small girl behind the counter.

Childe sits you down on a seat in the corner of the pharmacy. You rest your head against the wall, your eyelids feeling heavy. You’re not sure whether your sudden tiredness was from the medicine that was injected into you to treat your allergic reaction, or if it was because you had a long day and if it’s finally taking a toll on you.

You’re about to doze off when you feel someone nudge your leg with their foot. You open your eyes and see Xiao standing in front of you.

“Are you okay?” He asks.

You stare at him and nod your head slowly. “Yeah, I’m feeling better than I did before arriving at Bubu Pharmacy,” you reply, clearing your throat. You’re relieved that the itchiness in your throat and the swelling went away. The bumps, on the other hand, the bumps are still there, but they’re slowly fading.

“That’s good to hear. Paimon, Zhongli, that Harbinger, and Doctor Baizhu looked really worried when you first arrived at the pharmacy,” said Xiao. “After seeing the condition you were in, I can see why they were terrified.”

You smile at Xiao and rub the area where Baizhu had jabbed the syringe into your thigh. “I’m glad they cared enough to help me with my allergic reaction. I didn’t know I was allergic to fish until today, and now, I will be avoiding food with fish in it,” you said.

Before Xiao could say anything else, the door of Bubu Pharmacy flew open, and Lumine and Aether ran through the door, looking around frantically. When their eyes land on you, Aether runs and tackles you into a hug, nearly tipping your seat back and sending the both of you to the ground if it weren’t for the wall behind the chair. Lumine laughs nervously when people look over at your small group weirdly. Lumine shuffles over to where you and Aether are, yanks Aether off you, and gives him a look as if she’s telling him to behave.

“Where were you guys?! We thought you and Paimon would still be at the docks where we left you two before doing Ying’er’s commission!” Lumine exclaims, crossing her arms over her chest while glaring at you and Paimon.

“Where were we?! Where were you two!? We couldn’t stand and wait in the hot sun for a few hours while you two were running around with Ying’er! Plus, Paimon wanted to hear the Storyteller’s stories!” Paimon exclaims, huffing loudly.

“She also wanted to get something to eat while we waited,” you interject, getting up from your seat. “I also found out that I am allergic to fish. I think it’s severe,” you add.

“You think it’s severe? Your throat closed up, and you had hives!” Paimon exclaims.

You blink at Paimon. “But I’m okay now, right?”

Everyone can see the steam starting to come out of Paimon’s ears. “You’re okay now because of Zhongli, Childe, and Doctor Baizhu! If it weren’t for them, you would’ve died!” Paimon screeches, shaking you by your shoulders.

“Hey! I almost died, and this is how you treat me!? You’re so mean!” You whine.

You pull Paimon’s hands from your shoulders before hiding behind Zhongli; he looks strong and intimidating. You point at Paimon.

“Tell her to stop, Zhongli! Paimon is being mean to me despite me almost dying from my allergies.” You peek from behind Zhongli and narrow your eyes at Paimon, who glares back at you.

Lumine sighs and rubs her temples. “We don’t have time for you two to bicker right now. We have to leave for Inazuma very soon,” said Lumine.

You walk out from behind Zhongli and stare at Lumine quizzically. “We’re going to Inazuma already? But we arrived in Liyue not too long ago!” You exclaim.

“Yeah! Plus, you two have been out with Ying’er all day! We might as well eat something in Liyue before we leave for Inazuma!” Paimon says.

“Again?” Your eyes widen, and your eyebrows fly to your hairline. “Okay, listen, if we’re going to eat again, please don’t order anything that has fish in it,” you plead, clasping your hands together.

And now here you are, sitting at Xinyue Kiosk, sitting between Zhongli and Childe while Aether, Lumine, Paimon, Xiao, and Doctor Baizhu are sitting across from the three of you. The food that is brought out and placed in front of the eight of you, you nearly cried. The majority of the food has fish in it. One food, in particular, has caught your attention. You’re about to reach for the fullmoon egg when you see Zhongli shake his head from the corner of your eyes.

“The fullmoon egg has fish in it,” Zhongli says.

You point over at the golden shrimp balls. “Can I eat these? Or is it going to make me go into another allergic reaction?” You ask.

“As long as you don’t have shellfish allergies, then you should be fine,” said Baizhu.

You stare at Baizhu for a moment before shrugging your shoulders. “You only live once,” you said, grabbing a golden shrimp ball and taking a bite out of it. The golden shrimp ball is delicious; luckily, you didn’t have any allergic reaction to the shrimp balls. It’s a good thing you’re not allergic to shellfish because the golden crab got your attention. You reached across the table and took a piece of the golden crab, and put it on your plate before grabbing the small bowl of rice and pouring a small amount of soy sauce on the rice. As much as you would love to try the other dishes in the center of the table, most of them contain fish, and you weren’t that hungry.

You’re still full from lunch earlier in Mondstadt. You eat your food in silence while people around you converse with each other. You subconsciously rub your throat and look at your hands, checking to see if the hives have gone away. To your relief, the bumps are gone, and your neck feels fine. There’s no itchiness and swelling, thank archons.

“Then we’ll be leaving for Inazuma after,” you hear Lumine say.

You look up at Lumine and blink at her. “So, your plan is that we travel to other nations within one day?” You ask, raising your eyebrows at her.

Lumine nods her head slowly. “Yes, and you did say that you wanted to meet our,” she gestures between herself and Aether, “friends in the nations we have traveled to! So it’ll be nice to finish it in one day and continue our mission.”

“Huh, I forgot that I wanted to do that,” you mutter, pinching the fat of your chin with your lips puckered. “I don’t mind going to Inazuma after eating, but I think we should rest for a bit before going to Inazuma.”

“If you’re getting sleepy, you can always lay your head on my shoulders and take a nap,” Childe suggests, turning to look at you.

You look at Childe, surprised. “Um, are you sure? Plus, I don’t think it's appropriate for me to take a nap at a nice restaurant like this,” you said, laying your hands fall in your lap. “Actually, I think I’m going to get some fresh air! Hopefully, that’ll wake me up a little bit,” you said.

You give everyone a smile and excuse yourself. You leave Xinyue Kisok and sit on the ground, leaning your head against the wall and closing your eyes. When you left Xinyue Kiosk, you noticed that the sun was beginning to set and there weren’t many people around.

You hear the restaurant’s door open and someone hesitantly walking towards you by the way they stop halfway. You crack your eyes open and see Xiao standing in front of you, looking at his and your surroundings. You rub your eyes and slowly stand up.

“Xiao? What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be inside with the rest of them?” You ask, rubbing your arms.

Xiao looks at you. “I can say the same for you,” he replies.

“I’m getting some fresh air. I’m hoping it’ll wake me up, but the cool night air is making me even sleepier than I thought,” you sigh.

Without saying another word, Xiao sits down beside you and makes you lay your head on his shoulders. You scoot closer to Xiao and rest your head in the crook of his neck, your arms brushing against his. You feel yourself slowly beginning to doze off to sleep, but you’re awoken by the cool breeze. You shiver and open your eyes, rubbing them with your knuckles.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to nap out here when it’s cold,” you mutter. You continue to rest your head on Xiao’s shoulders. “Thank you for keeping me company, even though you didn’t need to do it,” you murmur.

Xiao grunts in response, the tips of his ears light pink along with the apples of his cheeks. You lift your head, and Xiao stands up, holding his hand out for you to take. You grab Xiao’s hand, and he helps you up from the ground. The two of you walk back into Xinyue Kisok, only to see everyone standing from their seats.

“Oh, is everyone done eating?” You ask, walking over to the table with Xiao walking beside you.

Baizhu looks at you and examines you from head to toe. “How are you feeling?” Baizhu asks.

You rub your leg and give him a thumbs up. “I’m feeling good! The area where you jabbed my leg with the syringe isn’t hurting anymore,” you said.

“Are you ready to go to Inazuma?” Aether asks, walking up to you with Lumine trailing behind him.

You nod your head. “Yeah, I’m ready to go! But, uh, where are we going to be staying when it's time for bed?” You ask.

Lumine chuckles and ruffles your hair. “Did you forget that we have a house to stay in the teapot?” Lumine asks, raising her eyebrows at you.

“Oh! Right, yeah, I forgot about the teapot,” you laugh sheepishly. “Sorry, I’m a little bit out of it,” you clear your throat.

“Hey, it’s okay! You had a bit of a rough start in Liyue. Hopefully, it’ll get better in Inazuma!” Paimon says, giving your head a comforting head pat.

“I hope so too,” you sulk.

Zhongli ends up offering to walk you, Aether, Lumine, and Paimon to the nearest waypoint so you four can go to your next destination. Childe, Xiao, and Baizhu decide to tag along; they say something about wanting to keep the funeral consultant company. Before walking to the waypoint, you stop in your tracks.

“Ah, crap. Is it too late for me to buy a souvenir before we leave Liyue?” You ask, searching for a shop nearby.

Paimon snorts. “With what Mora?” Paimon asks.

You look at Paimon with your mouth agape. “You didn’t need to call me out like that, Paimon.” You huff, crossing your arms over your chest. “And for your information, I do have Mora on me!” You said, pulling out a bag of Mora from your pockets with a proud smirk on your face.

You end up stopping by the closest jewelry shop in Liyue, buying a Liyuen hair stick with cor lapis, glaze lilies, and glaze lily petals decorating the gold hair stick.

“It looks pretty! You should wear it now!” Lumine says.

You stare at her blankly and scratch your head. “Can someone help me put it on? I’m afraid I might mess it up and not wear it correctly,” holding out the hair sticks.

Baizhu walks over to you and begins to style your hair, combing his fingers through your hair and putting one part of your hair into a bun and the other remaining down. After getting your hair to be the way he wanted it to be, Baizhu grabs the hair sticks from your hands and sticks them through your hair, letting the glaze lily petals dangle.

You turn to Baizhu and give him a smile. “Thank you for helping me, Baizhu!”

Baizhu clears his throat and gives you a smile in return, his cheeks turning bright pink when you smile at him. You run over to Lumine, Aether, and Paimon to show your new hairstyle with the hair sticks in your hair. Lumine twirls you around and compliments your hair. Aether stares at you with stars in his eyes, unable to take his eyes away from you. Paimon was the first one to notice and slowly turned to look at the four guests. They were also looking at you that way, unaware that they were staring at you with the same expression Aether had on his face.

“I think we should get going now. Wouldn’t want to arrive in Inazuma when everyone is asleep,” Paimon says, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Oh! Right! Let's go!” Lumine says, pulling you to the waypoint with the others following behind.

When you, Aether, Lumine, and Paimon arrive at the waypoint, the four of you stand around the waypoint. You wave at Xiao, Zhongli, Childe, and Baizhu goodbye before placing your hand on the waypoint. They wave back at you, watching the four of you disappear in front of their eyes. They hope to see you again; there’s something about you that draws them to you, and they can’t put their fingers on it.

When you all step into Inazuma, the sun has already set, and night has fallen. You turn to look at the twins and Paimon.

“It’s nightfall. Do you think everyone is awake at a time like this?” You ask.

Aether shrugs his shoulders. “Who knows! Some are awake, and others might be asleep around this time, but it’s still early in the night,” says Aether.

“I think you meant to say that the night is still young,” Paimon says.

The four of you walk into Inazuma City, searching around for the first person that came into Aether and Lumine’s head. The smell of Inazuman food lingers in the air, making your mouth water. The sound of children laughing, people conversing, and food sizzling fills the night in Inazuma City.

“Oh, look! It’s Heizou and Itto!” Paimon says, pointing over at where Itto and Heizou are standing.

You turn to look in the direction where Paimon is pointing. You see a magenta-haired male standing beside a tall, horned white-haired man with red streaks in his hair. Approaching the two men are a platinum blond-haired man with a single orange streak in his hair and a light orange-brown-haired man with dog ears.

“And there’s Gorou and Kazuha!” Lumine crosses her arms over her chest. “I wonder if the other two are going to join after Gorou and Kazuha,” Lumine murmurs, stroking her chin.

You look at Lumine quizzically. “Other two?” You ask.

“She’s talking about Kamisato Ayato and Thoma,” replies Aether.

“Let’s go say hi to the four of them!” Paimon says, ushering you, Lumine, and Aether over to the four men.

As you’re approaching the four men, the oni spots you four. Itto’s eyes light up, and he waves in your direction with a big smile.

“Aether! Lumine! Floating lavender melon! It’s good to see you guys again!” Itto says, walking toward you, Paimon, Aether, and Lumine.

You stifle your laughter. “Floating lavender melon? Care to explain how you got that nickname, Paimon?” You ask, turning to look at the floating girl with a teasing smile.

“Oh? And who are you?” Heizou asks, gazing at you with interest. “A new face around the city? If I've seen one, I would recognize a pretty face, but this is the first time I see you.” Heizou smiles at you.

“Are you the Travelers’ new friend?” Kazuha asks, his head tilting to the side.

You smile at them shyly and nod your head. “Yes, I am Aether, Lumine, and Paimon’s new friend! I guess you can also say traveling companion since I have been traveling around Teyvat with the three of them not too long now,” you said.

“Gorou, Itto, Heizou, Kazuha, meet [Y/N]! [Y/N], meet Itto, Gorou, Kazuha, and Heizou!” Paimon introduces you to the four men in front of you, pointing at each person as she says their name.

“Lord Ayato and Thoma will be arriving shortly,” Gorou interjects.

You look at them curiously. “Oh! Are you all gathering for dinner?” You ask.

Itto shakes his head. “Nope! We are all meeting for tea and some beetle fight!” Itto says, propping his hands on his hip and striking a pose.

You blink at Itto owlishly. “What is a beetle fight?” You ask.

“Huh!? You’ve never heard of a beetle fight?!” Itto asks in disbelief, his eyes wide with genuine shock.

You shake your head, looking at Itto confused. “Is it part of Inazuma’s culture?”

“It’s not. It’s a game that Itto came up with and challenged many people to it,” Gorou replies. “That is why he has invited Lord Ayato to the Komore Teahouse. To have some tea and to challenge the Kamisato Heir to another round of the beetle fight.” Gorou adds.

“He lost the previous rounds to Lord Ayato, didn’t he?” You whisper.

“That is correct, and he has not stopped pestering me about it ever since,” a voice speaks up behind you and Gorou, startling the both of you.

You and Gorou turn around to see a tall, elegantly dressed, light-blue-haired man and a tall, blond man standing at his side. You clutch onto your chest and clear your throat, feeling your face heat up when both men look at you curiously.

“H-Hi! I presume that you’re Lord Ayato,” you point at the light-blue-haired man, “and you’re Thoma,” you said, pointing at the blond man standing beside Lord Ayato.

“You’re correct! It’s nice to meet you, [Y/N]! Aether and Lumine had mentioned you a few times when they were visiting the Kamisato Estate when running errands,” says Thoma, smiling at you.

“Now that everyone is here, I think we should go to Komore Teahouse now,” says Heizou, gesturing for everyone to follow him.

When you all arrive at Komore Teahouse, you’re all greeted by a dog that goes by the name of Taroumaru. You refrained from letting out the biggest squeal after seeing the absolute cutie before casually making your way over to the dog and petting it.

“You all can go beetle fighting. I’m going to hang out with my new friend,” you said, stroking Taroumaro’s ears happily. “So cute,” you coo.

“We don’t want to leave you out, [Y/N]. Care to join us and watch the battle between Itto and Lord Ayato?” Kazuha asks, holding his hand out for you to take.

Not wanting to seem rude, you take Kazuha’s offer and grab his hand, letting him guide you to the tea room where everyone is waiting. There on the table sits two large purple onikabutos. When you say that they’re huge, they are huge!

You back up and point at the onikabutos, eyes wide. “They’re huge,” you point out the obvious.

“Yeah! It’s a shame I couldn’t find any bigger ones, though,” Itto says, hunching over with a small pout on his face.

You look at Itto in horror. “Are you saying there are onikabutos that are the size of Paimon?” You point over at Paimon.

“Believe it or not, yeah! There are onikabutos that can grow up to the size of Paimon, maybe bigger than Paimon,” Thoma says, nodding his head.

You point over to the corner. “I’m just going to stand from a safe distance to watch the beetle fight between Itto and Lord Ayato,” you said, walking to the farthest part of the room.

There’s no way in hell you’re going to stand that close to onikabutos that are almost half your size. No way, no thank you! In fact, you don’t mind booking it to Sumeru immediately if you can! But seeing Aether, Lumine, and Paimon happily munch on Dangos while betting on who’s going to win the beetle fight, you decide to keep to yourself. Lord Ayato laughs to himself and sits behind his onikabuto while Itto sits across from him, hyping up his onikabuto.

“Who do you think is going to win, [Y/N]?” Heizou asks, looking over his shoulders and in your direction.

You blink at Heizou and look at Itto and Lord Ayato. “I’m going to be optimistic and say Itto! Lord Ayato may have won the previous rounds of the beetle fight; I have a feeling Itto might win this one!” You said.

“Let’s hope you’re right because if Itto loses, we won’t hear the end of it,” Gorou says, his ears flattening on his head. “Itto won’t stop until he wins.”

Itto and Lord Ayato start to shout incoherent words at each other and their onikabutos, startling you. You find it amusing that someone as refined as Lord Ayato would be playing beetle fight with the one and oni, Arataki Itto. You hide your smile behind your hands and watch the two beetles try to flip the other one over.

“beetle fight is quite intense, especially if you’re as competitive as Itto,” Kazuha says, leaning against the wall beside you. “Would you ever play beetle fight?” Kazuha asks suddenly, looking at you from the corner of his eyes.

“Oh, uh, I don’t think so. I would rather be the cheerleader than the one initiating the fight,” you laugh sheepishly.

Itto hollers from across the room, “Oh, come on, [Y/N]! You should totally try it out! I’ll be your coach and teach you everything you need to know about the art of beetle fights!”

Lord Ayato snorts. “I’m sure [Y/N] would want someone skilled to be their coach. I have won many beetle fights against you, Itto. Surely I’m the better candidate,” Lord Ayato says nonchalantly, smiling at Itto.

“Let’s not trash talk right now, Lord Ayato. I think you’re going to set Itto off,” Thoma laughs nervously, patting the Kamisato Heir’s shoulders. “But if [Y/N] does want to get into beetle fighting, I’m sure having both of you as their coach would help them a lot! Right, [Y/N]?” Thoma asks, turning to look at you with a nervous smile.

You nod after catching onto what Thoma is trying to imply. “Ah! Yes! That’s right! Why have one coach when you can have two? I’ll learn more knowledge from two different people!”

Lord Ayato sighs and leans back. “Alright, if two coaches are what you want, then two coaches is what you’ll get,” said Lord Ayato.

Your conversation is cut short when you hear Aether and Lumine cheer and gasp loudly. You look at the table and see Lord Ayato’s onikabuto flipped on its back, wiggling and squirming around while Itto’s onikabuto is victorious.

“The winner of this beetle fight is Itto’s onikabuto!” Paimon announces.

Kazuha chuckles. “My, my, it seems like you have predicted Itto’s victory, [Y/N],” Kazuha says, looking at you with a soft smile.

You feel yourself blush, and you awkwardly look at the table. Itto got up from his seat and ran in your direction before tackling you into a bone-crushing hug. You let out a loud yelp when Itto hugs you tightly, your back audibly cracking. Itto freezes and looks down at you with wide eyes, slowly putting you back on the ground.

“Was that the sound of [Y/N]’s back cracking?” Thoma asks, looking at the others in horror.

Lord Ayato sighs and looks at you worriedly. “It seems like Itto has underestimated his strengths,” Lord Ayato mutters. Lord Ayato walks to you and places a gentle hand on your shoulder. “Are you alright, [Y/N]? Perhaps you need to see a doctor?” asks Lord Ayato.

You laugh and shake your head, patting Itto and Lord Ayato’s hands. “No need to worry about me! I needed my back to be cracked. It’s been a rough few days, and it’s nice to have my back popped,” you said, rubbing your shoulder.

Heizou sighs, feigning sadness. “Looks like I won’t be taking you into custody this time, Itto. Shinobu won’t have to worry about getting a notice from the Tenryou Commission about Itto’s detainment,” Heizou crosses his arms over his chest.

“Taking him into custody this time? Itto’s been in prison before?” You ask, looking at Itto with your eyebrows raised.

Itto laughs and rubs the back of his neck, trying to find an excuse. You snort and shake your head, patting Itto’s back. As much as you want to question him about his…. Criminal history, you think it’s best to save it for next time. But for now, you have some Inazuman tea and snacks to try out! Even though you ate not too long ago in Liyue. You’re starting to think that this whole “meeting up with a friend’s friend” is actually a way to get you to test your limits on how much you can eat. While you don’t mind trying various cultural dishes, you’re praying that your stomach won’t be negatively affected when you eat more than you can chew.

After having tea, snacks, and conversing with the Inazuman men, you find yourself standing at the waypoint with Lumine, Aether, and Paimon. The night is still young, and you’re all about to go to Sumeru. All the walking and teleporting to different regions were starting to wear you out, and you could feel it. Right when you’re about to touch the waypoint with the twins and Paimon, Heizou calls out to you. You turn in Heizou’s direction and see him running up to you, holding something out to you.

“Ah! How could I forget about my souvenir?” You gasp, grabbing the item from Heizou’s hand and giving him a thankful smile.

The souvenir that you almost left in Inazuma is a hand fan that the men have picked out for you! Since you’re unsure what to get at the gift shop in Inazuma City, the men offered to pick something out for you collectively. Heizou smiles at you, walks over to where the others are standing, and turns to face your direction.

“We’ll be back soon! But for now, off to Sumeru!” You said, waving to the six Inazuman men with a big (yet sleepy) smile on your face.

Before any of the Inazuman men could say anything, you, Lumine, Aether, and Paimon were gone from their sight. Thoma visibly flinches when he feels a strange tug in his chest, the feeling of emptiness hitting everyone out of the blue. Even though the meeting with you was brief, the men couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity when it came to you, and the emptiness hitting them all was strange. Everyone wanted to go after you to keep you company in Sumeru, but they couldn’t chase after you— especially after you said you’d be back soon.

Upon arriving in Sumeru, you are on the brink of falling asleep. This is the first time you have traveled with the twins without a nap between teleporting to different nations. Your eyelids feel heavy, your limbs feel heavy, and you want to go to sleep. You find yourself falling asleep on Aether’s shoulders when you feel him nudge you when footsteps get closer to where you, Paimon, Lumine, and Aether are sitting.

“Apologies for having us all meet here at Puspa Cafe late in the evening. I hope that none of you have work to tend to. It’s better to meet in the late evening because there’s less foot traffic in Sumeru City,” you hear a man say.

An exasperated voice replies, “All you do is think about yourself, Al Haitham! Some of us are tired and had a long day at work as architects, such as myself! And look at Aether and Lumine’s friend! That poor thing is exhausted too!”

You perk up and look at the irritated blond man with shock. “Did you just call me a thing?” You ask.

The dark-haired man with giant furry ears laughs nervously. “Kaveh doesn’t mean it like that, [Y/N]. Kaveh is irritated with Al Haitham, and I apologize in advance for both of them because they bicker with each other a lot,” he gives you a sympathetic smile.

“You’ll get used to the bickering,” the white-haired man says.

A man wearing a hat approaches the table. “I’m still not used to hearing them bicker,” he says, rolling his eyes.

Paimon clears her throat, glaring at the five men in front of her. “[Y/N]! Meet Al Haitham, Kaveh, Tighnari, Cyno, and Scaramouche. Scaramouche goes by many names, but we don’t talk about that,” said Paimon.

“It’s nice to meet all of you! I, uh, apologize for wanting to meet all of you suddenly. I think it would be great to meet all of Lumine, Aether, and Paimon’s friends from all nations while I continue to search for who I am,” you said politely.

Kaveh looks at you curiously. “Oh? Are you going on a spiritual journey?” Kaveh asks, resting his arms on the table.

“No,” you shake your head, “I’m amnesiac, and I don’t know where I’m from or who I am,” you reply.

Tighnari’s eyes light up. “Oh! So you’re the mysterious outlander friend that Aether and Lumine have fished out of the ocean!” Tighnari points at you with acknowledgment.

Cyno elbows Tighnari’s side, making the man wince and glare at him. “It’s not nice to point your fingers at someone you don’t know,” Cyno scolds Tighnari.

Al Haitham looks at you closely. “Judging by your clothes, you don’t look like you’re from any regions in Teyvat,” said Al Haitham.

“Let’s not point out the obvious, Al Haitham. Lumine and Aether have mentioned it a few times already. It’s not an unknown fact that [Y/N] isn’t from any of the regions,” Scaramouche rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning in his seat across from you.

You sit in silence while the others around you continue to discuss your origins. While they’re talking with each other, you let yourself space out and stare at the table in front of you. The pastries that were ordered, along with the drinks, look appetizing. But since you ate so much food before arriving in Sumeru, you’re not sure if you can try something new.

You stare at the pastry in front of you, debating whether you should eat it. You decide not to eat the pastry in front of you and sit back in your seat with your head resting on the top rail. You’re tired, and as much as you want to join in on the conversation, you can’t get yourself to do it. You get up from your seat and walk out of Puspa Cafe without saying a word, trying to rub the sleep from your eyes.

The chilly night air hits you like a sumpter beast, sending violent chills down your spine. You lean against the wooden railing outside the cafe and close your eyes, letting the cool breeze lull you to sleep. The temperature is the perfect temperature to fall asleep in; if only you were in a bed, snuggling in your blanket, and drifting off to sleep, everything would have been perfect. But instead, you’re outside Puspa Cafe, falling asleep on the wooden railing while everyone else is inside, talking to each other.

“Wow, you must be exhausted from today’s event,” a voice startles you awake.

Your eyelids fly open, and your head snaps in the person’s direction. Dainsleif emerges from the shadows and gazes at you with an amused look on his face. You feel your face heat up, and you look away from the blond man that now stands before you.

“Although I don’t blame you for feeling this way. You have been traveling region to region with Aether and Lumine, meeting new people,” Dainsleif says casually, leaning on the railing beside you.

You rub your eyes. “Have you been watching our every move, Dainsleif?” You ask, poking his biceps.

“Watching? No. Making sure that you, Aether, Lumine, and Paimon travel safely? Yes,” replies Dainsleif.

You sigh and rest your head on Dainsleif’s shoulder, catching him off guard. Dainsleif stands still and looks at you from the corner of his eyes. You look like you could pass out at any moment. Silence hangs in the air between you two, and the sound of crickets fills the air.

“You know, you can join us on our journey. You don’t have to watch us from a distance and be alone,” you murmur.

Dainsleif doesn’t respond. Instead, his blue eyes gaze at the stars that hang over the two of you, then in your direction. Before Dainsleif could say anything, the door to Puspa Cafe opens, and the others step out into the night, stopping in their tracks when they see you leaning against Dainsleif.

“Dainsleif! What are you doing here?” Paimon asks.

Tighnari points at Dainsleif. “Is he your boyfriend by any chance?” Tighnari asks. For a brief moment, Tighnari looks hurt, almost heartbroken.

You look at Tighnari with wide eyes and shake your head. “He’s not my boyfriend, Tighnari.”

A massive wave of relief washes over five men standing before you and Dainsleif. You remove your head from Dainsleif’s shoulders and stretch your arms, yawning.

“You suddenly left Puspa Cafe. Is there a reason why?” Cyno asks, his eyes trailing over to the tall blond man beside you.

You rub your cold arms and shake your head. “Other than needing fresh air, hoping it’ll wake me up? Not really,” you reply.

Kaveh points at Dainsleif dramatically. “He doesn’t look like he’s from Teyvat. Look at his clothes and his mask! Speaking of his clothes, look at his cape! It looks almost identical to Paimon’s cape,” Kaveh says, eyes scanning Dainsleif from head to toe.

Al Haitham rolls his eyes. “Oh, don’t be dramatic, Kaveh.”

Kaveh scoffs and looks at Al Haitham with his hands on his hips, poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue, glaring at the acting Grand Sage in front of him. You press your lips into a thin line and slowly look up at Dainsleif, who is already looking at you.

“I’m done with these two,” Scaramouche mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

Dainsleif crosses his arms over his chest. “This is my cue to leave,” said Dainsleif.

You’re about to protest, but a portal opens in front of him, and he walks through it. The portal closes once he enters. You let out another sigh and turn to the people in front of you. You’re tired and want to go to sleep, but at the same time, you want to explore around Sumeru a little bit before going to the teapot to get some much-needed shut-eye.

“Is it okay if we go and explore Sumeru? I know it’s nighttime, but exploring Sumeru would be nice,” you said.

Kaveh points at the sky. “Explore Sumeru in the darkness? I don’t know about that….” Kaveh trails off.

Tighnari scratches his ears. “I think we should explore Sumeru in the morning. It’s safer that way,” Tighnari replies.

“If we all go together, I think we should be fine,” Scaramouche says, taking his hat off and fixing his hair that is blown by the wind.

Cyno looks at everyone around him. “What do you guys think? Should we go an explore Sumeru?”

“Exploring Sumeru at a time like this is nothing new to me. I’m okay with it as long as everyone is okay with it,” answers Al Haitham.

The last thing you remembered was exploring Sumeru with Aether, Lumine, Paimon, and the five guests (Al Haitham, Cyno, Kaveh, and Tighnari). Now, here you are, sitting in the middle of some forest in Sumeru alone. You have been roaming around the forest for a long time, and every tree, shrubbery, and thicket looks the same. You’re not sure how Tighnari is able to guide the group through the forest without issues.

You run your fingers through your hair and lean against a tree, sliding to the ground. You’re too tired to

“Yeah, maybe exploring the forest at night was a mistake,” you deadpan. “Well, if it isn’t the consequences of my actions,” you lightly slap your forehead.

You rest your head against the tree trunk and close your eyes. You would go and try to search for the others, but you don’t think that is a good idea. Maybe this is the perfect time for you to take a nap while the others try and find you. You lay on the ground and curl into a fetal position, drifting off to sleep.

After what felt like twenty minutes, your eyes fly open when you feel something poke your face. You stumble to your feet when you see a strange being in front of you. It’s small, like, really small. The way it stares at you is unsettling, but it’s kind of cute. You can’t find a way to describe it, but it’s green and has a leaf for a hair… hat? Either way, it’s small and carries a stick.

“What are you?” You whisper, leaning down to poke it lightly. “Am I hallucinating by any chance?” You ask yourself.

The tiny creature continues to stare at you, not saying a word. You end up introducing yourself to the green being in front of you, and it eventually speaks, which throws you off guard because you didn’t think it could talk. He introduces himself as Arabalika, and he is an Aranara, a plantlike forest spirit that resides in Vanarana.

It turns out you somehow wandered to Vanarana, but no need to fear because Arabalika and his little Aranara buddies are here to keep you company. You’re amazed at seeing the Grove of Dreams now that Arabalika has led you to where the Aranaras reside. When you walk into Vanarana, a hoard of Aranaras surrounds you, looking at you curiously.

“Do you think my friends will be able to find me here? I don’t know how much longer I can stay in Vanarana,” you said softly.

It wasn’t like you didn’t want to stay in Vanarana. You felt like you were intruding as someone who isn’t a forest spirit. The Aranaras were sweet to you! They refused to leave you alone, and the Aranaras offered to make you something to eat (which you declined because of the amount of food you have consumed today) and provided some entertainment.

While you and the Aranaras are warming up to each other, the people you went exploring in the forest with are scrambling around to search for you. They searched high and low for you, only to find nothing at all.

“Where could they have wandered off?” Al Haitham asks.

“They didn’t wander off; we wandered off without checking to see if they were following us or not,” Kaveh interjects.

Cyno sits on the ground. “Then what do we do? We can’t find them in the forest. We can’t leave them all alone until the sun rises,” Cyno grumbles, yanking the grass from the ground.

“Hey! Don’t do that,” Tighnari scolds Cyno, slapping the grass out of Cyno’s hands before huffing loudly.

“We’re going to have a [Y/N] search party,” Lumine says.

Scaramouche blinks at Lumine owlishly. “A [Y/N] search party?” Scaramouche asks.

Lumine and Aether look at each other, nodding at one another. As much as they don’t want to disturb others of their sleep, they have no other choice but to get the other men involved.

You sit on the grass, weaving flowers with Arabalika and the other Aranaras. They offered a temporary home for you to rest in, but you refused to sleep no matter how tired you were. Plus, you have this unsettling feeling where you feel like you’re being watched. And you know it’s not Dainsleif because he would have shown up before Arabalika discovered you in the forest.

Arabalika taps your knees to grab your attention. “What’s wrong, Nara friend?”

You give Arabalika a wary smile. “I feel like we’re being watched, do you?” You whisper to Arabalika.

“It’s okay if you feel that way. We will protect you,” Arabalika says, holding your hand.

You laugh and squeeze Arabalika’s hand, not sure what he’s implying. How can something as small as he protects you from the dangers lurking in the forest?

“Should we make ourselves known to them?” Dottore asks, his back pressing up against a tree.

Pierro shakes his head. “I don’t think it’s time for us to introduce ourselves to [Y/N] just yet,” Pierro mutters, watching you interact with the Aranaras.

“Aw, what a shame. I really wanted to introduce myself to [Y/N],” Pantalone laments, leaning against the tree that was a few meters from where you’re sitting.

“Unless you want to start a problem, go ahead,” Capitano grumbles. “Those little creatures are guarding [Y/N]. It’s strange to see how protective they are of someone that isn’t part of this world,” Captiano peeks from behind the trees.

You finish weaving the flower crown and place it on Arabalika’s head, and he puts his completed flower crown on your head. You recall one of the Aranaras inviting you to their little concert, so you let Arabalika guide you to where the show is being held. You sit in the crowd and watch them play the instruments in awe. Arabalika waddles over to you, pulls you to the center of the “stage,” and attempts to get you to join in on the dancing.

You knew that you were not alone in the forest with the Aranaras, but if you were going to die soon, you might as well enjoy your last moments dancing with the Aranaras. While you’re in the middle of twirling around with Arabalika in your hands, you hear a twig snap loudly. The music ceases, and you stop spinning, holding Arabalika in the air, slowly turning to look in the direction of where the twig has snapped.

Over twenty heads peek from behind the trees. You squint at them and slowly put Arabalika down, shielding your eyes to try to get a better look at each person’s face.

“Oh, it seems like you have found me,” you said.

Venti pouts. “Someone doesn’t sound too happy about being found,” Venti says.

“Sorry to interrupt your performance, but we were looking everywhere for you,” Kaeya speaks up, emerging from the shadows, and walks over to where you stand.

Arabalika steps in front of you, holding his arms out. Kaeya stops in his tracks and gazes at Arabalika with an amused look on his face.

Dainsleif chuckles. “It seems like the Aranara is trying to protect [Y/N],” said Dainsleif.

You look at the men who now stand in front of you, Arabalika and the other Aranaras. “Why are all of you in Sumeru? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see all of you again, but what are you guys doing here?” You ask.

“Lumine, Aether, and Paimon came to all of us and requested us to search for you. We heard that you went missing in the forest of Sumeru, and they didn’t know how else to track you down,” Diluc interjects.

You nod your head slowly. “So… Aether, Lumine, and Paimon traveled to your respective nations to have you all search for me?” You ask.

“That is correct. Although we did arrive earlier than all of you,” Pantalone speaks up, walking out from behind a tree with a smug smile on his face.

Aether and Lumine look at each other with wide eyes, pointing over at the four Harbingers, now standing behind you. It seems like there are uninvited guests as well. You look at the four Harbingers behind you and then at the other people in front of you.

“I have no idea what is going on, nor do I know the history you all have with each other, but can we not start this now?” You ask.

“And why is that, little one? Are you playing as the mediator in this situation?” Pierro asks, raising an eyebrow at you, the corners of his lips quirked up.

You hunch over and shake your head. “No, I just don’t have the energy to deal with this,” you gesture between the two groups, “and I have spent every last energy of mine dancing with Arabalika and the Aranaras. I want to go to sleep,” you said.

Arabalika turns around and gazes at you. Even with that blank stare of his, you knew what he was implying. Arabalika holds his hand up, and you grab them, letting Arabalika guide you to the nearest Aranara house.

“If all of you are going to fight, I might as well sleep through it. Arabalika will show me to my temporary room until the fight is over,” you announce over your shoulders.

The remaining Aranaras stare at the Naras (and Paimon) before them. Without saying a word, they all waddle after you and Arabalika, the sound of their footsteps gradually fading away. Just when the men thought they were the only ones drawn to you, the Aranaras are just as drawn to you as they are. However, the Aranaras are drawn to you for a different reason. The men, however, are drawn to you because they feel a connection with you and are also attracted to you. Whoever you are, wherever you came from, it doesn’t matter to them because they will try to have you for themselves. The tension was broken by the sound of Paimon and Lumine snickering with each other.

“You’re all fighting over [Y/N], and yet the Aranaras snatch [Y/N] up just like that,” Paimon says, giggling behind her hand.

Lumine raises her eyebrows. “Good luck trying to get the Aranaras' approval to be with [Y/N]. If you all think that I’m protective of [Y/N], you’re wrong,” Lumine chuckles. “They see something in [Y/N], and it makes them want to guard [Y/N] with their entire being,” Lumine strokes her chin.

When you collapsed into bed and were tucked into bed by Arabalika, the other Aranaras stood in front of your temporary house, guarding the door and watching the people closely. So much for finding you and bringing you back to Sumeru City. Now they have to wait for the next day to bring you back to civilization without causing any problems with the Aranaras, who are surprisingly protective of you.

Note: This fic is long because I decided to type during school while I was at the library when I didn't have any assignments to do for any of my classes. And now here we are with over 10k words of fanfic! Once I post this fic onto my AO3, the Isekai'd!Reader one-shot series will officially have about over 400k words! That is longer than a novel. I think that's the most I have ever typed out for a fanfiction :o Honestly, I'm impressed if someone decides to read all of the stories I have posted from my first fanfic to my current fanfic. I'm currently debating between two requests right now to post for next week, but I can't decide.... 🤔 both are hurt/comfort, but one contains smut... as per the person's request. Eh, that will be future me's problem. Anyway, for those who want to be on my new taglist, here is the link to the taglist [Genshinluvr Updated Taglist Form]! Please make sure that you allow people to mention you/tag you in posts, or else I won't be able to tag you in any future fanfics! And as usual, I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Taglist for my Isekai'd!Reader one-shot series and my overall taglist: @alhaitham-scribe, @xyji, @kazuhasmuse, @chirikoheina, @yoru-trash, @kaoyamamegami, @kwelibeeery, @yumakj, @deartoru, @luminarymoonlight, @toobytub, @ins4nebish, @bokuto-kinnie, @honeybedo, @exhaustedcommunist, @jadedist, @mompt2, @living-my-best-life5, @chalksdreams, @rinswriting, @thelost-in-time, @mxn14, @ventisweetheart, @unwantedsleep, @kattythesimp, @hispasian-otaku, @Orah-s, @juuuuuj101010, @nxns3nse, @sickly-falling, @alteeeeyang, @wind1y, @wh0-ta0, @samarill, @testsubject0012, @irisxiel, @HistoryNerd™️, @kazuhaprnt, @lunarapple, @urlocalhothuman, @emilymikado, @mabie, @vinnie-w, @n8mareee, @bajifairyy, @al-haithamsforeveryone, @heyimkay, @smolbeaniezz, @milkpeanuts476, @eliciana, @jellyslimesoffical, @blesstosuisen (If your name has been crossed out, it means that your account did not show up when I try to tag your account. Please make sure to allow people to mention you and tag you in posts and make sure the spelling, symbols, and numbers are correct)

Read more of my works on my Masterlist | Maybe support me by tipping me on Ko-Fi or by reblogging my fanfics! ^^ I will also be posting exclusive fanfics on Ko-Fi as well very soon! I might post all of my stories on there too, but who knows. You can also tip me on Tumblr if you'd like as a way to show support! ^^

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