#Genshin lore is very angsty

[actiniumwrites]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐋𝐂𝐀𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐘

synopsis: you and kaveh were best friends for years, studying together at the akademiya and working side by side as established architects. after the devastating incident at the palace of alcazarzaray that leads to a harsh falling out, neither of you have seen each other for years. it isn’t until one day, when a multi-millionaire offers the two of you a job that could flip your lives around, that you’re forced to reconcile and maybe even become something more

characters: kaveh x gn! reader

wc: 10k

warnings: angst, fluff, ex best friends to lovers, arguments, drinking, mentions of vomiting and blacking out, mentions of being drunk/ tipsy/ alcohol in general (nothing major), swearing, inaccurate and unrealistic depictions of architecture, probably general writing errors (since this is 10k words and i’m not proofreading it three times)

notes: um so basically i got this idea one day when i was staring at the genshin map and then suddenly an entire plot just entered my brain. and y’all know i love writing fics that somehow shove the reader into the lore and then have a super angsty dynamic with one of the characters 💀 anyway, this somehow ended up being like 10k words and took me 3-4 months to finish, but i told myself i had to finish it before fontaine came out, so here it is!

“Delivery!”

The sound of beads being pushed aside and footsteps padding against the wood floors alert you quickly. Your head rises from the arm it was leaning on to meet the face of the mailman who never failed to show up weekly with a smile on his face. It’s friday and it’s dark out, the moon peers through the window, but this happens every week. Same day, same time. Always the last delivery. Always at 8 PM sharp.

Your hand reaches to the left to dip the pen you’re holding into the black liquid in the tiny pot by your elbow. Without hesitation, you’re signing off on the sheet of paper he’s given you. When you return it, you find him giving you a smile and placing the boxes and a few neatly stacked envelopes on the counter. He walks out soon after and you call out to him, “Thanks for stopping by!”

But as soon as he’s out of your eyesight, the smile on your face drops back into the bored expression it was in before he entered your shop. A sigh escapes you as you carelessly sort through the mail, tossing the boxes to the side to look through later, already knowing it was just shipments of product for your tiny store. If you were being honest, you were ready to just set all of it to the side and head home for the night, but you carried on. Dark bags and gentle creases made theirselves at home around your eyes as you stared down at the envelopes. A deep exhale falls from your mouth as you tear each and every one of them open to look at their contents. Most of it is nothing new, aside from the very last one that has bright red peeking through the paper.

EVICTION NOTICE

“Fuck,” you angrily mutter to yourself, “this better be some sort of sick joke.” But it becomes very apparent it isn’t a joke as your eyes scan over it. There’s a burning sensation behind them when you finish reading it. It lands harshly against the counter when you slam it down, crumpling a bit at the middle. You knew you were barely making ends meet, but this? This was a whole new level. The house you had been renting was small. It barely even fit you and the little things you had left after selling most of it off. The rent was cheaper and the place wasn’t great, but it worked. If you were being evicted from this, where were you supposed to go now?

The shop you had was too small and wasn’t safe for sleeping in anyway. The thought of crashing at one of your friend’s place crosses your mind, but having to rely on them sounds less than appealing. Besides, many of them would be far too inconvenient. Tighnari had been a long time friend of yours, but he lived too far from the city which meant you wouldn’t be able to get to work on time. Same with Candace, or even Dehya, who resided in the desert. Of course, there was Nilou who was always wiling to offer you help, but you know her place isn’t big enough for two people and she needed her space for dancing. Then there was Alhaitham. That option was an absolute no for many reasons, but mainly because of the fact that he lives with your ex-best friend who was the entire reason you were in this mess.

“Ahem,” someone awkwardly clears their throat in front of you.

You jump back and away from the counter where the cursed piece of paper sat. The notice had completely distracted you from the fact that someone had walked in. Noticing you had knocked down an envelope in your sudden retreat, you reach down to pick it up while addressing the person, “I apologize, but we’re closing in around two minutes. I’m afraid you’ll have to come back tomor—“

Your sentence falls short as you rise from the floor. Red eyes stare back at yours, one of the prettiest shades of red you have ever seen. You could never forget those eyes.

Speak of the Devil.

The blood in your body runs cold when reality finally smacks you in the face, “Why are you here, Kaveh.”

It’s less of a question and more of a demand. You watch as his brows furrow and you can’t help but wonder if he was expecting you to be friendly with him. If he was, it wouldn’t surprise you. Kaveh was always like that — trying to see the best in people no matter the situation.

“It’s…uh, it’s been awhile,” he stumbles over his words awkwardly. It’s unlike him, you think. From what you can remember of him, he never really stuttered or mumbled unless he was drunk. Loud and clear was always more of his thing. He wanted to make sure he was known. Maybe he changed, but for the sake of his own good, you really wish he hasn’t.

“Yeah, it has,” you purse your lips as you turn around and take the boxes the delivery man had brought to the tiny back room of the shop. Earlier you decided you would deal with them tomorrow, but honestly, you’d rather deal with them right now than with your ex-best friend, “I won’t ask again. Why are you here?”

Kaveh clears his throat and averts his eyes. You watch as his hands begin to interlock and fiddle with each other. His weight keeps shifting from one side to another as he speaks, “I need your help.”

You look at him incredulously and scoff, “No.”

“What? You haven’t even heard what I have to say yet!”

“I said no,” you stand firmly, furrowing your brows at him as you gesture to the shop around you, “Don’t you see what my life has become? I don’t care what you want or need help with, I’m not helping you.”

Kaveh glances around at all the little shelves. There’s a bunch of tiny models and little figurines, things he assumes you designed yourself. You were always talented at that sort of stuff. He preferred the flat blueprints while you had a knack for creating 3D models filled with details like no other. It was no wonder you had used that ability to your advantage.

He notices how small it is. There’s other vendors around your shop, he noticed them as he came in. They all had bigger shops with more shelves and more room, better organization even. He liked yours though. As much as Kaveh enjoyed extravagance, the warm home vibe your store gave outmatched the others. It reminded him so much of the way you made him feel back then. Even so, he can’t help but see what you were talking about. This store isn’t what your talent should be wasted on when you were destined for far more. Both of you were. Yet here you are, both barely scraping by.

“I know and I don’t really have the right to be asking you for this, but will you please just hear me out first?” He begs with desperation in his eyes. You sigh and look off to the side before giving him a slight nod, a gesture for him to continue on.

“There’s a man named Zakai, a multi-millionaire businessman here in Sumeru who’s looking to have a custom mansion made for himself and his pregnant wife,” he explains. It’s beginning to sound all too familiar far too quickly and you can feel your willingness to let him explain slipping away from you.

“Kaveh.”

“Just listen, okay. He sought me out but wanted you too. Said something about admiring our work on the Palace of Alcazarzaray and he wants something similar but smaller with a different look.”

“Are you joking? No. There’s no way,” you refuse, waving your hands in the air as you shake your head.

Kaveh continues to plead his case though, “He’s not like Dori, I swear! He actually has empathy and his request is a lot more reasonable. Besides, there’s a lot of money involved in this. Even split between us. It would cover the debt we owe. Guaranteed.”

“You’re empathetic, Kaveh, and you’re a perfectionist. Millionaires don’t care about us. Can’t you see where this is heading? I don’t know about you, but I am not very fond of the fact that I’m wasting my life away trying to work off an insane amount of debt. What happens if another mistake occurs in the process? Hm? Our lives will be ruined ten times more than they were last time and I’m not willing to take that risk.”

“Ten times worse? Really?” He exasperatedly scoffs, throwing his hands up in the air dramatic as ever, “Of course I hate how I live right now. I mean, c’mon! Honestly, who wouldn’t? But you and I both know we don’t really have anything left. Take a look around you and tell me you wouldn’t take the chance to get out of this mess.”

The glare you’re sending him is icy cold, Kaveh falters a bit under it, but you both know he’s right. There’s a plate full of money right in front of your face and you’re so close to being able to call it yours, and yet you’re denying it? A life without debt is nothing but a dream to you at this point, one you’ve had nightly since you watched all your money slide away from you and down into Dori’s mischievous little hands.

Kaveh tests the waters when he speaks again after the brief silence, “You’re the only other architect in Sumeru that is capable of working on this job. You saw what we accomplished on the palace. We can do it again, no mistakes this time. And if it does happen…then I’ll take the fall for it. I’ll take the fall for all of it.”

Your brows furrow and you sigh for what felt like the thousandth time. The small part of you that was his best friend from all those years ago reaches out to him, “You know I can’t accept that, Kaveh. We may not be friends anymore, but I’m not going to watch you destroy yourself all over again if something goes wrong.”

“Please,” he pleads, entirely brushing off your words, “I’m doing this for the both of us. If you want out at any point, then we’ll back out together. Just…consider the offer, okay?”

The red from the letter catches your eye again and something suddenly feels like it’s pulling at your heart. An eviction notice followed by a job offer promising wealth feels like one big coincidence, but it’s not one you can ignore. You really didn’t have anything left now — aside from the tiny store you had going. And if this does turn out to be a success, your life would be entirely back on track to what it was all those years ago. You could live freely again.

One more glance at Kaveh finalizes your decision.

“I’ll do it.”

The next few times you meet with Kaveh seem to bleed well into the night. Blueprints are scattered across the floor of your shop during the after hours, a closed sign out front. Your legs are crossed over one another and your head rests atop your hand. Kaveh is standing up, muttering words you can’t quite make out.

“No…that won’t do, but…well? Dark wood? Ugh…wait! No, nevermind,” he paces back and forth, sifting through papers in his hands.

You place the outline you were looking at on the floor and glare at him coldly, “Can you stop? I can’t focus.”

Kaveh sighs and sets down the blueprints he was holding in his hand, “Sorry, I just can’t make up my mind.”

“Clearly,” you mutter.

“Here,” he picks up a pile of sketches off the table and hands them to you, “What do you think of the wood choices on these? Oh, and the color of the paint we’d use on the outside.”

Your eyes inspect them carefully as you flip through each one. They’re all relatively the same aside from a few of them. The ones that stand out the most to you are the simple ones. They’re darker and more elegant looking, exactly what this guy seemed to want. On the other hand, the rest of them are more flashy and had an air to them you couldn’t seem to take a liking to.

You slide him two of the papers, side by side and tap each of them simultaneously, “These two. They’re cost effective and fit what he wants. I say we go this route, but maybe with some slight changes.”

“What? No! Those should’ve been scrapped,” Kaveh’s eyes widen at your choice. He scrambles to grab the papers back but you slam your hand down on them before he can.

You squint your eyes, “What do you mean? These practically check everything off his list. How are we going to deny the client what he wants?”

Kaveh groans and a hand slides down his face, “These don’t even look rich. It barely screams money at all! We’re making a house for a rich man and you want to do something this simple?”

“Yes! This is literally what he wants! And it does look rich. Just because something isn’t bursting with color and fancy embellishments everywhere does not mean it doesn’t have opulence to it!”

Kaveh’s face visibly falls at your response and he can’t help but be reminded of all those years ago when you were still friends. Sure you still argued then, but it wasn’t like now. You weren’t hostile toward him and he could stand to make some changes based on your suggestions. But now, it felt like everything was going in one ear and out the other.

“What if we compromise?” he asks regretfully, not willing to give up what he wants, but still wanting to get this job done. Contrary to his cynical and provocative roommate, arguing was not something Kaveh enjoyed, and Kaveh didn’t want to strain your relationship any more than it already was.

You hesitantly nod and point to each of the sketches, “Okay, which parts?”

“Keep it extravagant, use cheaper materials?”

“No, I just said that isn’t what Mr. Zakai wants.”

“Well then what are we supposed to do?”

You roll your eyes when he isn’t looking. Sometimes it felt like you were arguing with a child.

“Simple. Choose the more plain design and maybe add a few more embellishments, while keeping it cost effective.”

Kaveh inwardly groans, but stops himself from saying anything else. He thinks for a moment, going back and forth between different ideas in his head. There’s a temptation to just grab the sketches and run off with them, leave you in the dust and forget all about your past with each other. It’s the same part of him that sits on his shoulder, whispering in his ear that maybe, just maybe, all of this is a mistake.

The other part yearns. It’s something he can’t help as he stares down at the sketches, but really, he’s looking at you from his peripheral vision. He misses the way things were when you were best friends. When you would laugh for hours on end with each other, talk about the big mansions you would build for each other some day, and the lives you were going to have. All of those visions, every thought he used to have, they all included you.

Kaveh doesn’t remember when things got so bad between you. Yes he knows the exact date, the time, the place it all went down. But when did you start really hating each other? When did your smile begin to fade into a frown whenever he showed up? And when did he start feeling a painful ache in his chest whenever your name was mentioned?

Why do things have to be the way they are?

Kaveh shuts the door in the temptation’s face. He wasn’t going to run from you or shove everything aside like he normally would. If he was granted any wish in the world, it wouldn’t be to get rid of his debt or become the richest man in the world. Because Kaveh would let himself he the poorest man in the world if it meant he could be with you again.

Mr. Zakai had come to him with an opportunity of wealth and opulence. It would make them one in the same if he could play his cards right. Wipe away his debt and his past. He could be free again. But more than that, Kaveh would have you back.

And as his ruby red eyes catch yours once more, he realizes there is nothing more that he wants than you.

“Wow, I mean, Archons. This design is just unbelievable.”

Your eyes widen ever so slightly, not quite sure if you should be scared or relieved. Mr. Zakai’s tone doesn’t give away what he’s feeling, and you’re terrified. Kaveh swears he can feel you shaking next to him in anticipation…or maybe it was the anxiety. He glances once your way and then back to Mr. Zakai before glancing at you again and awkwardly laughing, “Ahaha, I hope that’s a, uh, good ‘unbelievable?’”

Mr. Zakai throws his hands in the air and laughs brightly, “Yes, yes! Of course! This design is utterly beautiful. It’s like you took the picture from my mind and captured it right onto a piece of paper.”

Both of you sigh of relief simultaneously, clutching a hand over your hearts, but smiling nonetheless. “That’s wonderful to hear,” you say and gesture to the open land behind you that has long since been designated as the construction site for his home, “If you’d like, we can get to building as soon as possible. We already have a team prepared and everything. Just say the word.”

“Let us begin!” he cheers.

Beginning to build the actual mansion was like a dream come true for an architect. The smoothness at which everything was running was beyond belief for the both of you. All of the materials had been safely delivered with care, and although they weren’t the best of the best, they without a doubt exceeded Kaveh’s expectations. Alongside that, the plot of land being used was absolutely beautiful and the perfect place for a home.

It was a perfect distance from the main city, nothing too arduous to travel to. There was a beautiful lake nearby that was adorned with various flowers, fish, and fruit trees surrounding it. And the best part, there weren’t any cliffs or waterfalls nearby. No signs of a withering zone either. It was something Kaveh had specifically checked for before accepting the job, terrified of having a repeat of the entire incident that put you both in this mess.

It had only taken around a week and a half for the skeleton of the mansion to be built. But already, it was turning out wonderfully. Thanks to the team both of you had and your newfound ability to compromise with one another, both of your guys’ morale had been boosted immensely. Things were finally beginning to look up.

“It’s beautiful,” you whisper in awe, staring at the team working on the house just feet away from you. Kaveh stands next to you, clipboard in hand and a pen eagerly scribbling away at the paper on it.

His eyes look up from the papers he was shuffling through to glance at the house and then glance back at you, “It really is, huh? I’m glad we were able to compromise on the final design. I think it’s turning out really great.”

“And to think you wanted all those embellishments,” you laugh as you reminisce.

Kaveh scoffs and leans into your shoulder with his, “Shut up. Sometimes the blueprint version isn’t a good representation of the final product. How was I supposed to know your ideas would look so good?”

“Oh? What was that?” you cup your hand around your ear and smirk, leaning into him, “Is that you finally admitting my ideas are better than yours?”

“Hey! That is not what I said.”

“I think it is. Just admit it, my dear friend, I have always been the better architect.”

My dear…friend?

Kaveh stops in his place, blinking at your words. He breathes out and looks to the ground. He isn’t sure what you mean. Perhaps it was a slip up or just a joke, but he chooses not to take it seriously in order to protect his feelings. So he teases you, ignoring the slight ache in his heart, “Oh, so now we’re friends again?”

“Ugh, please. I couldn’t be friends with an architect that isn’t on my level,” you jest. It was indeed a slip up on your end, and you realized it the moment you said it, but like Kaveh, you knew it would be better to just brush it off. Push it aside along with any other newfound positive feelings you had toward your old friend.

“Pft, yeah right,” he rolls his eyes and turns away from you again. You both begin walking toward the house, ready to tell everyone that it’s time to pack it up for the night. The sun would be completely set in about an hour and you knew they all had families to get back to. Besides, both of you were tired and you weren’t even the ones building the damn thing. You couldn’t imagine how tired they were if you were already feeling exhausted.

Footsteps dragging against the gravel alerts the crew of your presence and they all realize what time it is. Several of them hop down from the upper layers while the rest of them begin picking up their things from the ground floor. Many of them already begin to bid one another a “goodnight,” and “get home safely.”

“Great work today, guys!” you excitedly call out to them.

Kaveh smiles a bit and joins you, clapping his hands together as he reminds them, “Please go home and get some rest. We have a busy rest of the week from here on out! We’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Before either of you can walk away, one of the girls that was working on the building rushes up to you both, “Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to let you guys know about the progress.”

You recognize her as one of the leaders for the construction crew when you turn around. She was in charge of the more specific areas of progress when it came to the actual building aspect, while you and Kaveh had oversight on the entire thing.

“Oh?” Kaveh confusedly asks, unsure of what she had to share, “What about it? Is something the matter?”

“No, no! Nothing bad. I just wanted to let you know that at this rate, the house should be completed within three months. We’re making an exponentially great amount of progress, especially with the wonderful crew we have working on it. You guys should be proud of yourselves,” she smiles.

You and Kaveh quickly turn and high-five each other, pleased with what she was saying. But as quick as it came, it was gone. Simultaneously, you clear your throats and take a step back from one another.

“Ahem, I um — thank you! That means a lot,” you say through a strained smile that doesn’t quite reach your eyes. Kaveh doesn’t say anything.

Instantly, the girl can feel the awkward tension in the air and takes a step back herself.

“Of course, I’ll uh, be going now. Have a goodnight!”

When she walks off, Kaveh turns back to you hesitantly, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Let’s just pretend that never happened, yeah?”

He hums in agreement and starts to walk alongside you, “But, hey, I was thinking. She is right, you know? We should be proud of our progress so far. Maybe we could go to the tavern tonight? But only if you want, of course!”

You pause, but nod slowly, “Yeah…yeah okay. We can do that.”

“Really?” Kaveh tilts his head to the side, not quite believing you.

“Sure,” you shrug, not thinking too much into it, “Let’s go.”

You could feel the alcohol running through your system as you spoke, laughing along with some stupid story you were telling. Kaveh and you had been at the tavern for nearly two hours and it had long since been dark outside. You didn’t even get the chance to change out of your work clothes before getting there.

It didn’t take long for either of you to find a glass of alcohol sitting in front of you alongside a bunch of different dishes. Although neither of you really had the money to spending like this, it was a congratulatory meal and you couldn’t help but splurge a little.

“I know! Oh my god,” you slur a bit, “Do you…do you remember that time that one guy in our class plagiarized his entire project all the way down to the 3-D model? What was his name again? Bahar? No, that wasn’t it…”

“Oh, Baharak!” Kaveh exclaims, jumping from his seat a little and pointing at you before sitting back down. Leaning against his seat, he lets out a nostalgic sigh, “Archons, how could I forget that guy?”

“Baharak, yeah! Man, I can’t believe he really thought he wouldn’t get expelled for that,” you say and take another sip of your drink.

Kaveh hums in agreement and takes another bite of his food, “Wait, do you remember that professor we had? The one that took my library book away?”

“Really? You’ll have to refresh my memory again,” you say, struggling to connect memories together. Neither of you were drunk, but you were sure as hell getting there. Lambad already had to tell both of you to ease up on the drinks, aware that you both had work the next day. But truly, he just didn’t want you making a ruckus in his tavern again.

It had been years since you both visited together, but he could never forget the messes you made when you were both students at the Akademiya. The days where you would drink until you blacked or vomited, the nights spent drunk crying over bad grades or shitty professors, or the time you accidentally fell asleep on the bathroom floor and he didn’t realize until after closing because Kaveh was too drunk to realize you even left. It was safe to say that you weren’t his favorite customers, despite being fully grown adults now. Lambad was not willing to have repeats of any of those incidents.

It continues on for another hour or so, just sharing stupid stories from the past and what your friendship used to be like. It almost feels as though you are friends again, even if it’s just for a brief moment.

Your smile is wide when you’re talking to him and your laugh isn’t some fake laugh that you always use when someone comes into your store or when you’re talking to literally anyone else. Your legs are bumping into his under the table too, contrary to a few years ago when he was much shorter. It’s weird, you think, how much everything has changed.

It’s not until someone at a table nearby makes a comment about you two that you really digest just how weird it all is.

“Look at that cute couple over there,” they say in awe from somewhere behind you, “Don’t you miss when we used to be like that?”

Within seconds you feel sobered up. It almost embarrasses you how one much one small comment could have an effect on you. Your heart drops into your stomach and your laughter fades out. This isn’t right, you think. You can laugh and drink all you want, but it doesn’t change what happened all those years ago. It doesn’t change the incident or the things Kaveh said to you that night or the things you said to him. It doesn’t change how hard you cried and how your life suddenly went from being on a high to dropping to the lowest you’ve ever been. You can barely survive day to day because of that day…because of him.

No. It doesn’t change anything at all.

You stand up abruptly and grab your bag, slamming some mora onto the table and glancing around hurriedly before beginning to walk out on him. Kaveh stands up too and goes to reach for your arm, but you pull away before he can make contact with it, “Hey, what’s wrong? Where are you going?”

“I can’t do this,” you mumble to yourself, rushing away out of fear.

“Can’t do what?” Kaveh’s eyes are bursting with confusion and terrified that he may have done something wrong. Something to upset you. But you’re already out of the building before he can get an answer.

It had been about a week before you saw each other again. Luckily for you, it wasn’t required that you were at the build site as long as one of you was there. And with Kaveh’s naturally perfectionistic personality, you knew you weren’t needed there. He was also smart enough to not coming looking for you either after everything that had occurred not only earlier that week, but in the years prior. There was a reason you got along so well before everything came crashing down.

No one knew you guys like you knew each other. There was no doubt about that.

The time you had been gone in the past week was spent running your store, something you had been neglecting anyway. Despite it not being the most successful business ever, it was something and you still had customers to take care of.

Today had been rather slow, being a Thursday and all. Most people were out working their other jobs and kids were in school, so there weren’t really many people to be out shopping anyway.

Aggressive footsteps catch your attention, but you don’t bother to look up at whoever had just entered, figuring it was probably some elderly guy again there to scold you like the one last week.

“Welcome in, I’ll be with you in a moment,” you call out from your spot at the counter, signing away at some documents for the store. The footsteps don’t stop and look around, however. Instead, they march right up the counter and slam your binder shut.

“Is this seriously what you’ve been doing? I get it I may have pissed you off or whatever at Lambad’s earlier this week, but leaving me at the site like that is just shallow,” a familiar voice scolds you. You look up to see Kaveh seething. Although, the longer you look in his eyes, the more you see he’s less angry and more terrified. Of what? You’re unsure.

For a moment, you have the urge to extend a hand out to him and ask him what’s wrong, but you catch yourself before you can. Besides, it would defeat the entire purpose of you being at your store instead of the mansion. Instead you scoff, regaining your anger for him, “Okay? It’s not like you really needed me there this week. All the crew is doing is just finishing the skeleton. Stop acting like something bad happened or whatever.”

Kaveh purses his lips and leans closer to you, leveling his eyes with yours. The seriousness in them is unmistakable and it shakes you a bit. You haven’t seen him like that since…well, since that day. “That’s the thing…something did happen. I came here to tell you abo—”

“What?” You cut him off, eyes widening.

“Stop,” he hushes you angrily, “Please for the love of God just listen for once. Something happened to Zakai’s wife. I came here to tell you that we need to meet with him today because it’s urgent and I barely know what’s going on myself. So please, just put our differences aside and come with me.”

Your lips shut themselves before they can speak again. There’s shock in your eyes at his slight outburst, but you gulp and nod at him. Picking up the binder from earlier, you slide it under the counter in one of the locked drawers before walking around to the other side where Kaveh stands. A quick glance around and you’re walking out of the store. Without hesitation, you flip the sign that reads open to the side that reads closed.

And although you weren’t the firmest believer in the Gods or any part of Celestia, you bowed your head and prayed to the Dendro Archon that this wasn’t what you thought it was.

Your leg bounces in anticipation as you sit next to Kaveh at the Cafe. It’s dark out, and there aren’t a lot of people around which you’re grateful for. There was a certain nervousness in the air and you weren’t ready to find out where it was going to take you.

“Thank you for meeting with me,” Mr. Zakai says sadly and sits down, sliding you both a mug with what you presume is tea. Kaveh thanks him and bumps his knee with yours from next to you.

You fall out of your thoughts and clear your throat, “Oh, uh, yeah. Of course.”

He looks down at his lap solemnly, seemingly speechless. You turn to Kaveh who’s sitting on your right and frown at him. Kaveh returns the expression but nods his head, wordlessly telling you to just wait and see. You nod back and turn to sip at your tea.

Mr. Zakai’s voice is shaky when he speaks again moments later, “I…I don’t know where to begin. I suppose I should just get to the point so I don’t waste your time.”

You both wait in silence, urging him to continue. Practically waiting on the edge of your seats at this point.

“I have to suspend the project.”

You swear you can feel your heart drop into your stomach as you breathlessly whisper a tiny, “What?”

Kaveh turns to you quickly to gauge your reaction before turning back and swallowing deeply, “I’m sorry, could you please explain what’s going on here? I mean, c’mon, we barely started this thing and now you’re backing out?”

He waves his hands in the air and coughs, “No, no! I…I’m not backing out, dear God, no. I just, I need to wait a bit. It’s my wife, she’s with a family doctor. You see, she’s pregnant and there’s been some terrible complications. I’m afraid she’s fallen ill and I can’t afford to be spending my time building some mansion when she needs me.”

“How long?” you ask firmly, “How long are you suspending this?”

“I don’t know, I’m sorry,” he regretfully apologizes.

Kaveh tries to stay calm but you can feel him shaking next to you. His hands shakily put down the tea cup and he shuts his eyes while he speaks, almost like this is just one big nightmare that he can’t wake up from, “What does this mean for us? The crew? The materials we bought?”

Zakai stutters and sighs over and over again before he can get anything out, “I promise I will pay you…eventually. I have medical bills to pay and for now, I can’t pay either of you.”

“So what? You’re just leaving us then?!” You push him further.

“I’m sorry, really, I am,” he stands up and backs away slowly, “I need to go visit my wife. We’ll chat again soon.”

Hurriedly, he rushes off before either of you get the chance to go after him. Your breathing is heavy and labored, but neither of you move from your seats. There’s a lump in your throat, one you’re desperately trying to push down as you whisper, “I should have never agreed to this.”

“Hey, it’s not over yet,” Kaveh tries to reason as he places a hand on your shoulder. You shrug him off and stand up, shaking your head as you turn around to walk away.

Kaveh quickly springs from his seat and rushes to catch up with you. He pleads with you desperately, “I didn’t know this was going to happen, I swear. This is all my fault.”

“Yeah, it is,” you spat at him, stopping in your tracks and turning to him, “That’s the problem with you, Kaveh. Wherever you go, bad luck just seems to follow. I should’ve known better, honestly. You’d think after all these years I would’ve been smarter. And now…now my life is even more ruined than it was before. Thanks a lot.”

“You know what? No. You agreed to this, so you don’t get to treat me like dirt on your shoe just because something went wrong. Don’t you realize my life is just as ruined as yours is? You’re not the only one with problems!” He yells suddenly, taking a step forward toward you. A few people stop and stare but quickly keep moving when you turn and glare at them.

“My life was ruined in seconds!” You dig your pointer finger into his chest as you match his volume.

“Yeah? Well so was mine! You’re not the only one who’s been suffering all this time.”

Silence washes over both of you. You take a step back from him and remove your hand from his chest hesitantly, angry tears beginning to sting your eyes. Kaveh feels the same prickliness too, a dull ache in his chest as he stands before you. This wasn’t what either of you wanted deep down, and you realize that as you turn and walk away from him again.

There were so many moments of failure in Kaveh’s life, but you had an equal share as well. Yet, for some reason, neither of you realized the other was hurting just as much. Perhaps, like Kaveh, the real reason you accepted the project was so you could rekindle your friendship, bring back a relationship you missed dearly.

You look up at the moon as you walk away, leaving him somewhere behind you where you don’t care to look back to. And as you stare at its presence in the sky, you can’t help but feel like it was just like you and him. He was the sun, and you were the moon. Beautiful in their own ways, but bound by fate to never exist at the same time. Never to coexist.

Maybe this time, the tiny thread that still connected you had finally tethered for good.

The day it all happened was both blurry and clear in your memories.

That day.

Everything seemed to irk you from the moment you awoke that morning. The sheets on your bed weren’t quite placed right. The temperature in your house was miserably warm, even worse, humid after you accidentally left your window open the night before. The ingredients you had planned on using for your favorite breakfast had miraculously grown mold overnight. Not to mention, you were already late five minutes to the build site and everyone knew how particular Dori was about being punctual.

The clouds were a depressing gray from what you could remember. The rain was normally one of your favorite things. After all, you chose to live in the rainforest for a reason. But that day, the gloomy sight stirred a sense of anger in you that was impossible to shake.

You could remember the way Kaveh was avoiding you in the weeks leading up to it all. It was justified in your eyes because well, you were avoiding him too. Neither of you seemed to be able to stand the constant arguments that would break out between you. Most of them were pointless too — small things that could be resolved without a bunch of yelling and insults. Yet, every time you looked at him, every time he spoke, every time he even breathed, you felt anger seep into your blood.

At that point, the both of you had worked on several projects together. Houses, libraries, stores, gardens, you name it. The Palace of Alcazarzaray was the first real project you had both worked on. It was big, flashy, and was going to make a statement about your capabilities to all of Sumeru. Fame and riches were plastered all over the opportunity. The magnum opus of both of your careers.

It was this very reason that you both fought so often. There was so much to plan. So much to work on. At first, things had gone well considering you were both great friends — the best of friends, even. Any outsider or non-architect would probably make the naive assumption that, if anything, it would bring you even closer together. But with so much pressure, the opposite happened and you grew apart. The conflict was too much to handle on either side and you couldn’t keep up with it. Neither of you could.

The rain was bothersome when it started.

It started with a few drops here and there. You could remember hastily wiping them from your hands and face before peering up at the sky with a frown. Within a mere few seconds, the sprinkling rain became aggressive and thunderous. Lightning flashed in your eyes as the afternoon sky faded from a light gray to a deep blue and black.

It was hard to hear the yelling of all the crew members over the rumbling of the thunder overhead. The water below the structure began to thrash rapidly and the cliffs had a slight shake to them. Up until that part, everything was clear to you.

Then the rain was in your eyes and your breathing was heavy as you aimlessly ran around. Eventually, everyone had evacuated the site to a nearby area. Everything had happened so fast you couldn’t even remember how you ended up there, wrapped in a blanket and shivering in the corner of a small tent with a few other people. Soon after, everyone got sent home for the afternoon in a bad mood.

It wasn’t until hours later that a majority of the crew had returned. Your heart dropped within the first few steps you took as the palace came into sight. What had once been turning out to be a luxurious palace was crumbled down into nothing but ruins. Forest Rangers surrounded the place, evaluating it and dragging some equipment away. As soon as Tighnari spotted you, he jogged over to you, carefully explaining what happened.

After the rain, the withering made its way to the house and destroyed just about everything. Within hours, everything you had been working toward for months vanished out of thin air. Kaveh had been walking up to the both of you when the news was relayed to you. What he overheard stopped him in his tracks, allowing him to fall to his knees in anger, frustration, but most importantly, denial. Part of him could process it, while the other part wished he could wake up from whatever nightmare he seemed to be having.

If there was one thing you could remember better than anything else, it was the silence that followed. Everyone dispersed from the area with crest fallen expressions making their way home to their families for the second time that night. You and Kaveh stayed behind, sitting quietly within the ruins on your knees, surrounded by rubble, praying for a miracle from the Dendro Archon.

Tears fell silently down both of your faces as he leaned against your shoulder, arms wrapped carelessly around your abdomen. You had no energy to return the action, and so you sat there in the still silence without so much as a sniffle. Your head was bowed to your chest, unable to look at the place anymore in fear of breaking down in a way that seemed worse than the way the palace had broken.

Both of your tears’ had dried with the morning sun. There was a pounding in your head as Kaveh dragged you back to his house to collect his savings and prepare to sell his house. You had done the same after making a hesitant agreement with him. A tingling sensation covered your body as your chest and stomach ached. Anxiety was written all over your face and you couldn’t help but feel regret over your actions. There was no other way out, you thought.

The arguments hadn’t stopped even after everything had been settled with the money and the plans to rebuild the palace came into fruition. You still had a hard time being around him and he felt the same way. Despite that small moment of desperation where he clung to you in the ruins, there wasn’t much left of your friendship by the end.

Ultimately, one thing led to another and a snap happened. Kaveh was the one to snap first, turning around on you one day and just hurling insult after insult. You followed suite, not backing down for the sake of your dignity. And at that moment, you just wanted to make each other hurt. There was nothing more to it. No real reason to be arguing anymore — not even over small trivial things like misplaced blueprints or an empty paint can being knocked over. It was pure hatred at its finest.

Coincidentally, that was the last day you ever saw each other. You both unknowingly felt bad about hurting each other like that. You were supposed to be best friends afterall. Some part of you even wanted to be more. Not that he ever knew that, though. There was a time in which you tried to apologize, but the residual anger that burned in your heart prevented you from ever seeking him out.

And so, everything you had come to know of him ceased at once. Kaveh was no longer part of your life and you were no longer part of his. The Palace of Alcazarzaray was finished by the crew and anytime either of you ever had to meet with Dori it was always separate. For years, you hadn’t even caught so much as a glance of him.

There was nothing left. Absolutely nothing.

Three weeks had passed since Zakai had reached out to either of you. History seemed to be repeating itself with you and Kaveh as well, seeing as neither of you had crossed paths at all within that time.

You were back to quietly running your tiny little store. There was only a week left until your eviction went into effect. The few things you had in your house had been moved into a small section in the back of your store where you had settled to live temporarily. There wasn’t much room and it wasn’t the safest, but you would find a way to make it work for the time being.

“Um, hi,” a timid voice squeaks out, catching you off guard, “I have an urgent delivery. Could you please confirm your name on the envelope?”

Your eyes lift from the paper they’re staring at blankly. Your brows furrow and you nod at the young boy who didn’t look to be older than fifteen. “Do you know what this is about?” You ask him as you turn to find a letter opener from behind you.

“Not exactly. It’s from my uncle Zakai, you know him right?”

“Yeah, something like that. Thanks,” you mumble. He hums before awkwardly walking out of your shop. When he’s gone, you eagerly cut open the pristine envelope to find a paper inside. It’s a letter, you realize as you begin to read it. It’s addressed to both you and Kaveh, so you assume he must’ve received one as well.

Inside the letter details a meeting at a specific time and place. It’s the build site, later this afternoon at three o’clock. Most of it is just jumbled up, redundant apologies that you can’t resist your eyes from rolling at, but the end of the letter catches your eye. Moving back up a few sentences you had scanned over, you reread it carefully.

“He wants to start the project back up?” You ask to no one but yourself. The letter falls from your hand onto the counter and you stare out at your shop in contemplation. On one hand, you could return to the project and see it through. Maybe hope nothing bad happens again. On the other, you could ditch the whole thing out of fear that history could repeat itself for a third time. It would mean you could avoid seeing Kaveh again. Because, as you angrily spat at him before, bad luck seemed to follow him wherever he went. You were far too scared of what the outcome of seeing him again would be.

Minutes later you had your answer as you found yourself flipping the sign outside the shop to closed and locking the doors.

It wasn’t worth it, you realized, being scared of someone who was only scared and sensitive himself. Joining the project again couldn’t hurt you any further than it already had. There was no contractual agreement that would force you to be friendly with Kaveh again either. Perhaps you could work merely as coworkers and nothing more. Speak to him only when you have to and get this job done once and for all.

“I’m glad to have you back,” Zakai shakes your hand firmly as you fall into step with him.

“Happy to be back,” you lie. Hesitantly, you turn to him and clear your throat, “If you don’t mind me asking, is your wife alright? What made you come back to the project?”

Mr. Zakai sends you a fond smile as he thinks of her, “She’s perfectly fine. Thank you for asking. There were a few complications with the baby, but she made it through and everything is going smoothly now. The baby is actually due in a few weeks. Can you believe it?”

“Not at all,” you smile halfheartedly.

“Anyway,” he says as you reach the site with him, “I came back to the project because I am a man of my word. I said I wasn’t going to drop it, so here I am. Besides, I’m impressed with yours and Kaveh’s work. I truly hope we can finish what we started.”

You nod silently to yourself. Before you or Zakai can say anything else, Kaveh jogs up to you both out of breath, “I’m so sorry I’m late. My annoying roommate took my key again and I couldn’t get back into the house to grab my things, so I had to go track him down and get it back.”

“That’s okay,” Zakai laughs and holds out his hand for Kaveh to shake, “It’s good to see you, Kaveh.”

“You too,” he says before turning to you. Kaveh nods at you silently. Hesitantly, you nod back, averting your eyes quickly.

It doesn’t take long for everything to return to the natural swing of things. The crew was happy to be back and building and Zakai was more than pleased with how close the house was to being completed. Over the next few weeks, everyone works diligently to get it completed.

Day in and day out, neither of you spoke to one another just as you had hoped for. No arguments, no silly jokes, no talking about ideas…nothing. Sometimes it felt a little lonely, even when you were standing right next to each other. There were times where you had seen something on the way to site that you wanted to talk to someone about, rant about your day, whatever. Even when you were still in the period of “hating” each other before Zakai temporarily left the project, both of you still felt more comfortable speaking to each other.

You want to hate him. You really do. But after everything that has happened, after all the emotions you can’t seem to restrain anymore, you’re beginning to wonder if you ever really hated him the way you said you did.

On the final day of the project, it rains again. You aren’t worried this time, however. Not like how you were with the palace. The house was built, inside and out. The only thing left to add was the remainders of Zakai and his wife’s furniture and any other little embellishments he had requested. A pay check was already in the mail for you both, your ticket out of the miserable life you’ve both led for two years.

You’re walking away for the night when footsteps pick up from somewhere behind you. Most of the crew was in front of you chatting away under a ledge shielded from the rain. There’s a hollow feeling in your chest that leaves you feeling dissatisfied with it all as you walk away, no umbrella and shivering furiously under the pouring rain. Eventually, the mysterious person catches up to you and falls into step with you. There was only one person it could have been.

A few weeks ago, you would have swatted him away or sped up so you could get as far away from him as possible. But now, just like that night in the ruins two years ago, you had no energy to push him away anymore. So, silently, you both walk side by side until you reach Sumeru City.

A bolt of lightning landing on the ground a few feet away causes you both to jump back. Thunder follows suite and suddenly the rain turns more into a storm that threatens to flood the city. Icy hail begins to fall not even seconds later, harshly landing against both of your backs as you rush into the city.

Kaveh’s hand gently grabs yours and eagerly drags you away with him. He’s yelling something, but you can’t make out what he’s saying. And before you know it, you’re both sitting in a booth at Lambad’s Tavern soaked and shivering.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers into the air, “We should stay here until the storm dies down. It’s too dangerous outside.”

“Yeah,” you quietly agree and nod quickly, eyes stuck on the table like it was the most interesting thing ever. Kaveh’s looking at you, but you ignore his gaze.

Minutes later, Lambad walks over with a sympathetic expression on his face as he sets down two hot chocolates. He makes some small talk about the storm which both of you indulge him in as you sip on the hot drinks, acting as if nothing was wrong between you. Eventually, he goes to leave but stops to turn back, “I’ll bring out two more on me. Please, stay as long as you need.”

“Thank you,” you both say simultaneously. It goes quiet when he leaves.

For the first time in two years, it feels like the silence is warm and home like. It’s no longer awkward and cold. It reminds you of the time when you were still scholars at the Akademiya, studying late at night at your house in your room. He would sit in your bed while you studied at your desk. There was always something so comforting about it despite the fact that you had to study. Being with him was your favorite thing in the world. And even though it felt like you both had been thrown into the pits of hell with each other, forced against each other over and over again, sitting across from him now felt like none of that had ever happened. For a tiny moment, it felt like you were friends again.

“I never wanted you out of my life,” Kaveh breaks the silence suddenly. Your eyes meet his for the first time that night and they’re brewing with a certain determination, sadness, and anger all at once. You can feel it in yourself too.

“What?” you breathe out. Your brows furrow as you take in what he’s saying, “You never wanted me to leave? But I thought…after everything, I mean. After what we said to each other back then, you didn’t hate me?”

Kaveh frowns and his mouth falls agape as his hands slam against the table dramatically. The words fall out of his mouth before he can stop them, “Hate you? Archons no! How could I hate you when I was in love with you?”

“Wait—you…? You were in love with me?”

His face falls instantly, hands waving in the air, “Shit, I didn’t mean—”

Your eyes glance back and forth between his, desperately searching for any sign of a prank or some sort of sick joke. Fear pangs your heart when you can’t find any, “Kaveh…why didn’t you say anything?”

“You were you and I was me. It never would’ve worked no matter how much I wanted it to,” Kaveh slumps into his seat, scoffing as he forces himself to look away from you, “You know what? Can we please just forget I ever said anything?”

The realization of what all the years you spent together meant hits you hard as you sit across from him. The rain pounding against the windows makes your head pound even harder as you try to make sense of it all. Because, no, this was not some sick joke or some prank. Kaveh was wholeheartedly in love with you at some point and you had no idea.

There were times where you felt the same. Staring at him from across the room, his beautiful blonde hair messily sprawled across your bed as he complained about the project you were working on. The times when he would be going on and on about his passions and you couldn’t help but zone out and just admire him in all his glory. Or when he would bring you food just because he knew you had forgotten to eat again. All the trinkets he would buy you because they reminded him of you. The way he made you feel so loved and cared for. Over the years, you had unknowingly fallen for him too. Kaveh may have only ever been your best friend, but in moments like those, moments where the light hit him just right, you wished he could have been more.

“No.”

“No?”

You lean across the table slightly, forcing him to look at you, “I can’t just ignore that. I can’t pretend you didn’t say it or that you never had feelings for me. I hate to admit it, but Kaveh, I had feelings for you too back then.”

It’s silent for a few moments. You give him the chance to speak, but he doesn’t take it. You take in a deep inhale and hesitantly speak, “I know it’s been a long time — years to be precise. And it pains me to say this, but I’m really happy the project worked out how it did. That opportunity from Zakai gave me more than I could ask for and…I’m glad it brought me back to you.”

“Yeah,” Kaveh scoffs playfully, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, “Only after a painstaking amount of convincing.”

“Oh please, I had every reason to say no to you,” you refute, crossing your arms in defense, “And I wasn’t finished. What I was trying to say, was that, even though it’s been so many years, I don’t know where to go from here. But I…I don’t want us to go back to the way things were.”

Kaveh sighs, “I know. I don’t either. Obviously we both have things we need to work through. But, if you’re willing, I’d like to start over again. Not completely, of course. But I want us to be friends again, maybe one day even more…If you’ll have me, that is.”

“Okay,” you breathe out with a small smile. Although it took years and a painful amount of fighting, tears, and money, you had found each other again. Perhaps you couldn’t love each other now, but the feeling was without a doubt there. The pounding in your hearts and ache for one another was concrete proof of it.

And as Kaveh reaches out and takes your hand again for the first time in two years, he knows he’ll never let you go again.

[luffythinker]

is anyone here into genshin? me personally i never played but my friend writes fics for chaeya and they're so amazing!!! i read all of her works and it's very beautifully written, im gonna link her fics here pls pls give it a read if u can/want to, she deserves to have her amazing work recognized 💜

with shortness of breath, you explained the infinite - shinnokita - this is my absolute favorite, do not be scared by the mcd tag!! it's beautiful, angsty and romantic, super worth it!!

a dance that never ends - shinnokita - this one is in progress, there's 2 chapters out and they're very beautiful and well written!!

it's my own remorse - shinnokita - this was the first one i read of hers and i was sobbing, and mind yall, i know NOTHING about genshin lore and i was still so drawn to the story

are you mine? (are you mine tomorrow, or just mine tonight?) - shinnokita - this is a prince x guard fic, but with more layers and the one that made me obsessed with the ship just bc they feel very intense to me

[espritradieux]

Today I took my first real step towards mending my relationship to Genshin Impact by finally overcoming the dumbest obstacle ever that left such a disproportionate emotional scar on me.

Back when I was playing genshin for the first time I had been actively playing the game since 1.2 and I was playing on a pretty crappy laptop (which I still use for most things including hi3) and it didn't have a lot of storage. I was young when I started. I was still a minor and still working to construct myself and still immature and emotional and school was kicking my ass. Overall, not a great life stage to be in.

Then about three years ago, the first We Will be Reunited archon quest was released and I got blocked on the stupidest, most basic level design element ever, something so unbelievably minuscule and insignificant probably no one remembers it: the disappearing bubble hallway.

I failed this thing over and over. Admittedly I was terrible at the game (and still am), and I kept failing and falling and barely making it before falling again. So I rage quit, as one does. By the time I got back to the game, 2.0 was released. And updates started pilling while I wasn't playing. And eventually my storage was saturated and I couldn't open the game anymore.

When I tell you that hallway left a scar on me I am not joking. To me it was the reason I couldn't play the game anymore. For years, the first thing I would think about when thinking about genshin was those damned bubble stairs. It is almost single handedly responsible for me being a genshin hater for so long. I tentatively attempted to come back to the game when Sumeru was fully released since I now had a good phone which could run the game much better than my laptop and I was terrified. The game was scary and overwhelming, I couldn't remember how to fight which I had never been good at anyway and I was haunted by the knowledge of failing the most basic things which killed all sense of adventure and confidence I could have had. I was miserable.

All of that coupled with the memories I had of the game being monstrously taxing and feeling like it was sucking the soul out of me, I became a hater. Mostly harmlessly though, the bulk of it was gently prodding at my friends and being petty about the game mechanisms being so time consuming and the rewards being so bad, but still the fact remains that I was essentially anti genshin, denying every connection I may have had to it and verbally tearing it down every time I could. I did not like the game.

But then a year ago, as I was studying for a final, I discovered Honkai Star Rail. I was wary of Hoyoverse but still I gave it a try.

And HSR was amazing. HSR was magical. HSR made me feel happy and welcome, it felt homey and kind and wonderful and it was written so well. The music was fantastic, the story was fantastic, the fighting was great, the content was interesting, the game didn't feel like a drag, it was incredible. And through HSR I then discovered Honkai Impact 3rd. And HI3 was insane. Hi3 took my brain hostage and rewrote it, it made me feel things I'd never felt before in a game.

Together the Honkai games opened the hyperfixation floodgate in my mind, it made me live through things and feel things I had never felt before, in a single year it fundamentally changed my life.

So I went back to genshin. Not to the game itself though, just the story. I watched other people's playthroughs to get caught up on the main archon quests. And going past the urge to say "I could fix this", I liked the story. But I liked the characters more. Enter the EiMiko hyperfixation. That very specific ship probably did more for me than anything else when it comes to fandom and is honestly probably 50% of the reason I'm back to the fandom now. EiMiko did two things for me: first it gave me angsty lesbians to obsess over and lore to dissect. Second, more recently and somewhat derivative of the first, it allowed me to meet @heemskerck .

I never had anyone who I could talk about those games with, someone who understood and had thoughts of their own about it. I think we probably all know how it feels, to be overcome with the desire to theory dump but having no one to do it with. ( @nobodynotbymitski I appreciate you so much thank you for listening to my rambling when you didn't understand a single word of it)

But now I did have someone to talk about it. So we talked about it and it was great (and it still is, I love talking with them they're so amazing and smart and talented, go follow them) and I did my usual thing of criticizing genshin as much as I could and being a hater but now it was different because now not only was I swayed by the angsty lesbians, I was listening to someone who did play appreciate the game (even if there's a lot to fix).

And when you listen to someone talk about something they're deeply interested in, you start to become interested as well. So despite my still existing dislike of the game, I was interested in going back to it to live through the story myself. The only thing really standing in my way was my dread of the combat system which would be terrible since I was coming back to a level 3 world with essentially the amount of combat experience as a new player, but I refused to start over because there is one thing I did care about on that account. My account is horrible mind you, I had four 5* and three of them were the Traveler, Kequing and Diluc. But the fourth is my beloved Ganyu. My lv 40, unbuilt, miserable Ganyu on a Favonius bow that I got on her first ever rerun who has emotional meaning to me. I still have a picture of my laptop screen when I got her, she is my pride and joy, the only thing worth saving in this game and I was not going to abandon her.

@heemskerck was really kind and agreed to log onto my essentially no pulls dead account to assess the damage and help me level up, give me pointers and even maybe play for me through the story because I was certain I wouldn't be able to run it on my phone and my laptop would certainly not cut it. And that was that.

Except that wasn't because then a month ago the Ignition trailer dropped and my Himeko obsessed self saw Mavuika and immediately imploded. Natlan had me hooked. And then I realized I could actually run Genshin on my phone. And then the 5.0 program arrived with massive quality of life updates that would greatly reduce the problems that I experienced when I was playing. I was still fearful of the fighting though and most of all I was terrified of having to go through the bubble stairs and then the rest of the story but 5.0 also fixed that for me. So two to three weeks before Natlan released, I warily installed the game and got to walk around the map again, feeling like a baby deer in a forest full of wolves.

But then yesterday, Natlan released. And Natlan is amazing. Natlan is fun. Natlan is interesting. Natlan doesn't feel like a drag or a mine field, Natlan brought back the feeling of adventure and discovery. Natlan helped me relearn combat (even though I'm still so bad at it and most of it is pure panic) and it gave me confidence.

So today, once I was done with Natlan, I went back. I went back to We Will be Reunited which, ironically enough, was waiting to be reunited with me.

I went back to this god forsaken bubble stairs three years later.

And I failed.

But then I tried again.

And I succeeded.

Three years. Three years of remembering this fucking hallway with dread. Three years of hating on a game everyone else shoved in my face. Three years away from Teyvat but finally I did it.

I am free

I can enjoy the game now.

This is the first step back towards a game that used to be my world, that became my nightmare, that led me toward games that changed my life and people I am so glad I met and maybe, hopefully, towards a great game that could make me feel as many things as the other two did.

There is no moral to this, I just wanted to tell my weird genshin storytime. Now that I'm older it probably made playing easier honestly. Genshin isn't perfect though. It still has a lot of flaws, I still don't like its combat system and once I'm caught up on the story and back to farming artefacts and items I will probably still think the game sucks and I'll probably be angry at the gacha system but I think I'm much more emotionally equiped for it now than I was three years ago. Three years is a lot for a kid and it teaches you a lot.

I'm getting genuinely excited about this now, I'm gonna go finish the quest.

[lowkeyclueless5137]

Sooooooo

I'm about to finish My Bakugan X twst series :D

And since summer holiday is coming, I believe I have enough time to pick up again on my comic and maybe pitch in a new fic series idea. :3

And smol propaganda for each under the cut :3

The double genshin isekai

You know it, I know it, it's this.

Except that the series will focus on events POST the oneshot. Like blank canvas type of thing. So the oneshot is more or so like a prequel :3

The demon-angel magical girl au

Long title, but it's basically a proper rework of this oneshot.

I like the lore I made for it and it's a bit of a shame I didn't get to fully explore, but then again, it is basically an edgy sailor moon au for funsies. :3

The new mlb crossover

Hewo, this is it

Y'all know it's going to go differently than my explanation chapter. Maybe because I wanna follow my og draft, but that debateable. :v

The JJK isekai au

NANAMI, MY MAN-

Anyhow... This, but add in events and more shenanigans while the other JJK characters suffer back in Japan :3

The Obey me crossover

Me and you both know that this could go either very crack or very angsty. ;3

Just the thought that Riddle and Ace are cousins is funny. There is family drama(both sides are pretty fucked up) and I'm LIVING for it.

Gossip podcast au

It's an au I think I had while in a silly mood.

Basically Radio Rebel, but it's Riddle and Idia who diss on the school, while the students are there for the #tea. Their little mindless podcast made for funsies slowly gains traction, so the 2 have to find more ingenious ways of adapting to it while also having to cater to their new, growing, fanbase.

That would be all :3

[pancitmousse]

Thoughts on XSOLEIL(y)

Individual Members:

Zaion Lanza: She has a surprisingly nice and cool voice considering the model. Very good VA. Seems to fall into the category of “shorties that can and will roast the shit out if you” which I like. I’m not sure what her genshin streams would be like considering she’s an explorer AND completionist (maybe it will be a gambling stream). Subbed.

Doppio Dropscythe: The one I was looking forward to most during pre-debut. This is probably the first time we’ve seen a RPer in NijiEn technically there was fulgur with his legatus persona but he dropped it almost immediately. His lore vid and character are very anime. Knows or is at least learning a lot of languages, which is cool and will definitely help with communicating with fans. Overall a wholesome boy that hypes you up! Not subbed due to timezones.

Meloco Kyoran: Manga style lore is cool, also it’s angsty AF. Her voice was something of a slowburn for me but it sounds very nice also yay JP accent. It’s funny as hell finally seeing an exorcist after 6 straight waves of supernatural beings and mystics. Her intro screen is cute and helped me appreciate the model more. Asia-friendly times, SUBBED.

Hex Haywire: Has the angstiest lore out of this gen. I swear, blue boys ALWAYS have the angstiest lores. Apparently, the deep voice is real; I was gullible and fell for his pre-debut trolling. Seemed like a sweet and chill guy; ik everyone is thirsty for him and his voice and i can’t blame them but tbh i just wanna protect him. That said, I’m very worried for him bc the Vtuber fanbase is absolute trash and he legitimately doesn’t seem to be doing well in the mental health department. Not subbed due to timezones.

Kotoka Torahime: Her lore vid was simple, but effective the lore gears in my brain are spinning. Introverted gamer girl with weird food takes. Design is cool but unfortunately I’m not really that interested in her based on debut. Not sure if I should sub, her schedule seems to be all over the place when it comes to timezones.

Ver Vermillion: I wasn’t that interested in him during predebut but so far he’s actually very interesting! After hearing his voice and seeing how he acts I can finally understand why everyone on twt was thirsting for him (even if I don’t do so personally). I don’t really have any experience with Korean stuff so can’t comment on his lore but his voice sounds very soothing and fits his model. Might put on his radio show in the BG every week. Might sub despite the timezone differences.

As a Whole:

I felt very hyped for this wave. The tweets were funny and interesting (shoutout to Doppio and Zaion), the debut song is a banger (and yes I am very biased towards the songs of the “dark” waves), and the concept for this wave is probably the coolest IMO. The hype was definitely deserved, as I ended up liking most of them; I’m sure I will end up liking Kotoka too eventually. I hope they are as close as they seemed to be during the debut program. The lores are becoming progressively angstier with each wave and while I appreciate the production values I’m not sure how to feel about it, especially since there weren’t really any “breathers” this time around. After the NA-fest that was iLun@ I appreciate being able to catch some of their streams live. Overall, this wave had a great start and I’m confident things will only become better in the future.

[moetxt]

zhongven and zhongscara for the ship bingo (guess who this is 😏

i see you 👁️

ah, zhongscara...

for me, it started with mine and a friend's determination to have our faves kiss zhongli, but i only got further enabled when someone else pointed out parallels i didn't even see initially. i'm proud to be one of the 13 people who ships it 😁

though, to be honest, i really prefer them in a non-romantic context. in my eyes, they're friends with a compatible worldview and REALLY REALLY compatible kinks. scara would never admit this to his face but he sees zhongli as one of the precious few people in the world competent enough to dom him. meanwhile, on zhongli's side, he enjoys very much how scara lets him do what he does best, to the fullest; most people wouldn't be able to handle it, after all.

i think romance is the one major thing they disagree on. scara with his trust issues cannot COMPREHEND how zhongli is still willing to put his whole heart into loving someone even after getting hurt multiple times in the past.

now... you knew this was coming.

zhongven my BELOVED!!! they've been happily married for 2,000 years. they have an angsty on-again/off-again open relationship thing but neither of them thinks it's enough and also they get jealous. they've been mutually pining for millennia to the point that there is plentiful evidence of how down bad they are for each other in both their countries' mythology/folklore/traditions/ancient artifacts/archaeological sites but they've never once actually admitted they're in love with one another. as gods, they can't love as humans do and as divine manifestations of their elements and ideals, they're natural opposites locked in an eternal stalemate of courtship; can't tie down the wind, can't whisk away the earth. they've divorced at least 300 times. they're bitter exes and ei is the only one left alive who can tell you all about it (she will not).

unlike other ships i've been obsessed with in the past, it's hard for me to remove zhongven from their canon context, or at the very least a context where they are still divine/immortals. the divine opposites thing is just so key to me—they way they shouldn't get along, they shouldn't understand each other, but nonetheless they do. also, exploring edge cases of locality-specific or occupation-specific dual worship that occurs when morax's and barbatos' domains meet. like, how ancient northern liyuens knew to scatter dandelion seeds along with their prayers to make earthquakes during the spring and summer go away because it was probably the geo lord sulking and missing his beloved. or how sailors whisper a prayer or two to the god of wind for safe travels as where rex lapis' domain does not extend, they instead hope for the protection of his "bride" :)

actually, i am writing a whole fic about this! it's an epistolary-styled story filled with outsider accounts of how morax and barbatos just keep popping up, directly or indirectly, in each other's mythology. it's also about zhongli intentionally messing with the historical record in attempt to bring more of this to light because he's sulky about venti not visiting him for 500 years lol.

but yeah, the gods aspect is quite important to me and my view of them is so specific that i tend to be picky when it comes to fics, especially if they are AUs.

finally, as you know, i have more than a couple of crack theories/shipper delusion when it comes to zhongven and wider genshin lore. (descender zhongli and shade of istaroth venti my beloved!!!) namely, that venti warned zhongli about the cataclysm beforehand due to his god of time/celestia connections, but didn't warn the others, and that's why there was a near pantheon wipeout and the tsaritsa hates him now while zhongli carries so much guilt. also, that zhongli retired godhood at least partly due to venti, leaving his country to the humans (just like venti had done all along), and because he regretted how he always prioritized work and didn't treasure what he had until venti disappeared for his 500y coma.

"the end of godhood" is a really fascinating concept to me, as is what their relationship could turn out like in the future. they aren't gods anymore, but they're not exactly humans either, and no one else can really understand them like they understand each other. a lot of the obstacles in the way of them being together are now gone, but they now also carry new scars. i have a fic vaguely drafted centering around this too.

hehe, thanks for giving me the excuse to talk at length about them! 💞

[sleepy-vix]

Hi, Vix.....Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

oooh this is such a cool ask hmmm lets see. i dont know how to rank it but i'll try my best

1. Angel Devil (chainsaw man- animanga). he's just so me. also, his hair is so cool, his power is so interesting, and he's depressed and angsty (i mean, what more can i say?).

2. Chen Kitay (the poppy war trilogy- books). he's so cool i want to be his friend so bad. he's everything i want in a character- CRAZY smart, devoted, realistic, and familiar (if that makes sense?)

3. Tori Spring (solitaire/heartstopper/osemanverse- book, webcomic, tv series). i feel bad putting her so low but i like angel and kitay more 😭. anyways she's SO ME. everything she says is so relatable. also she's everything i like in a character- she's the oldest sister, she pops up mysteriously here and there, and she's got the same mental issues as i do. #socoquetteamirightorwhat.

4. Wanderer (genshin impact- video game). his lore is so intricate and interesting and cool. i hate hsi fanbase but i don't let that ruin my enjoyment of his character.

5. Jo March (little women- book and movie). i talk about her too much T-T euihsfdhuhewuh i will refrain this one time. the short story is that i love everything she says.

6. Ray (the promised neverland- animanga). he was my childhood. i had a huge hyperfixation on the promised neverland and ray was my favourite (obviously) because he was smart, mysterious and angsty T-T also he has mother issues (though that's not relevant to why i like him,,,, or is it??)

7. Yuki Yoshikawa (horimiya- animanga). I'm going to be so honest right now, i watched horimiya just for yuki and toru. i don't really care about hori and miyamura T-T like they're cute but if yukitoru wasn't in the show i would've dropped it. i even read the manga to see more yuki and toru. also yuki is so real... i'm not saying that she's me but maybe she is...

8. Dazai Osamu (bungou stray dogs- animanga). he's my comfort, my muse, my imaginary friend, you know? i feel like he deserves to be on this list.

9. Chuuya Nakahara (same as above). "scary? my god, you're divine" - lana del rey. i think ms del rey sums it up perfectly.

10. Henry Winter (the secret history- book). let's be so real. one does not read the secret history and somehow avoid falling in love with henry winter (i say falling in love in a very arospec way btw- i don't have a crush on him and i imagine him as ugly tbh but i think his mind is so brilliant and it would be cool to have conversations with him or be the subject of his attention ???? idfk.)

tysm for the ask :))) i rambled alot and i probably wrote more than you cared to know sorry about this oops lol T-T hope to see you around ! :D

[jessamine-rose]

i hope you don't mind me dropping in for that post you rb-ed, jessamine! curious on how you usually get to write things!

do you listen to music? where do you usually get inspos? and are there characters that you like to write more than the others? ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა

Ohhh hi, Rin!! It’s nice to see you in my inbox <3

do you listen to music?

I actually have a specific playlist for writing!! It’s full of song instrumentals and anime OSTs.

Fun fact, when I wrote my Yandere Church AU, I listened to “Si Deus Me Relinquit” on repeat for the angsty religious vibes ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪

where do you usually get inspos?

Ohh that’s an interesting question!! Most of the time, I just randomly think, “Hey, this [idea] would go well with [character]. Other times, I get inspiration from fan art and fanfics.

Some of my fics also began as DMs shared with my mutuals!! It’s rlly fun to share brainrot and ideas with them and watch them suffer

and are there characters that you like to write more than the others? ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა

Yes. I’m very picky with the characters I read about + write for, so it’s usually just my biases.

This is especially true for Genshin. By now, y’all know that my muses are Capitano, Pantalone, Dottore, and Pierro. Idk I just rlly like their lore, personalities, and dynamics with their darlings~

I’ve also written for other Harbingers, though it’s more of a one-time thing. In general, I only write for those four Genshin characters.

[ccaptain]

I need to address this thing that we had in the Genshin lore for so long- but the fact that Kaeya was put in solitary confinement along with Klee right as he was about to head to the Charm cannot be something of a casual concidence.

Judging by what we, as the Traveler, have found in the Chasm, I have two theories that both include Kaeya getting both himself and Klee grounded that day was intentional. These theories being the following:

A much simpler and less angsty one is that Kaeya had studied the Chasm, its environment and enemies prior to its opening, perhaps has judged it too harsh for an expedition made only of him and Klee. He knows about Klee's potential and strenght, but the poisonous miasma and complex enemies might have been too much for them to take on together- not to mention that they could have risked some sort of serious poisoning, without the proper equipment- and the proper equipment warranted more researches and investments, which they didn't had at the time. He was not willing to break Klee's enthusiasm over this and risking of undermining her position as the Spark Knight... so he had to cause a bit of chaos and get them both grounded in order to stop a potentially dangerous expedition. He kept Klee distracted all day in her room as they were both grounded, and the Chasm problem was swiftly forgotten. Another victory for Kaeya!

Now, for a much angstier possibility: Kaeya knows of the connection between the Chasm and Khaenri'ah. There's no way that this is obscure to him, a person who loves to investigate every single nook and cranny of places. An old headcanon of mine that I almost ditched is that my Kaeya, while being very little when the Archons wrecked havoc in his homeland, was able to see the horrors just as his father and the little group of runaway survivors was able to escape to the surface of Teyvat. There's a thing that he was that kept shining even among the Anemo-infused flames... and that was a Celestial Nail. Perhaps multiple, judging by how much the heavenly principles wanted to punish Khaenri'ah for their arrogant sins.

He also had an hunch that the Bough Keeper was nosing around the same environment, and no desire to meet him, along with little to no informations about the time of his visit- so he took no risks, rather getting punished and nullifying the expedition with a good grounding all together.

The Serpents are people that have, very possibly, seen him- and could have somewhat recognized him, evoking the image of a little child with a distinct color of hair and mismatched eyes from the depths of their conscience. Worse, they could have sensed the Curse of Khaenri'ah on him- and he would have had a lot of explanations to give to Klee, afterwards. 

Not to mention that there's the Curse- what would have happened if the distruption caused by the Abyssal Order was able to affect him at the same moment him and Klee were facing a powerful enemy? Poor Klee would have been left alone to fight and terrified as to why Kaeya was close to screaming in pain, doubling over and clutching his eye so hard...

It's very possible that Kaeya has considered all of these options, and picked the best way out of this.

So far, my Kaeya has yet to visit the Chasm.

Why? Both of these speculations are options he could have taken! We'll just never know BECAUSE HOYO DIDN'T EXPLAINED THIS FURTHER.

:)

[cloudcountry]

This vid animatic of Wanderer (he’s had many names and he began as a nameless puppet, people who found him named him Kabukimono, then he joined a criminal-ish group and named himself Scaramouche and… yeah man of many names! W/o a “heart” and a purpose and a lil Azul-coded… just a teeny bit imo)

The vid is his past w/ minor spoilers but I mean, it’s quite public + out of context can be hard to follow jfkgkg still hits hard though

https://youtu.be/REBxGWSMRn4

Tagging @hydrangea-breeze bc I know she’s taking a mental break but that’s like— her man, her soulmate, I hope it cheers her up even a lil and I love that for them ❤️

WAIT WANDERER IS THAT HAT GUY>>>>>/??????? i dont know genshin lore at all oops

not gonna lie anon i know you said it'd be hard to follow but i didnt recognize a single person or character in that video except for the hat guy. it does seem very angsty though :C

[direct0rhutao]

genshin thoughts?? i am curious about whatever hcs or fav canon facts or Unpopular Takes you have etc etc. i trust your opinion 👍

hi hi kit okay first of all tysm im flattered that u r interested in my thoughts that means a lot to me :)

there’s a lot of little details and bits of genshin lore that i love but if i had to choose one it would be that hu tao’s birthday is the same as mine :3 KIDDING one of my favorite random genshin facts is how zhongli once invited xinyan, a rock musician well known for her intense and (literally) fiery concerts, to play some music for the wangsheng funeral parlor

(this is from xinyan’s voicelines btw. do you think zhongli likes rock music because he’s the lord of rocks)

and as for the headcanons!! i can come up with sooo many behold an assortment of genshin thoughts (most of which involve hu tao and xinyan because they are very special to me) (im putting them under a readmore because i got carried away sorry)

• one of my favorite sort-of fanon dynamics is zhongli and his adopted kids ganyu (eldest daughter least likely to get in trouble with the millelith) xiao (middle child whos been an angsty teenager for the last 2000 years) and hu tao (baby of the family with the strongest Gremlin Energy)

• xiao hates zhongli’s new boyfriend childe for Many Reasons such as: he’s spent months in liyue and still can’t use chopsticks, every time he sees xiao he ruffles his hair and calls him “little man”, one time he unleashed an evil god and almost destroyed liyue harbor

• zhongli’s other two children are a little less hostile towards childe. ganyu doesn’t fully trust him because of That One Time He Almost Destroyed Liyue Harbor but he makes zhongli really happy so he’s okay for now …and hu tao thinks he’s kind of a dumbass but his job requires him to kill a lot of people so he’s good for business

• hu tao made childe a customer loyalty card (“10% Off Your 10th Cremation Service!”) however despite childe thinking it was funny, zhongli wouldn’t let her make more copies to give out to the general public

• okay so usually in fanart/fanfics the liyue kids friend group is either xingqiu chongyun xiangling and xinyan or xingqiu chongyun xiangling and hu tao. but why not both. xingqiu chongyun xiangling xinyan AND hu tao AND throw in yun jin as well. all of them are buddies peace and love on planet teyvat

• hu tao has a sort of celebrity crush on beidou (i mean who wouldn’t-) and then she meets kazuha and shes like CAPTAIN BEIDOU HAS A KID?

• hu tao: woaaahh its so nice to meet beidou’s new son… i bet beidou wouldn’t just adopt anyone so you must be super cool and badass because um captain beidou is soooo cool and badass and strong and sexy and did you know she beat a sea monster without a vision and her biceps are big enough to l- kazuha: okay how about we talk about something else

• anyway kazuha is an honorary member of the Liyue Kids Friendship Squad

• xinyan and beidou are also like family but xinyan’s parents are still alive (i think) so xinyan thinks of beidou as more of a cool aunt figure. xinyan and kazuha are kind of like siblings to each other tho

• xinyan is like genuinely very kind and good-natured so i think that aside from people who are assholes to her for being loud/a rock musician she can get along with pretty much anyone. also she just. seems like a really good friend so i think all her friends should love n support her and go to as many of her concerts as they can

• one time when xinyan was having a concert in liyue harbor and chongyun got on stage and started drumming and doing backup vocals bc of his yang energy shenhe passed by and saw them and after the concert while xingqiu was tending to chongyun she approached xinyan

• shenhe: i see you’re a friend of my nephew. your music is very unique. it both soothed and aggravated my homicidal urges at the same time xinyan: uhhh well…th. thank you miss shenhe? i’ll take that as a compliment … if you’re ever in the area again you’re always welcome to rock out at my concerts

• i love yun jin and i love yun jin x xinyan i think they would make a very cute couple HOWEVER. i think hu tao x xinyan would be cute as well. theres a lot of potential there but they barely interact in canon and ive only ever seen one person who maybe ships them uwaaaaaa

• in a modern au hu tao and xinyan would both play gacha rhythm games and they would add each other as friends in-game. hu tao and xinyan are on each other’s bandori friendlist

[nya-vivi]

in the end im replying to the oc ask in. another ask lol because 1. replying in comments is a pain 2. tumblr dms don't have the option to reply to a particular message and an ask will probably look more organized and better for you to read/reply because i got carried away and it's LONG (also i feel like we're gonna ping pong those long ass answers back and forth nehdhdhs not that i complain) but anyway,,

okokok im finally making a proper reply.

and im connecting in academical pain 🤝

about fandoms i'm interested in, my main ones at the moment are orv and honkai and afaik you're in neither so genshin is a perfect choice BUT im also kinda interested in the non fandom ones 👀 so if you'd like to talk about these ones too im all ears

for Lore:

ok so i had to point this out:

i suppose lore's lore really needs to be as correct as possible jdhdhd (i already love her name it's perfect for a travelersona 11/10)

anyway. so the whole idea is that what if there was another pair of siblings from which one was lost and another searching for them, yes? that's actually really cool, common goal, common adventure, like a better travel companion (sorry paimon). also aether mains unite and pretty boys so true

she honestly sounds like such a fun and positive person, i mean,, running around the teyvat, swinging the claymore back and forth, climbing to random places only to suddenly jump from them giving a heart attack the companions who only a second later notice that shes already gliding and laughing. like a chaotic moving source of serotonin a rey of sunshine etc etc, i think she would get along with amber!

OMG GOLD LORE TIED TO HER i love you for that this is literally my favorite piece of genshin lore. artifical heart is an interesting one i don't think ive seen this one that often actually, so more lifespan in exchange for altered body hmm does it affect her daily life in a way? or does it work the exact same way like a regular one but only works for a longer time?

omg omg so. lore and aether traveling together and at the same time lumi and lorena's sis ended up in the same place AND together together? now that's an interesting coincidence i wonder what lore and aether's reaction would be to finding out

the recent quest. did give us a lot of info about khaenri'ah indeed jdhdhd but that's good! you have now more insight into it

for Qinxi:

ok so this one thing is making me curious, how difficult was it to get a name for her? you listed the symbols that are part of it and was it that you first thought about words/meanings you want to include and then constructed a name, or firstly came up with a name and the symbols alongside it?

oOOoooooOo make up maker, i know absolutely nothing about make up HOWEVER it doesn't stop me from thinking that it's cool! and expensive one? so she's probably on her way to start a very lucrative business

it's nice she managed to combine the two without giving up on one another (if she had to then i hope she'd decide to follow the artist dream) and getting the best outcome. so: effective work ✔️ doing something she likes ✔️ man i wish that was me

omg so even the tianquan of the liyue qixing orders her products? damnnn so she's basically set for life jdhdhd im really curious how you're going to develop her further!!

for Vivi:

she's named like you!! i guess the reason is being self insert right? FAVONIUS LIBRARIAN OMG shes living the best life fr

owow the story has angsty parts im now really curious jdjdjd also a self insert not being involved in the plot has a vibe like when a player does everything in the game - all side quests missions etc EXCEPT the main story (like my friend tends to lol) ndhdhd. also #2: reincarnated villainess in a way she was one but died and now is just a girl or she reincarnated into a villainess character or something? because i read one (technically two if we count a guy version or three if we also count an anime) comic about the latter and that's what my brain associates with that trope jdhdh

geo catalyst so like ningguang, that's really cool of her

jshdhdhs you're also studying languages, right? im starting to see the self insert-ness.

oOOoO irminsul thingies, i must admit i really like the magic time/memory tree stuff in all hoyo games. also ok so this kinda answers my previous question, she was a villainess in a past life but now she's someone else yes? AND got enlightened about all the stuff from previous life when she touched the tree?

ah damn you student debt, but graduating also has its merits so ig it's not the worst scenario's especially that she managed to transfer to mond (truly ms worldwide, from fontaine to sumeru to mond)

honestly being afraid of celestia doesn't surprise me the slightest, everything regarding it is sus as hell. also getting a vision despite not wanting it is in a way suffering from success, she could bond with keqing over that ndhdhd

and mannn, living under celestia's watch sure must be stressful, especially considering all the irminsul and past life things. springvale in this situation you described made me think about the shire from middle-earth jshdhd a peaceful piece of land in a huge fantasy word and its schemes and secrets

please tell me when you come up with next events of her story because this does indeed sound intriguing! i wonder if nahida knows about vivi's past, now that you mentioned her

also #number idk which, we'll be getting fontaine soon, will you be adding more details to vivi's backstory now that we'll have more insight to how exactly life there looks like? or will you just focus on her in the current place and time meaning sumeru - > mond with celestia kiiinda involved?

and ok that's all thank you so much for sharing these with me!! you weren't bothering me at all i asked about that myself after all and to be fair im actually pretty interested in the creation process, because when i have an oc it's really chaotic and random but yours seem so well thought!

also, you know what. reading about your ocs and especially vivi since she's like your own special genshinsona made me think about what would mine be and. now im flooded with thoughts but. here it's not a place for that ksjdjd

also also, if you dont mind could i make a doodle of one of them for you maybe 👉👈 they seem cool and recently i got a sudden boost of motivation and have been practicing digital art so. yeah

Len my beloved I was smiling kicking and giggling silly at the ask fr ♡♡♡

Thank you for the sweet words! I'm not used to sharing original characters, since they tend to be personal and, well, I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea hearing about a random OC that doesn't have even a proper story yet hahah (not me tho, I'm not sane when ocs are involved,,, I love how creative everyone gets about them ♡) so it really made my day!!

I will be answering your questions (and some corrections because I did not express myself correctly ajbsiask English my beloathed) below the read more as last time, not to clog the dash ♡

Uhm, spoilers from Caribert & Act IV of Sumeru's archon quest??

So! Part by part:

About my other non-fandom ocs » so I once (a lot of years ago) made a story (a teeny beety dark) about a girl who could see ghosts and supernatural creatures and she could see her dead friend. In the end I made her friend, Anna, pass away, and I don't like killing my ocs ngl.

So I revived Anna and made her part of a blog idea I had, which was kinda restaurant-like thematic, so there would be a few ocs who worked as servers and the owner was a cat... That was before I found I was not meant to get into the spotlight LOL, but I still keep her in my head as part of the staff and occasionally play with her HAHA I quite like her, she's nice and I learned better of plot devices (so I try to kill my darlings the least I can).

About Lore, the idea at first was that both Lore and her sis were from another city but ended up in Khaenri'ah for one thing or another. Since Lore was the eldest of the two, she was the one to 'get to work' for both of them, but she was sick with a rare heart problem and it was difficult to work.

That's when Gold enters and makes the deal with Lore: Gold gets to experiment on her about artificial hearts (since it is before Albedo and, in my own supposition, she was perfectioning the art of artificial life) and she gets a good heart and money for her and her sister. In the end, the heart is perfectioned just before whatever happened in Khaenri'ah and Lore is sealed away to avoid her heart to be damaged.

That's when the timeline in my own story gets fuzzy, but roughly her sis ends up meeting Lumine and since she's alone (for Lore is asleep and secure), she leaves with Lumine and Dain.

The thing is, that in the Caribert quest they said everyone residing in Khaenri'ah that wasn't part of the nobles ended up turned into hilichurls, so I had to discard that idea </3

Most of the story is adaptable, but I have to get the most important thing very well thought before anything (I kinda need a bit more lore, ah the irony).

Her heart works like a motor: it works like a normal heart but it doesn't beat. It can stop if it is not properly maintained (and after 500 years, it needs revision) so as she's going to look for her sis, she's also looking for Gold (and Albedo) so they can revise her.

In an AU ending, Aether and Lore end up as in-laws LMAO they are friends but the surprise is there.

About Qinxi, the name was hard, because I don't know Chinese Hanzi (the logograms), but I usually use one website where you can see Hanzi combinations for actual names (I cannot quite find the website rn, but I will send it to you if you are interested) and found first the Qin logogram and then the Xi logogram with other combinations. Then, I copied the two and pasted them in yabla and liked how they sounded together. The name was primarily phonetic, then the meaning went along well and left it at that.

My main inspiration for her is the Song Dynasty, specially the make up (you can find there pretty designs of huadian) and also they seem to have pants? Pretty cool imho. But make up making is difficult to find ajdgajdja so I'm still searching for that 👀 (Edit 1: I did in fact find a bit on how chinese people used to do make up, so I have that more covered than before).

About Vivi, okay this is a bit difficult to explain: what I meant with the 'villainess' part was that Vivienne existed as a person before my self-insert inhibited her body.

Basically she died and was transmigrated to a body whose soul died at the same time (that's the mechanic, but it will not be explained tbh). So Vivienne (original) became Vivi. She is not a villainess nor was the previous host a villainess but that is what I informally call a 'villainess reincarnation' lol she still has her memories but they are fuzzy.

I'm thinking of making her transmigrate when Vivienne (og) was already into the Akademiya, simply because I'm not masochistic enough to go through college again HAHAH

I thought about making her catalyst because I detest combat aksboad but at some point I thought about making her ability/ultimate another weapon (since it has been increasing with more charas) but I'm debating, because it was when originally I thought of making her go through adolescence again. As I didn't like the idea of that, I think I might just scratch that out.

The geo part was because I got both geo/dendro elements/characteristics, but I really don't want to go through the academic system again (and honestly, I would be both curious but terribly afraid of finding something I weren't supposed to so a big nono) kavdoadb

To go through the last part of your ask: I didn't remember Celestia has in fact not appeared in 500 years, but because she ends up in the same timeline as the Traveler, she's still afraid xd I was thinking of making her a descendant, as she isn't quite of this world, and her information doesn't really appear in the Irminsul until she actually gets into the body (and thinking over a 'corrupted file' in the Irminsul 👀🤭), so Nahida knows something is up with her but Vivi really doesn't want to say anything important enough to change the plot, so in the end they get into a deal.

We will have to see what is cooking in Fontaine, but I already have a bit of a subplot (Vivi is going to become a wanted woman at some point HAHAH) the only thing left is to see if it isn't discordant with the world quest 👀 I also plan to include some info about her family! She has a brother and a father in-game, so both of them will appear, as she has a good relationship with them.

My goal is make her life difficult but not a disaster jagskadh my poor baby.

I would be SUPER excited if you decide to make art of Vivi 🤭🤭🤭 I have Vivi's info in my pinned post, but I have changed her design a bit 🤡 let me present the bust of her that I changed:

I changed a bit her hair and made her skin complexion darker, because the idea is that her mother was from Sumeru and her body got all the melatonin and I didn't quite knew what ✨color theory✨ was at the time because her base skin color is way lighter than it seems aksbaoxb

I want to change her outfit too, the idea of a sash tied around her waist as corsette type but not as rigid as one is still in my mind. I want her have something flowy (and ribbon-y) to match with both Sumeru's and Fontaine's clothing designs, but at the same time comfortable enough to be in the library or taking a stroll or fishing (because I haven't forgot about it. I have been making rounds and getting the fishing rods and I want her to have it as a hobby lolol). I'm looking for historical references (since it is theorized Fontaine is around the 1700/1800s France) but nothing concrete yet.

The reality of the well thought character (even if I feel she's still way underdeveloped for what I want) is my hyperfixation qjsnsoxb idk if that's good or not, but writing about her makes me think of her more solidly if it makes sense? More tangible than only a concept. Do you want to get mentioned if I ever decide her clothes?? (It's ok to say not don't worry fufu 🤭)

I am very excited for Fontaine (next month??) the only thing I know rn is what the npcs have told us but I'm super excited to see it (and the level of mechanical advancement, which I am obsessed with in genshin) to see what I can work with 👀

Oh! Don't forget to tell me if you ever think more things about your genshinsona 👀 you know I am very interested 👀👀 I feel like mr engineer and Vivi would get along as she's kinda of a mechanic and kind of a nerd about it too <3

[fanfiction-artist-prototype]

Okay so I recently pulled Scaramouche in genshin and since they added the ally at low health voice lines I like to check every so often to see what the characters voice lines are and...

Okay I want to preface by saying I have nothing against the voice actor, in fact I think he does a very good job and I like him as the voice actor... but was the voice direction "angsty teen boy trying to be macho but he's too depressed to give it umph half the time"?

Don't get me wrong like I said I think the voice actor does a really good job it's just...

When the voice actor is going doe emotionless he just... sounds unsure? Idk if that's the right way to phrase it? They SOUND forced and that would be fine since Scaramouche isn't really too keen lore wise on really working with the traveler. The issue is, is that the acting sounds forced when it clearly isn't supposed to.

I don't know, I just find it funny that some of the lines sound as if the voice actor has a water spritz bottle held to his face and every time he tried to add certain inflection to his lines he was spritzed.

[lychniis]

Heres a whole grab bag for that tag game: every tenth question >:3c

you're really putting me up to this huh-

10 - do you work on multiple wips or stick to one fic at a time?

multiple. i will chose any route that will eventually fuck me up because my brain has many idea and wants to write n o w. i do have casual fics at the side that i don't feel half as pressured to update...they're more of 'writing practice' in a sense.

20 - do you prefer writing AUs or canon fics?

b o t h. you cannot make me chose, i shall chose both, they're both my babies, my babygirls. but i do like diverging from canon sometimes, even though it's mostly unintentional at first ( with genshin's lore being far from complete ).

30 - how much do you edit your fics?  do you edit as you write or wait until you finish the first draft?

the sole reason why memory took as long as it did was because i edit as i write. i mostly finish the first draft, but if the length o the fic is longer, i tend to edit as i write it down. it saves time having to scour an entire document for errors since my attention span is non existent XD.

40 - what is your favorite world that you’ve created for a fic?

...for fanfics, i'd say it's what i have in store for memory ( there's one chapter with a hidden market run by scam artist apsaras and it is glorious XD ).

for original fics, it would have to be the 'small city with no name' from my original concept 'and here the city ends'. the place is set right on top of a seraphim graveyard with a creepy magic wood and one eldritch subdimension created from a collective hivemind and the souls of dead animals.

the wild hunt is also a thing in said fic. i always entertained the idea of tired dad gwyn ap nudd whose wild hunt is now posing as a motorcycle gang with the onset of urbanization. ( you know all about it, moth- )

50 - how would you describe your writing style?

inconsistent. a lot of people say it's poetic, but i say it's inconsistent. sometimes it's short and snappy. sometimes it's flowery. sometimes it's descriptive...there's a lot going on, chief. but i'd like to find one that i'm comfy with writing soon though.

60 - in [insert fic], what inspired the idea for the plot?

i had to hunt you down in discord for this. hmmmm, okay so it's a funny story. i like listening to carl sagan's talks on the universe, even if i don't understand a few concepts. he always has something really cool and philosophical to say, y'know?

anyway, this was actually a favorite quote of his, and after some research, i did read up about how the base elements were created and scattered through supernovas, and how our atoms were made from old stars.

and my brain went "lol, imagine getting yote into genshin and spouting this out, your partner would be so confusion' and since it was a little past diluc's birthday, i mulled over the idea of a reader who misses their home world and it went nuts from there.

70 - are you subscribed to any writers on AO3?

yes, quite a few. you're my first XD.

80 - free space - asker can come up with any writing or fic-related question they want!

i will forever stay loyal to li.

but xiao is one, along with diluc ( i like my boys angsty sometimes too ). amongst the girls, shenhe is a definitely because of her very straight laced, deadpan attitude as well as ei XD ( i actually have a wip featuring ei in the works ).

i am interested in writing capitano and itto ( since simp for one and covet the other ). wanderer is also growing on me so him too XD.

in demon slayer, it's kyojuro. definitely kyojuro along with sanemi and inosuke.

ask game

[sipsteainanxiety]

ALHAITHAM ADJEWJSJABAHAJA BROOOOO THATS GENSHIN SHIT. i feel into the genshin rabbit hole just a few months ago good luck :') I recommend checking out CHILDE and DILUC while you're at it

PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE once upon a time i played genshin.... it was like. oct 2020 to january 2021 so very short lived LMAO. i stopped bc i spent money on the xiao banner and didnt even pull him SMH!!!! i hit a low point, never giving mihoyo my money AGAIN!!!

god idt i even got that far in the game ngl. i am SOOO slow, i legit got up to fuckinnnn. stormterror fight and yeeted. i also got bored LMFAO just give me the lore already. i promised my friend (@/venexus) that i would continue it on my ps4 over thanksgiving break tho.... we'll see how far i get pfft.

idk much about childe ngl. i simp for the angstiest characters usually LOL. diluc's also hot, but im not tooooo into him. but anthalhaim or however u spell it? hes HOT!!! lori sent me fanart i am looking with all four of my eyes at him holy shit. now all he has to do is be angsty and kinda mean but also nice inside <3

[xzho-writes]

TENTENNNNN okoks I'll ramble abt my faves first and then send in other fluff later if I can think of anything HIHI

you already pretty much know why and how I started loving sir tartagalicious but!!! one of the things that helped me out the most was imagining him pushing my wheelchair around. a lot of the time it was really bumpy and painful to go anywhere but then I think he'd have taken care to wheel me places without causing too much pain <3 there were a lot of days where I felt very miserable and helpless, but he always managed to make it brighter! he and genshin in general gave me something to look forward in those times ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

HEIHEI MY BELOVED! idk man he just radiates comforting vibes, this lil defender of justice and protector of dreams. every voiceline he has feels warm and inviting and so ahsgshshdhfhd for an introvert like me,,, and even if he has troubles he doesn't allow it to hold him back from what he wants to do!!!! which is so so so SO cool in my eyes :(((

one thing I love abt scara's lore is that it perfectly, PERFECTLY describes what it is like to live with a reforged heart. I don't have enough words to describe it but every!!!! single!!!!! detail!!!!!! the endless search for your own identity as you try to understand your own emotions and be a good puppet!!!!!! the emptiness once you achieve your goal because you realised it was never yours in the first place!!!! and finally, the pain and agony that comes when a broken heart finally begins to heal, only to be followed by the peace of knowing that you will soon be whole again.... don't make me repeat this but your honour I love him so much and I can't wait for him

ANNIE DEAREST!!!

tartannie will always be my truest ship for that very reason! he was there during your most trying times, and i feel like he truly would’ve taken such good care of you :( despite being such a brute on the battlefield he definitely seems like the type to be gentle around those he cares about (coff coff you and his sibs). i am very biased but rightfully so he will always be the true route in my heart HAJDJWJJF

and heizou really does radiate soothing and comforting vibes. i feel like his eng va really sets the feeling in stone i’m so whipped for his eng voice, it’s so smooth and suave 😭😭 i also feel like he’s one of the more realistic genshin people in the way that i can actually imagine myself meeting someone like him irl

i know i’m not a massive scara fan but i know when to appreciate good writing when i see it. his lore is very in depth and i feel like the writers did him really well. it’s very angsty but it shows how good the writers in hoyo’s team are. it’s also pretty neat to have a character you really relate to since it brings a whole LOAD of other feelings out