#Genshin should take notes TBH

[juniette13]

Genshin Rewrite Heads Up

Just a heads up I will be posting about what I’ve jotted down for the Mondstadt arc of the rewrite plus a ref of Venti! So be on the lookout!

[chilei-the-hotsauce]

i have woken. what the fuck is happening

[funficwriter]

Fontaine Characters with Violinist Reader!

A/N: This disappearing thing of mine is annoying, I'm trying to stop it. However, I finally got a bit of spare time to play Genshin and I am so, so in love with Fontaine. I think it's gonna be a wonderful arc. I haven't felt this much jubilation since Liyue or Inazuma!

Warnings; None, really.

Lyney, Lynette, Neuvillette, Navia, Furina, Wriothesley (no particular order)

Lyney

First off, this boy is no stranger to performing, an activity he loves. Naturally, he's going to be most interested in fellow performers, including you!

If you're the type to get anxious before, or even during a performance, say goodbye to that with him. He'll guide you through plenty of destressing rituals to help you relax beforehand.

(This included, but wasn't limited to; Taking deep breaths, doing tongue twisters, asking you to play meme songs on your violin, or tickling your sides because 'laughing is a great way to be loose'.)

Even during, should you freeze up and he's in the audience, he'll do a quick but loud magic trick to get everyone's eyes off you. Even one that makes him look like a fool, so long as you have time to put yourself together.

He'd LOVE to have you on stage with him! He adores your music and would ask you to sync it up with dramatic moments in his magic.

If you compose you own stuff, he's pretty much your biggest fan. The guy who never misses a concert. The loudest clapper. The biggest braggart.

"That gorgeous, graceful violinist we had the pleasure of watching? What if I told you that they're coupled up with an equally electric performer? That is, me~."

Lynette

It's easy to think that her brother outdoes her in terms of being your fan, but quietness hides a lot. If you think she doesn't care as much, you're so, so wrong.

She learned several music skills just to be closer to you, including sight-reading. BTW, she's got a killer voice and loves to sing out your compositions. Sometimes it helps you come up with alternative movements within them.

She can also play piano, to a good level of accompaniment. With time, one would think she is also a music assistant; It's not uncommon for her to be on your stage.

Lynette is VERY attentive to your instrument. Does it need rosin? A new bow, perhaps a re-hair? You just say the word, and she'll happily take it to the repair workshop if you have no time.

"By the way, Y/N prefers real horse hair, the thinnest you have. Don't worry. They're talented enough to thrive on it.".

She makes it a point to let you know how much she loves what you do: "All other music in Fontaine pales in its beauty next to yours. Please, keep playing.".

Neuvillette

You play the violin? (he crosses his legs and assumes his royal position). So when are you going to get married? Will you be okay playing a few pieces, even while being the spouse? /Half-joking, tbh.

For him to say that he is the lover of a music pioneer as important as you... Will never not be a moment of joy for him.

First off, what a sugar daddy. I hope you made a list of the expensive violins you wanted but couldn't afford. Because now, it's yours, never mind the Mora. Your very case may as well be coated with gold.

He won't die on this hill, but he would love it if you could play a bit during the parties he hosts. He loves live music to begin with, but after hearing you, it feels like no other pro could hope to sound as good as you.

(And side note, he likes how mesmerized everyone is with you lol)

If you're the type to remember your patron's personal preferences, and compose/play in accordance to that, just for him? Put hearts in his eyes. He's no longer joking about the wedding thing.

While he loves showing you off, he'll never force you if you're shy/nervous. If anything, he would also feel very special if he got to heard songs not out yet, compositions just for him...

"Perhaps this is Lady Furina's way of rewarding me for my years of service. Bless our Archon for giving me such a talented, show and heart-stopping partner.".

Navia

She likes that the Spina del Rosula is represented by passionate, talented people!

If you like sweets, I say just join her team. It's guaranteed pastries after each request lol.

Her detective work is cool, but can get a bit drab after a while. She likes asking you to play some violin ambiance, partly because it makes her feel cool, and partly because your music changes the atmosphere for much better.

Navia is a woman of decorum, but she'll often have trouble staying still during your concerts. It doesn't matter if there are rules to how loud a woman can cheer, she's happy for you and will make sure you know that.

She becomes even more proactive than usual. If a concert of yours falls on the same time as her work, she'll scour the ends of Teyvat for its solution, so she can see you.

With time, she might request you to play pieces that her father loved. Once they're brought back to life, through your own strings, she can't help but be a little emotional. She must have done something wonderful to have you.

"How beautiful, how poignant as you, my dear Y/N! This calls for macaroons! Which flavor would you like today?".

Furina

"Yes, Neuvillette, I know they perform and all, but why can't I keep them to myself! They're so darn great, I want that everyday!"

Of course, she's not gonna stop you, but beware; I feel like Furina would almost turn you into her own personal violinist lol.

She'd keep requesting your presence over her other personal entertainment and somewhat bombard you with song requests. Buuut if you're looking for a varied repertoire, she's your gal!

One reason she requests so much is because she so impressed with how you not only fulfill them all, you do it so creatively and beautifully. You don't just follow the note as it is... Once you're acquainted with what she likes, you modify the tune a bit to be more her taste.

She's so cute when she claps; The way her hands go so fast and she's about to get up from the seat, the huge eye and smile... Why, you might start reconsidering her offer.

"Bravooooo, Y/N!! Bravo! That was everything, I can't go on without an encore!"

If the tune is more happy-go-lucky, she will get up and dance along. Will also do it in circles around you because she's your little orb :3

Wriothesley

"Forgive me for intruding... But I was overhearing, and your playing is terrific. Electrifying. Do you happen to perform on Saturday nights? That's when I can leave the Fortress for a bit.".

Of all your fans, Wrio is one of the quieter ones, but not so much that no one knows it. For one, he's a Duke, he's bound to enjoy good music. And heavens knows he needs some fun in his life.

Here's a fun thing (ngl this is what I was excited to write): At first, it doesn't sound like he can make it to your recital. You see him on his desk, surrounded by paper mountains that only ever seem to grow. He doesn't want to make you sad, but his remark lets you know that he's not coming: "Would it kill some of these people to tone it down for a bit so I can go see my partner perform?".

So imagine your shock when you step on stage, and see him on the first row, sitting tall and handsome, shit-eating grin on his face and waving. You really bought it for a moment.

"Hehe... Did you really think I can't even make a bit of time to see Fontaine's best violinist in action? You actually bought that?".

I HC that he has insomnia, and has tried any things to cure it, but to no avail. It's rumored in Fontaine that his is incurable, but little do they know about how he lays down next to your sitting form. Little do they know of the soft lullabies you composed just for him, or how peacefully he dreams afterwards 💜

[ot3]

Tbh ignoring all the "ai is soulless" stuff cause who cares if art is soulless, I think one should oppose it just due to how it damages the earth

here's from the verge:

The figures were notably larger for image-generation models, which used on average 2.907 kWh per 1,000 inferences. As the paper notes, the average smartphone uses 0.012 kWh to charge — so generating one image using AI can use almost as much energy as charging your smartphone. ... “Definitely this is not representative of everyone’s use case, but now at least we have some numbers,” says Luccioni. “I wanted to put a flag in the ground, saying ‘Let’s start from here.’"

is AI image generation's energy use negligible? i woudn't say that at all. however that number is important to contextualize because having your computer/tablet/etc running an art program for the number of hours it would take an illustrator to make that drawing would use more energy. just straight up it would.

the associated water use for cooling the data centers is trickier to pin down, and this seems to be one of the big complaints. from forbes:

Tech giants have significantly increased their water needs for cooling data centers due to the escalating demand for online services and generative AI products. AI server cooling consumes significant water, with data centers using cooling towers and air mechanisms to dissipate heat, causing up to 9 liters of water to evaporate per kWh of energy used. ... Already AI's projected water usage could hit 6.6 billion m³ by 2027, signaling a need to tackle its water footprint.

this doesn't really distinguish between stuff thats used in AI image gen and the entire field of AI because those numbers aren't there. i'm kind of exclusively talking about ai image gen in these conversations because that's just where my focus is. without knowing what percentage of the demand for AI comes from image generation it's hard to get a feel on the environmental impact. it's definitely bad. tech people should not just be allowed free reign of the world's water supply. i think we can all agree on that.

something i would be really interested in is to see how AI data centers power/water usage compares to that of like. FFXIV and genshin impact. i dont mean this as a gotcha but i feel like it would help contextualize it for me and allow me to really understand the scale this is operating on in a way i currently can't with how abstracted these numbers are.

anyway another angle to consider that i dont see talked about a ton: the physical components of these data centers need to be made out of Something. rare earth mineral mining for computer components has a huge impact both environmentally and on the wellbeing of the communities that are used as borderline slave labor to try and mine it. the congo one of the prime exmaples of this. i'd be really interested to know what sort of demand for high end computing components these data centers have drummed up in numbers that have any kind of meaning to me but i'm not even sure where i'd begin acquiring or understanding this information.

but i think looking at ai specifically as the problem misses the forest for the trees in a lot of ways. AI is one point in the ever-rising graph of ecological destruction wrought by the tech sector. getting rid of it will not address the fundamentally underlying economic structures that necessitate this level of exploitation of the earth and foreign laborers. i think the exceptionalism around AI as a unique evil of the tech sector is not actually based in ecological concerns, as much as ecological concerns are often trotted out by people who already believe ai is ontologically evil in order to bolster their arguments.

[angelicizedeve]

☆⋆｡ 𝓭𝓻𝓾𝓷𝓴 𝓲𝓷 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𖦹°‧★

featuring: felix x reader

synopsis: after having an uncomfortable encounter at a bar, your best friend, felix, drives you to his house and you stay the night.

CONTENT WARNINGS: you get harassed by a weird man at a bar, mentions of alcohol consumption, kinda forced proximity, a bit of angst which ends in fluff, a couple swear words

word count: 1.8k

notes: wow i'm back from the dead after taking a 7 month break from writing! idk if i'll continue to write tbh, maybe once in a blue moon BUT we'll see!! anyways i hope you guys like this <3. i branched out of genshin and have now entered the world of kpop writing.

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You shifted uncomfortably in your seat. You were out with a group of friends at a popular bar. It was a Friday night, you looked cute, and were surrounded by friends. You should be having fun, but all you wanted to do was go home. Big and loud gatherings weren’t really your forte. You leaned over to your friend next to you, saying over the noise that you were going to get another drink.

You let out a deep sigh, sipping at your drink and mentally preparing to leave the bartending area and go back to the big group, when suddenly a man approached you. He had this look in his eyes that automatically made you uncomfortable. 

“hey little lady,” he said, as you tried to hide how you were cringing at that horrible nickname he just called you, “how bout i buy you a drink?” He placed a hand on your thigh, making you instinctively uncross your legs as he started moving his hand up and down. “I- um…if you want to..” was all you managed to respond with. 

“Here's what I want:,” he said. He moved behind you to put both hands on your waist. “to get you something to drink, take you home, and-”

Your eyes widened in disgust at the next part.

Oh my God… You thought.

This man has no manners. It’s no wonder he’s so fucking weird; it’s ‘cause no women wants to talk to him. 

“Sorry, but I'll have to decline.” You said in what you hoped was a firm voice.

His hands tightened around your waist.

“Please stop touching me.”

“I don’t think you understand just what I can do.” He hissed.

You realized that this wasn’t going to be as easy as you thought. You could already tell he was very drunk and wouldn’t just “back off” if you told him to (once again). You tried to catch the eyes of the bartender, but they weren’t paying attention. Only a miracle could save you.

“Hey babe, is this man bothering you?”

Your eyes shot open and you turned to see another man. It was Felix.

“Hey, stop touching my girlfriend dude.” He said, pushing the man away. “Don’t come near us again.”

The man gave both of you a dirty look and left. You breathed a sigh of relief, turning to thank your saviour, Felix. He was your best friend. It was as if the two of you completed each other. He was always sweet and caring to everyone he came across, so it was a bit of a shock to see him yell at the man. In your years of friendship you had never really heard anything like that.

Felix immediately turned to you and started explaining himself. “Hey, sorry about the whole boyfriend-girlfriend act. I just saw how uncomfortable he was making you and-“

“No no, it’s completely fine. Thank you so much.” you said with a smile of gratitude. 

“He didn’t..uh, hurt you..did you?”

He looked like he was ready to beat the man up if you gave him the word.

you quickly shook your head, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly he tensed up. 

“Crap, he’s looking at us.”

Felix quickly put his hand on your waist and plastered a smile of adoration on his face. 

Damn it. He looks so cute right now. Imagine if I was really his girlfriend. I could get that look everyday.

You told yourself to snap out of it. No WAY you were wishing to be his (real) girlfriend. 

Get a grip y/n. You’re just friends. 

But that stupidly adorable puppy dog look on his face is making it really hard for you to use common sense, despite you seeing it nearly every day when you hung out together.

What’s wrong with me?! 

You cleared your throat. “Hey…can you drive me home? I just don’t feel comfortable getting into an Uber alone with a stranger..” 

Felix nodded understandingly. “Do you wanna go right now?” he asked. You nodded, making a mental note to text the rest of your friends saying that you’re tired and going home. Felix led you outside to his car.

It smelled nice, clean, and had soft, warm lights lining the dashboard. He put your apartment address  into his GPS and started driving. The gentle rocking of the car slowly lulled you to sleep, until you were gently shaken awake. “Y/n, we’re here.” Felix softly said. “Oh, sorry. I must’ve dozed off..” you said, still half asleep. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll talk to you tomorrow!” You made your way out of the car and up the steps to the apartment you shared with your friend.

That’s when you remembered you didn’t have the key. So you knocked on the door and waited for your friend to open it.

You see, you had left your key in the apartment to prevent yourself from losing it at the bar. Your friend was supposed to let you in, but apparently they weren’t home because nobody came to answer.

Shit.

Nonono..

Felix rolled down the car window and craned his neck at you. “Is everything okay Y/n?”

Panic set in as you realized there wasn’t really any good solution to this. You walked back to the car, crouching down to be at eye-level. “I- [friend's name] was supposed to open the door and I don’t have the key. And now they’re not home and not answering their phone.” 

Felix laughed at you. “Oh, I see. You can stay at my place tonight if you want. I’m sure Han and Hyunjin will be happy to see you.” You contemplated it for a second. You did need somewhere to stay. It was dark out, and who knows what kind of people you’d come across if you opted to sit outside your apartment door waiting. But…you’d already made Felix drive you all the way to your apartment. “I promise it’s okay.” Felix reassures you. the dilemma you were having must’ve shown on your face. You gave in. “..Okay. Thanks Lix.” 

A little while later, you arrived at Felix’s apartment. He shared it with a few other friends in your guys’ circle: Hyunjin and Han. You’d always see them whenever you came over. When they first met you, they thought you were Felix’s girlfriend. You had to tell them about a million times that you were both just friends.

So why were you suddenly wishing you were more than that?

“Are you okay?” Felix asked.

You snapped out of your thoughts. “Yeah..just tired.”

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A while later you were ready to go to sleep, wearing one of Felix's t-shirts and his pajama bottoms. They were both way too big on you, but you needed something to wear to sleep.

“Okay, goodnight Lix. And thank you again for letting me stay at your place.” You gave an apologetic smile, which Felix returned. 

“You can take my bed and I’ll sleep on the couch. If you need another blanket it’s in the closet.” He said.

You blocked him from exiting his room. “Um, no way. I’ll sleep on the couch. You already are letting me stay over, it’s the least I could do.” 

Felix smiled. “Y/n, it’s fine. The couch is comfortable anyways!”

“Perfect, then I’ll go sleep on it.”

Felix leaned down to be at eye level with you, flashing you a smile that made you melt a little.

“You’re so stubborn, you know that?” 

“Thank you.” You said proudly.

Your faces were so close to each other, just inches away. You felt blush spreading like wildfire across your cheeks.

You dropped the pillow and blanket you were holding and suddenly your arms were hooked around his neck, your lips pressed against his. Your hands entangled in his hair, his planted on your waist. His tongue gently prying open your mouth, allowing you to taste him. You wrapped your legs around his abdomen, his arms supporting you and leading you to his nearby bed. You broke apart, breathing heavily. Felix adjusted himself so his back was resting on the wall, you straddling him. You decided to be bold and slip your hands up his shirt, feeling his toned body.

He gently pulled his face away from yours. “Wait, Y/n, I don't think we should do this.” Felix said in a strained voice. Your hands immediately retracted. Embarrassment seared your face.

Of course. 

He’s your best friend and nothing more. 

Why would you do that??

You swallowed thickly, getting off of the bed.

“Wait, I didn’t-“ Felix started, but you cut him off.

“No no, I understand. It’s fine, I promise. I’ll go sleep on the couch. Goodnight.” 

You grabbed the blanket and pillow that you’d discarded on the floor and exited his bedroom before he could say another word.

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Ah!

You sat up abruptly, breathing quickly. 

It was just a bad dream, it was just a bad dream.

Great. A nightmare on an already horrible night. 

You glanced out the window. It was still dark outside. 

Where even am I?

You started recalling the events of last night.

I left the bar, then I didn’t have the key, and then…

You looked around the room, remembering you were at Felix’s place. You nearly had a heart attack when you saw him sleeping right next to you on his bed. 

I fell asleep on the couch though?!

He must’ve carried you into his room.

You slowly got out of the bed, gently moving the sheets. Suddenly, you felt a hand grab your wrist. 

“Wait, stay with me..” Felix said in a quiet voice.

“Lix I-”

He gently tugged your arm back towards him. You got back into bed and he pulled you close, so that your back was to his chest.

“Is this okay?” Felix whispered.

You held his hand and snuggled closer in response.

A moment of silence passed.

“You know…about earlier,”

You winced at the embarrassing memory.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do that stuff, I just…I don't know. I didn’t want you to make a drunken decision, and I didn't want it to be something you regretted.”

You turned to face him.

“I wouldn’t have regretted it.” You whispered.

A small smile crept onto both of your faces.

“Really?”

…

“Really. I love you Felix, and part of me doesn’t mean in a friendship type of way.”

“Me too.” Felix whispered, lifting his hand to cup your cheek. It was warm, and comforting. He pulled you closer to him, planting a kiss on top of your head. You nestled into his chest, inhaling the fabric softener scent. 

“Goodnight Lix.”

“Goodnight Y/n.”

© angelicizedeve 2023

[genshinluvr]

Our Dear Creator

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader/Creator!Reader

Summary: The men are assigned to be at your side at all times and even though they are your most loyal followers, you consider them to be your friends and protectors. These men are not only devoted to you, but they will not hesitate to kill for you if they have to.

Note: The summary made the story feel like it's a yandere story, but it's not 100% yandere (or yandere in general tbh)! To be honest, I didn't really plan on writing another "SAGAU" fic, this idea just popped up in my head when I was daydreaming in school 💀 This is just like a mini-ish collection of the men dealing with the reader, their dearest creator. The reader isn't a weak creator (they do have bad eyesight though), the reader is just too nice in certain circumstances. I think that's the best way I can put it. Anyway! There's a new series (that is in the current ongoing Isekai'd!reader series) coming very soon! Anyway! I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: None that I know of other than it being religious-themed. There are some things hinted at but not fully mentioned in the story itself. Mentions of blood. Slight yandere theme? Tbh, it's nowhere near it, but I'm throwing it in just in case.

Word Count: 9.7k

Want to read another SAGAU fic? Read The Lonely God!

Ever since you arrived in Teyvat, everyone has been scrambling to try and meet you or be in your presence. Your arrival was sudden and unannounced, but it wasn’t unwelcome. Everyone was ecstatic to see you and have you present in their world. Because you’re widely worshipped throughout Teyvat by many, you’re more likely to be hounded by those who worshipped you and desperately wanted you to grant them a blessing or answer their prayers. For the sake of your safety, twenty-five men are tasked to be your protector while you reside in Teyvat.

“Uh, Your Grace, you’re going in the wrong direction,” Diluc chuckles.

You pause in your steps, turn to look at Diluc, and blink at the redhead owlishly. “Ah, I am? Also, please, Diluc. How many times do I have to tell you all to call me by my name and not my title?” You sigh.

A small smile appears on Dainsleif’s face. “Yes, Your Grace,” you give Dainsleif a dissatisfied look, which he ignores. “You’re walking in the wrong direction. The way to Mondstadt is in the other direction; you’re walking towards Liyue,” replies Dainsleif.

Your eyes widen, and you look over to the left, completely forgetting about Dainsleif calling you by your title rather than your name. If you squint your eyes and look very closely, you will be able to see the anemo statue of the seven from a distance. But unfortunately for you, you don’t have the best eyesight. It’s a bit ironic, isn’t it? An all-powerful god such as yourself has a terrible vision. You squint so hard your eyes nearly shut. Zhongli and Al Haitham sigh, pinching the bridge of their nose.

Al Haitham says, “Your Grace, I believe once we get back to the city, we should get your visions checked out,” Al Haitham says, crossing his arms over his chest.

You blink at Al Haitham. “Are you calling me blind?” You tease, poking Al Haitham lightly in the biceps. 

Al Haitham’s eyes widen, and he begins to stutter out a response, his cheeks flushing pink. You giggle and shake your head, quickly reassuring Al Haitham that you’re merely teasing him. Al Haitham sighs and looks away, his cheeks crimson red with embarrassment while Kaveh snickers beside Al Haitham, earning a glare from the Acting Grand Sage.

Kaveh takes a step toward you and holds his arm out for you to take. “Unlike these fools, I’ll lead you to Mondstadt, Your Grace!” Kaveh announces proudly.

You smile and link your arms around Kaveh’s arm. “Then lead the way, Kaveh! And please just call me [Y/N]. I understand you’re all used to calling me by my title, but I’ve insisted that all of you call me by my name many times already,” you sigh.

“I don’t know….” Xiao trails off, propping his hands on his hips and staring at you intently.

Aether interjects, “Is it not disrespectful for us to call you by your name? You’re our creator, and we all respect you very much.”

You give Aether a big smile and shake your head. The warm glow around you seems to brighten whenever you smile; the tiny sparkles and glitter in the warm light shine brightly, nearly blinding the men around you. The warm glow around you is what makes you stand out from the citizens of Teyvat, and it makes you recognizable and easy to spot from afar. The glow around you is like a mood meter of yours. The light will shine brightly when you’re beaming with happiness, and when you’re sad or in an awful mood, the light is dimmed, but it’s still there nonetheless. 

The sight of your smile and the warm glow around you brightening made Aether feel some type of way. He can’t pinpoint what it is exactly, but seeing your smile made him feel warm and soft on the inside, his cheeks turning bright pink.

“Calling me by my name isn’t disrespectful, Aether! I am giving you all permission to call me [Y/N]. But if you all want to continue to call me by my title, then I’m not going to stop you!” You said, shrugging your shoulders.

Tighnari holds his hands up. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you want us to call you by your name? We don’t mind calling you by your name. Still, we don’t want other people to question why we’re not calling you by your title,” Tighnari says, crossing his arms over his chest while looking at you curiously.

“Not only that, but people will call us disrespectful for not calling you by your title,” Cyno interjects. 

You smile at them sheepishly. You’re not entirely sure if they’d be okay with you wanting to form a friendship with you. Yes, you’re a god, and you created everything that exists in Teyvat. However, the events that took place in Teyvat thousands of years ago aren’t your doing. You created the people and the world. The things that happen in Teyvat aren’t your doing. Heck, you don’t control the weather either! Why did it feel like you had deja vu just a second ago? All these thoughts, these feelings of yearning for friendship and connection, feel all too familiar.

You hum thoughtfully. “Alright, well, you can all call me by my title when other people are around. When it’s just the twenty-six of us, you can either call me [Y/N] or Your Grace!” You said simply. You turn to Kaveh. “Anyway, let’s continue our walk to Mondstadt. Please lead the way, Kaveh,” you say.

The birds are chirping, and the sun is high in the sky, beaming down on you and the twenty-five men. If it weren’t for the cool breeze, you and the men would’ve been feeling your skin burning. Zhongli brought an umbrella with him earlier to shield you from the sun and its UV rays, but you felt bad the others weren’t going to be protected from the sun either. 

Zhongli sighs and looks around. “Are you sure you don’t want me to shield you from the sun?” Zhongli asks.

“I’m sure! As I said earlier, the others didn’t bring an umbrella. I don’t want to be the only one that is being protected from the sun and its UV rays,” you reply, looking over the bridge and at the ducks and swans swimming in the lake below.

Scaramouche scoffs to himself. “Who said we didn’t bring an umbrella with us?” Scaramouche asks.

Everyone pulls out an umbrella and holds it up to show you. You blink at the men and unlink your arms from Kaveh’s arm. Okay, so everyone has an umbrella, after all. But you know they won’t be using it for themselves; they’ll be fighting each other to see who will be the one to shield you from the sun with their umbrella.

“You know what? I don’t need to be shielded from the sun with an umbrella. I’ll be fine! Besides, we should arrive in Mondstadt soon anyway,” you say.

The men around you grumble under their breaths, watching you walk away from them after refusing to be shielded from the sun. They wanted to protect you from harm, and UV rays are harmful to the skin. You stifle your laughter and continue your walk while the men remain in their spots, waiting for you to realize you’re walking in the wrong direction.

Heizou runs after you and grabs your arm. “[Y/N], you’re walking in the wrong direction again! Our dear creator really does have terrible eyesight, huh?” Heizou teases. You sigh and let Heizou steer you in another direction toward the City of Freedom. 

You are their creator. Everyone in Teyvat adores you. It’s not a secret that everyone worships you and has a shrine of you in their homes or at a huge shrine in each region of Teyvat. Without you, Teyvat wouldn’t have existed, and the citizens of Teyvat wouldn’t be here, standing before you and your shrine, worshipping you. The men swear to protect you with their life; no matter what they’re tasked to do, they will do it if you ask them to.

“Um. Does anyone know where my glasses are?” You ask, holding your arms out in front of you to make sure you didn’t bump or run into anything or anyone. 

Kaeya chuckles and leans against the table. “Why are your glasses not on your face, Your Grace?” Kaeya asks, smirking while watching you feel around for your glasses. 

“I’m not used to wearing glasses,” you huff, continuing to blindly search for your glasses. “I could’ve sworn they were here somewhere— Ow!” You screeched, clutching onto your toe and groaning and hissing in pain.

Childe runs to you, pulling you in his arms and carrying you bridal style. “Snookums— I mean, Your Grace! Are you okay?” Childe asks, holding you close to his chest and walking to the couch to gently set you down.

You’re too engrossed in your stubbed toe that you don’t notice Childe’s slip-up. However, the men stop what they’re doing and look at Childe with their eyebrows raised. Their hands are either propped on their hips, or they cross their arms over their chests. Childe mouths a “what” at the men before turning to you, grabbing the foot you stubbed and massaging it.

You sigh and cover your face with your hand. “I am rendered useless without my glasses,” you sulk, resting your head on the couch cushions. “But to answer your question, Childe, I’m okay. My toe hurts, though,” you whisper.

You don’t wear glasses, and now you do! After arriving at Mondstadt, you had an eye exam, and needless to say, your vision is so bad you’re almost considered legally blind. Therefore, you now wear glasses, and you have lost those said glasses. You have been wandering around your abode, searching for your glasses, only to fail. You could’ve sworn you placed them on your nightstand, but when you went to fetch your glasses, they were nowhere to be seen. 

“I’ll be returning to my room now. Since I cannot find my glasses anywhere, I’m assuming they’re still somewhere in my room,” you sigh.

You remove your legs from Childe’s lap and get up from the couch. Kazuha quickly stops you by grabbing your arm and gazing at you with amusement. Of course, your vision is too blurry for you to make out the expression on Kazuha’s face. You squint at Kazuha, gazing at him quizzically. Well, technically, you look like you’re trying to look at the sun.

Kazuha grabs something from the collar of your outfit. You look at Kazuha’s hands, not seeing what he’s doing to the object in his hands. Kazuha tilts your head and places something on your face. You blink, and your vision becomes clear; you’re able to see clearly, thanks to Kazuha. Kazuha found your glasses, and he put them on your face for you.

“Your glasses were hanging on the collar of your clothes, [Y/N]. It seems you have put it there and forgot about it after,” Kazuha chuckles. 

Ayato chuckles and shakes his head. “It seems like our dear creator is quite forgetful,” Ayato says, taking a sip of his boba.

You giggle sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck. You’re not entirely a forgetful person, but because you have been occupied with visiting nation to nation, you forget about the little things. For example, leaving your glasses to hang on the collar of your shirt is one of them. You didn’t recall picking them up and folding them on your shirt collar. Maybe you need to rest and take a break from your duties as the creator of Teyvat. Starting now by going back to your bedroom and taking a much-needed nap. You’ve answered many prayers already, performed many blessings for the people of Teyvat, and spoken to those who have dropped by your shrine to worship you and drop off offerings to your shrine. 

“Your Grace, would you like for us to walk you back to your bedroom?” Baizhu asks, walking toward you and Kazuha.

You smile at Baizhu and shake your head. “Thank you for your offer, Baizhu, but since I have my glasses now, I won’t need any assistance to my bedroom,” you reply.

Venti giggles. “Besides! It’s not like [Y/N] is a senior citizen like block-head over here!” Venti pats Zhongli on the back roughly, making the former Geo archon put on a fake smile to mask his annoyance with the anemo archon.

You snort at Venti’s comment. “Oh, please. I am older than both you and Zhongli. After all, I’m older than Teyvat and the universe as a whole! Did that, perhaps, slip your mind, Barbatos?” You tease.

Venti blushes and looks away, the tips of his ears turning just as red as the apples of his cheeks. You have grown quite close with your loyal acolytes. Technically, even if they are your loyal acolytes, you consider them your friends rather than followers or worshippers, despite that is what they are before you arrive in Teyvat. You’re glad you’re able to form a close friendship with these men and not have it be awkward between the twenty-six of you. You’re grateful for the companionship, and you’re thankful for their assistance and willingness to protect you from harm. 

You walk upstairs to your bedroom after informing the men you’re going to your room to rest. When you arrive at your room, you take your glasses off and place them on the nightstand beside your bed. You lay on your bed and close your eyes, feeling yourself slowly drift off to sleep. Even though you’re a god and sleep isn’t necessary for you, you would take a nap and sleep as a way to rejuvenate. The days have been long and dragging for you since your arrival at Teyvat, but it’s something you’re not used to. You have been performing miracles and answering prayers day and night. But for some reason, when you arrive at Teyvat, you feel tired. Maybe it’s because you’re a part of their lives now, and you interact with the citizens of Teyvat almost every day because they will stop by at every chance you get. 

Fast forward to a week later, you informed the men (now your friends; you get giddy when you call them your friends) you wanted to explore Teyvat, and they raised their eyebrows at you. You stand in front of the twenty-five men, bouncing on the balls of your feet. Even though you’re the higher power and the creator of the universe, your asking them for permission to explore around Teyvat (a world you have built yourself with blood, sweat, and tears) was comical to you for some reason.

“I don’t think you need our permission for you to go out and explore Teyvat, Your Grace. You’re the one in charge here,” Albedo says, crossing his arms over his chest.

You laugh sheepishly and play with the tassel hanging from your lavish robe. “I know that, Albedo! But still! You’re all with me almost every hour of the day, and I wanted to ask if it’s okay with you guys if we go out and explore!” You say.

Gorou nods excitedly, his tail wagging fast behind him. “I wouldn’t mind going out and exploring Teyvat with you, [Y/N]! It’ll be fun, and you get to see the things you have created in Teyvat!” Gorou speaks up, smiling from ear to ear.

You giggle and clap your hands. “Great! I’m relieved you’re excited to go out and explore Teyvat with me! Perhaps be my guides while you’re all at it,” you say, reaching up and pinching Gorou’s cheek without thinking.

Feeling your gentle touch on his cheek, your skin against his skin, nearly made Gorou faint. Gorou’s cheeks heat up, the apples of his cheeks turn bright pink, and his tail wags even faster than it already was. You let your hands fall to your sides and turn to look at the men, who quickly act like they weren’t glaring daggers at Gorou not too long ago.

Itto takes a step toward you and throws his arm around your shoulder, pulling you toward his chest. “Well, if that is what our dear creator wants, then that is what they will get!” Itto announces, patting your head with his other hand.

“Great! Let’s get going now!” You say, getting out of Itto’s grasp and walking to the door to put your shoes on.

Thoma blinks at you and laughs nervously. “Uh, now? I thought we would be going tomorrow or maybe the day after tomorrow!” says Thoma, gazing at you curiously while tilting his head to the side. 

You turn to look at the clock on the wall. It’s only ten in the morning. It’s not too early, nor is it too late to go out and explore Teyvat! Plus, it's not like you’ll be dragging everyone to the corners of Teyvat. You want to explore one region first, then explore the following six regions after.

Pierro crosses his arms over his chest. “Do you have a region in mind if we’re going to take you around Teyvat to explore?” Pierro asks, raising an eyebrow at you.

Before you can answer, Pantalone quickly interjects, “We will be exploring the cities and villages. Ruins are out of the exploration options, Your Grace.” 

You nod. “Alright, deal! We will not be exploring the ruins, only the cities and villages!” You say. Then something dawns on you. “Wait, what if I want to explore the forests or the mountains?” You ask, propping your hands on your hips as you slip your shoes on your feet.

Dottore raises his eyebrows at you, but you don’t notice it because he’s wearing a mask. Dottore sighs and looks at the men around him. You’re a divine being, and yet you wanted to test to see whether you can withstand the sheer cold or not? You might as well visit Snezhnaya instead of Dragonspine if that area is an option in your exploration.

“Your Grace, I don’t think we should go to the forest to explore. While there are many of us, it’s easy to get lost in the forest,” Dottore says, frowning at you.

You purse your lips and point at Tighnari. “We have a forest ranger with us, Dottore! I’m sure he can guide us all in the forest of Sumeru without any of us getting lost!” You say, smiling widely.

You trot over to where Tighnari stands and loop your arms around his with a big smile. Tighnari blushes and nods in agreement while trying to keep a blank expression on his face. If you look closely, you can see the faint tint of pink on his cheeks. Since he doesn’t have human ears, Tighnari doesn’t have to worry about his ears being the same shade as his cheeks.

Capitano sighs and rubs his temples through his helmet. “If we explore the forest in Sumeru, please try not to wander off or get lost. We don’t want you to get lost in the forest,” Capitano says.

“Hehe, no need to worry about me getting lost, Capitano! If I do get lost, I’m sure all of you will be able to find me in no time!” You say.

You all immediately set out to explore the forest in Sumeru. To be more specific, the forest you’re all exploring is the Avidya Forest! It’s beautiful, and it’s enormous! You never cease to amaze yourself with the things you have created. You created so many things it’s hard to keep up with the things you have made and what randomly sprung into existence. 

“What do you think of the Avidya Forest so far, Your Grace?” Heizou asks, walking beside you.

You look at the surrounding trees in awe. “It’s beautiful! The temperatures here are quite nice as well. It’s not hot, and there’s plenty of shade that’ll shield us from the sun!” You say. You turn to look at Heizou and nudge him lightly. “And please call me [Y/N]! I know you’re all used to calling me by my title, but we’re all friends here! I’m not going to smite anyone for calling me by my name,” you say, reaching out and letting your fingers brush against the moss-covered trees.

Baizhu and Tighnari rush to your side. “Your Grace— I mean, [Y/N], you’re not allergic to anything, are you?” Tighnari asks, gently pulling your hands away from the trees. 

You blink at the forest ranger and shake your head slowly. “I’m sure I’m not allergic to the things I’ve created, Tighnari! I’m sure moss won’t pose a danger to me,” you say.

“[Y/N] is also a god, and I’m sure it’s rare for a god to get sick,” Thoma comments.

You and the men progress on your exploration in the Avidya Forest. It’s quiet between all of you. Not one person speaks aside from Tighnari. Tighnari leads the group through the thick forest, pointing at the interesting things you all come across during your exploration. Cyno decides to be the first one in the group (aside from Tighnari) to break the silence.

“What would a stand-up comedy team call itself in Sumeru?” Cyno asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

Tighnari drags out his sigh. Tighnari rubs his temples and shakes his head. “Oh, no. Don’t start now, Cyno,” Tighnari pleads, closing his eyes. 

You tilt your head to the side. “I don’t know, Cyno. What is it?” You ask.

A small smile appears on Cyno’s face, and he says, “The AHAdemiya.”

Almost immediately, everyone around Cyno gives Cyno an unamused look. You snort and shake your head. You’re still unfamiliar with each man in the group, but the joke Cyno cracked just a few seconds ago is a huge contrast to his exterior. 

Al Haitham rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. “Are you going to continue to crack jokes while we’re exploring the Avidya Forest for [Y/N]?” Al Haitham asks.

Kaveh huffs, propping his hands on his hips. “In all honesty, I would rather listen to Cyno crack his jokes for hours rather than listen to you complain about the littlest things,” Kaveh interjects, shooting a glare over in Al Haitham’s direction.

Albedo raises his hand. “Personally, I like Cyno’s jokes. I think they’re funny,” Albedo says nonchalantly.

Scaramouche raises his eyebrows at Albedo. “You do?” Scaramouche asks, finding it hard to believe that the Chief Alchemist enjoys jokes as horrible as the ones Cyno told. 

You laugh nervously and rub your arms, unsure of how to react to the men bickering with each other. You turn to look at the other men, only to see Kaeya and Diluc arguing with each other. Through the sound of endless chatter, you made out the words “stepped” and “shoes.” You assumed Kaeya stepped on Diluc’s shoes while it was wet from walking through a pond. Then there’s Itto and Childe, getting ready to hit each other with a tree branch. You’re just relieved that they don’t have their weapons drawn out. It would’ve ended badly, and you’re not looking forward to parenting two adults.

“Can you two not fight right now?” Zhongli sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Especially in front of our dear creator,” Zhongli adds under his breath.

Childe huffs and pulls the sleeves up to his elbows. “Oh, lighten up, Mister Zhongli! I’m just here to teach this Oni a lesson about who’s the strongest and is capable of protecting [Y/N] without needing any assistance!” 

Itto chortles and tightens his grip on the tree branch in his grasp. “You being a Harbinger does not mean you’re automatically stronger than the rest of us! Get off your high horse unless you want me to knock you off of it,” Itto proclaims, pointing the tree branch at Childe dramatically.

Just when you’re about to intervene and grab everyone’s attention, you see something move from your peripheral vision. You didn’t know what moved from the corner of your eyes, but you’re curious and tempted to see what the movement was. Since the men are too engrossed in their arguments, you decide to follow after the movement. 

It’s not like the men are going to continue the exploration of the Avidya Forest without you! Plus, you’re only going to check and see what was moving. Once you get a glimpse of the moving object, being, or creature, you’ll head back to where the other men are at. Sounds easy enough, no? Wrong. You were wrong because the minute your eyes landed on the thing that was moving in the corner of your eyes, you found yourself sitting on the ground in the middle of the forest, occupied by the creature that was waddling away. 

“Let’s just continue our exploration of the Avidya Forest! Seeing you all bicker in front of [Y/N] is humiliating, and I’m getting secondhand embarrassment,” Aether says, crossing his arms over his torso and glaring at the men around him.

Venti nods. “I agree! We all came out here to protect and guide [Y/N] while they see more of their creations in person. Instead, we’re arguing instead of doing what we were supposed to do!” Venti says, closing his eyes while rubbing his temples and shaking his head.

Baizhu interjects, “Let’s complete what’s left of the exploration and get something to eat. We’ve been in the Avidya Forest for a few hours now, and I believe [Y/N] might be getting hungry.”

“What do you think, Your Grace? How about we finish the exploration and get something to eat after?” Ayato sighs and turns to where you were standing a few moments ago. 

Ayato and the other men freeze when they don’t see you standing in the spot you were at moments ago. Gorou and Tighnari have their ears perked up, listening to every sound very closely to see if it was you in any way. Alas, they did not hear you at all. There’s no sound of your voice, your laughter, your sigh, etc.— nothing at all.

Gorou runs his fingers through his hair. “Great! We lost [Y/N], and we have no idea where they could possibly be! We’re doomed, we’re doomed,” Gorou panics, pacing back and forth. 

You couldn’t have wandered off somewhere far; it had only been a few minutes since you had up and left to who knows where. They have thought about splitting into groups to make it quicker to search for you, but some men objected to splitting up and searching for you in groups.

Kazuha scans the area with his red eyes. “The last time Childe, Itto, and Zhongli saw [Y/N] was a few minutes ago. They shouldn’t have strayed too far from the group,” Kazuha murmurs, closing his eyes and feeling the cool breeze against his skin.

“Keep in mind that [Y/N] has a glow around them. Perhaps that will make the search a little bit easier when we’re looking for them,” Kaeya suggests.

Diluc sighs and pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue, the feeling of frustration starting to set in when he couldn’t find you. How can he be so careless? Diluc was so occupied with arguing with Kaeya that he didn’t realize you had wandered off somewhere. And now look at where they’re at now. Searching for the divine being somewhere in the Avidya Forest.

Diluc presses his lips into a thin line. “I hope they’re okay and unharmed. I understand that it’s been a few minutes since they have wandered off, but I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault,” Diluc sighs.

Xiao scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Don’t blame yourself. You’re not the only one that didn’t keep your eyes on our creator. We were all distracted and didn’t keep a close eye on [Y/N],” Xiao says, letting out a frustrated sigh and running his gloved hands through his hair.

“Xiao’s right. It’s not your fault for [Y/N]’s sudden disappearance. None of us were keeping a keen eye out for them. Therefore, let’s not blame ourselves for [Y/N]’s disappearance,” Dainsleif interjects, dragging out his sigh.

The men immediately start searching around the Avidya Forest for you, searching behind the trees, bushes, and shrubbery. It’s possible that you could be playing a prank on them or testing their skills on their people-searching skills— well, in this case, god-searching skills. The more they look around, the more they become frustrated after not being able to find you in the areas they’re searching about.

“Any luck?” Pantalone calls out.

Pierro sighs and furrows his eyebrows. “Unfortunately, there’s no luck on my end,” Pierro replies.

Dottore pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out a sharp exhale. “We’ve searched the vicinity. Where could they be?” Dottore asks, gnawing on his bottom lip.

“Are we certain they weren’t taken by Eremites or Treasure hoarders?” Capitano asks, his eyes scanning each person underneath his helmet.

Tighnari and Gorou shake their heads automatically after hearing Capitano’s question. The chances of you being kidnapped by treasure hoarders and eremites are highly unlikely. For starters, Tighnari and Gorou would’ve heard them coming from miles away because of how good their hearings were. Second of all, if you were kidnapped by the two groups mentioned, everyone would’ve heard you struggle and scream.

Gorou sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. “We would’ve known they had taken [Y/N] if they did. We would’ve heard them, and they would’ve made themselves known,” Gorou says, trying to keep his voice calm.

“Then where could they be? We searched around for them, and we couldn’t find our dear creator!” Kaveh exclaims, running his hands through his hair.

Before Al Haitham could interject, Tighnari and Gorou froze in their spots. Everyone gives the two men a quizzical look. Tighnari presses his index finger against his lips and gestures for the others to follow him. Tighnari leads the men to the small cave that is well hidden behind the veils of vines. The men cram into the cave and stop when they see the sight in front of them. There, sitting in the center of the cave, is their dearest creator, watching a floating dendro fungus twirl around and bounce in the air happily.

Al Haitham sighs in relief. “Your Grace, you’re safe,” Al Haitham speaks up, startling you and the floating dendro fungus.

You look at the men and wave at them happily, getting up from the ground and brushing dirt off your clothes. You didn’t look hurt, nor did you look scared of the floating dendro fungus in front of you. Speaking of floating dendro fungus, the men notice the creature shrinking back in fear and hiding behind you when you stand up. The floating dendro fungus peeks from behind your legs when you smile at the men after making sure to dust the dirt and grass off your clothes.

You rub the back of your neck sheepishly. “Ah, I assumed I was gone for too long,” you say.

“[Y/N], we were looking everywhere for you! You gave us a scare, Your Grace!” Heizou whines, hunching over with a dramatic sigh.

You give the men a sympathetic smile and approach them with the floating dendro fungus following close behind. You pull Heizou into a hug and sigh, rubbing the young detective of the Tenryou Commission’s back. Heizou freezes up in your arms for a second before melting in your arms, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his cheek on your head.

You close your eyes and sigh. “I’m sorry for making you all worry. I should’ve said something before wandering off,” you murmur.

“Uh! I think you shouldn’t be wandering off in general! I get that little fungus little guy is cute, but he is dangerous and will kill you if he gets the chance to!” Itto interjects dramatically, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the floating dendro fungus behind you.

You pull away from the hug and pout at Itto, petting the floating dendro fungus behind you without taking your eyes off the twenty-five men in front of you. The floating dendro fungus squeaks happily and leans into your touch.

“He didn’t hurt me! He’s the sweetest!” You say.

You turn around, pick up the floating dendro fungus and hug the fungus to your chest. You pet the fungus before holding it out toward the men, some flinching away from the adorable creature and taking a step back.

You smile sheepishly. “Can we keep it?” 

Scaramouche scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Absolutely not,” Scaramouche says.

Ayato sighs and analyzes the fungus in your grasp. The fungus stares back at Ayato, blinking at the Kamisato heir owlishly. “It’s adorable, but you know they harm the people of Teyvat, [Y/N]. It may not have hurt you, but it can hurt other people around you and us,” Ayato gently explains.

You visibly deflate, letting out a tiny “oh,” before putting the floating dendro fungus back on the ground. The floating dendro fungus squeaks sadly, rubbing up against your leg. You pout and let out a few sniffles. You kneel in front of the floating dendro fungus, saying a few words of comfort and encouragement before watching it scurry out of the cave.

Aether clears his throat awkwardly. “So, do you want to continue to explore the Avidya Forest, or do you want to return to the abode?” Aether asks, scratching his right arm while waiting for you to reply.

You pucker your lips and think for a second. “Do you guys think we can order something and bring it back to the abode?” You ask, stroking your chin. “It’s been a while since I’ve had something cooked in a restaurant.”

Thoma raises his eyebrows at you. “What do you mean? Since you arrived in Teyvat, you’ve always had food cooked for you at the abode and when you’re having dinner with the leaders and archons of that nation,” Thoma says, crossing his arms over his chest.

You give Thoma a smile. “Whenever I’m bored, sometimes I would sneak into Teyvat and get something to eat. This isn’t my first time visiting Teyvat. It’s my first time exploring Teyvat out in the open without having to wear a disguise,” you reply.

Venti stares at you with his mouth agape. “You’ve visited Teyvat before?” Venti whispers.

Xiao rolls his eyes. “[Y/N] said that not too long ago, Venti. You’re just repeating their comment back to them,” Xiao mutters.

“I’ll explain everything over lunch. I’m starting to get hungry,” you say, putting both your hands over your stomach and feeling it rumble.

While you and the men are walking in Sumeru City, Cyno decides to break the silence.

“What did the mushroom say to the other mushrooms that all grew together and away from him?” Cyno asks casually, his eyes scanning the lively city.

Venti hum and taps his chin, trying to think of an answer. “I don’t know, Cyno! What is it?” Venti asks, looking at the Mahamatra curiously.

A small smile appears on his face. “Hey, let me join you guys. I swear I'm a fungi!”

The men around you let out a collective groan and give the Mahamatra a side-eye. You snort and shake your head. While the twenty-three men are groaning and rolling their eyes at Cyno’s jokes, Albedo cracks a smile and shakes his head, laughing under his breath while searching for a place for you all to eat.

Ever since that day, when you and the twenty-five men go out and explore, they made sure to keep their eyes on you in case you wander off like last time. Luckily, you didn’t wander off and stray away from the group during the explorations. You knew the men were protective of you. Still, you never knew how crazy protective they are of you until this one specific incident happened.

It’s a known fact that everyone in Teyvat worships you. Everyone, even the archons from the respective seven nations, worships you. When you have worshippers, there are those who casually worship you, there are people who are very devoted to you, and some devotees take it to the extreme and make things incredibly uncomfortable for you. 

You and your friends, who are also your bodyguards, and most loyal acolytes, are walking to your nearest shrine in Inazuma. It’s a beautiful day out in Inazuma, and you want to take a stroll around the City of Eternity to admire the view and feel the nice cool breeze under the sun. Of course, since it’s a stroll under the sun, the men brought their umbrellas to shield you from the heat and the UV rays. Though you insist they use their umbrellas to cover themselves from the sun while you share an umbrella with Capitano because he is the one that’s guiding you to the shrine.

“It’s hot out today, isn’t it? It’s a good thing it’s a bit windy today, or else we would all melt because of the heat,” you say, sighing with contentment when you feel the cool breeze on your warm skin.

Baizhu nods. “Indeed it is. I was quite surprised when you said you wanted all of us to take a stroll to your shrine when we could teleport there instead,” says Baizhu.

“Perhaps it was a mistake, but you know what? It’s fine, and on the bright side, we’re almost to the shrine!” You say, wrapping your arms around Capitano’s biceps as he walks beside you.

The men have positions where they let you hold their arm while you’re out in Teyvat. While there’s no need for them to do that, they insist on doing it anyway because it’s to make sure you don’t trip or stumble on a pebble or uneven pavement when out of the abode. This position was established when you didn’t have glasses, but it remained after you got prescriptions. You think it’s kind of them to care about your safety! What you didn’t know is the reason why the arm-holding position remained is that these men wanted you to touch them. Not in an obscene way, but they like being close to you, and seeing you touch them, link your arms with theirs, hug them, etc., makes them crave for more of your touch.

“What are we going to be doing after we visit the shrine?” Kazuha asks, watching the sakura blooms fly and dance in the air.

You hum softly. “Ei invited us to have lunch with her, Kujou Sara, and Yae Miko at the Tenshukaku! How could I turn down an invite?” You say, turning to look at the men.

You hear Scaramouche make an audible “ugh” as he crosses his arms over his chest with his face pinching up with disgust and annoyance. Then there’s Itto, his face scrunching up at the mention of Kujou Sara. Gorou, on the other hand, looks anxious. His pupils are dilated, and his ears are pulled back while smiling at you nervously. Poor Gorou looks like he’s about to pass out at any moment. It seems like these three men aren’t fond of the women you mentioned. You blink at Itto, Scaramouche, and Gorou and turn to look at the others, who shrug in response. 

Albedo clears his throat. “Is it just a lunch, or did the Raiden Shogun invite you for a meeting and then lunch after?” Albedo asks.

“I believe it’s just lunch! She didn’t mention anything about a meeting,” you reply.

When you and the twenty-five men arrive at the shrine dedicated to you in Inazuma, the shine is bigger than you remember. There is an enormous marble statue of you, cradling Teyvat in your hands with your eyes closed while sitting on the cement block. In front of the statue are offerings made to you. From flowers to food, Mora, alcohol, and many more things you could barely make out. 

“What’s that?” Diluc asks, reaching for the pink envelope that is decorated with heart and flower stickers.

Kaeya takes the envelope from Diluc’s hands, ignoring the glare the redhead shot in his direction. Kaeya is about to open the envelope, but he stops himself. Kaeya walks over to where you’re standing and hands you the letter. You look at Kaeya curiously, grab the pink envelope from Kaeya’s hands and begin to open the envelope with care. 

“I was going to have a look at it, but it wouldn’t be right for me to open a letter that is written for our dear creator,” says Kaeya, giving you a charming smile.

You smile at Kaeya and continue to open the envelope. “How generous of you, Kaeya,” you say.

Everyone, including yourself, assumed there was a prayer written in the envelope. The twenty-five men back up to give you some privacy to read the letter once you pull out a pink piece of paper. Your eyes skim the letter, and your facial expression quickly morphs from curious to horrified. A paper falls from the envelope, landing on the ground in front of you.

“Oh? What’s this?” Albedo asks, picking the paper off the ground and flipping it over.

The men crowd around Albedo to look at the paper in Albedo’s grasp. You cover your mouth with your left hand and crush the letter in the other. The men all equally let out gasps and quickly looked away from the scandalous image. You let out a shaky breath, giving the men a fake smile.

“You know, I knew I have devoted worshippers, but this person takes it to the next level,” you say, letting your balled-up fist fall at your side. “Judging by your reactions, I don’t even want to look at whatever you all have witnessed.”

Pantalone shakes his head. “You don’t want to see it, Your Grace. For the sake of your sanity, it’s best you never glance at that picture,” Pantalone says.

“I know we arrived at the shrine not too long ago, but I think it's best we leave the shrine to inform the Raiden Shogun of this situation,” Pierro says gruffly.

You press your lips into a thin line and nod. You and the men are about to leave the shrine when all twenty-six of you hear rapid footsteps approaching the shrine. Diluc snatches the letter from the ground along with the paper from Albedo’s grasp and burns it. You watch the letter and paper disintegrate into ashes, pieces of the paper and letter fluttering to the ground.

The footsteps get louder and louder, and before you all know it, the owner of those footsteps stops a few feet away from where you and the men are standing. The owner of the footsteps lets out a loud yet strained gasp, grabbing everyone’s attention. 

“Oh my gosh! Your Grace! You’re really here!” A man whispers, covering his mouth with his shaky hands in awe.

You smile at the man. “Indeed, I am! I was stopping by the shrine to check on its condition,” you say. 

The man looks starstruck, his entire being trembling with excitement and anxiousness. You and the men trade looks with each other, unsure of what else to say other than act polite. This man could be stopping by the shrine to pay his respects, but given the look in his eyes, the feeling of dread looms over you. The man rushes toward you, but Capitano and Pierro immediately block him from getting toward you while the other men surround you in a large yet tight circle. 

“You dare to get close to our creator?” Dottore demands, glaring at the man behind his mask.

The Inazuman man glares at Dottore with pure hatred. “I am our creator’s most devoted follower! How dare you try to get in between them and me!” The Inazuman man exclaims.

You squeeze your hand around the pink envelope, crushing it in your grasp. The envelope crinkling under your grip grabs the man’s attention. His eyes fall on your hands, his eyes widen, and he looks at you in shock and in awe. The Inazuman man seems almost giddy. 

The man whispers, “You’ve read my letter, Your Grace? A-And you’ve seen the….”

Childe’s expression sours, his hands itching to draw out his weapon. “You’re the one that wrote that letter and sent that picture?” Childe demands, his hands trembling with anger.

You look at Childe quizzically. “What was the picture?” You whisper.

Dainsleif shakes his head. “It’s best you don’t know, Your Grace. You will be revolted if you were to know what the picture contained,” Dainsleif says, looking at the Inazuman man with disgust.

Realization dawns on the Inazuman man; the look of horror and rage flashes across his face. His face pinches up with anger, his lips scrunch in a thin line, and his eyebrows are knitted together. The Inazuman man points at the men surrounding you.

“How dare you all look at the letter and picture I sent to my creator! It’s an invasion of my privacy, and you not only disrespected me, but you disrespected my dearest creator!” The Inazuman man bellows. 

Zhongli’s eyes begin to glow ominously as he approaches the angry Inazuman man. Zhongli grabs the man by the collar of his shirt and yanks him forward. The two men are now face to face; the Inazuman man’s feet are dangling off the floor.

“You are the one that sent our creator an obscene image. You are the one that disrespected our creator but have the audacity to be upset?!” Zhongli hisses, tightening his grip around the man’s shirt collar.

The Inazuman man thrashes in Zhongli’s grasp and starts hurling profanities at the former Geo archon. You sigh and rub your throbbing temples, closing your eyes. Today was supposed to be an easygoing day. Yet, someone like this Inazuman man is making it hard for you all to have a relaxing day at the shrine before having lunch with Ei, Yae Miko, and Kujou Sara. 

You step forward and tap Zhongli’s shoulders, grabbing the funeral consultant’s attention. “Release him. We’ll inform the Raiden Shogun about the situation, and she, or Kujou Sara, will handle the situation,” you say.

Aether huffs, glaring at the black-haired Inazuman man after Zhongli releases the man from his grasp. “I think we should go to the authorities first to report this situation before heading to the Tenshukaku for lunch,” Aether mutters.

Heizou nods. “I agree! How about you all go to Tenshukaku while I file a report. In the meantime, I will take this man to the Tenryou Commission,” Heizou says, approaching the Inazuman man and slapping handcuffs on the man’s wrists.

You nod and cross your arms over your chest. “I would hate for it to turn out this way, but it seems like we have no other choice,” you murmur. You turn to Heizou and place your hand on his shoulder. “Please try to return to me as fast as possible,” you say.

Heizou’s eyes widen with surprise, and he nods, trying to act like your words had no impact on him at all. Heizou grabs the man and pulls him out of the shrine, with a few men (Childe, Zhongli, Al Haitham, Pierro, Capitano, Xiao, Ayato, and Diluc) following him. After they left, Thoma volunteered to be the one to take you to the Tenshukaku.

Here you are, sitting across from Ei, Yae Miko, and Kujou Sara. You have a porcelain teacup in your hands, lightly tapping your fingers on the cup nervously. The men stands close behind your seat, eyes scanning the Tenshukaku. Ei raises her eyebrows at the men behind you before turning to look at you.

“Your Grace?” Ei asks softly.

You pull your eyes away from your teacup and make eye contact with the electro archon. Ei smiles at you worriedly and places her cup down on the saucer.

“Yes, Ei?” You murmur.

Ei gazes at you intently, leaning back in her seat and crossing her right leg over her left leg. The electro archon studies you for a moment, not saying anything. You look skittish and frazzled, and it worries the three women sitting across from you.

Yae Miko clears her throat. “Are you alright? If you’re not feeling well, we can always have lunch next time,” says Yae Miko.

You shake your head. “No, no! I’m feeling alright! I…” you trail off, taking in a deep breath. 

You turn to look at the men behind you. They all stare back at you worriedly, unsure whether they should speak on your behalf or not.

You clear your throat. “You may have noticed that some of my protectors are not present with us at the moment. That is because they have some businesses to deal with,” you say, tracing the small intricate designs on the teacup with your index finger.

Kujou Sara sits up straight. “Did something happen, Your Grace?” Kujou Sara asks stiffly, her eyebrows furrowing.

The doors to the Tenshukaku open, and the nine men walk into the building. A wave of relief washes over you. You let out a long exhale and get up from your seat. You walk toward the nine men, with the other men following behind. You stop in your tracks when you see blood splatters on the men’s clothes and their faces.

You point at them. “Why is there blood on your clothes?” You ask.

Childe smiles at you and pulls you to his chest, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and resting his cheek on your head while sighing with contentment. “You won’t have to worry about him anymore, Your Grace. We made sure he won’t be bothering you anymore,” Childe says, pulling away from the hug.

Tighnari looks at Childe skeptically. “You guys didn’t kill him, did you?” Tighnari asks cautiously.

“Of course not! We taught him a lesson first before turning him to the Tenryou Commissions,” Al Haitham replies, crossing his arms over his chest while scratching the dried blood off his right shoulder.

Yae Miko raises her eyebrows and stands by your side with Ei and Kujou Sara. “He? Tenryou Commission? Did something happen on your way to the Tenshukaku?” Asked Yae Miko. She crosses her arms over her chest and taps her bicep with her perfectly manicured fingers.

Gorou laughs nervously and turns to look at you. You nod, signaling for Gorou to explain to the three women what had happened before your arrival at the Tenshukaku. Before Gorou could explain the situation, Ei raised her hand to stop Gorou.

Ei gestures to the table where you all were before the nine men arrived at the Tenshukaku. “Let’s talk over lunch. You haven’t touched your food since your arrival,” Ei says.

You nod and follow after the electro archon with the men following close behind you. You sit in your seat and reach for the chopsticks, stirring your noodles and sighing. Ei looks at Gorou and gestures for Gorou to start explaining what had happened on your way to your shrine before going to the Tenshukaku to meet up with the three women for lunch. After explaining what happened to Kujou Sara, Ei, and Yae Miko, Ei shakes her head with distaste.

“I will head over to the Tenryou Commission right now to deal with him,” Kujou Sara declares, her hands clenching into tight fists at her sides.

Diluc shakes his head. “There’s no need to do that. We have already taken care of him,” Diluc says.

Yae Miko looks at Diluc with amusement. “Oh? And what are you implying?” She asks, leaning back in her seat and raising her eyebrows at the redhead wine tycoon standing behind you.

Pierro huffs behind you, glaring at the kitsune sitting across from you. “That is none of your concern. We have handled this situation already,” the first Harbinger interjects, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ei narrows her eyes at Pierro and sighs. Ei looks at you, who’s too busy eating the noodles in front of you while trying to drown out the conversation around you. Ei gets up from her seat and walks around the table, kneeling before you. You’re pulled from your thoughts when the electro archon places a gentle hand over yours.

Ei says in a soft tone, “Your Grace, I understand your,” she looks over at the group of men behind you, “bodyguards are here to protect you and can handle the situation, but this happened in my nation. As the ruler and archon of Inazuma, please, let me handle it,” Ei pleads.

Capitano sighs and points his thumb over in Heizou’s direction. “If you want to talk about the situation, you must go to Shikanoin Heizou for information. After all, he is the one that turned this Inazuman man to the Tenryou Commission,” Capitano says.

Heizou nods his head stiffly. Ei looks at the men, then at you before sighing quietly. She nods and stands, walking back to her seat and sitting between Yae Miko and Kujou Sara. Lunch proceeded, and the tension wasn’t at an all-time high like how you would expect it to be after Gorou explained to the three women what had happened. 

By the time lunch ended, you were drained and ready to go home and relax. You bid the three women goodbyes before leaving the Tenshukaku. Before leaving the Tenshukaku, Kujou Sara quickly informs Heizou that she will need to see him and the other men for information on the strange Inazuman man the next day. 

“How are you feeling, [Y/N]? It’s been a long day for you, and you had to deal with someone as atrocious as that Inazuman man,” Ayato says, guiding you into the estate.

You give Ayato a small smile, rest your head on his arms, and close your eyes. “I’m feeling drained, Ayato. I need to relax in the bathhouse to get my mind off what happened today and what the letter contained,” you shivered.

“We’ll get the bathhouse and hotspring ready for you,” Thoma says, dragging Itto and the other men with him.

Itto’s eyes widen. “What?! I wanted to stay with [Y/N]!” Itto protests, groaning loudly while letting Thoma drag him away from you.

While you’re getting ready to go to the bathhouse in your bedroom, the men are downstairs, speaking to Heizou and the other eight men that went with him to the Tenryou Commission. Gorou sits on the armrest of the couch, his arms crossed over his midriff. 

“You nine are covered in blood. Did you guys kill that lunatic?” Kaveh asks, raising his eyebrows at the nine men that stand before him and the others. 

Xiao shakes his head. “We didn’t kill him, but we did teach him a lesson and made sure he wouldn’t do such a thing ever again,” replies Xiao. 

“Why didn’t you kill him? If we don’t get rid of him, he will continue what he’s been doing if he recovers,” Dottore huffs, rolling his eyes underneath his mask.

Dainsleif frowns at Dottore and pinches the bridge of his nose. “If we got rid of him, then [Y/N] will know. We only kept him alive so he could rot in prison for his crimes. People like him don’t deserve an easy way out of their crimes,” Dainsleif interjects. 

The men fall silent when they hear your bedroom door open. You trot down the stairs and tighten the robe's rope, giving the men a small smile. You look exhausted, but the warm glow and tiny sparkles around you don’t dim. Despite being in your presence every day, you never cease to make them feel breathless with your presence and warm smile.

Baizhu quickly approaches you. “How are you feeling, [Y/N]? You won’t be at the bathhouse for too long now, are you?” Baizhu asks, looking at you worriedly.

“I’m feeling a little bit better! I think relaxing in the bathhouse for an hour would make me feel better. Thank you for asking!” You reply, wrapping your arms around yourself.

Kaeya raises his hand. “Would you be okay with us standing outside the bathhouse to make sure no one sneaks in while you’re taking a dip in the hotspring?” Kaeya asks.

You shake your head. “I don’t mind!” you say, walking toward the door and slipping your sandals on. “Besides, I feel safe with all of you. None of you have posed a threat to me, nor have any of you made me feel uncomfortable,” you said, turning to look at the men with a faint smile on your face.

Gorou looks at you with stars in his eyes. “You feel safe with us?” Gorou whispers, his tail wagging behind him.

“Of course I do! You all kept me safe while I was in Teyvat. You all guided me to places I needed to go when I didn’t have glasses. You all made sure to protect me from the people who are my most devoted follower,” you say shyly. 

Scaramouche clears his throat, looks away, and crosses his arms over his chest with a huff of breath. “Of course, we’ll protect you! What kind of protectors and friends would we be if we didn’t protect you at all costs?” Scaramoche asks, his cheeks turning crimson red. 

Kazuha approaches you, gently grabs your hand, and presses a kiss on your knuckles. “We will always protect our dearest creator,” Kazuha says softly. 

The men nod, approaching you and stopping near you and Kazuha. 

“We are devoted to you, and we’ll do anything to protect our dear creator,” Albedo adds.

Pantalone adds, “Even if it means we have to kill someone to protect you. We’ll make sure that no one touches a single hair on your head, Your Grace.”

The men collectively bow to you with their right hand over their chest, catching you off guard. You’re very well aware of their dedication and loyalty to you, and you appreciate them very much. There’s not a time when you wish you were alone and could walk around Teyvat on your own. Their presence, friendship, and guidance mean everything to you, and you’re truly grateful for each of them. You’re grateful for them just as much as they are grateful for you, their dear creator.

Note: I kind of want to make a new Isekai'd!Reader series, except it's a chaptered fic rather than a collection of one-shots like the current ongoing Isekai'd!Reader series. But instead of posting the entire chapters on Tumblr, I'll be posting one chapter/preview on Tumblr and the rest of the story will be on AO3, but I'm not entirely sure. I'm still thinking about it. It's just a floating thought in my head, idk when I'll make it a thing. Anyway, I will be making my AO3 fics available for nonregistered users to view today (once I have updated). It's been almost two months, I think? To my new and/or returning readers, please keep in mind that I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Taglist for my Isekai'd!Reader one-shot series and my overall taglist: @xyji, @chirikoheina, @yoru-trash, @kaoyamamegami, @kwelibeeery, @deartoru, @luminarymoonlight, @toobytub, @ins4nebish, @bokuto-kinnie, @honeybedo, @exhaustedcommunist, @jadedist, @mompt2, @chalksdreams, @thelost-in-time, @ventisweetheart, @hispasian-otaku, @juuuuuj101010, @alteeeeyang, @samarill, @testsubject0012, @irisxiel, @kazuhaprnt, @lunarapple, @emilymikado, @mabie, @vinnie-w, @n8mareee, @bajifairyy, @heyimkay, @milkpeanuts476, @eliciana, @blesstosuisen, @goldeneclipsedragon, @jjvr4yxc, @sovermike-21-blog, @vox34, @wynncrites, @skyyyyackerman, @undecidingfate, @nightlysunn, @faeryminnyx, @simpcreator, @lucifarts-boxers, @thelovebuggs, @urlocalheizousimp, @sunlightstarr (Accounts that I was unable to tag have been removed. Those who don't want to be tagged in certain stories are not tagged in this particular post. Remember to check your settings if you're allowing people to mention you/tag you in posts or not)

Read more of my works on my Masterlist | Maybe support me by tipping me on Ko-Fi or by reblogging my fanfics! ^^ I will also be posting exclusive fanfics on Ko-Fi as well very soon! I might post all of my stories on there too, but who knows. You can also tip me on Tumblr if you'd like as a way to show support! ^^

[mrpenguinpants]

Telling genshin boys about Orpheus and Eurydice and asking them if they’d look back

My Faint Magnolia

— He wonders how many times he's heard you tell this story, and how many more he'll force you to recite.

— Dottore / Zandik

White magnolia flowers symbolize purity and perfection. [Masterlist]

I read one Wiki page so don't yell at me if I got anything wrong. Tbh, I don't really like how this fic turned out but it's been sitting in my drafts for years.

"The musician and prophet Orpheus fell in love with the beautiful Eurydice, only for her to die shortly after. Thus, he journeyed into the Underworld to plead with Hades to bring his beloved back. His wish was granted - but on the condition that he must not look back at Eurydice until they were both back in the land of the living. But Orpheus couldn't resist one glance, and Eurydice was lost to him forever."

"Fascinating. The seventh retelling adds to the suspense."

"Boo, you're no fun. Minus ten points," he hears you whine. The sounds of a book being tossed carelessly aside as ink-stained papers filled with formulas slide forward and brush against the sleeves of his arm. All are pushed away to allow you to sprawl your upper body over the desk so you can mope and continue to avoid doing any actual work. He can feel your gaze on him, patiently waiting for him to look up from his notes and give you attention, yet he continues to write making you huff in annoyance.

You're both supposed to be working on your assignments, so he has excellent reason to keep ignoring you to focus on his work. If anything, he should be annoyed at you, and he is, but it's a testament to how much he's come to tolerate you that he doesn't immediately get up and leave. Or deal with you in another, less unsavory way. Instead, he flips back through the pages of his notebook. A list of collected components of spare parts of a vast machine and smaller notes of their possible working principles and manufacturing processes. Diagrams and sketches of their possible construction and engines filled with footnotes and annotations. Not all of them are in his writing. He wouldn't dare use that atrocious shade of yellow that you seem to love so much.

"Can't we do anything else? I'm bored out of my minddd," you stretch the words out, effectively cutting his concentration in half with nothing but the sound of your voice. He can feel his eye twitch and his pencil's wood creaking from the pressure he's slowly exerting onto it. Your voice is muffled, which means you haven't picked yourself off the table yet, probably hunched over with your cheek against the table that will take another hour for you to pry yourself back up again. He can't wait for his future headache with your complaints about back problems, even though you're killing your own spine and his head. The sound of a pencil rolling back and forth fills the silence, and that's the last of his patience. He slams his notebook down, the pencil bouncing and dropping onto the floor, and the clattering of wood causes his frown to etch deeper. He re-opens his notebook to the page of the Khaenri'ahn machines found in Devantaka Mountain. There's an annoying doodle of a Ruin Hunter in the corner mocking him right back.

"Work."

His clipped voice has you quiet down. It's a good thing you have some sense of preservation and know that even though he indulges you frequently, there are only so many distractions he will let slip through. But the resounding sound of a chair scraping against the floor, papers being shuffled, and your footsteps tell him you're equally frustrated. He thinks he hears you mutter "rigid oaf" under your breath as your footsteps grow fainter. The silence should put him at ease, but it only serves to irate him further since you're the one who's causing him trouble when he just wants to work in peace and quiet. The worst thing about this situation is that he knows you'll refuse to talk to him unless he apologizes first for something he hasn't done wrong. But alas.

He lets out a deep sigh that sounds twice his age. Puspa Café should still be open at this time. If he leaves now, he can still catch up to you. With a sweep of the arm, he quickly gathers his papers haphazardly but still slides them into their rightful places between the meticulous sections of his notebook.

"Would you look back?"

He pauses when your voice sounds behind him unexpectedly. You sound a mixture of cheeky and skeptical, but the drumming of your fingertips against the back of his chair tells him that you are genuinely curious about his response. Maybe even a bit nervous to ask him such a ridiculous question too.

"The fatal flaw of Orpheus is he never stopped to consider the psychological cost of Hade's offer. To think "Do not look back" is an impossible sentence to think without simultaneously speaking the opposite. Every time you repeat, "I must not look back," you are forced to say: "Look back." But that is the weakness of the human mind," is the answer he supplies. He thumbs at the edges of his notebook, worn from all the years he's opened it but still in pristine condition. He doesn't like his things to be dirty. It makes his skin crawl.

"What? Are you above the human mind now? So you wouldn't be tempted at all?" you say with a hint of dumbfoundedness. He's sure you think that he won't give you an actual answer.

"No."

His answer is short but firm. He won't look back. He won't be Orpheus and lose his Eurydice so easily to temptation. His finger moves and tips the cover open, papers flipping until they stop in the middle of the book. Frantic scribbles of ink of his research on the rare disease of Elezar. He thumbs the page's corner until it creases.

"Hey, look at me."

The next page is on segments.

"Why won't you look at me."

The final page is on dreams.

""Please look at me Zandik."

He closes the notebook.

"I thought Orpheus couldn't hear Eurdicye."

He hears you laugh at his unempathetic reply. It's a hallow imitation. Then silence. It always ends like this. His mind dangling what he needs most only to take it away, making him question if you are even still there behind him. Just one look. Just one look to confirm what's behind him but he won't. He won't be a fool like Orpheus. Not until he's finished. So he does what he always has, removes any option he hates, and creates his own means.

+

He blinks awake slowly. The white ceiling of his laboratory stares at him back and the first thing his mind registers is that it's cold. His hand automatically moves to his side only to meet air. That's right, you're not here anymore. You haven't been here for years. The manifestation of the withering caused dark hardened scales to grow across your limbs. Slowly numbing the affected areas until you couldn't walk anymore, which progressed into fatigue and progressive nerve damage. Your last days were spent asleep in a coma surrounded by as many Nilotpala Lotuses as he could find. He closes his eyes again, but the sound of the heavy steel door grates against his nerves before he has the time to truly relax.

"You know you'll never succeed. You know why. Even if this one doesn't die, it won't be the same."

The voice isn't right. Another failure.

Dottore lifts his head to see your segment standing in front of him. That's correct. He can already see the beginnings of scales on the segment's arms. It's funny. He is capable of creating physical carbon copy segments of himself from different stages of his life and yet you, the outlier, it's never the same. A body is made, and a piece of his memories of you acts as the brain, but it's never the same. He knows why. It's because his memories of you are dying. His dreams are getting shorter, and fuzzier around the edges. He used to dream of seeing you, holding you, and he knows the next time he dreams of you, he may not hear your voice anymore. His own segment thoughts echo in his mind. Don't you think this is a waste of materials and time? It's time to give up. They don't understand, they can't dream.

He won't look back because he knows that as soon as he does, he will never dream of you again. Even if the next dream takes away your voice, the next takes away your presence, until he's left with a void of nothing. Even then, he won't look back. He has only dreamed of you every single night, regardless of anything. These are the only things he has left of you. Everything else was taken, stolen, or burnt. He isn't sure if the person he's constantly dreaming of now is actually you or a figment of his imagination that's begging to be free. But he won't let you go.

My doleful aria, tell me that story again tonight.

[husky-studies]

Okay so HONESTLY im gonna ramble about this idea i got from reading one of the genshin sagau posts about the creator and their books that are read are popping into tevyat BUT imagine if it were the movies we have watched (inspired from @sagaubeloved sorry for the ping if it bothers you 😭)

LIKE imagine if ur a horror movie fanatic, IMAGINE THE CHARACTER'S REACTION. Idk if u watch horror bcs u like it or u just like a good scare or two but imagine showing them a movie like maybe the nun 2 or fnaf or coraline or ANY HORROR MOVIES. Imagine if the people (scholars, maybe some theatrics enjoyers?) are horrified watching it "THE CREATOR WATCHES THIS?!" "Yeah i do-" They'd either get nightmares or became really paranoid cause horror movie end credits sometimes scares me like 'based on-' no. I think they'd be paranoid because it says based on real life or something. Especially if its coraline, HONESTLY I COULDNT SLEEP MUCH FOR A FEW DAYS BECAUSE OF THE SPIDER MOM OR WHATEVER OTHER MOM THAT IS 😭😭 buttons for eyes (no- not identity v-) or if its something like FNAF then they'd probably be paranoid 💀 (until they know its actually from a game that has like 13 versions with i think 8 being the ACTUAL part of the series and the rest being spin-offs)

Now other than horror movies we have something moreeeee child friendly? Maybe some of y'all still watches trolls (i heard trolls 3 was about to be released), disney maybe, dreamworks am i the only one who suddenly remembers ratatouille talking about this-. The characters would be less horrified with this and go like "oh, this is the type of movie creator likes? Sounds nice" IF YOU'RE LIKE ME AND YOU HAVE THE DISC OF THE MOVIES AND YOU PLAYED THAT ONE MOVIE YOU JUST CANT STOP WATCHING BECAUSE ITS SO DANG GOOD, they'd probably cherish THAT movie more than the others because BRO, THE CREATOR watches that shit 24/7 WHO WOULDNT KEEP THAT MOVIE DISC FOR THE WHOLE TEVYAT TO SEE. AND YK WHATS FUNNY, IF ITS A MOVIE THAT HAS LIKE ANIMALS AS THE MAIN CHARACTERS (Madagascar, Lion King, etc) idt they'd even know what a LION is. I MEAN THE BASIC ANIMALS LIKE DOGS, CATS AND BIRDS ARE THERE (does rishboland tigers count as tigers here-) BUT SOMETHING MORE WILD LIKE LIONS or SPECIFIC BIRD TYPES, MONKEYS????(wolfs should exist i mean, theres wolvendom, snakes also exist cuz if not then wtf is changsheng, deers, dragons???)

Okay maybe some science fiction enjoyers, something futuristic or robotic like Transformers maybe? (Im sorry my brain could only thing of that 💀 like any transformers movie) They'd either be baffled at that or like taking notes, they'd probably compare those futuristic stuff like the robots with RUIN GUARDS or WHATEVER ELSE IS THE BRANCHING OFF OF THOSE THINGS. Maybe Sumeru would get the gist? Tbh sumeru kinda have more gadgets but we dk abt snezhnaya yet (im thinking snezhnaya has some of their own gadgets as well)

[heartsforjngwn]

enhypen spending time with s/o n the dorms 🫶🫶

[ ✧.* ] . . . SPENDING TIME IN THE DORMS. ENHYPEN MEMBERS

wc: 520 | warnings: mentions of food! lmk if i should add more 🫶 | note: my first ask ackk 😭 tysm anon for this and i hope u like it 🥹💕 btw tysm to @yenlsv for helping me out with ideas for the hyung line lysm bestie 🫶

HEESEUNG — one thing about hee is he gives off comforting energy (all of them do tho) movies and cuddles are def he and s/o’s bonding. they would probably watch a super cheesy romcom or a super sad and heartbreaking movie. i feel like chocolates and ice cream will be their go-to snack during their hang outs while s/o is wearing hee’s shirt.

JAY — they will def cook or jay will attempt to teach s/o how to cook. of course, accidents are avoided given that jay is there. but when jay leaves s/o alone for a bit to go to the bathroom or something, he might come back to their dorm’s kitchen in a horrible mess.. jay gives up in teaching s/o but lets be honest, he probably loves her still the same (might be even more than before)

JAKE — i feel like its the same with hee tbh. instead of a super cheesy romcom tho, he and s/o might watch a “kids” movie. like disney binge watching or just their childhood movies. rio might be their go-to or aladdin. i feel like their snacks would be candy, preferably sour. they’ll laugh at each other’s facial reactions randomly as the movie goes because of the sour taste of the candies.

SUNGHOON — feeling like sunghoon and s/o would be binge watching a series. mean girls and legally blonde are def both of their faves. they might argue on which to watch first but they end up on deciding through rock paper scissors. honestly, chips would be their best friend during all of their binge watching life episodes. cheese dust on their fingers are their worst enemy and one of the other would probably lick their fingers while the other would wipe it in a tissue.

SUNOO — for some reason every time i think about sunoo i always think ice cream, skincare, and hair. s/o and sunoo would have a mini salon in the room and sunoo would attempt to cut s/o’s hair to curtain bangs or dora bangs while having a big bowl of ice cream on the table. after their failure of being a barber, they just end up experimenting with sunoo’s skincare because why not.

JUNGWON — you cannot convince me that jungwon and s/o wouldn’t sit together in the living room while wearing each other’s sweater, just cuddling and scrolling on their phones or something. something also tells me they would attempt to bake or cook but unlike jay, they end up in getting the cake/dish burnt. of course they wont give up and try again but like the first one.. it end up horribly wrong.

RIKI — idk bout yall but he def plays genshin. s/o would use a super op healer or buffer like bennett or kokomi and just support and watch him solo the boss with an op dps character like hu tao or ganyu. s/o and him would farm artifacts and stuff together up until their eyes cant take it. they def would fall asleep while fighting a boss and wake up in the morning with their entire team dead.

© heartsforjngwn — 2023

[crystal-cliffs]

Why Tartacchino is my OTP

A semi-long commentary on my favorite genshin impact ship because I want to talk about them so badly. Also this isn’t me pulling up evidence, this is 99% anecdote on why this ship is a huge comfort for me despite a lot of knee jerk reactions I’ve gotten when trying to explain it. So I’ve collected it all into a post that is 100% an excuse to ramble. Don’t expect coherency that ship sailed a long time ago and I’m only serious for about a minute or too.

If I had to give a song with their vibe it would be Tongues & Teeth by The Crane Wives so everyone should check it out if you’re already reading this.

This isn’t me trying to convince anyone to ship it either, though if I did I’d be surprised tbh. Just want something on the forefront that serves as a “this is what you’re getting into” vibe yk?

Why?

Because it’s fun… I like exploring ships that seem complicated and maybe wouldn’t even work out long term because it makes me think about the nature of human relationships. Whilst I have other arlecchino ships, thinking x Furina, x Xianyun, x Signora etc etc, I don’t… think about them the same way. Like they’re mostly fluffy to me and sweet and uncomplicated despite the fact that the reoccurring character that is Arlecchino would seemingly make it more interesting.

And yet it doesn’t for me, because I assume by default Arlecchino would treat these ladies like royalty and thus it’s settled.

With Tartaglia I don’t immediately assume that simply because the first question I ask myself is… why would Arlecchino even date a man? But when I stopped viewing these characters under such a strict guideline based on fandom interpretations of their sexual orientations, I came away with a different question. What would it take for these two to view each other in a light beyond mildly friendly?

And then I spiraled from there.

Sometimes I feel like shipping culture is so rigid that I fall victim to that, and don’t allow myself the ability to explore potential dynamics that usually wouldn’t be given a second glance. Tartacchino being one of them. The concept of them dating seems so impossible at times and to other people but I think that’s why it’s fun.

Alright Ramble Time but Serious-ish

I think sometimes we as humans forget the complexity of human relationships and we seperate them into these categories that simply don’t encompass the entirety of the human experience.

One common occurrence I’ve realized is how people look at relationships. You see two people who are dating and you personally believe that they aren’t good together and hey, they’ll probably break up in the next couple months. (This isn’t about toxic or abusive relationships, let’s not make it about those)

When the truth is, you only know half of the story. You don’t know what the two of these hypothetical people are like when they’re alone with each other and you probably never will because your presence directly affects these people’s behavior.

Tying this into Tartacchino, that’s the vibe the relationships always given me. Two people who seem incompatible to everyone around them, people who probably wouldn’t make it past a couple months before realizing the whole relationship was a mistake.

But they make it work.

I like exploring the complexity of human relationships and this ship allows me to do so somewhat. Imagining how they navigate an experience that even they themselves aren’t sure makes sense to them for whatever reasons I can conjure up. Sometimes it’s sexuality, sometimes it’s beliefs, personalities clashing, trauma and the inability to let yourself get too close, whatever.

Ramble time part 2: But not so serious

Actually, on the note of sexuality, the existence of a fandom consensus on a characters sexuality doesn’t make it canon. I’ve had multiple experiences where people have gotten upset at the prospect of me shipping a character that is headcanoned as a lesbian with a guy, some to the point of calling me lesbophobic which is ironic since I am a lesbian, that’s why I do this. As a lesbian I’m actually allowed to do whatever I want❗️/lh

…

So like… the post didn’t save when I wrote this part so now I gotta be even less coherent than I probably was.

Their relationship is very not heterosexual. They break the gender roles and stereotypes by being alive, their queerness happened the second they started living on the same plane of existence.

I just like to make all of the harbingers gender and sexuality fucked though, they experience gender fuckery and sexuality fuckery and who am I to interfere.

Like Tartaglia is a girl, a boy girl, a girlboy, I dunno it’s beyond our capabilities as humans without inter-dimensional parasites leaching off our life force.

Arlecchino is… let’s not get into that, he’s whatever you think he is frankly. She likes the speculation be so fr, she would.

Inherently queer, idk what else you want from me lol. Uhh they don’t kiss I feel like I should specify that, that’s to soft for them frankly. If they did kiss properly it would be bloody and painful and full of emotions neither of them would be willing to say out loud because they’re probably hateful lol I dunno. But they also do kiss each other, just not properly because for some reason that’s too intimate.

Their intimacy is sparring violently and then patching each other up because the passion is shown through how much blood is shed yk? Idk Tartaglia’s love language is violence so… why not❗️

Damn idk what I’m talking about tbh… I got less serious and realized I really don’t know how to explain my love and reasoning for this ship since there is no actual concrete reason, get bamboozled or something. I just like seeing girlboys and boygirl’s bloody, that’s all, it’s not a crime. That’s what the horror genre is for after all. Uhhh

They are not husband and wife nor girlfriend and boyfriend, they are that secret third thing. (Tho if they were we both know who the husband is and who the wife is)

We could get even more basic, golden retriever with rabies x wolf dog that knows basic human commands. They are not Goldie and black cat that’s wrong because arlecchino has wolf energy, dog energy, they both do, it’s just one is a little more intimidating than the other.

Just realized they’re hydro x pyro

Yeah there’s no argument, love Fire and Water, both equally dangerous in their own right, and they both live in a perpetual cycle of being capable of destroying each other and being used to destroy each other. There’s no point to this i just like Fire and Water.

Hoyoverse make them talk again they were so silly.

I think that’s it…

Yeah❗️

If you don’t like this ship idc, just don’t make it my business. Talk to me about one of the other 500 arlecchino or tartaglia ships instead or something, I still like a lot of those this is just my favorite.

And just to top it all off

We all saw wife right?

Right.

[arisewanekosuki]

In another’s shoes

(Genshin School AU x Fem! Reader) A month has passed since you started your life in Teyvat High School, while struggling with your own insecurities and unpleasant memories with past 'friends', your schools days were passing day by day, until one day after going back home you had an accident. Thinking this is the end, you wake up... but wait, why are you in the body of the most popular girl in your school - Lumine? previous | next

Drawing by @fusaex3​​​  Author’s note: I started writing it before I wrote Bakeneko!Kunikuzushi, so this story may be worse than the previous one, I’ll be honest, I’m not sure about this one. I may end up deleting it after some time. Tbh I wanted to add some Genshin boys x reader here, but it may end up being more about friendship if I continue this story, I’m not sure, at first I thought to make that at the end some boys will have special chapters when you end up being with them or something like that. But like I said I’m not even sure if I’ll continue this cause I don’t know if anyone will like this story. I’m sorry for any mistakes, English is not my first language.

Prologue

The annoying alarm in my phone woke me from a dream. “What was that dream about again?” It wasn’t a good one that I’m sure. Then why it feels like I should try to remember what it was about? Looking at time in my phone I realized that if I won’t get up soon I’ll be late for school. While dressing up I couldn't help but look at myself in the mirror. -“…” Before any negative thoughts would consume me I shook my head and went to the kitchen to get my breakfast. -“Good morning!” my mom said. I didn’t respond, I went to my mom to hug her, this is my way of saying ‘Good Morning’ when I'm not awake properly or just not feel like talking yet. Mom smiled and hugged me back. I started to make breakfast for myself, after awhile I finally ask: - “Do you have day off?” -“No, but today I start later, so don’t worry I’ll take (little sister name) to school. Also I made lunch for you too!”  -“Thank you.” -“So…How is school? It’s been month since it started, did you make some friends?” I sighed, not feeling like talking about it, yet I don’t want to worry my mom. -“It’s fine I guess… there is one girl in my class, Yoimiya, she’s really nice, sometimes we spend school breaks together.” -“That’s great! You should invite her here sometimes!” mom smiled, happy that I finally made a friend. I got up and got ready to go. I took my backpack and say goodbyes to my mom. “I don't really want to go to school…”  If I think about it Yoimiya was the first one to approach me, no, she’s the first one to approach everyone, she’s a very nice and friendly person. I’m grateful that she wanted to be friends with me, I only wish I would stop worrying about stuff so I could get along with her better. I want to talk more with her, hang out more with her but I still feel slightly shy and the thought of her other friends being more interesting and fun than me is not helping in that matter at all. “Ah, that’s bad! Don’t think like that (y/n)!” Well, it’s hard to not think like that when her friends like Ayaka and Kokomi are really great. Sometimes I was invited to eat lunch with them and Yoimiya. They are kind, smart and of course they are pretty… so pretty that it felt like someone like me shouldn’t sit with them. It's like a potato lying next to beautiful flowers. I would say I’m average person if I’m being ‘nice’ to myself, but I know, compared to them I’m not that interesting at all. -“Good morning!!” someone said, snapping me from my previous thoughts. Turning back I saw a little boy with cute smile. -“Hello Ruu.” I smiled to him “How are you?” Ruu’s smile got wider “At least he’s in good mood”.   -“I’m fine! Today I got up earlier so I could go and see miss Kapatcir and ask if she needs something from shop!” Ruu is truly a sweet child, he’s a kind soul, so kind that scary old miss Kapatcir accepted only him in our neighborhood. I’m glad the old lady is kind to him, compared to his father who always complains that Ruu didn’t finished his duties or that he shouldn’t spend so much time on playground. I understand that as a son of priest he has to learn, so that he could inherit the role in future and take care of shrine but Ruu is still a child, he shouldn’t be that strict with him. At least it seems his father is afraid of miss Kapatcir too, if she is sitting on the bench close to playground then Ruu can spend much more time there playing and goofing around like a kid should do. -“ (y/n)? Are you alright? You look sad today…” -“Ah I’m fine! Sorry! I just… um… had a nightmare, so I didn’t sleep well today haha!” Ruu looked at me, deep in the thought, then he searched for something in his pockets. -“I got something that will make you feel better!” he took my hand and put something in it. It’s a candy. Lavender Melon flavor. -“I hope you like this flavor but if not… then I can give you another one!!” -“This one is fine! Thank you Ruu! You’re the best!” I smiled to him and he showed me his smile again. “He’s so precious, I want to hug him!” -“Oh! Lumine! Aether! Good morning!” the boy run towards twins that came from the corner of street. Lumine and Aether, the most popular twins in our school, normally I don't care about people from other classes but even so I end up knowing who they are, thanks to  Yoimiya and other people from my class. Them being friends with Yoimiya is not surprising, knowing her, but what I heard from her, Ayaka and Kokomi, they made friends with other popular or eccentric kids in our school. How did they do it? They came two weeks after school started and in one week they become so popular. It would be a lie if I said that I’m not jealous of Lumine. She’s very beautiful, smart, confident, she can make friends with anyone, I’m sure many guys have crush on her as well. Her twin brother is good looking too, I understand why some girls from class would talk about him, his face, no, both twins are like angels. I sighed and continue walking to school, passing quickly by Ruu and twins and saying goodbye to little kid. I don’t really want to be noticed by twins but I would feel bad for not saying ‘bye’ to Ruu. After arriving in my school I sighed. “Just survive this day, and another, and another…till the end of school year weh”. While going to my class suddenly someone hugged me from behind. -“Eek!?” I made a weird sound. -“Hehe! Goood Moorning (y/n) ~” Of course it was Yoimiya. -“Good Morning” I said a bit flustered. “It seems that you are full of energy today, did something happened?” -“Nope!~ Can’t I be happy for just seeing my friend?” she said with a smile, still hugging me. Recently, she started hugging me as a hello, I always liked this form of welcoming with people I feel comfortable with. The first time she hugged me, she surprised me that much that I froze in place, she panicked and started asking if she make me uncomfortable, I remember feeling warm and said that I don't mind that. Back then I felt like our friendship improved a little bit. After releasing me from her hold we continued our way toward class. Yoimiya would talk about many things, sometimes I had hard time follow her stories, but it was nice, to listen, to talk with someone. In previous school I did had people who I could call ‘friends’, but things happened and now they are reason that even if I want to make more friends or open more to Yoimiya, those unpleasant memories stops me from doing that. When we reached our class Yoimiya took my hand and guided me to where Ayaka and Kokomi where sitting. The smile that Yoimiya gave me was saying "I won't let you just go to your sit yet!" -“Good Morning!!” Yoimiya said loudly to two girls. After her, I greeted the girls. -“Good Morning to you two too” said Ayaka, bowing politely. -“Ayaka! Stop with this formality! We are friends here! Right (Y/n)?” Yoimiya said and hugged Ayaka, the blue-white hair girl become red on her face, probably not used to others to hug her like that. -“Y-yeah!” at this moment I realized Yoimiya plan, she wants to make me talk more with them. “Too bad my friend, I’m not ready to talk with them without being awkward!” Kokomi giggled, probably amused for what is happening in front her. -“Yoimiya, I think our Kamisato Lady won't be able to take it any longer, if you continue holding her like that” said salmon pink hair girl, smiling at two other girls. -“Sorry Ayaka!” said the light strawberry blonde hair girl, finally letting go of the daughter of Kamisato family. -“I-it’s okay.” Replied the girl with still red face, I think it’s first time for me, to see her losing her composure. We didn't talk that long with each other, before the bell rings signaling that class is about to start. The day in school went slow, too slow. This time Yoimiya went to eat lunch with her other friends from other classes, I didn’t know them and to not feel like third wheel, I decided to spend lunch break alone. Sitting at my regular place outside school building and eating in silence, I was enjoying the peace. Till I heard two loud boys, probably arguing about something. I noticed that Lumine is with them too. One of them was a big guy with long white hair with some parts being red and red horns “I think I heard about him. What was his name again? Amaraki Otto? Anataki Ritto? Eh whatever” and other, slightly smaller than previous one but still taller than Lumine, with ginger hair “Isn’t that guy from Fatui gang? Lumine could even befriend someone from them?”  The boys starting getting louder and louder till Lumine looked at them saying something, making both of them quiet. Then she went towards gym building, while the boys followed her and start probably arguing between each other again. “Being that popular must be tiring sometimes.” After lunch nothing special happened till the end of classes, when the last bell rang  I was happy to finally go back home, but then I remembered that today is my turn to clean class. “Better finish fast.”  I sighed and started cleaning. At least today my cleaning partner is Kaedehara Kazuha. "At least he won't try to make some small talk". While we were cleaning, it was silent, but suddenly Kazuha said something that I couldn’t hear. -“Sorry, can you repeat? I didn’t hear you.” I ask, thinking he was talking to me. -“ Ah don’t mind me, I was coming up with new haiku.” He smiled and looked at me, Kazuha is another lovely looking person in my class, his red eyes are stunning and warm, his voice is gentle too, I think I wouldn’t mind if he now started to read his haikus or maybe even a whole book. -“I-I see!” I said flustered, realizing that I have been staring at him for too long without response. I turned around and went back to cleaning, not wanting to see his face anymore “He probably thinks that I’m weird…” . I really wished I had more courage to speak with him, I’m not good with poetry but I would like to hear about his haikus. “It’s not big deal! Just ask him about that! Maybe we can even be friends?!” I looked at him, at this moment he was cleaning the board. -“….” I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came of. He had to sense my staring cause suddenly he turned around to look at me. -“Hm? Is something wrong?” he asked, looking at me with cute, confused face. -“I…no…well…” I felt my face being warmer and warmer “…fox….” -“…Pardon?” I felt like running from this class and bury myself in our school garden “Fox?! Why did I say that?! It’s so random! How hard is to ask about silly haiku! Stupid!” -“I think I saw fox outside the class.” I want to go home, I feel so embarrassed that I don’t know anymore what I’m talking about. -“Oh? Really? That’s surprising, the forest is very far away from school…” he said going to the window to look for the fox that doesn’t exist. -“Right? Maybe he got lost, poor thing, I hope it will find way to its home.” I finished cleaning the floor so I went to put broom and dustpan away. I just wanted to get far away from him at this moment. I got so nervous, that my body started to tremble. “I can’t believe myself, this was probably the worst interaction that I had with someone and I still have to come back to the classroom to put tables on their places.” When I calmed down, I came back and with Kazuha's help, we put everything on their right places. Gladly he didn't say anything else, so I could save myself from further embarrassment. After making sure that whole classroom is clean, I said goodbye to Kazuha and went quickly to lockers, to change my shoes and finally left school, to go back home, wanting to forgot about this whole interaction. - “Ugh today is Tuesday I need to study for test that is on Friday, I don’t wanna!” I muttered to myself, not being happy of the thought of studying and doing homework. I took candy from my pocket, to eat it but before I opened the sweet in my hand, I noticed something red passing in front of me. It was little girl with blond pigtails and red cap, she looks to be around age of my little sister, she was going after something round, some kind o ball? Before I knew it, everything went fast. The ball rolled into the street and the girl still followed it, without looking if there were cars. I felt something hitting me and then nothing, I was lying there, the candy from Ruu wasn't in my hand anymore, I think people started to gather around me, everything started to be blurry, I heard child crying, was it that girl? I can't believe it, my body moved on its own to try save this child. "Haha..those that means I'm not such a coward? I can do some things right too?" I think I started to hear someone calling my name but I'm not sure.” Ah… so this is how my life will end?” this was my last thought before everything went black. --- Thank you so much for reading untill end. If everything goes well Chapter 1 will be out tomorrow. 

[islandofsages]

the wind brings us home.

summary: in which you two pay a visit to weinlesefest.

characters: collei, thoma and zhongli x gn!reader (separate)

tags: platonic for collei, relationship not specified for thoma and zhongli, amber is mentioned (collei), ayato is mentioned (thoma) venti is mentioned (zhongli), reader knows zhongli's and venti's true identities, canon compliant, fluff, hc format

warnings: spoilers for the first part of the ballads and brews event i guess?? just a term used in the story really

author's notes: happy october everyone :D i finally caught up to genshin lmao so here’s something to celebrate. i might make a part 2 with other non-mondstatd characters?? there are a bunch of them that have smth to do with mondstadt tbh. but anyway enjoy!

FEM/FEM-ALIGNED DNI. YOU WILL BE BLOCKED.

collei (feat. amber)

you've wanted to cheer her up ever since her eleazer has been acting up - so what better time to see an old friend than now?

the moment you two set foot in mondstadt, you can see her shaking from excitement but also…agitation? you surmise that it may be because of what had happened here but you assure both of you that it’ll be fine

you two don’t have much to do with the festival itself it was just a good excuse to drag collei out of the forest so you two go straight to searching for the outrider

when you two do spot her, she rushes over and gives collei the biggest hug she could muster then bombards her with a billion question, barely paying attention to you which you already expected so you’re not too bothered

the three of you walk around town, basking in the beauty of the city, adorned in eye-catching seasonal decorations and comforted by the western wind

you don’t check out any of the wines of course, but there isn’t any harm in looking at the wine ingredients booths - fruits as far as the eye can see. you buy a few for the other two as a treat

you chuckle at the two’s antics; they really are like siblings, or like the woodland creatures collei has been accustomed to watching back in the forest…you’re glad you made the decision to drag her along to the festival

when you two are about to leave, amber pulls you in for a group hug and asks a passerby to snap a picture of you three - and thus, there you are, smiles eternally engraved on parchment.

thoma

you brought your tissues just in case he ends up crying because of how much he misses mondstadt

during your whole trip there, he just couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear at all the festivities; you try to invite him to dance to some of the music there but he seems too embarrassed to do so

despite not being much of a wine-enjoyer, he still pays a visit to every booth. to nobody’s surprise, he gets along with everyone almost immediately - and not just because he recognizes some of the people there

you two would sit down somewhere when tired and he’d reminisce on the good old days he used to spend in this humble land

“haha, it seems like some things just don’t change, huh?”

he‘d thank you profusely for inviting him and for convincing ayato to give him a few days off for the festival

jokingly, you propose that you two should try making your own thousand-wind wine, hotpot-game style…but then he assumes a pondering pose

“hmm…not a bad idea, actually.”

you make a mental note - do not mention this idea of yours to ayato.

zhongli (feat. venti)

you don’t tell him but the main reason you brought him along is because you’ve heard talk of a windcoming day in which the anemo archon returns to his beloved land. knowing well that the ex-archon hasn’t seen his old friend in literal ages, you plan to reunite them even if it means becoming a possible third-wheel

but you do take zhongli’s refined tastes into account; you’re positive he would show his utmost appreciation for the culture here - and he does! taking the time to taste-test each and every wine and commenting on them in the form of long-winded babbles, this is the zhongli you know and love

you try to ponder about how exactly barbatos would return home and when exactly is this windcoming day is, when a cheery voice interrupts your train of thought

“well if it isn’t you, mor- i mean, zhongli!”

speak of the devil. well, archon, technically. you observe zhongli’s reaction; he appears to be somewhat indifferent, but his relaxed body language indicates that he’s happy to see his old friend again. you smile and sigh in relief

although the two of them are old buddies, they seem to treat you as one too. thankfully, you never had to become a third-wheel and you had no issues keeping up with their conversations. they would even tell you about their misadventures back in the day

“did you know, back in the day, morax used to- hey, don’t give me that look!”

you find yourself entertained by these two gods of old and when it’s time to go home, the bard throws at both of you a bottle of wine each, both labeled “thousand-wind wine”, and with that a wink.

[sheasshovel]

gotta ask, tbh can't believe someone hasn't done this, BUT-

lifers as genshin characters, who's who

omg WAITTTT this is so hard cuz so few genshin characters have actual writing and like each life series has wildly different vibes for each character BUT ILL DO MY BEST (fanon save me) ((and im doing majority sl since I remember it the most)) ((((ill do it based on vibes i think))))

Etho -> weirdly… im thinking Cyno. “Did you jump?” And him trying to mimic the aha jokes and being “pathetic and quirky” in sl matches cynos nerdy energy OH WAIR I SHOULDVE SAID KAZUHA CUZ OF CANADA UM

Cleo-> beidou.. “I WILL FRONT STAB MY FRIENDS THANK YOU VERY MUCH.” Pirate slay lady and has a big cool ship in s6 hc

Grian -> erm like. traveller💀 IM SORRY HES AETHER TO ME AND GRIAN ISNT EVEN THE MAIN CHARACTER but yeah he FR just goes with everything happening around him

Lizzie -> pink haired lady with underwater empire u say…….. kokomi (I haven’t watched empires) but like kokomi if she was written well and emphasizing the war general girl failure parts of her

Scar -> itto cuz I love him next question. also ITTO is an immortal and scar never died in sl imagine the angst potential “the last one standing”

Martyn -> he’s so self aware so this is super hard but like. Maybe uh um HEIZOU cuz he’s always like thinking ahead but sometimes silly but he’s also like smart and a detective too! or maybe HEIZOU is Grian u choose

Jimmy -> BENNETS luck and Mika’s everything else I JUST THINK ITS SO FUNNY

Skizz -> whos a funny father figure in genshin. Ill get back to u on tha oh my god he’s dionas npc father HELP IDK I CANT ANIME GAME HIM HES TOO STRONG

Tango -> THOMA IS HE THOMA? blond nice team player kind of dense AND THOMAS PET DOG IS LIKE TORCHY TO ME or is he childe cuz of the rage. I dont know!

BigB -> AYATO he’s secretive but also :3 and ayato would probably gaslight people for fun. and ayato is related to ayaka the most :3 girl ever. they are insane and wildly charismatic and also silly. Like imagine of ayato presented himself as more wholesome on the outside. Or if bigb became royalty do u see the vision

Scott -> Self sacrificial… trustworthy…. “I still might kill myself but now its less likely”…. team player… blue hair? idk I think it has to be like IDK IM DRAWING A BLANK IM GETTING KAEYA FROM HIM IF KAEYA WAS MORE LOYAL? IDK

Impulse -> Erm uh uh uh uh let’s say uh let’s say uh uh uh uh uh bro who’s a smart dad in the genshin lineup someone help me NUEVILETTE??? WTF IS HE NUEVI WHAT NO NUEVI ISNT SILLY idk what to do here

Gem -> Navia SHES A BUBBLY GIRLBOSS with so many emotions and omg when gem killed Scott and was like shocked. I thought of how navia would react to silver and Meluse dissolving in front of her eyes and having to ignore it. In both of their cases, having to ignore it to focus on the task (haha) at hand. Also both should join the mafia anyways

Pearl -> ERM Hu Tao. insane. SUPER STRONG and heavily misunderstood “sorry i think I gotta little bit crazy” from dl is so perfect but honestly I CANT see hu tao as the self sacrificial type, or forgiving type like in sl so idk

Bdubs -> tiny. Easy to enrage. segond in command….let’s make him UGH HOW DO I MAKE BDUBS A ONE NOTE GENSHIN CHARACTER WITHOUT TAKING ANOTHER MONTH okay errmmmmmmm let’s put him as xiao but if xiao was less traumatized and sillier

Joel tiny heinz-> Childe… blood lust and trauma but he also kind of gives ALHAITHAM cuz of his sarcasm

Mumbolio -> thoma he’s so sweettttt but also kind of cray cray like is thoma not insane for protecting the TRAVELLER in front of RAIDEN hello?¿ 0 self preservation skills

RENDIGGITY DAWG -> theatre kid furry. he’s Lyney next question

if I missed any lifers pls lmk I am stupid and this is driving me crazy

[unaplays]

✨ Navia Geo DPS Build ✨

🌕 I wasn't originally gonna pull for Navia but I was experiencing burn out with Genshin with no new character to build. I had planned to pull for either Nahida or C1 Neuvillette but when Navia's banner dropped, she seemed fun and overall just a very pretty character. As someone who takes pleasure in admiring character's design through game photography, I finally gave in to temptation and decided to just pull for her. If I lost, I'd keep it for other character.

🌕 Turns out, I got Navia and she easily made me relive my old glory days of being a Ningguang main. Being a geo character who doesn't scale off def like Itto or Noelle makes her versatile in terms of team comps. I can literally switch her out with Ningguang using the same team and she's good to go.

🌕 Disclaimer: This build is not perfect and by no means should be treated as a rigid rule. I just share what I have tested in game and what I know works for me. So always do your own research and take my guide with that note in mind!

Artifact Set

🌕 Navia's BiS set comes at the same time as her release. Nighttime Whispers easily caters to her kit as her main source of damage comes from her skill. She also gets geo damage bonus from the 4 pc set while she's protected by crystallize shield.

🌕 But if you don't have a good 4 pc Nighttime Whispers on hand right now, you can use other mix sets in the mean time such as:

4 pc Golden Troupe (in quick swap team)

2 pc atk% (Gladiator/Shimenawa/Vermilion/Echoes) 2 pc Golden Troupe

2 pc atk% 2 pc atk% (Gladiator/Shimenawa/Vermilion/Echoes)

2 pc Archaic Petra 2 pc atk% (Gladiator/Shimenawa/Vermilion/Echoes)

2 pc Archaic Petra 2 pc Golden Troupe

🌕 Here are the stats:

Artifact stats: atk% sands, geo damage bonus goblet, crit circlet

Ratio to follow: 1:3 crit ratio with >70% crit rate (her damage is typical one shot, so she has to crit all the time otherwise it would be a dps lost), >2.000 atk, >130% ER (with double geo in the team)

Team Composition

🌕 Since Navia scales off atk just like many other dps, she can easily benefit from the OG Genshin support such as Bennett and 2 pyro resonance. She's basically the 5* version of Ningguang from the team to her stats. Just note that Navia will rely a lot on crystallize production as gaining crystallize will increase her stack which will emphasize her damage output. So put another element that can create crystallize reaction (anything except dendro and anemo).

🌕 The 2 geo 2 pyro party is her most popular team comp for the moment as she gets buffed from 2 element the resonance. But you can also put her with another element or even hyper carry team with Furina and Mona.

🌕 A little tip from me: Don't bring more than 2 element in the team as it can mess up with the crystallize reaction. It's something that I learned trying to bring 3 elements (hydro, pyro, geo) in her team and before Navia can produce any crystallize, the element aura on enemies had disappeared first because of vaporize reaction thus the crystallize production becomes inconsistent.

Weapon Choice

🌕 Navia (and many other Fontaine dps) are relatively f2p friendly when it comes to weapon choices. She can even use weapons with energy recharge stats on them and will still perform just fine. The easiest weapon to obtain is craftable from early game, and if you had the chance to finish the event Roses and Muskets, Ultimate Overlord also works amazing as it covers her ER needs and gives a bounty of atk% bonus.

🌕 Left to right:

Verdict (signature and BiS)

Serpent Spine (battle pass exclusive)

Ultimate Overlord's Mega Magic Sword (event exclusive)

Wolf's Gravestone (5* weapon available on standard banner)

Prototype Archaic (craftable)

Favonius Greatsword

Sacrificial Greatsword

Talent Priority

🌕 I would recommend on prioritizing her skill first, and then you can level up the rest until 6 just to help a little with her damage while her skill is on cooldown. Tbh the damage multiplier isn't that great but it's still much appreciated.

So that’s pretty much my Navia build. Feel free to ask me questions if you have any through my ask box or just leave comment on this post and I’ll respond right away!

Don’t forget to check out my other builds here!

[fandomanimatic-tournament]

Fandom song animatic tournament: Bracket 2 Side B

Love Like You - Steven Universe

"I always thought I might be bad Now I'm sure that it's true 'Cause I think you're so good And I'm nothing like you Look at you go I just adore you I wish that I knew What makes you think I'm so special"

Escapism - Steven Universe

"I guess I have to face That in this awful place I shouldn't show a trace of doubt But pulled against the grain I feel a little pain That I would rather do without I'd rather be Free, free, free"

Remember that we're voting on how Iconic they are for ANIMATICS, not for the song itself. In order to make things fair, the tone and mood of the song should not affect how iconic it is (for example, a serious song should not be considered more iconic than a joke song just because it's serious)

Propaganda and animatic links of the songs under the cut:

Love Like You - Steven Universe

Propaganda:

love like you is the foundation animatics were built on tbh steven universe is like the father of like every lgbt artist it’s too classic not to win. it’s also genuinely a good song the simplicity of only piano, voice, and drums does it so well and it really wrenches your heart out your goddamn chest and bites into it like an onion

Animatics with the song:

Genshin Impact

Good Omens

Heaven Official's Blessing Hualian

DSMP

Adventure Time

Escapism - Steven Universe

Propaganda:

Vague enough to be applicable to a ton of characters, but bittersweet and simple and somewhat resigned? My feelings (The vagueness of the song combined with its cover version being released ages before the episode came out led to a TON of speculation as to who might be singing the song, and all of the guesses were good ones)

Animatics with the song:

Hollow Knight

She-Ra

Steven Universe

QSMP Juanaflippa

Steven Universe Pink Diamond

Please be cautious and read the title, description and warning cards on the animatic videos if you decide to watch them. If you've got specific triggers I'd recommend even more caution when watching animatics of fandoms you don't know, since sometimes canon-typical themes don't get warnings.

Please keep in mind that I don't know all the media and fandoms of the animatics provided as examples and I don't have the time (nor the will) to research them all. Don't come into my notes or my ask box complaining about them being included, I will simply block you. If a ship animatic included is about an adult and a minor, do tell me and I'll take it out of the post

ALSO keep in mind that I don't know all the artists submitted; in fact, even if I do know them I do not know absolutely nothing about them as people (I do not have twitter nor tiktok) and I could not POSSIBLY have the time to research ALL of the artists' controversies and what came of them so PLEASE don't flood my inbox with the artists' entire crime list.

[lord-pigeon]

The thing you're not getting about why genshin is worse is because events are not meant to be the primary source of quartz in fgo. It comes from your weekly log in, live streams, 50 day ten pull, ascending servants to their second last ascension, story quests, free quests and the ten quartz you get from doing ten of them, rank up and interludes and the quartz you also get for doing ten of those, and special occasions like anniversary and new year. If you do ten rank ups you get a ten pull and you can do this in maybe an hour or two, now try grinding a ten pull in genshin. It'll be a lot more time investing and taxing considering you're just pressing buttons in fate. Also genshin's odds are just lower and it bleeds whales way harder by making constellations do more than just damage and they make modern 4 stars suck without them. Yes genshin has a better pity but that isn't the be all end all, you need to get 5 copies to max a 5 star in fate where as genshin its 6 AND 5 copies of their weapons. I could keep going on about ways that it's worse all day long, especially when genshin has way more micro transactions and predatory practices like battlepasses and resin but take that fate is worse is utterly baffling tbh

Oh boy let's get into the math here because this is where the fun begins.

Don't get me wrong, I'll never defend Genshin's dogshit practices, but I have a personal grudge against FGO fans sucking on it when it's literally the bastard of the mainstream bunch. This argument is me pitting garbage against garbage to say which one is stinkier.

This gonna be long so I'm putting this under a cut:

Alright FGO dailies list (I'll use NA for FGO, since Genshin is a global server schedule):

Day 2=1 SQ, Day 4=1 SQ, Day 6=2 SQ and Day 7=Ticket (3 SQ equivalent)

Total: 7 SQ

Needed for a tenfold: 30 SQ

Weeks needed for a tenfold via Log-In alone: 4 weeks and 4 days. 32 days total.

It should be noted that if you miss a single day, it resets from the very start. You must log in no matter what. It might take but a few moments, but note, you have to.

Genshin dailies list:

10 Primos per Comm/action, total of 40, and a 20 Primo bonus for turning into Katherine

Total: 60 Primos

Needed for tenfold 1600 Primo

Weeks needed for a Log-In alone: 26 days total.

Genshin's big detriment is that while you never lose your place, you need to spend time on Commissions. It can be anywhere from 5-10 minutes, which is a bit of a serious timesink. It's a bit better with the Fontaine update but it's still a pain in the ass for those on the go.

Alright, but Lord, that's just raw Log-In, what about monthlies?

Monthlies are the same, since both give you 5 tickets/fates to use. Genshin is at the disadvantage here since you need to spend the stardust you get from summoning on it, but Fate also requires you to spend Mana Prisms. Fundamentally similar, it's just that Fate wins out by the small margin Mana Prisms are slightly easier to obtain.

What about pity?

Eat my ass, Fate's pity system just happened cause they were getting this ass beat monetarily and they gave up and did a base-tier QOL update. Six FUCKING years we waited for pity and its over 900 SQ??? ((330 pulls btw))

I saved a whole year and a half back for Musashi's inital release and I just barely had that shit. And that was events, dailies, so on and so forth. (I got her in three tickets so nobody come at me with the fact I'm just a bitter old bird who didn't get my cute girl.)

While there's the 50/50 mechanic with Genshin, that levels the idea of 180, and that's going to hard-hard pity. No matter what, you can, and will, at least get the character you want.

Now what if we include Weapon Banner, since people assume Weapons+Characters *must* go together rather than it just being BIS and disregarding the completely different game mechanics of turn-based FGO and action rpg Genshin (<bitter).

Weapon Hard Pity is 240 pulls. You get a Fate Point for 80 pulls if you don't get your directed weapon, and you get another one if you get screwed again. Two Fate Points guarantees the next 80 is what you want.

Now, that might equal 420 pulls, but there's a catch few people acknowledge: Soft Pity.

Genshin has a system that, the closer you get to that hard pity, the higher the rate goes up. Therefore, it's not often someone actually goes to the hard 80 or 90. I'm just using the hard numbers as a point.

FGO is a hard pity, nothing about the rates changes from Summon 1 to Summon 330. Plus no guarantee you actually even get something from those 330 pulls--at least in Genshin you get a Basic Banner character who has some measure of utility you can use to make progress.

Also FGO pity doesn't carry per banner, but Genshin's does, so if you get fucked over and wanna wait a few months, you have another shot instead of wasting all of it cause you got close but no cigar.

But what about upgrades? Constellations?

NP-bonuses are rather minor and not as key as say, Xiao C1 or Hu Tao C1, so FGO has the edge there. However, that leads me to the side point of:

Weapons.

Reasonably, everyone talks about how the 3-star weapons suck, yadda yadda. You get so many weapons from the game as welfare that are good and can be used by multiple characters. You don't need a 5-star weapon, just because you aren't hitting 300k a hit doesn't mean shit.

Genshin has a lot more versatility in team building than FGO tbh, since a lot of FGO's boils down to "Do you have Merlin/Skadi/Chen Gong/Waver/Tamamo/Castoria/Support Caster.png" that you can then use with any other character.

Not saying Genshin doesn't have that too with Qinqiu and Bennett, but due to the nature of Spiral Abyss, people have gotten smart about using others instead of just them cause it's a split up team system.

Citation: I didn't get a single 5-star Weapon until Year 2.5 of Genshin. Fun fact, I also didn't have a single DPS 5-star either (all I had since launch was Diluc and Venti), until fucking Cyno came out. I managed to play the game just fine.

Now in FGO NA, I was also there since Launch, and I didn't get my first SSR until the Solomon raids, in which I finally got Florence Nightingale. I was playing the game carried by Kiyohime, Salter, and throwing SQ at revives. And guides, christ, so many guides it made Arknights look elementary.

What about general SQ/Primo flow (the Anniversaries and whatnot mentioned)?

FGO, the year of 2023, had, according to a Reddit post which I can link if people want the source, is: 2571 SQ, tickets included.

This Reddit post involved Servant NP Ascension Quests, Events, Chunked Log-In Bonus, Live Streams, Bond Stuff, ect ect (also, stuff you can't do if you didn't roll them, the post was being generous with people getting what they rolled or had)

That is about 85.7 tenfolds. So, if you don't spend a penny and not miss a day of logging in, the average joe might get about 2, 3 hard pities on who they want. Presuming I'm doing the math right on that.

Genshin, in the year of 2022, had, according to another Reddit Post, roughly 100k Primogems.

That equals about 62.5 tenfolds, or over 620 Fates. Now, tossing that into the system with someone with the worst luck imaginable that wants a character, that's about the same amount of 3 to 4 guaranteed pities.

One might note that the numbers are about the same, and yeah, that checks. However, there's a lot of variables, such as Spiral Abyss for Genshin, and actually having the characters to do Interludes on.

Half-baked conclusion

FGO is a money sink, Genshin is a time sink. They both sink your serotonin. Nobody wins.

Look, I play both, I have grief with both, I have fond memories of both. I wouldn't have a stupid expensive Okada figurine sitting next to a custom Cyno plushie if I hated these games.

But they're gacha, they're both out for your money, it's just that one is just a raging cunt about the whole affair.

Reddit Post Citations: