#I think some of you are dissatisfied with the way various creators write IN GENERAL and then you decide that all of their flaws are only
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musical-chick-13 · 4 months ago
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If someone points out "The way fandom treats any (white) man vs any woman is very different to a genuinely alarming degree," you DO know that you don't have to qualify your agreement with, "But there are SO many badly-written women," right?
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genshinluvr · 2 years ago
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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!
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mysaldate · 6 years ago
Text
About chapter 183...
Manga spoilers for KnY under the cut, just need to rant for a bit.
And so the time has come for KnY to fall down the rabbit hole so many other shonen series did. And it’s a damn shame. Up until the current arc, while there were a few slip-ups, Kimetsu no Yaiba was an amazing series that had cunning and powerful villains, realistic (within limits of man-eating demons and magical fighting styles) obstacles to overcome, one that paid attention to injuries of its characters and made a great deal about showing us the limits to human power.
HOWEVER
Ever since the Infinity train arc, something has been a little... different. The Infinity train arc was what started the very very annoying trend of downplaying a villain that was accidentally made too strong rather than actually dealing with his power and coming up with clever ways to overcome them. Enmu is estabilished early on as an excellent strategist. He came up with a way to use his blood demon art so subtly not even a demon slayer hashira suspected a thing, he made human lackeys since he knew the slayers would never kill a human and he even fused with the train to be  hard to kill. All of this is excellent set-up for what could be an incredibly interesting fight. Except... it was not. Because rather than having to work out his plan, Enmu simply... made a slip of tongue? Let Tanjiro in on his plan? And completely forgot about Nezuko and didn’t notice when the other slayers woke up? A character smart enough to come up with such an amazing and smart plan? Yeah, something is off.
And let me tell you, it did NOT get better overall.
There were minor highlights. The Red-light district arc was beautifully crafted and the fight was won on a relativelly reasonable conditions (except for Uzui being totally overpowered but that’s something less irritating than what they’re doing now). The fight with Hantengu and Gyokko had several Mary-Sue moments but no downplaying on the villains’ side. The Pillar Training arc had no major fight but it was a really good way to show the growth of our characters. Even in the current arc, there were good moments. The fight with Akaza was very satisfying and enjoyable even and the conclusion to it was perfect. Sadly, everything else about this arc is not.
The premise here, again, is outrageously good. Being trapped in the Infinity Fortress with Muzan and all his Upper Moons is a beautiful concept that could’ve made for SO. DAMN. MUCH. of interesting fights, character-building moments and terrifyingly epic power show-downs. And instead, it just rings hollow.
The main issue with this arc is how awfully downplayed Muzan and most of his demons were. The author suddenly decided to ignore a lot of what has been estabilished about Muzan, Nakime and their abilities in particular. Of course, Douma, Kaigaku and Kokushibou also got downplayed horribly but really, what pissed me off the most was Muzan and Nakime suddenly losing or forgetting about their abilities.
Look, I love KnY and I love the good side – or parts of it anyway. Tanjiro is a near perfect character, the first protagonist ever to actually pull me in and get me to cheer for him. Nezuko is, after Makai ouji’s Sitri, first character meant to be cute and actually striking me as such. I even came to like Inosuke to a certain extent. Yushiro and Tamayo were one of my favourites the moment they first walked on screen. The hashiras are a little wacky and I still think some of them are just completely unneccesary or wasted potential and I still find Zenitsu horribly cringy and annoying but if there ever was a series where I wanted the protagonist to achieve their goal, it’s this one. And that’s another reason why I’m so dissatisfied with what I’m getting.
And chapter 183 is exceptionally bad for such a huge multitude of reasons.
First of all, there’s Yushiro making up a plan against Nakime. Nakime, as we’ve been shown multiple times, knows of everything that happens in the Infinity Fortress. She can transfer people she doesn’t even see and she can send multiple people to various locations at once. Yet, Yushiro was somehow able to come up with a plan, share it with Mitsuri and actually go through with it, all without her noticing. At all. Because she suddenly turned blind for that one spot of the Fortress or something. And even if Yushiro used his illussionary ability, he still had to share the plan with Mitsuri. So there should be no way she wasn’t aware.
That’s another thing as well. As far as we are aware, it was Nakime’s job to keep the slayers separated. Again, she knows of everything happening in there. She knew about the other Upper Moons getting to a disadvantage. She knew about them being close to dying. And yet, she did nothing to get them away or to move the slayers out of their presence, she couldn’t move her hand and play a note on her biwa and just send them all anywhere else? Anyone else feeling cheated yet? Well buckle up because it gets even worse.
Because now we get to Muzan. And, yeah, remember the Demon Moons meetings? Remember that he can just snatch anyone’s head off, both lethally and non-lethally? Yeah, good thing you do because he doesn’t! Does this affect only demons? He still could’ve killed Yushiro ON THE SPOT. Does it only affect demons created by him? Still cool, he could’ve snatched Nakime’s head off without killing her and take Yushiro’s seal off her eye. But no, instead he’s not gonna do anything of that. He’s gonna mind-fight Yushiro inside her head and then he’s gonna kill her. And not even immediatelly kill like he killed Mukago or Kamanue or Rokuro, no, he will let her die slowly so Yushiro can keep using her power.
Remember when he pumped his blood into people by shoving a finger or a hand through their head? Well, good thing you do, because, yes you guessed it, HE DOESN’T. He scratched Tanjiro’s eye out and he that’s it. This is the demon who’s supposedly the most powerful demon EVER. And the most damage he’s done so far is scratch Tanjiro’s eye.
Remember when he could grab anyone from anywhere in the Fortress like he did with Wakuraba? Well, he doesn’t remember that either. He doesn’t NEED Nakime to access any place in the Fortress. He can get in and out as he pleases without needing her biwa AT ALL. He has more control over the place than Nakime herself. But guess what, we’re going to ignore all of that because if we actually stuck with the abilities estabilished for him, our heroes might need to think before they act and come up with clever plans and maybe there might even be some ACTUAL loss!
You know, not just a supporting character-type of loss! You know, like a loss of a character we really, whole-heartedly care about! A character we were given enough time to come to like and enjoy and support! A character we saw grow and get developed! How horrible!
Let it be known now that while the Infinity Fortress arc blessed me with countless (actually there’s somewhere below 500, I counted) pictures of my sweetheart Douma and gave me the TamaYushi angst I longed for, I still find it to be the worst arc KnY has had so far.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe all of this is a part of Muzan’s masterplan. Maybe he’s actually far more cunning and terrifying that we thought and we’re yet to see his true potential. But I seriously doubt that.
If anything like this is revealed, if we get to see any sort of reasoning for why nobody seems to have a brain anymore, I will gladly take this rant back and apologize but I kind of don’t feel like that will happen. This whole arc feels incredibly rushed and like the author just wants to be done with this series. It’s no longer the gem it was when it started and you can’t feel the love poured into every frame like it used to be. It’s just meeting the similar end as DGM.
How ironic that when I saw the first episode, my first initial thought was “Oh, this is just DGM for the new generation!” Now it seems KnY will meet the same fate, downplaying its villains, disregarding the rules it estabilished in its own universe, boring its creator and disappointing the more demanding parts of its audience.
To put it as simply as possible, there is no way the Demon Slayer Corps should be getting off this easily and there is no way Muzan and all his demons would be this stupid if they have already survived for long long centuries. Muzan doesn’t need Nakime and he doesn’t need his twelve demon Moons, he did just fine before he got them. So him suddenly forgetting about his powers and options is especially disheartening and irritating. At this point, we can only hope the creator realizes this and makes SOME effort to fix these mistakes otherwise, well, there goes another great series, ruined and corrupted by nothing but the bad writing and the author not knowing how to (or not bothering to, pick your favourite) make smart plans without disregarding their own characters’ abilities and parts of what makes them what they are. Muzan was written as an extremely powerful enemy, a cunning master of all things evil, a nightmare in human (or demon) form, something ancient and terrifying and able to spawn centuries of troubles for everyone around without ever – except for the one time – losing the upper hand. And that one time, he was STILL able to make it out alive and well.
Well, this was one extremely long rant and if you’ve read this far, kudos and a cookie to you. I may be expecting too much of a shonen series but am I really? Is it too much to ask for keeping some damn consistency at least in your characters if you can’t even be bothered to research for your timeline properly? The more I look into the Infinity Fortress arc, the more sudden plotholes and mistakes I find and the sadder it all gets. It’s like the author no longer has the strength to keep up the high quality series they started and if that’s actually the case, maybe a hiatus would be a better option than forcing themselves to continue and possibly ruin their entire franchise with a rushed and plothole-filled event.
On a slightly related note, you know what would be the one thing that would make me drop my jaw to the floor? A plottwist of unseen scale. Something on par with literally everything since the Infinity Train arc being STILL just a dream. Something on par with “Muzan” as he is now being actually the new Upper Five while the real Muzan stands back and enjoys the show. Something on par with this “Muzan” being just an illussion or a projection of something, or someone, who’s been in the Fortress this whole time while the real Muzan heads over to Urokodaki’s place to devour Nezuko. Or something even crazier. If you have any ideas, damn hit me with them, I want to hear all you have to say and feed this little flame of hope that this series is not yet entirely lost!
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