#porcelain ball jointed dolls | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

scenearcee · 7 months

Text

hi guys I wrote a little wanderer reconnecting with his mom hurt/comfort fic with not a lot of context and probably several plot fallacies + my own headcanons it’s below enjoy

characters: Wanderer, Raiden Shogun, Ei, Yae Miko, Aether, Paimon

categories: angst, hurt/comfort, family reconnecting???

title: Bated Breath

author: me, Pierre Scenearcee

How he had even gotten involved in this, he didn’t know, but here he was- facing the Raiden Shogun for the first time in 500 years.

And yet, her eyes lacked the spark of recognition.

Walking alongside his companion Aether, who is glancing at him with concern, he keeps his eyes pointed at the floor. The last time he set foot on these sullen floors, his name was Kunikuzushi, and his life had barely begun. Today, his name is Volt, and the world has all but forgotten his existence, the mark he left on Teyvat as a whole.

Aether had asked for Volt’s help looking for something in Inazuma, and being a scholar from there, he found it to be a simple and painless task. But things took a turn for the serious, and reinforcements on Serai Island were necessary. There was nobody to turn to, nobody but the Shogun herself.

Sitting there, ever so refined and regal, one leg crossed over the other on her swing. Standing next to her is her familiar, kne pink haired woman with her back turned to all else in the room. A kitsune youkai, and grand maiden of the Narukami shrine. Eyes that used to pierce the one named Kunikuzushi, empty of all familiarity as they catch wind of Volt.

He clenches his fist and bows before the women before him. Women he’d respected as his mothers, centuries ago, now just the governing powers of a country that forgot his existence. The ball joints in his fingers clack together as he unballs his fists, returning to a regular standing posture. All the words exchanged between Aether and these matriarchs suddenly began to take form… these words that felt painfully empty and silent.

“…and we need backup. Lives are at stake, the infestation is getting out of hand, and this isn’t something we can handle alone!”

“Indeed, this situation appears to be dire…”

“I wonder why you bring this young gentleman with you… what a curious character, don’t you agree? Ei?”

Aether and Paimon glance at each other, turning their gaze to Volt briefly, before returning their attention to the Shogun. “This is a friend of ours, a Sumeru scholar originally from Inazuma. He was showing us around the area, and noticed the infestation.”

Yae Miko turns around, taking a few steps towards Volt, who is staring forward blankly. Something sparks in her eyes, tugging at the corners of her lips. “I think an introduction from the young gentleman himself will suffice, no?”

He speaks without lifting his head. “My name is-“

“Lift your head. Let me see your eyes when you speak to me.”

His eyes meet hers, watching the expression on her face become more dubious. “…My name is Volt. I’m a scholar studying in Sumeru, under the guidance of the god of wisdom.”

The Shogun’s attention is caught, much to Aether and Paimon’s dismay. “Step forward, Volt. Miko, return; ask your questions from your post.” Her stern tone of voice reeks of authority, and Volt wouldn’t dare to oppose that command, taking steps to the center of the room; in front of his comrades. “You may continue.”

“Ah dear friend, thank you… where were we? Ah yes, an explanation if what you do is unnecessary, however I am awfully curious where you’re from. Tell me, where in Inazuma were you born and raised?”

“… Watatsumi-“

“Lying won’t do you any good, Volt. If that is your real name, in any case.” Yae’s suspicions are confusing the Shogun, bringing her to ask a question of her own.

“Who are you, really? I cannot help but sense… that you are familiar.”

“WAIT! It doesn’t matter who he is, we have an urgent situation to deal with!” Paimon shouts.

With bated breath, the electro archon speaks. “…Miko, escort the Traveler and Paimon out. Tell Kujou Sara to send a battalion to Serai Island, following the guidance of these two. Leave me and this… stranger… alone here.” Yae Miko opens her mouth to speak, but is harshly cut off. “Your sarcasm is not needed for this private, personal matter.”

Volt can’t take his eyes off of the Shogun, even as Yae Miko and his companions brush by hesitantly. His gaze is locked with hers, and silence hangs in the air for an eternity after the door seals itself shut. She steps off of her swing, striding down the set of stairs between herself and Volt. Her expression softens with each footfall. Before long, she’s within a few feet of Volt, who suddenly backs away violently. Motion falls flat, and the silence is sliced open with a tense blade.

“Are you challenging me, almighty Raiden Shogun?” Not knowing what else to say, hiding the cracking porcelain beneath his clothes.

“… Not at all, unless that is what it takes to learn your identity. Are you challenging me, familiar stranger?”

“… No.”

The sparks in her eyes glow brighter, her expression continues to lose weight- and then, a single tear pricks her cheek.

With bated breath, she asks.

“…Kunikuzushi, is that you?”

A large crack manifests itself on Volt’s face, and a tear follows the path of shattered porcelain. His eyes widen, how was he supposed to expect this would happen? Ei steps forward, tears streaming down her cheeks, and he doesn’t back away. Brushing away his tears with her thumbs, she cups his face in her hands.

“… My boy… my lovely son…” Familiarity and love blend in a painful bolt through her gaze, piercing Volt’s soul through his own leaking gaze. “Oh dear… why couldn’t I tell? What’s wrong with me, a Mother who can’t recognize her own son?”

“I tried to erase myself from this world, almighty Shogun… defeating the power of the Ley Lines must be easy for one such as yourself.”

She takes a sharp breath in, locking eyes with her son. “Why the formality, Kunikuzushi? What fostered this distance between us?”

A shuddering breath pulls through Volt’s lips, pushing more tears from his eyes. “… there’s a lot that you still don’t know… like how you hurt me.” He pulls away from her, turning away loathingly. “You were my whole world, but when I wasn’t enough for your purposes, you abandoned me. Tossed me aside, discarded me as if I were a broken toy, an old tool.”

The sting of shock paints Ei’s face as he turns around, more cracks appearing on his body.

“Starting with yours, a series of betrayals led me to become a spiteful creature, nearly ascending to godhood, with your gnosis. Don’t cry to me, I’m nothing more than a prototype vessel to you.”

“Kunikuzushi… no, Kunikuzushi, that was never my intention my dear…” her breath is unstable and shaky. “I… I was setting you free… free from a life full of danger and misery, the likes of which I knew you couldn’t…. oh no, Kunikuzushi…”

The unthinkable happens, and a crack forms in the skin of the seemingly perfect Raiden Shogun. The vessel inhabited by Ei, a flawless puppet, programmed to perfection- cracking.

“… what the hell are you saying?”

“My dear… I had no idea that I had hurt you so much. I saw early on, how similar you were to my dearly departed sister. I had used her essence to create you… after all. Miko suggested scrapping you, starting anew with the parts left behind… but how could I do such a cruel thing to what remained of my sister?” Tears stream down her cheeks, chased by bolts of misunderstanding. “You were such a beautiful, gentle soul. I wanted a better life for you, I wanted to free you of the responsibility it takes. Kunikuzushi, I didn’t know that you would be so badly hurt. You are, very, VERY, dear to me…”

His eyes meet that of his mother’s again, a shared pain soaking their locked gaze.

“… what?”

She chuckles tearfully. “I remember the day I first gave you a sword, watching you stumble about with a blade bigger than you were. Your eyes were so full of wonder, of life… as I continued mentoring you, it became more obvious how loving you were, and to force you to carry my blade… would be cruel. Such a kind spirit, such a full heart.”

“For so long, I searched for a heart, searched for something to show me that I do have a heart. All because I had to prove I was human enough, human enough to live amongst them, to find the family that I lost. What you did made me feel worthless, because I couldn’t be what I was made for. How was I supposed to know you did this because you wanted to protect me?!” Rage burns in his throat. Yet, as gently as a breeze after a storm, Ei sweeps forwards and embraces Volt, pressing his ear to her chest- her heartbeat resounding in his mind.

“My dear… you had a heart all along, always. You got your heart from me, and from your dearly departed Aunt Makoto. You weren’t cut out to be my vessel, and that is for the better. Raising you was the most enlightening experience I’d ever had, my darling boy.”

Gold fills in the cracks across both their bodies, slowly seeping through their wounds like blood and pus. Solidifying with exposure to air, binding these scars shut. Before long, Volt finds his arms wrapping around Ei. She squeezes him, her heart directly connecting to his. Tears fall from her eyes, tears of pure love and naught much else.

“Volt… my son. You will always, ALWAYS, have a home with me. Whatever I must do to atone… I will follow you into hell and back. Anything to see the precious heart you were before, when the world had not scarred you with betrayal. To learn who you are… my precious son.”

“… Always?”

“…Always.”

#genshin wanderer #genshin ei #scaramouche #raiden shogun #eimiko #kunikuzushi #genshin impact #genshin fic #genshin fanfic #methinks i should take my meds #they hurt me #kintsugi #i headcanon that their bodies are like porcelain ball jointed dolls #and under intense emotional stress they form cracks #and those cracks heal with gold

5 notes · View notes