#{Raiden Ei} : Eternitys Fate;;

[eternxlstar-archive]

||~ Of course she was second guessing her thoughts of creating her realm into a hopes of eternity , thanks to the traveler though Ei began to see a new light of this waking world she was so afraid of losing.

Standing in the streets, the archon watched curiously as children began to play games running around with laughter that filled there voices, as well as noticing the local food sellers that began to place out a fresh batches of Dango. rice omelets and other delectable goods that they made each and every morning. the soft pattering a Sakura petals began to fall beneath her feet as the semi sweet scent began to fill the air in harmony, As this nostalgic waking world began to come into view.

Ei began realized there was so much to this nation that she has missed due to fear, what would Makoto think of this if she saw her sister react so horribly before. Even so now thanks to a new view to this nation, Ei strives to make right for her people and it’s principles little by little of course as she understood that ‘SHE.’ did quite a damage on them with the old Vision hunt decree.

It wasn’t long though until her sobering thought came to a halt as she suddenly heard the clopping steps of a pair of Geta’s or what seemed like Geta’s. behind her and turned around as she noticed the stranger before crossing her arms over her chest in a serious but calm manner and spoke up.

“Greetings and good morning, is there something I can help you with?” Her monotone voice seemed a bit surprise to see someone else out here with early. though as she took a closer look at the other she noticed their outfit was out worldly and not something you would see in Inazuma so freely.

[aetherose]

TAG DUMP 1

[unmeiame]

||~ Of course she was second guessing her thoughts of creating her realm into a hopes of eternity , thanks to the traveler though Ei began to see a new light of this waking world she was so afraid of losing.

Standing in the streets, the archon watched curiously as children began to play games running around with laughter that filled there voices, as well as noticing the local food sellers that began to place out a fresh batches of Dango. 

Rice omelets and other delectable goods that they made each and every morning. the soft pattering a Sakura petals began to fall beneath her feet  as the semi sweet scent began to fill the air in harmony, As this nostalgic waking world began to come into view.

Ei began realized there was so much to this nation that she has missed due to fear, what would Makoto think of this if she saw her sister react so horribly before. 

Even so now thanks to a new view to this nation, Ei strives to make right for her people and it’s principles little by little of course as she understood that ‘SHE.’ did quite a damage on them with the old Vision hunt decree.

It wasn’t long though until her sobering thought came to a halt as she suddenly heard the clopping steps of a pair of Geta’s or what seemed like Geta’s. behind her and turned around as she noticed the other before crossing her arms over her chest in a serious but calm manner and spoke up.

“Greetings and good morning, is there something I can help you with?” her monotone voice seemed a bit surprise to see someone else out here with early. though as she took a closer look at the other she noticed their outfit was out worldly and not something you would see in Inazuma so freely. 

[shallyouobeyme]

Wander

Platonic!Yandere Wanderer x Reader (GN)

Summary: It wasn't just his mother who betrayed him fairly early on in his life, it was also his sibling - the only person he had been close to at that point in his life. At least that was what he thought. But once he had changed into the wanderer, some new information came to the light...

! Minors Do Not Interact !

TW: Probably not canon compliant with Wanderer's backstory since I don't have his character (sadly), Lumine is the Traveller in this one, kidnapping, dark content, obsession, kind of dying (but like not really), I do not condone this - this is all fantasy

As the story is told the archon of Inazuma, Goddess of Eternity, created a puppet which later became the feared Fatui Scaramouche - but that story isn't quite complete. One fateful fact that the story omitted was that the 'betrayed' puppet wasn't the Raiden's first attempt. Before him, she had breathed life into her very first puppet, a prototype of sorts, which had many faults from which the archon learnt. With the knowledge gained from them, she successfully created the wanderer and later the puppet she still uses to this day.

After his creation, the wanderer was left in the care of his predecessor as the archon attended to her duties and the two grew close due to their shared nature. In fact, the wanded soon realized that his sibling - as humans would probably call them - meant more to him than anything else in the world and he looked forward to spending eternity together with them and their mother. But Destiny had something else planned for him.

And so the story continued, but it wasn't just his mother who betrayed him, no his sibling stood by her side when he was cast out, ignoring his pleas to come with him, to stay by his side. So all throughout his travels, through joining the Fatui, through trying to achieve Godhood, his anger at those he had considered family stayed constant. He had to admit to himself that somewhere very deep inside of him he still felt a longing to be by his sibling's side and even though he would never admit it, he knew that once he'd become the god he was always meant to be he would give them another chance. A chance to leave behind the woman who had created them to join him, to stand by his side as they were always meant to.

While during his time as a Fatui, the wanderer heard many things about Raiden through the many spies in Inazuma or just general news, he never heard any news about his sibling, not even from the most dedicated spies. And so their fate eluded him which was the reason that after his defeat by Lumine and Nahida, and after he changed into who he was now - the wanderer, looking for a new purpose - he was especially curious when Paimon started talking about Inazuma and local affairs.

Especially when you were mentioned. His sibling. The person who had not left his mind for the entire time he had been gone. And what he heard Paimon say changed everything for him.

"We met up with Ei recently - I hope you don't mind us talking about her, we know you're still bitter about that whole deal - and she brought one of her puppets along. They kind of reminded Paimon of you, they didn't look like the Shogun at all and they had their own personality, just like you. I think Ei said their name was Y/N-" Paimon rambled on, Lumine walking beside them, used to Paimon's constant chattering by now and not needing to pay much attention anymore. Usually at the first mention of his mother, Wanderer would have interrupted her snarkily to stop her talking, but at the slight chance of hearing news of you, he had to let her keep talking, "-They were really, really nice. They even told us about when they were made. Paimon wonders if that's similar to how you were made."

Paimon did not wait for him to respond, instead happily continuing talking the aspect of not being interrupted for once: "What did they say again? Oh, yes, they were also made to hold the Shogun's Gnosis, but they weren't strong enough, Ei said that she gave them consciousness so that they could help care for future Puppets. So they even took care of you, right?" Wanderer didn't bother replying, instead working through the fact he had just heard. His mother had given you consciousness? Somehow he had always assumed you were just like him, that you had gained consciousness when your mother had attempted to place her gnosis in you.

"Oh well, seems like they grew on the shogun because even after they made their successful puppet they kept them around. It's all the better for it though, knowing what would happen when Ei'd leave them behind," Paimon sighed and for the first time, Wanderer intercepted.

"What do you mean? What would happen?"

"You don't know?" Paimon looked at him surprised, she must've expected him to know all about your time before he was made, "Because Ei was the one who gave them life, she also became the source of their life, if they ever leave Ei's surroundings, they'll turn back into a puppet. At least that's what Y/N told us, but they're so nice, I don't think they'd lie."

That changed everything for the Wanderer. If what the little flying Imp was saying was true, then you had never betrayed him. You had no choice. You were bound to your mother, unable to leave even if you wanted to - which you must have. Suddenly his life had a new meaning. He'd free you, so that you'd finally be able to spend eternity by his side, under his protection. You'd finally be siblings again, just like you were always meant to.

Without giving any care for his companions, Wanderer took off in a different direction. More specifically, the direction of Sumeru's harbour. He'd do whatever he had to to get to you, to free you, to save you. He stole a boat - may or may not hurting the owner in the process - and made his way towards his old home, a place he had sworn only to return to once he had become a god, but now there were new priorities in place. He still knew many secret spots surrounding the Archon's home and luckily for him, given his mother's personality, not a lot had changed in the past years.

It was easy for him to secretly make his way into the chambers you and him had shared after your creation - it was only now that he realized that the reason you had shared was that Ei hadn't bothered to give you your own since you were already a failure in her eyes. And what a sight to behold he found there, you were sitting in the window nook you had already loved when he had still lived there, reading a book. You hadn't changed at all, time had not touched you.

As he stepped closer, a shadow was cast over you that made you look up. Your eyes widened, but he saw the happiness in them. Had you missed him as much as he had missed you?

"You're back!" you shouted happily as you jumped up and ran towards him, embracing him in a hug that he gladly reciprocated. Oh, how he'd missed that - but now he'd never have to go without this happiness again. But as quick as the happiness had set in, it diminished when you turned back and looked at him worriedly. "You-You can't be here, Mother will- She can't know you're here, you have to leave."

Anger built up in him - of course, even when he was here to save you, his mother had to make things difficult for him. But he wouldn't let her ruin this, not as long as he had to fight for you.

"She will never find out, we will leave right now and we'll be off this island before she'll be any wiser. Don't worry," he told you to calm you down as he took your hand in his and pulled you with him - he was always the stronger of you (for reasons that were now obvious) so even though you tried to get him to stop, he just pulled you harder.

"We? I can't leave Inazuma, I need to be close to Mother," you tried to reason with him, but he just shook his head and disagreed with you. "She only makes you believe that, you don't need her, I can be your new source of life, we only need each other."

"But that's not how this works-" you tried again, but then there were guards shouting and running after the two of you. But because of your resistance, you were slower than usual - if it kept on like that, they'd catch up to you and you knew that if they were to try to capture your brother, something horrible would happen - either to him or to them - and you couldn't allow that to happen. So, even though you knew that it would mean your end, you took up the pace and ran along with Wanderer.

The two of you quickly arrived at his boat and he hoisted you into it before using his vision to bring quite some distance between the boat and the shore. He didn't notice you sitting on the other side of the boat looking back at the island with a sad kind of desperation. You knew that your life would end any second now, but you didn't mind all that much, after all, you had already extended the span of life you should have had. And now your life would end protecting someone you love, so you could die without any regrets.

"Brother, I want you to know that what will happen now isn't your fault, nor is it Mothers. Please, just be free, live your life in peace, and be happy," you called out to him, causing him to turn to you in confusion. He wanted to ask what you meant, but before the word could leave his lips, your body fell limp. Quickly, he rushed towards you, hoping you had just fallen unconscious, but as he turned your body to lie in his lap, he realized that the worst had come to pass. What he turned wasn't his sibling, it was a puppet of wood and wires. Gone was the animation in your face or the faux skin on your body, instead it was all just wood and paint. A puppet.

As Inazuma disappeared behind the horizon, he found a new reason for his existence. You had asked him to be happy, but how could he ever be happy if you weren't by his side? He'd move Celestia and the abyss if he had to, would make deals with whatever creature was out there and willing to help, if all else failed he would even return to his mother - everything to bring you back...

A/N: Thank you for reading the eleventh entry into my Yandere Writetober - I hope you enjoyed and you may want to comment and reblog, who knows. Tomorrow's word is 'Spicey' so I hope I'll see you again in my notifications

[santsukii]

ᯓ✿ but you’re not mine

ˋ°•*⁀➷ ei and miko (separately) falling for you while you’re dating the other

ˋ°•*⁀➷ raiden ei, yae miko x gn! reader (separate)

₊˚ angst!! unrequited love, no poly eimiko in this one that’ll be a different fic

the electro archon’s knowledge that you were dating her best friend and the only person who truly understood her would destroy her from the inside out. though her puppet gave a look of indifference, the deity residing within said puppet was anything but. if she could even begin to live up to her citizens’ expectations of her, then would you love her the way you loved the kitsune? ei knew she shouldn’t be so jealous of her only true friend, but she would give the whole world to be the one holding your hand, kissing you, taking you on dates, sharing her snacks with you. having you be just out of her reach was somehow astronomically more painful than the idea of never having met you at all.

the goddess of electro’s love for you was similar to the ideal she ruled over, eternal. the day she finally worked up the courage to confess to you despite your feelings for someone else, a thunderstorm raged outside to signal her inner turmoil. in her artificial throat remained the words she had wished to say to you, but went silent the second they tried to leave her mouth. a love language of averted eyes and avoidance had become the status quo between you and ei, rather unfortunately. if she could tell you how she felt, would you truly understand the weight of the words and what they meant?

for the sake of conversation, could she read your body language? it’s ultimately the best she’d ever get when it comes to you, so it’s best for ei to simply let go and watch you drift away from her. as painful as it would be, it would be for the best. her feelings for you would never truly fade as time went by, the sting of her unrequited love seemed to only grow. loving you from the sidelines had become ei’s unfortunate fate, always making herself cry when she thought about it at the wrong times. she would love you endlessly for the rest of her time living, just say it’s over and let her turn off her feelings and retreat back into her meditation.

in her own time, ei would stop taking control of her puppet so often when you were around. those sparkling purple eyes were replaced with something lifeless and pained indifference towards you.

to embrace someone’s drifting heart and force herself to smile would always be difficult to the kitsune. hiding her love for you behind a flirty and caring mask, how long would it be before she cracked and forced herself to simply say she loved you despite your dating the electro archon. she knew she wasn’t much more than a subordinate of said archon and the holder of the gnosis, but that love for you refused to go away. miko often found herself forcing the feelings down just before she said something that would even hint ever so slightly at her love for you. with that heart of hers that seemed on the verge of just breaking from the sting of seeing you with ei, avoidance was the best she could do. the day she met you, she became dizzy and frozen and simply held her breath before she said something that would ultimately embarrass her.

oh how miko wished it was her, why were you even with ei when the guuji-sama was right there? she was a better match for you than the electro archon anyway, that much was obvious. even then, it was just a useless fantasy she couldn’t help but hold onto out of a pained desperation that you would be hers one day. she could treat you so much better than a puppet whose master was barely ever present anyway, right? every night, miko is the one you’d be talking to you until you fall asleep, shopping with you and buying your favorite foods just to see that beautiful smile grace your adorable face again. as long as you were happy, she supposed she could find a way to move one eventually. your happiness and satisfaction were always exponentially more important in the eyes of the kitsune. sure, it would be nice if you could just love someone who was more than willing to sweep you off your feet with her naturally flirty personality. alas, it just wasn’t the right time. you clearly loved ei, so there was just nothing she could do.

watching helplessly from the side as you seemed to love ei more and more as the days went by, that was the life miko was relegated to. how could she truly grow to adore the world around her when it all seemed to remind her of you? the least she could do in this situation is bottle up those overly convoluted feelings that no one ever truly wants and try to forget about them. when you looked at her, what was it behind your eyes that you longed to see within her? her poor heart simply shattered when she found out you were with her best friend when she had loved you for so much longer. such is retribution for falling so helplessly in love with you. why couldn’t she just tell the truth so you didn’t have to lie?

the things she would give to be able to hold you close, have you fall into her the way you did in her best dreams. she knew deep down that in the end, it would never be her turn. maybe one day she’d at least be able to express those feelings.

[ariiadnes]

ㅤ♡ྀི ₊ I AM THE KNIFE WHICH WILL SLAUGHTER HEAVEN ( part i. )

IT IS YOUR PART TO KILL ME , MINE TO DIE WITHOUT FLINCHING.

❧ ꒰ childe ⋮ ei ⋮ dainsleif ꒱ ⋮ genshin impact × title cr : heiner müller × quote cr : epictetus ╰┈ ✎ ・・・ repost from my primary writing blog!

𓆩 ✧ 𓆪 ⋮ CHILDE

OH, BUT THE BLOOD IN YOUR VEINS RUNS COLDER THAN THE KNIFE AGAINST YOUR THROAT, the ruins of salvageable survival echoing in the remnants of a cruel mind. failure failure failure FAILED. you have failed once more, but you do not know if you are sorry or relieved at the realization. you lay there, chest heaving as your lungs burn in despair, but there is nothing except the calm in your visage.

childe looks down at you, wonders if you feel the iron against your skin. curiosity flickers for one, two seconds in blue hues, quickly drowned out by a wondrous adoration and glee at such a sight.

"poor thing." the harbinger says, and the increased pressure against your neck is the only thing that prevents you from laughing at his almost genuine, sympathetic tone. "you were much closer last time. i really thought you'd get me today."

"so sorry to disappoint you." you tilt your chin upwards, a grin blossoming across your lips. "maybe next time, huh?"

childe freezes, instinctively loosens his hold on the weapon. a maddening sense of nostalgia overwhelms his senses, dulls his blood lust. what a wonderful reunion you both share, he thinks, smiling as he leans down, faces only inches apart.

"maybe next time."

𓆩 ✧ 𓆪 ⋮ EI ; RAIDEN SHOGUN

"it has been a long while, raiden shogun."

she stiffens at your words, finds bitter amusement in such formalities. this is the end-- one will find victory ; another will find death. what need is there for such fronts and falsehoods after all you have endured together?

"have you forgotten my name?"

"impossible, ei. i would remember it for an eternity.”

you almost wonder if you see her flinch, but there is utmost apathy in purple eyes. how serene things used to be back then, an innocent youth and strong resolve once drowned in her colors. the person before you is a vessel of tragedy, claimed by calamity and only existing to seemingly protect others for all the wrong reasons. she remains silent, watches you with a growing grief untold.

there are too many barriers, too many unforgivings and too many regrets. too much missed between lovers twisted into something horrid, something ugly, something gruesome, and in the end, you forget you still have a heart.

"enough. you are not here to speak."

she steels herself for the worst, feels something excruciatingly human beneath it all. but it will fade soon enough, and she will return to a shell of indifference. it is all either of you know now, after all.

𓆩 ✧ 𓆪 ⋮ DAINSLEIF

but the bough keeper knows of his mission first and foremost, heart shattered with destruction and the knowledge of a heavy past. his home is neither here nor there, ruined and fallen to gods known and unknown. to seek happiness is unheard of, and perhaps this is his punishment for experiencing such a feeling with you in days long gone.

sanguine colors your hands, but you do not know where it comes from. how it trickles from your temple, trails down your face, almost mocks him in the way it resembles your tears. your jaw clenched, heart broken ; his honor on the line, resolve wavering. things should not have turned out this way. you and him should not know of violence, not like this, not towards each other.

but a bough keeper knows of his mission first and foremost, and he must protect the fate of khaenri'ah, even if that means destroying himself in the process.

"dain." you choke out his name, watch as his blood drips from his fingertips. you are not mad. you are not angry. you are sorry for what this has become. but you must do the right thing, even if it is wrong to him. you smile, dreadful, and hope he understands your heart. "i wish we could have had a better ending."

this numbness is unforgiving. sorrow sinks into his chest, rips out everything he has ever known. how hideous it is, this crimson that splatters across the floor.

[harmonysanreads]

Imagine... reincarnation au with yandere!raiden ei who just can't seem to have you in any life.

Or well, any of your lives to be exact as fate had preordained an endless cycle of gain and loss for her, ever so saved from the chilly embrace of death, of erosion. That's not to say your first ‘life’ with her was exactly determined to have an eventual parting—far from that and this (self) assurance ultimately created the deathliest crack on her trust in immortality.

You were a little different back in those days splattered with blood and ichor but, what remained eternal was the humanity and the reflection of an undefiled soul in your eyes—and which, she fell in love with. Despite the surges of elemental currents flowing through your body and an aura that suggested a little more, you had a heart and a pair of [e/c] eyes more humane than any mortals' and every one of your glances that shook Ei to her core was directed at her.

It was only natural, she'd admitted. Only someone as gentle and peaceful as Makoto could hope to hold your attention, adoration and perhaps that beautiful heart, too? Only someone as true as Raiden Makoto could stand beside you, after all. Ei had not complained or allowed even the littlest of these feelings to escape ; the occasional conversations you shared with her and the accidental brushes of your hand against hers was enough to keep her satisfied. If it's Makoto, she didn't mind. If it's you, she would keep her desires locked for another five thousand years. But what is she expected to do or to feel when you end the promise of an eternity alongside her sister?

She searches for another, one unbound by the fleeting nature of the world, one unrestricted by the humane emotions, an unchanging, perennial eternity carved from the same dream. To achieve that she'd forsake anything : her body, her emotions and even take away her people's ambitions.

Following that, many things had transpired. One such day with the Sakuko Decree in effect, as she strolled through the almost deserted paths of Narukami on a rare break from her endless meditation and saw her sanctuary through the puppet's eyes, she noticed a tense figure draped in silks suggesting otherwise of being a foreigner. Upon advancing closer, the figure of you garbed in costly Inazuman clothing and the ever so luminescent pair of [e/c] threw her whole world upside down.

Had the icy heart of the Heavenly Principles finally thawed upon her tireless work to achieve Eternity? Was this the reward, the second chance she'd so begged to receive? Unable to control her excitement she practically leaped towards you and called out your name. You responded with a visage painted with confusion and startle, questioning how she knew but then you mirrored her earlier urgency, quickly adding that you were lost and in search of your husband.

Huh. It seemed like your endearing ditz remained unchanged, too. Though soon she found some less endearing things leaking through your posture ; your flighty glances around the vicinity, twirling of thumbs and a look of silent panic barely contained. She was confused now, what exactly were you so frightened for? Beasts and monsters? Or nobushis harboring ill intent? Or was it the Shogunate?

The answer to that could wait though. Right now, her top priority was to keep you safe and make sure not to repeat the same mistake this time. So, she offered you residency at the Tenshukaku and a promise to send a guard to find your...your.....husband?

The realization dawns on her along with a bone-chilling chime. In seconds your body is blocked by another and a reflection electrifies her stare. Her very own creation stands before her, with you in his grasp and the weight of your relationship with him resounds like a koto's broken string.

It seemed like the Heavenly Principles had a whole array of unfunny jokes set for her.

good luck with everyone's wanderer pulls!

[pilkovette]

HER WORLD

pairing: raiden shogun x afab reader

cw: sfw, fluff, hand holding, cuddles and kisses, ooc?,

a/n: HAPPY BIRTHDAY EI AND THE SHOGUN! and i've never written fluff before so i hope it's okay

your smaller hand was intertwined with her much larger and calloused one. you knew that she'd killed many with the same smooth and pale hand, but you couldn't bring yourself to dislike her.

she wasn't human. you knew that as well, but...

when you gazed into those pretty, pale purple eyes, you couldn't help but stay close to her. she drew you in like a moth to a flame and you couldn't escape her immense and all-consuming heat.

it didn't burn, though, it warmed.

"is something the matter?" the soft voice came from the raiden shogun whose firm body you were curled up against, her free hand coming to idly stroke your hair almost hesitantly, "i sense your heartbeat has quickened."

"i thought i told you to stop doing that." you lightly scold, loosening your hold around her waist and taking deep breaths to calm yourself.

"apologies, it's hard not to notice..." she trails off, holding you closer to her chest as you retract yourself, "the way your heart flutters when i'm around, i'm not sure whether it's from fear or another emotion, but the sound is comforting."

thud-thud, thud-thud.

after a moment of silence, she added, "it reminds me that you are alive."

you nuzzle deeper into her cold embrace, barely warming her with your own body heat. she forces your gaze up by tilting your chin so she can see your face. she gently squeezes your hand reassuringly, trying not to crush it with her power, "transferring your heat to my body is futile, i am but a—"

"it doesn't matter, i don't care if you're just a puppet." you pout, hiding your face into her body again and holding her tighter, "just let me hold you."

the shogun's gaze softened, she couldn't get rid of you. you... so fragile and vulnerable, you who needed protection.

your eyes fell shut as you melted into her icy touch, and, without you noticing, she leaned down to press a careful and almost ghost-like kiss to your forehead.

"thank you, my dear."

you could hear the reluctance in her voice when saying the term of endearment, and a quiet giggle left your lips, opening your eyes to gaze lovingly into hers, "happy birthday."

she wouldn't dream of getting rid of you. after all, you brought joy to even the darkest days of her eternity.

and if fate were to ever tear the two of you apart, she would go to extreme levels to tear the world apart in search of you.

for, in her eyes, there is no world without you in it.

[https-furina]

✎ saints.

ft. raiden shogun/ei & scaramouche.

content: angst, spoilers for ‘inversion of genesis’ interlude chapter act iii (sumeru’s interlude) as it’s heavily based on scara’s lore, mother/son relationship, parent trauma, insinuating that raiden and scara meet, not proofread

w.c: 1.5k words

notes: this is my first individual work omg (and it’s scara angst oops.) it’s based on saints by echos which is one of my favourite songs <3 i added the specific lyrics that i associate with them both!

rain has always been prevalent in inazuma, she thinks as she watches the downpour from beneath her parasol. the grass below her feet is glittering, raindrops mirroring the moon’s glow. thunder roars overhead followed by a crack of lightning that illuminates narukami island. her gaze falls on the shadowed outline of tenshukaku. she considers it an honourable place to reside, to hide her face from the population of inazuma. somewhere that she can meditate in the plane of euthymia with little distraction but what is honour in the face of her sins? her crimes?

the raiden shogun. her own title brings a lump to her throat. another crack of lightning brightens the night sky and ei looks to the sky in a feat of hopelessness. she feels anything but the electro archon at that moment. she feels like timid, her actions outweighing the exalted front she puts on around others. the sakoku decree, the vision hunt decree, the plane of euthymia… what exactly was she hoping for? eternity, of course but who’s eternity? it was surely not those of her people. ei’s cold hand grips the handle of her parasol, the soft pitter patter of the rain landing above her echoing in her silence. would it be wrong to admit a fear of eroding as if she could prevent it? yae miko would laugh in her face right now.

the silence surrounding ei shifted. it was not broken nor interrupted but the air was tense, horrid and hugging at her vulnerable fate as if she was being tortured. glancing to her right, further along the cliff a flash of lightning illuminated another human form. she blinked. was she to feel relief and joy? or perhaps she should feel anger that he should be here in her home - her own country? her knuckles turned white from the grip on the parasol’s handle, taking in a sharp breath that stings her lungs.

“so you return to inazuma once more,” her voice cuts the silence, authoritative as ever, “have you come to mock me?”

she hears it faintly over the storm, his sickly laugh at her words. he lifts his head, indigo eyes meeting hers. he hasn’t changed a bit from the last time she saw him, she refuses to spend another second considering how much he mirrors her, how much he resembles her in the slightest. her ideals for her puppet did not wander far after his creation.

“it’s only fair i get a free pass to mock you after all these years, mother.” he’s full of spite and anger, ei believes he is rightfully entitled to those emotions. there’s venom dripping on his tongue as he mockingly calls her mother but ei is quick to scoff, turning back to her view of inazuma city as if he wasn’t there.

acting as if he didn’t exist again? scaramouche snides mentally, his arms folded against his chest. she looks pathetic, standing under a lilac decorated parasol on a random cliff on narukami island. he hadn’t expected to find her here when he tracked her down, a thousand words caught in his throat as he takes in her braid, her eyes that remain the same colour as his own. for a moment, their uncanny resemblances sparks more fire inside of him. more anger, loathing, anything.

“kunikuzushi,” his name - his true name - rolls off her tongue and catches him off guard. it seems she said to herself, however, “you’d be bold to assume i’ve not known of your actions within inazuma.”

scaramouche scoffs. how dare she even utter his name after abandoning him as she did; and to bring up his crimes? months - no, years of preparing himself for this confrontation could not have presumed the audacity she would have in his presence to act coy.

“let me guess,” scaramouche drums the pads of his fingertips on his bare upper arms, mildly damp from the humidity of inazuma’s storms, “you had that fox-”

“her name is miko and you’d be wise to remember it,” her voice snaps. she’s looking in his direction again and he can see the harsh glow of her eyes, “of course. she’s been watching you since i left you.”

he finds it amusing that a god could be angered over something so trivial. she is not as powerful here as she pretends and unfortunately, ei is aware. she is aware that here, she is his creator. she is not the electro archon, she is not beezlebul. she is his mother. ei gave him life, a body despite being something she considered a mere puppet.

“i had the awful opportunity of running into her while you were doing the thing you always do, avoiding reality.” scaramouche takes a step towards her. he does not know what willed him to take such an action, catching the pair off guard as the air is filled with that interrupted silence ei was appreciating before he made his presence known.

“i gave you life when i could have discarded you like an unwanted carcass and yet i hear instead that you’ve been running fatui operations within my country, your home,” ei spits, jarring but nonetheless honest of her true emotions, “to them you may be a harbinger but you are no more than another citizen of inazuma.”

you were standing there like an angry god counting out my sins just to cross them off saying that my tongue was too loud to trust and that my blood couldn’t keep you.

scaramouche scowls at her words, biting his tongue as his nails dig into the palms of his hands. the feeling stings, almost pressuring blood out of the pale skin of his hands but he releases his angered grip before he does so. his tongue pokes the soft inner of his cheek, a vexed smile curling his lips as he stares out at inazuma city in disbelief.

“you have the nerve to stand here and talk about me? as if you are not an archon that abandoned her son, her country? and for what reason? because you are too scared to erode from a title you don’t even want,” he mirrors her venom and ei hears it as clear as day over the thunderous roars above them, “you hid in your damn plane of euthymia with no contact, letting some puppet that runs on rules and laws govern your country while your people believe it is you, their oh mighty electro archon.”

ei doesn’t open her mouth to speak. she doesn’t have the words to snap back at him. her authority is crumbling before her very eyes, in front of her son - no, he’s a puppet. she sneers, lowering her gaze from his face as she takes in his attire. was she just to stand here and take such insolence from someone, something so unimportant to her?

“ah, has the raiden shogun been taken down a knotch?” scaramouche scoffs, letting out another sickly laugh at his mother’s face, “who do you think you’re fooling? celestia? you stand here counting my sins on one hand like you are better than me; what can i say? the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

my dear, you’re not so innocent you’re fooling heaven’s gates so you won’t have to change you’re no saint, you’re no saviour.

ei takes in a sharp breath once more, the cool air of inazuma is harsh on her throat, her lungs and her mind. in the moment of her downfall, she hopes that he got what he wanted; to humiliate her, mock her, make her feel bitter. bitter like the taste on her tongue as her brows knit together and she throws the parasol down to the wet mud at her feet. scaramouche watched in amusement, reeling in the view of being able to torment her for what she did. yet it would never be enough, he would do it again and again and again until it drove her mad. scaramouche was determined to cause hell for her betrayal to her own son, to whom she deems so disposable.

“enough. get out of my face.” the words leave her mouth before she has the thought to consider them, unsympathetic to the way scaramouche’s face softens at her dictatorial turn once more. it bites at him, chewing and pulling at his flesh and organs and makes him scrap the thoughts he’d had seconds ago. so he truly was nothing to her? another face to order around as if she wasn’t the reason his feet wandered teyvat so hopelessly, so ruthlessly. as if it wasn’t ei’s fault that he’d been betrayed by so many, including herself.

so keep your judgement for someone else, i’ve had enough.

by the time the sun paints the sky in hues of oranges, pinks and reds, the cliff is empty once more. the storm has passed, the dark clouds rolling away as a blue sky blankets inazuma in comfort and peace. nature crawls out from its hiding places, chirping and filling the silence with its noise. the people of inazuma would never know what happened that night on a random cliff, drowned out by the downpour.

they would never see the scene of a god and her puppet; a mother and her son.

© https-heizou 2023.

[venteas]

if one of us dies, i hope i die first - genshin fic

ft. yae miko, raiden ei, lisa, zhongli, venti (x gn!reader)

warnings: angst, doesn't follow canon timeline, grammatical errors

cw: alcoholism

summary: you are a traveller from another world, traversing across teyvat in search of a place to call home since you were exiled from your homeland. just as you settle down with them, fate decides that your journey will end here.

YAE MIKO! she doesn't cry - she has learnt that crying gets her nowhere. she's the same as ever on the outside, teasing and joking, and to anyone who does not know her well, it is as if nothing ever happened. deep down, however, she feels more lonely than ever. it is the same feeling she had when her friend left her for centuries, yet this time she knows that even after centuries, after millennia, while she may still be alive, she will never see you again. it pains her to say it, but she truly cared for you. she knows of your exile from your homeland, and even if she couldn't identify it, she had fallen in love with you. she wanted a place for you to stay, a place where you could call home, with someone whom you could always rely on. perhaps yae miko may not be someone everyone adores, but she certainly adores you, and vice versa. while she has lost many over the hundreds of years she's lived, you will never be just another person she's lost. to her, you will always be a brave traveller whom she was in love with.

RAIDEN EI! one thing ei was afraid of was falling in love, because it never lasted. it was a contradiction of eternity. yet she still fell in love with you. she knew it was a bad idea, because you were reckless, carefree, everything she was not. it was only until one night when you were drunk, while she was eating her favourite dango, that you revealed your situation to her. searching for a place to call home was all you ever wanted, and in ei's eyes, while you were still the same reckless traveller she knew, you were also looking for your idea of eternity. your relationship with her began to blossom, and soon, the two of you had decided to settle down. when news of your death got to ei, it was as if the rest of the world did not matter. it was the same feeling she got when she lost her sister and everyone she ever knew. reality hit hard then - eternity was your enemy, because you were a flame so bright it chipped away at your life. eternity and you could never be together, and ei's only just learnt this. despite this, however, she doesn't resent you. she still loves you, still visits your grave ever so often, and still remembers your desire for your own eternity. for as long as she will live, ei will remember you, just as she remembers her sister.

LISA! lisa has known ever since she was cursed by the magic book that she would die young. she doesn't expect to outlive jean, kaeya, anyone in the knights of favonius, really, and she definitely does not expect to outlive you, a traveller exiled from their homeland. so it is quite a shock to her when she finds out from a solemn jean that you have died while trying to save a citizen of mondstadt. how is this possible, lisa wonders, because she knows you are a capable fighter. according to the official reports, you had already sustained previous wounds while exploring the old temples scattered around mondstadt, where several ruin guards reside. she is shaken, of course - how could one's life be so easily taken just like this? death was inevitable, that was one thing lisa knew very well. but for death to strike just as the two of you were figuring things out, trying to put a label to this strange relationship you two had, well... fate is cruel. perhaps, the two of you will be reunited soon enough. and maybe then, the both of you could lead the life you never got the chance to live.

ZHONGLI! it's yet another loss to zhongli, the oldest archon, the god of contracts. he's supposed to be experienced in this field, so why does he feel so down during your funeral procession? he watches from the side as hu tao, the director of the wangsheng funeral parlour, directs the procession. you in that coffin, eyes shut as if you were merely sleeping. he feels a certain emotion he hasn't felt in a long time, something akin to grief, but not quite. it's the kind of grief that eats him from the inside, knowing full well that he could have been there to protect you from the fatui. he would've switched places with you in a heartbeat if it meant that you could live, because he's just a retired god living amongst mortals. you, on the other hand, had just begun life. to a god, someone who has lived for thousands of years, a few decades was like a blink of an eye. and he only wished that he had been there so you could stay by his side, by liyue, for as long as you could. as he watches the burial take place, zhongli closes his eyes briefly. memories of the two of you flash across his mind, moments where you were happy, sad, angry. he cannot reverse time now, but the least he can do is preserve the memories the both of you shared together. the love he has for you will never die, even if he does. perhaps if fate allows, he can find you sooner than expected.

VENTI! resident alcoholic of mondstadt, venti. of course he's not fully sober when you lie in his arms, feeling the disease take over you. you don't know what it is, but barbara has been trying her best to relieve the pain for you. jean has searched far and wide to find a cure for your disease, but it seems it is something you contracted in your homeland before you were exiled. venti's braids tickle your face as he stares at you with hazy eyes. "venti?" you call, your eyelids feeling heavier than usual. he replies with a hum. "i love you." he can't reply, he's far too gone to do so. but he starts humming a tune you know - he's not wrong when he says he knows tunes from all over, past or future. it is a lullaby your parents used to sing to you before you went to bed - you now associate it with comfort, with home. he hums the full tune, even if he can't speak. and you smile, if a little bitter, because what a way to die this is. in your lover's arms, with a tune you know all too well. peacefully, you shut your eyes. venti doesn't realise you really are gone until much later, when you no longer respond to his singing, to his touches. whether he will use more alcohol as a method of coping, or whether he will finally realise what his alcohol addiction can do, that...well, that's really up to him. but one thing is for certain - the tune he sings for you, will always be sung when he's lonely, and on the rare occasion he's sober. because it reminds you of home and comfort, and knowing your reasons for coming to mondstadt, he wants you - or rather, your spirit - to accept his land as a home.

[unmeiame]

Link to about, rules and other things are on this link here -> LINK

Please like or comment on this post, for a starter from Ei |Raiden| on here, and I wll get to it as soon as possible <3.  And if you could please let me know to who if you have a multi?

[royal-ruin]

other genshin fic recs here personal favorites are starred, by the way. everything is complete unless stated otherwise.

yae miko / ei | raiden ei fic recs

nevermore by bluu (~1.5k)

[“Zhongli says a country directly reflects the state of mind of its Archon.” Yae reaches up with her hand and tucks a lock of hair behind Baal’s ear. “Are you lonely, Ei?”

“I am the Raiden Shogun,” Baal replies lowly.

“I know that.” Then, with teeth, she says, “I made you.”]

*My love, look at me once more by seultoki (~10k)

Miko had begged her to come out of the Plane of Euthymia so many times, but Ei had refused to give in just as many times. She only listened when it was already too late, when both her nation and her lover had been taken by war.

Or: Ei and Miko are trapped in a vicious cycle of life and death, where each time, Miko doesn’t remember who she is but seems to remember what she has done wrong.

this absolutely obliterated my heart.

*the transience of cherry blossoms and their perpetuity by skywardharp (~6k)

Ei meets Yae under the shade of a cherry blossom tree, and for the first time, something stirs.

*exile (you’re not my homeland anymore) by goldfinchex (~9k)

[“though I occasionally get a little weary of the sight of it — I can’t exactly avoid seeing it at the Grand Narukami Shrine, after all — my fate is intimately intertwined with the Sacred Sakura.”]

A love that would eat you up from the inside, devour your very lungs until all you breathe are the remnants of your longing.

an Eimiko hanahaki fic.

she sets my freezing soul on fire by raideneis (~3k)

[“…I will prove it to you in hundreds of ways why you should choose me over anyone else in this world if I have to. Choose me.”

Miko’s heart stopped. Like it is covered in ice. When it beat again, it felt like it is on flames.]

feat. jealousy and kokomi.

a sakura's memory by Sephirron (~8k)

The Sacred Sakura is injured and memories of the land come like a mist, where Ei is forced to relive the painful moments of the past she tried so desperately to escape.

On her path to put her ghosts to rest and pursue a new meaning of eternity, from the Sacred Sakura, she witnesses other memories during the great tragedy and her time in seclusion in the Plane of Euthymia.

Yae Miko’s memories, in all her anger and pain, that leaves the Raiden Shogun with revelations about how foolish a goddess can be.

*stay (do not go where I cannot follow) by cafe_au_late (~7k)

[If there was anything that Yae Miko hated, it was things that were out of her control. And it wasn’t that she wanted to control Ei. What she wanted was for Ei to stop running. Ei had been avoiding her, she knew this much.

But Ei is a coward when it comes to things like this.

So Yae remains there, hand still outstretched for the ghost of someone who had just left and been long gone all at the same time.

Stay. She had wanted to say.

Do not go.

Stay.

But Ei had fled back to the Tenshukaku, back to the Plane of Euthymia, back to the very place that Yae could never go.

Do not go where I cannot follow.]

(The conversations Ei and Yae have following Ei's return from the Plane of Euthymia)

i love fics that go into how yae miko deals with ei’s return after her abandonment.

*In Present, Transient; In Memory, Eternal by LogosMinusPity (~6k)

[“Of all that I have possessed in my life, my memories are the only things remaining to me. Indeed, I believe that memories are the only real treasure any human can hope to hold always.”]

*Long May She Reign by thebetterbina (~4k)

[“Hello.”

Makoto is easy to find on the palace grounds. The servants were more than happy to tell Miko that their princess enjoys walking the length of the garden. Where the sakura blossoms fall, and the sound of the shishi-odoshi’s bamboo arm striking rock breaks the stillness. The koi fish swim listless rounds in the calm water.

Miko smiles from the end of the guzei, hands folded together neatly in her sleeves as she gives a polite bow, her head dipping with the movement. “My name is Yae Miko.”]

The princess is dead, long live the princess.

[sleepless-rants]

hiihii sleepless!!!!!!!!! any thoughts on the way the key concepts in mostly every (because i was. really not conscious during the inazuma) region's archon quests so far have had one or more of their key concepts encompass a KEY endgame-esc lore concept in one way or another>>??

hihihiii ok I love this question sm lets see (also so sorry for the long delay I've been really busy with stuff lately :'D )

Mondstadt: it WAS the first ever quest in game so I think we spent it learning about how the rest of genshin is gonna be more than anything. But if I had to point out a few 'hmmmm' moments:

1- wtf was the abyss order trying to do in controling a corrupted dvalin exactly? We're told they're trying to use him for their evil plans and then that they had plans to 'utilize him' in the trailer with lumine riding a ruin guard. I mean it all traces back to the loom of fate obv but I've been curious to know what that specific part of the plan was about. Anything to do with dvalin is suspicious to me bcz durin.

2- the entire conversation we had with venti at the end of the archon quest. The whole talk about allogenes and how they can acsend to godhood, the fact that venti and the cryo archon used to be on good terms but now havent spoken for centuries, etc etc honestly when in doubt just go watch that part again it gets the brain gears rolling.

3- the fact that an archon's power comes from the number of people believing in them.

Liyue: ngl the liyue quest was so boring to me I was half asleep while doing it so I might've missed some stuff BUT

1- the very end of the quest and the contract zhongli signed. I know that archons dont exactly love their gnoses and would probably trade it for a jolly rancher if given the chance BUT the trader was still a fatui harbinger and if zhongli's even a quarter as smart as nahida is he would ask for something beneficial in return. So yeah I rlly wanna know what the contents of that contract were I think it will be important going onward.

2- the fact that zhongli did ALL THAT just because he wanted to free his people from his reign retire and wanted to make sure they were ready for it is really telling. Time and time again we see how much archons themselves hate celestia and the system they've created. In the latest fontaine aq we even saw the lenghts some of them are willing to go to for destroying this system and I have no doubt this is going to mean something big in the future. (i mean keep in mind we have THREE godless nations now. Mond, liyue and fontaine archons all set their people free. As much as I love to meme abt archons vs khaenri'ah you have to give credit where credit is due.)

(It actually becomes key concepts from here instead of things I have questions about bear with me)

Inazuma:

1- VISION BEARERS LOSE THEIR MINDS WHEN YOU TAKE THEIR VISION!!!! the explanation inazuma aq offered was that its because visions are directly linked to a person's ambition, lose your vision = lose your ambition etc etc BUT DID ANYONE REALLY BUY THAT??? also if that's the case what about the few cases of people who lost their vision but were perfectly fine still????? Itto???? That one guy in the tea house who even says it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulder?????? The granny in wangshu inn???? Visions are getting more suspicious with every new aq.

2- delusions take away from their user's lifespan (not that It matters for any of the harbinger's other than childe and regular fatui soldiers so probably not as important as the vision thing but yk)

3- honestly the whole concept of eternity and time (which we got to explore more in ei's second sq) "eternity is the closest thing to the heavenly principles" what do you mean raiden. What did you mean by that. Dont even get me started on the whole pocket dimensions thing and how time flows diffrently in diffrent corners of teyvat. The fact that the future affects the past more than the past affects the future. Everything is litterally upside down.

Sumeru: every line that was said in the sumeru archon quest ever.

1- Descenders exist. And they are not affected by irminsul changes. Speaking of which,

2- I CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS AND HOW MANY THINGS IT MEANS FOR THE LORE!!! IRMINSUL CAN BE WIPED OF CERTAIN INFORMATION! AND THE ONLY WAY TO MAINTAIN THAT INFORMATION IS TO WRITE IT IN THE FORM OF A STORY! A FAIRYTALE! LOOK IN YOUR ARCHIVE PEOPLE! LOOK AT THE BOOKS! READ ANYTHING ANDERSDOTTIR HAS WRITTEN! READ THE PALE PRINCESS AND THE SIX PYGMIES!!!! READ THE FLOWERS FOR PRINCESS FISCHL!!! READ THE BOAR PRINCESS!!! READ THE MOONLIT BAMBOO FOREST!!!! GRARRAGAGAGGA

3- our twin is somehow native to teyvat (not a descender) while we are not. This is very much smelling of someone having messed with irminsul information. Either they wrote our twin into the irminsul files or they removed us. I used to lean towards the second one but after perinheri and learning khaenri'ahns welcomed people from outside teyvat im not so sure.

4- the entire forbidden knowledge and king deshret plotline. (King deshret/king irmin/nibelung parallels drive me insane on a daily basis. The fact that people affected by forbidden knowledge develop SCALES on their bodies literally do I need to say more.)

5- dreams are a seperate realm in teyvat. I dont see people talk about this enough despite how important the concept of dreams is in this game.

6- forget about information PEOPLE can be wiped off irminsul. Thats fucking terrifying. They cant wipe themselves but if a powerful enough person (ahem hexenzirkel ahem ahem dainsleif ahem) decides you shouldn't exist anymore you just...dont.

7- teyvat samsara cycle/ time loop confirmed. This is litterally a 500k word theory post of its own so imma just leave it there for now.

8- COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS!!! THE ENTIRE IRMINSUL COULD BE A COLLECTIVE CONCIOUSNESS!!! TEYVAT COULD BE A COLLECTIVE CONSIOUSNESS FOR ALL WE KNOW!!!

9- nahida wanted to get rid of the gnoses on her hands especially the electro one. Keep this in mind for the fontaine list.

10- sustainer of heavenly principles has been inactive since khaenri'ah. Hmmmmm

Fontaine: aka the only god khaenri'ahns pray to is focalors.

1- focalors my lovely lovely woman. We dont have a hydro archon anymore that is insane. Seven archons and only two of them are actively moving against celestia smh. (Also is it the six now instead of the seven?)

2- GNOSES ARE THE REMAINS OF THE THIRD DESCENDER!!!!! WDYM!!!!! CELESTIA REALLY STOLE A DESCENDERS CORPSE AND STOLE THE DRAGON'S POWERS AND MADE LITTLE BATTERIES FOR THEIR ARCHONS. WHO EVEN IS THE THIRD DESCENDERS

3- TWICE now gnoses have been said to "cause problems" if they remain where they are and so they are handed over to the fatui. The second time could've been excused as neuvillette not wanting a celestia device near him if it werent for the first time with nahida. What kind of problems are we talking abt here?

4- heavenly principles inactivity further proven by the fact that one of their archons TRICKED THEM FOR 500 YEARS, KILLED HERSELF, DESTROYED ONE OF THE SEVEN THRONES, HANDED THE POWER BACK TO A DRAGON SOVEREIGN and nothing happened. Are they dead? Like actually?

5- dragon sovereigns can be reborn/ have descenders. Nibelung/ irmi- *gunshot*

6- this was said in the sumeru interlude chapter also (or was it wanderer's sq I dont remember) the fact that you cant change fate, but CAN change how it affects the world.

Apologies if this is a bit incomprehensive I wrote this just at the top of my head (probably I should've re-read the aq voicelines akajskam) but there you go. The ultimate "archon quest things to keep in mind" list.

[oathofkaslana]

tis’ i, crepe.. with a very, very, definitely important ask.!!!!!!!!

I was thinking about your bronya & tsaritsa posts earlier today,, and I was wondering if there’s any other characters you think may end up being (or. already are) hi3 expys too? lore/arc wise, or just by design :3

ohhhhhhh you opened up a large can of worms w this one.. ii start visibly vibrating w excitement

general criteria are like. matching voice actors, very similar designs, some overlapping similarities. ie: mei and ei both having things to do with origin, time-fuckery (kinda), having similar designs, both being named raiden, being associated w lightning, sword users, etc. mostly we look at lore for talking about alts :3

lore-wise/confirmed (ordered by nation):

sustainer of heavenly principles -> kiana kaslana (herrscher of the void) of course mhy couldnt go a game without mentioning their favorite child. both share voice actors and similar designs. i also think its really interesting knowing that sirin (whos basically kiana's herrscher persona atp) was the first herrscher of the current era that actively abided by the will of the honkai (this being that exists outside of the honkai universe) and how the sustainer of heavenly principles is likely apart of the primordial one's four shades <- which again. the primordial one and the heavenly principles are pretty certainly NOT from teyvat. images below (note: the upwards pointing ahoge, the eye colors, the yellow powers, the red color schemes between kiana's herrscher of flamescion battlesuit, etc. in order: hi3 kiana HoF, genshin, hi3 kiana HoV, genshin)

venti -> wendy obvious one their names are similar (in chinese the first character of their name is the same and related to weather). they both have some control over the wind w venti being the archon of anemo and wendy being the herrscher of the wind. their designs are also similar if you look at their archon/herrscher forms. wendy's actually from ggz but i dont know enough about hr ggz counterpart to talk about her :( which sucks bc i heard shes written better and w more depth there. visual similarities below (take note: hair, wings, color scheme. in order: hi3, ggz, and genshin)

lore-wise i do think its interesting how HI3 wendy struggles with a lack of freedom while venti is the archon of freedom. (wendy: is wheel-chair bound due to a procedure/experiment gone wrong because of her being a literal child soldier. + being kidnapped by both schicksal and ae + being a narrative parallel to bronya who notoriously struggles with freedom especially in the chapter we meet wendy in)

raiden ei and raiden makoto -> raiden mei also obvious. i dont know where to even begin here. their surnames being the same; both being associated to lightning and thunder; mei and ei being sword-users; even lil things about ei like the fact that she cant cook whlie mei can because mei has a kiana to cook for and ei doesnt!; mei being the herrscher of origin and raiden shogun's auto attacks being named origin; mei having a line about reforging kiana's swords when it breaks as a symbol of strength and raiden shogun's passive being related to leveling swords and polearms. even like story-wise, while i think they did a shitty job w ei, i can see the bits of mei they were going for! the divided identities w mei (the real gentle and compassionate her being represented w makoto, a cold and cruel facade of hers being the raiden shogun, and the in-between version of her that just tries so hard to maintain eternity and change fate as a means of grief being represented with ei). and see. did not include GGZ mei heree bc i dont know enough about her. visuals below (take note the eye color, hair, the red accents in ei's clothing. in order: HI3 mei HoT, HI3 APHO mei, genshin makoto, and genshin ei.)

yae miko -> yae sakura also obvious w their names and designs asjdbjb. also both being mikos, narukami shrine being heavily associated w sakura blossoms, the fox and kitsune inspirations. and!! the medicine-food kiss in one of miko's books literally being something sakura did to kallen. they dont act similarly at all but i think thats part of what makes miko a successful expy. ei acts more like sakura than miko does! and the fact that their stories with losing their sisters and that spurring such intense grief within them is soooooo oughh.... i love eimiko from a multiverse perspective bc i think with it, it allows miko and sakura to be so so linked while also not being very similar, meaning we get more from miko's character if we know sakura but we dont need to know sakura to know about miko!!!! i also of course have to mention the grand narukami sakura tree and yae sakura's connection w sakura trees and grief.. the way the grand narukami's tree is a symbol of ei's grief for makoto AND the site where miko sends off the spirits of the youkai to rest :]. iirc, sakura's GGZ and HI3 lore are similar enough. images below (note: their hair, color palette, ears. in order: HI3, GGZ, genshin)

nahida -> theresa the whitewashing w this one is so ugly it makes me so mad bc story-wise i actually think nahida is a successful theresa alt. i just hate that they used it as an excuse to whitewash her. like. theresa being a clone of kallen whos physical body can only age to 13 and nahida being a small splintered part of rukkhadevata..... nahida being locked up by the sages because they didnt respect her and otto keeping theresa cooped up both because he cared about her and didnt wnat her to get in his way......... nahida being the archon of wisdom and theresa being the principal of st freya......... EVEN LIKE. THE TIME BETWEEN RUKKHADEVATA & NAHIDA BEUNG THE SAME AS KALLEN & THERESA (500 YEARS).. and, of course, nahida's attempts at addressing the discrimination/inequality between the two sumeru regions being akin to theresa's attempts to right otto's wrongs after she becomes schicksal's overseer. also the religious imagery w theresa and kallen veing christian and nahida and rukkhadevata and both being underestimated for their young appearances. not including ggz theresa here. (below is theresa's verdant sky skin, the first battlesuit of hers we see, and nahida. after is kallen and then rukkhadevata. take note the color schemes, braids vs ponytails, height)

al haitham -> su same as nahida it pisses me off so so much they whitewashed al haitham for this. but looking aside from the obvious visual similarities for a sec ok listen hear me out. su's buddhism and association w honkai's realm sumeru AND al haitham, of course, being from sumeru which is a nation heavily inspired by buddhism.... al haitham having connections to mirrors and light.. su literally keeping his eyes closed for the majority of the time......... both being rather quiet...... they do not act similarly though which i think serves them both well :] something abt su having such strong morals and convictions and literally being a fucking hero and carrying a lot of guilt in part because hes a healer who's lost so many while al haitham has a seemingly "uncaring" demeanor (not actually uncaring btw) which is something imparted onto him by his grandma.. visuals below (in order: HI3 su, genshin haitham)

design-wise:

heres a few people have suggested but i just dont agree or theyre only linked through design.

lisa -> rita (fallen rosemary battlesuit especially)

jean -> durandal/bianka

kazuha -> jingwei fu hua

young shenhe, xianyun -> azure empyrea fu hua i do not. get this one tbhes.

theres also welt yang/joachim and zhongli but while i think theyre very fun to think about in tandem from a lore perspective, i really dont think zhonglis inspired by joachim. FUCK I CANT ADD ANY MORE PHOTOS.

[scarasimp]

Inversion of Genesis and an Analysis of Scaramouche/ the Wanderer

Ok so I played it about a week ago because my brother forced me to and i was procrastinating because I couldn't think of a name for Wanderer.

And now here are my thoughts on the matter: The second I realised what Scaramouche was about to do I was done. He couldn't actually delete himself right??? AND THEN THE MAD LAD ACTUALLY DID.

Because what was his life at that point? For 400 years he believed himself betrayed by those he cared about. First by Raiden Ei, then the people of Tatarasuna and then the little boy who died.

Raiden Ei doesn't require a lot of explaination: She deemed him unfit to hold onto Inazuma's fate and dismissed him into storage. For what purpose? Unknown really. I'd like to think that she just simply couldn't kill him but was also at a loss. So this temporary - turned permanent solution happened. Ironic for the Archon of Eternity.

Then the whole ordeal with Dottore messing with the people of Tatarasuna to draw out Scaramouche. To hurt him enough to join the Fatui. Mold him into a weapon to bring forth into the war against the Heavenly Principles and bring glory to Sneznhaya.

At the cost of the people of Tatarasuna.

They never betrayed him. In fact they were the ones who were betrayed. Simply because they had the kindness in their hearts to take the Kabukimono/Scaramouche in. His life is a lie. HE was the reason they died. Not of any fault of his own, but just his mere existance as something Other, something Not Human.

And after the final betrayal, the kid that died, he couldn't do this anymore. Once again he opened his "heart", only for it to shatter into a thousand pieces as he was once again alone.

In his eyes, humanity as well as the godly have done nothing but hurt him. He lashed out at the world and the Fatui told him that there was a way to hurt them right back. Make them see him for what he is. Something better than Human, something more than just a Puppet: Divinity beyond the Heavenly Principles.

He has effectifely spit on everyone who cared about him in a way. He destroyed the Raiden Gokagen because it was important to Kiwa and thus in a way his legacy. Has poisoned the people of Inazuma with the Delusions and took part in a civil war that ravaged the country. He almost brought down Sumeru in his bid as Shouki no Kami.

And once Dottore's deciet was lifted? Once again Scaramouche got played the fool. His life is a lie, he has lost most of his power in a failed attempt at godhood and is completely at the mercy of a foreign archon. In light of this revelation, I find it quite understandable that he'd do something as drastic as removing himself from the equation of history. Without him, the people of Tatarasuna would live and the world was rid of one force of evil, or more accurately: a magnet for misery.

In stark contrast once the deletion was complete, Scaramouche ended up as the Wanderer. An on the surface nice and sweet, if not socially awkward, guy.

And yet he is none the happier.

Irminsul only changed the memory of the events, not the events themselves.

Raiden Ei still dismissed him, the people of Tatarasuna still died for him and the child was beyond saving. He has lived the same trauma once again, but without the lense of betrayal.

In a way "Wanderer" was the perfect name for this iteration of Scaramouche. He is without a goal in sight, still grasping at straws for anyone to give him the time of day and see him for who he is. Just now with the lense of "something is missing, something is wrong and I don't know how to fix it". No goal in sight searching for a purpose that elluded him. Something, anything really. I like to think that at least subconciously he knew something in his life was off. The only real difference between Wanderer and Scaramouche at that time was that the Fatui hadn't taken him in. The Fatui hadn't given him a goal in life.

The Wanderer is willing to do anything for even a shred of purpose, going to the locial extreme and viewing human relationships as nothing but transactions. He basically swore eternal servitude as payback for not standing in the rain one time. This is not a functional human we're looking at; this is a floundering shell of a person trying and not understanding why it gets dismissed.

Scaramouche understood it as betrayal. But the Wanderer without his actual memories cannot understand. Every relationship past the child ends up unfulfilling with the people distancing themselves once they realise that that the Wanderer is fundamentally different from them.

Scaramouche didn't just delete himself from history, with the removal of his memories, he has robbed himself of any purpose, identity and sense of belonging.

Once the shopkeeper dismisses the Wanderer, the Wanderer tries to tell the shopkeeper that he doesn't mind, he can work with no payback... he doesn't have anything else to do. But the shopkeeper isn't having it and tells him to scram regardless. Lucky Wanderer, the Traveler is right there to give him a new mission.

And then the quest happens and the Wanderer regains his memories in what I find a quite beautiful scene. A lifetime of recontextualised trauma opens before his eyes and now he understands. It all makes sense now but he can grasp that what happened while not his fault has messed him up. He has done horrible things, has hurt people to lessen his own hurt but now? Now he is willing to cope. Finally there is no "what if I could change the past?" it's over, it happened he cannot go back. He tried and see where that landed him.

This is what grants him the Anemo vision. The knowledge and experience Dottore and he himself have robbed him of has returned to him. Finally he can act on his own. The truth is there for him to behold and he is free to make his own decisions.

Now as the newest incarnation of Scaramouche can he finally begin to heal himself as well as the people he's hurt. Unitinghis new understanding of himself and the world around him.

And he begins with bringing down Shouki no Kami.