#LET THEM BE BROTHERS AGAIN MIHOYO

[idyllic-affections]

Guess who's back

Back again?

🐉 Anon's back

Tell a friend!

Jokes aside, hello again!

I agree completely. I feel mihoyo realized that people might not have felt that strong of a connection to the Traveler (even though they're motives are the entire reason we do the stuff we do in the game) due to how little we actually hear them, how little they might come off as their own living, breathing person. And since they probably it was already too far into the game to rectify this error, they instead elected to have the Trailblazer be voiced more instead. And it really does so much for them, because they really feel like they're a character themself, instead of just another player-insert, it's also super refreshing with just how unhinged, how much of a the Trailblazer can be characterized as. Plus, I especially love the VA for Stelle, and my favorite line that she's delivered so far has got to be:

"Wow... the cringe is strong."

The palpable disgust in that delivery is beautiful.

March is legit so absolutely adorable, 100% would jump in front of the Disaster Beast's disaster-beam to protect her again. Would take photos with her, even though I'm honestly not much of a photographer myself. And again, I just find the sibling dynamic that the main trio have is just to die for. Then we add in certain characters calling Stelle big sister and just... AUGH. I think I may have become so attached, that I have trouble playing different teams. And considering how they'll simply reappear in the dialog sections, is that kinda weird? Eh...

Either way, they all have a special place in my heart, the fucking faces March makes when you choose the trolly dialogue options LMAO

And great! I'll get around to sharing some of them with you in the next day or too! Though be forewarned, there is angst, there is trauma. I swear the spirit of Hoyoverse must've come over me or something, because basically all the characters I've come up with have some sort of issue... does that prospect make you uncomfortable?

Also also, I was wondering if you're open to taking writing requests atm? Because I had a couple of potential ideas for some genshin stuff if you are!

-🐉Anon

hi lovely welcome back hehe <33

yes i agree!!!!! the trailblazer feels like... an actual character, you know? stelle has her own personality and thoughts and is an actual fleshed-out character. it's endearing. the trailblazer is just so so important to me, i love her sm <33 she feels so much more real than aether or lumine do. also, i personally feel far more connected to stelle's narrative. the traveler's objective is solely to find their sibling, but with stelle, the emphasis of her journey does not seem to be the destination but rather on the journey itself. and i love that. because the traveler's sibling literally DOES NOT want to see them and idk how they don't get tired chasing after someone who isn't interested in reconnecting. like. i don't like that standoffishness, you know? it's really annoying to me. how can lumine (in my case) be so cold and enigmatic towards her literal TWIN BROTHER?? just talk to your brother bro it is not that hard PLEASE i am tired of chasing after you AJSKAGKFHD

UGH SAME. MOVE OUT OF THE WAY STELLE IT IS MY TURN TO THROW MYSELF INTO POTENTIALLY FATAL DANGER IN MARCH'S DEFENSE!!!! i picked up photography last year as a hobby and i honestly love it sm. i would absolutely take photos with her. beloved. also hook calling stelle big sister and getting flustered about it is the cutest to me!!!!! that's my daughter and i will not let anyone hurt her. same i know i will need to change up my team comp eventually (it is the trailblazer, dan heng, march, & hook at the moment) to make combat easier but i love them sm?!?!?!? i do not want to abandon them?!?!?!?!?!

I KNOW SHE GIVES THE TRAILBLAZER THE DIRTIEST LOOKS IT ALWAYS MAKES ME GIGGLE. THE FACES SHE MAKES AUSGAKGJGHF

this is actually a bit funny to me! anyone who knows me--knows my ocs--knows very well that i think there is NEVER enough angst. there is always room for more trauma. so no, it does not at all make me uncomfortable!!!! do your worst in my inbox!!!!!

also yep! my reqs are always open, so feel free to send in any thoughts at any time <3 you can send as many as you want as often as you want to! just be sure to send all your reqs seperately.

[the-ragbros-are-okay]

i keep thinking about kaeya and albedo and jean all telling klee "after you have a fight with someone, you always finish the fight and apologize. then, you hug, because that shows that you still care about the other person, even if you're still upset. okay?"

so klee firmly believes that

anyway, kaeya and diluc are arguing somewhere in mondstadt, as they tend to do whenever they interact because they dont know how to handle their emotions with each other, and klee sees them

they stop arguing, because why bring a child into their drama? that isn't needed, nor is it wanted. but klee, being the kindhearted girl she is, asks why they were arguing.

"it was just a silly dispute," kaeya tells her, laughing it off. "it's over now."

klee shakes her head. "but you two haven't made up, so it isn't over."

kaeya's thinking "uh oh" because he's remembering how much she stands by the Hug It Out rule

klee stands her ground, and insistently tells them that they haven't made up if they haven't hugged, and no, Kaeya and Mr Weird Grown-up, it's not okay because you aren't doing what you've taught!!! practice what you preach :(

and yknow kaeya's been wanting nothing more than to be diluc's brother again because that was the only family he had left, so he turns to diluc and shrugs and gives him a look that says "she won't go away until we do it"

diluc visibly sighs and opens his arms, and whatever you say he does not enjoy it, he would never. after all, he's supposed to dislike kaeya. yeah, that's right.. he's supposed to hate the way they still fit into each others arms like when they were kids, arms squeezing tight around each other for what was way too fleeting of a moment. he isn't supposed to miss the warmth as kaeya pulls away, leaving an empty space in his heart that he'd been trying to patch up for oh so long.

no, he doesn't miss any of it. he doesn't. not at all...

klee leaves, satisfied, and kaeya quickly blinks back the burning in his eyes before turning back to diluc.

"well, master diluc, that was a quite abrupt end to our dispute. i wish we could continue, but i must be going now. paperwork and all~"

no, he doesn't have any paperwork. it's his day off. he knows that if he stays, that unbearable loneliness he feels whenever diluc is around will return

and they part ways, both longing for something they believe they can never have

[kysxiao]

mhy foul as fuck for giving us these conch voice lines and then not giving kaeya and diluc a reconciliation arc .

[bbyaster]

every time i see anything about kaeya, diluc, or one of the travelers using another character as a “replacement” of sorts for their sibling my heart breaks a little bit more

[weightlessrose]

“Why, Diluc, if you don’t think to hard on it .. it’s just like before.”  “Before?” “When we were kids, Diluc. Come now, you haven’t forgotten already .. have you?”

[ratking222]

diluc & kaeya stress me out

[apompkwrites]

Hi, hello 👉👈

I really love the streamer AU and would like to request Albedo, Xiao, Tartaglia and Kaeya's reaction to reader's possible death theories

Just like the theories we have about them, I wonder how would they react to their favorite character possibly having a "bad ending" in the game

Like how Mona said that Kaeya's fate would catch him soon, or about Xiao's karmic thing

Sorry for bothering and thank you ✨

reader impact || fan theories

series masterlist characters: albedo, childe, kaeya, xiao genre: angst? is that what you would call this?? i don't know. summary: with so much backstory and lore, there are bound to be fan theories on the different characters in genshin. what happens when our streamers read some... unfortunate endings regarding you? notes: i normally don't look at theories... ugh mihoyo why. anyway, i made the written portions before the bullet points act as a theory fic or something similar to that :)

albedo -

"i have the utmost faith in you, traveler," you mutter as the star on your neck seems to crack. your neck begins to split apart and light pink light glows from underneath it. the cracks travel throughout your body.

your hands are pitch black and your upper arms are pink with a soft gradient connecting the two colors. you shake and tremble in what remained of your dragonspine camp. several chemicals and glass shards are scattered across the dirt floor.

"please. as my... former assistant. stop me."

albedo almost closed the tab right there.

the only thing stopping him is his chat, who is just freaking out about the fan theory comic sent to him.

the notebook on his desk, which still had a camera pointed at it, was filled with frustrated scribbles and illegible drawings.

he almost broke his pencil.

he just wants to leave.

he's been streaming his reaction to plenty of fan theories about genshin's universe, such as paimon's origins and possible endings for the other characters.

he thought that you would have fun happy theories.

no.

not at all.

remember when i said he would pretend nothing bad is happening to you during his first meeting?

yeah, he held that denial until now.

now he's forced to confront the (very possible) idea that you will be a boss he'll have to fight later.

he absolutely loves the person who made the art.

he absolutely hates that this idea is the only thing he'll think about for... at least half a year.

childe -

"this... this is it for me, huh?" you heave, your body sprawled out on the bloodied grass and dirt. your weapon has long been abandoned, tossed to the side like trash. "you... fought valiantly as always, sweetheart. i'm... i'm proud of you."

it wasn't supposed to end like this. you were never supposed to die here, surrounded by the remnants of your enemies and comrades. you were supposed to go home.

to your family. introduce them to the otherworldly traveler you lovingly dubbed sweetheart.

"ah, i broke my promise, didn't i?" you hum, staring up at the sky through half-lidded eyes. "i told you i would introduce you to my family. my siblings would have loved you... i guess i'll be thrown on the ice for breaking it, won't i?"

he can and will ugly cry at this theory.

he doesn't even care he's caught on stream crying.

it just hits too close to home, especially as a big brother himself.

he'd call his siblings into his streaming room.

and once they come inside?

he'll hug them.

and hold them.

he'll promise to you that if that day ever did come in the game, he'd find a way to get to your siblings and meet them.

it doesn't matter if the game doesn't let him.

he'll either find it on his own in-game (which would probably grant him an achievement) or commission someone to make fanart/write a fic about this encounter.

and until then, he'll make sure to treasure you in his party.

kaeya -

"this soon, huh?" you chuckle dryly. your brows are furrowed as you stand alone. you knew this day would come. why wouldn't it?

fate was always cruel like that. coming to mondstadt for your people then growing close to the outsiders there. it was always cruel. it didn't matter if you were good or bad, fate always had a plan for you.

"what should i do?" you mutter, seemingly weighing your options in your hands. "take revenge for my people... abandon them for a new home... what would be the best choice?"

there wasn't one. and you knew that all too well. you knew you had to make a choice or else the universe would make it for you.

and if you left it up to chance... neither home you had grown with would survive.

can we go back to the simpler times, please?

all he wants is to go back to the beginning of the game when he was oh so naive.

he wanted to boot up the game again and just flirt with you until he passes on.

this theory... will actually be the death of him.

thinking you'll be forced to choose the future of mondstadt, or even teyvat, is an idea he wants to abandon entirely.

he wants to give you a glass of your favorite drink and get wasted until the sun comes up.

he takes this as a personal attack and will refuse to believe it.

but sometimes he does.

and when that happens, it's time for a drink.

just like you.

he'll join you in drinking your sorrows away for all eternity.

xiao -

"it's been years since i last heard the song of the dihua flute," you growl, clutching onto your cracking mask. the object is permanently stuck to your face. the only way to see your strained face was to look closely at the cracks, which allow a sliver of your skin to escape.

it's been a millennium or so since you started protecting liyue in secret. it's been a millennium or so since you started carrying the heavy burden of karmic debt on your shoulders.

"i have promised you that i would strike you down if you were ever taken by the darkness," you comment as your body involuntarily grabs your weapon. "i only wish for you to do the same for me. allow me... to peacefully... join their ranks."

he hates how probable this is.

and he hates how he actually believes this will happen.

he doesn't want to.

but there's too much evidence pointing to it.

all of your lore and the patterns the other yakshas followed...

he'll end the stream right there because he is not dealing with all of these emotions in front of a bunch of people.

he doesn't need that right now.

what will he do when he ends the stream?

probably contemplate everything he's known until this point.

and then look for fan content about you.

happy fan content.

he's the type of person to read fanfics about you.

be it reader insert or just general stories, he'll read it.

he just wants to think about you having happy endings :)

please, he's desperate for some fluff.

[madametrashbin]

Gentle Dusk

Side stories!... In which this will be how I spend my time with the series while I wait for the Main Story to be updated after I finish Veil of Starlight. :D

These are just... moments with the characters, maybe an insight for you guys to just understand what they’re like in this particular storyline because, y’know, dead characters aren’t necessarily dead here (and I refuse to accept Mihoyo made these beautiful characters to die... like, why are they so pretty?! Explain yourselves, Mihoyo!!)

Today’s spotlight character is...! Uhh... Actually, I’ll just let you guys read it and see. 

(I wanted to post this Wednesday but Wifi went out and my phone is kind of ass when it comes to writing on Tumblr, so I had to delay it... unfortunately. I’ll get my brain back to work on Veil of Starlight now.)

Today’s a good day.

Crepus immediately thinks as the weather was at the perfect temperature, probably because a certain Exalted figure was coming today. He’s rather ecstatic to spend some time with them today, a chance to get to know his savior in person... he won’t say it to many people, but he wasn’t a fan of how possessive the Archons were.

He could tell a lot of the other worshippers weren’t as happy about it either, thinking the manner of how the Archons treated their statuses over the rest of them was unfair. 

The Creator treated all equally, so why do they believe they hold the right to keep the Creator’s attention on them more than anyone else?

“Father.”

Crepus turns away from the sky, looking back to his son who stood at the stairway from where he was,

“Their Grace has arrived. It’s best you get there quickly before Barbatos drags them away again.”

“Alright. Thank you, Diluc.”

His son, ever so quiet compared to his brother, only nods in response before Crepus heads off... although he does ruffle the young man’s hair quickly and jogs away to the gate before the young man could react.

As he made his way closer to the gate, the tingling feeling within him that bursts like those fireworks from Inazuma grew more prominent, setting his body ablaze with a warmth that gave him a sense of enlightenment. The Creator’s blessings are within everyone, but very rarely do individuals ever hold enough to feel that connection more prominently.

Crepus felt blessed to be one of those rare individuals himself.

“Your Grace.”

He finally spotted them at the entrance of the city, the familiar white silk outfit that was wrapped around their perfect form... The unmistakable light of stardust that shimmers from behind them as they stood at the gate with a relatively relaxed expression.

Seeing their bright eyes of stars look towards him, he feels his breath taken away yet again... truly, to have them look at him no matter how many times it happens, it still makes him lose his composure and find himself rendered speechless with awe and adoration.

“Crepus.”

“Ah, my apologies... I cannot get used to how beautiful you are, Your Grace.”

He finds himself back to reality at the call of his name, and nearly forgets to respond when he sees them looking at him still. He couldn’t really help himself though! How could he, when an existence so wonderful has arrived and graced the world with their presence?

“O-Oh... Is that so?”

Crepus is graced with the twinge of red from their cheeks, the infamous shy nature their Exalted God held was shown as he finds himself entranced yet again. How very humble his divine savior was...

He couldn’t help but be endeared by the sight, as he gently took their hand (making sure to ask permission first, unlike the Archons who just forcefully dragged them around without ever being considerate of what they wanted) and soon led them around Mondstadt.

Crepus is a gentleman as he is an honest man.

Finally getting the chance to know him better without any of the Archons forcefully butting into everything like usual for your attention, you find yourself understanding just how Crepus easily influenced the people around him, and the respect held by many people who knew him (when he was dead in the storyline you knew).

While he still isn’t a part of the Knights of Favonius in this world, he still lent a hand to the city when they needed him... never once did treat his status as one of the rare blessed people as leverage over the others.

You can see why Diluc had been so eager to make his father proud, and why Kaeya had struggled to decide his allegiance between his homeland of birth and the land that took him in... you would’ve been the same if you were in their shoes.

(Even so, you still cannot understand how someone wonderful like him consider you as beautiful to the point of rendering him speechless. As far as you were certain, you just looked like some ordinary civilian... if you ignored the unnatural light you were constantly emitting with no end in sight, that is.)

“Is there anything you want, Your Grace?”

Out of all the other wealthier people, Crepus is surprisingly tamed when it comes to spending his money... unlike Childe or Ningguang who would pull out their wallets at the second you look at something for a second too long, Crepus only buys something when you actually do want something.

Which, if you had to be honest, makes you relax around him a lot more easily compared to the rest... and his devotion for you is generally more relaxing. He isn’t pressuring you to do anything, so you find yourself truly enjoying his company without being too exhausted. 

(It’s not that you don’t like everyone else... it’s just a bit too much sometimes when they’re all pushing you behind their looks and words that are kind of demanding you to do something even when you just wanted to sit and relax.)

“I’m... feeling a little hungry.”

“Is that so? Then let us find a place to eat. Any place in particular that you wish to go to, Your Grace?”

Okay, yeah. Being with Crepus is a lot less stressful than most others. You’d say he ranks the same as Thoma, with the amount of patience and consideration of what you want.

He’s a new favorite, not that you’d say it out loud to anyone... you’re kind of worried about that, having witnessed some less-than-pleasant moments between your “worshippers” before and saw the disasters that unfolded in front of you.

You don’t want Crepus to deal with those messes, let alone get caught up in them now that you got to know him better than what little you knew of him.

Now then... here’s to hoping that the others who are not dead are like him...

[yostresswritinggirl]

My goodness, I- I did not expect this one to blow up like this. Then again you guys are so goddamn unpredictable, be glad I love you all hhhhh- this will be the last installation of Universe Reversal and it has been a nice yet wild ride for this mini-series pfft. Thank you to the anon with the brilliant mind who started this, I didn't include Kaeya here since he's already fleshed out in the asks convos we had.

Universe Reversal 3

Genshin Impact Character Reader and Modern Players with Venti and Diluc (how they simp for you) (event masterlist / Part 1 / Part 2 / Extras)

Venti the Multi-Account User

This unhinged boyo has made multiple accounts for different servers, and no one really knows how many he uses or how many he's active on (it's 2), nor the reason why he even did this strategy in the first place.

How he pulled you: This little gremlin was messing around with his alt account and saw that he still had some leftover primogems in it, enough for ten pulls. And he was like, why not? He's already ran out of chances in his main account, he wasn't hoping much— so when that glorious golden meteor appear, he froze.

And then he freaked out, both in triumph and anger, because OMG you came home!!! In the WRONG account!!! ¡¡! ¡¡!

Bragging about it to his friends, and when he gets his congratulations, he's gonna come out and say it was on his alt account. And all hell breaks loose.

He's gonna spend most of his days trying to debate over his head what's he gonna do about his predicament, while farming materials not just for you but for the other characters as well. He doesn't have a well-bred team in that account so...

He'll be spending most of his time in that account during the hype, of course, and he's gonna be the gamer that would be staying up so late just to get everything geared up and maxed out.

Venti usually used you in co-op to flex on his pull, and dons your character as his profile. His grinding has raised you to at least C1 with the second best weapon for you, and a decent set of artifacts. He built you as sub dps tho, unlike the other players here.

This is obvious but he likes using you for gliding, because your character reacts so happily when doing so and he finds it really cute. He also ends up idling a lot and watches your idle animation, gif'd and all.

One of the very few characters who would actually cosplay as you, if it's possible. Shameless and proud for it too.

May or may not have attracted some specific fans.

You coming home has sparked the vigor of gaming for him once again, and became more engaged to the community and- holy shit, you have so many fan materials.

Venti may or may not have participated in the ship wars and best character wars alongside Childe and Kaeya.

One of the remixers and character theme/fan-made songs type of fan in the community, very prestigious too. He aims to offers his works to the devs too, even if it's just for small promotional materials.

"The game just become so much more enjoyable and pleasing to play when I got them! Even if I had to switch accounts, it's was sooo worth it." sad neglected account noises

Favorite Voicelines: Feelings About Ascension, All your trailers (What do you mean this is not a voiceline?)

Diluc the Beta Tester

One of the lucky people to be able to play the beta version of the game, as he had been very critical in checking for bugs and suggestions even if he has his own work.

How he pulled you: Mentioned this before, he wasn't meant to pull for you really, he was there for the other characters in your banner, but you ended up coming home to him instead.

It's not that he doesn't LIKE you, it's nothing personal, it's just that his team/playstyle doesn't really let you fit in to his game? But hey, at least he knows you're good, so instead of neglecting you he decided to build you up as well just to see.

Diluc now has the strongest (Y/N) build in the whole game.

Was forced by his brother to make a video/tutorial for your character, and he found it quite enjoyable. So many people thanked him and supported his video for it, dedicated fans to your character and building.

Diluc warms up to your character soon after and sees you in a better light. Starts reading more about you and sees how nice your story was well made, and admires the beauty of your ult animation a tad bit too much.

His reputation suddenly became connected to you, like speedrunning, soloing and powerful builds with/for your character.

If there were any bugs or fixes regarding your character, he's the first to notice and report in full detail to Mihoyo. Because of this your release had been unusually flawless and well-liked by the community, but he wouldn't know much since he's not that engaged to the fandom.

He doesn't notice his bias to you and if he gets called out, he's gonna vehemently deny the fuck outta it. He's a beta player, he needs to analyze all characters equally, damn it.

He may or maaaaay not be one of the cause of your character getting leaked before your actual release; Kaeya may or maaaay not be related to this. Don't worry tho, he's not under any danger, yet.

He has a big chance of being a new character's VA that's closely tied to you and he's unsure yet on how to deal about the offer.

If a casual criticizes your character, especially when they insult that you're too overrated, he's there to pull out the right facts and rants to shit the fucker up.

Silently helped with the popularity poll and made you the most liked character for a very long time.

One of the people obsessed with your idle animation and voicelines, and had listened to all of your lines in ALL languages. For uh, for work purposes, of course. Will fight that your English VA is the best and suiting voice for you.

He's kinda tsun on liking your character in a simping kind of sense? So it's like subtle in which he silently buys one merch of yours, total opposite of Kaeya with his Dakimakura-

"One of the best characters Mihoyo has released so far. I'm guilty I almost didn't try getting them, but now I'm on the shi- train for vouching as best player."

Favorite Voicelines: Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night, Attack Dialogues

@ellitx @moaa @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @dandelion-dreams @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel

[xiaomainlmao]

Just things I noticed between the genshin twins

So I chose Aether on my main and Lumine on my alt account and here are some things I've noticed!

Mc Aether is kind and gentle. When he finds a treasure chest he's grateful and feels motivated to keep moving forward, to see it through the end. His fighting stance shows that he trusts his companions but sometimes hesitates to attack. However, while fighting, he's all about making sure the end result is at least a little peaceful. He's also curious when he joins a party and willing to explore

Mc Lumine is more determined. When she finds a treasure chest she's proud, relishing every little victory as it makes her all the more determined to continue her journey. Her fighting stance shows power and grace. She does not hesitate to attack if required and at the end, makes sure that her companions are safe.

Abyss Aether isn't the strongest, but he knows what he's doing. When he sees his sister, he tries to make her understand that he's siding with the abyss. Throughout his speech, his gaze soft and yet confident. His voice holds love for his sister but also determination of making it to the end. His "till we meet again" is cold. Unlike the rest of his speech, his last line makes it seem as though he doesn't care much about another reunion and is rather focused on achieving his goal.

Abyss Lumine is bold and straight-forward. When she sees her brother, she lets him know that she is with the abyss and isn't backing out. She's fixated on her goal and you can hear it in her voice. her eyes show determination of achieving her goal. Her "till we meet again" is soft. Unlike the rest of her speech, her last line shows her love for Aether which she cannot show just yet, and that, she's willing to meet her brother once again. At the end of their journeys, when they're on the same page, she hopes to be with Aether.

It's fascinating, truly, how they can both be the main chara and the villain, and yet their core personality doesn't change. The way mihoyo/hoyoverse has designed the twins does indicate that Aether is the canon mc but Lumine is also not the villain. Choosing either of them has no major effect on the main story but the minor details changes the experience.

At the end, these are just my observations/opinions. Feel free to share your opinions!

[genshinarchives]

Ayaka and Xingqiu's older brother's is not even out yet and now im already simping for them, also I raise you these: Imagine getting courted by 2 hot oniisan in tevyat 😳

Ion think Xingqiu's gēgē will be playable, that's how much hope I have (does he even have a Vision-) 😭 Buuut since Mihoyo will be releasing more male characters to make the men to women ratio almost equal from now on, maybe he will eventually be playable? IN ANY CASE THERE WILL BE MORE HOT MEN, SO LET US REJOICE FELLOW HUSBANDO COLLECTORS 🏃‍♀️💨💨

Being courted by two hot onii-san, with one being the head of his clan and the other being the heir of his family 😏

-

(Y/n) had the misfortune of being stranded in Inazuma because of the Sakoku Decree while she was travelling, and was forced to make a living there as a result. She’s not one to give up easily though and was able to land a job at a popular teahouse that Ayato would frequent during his free time. He must have been attracted to (y/n)’s refreshing personality and smile that shines brighter than the sun, and he would make an effort to visit the teahouse she works in whenever he had the time to. (Y/n) was always the one who served his table since the other waitresses were far too intimidated to approach him.

The two developed a close relationship over time, and after the Vision Hunt Decree was abolished, he helped arrange a ship bound for Liyue so she could go home, even though he really wanted her to stay with him in Inazuma. But since she admitted to feeling extremely homesick, he thought that he should do something to prevent her smile from being extinguished.

It was so hard for him to watch her leave. She filled his mundane life with colours, and it felt as if his world was turning monochrome once again as she bid him farewell. At least (y/n) would be bringing a part of him back home with her to Liyue. The blue kimono she wore was splashed with his colours, and the patterns even included the Kamisato family crest. Before she could walk away from him, Ayato caught the end of her sleeve between his fingers and kissed the fabric, causing a faint blush to flit across her cheeks.

“Please consider returning to Inazuma,” he implored, his bright eyes staring straight into hers, “I’d like to see you wearing a white kimono next time.”

When (y/n) finally returned to Liyue, Xingqiu’s brother (let’s call him Xingchen for now) would be the first person to welcome her home. He had been worried sick when he received news of her being stranded in Inazuma, and not a single day would end without him thinking about her. But wait a moment - he noticed that she's wearing a beautiful kimono that seemed to be tailored for noble women. He doesn’t have a problem with her wearing fancy clothes, but he does have a problem when the person who gifted his childhood friend the kimono had clear intentions of courting her. He’s not dumb, he can see the family crest that was sneakily added to the patterns.

Xingchen had intended to make (y/n) his betrothed since he’s going to become the Head of the Feiyun Commerce Guild in the future, and it seems like another man from Inazuma was bold enough to make the first move on her. Well, he’s not about to let her go easily now that he knows someone else of a higher position than him had taken an interest in her. You bet that Xingqiu’s brother will make (y/n) wear new dresses that have his colours instead, so let's forget about the kimono that Ayato gave her, yeah?

[shimozann]

All I want from my life at this point is to see Kaeya and Diluc be brothers again

It’s the only thing I want

Please

Mihoyo

plEASE

Don’t make Kaeya choose Khaenri’ah over Mondstadt or anything like that

Lemme die in peace for frikks sake just let brothers bE BROTHERS

Let them

Have

Their

PEACE

[sanguine-tenshi]

I just finished Inazuma and I have words

TL;DR: Hate the story, mixed on characters, love the design and tired of being treated like a 4-year-old with a learning disability.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

Let’s start with what I like.

Inazuma is absolutely beautiful. I’ll admit Inazuma hits a lot of aesthetic points for me. All the islands are different enough to feel unique but they still look like they are a part of the same land. There are a lot of secrets to discover through just exploring. Each island has a world quest to help it (make it less hostile towards you) so it very much feels like you are saving Inazuma from itself.

.

The puzzles are alright.

I like the cubes that rotate, I always put in the effort to figure them out properly.

Hate the ones that don’t rotate, they just aren’t engaging enough for me, so I just hit them at random and hope for the best.

The glowing floor tiles were fun, once you actually realized what they wanted you to do. A little bit too easy if I’m honest.

The electro compass isn’t really much of a puzzle, more of a fetch the nearest electrograna quest.

Those little pillars that require an electro connection are kinda boring to me, again not much of a puzzle, the hardest part is finding both pillars.

I love the new electro seelie, kinda hard to follow the jittery thing in certain parts but they make a nice contrast to the regular seelies.

.

I’m very much mixed on characters.

Yoimiya is adorable. She is so bright and bubbly. What little game play we had with her was fun and I love her over the top style of fighting. Kinda disappointed she’s another pyro archer but I do admit it fits her character well. It was also wonderful seeing her just settle down and be quiet, just be a part of that moment that obviously meant a lot to her. It’s always nice to see that bubbly, energetic character have that one quiet thing, ya know. Kinda funny it’s fireworks, of all things, for her.

Gorou I like, from what little we’ve seen of him. My man killed a dude with his thighs so I’m down. I do find it kinda ridiculous that a resistance general has his whole damn belly exposed. There is also something about his voice that just does not fit. I cannot for the life of me put my finger on what exactly it is. Could be the tone itself, could be just voice acting. It sort of feels like the VA is trying to sound deeper than he actually does.

Sangonomiya Kokomi, mixed. I like her design, she looks like some sort of mystical priestess. Again something about the voice is jarring. I expected her to sound sort of airy, like she isn’t 100% present, like she’s seeing something we can’t. TBH she reminds me of Luna from HP for some reason. 

Yae Miko, I was interested because of her design. She sounds very arrogant and up her own ass, which would have been fine...if she hadn’t given us that god-awful line. “...I have high hopes for you, child. Don’t disappoint me.” Dear lord I wanted to punt her off the mountain. Or fucking what! Also she’s some bigshot priestess of the Sacred Sakura and yet she can’t do her damn job properly. Why couldn’t her arrogant ass come down from her high perch and cleanse the stupid roots? Why did the traveler have to do that shit?

Baal looks dead inside. Booba sword is overrated, get a life. I want a remach! And no cutscene shenanigans this time!

Kujou Sara seems like one of those ‘honor above all else’ characters. Those are either hit or miss with me. You have my attention for now. Also what are those shoes woman?! I’d rather you wear those leg-killing, needle point stilettoes instead of those Wish gag shoes. How in the name of all that is holy can you run in those?!

Thoma, I like him. At first I thought we were gonna get another Childe incident, but Thoma is too much of a innocent puppy to pull anything that horrible. To me he fits a fox a lot better than Childe does. Childe is a dingo and I stand behind that.

Kamisato Ayaka...hate her. At first I was neutral on her. Nothing about her design really spoke to me, but I was willing to wait and see. But then miHoYo started to violently push her friendship at us. We are totally friends now, this is the first time you see my face, but we are so totally friends now. And during her story quest everyone was like “Ah, you are so good Ayaka. You are so nice Ayaka. You are so perfect Ayaka. We all love you so much Ayaka. And oh, how could a mere merchant like myself...” Ew, go away. This is the first time I’m actively not pulling on a character banner. Normally I pull even if I’m not particularly interested in a character, because you never know how good their gameplay is until you take them out in the map. But I think I’ll be skipping this one. No thanks.

.

And now, the worst part, the story.

We’ve been hearing about the situation in Inazuma for a long time. There has been also a lot of talk about how hard it is to get there. About the wall of thunderclouds that surround the islands. So to have it cut to black and then voila Inazuma, feel just so cheap.

I was expecting something. An animation. A struggle. A quest. A minigame. At least show us the horrible weather! Something! Anything!

Hell if they wanted to be assholes about it they could have made it so that if the player fails at this point the ship is damaged, you return to Liyue and have to wait until tomorrow for the ship to be repaired. No Inazuma for today. That sure as hell would have raised the stakes.

The next complaint I have is with Yurika, the 2 milion mora processing fee girl. Later on Thoma mentions that the agency people see the fees as easy money, so her attitude doesn’t make much sense. After all someone like her would want to extract as much money as she can, but you still want the people to be able to pay that.

So it would make more sense to me if she was overly friendly and asked way too many questions. She’d need to get a much information as she can and after all the previous hostility people would be very open with her. So she’d be able to quickly find out why someone is here, what they are selling and roughly how much money they’d be able to pay. A merchant selling expensive silk would have more many than a regular ore merchant. So she’d be able to extract as much money as she could.

“I know this is a lot of money, especially for something so simple, but there is nothing I can do about it. I’m so very sorry.” And people wouldn’t say anything bad to her because she’s the first friendly face they see in Inazuma.

The stealth mission was just god-awful and I hope we never have to do that nonsense again.

Getting off of Ritou was a bit janky at the end, Chisato should have had a better reason for coming along. But I’m honestly just glad we didn’t get out the usual way...getting stuffed in a crate and smuggled out.

As a side note, I’m getting really tired of characters overexplaining things to me, especially Paimon. Dear lord, not everything has to be said, you can leave me to come to my own conclusions and solutions. Just please, who cares if a few player struggle for a bit, you don’t have to hold my hand through the whole thing.

Ayaka’s three were...ugh. It was basic emotional manipulation. Oh no this guy forgot about the love of his life and he’s been waiting for decades. And oh how sad this guy was so good and he helped these people so much but now he can’t remember. And oh the tragedy this guy forgot his life goal and is now hunted by the demons of the past. Oh the humanity! 

And it did not work. Know why? Because I have no emotional investment in any of these people, in this land. What is happening to the vision bearers in Inazuma is tragic, true, but that doesn’t make me want to overthrow the government. I don’t live here. I just got here. I wanna ask a question or two and then move on. None of this concerns me.

I was so happy when the traveler just flat out refused to start a revolution. And then we had to go and meet some people and immediately I knew this was going to be some oh noes the tragedy moments and then we would agree to help them.

It’s so forced.

Wanna know what would have been better?

Just as we are leaving the Kamisato estate Thoma catches up with us. And he tells us he gets it. We are an outsider and this doesn’t concern us. He was hopeful but he expected the denial. We shouldn’t hold it against Ayaka.

He joins us as a guide because he knows of the people we have to meet.

And so as we help these three we also get to know Thoma. We find out he was an outsider too. He got in just before the worst of it started and then he was stuck in Inazuma. He lost someone to the Vision Hunt. They slowly lost their mind after loosing their vision, their ambition too closely tied to their personality to continue without it (what is happening to Domon hits a little too close to home and he has to walk away, this is where we hear the story of the one he lost). And the same would have happened to him if the Kamisatos hadn't taken him in. He owes them his vision, his sanity and his life.

So this rebellion is personal for him.

At the end of the three wishes the atmosphere is somber. We tell him we understand why Ayaka fights, why he fights. We know that this is all wrong, that it should be stopped...but not by us. We came here to get a lead on our brother. And rebellion isn’t an overnight affaire and we can’t loose so much time in Inazuma.

And yeah, he expected as much. He just asks that we let Ayaka down gently. It’d be a shame if someone as idealistic and hopeful as her lost their spark.

And so we are gentle but firm with Ayaka. She looks like she wants to argue with us but Thoma shakes his head at her. So she sighs and tells us that a promise is a promise. We should come to the Komore Teahouse in a few days and she’ll have a plan for us to meet with the Shogun.

Now we can still have a character story quest with Yoimiya and we can still somehow get involved with helping Master Masakatsu, but it’s through Yoimiya instead of Ayaka.

And instead of a character story quest with Ayaka we have one with Thoma. Hell, give him a whole damn hangout event even.

You can probably guess why I’m pushing the friendship with Thoma so much.

Because. He. Gets. Kidnapped. For. The. 100th. Vision. Ceremony. 

And that would have been the perfect emotional in to get us involved in the rebellion. After all we just saw what happens to people who have their visions taken away and we are not letting that happen to Thoma, someone we just got close to.

So Baal makes it personal for us as well.

.

I have a few more minor complaints.

Aoi is stupid for asking for compensation after she tells us everything we needed to know because, ya know, we could have just walked away. We should have.

The whole stupid misunderstanding about the value Kurosawa’s sword holds. Kinda obvious he meant emotional value instead of monetary.

The suspicious amount of visionless NPCs and by that I mean this is the first time we have NPCs with vision. This wouldn’t have been a problem if we’ve seen NPCs with visions in Mond and Liyue.

The whole rebellion camp bit feels incredibly rushed. We just sort of lollygag over there and then there is a fight (against Sara and her stupid shoes).

Don’t make us fight Baal just to force us to lose. It would have been better if we were forced to retreat, because Thoma was injured, because there are too many soldiers for us to handle on our own. Hell, you can have a funny scene where we straight up jump off a cliff with Thoma clinging onto us and screaming bloody murder until he realizes we are slowly gliding away and he’s not about to plummet to his death.

The Sakura cleansing quest should have been voice acted.

The Mirror Maiden and Pyro Agent are totally on a date, I will not be told otherwise.

[peablesart]

Diluc and Kaeya: A Character Study

One of my favorite things to do is analyze the true anti-parallel nature of Diluc and Kaeya’s lives. In my eye, they are so similar but exist as inverted images of each other. 

DISCLAIMER : I see Diluc and Kaeya as siblings and this will not change, so anything I post about them is purely familial and platonic. If you ship kaeluc please do NOT interact with this post.

So I since I started Genshin for Kaeya, and then pulled Diluc and fell in love with him, it’s really only natural that they are two of my favorite characters in the game so far (and probably for the rest of it too). Kaeya’s story has alaways been fascinating to me, and this was just exemplified by the Dainsleif quests that revealed more about Khaneri’ah and the Abyss. When I started getting more invested in Genshin, I started reading the manga, and around the same time I got Diluc and started friendship farming like I never had before. I literally devoured his character stories and enjoy fitting his canon with the stories of others.

But yes, as my favorite characters who actually have canon connections (in surplus in fact), I often think about how similar their stories are, but that they run in opposite directions to each other. I see this so clearly in how they are in canon and what I think they were like in childhood.

On one hand, we have Diluc, the only child of one of Mondstadt’s beloved noble families. He comes from a line of highly respected individuals, the descendent of one of the leaders who freed Mondstadt from the tyranny of Decarabian. Although his mother died young, he grew up in a nurturing and loving family with his father. From the manga, we can tell that his personality was somewhere along the lines of Amber and Klee when he was younger, and I think he was probably a brash and jovial kid who caused problems but was earnest in everything he did.

On the other hand we have Kaeya. Here is where a lot of my headcanons come into play, because there’s very little on his family. I strongly believe in Kaeya as Khaneri’ahn royalty (a descendent at the very least), and that he belongs to the Eclipse Dynasty bloodline. It’s unclear the type of rule of the dynasty, but my thoughts are that it was not cruel but definitely cold. Kaeya likely did not grow up with much affection, respected but not loved. He entered the story with the destiny of a kingdom on his shoulders, and was left to fulfill it on his own. As such, I see him as a guarded, probably extremely introverted kid, especially when he’s first taken in by the Ragnvindrs.

Obviously, this contrasts with their in-game personalities. I still think Kaeya is a true introvert but acts extraverted to come off as more open and trustworthy in order to get what he wants. This is clear in how almost every quest or event interaction with him has some sort of “ulterior” motive. His story quest was him testing the waters with the traveler to see how trustworthy they were, the Windblume Festival was very likely an easter egg conversation for a later quest, and he definitely lied abut the reason for coming to the Golden Apple Archipelago. In short, all these interactions are only half-truths at best.

I similarly think the opposite happened to Diluc, his grief and vengeance stifling the unbridled joy from his youth. I wouldn’t say he’s still a people-person, but his voice-lines make it so clear how affectionate and warm he is to everyone; he worries about Jean and the Traveller, openly admires Lisa’s skills, etc. His 18th birthday and his four-year journey exposed him to the world at its rawest, away from the tinted lens of the Knights, and he likely saw and dealt out more death than he thought he’d ever have to.

After Crepus’ death, the brothers reconciled with the events by changing their nature - at least, how they presented themselves to others. While not mirrors, they definitely took on parts of the other’s childhood self, with Kaeya becoming more verbal and Diluc becoming more skeptical. 

As much as I want it to happen, I don’t think we’ll get a reconciliation of the brothers until one of their last moments. Mihoyo has made it clear they don’t intend to shy away from major character deaths, dropping red flags in abundance for multiple characters. Kaeya is definitely one of them, and my thinking is that he’ll die by Diluc’s hands in an effort to save Mondstadt. Either that, or they’ll be on the cusp of progress before plummeting into the worst-case scenario.

And be- cause I’m a sucker not just for angst but for sucker punch and then a stab to the gut - I’ll put this here as well: although they clearly aren’t exactly on the best terms right now, I truly believe they have both forgiven each other but don’t believe the other has forgiven them yet. Their voice-lines about each other don’t seem honest, and their easy banter at the Golden Apple Archipelago shows so much familiarity. Their relationship is still uneasy, clearly seen in Venti’s story quest, but it is entirely salvageable. Kaeya is ready to atone for abandoning DIluc to his grief and compounding it with a secret too large to stay hidden forever. Diluc is ready to repent for driving Kaeya to death and casting him out form a place he’d felt was the closest to home he could let himself be.

(Would love for a happy ending too, but I don’t trust Mihoyo to give me happy Diluc and happy Kaeya for any lasting duration rip.)

It’s clear that the two are meant to be foils to each other. I could go on and on about smaller things, like Kaeya feeling inadequate filling Diluc’s prodigious shoes, Diluc finding his first true friend in Kaeya, the both of them defending each other behind their backs. I could also go into how other characters perceive their relationship, especially Jean since she’s known them since childhood as well. But at the end of the day, they are simply two men with a broken past that cannot be restored, but can be fixed. Them making up would ease so much off both of their shoulders, and they could fight side by side like I’m certain they did when they were younger.

TL;DR, I love both Diluc and Kaeya with my whole heart and want them both to find happiness. There’s more steps to be done before they can call each other “brother” with sincerity again (and I tend to ill those steps with various ships ik ik) but it’s a start towards healing.

[welcometoteyvat]

@dawns-noctua so I fucked up and answered your ask way too early 💀 here’s a repost of the full character bingo

Childe

tbh I don't have much to say about him lol I don't think about him enough. I will say, from the content I've seen of him, I think he has good fans! Like childe stans (to me) feel like wholesome people? y'all don't seem to do him dirty at all and I greatly appreciate the memes and funny content as well as the serious fanwork about him; it gives him good depth and made me consider things I hadn't before! In terms of his actual character, I think his duality of being a caring brother and a fearsome harbinger is v interesting!! idk I feel like he'd have an interesting if slightly messed up perspective on life (good with kids; separates work and personal life; and yet extremely battlesexual). he's a malewife a harbinger a dead-eyes abyss survivor a pro-fisher the brother of all time a guy with no common sense and one braincell only aka he's hilarious! I enjoy his character from afar (also I'm gonna say from all the popular-ish childe ships I've seen, none of them are unrealistic pog to you guys for having taste.)

Shenhe

I don't think about her much either but I have more opinions about her lol. #1 opinion is always that she had So Much potential with chongyun, and then mihoyo dropped the trailer and never mentioned their aunt/nephew dynamic again (voicelines don't count). I also don't like how she seems to be designed as another fanservice-y cryo woman who's semi """in love""" with the traveler (ie some of her interactions with the traveler in the archon quest and her dialogue after you completed the moonchase main questline). Like I understand that the traveler is her first connection to mortal Liyue after being away in the adeptal sphere for so long and the traveler is supposed to be a major part of her arc but it’s giving “cryo woman is shown another side of society that she didn’t know before by the traveler” (ie Ayaka and Eula) and it’s kinda hrmmm. moving onto her actual lore, this is the part where everyone but me is wrong abt her (I’m joking.) I’m not well versed enough in xianxia tropes to talk but she draws a lot from that and being like a recluse from society because she’s been unlucky from birth; I appreciate the culture stuff in that but I feel like it also makes her misinterpreted not me seeing a post about how she has yang energy like chongyun??? she has yin energy if ever I saw it. Anyways maybe I’m not looking in the right place but I also feel like she has less fanon character depth than I’d like ;.; her most popular ships are meh to me (confused on why Yun Jin is shipped with her bc to me Yun Jin’s a minor) but I love the small doodles of shenlan a Twitter artist does <3333

Itto

LOVE THIS DUDE. He’s HILARIOUS I don’t think about him enough. I’m absolutely in love with whatever his CN VA did with him bc ittos loud and long “HAHAHAHA” lives rent free in my head since he dropped on the livestream. His story quest was also super nice!! 🥺 idk if you’ve played it yet so I won’t spoil anything but they did his character really nicely and the way they expanded on the oni lore was also super cute!! also the cutscenes were 100% amazing. Idk I like that genshin finally made a heart of gold himbo who’s been through some tough days but still keeps looking up; his character complexity and overall personality is v nice!! I also like whatever him and Yoimiya’s rivalry/r/ship is in general it’s funny. I think he was a bit too much comic relief (and not enough actual character) in perilous trails but it was funny so I’ll let it slide. anyways i don’t think enough about this man he slaps.

[dsknsk]

Marius' natal chart (with analysis)

So I was very curious as to this, and made a natal chart for him, from which several things can be observed. I'll do the others too, but him first because he's my bias. This will contain spoilers for the main story, the cards Twilight Beauty and Narrow Road, and Marius' side-story. This won't have CN spoilers, rest assured.

Note: Since we do not know the characters' time of birth, the moon sign might be inaccurate! Also chose Shanghai since that's where MiHoYo's Headquarters is located.

Marius' Sun ☉ sign is Gemini ♊︎, just like his Moon ☾ sign and he also has Mercury ☿ in Gemini.

The Sun sign is the sign you'll get if you ask anyone for their sign. It's not everything, though, I see it more as the basic sketch of a drawing. It sounds through in the 'result' so to say, but the amount of how dominant it is differs from person to person. The Sun is the 'core' (since, you know, all the planets in our solar system - the name says it - turn around it). From initial observation, he seemed to be a cusp, since he's born on June 21. However, an early promotional image related to him showed his sign as Gemini, and from this chart, that is accurate. The apparent cusp is represented here as the sun symbol being on the line between Gemini and Cancer.

Gemini is an Air sign, and is focused on communication. I typify them as the Connector sign, as that's an important part of this sign. It's no coincidence that this sign also rules the arms (and subsequently, the hands), as they're actively doing things, and only coming to a standstill when they're doubting. Doubt is something more prevalent among Air signs.

It's not for nothing the sign of the Twins, who seem identical at first sight (most often, the twins are identical twins when this sign is represented), but are still individual. Gemini is also a sign that can easily slip into a different role, looking at things from a different side to see what's what. They're not fast to judge, preferring to keeping stuff open. This can get back on them though.

We've seen Marius pretend twice in the main story - in chapter 4 and in 5.3 - both in order to get information from people that won't tell their precious secrets to him if they know who he is. In his side story, he even pretended to be a huge fan of Z instead of Z himself - at one point, MC thinks 'Marius von Hagen, I'm going to send you a box of movie awards.' And indeed, the acting he does in 5.3 is arguably Oscar-worthy.

However, pretending is not the only way he's sort of double-sided. Just think about it: we meet Marius in the main story as a free spirit, a rebel who initially annoys MC. He's an artist who uses a false identity to let the people focus on his art instead of the money. At the other side, he is a shrewd businessman who leads Pax now that his father has semi-retired and his brother has disappeared. He's absolutely no stranger to the harsh world of the elite.

Moon signs are more 'what's under the hood'. The Moon has influence over emotions, but also the traditional 'maternal' part of the soul, the anima. It's also said to deal with one's relation to one's mother.

It's interesting how he has Gemini rule his Sun sign, Moon sign, as well as Mercury. We'll get to Mercury next. I personally don't think that this is an extension on how Gemini is his Sun sign, but it's still curious.

Since we've already gone over Gemini's properties, I won't do that again. Rather, this is the part to see how it impacts the stuff he usually only shows towards MC (and sometimes the other three), not towards any other NPCs.

He's got quite a quick wit, somewhat on par with Luke imho, and figures stuff out fast. I think that, while that seems to be something all NXX members have in common, everyone has a different approach to it. Marius' case is that he knows the people in his world very well, less on an emotional but more on a predictive level, he knows what they do in certain situations based on how he's seen them. And as for his love life, as the Moon also sorta kinda rules that too...

At first sight, Marius seemed to be nothing but an annoying flirt to MC. However, I'm convinced he doesn't enjoy short, meaningless relationships, and looks for something profound. I think that what Marius sees in MC is that she sort of unconsciously touches upon the things that others usually do not, like how he revealed he was Z to her in his side-story. I doubt that he's ever revealed that to anyone not his family or his assistant Vincent before. He also told her about his brother as well as his mother, and how he sees them (see Twilight Beauty). Once again, very personal information.

The selectiveness at this shows that he has a very good grip on his emotions. In his side-story as well as in chapter 2, he's confronted with accusations, yet keeps calm. That director in his side-story shook him up a little bit, but is able to retort to him not long after.

Mercury deals with contact with others, mental energy, curiosity and the factual.

Mercury is a fast planet, zooming around the Sun as if it's running out of time. Combine that with the sign of Gemini, and you get somewhat of a trickster. Which I think typifies Marius further, beyond that first impression. Even when he's close with MC, he still likes to play with the truth a little, but not in a way that's harmful. He's a social butterfly as well, and genuinely curious as to what others are up to. If he's bored, he'll sometimes say something unexpected just to toy with his audience and he's very good at twisting words.

Marius has both Venus ♀ and Mars ♂ in Taurus ♉︎.

Venus and Mars are often typified as opposites, and it's a bit understandable as to why. Venus rules over intimacy, materialism as well as love, while Mars rules over assertiveness, and impulsivity. However, remember: love is war.

I think it's fitting that he has both Venus and Mars in Taurus. As a first, both Taurus and Venus have an affinity for the arts - and we all know that a purpose for art is self-expression. It's a passion for him, and I think that it is also somewhat of a way how he expresses his affinity towards MC. He pictured her in his sidestory, and also made drawings of her in Twilight Beauty.

Venus in Taurus also shows that he prefers to take things easy. No need to get in a twist, everything will clear itself up in the end. He has a solid presence, and can be possessive. While in the story itself there's no real hint at it, do note that during the video call in his Lost Gold card, his eyes lose its light for a moment when he's worried that MC thinks about someone not him. In his PV, he says he wants MC to see only him as well.

This is another sign that he's not one to rush relationships - literally. He prefers to get to know everything about how and when first, before fully committing himself. To be honest, I think that this is also part of why he decided to take MC as attorney (other than the fact that this was needed for story-related reasons). He already felt like she was the one for the job (despite that MC points out that Artem has a longer record already so he should just ask him in her opinion), and when she succeeded, that was another confirmation that MC is the one he wants to be emotionally invested in.

Despite how forced that may seem, I am sure he wants a relationship to unfold organically. Also, somewhat more suggestively, the way to the heart of people who have Venus in Taurus is through the senses...

As for Mars in Taurus, it's actually in detriment here. Not that that's negative, as it denotes his determined nature. To return on his choice for MC in chapter 2, remember how long arguing took, only to fail and MC taking the case still? Or how long he 'played around' with the director of Stellis News, even after shedding his pretense? He had no intention to let the guy go without a proper resolution and posthumous justice for Jasmine Kenders.

Indeed, an ability of Mars in Taurus is withstanding manipulation, as he can see through things with ease as long as he knows how things really are (Gemini). It's some sort of Venus-oriented Mars, since Venus is actually the planet that rules Taurus traditionally. He's an observer as per his Gemini nature, yet does so via the senses once again, which faciliates his artist persona.

Marius has Jupiter ♃, Neptune ♆, Chiron ⚷ in Aquarius ♒︎ all in retrograde.

Jupiter is desire to grow, hope, and luck. It's connecting, a guiding light.

I think that, in Marius' case, his Jupiter in Aquarius denotes his happiness in a group that he truly feels he belongs to. Like his own family, or the NXX. That's where he can make meaningful connections, as a valuable part of a whole. Sure, he's also a leader - I mean, his codename is King - but he doesn't want to rule alone. Especially not now he's met MC. However, Jupiter is in retrograde here, meaning that this is not turned outward. It's not immediately obvious how much he values belonging to a group he truly regards as precious.

It also reflects his rebellious nature, as he's willing to pick up new unknown things, experiment with things he has not tried before. He's willing to be different, to treat art beyond its monetary value, and as an artist, he doesn't hold back.

Neptune is the silent power. It rules over the subconscious, things we do but are only aware of later.

Neptune in Aquarius gives him a strong 'gut feeling'. He sometimes seems to know about things others do not, and although he does explain it afterwards, it leaves others wondering how he got it in the beginning. This reminds me of that he in chapter 4 knew that Johnny was going to be a suspect. MC knew that as well, but she still wanted to know Marius' reasoning behind it.

Because Neptune is in retrograde here, it creates clarity instead of confusion still. In the end, they still understand where he's coming from. He's very good at making his point, even if it seems outlandish at first. That's one of his strengths.

Chiron is innate pain, something you lack from the start. However, perfectly healthy people don't need doctors, and as such this is also representative of healing.

Like with the other two, Chiron is in retrograde. It's not a planet, but it's still included in charts. And thus it can be in retrograde. (I know, it's somewhat of batshit logic but I'm forced to run with it)

Chiron in Aquarius denotes disconnection, feeling different and misunderstood. However, since it's in retrograde, it means that opportunities for healing have arrived as well, and time for working on getting better is here.

I think this is very fitting. Marius is born in a rich family, all riches he has are heriditary. It's easy to see how he has always been, or maybe even felt different from those that weren't born as rich as he was. It's a barrier sometimes for him, like how he uses a different identity for his art, because he feels like if he would sign it under his name, people would look at the monetary value of it and not the beauty of the work itself.

However, now he knows MC, he has someone who understands it. She may not have been born in the same situation, but she's someone he feels safe at, someone he can tell things he won't tell the rest of the NXX. I think that that MC helps to 'heal' that wound that Chiron stands for.

Marius has Saturn ♄ in Virgo ♍︎.

Saturn relates to structure, the passing of time and mortality. It's rigidity, destination, career and reaching goals.

We must not forget that Marius is also a businessman - and not just one, but the current leader of one of the most influential companies in Stellis (and probably in the world it's set in). He's fully aware of all those responsibilities that brings (remember: 'Heavy is the head that wears the crown') and knows that one little accident can bring the entire company down. As such, he is willingly to manage the company in strict order.

Since Tears of Themis is an otome game after all, the game does not often focus on this part of him. However, there's a few moments where it does show this, like the latter half of chapter 2 and the story of Narrow Road. In both cases, he's confronted with possible scandals that could mean the eventual end of Pax. He gets to the bottom of these cases, eventually finding the cause (with the help of MC of course) and sometimes, he even fires the people responsible. Strict, but not unnecessary.

Marius has Uranus �� in Pisces ♓︎.

Contrary to what you might think, Uranus is not about a dirty pun. It's about desire for freedom, revolutionary and being rebellious in general. Uranus has notably a different rotation than the other planets, so I think that this association is very straightforward.

The combination between the sensitive Pisces and the rebellious Uranus signifies change. It further contributes to the 'rebel' we've talked about before, but also indicates that he's a herald of change. What that means, I'm not sure of, but I suspect that that might become clear in further chapters of his side-story and the main story even, especially since this also denotes that seeing opportunities to strike is also a trait of his.

I think that how Lost Gold ended is also a result of this. After all, he was the one who took over Nosta (via Pax), and after he (albeit unwillingly at first) invited the others to the island, the entire Joshua-Jack-Zachary arc got closure, as well as what Bryce was up to. Granted, the others had a large part in that, but Marius was the one who 'invited' them and started the whole thing.

Marius has Pluto ♇ in Capricorn ♑︎ in retrograde

Pluto technically isn't a planet anymore, but it still has significance. It has to do with transformation, trauma, intense experiences, power(lessness). It's the most unpredictable of all planets.

Retrograde planets mean that their meaning is turned inward or een reversed as we've seen before. This isn't always negative, like here. It makes one reflective instead, forcing one to come to terms with the stuff you don't like to think about yourself. This can lead to eventual new choices, taking measures to change things.

I have not found much about the significance exactly, since it was in retrograde not long ago and a lot of the articles are about that instead. However, something should be able to be inferred giving the traits of Capricorn (grounded, ambitious, somewhat stale).

Summary

Doing these is sort of exhausting, but it's fun to see how everything fits together. It's certainly interesting to see and may lead to a different view on things.