#also i take back what i said in my previous post; paimon's still the more annoying of the two

[rubys-domain]

petal 🥹 oh my god that's adorable

[ymechi]

Who is the real Creator?

Hello! I have a bit of an announcement to make I don't think everyone has seen the previous post but an anon asked me if I will continue the series and to be honest I don't think I will. This series was made on a whim and was really fun to write except I hit a roadblock. I am unsure where to continue with this I feel like I have written enough and not sure where to go from here story wise, that is why I decided to discontinue the story. Thank you everyone who commented and liked I enjoyed seeing your guys reactions. For now this is the last chapter. If I ever decide to continue this or make a new series I look forward to seeing you guys there!

-TW: cult au, yandere, impostor au, mentions of being hunted down, mentions of trauma, self harm (nothing major), OOC character

-Gn reader and darling (please tell me if I mess this up message me and I will fix it)

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, this is part 6

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The beat of their heart was as loud as a drum. Reader could even feel their head vibrate in tandem with the marching drums they had heard before when they were younger. Their vision felt blurry and their head was light. The fading sun outside the windows caught their eye. Reader felt nauseous.

They were such a coward they had left Nahida and Wanderer to clean up after them as they ran away. Reader wanted to help her not add more trouble yet here they were weak and unable to speak.

Distantly they heard a gasp.

"Reader! Are you okay? Oh no- Traveller come quick!"

Two blurry figures came closer to Reader. They idly noted one of the figures was floating. . . Ohh, it was Paimon and Aether.

Seeing the two somehow calmed them down and they tried to take deep breaths. With a calmer and clearer mind, they noticed that both stared at Reader with worried expressions.

Reader gave a wry smile.

"Hi Paimon, hi Traveller."

The two said nothing staring at Reader and then at each other coming to an agreement of some sort.

"Paimon thinks you should sit down first," she said, trailing off and looking down.

Reader also noticed Aether was looking down as well to the side, it was then it dawned on Reader they were looking at their sliced palm. They subconsciously tried to hide it but stopped midway bringing it forward towards the duo.

"I guess you two were also summoned but were late haha," they said with a flat laugh.

Traveler continued to look at them with a worried frown and Paimon who usually had a positive expression looked even more worried. Reader's wry smile seemed not to work sadly.

"P-Paimon is still not sure what is going on but Paimon thinks you should sit down first. . ."

"I agree let's get you somewhere to rest first."

Aether reached his hand out as an invite and Reader felt too weak to reject him. He took their hand and guided them further down the hall towards a seating area where guests could sit. There Reader was able to sit down and calm down.

"Thanks, I do feel better."

Aether smiled and nodded while Paimon's eyes sifted from looking at them and then at a wall.

"Uhm- so Paimon has been wondering. . ."

It was obvious what she was referring to. They held the sliced palm with the other hand almost cradling it.

"Sorry, I did not mean to keep it from you guys. . . I just found out recently as well, I-I hope you are not mad."

"What! Why would we be mad? You are the creator- Oh no should we bow?" Paimon said looking at Reader then around as if someone would pop up and admonish her.

Traveler shook his head at his companion's antics and gave Reader a sad smile.

"I hope you can forgive out-"

"Oh no stop there!"

Reader jumped out quickly from their seat causing the duo to step back (the other to float back) in shock. Reader stepped forward and looked at them with a serious expression.

"I don't care if I am some creator or whatever and I don't care about that formal shit, especially when you two are my friends!"

Reader was not sure where this outburst came from. Was it because of the stressful day? Was it having to see people you did not like or was it because of having to watch Wanderer act subservient for so long?

"So no your grace or bowing!"

The two still looked aback. Suddenly Reader felt embarrassed shouting at them when they were concerned about her.

"W-well uhm, sorry, yeah I should not have shouted. . ."

Reader wrung their hands together but stopped when they noticed the sliced palm. They looked down at their shoes.

"Paimon. . . Paimon thinks of you as a friend too," she said and her cheeks turned red.

Reader smiled at her and Traveller sighed but gave the floating girl a smile.

"If that is what you wish for then who are we to say no?"

He sounded a tad bit too formal for Reader but it would have to do for now.

"None of that now, how have the two of you been?"

Paimon opened her mouth about to answer Reader's question but she was interrupted unexpectedly.

"Your Grace-"

Reader's heart skipped a beat and not the good kind. The calm they experienced before was gone and their body froze again. The one who spoke was unmistakably the retired geo Archon. He looked frazzled and looked at Reader in a way they could not decipher.

"Your grace I. . ."

"That is enough I had already told you they were not ready to talk to you yet."

Nahida came afterward it looks like she rushed over to where they were. Her face was stern and it looked so out of place compared to her more relaxed and curious features. Reader's stomach clenched. Zhongli looked as if he wanted to argue with her. His face took on a harsher stance as he looked at her.

No.

They would not let him.

"Whatever it is you want to say it's with me leave her out of this."

Their hands were shaking but they held them together. Nahida looked surprised at them and Reader wanted to reassure her it was going to be alright. Aether from his side approached them and stood between the Archon and Reader. The implication that he was willing to defend them from one of the strongest beings in Teyvat was not lost on Reader. They did feel safer by having him on their side and Paimon as well.

"Your grace I," Zhongli paused his gaze on Reader with a guilty look that made them feel uncomfortable, "If I had known if only. . ."

"That does not matter anymore," Reader interrupted him.

He looked at them and flinched.

"Save your what 'ifs’, you did what you did and I won't forget it."

The unexpected venom that came out of Reader surprised even them. Zhongli had taken to look down he looked ashamed, how dare he? Now he wants to act all guilty. Reader scoffed.

"You have done enough damage for today, I suggest you leave neither me or the Dendro Archon are in a mood to deal with you," Reader said and crossed their arms.

They idly wondered if the meeting had gone awry for her to come here. Nahida looked thoroughly surprised.

Zhongli opened his mouth to speak but Reader beat him to it.

"That is all I have nothing more to say."

"I think I will take it over here with Mr. Zhongli and the rest."

They nodded at Nahida. Reader tugged at Aether's scarf for him to follow them.

.

.

.

They entered Reader's new room and their muscles went lax. It felt though as if they had carried a heavy boulder. They threw decorum away and sat on their desk stool.

"Sorry, I think I need a bit of rest."

"It's okay Paimon doesn't think anyone would handle talking to a guy that tried to kill as well as you did."

Aether glared at Paimon and she jumped up in the air while still floating.

"Maybe Paimon should not have said that. . ."

Reader looked at her and shook their head with a smile.

"It's okay, you sort of reminded me I did something pretty cool huh?"

Paimon's expression eased and she nodded.

"While Zhongli is our friend what he did to you was unforgivable so Paimon thinks he ought to get kicked around for what he did."

"Heh, it seems like you can speak some sense from time to time."

It was Wanderer who had entered when the door was still unopened. Paimon did look angry at his remark.

"You! What do you mean Paimon always says things that make sense!"

"Yeah sure," he said with a mocking smile and crossed his arms.

"You came early did something happen?" Reader spoke.

Wanderer uncrossed his arms and shook his head.

"No Lesser Lord Kusanali came back with the funeral consultant and told me to look out for you."

Ohh, Reader's heart melted a bit. They really had a good friend, next time they should make her something as thanks.

"Paimon has a question are you planning to announce it to everyone that you are the creator?"

Aether looked at Reader more intently as well. It seemed he was interested in the topic.

"No, I rather not, we decided to let the acolytes know for now their words hold some sway if they could calm the public down after the 'fake' left."

Aether had a thoughtful expression and nodded at Reader's answer. Perhaps he guessed Reader was not in the mood to talk about this particular topic and left it a that. Reader was once again thankful for their friend's thoughtfulness.

"Sorry for all the drama today take a seat what have you two been up to?"

Aether smiled and sat down while Wanderer ever the polite one bought fruits and left to get some tea. The Traveler and his companion told them of the many new adventures they had and the people they met. After Wanderer came back with the tea all of them sat down and listened as Paimon did a dramatic retelling of a recent commission they took on.

"I see everyone is having a fun time."

"Nahida!" Reader went out of their seat to check on the Archon.

"I hope there was not too much trouble are all right? Did something happen?"

"No worries I am fine and nothing happened it took a while to convince some to leave, there were acolytes who wanted to meet you."

Reader grimaced.

"Yeah sorry, next time I won't run away like that."

Nahida shook her head.

"No, it is part of my duty, there is no need for you to do it if you don't feel like it."

"You shouldn't have to shoulder this," Reader argued.

"Lesser Lord Kusanali is right if you are not ready it might do more damage to your health," Wandered interjected.

At that Reader could only be silent. They felt so helpless.

"For now let Nahida handle it you can be there and see how much you can handle," Wanderer said after sighing.

Reader wrung their hands together and looked at Nahida with a guilty look.

"If it's okay with you could I?"

"Only if you think you can handle it."

For now that would be their solution.

Reader ushered Nahida to take a seat and poured her some tea. Paimon took it upon herself to start over her tale once again since Nahida was there and the Wanderer scoffed at her which caused them to bicker for a few seconds. Reader could only laugh behind their hand. The rest of the day was spent comfortably talking.

"It is getting late Paimon doesn't want to intrude any longer."

The Traveller nodded as well.

"Wait you both could stay in my room?"

Traveller and Paimon looked surprised.

"We don't want to interrupt your resting time there is also only one bed."

"The bed is big enough for all of us we can have a sleepover?"

Reader wrung their hands together. It was just, they did not want to sleep alone today.

Traveller and Paimon looked at each other they must have had a silent conversation.

"If you are okay with it Reader."

"Yeah it would be nice I haven't had a sleepover in a long while Nahida and Wanderer you could join in if you want to." They said with a smile.

"I've never had one before but I would love to try it out."

Wanderer was silent for a while before he quietly answered.

"I will join then. . ."

Reader smiled it almost hurt their face. They gathered a lot of pillows and extra blankets just in case. Reader took the middle while Nahida was to the right and Paimon to the left. Respectievly Aether took Paimon's side and Wanderer slept next to Nahida. It really did feel like a huge sleepover. Reader slept soundly that night sourrended in warmth.

Extra:

Reader felt warm and fuzzy images of Christmas lights surrounding their vision. the lights were blurry and smudged. Gentle snow started to fall blanketing the ground in white. The blanket that surrounded them kept them warm and they snuggled closer to it.

The stars above twinkled and They watched with interest as they changed shape and colour. Then a star started to fall, no it was a snowflake. A huge giant snowflake was falling towards Reader and they tried to struggle but it was in vain as the blanket held them in place. With horror they watched as the snowflake landed on their head.

It was rather soft and it did not hurt but the snowflake was beginning to limit their breathing. Reader tried to open their mouth to breathe in more air.

With a gasp, they woke up.

The thing smothering their face was not a snowflake or anything nefarious but rather Paimon herself. Somehow she had ended up on their face. They struggled to shake her off and after a few seconds of prying she rolled off to the side.

She was still asleep her mouth open and she mumbled something about food no doubt.

Reader sighed.

They blinked a few times as they looked out to the window where the sun was shining. It was already morning.

Reader was rather in a bind, literally. Nahida had curled up in her chest, she looked so small and cute Reader’s heart melted and they wanted to pat her head. Their feet somehow got tangled up with Wanderer’s and to the side Aether was hugging their arm.

They could not get up.

”If I was in a different room I would still be able to hear your squirms.”

It was wanderer who woke up. His voice was hoarse. Now that they thought about it Reader had no idea if he could sleep or if he even needed to.

”Sorry,” they said whispering.

Wanderer sighed and came closer towards Reader shutting his eyes.

Wait, was he not going to get up at all?

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Taglist: @resident-cryptid @probablynoposts @esthelily @mitsukashi @charming-mage @chaoticfivesworld @irisxiel @dulcedelechenginamo @yu-ulda @samohxt2-0 @pinkpainc @vianitry @dreamlessnight @kurayamioterasu @fantasyhopperhea @victoria1676 @liansh3ng @game-savvy @uchihaeirin @awelygirl @klemen-time @synthe4u @deadgirldreaming @quacking-simp

[eepyuii]

frostbite — pt. 10

pairing ; childe x gender neutral!reader

content ; childhood friends to “rivals” to lovers, slowburn-ish

cw ; none. idiots in love

notes ; ITS YEARNING HOURS BAYBEE ‼️ for the first time ever, a bit of childe’s POV, wowie zowie!! also a bit of a cheesy chapter LMFAO, it’s just these two dinguses “reaching” the realization that they want each other so bad, it makes them look stupid.

also a smidgen hint at the end towards the next phase of this dumpster fire of a fic >:3

ok and finally- i know i already made a post abt it but like. would u guys still love me if i posted a luke castellan fic? it’s SO self indulgent bc i’m brain rotting from the percy jackson show so idk yet :>

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old wooden planks creak with each step childe takes.

he’d long lost the count of the days he’d spent in this peculiar inazuman domain— the mystic omnyou chamber, his companions called it. though what a fascinating domain it was, ever-changing and ever-puzzling but most of all, ever-deploying more enemies for him to fight his way through. he feels like only now he truly knows what teucer must’ve felt like in front of all those mr. cyclopses all those months ago.

he felt as though he was given a little too much breathing room by the motherland, still being stationed in liyue with you whoever knows how long his mission was finished, so it was no less than perfect to hear the news of scaramouche’s disappearance from inazuma after taking the gnosis for himself. as much as he disliked to have to leave you in northland bank with the promise of the two of returning together still at hand, he dully needed to take up on his responsibilities as one of her majesty’s harbingers.

still, he could fair by through the remembrance of you and his love for combat.

it’s amusing how freshly burned into his mind the memory of your time together at dottore’s lab was, even when he was half-conscious and at his physically weakest. how you soothed away his wounds with the cool breeze of your cryo powers, how you kept him company while he recovered, how you called him a pret-

“psst— you’re doing that thing again.”

“h-huh..?”

the harbinger is snapped from his daydreaming by paimon naggingly whispering to him. as childe finds himself back in reality, he registers the sight of the traveler, xinyan and shiki taishou walking ahead distractedly through the narrow dusty hallways of the domain, while paimon had fallen back alongside him.

“are you back now? ok good.” the travel guide snides, hands sassily placed at her hips.

childe chuckles sheepishly. “i-i’m sorry, paimon, but i’m not quite sure what you’re talking about.”

“oh, come on, it’s so obvious! the entire time we’ve been here, you’ve been doing this thing where you either doze off thinking about y/n! y’know as someone so passionate about fighting, you really need to get your head in the game right now.”

he feigns an offended scoff. “that is entirely untrue, comrade. my focus is solely on figuring out this domain’s mysteries and defeating its monsters.”

there’s a brief pause, where childe thoroughly reevaluates what paimon just said.

“wait, how did you know i was thinking about y/n? i-if i were dozing off and possibly thinking about them!”

she scoffs. “puh-lease, you’ve been babbling about them since we got here! almost everything you’ve said has somehow trailed off into y/n, so much so that even shiki taishou is caught up on what’s happened with you two!”

paimon was someone known to be a bit eccentric and overreactive at certain moments, but she also had her moments of being very bluntly honest in other situations. this was one of them. the harbinger deliberates for a moment, out of all the time he’s spent venturing this domain with the paper doll, just how much information had he unwillingly retained about you.

suddenly, a moment of clarity washes over childe and he vividly recalls all the moments during his venture in the domain where he’s talked about you. saying things such as ‘i wonder how y/n is doing right now…’, or ‘hah, y/n’s cryo attacks would demolish these enemies.’ or even ‘oh! that reminds of this one time, when y/n and i were kids…’. lest we mention the multiple times he’s said ‘i can’t wait to return to inazuma with y/n and show them this.’ whenever he’d been exploring the electro land’s scenic locations.

poor shiki taishou.

but then again, is it truly his fault that the mystic omnyou chamber had so many moments and details that were so clearly reminiscent of you? o-or maybe… maybe this was just a domain and everything reminded him of you regardless. but that’s the more unlikely possibility.

he curses scaramouche in his mind for a brief moment. it was all because he decided to go rogue that childe had to leave so abruptly— just when he’d made amends with you, just when the two of you were restoring your friendship. just when you’d started to flash him that devastating smile of yours again, instead of the standoffish snarl you’d presented during his mission in liyue. gods, he could feel his heart pang against his chest. surely it was just the adrenaline of battle, though. even if the group hadn’t faced enemies in more than ten minutes by now.

an even further tucked part of childe’s mind curses paimon next, for pointing out how much he speaks of you, because now he truly cannot stop. he looks ahead towards the end of the corridor and he can’t see what’s next, can’t see the next tatami matted arena where he’ll face a new wave of enemies, something he thinks he wants— no, all he sees is you.

it’s like your face is burned into his retinas, your fond laughter burned into brain and the warm feeling of when he slept against your shoulder burned into his skin.

childe doesn’t doesn’t fight as well as before in the next battle, he’s sloppy and distracted. after the arena is cleared, he’s left with a scratch across his bicep— which, thankfully, the domain grants a healing sigil to mend.

but it’ll never cure him like you do, never soothe the very core of his being like your powers do and it’ll never look at him the same way you did, caring and attentive.

he remembers how he felt lookup up at you then— like you were the stars in the night sky. he needed to get this mission over with as soon as possible.

—

you could almost hear your mother’s nagging tone telling you to not play with your food. as delicious as liyuean cuisine was, you’d lost your appetite halfway through your meal- as well as interest in the tale the restaurant’s storyteller was telling.

it’d been probably the dullest week you’ve had in a while, no new assignments from the motherland, no events happening in the city and… admittedly, no childe.

you can’t find the effort to lie to yourself and say it’s fine that he’s gone, that it’s for the tsaritsa’s noble cause— you don’t care about it. scaramouche could screw off with the gnosis and live his life, as far as you were concerned. in fact, you’d say he deserves it, given all he’s gone through with the doctor, even if he could be an astronomical asshole at times— well most of the times.

and now you can’t decide who to blame for childe’s absence, the balladeer or the tsaritsa. either way, it’s affected you more than you’d ever admit out loud. it’s been such a monotone week not just because of the distinct lack of anything to do in liyue lately, but also because of a distinct lack of… someone to worry about. yeah, that’s what it was, just an unusual sense of calm and nothing to stress over, that’s all—

“even in all my years, i’ve rarely seen someone stare at an unfinished bowl of dragon beard noodles with such intensity.”

a rumbling, baritone voice quips jokingly from across your small table and you’re startled away from your thoughts. looking up, the comment is revealed to come from mr. zhongli, the consultant from wanshe— oh, who were you kidding, the now former geo archon.

you hadn’t formerly spoken to him since the mission to take, well, his gnosis. after the situation with osial was diffusd, you beared witness to an unsettlingly diplomatic exchange between mr. zhongli and the fair lady, where he gave away the very culmination of his divinity like it was spare change. of course, you’ve spotted him countless times around the harbor— merely enjoy the little things the city had to offer. you can’t truly fault him for making the decision that he did, six thousand years is, unspokenly, too much time to not peruse the fruits of his labor from up close.

“a-ah, mr. zhongli! it’s been so long since we last spoke.” you scramble to politely greet zhongli and briefly wonder if you should stand up to bow to him, which he seems to notice.

“my apologies for startling you, doctor— may i?” he gestures to the seat in front of you and you nod.

“yes, it has been some time. i recall you being there for the completion of my contract with the fair lady, but the last time the two of us had the opportunity to meet casually was the very same night we first met.”

you nod curtly— you’re tense, you don’t know why. you know he’s not an archon anymore, you were there to see it, but perhaps the real weight of being in the presence of someone so powerful, not just an archon but the oldest of the original seven, seems to have only settled in now. you feel almost as choked as when in the presence of the tsaritsa, which you know all the same that you shouldn’t be. zhongli chuckles amusedly.

“i ask you to treat me as though you would’ve that night in liuli pavilion, like any other acquaintance. chatting with a mere consultant of a funeral parlor requires no formalities. now— have you been well, doctor?”

you can still only bring yourself to nod wordlessly in response, there’s no need for zhongli to know how royally miserable you’ve been lately.

“and.. may i ask why you held such a glare towards your meal? is it not your liking?”

“oh, no the noodles are just fine, amazing even! i was just… contemplating wether to finish it or not.”

great cover.

“hm,” zhongli hums with playful suspicion. “while a reasonable topic of contemplation, it did very much seem as though you were rather staring through the bowl, as though there is something on your mind. i would not mind hearing what is it that vexes you, doctor— if you’re comfortable to share, of course.”

yeah there was no fooling a, again, six thousand year old divine being with a half-assed excuse like yours. you sigh.

“well— yes, you caught me. the last few days have been, uh… less than peachy for me.”

“what exactly is it troubles you these days?”

“i wouldn’t say it’s trouble but, there hasn’t been much to do at northland bank lately. and childe has been out on a mission for some time now— b-but it’s mainly the lack of assignments!” you stammer.

“is that so? i did hear of childe’s sudden departure for inazuma but it is curious that you’re being kept stationed here with essentially nothing to do. but, if i may— has childe been absent for as long as you’ve felt dull at work or would you say there is no relation?”

already at so few words out of sheer nervousness, zhongli managed still to render you completely and utterly speechless. what are you even supposed to respond to this?

“i-i uhm, i… alright, i won’t even try.” you sigh in defeat and zhongli looks coyly pleased. he patiently awaits for you to gather your thoughts and actually say more than two stammered sentences.

“i truly can’t tell what it is. i feel like i’m supposed to be worrying for him— as if he’ll get injured again or injure someone else o-or even worse, do something stupid but there’s just.. nothing! it’s like i’m so used to being aware of his presence and now there’s nothing and it’s- it’s frustrating.”

“you miss him.”

you pause. do you miss him? no, it can’t be so simple— you have a medical degree, it is most certainly improbable that you’ve been trying your brain over just missing childe. well, sure it was great that the two of you were starting to make amends and stopped being so on-edge around each other but… there’s no objective reason for you to miss him.

right?

“i would not say i even near the level of an expert on matters concerning relationships between people, but i’ve seen a lot in my time. enough to tell you with confidence that it’s most likely you just.. miss him, doctor. and that it is okay to feel this way. the two of you do not stand at odds anymore, you never have— it is reasonable for you to be affected by his absence.”

you furrow your eyebrows. “how do you know if… childe and i stand at odds, mr. zhongli.”

“well, i have witnessed it. both directly and indirectly— the tension and misunderstanding between the two of you during our meeting at liuli pavilion was quite evident and i’ve heard of how you opposed him in battle at the golden house. but that is all it has ever been, misunderstandings and disagreements, but you’ve never truly disliked each other.”

“h-how do you know-“

“he speaks quite highly of you, doctor.”

“wh-what?”

“childe has only ever spoken highly of you— i recall mentioning that had been looking forward to meeting you in person during our dinner, it is all because of how grand his description of you was. plus, during our eventual meetups, you’re mentioned at least once every time. and you, as we’ve discussed, do seem to hold some care towards him, to the extent that you first concern is his health.”

your heart aches and you hate it. it’s a terrible, void sensation that frustrates you to no end. why? why did childe have to make it so difficult for you? why can’t you ever feel simple feelings when it came to him? why couldn’t you ever just feel one way towards him with no smaller part of your brain saying something else? even worse, why couldn’t your brain ever think about anything else— literally anything, instead of just constantly orbiting around the mixed emotions you felt when it came to childe?

you just constantly, restlessly and unendingly seem to care about him.

“you know what, mr. zhongli, i think y—“

“ah, there you are, sergeant!”

a less familiar voice calls out from behind you and you turn around with a bit of surprise— it’s a man clad in fatui uniform, who you recognize as mikhail, one of the officers stationed at northland bank. he’s not exactly someone you interact much with, just a mere coworker you greet every other morning, so you’re perplexed as to why he’s seeking you outside the bank.

“mikhail, what is the occasion?” you ask, briefly eyeing zhongli to find that he remains with a neutral expression awaiting the exchange.

“i am deeply sorry for interrupting your lunch, sergeant, but ekaterina urged for me to find you as soon as i could. a letter has come in from lord dottore for you specifically— she says it is of utmost importance.”

—

the wharf is unusually crowded today.

an untimely flux of either tourists or returning immigrant citizens, perhaps it is an important time of year in another nation— although, childe could truly care less at the moment. he’s doing his best to politely push his way through the sea of people leaving their respective ships while almost unconsciously seeking you out within it. he knows you wouldn’t be here, as his return to liyue was unannounced, but his eyes fly to latch onto your likeness anyway.

childe ends up finding you right in the center of the harbor’s main street, practically right below the catwalks that lead to the bank. you’re slowly pacing back and forth, a piece of paper clutched in your hands and a vacant expression on your face— childe can’t find himself to clutch to those details right now, he just needs to get to your side. he makes large, determined steps towards you, big grin invading his features, and while he’s still approaching you, you spot him and your eyes widen even more. once childe is a mere two steps away from you, he stops.

“y/n! oh, it’s so good to see you!” he heaves out gladly.

“ajax—“ you reply in a quiet voice and his heart swells at the use of his real name. he truly can’t contain himself anymore and tackles you into a tight hug, one so strong that stumble back a bit.

his arms snake tightly from under your arms to above your shoulders and his head lowers from being against your own to reaching your shoulder blade— it is as close as he physically get to you, while trying to be respectful of your space, of course. you’re still in shock for maybe five seconds of the hug, but eventually you just let yourself slowly wrap around him and squeeze ever so slightly. both of you have your eyes closed to sink into the moment.

the hug is long, maybe twenty seconds so, and as childe becomes satisfied with its duration and pulls away, he remains with his hands to your elbows in a gentle hold. he sighs with said satisfaction and beams towards you.

“i have so much to tell you about inazuma! unfortunately, i couldn’t find scaramouche there but i managed to see so many beautiful places, so many amazing experie- wait.. what’s wrong?”

the harbinger pauses mid sentence when he notices the numbness in your expression and his bright grin falls into a concerned frown— you feel like the most terrible person for making him lose such excitement. your mouth opens and closes as you find what to say, but you eventually whisper it out.

“ajax, i-i… i have to go to sumeru.”

taglist ; @kentply @osaemu @rain-and-a-nice-nap @koichirana

[jiro-kino]

I crave more KUNIKUZUSHI ( PRE-FATUI ) + READER please

Like how would Ei and the other archons react to them

Maybe some sweet moments between them like the first time Kuni calls us mom or when we found him or getting him settled in to the house like shopping for clothes and things for his room together

And what about future aspects like the fatui and traveler how would those differ from the original story line

❝ ANSWERS I ; KUNIMITSU-AU ❞

- Kunimitsu-AU is from my previous post where Reader basically adopts Kunikuzushi(Scaramouche), so none of the betrayal shit happened.

WARNING; THIS WILL CONTAIN MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE INAZUMA AND SUMERU ARCHON QUESTS

That aside, let's get down to answering! ( some are going to be in a separate post )

◆ THE ARCHONS ; ABOUT (NAME) + KUNI

Our dear Electro Archon, Ei, didn't even know about it until she decided to get out of her plane of Euthymia because of the Traveller. Once she was informed, she find it hard to believe considering this was (Name) they were talking about. Plus, they uh... They don't really get along that well.

ABOUT (NAME);

"It's unsettling to know she resides somewhere here in Inazuma.. She always liked making things quite difficult for me, especially in the past. Though, worry not, I am able to see through her and her words thanks to Miko"

Ah, seems like she doesn't want to go into further detail.

ABOUT KUNIMITSU/KUNIKUZUSHI II;

"Kunimitsu..? Ah, I see.. I'm glad he's doing alright.. Really? But how did she—? I'm a bit surprised that she was capable of understanding how he works.. In the emotional sense. He seems to be doing quite alright .. Traveller, can I ask you to do me a small favor?"

The favor was simply to keep an eye out for the woman and for the prototype-puppet.

-

Oh, but what about the God of Freedom himself? Barbatos- who calls himself Venti had known since the day (Name) came to Mondstadt with Kuni for the Windblume Festival. And oh my, was he surprised and amused by the fact it was Ei's puppet that was with her.

ABOUT (NAME):

"Ohoho~! I didn't expect you to know her. I wonder what disguise did she choose for herself this time?.. That aside! She's still the same neutral I know, just less chaotic unlike a few thousand years ago- what? Of course she's immortal. How else would she be able to look that young after raising Kunimitsu?"

Unlike Ei, it seems like these two are on good terms.

ABOUT KUNIMITSU ;

"My bitter-loving 'nephew'.. Back then, I used to teach him how to play the flute. There was also the time I tried introducing him to some of the wine here but his mother wouldn't let me.. Did I forget to mention he's a mama's boy? Much like her, he sometimes comes by to 'gossip' about certain things happening. Take a pair of lovers from the Shrine for example, I've heard—"

Well, they seem pretty close too (surprisingly).

-

For the God of Contracts, this was something he and Ei can agree with. Zhongli wasn't as surprised but it was definitely something he did not expect from the woman to do. In all honesty, he thought she was just going to use it as some way to cause chaos. ( Thank the stars that didn't happen )

ABOUT (NAME) ;

"It has indeed been years since I've last spoken to her. It seems like she's a bit more self-controlled for these past hundred years.. She's welcome to visit Liyue as long as she doesn't do any of her absurd 'pranks'"

Such a talkative man, yet said very little about the woman.

ABOUT KUNIMITSU ;

"I've heard from Xiao that he was raised by (Name), correct? It's a relief that he didn't pick up any bad habits from her over the years.. at least for now."

Traveller and Paimon can only wonder what those habits are.

-

Now, Lesser Lord Kusanali had known this since the woman likes to keep her updated about the outside world. You could say she also sorta raised the dendro archon a bit as well. In fact, it was (Name)'s idea for her to help her nation from the shadows if others weren't pleased with her existence.

ABOUT (NAME) ;

"Before Sumeru had accepted me.. (Name) was one of the close companions I've had when I had first woken up. As chaotic as she seems to the other archons, much like a chameleon- It is in their nature to blend in, like how it's in her nature to switch when she wants to"

??? The Traveller and Paimon were still processing the analogy. They'll just take the first sentence as an answer.

ABOUT KUNIMITSU ;

"Kuni used to be my 'student' when he first received his vision. He wanted to surprise and impress (Name) at the time so he was very eager to learn as quick as he can, like cat wanting their owner's attention. It's a relief that he managed to avoid the dangerous path for his future... If he hadn't been found by her,.."

Strange, it seems like Sumeru's god is aware of something.

-

AS FOR HOW THIS WILL EFFECT THE STORY...

> Let's start off with the Tatarasuna incident. This was handled differently than the OG thanks to the Reader's existence and Kuni's awareness.

> Instead of Kuni's second betrayal, it was his first time having to learn to accept that some will sacrifice themselves for the greater good. ( The storyline where Niwa and an unknown swordsman entered the furnace instead while Kuni helped evacuate the others )

> Thanks to the Reader, he was able to cope with what happened without any misunderstandings. And as for the Doctor? This is how he figures out the Electro Archon had created a puppet, which made him want to figure out how to do it as well ( since he's aware he can't easily manipulate Kuni in this )

> As for the fall of the Raiden Gokuden, let's just say Dottore was the main cause. How? By creating a puppet ( with some help from Sandrone, although he refused to admit it ), and experimenting on it by causing the downfall of the clans.

> This puppet did however end up getting destroyed by Kuni right after he found out what happened.

> So don't worry about Kazuha and the Kamisato Siblings, they're fine.

> Though, the fall of the clans did cause them to stop still. Unless said otherwise by the remaining descendants of those clans in the present, who came to terms with it.

> Oh, but what about the Fatui? As of now, there's only 10 Fatui Harbingers. The Balladeer never existing in the first place.

> For the Delusion Factory incident, Columbina will replace Scaramouche. And by that, I mean the Traveller will end up 'meeting' her. ( Though, it was more like, hearing her** )

> The Traveller meets Kuni during his own story quest ( if y'all haven't met in the unreconciled stars event where he helps the Adventurer's guild ) that takes place after Ei's first story quest.

> As for the Reader, you'll meet her during Kuni's quest and is mentioned by Yae during the training part of the Inazuma Quest.

> This will also have a bit more impact when it comes to Signora's funeral. Where Dottore made the decision to take the Electro Gnosis and see if he could create a 'god' with it.

> Everything in the Sumeru Quest, excluding 3.3 had happened, except replace Scaramouche with a prototype puppet created by Dottore, and Dottore will be replaced with Webtoon!Dottore, who threw a tantrum in the end before making the deal with Kusanali / Nahida.

If there's a plot hole anywhere, feel free to point it out! I didn't exactly plan everything through since this was nothing but a thought at first

[thirstyfortaglines]

Abyssal Light Shine

I haven’t posted here in a while but college finals really got me; I’m back now though, with a 3.7k adult Lumichi (dom Lumine) fic. Kinda extreme so be warned, I will return to the Lumine supremacy grind shortly; thank you for reading.

“The fun…has just begun!”

Lumine had just received a commission from the Verr Goldet at the Wangshu Inn; allegedly, some new abyss activity has been spotted in the area and scaring off the customers. “Jeez, with how often the surroundings become monster-infested, Paimon wonders why they don’t just move already!” Paimon prattled off as the duo made their way to the nearby marsh for what felt like the 5th time that week. “I’m sure they have their reasons'' Lumine replied while also sharing Paimon’s annoyed sentiment, “Besides, it’s not like we aren’t being paid; just gotta knock out a few baddies and be on our way.” “Yeah, you’re right. Though it is strange how this is the first time there’s been sightings of abyss activity” Paimon nodded before adding. “I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see,” Lumine stated heroically before stepping onto the battlefield.

Though the amount of monsters seemed to have increased, nothing more than the usual hilichurls and mitachurls were present. Lumine had just dismissed her sword as Paimon came floating to her side, clapping. “Great job traveler! That looks like the last of them, let’s head back to Verr Goldet to claim our prize (and maybe a free meal while we’re at it)” she continued on, thinking only of her stomach and possible treasure. But, just as Lumine turned to follow her, in the corner of her vision she caught sight of a pyro abyss mage, lurking in the bushes. They locked eyes for a moment before the mage leaped out and began chanting, now changing targets to the still oblivious Paimon floating just ahead. “Paimon, look out!” Lumine yelled while dashing forward to intercept whatever spell it was the mage was preparing. The abyss mage continued, condensing its magic into a bright pink mass of energy, and fired it directly at Paimon. Just as it was about to make contact, Lumine had arrived, shoving Paimon out of the way and taking the attack directly to her chest. A dull, yet burning ache filled her stomach and chest as she toppled over, glad to see her companion was okay. “Traveler?! Traveler, stay with me! Someone, help!!” Paimon floated anxiously over the now slumped over Lumine, desperately calling for aid. As her consciousness faded and eyelids grew heavy, Lumine watched as the abyss mage floated into a portal, as if pleased with how things turned out.

Hours later, Lumine felt a nudge at her side and slowly mused awake. “You’re okay! Paimon was so worried about you!” Paimon anxiously floated into view, checking the traveler’s face over with hurried hands. The traveler’s head was throbbing as she lazily scanned the room over, taking in all of her previous allies standing-by her; Beidou was speaking loudly in the corner with Ningguang about “proper trade”, Zhongli could be found relaxing by the door frame, eyes fixed on yet another person-

Oh.

It’s him.

Why is it always Him.

Childe flashed his signature care-free smile her way once he noticed her gaze. “Morning traveler,” he said, still smiling, “I wasn’t expecting to run into you at near Wangshuu but I guess fate had other plans huh?” As he sauntered confidently over, Lumine’s eyes were fixed on him, as if there was nothing more important than this genociding ginger and his constant nonchalant energy. The closer he got, the more persistent the burning sensation in her stomach grew until it was almost screaming at her, making her head go fuzzy. As though oblivious to her pain, Childe sat himself on her bedside and placed a hand next to her own. “I actually received that commission you tackled a couple days ago,” he explained, “but I got caught up with some other work, so it’s kind of my fault you’ve ended up like this.” Though his face displayed his usual care-free yet indifferent attitude, his eyes showed a twinge of shame and concern for his actions. At this point, the traveler could no longer hear what was being said, thinking only of calming the fire burning within her as the pressure became unbearable. “So, to make it up to you,” he began walking off dramatically, giving Lumine a brief moment's reprise from whatever that sensation was, “would you like to go to a fancy Liyue restaurant with me?” As her head slowly caught up with the situation, Lumine propped herself up on one arm, taking in the room fully for the first time. Before she could begin shaking her head, Beidou stood up declaratively; “Of course she will!” she stated triumphantly, “Traveler, make sure to run his pockets dry of mora ya’here?” “Paimon also thinks food- I mean a day off would be a good idea!” the flying companion flittered into view once again, nodding her head as if proud of her gluttony driven assessment. 

“...”

The traveler stared blankly at everyone, before finally replying: “...sure.”

“I knew you wouldn’t turn me down!” Childe smiled, beaming with redemption as he turned for the door. “I’ll meet you next to Liuli Pavillion later this evening” he tossed over his shoulder as he made his way out at which point the pain had nearly vanished into a dull ache once again. Both dread and anticipation lulled the traveler back to sleep as the rest of her visitors made their exit.

Evening came sooner than expected, and with it, so too did a familiar harbinger arrive. “Anyone home?” he called out, opening the door to her room a bit. “Give me a second,” she responded, hurriedly getting dressed into her usual outfit, “I’ll meet you outside.” As he heard Childe exit, Lumine let out a sigh of relief; the pain in her abdomen seemed to solidify itself into a tangible area, with a growingly irritated patch of skin just above her crotch faintly tinged with blue. With this excursion with what seemed like the cause of her discomfort soon to be underway, the Traveler could not help but become increasingly anxious as to how she would handle both the pain and Childe. *knock knock* His impatient knocking at the door pulled her back to her senses. “I have overcome far worse” she whispered to herself, “I will be alright.” With a stance of defiance, she marched toward the door, shoving it open with hand and planting a diva-esque hand on her hip. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” she started, holding back winces of pain, “I couldn’t decide what to wear” she added sarcastically. Childe let out a low whistle, letting his eyes roam the familiar landscape that is the Traveler’s body. “Ya know,” he started, finally meeting her eyes “no matter how many times I see you, you still manage to be just as stunning as the first time we met. Now c’mon, lemme show you the Pride of a Harbinger!” He valiantly reached over to hook her arm, but Lumine dodged it and moved past him eloquently. “Save your words, mora man,” she answered in response to his puppy eyes and pouting lips “we have a reservation to get to.”

They had not even made it 5 minutes before the pain made itself known again, this time all the louder; walking side-by-side with Childe seemed to be doing a number on her, though onward she walked regardless. “You…alright?” he asked, perplexed as to why she had slowed their pace yet again, “If you didn’t actually want to do this, you could’ve said so.” She went to reply quickly, to dissuade his suspicions-

But the flames within her had other plans.

They lashed out at her consciousness, as if screaming to be set free. She doubled over in shock right in the middle of the street, drawing the attention of some on-lookers. “Ojou-chan!” Childe reached out, letting his more sympathetic side show. “Don’t-” Lumine had started, but it was too late: Childe had grabbed Lumine, pressing her close to his chest, fully enwrapping her in his arms. The jolt from the sudden contact was the final straw that broke her defenses; the night faded to black as the heat from her crotch spread to the rest of her body.

...

“Oh, you’re finally awake,” Childe started having noticed the Traveler turn over in the motel bed. In the moments following Lumine’s blackout, Childe brought her over to a motel and booked a night for her to rest. He stayed by her side the entire time, resting a hand on her unconscious frame in subconscious worry. “It’s long past our reservation time,” he began again, bringing his hand to her face, “so don’t worry, we can relax here as long as you need. Though a ‘Thank you’ would be appreciated~”. His spoke to lighten the mode, locking eyes with Lumine while flashing her yet another one of his signature smirks in hopes of a reaction. After hearing this, her eyes lazily scanned the room from her resting position before she proceeded to prop herself up and meet Childe’s eyes, still saying nothing though her eyes burned with intensity. He opened his mouth to say something slick but was abruptly interrupted.

By a kiss.

In an instant, the Traveler had locked lips with Childe, passionately kissing him as if starved for affection. He tried to jump back but was met with a hand at the back of his head, holding his face in place as she reached deeper into his mouth, devouring every inch of him. The force knocked both him and her to fall onto the floor, though the Traveler’s grip on him had yet to loosen. 

“What the…” Childe muttered, trying to mentally assess what had just happened, not realizing that this was only the beginning. Before he could try to move again, Lumine’s hand found its way to his neck, pinning him down with an elbow on his arm and a thumb to his artery. She continued to apply pressure until Childe relented, ceasing his resistance as his vision dulled to near blackout territory. “Why…” he breathed quietly, both to save his breath and to not incite more choking from the Traveler. Her head was resting on his chest, rising and falling with his shallow breaths, as she began to reply:

“You still owe me for earlier,” she started, intermittently kissing up his neck between words, “so I’ll be having my way with you until I say we’re done.” She towered over him, still pinning his arms down with her hands; her golden eyes shone majestically, as if trying to hypnotize the subdued ginger with their aura alone. “Alright then,” he started to agree with a smirk to regain confidence, “allow me to show you the might of the Harbinge-” he continued but was abruptly cut off with yet another barrage of kisses, these ones reaching deeper than those before. As his sense of reality began to fade under her onslaught, Childe failed to notice the geo shackles being created on the cuffs of his wrists as the Traveler’s expression grew more smug, and sinister. 

A strange sensation on his chest managed to wake Childe from his slumber. “Mornin-” he croaked, but stopped once he realized he couldn’t move his arms. Nor his legs. In fact, where was the Traveler? A wet feeling drew his attention back downwards where he met a pair of golden eyes once again, this time accompanied by a mouth quietly making love to his nipples. She continued without a word, staring up at Childe as her tongue ran circles around his most sensitive parts, suckling them at points as if to tease him further. Childe returned to his senses after some time, opening his mouth in protest, but the Traveler was ready; she bit down onto the Harbinger’s exposed chest, making him yelp in shock as the sensation sent shivers running all along his body. Her teeth grinded further, causing Childe to wince in pain which only excited her further; her now free hands found themselves busy with the rest of his body, the left hand squeezing and twisting his other nipple while the right cradled his face, running a thumb across it as Childe held back tears. 

His skin had become tender and red by the time she acquiesced, her eyes once again locking with Tartaglia’s as she propped herself up on his chest. The sparks in her eyes had been kindled by his labored breathing as her hand ebbed and flowed through his ginger hair, resting gently on his jawline. “Ojou-chan…I’m really at my limit here-” Tartaglia tried to object to her advances, but knew his body had already betrayed his true feelings of growing anticipation. Lumine said nothing, her golden eyes simply twinkling brightly back in reply as she pressed a kiss to his tired lips. She breathed a sigh into his ear: “I thought you were gonna show me the pride of a harbinger; is that really all?”

Tartaglia’s mixed emotions of desire and fear silenced him as the Traveler shifted backwards towards her next target. Her back was arched, almost like a cat stalking its prey with the way she had her eyes trained on his, as she planted herself directly onto his crotch. Though he tried to hide it, the previous torment had aroused all parts of him, especially his dick; it pushed through his pants against Lumine, and, in response, she pushed back with her own crotch, creating a scary game of endurance, as to who would give out first. Her pace and power quickened as Lumine became more excited, soaking through her panties more with each new push. “Wait-” Tartaglia could stifle his lust no longer as his stamina ran dry; his pants became hot and wet as his semen sept through his pants to meet Lumine’s own drenched underwear. She chuckled as she stood, once again towering over Tartaglia, who’s normally cocky grin was now gone, replaced with a red, grimacing face from just having ejaculated. From this angle, however, Tartaglia caught a glimpse of the anomaly probably causing this suddenly aggressive Lumine: a purple glow shone ever so dimly underneath the Traveler’s attire towards her crotch, however the source of said glow was still obscured by the dress itself. His mind was brought back to the present as a pair of soaked panties landed next to him on the floor; he glanced back up to meet Lumine’s eyes as she raised her foot to hover over his crotch, still continuing to watch his reactions with new-found anticipation. He preemptively winced and shut his eyes, expecting the worst-

But nothing happened

He cracked an eye open to see the foot had rested softly on his pants's waistline, pulling them off as to further expose himself to her. She took a seat on his now exposed, cum-covered dick as if it were the most natural thing in the world, letting her own excited privates kiss his bare cock as she slowly grinded atop her newly found play-thing. She gripped his shoulders as she began to grind harder, the purple glow shining even brighter now than ever as Tartaglia gritted his teeth in a feeble attempt to hold back. 

But the Traveler wouldn’t let him.

She inched upwards to the crook of his neck, kissing underneath his jawline as she continued to grind feverishly against his body. Her hot breath made his heart race, sending blood straight to his head and drowning out all sensible thoughts left within him; as he came again, Lumine’s eyebrows turned upwards as if in delight. “Good boy,” she whispered to him, “but I’m not done yet.” As one hand disappeared from his shoulder, Tartaglia felt a finger just at the tip of his dick, playing at the entrance despite knowing it was its most sensitive right now. Another finger joined the first in their efforts to play with him more, even though he had just came. “Please Lumine I-” he tried to plead but we silenced by her free hand, dipping its own fingers into his mouth and toying with his tongue. More fingers joined the front at his dick, becoming a handjob after some time and straining Tartaglia of every last drop of semen he had left in him. 

And, eventually, he came.

Again.

And so Lumine began again.

Again.

They repeated the cycle countless times: Cum, tease, repeat. After not too long, Tartaglia stopped protesting altogether, instead looking forward to the next moment of release at the Traveler’s command. That is, until she stopped teasing him entirely. He glanced around in anticipation, the idea of escape completely foreign to his now Lumine-entranced brain, until he managed to catch the Traveler once again, though this time she stood back, undressing herself. “L-Lumine?” he called out weakly, his voice tired from the constant moaning he stopped caring to retain. She walked back into view, now entirely nude, and once again sat on his crotch though this time without grinding on it. Now Tartaglia could see the true source of the purple light: Just above the Traveler’s crotch, abyssal words could be seen almost etched into her skin, burning brightly to match her own passion. Her mouth hung slightly open as she sized up his dick, pressing it against the flat of her stomach and raising herself so that it just kissed the entrance to her vagina. “If I end up inside of her” he thought, “I’ll be the next slave to lust” his fear screamed from within him as he watched his future on the brink of destruction. 

She pressed him against herself harder, the tip beginning to slip within her; the sensation brought Tartaglia back to his senses. “W-wait!” he began to plead, drawing her attention for a moment, “The Tsaritsa-.” But he was cut off by a burst of laughter followed by a hand to his throat, silencing all future protest from Tartaglia; her smile widened as she eased herself downward, relishing in his distressed look as her excitement caused the glow of the abyssal markings to shine ever brighter. His eyes began to roll back as he fought against the desires within him; his lust screamed to be set free, to let go of all reason and absorb himself in the moment. Tears fell as his lips parted to his clenched teeth and haggard breathing, but the Traveler did not care; she eased herself to the base of his cock, gyrating her hips to grind him against her walls and further torment Tartaglia. His dick stiffened more as her movements intensified, beginning to move up and down as her enjoyment grew and, with it, the markings on her stomach burning with passion and lust. Despite this, Tartaglia contained himself, fending off the corrupt thoughts and longing for release with his valiant loyalty to his Queen. The Traveler saw his strained face, taking in his efforts with his pain, and began to raise herself off of him, stopping with just the tip remaining inside of her. He half breathed, half wheezed a sigh of relief, feeling her grip on his neck loosen as he thought that, just maybe, she had regained control of herself. The look in her eyes had softened, meeting his deep blue eyes with her own starlit gold, as he began to relax once more in her presence and the fact this nightmare was finally over.

If he had only looked down, he would have seen the truth.

The purple burning on her skin as bright as the stars in her eyes.

Her hands cradled his face as a lover would, brushing his tear stained temples as if to comfort him. He felt comfort. He felt relieved. He felt…

The weight of the Traveler crushing him as she slammed his cock back into her body.

His muscles, as built as they were, could not break out against his restraints; he was caught off guard, and could feel himself reaching his limit without a means to stop it. She pressed against him, pushing harder and harder, his tip practically kissing the entrance to her womb from the force. He shut his eyes, using all of his remaining energy to try to fend her off when-

A kiss.

One devoid of any love.

A damning kiss that tipped Tartaglia over the edge. 

A wail erupted from his lips as he came, a searing pain mixed with unfathomable pleasure etching itself into his skin to mirror the Traveler’s own markings. He became still in this moment, his entire being gushing out of him to be consumed by her and her body; the branding on his stomach ached as it too glowed a soft purple to show that he now belonged to her. His mind began to fray as he started pitifully shaking and thrusting his hips, now entirely consumed by his libido and sparing no thoughts for anything beyond it. He climaxed inside of the Traveler again.

And again.

And countless more times after that.

She could do little to stifle her laughter despite the pleasure, staring down at Tartaglia’s sex-crazed face dripping with sweat and drool. “What about the Tsaritsa?” she asked playfully, knowing he would fuck himself to death if she let him. His thrusting slowed as he looked up at the Traveler once again. His eyes, usually a mysterious blue, now appeared muddied under the light of the moon peeking in through the window.

“Who?”

________________________________________________________________

It was a regular morning in Liyue harbor. The people of this city seldom let a minute go by without trying to make a sale. People walked too and fro as the former god of this nation sat outside Third-Round Knockout, lying perfectly in-sight yet invisible to the average passer-by; he listened intently as his tea began to cool, scanning the crowd as Tian told a tale from his prime. In the midst of the crowd, he spots two familiar faces making their way from a near-by inn. 

“Traveler, Childe,” Zhongli calls out to them, “it’s good to see you again.” He greets them cordially as he begins walking over to them. 

Childe’s head remains lowered, looking to Lumine for direction. She smiles as she waves her hand over at the ancient god of Liyue.

“Zhongli! We were just looking for you!”

[moved-to-void-kissed]

Okay, so the day has passed, and I’ve now played up until the end of the story myself (with the exception of the actual boss, since I ran out of food to heal with and am too worn out right now to get more, though I did watch a video of what happens after it), and.. I have more to say about the whole update. So, if you don’t want to see heavy spoilers for the 2.1 story update in Genshin that released today, then please don’t look under the readmore.

So, first of all, the thing that everyone probably assumed was the only thing my previous post was alluding to; this story update had the very first on-screen important character death of the game so far, and it was Signora. It surprised me and made me sad that they would do this, but I did know it was coming by the time the story updated, because I’d been spoiled about it by an account I follow on Twitter talking about it from leaks some days beforehand - incidentally, to those who are in one of the selfship servers that I’m in when I said I was bitter a few days ago, that was why.

When I found out that this would be the case, I started working on an MMD render of her comforting Alectra after the duel, to cope. It’s finished and ready to post, actually, but.. I now have my hesitations about posting it, for reasons I will explain further down the post. Said reasons (as well as the fact that Signora was killed off in the first place) are why I had been holding off on saying that I was considering making her another main romantic F/O, since.. well, I had been considering that a bit for quite some time. I know that Luna and technically also Pyra - plus Lora, though she isn’t one of my main romantic F/Os - also die in canon, and that didn’t really faze me at all when it came to selfshipping with them, but.. those instances are all right at the end of their respective games (plus Pyra canonically comes back), so they’re easy to change and/or disregard, and so the situation feels a bit different.

Although I knew that Signora was going to be executed, seeing it happen still wasn’t nice - though not because it made me sad, unlike the canon deaths of some of my other F/Os (..most notably Vandham’s, which is why I wrote it so instantly and adamantly out of canon). It just.. felt a bit lacking, I guess? Like, don’t get me wrong, Ei’s powers are formidable and the actual animation on her end looked great. But Signora herself just kind of.. immediately went back into her normal human form after the boss fight, shouted petulantly for a bit, and then dissipated once she was struck without even a final sound. For how powerful and formidable she was originally portrayed as being, I personally didn’t feel like that was reflected in how she was killed. It felt a bit rushed and like an afterthought, almost - it looked way more like the way playable characters die when they are at 0 HP, which made it very low-impact to me, since you can revive your playable characters very quickly and easily. All that may be an indication that this wasn’t actually the end for Signora (especially given her butterfly/moth motif, considering how those often represent rebirth), but other things like some of the voicelines that come after that point do seem to make it sound pretty final.

..However, on the note of what she says before her death (and I’m trying to assume that this was directed at the Traveler and Paimon, given how it’s in the plural, but it really kind of feels like she was saying it to Ei as well), am I the only one who was extremely unsettled by Signora’s last words being “filthy rats, all of you!”, given that this is taking place in Inazuma which is very heavily based on/inspired by Japan? I know it’s not the first time she’s used such a metaphor (since she calls Venti the “rodent ruler of Mondstadt” and I think I heard her say something like “you miserable rodent” as one of the lines in her boss fight), and I’m well aware as someone who is not Asian that my perspective on this may not be totally accurate, but- to my knowledge “rat” has very much been used as a racist term attacking Japanese (and possibly other Asian) people for a long time, especially alongside the insinuation that said people are “dirty” or “filthy”.

So, yeah, a combination of that, and the fact that honestly a lot of her voicelines have not really felt right to me (though whether that’s a voice direction thing or a weirdly-written line thing or her personality being weird to pin down or even a “I keep thinking of her as having my accent for some reason, probably because my English accent is quite stereotypically used for haughty fancy villains” thing is.. unclear), plus the fact that her being the Crimson Witch of Flames/Embers (why is the name different in the boss fight compared to the artifact set??) kind of makes way too much of her backstory and character revolve around her love for some guy who died 500 years ago - which in my opinion weakens her unnecessarily - and then also to some extent the fact she’s now been killed off, is all leaving me unsure how to handle things. My feelings have sort of dissipated right now and I don’t know whether that’s a permanent thing or not.

In terms of my thoughts on some other things that happened in this update..

Signora just generally feels like she came out of nowhere even if her involvement was somewhat foreshadowed by the whole “arrogant-sounding woman” thing from earlier in the story, though I suppose you could say the same of her previous two appearances too;

Delusions draining their user’s life force to cause accelerated aging is a very interesting piece of lore (and that combined with Festering Desire being a corrupted sword means I’ve definitely messed up with Alectra =P oops);

I didn’t watch the last part of Scaramouche’s introduction cutscene and the first part of the cutscene after it at the shrine but what I did stick around for seemed.. interesting I guess, from a lore perspective;

the sequence directly after the boss fight was very unsettling and I did not like it because a) Traveler are you okay, b) who was saying the on-screen text???, and c) it felt far too close to being something on my blacklist;

Kazuha reigniting his friend’s Vision for a moment was very cool!! but it still doesn’t feel like the whole story has been tied up nicely yet regarding the resistance characters and also Kujou Sara;

..generally I think I just feel very disillusioned about the whole thing. Though, whether that’s actually genuine or just my current mixed feelings about Signora’s fate clouding everything else that I played today is another story. Maybe also the fact I played through the whole thing in one go which was not the case for the ends of the previous two arcs?

Thank you to anyone who’s read this far. I didn’t intend to write as much as I did, but hopefully it all makes sense? Also, if anyone has anything to share about what they thought of the things i’ve mentioned (or, if you haven’t played the game, then just generally any thoughts or advice), then I would be happy to hear them, since my head is a little bit tangled at the moment.

So, about the 2.1 update..

…

…

..they really did that, huh?