#in a modern Teyvat being a museum guide | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

yoon-ssi · 1 year ago

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the traveler in hsr

gn!traveler x honkai star rail

warnings: none, (just nostalgia), comfort (by Jing Yuan)

word count: ~bit more than 2k

a/n: noticing shit in HSR and connecting it in GI made me do this, also Jing Yuan has me in a chokehold help (characters mentioned subtly/fully or included (spoiler alert): Herta, Asta, Mona, Pom-pom, Himeko, March 7th, Dan Heng, Sampo, Arataki Itto, Paimon, Yae Miko, Gorou, Tingyun, Welt, Yanqing, Xiao, Jing Yuan, Kazuha)

description: what if the traveler continued their journey with the astral express after Teyvat… here the traveler is in place of the trailblazer.

You were walking in Herta's space station getting familiar with your surroundings before it was time to leave with the Astral Express crew. You were sure you were not staying here with Herta so she could lead experiments on you, you didn't need to get experimented on. Moreover, just the thought of it reminded you of a certain Fatui Harbinger you met in Sumeru. The modern aspect of the whole station was something new you haven't seen in a while. It was interesting to see such different technology. Once you heard they had a museum at the station you wished to see it before leaving. You made your way into the big room, it was filled with various objects some of the past, some of other worlds, and some you didn’t recognize. Trying to understand your settings and your upcoming travels, you stopped in front of each of the relics. Once you finished reading a quote under one of them and went to move on to the next one, you caught a glimpse of something all too familiar. It immediately pulled you close Unable to control it yourself, you rushed to it, your eyes staring through the glass. The black feathers of the wind glider shined. The glider looked like it had worn before and had flown in the sky. You felt overwhelmed, not expecting to see it here, reminding you of everything and everyone you left behind… Your eyes dropped to read the description. As the words described the nature and surroundings of Monstadt you felt your heart tighten, a surge of pain and nostalgia pulling you under. You gently put your hand on the glass. Slowly you sat down leaning your head on the cool metal, allowing yourself to feel those emotions. You had your wings back now, and while they felt amazing; being reminded of how you used to glide down the Liyue mountain peaks, the Sumeru desert… so many places with the wind guiding you. It… hurt. You asked Herta if you could perhaps borrow it or just take it with you when you leave the station but were rejected. Not that you expected her to allow you something like that, but you had to… just had to ask at least. While fighting certain enemies the lead researcher Asta fought alongside you. Through spending more time with her, you couldn't help but giggle at her behavior. Her constant mentions of the stars since she is an astronomer and her spending habits reminded you of a certain astrologist who was once your close friend. So standing in front of the pink-haired girl with her shorter subordinate as she complained about her funds being unavailable you couldn't help but smile to yourself. She noticed you were looking at her endearingly and asked about it.

„Hey, trailblazer is everything okay?“ she smiled, „you're looking at me kinda strange“. You smiled in response your eyes turning into little crescent moons and answered „Ah.. it's nothing. I was just thinking of someone. You reminded me of them.“ You nodded as you ended your sentence. Asta nodded as well, smiling, and then continued the previous conversation.

The express crew seemed nice. Pom-pom was quiet but caring, Welt's way of speech reminded you of a certain older Archon, March 7th was sweet, Himeko seemed to be a very knowledgeable person and Dan Heng said he'd be happy to help with anything you needed from the archive. You assume the journey with them while... trailblazing would be enjoyable.

As the three of you set foot on Jario VI the snow felt comforting, reminding you of your adventures on Dragonspine. You were expecting to experience the effects of the sheer cold and leave in a short amount of time or find a heat source, but March and Dan Heng assured you it's normal and you wouldn't grow to be that cold. A goofy man is the first person you meet and his way of speech warms your heart reminding you of a certain Oni from Inazuma.

At one point you were walking around the Overworld and walked to a rail. You were gazing at the trash can since it was looking at you strangely but you did nothing about it, being a polite and respectful person. The guard looked at you weirdly and once you tried moving on past the rail he informed you it's not allowed at this moment.

In that moment you remembered how Paimon would always say „How about we explore the area ahead of us later?“ whenever you two would wander off too far… You looked down on the rail, then at the guard, and turned away. You were looking at the ground on your way back to the hotel. You kept seeing faces that seemed so familiar that it brought you comfort and a smile to your face, the way you'd see your friends in other people. And you continued to see similar people to them in the way they would talk, walk, behave, or simply their personality.

All the fights were normal something you already got used to before, and the life of trailblazers made sense. You were glad that it was also obvious that your goal was to help the nation or in this case the planet with their stellaron problem.

Xianzhou Loufu came as a breath of fresh air as well. Seeing Tingyun reminded you of the comment Yae Miko made to Gorou that if he took better care of his tail it could even be fluffier. You wondered if his tail would look like Tingyun's. The happy thoughts and memories helped you get through each day. The next day you were chatting with the general, Welt and March while standing in front of the hotel. As you were used to (so far) you were listening, paying attention to their words, this time there was no one above your shoulder to state shared thoughts and opinions. It felt quiet, an empty space that used to be filled. Occasionally, they would look at you to comment, and you'd say a few words but mainly keep quiet. So used to having a companion who spoke for the two of you. Especially since this language wasn't your native tongue, Paimon was helpful in these situations. It was an enjoyable conversation learning some information about the structure of the Luofu and the further plan for catching the Stellaron hunters. What you didn't expect was a smaller boy with blonde hair, the hairstyle just like an Adeptus general to run up to your conversation. He had a big smile on his face and a sword around his waist. His bright personality shined as he spoke and introduced himself. It all made you immediately think... he looked… he looked like… If you and Xiao had a child that's how you think the kid would look… and in that moment it broke your heart. Seeing someone like Xiao wouldn't break it because that isn't him just someone similar to him. But seeing a kid that looks like a son of you… You couldn't help the tears filling up your eyes. In that moment you knew you'd protect that boy with your life although looking at him breaks your heart.

Luckily the conversation seemed to be coming to an end as you were trying to fight the tears. Just before the first tear decided to drop the conversation ended and you managed to turn your face and walk away as the first tear fell.

You didn't notice the general looking at you the whole time since you set your eyes on Yanqing. He noticed your expression change, your smile turn fake, and your eyes fill with pain and tears. As he said his goodbyes to the others he quietly followed the direction you left in.

You sat on a bench a bit further away from the hotel. Your face in your hands, quiet sobs escaping your lips as your emotions and memories flood you. You softly mumbled his name once. „Xiao.“ Knowing you're not in Teyvat and he wouldn't come when you called… That fact alone made you sob harder, hot tears streaming down your cheeks as the pain cut you deep. You pulled your legs closer and leaned your head on your legs. In a couple of minutes, soft footsteps could be heard making you look up showing your face just enough to see who it is and if you're in danger.

You looked up and your honey-colored eyes met golden ones. The general had a worried look on his face. „Hey… mind if I sit?“ You nodded, wiping your cheeks and sitting properly again. As he sat down he looked at you „Are you okay? Your expression changed when you saw Yanqing.“ You took a moment to breathe and calm down your voice. „I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to worry you.“ He looked at you with the softest eyes and offered a smile „I assure you it is no trouble.“ He spoke with a deep voice that soothed your ears. You sighed. Your intuition said he is a safe person to talk to. And so far you were never wrong so you decided to chat openly. „He, Yanqing looks like if me and a… ah..“ Your voice trailed off trying to find the right words. „If me and a person who means a lot to me had a child together.“ You knew how strange that sounded so you quickly added „His small face, hairstyle, wavy hair, and eye color are exactly like his, but the golden hair color is like mine…“ The general nodded and gently put a hand on your shoulder. „I understand you're not having an easy time adapting… some of my assistants said you are new to the Astral crew and spent years somewhere else before this.“ You nodded to his words. He took note you didn't speak much unless necessary, he was much more observant than you expected. You two sat in silence until you calmed down a bit.

He had many thoughts processing in his head, running through the things about you that seemed interesting and different in a way. Like the sword, you kept your hand on at all times. The blade seemed dull, without shine, old, used and it didn't make sense to him. You fought like a very skilled swordfighter, and your technique impeccable. He thought about offering a new sword or maybe offering a polishing up for the one you had but seeing how capable in fights you were he decided not to comment on it, an extraordinary fighter as yourself would have a good reason to use such a sword and he decided to not doubt you.

„After so many years of living and ah..“ You spoke softly, your voice soft and pained. „I connected to the last place I was. The people..“Your voice trailed off again and you sat in a comfortable silence which you desperately needed. Just someone to be there as you process your feelings.

Once he heard you say 'many years of living' he came to realization the you were closer to age that he was rather than the one your appearance claimed and your current crew thought you were. In the way you carried yourself, the few words you spoke it all confirmed that you were much older than you looked. After all, a person with a long life span can easily recognize another one like them.

The artificial sun started to set and you leaned your head on Jing Yuan's shoulder. He gave your head a few gentle pats as you two enjoyed the silence. Even for him, there weren't people of similar age. Both of you were just calm and sitting on some sort of leaf of peace in this storm that is life. You looked to the side and you felt a soft breeze rustle your hair and you swear for a second you hear a soft voice recite a haiku about the sea. You missed him too… as you took a deep breath in you leaned further onto the general. Maybe you would find some comfort in each other. You remained like this even when the sky got covered in bright stars.

It doesn't feel like what you had so far. The trailblazing was fun and you're enjoying it, the worlds, and the planets are nice to explore. You're making some friends and memories along the way (though, the friends didn't feel like the ones you've made so far) You tried to find hope in it. As fun as it was you didn't expect nostalgia to hit you this much. Furthermore, you didn't expect you'd ever be close to somebody like you were to people in Teyvat again. Yet here you were getting comforted by Jing Yuan. A new friend who seemed like the one that would stick around. Still as amazing as this all was, the Luofu, the Underworld, the Station, the Express… it will never feel like that, like Teyvat, this will never be that.

It will never feel… like home

(maybe you will hold on a bit tighter to Jing Yuan. So your breathing will get easier)

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