#the thing with genshin world quests is that i never do them in the intended best viewing experience order

[welcometoteyvat]

gradually letting out the accumulated thoughts of genshin updates + gaming insanity shortly but first: i'm so fucking thoroughly insane about jakob rene mary-ann carter/caterpillar and alain, and yes, i am a million years late to this party

[prettybbychim]

[this became much longer than i intended whoops]

u know i think it would’ve been much better if the ode of resurrection was not shown to us immediately, and wasn’t a main part of their culture. have people die throughout the archon quest, make us believe that there’s no saving them. kill off kachina at the start and convince us that she’s the first playable character in genshin thats not alive.

build up these bonds, forge these friendships, make us care.

just to take it all away

that’s war.

but there’s a tiny flame, that glimmer of hope. maybe it’s something the pyro archons have been working on, passing it down to their successors. something mavuika has been working on. yeah u heard that right she’s actually doing something wow get citlali in there to help out. get the whole goddamn tribe involved idc

there’s a scramble to find the last of the heroes. they don’t want to force it or fuck something up but they’re running out of time. the abyss is coming. it will consume the nation. they need to fucking buckle up and get down to it.

they could probably still go into the night kingdom to search for kachina, so that mualani can get her ancient name. or it can occur under entirely different circumstances. haven’t given that much thought yet. do they find her?

do they find her and can’t actually bring her back to the surface?

for the next part, we’re gonna have to shake things up because we need the captain on our team sooner rather than later. how that happens is up in the air but regardless, we put aside our differences to save natlan.

so, we help the captain find old dragon tech. maybe we enlist the help of kinich and ajaw, maybe we go into ochkanatlan, tie some of that shit in. we can take iansan along too, who is super duper strong and can carry all our fancy dragon tech or smth idk the three of them need more involvement !!! ajaw would drive me up the wall but it’s a necessary evil

in ochkanatlan, we see how the abyss can mimic lifeforms. the twin is in irminsul right? maybe it’s steals the twin’s image, but the traveler knows it’s not them because their twin would never say things like this. we learn that they abyss manifestations are (always?) twisted and mutilated.

we see the dragon. we don’t defeat it, that’s for the world quest lol but we get the image of the dragon in our minds so that when it shows up later down the line, we know what the fuck is happening lol

on our trip, we learn bits and pieces about the captain. it’s all disconnected, nothing makes sense. and since we’re nosey little fuckers, we find correspondence with the tsaritsa in his belongings.

capitano is gentle with his body. maybe a little too gentle. it catches the traveler’s eye but they don’t know what it means, they have no grounds for suspicion. it’s blown off as recovering from his duel with mavuika. (little do we know that he was hit directly in the heart and he’s worried, goddamnit)

ororon lets it slip that something feels off with the captain’s soul. (could the captain be using ororon’s sensitivities to monitor the souls housed inside him? would he eventually tell ororon what’s going on? or would that be too risky?)

ororon receives ancient name same as before, nothing really needs to change there i suppose. more suspicion is thrown on the captain because of the identity of the soul trying to possess ororon. maybe the captain didn’t share his plan in its entirety, he has a lot riding on this, he can’t afford to fuck it up, and keeps his cards close to his chest. he and mavuika can still argue in front of ororon like mom and dad lol

chuychu dies. she doesn’t get to give a long goodbye. she bleeds out in her sister’s arms. (they actually try to stop the bleeding and give her medical care) chasca goes berserk hell yeah, there’s a struggle. she manages to rein herself in, the love between sisters reigns supreme. chasca gets her ancient name

boom u got all ur heroes. they supercharge mavuika to beat back the abyss core thing. what was its name? gilgamesh? i don’t fucking know

the losses are extreme

fast forward a bit bc i’m losing steam and attention span here

we dive back into the night kingdom to track down the “brain” of the abyss corruption. the people we’ve met and lost in natlan help us out. kachina can be added to the mix. the gay lovers, chuychu and her pokémon team, boba and coconut — the whole gang’s here yooo i actually loved this part. favorite section by far

and after our trip in ochkanatlan, we know that the dragon we’re fighting is an abyssal manifestation. the voices of the previous pyro archons are their own but the words are all wrong, designed to discourage and distress us.

we defeat it using the power of friendship (i’m gonna kms)

also mavuika’s kit is completely different. i’m giving her a redesign fuck it. but that’s a post for another time.

traveler seems pretty good ngl i just wish the cons aren’t limited to fighting the dragon. i really liked what i was seeing and then they pooped all over my party (what’s the point!!!)

instead of a big parade, we gather around together at the stadium to finally try the thing all the pyro archons have been cooking. the heroes are a necessary component.

the incandescent ode of resurrection

among the many, kachina comes out of the flames. mualani sobs her heart out and vows to never let her out of her sight ever again

chuychu perhaps? 👀 pls pls she’s the only one besides cap and ororon that i give a shit about pllssssss playable chuychu when? her design is fantastic as is u dont need to touch it PLEASE—

now we can have a party!! after everything is all said and done, we can have One party instead of the five or so we’ve had since we came to natlan. (nation of war? more like nation of fiestas)

ororon, though, feels uneasy, and not because of the atmosphere. he says he’s going to find the captain, but he can’t explain why. concerned, the traveler and paimon try to follow him but are intercepted by citlali, who is for once not freaking out about ororon’s whereabouts, instead…

oh but wait. where’s mavuika gone? oh nooo

plays out relatively the same i suppose. could use some tweaking but not anything significant enough to mention right now.

except now we have somewhat of an understanding of the captain already, all the little bits and pieces we noticed, and the clues we (so rudely) discovered, it’s all starting to make sense now. we’ve also spent more time w him, the emotional attachment runs deeper, and it’s much more painful to experience.

bittersweet

mavuika is confused, especially in the days coming after. she had planned to die then. she said her goodbyes in a roundabout way. she finished the painting of her family, so they’ll never be forgotten. she saved her nation from the oppression of the abyss, resurrected so, so many. there was only one thing left to do… she was supposed to be the one to do it.

what does she do now?

what does she do with herself now, when she hadn’t planned for her own future? it was supposed to end, she was supposed to die. could she have reunited with her family? could she have seen them once again? she’s sad over what could have been, she’s confused because how did it end up like this, she’s mad because the captain stole it from her, she’s guilty because he was ultimately the better choice

what do you do when you’ve spent hundreds of years waiting for your destined day? when you’re only ambition has been this.

it’s time to learn how to live.

the end~

[chibigaia-art]

I agree with some of the points you made about genshins story, especially paimon doing most the talking for us story wise. It makes the traveller we choose almost kinda flavorless as a character? Maybe that was the intended purpose or smth but how is it we've had Aether/Lumine for almost 2 years now and we still know nothing about them as people. Definitely get where you're coming from.

YOU UNLOCKED THE ""SILENT"" PROTAGONIST RANT LET'S GO (I'M SO SORRY ITS LONG AGAIN??? SORRY)

100% agreeing with what you're saying anon, and I'm going the extra mile to explain why I think they did this and also why it makes the main quest feel shallow at times

Okay so, first thing first, traveler isn't strictly a "silent protagonist" because they do have dialogue, they do have some kind of personality buried underneath, but the main problem in my opinion is that traveler has to act both as a blank vessel for the player while also being somewhat of an interesting character to get the player invested in the story, and at the start, it works, for a bit! Because you're given a character that has lost their sibling, and their objective is to find them, you get interested in what's happening - but then you hit the dialogue wall. The dreaded Paimon wall. You have to read long conversations and when you get to interject, there's the fo4 wheel of choice with the normal and sarcastic option and that's it, it has no effect whatsoever; the only time your answer actually matters is in some daily quests and hangout events, which... yeah, they don't really influence the main story, so it's kinda eh.

And sure, a big game like this, it would require a lot of time to have different outcomes for every dialogue tree, but it doesn't have to be like that, it can be something more akin to Zero Dawn than a Fallout, have the dialogue choices only matter in a few quests without having repercussions to the whole world! But even without that, it would still be nice to have some little changes every now and then in the dialogues, like in Persona - not huge ones that change the story, it's perfectly fine if you want to tell ONE story and not have it branch out, it can still be enjoyable, but have the characters react differently* (it'd still require the option of a skip dialogue button)

Bringing back the gacha mechanic into this, because you can't talk about genshin without taking into consideration that it IS a gacha first: genshin is pretty much a character collector simulator. Characters get introduced, most of them get tossed aside, but they're there, and they have to be interested in the traveler somehow, even if they feel like a cardboard cutout -> traveler has to be blank enough to allow being a self insert while simultaneously being... a main character. And as you said, we pretty much know nothing about them as people. I couldn't for the life of me tell you one thing about Lumine or Aether that isn't the emergency food gag with paimon or the rock paper scissor thing they mentioned in one of their voiceovers

I think it would have helped a bit to have some more info about their siblings? Even just some memories or experiences they shared together every now and then?? Stuff like "I miss my brother/sister" every now and then, make the loss feel more present, I guess, while simultaneously giving us tidbits about the traveler that might get us invested. There's also the fact that they are from another world and... no one asks anything about that? Same goes for Paimon, no one knows what it is but they never start investigating on it and I know it is because they don't wanna reveal she's the final boss but eh

I'm gonna bring P5 protag in this for a sec: he's a silent protagonist, he has the "normal" and the "sarcasm" options for dialogue, and he has to work like a blank slate both for making the player feel immersed and also for the romantic part of the game because let's face it, that's also one of the reasons the protag is silent lmao; that said, we do have his backstory, we are invested in seeing his name get cleared up, it's not too hard to care about him as his own character rather than just a vessel for the player (at least for me) and the little things we can get about him from the game aren't a lot, but they're enough to get invested and build on it

I think traveler is kinda weak as a "silent" MC because it has to serve this dual purpose of self insert/actual character with their personal objective while giving us absolutely nothing about who they are - which works in favor of one of their purpose while kind of undermining the second one

Possible fixes: since traveler has a set of responses to every dialogue that A) do nothing B) are the same for both twins, I think it would have at least been fair to either have the answers voice acted, to make them feel more involved in the conversation with other npcs (or even just to hear their voices, the VAs are solid) OR you know!!! Take away the fake choices, give them voice lines, make the dialogues cutscenes, and have the traveler be a fleshed out character who actively joins the conversation and doesn't have Paimon take 80% of their possible dialogue

[obssessivethorn]

“Home” [Genshin Impact]

Synopsis: In the final moments before battle, the traveler's worry grows fast. Their own twin stands at the other end of the battlefield, refusing to put their resolve to rest and come home. Archons forbid their fight be to the death.

Trigger Warnings: Angst, Major character death(s), death in general

Word Count: 2,889 words

Date Posted: July 8, 2021

Note: This is based purely off of fan theories, my own predictions, and knowledge of the game as it is currently. It will include spoilers for the “We will be reunited” archon quest if you have not gotten that far into the story yet. As well as hints of lore from the Honkai Impact game. This is in no way in indication of the game’s ending and should be taken as merely a fan based prediction/theory of one of the many possibilities of this story’s ending. Please enjoy! (This turned out longer than intended-)

Let me know if you want to see more to this au type thing. I’d gladly write about Diluc and Kaeya reconciling and seeing each other as brothers again as well as other stuff with the characters!

"Home"

★★★

The traveler had gained the former power back, their hand retracting from their resonance with the holy statue. Their friends stood around them, watching with widened eyes which hold a burning amazement. The traveler’s power unlike any they have ever seen.

Wings stretch to their sides to bask in the moon’s godly light. An ethereal glow began to emanate around their being as if they too had taken the form of an archon. Each element’s swirl could be felt within their body, bringing forth a familiar feeling. Near completion.

With their power restored once more, their feet landed back to the ground. Sword in hand, they turned back to their friends. From adepti to everyday workers, the traveler has gathered their closest and very best known fighters and friends to help them.

The battle was approaching, yanking every breath of fresh air and common sense from the traveler. Their friends would be fighting faceless beings. People turned to monsters. Who couldn’t be saved.

But the traveler couldn’t hold the same courage they could. On the other side of the battlefield stood their sibling. Their twin. Flesh and blood who they have traveled worlds together with. And they would fight. Archon forbid, to the death.

A shaky breath left their lips, eyes closed shut after gazing harshly at the ground for too long. Feeling a hand placed on their shoulder pulled them back to reality before they could spiral further into fear’s welcoming grasp. Looking back at the owner of the limb, they could finally find a clear breath to fill their lungs.

Venti’s sorrowful smile pierced the traveler. A silent understanding blew through their hair, sending golden wisps in different directions. Archons forbid death.

Taking a step back, the wind god left a lingering warmth upon the traveler’s shoulder. He made his back to where the other archons stood, powerful grace dawning him as the traveler had never seen before. A true god ready to fight a war once again.

The traveler took a sigh, grasping any courage they could find before turning their gaze to their friends.

“Alright, so as you all probably know, The Abyss Order has finally risen.” Their voice shook, cracking every other word. They cleared their throat before continuing.

“We were unable to prevent them from creating what is essentially a mechanized god. However, this does not mean we are doomed!” The traveler looked upon the sea of faces. Fear, shock, and suppressed somber mixed together.

How could they let this happen? It was never supposed to come to this. Dragging their friends into a war. Starting a war to begin with! Children stood among the crowd. While they may be talented vision holders, they were still too young to face this. But they still insisted. Pleading with the traveler to let them help. And they let it happen.

Their breath began to shorten again, tears fighting their usual calm composure. They could feel themselves spiraling once more. How could they let this happen? Let it get this far? Let children-

A voice broke them from their thoughts yet again.

“Traveler!”

Looking over to the figures running around the outside of the crowd, they saw four familiar Knights Of Favonius growing closer. Amber waved her hands high to grab their attention as the small group approached.

“Mondstat has been evacuated, all of the citizens are being led to Liyue by the knights of Favonius.” Amber smiled, reassuring the Traveler of innocents’ safety.

“Great, and the people of Liyue?” The traveler asked, redirecting their attention to Jean.

“Safely protected by a shield covering the harbor.” The woman smiled. “But if worse comes to worse, you can’t forget that both cities’ people are still able to fight. While Mond has the Knights of Favonius, Liyue has the Qixing. Each nation has their own means of defense, so trust us, Traveler. Even Schneznaya has the Fatui.” Jean’s grin grew wider, excited pride slipping through her calm mask.

The traveler smiled back, chuckling at their own worry. “You’re right, they should all be able to hold their own and protect each other, with Visions or not.” They turned back to the crowd, Amber, Lisa, Jean, and Kaeya now by their side.

“Now, as we stand, the Abyss Order is marching our way. Their movements may be unpredictable to us, but we know this land better than they do. It definitely won’t be easy,” the traveler took a quick breath, heart weighing heavier in their chest. “But The Regions of Teyvat will triumph today.” The crowd’s cheers roar through the field.

“Nicely said, Honorary Knight,” Jean turned to the traveler, smiling proudly at them.

“Ya know, I didn’t think you had such a thing in you,” Kaeya mused, patting their shoulder.

“To be honest,” the short blonde chuckled,” I was totally speaking out of my ass there.” Their light grin faltered, falling into uncomfortable worry.

“I know it’s hard, but you’re not alone, traveler,” Jean placed a hand on their shoulder, sympathy painting her features.

“We’re all here for you,” Lisa gave them a quick, meaningful hug. “Besides, what would I do without my little helper~.” The traveler let out a light laugh, however, the easy moment couldn’t compete with the bubbling anxiety filling their lungs.

Air weighed heavily.

Gentle breezes turned to cold gusts.

“May the archons protect us.” Jean prayed, stepping away to rally her section of the Knights. Lisa and Amber followed suit, preparing their squadrons both mentally and physically.

Kaeya remained by the blonde’s side, gazing at the crowd with an unreadable expression.

“Are you going to be okay?” The traveler’s question broke him from his thoughts.

“Yeah,” he chuckled, a piece of his mask beginning to slip. “I understand.”

The traveler’s face morphed into confusion. Understand? Understand what? What could Kayea, a man of many eloquent words, mean by such a short, vague statement?”

The man chuckled again.

Another crack in his mask.

His eyes drifted to Diluc, then to Dainsleif. Crack.

A sigh escaped his lips, forcing his smile to fall sour.

Crack.

His gaze fell to the floor, watching his now fallen, damaged mask lay among the dancing grass as if it had separated from a slain hilichurl.

The man who stood before the lost twin was not the same flirty and mischievous Knight of Favonius they had met all those months ago.

This man was Kaeya. A Khaenri’ahn who’s life was ripped away by the archons themselves. A man sent to create a downfall of other nations in retaliation for the onslaught of his country’s people. Kaeya Alberich. Khaenri’aian survivor.

His gaze drew from his Mond identity laying idly by his feet, to the traveler. “I understand why you’re scared.” Tears brimmed in the man’s eyes, a glint of fear sparkling in his pupil.

All previous disdain for the people who had fallen seemed to hide, a glimpse of it remained hiding beneath his eyes. But it soon became evident to the traveler, whatever conversation he had with Dainsleif, was enough to inject guilt and sympathy within his veins. But still not enough to instill total remorse.

A silent understanding passed between the two. No words passed through the air between them.

Despite being humans turned monsters, despite Kaeya’s place of blame on his people, they were still victims of the Cataclysm.

The traveler placed a hand on their friend’s shoulder. They sent a quick smile, opening their mouth to speak, only to be interrupted.

“Hey, traveler!”

Turning their head to the sound of their name, they were met with a certain ‘tone-deaf’ bard.

Kaeya nodded with a slight smile, turning away and walking in the direction of his brother.

“Are you ready?” The archon’s voice was soft, contrasting from his usual high pitched giggles.

The traveler had expected a witty one liner to help bring up their mood or a quick joke poking at their seriousness. However, the bard merely looked drained, eye bags lining his face with a somber expression painted over his soft features.

“I don’t know.” The words brush past their lips before they could think. Were they ready? They had to face their twin of all people. How could they be ready? “I plan to bring them back.” They stated. “To bring them home.” The traveler stared out into the crowd, watching people prepare.

“But will you be able to?” Venti stared intently at the ground as if it were his enemy. The question was aimed mainly at himself rather than the traveler and seemed to slip past him before he could stop it. He quickly shook away the thought, noticing the growing worry on the lone twin’s face. “Of course you will!” His mask was back up, a playful ‘hehe’ drawing past his lips.

“Yeah, I will,” the traveler breathed, a lie beautifully woven within the truth.

•~•

The city of Mondstat lay dim in the distance, the army of Knights and vision holders drifting further from home with each step.

Across the clear fields of Windrise stood monsters. Creatures from the Abyss wielding dark and power hungry gazes.

Many stared in disgust, watching the distant crowd draw closer. Other however, glanced at the group in pity, quickly averting their gazes to refocus their minds. Few knew the true story of the fallen nation 500 years ago, letting their hearts weigh heavy with sympathetic solitude.

Leading the enemy was a familiar figure. The Abyssal Royalty stood proud yet steeled away, gazing at their opponent from across the grassy pathway. Few stems of small lamp grass paved the way between both sides, guiding each distant traveler to meet their other half once again.

Away from their allies, the lost twins hesitantly stepped nearer. A temporary truce of peace passed between them, its wick quickly beginning to burn.

“Lumine,” Aether broke the evening silence. His voice held strong, only to be mocked by the hurt hidden beneath his golden eyes.

“Aether.” Lumine mimicked her brother, the same strong yet weak presence plaguing her voice.

A silent plea from both siblings rang through the surrounding air.

“We can leave, go home! Together..”

“My battle and your journey are yet to be over.”

“After all this time, you still keep saying things that make no sense. Who are you battling other than me?”

The traveler’s twin paused, momentarily shocked from their sibling’s words.

“I’m fighting those who tore us apart.”

The Abyssal twin’s gaze hardened, shifting into an icy glare which shot through their sibling’s heart. Oddly, the sharpened look seemed to pass through the traveler, aimed at a distant being among the crowd of Knights.

“Those who..” the traveler’s words drew thin, disappearing within the air.

A crackling rang through the air, drawing the twins and their respective allies’ attention. Three familiar diamonds tore through the sky, ripping an entrance for a rather infamous figure to emerge.

“Your journeys must end here, outlanders.” Golden eyes pierced the twins, an authoritative air emanating from the unknown goddess. “You’ve altered the weight of destiny from your first arrival, now you must own up to your actions.” With a flick of her hand, the god isolated the three, barriers blocking the view of both armies racing toward their leaders. Their screams fell silent as the last cube sealed them in, the last view being the face of Barbatos, reaching out in elegant mimicry of the day he tried and failed to rescue her. Once again, he wasn’t fast enough.

Within concealment, the twins readied their swords, tri-wings stretching after years of rest.

“Fight as long as you wish, but you will always come back to the same point. Failure.”

Upon hearing her words the twins launched forward, entering yet another intense dance with the god.

•~•

For what felt like hours, the three battled as they had once before, only with the twin’s new found strength to differ. The outlander’s feet hit the ground, enough adrenaline pumping to let them ignore the battered bruises.

The fallen goddess now lay still, defeated by the twins with the joint help of the archons’ powers. A wind-bearing bard tends to a scared girl, broken from the evil which once plagued her.

The abyssal twin gazed at their sibling in awe. A twinge of pain entered their chest at the thought of what they must have gone through trying to find them. How could they have so badly abandoned their own twin? Millions of questions and blame raced through their mind, blurring their vision with tears.

A name reached their ears. Was it theirs? Wait. It was from their twin. Why were they shouting his name? They were safe now.

The traveling twin rushed forward, pushing their other half out of the way and taking the incoming blow. They fell to the ground clutching their chest in pain. The cold felt strangely welcoming. Only, their hands filled with warmth. Now wasn’t the time to nap, but sleep’s comforting embrace wanted to engulf them. Closing their eyes for a second wouldn’t hurt.

•~•

Tears began to pour, outweighing the pellets of falling rain. “Please, wake up.” They cried, pain filling their chest with each second passing by. “We can go home now, the war’s over.” They hiccuped, silently denying an unreal truth.

“Majesty!”

“Honorary Knight!”

Shouts from either side could be heard, only to fall on the deaf ears of the traveler’s sibling. Upon viewing the sight, the surroundings fell silent. Not even the thundering sky could dent the area’s torturous quiet.

Holding their twin close to them, the abyssal sibling let tears slip through their grasp. “We can leave now, just like you wanted!” A small squeeze around their hand gave them hope, gasping with widened eyes.

Below them, the traveler forced their eyes into a squint. Their hand squeezed lightly within their sibling’s. “Home is wherever we are together.”

A sob left the abyssal twin’s lips, forcing a cry to echo in the pouring rain. “You’re right, we’re home! We’re together. We’re-.” Their twin’s grip loosened.

“Hey…,” the crying blonde nudged their other half. “Hey, wake up… we’re home.” Their nudges grew to hasty shaking. “Come on, wake up.” Sob.

“Wake up!” Sob. “Come back!” Crack.

The final thread holding the lone twin’s hope snapped, releasing a titlewave of buried emotions. Unsaid words of appreciation. Unplanned surprise hugs. Introducing new friends which they both longed for. Battle training in different worlds. Fulfilling their prophecy for this world. Long forgotten “I love you”s. Gone. With a stupid flick of a wrist.

The now lost twin sat alone, hand traveling through matted blonde locks stained with blood. As to who the red liquid belonged to, they hadn’t a clue.

Silence once again weaved through the solemn tension which hung frigid with every breath. Tears continued to stream down the outlander’s face, falling onto the face of their loss.

“Your majesty…” An abyssal mage floated steadily toward their ruler. Its words were phrased more as a question of fear rather than a statement.

Wordlessly, the Abyss Ruler began to stand, hooking their arm underneath the crook of their twin’s knees and their back. Their eyes didn’t leave the body now laying limp in their grasp. A hollow warning passed through the air as they slowly trudged to the wind Statue of the Seven.

The statue of Windrise was a signature point of Mondstat, the giant tree creating an elegant background for the stone monument. Windwheel asters lined the edge as anemo crystalflies drifted through the general breeze.

The now lone traveler placed their sibling down on the ground in front of the statue, kneeling beside them. Another broken sob left their lips, silently pleading with whatever remaining archon Teyvat had left to bring their twin back, punish them for their actions, kill them too, anything.

“Anything please,” they whimpered, eyes squeezed shut to prepare for any punishment the gods may bring. “Just don’t let them suffer for my mistakes. It should have been me. If only I was faster.”

The wind’s light breeze grew heavily, picking up into gental gusts of air. The change wasn’t enough to gain the attention of the traveler, however. Only a new voice entering their mind broke their distraught focus.

“Open your eyes, child.”

Doing as the voice said, the blonde was met with a young bard whose physical body seemed as if it was disintegrating. Patches of pale skin detached from the main vessel, floating upward toward Celestia only to vanish within the rays of the rising sun.

“Your twin will never be forgotten, and neither will you.” The bard outstretched his hand, an ethereal light seemed to emanate from him. “Your story will be remembered.” An empathetic smile dawned his lips, attempting to distract from the pain which glimmered beneath his gaze. An understanding of pain.

“Lord Barbatos?” The still kneeling traveler gazed up in awe at the god. “The wind archon?”

Light chuckles passed his lips. “Yes, only… I am no longer the archon of wind, merely another god whose time is finally up.”

“Please, punish me. I’ve only caused pain to the people of Teyvat.”

“No.”

“No?” The blonde whimpered.

“No, just please, come home.” The bard bent down in front of them, pushing a strand of hair from their face as he had 500 years ago. 

Oh, how the beautiful fall.

•~•

[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.

[thevivification]

3, 5, 8, 26, and 30 for the artists asks? :0

3. What ideas come from when you were little

SO MANY OF THEM!!! I had this idea where an entire class replaced themselves with robots and also I remember getting really upset that everyone kept on talking about Harry Potter (I was in like. g2 and I didn't know about the terf stuff yet but it was fucking everywhere) and also this one classmate I had kept making horror stories about the school so I just drew the monsters having fun together in a school a lot

(this is the classmate that said the hopskotch things were actually where people were buried?? I don wanna give anything more kasi that'd doxx me) OH and also I had this habit of adding like. antlers and shit to everything which still carries on to this day. I have never seen a deer or moose in person in my life yet but I plan on having that changed

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

uh. a good percent actually. I don't do math but I'd say 75%? maybe a little more maybe a little less?

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in

Okay so there was this one time my friends and I wanted to do our own fanganronpa. We didn't finish that. And then there's literally every AU concept and fic I've ever done/am doing ever and. yeah. It's still there!!! It's just! brain things idk OH MYGOD AND ELDRITCH HORRORS WITH ETHO AND GRIAN!! I LOVE THE CONCEPT I JUST DON'T THINK THE BRAIN JUICES FEEL LIKE WORKING ON IT

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

okay so this isn't art per se but that one scene from the original lo3 where dxd calls etho 404 that was a ref to ep404 of the letsplay and. i don't remember where I was going with that one honestly

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

ohohoho

Two Canaries At Rest - It deserved so much better... I love the vibe I did for this one it's just aduisuusada

Genshin!Cub in the desert - I would like to thank Aether for this AU and also for giving me brainrot that has lasted for months. I think it'd be cool if he had a story/world quest that was like. related to that sandstorm. In my heart it's what happened

Court magician Cub in jjba esque artstyle - this one actually got robbed and I don't know how. It disappeared from the cubfan maintag and all my other posts seemed fine?

Grian Mycroft, Private Eye - I wish the wet chunk of fats in my skull let me work more on Polaroids >:/ I need to do more art for this au

DreamXD stained glass imitation - not that into dsmp anymore but damn. I just love this one. I love the effects I love the colors I love the lines I love love love it. If I suddenly learned how to do stained glass art this would be the first thing I make

[kireiryuusei]

Writing up a Genshin OC finally. Probably will have to adjust as the series goes on but I do want to put something down so I’m not just dragging my feet anymore. I have a couple things from my usual making of profiles for muses and stuff, but for this one using the questions from @genshin-impact-ocs‘ post about helping make one. So thank you for such a useful guide.

Name: Nyssa

Birth Name: Danica

Appearance:

Nyssa has an average height compared to others. She has light brown skin and there is a Lichtenberg figure around her left hand and lower arm. However she has gloves and vambraces to cover this. Her wavy hair is a blue color that she wears down most days (may or may not be dyed). Her eyes are a purple color. 

Personality:

Nyssa despite being from outside the land, fits as ‘a child of freedom’ within Mondstadt. She is usually doing whatever whims catch her fancy and wandering anywhere the wind seems to take her. However she isn’t without some responsibility, usually reliable for tasks albeit never straightforward with when she might accomplish it and makes good on her word. 

Nyssa tends to soak in all around her and seems to hold an appreciation for all of it. Despite picking up the 200th sweet flower, she might notice the shade of its petals or still love its scent. She genuinely likes the presence of others even if she can’t always articulate such. She takes time to remember little things like the stray comment of not liking a certain smell or a seat preference. There is a longing to be able to physically reach out to others but holds back out of habit.

There is another aspect of Nyssa that doesn’t get exposed often unless it has to do with Fatui or her background. The Fatui she can usually get away with as she would ask ‘who DOES like those guys?’ However her past causes a stormy look in her eyes and the air seems to crackle before she tells a completely innocuous tale. Which doesn’t sound like lying but also not descriptive enough to sound like it could come from anyone’s memory. 

Questions:

• What's their occupation?

By technicality, Nyssa is an adventurer. She completes commissions for the guild as the main form of livelihood. Her specialty is searches so she often is charged to find lost pets and to locate where enemies gather. However she also serves as an informant although she usually uses Vile as a medium as she doesn’t want to be questioned for how she gathers information. 

• Do they have any affect on the main plot of Genshin Impact? How?

Not as of now. She may when it comes to knowing more about Snezhnaya and the creation/experimentation of delusions. At most she is a lead for the protagonist to follow into that area. 

• What's your character's plotline? Do they have any side quests associated with them?

Nyssa’s has to do with her background. Her helping the Traveler towards Snezhnaya, makes it clear she knows more than a normal citizen does. What is found is that Nyssa was apart of the Fatui, being an Electro Cicin Mage. It was seen as an honor and, by her admission, she thought it was for such a long time. However what changed was looking into making stronger Delusions. While any of the Harbingers would likely be willing to test them out, they were also immense assets to the Fatui. So testing with lesser members was sought first to bring down the risk to the Harbingers. There were two issues though, 1) most lower ranking members did not have constitution nor power to handle these Delusions and 2) those that did survive often didn’t come out without afflictions. 

Nyssa was in the latter. She doesn’t quite understand all the mechanics as she was just a grunt in the cogs of the organization. But she knew she was afraid to die for someone that held not regard for her nor any of her coworkers and ran away before undergoing an experiment she was certain going to end her life.

Can’t think of any specific side quests other than her asking for assistance on her commissions back in Mondstadt. 

• How did your character gain their Vision and/or Delusion?

Nyssa’s Vision was originally simply an inactive one. It was one from an elder that she was close to as she reminded them of their deceased child. It was a gift given to her when she joined the Fatui. And while she channeled Electro through a delusion, she never had the power herself. What activated it was her escape. She ran away. Through snow and ice. Through excruciating pain of withdrawal. Through pursuit that broke her usual Delusion. She was taunted as she was being dragged as she was a fake only granted her ability by the Tsaritsa’s grace. And Nyssa wished for her power to be real. To not be a fake. To be free of this mistake. To win this otherwise sad tale. And her Vision glowed from the present from an old friend and with it, she shook off her pursuers and ran. 

I debate a different Delusion as apart of the above testing but haven’t thought on what it would do yet? I need a bit more time on that. However I did think of it being made with or powered with Mist Grass. It has a side effect where the Mist Grass essence gets into Nyssa and it works like a drug. One that makes her feel like the world is masses of equations and she can see the answers. It makes her stronger obviously but afterwards is like a nasty withdrawal and weakness. It makes her avoid and fear Mist Grass in her proximity. 

 Is your character in love with any of the characters? Which one and why?

Nyssa is in love with Diluc. She is aware of his vigilante antics and finds it very admirable as she wonder if that’s what one means about being a ‘child of freedom.’ But she didn’t intend to fall for Diluc as, unsurprisingly, he’s doesn’t seem like her type. But working with him, she fell for the strength of his conviction and finds how he expresses concern to be utterly adorable. 

(I just want a high chance of angst and this worked out the best tbh.)

• Do they have any biological family left? If they do, what is their relationship to those family members?

Yes she does, her parents and sibling are all alive. However she has not been in contact with them since she ran away. And even if she was able to contact them, Nyssa is certain of the rejection from them due to her turning her back on the Fatui and her homeland. 

• Do they enjoy Xiangling's slimy dishes?

She eats them out of politeness but hates the texture of it. She wonders why you would resort to slimes of all things. She can almost imagine their dead eyes staring back at her in the dishes, furthering her dislike of it. 

• Do they enjoy Barbara's singing? Why or why not?

‘Who doesn’t?’ would be her reaction. She thinks Barbara sings very nicely. Especially within the walls of the cathedral. Although she would admit her style is still more of bards around the town and in taverns. 

• What do they think of the Archons?

Archons are like humans in the sense that they can accomplish whatever they want, which can help or harm. Generally she views them favorably as it was the Tsaritsa’s grace that let her hold onto power through Delusion until she received her Vision. It was also Barbatos that aided her last leg and welcomed her to his land. However, she is also aware that the Tsaritsa’s will allowed the experiments that hurt her. Nyssa generally has a curiosity though as to why Baal granted her a Vision before Barbatos could. 

Miscellaneous:

Despite originally being a mage, Nyssa uses polearms instead

Her name, appearance and weapon change was all in her pursuit to free herself from her past

She puts up with a lot of Venti’s stuff with only bitching because of her gratitude

She’s deeply fearful of Kaeya as he is the person most likely to discover her past and afraid of what he’d do to her with that information. However surface level, they seem to get along quite well to any outsider. 

She has a ‘pet’ cicin, Render, usually called Ren

[c3rnunnos]

Genshin Impact Report 7 (probably)

albedo is still going strong but upgrading his talents is difficult cause i need the childe drops and childe is a bitch and never gives me the ones i need- but i have hopes for him. :)

keqing made me feel as if i was blessed, when i got her, but honestly even though i tried building her she does.... very little damage. she has been replaced with my trusty fischl, who not only is a nice c1 but has been brought to level 70 with a level 60 favonius warbow and keqing’s artifacts, and now finally does lots of damage. (love her charged shots, they do from 1 to 2k and make me feel happy; also oz is the mvp)

xiangling has had her crescent pike upgraded to lv 60 and now she also hits good; the energy recharge is great, and having her at c2 is pretty damn nice. love to make enemies stagger or drop guoba on them at the worst possible time; its a simple pleasure butill be damned if it aint fun.

also i noticed i have a tendency to like, main jean a lot along with albedo, so i gotta bring her up soon.... she had been put in the back of my mind for keqing, but now the yuheng has been abandoned so its time for her to rise up. her viridescent venerer and gladiator set is setting her up to be stronk, and she is the best healer i have ever had the pleasure to use (sorry barbara...)

to be truthful, i dont know how long this team will last, especially since ill get ningguang for Lunar New Year (i aim to make albedo stronger) and am saving for my homeboy tartaglia (who i intend to main when his banner rerun comes in like, july. you gotta main your kins, my brain said, looking at my friends maining their own kins- also if you’re reading this you know who you are).

anyways, i hit ar45 today!!! its neato but i have a lot of people telling me its boring as hell. i see they do not have the fortune of having low reputation levels and exploration levels, and also a fuckton of world quests to do still. also leveling and grinding. lots of that. im not leveling up my world until i have albedo’s talents maxed out, level 80 jean, xiangling and fischl with also high (hopefully max) talents, and have farmed oceanid in advance for tartaglia. also artifact farming is a thing and i have shit luck at it but i have high hopes.

this has been the seventh genshin impact report; capitalization is dead and so is havria (may her soul rest in peace in her land).