#we need more of angry venti tbh

[aetheternity]

Do you ever think of Venti lore and you’re in the mood for angst? Because I did that and I realized that Venti took the nameless bard’s appearance and his occupation, but Venti fights with a bow. And the bard didn’t wield a weapon. But he was killed by arrows. And I just- Is this Venti’s idea of vengeance or of honor?

What’s even more curious is that the skyward catalyst says he was a catalyst user briefly before he took up the bow. Was he originally repulsed by the bow and needed to use something else before he felt prepared to use it? Why bother to tell us something so seemingly insignificant if they’re not going to explain why they chose to reveal it.

But let’s be honest, even when we do get more Venti lore it probably won’t be about Mondstadt’s beginnings. They’ve already touched on that and they’ve probably got bigger more important things to cover. But that doesn’t keep me from wanting to know more. About everything I just mentioned. About Venti. How did he feel ascending to godhood right after his friend’s death? Did he have proper time to grieve his friend before having to shift into his new role? Did he like being a god and having a humanoid form or did he prefer being a wisp? What were his initial thoughts about being an archon, about Mondstadt and it’s people? What were their thoughts on him? They just killed their tyrant god and another one shows up like two seconds later and Celestia just declares that he’s their archon now. Were they angry? Suspicious? Did Venti immediately do something to win over their trust? What made the newly freed people of old Mondstadt love Barbatos so much? Were they somehow convinced that he helped with the revolution? DID he actually help with the revolution (because the lore is really vague about that) gaining his new form after his friend died but before Decarabian did and then finished him off? What was the nameless bard’s name anyway? Did he not actually have one? Or did Venti forget it with time because everything succumbs to erosion eventually like Zhongli said?

Idk I’m just really passionate about Mondstadt, hoyo pls care about it too I need more!

You know what's funny I actually was having a Venti lore discussion with Luna (Ventisslut) not that long ago. We were talking about that angst headcanon that's like: Venti likes to sit in the hands of the Barbatos statue because it reminds him of when nameless bard used to hold him. And she sent me this cute little video of Venti as a wisp with nameless bard and the entire life story of Venti in an animatic from being a little wisp to his friend dying and then him actually becoming a bard and the way he processed his grief. I believe she reblogged the video so if you want you might be able to find it on her page. Also the fandom likes to call Venti's friend Himmel and I like that name very German. Very cute.

Tbh I find the stuff about him once being a catalyst user so amazing because his fighting style really does feel like a catalyst user and then if he did pick up the bow out of some kind of self justice of some sort I wonder if he ever feels powerful holding something that uses similar mechanics to his friends eventually demise.

What I want is the little things like Venti hatching baby Dvalin. And his possible friendship with Andrius before he became a spirit. Maybe the anime will answer all of this stuff if the game doesn't I mean I heard rumors that the anime is going to show the time period before Traveler came to Teyvat. Maybe we'll finally get the bits and pieces of Venti lore we deserve. Ngl I am going to eat that shit up. Every little piece of Venti the anime has I'm going to eat it up because the game doesn't do him enough justice.

Safe to say I'm ninety nine percent watching for Venti.

[slovo-theshattered-onion]

random fuckin' musings of a mildly deranged collection of lil guys

i feel like most people need to,,, become okay, a lot more okay than we are (including myself in that. tho tbh we have somewhat gotten good at this) with being kind of shit at being a social person.

and i don't mean just- okay at being awkward, or okay with being anxious, or kinda weird. i mean, okay at being harmful. okay with the fact their actions, on a long enough timescale, WILL probably upset someone for Legitamate Reasons. okay with being kind of an ass sometimes.

and i know. doesn't that- sound like a pass to just be a piece of shit, to you?

not really. in fact, i would say this is what could help a lot of people correct and learn from the shitty behaviour they're already doing. to recognise 'shitty/harmful behaviour' is not just a Thing isolated to any class of person, not a thing that pegs you as uniquely Evil or leaves a permanent moral mark.

'cause like,,, to my mind, a lot of people are so Focused on not being The Bad Thing, they refuse to listen when they participate in The Bad Actions- because i'm not a racist, because i'm not ableist, because i'm not queerphobic, because i'm not intersexist- we're all, just, constantly, consistently, in a worldwide competition to be the least problematic bitch in town.

and that's just the broad, societal shits, that don't necessarily mean much on a personal scale for many of the people being bitches about them.

(venty rant starts under the cut lmaooo we were trying to make a broad statement about all people and then realised. oop babes this is just your own miserable life)

and sure! sure, the main example of people who proclaim their various misdeeds are people who don't think of them as misdeeds at all, and that must be a scary thought- to turn into someone like that. but,,, from my observation, including in my personal life, the people who Refuse to see any action they have taken as Bad, the people who start to go off about their good intentions or are too focused on being good, on doing good and being a good person and so on and so forth, are typically the most insufferable when they harm me.

and i feel kind of insane, in my personal life, because by GOD do i feel harmed, and it's so confusing when the person who harmed you starts to either go off about how hard they have been trying (with a subtle flavour of 'you're not being grateful enough' running as constant aftertaste), or start to get insanely self-depricating, to imply they just can't do better,,, or both.

where 'goodness' is the only resource that matters, where it is only valuable when it is 'pure', no fucking progress can be done, is my point. and we've been untangling all this for years, and i think i know why, every time we meet a new person as of late, with a bit of due time, we get disappointed that they aren't really like us beyond surface level.

because anecdotally, in our lives, no one takes the time to dig through their own brain cupboards to check for red flags.

And it's exhausting, constantly rummaging the chests and barrels of our psyche to find how things we do could be harmful- yes, to a maladaptive degree, i never said we were a paragon of mental health. It is exhausting, when that effort isn't met with barebones reciprocation. It makes me go balls to wall banana pudding, when I make an effort, again and again, to say 'this doesn't define you, you can change, I won't hold it against you' to every last person who hurts me, who says my pain isn't real, who pushes me, who doesn't seem to see me as an individual, when I bring up harmful things we have done, over and over and over, when I constantly have to be the one apologising and catching mistakes and noticing shitty patterns, and the people around me won't even help me break them.

(like bitch, i get ur drowning in ur own guilt, but please, for the love of god, assert urself when we get caught in a loop of angry ramblin' for the thousandth time this week??? i keep sayin', we have hairthin triggers, we really struggle to shut up once we start goin' off, bein' told to stop will make us stop, we learned that lesson, fucks sake why do i have to do everythin' around here-)

and- and it's our fault, innit. it's our fuckin fault for not bein able to essplain well enough, for not bein over it enough, for reinforcin these patterns with our fuckin, therapist-friend mode, for thinkin sooo highly of ourselves, for puttin ourselves repeatedly in positions of power over others, but FUCK, when we try to treat ppl like equals we always go too fast an haveta Catch It, when we treat 'em like an authority we real quick go into Programmed Inferior space, an yes, we are traumatised, we are toxic as fuck, we have no experience with bein equal to no one-

ough. well, maybe we used to. ideologically, we dont think we are Inherently Better or Inherently Worse than anyone else, as much as we can keep that balance. we do feel, deeply, like we are prolly a worse person socially speakin than many of the people that hurt us, cause we often cannot be polite an genuine at the same time, 'cause we,,, fuck

truth is, it does feel like trauma gave us superpowers. all our close friends have, for almost a year now, been tellin' us we're scary perceptive. tellin' us, we always know what to say to make it better, directly an indirectly.

truth is, hearin 'always try to do ur best' sounds like a fuckin order to skin ourselves alive no matter the 'depending on where you are physically and mentally :3' stipulations, 'cause i bet if there was good enough cause, we physically could.

truth is, it feels like we are a mile ahead in trauma recovery, an we are drownin in a lake no one else has gotten to yet.

truth is, i keep wishin this wasn't true, that we could get help, that it was easy, to find someone who will be more- or at least around- as perceptive as us, who will care, who will be genuinely interested in the thins we do an impressed by the thins we make, who will love us an guide us an, just, be good instead of actively harmful. truth is, such a person would likely have to be a famed trauma therapist who takes a million for a session, or else a find so lucky i frankly dont think 'needle in a haystack' covers it.

truth is, it aint that i cant imagine ever bein happy, if we were friends with someone too much like us.

its that, when i try, the pain of the impossible becomes too much to bear too fuckin quickly, an the guilt of seein myself as so fuckin above everyone else smothers any leftover comfort.

this is why, of late, our go-to phrases became 'don't let perfect being the enemy of good' and 'i hope someone kills me with rocks.' if you even care

[tomaytow]

ok so i got like a very insane idea some days ago, i was just studying and out of nowhere i'm like "hold on.. How would venti react to a scholar from the academia slaping reader right infront of him" and honestly my mind was blown, like imagine reader just wants to visit the traveler to see how he/she is doing and they end up going in the academia to get books related to machines, khaenri'ah machines specifficaly since nobody studies about them nowadays and like they get a pass from cyno and get allowed to go in, sounds great so far right? not until the reader just looks at some books searching for what she wants and a scholar comes out of nowhere starting a scene and slaping reader right there infront of venti🖐️😭, i finished my thought of this scenerio there because i'm never good at guessing how venti would react to anything honestly💔

oh hello!! you’re the one who replied to my recent post earlier JDHDJ thank the archons you sent me an ask because i can’t reply since it’ll be my main tumblr acct replying to you - this venti blog is just a side acct after all!

ANYWAY i’m answering this around 3am (edit: it’s 10pm because i fell asleep and now i’m editing at this point) so i hope i’m making enough sense but here we go

man honestly it’s so hard to know how venti will react! in my concepts or fics, there’ll be moments where i’m like huh… is this venti at all? and i’m just. so clueless. because even tho i love him sm, i feel like i don’t really know HIM that well—which is very disappointing—even tho i’ve already ate the venti crumbs hoyo had to offer me

also, i just love how a scenario strikes when you’re doing something because that’s me sometimes.

in response to your ask! here’s what i think,

venti, of course, will get very angry at that person because it’s so unnecessary. there’s no need for violence at all! like you’re just there, minding their own business, snoopin’ around the shelves for your research materials and then this person just straight up slaps you on the face??? then proceeds on making a scene??? what the???

this will be even worse if you and venti are together. it’s sweet that he joins you for your book searching in the akademiya even though we know how much he prefers noisy and fun places instead of the tedious and boring ones, but hey. he’s venti. your best boyfriend ever. everything is fun for him when he’s with you.

though, i’m sure venti won’t resort to violence. (as much as i want him to go crazy stupid, i remember that his citizens—his children—have told the traveler that barbatos is a benevolent and gentle god. he won’t harm mortals — maybe. not sure. unless it’s necessary.)

he won’t stoop so low, and if he does attack the person back, well—venti won’t be any different from the assaulter!

there are some holes to your ask, though, because first of all, what is the reason for said assaulter abruptly slapping you on the face? did windblume do something? did you do something? so i’m not sure how this will end.

but what i do know for certain is that again, venti will be very angry. at first, he’ll be stunned, and then he’ll be fuming in the inside because the audacity of this lad / lass to lay a hand on my windblume’s pretty face! and yes, he’ll be showing his real distaste and anger. it’ll be damn evident on his face.

his anger will increase tenfold if he notices that you’re mortified from the events, he’ll step closer to you and perhaps hold your hand for comfort. people are watching and people are whispering. archons, this is humiliating.

venti will probably confront the assaulter, and man, remember this: the anemo archon is downright terrifying if he isn’t smiling. there will be words exchanged in a tense, uncomfy atmosphere—venti will ask the assaulter if there’s anything wrong, and he’ll ask demand the reason for the slap. if it’s not valid, venti’s glare will send shivers down to anyone’s spine. because how can such delicate face be so ominous? if it’s valid—ugh, forget about that.

the rule is: don’t just hurt anybody, and talk it out! violence is still unacceptable to venti!

afterward, i imagine that the assaulter will be taken away by the mahamata for a questioning. then venti will take you to a secluded place and console you. it’s what you deserve!

he’ll sit you down and ask if everything’s okay. if he sees you lowkey traumatized, he’ll instantly shower you with affection and leave kisses on your red cheek. he’ll whisper that it’s all over, and that there is nothing to worry about now that the assaulter is gone.

+ also, venti will prolly have a conversation about this with the lesser lord kusanali later. but for now, his main priority is staying by your side and bring solace to your startled, anxious self.

his poor windblume, who only wants to study… venti will stay by your side for a while, surely.

[kaeyazuha]

As much as I wanna say “Lmao maybe Sneznyaha is why” I can’t bring myself to think so. Mainly because, if rumors are correct, the Tsartisa was once the archon of love. If I really had to put anything down, it might be Fontaine. Justice has always been a shaky term when thrown around because everyone has their own version of it. But at the same time, the Teyvat we know now isn’t the same Teyvat as the Abyss Twin knew. A lot of changes happen and it’s to the point they’re fighting for a dead nation.

I’m thinking that our adventure is parallel to our twin’s but in a sense of a downward spiral. They’re getting more snarky, blunt, and full of themselves. And I wanna believe that the twins balanced each other out in a sense of keeping the other in line. Tbh, it seems to be a coping mechanism from being separated from their sibling for so long with rarely any help. The only help we get from is Dainsleif but he appears so rarely for the Traveler. So for them to start getting arrogant and egotistical seems like they’re trying to cope and possibly impress their sibling to come back.

This is coming from someone w abandonment issues and would do whatever they could as a child in hopes of garnering attention HAHA. So this spiral we see could possibly be the Traveler either 1) seem independent as if they don’t need their twin. Which might make said Twin come back. 2) a way for them to think they’ll do just fine without said Twin because they’ve done everything together before this. 3) a wack ass form of telling themselves that everything is fine. Or 4) all of the above.

I kind of hope we get a character that knocks the traveler down a peg or two. Just a simple reminder that they’re not a god even if they are from another world. Teyvat has its own laws, after all. And I’m sure Celestia wouldn’t take too kindly for an outsider of their world acting all high and mighty.

I like to see their arrogant act as a coping mechanism. A way to hide that they’re honestly not doing that great and just want their family back. Because, let’s be honest, if we kept helping people but never got the help we needed, we’d get bitchy. At least I would.

Sorry for the late reply!

That makes sense, I like it! I forgot where Fontaine is, but I think we'll get there after Natlan and before Snezhnaya, so hopefully we can see what happens soon enough. Also a fair point about Teyvat changing over time. Maybe there will be ruins from an older time in Teyvat with more clues :0

YES I've noticed Genshin loves to do things in pairs, and I love the idea of that applying to the siblings as well. After Makoto died, Ei spiraled. Same goes for Venti and his friend, Zhongli and Guizhong, Kazuha and his friend, etc etc. but a lot of things come down to a pair seperated by death, leading to the spiral of the other person. While our sibling isn't dead (yet) I'd like to think this is worse than that, knowing our sibling is out there and could come to us at any time and chooses not to. Not to mention all the hints and even the blatant words of a few straight-up telling us that our sibling doesn't care for us anymore.

That makes perfect sense. Honestly I think a combination of all 4 seems likely. I feel like there will be a point where Traveler is just so pissed and fed up with all of it, that they just quit for a time. However, I'm really hoping the big meltdown happens in front of the sibling. I want traveler to be angry and yell at them for all the hell they made traveler go through to find them and travel the world, yell about Celestia and its lies, all the losses that happened, etc. BONUS POINTS if the sibling in turn does the same. Genshin's usually good at angst if nothing else so hopefully this happens, it'll be a good way to see where they both stand.

YES YES YES I thought Raiden would be a reality check, but no- we've technically been beaten several times- Dvalin (I think), Signora, Raiden, Osial, etc. The difference is that even in those fights, we came back and beat them. I want there to be a fight that traveler just can't win. I think there's almost nothing worse than feeling powerless, especially for someone like traveler.

I haven't thought of it that way. :0 I figured Traveler was just slowly getting fed up and desensitized to other people's issues, so they distanced themselves as a result- but I like the idea of a coping mechanism! That's smart. And hell yeah, I'd be beyond pissed off by now, I'm honestly impressed at both Traveler and Paimon's patience.

[hellonoblesky]

School got me worn out so here's my team dynamic HCs

It's Kaeya, Xingqiu, Diluc, and Ayaka atm hngjfhgdjfg

Kaeya

This man is so tired, Archons please let him rest

Has to pick up his week's paperwork from Jean every Monday when we go to Mondstadt to buy food supplies and stuff before fighting Andrius, gets to work on it while Diluc and the Andrius team go at it

Actually is the person who keeps the whole party safe, has pulled Xingqiu away from ledges while he's reading more times than he can count, makes sure everyone has food at all times, and keeps the schedule in line

Has a flask of Death After Noon that he keeps on him, has to actively keep it away from Xingqiu because the kid's curious

He is so tired he is the reason the party only gets up to leave at like noon because he sleeps in

Thinks he's good enough at hiding his anxiety that no one else has noticed

He is not, they've all noticed him shaking visibly at high speeds in 90-degree weather and the kids will do their best to avoid fraying his nerves on a bad day

Very kind to Xingqiu and Ayaka, kinda like a cool uncle? Buys them things even though they can afford it

Kinda lets the kids do what they want and chat while he keeps them safe and the whole party on their way

Absolute tank, balances his skillset out so he can manage most threats alone, no one has to get hurt, they can just travel, it's fine it's fine

Pretends to casually bring up stuff the kids want to do (after meticulously making sure the party would be in the right place at the right time)

"Xingqiu, we have time to kill, care to show us to the Wanwen Bookhouse? We can see if they have the next issue in that book series you're always reading! :)"

"Ayaka, you wanted to try some Liyuen cuisine, didn't you? We have a dear friend who just so happens to be a chef at Wanmin Restaurant! And since we're in Liyue anyway, we should swing by, shouldn't we?"

He tries his best to find something Diluc wouldn't mind doing too! Usually, Diluc turns him down but Kaeya has scored on occasion!

"C'mon Diluc, you can't have lost all your taste for reading, right? I hear Inazuma has some interesting books nowadays, what with all the isolation..."

Basically, he just tries his best and is so tired please let him rest

Diluc

This man is angry all the time but he doesn't mean to be. He's just unnerved because he's basically back to hunting Fatui in other nations. He just isn't alone this time and the Fatui aren't the focus

He's so annoyed that they don't leave until Kaeya wakes up, actively in denial about the fact that he himself wakes up only an hour earlier and everyone else is waiting for much longer

Runs right into danger all the time please someone tell this man to calm down he is the reason they need so much food

Does and takes a whole lot of damage at the same time and it stresses Kaeya out so much

Was not Pleased to find out he'd be stuck traveling with Kaeya, puts up with it because he can't bring himself to turn down the Traveler's request. Because in his eyes they're just a kid trying to find their family and he really can't turn down their plea for help in

Gets along surprisingly well with Xingqiu, they both enjoy reading, and often recommend books to each other! Diluc has no idea Xingqiu wrote Legend of a Sword, but the only reason for that is that he literally forgot the book name

"Hmm... in Mondstadt we have this book, The Fox and the Dandelion Sea? For a traditional Mondstadt fairytale, it does remind me of Inazuma, funnily enough. There are versions of the book that are watered down for younger children, but if you have the time I'd recommend the full novelization."

"Tales From the Waves? No, I haven't read that. Is it good?" ... "A novelization of an old ship captain's life? That does sound interesting... I'll pick up a copy when I can"

Gets along well with Ayaka as well, they both appreciate the arts and such so they talk about that

"In Mondstadt we don't have nearly as many festivals as they do in Inazuma... but when we do they're quite the occasion, and very dear to people's hearts. There would be rioting in the streets if the Windblume Festival was postponed..."

"Oh Mond has its fair share of dance traditions, but they fell to be a staple of the Lawrence rule, so not many traditional dances remain... although if you wish to learn more about them you could ask Kaeya to introduce you to the Knight's Recconacance Captain. She doesn't like me very much"

Is the one person who actually doesn't realize that Kaeya is anxious All The Time, literally could watch him shake uncontrollably as Venti walks by and think it was his Vision acting up, he has all the pieces to put the puzzle together but has lost interest in it

Xingqiu

Top ten reasons the party gets sidetracked, number one: Xingqiu finding a book and getting so into it that he doesn't notice people

Actually besties with Ayaka he thinks she's really cool!

Top ten reasons why Kaeya actually gets to sleep as long as he does, number one: Xingqiu jumping up and yanking Diluc's hair when he tries to wake him up

"You're 22 you can go get breakfast by yourself, my leige"

Infodumps about his books to the whole party while they're eating dinner regardless of if they're listening or not (they are, they always are)

Pulls out relevant trivia out of nowhere?? Like they'll be stuck in some ruins and Xingqiu just

"Hey, you know this specific style of ruins are known to be built with metal hatches that always lead to escape routes :)"

Or like

"Oh yeah, the coloration in the animals is different here because the plants in Inazuma so often have purple and blue pigmentation, and Inazuma is so naturally isolated, that the animals adapted to get their pigments partially from the foliage!"

And no one knows how or why he knows this much but he Does??

Also, knows everyone's favorite bird for some reason and talks about them, why? Idk I think he'd like birds!!

"A peacock? Oh, I've never even seen one of those! I hear they're lovely, but a little noisy. Sometimes we get feathers imported for design reference at the Feyun Commerce Guild though!"

"Umbertail Falcon, right? Ohh I hear they can be very loyal, right? Ahh, so that's why yours flys down to check in on you? That's lovely! Owls? Oh yeah, those are cool birds, you know their feathers are fanned out just right so they're entirely silent while flying!"

"Herons? Oh yeah, that's what your title is, right? Graceful... I think they're more stealthy, very good at waiting to strike. That's how they hunt, you know? Just being patient and stealthy, then striking. That's also why they're so graceful standing there all the time!"

Bummed that he's the only person in the party without a bird as his constellation tbh, but he's alright with it because he's got books!!

Mentioned Albedo and Kaeya almost choked on his food, Xingqiu thought this was hilarious

Routinely plays pranks on Diluc and occasionally manages to pull a deez joke on Kaeya, leaves Ayaka alone with the pranks though because he knows she's new to all of this

Ayaka

Oh this poor girl, Lumine just dropped her off with Mondstadt's most dysfunctional siblings and a kid who reads at the speed of light and said have fun

Really gets along well with Xingqiu!! Having someone with a somewhat similar background is definitely a relief, especially because Kaeya and Diluc intimidate her, what with them arguing most of the time they interact

She recognizes the anxiety in Kaeya (because she also has it) so she's a little more comfortable approaching him because of that

She's happy to talk about Inazuma's ruins and is fascinated by Kaeya bringing up similar ruins in Mondstadt and Liyue

She really appreciates him remembering what she's interested in and making time in the day for it!

Diluc on the other hand?? She has... some idea how to talk to him? But?? He is either aggressive or glaring off into the distance at all times, and she's been around long enough to know that he doesn't mean to be like that but it's still unnerving to her

However, she Can talk to him! She is still a little confused because he constantly sounds so grumpy, but she's realized that he's actually really good at listening, and is absolutely willing to talk about Mondstadt traditions! Because she does really like to learn about other nations

Plus, she can go to Xingqiu to answer most of her questions!

"Xingqiu, I- I hope this isn't an odd question, but ah... how exactly do you get used to Kaeya and Diluc? I don't think I've quite figured it out yet..?"

"So in Liyue... the Merchant stalls are on the docks? Like Ritou but it's all on the docks? Interesting..."

"You're the second born of the Feyun Commerce Guild? Oh! Forgive me, I thought you were the eldest, my brother handles most international relations..."

It was really hard for her to adjust to the team, just because of how ragtag it is most of the time, but she's got it by now!

She actually kind of likes the scrappy chaos! She hasn't completely gotten used to it all but she finds it like kind of a break from having to uphold her image at all times

Top five Ayaka quotes and who she said them to:

"They fight a wolf ghost every week...?? Are they ok??" (To Kaeya, about the Andrius team)

"So this is Morax's old... dragon friend...??" (To Xingqiu)

"Wait, you do this every week?" (To Diluc, about the domains)

"Oh!! Oh it is spicy!!!" (To Xingqiu, about Xiangling's cooking)

"Ah... OH! Yes um I uh- *gay hand flip* ?? Is that right??" (Xingqiu was talking about Chongyun)

Also the party went to Dragonspine and Ayaka was actually really interested in Durin because she didn't know that other nations also had odd giant dragon skeletons

[genshin-djinn]

Genshin Impact Chapter 1 Act 3: A Reaction.

Chapter 1 Act 3 is what took my experience with this game from “good game” to “masterpiece”.

THIS POST CONTAINS MANY, MANY SPOILERS FOR GENSHIN IMPACT CHAPTER 1: ACT 3

Genshin Impact has some problems— actually, it has a shit ton of problems. But during the fight against hordes of Fatui, with the Adepti channeling their abilities through my gang, flying through them as Oz, decimating them with Diluc— I just thought, this is the best time I’ve had in a mobile game in my life.

This game might not be perfect now— it’s only a quarter of the way done if we’re counting Karenri’ah. But it will be a fucking masterpiece once it’s all out. If this is the level of quality we’re getting for our archon quests, this game is going to be an amazing time on story alone.

KEQING

I love Keqing with all my heart. If she were alive today she would be a socialist here to topple the ruling 1%. When ningguang asked Aether who they trusted more, her or Keqing, I hit the Keqing button as fast as possible.

I think one of my favorite things about Keqing is that she’s so completely honest, which is unusual for a Liyue politician. If she doesn’t like something, she’ll speak out against it. If she thinks something else should be happening, she’ll make it happen. She can probably be deceitful at times, but in general she’s straightforwards in that she wants a government for the people and by the people.

I can’t wait for her story quest!

NINGGUANG

pretty.... voice pretty....

Ningguang is cool. Her JP voice is very pretty, like she could do ASMR videos online or smth. One thing I decidedly did not like about Ningguang is how her personality just ???? flips? In the middle of the quest, for no reason other than “because plot”.

It’s established that Ningguang cares about two things more than anything— the Jade palace and Mora. Why, then, would she destroy the Jade palace for the sake of Liyue? I get that she’s a good person at heart at all, but I want to see more of her indecision, her brain saying “mora” and her heart saying “Liyue”. The way she just flips on a dime isn’t really strange but it does contradict with her preexisting characterization.

Childe’s Boss Fight!

The section of this quest from Childe’s fight to the Adepti + Qixing battle is just nonstop adrenaline.

Childe is IMO a lot more fun than Dvalin (sorry Dvalin). I’m at WL5 and have a tendency to play fast and loose with important mechanics like.... dodging, for example.... and Childe’s Mask Electro form ended up destroying my team. I killed him with Guoba because everyone else besides Xiangling was dead. I

Another thing I really enjoy about Childe’s boss fight is that in the irrationalities of Childe as a character, it actually makes sense. Genshin is decent at making weekly bosses logical excursions— Andrius wants you to get stronger, Dvalin’s weekly fight is ~~all a dream~~; but tbh sometimes the weekly bosses don’t make sense. Andrius wants to train us, not murder us! How does dvalin, a dream slash memory that doesn’t exist, manage to knock someone out?

Childe as a weekly boss actually makes perfect sense. He’s an adrenaline junkie addicted to the thrill of fighting people— to put this in modern AU terms, he’s the guy who’s first in line to ride the rollercoaster that failed all of its health and safety checks. Childe wants to befriend the Traveler entirely because they’re stronger than him, so that he can fight them over and over again until he’s the strongest. Of course, this will never happen, because the Traveler is the MC and therefore is stronger than all others. However, in this way Childe being a repeatable boss makes 100% perfect sense— he actually wants to fight the Traveler again and again and again.

The one question I have about Childe is how in the living feck are the Fatui letting him join the Traveler and fight for them *against the Fatui*??? I think this might be touched on in Childe’s Story quest, which I’ll do in a bit, but like????? They let him keep his delusion and just walk over to Aether like “aight fam I’m on your team now”? How?

Jade Chamber/ Guizhong Ballista vs Sea Monster Fight!!

Basically, all my charged adrenaline from nearly dying to Childe just came to a head in this one huge fantastic fight.

And Xiao :)

I absolutely loved seeing the Adepti and the Qixing work together. This fight was probably my favorite fight in the whole game— the music was amazing (soundtrack where), the graphics were so nice, the adepti were so feckin cool, using everyone’s abilities was n I ce. My adrenaline was reaching its highest point at this fight and it was just perfect. It was just so fecking fun after days of WL5 pain, having to pop like five ultimates to kill one hillichurl, to be able to just demolish swathes of enemies with Fischl and Diluc, run around like a madman thanks to Xiao, have infinite health idr who did that for me but bless them, just absolutely destroy.

Ever since I hit WL5 I haven’t been able to really just go insane during a fight and stop caring about HP/ when to use skills/ dodging and this have me that opportunity.

Zhongli’s Deal

*punches Zhongli across the room with the power of being the player character* I love this man so much.

Zhongli Zhongli Zhongli Zhongli Zhongli. I AM VERY ANGRY AT HOW THE PLOT RESOLVED HIS STORYLINE. But it also makes a lot of sense. And I think, for once, Zhongli should be allowed to be selfish.

Because choosing to leave Liyue was a bit selfish. He’s leaving the country that adores him, loves him, gives him shit for free; to its own devices and then to a completely unknown fate once the new Geo Archon becomes god and takes over. But he made a frankly fantastic plan and can now leave the country, for now, in peace.

I was absolutely delighted to see Zhongli in Morax form. Making deals with La Signora, being a complete and utter puppet master who set this entire situation up and played Childe like a kazoo; but just like his dear friend Venti, I think Zhongli is happier when he’s just Zhongli, the eccentric mortal. He seems so much happier and so much more relaxed when he’s forgetting about mora and eating dinner with Aether and Paimon. Rex Lapis might have just put Liyue through the wringer, but he can now put down his 3000- year long reign and just be the happy, eccentric Zhongli.

Zhongli’s little bit of insecurity over being a “bourgeois parasite” makes perfect sense now— he doesn’t want to be seen as Morax, a superfluous god who’s using his name to get whatever he wants from the humans he watches over.

But also the part of my brain that feeds off lore nEEDS to KNOW what Zhongli got from Tsaritsa. What could be worth a gnosis? His own happiness isn’t enough— Tsaritsa is likely going to use his gnosis to try and destroy Liyue. What could be worth that?

My main thought would be either “someone’s protection” or “another gnosis”, but I don’t think the latter is possible. The former could be possible but doesn’t really make sense either— a) whose protection is worth putting an entire country, much less the world, in danger and b) the Fatui are out to kill everyone who isn’t Fatui, so they won’t agree to spare a major player in the war to come like that. Brain go brrr.

I’m very hyped for Zhongli’s story quest, which I think is coming with his banner on Dec 1, when Childe’s banner ends. I really hope that Zhongli visits Mondstadt and chills with Venti for a while, but anything with this guy would be fine lol.

LORE

We got a lot of lore this update and I am delighted by it.

Firstly, we get a tiny hint of how Visions are bestowed— “if a person shows true strength of will at a desperate and fateful moment in their life, the gods will look upon them with favor.” Vague but more than we had before.

Next we got some neat lore about Inazuma— firstly, that it’s led by a god named Baal and secondly that it steals everyone’s visions. I’m very hyped to visit because guess what fam aether doesn’t have a vision.

Final Thoughts

In case you can’t tell from my insane ramblings, I loved Chapter 1 Act 3 and I absolutely cannot wait to play through Childe’s story quest and Chapter 2 and beyond.

The Prologue in Mondstadt set the stage for Genshin. We started out in a fantasy environment with a fantasy tale of an immortal bard and a dragon. Mondstadt was an excellent introduction to the world of Genshin.

And now? We’re starting to build on that. Chapter 1 brings us another story of another god and their relationship with the country they watch over. Liyue is much less of a traditional fantasy setting and takes the darkness we saw in Mondstadt— a friendship ruined by manipulation and suffering— and build on it. Now we don’t just see the Fatui more often but we also see more of the Treasure Hoarders and the way both groups kidnap and experiment on humans.

Mond started to introduce us to the Fatui, but Liyue is where they really start bringing continuous plot relevance. Inversely, we saw much more of the Abyss Order in Mondstadt than we did in Liyue. I’m extremely disappointed we didn’t see any more of the Princess this chapter, but it makes sense given that Chapter 1 was really more about the Fatui than the Abyss Order.

All I’m trying to say is the Liyue arc was an excellent continuation to the stage Mondstadt’s arc set. Now, we’re on to the world of the Eternal Shogun, Baal! I’m really excited to meet new characters and experience new stories of Inazuma, but I hope we’ll continue to see Mondstadt and Liyue in the future. Mondstadt is likely going to be the most “boring” of the countries we experience, cuz it’s just so classically fantasy- themed, but it will always be the first country we explored in this world.

After Inazuma (if I had to take a shot in the dark, inazuma’s arc will take from December 23 to maybe March or April) we’ll go to Sumeru, which I am really extremely hyped for because it sounds extremely different from Mond and Liyue and we’ll meet Cyno and possibly even Collei! (just me extrapolating lol). I can’t wait to see where Genshin Impact goes story- wise, because its first major update has brought so much to the table.

.

[windblooms]

Ningguang. Need I say more

HSDLJSFD i mean ,,, do tell me exactly what’s on your mind with ningguang :)c go on, don’t be shy.

Anonymous said: Most fuckable: Childe. Why: HAVE YOU SEEN HIM!? He may not have Zhongli's glorious ass but DAMN I'm in love. He's got that little teaser of his abs and I'm down to fight as foreplay. 👁👄👁

SHFLAKSDFJ HAHHAH HE’S GOT A SQUARE ASS, TWO SQUARES RIGHT TOGETHER QUOTE ME ON THAT.

childe just has a personality where he.  just he AHDSFLJ ;; sir you’re so bent over world domination (he says so in lots of his voicelines) but you care so much about your family . bf material . also he’d totally be one to “train with you” but then maybe turn it into a make-out session. 

Anonymous said: In my humble opinion, the most fuckable; Girl: Beidou. Guy: Childe. Because: Besides their looks, they both have really strong and dominant personalities, but at the same time, they are soft and care a lot about their loved ones, would probably do anything within their reach for their loved one's sake. Meaning, they'd be more than willing to take any role (dom or sub) in bed with their partner if that means they get to pleasure them the most. And idk, the idea of them being genuinely interested in their partner's pleasure and well-being is just sooo sexy.

!! you’re so right about them anon holy shit ,, massive brain ;; we love fanta seaing about considerate s/o’s and them being Soft but also fun in the sheets wehehehe.

Anonymous said: I'm biased and want to say the most fuckable is Zhongli but we all know it's Kaeya Anonymous said: so like even though Zhongli is my fave, I gotta say Kaeya is the most fuckable. every thing about him just screams sex appeal and you just know he knows it. his looks, his voice, his sly confidence, that peek of his cleavage 👀 all of it. he’s shady af but somehow that only adds to his charm. 11/10.

. okay but the way i know that all of my mutuals are secretly kaeya fuckers even though they claim that zhongli is the love of their lives.  i might . . . tag them . . . haha what if . . .

kaeya also the kind to take you out on a date after a hot night tbh.

Anonymous said: For research? Definitely Albedo :))) OKAY but for real tho albedo seems like he would be so willing to switch?? For you depending on your mood??? He would indulge in any experimenting and be willing to try out new things, that is, if you want to. He is the prince after all, who knows how to treat a lady right

!! albedo does seem like the most obvious switch, or at least not set in a dom/sub role.  im sure he’ll be gentle and considerate of whichever his partner and s/o wants, after all, he’s good at recording observations and what reactions his partner will make. :)c

Anonymous said: rosaria and ummmm shes a goth nun. shes so sexy she makes my head hurt 🖤

handshake to that anon,, god i wanna write nsfw for rosaria but im Not Sure since she’s like . . . a nun???  but apparently barbara, the deaconess, her parents are divorced under the church??  and venti drinks A LOT so like . hm :)c loophole.

Anonymous said: childe cause hes hot. also got a big dick

ASHFDSLJ wanna tell me why you think he’s packing anon 👁️

@capybaramage​ said: Diluc. The man just needs to be pegged

!! if you’re gonna put him in his place :)c do tell me about it weheheh

Anonymous said: Xiao. Reason: calm short king. Scaramouche: angry short king Diluc: because Diluc. Childe is only fuckable of he had no voice, or else he would be talking about murder in the middle of it. Overall? Xiao.

OVERALL XIAO,,, pov you’re making out and he starts growling like in his idle animation HAHAH “carnal instinct” excuse uwu