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#I'm still not over the Chasm quest

xelilow04 · 9 months

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Guys, what if sometimes when Xiao sleeps, he can just barely pick up on their voices in the wind as if they were right next to him but at the same time just out of his reach? And when he wakes up, they're not there...

#genshin impact #genshin fanart #genshin impact fanart #fanart #xiao #I'm still not over the Chasm quest #You know what time it is #Sad hours time #They could have been such a happy found family #Sobbing

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mtchacffinz · 1 year

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Omg if youre taking requestsss,

Could u plsss do something like reader is being neglected bcuz (charac) is too busy with work but then they realise and then spend time.. like angst to fluff ahh

Maybe with few characters like cyno, haitham, wanderer, xiao??

Thank you!!

💗💗💗

prompt! Been away for too long, won't you atleast miss me?

cw! gn! reader, tooth-rotting fluff (SFW), clinginess, maybe a crybaby reader in a certain part, words of affirmation, established relationship, lots of tender moments, mentions of Chasm Archon Quest

note! i love fluff. this is adorable so i shall deliver. plus, i think my acc needs some fluff too after all the smut I've written! (⁠´⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.̫⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠`⁠)...

Here we are, overthinking again. In all seriousness, this can't be! Many suns and moons have passed, yet he still hasn't said a single word about his whereabouts! Did he somehow forget about contacting you? Maybe he fell down a hole through a ditch never to be heard again.. Perhaps he fell in-love with another lovely surpassing your wits and charm?

You were no stranger to solitude. It doesn't scratch an itch anywhere in your mind space that requires you to gnaw on your lip every waking moment you feel that churning feeling in your stomach. Definitely not— Absolutely not! You believe that some parts in life are needed alone to be addressed with just the right amount of tenacity and resistance. You would come back to your loved ones with triumphant smiles chanting "I'm back, I'm back! I did it!" like a warrior.

Your mind spiraled into incoherent theories about his unknown agendas— too indulged notice the recurring voice that seems to speak your name.

And when you finally turn to see behind was when he finally graces your presence.

CYNO.

There was tense aura in the air, the last breath leaving even more awkward than the last. It was obvious Cyno wants to say something, but his lips stay sealed— quietly observing you waiting to see how you will move instead.

It seems as if he thinks you're really upset. Just an inference, his intuition— a baseless assumption. I mean, who wouldn't be after leaving your partner hanging for 3 months straight venturing out into the desert?

He's a lovely partner. You think that, wholeheartedly. You really do. But seriously!? You understand there must've been at least some sort of viable explanation, but a part of you couldn't help but feel upset.

"I'm glad you're home safe." You finally speak, releasing a big sigh. It was as if a big weight lifts off your chest. Your smile says nothing more than joy and relief. Well, maybe a little too joyful.

Because you know full well if you speak your next words, your voice would break.

So you keep your lips pursed only for you to keep your own thoughts. Cyno is no average man. As a Mahamatra with fearsome agendas, his life is always on the line whenever he ventures out into the wild. Once, he returned to Avidya Forest with curse marks all over his body— crimson spurs trail over his gear, you were barely keeping it together!

Seconds pass, it was grew concerning that none of you were saying.. well, words. After all, you both have just reunited, and Cyno has probably gone through a rigorous mission that rendered his lips sealed, right? With curious eyes, you steal a glance from his figure. Your partner stood with remarkable posture, eyes evasive of yours. The young man seemed to be contemplating something.. expression a little solemn and glum.

With a gulp and a hesitant stare, he finally speaks his mind.

"I'm.. sorry. Forgive me, dear. There was a huge misconduct within the Akademiya and Matras I had to keep anonymous for—" he stops a little before continuing. Cyno's gaze is at the floor. "I had to keep anonymous for you.. for us. I couldn't send out letters. Please forgive me, (Y/n)."

Cyno takes another deep breath. "I understand if you'd like to lash out on my sudden return, so feel free to do so—" you quickly wave your hands in fluster.

"Ah, no no no! Really, Cyno, it's fi—ne...uhuh." You suddenly hiccuped.

With the first crack of your voice, your eyes immediately began to flow waterfalls. Salty tears pricked your (e/c) optics glossing over them with a glint. Cyno immediately rushes to your side whilst you immediately clung onto him like he's your life line.

Oh, Archons. He's your life. Just by his voice just now, you almost felt like your heart melted AND got crushed at the same time with just the weight of his words. Lash out? Of course you would! You're worried SICK. And you've missed him!

"You have no idea! I was holding onto these for 15 minutes earlier!" Your voice broke, fighting for your feelings. Cyno only wipes away your tears and nose with his sleeves in panic— repeating his apologies in a hushed voice over and over again.

AL HAITHAM.

The scent of scroll dust, his calloused hands, his warm breath on your head. For the past hours of his return, you only asked for one thing: to be held until you, yourself— let go of him. And judging by how how long Al Haitham has unknowingly neglected you, he's willing to make up for his wordless days.

But..

"Hey, honey.. dear..?" the Scribe softly calls out, gently tapping your shoulder. "Sweetheart? (Y/n)?" A little too indulged in his arms, you fail to give a response. This was when he sighed, and nuzzles deeper into your neck.

"(Y/n), it's been six hours. Surely you're feeling a little better now?"

"You've been gone for months."

"I know. But it's almost dinner, and we haven't eaten yet."

"We can starve here." You respond just as quickly. He sweatdrops, unable to tell if you were joking or dead serious. Look, his arm is cramping, his whole body is sweating, and he's dehydrated. The blanket that was wrapped around your body was on the floor, and you seem to be a little tired yourself. Taking matters into his own hands, you get surprised that his arms suddenly wrap tighter around you, lifting you up in his arms.

"You're ridiculous," Al Haitham puts you around his shoulder like you're a sack of rice, making his way through the kitchen. "I'm making dinner. You cling onto me all you want. We're eating."

After all, you never said anything about him moving while holding you, right?

All you could do was grumble and whine in his ears. The scribe doesn't seem to mind, as he gets a pan, his seasonings, and his food. Tapping your back occasionally, with every turn he make, your partner makes sure the doesn't accidentally burn or hit you with something while you're in his shoulders. With time passing, you're starting to get a little embarrassed yourself.. getting dragged all the way from the bedroom the the kitchen. Tugging on his clothes, you called out his name.

"Haitham, please let me down.."

Maybe it was the wind carrying your words away, but he doesn't seem to react. Your partner only focuses on whatever he's frying at the moment with his free arm on your figure. With lips pursed, you repeat again.

"Haitham."

"I heard you. I don't want to, you're staying there."

"What? No way! You're probably tired!"

"Oh? Don't back out now, I was going to feed you as well. I'm yours the whole week— I'm not leaving your sights very soon." Your partner says with a voice enough to leave no room for rebuttals and arguments. Seeing your face, slowly being taken over with embarrassment, ignites a small flame in him.

After a few mere moments of your silence, you grasp onto his clothing once again. This time, your voice was softer, a little more calmer.

"You're gonna be mine the whole week?"

WANDERER.

Ever since his return, the Wanderer has been gracing you with diverse stories from different parts of the land. Now, he isn't one to ramble his mouth nor entertain anybody with his experiences— so the indigo haired man could consider this "spoiling" you rotten.

After a long, exhilarating lectures of Vahumana Darshans, as well as interviews from other nations regarding his thoughts on different political matters— Wanderer has finally made enough time to spend with people he could actually tolerate.

On the other hand, he has been too kind, taking you to vast sceneries and feeding you all sorts of delicacies. It's as if he's trying to make up for something.. and you know what, you have no idea. But this? This is nice! Ignoring his witty and no-filter-opinion attitude, Wanderer has been significantly nicer to you last time you met.

Shopping, sight seeing, trying all sorts of new things. After all, what does he do with all the Mora he receives when he's but a puppet who doesn't even need to eat nor sleep?

He looks for no reciprocation nor gratitude, because he unknowingly believes seeing your smiling face because of him is enough to make his entire day. Of course, that doesn't stop you from profusely thanking him and actively trying to lessen all the things being given to you because do you really deserve it?

I'd you asked him, he'd look at you like you're crazy. Why wouldn't you deserve it? Why else wouldn't it be you? Do you prefer I do this for anyone else?

As night engulfs the sky, kissing it with a gentle good bye, the moonlight greets your resting frame. The Wanderer had found interestingly large lily pads that could hold up to 4 persons. Apparently, aranara's use it to navigate around lakes they couldn't get across.

The scenery is wonderful. Fireflies emerge from the shadows, and the lake sings a mellifluous tune every gush of waves it encounters. You were resting well, and his elysian self was beside you.

You were strange, that's for sure. Strange enough he'd like to keep taking you in like you're oxygen, as if you're some sort of life line to live from. Wanderer is not a man with too much words, so he could only gaze up to your figure.

A familliar noise of waddling makes their way towards you, an Aranara falling suit. It bee lines towards your figure, cozing up to your body.

Wanderer picks it up by its head gear, clicking his tongue.

"Hey. No cuddling. You lay beside me."

XIAO.

Xiao melts deeper into your arms as if he's lightweight, surprising you with the sudden return of his warmth.

His touches were featherlight, his firm hands on the small of your back. Fully aware of his fatigue eating away his skin, the Adeptus clutches your figure tightly.

"Sorry.." Xiao's voice was barely above a whisper. You frown upon his state, but your eyes were never pitiful. He knew of that. You say nothing but hold him in your arms in response. Mere moments pass with the wind blowing ever so softly in the sky.

You lull him with soft whispers, sweet nothings grazing his ear leaving out one another. Xiao's a little bashful— he's the one who's failed to keep up with your mundane agendas in everyday life leaving you alone, yet upon his return— you greet him with the best embrace this world has to offer.

After all the events at the Chasm, his encounter with Bosacius, and most of all, the lingering miasma that's been exceedingly abundant within the area, Xiao wasn't able to make time and shake off all the troubles he's facing. The Adeptus lie solemn with the softest look in his eyes gazing at your own. You know full well if he opens his mouth now, all that will come pouring out is his endless apologies that could be recited in millenias.

Instead, your hands gently caressed his cheeks— pecking those pursed lips who let out a soft sigh.

Xiao returns the gesture by holding you waist down, firmly keeping his hands on you. Chasing after your lips it was like something clicked in him the moment you even lent him a moment of your vulnerability. He was hungry, that's for sure. The Adeptus made it obvious with his knitted brows and those piercing gaze.

Amusement bubbled at the bottom of your stomach, letting out a small chuckle. Xiao's confused eyes met yours, questioning your sudden interest.

"You returned to me, that's lovely."

He responds to your claim in a grumble, now averting his eyes. Xiao's hand never leaves yours.

"I have to.." Those hands slowly travel to your cheeks, caressing them in pure affection. "I need to."

my smutty writings are usually the ones who get attention, so I'm wondering how this one will do? 🎶 Anyway, I'm also planning on writing for Honkai Impact's Kalpas 🤞 STAY TUNED

#genshin impact #(⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)mtchaskz #al haitham #al haitham x reader #al haytham #genshin impact alhaitham #xiao x reader #genshin impact xiao #xiao fluff #genshin impact wanderer #wanderer #wanderer x reader #genshin scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche #cyno x reader #cyno fluff #genshin impact cyno

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hermesmyplatonicbeloved · 7 months

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Why is Annabeth known as a badass strategist and leader?

Genuine question btw. Annabeth has this reputation in the fandom as being 'the best strategist and leader.' What are her top ten impressive moments? I want quotations from the books in the notes and reblogs. Gimme.

TLT: There's the moment in the tunnel of love where Annabeth has the plan to jump using the force of the wave to catapult them over the fence. But the thing is Annabeth miscalculated; if not for Grover intercepting their fall with Luke's shoes they would've fallen on solid concrete and gotten injured or died.

SoM: Annabeth's significant moment in this moment from what I remember is when she used her invisibility cap to lure Polyphemus away from the cave. But she was essentially copying a past hero? And her plan didn't even work as Polyphemus caught her and Annabeth spent the next several chapters being injured/rescued and leaving all the fighting to Percy, Clarisse and Grover.

BOTL: Annabeth was under a lot of pressure due to the last lines of the prophecy, which is understandable. Except instead of coping with that pressure by making plans and relying on her quest mates, she falls apart. She was suppose to be the leader of that quest. And yet in the beginning of the book she loses Grover and Tyson and doesn't find them - doesn't even know they're still alive - until near the end. She leaves Percy in Mount Helens where he's tortured and almost killed. Where are her master strategies? How did she lead them to victory? It was Percy who got Rachel to lead them through the labyrinth, and Grover was the MVP (with Pan's powers) in the actual battle at chb.

TLO: Did Annabeth even have any strategies in this book? She had Dedalus's laptop for about a year - and yet Athena and Hermes (who were very busy fighting Typhon and getting their asses kicked) had to take the time to send a message that was essentially "You have a resource (Dedalus's statue plan in the laptop) sitting in your lap. It's been there for an entire year. Use it." Malcom was the one to lead the Athena cabin while Annabeth followed Percy.

PJO, in general: Annabeth was the Athena cabin leader for all the books. She was co-leader with Luke (if I remember correctly) in the first capture the flag game where she pitted Percy vs. Clarisse & siblings by the river.

MOA: Imo this was the only book where Annabeth really shined. Annabeth's strategy to trap Arachne was amazing until Arachne won by fucking pulling Annabeth into Tartarus, where Percy was the one to defeat Archane in an instant. Annabeth finding the Athena's statue on her own by travelling alone and weaving over the chasm (if I remember correctly) was amazing. But then Rick went and invalidated that by having the other Seven blow open the roof and take the AP, without any help or instruction from Annabeth.

HoO general: Did Annabeth have any leadership moments? I remember seeing a lot of headcanons about it, but in the books all I could find was the poorly written pissing match between Jason and Percy. If anyone could share quotes where Annabeth acts like a leader that would be awesome.

So in summary, for Annabeth's badass strategist and leadership moments:

Being senior Athena cabin leader in the first 4 books.

Annabeth co-leading capture the flag in tlt with Luke

Annabeth travelling to the AP and getting past obstacles like the chasm by weaving (if I remember correctly) in MOA

Annabeth confronting her fears (spiders) and trapping Archane in MOA.

I breezed over most of the series because it's been a long time since I read it while paying specific attention to Annabeth, so I'm sure I missed stuff because tumblr pjo fandom loves Annabeth, so surely there's some content supporting that? Like that admiration isn't soley built on headcanons right?

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foullegussy · 9 months

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I am making this post because Fontaine Archon Quest made me go down the theory rabbit hole and I need other people to agree with me that I'm not crazy.

Of course this post will have SPOLERS about the Archon Quest and some minor one about world quests, but I'll try to stay vague about them so everyone can still read this.

First thing off, fontaine is super related to Abyss stuff:

So far we have:

Childe actually finally dropping the things from his character story, giving us some weird Abyss fact that doesn't seem to be important yet (but i bet will become later on);

the whole Primordial Sea thing. I don't know if you saw that, but during the Archon Quest (in Marcel's underwater hideout) if you use elemental sight on the water it's black, just straight up black.

NOTHING has ever been black before, so that to me just screams ABYSS.

Also, it was flowing upwards, as in, in reverse, which reminds me of the reverse statue, the reverse city in the chasm, and all of that stuff. Then it would also make sense for it to "reverse" the life it created, dissolving people.

the world quests in Fontaine being very Abyss related, as well as the constant mention all over fontaine of the name Jakob Ingold, the one who allegedly first discovered the effects the water from Primordial Sea had on people (this is said during the Archon Quest).

So far, in every Archon Quest we've had the Fatui as main villains (except in Mondstadt, but then Signora kinda stole the spotlight, so we all forgot about the Abyss Mages), and the Abyss Order stuff has progressed independently with Dain, but I think they're trying to reintroduce the topic in the main quest this time.

One of my main theories is that the Tsaritsa is at least somewhat right in whatever her objective is (even if her Harbingers are deranged psychopaths), so when we'll eventually get to Snezhnaya it's gonna be some huge mess, but we're gonna get the key to piece together some facts that they've throwing at us since the beginning with no context, and find some common ground (Are she or Pierro still gonna be bosses we'll have to fight? Maybe. Will the common ground be fighting Celestia or maybe saving it from the Abyss that is, maybe, taking over? Also Maybe. I have some speculations, but no proof whatsoever. Just vibes)

The reason I think that the Tsaritsa is not our enemy and doesn't want the Gnosis to, I don't know, take over the world or some shit, is because then why are all the Archons so chill about giving their Gnosis away?

Many say that, well, Signora attacked Venti in Mondstadt, that means Venti didn't want to give his Gnosis to the Fatui, otherwise why would she have done that?

And maybe that's even true, but

why isn't Venti more worried about it, then?

after knowing Signora's backstory, she probably did it because of a personal grudge, ngl

Also, with every other archon it went very peacefully, especially with Zhongli. Zhongli who literally gave it away like it was nothing: if he truly cared about it he would have found another way to get his retirement, the Fatui weren't the only ones he could ask for help, but since he was already giving it away he probably thought he should get something out of it.

Ei too (and while she isn't technically one of the original Seven she has always been there as Makoto's twin, so she's still old enough to remember the Archon War), she literally didn't even have it on her and wasn't worried at all when Miko just straight up gave it away.

Even Nahida gave two of them away, the only thing that was holding her back was not the fact that she needed them, or what the Tsaritsa wanted with them, just the fact that one had just been used by Dottore to create a god to replace her, so she didn't exactly want to give him two of them.

So far all the gods we've met are: either old enough to know some stuff or the literal god of wisdom, who still knows some stuff thanks to Irminsul.

None of them seem too worried about the Tsaritsa's plan. (even mf Zhongli that literally signed and NDA is just chilling) (like, i know you know what the Tsaritsa is doing, and you're a really good guy who literally wants nothing more than his people to be safe, so if you're not stopping her i can't really think of her as a bad guy)

I made this long ass premise to say that when Lyney says that Arlecchino yes, wants the Gnosis, but also wants to save Fontaine, I-

like-

I think that could actually be true.

Or at least I don't think they're the ones behind all of the stuff that is going in in there (realistically speaking, we don't know if Arlecchino actually cares about Fontaine. I don't think she has plans about its downfall, but maybe she just doesn't give a fuck, whether they all drown or not), I think it either directly the Abyss Order, or just a consequences of abyssal energy on the land and water.

(also there's like, three Fatui tents in the entire map and from where they're placed it could actually be them just investigating what the fuck it's going on with the Abyss. I have 100% exploration, so i know i haven't missed any,,)

(from the official Interactive Map)

The Abyss being responsible might explain a bunch of stuff, like Childe being judged by the Oratrice guilty even when he's not.

Let's put some stuff together: Childe says that, while in the Abyss, he awakened "something", and that he still carries traces of that "something" inside of him.

The Oratrice is a divine mechanism, as such it is powered by divine energy.

In Fontaine we are introduced to Pneuma and Ousia.

Each of them is what could be called and "Archè", which (if memories of greek philosophy in high school don't betray me) means something like "original substance", something from which everything else originates (like Heraclitus thought it was fire, Thales thought it was water. I should go back to read it, i might find something there huh).

For Pneuma (the light one) this is easy to understand: after all we know that combined, the seven elements make the Light element, but that is just because the seven elements are actually the spectrum of the Light element broken down, and it is said that the Dragons lived in a realm made of Light. So Pneuma (which means something about life and stuff) is Light, and it is the original substance from which the seven elements derive.

One thing we know about Pneuma and Ousia is that they are opposites, they are both energy sources, and when interacting they annihilate each other, but also become more stable than when on their own.

Allegedly, this is probably also what Khaenri'ahn machines were powered on (because when the Ruin Serpent charges up he does that AoE attack where he shoot these yellow and purple blocks, which reminds me of Pneuma and Ousia; added to the fact that we know the Research Institute of Fontaine has been studying Dhari machines, this is probably some kind of confirmation).

Ousia literally means something about substance and matter (so on one hand you've got the "divine mind generating life" on the other you've got the matter, which remind me of the whole Descartes's res cogitans and res extensa, but whatever, another thing to look up again i guess).

If we're working on the whole "opposite to Pneuma" thing (so opposite to Light and elemental energy), then all that comes to mind is the Abyss (also referred to as the Void Realm).

This would tie back to Khaenri'ah and the fact that everything that everything that the Abyss touches gets the Mussolini treatment (this is a joke that literally only italians understand, sorry. Basically: it gets hanged upside down. down with the fascism boys)(i need to stop, sorry, i'm just in a silly goofy mood).

So divine things come from the Pneuma archè, that of Light: the Dragons, after them is the Primordial One, Celestia (Paimon??? The Travelers??? you know, the whole battle pass cutscene is hella sus).

The Abyss is a completely different archè: it exists outside of Teyvat and therefore has different laws (time is different there, we know from Childe's backstory), has taken on many different forms (oozing filth in the chasm, forbidden knowledge, etc) because its purest one is incompatible with the other realms.

(Do the Celestial Nails, placed in areas of high abyssal energy, contain enough divine power to generate an annihilation reaction, leading to funky but stable ley line disorders? Ice from Dragonspine doesn't melt, but doesn't spread either. Same for Tsurumi Island, the Eternal Oasis, and the Chasm)

Logically, there can only be one "original substance from which everything is generated", and the Abyss's presence on Teyvat is unnatural (the Abyss is, after all, a completely different world, it was Nibelung who sought out its power and opened the connection), so conflict is inevitable and again with the greek philosophy (still Heraclitus i believe, but i could be wrong): it is the conflict between opposites that generates things (such as energy).

(The first human civilization in Teyvat, the one that saw the conflict between the Primordial One and the Second Who Came, is based on ancient Greece. DO WE THINK IT'S A COINCIDENCE???)

Abyssal and elemental energy being opposites also explains why elemental creatures are so vulnerable against abyssal energy, why gods defeated in the Archon War escaped to die in the "dark sea" outside of Teyvat, and the annihilation that leads to stabilization probably explains why some abyssal creatures can wield elemental energy (Abyssal creatures that we know where humans at first).

If the waters in Fontaine got contaminated when the Cataclysm happened (and previous Hydro Archon died), then oceanids, elemental creatures, would suffer quite a lot and escape from Fontaine and MAYBE even get a little bit corrupted as well.

After all, the oceanid lady in the bottle event was extremely chill and lovely, while Rhodeia is as pleasant as hugging a cactus: is it just different personality or something similar to what happened with Apep (when she became a lot more angry after absorbing Forbidden Knowledge)? Doesn't Rhodeia also mention something about the waters in Qingce once being polluted as well (you know, right where the Chi was sealed? The Chi we know has something to do with abyssal energy from Baizhu's story quest)?

Just throwing these out there, it's very cool to realize how connected the Genshin world really is.

Going back to the Oratrice, a divine mechanism, who, maybe, sensed the Abyss in Childe and either

had a funky reaction

somehow knew the influence of the Abyss on Primordial Sea water (which after the world quests I can imagine how it could have happened), saw Childe's abyss-iness (abyssussy??? abussy??? amogus???) and went "Ah! Gotcha bitch"

the Jakob Ingold thing (because Childe is basically a herald at this point, mf can switch forms like my boy Enjou did back in Enkanomiya, god I miss him).

What would the abyss order have to gain by flooding Fontaine? Yeah, play the world quests. My boy Elynas is taking a nap bro (he chill tho so it's fine)

AND THAT'S MY PREDICTIONS. I guess. I might make more?? eventually??

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bitwynn · 1 year

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Not a fan

A SAGAU Impostor AU Songfic

Song used: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

...so I caved. Yep. Starting a new series even though i already have one. To be fair, i felt like i needed a break from that series since that beast needs a whole lotta world building and im planning for it to get into some heavy fucken subjects. This one tho is more chill and light-hearted, since theyre all just a bunch of kind of disconnected one shots that are all kind of connected. So like-- when this series gets a lil longer, you can literally start from any fic since its all connectedly disconnected. A better example was my original idea of me just writing the end goal where they finally defeat the impostor like-- directly after the Castaway fic to rlly show how connectedly disconnected it is but i refrained myself since i wanted to write more wanderer. Been playing as him a lot but i havent rlly done the archon quest yet lol but hes just a blast. Hes an annoying lil shit (affectionate)

Blue for Barbara, Yellow/Gold for Zhongli, Green for Wanderer, red for Diluc, Italics is Reader/General, Combined is Everyone. Colors only used for singing parts.

---

Is this the real life?

You were running again, the spears and arrows of the Millelith chasing you all across Liyue.

Is this just fantasy?

Zhongli was by your side, steadfast as a rock as he shielded you from their weapons-- both with his Jade Shields and his body.

Caught in a landslide,

A loose rock almost sent you tumbling down into the depths of the Chasm, Barbara grabbing you just in time.

No escape from reality.

Diluc recognizes the path you were taking towards Tiangong Gorge, immediately rushing off to the Chasm's Maw and letting loose Dawn-- his phoenix rising up into the sky like a blazing beacon, just buy the rest of you more time. He'll rejoin you once again, he knows the path you'd take. He's your main afterall.

Open your eyes,

The three of you make it, the relief from seeing the glow of the blue Waypoint almost bringing you to your knees.

Look up to the skies and see,

You stumble in, Barbara hauling your arm over her shoulder as Zhongli collapses the tunnel behind you. You may be Overseer of Teyvat but he is the Overseer of Liyue, and its stones still answers to his call. There is nothing left but the browns and greens that creep towards the borders of Liyue.

I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,

Your little group exit the cavern, the fresh air of the rainforest cooling the sweat on your backs and you see Haypasia's "little neighbor" peeking up from behind a leaf.

Because I'm easy come, easy go,

The tiny Aranara, though a little hesitant that more people could see him now, takes your hand and guides you through Avidya Forest. Thank goodness you had caved from your siblings nagging and finally done at least a part of the Sumeru quest.

Little high, little low,

You were still unfamiliar with the lands of Sumeru, trusting your little lettuce friend to lead you to a place of safety, of rest.

Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me,

Lettuce, as you had affectionately named him, lead you all deep into the rainforests of Sumeru all while deftly avoiding the little village of forest rangers and the rangers themselves. You hadn't said a word to him but you knew, deep in somewhere, that he would be leading you somewhere safe. Somewhere protected.

Though this... wasn't what you expected.

To me.

He turns to your group, the smell of tea faintly wafting from the pot he was tending. "I don't think I need to introduce myself, do I?"

After the short but silent panic that washed over the three of you (it took the you and Barbara 5 minutes to even get a centimeter pulling Vortex Vanquisher out the cave wall while Zhongli aggressively apologized to him), the four of you were sat on the floor watching the Wanderer tend to the bubbling pots of food he was making.

There was a strange... very not tense(?), and very awkward energy in the air as he set aside cups and bowls for all of you, his own cup still full with steaming almost black water. Zhongli was very noticeably trying not to stare at his oversteeped tea.

Little Lettuce had already left, presumably to keep an eye on the area or watch out for Diluc. You didn't want to use him as a shield or a way to break the ice or something but god-- the energy in the air was just so uncomfortable.

You all watched Wanderer in this terse silence prepare your food, his soft chopping of the grilled unagi sounding like death knells in your cave. He took each of the bowls he set out, placing a considerable amount of rice in each and a small handful of dried seaweed and sesame seeds. Bringing out a jar of umeboshi from his inventory, he placed each slab of unagi with a single umeboshi atop the bed of rice and seaweed.

He pours out the tea onto the rice, 1, 2, 3... and stops. He cocks his head. Frowns.

"Wasn't there supposed to be four of you?"

And the silence was broken.

"W-well, little lettuce already left--"

"Not the aranara-- wait, you named him lettuce? Tsk, whatever. Where's the other one? The red one?"

"Oh, uhm, Diluc?"

He nods, the small scowl on his face almost carved into him. You feel your face heat as you turn your face away from him.

"He ran off. To the Maw. Let out his burst as a diversion to buy us time --but he'll find us. He'll come back. He knows the way, he knows how I think, he knows what I'll do. He'll come back."

Wanderer sighs, disappearing the extra bowl. You're not sure whether you said all that to stop his retort or to diminish your own worry.

You're shaken from your thoughts by Barbara holding your hand. She gives it a squeeze, and you squeeze back, thankful for the comfort.

"Are you just gonna keep staring at your food or do you want to die of both exhaustion and starvation?"

"Okay, eating now!"

You're handed a warm bowl of Shimi Chazuke, Wanderer's specialty. It didn't look like its in game icon, only having the plump umeboshi on top of a bed of rice and seaweed with the pale tea glistening in the light. But you had come to learn that many things in game didn't translate directly, there sure as hell no quest or mention of a "Divine Overseer, and yet-- and yet.

You bring the bowl up to your face, the warmth soaking into your aching, tired hands and its steam gently caressing your face. You mix a portion of the rice together with the tea, scoop it up, and put it into your mouth.

And practically turn into jelly at the taste.

"Umai...!" you moan, savoring the taste of it all.

The fresh rice soaked in the bitter tea tasted amazing, each bite slowly turning into a different flavor as the oils and sauce from the grilled unagi gradually mixed in with the rice. Cutting up a bit of the eel with your spoon, you mix it with the rice and your mouth burst with deliciousness.

The eel was grilled to perfection, plump and juicy and flaky. And with the addition of the tea, it introduced flavors you hadn't even imagined from a simple grilled fish.

As you were about to burst that plump little plum, the Wanderer stopped you, a strange look on his face. He handed you a handkerchief.

"Wipe your face, the flavor's gonna be off if you mix it with your tears."

Stunned, you took the handkerchief. "Oh."

It... had been a long time since you've eaten good food and found a place to rest. Too long.

You hold it close to your chest, eyes squeezed shut as you tried to calm down. After a moment, you wipe away the sweat, and tears, and snot, and grime that had accumulated on your journey. It had been such a long time since you first found kindness in this world, even if that kindness came from an emotionally stunned automaton designed to be a god.

You chuckled to yourself, a wet little thing, as you realize that you kept weeping harder and harder with each swipe of the cloth. You bury your face in it, the handkerchief practically soaked with your tears as you take a few calming breaths to finally stop your tears.

"I'm... I'm sorry, I-- its been a while since I've... yeah. Uhm..."

You take a breath, still wet with your snot. "I, uh... I'm gonna keep this, I uh-- ruined it. I'll, I'll clean it though! If you want it back."

Wanderer, handily ignoring your breakdown just earlier, cringes in disgust. "No thanks. Keep it, you need it more than me if you decide to bawl your eyes out again."

Despite the harshness of it, you soften, tucking the offending handkerchief away. "Thanks." "Don't ever mention it."

He reclines back into his little designated space in your cave, and hesitantly stokes the fire with his anemo vision. You pick your unfinished bowl of chazuke, umeboshi still waiting to be eaten. It was good to know that at least there was a few things that didn't change now that you're here.

"Are you finished yet? Stop gawking at your food and finish it so I can do the dishes."

Yep, some things just never change.

You finally finish your meal with the silence in the cave now something much more comfortable, the crackling of the fire and the quiet rushing and clanking of dishes almost lulling you into a sense of "you don't have a bounty placed on your head and are definitely not running from anyone and everyone for fear of them betraying you and handing you over to your megalomaniacal doppelganger".

Wanderer, having lost the argument of who does the dishes against Barbara, was definitely not sulking in his little corner and absolutely not fiddling with his new(?) anemo vision. "So, why'd you come here to Sumeru anyways? I know you definitely were not looking for me, considering the fact you tried to impale my head on sight. Which to be fair," he chuckles at Zhongli's sheepish face, stood near the cavern entrance. "I would do the same."

You absentmindedly plucked the strings of your Windblume Lyre, the instrument becoming a sort of stimming/coping device, helping you deal with everything that had happened to you. He hummed to himself, the cogs turning in his head. "I can't think of any other reason why you'd come here-- finding and trusting in me is a huge gamble that you won," he clarified, turning away from Barbara's blank stare. "the ancient Khaenri'ahn technology scattered around Sumeru won't be of any use if you were considering taking the fight to your impostor, the Irminsul Tree could be a good reason but I can't see any way you'd use it to help you, though knowledge is always good to have anyways."

He scoffed, reclining into the dirt of your cave. "Archons, imagine how ridiculous it would be if you just ran here because you had no choice but to! Like a bunch of scared animals, ahaha!"

You slowly sink behind your lyre as he continues.

"In my time here, you're infamous for always evading their grasp-- heck, there's even an entire division of scholars here dedicated to just trying to figure out how in the world you do it. Some say you're a master at faking trails, some say you have some sort of... psychic power that lets you read the mind of your enemies so you can anticipate their moves."

He shrugs.

"Honestly, I'm more inclined to believe that last one-- in my brief time as your Vessel before your descent, you somehow managed to find information about me, despite my entire existence being wiped from the Irminsul Tree. Add to that the experiences that your other Vessels had, and it's a pretty compelling case." A sigh. "Shame that probing is one-sided though, a peek into the mind of the 'Divine Deceiver' or 'Overseer' or whatever fancy title you call yourself would be quite intriguing. Who knows what schemes are you cooking up in there. Now tell me,"

He straightens, eyes boring into yours from where you were, at this point, hiding in shame behind your lyre. "why are you here in Sumeru?"

"Aha... ha... haaa..." If you had a pyro vision, your face would be on fire by now. You had to turn away, the warmth of embarrassment creeping down your neck. "Well, uhm..." You clear your throat, gulping as you try to even find the words to explain how much of a legitimately normal person you are, who was practically forced to grow brain cells specifically for scheming because if you didn't you would die.

"So, uh...ah he he he... heh..." you take a breath, a shaky grin on your lips. "So, you know how reality is sometimes stranger than fiction?"

He raises an eyebrow.

"Well..."

You vaguely gesture, hoping that your flailing would get your message across.

He stares at you. He stares some more. He blinks.

"No."

"Yeah."

"No..."

"Yeah...

"NO."

"YEAH--"

His mouth drops in shock as he tries to process what you're implying. The rumors painted a... much prettier and mightier picture of you than the both of you thought.

"I-- you-- wha-- how-- what?!"

He takes a breath, chest rising despite his lack of a need for air. He pinches the bridge of his nose, and you get the feeling that he's restraining himself from grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking you stupid.

"So, you're telling me. That the 'Divine Deceiver' and their little posse made of a literal god, the once-captain of Mondstat's Knights of Favonius, and Mondstat's most renowned healer idol, have, quite literally, been running around like rats all over Teyvat and somehow, somehow staying alive by a thread?!"

"I KNOW MAN, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW WE'RE STILL ALIVE--"

"Oh my--"

He begins to growl, a black orb of anemo energy collecting in his palm. You squeak as you try to scramble to your feet, his face full of rage.

And the whirling winds in your cavern suddenly stops, Wanderer dismissing the dark energy in his hand. "Oh, relax."

He blows a raspberry at you, as you groan and sit back down. You bring your lyre back out from where you unconsciously disappeared it and clutch it like a lifeline.

"God, I never knew your idle could be that scary."

"...Idle?"

Barbara waves off his question, a sheepish expression on her face as she fixes her curls back into place. "Its... complicated. You'll learn more about it as you travel with us." She hands him the used and cleaned bowls and utensils. "You... will travel with us, right?"

He scoffs, taking the bowls and disappearing them with a flash of light. "Of course I will. Its literally in my name. Besides, I have nothing that ties me down anymore so I might as well wander with you guys."

She smiles at him, ever sweet and ever kind. She settles back down near the fire, drying her soaking hands. Though Zhongli is still taking watch by the cavern entrance, you could see the slightest look of pleased approval in his face. "Though if you are going to be travelling and running from the law with me, we need to make a plan instead of scurrying around like rats."

And at that, the entire cavern groans in exhaustion. "Not now, please." "We'd like to have some rest first, Wanderer!" "Please, fuck, no-- I've had enough scheming for 3 thousand years--"

"Wait, so you did have a plan going into Sumeru?!"

You wave him off, hands going to rest back upon the strings of your trusty lyre. "Well, it was more of like... a guideline? A safety net? We had a couple ideas on what to do if we ever ended up in Sumeru and we, yknow, ended up in Sumeru so we'll probably do that."

You pluck a couple strings as you remember what you "planned". "I hadn't finished the Sumeru main quest yet and I hadn't unlocked all of the Statues of the Seven yet either. We were thinking of unlocking all the Statues first since, without them, my 'all-encompassing' game map is jack shit here in Sumeru, and then we were thinking of finishing the main quest to both progress the story and better the... political? climate here along with a few other benefits. After that..."

You make a face, much more aggressively playing at your lyre. "We really didn't want to split up the party but, I kinda wanna finish the main story quest in the Chasm but also we need to collect all the Dendroculous and Electroculous for more stamina and stuff. But also, I kinda wanna visit Dragonspine since..." You let yourself trail off, the makings and ideas of plans evident in your voice.

Wanderer merely stares at you for a moment, the game terms flying over his head as Barbara mouths at him, "I'll tell you about it later". You sigh, dreading the planning of tomorrow as your fingers calm on the strings. "But, we can plan tomorrow. Please. We almost died multiple times again." He sighs, relenting. "At least you have the skeleton of a plan."

"Yes!"

Humming, you sink into the soft ground, thanking the soils of Teyvat for giving you some comforts in this trying time. What little grass in the cave caresses you in gratitude, as you pluck at your instrument.

The Wanderer sighs, as he prepares a small pot of tea. "You've been messing with that thing all night and its about to grate at my ears. Do you even know how to play?"

You chuckle a bit, sheepish as you hand the lyre over to Barbara who plays a quick, jaunty tune with a flourish. "Well, I can sing...?"

He sighs again, bowing his head and resigned to the confirmation that you were much more... ridiculous than the gossip and rumors painted you as. "Then why are you the one with the lyre?"

You shrug as Barbara starts up another little song. "Gives me something to do with my hands. Helps me calm down. Diluc and Barbara have been teaching me though when we have the time."

Your soft smile at Barbara's song turns cheeky as you turn to him. "Wanna hear what they've taught me?"

"Sure, better than forcing this inane conversation."

You giggle maniacally as you smile at Barbara, the singer immediately catching your drift. "Follow me?" "To the ends of the earth."

You laugh, as she tunes the instrument to the right notes. "Not like that you sap!" "I know, I know! But yes, of course. His song right?"

You nod. "Yep."

"'My' song...?" Wanderer tilts his head in confusion, before realization dawns on his face.

"Hey, just because it has my-- ...that name, does not immediately mean its 'my song'."

The two of you handily ignore his slip up, you drinking some water in preparation for singing and Barbara testing the lyre if its in tune. "Oh, please," you say, sitting up. "you haven't even heard the full thing yet! It's definitely your song."

He sighs, leaning back against the cavern wall. "Very well then. Indulge me."

You start, reciting the beginning "poem" from memory. Barbara watches and waits, fingers hovering above the strings. Wanderer cocks his head, clearly interested. She begins playing as you get halfway, the lyre an excellent substitute for the piano. You continue, the Wanderer scoffing a little at the poem's mention of a poor boy needing no sympathy, but you pay it no mind. He hasn't heard the rest of the song yet.

"Mama,"

Barbara picks up on her playing, wringing the lyre out for all its worth for those deep chords and piano-like sounds.

"Just killed a man,"

You summoned the small drum you bought from a merchant in Inazuma in preparation.

"Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger now he's dead,"

You close your eyes, swaying to the tune of the song.

"Mama, life had just begun,"

You didn't need to open your eyes to know that he's really listening now.

"But now I've gone and thrown it all away!"

You quickly tap on the drum, trying in vain to mimic the band's performance.

"Mama!, oooh,"

Zhongli was sat at the entrance with his legs crossed and humming along.

"Didn't mean to make you cry,"

Wanderer was still. You could almost hear the turning of the cogs in his mind.

"If I'm not back again this time tomorrow,"

The steady beat of the drum was a stark contrast to the deep, heavy feeling inside his chest.

"Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters."

His Vision pulsed, as his hand unconsciously came to caress it. Was this what it was like to have a heart?

Barbara's fingers were gentle on the strings as a set of footsteps approached the entrance of the cave. You could hear Little Lettuce's pitter-pattering and the dulcet tones of Zhongli and Diluc's voices as they catch up in the short time they've been separated.

"Too late, my time has come,"

He had closed his eyes, listening intently to the music as the waves of sound rocked him gently and deeply into his sea of memories.

"Sends shivers down my spine,"

He can see it now, those old fleeting moments of happiness before they were all ultimately destroyed.

"Body's aching all the time."

He could feel it, suddenly hyper aware of his joints and limbs. The feeling of phantom strings and hands pulling and pushing him like he was some puppet. (But it wasn't like he was ever anything else.)

"Goodbye, everybody. I've got to go,"

He could hear it, everyone's cries and wails of despair filling his ears as he sailed towards Inazuma City to beg the Shogunate (his mother) for mercy that they would not grant.

"Gotta leave you all behind to face the truth."

He could also hear the Doctor's cackling laughter as he began to weave his web of lies, webs that would replace the strings that she had put on him. That he had cut away.

"Mama!, oooh,"

He could see it, the light shining through the patches in the walls and the roof of that old hut. The kind and innocent smile on that sickly, young face.

"I don't wanna die,"

He could see it, red, red, red lapping up and eating away at the walls and roof of the house. Red, red, red all around them. As if he was asleep in a meadow of flowers. (or sinking into a pool of blood)

"I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all.!"

You all gave him his moment, deep in his sea of memories. Diluc was wordlessly playing the zither, an imperfect substitute for an electric guitar. He'd noiselessly joined into your impromptu concert after he was caught up on the situation by Zhongli who had promptly disguised the mouth of the cavern as some kind of rock formation.

As he played, you thought back to the Wanderer's words. To the moment you first heard him say that-- his character teaser. Your heart had clenched back then, tears pricking the corners of your eyes but you couldn't help chuckling at his words-- that ever iconic song playing in your head. But you know that there was nothing to chuckle about here, Wanderer holding the brim of his hat in an almost vice-like grip. His jaw is clenched.

You all silently agreed to let the solo drag on at least a little bit longer. He takes a sharp breath. (You all know its his way of saying his thanks.)

Barbara begins plucking the lyre in a jaunty little tune, and you couldn't help but crack a grin. The atmosphere's heavy, but it's beginning to lift anyway.

"I see a little silhouetto of a man,"

The Wanderer scoffs, already knowing the next few lines by heart thanks to you. You all readily ignore the wetness in his sound.

"Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the fandango?!"

You were surprised at everyone joining in. Wanderer especially, being caught so off-guard that he jumped in his seat. "For the nth time, no I won't!" Barbara giggles as you push onwards, a manic grin on your face.

"Thunderbolt and lightning!"

Diluc only smiles at the mildly disgruntled Wanderer, his Divine Overseer and Mondstadt's Deaconess having stood up to sing their hearts out. "I'm pretty sure that's not gonna be the last time you say that to them."

"Very, very frightening, me!"

The singing duo once again became lost in the music of the song, belting their hearts and lungs out for their one audience member. Said audience member could only crack a smile and reply, "I had a feeling."

"Galileo, Galileo,"

You had all but screeched out said scientist's name as you pointed to Zhongli. When faced with the Wanderer's incredulous look, he could only gain a fond look in his eyes, shrug and say, "You get used to it over time."

"Galileo, Galileo,"

"Wait, you're all used to this?!" Barbara's sheepish as she answers. "They sing as a coping mechanism. We kind of picked it up over time as well." Diluc shrugs again. "It's better than alcoholism."

"Galileo, Figaro! - Magnifico, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,"

Wanderer cringes-- despite this, a smile is growing on his face. "You don't have to vocalize the echoes, you imbecile!" You merely put a hand to your forehead, aiming to up the drama with your next lyrics.

"I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me,"

He feels the tug of old memories, of old traumas still clinging to his skin. But he pays them no mind, knowing he must march onwards to the future. A future paved by a ragtag group of wanted divine beings and important people that are beginning to worm his way into his chest.

"He's just a poor boy from a poor family,"

Oh no. He's feeling it again.

"Spare him his life from this monstrosity!"

He cannot help but watch you all sing.

Barbara's fingers fly on the strings.

"Easy come,"

He felt what he felt back then, before she had forsaken him.

"Easy go,"

He felt what he felt back then, before he was fooled into thinking he had left him-- left them.

"Will you let me go?"

He felt what he felt back then, before he was torn away from him with no bigger enemy to blame but his own mortality.

"Bismillah! No!"

It was affection. It was care.

"We will not let you go!

(Let him go!)"

Oh archons, he's starting to care.

"Bismillah! We will not let you go!

(Let him go!)"

For hundreds of years, he's hardened his heart and closed himself off from everyone and everything. Sworn to scrub himself clean of human emotions.

"Bismillah! We will not let you go!

(Let me go!)"

And yet, for those same hundreds of years, he had never fully closed himself off-- never fully scrubbed away the feeling of... feeling.

"Will not let you go! (Let me go!)"

He couldn't help but glance at those two, fingers flying across the strings of their instruments. Humans, can they really be trusted?

"Will not let you go! (Let me go!)

His eyes slowly drifted to the other two, one ancient and the other practically a newborn. Can the gods really make him feel anything other than loathing?

"Never let you go!

(Never, never, never let me go!)"

He takes in their entire performance, all of them being their pure, complete, and unadulterated selves. With no masks to keep on, or roles to maintain. Merely singing, and dancing, and playing these instruments just for the heck of it.

"Oh, oh, oh!

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

For centuries, he has roamed this world-- seeing and meeting many new people, and yet never regarding any of them as his companions.

"Oh, mama mia, mama mia!"

Would he be able to regard these people as such?

"Mama mia, let me go!"

Would he be able to trust them, like the did with the others? To stay and not break their promises with him?

"Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me,"

Would he be able to hold on to them, and they not let go as they had been claiming over and over?

"For me!"

Well, he has no choice in the matter. He's stuck with them now, as wanted fugitives.

"For me!"

Only time will tell if they forsake him like those before him. At least he's safe in the comfort that the world had forsaken them as well. Just like him. He hopes that strange sort of kinship makes you understand. He hopes it makes you stay.

You whooped with joy as Barbara absolutely nailed that note, Diluc quickly shredding on the zither afterwards. You would've given it to Zhongli but-- the man hasn't played a guitar before. And you need a certain "je ne sais quoi" to really pull off what Queen was doing. ...Also, you needed the sound of a guitar for the song.

You glance back to the Wanderer, mostly silently listening this whole time. He was lightly bopping his hand to the beat. You smile, taking whatever victories you can get. "Beelzebub? Really?" You blow a raspberry at him, preparing for the next part of the song. "I'll tell you about it later!" You clear your throat.

"So, you think you can stone me and spit in my eye!"

Diluc hits that sick riff.

"So, you think you can love me and leave me to die?!"

Barbara, even if she's practically undetectable underneath Diluc's strumming and your-- excuse me, Zhongli's drum beating, is still managing to bring up and compliment every single one of you performing.

"Oh, baby!"

You swear, if you all weren't wanted fugitives forced to live on the LAM because of a crime you didn't commit, you'd be a killer band.

"Can't do this to me baby!"

You do gotta thank Zhongli for subtly swiping away the drums from you-- you frankly weren't quite sure how you'd be able to focus on giving this song the power ballad it deservers while also playing an instrument.

"Just gotta get out,"

Despite all your peeking on Wanderer for his opinions on the song and to check on his emotional state, you weren't exactly omniscient. You were, afterall, still performing and still getting lost in the music.

"Just gotta get right outta here!"

So you didn't notice the twinge of an... almost fond emotion lacing his face as he watches you rock out to this classic. What can you say, Diluc kills it on the zither.

The sound builds and builds, Barbara layering on top of it and you not being able to resist the urge to air guitar to it as it slowly reaches its crescendo... And crashes back down, Zhongli and Diluc humming along to the sound.

"Ooh, yeah, ooh, yeah,"

You gasp for breath, the end of the song finally coming up. Diluc's energetic playing slows down, signaling the finale.

"Nothing really matters,"

You feel sweat dripping down your skin, having danced and moved around-- possessed by the power of the song.

"Anyone can see,"

You lean your back against the cave wall, relishing in its coolness as you bring the song to a close.

"Nothing really matters... Nothing really matters, to me..."

You sigh as you sink, pleased and satisfied at everyone's performance.

"Any way the wind blows..."

Zhongli finishes it off with the rapping of the drum, mimicking a cymbal crash to his best ability. Barbara beams at the Wanderer, who looks like he's regretting singing along to that last part.

"So," you ask, out of breath. "what'cha think about the song?"

Wanderer waves off Barbara's tired but happy smile, poofing the fourth bowl back into existence and busying his hands. He prepares Diluc's Shimi Chazuke as he hums.

"Well, despite it being a complete emotional roller coaster and the utter gibberish that it contains, I suppose that its worthy being called 'my song', as you will."

"I'll fucking take it! Fives all around guys, good job!" You quickly double high five everyone in the group-- Zhongli letting you slam your hands down on his, Barbara being a quick pair of one-two taps, and Diluc just lightly bumping his full hands into yours. You turn to Wanderer, waiting for him to high five you. "You too, hat boy-- you joined in the song, you get some fives."

At least Diluc had the decency to look away when he huffed in amusement. "Hat boy?! Let me tell you, I've gone through many names and titles during my journey. And each one is more eminent than any ordinary mortal could ever imagine!"

As he said these words, his heart slowly sank to his feet as he saw the stupid, cheeky smile growing on your face. "Yes, yes... But! and I quote, 'they're all just water under the bridge to me now.

Call me whatever you like. Go ahead, let me see what you can come up with.'" The Wanderer's eye twitched.

"And that's the best you can come up with?! If you know me so well, oh, great Overseer, then you would very much know that I'm also telling you to not disappoint me! Tell me, All-Knowing Guide, am I not disappointed?!" You snorted, too tired from the day's events to feel any sort of proper fear and trepidation at this situation. "Then, I'll just keep thinking of names until something sticks, mushroom head." You pat his head. "Now, how in the world did you even get here Lulu?"

He sips from his bowl full of rice and tea. "Doro44 Sumeru Chasm sneakpeek. Would've gotten here faster if the place wasn't absolutely surrounded by treasure hoarders and Fatui. Had a bit of trouble finding it as well, since it was behind some rock walls." He grabs a small twig from the ground and starts drawing. "Its a sort of cave that's absolutely overgrown by giant roots." "You dare to ignore me?!"

You flash that same cheeky grin at him again. "We didn't ignore you, we just changed the subject!"

Nope, he takes it all back. He hates all of you.

---

AND THATS A FUCKING WRAP AUGHHHHHHHHH-- broooooo, you would not BELIEVE how hard this was to write. both because Bohemian Rhapsody is SUCH a long song but also because of SOOOO many outside circumstances. like BRUH i was supposed to release this like a day after my castaways fic but NOOOOOOOO-- life got so in the way man. my parents started breathing down my neck for chores, we had to visit my relatives in the province (still in the province btw lol), i got FUCKING SICK BECAUSE OF STRESS AND DUST ALLERGIES and i literally spent like-- my first few days sick making my sickness FUCKING WORSE since our house was literally covered in dust and i was the only one who could clean it fucking apparently. bro, i even spent this goddamn christmas fucking sick. ugh this has been such a hell week. literally the only comfort i found this week was all genshin related AHAHA-- i was playing genshin, visiting the SAGAU tag a lot, waiting for fanfics to update, just generally genshin brainrotting.

ugh thank god i finally released this one. i do have a lot of ideas for this down the road and hell dawg! i even got a request! thats the one thatll be coming up next. i wrote like-- a massive part of this sick and it got sOOOOO out of hand ever since i didnt get to finish it that day so i hope it sticks together well and is mostly coherent. enjoy!! :))

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thatdeadaquarius · 1 year

Note

OP your addtion about the Harbinger's reaction? Sent me wheezing to the moon 🤣🤣💀

I dont have any additions to Teyvat language yet (other anons have a more in depth explanations while mine is just shitposts wheEZE--) but I did have an idea for a Genshin AU.

I'm pretty sure everybody has heard about the blue alien people Avatar. Tribal people from another planet. (Also I just stumbled upon the forests of Sumeru while going through Chasm quests. The one that has giant mushrooms).

Imagine Genshin in the Avatar Au. Sumeru can be based on the first movie (It fits cause from what I can explore of Sumeru reminds me of the time I watched Avatar of the first time. Pure awe and wonder..) While the Water nation can be based on the 2nd movie, Hoyoverse hasnt released the name of the Water Country yet so we're just waiting. Mondstadt can be based on the upcoming 3rd (4th or 5th? Idk they had it lined up) movie that involves being high above the clouds. Kind of like the Jade palace or the Floating Abode in the serenitea pot.

Its all I could base for now since the other movies dont have that much info yet to be paired with Genshin's countries.

Bonus idea that randomnly popped into my head:

Still going with this Au but its sagau themed. Creator!Reader arrives to Teyvat and is considered as Eywa

NOW THIS

THIS IS AN ✨️IDEA✨️

I just want u to know i feel b l e s s e d that u put this in MY ask box , when this coulda been a whole post of ur own 💖💖🙏🙏

WARNING: So i havent seen the new movie, just the og Avatar one, and i totally loved that concept about Eywa and how their world works so ill refresh myself but if theres any new lore from the 2nd movie i aint got it yet 💁 srry babs

🎵 FROM THE DAY WE ARRIVED ON THE PLANEETTT

AND STEPPED OUT BLINKING INTO THE SUN

AND THE SUN ROSE HIGH IN A SAPPHIRE SKY

ITS THE CIRRRRCCCLLLEEE OF LIFFFFEEEE 🎵

^ except ur like the life itself bc ur god now

Thats why i put that there

This AU radiates that energy

♤

BRO I TOTALLY FORGOT ABT U MENTIONIMG THE COOL CHASM STUFF AND PICKED THAT GIF ALL ON MY OWN

BC I THOUGHT IF ANYTHING LOOKS LIKE EYWA TREE IN GENSHIN ITS THAT BEAUTIFUL MUSHROOM GOD

ANYWAYS-

So I accidentally posted this too early so keep refreshing or coming back bc if theres no "♡the beloveds♡" im still updating this then LMAO

SRRY GUYS

So anon's a genius and i could listen to u talk about this all day

I fucking love combining world building or lore together

Esp like making one the AU or just the setting like u said with Avatar worlds as settings and same characters-

EEEEEE U ARE EYWA- YESSSSS YESSSSSS I AM YOUR GOD BITCHES!!! SUCK ON MY BIG FAT MAN TIDDIES BITCHES RAHHHHH /REF

♧

So they deffo use "Eywa" as a term for you instead of your name

Honestly, before when u were a mysterious af planet creature thing (lets say u get isekaied there i mean)

Nobody rlly knew if u even could take a mortal form or even thought of that as a concept

I feel like the younger generations immortals and Teyvat's current countries kinda think of you Eywa as more of a passive entity life force thing

Rather than the older immortals and creatures that had seen thru eons or over the course of a couple thousand years

That u were very aware and intelligent

Not that ur energy or aura didnt tell them that alone

◇

So a little deeper into the Teyvat lore here but i dont see anybody else talking about it so I will

Originally, it was the Seven Sovriegns and you, and eventually Phanes and their Four Shades,

And they literally all quickly came to realize u literally made this planet and began to start the first traditions of worshipping you!

Like putting gifts or hand made goods at the base

(Ppl have also gotten a tradition from Morax/Rex Lapis and Guizhong and other adepti to leave birthday letters to offer you, which ties into what i say below⬇️)

Ya know,

Eywa the tree could even be a sort of source to the eyes of Teyvat of what you look like while u were playing the game

Like how Eywa's little jellyfish reach ppl in the forest and shit? I think?

So like i would imagine that whatever u make certain vessels or acolytes do most often, is what they think they should offer u :0

◇

Claymore users give u gemstones and ores

Bow users give u hunted game like fowl, or the treasure from puzzles that required arrows (like those bursting blue balloons?)

Catalysts and Polearms give u all kinda of crazy shit lmao

Bc they can be used for a vareity of things

◇

Bc of ur player status and abilities, people of Teyvat attribute a gain in power or talents or whatnot to you, Eywa

So say u actually physically there now, and u just wake up under the coolest sickest tree youve ever seen in ur life

Omg could u imagine????

Seeing Teyvat irl? But AVATAR WORLD IRL???!!!

You would stand there lookin around like a drunk fuck for like 20 minutes, maybe longer lmao

Its just so ✨️pretty✨️ here

Also the tree itself just feels like, the equivalent to ur bedroom basically but like specifically if it was hella comfy and like just the way u want it (all the decor is up, the floor is clean, u got like hot choco on ur desk, theres a candle burning, etc.)

♤

Oh so since ur like weirdly connected to the land, like u know how theres a voice line abt walking in that glowing aranara part of Sumeru and ur steps light up?

I saw that too in the OG avatar movie

So i feel like u would have a map with ALLLLL the peoples on it and little icons

U can focus on just vision users or bosses or big nature things like Dragonspine

◇

Oh so Eywa can control all animals and whatnot and so u as a mortal person can too

So anytime theres a threat u can deadass just become a pokemon trainer LMAO

Ok but think how badass it would be to just like,

Get the Primo Geovishap or Giant Bird Jadeplume Terror thingy to just leave their territory and wipeout some mfs

(coughunknowngodasomodaycough)

It would be fucking amazing

♧

Unrelated to above bc im just spitting out ideas srry guys

but like

I feel like if u were a lifeforce sort of ancient eldritch god for the entire goddamn continent of Teyvat let alone the whole planet-

You would have to maintain said continent/planet

Like, make sure the Irminsul is growing okay, protect from mfs like Dottore,

Stop diasters if ur Eywa too, esp bc u can hear prayers now, and would hear ppl crying out to help them geez

while the prayers of the many kinda just glob together to form the major "feeling" of the prayer for most creatures,

Vision users, gods, ancient creatures u can get their exact sentences

Basically more magic = better heard to connect with u

◇

Oh u know, i could even see it being even more manual or personal labor bc ur not like a tree connected to ur roots thruout the world technically

Like if volcanoes erupt in Natlan, the archon and gods there help and u r also wanted/needed in person for it to work

U would still be powerful, but yeah like say the tree was u just playing genshin before,

The game automatically regulated diasters and stuff other than what was supposed to happen in game

◇

So kinda bouncing off that I read smwhere that the Na'vi dont actually view Eywa as like omnipotent or omniscient

(like the God™️ from the Christian bible for a example of what your not)

And also! Dont blame/attribute natural diasters, plagues, or other bad stuff on Eywa

So good for you whew 💦

Ur actually supposed to kinda just be the collective lifeforce or Teyvat/world and nature, and a defender and guide of life :0

Which kinda fits with the whole "upgrading characters" thing actually

◇

Okay but I saw somewhere in SAGAU tag someone did another name instead of Creator to spice it up and its "All-Mother"

And interestingly, Eywa in Avatar is also called that and "Great Mother"!!

How fun :0

Also, the reason Eywa still got people with free-will is bc they kinda described the relationship to Eywa being something like a mother or parent

Maybe where name/titles came from ig?

Either way, ppl be calling u all types of nicknames u aint heard before lmao

I mean ur sacred, they dont just say ur name,

Nobody knows ur real name or what u call yourself

Just what they call u

Bc they couldnt communicate with u super well before, (the bday letters were the closest they got verbally, and even then they had to be addressed somewhat to ur first vessel the traveler to get thru/be seen)

Otherwise yeah u operating them lets say before on Earth you rlly felt like an eldritch nature deity 💀

Cause u guide them in battles, strengthen their talents and skills and bodies, and feed them food

If they were in battle like needing healing food, u help them heal by consuming it for them so they dont have to take a snack break in battle and

Let me tell u, these denizens of Teyvat who have to constantly deal with magic and monsters and abyss stuff, so a stroll outside ur house gets u in a fight...

...They are very grateful for that needless to say.

Plus i like to think u make fighting easier on them bc ur "guiding" their bodies

◇

Anyway thats a long winded way to say, help me think of all the names Teyvat's given you lmao:

Eywa

All-Mother / Great Mother

All-Father / Great Father

All-Parent? / Great Parent

Creator

Their Grace

Great Puppeteer

The Puppeteer

Soul of Teyvat

Greatest Soul

☆

She aint long bc im not that creative and this idea has sm potential too😔

I would love to be Eywa sounds fun and powerful af and i dont get expected to be Jesus and they know i dont cause the natural diasters, like that sounds nice

Aight im no genius and this writing feels like im just rambling like a drunk guy sittin on the sidewalk mumbling to myself, i had to stop writing 💀

Like that energy specifically-

So lmk if yall got any other cool titles or names :0

I couldn't think of anymore :/

Also srry about the updating this post and making u check back in if u already read this before i put the taglist

(Me putting the taglist means im done editing/writing this dw if u seein this)

Cheers,

🌒🌧🌊Aquarius♒️🌌🌘

♡my beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

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hiraya-rawr · 2 years

Note

You mentioned reading alot of found family on Ao3? Could we have some recommendations? (I am starving for some good found family fics rn)

MY FAVORITE GENSHIN AO3 WORKS // ALL COMPLETED

// This took so long because I had to compile my absolute favorites for found family 😌 everything here is complete, everything here wrecked me. TW DO NOT READ WHEN YOU'RE BUSY BECAUSE I GOT HOOKED. OP I'm so glad you asked me-

Song of Resistance: Frostborn Loyalty by TheOpticalMouse

Song of Resistance: Flames of Defiance by StrangeDiamond

// Diluc and Kaeya and the rest of Mondstadt. The Fatui takes over Mond and they band together forming the resistance to take it back. They should be read together!!, includes a lot of other beloved characters, they're actually selling a book for it with illustrations by @f-ai-n and I'm planning on getting it (if it weren't for the shipping fee that costs more than the book). There's a specific order to read the chapters to make both stories fit together, please take the time to read it!

The Burden Of Memories by The Optical Mouse // series // DILUC GETS AMNESIA bc of the abyss AND THINKS KAEYA IS STILL HIS BROTHER. A LOT OF ANGST. WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED?? made me sob at 2am twice.

Watcher of the Night by nacaratskies // series // the reincarnation-turn back time AU with Diluc. He dies at 22, wakes again as a 17 y/o. Everyone notices he's changed. 17 y/o kaeya is worried but diluc doesn't give af. (lots of angst and screaming. poor kaeya, poor diluc, poor everyone, made me cry)

no love lost, not for him by li2 // series // familial hanahaki disease with Kaeya who doesn't believe he's loved and is dying from it. lots of comfort, unreliable narrator

Lost in the Underground by Quontice // series // for the horror lovers out there <3 Kaeya goes missing and something sinister lurks underground. Diluc tries to find him.

Home is Where my Brother Lays by Trashbin2020 // series // I CRIED. Two different timelines crashing. Kaeya "dies" and "lives again" in a world where Cavalry Captain Diluc lost his brother. Whereas, Diluc is desperate to get him back.

[COMIC] Voices in Ice and Snow by 4dango // art, comic // albedo gets corrupted by during, angst and action. made me love albedo, and fall for diluc even more.

The call is coming by actualromeo // fic // what if the chasm quest which affected the hilichurls also affected kaeya?

And here are some similar works that I've yet to finish but has the potential of being a favorite:

Oh, How Inconvenient by DiamondDove / series

The Rise of Diluc Ragnvindr by @richardgraysonpercyjackson / 4 arcs, a rollercoaster

Can Everyone in Mondstadt Just CHILL OUT For a Second?? by Anonemoni / series

Dawn's Alibi by Primarina / series

#hira replies #ao3 genshin #genshin found family #genshin familial #ragbros #genshin impact #ao3 #fic rec #genshin recommendations #hira recommends

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nutmegnogart · 2 years

Text

The 2.7 Chasm update really did a number on me. Wounded Xiao who sacrifices himself for us? It's been months and I'm still not over it. Anyways wanted to make an homage to the Liyue Archon Quest when Xiao saves us from the crumbling Jade Chamber :) <3

#seriously im still crying #and that soundtrack slapped #xiao how could you do that to us #my heart was HURTING #xiaother #xiaoaether #xiao x aether #xiao and aether #genshin 2.7 #genshin xiao #genshin aether #genshin impact fanart #genshin fanart #megsart

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arofili · 1 year

Note

Elladan + Elrohir, #21 break or be broken, winter

You can spin it however you like but I'm obsessed with the 'chose who lives/dies' trope being somehow spun with this prompt.

The one and only thing I can't cope with, with these characters, is when they choose different fates , one Human and one Elf. I hate that so much. Otherwise anything goes.

(AO3 is Elladan_E)

“Break or be broken?” snarled the wraith in its foul tongue.

Elladan cast aside his sword, not watching as it skittered across the ground and off into the chasm below. His gaze was fixed on his foe, and his brother in the spirit’s grasp.

“Break me,” he declared. “I will never harm him.”

The Nazgûl laughed, a wretched, breathless sound. Casually as one might toss aside the husk of nut, it flung Elrohir aside. Elladan tensed at the dull impact his brother made as he hit the ground, but he dared not look away from the wraith.

He thought he heard Elrohir whimper. That had to be enough. It had to be. If Elrohir had died...

“He lives,” the Nazgûl growled. “For now. But you, half-breed, shall live no longer.”

Elladan stood firm as the spirit approached. He had no more weapons; his bow was broken, his arrows spent, his sword swallowed by the depths of the wicked forest below. He held his head high as the Nazgûl lifted its scythe, ready to bring it down and sever life from limb—

El! No! El!

He flinched. Damn him, he flinched. How could he remain still and stoic when his twin’s voice rang panicked in his mind?

Don’t—El, please—

I will see you again, Elladan promised, bracing himself for the inevitable blow. They’d talked about their Choices, but hadn’t made them; it never seemed pressing. But now, with the end so near...

Well. So long as they made the same Choice, they’d never be alone.

And if Arwen Chose mortality...

Elladan! Elrohir screamed in his mind.

See you in Valinor, Elladan said, then shoved his brother out of his mind.

The scythe lowered. Elladan closed his eyes.

A great blow knocked the wind out of him, and he heard the Nazgûl scream—but it was too late. Elladan crumpled to the ground, and everything went dark.

~~~

“Don’t ever do that to me again!” Elrohir sobbed, clinging to him so tight Elladan thought he might stop breathing (again).

He was awake—he was alive. He was home, in Imladris, and his father was watching him with an exhausted smile. Arwen stood behind him, her hands on his shoulders, sorrow in her eyes.

“El,” he croaked. “I’m...what happened?”

“Grandfather Celeborn saved you,” Arwen murmured. “And Grandmama and King Thranduil drove the Nazgûl away. You’ve been asleep for...weeks. But you’re awake now. It’s going to be okay.”

“Your fëa is strong,” his father said quietly. “It...you healed faster than I anticipated. It is as if...”

Elladan swallowed. “I—I think...”

Arwen nodded sadly. “I thought so.”

Elrond wiped away a tear. “I cannot say I am not relieved,” he admitted. “But with our Choice comes sorrow, no matter the decision.”

“I just...I thought I was dying,” Elladan murmured. “And I knew...you would sail eventually, Ada, and Naneth already has, and...and...” He looked helplessly at Elrohir. “I wanted to see you again. All of you. But...El, I’m sorry. We always said we would Choose together...”

“We did,” Elrohir croaked, his face half-buried in Elladan’s shoulder. “I Chose, too, the moment you did. You’d have known if you hadn’t shoved me out of our twin-bond—”

“I didn’t want you to feel me die—!”

“And you think I wanted you to die for me?” Elrohir cried.

“None of us is dead,” Ada said firmly. He very purposefully did not look up at Arwen. “We are all together still. And we will be for a very long while yet. The Quest succeeded! As soon as you are well, Elladan, we will travel to Minas Tirith, and Arwen...”

“My Choice was made years ago,” Arwen said softly. “But soon I shall begin to live it.” She walked over to Elladan’s bedside and kissed both her brothers on the brow. “El. And El. I love you. I suspected you would Choose this way...it is good that Naneth will see her boys again, even if she and I are forever sundered.”

“Arwen,” Elrohir whispered.

“We love you too,” Elladan echoed, and meant it fully. “And no matter our Choices, we will always be family.”

#lotr #lord of the rings #lotr fic #elladan #elrohir #khamul #(thats who the nazgul is; this is set at the battle under trees)#battle under trees #arwen #elrond #choice of the peredhil #my writing #my fic #tefain nin #prompts #anonymous #elladan e #this was SUCH a great prompt anon!! ty!!

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noodles-n-soba · 2 years

Text

If you'd fall down in the deep darkness for eternity..

Scenario: You're an adeptus, around the same age as Xiao but just a little older. Based on the new archon Chasm quest (with Xiao, Yelan, Yanfei, Itto, Kuki, etc)

Warnings: Spoilers for the archon quest!!

Characters: Xiao, Adeptus!Reader

A/n: Hii! So the reader's actual Adeptus name is "Ficus", I just made that up with my Latin skills cuz it seemed somewhat nicer :) Please enjoy!

With knees against your chest, you looked at the crowd below you, all those people in such a small world. You couldn't believe that life seemed to circulate that easily without your help, well, without the help of the Adepti to be more specific.. It was your goal to still look put for the people, just in case.. But you weren't sure if that independent folk would appreciate you just randomly lending them a hand. '(Y/n). What are you doing.' You threw a glance over your shoulder, seeing Xiao standing behind you.

'Observing.' You replied as short as possible because that was literally the only thing you were currently doing.. Nothing more or less. 'Mind watching them a bit more in a couple days. I'll be gone to the Chasm.' This time you completely turned your upper body around, an element of surprise on your face. 'And why would that be, Xiao?' You asked him, he sighed and decided he'd sit next to you. Knowing that you'd possibly never turn on him, he figured that he could tell you his true motives.

'I've asked Rex Lapis for permission to go and find traces of the last Yaksha. There's been a rumor that they just disappeared back in the wartime, so it's not completely weird to think they're still alive.' He answered, you squinted and shook your head softly. 'And he agreed on this?' You sternly questioned, looking back to the lands of contracts harbor. 'He.. Did..' You looked up to the sun slowly heading to the horizon, the clouds forming weird shapes and birds flying over your heads. 'The moment the Chasm opened you've been absent for quite a bit. Have you already been there, Alatus?' You looked him dead in the eye, he didn't have the heart to lie to you.. And he somehow just couldn't whenever you stared holes into his damaged soul. 'I've walked past, nothing more. Never would I do something Rex Lapis wouldn't allow.' He said, more like an oath than your regular set of rules. 'I believe you, you shan't need to fret..' You replied with a kind smile, you still had those in your pocket. Your smiles, and Xiao.. He was just looking at your face with nothing more but a serious look on his face. 'So tell me, Ficus, aren't you going to hold me back?' He carefully tried, you shrugged your shoulders and grabbed your weapon firmly.

'There is no use in trying, for you are so hard-headed. I can try, and most of the time I win, but this is about one of your brothers or sisters.. You cannot be stopped.' You simply admitted, toying around with your dearest companion.. A (weapon of choice). Xiao growled and kept his silence, whatever he tried.. You wouldn't budge. His choices would have consequences, and you wouldn't be there to save him from those.. The one that would probably come in action was Rex Lapis himself... Thinking about it, he wouldn't let Xiao do something so dangerous if he didn't have a plan. 'The least I can tell you is to return safely. I.. We, need you.' You finally brought out and stood up, stretching out your body and fixing your clothes. 'You, you said?' He recited, you immediately furrowed your eyebrows and smiled irritated. '.. Don't start it, I'll throw you off this cliff immediately. Then you won't even take a damn step into the Chasm.' You brought out between gritted teeth, he shook his head slowly. 'You just told me you needed me. You're getting more and more confused these days, maybe it's time for you to retire.' You turned around to face him, crossing your arms and glared at him. 'I'm as old as you, don't bring up my age now would you?' You gave his forehead a soft flick, he closed his eyes firmly and backed off. 'Now, you better return back from that Chasm wouldya. And bring some good news with you..' You crouched down, moving his hair aside, kissing the spot that you had flicked before and walked away.

'Watch me, General Ficus...' You chuckled softly. 'I'll look forward to your message, General Alatus.'

'I-!' Being absolutely startled by the news you just heard half an hour ago, you headed towards the place where you guessed he would be. 'Hey! Xiao!' Almost tripping over a rock, you rushed towards him.. Wrapping your arms around the guy and gave him a tight hug before letting go and bonking his head. 'You.. Indecisive idiot! How could you even try to sacrifice yourself! If it wasn't for Morax.. You would've been dead meat!' There wasn't much time to lecture the guy, you were assigned to take care of him..

You found him at the temple of Pervases, which wasn't that surprising at all. Thinking about all he did, he was just standing there and watching the sunset. When he realized you were standing right behind him, he sighed and threw you a short glance. 'Ah, Rex Lapis.. So it was him. Not some unknown Adepti.. I should thank him, actually.' Xiao replied airily, you squinted and balled up your fists. 'Hey..?! Did you hear.. Ugh, never mind. What the hell did you think when you were sacrificing yourself. I know your head circulates all around doing heroic stuff, but it doesn't seem heroic to me that the people you know will be sad when they won't see you again!? Do you know how much those guys would blame themselves for your death!?' You pouted and crossed your arms, looking down at the floor.

'I heard you, but saving others is more important than saving my own life.' He answered, throwing you a glance over his shoulder. You blinked a few times, about to reply till he continued his sentence. 'But.. Indeed, it will somehow hurt me when I think about the fact that you, and everyone who sees me as a friend, family or something else, will suffer.' Being a little confused about his statement, you slowly but surely placed a hand on his shoulder while you thought. '... What did the traveler say to you..?' You asked with unbelievement, a bit unsettled by his sudden change of thoughts and motives. 'It was that bull, but.. Paimon and the Traveler told me a lot too.' He carefully wrapped a hand around your waist, pulling you close. 'Also, (y/n), I'm grateful to have you by my side. So, thank you for that.'

You couldn't help but be completely thrown off balance, this change of character was really not him.. This wasn't the regular Xiao that you were used to, but this change was something positive actually. You smiled, leaning your head against him and hugged him tightly. 'Now, you're being a little too.. Much. Tch.' He snarled quietly, looking off to the side to hide his starting blush. You chuckled, hugging him really tight for a second and letting go of him. He sighed deeply.

'Have you ever tried Almond Tofu, (Y/n)?'

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stellartales · 2 years

Text

warning! spoilers ahead - do not interact if you haven't played the latest archon quest. this is also not proofread so read at your own risks.

—during 2.7 perilous trail archon quest, i really thought xiao was gonna die. i had so much i want to say to xiao for doing what he did or even suggesting his sacrifice in the middle. i totally side yelan's view. i had to write this.

when she called his name, Xiao half expected to find her in a perilous situation, possibly swarmed by evil demons or hanging off a cliff. His jade spear was already in his hand, the muscles in the same arm tensing for a battle and the fierce glint his eyes wore had a protective flame in them.

instead, Xiao found himself standing inside a small lit cavern, eyes alert to every inch of the space. for a bone-chilling second, he almost believed they were back at the Chasm once more until his eyes met the gaze of the moon outside the little opening behind him.

understanding and relief dawned upon him when he confirmed they were not in that unforgiving depth they narrowly escaped weeks ago.

checking that there were no signs of danger, the polearm in his hand was put away, dissipating as he was left standing over a dancing flame, staring in puzzlement at the sleeping figure across him.

his silent, steady footsteps followed him as he stepped around the makeshift fire, dropping down to a knee to catch the murmured words fumbling out of her mouth.

"...Xiao. no please, Xiao." his eyes widened. "we won't leave without you. i won't leave here without you." a sound like a sob broke through.

a residual nightmare from then. the piercing gaze in Xiao's eyes softened with a realisation and a hint of melancholy.

he reached out a hesitant hand, hovering over her forehead for a lingering second before meeting it. calloused fingers ran over the ridge between her brows.

a ridge of his own appeared between his brows as her voice grew heavy with tears under his hand. the sobs breaking through her words continued.

"i'm here." the murmur of her name after was soft, as subtle as the breeze blowing in.

reminded of how he nearly lost his life, he thought he felt the heavy weight of his own tears at the back of his throat as he shook her. the desperation in his eyes was quiet and seeking.

a startled gasp accompanied her as her eyes sprang open, and they were filled with tears and panic. there was confusion in them in the few seconds of silence as she lifted her head off the ground, staring back at him.

the tensed silence ticked by, before the tension on her face fell with relief and gratitude.

"...Xiao." another surge of tears sprang from her eyes once more.

"...i'm here, still here." Xiao swallowed thickly; he wasn't sure those words were for her or him.

he made no move to stop her when she rose from the ground to throw her arms around him, her face buried into his shoulders.

"promise me you won't do something like then again." the glint in his eyes wavered quietly as he touched a hand to her trembling back, palm sliding up to caress the back of her head. "d-don't ever discard away your life like it's nothing. you're not disposable."

his eyes closed, his ears focused on her fear tremoring in her words. "promise me, Xiao, please. cherish yourself like I cherish you."

"...i'm sorry." his voice shook. "and i promise."

#xiao x reader #genshin xiao #xiao imagines #xiao x lumine #genshin imagines #genshin x reader #genshin impact #perilous trail #genshin 2.7 #genshin impact imagines #xiao

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boltlightning · 9 months

Text

i finished baldur's gate here's some dumb fucking shit that happened

accidentally reloaded an old save where i didn't recruit lae'zel. she escaped the trap herself and then got killed by the gith patrol by mountain pass. i used gale's stupid death pouch just to hear his dialogue, but it ended up giving me a scroll of true resurrection, which i used to get lae'zel in my party right before act 2

...and then she got kidnapped early in act 3 so i basically didn't see her the entire game. sorry girl

used knock on almost every door ever. i ignored so many doors where you needed to solve a puzzle with knock

multiclassed my sorcerer into cleric. picked mystra as my deity because i thought it was funny. immediately followed that decision with several very, very heavy gale cutscenes where i could heartlessly mansplain to him about his ex. i'm so fucking sorry my guy

stole every painting possible, especially from cazador

met oliver before thaniel. noped out because the shadow family was creepy as hell. turned out to work better for the plot so whatever

80000000 trips to dammon to offload all the shit i looted. constantly. in all three acts

redid an entire hour of act 3 TWICE to save the submarine guy, but he died in both attempts so i reloaded to sell him out and get the wave mommy robes. morality!

wyll got tossed into a chasm before his first turn in at least three major plot-relevant fights

gale tossed at least two major bosses into a chasm with thunderwave within the first two rounds

greater invisibility'd astarion and split him off from the party while they were talking to the main villain of a quest. killed her in the dialogue while she was distracted. walked away from an awful fight having spent a single level 4 spell slot. it was incredible

in multiplayer i got approval from gale while he wasn't in the party and said "oh we're gonna fuck nasty tonight" aloud for god and man to hear

i DID do the gale ending (iykyk) just to see what it was like and DID tear up :) but the OTHER INTENDED ending with the GALE SCENE AT THE END did also make me tear up in the exact opposite way :)

builds for the gang i really enjoyed:

sorlock wyll was a haste/fireball/eldritch blast bot and it was so effective i almost regret not making my sorcerer part warlock

astarion was rogue 6/champion fighter 6, one of my favorite combos in the ttrpg, and it still kicks ass. i got his ac up to 23 and he was tankier than the tanks

evocation gale + fireball + fire affinity. that's all

put a cloak of displacement on karlach. that's all!

i have Notes but it's a very good game over all. just a little bit. been a while since something grabbed me so thoroughly by the throat. i'm off to avoid the fandom and play it another three times. might fuck around and make a wizard for the ttrpg now

in parting: look at Them ❤️

#i was really expecting wyll to be my favorite boy but gale's swagless hubris is intoxicating #his arc was very quiet in the last third there but i kind of loved that. i think i...might prefer him to cullen?#which is HUGE #anyway. good game. if you played this and are interested in dnd let me know i love to talk about dnd #bolt plays games #bg3 spoilers

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contractbound · 4 months

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a few chen/yu vale thoughts regarding my initial impressions, and things i uncovered while exploring more deeply.

i won't be talking about the world quest series in this post. my thoughts on that can be found here.

924 words

my initial impression was a knee-jerk, strong sense of recognition. i didn't (and still don't) want to come to any strong conclusions, but it felt much like coming back to a place i hadn't been to in a long time — one that was important to me in some way. obviously, i would have come here at some point in my canon, so a feeling of returning or of recognition would be only natural. it wouldn't be outlandish to assume i could've had a few important or otherwise memorable moments here, either. and of course, li/yue as a whole means much to me, so it's no surprise that any location within li/yue would feel important. even so, i couldn't help but wonder if my sense of connection exists for reasons more specific than that.

while exploring more thoroughly, i couldn't shake the feeling off. it grew into an ache that i suppose could be described as nostalgia. i can think of a few specific things that stood out to me the most.

one such thing was yao/die valley. i had to stop and really observe when i noticed the area was full of glowing blue-white butterflies. it also took me aback to see they sprung up from the ground wherever you walked. i couldn't help but think of the glowing blue-white butterflies that accompany me (particularly when i use my abilities). it felt like seeing familiar, old friends. i have more to say, but it's related to the world quests, so i'll save that for later. in the end, i do not expect to be related to these butterflies, but regardless i hope to learn more about them. i don't really expect to, since gen/shin is not one to dwell too much on ultra-minute, tangential details. it has a broader story to tell, after all. still, i'm open to my expectations being proven wrong.

another discovery that stood out to me was the cave northeast of yao/die valley, where cala/mity queller stood abandoned. since it's a usable weapon in-game, i was curious about the state of it lore-wise, and whether or not it was still within that "deserted, water-eroded cave" (seems the answer is yes). since i prioritized reaching waypoints and gathering materials for cloud re/tainer over completing any quests, i happened upon the cave it was left in by complete accident. i recognized the weapon immediately, even from a distance.

i wonder who etched the wind-worn inscription. whoever it was, they were the previous wielder's comrade, and they both had the intentions to "suppress catastrophe" and "purge demons". with regards to the weapon's past wielders... all i know is, judging by the part where it recounts the weapon's involvement in the chasm's cataclysm, cala/mity queller's description points to the weapon having once belonged to fu/she. at the very least, it's explicitly stated a yak/sha once wielded it.

but, with an unclear timeline of its past owners, it's impossible to tell definitively whether or not it was within his possession when it witnessed this "clash between intimate friends" — if it was ever in his possession at all. gen/shin's descriptions often love to give important information without explicitly dropping names.

going with the idea that he was the yak/sha who wielded it, if it was within his possession at the time, i can't think of a possibility other than it having "witnessed" the fight between fa/nan and mi/nu. that would mean there's a non-zero chance that i etched that message in the rock, but i doubt that's the case. the description doesn't make it sound like the "yak/sha who wielded it" is the same individual as the one who "borrowed it from someone" and witnessed the fight between these friends. they weapon's wielder and inscription's author may have been other individuals with interests similar to mine and fu/she's. still, the uncertainty has been gnawing at me.

if fu/she is the "previous wielder" referred to in the inscription, that would mean there's a concrete connection between myself and chen/yu vale, as well as another reference to the other yak/shas on the map. since 2.7, i've spent a lot of time scouring every corner of li/yue for any possible reference to them i could find, which obviously i'd always come back from nearly empty-handed. something to come back to, that they left behind, was one of the things i was hoping for while anticipating chen/yu vale's release. still, i'll refrain from making any definitive assumptions, and give myself time to think about it, as well as give the source time to release more information for me to consider. the curse of having an incomplete source, i suppose.

anyway, my overall suspicions... i have nothing decisive, but the scenery does make me wonder if this is where i first came into existence. how i came to be is still a mystery to me at this time, and my working theory is vague, but i always had a picture of greener, lusher scenery during that time, which fits the sights of chen/yu vale. i have more thoughts on this matter, but again, it's related to the questline, so i'll save it for later.

my only plan of action for now is to keep exploring and wait for more to be elaborated on, as well as formulate my own thoughts. after all, the source can only do so much for me, and my canon will inevitably diverge in places. over time, as i get proven right and wrong about these thoughts and more, i at least hope it feels worthwhile.

#laments #kinposting #i've spent ages editing this and i doubt i'll ever be completely satisfied with it #but better imperfect than nonexistent. so out it goes #i'm also not sure if the slashes are excessive #still. id rather not run any risk of clogging fandom search results

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yugiohcardsdaily · 2 years

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Another set of God of War thoughts.

Thinking about the difference in Kratos's relationships with his kids. For spoilers, I'm hiding it under the cut.

Because of Ares, Calliope was born with a skin disease. As the wiki says, "Spartan law dictated that all diseased or weak infants shall be hurled into the chasm of Mount Taygetos and left there to their demise." Kratos was willing to fight his fellow Spartans and kill them to keep his daughter safe, stopped only by being informed of the existence of ambrosia which would heal Calliope. (This whole scenario was set up by gods having a contest where they chose champions to pursue ambrosia for different reasons, by the way. Calliope's suffering is fairly minor compared to some of the other maladies inflicted upon the gods' champions' people, but I won't go into detail about that here.) In his journey for the ambrosia, Kratos was forced to confront others who needed it just as much as he did, but there was only enough for one person's cause. He cut through each and every one of them with the sole exception of the future Barbarian King. He sacrificed many fellow Spartan lives as well, and in the end, he managed to save his daughter from a grisly Spartan-dictated fate.

Atreus was also born with a sickness caused by a god, though it's different in that it was his own godhood that made him ill. He didn't know he was a god, of course, and he was healthy enough by the time his mother died to travel in order to fulfill her final request. His illness flared up again when he got very angry and accidentally activated his "Spartan Rage," forcing Kratos to travel to Helheim in order to kill a guy and take its heart so it could be used to save his life. May as well call this heart ambrosia, for it serves a similar purpose for his poor kid. (He also had to tell Atreus about his godhood to keep this from happening again. But that has its own strings that I won't entangle in the point I'm trying to make in this post.) Aside from the living being whose heart he takes, no life is taken in this quest to save Atreus. (Hel-Walkers and draugr don't count since they're undead.) He didn't kill anyone he didn't have to, nor did he put more lives at risk even though he could've by accepting Brok's offer to accompany him to Hel.

Kratos only had Calliope in his life for 8 years before she died. Most of it, he was away from home because of Spartan life and all that. When he was home, he showed her affection openly through touch (hugs/arm around shoulders, kiss on the cheek while sleeping [implied by interaction with the Furies' deceptive illusions in Ascension]) and he made her the flute she plays. Then he was tricked into murdering her and his wife/her mother Lysandra, because Ares is a manipulative bitch. He had a chance to be with her again, willing to give up everything in order to spend the rest of time with her in the Elysium Fields, but because of another manipulative bitch god in the form of Persephone, he had to forgo that chance forever and scar Calliope in the process. If he hadn't, she and all of existence (at least in the Grecian realm) would be destroyed, so it was for her own good, but still.

Kratos has Atreus for at least 14, as of the end of Ragnarok. He stayed away from his son for most of the first 11 years of his life (out of fear and guilt over Calliope/Calliope's fate imo). He was emotionally distant, afraid to show affection in the same ways he did for Calliope as seen in the many times he reaches out to Atreus but doesn't allow his hand to touch the boy. This changes over the course of their journey and in the time between the first Norse title and Ragnarok, as well as during Ragnarok of course. Ragnarok gives us the father-son hugs we were wanting in the previous title, and more! Atreus brings out the emotion in his papa, in the best way, aka not just rage/bloodlust. (And! Kratos didn't murder his son's mother Faye, which is a good thing to note when comparing his son and his daughter's lives.)

With Atreus, Kratos begins to help others not for gain, but because it's the right thing to do. He rarely did selfless actions in Greece. In the Nordic realms, especially in Ragnarok, he does things selflessly even when Atreus is not with him. He's also saved lives more than once in Ragnarok, something he didn't do in his past before Faye, or if he did he did so for a self-serving reason. The only exception I can think of is some nameless man in Ascension (I think) he pushes out of the way of an incoming spear and obviously when he saved Calliope prior to the game lore. You could argue he saved Deimos selflessly in Ghost of Sparta as well, but considering he doesn't live long after...Well, the nameless dude could've died shortly after being spared and almost certainly didn't make it beyond the fall of Olympus, so that point is moot, I guess.

What is the point of this post?

Kratos loved both his kids, with all his heart. He lived for them. He would absolutely die for them. He's admitted it to Atreus at the end of (2018) and he more than proved it in Ragnarok.

He has killed to protect their lives. For Calliope, he killed all the gods' champions (eventually, for the last one didn't die until years later) in the hunt for the ambrosia. Many other lives were sacrificed along the way, even his fellow Spartans. He also killed Persephone when she tried to erase herself and everyone else (including dead people like Calliope) from existence, Ares for tricking him into murdering her, and so many other Greek gods/demigods/titans when they failed/betrayed him. And he killed himself, or at least tried to, once his vengeance on Ares was complete as well as at the end of the original trilogy, albeit for more reasons than just reuniting with his fallen loved ones. For Atreus, he killed Magni and Heimdall and would've killed Modi if he didn't run away the two times they fought. He killed Baldur, but not for Atreus. Most of the rest of his casualties are undead or typical monsters. He avoids killing people/gods as much as he can. He helped far more people in the Nordic realms than he killed, and saved more, too. Growth, particularly in Ragnarok. Look at the second fight against Thor, for example.

He killed people for Calliope. He saves people for Atreus.

(dammit this took me way too long to write lmao)

#not duel monsters #god of war #long post //#kinda #kratos #atreus #calliope

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stealthnoodle · 1 year

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Friends in Low Places: Let's Play Tears of the Kingdom

No plot, only hole.

I have finally sucked all the marrow from the bones of Hateno Village's quest scene, so I guess I'll move on, reluctantly but very fashionably.

Not to the main quest, though. I found a funky little cave nearby that led me to the beach and some handy boats parts, so it's a pirate's life for me now.

I hope at least one NPC just watched Link smack his motor to a halt in the middle of the sea and throw himself into the water grab handfuls of colorful fish, then barely make it back to his vessel before drowning. The Hero of Hyrule, everyone

My strategy for clearing the monster strongholds on PIRATE ISLAND involves a lot of hiding and hurling bombs and confusion flowers, like the noble swordsman I am.

I can clear out a pirate cove but clearing the pirates out of the nearby fishing village keeps resulting in their using my ass to swab their metaphorical deck, so I'll wander elsewhere for a bit.

This thing will kick my ass, right? Just absolutely demolish me without breaking a sweat? Let's find out:

Called it!

Gonna throw myself into Charybdis over here instead of at Scylla again, on the grounds it can't possibly go worse for me.

…Huh, finally a stupid thing I've done is both survivable AND in fact a thing I was intended to do:

Speaking of stupid things, here I am solving a "we took all your equipment, good luck" combat challenge:

Anyway I just remembered I paid ten Poes for directions to an underground Poe-buying statue, so down I go!

This thing will not be my friend even if I ask it very nicely. See, I am capable of learning!

However, I remain incapable of learning that when I talk to random researchers in the chasms, they will turn into assassins and come after me. Every time I come up like, hello new friend! Lovely day here in the depths, isn't it? I say, what a remarkably swift change of clothes! Are you asking me to admire your sharp knives? I'd be more than happy to, but it's difficult for me to see them clearly when they're moving so quickly at my vital organs, my good chum!

OH my GOD I can magically autobuild from blueprints??? I am WEEPING with joy. Best power. BEST POWER.

AUTOBUILD MY BELOVED

Why, how lovely to make your acquaintance in this dark corner of the chasm, my good fellow! Please do regale me with tales of your research! Researching the sharpness of swords, are you? Splendid! I don't mind telling you that the one you're swinging about now is exceedingly sharp!

MISSION ABORT:

Hail and well met, my studious fellow! Why yes, I would be most eager to hear about your dissertation! On the topic of stabbing, is it? Of course I'd be delighted to participate in your research!

Call me Spider-Man's ill-fated Broadway debut because I sure am turning off the dark:

Okay let's remember the world above for a bit. I'm too beautiful to hide myself away forever:

I enjoyed getting the musicians across a river because they complain a lot about being jostled but I still got to swing them dangerously around quite a bit before they put their fancy feet down. Idk why I'm bothering with Great Fairies, though, because they never want to let me enhance the only clothing I care about.

Another thing I enjoy: abruptly realizing I have been misinterpreting the eye parts of the steward constructs. Pretty sure the game wants me to see the image on the left, rather what I've been seeing on the right:

#stealthnoodle plays loz: tears of the kingdom #tears of the kingdom #totk spoilers #i dyed my puffy snowpants pink and now they're perfect #i still can't see the stewards correctly #big ol' bulbous eyes are simply too ingrained at this point #i also need to remember that my tablet selfies disappear if i die before saving #before i waste several minutes getting the perfect shot on top of a giant skull #only to lose it forever #rip

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hestzhyen · 2 months

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What Can Kairi Do Now?

KH Brainrot has completely taken over so let me yeet these thoughts into the uncaring abyss. In the off chance anyone reads this... I like Kairi. I related to her struggle a lot as a kid; it was reassuring to see a character resist change when so many are written to embrace it. She's not my favorite KH character but she's definitely up there. Poor girl's been not much more than a plot device for her entire series so far. Friend to be rescued in KH1, forgotten memory in CoM, side-quest rescue mission in 2, completely absent in Coded despite it being a KH1 retelling, absent in DDD, important but not proactive in 3, present but not effectual in MoM... it's tough out there for Kairi fans. Most of this, I think, is because she's not meant to be important to the narrative beyond her relationship to Sora. I've felt for a long time that Nomura just wasn't very interested in writing about her as an independent character. She's there for Sora as a friend, a love interest, and as a McGuffin. Makes sense since she's supposed to represent friends drifting apart- she's the comfort and stability that Sora so badly wants to return to for most of the series. And yet, over and over again, he's getting called away from her side. Star-crossed and separated from each other despite how badly Kairi wants him to stay with her forever. So now that Sora's gone to the Other Side of reality itself and her left behind again... where does that leave Kairi?

Well, this could be her time to shine! FOR REAL! No cap, as the kids say. I mean it.

Kairi has so far been inseparable from Sora's character. Everything she's been shown to be so far is about him- Sora don't change, Sora I'll wait for you, Sora I'll protect you. Sora, Sora, Sora. Every scene of her relates back to him in some way, except the one in BBS when she had yet to meet him... which actually still leads to Sora since that's where Aqua placed the spell on Kairi's necklace that enabled her heart to take refuge in his during KH1. It's only the precious few scenes we see of her apart from Sora that we see her growth. She decides waiting isn't good enough in KH2, then decides she's going all-in on wielding a Keyblade so she can protect him in KH3- decisions made only in his absence. So the problem is pretty clear: for Kairi to grow, she needs to be separated from Sora. And oh hey guess what, MoM went out of it's way to do exactly that when it really didn't have to.

So what could we see our sweet girl doing going forward? There are two things that come to mind for me. First, by choosing to train under Aqua, she can forge strong bonds outside of Sora and Riku. Second, she can take charge of one of the subplots dangling around. I'm under no illusion that she'll ever be as imporant as Sora is to the narrative, but it's not unreasonable for her to step up and protect their home until he comes back. Deciding to take control of her own fate at the end of MoM set a solid foundation for her to grow separately from Sora in a natural, realistic way. And this would be the best thing possible for her character.

KH3, re:mind, and MoM all point to the end of the status quo for the relationship between Kairi and Sora. Nothing stopped him from fading away, after all. She tried everything and came up short when it mattered again. So Kairi seems to finally be accepting that she can't be strong enough to stand with Sora if she's only doing things for his sake. She needs to find her own inner strength. Deciding to train on her own terms, without mentioning Sora even once, is letting us know that Kairi's primed for her own arc for realsies this time. Will it come to be? Maybe!

There's a bit more I could say about Kairi but... well, I just want to wait and see. We know so little about what to expect in KH4 that I don't want to go full-on theorizing mode into this empty chasm. Especially since every time Kairi's been set up for growth it just hasn't happened. There's a big enough difference between this situation and all the previous ones that lets me have some room for hope at least. Thanks for listening to this ramble, internet void.

#kingdom hearts #kh kairi #kairi #everyone's got stuff to unpack in the next game so let Kairi join in too #she can parallel whatever Sora's got going on #especially if she gives up her princess of light status and has to deal with darkness for the first time #kh4 news when it's been YEARS NOMURA PLEASE

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