#i’m guessing it’s some archon related power
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cyno x gn!reader
“Do you think he’ll like the flower crown I made?”
“If it’s the General Mahamatra, then I’m sure he’ll like anything you give him.”
“Really?” You beamed, a bright and lovely thing.
Nahida, your imaginary friend who only appears in your dreams, nods. “I know for a fact he will, so don’t worry anymore, okay?”
“Alright,” you concede, scooting closer so you can braid a portion of her long hair. “You know, you’re pretty smart for someone who’s a figment of my mind and looks like a kid, Nahida.”
She giggles as if she knows something you don’t. “Don’t think too much about it, and besides, you’re pretty smart on your own right. People can be intelligent in their own ways, academics or not.”
“Is this your way of saying it’s okay if I fail my test next week?”
“How about I tutor you instead?”
✧
You don’t really tell anyone about your dreams, seeing as it’s frowned upon to still have them at your age. Not even Cyno and your other friends know, but you like to drop a few hints here and there.
“So while I was sleeping, I had an epiphany and thought I should make you a flower crown for helping me with my essays!” A crown of padisarahs, sumeru roses, and some wild flowers you picked on the way yesterday is held out in front of you. You smile to hide your nerves. “Here, for you!”
Cyno’s face remains impassive as he looks down at the colorful assortment of flowers, something almost like surprise showing in his eyes. His hands come up to take it, fingers gingerly brushing over the petals, handling it like it’s made of fragile glass instead of something you’d cobbled together on a whim.
It’s held close to his chest, eyes meeting yours, and you nearly blink in surprise at how unguarded he looks at this moment. So different from his usual frowns and gruff tones as he sternly corrected an error in your paper.
“Thank you,” he says after a moment’s pause.
You grin, the kind that stretches from cheek to cheek and makes your eyes crinkle, a hint of teeth peaking out. “I’m glad you like it!”
✧
Later that day, multiple sources will claim that they saw the General Mahamatra dragging an unconscious criminal through the halls of the Akademiya, but what had them so baffled was the flower crown that stayed atop his head even as he interrogated said criminal.
#ohh it’s been a while since i made a cyno post#akasha terminals are what prevents ppl from sumeru to dream#children don’t have them so how can kusanali enter their dreams?#i’m guessing it’s some archon related power#in which case assume reader doesn’t wear their akasha terminal to sleep which is how they’re able to dream#this is set before reader and cyno got in a relationship ^^#genshin x reader#genshin impact x reader#cyno x reader#genshin cyno x reader#genshin shorts#serious x airhead#gn reader
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thoughts on 4.2 archon quest
needless to say that the 4.2 archon quest was one of if not the best archon quest there were up until today
but I’ve been seeing a lot of people that are saying that this is the last quest in the region, which is absolutely not true. we got at least two coming up, and they are going to be so lore heavy. especially with natlan coming up with no information about the region up until the last quest
I guess we got some sort of a pattern when it comes to like white quests are going to be for each region and we got five acts for the main story, you know I’m getting to know the region, the archon everything solving the problems of a god, even though we’re just a human…
and after the five acts, we are entering some sort of a phase where, for about five versions we will get at least one interlude quest, and then another one that is related to the traveler dainslief and the abyss sibling and then we’re going to get a quest that has some sort of a preview for the next regions, gameplay and geography 
but if we’re talking just about the 4.2 quest, then I have one thing to say that I 100% sure about and I don’t care if I’m wrong I just like to clown a little: SURTALOGI IS DAINSLIEF 
you can hate me in the comments as much as you like, but I am convinced that they are the same person. They share similar tiles both inside and outside of Genshin, both of them reference of the power from another world. Both of them are incredibly related to the abyss, and whatever it is outside of the world.
skirk said that she could answer some of our questions through childe and I’m pretty sure that a lot of it is going to be answered in the traveler quest perhaps somewhere around 4.5 or 4.6 because this is where the traveler quest usually happens and we are going to learn that dain and surtalogi are the same, or at least related in a big way
regarding to Capitano:
he is number one he isn’t number two and Piero is not number one because it is absolutely confirmed by Hoyo themselves in the fatui trailer that he is number one and Piero is just Director a.k.a. the head of the fathi, the founder or some sort of ranking above what we know as the 11 seats
natlan is a very very important region because this is the last gnosis we got before the fatui have all of them and I’m pretty sure that they are going to use brute force this time, because in every single region, the fatui used either diplomatic, skills trading, or some sort of trick to take the gnosis. (yes, Venti wanted his gnosis to be taken he could fight back against La Señora, but he chose not to and for reasons that we will understand once his second chapter of his story quest will be released. I’m guessing somewhere around 5.6 after natlan before snezhnaya)
these are just some of my thoughts about the 4.2 quest and I will share more if this is what you guys want I don’t know how to use Tumblr and yeah 
#genshin#genshin impact#4.2 spoilers#4.2 genshin#gnosis#fontaine#natlan#fatui harbingers#genshin impact fatui#genshin lore
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FINALLY SOMEONE SAID THE TRUTH.
I admit that i enjoyed act 3 but it feels like really rushed i have so much complain with that.
The build up until act 2 was so good it give us so much premise but the final blow si meh. Sorry that i want to share thing long rant with you
1. Why the final talk is with yae, no offense to her but we need ei to explain not to mention she witness khaenriah downfall so she can give us more information, i feel like they do it for the plot armor so they can just keep dragging this
2. So many things that quite inconsistant, the shogun is show no mercy to anyone that even did a little thing outside what she think its right, how come she can still have a talk with signora, when sara is falling like that, and also there is no clarification about sara right now.
The traveler was so done at first they refuse to help thoma and ayaka at the beginning. But they seem so happy and forget everything how come they are not RAGE ( okay maybe this is to bias and personal) when this nation provide nothing about our siblings information and also why they are not mention anything about their problem in ei stroy quest. Its nonsense! She is right in front of youu, ask about your siblings, ask about khaenriah, ask about ukmown god!!. How come they can just forget like that. Also mihoyo really waste the potential about twin things i thing ei will give us so much help bcs of the sympathy that we both rn lost our twin but noooo.
3. Kokomi seem lost some brain cell, she make a very succesfull grand intro but she become meh in act 3, how come a great strategist like her let the sus sponsorship slip just bcs they are desperate, not to mention her screen time is really small and her role seem so unsignificant and it feels lile she is a plain npc.
4. The awesome world quest that we have done doesnt get any mention at all! Inazuma owe us so much with cleansing sakura, thunder sakura, tatarigami, obarashi quest. It has so much potential that yae or ei or anyone else aknowledge what traveler has been done but nooo.
cracks knuckles... i suppose it's time for my promised dissertation. interestingly enough, you touched on a lot of the main issues i had with chapter III.
i think that if i had to pin the main issue, it's a lack of overall cohesiveness? we were jumping all over the place without the chance to ever flesh things out. inazuma is a smaller cast, but i feel like we didn't get to see any of them shine. since i'm most interested in the genshin characters, i'll break down my problems by going over everyone and their (lack) of impact on the story.
was ayaka not questioned or placed under suspicion for being close to thoma before his escape? i wanted to see her broken up over her duties as they relate to the yashiro commission, paired with having someone she genuinely cares about in danger. it would've been an interesting struggle if she was forced to choose one or the other. instead she just kinda took a back seat.
speaking of thoma, i don't even have anything to say, because he just... was there? for .0001 seconds. said "lol this sucks ig" and that's about it. i know we're going to get a story for him in the future since he's a 5* but i'm not getting my hopes up 😭 then in the raiden shogun's character story, man is peachy keen! be upset with the raiden shogun! have some inner conflict! even if it's just using loaded language because he's under surveillance for going against the raiden shogun, that'd be so cool. saying something like,
"Traveler, what's with that expression? Oh please, there's nothing to worry about. We're under the Statue of the Omnipresent God's protection. Nothing bad has ever happened here." *wink*
i also don't know what to say about gorou. he was... there....... i think. what is he fighting for? what are the stakes for him? what makes him place so much trust into kokomi? i'm out of things to say about him because i don't remember anything he did or said.
kokomi... oh kokomi... i was so hyped. so excited. i thought that maybe we could see a foil to the raiden shogun. that she'd have a moment where she's forced to realize, just like her opponent, sacrifices must be made that will hurt people who will never understand why she made them. or maybe something to show her military prowess. but instead she just accepts a mysterious patron's help (?), sees her people aging like the grateful dead from JJBA, and goes oh well. that sucks. what can ya do. oh bye traveler i guess, good luck with that. ????????????? HUH... similar case to thoma where she's gonna get a character story but like. she won't be the leader of the resistance anymore. that was her whole shtick. they took her shtick away. also she forced me to interact with more NPCs whose names i've already forgotten so i'm tilted about that still.
KUJOU SARA... AN INJUSTICE. A DISGRACE. a slap to my woman loving face. the build up was there. yae miko's comments about sara probably knowing the tenryou commission is involved in shady dealings, but is choosing not to think about it. sara being forced to confront reality and challenge her adopted father with the truth. being able to blaze a new path for herself in the process. when she started running to the raiden shogun i was ultra hyped up. sara, a devotee to the shogun for so long, was about to see her god interacting with the same people who led inazuma to this awful state. how would she react? would she stay ignorant, like yae miko so coyly said, choosing to look away in favor of following her god's footsteps? or would she be forced to recognize the raiden shogun isn't as divine as she once thought, and challenge her belief system?
we open the door to see the raiden shogun. the loading screen ensues. the camera pans to the ominous room, clouded in darkness, hinting at the ominous confrontation that is to come. the music takes a serious timbre. and then...
well fuck that potential character arc i guess. (we still don't know what sara made of any of this since she poofed out of existence from the story at this point)
kazuha also was handed a similar treatment. we've been with him for a while longer now. he is our introduction into inazuma, the one who first gets us emotionally involved by regaling us with the bittersweet tale of friendship that led him to becoming a wanted criminal. a kind soul who loves nature yet was dealt a cruel hand by fate, forced to watch his home nation turn into a hostile place, where his dear friend ultimately perished as a result. we get the scene with his friend's vision lighting back up. he parries a block from the raiden shogun, in the same area where his friend was killed by her. the parallels. the drama. except this time, he wasn't too late. he protected the traveler where he "failed" to protect his friend in the past. did he feel redemption at this? or was it a bittersweet reminder of what could've been?
WELL i guess we'll never know because we didn't get to talk to him again 😭 idk who got a bait and switch worse, him or sara. jesus christ mihoyo.
then we have signora. why is the raiden shogun talking to her? does she know about the gnosis being taken, and if she doesn't, what was her plan to get it from the archon? what does she think about scaramouche? and oh, okay, we're fighting here now. good fight + god tier music. pog pog. okay, now we've beaten her up, and raiden shogun wyd— wait no not signora her lore is still on CUPS not YET raiden shogun and— ah she's dead. okay. non nerds who didn't read artifact lore are going to know nothing about her. signora has such an interesting story, and yet... well. ok.
then we get raiden shogun redemption (?) arc. i was hype for this as well, though at that point, idk why i bothered being hype. i knew they were gonna do a cute power of friendship something or another, and i'm good with that, so long as it's executed well. what i was envisioning was like seven different buffs to correspond with the seven different visions, the dreams of those whose ambitions were stolen serving as the spear to penetrate the raiden shogun's heart of stone. maybe a hydro vision giving us extra healing for a time, with the voice acting over it being like,
"Even if the rest of the world forgets us, let our will carry you through this one final time. Succeed where we couldn't, Traveler."
so on and so forth.
but instead we got— you get the idea at this point. why bother spelling it out anymore.
at that point i was surprised the raiden shogun didn't go "oopsie woopsie!! we made a fucky wucky!!!" because that was the vibe i was getting. i love ei, don't get me wrong, but i wanted to see her challenged with what she had done to inazuma in the past year. maybe meeting NPC #2345259 who lost her sister to the vision decree or something, reminding ei of the love she held for her sister... being forced to come to terms with the extent of what she's done in pursuit of eternity.
anyway. please for the love of god mihoyo hire better writers for the main story. that is all i ask. thank you.
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Is it alright if i req hcs of kaeya, diluc, zhongli finding out they have a vampire s/o and they have all these cool vampire abilities and can be a bat and etc? Thanks 😊
Vampires go brr is all I say
Requests are back open! I’m planning that nth-hundred special thing soon but for the time being I’ll take more requests <3
Pairings; (Seperate) Kaeya, Diluc, and Zhonglii x reader
Warning(s); no explicity nsfw just mentions
Keep reading under the cut!
Kaeya
Man if he wasn’t already whipped for you the added fact of you’re a vampire is so cool to him. If it’s not a secret he’s definitely like “check out my s/o everyone rn, okay, do the bat thing”
Hickeys are interesting and Kaeya is far too down bad for it. He loves the feeling of your fangs literally anywhere on his body
He also loves the feeling of your fangs brushing up against his lips
If you turn into other animals Kaeya is just there like ‘holy shid my s/o right now’
Yelling ‘down bad’ at Kaeya is just apart of your common lingo at this point
Thanks to your aversion to sunlight midnight exhibitions and explorations are the best thing to Kaeya
He wants to know everything you can do and will likely test your limits
If you’re the floaty kind of vampire Kaeya loves being held in the air
If you’re the kind of vampire that can turn into mist please prank him when he goes into a hug, it’ll be funny to watch him eat shit
Give him a kiss after though. It doesn’t matter how funny it is just remind the man you love him
If you’re particularly older than him expect him to ask what certain aspects of the past really are true and what’s just made up to keep the calm
Do you still pray to the god of your homeland, be it Barbatos or any other. If not why?
How were you turned? Were you born a vampire? Were you born in Teyvat or Khaenri'ah? If you’re from Khaenri'ah was it before or after the gods betrayed the people?
If you’re as secretive as Kaeya it’s interesting to see how much you can reveal while he continues to keep his cards to his chest
Diluc
He has to be sure you’re not a threat to Mondstat before he even thinks about forming a platonic relationship with you, let alone a romantic one
Diluc isn’t sure what attracts you to him, probably the thrill of danger. The act of placing his life into a person who could snap him like a twig
Every brush or your fangs or scratch of your nails is a reminder of his fragility compared to your superior strength.
He’s into it way more than he’d like to admit and you know it.
Your days are often spent sleeping, and usually Diluc will sleep the mornings with you sleeping, afternoons and evenings are strictly business time to him
If you help out with his Darknight Hero rounds he’s more than happy to have you about. And he loves seeing your raw power tear through Abyss Mages forcefields quicker than he can with his vision
It’s funny watching Diluc skirt about questions about your past, especially once you’re in a relationship. Though unlike other vampires, you’re more open to sharing your secrets with Diluc than others.
Diluc being a secretive person himself doesn’t speak of your own vampiric abilities
Diluc is the original hypeman in the shadows. Anything you do is immediately met with praise, especially when it comes to your vampiric abilities;
Turn into a bat or other animal mid battle to move the battle to your advantage after he’ll just tell you how cool the move was
Turn into mist to fuck with the abyss mages like they do everyone else? Hell yeah payback bitch
Teleport into an abyss mages forcefield to take em down? Number 1 hype man right here
Diluc will compliment you on all the cool things you did on the walk back to the winery and man seeing his face light up his the best thing
You can guess this is what he was like before his fathers death, this cheery smiley man. It’s a shame you don’t get to see it more
Zhongli
Zhongli knew there was something different about you, something not human and once he finds out about your vampiric status everything kind of melds together. The reason why you are never seen on lovely bright days
Though the fact you’re seen at all during the day is something to behold actually and the first question to leave Zhongli’s mouth is ‘why can you go outside during the day?’
You explain that you’re a particularly old and strong vampire, rivalling some of the youngest gods in age. You had once had a coven but many of it’s members but your kind had been hunted to near extinction by archon loyalists who saw you all as blasphemous
Sitting at the table with other historians is always so much fun for both of you, especially with your contradicting opinions on the geo archon. Though your opinions aren’t necessarily bad but it’s more like you see them in a different light considering your age and knowledge of the world
Zhongli enjoys talking to you about divinity. So much so that you think that Zhongli is constantly dropping hints that he is the Geo Archon himself
You don’t question him but instead drop hints back at him that you know, small things that makes him question internally about it.
Its not often you or Zhongli go about fighting, the two of you much prefer to sit, drink tea and have a good chatter
Though the centuries of battling shows when the both of you are thrown into battle, you often bounce off of each other with ease. And with the added flare of your shapeshifting abilities your enemies will always perish
Around Liyue Harbour both you and Zhongli are friendly with the kids, often treating them to popsicles or games of tag and hide and seek. Despite the fact that the two of you don’t look a day over 30 many of the children give you sweet nicknames with any kind of relation to grandparents
The other vampires you have left you will visit often, usually when Zhongli is visiting his adepti. Seeing your children thrive in all corners of Teyvat without the security of a nest of vampires is admirable. Its no wonder they have survived this long
While you’re not as lively as the younger vampires both you and Zhongli cause your fair bit of trouble and have the most fun you can possibly can have
#genshin impact#genshin impact x reader#diluc x reader#kaeya x reader#zhongli x reader#genshin kaeya#genshin diluc#genshin zhongli#zhongli#kaeya#diluc
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A rlly random concept that hit me out of nowhere:
Imagine, like, a Percy Jackson-ish AU for Genshin. Where instead of greek gods and demigods, you have the Archons and vision holders. So there’s just, like, this sort of safe haven where Vision holders just sorta live and thrive together without regular people knowing they exist, you know? You’ve got Venti/Barbatos, the Anemo Archon who watches over the place and cares for the vision holders, accompanied by Zhongli/Morax, the Geo Archon who has left his extensive history wrought with war to instead live a quieter life. There are both adult and non-adult vision holders who live in this safe haven, though there are a few vision holders who have left it to live among the regular people without visions.
And imagine, right, that one of those people is Ningguang, a CEO of a company, and your boss. You’re her PA, and tbh she’s really cool, if a bit work-driven, and there’s this really cool lady with black hair and an eye patch that visits her every now and then whose name you haven’t learned yet, but you know the two hang out and are good friends. You’ve wave to her a couple times, and she always waves back.
So, like, in this scenario you’d have aspects of the traveller, I guess, but I don’t intend for the reader to actually be Lumine or Aether–– I’m just using their abilities as a sort of template aksjndas ANyway, so you, the reader, have always had an affinity for predicting the wind and the weather–– it’s nothing much tbh, just a sort of affinity you’ve picked up. Though you can only remember being able to do this after your family had once visited an old statue once while you were touring the countryside.
Now obvs after working with you for some time, Ningguang would probably notice that you can do these small Anemo-related things, and she’d confront you about it, thinking you may be a vision holder. However, she’s p surprised when you give her the run-down and she discovers that you know practically nothing about Archons and visions, though you seem to be able to control Anemo to a limited extent. So she sends word home, and Zhongli and Venti ask to meet you. When you eventually do meet, you learn that you can sort of resonate with either Archon at will, and that doing so grants you vision-like powers, but without the physical Vision. Since this is a peculiar case, they encourage you to stay with them in the safe haven, since there are risks to you walking around unguarded and on your own in the normal world, especially now that word may have gotten out about a visionless element-wielder.
And, I mean, their reasoning makes sense, right? Plus, when you’re around competent vision-holders, they could help you master your powers. So you agree to stay in the safe haven, where you meet new people and build your new life.
I,,, don’t really know where I’m going with this (surprise surprise) but ik that If i do make this, I want to make it a sort of choose your own story type? Nothing too long–– unlikely for each route to have too many chapters or too much plot and drama, since I wanna mainly focus this around the romance and fluff aspect of it.
There are a few interesting characters that you would be able to get to know better and maybe even form a romance with in the story, each with their own routes,, 👀 These were a few who I had in mind:
Xiao, the solitary adeptus protector, who doesn’t really interact with anyone aside from ensuring their safety, and who may be a bit hard to approach at first, btu is actually relatively easy to get along with over time.
Diluc, another vision holder who went back out into the human world, and who runs the Dawn Winery. After hearing about your story, he offers to try and convince the Archons to let you back out into the human world, as long as he’s there to protect you.
Kazuha, a wanderer who occasionally visits as a break from his travels. His route would be a bit more slow-burn than the other two, since, as a traveller, your first few meetings would have time gaps between them, but the more you two get to know each other, his visits lengthen and become more frequent.
Beidou, Ningguang’s friend who easily recognized you when you began building a new life. She takes you for the occasional trip to a beach/lake, where you two ride a boat and just pass time. She’s super supportive of you, and she helps a ton when it comes to your new start.
Dainsleif, the mysterious stranger who you meet in the woods farther away from where the vision-holders stay. He seems to have a grudge against the Archons, but for some reason you don’t feel in danger when you’re around him. He seems to be rather fond of you, too, but there’s something about him that... Well, you just can’t put your finger on it.
I also wanna do some other characters like Ganyu, Childe, Kaeya, maybe even Gorou and Tohma if I can. akjsnda Idk i just can’t currently think about their roles in this kind of universe, but if I ever actually get around to doing it, I’m sure it would be fun knasjkd
#Catte’s Concepts / Rambles 🦩#Unedited little ramble as usual#please this is borderline a shitpost I dont even know what I was on when I wrote this#Xiao x reader#Diluc Ragnvindr x reader#Kaedehara Kazuha x reader#Beidou x reader#Dainsleif x reader#Genshin Impact x reader#Cw GN reader
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voice lines!!!
ok !!! here are nell’s voice lines (a lot are utc bc this got long)
▶ Hello - Pleasure to meet you! I’m Nell and I’m a reporter for the Teyvat Times. I heard you have a story for me? Are you willing to share? C’mon, please?
▶ Chat: Sidekick - Want to join me? I’ve always wanted a little sidekick on my adventures! All the cool heroes and stuff always have one! Granted, I don’t really have a secret identity that requires one...
▶ Chat: Truth - The world will reveal its secrets to those who are willing to find them. As for everyone else, well… they’ll just read the newest expose I post in the Teyvat Times!
▶ Chat: Leads - We can’t sniff out a new lead and answers if we’re just standing around. Just… give me a second to fix my Kamera.
▶ When It Rains - Rain or shine, the news must carry on! Just… Can you hold the umbrella while I take pictures? If the lens gets wet, it blurs the photographs.
▶ When Thunder Strikes - Haha, spooky! Hopefully we don’t get electrocuted… that would be rather inconvenient.
▶ When It Snows - It doesn’t often snow back in Fontaine, but I always enjoyed when the rivers would freeze over as a kid. I just wonder what happens to the fish. Do they freeze too?
▶ When the Sun Is Out - Beautiful weather makes the job easier! I’m usually stuck inside interviewing people all day, so I’ll gladly take this moment to soak up some sun… maybe even close my eyes for a few minutes… sit under a tree… sleep… *yawn* Oh? Was I dozing off? I can’t doze off now! There’s a festival today downtown. I should report on that instead!
▶ Good Morning - Rise and shine, darling! Evil lurks in the night and while you and I might not vanquish it, we can at least report on the aftermath! Oh..? I’m a bit too eager to find out what atrocities happened in the night..? Hm. Maybe...
▶ Good Night - Night time already? If you really insist, I suppose I can wind down. But, uh, wake me up if you hear any weird noises! If it’s any bugs though, you’re on your own.
▶ About Nell: Persistence - Growing up, my mother always told me that persistence is key to achieving your dreams! Therefore, if someone says “no” to an interview, you can ask them approximately 11.852 more times on average before they start threatening you with a restraining order! Never give up… except when the law requires it!
▶ About Nell: Reporting - Some say reporters are opportunistic fiends who only seek to further their own careers and line their pockets with Mora. Me? Do I lie? Well… my name isn’t actually Nell, it’s Eleonora… so I guess I lie sometimes, but I promise to only tell the truth and help others in my reporting! I swear!
▶ About Us: Interview - Wow, you can fight really well! Wait… you’re the Outlander? The one who defeated Tartaglia? The one who stopped Stormterror? The one who helped the Qixing fight against Osial? Oh my archons, Nell, contain your excitement! Sorry, sorry, I was getting carried away… could I interview you? Pretty please?
▶ About Us: Compatibility - Ah, you’re so cool, Traveler! With you, drama always seems to follow. I think that makes us a great pair! So, what do you want me to report on next..? Your missing sibling..? Oh. Of course! Who doesn’t love a good reunion story? I’ll gladly help!
▶ About the Vision - I bet you probably weren’t expecting me to have a Vision! Well… neither was I. A lot of people tend to have powerful reasons as to why they have their Visions and why they use them but I kinda just found mine in the way I find any other new story… by accident. Nonetheless, a great reporter uses every tool at their disposal and if a Vision was granted to me, then I’ll be sure to wield it with pride!
▶ Something to Share: Lineage - My family name is not one of great prestige, nor are my family members anything worth writing home about. I believe that the life of someone should not be dictated by who they are related to, but rather how they choose to make a name for themselves. People who hide behind the prestige of their names are often cowards and yet they often have the best sources for my news. You win some, you lose some, I guess.
▶ Something to Share: Fontaine - Want to know a secret? Don’t tell anyone this, okay? I’m not a very strong swimmer. I’m kind of scared of water, despite my Vision!
▶ Interesting Things - I break my Kamera a lot, but mechanics are expensive. If you ever break yours, I can probably fix it for you! You won’t have to pay me for anything. Just... please don’t charge me if I accidentally break it even further, haha.
▶ About Albedo - Albedo? Haha… He’s rather cute. Plus, he always listens when I talk to him! ... I think. I can never tell if I’m actually holding his attention or not… But, he thinks reporters are dumb, therefore he is dumb. I don’t care how many alchemic achievements he finds. Someone who cannot understand how important news is is someone that I cannot respect.
▶ About Amber - Outrider Amber is lovely! She’s one of the few people in the town who actually listens to all I have to say. It’s amazing, really. Everyone loves her, even standoffish Eula! If you ever need help from the Knights, Amber is probably your best bet!
▶ About Rosaria - Y’know, at first, I wasn’t quite sure if Sister Rosaria liked me. Now? … Well, I’m still not very certain. I’m nervous to talk about her. She seems like the type to have a weird sixth sense for this type of thing. She does save me when I get into trouble, though! For a while I thought she was the Darknight Hero, but I realized that Rosaria is… Ah, forget it! Let’s just say I owe her one.
▶ About Diluc: Darknight Hero - The Darknight Hero is one of the most interesting stories I’ve covered in a long time! It’s taken me down a long path of getting to know people, especially Master Diluc of Dawn Winery. Kaeya was helpful enough to point him out as a potential source on the topic. No, Diluc isn’t the Darknight Hero, silly. He just knows a guy who knows a guy, that’s all.
▶ About Diluc: Comradery -At first, I could have sworn Diluc hated me! But apparently, he’s just like that with everyone. Now, I’d say we’re pretty good friends… I think? I’m never quite sure where I stand with him. He’s both open yet awkward around me at the same time… But, he ultimately has been helpful with some of my reporting. If it was up to me, I’d say we’re the best of friends! Please don’t tell him I said that though, he’d probably say I’ve had too much to drink and cut me off for the night.
▶ About Diluc: Love - Love? Why are you asking me about Diluc and love? Gods, both you and Kaeya are insufferable about this. Wait, what? You think Diluc has a crush on me? There’s no possible way a guy like him would give me a second glance! You and Kaeya are awful about this… stop teasing me. Diluc is the type to have whole newspapers dedicated to him and me..? Well, I’m just a reporter, that’s all. Oh? You’re asking if I like him? Well, um… that’s classified information!
▶ About Lisa - Lisa makes me wish I ran a gossip column instead! Conversation with her is never dull and somehow she knows everything about everyone. Afternoon tea consists of tea in more ways than one!
▶ About Jean - The Acting Grand Master of Mondstadt is far more gracious to me than most political figures are. However, I can’t help but feel as if I’m intruding whenever I speak to her. She’s sweet, but she just seems like she has a lot on her plate and even I don’t want to add any more to that.
▶ About Keqing - The Yuheng is a very respectable figure, but if she’s at any Qixing press conference, you’re almost guaranteed to get no exciting news. She brushes off any pressing questions by saying they’re “off topic” and “irrelevant”. It’s frustrating, especially when she uses it to evade the things that really matter!
▶ About Xiao - Hey! That’s that dude that lives in Wangshu Inn! Well, I suppose he’s not a dude but rather an immortal adeptus. He’s hellbent on avoiding me. He hates my guts. I just want to interview him about his thousands of years of life! It’ll only take a few days! Why does he keep teleporting away from me? Ugh. Immortals are so haughty.
▶ About Kaeya: Trust - Oh? Captain Kaeya? He’s rather funny and is my closest drinking buddy in Mondstadt. However, don’t try to get any info out of him. He’s full of shi- haha, pardon me, I mean… Um… Kaeya likes to lie. He won’t even tell me the truth in truth or dare! You picked truth, buddy, now fess up! Sorry… I like him, I swear I do! But I guess I shouldn’t expect the truth when I ask him why he has an eyepatch. After all, even I don’t have a wild enough imagination to truly believe he was raised by pirates… although I could cross-reference this with Beidou and see if she has any information...
▶ About Venti - The bard that’s always in Dil- Master Diluc’s tavern? He’s a bit strange and, while his songs are informative, music of that style is a bit noisy and overwhelming to me. However, I do find it incredibly interesting that he looks exactly like the Barbatos statue in front of the cathedral, yet nobody discusses it. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?
▶ About Nell: I - I’m a reporter first and human second! Or… am I a human first and reporter second? I can’t remember what the boss said sounded less creepy… Well, at least I know I’m a reporter and a human!
▶ About Nell: II - Freedom of the press ensures that people always have a voice. Being a reporter can be dangerous, especially if you’re assigned to tempestuous regions like Inazuma, but it’s a job I take pride in. Information must be spread to all so the public can make informed decisions.
▶ About Nell: III - Home? Home is wherever my job takes me! Sometimes its Mondstadt, sometimes its Liyue, sometimes its Snezhnaya… oh. Fontaine? Even though that’s where the Teyvat Times headquarters are and it’s where I grew up, I wouldn’t necessarily call it home. At one point, I would have, but… things change. If I have to settle down anywhere, I would choose the wintry tundra of Snezhnaya before I even think about living in Fontaine again.
▶ About Nell: IV - Growing up, everyone always said I was a free spirit. I’m kind of like the seelies you see around Mondstadt… Yes, I wander, but ultimately I always return to the same path. Am I guarding a treasure? Haha, maybe… if you consider knowledge to be a treasure, that is. Ah, this doesn’t make very much sense, does it? I’ve never been the type to be good at poetry. I’m better off sticking to just facts.
▶ About Nell: V - My end goal..? I’m not quite sure what it is yet. I prefer to live in the moment and inspire others to achieve their dreams. News stories might not always be happy, but interconnectedness with the world allows people to discover what their true calling is. The feeling of the Kamera and notepad in my hands are comfortable enough. If I can help others understand this hectic world, then that’s good enough for me! I’m having a blast doing it, too.
▶ Nell’s Hobbies - Oh, would you like to look at my favorite articles? I have a book filled with articles and photographs of my own creation, including my very first headline article! Isn’t that exciting? It wasn’t too long ago, yet somehow it feels like it's been decades since then.
▶ Nell’s Troubles - I ran out of film again. You wouldn’t happen to have any on you, would you? Otherwise, I’ll have to go see if the gift shop has any in stock...
▶ Favorite Food - I really like spinach salads! It makes me feel like I’m a wild animal foraging for a nice summery meal. What? That’s weird? Sometimes it’s fun to imagine things, no matter how absurd they are.
▶ Least Favorite Food - Soup! I want to eat my food, not drink my food. If I wanted to drink my calories, I would just chug beer all the time like those drunkards who live in the taverns!
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Star-crossed Lovers
Summary:
"Have you heard of the story behind the Qixi festival?" Childe said mysteriously, waddling a finger at their little traveller friends. "It's about a pair of star-crossed lovers who can only meet once a year. It's a very old Liyue folktale, but I've heard rumours that this story was actually based on an adeptus and his lover. They are an Alpha and Omega pair that could only meet once a year.”
“An Alpha and Omega meeting only once a year?!” Paimon was horrified by the news. “Is that even possible?!”
“Adeptus…” Aether thought back to all the adepti he and Paimon had met so far. The face of one particular adeptus flashed across his mind. The Guardian Yaksha, Xiao. Like his element, he was the only adeptus that travelled around Liyue without a territory or home to call his own. “Do you know who?”
"Well now..." Childe's eyes flicked to the raven-haired man sitting beside him. "Who knows? It's just a rumour, after all."
Genre: Fluff, Omegaverse, light angst, hurt/comfort, separation, yaoi
Rating: M
Pairing: Cyno/Xiao, Childe/Zhongli
[Cyno is the Egyptian character in Act 3 from the Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview.]
Author: Canna / Yellow Canna
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Available on AO3!!
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“The Qixi Festival?” Paimon asked, floating next to Aether and staring at the Fatui Harbinger—or former Fatui now—sitting across the table. “What is that?”
“It’s a festival dedicated to a famous folktale in Liyue called The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl,” Childe explained. “It’s a story about two star-crossed lovers. They even got poems for it but I’m not good with poems so I can’t tell you much about that.”
“Through the varying shapes of the delicate clouds, the sad message of the shooting stars, a silent journey across the Milky Way.
One meeting of the Cowherd and Weaver amidst the golden autumn wind and jade-glistening dew, eclipses the countless meetings in the mundane world.
The feelings soft as water, the ecstatic moment unreal as a dream, how can one have the heart to go back on the bridge made of magpies?
If the two hearts are united forever, why do the two persons need to stay together—day after day, night after night?”
Zhongli recited the poem before bringing a cup to his lips and enjoyed the aroma of the finely brewed tea.
“The story is about a young cowherd by the name of Niulang. He is but an ordinary human who fell in love with a goddess name Zhinu.” Zhongli glanced over to the two outlanders. “They’ve met and fallen in love within the mortal world, but their love was forbidden by the goddess of Heaven and forced to part. Separated by the Milky Way, they can only meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month—"
"Which is August, by the way," Childe prompted helpfully.
"—through a bridge made of magpies to spend one night together.”
“That’s…that’s so sad!” Paimon sniffled. “Why celebrate something so sad?”
“Half a glass of water can be seen as half empty, yet it could also be seen as half full. It is but a matter of perspective,” the raven-haired man chuckled. “If you look at it from another way, today is a joyous day for the two lovers to finally meet, thus should be celebrated.”
“But you know, there have been rumours going around that The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl was based on a true story~” Childe said mysteriously, waddling a finger at their traveller friends. “They say that this is a story of an adeptus and his lover. They are an Alpha and Omega pair that could only meet once a year.”
“An Alpha and Omega meeting only once a year?!” Paimon was horrified by the news. “Is that even possible?!”
“Adeptus…” Aether thought back to all the adepti he and Paimon had met so far. The face of one particular adeptus flashed across his mind, but he shook it away. “Do you know who?”
“Who knows? It’s just a rumour.” Childe shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “Sure you’re not gonna stay for the festival? There’s plenty of good food at this time.”
“Weeeell—” Before Paimon could scream ‘yes’, Aether held out a hand over her and shook his head apologetically.
“Thank you, but we really can’t,” the blond politely declined. “We need to head to Inazuma as soon as possible.”
“Guess it can’t be helped then.” Childe wasn't surprised by the blond's rejection. He knew how desperate the boy was in searching for his sister. He rested his head against his palm and grinned at the two. “I guess this is goodbye, huh?”
Aether nodded before looking at the Snezhnayan worriedly. “Will you be alright?”
“Of course,” Childe laughed, finding it funny that the blond would worry for his well-being of all people. However, when he spoke the next words, his icy blue eyes darkened despite the smile never faltering on his lips. “They already got the Geo Archon’s Gnosis. They wouldn’t risk coming to Liyue again just for the head of a little traitor.”
“Aether, Paimon,” Zhongli spoke up, drawing the two travellers’ attention to him. “I ask for both of you to not mention what has transpired, as well as my identity, to anyone—especially the adepti.”
“Why? Wouldn’t they be happy to know you’re alive?" Paimon couldn't understand the archon's decision of keeping silent on the matter.
Zhongli didn't speak for a long time. He stared at the tea swirling in his cup before looking back up to meet their gazes.
"Please," was all he said.
"Ok...we won't tell anyone," Aether promised.
Paimon looked like she had many things to say, but in the end, she kept her mouth shut and nodded as well.
Zhongli smiled and brought his hands up, making a gesture that the two outlanders were now overly familiar with, for the people of Liyue always did this gesture whenever they showed their thanks.
"It will get a bit boring without you two around," Childe lamented.
“Oh, we’ll come back!” Paimon chirped confidently.
“Be careful in Inazuma. The Archon of Electro does not take kindly to outlanders,” Zhongli cautioned.
“We will. Thank you for everything, Zhongli, Childe.”
Aether waved before he and Paimon left the Liuli Pavilion.
The two men watched them go. It was only after they couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore did Zhongli turned to his companion.
“Shall we dine then?" He waved a hand at the untouched feast laid before them.
"Only if you get me some forks. These chopsticks are seriously hard to use." Childe laughed, trying to pick up his chopsticks only for one to drop onto his plate. "How are you feeling?" His question was seemingly nonchalant as he continued to play with the chopsticks, but Zhongli could hear the bitterness lingering in his tone.
"I'm fine," he assured the Alpha. "The loss of Gnosis only means I cannot use my power. It does not affect me otherwise."
"Hm..." Childe tried using the chopsticks again but this time both clattered back onto the table. "Aaah, I give up!" He threw his arms into the air dramatically before flopping towards the Geo Archon and rested his forehead against that stiff shoulder.
"You should have run when I told you to,” he mumbled quietly. “Now you're stuck with me."
Zhongli reached one hand up and combed his fingers through the soft copper coloured hair. "Do you not want to stay with me?"
Childe snorted and looked up to meet those golden eyes clear without any other intentions. Seriously, how this archon remained so pure and oblivious despite being so old was beyond him.
"Nah, I'll stick around. Someone needs to keep an eye on you when you go out."
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Aether walked through the crowded street of Liyue harbour. He glanced around at the people setting up stalls and stands, preparing for the Qixi festival. Everywhere was rowdy with joy and happiness, so much that it almost made Aether wanted to stay. Almost.
“Let’s go, Paimon!” Aether grabbed Paimon who was drooling over some dumplings and dragged her away. After finally making it out of the packed city, he finally asked Paimon the question he didn’t dare to ask in front of Childe and Zhongli.
“Hey Paimon, is it bad for Alpha and Omega to be apart?”
“Of course!” Paimon shouted before remembering that this worldly outlander was clueless about the dynamics here since that didn’t exist in his original world.
“I told you how Alphas and Omegas are different than Betas, right?”
“Yeah…something about Omega could give birth regardless of gender?” Aether was still a little weirded out by that one. He wasn’t disgusted or anything, he just didn’t understand how that was possible.
“Yes, but when it comes to Alpha and Omega, once they found a partner, they’re bonded for life. They got this thing call a mating bite where they leave scars on each other’s necks—right over their scent glands!” Paimon pointed at her own neck. “I don’t know how it works, but I heard that it lets them connect on a…spiritual level? Basically, their partner means everything to them. Separating them is the same as taking a part of them away.”
“Is that so…?” Aether thought of his sister. He could relate to how it felt to have someone important ripped away from his side.
“Hey, Aether, look!”
“Hm?” Seeing Paimon pointing at the sky, he looked up and found that it wasn’t the sky she was pointing at, but Mt. Tianheng.
He put a hand over his eyes, protecting them from the bright sunlight and was able to make out the silhouette of a person standing at the very top.
“Is that…Xiao?”
As though hearing the call of his name, the adeptus above moved. In a few quick steps, the famed Conqueror of Demons ran down the mountain like a graceful mountain goat and landed before the two of them. Aether was certain that even if he jumped down without a glider, he still couldn’t beat the speed the adeptus displayed just now.
“I hear that you are departing Liyue,” Xiao said, his face unreadable as usual.
“Yes, we’re heading to Inazuma.” Aether nodded.
“The Archon of Electro does not welcome outlanders. Best to be on your guard.”
“You said the same thing as Zhongli,” Paimon giggled while Aether fought the urge to facepalm.
"Paimon!" He hissed.
“Zhongli?” Although Xiao’s expression didn’t change, they could hear the question in his voice. Paimon froze when she realized she had just mentioned the archon right in front of the adeptus—one of the people Zhongli specifically told them not to tell.
“I-it's nothing! Just a...a friend!" Paimon stammered. She was starting to sweat bullets with Aether glancing nervously at Xiao.
Fortunately for them, the adeptus was never the noisy type nor did he have any interest in other people's affairs—mortals especially.
"S-so!" Paimon shouted, trying to erase the previous conversation by raising her voice up ten notches. "What are you doing here?"
“You offered your aid to Liyue in times of need,” Xiao replied neutrally. “It is only courteous for me to see you off. I will escort you to the outskirt of the city. Come.”
“Really?!” Paimon shouted in delight before shaking Aether by his arm. “With an adeptus opening a way for us, we’ll be out in no time!”
Aether nodded and hurried after Xiao.
As they walked, the blond couldn’t help but keep looking at the adeptus’ face. Xiao ignored the boy in the beginning, but eventually, he seemed to have enough of the other’s staring and finally turned to look at him.
“What is it?” He questioned apathetically.
“Ah, sorry!” Aether quickly shook his head. “It’s just…you seem happy today?”
That caught Xiao off guard. Although his face didn’t betray his feelings, his steps faltered for a split second before he collected himself.
The blond traveller briefly wondered if he said something he shouldn’t have. He just thought the adeptus might be in a good mood considering how much he was talking today.
“…Do I?” Aether wasn’t sure if that question was directed at him. In fact, he didn’t know if he was even supposed to hear it, considering how soft the adeptus’ voice was. Xiao was already looking away, eyes locked on the mountains in the distance.
“Eh? Really?” Paimon ogled Xiao, but couldn’t tell what part of the adeptus screamed happiness to her companion. “Oh, could it be because of the festival?”
“Festival?” Xiao thought back to the streets of Liyue harbour that had been rowdy all morning. “…Was that what they were doing?”
“You didn’t know about the Qixi Festival?” Aether asked. He thought for sure that Xiao would know, considering how long he had been living in Liyue for.
“You didn’t know about the story of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?!” Paimon gasped in bewilderment, as though she didn’t found out about this story just minutes ago.
“I have little interest in stories amongst the mortals,” Xiao stated plainly.
“Then I guess that rumour was fake after all,” Paimon grumbled, looking at Aether in disappointment.
“Well, it’s just rumour.” Aether shrugged before finally noticing something strange. They had been walking for a while now, but hadn’t come across a single monster.
No, not just that.
Now that he took a close look around the area, there wasn’t a single monster or enemy in sight!
“Where are all the monsters?” Aether couldn’t help but voice out his thought.
“Hey, you’re right!” Paimon spun around in the air. “I don’t see a single one around!”
“It is due to my Heat,” Xiao spoke up in front of them.
“H-Heat?!” Paimon squeaked, jaw nearly dropping onto the floor at what came out of the adeptus’ mouth. “Wait, you’re an Omega?!”
Aether’s eyes flew wide. An Omega?!
Then did that mean Xiao was capable of…
Aether’s eyes nearly dropped to Xiao’s stomach before he had to force his gaze back up. Thankfully, the adeptus was walking in front so he didn’t notice that small action of the traveller’s.
Aether knew about Heats and why Paimon looked so nervous. Once a year, fully grown Omegas will enter something called Heat, where they let out sweet pheromones to attract nearby Alphas and find potential partners.
After an Omega and Alpha bonded, the Omega’s Heat will then trigger the Alpha’s Rut. It was extremely dangerous to go near an Omega in Heat because that was when Alphas were most protective of their mates and will attack anyone that got too close, regardless of whatever reason they had.
But…if Xiao was in Heat, shouldn't there be Alphas around going crazy after his scent? And Omegas only enter Heat somewhere between February and March, right now was August.
Also, why would Xiao’s Heat scare monsters away? Was it because he was an adeptus?
Aether knew Xiao wouldn’t answer all of his questions, so he only asked the very last one. Xiao spared a glance at the golden-haired boy before turning his attention back to his path.
“The stronger an Omega’s pheromone is, the more attraction they will gain from Alphas. Monsters and demons could also be drawn by an Omega’s scent if their Heats are strong enough. Once mated, the Omega’s scent will be infused with their Alpha’s, changing into a smell that will be revolting to anyone that is not their mate.” Xiao stopped and turned around to face them. “This is as far as I can take you. Do not let your identities as outlanders be discovered in Inazuma.”
With that, the adeptus took off at a speed so fast that the two barely had the time to react before he was gone.
Aether and Paimon stood (float) there for a long moment before the adeptus’ parting words finally sunk into their brains.
“Wait…you don’t suppose he was saying that he’s…mated?!” Paimon shouted. “A-and his Heat! Isn’t it right on time for the Qixi festival?!”
“Then the story of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is actually…” Aether trailed off before the two of them shared a look.
“No way!” Paimon laughed.
“Yeah!” Aether agreed.
That was a dumb rumour after all.
As for why Xiao’s Heat was in August and not February or March...he was the Guardian Yaksha. Things must work differently for these higher beings.
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Xiao stood on top of the mountain, Aureolin eyes scanning over the landscape before stopping towards a certain direction.
Alphas can always track their Omegas no matter where they are in the world. Although Xiao was an Omega, he was a yaksha as well as an adeptus, so his senses were naturally sharper than those of mortals. Even so, he could only feel the general direction of where his Alpha was.
His Alpha was aware he was on the move and was trailing after him, tracking him for half a day now. That man was getting closer as time passed, and along with it was Xiao’s increasing heartbeat.
It had been a whole year since they last met.
Before being mated, Xiao always preferred to pass his Heat high up in the mountains where monsters and people were scarce. However, his Alpha came from a nation without high mountains like Liyue. Although that person said it didn’t bother him, Xiao still wanted him to at least feel comfortable, so he never chose a place too far off the ground.
That was why this year, Xiao decided to spend his Heat in Jueyun Karst. It was the quietest place he could think of with fewer disturbances from mortals. He had already informed Moon Carver beforehand and the moment the adeptus heard the Conqueror of Demons would be coming to his territory to spend his Heat, he all but fled.
It wasn’t anything unusual. Before mating, other adepti would flee from him knowing how tempting his scent was. Now, they fled from him for the opposite reason. Xiao leaped off the cliff, dropping towards the ground at a rapid pace while summoning his spear into his hand.
With a thrust of his spear, the earth below him shook and the camp of monsters was annihilated in a split second. Without taking a break, he darted off towards the next area with monsters. While his scent naturally repelled these monsters, it would cause an issue if any of these monsters were to run amuck and get near the few humans dwelling here.
After swiftly dealing with all the monsters in the area, Xiao found a nice location up the waterfall with a small, deserted wooden house. The house looked like it hadn’t been used in years. The woods were falling apart, but not so much that he could see the inside.
Despite being an Omega, Xiao was never picky about where he spent his Heat. Or rather, he couldn’t afford to be picky. The purpose of an Omega’s Heat was to attract a partner and reproduce. As an adeptus, Xiao’s Heat could affect all living being miles away and draw them towards him.
It hadn’t started off like that.
In the beginning, his Heat was normal. It was still stronger than human Omegas, but Xiao was able to manage to deal with it on his own. Unfortunately as the years passed, his Heat became increasingly painful. The burn of the Heat would persist for days and the amount of pheromone his body release kept doubling.
His reluctance in finding a mate only made his body even more desperate.
The only one that he could ever consult with about his Heat was Rex Lapis who was the only other Omega he knew, yet the archon couldn’t find him any solution in solving his problem other than finding a mate. And so, every year around August, a bloodbath would always be shed. Demons and monsters would swarm towards him like ants towards their prey with Xiao at the center of it all, slaughtering anything that came to him.
Xiao let out a small sigh and stared at the pond before him.
He sat down on a piece of fallen log in front of the house and stared at the beautiful scenery. Despite being summer, the leaves in Jueyun Karst were always in the shade of autumn—just like Moon Carver.
Xiao loosened his collar, pulling them apart to reveal the scent glands on the base of his neck—one on each side. Both of his glands were marred with scars his Alpha left when he bit into them a thousand years ago. He rubbed his fingers absentmindedly over the jagged scar and began reminiscing the past.
The day they met was when Xiao’s Heat was at its worst. Having gone a thousand years without finding a mate, his body was finally breaking down.
Even without the countless demons surrounding him, he was dying.
His Heat had tortured his body for a whole month with no signs of going away. Every single one of his nerves was screaming in pain from the burning sensation coursing through his body. He didn’t even notice when a demon had raked its claws through the flesh on his back because he could no longer tell apart the pain.
His sight was starting to fail him, but that didn’t stop Xiao from piercing his spear through one demon and another. He might be dying, but he wasn’t going down without a fight. Even without his sight, he could rely on the rest of his senses to kill the demons.
And that was when he met him.
The man was not an adepti, but a human that gained immortally. He was a scholar travelling in Liyue to study the demons when he came across the battlefield littered with corpses of demons and monsters.
Xiao had little memories of how their encounter went. What he did remember was attacking the Alpha when he broke through the walls of demons and came towards him. Their spears met in a dangerous dance with whirlwinds of fire twirling around them.
The adeptus was fully prepared to meet his end, but when he woke up, the pain in his body was gone along with his Heat.
On his scent glands were two fresh bite marks, forever bounding him to an Alpha from another nation.
Xiao held no resentment towards the other Alpha for marking him because he knew that Alpha had done it to save him. In a way, that Alpha was also a victim because to complete the bond, the Alpha needed to let Xiao mark him as well. With his scent gland injected with the adeptus’ pheromone, he will start to experience Rut in August which only Xiao could sate.
Neither of them was the romantic type nor did they ever thought that one day they would have a mate. The two of them easily came to an arrangement for the Alpha to come to Liyue every year so they can spend their Rut and Heat together.
For the first couple of years, their relationship where purely on a physical level. Even now, Xiao didn’t know at what point did that changed. Words of love were never exchanged, but their relationship naturally shifted to that of lovers. Perhaps it was because they were similar that they understood one another without the need of words, or perhaps it was due to the bond established between them.
Whichever it was, Xiao was never more grateful.
The adeptus walked up to the house. With a wave of his hand, he sent a blast of wind into the old structure. He held back his power, but some shingles were still blown off from the force. He leaped back when a fume of dust blew out from the windows and doorway. He sent out a couple more blasts of wind until all the dust was blown out.
He walked into the house, looking around to find a table and a couple of chairs in the corner of the dining room. When he walked into the bedroom, he saw a bedframe weaved with bamboo. It was old and broken around the corner, but sturdy enough to support two people.
He ran his hand along the hard surface of the bamboo bed. It wasn’t the best, but this will do. Xiao lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. He was worn out. Running from Liyue Harbour to this place had taken some toll on his body, considering how much energy his body was already consuming to prepare for his Heat.
He bit the inside of his cheek when he felt tightness in his lower abdomen. Xiao stared at the wall of the small house. Although he could guess the general direction of his mate, he couldn’t tell how close or how far he was. He didn’t want to miss out on meeting his mate, but at the same time, he didn’t want his mate to see him so vulnerable.
In the end, exhaustion won and Xiao decided it should be fine if it was only a quick nap.
All he needed to do was to wake up before his mate arrives. It should have been easy, considering how he was a very light sleeper, but Xiao forgot to take into account how badly his body and mind missed his Alpha. He had forgotten how safe it felt knowing his Alpha by his side.
By the time he woke up, everything was pitch black around him.
Xiao took a deep breath and his lungs were filled with a comforting scent that only one person in this world has. He sat up and found a dark brown cloak draped over his body. He stared at the cloak, running his finger through the soft fabric before finding the familiar brown and blue animal ears decorations on the top of the hood. Behind him where his head was resting was a leather bag acting as a pillow for him.
Xiao brought the cloak up to his nose and took a small sniff. His Alpha’s scent was practically drenching the fabric, meaning the other must have been wearing this cloak not long ago. It was no wonder he didn’t wake up. With the Alpha’s scent wrapped around him like this, his body naturally deemed the surrounding safe and he ended up falling into a deeper slumber.
Xiao folded the cloak up and set it on the bed before walking out of the hunt. When he stepped outside, he was greeted by the backside of a person dressed in the same cloak as the one that was draped over him. The person had his hood pulled over his head with that pair of pointed ears sticking upward.
“You should sleep a bit longer,” the man spoke in a euphonious voice that made Xiao trembled. The Alpha never once turned back to look at him. His sun-kissed hand came out of the large sleeve of his cloak, picking up a stick lying by his feet and began to rearrange the campfire woods, causing the flames to burn even brighter.
The yaksha walked up to the man and sat next to him on the log with inches of space separating them.
“You should have waked me up.”
“You seemed like you needed rest,” the Alpha replied, turning his head to reveal his snow-white hair and beautifully sculpted face. That single flame red eye gazed at the Omega before turning back to the campfire. “It’s not like you to travel before your Heat like this.”
Although it sounded like the Alpha was merely stating a fact, Xiao knew the other was concerned.
“I was seeing someone off,” he explained.
Though curious, Alpha didn’t ask or push the Omega for details. He picked up a ladle and stirred the thick soup in the pot. Xiao stared at the brown soup that would never exist in Liyue and could smell the aroma of lamb being cooked inside. He remembered this soup. His mate made it for him the last time they met and he quite enjoyed it. If his memory was correct, it was called Torly.
While Xiao preferred lighter food and vegetables over meat, the coming of Heat would always make him crave higher calorie food so his body could store up energy.
“Do you need assistance?”
“No, just sit there and rest.” The Alpha reached into the sleeve of his cloak and pulled out a small box.
Xiao immediately recognized the packaging and design of the small box. It was a takeout box from Wangshu inn.
“Eat that for now. I’ll be done soon.” He set the box onto the Omega’s lap before returning to the task at hand.
Xiao carefully opened the box and just as he expected, inside was Almond Tofu. He stared at the beautiful and glossy white pudding with the light aroma of almond drifting into his nose. The Omega could tell how carefully the Alpha was when transporting this from how the delicate dessert wasn't broken or deformed in any ways.
“Thank you.”
He picked up the small wooden spoon inside and scooped out a small piece of the pudding. He put it into his mouth, enjoying the silkiness of the texture melting around his tongue. He ate slowly while observing his Alpha work, unaware of how his eyes would soften whenever he gazed upon this man.
After another ten minutes or so, the Alpha was done. He finished wrapping up the wrap in his hand and handed it to Xiao.
“This is?” Xiao accepted the wrap, looking at it curiously.
“It’s called Shawarma.” The Alpha poured the thick soup into a bowl and set it in front of the Omega.
Xiao took a bite into the wrap. Like all food his Alpha made for him, it had an unusual taste that did not exist in Liyue, but was delicious nonetheless.
The two of them ate with the only sound around them being the crackling of fire and the burbling sound of waterfall. They ate enjoying the presence of each other and the serenity around them. Even though they were both taking their time, their dinner only lasted about half an hour before it came to an end.
Xiao was gazing at the stars, lost in his own mind when his Alpha suddenly called out his name.
“Xiao.”
The Omega turned his head and saw his Alpha holding something to him. Without questioning anything, he opened his mouth and allowed the Alpha to push the glistening round bun-like thing into his mouth. Xiao’s mouth was soon filled with overwhelming sweetness that made him hummed lightly.
The adeptus cared little for sweets and like all citizens of Liyue, he wasn’t good at handling anything overly sweet. The only exception was during his Heat, where sugar became something like comfort food to the Omega. He chewed on the dessert and realized it was some sort of bread. The entire thing was soaked in the sweet syrup which made Xiao wonder if the dough was cooked together with this syrup or was the syrup added in later. Distracted, Xiao didn’t notice his Alpha move until he felt fingers wrapping around his chin, turning his head around before a pair of lips pressed against his.
Xiao closed his eyes and leaned forward, parting his lips to allow their lips to better mold against one another. Their tongues were tangled in a dance with the Alpha stealing the remaining sweetness from his mouth.
“Cyno…” Xiao managed to call out his Alpha’s name before a hand slipped behind his head and his lips were sealed once more.
Xiao let out a small, muffled groan against the Alpha’s mouth. The restriction he put around his desire was slowly starting to crumble. He wrapped his arms around the Alpha’s neck while the Alpha’s other arm snaked around his waist.
The last distance between them was gone and their bodies slotted together perfectly as they kissed.
He missed him.
He missed him so much, but there was nothing they can do. They have responsibilities to their own nations so neither of them could risk leaving for too long. The distance between them also didn’t allow them to meet up frequently. The only time they could meet was during this time so they could spend their Heat and Rut together. They may have met a thousand years ago, but even mortal couples had spent more time together in a lifetime compared to the two immortals.
“Ah…!” Xiao’s head threw back when the Alpha dug his face into his neck, pushing aside his collar and bit down onto his scent gland. Xiao’s face instantly flared up in red. Despite not displaying it on his face, he was embarrassed upon realizing he had left his collar open.
Sumeru was a very open nation where Alphas and Omegas walk around showing off the scent glands on their necks—Xiao knew that much from how his mate dressed. However, in Liyue, scent glands were regarded the same as private parts. Going outside with their scent glands shown was the same as going outside stark naked.
Cyno hummed, his voice sending vibration against the sensitive gland which in turn made the Omega’s body quiver.
Xiao hastily pulled away from Cyno and closed his collar, much to the Alpha’s amusement.
“You looked like you have something on your mind,” Cyno pointed out. It was an off-handed remark, but Xiao realized his mate must have taken notice to his change of mood and decided to lighten him up.
“It’s nothing,” Xiao was turning his head away when his chin was caught by the Alpha once more. His head was guided back, cobalt yellow eyes meeting orange-red one. The Alpha didn’t say anything and silently stared into Xiao’s eyes.
Xiao felt his throat constricted before he reached his hands up and carefully took hold of the Alpha’s face. He brushed that long white bang aside to reveal the other eye hidden underneath. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss upon the scarred eyelid.
“There have been many things happening lately,” Xiao sighed. He slipped out of the Alpha’s arms and returned to his seat next to him, but now the distance between them was gone. Their shoulders were touching and their bodies so close that they could feel each other’s body heat.
“I’ve heard about Rex Lapis on my way here.” Cyno stared at the scenery before them. “Do you believe that the God of Contracts has died?”
“I don’t know,” Xiao admitted quietly. Deep down, he believed that Rex Lapis was still alive. Killing an archon was no small feat but then again, it wasn’t impossible either. “I have never imagined a future without Rex Lapis, so such situation still feels surreal to me.”
“Then perhaps you’ve been taking your archon for granted.”
“Perhaps.” Xiao wasn’t angry by his mate’s blunt words. It was true. He had been taking the archon’s existence for granted.
They all had.
All of them assumed everything will remain the same year after years. With Rex Lapis around, the mortals of Liyue never truly paved their own path. They have always been following the path given to them by their archon.
“How long will you be staying?”
“I took a month off from the Academia.”
Xiao nodded. Taking away the travelling time, it will be eight days.
“…How’s your body?” The Alpha asked after a moment of silence.
“There is still a bit of time,” Xiao said after closing his eyes to check on the condition of his body. Even sitting here, he could feel his body heat steadily rising. His heartbeat had started to quicken too, though Xiao didn’t know if that was due to the heat or the presence of his mate.
“Come to think of it, there might be something that will interest you.”
“Oh?”
“A traveller came to Liyue not long ago…” Xiao began retelling his story with the blond outlander from Mondstadt. Cyno listened as his mate told him everything—from their very first meeting at Wangshu Inn to the chaos that happened in Liyue then the Lantern Rite.
“So the person you were seeing off was this traveller?” Cyno inquired when Xiao finished.
The Omega nodded. “The boy is capable of using Geo, but I see no Vision on his body or those devices from Snezhnaya.”
Cyno frowned. No Vision or Delusion?
Could it be archon residue? No, if it was, Xiao would have known.
“His scent was also strange.”
“How so?”
“I wasn’t certain before, but now that I’m close to my Heat, my senses had heightened. That boy did not have the scent of a Beta despite claiming to be one.” Xiao furrowed his brows slightly and recalled that smell. “It was an odd smell, one I’ve never smelled on anyone before.”
“You’re saying he’s not any of the dynamic?” The first thing Cyno wanted to say was that it was impossible, yet as a scholar, there was no such thing as impossible.
Even amongst the archons, the ABO dynamic existed. It was how their world worked—like how trees grew from dirt and how all living beings needed water to survive. Never in Teyvat had there been a person not fitted into any of the three dynamics. But if his mate claimed that someone was not Alpha, Beta or Omega, then that was most likely the case.
“Fascinating.” This certainly piqued the Alpha’s interest.
“He is searching for his younger sister. If he can safely leave Inazuma, then I’m sure he will head to Sumeru next.”
“If so, we will meet eventually.” Cyno reached out his hand and his long fingers brushed across the pale cheek of the Omega.
The Omega’s bright yellow eyes seemed to glow beneath the full moonlight when he looked back at his Alpha. Very slowly, he leaned his face towards the hand until the Alpha’s entire palm laid against the Omega’s pale cheek.
Cyno let out a small, inaudible breathe when he took in the sight of the beautiful Omega beneath the moonlight. His heart trembled like a string being harshly plucked. He leaned forward while his hand guided his Omega towards him until their foreheads eventually touched.
“Xiao, come with me to Sumeru.”
Xiao stiffened upon hearing what his mate had said. He stared at that flaming red eye that was staring back at him seriously.
“Cyno, you know that’s—”
“I do not know whether your archon is dead or alive, but one thing for certain is that the future of Liyue will be paved by humans. The demons you fought for thousands of years no longer dominate this land. From what I can see, the humans of this land are fully capable of exterminating demons in your place. The era of the adepti was over long ago, and so was your duty,” Cyno told him. “Now that the God of Contracts is gone, there is nothing binding you down. You’re free to go wherever you like, Xiao.”
“I…” Xiao shook his head and pulled away from his Alpha. There was a slight shakiness in his voice, showing just how much the other’s words were affecting him.
The adeptus didn’t know what to do. He admitted that he had wondered what the world outside looked like. He had been thinking about it ever since meeting Cyno but his responsibilities prevented him from ever thinking further.
For so long, slaying demons and vanquishing evil spirits had been his sole duty. It was the reason he existed. It was the only thing he could do to pay back Rex Lapis for everything the archon did for him.
To suddenly be told his job has ended was just…
Xiao let out a startled gasp when he was suddenly pulled towards the Alpha. His head was pushed into the Alpha’s neck and the comforting scent of the Alpha washed over him, calming him down.
“You don’t have to give me an answer now, Xiao.” Cyno muttered against the Omega’s ear and cradled him within his arms. “I will wait for however long it takes. Once you’re ready, I will come get you.”
Xiao didn’t respond. He wrapped his arms around the Alpha, fingers digging into the brown cloak and clutched onto him tightly. Cyno peppered kisses on the side of his mate’s face before his tender lips moved down the pale neck. When Xiao slowly relaxed under the Alpha’s ministrations, he started to respond with kisses of his own.
Soon, the two of them were inside the hunt with Cyno throwing his cloak over the old bed before setting Xiao on top. Xiao’s shirt was already gone with his mate kneeling between his legs, pushing him down until he was lying on his back. Through the gaps on the roof of the hunt, moonlight streamed in, hitting the Alpha and casting a faint outline around his body.
Xiao took his time admiring the handsomeness of this man. He stared at the unusual clothing exclusive to Sumeru that barely covered much of the Alpha’s body.
Cyno caressed Xiao’s cheek before he captured his lips in a deep and passionate kiss. Despite being a scholar who mostly stays within Sumeru Academia looking through books and doing experiments, Cyno was a warrior.
He was one of Sumeru’s strongest fighters and the most knowledgeable. It was only natural, for Cyno would never be able to mark Xiao amidst the battle with demons if he was weak. The Omega shivered when a palm covered in a layer of callus slid down the smooth skin of back, reaching lower and lower before slipping inside his pant.
Xiao pulled away from the kiss with a sharp gasp. His head fell back with the Alpha trailed his lips down his throat. He kissed and nibbled the tender skin before biting down on that sweet scent gland.
“Hah…!” Xiao wrapped his arms around the Alpha’s head, gloved fingers tangling into the fluffy white hair with small breathless moans escaping his lips. The Alpha’s nimble fingers slide between the creases of his buttocks and teased the sensitive opening there.
Xiao let out another small cry when the hand on his rear lifted him up with the Alpha grounding down on him at the same time. The delicious friction made Xiao clamp his legs together around the Alpha’s hips, his body trembling with pleasure coursing through every part of his veins.
“Cyno, please…” Xiao pleaded before his pants were stripped off his legs. A pair of hands grabbed him by the forearm, pulling him up until he was sitting in his mate’s lap.
Xiao wrapped his legs and arms around the man, letting out broken pants with the Alpha lightly sucking on his right nipple while his hand toyed with the other. Eventually, the stimulation became too much and he had to bring a hand up to stop the shameful sounds from escaping his mouth.
Cyno gave one last lick to the perky nipple before he reached up, prying Xiao’s hand away so he could steal a kiss from the petal-soft lips.
“Don’t hide from me, Xiao,” Cyno said seriously, pulling Xiao’s gloves off his hands to reveal the old scars hidden underneath. The Alpha intertwined their fingers and planted a kiss upon each of his knuckles in such a loving way that Xiao nearly melted.
Hearing some sound, Xiao turned to see Cyno pulling out a familiar-looking vial from the leather bag lying on the edge of the bed. The Alpha popped it open and poured half of the content into his hand.
“Lift your hips,” The Alpha instructed and Xiao obeyed. He wrapped his arms around the man’s shoulder and lifted his hips into the air. He buried his face into the Alpha’s neck and waited with his heart pounding inside his ribcage.
It started with one finger, slick with warmed oil carefully sliding inside him before joined by another. Xaio’s arms around Cyno tightened, breathes becoming laboured as those fingers slowly worked him open.
Cyno was nuzzling his face against the Omega’s silky hair while his other hand caressed the yaksha’s thigh.
“Cyno, it’s enough,” Xiao groaned, feeling his inside completely coated with the oil.
“You’re still tight.” Cyno frowned.
“It’s fine.” Xiao gritted his teeth when he felt the uncomfortable coil in his lower abdomen. “My Heat is coming. I want to feel you before my mind becomes hazy.”
Cyno didn’t argue anymore. He slipped his fingers out and dipped his head down to capture Xiao’s lips. As they kissed, Xiao heard the rustling clothes accompanied by the jingling sound of metal. And then, the adeptus felt the tip of his mate’s cock—slick with oil—pressed against his entrance.
The Alpha didn’t move anymore aside from placing small, encouraging kisses along his neck. Gentle hands rubbed along his hips and legs but did nothing to guide the Omega down onto his cock.
Xiao knew that Cyno was letting him take control, so he did. He slowly sank his body, eyes fluttering shut when the head of the thick cock slipped inside. It had been a whole year since he was last filled by his Alpha.
“Cyno, Cyno…” he called out to his mate with more and more of the cock pushing through his tight walls and filling his inside. He could feel everything—the size, the warmth, the texture of the appendage…it was torture.
“Xiao,” his Alpha panted against his neck, seeming to be trying very hard not to move by how hard he was gripping onto the Omega’s knees.
Xiao wanted more.
It wasn’t enough, so he paused to take a deep breath before slamming himself down the rest of the way. A cry tore out of his lips as the cock speared him open, pushing past the walls and kissing the deepest part inside his body. Cyno wasn’t doing any better. The sudden movement of his mate nearly made him see stars. He was panting for breaths with both hands gripping onto Xiao’s hips to hold him still.
When Xiao opened his eyes, thick droplets of tears began to fall from his eyes. They fell off his long lashes and dripped over the Alpha’s cheeks. When Cyno gazed up, his heart nearly shattered at the sight of the Omega’s expressionless face with large pearly tears falling from those beautiful eyes holding so much sadness and pain.
Cyno always loved the colour of the Omega’s eye, because it was the purest colour of yellow—ones even gold cannot produce. He leaned up and started to kiss the droplets away. He knew this wasn’t Xiao crying. It was merely his body’s reaction.
Separation for mated couples was painful, especially for Omegas. Xiao may be strong, but in the end, his body was still bounded by his dynamic. Omega needed constant care from their Alpha to feel safe, and Cyno was not able to give him that. Throughout all of the battles and nightmares the Omega had to endure, Cyno was never there for him. He had left Xiao alone in a land where even the people he protected feared him.
That was his failure as his Alpha.
“I’m sorry, Xiao,” Cyno whispered tenderly against Xiao’s lips. His words seemed to have brought Xiao back for the next moment, those beautiful eyes blinked and the tears stopped.
“Sorry, again I—” Xiao wasn’t able to finish before Cyno pressed their lips together. He wasn’t going to allow the Omega to apologize for something that wasn’t his fault.
“Hold onto me,” Cyno spoke into his ear before he grabbed the Omega’s hips and started rocking into the heated body.
Xiao released a breathless cry and held onto Cyno, moving his hip to time with the man’s thrusts. Their movements were slow and unhurried. Right now, all they wanted was to take their time and feel each other.
When they finally came, they were wrapped up in each other’s arms, listening to the other’s breathing and feeling their heartbeats overlapping.
Xiao laid his head against the Alpha’s shoulder while the Alpha traced his fingers over the green tattoo on the left side of his hip and towards the inside of his thigh. It was a tattoo similar to the one on the yaksha’s right arm—one that only Cyno had the pleasure of seeing. While Cyno took in the sight of Xiao’s tattoo, Xiao was staring down at the clothes that were still on the Alpha’s body. Whenever they spend their Heat and Rut together, Cyno would never fully remove his clothes because they never know who might come and interrupt them.
Even though Xiao’s mated scent was repulsive to other Alphas, there would still be Alphas coming to target him.
It all came down to one simple reason—greed.
While Alpha and Omegas mate for life, they were still capable of being marked a second or third time. All they needed to do was to rip the Alpha’s or Omega’s scent gland out of their necks and with a strong enough healing magic, the scent gland will regenerate. Once the scent gland grew back, it will be clean without the marks of their mate. It was a very cruel process. Having their glands tore out and losing connections with their mate would make any Alpha or Omega lose their sanity.
Due to humans and gods living so close together, the people of Liyue held their archon and adepti in high regards. Even if they fear Xiao and steer away from him, they never dare thought of getting rid of him. People from other nations, however, were a different matter. They see the adepti of Liyue as a possible weapon if tamed properly. That was why being the only Omega amongst the adepti, Xiao became their prime target.
Omegas were always weak and powerless during their Heat so adepti or not, they naturally assumed Xiao to be the same. Whenever these people make their plans, not once did they take into account of Xiao’s Alpha. Once they learned that the Omega didn’t mate with another adeptus, they thought nothing more of the Alpha other than a nuisance needed to be removed.
In recent years, idiots like these were steadily growing—especially those from a certain nation…
Xiao was lying comfortably against his Alpha when he felt a rush of heat flowing throughout his body. An animalistic whine came out of his throat which was met by a dominating growl. The sound of his Alpha’s growl caused a gush of wetness to come out of his body. Xiao’s face burned as he closed his thighs tightly together, but that did little to stop the lubricant from flowing out of his body.
The sweet scent of his Heat flowed into the air, mixing with the dominating scent of his mate’s Rut.
Xiao’s scent glands started to itch. He wanted to scratch them, but his hands were caught by a pair of tanner ones. The world before his eyes spun and Xiao was pushed into the bed with his Alpha’s heated chest pressing down on his back. His hips were pulled up and with no warnings at all, Cyno thrust himself deep inside. Xiao screamed, eyes nearly rolling back at the pleasure of being filled. He clawed at the bamboo bed, the strength of his fingers starting to tear the material apart before his hands were grabbed and pinned down.
“Cyno!” Xiao mewled when the Alpha pulled out before slamming back inside.
“Xiao, you smell so good…” Cyno sighed, sucking and licking his ear before he buried his face into the Omega’s neck and started sucking on his scent gland.
Xiao was crying from the overstimulation. He could feel the pheromones inside his glands being sucked away while his mate’s hips constantly rammed into him.
“Xiao, Xiao…!” Cyno called out his lover’s name over and over with each thrust of his hips.
“Cyno…!”
More.
It wasn’t enough.
He needed more.
More, more, more, more…
Until there was nothing of him left.
✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧
Cyno stared at the Omega sleeping peacefully in his arms.
He pressed a kiss on the Omega’s forehead, over the purple diamond marking before he slowly pulled himself out. A quiet moan escaped the yaksha’s lips, but other than that the Omega showed no signs of waking up.
Cyno rubbed his scent glands that were bruised from Xiao biting on them, releasing more of his scent so the adeptus can sleep better. He gazed up at the ceiling where the sunlight was spilling in from and shifted Xiao to the left so the sunlight wouldn’t hit his face.
Xiao needed rest—they both do. As much as the Omega’s scent was constantly tempting him, Cyno wasn’t some weak Alpha who would allow his desire to take over. He laid his head over his backpack and closed his eyes for some sleep as well. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to join the Omega in his dreams for the next moment, his eye snapped wide open.
Cyno shot up and moving together with him was Xiao. The Omega was staring towards the same direction where the Alpha sensed the intruders. Cyno hissed out a string of curses in a language that the Liyue adeptus wasn’t able to understand. Seeing the confusion swirling within those pure coloured eyes, Cyno shook his head and pushed the Omega back down.
“Go back to sleep, I’ll take care of them.” He wrapped the Omega’s naked body up in his cloak and climbed off the bed.
Although he didn’t show it, Cyno was livid. No Alpha liked having their time with their Omega interrupted—especially during Heat and Rut. Even more so when these people came intending to take his Omega away from him.
He pulled out his Anubis mask and put it on his head. In the span of this short moment, the house was already surrounded. A ball of flames gathered in his palm before the Alpha shot it upward, blasting a hole in the roof and leaped outside. When he landed on the loose pieces of shingles on the roof, he was greeted by the sight of the intruders.
Unsurprisingly, it was those Fatuis again.
Most of them were Alphas, but Cyno could easily pick out the Betas seeing as all the Alphas had to wear masks over their nose and mouths to filter out the scent of his mate. He held out his hand and his spear materialized in his palm.
“Insolent fools,” he huffed, eye turning cold with crimson flames swirling around his spear.
When Cyno returned, Xiao sitting on the corner of the bed with his back resting against the decaying wooden wall. He had put on Cyno’s cloak with his eyes closed—seemingly to be resting. The Alpha’s eye softened at the sight of his mate. The moment he got close, Xiao’s long lashes fluttered, parting to reveal those calm Aureolin eyes. Cyno put on his cloak to hide the unique Sumeruan clothes before stuffing his Omega’s clothes into his bag. After that, he went over to his mate, letting Xiao hold onto his bag while he carefully gather him up into his arms.
“Sleep, I’ll wake you when I find a place,” he spoke in that soothing voice, walking outside and stepping over the burnt ground.
Xiao leaned his head against the Alpha’s shoulder and closed his eyes with the bag held tightly in his arms.
There were many old and abandoned structures around Liyue, so finding their next logging wasn’t much task. Cyno found a decent place around Qingyun Peak and the two of them spent the remainder of their Heat and Ruts there.
Eight days passed by in a blink of an eye.
During this time, the pair roamed around Qingyun Peak before they spent their last day on the floating isle above the mountains, known as the Dwelling in the Cloud. This was a very old place created by the Cloud Retainer. Xiao was certain the other adeptus wouldn't mind them using her place, considering how she hadn't left her domain for a long time now.
The air high above the cloud was thin, but neither of the immortals was bothered by it. They sat at the ledge and watched the night sky with the cloud below them. Even though they didn’t mind the cold, their bodies were still pressed against one another, sharing warmth.
The night went by with neither of them exchanging any words.
When Xiao woke to the morning light, he knew without needing to open his eyes that Cyno was gone. The body wrapped around his when they fell into slumber was gone without any lingering warmth left.
The yaksha sat up with the familiar brown coat sliding off his body much like when he first woke on the night of his mate’s arrival.
In the place where his mate laid were four white flowers growing from a single stem.
It was a Qingxin—Xiao’s favourite flower.
He caressed the soft white petals before bringing the flower to his nose and smelled the sweet floral scent mixed with the faint scent of his Alpha.
They never meet each other with hellos and never part with goodbyes. It was an unspoken rule between them, as though doing so would seem like they had never parted to begin with.
Xiao gazed out to the land before him, golden eyes filled with loneliness and lost. He stared at the sun rising out of the clouds, not because of the view, but because that was where his Alpha was.
“I will wait for however long it takes. Once you’re ready, I will come get you.” Cyno’s voice echoed within his head.
Xiao parted his lips, but his throat felt awfully dry. He clutched onto the flower and closed his eyes. He could feel tears starting to gather, but he refused to let any fall.
“Go out and see the world, Xiao.”
“…?!”
Xiao jumped up, sharp eyes scanning over the tiny island but didn’t find anything unusual or out of the place. He brought a hand to his right ear where the voice had whispered those words to him. It was a voice Xiao was familiar with, but it happened so fast that he didn’t know if it was a voice from an old, long-forgotten memory or reality. He looked down at the flower in his hand, then back at the sun.
Suddenly, he felt like the world before his eyes began to open up—like an invisible cage slowly dissolving away. Xiao took a small step back and felt himself stepped on something. When he looked down, he found that it was Cyno’s cloak. He picked up the cloak and gazed back to the distant sky.
The lost look on his face slowly melted away. He held the cloak close before his eyes fell to the statue of Rex Lapis below.
Leaping off the floating isle, he landed before the statue. He stared at the image of Rex Lapis—the one who had saved him and given him his current name.
“I’ll be back,” he promised, setting the Qingxin flower before it as an offering. Without another glance back, he turned and leaped off the mountain. He gripped the cloak tightly in his arms and ran down the steep slope, moving at a speed too quick for mortal eyes to follow.
Xiao had never run faster in his entire life. He went from mountain to mountains, chasing after that scent lingering within the air.
As he was nearing the border of Liyue, Xiao finally saw the cloaked figure walking through the valley, carrying nothing but a brown leather bag over his shoulder.
“Cyno!!”
Cyno stopped. He glanced over his shoulder, orange-red eye wide in disbelieve when he saw the Omega running towards him. Kicking off the ground, Cyno closed the gap between them and caught the Omega within his arms.
“Xiao?” Xiao’s name fell from the Alpha’s lips in a hushed whisper, as though he couldn’t believe the Omega was here. He held onto the yaksha so tightly that ordinary people would find it painful, but Xiao was anything but ordinary.
The adeptus held onto his mate just as tightly. The tears he had been holding back finally fell from his eyes. For the first time in his life, Xiao laughed. It was a very quiet laugh, but the sound was more beautiful than anything the Alpha had ever heard.
For the first time as well, Cyno also laughed. The tears rolling down his face was no less than Xiao’s.
They didn’t need to exchange any words, for that there was never any need.
After a thousand years, they’ve finally caught each other in their arms. This time, neither of them have any intention of letting the other go.
Back on Qingyun Peak, a gloved hand picked up the Qingxin flower left in front of the statue of the Geo Archon. The dark-haired man gazed out to the horizon with a gentle smile on his lips before he turned and blinked at the sight of large white flowers obstructing his view.
The flowers waved around in his vision, pulling back to reveal a smiling Childe holding onto a bouquet of Qingxin.
“For you, the fairest of them all.”
Zhongli looked around the statue and found all the Qingxin flowers that grew around here were plucked by the former Harbinger. He shook his head with a light smile and accepted the bouquet, adding the one in his hand to them.
“Thank you,” he thanked, already thinking of whether or not he got a vase for these flowers. If not, he will have to go find one.
A jade vase would certainly fit these flowers beautifully…
He will also need to get a painter to paint down the beauty of the flowers…
“Despite living so long, you adepti are all so interesting,” Childe snickered. “These flower suits you. Both you and that Xiao.”
“How so?” Zhongli lifted his eyes to meet those light blue eyes staring at him. The raven didn’t know why, but he felt his heart skipped a beat when he saw how intensely the Alpha was looking at him.
Childe walked forward and plucked a white petal off of the flower. He placed the petal against his lips and smirked at the oldest adeptus.
“In Liyue, Qingxin means Pure Heart, doesn’t it?”
The Snezhnayan leaned forward, pressing his lips firmly against the Omega’s. Zhongli’s entire body stiffened upon the contact. His golden eyes were slowly rounding while his grips over the flowers went slack, but not so much that he would drop them.
The kiss only lasted three short seconds before Childe pulled away with a laugh bubbling from his throat. Zhong stood there, his body as stiff as a rock with a white petal sticking on his bottom lip.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t told you my real name yet so listen closely, Morax.” He leaned towards the archon’s ear and whispered the name he had left behind ever since becoming a warrior. "My name is Ajax."
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The new quest made me think
If dainsleif was one of the royal guards does that mean we will meet the others at some point? Or are they already dead?
Also we know that time is kinda weird in the abyss, so is it possible that kaeya left khaenri'ah during its destruction and only found out that its been 500 years since then way later, which would be even scarier for him because he was suddenly in a new place where no one really knows about his homeland
Were the archons involved in khaenri'ahs destruction or were there only other gods from celestia? Why didnt the archons help? Is celestia more powerful than them and maybe threatened to destroy their nations if they did anything? Did they just not care or not know until it was too late??
Why didnt we destroy the statue at the end of the quest??? Did the traveler just forget to do it??
Overall what this quest made me feel was just AAAAAAAAAAAAAA and now i have too many things to think about -💎
As a specific Twilight Sword title, I felt as tho it was implied he was a single person and he was the only one cursed with immortality to suffer and everything. Did I somehow miss something? Admittedly I missed a lot of the dialogues so I'll have to revisit the quest through Youtube
It's hard to tell but I'm pretty sure that in canon it's still pretty much a stable timeline since if by some chance it's still the destruction (500 years ago) and he left to go to Mondstadt (around 10+ years ago) then it's very fucked up to know which time is actually accurate, the records or the Abyss. Somehow this made me more aware that yeah, there really is a huge disparity because it's implied that there's still remnants of a human civilization hailing from Khaenri'ah despite supposedly being extinct/abyss'd.
I ACTUALLY thought it was just the Celestia gods, however when the dialogue choice suddenly mentioned Venti and Zhongli, I've retracted that thinking. It would make sense that the archons are related to it if the Tsaritsa is willing to steal their gnosis and everything, although in the context of Zhongli's gnosis bargain, it might be that he's actually siding with the Tsaritsa (assuming the contract is about the Tsaritsa winning)
I am ALSO hella confused about that part with the statue. But, if I were to guess based on the dialogue I remembered, they're leaving it to Dain lmao- STILL need to recheck shit, but otherwise, yeah it's all wack
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HOLY **** NEW QUEST
There’s a lotttt of content to digest so i think i will make this into two parts.
Click here for Part 2~
Archon Quest - We Will Be Reunited, Part 1
As usual, major spoilers below~
First we meet Ganyu <33 It’s always great to see her. She’s asks us to investigate Treasure Hoarders attempting to break into Abyss Order ruins. I can’t see this ending well
Well that didn’t end well at all for them.... From the way the camera was angled, I first thought this guy was decapitated, but his head is still there. I think this is the first time we explicitly see a dead body in genshin tho :o (I assembled my Suspiciously-Related-to-Khaenri’ah Team for this: Traveler, Albedo, Kaeya - and Diona as our cute mascot!)
We meet an Abyss Herald!! They remind me of Childe’s magical girl Ult Form and of Dainsleif. The armour and water blades remind me of Childe, which makes sense considering he was trained in the abyss. And then those blue vainy things remind me of Dain. I’m guessing Dain was a member of the Abyss with our brother and then defected once they became super evil or somethin.
Hey Dain <33 looking as fine as usual. We go to investigate more clues of the Abyss around Liyue and encounter them tampering with a Ruin Guard
ooh so we first came to this world 500 years ago while Khaenri’ah was being destroyed. Our brother for some reason woke up first and knew what was going on and then when we were trying to leave this world, the Unknown God stopped us.
Khaenri’ah was a nation ruled by no god and was very technologically advanced, but then the gods destroyed it. And it seems Venti and Zhongli played a part in destroying it?! They have many questions to answer after this hmmm..
My theory is maybe they were coerced to help the other gods in Celestia. This would explain why Venti carries disdain for Celestia, and Zhongli was willing to part with his Gnosis to help the Tsaritsa.
I understand why Dain has such a grudge against the gods now, considering they destroyed their home. (I wonder what part Kaeya has to play in this too??) Also it’s kinda hilarious bc it immediately started raining once dain said that
It seems the Abyss wish to control Boreas, like how they controlled Dvalin. I forgot to mention that they wish to take control of Osial with the upside-down Venti Statue in order to dethrone Celestia. But how dare they hurt Mr. Wolf >:( Only I get to do that every week!! Another battle with the Abyss Herald saves him tho
OMG we get to see Dain use his powers. He definitely has abyss magic or something
After we fight the Abyss Herald for the third time! And the Herald says Dain’s soul is “stained by terrible bloodshed” and he also has the same magic as the Herald.
I will make a new post for the next parts.
#genshin impact#genshin impact spoilers#dainsleif#lumine#genshin impact dainsleif#genshin dainsleif#arkie plays genshin
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Various Genshin lore bits I picked up from messing around on the wiki, lol.
Archons:
The CN term for archon is straight up “demon god” (魔神), which is also used to refer to Ars Goetia demons. All gods whose “real” names were revealed (aka everyone except Guizhong) are in some way named after Solomon’s demons, though some are more of a stretch than others.
Archons are gods, but not all gods are Archons. The positions of seven archons existed before and during the Archon War, while there were plenty of other gods around. In fact, part of the war was other gods wanting to claim those specific positions. (ie, Decarabian was the previous Anemo Archon, while Andrius was just a god.) Based on this, I would say that normal gods don’t have gnoses, only archons do. This is just my guess tho.
The Archon War lasted from before Liyue’s founding (3700+ yrs) to about 2000 years ago. Tbh I think it would have been better off called something like “Warring Gods Period” since it wasn’t actually a single continuous conflict.
Heart’s Desire:
This is in-story a fictional novel series, but it has a lot of lore hints. Here are some that sound potentially relevant (though might be just part of the story):
Wine that lets you forget, either only painful things, or everything.
Those who receive Visions will one day “disappear from the world” and what happens to them in the end is very fishy and probably bad. This tracks with Vennessa ascending to Celestia and the adeptus Nuhua also ascending. The young man who received a vision is referred to as one of the chosen, which sounds somewhat like what Dainsleif says in the chapter preview trailer, "Some say a few are chosen and the rest are dregs.”
“True illuminating crystal” “formed from the unfulfilled desire and grief of illuminated beasts of the highest order when they reach the end of their life.” Illuminated beasts comes up elsewhere. Once in Qingce, where some stone beast statues are said to be “illuminated beasts who once fought alongside Rex Lapis in the Archon War.“ And also in reference to Yakshas, “Rex Lapis summoned Yakshas unto him to purge the daemons. Illuminated beasts of dreadful appearance and warlike temperament were they, and no brutality did they spare in their duty to defend.“ So the illuminated beasts are... yakshas?? The crystal heart the shopkeeper has specifically belonged to someone, too.
One specific paragraph goes all in:
“Legends claim that peering into a pure gemstone at a specific time can reveal the past, the future, and even someone's true nature.” We see this in an earlier volume.
“Just as legends claim that somewhere in the world, there is a field of dandelions as vast as the sea.” Interesting, not sure if this is a specific reference.
“Or that once there were three bright moons in the night sky named Aria, Sonnet and Canon, sisters who were parted by death in a great catastrophe.” This thing about the three moons is mentioned in more detail in Moonlit Bamboo Forest. Apparently the three moon women had a “silver carriage” (spaceship!!!) which they traded off controlling. But then they died and the current moon is their corpse. (The moon is fake, a giant spaceship, is what I’m saying.)
“Or that there was once a witch who could see death before it took place, but in the end herself died from the broken heart, as he who had stolen it from her waited in distant lands longing to see her again.” Sounds specific.
Speaking of, the shopkeeper is described as having fox-like golden eyes with thin lines for pupils. The woman in Moonlit Bamboo Forest is also described as having golden eyes, and there is mention at the start of foxes stealing people away. She’s also mentioned as wearing white. From what the crystal heart shows of the shopkeeper, she is extremely old.
Dainsleif:
On the official forum, there is this bit relating to him:
"The original calamity had been overturned, yet the island in the sky set the earth to burn. Chalk pursues gold, in this time inopportune, the eclipse is swallowed by the crimson moon. The future must atone for bygone mistakes, as the bond familiar falters and breaks— of the same blood, elders and the youth..."
Chalk and gold sounds pretty blatantly about Albedo and Gold the alchemist, or the corruption he caused.
Eclipse might have something to do with the Blacksun Dynasty of Khaenri’ah, which was originally called Eclipse Dynasty before a name change. Crimson moon doesn’t seem to have been referenced before in any obvious way, except this image (of the cataclysm?) during the We Will Be Reunited trailer:
Speaking in a more general way about him narrating the Collected Miscellany videos, he projects pretty clearly over several characters, especially in regard to how finding out the truth of the world is a huge burden that robs you of the ability to feel everyday joy. Also, he is at least 500 years old, if not 1000.
Khaenri’ah:
From Albedo’s story: “Khaenri'ah was an underground realm, and its natural fauna were few indeed. As such, its alchemy focused more heavily on the creation of life. This art of creation was known as "The Art of Khemia."
"An eclipsed sun befell its kingdom and a luminous pearl lost its glow." This relating to how the Blacksun Dynasty fell during (causing?) the cataclysm. I wonder if the pearl here is related to the Genesis Pearl from the Gnostic Chorus trailer.
"The alchemist known as Gold was corrupted by his own greed and ambition, and created an army of shadowy monsters with his uncanny powers."
However, the Bloodstained Knight stuff says something slightly different: “At the bottom of the world, he learned the origin of the monsters that destroyed the ancient kingdom.
'The ancient kingdom was wrongfully cursed,'
'Turning its inhabitants into monsters.'
'The code of chivalry tolerates not such injustice.'”
Of unclear relation, the hilichurls appeared 500 years ago, and one their tribes has some connection to eclipse (blacksun).
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i know authors have their own autonomy to update whenever they please, but is it ok to ask for some crumbs on the next paradoxical chap? i fell face first in love with your fic that I JUST /NEED/ MORE :'< of course, you don't have to if you don't want! i just wanna let you know that paradoxical has me so undeniably hooked
AHHH well, since you asked nicely,,,,
The late afternoon sun burned steadily across the horizon—golden amber rays splintering through the ominous-looking trees of Wolvendom. Dusk was already rolling in, but the sound of blades meeting in a song of battle could still be heard throughout the Dawn Winery. Anyone who wasn’t from around these parts would have wondered why an uproar like that raged on at this hour, but for the Winery’s residents, sparring sessions between their young masters happened too often to warrant their concern.
“Do you yield?”
Looking up at Diluc’s form towering over him from the ground, Kaeya let his head fall back on the grass. A wry smile made it to his face when he felt his brother’s blade inch away from his neck, and he supposed that he’d take the loss in stride. Being bested in a clash of swords to a man that worked best with claymores was nothing but another wound to lick.
“So cruel,” he muttered, toying with the blades of grass beneath his fingertips, “the Captain of the Cavalry, not even taking it easy on a mere novice. You secretly like these power trips, don’t you?”
“Don’t project yourself onto me,” scoffed Diluc as he sheathed his sword. But Kaeya was keen to notice the proud smirk he’d tried to suppress. “I’m not the one feigning as a beginner just to see the looks on the other knights’ faces when I finally get serious.”
As the redhead helped him to his feet, a hum of laughter slipped from Kaeya’s mouth—smooth as silk and sweet as honey—but Diluc was no such victim to his brother’s frivolities. Never was. Never will be. “Hey now, don’t go slandering me like that.”
“Is it slander if it’s the truth?”
“Ah, you seriously won’t wife anyone up with that attitude.”
Diluc, who seemed uncharacteristically responsive to his quips, looked like he was about to rebut with an equally demeaning response, but the sound of a gentle voice calling out to them from the manor hindered their timely banter. You sauntered over to their usual spot at the edge of the property, two glasses of grape juice placed on top of the tray in your hands. Trailing closely behind was Tunner’s grandson—hiding behind the skirts of your uniform. Ah, what was his name again?
“Noah, you wanted to ask these two about Visions, didn’t you?” Your encouragement was subtle, flashing him a warm grin. “Go on.”
Kaeya shared a quick look with his brother, both unsure of how to present themselves post-spar in front of a curious child. But when Noah finally decided to bite the bullet, he told them, “Do you think I can get a Vision someday? C-Can I help protect the city with you too?” with a face that Kaeya would have likened to an apple. The poor boy was so embarrassed, he looked like he had smoke billowing from his ears, but he opted not to tease altogether. To his relief, Diluc decided to take one for the team.
“You’re only, what, five years old? You shouldn’t be thinking about those things yet.”
The glass was halfway to his lips when Kaeya flashed Diluc an scandalized look. Oh sweet Barbatos, that is not how you talk to kids about their dreams! “Ahaha, what the Captain here means to say is,” Kaeya began swiftly in an attempt at damage control, “if you really are worthy, then the gods have no reason not to give you a Vision. Isn’t that right, Diluc?”
His brother returned his stare pointedly. “But what if he isn’t worthy?”
Kaeya could practically hear your jaw dropping along with his own. In a moment of silent agreement, you met Kaeya’s gaze as Noah stared up at Diluc with a flash of hurt in his eyes. Do something, you mouthed frantically as you attempted to quell an incoming breakdown from the five year-old. Archons dammit—
“If Noah isn’t ‘worthy’ of a Vision, that just means the Archons have other plans for him,” Kaeya offered with a grin, crouching down to pat the boy’s hair. “Your dad, Guy? He’s actually my senior, you know that? And even if he doesn’t have a Vision, he does everything he can to keep the peace in Mondstadt—just like everyone else in the Knights of Favonius. Don’t you think protecting citizens like that is just as good as wielding a Vision?”
Noah’s face seemed to soften at the mention of his father, trailing his gaze to his feet. “I guess… Dad is a great knight. He always makes Grandpa Tunner proud.”
You let out a soft giggle, tucking the tray beneath your arm when the two men have retrieved their drinks. “Doesn’t he make you proud?”
“O-Of course he does! I just wanna have cool powers like the young masters…”
A few moments later, Tunner called Noah back into the manor just in time for supper. Though he still regarded Diluc warily, Kaeya was satisfied with seeing the tension dissipate from the young boy’s shoulders. And that left the three of you, with nothing but the lamp posts scattered throughout the property illuminated the brothers’ makeshift arena.
“Cool powers, huh,” you parroted Noah’s words with a tone dipped in mockery, eyeing your masters with a smirk. “If only cool personalities came with receiving cool powers.”
Kaeya gasped. “Hey! I just saved us from the breakdown of a lifetime, no thanks to Mister More-Money-Than-Empathy here. I would like to be excluded from that narrative.”
The gentleman in question merely finished his drink in silence, leaning on the hilt of his sword from where he’d pitched it into the grass. “All I’m saying is that it’s not good for kids to cling to baseless assumptions like that.”
“Says the one who always has his head in the clouds every time Father praises him,” scoffed Kaeya. “And here I thought you’d relate to the sentiment of making another person proud.”
“Hmph.”
‘Hmph’, really? Did he really not have anything else to say? Kaeya sighed somewhat dramatically, feeling all the hope leave his body then and there. “Again, and this is worth repeating: you seriously won’t wife anyone up with that attitude.”
“H-Hey, straightforwardness is a plus to other ladies, you know.”
The way you’d responded so quickly elicited curious looks from your companions. Diluc seemed genuinely startled but Kaeya had to bite down the snort that threatened to crawl out of his body. You couldn’t be any more obvious. But he supposed it was a good thing his dear brother had always been oblivious to the matters of the heart. “That may be, but he’ll scare them away before they could even have a chance to warm up to him, won’t you Captain?”
“I don’t see why my capacity to marry even matters right now.” Diluc sighed irritably, already unearthing his sword as he directed himself to the manor. “Come on. Father doesn’t like it when we’re late for supper.”
As you all made your way back, Kaeya matched your languid pace, letting his emotionally stunted brother lead on by himself. You opted to keep your silence, and he chose not to intrude. Under the gentle spill of the moonbeams, he was content to see you deep in thought with a flush of red dusting your cheeks.
If Kaeya wished he was the reason behind that look, you didn’t need to know.
#tea time#anon#paradoxical#anon: *asks for crumbs*#me: *copy pastes a whole scene*#IM SORRY HAHAHA#im just rly excited for this one#if only i actually sat the fuck down and finished it
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Destiny 2: Out with the New..In with the Old?
So I’ve been a hardcore Destiny fan since its release and I will be the first to tell you it works best in bursts.
Throughout the entire franchise Bungie had always done a poor job at the simpler aspects of communication. They promised things, that depending on your interpretation of their words, were very feasible or too ambitious. At best their words came across as nebulous to much of the diehard and casual community.
In D1, The Taken King brought new life into the game when it needed it most. Now in D2 it looks like we’ve hit the same point.
A lot of players, myself included, have been running on empty trying to care about the expansions D2 delivered in the first year. Curse of Osiris had much to be desired and I’ll finish Warmind when I have the time. But after spending so much time maxing 3 characters on 2 systems I really needed a reason to do so.
So let’s talk about FORSAKEN.
THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN.
Quite literally we are going backwards and that’s a great thing. When D2 came out and the most devoted players had run out of content to actively do, the critiques and complaints started pouring in. If you lurked on the DestinytheGame subreddit you could see that most of the comments made comparisons to between D1 and D2 in regards to features, activities, and general quality of life changes to the franchise. Many players felt that D2 offered a more simplistic and streamlined experience in relation to D1, which left the hardcore players with little to do week after week. With Forsaken, Bungie is trying to take that criticism and run with it.
So what’s coming back? Over the course of the summer Bungie will be updating the game to reintroduce older modes and pother changes that all players (not just those who purchase Forsaken) will be able to take advantage of.
In general we can see that they will be tweaking some of the D2 systems to make them work better for players, while the roadmap doesn’t give us all the exact details. As of now the first two columns are already live, modifying players options in the Crucible, adding space to the Vault, and expanding the Masterwork system are probably the most notable changes there.
Between now and then with update 1.2.3, we will be getting 6v6 Quickplay and Permanent Rumble, two Crucible options that players have been asking for since the first couple months of the game. In addition to that we’ll be rounding out Year 1 with Prestige Raids and Triumphs, both returning systems from D1 and an event called Solstice of Heroes, which will probably be further detailed during Bungie’s E3 event.
In the final column we have a list of the smaller additions Forsaken will be bringing. Some of these changes we examined a little more deeply than others during Bungie’s ViDoc, so for now we are gonna stay focused on those.
The first guy on the list is Gear Collections. Separate from the Vault and the Tower Kiosks, the game will now allow you to track what Weapons, Armor, and Items you have obtained during your D2 tenure.
The categories tell you how many of the items you have collected, how many there are in total, and what you need to do in order to get the ones you’re missing.
Then with Exotics (maybe more but we’ll have to wait and see) you can purchase exotic items you have unlocked, but may have dismantled during your gameplay. With the exotics and you haven’t discovered the Collection will let you know if you have top complete a particular quest or objective in order to discover it.
Other additions that weren’t individually pictured, but are interesting nonetheless are Weapon Slot Changes, Weapon Randomization, and an update to the Mod System.
With the weapon slots, Bungie is looking to bridge the gap between new and old players.
D1′s weapon setup had 3 slots, Primary (Assault Rifles, Hand Cannons, Scout Rifles, Pulse Rifles), Secondary (Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, Fusion Rifles, Sidearms), and Heavy (Machine Guns, Rocket Launchers, Swords).
D2′s set was a tad different with their slots being Kinetic and Energy which shared all weapon types, with the exception of Grenade Launchers, Rocket Launchers, Swords, Trace Rifles, Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, Fusion Rifles, and Linear Fusion Rifles. whew
Players felt that D2′s changes made players weaker all around, by sticking the game’s more powerful and situational weapon types into the weapon slot that would have the least amount of ammo drops and overall use.
With Forsaken, you can move weapons to any of the 3 slots you want, which means things are gonna get a whole lot crazier, but its gonna be a great ride for both PvE and PvP environments.
To add to that insanity, we’re getting back Radmon Rolls (Weapon Randomization), meaning that not every gun of the same make and model is identical. Bringing more of the Borderlands style of gun drops to the game. Some gun/perk combinations will work really well, some will be useless and do nothing, and others will (this is may personal favorite), will cause players to janky, different things with their loadouts
NEW STUFF INCOMING
So what do we have on the way?
New WEAPONS
New ENEMIES
New PLACES
New MODES
New RAID
NEW SUPERRRRRS
So considering this is our first look at all this content, there may not be too much to say at this point, but the visuals give us enough to be excited about.
So it’s no surprise that we’re getting new weapons, I mean that happens all the time right? But new weapon types? Not so much. But Bungie’s taking us back to 2013, when Bows were dominating the video game ecosystem.
So Bungie didn’t go into the specs of the Bow weapon type, but this is what we know or can infer right now:
Different Bows are designed for different types of engagements, most likely close range, midrange, and long distance.
Some bows have energy related abilities.
Time-to-Kill is balanced to make up for the act of drawing the bow.
Now Enemies. Because Bungie will be exploring more of the story during their E3 slot, we only know a bit about who were are gonna be fighting in Forsaken.
But if you guessed Fallen
YOU’D BE RIGHT
I bet you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you here today.
So what they have said so far is that there has been a jail break at the Prison of Elders in The Reef, so it stands to reason that all the enemies we’ll be fighting are some topnotch Fallen.
We will be getting new Fallen enemy types and a sizeable number of Baron boss fights.
The major Barons are said to each operate in their own way, providing different types of engagements, instead of just a simply Kill List.
So where is all this going down? So obviously we’re going back to The Reef, the section of the Solar System that has appropriated the asteroid belt in Jovians (the Jupiter/Saturn area).
More specifically we have a new area to explore!
The Tangled Shore is a network of terrestrial platforms floating in the Reef, that are linked together through cables and wires. The idea itself is reminiscent of Fallen architecture, but I think it’s safe to assume the Awoken are responsible for its creation.
I would appear to be very open from the shots delivered in the ViDoc, but these could be imagine captured from cutscenes or early builds of the game that haven’t been populated. So there’s definitely more questions than answers here.
There is definitely an overwhelming Western theme in play here so maybe it just empty???
With the new Raid Bungie confirmed that there will be a new location that will house the Raid itself, which is slightly different than the previous raids, which were typically connected to the general overworld. How exactly they plan to section all that out has not been discussed, but I’m sure we’ll get more information on that moving forward.
The new raid is takes place in the Dreaming City. This is the birthplace of the Awoken, who are descendants of humans that escaped Earth’s orbit during the Collapse. As it stands we don’t have a real sense of the general timeline of those events, but it seem reasonable that the Dreaming City may provide some answers.
Bungie has said that the new raid with offer new puzzles to solve and mysteries to uncover. But that’s nothing new. What’s new: The raid will CHANGE. Bungie says that as people continue to play the raid, the environments will change so that over the course of weeks and months the raid will not be the same as it was when it premieres.
Definitely gets points for being pretty.
Time will tell what the scope of these alterations and changes will be. Players at least remember that the Infinite Garden from the Curse of Osiris expansion didn’t live up to the hype. Hopefully, the Dreaming City can.
So we’ve hit some PvE content, some PvP content, so now let’s talk about some content for PvEvP???
So at first glance this takes me back to Archon’s Forge from D1′s Rise of Iron expansion. Not surprisingly considering some of Bungie staff have looked to RoI for some inspiration, but we’ll get to that in a second.
For starters, Gambit is a mode for some PvE arena goodness. You kill enemies for motes of light which your team collects to deposit in your bank.
When you do that you end up sending a stronger enemy over to the opposing team’s arena. While that enemy is alive the other team will be unable to deposit motes, so you can gain a lead. After that you can fill up your bank, which summons an enemy for you and your team to take down, called a Primeval. Once you defeat it, you win the the round. Simple right?
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!
You can also use motes to jump over to the other teams arena to kill their guardians or just generally prevent them from advancing. Bungie didn’t say what limitations there are in doing this, but I’d bet there’s a once per round limit.
Hmmmm? Is that everything? I felt like there was something I was really excited about, but after getting this far Ican’t seem to remember what...it...was...
OHYEAH
NEW SUPERS
But now I’m sad because I just remembered. Bungie didn’t show us too much on this front. But what they did say give us enough to work with I think.
So, first thing, these are not really new classes. Big difference there. And I really think what they’re doing here is more reasonable. They are creating new perk paths.
In D1, each class at a suite where you could choose what perks you wanted to pair together, but you were limited to one perk from each column (i.e. you couldn’t use two grenade type perks at the same time). The downside to that system was that you typically wouldn’t alter your perks much. At best you found the right combination for your playstyle and kinda left it at that. You couldn’t go full RPG and style your perks for different engagements as much as you might’ve wanted.
But in D2, the classes were steamlined as well. You choose from a jump type, grenade type, and melee type. Then you chose your path, which contained perks that would affect your playstyle. With a new super getting added to check class, it would be unreasonable for them to not introduce new perks, or a new path to augment it.
From what we’ve seen older supers look like they could have new abilities and new supers may be lifting parts from the super we lost going into D2. Gunslinger seems to be pairing its Throwing Knife mechanic with the old melee Super Bladedancer.
Warlocks seem to have a flashier teleport during Stormtrance and beam super not unlike what Moira from Overwatch has. And Titans get a Warhammer, which seems to blend together abilities from the new and old Sunbreaker.
GEEZ, that was more stuff than I thought to have before E3. But we got through it and I’m definitely excited to get back into one of my favorite game addictions!
#destiny#destiny 2#warlock#hunter#titan#ps4#gaming news ps4#xbox one#pc gaming#gaming#bungie#activision
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MEA liveblog #6
Spoilers!
Kadara
Alright, let's hope this virus sample is as harmless as SAM said... Why doesn't this scene have an interrupt? Why does Andromeda have so few?
Oh, right, there's still a quest with Reyes and Drack's story about Spender
I think I should also try the monolith again. Regardless of politics, activating the vaults for Ryder is like closing rifts for the Inquisitor.
Thank you internet for telling me how to activate the southernmost monolith! There's a cave entrance at the base of the mountain, on the road to the east of the monolith and north-east of the forward station.
Ugh, navigating this vault and trying not to die took a long time...
Why do I get flirt options with Reyes in 90% of dialogue wheels?
Okay, I finally crafted something. Chest and legs for armor. Iitiative V. Together they give +11% XP instead of +15 I had on the pre-order set, but I could put lots of bonuses onto them. Used "25% shields on kill" as enhancement and "+50% recharge speed, -30% weapon damage" as a mod.
Yikes! It looks so ugly! Here I thought Deep Space looked mediocre compared to Scavenger, but this...
My adept profile is now rank 4!
Zia's voice sounds terribly familiar.
I literally met murderers disposing of a body, why can't I interact with them?
Two Hydras, more like "run around the entire time". Ugh, why are biotics in this game so weak against armor? And where's the fall damage? The entire point of biotics is killing enemies with physics! Why does a combo, on normal difficulty, not kill a mook, but throw him somewhere I can't see him with a sliver of health so he continues to shoot at me? This is ridiculous!
Me: Ugh I don't wanna do Kadara
Also me: *does every single sidequest in the Badlands, raises viability to 70%*
Tempest
Peebee: idk why I wanted to write to you -- Aww :D
Yay, finally I can make my inventory bigger!
"I like it when you flirt" is still an option smh. Clicked it because I think someone mentioned that the zero-g scene is repeatable, but nope.
Alright, time to finally move on to the loyalty missions!
Cora's LM
Convenient when you can reuse an entire map huh :D
TBH most of the things people are saying are flying right past me. I'm just following the quest markers. So, is the arc pretty much empty now?
Asari sword V!!! Something I wanted to craft or find a long time ago.
This ascendant wasn't even dangerous. Just a boring bullet sponge. I need to get more weight capacity so I could always carry a sniper rifle just for those guys...
I'm a biotic too!!! I walked through this entire mission as an adept! Why am I not helping with the shield?
Revealed the truth, then said Sarissa should stay as the Pathfinder. Not a difficult decision.
Tempest
"Outcast HQ" sounds ridiculous...
Meanwhile, my Bronze/Silver strike team has five positive traits and no negatives...
Nexus
Good thing I went here before moving on to Vetra's mission! There's a follow-up scene. And apparently, there were a lot of asari still in cryo?
Is this the guy who already sent me a grateful email? This game really fails at continuity sometimes.
Fuck! Jien Garson "died alone"?! All this time I was suspicious about her absence, but people talked about her death so confidently I was sure there were witnesses!
lmao a burned body in an unexpected place. suuuuure
Oh, so she is dead :(
Okay, this is simpler than I thought. The Initiative was about escaping the Reapers. And I thought they were looking for something in Andromeda...
If there's really nothing more to it -- I'd actually be disappointed. The game just continues to subvert its own most ridiculous statements. Pretty much everyone assumed that building something called Arcs and moving to another galaxy right before the Reaper invasion is an attempt to preserve people and culture. The game insisted that wasn't the case, except of course it is. There were only two new races, suspiciously alike -- are they related? Nobody even mentioned the possibility in the game until it was confirmed. On the one hand, it's a relief that the game doesn't believe its own bullshit. On the other, I'd like not to be treated like an idiot. I'd like a story with a premise that makes sense by itself, and with reveals that are genuinely surprising. What's next on the list of predictable "plot twists"? Is Alec alive? Is Reyes the Charlatan?
Tempest
What, I got a bunch of AVP just for promising to do Drack's mission?
Fuck yeah vanadium
H-047c
When you land, the subtitles just disappear...
I almost fell off a cliff and Liam shouted "Ryder!!" in a very startled voice
Whoa, a Reegar!
Took the interrupt, of course.
After Liam's mission, the other two seemed bland...
Havarl
Thanks to the internet, finally found the Fusion Mod of Adrenaline. How can anyone find that by themselves?!
Archon's ship
I'm tired of messing around, let's get on with the plot
Let me guess, I'll have to choose between the map to the Meridian and the salarian arc's survival?
This Pathfinder actually sounds like a Salarian!
A new carfalon, nice
this fight didn't go well lmao
Oh great, now we wiped everything but the ascendant and then he killed me
Ughh, on the third try...
Poor Ryder
Yeah, yeah, we've already heard all that from Harbinger...
Archon's chamber, health and ammo packs... Annoying boss battle, here we go
oh great, it's the Krogett
ah, so it's a mix of Virmire and Priority: Tuchanka
Ouch, I wish I didn't take Drack on this mission...
Well thanks I feel like a monster now
And of course, the autosave is after the choice. I've long suspected that the lack of saving in priority mission is designed to make us live with our decisions...
Honestly when I was making a choice it seemed simply whether a bunch of krogan or salarians are saved from exaltation, the krogan are connected to your friend but the salarians have a Pathfinder. But then the game seems to present it as "many krogans, your friend's friends, vs one Pathfinder"?
So, where to now? After the Nexus.
I have 3 loyalty missions in progress, Peebee, Jaal and Drack, and the last one seems pretty urgent.
I need to go to Elaaden, especially because after this I need to restore my relationship with the krogan.
I need to activate the vault on Voeld, people in my outpost and my angaran allies has been freezing their limbs of for a long time.
Kadara is the only place where nothing important is happening, but I need to get it to 90% asap to unlock the fusion mod perk.
Tempest
Poured some more points into combat to decrease the weight of sniper rifles, and crafted a Vintage Isharay V. Now I can carry it along with the Hornet and a shotgun of my choice. Some power user I am... :D
No, Gil, I don't really want to meet your friend. Though on second thought, maybe if the Pathfinder tells her we're not here just to breed, maybe she'd believe...
"My mother created the implant in my head, and my father created the AI that uses it. I haven't lost them either" ;_;
Suvi organized a comparative religion seminar, and Jaal and Kallo signed up!
Got myself a bald space mouse
"Okay, I'll learn a new party trick" :D
"You are daring. I had to up my game" It's just a casual option, but sure sounds like flirting... :D
"Just don't get yourself exalted" -> "Just don't relax too much" The translation is getting worse and worse... There's some nonsense in almost every conversation.
Aw, Vetra!
Nexus
Thanks, Tann! Now I have time to do sidequests and loyalty missions without guilt!
No thanks to other Pathfinders, seems like I have to rush the main plot after all :(
Scott!!!
Why is Ryder asking him about things she must know just as well?
Honestly, this game design is super stupid! Kadara opens up a lot of new quests, but also the rushes the main plot like hell! Am I supposed to do the loyalty missions and shit after the end of the story??
Wait, how exactly did Keri scare people? Why was she arrested? I don't understand.
Tempest
Aw, Liam is worried about how I'm coping with my clinical death! *Shepard sighs with envy from another galaxy*
Kadara
Why does the game shower me with shippy Reyes material even when I'm not trying to romance him?
Finally another interrupt lol
"Try to settle here, and I'll consider it an act of war" If I took the story seriously and roleplayed honestly, this would be the point I'd abandon this planet forever, even if I didn't do it far earlier. There's no reason for Ryder to plan for an outpost here -- and I only do because of the queat description. Ughh, the writing in this game is killing me.
How do you take a recipe anyway? How do you make sure there isn't a copy left on the person's computer? Anyway, took it from the asari because I assumed I could destroy the info instead of giving it to the doctor, but had to give it back anyway.
Whoa, the date with Vetra is incredibly romantic
Was it really necessary for two freaking eirochs to greet us as we exit the cave?!
People who lit Sloane from behind so that every time there's a closeup on her, the camera adjusts to that bright light and her face becomes a pitch black blob: please don't ever stage anything again
Travel from the Badlands to the Port, meet Sloane, immediately travel back to almost the same place in the Badlands. Is the game intentionally trying to waste as much of our time as possible?
I think my game ran out of save slots... Without any warning. When you try to write in a new slot everything seems normal but the save just doesn't appear.
Whoa! Ryder WASN'T surprised that Reyes is the Charlatan! I didn't expect her to figure that out...
I'm not sure how Reyes's actions were supposed to weaken Sloane but whatever
First I shot him because I use interrupts instinctively, then replayed and didn't. I don't give enough fucks about this petty war.
100%! Now I can finally leave this snake pit.
BTW, re: the choice: Sloane is almost as bad as Aria at this point, the only redeeming quality is her backstory. And she's proven herself a bad leader, while Reyes could turn out to be better. But deciding to let her die within a split second -- that's not something I or my idealistic character could do. And now Reyes has a potential for a cool comeback story, and Sloane -- for a redemption arc. We have both characters alive and active, while the other option kills one off. (Which, I realize, is a reason that we might never see an interesting follow-up.)
Tempest
Reyes bothered to send a letter! I hope we'll see his dramatic return in a sequel or a DLC. Imagine if you romance him and then save Sloane -- that's a good story! Also, glad I didn't shoot, because the internet says the letter is very bitter and ominous in that case.
Aaand what some people on the internet were saying is true. Fusion Mod Support, which was the sole reason I went to complete Kadara, is broken and deprives you of all buffs. Well, whatever.
Drack doesn't tell me to fuck off anymore. Does this mean I don't need to "give him space" anymore and can plausibly do his loyalty mission? It's weird that the game just ignores all that's happened -- it's not like he tells me he forgave or anything. Consequences my ass. Just lazy writing.
And Lexi just repeats her first description of Drack -- that he's "always good". Ugh. No, he's not!
NOW you want to talk about my death, Cora! Not when I approached you after that mission!
Elaaden
The krogan have a nice flag!
Logical: "Don't make me headbutt you. I absolutely will" Ha! The emotional option was some shit about friendship...
The worm? That thing from the promo pictures, right? Is it the same thing as the Architects people on the internet are mentioning?
Aww, is this a letter from multiplayer's krogan engineer?
A krogan LARP!
The krogan are literally the only people whom I can understand and support in a decision to jump galaxies
Drack's LM
I don't understand how Vorn got here...
For once I'm not the one with a dilemma lol
"There's only one thing getting destroyed today (...) So there are a lot of things getting destroyed today, actually"
Drack please don't talk during fights, I don't hear a single word, too busy charging people and slashing them with my sword
I still don't understand what all of this has to do with Spender, and don't remember Drack ever mentioning before that the botanist is so important and irreplaceable.
I love being a vanguard on normal because even with an incomplete build you can tank two hydras. To be fair I was standing right on top of a health box...
That's all?? So short...
At least Drack hasn't forgotten my choice...
Ah, so the botanist who sent us on this mission and the botanist we rescued are two different people? Okay, one question answered.
Elaaden
Hmm, this puzzle seems more difficult...
The second monolith has a console puzzle instead of sudoku. I spent a pretty long time on it before realizing there were three consoles, not two...
WHy am I breaking into this base and slaughtering everyone inside??
Couldn't solve the console puzzle in the vault, looked it up, didn't understand the explanation, clicked some more and activated it by accident.
Shit, is this the same puzzle but on pillars?
I fell into the water and the game respawned me into the same fall -- but in the Nomad.
Jumped around and activated the bridge somehow, but the door behind it is still closed
How am I supposed not to fall from the pillars? It's impossible to know if you're jumping not far enough, too far, or not high enough.
Oh, here's that difficult sudoku. I spent like 15 minutes on it and still can't solve it...
Holy crap, I solved it! Took me about 25 minutes...
The purification field was already in the room when I closed the door on it...
Lmao apparently the main krogan on this planet is right in the starting zone... I searched the entire colony for him! And now, with the planet at 83% viability, I finally meet the guy I came here for :D
I clearly was meant to do all of this right in the beginning lmao. But I was in a rush to do Drack's mission...
Pressuring women into childbirth is bad enough in normal circumstances, but when children have about 1% chance of surviving? Back the fuck off.
Messages on the terminal are interesting. I don't like the confirmation of too-earthlike misogyny on Tuchanka, but at least things are getting better here. And I'm still impressed by the letters from the krogan engineer -- do other multiplayer character have presence in the main game too?
And here's the deal with the Remnant ship! I was waiting for the reason to visit it...
I like Morda. I hope I won't have to fight or depose her.
(Btw she's Norda in translation because "morda" means "face, mug")
It'd be much more fun to fight fiends if they weren't sync-killers. I can't even use a shotgun -- the entire fight consists of running away, throwing powers at them when at safe distance, turning around to run again, and if I'm very lucky, finding a moment for a sniper rifle shot a couple of times.
Btw this entire time I thought fiends were exalted eirochs -- but they're just a normal local species? What?
Lmao the viability is at 99% now
The Remnant Ship is a lovechild of the Collector ship/Derelict Reaper and all those veilfire dungeons from DAI
The Nomad looks bad in this planet's lighting... Or is it because I raised texture quality? On Eos and Voeld the entire hull looked the same, now I can see the difference between two areas.
Oh. Is this why I was supposed to break into the scavenger base lol
Well, this was a good planet to bring Drack and Peebee with you everywhere! Sorry Peebs, but even you didn't feel joy when we finally found that drive core after all the bloodshed; plus it's your own philisophy to look into the future instead of the past; plus we might find other Remnant ships but this diplomatic opportunity is huge and unique. It's a laughably small price to pay for so many good things -- not just the outpost, but paying our debts and renewing friendship with a good ally led by an admirable woman. This makes me feel really good, unlike Kadara. New Tuchanka in generally is a feel-good place. The krogan look more real with their occupations and interests, their reason for being here makes perfect sense unlike the rest of the Initiative, and they're happier than in the Milky Way (at least until the end of ME3. Yeah, they have the genophage here, but also the Reapers aren't killing and harvesting them, so I'll call it a draw).
Oh my god, the translators misread "fiends" as "friends"! "Even if it means taking out three friends at once"! L M A O
"We're all a little krogan in here" That sounds pretty racist, Ryder
Nexus
Wait, how is exile harsher sentence for Spender than jail? In exile he'd just be free to continue his racist criminal activities.
"It is the will to continue living" Ugh, don't give me that Padme bullshit
Eos
That's all? This short rude conversation is why Gil called me to meet his shitty friend?
Aw, Cora started a garden! Right on a nest of poison-spitting bugs, but still cute.
Just as I switch from Flamethrower to Annihilation, I get attacked by two fiends -_- Where's my biotic armor damage, Bioware?!
Btw the Nomad now looks plastic on Eos too :(
And here's the Architect! I avoided looking up videos because I wanted to find out how this fight goes by myself.
And of course, when I died the autosave was glitched and froze my entire game -_-
And it happened again -_- The cutscene doesn't start and I can't do anything
For fuck's sake, on its leg WHERE?
Managed to shot down a leg, got killed trying to shoot its head
Whoa, I won! Ate like 20 shield boosters, though. What a bullet sponge, I felt like I was doing no damage at all. And in the final section of the fight it spent like 5 minutes just shooting and throwing grenades at me without ever exposing the vulnerable spot, I thought that maybe the game just forgot to indicate it. I used Vanguard, Charge/melee/Lance for adds, gun/Lance/Charge for the Architect itself. For some reason it didn't occur to me to switch to Infiltrator or Soldier or even Explorer for sniping lol
Now that I finally leveled up Lance today, I tried a lot of setups... Flamethrower/Energy Drain/Lance (Sentinel), Annihilation/Energy Drain/Lance (Sentinel), Annihilation/Charge/Lance (Vanguard), Pull/Charge/Lance (Vanguard). Next time I'll try Singularity as the first primer. I don't have the final evolution of Annihilation yet, so it's not at full synergy. I really don't know what I like better -- ED/Sentinel or Charge/Vanguard. The latter is novaguard reborn, basically, but I already have one Vanguard profile, which is melee/tank oriented, and I don't want to remove Backlash, especially to replace it with a power that slows down Charge. Four favorites are not enough, Bioware! At least seven -- one for each profile. I still don't have a build for Remnant VI and I really want to use it! Btw, my final blow to the Architect was with Lance -- ending the testing session with style!
I can craft N7 armor X already! Wow. Why no level requirement? I'll replace my chestpiece -- massive buffs to biotics >> 4% XP. Don't know if I should disassemble my old armor or just buy more enhancements...
I just (re-)realized that Charge/Lance/asari sword is basically N7 Slayer... I definitely need that N7 armor!
I'm watching other people's Architect fights -- and turns out, Backlash can deflect its attacks! That's what I should have used as the third skill.
Not related at all, but I hate how people put spoilers in thread titles on Reddit :/ I guess the most obvious ones get filtered out, but indirect spoilers stay. "What are your theories about [thing]?" -- thanks a lot for telling me it won't be explained in the game, dude!! >:[
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The Archon’s Review of King Arthur: A Roleplaying Wargame
King Arthur: A Rolplaying Wargame is a grand strategy game designed by NeocoreGames and published by Paradox Interactive. It is a dark time in Britannia. The king, Uther Pendragon, has died, leaving no apparent heir. In the wake of this power vacuum, all the petty kings of the realm have taken up arms against their neighbors in a bid for power and land. Then, Merlin appears with the sword, Excalibur, lodged in a stone in the abbey at Glastonbury. He says his piece, and then Arthur appears out of nowhere to do his thing. Except, when Arthur extricates the sword from the stone, magic returns to Britannia, Merlin disappears, and the Sidhe, the ancient fae, assert themselves, carving out a territory in the Bedegraine forest, just south of Hadrain’s Wall. Britannia is now on the brink of grandiose conflict, and you, as Arthur, the Once and Future King, must decide its fate.
I picked up KAaRPWG mostly on a whim, but I must say that, for the most part, it paid off.There is a lot to like here; although my expectations were not all that high, I was pleasantly surprised.
Let’s start with the lore. If you’re a purist when it comes to Arthurian legends, you may be a bit disappointed. KAaRPWG melds Arthurian legends with a healthy does of Celtic and Irish mythology. You’ve got the sword in the stone (Excalibur in this version, not Caliburn), the Green Knight, all the Knights of the Round Table, the Holy Grail, etc. You’ve also got the Sidhe, the distinction between Seelie and Unseelie fae, the Old Faith of the druids, and a belief in magic, all of which is inspired by old Celtic and Irish myths. The two mythoi actually blend quite well; this is probably the result of a singular aesthetic acting as a very effective backdrop for both sets of myths. There’s a sense here of a blending of time and space, wherein armored knights on horseback seem natural next to the mystical and strange Sidhe. References to the ancient Roman colonies that used to be on Britannia help complete the blend, creating a sense of a far distant past brought temporally forward to scrunch it up against the medieval knights and kingdoms of Britannia. But the Roman stuff works because the ancient, “Old Faith” aesthetic helps place us there temporally. Basically, what I’m trying, and probably failing to say, is that each element of the aesthetic and lore helps hold the others up so that when blended, they fit together perfectly.
^(The Once and Future King, just before everything goes downhill)^
The overworld map is very pretty, although a bit monotone. As we are in Britannia, we can expect mostly forests and grass lands, with rolling hills and a mountain here and there. I had a similar complaint about Eador. Genesis, but this game breaks up the monotony with a quartet of seasons, which pass one by one each turn. I really like the seasons system, and not merely because it adds snow during winter. See, each season actually does something. It’s not just cosmetic, and it’s details like this that really makes me appreciate a game. Dominions 4 and Endless Legend do something similar, but it’s not quite as strategic as it is in this. The year begins in Spring, which is when random quests and disasters appear on the campaign map, which you can then react to by sending your armies to deal with them. During Summer, armies are able to move much farther on the campaign map. The game says that Autumn is when your food comes in, but I don’t think that’s actually the case. Winter does a number of things. First, Winter forces all armies on the overworld to stop and set up camp. No armies can move during Winter. Second, Winter is when your taxes come in, and this is also when your food comes in, possibly because of a bug. Lastly, Winter is when you can interact with your stronghold(s), building new districts, researching new improvements for your kingdom, and managing your economy via the Chancellory, where you enact new laws, set decrees, and trade food for gold and vice versa. Then Spring rolls back around and new random quests appear. The seasons system is a really great way of marrying form and function, and I think it’s pretty neato.
Now, this is a strategy game, and strategy games tend to have playable battles where you can exercise that big ol’ brain of yours. And the combat in this game, well... it’s basically Total War. NOW THIS SENTENCE RIGHT HERE IS FOR ANY LAWYERS THAT HAPPEN TO BE READING; DO NOT TAKE THIS PARAGRAPH OR THIS REVIEW AND USE IT AS A MEANS FOR LITIGATION. I WILL BE VERY CROSS WITH YOU IF I HAPPEN TO FIND OUT THAT ANYONE WAS SUCCESSFULLY SUED BECAUSE OF WHAT I JUST WROTE HERE. LAWYERS, DO NOT USE OR MENTION THIS REVIEW. Right, now that that’s over with; yeah, the gameplay is basically magical Medieval:Total War. You take battalions of troops, march them around the field of battle, and use strategy and tactics to win. Hero characters, such as the Knights of the Round Table, have magical abilities you can call upon to turn the tide of battle, which is a neat addition. Also, individual units don’t have morale, unlike in a Total War game; instead, each side has a morale bar that increases or decreases depending on which side controls victory locations. These locations are things like monuments, stone circles, villages, keeps, ect. Another departure from Total War that I like is that once you’ve won a battle, the enemy army goes away entirely, even if you won via morale rather than extermination. This makes it so that you needn’t chase enemies down across the map after each battle like roaches in a kitchen
^(The first battle in the game. My troops are the ones in armor. Winning!)^
In between battles are quests. As mentioned, some are random, appearing during the spring season. The important ones, however, are related to the plot of the game. These are things like finding and hiring on a Knight of the Round Table, or determining whether the Old Faith or Christianity gains more power, or finding special artifacts. All quests, random and plot-relevant, are carried out via text-based decision trees. Some choices use one or more of a hero’s stats. In these cases, the text will be green if it’s a certain success, blue if the outcome is uncertain, or red if it’s a certain failure. This incentivizes you to have a variety of heroes on hand. It’s a bit of a problem if you need a mageknight and all you have are fightknights. The outcome of quests has various effects, such as gaining you artifacts, changing your morality, giving you more troops, or provoking a battle.
^(One of the early quests. Sir Kay here did a bang-up job of it.)^
I alluded to a morality system in the above paragraph, and this game has not a binary moral choice system, but a quaternary moral choice system. See, in the wake of Arthur pulling Excalibur from the stone, magic returns to Britannia, leading to a resurgence of what they call the “Old Faith”, which is worship of the Tuatha de Danaan, the old Irish deities. This causes friction between the believers in this Old Faith, and the followers of the still-new Christianity. Interesting sidenote: In the game, the Welsh are followers of the Old Faith, while the Saxons are the Christian invaders. But in real life, the Welsh had already been Christianized by Saint Joseph of Arimathea and the Irish by Saint Patrick, while the Saxons were so incredibly pagan that Charlemagne felt the need to deliver them the Cross via the sword. In addition to the religious conflict, there’s a virtue axis, each end of which is labeled “Rightful” and “Tyrant”. The game makes a point of stating that Rightful isn’t necessarily good and Tyrant isn’t necessarily evil, and that the axis is meant to measure your commitment to the ideals of chivalry. Although, in practice, benevolent acts increase your Rightful gauge, while malevolent acts do the opposite. Going toward one combination of religion and virtue is advised, as you get new spells, bonuses, and unit choices for doing so, and I also imagine it affects what ending you get.
^(The morality chart. Fun fact, the terms the game uses for Rightful-Old Faith and Tyrant-Old Faith are Seelie and Unseelie respectively. This means that from a religious standpoint, there’s actually three sides you can choose from, Christian, Seelie, and Unseelie. I guess Christianity doesn’t care whether you’re a moral person...?)^
Now, the things I talked about are all very effective and fun, and I like them a lot. But here comes the problems are there are a few. First off, the game is hilariously unstable, especially the further you are into it. The most common bug I found was the game giving me a “Runtime error” during loading screens and crashing to desktop. Sometimes the game even just cuts out after the loading screen, but just after I unpause the game to start a battle, dumping me straight to the desktop. I even encountered a really weird bug where, when I reloaded a save, there was snow on the ground even though it was autumn, and after I hit the “next turn” button, I was prevented from opening the menu to save or quit, and I couldn’t end the turn again. I was stuck in perpetual winter. I mean, I know the Starks were all like “Winter is coming” but I didn’t think it’d stay forever. In fact, these glitches came up so often that I actually did make a print screen and paste it into paint; you remember, the thing I said I wasn’t gonna do in my Fallout 2 review.
^(Fun fact: when I inserted this image, it kept flickering for a second or two before it settled. Hopefully it’s not cursed.)^
Also, the AI isn’t particularly engaging. With a little bit of strategy and good judgement, it’s possible to win a battle with a force half as powerful as your enemy’s. This isn’t to say that the battles aren’t fun or that there isn’t any risk involved, but just that the AI isn’t as amazing as one might desire out of their grand strategy experience.
The game is really bad at telling you how to get plot quests to appear. You get hand-held through the first set of plot quests; the first book, as the game calls it. But then, things just sort of happen. And eventually, you start coming up on quests from books three and four just because... enough time has passed? That would be my guess anyway. Eventually, I did figure out how to get the quests to appear, but it didn’t feel like a natural story progression. A few pro-tips in the plot quest department: First, conquering territory gets the quests from book two to appear. I’d suggest trying to take the Mercias (There are two, East Mercia and West Mercia), and any small kingdoms you may have left. Second, do not conquer Wales or the Saxons; they’re quest-important. Lastly, around turn 150, something really important happens, so get the quest “The Vision” finished up by then.
One last thing that really bugged me. There’s no way to tell what your income is until winter time, so you have to make absolutely sure that everything in your economy is squared away by then or else you might find yourself up a creek.
ለማገባደድ, despite the bugs, I would absolutely recommend King Arthur: A Roleplaying Wargame to anyone who’s into fantasy, Arthurian legend, grand strategy, or swords and sorcery type stories. It’s got a lot to like, and a lot of really neat ideas and aesthetics. I am probably totally going to keep playing it, at least to the regular campaign’s conclusion. Now, this being a game taking place in the early Middle Ages, there are instances of arranged marriages, with you deciding which maidens marry which knights. There is something to be said about how doing so improves the knights’ abilities, basically turning them into stat boosting objects, but this is justified somewhat in that the attributes that boost stats are personality traits, and it would make sense for a person to be influenced by a person they spend a lot of time with. What is perhaps more disturbing when one gets into fridge logic, is that these maidens can be bartered to certain groups on the map, such as rebels or mercenary groups. The game wants you to believe that you’re arranging marriages between the rebel leaders and your maidens, but because doing so makes use of the same interface as bartering artifacts or gold, it really presents the unfortunate implication that you may be selling these women into slavery. Is that what’s really going on? Prrrobably not, but once the whole “slavery” possibility occurred to me, it wouldn’t be shaken. Really, the sexism problems this game has are the same ones that plague any game that takes place in Medieval times, and the same ones that plagued Medieval times (the time period, not the restaurant). Although, it is weird that each of the female heroes have an ability that gives them a stat boost in return for being prohibited from riding horses... Yeah, I thought that was weird.
^(One of the Sihde, on the right, compared to a group of puny mortals on the left. Like, dang. Why haven’t those guys taken over Britannia on their own?)^
#archon reviews#review#video games#king arthur: a roleplaying wargame#king arthur#fantasy#grand strategy
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The Archon’s Review of Supreme Commander
Supreme Commander is a real-time strategy game by Gas Powered Games and published by THQ. In the far-flung future, humanity has colonized space with the help of space portals (which can apparently be hacked, which presents a massive security risk, I should think, but nevermind that). This led to an era of peace and prosperity unseen by humanity ever before. During this time, an old, enterprising scientist named Dr. Gustaf Brackman fuses an artificial intelligence with a human brain (again, this presents a massive security hazard, but nevermind). The new, half-computer, half-human people are called “Symbionts”. This development spooks the Earth Empire’s bigwigs who hack the Symbionts and enslave them. Disgusted and not at all aroused, Brackman takes a corps of his loyal Symbionts and forms his own Cybran Nation with blackjack and hookers. Meanwhile, on a far off world, a human colony finds religion via an alien race called the Seraphim (in a surprising twist, it’s the Seraphim who’re presented with a security risk, rather than the humans). The Seraphim teach the colonists the way of “The Way”, shortly before being obliterated by the millenia-in-the-future equivalent of a Neo-Nazi, who really just could not stand that the other humans were finding a peaceful religion brought to them by a benevolent green people. Jokes on that asshole though, as the destruction of the Seraphim brings about the Aeon Illuminate, a sort of Knights Templar in space. After these two factions finish tearing up ye olde Earth Empire, it reforms itself into the United Earth Federation, because it’s always a federation, isn’t it? Can’t be a cadre, or a union, or a confederation, it’s got to be a federation if it’s in space, doesn’t it? Anyway, the three factions develop a cool mecha called the Armored Command Unit, or ACU, which can pull entire military bases out of their “mass”, and command entire armies of automated(?) tanks, boats, and planes. With the ACU, war becomes easy-peasy, so the three factions decide to have one for a thousand years, just for kicks. That’s where you come in. You take command of one of the three factions, hoping to end the Infinite War once and for all.
Hah, I thought the F/GO intro was long. Sorry mates.
So, I like real-time strategy games. I’d go so far as to say it’s one of my top two favorite genres of video game. Which makes the fact that I’m only now reviewing an RTS a somewhat criminal act of neglect. I was first tuned in to the Supreme Commander series when I was a teenager, playing Supreme Commander 2. Incidentally, this is also when I would learn about Steam’s DRM, when I was so used to just installing stuff from a CD. In any event, I found SC2 a lot of fun, once I figured out how to play the game properly. So, SC being on sale a while back, I decided to see if it lived up to the fond memories of it’s descendant. The short answer is, “Eeeehhh... Kinda?”
The game’s primary objective for a standard game is to destroy all of the enemies’ ACUs. In fact, the ACU is the most important unit for any player, as it represents the player themselves. In addition, the ACU builds your base before you gain access to Engineers. As far as objectives go, “regicide” is pretty straightforward, and given that all the other units are possibly automated, it makes sense. Sadly, the story campaigns decide to complicate things significantly.
This objection may be subjective, but I have a feeling it’s less subjective than I suspect. See, I’m used to an RTS presenting me with an overarching objective in each mission, flowering with optional objectives or minor complications as the mission progresses. Supreme Commander, however, does something slightly different. In the beginning of a campaign mission, you will be presented with a very simple, deceptively easy objective. Something like, “Kill these dudes we’ve essentially tied to posts for you,” or “Hey, see that building over there? Yeah, send your ACU over there and grab it for us, ya?” But then, once you’ve completed it, the map will expand to reveal a new objective. At this point, things’ll be okay, with only minor adjustments in strategy required. But then, it’ll expand the map again, and you’ll be faced with your final enemy... and usually a massive wave of enemy units that you couldn’t have known were coming on your first go-through. To add insult to injury, they’ll usually give you the ability to produce a unit that would help a lot, but with the wave of enemy dudes bearing down on you, you’d best hope that you’ve got adequate base defenses while you build your new units, otherwise, to paraphrase Richard III (or maybe Game of Thrones), things will go very hard for you.
The best way I found to deal with the game stringing you along like this is to develop a super economy mid-mission, and put off your objectives as long as you can. This strategy, however, presents two challenges: first, some objectives are timed. Second, and perhaps more annoyingly, is that as you procrastinate, a comms officer or a superior will occasionally complain at you for not completing your objectives. It’s kinda funny at first, but after a while, it sounds like a middle manager reminding you of a minor job-related obligation that nobody performs anyway. Anyone who’s ever had to push a credit card will know exactly what I mean.
^(Large robot friend building up my super economy. Also, my apologies for the console box in the corner, I had to change the screenshot button to the ` button, as the F12 button brought up an even more obtrusive thingie.)^
Now, it might sound like I’m ragging on the game, and to an extent I am. The game doesn’t seem to have too much of a player-base to battle against and I imagine single-player skirmishes can only be exciting a few dozen times. Most RTSes base much of their content on their story campaign, and indeed, that’s where I began, but while I didn’t much like the way the individual missions were formatted, the mechanics of the game itself were actually pretty fun! Building up a base with your big robot friend and then later, your little robot friends, is generally gratifying. Churning out a massive army of gunships and raining hellfire on your foes is quite entertaining. Watching stuff explode is almost as primordially engaging as a Michael Bay movie without the casual racism, sexism, poor acting, and poor screenwriting. Watching boats explode is a particularly fun thing, and this is coming from someone who is usually uneasy about commanding naval forces in RTSes.
That said, there are a couple more nitpicks, but these are some pretty big nits. First off, the pathfinding for ground units may be best argument for self-driving cars ever, ironically. When in formation, they will move the front line first, then the lines behind, until they’re all moving, instead of everyone moving at once. This can create major problems when you’re trying to roll out an attack force into an enemy base and their turrets just shoot down all your bots as they come. Otherwise, they tend to just move however they want to, which may interfere with your strategies, and it gets worse when you realize that the only way to get rid of enemy shields is to march your land units inside the shield and shoot at the generator from there, more or less necessitating the insipid groundlings. In fact, if it weren’t for shields, I probably would’ve relied solely on air and naval power, as air units don’t need to pathfind, and naval units don’t have any obstacles to get tripped up on and their range is long enough that even if they did, they could still perform their essential function, i.e. total boat obliteration.
^(It’s difficult to see, but on the left is a fleet of my submarines demolishing an enemy fleet on the right. Note the lack of physical obstacles. Note pictured: My joy at the destruction of my enemies.)^
Also, the tutorial is absolute bollocks in cheese. It’s basically a bunch of videos detailing basic concepts, and then they let you loose in an empty map with an ACU from each faction, and that’s your lot. This game is actually fairly complex, and an actual tutorial wouldn’t have been remiss.
The aesthetics are nice. Environments are pretty, if a bit sparse in places, and all the robots look pretty cool. Each factions’ units are distinct enough that you can tell friend from foe immediately; the UEF has this sort of “basic Earth unit” look to them, all blocky with lots of things on wheels and conventional design, the Cybrans are all spikes and doom fortresses (only somewhat ironic, as their goal of freeing all enslaved Symbionts is actually the most morally justifiable), and the Aeon design is half cathedrals-on-legs and half Space Alien(TM) aesthetic. When the game is being all wiz-bang-kaboom, it is indeed rad A.F, but the flipside to that is that I frequently got the disquieting feeling that I was doing something wrong somehow. Like because I wasn’t wiz-bang-kabooming all the time, I wasn’t playing properly. Or maybe the game’s marketing was a big fat liar; who knows?
(^What I expected vs...
what I got. I mean, there were shades of the first image, but the vast majority of my time was spent constructing like a hyperactive Mincraft player.)^
The music isn’t much to write home about. It’s alright, I guess.
The reason I believe the player-base is sparse is because looking up walkthroughs for this game was excessively difficult. There were no Steam guides except for those telling you how to get the game to work; which wasn’t a problem for me. The only GameFAQs walkthrough I could find was very light on actual details, preferring instead to provide me with information I probably could have figured out on my own. I finally had to find a Youtube playthrough; and incidentally, Ser “SergiuHellDragoonHQ”, if you happen to be reading this, it is generally considered bad form to periodically pop in with obtrusive demands that I subscribe in the form of extremely distracting low-res graphics. I was only there for a walkthrough on that particular mission, we’re not that close bruh. That said, you have my gratitude for your walkthrough, which taught me the “super economy strategy”, mentioned above. All of that said, it may just be that the player-base are super leet haxorz and therefore don’t require any walkthroughs.
^(The notes I took on SergiuHellDragoonHQ’s walkthrough. Note the rushed handwriting and Gudetama in the bottom left.)^
Ten slotte, SC is fun at it’s core, but the lack of a good tutorial and the frustrating and drag-out campaign format kinda kills it in places for me. I would recommend it mostly on the basis that the person I’m recommending it to would play with me so we can, as wise men have written, “git gud”. I’m probably not going to keep playing it, unless I start playing SC2 again and a major plot point comes up that necessitates me playing through the campaign of the original. As for social commentary... well, it’s actually remarkably progressive in places. The while the Earth president is a dude, and the main character is also a dude, the high commander of Earth’s armies is a woman with a badass battle scar; you know she’s seen some shit. In addition, the Aeon Illuminate are ruled by a Princess, and most, if not all of their commanders are women. So apparently the Infinite War is much more gender-equal than today times. That said, everyone appears to be white, although the cockpits of the Aeon commanders are poorly lit, and it looks like maybe there’s a Latina commander somewhere. So the lack of racial diversity’s a bit of a problem. Also, the Symbiont slavery thing has some pretty obvious parallels, and while it often isn’t mentioned by UEF commanders, the Cybrans will talk about it constantly. Almost like their primary objective is freeing a marginalized group of people from government enforced bondage. Almost creates a parallel to a certain real-world tragedy that was enforced by the government and resulted in a certain war that itself resulted, ostensibly, in a certain marginalized group of people being granted their freedom. That said, the parallel isn’t too clear-cut, and I didn’t get far enough into the campaign to see where it goes.
All in all, if you’re looking for a sci-fi strategy game, you could do worse than Supreme Commander, but I remember the sequel being better, so go play that maybe.
^(Pictured: The prelude to Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries”.)^
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